Godfather Of Champions
Author: Lin Hai Ting Tao
Date: 2024-04-23T21:05:57.336000+00:00

Chapter 1: Tony Twain?

A loud clamoring noise that stimulated the nerves of the brain could be heard. The decibels were so great that it could cause one to go deaf. A glaring white light pierced his eyes, as his temple experienced jolts of pain.

Twain could not help but narrow his eyes. However, the white light did not disappear. Instead, it expanded to the entire field of vision.

What is going on? Am I at a rock concert?

Twain silently cursed. As he opened his eyes, what greeted him was a face that was frighteningly big. It was a black face full of sweat, and the hot air that sprayed from his nostrils appeared to have almost stained his face. His wide open mouth revealed a row of white teeth as scary as a wild animal's, and bad breath spewed out from it.

What followed was an intense and direct collision. Twain felt as though his lower jaw had been punched, as his entire body fell backwards.

Crash! They had knocked over the box of bottles placed behind them. The pitiful plastic bottles were unable to handle the combined weight of the two men and crumbled beneath them. White, flowery water spattered out, and there was even a bottle that shot out a waterspout, directly splashing the face of an innocent bystander. Seeing this, the rest of the crowd ran like frightened sparrows.

"Damn it!"

"Preposterous!"

"What is going on?"

"Team doctor, team doctor!"

"How did you manage to play until now like this?"

"I was pushed by that wretched number fourteen… I didn't do it on purpose!"

Twain laid down on the ground and stared stone-faced at the unfamiliar faces surrounding him. Among them, some were anxious, others were gloating over his misfortune, and some were covering their faces to conceal their expressions. Although his surroundings remained very noisy, it had changed its tune as it was now filled with jeers and laughter.

Where is this place? Who are they? What is happening?

"Uh oh! Wait, look at what has happened on the sideline." The live-broadcasting commentator suddenly became excited, as he stood up and probed downwards from the highest floor. "Team Nottingham Forest's striker, David Johnson, was striving for the ball with someone from the opposing team when he was knocked toward the technical area on the sidelines. The unlucky manager, Tony Twain, happened to be standing in the way while giving his instructions for the match. Oh! Look at the miserable situation on the ground. This was a collision between Mars and Earth! It is much more interesting than the boring match!"

Twain laid on the ground; his light grey-colored suit was already drenched. On top of that, it was wrinkled with grass stains and mud. At one glance, it appeared as if it was a rag that had just been used.

A big-nosed, black-bearded man who looked like Super Mario appeared in Twain's field of vision. In one motion, the man deftly took out and put on a pair of white gloves from the bag he was carrying and began examining Twain's body.

"Is there any obvious sense of pain in your rib costal area?" He exerted some strength and pressed down on Twain's chest area. "Lower jaw... hmm, there's some bruising. Have any of your teeth come loose?" He pried open Twain's mouth and looked with his head slightly tilted. Although he had been continuously asking questions, he was obviously not anticipating any answers. This was merely his habit of muttering to himself. "After that is... the eyes." He shifted his gaze toward Twain's eye area and discovered the problem: Twain's pupils seemed to have not moved at all, and his eyelids had not blinked even once. In addition, his facial expression was dull and sluggish. He did not wince, nor did he cry out in pain. His silence was like that of a dead person....

Dead person!

He appeared to have landed on the back of his head!

"Hey, Tony, Tony? Can you hear me?" He extended his hands before Twain's eyes and waved. His tone was significantly more flustered than before.

Twain's eyeballs finally moved, as he focused on this person's face. He was unfamiliar, and yet somewhat familiar at the same time...

"The referee has blown the whistle, paused the match, and run to the sideline.... I've been a football commentator for 31 years, but it's still my first time seeing the manager injured by one of his own players! I bet that manager Tony Twain will definitely be featured on the news, even though he might not have wished to become famous like this..." The BBC commentator John Motson continued chattering away. "Team Nottingham Forest is really extremely unlucky. First, their team is down by two goals, and now their substitute manager, Tony Twain, is injured by his own player. It's pertinent to note that this is a home match! He was injured during their home match!"

At the same time, the television screen began repeatedly replaying the scene from before. David Johnson, during his fierce strive for the ball, was pushed by the opposing team's member. As a result, this dark, burly man flung sideways toward Tony Twain, who happened to be at the sideline. The weird thing was that Twain was originally able to avoid it. He had sufficient time to dodge it, but stood still on the sideline like a wooden puppet and watched as his player ran into him. What followed was a scene that made even the commentators cover their faces and avert their eyes while saying, "Oh my god!"

Team Nottingham Forest's players frantically surrounded their manager, and at the center of it was, naturally, Twain, who lay flat on the ground. The black striker, David Johnson, knelt on the ground and could not stop praying. If something bad should happen to his manager, it would make him the first player to kill his own manager on the field.

Different from Team Nottingham Forest players' apprehension, their opponents were mostly standing around in the field, looking at the commotion with their arms folded. There were also some extremely curious people who took on the role of spies for the team, and made frequent trips to and fro to share information on the situation with their teammates.

The fans of Team Nottingham Forest did not appear to worry about their manager's life, and instead took the opportunity to curse and swear at their own team's disastrous performance. Various vulgarities spewed out from their mouths and were accompanied by various upraised middle fingers. This combination of actions made the 0-2 score on the big screen especially glaring.

Team Nottingham Forest's team doctor, Gary Fleming, was still trying his best. He had seen Tony's eyeballs move slightly, but still wondered why there had not been more of a reaction.

He patted Tony Twain's face, but there was still no response. The substitute manager of the team laid on the ground like a wax statue with his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes staring widely, as if he had seen something frightening.

The blue skies, the white cotton candy clouds, the varying skin tones and facial expressions, and the noisy surroundings were all very familiar, and yet so unfamiliar at the same time. It was as if they were thousands of miles away from him.

This... What is happening?!

The head referee announced his decision for the team doctor to handle the matter on his own. He could not let an injury that occurred off of the field of play cause the match to be paused indefinitely. He blew the whistle to signal the players to return to the field. The match had to continue, even though the players from Team Nottingham Forest did not have the heart to keep playing.

"But he could be in mortal danger!" Immensely furious at the head referee's cold attitude, Fleming shouted at the manager while pointing toward Twain, who was still lying on the ground.

"Then you should call the ambulance; I am only a referee!" The head referee rebutted indignantly. "He doesn't seem to be in such critical condition," he said as he pointed behind Fleming before running back onto the field.

Fleming turned around, only to see Twain slowly standing up, while caressing the back of his head. Fleming rushed forward to help him up. "How are you feeling, Tony?"

Twain asked back blankly, "Where is this place?"

Fleming turned around and cursed. He had been really unlucky recently. "Des, Des, come here!" He waved at a golden-haired man in the technical area, signaling for him to come over.

Des ran over. "How's Tony?" he asked meekly.

"Absolutely disastrous. He even asked me where he was."

Des' reaction was the same as Fleming's, as he turned around and swore.

"I suspect that it was caused by the impact of the collision."

"Gary, is the situation dire?" Des bit his lips and wore a serious expression on his face.

"I don't know. It may be good, or it may be bad." Fleming shook his head.

"What does that mean?"

"If we're lucky, it is only short-term memory loss, and he will be able to recover after a short rest. In the worst case scenario... do you still need me to say it?"

Des waved his hand, signaling that he understood Fleming's words. "Then, what do you think we should do now? Send him to the hospital? The match is still going on, and we are behind; we need him to give directions for the match." As he said this, he turned around and glanced at Tony Twain, only to shockingly discover that he was slowly walking towards the players' passage.

"Hey!" Des quickly left Fleming behind and ran forward to stop his colleague.

"Tony, where are you going?" Amidst the noisy environment, Des shouted at the top of his lungs, but only managed to achieve the effect of a whisper.

Twain turned around and looked at Des blankly. The look in his eyes sent a chill to Des' heart. At that moment, the golden rays of the sunset shone brightly, yet Des was unable to see any reflection of it in his eyes.

"Tony, where are you going?" Des asked again.

"I....I don't know…. perhaps.... go home..." Twain muttered as he tried to break free from Des' hand.

Fleming also ran over from the side and said, "Tony, you cannot go home. We are in the middle of the match, and you are the manager. You have to direct the team!"

The tussling of the three people near the entrance of the passageway drew the attention of the reserves from both teams, as well as that of the audience. Some of the players on the field were even stealing glances of them.

Twain suddenly smiled. "I am the manager?" This is too absurd, how can I be the manager... Although I am a football fan, and I regularly play a football manager game, how could I be the manager? This must be a dream, and a darned nightmare at that! "Alright, alright, you are...?" he looked at Des and asked.

As though it was the first time both of them had met, Fleming introduced from the side, "He is Des, Des Walker. Former center back for the England national. He just retired from the team last season, and now he is your colleague, your assistant."

Twain nodded his head and said to Des, "Alright, now you will direct the match on my behalf. I am going to rest." After which, he shrugged off Des' hands, paying no heed to the loud jeering noises and the two dumbfounded people, and walked into the passageway.

Fleming looked at Twain's figure, and then looked at Des Walker.

Walker sighed deeply and turned around. "There's no way we can win this match!"

Twain sat in the passageway with his back leaned against the walls as he stared blankly at his surroundings. The white wall opposite him had a large logo. Below the red-colored giant "mushrooms" were three wave-like curves, and further below was a single word: Forest.

Where am I? What is happening? I just drank a little bit too much and fought with two idiots who launched a sneak attack on me. And then... How did I get here? And who were those high-bridge-nosed and blue-pupiled people who were spouting that incomprehensible language? Am I dreaming? Or watching a movie?

Twain rubbed the back of his head. There was still a slight pain.

That son of a gun attacked me from behind!

Twain continued cursing as he grimaced in pain.

He was a football fan who liked to drink alcohol occasionally and watch football matches in crowded places, for instance, bars.... Recently, the team he supported was on a no-win streak, either tied or lost. As he was already in a bad mood, faced with the provocation from two football fans from the opposing team, his bad temper and the influence of the alcohol caused them to break out into a fight. He was completely fearless, despite fighting against two people. However, there was nothing he could do about the other party's underhanded ways. While one person attracted his attention, the other had stealthily snuck up behind him and struck his head hard with a bat.

After that, he opened his eyes only to discover himself in a noisy environment and knocked down to the ground by a dark-skinned man. Other people were saying things he did not understand—he could understand each and every word they were saying, but could not comprehend their meaning. He felt as though his brain had been torn into two. One half was familiar with this environment, while the other half was restless and at a loss for what to do.

"What's my name?" He muttered to himself, before covering his mouth. Only at this moment did he realize that he was actually speaking the so-called incomprehensible language—English.

"Son of a gun, what is happening?" This time around, the words were spoken in his native language.

Twain was going crazing. He had discovered that within his now two brains, there seemed to be two completely different trains of thought. One moment, it would cause him to believe he was the Englishman, "Tony Twain"; the next moment, he would think of himself as a Chinese man from the Sichuan Province named "Tang En."

He knocked his burning head against the wall, finally allowing it to cool down slightly. He began to close his eyes and search carefully. Following this, he began to realized that he was at a football field at City Ground. The match that was going on outside was a normal English Division One match between Walsall and Nottingham Forest. That team was under his charge.

Twain, who finally understood where he was, was yet again at a loss. This was too unbelievable, so much so that his overloaded brain stopped responding. He squatted in the players' passageway and opposite him was Team Nottingham's logo. Outside was filled with loud jeers. Yet, all these seemed to not have anything to do with him anymore.

The incident was replayed on the news.

"....This is the scene which transpired in City Ground this afternoon. Team Nottingham Forest's substitute manager, Tony Twain, was standing on the sideline when he was knocked over by one of his players, following which, he fell into a short period of comatose. When he regained consciousness, he walked straight into the players' passageway. On his behalf, Des Walker continued to direct the rest of the match, and attended the post-match press conference. However, Walker refused to divulge any information regarding manager Tony Twain."

Where was Tang En at the moment?

He was at home, looking at himself in front of the mirror.

Compared to the neighboring houses which were brightly lit and filled with sounds of laughter, Twain's house was as gloomy as an old haunted castle. It was eight o'clock in the evening, yet his house was pitch-black, without any lights turned on. Borrowing the dim light from the street lamps, Twain stood in the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. What greeted his eyes was a westerner who possessed a high-bridged nose, a pair of blue eyes, and brown hair.

In actuality, Tang En, who came from the Sichuan Province in China, was only 26 years old, and yet the person in the mirror had wrinkles on his forehead! Thirty-four years old! That was Tony Twain's age. Before this, Tang En had already been forced to accept yet another fact: the current year was not 2007, in which he had picked a fight with someone. Instead, it was January 1st, 2003. The price to pay for accepting this fact was the torn New Year's wall calendar which had the full Nottingham team picture from the 02-03 season on it.

Not only did he possess an Englishman's body without an apparent reason, but he had travelled back in time four years and three months!

Although he had never thought of himself as suave, or someone who could receive the adoration of various females, at least he had been looking at the same face for 26 years. He hadn't grown the least bit tired of it. Now, he had to accept a different him, along with a different face. This was vexing.

"Who the heck is this person?!" he shouted towards the mirror. He broke it with a punch. His reflection instantly shattered into countless broken pieces and crashed to the floor. Countless faces stared at Tang En as if they were mocking him.

Tang En felt slightly giddy as he took a step backwards. He was panting heavily as he leaned against the wall.

Why did this happen to me?

Amidst the darkness, Tang En remained silent for a few minutes before regaining his composure. He had decided not to think too much about these overly complicated questions. Back in China, he had the habit of finding a place to drink whenever he was met with troubling matters. In Chengdu City, bars were easily found everywhere, and he could even land himself a one-night stand occasionally. Out of sheer habit, he treated Nottingham as Chengdu City and decided to find a bar to drink his sorrows away. He could not be bothered with his current status.

Looking at the overcast sky, he put on a windbreaker before heading out.

"Losing in its own home match to Walsall with a score of 0:3, this has indeed not been a smooth-sailing year for Team Nottingham Forest. Despite the high hopes placed on him, Paul Hart was not able to bring favorable results to the team. As such, he tendered his letter of resignation to the chairman of the football club, Nigel Doughty, after the previous rounds of matches. His resignation was accepted shortly after. Today was the first time that the substitute manager, Tony Twain, was set to direct the team. Who would have expected that he would be injured by his own player on the sideline? Let's look at the footage. He seems the be momentarily stunned and forgot to dodge..."

The television, which was placed on the tall racks, was broadcasting the day's sports news. Naturally, the focal point would be on the happenings during Team Nottingham's match.

A wave of jeers was heard throughout the noisy bar.

"I've never seen such a disgraceful manager!" a drunk burly man said as he pointed a middle finger toward the television set. "That Tony Twain, I know of him! He is the prat who used to be Paul Hart's assistant at the youth team. Frankly, I don't have much of an impression of him. A man of few words and looks like a timid person. Surely it isn't possible to rely on such a coward to get Team Nottingham out of their predicament? Nigel, that old fogey, is also not as ambitious as he used to be. Nottingham is done for! Done for, done...." He chanted as he lay flat on the table. Beside him, the area was full of empty bottles littered around thoughtlessly.

Right as the drunk finished his speech, Tang En happened to push open the door and entered. The sound of the moving door attracted a great amount of attention from the people inside. Turning their gazes toward the door, when they saw the identity of the person who had just entered, they were shocked at first, but their shock was soon replaced with teasing smiles.

"Hehe, look who's here!" A classic middle-aged Englishman raised his glass and stood up, announcing loudly, "Our manager Tony Twain has arrived!"

"Woo woo!" The people in the bar made sarcastic welcoming jeers.

"Let's cheer for his beautiful blocking of Johnson off the field!" The middle-aged man raised his glass in the air, while the rest of the surrounding people followed suit. "Cheers!"

Another man who had obviously had too much to drink stood up unsteadily and walked up to Tang En. Extending the beer bottle in his hands to Twain's mouth, he belched and asked, "Manager Twain, that was beautiful defense. However, the head referee and the audience apparently don't... don't think that way... burp! You, what do you think about this?"

After he finished asking, he turned around and started laughing, along with the rest of the people in the bar.

Tang En did not want to start trouble, as he was only there to drink his sorrows away. As such, he gloomily pushed away the beer bottle before him, walked straight to the bar counter, and said to the bartender inside, "Can I have a..." Out of pure habit, he wanted to ask for a bottle of "Small Er"—a small bottle of Erguotou. Although he was from Sichuan Province, he had attended a university in Northern China. It was during that time when he began liking this kind of hard liquor. However, he realized that he did not know the English equivalent of "Small Er." More importantly, it struck him that he was currently in England and not China. Lowering his head, he cursed and swore a few times, before he changed his wording, "Give me your strongest hard liquor."

Hearing his order, the people who had been observing him broke out into laughter.

"Yo! Scaredy cat Tony actually dares to drink liquor?!"

"We have freshly squeezed milk instead. Do you want to try that? I still think that milk suits you better, Tony!" a fat person said, as he squeezed his obviously drooping breasts with both his hands. Hearing that, the surrounding people broke into laughter, pounding on their tables.

Faced with these rowdy customers, the young bartender was at a slight loss for what to do. As he wanted to get the liquor, he had been stopped by the drunkards' call. "Get him fruit juice! Fruit Juice!"

"No, no, it should be milk; we have the freshest milk!"

"Ah ha ha!"

The owner of the bar was alarmed by the loud noises and came down the stairs. Standing at the base of the stairs, he saw that, aside from those who were asleep on the tables, almost all of the remaining customers had surrounded the bar counter. Seated in the middle was a man covered in a black windbreaker from head to toe. He was being made fun of by the drunkards.

"Guys, what's going on?" His loud voice momentarily caused the bar to quiet down. The drunks, who were still very arrogant up until moments ago, instantly quieted down upon seeing the person standing behind them.

Tang En felt that this was strange; what kind of person could this be to have the ability to make this bunch of rowdy people behave themselves? He turned his head slightly and saw a person's silhouette walking out from the staircase.

The young bartender frantically pointed at Tang En, and said, "Boss, he wants some hard liquor."

After realizing Tony Twain was in his bar, the owner was slightly shocked. However, he still said, "Then give it to him."

"But...but they won't let me." The bartender looked embarrassedly at the drunkards, who had already returned to their seats.

The man looked around the bar, but the people who entered his line of sight either averted their eyes and pretended to sleep, or lowered their heads and continued drinking. Tang En gradually became more intrigued by this capable and experienced middle-aged man.

"I don't see anyone that has any objections. Pour him a scotch whisky; my treat." The bar owner turned his head toward Twain and asked, "Single or double? Any ice or water for you?"

Tang En asked in shock, "On the rocks?"

The drunks who were watching from the side started bursting out in laughter.

Even the bar owner laughed. "I forgot what kind of person you are." He filled half of the glass with a golden yellow whisky and added half a glass of water, after which, he delivered to Tang En. "This is my hometown specialty."

Twain drank one mouthful and immediately started coughing. He rarely drank western liquor. Moreover, this pure scotch whisky had a rich, charred taste.

The bar was filled with gloating laughter.

"The Tony Twain that I knew never drank alcohol. He lived as though he was a traditional puritan. Moreover, he would never look at me with the kind of look that you had. Don't you know who I am?" The man stared at him, and Tang En realized that he had been completely seen through by this man. He had no choice but to come up with a method to cover up for himself.

"Erm… I..." Tang En lowered his head and took another sip. This time he did not dare to let the alcohol stop in his throat and directly gulped it down. The unbearable feeling had definitely been alleviated. "I fell down on the sideline this afternoon."

Yet another roar of laughter.

The man touched the back of his head, signaling that he understood.

Someone from the side helped break Tang En out of his predicament and said loudly, "Looks like our manager Twain really injured his head! The person seated beside you is Team Nottingham Forest's pride, two-time European Cup Championship valued player, 1978 recipient of the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award, Mr. Kenny Burns. He is a hundred times stronger than an idiot like you! Idiot! You are an idiot!"

Although Tang En was thankful for this detailed introduction to the big shot before him, it did not mean that he would have to accept such humiliation. When a person first enters an unfamiliar environment, it is common for him to become easily anxious and irritated. This unknown irritation in his heart had been accumulating since his disgraceful display that day. Although he had endured the humiliation when he first entered the bar, it did not mean that he could continue to do so. Moreover, he was no pushover. When he was in China, he had been a bad-tempered and rash teenager. If not for that, he would not have time-travelled after getting into a fight...

The person behind him laughed loudly as he continued to say, "Idiot! Idiot!" completely defenseless against the target of ridicule. Tang En forcefully splashed the remaining half glass of liquor at him. The golden scotch whisky, under the bright light, glistened dazzlingly as it drew a beautiful arc in midair, before accurately splashing directly on the unlucky person's face — as precise as a David Beckham right-legged free kick.

After getting his face splashed with liquor, the target stood up, wiped the liquor from his face, and scolded, "You b*stard..."

Bang! His vulgarities had been smashed with a solid wine glass, as Tang En lunged at him at an unimaginable speed, together with the wine glass. He could no longer hold back his temper. Being brought here, travelling back in time for four-and-a-half years, being ridiculed and humiliated, all these without rhyme or reason... He wanted to immediately release his anger on somebody, regardless of whether he was the one hitting or being hit.

The two of them knocked into the table behind them, causing the empty beer bottles to crash onto the floor.

The sounds of laughter immediately stopped, as all the people present were momentarily stunned. They had not expected Tony Twain, who had been considered a coward only moments ago, to suddenly explode.

The first person to react was the bar owner, Kenny Burns. Pushing away the fat guy who was standing beside the bar counter, he shouted, "What are you doing standing there? Go break up the fight!"

This voice snapped everyone out of their shock, as they rushed forward to pull apart the two people who were already entangled. Apart from the miserable state of the floor, the man with whisky in his face was now bleeding profusely from his forehead. A red-colored sphere appeared there, which was indeed the mark of the wine glass. Aside from that, his left cheek had taken a punch, and it appeared as if it was the flush from being drunk.

Tang En, on the other hand, besides having his hair and clothes messed up, was completely fine. After being pulled away, he appeared to have finished venting all of his anger, as he did not resist the fight being broken up. After tidying his clothes and hair, he turned towards the unlucky person and spat. "I don't care who you are—don't mess with me."

He then turned around and said to Burns, "I'm very sorry to have caused such a mess at your place. Today is just too damn..." The sheer thought of him travelling back in time made him furious. "I will personally come and apologize another day. As for the compensations, you also need not worry about it."

After the speech, not waiting for the bar owner to respond, Tang En turned around and walked toward the entrance. As he walked past the fatty, he said sarcastically, "You should save the milk for yourself, fatso."

Everyone watched as he pushed open the door and exited, and nobody thought of holding him back. Just like that, they watched him leave behind a mess.

The bar was completely silent. At that moment, the drunkard sat up on the table and looked at the quiet bunch of people alongside the mess. Confused, he asked, "Did I miss out on anything?"

Dejected, Tang En walked aimlessly, passing by street after street. Even he did not know where he was. Feeling tired, he sat down on a long bench. Even though he had just gotten into a fight, his mood had not improved. Instead, it had made him even more vexed. That was because he realized that he could only helplessly resign himself to the reality that he had become an Englishman, with no hope of returning to his former body.

This darned sky. He raised his head and looked at the skies. Aside from the thick, dark clouds, he could not see anything. He still could not understand why it had to happen to him. If this was fate's arrangement for him, then was there a special reason that it had chosen him? Or was it that fate had randomly picked out a person, just like China's welfare lottery randomly picked a ping-pong ball from a mountain of ping-pong balls. Whoever was chosen had to resign to his unluckiness.

I don't want to be a darned manager! I don't want to be a westerner! Let me go back, let me go back! Could Tang En shout like this? No. In Tang En's 26 years of life, he had never bowed his head to anybody or anything. He was as stubborn and as annoying as a clogged toilet. Therefore, he had no accomplishments to his name, and had always been regarded by his primary school teacher as the student most difficult to teach and manage. In university, as he was not well-liked, he was never a part of any club activities or other extracurriculars. Even after graduation, he had been ostracized by his colleagues, and he had not even had a girlfriend before... In summary, his 26 years had been an utter failure.

Tang En raised his head yet again and looked at the pitch-black night sky. He suddenly came to terms with his current situation. Since his "previous life" was extremely disastrous, why not take this chance to live a life that was different? Although he had not assumed the position of a football manager before, he had watched over a decade of football, and played every series of football Manager. As such, he more or less had some understanding of what a manager's job entailed. Was this not a good opportunity for him to take on a challenge?

He no longer thought about lame questions like why the heavens had chosen him. Now, he only had to think about how to be more like a professional football manager. Even though this would be extremely tough, it was worth a shot.

"Hey, dude. You dare barge into my house without my permission. If by the count of ten, if you don't leave, I'll call the cops!" An aged voice suddenly came from the side. "One, two, three..."

Twain looked blankly at the old man standing opposite him. Hugging a lot of newspapers, he held on to a half-eaten burger.

"This... is your house?" He pointed at the long bench which he was seated on.

"Of course."

"Ah, I'm sorry for the intrusion..." After Twain stood up from the bench, the other party immediately sat down, and soon after, laid down. Afterwards, he placed a layer of newspaper on the bench before covering his body with more newspaper.

Seeing the beggar who had eaten his burger contently while resting in a "newspaper nest", Tang En had to thank the heavens for not giving him beggar's body. It appeared that fate had not treated him poorly.

Seeing that a cab stopped before him to let its passenger out, Tang En immediately rushed up and entered the cab. Glancing one last time at the beggar who was enjoying his dinner amidst the cold winds, he asked the driver to deliver him back to that unfamiliar house.

From now on, an entirely new world would unfold before Tang En's eyes.

Chapter 2: Chairman Doughty

Tang En did not manage to sleep well for the entire night.

Away from his familiar bed, he tossed and turned on the more spacious bed. His head was filled with various absurd dreams. In his dreams, he saw that he was full of vigor, carrying a travel bag as he stood in front of City Ground's entrance. Afterwards, he stood beside a green and lush football field. Beside him was a middle-aged man with more than 10 young football players surrounding them as they listened attentively. That middle-aged man appeared in his dreams several times, and each time he did, Twain's body stood beside him without uttering a single word, like a statue. After that, he was back at that lush green football field again. However, this time, the middle-aged man had disappeared. Instead, it was his turn to be surrounded by the group of young football players, as he said something to them. And then, the scenery changed. He saw a familiar scene—the football field which he was at that day. A middle-aged man stood beside him as usual. As he directed the match in his trim suit, Twain continued to remain silent. The dreams kept changing, and the man beside him also became increasingly hot-tempered and irritable. Until finally one day, there was no one beside Twain. Instead, an old man stood before him and patted him on the shoulders. His mouth seemed to be saying something, but unfortunately, nothing could be heard.

And then... Tang En woke up.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the sky was still dark. Outside the windows, the sounds of pattering rain could be heard. He sat up in his bed, and his eyes gradually grew accustomed to the dark room. Looking at the completely unfamiliar furnishings in the house, he still had some doubt about coming to England just like that. He even became a football manager, albeit just a substitute one... He rubbed his face with his hands, in order to make himself sober up, after which, Tang En jumped out of bed and pulled open the tightly shut curtains.

Outside the house it was daybreak, and there were not many people on the streets. The wet ground reflected the lights from the streetlamps and from the cars. It was raining.

This kind of weather made him think about his hometown, a small city in Sichuan Province. It was also a city where it rained frequently. Regardless of whether it was summer or winter, it was always wet. Seeing this kind of morning, a slight cordial feeling bloomed in his heart.

Feeling slightly cold, Twain realized that he was still only wearing his underpants. He quickly put on his clothes and went to the bathroom to wash up.

The place where manager Tony Twain was staying was a place called Branford Gardens. It was a very common residential area called Wilford District, located at the south bank of the Trent River. The home was a very common red brick house in England with a small garden. For a single person like Twain, the house was considered fairly large. However, its size was definitely not considered large in Nottingham. The rent was very cheap, and the most important thing was that it was very near to Team Nottingham's training ground and youth training camp. Walking in the northeast direction for 20 minutes, one would be able to see the gates of the training ground, hidden amidst the forest.

After washing up, Twain decided to go to the kitchen and find something to eat.

Only when he walked to the refrigerator did he notice that the door was filled with paper notes. Upon opening the door, he found a carton of milk and a piece of bread. Then, he simply stood in front of the refrigerator and read the notes while he ate his plain breakfast.

The most eye-catching one was an A4-sized form. Tang En felt dizzy after looking at the content.

6:30 - 7:00, Morning run.

7:00 - 7:20, Breakfast.

7:00 - 7.40, Read newspaper.

7:40 - 8:00 Go to training venue (Remark: for match days, other arrangements)

This was a very detailed day-to-day work-rest planner, and the time allocation was precise to the very minute with a large amount of remarks. From the second that he opened his eyes in the morning, this planner was carried out faithfully, until he once again lay on his bed and closed his eyes to sleep.

"Darned OCD!" To the lazy Tang En, the method of planning out one's daily life and splitting it into segments down to the minute and filling them in with concrete details was simply a living torture. From the moment his eyes' opened, his daily activities had been planned out, doing a specific thing at a specific time, and doing some other specific thing during another specific time. This was done to the extent that he even included a specific time slot for the toilet, inside his timetable, showing his ordered habits. Tang En finally understood the reason why Kenny Burns, from the day before, was shocked at the fact that he drank liquor—the old Tony Twain was one hundred percent workaholic through and through, without any emotional appeal, completely unaware of how to enjoy life, and was an inflexible, stubborn machine.... For this kind of person to live to be a 34-year-old was simply a miracle!

Around this white planner, there were also some yellow, green, and red little strips of notes pasted. Different contents were written on each of them. The yellow ones were memos which reminded him when he had any meetings. The green ones were the contact details which he took down on a whim. There were not many of these green notes, hence it seemed that these contact details were ultimately transferred into Twain's personal phone book. The red ones made up the majority of them. They were important arrangements for the day, and there was one for every day. Tang En continued scanning through the refrigerator line-by-line, and he finally found a red note which was pasted the morning before.

Aside from the date, there was only one line of words written on it:

"This first league one match I'm coaching as manager must be won!!!"

After seeing so many memos left behind by Twain, this was still the first time he saw him use an exclamation point to hint at strong feelings, and he'd used three of them at that.

Looking at the hastily and messily written words on the red piece of paper, it was unlike the rest of the memos. Twain could even imagine what kind of expression and actions that person was making, when he was writing that sentence. He must have clenched his fist tightly, gritted his teeth, full of anticipation and fighting spirit when he used his entire body's worth of strength to write this vow.

A pity... Tang En recalled what was reported in the news the day before. Team Nottingham Forest had lost 0:3 pitifully in their home ground to the weak Team Walsall. Was it his sudden appearance which snatched his victory away? Tang En wondered as he stared blankly at the refrigerator door pasted full of paper notes.

He must have come up with a comprehensive plan and told his own players the day before the match. But what use was there? The match was still lost. There was a Chinese saying that went like this: Plans always fall behind changes.

One by one, Twain extended his hand and removed the notes on the refrigerator door. In the end, it was only left with the red note which had the words "must be won" written on it. Afterwards, he chucked the notes and milk carton into the garbage can and clapped his hands as he left the kitchen.

When he returned to his bedroom, the daylight was already very bright. Although it was still raining, the number of pedestrians and cars on the roads had gradually increased.

Recalling that he had to go to the training ground at eight o' clock, Tang En lowered his head and checked his watch. It was just 7:40.

No matter how terrible and absurd reality was, Tang En had become Tony Twain. Being his replacement, he naturally had to do his work. Tang En was not an irresponsible person. Moreover, whenever he watched football, that was not a time which he thought that victory could be obtained without any effort. He put on his overcoat and grabbed a black umbrella near the door before he pushed open the door and walked into the rain.

Team Nottingham Forest's training ground was also in Wilford District. The east-flowing Trent River made a quick 'N' shape turn, clearing out a large plot of flat land. One century ago, this place was still a big plot of fertile cultivated land and forest. Nottingham was only a small plot of land located at the south bank of the river. Today, the city's development had passed by the Trent River. It had already become a considerably large scale residential area, and Nottingham Forest Football Club had bought a portion of it to build its own training facility.

The narrow and long training ground had been separated into two by a small alley called "Wilford Lane." The Northern side was slightly bigger and was the training ground for the youth team. This youth team training camp was one of the top few youth training camps in all of England. On the other hand, the slightly smaller southern side was the training ground for the first team, also known as "Wilford."

England's rain in the winter was not heavy, but very annoying, as it hardly stopped. Tang En felt helpless. After all, regardless of whether he was in his hometown or the city he moved to after graduation, it did not stop raining once winter came.

The training ground's guard, Ian Macdonald, looked at the drenched Tony Twain with a puzzled look. "Tony, what are you here for?"

Tang En felt that his question was slightly ridiculous. "For training, of course."

Macdonald replied, "But Tony, today is January 2nd, 2003. The football teams have gone on a vacation, New Year's vacation."

Tang En patted his head, as he had forgotten about it.

Seeing him pat his head, Macdonald lightly shook his head. He must have thought that Twain's head was slightly off as a result of the incident the day before.

"I was thinking, it is so, so quiet here. Happy New Year." Twain awkwardly smiled at Macdonald before turning around to leave. At that moment, he also saw a dark red colored Audi A6, stopped beside him.

The back door was opened, and a plump old man appeared from within. Tang En's subconscious mind was telling him that that person was his boss, the football team's chairman, Mr. Nigel Doughty. The next person to alight and follow suit was a middle-aged man. He was around the same age as Twain, tall and experienced-looking. Wearing a casual jacket, he held an umbrella in his hand, mostly sheltering the chairman's head.

Doughty saw Twain who was standing by the road, and automatically extended both of his arms to hug Twain. "Tony, I saw yesterday's news. Forgive me for not calling you, my son just came back from America to visit me. Are you alright?"

Twain was slightly shocked at the boss' attitude towards him, and replied frantically. "I think I should be... alright. Thank you, Mr. Chairman."

Nigel let go of Twain and said to him as he pointed at the middle-aged man standing beside him, "My son, Edward."

Edward Doughty extended his hands of his own accord, "Hello, pleased to meet you. Mr. Coach..."

His father beside him interrupted him, "Edward, I've said it many times. Don't call him 'coach', you have to say 'manager'. We are in England, not America."

Edward smiled apologetically at Twain, "Sorry, Mr. Manager."

Tang En also extended his hands, "No worries. I'm also pleased to meet you, Mr. Doughty."

Chairman Doughty interjected from the side once again, "My son just returned from America. He has been staying there since he was young, and has become unfamiliar with England. He is now an 'American' who grew up watching the NBA."

Toward this kind of sarcasm, Edward could only smile helplessly. He did not attempt to argue.

Standing before him was the boss who paid his salary, Tang En recalled from the red note on the refrigerator. He felt that he had to explain the defeat from yesterday, even if he had to lie. "Er, Mr. Chairman, regarding yesterday's defeat, I am terribly sorry..."

Unexpectedly, his boss patted his shoulder lightly, and instead began comforting him. "Tony, I also don't like to lose, but this is not a responsibility that you should shoulder yourself. These two seasons..." At this point, Doughty gazed into the horizon with his somewhat troubled eyes and muttered a mouth of vulgarities, after which, he retracted his gaze. "Do a great job and don't think too much. I won't give you any pressure. Happy New Year, Tony." He lightly patted Twain's shoulder before turning around with his son to enter the team's training ground.

Tang En stood at the door and saw the chairman's stooping figure. Beside him was his son, Edward, who was supporting and sheltering him with an umbrella. Seeing this, he could not express himself with words. What exactly were the feelings he had? He had readily accepted the fact that he had become a football manager, but he was unable to emotionally accept this team within a day's time. He did not have much of an understanding regarding Nottingham Forest, aside from the fact that it had a glorious past. He also was not a fan of Team Nottingham Forest.

However, the pat on his shoulder from the chairman, made him feel a sense of warmth in his heart. As a "foreigner", this kind of warmth was extremely precious to him. He had made up his mind to do his job well, to his fullest capability. Not merely out of spite from those bunch of drunkards, but also to not let down Mr. Doughty's trust in him—even if he does not know that the person he was trusting was not the Tony Twain who he was familiar with.

"Happy New Year, old man..."

After leaving Wilford training ground, Tang En strolled aimlessly through the streets. The rain had already stopped, so he might as well have used the umbrella as a walking stick.

There were several times more pedestrians on the road than when he had just left the house. It was a given, seeing that it was a public holiday. Everyone roamed the streets and played with their friends. It was New Year's after all. However, this kind of festive mood did not belong to Tang En, as the current him was not in the mood to enjoy the festival.

He felt that it was strange that he could read and understand every English word as though he was born with this ability. He was as familiar with this country's language as he was with Chinese, as well as some other life skills. However, he had forgotten some other important things.

As though there was a lapse in his memories, he could not remember how Tony Twain trained the team, nor how he came up with the battle tactics. He was also not very sure of his human relations with the other people from the club, his influence, or his reputation. As such, he could not understand why Chairman Doughty was so cordial to him. It was only in spurts that those lost memories would resurface and stop in his mind for a very short moment, before once again disappearing.

However, he knew what kind of person Tony Twain was in the past. He was well-behaved, a man of few words, serious in his work and a hardworking, steadfast person. In terms of his private life, he was like an ascetic monk. He neither smoked nor drank, and did not have much experience in love. He had never visited places of promiscuity, and had only rested at home aside from work. He was like the giant dull clock at London Bridge, conscientiously and inflexibly making each and every sound. He loved silence, and the only thing which could be considered his pastime was putting on his headphones and listening to classical music in his room.

After fishing out some relevant information of Tony Twain in his mind, Tang En could not help but exclaim, "Damn! This is simply someone who lived in the middle ages. He's so boring! How can there still be someone like this in the world?!"

Twain came up with a conclusion on his own. The current body which he possessed did not belong to him. It belonged to someone from the middle ages, called "Tony Twain." As such, he possessed the natural instincts that allowed him to be familiarized with the English lifestyle. At the same time, his heart as Tang En was beating inside this body, so he possessed a character that was completely different from the instincts of this body.

Now that he thought about it, he still had to thank that disgraceful experience of the day before. Now that everyone knew about his head injury, he would not have to worry about anyone having any suspicions regarding Tony Twain's immense change in character.

Tired from all the walking, Twain sat down on a long bench by the street to rest. After that, he began to ponder seriously, what he had to do to become a successful manager, in order to not let down the chairman's hopes for him.

He pondered for half a day without any leads. He did not know how to train a football team, nor how to lead the team to victory. The Football Manager game he used to play was utterly useless in this situation. As for the Nottingham Forest players, he was also completely unfamiliar with them. At least, the current him was not familiar. He could not gesticulate like he was used to when he would watch the rebroadcast on television and make comments like, "The manager should send this guy out,""move that player to the left side,""let that person assist actively…" Faced with an entirely unfamiliar football team, Twain was unable to comment no matter how much football he watched.

The worse thing was, there was not much time left for him to make preparation. The team was on break for one day, and they would re-assemble the next day in preparation for the third match of the English FA Cup on the 4th. Their opponent would be West Ham, which came from the Premier League.

Now that Team Nottingham Forest had suffered three consecutive losses in the English FA Cup, and the newly appointed manager had become a laughingstock in the telecast, their morale was at an all-time low. Although West Ham did not have an impressive record in the Premier League, they were still much stronger than Team Nottingham Forest.

Twain laughed bitterly. "When it rains, it pours...If this is what fate has in store for me, then I can only say: what a piece of shit you are!"

The vexed Twain raised his head and saw a rather large-scale bar around the corner of the opposite street. Looking at the English words 'Pub' written on it, he decided to go inside and have a drink, temporarily tossing aside his woes.

"Travelling to England is also not without its good points, at least there are bars all over the place." Tang En muttered to himself as he crossed the road, pushing open the reddish-brown door.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, a middle-aged man behind the bar counter in the midst of wiping cups raised his head and said, "Sorry, it is still not operating hours. I forgot to hang the sign on the door..." However, when he saw who the person was, he was stunned.

Tang En was also stunned, because he recognized who that person was. That was the person who had treated him to a drink the day before —Kenny Burns. The day before, he had been immensely short-tempered, and messed up the bar. To think that he had come here yet again!

Tang En's immediate reaction was to return outside. He raised his head, looked at the sign board before entering, and looked around the bar. He could not help but scoff, "How the heck did I even walk here?"

Burns looked at him with a slight interest and said, "Looks like that accident caused our Tony Twain to have a change in character."

That was a good opportunity for Tang En to extricate himself from an awkward position. Following the flow, he replied, "I know, the past him... Er, I did not swear and was as gentle as a woman. Still not open? Then I'll move on to another..." Just as he was about to leave, Burns' hearty laughter resounded from behind him.

"Don't waste your efforts. There won't be any bars that are open before 11:30 in the morning."

Twain turned around embarrassingly and said, "I… I rarely come, so I don't know."

"Not rarely, today is only your second time in a bar. I've said before, you used to live like the purest puritan. You don't mind me talking to you like this, right?"

Tang En shook his head. He was an atheist and was not religious. As such, he did not care about which religious camp people thought he was in.

Burns walked out from the bar counter and waved toward Twain who was standing by the door. "Since you're already here, don't leave. In any case, I am rather bored alone. How about chatting with me? Of course, my treat."

It just so happened that Tang En was also looking for someone to talk to. Blinking his eyes a few times, Twain asked, "The purest scotch whisky?"

Burns laughed out loud and replied, "That's right, from my hometown, the most authentic scotch whisky! But please don't press a wine glass against my face."

"Ah! That incident...My sincere apologies."

"It's alright. It is common for fights to occur in bars. It is easy to become excited after a few drinks, especially when it comes to football matches..." Burns nodded his head to express that he understood.

Chapter 3: Tony Twains Past

As it had not opened yet, the lights inside the bar were still off. The windows were half-covered by the curtains outside. That was where the ray of light came from, slightly brightening up the dimly-lit room.

This kind of environment was not optimized for reading books or newspapers, but in reality, the two people in the bar did not need to read them. One was behind the bar counter, while the other was seated on the bar stool on the other side. In front of them, there were two thick glasses, and inside was filled with a golden yellow liquor.

This kind of quiet and dimly-lit environment was, however, optimal for chatting.

"Tony, do you know? Your performance last night was really an eye-opener, and shocked me," Burns said as he refilled the glass that was already empty.

"Oh?" After drinking five glasses of strong whisky consecutively, even an experienced drinker like Tang En was slightly drunk.

"You've been here for seven years already, and I saw you when you first entered. You were still very young at that time. I have never seen you quarrel with anyone, and your temper was not bad, despite being slightly eccentric. Despite that, you always greeted others with a smile. That bunch of guys yesterday was all drunk. If they were sober, they would not have said such things to you. But I didn't expect you to react so strongly...your moves were unlike those of a football manager."

Tang En laughed bitterly, as he did not expect that the previous him was still regarded as a nice guy by other people. "Perhaps you're not wrong... but I don't really remember..." Tang En pretended as he touched the back of his head, revealing a pained expression. "I... forgot many things." He discovered that he really did have a knack for acting. "I don't remember how I used to train the team, so I feel very unfamiliar with Team Nottingham Forest. The match is only the day after tomorrow, but I don't know how I should lead them..."

Tang En painfully buried his head in between his arms. He discovered that he was already very immersed in his role. It not only applied to the current pretense before him, but also as the substitute manager of Team Nottingham.

Looking at Twain's painful expression as he lay on the table, Burns also felt that things were more serious than he expected. "Do you mean to say... you have completely forgotten how to be a manager?"

"You can put it that way," Tang En said with his head lowered.

"That is really terrible. Does old man Doughty know about your situation?"

"I didn't tell him," Tang En shook his head.

Burns lightly tapped his fingers on the bar counter, as if he was thinking about a countermeasure.

Twain raised his head and looked at him. "Kenny, could you tell me how I carried out my duties as a manager in the past?"

Burns clapped his hands and said, "This is a great idea. Perhaps you could recall some of these things from knowing the past you. Hmm, let me think, you came to Team Nottingham Forest seven years ago..."

football fans tended to use football as a measurement of time, and they carved unique marks in it. Afterwards, when they recalled a certain year, they would not say what they were doing at that time, perhaps because they didn't even remember. However, they would be able to clearly and confidently tell you what happened in the football industry which year, which important competition was held, which players shocked the world with their performances, which players left the scene quietly, which players rose to fame, and even tell you some additional interesting gossip.

Tang En was such a person as well. In 2003, he had only been 23 years old, and freshly graduated from university. Tracing back seven years ago from there, Tang En was still a junior high school student in 1996. He did not remember what Tony Twain had done in that year, but he still remembered that summer. That was because the ninth UEFA Champions League was held in a grandiose manner during that summer in 1996, and the organizing country was England. Secretly staying up at night to watch football matches, Tang En spent his pocket money on sports newspapers the next day and flipped through multiple times to check for various information regarding the match from the day before.

During a time when the internet was still uncommon, and Chinese live telecast was still new, the ways in which he could obtain information were very limited. However, this did not stop him from completely falling in love with football from that time on. He knew about Gascoigne, even though he was already famous. He even knew about Bierhoff, who was regarded as a "new talent", despite being 28 years old already. Zidane, who later became a recipient of the Ballon d'Or award, also became famous that year. He also knew many other people who had accompanied him for the next ten years, from junior high school to high school, then to university, and even after he stepped out into the society. Among them, there were some who had already retired before Tang En's time travel, while some were still fighting. The new talents from those times had already grown old. The mega stars from those times already left his line of sight, while some of the nobodies from that time had become the lead players on their teams. They encompassed Tang En's entire youth, and they were just like Tang En's friends, punctually accompanying him every weekend.

He did not know how to describe those feelings. Even though this person was stubborn and not well-liked, he could shed tears for a football player's retirement — of course, he would do that in a place where nobody could see.

As such, seven years before 2003, it was the first time he had tuned into large-scale football on the international level; it was the first time he had been attracted to football and become an avid follower. This was also the only interest that accompanied him throughout his life after that.

On the other end of the Earth, another young man who had a similar name to him experienced a turning point in his life. Born in a small town called Eastwood, the young man named Tony Twain left his hometown. Same as the other Twain, he loved football as well. However, due to family circumstances, his character changed greatly, and he no longer wished to stay in that hometown because it made him sad. As such, he decided to leave home to make a name for himself.

For a man of few words like Twain, what could he do? Wherever he went, it appeared as if he brought with him a gust of ominous wind. He was not well-liked by the people around him. Moreover, he did not know anything, aside from his love for football. Finally, God gave him a chance.

In the summer of 1996, England melted amidst a wave of fervor for football. The country, which had once closed itself off from the rest of the world, opened itself up once again. Located in the center of England, Nottingham Forest became the worldwide center of attraction. Having once experienced the pain of being relegated from the English Premier League in the 92-93 season, they returned to the English Premier League the following year. After which, they had a dream-like season and obtained an astonishing third place in the 94-95 season. They also qualified for the UEFA Champions League. After an 11-month hiatus, Team Nottingham Forest once again returned to the European football scene.

Still basking in its former glory in the European scene, Team Nottingham Forest was faced with a problem which all medium- and small-sized football clubs would face. Confronted with the temptation of money from big football clubs, they had traded their star, Stan Collymore, to Liverpool, at a price of ￡8.5 million. At the same time, they brought over a new Italian national football player, Andrea Silenzi. However, this transaction cost them a hefty ￡1.8million. When he was on Team Turin, this tall and big-boned Italian scored 17 goals and even became a national team player. However, nobody could have known that he would become Team Nottingham Forest's greatest joke that season.

It was around this time when Tony Twain came to Team Nottingham Forest. The club had some new personnel arrangement and was hiring some new staff. Just like that, Twain, who loved football, entered Team Nottingham Forest's training ground. His first job was a cleaner for the football field. However, Twain knew where his true post was, and he paid careful attention to the managers' job scope. He often listened carefully regarding their conversations with the players, and he began to think and learn about how to go about doing it. That year, he had only been 27 years old.

Team Nottingham Forest's effort that summer was ultimately reduced to nothing. After 11 years, they were already unable to match up to the European scene's tempo. Although they were able to enter the top eight in the Champions League, they had been utterly humiliated by the strong Bayern Munich, eliminated with a score of 7:2. At the same time, as they were participating in two different competitions, their results for the English League were also not up to expectations. After the season ended, they were only in 9th place.

The disappointed board of directors fired Manager Frank Clark, who brought the team back into the English Premier League. The already 34-year-old team captain who played left back, Stuart Pearce, became the substitute manager for the team. It was also in this year when Tony met the most important person in his life, Paul Hart. Team Nottingham Forest had poached him over from the Leeds United youth team to assume the position of the Team Nottingham Forest youth team's manager. He was the person who had repeatedly appeared in Twain's dreams.

Paul Hart was an exceptionally reputable youth team manager. When he was working for Leeds United Football Club, he had nurtured a batch of valuable players for the team: Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Harry Kewell... Looking at these dazzling names, these were all Manager Paul Hart's masterpieces.

Hart's arrival had changed Tony's life path. Hart, who was new to the team, lacked a trustworthy assistant. He happened to take a fancy to the forward-looking Tony Twain, who was willing to learn. As such he suggested to the club to offer Twain a new contract. From then on, Tony became Hart's assistant manager, one of the four assistant managers of Team Nottingham Forest's youth team, and he also stepped on the road to being a manager.

Hart valued Twain, who was serious, willing to learn and did not chatter needlessly. No matter the occasion, Hart would always bring him along. Tony had learned many things from this successful youth team manager.

While Team Nottingham Forest's youth training had always been among the better few in England, Paul Hart's arrival pushed it a notch higher. He had nurtured an excellent youth team for Team Nottingham Forest, and the most outstanding player of them all was a young lad named Jermaine Jenas.

The team had had a remarkable performance in the first half of the season, showing Pearce's ability as a manager. However, the board of directors made yet another foolish mistake. They did not prop up Pearce, but instead invited Bassett to co-coach with him. The division of power caused the team's strength to decline, which saw the inevitable relegation of the team to League One in that season.

After its relegation to League One, Team Nottingham Forest was taken over by the current club chairman, Nigel Doughty. He decided to place his trust in Bassett, who did not disappoint. After one year, Team Nottingham Forest managed to promote successfully. However, good times only lasted for a year, before Team Nottingham Forest was relegated once again in the 1999-2000 season, and Bassett was fired from his post. Doughty found David Platt to assume the role of team manager. However, the team had not been unable to recover from their setback since then, and was ultimately unable to return to the English Premier League. Instead, over the years, they gradually lost the sharpness and lofty position which they used to possess during the League One seasons.

Year 2001's summer saw Platt designated by the English Football Association as the manager of the English youth team. As a result, he gave up his position as Team Nottingham Forest's manager to Paul Hart, while Paul Hart gave up his position as the manager of the youth team to Tony Twain—Hart highly recommended him to Doughty, as he felt that Twain was a talent who could become a successful manager.

Jenas, who was highly valued by Hart, also joined the first team with him to fight for Team Nottingham Forest in League One.

Twain indeed had some level of skill, despite the fact that the achievement of the youth team was built upon the foundation left behind by Paul Hart. During his reign as the youth team manager, there were a few players who began to stand out on the youth team, and they soon became the center of attraction of the team. For instance, left midfielder Andy Reid, and team captain of the youth team, Michael Dawson became stars.

Tony Twain hoped that he could become a successful youth team manager just like Paul Hart. He enjoyed the feeling of discovering one or two treasures among a big group of children. The sense of accomplishment derived from seeing the puerile and tender grass growing up under his care to become towering trees was not in the slightest bit inferior to leading a team to attain victory in the UEFA Champions League.

However, his peaceful life had been changed three days prior.

Paul Hart was not a manager without standards. The reason the team made him the coach in the summer of 2001 was in the hopes that they could successfully rise back up to the English Premier League. For this, they invested huge amounts of money, and even took out bank loans for the team's reconstruction. From the media to the fans, everyone was filled with confidence toward this team's future. In the words of the Nottingham Evening Post, "This is a Premier League team that should not stay in League One." Their ability was exceptional; their goals were lofty.... However, all of these changed fundamentally because of a disaster just off the football pitch.

Prior to this, in response to Sky plc which telecasted the English Premier League, ITV had spent a huge amount of money to purchase the sole broadcast rights to various English cups aside from the English Premier League. However, the attractiveness of League One was unable to match that of the Premier League. As such, the television station invested a large amount of money, but did not manage to get back proportional returns, leaving the company in heavy debts. After that, it was finally unable to withstand the burden and declared bankruptcy.

When the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Overnight, countless football team bosses and managers from the lower tier teams found themselves strapped for cash, and they had incurred heavy debts. It turned out that spending a huge amount of money to sign star players had become the greatest burden to the team. Team Nottingham Forest's investment during the pre-season was the greatest, and was naturally the most impacted party in this financial crisis. After a failed season, in order to alleviate the financial crisis, they had no choice but to sell away the highest salaried players. This included the ambassador of English youth training levels, Jermaine Jenas. At a price of ￡5 million, he was transferred to Newcastle. At the same time, this marked the most expensive youth player transfer in football history.

Jenas' transfer was not the manager's decision, nor his intention, but rather it was something that was inevitable for the sake of alleviating the team's financial crisis. As such, even though there were offers from Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United, he ultimately still chose to go to the highest bidding Newcastle. Seeing that his favorite player was being transferred, this also dealt a heavy blow to Paul Hart. His original ambitions were reduced to nothing alongside Jenas' transfer.

Most of the players who were skillful had been transferred away, and the people that were left behind were also jittery, unsure of whether they would be the next to be transferred away. Those who were competent began frantically searching for their next home, and their minds were completely distracted from the matches. The performance of such a team was obvious. In the first half of the 02-03 season, Team Nottingham Forest's placing was in the middle. For a team which had its past glory days, and the fact that it had been playing in the English Premier League for the past few years, such a result was not something that the fans were satisfied with.

Finally, on the 3rd day after Christmas, Paul Hart who had been under immense pressure, tendered in his letter of resignation to Chairman Nigel Doughty. After a long discussion between the two, the chairman acceded to Hart's request to resign from his post. As a form of compensation for his resignation, Hart recommended Tony Twain as First Team's manager to become his successor.

Doughty was familiar with Tony, and had a fairly good impression of him as well. After all, he had worked with this team for seven years, carrying out his duties diligently and conscientiously. The results of his two years of coaching the youth team were also recognized by everyone else. As such, as of December 29, 2002, Team Nottingham Forest's officials announced that their youth team's manager, Tony Twain, would become First Team's substitute manager until the end of the season.

The media and the fans paid exceptionally close attention to Tony's first League One match. However, who would have known that Twain would become the laughingstock of the match, and losing 0:3 was also another piece of evidence for people to use to blame him.

"...Tony, it's no big deal to lose a match, all managers have experienced defeat before," Burns consoled Twain, as the conversation topic mentioned the match from the day before. "All along, you have been performing well on the youth team, and have already proven to the others your worth."

Twain also recalled the scene which took place at the sideline the day before, as well as those people who he met that night in this bar. He had been mocked on television, and had even been mocked by people in real life. The most fundamental reason was not him leaving the field after being knocked down by his own player, but because he lost the match. Because he had lost the match, he had been scolded, made a laughingstock, looked down upon. Any other insignificant mistake would be magnified several times just because he had lost the match.

"Kenny, I know you are right... But I just… hate losing so much!" Tang En gulped down the liquor in his glass before putting it back down on the table forcefully. He looked as if he were already drunk.

Burns did not continue to pour liquor for him, but said, "I also hate losing. Nobody who plays football enjoys losing. However, there are some things which you must experience. There is a great difference between the first team and the youth team. In my opinion, even if you have no result to show for this season, nobody would fault you for it. I know that you lack preparation, but we still have the next season..."

His words were interrupted by the sound of the door, as the bar's door was pushed open and a few heads popped in.

"Hey, Kenny! Is the bar not open yet?"

Only upon hearing that, Burns lowered his head and looked at his watch. "Oh, dang it. It's already eleven forty. I have to do business."

"Come on in, lads!" He waved toward the people at the door, before turning around to turn the lights on.

The door opened, as seven or eight people came in together. The previously quiet and dimly-lit bar became lively in an instant. The room seemed to become brighter from the liveliness of the place. Patrons chatted about various topics, as they walked toward the bar counter to order their drinks.

It was only at that moment Twain was spotted by them, as he huddled up in the corner of the bar. Someone managed to instantly recognize him. "Yo, yo! Look who's here? Uncle Tony Twain, who was knocked down by his own players yesterday on the field! Yo, yo! Yet, now he's huddled up extremely drunk in Forest Bar! Yo, yo! Don't tell me, this is Team Nottingham Forest's secret formula for victory, for the next match?!" A young lad danced around with his actions and accent mimicking hip-hop. His looks amused the people around him.

Tang En heard the noise behind him and turned around. He squinted his eyes to size him up. He had no impression of this young man, but from his words, he was probably around the night before.

"You little rascal who is still wet behind the ears..." Tang En struggled as he tried to stand up. Although his actual mental age was only 26, this body was already 34 years old. As such, he could make use of this fact without any qualms.

Seeing that Twain wanted to stand up with a hostile look, the people who were still laughing at the side became cautious. They had witnessed how he had swiftly downed the tall Michael the day before. Upon returning home with some traces of blood, Michael had been reprimanded by his wife. Now, he did not even dare to visit the bar, and could only stay at home to hoax his wife. Only the young lad who had not seen Twain's prowess made light of him and displayed a boxing stance. Jumping around, his mouth repeatedly shouted, "Come on, baby! Don't think I'm afraid of you!"

Dong! This was not anyone's nose being smashed, but instead the sound of a heavy beer glass smashing on the table.

"Whose Irish stout is this?" Burns asked as he put his face between the two people.

The young man immediately retracted his fists, before he went to collect his beer. "Erm, it's mine.."

Burns shook a wine glass before him and said, "Don't cause trouble at my place." After hearing this sentence, everyone became more behaved.

Tang En did not like this group of people in the slightest. Seeing as they filled the bar, he felt that he should leave the place.

Burns personally saw him out of the bar, but on the way he pulled him aside and said, "Tony, I think if you don't know at the moment how to train the football team, as well as how to direct their matches.... you can leave all these to your assistant, until you feel that your condition has improved."

Twain raised his head and looked at him, "Thank you, Kenny."

Burns smiled and replied, "Don't need to be so formal. Besides, Michael and the gang are not bad people. They are the most loyal fans of Team Nottingham Forest. The only thing is that the team's performance these last few years has been simply too disastrous, and thus, they are merely heartbroken by this. I hope that you don't take it to heart. You will see their adorable sides at the match the day after tomorrow."

Twain nodded, not saying anything.

"Do a good job. Happy New Year, Tony," said Burns.

"You too, Happy New Year, Kenny..." Twain waved at Burns, before he turned around and walked around the corner unsteadily.

Burns looked at the figure and slightly shook his head, before turning around to return to the bar.

"I really don't understand why you treat that idiot so well..." The big guy who was laughing about Twain drinking milk saw Burns walk back, and could not help but grumble about Twain.

Burns recalled Twain's expression as he bent over the table and said that he hated losing. That was indeed a heartfelt "hatred", without any attempt to conceal it. He turned his head and looked at that fatty and said, "John, if you spout any more nonsense, I will ban you from drinking here."

"Wahhh, I won't do it again!"

The laughter of men instantly resounded throughout the bar.

Even if they were separated by a wall, Twain could still hear the roaring laughter from the bar. At that moment, he was not walking unsteadily, but rather upright. As such, he did not look like someone who was drunk.

He stood by the roadside, and waited for the green light to light up. At the same time, he recalled Burns' advice to him.

"Let the assistant manager do it?" That was a really good idea.

Chapter 4: Training Class

During winter, Nottingham's sun rises later in the morning, but there were already a lot of pedestrians on the road this morning. Everyone was busy getting to work, while exchange students also had to go to school. This was an ancient yet young city, filled with vigor everywhere. It was unlike the old industrial cities of Manchester and Liverpool, which had a lethargic and gloomy atmosphere.

Twain yawned as he walked on the pedestrian walkway. Groups of young people ran past him, forming a stark contrast with his listlessness.

Looking at those figures invigorated with youthful energy, Tang En could only secretly grumble that this body had left behind a terrifying inertia. Just like that rigid planner, he had opened his eyes punctually at six thirty in the morning, and he could not seem to fall back to sleep at all afterwards. He knew that it was time for Tony's morning run, but it could not be helped that he did not want to run early in the morning. He had not done such a thing ever since he had met the physical fitness requirements in high school.

He stared blankly at the ceiling until seven o' clock, and then got out of bed to casually make himself some breakfast. After that, he was in a daze until 7:40. Finally, he could not stand it and decided to "go to work."

His current state of non-stop yawning was a direct consequence of insufficient sleep. Coupled with the cold temperature brought about by the drizzle in the winter morning, Tang En was wrapped in a black overcoat shrunk to his neck, making him look like a drug addict.

After a 20-minute journey, Tang En stood in front of the gates of the training ground, slightly shocked. He looked at his watch, confirming that it was currently three minutes past eight. "How can it be so quiet? Has the New Year's break not ended yet?" He was puzzled, as the training ground's gates were completely desolate. When he was walking to the gates, he saw that there were a few sparrows which stopped in front of them, and flew away upon hearing his footsteps.

The security guard, Ian Macdonald, was more shocked than him. "Tony, it is not time for training yet," he said upon their meeting.

"Ah... Oh. What time does training start?" Tang En knew that he was clueless again. He could only attribute all of this to the injury he had sustained to the back of his head.

"Nine o' clock in the morning," Macdonald sympathetically said as he looked at him. Of course, he had ample reason to do so.

However, Tang En did not like being perceived by others as a lunatic. As such, he gave a stare toward Macdonald, before replying, "Very well, then there's nothing wrong with me coming to the training ground early, is there?"

"Erm, of course..." Macdonald opened the gates.

Tang En strolled in casually. But this was his first time at a professional football team training ground, so he was feeling pretty excited. Then, a voice from behind spoiled his good mood. "Tony, your office is in front. Turn left, third room in that white single-story house with the big French window..."

Tang En turned around and thanked the old security guard in a rude tone. "Thanks Ian, but I know how to go."

That's right, he knew. Remnants of Tony Twain's memories were still left in his mind. He was just that familiar with the place, without any feeling of strangeness.

※※※

Entering his own office, Tang En switched on the lights. The pitch-dark room was instantly enveloped by the bright light. This sort of sharp and sudden change from pitch-dark to brightly-lit caused him to squint his eyes.

The first thing that greeted him was a big, dark-red desk. On top of it was a computer, a pen holder, a telephone, and a few books. Aside from those, there was nothing. Behind the desk was a large rotating chair, which presumably was his. The only thing was that the desk and chair looked slightly worn-out and had a historical feel.

Tang En shrugged his shoulders. English football was like this, always emphasizing history.

He walked over and sat on the chair, before spinning it around a few times. Looking at the orderly office and the empty training field, he felt extremely good.

Wahaha! To think that there would be a day when I become the manager of a professional football team! If those people who always mocked me at the tea houses and bars knew that Tang En was sitting on the seat of Team Nottingham Forest's Manager… to see the expressions on their faces...

Tang En grinned as he touched Twain's chin.

Tang En suddenly restrained his smile, and said seriously in a low voice, in the direction of the door, "Chairman Doughty, I promise that I'll bring the shining trophy for you when the season ends. Yes, I promise..."

After that, he stood up and turned to the training field. Pinching his jaw, his face frowning he said, "Hmm, I feel like number seven is not performing lately, shall we move him over to the reserve team?"

Shortly after, he suddenly raised his voice and waved his arms. "Idiot! When crossing to the center, don't keep going down the center! Did you not have your afternoon nap? Attack from their sides when shooting! Mess up their defensive line, shred their meticulously put together formation into pieces, and settle the match at an unimaginable speed! Idiot!"

After he finished shouting, Tang En put down his arms and felt doubtful. Even though he was the manager, he was actually a newbie in football. He did not even understand his team. This was his first day at training, and therefore he was apprehensive. He did not know how his players would look at this manager, who had just assumed a westerner's look. Would they laugh at him? Would they look down on him? Would they despise him in their hearts?

Tang En was like a fresh graduate waiting for a job interview. This decided whether he could successfully find a job, something which would affect his entire life.

He sat down once again, and looked at the training field as he leaned back on the chair. He did not know how long he could stay in this position, perhaps a week or two? Or maybe till the end of the season? That was already the best possible outcome. Could a newbie manager like him, who had no experience and knowledge at all, successfully overcome the challenges he faced?

A knock on the door woke Twain from his thoughts. He turned around, unsure of who would come to find him at this time. He tidied his clothes, and put on an expression which he thought was the most appropriate. He cleared his throat and said, "Please enter."

The door was pushed open, and too many people to count rushed into the room. This somewhat spacious room immediately became packed.

"This is..." Tang En could not wrap his head around it and did not understand what was going on.

The young man from that day who had pulled Twain back and advised him to direct the match came forward and said, "Tony, Chair Doughty feels that there is a need to re-introduce your colleagues."

Tang En recalled the scene the day before, where that old man lightly patted his shoulders in front of the gates and said to him, "I won't give you any pressure, Tony." The old man's thinking was thorough, but was this scene not too formal?

"Erm, I express my thanks for Chairman Doughty's good will. But really, I don't need..." As Tang En spoke, he observed the reactions of the crowd. He soon realized that some of them concealed mocking expressions. He had managed to catch it despite only seeing it for a split second. "You all should return to work, training is starting very soon," he said as he pointed to his watch.

The crowd hesitated for a moment before they dispersed. However, that young man stayed behind.

Seeing as the last person walked out of the office, Tang En closed the door before saying to the young man behind him, "Des, I know that you did this for my sake. But if you do this, you will make things difficult for me."

Des Walker was slightly puzzled. "Why?"

"I am the coach and manager of the team. In front of them and the players, I have to uphold my authority and pride. Frankly speaking, I detest people who look at me with pity and mockery, as if I am a lunatic. If this carries on, how can I lead the team? The players won't listen to the words of a manager who has to keep being reminded by others."

Des Walker was not a fool. He understood Twain's meaning. "Sorry Tony, I didn't put much thought into it…"

"I've said it before; I don't blame you. The only person that I can trust now is you. The rest of them..." Twain looked at the door and continued, "They are all waiting for me to make a fool out of myself. You have to help me."

Des Walker announced his retirement at the end of the previous season. The reason he could become an assistant manager of a team at 37 years old was all because of Tony Twain's benefactor, Paul Hart's nurturing. It was Hart who suggested that he became an assistant manager after his retirement. Walker was someone who valued ties greatly. Now that Hart, his benefactor, had retired, Twain, the person who Hart held in the highest regard had become the manager. Des hoped that Twain could succeed, as this would prove that Hart had made the correct judgment. Moreover, helping Twain would be akin to helping himself. As he had just retired, he did not have many managerial credentials. As such, following behind Twain to accumulate experience was a good choice for him. To be able to find a decent job after retirement was not an easy task in this day and age.

Walker nodded his head. "No problem, what do you need help with?"

Twain pointed to his head and said, "My head is still not functioning very well and tends to short circuit at times. When you are with me, not only do you have to remind me, you also have to explain to me in detail."

Walker signaled that he understood, and continued asking him, "Then, as for today's training program..."

"You decide."

Hearing this reply, Walker was slightly shocked. However, he managed to react quickly. "Then let's go with the usual program. "

"Haha, just like this!" Tang En laughed. "We will make a great pair with a lot of synergy."

Walker shrugged his shoulders and said, "I feel like we are deceiving people."

"Ah, don't worry. Sometimes, deception is also a good thing. An example would be when you are lying to others for a good cause. That is not 'deception', but a 'white lie'. During training, I will just watch by the side. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not say anything, and leave it to you. You should hurry up and make preparations. It's going to be nine soon, and they will be here anytime."

Seeing that Twain had accurately spoken the time for training to start, Walker believed that he had recovered slightly. As such, he nodded his head and left the room with peace of mind.

Only upon seeing Walker close the door did Twain heave a sigh of relief. Deception was indeed not good. It was still considered okay if he were to be exposed by other people, but what he worried about most was giving himself away, which would be extremely embarrassing.

Everyone's impression of Tony Twain was that of a rigid person from the middle ages. However, he did not want to change himself to suit other people's impression of him. Tang En was a short-tempered person, and was slightly stubborn in nature, a bumpkin who was not cultured. Through his efforts, he hoped to tell the rest of the people that this was the real Twain. As for the Tony Twain of the past...Hm, let him disappear with that blow on the sideline. I don't have the spare time to care about where he went and won't feel guilty in the slightest bit. It should be noted that I have also lost many things! Darned heavens!

His gaze shifted outside, and he found that the rain had stopped. The turf maintenance staff were already on the previously empty training field, inspecting the condition of the turf.

Another day of training had begun.

The players were training according to the usual program, but their thoughts were on the manager, Tony Twain, who was on the sideline. Someone was always glancing in his direction during training.

This abnormal behavior not only belonged to the players, but even the assistant managers who were busy on the field could not contain their curiosity.

The current appearance of the manager, Tony Twain, was something that anyone who saw would find weird and would take a few more looks at.

Twain wore a pair of shades along with his black shirt, black pants, and black leather shoes. He was covered in black from head to toe. Standing on the sideline, he looked serious, which made him appear extra gloomy. On top of that, he was set off by the overcast sky, as if he were exposing everyone who passed by him to an ominous force.

Even Walker did not expect Twain to appear on the sideline in this manner. In the past, Twain was a manager who would appear in a tracksuit with a whistle around his neck. He wore running shoes and ran around the field with the players. His current appearance however, was more like a club chairman. There was not a chance that he would demonstrate any moves.

Actually, this was the effect that Twain hoped to achieve. He was worried that someone from the team would ask him to demonstrate some moves, which he was completely clueless about. Even after watching football for so many years, he was extremely bad at playing football. He decided that he might as well dress up in this fashion in order to clearly tell some ill-intentioned people that he had no intention to go down to the field that day. Additionally, the shades he wore were to make everyone unable to see his eyes, naturally preventing them from knowing what was going on in his head.

Walker took extreme care of him by shouting much louder than usual, and he also tried to call out the players' names as much as possible. Compared to him, another assistant manager, Ian Bowyer, was not that enthusiastic. He was one of those with a mocking expression in Twain's office. According to Walker, Bowyer was a veteran with the team. He had served the team as a player for many years and became an assistant manager after he retired.

Once Walker said this, Tang En understood. It must be that when Paul Hart resigned, Bowyer must have thought that the club would make him the manager. But he had not expected that Paul Hart would recommend Twain instead, causing him to feel envious.

Tang En understood that it was human nature to feel this way. However, that did not mean that he had to bend to him. He had not bowed down to anyone in his life before.

Bowyer might not be happy, but neither was he.

If someone had asked him two days ago to give up his position, he would have gladly done so. However, now the circumstances were different. Since he had already come this far and become a substitute manager of a football team, he might as well accomplish something. Not only was this a challenge, it was also an opportunity for him. In any case, there were many instances in the past where he was watching matches, when he thought to himself what kind of arrangements he would have made if he were the manager. Also, he had played quite a few football Manager games.

Currently, although he was standing on the sideline like a wooden stake, he was actually trying his best to match the names Walker shouted to the players on the field.

That dark-skinned person with a pigtail, whose hair looked like Rijkaard, was David Johnson, the striker who had knocked him over the other day. Looking at his performance on the training field, his speed was quite fast, and he had pretty good explosive power. Currently, Tang En only had these sorts of impressions from watching their training. Anything more specific had to be observed in detail, perhaps through matches.

The young lad who just did a beautiful cross from the byline was Andy Reid, a talented young football player nurtured by Twain himself, who was promoted with Twain to the first team before the new year together. Twain took a few more looks at this young lad, and if his memory served him right, this person would later appear in Tottenham. To think that he had transferred over from Team Nottingham Forest. This transfer alone was more than enough to say about his ability, or else why would he be picked up by an old branded team in the English Premier League?

Since he mentioned Reid, there was another person that Tang En took notice of as well. Tang En shifted his gaze to the backfield. Amongst the group of players who were practicing headers, a tall guy caught his attention. His golden hair appeared full of vigor, while his face still possessed the innocence of childhood. He had bright eyes and beautiful eyebrows, and his performance was exceptional. Even the managerial team planned the defense training around him. This was the man who was called the Nottingham Forest's future hope, Michael Dawson. He had been promoted to the first team together with Andy Reid. The day before yesterday's match was his virgin match in League One, but it was a pity that the team lost miserably. As such, his performance was rather lackluster. However, this did not affect his mood in the slightest, as his face still displayed that joyful smile.

Dawson was promoted to Team Nottingham Forest's first team together with Reid. Two years later, he would also leave Team Nottingham Forest together with Reid, when he would transfer out to Tottenham football club. Tang En watched a few of the matches when he was in Tottenham, and his performance was quite good. He displayed great synergy with Ledley King and was someone who dared to command the entire defensive line at such a young age. He was also a long serving top defender of the English youth team, and later even had the chance to enter the country's national football team. However, that was in 2007. The current Dawson was only a young lad, filled with hopes and aspirations for the future.

Once he realized that this person would be nurtured by himself, a sense of achievement emerged within Tang En—he did not care at all which 'Twain' this achievement belonged to. Now, all of it belonged to him.

He observed the team's training carefully. Not only did he need to remember these players' names and faces, he also had to remember their unique techniques, as well as the team's training methods and styles. He could not ask others excessively, or else it would reveal the fact that he was a newbie. Or in an even worse case, he could be treated as an amnesiac and sent to the hospital...

According to the results from his observation, Team Nottingham Forest's skill was definitely not weak. Many players had outstanding, unique features. A team like this, if put inside English League One, should have the ability to enter the English Premier League. However, it was already halfway through the season, and Team Nottingham Forest was still ranked tenth, in the middle in terms of placing. For a team which was very hopeful of winning the League One championship before the season, this kind of result was naturally terrible. What was worse was the club's financial situation. After transferring Jenas away to Newcastle, the income from the transfer was mostly used to repay their debts, leaving behind little capital for the manager, Paul Hart, to spend on acquiring other players. On top of that, Hart had already lost all confidence of leading this team to accomplish the chairman's goals. In the first half of the season, the team had competed in 27 matches and had a record of ten wins, eight draws, and nine losses.

Although he had not seen Paul Hart lead the team during the matches, Twain believed in his abilities as someone who had brought up so many outstanding players, and he should not be doubted. Even if some players had been sold away, such as a star like Jenas, the team's ability should not have plummeted to such a condition. If the abilities of the players were not the problem, then where did the problem lie for the team to have such a poor record?

As such, his voice suddenly resounded throughout the training field.

"Hey! Are you all visiting the zoo?! What are you looking at? Keep your focus on the training! Why are you all looking at me?!"

With this, he had really become an animal in the zoo, as everyone directed their gaze toward the angry manager. Seeing the manager who was standing there quietly like a wooden stake suddenly shout, it was no wonder that they would be shocked. However, what made them even more shocked was that they had never seen Tony, who used to be introverted, shout at all before. It was simply unfathomable for someone like Tony Twain who spoke in such an organized manner, to say such things with strong emotions.

Perhaps their manager was very different from who he used to be.

As there was a match the next day, today's training intensity was rather low. High intensity trainings such as two trainings in the same day, were usually carried out in mid-week, and only when there were not two matches during the week. After the morning training ended, Walker let the players go home. Upon the end of the training, the staff and the players left one after another, while Des returned with Tang En to his office.

"After seeing the morning training, what do you think?" Without waiting for Twain to gesture, Walker sat down on a chair once he entered and asked casually. He found the current Twain much easier to get along with, because he no longer stayed quiet and could laugh and shout. This kind of feeling was not bad.

Of course, Tang En could not truthfully speak about the many uncertainties he had within his mind. That was because he was not supposed to be a visitor who observed the team's training for the first time, and did not have any prior knowledge regarding Team Nottingham Forest. Instead, he was the manager of the team, and therefore should know everything about team. Even if his brain had sustained an injury, he should not have completely forgotten all of these things. "Aside from the fact that they were not focused, overall, it was not bad."

It was only at this moment that Walker realized Twain wasn't carrying the notebook he usually carried with him. "Did you not take down anything? Where is that notebook of yours?" he asked as he pointed at Twain's hands.

However, Tang En pointed at his head and answered, "I took note of them in here." Regarding this point, he was not lying. His memory had been very good since he was young. As such, despite not being well-liked by his teachers, his grades had been pretty good all along.

Walker shook his head and smiled. "Seems like the change is so big that I even have doubts if the man standing before me is actually Tony Twain."

Tang En felt that this was a chance for others to gradually accept him, but he could not express it blatantly. Instead, he had to be more tactful. He appeared shocked, and said, "Huh? There are some times which even I myself am unable to explain it clearly, but it did indeed happen. Was this not good? In that case, I shall revert back to the old me..."

"No no," Walker frantically disrupted his sentence. "This way is good, this way is good. It can't get any better. The current you is much easier to get along with."

Twain secretly laughed inside his mind, as that was indeed his intended result. He needed someone to introduce the completely new him to the rest of the people, and no one else was more suitable for this role, than Des Walker, who had served the club for over 10 years.

After sending Walker out, Tang En began to search all over his office. Walker mentioned a "notebook," which he decided that he should find and take a look at as it might help him in some way.

In the third drawer of the desk, he finally found that slightly worn-out notebook. It was only slightly smaller than a tactic board, but it was very thick. The black leather cover was worn out, and the pages were yellowed. Even the golden worded "Notebook" on the cover was mottled from the wear and tear, showing that it had definitely been used for a very long time.

Tang En carefully flipped open the thick notebook, afraid that the detached pages might fall out from within, or that the seemingly antique-looking notebook would break into two halves just from that.

"He is really a person from the middle ages," Twain clicked his tongue sarcastically. It was already the technological age of computers and internet, and yet he still used a paper notebook to take down notes. Couldn't he have just carried around a laptop? It was convenient and elegant, and could also be used to pick up girls. Just think about it. Ordering a cup of coffee at a place like Starbucks, sitting at a spot near the windows. With utter disregard for the surrounding happenings, opening up the laptop, the fingers hopping around nimbly on the keyboard, while the coffee exuded a thick, fragrant aroma....

Tang En shook his head and interrupted this kind of ridiculous fantasy. He had never been to Starbucks. For a working class man like him who struggled to even feed himself and find a roof over his head, he had neither the economic ability nor the mood to go to a cafe. Even if he went out, it was either to bars where he could watch football matches, or teahouses, which were readily available all around Chengdu City.

Turning over the leather cover, there was a neatly-written line of words on the title page. Even though the ink had already become faint, that line of words remained clear and distinguished:

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

Seeing this sentence, Tang En's smirk of disdain slowly disappeared.

As a football fan, he naturally knew what this meant, and the weight behind these words. And only a football fan could understand the meaning behind these words. Football was no longer a mere sport, or a game which was played casually in the streets. Instead, it was a form of religion, belief, and contained inside a football fan's life and blood....

For the old Tony Twain to have actually written this sentence on the title page, it was more than enough to show how much meaning this sentence had to him. It was even not far-fetched to say that this was his motto. He did not expect that quiet and dull-looking "middle ages" person to actually like this kind of famous quote. It was emotional, slightly irrational, and nothing like Twain.

Perhaps the real him was not as gloomy as what people perceived him to be. Perhaps somewhere deep within his heart, there was also an unfaltering flame burning.

He briefly flipped through the notebook. Compared to that rigid and inflexible planner, the contents of this notebook were much messier. If not for the time and date written, it was completely impossible to know the sequence of the contents. Some of them were even written in the blank spaces at the side of the page, and the handwriting was extremely illegible and messy. It could be seen from this that some of these things were jotted down when he suddenly thought of them. As such, they were inserted and noted down wherever there was any space.

The first entry was written March 21, 1998, while the last entry stopped at December 31, 2002. After flipping over once more, it was the end of this thick notebook. The page for December 31, 2002 was filled with information regarding their opponent, Walsall, as well as his own strategies. He pre-empted many possibilities and countermeasures, but he did not account for the fact that he would be possessed by the Tang En.

Tang En sighed again. He did not plan to record any more things in this notebook. The first reason was that there was not enough space, while the second reason was that he could not bear to destroy this person's hard work, and therefore was unwilling to write even a single line. Holding the notebook in his hands, Tang En felt its heavy weight.

Chapter 5: This Is Professional Football

That night, Tang En suffered from insomnia once again. Ever since he came to Nottingham, he had been unable to sleep well for three consecutive nights. The first two nights were due to the apprehension toward the unknown future, but this time's insomnia was completely unrelated to those trivial things. After that night, he would have to direct his first professional match.

A normal football fan who used to be able to only watch others play football in front of the television; a pathetic otaku who could only express his passion for football through computer games; a pathetic virgin who did not have any luck with woman was actually able to have a chance to take part in a professional football match, directing and giving instructions as a manager in a professional football match which always seemed to be very impressive. It was a chance to enjoy the thunderous cheers of the audience on-site, to be interviewed by the various media after the match. No matter what was said, it would always influence the viewers in some way...

This sort of thing was like a dream for Tang En. It was not Football Manager or Champion Manager, but a miracle that truly happened! As soon as he thought of the next day's match, he would be too excited to sleep. Just like that, he opened his eyes wide and stared at the ceiling, while he fantasized about how he should conduct himself the next day.

He did not know what time he had fallen asleep, but he knew that he had not gotten enough rest. From the time that he got out of bed, he was yawning uncontrollably. He yawned when he was putting on his clothes, brushing his teeth, and eating his breakfast. Even when he was walking to the training ground, he was still yawning.

This was the third time that Wilford training ground's security guard, Ian Macdonald, was shocked to see the team manager early in the morning. "Tony..." He opened his mouth, before Tang En interrupted him.

"I know, the match is taking place in the afternoon, and there is no training in the morning. I merely wish to start doing my work now. Is there a problem — haaawwhh—!" Twain said as he yawned again.

"Erm, of course you can." Macdonald came out to pull open the metal gates.

When Twain walked past him, he heard Macdonald say, "Good luck, Tony." He stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to look at Macdonald.

This old man, whose head was full of white hair, had a steady source of income—the welfare provided by the government after his retirement, but he continued to come here to work, insistent on taking the insignificant salary of ￡100. When the club was in financial crisis, he even stopped taking that ￡100. He did this because he loved the club and team, and that was why he treated his job at the club as an honor. He was polite to everyone, and he always looked at the players and managers who entered and left the place, and the chairman who occasionally appeared, with respect. Even if the team performed poorly, he did not grumble or sigh at all.

Macdonald was frightened by Twain's look. The Tony Twain of the past, although quiet, treated everyone gently. He would always stare impolitely at your face for a while, before greeting you with his head lowered. Afterwards, he would leave. He would not do something like stare at you with a scorching look that made you feel uncomfortable.

Macdonald did not know that when he was still in China, Tang En would always use this kind of "impolite" look to stare at people, which made others look down upon him. However, Tang En had never thought of changing his actions.

Just as Macdonald felt slightly uneasy from the stare, Tang En suddenly smiled and asked, "Ian, do you like victory?"

Macdonald was momentarily stunned, before he reacted and said as he nodded his head, "Of course, I doubt there's anyone who loves to lose, right?"

Tang En's smile widened as he said, "Me too. Where will you be watching the match?"

Macdonald pointed toward the guardhouse behind him and said, "I will be tuning in to the radio here, same as with City Ground's match.

Tang En nodded his head, "I hope you get to hear us scoring goals. Goodbye, and good luck to you, Ian."

"Goodbye..." Looking at Twain as he left, Macdonald stood in his original spot, taken aback. He had not returned to his senses from the conversation that just took place. He had never seen Tony Twain talking so easily, filled with such energy and wearing such a friendly smile.

Was it possible for one's character to change greatly after sustaining an injury to his head? The uncertain Macdonald thought as he rubbed the back of his head.

Despite Team Nottingham Forest suffering a miserable defeat in the previous match, their fans were still passionate about this match. The match would only start after three o' clock in the afternoon. As such, after eating their lunch, there were already people from all directions assembling at City Ground. Opposite City Ground was yet another football field. That was Team Nottingham Forest's archrival, Notts County's football field, Meadow Lane. The two football fields were only 300 meters apart and were most likely the world's two closest archrival football fields.

Similar to most cities in England, Nottingham had two professional football teams, and these two teams were rather famous in the history of football. Team Nottingham Forest (established in 1865) and their archrival, Notts County Football Club (established in 1862), were two of the four oldest teams in the world. The other two were Team Stoke City (established in 1863) and Team Chesterfield (established in 1866).

It is noteworthy that the currently famous Juventus and Arsenal football jerseys originated from these two teams from Nottingham. Juventus' black and white striped shirt was because Notts County had given its own football jersey to this Italian football team. Whereas Arsenal was affiliated with Nottingham Forest from the day it was established—the founders of the club were two football players who were from Team Nottingham Forest: Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates. Before the team's official match, Beardsley made use of his relationship with Nottingham, to ask for a batch of football jerseys from Nottingham. As such, Arsenal's football jerseys were mainly red, same as Nottingham Forest's. It wasn't until 1925 that they changed to the current classic design of red shirt with white sleeves.

During the early history of English football, the two teams from Nottingham were very successful, and both of them had won the Football Association Cup before. However, during the later years of development, the paths of the two teams began to show signs of deviation. The Notts County, which were comprised of the miners' class, lacked the financial support, causing them difficulties. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest, which represented the middle-class people, welcomed their club's most glorious days toward the end of the seventies.

Under the leadership of the legendary manager, Brian Clough, the team's performance rocketed.

The legend of Kaiserslautern was very impressive. In the first year the team was promoted to League One from League Two, they won the championship title. This kind of achievement had been accomplished by Clough's football team 20 years ago. They had been promoted to First Division (the top-level division in English football at that time, equivalent to the current English Premier League) for coming in third place in League Two. That's when they began to create an unsurpassable legend which ruled over English football. After they were promoted to League One, Team Nottingham Forest attained first place that season, with a record of 25 wins, 14 draws and three losses, and a total score of 64 points. (That was still when world football utilized the two-point system, whereby those who won got two points, the tied teams were awarded one point each, while the team which lost got no points.)

During the 1970s, English football and European football were mainly dominated by Liverpool. At that time, the only team that had the qualifications to challenge Liverpool, and the only team which could beat Liverpool three times in a year, the only team which could let Liverpool experience fear, was the red-clad Nottingham Forest. Upon successfully winning the championship in League One, Team Nottingham Forest had, in the next season, defeated the reigning champions, Liverpool, in the first match of the League. In the end, they managed to defeat the Swedish dark horse, Malm? FF under Bob Houghton, to become the champions of the European Cup for that season.

During this period, what was even more astounding was that starting from their draw with West Bromwich Albion on November 26th, 1977 until their 0:2 defeat over Liverpool on December 9, 1978, Clough's Nottingham Forest had created an undefeated 42 consecutive no-lose streak match record among England's top leagues. This record would only be broken 26 years later in the 21st century by Wenger's Arsenal, with a record of a 49 consecutive no-lose streak.

Of course, history is always glorious when looking back upon it. This was especially so for England, the place of origin for modern football. It was no cause for wonder, no matter how glorious a history a team had. Compared to its glorious past, the current Team Nottingham Forest and Notts County's predicament could only be described with the word "heartache." Notts County was faced with financial crisis multiple times and even had a dark period of being placed in administration for 18 months early in the century. In the end, a financial group and a match with Chelsea in the FA Cup, saved the team—before that match, Chelsea agreed to let all the proceeds from the tickets go to Notts County, so as to save this oldest football club in the word. Nottingham Forest was slightly better than their fellow team from the same city. However, as its past was just too glorious, the fans tended to have hallucinations regarding their glorious past and their current miserable state. They felt that it was a given for them to obtain results similar to the past and not continue worsening and being content with low-level league matches like Notts County.

The current Team Nottingham Forest, even when faced against West Ham, would appear to be severely lacking, despite the fact that West Ham's historical achievements were far beneath those of Team Nottingham Forest's.

This was the first match of the English FA Cup's third round, and there were originally no plans for it to be broadcasted live. However, because both participating teams were in a tight spot and needed a win desperately, BBC decided to have a live broadcast for this match as they felt that it would be a hot topic. Of course, Tony Twain was also one of the hot topics, because he had just become the first manager in the entire of English football history to be injured by his own player during a match.

※※※

The day's weather was not bad, and the bright sunlight gave off the feeling that it was not winter. It was the complete opposite of the gloomy rain of the past two days. When Tang En stepped down from the big bus and saw the bright sunlight, he could not help but squint his eyes.

As the manager, he was the second person to hop down from the bus. The first person to come down was the assistant manager, Des Walker, who was warmly welcomed by the fans. They shouted Walker's name loudly and clapped for him. Walker had served Nottingham Forest for many years and was one of the witnesses of Nottingham Forest's final moments of glory. It was understandable that he would receive this kind of respect from the fans.

However, right as Tang En exited the bus, what welcomed him was a sharp jeering sound. He raised his head, only to discover that the people who were jeering at him seemed very familiar—they were the few middle-aged people who had a confrontation with him at the bar. He could recognize them in a single glance, as the person who led them had gauze around his forehead. His ridiculous appearance stood out.

Walker obviously did not expect the manager to be met with this kind of situation, which was apparent from the way he stood aside, not knowing what to do. Similar to him was the player, Michael Dawson, who was preparing to get off the bus, when he heard the resounding jeers in the air. With a face full of shock, he raised his head and looked at the fans, as he really thought that he was the one being jeered at.

It was Tang En who extended a hand to him and pulled him down. Seeing the new hope of the team, the jeers immediately stopped. After that, the fans were met with an extremely awkward predicament—Michael Dawson, the team's future hope, was popular amongst the fan. The appearance of this kind of player would definitely receive cheers and applause. However, the person pulling him was the substitute manager, Tony Twain, whom they were just jeering at moments ago. If they cheered, would it not be mistaken as cheering for Twain?

Tang En was extremely satisfied with the fans' behavior, as it had turned out the way he expected it to. He patted Dawson's shoulders, and told him to proceed to the changing room. The fans saw that Dawson had finally left Twain and were just about to jeer at Twain, who was still in front of the bus door. This time, Twain walked up to it and pulled along Andy Reid, another handsome young man and the future hope of the team, just like Dawson. The crowd had just started to turn ugly again, but had no choice but to stop.

Tang En looked at the facial expressions of those awkward people and smiled triumphantly.

Reid, who was beside Twain, felt that it was strange. It was the first time that he had seen the manager so enthusiastic, to go as far as to personally bring them from the bus. "Boss, why are you smiling?"

This time, he did not leave Reid, and they both walked into a narrow passageway leading to the changing room. Although they were prepared to, the fans did not have a chance to jeer at him.

"The sly fox!" Michael, who was leading the group, put down his hands frustratingly, before he punched the metal handrail in front of him.

Twain's behavior those past few days had been slightly abnormal. Or rather, to be more specific, it was the past four days—ever since he had been knocked over by David Johnson during the match on January 1st, he had been acting strangely, as if he were a different person from the old quiet and gloomy Tony Twain. The players had been very worried because of this, as they did not know whether his cranial nerves had been damaged, and whether there would be any terrifying consequences such as mental delay, forgetfulness, or worse...

As such, even though the person deploying the tactics in the changing room was not the manager, but one of the assistant managers, Des Walker, nobody felt that it was strange at all. Instead, it was the old man Ian Bowyer at the side who was more quiet and gloomy than Tony Twain, who appeared to be out of sorts. It was usually him who did these, and now it had become his inferior, Walker's job. Even a fool could tell that ever since Tony Twain was promoted from the youth team to the manager of the first team, Bowyer had been very disappointed.

That was very normal, because even though Bowyer had been working for the team for quite some time, he was already 51 years old, and was one of the oldest among the managerial team. He had contributed greatly to the team twice, and was one of the main players during the two times which Nottingham Forest won the UEFA Champions League. However, he had pathetically few ties with Tony Twain. Twain had been following Paul Hart around previously, leading the youth team's trainings and matches. After Paul Hart had been promoted to first team's manager, Twain became the manager of the youth team. On the other hand, Ian Bowyer had been the first team's assistant manager for the longest time, and had assisted many generations of managers. From Brian Clough's successor, Frank Clark, to Stuart Pearce, to Dave Bassett, to Ron Atkinson, to David Platt and finally, to Paul Hart. However, Tony Twain's name was not inside this list.

Although the two of them were in the same club, they were at a different training fields. The youth team and the first team's training grounds were separated by a small alley which was less than five meters wide, but appeared to be separated by half of Nottingham City. Twain, a person of few words, was not enthusiastic in engaging in any form of social interaction or gatherings, and therefore he and Bowyer had almost no interaction whatsoever. The most they did was to acknowledge each other with a nod when they bumped into each other at the training grounds, before going their separate ways.

The current atmosphere in the changing room was similar to that of two strangers passing by each other on the streets. Tony Twain's handy assistant, Des Walker, was briefing the players on the match later, while the other assistant manager, Ian Bowyer sat by the wall and assumed the role of an on-looker.

What about the real main character, Tang En?

He was not in the changing room, but in the bathroom instead.

Aside from the toilets in the two changing rooms, the entire City Ground still had 10 other bathrooms of different sizes. Most of them were open to the fans, while there were two toilets located at the resting corridor outside the VIP lounge reserved for the VIPs. There was still a remaining small bathroom that was reserved for the staff of the teams. The managers of the team could smoke there to relieve the stress before the match.

Tang En was currently doing so.

He had originally thought that his nervousness had gone away after an entire morning. However, when he saw the nicely placed football jerseys and boots inside the changing room, his heart began to beat uncontrollably. As such, he found an excuse to go to the restroom, in order to dump everything on Walker and escape this place.

The bathroom reserved for the staff was located in a very discreet corner below the main viewing platform, so not many people would go there. Through the glass window outside the bathroom, the view of the football field could be seen, the green turf that was bright under the sunlight, as well as the seats which were being filled, gradually.

Out of sheer habit, Tang En reached in his pockets and tried to take out his cigarettes, before he remembered that Tony Twain neither smoked nor drank.

This was unlike any other football related game he had played before. It was not Championship Manager, nor was it Football Manager.... it was a professional league match and football team which existed in reality, on this planet. Upon losing, there was no reloading of saved game data, nor was it possible to defeat difficult opponents just by adding new managers. A loss was a loss, and perhaps, you might even lose the most important match of your life. In this game, there was no backing out halfway, even if you used Alt + F4...

Actually, wasn't life supposed to be like this? Everyone always grumbled about "If only I had done so and so, I would not be like this now." In that case, Twain would even have to thank fate for giving him a chance to reload his saved game data. Although he only reverted back four years in time, and the game data which he read was someone else's.

But so what? Since this body now belonged to him, he might as well give it his best shot, and not waste away his time again. From another perspective, it was also a way of not letting the previous owner down.

At that moment, music could be vaguely heard from the outside, and gave off the feeling similar to what Tang En had seen on the television broadcast, except that it was slightly softer. He decided to listen carefully and tried to make out what they were singing. However, this song was soon disrupted by jeering sounds. Tang En stopped trying to listen, as he smiled helplessly.

All of this is so real. This is professional football.

He discovered that the apprehension in his heart had unknowingly disappeared, leaving behind anticipation of the future. He took another glance at the green field and the viewing platform, before he turned around and walked toward the football team's changing room.

Professional football, I'm coming for you.

Chapter 6: Down By Three Goals

Wilford training ground's old security guard, Ian Macdonald had already turned on the radio before the match started. He turned the volume to max and sat inside the guardhouse peacefully listening to the match. At this time, the players who had made it to the team's roster were all at the City Ground, while those who did not make the cut were at home or elsewhere. The training ground was quiet, and the only sound was the commentary coming from the guardhouse.

He still remembered Tony Twain's smile and promise to him, "You will hear us score one goal after another." This filled him with anticipation.

The match started not long before, and he indeed heard news of goals being scored from the radio. However, they were not by Team Nottingham Forest, but by the away team, West Ham. The match was only a half an hour in, and the team he loved had already conceded three goals.

He sat dumbfounded in the chair, unable to believe the voices he had just heard.

"Jermain Defoe! Defoe shoots and scores! What a beautiful assault!"

"Defoe gains possession of the ball outside the penalty area and dribbles past! Will it be 2:0? Yes! Jermain Defoe has scored again! West Ham leads with a score of 2:0!"

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! A volley shot from outside the penalty area! From Joe Cole! Simply hard to believe that he is only 21 years old! He is the future treasure of English football! This is the third goal from West Ham in this match. They have complete control over the match, leaving Nottingham Forest no chance at all! 3:0, the match ends ahead of schedule!"

Ends ahead of schedule? You worthless commentator, what are you saying? The match is only 30 minutes in, and we still have 60 minutes to make a comeback! Macdonald had never trusted the substitute manager, Tony Twain so much before. At that moment, he believed that this man could deliver what he had promised.

He shook his fist at the radio, as if he was standing alongside his fellow supporters on the viewing platform to demonstrate against the opposing team. Ever since he had assumed the role of the training ground's gatekeeper, it had been several years since he last watched a match at City Ground.

City Ground was almost flooded with jeers. Tang En was extremely familiar with such jeering sounds. Three days ago, when he first opened his eyes and saw this world, what surrounded his ears were these sounds, and they were coming from their own fans. The target on whom they were venting their discontent was not the opposite team West Ham, but the home team Nottingham Forest.

In a corner of the field, a group of players wearing the West Ham jersey clustered around their team captain. They were celebrating the goal, celebrating their third goal of the match.

Des Walker hugged his head in aggravation, as he sat beside Tang En. From the pre-match preparations, all the way to the tactics, Walker was the one who had planned for this match in the entirety. Tang En said that he believed in him, and so Walker wanted to use a victory to reciprocate the manager's trust in himself. There was no way he had anticipated a massacre before halftime.

The electronic scoreboard's 0:3 score, was red, as if dyed in fresh blood. The number of middle fingers raised at the manager was as numerous as the trees in Sherwood Forest, to the Northeast of Nottingham City. What made the fans furious was not only the score, but the performance of the players on the field.

Tang En saw it clearly. If he were a hardcore fan of Team Nottingham Forest, faced with such a performance in the first thirty minutes of the first half, he would also use vulgarities and a middle finger to express his feelings. He even suspected the 11 people on the field, like him, did not manage to sleep well the night before. Did they assemble as a team to patronize prostitutes? These b*stards! He thought to himself as he frowned and gritted his teeth.

What Tang En did not know, was that a camera on the opposite side of the field was pointed at him, capturing a close-up on his facial expressions and broadcasted live. The commentator for this match was the same as before. He was famous for his sharp and passionate commentary style. He had just used a series of compliments to praise West Ham's young team captain, Joe Cole's goal. That was also West Ham's third goal in this entire match. He concluded, "This match is already over! Despite Team Nottingham Forest's glorious history, this team is like a group of pitiful souls on their last legs after being stepped on by Joe Cole, worrying about when the next wave of offense will come! Look at Team Nottingham Forest in their red jerseys. This is really heartbreaking!"

"Manager Tony Twain also appears to be unsatisfied with the team's current performance. If that is the case, please come up with some sort of strategy! Don't keep frowning and gritting your teeth at the coach's seat. Aren't your teeth in pain? In fact, we have only seen his assistant manager, Des Walker, direct the match so far. Just who exactly is the manager? But who would have any hope that a former player, a newbie to managing who had just retired would be able to direct a League One team to defeat a Premier League team? The doubts cast upon Team Nottingham Forest's substitute manager's ability are not groundless. Until now, Tony Twain has yet to make any change to the team strategy. He is even worse than his predecessor, Paul Hart—according to rumors, it is said that Twain assumed the role of the manager only because Paul Hart strongly recommended him to Chairman Doughty. What I want to say is, Paul, you always had a discerning eye for players, but in terms of managers, there is still much room for improvement!"

Who knew what Tang En would do if he had heard such disparaging comments from the commentator. Perhaps he might quarrel with this commentator on the spot... However, the current him did not have time to think about other people's comments about him. He had to salvage the current situation on the field. He knew that West Ham was very strong. Just from looking at some of the players' names, he could tell how impressive they were. But this was no excuse for Nottingham Forest to be losing.

The reason for their loss was only one, and that was because they were not good enough!

Tang En muttered this sentence softly.

Walker turned his head toward Tang En. He seemed to have heard it, but it wasn't registering. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tang En shook his head.

"Tony, you have to think of a plan. We can't carry on like this," Walker whispered to Tang En as he moved his mouth closer to his ear. "Bowyer must be waiting for us to fail miserably. I feel like he is hoping for us to lose this match!"

"You're right, that old man is indeed thinking like this. But the current version of me has no solution."

Walker was extremely disappointed at Tang En's reply. The manager should not do this kind of thing: When he loses control over a certain thing, it tends to be when he is at an impasse.

"Do you think our defenders could possibly defend against Joe Cole, Lee Bowyer, Di Canio and Jermain Defoe?"

Walker shook his head. Truth to be told, the team indeed did not have any way of going toe-to-toe with such a Premier League team. Hearing these players' names, they were either veteran stars who were already very famous, or they were the best new talent from the whole of England.

"Also, do you think with our strikers and midfielders are able to penetrate the defense of Michael Carrick, Ian Pearce, Tomas Repka, and David James, and score?"

Walker continued to shake his head. This defensive line was national team level. James was England's national team goalkeeper, while Tomas was a member of the Czech Republic national football team. Carrick even transferred over to Manchester United in the summer three years later. In the entire first half of the match, the two strikers of Nottingham Forest had only three chances to score, but the type of balls they shot were not even sufficient for James to warm up.

With the aid of their group of talented football players, West Ham United easily took control of the entire match's tempo and had complete ball possession on the field. Team Nottingham Forest could only run back and forth after the ball, wasting away their stamina and fighting spirit with this sort of meaningless running. West Ham had extremely miserable results in the English Premier League, only obtaining 16 points in the 21 rounds of the first half of the season, and was ranked last in the League. However, their strength was more than sufficient to throw their weight around in front of a League One team, venting their frustrations from being bullied.

After merely 17 minutes into the match, West Ham United managed to take the lead. The swift and agile young striker, James Defoe managed to break past Team Nottingham Forest's clumsy back defensive line with much ease, scoring the first goal for his team. Five minutes later, Defoe once again made use of his speed and broke past the defensive line. Watching this young talent who would be chosen for England's national team give his utmost performance, Tang En had a feeling of time-space disorientation. He knew of this young lad's future achievements. What made Tang En feel completely powerless was that his team, Nottingham Forest, had to play against such a team which had no lack of talented players.

Looking at West Ham United's players casually passing the ball around, Joe Cole even performed a back heel pass in front of their few fans present. Listening to the sounds of laughter from the West Ham United's fans on the viewing platform as well as the various jeers, Tang En had an ugly thought: Exactly whose home match was this?

This kind of situation made him extremely furious. Although he did not personally experience being passed by Joe Cole and the rest on the field, he still felt himself being humiliated. Because he was the team's manager. When his team was bullied on the field, the responsibility was on him. It was the same as him being pushed around with his players.

Michael Dawson was currently the strongest player on Team Nottingham Forest, even though he alone was unable to defend against West Ham's relentless offense. The responsibility for the three misses did not lie with him. It was just that the team was too weak overall. After watching 30 plus minutes of the match, Tang En decided to pass the captain armband over to this young lad. If the 21-year-old Joe Cole could become the captain of "The Hammers", why couldn't the 19-year-old Michael Dawson? A talented player nurtured from the Nottingham Forest youth training system that was full of fighting spirit, who else could be more suitable than him to lead the current team?

The north viewing platform in City Ground near the Trent River was the viewing platform for Team Nottingham Forest's fans. The highest floor had a row of long corridors enclosed by glass windows. There were two rows of old but neat chairs, as well as two television sets. That was City Ground's suite. Compared to a wealthy and powerful football team's suite, Team Nottingham Forest's could only be described as shabby.

Naturally, there was hardly anybody in there to witness such a terrible match. Only two people were currently in the suite. They did not sit on the chairs, but instead chose to assume a standing position—watching the match in front of glass windows.

They were this team's chairman, Nigel Doughty and his son, Edward Doughty.

Edward Doughty glanced at the television in the corner before looking at the football field. "So this is the formerly glorious team you love, Nottingham Forest?" His tone was heavy with sarcasm, completely unlike the polite man Tang En saw the other day.

The words were meant for his father, but old Doughty did not mind his son's sarcasm, and spoke while slightly nodding his head, "During halftime, you and I will go to the changing room. I need to let you and the players meet.

Edward knew that his words had been ignored by his father yet again. "But I feel that there's no need for it. Besides, now is not the best time for us to meet," he advised, hoping that his father would call off his plans to make Edward meet the players and managerial team.

Nigel Doughty did not answer his son, as he focused his full attention on the match.

Seeing his father's behavior, Edward could only shrug his shoulders and sigh. As for the boring, one-sided match, he was completely uninterested in it. He decisively sat down and drank a Coke while shaking his legs and looked around at his surroundings out of boredom.

The worn-down suite, worn-down place, mediocre match and completely unattractive team... He simply could not understand why his father loved this kind of team, and so much that he was willing to invest more than ten million pounds into it—he had never invested so much money into his own son.

When he was watching the NBA, he was originally a fan of the Chicago Bulls, before he switched over to Los Angeles Lakers. Recently, he was becoming more inclined toward the San Antonio Spurs, despite his house and company being located in Houston. The only reason he kept switching his favorite team was because the previous team lacked sufficient star players and champions. In his opinion, it was simply hard to comprehend why someone would even like teams that were not famous, did not have star players, nor were even worth being in a lower-level professional league. Were they able to derive any pleasure or profit from avidly supporting this kind of team? Not only were they unable to enjoy the amazing performances brought on by star players, they were also unable to have pleasant summer memories of obtaining championship trophies one after another. There was a further lack of glorious match records for them to relish in during their free time...

He looked at the tiny human heads beneath his feet on the opposite viewing platform, and their countless flailing arms. It was unbelievable that such a poor match had a full house. He shook his head in disbelief.

What were these tens of thousands of fans, like my father, even after? Every weekend afternoon, sitting down in this worn-out stadium and seeing the players waste time on the field just like this. So pitiful.

What puzzled the commentator Motson was that even after Tang En and Walker spoke to each other, there was no action taken at all. Even the previously active Walker appeared to have his butt glued to his seat. The two of them only watched the match quietly, not doing or saying anything.

It was very strange. Even after seeing their own team losing so miserably, were they not anxious? Were they not angry? They should display some sort of emotion right? But there was none of this. The close-up swept across Tang En and Walker's face numerous times, but the two people continued to watch the match, without even frowning.

Motson, who felt that he had lost face, could only mutter to himself, "Did they escape from Madame Tussauds Wax Museum?"

West Ham United's manager, Glenn Roeder, was very satisfied with his team's performance. The bitterness from the first half of the season appeared to have been forgotten by this group of young lads. He had very similar managerial experience to Tony Twain. They had both been transferred over to the first team from the youth team due to poor team performance. During the contest between the two managers, he had the upper hand. It was his first match as a manager, and the match started off pretty well. He believed that as long as the team continued to play with the standards they displayed in the first half of the match, they would have no problem retaining their position in the current league.

He stood at the sideline immensely proud and satisfied, as he began considering the next English Premier League match.

Tang En shot a glance at Roeder, who was directing the match at the sideline. He wore a pair of golden-laced spectacles on his white and clean face, giving off an air of elegance. Tang En knew this man, even before Tang En came over. This person would later become Newcastle's manager, but before that he was the manager of the Magpies Crusaders youth team. He only stepped up as the manager after Souness had been fired due to Newcastle's poor performance. After he assumed "the world's most attractive position", Newcastle's performance did not improve much. The only thing was that he was much luckier than his predecessor, in the sense that, when the team performed poorly, he could use the team's extensive injuries and illnesses as an excuse. As such, he had widespread support among the club. However, he still quit his post in the end, because the team's performance was simply too poor. Under him, his team attained the record for victories in a single Newcastle season, and was the most in the history of Newcastle since the time it was established in 1951—a consecutive 500 minutes of not scoring in its home match.

As Tang En knew Roeder had such a history, he knew that he had nothing to fear in Roeder. West Ham's current good performance had nothing to do with this gentleman manager. It was only because they had a batch of talented players.

Disregarding the players on the field, we only had to take a look at the players on the substitute bench to know of this team's abilities: England's national team player in the 2002 World Cup, Trevor Sinclair. Mali's national team football player Kanoute, who later became La Liga's famous shooter, who helped Sevilla Football Club clinch the UEFA Europa League championship title twice. He became an integral player in the team's dual championship title in the 06-07 season La Liga and UEFA Europa League. Looking at these names, then comparing them to the team's standing in the post-season—third from the bottom—they were relegated.

After the team's miserable losses of 0:5 to Everton and 1:7 to Blackburn Rovers, this manager still claimed that the team's poor performance was not his responsibility. He said it was because the players his predecessor, Redknapp, had bought were too disappointing. However, Roeder's poor management was not a biased "fallacy" which only one or two people concluded. In fact, the entire English media had never once stopped criticizing him nor stopped questioning his ability. Tang En's observation in the first half of the match once again reaffirmed his thoughts regarding Roeder's ability.

Tang En shrugged his shoulders. He had already discovered the way to deal with this team. However, now was not the time for adjustments, since it was only five minutes before halftime. He decided that, as soon as he entered the changing room, he would give these half-awake players a good smack to wake them up.

Tang En suddenly heard a very sharp and clear jeering sound from behind him, and what ensued after was a series of furious scolding noises. He thought that it was very strange, as it had been very quiet mere moments ago. Why had it become noisy all of a sudden?

He turned his head to look at the source of the commotion, and saw Michael and gang making faces and flipping him the bird. The gauze on Michael's head was simply too conspicuous...

"Scram back to your youth team! This is an adult team, not a place for little kids like you. Go back to your mother and behave! Hahaha!"

"Oh—Oh—" the people beside him began taunting as well. These people were mostly the same bunch who ridiculed him that day in the bar. There were a few unfamiliar faces, but it was certain that they were in the same clique as Michael.

Walker's attention was also attracted by the scolding noises coming from behind. He stood up and scolded them loudly, "Michael, what are you all doing?!"

Michael completely ignored Walker and said as he tilted his head slightly, "Walker, you better not interfere. This is a personal grudge between us and Mr. Manager."

"Personal grudge? Between your group and a single person?" Walker snorted.

"Alright, pay them no mind." Tang En said as he pulled Walker down.

"Tony, what is going on? I seem to recall that you never got into conflict with other people. Moreover, Michael is also an ardent fan of Team Nottingham Forest, so why do they detest you so much?"

"Nothing much. I just threw liquor in his face at Burns' bar, and we got into a scuffle—it only lasted for a short while, after I knocked him onto the ground and called that fatty 'fatso'." Tang En briefly illustrated what happened, but Walker's mouth was open so wide that he could almost swallow a football ball. The Twain he knew hated drinking and smoking, and never got angry at other people, much less got into a fight with someone. What exactly was going on?

Tang En knew that Walker was extremely shocked, because anyone that knew him would feel the same way if they heard what he had just said. "I'll explain it to you later. Right now, we need to put the match first. I've found a way to deal with them."

Walker turned his head and took another look at the rowdy gang of people, before he continued watching the match with a focused mind.

English stadiums had a unique feature, in the sense that the manager's seat was rarely set in the spacious area between the field and the viewing platform, which is very different from most of the football stadiums most people know of. Their manager's seats were located on the viewing platform and were surrounded by normal fans' seats. The two sides of the players' passageway were the technical area and the substitutes' bench. Unless they had to direct the match, managers usually sat on the viewing platform. Team Nottingham Forest's home stadium, City Ground, was not previously like that. Their manager's seats were below the viewing platform on the sideline. They were even on a lower ground than the football field—as if the manager's seats were holes dug at the sideline, with a ceiling made of concrete above their heads to shelter them from the sun and rain. Later, only because the 1996 UEFA European Championship, it was renovated to be like most English stadiums, with the manager's seats very near to the fans' viewing platform. This way of closing the distance from the fans had its pros and cons. Tang En was currently enduring the "cons" of it. Michael and gang who were seated behind the manager's seats did not stop heckling and using all sorts of flowery vulgarities to humiliate Tang En, challenging his endurance.

Even the substitute players of the team could not help but stand and stare at them for a while. Tang En still did not turn his head, fully focused on the match.

"You coward, full-fledged scaredy cat! Did you see, I'm scolding you and your entire family! If you feel like you are strong enough, come and give me another punch! Where did that courage of yours go when you punched me? Trash! You b*stard! Son of a gun! Loser!" Michael scolded loudly, even attracting the television broadcasting crew's attention.

Emboldened by the cameras, he continued to scold on top of the viewing platform, while Tang En who was seated less than three meters below him watching the match with his arms folded. Tang En was captured on screen and broadcasted to countless television sets. Burns, who happened to be helping out at his bar, also saw this scene. At that moment, sounds of applause and cheering for Michael enveloped the entire bar. Looking at the full bar, Burns could only nonchalantly shake his head.

Perhaps it was just as Michael and the gang had scolded, Tang En was a full-fledged "scaredy cat" and "coward", who did not even dare to retaliate or refute. His performance disappointed many football players. Truth to be told, Michael's words were so unbearable that even the players who knew him could not carry on listening to what he was saying. However, Tang En continued to sit in his seat without even budging an inch, as if he completely could not hear what these people were saying.

Motson saw this scene and became excited yet again. "I discovered a very interesting phenomenon. As long as Manager Tony Twain is around, the most entertaining and impressive moment would definitely not be on the field, but instead in a ten-yard radius around him. Currently, there is some commotion behind the manager's seat, as if the fans had something to say to him. Looking at their agitated behavior, there is no doubt that what they have to say will not be pleasant at all. I think that for the Match of the Day program tomorrow night, we will invite professional lip readers to decipher what they are saying. If West Ham defeats their opponents 3:0, then there will be absolutely nothing worth reporting, because they should win this match. Instead, the commotion off the field is more worthy of our attention. "

The timer on the match ticked and passed by the second, and the situation on the field remained unfavorable for Nottingham Forest. However, after leading by three goals, West Ham had also slowed down their attacking pace. They were rather casually passing behind then kicking the ball forward. Perhaps the players were like the manager, already thinking about their next English Premier League match.

The scolding noises coming from behind the home team manager's seats did not let up for a moment. Quite a number of players could not take it anymore, as they voluntarily requested to do some warm-ups on the side of the field, in order to leave that extremely uncomfortable substitutes' bench. Tang En ignored their requests. Walker could only sigh, as he let the substitute players do their warm-ups. The substitutes' bench was suddenly half-empty, leaving behind only the managerial staff.

Des Walker looked at Twain worriedly, as he felt that there was something wrong with Twain all this while. Walker's face was extremely gloomy, just like the past two days' weather.

As his gaze shifted downwards, he saw Twain's hands tightly clenched into a fist. Due to the over exertion of force, even his knuckles were turning white...

The referee's whistle gave everyone a brief relief, as this extremely unbearable first half had finally ended.

Tang En immediately stood up and left his seat, leaving behind those fans who were still hurling insults at him and made his way to the passageway. Walker gave Michael and gang another stare, before he proceeded to the sideline to console the players. He patted them on their shoulders saying it was normal to concede three goals to an English Premier League team.

After all, they were merely a League One team...

Chapter 7: The Show In The Changing Room

Des Walker was the last to enter the changing room, as he had to ensure that all of the players had entered before him, without leaving anyone out. However, when he walked in, he was shocked to find that Tony Twain was not there. The atmosphere in the training room was very messy, filled with sighs and blame. There were even people discussing how they wanted to seize the upcoming winter transfer window to leave this "Forest of Hell." The past consecutive losses, coupled with the unstable financial situation of the club, divided the players. No matter how one looked at this group of people, he would be unable to see them as professional football players. If the fans of Nottingham Forest saw this scene, they would definitely be extremely disappointed and angry.

Ian Bowyer sat at the corner, as if he was an outsider. An unexplainable anger arose within Walker. The team's performance was so bad, and there were even inappropriate remarks being made, and yet this veteran assistant manager did not do anything to salvage the situation. No matter how much he did not want to see Twain become the substitute manager, he should at least set aside those personal grudges during work, right? What good would it do to his own career if the team lost?

Just as he was about to confront Bowyer, he heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor. Judging from the sound, there was definitely more than one person...

Puzzled, he turned around, only to see a scene which left him flabbergasted.

A group of fans wearing Nottingham Forest's red jersey and scarf were running hurriedly toward the door of the changing room! Walker did not count, but at a glance, this group of people were so numerous that they were able to block the passageway outside the changing room.

What...What is happening? Who gave them permission to enter? The changing room is an absolutely private place, and nobody is supposed to take even half a step into it... Security, where's the security?!

Just as he was about to open his mouth to subdue these seemingly agitated fans, he was pushed to the side, and he watched helplessly as a group of at least 10 fans gushed into the small changing room.

He had just been worrying about how the fans would feel if they saw this kind of atmosphere in the changing room, and now it had turned into reality.

He had been separated outside, unable to see what was happening inside the room. However, he could hear that the room, which was as noisy as a pub mere moments ago, suddenly turned silent.

This awkward silence was interrupted by the sound of calm footsteps. Walker saw Tang En slowly walking over from the direction the fans had come from, as though he was casually taking a stroll. Without any time to worry about what had happened inside the changing room, he quickly walked towards Tang En, pulling him to one side. He lowered his voice and asked, "Tony, those fans..."

"Yes, I was the one who let them in."

"You?!" Walker's eyes stared in disbelief.

Tang En was very satisfied with his assistant's reaction. "Yes. After I left the stadium, I made a trip to the convenience store to buy cigarettes. After which, I overheard them discussing the first half of the match, saying that they wanted to give those overpaid players a morale booster, so I let them in."

"Tony! Are you crazy? You know what this place is right? The changing room! The forbidden place where even Doughty would not enter without giving us a heads up! Your head... your head is really..." Walker was furious.

Tang En smiled, "Don't worry, Des. Just accompany me and watch the show." He pulled Walker back, not letting him rush back into the changing room. After which, they heard a shocked sound coming from the direction of the changing room.

"You... who are you all? How did you get in?" Old Bowyer's shocked voice revealed a tinge of fright as his voice trembled.

However, one could not fault Bowyer's poor psychological condition, as nobody would be able to stay calm and collected if they saw angry fans rushing into the changing room. After a brief moment of abnormal silence, came an explosion of emotions.

The leader of the fans was a very plump and tall person. He ripped off the Nottingham Forest rest scarf around his neck, before he flung it onto the face of Jack Lester, the striker who had a lackluster performance in the first half.

"We were rooting for all of you wholeheartedly on the viewing platform, and this is how you repay us!" He shouted loudly, his voice resounded throughout the venue. "We paid money to buy tickets, ask for your autographs, idolize you, support you... and treat you guys as the heroes of this city. No matter how poor your performance was, we did not grumble about it. But look at your current state! Which part of you guys looks like professional football players? Who was the one who was talking about leaving the team? You may scram now! Nottingham Forest doesn't need trash like you!"

"Let me tell you, we will be watching all of you closely in the second half. We want to see how a bunch of scoundrels like you are humiliated by East Londoners! After all, the one losing face is not us! Pff!" Viciously spitting, the fat guy turned around and squeezed his way out of the changing room. The rest of the fans also followed suit and ripped off the scarves around their neck, flinging them onto the ground. After that, they turned around and left the room as well.

Looking at the large group of people walking past him, Tang En was even in the mood to greet them, "Nicely done, lads. "

It was a pity that nobody paid any attention to him, as they all left hurriedly with their heads lowered, not uttering a single word.

Des Walker's head was also lowered. As he had just stepped down from the position of a player, there were times at which he still could not tell the role of an assistant manager from a player apart, despite the two being completely different. Just now when the fans furiously accused the players of not giving their all for the match, Walker felt as if they were also blaming him for not doing his part as an assistant manager properly. When he was still a player, Walker maintained a very good relationship with the Nottingham Forest fans. Even when he scored on his own goal during the FA Cup Championship Finals match against Tottenham Hotspur, none of the fans blamed him. Now, it felt as if they were pointing fingers at him and scolding him, "You are not worthy to lead Nottingham Forest! You are not worthy of our respect!"

Just as he was blaming himself, Tang En smacked his back with force. "Des, come with me." Truth to be told, the Walker at that moment had already lost his ability to think properly. He only did as he was told by Tang En, just like a robot, and walked into the dead-silent changing room. What he saw in the next moment would remain engraved in his memories for a long, long time.

Tang En strode into the changing room and swept a look across the people in the room as he stood at the entrance. After which, his gaze became fixated on the scarves on the floor. It appeared that the football fans were really furious, Tang En thought as he silently shrugged his shoulders.

Hearing the sound of the footsteps halt, everyone raised their heads and looked at their manager who had reappeared after vanishing without reason. However, nobody could see the expression on his face, because there was nothing there. They knew that these fans were definitely let in by him on purpose. Without the permission of the manager, nobody could enter the changing room. After doing all this, what did this manager intend to say?

Quite a few people remembered that in the previous League One match, they were already two goals down before the end of the first half. During halftime, the manager said several things, but had no way of making the players remember them. That was because his voice was too soft and was unable to suppress the loud jeers, commotion, and music from outside. In any case, even though everyone saw him moving around pieces on the tactical board, nobody had any idea of what he was trying to convey. Just like that, they ultimately lost 0:3, which was the same score at the end of today's first half.

Tang En did not say anything, as he bent over and picked up the scarves thrown by the fans. He flicked away the dust on them, before handing them over to Walker, who was standing behind him. After which, he raised his head and looked at the all the players.

"Jack Lester, Marlon Harewood, Matthieu Louis-Jean," one by one, Tang En slowly announced the names of players who did not perform well in the first half. "Gareth Williams, Eugen Bopp, Andy Reid, Darren Ward. I must ask all of you a very serious question.... did you all visit prostitutes the last night as a group?"

Nobody expected their manager to ask this sort of question, as everyone stared dumbfounded at him with their mouths wide open, unsure of how to answer.

"Answer me, yes or no?!" Tang En suddenly shouted, causing the people in the changing room to all become frightened by him. Nobody dared to even utter a single word to answer his question.

"This is the first time I've hated football's creator this much. If he had dictated the rules such that an official match allowed for eleven substitutions, I would have switched all of you out!" Tang En flailed his arms around agitatedly, a completely different person from the quiet and gloomy Tony Twain. "All of your performances are dog sh*t...Wrong, not dog sh*t, but ten dog sh*ts! I'm the one who let the fans in, because they said that they wanted to give you a morale boost to perform better in the second half as there is still chance for a comeback. They said that being three balls down was no big deal... but!"

Tang En paused for a moment, before sighing yet again. "But you all disappointed them. Exactly what kind of team did that group of excited fans see? I'm wrong again, can you be even called a 'team'? All of you are one, two, three, four... fourteen turds of dog sh*t!" Tang En's raised one finger on his left hand, and four fingers on his right hand. "Let me tell you guys, if I weren't the manager of this team, the current me would also very much like to do this..." He retracted his left hand, while winding down three fingers from his right hand, leaving behind a tall standing middle finger. "On the viewing platform, there are 27,000 more of these middle fingers!"

None of the players had expected Twain to start scolding them once he opened his mouth. His words were brutal and harsh, yet loud and clear, full of agitation. These traits were completely opposite what they had remembered about him previously. They were dumbfounded by Tang En's scolding, as each of them stared blankly while they sat on their seats, not knowing how they should react.

On the way to the changing room, Edward Doughty was still trying his best to convince his father to give up on the idea of introducing him to the team. "During such an important period like the halftime, Manager Twain must be very busy. As such, the team and him will most likely not have time to meet us. Let's just forget about it."

"It's only a very brief meet up, you just have to greet them. After that, we'll leave, it won't take more than half a minute." Nigel insisted. Edward shrugged his shoulders and slightly shook his head as he followed behind his father.

Just as the two of them reached the intersection leading to the changing room, a group of people rushed out from the corner, giving them a scare. Edward frantically extended his hands to put back his father, afraid that they would collide with this group of people. His old father could not take any more physical strain at his age.

"What is going on?" Nigel discovered that this group of people who hurried past him, came from the direction of the changing room. Puzzled, he stared in their direction for a while, before muttering to himself.

After giving way to the crowd, the two of them reached the door of the changing room. Nigel turned his head around to look at his son and discovered that his tie had come loose. Nigel adjusted it for him.

"Edward, remember. The changing room is a very sacred place. We have to maintain our image," he said.

Seeing that his son was still rather obedient, Nigel nodded his head with a sense of satisfaction before turning back to knock on the door of the changing room. Right as his hands touched the door, he heard Tony Twain's outburst coming from within.

"Twenty-seven thousand middle fingers! Flourishing just like Sherwood Forest!"

After resting for a brief moment, Tang En took the opportunity to observe the players' expressions. Tang En continued, "I know that there are some people who have been thinking of leaving the team for a very long time. For some people, Nottingham Forest is nothing more than a giant ATM to collect a monthly salary, without a care for the team's performance at all. However, I would like to remind you fools that no club would waste money just to hire a pile of dog sh*t. If all of you continue to perform like dog sh*t on the field, you can forget about finding any club that is willing to pay for this kind of performance! I won't stop all of you from leaving, and I will not persuade those whose hearts are not here, to stay. But all of you ought to understand that your future is not dependent on me, and instead hinges on your own performance! Who do you think you are playing football for? The fans? The club chairman? Or for me, a manager who might be replaced at any time? You idiots, all of you are playing for your own sake!"

The majority of the people looking at Tang En and had a change of their facial expressions. There were all sorts of expressions, some were shocked, some were agitated, while some were lost in thought. Tang En knew that his psychological warfare had worked. At this moment, it was useless to talk about the glory of the team to those who were set on leaving. Therefore, there was a need to mention what they cared most about—their own futures. This was guaranteed to go straight to their hearts, even making the people who were originally listening half-heartedly focus their full attention on what he had to say.

As for the remaining group of people...

Tang En randomly grabbed a scarf from the pile in Walker's hands, which he opened and raised in front of everyone.

"What exactly does a team scarf mean to a fan? If there's anyone who doesn't understand, I can once again invite the fans back in to explain it to you. Do you think that they wrapped these scarves around their necks because they were cold? Des."

Hearing that Tang En was calling for him, Walker frantically stood out.

"Look at the scarves in your hands, do you find them familiar?"

Only upon being reminded by Tang En like this did Walker realize that no two scarves in his hands were identical. There were slight variations in their designs, sizes, pictures and colors.

"Des, the scarf I'm holding on to, what year's design was it?" Tang En asked, without even turning his head.

Walker examined the scarf in great detail for a while, before he confidently replied, "the 91-92 season."

"Very good." After that, Tang En continued to pick out scarves from Walker's hands one by one, asking the same question. To which Walker answered all of them correctly. This made Ian Bowyer, who was at the side, secretly shocked. Even a veteran player become manager of the team was unable to accurately answer the year which each and every one of the scarves' were designed in.

"This last one," Tang En raised the last piece of narrow scarf. Compared to the other scarves, this piece was exceptionally old, with its color already faded, and its sides showing signs of wear. This time, he did not hear Walker's reply for quite some time. Feeling that it was strange, Tang En turned around to look at Walker. Only at this moment, did he discover that Walker was staring at that scarf with an unusual look on his face.

"Des?"

"Sorry....This, this is the 79-80 season's design, when Nottingham appeared at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League!" Walker said agitatedly. This design made him recall Team Nottingham Forest's past glory. Even though he was a Londoner, even though he only joined the football team in 1983, after its most glorious days, but after serving Team Nottingham Forest for over 20 years, and playing 321 matches for the team, Walker had long been a Nottingham Forest fan and a "Nottinghamian" through and through.

Hearing Walker announce the origins of this worn-out scarf made quite a few people in the changing room gasp. The UEFA Champions League championship title was a glory that most people present did not even dare think about. Yet, the logo on their chest had attained it twice before. Even though this club was presently in an abject state, in the past, it had clinched the highest honor for a European football club twice in consecutive years.

Tang En also did not expect his luck to be so good, for there to be such an antique like this among the scarves thrown by the fans. He was not sure which overly agitated fan threw this, but would he not feel regret after he calmed down? To normal people, this scarf was no different than a worn-out rag, but to a die-hard Nottingham fan, it was priceless!

Tang En also could not help but inspect the scarf in his hand seriously, as though he could see the history of Nottingham Forest just from this worn-out scarf. The endless waves of cheers resounding throughout Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and the silver-colored trophy shining brightly under the fireworks, was the stuff of dreams for countless people….

Tang En stabilized his state of mind, before looking at the players once again. The current situation was different, compared to just before.

Michael Dawson was a true blue Nottinghamian, and held Team Nottingham Forest's glorious past close to his heart. After seeing this scarf, he could not hold back his emotions. Michael stood up and said, "Boss, boss...."

"What?" Tang En did not understand what Michael wanted to do.

"Can, can you let me touch that scarf?" Dawson pointed at the scarf in Tang En's Hands.

Tang En passed the scarf, which Dawson received solemnly with both hands. Afterwards, he pulled it open and raised it over his head, appearing as if he was carrying the UEFA Champions League Trophy. The bright, white light shone through the scarf and onto his eyes, and yet he did not move his gaze from the scarf. With a trembling voice, Dawson muttered, "Since I was four years old, I followed my father to City Ground to watch football. That was how I learned to open the scarves and shout 'Forest!' 'Forest!', as I dreamed about myself playing for Team Nottingham Forest, winning the match for the tens of thousands of fans just like my father."

The changing room was completely silent, with everyone's gaze fixated on the scarf in Dawson's hands.

"When I was young, whenever I wanted my father to tell me stories, he would always talk about Forest's consecutive UEFA Champions League championship title, and tales of its 42 consecutive no-lose streak. However, I never grew tired of hearing about them. Every time he talked about the two championship titles, he would imitate the commentators on the radio, and shout, 'Trevor Francis!' 'John Robertson!' 'Team Nottingham Forest is the champion, champion of the UEFA Champions League!'" Dawson sighed and said, "This scarf is older than me. But when I was finally accepted into Nottingham Forest's youth team the year I turned ten, the team had been relegated..."

Dawson's illustration made Des Walker recall old memories. Although he did not undergo the painful moment where Nottingham Forest was relegated, Walker had experienced the final glory of the team. Till now, he still remembered the moments he spent at the City Ground stadium. He even remembered his own goal which caused Manager Clough's English FA Cup championship dreams to be shattered. At that moment, Walker broke into tears in front of his father-like manager, Brian Clough.

He and Stuart Pearce paired up to form a National Team level defense, which was seemingly impregnable. At that time, their football team was filled with talented players, Franz Carr, Neil Webb, Ian Bowyer, Nigel Clough, John Robertson, Roy Keane... They were fearless when they were together, and even the five-time UEFA Champions League champion, Liverpool, felt threatened when faced with them.

There was still another person who had been touched in the similar manner. He was the white-haired person hiding in the corner.

Dawson continued, ".... I don't know how long Nottingham Forest stayed in League One, I've never counted. Every year, before the new season started, people would say that we should not stay in League One, and that we should return to English Premier League. However, when the season ended, we would still be in League One. Many people lost their trust, and they left for various reasons. I also knew that after that season ended, there would definitely be players who left. After which, we would once again wait for a new batch of teammates, starting off the new season afresh. Our teammates changed batch after batch, our coaches changed one after another, and yet the only thing which remained unchanged was the fact that we still remained in League One. I really wish to play in the English Premier League, and I feel that as long as we are given a chance, we can also prove that we are able to play in the English Premier League!" After saying this, Dawson's tone became even more serious, and he appeared to have become slightly agitated. "I can't wait for the next season or the following season anymore, I want to prove right now that we are also able to compete in the English Premier League! Isn't West Ham United an English Premier League Team? Playing with them can indeed count as an English Premier League match, right? Let's see it this way then! By beating them, it proves that our ability is indeed beyond the English Premier League! I beseech all of you to help me at once to play an English Premier League match!"

Looking at the radiance emanating from this 19 child, Tang En suddenly felt that his decision to make him the captain was indeed correct. Is there anyone else more suited for this? The speech which he had prepared beforehand was no longer needed, as this child's actions were far more impressive than what a bad actor like him could possibly do.

Tang En raised his arm and said in a loud voice, "Now, I have a method to salvage the situation in the second half. But I need people who truly wish to play football, truly wish to play the match well, to execute this plan. I don't need sleep-walkers who are still not awake, nor do I need cowards who already believe that we are bound to lose. What I need are warriors, warriors who can abandon everything else for the sake of victory! Who is willing to become this type of person? Stand up!"

All the people in the changing room stood up at the same time.

Tang En smiled, "Very good, soldiers."

The two people were still listening outside the door. Nigel Doughty lowered his voice and called out his son's name.

"Edward."

"I'm here, father."

"You're right, now is definitely not a suitable time for us to go in and greet them. Let's go. I will find another time to arrange a meeting with that group of soldiers." Finished saying this, he turned around and walked away slowly.

Edward turned and looked at the door of the changing room one last time before he followed closely behind his father.

Inside the changing room, Tang En was seizing every remaining minute to brief the players regarding the tactics for the second half. He did not have time for idle talk, as there was less than five minutes left in halftime. Tang En only realized after Walker reminded him. At the moment, he did not have the freedom to lament his fate taking such a sudden turn. Four days ago, he was still a nameless Chinese guy who loafed around. Four days later, he was actually able to be a part of such a splendid show in a professional team's changing room, as well as talk about tactics to a team of professional football players.

Tang En quickly drew out West Ham's formation on the tactics board. This set of formation was what he had derived based on his observation of the first half.

"West Ham United's cores are their captain, Joe Cole, as well as many highly skilled players. The team's tactics are meticulous, and they possess great synergy. This kind of team is hard to play against, but definitely not unbeatable. Although their team appears to be playing very well, there is actually a very serious hidden issue. In the first half, they managed to secure a lead of 3:0. Moreover, we are a League One team, one tier lower than them. To West Ham, the most important match for them is no longer the current match with us. Instead, the most important match for them will be the English Premier League's twenty-third round match with Newcastle. Do you all understand what I'm driving at?" Tang En raised his head and asked, also giving a short break for the players who were listening to digest what they had heard thus far. It was not good to bombard them with all the information in one go.

Although the players were perhaps still slightly lost, the two assistant coaches understood clearly what he meant.

Although it was still halfway into the season, West Ham United's chances of remaining in the English Premier League were very grim. It was obvious that the qualifications to stay in the English Premier League were much more important than a normal match in the FA Cup. Under the circumstances, leading by three goals, the other party would definitely have reservations about giving their fullest, regardless of whether it was in terms of tactics or the player's performance. On top of that... they would also definitely make light of the competition. In comparison, what did Forest have as an advantage? Although the football team's performance of late was extremely disappointing, there were definitely no worries or being relegated, and they could invest all of their energy into this second half. A fully-focused team versus a team which was not focused at all, the difference was very big...

Indeed, Tang En's ensuing words reaffirmed their conjecture.

"In the second half, West Ham United will definitely be unable to display the focus and exceptional condition which they had displayed for the first half. As such, we'll make use of this and strike them such that they are unable to react in time! Moreover, West Ham's coordination is mainly focused on their exquisite foot coordination. We won't be challenging them with skill. I hope that each and every one of you takes note. Each and every one of you, from the strikers to the goalkeepers, follow the tactics which I'm about to brief you all about—handle the ball roughly and with bigger actions. If Joe Cole manages to get the ball, immediately snatch it away from him and be vicious when you're executing it! I don't care about your fouls, as long as they are not committed in our own penalty area. It would be even better if you caused one or two of the players to be substituted. Remember, you must be vicious! This is not a mere football match, but war! In situations where both teams stand a 50-50 chance of gaining the possession of the ball, all of you get it. Don't be afraid of injury. As the other party will definitely give up on these kinds of balls, this is our chance! If we want to salvage the situation on the field, we have to make use of more of these body collisions. Once they become scared, it will be the perfect moment for us to retaliate and attain victory!"

"Let me tell all of you about West Ham's relationship with us. They are akin to high and mighty nobles, who are well-fed and lead luxurious lifestyles. If so, what are we? We are Robin Hood, the ones who topple the nobles! We are those without anything, therefore we don't have to worry about losing anything. On the contrary, they should be the ones who are afraid. We are in Nottingham, surrounded by Sherwood Forest. This is the place we are most familiar with, our turf! In the forest, the chivalrous bandits never return empty-handed. If we score once, we'll be behind by two points. If we score twice, we'll be behind by merely a goal.... If we score four or more times, we win!"

Tang En clenched his fists tightly, as he punched the tactics board.

Chapter 8: In The Name Of Victory

The locker room atmosphere at that very moment was so good that Walker could not bear to remind everyone that they had to play immediately. Since the team had slipped into League One, the team morale had been steadily declining, and many people even believed they should be in the lower level league and had no confidence for the future. David Platt did not change this despondent morale, Paul Hart also did not. Who would have thought that the originally glum and low-key substitute manager could turn things around?

Looking at the players' faces trembling with excitement and the fire in their eyes, Des Walker realized that Twain being struck in the back of his head was not necessarily a bad thing, at least God had given them a decent manager.

"Okay! We play now!" Tang En stood at the door and clapped, urging the players to get out there. The first to pass by his side was Jack Lester who had a poor performance in the first half. He was probably still upset by his first half performance and had intended to go out with his head hung low, but was caught off guard by a slap on his back.

"Raise your head, all of you lift your heads up!" His voice rang out again in the locker room. "We haven't lost yet, why do you have your heads down? Don't let those East Londoners think we're scared of them!"

With a roar, all the players unconsciously raised their heads and walked out of the locker room with their chests puffed out.

Once the last player had left the locker room, Tang En turned to see Walker still standing behind him, his tense face showing a glimmer of smile.

Walker looked at the sweat on his forehead and also smiled. "Tony, you really gave me a good show."

Tang En grinned, "Let's go, Des. Whatever the result is going to be, it still has to pass the trial of the match."

When they returned into the technical area, both teams' players were already on the field, waiting for the kickoff. Tang En looked at the stands. What disappointed him was that the halftime had just passed, and the stands were already empty, he did not know whether they had not returned to their seats yet, or if they were too disappointed with the Forest team and did not want to watch. If you all left early, I bet you'll regret it!

And then behind him came the sounds of abuse like the first half. Tang En did not even turn his head, he did not wish to acknowledge them now. Not until after the start of the match, would he then look at them again. Walker seemed to want to argue with them and was pressed down by Tang En on the bench.

"Ignore them, just watch the ball. The match is going to start soon."

The starting lineup of the match was arranged by Des Walker, basically it was the team's main force, no injuries or illnesses. This lineup was not considered weak in League One, but it did not play well in the last few matches and a lot had to do with their low spirits. With the rumored change of their manager, each player's future hanging in the balance, and the shadow of a financial crisis, how were the players expected to be the right frame of mind to play well, and how would the football managers be able to delve into tactics?

Tang En had just rekindled their fighting spirit and confidence buried in their hearts. Their opponent is a Premier League team? Well, it's more exhilarating to play such a team, and we can prove our ability even more by beating a Premier League team! Whether it was a player making noise for a transfer, or someone who planned to be in this low-level league, everyone is ignited with a fighting spirit at this very moment—to beat West Ham United for himself! No matter what our purpose or our past differences may be, our goal is the same this time, and that is to win this match, for victory!

Michael Dawson observed the West Ham United players behind the defensive line and found that his manager had incredible foresight. Their opponents were inattentive, their eyes were unfocused, and their stance was sloppy. They were completely unaware of what terrible beasts their opponents had become.

He knew that he would win this match today!

The referee blew the whistle and the second half began. In the press box, John Motson drank some water, cleared his throat, turned on the microphone, and began his commentary.

"This is the first match of the English FA Cup third round in the 02-03 season, with visiting team West Ham United leading 3:0 over the home team Nottingham Forest in the first half. What will we see in the second half of the match... Oh, foul!" He had not even finished saying his prepared lines before he had to change them midway.

The main referee had just blown the whistle to start play, and he had to whistle again. This time it was because a Forest team player had committed a foul. Andy Reid had pushed the West Ham United team captain Joe Cole during a tackle.

Tang En knew Joe Cole's particular style of play and future stardom. England's most intuitive player with the most gorgeous footwork in recent years would not reach the height of everyone's expectations. Besides his style of play was not in keeping with the English football tradition. His easily injured body was also an important reason that prevented him from advancing further.

Modern football had very high physical fitness requirements, It required a player with the combined skills of Maradona and Pelé. If a player had a glass-like body, it was basically equal to having no chance of any glory and achievement. Generally speaking, it was this way for Joe Cole. His footwork was outstanding, yet he was easily injured.

Wonderkid, let me teach you how to face brutal defense here. Tang En said in his heart. If you can pass this round, you will be the world's superstar, but if you fail... then you should resign to your fate!

West Ham United was awarded a free kick. Andy Reid's foul still did not raise the alarm for them. No matter how they looked at it, it was only a common foul. The truth was, for a young famous star player like Joe Cole, being violated on the field was practically commonplace, nothing to it. Anyways they were three goals ahead.

The free kick went out and soon the ball went to a Forest player. Defoe carelessly stopped the ball with his foot and directly kicked it to his opponent. With regard to this lapse, neither Glenn Roeder the manager on the sideline nor the West Ham United players on the field took it to heart. They thought they had already won. Roeder also expressed his congratulations to the team ahead of time during halftime. After taking a look at the Forest player who took the ball, that childlike juvenile midfielder, Roeder turned his head back to the technical area, ready to discuss the 11 days of Premier League with his aides. They were going to play against Newcastle on home ground, and this was a tricky team. Newcastle was ranked fourth in the league, and they were the last.

When Tang En saw Dawson got the ball, he knew it was a chance. Because of this offense, most of the West Ham United players had not returned to their side, they were just leisurely walking on the field. They needed to be taught a lesson.

He got up from the technical area and walked down.

Motson in the press box saw the scene, "Manager Tony Twain just got up and walked down. This is the first time he has appeared on the sideline in this match, is there anything worth looking forward to for the Forest team in the second half? But I still hope he will be careful of his own players and not be knocked down again! Ha ha!"

Dawson also noticed that Twain had appeared on the sideline. He glanced over and saw that Twain had drawn an arc in front of his chest with his right forefinger. A long pass?

In fact, he had already seen that the West Ham United formation was very messy. There were numerous loopholes in their defense. Jack Lester was the forward nearest to the front. But he was like a sleepwalker in the first half. Could he be trusted?

Dawson gritted his teeth and kicked the ball forward.

Tang En watched the football fly, shining brightly under the afternoon sun, straight behind the West Ham defense line.

The man who appeared there was—Jack Lester!

Tang En clenched his fists. "Shoot! Son of a bitch!" he yelled. But Lester was still outside the penalty area... Tang En saw that the opposing goalkeeper, David James, was standing a bit forward, perhaps he did not expect the Forest team's offense would cross into their penalty area line so quickly.

Tang En saw it, did Lester see it?

This 26-year-old forward from Sheffield only had the football in his eyes. He saw the West Ham United Czech Republic defender, Tomá??epka, leap high, but he did not head the ball from Dawson. He missed!

The football flew toward Lester, he lifted his chest and propelled it beautifully. Amidst the cheering of the Forest fans, he seemed to hear a voice shouting, "Shoot!"

He did not have time to look at the opposition goalkeeper's position, and he just kicked and shot, launching straight into the air within the penalty area!

The biggest beneficiary of West Ham's frantic attack in the first half was their goalkeeper James, who did not even break a sweat. It even allowed him to show off in the locker room. Now he realized he was the unluckiest man because of the first half…

Because when he tried to save the goal, he found himself unable to stretch out due to the lack of warm-up.

The football flew past his hand, and it went into the goal behind him!

"Jack Lester ... What a great goal!!" Motson jumped up from his seat. When Dawson passed the ball with his kick, he did not expect to see such a beautiful goal.

The City Ground was suddenly ignited by Lester's goal, and all the red-clad fans jumped from their seats. Waving their arms, this time it was really the Sherwood Forest, which was more spectacular than the 27,000 middle fingers!

After scoring the goal, Lester saw the football inside the goal, then jerked around and sprinted towards the technical area. He wanted to thank someone for this goal. That person was...Tony Twain who was waving his arms and shouting on the sideline! It was him who rekindled his fighting spirit and confidence. It was him who told him that he had to raise his head, straighten up and face up to everything. He was sure that the word 'shoot' was definitely shouted by Twain.

At that moment, the sound of abuse behind the technical area vanished. The players and the managers were only able to hear one sound, "Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!!" The City Ground, which could accommodate up to 32,000 people, had finally regained its status as the Forest team's home ground.

Tang En grabbed hold of this chance to teach the Forest team players who had gathered around him to celebrate the goal, "Take a look at this stand! This is our home ground! Do you see it? These are our fans! Play it well! Now back to the field to continue to teach those Londoners!"

After sending away the motivated players, he returned to the technical area, Des Walker stood up and high-fived him in celebration. "Beautifully done, Tony!"

"It wasn't me. It was Lester and Dawson who did it beautifully." Tang En was modest all of a sudden.

"You've all done beautifully!" Walker said with a laugh.

After celebrating with Walker, Tang En looked up and saw Michael and the rest above the technical area. He was delighted to see that their embarrassed expressions. They wanted to celebrate but were unwilling to look overly happy. Looking at this group of poor people who were at a loss, Tang En laughed.

Michael's face immediately darkened and yelled at him, "Don't be too happy just yet. We're still behind by two goals! If you're capable of turning this defeat into victory for us, I'll buy you a drink tonight!"

Tang En pointed at him and shouted back, "Is that right? You'll by me a drink?"

"That's what I said!"

"Get ready to pay then!"

Tang En sat back down and said to Walker next to him, "Des, we're going to Burns' bar for drinks tonight, someone's treating."

Walker nodded with a smile.

"The last match between Nottingham Forest and West Ham on home ground was on September 19, 1998. It was the last season in the Premier League for the Forest team, where the home and visiting team made a draw of 0:0." Motson began to explain the history of the two teams, which was a very typical English explanation. But after that, Motson changed his track and began to rave about the goal that Jack Lester had just scored. "Jack Lester's first half performance was a big joke, but his goal in the second half could be chosen for the top three of the FA Cup's best goals! I don't know what happened in the Forest team's locker room during halftime, but it's clear that the Forest team now is completely different from the first half. West Ham United was unstoppable! Maybe Tony Twain said something in the locker room. The Forest team's spirits are running high, and West Ham is obviously punch-drunk!"

This famous English commentator was right. West Ham was indeed punch-drunk. They did not expect to lose a goal just two minutes into the second half. And the opposing side's goal was so magnificent, it was enough to make the lethargic fans leap from their seats. Also, it was enough to make them hold their heads in frustration.

A football match was so wonderful. A goal could break the balance on the field and tip the scales of victory.

Lester's goal ignited the fervor of the Forest fans, it also ignited the enthusiasm of the Forest team. They were more vigorous in their charging, fiercer in their tackles, and quicker to attack.

Tang En knew the strength of the West Ham midfielders. Carrick and édouard Cissé were very successful in defending the midfield line. If they had played against West Ham in the midfield, they could only return the tempo of the match to their opponent. As far as the current Forest team was concerned, they were certainly not as good as West Ham in terms of technique. There was no reason to play their weaknesses to their opponent's strengths. To put it bluntly, the modern football match was a mutually restrictive contest. How to destroy each other's technical and tactical system was the top priority. In any case, they could not allow their opponents to play their best. This was especially important when a weaker team played against a strong team.

Since my midfield control of the match can't compare to you West Ham, I'm not going to go through the midfield. Seventy percent of the time, the four midfielders in parallel positions, were used for defense—for cutting Joe Cole and Lee Bowyer down like trees. Once either one got the ball, at least one or two of the Forest players would charge up, and it became a chaotic mess. The result would be either a Forest team foul or the players losing the ball. There was no way they could take the ball out of the Forest team's defensive array.

Mastering the possession of the ball, the Forest team's attack was very simple, simple enough to be roughly termed as the long pass. Tang En decided to play England's most traditional and best football style of the past, because the Forest team has a strong striker. So far, Marlon Harewood had not had any play. At 1.86 meter in height, his strong body still had an excellent foot technique. Although Tang En was still not satisfied with his shooting technique, his body on the field still had the force of impact. It was the best way to deal with the distracted West Ham defense line.

West Ham midfielders were completely suppressed by the Forest team. Defoe, who scored two goals in the first half, now appeared to be somewhat superfluous, and veteran Di Canio also lacked movement. Prior to this match, the Italian had some minor injuries, and the 34-year-old veteran would not have been the team's striker if there had been others available. Although Kanouté was sitting on the bench, Roeder was not prepared to let the Malian play. He was here to make up the numbers. Seeing how the striker was doing nothing in the front, and the midfielders and defenders were beginning to be hard-pressed, Roeder was considering whether he should switch players to adjust.

If he switched out Di Canio, who would be a good substitute for him? He swept his gaze across the substitutes' bench. Winger, Trevor Sinclair, attacking midfielder Don Hutchison, center back Gary Breen, plus striker Kanouté, and substitute goalkeeper van der Gouw.

It was a real headache, and he scratched his head.

It was at this time that he heard great cheers coming from the stands!

What was going on?

He hurriedly turned to look at the field.

He saw the Forest team's number 18 striker darting through the defensive line of his parallel position, and Andy Reid's pass was sent just right of his feet. Just like that, they easily broke their offside trap ...

"Which f*cker missed this?" The gentleman with the elegant demeanor could not help but burst into swearing.

He'd just turned his back on the field and did not see his team captain Joe Cole being successfully tackled by his opponent Gareth Williams because he had dribbled too closely. The direct cross was passed to Andy Reid on the other side of the pitch. With Reid's beautiful one touch pass with his foot, he was running diagonally and moving as one with Marlon Harewood, and just like that they easily ripped off the Premier League team's defense.

Tang En stood up from the technical area and leaned forward to closely watch the attack on the field. People around them also stood up from their seats in succession, getting ready for the moment to celebrate the goal.

Harewood ... I know you're not very good at shooting, but if you can't even get this ball in, I'll send you to the reserves tomorrow! Tang En was gnashing his teeth as he thought to himself.

In the quiet Wilford training ground, the iron carved gate was closed. On the right side of the gate, a cottage door was cracked opened a little, and a clear voice rang out from the inside.

"He's doing it single-handedly! Harewood will not waste this opportunity! He shoots ... and it's GOAL!!!"

The door of the cottage was flung open, and the gray-haired old man, MacDonald, jumped out of the cottage, stood at the door with his arms held high, and shouted, "Goal!!" His momentum blew up the leaves on the ground.

There were 27,000 Forest fans as excited as he was, watching in the City Ground, and they also shouted, "Goooooooal!!! Forest Go! Go! Go!"

The commentator's voice continued to air on the radio, "This is the Forest team's second goal in 13 minutes! They're so magnificent!! West Ham United did not expect the Forest team of the second half to give them such a heavy blow. Their three-ball advantage suddenly turned into them leading by only one goal, they are in jeopardy! Look at the strength of the Forest team! They may just be able to draw a tie!"

MacDonald yelled into the cottage, "Bollocks! We can turn this into a victory!"

That young man made good on his promise, the news of our goals came one after another on the radio. Beautifully done, Tony! Come on, Forest team!

The stands in the City Ground had reached fever pitch, even higher than the last goal. Harewood bolted to the edge of the field to the Forest team's main stand, where he was adulated by the fans. Behind him, his teammates soon leapt and pressed upon him.

This time on the sidelines, Tang En could not suppress his inner excitement any longer. He jumped high in the air, then he and Des Walker tightly embraced together. There was truly no way to keep calm in those 15 minutes of the second half! This group of people really did it! This switcheroo manager's tactics really worked! We still have one more goal! I want to turn this into a victory!

"Tony! Tony! You're so damn fantastic! I love you!" Walker roared wildly into his ear, and at this very moment he was fully convinced by the acting manager.

"I f*cking love you too ..." Tang En did not care that it was normally awkward to say so, he wanted to let his inner feelings out. "... I f*cking love all of you!"

When he saw the stadium had reached fever pitch and Tony Twain's tight embrace with his assistant manager from the press box, John Motson kept shaking his head, "Unbelievable, unbelievable... This has truly been an unbelievable 15 minutes in the second half! The Forest team in the first half had no fighting spirit. They were a mess, and now they have two goals. It looks like they're going to eat West Ham United for breakfast. What kind of magic did the acting manager perform on the players during halftime? What rejuvenated them? I think after this match, there will be countless people watching this space! But... now! Let's get back to the third round of the FA Cup and see if Nottingham Forest can turn this match around! Let us see if this Forest miracle can succeed!"

When the Forest team players returned to the field at the referee's urging, they were ready to play. The excitement in the stands had eased slightly, but it was followed by a singing that was long absent and now it reverberated through the City Ground.

Tang En recognized it. This was what he had heard before the match, but it was soon interrupted by boos and jeers.

"We've got the whole world in our hands! The world is in our hands! We are the best team in England! We're invincible, ever victorious! We are fearless! Because we are the best team! Because the world is in our hands!!"

Those proud lyrics… now the fans could finally sing them out loud with confidence.

Tang En stood on the sidelines, looking around the stands where thousands of arms and scarves swayed. Nottingham fans' loud singing voices banged his eardrums and buzzed in his head. In the past he could only see this scene on the television. Now he was really here in person. This was not a dream! Not a dream!

I love these voices! I love the sound here! I love this exciting scene!

Thank God, you've brought me here to become a manager. Yes, I found my calling! I will not waver, and I will not hesitate again. Because this is where I'm destined to stay!

He opened his arms, tilted his body back, held his head high, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the cheers of jubilation all around him.

Chapter 9: The Referee Takes Center Stage Part 1

"We've got the whole world in our hands!" The song was still echoing over the City Ground, and Forest players had the feeling of battling on their home ground again. They were surrounded by people who supported them, and their every move could win the fans' unreserved cheers. Yes, that was the feeling they had not felt for some time.

Come on, come on! A little more! We'll never feel sick of it!

Amidst the cheers of the fans, the Forest team launched a relentless offensive toward the West Ham United's goalmouth, and for a moment the situation at James' goal area was precarious. It seemed like the Forest team could score a goal at any time just by shooting at the goalmouth.

Glenn Roeder turned his head back to look at the substitutes' bench. He found that the substitute center back Gary Breen was still sitting on the bench.

"What the hell! Breen, why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to warm up?"

Gary Breen was baffled, when did the manager ask him to warm up? But he knew now was clearly not the time to argue with the agitated Roeder. He hurriedly took off his jacket and jumped off the substitutes' bench.

The change of West Ham United on the substitutes' bench had also drawn Tang En's attention. That player who was warming up was somewhat unfamiliar, so he turned to ask Walker, "Des, who is the player warming up?"

Walker looked for a moment and then told Twain, "Gary Breen, the Irish national footballer, a center back with an outstanding heading ability."

"It looks like our opponents have given up on the match." Tang En laughed. "Change to a center back ... five defenders to try to stop us from attacking? Call Jess back, I think he should be warmed up enough."

Walker got up and went over to the Forest team's warm-up area, shouted for Eoin Jess to come back.

West Ham United wanted to defend. This was exactly what Tang En wanted. If Roeder had the boldness to let his team attack, then Tang En might find his plan difficult. But if the opponent wanted to hold, then this match becomes simple. Wasn't it just intensive defense? He believed that as the match progressed, the West Ham players' mentality would change from disdain to impatience, the foot action would gradually increase, and the number of fouls would increase as well. The number of front positioning balls the Forest team would get could be quite a few.

The 31-year-old former Scottish national footballer, Eoin Jess, possessed a unique skill for beautiful free kicks. He was capped 18 times by Scotland, scoring two goals. On the day before the match, during the position ball practice, Tang En had witnessed the old chap's level of free kicks on the sideline—six out of ten balls went in!

He did not need more. It would be enough to use free kicks to pose a threat to West Ham in this match and make it clear to West Ham that it was useless to defend to death.

Taking advantage of the interval where Walker went to call for Jess, Tang En looked at the field, close to his side was Andy Reid, while the West Ham United player on this side was another quite famous, once gifted midfielder, Lee Bowyer. Looking at this long-faced, short-haired West Ham player, he suddenly realized that West Ham still had a weakness he could exploit.

Bowyer made his debut at Charlton, but became completely famous at Leeds.

In the 01-02 season, Leeds United was called the Young Guards, and they eliminated the formidable AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League to power onto the semifinals. Most of the team's main players were young footballers: 21-year-old Jonathan Woodgate, 22-year-old Harry Kewell, 21-year-old Paul Robinson, 22-year-old Rio Ferdinand, 23-year-old Ian Harte, 20-year-old Alan Smith, 25-year-old Mark Viduka, 24-year-old Danny Mills, 21-year-old Robbie Keane, 26-year-old Robbie Fowler... Those star-spangled names were still very young at that time. Later, due to the financial crisis at Leeds, these players went their separate ways. Incidentally, Lennon (Aaron Lennon), who later became a rookie of the England national team, was only 14 years old when he was at Leeds United Youth Team.

Bowyer had just transferred to West Ham for this season's winter break. This was his first match representing the team.

Tang En did not deny that Bowyer was a genius, but this genius's character flaw was a bit serious. Everyone knew he was England's bad boy, so much so that the media had publicly called Bowyer absolute "scum." Most of the famous scandals in the English football world in recent years had his name on them.

Such as the case of assault on an Asian youth together with Woodgate, the final compensation of ￡170.000 before the charges were dropped. During the UEFA Cup, he stamped on the opposing player Gerardo's face. After that match it was commented by the Spanish media that "he almost stamped out Gerardo's eyeball" and was banned by UEFA for six matches. There was his verbal slur that his girlfriend was a monkey because his girlfriend was half Indian. He said, "I don't want my child to be a throwback." Then there was the inconclusive case of a rape of a minor girl, among the suspects were him and Dyer. He fought with his own teammate, Dyer, on the field, and both were sent off for the on-pitch scuffle by the referee. This incident was included in the Premier League history...

There are several things that happened after 2003. All things made it clear to Tang En that Bowyer's inferiority was deep-rooted. It came from his innermost self and deep within his soul, and it was neither impulsive, nor could be eliminated. He only had to make good use of this point, and they could push West Ham into the abyss of failure.

The fourth official held up the substitute board on the sidelines, the first to make the change was West Ham. Roeder had indeed called up the center back Gary Breen to substitute a laissez-faire Di Canio. An ordinary one, so obvious that even a fool could guess the substitution.

Just at this moment, Twain pulled Andy Reid over near the sideline. "Andy, mark Bowyer." He pointed to the bad boy who was not far away with his back facing them.

"I've been marking him the entire match, boss."

"No, no, I mean in a different way. As long as Bowyer takes the ball, you will go up to him and constantly harass him with petty maneuvers. You can commit a foul when necessary. But be careful. Don't tip the scales and don't get sent off. One or two words of provocation will do. In short... infuriate him, let him lose his cool, and the rest... You know what to do?"

Reid looked at Tang En in amazement, "The former manager Tony Twain never allowed us to do such a thing!"

"You used to be a kid and a youth footballer. Now you are a professional player and an adult!" Tang En just took an excuse, "Do you know what the highest pursuit of any professional player is?"

"Uh ... more goals?"

"It's victory!" yelled Tang En, "Football that can't win is a failure! Well, now, in the name of victory, take down Bowyer, that scumbag, for me!" He gave Reid a hard smack and shoved him onto the field.

Still somewhat hesitant, Reid looked back at Twain, but Twain just showed him a throat-slitting action. Suddenly, his back broke out in cold sweat. Was this really Tony Twain, the manager that he knew?

"Don't worry too much, Andy! Victory, victory!" Twain's voice rang out behind him.

"Okay, boss. I'll listen to you..." Reid replied.

Tang En turned back to the technical area and found that Jess was already taking off his jacket.

"Jess, you're playing on Bopp's position when you get on the field, any positioning ball is yours. Just shoot the ball into their goal!" Twain pounded his fist.

The veteran Jess nodded, "No problem, boss. I won't let you down."

"He, he. I know you've never let anyone down. Go up and finish them off!" Twain rallied Jess and pushed him to the sideline, and the fourth official again held up the substitute board. Number 16, Eugen Bopp, come off the field, and number 22, Eoin Jess, came on.

"Both teams made substitutions at the same time. Roeder substitutes a center back, and Twain substitutes a midfielder and continues to step up the offense. It seems that he only has one requirement for this match—victory! Eoin Jess, a Scottish national footballer, capped 18 times with a score of two goals, exceptional at free kicks, was the Scottish team's chief positioning ball expert. I believe that any positioning balls that the Forest team gets from now on will belong to him!"

"Tony, what did you say to Reid just now? He seems a little perplexed to me." Walker was really attentive, able to observe these details. Tang En felt that he was going to be an excellent assistant manager.

"Nothing much, I asked him to try his best to annoy Bowyer."

Walker chuckled, "What a fantastic idea! The old Tony Twain can't think of that."

Tang En was aware that for a while there would be times that he would have to face these situations where people were still astonished by this other Tony. He rubbed the back of his head, "Thank God, I got wiser... How long until the end of the match, Des?"

"Not counting the injury stoppage time, there are still 24 minutes."

"We're only halfway into the second half, two goals. Oh... Des, don't you think it's a lot quieter behind us?" Tang En suddenly asked.

Walker glanced back, then laughed. In fact, sitting in the technical area, there was no distinction between quiet and not quiet. Surrounded by the cries of fans, The two of them had to put their heads close together to hear what each other was saying. Twain's "quiet" meant that all those abusive voices were gone. Walker turned to see that the one who was leading the abuses, Michael, was now giving it all, along with his mates, to cheer the Forest team on. They looked so much better with their arms stretched out and shouting "Forest" than when they gave Twain their middle fingers.

Turning back to Twain, Walker said, "Tony, I think even if he has to buy drinks for everyone in the pub tonight, he'll still be willing."

Both sides had made their own substitutions and soon it was reflected in the match. But the most striking thing was not the two substitutions. Instead it was the confrontation between Andy Reid and Lee Bowyer. Twain thought it would be more accurate to replace confrontation with clash.

Reid obediently carried out his instructions. Tang En recalled that, when he was on the youth team, Reid listened to Twain because he was the one who dug him out. The Forest Youth Team had countless people. To be able to stand out and play for one's own adored Forest front line team was not easy. Reid, only 20 years old this year. Though he was an Irishman born in Dublin, he was trained as a footballer on the Forest team since his childhood.

Just now when Bowyer got the ball, Andy rushed up, and there was some pulling and pushing. Although the referee blew his whistle and called foul in time, he still got Bowyer all riled up.

Tang En carefully observed Bowyer's expression changes below. Put this young kid on the streets with a little drink in him, he would become a typical football hooligan. Reid did not do that much, and Bowyer was obviously suppressing his anger.

He played for Leeds for six and a half seasons, initially brilliant, a future with infinite possibilities, and then he was plagued by endless scandals. Coupled with his own injuries, his state of affairs took a nosedive. During last season's re-emergence with Leeds, he helped his team beat AC Milan and entered the Champions League semifinals. This season, he chose to transfer to West Ham United, hoping to start over in a new environment and prove to the world that the genius Bowyer was not dead yet.

But unfortunately ...

If you don't die, I'll die. Twain said in his heart.

In that period of history familiar to Tang En, the 2003 Bowyer only played a short half season at West Ham, only ten matches—countable with one's fingers. Then he joined Newcastle on a free transfer and did not do so well afterwards. Not knowing if it was directly related to the match... in short, he had people pinned high hopes on him and been repeatedly disappointed. The genius bad boy, Lee Bowyer, completely sank, no longer glorious.

Joe Cole completely froze, in the face of the Forest team's deadly defense. He shrank back. After all, this was only an FA Cup. They had a more important Premier League game in 11 days, and if they were to be injured in this match, it would certainly cast a shadow on the team's road to avoid relegation. Some balls, they could let go. If they could hide, they would.

Therefore, while facing counterattack, West Ham shifted its focus to Lee Bowyer on the other side of the field. They had hoped the former genius could help the team get out of the present awkward situation. But they picked the wrong opponent and day to do so.

Third time in a row! Reid obstructed Bowyer's breakthrough with a foul, but the price he paid was just a verbal warning from the referee. Bowyer's face grew uglier.

In a subsequent attack, Bowyer received Joe Cole's pass and should have chosen to pass it to a better positioned Defoe to let the latter make the breakthrough. Instead, after he took a few steps, he kicked a very demoralizing booter.

"Actually, Bowyer's goal target was the City Ground's grandstand roof!" Motson ridiculed mercilessly. When the Forest team behaved erratically in the first half, he mocked the Forest team. And now it was West Ham United's turn.

Tang En swung his clenched fist, "Success!"

The Forest fans in the stands began to make up a lively song to mock Bowyer's kick, "Lee Bowyer is an excellent American Football player! He booted the ball straight into the sky! Oh, yeah!"

Understanding the meaning of the lyrics, Tang En laughed with delight. England fans must be the most talented, the best in the world! He liked it there.

When he saw Bowyer boot the ball into the sky, Roeder waved his hands in annoyance, and on the field, Defoe was not pleased. He rushed towards Bowyer and shouted, "Hey! I'm here! Not in the sky!"

"Bugger off!" Bowyer sullenly responded to his teammate, then turned and ran.

Behind him the aggrieved Defoe shrugged his shoulders toward Joe Cole. The young captain obviously had no way to restrain this recalcitrant new teammate. He could only shake his head helplessly.

Originally, Tang En's plan was for Reid to anger Bowyer, Bowyer would try to retaliate, and then Reid would dive to the ground. Next the referee would give Reid a yellow card and give Bowyer a red card. It was a very good plan. Let the opponent be one man short, have one less attack point, but also a great loss of morale.

But the sudden changes on the field went completely beyond his expectations.

Chapter 10: The Referee Takes Center Stage Part 2

Defoe, who had gotten Bowyer's sullen retort, seemed to be in a bit of a temper. During West Ham's next attack, Joe Cole passed the ball to Defoe; Bowyer raised his hand to ask for the ball, but Defoe just kept his head down and was finally tackled by Dawson. Throughout it all he'd ignored Bowyer's request for the ball.

Watching the possession of the ball so easily wrestled by the Forest team player, he then fought back. Bowyer, who was in midfield, was not first there to prevent it. Instead he went straight to Defoe, who had just gotten up from the ground.

"What the hell are you blind? Can't you see I'm looking to you for the ball?" He yelled at Defoe, who was six years younger than him.

Defoe was also not to be outdone. "And what did you do when I asked you for the ball?"

The two berated each other on the field, completely ignoring the fact that the match was still ongoing.

"You n*gger son of a bitch!" Bowyer popped Defoe in the face and pulled him directly down to the ground. There was a loud hiss coming from the stands, which did not mean displeasure, but heckling. The Forest team fans were heckling those them.

Dawson, who was not far away from them, quickly rushed to pull the furious Bowyer away, to prevent him from punching and kicking Defoe. The referee's shrill whistling quickly came, and the West Ham players on the field, briefly startled, rushed to the spot. The Forest players, except Dawson, watched the show. Reid was more interested in seeing their manager's reaction on the sideline first.

Unexpectedly, he saw the manager looking very surprised.

The reason for Twain's surprise was because; his memory of Bowyer's fight with his teammate was in the match on April 2, 2005, Newcastle against Aston Villa in the Premier League game. Before that, he'd never heard of this guy striking his teammates on the field. Twain believed that after today's match was over, this story would be became widely known overnight by the media hype. In that case, would the incident at Newcastle still exist? He had never felt that his presence here would have any effect on the future, but now he felt it firsthand.

The future... was not as certain as he'd thought.

No matter what Twain was thinking, the Forest fans were ecstatic. They immediately changed the lyrics to the song again. "Lee Bowyer is a fantastic boxer, a beautiful left hook, and Defoe was knocked to the ground! The referee is calling out the seconds, oh yeah!"

Roeder hurled a bottle of water to the ground on the sidelines, "This fucking idiot!" The current circumstances for the team was already tense. To get a player sent off would make it even more difficult.

Motson was screaming in the press box. "Bowyer knocked down Defoe with a beautiful punch! But he seemed to forget that this is a football match, not boxing. That disgusting Bowyer is back. He is utterly confused about the present circumstances. West Ham will pay the price, they will definitely be one man down. This scene is incredible! I believe that his punch will get him on the front-page headlines of all the newspapers. This is the first time I've seen a player attacking his own teammate in a match! Lee Bowyer has made history, and he will be 'engraved' in people's minds for this forever!"

Twain soon put his fear of the future to the back of his mind. He stood up and walked to the side, and gave a thumbs-up to Reid. The "invisible hero" who had caused this scene. And then he got the team to press on. Joe Cole was frozen. Without Bowyer, the West Ham midfield was no longer scary. Though Defoe was purely a victim of this fight and would not be punished, his state of mind and condition would also be affected. If Roeder was smart enough, Defoe would not stay on the field for a few minutes more.

West Ham's attack was no longer a threat. For the remaining time, it depended on how the Forest team would steal back all the lost points one ball at a time.

The referee showed a red card to Lee Bowyer who threw the first punch. No surprise there. Loud jeering and hissing came from the stands. Bowyer turned angrily away from the field, completely ignoring his West Ham's teammates. Roeder was also very unhappy with Bowyer's actions. He stood on the sidelines and just let Bowyer pass him by to walk into the empty corridor. At this moment, Bowyer, who had just moved from Leeds, was alone.

Defoe was helped by the team doctor to the sidelines for examination and treatment. The referee signaled for two players from both teams to go to the midfield for the drop ball.

The situation in the match had basically been determined, but Tang En did not return to the technical area. He stood on the sidelines, his arms folded across his chest, waiting to celebrate the goal at any time.

He believed that the final victory of this match belonged to his team, because the second half went according to his plan so far, and there was no chance of any more surprises.

West Ham, who had one less player, had to recover all round. Given the state of play, the Forest players had now become particularly difficult to defend in their eyes. Many times, they had to resort to fouls to stop their opponent's frenzied offensive. And this gave the second half substitute, Jess, the opportunity to perform. The quality of the two direct free kicks were excellent, one struck the crossbar and flew out, the other was pathetically saved by James who flapped it out of the end line.

Seeing these two free kicks, Tang en also could not help holding his head and sighed repeatedly. Quoting the character Fu Biao from Big Shot's Funeral, "We're almost there, just a little bit more!"

When the match reached the 80th minute, the Forest team was finally given a chance to score the winning goal.

Reid drove the ball and broke through from the wing. The ball was then shot out of the end line by the second half substitute, Gary Breen, with a header, and the Forest team was awarded a corner kick.

As long as Jess was on the field, he would have the right to the positioning ball. He held the football and put it down in the corner, then backed up and leaned tightly against the billboard. Behind him was the Forest fans' stands. Countless hands patted him on the shoulder, cheering him on. The fans roared with excitement, "Jess! Send the ball straight in! You can do it!"

Jess looked back and smiled at the shouting fans. Fans always made it out like a three-year-old could do those difficult things, but it was a way for them to express their feelings, and they always expected a lot from the players they liked. The way the fans were shouting showed that they once again supported the Forest players.

Dawson had been cruising outside the penalty area, but he quickly heard Twain outside the field yelling, "Michael, what are you doing out there? Get in there! Go to the front of the goal!"

Dawson was tall and good at headers. The 19-year-old has a height of 1.9 meters and was indeed a threat in the air in front of the opponent's goal. He dutifully ran in, and immediately made James nervous.

"Keep an eye on him! Watch him! Don't let him jump…. damn it!" James had not finished his words when he heard the referee blow his whistle. And Jess had also sent out the ball.

Responsible for marking Dawson was West Ham's central defender, Ian Pearce, who was also 1.91 meters tall. Only he could contend against Dawson on height.

However, he was much worse at his jumping. Dawson still leapt higher despite the double team and shot a beautiful header!

Faced with such a close shot, James had no other choice but to watch the football fly into the goal!

"Yeah!" The City Ground reached fever pitch again.

"Michael Dawson! This is his first goal for the Forest team! The 19-year-old center back!"

"Well done!" Tang En saw the football fly into the goal post net and shook his fist.

The Forest team players also threw themselves at the excited Dawson, ready to score. But at this time, everyone heard the quick whistle of the referee. He stood in front of the goal area, pointed to the ground at Ian Pearce lying there!

"The goal does not count! What a startling turn of events... Michael Dawson's goal was invalid. The referee thinks that when he jumped for the header, he had pressed down Ian Pearce. But obviously... Eh, what seems to be happening on the sidelines?" Following Motson's voice, the television cameras cut to the sidelines, toward the Forest team technical area.

Incensed, Twain kicked the water bottle, and it flew on the sidelines. In his view, this was a good goal that could not be better, but it was inexplicably blown out by the referee. His venting attracted the concern of the fourth official.

"Mr. Twain, you'd better restrain yourself from your actions. I don't want the referee to come over and give you a red card, and I don't think that's what you want either," the fourth official came before Twain and sternly rebuked him.

At this time, Twain wanted to swear, but he was pulled away by Walker.

"I'm sorry, I promise this won't happen again..." Walker apologized to the fourth official, while trying to drag Twain back.

"Let go of me, Des! That damn referee's looking to balance things out..." Twain was still trying. This time Walker simply covered his mouth.

"Shut up, Tony! Do you want us to lose the most important player? The match is not over yet, we still have a chance!" At this moment, Des Walker, who was always all smiles and good-natured, gravely chided his boss. Twain stared blankly. Then he straightened himself and scratched his head, "You're right, Des. I almost missed the bigger picture. Thank you for reminding me."

Then he returned to the sidelines and yelled toward the field, "Don't take it to heart, keep attacking! We still have a chance ..." In the end, he could not help but give vent to the frustration in his heart, "Hang them out to dry!!"

The fourth official heard Twain's words, looked distrustfully at him, but he finally found no trouble.

"Michael Dawson looks a little dejected. The first goal he scored for the Forest team disappeared just like that. But he is a good lad, a center back with great potential. I believe that in time, he will be England's new defensive line star." Motson predicted Dawson's future, but now it could not comfort the lad's heart. He could not imagine what it would be like to be England's defender, and he only wanted to help the team beat West Ham. And it was such a good opportunity a moment ago.

Dawson could swear on his future that he did not press anyone down with his header. If Pearce was really on the ground because of physical contact, there was only one explanation—Pearce was too good an actor.

Son of a bitch! Dawson clenched his fists; a defender also knew how to do a flop!

Tang En continued to stand on the sidelines with his arms around his chest.

So far, this match had been satisfactory because it helped him solve several problems: first, his new style has been fully demonstrated and accepted by everyone. Second, it helped him to establish enough prestige within the team. Finally, it let him find his confidence and direction.

The only regret was that ...

Tang En looked up at the electronic scoreboard on the west stand.

With less than seven minutes in the match, the score was still 2:3. The Forest team, dominating in the second half, still lagged the English Premier League West Ham United by a goal.

Chapter 11: We Were Raped Part 1

The singing in the City Ground stands continued as time went on. West Ham had a bit of a comeback in the final stages of the match. They did not want to end the Nottingham trip in such a pathetic state.

Unfortunately, West Ham lost its last offensive striker when Defoe was changed and could only put forth Joe Cole. Joe Cole did not have the makings of a striker. He was like a duck to the water in midfield but was overwhelmed once he got into the penalty area. Michael Dawson was entirely in his element marking a player like Joe Cole. Tang En did not need to worry about it.

On the other hand, the harried West Ham gave the Forest team more chances to counterattack. When Tang En saw the anxious Roeder waving his arm to signal to his team to step it up on the sidelines, he sneered on the inside. After all this time, there's no point for you to press on. Worried that the one-goal advantage is not enough? What have you been doing until now?

Tang En decided to use the second substitution in the quota for this match. He called the warmed-up David Johnson to his side and indicated that he would be brought on to substitute for Lester. Together with Harewood, they were to break West Ham's defenses one after another, because Twain found a weakness. West Ham's substitute in the second half, center back Gary Breen's actual position was a sweeper. He often lingered at the farthest back of the defense. This was clearly a good chance to play a quick counterattack. So, Twain asked Johnson to substitute for Reid and instructed him, "More straight passes. Don't be afraid of offside, just seize a chance, and we can wipe them!"

The fourth official raised the board again, and Johnson went in for Lester.

When Lester came to the sidelines, Twain extended a hand toward him, "Nice work, Jack. Go take a shower in the locker room."

Lester took his hand but shook his head, "No, I don't want to go back to the locker room at this time. I have to be together with everyone."

Twain smiled and shook his hand, "Then you stay here."

By this time, Tang En was still full of confidence in winning this match. Strangely, no one had told him that they would win this match, and he had never heard of this match in his memory, did not know what the final score would be or the outcome. But he firmly believed that they would win. Where did this confidence come from?

Maybe it was the fans who kept singing in the stands. Perhaps it was the unrelenting players on the field. It was possibly Des Walker sitting behind him and supporting him, or maybe... something else.

He closed his eyes slightly; his excitement earlier had finally calmed down. It was like he was in a dream state for the first 40 minutes, not standing on solid ground, but among the white clouds. Did I really direct a League One team to push a Premier League team to such a sorry state? I'm not playing the Football Manager game, am I? The players running on the field are not rigid data. They are living, breathing people. I'm not in the pub having an idle discussion on strategies and tactics with a group of drunk fans. All this real. My stuff can overcome the opponents.

Tang En thought this was his greatest reward.

When he opened his eyes again, seeing the crowded stands and the players running back and forth on the field, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Johnson's being brought on exemplified Tang En's gift and talent in his onsite field of command. He'd just played on the field for half a minute and he already got a great opportunity. Unfortunately, the Jamaican shot the ball wide when he faced James.

Watching the football brush the goalpost and go out, the Forest fans let out a huge sigh. The match time was running out. If the ball had gone in, they would have taken West Ham United down. All the Forest team fans looked forward to ways on celebrating this match's victory this evening.

Tang En was also very sorry. Squatting on the sidelines, he held his head in his hands and sighed in despair exactly like a fan, not one bit of the capacity of a manager's steady calm.

He stood up again and looked at the electronic scoreboard. There were only three minutes left. The fourth official had not prompted how many minutes for the injury stoppage time, but after that noisy scene with Bowyer and Defoe, there should somehow be five minutes to make up the time. With eight minutes to get two goals... seemed a bit difficult.

At this time, he resented the referee on the field once again. If Dawson's ball did not get blown out, at least now they could have eliminated West Ham United with only one goal.

While he was vexed about this, the Forest team got the perfect opportunity once again!

Again, it was Reid who assisted with a midfield cross and straight pass. Johnson made a beautiful start and received the football in front of the goal area and then lobbed the ball toward the goal!

The football hit the net hard!

But this time without waiting for the Forest players and fans to cheer, the assistant referee took center stage. He raised the flag parallel to the ground, pointed to the far end, and the meaning was obvious--Johnson was in an offside position.

Johnson did not understand this offense. He pointed to himself asking the assistant referee "What? What?" The assistant referee did not answer his questions, just raised the flag parallel to the ground and looked ahead, as if Johnson was made of air, standing before him.

Other Forest team players also came around to question the assistant referee's judgment of the offside. A huge buzzing came from the stands. This time it was no longer aimed at their team. The fans' target of resentment was the referees.

On the contrary, Twain did not have any extreme expression on the sidelines.

Seeing the ball being ruled as offside by the referee and assistant referee, the fourth official on the sideline turned to look at Twain. The ill-tempered man did nothing. He only turned to the technical area with opened arms and helplessly shook his head.

Even his partner, Walker, felt that Twain's "meek" display was strange.

He watched Twain came back and sit his butt down beside him. "Tony, are you okay?"

"What can I do..." Twain glanced at the players who were still arguing with the assistant referee. "Des, we've lost the match. There's nothing you can do such a referee."

Sitting on the bench, Twain buried his head in his arms, looking dejected.

Yes, I predicted the opposing manager's reaction, I also anticipated my players' performances, my tactics completely suppressed the opponent, and I inspired the confidence and morale of this group of players. The only factor that I didn't account for was the referee. There would always be such incidents on the football field, and today was my turn.

Walker did not know what to say when he saw Twain so dejected. They had a wonderful start in the second half, but they did not expect to powerlessly accept defeat in the end. "Tony... I think you've done a great job. Who would have thought we could see such a team before halftime? There are some things we can't control..."

The referee insisted this ball was an offside offense. West Ham manager Roeder breathed a sigh of relief, so did the thousand plus West Ham United fans. They felt that today's match was a risky foray into a perilous dense forest, and they were lucky to narrowly escape.

The final result of the match was 2:3. The Forest team lost to the Premier League Team West Ham United on their home ground.

When the referee sounded the final whistle, the Forest team players were obviously not happy with their results. Tang En even saw tears in Dawson's eyes from the sidelines. He worked so hard, but he did not secure a well-deserved victory.

Roeder, who had celebrated his victory with his own men, had wanted to shake hands with Twain and say a few words, but when he looked over, he could not find the home team's manager in the technical area. Tony Twain had already walked toward to the player's corridor.

Des Walker was busy comforting the players when he found that Twain was already walking straight off the field, without shaking hands with the other manager. He called out to stop him, "Tony, where are you going?"

"Heading back."

"You still have to shake hands with the other manager!"

"You shake it for me." Twain continued to go in without even turning his head back.

"But you're going to the press conference! I can't go on your behalf anymore..."

Twain stopped in his tracks, turned around to look at Walker and nodded, "Okay, I'll go."

Looking at the stubborn figure, Walker sighed. He really did not know what to do with him. When he found Roeder looking at him, he quickly gave an apologetic smile and reached his hand out to the other party.

Chapter 12: We Were Raped Part 2

Tang En remembered Walker's words and went straight from the player's corridor to the press conference room. There were not many people except the cameras set up in the small room. The host was somewhat astonished that Twain was so early.

Tang En saw the odd expression in his eyes, so he asked, "Am I too early?"

"Yes, sir. Most of the journalists are still interviewing the players in the mixed zone at this time."

Tang En looked at the table and sat down in the seat marked with his name, "Then I'll just wait here."

The press officer did not object. Tang En took the opportunity to carefully observe the press conference scene. He knew he would at least have to make frequent appearances here for half a year. Ah, what a wonderful thing it was to be able to deliver a harangue in front of so much media, and then let the reporters turn the words into print.

But now Tang En was not in the mood to think about that. He was still brooding over his team losing to an "act of God."

He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that more and more people were in the press conference room and the sounds were getting louder. When Tang En turned his attention back, he found that most of the reporters had already appeared in the room, but very few of them were seated in their places, they were standing and chatting in groups.

What are you chatting about… are you chatting about the match just now?

The visiting manager's seat to his side was still empty. Tang En's heart welled up in anger. Roeder, you bastard, you won the match and still let me wait for you, arrogant jerk!

He knocked on the microphone, the knocking sound was amplified through the speakers, the reporters on the scene turned to look at him.

"I hereby declare that the press conference has officially started, whatever you wish to ask, you can do so quickly, now." Twain completely cast the press official aside and took on the additional duty.

The reporters did not expect the manager to be so impatient, so they looked to the press officer. The press officer also felt that it was okay for him to be interviewed first, so he shrugged, "We can begin."

Reporters then took their seats one after another and raised their hands to ask questions. Of course, what everyone cared about the most was still why the difference was so great in the Forest team between the first and second half.

"Regarding this question... it's very simple. During halftime, I invited a group of fans to the locker room." Twain briefly answered the question. The room immediately erupted.

The reporters knew what kind of place the locker room was. This mysterious place was completely closed to reporters, many of them had racked their brains to pry into a team's locker room secrets, to no avail. Yet Tony Twain let the fans strut into the locker room!

For a moment countless hands immediately raised, and the scene became somewhat unmanageable. The press officer did not know what to do. So many reporters asking questions. Who to call?

Tang En helped him out of the predicament and slapped his hand on the table. With a bang, the whole room fell silent.

Twain spoke to the reporters with a straight face. "I know what you want to ask. Maybe the locker room is sacred in everybody's eyes, but not in my eyes. It's as simple as that. I refuse to answer all the questions regarding the locker room again. You want to know the situation, go find those fans yourselves. Next question." He looked at his watch impatiently, this had already taken 10 minutes, and Glenn Roeder had not yet arrived. A Premier League manager was definitely different. Such arrogance. If I hadn't taken the initiative, I'm afraid I would still be waiting here like a fool.

The reporters looked at each other in alarm. This manager seemed to have a bad temper. There were very few managers who did not give a damn about the press, only big-name managers were entitled to do so. Like Sir Alex Ferguson...

The room was silent for a moment. Tang En thought the reporters had no further questions to ask so he got up to leave. At this time someone raised his hand. "Wait, Manager Tony Twain! I'm Pierce Brosnan, a reporter for the Nottingham Evening Post. In the second half, we had two goals that were invalid, and I want to hear your opinion on it," a fair-skinned young man with gold-rimmed glasses stood up and asked.

This man reminded Tang En of Glenn Roeder, so he grumpily asked in return, "What do you want to hear? I made the most appropriate tactical arrangements, I brought on the best players, I thought I could secure a beautiful victory. But when you find out no matter how hard you try, you can't fight against some 'act of God,' then you can understand how I feel now." Pausing, he looked at the poor speechless young man who seemed to be about the same age as him. Maybe he was a newspaper intern…...

"You ask me what I think? My opinion is this: We were raped by the referee."

There was an immediate buzz in the room. Someone asked loudly, "Mr. Manager, did you say 'raped'?"

Twain nodded in certainty. "Yes, raped. Not 'offended', nor 'violated', 'forced', "insulted'. It's 'raped'! Two perfectly fine goals judged invalid, if it was not rape, then what is it?"

The press officer whispered to him on the side as a reminder, "Manager Twain, I think you know what the consequences will be for you ..."

Twain gave him a look, "Whatever." Then he pointed at the excited reporters and said, "You write it as it is, not a word changed. I don't care! Good day, gentlemen!"

He put down the microphone and turned to step down, just as Roeder came out from behind the billboard. From the guy's glowing face, he had so clearly celebrated his victory in the locker room.

Twain put out his hand first and held hands with Roeder under the glare of the reporters' flashbulbs.

"Congratulations, but you'd better pray that your team doesn't get relegated." He whispered these words and then turned away. Roeder looked in surprise at the back of Twain, thinking he heard wrong. This was his first time meeting such an ungracious opponent. But little did he knew that Twain was just telling the truth, because after the end of the season, his West Ham United was really relegated... Although West Ham frantically scrambled for points in the second half of this season, the final score of 41 points was still of no use. When the time came, it was possible that Roeder might think that it was Twain's malicious curse that led his team to have such a high grade and yet be relegated.

Tang En did not care about the noisy press conference and the astonished Roeder behind him. He was now in a bad mood. He went back to the locker room with his head lowered and found everyone waiting for him. While he stood at the door, he scanned the room, and everyone looked miserable just like him.

This would not do. He was still dependent on this team to score and earn a living. He promptly gave a bright smile. "Don't take this matter to heart. You've done well." The players' expressions still remained unchanged. "Though losing this match made everyone unhappy… there's no other way." Twain shrugged. He thought his words were too unconvincing because he did not even believe in his own words, much less that they would make anyone feel better. So, he took a deep breath and said in a loud voice, "Ok, what's done is done. The match is lost, no matter what the reason is for losing. Looking miserable will not let the damned referee change the score. The most important thing is the next match. Our loss here, we will get it back in other places! Dismissed!"

All the players were back on the bus. There were still plenty of loyal Forest fans in the parking lot, cheering for the team's excellent performance in the second half. Once the players began to enjoy such a post-match scene, several of them also had a smile on their faces. Even Twain, who was standing outside the bus, received no boos. He also did not see Michael and the others in the crowd. He thought it was a pity that he could not have that drink he was buying.

The drink was not the point. How much would a drink cost? Tang En was now a manager, although still a substitute, his salary was enough to pay for countless drinks. He just wanted to see Michael's expression when buying him a drink.

Now that he was not getting that drink, the marvelous expression was naturally gone too.

When he snapped out of it, he suddenly found two people missing from the bus. The two assistant managers. Des Walker and Ian Bowyer.

He was not familiar with Bowyer, but Walker was someone with a sense of discipline. It was unlikely that he had not come out by now.

He spoke to the driver and decided to go back to look for him.

The Forest team's locker room was very small, but with only two people in it now, it could be described as empty.

Bowyer leaned against the wall and faced his colleague, saying nothing. Instead Walker looked furious, glaring at the other man with his fists clenched.

The two men stared at each other for a long time before Bowyer finally gave in first, "You told me to stay behind so that we can gawk at each other? If it's okay, I'm leaving first."

He had just gotten up when Walker suddenly rushed forward and pushed him back.

"Where's the Ian Bowyer I like? Where's the Ian Bowyer I admire? Where's Ian Bowyer who fought alongside me?" Walker thundered at Bowyer.

Bowyer said with a calm expression, "Sorry, Des. I don't think I understand what you're talking about."

"Don't you pretend not to know! Where were you when the team was in chaos? Where were you when the team and I needed you? Don't think I don't know what's on your mind? You have served the team for so many years, and now the day comes when your feelings for the team has deteriorated?!"

Bowyer remained silent in the face of Walker's fury.

Walker finished venting his anger only to find that Bowyer was as unresponsive as a dead man. Walker suddenly did not know what to say next. Should he use the team's honor to inspire him? He had received more honors than himself. What had he not experienced? Perhaps his jealously of Twain was as it should be. After all, he was a senior figure of the team, a champion. If it were him, he would also think that Hart's position should belong to him. He could not understand Bowyer's conduct and actions, but everyone had the freedom and power to choose. Wasn't that the case?

He suddenly sighed, loosened his grip on Bowyer's collar, and then lowered his head to leave.

Just as he was walking out, he saw Tony Twain with his ear stuck to the wall. He was startled and was about to open his mouth to say hello, but Twain was quick with his eyes and hands, and covered his mouth. Then he pointed to the locker room and gestured to him to look.

Walker turned around. The two men peering through the half-opened door, saw Bowyer bending down to pick up a red scarf from under the cabinet inside the locker room. Des looked back somewhat strangely at Twain who said nothing but indicated to him to continue watching.

That red scarf was also tossed down by the Nottingham Forest fans, but it was definitely not one of the ones that Twain picked up for Walker. It was forgotten in the corner, only Bowyer found it.

Walker saw Bowyer picked up the scarf and carefully brushed the dust off. Then he lifted it up high like Dawson did, and scrutinized it under the light. At this point, Twain gently patted Walker and signaled to him to get on the bus.

The two men quietly walked back.

"Des, come with me to Burns' bar tonight, my treat."

"Good idea, but why do you suddenly like drinking and smoking? Ah, I know! I forgot to thank God, although the former Tony Twain did not smoke or drink, and he was modest and courteous, I still like the current Tony!"

Chapter 13: Newsworthy Twain Part 1

Upon getting up in the morning, there was some pain around Tang En's temple area. He drank quite a lot with Walker last night at Burns' Forest Bar because they were in a cheerful mood. He still remembered how the people at the bar congratulated them. Burns must have been very happy too, because almost all the drinks yesterday were on him.

The only downside was that Tang En did not see Michael and the others. Maybe they felt embarrassed and changed to another bar for their get-together.

After sitting in bed for a while, Tang En got up to wash and get dress. Then he saw that red note again on the fridge door when he was looking for breakfast in the kitchen.

Looking at the "must win" pledge, he sighed.

Tang En had already accepted the fact that he'd become the manager for the Forest team and that he had turned from Chinese to British. He laid out a simple breakfast on the table, then went out of the door to retrieve today's newspaper from the mailbox and began to browse through it.

As an ordinary Chinese man, he was not in the habit of reading the newspaper while having breakfast. This was completely the body's British genes at work. It seemed that this body of his required a lot of time to adapt to this kind of split in daily habits.

Turning the newspaper directly to page nine, the sports page, he saw many articles about yesterday's match. Because this was Nottingham's local newspaper, the Nottingham Evening Post, much of the space was naturally news about the Nottingham Forest team. Tang En scanned through it. Basically, it described yesterday's thrilling match. Tang En was already familiar with the course of the match, but when described in other people's words, it gave him another perspective. After reading those reporters describe him as handsome, Tang En was in a pretty good mood.

However, the next thing was not so good. He did not know how the reporters found those fans who had entered the locker room. The media had mixed opinions about this matter. Some said that this was no big deal, that special circumstances required special treatment, that Tony Twain did it for the team's score, to motivate the players' will to fight, and the result was very good. Another part of the media criticized Tony Twain's irresponsible approach. They thought that the locker room was a sacred place and not a place that any Tom, Dick or Harry could enter. Whatever the reason was, such an approach was not praiseworthy and to be encouraged.

Tang En scoffed at it. He did not feel that the locker room was so sacred. The media only felt that it was sacred because they could not enter, therefore leaving them full of guesswork and whitewash. If he had let them see the halftime Forest team locker room yesterday, none of those fools would have thought that place was sacred.

He threw the newspaper aside and went on with his breakfast. Unexpectedly, he noticed a shocking newspaper headline.

"We were raped!"

The word "raped" was in enlarged font, in black and bold.

Huh? These words ring a bell… Isn't that what I said at the press conference yesterday? Let me take another look at the photograph below these words… it does seem like I said those things at the press conference.

Ha! I became a cover story. Tang En laughed and picked up the newspaper to read it carefully. There was no substance to the content, just a report of the referee's ruling on the two goals yesterday.

"... Tony Twain had good reason to think his team had been raped by the referees and the Football Association…."

Hey, I didn't say anything bad about the FA!

"Judging from the post-match video, those two offences were somewhat questionable. Even if the last offside ball could barely pass as one, Dawson's goal being whistled as an offensive foul, was a bit outrageous."

Tang En nodded. I like this tone. It's indeed an outrage, completely outrageous.

"... Our reporter queried John Baker, an official from the Football Association who specializes in refereeing affairs. He stated that the Football Association is currently reviewing this matter and the recording of the match and is unable to provide any answers at the present time. But he considered the word 'rape' as clearly inappropriate. Soon after we interviewed the referee, Winter, from the match, and he insisted there was no problem with his judgment on the offenses..."

With a yawn, Tang En tossed the newspaper aside. He remembered he had something important to do this morning. It was a waste of time sitting here reading the newspaper.

Forty minutes later, he stood at the entrance of the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University. This was a six-level building made from huge limestone, with two stone gargoyle statues erected on both sides of the gate, making him feel that this was not like a hospital, but rather like a dark monastery in medieval Europe.

The important thing that Tang En had to do was to have a brain checkup at a reputable hospital. Since the day he took possession of this body, he was worried about aftereffects and so on. Also, it would help prevent any speculative talk in the future, so he chose to come to the most respected hospital for the checkup.

The Royal Hospital of Nottingham University served the England national team and Football Association, and Tang En believed in its standard.

After giving way to a wailing ambulance, Tang En walked around the flowerbeds, up the steps, and entered the hall.

Standing at the registration area, he said to the older, plump receptionist engrossed in her work, "I would like to take a number for the neurology department. You have the best neurologists here ..." He did not know whom exactly he should ask for, so he simply used the general "neurosurgery" term.

"Do you have an appointment, sir?"

"Uh, no." Tang En did not know that an appointment was required to do a brain examination. He seldom went to hospitals because hated the atmosphere.

The receptionist looked up and froze. Then she picked up the phone. "Professor Constantine. There's a patient here who needs you." After that, Tang En could not hear clearly. The receptionist muffled her voice, so he simply turned his gaze outwards to mindlessly watch people passing through the hall.

"Sir, please go to room number 415 on the fourth floor. Professor Constantine will be there for you." She handed over a note with a printed number.

"Thanks." Tang En took the note and turned away. The receptionist picked up a newspaper on the table and carefully compared the photo. That was the exact newspaper Tang En had read during breakfast. Underneath the phrase "We were raped!", there was a large photo of his face.

He took the elevator to the fourth floor and easily found room 415, according to the door number plate. He knocked on the door, and a sharp voice rang out, "Please come in."

Tang En pushed open the door to see a messy office desk facing the door, and behind the computer was a man about 50 years old hard at work. When he heard the door open, he peered up with narrowed eyes behind a pair of glasses.

"Mr. Tony Twain?"

"How do you know?" Tang En was a little surprised, he did not remember stating his name.

The older man took out a newspaper from beside his computer with his big photo and the already familiar words.

Tang En rolled his eyes. The older man laughed, "Ms. Lilith just told me there was a patient seeking medical examination who looked very much like the Forest manager, and, frankly, I thought she was mistaken because she never watched the Forest team matches."

Tang En nodded his head to show his understanding, "Women ..."

"No, she is a loyal Notts County fan." The older man came out from behind the desk and pulled out a disposable paper cup, "Please have a seat. Want some hot coffee?"

"Thank you." Tang En did want to find a chair to sit on, but there were piles of data almost everywhere. He felt that even standing was a problem, not to mention sitting.

Professor Constantine realized Tang En's predicament as he put the paper cups on the desk. Then picked up a pile of messy paper on the couch and placed it casually on another couch. Tang En felt that all those papers could crush that poor couch.

The older man smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, it's so messy."

Tang En nodded in understanding. "I just have one question. How do you quickly find the information you need from these piles of papers?"

"They're all here." Constantine pointed to his head. "Those papers... Well, actually, I use them as placemats for the cups."

That's when Tang En discovered the piece of paper underneath the coffee cup placed in front of him was filled with formulas and numbers. He had no other words for the older man.

"In fact, I can probably guess the reason you came to me, Manager Twain."

"Oh?"

Constantine once again pulled out a newspaper from the heap of waste paper with a photograph of Twain falling to the ground. Tang En rolled his eyes again.

"Yes, I was struck here ...," said Tang En, touching the back of his head. "I found myself completely changed from my former self, as if I were a different man."

Constantine sat on the corner of the desk, looked at Tang En with interest, and beckoned him to go on.

"Well ... in my former self, I did not smoke nor drink. I lived a life of discipline without any nightlife. I was reticent and not particularly sociable," Tang En described the Tony Twain's character and habits from his memory. "You would not see me loudly directing the match on the sidelines or coming to you to talk much. Kenny Burns said I was like a Puritan. Though I know I'm not, I was very much like one."

'And now you are passionate and lively, outgoing, lots of body language, and have a fiery impetuous temper. Your life is not so disciplined, you also curse and swear, you're impulsive, disregard consequences... In short, take all that you've described just now and completely reverse it, and that represents the you now." Constantine helped to add on for Tang En.

"Precisely, how did you know?"

"These conclusions can be easily drawn from your words and actions. Well, the situation you had just described, I've heard interesting anecdotes before. After some sort of stimulation, a person suddenly became someone else and could easily name a street thousands of miles away, or even speak a completely unfamiliar language. These are interesting anecdotes, of course, not scientifically proven occurrences." Constantine rubbed his chin and smacked his lips, and then he gave a wave. "Come, let us first give you a comprehensive brain examination."

Half an hour later, Tang En and Constantine sat back in room 415 to continue this subject. The coffee was already cold, but no one cared. Tang En never even took a sip.

"From the examination, your brain's nervous system is normal and as good as before, as if it was not subjected to any external impact... I can even pronounce you a healthy and normal person," Constantine said to Tang En, holding a folder of computer-analyzed reports. "Of course, this is only the result of a preliminary analysis. My personal recommendation would be... I need to continue to observe you ..."

Tang En hurriedly waved his hands. "This will not work, I have a job, I can't ..."

Constantine peered up and looked at his patient over the top of his glasses, laughing, "Don't worry. I'm not going to put you in a secret room for my observation, using equipment to scan you all day long."

"Then how are you going to observe me ..."

"Well...," Constantine pushed up his glasses and said seriously, "I need to see you often, so you have to open up your work to me, including the trainings and matches."

Tang En thought of a question. "Don't tell me you want to watch free matches?"

"Ahem! Manager Twain, do not doubt the professional integrity of an old medical professor."

"That's not going to work. How do I know you're not going to tip off the press details about our training? You have to know they are very keen to find out inside information about the team."

"You also can't doubt the affection and loyalty of a three-generational Forest team fan."

Tang En still shook his head, "I feel that my head doesn't hurt nor is it dizzy, it's completely normal. I came to you just to make sure. Since you say I'm normal, I don't need to have a neurologist beside me so all of Britain thinks I have a problem with my head."

"Manager Twain, that's only the result of the preliminary analysis, you know that computer technology is always unreliable..." Constantine was a little anxious.

Tang En looked suspiciously at him. The anxious look on the older man's face immediately cleared, and he took a sip of the cold coffee.

This old fox. Tang En cursed in his heart.

"How about this. I'll allow you to come during training, but you can't show up in the technical area or on the substitutes' bench during matches. I can give you a very good seat in the stands that is convenient for you to 'observe' me. You can't come and go as you please during training. You can only come when the reporters are not present, and you need to call me to give me notice before you come."

Constantine thought for a moment. "The grandstand won't do. It's too noisy and inconvenient for me to work." He deliberately emphasized "work.""I would need the box seat."

Gave him an inch and now he wanted the full nine yards…Tang En continued to curse within.

Chapter 14: Newsworthy Twain Part 2

"This... I have to ask Mr. Chairman." Just as Tang En had finished speaking, his cellphone rang. He looked at the number and found that it was Chairman Doughty calling.

"Sorry, I have a call..." He pointed to the door, and Constantine nodded.

Tang En pressed the answer button just as he walked out of the door. "Mr. Chairman, what can I do for you?"

Doughty's matured voice came from the phone. "Tony, I haven't congratulated you on yesterday's match. Even though we lost. You and the lads did a good job."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's just my job."

"You are still so modest. That's right, Tony. Although I feel that you handled yesterday's halftime nicely, I'd still like to remind you that the locker room is a very special place and not to let the fans in as you please. You know, this is a football tradition, and we are the third oldest football club in England. All the more reason we must value this tradition."

"Yes, I know."

Doughty chuckled. "Yesterday's match was really exciting. You know? It's been a long time since I've watched a match like that. You may rest assured that your position is solid before the end of the season. I'm sticking to my word. I will not give you any pressure. You can manage your way. I like you, Tony."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am flattered." Tang En recalled Constantine's condition, so he spoke to Doughty about it, hoping to seek the Chairman's opinion.

"Tony, you're the team manager. Our Forest club is not that sort of publicly-listed company like Manchester United, although we are also listed... our priority is football. Under me, you are the highest. You have the authority to decide these things. There's no need to ask me. If you think it's appropriate, you can do it."

These words gave Tang En some reassurance. He once again thanked Chairman Doughty and hung up. When he opened the door and found Constantine still holding the cup drinking his coffee, Tang En smiled at him. "All right, I'll agree to your condition, Professor Constantine. VIP box and a season ticket."

The older man showed a bright smile on his face.

"But don't be too happy just yet. I also have my conditions." Tang En extended his right index finger. "Are you the best hospital here?"

Constantine proudly said, "Although we cannot be said to be the best in the United Kingdom, we have no problem being in the top ten."

"That's great. So, it's like this, our club's first team currently only has two professional doctors, and you have no lack of doctors here. I would like you to help me connect with several doctors using your personal contacts."

"This is not a problem, You can choose from our annual pool of interns..."

"No, I don't want any young, inexperienced interns. If I let them mess up my players, who do I go to? I need an experienced veteran doctor, specialized in sports medicine."

Constantine frowned.

Tang En observed the change in his expression, and then said, "If you can't do that, then our previous agreement will be completely invalidated."

"Oh no, no. Wait a minute... I remember a few old men who've just retired. Maybe they can..."

"Are they specialists?"

"Despite the fact that they are not professors, yes... yes, I guarantee their standards are absolutely better than any of your current doctors! They have a wealth of clinical experience. You know, experienced clinicians earn more and have a higher status than a professor such as myself who specializes in academic research," Constantine said with certainty. "I can get in touch with them for you. I'm old friends with them, and I'm sure they would gladly work for their favorite team."

Tang En laughed in delight, "That's fantastic. Pleased to work with you, Professor Constantine." He held out his hand.

Constantine also extended out his hand, muttered with some reluctance, "You're really a devil. Pleased to work with you too!"

Since Doughty said that he could decide on a lot of things for the club, Tang En would freely exercise his authority. He knew well what injuries and illnesses meant to professional players. Having a good physician could minimize this effect. Every game player knew that clubs had a few "miracle doctors" who could help the football players reduce their injury probability. An even if they do get injured, the healing time can be greatly shortened. He intended to do a good job for the Forest team, and therefore would do his best in every aspect and strive to become the club's official manager for the next season. As for the future, he had not had time to plan yet. Anyway, as long as he did good work here, then no matter where he went, it would not be too bad.

Two of them signed a simple agreement, shook hands, and it was done.

Because of their arrangement, Constantine personally walked Tang En downstairs. After all, they would need to work together regularly from now on.

The two chatted while walking toward the gate, but when they came to the hospital gate, they were shocked.

There were a lot of reporters outside the gate, roughly more than a dozen or so people. Most of them were newspaper reporters, but there were television reporters, too.

"This is..." Tang En certainly knew who these reporters came for. It was just he did not think that British reporters had such keen senses, such remarkable ability to sniff out the information.

"Damn it! I swear it wasn't me who called...," Constantine hastened to explain.

The reporters immediately rushed forward when they saw Tang En coming out from the gate. One by one they cried out, "Manager Twain, Manager Twain!" More than a dozen microphones, recorder pens, and even cellphones were thrust at his face, as if they intended to stuff them in his mouth.

Tang En saw their mouths rapidly moving, but he could not hear what they were saying. It was impossible to decipher who was saying what with more than a dozen people speaking at once.

Constantine turned to look for security personnel, "Security?"

A staff member hurriedly ran up from the side, guiltily explained in a low voice, "Professor, they said if we try to stop them, they will sue us for hindering the freedom of the press."

"Really?" Constantine was about to give a sound scolding, but he remembered that there were the reporters' microphones everywhere. By chance if his words were to be recorded, his reputation as a gentleman would be ruined. "You didn't remind them that this is a hospital, and they need to be quiet?"

"But they were very quiet all along before you came out."

At this time Tang En suddenly yelled, "Quiet! Keep quiet all of you!"

This yell gave both the reporters and Constantine a start. It was like he was getting a closeup of a professional manager's ability to loudly direct a match from the sidelines.

"This is a hospital, what are you all doing here, making a racket?" Tang En began to lecture the reporters. "I know you're here for me. Ask your questions one at a time. I don't have much time, and I reserve the right to not answer any sensitive questions." After that, he began to look at his watch. "You have 15 minutes of free questioning time." His behavior was more professional than the press officer at yesterday's press conference.

No one had expected that Tony Twain would hold a press conference at the hospital gate, and go from being passive to taking charge. The BBC reporters responded first and raised their hands. "Mr. Twain, we'd very much like to hear your views about your evaluation of the referees at the press conference yesterday and in regard to the Football Association having a meeting to review your remarks yesterday."

"I'm not going to change my evaluation of the referees in that match." He saw the BBC logo on the microphone. "You're BBC reporters, you can go back and watch the video recording of yesterday's match, and then swear on God's name that there were no problems with the referees' decisions for those two balls. I know, some people want the Premier League team to advance, rather than us with no money nor power!"

These words caused an uproar in the crowd. Didn't Tang En's last remark imply that the Football Association favored the Premier League team? Of course, maybe he did not mean that, but he did not stop anyone from understanding that. This was big news! This would be a lively spectacle for days to come. They did not know whether this Tony Twain was deliberately playing dumb or being so headstrong that he would dare utter these remarks.

Seeing the reporters' reactions, Tang En added, "I do not wish to continue answering this topic. Next."

Tang En had some recollection of the next reporter who came out to ask a question. It was the Evening Post reporter to whom he had made the remark, "We were raped by the referee!" to yesterday. The young man whose name was like the actor that played 007.

"Hello, Mr. Twain. I'm a reporter at the Nottingham Evening Post, Pierce Brosnan. We all know that five days ago on January 1, the 27th round of English League One, at the home match between the Forest team and Walsall, you were knocked down by your player David Johnson and were unconscious for a while."

Tang En interrupted his words. "Can you get to the question, or do you wish to tell us a story here?" Faced with this group of reporters, Tang En's good mood before had gone sour. His words naturally became sharper and abrupt.

Constantine glanced at the poor young man and stole a look at Twain. He had begun his observation work.

Though the young man's face was flushed, he still summoned up his courage to ask, "I... I just wanted to ask you if your being here is related to what happened on the sidelines on that day?"

Tang En pushed forward Constantine who was standing beside him and whispered to him, "Professor, it's your turn to come forward. Just talk a little more nonsense and ten minutes will be over very soon."

Constantine gave a cough, put on a lecturer's expression to face the media and said, "The thing is this ..."

Ten minutes later, just when the originally excited reporters started to yawn, he finally uttered the most important words. "According to our observation and thorough examination, Mr. Twain has no abnormalities in his head. He's no different from a normal person."

Tang En leaned in from the side to the back of Constantine and whispered, "Nicely done, Professor. I look forward to our cooperation!" Then he raised his hands and pointed to his wrist watch. "I'm sorry everyone, time's up, I have to go."

The reporters obviously did not want to let him go. Someone shouted, "Mr. Twain! The West Ham United manager, Glenn Roeder, claimed that you had made a very unfriendly remark about his team after the match. He said that you congratulated him on his team's relegation! Is that true?"

"Nonsense. He must have heard wrong, I congratulated him on his victory and offered best wishes for his team's success in maintaining their level." Tang En saw a taxi coming in through the hospital gate to drop off a passenger. He promptly moved everyone aside and quickly walked out of the hospital entrance. Next, he opened the car door and ducked in.

Afterward, the car drove off.

Constantine considered the entire scene, and a smile emerged on his face. "What an interesting man."

"Sir, what did you say?" The security guard asked beside him.

"Nothing. I told you to drive those reporters away. This is a hospital, not a celebrity mansion." He pointed at the reporters who were still hanging around the entrance.

"But ...."

"If they use the excuse of obstruction of the freedom of the press, you just tell them that the press conference has already ended so they must leave. Or else you will call the police and charge them with interference of the hospital's normal operations. If a person dies here, they will be held responsible." After leaving the mess to the poor person in charge, Constantine turned and walked back.

The taxi had already been on the road for two hundred meters, and the passenger still did not provide a destination. The driver had to ask, "Where are you going, Mr. Twain?"

Still in a daze, Tang En found it odd that a taxi driver knew his name, then he saw the driver pick up a newspaper from the edge of the seat. Tang En had by now seen this newspaper four times today. He suddenly realized who had called those reporters. It must be that Notts County fan, Ms. Lilith!

"Are you a Notts County fan?" he asked in alarm.

The driver pointed to a cuddly toy wearing a red jersey hanging under the rearview mirror. "Starting from my grandfather's grandfather, we are all Forest team fans."

Tang En let out a long exhale. "Sorry. You saw them, just now those people. They were called by a Notts County fan."

The driver chuckled loudly in the front. "That's because our two teams are arch enemies in the same city. Where are you going, sir?"

Tang En initially wanted to go home, but he was worried that the dogged reporters were following the taxi, like with Princess Diana. So, he simply said, "Wherever! I'm not heading home anyway."

"But there's no such place." The driver too was indecisive.

"Er, in that case you take me on a sightseeing tour around Nottingham."

"Very well, sir. Can I ask you something about the Forest team?"

Tang En laid his head on the backrest and turned to look out of the window. "Yes, as long as it doesn't affect your driving. But I reserve the right to not answer." He suddenly found himself very fond of this sentence. When he said this while facing so many reporters, it felt so cool! He was going to say this more often to reporters in the future. He did not care whether they wanted to hear it or not.

When Tang En's taxi was far enough away from the hospital, and he was sure there were no reporters following him, he stopped the car to pay and get out. But the driver did not want to accept. "Sir, if you can get the Forest team to play like they did in the second half of yesterday's match every time, anytime you need a car in the future, just call me. I guarantee not a single penny will be charged!" After that, he firmly stuffed the money and his business card into the hands of a dumbstruck Tang En, closed the window, and drove away.

Looking at the taxi that disappeared into the traffic in a flash, the driver's words still echoed in his ears. Tang En could not make sense of his feelings.

Being appreciated by Mr. Chairman and adored and respected by ordinary fans caused his bad mood from being surrounded by reporters to improve some. Everything he had done had been acknowledged. This was his greatest achievement to date. Formerly, when he was in his home country, because his disposition and bad temper were off-putting, no matter how hard he worked, he was not recognized for it.

There was an old Chinese saying: Women dressed themselves up for those who liked them, and men were willing to sacrifice themselves for those who value them.

He found himself falling in love with the city and fond of the fans.

Just as Tang En was feeling a multitude of emotions, he was suddenly bumped into and almost fell into the fast lane of the road. He managed to grab onto the roadside fire hydrant with some difficulty and pathetically steady himself. But he could only see a black figure hurriedly zip past and into the throngs of passersby on the streets.

"Walk carefully!" He habitually touched his pockets and found that his wallet was gone!

"B*stard! The way he stole money was so cliché!" Tang En stood on the street and cursed. But even such a cliche way of stealing money had also succeeded on him. It seemed like today was still his unlucky day. If he had an ancient almanac, he would look to see whether it was inadvisable to travel.

Historically, Nottingham was the birthplace of the world famous legend, Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. So there had been a tradition of "rob the rich to help the poor" for the last few hundred years, with everyone treating Robin Hood as an idol.

Nottingham had just been "honored" by Britain's famous insurance company, Endsleigh Insurance, and selected as the top "most dangerous city in United Kingdom." The police named it "British Gun Crime Center." His wallet had a few hundred pounds of cash and a credit card, as well as an ID card. Poor Tony Twain.

Chapter 15: George Wood’s Family Part 1

Because the next League One match wasn't for fourteen days, on January 18th, Tang En gave the team two days' leave after the FA Cup. On the first day of the leave, Tang En wasted his time with seeing a doctor, handling reporters, and abusing Nottingham's poor security.

Fortunately, he had some pocket change on him, otherwise he wouldn't have had the fare to get home.

The next day Tang En went to the bank to report the loss of his credit card, and then went to the police station to report the loss of his identity card. With his time wasted for most of his day, while everyone else was having their afternoon tea, he dragged his tired body home. Thank goodness for his semi-reliable memory, otherwise he would have no idea where to go or who to look for.

When he reached his doorstep, he saw a boy standing there.

He was almost the same height as Twain, but with a child's face.

Tang En did not understand what this boy was doing here, standing at his doorstep, his face a little dirty, with brown hair, and tan skin. Is he a burglar acting as a lookout? He glanced at his door and found that it was tightly shut, and that there was no sign of damage.

When the boy saw Twain walking over, he just kept his eyes on him, but said nothing. Tang En did not like his look, so he stared at the boy and sidestepped him to head inside his house.

At this time that boy spoke. "Are you the Forest team manager, Tony Twain?"

He just directly called my name. There was no "Mister." Also no greeting. Real lack of manners!

Grumbling on the inside, Tang En still stopped in his tracks and looked at him out of the corner of his eyes and said, "I am. I'm not in the mood for an autograph if that's what you want."

The boy looked down and dug out a black wallet from his pants pocket. "I'm not here for an autograph. This is your wallet."

Tang En hesitantly took it and found that except for that hundreds of pounds missing, the credit card and ID were still inside!

Even though he spent the day dealing with it, getting the wallet back immediately put Tang En in a better mood. Now he looked at the boy in a different light, and there was a smile on his face. "Oh, you found this? What a good kid. Thank you so much!" He patted his pockets, but found that the loose change was too pathetic to take it out and offer as a reward.

"I'm really sorry, but I don't have much money on me now. Come back tomorrow, I will give you a good reward."

"No, I don't want a reward." The boy shook his head.

The first thought that flashed through Tang En's mind was England had a selfless model citizen, just like Lei Feng! The boy was decent, though his clothes were worn out and his face was dirty. However, he looked like he was driven. Must be from a poor family. He might be poor, but he did not lack will. Lots of promise, very promising indeed!

The boy continued, "I think your team should sign England's best footballer."

That explained it, he turned out to be a loyal fan of the Forest team.

Tang En grinned. "Are you referring to David Beckham? I'm sorry, we are a small club. The big stars will not consider us." He was going to reach out and touch the boy's head. He was so adorable. Although he's about the same height as me.

Tang En did not expect the boy to dodge his hand. "Who's that? The best footballer in England is right here!"

Tang En looked all around and found no one.

"Where are you looking? Right here, in front of you!" The boy spoke earnestly and pointed to himself.

The corner of Tang En's mouth twitched a little, and he burst into laughter. He then reached out his hand again, intending to pat the boy's head. "What a delightful boy."

This time the boy directly swatted Twain's hand away. "I am not joking! I'm serious!"

It was a little awkward to be swatted away by a boy. The smile on Tang En's face froze, and then he gave a cough. "All right, please tell me. Where are you playing now?"

"I've never played."

Tang En stared at him for a good while, "Are you joking?"

The boy tightened his lips and earnestly said, "I haven't played now. It doesn't mean I won't play in the future. As long as I can receive training, I will definitely be the best footballer in England!"

Tang En's tone softened. "Listen... What's your name?"

"George, George Wood."

"Listen, George. I very much appreciate you bringing back my wallet. But professional football is not as simple as you think. Thank you for returning my wallet. I'll take you home. Where do you live?"

George Wood was silent for a moment, lowered his head, and said, "Sneinton."

Tang En searched his mind and found that this place was a well-known ghetto in Nottingham. Blacks, Indians, descendants of all kinds of ethnicities inhabited this area, as well as students. It was the place with the most public disorder, despite being only hundreds of meters away from Nottingham's most upscale residential area.

Looking at Wood's clothes, Tang En suddenly felt a little sympathetic. Any country would have areas with poor and rich people, even Britain's famous business centers and a handful of industrial cities like Nottingham would have these two levels.

"Well, tell you what, I'll get you back." As it turned out, a taxi was dropping off a passenger nearby. Tang En flagged it down. Sneinton was on the east side of the city, and his home Wilford was on the southwest side of the city. God only knew how the poor boy got there.

The taxi stopped next to them. Wood did not show any objection and followed him into the car. He did not speak in the taxi; the atmosphere was a little awkward. Tang En decided to find something to say.

"George, why do you have to play football?"

"To make money."

Tang En took a look at Wood. This sort of answer corresponded with his background.

"Then you can go to work. Wait, you should be in school now? How old are you?"

"Seventeen. I don't want to go to school. Can't make money by going to school. And I have a job, but it doesn't make enough money."

"What's your job?"

"A mover for a moving company."

In the United Kingdom, a mover's income in a moving company was ￡10 each job, which was neither high nor low. The job was simply to load the customer's things into the truck, and then unload them from the truck at the destination. This kind of work required a person with a physically strong body to do it. Tang En shot a glance at Wood, wondering if this boy really did this for a living. Looking at the muscles, they were not like a seventeen-year-old boy's.

The minimum hourly wage in Britain was ￡4.5. Wood's wages were more than double this. Tang En did not understand why he would think that the money was too little.

"What do you want so much money for?"

Wood did not answer this question, and the atmosphere in the car suddenly became somewhat awkward again.

Tang En, who who was born and grew up under the Red Flag, was taught that seventeen-year-olds should be educated at school rather than go out to work. So, he stressed, "I think you should go back to school."

"I hate school," Wood stated coldly.

Tang En realized that this boy was just like his former self, a clog in the toilet—stubborn and annoying. Unable to get through to him anymore, he no longer said anything and turned his head to gaze out the window.

The world outside the car window was sunny with a clear blue sky over bustling streets and lively shopping malls, packed with tourists. Tang En could even see Chinese tourists from the taxi. With the sun shining in the 21st century, could one imagine a place like the ghetto still existed?

But it truly was here, in this city. The landscape outside the car window gradually changed, driving past the most magnificent residential area, where Tang En could still see mansions worth millions of pounds inside the decorative cast iron railings, flickering through. This area used to be Nottingham's textile factories and warehouses and had a very pretty name, "The Lace Market."

Even Twain, a professional club manager, could not afford to live in an area like this. The place where Twain now lived was considered the most common type of residential area in Nottingham, where common folk and the working class lived. Except for the two-story houses with private courtyards, it was no different from the ordinary residential areas of China.

Britain had poor people. But in a society with high welfare, their lives are not too terrible. One could live a carefree life if one lived frugally. Sneinton, where George Wood's house was, wasn't really regarded as a ghetto. It was more like "poverty-stricken." In Britain, areas where there were clusters of people of other ethnicities and illegal immigrants, were considered as "ghettoes" without exception. Manchester now had the largest ghetto in Europe. Impoverished white people would still be better off than other poor ethnicities because of the racial discrimination.

George Wood was multiracial and would also be considered black. It was not surprising he lived in a place like Sneinton.

In Nottingham, ghettos didn't just mean poor. The term also implied "chaos." Public security was the biggest headache for the local police department in Nottingham. One could see the guns and ammunitions stores selling to the public on the streets, groups of hooligans wandering the streets and maliciously eyeing the passersby, robbery, theft, drugs, prostitutes, violence... That was what went down in this type of place. They were the gray areas of the city, the no-go areas that many people wanted to keep as far away from as possible.

Leaving the magnificent upscale residential area behind, the taxi ride became noticeably bumpier. There were no more traces of those decorative magnificent buildings to be found outside the car window. Instead it was replaced by shabby red-bricked houses, peeling wooden window frames and mottled walls. As the taxi went deeper into the neighborhood, the number of even more dilapidated houses grew, and the shady characters who were just loitering around increased as well.

A streetwalker, with cheap jewelry and heavy makeup that was meant to make her look attractive, but couldn't disguise her tired crow's feet, leaned against a doorway to smoke and solicit clients. An aggressive-looking man (or boy?), wearing a black jacket, had coarse tattoos on his thick arms. Passersby hurried down the street with their heads down. A group of three or four kids noisily chased each other. They were on a narrow road with asphalt patches of unevenly covered potholes. The wind whipped discarded multicolored plastic bags and newspapers everywhere, whirling them over people's heads. The lives of the people here were like this colorful trash, numbly drifting where the wind blew. Eventually they would drift and fall in the gutters, forgotten with no one to mourn them.

Tang En was checking out the world outside the car, and the people of that world stared back at him with malicious intent, as if they had seen a pile of pound sterling or buttered bread.

Wood directed the driver to park in front of a red brick house, and Tang En paid the taxi fare. The driver quickly drove away. He only stopped for a moment, and there were already a few kids hitting his car windows repeatedly. He was afraid of what would happen if he stayed any longer.

Wood was somewhat surprised that Tang En followed him out of the taxi. "I thought you'd take the taxi straight back."

"I thought so, too. But I'm used to getting off when the car stops." Tang En was avoiding the kids' dirty hands, they were looking for money from him.

"Mister! Give me one pound, just one pound!" A child about five or six years old with a runny nose shouted.

It was not that Tang En had no compassion. He had no cash in his wallet. He still had about ￡50 of change on him now, which was his return fare. If he were to give it to these kids, what was he going to do?

Just as it was about to get too uncomfortable, Wood brandished his fists at the kids. "Beat it!"

The kids made faces at him, gave the middle finger, and then scattered.

To be honest, Tang En did not expect Wood to be so unkind to the kids living in the same ghetto. "You're really unfriendly."

"They are not friendly to me, either." Wood stopped walking when he realized Twain was just standing at the street looking around. "There's nothing to look at. This is where I live. Must be a shock for you."

Tang En looked back at the teenager and grinned. "It's okay. Can you take me to your house?"

Wood nodded and took out his key to open the door.

It was a two-story brick house. Through the door was a narrow corridor and stairs which Wood went straight up. Tang En, still at the door, spoke, "Sorry to bother you."

"The first floor is another family; my place is on the second floor." Wood looked back oddly at Twain. "That family comes home late."

Tang En touched his nose in embarrassment and followed Wood upstairs.

Hearing their footsteps, a woman's voice called out, "George?"

"I'm back, Mom."

Tang En whispered from behind, "Where's your father?"

"He's dead." Walking ahead, Wood did not even turn his head around to answer.

"Uh... I'm sorry."

"Do we have a guest?" Tang En heard the woman asked.

"A football manager."

During the question and answer, the two of them had come to a door of a room on the second floor, which seemed to be a dining room. A dark-haired woman sat at the dining table, peeling potatoes. The curtains were tightly shut, the lights were not turned on, and the room was dim, but Tang En thought the woman was the only glow in the house... because she was beautiful. Honestly, seeing George Wood's square face, he did not think that the boy's mother would be so beautiful, so youthful, such a young woman in such a chaotic environment, raising a child alone, enduring how much hardship? He felt sympathetic toward this woman.

Petite and pale, she seemed to be ill. But the sickliness somehow enhanced her beauty. She also seemed to be multiracial. How could he describe all it… since Tang En entered the ghetto, the desolate area seemed to be dominated by gloom, until he saw this woman. She was the only source of light in this plain room, the only color in the world...

Chapter 16: George Wood’s Family Part 2

Tang En stared at the woman in a daze until she got up to greet him. "Hello, Mr. Manager."

"Ah… Oh, hello, Madam. I'm sorry, I did not expect you to be so young."

George Wood turned his head to give Twain a glare, then turned to his mother to explain. "He's the Forest team manager. I went to look for him. I wanted to be a footballer. But he turned me down and sent me back."

Tang En looked at Wood's mother, smiled, said, "I'm really sorry, Madam. Your son has never received regular football training, and he's a little bit older now..."

The woman looked at her son with indescribable tenderness and affection in her eyes. "George, can you please go buy some Mascarpone cheese? I haven't made any snacks for you in a long time. I would like to make some tiramisu."

Wood seemed unwilling. His mother pulled out a note from her apron pocket, stuffed it into Wood's hand, and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry; go."

Only then did Wood walk towards the door. Before he left, he glared at Twain with a fierce expression. Tang En was a little confused by his stare. How could his expression have changed so quickly?

When she saw her son walk out the door and heard him go down the stairs, she closed the door. The woman abruptly walked up to Twain, took his hand, and led him to another room.

"Um, Madam ..." Tang En was confused. What's going on?

The two entered the room. The woman shut the door, not forgetting to lock it. Tang En then watched her as she rapidly took off her clothes. Perhaps because of her nervousness, her movements were still stiff. Tang En foolishly stared at her with his mouth agape, not even thinking to stop the other person.

This woman had the same wheat-colored skin as her son, and had a delicately curvaceous beautiful *ss underneath the oversized clothes….

She stood in front of Twain, then opened her arms and shyly said, "Come, we don't have much time."

This remark gave Tang En chills. He looked at the woman as he shuddered, then frowned. "What's the meaning of this, Madam?"

The woman walked towards the bed, laid on it, looked at Twain and said, "I hope Sir will give my son a chance, and in return ..."

Tang En stepped forward and pulled the quilt over to cover the woman. "I'm really sorry, but I'm not here for a woman, Madam." This woman's actions had shattered Tang En's beautiful impression of her in his mind. He spoke coldly with a firmer tone.

The harsh remark struck the woman's heart. She suddenly leaned over the quilt and burst into tears. Tang En had originally intended to turn around and leave, but he froze when he saw this woman crying in front of him.

Tang En was inexperienced in love and relationships, and with his character, he did not know how to comfort women. He helplessly stood beside the bed as he said, "Don't cry, don't cry... I'm really sorry, Madam. It's not that I don't want to give your son a chance... What the hell is going on here? Stop crying!" He suddenly shouted at the woman. It worked. The woman immediately stopped crying.

"I don't know why you're doing this. But this is not a transaction for your son. I'm very sorry about him, but I can't let your son join my team. From the perspective of a football beginner, he's too old... I also sympathize very much with your family's situation. But professional football is not a street game. I think it would be better for you to just let him go to school, then find a job after graduation."

The woman wiped the tears from her face. She looked even more captivating with her face rosy from the crying...

Tang En looked at the woman's lovely yet pitiful expression. When he thought of her standing naked in front of him, blood suddenly rushed to his head... It was not that he was the modern Liu Xiahui; it was just that he was not completely mentally prepared to have relations with an unfamiliar woman whom he had only known for a minute. Now that he had calmed down, he felt that this woman did indeed have what it took to seduce him. But now was obviously not the time to be impulsive.

Damn it! He got a grip of himself and turned away.

The woman looked at him and a smile suddenly emerged on her face. Then she began to calmly get dressed, as if nothing had happened. "Mr. Manager, I don't know your name yet."

"Tony Twain. You can call me Twain." People generally addressed each other by their first name in order to express familiarity. But Tang En was from China, and this was his full name. He was still used to being called "Twain," not "Tony."

"Mr. Twain, you must think I'm vulgar. Am I correct?"

"No, I do not." Tang En shook his head with his back turned to her.

The woman took Tang En's answer as a perfunctory consolation. She sighed. "You can see it too, how difficult it is for a sickly woman to raise her own child. It's not easy in this place. I am not asking for your pity. In fact, I am actually content, because God gave me a healthy and strong child. You can turn around, sir."

Tang En turned around and found the neatly-dressed woman seated by the bed, looking at him with bright eyes. He felt a little guilty as she looked at him.

"I can understand... Madam, can we leave the room and talk? I don't want to be seen here by your son. Even though we haven't done anything, there are some things we clearly can't explain."

The woman smiled. "Alright. But please rest assured—it takes forty-five minutes to walk to the nearest supermarket that sells Mascarpone cheese and back."

George Wood's mother made a cup of black tea for Twain, then the two sat at the dining table. She continued to peel the potatoes she would use to make dinner and told Twain the story about herself and her son in the meantime.

From their conversation, Tang En learned that George Wood had had a rather rough life. His mother, Sophia, was Jamaican, and she had a mixed parentage of Jamaican and Brazilian; a standard mixed-blood beauty. When she was seventeen years old, she fell in love with a tall, handsome British crew member. It quickly developed into a kind of earth-shattering passionate love and the two people quickly progressed to the stage of marriage. But Sophia's family did not approve of this marriage, so they set out and found her a marriage prospect who was the son of a family that owned businesses in Jamaica.

What happened next was the stuff of almost all cliché romantic novels. Between her family and love, Sophia chose the latter, and eloped with her boyfriend, the crew member, to an unfamiliar country: England. On top of this, she was already three months pregnant

The boyfriend did not want this baby, but Sophia insisted on giving birth. Because of this, the two lovers quarreled for the first time. In the days that followed, the two of them argued constantly. In the end, the boyfriend left a sum of money with Sophia and ran off to continue being a carefree crew member. Later, Sophia gave birth to George Wood in a rundown hospital in Southampton. "Wood" was his father's surname. The young Sophia used it to commemorate that unforgettable love.

Because of the lack of nutrition she had during the pregnancy, plus the fact that she was often angry, Sophia's body was very weak after George's birth. Despite this, she had to work everywhere in order to earn money to support herself and little George. But because Sophia had come to Britain on a tourist visa and prolonged her stay after the visa had expired, Sophia was not registered in the British census. In other words, she was an unregistered resident; an illegal immigrant. It was impossible for illegal immigrants to find any work with good benefits. To find a better job and a cheaper house to live in, Sophia moved around with little George, who stayed in Portsmouth, London, Birmingham, and finally Nottingham.

The heartless rat she had been in love with had left; he had not contacted her, and disappeared without a trace, as if there had never been such a person in the world. Sophia gradually forgot about him and devoted all her love and care to her son. In this way, they supported each other for seventeen years. Wood knew of his father's existence, but he had told Twain that the man was dead. It was clear how much he must have hated his own father. George, who graduated from junior high school at the age of fifteen, did not go to a high school with the goal of going to a university, nor did he go to a vocational school where he could learn a trade. He chose to go directly to work. He had done all kinds of jobs like being a supermarket cashier, an express delivery courier, a gas station pump attendant, and a mover. But the money he earned was not enough for a family with a mother who could need medical treatment at any time. Tang En also understood why Wood wanted to be a professional player. The media always portrayed professional players as being young and rich upstarts; anyone would be green with envy.

Tang En could see that Sophia was really frail. Whenever she spoke more than usual, she would have to stop and take deep breaths, and would occasionally cough violently. From this mother's brief description of the past, he could not imagine how much the young mother had suffered. But one thing Tang En could be certain of was that Sophia had experienced what ordinary people would absolutely find hard to bear.

One could imagine the scenario; a young woman in the prime of her youth full of yearning for love and the future had followed her love to the unfamiliar United Kingdom with plans to start a new life. She had dreams and aspirations. But seventeen years later, in front of Tang En, she was a woman who had been mistreated by life and left with a broken body. It was hard to explain this change from a "young lady" to a "woman" in a few words.

Perhaps because the topic was too heavy, and he did not wish to allow Sophia to continue to recall the unbearable past, Tang En took the initiative to change to a lighter subject. Because he was the manager of a professional team, he naturally spoke about the exciting game that had taken place a few days ago. Tang En did not know whether Sophia liked football, but she was fascinated. When Tang En talked about what he had said to Roeder during their handshake and the West Ham United manager's complex expression of astonishment and indignation intertwined, Sophia laughed along with Tang En.

George Wood almost slammed the door open and rushed to the second floor in a single breath. To his surprise, he saw that his mother was sitting at the dining table with that Manager Twain, pleasantly chatting. When his mother saw him appear at the door, she glanced at the clock on the wall in some surprise.

"Only fifteen minutes... George, you didn't go?" Sophia rose to greet her son.

Wood took out the plastic bag behind him and inside it was the Mascarpone cheese his mother had asked him to buy.

Tang En noticed that George looked ruddy and out of breath. He held back a smile. This kid must have run there and back. But to be able to complete the usual forty-five-minute journey with a simple fifteen-minute run meant that the kid's physical fitness must be very good.

Looking down at his watch, Twain felt he should go back because it was getting late. He got up to leave. Sophia was not very enthusiastic about the idea of him staying for dinner. She only asked her son to walk Mr. Twain down the block. A seemingly rich stranger in this area would look like a mobile ATM. Anyone would be envious if they saw him, and it would be dangerous if there was no local to escort him.

After saying goodbye to this mother, Tang En walked towards the main road, accompanied by Wood.

Daylight went away quicker in the winter, so it was now dark. The streetlights were already lit. Wafts of sweet-smelling milk drifted from some people's homes, and this chaotic place finally had some warmth. There were fewer loitering hooligans, and the children who wanted money were still there. When they saw Twain, they would come up to ask for money. But when they saw Wood, they would grimace at him and give him the middle finger. Tang En could not see a child's innocence in them at all.

To find innocence in such a place? Even Tang En smiled wryly.

Looking at George Wood with his head lowered as he walked silently, and after having heard the story about him, Tang En felt that this kid was mature beyond his age. But he had not succeeded in his self-marketing to Tang En in Wilford.

"Hey, did anything happen… between you and my mother?" Wood suddenly asked.

"Your mother was very hospitable, we had a chat about some interesting things together. I told her about my work and she was very happy to listen. Besides that, she told me some things about you too."

Wood seemed relieved. Tang En's next sentence made Wood nervous again, however.

"Your mother is really beautiful. I wouldn't have been able to tell at all that she has a seventeen-year-old child."

Wood stopped and turned his head to stare at Twain. He said fiercely to him, "Don't get any ideas about my mother!"

With his arms spread out, Tang En asked, "How could I?"

The young man who cared for his mother grunted and turned to continue to lead the way. But his low growl still very clearly reached Twain's ears.

"If you dare to get any ideas about my mother, I will kill you!"

Tang En knew this kid was serious, and that he loved his mother more than anything.

"You may rest assured. I would like to live a bit longer." He shrugged.

When they reached the busy main road, Tang En thanked Wood, but Wood did not turn back. "I can take a cab back. You should go home too." Tang En felt a little odd.

"My mother asked me to send you to the car." Wood shook his head.

Tang En smiled, and did not reject the act of kindness. The two men stood on the cold and windy street. They did not see a taxi for a long time. Wood saw Twain looking around and wondered, "Don't you have a reservation?"

"What is that?" Tang En looked puzzled. He had always put his hand out to hail a taxi by the roadside in his country. Why did he have to make a reservation for a cab in the United Kingdom?

"There won't be any available cab on the streets for you." Wood was even more baffled. Is this man really British? "It's because petrol is too expensive. If you want a cab, you have to call the cab company to get a car, or you can directly call for a familiar driver. Are you really British?"

So, this is it. Tang En flushed with embarrassment, but he had to save face in front of the child, so he glared at Wood.

"I was just momentarily distracted. I forgot. Actually, I have ..." From his pocket, he took out the business card the driver had left him yesterday and dialed the number on it. After stating his name, the other party very enthusiastically asked Tang En for his current location, and then said he would be there in fifteen minutes.

The two went back to waiting in silence again. Wood was not a person who liked to speak first, and Tang En felt like he had nothing to say.

The driver was punctual, and his car was parked in front of Tang En in fifteen minutes. George Wood, who had finished his task, turned to go, but was stopped by Tang En.

He tore a note from his carry-on notepad and wrote down his name and phone number, as well as the address of the Forest training ground. Then he handed it to the somewhat astonished Wood.

"Take it. Come look for me tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. at this address written here. If the guard at the gate asks, just say I asked you to come."

Wood still did not react, and he did not answer, so Tang En simply stuffed it in his hand.

"I can give you a chance, but it's up to you whether you can be the best player in England, kid."

With that said, Tang En got into the car and closed the door. The driver, also a fan, started the car, then quickly blended into the traffic flow like a drop of water flowing into the river.

Tang En looked back and saw Wood still standing under the street lights in the cold wind like a statue. Behind him was Sneinton in the dusk, and opposite him was the brightly lit bustling downtown. On the A612 highway, Manvers Street divided this city into two distinct worlds.

The seventeen-year-old George Wood desperately want to make money to take his mother to escape from there. Without a high school education, he could only depend on football if he did not want to die in the streets someday or go to prison. Today's experience had made Tang En feel that real professional football was quite different from the European football that he argued about with other people in pubs or tea houses back in his country. The latter was the most beautiful side of the sport, like the world on the left side of the road. The former, however, was far from what those fans back in his country thought of as charming; it was a side that was deliberately forgotten about, but truly existed. It was brutal and tenacious, just like the right side of the highway, the Sneinton slum.

That gate was already open, and underneath the gorgeous surface, Tang En saw the darkness he had not known before.

It's indeed a brand-new world, he thought to himself.

Chapter 17: Off To London Part 1

Tuesday, January 7th, was a busy day for Nottingham Forest Team substitute manager Tony Twain.

After the two-day break, the players had a slight decline in their physical condition when they returned to the training ground. Tang En stood on the sidelines to watch for a while, and the players' performance made him scowl. He shouted for them to stop, after which he called Ade Stovell, the fitness coach, and the assistant managers over to revise today's team training program to strength training. They were to do nothing, but restore their stamina.

Tang En knew very little about training. Basically he left that to the two assistant managers, Des Walker and Ian Bowyer to manage. Goalkeeper training had a goalkeeper coach, strength training had a fitness coach, etc. The entire coaching team's division of work was essentially clear-cut. He did not need to worry about that. He only had to verify Walker's training plan.

This saved him, a half-baked manager, from giving the game away.

After making these adjustments, the two doctors whom he had "ordered" from Professor Constantine arrived, too. Tang En took them to the physiotherapy room and introduced them to the other two doctors: 35-year-old Irishman Gary Fleming and 58-year-old Englishman John Haselden.

The new two doctors were over the age of 55, had just retired from the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University, and they were hardcore Forest fans. This reassured Tang En, as foreign fans' loyalty would keep them from doing anything harmful to their club.

"These two are Steve Devin and Roger Langley. They are your new colleagues. Gary, you brief them on the team. I have to go back." Tang En briefly introduced the two doctors, shook their hands before leaving, wished them well, and then turned to leave.

Just as he was returning to the training ground, his cellphone rang again.

"This is Twain."

"Tony, I've got a kid here looking for you. He says that you asked him to come," came the voice of the guard Ian MacDonald on the phone.

Tang En looked down at his watch, 9:30, not a minute more, not a minute less. This boy was punctual. "That's right, I've asked him to come, you bring him in."

Ten minutes later, old Ian walked in with a tall lad to the training ground, brought him right to Twain, and then went back.

Tang En looked at George Wood. His face was much cleaner than yesterday. He wore new clothes and a pair of Nike sneakers on his feet with some wear and tear, but at least not worn to the point of showing his toes.

"Have you had breakfast?" It was a very Chinese greeting. Tang En still had some of his habits.

Wood was a little surprised, then he nodded. "I ate."

"How did you get here?" Tang En, who realized that he might have asked the wrong question, changed the subject.

"Rode, bus, and then I ran."

When Tang En heard him say that, he carefully observed Wood again. His face was ruddy, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, and he was slightly panting, but it wasn't obvious. He thought about how the boy had ran and completed a 45-minute walk in 15 minutes. Unlike his sickly and petite mother, he was about 1.8 meters tall and very strong. Maybe Sophia gave her entire life essence to her son to have such a freak of nature.

"Very well. You come with me. We're going to cut through here. The training ground on the north side is where you're going to be."

Wood asked in puzzlement, "Not here? This is not the training ground?"

"This is the First Team training ground. I'm taking you to the youth team training ground." Tang En led the way.

Unexpectedly, Wood stopped and said, "Youth team? I'm not going. I want be here, play professional matches, get paid a salary and bonus."

Tang En looked back at him and said, "That's not going to work. You've never played a match. This is an adult team's match and you haven't adapted..."

Wood stood still. "I must play."

"Why?"

"They say First Team gets more money to play."

If he had heard Wood say this yesterday afternoon, Tang En would have chuckled. But he could not laugh after seeing their family's situation. Looking at the obstinate Wood, Tang En suddenly thought of an idea.

"Very well. I can give you a chance. However, it's not my decision alone if you want to be a member of the first team. Do you see them?" Tang En pointed to the first team players and the coaches training on the training ground.

Wood nodded.

"You have to prove that you have the ability to play alongside them, to convince those professional coaches, who are very demanding, to agree to let you join the first team."

"How do I prove it?"

Gotcha! Tang En secretly smiled, but spoke with a serious expression. "It's simple. Play a match against them and let everyone judge your standard."

Tang En had a clear grasp of Wood's temperament. He stubbornly insisted on his own ideas, would not give up until he tried, and was dead set on his goals. So he would let him suffer the hard way, otherwise he would not listen to anyone else's words. He was a complete rookie, who had never played ball before, in a match with professional players. Tang En was very sure about what the outcome would be. This was not some fantasy fiction. There was no such thing. He was going to make Wood suffer a little, remember it well, and know that professional football was not as simple as he thought.

Wood nodded. "OK!"

So, Tang En took him back again, stood on the sidelines, and shouted for the training to stop. After that, he called Des Walker over.

"What's the matter? Tony?" Walker looked curiously at George Wood, who stood beside Twain.

"Let everyone play a simple match. And then," Tang En pointed to Wood, "count him in. Liam." Tang En beckoned a coach over.

"Bring him to the locker room to change his clothes." He pointed at Wood while he instructed Liam O'Kane, who came running.

Watching Wood go, Walker then asked, "Tony, who is he?"

"Some talented kid I found on the street. He expressed to me his pressing desire to become a professional footballer, so I brought him in for training. Before going to the youth team, let him first have a feel of the professional football atmosphere." Tang En was selective in what he said. He did not tell Walker the whole truth. After all, he did not know if Wood would mind letting people know about his family.

"Oh, right. Des, put Wood in the group that's not wearing the vests. Then tell those wearing the yellow vests that if they want to get a chance to take the field first in the next match, this match is an important assessment, and bad performances will affect their chances."

In the Forest team training matches, those not wearing the vests represented the substitutes team, and the starters were wearing the yellow vests. Walker nodded and turned back to arrange the players.

Soon, Wood changed his clothes and returned to sidelines. Tang En glanced at him. Wood did look somewhat like a player, wearing the jersey.

"Well, in terms of appearance, you're a professional player." Tang En nodded his head. "Go on. You and the others not wearing yellow vests are a team. Des, you're the referee!"

Then, Tang En watched the game on the sidelines with his arms folded across his chest.

It was clear that Wood did not play ball and did not know how to coordinate with his teammates. He was given the position of striker, but he only knew how to run after the ball. Wherever the ball went, he followed. When he got close to it, the other player had already passed the ball, and he then turned and ran after it. Ten minutes had passed, and he did not touch the ball once.

Walker, who was the referee, kept looking back at Twain on the sidelines. He could not see what talent this kid had.

To be honest, Tang En did not see it either, except his physical strength was comparatively better, and he was faster. But his performance suggested that he was more suited to be a track and field athlete than a football player. Starting to feel flustered under Walker's gaze, Tang En pulled his sunglasses from his coat pocket and put them on, so that even if he closed his eyes, no one would see that he really felt Wood's performance was unbearable to watch.

Walker guessed as much when he saw Twain put on his sunglasses. The rest of the match was entirely useless. This kid was a complete football beginner.

Wood's teammates were also baffled. This kid could not play football at all. Why was he training with them? No one would pass the ball to him. Wood carried on running. Wherever the ball went, Wood followed.

Tang En watched for another 10 minutes. In the 20 minutes George did not change at all. He even deduced that this boy had not watched many matches and completely did not understand football at all. It must be tough for him seeing how he was panting on the field. He signaled for a substitution so that Wood could come off.

Wood lowered his head, taking big gulps of breath, and came to Twain.

"George, how are you feeling?" Tang En asked him.

Wood said nothing with his head down, just gasping for air. Tang En knew he now comprehended the intensity of professional football.

"This is just at the training level, if it were an official match... Now do you think professional football is so easy? At your current level, you won't get a professional contract, not even the lowest level contract. I know why you want to train here, but to be able to train in this place depends on your level, too. Frankly, your performance just now was really crap. Do you think it would be possible for me to sign a professional contract with you based on your performance just now?"

Wood still did not speak. Maybe he was still unconvinced with his head lowered.

"Okay, follow me to the youth team and receive a proper training. You are not without opportunities. Besides, there's also money in becoming a member of the youth team."

When he heard Twain said that, Wood looked up, stared at him and asked, "Really?"

Tang En knew that the poor boy would only react when he mentioned money. "Why would I lie to you? I am a professional manager. I have a credit card, so the bank can vouch for my credit."

"How much money?" Wood meant how much he would be paid as a youth team player.

Tang En thought about signing a better youth team contract for this boy. His family situation was difficult. "A weekly salary of eighty pounds. If you play in a match, it's ￡35 per match. If you put in a goal, ￡7 a goal. If you assist, ￡3 per assist. This is the best youth team contract. Those who first joined the team only received ￡55 per week. In addition, the club is responsible for providing lunch. You're a local, so accommodation will not be provided." Tang En did not lie. This was indeed the best Forest youth team contract. Originally, Michael Dawson and Andy Reid with their outstanding performances in the youth team, both had this contract, except as a defender, Dawson did not have the goal and assist rewards.

Till now, the two of them were still on this contract because they had just been drawn from the youth team. But Tang En was already considering giving them a first-team contract with better pay. After all, to retain this sort of talent within the team, it was necessary to compensate them generously to ensure that they played well for the team.

Unexpectedly Wood looked rather hesitant after he heard what Twain said. Tang En also saw it. "What is it?"

"Is this really the best?" asked Wood.

He actually thought it was too low? Tang En nodded, then pointed at Dawson on the training ground and said, "See that tall man? He just got into the First Team right before New Year's Day and has been on the best contract for the youth team. If you don't believe me, I can call him over and you ask him. Need me to call?"

Wood shook his head. Maybe he did not think Twain was lying.

"How much do you get a week at the moving company?" Tang En asked.

Wood gave it a thought, "Two hundred pounds."

Tang En rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses. This was indeed a lot more than playing for the youth team. Tang En now understood Wood's reason for his hesitation.

"The youth team's pay is really not very high. But you know, even Rooney's salary was only eighty pounds a week when he was at the youth team, just like yours."

"Who's Rooney?" Wood looked perplexed.

Chapter 18: Off To London Part 2

Tang En realized his mistake. Wood was not a football fan, and if he normally did not care about football, he definitely would not have heard the name of this sparkling-new, talented Premier League player. On August 17, 2002, the 16-year-old Rooney first represented Everton in the Premier League. Soon after on October 19th, he scored the only goal in the match against Arsenal. That was the first league goal of his career, and it finally ended the strong opponent's unbeaten record of 30 league matches, making him famous from then on in the British football world. Coincidentally, two years later October 25, 2004, the just turned 19 Rooney scored a winning goal in a match against Arsenal again. That was his first league goal since joining Manchester United. This time he ended his opponent's unbeaten record of 49 consecutive wins in the English Premier League.

"Oh, he's really hot now. In the future, he will join a well-to-do football club. The Everton genius kid will make a lot of money. He's your age." Tang En felt that by saying that, George would be able to associate himself with Rooney. "Do you know how much he earns in a week now?"

Wood, of course, did not have a clue.

"I don't know, either." Tang En playfully grinned. "Do you know how much money he'll make in one week in the future?"

Wood shook his head.

Tang En thought of a joke he had seen online. The background was that Rooney had just renewed his contract with Manchester United, and a Chinese consortium had offered an opening bid of ￡850 million to acquire Manchester United. Of course, in reality, Manchester United Owner, Glazer, directly refused. This joke suggested that if the Chinese consortium's acquisition had succeeded, then the following would play out: Rooney would be worried about whether the ￡120,000 he had asked for would be honored, so he would take the liberty of approaching the Chinese consortium's big boss. The boss, sitting in his chair, with a Zhongnanhai cigarette in his mouth, says to Rooney, "You only have two choices now, either a weekly salary of 120,000 pounds or 1.2 million Chinese yuan. Think about it." Rooney thinks about it for a long while, and finally choses to take 1.2 million Chinese yuan. Thereafter, Rooney would pay daily attention to the appreciation of the Chinese yuan and would not go to strip clubs or bars to fool around anymore. He would watch the Chinese stock market situation everyday, for fear it would affect his weekly salary. When Ferguson sees Rooney has become so decent, he pats his head with regret. "If I had known, I would have paid Beckham's salary in Chinese yuan, and he wouldn't have had time to chase girls."

It was a joke, of course, but Tang En remembered that figure: ￡120,000.

So, he showed both of his hands to Wood, one hand indicating one and the other indicating two, "120,000... Pounds Sterling."

Wood's eyes were like saucers. "How do you know?"

"I'm guessing." Tang En certainly could not say that I am from China four and half years in the future. At that time, a quick search online, and one will be able know the weekly salary of star player Rooney. "But kid, I'm just letting you know what you may get for your weekly salary in the future. You train hard on the youth team, do your best to play football, gradually become a star, and then get noticed by the powerful clubs. At that time, they will find you and naturally wave their checkbooks. Then you find a good agent to help you sign some world-renowned brands' advertising endorsement deals. I'm telling you, that advertising revenue will be so much more than your annual salary when the time comes."

Tang En did not know what kind of player George Wood would eventually become, and perhaps he might not even be a professional player at all. But this was not important. It was needed now to give the young man a little bit of encouragement and hope, to let him see a better future, and then to fight for it. What happened thereafter would be of his own making.

"Accept the eighty-pounds-a-week youth contract and train hard on the youth team to become a future star footballer. Or go back to your mover job, earn two hundred pounds a week, until you can't be a mover anymore. Maybe you'll lose that job before then. It's your choice, son." After Tang En said this, he turned around to see the First Team's match, leaving his cool back to Wood.

There was a silence between the two. Only the occasional whistle from Walker, the shouts of the players prompting each other, and the pounding sound of the ball.

Tang En did not care what Wood chose. He gave Wood a chance, an opportunity to choose. If Wood did not choose to stay, he would continue to be a mover. In that case, he would only feel sorry in his heart for that beautiful mother, for whom he sympathized. Perhaps a week later he may not remember the mother and son, because he too had to face the challenges of life and destiny. He was not a good man with a lot of compassion, like the type who would take out all his money if he saw a beggar. Never was before and definitely not now.

After a moment, Wood's voice came from behind him, "Take me to the youth team."

Tang En turned to look at him. "This is your final choice? You're not going to regret it?"

Wood shook his head.

Tang En still felt uneasy, so he tried to scare him. "We'll sign the contract. If you break the contract, you'll have to pay the compensation."

Wood nodded. "I know."

"That's good. Go back to the locker room to change, and then follow me."

Tang En took George Wood across the First Team training ground and went straight to the youth training ground. Honestly, although Twain was the manager for the youth team, Tang En was here for the first time today. Compared with the First Team's, the youth team's ground felt newer, more modern. Even the gate was electronic. The guard was also a uniformed security guard, not an enthusiastic old fan.

Like the First Team's, the youth team's training ground was surrounded by rows of green trees, vast and spacious, with no tall buildings nearby. The view was excellent. Farther north, after the woods, was Nottingham's River Trent.

After Twain left the youth team, the supervision was now taken over by his former assistant manager David Kerslake. Since it was his old partner, there was not much polite talk about the weather. Tang En took Wood directly to Kerslake.

"George Wood." Tang En pointed and introduced Wood to Kerslake. "This kid's physique is quite good. Let him train under you and see what he will be capable of."

Kerslake sized him up and agreed with Twain's assessment of this kid; his physique was not bad. His shoulders and legs were stout like horse's legs, strong and powerful.

He waved for Wood to come over. "Lad, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"What position do you like to play?"

"Striker." Because a striker could score goals, it was easier to become famous, plus there were goal rewards. etc. In short, Wood's lack of football knowledge made him think that being a striker was the best way to "strike it rich."

"Very well, go to the locker room and get changed to start training!" Kerslake saw that Tang En was making eye contact with him, so he simply dismissed Wood and asked, "Tony, what's the matter?"

"Uh... I have to warn you a little. He's a complete football rookie."

"Rookie?"

"In terms of his football standards, he may not even compare to the middle school students who only learned about football in their physical education lesson."

Kerslake looked at Twain's expression. He did not look like he was joking. He suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Tony..."

"Er, it's because his family situation is very complicated, and they're broke... It so happened that he helped me once. So, I decided to give him a chance, to try out for the youth team, perhaps become a professional football player, or maybe not... Anyways, you look after him a little. It depends on him whether he can be trained or not." After watching Wood's 20 minutes of performance, Tang En was unwilling to reveal more to his old partner.

Kerslake sighed. "I understand. I will try my best. But his physique is indeed quite good, just as a beginner, his age is really..."

Tang En nodded. "There are exceptions to everything. What if this kid becomes an exception?"

Kerslake sighed again. "Too uncertain to bet all your youth and energy on such a faint possibility. The Forest team's youth training system is excellent, but how many can be Jermaine Jenas?"

"David, that kid just experienced a very important choice in life. It's not a question of betting, he didn't have any hope to start with." Tang En thought of that life in the ghetto. "If he has to have hope, he needs to do this. All we can do is to give him a chance."

Kerslake nodded. "Don't worry, Tony. I will do what I can to teach him."

Tang En smiled and patted Kerslake on the back. "We were all trained up by Paul. I believe in your ability." They were both Paul Hart's assistant youth managers.

In the middle of their conversation, Wood had already run out wearing his youth training uniform. Tang En called to him with the intention to give him a few final words of advice. He would be focused on the matters of the First Team. His time here would be very, very little.

Kerslake tactfully stepped away and returned to the training ground to continue his work.

"George," When there was no one else around, Tang En said to Wood, "I am aware of your situation, and I believe you know it better than I do. But I still have to say this: do not take professional football lightly, or it will punish you. You don't think about anything else here, just focus on training. Come to me if you have any trouble. Your mother is a good woman, don't let her down."

Wood firmly nodded.

"Ok, go to your training!"

George Wood turned around and ran toward the training ground where there were teammates around his age, and also a yet-unknown future that belonged to him. Tang En was completely uncertain how this kid was going to turn out.

Looking at Wood's back, Tang En sighed like Kerslake. I've done my best. It's up to fate, kid. Let's see how you make your own fortune.

Then he turned in the opposite direction and left the youth training ground.

Back in the First Team training ground, Tang En was informed by Walker that the Chairman had made a trip to the training ground with his son to introduce him to everyone. And to go to the Chairman's office when he returned.

When Tang En heard this news, he felt apprehensive. Is the old man angry? Just because he was not here when he introduced his son, he got angry? It was unbecoming of a chairman.

"Did he say anything?" Tang En asked Walker.

Walker shook his head. Tang En was about to leave, but he heard Walker add, "But Mr. Chairman looked grim."

Tang En's heart immediately went "ba-dum." Although the team had lost the FA match, from the Chairman's congratulatory call, this should not be related to that. Was it the locker room incident? Tang En knew English football was traditional, but it never occurred to him that the Chairman would care so much about traditions.

He hurried to the Chairman's office, right above his own manager's office.

Knocking while opening the door, he took one glance and saw the Chairman Nigel Doughty sitting behind a large desk. His boss's desk was larger than the one in his office! There were only two people in the office, one was Nigel Doughty, and the other was his son, Edward Doughty.

Tang En did not expect the "American" Englishman was here too. He was a little startled, but quickly put a smile on his face.

"Mr. Chairman, Mr. Edward."

After the initial greetings, Nigel stood up from his chair, held a piece of paper in his hand and walked toward Twain.

Tang En nervously looked at the paper in Chairman Nigel's hands. Could it be a letter of dismissal? In his first job after graduating from college, he was dismissed after three months. At that time the manager had also held out a payroll slip for Tang En to sign and leave.

He'd just helped a needy teenager find hope in life, and now he had no hope himself? What else could he do if he lost this manager position? He did not know how to do anything else!

The Chairman began speaking, "This is a fax from the Football Association."

What? Tang En thought he'd heard wrong. What has my dismissal have to do with the Football Association?

"They want you to go to London tomorrow to attend a hearing."

Tang En responded. "Is it something to do with what I said after that match?"

Nigel nodded.

Though it was not a letter of dismissal, Tang En's mood did not improve. To have brought so much trouble to the club, he would not escape the fate of being dismissed from the team according to the Chinese tradition.

But then Nigel's next words made Tang En feel that life was full of sunshine.

"The club will be fully supporting you. Together, we've already sorted out and submitted the video of that match to the Football Association. There was nothing wrong with those two goals."

Tang En looked up again at Nigel. The President smiled and said to him, "Do some preparations, my son will go to London with you tomorrow."

Chapter 19: The Hearing Part 1

Although it was already nine o'clock in the morning, the world outside of the car window was dark as if it were night. The oncoming headlights were dazzling. The heavy raindrops beating on the car windows made a continuous pitter-patter sound. The windshield wipers stopped for a second before starting again to clear the windshield of the immense amount of rainfall which had affected the driver's line of sight.

"This is why I hate this country," Edward Doughty, while driving, said to Tony Twain sitting in the passenger seat.

"Why?" Tang En did not understand.

"England with her fish and chips, tea, damn weather, and lousy food." Edward chuckled drily, his tone full of disdain. "English winter is like a damp wool sweater from the washing machine, the kind that is not even spun dry."

When he got in the car and found that the driver was actually the Chairman's son, Edward Doughty, he was somewhat flattered. But their interaction while on the road made him realize that this middle-aged man was the same as himself. Maybe he had his own business in the United States, but he was not so terrible, even cracked a harmless joke occasionally. Like the joke just then.

Tang En burst into laughter, and he found this metaphor very vivid and amusing.

"Mr. Doughty..."

"Just call me Edward. My father's not here."

"Uh, Edward... I think you're very amusing," said Tang En.

Edward shrugged in an American way. "I'm not like the old-fashioned Brits."

"Aren't you British?"

"No, no, I'm American. Do you want to see my passport?" Edward spoke English with an American accent. Tang En could not differentiate, because with his background of Chinese education, he did not even know what was considered "London accent.""But I'm not the same as the Americans who were born and raised there, at least I could tell the difference between football and football. I left Nottingham at the age of six and went to Houston, where my aunt was, and I love Houston's sunny beaches." Tang En realized that Edward Doughty was chatty, talked almost nonstop.

"Palm trees, bikinis, brilliant sunshine, white sandy beaches... Well, you'll never see such a place in England. What do England's beaches have? Dirty mud, cold winds, big waves, lots of strange rocks, and unlicensed shellfish pickers. So, I left here at the age of six, went to school there, and settled down and got married. I only come back here for the holidays, and I rarely come back to England in the winter, which is simply a nightmare!"

Tang En couldn't help but laugh. "Edward, you don't seem like a 45-year-old. You're like a 25-year-old."

"Thanks for the compliment. In fact, I've just been too confined after staying with my stiff father for a long time."

Tang En strongly agreed, but he did not say anything. He thought of the Chairman calling him to remind him of the locker room tradition. The British were stubborn and conservative, regardless of how they tried to make their appearances unconventional, they still felt the importance of traditions in their bones. The older British generation even more so.

They were extremely proud of their history, be it football or anything else. In fact, for Tang En, this sort of pride had already been long gone. Because he came from a country with 5,000 years of history. Five thousand years ago, whether there were any Englishmen was another question…

In comparison, because Americans with their lack of long history were more pioneering than the British, Edward truly fit the American image.

Tang En thought of a question. "Edward, you said you rarely come back in the winter. Why are you here this time?"

Edward glanced at Twain. "Occasionally I do come back in the winter..."

This was obviously an excuse. Tang En did not believe that Mr. Chairman would be so kind as to get his son to drive him. Letting a son who grew up in the United States and a member of a professional English football club meet was evidently not just to satisfy his son's curiosity. Since he was unwilling to say, Tang En did not ask again.

Tang En did not speak and turned to look out of the window at the English countryside. There was an awkward silence, but he was not interested in filling it. Now he had to think about how to deal with those people at the Football Association.

Edward seemed to have read Twain's mind. He slightly shook his head and said, "Don't worry, the club has hired a lawyer for you. You can let him handle everything."

"Thank you." Tang En politely expressed his appreciation, and the car returned to silence.

The dark red Audi A6 sped through the M1 highway, leaving the English countryside and hills behind. Two hours after their departure from Nottingham, they arrived at the world's top ten international metropolis, London.

Instead of going straight to 25 Soho Square in London where the Football Association was located, Edward drove to a café.

"The lawyer, Landy, is waiting for us here."

Jack Landy, 46 years old, was an anonymous lawyer in a small law firm in London. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, with neatly-combed hair, a beige coat, and sat upright in the café with a black briefcase at his side. When his client came up to him, he rose to his feet and greeted him like a gentleman.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Although he was just a small-time lawyer in a small law firm, he was quite dignified. Even the gesture of merely reaching out with his hand had an air superiority. Lawyers in other countries mainly belonged to the upper echelons of society. It was even more so in a conservative country like Britain, where they still preserved the custom of wearing the white wigs when appearing in court to this day.

Tang En was dismissive. What's so great about a lousy lawyer with no real accomplishments? He had little contact with lawyers back home in China, but this Landy's behavior gave him a less favorable impression on lawyers. He perfunctorily shook hands with the other man.

Edward once again read Twain's mind and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, let us sit down and talk. I've given Landy all the materials relating to this matter."

Even though Tang En did not like the lawyer that the club had hired for him, he had to admit that Landy's dedicated attitude and professional integrity were rather good.

Landy took a stack of information out of his briefcase and placed it on the table. "Mr. Twain, I beg your pardon. On January 5th, the last sentence of your speech at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University was unwise."

Tang En could not remember. "Which sentence?"

Landy looked up at Tang En. "You said, 'I know, some people want the Premier League team to advance, rather than us with no money nor power.'"

Tang En nodded vigorously. Now he remembered he did say so. "What about it?"

Landy simply pushed the stack aside and then looked seriously at Twain and said, "If, Mr. Twain, you had only spoken about your doubts and accusations against the referees, that would have been very normal complaining from a manager who had just lost a match. But you deliberately added that last remark and now it has turned into distrust of the full transparency and professional conduct of the English Football Association. As far as the FA is concerned, this is the one thing that annoys them the most, and it is the remark that makes this whole affair become problematic."

Tang En shrugged. "If it wasn't problematic, then we wouldn't be hiring you, Mr. Attorney?"

Landy stared blankly for a moment, then realized that Twain was right. If he could solve it himself, why would he need him? One must know that this job was hard to get. Not everyone who went to a Football Association hearing would call a lawyer.

He gave a cough and pretended to have a sip of coffee to slightly ease some of the tension. Edward just sat there without saying a word and quietly watched the two exchange words.

This pause allowed both parties to resume their discussion without continuing to dwell on the earlier uncomfortable topic.

"Um, Mr. Twain. I believe the FA will ask you to explain that comment at the hearing. If you do not wish to receive tougher punishment, you have to convince them that you're not aiming at the FA."

"In all honesty, I was never against them."

"There's no point in you saying this to me here. You have to make the FA believe. The problem is that it's not going to be easy to convince them. Let me give you some background information. When Mark Palios, the Chief Executive of the English Football Association, took over, he declared that he would take strong measures against English football's scandals and anomalies. And Mr. Twain, your words signaled to the public that the FA is not as clean as they have advertised." Landy saw that Twain seemed too ready to open his mouth to justify, so he reached out to stop. "Leave your words for the FA. Whether you meant it or not, after the media's exaggeration, everyone believes that you meant it that way."

Tang En finally learned the clout of English media. He grabbed his head with both hands and softly mumbled, "Those media b*stards!" A few days ago, he was still feeling smug about being a media figure.

Seeing him like this, Landy shrugged his shoulders. "You only realize it now? But there are pros and cons in using your status to deal with this matter."

"What's my status?"

Landy glanced at Edward and then said to Twain, "Nottingham Forest is no longer the Forest team of the late 70s and the early 80s. You all do not have any influence in the football world. You're just the Forest team's two-bit manager."

Tang En and Edward nodded at the same time. They did not really have much affection for the Forest team, so when Landy said that, they did not feel there was anything wrong with that fact.

"And then?" Tang En asked.

"Because of your insignificant status, you can therefore let the FA not take you seriously and be lenient. Or you can also let the FA take this opportunity to severely punish you, give Palios a chance to lay down the law."

Tang En understood. If he were a man like Sir Alex Ferguson, the Football Association would probably have to consider the influence of the Manchester United Club in the football world and let the punishment go. At the same time, even Mourinho, a big-name manager, had been made an example by the Football Association numerous times. Pros and cons.

When Landy had explained up to this point, Tang En already understood what he had to do.

"I know what I'm going to do." Tang En finished his coffee in one gulp, as if he was drinking water. Seeing Twain like this, Landy slightly smirked.

Chapter 20: The Hearing Part 2

The three men left the café. It was already noon. They had casually found a restaurant to have their lunch and had taken a break, and were now driving to the location of the Football Association: Soho Square.

Tang En had never been to the English Football Association, both as Tang En or Tony Twain. He searched for Soho Square using the common sense he would use in China along the way. But when the car stopped, the lawyer, Landy, got out of the car while Tang En was still inside.

"Mr. Twain?"

"Oh? Have we arrived?" Tang En got out of the car and looked at a small green plot of land, where a few London plane trees were planted. Their branches almost covered the entire square. It was now winter. Had it been summer, perhaps only thick leaves would be seen when one raised his head to look up.

This is the square, huh? Tang En felt that compared to the two football field-sized squares built in his country, this was more like the size of a small embankment in his hometown.

"Well, this is my first time here, and besides, it's not very impressive..." he explained. The square was surrounded by very short buildings, and Tang En noticed that he had hardly seen any towering skyscrapers since he had entered London. Most buildings were three or four-story high Victorian buildings. The Football Association building in front of him was almost the same, but the facade had undergone some facelift. It was said that those modern buildings were located in the new district on the east side. But obviously the Football Association was not there; it was always in the center of London, on the north bank of River Thames and the south side of Oxford Street, a famous shopping destination.

"The English Football Association," Landy introduced this place to the two visitors, "is a governing body that was established by eleven clubs in England after they held a meeting on Fleet Street in 1863 to be responsible for the management of all football affairs in England. It is the oldest football association in history, older than both the UEFA and FIFA."

Tang En sneered behind him, "But I can only smell something rotten."

Evan turned back and gave Twain a glance. "Great minds think alike."

"Mr. Twain." Landy stopped in his tracks, turned to Twain in the foot of the glass entrance and said, "Your current attitude is not conducive to your hearing, which is about to begin."

He knew what the lawyer said was right, but Tang En could not stand his superior tone. He chuckled. "Mr. Landy, I didn't know you are a part-time tour guide, too."

For the first time since Landy had become a lawyer, he thought he might not beat a football manager in an argument. Because of this, he simply remained silent. After all, he could also be counted as his employer.

The three men had just set foot in the Football Association when a professionally-dressed woman walked up to them. She saw the three men enter and asked, "Mr. Twain?"

Tang En stepped forward. "I am Twain."

"How do you do?" The woman smiled and extended her hand. "I am Faria Alam. Please follow me."

Tang En was startled when he heard this name. He then set his gaze on the woman facing him again. He wanted to take a closer look at how a 38-year-old woman had the charm to seduce two famous men into bed and turn the English Football Association upside down.

Her shoulder-length black hair, appearance of distinctive mixed-blood features, skin tone, and eyes. It was said that she had once been a model. Tang En's evaluation of her was that she was sort of ordinary; not as captivating as he had imagined, but not bad-looking either.

"Mr. Twain?" Alam found that Twain had only stared at her, not followed her. She was delighted that this man had such a reaction, as it showed that she was still attractive. But how would she know what Tang En was truly thinking?

"Uh, sorry. I was distracted." Tang En shook his head. Evan snickered behind him.

Alam was pleased with men's reactions. She had just started work at the Football Association for only three days. She was highly ambitious, and she did not want to just be an ordinary secretary. The expressions of these men who saw her filled her with confidence for her future. I, Faria Alam, still possess a sex appeal that men are fatally attracted to.

Tang En followed Alam to the site of the hearing. From behind this woman, he observed the woman's coquettish way of walking with her hips swinging. He could not resist feeling disapproval of her flirtatious walk. He could imagine how logical the incident could have been if it happened later. But how would he know the significance of him meeting Alam, the new secretary of the Football Association today, and how it would become the sex scandal that shocked the British football world in the future?

Tang En had never imagined what an English Football Association hearing would be like, and whether it would be the same as the courtrooms he saw on television. But when Alam opened the door for him, he realized that it was only a slightly larger meeting room.

"Please enter, Mr. Twain." The man who rose to greet him looked a little familiar. It was the Chief Executive of the English Football Association with whom Faria ignited the spark of passion—Mark Palios.

Palios saw Faria Alam, who had opened the door, and was stunned for a moment. Then his gaze rested on the body of this retired model. Tang En took in all the reactions of this big shot and suppressed a smile. Did you two adulterers meet because of me? Excellent, excellent!

With such a thought, he threw aside the worries he had surrounding this hearing. There was a sense of achievement. The world-famous tabloid scandal had originally started here, and had began because of him.

※※※

In short, when Tang En recalled what he saw and heard today at the Football Association, the only scene he could deeply remember for a long time after was the meeting between Palios and Alam. Their chemistry was indeed earth-scorching, like tinder ignited by raging flames.Tang En and his hearing had become secondary. During the hearing, Tang En had repeatedly observed Palios' eyes casting glances at Alam standing by the doorway. With an extraordinary model's figure, the age of the 38-year-old might not let her be as fresh-faced and charming as a young girl in the prime of her youth, but it added a touch of sophistication to her.

The lawyer, Landy, who was still worried about Twain's attitude at the beginning of the hearing, was greatly surprised by Twain's behavior. Twain, who was dismissive of this organization outside the Football Association building, was lovely and docile like a sheep during the hearing. Not only did he admit to his inappropriate use of words, but he also sang the praises of the Football Association under Palios' leadership, and stated that what he had said in his interview had been taken out of context by the media; he had no intentions of going against the Football Association. It was a completely irrational display of a new acting manager who was under immense pressure after the loss. After he sobered up, he fully realized what a terrible mistake he had made, and had looked forward to the hearing being held a long time ago. Because Twain felt that he could not fully convey his remorse and regrets through the media, the club's fax machine, or even over the phone, he felt he had to see the Football Association in person to apologize. He believed that the oldest football authority in history, led by Palios' strong leadership, would surely progress from one glory to another.

Watching Twain's performance, Landy, who had specifically been asked by the club to help solve this thorny problem, became a spectator. He suddenly felt that he had been deceived by that man. Evan saw the expressions of the FA officials who had been taken in and tried to keep his laughter to himself. It was supposed to be a serious and tense hearing, but instead Twain had turned it into a British-style satirical comedy. The serious confession of his remorse and his irrelevant praises really did have a sense of black humor.

Flattery would get you everywhere. Twain's performance left a very good impression on the Football Association. Consequently, when the decision for his punishment came out, it was a lot lighter than what Landy had anticipated. He had originally thought the Football Association would have issue a super-penalty of an eight-game suspension and a fine of one hundred thousand pounds. He did not expect the punishment to be only a two-game suspension and a fine of twenty thousand pounds. It was almost like a slap on the wrist.

※※※

"Mr. Twain..." After the hearing ended, Tang En and Evan were heading back to Nottingham. Just as they were about to leave, Landy did not know what to say about today. He had accepted his employer's money and wanted to use his professionalism to help his employer solve the problem. It had never occurred to him that he could become a spectator in the end.

Tang En was delighted to see the arrogant lawyer look like he was at a loss for what to do now. But one must not be too extreme. This was his "rebirth." After his comprehension of the principle, why could he not succeed in his former life? It was because he was too unyielding, left no margin for error, and as a result he had hit walls everywhere he went in this society. He held out his hand first and firmly shook hands with Landy. "Mr. Landy, thank you for your advice. I hope next time—" He suddenly realized his inappropriate words. "Ah, hell! I hope we never meet again!" After those words, he laughed.

Landy knew what Twain meant, so he laughed too. "With all due respect, Mr. Twain, I think we will have an opportunity to meet in the future. If you need a lawyer, please call me." He handed a business card to Twain. Tang En took it with both hands.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a business card for you…."

"If I want to find you, I can go to the newspaper office. I'm sure they must know a way to contact you."

"Huh?"

"You will become a newsworthy figure."

Tang En shrugged. "I don't know if that's fortunate or unfortunate."

Both men suddenly burst into laughter.

After leaving Landy, Evan, who had not spoken, said to Twain, "The two of you seem to have a good relationship, as if you are old friends."

Tang En opened the car door. "You know, Evan, I had no idea how to conduct myself in society previously. I was completely immersed in my own world, as if I was living in some kind of virtual reality. Until I..." He touched the back of his head, and Evan knew what it meant. "Now I'm starting to understand! Just this hearing for example, if it were me in the past, I would play hardball with those suits, and I wouldn't admit I was wrong. I wouldn't apologize either; I wouldn't care how they punished me. But in fact, you saw it too. The matter has been resolved perfectly." After he finished his thought, he got into the car.

Evan also sat back in the car. "Yes, it's perfect. You had abused the referee and the FA, vented the discontent you had inside you, but it seems as if you have not received any punishment. I think when this decision is announced, the referee you abused and the West Ham manager will surely feel like they have been cheated."

Amidst their laughter, the car slowly left the Football Association building, and began its journey home.

※※※

While Tang En and Evan were still driving on the M1 highway, the Football Association held a simple press conference to announce the final penalty decision for this incident.

Palios personally attended this press conference, while the person who placed a microphone and glass of water around him was the new entrant to the Football Association, who had begun working three days ago. It was the retired model, Faria; she smiled as she faced this scene, calm towards the situation, which multiplied Palios' favorable impression of her. There was a reporter who inadvertently captured Palios' smile and Alam's gaze in that moment. The two's somewhat ambiguous smiles were freeze-framed in that shot. Even the photographer himself had quickly forgotten this photograph. But who could have known what kind of high price he could fetch for this image just one and a half years later.

The leading character of this press conference was certainly not the still unknown Alam, but Tony Twain. When Palios announced that the Football Association had suspended the acting manager of Forest with a two-game suspension and imposed a fine of twenty thousand pounds, sounds of numerous debate broke out in the press conference. With the media adding fuel to the fire before, the Football Association was deeply furious. They did not expect the result of that fury to become perfunctory.

And who had become the beneficiary of this farce? Maybe it was only Palios, who had met Alam for the first time. But if this issue were to be discussed one and a half years later, Palios might actually say that he was the biggest victim.

Chapter 21: Coventry City Part 1

The English media described the Football Association with regard to Twain as "Rapegate"—the British media's name for this incident. Twain described it as "unimaginative" because it sounded as if he had raped someone. The punishment seemed to tickle Tang En. The outcome only made Tang En more comfortable. And as for the matter of Twain cursing West Ham's relegation, the Football Association completely ignored it. Roeder kicked up a huge fuss for a long time and his argument got him nowhere. He was so furious that he accused the Football Association of incompetence. The Football Association's response was swift. They immediately fined the poor West Ham manager a penalty of ￡5,000.

The other victim was the referee, Winter. For that FA Cup match, he seemed powerless over the matter, but he did not make any statement and refused to accept any media interviews. He was much cleverer than Roeder on this point.

Twain was not severely punished, which also became the focal point of the next segment of Match of the Day. When Gary Lineker, the host, spoke to Mark Hansen about this issue, Hansen's sarcastic speculation was that Twain was Palios's brother-in-law. After the show was aired, BBC received a letter of protest from the Football Association, but they ignored it.

As the party to the entire incident, Twain had long since been out of the picture. It was the media's business to hype it up, and Tang En now put his all his focus on training. The team's daily training was still supervised by Des Walker and Ian Bowyer. Tang En wore his sunglasses every day standing on the training ground, but without saying much. He still had to continue with his learning. What made Tang En most happy was that Bowyer and he seemed to let bygones be bygones. Even though they still did not communicate much, he did not deliberately make things difficult for him in his daily work. On the contrary, he behaved quite cooperatively.

Tang En had been worried that Bowyer would be the last straw to crush the Forest team. But it turned out that he was over-thinking. When he was drinking at Burns' Forest bar that day, Walker had mentioned some things about Bowyer. It was only then that Tang En came to understand what a brilliant career this 51-year-old man once had. He was the main force that championed the Forest team to win the UEFA Champions League twice!

His experience would surely become his greatest help. Tang En decided to have a good relationship with the man.

The Forest team's next match was on the afternoon of January 18th, after which the English Football League Championship had already gone through the first round. Because the Forest team had to play the FA Cup, their 28th match was postponed to the 25th. It also gave them a fourteen-day rest period. On the 18th they would go to the away match to challenge Coventry City, which would be a tough battle. First of all, the Forest manager was suspended and would not be able to direct the match in the technical area. Secondly, Coventry City was now ranked sixth in the league points table. After their home ground defeat of 1:2 to Preston North End during their 21st match, they had remained unbeaten for seven consecutive matches. The team's current morale was at an all-time high, plus this was their home ground. What gave Tang En an even bigger headache was this team's playing style. This was a tenacious team with a kind of diehard attitude. It was this temperament that let them remain undefeated for seven consecutive games. This record could have been ended several times, but was saved every time by their own grit.

Tang En hated such a team because he also had the same style. This match was totally different from the FA Cup. West Ham would not lay down their pride and pit themselves against the Forests. But Coventry City would, because this concerned whether they would stay in League One or go to the Premier League after the end of the season. Never mind that he did not go to Burns' Forest bar these days. It was as if he had returned to the Puritan lifestyle. He would take his work home at the end of team training each day. He must thoroughly study this team before the match and understand each player. If possible, he would even like to watch all seven undefeated matches. Unfortunately, the Forest team's intelligence work did not meet his requirements.

"I'm sorry, Tony. The only match video we have on Coventry City is the match in the first half of the season when they were at City Ground, and we won them 1:0." Looking at the apologetic Walker, Tang En felt that maybe he should specifically look for a football analyst to oversee the analysis of every upcoming match's opposing teams. One who could put all the relevant information he could learn and understand about the opponents on his desk in time before each match. Just like the Football Manager 2007 game he played.

But the team currently had only three full-time scouts, two of whom were constantly out on the road, looking for talented kids all over Britain, and then trying their best to recruit them for the youth training camp in Wilford. The other was mainly responsible for the analysis of the players in the Nottingham area. There was no one to help him with the task.

Tang En rubbed his temples. It seemed that there were a lot of areas within the team that needed to be changed, but unfortunately he did not the energy right now to dare try. A manager who did not know his future, would naturally be afraid to try his splinter his focus like that. Tang En felt a little like the Chelsea manager, Ranieri. The difference was that Ranieri was only fiddling with the team's tactics. He was trying to mend an entire team just a little and did not dare make any big moves, for fear that his best laid plans would be unraveled by a poor record, that any effort would be in vain.

Since he was now a manager, when Tang En looked at a team's profile, he got used to finding out who the manager was first. In a sense, a manager had a great influence on the team's style, tactics, temperament, and performance. The best way to get to know a team was to start with the manager. Tang En was currently looking at the manager of Coventry City. He saw a somewhat familiar name: Gary McAllister.

Tang En looked at this English name for a long time, then hesitantly translated it into Chinese: Jiālǐ Mài kǎo lì sī tè.

McAllister?!

Tang En almost jumped from his chair. He remembered this guy was still at Liverpool last season! The 2000-01 season was Liverpool's most glorious moment in 14 years! Ever since they achieved their first treble in 1984, when McAllister scored a penalty goal in the UEFA Champions League final that year with a free-kick at the last minute during overtime, "assisted" by Alavés player Geli who screwed up. It became the most magnificent scene of Houllier's era at Liverpool. That season, they won five championship titles in total.

It had only been two years; how did you get to Coventry City in League One?

The data showed that the Scotsman returned to Coventry City at the end of the 2001-02 season, and that his role was player-manager.

Tang En knew that McAllister was very good as a player. His free kicks often helped to score goals for Liverpool, but he did not know anything about McAllister as a manager.

Tang En stared at this name for a long time and seemed to be able to see what he needed from this name. Indeed, it was the case as he began to chuckle a few minutes later.

"Player-manager?"

Coventry was once one of the four major cities in Britain, with a thousand-year history, but that was of yesteryear. And to a Chinese like Tang En, a so-called "major city" in Britain, would perhaps only be a county-level city in China. The city was once devastatingly bombed by the German Air Force in World War II, and almost all of it became ruins. The post-war reconstructed Coventry became the center of the British automobile industry, which produced cars specially designed for use by the British royal family.

Tang En's knowledge of this city was almost nil, and he had no intention of devoting his energy on the guidebook. For football managers, knowing the history of a city was far less important and useful than understanding the history of a team.

Although Nottingham, home of the Forest team, was only about 30 miles away from Coventry and could be reached in less than an hour by car, the Forest team arrived a day early to this city to prepare for the next day's match, as this was an away match.

Tang En sat on the team bus and looked at the gloomy sky outside and the newspapers that were blowing in the air. He turned to Walker sitting next to him. "What's the weather forecast?"

"There'll be rain tomorrow and low temperatures."

Tang En thought of Kenny's description of England, and he couldn't help swearing. He hated playing in the rain, hated all the bad weather, the rain, snow, gales, hail and lighting strikes.

At this time, outside the bus window, a cheese-colored building slowly emerged from behind the layers of houses by the street as if it were the rising sun.

"Highfield Road stadium." Walker introduced Twain. "The home ground of Coventry City."

Listening to Walker, Tang En could not help but look again at the building that his team was going to play at tomorrow. United Kingdom's stadiums were mostly small, unlike those imposing and grand stadiums in Italy, Spain, and Germany. Four squat stands with the roofs barely shading the stands, and a green lawn made up the entire stadium. The Forest team's City Ground, which could hold 30,000 people, was built by the river and looked as if it were a stadium attached to a middle school. The same went for Coventry's stadium.

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of the Spanish titan, Real Madrid, had a six-story stand, equivalent to the height of a 20-story residential building, and the stands were designed to be steep. Tang En had not been, but he could tell its grandeur from the television broadcast. When one was standing at the top of the stands, there was no way to distinguish the numbers and movements of the players when one was looking down; there was an illusionary effect that one might fall at any moment. This vertigo sensation was rarely felt in British stadiums, with most of them having only two or three-story stands, Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford Stadium was currently the largest professional football field in England, but it could only accommodate 60,000 people and had three-story stands.

But the design of the English stadiums had a huge benefit. It allowed the fans to be closer to the field and to develop good relationships between the fans and the players. Therefore, there were two contrasting feelings while playing football in England: The home team would think of it as heaven. They could hear the fans singing the songs and supporting them with slogans, and they could also celebrate their goals with the spectators; the visiting team would think of it as hell. They had to constantly suffer the boos and jeering of the home fans, clearly hearing every word of abuse hurled at them by those people, and visibly see every upright middle finger.

Although Tang En had only experienced one match, he also felt it deeply. That FA Cup match at the City Ground gave him a deep sense of these two feelings. In the first half, he felt like he was on an away match and like he had returned to home ground in the second half.

I wonder if the fans in Coventry are friendly…

The match was held at two o'clock in the afternoon, and it was already hard to find an empty spot in the parking lot outside Highfield Road at one o'clock. The drizzle under the gloomy sky did not dampen the fans' mood. They were tipsily waving the sky-blue flags of Coventry City and loudly singing songs extolling Coventry City, coming from all directions to gather at the stadium. From the air, they would look like a large swarm of ants rushing toward a big piece of fragrant cheese.

The Forest players were obviously used to this. They were all doing their own thing in the bus, listening to music, resting their eyes, or just looking around. Tang En still had not quite adapted. This was the first away match he was leading. When he was at City Ground 11 days ago, he did not feel that the atmosphere of the stadium was anything special. Now he really felt like he was on an away match with completely unfamiliar city, fans, stadium, and opponent.

Realizing that Twain's attention was on the fans outside the bus, Walker decided to say something to ease the tension in this manager's mind.

"Tony, don't worry. Do you know Old Trafford?"

"Of course, it's famous."

"The Old Trafford stadium has a special security system. They use historical data to classify the different security levels of the visiting fans. Liverpool and Leeds fans are rated as class C, requiring a high level of security and many policemen; Coventry City is class B, only needing a small number of policemen. So, they are nothing to be afraid of." Walker pointed to the Coventry City fans passing by the side of the bus.

Evidently, Tang En was more interested in the security system at Old Trafford, "So who are the class A fans?"

"Wimbledon."

After hearing Walker's reply, a guy's name flashed through Tang En's mind, and then he laughed. "That's funny. The fans of Vinnie Jones, Crazy Gang are the most civilized? Did those guys at Old Trafford count the Wimbledon spectators as football viewers and input them into their computers?"

In 1988, Wimbledon, who beat Liverpool and won the England FA Cup, had the nickname 'Crazy Gang' in English football. Just by looking at the nickname, one would know the style of the team. Not to mention that they had two madmen leaders. The leader of the gang was the famous English footballer and a hard man, Vinnie Jones. The deputy leader was the equally rough and aggressive Dennis Wise. That year, 10 minutes before the FA Cup final kick-off, the team captain, Vinnie Jones, led his men through the player's corridor to yell and hurl abuse at Liverpool's big-name players. And less than a minute into the match, Jones took out and put Liverpool striker McMahon on a stretcher. In the end, Wimbledon won a legendary 1:0 victory over Liverpool in their heyday. Jones and his team also went down in the annals of history.

There were countless other such similar 'Crazy Gang' incidents before the FA Cup Final. Interestingly, the season when Wimbledon had just been promoted to the First Division, after Liverpool's visit to Wimbledon home ground Plough Lane, the proud Reds' players almost cried running back to the lounge. After the match they told the media: The Wimbledon fans are too scary! This stadium is absolute hell!

Hell was the impression that other clubs had on the Wimbledon stadium and its fans.

How could these "hellish fiends'" fans be civilized Class A spectators? Tang En thought it was inconceivable.

"So, I don't believe in the security system at Old Trafford right now, and I think it's better to experience it myself than to believe the data that some computer churns out." Tang En suddenly realized Walker's intention in saying all this to him. He smiled and said to Walker, "Des, thank you for your kindness, but I've never been afraid of anyone."

Walker smiled, "Me, neither."

Chapter 22: Coventry City Part 2

The Forest team's red bus stopped at the designated spot. When Tang En led the players down, he found that the fans surrounding them were all Forest fans wearing the red jerseys. They had come to specifically to support their team, even though they were only given about two thousand tickets for this match.

Tang En immediately saw Michael. He had not seen this guy since that FA Cup match. He put his hands to his mouth and made a boo sound at Michael. Michael pretended not to see him, and Tang En laughed while he followed the players through the side gate. Fans shouted behind them, "Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!!"

Amidst the competing shouts and singing between both sides of fans, the team entered the locker room to get ready to change and prepare for warm-up. Since Twain was still suspended, he could not step onto the field, so he could only stay in the locker room during the team's warm-up.

"You only have 20 minutes!" Walker drove the players out of the locker room like a shepherd. He looked back at Twain deep in thought, sitting in front of the tactical board and then closed the door on his way out.

When he heard the door shut, Tang En came out of his contemplation. Walker must have thought he was thinking about strategies just now. In fact, what he was thinking had nothing to do with this match. Too many things had happened during this last half a month, one after another, like a screaming train speeding toward him. He was unable to have a calm moment to sort through his thoughts. Now was a good time. Since there was no one in the locker room, he could properly think about the situation he was currently facing, and his future.

But at this time, the door opened again. And it was Ian Bowyer who came in. Tang En was a little surprised to see him in the locker room. It was obvious that he did not come back to look for something.

"I have something to say to you, Tony."

"I have something to say to you, Ian."

The two men immediately realized they both spoke at the same time together. Tang En smiled and gestured for Bowyer to speak first.

"Well it's this. I've decided to leave the team at the end of the season." Bowyer shocked Tang En with his first remark.

"What?"

"Hereford United has invited me to coach, and I have already promised them."

Mouth agape, Tang En looked at Bowyer standing in front of him with a shocked expression. "When was this?"

"A week ago."

Hearing this, Tang En jerked up from his seat. "Ian, you can't do this. This team needs you!" He had wanted to get the old chap to assist him. He did not expect to hear bad news. "Your experience can lead them forward."

Bowyer shook his head, "Wrong, the one who can lead them is you, not me."

"Er, are you still mad about that matter?" Tang En asked cautiously.

The other man smiled, "Tony, you really broke your head."

"Huh?"

"Do you know who I've had the best relationship with on this team?"

"Who?"

"Paul, Paul Hart."

Tang En looked at Bowyer like he was an alien.

"Paul often mentioned you in front of me. He really thought highly of you. But I had a huge disagreement with him about his decision to let you take over as the First Team manager after the new year." Bowyer passionately continued. Tang En felt like he was listening to a story. "I admit I really want to be the manager of this team, and I think I am capable of it. But the most important reason is I don't think you're ready yet. I know you very well. Even that lad, Des doesn't know this. To be honest, I would adamantly oppose it if it were you before the new year. I don't think you're qualified enough to be the manager of this team. Your performance in the first match was abysmal."

Tang En recalled the scene whereby he had been knocked over by Johnson, and afterwards he felt ashamed of himself when he thought about it.

"But what you did next was an eye-opener for me." Tang En knew Bowyer was referring to the halftime and the second half of that FA Cup match. "Maybe it was God's arrangement to let you fall. He gave us a completely different Tony Twain from before. In that halftime, I saw your qualities as a good manager. You know, Paul's judgment on people is always quite accurate, whether it's discerning a player or a colleague. He thinks you can become an excellent manager, and I was always dismissive of it. Now I believe you can really do it."

"But, Ian...," No matter how high Bowyer was placing Twain on a pedestal, Tang En was still reluctant to let him go. Having one more able right-hand man around was always better than being a leader of no one. Walker just retired from being a player. His being a coach still could not set one's mind at ease yet. To become a qualified coach, he still had a long way to go. His performance was not that great in the first half of that match with West Ham.

Tang En had just arrived at an unfamiliar place, and such an experience lacked a sense of security. Bowyer happened to provide him this sense of security. He needed someone at his side, to remind him, to guide him, or maybe even criticize him. If he wanted to be a real professional manager instead of an imposter substitute, he needed someone like Bowyer.

Bowyer was a very smart man. "I know what you're worried about, Tony. You can rest assured that I will wait until the end of the season to leave the team. Before that, we still have half a season. In addition, Des also has plenty of experience, he can effectively help you mediate the locker room atmosphere, although I think you are an expert at moderating the atmosphere."

Tang En looked at Bowyer and said nothing.

"Though I've served the team for a long time, though I'm respected by them… now I may not be suitable for the current Forest team. Des is closer to them, and the relationship between them will be more harmonious. I'm a little behind times, and you and Des are the ones who can lead them. Moreover, Hereford United gave me a chance to be manager, and I've always wanted to return to Edgar Street Stadium."

Tang En remained silent as before.

"Well, do you have anything you want to say to me?"

Tang En sighed. "Initially, I wanted you to stay. There's no need to say it now."

"It's not so bad. We still have at least half a season." Bowyer patted Twain's shoulder and then turned around to leave.

Looking at the Bowyer's departing figure, Tang En muttered, "What a b*stard! God knows if I'm still going to be here after half a season."

Twenty minutes later, the team was back and prepared for the upcoming match. The tactical arrangements before the match were still directed by Walker, assisted by Bowyer at the side, while Twain was silent. Bowyer glanced at Twain a few times and thought that he was still unhappy about his departure.

What he did not know was Tang En was just taking the opportunity to quietly learn. He had already told Walker what should be mentioned, and Walker would relay these things to the team. One day when Tang En felt that he could, he would replace Walker and become a real manager. But now was not the time.

After studying their opponents, the coaching team decided not to make any special arrangements for this match and to go with the team's usual tactical lineup. After Tang En listened to the arrangement, he said nothing and tacitly agreed with the coaching team. In fact, he had no clue what he should say. The coaching team members are professional coaches. Who was he to say anything?

He decided to do the same as he did with the West Ham match, observe the first half and then adjust during halftime. From that match, Tang En not only gained great confidence, but also found a strength of his. He was better at directing on the spot than pre-match arrangements. He liked the feeling of taking the opponent by surprise.

The preparation time before the match quickly passed. Walker had hoped that Twain would add a few words as the manager at the end. It was his intention to let the players know who the real leader was. But when Tang En looked at all the expectant eyes, he felt somewhat foolish. What should he say?

He suddenly thought of the game on the 4th, the warm feeling spread throughout the stadium, and the players' fighting spirit displayed on the field.

"Still remember the last FA Cup match?"

The players all smilingly nodded, and some even raised their fists.

Tang En spread his arms. "What else do I have to say? Just like that, go to the match!"

Tang En was the last one to go out after all the players ran out of the locker room. When he stepped out of the door, he saw two well-dressed men standing at the door, "Mr. Twain?"

"Ah, that's me." Tang En felt a little strange.

"We are with the English Football Association Independent Regulatory Commission..."

When he heard the other person recite such a long string of names, Tang En put his head a little closer. "Is there such an organization?" Seeing the men's unfriendly expressions, he laughed at once. "Just kidding! Of course, I know there's such an organization! Why are you here looking for me?"

The men stared blankly too at his words, Tang En soon laughed again, "I'm joking. Obviously I know why you're looking for me! I'm not planning to go onto the field with them." Tang En pointed to the players who just ran out.

The two nodded. "We are in charge of supervising and carrying out your suspension, so we apologize, but you have to watch this match with us."

Tang En made a strange sound. "Does the Independent Regulatory Commission not have any pretty staff?" He thought of Faria Alam, though he did not think that woman was beautiful at that time. At least she was better compared to these two big guys. "Naturally, I'm kidding. I'm with you guys."

He patted the two men on the shoulder to show his friendliness and there was no need to be overly nervous. "Let's go."

"First of all, sir. You'll need to turn off all communication tools such as your cellphone."

Tang En took out his cell phone from his pocket and simply removed the battery, and then showed it to the two men until they nodded.

"Your beeper?"

"Gentlemen, it's the 21st century now." Tang En shook his head impatiently.

"Walkie-talkie?"

"Listen, guys, I'm a football manager, not James Bond. If you're going to ask me if I have a wireless Bluetooth intercom, a pinhole receiver, a phone disguised as a tie clip, a pair of sunglasses that is in fact a micro-computer, a leather shoe or a pen that is a gun... whatever it is, my answer is: I don't have a goddamn thing!" Tang En was so infuriated with their flat expressions and grilling that he shook off the two men from the Football Association and walked straight to the stands.

Behind him, the two Football Association staff members with their "men in black" getup, looked at each other in dismay, shrugged, and quickly followed.

Chapter 23: The Manager Seated On The Viewing Platform Part 1

Tang En and his two "MI 6 bodyguards" sat on the viewing platform. He found out that his host was really "thoughtful" and arranged him to sit at a place with the worst view. Tang En was extremely far away from Nottingham Forest's substitutes' benches. It seemed that Coventry was more worried about him than the Football Association, and decided to directly cut off his most basic way of communicating with his team.

Tang En sat amidst a group of fans wearing the Coventry City's jersey, forcing him to be extremely low-profile. England's football hooligans were extremely infamous. He didn't want to think about what would happen, should a certain person beside him drink too much and act on impulse. Tang En was not afraid of getting into a fight with other people, but was more afraid of being reported by these two minions. If that happened, it might really be the end of his manager career.

Tang En did not want to be the first football manager to end his career by getting into a fight with fans.

The match started on time at two o' clock in the afternoon. The moment the referee blew the whistle, Highfield Road Stadium became like a pot on fire, while the viewing platform was like the water that was boiling in it, making loud bubbling noises. Tang En could not hear nothing but the home team fans' screaming.

Tang En opened his mouth and said something, but he discovered that even he could not hear what he was saying. The atmosphere was much crazier than when he was seated at Nottingham Forest's coach's seat.

Coventry City's fans stood up to root for their players, and Tang En followed suit, raising both his hands. However, he was not rooting for his opponent, but instead was scolding and cursing at the top of his lungs.

"That wretched Old Trafford security system! How can these kinds of fans be considered safe?" He was completely not worried about causing any commotion, because the people beside him definitely could not hear what he was saying. "God dang it! Coventry City's fans are not friendly in the slightest bit!"

After he finished grumbling, Tang En sat down and watched the match. The people around him must have thought that this was a very ardent fan of Coventry City.

Perhaps it was those two sentences he said before the match, which ignited the fighting spirit and ambitiousness of Nottingham Forest's players, or perhaps it was Coventry City fans' fanatical behavior which triggered the entire Nottingham Forest's pride. In short, when the match started, Nottingham Forest, the away team, took the lead and went on the offensive against Coventry City.

For this match, Tang En specifically made Gareth Williams part of the starting lineup, as he was the key player in helping the team win against Coventry City in the first half of the season. Williams scored the only goal in the entire match, securing the victory for his team on their home ground. Today, Tang En hoped that he could leverage on Williams' luck and bring some good luck to the team.

Seeing that his team was offensively overwhelming the home team as the away team, Tang En chuckled. As expected, the manager's position was not merely for show, as the tactics he deployed were very effective. Looking at Coventry City's assistant manager walking up and down in panic, Tang En felt that perhaps there would be no issues in winning this match.

Tang En had not spent the last few days idling around. Compared to when he first found out they would be playing Coventry City, he was way more confident in his understanding of this team.

From the statistics of the 28 rounds of the season, Coventry City's offense was not so great. In the 28 rounds, they had only scored 35 goals, but conceded 30. On the other hand, although Nottingham Forest's performance had not been satisfactory, they had played one less match and still Nottingham Forest had scored 44 goals, and conceded 31.

From the statistics, Tang En managed to find some useful information which, of course, had to be verified through observation of their matches. The only thing was his darned seating location was very unsuitable for watching the match live, or at least, it was not conducive to him watching the match with a clear thought process.

Team Coventry City finally managed to get a chance to counterattack, but their shot at the goal hit the advertisement board behind the goalpost. A loud wave of sighs resounded throughout the viewing platform, and the people which surrounded Tang En all clutched their heads in disappointment. Tang En and the two people beside him were like black reefs in a vast blue ocean, different from the rest. Luckily, the fans' attention was totally focused on the match, or else a figure from the news like him would have been identified long ago. Tang En was already thinking about asking his babysitters to request for a change of seats with the staff during halftime, at the bare minimum, shifting them to an area which was closer to where the Nottingham Forest fans were seated. He was really afraid of being identified by a bunch of unfriendly people.

Three years ago when Coventry City was still in the English Premier League, there was a talented youth on the team—Irish player Robbie Keane. He made his debut in Wolfhampton Wanderers Football Club, and was bought over by Coventry City at a price of ￡6,000,000 after having exceptional performances during the three seasons. However, he only served the team for one season. He scored 12 goals in 31 matches, and that was when he had just turned 20 years old. After one season, faced with AC Milan's offer of ￡13,000,000, Coventry City was unable to resist and sold Little Keane to the Italian powerhouse. However, he did not have a pleasant time in the Italian black hole of star players and did not score any goals in the six matches which he was fielded. After one season, he was brought back to England by the newly formed Leeds United, by means of rent-to-own. Currently, he is playing for Tottenham and walked a different path from the football team which he had played for one season.

The Coventry City's fans must have missed the young Irish lad who was full of passion, and why? Because their strikers were unable to score goals. This team even had to largely rely on the already 38-year-old player-manager, McAllister's positioning ball, to score most of their goals. It could not be described as anything but miserable.

For this match, Coventry's striker in the staring lineup was the 27-year-old black man, Julian Joachim. He was only 1.6 meters tall, which was a very classic height. However, Joachim did not possess the same abilities as Maradona, Zola, or Carlos. According to Tang En's observation, his speed was considered decent, but his shooting skills were extremely lacking, evident from the fact that he once missed his shot right before the goalpost. That was a ball which was harder to miss than to score. Suddenly, Highfield Road Stadium exploded with a loud exclamation, that seemed to make Tang En's heart stop beating for a split second.

Joachim had been fielded nine times in the first 20 rounds of matches, and yet he had only scored two goals. These kind of results for a shooter could only be described as pathetic.

Partnering with this black man was the 18-year-old David Pipe, a young player who had just been promoted from the youth team to the main team. Up till now, he had been fielded 11 times, but had not scored a single goal yet.

Tang En looked at this pathetic striker combination, then compared it to Nottingham Forest's strikers. David Johnson was fielded 20 times and scored 10 goals. Marlon Harewood was fielded 19 times and scored 11 goals. This was a striker combination that had thrown English Premier League team West Ham into confusion 14 days ago, which Tang En felt would be equally effective against a League One team.

Behind these two people, were four midfielders which were positioned parallel to each other. From left to right, they were respectively, Andy Reid, Riccardo Scimeca, Gareth Williams, and Eoin Jess. Among the four of them, Scimeca was mainly in charge of defense, while Williams took on the heavy responsibility of organizing the offense. Reid and Jess would support him from the two flanks. The majority of Nottingham Forest's offense came from the combination of these four midfielders, and was also Nottingham Forest's most widely-used midfield position in the early phases of the match.

Aside from that time when he put the slightly older Jess on the substitutes' benches to rest, he had never once modified this formation. This was the wealth Paul Hart had left behind for Twain, and Tang En did not believe that Twain's teacher caused the team's demise with his tactics.

Tang En's trust was soon met with reciprocation. After Pipe's wasted opportunity, Nottingham Forest quickly counterattacked. Goalkeeper Darren Ward kicked the ball toward the front, to which the Moroccan defensive midfielder from Coventry City, Safri, managed to successfully head it forward. At the midfield mark, Dawson intercepted the ball, passing the ball back to his teammate.

With his exceptional physique, Harewood managed to keep the ball under control and waited for his teammates to come and receive the ball.

McAllister immediately saw through his intentions, as he called his teammates to return to defend while he rushed up to challenge for the ball, in hopes of slowing down Nottingham Forest's offense. The 38-year-old McAllister faced off against the 22-year-old Harewood, but lost in terms of his physique. Harewood managed to keep McAllister blocked behind him, after which he executed a beautiful cross pass, passing the ball over to Andy Reid, who was running over from the left wing.

When Reid was on the youth team, his far shots and long passes made him stand out among the other players. Although this was only his second League One match, he had already displayed qualities which made one excited. He had brought all of his specialties when he was still in the youth team over to the adult team's matches. Seeing that Coventry City's defensive lines quickly shifted over to the left, and realizing that there was nobody to intercept him to his right, he passed the ball to the right. The ball flew across the football field, directly landing behind Coventry City's defensive line!

Appearing there was David Johnson, whose speed was so fast that it made West Ham suffer immensely in the previous match. He kicked the ball forward, which Reid passed, slipping through the backline defense of Coventry City!

Coventry City's right flank defender turned around and only managed to see Johnson's back. His first reaction was not to chase after him, but instead raised his right arm, signaling to the assistant referee that Johnson had committed an offside foul!

"Foul your head!" Tang En stood up from his seat, as his mouth scolded countless vulgarities. He did not need to worry about himself becoming a target for the Coventry City's fans, because he was surrounded by sky blue fans who stood up due to the absurdity of the claim.

Johnson sprinted at the sides along with the ball, and was only mere steps before he reached Coventry City's penalty area. He looked up and saw that the assistant referee was still running together with him, signifying that he had not gone offside. Johnson took yet another step forward and raised his head again. This time, the players from Coventry City dashed toward him as if they were crazy, and even the two midfielders rushed up toward him.

Tang En, who was on the viewing platform, could not help but make a cross with both his hands. This was the offensive strategy which they had been practicing for the past few days: The striker would attract the attention of the enemy defenders. The real scoring force would be the midfielders, who were running forward. Among the four midfielders, aside from Scimeca, who was more defensive, the other three were all rather proficient in scoring.

Johnson had already kicked the ball into the middle of the penalty area, and it looked like he was about to perform a lateral dribble before raising his foot to shoot. Coventry's players, from their defenders to their goalkeeper, were all focused on his every movement, and completely forgot about the rest of the Nottingham Forest players who were running forward at full speed.

Johnson had already reached the middle of the penalty area, and beside him were three Coventry City's defenders. He raised his foot... but he did not shoot. Instead, he passed the ball behind him! Where it was completely open!

All of the Coventry City's players had been fooled by him! When a red-colored figure dashed past from beside him, Coventry City's Danish goalkeeper, Morten Hyldgaard, was still standing in the middle of the goalpost.

"Gareth Williams!"

Nottingham Forest's number eight player received Johnson's beautiful pass at the corner of the goal area and shot without hesitation! The football rolled into the goalpost at a flying speed!

"Goal! 1:0! Thirty-three minutes into the first half, the away team, Nottingham Forest takes the lead against Coventry City! Looks like Nottingham Forest has more or less recovered from their poor performance in the first half of the season. They're aggressive in their away match and seem to be the host instead!"

A wave of jeers from the Coventry City's fans resounded throughout the stadium. As such, Tang En was unable to express his agitation, and all he could do was to clench both of his fists and place them over his head. He acted as if he was incredibly sad, but in reality, he was celebrating this goal. Tang En looked at the rejoicing at the Nottingham Forest managers' seats and was slightly envious of them.

It was the first time that Tang En had watched the match from the viewpoint of a fan. As he saw his players hug together to celebrate the goal, he felt a sliver of confidence for the team's future. The worry that arose from Bowyer's intention to leave was also slightly alleviated.

The Coventry City fans who had finished telling-off Nottingham Forest, quickly sat down and resumed watching the match. However, they still continued to heckle and curse even as they were watching. Tang En also followed suit and sat down, as he continued to watch the match silently. He even forgot that there were two "bodyguards" beside him. As such, when he heard the person beside him say, "Congratulations, Mr. Twain," Tang En felt extremely shocked.

"Ah, you are..."

"...We are from the English Football Association disciplinary committee…"

"There is such an organization?"

"Mr. Twain, please don't crack these kinds of jokes."

Tang En burst out into laughter and paid no attention to them, while he continued watching the match.

Chapter 24: The Manager Seated On The Viewing Platform Part 2

The remainder of the match went rather smoothly for Nottingham Forest. Coventry City's offense was rendered useless before the defense led by Dawson. McAllister could only give his best performance for himself, but was unable to make adjustment to the team's tactics on the whole. This was the most critical weakness of having a player assume the role of a manager at the same time: the team was unable to assess the situation of the field as a whole, did not have time to calmly think about countermeasures, and was unable to make adjustments on the spot. However, the field was ever-changing. A slight delay could cause the moment to be seized by the enemy.

When Tang En first saw McAllister's role, he already thought of how he could make use of this during the match. Now that his own team was leading by one ball, he wanted like to see what kinds of tricks McAllister had hidden up his sleeves.

The two managers were watching from different places, in different situations, which therefore resulted in different perspectives. This, in turn, caused their way of thinking to differ, as well, which could ultimately decide the outcome of the match.

The first half had just ended, and Nottingham Forest, the away team, was temporarily leading Coventry City by one goal. The fans on the viewing platform gradually dispersed, as they had to make full use of this 15 minutes to replenish their energy, as well as make a trip to the bathroom, in preparation for the second half's battle.

Tang En also decided to return to the changing room to arrange the second half's tactics. After observing the first half, he more or less had some idea of what he wanted to do. However, before he left, he had to find some stuff for the two people beside him to do, as he could not just let them follow him back to the changing room.

"Erm, you two gentlemen. Don't you think that our environment for the first half was very terrible?"

The two of the looked at each other, unsure of what Tang En was driving at.

Seeing that they did not understand his words, Tang En illustrated it for them. "These fans are loud and boisterous, perhaps from consuming quite a lot of alcohol before the match. Each one of them is energetic and loud. They only support their own team, but unfortunately, their team is currently losing by one ball. In that case, their temper is not going to be good. Emphasized by the effects of alcohol... I think that during these 15 minutes, they will have drank a few more cans of beer, right? And should their team continue to be unable to catch up, their blood will most likely start boiling and rush to their head. If they were to discover that there were three spectators who were not fans of the home team... what do you think they will do?"

The two of them frantically tried to defend themselves. "I'm not a Nottingham Forest fan. Actually the one that I support is Man City..."

"I am a fan of Oxford United, but that is a Division Three team..."

Tang En shook his head. "It's useless, even if you used the stadium's broadcast system to tell. You have to know that a raging fan is irrational. You don't believe? How about we put it to the test?"

One of them frantically stopped Tang En. "There's no need for that. I also feel that it's not a good thing for us to be seated among a group of hot-blooded, home team fans."

"I think the two of you should raise your objections to the Coventry staff. At least change us to an area where it is more neutral—somewhere closer to the Nottingham Forest's area."

Hearing Tang En say this, the two of them suddenly put up their guard. Tang En had no choice but to explain, "You two may relax. Don't tell me you really think that I will direct the match using the fans? That is too ridiculous."

The two of them glanced at each other, before nodding their heads. "Alright, we will approach the Coventry staff."

"Much thanks. You both have made the right decision." Tang En turned around and walked toward the passageway. Before he walked away, he asked, "By the way, just asking, does the Football Association allow me to enter my team's changing room during halftime?"

"There are no specific instructions given for this, so go ahead."

"Thank you very much. You may find me at the changing room door in 15 minutes. Goodbye." Tang En waved his hand as he walked into the passageway.

There was a very huge lounge inside the stadium, which sold various drinks and food. Fans could rest there for a short while, drink a few cans of beer, eat some grilled sausages, or chat with their friends. However, one had to be careful not to get into any form of conflict with those who were obviously drunk, because those kind of people were very dangerous, especially when the team they supported was in a terrible situation.

Tang En lowered his head and quickly passed through. He did not want anyone to identify him, since his team was currently in the lead, and Coventry City's fans were in an irritated state.

After crossing the crowded lounge, he found a small, rarely used hallway, which was another way to get to the changing room. However, on his way, Tang En noticed a security guard stationed there, as well as a sign that read: No passing through this area.

"What's going on?" Tang En asked the security guard who was standing in front of him.

The security guard pointed to the sign, as if telling Tang En, "Don't you know how to read?" His attitude was evidently not very friendly.

"Very well." Tang En nodded his head before kicking the sign down. Then, he stepped over the sign and tried to pass.

The security guard became anxious. He tried to pull Tang En back, but was gently subdued by Tang En. "Bro, I have a few years training." When Tang En was very young, he used to study martial arts from the street performers in his home town. At that time, the movie Shaolin Temple was extremely popular throughout the country. Tang En dreamed of becoming a martial arts star like Jet Lee, who made a lot of money and was respected by tens of thousands of people. Later, he discovered he was not cut out for it and gave up. Although he did not become the second Jet Lee, his skills were more than sufficient to deal with this kind of paper tiger, who was all bark and no bite.

Ignoring the security guard, who was sprawled on the floor, Tang En walked toward his team's changing room, after which he pushed open the door and entered.

It was obvious that the players were all waiting for him. Seeing Tang En enter, everyone raised their heads, their eyes were filled with anticipation.

Those eyes... Tang En knew what kind of burden he was shouldering at the moment.

"You guys played magnificently in the first half. But be careful of their counterattack in the second half. Let's analyze it in detail."

The two people from the Football Association Disciplinary Committee found Coventry's chairman. Upon stating their identities, the problem of the seats was resolved very quickly. The chairman promised to let them sit with Nottingham Forest's fans, and also promised their individual safety.

The two people who had already completed their task saw that it was still early, so they decided to wait at the entrance of the changing room. They were still slightly worried that the shady manager would play some tricks. Tony Twain made them feel a strong sense of uneasiness, as if he was not a football manager, but an MI6 special agent in disguise.

As they walked past that corridor, they looked at the sign on the floor which read "No passing through this area" and thought it was strange. They did not understand the situation at all. However, since it was already on the ground, the sign was most probably not in use anymore. So, they stepped over the sign and walked past it.

"... if they are unable to improve their situation 15 minutes into the second half, I think McAllister will definitely make his assistant manager put Gary McSheffrey in, even though he still has some light injuries. As for who will be substituted off the court, that will be depend on the performance of the players on the field." Tang En put aside the tactics board, as he continued talking non-stop. Walker, who was listening by the side, was full of respect for him, while Bowyer was full of smiles.

"As for all of you...," Tang En said as he pointed toward the players, "no matter what, all of you must always remember that 1:0 is the world's most precarious score. A one ball lead will give your opponents boundless dreams and impulse. If you want to completely kill off their motivation, then you just have to score even more goals, more and more goals! For the second half, we will play defensive and counterattack, and force them on the offensive. More long passes. Eoin?"

Jess stood up.

"Can you tell me what the condition of the grass on the field is?"

"The soil is very loose, and feels like I'm unable to fully exert my strength. It is also very slippery." Jess explained, as he thought that the manager was blaming him for not positioning a few of the balls well in the first half.

Tang En nodded his head. "The entire team should do more long passes, and at the same time, be on guard for the enemy's long passes." After which, he turned around and said to Walker, "Des, let the players do their warm-up every ten minutes. If they manage to score a goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half, then we won't make any changes and continue our defensive counterattack. Let everyone play slightly more patiently. This is their home ground, and they will definitely not be content with drawing with us. As the match goes on, they will definitely continue to force their offenses. And that will be our chance. You have to grab every opportunity that appears. If you waste and squander away those opportunities, you will be punished for it."

Tang En looked at the players in the changing room and felt a slight headache. That was because English football's requirements were different from other places. Only five substitute players are allowed to be brought onto the field in each match. Not counting the substitute goalkeeper that had to be replaced, there was not much choice left to choose from. That was one aspect of English football that Tang En disliked. Both the Serie A and the La Liga allowed for up to seven substitute players, so why was England's one so special?

"Ian, if there are any unforeseen circumstances, you and Des may discuss and act accordingly. We played well for the first half, so just continue to play like this for the rest of the match."

He lowered his head and looked at the time. It was almost time for him to go. He left the remaining time for the assistant managers as he had to go.

"That's all. I hope that 45 minutes later, we can bag home three goals."

After bidding farewell to everyone, Tang En turned around and exited the room. After that, he walked with the two people who were waiting for him outside, to the viewing platform.

"They agreed to our request for a change of seats?" Realizing that they were not walking in the direction where they were previously seated, Tang En asked.

"Yes, we will be sitting with the Nottingham Forest fans."

"You guys are really trustworthy partners." They were unable to tell whether Tang En was really praising them or if he was being sarcastic. But they paid it little heed. They had only interacted with him for a mere hour or so, but they had already gotten used to this person's sharp tongue and his way of speaking.

Speaking of which, Tang En's sharp tongue was one of the reasons why he was not liked back when he was still in China. He was always speaking the truth and made rational comments, but the truth and rational comments tend to be displeasing to the ears.

When the three of them came to the Nottingham Forest fans viewing platform, most of the fans were already seated. The stadium's awning was very limited in size and was unable to cover the whole of the viewing platform. The first few rows were directly in the rain. Tang En looked at those fans who shrunk their necks and persisted in the cold rain, and cursed, "B*stards. Coventry has to count themselves lucky that they are no longer going to a match with Nottingham Forest as the home ground. At least in this season."

He walked straight for the front row, and stood with the other fans in the rain. The two bodyguards, however, were miserable. The shrunk their necks and hopped about. "I say, Mr. Twain. The seats they allocated us are not here." One of them pointed upwards, to somewhere that was sheltered by the awning.

Tang En shot the two of them a look and said, "If you wish to go, just go. I want to stay with my fans."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. We cannot let you stay too far away from us," the two of them said as they appeared to be in a tight spot.

"Then you two may stay here with me." Tang En pointed to a spot on the ground, and was extremely happy on the inside. He had finally found a suitable chance to get back at these two people.

The two of them looked up at the sky which was still drizzling and sighed as they could only accept the result.

The conversation between the three of them attracted the attention of the surrounding fans. Nottingham Forest fans managed to quickly discover that the person over there was their manager, Tony Twain.

"Mr. Twain?" A burly fan walked toward him and asked with some uncertainty in his tone. When he saw Twain's face, he cried out in surprise, "So it's really you! Is there any trouble?" He shot a hostile look at the two people beside Tang En.

This fan, who had a threatening appearance, made the two FA disciplinary committee guys feel slightly nervous. Luckily, Tang En got them out of their predicament. "No, there's no trouble. I was just discussing with my two friends over here, where we should watch the match. Is there anyone seated here?"

"There was, but now there isn't."

"That's good, we'll watch the match from here, then."

Catching wind that Nottingham Forest's manager was there, the fans from all over the viewing platform rushed forward. They either shouted Twain's name respectfully, or his nickname, in order to express their heartfelt respect toward the substitute manager. This was because his team played a soul-stirring second half in the previous match. Tang En's conversation with the fans was also mostly centered around that match. Although the head referee ultimately stopped Nottingham Forest's advance, in the fan's eyes, the manager, Tony Twain, who led the team to score four goals against West Ham, was still the hero.

Tang En was elated to know that he was viewed by the fans as such, once again proving that he was suitable to walk the path of a football manager. He did not put on the airs of a manager who was distant. Instead, he chatted with the fans in the loud and noisy stadium, joked with them without any restraints, and enjoyed himself thoroughly. Those two pitiful chumps from the Football Association however, were squeezed out of the crowd and shrunk their necks in an attempt to endure the assault of the cold rain. No one seemed to care about them at that point.

Once the match began, Tang En was completely surrounded by Nottingham Forest fans. The two disciplinary committee members were squeezed two rows back and spent the rest of their time keeping watch on Tang En's every move. Before coming to Coventry, they had been specifically instructed by Palios to be wary of that Tony Twain, for he was a cunning person.

That's right, extremely cunning!

At that moment, the two of them nodded their heads at the same time in agreement.

Chapter 25: The Crisis Of Two Consecutive Draws Part 1

Everything was going according to Tang En's plans. Coventry City's offense remained underwhelming. So, they switched out the underperforming Pipe after 17 minutes, and the person to replace him was indeed Gary McSheffrey. The young player, who was only 20 years old, was the main scorer among the team's strikers to date, scoring three goals in 10 matches. If not for his injury sustained during the training two days before the match, McAllister would not have placed him on the substitutes' bench.

His hair was golden, slightly resembling Rooney. Of course, if he were as skillful as Rooney, Tang En would be crying.

Although he was not as skillful as Rooney, McSheffrey's presence on the field was still able to bring a considerable amount of trouble to Nottingham Forest's defensive line. He did not appear in the center, but instead was positioned at the left flank and faced against French defender Matthieu Louis-Jean.

Only when Tang En saw this change, did he discover that he had thought too simply of McAllister. Although a player-manager was unable to have a broad view of the match, unlike a manager who was outside the field, he still possessed a lot of first-hand information when it came to observing the minute details on the field. Nottingham Forest's right back was definitely a source of headache for Tang En. Only the French player was a right-back player. While Scimeca could also be the right back, he was much more proficient in playing as a defensive midfielder. Another possible candidate was the 21-year-old John Thompson. Although he could also act as a makeshift right back, the positions most suited for him were still defensive midfielder and center back.

While Tang En was observing Coventry City on the viewing platform, Coventry City's manager was observing Tang En's team on the field.

McSheffrey was no dribbling expert, but his breakthrough speed at the flanks put Louis-Jean in a tight spot. In addition, the floor was slippery from the rain, and thus the he managed to easily pass by Louis-Jean. At times, Louis-Jean could only barely stop him with a foul. What was even more worrying was that this person's shots were evidently much more skillful than the previous two Coventry City's forwards, as both of his shots landed within the boundaries of the goalpost. Tang En was shaking his head on the viewing platform, because had not foreseen this happening, and therefore had not prepped Walker for it this during the halftime break. If they would only switch in Thompson, a much better defensive player, they would have a better chance of shutting down the injured McSheffrey.

A pity....

Only at this moment, did Tang En discover an even greater problem. Although McAllister was on the field playing and therefore could not make the timeliest adjustments to the team, Tang En, who was watching the match on the viewing platform, was also unable to inform the assistant managers at the sideline even if he spotted a problem and came up with a solution to it. The results were the same, with both of them unable to make the most direct and quickest adjustments to their teams.

Fortunately, 10 minutes later, Bowyer and Walker at the sidelines made the adjustments that Tang En wanted. They substituted Thompson in to replace Louis-Jean who had been thwarted by McSheffrey. The situation was once again balanced.

Time passed, and the fourth official raised a sign stating three minutes of stoppage time. There were five minutes before Tang En's first victory as the manager of the team. With non-stop singing and cheering all around him, the Forest fans excitedly came up to Tang En and congratulated him. In their eyes, the match had already been won.

Tang En's once again wore a smile on his face, and his mood, which had been fouled by the two disciplinary members and the security guard of Highfield Road Stadium, improved gradually. In this black and white world, there was nothing more appealing and uplifting than victory.

There's an old saying that had been mentioned countless times on many occasions, so much so that those who heard it had calluses from hearing it too many times. However, at that moment, there was still a need to re-emphasize the famous saying by German Football godfather Josef "Sepp" Herberger: The ball is round. The game lasts 90 minutes. This much is fact. Everything else is theory.

Just as the fourth official put down the electronic signage board, and as he turned around, Coventry City got a free-kick in the opposing half, positioned 25 meters in front of the penalty area. Coventry City had gotten a total of five of such free kicks the entire match, and the first four were all wasted by McAllister. He probably had the same complaints as Eoin Jess: The ground was too slippery, the soil was too loose, and the supporting leg could not exert adequate strength.

But this time...

When McAllister stood in front of the ball, the Forest fans beside Tang En were still singing and jumping. However, Tang En stood there without making any comments, solely focused on the field. It was precisely this kind of moment that made Tang En even more nervous. As long as they endured this shot, the rest of the match would be much easier. Nottingham Forest could control the ball under their feet and drag it out until the end of the match.

McAllister had his back against the cheering Forest fans, and there was no close-up on the big screen. Tang En could not see this player-manager's expression at that moment. In the match between the two of them, Tang En was about to emerge victorious.

The head referee blew the whistle. McSheffrey made a feint, while McAllister followed up and made his shot!

The ball tore through the rain, over the human wall. It spun and evaded Darren Ward's hand, before hitting against the net of the goal. The water beads splashed forth in all directions, even blurring Tang En's eyes.

Tang En blinked his eyes several times, to confirm once again. He soon heard deafening shouts resounding throughout the stadium. However, those sounds were not from the side of the Nottingham Forest fans, but the opposite side's sky blue faction...

McAllister was squashed under his excited teammates, while the commentator announced, "The eighty-eighth minute! Coventry City, Gary McAllister! A direct free-kick goal, beautiful! 1:1 Tie! They are already on an eight match no-lose streak!" The reply to his statement was the roaring shouts on the viewing platform, which resembled the sound of rolling thunder.

"God damn it!" Tang En forcefully punched the seat beside him, and the fans surrounding him also turned silent. This was a result that nobody expected. Coventry City, which did not have many chances to score throughout the entire match, had actually managed to bring it to a tie with a direct free-kick. Nothing was more infuriating than having the three points which they were about to get, reduced to one point. What was even more infuriating was that Tang En did not know where the problem lay. His team's performance was almost perfect, and yet with a lucky shot by the opponent, their eighty-eight minutes' worth of effort was down the drain.

Coventry City's players were still celebrating, while Nottingham Forest's players stood on the field, at a loss of what to do.

The rain was still ongoing, but Tang En could not care less about the effects of the weather on the match already. In his eyes, that was the end of the match, 1:1, with himself and McAllister's match ending in a draw. Although that player-manager guy was unable to use his adjustment of tactics to save the team, he managed to do so by scoring a goal on his own.

He turned around and looked at the disappointed fans, and started to regret his decision of choosing to sit there. Standing beside them and witnessing with his own eyes, the scene of the fans' joy turning into disappointment, was an unbearable feeling.

"When we return to our home ground, I will bring all of you victory..." he softly mumbled.

The match ultimately ended with the tenacious Coventry City bringing the match to a tie right before it ended, and with the away team, Nottingham Forest leaving with one point. Yet, they appeared to be even more regretful and dejected than the home team.

At the end of the season's twenty-ninth match, Nottingham Forest, which was one match down, dropped down to fourteenth place, with a cumulative of only 39 points. The only thing that could console Tang En was that fourteenth place and sixth place only had a difference of four points. It was merely a difference of two matches, and they were still down by one match.

His mentor had left behind a mess for Twain, and it was not easy for Tang En to ignite some fighting spirit in the team. Going forward, he definitely could not let them remain dejected. There were not many problems within the team, so Tang En only had one mission, and that was to lead the team and obtain good results.

Good results require good players, but Tang En's current situation was very awkward.

Chapter 26: The Crisis Of Two Consecutive Draws Part 2

Tang En, who had completely considered himself to be a manager, originally wanted to cause a stir in the transfer market. In the past when he used to play the football manager game, he looked forward most to the two weeks of transfer window before and during the season. He would chase after the players he was interested in and put on airs while expressing interest to them. Then, he would watch them become "flattered and shocked", "troubled and perplexed." At the same time, their manager would "fly into a rage." Watching this was an exquisite form of entertainment for Tang En. Ultimately, he would win the players over to his team and make them do his bidding and say they looked forward most to playing under Tang En. However, Chairman Doughty cruelly destroyed this dream for Tang En. He told Tang En that the club had just recovered from a financial crisis, and therefore could not give him excess money to invest in the transfer market. Despite it being the winter transfer window, Tang En could only look at the other teams in envy, while they actively participated in the transferring of players.

The good thing was that the formation left behind by Paul Hart was not too bad. Aside from some minor issues in individual formations, it was useable with some tweaking and fixing. Tang En sighed once again, as he felt like he was just like Ranieri, reduced to a mere tinker man. Tinker men usually tended not to have good endings. After he used extremely foolish methods and lost the championship cup, Ranieri was fired by Abramovich. After which, Ranieri transferred over to Valencia F.C, where he also did not produce much results. After that, rumor had it that he went to Serie A as Parma Calcio F.C.'s manager and managed to avoid relegation. After that.... after that Tang En time travelled and did not know where Ranieri's next stop was.

Speaking of Ranieri, Tang En thought carefully about the current time period he was in. He discovered that his memories of the world football affairs were actually extremely distant and hazy, as if a long time had passed. However, in reality, the current time period was only four years apart from year 2007.

Tang En began collecting relevant news from various newspapers, magazines, and television broadcasts, as he wanted to verify that the current time period and the one in his memories were the same. The influence of the incident where Bowyer got into fights with his teammates during the match, had been played down due to Tang En's 'Rapegate' incident. However, it still gave Tang En a kind of wake-up call. He was worried that the future would become completely different from what he imagined and knew it to be. If that was the case, there would be completely no purpose for his time-travel.

The past, although only four years had passed, in order to differentiate more easily, Tang En still referred to the current time period he was in as "the past." In the past, during this time frame, Abramovich's Chelsea had not completely invaded English football, and one was unable to read lengthy articles in the newspapers regarding "Who is Abramovich?", "How rich is Abramovich?", as well as "Who is Chelsea's Next Target?" In the previous season, Leeds United, which shocked the European football world, did not go bankrupt nor did they become relegated. Although they sold a few of their players, people were still willing to believe in this team which brought a new gust of youthful wind to the English football world; that they would still be able to have an outstanding performance in the current and future seasons. At that time, Manchester United's star player, David Beckham, also had not transferred over to the Spanish team, Real Madrid yet. However, the differences within him and Ferguson were becoming increasingly deep, as the battle of Spice Girl Victoria and Sir Alex Ferguson over David Beckham reached a white-hot stage. This was also something that Tang En paid much attention to, and he predicted that not long after, the show of "throwing a flying shoe in a rage, mentor-mentee relationship completely shattered without any regrets." He had to see when Summer came, whether Beckham would really join Real Madrid. Maybe he could send anonymous letters to those trouble-stirring newspapers, passing off as a person with insider information and reveal to them the "truth" of Beckham going to Real Madrid? With this, he managed to find another way to make a living. Should Tang En really be fired from his job due to unsatisfactory results, he could still live off selling gossip to various newspaper agencies, albeit only for four and a half years.

His 'Rapegate' incident and Bowyer's fight on the field were small things and insufficient to the direction and flow of time. So, even if these sort of things happened a few more times, it would not matter much. However, if half a year later, Tang En received news of Abramovich buying up the Tottenham Hotspurs F.C, he would then seriously consider whether the things which happened in the world four years before the current time, were even relevant. Although that Russian man was indeed once very close to buying up the Tottenham Hotspurs, to the extent that he even asked the price from Tottenham's owner. Unfortunately, Tottenham's owner, Daniel Levy, wrongly assessed the situation, and asked for too high a price. For his 22.9 percent of shares in the club, he asked for a price of ￡150,000,000, despite him estimating it at a value of only ￡50,000,000. In the end, the Russian man chose Chelsea, the club which was lower-priced and had more reasonably distributed assets. The remainder of the story is known to the rest of the people on Earth...

When Tang En recovered from the shock of travelling through time, he discovered that there were many interesting things in this time period. He observed things with the attitude of someone who had experienced it before, and he enjoyed it, just like the anticipation toward the next season of Prison Break. It was quite an enjoyable feeling.

Six days after the 18th, on January 25th, Nottingham Forest would be playing against the 18th ranked team in the season, Preston North End. Preston North End was also short of one match, and they currently only had 31 points. This was the rescheduled match for the 28th round.

Speaking of Preston North End, Tang En was very unfamiliar with this team. However, if it were regarding Preston's former manager, Tang En was extremely familiar with him. That person was David Moyes, who had just quit his managerial post in March during the previous season, and went over to Everton to become their manager. During his time as a football player, Moyes once played for Preston for five years, and he assumed the role of Preston's manager after he retired. As the manager for the 1999-2000 season, Moyes brought this team to the English Football League. After which, he went to Everton and attained complete success, becoming a famous manager in the English football world. There were even once rumors that he would become the successor of Ferguson, ruling over Manchester United. After which, when the English national football team was selecting a manager for the team, Moyes was also one of the candidates on the list.

This person was not the one who discovered and nurtured Rooney, but he was the one who made Rooney known to the whole of England. He had contributed a precious treasure to England.

After he left, Preston once again fell to the bottom of the pit, and now, their current goal was merely to remain in the English Football League.

Tang En had an epiphany that "the world was really very small." Even in the lower tier leagues, Tang En was able to meet various people whom he was familiar with. The previous opponent let him see the current situation of the previous star player from Liverpool, who was an integral player in securing Liverpool's five championship titles. On top of that, the upcoming match let him meet the first stop in Moyes' managerial path. Amidst the unfamiliar England, it felt extremely good to Tang En to know that he could still hear some of these familiar names. This also closed up the distance between him and this unfamiliar country.

No matter how one looked at Preston, they could not be considered a strong team in any way. Their abilities were very weak, and they were also the away team. Before the match, the Nottingham Evening Post predicted that even without their coach directing during the match, Nottingham Forest would still be able to claim victory with ease. The fans were also full of anticipation. Similarly, Tang En, who was seated in the VIP lounge with the two disciplinary members, was also filled with anticipation for the match, as he looked forward to the first victory since he came over.

And the result was?

Sixteen minutes into the match, David Johnson managed to secure an early lead for Nottingham Forest. City Ground stadium was filled with roaring excitement. However, just four minutes later, Preston's defensive midfielder, Lee Cartwright, made use of the corner kick to tie the match. This was even his first goal of the season.

City Ground's cheers were cut off by his goal, before it sounded loudly again. After that, Nottingham Forest players, under the supporting cheers from the fans, charged forth and focused their offence on the Preston goalpost. The pitiful manager of the away team had to consecutively make three substitutions for the defensive players, who had vowed that they would have to at least obtain one point in their away match. After 70 minutes, his dreams would come true.

Nottingham forest possessed an advantage throughout the entire match, with their ball possession rate as high as 64 percent, 14 shots at the goalpost, seven corner kicks, and nine offensive free kicks. These statistics were those of an "offensive football", and yet there was only one goal scored. On the other hand, Preston only had a measly four shots at the goalpost and a 36 percent ball possession rate. The only aspect which they beat Nottingham Forest, was in terms of the number of fouls, which was 29 times. No matter how badly they were jeered by the Forest fans, and regardless of how the fans humiliated them as "cowards", they still emerged victorious, laughing as they left Nottingham with their precious one point, toward their road to remaining in the league.

This result left many fans extremely disappointed. Tang En was equally disappointed. The only thing was that he did not swear inside the suite, as his attention had been fixated on another thing.

At the end of the match, Tang En heard fragmentary jeers coming from the viewing platform. This was a warning to Tang En that, if there were no improvements to the results soon, even he, the manager, would lose the hearts of the fans. Looking at the leaving fans, Tang En frowned. He would not shake the hands or say goodbye to his two match "companions" , and it was Chairman Doughty who helped them out of their predicament, by extending a handshake to the two guys who stood there like idiots with their hands extended.

With the end of the rescheduled match, Nottingham Forest accumulated a total of 40 points in the 29 matches of the season, and shared the same points as Millwall, which was ranked 30th. With a higher number of wins, Nottingham Forest took the 12th spot in the league. With the season halfway through, this kind of result did not satisfy Tang En. He wanted to leave behind something that would prove himself in the first season, and nothing was more suitable for a manager, than victory and results.

Tang En decided to have a good talk with Walker about what was on his mind. As such, he invited Walker to Burns' Forest Bar to have a chat over a few drinks.

Walker agreed.

Forest Bar had already become Tang En's only place of choice when it came to treating drinks and organizing a gathering, because Nottingham's best wine could be found there.

Chapter 27: Tang En’s Manifesto Of Victory Part 1

The day always gets dark earlier in the winter in the U.K. The sky has already turned dark at only 5 p.m. The street lamps light up one by one, but compared to them, the neon lights shining from the bars start to light up even earlier. They hang in glass windows as if floating, giving rise to an illusory feeling similar to what drunks experience through their eyes.

Burns' Forest Bar was located on the corner at the intersection of two streets. These two streets were known for all kinds of bars and pubs. Burns' Bar had the best business and was the most well-known one among the rest, not just because of its location, but also because it was the place where all the fans of Team Forest gathered.

Just from the name Forest Bar, it was obvious that the football fans there were fans of Team Forest. The main color of the bar wasn't red, but crimson. There was a huge Team Forest logo painted outside that could be seen from a distance away. The football fans of Team Forest would always gather at the bar to have some drinks, chat, and maybe intensely debate before or after a match. Also, during a match, those football fans that did not have a ticket would watch their beloved team playing on the TV at the bar. This is when the bar was most crowded.

Tang En had been waiting for Walker at the Bar. He had decided to have his dinner there. When there were not many customers, he would just sit at the corner and talk quietly with Burns. Burns congratulated Tang En on the performance at the second half of the English FA Cup and felt sorry for the two draws. In between their conversation, Burns had to serve the football fans who had just come in, and some of them recognized Tang En and greeted him politely. These limeys were not bad before they got too drunk.

Walker came in after he had finished his dinner. Unlike Tang En, who was single and could just eat where and whenever he wanted, Walker had families responsibilities to take care of.

"The homebody is coming," Tang En said to Burns as Walker was about to walk in.

Burns smiled, welcomed Walker and brought him to the table. Then he went to get him a beer at the bar counter himself.

"Anything important, Tony?" Walker took off his coat and hung it at the back of the chair.

"Nothing special. I'm just bored and want someone to talk to," Tang En lit a cigarette for himself. He did not offer one to Walker, as he was a professional player and did not smoke.

"Well, I think Mr. Tony Twain is not the type to find a man to chat with when he is feeling bored," Walker laughed and took the beer from Burns. "Thanks, Kenny."

"That's right… I will probably find a women."

The three men exchanged glances and started laughing together.

"Back to serious matters, I do have something to talk to you about, and I also want to hear some advice from Kenny." Tang En only spoke after Walker had taken his first sip. "Before I tell you my thoughts, I need to ask you a few questions, Des."

"Please, go ahead."

"As a football fan or an ordinary audience, what kind of match would you prefer to watch, Des? Don't think. Just shout out the answer immediately."

"Hmm…" Walker was stumped for a second, but then he answered, "I think it would probably be one with many star players and a balanced performance between the battling teams?"

"So it's like the two teams have to keep attacking one another?" Tang En asked back.

Walker nodded his head. "You could say it like that. Both parties play in a more aggressive manner, and there are many impressive goals."

Tang En showed a sly smile. "You are so cruel!"

"Huh?"

"Des, what you said would really make the defenders' and goalkeeper's life harder!" Burns was laughing at the side.

Walker understood that teams battling is undoubtedly exciting to watch, but it did make it extremely difficult for the defenders. "But you asked me to answer from the perspective of an audience, and I did."

"All right, now as a player yourself, what kind of match would you like to play? Don't even hesitate and tell me your first thought."

"Obviously would be a match where our team could win easily." This time Walker gave the reply immediately after Tang En asked.

"So what you mean is just for winning the match and ignoring the process?" Tang En asked.

"Hmm, it's not that I don't care about the process and only want to win, but what you said make sense. As long as winning the match could be considered as the goal. Back when I was still playing, sometimes I just wished I wouldn't have to sweat for the whole 90 minutes, and sometimes I was willing to give every last drop for victory."

Upon hearing Walker's reply, Tang En snapped his finger. "Okay, last question for you. Des, if you're the main manager of a team, which kind of match would you prefer?"

This question seemed to be hard for Walker to answer, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something and then said nothing. Tang En looked interested in Walker's conflicted face as if there was a fight going on inside him. After a while, Walker shook his head. "I'm not sure, since I've only managed for half a season."

Burns knocked on the table. "Please, Tony, just tell us what you think."

Tang En said, "The last three matches gave me a lot to think about. We got one loss and two draws from the three matches, but we've had all the advantages. If skill is the determinant for the final result, we should have gotten three wins, instead of not winning a single match."

Walker kind of knew what Tang En was going to say, and he made a cough. "Tony, we should have won the first match. The reason for losing was due to the referee. The referee is the one who wanted us to be out of the English FA Cup at the third round."

"Okay fine, besides the first match. Kenny, you saw the other two league matches, right? We were totally at the advantage. We should be winning. But what's the result?" Tang En leaned back, unfolded his arms, shrugged his shoulder and coughed out the smoke from the cigarette. "Ca…" He was about to say the "useless possession theory" that was taught by Capella when he was coaching the Real Madrid Club and was criticised by the Spanish media over and over again. And then he realized that he was fours before that. At this time, Capella was still in Rome playing the most aggressive kind of offensive football. If he told them then that Capella was going to promote the "useless possession percentage theory", they would definitely not believe that Real Madrid Club would ever play that kind of conservative match.

But…wait! There was a plan in Tang En's mind. He didn't think anyone had come out with the "useless possession theory" clearly before Capella, though it should have been widely recognized in the football world. However, it seemed that there was no one yet to test and review the theory and pass it on to the next generation. At that moment, Tang En was already four and half years ahead of the world. Why couldn't he sum it up and promote it officially? Maybe four years later, Capella would praise him and say, "I'm very impressed by manager Tony Twain's high possession percentage theory." This theory shall originate from me, Tang En, and Mr. Capella please don't spoil it.

Once Tang En was thinking about this, he started to get excited. The feeling of playing with and switching history was freaking amazing.

"It goes like this…" Tang En started to promote the theory, and he knew that first he had to let the public accept the theory emotionally. "Well, I know that most of the football fans enjoy watching exciting matches, matches that have many attacks between teams and matches that have many goals, but what do you think is the percentage of winning?"

"Arsenal plays this way, and now they are ranked no.1. Even Manchester United is 5 points lower than them," Walker tried to rebuke.

Tang En rolled his eyes. He already knew that Walker would answer in this way before he even threw the question out. Team Arsenal is currently considered special in the whole of England. Despite more and more teams in the Premier League that are purely dependent on their skills, no other team was as perfect as Arsenal. Tang En has never doubted "Professor" Wenger as a great manager despite the fact that he was not really a fan of Arsenal. Tang En could also clearly remember the champion of the Premier League for this season and for the season of 02-03. The champion was Manchester United, the one that was currently five points behind Arsenal. He knew that there was no way he could use this fact to rebuke what Walker said. He could only change the point of view. "Five points does not mean a lot. I do have faith and high hopes for Manchester United in winning after the season."

Walker chuckled, and even Burns whistled to the side. Tang En knew that they would not believe in him. Arsenal is performing very well at currently, while Manchester United was going down. Tang En was not trying to persuade them either. His main point was not about that. He had only wanted to gain some ground.

"All right, I know you won't believe me now. Then let's have a bet. I'll say that Manchester United will be the champion when the season ends. The wager…I'll let you to choose anything." Tang En was very confident.

"Ok, I'll that bet," Walker replied first, while Burns continued, "Walker and me will take Arsenal as the champion. If we lose the bet, I will operate the bar for free for a day, and I will never charge you a single cent when you come in."

This bet sounded great. Tang En was satisfied. "I would drink until your pocket had a hole, Kenny."

"Sure, I won't mind. But if you lose the bet, Tony, you have to fulfil my requirement."

"No problem, what is it?"

"Err…" Burns thought for a while. "I can't decide right now. I'll tell you when I think of a good one."

"Sure, the bet is on."

Their bet had been settled. Tang En continued to preach to them about his "original" theory. "In the football world now, except for Arsenal, could you name another team that reached the pinnacle purely due to their perfect offensive skills that could be called a work of art?" Tang En was daring to brag as he knew that Barcelona was in chaos, Ronaldinho has not been to Barcelona yet, Messi has yet to become well known, Deco was still playing under Mourinho at Porto, and even the time for offensive football to be popular across Europe and Spain had not yet come.

"Forget five years, even in the last ten years can you name a few teams? I do not want those who have a very high reputation, yet did not gain achievement, reaching the pinnacle means securing a championship."

Walker and Burns thought deeply for a while and were still unable to name any team. Team Arsenal that they were highly praising had not gotten championship in this season.

"This makes so much sense! Now playing football has become more and more materialistic. This is a fact, which I do not think it is totally bad. As a manager, I have to view things from the perspective of a main manager. I do hope that in future, my team will get compliments for their excellent skills, for their high possession in the match, for their offensive skills, and that the fans and media will be fascinated by them, and yet… the team would win anything. Let me repeat this one more time: I am a manager. So what is the criteria for judging a manager? Simply by the results, scores, victories, and championships. No matter how a manager is able to come up with different tactics to tackle different matches, no matter how his team is able to play good matches, as long as the manager is unable to bring the team to championship, he will never be considered a good manager." Tang En was thinking about Rijkaard, the 06-07 season was when his artful football started to go down, which also meant simply depending on artful football would not guarantee the victory in the long term. "So how can we win? I think depending on that artful football is not possible, at least not for Team Nottingham Forest."

"Huh, Tony, you support non-traditional football?" Walker pointed to Tang En and asked.

"No, I do not truly believe or support any kind of coaching. My belief is only for the win, and I only pursue victory. As long as we can win the match, I don't mind using offensive or defensive tactics." Tang En thought this was where he was much better than those nitwits who only argued that offensive playing was better than defensive or the other way round. In fact, he had already jumped out of the box that pursues a football-playing style.

"Processional football—I am talking about the professional kind, not the kind for children in schools during PE lessons, and not for recreational playing in the street. What's most important in professional football? And what is the ultimate goal? To me, victory is the answer, and pursuing victory to the fullest is what helps attain championships." Tang En decided on his pursuit as a manager and pledged his own style at this small bar in Nottingham. "I am a manager. I do not want to lose my job or be forgotten by the public. So there is only one way left for me, which is to lead the team to victory and be the champion at every match!" Tang En raised his voice.

"Tony, are you drunk?" The smile on Walker's face faded as he asked gingerly.

"Nope, I am very clear-headed." Tang En shook his head and then drank the remaining glass of the beer. "Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

"Err, no…"

"Good, I have pointed out the essence of professional football. Des, didn't anyone tell you this? What do you think we are doing in professional football? Strengthening our bodies? Entertaining the public and ourselves?" Tang En gave a sarcastic look. "Let me ask you, why do the 24 League One teams play against each other on the weekend? And why do the 20 Premier League teams compete with each other for at least ten months in a year? For the victory! For the championship! If it is not for victory, why do we even bother to train our team, and why do we even bother to spend such huge sums of money to hire the players? The football in today's generation has been way different from what was like a 100 years ago…"

After hearing what Tang En said, Walker and Burns remained silent. It wasn't just different from 100 years ago, even compared to 30 years ago it was still different. Twenty-four years ago, Nottingham Forest became the red Tornado in Europe. A team that had no strong financial base, no remarkable reputation had won the most honorable championship of the UEFA Champions League consecutively for two years. Afterwards, this experience had been referred to as the "Nottingham Miracle." Why was this called a miracle? Because nowadays not many teams could reach such high level. Out of all the teams in European football, which team could win the championship without having any strong financial support from the company? None, not a single team. This is the difference from now and before.

Walker sighed, "Maybe you are correct, Tony. The establishment of the Premier League has changed everything…" He thought of Team Forest that he was working with.

Team Nottingham Forest was still considered a strong team, even in the late 70s. They had successfully gotten into the finals of the English FA Cup. One time they lost to Hotspur due to bad luck, and the other time they lost to Manchester United. However, after the Premier League was established, due to lack of budget, the poor Team Forest went down. Although the amazing manager, Brian Clough, was able to lead the team from League Two to the championship of UEFA Champions League in three years' time, he was not able to compete with the pressure from lack of financial ability. Eventually his team and he all became the victims of the new football generation.

"The fees imposed by the TV rebroadcasting has changed everything," Tang En said. Ever since he began to understand his circumstances, he tried to learn more and absorb lots of knowledge about English football. He was quite confident to call himself a hard-core fan of England who knew a lot about the history of England's football.

The progression of England's football could be classified into a few stages: the establishment of football as a sport, followed by the establishment of the football clubs and UEFA League, then the setup of the Premier League, and the last symbol of its progress would be the involvement of TV.

In 1955, a brand new generation started when the newly established ITV requested to pay ￡1,000 to buy selected league matches from the English Football Association and League. At that time, a ticket for watching a match between League One matches was around an average of ￡3,000.

TV entered the football world and then gained more and more control over the years.

After that, in 1992, the English Premier League had come into existence, which marked the start of another generation. The initial purpose of establishing the league matches was because of the dissatisfaction from big clubs from the assigning of the fees from TV rebroadcasting. They needed more money and in fact, they deserved more.

The Premier League had saved a company (SKY) that had incurred a debt of ￡47,000,000. The company the Premier League purchased the broadcasting rights for five years, and they have in turn earned a total of ￡67,000,000. Due to the high profits from the football industry, Murdoch was then able to purchase Manchester United F.C. He had the financial capability, thanks to the Premier League. The more famous clubs earned more and more at the expense of the small clubs who gradually lost the space to expand. The wealth is always in the hands of the minority. Team Nottingham Forest downgraded after struggling for one season. After that, they did experience ups and downs, and yet it was too difficult to return to their golden state.

About half a century ago, TV needed football to earn, while now football needs TV. This is the main difference between the two generations and is a cause of suffering for many small clubs.

Of course, Tang En was not almighty, and he did not want to go against nature. Since this generation has been like this for a while, if unable to overturn it, why not just adapt and follow? Tang En thought that in a world where people were more obsessed with physical gains, pursuing victory and championship accorded with the progression of society. There was nothing wrong with that. Human memory is a magical thing. The most unforgettable thing that will keep making people talk under competing sports is only the championship. The only thing that losers will get is just a few encouraging words, nothing else.

Tang En was not this kind of football fan. He used to like beautiful, artful football: Brazil, Ronaldinho, Zidane and Kaká. So what changed his mind so drastically? Actually, the reason was associated with his current living condition. Tang En was always worried that one day the Chairman might fire him, and then he would lose his job and financial support, and die alone of hunger in the street. He had no sense of security, and his insecurity was growing. Tang En had also realized that in order to chase away his insecurities, he had to lead the team to achieve satisfying results. So what are considered satisfying results? Of course, it is victory. Tang En's subconscious mind-set was very simple and na?ve, as he just wanted to win to keep his job and to support his basic life. Survival is the only truth in the world while the rest are all just fantasies.

He did not know that even if he was jobless, he could solely depend on the welfare given by the government to support his living. But, of course that amount of money would not be enough for him to find a woman.

Chapter 28: Tang En’s Manifesto Of Victory Part 2

All of them seemed to be deep in thought. Tang En stared at the empty bottle. "What were we talking about just now?"

"The essence of professional football," Walker reminded him.

"Good, the essence of professional football is victory." Tang En took Walker's bottle and finished drinking the remaining beer. Burns saw the table had many empty glasses and stood up to get more drinks.

"Eh, you don't sound bad, Tony. However, why can't the beautiful offensive football achieve victory and championship?" Walker still had an opposing opinion.

Tang En nodded his head. "All right. I will use the facts to convince you. Let me take the most represented World Cup as an example and look at it from long ago to now and ignore those that were too far apart. Since the powerful Brazil national football team won in 1970, what teams won next? In 1974 it was Germany. Were they thought to play well? Did German players ever have nice tactics? Netherlands national football team was the one that displayed art football. They played total football and had started a fresh genre. The great Michels, the great Cruyff and the great Netherlands. However, what was the result? They were the runner-up. In 1978, Netherlands national football team persisted with total football and continued to be the runner-up that lost to the host, Argentina. Can you say that Team Argentina played better than Team Netherlands? In 1982, at Italy, similar to Germany, the Italian players used their unstable defending skill and a player that used to fix the match to get the championship. Would you say they played a good match? Did people treat the Italian team as the representative of offensive football? Certainly no. Then follow the World cup in 1986…Well, that was somewhat a weird one."

There was logic in what Tang En said, and Walker would certainly agree with him. This is because the Mexico World Cup had some bitter memories for Englanders, as Maradona's hands of God and he went across five times and constantly remained an unforgettable disgrace in an Englander's heart. Although Maradona might be considered lofty by many Chinese and people from other countries, he was just a cheater in most of England's eyes.

"…that championship belongs only to Maradona, not Argentina. Let us recall a more recent year. For the World Cup in 1990, Argentina was the runner-up and the championship belonged to Germany. Penalties, penalties, penalties… and that is what I remember. What does this show? Do penalties represent offensive football?" Tang En started to laugh. "In 1994, how is the Brazil Team referred to in their country? 'The most conservative and ugly team out of all Brazil's past national teams'. Pereira was never a manager that advocated offending, and Santana was the true godfather of Samba football. However, what was the result of that World Cup? He helped Brazil bring back the World Cup that had been lost for 24 years. No matter how ugly the finals turned out to be, he was still the manager of the champions! His position and status were stable, which proves the point that people only recognize champions. Next, in 1998, without the presence of Zidane, would the French National Team be the champion? Apparently the answer is no. Can the French National Team be called the most elegant team with Zidane's existence? Ronaldo and Brazil would never approve that. By the way, the French National Team getting into the finals was not even due to Zidane. Ok, the last one will be 2002…" Tang En looked at Walker's excited face, and he was about to say something. "What do you want to say?"

"Nothing much, I just want to remind you that the Brazil National Team got the championship at last with 3R and offensive football!" Walker has finally found some useful evidences to refute Twain's whole set of strange thinking. "Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Cafu. Look at their names and the football that they played."

Tang En laughed aloud. Burns was holding two big glasses of beer as he asked Walker strangely, "What happened to Tony?"

Walker shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. I only said that the champions of the 2002 World Cup was the Brazil National Team that played offensive football."

Burns smiled and handed the beer to Walker, and put the other in front of Tang En. "Are you two fighting about this?"

Tang En stopped laughing once he saw the beer. He sat straight and took up the glass and drank at least one fifth of the beer in one go. He then wiped away the froth on his mouth and decided to give Walker a lesson since he had reached the main point.

"What you have said is true. In that year, the Brazil Team was very strong and their attacking formation was considered the top. 3R was an excellent kind of offensive tactic, and with their wonderful performance, it was indeed perfect. Their reward was the glittering trophy. Ronaldo even broke his curse of six goals. It all looked like proof of them to breaking through and become the champions."

Walker nodded his head to show agreement, and he smiled to see how Tang En would rebuke this.

"However… do you know how the Brazilian National Team got the 18 goals?"

Walker was speechless, as he had not paid attention. At that point in time, all he did was to cheer for the English Team.

"Ok, I would tell you that 70 percent of the goals did not even exceed five passes. The number was very reasonable, more would be too tedious and may even miss the chance." The number "70" was randomly made up by Tang En, but it was close enough. Tang En had read some professional football magazine detailing how the National Team of Brazil attacked. The article used data from some British investigating organization. Tang En could not remember the exact numbers, but he was sure about the five passes.

"So what does that mean?"

"What does that mean?! Oh god… this is the classic example of modern football! Any goal that exceeds five passes would be too tedious… low productivity and futile. The beautiful art football emphasis is on more traps and passes right? However, the National Team of Brazil used the actual actions to tell us that there is no need to trap the balls under the feet all the time, and there is no need to have more passes. Brazil's possession percentage at that World Cup was not at the advantage side at all. The goals from Brazil at the 1970 World Cup were classic, but it is not suitable for all the matches and all the teams. That was a special penalty under that circumstance." Twain always felt dismissive about that goal from Argentina after the incessant 24 passes at World Cup in 2006. Despite the outside view this goal, he persisted his opinion. "More passes just mean that the team has low attacking productivity. With 50 continuous passes and in between displaying players' excellent footwork and moves. Also, the team would make sure that the opponents would not touch the ball at all and then shootout which would give you the score of 1:0. What about my team? During your 50 passes, my team could shootout after every 5 passes and then the score would be 10:0. So which one do you think is better?"

Walker was speechless again. He opened his mouth and was not sure what to say. Actually the answer was indeed obvious, everyone would choose the latter. However, Walker just could not accept Tang En's theory and his logic. He found it somewhat strange, but he was unable to identify which part did not make sense.

"You think the Brazilian Team was very offensive, and I do agree with you. However, this offensive football was somewhat different from what we understood as offensive football. Scolari's National Team of Brazil was very different from the traditional Samba football. It is more toward European style, more modern, more direct and more detrimental. Modern football emphasizes productivity, as it has always needed to change constantly from attacking to defending and vice versa, and it is much faster as well. Long periods of continuous trapping and passing actually do not satisfy the requirements of modern football." Actually, Tang En wanted to use Brazil's Kaká as an example to explain why he was called modern frontal, and difference of playmakers such as Rui Costa and Riquelme. However, Kaka was still playing at Sao Paulo in Brazil and the Europeans knew nothing about him. Thus, using him as an example did not apply.

"More traps and passes mean a higher chance of making mistakes. Modern football tactics require making minimum mistakes and causing the opponents to make more mistakes. We go through tight defences to snatch the ball, and this means that the opposing team has the same chance of snatching our ball from the time when we started possessing it. So just by using three passes and two traps to shoot into the goal is the most economic, practical, and productive way." Due to the effect of alcohol, as an "amateur", Tang En had given the two real professional footballers a lesson about the modern football tactic.

"So you are saying that high possession rate is actually useless?" Walker asked in a shock.

Following what Walker asked, Tang En explained the "useless possession theory" completely. "I think having unnecessary possession time is not helpful at all. Possession of the ball just needs to last until the moment when the goal is shot in. The five passes thing is just a nice idea that means wasting time and productivity. My ideal kind of football is practical, simple, and direct, which has the highest probability of winning. The most ridiculous and unacceptable strategy is having many passes and bringing the ball to the opponent's goalmouth just to have it kicked back to its own backfield." Tang En was thinking of some online blogs he had come across outlining tactics from various countries that included their traditional ways and footwork. Looking at one board of messy and disordered passing routes, Tang En started to laugh aloud after her realized it belonged to his favorite Brazilian National team.

Afterwards, this team Brazil National—which was regarded as the most powerful team in the earth, was referred to by Pereira as a team that was 30 years ahead of other teams and had the most powerful team players like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano Galliani and Kaká—was not even the semi-final winner and was shamefully out.

The other team, Argentina National, had 24 continuous passes and then got a goal in one of the group matches. The playmaker, Juan Román Riquelme and many of Maradona's "successors" got the same result as Brazil and was stopped at eight wins. All the teams that highly praised offensive football all got knocked down at the 2006 Germany World Cup. The championship instead went to Italy, because they had a more stable performance and a better defense.

"I have to repeat this again, perhaps the fans would enjoy watching those kinds of matches that have many continuous passes. But I do not like them at all. I only like the goals and victory. Beyond that, I would not concern myself with how that goal was made. There is a saying, the good thing comes with a better outcome."

Tang En finished what he wanted to say and started to drinking non-stop, as all the talking had made him really thirsty.

Walker recovered from the shock. "Tony… I really think what you said is too extreme, you are totally thinking that possession of the ball is rubbish…"

"No no no, I did not completely reject possessing the ball. I just feel that there is a need to change the way of playing if one is not able to score. Looking back at the last two matches that we played, more control over the balls did not bring us goals and victory. Since the ultimate goal for matches and attacking in a match is to win, why do people always focus on the wrong things now? By over-emphasizing on perfect traps, what makes them think that this can enable the team to score? This is so ridiculous. Shooting depends on quite a bit of luck, and 80 percent possession will never guarantee eight goals. My football is simple and precise and only focuses on the result. Des, I really think the way of training for Forest needs to be changed, and we should spend more time on thinking how to score instead of how to control."

Des was quiet. He looked like he was thinking deeply.

"I am the main manager for the Forest team, and I have to be responsible for the results of the team. If it was just a normal match between two other teams, I believe that we would all like to see the two teams have balanced ability and have lots of offensive play. I like that, too. However, what if it's a Forest match? What do you hope to see? You want to see Forest win, don't you? As long as Forest wins, nothing else would matter."

While Tang En was speaking, there was a commotion at the door as a group of fans was coming in to have some drinks and talk. Tang En looked back and saw the familiar faces of Michael and his gang. He said to Walker, "Look at Michael. They're always against me. So if you are unsure with what I said, you can ask for their opinion."

After that, Tang En took his glass and approached to them.

The big guy beside Michael saw Tang En first and he shouted, "Hey, did our main manager quit his job and become a barkeep now?" Then suddenly all eyes were were on Tang En.

Tang En felt thankful for this guy as the effect was exactly what he wanted. His tone was unkind. "I come here for drinking, fat fellow."

The big guy twitched his mouth. "What do you want from us?" His companions were all watching.

"Enough guys. I am not here to argue or fight with you today." Tang En waved his hands as he looked at their suspicious faces. "I just have one question for you guys."

"Why should we answer your question?" the big guy tried to rebuke.

"It's up to you to answer it or not. So my question is, as football fans, what kind of match do you enjoy to watch the most?"

All of them looked confused and had no idea why Tang En was asking the question. "Good matches, of course," someone answered.

"What is your definition of good matches?" Tang En did not know where did the voice had come from, so he stared at Michael while he loudly asked.

"More goals, perfect coordination, and magnificence!" the voice yelled back.

Behind him Walker shrugged his shoulders and shook his head at Burns.

"What if this does not make the team to win?" Tang En asked even louder.

That voice was then silent.

Tang En turned and said, "What if the magnificent kind of playing that you like does not lead to goals? Will you guys still like your team? Will you still go to the stadium and cheer for them every weekend? For what?"

"Because we love football, and we support Forest!" That big guy spoke, and many agreed with him.

Tang En scorned, "Then why did you stop supporting Forest when the results were not that good recently?"

"Because you did not get good results!" The big guy pointed at Tang En, as if what he said he had kept in his heart for a very long time. Others echoed their agreement.

Burns heard this answer and smiled. The people had unknowingly fallen into Tang En's trap.

"But you just said that what you supported is the team and that includes the time when the results are not so good. English fans are always loyal to their team, right?"

This made everyone speechless.

"That…that is for the honor, for our honor!" It took the big guy quite long to think up a response.

"For honor?" Tang En glared at him and asked. "Such a nice word to hear from your mouth. So I ask you where does the honor come from? Does from the sky, does it?"

The fat fellow was completely speechless. He was not that slow and stupid, and he could see why Tang En had asked, but he had already fallen into his trap.

"Let me tell you where the honor comes from!" Just as if Tang En was coaching during a match, he shouted, "The honor comes from victory! From the championship! The losing team has no honor to be shown and his fans have no honor, either. Only victory can bring you the honor!"

Walker said to Burns, "Tony drinks too much."

Burns nodded his head in agreement.

Tang En did drink a little bit too much that night. He had many things to say, and he wanted to say them all and to let everyone know. When he used to drink at bars in Chengdu, people would always laugh and look down at what he said, and that always end with a chaotic fight.

Now he was standing there, hoping that what he said could be agreed with and approved of by others.

"I have no doubt of your love to Forest. But I am also certain that no one would keep loving and supporting a team unconditionally that always lost. I despise losing, and I truly hope my team is always the winner after every match! This is the only way we will have the freaking honor to give you all! Honor does not drop from the sky if you just say it. It has to come from victory!"

After shouting this long message, Tang En felt more relaxed and then asked, "Tell me now, what kind of match do all of you prefer?"

The leader of the gang, Michael finally spoke. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about, Mr Twain? Of course we like victory. We'd like the team to be back in the Premier League after this season. We'd f*cking like the team to be the champions for the next season and then be the UEFA champions!"

Tang En looked at this "enemy" and laughed. "It seems like great minds think alike, Michael." Then he opened his arms widely and shouted to all the fans in the bar, "That's right! Victory! Champions! This is how I like my football. As long as I am the manager, the team will pursue victory. All for the victory! All for the championship! A team that cannot win is a lousy team, and the manager that is unable to lead the team to the championship is f*cking lousy!"

"Absolutely correct!" Someone took up his glass bottle and jumped on the table, waving his arms and shouted loudly. "I am f*cking loving victory and championship!" His words got everyone's enthusiastic reply.

Tang En saw everyone's zeal about what he said about winning and, holding his beer glass up high, said, "I will pay everyone's bill tonight. For victory! Cheers!"

"For victory!"

"Wow, wow..! For victory!"

"For the f*cking victory!"

"Cheers!!!"

The bar became like some crazy party with everyone holding their glasses high up, reflecting their extreme excitement and hysterical faces from the beer in the glasses.

Walker slowly shook his head as he saw Tang En opened his arms as if he wanted to hug the entire bar. "Ian told me that Twain is good at hyping the vibe in the locker room, but I think he is not hundred percent right. Tony is good at creating hype any time, anywhere."

"Agree," Burns took up his glass and bumped it with Walker's. "I like this slogan. For victory, cheers."

"Cheers!"

The drunks were still howling for "victory" and having a carnival with the alcohol. Twain turned back and walked over.

Walker put his hands up as if he surrendered. "I lost to you, Tony. I will support your tactics and just follow your idea of creating a team just for winning."

Tang En smiled proudly and looked at Burns.

"Tony. Eh, you know that I am a loyal Forest fan. A confirmed loyal fan who does not want to see his team lose, right?"

"I hear you. Kenny, Des, thank you so much."

"Not so fast, Tony. If your team does not winning and improve, I believe everyone here will throw you to the street naked," Kenny laughed.

"HAHAHA, I would never let that happen."

Burns hit Tang En's chest using his fist. "Please do a good job, Tony."

Without any further words, Tang En understood the expectation from a loyal and old fan.

"I will. My hope is for Forest to be in the Premier League next season. Then I will treat you to drinks."

Chapter 29: Crazy Gang Wimbledon Part 1

The bright morning sun woke Tang En up. The sunlight was shining into his bedroom from the open windows, and he suddenly felt it brilliant and intense on his face. He opened his eyes and the clock on the wall showed it was 9:40 a.m.

Tang En wiped away the saliva from his pillow and on his lip and sat up. His head ached. As he rubbed his temple, he tried to recall how he got home last night and how he had undressed for bed. He could only remember that he and the other drunken fans were drinking crazily together, but he had no memory of the exact amount he drank. He pulled out his wallet and saw that all his cash was gone. Tang En forced a smile; he now had an idea of how much he drank yesterday.

Jumping out of bed, he stood in front of the window in only his underwear. He looked up at the sky, the clouds, and the bright sun and smiled. The days were finally getting better after so much rain. He had convinced the people at the bar of his tactical theory last night. What he needed now was to insert this mind-set deeply into his players, the fans, the managers, and Chairman Doughty's heart and make them accept it as well.

It would not be an easy task.

Tang En put his hands up, wanting to touch the sky.

"For victory… Good morning!"

Nottingham Forest lost one of their players just as the winter transfer window was about to close. This was Tang En's first transaction since he had become the main manager. Jack Lester had made the decision to leave the team. His contract was up, and he did not initiate an extension with the club. In fact, he had already told the club he was leaving, and the marketing team of Forest had been searching for buyers for Lester. At first, it had not been easy attracting buyers for him. But because of the English FA Cup Match, during which he handled the ball spectacularly, he attracted a lot of attention. Four clubs made offers and eventually Sheff UTD got Lester's contract for two years at ￡300,000.

Tang En wasn't surprised by Lester's decision, as he knew that he would leave in the end. At least Lester was upfront and informed the club that he did not wish to extend his contract, allowing the club time to find buyers. If he had not notified the club and just left when his contract ended, Forest wouldn't have gotten anything. Although ￡300,000 didn't sound like much, as a team that has experienced financial crisis, every cent counted.

Tang En did not expect that Lester would actually thank him before he left.

At that time, Tang En was wearing a pair of sunglass and watching the team train from the sideline. Everyone was quite silent. The players had gotten used to Tang En's style and no longer found it strange.

Lester had gone back to take his things from the fitting room, but did not leave right away.

He walked back and approached Tang En.

Tang En took off his sunglass and looked at Lester. "Jack, anything important?"

"I am here to thank you."

"Huh?"

Lester was about to call Tang En "boss", then remembered that he was no longer on the Forest team. "Yes. I appreciate what you said to me at halftime during the West Ham match. See, I listened to what you said, and now I am playing football for myself. I was able to get a decent contract." He threw up his hands. "If you hadn't reminded me that day, I still might be living a meaningless life."

Tang En smiled. "Good. Do you still want to listen to me?"

Lester nodded his head.

"No matter where you are playing football, just remember that you are a professional player, and you must be worthy of every penny that you earn."

"Thanks, Manager. I got it."

"You should go. All the best to you, Jack." Tang En lowered his head and put the sunglass back on.

"Wish you all the best, too, Manager." Lester turned and walked out.

Lester's leaving did not cause any issues in Forest's locker room, as all were professional players and were used to this kind of thing. And furthermore, this had happened several times in the last two years.

In fact, Lester's leaving actually helped Tang En. At first, Lester, Harewood, and Johnson all had equal chance of playing, and none of them would have been happy with less playing time, which always troubled Paul Hart. Now that Tang En had David Johnson and Marlon Harewood as his strikers, one had speed and power, and the other had stamina and was good at dribbling. For Tang En it was a close to perfect match for strikers. Although Johnson's skills might not be better than Lester's, Tang En liked his attitude and teamwork. This kind of striker would stick to the tactic ideology and always follow it without making his own decisions.

For the allocation of players, Tang En got rid of the French right back Matthieu Louis-Jean, as he could not stand his clumsiness in right defense. If it wasn't for him, Tang En could have gotten his first victory at Coventry City. Tang En made the 20-year-old Irishman, John Thompson, the side back. Except for his somewhat weak throw-ins, he was still a capable player. Tang En could just assign others for throw-ins. Thompson's skillfulness in heading would enable him to assist the center back for defending and even help the midfield, which was just what Tang En needed.

Tang En did not modify any other allocation besides the right back. The formation would be the traditional 4-4-2 parallel. Tang En wanted to use the midfield diamond 4-4-2, as he always used this formation whenever he played the Football Manager Game, which focused on attacking the side from the front. However, this kind of formation was not really helpful during training because the players were not all used to it, given the fact that they had been playing the 4-4-2 parallel for a long time. They were not sure of their routes in the diamond formation. Also, there was no one for the front that could fulfil what Tang En expected, though initially he had thought Ian was the one. However, he would lose his thought every time he was about to enter the opponent's goal area during training. The problem with Andy Reid was that he preferred to be the wing.

Tang En sighed and gave up on the diamond formation, which gave the whole team a sign of relief. The English players had played parallel 4-4-2 for many years, and that formation had already been deeply rooted into their blood and it was definitely difficult for them to adapt to the new formation.

Although the formation would not be changed, Tang En wanted to change their understanding about the tactic, just like how he convinced Walker and Burns.

Tang En separated the midfield players into two teams, led by Walker and Bowyer respectively. The two teams trained themselves with high-speed passes that required them to start from the kickoff circle and could not exceed five passes before they entered the goal area. This training was specially designed and Tang En was observing the players and jotting down all the gaps and problems he saw so that he could modify the training to better cater to the players. He did not expect the team to fully understand his tactic and be very good at it yet. What he wanted to see were some changes.

At beginning of February, Nottingham Forest would have to go against Crazy Gang Wimbledon at their home stadium for their 30th league match. Tang En wanted to see some changes in this upcoming match, and most importantly, he needed a victory to prove and strengthen his new tactic.

Losing would destroy everything, while winning would help to save everything.

To win or not to win? That is the question…

Tang En used to play a game called CM (Champion Manager) before he ended up as Twain. Wimbledon was considered League One in the game, though the team had a few strong players. If it purely depended on the skills of the players, theoretically they would be able to get back to the Premier League after one season.

However the truth was… out of the current 29 league matches in the 02-03 season, they had accumulated 35 points and were ranked 17th.

The reality was that Tang En did not know there was a difference between the actual data and the excellent data of Wimbledon in the game. In real life, Wimbledon was no longer officially the Crazy Gang, at least their London fans would not credit them as such. The team had just moved out of Wimbledon, where they had been for 97 years, and transferred to a satellite city, Milton Keynes, that was located in Northern London. They even changed their name to the Milton Keynes Dons after two seasons.

However, the new Crazy Gang that had been widely recognized was the AFC Wimbledon, which has only been established for half a year. This was an amateur club that was initiated by Wimbledon Fans, and they have used the same badge and jersey color of the glorious Wimbledon of the past. The team participated in many non-professional league matches. The SI Company that designed the CM game sponsored this club and had their company logo printed. Many old CM players would remember the cover page of CM4, which depicted a goalkeeper that was jumping up and had the SI symbol on his jersey. That guy was the goalkeeper of AFC Wimbledon. Due to the sponsorship from SI company, there were many strong players in the CM game. For instance, the "dribbling genius" which was the 15-year-old boy, Serge Makofo, in CM4, was just an ordinary player in real life who did not possess exceptional speed, dribbling, and power. Another example was the left wing talent in the game, Lionel Morgan. In reality, he retired at 21 and became a manager.

Tang En did not know this before, and the truth was, the information would not have helped him at all. The only thing that he needed to know was that the current Wimbledon's performance was poor and perhaps that was related to their move.

Their last four league matches were not bad. They did not lose, nor did they win. Their 23rd, 24th, 28th, and 29th were all draws. The 26th and 27th league matches were delayed, which somehow affected their ranking.

Chapter 30: Crazy Gang Wimbledon Part 2

"The crazy gang of Wimbledon is a very dangerous team, but this will be a nice test for the past week of new training." Tang En was trying to get in a few last words in the changing room after the players had done their warm-up. "A few things to take note of. Be fast, simple, direct, and be productive! This is all I want to see from you! Go ahead guys!"

Tang En had replaced Walker as the main manager in the locker room. After making his new tactics clear and more well known to the Forest team, Tang En could finally stop hiding behind the scenes.

After a two-match suspension, Tang En was finally back in his manager role, and he was looking forward to the future. He enjoyed the feeling of commanding from the side during matches.

When the Forest players ran out of the tunnel, there was loud cheering from the fans in the home stadium. Tang En turned to Walker. "If we could go forward with a record of winning, the cheering would last forever and get even louder!"

"Always winning is not that easy, Tony." Walker shook his head.

"Wrong. It is super difficult. But why don't we give it a try?" Tang En applauded with the fans.

That's right, if we can win this match, then we must always win. If we can win every match, then let us just win all the way!

Ian Macdonald turned on the radio just in time at the main gate of Wilford training ground and listened to the 30th league match. Each morning of a home ground match day, Tang En would come to the training ground and talk to Macdonald at the gate. They talked about everything under the sun, from weather to international relations. What came up the most in their conversation was still football, and especially their favorite team.

Tang En promised to bring a victory to the supporters at the last home ground match. Sadly, it was a draw at the end. Tang En promised it again, and he asked Macdonald to wait for the good news beside the radio.

Hope everything goes well this time.

The match had already been going about 20 minutes, and Team Forest was doing what Tang En had asked them to do, executing what they had practiced in training during the match. They were now so different from what they used to be when they were focused on possession and coordination. The fans who were watching them and even the commentator, John Motson, noticed the difference.

"Today, our Forest team is a bit strange. If you asked me to use one word to describe them…I would say 'unfamiliar'. Same players, yet the way they're playing is unrecognizable."

Since the generation of Brian Howard Clough, Nottingham Forest was one of the representatives for the technique football in England, much earlier than Arsenal. Clough had a saying at that time to show his disdain against England's long ball. "If God wants us to play football in the clouds, then he should make them out of grass."

The current Forest, though not playing long ball, was so different from the traditional Forest that stressed on possession. After 25 minutes of the match, the screen of the TV showed the possession rate of the two teams. Wimbledon had exceeded Forest with a percentage of 54 percent versus 46 percent for Nottingham Forest.

"This is so weird. From my perspective, Forest has always had a high possession rate even when they lose. For instance, at the last match, they had a 64 percent possession rate, though they did not win." Motson had commentated football matches for 31 years, and he had witnessed Forest go from a League Two team to the champion of the UEFA, and thus he was very familiar with their tactics.

Tang En had taught Forest to pass through the midfield fast, but this caused them to lose the ball more easily. Most of the time, only after a few passes, there would be a problem when the midfielder was about to pass the ball to the strikers. The coordination between the striker and midfielder was not smooth. After that, they would lose the football to their opponents and had to defend. Luckily, Michael Dawson did a good job of always solving the crisis. He had just become the captain of the team, and his performance had proven his capability to the others, as he seemed to have matured overnight.

The score did not change for the entire 25 minutes. However, Tang En observed many things, and just as he was about to discuss them with Walker, there was a loud voice from the back.

"Tony Twain! What are you doing? Is this your promised victory to us?"

Tang En turned back and saw Michael's angry face and his middle finger pointing toward him.

"What did you change here? It's still draw."

"Look at the f*cking football your team is playing right now? This is not what Forest should be playing! Forest's strength and tradition is possession! Possession!"

Tradition again… Tang En was annoyed. Since he had come here, many had talked to him about "tradition", but he did not think following the so-called tradition could bring any benefit to the team. Can following tradition bring about winning? So he shouted back, "Shut up, Michael! I do not f*cking care how we win as long as we can win! The match only started 25 minutes ago, and why are you here shouting at me? If you continue, I will ask the security guards to chase you out!"

Michael stopped talking, but he was worried. What fan wouldn't be worried when his team didn't score?

Tang En sat back and realized Walker was laughing at him. "Tony, I remember when you were sitting here the second time. You did not respond to anything when Michael was heckling you."

Tang En shook his head and forced a smile. "Do you really want to tease me when the team has not won?"

"I don't think it's that bad yet." Tang En had not expected Walker to say that. "We were quite messed up in the first 10 minutes. But since then, team has played almost exactly what we covered in training. Their mistakes have gradually reduced, and their chances have increased. Tony, maybe your tactic works."

"Des, I'm going to think better of you now. I did not expect that you would be able to see it. Our situation is turning better now, and the reason for us not scoring yet is because we did not train the strikers and midfielders together. The strikes are not used to how the midfielders play now, and thus their coordination is not smooth."

Walker nodded his head. "I think it is better for us not to have such high hopes for this match. Maybe we still need some time before we can succeed."

Tang En stood up. "No, Des! I cannot wait for any more matches! I need that victory! This match must be won!" After he finished what he wanted to say, he took a deep breath and shouted onto the field.

"Mar—lon!!"

That shouting was loud and piercing enough to rise above all the other noise from the viewing platform.

Marlon Harewood heard the manager shouting his name and immediately turned and searched the sideline. Then he saw the manager was shouting at him with his whole body shaking.

"What are you doing? Didn't you sleep the night before? Did you have your lunch today?"

Harewood shrugged his shoulders, pointed to himself, and wondered why the manager was saying those things to him.

"Run! Keep running!" Tang En waved his arms as if he were a turning windmill. "Try to get Andy's pass and shoot it! If you don't, I will take you out!"

Tang En went back to the managers' seats after shouting. Harewood was stunned and tried to process what Tang En said. Then he realized that the manager was not happy with his performance.

Despite working together for a while, Walker was shocked at what Tang En had just done. Never had any manager coached a match in this way.

"Tony, calm down… this is just a match, not war."

Tang En gnashed his teeth and said, "No, this is war!"

I might lose my job if this team can't win! Isn't that serious enough to affect one's survival?

"Furthermore, I am very calm. I am as calm as an ice mountain." Tang En was back in his seat and, obviously, Walker could not believe what he said.

Tang En's way was rude, yet direct. The lack of cooperation between the striker and midfielder was due to the new training. In order to tackle this completely, more training and matches were required, and yet there was not sufficient time for that. Special ways have to be used to deal with special circumstances. Since both of them were struggling to get each other's passes, they must keep running until they get the ball. Each success will mean a chance.

Although Forest had many problems and their performance was not very good after all, the manager of Wimbledon was the one complaining and scolding the most. He had done so much research and investigation on Forest's tactics, allocation, and formation before the match, hoping that they could beat them on their home ground. He had never expected that they would face a totally new Nottingham Forest from the start of the match. This meant that the entire week of special training in order to compete with Forest was wasted, which really annoyed him.

Seeing the manager of Forest shouting something at the side, he decided to do something as well. He walked up to the side and ordered his team to attack more. Since Forest's performance was so poor with all the mistakes being made, his team had many chances to counter break. As a result, there was no need for him to follow the defending and counter-break plan that he had made before the match. By making some changes to his formation and moving them forward, he might increase the pressure on Nottingham Forest, and perhaps get some better results.

Indeed, some unexpected results were yet to come.

Chapter 31: Must Win Part 1

The manager of Wimbledon, Stuart Murdoch, and Keith Rupert Murdoch, were not related, though they had an identical family name. The latter was a well-known media mogul, while the former was just the manager of a league team just like Tony Twain, who only had a local reputation.

This season was his first time being the main manager of a team. Wimbledon's poor record was a reflection of his capability. He had poor judgement about what was going on in the match and then made wrong decisions based on his assessments, which continued causing the team to lose.

Like at that moment, he had just asked the team to push the formation forward, and they were knocked down by Forest's counter break.

Forest's captain, Michael Dawson, stole the ball from Wimbledon captain Nigel Reo-Coker's pass, and then he directly passed the ball to the wing Andy Reid. Reid brought the ball forward and then passed to the attacking midfielder Eoin Jess.

When he saw Jess get the ball, Harewood thought of what Tang En had just shouted at him, and he really believed that he might get replaced, though it was not even 30 minutes into the match. So he did not dare relax and was searching for the chance to get the ball.

After Wimbledon brought their formation forward, there was a lot of space behind them, which looked like big portions of English countryside scattered all over the place.

Eoin Jess saw all the spaces, and he had to make a snap decision about through which one he would shoot the ball, and not just pass the ball into any space. Whether there was anyone that could get there to pass the ball to was another problem.

Harewood ran to his left and the full back, Leigertwood, of Wimbledon, chased after him. There was temporary space. Where was Johnson?

Jess turned back, searching for him, and he saw that Johnson had the chance to break through from the right to the center. So he stopped hesitating and kicked the ball directly. The ball rolled across to the goal area, passing through Wimbledon's defense!

Johnson started running simultaneously, went diagonally across the midfield, and got the ball at the back.

Then the center back, Dean Lewington, raised up his hands to show the referee that Johnson was offside and was almost giving up on counter attacking.

The assistant referee did not raise the flag and the main referee did not blow the whistle. There was a loud cheering from the viewing platform of the City Stadium.

"Johnson and Davis are currently one on one!"

Wimbledon's goalkeeper, Kevin Davis, had played in the Premier League, and he had fast reflexes and agility. He was especially good at competing with strikers one on one. Compared to the goalkeeper, Johnson was the lesser experienced player.

Johnson, seeing that Davis was about to defend, immediately shot the ball skilfully toward the back corner of the goalmouth. Davis had an even faster reaction, and as he jumped out to one corner, he put his leg out to the far corner. The ball just barely bounced off the tip of his toe and flew out to the other side the penalty area.

Hundreds of Wimbledon fans cheered after the nerve-racking moment. Davis had saved the team, as well as saved their hearts.

But no…the test for their hearts was not over yet.

While Jess passed the ball to the center, Harewood had just run that route, and he thought that he had missed out on his chance again. However, the ball approached him.

What about the goalkeeper? He was still lying on the ground, and Harewood could feel Leigertwood madly wanting to steal the ball.

This is going to be my last chance, and if I cannot shoot it in, I am going to be replaced! I will never let that happen!

Harewood did not have time to think. He tried his best to block Leigertwood behind him, and then he did a diving header!

The ball shot into the goalmouth!

The depressed energy of City Stadium was all at once released! The red viewing platform looked like the mouth of the volcano with hot magma flowing out!

The commentator shouted the shooter's name throughout the stadium! "Marlon—!"

Followed by about 30,000 fans cheering, "Harewood!!"

Tang En jumped from his chair, threw his fists in the air, and hugged the people around him in celebration.

"How many passes?" he asked Walker, and Walker answered excitedly, "Four passes!"

"Great! This is the evidence!"

"Tony! We have played what we trained for…"

"Please keep it up."

Harewood ran over after Tang En had just finished talking with Walker, "Are you still going to replace me?"

"Not enough! I need one more goal!" Tang En replied happily. "And many more!"

The radio was saying that today's Forest was strange, that they were playing with an unfamiliar style that was totally different from the usual Team Forest, and that no goals had been made yet. MacDonald worried that something was wrong with the team.

He was still worrying when he heard sharp shouting from the radio.

"Harewood! And Goooal!!! The score is 1:0! Nottingham Forest is in the lead."

The old man MacDonald jumped out of the small room and was shouting and waving his arms around with the sounds from the radio. He felt like one of the fans on the viewing platform with all the others who wore red jerseys for Forest and were jumping around, cheering wildly for their team.

Upon finishing his own celebration, the old man was about to go back to the room and continue listening to the rest the match. At the same time, more excited shouting came from the radio. "It's a…? It's a Goal!!! Again Marlon Harewood scoring to make it 2:0!"

When Harewood smashed the football into the goalmouth, the commentator Motson hesitated. The loud cheering and applause from the viewing platform of the stadium had made the camera lens wiggle, and he was not sure whether the ball really was shot in. Then he immediately spotted David Johnson and Eoin Jess waving their arms in excitement, and Wimbledon's goalkeeper, Kevin Davis, looking crushed. He had tried to block it, but, undoubtedly, it was a goal!

"This is way too exciting! In the first 29 minutes, Forest's performance was somewhat lacking, but they just scored two goals in just three minutes! Marlon Harewood is the new hero here, and he has really done a fine job!"

After Tang En waved his fists at Michael, he turned back to Walker. "Fast! Direct! Simple! Productive! Wimbledon never expected us to play like this and the second goal is all the proof! I just said one is not enough to Marlon and then he made another goal. I couldn't ask for more from him!"

Walker laughed. "All the players are amazing. Maybe you don't know that because of what you did during halftime at West Ham United that made the players look up to you and willing to follow you. Your first approach as manager was quite a success because you gained their trust."

Tang En scratched his head. He had never thought that acting on his passions and whims could have helped him so much.

For the remainder of the half, the possession rate of Forest did not increase. People realized that Forest was the team holding down the situation. They continuously threatened Wimbledon's goalmouth, and if it was not Kevin Davis, Nottingham Forest would have gotten many more goals.

Tang En was quite satisfied that Forest was in the lead.

The first half of the match ended in a blink. The home team was two goals ahead. The fans sitting on the viewing platform gave all of their applause to Forest and its manager.

Chapter 32: Must Win Part 2

In the changing room during halftime, Tang En praised Harewood for his excellent performance for the first half, as well as all the other players. They played according to how they had trained before the match and achieved that ideal standard. Tang En didn't have much to say. He just asked the team to keep performing like they had in the first half.

It was totally different from the other changing room.

Stuart Murdoch vented all his anger on his players and scolded them all, including goalkeeper Davis, even though his performance had been impressive.

"…Damien Francis, David Connolly, and Neil Shipperley, what were three of you doing? I can point it out for you if you don't know where Forest's goalmouth is! Nigel Reo-Coker, you are the captain and you should being standing out now, be it a goal or assisting players. Stop running around for no reason! Dean Lewington! This is your first time playing on the first team. Please be more energetic and do a good job if you do not want to go back to your reserve team!"

After scolding the team, Murdoch took a relief breath.

"We just moved this season and lost many fans. No matter what, we are still holding up the reputation of Wimbledon, and we are still the Crazy Gang! Was Crazy Gang ever afraid of other b*stards? What you have just played was a total shame for the Crazy Gang! Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise, Lawrie Sanchez, Dave Beasant, and Jack Cork… If only they were still here!" Murdoch said their names one by one, adding emphasis to each name, and then he pointed angrily at the ground. "They would have shouted at us to smash all those b*stards from Forest! This is what the Crazy Gang does! We have slowly lost this spirit in recent years, and I want it back today!!"

When the second half of the match began, Tang En and Walker were sitting at the managers' seats calmly talking. Behind them, Michael had shut his mouth. Everything was going very well.

However, in just five minutes' time, Tang En was not so relaxed. Only five minutes into the second half, Wimbledon had a total of seven fouls and had gotten two yellow cards. The ground was very messy and many players were off their feet! Looking at this, Tang En recalled the second half of the match between Forest and West Ham…

His tactic became more useless under Wimbledon's brutal defense, and more mistakes were made. The players seemed to be avoiding body contact with Wimbledon, who seemed as though they were playing rugby instead of football.

Murdoch had become very lively compared to the first half, as he was standing at the side shouting, "Shovel their feet!! Idiots!"

Tang En heard it clearly. "That b*stard…" He had said the same thing at halftime when they played West Ham, but he was not raging enough to shout it openly at this match.

"This is normal, Tony. At the time when I was playing, managers always shouted stuff like that," Walker tried to explain to Tang En, as he had never heard that kind of talk before, like he was the old Twain.

"No, Des. You misunderstood what I mean. I know this is normal. I do it as well. But I cannot stand it when they use this defense against my team." This was one of Tang En's pet peeves. Walker shrugged his shoulders and did not say a word as he thought Tang En was just being stubborn.

After another 10 minutes, the situation in the match had not changed. Wimbledon used their barbarous ways to take the initiative in the match. Even Motson said if the match continued to be like this, Forest's captain would be the best player, as he was being constantly challenged, and almost all the cameras were on him.

This kind of match provided an opportunity to train the full back, but Tang En preferred that his full back not get trained like this. He was anxious and could not sit still. How to tackle their barbarous ways of playing?

He thought for awhile, and the only solution he could think of was to pray the referee would be strict and send some players off the field. However, there were many wild footballers in England's lower league, and the referee might already be used to them. The most they could do was blow the whistle, stop the game, and give verbal warnings. Only for serious fouls would the referee then issue cards.

Tang En had also realized that the manager of Wimbledon assigned his players to take turns committing fouls instead of letting one or two players take charge. Thus, this could divert the referee's attention and lower the probability of receiving cards. This kind of capitalist is really cunning.

It was not accurate to say Tang En was not helpful, although he couldn't think of a solution. In the past, during Wimbledon's best times, they made Liverpool lose face, cry in the changing room, and give up the FA Cup. Moreover, they also caused Manchester United and Giggs to surrender. It was difficult to adjust to their barbarous ways in the middle of a match, and so they were promoted through three leagues in four years' time and were FA Cup champions in five.

Of course, the current Wimbledon was already not the scary and fierce Crazy Gang of the past, but the problem was that Nottingham Forest was also not the red tornado they used to be. Both teams were about the same, and thus there seemed to be no way to tackle it.

After 14 minutes, Wimbledon attacked even more. It seemed as if they had abandoned defending, and there was a lot of space left in the backfield. Any shot from far away could have gotten a goal. However, under their crazy offense at the front field, Forest just could not pass the halfway line.

Wimbledon got three continuous shots, and then they got a corner kick. Except for the goalkeeper, Kevin Davis, almost everyone else was rushing in front of the Forest goalmouth and positioning themselves.

Johnson followed the tactic and stayed at the kickoff circle waiting for the counter break. He looked at all the empty space around him and was puzzled.

What's wrong with Wimbledon? The match has only gone on for less than 60 minutes, and they are so hard-core. Yet this is also a chance to shoot a goal, and if I do, they'll realize there's no reason to play like this.

He held his fist tight. Harewood has already gotten two goals. I must have at least one goal, too.

As a result, he stood at the kickoff circle, ready to run. He turned back, looking at the crowd in front of his own team's goalmouth.

Wimbledon's midfielder, Damien Francis, made a corner kick, followed by a header done by Leigertwood! Forest's penalty area was suddenly chaotic. In this messy situation, Dean Lewington at the back quickly sent a diving header!

"It's a goal! Wimbledon has a goal! It was Dean Lewington! This is his first official match of this season, and he brings hope for Wimbledon!"

The hundreds of loyal Wimbledon fans celebrated on the viewing platform. The crazy team players surrounded Lewington, and all were celebrating the goal that brought back their faith and hope.

Johnson could not help but wave his hands when he saw Wimbledon celebrating. He just stayed at the kickoff point and did not move.

From the moment when Wimbledon was ready to take the corner kick, Tang En was leaning his body out of the manager's seat. After seeing Lewington get the goal, he shrugged his shoulders with disappointment and regret. The noise from the Wimbledon side roared, as manager Murdoch lifted both of this arms and ran up and down the field. He hugged anyone he saw, and there was loud cheering from the substitutes' bench.

Tang En turned back a few times to look at them and mumbled, "It's just a goal and they're so joyful. What losers!"

This goal alarmed him. Wimbledon's strong attacks at the front of the field had caused Forest to struggle. In the last 10 minutes, Eoin Jess had not stood out at all, and it was time to substitute him out.

Tang En decided to substitute in a defensive midfielder to get the control of midfield back and beat off Wimbledon's arrogance. He asked Walker to call Eugen Bopp who was warming up.

Nineteen-year-old Eugen Bopp was not English, but a German born in Ukraine. He had been under Bayern München Junior team and was once selected for the U-16 National Team of Germany. He was found by Paul Hart in Germany and just came to Nottingham last season. He had already represented the first team, being fielded 19 times and had one goal on his record.

Tang En trusted Paul Hart, and this little guy was indeed not bad. His height was 183 cm with weight of 81kg. Due to his experience under the of German traditional football training, he had excellent tenacity and a strong body to play. These characteristics were what Tang En needed for this match.

Ever since Tang En had become the manager, Bopp had only played a complete match once, and he thought that he was about to lose his position under the eyes of the new manager. So when he heard Walker calling for him, he ran over immediately. Tang En was very pleased with Bopp's attitude, nodded his head and then started to tell him the tactic. "Eugen, have you seen our situation on the field?"

"Not very good, manager…" He used broken English. "They snatched very fiercely and fast."

Tang En smiled. "Correct, they attacked very fiercely and are even faster than us. So I want you to play and partner with Scimeca to be in charge of the midfield, and your main task is to defend. Concentrate on 26 (Reo-Coker) and 8 (Francis) who are the core, as they started all the defense and attacking. I want you to cut off their connection and at the same time… be crazier than Wimbledon and try to tackle their balls at the midfield. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, as I want midfield to be as messy as possible. Can you do that?"

Bopp nodded his head after every sentence that Tang En had said, and lastly he nodded hard and said, "Don't worry, manager. I can do this." He hoped that he could use his good performance to convince the manager and assure a bright future for his career.

Tang En patted Bopp's shoulder and asked him to change. He then took a water bottle and was about to drink to relieve his anger. As he just turned the cap, he saw that annoying manager jumping out of the manager's seat again on the other side.

Eh?

He turned immediately and saw Wimbledon was celebrating again.

What just happened? Are they still celebrating the previous goal?

He turned to look at the TV screen, and it clearly showed the score of 2:2!

What the hell! It's been less than five minutes! Tang En was so pissed off that he threw the water bottle. Some of the spraying water sprinkled the fourth referee, and he was stunned. Tang En immediately pretended that nothing had happened and walked quickly to the managers' seats, and asked Walker what happened.

"Francis had a long shot…," Walker answered numbly.

"F*cking b*stard!" Tang En scolded, and then he did not know what to say. Bopp, who just took off his singlet and was standing at the substitutes' bench, was not sure what to do. He plucked up his courage and asked the manager who was extremely unhappy.

"Manager…do I still substitute in?"

"Of Couse! Why not! Go and shovel all these b*stards!" he pushed Bopp out.

Tang En felt even more pissed off seeing Murdoch jumping around happily. The two-goal lead had turned into a draw, how could he still be in a good mood?

Bopp stood at the side expectantly, passionately doing his last warm-ups, when he suddenly heard the manger calling him again.

"Eugen, shovel their feet! Do not care about committing fouls! If you get sent off the field, I will go and complain to FA!" Tang En put his hands on his mouth in the shape of trumpet and shouted, "Anyway, I am their friend…"

He would never allow today's victory to turn into draw. Perhaps Walker thought it was nothing serious, and he did not mind waiting for a few more rounds. On the other hand, Tang En did not want to wait anymore. At the Forest Bar that day, what he said about how he detested losing… he really meant it. He truly hated losing. As a Chinese fan, had he not encountered enough failure?

In china, both of my life and football were all bad as hell! Now God has given me another chance of living life again. I never want to taste failure again. I must win! Always win!

Chapter 33: Final Hit Part 1

Jess shook hands with Eugen sadly and then walked to the player's corridor. Despite his help with scoring that one goal, he knew that the worsened situation at the second half of the match was partly due to his performance in the midfield. Tang En approached and stopped him.

"You have done enough, Eoin. Don't worry. Go take a shower and come back to watch us play. We are going to win."

Jess looked at Twain with disbelief about what he just said.

The young manager opened his mouth wide and laughed. "Want to make a bet, Eoin?"

"This is really unbelievable! After Forest scored two goals, and when everybody thought there was no hope for Wimbledon, look at where they are now… from forest having two goals at the first half in four minutes and absolutely at the advantage to Wimbledon showing their full potential with two goals in four minutes. Now it is a draw!" While Motson was commentating, he thought of a question to himself. As long as Tony Twain is managing, will the matches always be this dramatic? With him, it seemed there would always be something to look forward to.

"After losing two goals, Twain has begun to substitute players. He subbed in the young German player, Eugen Bopp, to replace the experienced Eoin Jess. But I feel certain that his decision was based on Wimbledon's first goal, as the second one came way too suddenly and unexpectedly."

It was true. No one had expected the second goal, including the manager, Murdoch. His celebration of the second goal was not as crazy as the first one, as he merely hugged his assistant manager and clapped his hands.

Tang En glanced at him and realized he had become even more annoying than before. If it was really going to end with a draw, he would not attend the press conference so that he could avoid that annoying face. If this old guy were to say something arrogant at the conference, like "we ought to have won the match" or "we could have gotten three goals", Tang En was afraid that he might not be able to control himself and plug the microphone into his big mouth.

Anyway, Tang En was in a damn bad mood! Thank god the performance of the young German made his mood slightly better.

Eugen Bopp made his first tackle, as he stole the ball from Reo-Coker in the central midfield and passed it to Williams at the side. Although they lost the ball in the end, his remarkable performance got applause from the fans and even Tang En gave him a thumbs-up.

Bopp became more active after receiving confirmation and compliments from the fans and his manager. Afterwards, fans and commentators would always remember scenes like these.

Wimbledon had gained possession with their fierce tackling. But Eugen Bopp immediately tackled the ball again. Feeling the pressure, Bopp passed the ball to Andy Reid, who passed to Gareth Williams, but they lost the ball under Wimbledon's continual attacks. Wimbledon decided to make a fast break for Forest's goal area, wanting to score another goal and win the match. However, the ball got tackled again by Bopp and Scimeca when it just entered the midfield.

Usually in two minutes, possession could go between the two teams three to four times.

Even in the situation when the ball could not be tackled, Bopp would find ways to commit fouls to reduce the opposing team's speed and rate of attacks. His stamina was not a problem, since he had just entered the field. It was at least better than the Wimbledon players, who had been tackling the ball for half of the match.

The result was that neither team could efficiently attack. Each side made many mistakes.

Tang En, on the other hand, was rather satisfied with the situation and said to Walker, "We've successfully delayed them. Bopp has done a great job. Perhaps it is time to give him more opportunities."

Walker agreed with what Twain said about Bopp, but was not optimistic about the current situation. "Bopp's performance in this last season has been commendable. But even if we stop Wimbledon from attacking us, we are still unable to attack. Are you satisfied with a draw now, Tony?"

"Of course a draw is not enough, but we have to give the team some time to prepare and adapt." Tang En was not very confident either. The increase of defense at the midfield was at the expense of lowering their attacking strength. Though Eoin Jess was not good at defending, his passing skills and experience were still commendable. Do we now have to solely depend on Andy Reid?

Tang En suddenly thought of something and asked Walker how much time was remaining in the match.

"Not counting the injury stoppage time, we still have 17 minutes."

"Should be enough. Des, call Cash back."

Bopp has put in a lot of effort to balance the situation, and we cannot just let his efforts go to waste. As the head manager, Tang En had to make the adjustment accordingly, if not he would be the sinner in the end.

The 20-year-old midfielder, Brian Cash, was able to play both wings in the midfield. His ability to pass and shoot was nothing special. As a wing player, his skill to cross from the byline was just ordinary. However, he had one plus point that made Tang En appreciate him, which was his excellent dribbling technique. Cash did not have speed, but was a player who solely depended on his skills.

Because the four key players in the midfield had been confirmed, Cash and Bopp had to be substitutes instead. They might not play at every match, but there were situations that required their specific skills and abilities. Today's match would be an example.

Eugen Bopp's presence on the field proved that Tang En's thinking was correct. Since the defending side had become more stabilized, he needed to counter strike now.

Cash came to the coach's seats, and Tang En told him that he only needed to do one thing when he entered the field. "Break through, break through, and break through! Don't be afraid of Wimbledon's defenders, because they have no more to show. Do you see them panting for breath? Just use your skills to play with them, irritate them, and break through them! As long as their defensive line is messed up by you, we will get our chance."

Speaking to this point, Cash asked, "Boss, how much do you want me to stir them up?"

Tang En was stunned and said, "Stir them up until they become juice!"

"Got it!"

"You got it?"

"Yes. Just like cutting an apple into pieces and putting it in a blender."

Tang En opened his eyes wide and looked at this Irishman. "Oh, god, your analogy is perfect! That's right. Do it just like that! Except let's change apple to nuts. Go ahead and smash them to pieces!"

Chapter 34: Final Hit Part 2

Cash subbed in for Gareth Williams who had used up so much stamina from the seesaw battle with Wimbledon and would not be as efficient if he stayed on the field.

Walker watched Twain sub Cash in and was puzzled. "Tony, I thought you said you do not care for possession and spectacular scenes."

"Des, no tactic is absolute and no manager would refuse to make changes to them. If he did, he would not be a capable manager. I have said that I do not need unnecessary possession, but the problem now is that we don't even have basic possession. That is why I sent Cash in, to gain more possession. Zero possession is definitely not going to win, and 'useless possession' does not mean to abandon possession completely, but to abandon the extra and redundant possession. Do you understand now?"

Walker hesitated and then nodded. "I think I more or less understand."

Tang En sighed and was thinking that this was the reason why he had become head manager directly, and why some people had to work hard their entire lives to be an assistant manager. "Des, you have to remember what tactics are for. They are just ways of winning the match. If one fails to work, there is always another one. Just like how we change clothes daily. Maybe one day I will no longer use the useless possession theory and change back to the tactic that focuses on possession."

"Ah! I got it. It means no matter what the process is, you are just looking at the winning result. As long as you can win, it does not matter which tactic you use."

Tang En glanced at him. "You finally got it, Des."

Cash soon created a chance for Johnson to shoot, but sadly, the header was too high. This was followed by loud cheering from the viewing platform, which was mostly for Cash.

The players of Wimbledon tackled the ball frequently while defending, using enormous actions. Perhaps they just wanted to show off their vigor. But this kind of defense was Cash's favorite.

Tackling frequently meant more empty space behind. Defending with big actions took more time, which meant more weaknesses for Cash to find points to break through.

"Cash! He broke through again! Nicely done!"

After a few more rounds of this, Wimbledon started to put more defense on the right where Cash was. Tang En asked Cash and Reid to cross change their positions once Wimbledon tackled Cash. Cash would go wherever Wimbledon had weaker defense, which included breaking through from the central midfield.

His purpose was to mess up Wimbledon's defense and make it so that their players could not stick to any of Forest's players. Cash was still full energy, and it was relatively easy for him to run all over the field.

Wimbledon's manager felt something needed to be done after a few threats had been imposed by Forest on their goalmouth. To adjust, Murdoch substituted his last player, though unwillingly. Before that, he had already substituted two attacking players, which had created the crazy gang vibe. Now he had to take one out, and in the end he substituted in a tall defending midfielder for Morgan, who had used up his stamina. He hoped that his adjustment could thwart Twain's attempt to control the midfield.

Tang En knew what Murdoch was thinking when he saw his adjustment. As time went by, it would be ideal for Wimbledon to get one more goal. Especially since they had been down by two at the start and then made a comeback to even the score. One more goal in the end would make it the ultimate win for them.

Tang En was not satisfied with this situation on home ground. Furthermore, after being two goals ahead and then giving up two goals, they could not allow Wimbledon to have another goal. Did such a generous team exist in the world?

He had last the board in his hand, and there were only three players on the substitutes' bench. They were reserved striker Craig Westcarr, reserved backfield Christian Edwards, and reserved goalkeeper Barry Roche.

Tang En was not confident about Westcarr's abilities, and he might not help with attacking if he were substituted in. The remaining two were defending players. Goalkeeper Ward had done well today, so there was no need to replace him. What can a substitute center back do?

He turned back and saw Edwards doing warm-ups. He was quite tall…speaking of tallness, Tang En suddenly recalled the match with West Ham when Dawson got a header into the goalmouth that not counted by the stupid referee.

Why can't this be done?

As a result, he decided to use the last substitute board. He let Edwards sub for Dawson as center back, but did not take the captain off the field. Instead, the exhausted Harewood was subbed out, and Dawson was asked to be the striker.

When Edwards heard about this allocation, he almost thought he heard it incorrectly. Tang En explained it to him clearly and asked him to tell it to Dawson exactly—tell him to compete for a header and try to shoot it in. If not, Dawson could pass to other players.

Edwards told Dawson what Tang En said after he was fielded, and Dawson looked at the side in shock. In turn, Tang En gave him a "go ahead" gesture.

Harewood started to apologize to Twain. "Sorry, Boss."

Tang En felt strange. "Why are you saying sorry, Marlon?"

"I did not get more goals…"

Tang En smiled. "You already have two. How many more do you want? You have given your best. Please stop thinking so much."

After Harewood left, Tang En did not go back to the manager's seats. Instead, he was standing at the side, with his arms folded, watching the match. He always believed that by doing this, he was able to give some confidence and determination to the players. A manager that always sat in the manager's seats was never a good one.

The time passed by quickly. There was still no change in the score.

"Without the more goals, this match could end on a boring note," Motson complained.

What he said was true. By how the match was played, it was not very exciting for neutral fans to watch. Most people would switch to another channel if they saw a match like this. However, it was a different story for the fans of the two teams. They didn't care about which team played better or which showed off better skills. They cared about which team would win in the end.

Just like their fans, Tang En did not bother with whether his team played well. He only cared whether the team could win this match.

Just another five more minutes before the match reached injury stoppage time. Until then, except for substitutions for both teams, there had been no interruptions. Normally, the injury stoppage time would only be three minutes.

One goal needed to be achieved in eight minutes.

The arrival of Dawson at the front caused some confusion for Wimbledon, and sadly they did not grasp the situation. Dawson was not a striker. He did not know shooting besides heading, and both his passing and dribbling were only so-so. Tang En's decision was rather risky. If they won in the end, then it would be appreciated. However, if they lost… Tang En might be accused of abusing tactics and misusing the allocation.

The football world was just that cruel. The victor is a king, and the defeated is an invader.

Tang En did not want to be the invader. He only wanted to be the king… Who did not want to be the king?

His feet trembled, and he felt a huge pressure threatening to swallow him, waiting to engulf him. He did not show any of this, as he did not want anyone to see his weakness, especially those omnipresent cameras.

Another three minutes had passed. Forest's fans from the viewing platform were cheering louder and louder, but Wimbledon's fans were rather silent. Tang En looked at the direction of the viewing platform and saw red arms waving everywhere. The fans have not given up yet, so there was no reason for the Forest team to give up.

"Attack! Attack! I do not want a draw!" Tang En was standing at the side and shouting, "Draw is the same as f*cking losing! Give your all!"

He was not worried that Wimbledon would counterattack, as Eugen Bopp's performance was too perfect. He had control over the left, the right, and even the midfield, and Wimbledon could not compete with him.

The fourth official was holding the board for stoppage, and it was three minutes, just as Tang En had expected.

Tang En stared at the board in the hands of the fourth official and started biting his lips tightly. The hope was slowing draining from him. If it were a draw, then undoubtedly, it would be a failure. Even with two goals right at the beginning they could not stay ahead… f*cking sh*t!

Tang En turned back and looked at Michael, as he wanted to see his face now. Must be disappointed. He did not win the match with West Ham, and this match would be the same… but what did he see?

"Forest go! Go! Forest! Forest! Forest Go! Go!" Michael and all the other fans were cheering and applauding for Forest. They shouted those words with order and rhythm. Tang En suddenly felt like crying. These were the real, traditional English fans. They were loyal and never ask for anything back. They loved their team more than anything else. Having such fans, what is there to worry about for the future of Forest?

The 90-minute match had reached the end, and injury stoppage time started.

Eugen Bopp tackled and stole the ball away from Wimbledon vigorously, and then passed to Andy Reid. The 20-year-old player had taken charge of the attacking for the match. The newly substituted Norwegian Wimbledon defending midfielder, Trond Andersen, created trouble for Reid. Both were tangled together, and it seemed Forest's attack was going to be futile again.

The Norwegian kicked fiercely, and there were many times when he kicked directly into Reid's ankle. Reid would have fallen and rolled on the ground so the opposing team would have gotten cards and he would have gotten a free kick. However, that would not have been helpful at that point. A free kick with a distance from the goalmouth of more than 40 meters was not going to help.

Reid was pissed off by Anderson's kicks and tried his best to block him. No matter how hard Anderson kicked him, he protected the ball and looked around for other players.

"Cash? Where is he?!"

Cash had seen Reid's plight, but he could not shout loudly, as that would attract the Wimbledon full back's attention.

At the same time Bopp had seen the struggle in attacking. Though he was only asked to defend by the head manager, he still decided to help Reid.

"Hey, Andy!" Bopp's voice came from Reid's diagonal back. "Pass me the ball!"

Reid could not see his teammates, but he still passed the ball according to the direction of that voice.

With no hesitation, Bopp got the ball and made a long pass immediately to where it should have gone a long time ago—to the right side of the field. Brian Cash rushed over as there was no one stuck to him to defend him, and he stopped the long pass. However, two opposing defenders came over just after Cash stopped the ball.

No one had held any hope for Forest's attempt to attack this time, except for their fans. Motson spoke in his usual tone and speed for the last three minutes of the match. Who the hell knew whether this was going to be Forest's last attack?

"Brian Cash, there are two Wimbledon players on him…oh! He went through!"

Again there was loud cheering from the viewing platform. Cash squeezed himself through with the ball. Before him, there was a large empty area!

What to do besides increase his speed now?

Cash kicked the ball forward, not bothering with the opponents behind anymore, as he rushed to the end line.

"Leigertwood tries to defend him, he is very fast, he comes up! Cash… nice!" Motson yelled excitedly.

Cash's flawless dodge had made Motson, who had been a commentator for 31 years, extremely animated. The Irish guy kicked the ball aside when Leigertwood was about to tackle it. While Leigertwood did not get the ball, Cash jumped up and did a header. After that, he ran after the ball and was almost to the end line.

Tang En watched nervously, and when he saw Cash dodge Leigertwood, he began to repeat one word. "Pass, pass, pass… pass the ball!"

Cash adjusted himself a bit, and as if he had heard Tang En's shouting, he passed the ball to the front of the goalmouth.

"Cash passes the ball, and Michael Dawson gets it! A header… Johnson…Yes! Yes! Johnson! Gooooal!!!" Motson jumped off his seat with his microphone. "This is a goal at the 90th minute! Last shot! David Johnson! 3:2, Forest!"

The whole City Ground Stadium started to shake when Johnson shot the ball in that had been headed from Dawson. The viewing platform, VIP box, manager's seats, substitutes' bench, and even behind the goalmouth… bars outside the stadium, in taxis, in front of the TV… and everywhere, people were jumping around, holding their arms up, and cheering for the victory!

Johnson was surrounded by all his teammates, and even the goalkeeper ran over to celebrate with them. This was their first victory since the 24th league match on the 21st of December last year!

Tan En squatted down with joy and clenched his fist. Then he stood up and looked at the manager's seats, where Walker hugged Bowyer, and Bowyer's neat white hair had turned messy. The substituted Jess, Williams, and Harewood jumped down from the substitute's bench and ran toward their celebrating team. That speed… was not unlike how they had just run on the field.

This was the joy after victory…

"Won! I f*cking won!"

Tang En shouted loudly with extraordinary enjoyment.

Chapter 35: Hello, My Fair Lady Part 1

The day after the match, page nine in the sports section of the Nottingham Evening Post had a large photo, which took up half of the entire page. The photo was taken of Twain shaking his arms and shouting against a sea of red in the stands from the opposite side of the technical area. This was the scene when he celebrated the third goal.

Tang En repeatedly scrutinized this photo while eating a simple breakfast. He had to admit that this photo was well taken, the angle and timing chosen were just right. Of course, the best thing was that the main subject of this photo was Manager Tony Twain.

The caption below the photograph read: "When David Johnson scored the winning goal, Tony Twain celebrated with his arms raised high in the air amidst wildly cheering fans."

The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. Tang En decided to call the newspaper, look for the photographer, and then purchase a large print of it to frame and hang in the house. This was his glorious moment, and he wanted to treasure it forever.

So, he called the Evening Post office number which he found in the newspaper.

The day after each match day was always the busiest day for the British newspapers. People were rushing in and out, busy writing the news pieces from the gathered information, or sending the completed news layouts to the printing press.

There was the constant sound of ringing phones in the newspaper building.

"Hello, Nottingham Evening Post." The receptionist said politely to the receiver. Two seconds later, her professional smile was gone from her face.

Tang En, who was on the other end of the phone, thought it was odd. He just wanted to find out the contact of the photographer and ask him for an enlarged print. Why was his call transferred to the company president's office?

He heard a slight cough coming from the phone, followed by the voice of an elderly man.

"Mr. Twain, hello, I'm Larry Lawrence, president of the Nottingham Evening Post. You can call me Larry."

"You can call me Tony, Larry."

Tang En spoke to Larry Lawrence about his request. Lawrence agreed without hesitation. The photo was shot by their newspaper's photojournalist. Developing an enlarged print was not a problem. He could have 10 prints if he wanted. But Lawrence proposed a condition.

"Interview me?" Tang En was a little surprised. He did not expect the media would come knocking on his door so quickly. But he did not think to refuse. This was a good publicity opportunity for him. Tang En was not afraid of becoming famous. If he wanted to be well-known, the media's influence could not be ignored. But the timing was not good. The team had only won a match. It did not mean that their situation had stabilized. He still had a lot of problems to solve. And now where was he going to find the time for an interview?

"Larry, I'm afraid now's not the time."

"Is anything the matter, Tony?"

From the conversation between the two men, one would think that they had known each other more than five minutes.

"I still have a lot of work to do right now. I don't think I can accept your interview during this period. Although, I wish I could..."

"I understand."

"If you can wait a while, I will be happy to offer a future interview."

Lawrence immediately agreed with Twain's proposal. "That's fine. We'll have the photo that you want sent to you in two days. As for the matter of the interview, you just have to take note of it. When you feel it is right, feel free to contact us, Tony."

After he hung up the phone, Tang En was a little conceited. He did not expect to be in the media's good graces so soon. It was a good sign. It meant as long as they win, everything would be fine. His current objective was to strive for the team to maintain this condition while solving the problems that were revealed during yesterday's match in training.

However, one thing was quite certain: he must uphold his victory-centric thinking. In addition, he must also let the players feel it. A team, from the manager to the players, in pursuit of victory at any cost, would be invincible.

With the photograph issue sorted, Tang En was in a very good mood, and there was no training today. According to the usual custom, the day after a match was time off to let the players rest and relax. Of course, if they had lost by a big score, Tang En would cancel the break and revise it to make the team repent with lots of training.

It had been a busy and stressful time. It was time to relax. So, he decided to go out for a walk.

Nottingham had one of Britain's top universities, University of Nottingham. The university also had an affiliated branch in Ningbo, China. Therefore, many Chinese students came there every year to further their studies and enhance their education. In the streets of Nottingham, one could always see yellow-skinned, black-haired, Chinese-speaking students.

But whether there were Chinese in the City Ground stands, Tang En was not sure.

Whenever there was a rest day, even if it was only half a day, Tang En would never stay at home and sleep in. His thinking went like this: he had a rare 'travel abroad for free' opportunity. If he did not make good use to explore and enjoy the foreign environment, he'd let down the God who had let him transmigrate there. Of course, for Tang En himself, to feel the most authentic and best British way of life was to go to all kinds of pubs. He felt that mankind's greatest invention was the brewing technique, the greatest profession was a brewmaster, the greatest building was the pub, and the greatest glass products were bottles... and so on.

It would be a mistake, though, to think that Tang En was going to the pub to spend the rest of the day. It was only nine o'clock in the morning. None of the pubs in Britain were opened yet, so even if he wanted to go, he would not be able to.

He had always heard that the University of Nottingham had a beautiful landscape. He decided to go to the university campus for a stroll. Maybe he might even meet a pretty student from China, and then develop a beautiful foreign love relationship.

Tang En did not call the taxi driver Landy James, whom he was already familiar with. He decided to experience Nottingham's public transportation system.

The city of Nottingham was actually very small. This was a common feature of British cities. Apart from an international metropolis such as London, most cities might only be the size of a county in China, perhaps not even that.

Tang En realized this when he brought the team to their match in Coventry. Once one of Britain's four major cities, it was about the size of a county. The same was true of Nottingham. After more than 20 minutes of a rocky bus ride, Tang En was already at the campus gate of the University of Nottingham. The University of Nottingham had many campuses, but Tang En only knew of the large campus west of the city center.

The University of Nottingham campus was vast and beautiful. People who did not know they were on a campus would think they were in a park. Seen from afar, there was a white square tower partially hidden behind a row of trees. When he walked closer, he discovered that it was not a single tower, but an entire white building, the square tower was only the highest section in the middle.

Tang En stood in the middle of the road and was a little stumped. The campus was so big that he did not know where to go. It would be funny if he were to get lost.

Just when he was hesitating, a very pleasant voice came up next to him, and said in English, "This is the main school building of the University of Nottingham."

Tang En turned to see a dark-haired girl standing beside him, smilingly gazing at the white building. "Isn't it beautiful? Pure white. If the square tower was changed to a dome instead, it would be the enlarged version of the White House."

But this Nottingham Forest team manager simply did not hear the girl's next words. It was as if he had been struck by lightning, staring blankly on the same spot. Who did he see?

Her beautiful black hair was tied into an easy ponytail. Her puffy down jacket did not cover up the youthfulness of her body or that already familiar beautiful face.

It was his high school classmate, the prettiest girl in class whom he had a crush on for three whole years?Yang Yan!

The world is really small ...

"Sir? Sir!" When she found that this foreign man was ceaselessly staring at her, Yang Yan was a little annoyed. But she still maintained a basic courtesy and did not slap this foreign lecher. Instead, she turned to leave.

Tang En regained his composure, realizing that it was inappropriate to stare at a girl like that. He quickly apologized. "I'm really sorry, I suddenly thought of something and went into a daze. I'm terribly sorry." He slightly bowed. Formerly, Tang En was only 1.7 meters tall, a typical Sichuan man's height. Yang Yan was already 1.65 meters tall in high school, an ideal beauty's height. Currently, Yang Yan was the same height. Tang En, on the other hand, had become a Caucasian more than 1.8 meters tall. Things were already not like before. They were no longer familiar to each other. That moment when Tang En saw Yang Yan, he really had the impulse to call out her name, but his inner logic stopped him. Now they were strangers meeting for the first time.

When she found he was actually quite well-mannered and was courteous with his words, the unpleasant moment just before was cast aside by Yang Yan. She smiled and said, "Sir, are you a tourist?"

"Huh?"

"I saw you standing here, looking a little lost."

"Ah, yes! I'm a tourist." Tang En responded. "I've heard the University of Nottingham is one of the most beautiful universities in England, so I've come to see it. But it's too big here, I don't know where to turn... Besides, I'm afraid of getting lost."

Yang Yan cover her mouth and smiled. This man was disarmingly frank.

Tang En was in a daze again. During high school, Yang Yan was a good student in the eyes of the teachers, her parents' well-behaved daughter, the ideal girlfriend in all the students' hearts. At that time, almost all the boys in class liked her, but very few had the courage to confess. Those brave forerunners who summoned up the courage after much difficulty were rejected by a smiling Yang Yan. Later, there were rumors that Yang Yan's family was preparing to emigrate, and that she was a girl going abroad and looked down on Chinese men. Many of the boys were indignant about this for a long time. Tang En was not a popular figure in class. He had an odd temper, few friends, and no luck with the girls. He could only gaze at girls like Yang Yan from afar.

After graduating from high school, in less than two years, he heard that Yang Yan really had gone abroad. And another two years later, everyone in the online alumni network saw her photos taken in the United Kingdom. In the photos, Yang Yan was even more beautiful and moving, her figure womanlier. So, everyone was unanimous in their praises, saying that the beauty was all grown up. Someone even joked that the foreigners had an unfair advantage. To this, Yang Yan's consistent response was "Ha-ha."

Tang En was surprised that he remembered all these things so clearly. He'd thought that school life had bid him farewell since he graduated from college. Although he would occasionally go on the alumni network, he never left a message. Even if he did leave a message, those people would not know who he was. When he first applied to join the alumni network, it even triggered a big 'who is he' discussion among the classmates, but he still passed the application in the end. Who could have approved for him to join?

He only knew that Yang Yan's family emigrated to England. He did not know it was Nottingham. What was he supposed to say? Fate brought them together to meet each other thousands of miles away?

"If you don't know where to go, I can be your free tour guide." Yang Yan was not aware of what Tang En was thinking. She looked at the people coming and going on the campus and said, "I go to school here. I'm very familiar with this place."

Ah, she's still so enthusiastic.

Tang En nodded. "Okay, you can be my guide." It was the first time that Tang En was in such "intimate" contact with Yang Yan. How could he miss this opportunity?

He thought of his original intention in coming to Nottingham today: maybe he might even meet a pretty student from China, and then develop a beautiful foreign love relationship.

Now from the looks of it, he might have some hope. Today's Tang En was no longer that odd-tempered young boy with a slight inferiority complex.

Now I'm a 34-year-old mature man… But I wonder if this body is still a virgin?

Chapter 36: Hello, My Fair Lady Part 2

Yang Yan was not a professional tour guide. Her introduction was not planned or organized; she simply said whatever popped into her mind. But Tang En did not care about these things. He did not have the intention of increasing his knowledge of this university. The only reason he willingly followed the inadequate tour guide everywhere, and had made the pointless trip in the first place, was because she was Yang Yan, the girl whom he had once had a crush on for three years.

When they arrived at a statue, Yang Yan pointed to the barefooted bronze statue holding a bunch of fresh flowers in its hands and said to Twain, "This is D. H. Lawrence. He wrote 'Lady Chatterley's Lover', 'Sons and Lovers', and other novels. He is a local famous literary figure in Nottingham, even possibly as famous as Byron."

"Huh?" Tang En looked puzzled and had absolutely no idea how influential this Lawrence was. But he knew Byron. When he was in high school, he had occasionally heard one or two verses from his poems. It was normal that a high school student might know of Byron. However, the novels of D. H. Lawrence (David Herbert Lawrence) at Tang En's high school might still be described as capitalism's fantasies.

When she realized that this man knew nothing of the figure who made Nottingham renowned in the world, Yang Yan's "presumptuous" fault emerged again. "Sir, are you not from Nottingham?"

"Why do you say that?"

Tang En actually wanted to say, "No! I'm not! I'm from China, and I'm your classmate ..."

"I'm from Eastwood, northwest of Nottingham…."

Yang Yan looked at him with her eyes wide open. "Sir, are you joking? Even a six-year-old boy from Eastwood knows who Lawrence is."

"Who?"

"The most controversial and unique writer in the 20th century British literature. Even now, the novels he wrote are still disdained by the mainstream literary circles in the United Kingdom. They refuse to accept and admit his works."

"Why?"

"Because his novels all depict the life of the mining class, and ridiculed and mocked the wealthy aristocracy. The class differences were very strong. The British literary circles considered Lawrence to be a sex writer, and considered what he wrote to be left-wing literature. In addition, his novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' was banned for decades in flagrant violation of the prevailing social mores."

"Violation of social mores?" Tang En found this reason somewhat incomprehensible.

"Well…" Yang Yan bit her lip and replied, "It was the explicit description of sex and pornography…" She felt that it was inappropriate to talk about such matters in front of a stranger, so she turned the conversation back on track. "Do you know that Lawrence was from your hometown, Eastwood?"

Tang En knew he had made a fool of himself, so he face-palmed himself, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, he was saved by the bell. A group of Chinese exchange students, clad in bright red Tang suit jackets, approached them and shouted Yang Yan's name.

"Yang Yan, Yang Yan!"

Yang Yan looked back and greeted them with a bright smile on her face.

"Happy Spring Festival, everyone!"

"Happy Spring Festival to you too!"

"Gong Xi Fa Cai, may you have a prosperous New Year and achieve academic success! Ha ha!"

A group of dark-haired Chinese people were laughing together, and Tang En already felt somewhat unfamiliar amidst their conversation, yet it was such a familiar language that he stood in amazement.

Spring Festival? Is it already the Spring Festival today?

Yang Yan remembered that there was someone behind her, so she turned to Twain and said in English, "Happy Spring Festival! Today is our traditional Chinese festival, just like your Christmas…" Then she repeated slowly in Chinese, "Chun Jie Kuai Le! Gong Xi Fa Cai!"

Tang En opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to follow her words. In the end, he decided not say them aloud.

Of course, I know what the Spring Festival means: family reunion, Chinese New Year's Eve family dinner, ringing in the new year, Chinese New Year TV special, being together with my parents and relatives, having dumplings on the 15th of the first lunar month, the wish to have an abundance every year ...

Homesickness irresistibly welled up in Tang En's mind, and was made stronger when he saw Yang Yan's smiling face especially.

He lowered his head and took out his small notepad from his pocket to quickly write down his phone number and English name, then handed it to Yang Yan. He said, "Miss Yang Yan? I admire your knowledge very much, and I have been an admirer of the Chinese culture for a long time. I always hoped to learn Chinese and about the Chinese culture. If you don't mind, I would like to invite you to be my Chinese teacher. This is my number. Once you've thought about it clearly, you can give me a call. I have some urgent business to attend to and I need to leave now. Thank you very much for being my tour guide, thank you very much! Goodbye, and I also wish you a Happy Spring Festival!"

After a barrage of words, Tang En turned around and hurried away from this place filled with the festive atmosphere and group of people.

Yang Yan held the note in her hand. She had not had time to respond. At this time, her friends next to her came closer.

"What's going on? Who's that man?"

"I think he looks like a young Al Pacino, so handsome!" Someone was becoming smitten.

Yang Yan glanced at her friend, "I don't think ..." Then she looked down at the note in her hand and slowly read the English name scrawled on it, "Tony… Tony Twain?"

A guy shouted when he heard this name.

"Tony Twain? What's he doing here?"

"Do you know him, Liu Wei?" Yang Yan asked that guy.

The guy passed her a newspaper with a big photograph on it: Against the backdrop of a raging red tide, a man clad in black pumped his fist and shouted.

"Him," the guy said to Yang Yan while pointing to the man clad in black in the image. "That's Tony Twain. The Nottingham Forest manager."

Yang Yan stared at this image for a long time, and then asked a question that made shocked the guy. "What's Nottingham Forest?"

The guy jumped up angrily, but did not know how to explain the Forest team's brilliant achievements and the status in this city to the girl who had never watched football, nor understood it. In the end, he just said, "In short, Nottingham Forest is the most successful football club in this city and has a glorious history. Tony Twain is a professional football manager. That's all you need to know."

"Oh, it turns out that he's also a celebrity." Yang Yan laughed at the guy. "Liu Wei, are you regretting that you did not get his autograph or something?" Then she handed the note to the guy, "This is his signature and phone number."

The guy refused. "I'm not a Forest fan, and I'm not so crazy that I would ask for an autograph first. You keep it. He gave it to you."

The girl next to her chimed in, "Yes, that's right. Did he not want you to be his Chinese teacher? This is a good opportunity!"

"What opportunity?"

"In the beautiful and quiet European campus, you met a polite gentleman, and he asked you to meet up again ... Oh, a solemn gentleman and a beautiful governess! What a romantic story!" The girl, who had been smitten just a while ago, snapped out of her daydream only to become enamored again.

"Ali, have you been reading too many romance novels?" Facing this group of friends whom she had made in the university, Yang Yan could only helplessly smile.

"No, Ali was referring to 'Jane Eyre,'" Another girl said seriously as she held her glasses to her face.

Ali immediately reached her hand out and swooned, "Oh, Rochester! Do you think I don't have a heart and soul just because I'm short and plain? If God had given me a little wealth and beauty, I would have made it hard for you to leave me just as it was hard for me to leave you ..."

Everyone laughed, and Yang Yan also laughed happily along with them. In the midst of their laughter, she looked down at this note, and ultimately decided not to throw it away. Instead, she folded it up and put it in her pocket. She came from a well-off family and did not need to work to earn money for her tuition or to support herself. Besides school, she had plenty of spare time to do her favorite things, such as go shopping with her friends, or find a quiet place to read. But she still wanted to keep this work-related contact number.

Why? She herself was not clear about it either. Maybe it was because his surname sounded like that person's name?

※※※

As Tang En quickly walked through the campus, he searched his mind for this year's calendar. Every start of the new year, he had to check when the Chinese New Year would begin each year.

I remember!

Tang En stopped in his tracks.

February 1st is Chinese New Year's Eve, and February 2nd is the Spring Festival. That's right!

Yesterday was Chinese New Year's Eve, and he had led the team to victory since he coached the First Team. Today was the Spring Festival, the most traditional Chinese festival, and the most important; the Spring Festival!

For the past month, he had felt like his brain had almost short-circuited from his transmigration, and that he had been busy living in this unfamiliar world. He had actually forgotten about this very important matter. How are my parents now? Are they healthy? Will they panic about losing their son? He had never thought too much about his parents, as he was the same person even before he transmigrated. Now he felt that he was being very unfilial.

How many years had he not been home for the Spring Festival? Two or three years, or even longer?

In 2004, he had found a job in Chengdu, just a year after graduating from university. In an effort to remain in the city, he decided not to go back for the Spring Festival. He only made a call home on Chinese New Year's Eve to send his greetings. During the 2005 Spring Festival, he had already had two jobs. Although he received an invitation at the end of an alumni reunion, only a few people still remembered him. The other people were doing very well in their careers and lives, while he had accomplished nothing. Feeling down, he simply decided not to go home and damage his reputation. He would not know what to say when his parents asked him about his work. During the 2006 Spring Festival, he changed jobs again, and still used the phone to send his Chinese New Year's greetings to his parents on the way to Shanghai for business. Then, during the 2007 Spring Festival, his job was stable, and he did not have to travel work, but he simply did not feel like returning home. So, he came up with an excuse to tell his parents why he could not return home that year. As he listened to the exploding Chinese New Year's Eve firecrackers, he called again to send his greetings. He felt that he had been numb to such a traditional festival like the Spring Festival, and that it was all the same to him.

It had to be said that Tang En was not a filial child. Even if he seldom took the initiative to call home to contact his family, he had always kept the words from his heart within him. He had been this way since he was young. He had gotten used to it, and did not feel anything was wrong with it.

But now… in 2003 Nottingham, England, for the first time, he had a strong urge to call home. He wanted to hear his parents' voice, even if it were only a sentence.

He took out his cell phone, searched for his home phone number in his memory, carefully entered the numbers, then stood under a big tree and waited for the call to connect.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tang En finally heard a familiar voice on the other end of the call.

"Hello, who's this?"

This was his mother's voice!

He heard the voice of his mother and heard the sound of the firecrackers and television faintly through the receiver. The television host shouted, "Chinese New Year! Happy Chinese New Year!" For a moment he forgot to speak, for fear that he would not hear the voice coming from that distant world if he spoke. It seemed like all he had to do was take a whiff and he would smell his mother's fragrant cooking. Sweet and sour crispy fish, eight treasure rice, braised pork belly, braised pork knuckle, fish-shaped rice cake, glutinous rice meat dumplings… And how could he forget the homemade waxed sausages and meats? These were more delicious than the damn fish and chips that could only be seasoned with salt and malt vinegar. Tang En's mouth watered.

His mother on the other end of the phone did not hear anyone talking, so she asked a few strange questions again, then finally hung up the phone when she did not receive a reply.

Tang En stirred. He had missed the chance to greet his mother. But he did not have to call again. He was satisfied knowing his parents were still living well, and everything was as usual. If something were to happen to him, his mother's voice would not be so calm. Regardless of who was attached to his body now, as long as he treated his parents well, Tang En was content.

Tang En leaned against the tree trunk, looked up at the blue sky, and let out a long breath.

Although the day had not yet passed, Tang En felt incomparably wonderful. He not only knew his parents were currently doing well, but he had also met the prettiest girl in his class whom he had had a secret crush on in a foreign country—even though she could not recognize him.

His mood was turning for the better after just feeling homesick, so he decided to go somewhere.

Chapter 37: Natural-Born Manager Part 1

When Sophia opened the door, she was surprised to find that the person who rang the doorbell was Manager Tony Twain.

"A gift for you." Tang En put the gift into the woman's arms, and then entered without an invitation.

"Mr. Manager..."

"Tony, call me Tony."

Sophia looked at the visibly excited Twain, not knowing what had happened. "Mr. Tony..."

"Sophia, I'm recently fascinated by the mysterious eastern culture—the Chinese culture! Do you know what day it is today?"

Sophia shook her head blankly.

"Spring Festival!" Tang En raised his volume and climbed up the stairs as if he were the owner of the house. "Last year has passed, the New Year has arrived, no matter how many unhappy things have happened, they should be cast aside in our minds. It's a day of happy celebration! So, I brought you some gifts."

Sophia opened the gift box, and a violet dress lay softly within. She gasped lightly.

"I hope you like it. I'm not very good at picking out ladies' clothing." Tang En looked up upstairs. "Where's your son?"

The youth team had a match yesterday, and today was supposed to be a day off, but Tang En had not seen Wood since he had come in.

"George went out."

Tang En looked back at Sophia, who was still standing downstairs. "Madam, do you mind if I have my lunch here?"

Sophia laughed. "Of course not. Do you like mutton curry, sir? That's a delicious dish from my hometown."

"That's fantastic! I like good food." In reality, Tang En was not a foodie, otherwise he would have starved to death from being transmigrated to England. "Do you have any pasta here?"

Sophia nodded.

"To express my thanks for your warm hospitality, I've decided to make you a new Chinese dish that I've just learned. Come on, what are we waiting for?" He waved to Sophia.

At lunchtime, when George Wood came home, he found his manager sitting at the table with his mother, chatting and laughing.

"Why are you here?" Wood's eyes were not very friendly.

Tang En looked back at the kid, his face was a little dirty and his clothes were torn.

"Why? Can't I be here?"

"George, what happened to your face? Go wash and get ready for lunch." Sophia stood up to ease the tension. "Mr. Tony specially came to see your mother and also brought a gift." She went into the bedroom to bring out the dress, held it in front of her and asked her son, "Is it nice-looking?"

George glanced at it, and then obediently went to wash up. "You bought it at the Cattle Market?"

Tang En shrugged and did not explain. This dress cost him ￡50, and there would almost certainly not be a ￡50 dress in the Cattle Market.

The Cattle Market was once a market for Nottingham farmers to buy and sell cattle and livestock. Of course, there were also other side trades for other things. It was like a big market place, very lively. But now that there was no longer the sale of livestock at the Cattle Market, it had become a second-hand goods market, where one could totally buy everything from second-hand television sets to old books and CDs. Many people in Nottingham would head there to save on the goods they wanted.

Sophia did not mind where the dress was bought. She seemed like she was often in and out of the Cattle Market. "As long as it looks nice." She happily returned to the room to hang her dress and came out to wait to eat with her son.

Originally, it was just a regular lunch. But the dining table was set with Sophia's exquisitely-cooked mutton curry and sweet corn porridge, as well as Tang En's delicious Chinese noodle dish with sauce 'Zhajiangmian', using the pasta noodles and the meat sauce that was directly made from the leftover mutton. Together with fruits, potatoes, and other vegetables, the meal became somewhat festive. The three of them sat around the dining table and enjoyed it at their own relaxing pace.

When Tang En asked Wood about his situation on the youth team, Wood did not say much. Just said it was fine. To what extent, Tang En could not know. He had been very busy lately and did not have a moment to spare to check on the youth team. He could only wait for this busy period to be over before he could go.

After lunch, Tang En smiled when he saw that Wood wanted to go out but did not feel at ease to do so. How could he not know what the boy was thinking? So, he tactfully took the initiative to say goodbye first.

Sophia was a little disappointed. She had wanted Twain to stay for afternoon tea. Tang En gave an excuse of an afternoon appointment and took his leave.

Looking at Wood's look of relief, Tang En secretly laughed. This mommy's boy was still a child...

In the afternoon, Tang En was drinking at the Forest Bar while chatting with Michael and the others. After that victory, the two men seemed to have resolved their misunderstanding. Tang En learned that Michael's name was Michael Bernard, who was the leader of the Forest fans in the vicinity and highly regarded among the fans. Even a lot of Forest players knew him.

No wonder he was able to urge so many people outside the field to mock him.

Knowing Michael's background, Tang En felt the need even more to have a good relationship with this man. However, it was still a little hard for the two of them to put aside their egos and figure a way out of the awkward situation. So, the best way to improve their relationship was by winning. As long as the team kept winning matches, this relationship would naturally become warmer.

Tang En was well aware of this. There was not just one Michael, but other people who were still hostile toward and distrustful of him so far. He said nothing in front of those people. Any threats or begging would be to no avail. The only way to get these people to change their attitudes and become his supporters was to win matches and keep winning.

After a day's rest, Tang En poured himself into training again.

If during the training before the match with Wimbledon, the players had still had some doubts about Twain's proposed style of playing, then they had now fully accepted and believed that he could lead them to victory. And from one victory to another.

Chapter 38: Natural-Born Manager Part 2

On February 9th Nottingham Forest played their 31st match in the English Football League Championship. It was their home match with Crystal Palace. Four minutes after the start of the match, the Forest team's young Captain, Michael Dawson, made use of a corner kick and scored the first goal with a header. The atmosphere of City Ground was sparked from the very beginning.

Soon after in the 59th minute, Marlon Harewood scored another goal to lock down on a victory. Andrew Johnson scored a face-saving goal for Crystal Palace only at the 75th minute. That man later transferred to Everton in the 05-06 season after Crystal Palace failed to advance in the league. He then immediately became The Toffees' number one striker. At one point, he was a hopeful for the Premier League Golden Boot. But during this match with Dawson's defense, he had very few chances.

With the 2:1 victory over Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest had scored two consecutive victories. As their disparity with the top half of the league points table was not huge, the Forest team's ranking leapt to sixth place. They had the same points as Norwich City, and once again pushed the other team down with the advantage of another complete victory.

Being sixth in the league was a morale-inspiring ranking, because according to the English Football Association's regulations for teams to be promoted from the English Football League Championship, the first and second ranked teams could be promoted straight to the Premier League, and those ranked third to sixth were eligible to join the playoffs to determine the last team to be promoted to the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest's 32nd match was postponed until April 16th. This gave the team a chance to rest and adjust. Tang En continued to carry out his tactical thinking of "less ball control, quicker passing" in training. No one objected to this as everyone had witnessed the results.

On February 22nd, their 33rd match of the English Football League Championship, Nottingham's home match was with Stoke City. This match left a very deep impression on Tang En, and also left the 31,000 home fans with a wonderful memory of that afternoon.

From the second the referee kicked off with his whistle, the match completely fell in line with the Forest team's rhythm.

Marlon Harewood became the Forest team's biggest contributor during this match. After the match he was awarded best player. His performance was steady throughout February, and he was even elected the best player in the EFL Championship for that month. In the 13th minute, Harewood received Andy Reid's pass, drove the ball into Stoke City's goal, and unveiled the prologue to the Forest team's carnage.

In the 24th and then 28th minute, within these four minutes, Harewood scored two more goals, completing his hat-trick for that match.

The entire City Ground was full of jubilant voices for the 23-year-old English striker. Even Tang En did not expect this match to start so smoothly. His rapid offensive play completely stunned Stoke City, leaving them confused and disoriented.

He had thought that Harewood would take it easy after scoring a hat-trick, but unexpectedly at the last minute in the first half, he scored again.

At that moment when Harewood scored, Tang En suddenly felt his seat shaking. He turned to see everyone on the substitutes' bench and in the technical area jump up. Walker faced him, giddy with excitement.

"4:0! Harewood is unstoppable! This is his seventh goal in three consecutive matches! The Forest team is an unstoppable force, after experiencing five embarrassing rounds of defeat, they have a complete reversal, a winning streak!"

Stoke City absolutely lost their fighting spirit. Just eight minutes into the second half, like icing on the cake, David Johnson gave the Forest team a five-goal lead.

At this time, Tang En's opponents brought on a very unfamiliar number and face. In fact, Tang En found everyone looked unfamiliar. The difference was that some of the people's names he had more or less heard of. This time, even the name of the player being brought on sounded very unfamiliar—Kris Commons.

He might be the only trouble that Stoke City brought to the Forest team. Once on the field, Commons was very active in the wing. With his breakthroughs and crosses, Michael Dawson no longer dared to press on with his attacks as he wished. In the left wing where Commons' main attack was, the Forest right back, Thompson, was disoriented by his breaks. If the Stoke City strikers had not lost the heart to continue fighting long before, perhaps they might have scored.

Seeing the danger, Tang En made an adjustment. He replaced Williams and brought on Cash, who had played remarkably in the match with Wimbledon. He used Cash's outstanding offense to suppress Commons' assists. Sure enough, Commons soon had to give up attacking and shift to defending.

The crisis lifted, and the match was back in Forest's hands. The remainder of the time was no longer spent in suspense.

In the 85th minute, Eoin Jess used a direct free kick to set the score at 6:0 for the team. The City Ground Stadium went into a frenzy.

The fans had rarely seen such a gratifying match in the past few years, and Twain had regained their former respect and confidence. This match also struck Stoke City into the relegation abyss. They only had 28 points at the end of the 33rd match. Their ranking was the second lowest. Before this match, they were still the fourth lowest in rank. The English Football League Championship rule was that the three lowest ranking teams be relegated to League Two.

After the encouraging hugs and celebration with the players, Tang En stood on the sidelines. He was not as excited as the first victory. He knew that the three consecutive victories were only a start, far from over.

Stoke City's players hurried away with their heads lowered. Tang En noticed the young player brought on in the second half, number 24, Commons. He was biting his lip and seemed to have tears in his eyes. He wondered if the kid was playing on behalf of his team for the first time. Perhaps this defeat would leave him with an indelible memory. But it might have been a good thing for him to experience failure.

The kid was quite good. It was a pity he was not on the Forest team... Andy Reid lacked a good enough assist. In case of a bad condition, or injury, who was going to strike first in the Forest team's left midfield?

When March came around, the spring air grew more and more pronounced. Nottingham Forest seemed to revive from the cold winter. New branches grew out of tree trunks, and soft buds sprouted from the branches. Their progress continued to march on.

On March 1st, the Forest team's away match challenge was with Watford. Before this match, Watford was ranked eighth in the league. They only had a three-point gap away from the Forest team. After this match, the Forest team continued to strengthen their fifth position in the league, while Watford slipped to the twelfth in the league.

It was 1:0! The Forest team chalked up a valuable three points in the away match, though the process did not seem quite convincing. Because the home team dominated from the beginning to the end of the match, it was like the replay of Forest's previous match with Stoke City. But Tang En's battle plan issued to the team before this match was for them to defend to the last and then look for opportunities to counterattack. Andy Reid succeeded in the 68th minute, kicking a long ball that silenced the Vicarage Road Stadium.

In this match, the Forest team had four shots at the goal in total, two of which were shot within the goal area, and one scored goal. The rest of the time they were confined within their own half of the field, struggling to defend against their opponents' offensive.

John Motson, who was in charge of the broadcast commentary, had said more than once during the match, "Is this still the Forest team that had the winning streak and wiped Stoke City clean with six goals in the last match?"

After Reid scored a goal, Tang En's face still looked grim. Walker and Bowyer were also worried that the opponents would breakthrough the team's goalmouth at any time. Luckily, their defense, led by Dawson, managed to resist all the attacks, and luck helped a little, too. In the end, Forest team, which was heavily criticized by Motson, won their fourth consecutive win.

No matter how battered they were on the field, the players were at least able to unwind on their way back to Nottingham.

March 5th was another away match. At the Priestfield Stadium, the Forest team brilliantly defeated Gillingham 4:1. Forest's performance continued to amaze everyone. This was an away match as well, and their performance was completely different from the previous match. Once the match started, they went charging in and respectively scored goals at the ninth, 19th, 48th, and 52nd minutes. Four players scored four goals, and they were respectively, David Johnson, Marlon Harewood, Andy Reid, and Gareth Williams.

The home team only scored a consolation goal at the 82nd minute.

The Forest team's morale surged with their five-match winning streak, even though their ranking dropped to seventh. Due to one less match previously and the other teams' outstanding performances, it did not affect Forest's mood. Nowadays, everyone believed that at the end of the season the team would be able to compete in the playoffs. If their luck became better, they might also be directly promoted to the Premier League.

Photographs of Twain directing the matches and participating in the post-match press conferences appeared in various newspapers and magazines, and he was also rated the best manager of the English Football League Championship in February. Almost all of England now knew that the Forest team had a top-notch manager who had been knocked out by one of his players.

It was the first personal honor that Tang En had received, holding the champagne at the technical area in City Ground. He asked the Evening Post reporter who was there to interview to take his picture.

He fulfilled his agreement with the Evening Post president and accepted their interview at the most appropriate moment.

In charge of the interview with Twain was the Evening Post leading reporter, James Robson, and the photographer who came along with him was an old "acquaintance" of Twain's—Pierce Brosnan, that delicate and refined intern reporter. Apparently, he came to learn from Robson and to gain experience. He was not leading the interview.

In addition to being about the recent five-match winning streak, the interview's biggest focus was on why the former Tony Twain and the current Tony Twain were so different.

With regards to this question, Tang En had already done some preparations. He called Professor Constantine in advance, who had not appeared for some time, to come to City Ground. Several people sat in the technical area and listened to this old chap, renowned in the British academia world, mitigate the mysterious rumor about Twain's condition.

James Robson and the others listened to a lot of interesting stories, from India, America, Spain, and even distant African countries... but did not receive the best answer to "what caused Tony Twain to change so much." Later, the reporter could only attribute everything on "the mysterious natural phenomenon that science cannot explain at this time" and "the impact of the accident."

When Tang En saw the other person jotting down all these in the little notebook, he was rather satisfied. He'd gone looking for Constantine to safeguard against this in the first place. It was just that he did not expect to have found an expert authority whose words actually carried some weight. Tang En knew this from the way the three reporters looked at the old chap when he had introduced Constantine to them just now.

The interview was a great success, and Tang En felt pleased. With all the recent wonderful occurrences, the Chairman was also delighted with the team's performance and had repeatedly promised him that he would still be the team's manager next season. He was more determined than ever to be a football manager.

After he'd sent off the three reporters, he returned to the stadium with Constantine.

Tang En stood on the sidelines of the grassy green field and looked around the empty red stands. There were three cleaners sweeping the stands, and turf-maintenance workers in the distance trimming the turf to keep it flat. They were preparing for the Forest team's next home match against Grimsby Town.

The sunshine was nice and comfortably warm on the skin.

"Professor. Do you know?"

"Eh?"

"My previous wish... was just to be a young team manager like Paul, who was passionate about grooming young footballers."

The professor sat behind Twain in the technical area and crossed his legs to get a taste of being a manager.

"Some people may not necessarily find out what they truly excel at, what they really like to do, what they truthfully should do in the entirety of their lives. I'm a lot luckier than those people." Tang En turned around and looked back at Constantine looking around, smiled and asked, "How does it feel?"

"Ah... The view is not as good as up in the stands." Constantine shrugged. "I don't quite understand how sitting here can allow you to see the overall view. When I was sitting in the box a few matches ago, there were spots which I couldn't see as well."

"In fact, there will be blind angles no matter what when we are using our eyes to see." Tang En pointed to his head. "The manager's overall view is here. If he's smart enough, there will be no blind angles here. Just like you hold all those complicated formulas and data in your mind."

Constantine squinted for a moment at Twain, standing in the sun, and then nodded. "Tony, you certainly are the right person to be seated here." He stood up and conceded the manager's seat.

Looking at the rows of seats in front of him, Tang En smiled. "Yes. I like this seat. I was born to be seated here."

Chapter 39: Don’t Give Up, Kid! Part 1

Best Manager: Tony Twain!

A young man in the classroom was engrossed reading a newspaper he was holding, when suddenly next to him a girl's voice rang out, "Liu Wei."

The startled guy's first reaction was to shove the newspaper under the table. Then he saw Yang Yan covering her smiling mouth. "Yang Yan, you gave me a scare, but the class is supposed to be progress..."

"So, you do know that we are in class now?" Yang Yan pointed to the newspaper in his hand. "Didn't you say you're not a Nottingham Forest fan?"

"Er ..." the young man spread the newspaper on the table again. "I'm a fan of all football. And since the Forest team manager's so passionate about the Chinese culture, of course I must support. Oh yes, didn't he invite you to be his Chinese tutor? Did you give him a call?"

Yang Yan had forgotten about the matter. After being reminded by Liu Wei, she then recalled that she'd put that piece of paper in her notepad and never flipped through it again.

"No, I forgot." She shook her head.

"You," Liu Wei rolled his eyes, "really have the heart to let a polite gentleman feel hurt?"

Yang Yan shrugged and rested her chin on her hand. "Why do you all think he is a polite gentleman?"

Liu Wei shoved the newspaper toward Yang Yan. "I have never thought that football managers should be gentlemen, especially excellent qualified managers, all the more should not be."

After he finished speaking, he sat still and pretended to look like he was listening carefully.

Yang Yan found it odd, so she looked up and saw the lecturer of this class, her university professor, Stanley Schecher, walking toward her with an unpleasant expression.

She glared at Liu Wei, who pretended as if nothing had happened, Yang Yan could only awkwardly accept the fact that she had no other way to stuff the newspaper into somewhere else.

"Yang, I think you have to explain to me what this is... Well?" Schecher glanced down at the newspaper on the table and then took it to look at it carefully for a moment. Throughout the exchange, everyone in the classroom looked at them. Yang Yan lowered her head and dared not utter a word. She knew that Professor Schecher was widely known to be strict in the academy. To contradict him might worsen the consequences. Since he had already seen it, she should simply admit that she was reading the newspaper during class time.

She waited until Professor Schecher finally put down the newspaper. "Is this yours, Yang?"

Yang Yan glanced sideways at a serious-looking Liu Wei and nodded.

"Not bad. I didn't know you were a fan of the Forest team. Come to my office on Wednesday morning." After passing judgment on Yang Yan, Professor Schecher looked at Liu Wei again and spoke with a cold voice. "Liu, change your seat for the rest of the lesson."

Liu Wei knew that his actions had long been seen by the professor. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, then got up and went to the vacant seat at the back of the room.

"Oh yes, by the way," Schecher called out to Liu Wei, "I'm a Forest fan."

The classroom, hushed a moment ago, suddenly burst out in riotous laughter with a mix of excited cheers and applause. Even Yang Yan could not help laughing when she saw Liu Wei's stunned expression.

Professor Schecher returned to his lecture. Liu Wei also conscientiously picked a seat in the last row to sit down and listen to the lecture again.

Yang Yan peeked at the newspaper on the table.

Below the eye-catching headline was the main content of the interview in point form:

An accident shaped the best manager ever.

Unforgettable five-match winning streak.

Tony Twain adores the Eastern civilization.

Tony Twain adores the Eastern civilization....

Yang Yan stared distractedly at the photograph of Twain in the newspaper.

With the team's five-match winning streak, a surging morale, and February's best manager, Tang En felt he was able to divide his attention to take care of another person.

Although tomorrow was the match, Tang En decided to pitch the First Team training to Walker and Bowyer and head over to the youth team to have a look. He hoped that George Wood had not gotten him into any trouble.

Twenty minutes later, Tang En stood on the empty training ground, tapping on his head.

Today was the FA Youth Cup match, the Forest youth team should be playing now at the City Ground. This head of his was of no use again, completely mixed up.

He took out his cell phone and called Landy to say that he would like to take his car to go to the City Ground.

The parking lot outside the City Ground was deserted. If it had been a day later, it would be difficult to find a parking space when one was late. When he got out of the car, the only other thing he could hear aside from the thin applause, was the sharp whistle.

It seemed that the match had been going on for a while, and he wondered how Wood was performing.

Tang En admitted he had some expectations of this kid...

When the First Team manager, Tony Twain, appeared on the sidelines, the first people who took notice of him were the players on the field. David Kerslake followed the players' gaze and saw Twain walking toward him.

"Tony, what are you doing here?" Kerslake rose to greet him.

"I've come to see if the youth team has any outstanding players," Tang En graciously said, taking the seat that the youth team assistant coach rose and gave to him and sat next to David. After the somewhat unfamiliar assistant coach walked away, Tang En lowered his head and asked Kerslake in a low voice, "David, did that kid cause you any trouble?"

Kerslake knew that Twain must have come at this time for that person. He smiled and shook his head. "He had a fight with his teammates just a few days after he joined."

Hearing this, Tang En looked up and stared at Kerslake in astonishment. "Why didn't you tell me? What was the fight about?"

Kerslake shrugged. "Just a spat, I felt there was no need to tell you. A member of the team mocked him by saying he was 'raised by a whore', then he suddenly rushed up, threw a punch, and knocked the other person to the ground. If the other people at the side hadn't reacted so quickly, he probably would have thrown a few more punches. Four men, Tony… four guys used all their effort before they could pull him back. That kid is simply a raging bull."

Tang En nodded. "Raised by a whore." Swearing was quite common in the UK, as if it were "damn it." In China, sometimes it might just be a "modal particle." However, Sophia was the most important person to Wood. He would absolutely not allow anyone to impinge upon her. Whether it was a joke or something serious, Wood would not allow his mother to be insulted. This incident also gave Tang En a reminder that he must never swear at him using terms like "raised by a whore" or "son of a b*tch," otherwise he would definitely kill him.

"How was it resolved?"

"The one who started this whole thing was tossed to Notts County at a super low price."

"That's not very good, David... How was the playing skill of the young man who was sold?"

"He was pretty bad. He had no future."

"Oh, you did well! I support you with this punishment decision. What did you do with Wood?"

"I punished him with laps, to run 30 laps." Kerslake's lowered voice was a little excited. "He completed them easily! Fred, the fitness coach, was dumbfounded! This kid's physical fitness is excellent!"

Tang En nodded, he'd already expected this result. "David, if you're going to punish him next time, I suggest you'd better let him run 40 laps with weights. OK, let's watch the match... How long has it been?"

"Coming up to 70 minutes."

The two men turned their gaze toward the field. Because the First Team manager was watching from the sidelines, the Forest youth team players played with vigor, hoping to impress the manager and become a First Team player. Just like Jenas, Dawson, and Reid.

The scoreboard on the sidelines showed the match score so far: 1:0. The home team Nottingham Forest was ahead of the visiting team West Ham youth team.

Tang En easily found George Wood on the field. After a few months of training, his basic skills were decent, but... as a striker, his position awareness had barely changed from two months ago.

"David, do you think that Wood has the potential to be a striker?" He spoke aloud the doubt he had always had in his mind.

"I was going to talk to you about this, Tony." Kerslake shifted in his seat and lowered his voice again. "Two months of training, most of the time I let him do the basic drill, because I realized that his shooting standard is terrible."

"Oh?"

"During the shooting practice, even if it was empty at the goalmouth, he could not even score a goal out of ten balls. Let's not even talk about driving and shooting a ball to get in a goal. He had absolutely no idea how to shoot a goal in, I had to teach him. But... damn, this kid's temper is awful. He does not listen at all, still wants to do it his own way. If it weren't for you, I'd have already kicked him out."

There was a big gap between the before and after evaluations... He just said his physical fitness was excellent, and now he said he wanted to kick him out.

"If it weren't for our main striker, Jeffrey, injured from being shoveled by the opponents, I wouldn't have brought him on. Tony, if you'd watched his first few matches, you'd agree with me. God, letting him play forward will only make a mess of our offense," Kerslake jabbered on with his grumble.

Tang En sucked his teeth after hearing it all.

"When was he brought on?"

"About 10 minutes ago."

"Do you have his player statistics?"

Kerslake called back the assistant coach, who had just walked away, asked the question, and then shook his head. "Nearly twelve minutes, no shots, no successful passes, no headers, no fouls, no offenses received, nothing whatsoever..."

Tang En glanced toward the field, frowned as he looked at George Wood, who was working really hard, but failing to grasp the game. David Kerslake's words were repeated in his ears.

Kid, is this your future?

Perhaps I never had the keen eye of a professional manager... George is not suitable for professional football at all. This matter is really very cruel to him, I gave him a very big and beautiful dream, and now I have to tell him to wake up from the dream? Pretending to care and tell him, "George, I think it's better for your future if you go back to being a mover..." After seeing what had happened to George's family, Tang En felt like he could not say these words.

He was not a compassionate man who tried to please everyone. However, at the sight of that strong and optimistic mother, Tang En felt that no matter what, he wanted George Wood to succeed, so that he could afford to pay for his own mother's treatment. A son who was a mover, earning two hundred pounds a week, and did not even have enough money for the treatment and medicine... That should never be the future of that beautiful mother.

But what could he do? A star player was not someone a manager could groom into being. It was up to the player. Talent and hard work were essential. Wood worked hard, but he had no talent.

Kerslake realized that Twain suddenly stopped talking. He was just frowning and staring at the field. He did not know what this man was thinking, so he did not disturb him and just watched the match in silence.

Chapter 40: Don’t Give Up, Kid! Part 2

Outside the field, Tang En was worried about Wood's fate, and on the field, Wood worried about himself, too.

He was not blind or a fool. He saw Tony Twain's sudden appearance on the sidelines and knew that this was a good opportunity to show himself. His surrounding teammates were trying hard to perform well and he was not willing to fall behind. But…

No one was willing to pass the ball to him, because if it were to be passed to him, it would only cause the team's overall performance to look bad. Everyone would not get the chance to perform. That bunch of players would normally have a few laughs together, but when it came down to that moment, who would not consider themselves first? There was nothing to be done. This was the cruel nature of professional football. One could not whine about others not giving them a chance when one did not have the strength!

Looking at his teammates—how the more they pressed on, the closer they got, and how instead, as a second striker, the more he kicked the farther away he was from the goalmouth—Wood wondered if his performance was over just like that? He thought that taking off the red jersey to return to continue be a mover, a job that did not require any skills and position awareness—as long as he had the strength he could do it—was the most suitable for an uneducated clod like him.

But when he thought of his beloved mother at home, he was not willing to admit defeat.

The more this kid kicked the farther back he went… Tang En shook his head lightly. If the striker was 40 meters away from the goal, would he still pose as a threat? This stupid kid, if he doesn't charge into the goal area, how is he going to shoot the ball into the goal? If he doesn't get a goal in, how is he going to convince others of his ability? I know it's asking too much of you especially when you've only just started playing the last two months… But even just one goal can save your career, you b*stard! Even if it means using your hand to score a goal, as long as you do it in such a way that the referee cannot detect!

Tang En looked down at his watch and did a bit of mental calculation. It was less than five minutes till the end of the match. Looking at Wood's condition, there seemed to be nothing to look forward to.

He got up from his seat with the intention to leave early. He could not say to Wood, "Don't waste your time here." The best approach was to get away from here.

Kerslake looked up at Twain. "Not watching anymore, Tony?"

Tang En shook his head in disappointment and said nothing. Then he turned and walked toward the players' corridor.

At this point, Nottingham Forest was finally awarded a corner kick though successive attacks. Except for the goalkeeper, almost all the players rushed into the opposing penalty area. They intended to score a goal to leave a good impression on the First Team manager.

Only George Wood was foolishly standing between the penalty arc and center circle, though he was 1.85-meter-tall, he did not think to join in to compete with a header.

When the corner kick was taken, none of the Forest players managed to receive the ball. The football was headed off by West Ham and flew directly to the right wing.

A West Ham player wearing the number 8 jersey stopped the ball beautifully and then turned to make a surprise attack!

The few Forest fans in the stands booed. At this time the Forest team's own penalty area was empty, with no one else except the goalkeeper.

"Damn it!" Kerslake cursed.

Upon hearing the fans booing, Tang En turned around to see what was happening on the field.

Then he saw that West Ham's number 8 was dribbling at a high-speed while all the Forest players were staring blankly on the other side of the field, not even trying to defend. Perhaps they did not feel they could catch up with him at all...

But someone appeared in his sights.

George Wood!

"Where did this b*stard come from?" The West Ham youth team manager did not expect that there was still a Forest defender.

He slashed through the field and chased the dribbling West Ham player; the speed of his pursuit was amazing! Looking at his swift figure, Tang En suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he'd seen it somewhere before ...

The distance between Wood and the player dribbling the ball was shortened in a flash.

"Good heavens..." exclaimed the assistant coach next to Kerslake. "His speed is really fast!"

"What's the use of being fast?" Kerslake replied. "He's not a damn defender! He's never practiced f*cking defense…."

He had not finished his sentence when he saw George, who was running at a high-speed, turn his body over and fly forward with his feet in front and head at the back. Then using the force of that momentum, mercilessly... mercilessly stamped on that dribbling player's foot! Sent flying by Wood's kick, the West Ham player with the ball flew straight over the sidelines, along with the rolling football.

"Oh my God!"

"Bloody hell!"

The managers of both teams exclaimed at the same time. Because in the completely empty stadium, they had clearly heard a snap just then, it had to be the sound of a bone fracture ...

The West Ham player, who was sent flying with a kick and tossed out of the field, never got up again. Instead he held on to his right leg and rolled back and forth on the ground. West Ham's team doctor had already rushed over.

The referee's whistle shrilled continuously on the field, while the West Ham players rushed to the offender in succession. But they were all stopped by the Forest players, and there was some physical confrontation between the players. It was not that they were thinking of Wood, they were actually thinking about the opposing players—ever since they saw Wood, with one punch, knock out their own team's biggest and strongest player, Eddie, and how he almost went into shock, no one would dare to mess with him again.

By the way, Eddie was that unlucky chap who was later sold off at a low price to Notts County. From a League One team to a League Two team, the turning point of his fate came because he used his usual way of swearing "raised by a whore" to insult a rookie who could not play football.

The Forest team players thought that George Wood, who did not perform well in front of the manager, must be in a bad mood and because of that, his temper would be violent. The West Ham players who rushed up to him would be just like sheep in a fierce tiger's eyes, and they did not want a big bloody battle on their home turf.

The referee expended a lot of effort to separate both teams' players from each other. He then walked up to George Wood, who had just scrambled up from the ground and raised his hand. A bright red card flashed past his eyes. He was sent off the field.

Kerslake covered his face and did not want to watch. Even if Twain did not say anything, he knew that this kid's time at Nottingham Forest was over, completely over!

At this point, Wood had completely lost his spirit. He lowered his head, walked mechanically to the locker room, not caring about the yells of the surrounding West Ham players and manager. He also not seeing his youth team manager, David Kerslake, shaking his head in disappointment. Even when he passed by Twain, he did not stop for a second and just walked back in with his head down.

He was closely followed by the West Ham's team doctor who hurried past Twain with his team carrying a stretcher with the West Ham number 8 lying on top, in agony. Their destination was not the visiting team's locker room, but the nearest local hospital.

Tang En looked at the back views of these people, shook his head lightly, and then turned to the home team's technical area.

It was not easy to return to normal on the field, and Kerslake also had no intention of making any adjustments anymore. In any case, when George Wood was on the field, the Forest team was equaled to having only 10 players anyways. He turned and was surprised to see Twain coming back again. But just as well, it was time to lay all the cards on the table. Twain brought him in, it should be Twain to bring him away.

So, he approached him.

When he saw Kerslake open his mouth, Tang En rushed to speak first. "This really is a mess."

Kerslake nodded in agreement.

"Our quarrel with West Ham just got bigger, didn't it?" Tang En asked.

Kerslake continued to nod in agreement. This man in front of him was still being remembered by East Londoners for his curse of their First Team's relegation, and now the youth team had crippled their main striker.

"What are you going to do?"

Kerslake said to Twain without hesitation, "Tony, I think we should give him up."

"I disagree with you, David," Twain laughed. "I finally found the most suitable position for this kid."

Kerslake was a bit taken aback. He had not expected that this foul would instead change Twain's opinion on Wood.

"Able to rival a striker's speed, have a stronger body than the center back, the stamina to run back and forth from this penalty area to that penalty area for 90 minutes, aggressive tackles... Can you guess which position this is?"

The youth team manager thought about it, and then said, "Defensive midfielder."

"The answer is correct!" Tang En happily clapped his hands. "It's the defensive midfielder! It doesn't matter if he can't shoot, many defensive midfielders will not necessarily be able to score 10 goals in their lifetimes..."

"But, Tony. Wood is already... "

"David," Tang En said firmly. "Giving him another chance also gives me a chance. I believe in my vision. You know what? Although that was a disgraceful foul, and a failed defense, from there I saw all the qualities that a great defensive midfielder should have. Letting him be the striker was our fault. This responsibility should not be his! Give him another chance!"

The two men stared at each other, after a while Kerslake relented and looked away. He then nodded and said, "All right. I'll let him practice defense the day after tomorrow and start training afresh!"

Tang En smiled, "Thank you, David. I'll handle Wood." Patting Kerslake's shoulder, Tang En turned and walked toward the home team's locker room.

Kerslake called out to stop him, "Tony, why not the center back?"

Tang En gave a wave of his hands, "This way we may give our opponents a few penalty kicks every match."

George Wood was showering alone in the locker room, with the crashing sound of water. He stood motionless under the shower nozzle, letting the water spray on him.

When he saw the opposing team's number 8 got the ball and broke through, he only had one thought at that time which was to stop him. But he did not want to commit a foul, only he did not know what best to do. So he chose the simplest way, which was also the stupidest. Now that he was sent off with a red card, it was all over. He was simply not suited to play football. He just wanted to rely on professional football to make money for his mother's treatment and to support them. It was entirely his own wishful thinking.

Forget it, better go back to being a mover...

I just thought of my mom smiling at the table and saying, "My George is also a professional footballer."

His heart ached. The biggest blow to him was disappointing his mother's trust and hope.

Turning off the tap, Wood walked out of the shower and started to get dress in front of his locker. At this time, he heard the door behind him, but he had no interest in turning around to see who came in.

"You're a miserable punk. With your hair stuck to your forehead, still dripping down with water, you look just like a dog that fell into the river and got dragged out." Tang En leaned against the door frame and said in a mocking tone.

Wood stopped moving his hands, but he still did not turn around.

"Tsk tsk. You received one red card, and it's like the end of the world. Hey, little boy, is this your first red card? Your silence means you admit it's true... Should we go out for a drink to celebrate? Oh, I think professional footballers can't drink." Tang En seemed to be performing a one-man show. He asked the questions, but wasn't waiting for Wood to reply. "Look at you now... Do you want to go home? Cry for 'mummy', asking for milk..."

"Bang!" A sharp sound interrupted Tang En's words, and he was startled. He then found the door of the locker next to Wood had been dented in. The whole locker was made of iron...

"Shut your stinking mouth!"

Tang En snorted, fully expressing his contempt for this kid's threat. "If you think you can hit me, you can go ahead and try. Don't think that everyone in the world is the same as that useless thing you knocked down with a punch. Looks like you're full of energy. I'll just ask you one question: Do you still want to continue playing?"

Wood finally turned around, and Tang En found this kid's eyes were red. He did not know whether it was due to despair or anger.

"You're a f*cking liar! You lied to me, and said I could become a football star, so I lost my job to come train with you! You want to hear my answer? My answer is—f*ck you!" Wood roared furiously.

"I lied to you? Kid, you can get struck by lightning with your groundless accusation," cried Tang En. "Which idiot came to my door and said, 'I think you should sign England's best star player?' Who was it? Isn't it the man standing in front of me? What did I say? 'Never underestimate professional football, or it will punish you'. I said that, didn't I? Do you think professional football is so simple that you can be as good as a superstar player after two months of training? What kind of place do you think this is?" Tang En abruptly raised his volume, unleashed the imposing manner he used to direct matches in front of 30,000 spectators and roared, "Where do you think you are? This is the City Ground's locker room, used by the First Team! All the players here are professional footballers, and which one of them did not have to go through more than 10 years of hard training before they had this chance? You're just a damn rookie idiot with two months of training!"

While Tang En was admonishing him, Wood was unable to retort. In fact, he did not know what to say.

"Do you think this locker room is for people like you? If it weren't for turf maintenance at the training ground, some of you may not even be able to step foot in this room in your lifetime! For more than 120 years, countless men, 100 times better than a clueless fool like yourself, have used this room. Some of them were the best of professional footballers, successful and famous. Some were just nobodies who have long been forgotten. Why is there such a difference? Because the latter looked down on professional football. They did not take seriously the work that brought them honor, money, beautiful women, fame, and status. So, professional football punished them, made them become worthless with all their money, beautiful women, fame, and status all gone overnight! And now it's your turn, lad ..."

Tang En looked at the silent Wood, with an imperious expression. "You're expelled by a red card. Your terrible performance was appalling, and there's completely no potential at all. Anyone can pronounce your death sentence right away. You're finished, the match is over! But, do you concede? Have you given up? Are you willing to disappoint your mother? Answer me!"

Wood bit hard on his lips, and his hands clenched into fists. He was slightly trembling everywhere in his entire body.

"This match is over, and there's still the next match. You lost here, and you still can win it back in the next match. But if you quit here and run home crying like a baby, then I tell you, you'll never get a chance to win back what you've lost! Never!" Tang En said to him angrily as he took a step forward and got in Wood's face.

"Now, answer me: Do you still plan to play football? Do you still want to be a superstar who earns ￡120,000 a week?"

"Tell... tell me, how can I do it?" Wood finally spoke again, his voice trembling.

Tang En sighed with relief inside, and his tone became much softer. "Listen to me, go back. Go back to the training ground, train yourself according to the new position the coaches have arranged for you. Listen to every coach, don't talk back, don't lose your temper, and use 24 hours like they are 72. Then prove yourself again in the next match. Step by step! Don't be impatient, and don't quit halfway. You will succeed, I promise!"

Looking at Wood's eyes, Tang En added, "My credit is guaranteed by the bank, kid." Then he grinned.

Chapter 41: Don’t Underestimate… Football Part 1

The issue with George Wood was deemed as settled. Tang En found out that he had made a big mistake before. He had not looked at Wood's physical condition at all and considered which technical characteristics were suitable for which position. It was entirely based on the position that Wood said he wanted to play, and they had arranged the position accordingly. And it wasn't just a football rookie situation. Some professional players who have trained from their youth, did not know which positions they would excel in.

For example, Didier "the Dragon" Drogba, the Ivorian player who later squeezed Andriy Shevchenko onto the bench at Chelsea, originally played the fullback position. The Portuguese striker, Nuno Gomes, had changed his field positions several times, from fullback to midfielder and again from midfielder to striker. The Brazilian national team captain, Cafu, and center back, Lúcio, all played as strikers when they made their debut. They later changed to playing as fullbacks and even became successful and famous. The world-famous striker, Gabriel "Batigol" Batistuta, even changed from playing basketball to playing football because playing football could make more money than playing basketball. And then due to the freak combination of factors, a brilliant celebrated striker was made in the history of Argentina and even the history of football in the world. But Batistuta also admitted that he did not like football at all. Outside of the training ground and football field, he and his friends talked more about basketball at home.

These successful facts gave Tang En confidence, and he thought it would be wise and successful to switch George Wood to become a defensive midfielder. Wood did not have the talent to play a striker. He did not know how to seize opportunities in matches and had no position awareness to place himself between the gaps at the exact moment his teammates were ready to pass the ball. He did not know how to stay calm when he was facing the goalkeeper alone, and to choose the method to shoot.

Some things could be done through training, and some things could only be realized by oneself. If one's talent was not enough, then one could waste an entire career on an unsuitable position.

Luckily, I had the impulse to go watch the youth team's match, otherwise how long would Wood have to keep going down the wrong path? Who knows, maybe two months, maybe four months even? He may have had no potential and been abandoned by the team.

The next day, in an inconspicuous section, the Nottingham Evening Post reported that West Ham United youth team striker, Freddy Eastwood, was injured in an FA Youth Cup match with Nottingham Forest. The post-match diagnosis stated that his right calf was fractured, and he would be absent for the entire season. His recovery time was expected to be as long as 10 months.

A young player's future might be ruined, but no one was worried about this. As long as there had been the sport of football, such things often happened, as common as car accidents.

Professional football was so brutal and callous.

It was match day on March 11th.

Nottingham Forest, which already had a five-match winning streak, would face the previously bottom-ranked Grimsby Town on its home ground.

"Thirty-five matches, won seven matches, drew for eight matches, and lost ..." Tang En looked at the statistics report in his hands and mumbled to himself. "Twenty matches. Scored 39 goals and lost 70 goals. So, this is our opponent." He could not help but whistle, attracting a lot of players' attention on the bus.

"Tony, don't underestimate your opponents," Walker cautioned, which sounded more like a routine reminder.

"I know, I know..." He was in a good mood, having just settled Wood's future. He was also very relaxed because they were up against a bottom-ranked team in the league. The team already had five consecutive wins, their morale was high, and it was home ground. Going up against such a lousy opponent, what reason would there be for them not to continue winning?

He got up and turned back to the players on the bus and said, "Our opponents are very powerful!"

There was a sudden burst of laughter on the bus.

"You shouldn't slack off." Tang En did not smile when he said this, and the response to him was naturally even more laughter.

"Destroy them!"

"Yeah!!"

Looking at the high-spirited players, Tang En sat down again and shrugged to Walker. "The threat is eliminated." After that, he turned his head and looked out the window. He could see more and more Forest fans on the roadside as they were getting closer and closer to the stadium.

When the Forest team's red bus passed them, these fans would raise their hands up high and wave their scarves and flags to greet them. Tang En even saw a poster with a slogan singing his praises among the crowd. Two pretty young blondes wrote, "Tony, we love you!" on their poster.

Tang En waved to them from the window, and the two of them blew kisses at him. He gave a whistle and turned to stare at them until he could not see them anymore. Turning back, Tang En closed his eyes and was still intoxicated.

Hot and pliable chicks, ah, foreign women are open-minded...

The media coverage for this match was clearly a lot more than any previous matches. Nottingham Forest already had a five-match winning streak in the League Championship and had been unbeaten in seven matches after being eliminated from the FA Cup by West Ham. Of course, these were not all the reasons that attracted the media. Twain's peculiar experience was also an important factor in attracting the public's attention. Everyone wanted to see the February best manager, who had been struck by one of his players, and what other thrilling performance he would give. In the second half of the West Ham match and the Wimbledon match, his direction during both matches, was considered by many critics to be quite representative of his work.

Tony Twain relished becoming a nation-wide celebrity. Starting from the moment he jumped down from the bus, the media interview microphones almost lined up to the door of the locker room. Everyone asked what the Forest team and he would do in this match, and Tang En just smiled and replied, "Everyone will know when the match is over!"

Everyone will know when the match is over…

This was a wonderful saying. It fully embodied the unpredictability of football matches and the accuracy of the old saying "the ball is round."

City Ground slowly fell silent, but the match was not over yet. On the other hand, more than 1,000 Grimsby Town fans were excitedly looking at the scoreboard. They had enough reasons to celebrate at someone else's home ground.

With four minutes left to the end of the match, it was now 1:2, and the visiting team, Grimsby Town, was leading.

Tang En sat at the technical area. He had already used up the quota for three substitutions. Now, besides siting here and waiting for the end, there was nothing else he could do.

Yes, he had become the focus of media attention, and he could even guess what the media would rant about tomorrow. The reporters on the sidelines were all aiming their cameras at him, and the sound of the shutter did not stop. But in fact, they were only able to take one shot since the 18th minute, because Twain had not changed his expression since then. He had no expression at all.

Currently, Tang En was trying his best to maintain this expressionless stance, but his heartbeat was accelerating inside his chest. It was not a big deal to lose a match, but he was unwilling to lose this match under such circumstances. Everyone thought they would win. Even he had no doubt about it with everyone singing and cheering for the good news of his six consecutive wins. And what was the result?

Damn it. Tang En could not help wanting to say the F word.

The Forest team was like a headless chicken on the field. Their offense and defense completely lacked organization. As time passed, the visiting team, Grimsby Town, however, became more and more cool-headed.

These Forest players certainly did not expect to play so badly in what should have been an easily-won match. It was like they were moving in quicksand the entire match. No matter how much strength they had, how beautiful their coordination was, how sharp their attacks were, they were completely unable to come to play.

Tang En cast a sideways glance at the other manager, who was directing the match on the sidelines.

Paul Groves was a 37-year-old center back and the manager of the Grimsby Town team. Another player-manager! But unlike McAllister, the Coventry City manager, Groves directed this match in the technical area from start to finish. When he did play, he was the center back and defensive midfielder, and most of the time he was at the backfield watching the matches. He had long learned to use his head to think about the course of the match, which was very helpful in his career switch to manager.

Tang En did not expect that he would be defeated by this part-time manager, but he had long forgotten that he was also a rookie manager with only seven matches of experience.

When this match started, the home fans were full of expectation. The Forest team scored a goal at the 13th minute, and everything was progressing favorably for Nottingham Forest. But at the last minute of the first half, Grimsby Town scored an equalizing goal. And then, three minutes into the second half, the Forest team was hit again, and Grimsby Town took the lead with another goal.

The subsequent time was filled with Forest team's frantic counterattacks and Grimsby Town's full defense. The Forest team had no way in with their goalmouth tightly defended. Now that the match had already reached 88 minutes, it looked like the hope of equalizing the score was fading, let alone any hope of winning.

"Eighty-eight minutes!" reminded John Motson. "We all still remember that scene at the Wimbledon match when the tenacious Forest team scored the winning goal in the match's 90th minute. That was the starting point of their five-match winning streak. Now, can Tony Twain's Forest team still produce a miracle?"

Kenny Burns shook his head in front of the television set. There was so much difference between the two matches. During that match, other than the period when Wimbledon scored two goals, the Forest team performed very well the rest of the time, and basically controlled the tempo of the match with their feet. But this match? When the Forest team scored at the 13th minute, the tempo of the match gradually fell into the opponent's hands. The swift passing that the Forest team had displayed in the previous five matches did not materialize at all, and the result was? For the sole purpose of producing fast speed, the players frequently shot high balls. The success rate was so low that it was appalling to watch.

Watching the match with the eyes of a former professional player, Burns had already pronounced the death sentence for the Forest team in advance. But what surprised him was that Twain was able to see the same problems that he could see.

Why did he not make any adjustments when the team appeared to be shooting long balls to no avail? Why did he let the match continue to deteriorate?

The bar was dead quiet. The fans were all watching the match in the stands. In the last few minutes of the game, everyone wanted a miracle.

Chapter 42: Don’t Underestimate… Football Part 2

At the 89th minute, Forest team's Andy Reid brought about what might have been their last attack in the second half. A beautiful two-on-one passing coordination in front of the penalty area. While David Johnson and Marlon Harewood attracted the attention of almost all Grimsby Town players, Eugen Bopp unexpectedly popped in and emerged in the penalty box. Then he received Reid's straight pass and faced the goalkeeper alone!

All the Nottingham Forest fans stood up and waited for the miracle to unfold!

This included Tang En, who stood motionless. He too had rushed from the technical area, hoping to celebrate a goal.

But, Eugen Bopp's power shot went out of the goal.

"Oh—!" The fans made one huge sigh of disappointment.

Tang En threw his jacket to the ground. He did not hide his inner frustration and disappointment at all, even though the failure of the match was largely caused by him. The only thing he could think was—When I get back, I'm going to make Bopp practice his shooting!

The photojournalists on the sidelines saw Twain's impulsive display and got excited. They had been waiting for this moment. Their fingers quickly pressed on the shutters again to capture Twain's impetuous reaction.

"This was their best chance! But Eugen Bopp wasted it! Hear the sighs in City Ground... the miracle did not happen again; Manager Tony Twain's luck has run out!"

In that instant, when Tang En had just thrown his jacket to the ground, the Grimsby Town manager jumped up. His team had survived the raid, and victory was close at hand. He did not expect to gain three points for this match. Perhaps these would be the precious three points that would determine whether they ended up staying in League One, or if they would be relegated to League Two this season.

Bopp, who missed the crucial ball, laid down on the ground in disappointment with both hands covering his face. He dared not even look at the fans' angry and disappointed faces. For him, he lost a great opportunity to be a team hero and to have all the fans fall in love with him overnight. And the opportunity would not appear for a defensive midfielder like him the next time.

In the wake of Bopp missing the goal with his power shot, the Forest team also lost their confidence and will to fight. For the rest of the match, they seemed to be distracted, as if they longed for the match to end early. Harewood spread his arms helplessly in the opponent's field with no one to pass the ball to him. Although he had scored a goal in this match, he was unable to save his team.

Tang En picked up his jacket from the ground, walked back to the technical area, and sat down.

"Des, you know what? Yesterday I was just here to teach a snotty kid, to warn him not to underestimate professional football, otherwise he would be punished. Now I've made the same mistake as him," he muttered gloomily in a low voice. "I'm entirely to blame for this match, I've lost... I have nothing to say to that."

Des patted Twain's shoulder to comfort him. "Tony, it's good to win successively, no doubt about that. But no one has ever not experienced failure. Cheer up a little." At that moment, he was like a veteran coach, and Tang En was just a player being brought off and deeply disappointed in his performance.

A minute later, the referee blew the full-time whistle. The Forest team, which everyone had high hopes for before this match, lost 1:2 to the league's bottom ranked Grimsby Town on their home ground. To others who did not understand Twain, this was not the first match defeat of the Forest First Team under his coaching. But to Tang En himself, this was his first defeat. He still insisted he had won the FA Cup match with West Ham and only lost to the referee.

Hearing the whistle, Tang En got up from his seat. The players passed beside him and walked into the players' corridor with their heads lowered. Walker comforted them one by one. Their disaster was over, but his own... had only just begun.

He looked at the media crowded on both sides of the corridor. This was a tough game, and he had to keep his spirits up to deal with the harsh media. Those people were waiting to mock him.

After the match, Teng En went in the City Ground press conference room.

It was not Tang En's first time there. He recognized some of the reporters interviewing him from the crowd. For example, he saw Pierce Brosnan again.

Sitting next to Tang En was his opponent for this match, the Grimsby Town manager, 37-year-old Paul Groves, who was just three years older than he. He'd led his team to victory, so his mood was very good, and he smilingly accepted the reporters' questions. But the focal point of this press conference was not him.

After answering a few very common questions, he was left out in the cold. Almost everyone's firepower was focused on Tony Twain.

"Manager Tony Twain, everyone thought that it would be easy to win before this match, but it ended in failure. Do you have anything you want to say to that?" The Nottingham local media was most dissatisfied with this match, so the questions they asked were sharp and merciless. It did not matter that they had praised Twain as the best manager, they immediately changed their tune once the match was lost.

Tang En glanced at the unfamiliar-looking reporter who asked the question. He could tell he was from the Nottingham local media, because the reporter spoke with a thick Nottingham accent. "I have nothing to say. Lost means lost. The Grimsby Town manager did well, and his team deserved to win."

The routine answer was clearly not enough to satisfy the media, so someone else stood up and said, "But you and your players were full of confidence before the match, and there was someone who guaranteed the team would continue their winning streak during an interview..."

"Sh*t!" The curse word suddenly burst from Tang En, and everyone was astonished. "Whoever said that, go look for him. I've never said on any occasion that we could easily win, and that we could achieve six consecutive wins. Are you an idiot?" Tang En stood up, leaned over with his head extended out and said, "How could I have known the outcome and mentioned anything about a consecutive win when the match hadn't even started yet? Don't you know anything about football?"

That reporter did not expect Twain to suddenly flare up. He stood still and stared blankly for a while, not knowing what to say or do. Tang En sat back down again, shifted in his seat, crossed his legs and said, "OK, next."

Pierce Brosnan, who had followed Robson in his interview with Twain, thought twice about being embarrassed by Twain. He still regarded this person in front of him with a journalist's fair and objective point of view. There were advantages and disadvantages to this. As for the swearing during the press conference, he thought the reason for it was due to Manager Twain being under too much pressure after the loss. Having interviewed him before, he thought he understood his motives better than anyone else, therefore Brosnan decided to turn this awkward scene around. So, he stood up.

"Ah!" Tang En, without waiting for Brosnan to speak, spoke first. "James Bond has something to say."

There was finally some laughter on the spot and the awkwardness was wiped away.

Brosnan did not mind the nickname that Twain gave him. He smiled and asked, "Pardon me, Manager Twain, how will the loss of this match impact the team's promotion plan?"

This was a reasonable question. Tang En liked these kinds of questions. He did not need to be provoked into a fight with the press. "There will be an impact, but it is uncertain as to whether it will be good or bad. Just like we won't know what the final score is when a match hasn't started. The season is not over yet, so we don't know what the impact of this failure will bring."

Tang En was tired of this media siege. In fact, he did not know what other tricky questions he would continue to be asked. He was not good at countering the media's collective attack, so he passed the football to the winner next to him.

"Gentlemen, I think you're mistaken. It's Grimsby Town that won this match, not my Nottingham Forest. The winner should be the focal point, right? So... Ask Mr. Groves if you have any questions. I'm sorry, I have to go." After saying that, he ignored all the surprised looks, turned to walk off the platform, and quickly left the scene.

Brosnan stood on the spot, looked at the back of Twain getting away in a hurry and shook his head with a wry smile.

When he returned to the locker room, Tang En found that the team was all there, no one had left. Looking at the dejected players, Tang En smiled. His mood suddenly changed for the better.

He recalled the halftime break at that match they lost to West Ham two months earlier. That scene right then was what made Tang En happy. A team of unhappy players, after losing a match, was a team with a future. It was contrary to a team that was still smiling, as if nothing had happened after losing a match. At that time, Tang En reckoned he would grab a chair and smash the locker room.

"All right, lads. Don't be so down. We've only just lost a match. We didn't lose the entire season. Wait till we lose this season before you start crying." Tang En clapped his hands, which implied that he was back.

As captain, Michael Dawson stepped forward. He wanted to apologize to the manager who trusted him for the failure of the match. But before he could open his mouth, he was stopped by Tang En's gesture.

"The responsibility for the failure of this match completely rests with me. I have no problem with any of you, you did very well. That's all I want to say. Now board the bus, go back to the hotel, take a hot shower, change into clean clothes, and just do whatever you want to do." When he realized that no one made a move, Tang En sighed. "Okay, no one can leave the hotel tonight, and everyone goes to bed on time at 10 o'clock. There will be no break tomorrow, the team will be sealed off for one week's training, until the next match... uh no, until you win a match."

"What?!" The players finally reacted. They did not expect such a punishment.

Tang En grinned. "Since you don't want it to be like this, hurry up and get on the bus!"

The group of players quickly sprang from their seats and rushed out of the locker room. Dawson still wanted to apologize to his manager as he passed by Twain on his way out, but Tang En pushed him out instead. "Keep your apology, Michael. Have a good holiday and then come back to train for the match."

Very soon, there were only three people left in the locker room.

Tony Twain, Des Walker, and Ian Bowyer.

"Tony, I think you seem to feel better?" Walker was very concerned about his friend. "What happened at the press conference?"

Bowyer shook his head. "When he stepped through the door just now, I could see that he still did not look too good. Did you feel better because of the team?"

Tang En nodded. "We only lost a match. I do not care about dwelling on such things. The key is I saw good signs in these players, and this defeat was just an accident. We are not off track; the team is still on a fast track to the Premier League. Come on, don't think about the past matches. Let's go to Burns' bar tonight for a drink and unwind for a bit."

After the door was locked, the three men walked side by side to the bus outside the stadium.

After five consecutive wins, the Forest team suffered a defeat. But for Tang En himself, it was just another starting point to a five-match winning streak.

When faced with failure, some people would be resentful or downcast, be fearful as if the world was coming to an end. And some people were still able to find what they needed in the face of failure. So, the former would expect one failure after another, whereas the latter would welcome a new victory.

Chapter 43: Chinese Teacher Part 1

A melodious bell rang out, and the quiet campus suddenly livened up. Crowds poured out from the buildings, and it was full of life everywhere.

Yang Yan was looking down to gather up her textbooks and papers when her friends ran over. "Yang Yan, since class is over, let's go shopping at Victoria!"

Yang Yan smiled and shook her head. "Not today, Professor Schecher asked me come to his office."

"Aww." Her group of friends were very disappointed.

Liu Wei picked up a football from his own desk, held it on top of his head, and tried to scare Yang Yan. "Better be careful, I heard that old Schecher likes to use a talking-to as an excuse to call young, pretty female students to his office for indecent behavior... Oh my!"

Ali shoved him away.

Yang Yan laughed and said, "Ah, Liu Wei, do you think everyone else has a filthy mind like you?" Then she said to her friends, "Go enjoy yourselves, never mind me. Professor Schecher can't stop once he starts talking. I don't think he'll let me go in less than half an hour."

After her friends said their goodbyes in disappointment, Yang Yan waited for another 10 minutes before she got up to go to Professor Schecher's office.

Professor Stanley Schecher's office was on the third floor of the university's main lecture building and the fourth room on the east side. And Yang Yan's classroom was on the second floor of this building.

The professor's office door was wide open, so Yang Yan gave a cough in front of the door and then gently knocked. The deep voice of Professor Schecher came from inside. "Please come in."

Only then did Yang Yan go in.

When the old professor saw it was his student, he stood up from his seat and dropped his glasses in his pocket.

"Professor Schecher, I'm here because in the previous class, I violated..." Yang Yan had just opened with the mental script that she had spent half a day on, when she was interrupted by the professor's raised hand.

"Yang, do you know? You were very lucky that day."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because your encounter was with me, not Professor Pazler."

Yang Yan was even more confused. Professor Pazler was widely recognized as a good man. He usually had a smiling face and kind appearance. Even if he ran into a student, he would be polite in his greetings, and his appearance was meticulous. He was what a lot of girls thought of as a "charming, older gentleman." On the contrary, Professor Schecher, the man in front of her, was strictly known as "Professor Devil", a term the students used behind his back, of course. Why was it better to run into him than Pazler?

Seeing the doubt in Yang Yan's eyes, Schecher smiled. "It's very simple. Pazler, that old man, is a loyal Notts County fan. If he had caught you reading the Forest manager interview in his class, I bet he would have torn up that newspaper on the spot. In Nottingham, Nottingham Forest and Notts County are mortal enemies."

Yang Yan felt that lying was not very nice, so she had to tell the truth, even if she was scolded by the professor. "Professor... I'm not a Forest fan. In fact, I'm not even a football fan. I'm sorry."

She lowered her head after she spoke and waited for the punishment.

But she heard bigger laughter. "Of course. I know you're not a fan. If I don't know my students, how can I teach you? I read that newspaper later. What surprised me was that fellow, Tony, turned out to be such a fanatical follower of the Eastern culture."

Yang Yan listened to the professor's tone. It was as if they had known each other for a long time. She had questions in her heart, but she did not dare to ask them.

Professor Schecher was so excited that he did not notice the puzzled expression on Yang Yan's face.

"You see, this world is so amazing. I like Nottingham Forest, the manager of Nottingham Forest likes Chinese culture, and you... are from China and my student."

"It's really amazing," Yang Yan laughed. She thought, If I told you that I was a tour guide to the manager, and he gave me his phone number, hoping that I would be his Chinese teacher, you would be even more amazed.

"So, you don't have to worry that I'll punish you. You can go now." Professor Schecher extended his hand to see her out, and Yang Yan was eager to do so. She said goodbye and turned, but was stopped again.

"Oh, Yang. I think you should give this little football thing a try. I swear you'll like it."

"I will. Thank you, Professor."

On the way back to her apartment, Yang Yan still could not help laughing aloud at the thought of everything she had just encountered. If Liu Wei had not thrown the newspaper to her but had borne the responsibility himself, maybe he would have rambled on to show off his good personal relationship with Professor Schecher this afternoon.

Yang Yan decided to relate this to Liu Wei and let him go crazy with jealousy.

When she passed by a newsstand, Yang Yan's attention was caught by several newspapers placed in the front row.

The newspapers were all different but had one thing in common. Yang Yan skimmed through and saw that familiar name: Tony Twain.

Not knowing why, Yang Yan stopped and picked up a newspaper with a lot of photos.

It was the biggest-selling newspaper in the United Kingdom, despite its less than stellar reputation, The Sun.

The sports section had been turned to the front. Apparently, this was a promotional tactic to attract passing students to buy. The newsstand owner knew which sports were the most popular in the United Kingdom, and what kinds of sports young people liked best.

On the left section of the newspaper, there were several similar-sized photographs, neatly laid out like a four-frame comic strip.

All four photographs had the same view, focused on the technical area below the stands. Tony Twain, wearing a black suit, was the main subject in the photographs. He had different expressions and actions in each photograph.

In the first frame, he had his arms raised up high, and he was grinning with the jubilant crowd behind him. The caption was simple: "At the thirteenth minute, 1:0."

In the second one, Twain was swinging his leg to kick toward the water bottles at the sidelines. Whether he kicked them or not, Yang Yan would never know. The caption read: "At the forty-fourth minute, 1:1."

The third frame showed Twain hopelessly waving his hands. The caption was: "At forty-eighth minute, 1:2."

And in the fourth frame, with a furious expression, Twain was throwing his jacket to the ground in a very exaggerated manner. The caption read: "The end of the match, the Forest team loses."

The headline of this news picture was: "Tony Twain's Match."

Looking at the pictures of Twain, whose expressions were so rich that he could be an actor, Yang Yan thought this person was rather interesting. When they first met, he left her with a refined and polite impression, completely unlike the angry manager in the photograph.

Maybe Liu Wei was right. A man who was a professional football manager could not always be a polite and calm gentleman.

This reminded her of Professor Schecher, whom she had just met alone. The old professor always looked so serious in public, and he appeared to be so exacting and demanding of everyone that he was almost unreasonable. There were only a few students who did not curse him behind his back. But Yang Yan had the privilege to see a completely different Professor Schecher 15 minutes ago, which was an eye-opener for her.

She turned to read the newspaper again. Both Professor Schecher and Manager Twain could show completely different sides to their personalities, and the reason for this was football.

Chinese teacher...

Maybe it's good to have a part-time job, occasionally.

At Twain's messy bachelor pad, newspapers were thrown all over the floor, which made the already horrendous indoor environment even more appalling.

These newspapers were almost all one-sided criticism of Manager Tony Twain's match tactics and on-the-spot direction. Angry rebukes, sarcasm, and whatever contrasting means were used. It really was the old saying "Laughter and anger are arbitrary in all articles."

"These media sons of b*tches!" Tang En was holding The Sun. Although the newspaper had printed the least words among the news reports about him, that unique 'four-frame comic strip' style report clearly had a mocking tone, very thick and strong, like the Italian cream of mushroom soup he ate last night.

"Damn! When I won a match, you licked my *ss one by one and said I was the best manager, young and promising. I lose one match and here comes all the criticism!"

Yes, all the criticism came. From the way Twain chose his players to the Forest team's persisting with the new style for these last few matches, they had all become the reasons for which the media criticized him. In particular, Twain's insistence on "high-efficiency football" was ridiculed as "high-failure-rate football." It was not surprising that Tang En was so annoyed. It was also this group of media, during Forest team's five-match winning streak, loudly proclaiming that this fast and efficient football was in line with the development direction of modern football.

Of course, what made Tang En the angriest was not others' disapproval, but to see that these people criticized him so publicly without restraint and completely irresponsibly with their words. He had no way to counteract. In fact, he had many retorts and opinions for these b*stards, but there was no way to say them. To ask the club to hold a press conference for this matter? That would be making a mountain out of a molehill.

Infuriated, Tang En was pacing around in the house. It was no use telling others about the agony of being filled with anger and not being able to give vent to it. When he turned into the bedroom and looked up at that huge picture, his mind finally calmed down.

Chapter 44: Chinese Teacher Part 2

The Evening Post's President was a man of his word. One and a half days after that phone call, he had sent someone to deliver the picture, which was already framed. He even went the extra mile to hang it on the wall of Tang En's bedroom, facing Tang En's bed. That way, every morning when Tang En woke up, he would be able to witness that glorious moment first thing in the morning.

Under a sea of red, he was there, cheering and raising his hands.

It was like an oil painting titled "Victory", a piece of artwork that was worth treasuring forever.

Staring at the picture, Tang En thought of the best way to retaliate.

He nodded his head. I was never a pushover, someone who offered his left cheek to be hit, after having his right cheek punched. I might not have any way of rebutting all of your comments about me, but don't think that I will remain silent. The next match... the next match, I'll definitely let all of you come crawling back to me to lick my toes! These bunch of darned, two-faced people!

Tang En raised both his arms high, imitating the pose in that picture. He closed his eyes and fantasized about himself at a loud, cheering stadium, savoring the advance, the joy of victory, and the pleasure of revenge. It was at that moment, Tang En heard his cell phone, which he had placed on the living room table, ring.

Trampling the newspaper all over the floor while running to the living room, Tang En discovered that the number displayed for the incoming call was unfamiliar. After slightly hesitating, Tang En answered.

The next second, he jumped with surprise and joy.

"Yang Yan!"

"Sir, it's me. I've considered for a long while and decided to accept your goodwill and become your Chinese teacher." Yang Yan heard Tang En's childlike laughter on the other side of the line.

"You really did take your time considering it, teacher... but since you've agreed, all's fine. Do you know..."

Tang En sat down and leaned against his chair, before raising his feet and resting them on the table. He lied, "Do you know, because I was unable to get your guidance, I was like a lost ship in the dark, unable to see the lighthouse, going around in circles for two months. If you didn't accept my offer, then I would have completely given up on my interest in Chinese culture."

Ever since he possessed the body of the westerner, Tang En discovered that he had experienced some changes, such as being much more cheerful than his previous self. That was definitely expected, since he could be involved with his favorite thing, football, on a daily basis. The current Tang En had already confirmed his life goals and was no longer that stubborn, proud, and aloof person that he once was. Of course, the reason why he was so excited that day, was largely due to the fact that Yang Yan agreed to be his Chinese teacher.

As he continued chattering on happily, Yang Yan who was on the other end started to become embarrassed from hearing him. "Sir, if you continue to chatter on endlessly like this, I think I will have to change my mind."

"Ah, no! Of course, I will listen to you. If you don't want me to, I won't say a single word," Tang En said, as he dramatically covered his mouth. His eager tone made Yang Yan laugh.

"Sir, why are you so excited?"

"Because I'm in a very good mood today," Tang En casually said as he tried to conjure up something on the spot.

However, Yang Yan immediately saw through the problem and questioned, "Huh? Mr. Manager, didn't your team just lose a match yesterday?"

"Yes… Of course. However, losing might not necessarily be a bad thing. We have to look at this issue from a positive perspective, don't you agree? Alright, let's not talk about that disappointing match. We need to discuss in greater detail you becoming my Chinese teacher. These kinds of details are usually unable to be made clear over the phone, so I think there's a need for us to meet... Where are you now?"

Yang Yan raised her head and looked at the street opposite her. There was a cafe located there, so she gave the name of the cafe to Tang En.

"Okay. I'll be there in, at most, 30 minutes."

Hearing Tang En hanging up in a rush, she then crossed the road and entered the cafe. She sat in a seat beside the window and casually ordered some fruit juice. Yang Yan was wondering if her decision was the correct one. Aside from the reports in the media, she had absolutely no knowledge about this person. She was clueless about his actual personality and clueless about his background. Even though the two subjects were both mentioned in that exclusive with him, Yang Yan felt that in an era where information was constantly exploding, the credibility of the media was no longer what it used to be. Therefore, she often found herself doubting, out of habit, the opinion of the media toward a certain incident. Similarly, she would cast the same doubts on the individuals reported by the media.

If she wanted to become his private tutor, she must have a sufficient understanding of him beforehand. Otherwise... there was no guarantee that she would be safe, especially with a foreign man in a foreign land.

Yang Yan sat in the small cafe, apprehensive about the person she was about to meet. The feeling was just like going on a blind date.

The chimes on the door sounded as someone pushed opened the door and entered. Yang Yan raised her head and looked around. She saw the man at the door who wore a pair of shades, looking around. She lowered her head and looked at her watch. It was exactly half an hour from the time she had ended the call.

"Hi." The man was too conspicuous, leaving Yang Yan with no choice but to stand up and wave to him, signaling him over to her seat.

"Sorry, I was stuck in traffic because of a car accident. I didn't make you wait for long, did I?" Seeing the real person, Yang Yan discovered that the wild and arrogant manager in the newspapers had reverted back to a gentlemanly look, which he had had when they first met. She shook her head and replied, "Nope, time passed very quickly."

Tang En sat down and took off his shades. He waved his hand to call the waiter over and politely asked Yang Yan in advance what drinks she wanted. Yang Yan looked at her glass of fruit juice, which was completely untouched, and shook her head.

"Just a cup of coffee, thanks." After the waiter went away, Tang En tilted his head and stared at the girl in front of him. The same girl who had made Tang En think about her day and night, and had made him silently observe her from a certain corner, was now seated before him. She even wore a smile on her face, which was slightly tinged with embarrassment.

Yang Yan finally could not hold back and asked, "Sir, what are you looking at?"

"Ah, nothing. Sorry, I went into a daze. Erm…" When the waiter came over to deliver Tang En's coffee, he also brought along a piece of white paper and a pen.

"Mr. Twain, please sign an autograph for me!" The freckled English boy said excitedly.

"Alright, but we just lost a match yesterday."

Yang Yan smiled as she watched Tang En lower his head and sign his name on the piece of paper. After he finished writing in English, Tang En thought for a while, before proceeding to write his own Chinese name, Tang En, crookedly.

"This is...." That boy was unsure of what it was.

"Hmm, you know, I really like the Chinese culture, so this is my Chinese name that I came up with. What do you think of it?"

"I cannot read it, but it's very beautiful..." The boy left contentedly with his autograph, and Tang En saw Yang Yan's slightly shocked expression when he turned his head around.

"Haha, surprising right! I have tried learning on my own, although I only know how to write two characters." He was lying. Actually, he could speak fluent Mandarin and Sichuan dialects. On top of that, he was also well-versed in writing Chinese characters.

Yang Yan, just recovered from her shock, nodded her head while looking lost. "Indeed, it's very shocking. I didn't think that you could write Chinese characters. But..." She wrote down Tang En's English name, Twain, on a piece of napkin.

"I feel like it translates to 'Tu Wen' better."

"Tu Wen? What kind of a weird name is this?"

Yang Yan coughed. This man obviously doesn't know Lawrence, but don't tell me that he doesn't even know this famous author? "Twain, Mark Twain..."

"Ah!" Tang En patted the back of his head. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! But I like the name 'Tang En' better."

Yang Yan tilted her head and asked, "Why is that so?"

"I don't know, I just feel that this sounds better, at least better than some 'Tu Wen'."

Yang Yan looked at Tang En for a while, before breaking out into a smile. "I also feel that this sounds better, Mr. Tang En."

"Calling me mister is too formal. You may call me Tang En." Tang En thought in his heart, My original name in the first place.

Unexpectedly, Yang Yan shook her head and replied, "Mister, this is only our second time meeting."

Darn! We've already met many times! We were high school classmates! Tang En really wanted to say this to the lady seated opposite him, but he could not.

Seeing Yang Yan's determined look, Tang En conceded.

"Erm, up to you, I guess," Tang En agreed. That was his second time spending time with her alone. As such, he lacked experience and suddenly did not know what else to say. It was Yang Yan who reminded him. "Mr. Twain, what did you call me here for? I don't suppose its so that we could sit here and stare into space?"

"Oh, of course. We need to discuss in detail your plans to teach me Chinese."

After half an hour, they had finished finalizing all of the details. Taking into consideration the unique nature of Tang En's job, he had limited time to learn Chinese, so they only arranged for two classes every week. Weekends were definitely out of the question, as Tang En had to lead his team at matches. Home matches were still possible, but if it were an away match, he would be away for two to three days. In the end, they finalized the lessons on Monday and Thursday nights, and Yang Yan would have to give lessons to Tang En at his house. The payment would be ￡10 an hour.

Should there be any last minute changes, they each had to inform the other party.

After they finished discussing, Tang En offered to treat Yang Yan to lunch, but was rejected.

"Hehe, so sorry. I already arranged a lunch appointment with my friend." Yang Yan smiled and left. Looking at her back, Tang En felt that he had let a nimble butterfly slip away and felt slightly dejected.

However, soon after, he readjusted his mood. Since he would be able to meet her twice a week, there was still a lot of time.

Chapter 45: Nice Guy Mr. Coppell Part 1

In order to prove that he really loved Chinese culture, as well as to have some sort of evidence for being "self-taught", Tang En went to all the old and new bookstores in Nottingham that afternoon. He bought all the books he could find about China, regardless of whether they were in Chinese, English, French, or German.

After dragging a car-full of books home, Tang En was annoyed. He could not find any place to put them. The two cupboards in Tony Twain's house were filled with football-related items, from newspapers to magazines, to various data collected by Tony himself. There wasn't the slightest gap for the new books. Tang En did not want to move the data, which had already been so carefully categorized. So, he had no choice but to stack all of the new books on the floor.

Anyway, ever since he had arrived, the house had always been in a mess. He had been used to living as a bachelor and did not think that there was anything wrong with it.

However, when Yang Yan came over the next day, she was shocked at all the books scattered all over the floor. By the end of the first lesson, the amount of time spent on the lesson was minimal, as Yang Yan's "helpful" habits resurfaced and helped Tang En tidy up his room.

Tang En served as her assistant, and he could only mischievously chuckle whenever he saw Yang Yan sigh and shake her head.

"You know... a bachelor staying alone tends to be like this. Ah! Actually, you don't have to do this. I can just hire someone to do it."

Yang Yan finished tidying up the living room and could finally catch a breather. She shook her head and replied, "I'm not used to giving lessons in this kind of environment, so... forget it, since I've already finished tidying up."

Tang En smiled embarrassedly, but he was actually enjoying it deep inside his heart.

Yang Yan stood at the door of the bedroom and chanced upon the picture hung on the wall. She had seen it in the newspaper before, and it suddenly piqued her interest. She went in to admire it.

Tang En watched Yang Yan's silhouette. Since the start of junior high, that girl had been the target of affection of many people. She was understanding and helpful, and with virtually no shortcomings at all. At that time, Tang En was still a stubborn and weird-tempered bookworm. However, puberty was something that every teenager underwent, and even Tang En fantasized about receiving the affections of the popular girl. However, never did he expect that a day would come where such a situation like this would occur—the lover which everyone longed for, was tidying up and cleaning his house, spending time alone with her.

The only pity was that, while Yang Yan was still that same Yang Yan, he was no longer her classmate, Tang En. It was not that Tang En did not think of telling his true identity to Yang Yan, but the thought only flashed through his mind for a split second, before being instantly rejected. First of all, he was unsure if a time-travelling body-possession story would be well-received by her. Secondly, he did not know if he would lose his job, should anyone get to know the truth. For his current self, he understood that even if he were to be unemployed, he could still rely on a decent welfare provided by the government. However, being a football manager had become his dream job and not merely a job that supported his lifestyle.

As such, faced with his very familiar classmate, Tang En could only act as if they had just met. The feeling was really unbearable, especially during the few instances when they experienced awkward silences. During those moments, Tang En wanted to discuss with Yang Yan about some of the interesting happenings during their junior high days—even though there were only a few instances that he could recall.

Returning to his senses, Tang En decided to enter the room and help. Walking into the bedroom, he discovered that Yang Yan was not busy, but instead stood below that photograph, admiring it with her head raised.

"Erm, this was a gift to me from a certain newspaper office, which enlarged the photo before giving it to me."

"Very beautiful," Yang Yan exclaimed. "The choice of background, composition, color, timing, meaning... they are all excellent."

"I feel the same way. The only reason why I decided to keep it, was because the person captured in the photo was me and not someone else."

Yang Yan turned her head around and smiled at Tang En. "Mr. Twain, you are really not a humble person."

Tang En shrugged his shoulders. "In the world of professional football, the thing that is least needed is humbleness."

Speaking of football, Yang Yan had become a bit interested. That was because, after being in England for two years, she had only recently discovered that many people around her were actually football fans, many of whom were die-hard. It turned out that Yang Yan had originally thought of football as something which had nothing to do with her life, as if it were a completely different world. However, this perspective of hers had been changing gradually.

"Then what is the most necessary quality?"

"Confidence. The belief that you are much more exceptional than others. The belief that you are the best. You have to work toward your goals based on these two beliefs."

"You aren't afraid of over-confidence becoming arrogance?"

"If you have the ability to back it up, then there's nothing wrong with being arrogant. In the football world, there are countless numbers of players who possess this kind of personality. If you don't have the ability, and yet you insist on being arrogant, then you only have to wait for your demise. Those people are not worthy of pity. They have already been automatically disqualified from the football world by the rules it is governed by, and therefore it is unnecessary for us to worry about it."

Yang Yan sat on a chair, while she continued to look at the picture. She remarked, "From what you've just said, I feel like football is just like an animal world, where it's survival of the fittest."

Tang En snapped his fingers. "You're absolutely right. Professional football is essentially a harsh and cruel world, where it's survival of the fittest. Those with the ability live, while those without it die. Here, there's no trust in tears and no need for sympathy and comforting. It's purely a man's world."

Hearing the last sentence, Yang Yan turned her head around and asked, "A world that doesn't welcome women?"

If Tang En hadn't understood the meaning behind those words, then he would have looked like a complete fool. "No! Of course women are welcome! We welcome any female that likes football to join. In the eyes of the masses, football is closely associated with two things. One is music, and the other is beauty."

"But I'm no beauty..." Yang Yan shrugged her shoulders and said as she pouted her lips.

"What did I just say? In the world of football, humbleness is not needed. Do you wish to enter this world?"

Yang Yan looked at the serious-looking Tang En, and smiled. "Alright, I'm a beauty, the most beautiful person in the entire world!"

After shouting those words, the two burst into a laughter.

Tang En decided to strike the iron while it was hot. "If you're interested, you can come watch my team play. You don't have to buy tickets, I have some."

Yang Yan smiled and said, "If I'm interested, I'll give you a call."

"Alright. I have a small suggestion for you. If you want to enjoy the full pleasure of football and understand the secret as to why it is so attractive, you must..." Tang En stopped here, and waited for Yang Yan to ask him. However, he discovered that Yang Yan only looked at him and did not have any intention of opening her mouth. As such, Tang En could only surrender.

"Alright... You've got to have a team that you support. If you watch a football match from a neutral standpoint, more often than not, it's boring, and the match doesn't live up to your expectations."

"Why is that?"

"Virtually all neutral football fans like to see beautiful goals and amazing offenses, but that's idealized football." Tang En practically gave this newbie football fan a lesson on interest in football. So who was the one giving lessons to whom now… "The actual situation is, if all matches were played like this, people in my position would all have to retire. Because in most situations, playing like that will not win matches. Then what's the point of professional football managers? It's to lead his own team to victory. So, if you want to experience the most charming point of football, you have to choose a team to support and dedicate your entire mind and body to it. That way, when you watch their matches, you will experience joy and sadness according to their performance. And that is an extremely wonderful experience. Regardless of whether they win or lose, it is still the same. The sadness and pain after a loss, the joy after a win, as well as the delight when the team experiences a narrow escape."

Tang En looked at the photo on the wall and mumbled, as if he had returned to that fateful day when they faced off against Wimbledon. Hours after the match, Tang En was still in a state of shock and trepidation. However, the feeling of his heartbeat accelerating was simply too good. It was just like consuming drugs. Once you become addicted, you can never forget about it.

Yang Yan realized that Tang En's gaze had shifted away from her, appearing to be lost in thought once again. Standing before her, Tang En's hair was slightly messy, and the buttons on his shirt were not done up properly, either. One side of his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, while the other side was not buttoned up and was wide open. His house was also extremely messy. This image was completely unlike the "gentleman" whom her friend described him as.

The polite, gentlemanly, unruly and wild football manager, and the unkempt bachelor... Exactly which one was the real him?

In addition, what really puzzled Yang Yan was that she could see the shadow of another person in him. At times, just for a split second, he appeared to be very, very similar to that person. Yet in reality, they were two completely different people. One was an Englishman, while the other was Chinese.

"Alright then. I shall choose your team. From now on, I am a fan of Nottingham Forest."

Tang En lowered his head and looked at Yang Yan, who gave him a mesmerizing smile.

"In that case, I shoulder a huge responsibility."

"Why?"

"Because I have a new supporter. And as the manager of the team, I cannot let my supporters down. Erm… Do you think these words are mushy?" When Tang En said this, he discovered that Yang Yan was still laughing. Was she laughing at him?

Yang Yan shook her head and replied, "No, I think it's wonderful. Mr. Twain, I believe that you won't let your supporters down."

Chapter 46: Nice Guy Mr. Coppell Part 2

The next day, Tang En led the team, and they rushed to the venue for the away match.

It was the 36th round of the English League One season, and because of the previous match which they lost, Nottingham Forest's ranking had dropped to seventh place. However, they were only four points away from the third team, and their situation was not extremely hopeless. Although the media's criticisms were still ongoing, Tang En paid no heed to them. But contrary to how he handled it, after training, Tang En would read to the players the comments that had been published that day about Nottingham Forest. Of course, he only picked the negative ones to talk about.

Walker did not understand, but Tang En told him that he would understand it once the date of the match was nearer.

Brighton was their opponent for this match. Prior to then, they were the fourth last team for the season, and were only one point away from the relegation zone. Hence, they desperately needed a win.

Perhaps others might feel that it would be a tough battle for Nottingham Forest. To challenge a team that had to prevent relegation, on their home ground, would not be a sure win even for prestigious clubs. However, Tang En felt that his team could do it.

Tang En had not spent all of his efforts the past few days on a woman. He had carefully analyzed Brighton's results for the past 11 rounds with three draws, four losses, and four wins. Those three match outcomes usually alternated, and there was rarely a case where they won a few matches consecutively. That revealed that the team was very unstable. In the previous round, they had attained victory on their home ground, but that was insufficient to prove that this team's home ground win rate was high. Up till then, in the 18 matches for which they had had home ground advantage, they only won five of them, scoring 23 balls and conceding 28.

No matter how he viewed it, Tang En refused to believe that his team would lose to this kind of team. However, he had also learned his lesson and described Brighton as an extremely terrifying team, insisting that the away match would be an uphill battle. Faced with Brighton's threatening challenge, he had to be slightly more careful. When interviewed, Tang En said that Brighton would definitely be able to obtain a satisfactory ranking by the end of the season, and even said that he had been a fan of Steve Coppell since he was young. Under Coppell's lead, Brighton would definitely have a bright future ahead.

In actuality? Tang En had never seen this person play before. In fact, he did not even know that there was such a high-profile player in Manchester United's history. After all, he was not a die-hard Manchester United Fan. As for whether the previous Tony Twain had seen him play before, Tang En was not sure. Former member of England's representative team and Manchester United star player, Steve Coppell, retired in 1983 when he was 28 years old due to an injury. That period when he was at Manchester United, was one of Manchester United's darkest periods in history. At that time, Manchester United was still struggling bitterly in League Two. This winger took part in 396 matches during his time at Manchester United, and scored 72 goals. Additionally, he had taken part in 42 matches as part of the England National Team, and scored seven goals. During his most glorious times, he was Manchester United and England's only choice for right winger.

As for his results as a manager, this person's most glorious days were in 1990, when he brought Crystal Palace to the grand finals of the 89-90 season of the FA Cup. However, he lost to his former team, Manchester United. After that, he led Crystal Palace and attained third place in the English First Division (then England's highest league). That was also Crystal Palace's best results throughout its entire club history.

Although Manchester United could be considered England's most successful team after "The Reds" Liverpool, the splendid players from this splendid team who went on to be managers usually did not have good results. While Manchester United had the tradition of nurturing great football players, it did not have the fertile soil for nurturing great managers. This was really weird, as they had the greatest manager in the past 20 years of English football, Sir Alex Ferguson. However, the players under this manager did not seem to perform well as managers, and even his assistants did not produce exceptional results when they went on to coach on their own. The most distant instance went as far back as 1998, when Brian Kidd, then Sir Alex Ferguson's trusted aide, tried, for the first time, to coach a team. However, after 44 matches, he was fired from his post by the upper echelons of Blackburn. The most recent one was the Portuguese manager, Queiroz. His time as the manager of Real Madrid was perhaps the season which Real Madrid fans and he do not want to recall for the rest of their lives. In the 100 years of Real Madrid's history, the first consecutive five-match losing streak happened during his time.

Before Tang En time-travelled, Manchester United's former captain, Roy Keane, was the manager of Sunderland, and the prospects of being promoted to the English Premier League were very good. It remained unknown as to whether this Irish man could change Manchester United's awkward history.

The reason why Tang En went to great efforts to put on a show like this, was to let Coppell and his team think that Nottingham Forest was afraid of them. Hence, Tang En remained low profile from the very start. Whenever the media asked about his plans for this match, Tang En would reply, "For such a tough away match, if we are even able to get one point, I will be very content." It was the complete opposite of the confidence he showed when his team was on a five-match winning streak.

Later in the hotel room, Tang En took the local news reports and read to Walker line by line.

"Brighton full of confidence, not a single point to be lost on the road to avoid relegation!"

"Take another look at this—Coppell unafraid of best manager... tsk tsk!"

Walker sat on the sofa and asked, "What do you think? Even the Nottingham media thinks that we are likely to lose for this match."

"This is what I wanted to see, Des. I wish for the entire world to not have any hopes for us. Now do you see why I did those things after training?" The "those things" which Tang En referred to were his sessions of reading the bad news in the newspapers to the players. Every time the players heard about the criticisms by the news reporters and the media, they would become extremely furious.

Walker smiled and nodded his head. "You are too evil, Tony."

"In this world, it doesn't pay to be a nice guy." It was better to give the nice guy card over to the opponent's manager and to tell him this after beating him, while shaking his hand. "You are such a nice guy, Manager Coppell." In order to emphasize his meaning, he would repeat the phrase "nice guy", until the person started to tear up.

Brighton's Withdean Stadium, which had the capacity to hold up to 7,000 people, had no empty seats. Brighton's home ground jersey was white and blue, causing Tang En to think that he had arrived at Argentina's home ground. The only difference was that the people were much fewer. But the fans' enthusiasm did not pale in comparison to the crazy South Americans.

"It's only 7,000 people, there's nothing to be afraid of." Amidst the deafening noise in the stadium, Tang En muttered to himself as he entered the changing room. The players were already geared up and prepared to move out, merely awaiting his orders.

"All of you have been belittled by them. They treat you all as worthless, and the entire world doesn't believe that you can win." Tang En shook the newspaper in his hand and said, "Tell me, what do you guys plan to do?"

Dawson took the lead and stood up. He shouted, "To defeat them!" After which, everyone else followed suit and shouted the same words as him.

"Very good." Tang En, Walker, and Bowyer all smiled.

After 90 minutes, the whistle signaling the end of the match sounded. The trainee journalist from the Nottingham Evening Post, Pierce Brosnan, who had accompanied the team over to the away match, shook his head. "Yet another match with a satisfactory result, but the process was extremely close and exhilarating."

Brighton's fans had 100 reasons to be discontented with the results of the match, because their team had perhaps 100 reasons they could win the match. However, the end result was that the guest team Nottingham Forest left with three additional points.

1:0, Nottingham Forest wins! David Johnson, the Jamaican player managed to score a rebound 16 minutes into the match, snatching three points for the team.

Once he won, Tang En no longer put up his act and appeared extremely arrogant in the press conference after the match. His replies were extremely short, and the words he said were so unclear, to the extent that many reporters were unable to hear him clearly even after straining their ears. He had a classic look of not caring much for them. Only when answering Pierce Brosnan's questions, did he say a few more words.

Among the two managers, one was unwilling to cooperate, while the other was somewhat dejected from losing the match, and hence did not say much. This press conference only lasted for 10 minutes, before ending haphazardly. The reporters were all dissatisfied, but what could they do? If the other party did not feel like speaking, they could not force them to do so.

When they parted, Tang En suddenly went up to Coppell and grabbed his hand. He could finally say the words which he had been concocting for the past two days.

"You are a nice guy. I wish you good luck, Mr. Coppell. Nice guy!" He shook Coppell's hand forcefully. Then, he left the confused Steve Coppell behind, disappearing from the sight of the masses.

After winning that match, Nottingham Forest once again returned to the promotion group. Ranked sixth in the league, if they were able to maintain the ranking all the way till the league ended, it would guarantee them the opportunity to enter the playoffs. As for the newbie manager, Tony Twain, who only took over in the middle of the season, this was already an exceptional result. Therefore, he told Coppell that he was a nice guy, because at the moment when Tang En needed a win the most, and needed three points the most, this manager immediately offered it to Tang En. If that did not qualify him as a nice guy, then what did?

The results of that match once again reaffirmed that those who could play football very well, might not necessarily become an outstanding manager. The skill level of a player had no direct correlation to one's competency in coaching a team. At least in Old Trafford, "star players" and "star managers" would never become synonymous.

Chapter 47: Georges Fans Part 1

On the 20th of March, Nottingham Forest's opponent would be their arch-rivals, Derby County.

However, in regard to this opponent, various Forest fans were filled with love and hate—extremely complicated feelings toward them. In terms of the relationships between the two clubs, Nottingham Forest and Derby County were rival clubs. However, the most loved and respected person from Nottingham Forest's history actually came from Derby County. That person was none other than Manager Brian Clough, who created Nottingham Forest's most glorious days in the club's entire history.

Tang En did not know much about the history of these two clubs, and therefore could not understand why Derby County and Nottingham Forest would become arch-rivals. It was Walker who told him one of the main reasons. "In year 1898, Derby County had entered the FA Cup finals for the first time. At that time, their opponent was us, Forest. That match ended with a score of 3:1, with us triumphing over them. That was our first time becoming the FA Cup champions, while Derby County's people went home in tears."

Tang En was surprised. This took place over more than 100 years back, and yet they still can't get over it. It was indeed 100 years' worth of cumulative hatred... Sigh, is there ever an end to revenge They should be more tolerant and peaceful.

The 90-minute match ended. Tang En looked at the score on the electronic scoreboard. Hearing the sharp jeering noises which came from Pride Park Stadium's viewing platform, Tang En knew that Nottingham Forest and Derby County's 100-year grudge would continue. It was precisely because of countless people like himself, who caused this kind of situation to last for 100 years.

The score reflected on the electronic scoreboard was 0:3. According to the internationally accepted rules, the home team's score was in front, while the away team's score was behind.

Nottingham Forest scored three goals on Derby County's home ground, and attained three points, causing the 20th ranked Derby County to drop by one rank, only one rank away from entering the relegation zone.

If Derby County ultimately ended up being relegated, then Nottingham Forest's performance in this match would definitely be one that "contributed greatly" to it.

However, Tang En never cared about the well-being of his opponents. For his team to have an overwhelming victory in an away match was the best result that he could have asked for.

Harewood scored two goals, while the other one was scored by Andy Reid. Compared to the first half of the season, Harewood's performance in the second half was as if he was a different person. He even stood a great chance to compete for the position of League One's best shooter.

The only regret from this match, was that both of the starting players from the backline defense would be absent from the next match. Michael Dawson had been suspended from the next match due to the accumulation of yellow cards, while his midfielder partner, Jon Olav Hjelde had sustained an injury in the last moments of the match. After the match, according to team doctor Fleming's diagnosis, Hjelde had sprained his ankle and might have to rest for two weeks.

Tang En did not take it to heart, as it was a good opportunity for the substitute players to train in an actual match, and also for the main players to rest up. Therefore, he could not be happier with this situation. After all, Hjelde's injury was not too serious.

Edwards' performance during the match against Wimbledon was rather good, and he could definitely be part of the starting lineup. The 21-one-year-old Scottish defender, Chris Doig, was not too bad, as well.

However, the training which took place the next day only lasted for 20 minutes, before Tang En's plans to switch Doig in had been completely foiled. Doig had, during a non-intense physical contact, fallen down in pain, while hugging his knee area.

Fleming rushed up to inspect Doig's injuries, before running to Tang En's side and whispering to him softly, "Cruciate ligament, at least two months."

"Dang it!" Tang En cursed softly with his head lowered. Two months basically meant that Doig could not participate for the rest of the current season. The season would end in May, and it was already March 21. "Gary, take him to the treatment room, and treat him properly. Give him some confidence."

Fleming nodded his head. Calling for the stretcher, he brought Doig, who was in pain and agony, off the field.

Due to the injury, the training had been temporarily paused. Tang En expressed his intentions for the team to carry on with their training, while he made a trip to the youth training grounds. The first team no longer had any useable center back, and at the same time, he also wanted to check on that kid's performance after changing to a different position.

The youth training grounds were relatively quieter than the first team's training grounds. There were not many fans who came over to watch the players train, and most of the spectators were the family members of the young players. Only when they held youth matches there, did the place become slightly livelier. During those times, there would also be various scouts from other football teams. Nottingham Forest's youth training was famous throughout England, and therefore it was not rare for scouts to appear.

Tang En did not walk around the fans' viewing area outside the metal fence. Instead, he took a direct shortcut—from the office area straight onto the training field.

Seeing Tang En return here yet again, Kerslake walked up to him and smiled. "Worrying about that kid whom you picked up from the streets?"

Tang En shook his head. "Not this time. I'm in trouble, David."

"Tell me more about it. It is no easy feat for our best manager to be met with trouble."

Tang En smiled helplessly. Ever since he got the best manager award, many people in the club used it to mock him. "Among the five center backs on the first team, one had been suspended from the accumulation of yellow cards, one injured his ankle and has to rest for two weeks, and the last one just sustained an injury in his cruciate ligament, and has to rest for at least two months."

Kerslake frowned. "That is really troublesome indeed. There's still two left. What about Dawson, who could support an entire match?"

"He is the one who had been suspended from accumulating yellow cards."

Kerslake blew his whistle.

"Give me some recommendations. Which players are useable from your side?" Tang En's tone was as if he were choosing things in the market.

"It just so happens that there's a lad who is not bad. I also think that he should train in matches on a higher level. But... you have to choose yourself." Kerslake winked at Tang En.

That was actually something which Paul Hart often made his assistants do, when he was still on the youth team. He would make them watch the team train, and tell him their observations. Paul Hart used this method to train Twain's and Kerslake's observation skills, as well as their understanding of the training classes. This kind of game-like training provided a solid foundation for Twain to later become the coach of the youth team, as well as to be promoted to the first team. Many others were unreceptive toward the method, as they felt that the ones receiving training should be the players and not the managerial staff. Hence, only the withdrawn and quiet Twain at that time, completed Hart's requests without uttering a single word. This was also one of the reasons why Hart valued Twain. Hart felt that "seriousness" was the foundation of all success, and that was his lifelong message. However, few could accomplish this, and it just so happened that the unsociable guy from Eastwood, Tony Twain, was one of the few who accomplished it.

However, Tang En was no longer able to recall all those things, as a lot of his past memories had vanished alongside that incident. He did not know the reason why Kerslake did it, and merely treated it as a form of game between old friends, for him to make a gamble.

The two managers stood at the sideline, providing an immense form of motivation for the young lads training on the field. After that match, Tony Twain did not promote anyone from the youth team, but this did not affect the youth players' confidence and attitudes toward the future at all. The only thing they could do was give their best performance on the field, and attract the attention of the manager from the first team.

After looking for around 10 minutes, Tang En's first sentence after he turned his head around made Kerslake laugh.

"How come I don't see George Wood anywhere?"

"As expected, you are here for him, Tony."

Amidst Kerslake's loud laughter, Tang En could only scratch his head in embarrassment, as he only said it as a slip of his tongue.

"I'm making him train alone on the second training field, starting from the most basic and simplest trainings, the simplest ones... to the extent that they can't get any simpler."

"How's he doing?"

"Unable to tell at the moment. But you're right, Tony. He is much more suited to play those positions which require stamina and physical contact, as his body physique is one that makes people go green with envy. What kind of food did he eat when he was growing?"

Tang En recalled Wood's family situation and shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, perhaps his mother couldn't even squeeze out a single drop of milk at that time." This kid's body was so robust and strong, it must have been because his mother, Sophia, gave him everything. She gave all of the most nutritious food, all of her love, hope, and even dedicated her life to this illegitimate child.

"Alright, we should get back to the topic at hand. Even I get sidetracked by you, David. I've found the person I came here for." Tang En did not point at the training field, but his eyes were fixated on someone. A black young man with a shaved head, in the 10 plus minutes of training, had displayed all of the essential techniques required of an exceptional center back. "Number six. I want him. Have him come along with me immediately and report to the first team."

Kerslake laughed and said, "Tony, you really are Hart's most highly regarded person. That's right, the person I wanted to recommend to you was indeed him. Wes Morgan, an excellent 19-year-old young lad. He is the captain of the youth team, Jermaine Jenas and Michael Dawson's successor." Upon his introduction of the player, Kerslake shouted from the sideline, "Wes! Come here!"

After that, everyone stared enviously as they watched their captain run toward the two managers.

"The rest of you—continue training!" Kerslake shouted again, making the rest of the young lads behave. They already knew that Manager Twain had accomplished his goal for coming there.

Morgan excitedly ran to the two managers and asked, "Sir, what's the matter?" Actually, he already knew what was in store for him.

Tang En raised his head and looked at him. His face appeared slightly more mature than his actual age, and even looked as if he was slightly older than Dawson. "How tall are you, kid?"

"Six feet two inches tall, Sir." Morgan's voice was slightly hoarse, as if he hadn't recovered from a cold. The voice really suited his appearance.

Tang En nodded his head. That was around 1.88 meters tall. He continued to ask, "Weight?"

"One hundred and ninety-eight pounds, Sir."

That's about ninety kilograms. This build... is essentially a heavy tank. Tang En was very satisfied. This was exactly the kind of player that he wanted, one that could give his opponents psychological pressure just from looking at his appearance.

"Ok, Wes. I'm not one who likes to beat around the bush. From today onward, you will train with the first team. If you perform well, you will receive a contract to join the first team, just like Michael Dawson and Andy Reid. Do you understand?"

Morgan nodded his head and replied, "Understood, Sir."

Morgan did not say much, and did not become carried away just because he had been promoted to the first team. Tang En liked this kind of mature and reliable attitude, as that was also one of the most important qualities required of a defender.

"Very well, come with me.... Erm, you may go collect your stuff from the changing room. Do you have anything there?"

"Only a few sets of clothes, Sir."

"Go get them. You have three minutes."

Tang En had just completed his sentence, and Morgan turned around and ran for the changing room.

This time, it was Kerslake's turn to speak. "What do you think about him, Tony?"

"Better than what I expected. His power, springing ability, explosive power, and control are all very exceptional. However, the first team and the youth team is different, you know that... I'm here to find an emergency player for the team. I think that even after these few matches, he will still become a substitute player. Dawson and Hjelde's combination is already very compatible. I can't possibly tear those two apart."

Kerslake nodded his head to express that he understood where Tang En was coming from. "If he doesn't have much chances to be fielded at your side, let him play for me in the youth league."

"No problem."

While the two of them spoke, Morgan was already running toward them, with his clothes hugged. "I'm ready, Sir."

"Let's go."

After bidding Kerslake farewell, Morgan followed after Tang En's footsteps. The two of them, one in front and one at the back, made their way for the first team's training ground.

The rest of the players saw Morgan and Tang En off with envy, but Kerslake immediately shouted at them. "All of you, get back to training! Rather than be envious of others, all of you are better off training and improving yourselves!"

Chapter 48: Georges Fans Part 2

On the way back, Tang En chose to go through the fans' area, because that was the only way he could pass by the second court. He was still worried about Wood and decided to check out how this kid was doing.

It turned out that when Tang En arrived at the second training field, he saw a small child clinging to the wire mesh, looking at the field with his full attention. He was so focused that he did not even notice Tang En and Morgan approaching, until he realized that the sky suddenly turned dark.

He raised his head and looked up in bewilderment. The skies were blue and the clouds were white. The weather was still great.

Tang En was amused by this cute child, but he purposely made a stern face and spoke in a deep, gruff voice. "Hey, kid! Who let you in? Do you know that this is a restricted area? For trespassing, I'll let the security arrest you!"

Who would have thought that the small child would be completely unfazed? He didn't even look at Tang En and continued staring at the training field. He also replied in a deep voice, "Manager Tony Twain, do you intend to make the headlines in The Sun for threatening a small child?"

Morgan, who was standing behind the two of them, could no longer hold it in and burst out in a laughter. In fact, his laughter grew louder by the second. Tang En turned around and looked at this person. His previous impression of this black man made him assume that Morgan did not know how to laugh at all. Seeing that Tony Twain was looking at him, Morgan frantically covered his mouth. "Sorry, Sir."

Tang En curled his lips, indicating that he did not mind. After which, he turned his head around and continued to tease this child. "Erhem. Alright, boy. Tell me who your dad is. At this time, you should still be at school. Truancy is not good. I'll have your dad spank your butt back at home."

The small child did not seem to care at all. Morgan saw that this kid's expression was one of nonchalance. The little kid replied," Who are you trying to fool? I've ended school a long time ago!"

Tang En did not expect this child to be so smart, leaving him speechless. Right at that moment, a familiar male voice was heard. "I seem to have heard someone threatening my son. Is he tired of living?"

"What terrible luck! Michael, you actually have such a smart and cute son. I'm too shocked!" Tang En stood up and looked at the man in front of him. It was indeed the fan, Michael Bernard, who got into a fight with Tang En at the Forest Bar, an exemplary case of "no discord, no concord."

Bernard's hand was holding a can of coke. It was evident that he had just returned from getting his son a drink.

"Should I take it as a compliment for my son, or are you insulting me?"

"Either one is fine. It's up to you." Tang En blinked his eyes. "You brought your son here?"

Bernard nodded his head, before handing over the coke to his son. "I picked him up from school, and he said that he wanted to come here and take a look, so I brought him here."

"But the rest of the youth team is training at the first training field." Tang En thought that it was weird, as young kids tended to like those famous football stars instead. Coming here instead of going to the first team. On top of that, he was not looking at the first training field. What exactly was he looking at?

Bernard pointed at the training field. "Two weeks ago, my son declared during dinner that he had become this person's fan."

Tang En looked in the direction that Bernard's hand was pointing. George Wood was doing some header practice in the empty training field. Wood specifically had a manager to accommodate him. The manager threw the ball to Wood, and Wood jumped up to head the ball back. After looking at it for around half a minute, he was merely doing the same old repetitions of the same action, which was very dull and dry.

It seems like David also regards this kid highly, to actually get a manager to train him personally... Tang En touched his chin. I was almost fooled by that guy.

However, Tang En still did not understand why a small child like this would become Wood's fan. He did not have beautiful techniques, nor did he have any fame. In fact, he did not even participate in matches very often, and was repetitively practicing the fundamentals, which the audience would find boring, daily. Therefore, Tang En asked, "What do you like about him?"

"He is very strong!" The small child revealed his own arm and gestured with it.

Strong? Tang En turned his head and shot a look at Morgan. After which, he said to the small child. "This guy over here is also very strong."

The small child raised his head and looked at Morgan. Morgan bent over slightly, intending to leave a good impression on the small child. Unexpectedly, the brat pouted and said, "But he's not handsome enough."

This time, it was Tang En's turn to burst into laughter. The tank man's gloomy face was really too funny.

Paying no heed to Tang En who was almost rolling on the ground in laughter, the brat continued, "I've been observing him train for a very long time, coming here daily after school. Then, I found that he," The brat pointed at Wood and said, "is always doing the same thing. At the start, I found it to be very boring and not fun at all. Then, I thought I would see if he would also find it boring and stop training. So, I secretly made a bet in my heart with him, and I bet that he would definitely give up. And I come here to look every day. Later I discovered that he was like a robot, never getting tired, never resting, even that person… " He pointed at that coaching staff. "Even if that person went to take a break, and he was still training. I deeply respect him, because he defeated me! I've decided to become his fan!"

After hearing the small child's words, Tang En looked at Bernard and said, "Michael, you have a genius son. He is very impressive. This is not out of politeness. I mean it from the bottom of my heart."

Bernard nodded his head. "Is there even a need for you to state the obvious? My son's the best!" Although his tone was tough, his gaze toward his son was filled with love and pride.

Who would have known that the fan who was always shouting, and even had a fight with him, would have such a tender side to him? It was an eye-opener for Tang En. He then turned to look in the direction of the training field, observing Wood, who was still doing his header practice. Tang En had been thoroughly touched by this kid.

Perhaps because he had really heard Tang En's words in City Ground's changing room, he decided to plunge himself in training now, threating 24 hours as 72. It was true that he did not know football. It was true that he was a newbie that had only been in contact with football for three months. It was true that his family was poor and had no means of providing better living conditions for him. It was true that he shouldered a burden that peers of the same age would be unable to shoulder. But he did not play tricks and treated this "job" seriously. He trained hard and dedicated effort and sweat that was too difficult for others to imagine. He believed Tang En's reputation was "guaranteed by the banks", and he believed that if he continued training like this, he would eventually become a superstar who earned ￡12,000 a week.

After being there for three months, Tang En had seen so many different types of players. Some of them wanted to become superstars, while some of them played for their passion for the game. Among them, some of them were very gifted, while some were just ordinary. There were some who did not have many plans for the future, while there were others who had lofty aspirations. There were too many people... But after seeing so many people, Tang En discovered that, perhaps only this little rascal, who dared to come knocking on the door and advertised himself as England's best player, would really become England's best player.

No, he had to. For his mother, he must!

Despite him not doing anything but the same dry and repetitive training over and over again, he had managed to get himself a first fan of his own.

Tang En suddenly felt that he should give the not-yet-successful Wood some form of reward. So, he shouted outside the wire mesh, "George!"

His loud voice even shocked the birds in the trees behind. There was no reason for Wood and the coaching staff to not hear him. As expected, both of them halted the training, turning their heads around to look in Tang En's direction.

"Rest for a while!" Tang En waved his hand at that coaching staff and said, "Let Wood come over for a while."

The coaching staff recognized that the person who interrupted their training was the first team's manager, Tony Twain. He said a few sentences to Wood, and what followed soon after was Wood running over, with a face full of bewilderment. He was very strong, but his strength was different compared to Morgan's. Morgan's type of strength was discernible at a first glance, while Wood's could only be felt and understood upon closer interaction. Looking at this lad's running posture, Tang En was very satisfied with the training program which Kerslake had planned for him.

"What's the matter? I'm in the middle of my training." Although there were four people at the sideline, Wood only had eyes on Tang En. On top of that, his tone was not very nice.

"I know that you're training. Will it kill you to take a short break?" The tone of Tang En's reply was also unlike one between a manager and player. He waved at Wood and said, "Here, come closer."

Wood closed in obediently, to the extent that he was almost sticking to the wire mesh. Although he did not know why Tang En called him over, he didn't raise any objections.

Tang En turned his head and asked Bernard's son, "Do you have a pen?"

The small child took out a large signature pen from his bag. That was practically a necessity for all football fans. Tang En took the pen, and stuffed it into Wood's hands. Then, Tang En made young Bernard stand close to the wire mesh as well, pulling and straightening his clothes.

"Give him your autograph."

Wood was slightly stunned at what Tang En had said. Wood thought that he had heard Tang En wrongly and did not move his hand, which was gripping the pen.

Tang En repeated himself another time. "Give him your autograph. George, he is your first fan. You can't treat him so coldly. Squat down and give him your autograph!"

This time, Wood obediently did as he was told. The hand which was holding on to the pen was still trembling, and he did not proceed with his autograph even after resting it on the child's shirt for quite some time.

"You don't know how to write your own name?" Tang En smiled upon witnessing this scene.

"I.... Of course... I know!" Wood exerted some strength and signed his own name on the young child's red-colored shirt: George Wood. Those words were crooked and slanted.

Tang En seized the opportunity and mocked him. "So ugly! Who knows, it might even be uglier than this fan's handwriting. Haha!"

Wood paid no heed to Tang En's mocking and passed the pen back. After which, he asked, "Can I return to my training?"

This lad was really insensitive. Shouldn't he have patted the young fan's head, said some pleasantries, and indulged in the moment? To have said something like "Can I return to my training," really spoiled the mood. Tang En waved his hands and snappily said, "You may go back!"

Wood turned around and ran back, without any lingering affections. Looking at his back view, Tang En complained softly, "He really doesn't have the potential to become a great star."

The child did not seem to care about Wood's attitude. He lowered his head and looked at the name on his shirt, before turning his head around and said to his own father, "George Wood! Dad, look!"

Michael Bernard touched his son's head affectionately and said, "If you like it so much, you should treasure it."

Tang En followed up and said, "That's right! Treasure it well, this is Wood's first autograph. When he becomes a superstar in the future, you can sell it for a huge sum of money."

Young Bernard made a face at Tang En and said, "I won't sell this jersey ever, even if I don't have money to buy Forest's new jersey!"

Seeing his serious tone, Tang En smiled. Hey, George, did you see that? Your number one loyal fan. Now, you have one more reason to become a superstar.

Even after receiving his idol's autograph, young Bernard still continued to stay behind and root for Wood. Tang En obviously could not continue to stay here. Tang En and Morgan left after bidding the father and son farewell.

"Wes, have you ever been asked by a fan for your autograph?" Tang En, who was walking in front, asked.

"No, Sir."

"Alright, don't worry. You will get your chance soon."

When Tang En and Morgan reached the first team's training grounds, a golden shepherd dog came running toward them, giving Tang En a scare. Since when did the training grounds allow dogs inside?

This dog circled around him and wagged its tail excitedly.

Morgan saw that the dog was evidently very happy, and so he squatted down and extended his hand. The dog extended its tongue and licked, causing Morgan to laugh uncontrollably.

Tang En shot Morgan a look and said, "You really like dogs, don't you?"

"Don't tell me you don't like them, Sir?" Morgan continued to play with this dog that appeared out of nowhere, even forgetting to look at his manager's facial expression.

Tang En was frowning. The gloominess in his face reflected his current mood. Indeed, he did not like dogs. When he was working in Chengdu City, the entire streets were filled with dogs, and it was not uncommon for one to step on dog feces when they went out. However, the current issue was, while dogs could appear in parks and streets, they should not appear in football training grounds. He wanted to find out who the dog's owner was and teach him a lesson, making sure that in the future, he would not dare make Nottingham Forest's training ground his backyard for walking his dog ever again.

"That's enough, stop playing with that dog. I'll bring you to the training field."

Morgan bade farewell to the dog reluctantly, but got a pleasant surprise when he found out that that dog was following behind him. "Sir, its following behind us! It likes us!"

"Yes. It is following you, it likes you." Tang En stopped in his tracks and saw that Old Bowyer was not directing the team's training at the training field, but was instead chatting outside with another old man. In front of the old man who could not even stand up steadily, Bowyer's attitude with his head lowered made Tang En extremely shocked. That old man was not as fat as Nigel Doughty, so he was definitely not Mr. Chairman. Who else could he be?

As Tang En watched in bewilderment, their conversation ended. The old man extended his hand and patted Bowyer's face lightly, and Bowyer appeared as if he was a small child. This scene was simply too comical!

After that, that old man whistled and the shepherd dog, which had been jumping around Morgan, ran over to that old man instead, wagging its tail and jumping around him.

Morgan regretfully looked at the dog, which had run far away, while Tang En looked curiously at that old man. He had just rummaged through the deepest parts of his memories, but doing so did not give him any information regarding this old man. Could it be that even Tony Twain did not know him? Or was it that.... this part of his memory had been damaged when he was knocked down?

Bowyer saw the old man off. Right as he finished doing so, he turned around and saw Tang En.

"Ian." Tang En wanted to ask Ian who that old man was, but he did not expect Bowyer to be so happy to see him.

"Tony! You're back?" Bowyer was so happy that his voice was even one pitch higher.

Tang En nodded his head. "That..."

"It's so regretful. Why was it that every time you make a trip to the youth team, someone comes over to try find you?" Bowyer did not give Tang En the chance to finish his sentence.

"Ah?" Tang En was confused. That unfamiliar old man came here to find me?

Bowyer nodded his head. "Boss originally wanted to meet you, but you weren't in. So he invited us over to his house tomorrow afternoon! Invited us! You know? Tony, there's very few people who have been invited over to his house for a tea. When I was still a player, I could only envy Trevor Francis, because only he had been invited over before. That lucky guy!"

Tang En had never seen Bowyer behave like this before. He was just like the young Bernard just now, extremely excited because he had gotten his idol's autograph. When he spoke, he was even tiptoeing. His mouth was wide open, as if he had seen an alien.

"Who is boss?"

This time, it was Bowyer's turn to look at him as if he had seen an alien.

"Has your head not recovered yet, Tony? Or is it that... you just knocked your head again?"

Seeing Bowyer's serious expression, Tang En realized that he must have asked an extremely foolish question. However, he really did not know who "boss" was!

Chapter 49: The Real Legend Part 1

"The term 'legendary figure' has been overused, but he was the real 'legend'."

— Arsène Wenger, Arsenal Manager

Driving down the A52 highway was a 2001 red Ford Focus with four men inside. Among these men, three were extremely happy and one of them was grumbling non-stop.

"Kenny, I have a question for you. Is your bar not open for business today?"

Burns shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I'm the boss, not the bartender. I don't have to stay there all the time."

Tang En rolled his eyes and then turned his head around to look at Walker, who was seated beside Burns. "And Walker, why are you here?"

Walker smiled foolishly and did not answer him. Burns and he were in the back seat. They were so excited, as if they were groupies who were on their way to attend their idol's concert.

Looking at these two guys' foolish expressions, Tang En turned his head around and complained. "This is unfair. The people Boss wanted to invite were me and Bowyer, so why are the two of you tagging along?"

"Don't be so petty, Tony. I'm sure boss would like to see us pay him a visit."

"That's right, the more the merrier."

Tang En did not know what he to say. Sighing, he said to Bowyer who was driving, "Let's play some music."

Bowyer pressed the play button on the car radio, but the music that came out made Tang En jump in fright. It really was a jump, and Tang En's head would have definitely hit the ceiling of the car, if not for his safety belt.

That was because what came out of the radio was a group of fans shouting and screaming, just like what he heard during the matches.

"This is music?"

The two in the back seats burst into laughter, and Tang En remained silent after listening to them. He discovered that he had a very obvious "generation gap" with these three people. The three of them appeared to get along with each other very well, and they knew many things which Tang En did not know. For example, "Boss" and this "music."

After the fans' screaming ended, music finally started to play, and he was momentarily stunned when he heard the first sentence. It was the song that he often heard playing at the matches, Nottingham Forest's song "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands."

"This isn't the fans." Tang En said in bewilderment.

Bowyer shook his head. "What you're listening to right now was sung by us."

"And me." Burns added from behind.

"This was recorded in a recording room in the past, by the entire Nottingham Forest team." Walker continued to give a slightly more detailed introduction to Tang En. "At first, it was a television program that invited them—at that time I still wasn't at Forest—to sing this song on the program. After that, it was made into a record and released."

"The sales were pretty decent, too," Bowyer said proudly. After that, he hummed the tune of the song and became increasingly louder. Then, Burns and Walker also joined in the choir.

Filled with the men's proud singing, the car drove past the road sign which displayed "Derby."

Brian Clough. To Tang En, who had time-travelled over from China, this name was very unfamiliar. However, to the entire English football world, it was the most extraordinary name. Even though he had long since retired, he still possessed a substantial amount of influence in that circle. He could reprimand the players and managers whom he did not take a liking to, and even a big-shot like Sir Alex Ferguson would not dare to talk back, should he be scolded by him. To describe it with a commonly used line in movies, it would be—I may no longer be in Jiang Hu, but tales of me still live on.

Ever since he stepped foot into the football world, the name had appeared countless times, along with all sorts of miracles. When he was still a player, he set the record for the fastest player to score 200 goals. He represented Middlesbrough and Sunderland in 296 matches, and scored 267 goals. Between the two, he scored 204 goals in the 222 matches that he played for Middlesbrough, and 63 in the 74 matches he played for Sunderland. This was an extremely terrifying scoring rate. However, his career as a player was extremely short-lived. He retired at the mere age of 29 due to an injury, and consequently walked the path of being a manager.

What really made his name renowned throughout the world and caused him to become a generation's "godfather of football", was precisely the manager position.

Derby County, which had just lost to Tang En, was currently ranked 21st in the league and faced with financial crisis. However, despite the miserable situation they were currently in, they had also had their glorious days. Their most glorious days were called "Brian Clough's Generation." Just from hearing the name, one knew who that team's manager was at that time.

During the 1966-67 season, Clough became the team's manager. He used two years to transform the team, from struggling in the Second Division (equivalent to the current League One), to becoming the Second Division champions. After that, they also became the First Division champions in the 1971-72 season. One season later, his team managed to reach the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League, but unfortunately lost to Juventus, which was said to have bribed the referee.

After that, he left the team and transferred over to Nottingham Forest. He created an entirely new "Forest Dynasty", which dominated English and European football. In addition, Derby County, because of the sturdy foundation left behind by Clough, managed to once again become the Division One champions for the 1974-75 season. However, they relinquished the championship title in the following year, when they lost to the Spanish overlords, Real Madrid.

As for Clough's accomplishments after he became Nottingham Forest's manager, there was not much need for any further illustration of them. Anyone who had some knowledge of the English and European football world during the seventies and eighties era, would know that the main color for that period was red. That was because both the teams that dominated European football wore red jerseys. One of them was Liverpool, while the other one was Clough's Nottingham Forest.

If he were only remembered because of his results, then Clough would be no different from most managers. However, in actual fact, he was the most special manager, among all the managers in the entire history of English football. His charisma could rival that of Liverpool's most noble Captain, Bill Shankly.

Regarding all that, Tang En completely agreed. It was evident from a glance at the three men's expressions beside him. He felt that this was very similar to his past schooling experience. A good teacher would always make his students miss him, even after they graduated, and they always treated him with a respectful attitude. On the contrary, a useless teacher would only make his students curse and mock him, even after they graduated.

Clough was precisely that kind of teacher who was exceptionally outstanding.

Just getting the Best Manager of the month for February award was enough to make Tang En extremely happy for a very long time. However, when he stood before Clough, he was like an ant that stood before a tall mountain. He was merely a small dust particle under Clough's feet.

And today, he was about to meet the most charismatic manager throughout the history of English football. Seeing the increasingly crowded streets, he suddenly felt an exceptional feeling rise from the bottom of his heart—I am not merely having afternoon tea with an old man who has retired from the position of a manager. Instead, I am paying my respects to the emperor who had created the Forest Dynasty.

After his retirement, the old manager's house was no longer in downtown Derby. He had bought a small estate which somewhat resembled a farm, at the North-Western outskirts of Derby. He was living in solitude outside of town, and there was only a narrow and difficult-to-walk path that connected his place to the bustling town.

The car was so bumpy on this road that Tang En got motion sickness from it. He did not expect that such a noble manager would actually live in this sort of place. Looking at the muddy road beneath the car wheels, it was highly possible that the road would become even harder to pass over when it rained.

"We're here," Bowyer suddenly said. Tang En discovered that there was a red brick house in front of him, which stood out amongst the low-standing forest. It appeared to be no different from the usual brick houses he saw in the country. This place was so inconspicuous that Tang En was slightly disappointed.

They had just gotten out of the car, and they were already able to hear a series of dog barking sounds. Then Tang En saw a golden shepherd dog rushing out from the courtyard, directly lunging at him.

"Wa!" Tang En used his hands to block his face, as he shouted. He was really afraid of dogs.

However, this shepherd dog only rested its paws on his shoulders and extended its tongue, puffing as it tried to lick his face.

Seeing Tang En's agitated state, the three others started laughing. "Hey! Tony, it just wants to get intimate with you," Walker said, laughing.

At that moment, an aged, yet slightly sharp and loud voice could be heard from the courtyard.

"Looks like Sam really likes you, kid."

Hearing this voice and turning from Tang En who was being "intimate" with the dog, the other three stopped laughing and stood respectfully.

An old man slowly sauntered out from the courtyard. He looked at the three guys standing at the side, before mumbling to himself, "Oh my, I only prepared two guests' worth of tea sets. Walker, what brand of juice do you like?"

Upon hearing this, Walker was stunned. "Boss, I'm of age…"

The two others lowered their heads and tried their best to hold in their laughter, but they ultimately could not contain it and let it out.

The old man did not care about Walker's protests, and instead turned his head and looked at Burns. "It's been so many years, and you still haven't become a tad more handsome, Kenny."

Burns awkwardly smiled. "Boss, you know it... I don't like to do plastic surgery." When Burns was still a player, it had once been publicly announced by his own manager that Kenny Burns was the ugliest player that he had ever signed.

Upon hearing his reply, the old man laughed. Then, he looked at Tang En, who was still being "intimate" with the dog, and sighed. "Who would have thought that you would also like Sam so much." He whistled, and the huge dog immediately let go of the pitiful Tang En and ran back to its owner.

Only after Tang En vigorously wiped off the saliva on his face, did he manage to see the old man standing before him.

His looks were frail. His eye bags were swollen, and his eyelids drooped, making him seem as if he were not fully awake yet. Was this the legendary manager, Brian Clough, who shook the European football scene in the past? Tang En felt that reality was indeed very distant from dreams.

"Are you very disappointed?" Clough's words gave Tang En a fright. This old man was spot on.

"Oh, are you intending to reassess me now?" Clough continued.

Tang En shrugged his shoulders and said, "Evaluating others is the job of the Human Resource Department." Faced with this sharp-eyed old man, it was the first time that Tang En felt at a loss for what he should say. It appeared that his premonition on the way here was right.

"You're wrong, kid. What do you think the manager does?"

"Brings victory to the team."

"That is only one part of the job scope." Clough waved his hands. "Come on in. I think the cookies should be done by now. Let us chat while drinking tea. I really liked that show you put on during the FA Cup halftime."

Bowyer purposely lagged behind and waited for Tang En to pass by him before, whispering to him, "The boss really likes you, but his character is just like that. Don't take it to heart."

Tang En nodded his head. "I like this kind of character."

Bowyer smiled. "We like it, too."

Chapter 50: The Real Legend Part 2

The sun at 3 p.m. in the afternoon reflected in through the large glass window and shone on the table. The circuit of gold that was inlayed on the ceramic cup looked glittery in the sunlight. The golden yellow cookies looked as if they had been naturally baked under the sun and smelled delicious. Black tea with sugar, in the warm afternoon, with people gathered for chatting formed the traditional English high tea.

Mrs. Clough had finished preparations and was sitting beside her husband. She smiled and listened to the guys' conversation. Her husband had just completed a liver transplantation surgery and was still in the recovery phase. She felt relieved now that the doctor had said that the operation was quite a success. The old man's excessive drinking and smoking habits in his younger years, had threatened his health and, ultimately, his life.

His condition especially worsened after he was no longer the manager of Nottingham Forest. There was a period of time when Mrs. Clough felt her husband had even lost the hope and will to live. Thus it was such a pleasure see her husband being so energetic for once.

Walker was telling Tang En's locker room story. Clough started laughing when Walker said a group of fans appeared inside the changing room and stunned the players and had Bowyer shouting. Bowyer was embarrassed under Clough's teasing laughter.

Tang En had suspected he would be the subject of the conversation for high tea. As a result, he did not expect Clough to ignore him after he laughed at the story. Clough went on to ask the three old colleagues to update him about their lives and at the same time recalled the times they fought together and the funny things that happened in the changing room in their time, as well. Tang En, as a listener, learned a lot about them. Bowyer and Burns were both key players that followed Clough to the championship of the UEFA Champions League twice. Even Walker was just a junior in front of them. What about Tony Twain… though his position was the highest among the four, he had the least to say. He did not have many things to say as he had no knowledge or memory about football in the 70s and 80s. He could only use it as an opportunity to boost his knowledge.

If he were just a football fan, he would have been so proud and delighted to be there talking with them. He probably would have given his full attention, listening closely to the old players' and managers' stories. But as a professional manager, he was depressed.

At first, he was expecting to receive compliments from this king and to be the spotlight of their conversation. He had imagined them all praising him, assuring him, and encouraging him. Yet, none of that happened.

He started to feel distracted and turned to look out of the window more often. Although he thought his actions were natural and that he hid them well, someone still observed them.

As Walker finished the last cookie, Clough stood up with his wife's help. "I think it's time for me to walk my dog." In response, they also stood up and bowed farewell to Clough and Mrs. Clough politely.

Tang En pouted while saying goodbye to them, feeling quite disappointed. Nothing had happened that afternoon, and he felt that he wasted the whole afternoon's precious time for nothing.

They waved to Clough who was holding his pet dog, Sam, outside of his house, and then the four of them drove back to Nottingham.

On the way back, Walker realized that Twain's mood was not good. He rolled his eyes as he figured out the reason.

"Tony, want to listen to a story?"

"Okay." His reply sounded very depressed. He looked exactly like a child that had not gotten his way. Walker snickered in the back.

Burns saw Walker's face, and he tried to ask him what was up. Walker hinted and secretly pointed at Twain, and Burns guessed the reason.

"Have you heard of Roy Keane?" Walker asked.

"Of course I've heard of him. Who hasn't? The current captain of Manchester United and the leading defending midfielder in the Premier League and even the whole of football."

"When Keane played his first match as a player for Forest, despite losing the match, his performance was not bad. Everyone was talking about this Irish young man who represented Forest for the first time, and they were all asking, "Hey, who the hell is that guy'?"

Twain shrugged his shoulders in the front seat. "Except for the final result, it was a successful first showcase."

"Everyone thought like that, and Keane was no exception. Then the next day, before training, Keane saw the boss in the changing room, and the boss asked him his name…"

Tang En interrupted Walker. "There's no way that he would not remember the name of a player that he had just fielded for the first time the day before."

"Of course he remembered, but he asked anyway. Keane just sincerely answered, 'Roy'. After that, do you know what the boss did?"

"No idea." Twain shook his head.

Walker laughed. "The boss took off his dirty boots that were full of mud from walking his dog around the field. Then he said to Keane, 'Roy, could you help me clean these?' And with no hesitation, Roy agreed immediately."

At that point, Tang En turned and looked at Des Walker, who smiled.

"You finished with the story?"

"There is still an ending left. The young guy who helped the boss clean his shoes has since become the leader of Manchester United and the captain of the Ireland National Team."

Twain and Walker looked at each other. After a while, Twain nodded and said, "I got your story. Thank you, Des."

"You should thank the boss. If you really want to show your appreciation, just treat me to some drinks tonight." Walker elbowed Burns, hinting that he would have more businesses.

"No problem. You can drink all you want!" Upon understanding Clough's intention, Tang En's mood got much better, and his voice raised.

As he watched the road that extended before him, Tang En felt that what he had learned that afternoon would be meaningful for his entire life. Clough had indeed told him something extraordinarily important.

Bloke, you are just a newbie who just joined less than half a year ago, and no one cares about you. It's too early for you to be proud and arrogant!

The golden shepherd dog was jumping around happily in front of the old man. He went into some bushes and frightened a few wagtails. The wagtails chirped as Sam apparently enjoyed invading their home very much.

After criticizing the shepherd's home invasion, the beautiful yellowish-green birds hovered at the forest edge, flew in front of the old man, and then far out of sight.

Sam was back from the bushes. The old man bent down and scratched his neck. "Such a bad boy you are. You scared our guests away. Wagtails… I have not seen them for a long time."

Sam moaned and seemed sad. The old man laughed, firmly patting his back. "All right, I know you didn't mean it. Go and continue to play!"

Sam cried happily and ran away, and then the old man made his way up slowly. He looked past Sam, beyond the pasture, beyond the old windmill by the river, beyond the forest ahead, and beyond the city that looked dim… beyond all the way to somewhere far away.

The short forest was scattered around in the early spring. The fallen leaves of the last autumn had long been dissolved into the soil. The fresh and green grass had grown in the charming breeze. It brought about the fishy smell from the soil as well as the scent of the grass. This was the smell of spring.

Chapter 51: Premier League Part 1

The second day after their visit with Clough, Tang En's team won with a score of 4:0 against Norwich City at their home ground. The match went perfectly, both in the process and the result. Forest owned total control of the match from the start, and it was one of the few matches in which they had the advantage in both the player statistics and the scoring under Tang En's leadership. Even the scrupulous English media could not find any flaws with the Forest Team's playing.

During this match, what showed Tang En's good command was not his allocation of players, but his decision to field a center back that he had transferred from the youth team. The 19-year-old Wes Morgan scored his first goal of his football career. Though the goal came at the 82nd minute and did not make a big difference in the result, it was very meaningful for Morgan.

Morgan chose to celebrate with Twain after his goal and rushed from the opponent's goalmouth toward Twain and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much, Sir! Thank you!" he shouted in Twain's ears. Although he had never doubted his ability, Twain was the one who gave him the chance to prove it. Going from a youth player to a professional one, and then becoming a star player… How long would the road be, and how many managers would be needed along the way? The manager who brought him through the first stage was of paramount importance, and Morgan felt very lucky and glad to have met such a leader who had good insight and made good choices.

After Morgan calmed down, Tang En pushed him out and laughed, "Kid, have you practiced how to sign your name?"

Morgan opened his mouth wide, but it seemed that the only thing he could do was giggle.

"Go back and continue with the match, kid. And remember to call me boss next time."

Morgan nodded hard and went back to the match.

Walker, who saw all of this, turned and realized Bowyer was wiping his eyes.

"What happened to you?" he asked loudly as the cheering thundered around them.

"Nothing happened, Des. I am just…just thinking about a question from the start of this match."

"What question?"

"I am very glad that I played under our man Clough, and not just because I got two European Championships and one league championship. I have learned many things from our boss that have been useful throughout my life. What about you?" Bowyer asked.

Walker nodded, "Same for me. And I believe many that were under Clough feel the same way as you. Just like Pearce, O'Neal, and many more…"

"You're right. Now I feel it's the same for Wes Morgan and Michael Dawson. They're lucky to be playing under Twain."

Walker stared at Bowyer for a few seconds without a word. "Are you comparing Twain to our man?"

Bowyer shook his head. "No, not me. I just have a feeling that maybe after many years, the whole of England will compare him to Mr. Clough."

Walker turned to look at Twain after he heard what Bowyer had said. Under the loud jubilation at the City Ground Stadium, he encouraged every player around him and then sent them back to the field one by one. Despite Forest's four goals ahead of Norwich, he still reminded them loudly that the match was not over yet.

"Ian, from my understanding of Tony, I think he would not agree with your opinion."

"Why?"

"Because he's probably hoping people will compare others to him."

It was true that he did not want to be anyone's successor and did not want to follow anyone, even if that person was Brian Clough. This man chose to show his back, and let others catch up with him.

Clough must have also realized this, and so, though he found Tony Twain to be a lot like him at a young age, he had not said anything like, "You are going to be my successor," when he met Twain the day before.

Often, the noble and great men with high achievements like to search for their successors when they get older to sing their praises to the public and the media. Pelé was one, and Maradona was no exception, either. Walker believed that his boss would like to be able to say, "so-and-so is going to be my successor", "so-and-so is as handsome as me in my younger time", and "I like so-and-so's coaching style as it makes me think of my time" during interviews. Walker could guarantee that that "so-and-so" would never be Tony Twain.

Clough was special. So was Tony.

"…After five successive victories followed by a failure, it's been another three victories straight. Tony Twain used this performance to show that he is a real genius. Now Forest has stabilized their rankings in the top six. It looks like we will be able to cheer for our favorite team at the next season of the Premier League."

"…Nothing could stop Forest from standing out, as they were reborn at the second half of the season. Paul Hart's disciple has accomplished something that even he, himself, was unable to do—lead Forest to a place in the Premier League."

"Marlon Harewood just needs four more goals to be awarded the Golden Boot. This golden boot forward at the second half of the season mentioned that he wanted to thank his substitute manager, Twain, the most during his interview. It was Twain that ignited his eagerness for victory, and he believes that other players from the team feel the same."

"There are six more rounds until the end of the league and Nottingham Forest is ranked 6th, though they still have one more round to go. The other five competitors have felt that Forest just might catch up with their steps anytime. No one dares to make a mistake. The competing over the placing for the Premier League next season has raged on and has reached the heat of the battle. In the next seven league matches, Forest has four matches against the teams who are currently ranked in the top six and one more with 7th place Ipswich. Out of the seven teams, there are five tough ones. For Twain and his Forest Team, they have definitely not reached the end of this long battle yet. Before the season ends, anything could happen."

Yes, anything was possible.

Chapter 52: Premier League Part 2

"The match is reaching the last 10 minutes. Nottingham Forest, who is not on their home ground, is tied 3:3 with their opponent. Both teams have played frantically today with five goals being scored in the first half of the match alone! At the 66th minute, Ipswich changed the score to a draw."

"Bad news just in for Forest from Rotherham United. A goal by the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. in their away match against Rotherham United, and that boring match has finally shown some signs of life. However, this is devastating news for Forest. If this score holds until the end of the match, there will be five points difference between Forest and Wolverhampton."

"…But back to what's happening here…oh yeah! The ball goes in! Marlon Harewood! This is his first goal today and his 21st goal for this season! This goal must be a relief for Tony Twain! At the 79th minute, his team is once again ahead of Ipswich!"

"The match is over! Nottingham Forest has gotten their fourth continuous victory in away matches! Tony and his team are definitely walking a bright path!"

On April 5th, at the 41st round of league matches, Tang En led his team through the difficulty of the away match, beating their closest competitor, Ipswich, with a score of 4:3. Harewood's last goal brought the precious three points for the team.

On April 9th, at the rescheduled 40th match, Nottingham Forest lost to second-ranked Leicester by one goal. The loss was not a complete failure. Tang En had reserved his firepower and was satisfied that the team only lost one goal. Because Leicester had 80 points and was ahead of the third place Sheffield United by 11 points, he treated only giving up one goal as a win. As there were only five more league matches left, Leicester and Portsmouth, who had 83 points were locked in for promotions to the Premier League. The remaining teams could only compete through the playoffs for third—the last position to be advanced to the Premier League.

As Ipswich, who was ranked seventh, had been losing all the while and was quite far from sixth, Tang En was not worried that they would catch up. As a result, he decided to reserve Forest's energy for the upcoming competitor, which would be the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This match was going to be a direct battle between fifth place and sixth place. If Tang En won, Forest's ranking points would be the same as Wolverhampton's, and then they could overtake them with their goal differences. However, if Tang En lost to them, the gap between them would widen.

The third- to sixth-ranked teams for the League Matches all participated in the playoffs. However, according to the English FA Cup, the competition system employs the two-round knock-out method. The semi-finals would employ the away goal rule and the finals would be determined in just one round at the stadium. The opposing teams would be between third and sixth places, and fourth and fifth places. Therefore, the higher the ranking, the weaker the opponent would be. This was the reason Tang En so desperately wanted to win over the Wolverhampton Wanderers and take fifth place.

Because it was a playoff match, the manager of Wolverhampton probably thought similarly to Tang En and planned his tactics accordingly. It would be a fair and direct battle.

The match was nine minutes in when Wolverhampton striker Nathan Blake scored a goal.

At the 26th minute, the Wanderers' midfielder, Colin Cameron, added more salt to Forest's wound and scored a second goal, making the score 2:0. The Forest fans sunk into a deathly silence.

David Johnson brought back hope with a goal at the 40th minute. The Forest fans revived.

In the second half of the match, both managers treated the field like a chessboard and played an intense game of chess.

Finally, at the 73rd minute, Tang En's "give it all" tactic worked. Michael Dawson got a goal after being pushed by Tang En to the forward line. City Ground suddenly sounded as if a bomb had been detonated. The cheering from the viewing platform was so loud that Tang En couldn't hear his own clapping,

For the remainder of match, though Tang En tried his best and the Forest players ran until their legs cramped, they still were not able to bring victory for the fans. They could not do anything but shake hands with the Wolverhampton Wanderers on their home ground.

The draw did not change the ranking board, as the top six remained the same, and even the order was unchanged.

Tang En's bad mood was completely gone the next morning when he woke up. This was because he had a lesson with Yang Yan that night. He now felt that there were two things in his life to look forward to. One was the victory after every match, and the other was having Chinese lessons with Yang Yan.

Every time Yang Yan saw Tang En, she would marvel at him, as he was the only foreigner she knew that could learn the Chinese language and culture so quickly.

Tang En always nodded and showed he agreed every time Yang Yan complimented him seriously and added, "I'm not trying to butter you up." Of course, his success was because he could already speak and write Chinese. He was a Chinese man who has grown up and lived in China for 26 years.

The Chinese lesson was just an excuse for Tang En to get close to Yang Yan.

He hoped to hear Yang Yan's voice, watch her smile, be in the same room with her, breathe the same air, and talk about whatever subject she liked.

Usually the first half of the lesson consisted of Yang Yan teaching Tang En, while the second half always turned out to be Tang En talking about football to Yang Yan.

Neither of them felt there was anything wrong with that. Yang Yan had gradually become a fan of Forest, while Tang En's Chinese had improved very quickly, and that made Yang Yan very proud.

Seeing his old schoolmate look so proud, Tang En was amused. However, he could not express himself and give away his true identity. He realized there was no way for him to go back to his original life. He had already fallen in love of being a manager. Even though he was just a substitute, he did not want to return his new body.

As for Yang Yan… she was his only link to his past. Tang En's past life had nothing for him to cherish, except for this girl, which occasionally made him think about studying in a Chinese school and meeting new people.

Yang Yan was his first crush. However, first crushes did not usually turn into anything. Tang En had no plans to say these things out loud and pushed them way down inside in order to preserve his current life. I did not know you then and you did not know me, either. Now we know each other, but nothing will ever happen.

The excitement that Tang En had experienced when he first saw Yang Yan was just because of the sharp contrast he felt between his past and current lives, as well as the effect that fantasy has on reality.

Now, that effect has slowly faded away, and he could treat Yang Yan calmly and normally.

Let the past stay in the past…

Chapter 53: Premier League Part 3

Although Tang En had five wins and one loss in March's league matches, he still lost to Harry Redknapp who was the manager of Portsmouth F.C. and had won the best coach award six times. Losing to him did not affect Tang En's mood at all, as Harry Redknapp was a famous figure in English football.

In order to celebrate the commendable achievements by Forest during that period, Burns threw a casual get together at his bar. He invited all who wanted to come, but, of course, the players could not come. Even if they wanted to come and drink, they still needed Tang En's permission. Tang En was a classic drinker, but he did not allow his players to drink. They could drink as much as they wanted after the season, but not during it.

Michael brought his son, and the smart Bernard soon became the center of attention. Tang En approached little Bernard with a glass filled with beer, and the glass was almost bigger than the kid's head.

"Come, uncle feed you to drink…" Tang En's tongue felt bigger when he talked. No one knew how much alcohol he had drank.

Just as he handed the glass over to Bernard, Michael snatched it away and immediately drank it down in one shot.

Tang En saw Michael's throat moving and heard the sound of the beer going into his stomach. The entire glass of beer was in someone else's stomach! Tang En looked him straight in the eyes and yelled, "That was mine!"

"I know." Michael wiped away the foam on his mouth, burped, and then said with satisfaction, "Thanks for the treat."

"You are such a…" Tang En opened his mouth and was about to let him him have it, but was stopped by Michael's warning.

"B*stard! Don't you use bad language in front of my son!"

Tang En was completely speechless.

There was loud laughter all around. Out of all the rough and husky voices of the old men, little Bernard's crisp voice rang out especially clear, "Boss, give Mr. Twain a cup of fresh juice on me!"

Everyone exploded into laughter again.

Tang En raised his arms up to show he surrendered.

Big John held his glass up and shouted happily, "Who beat Tony?'

Walker stretched his voice just like the sound-system at the stadium and shouted, "Gaaaaaavin!"

The rest immediately added on as if they were watching matches in the stadium, "Bernard!"

The atmosphere in the bar reached a climax, and people were holding their glasses and chatting energetically. Michael brought his son to sit at Tang En's table, and everyone sitting at the table welcomed little Bernard and ignored his father.

"The son is way cuter than the father," Tang En judged.

"You're not cute, either," Michael tried to rebuke.

Tang En giggled, "This means we have something in common."

"Who would have anything in common with someone like you?" Michael put his glass up and shook it in front of Tang En. Tang En knew what he meant and put his cup up as well. They cheered.

"Tony."

"Yes?"

"Will our team be in the Premier League at next season?"

"Is there any point to asking such a question?"

"Great. If you don't make it, I will sit behind your seat and heckle you at every home match."

"Daydreaming! I will not give you any chance to do that!"

The two men finished their beers, and then looked at each other and started laughing.

The heavy door of the bar was pushed open, and a man who wore a cap came in. Though he tried to keep a low profile, there were still people who recognized him.

The noisy bar soon turned completely silent.

Even Tang En and Michael, who sat the farthest in, felt the vibe change.

Michael, curious, turned around and saw the visitor who stood beside the door searching for someone.

After that, Tang En noticed the smile on Michael's face had disappeared. He stood up and looked at the middle-aged man in the cap.

Michael and the party-crasher met eyes at the same time.

"Michael," he said and wanted to go on, but Michael stopped him.

"I know what you want to do. I do not care about them, and you should not come and look for me anymore. I have already made it clear that I want no association with you! The same goes for John."

Michael had just finished what he wanted to say, when John, nearer to the door, stood in front of the guy in the cap and glared at him from unfriendly eyes and an unwelcoming stance.

"John, listen to me…"

Big John spoke indifferently. "I do not know you."

While he said this, others surrounded them.

The uninvited guest looked at all the people and was exasperated. He pointed to John and Michael and scolded, "You are renegades who betrayed your brothers!"

This caught Tang En's interest. Betrayed? Brothers? Renegades? Were they in an action movie? He tiptoed up behind big John and hoped to catch a glimpse of the guy's face to see if it had any scars.

"The b*stards of Millwall want to challenge us! This is about our honor! And yet you guys are here drinking and enjoying yourselves as if there was nothing going on."

Burns' cold voice came from the staircase, "I remember I said we do not welcome people like you here."

The man seemed to be scared of Burns, and his anger was suddenly gone. Tang En wondered why this man changed his manner so quickly. It seemed like something strange was going on.

"Kenny…"

"Leave the place!"

Burns abruptly asked him to leave, and everyone in the bar stared at him with hate in their eyes for ruining the party. The uninvited guest stared at John who blocked his way angrily and then walked away.

As the door of the bar closed, the people inside began to drink and chat again as if nothing had happened. The vibe was soon back to what it had previously been.

However, Michael seemed to be in a bad mood, and he suddenly drank all his beer in one shot. Then he murmured something. Despite the noisy surroundings, Tang En still heard it.

"What f*cking honor…"

After drinking the rest of his beer, Michael stood up and said to Twain and Walker, "I have to go home now, as Gavin is about to fall asleep."

Walker nodded to show that he understood. Michael looked at Tang En who was still confused. "Remember what you promised, Tony. If Forest is still trapped inside League One, I will do something about it!"

After that, he took his son out of the crowd.

From the moment of the uninvited guest's arrival, to when Michael left the bar, Tang En was completely out of the loop. What was all that about? Turning back and seeing Walker drinking alone, Tang En felt that he had to know what had just happened. "Des, do you know who that guy in the cap was. It seemed everybody knew him, but why did they talk to each other that way?"

Walker glanced at Tang En. "It was Mark Hodge, the leader of Naughty Forty."

"What is that?"

This time Walker downed his beer, waited a minute, and then answered Tony. He sounded the words out syllable by syllable, "Foot-ball Hoo-li-gans!"

Chapter 54: Hodge’s Honor Part 1

England's football hooligans were well known even to those who never watched football matches. London fog, English pubs, and the football hooligans are national symbols of England. Tang En's understanding of football hooligans was no more than an ordinary person's. In China, there had been no chance for him to have contact with any real football hooligans. People there thought football hooligans were cool, and that they just threw around bad language, showed their fists, and shouted things like "cut his legs off!" They had no clue what a true football hooligan was.

So how did a true football hooligan behave?

Tang En wasn't in the mood to think about these boring questions. After spending a great night at Burns' bar and waking up the next morning, his mind was focused on the remaining five matches in the league, and what he had to do to progress in the rankings to secure the most advantageous position in the playoffs.

He circled the remaining five matches in red on his calendar to remind him that there would be five more decisive battles.

He was sure that the team and he had prepared well in order to tackle the last four matches, and then give their all in the playoffs. After three playoff matches, they would be a newly promoted team in the Premier League next season. After that, Tang En would spend his holiday back in China to secretly visit his parents and to see how the life of the Tang En in China was going.

Those were all the plans that Tang En had for the future.

Tang En's plans did not get off to a good start. At the 32nd round rescheduled match on April 16th, an away match, Forest lost to the Sheffield United who was ranked third. They only lost by one goal, but losing was losing, and they lost three points. This also decreased Forest's chances of surpassing the Wolverhampton Wanderers, as they had one match less than them and were only behind by two points.

Although Tang En was extremely angry about the score during the match, by post match in the changing room he had accepted the failure. What could he do even if he did not accept it? Considering it was an away match, and we only lost by one goal to a team that is ranked third, the outcome is not so bad after all. Tang En tried to convince himself from another angle. And if we end up in sixth place at the end of the season, and we have to play Sheffield United again, this match will have helped us size up and test ourselves against a future opponent.

However, the players would have no holiday to enjoy. In the changing room, Twain announced the cancellation of the one-day holiday after the match, and everyone went back to Nottingham and started training for their next match with Reading F.C., the team that was ranked fourth.

Despite having lost the match, Tang En's team went back to Nottingham and found that they still had lots of support from the fans.

The next day, there were many fans around the training ground. Besides the usual faces, Tang En also saw a group of people that was singing the team song loudly and encouraging the players in their training. They made a lot of noise, which caught Tang En's attention. It seemed as if the fans had separated into two distinct groups.

The group with the most people was like a gang of people that knew each other well, and had an obvious leader. Tang En could easily identify the leader.

He wore a red pullover, and the red Forest scarf on his neck proved his identity. The fans around him all wore different colors and different kinds of clothing, but they all had the Nottingham Forest red scarf around their necks.

The weather was not good at all. With the light rain, Tang En thought there would be fewer fans watching the team train from the side. He certainly did not expect there would be so many of the crazy fans present. The crazy fans soon attracted the Wilford training ground's security, which came with some degree of alarm to see what the commotion was.

While coaching Forest for about half of the season, this was the first time Tang En saw this kind of scene.

Even an idiot could guess who these crazy fans were that gathered and cheered outside the training ground.

Seeing these people sing and cheer for Forest nonstop under the rain, Tang En had a hard time associating them with the unreasonable, often violent behavior of football hooligans.

They did not look any different than ordinary fans.

It was indeed hard to imagine that they were the notorious football hooligans. Something was not quite right.

They cheered forcefully at the side of the training ground, and the players did not seem to appreciate them at all. Some glared at them in disgust. Even the good Mr. Walker treated them like nothing.

After the training, the players purposely left from the side that was farthest from the fences, and no one went to sign autographs for the fans. When the usual fans realized this, they were quite disappointed. No one in the new group had come for autographs. They only seemed to be there to support the team.

The team's reaction shocked Tang En, and it seemed that he was the only one who had no knowledge about the football hooligans.

Giving a few glances to the group of people that sang songs to say goodbye to the team, he then followed the team off the training ground.

Although he had transmigrated to this country almost half a year, he found that he still did not know so many things. It wasn't a good feeling.

Chapter 55: Hodge’s Honor Part 2

The 43rd round of league matches was on April 19th. Nottingham Forest played against the fourth-place team, Reading, in an away match.

"What a struggle this match has been! Nottingham Forest has had to deal with the constant resistance of the home team at the Madejski!"

"John, can this be right… why would an away team have to deal with constant resistance from the home team? Are you suggesting that Nottingham Forest has made this their home ground?"

"Stephen, you are right. Yes, Twain's team has made this their home ground!"

Listening to the commentators on the radio, James Landy hit the horn in his cab. "Good job, Tony!"

The frowning passenger in back complained, "Stop pressing that thing. I can't hear the match!"

"Oh, sorry, Sir. Are you a Forest fan, too?" The road ahead was wide with very little traffic. Landy casually talked over his shoulder to his passenger about the match.

"Of course, since I was very young." The passenger did not talk much, obviously preferring to listen to the radio. "Watch where you're going!"

"Don't worry, sir. There's not many cars on the road. Most people are watching the match at home or in a pub. And you can trust my driving skills. I've been driving for 27 years." Just as Landy finished, Motson's voice suddenly boomed out of the radio.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Eoin Jess! A beautiful direct free kick! Like an arrow piercing Reading through the heart! This is a major goal! At the 74th minute, Nottingham Forest takes the lead in an away match with the score of 1:0!"

James Landy from the front seat, and the passenger in the back raised their arms high and shouted, "Forest! Forest!"

While the two were shouting and banging their hands on the ceiling, the cab suddenly swerved. Landy grabbed the wheel and came to a screeching halt.

"You idiot b*astard! You're still driving!" The passenger was visibly shaken.

Landy was exhilarated. "Sir, I told you that you could trust my skills! Haha! Forest is the best!"

Inside Madejski Stadium, the Forest fans went nuts as they cheered loudly to celebrate their team's victory.

The final whistle was blown. Tang En and his soldiers had won a battle that influenced their fate and future. The highest commander's soldiers surrounded him to celebrate their victory. They had successfully gotten the three points and had found stable footing on their way to future ranking battles.

"Forest has won the match! It was a boring match, although I don't think Twain would agree. Those three points are precious to Forest! Thank god they won! Too bad for Reading…"

When the team left the locker room to board the bus, some of the players signed autographs for fans and took pictures with them.

Like the players, Tang En was also treated like a star. As a manager, he was happy to have fans asking for his signature.

"Hey, Tony! We're going to the Premier League, right?" There was always someone asking him about this when he walked over to the fence and signed autographs.

Twain grinned and nodded. "Yes, we will be in the Premier League!"

Then Tang En would lower his head and sign as many autographs as he could. Since the team had won the match, everyone one was in a good mood, and he was more than willing to fulfill all the fans' wishes.

Then he stopped in front of a person that didn't have a notebook, Forest postcards, a Forest Jersey, a scarf, or a hat… he just stood in front of Twain without anything in his hands for him to sign.

Curious, Tang En raised his head and was shocked to see the leader of the group that had cheered and sang so loudly at the training ground the other day.

He was an older man with grey eyes, white hair, and wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes. He seemed polite, friendly, without any of the ugly scars or crazy accessories that Tang En's imagination made the leader of such a group out to have.

The two men stared at each other.

"Mark Hodge." The leader introduced himself first and offered his hand to Twain.

Since he showed friendliness first, Tang En could not reject him, so he shook hands with him. "Tony Twain."

Hodge grinned at him. "There is no need for you to introduce yourself. Everyone knows your name. Forest owes its success to you! Great job!"

"Thanks," Tang En smiled, but couldn't really enjoy Hodge's compliments. His mind was all messy now, wondering how this polite-looking, middle-aged man could really be a leader of football hooligans. He couldn't imagine him throwing bricks at other people's heads.

"I have a question for Mr. Twain," Hodge stared at Tang En and said.

"Please, go ahead."

"The last match of league, our match with Millwall… What is your confidence level on winning that match?"

Tang En was surprised that he didn't ask if they would be in the Premier League next season, but asked about the last match instead. According to Forest's recent performance, the last league match might not be important anymore.

"It depends on the situation of the team by then. If eligibility for the playoffs is determined before that, or we get promoted directly, I would not put too much energy into the last match," Tang En answered him honestly. If reporters had asked him the same question, he would have answered differently, of course.

Hodge shook his head in disappointment. "This is not the way, Mr. Twain. I think no matter the situation going into that match, winning against Millwall is the way to go."

"Has something gone wrong with them in the past?"

Hodge ignored his question.

"Don't you think that ending the season with a victory would be best?"

Tang En thought about it, and what Hodge said made sense. He also knew that he would not like to lose to Millwall on their home ground. So, he nodded. "All right, I think it will end in victory like today."

Hodge was happy to hear Twain say this. "We all like victory, don't we?"

"That's right," Tang En agreed.

Hodge put up the hood of his pullover, said bye to Twain, and turned to leave the crowd. Tang En did not see his brothers, just him alone, which meant that he had only come for that question.

Other fans were calling him, and Tang En walked over to them.

Hodge's response was too adamant, but Tang En did not have the energy to care about why he wanted Forest to win so desperately over Millwall.

Perhaps it was just because everyone hoped to witness victory, instead of failure.

Chapter 56: Hodge’s Honor Part 3

After Tang En left the fans and returned to the bus, Walker came over and said, "I saw you and Mark Hodge together just now. What did you talk about?"

Seeing Walker's concern, Tang En shrugged his shoulder. "Nothing much. It was just a normal conversation between a manager and a fan. He wants Forest to win the last match, that's all."

Hearing this, Walker did not say anything.

"And, Des, I think you're worrying for no reason. Though you all hate him, I do not think he is as you described. I mean, he doesn't seem like a bad person…"

Walker interrupted Twain, "A bad person does not always look like one. Some people are gentleman, good husbands, and nice people when their minds are clear. But if they are drunk, god only knows what they will do!" Walker waved his hand in exaggeration. "Hodge is that kind of person exactly. You think he looks okay? That is just because he is not drunk yet."

As Tang En was about to say something, Walker added on, "And with Mark Hodge, the time when he is drunk is way more than when he is sober."

On the first training day after returning from their away match, there were not as many fans as last time. Probably because Hodge and his gang did not come.

Tang En thought about it.

He had never seen Hodge and his group at the training ground before, but they showed up to cheer and encourage the team after they lost an important match. Because of this, Tang En found it difficult to associate them with the football hooligans who fought with others and ruined teams' images.

Although they were not polite and well-mannered men, they did contribute to the team, didn't they?

In his 26 years, Tang En had not had any experience with fake football hooligans, let alone real ones. He lacked some awareness about them and did not understand why the people around him treated them so harshly, when they were not bad, just more enthusiastic about the team. They said that the presence of football hooligans would cause bloody fights, but so far he had not seen Hodge and his group display any radical actions.

Michael brought little Gavin to watch the team train. They had just come over from watching George Wood. When the team finished their training and was resting at the side, Tang En walked over to talk to Michael and tease the adorable Gavin.

That's when he noticed someone beside Michael. It was Mark Hodge. The two of them seemed to be talking over something, but soon both of them became excited. He had only seen Michael become that angry at the match with West Ham United. Both of the men were cursing at each other and making big gestures.

Though he knew that it probably wasn't any of his business, Tang En decided to find out what was going on. He was still very curious as to why Mark Hodge came looking for Michael at the Forest Bar that night.

"Michael! You think this is okay? The association has gone down hill ever since you left. We need you to come back and lead us…"

"Hodge, I want nothing to do with you. Naughty Forty is yours, not mine." Michael yelled. "John, Bill, and me have been gone for 14 years. We have no connection. This is for the best, and we will not have any any more contact! Goodbye, Hodge." After Michael said this, he was about to take Gavin's hand and leave.

"Wait… Michael! Are you really willing to abandon us and abandon the association?!" Hodge shouted.

"Why would I leave all this behind? For me, Gavin and Fiona are my everything." After he said this, Michael was done with Hodge and started to leave the training ground.

"Millwall's sons of b*tches are coming strong this time! We cannot lose to them! Don't you miss the times you and your partners fought together? Don't you care about our association's image and reputation? Hey!" No matter how hoarsely Hodge screamed, Michael never stopped and looked back.

"B*stard!" Hodge hollered at Michael's back. "You are such a betrayal, you b*stard!"

"This is why you are so concerned with Forest winning over Millwall?" Hodge was shocked when he suddenly heard this voice come from off to the side.

"Mr. Twain…"

Standing inside the fence, Tang En looked at him quietly.

"Eh… you do not understand, Mr. Twain. It is very complicated." Hodge lost his train of thought. He had not expected the manager to appear beside him suddenly. "Millwall's one of the associations that provokes us. They laugh at our team and our association."

"So what? My team will beat their team, and they'll look like idiots."

"That's right, Mr. Twain. You can beat them in the match, but what about me?" Hodge pointed to himself and said, "I have to beat them outside the match. Actually, we are doing the same thing after all. You fight for the honor of your team, and we do the same! Our love for Forest is undisputed, and I would even say that there is no one else who could support Forest more than us! And love Forest more than us! We have cheered for Forest ever since Brian Clough's generation, and it has been 24 years! We fought with Forest!" Hodge became more and more excited the more he said. He opened his arms as if he controlled the whole world, reflecting a fanatical light from his eyes.

But Tang En was not moved by these words and simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe this is true. Twenty-four year ago… I have forgotten what was I even doing back then. Hodge, I do not care what you plan to do. That's your business. However, I am here to tell you to stop badgering Michael. Maybe he had some connection with you before, but that was in the past. Michael loves his son and his family very much now." As he said the words, he thought it was a lousy speech.

Hodge nodded, "I know, of course. I know that he loves his son. But…"

"Everyone has their right to choose, do they not?" Tang En grinned. "Respect others' choices."

After hearing what Tang En said, Hodge was quiet. He lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

"I have to go back, now. Goodbye, Mr. Hodge. I will win the last match, but not for your honor. For mine." Tang En waved and turned back to the team.

Watching Tang En leave, Hodge muttered, "No, it is for our honor, Mr. Twain."

Chapter 57: The Visiting Team, Millwall Part 1

On April 21st, at their 44th match of the League Championship, the Nottingham Forest team played in a home match against the Burnley team.

"There are three rounds left in the League Championship, and the top six rankings in the league points table have changed since the last match. After the fourth-ranked Reading lost a home match to the Forest team, they had been overtaken by the Wolfhampton Wanderers and dropped to the fifth spot. The accumulated points of the fourth to sixth rankings are 71, 70 and 69 respectively. Look at these points! There's a lot of anticipation for the remaining three rounds of the League Championship! After two consecutive away matches, Tony Twain and his team return to City Ground. What will be the score on the electronic scoreboard after 90 minutes?"

Ninety minutes later, Tang En, who was in high spirits and with a bright smile on his face, stood on the sidelines with the visiting team manager to exchange a courtesy handshake. The electronic scoreboard above the stand to his side, displayed the final score that had been fixed at 2:0 since the first half of the match.

The Nottingham Forest team had secured their second consecutive victory. Even though the top two ranking teams had won matches and the league points table had not changed, it did not dampen Tang En's good mood. Because his team had already locked in for the playoffs two matches ago.

On April 26th, at their 45th match of the League Championship, which was the penultimate match, Nottingham Forest challenged Rotherham United in an away match.

Like Burnley, the Forest team's previous opponent, Rotherham United was ranked in the middle with no worry of a relegation and no hope of a promotion. They lacked the will to fight in their last few matches in the League Championship. Perhaps these players were now preoccupied with where to go for their vacations, or how to take advantage of the summer transfer period to join a team with better benefits. With such a team as Nottingham Forest's opponent, it was like playing against a pizza delivery boy.

The hungry Forest team played a beautiful 2:0 away match against Rotherham United. The team's top striker, Marlon Harewood, raised his number of goals in the League Championship for the season to 24, and his forward partner, David Johnson, scored his 20th personal goal.

The final stage of the League Championship was perfect for Tang En, and there was only one opponent left now...

He looked at the calendar. Below the red circle around May 4th, which was eight days later, there was a line of small print, and it was their opponent's name: Millwall.

On May 4th, 2:57 p.m., at City Ground, a fan was waving the flag of a lifelike roaring lion with his front paws raised high, looking as if it would leap out from the blue flag at any time and tear its prey apart.

About a hundred visiting fans had gathered outside the stadium and were slowly making their way toward City Ground. Most ordinary Forest fans would consciously detour around this blue phalanx when they saw it. Therefore, they created no hindrance along the way.

Of course, they were not afraid. On both sides of the Millwall fans, there were also about 100 Forest fans wearing red jerseys, shouting, cursing, and making many rude gestures at the Millwall fans. The Millwall fans in the phalanx also fought back with words and gestures. But neither side charged at each other to fight.

That was because there were many British policemen wearing bright yellow vests in between these two groups of fans. They were fully armed and stared vigilantly at the fans on both sides.

For the City of Nottingham, today was the time of the year where their police patrol force was its weakest and most stressed. Because the Millwall fans had arrived.

A Football Club like Millwall might be one of the few clubs in the world where its fans were more famous than the club itself. As a small team in the south of London, they did not have many achievements and honors to show off, and they did not have any big-name stars. But they had the most fearless group of fans in the U.K., and even in the world.

Millwall had the most notorious football hooligans in the U.K.

At an intersection, this legion of Lions stopped and the police surrounded them. They needed to wait here for the Forest bus to pass through. Even though they had stopped, they were still on the outside periphery of the abusive and frenzied Forest fans.

A horn blared three times in the front of them, and a red bus slowly moved into the view of these people.

Suddenly the blue Millwall fans ignored the Forest fans on the outside periphery and aimed their barbs at the Forest players sitting in the bus. There were even excited fans who wanted to bend down and look for bricks to smash the bus. The two rows of policemen surrounding them played their part, pushing back those fans who wanted to cross the line.

Even though the bus's tightly-closed windows had excellent soundproofing, Tang En could still hear the voices of the Millwall fans outside. With their puckered lips, he could make out the "F" words like "f*ck" this and "f*ck" that. They looked vicious and kept putting up their middle fingers. Having led his team for half of the season's matches, this was the first time Tang En had seen such ferocious fans. He felt that they were not here to see the match, but to pick a fight.

To fight against the Millwall fans, the Forest fans who had gathered together also began to hit back loudly with foul language, which caught Tang En's attention. He easily found a familiar face in the crowd, Mark Hodge.

This usually polite, middle-aged man had become red in neck due to the rush of blood. He looked fierce and was snarling at the other side like an angry bulldog.

"Football hooligans," Tang En whispered the words that Walker had told him that night at the bar.

Sitting beside him, Walker saw that Twain had noticed the situation outside. He lifted his head and looked. Apparently, he was accustomed to it. "Tony, this is kids' stuff. When we reach the field, just wait till the match begins. I guarantee it's going to be an eye-opener for you."

Tang En looked at him.

"At that time, we will need to yell to communicate in this way." Walker smiled, using his hands to compare the distance between the two of them. "And we will be yelling close into each other's ears."

During their conversation, the bus had left that intersection with all the pent-up turmoil and turned into the team's exclusive parking lot. Tang En looked back and only saw a few waving flags and blurred figures of red and blue. The Forest fans' singing had stopped, and Tang En knew that these groups of people must be abusing each other again.

Tang En felt that after his brief contact with Mark Hodge, he could now, more or less understand the beliefs of these football hooligans: to abuse the opponents for their favorite team, to fight against the opposing fans for their favorite team. They would even die... for their favorite team.

Chapter 58: The Visiting Team, Millwall Part 2

When the match began, Tang En fully realized that what Walker had said was true about the situation from the technical area. Just because their opponent was Millwall, the atmosphere of the stadium had completely changed. The visiting team's fans were singing excitedly in their stands, constantly changing the lyrics to mock the Forest players during the match. Although they were smaller in number, they had the upper hand in volume.

Unable to withstand the humiliation, the die-hard Forest fans immediately launched a counterattack with filthy words under Mark Hodge's leadership. Of course, just like there was always roast turkey for Christmas dinner, what was a battle of filthy words without the embellishment of middle fingers?

If someone had heard these lively noises outside the stadium, they would have thought the stadium was full. Tang En had originally thought so, too. But in fact, the attendance for that day's match was lower than any of the previous matches. Large swathes of the stands were empty. Other than the policemen in bright yellow vests, there was no one else.

It wasn't that the match wasn't exciting enough to attract spectators. But for this highly-sensitive match, the field management and the police deliberately deducted a portion of the tickets to free up some space in the stands and use that as a buffer between the opposing groups of fans to ensure safety.

The match itself was not even as exciting as the two sides' fans in the stands. Millwall tried very hard, but it was of no use. In the face of Nottingham Forest's ambition to be the Premier League, they were beaten without the power to fight back. When Harewood scored his 25th goal of the season, which was also the third goal of this match, the visiting team, Millwall, lost their fighting spirit, and the match ended prematurely.

At this time, the Millwall fans in the stands were once again in the spotlight. They constantly abused the Forest players on the field and the Forest fans on both sides of the stands. There were even clashes between the fans and police officers in charge of the security work. Of course, the conflicts quickly subsided. It was not only the Millwall team which was fighting in their away match, but also the Millwall fans. They didn't seem to realize that some hollering and a few curse words were honestly the best way to vent.

Because the situation of the match was already set, Tang En simply watched the show, starring at the fans from the sidelines. He wanted to find Mark Hodge in the stands and was curious as to what he was doing at that moment. But there were so many people in the stands, it was too difficult to find someone who was wearing the same red jersey as the other 20,000 fans.

When the match went into injury stoppage time, Tang En heard a familiar shout from Michael Bernard behind him.

"Tony! Will there be any changes in this match?"

"What do you think will change? We're in the lead with three goals!"

"That's good. I have to take my son out of here. Remember what you said. You will get the team in the Premier League next season!"

Little Bernard stood beside his father and wore the red Forest jersey with George Wood's maiden signature. Tang En wanted to laugh every time he saw that crooked and slanted handwriting, which was not as good as an elementary school student's.

"The match is not over yet. It's unbecoming behavior for a loyal fan to leave early." Tang En was making fun of Michael.

"I don't want to get involved in a big chaotic fight after the match. Damn it! Tony, if I don't see Nottingham Forest on the Premier League list in half a month's time, I don't mind showing you what a loyal fan's becoming behavior is." Michael shook his fist at Twain, but Tang En smiled even more happily.

"You won't have to. Of course, don't think that I can't beat you..." Tang En suddenly remembered the child next to Michael. It was inappropriate to talk like that in front of him. So, he waved to little Bernard. "Good-bye, Gavin. I hope you will not be led astray by your violent dad."

Little Bernard made a face at Twain, "I will not, Uncle Violence!"

Amid Michael's laughter, Tang En shrugged with a smile as he watched the father and son leaving. It was an interesting family. Looking at that bright and clever child, he was looking forward to what kind of young man he would become when he grew up.

When Tang En turned his attention back to the match, he heard three sharp whistles and the loud cheers that followed.

Walker stood up, took off the headset over his his ears, and smiled at Twain. "It's over. Our next opponent is Sheffield United."

"Excellent! Ever since that day we lost to them, I've been looking forward to it." Tang En gritted his teeth as he spoke. "After we defeat them, we will go to the Premier League!" Then, Twain and Walker shook on it.

Next to them, Bowyer also put his hand in.

"Though I can't go to the Premier League with you, I really want to see the day when the Forest Team returns to the Premier League."

Tang En turned to look at the old chap. When he had just become a manager, Bowyer had ridiculed him, stood by irritably, and did nothing to help. He had even wanted to replace him. At that time, he did not think that the three of them would ever put their hands together to work hard for the same goal.

"Thank you, Ian." These words were sincere.

"If the Forest team really returns to the Premier League in 12 days, I will be the one thanking you, Tony."

Tang En was in a good mood and did not want to be too formal. So, he smiled and suggested, "When the press conference is over, the three of us will have a few good drinks at Kenny's bar."

"That's a great idea." The other two men nodded and agreed.

Chapter 59: The Visiting Team, Millwall Part 3

After the three men separated, the coaches and team doctors in the technical area all came to congratulate Twain. It was Twain's first season as the First Team manager, and he had performed much better than many people had expected. From his team being in the middle rankings when he first took over mid-season to now being qualified for the playoffs, I could definitely be said that Twain had played a large part in it.

The manager was the true soul of the team. A good manager could give a bright future to the team, and a bad manager would only lead them into a dark hell. Tang En obviously belonged to the former. Now everyone on the team was won over by the guy who had been knocked on the head. The disdainful sneers that he had had to endure when he first took over the team, had long since been gone.

The rules of professional football were simple: if you were able to win, you would get the respect from others. Everything else was nonsense. Where did one's fame come from? What was one's status? How did one make contacts? They all depended on victories and scores. It was not possible for a through and through loser to have any of these things.

Seeing how people around him had changed their attitudes, and then listening to the thunderous cheers from the stands, Tang En firmly believed that the path he had chosen was correct and that his belief was right.

I belong to this field, and I belong to victory.

The two managers were very relaxed at the post-match press conference because the result of this match was reasonably fair for both teams. The team that needed to play in the playoffs received three morale-boosting points, and the other team was without any ambition. For them, there was no difference between three points and zero points.

Only Pierce Brosnan, who sat in the reporters' seats and watched the others scrambling to ask questions, found the scene ironic.

On the platform, the two opponents were making jokes and laughing together, flattering each other, and taking turns speaking. Their relationship was so good that it was as if they were old friends who have known each other for many years.

And in some corner unseen by them, the fans from both sides must be waging a blood-boiling war of punching each other out for the glory of their respective teams...

Brosnan did not think that the Millwall fans who had too much to drink, would leave Nottingham empty-handed. He was afraid that even if they had wanted to leave, the equally drunk Forest fans would make them stay, too.

The football hooligans did not dare to fight near the stadium because City Ground's surroundings were covered with surveillance cameras. But cameras could be anywhere in the City of Nottingham.

A team's pursuit of victory was for glory, and the fans also gave their best for their team to pursue the same glory. A group of football hooligans fighting with another group of football hooligans was also pursuing glory. Why would the same word have such different meanings and cause such vastly different behaviors?

Even Pierce Brosnan, a true Englishman, could not understand this phenomenon.

Kenny Burns' Forest bar was as lively as always, even livelier than previous post-matches because the official matches were over for the season. On these occasions, many people liked to have a few drinks in their regular bars and discuss the season that just ended with their friends. And if their team had achieved good results, the bar owners would have to grin from ear to ear.

Even though it was not the first time Tang En and the others had come to the bar, the neighborhood fans knew that Burns' bar was the favorite place for several Forest coaches. But today was not quite the same. From the moment they appeared in the bar, they had become the focus of everyone's attention. Everyone was talking about Twain's magical half season as the acting manager, and everyone who saw him would raise his glass high in his hand and give a toast to him.

Tang En's pride was greatly satisfied, and he liked the feeling of being the center of attention and the topic of conversations.

When he excitedly announced that he was buying drinks for everyone that evening, the atmosphere in the bar reached its climax. Everyone was praising Twain's generosity and talking about his achievements. People who had a few too many drinks in them were comparing him to Brian Clough.

That was the lively environment when the door was suddenly slammed open and in came a discordant sound that clashed with the joyous atmosphere. The intruders who rushed in naturally became everyone's focus.

Was it Mark Hodge again? Tang En was thinking that it was a pity that Michael was not here. Then he looked up, and all he could see was a pudgy belly.

"Hey! John!" Tang En stood up with his glass raised and loudly mocked the fat man. "Look at you, all sweaty and pathetic-looking! Are you being hunted down?"

His words amused the other people in the bar.

"Where's Michael? You two are always together." Tang En looked at the door, but no one else came in. "If he didn't have cute little Gavin, I really would have to wonder if there wasn't something going on between you two."

Taking big gulps of air, John, who was panting, gradually recovered. He leaned his big body on the bar counter, lowered his head, and weakly interrupted Twain, "Tony, Gavin had an accident ..."

"April 1st is over, John." said Tang En with a grin.

John did not answer him, but just kept gasping with his head down. Even in the noisy bar, his breathing was very loud. Tang En stood before him, with a drink in his hand, and his smile slowly faded.

Because of what he heard. It was not a gasping sound. It was the sound of crying.

Chapter 60: The Football Hooligans Part 1

Tang En had never imagined such a scene in his mind.

Bright little Gavin lay quietly on a cold cart in the hospital morgue, covered with a single white cloth. Other than the light from the corridor through the doorway, the rest of the room was dark. This environment and the image of Gavin did not tally. That child should be bright and lively. Sometimes he would deliberately pretend to look mature and wrinkle his brows, but would reveal his age again when he spoke.

Michael had said he had good grades in school and was smart. Tang En had thought he would have a bright future, too. In the future, he might have been a banker, a barrister... the British Prime Minister.

But Gavin had said that if he really became rich in the future, he would buy the Forest team. He would then sign a lifelong contract with Twain, and the breach of contract damages on both sides would be as high as ten trillion pounds. No matter what kind of player Twain wanted, he would provide the money to purchase them without hesitation and never bargain with the other clubs. But Twain must successfully lead the Forest team to become the best team in the world, win all the championships, surpass Manchester United and Liverpool to become Britain's most successful club, and surpass Real Madrid to become the most successful club in the world. As a thank-you, he would ask Twain to drink at Uncle Burns' bar for seven days and seven nights in a row.

When Tang En heard the strange ideas of this little child, he burst into laughter and was delighted. Consequently, Michael yelled at him, "Don't mock my son's dreams!"

Tang En took a step forward when he thought of these past events. He wanted to see Gavin one last time. But just when his hand was on the white cloth, a hoarse tired voice suddenly came from a corner in the room. "Don't look, his face was crushed..."

He was startled by this sudden voice, and then he paused and withdrew his hand. Tang En looked over and saw Michael sitting on the ground in the dim corner with his back against the corner wall.

There were chairs for people to rest on in the room, and yet he sat on the ground with his back against the wall. His hair was messy and plastered to his head. His sweat had been blown dried by the hospital air-conditioning, but his face was still dirty. Tang En could not see clearly, but he could guess what was on his face. He seemed to be have aged 20 years overnight, and he looked at the doorway listlessly.

It was shocking to see the messy white coats stained with large swaths of blood.

In Tang En's 26 years of life, it was not the first time he had to face such a thing. A life closely related to himself had suddenly vanished like a magician's trick, and, with a bang, the dove was transformed into nothing.

But he still did not know how to comfort the loved ones who had suffered the loss.

When he stood in front of this man in agony, he tried to say something, but no words came out. So he stayed silent.

On the way to the hospital, John gave him a rough account of what happened. Because he was not there himself at that time, his details were vague.

Mark Hodge's gang and the Millwall's hooligan gang, the Bushwackers, launched a fierce "Battle of Honor" at an agreed place. The fans of the winning Forest team loudly jeered at Millwall and the Millwall fans fought back with their fists. As a result, Hodge's firm could not withstand the Millwall football hooligans' fierce offensive and began to disperse. It was followed by a small-scale urban battle chase.

While Mark Hodge's men were running away, they crashed into Gavin Bernard on the street, waiting for his father to buy a magazine, and he was knocked to the ground. Amidst those Forest fans' bid to escape, and the clamoring Millwall football hooligans in pursuit, no one noticed the thin figure lying on the ground. The crowd trampled his body as they passed and continued shouting as they ran away.

Tang En did not want to recall the specific details. It was too brutal.

The room was quiet again with only a slight hum from the air conditioner. Tang En suddenly felt stifled in the room, as if little Bernard's soul was wrapping him, not letting him breathe.

He looked again at Michael who sat in the corner as if his soul had been taken away from him. Tang En quietly left.

The hallway was empty, and the pale white light could not shine into the morgue. Tang En felt a fire burning in his chest and surging upwards. That stifling feeling of oppression did not lessen, instead it tightened even more.

He decided to leave that place.

As he walked near the hospital gate, he saw a taxi parked on the roadside. A panicked woman ran out of the car and stumbled into the hospital building. Then Walker came out of the car and quickly followed.

Tang En hid himself in the shadows. He did not want anyone to see him. Just as the taxi was about to leave, he hurried up and stopped it with his hand.

The usually bustling Forest bar was very quiet that evening. There were not many customers. Those people who were still there drank with their heads down and talked in low voices. It did not look like a bar where fans gathered. The owner of the bar, Kenny Burns, sat behind the bar and wiped a glass repeatedly. But it was clear that his mind was not on the glass. He was looking toward the door, but he looked like he was in a daze.

The door opened, and the expression in his eyes changed. But it was not Tony Twain or Des Walker who came in. It was Bill who was always with Michael and John.

Upon entry, Bill looked around the bar strangely. The Forest team had finished the regular match season today. Everyone would have come to the bar to drink, chat, and celebrate. How could it be so quiet? He looked up at Burns and found that Burns was watching him. So he raised his hand and said hello.

"Hey, Kenny. Do you know what happened? Where's everyone?"

Burns replied, "They didn't tell you?"

"No. I just came here after dinner... Oh, that's right. I saw Tony on my way here."

Burns stared at Bill.

"He asked me where Mark Hodge and the others usually gather. I don't think he looked very well... Uh, Kenny, what's going on?" Bill was half-finished speaking when he found that the customers in the bar had stood up from their seats. The way they stared at him made him shudder.

Burns got up, leaned across the bar and grabbed Bill's clothes. "Was he alone?"

Bill nodded, and he was scared. What happened today? Everyone was acting all weird.

"B*stard!" Burns whispered. "Bill, if anything happens to Tony... Damn it! We must bring him back! Goddamn it!"

He ran out as he finished his words.

Bill looked at the strange scene, utterly confused.

Chapter 61: The Football Hooligans Part 2

Like Burns' bar, red was also the color scheme of the bar. But it was brighter, more like blood-red. The Victorian building stood tall on the open corner of the street, with the Forest team flag hanging at the door to let people know from afar which fans were gathered there. Standing outside the door, he could hear the talking and laughter coming from inside. The shadows of the people flickering against the orange light which penetrated through the windows and the door looked like flames.

"Robin Hood Pub." That was the name Bill had given Twain. He read the name on the neon signboard and sneered, "Do they bloody think they are outlaws?"

He stepped forward and flung the door open.

Bang! The slamming glass door made a sharp sound.

The lively pub immediately quieted down. The alcoholics turned their heads in surprise to look at the intruder.

As soon as Tang En entered, he glimpsed from the corner of his eyes a Forest flag hanging at the side of the door, and there was a line of words in gold: Honor is my life.

He gave a grimace as he used his strength to tear it down. This move provoked everyone in the pub. The men shouted at and rushed toward Twain. "What the hell are you doing!"

"Don't make a move, boys." A voice stopped them. "Let's welcome the Forest team manager, Tony Twain!" With an excited voice, Mark Hodge stepped out from behind the crowd. He opened his arms to make a welcome gesture.

The people around him were still stunned, but very soon they also recognized the person who was standing before them, so they shouted with their glasses raised one by one.

"Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!"

The atmosphere in the pub seemed to have reached a climax, but Tang En remained indifferent amidst the excited men. He noticed that most of them had injuries on their faces and did not clean the bloodstains or treat their bruises. He stood at the door, expressionless, coldly watching it all.

This group of drunk people chanted for about a minute, and Tang En remained still with the same look as when he first came in. He said nothing. Some people started to sense that something was wrong, so the chanting gradually weakened, and returned to calm in the end. It was a strange scene. A group of men and one man were looking at each other, but they did not understand why they were doing this.

Hodge did not understand either. He had been a little excited when Twain showed up at the pub. But looking at the other man now, he did not appear to come here to have a drink with him.

"Having a nice beer?" Tang En finally spoke. "Did you have a good fight?"

The experienced pub owner only had to hear these words, and he knew to ask the foreign student who was working in his pub, "Have the glasses been changed?"

The young worker nodded. "They have been changed, Boss."

Every match day, the pub would replace the thick and solid glasses with poor-quality, but largely functional glasses. The boss took a loss when the good glasses were broken. If these poor-quality glasses broke, they broke. And there was no danger of killing someone if they took a hit to the head with one. With those two benefits, switching out the glasses had become a pub tradition.

"Very good. When the fight starts, you'd better take care to protect yourself." The boss patted the lad on the shoulder and motioned for him to hide under the bar counter.

"Boss, what about you?"

"Don't worry about that. Just squat down!" The boss picked up a glass and held it in his hand, then pushed the young worker down.

Tang En had not finished speaking on the other side.

"Did you win or lose the battle with Millwall?"

Everyone looked at each other, wondering why Twain asked about this.

"I heard that you were utterly defeated, and quite pathetically, too."

Based on the tone of his words, it was already obvious that this was not a friendly visit. The men who had just shouted "Forest! Forest!" were nervous again.

Hodge stood opposite Twain and said with a frown, "Twain, you had said that you wouldn't interfere with what we do."

"Yes, I did say that! But I also told you not to involve anyone who has nothing to do with this." Tang En sharply interrupted Hodge's words, gritted his teeth, and said, "Now I regret that I did not call the police on you to arrest all you sons of b*tches! While my team was playing against the opponents on the field and fighting for victory, you guys were bloody fighting with other people outside. Don't you f*cking mention honor in front of me! You're not worthy!" He saw that someone was about to open his mouth to refute, so he directly took the other person's words.

"Break your opponents' nose bridges to make their faces bloody; break their arms and legs and let them howl in pain on the ground; knock over an innocent child, and then trample him while running away. Is that what you call honor? This is your f*cking honor?" Tang En's hands shook while he gripped the flag and his knuckles turned white.

"You think you're amazing? You think you're the heroes of this team? You guys..."

Tang En thought of the first time he met little Bernard that afternoon in the dazzling sunshine. He would never forget for the rest of his life his look of excitement when he had gotten Wood's autograph. He was George's first fan.

He felt ashamed and guilty that he had ever defended this group of people in front of him. He felt remorse and anger for not being able to stop their actions in time.

"...You b*stards!" He tore the red flag with the painted Forest team emblem and the "Honor is my name" in half. With a hiss, the people around him were outraged.

Under the influence of alcohol, those who drank too much, clamored to rush up and teach the ungrateful Twain a lesson. But Hodge reached out with his hands to stop them.

"You'd better give me an explanation, or else! I don't give a damn about who you are!" Hodge gritted his teeth. "This isn't Burns' turf!"

"Stop talking rubbish with him, Mark! Let's beat him up! That b*stard tore our flag!"

"I will send you straight to heaven! Just like you tore up our flag, I'll shred you to pieces!"

"How dare you insult our honor! When we cheered for the Forest team, you were still in your dad's nut sacks, you a**hole!"

"Son of a b*tch. You're a f*cking bastard!"

His men roared and shook their fists, as if they were beasts about to be let loose from the cage. They looked fierce and abhorrent.

Chapter 62: The Football Hooligans Part 3

Tang En was not afraid to face these impetuous drunks. The man standing closest to him could have just swung his fist forward and hit his nose, but Tang En did not step down when faced with other men's fury.

He flung the torn flag toward Hodge. "Michael's son is dead, and you're all his murderers!"

The pub, which had just been noisy like a coliseum, suddenly fell silent. Everyone looked at Twain in shock and let the flag that they had considered as life, fall to the ground.

Hodge was also shocked, and he asked, "What are you talking about?"

The door behind Tang En was pushed open once again, and a sweaty Kenny Burns appeared in front of the crowd. "What Tony said is right. Your men knocked down Gavin while you were running away, and you and the Millwall b*stards trampled all over him."

Hodge's eyes widened. He could not believe what he just heard. He had not drunk much, and his mind was sober.

Tang En stepped forward and glared at Mark Hodge. The "Honor is my life" lost its golden glow when he stepped on it.

"Football hooligans?" He sneered as he turned to leave the deathly still pub. "Go to hell!"

Everyone watched him leave in silence. Hodge's eyes had widened in shock, and he could not believe it. Burns looked at the stunned Hodge and his men, turned away, and followed Twain to leave.

"Kenny... You know, when I heard Gavin was... I really wanted to kill those b*stards," said Tang En when they had walked out of the pub.

Burns nodded. "I understand."

"But when I saw them, I suddenly felt they were pathetic. I couldn't figure out why, I suddenly felt sorry for them... This feels strange. I should have rushed up to punch Hodge. How did it turn out like this?" murmured Tang En as he stood on the street with his head down.

"Tony, even if you had put all of them in the hospital for half a year, Gavin's not coming back." Burns patted his shoulder to console him.

Tang En looked up at Burns and nodded. "I know, I know... That's why I feel so angry. It's like, like when I watched the team lose, and there was nothing I could do about it... the failure, the pain... F*ck!"

Suddenly, he punched the phone booth next to him. Crash! The glass was shattered.

"I had a chance to prevent all this! I could have kept Gavin's death from happening! I upbraided Hodge and told them that they were murderers, but I know I am one too! I'm a f*cking murderer!" Tang En held his head as he crouched down, and blood was dripping down his wrists to the ground.

Burns did not stop him, he just stood quietly at the side as he watched him vent.

The passers-by cautiously circled away from them and looked at them with fear and pity, thinking they were part of the gang inside the Robin Hood Pub.

One by one, cars drove past and splashed them with the water pooled at the side of the road. The two of them did not try to avoid nor dodge it. They just let the dirty water splatter them.

The next day, the Nottingham Evening Post first reported on the clash between the Nottingham fans and Millwall fans in the final round of the League Championship. It was followed by corresponding reports from the other major media outlets. Even the national newspaper, The Times, had followed the incident with interest.

Brawling fans were not unusual in the United Kingdom. The media and the public had long been immune to it. The only reason so much media focus was on a post-match fan brawl in the League Championship was because someone had died.

"...During yesterday's last round of the English Football League Championship, after the match between Nottingham Forest and Millwall, fans from both sides' gangs had gathered in an alley for a brawl. During the clash, an innocent 12-year-old boy was unfortunately involved and died after failure to revive."

There were only two lines of information about Gavin Bernard in the report. Besides his age, there was nothing else—no name, no character description. People would never know how smart and adorable this innocent dead child was, how likable he was... How he never should have died.

The cold and impersonal report was so objective and fair that Tang En was disgusted. But later, when the media dug deeper into the boy's death, Tang En did not want to read the papers anymore. Because looking the pictures of Gavin that the reporters had dug up from his school, and reading how they had described Gavin's death, Tang En felt as if he was going through everything from that night again.

He was furious, but he had nowhere to vent.

Because he was the head of the fans, Michael had a very good relationship with many of the players on the Forest team, such as Michael Dawson, Andy Reid, Marlon Harewood, Eoin Jess and so on... Everybody knew he had a smart and cute boy, Gavin Bernard.

So, when they learned from the media that little Gavin had died during the fans' clash, almost everyone was not in the state of mind to do their training. The coaches did not yell at them on the training ground, and Tang En, too, did not ask them to concentrate. The entire club was immersed in sorrow.

Because of the pain of Gavin's mother being unable to accept her child's death, Michael decided to hold his burial at an earlier date. The date of the funeral was chosen to be on May 9th. Tang En informed the players of the funeral at the end of the training on the 8th and hoped that everyone would be able to send the poor child off.

No one objected to Twain's decision. The coaches, the team doctors, the assistant managers, and even Mr. Chairman Doughty had agreed to this decision. Everyone, including Tang En himself, might have forgotten that the day after the next, they were going to have a home match with a strong opponent. It was an important match for them.

On May 10th, Nottingham Forest would be playing against Sheffield United in the first round of the English Football League Championship semi-final playoff.

Chapter 63: Is Football More Important Than Life And Death? Part 1

While the outside world was abuzz with the news of the revival of the football hooligans and the death of an innocent boy, George Wood was still doing the repetitive and boring basic training, day after day, on the second field at the youth team training ground. It was as if he and the rest of the world existed on two different planes. He was unconcerned with and uninterested in any news from the outside world. He had only one thought in his mind: to reach the goal set by his manager, to play in the matches, and to earn money for his mother's medical treatment.

Twain, dressed in all black, appeared on the sidelines and called out to Wood's coach. The two men spoke a few words to each other in low voices. Then the coach left, and Twain walked out toward him. Although Twain wore black clothes all the time—black trousers, black leather shoes, even sunglasses on cloudy days—he seemed different to Wood today. His black suit was newer, stiffer.

"George," he spoke to Wood in a low voice. "Tomorrow you don't need to train."

Wood did not say anything. He knew that Twain must have something to add.

"Do you have a black suit?" Tang En pointed to him and asked.

Wood shook his head.

Looking down at his watch, Tang En beckoned to Wood. "You don't have to train now. Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Wood did not move.

"To buy you a suit, a shirt, and a tie."

"I don't like to wear those things." Wood did not want to go. He did not want to waste his time on dressing up.

"Do you think I'm trying to dress you up to take you to a party? Do you remember that time you signed an autograph for that little kid over there?" Tang En pointed to the wire netting fence in the distance.

Wood nodded. That was the first time he had signed an autograph for a fan. It was a scene he would never forget.

"Do you know his name?"

Wood shook his head. He had not asked, and nobody had told him.

"Gavin, Gavin Bernard. Remember this name. We'll attend his funeral tomorrow morning."

George Wood was shocked.

Gavin's grandmother stood on one side while being supported by her arms. She wore a black hat with a dropped veil covering her face which could not be seen. She would go up to speak later, and Tang En was worried whether the elderly lady could withstand that kind of anguish.

Michael's wife was paralyzed in his arms, and her eyes stared blankly at Gavin's aunt who was standing up front and sobbing. It was almost a week since his death, and the pain that was left to this family had not diminished.

On the left side of the church, were Gavin's relatives, schoolmates, and teachers. Michael's friends and the Forest team coaches and players were on the right.

Wood sat beside Tang En and was dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and tie that he bought for him yesterday. With his lips pursed, he sat without saying a word. He was not visibly sad like the rest of the people around him. There was no expression on his face.

Tang En thought maybe he could understand this kid, because maybe they were similar.

George Wood's one and only fan so far, his admirer, was now lying in the cold black coffin. He would never look for him to sign an autograph and never be on the sidelines to see him train again.

Because everyone was so sad, the relatives on the stage quickly ended their speeches, and the priest said the final prayer. Then the coffin was lifted, and the crowd headed toward the cemetery behind the church.

There was no funeral music at the funeral. For Gavin, Michael chose "Tears in Heaven" written by Eric Clapton for his beloved son who had died young. The gloomy guitar accompanied Clapton's raspy singing. Everyone's heart was broken.

Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?

The black wooden coffin was carefully lowered down, and Tang En noticed that there was a small-sized Forest jersey on the lid. There was a large bloodstain on the chest and neckline, with Wood's name still prominent through the bloodstain. He gently put the white lily in his hand on the coffin over the Forest emblem.

Behind him, Wood knelt on one knee and carefully put the flower in his hand on his own name on the jersey before he got up and left with Twain.

Standing on the side, Tang En watched as one by one players from the crowd stepped forward to lay the flowers in tribute. They consciously went to his side after they had laid the flowers in tribute, so more and more people gathered around him. He did a count, and everyone from the First Team had come. David Kerslake, the youth team manager, also came. Michael Dawson might have been the saddest person on the team. Among this group of players, he and Michael Bernard knew each other the longest, and their relationship was the best. It could be said that Michael had watched Dawson go from an unknown kid step by step to a professional star player. Michael lost his son, and Dawson had lost a brother.

Tang En patted Dawson on the shoulder but did not know how to comfort him.

In the end he sighed, "Let's all go back and have a good rest. We have a match tomorrow."

Watching the crowd gradually disperse, Tang En found that Wood was still by his side. He seemed a little strange. "You should go back, too. There's no training today. Spend some time with your mother."

Wood nodded and turned to leave, but Tang En stopped him again. "George, make sure you become a big star!"

George pursed his lips and nodded vigorously.

"Go back." Tang En waved, and Wood turned and walked away from the depressing place.

When Wood left, Tang En looked at Michael, who was still comforting his wife, and felt that it was better not to disturb them at this time, even if it was just to say goodbye.

He decided to go to Burns' bar for a drink and get drunk. And after a night's sleep, he should be okay after waking up.

When he came to the cemetery gate, he saw Pierce Brosnan, the reporter from the Nottingham Evening Post, gasping for air while running toward him. Because of Gavin, Tang En honestly disliked the media more and more. It colored his view of anyone who worked in the media industry.

Chapter 64: Is Football More Important Than Life And Death? Part 2

"I remember Michael saying he didn't want his son to be disturbed by the media." Tang En frowned as he stood in front of Pierce Brosnan.

"Twain. Mr. Twain, you, you misunderstand." Brosnan bent over to catch his breath as he stood in front of Twain. He was so exhausted he could not speak properly. "I did not come here to interview."

He spread his hands to show that he did not bring a camera, and that he also did not bring a recorder pen used for interviews.

"Even my cell phone is out of battery. I just, I just want to lay a flower as a tribute."

"But you didn't know each other." Tang En did not intend to give way.

"Gavin was a Forest fan. So am I."

The two men looked at each other. Tang En thought about it and asked, "Did any reports of the fan riots on the Evening Post come from you?"

Brosnan did not expect Twain would suddenly ask this question. He was stumped for a moment and then he shook his head. "No, I was sent to Newcastle for an interview. I only heard about it when I came back."

Tang En stepped aside and said to him, "Go ahead. The funeral is almost over."

Brosnan thanked Twain and then turned to run inside. Tang En looked at the young journalist who had just turned full time, and he thought, There are good people in the media, too.

Because Tang En lived alone and was not fussy about food, he often settled the issue at Burns' bar. Today, however, he did not ask Burns to provide him with a meal. Instead he was drinking one drink after another in a bar that was not open for business yet.

Burns did not discourage him. On one hand, he knew that Twain was a good drinker. On the other hand, how could he discourage him at this time? He just let him vent.

Just as Tang En was getting tipsy, Michael came in.

"Ah, Michael! There you are... Tomorrow's match, you, you will come and watch, right... Right?" Tang En smiled, and he was slurring.

Michael Bernard looked at Twain, but he did not speak.

The smile on Tang En's face was gone. He stared at Michael and said, "Michael, you... you have something to say?"

"Tony, I'm not going to watch the match tomorrow."

Tang En nodded. "I understand, you just..."

"I will never go again."

"What?" Tang En thought he had heard wrong.

"Thank you." Michael took a glass from Burns, and then turned his head to look at Twain and asked, "Do you want to hear a story, Tony?"

When Brian Clough's Forest team swept across England and the European football world, Michael Bernard had just turned 20. Like most of the other young people his age, he was filled with the energy of a young stallion, and he had a strong fighting spirit. He liked to use his fists to flaunt his manhood.

He and John established a gang, "Naughty Forty", and only fanatical Forest fans were accepted. Before Mark Hodge, he was the gang's leader. John and Bill were his right-hand men. The three of them always charged to the front for every fight. They were unafraid of the bricks hurled by their opponents and the wooden sticks that they brandished. They experienced the team's most glorious years by fighting on all fronts.

If the opponents' fans dared to insult the Forest team, they would have swarmed around and battered them. Even on the away matches, they would fight back. They were proud of their contribution to the honor of the team. They were also proud to have brothers like themselves.

Were they football hooligans? No, they would never admit it. They considered themselves to be the most loyal Forest fans who loved their team the most.

Michael was not happy outside of the matches. He had changed a lot of jobs, but he found it hard to last in these jobs because of his violent temper and impulsive character. But he did not care about that. He only cared about the honor of his gang, the achievements of the team he supported, and animated discussions on the private lives of the leader, Clough, and the players.

He continued to live like that for 10 years. During those 10 years, they had gathered to keep on fighting for the Forest team. And they believed that the fight would last until the day they could no longer brandish their fists.

But this sort of life changed completely on the afternoon of April 15th, 1989.

"That year, we stormed our way easily into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and our opponent was Liverpool which was powerful at the time. But nobody thought we would lose to them before the match. On the contrary, the Liverpool guys feared us. You must think that's strange, right? Why? Because we had Clough! The Liverpool people would quake in their boots when they heard this name." As Michael spoke, he seemed to have gone back to 14 years ago.

Tang En did not speak. He just listened quietly to Michael telling the story. He did not care that his glass was empty.

"Before the match, we were in high fighting spirits, and everyone wanted to wipe out Liverpool, storm into the finals, and then carry the gleaming trophy home. Do you know... We hadn't won the FA Cup in 30 years. Clough had taken all the championships he could get in the world except for the FA Cup. You know how much we yearned for it." Michael stared at Twain and watched him nod before he continued.

"I still remember that day. It was a sunny day. John and I, we had set off three hours ahead with the others from Nottingham to Sheffield, to get everything ready and wait for the match to start." Michael began to speak more slowly. This memory was too painful for him. For the longest time, it had haunted him like a nightmare.

"We were in the second section of the stands, and the third section next to us was where the Liverpool fans were. At the time, I thought it was a really good opportunity for us to taunt them throughout the match." When he reached this point, Michael paused for a long time. But Tang En had already guessed what had happened next.

Chapter 65: Is Football More Important Than Life And Death? Part 3

That was the English soccer scene's darkest period. It was countless Liverpool fans' most unforgettable moment to date. The effects of what happened that day, would continue to influence and affect the team until then, and even in the future. The once almighty Liverpool would fall into decline from then on, lingering around the boundaries of pain and confusion, unable to find its way back home.

As a result of this incident, all of the stadiums in England were changed from safe standing stadia to all seated stadia, and the fences which were used to prevent the football hooligans from stirring trouble had been removed. In addition, they improved various security aspects of the soccer stadiums as well. Now, when the fans sit down on the plastic seats and watch the matches in the refurbished stadiums, they know deep down in their hearts that all of those seats came at the cost of 96 lives.

Time froze in 1989, April 15th, 3:05 p.m. The time at which the Hillsborough Tragedy took place.

"...There was an increasing number of people rushing in from the gates, more and more. We saw the Liverpool fans at the adjacent viewing platforms being pushed and squeezed, but more people still continued to rush in. Their platform was right next to me, and a small child squashed against the fence was crying out to me for help. But I... I was scared stiff. I'd never seen such a horrible sight." Michael's voice started trembling. "I didn't know how to help him. His face had turned red from being squashed, and blood started flowing out of his nostrils."

Michael could not bear to continue, as he hugged his head while he rested it on the table. His loud and heavy breaths resounded throughout the empty bar.

It was only after quite some time that Michael's voice was heard again. "I've never been so close to death. Countless people fell in front of me, wailing, crying, and moaning. And I just stood there dumbfounded. The young boy who was pleading for me to save him had stopped crying, stopped making any noise. It was only after the whole incident that I found out that that child was only 10 years old, and he came to watch the match with his neighbor."

"That incident made me realize how foolishly I'd been living for the past 10 years. I, as well as John and the rest of the guys, had always thought that we were strong and fierce. Getting injured and shedding blood was a form of reward for us. Whenever we got into fights, we would shout loudly, 'Only one of us can live.' But when true death appeared right in front of us, all of us were stunned, so scared that our bodies were trembling in fear. After that, as we were helping each other out of the stadium, I saw a man who was about my current age, being dragged away by two policemen. He was struggling for his life, shouting at the top of his lungs, 'Let me go, my two daughters are still inside! I'm not a football hooligan.' At that moment, I felt thoroughly ashamed at myself for my past doings. Tony, do you know what was the sole cause of everything that happened?"

Tang En asked in an inquisitive tone, "Too many people?"

"No, it was us. The us in the past were the ones who caused that tragedy," Michael said as he pounded his chest. "All along, we would never admit that we were 'football hooligans', even though we knew we were. During that period, any and all soccer teams had fan clubs like ours. The media called us 'football hooligans', and the rest of the public referred to us as 'football hooligans' as well. In order to prevent people like us from rushing onto the soccer field and causing trouble, almost all of the stadiums at that time had those eight-foot-tall wire meshes installed at the viewing platforms. If Hillsborough stadium had not had those fences, those fans could have easily escaped onto the soccer field. Although this would have caused the match to be terminated halfway through, what was one match compared to the lives of 96 people? In fact, there were even fans who tried to escape from the commotion by climbing over the fence, but they were instead regarded by the nervous police as football hooligans and chased back into the extremely packed viewing platform!"

"After that match, I, John, Bill, and the rest of the guys left the gang. Mark Hodge desperately tried to convince me to stay, but I'd made up my mind. Hodge felt that we betrayed them and cut off all ties with us. However, I didn't care at all. Hodge thought that we were cowards, and only people like him were considered brave warriors, the most ardent and loyal fans of the team. But those were merely his thoughts. I only wished to stop living that kind of life, where I might be beaten to death at any moment. After that, I got married, and one year later, I had Gavin. I would go to City Ground Stadium and watch the matches whenever a home match was held, and come here to drink and chat whenever I had some free time. I really liked this kind of life."

"Then why don't you carry on with it?" Tang En persuaded.

"Because this kind of life left me long ago. I loved soccer. I really loved it. But what did my love for soccer ultimately bring me? I lost my most beloved son!" Michael gripped the cup tightly, and the contact between his palm and the glass cup gave a creaking sound. "Fiona had always been disapproving of me going to watch matches at the stadium, and she was even more against me bringing Gavin along. However, I was very stubborn, and even got into a quarrel with her over this several times. Tony, I loved soccer, supported soccer, but it made me lose my only child. If I continue to be obstinate about this, I will lose my wife, my family..."

Looking at the grief-stricken man, Tang En no longer had any reason to persuade him to return back to the stadium's viewing platforms.

The creator of Liverpool's dynasty, the most impressive manager throughout the club's history, Bill Shankly once said this:

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

However, at that moment, could it still be said that "soccer is much more important than life and death"? After the Hillsborough tragedy took place, the Scousers began to doubt this famous quote and soccer philosophy by Bill Shankly. Now, Tang En was also contemplating it.

Michael stood up, and said to Tang En, "Therefore, I'm terribly sorry, Tony. I can no longer come and watch your matches. Now you don't have to worry about me punching you if you don't make it to the English Premier League. Goodbye. I should leave. I wish you good luck, Tony."

Tang En did not try to persuade him to stay. Watching Michael disappear beyond the door of the bar, Tang En mumbled to himself, "I'm worried that you'll punch me? What a joke, you can't even beat me in a fight, Michael. But I really wish you would hit me once. I promise I won't retaliate."

Chapter 66: Fight With Ones Back To The River Part 1

Was there anyone who remembered the match that took place on May 10th? That week, everyone was in a fog. The players, managers, team doctors, and even the gatekeeper, Ian McDonald. Were they clear about the opponents they were about to face, and what kind of match it was?

Tang En sat in the home team manager's seat and looked blankly at the match happening on the field. His mind was completely muddled, and the ability to direct the team on the spot, which he was previously so proud of, had disappeared into some random nook or cranny, nowhere to be found.

The team was currently at a disadvantage, and was being utterly destroyed by the guest team, Sheffield United. The were completely unable to make any effective defensive or offensive advances.

The match can't go on like this, a voice from the depths of his mind said to Tang En. However, the voice appeared to be reverberating from a faraway place and was extremely illusory.

For the past week, the team had only done a few of the regular systematic training exercises and did not undergo any niche-targeting practices.

As the manager, Tang En also did not carefully analyze his opponents for the playoffs. In fact, he was even unable to tell the players how they should deal with the current team they were facing.

Gavin's death was like a nightmare that haunted them. Everyone was out of form, and the match appeared to be a real ordeal for them.

The viewing platforms of City Ground were almost 90 percent full, but the score was unable to satisfy them. The score at halftime was 0:1 with Nottingham Forest trailing behind.

"Tony, we should do something to salvage the situation!" Walker anxiously reminded Tang En, being one of the few people who had recovered.

"Yes, you're right, Des. We should do something." Although that was what he said, Tang En remained seated in his seat, not moving at all. He was merely repeating Des' words mechanically.

Seeing the current state that Tang En was in, Walker sighed helplessly.

Edward Doughty, who was seated inside the VIP lounge, swept a look across the stadium, before turning to his father and saying, "Do you really hold high hopes for him?"

Nigel Doughty nodded his head. "The people who Hart thought highly of have never disappointed me before."

Edward shook his head in response. "I don't think he is as good as you make him out to be. Perhaps his performance during the regular season was very outstanding. However, what's the point of being able to win 100 unimportant matches, when he loses the most crucial ones?"

"Edward," the old man's tone became slightly more serious, "be mindful of your choice of words. There is no such thing as 'regular season' here. Don't bring your basketball terms back to England. You are someone who will become the leader of a club in the future. Saying these kinds of things will allow the media to mock us."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dad."

"You don't like Twain?"

"Erm… How do I put it?" Edward looked at the television set, which happened to be showing Tang En's close-up. He was sitting expressionlessly in the manager's seat without budging, as if he were a dead person. Regarding the team's current predicament, Tang En could not come up with a better solution for it. "I've gone to London with Tony in private before, and I find him to be a very interesting person. However, I feel that he is not steady enough. I can't seem to get a grasp on his temper, character, and what he likes. I don't understand him. Sometimes he's very good, but sometimes he's very terrible, like right now."

Nigel was slightly shocked at the clear and logical explanation of his son. Turning his head around and looking at him, Nigel said, "Did you put in a lot of effort after returning to America?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Your son is still a talented student who studied at Harvard, after all. On top of that, Allan came up with a very detailed plan. In his plan, he also feels that we should reconsider the manager for the team."

"Allan? Allan Adams? Why are you still with him?"

"Dad, he's my financial advisor." Edward sounded slightly annoyed. "To date, Allan's help has been vital to the success of my company."

"Whatever." Nigel slightly shrugged his shoulders and said, "In any case, I don't like that sweet-talking American." As if he suddenly recalled something, Nigel asked, "Is Carrie still against the idea?"

Edward nodded his head. "She doesn't like England's weather or food, and, therefore, will be staying with Ben in America. But don't worry, I'll visit them regularly.

Nigel mumbled to himself, "You, your wife, your son... you've all become Americans through and through."

Although Nottingham Forest was able to score a goal in the second half, Sheffield United also managed to score another goal before the match ended. The match ultimately ended with a score of 1:2, with Nottingham Forest defeated on their home ground. Upon seeing Sheffield United's smug smiles when they left City Ground Stadium, all of the Forest fans had their eyebrows knitted together tightly.

If the home-field advantage had already been reduced to virtually nothing, then what kind of fate awaited them six days later on May 16th, at Sheffield United's home ground, Bramall Lane Stadium?

During the press conference, Nottingham Forest's sudden low morale had been the focal point of the reporters, but Tang En declined to express any opinion or explanation regarding the matter. Regardless of how the reporters bombarded him, Tang En would give them the same reply, "no comment." As for the blame of losing the match, Tang En credited all of the responsibility to himself.

Pierce Brosnan originally did not want to stack another boulder on top of this pitiful manager, but he realized that there was a question which nobody asked. Everyone else was too focused on the reason behind Nottingham Forest's sudden low morale, an extremely boring and trivial matter. His professionalism as a journalist ultimately prompted him to toss this extremely difficult question to Tang En.

"Manager Twain, after losing this home match, has the possibility of us remaining in League One at the end of this season, crossed your mind?"

Tang En stared at Brosnan for quite some time, but the young man stared back at him without flinching. In this quiet exchange, neither side was able to get an edge over the other.

In the end, Tang En only left a sentence behind, before he walked out of the press conference.

"I won't let such a thing happen."

"...although Manager Tony Twain claimed during the press conference that his team would ultimately emerge victorious and successfully advance to the English Premier League. However, truth to be told, I don't have much hope for his team. Seeing that they have conceded two goals to Sheffield United on their home ground, and considering the current states of the two teams, it is really difficult to guarantee that they will be able to beat Sheffield United during their away match."

The television was broadcasting the BBC's Match of the Day segment, which was slightly similar to Total Soccer, which Tang En never missed back when he was still in China. However, Match of the Day resembled more of a talk show, and it had the highest ratings among England's soccer-related television programs. The current host for the program was the once famous "Green Gentleman" Gary Lineker, and his co-hosts were the ex-Liverpool strongest midfielder duo—Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson.

The person who said that was the person who rarely showed his face on the program, Mark Lawrenson. He had a pair of grey-colored eyes and an big iconic beard.

Hansen, however, did not agree with Lawrenson. Hansen felt that Tony Twain was a trustworthy person, and that if he said he could, then he definitely could do it.

Lawrenson felt that Hansen's view was completely unsupported and too idealistic, and hence remained unconvinced.

After that, the two of them began their routine argument, with neither side able to convince the other. At that moment, Lineker, who was laughing at them and watching from the side, jumped out and attempted to be the mediator. He proposed a suggestion.

"Since neither of you are unable to convince the other person, how about the two of you make a bet?"

"Good idea, Gary." The two of them expressed their consent toward his suggestion.

Lineker looked at Lawrenson and gave him a sinister smile. "Mark, since you started this topic, you have to take responsibility for it."

Lawrenson touched his lips before he made up his mind. "Alright! If Twain's team is promoted to the English Premier League after this season's playoffs, I'll shave off my beard!"

Lineker and Hansen whistled, and Hansen even clapped excitedly. "Mark, don't even think about going back on your words. This is a live broadcast, and all of the English audience are witnesses to what you have just said."

Lawrenson said with his eyes bulging, "I never go back on my word." Whenever he said something loudly, the beard above his lips slightly flutter. It really had the feeling of "blowing his beard and staring with his eyes."

From the side, Lineker suddenly said, "Very well, Mark. Actually, I've always found that beard of yours to be an eyesore."

Looking at Lawrenson's surprised face, Hansen burst into laughter on the set.

The laughter passed through the television set and resounded throughout Burns' bar. Everyone raised their heads to look at the television set, except for Tang En who was seated in the corner, eating. He was not interested in the conversation of those commentators, but continued to use his spoon to scrape the sauce-covered rice grains off his plate.

Upon finishing his meal, Tang En left money on the table, and directly exited the bar, ignoring the people who greeted him.

Burns shook his head lightly, as he watched Tang En leave.

Chapter 67: Fight With Ones Back To The River Part 2

Tang En, who had just walked out of the bar, did not know where else to go. He did not want to go back to that dark and cold "home" of his. He decided to walk around aimlessly, and aid his digestion while he was at it.

The wind, which blew from the direction of the Sherwood Forest, blew through Tang En's hair and clothes, carrying away the entire day's worth of heat.

He stood at the entrance of a bar which he had been to before. Looking at the brightly lit streets, and hearing the sounds of good times and laughter coming from within the bar, Tang En curled his lips. He had actually walked back to Robin Hood Bar unknowingly.

He turned around and looked at the red color signal of the pedestrian crossing across the street, while waiting to cross the road.

At that moment, his phone rang. It was a call from Yang Yan.

"Mr. Twain, are you not at home?"

Tang En looked around him and said, "No, I'm not. Is anything the matter?"

"Sir... Don't you remember, we have a class."

"Ah, I remember. But..." The signal across the street had turned green, but Tang En remained on his side. "But I don't feel like learning today. Can you chat with me for a while instead?"

"Where? Over the phone?"

Tang En pondered for a while and asked, "Where are you?"

Yang Yan raised her head and looked at Tang En's house door, before she replied, "In school. I was just about to leave."

"Then let's do it over the phone. I don't feel like moving either. Let's talk about anything, your interests or your peeves... anything will do." Tang En leaned his back against the traffic lamp, and raised his head to look at the skies. "For instance, did you met any interesting classmates during your junior high school days."

It was already summertime in England, and six o' clock on a May evening. Hence, the sky had not yet turned dark. The Eastern and Western skies revealed two completely different scenes. The night scene, embellished with starlight, and the gossamer sunset, which resembled chiffon, intersected right in the middle of the sky as if it was a fantasy world, leaving Tang En in a trance.

The soft voice of Yang Yan beside his ear was so comfortable, it was as though he were getting an ear massage. Just like that, Tang En sat down on the street and chatted with Yang Yan who was sitting outside his house. His heart, which had sunk so low it had almost stopped beating, was revived once again.

The next morning, a group of birds residing in the forest next to the Nottingham Forest Wilford training ground was alarmed.

Tang En's hoarse and loud voice resounded, "All of you, get a grip on yourselves! Take a good look at your wimpy appearances! Time for training!"

"Michael! You're the captain. If you continue to look so listless, I'll remove you from your position!"

Although Tang En did not know much about the minute details of the training exercises and could only watch from the side of the field, this did not prevent him from making some suggestions, or occasionally shouting something to raise their morale.

Michael Dawson shrugged his shoulders toward Manager Walker, and Walker smiled when he turned around and saw Tang En making threatening gestures.

After that, he turned around and said to Dawson, "Tony is right. If you don't get serious, you will no longer be the captain, Michael."

"Understood! Guys, all of you better get your spirits up!"

Looking at the reinvigorated team, Tang En tightly pursed his lips.

Are you joking? Us, unable to make it to the Premier League?

Going to Premier League was my promise to Michael and Gavin. I won't let such a thing happen.

Due to the fact that Lawrenson mentioned the match prior to the day of the match, and on top of that, even wagered his beloved beard against Nottingham Forest, the League One playoff match, which usually would not garner much attention, became the focus of the media.

John Motson was in charge of commentating, and the other commentator seated beside him just happened to be Mark Lawrenson. The match had not begun, and the players on both teams had just completed their warm-ups and gone to the locker rooms. At that moment, they would be making their final adjustments for the match.

Seeing that they still had some time before their work started, Motson cracked a joke with his colleague from the BBC, Lawrenson. To Lawrenson, Motson was indisputably considered his senior. When Lawrenson was still playing for Liverpool, Motson had already begun commentating Lawrenson's matches.

"Mark, you know it..." John Motson looked at Mark Lawrenson and said laughingly, "I also agree with Gary's opinion that you look much nicer without that beard.

Lawrenson touched his big beard and asked, "John, are you also in favor of Twain?"

Motson shook his head and replied, "I simply feel that you look much better with your beard shaved. Ah, I'm just joking. As for Tony Twain... I don't know whether I'm in favor of him or not. Don't you think he is very weird? Sometimes he is very miraculous, but sometimes he seems very low-class. I feel that there is perhaps only one person who will always be in favor of him. "

"Who?"

"Tony Twain."

"Himself?"

Motson nodded his head. "He has so much confidence in himself, that even I find it unbelievable. No matter what the occasion, he will always display that confidence of his, even though I don't know where he gets it from. I've specifically examined him and discovered that his past and current personalities are worlds apart. The University of Nottingham Hospital concluded that it was caused by the injury sustained to his head that time his own player took him out. If that was really the case, I have to say, God cracked a very big joke with us."

Lawrenson touched the beard on top of his lips out of habit, while he thought about what Motson said.

Motson smiled. "What's the matter, starting to worry about not being able to keep that beard of yours?"

"That's not it." Lawrenson once again "blew his beard and stared with his eyes".

While these two were chatting in their seats, Tony was looking at the quiet players in the changing room.

None of the players, managerial staff, or team doctors uttered a single word. Even Tang En, was no exception. The loud cheers for Sheffield United could be heard clearly, which added to the heavy atmosphere in the changing room.

Everyone was looking at Tang En. Tang En had established his trustworthiness through his actions over the second half of the season. This was an extremely crucial match, and at that moment, everyone chose to believe in their manager, their head, their "Boss."

Tang En finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but it was able to suppress the home team fans' cheering noises coming from outside.

"We've matched against Sheffield United four times in this season, and the past three times have all ended in our defeat. In the 17th round, we even lost 0:3 on our home ground. The first round of the playoffs, we lost to them 1:2 on our home ground. Not only did we lose three points, we also gave two goals away. From the looks of it, the current match is not in our favor, either. People have been saying that the third team to be promoted to the English Premier League will be Sheffield United, but I know that they are wrong. And I know that all of you know that, too."

"Yes!" Someone shouted in response, unable to hold back.

Tang En looked at the person who shouted. It was Andy Reid. The young chap's eyes glimmered as he looked at Tang En. Tang En continued, "I admit that Sheffield United is stronger than us in terms of overall strength. However, the individual strengths of the two teams is not the sole deciding factor of a match's outcome. There are still other factors. Do you all want to hear a story?"

Nobody knew why Tang En wanted to tell a story right before such an important match, or what kind of story it was. However, they knew that Tang En must have had his reasons for doing so. Therefore, they all nodded.

"It was said that a long, long time ago, during an extremely distant era, two countries waged war against each other. This war lasted for a very long time. It was finally the time for the final battle, and one side's army left for the battlefield. However, the leader of the army made the soldiers set up their tents on a beach, with their backs facing the flowing river. His advisors strongly advised him against it, and they said to the general, 'General, there are turbulent waves behind us. If we set up our camp here, we will have no means of retreating! In the case that we are caught in a disadvantageous situation, we won't have any means of escaping!'" Tang En said as if he were acting out a drama, imitating Han Xin's advisors. Tang En slightly tweaked the story which was widely known throughout the whole of China, and narrated it to the group of Englishmen. They listened intently to the story, enjoying it thoroughly.

"The general told his subordinates, 'This is the final battle. If we are to engage the enemy, our soldiers will flee for their lives the moment the situation appears to be at our slightest disadvantage. Do you expect our fleeing and disorganized soldiers to be able to win the war? The reason I asked them to set up our base at the beach, with our backs to the great river, was in hopes of telling all of the soldiers that they no longer have any means of retreating! If they don't wish to die, then defeat the enemies and win the war!' Do you all know what the end result was?" Tang En raised a finger and said, "The morale of that general's army was raised to its peak. Holding on to a 'do or die' resolve, they managed to defeat enemies who were several times larger and stronger than them."

"Don't all of you think that this is very similar to our current situation? Our current situation is so bad that it can't get any worse. It is even worse than when I was knocked over by David at the sidelines, and landed on the back of my head!" Tang En said as he pointed to Johnson, causing everyone in the room to laugh. As a result, the tense atmosphere in the changing room eased slightly.

After pausing for a moment, Tang En waited for the players to finish laughing and look back at him in anticipation, before he continued with a serious look on his face. "An extremely strong opponent, disadvantageous away match, Gavin's death... We are faced with a heap of internal and external problems, and placed in a tough situation that is several hundreds of times harder than what we have ever dealt with! But I firmly believe that we can win, because today, we are the strongest that we have ever been! We may not have any means of escaping, but in actual fact, there's no need for us to escape. Finish off Sheffield United, and enter the finals! And then...." Tang En paused and took a deep breath. "And then we participate in the next season's English Premier League!"

"Why have we practiced various tactics over and over again for the past week? Let me tell all of you, today, we have our backs to the river. It's either they die, or we die! Those who don't wish to die, get out there and kill them!" Tang En strode to the door and pulled it open.

The singing and shouting sounds of Bramall Lane Stadium's viewing platform surged in like tidal waves, instantly enveloping the tiny changing room.

Chapter 68: Manager Vs. Manager Part 1

During the English League One playoffs semifinals, the second match between Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest had been going on for more than 10 minutes, and there were no changes to the score. Although Nottingham Forest displayed commendable fighting spirit, Sheffield United's manager, Neil Warnock, had obviously made preparations in advance. While Tang En was analyzing his team, he was also analyzing Tang En's.

Marlon Harewood had received the tender 'care' of the defenders from Sheffield United. Manager Warnock had intentionally moved Phil Jagielka, who had originally played defensive center, to the position of center back for this match. There was only one reason for this—to shut down the Silver Shoe striker of League One.

Despite being only 20 years old, Jagielka had already participated in an entire season of League One matches. In addition, he had also become one of the core players of the team's midfield defense. The well-rounded Jagielka was able to play any position on the back defensive line. Although Tang En had rarely paid much attention to the weaker teams' matches when he watched the Premier League, he had, back in China, tried to watch most of the matches of the stronger teams. In the last round of 2006's English Premier League, Arsenal led by Wenger had once lost 0:1 to then English Premier League Team, Sheffield United. In the last 31 minutes of the match, the person who defended the goalpost was none other than Phil Jagielka. That was probably the longest duration that a non-goalkeeper player had substituted in as the goalkeeper. As a result, Tang En also remembered this difficult-to-pronounce name.

Now that Tang En saw him actively running about as a center midfielder, blocking Harewood's offence time and again, what else could he say, besides curse his own luck for meeting such a tough opponent?

Another player that Tang En had a headache over was one of Sheffield United's core players, Michael Tonge. This person who was still a member of the Manchester United youth team three years ago, had already grown to become Sheffield United's core midfielder. All of the offense was centered around him. He passed the ball, slide-tackled, organized offenses, and even personally gave the fatal deciding blow. In this season, he had been 44 times, and scored six goals. However, his specialty was his dribbling.

Jagielka and he were both members of the England Under Twenty-One national team.

Both of them were also the greatest contributors to Sheffield United's ability to enter the playoffs.

Of course, the person who Tang En felt was hardest to deal with was not on the field. Instead, it was the person seated in the manager's seat, Sheffield United's manager, Neil Warnock.

The 54-year-old old man was a local of Sheffield City, with a head full of white hair and had an abundance of experience. Warnock was straightforward and honestly expressed his feelings. His coaching style was somewhat similar to Tang En's. He liked to direct the match from the sidelines and would occasionally return to the manager's seat. Throughout the 90-minute match, the vulgarities he shouted could be heard, despite the singing of the 30,000 football fans on the viewing platform of Bramall Lane Stadium.

Looking at Sheffield United's highly appropriate tactics, Tang En knew that he had met an extremely formidable opponent. It was no accident that the team had lost to Sheffield United three times alone in that season. Tang En had even lost to him twice.

A big part of the reason for Nottingham Forest's exceptional performance in the second half of the season was their core striker, Marlon Harewood. Tang En saw that Harewood's condition was quite good, and therefore decided to arrange it so that he was the core of the offense. Harewood's techniques were exquisite, and his stature was exceptional as well. With him at the core, enemy defenders would usually have a tough time and be unable to stop him from repeatedly scoring. After being paired with the extremely fast David Johnson, this duo had become the sharpest and most successful striker combination. They had scored a total of 46 goals, and it had to be noted that Nottingham Forest had only scored 83 goals for the entire season. Portsmouth was the season's sharpest offensive team, with a total of 97 goals, while Nottingham Forest came in second.

However, faced against Sheffield United's defenders, this extremely lethal striker combination had lost their direction, completely lost their power.

Although the enemy was impressive, Tang En, who had been battle-trained for half a season, was also no pushover. He had always thought of himself as a "natural manager." If he had done any other job, he would have made a terrible mess out of it. However, as a manager, he was very talented. Who said that only players needed to be talented?

As mentioned before, Sheffield United's entire team revolved around their core, the midfielder, Michael Tonge. He initiated almost 60 percent of the team's offenses. In this match, Tang En did not send out the veteran player combination, Eoin Jess and Gareth Williams, which had been used as the starting lineup for most of the matches this season. Instead, he chose to utilize the younger midfielder combination.

The four midfielders were positioned in a line. From left to right, were Andy Reid, Riccardo Scimeca, Eugen Bopp, and Brian Cash. Tang En did not have any offensive midfielder in the middle. Instead, he positioned two defensive midfielders to defend the middle region of the field. His intentions could not have been any clearer—to make use of Eugen Bopp and Riccardo Scimeca's defensive abilities to restrict Sheffield's activities in the midfield, especially to block their midfielder core, Michael Tonge, and not give him any openings.

The tactics arranged by the two managers were well directed. As a result, even after 15 minutes into the match, neither side was able to get into a good scoring position, and they spent most of the time snatching for possession of the ball in the midfield. Bopp and Scimeca's defense completely shut down any effective offensive advances attempted by Tonge and Michael Brown.

Motson commented, "I admit that Manager Twain's decision to arrange two rarely fielded young men during the season to be part of today's starting lineup was extremely unexpected, and extremely effective as well. However, the price to pay is Nottingham Forest's offense, as the two strikers have been completely shut down by the opponent's five defenders. In addition, there is no one in the center who can organize offenses. If it carries on like this... Truth to be told, I don't understand."

Shaking his head in agreement, Mark Lawrenson proceeded to share his take on Nottingham Forest's performance in the first 15 minutes. "The formation arranged by Sheffield United's manager, Warnock, for this match is 5-4-1, with three midfielders. He chose to use the most reliable and safe tactic. Of course, he has his reasons for doing so. After all, he has already claimed a beautiful three points from his away match. As long as he gets a tie for this match, it will be considered a victory regardless the score. But Manager Twain cannot think in the same manner. At this time, he should not be defending, but be on the offense instead. From the current looks of it… he must be out of his mind!"

"Mark, I'm also confused," Motson agreed with his partner, yet added, "but I feel that Manager Twain must have his reasons for such an arrangement. I've commentated most of the matches for half the season, and he's the kind of manager that can make my eyes light up."

Lawrenson laughed. "These words are meant for describing players, John."

"There are no rules stating that they can't be used to describe managers. Twain's performance has surprised me time and again. I hope that this match is able to surprise me once again."

Right when Motson finished speaking, Nottingham Forest's right wing back, Brian Cash, managed to break past the sides, forcing Sheffield United's left back, Steve Yates, to commit a foul against him, giving Nottingham Forest a free kick from the opposing half's right wing.

Seeing this, Tang En stood up from the manager's seat and walked to the side of the field. He merely stood there, not doing nor shouting anything. However, the Forest players on the field all knew what it meant. The set piece play which they had been training for the past week was finally going to be put into play!

Michael Dawson ran into the opponent's penalty area, and Harewood also left the backfield. The entire back defensive line of Nottingham Forest rushed up, and the players farthest back were the two midfielders who were guarding the midfield, Scimeca and Bopp.

All the players who could perform headers were all in front of Sheffield United's goalpost.

Tang En's intentions could not get any more obvious. He was not afraid of Warnock seeing through his plan, because even if he had seen through it, he was unable to make any effective adjustments in time. Never in his wildest dreams could that old man have thought that Tang En had completely given up on orthodox offensive methods, and instead decided to use a set piece play to settle the battle.

Since you can't anticipate it, then I'll catch you off guard with it!

Tang En shot a glance at Warnock, who was frantically waving his hands and shouting, and gave a smirk.

Old man, are you thinking of letting your defenders mark Dawson and Hjelde, these two tall guys? Very well, I couldn't have asked for it any other way!

As Eoin Jess was not on the field, the free kick was handed over to Reid. He carefully placed the ball and looked at the penalty area. As anticipated by the manager, Sheffield United's defenders had focused all their attention on Dawson, Hjelede, and Harewood. Nobody paid any attention to the relatively short David Johnson. He was really too short, which made him difficult to be seen in the penalty area, amidst all the tall people. After spending quite some effort, Reid finally managed to spot his teammate's shadow in the small gaps between the players.

The players, 1.9-meter Michael Dawson, 1.88-meter Hjelde, and1.86-meter Harewood were the best covers.

Reid kicked the ball into the penalty area, but he gave a shock to all of the Sheffield United players. He did not give a high ball toward Dawson and the rest's heads, but instead gave a chest-high ball, flat and fast!

Amidst everyone's shocked looks, David Johnson suddenly emerged from the crowd, running toward the front! At the moment when the ball came into contact with David Johnson, he headed the ball toward the corner of the goalpost!

Sheffield United's goalkeeper, Paddy Kenny, was completely unable to respond at all to such a sudden shot. The ball hit the bar of the goalpost and flew in!

Tang En, who was standing at the side of the field, raised both of his hands high to celebrate the goal. He did not forget to look opposite him. However, Warnock did not appear too saddened, and he merely returned back to the manager's seat. Tang En was slightly disappointed—the offense, which he had planned out meticulously, had actually not incited any form of emotions from the opponent.

Chapter 69: Manager Vs. Manager Part 2

"GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!" John Motson repeatedly shouted the word three times, each time louder than the previous. "What a beautiful set piece play combination! Who would have thought that Reid would send the ball into the penalty area in this manner, and who would have thought that the person to score this goal would be David Johnson! God, he is only 1.68 meters! Scoring with a place kick! Beautifully done!" On the last two sentences Motson looked at Lawrenson sitting beside him.

Lawrenson could only helplessly smile. "Indeed very beautiful. I've overlooked this point. In terms of place kick, Twain has spent a lot of effort. However, the match has not ended yet. John, the beard is still on my face."

Motson laughed. "Don't speak too soon, Mark. Forest's offense won't end here!"

The excited shouts of the fans resounded throughout Forest Bar. "That's right! Our offense hasn't ended! Scoundrels from Sheffield United, be prepared for a world of pain!"

Burns looked at the excited fans and smiled at the big guy, John, beside him. Then, the two of them clinked their glasses together.

Motson was right. Forest's offense had not ended. Seven minutes after the first goal, at the 24th minute, Nottingham Forest once again made use of a place kick score. This time, the goal was scored by the team captain, Michael Dawson. For the corner kick, Andy Reid kicked the ball straight toward the front of the goalpost. Even though there were still two Sheffield United defenders beside him, Dawson was still heads above them, smashing the ball into the goalpost.

"2:0! 2:0! Michael Dawson! He possesses all the necessary qualities to become an exceptional player, and he is the team captain of Nottingham Forest! He is Robin Hood!" Motson could not stop praising the young Dawson. "This small forest is bound to be unable to contain him. He will definitely become an important player on a prestigious football team. He is a very important player! Hey Mark, your beard…"

Lawrenson was no longer in the mood to banter with Motson. He kept touching his big beard as he stared at Tang En. Tang En first knelt on the ground and waved his fists, before rushing over to the players who were still celebrating. Even though the person who scored was undoubtedly Michael Dawson, Tang En the manager appeared to be much more excited than Dawson.

Perhaps Motson was right. Tony Twain was unpredictable… really unpredictable!

Bramall Lane Stadium slowly quieted down, and only the Forest fans were singing nonstop on the viewing platform. Nobody could have expected that Nottingham Forest would actually be able to take the lead in the away match, leading Sheffield United with a score of 2:0.

Tang En was currently in an extremely good mood, although it was only halfway through the first half of the match, and there was still a huge bulk of match time remaining. After that they still had the grand finals to play. However, it was as though he had already seen the doors to the English Premier League slowly opening. Behind those doors, was an even more flourishing and broad world.

Compared to the excited Tang En, Sheffield United's manager was silent. He walked back to the manager's seat from the side of the field, before sitting down to observe the match without making any adjustments in response to the 2:0 score. From Tang En's perspective, he was displaying obvious signs that he was losing.

For the rest of the first half of the match, after taking the lead with two goals, Nottingham Forest deliberately intended to slow down the tempo. Therefore, the match returned to the same state as the first 15 minutes of the match. Both sides began their tug-of-war in the center of the field.

Until the referee blew the whistle that signaled the end of the first half, Warnock did not stand up from his seat. After the whistle sounded, he stood up and headed straight for the changing room, without any expression on his face.

On the other side, after Tang En heard the sound of the whistle, he immediately stood up and did a high-five with Walker, before he happily walked to the changing room. His tactics had all been realized, despite being in such an unfavorable situation as the away team. As such, he could not have asked for anything more from the team.

Tang En had originally wanted to tell everyone that Ian Bowyer was going to leave the team after the playoffs. However, after much thought about, he had decided not to disrupt their battle-focused hearts. In case the finals match did not go smoothly, it would then be brought up to raise their morale.

Turning off the microphone, Motson pointed toward Lawrenson's beard and laughed. "Mark, do you like electronic or manual razors?"

During halftime, regardless of whether they were in Bramall Lane Stadium's changing room or Nottingham's, which were about 30 miles apart, both Nottingham Forest's players and fans were extremely relaxed. To be able to get a score of 2:0 by halftime in their away match… this kind of score was more than enough to make them heave a sigh of relief.

During halftime, there were even people who already started discussing Nottingham Forest's opponents for the finals, as well as their potential opponents after they got promoted to the Premier League.

Tang En was all smiles as he looked at his subordinates, but he did not utter a single word to stop their celebrating. However, this was all on the surface. In actuality, he was in the midst of thinking about potential situations that could happen in the second half. He did not think that Warnock was the type of opponent that would give up at halftime. Warnock would definitely make some changes, and Tang En had to have contingency plans in response to them.

It was almost a given for Warnock to strengthen his offense, and if he did that, the tactics employed by Tang En would be effective. The midfield would be used completely for defense, and the means of offense would only be via long balls. It would be simple and fast, and it did not matter whether or not it succeeded, as long as there were endless attempts to go on the offense. With two goals already in their hands, they had the capital to defend the last 45 minutes, even if they did not manage to score even once. As long as they could hold, they would be Nottingham's heroes.

The League One playoff matches were different from the other two rounds of home-away elimination matches. There was only one deciding factor for the outcome of the match—the score. The team that scored more goals would win, regardless of whether they were scored on away grounds or not. Even if a team had drawn a match at 5:5 with their opponents during their away match, it was useless. As long as their opponents manage to draw at 1:1 in the second match, both teams still had to play overtime and penalty shootout.

The 15-minute halftime passed very quickly, and the players for both teams once again stood on the field, waiting for the second half to begin.

When Tang En was walking toward the away team manager's seat, he happened to cross paths with the opposing team's manager, Warnock. The two of them looked at each other, and, therefore, they could not avoid greeting each other. However, Tang En really did not know what to say at that moment. He was used to shaking hands and engaging in some small talk with the opposing team's manager after the match, because at that moment, the results of the match were already known. He knew what sort of feelings he should have when he faced them, and what he should say. However, it was currently right after halftime, so what should he say?

Should he say something like, "We are currently in the lead, and it's highly possible we're going to win?" Or something like, "Even though we are in the lead, there's still a chance for you to make a comeback?" These words did not fit Tang En's character.

So, he lowered his head and pretended that he did not see Warnock as he hurried away. Unexpectedly, he was called out by Warnock.

"Manager Twain, why do you run away at the sight of me?"

Tang En rolled his eyes with his back toward Warnock, before turning around with a face full of smiles. "Ah, I'm so sorry. Actually, I was thinking, and did not see you, Mr. Warnock. Is anything the matter?"

Warnock extended his hand to Tang En. "Nothing much. I only wanted to congratulate you. From the season's ranked 14th at the start of the year, to ranked sixth by the end of the season, you've performed remarkably. Truth to be told, I didn't think that our final opponents would be you guys."

Tang En also extended his hand. Since Warnock expressed his friendliness, Tang En did not have any reason to not reciprocate.

The two of them shook hands.

"Regardless of the final result of the match, I must say, that this is an extremely splendid match," Warnock said.

Tang En smiled as he nodded to express his agreement. However, once both of them parted, Tang En turned around and frowned.

That darned old man doesn't have the slightest worry that his team will lose! He's extremely confident, and from the looks of it, he is confident of securing the win. But... Where did his confidence come from? The one who is two goals down is him, not me!

With slight apprehension, Tang En returned to the manager's seat. The match had already started. Walker asked concernedly, "Where did you go?"

"I met Warnock and casually chatted with him for a while," Tang En replied. After that, he focused all of his attention on the match. He hoped to be able to see through Warnock's ploy and to stop it in time.

After watching the match for less than five minutes, he immediately stood up from his seat and frightened Walker, who was beside him, causing Walker to look at him in bewilderment.

Tang En paid no heed to Walker, while he stared at Neil Warnock who had his hands in his pockets, and scolded, "That old b*stard!"

Chapter 70: The Footsteps Of English Premier League Part 1

Sheffield United had changed their lineup during halftime. They removed their core offensive player, Michael Tonge, and switched in a striker, 21-year-old Steve Kabba. Tang En had limited knowledge on this player and only knew some statistical information regarding him. Such as his recent transfer over to Sheffield United this season from Grimsby Town. He had been fielded 25 times and scored seven goals. It was a result that could not be considered good nor bad. From the statistics, Tang En was completely unable to tell anything else about him, such as his specialty techniques or habits.

After watching for five minutes, Tang En could only tell that he was extremely fast. However, apart from that, there was nothing else special about him.

Tang En began to consider seriously how he should react to Warnock.

The core of Nottingham Forest's tactics was to restrain the opponent's midfield offense centered around Tonge. Now that Tonge was swapped out, what should he do? Sheffield United was currently playing a 5-3-2 formation, and so Nottingham Forest's two defensive midfielders were currently being wasted. This caused Nottingham Forest to not have any means of retaliation, and they could only get beaten up.

Tang En felt that in order to strengthen their offense, he should swap out either Scimeca or Bopp, and switch Jess in. Jess's passes and place kick were extremely threatening. However, Tang En could not make up his mind, as he did not know whether that was the change which Warnock wanted to see.

Tang En's handshake with Warnock in the passageway had made him extremely unsettled. He always felt that there was a hidden agenda behind each and every word spoken by the old man.

Should he make the necessary changes?

Tang En stared at the field and remained silent.

Another five minutes passed, and it seemed like Kabba did not pose much of a threat, and the defensive line led by Dawson was able to cope with much ease. Tang En decided to make the changes…

It was at this moment, the mild situation on the field was met with sudden, drastic changes!

Kabba, who had been fielded in the second half, made use of his speed to forcibly break past Forest's left back, Davy Oyen. After that, he made an action which seemed like he was passing or shooting, creating chaos in front of the Nottingham Forest goalpost.

That's when Tang En saw their striker, Paul Peschisolido, raise both of his arms high up in the air while he jumped around in joy.

The ball went in?

Tang En opened his eyes wide, hoping to confirm. However, it was apparent that the fan's eyes were much sharper than his, as a loud cheering noise erupted from the viewing platform.

"Goal! Sheffield United chases back with a goal! The greatest contributor for this goal was the newly switched in Steve Kabba! Let us look at the replay. The person who scored the goal was Peschisolido! Forest's goalkeeper, Darren Ward, managed to block the first shot, but it happened to rebound into Peschisolido's feet. Going with the flow, he kicked the ball in… open goal! What a lucky guy!" Although Motson wished to see Lawrenson shave off his beard after the match, he was still extremely on point when it came to commentating the match.

"Darn it!" Tang En yelled. Now that the lead had been reduced from two goals to one, the situation was very precarious. He had to immediately make changes, but the adjustment this time would not be to strengthen the defense. Tang En's principle was that he would try to think of ways to increase the advantage when his team was leading by one goal, and would only think about defense after having a lead of at least two goals.

Tang En called to Eoin Jess, who was doing his warm-ups. He stood beside the manager's seat and listened to Tang En brief him, while he took off his vest.

"Jess." Tang En looked at this veteran player, who was older than the original Tang En by seven years. He had come over to Nottingham Forest from Bradford City by means of free transfer. As Nottingham Forest was in the midst of a financial crisis, it could not offer him a good contract. He had come over because of Paul Hart, but he did not expect that after half a season, Hart would resign on his own accord. However, he continued to play his best for the team, and his place kick was a scoring means that had completely gained Tang En's trust. "Do you still remember that FA Cup match against West Ham United?"

Jess nodded his head.

Tang En continued, "Do you still remember the match with Wimbledon? The words I said to you when I switched you out?"

Jess nodded his head once again. "I remember, Boss. You said that we definitely could win and wanted to make a wager with me."

"That's right. Today, let's make another bet. I bet that we will definitely win this match."

The Scottish man shook his head. "There's no need to make a bet, Boss. I believe you, and I won't let you down. What do you want me to do?"

Tang En smiled. "You will go and replace Bopp and free Reid from his spot. Organize offenses and pass the balls over to Harewood and Johnson. If there is a place kick in the front field, it's all yours regardless of which side it is!"

Jess blinked his eyes and said, "Just like that match with West Ham United?"

"That's right, the same!"

Patting Jess's back, Tang En switched him in.

This switch of players immediately bore fruit. Jess's appearance on the field revitalized Nottingham Forest's midfield, and his passes brought quite a bit of trouble to Sheffield United's backline defense. In addition, he was specialized in place kicks, causing Sheffield United's defenders to be extra careful whenever they tried to defend.

However, this kind of carefulness was unable to last for long. The defensive style of English football was something that everyone knew about. How was it possible to not have any body contact or fouls?

Eoin Jess managed to create a chance for a place kick in front of the penalty area, and he was the one who was going to carry it out. As Tang En watched Jess place the ball on the arc of the penalty area, he put both of his hands to his mouth and prayed.

Tang En did not believe in God, but this did not prevent him from calling for help when he needed it.

Sheffield United had just scored a goal, and their morale was at it's peak. If they continued to let such a situation develop without any interference, then the situation would spiral out of Tang En's control. They had to kill off the opponent's counterattack when it was still in its infant stages, and it was also extremely important to suppress their arrogance. Suppress it with what? Goals!

Didn't you just reduce the deficit to one goal? Very well then, I'll just have to widen the gap once again.

Therefore Jess, you better not let me down.

On the television screen, Eoin Jess lowered his head as he looked at the ball, quietly waiting for the head referee to blow the whistle. The audiences could not see his expression, but this did not prevent the fans in Forest Bar from rooting for him.

"Score it, you can do it!"

"Blast their human wall to smithereens!"

"Even if you don't score, at least take a few of them down!"

Burns raised his head and looked at the television. Although he did not say anything, in his heart, he, too, hoped to see what the people shouted.

As a former professional football player, Burns knew how delicate Tang En's current situation was. One goal could break the original balance, and another goal could return the original balance.

"Eoin Jess, Nottingham Forest's place kicking expert, Twain's most trusted player for place kicking. He has been fielded 32 times and scored three goals—all from direct free kicks." John Motson's voice could be heard from the speakers of the television. The rowdiness within the bar gradually disappeared, as everyone stared intently at the television screen.

At the split second before Jess kicked the ball, the bar, which was filled with people, became extremely quiet. Almost everyone had the same posture—heads raised toward the television, with big mugs of beer resting still in their hands.

The display on the screen had been switched from a close-up to a far shot, signaling that the penalty kick was about to begin. For a split second, not a single sound could be heard inside the bar, even breathing sounds.

Amidst the silence, Motson's voice reached everyone's ears distinctly.

"Jess, he is about to raise his leg..."

Clank! It was the sound of the ball hitting the pillar of the goalpost.

"What a pity... Oh! GOOOOOOAL—! Rebounded into the net! What a beautiful free kick! Jess did not disappoint!"

"He never disappoints! Forest! Forest!" The people in the bar clinked the mugs in their hands at that moment and shouted, "Cheers!"

Burns slammed his tightly clenched right fist onto the bar counter.

"3:1! Nine minutes after Sheffield United scores, Nottingham Forest once again deals a heavy blow to Sheffield United! They regain their two-goal lead, and the situation favors them greatly! Mark, let me ask you once again: do you like electric or manual razors? Haha!" Motson laughed loudly. Back at the BBC headquarters building, Lineker, who was watching the match through the monitors, laughed, as well. There were people beside him who clapped for him, celebrating the fact that he had finally "calculated" and gotten rid of Lawrenson's big beard.

Lawrenson sighed helplessly. Sheffield United is too much of a let-down. Looks like I'm unable to keep this beard.

Tang En cheered from the side of the field with both of his hands raised in the air, but he was quickly hugged by the extremely excited Walker.

"Tony! I can see the English Premier League waving to us!"

"I can see it, too! I can even hear its footsteps as it walks toward us!" Tang En excitedly pounded Walker's back. "Listen to its booming sound!"

"What a powerful-sounding footstep!" Walker began coughing from Tang En's pounding.

Sending Walker back to the manager's seat, Tang En deliberately glanced at the opposite manager's seat. He discovered that Neil Warnock remained standing by the side of the field with his armed folded, without any expression. His team was once again down by two goals. Was he not anxious? Was he not angry? Was he not agitated?

This manager was one that was extremely direct with his feelings and often liked to scold nonstop. In the two times that Tang En had faced him, he had not rested his mouth for a single moment throughout the full 90 minutes. Yet why was it that he had changed so much in this match?

What exactly was this old man plotting?!

Tang En began to frown again, and the good mood from before was momentarily reduced to nothing.

Chapter 71: The Footsteps of English Premier League Part 2

At the Sheffield United substitutes bench, Warnock walked back and said to a substitute player sitting on the bench, "Are you ready? You're going out to play."

"Yes, boss." The man stood up and took off his jacket, exposing the alternating red and white of the Sheffield United home jersey; the name on the back read Jack Lester.

He came down from the substitutes' bench, stood on the sidelines, and waited for the fourth official to bring him onto the field.

Tang En felt strange seeing a player that he had once coached standing on the sideline in his opponent's jersey, playing against him. The two men stood no more than two meters apart. He frequently glanced at Lester, who was standing on the sidelines, but Lester did not seem to see him. He just stared at the field.

Tang En looked at Lester, and then at Warnock again. What did that old man have in mind with bringing on a striker?

"Hey, Jack." Twain decided to take the initiative to talk to Lester. They had not had a chance to say hello before the game. It should be fine to have a little chat now, and try to figure out what the opposing manager was planning.

Lester looked back at Twain and smiled. "Sir, I didn't expect to meet you under these circumstances."

"Yeah, I didn't expect to either. Hey, Jack, why is Neil bringing you on? You already have two forwards, and their performances aren't bad."

"Obviously, it's so I can beat your team, sir." Lester winked, "As you said before, one has to be worthy of every penny one earns."

Tang En rubbed his head. He had not expected to be tripped up by his own words. "Yes, you're right. We are rivals now… damn opponents!" He lightly swore the last bit as he walked back to his seat.

Jack Lester was brought on to replace Peschisolido, who had scored a goal. He did well, even though he was thirty-two years old. Although he had scored a goal, Warnock clearly did not consider him enough of a threat to Dawson to stay on the field. He needed someone who knew more about the Forest team's defense system to charge and attack. And that person was Jack Lester.

For Sheffield United's substitution, Twain made no adjustments. He sat quietly and watched the game. The situation had not shown any signs of worsening, and he was not required to do anything.

But the dark clouds in his mind were gathering more and more, and pressure was building up in his chest.

"Michael Brown! 2:3! Sheffield United scored in the 68th minute!" Motson screamed. Next to him Mark Lawrenson was dancing for joy.

Motson's voice rang out again just three minutes later. "Steve Kabba! It's incredible, Sheffield United equalized the score! Nottingham Forest has suffered a heavy blow!"

Lawrenson saw that he had hope of keeping his beard, so he was in the mood to give a point-by-point commentary on the Forest team conceding.

"Scimeca's ability is limited. A defensive midfielder fundamentally cannot withstand Sheffield United's offense at all. It had looked like they were playing 5-3-2 formation after Warnock brought off Michael Tonge, but in fact, the formation was 3-5-2 during their attack. The two full backs on the wings pressed on to become midfielders. The intense pressure of five midfielders was not something that Scimeca could bear alone. Once the midfield defensive barrier was lost, Michael Dawson's defensive line was directly confronted with wave after wave of offense, and was unable to stop it. Twain ignored Michael Brown, and now he has paid the price!"

Twain looked at the Sheffield United players, cheering and celebrating the goal. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. In less than ten minutes, the situation on the field had changed so much. What was going on? He was afraid of falling into Warnock's trap, and had tried every possible means to avoid it; but in the end he was still trapped, and was sinking deeper and farther.

He glanced at Warnock and found that the other man was looking at him too. As the two men looked at each other, Warnock shrugged with a smile and turned away without another glance at him.

Tang En felt a burst of fury explode in his chest.

I was tricked! Duped by this damned old man!

Starting with the steady performance of losing two goals in the first half, the old man had been pretending all along, including a half-time handshake. It was all an act, to make him think that Warnock was plotting something and make him paranoid, and then force him to walk into another trap he had set.

He brought off Michael Tonge to trick him into replacing Bopp, thus cutting down one defensive midfielder and reducing the defensive pressure on their midfield. He knew that Twain did not attach too much importance to Michael Brown, who appeared to be a defensive midfielder, so he used him to organize offense. One of those two goals one was personally scored by Brown, and he had instigated the other one. He was the real core of Sheffield United for this match! Tonge was just a decoy!

Tang En was furious! He had always enjoyed the thrill of using manipulative tactics against his opponents, but never thought he would play into someone else's hands. As much as he loathed to do so, Tang En had to admit he was young and inexperienced compared to the 54-year-old Neil Warnock. The difference between the two of them was twenty years of experience.

Twain's bad luck did not seem to be over, and he was doomed to exhaust all the luck from his previous winning streak in this crucial game. The Forest team fell into a panic after Sheffield United equalized the score. Their main right back, John Thompson, twisted his ankle during a desperate fight with Steve Kabba, and was unable to continue in the game.

"Son of a b**ch!" When he saw the team doctor, Fleming, shake his head towards him, Twain swore in frustration. He turned to look at the bench; one of the five substitutes had been used, with four left.

Eventually, Twain's gaze rested on a young-looking kid.

"James, go warm- damn it, there's no time for you to warm up. You have to go play for me now!" He grabbed the kid from the bench and pushed him to the sidelines. "Just do what you did during training!"

Apart from that, he really did not know how to brief the 17-year-old on what he should pay attention to for his debut on the field. James Biggins was a right back, who was only arranged by Twain to make up the numbers in the substitutes' bench for the game. He had not anticipated that he would receive his first chance to represent the First Team.

Seeing the kid trembling as he ran onto the field, Tang En did not have very high expectations of him; he was helpless too.

One had to wonder if young James Biggins ever had a dream like this:

When the team was in danger, as an unknown player sitting on the substitutes' bench watching the game, he was suddenly called up by the manager, who patted him on the shoulder and said to him, "James, our team is depending on you! Go out there and wipe out those bastards! Win this game!"

The assistant manager and other teammates also nodded and echoed, "Yes, yes! You're the only person who can fix this for us, James! You're a genius, you can do it!"

Then, with his head held high and chest puffed out, he set foot on the field and led the team in a comeback to victory under the opponents' disdainful gaze, and finally made all the opponents kneel in front of him, begging for mercy, and surrender...

But the truth was, this type of situation could turn a talented hero famous in one match, but it could also be a blow to a young man who was still full of hope for the future. This kind of pressure was not something that ordinary people could withstand.

James Biggins was well aware of the current situation. The team had gone from leading with a huge advantage, to their opponents catching up. The morale of the team was badly hit when the main player was injured and forced out of the game. But he did not know what he was going to do. What was he supposed to do?

Twain had not told him, and his mind could not think of what he should do.

He was at a loss, and just stood at the right back position, looking at the ruthless Sheffield United players rushing towards him.

Great cheers and applause broke out again in the Bramall Lane Stadium. The Forest fans were collectively silent instead, and not just in the stands. It was a sea of silence, even in the bars of Nottingham.

"Oh my god! What's going on in these twenty-eight minutes?" Motson groaned. "In the first half, Sheffield United did not even score a goal. But in the second half, starting from the 51st minute, they scored four goals! 4:3! Now the home team is leading! Nottingham Forest suddenly went from being in the lead to playing catch up. Poor James Biggins, this is the first time the 17-year-old is representing the First Team on behalf of Nottingham Forest, but he scored a goal against his own team!"

Biggins knelt in front of the goal. The ecstatic Sheffield United players ran past him. The football was lying quietly in the goal. Biggins' head was down, and could not see the other players' expressions. He felt like dying, like he had become a sinner on the team.

Sitting in the technical area, both Des Walker and Ian Bowyer held their heads in their hands. None of them had imagined that this could happen. Their situation was so unbelievably good by the halftime interval, but now it was incredibly bad.

From 2:0, the score had become 3:4. The way this game had been played was truly upsetting.

Standing on the sidelines, Tang En was watching the game numbly. He did not have the energy to care about how excitedly Warnock was celebrating the goal.

It was almost as if he could hear the sound of the footsteps of the Premier League passing him by him, and then the sound gradually drifting away.

What was the meaning of this score? Nottingham Forest had lost to Sheffield United in their home game with a score of 1:2, and now they were behind in this away game at 3:4; the total score was 4:6. This meant that, to enter the finals of the playoffs, they would need to score at least two goals in the remaining eleven minutes to even have hope of being qualified.

This was a very harsh requirement for the Forest team at this juncture.

Due to the presence of Biggins, the Forest team's defense was disorganized, and the morale of their opponents was soaring. For the remaining time, it would be considered good just to not concede any more goals.

Michael Dawson lowered his head to comfort Biggins, who had scored the goal. He had done everything that a team captain could do, but could not bring victory to the team. Perhaps his heart was in more agony than that of Biggins.

Looking at the stupefied players on the field, Tang En asked himself, "Is this the end?"

"Tony! If you can't lead the team to the Premier League next season, I'll make you pay!" Michael's roar came from afar, and Tang En looked back at the stands behind the technical area.

It was a sea of jubilant red-and-white Sheffield United fans. Where was Michael?

Another voice came from his side. "Manager Tony Twain, have you ever thought about what will happen in the end if we can't get promoted to the Premier League this season?"

Can't get promoted, can't get promoted, can't get promoted...

Michael, Little Gavin… No! I can't let this happen. I must not let this happen!

Twain marched back and said to a grave-looking Walker, "Where's Westcarr? Let him play!"

"Twain has brought off his only defensive midfielder, Scimeca, and brought on the 17-year-old striker Craig Westcarr. Can Nottingham Forest team score two goals in the remaining ten minutes by switching to playing 4-3-3? Honestly, I don't have too much confidence… Before this, Westcarr had three experiences of being brought on as a substitute to play and not scoring. His ability is not good enough to be given this important task. I don't understand why Twain made this adjustment. It's useless!" Motson mercilessly criticized Twain's on-the-spot command. Next to him, Lawrenson was snickering. It looked like his beard was saved. And that was what was upsetting Motson.

Evan Doughty turned his head to look at the television at the corner of the luxury box. Watching the game on the television was clearer than watching the field. Upon hearing what the commentator said, he smiled and said to his father, Nigel Doughty, next to him, "You see, I told you. He can't be depended on."

It was as if Nigel had not heard his son; he was focused on the game. Just when Evan thought he was being ignored again, the old man said in a low, slow voice, "You can say whatever you want, either way you'll be in charge soon. You can do whatever you want..."

As it turned out, the best description of Twain's substitution was "foolhardy." By removing their only defensive midfielder and switching to play a completely unfamiliar 4-3-3 formation, the Forest team became increasingly overwhelmed. They did not know what the manager wanted to do, and they did not know what they were supposed to do. Some players wanted to break through and score goals as soon as possible, while the others wanted to make certain that the defensive line would no longer concede. The team fell apart at the last minute, and was split into two sections. One section was in the front and the other section was in the rear.

Tang En had lost control of the team. He stood on the sidelines and was unable to issue any useful instructions. He could only watch and wait… wait for a miracle.

The cheering in the stands at Bramall Lane Stadium was getting louder, and Sheffield United's manager, Warnock, was already eager to high-five the people around him in celebration. These were his true colors.

At the 91st minute of the game, James Biggins scored a goal with a header from a corner ball, redeeming the goal that he had shot. But this goal did not help the team, because it came too late.

A minute later, the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game and thunderous cheers erupted at Bramall Lane Stadium; the home fans wildly celebrated their team reaching the playoffs, and Tony Twain became the loser again.

The dream that he had striven towards for half a season was shattered. In a flash, his mind went blank and he stood on the sidelines, staring vacantly. He did not even see Warnock walking towards him with his hand outstretched.

The noisy stands faded away, the green stadium disappeared, and his surroundings went dark. The ecstatic Sheffield United players, the dejected Nottingham Forest players, Neil Warnock who had shrugged his shoulders with a smirk, Ian Bowyer who closed his eyes in agony, Des Walker who was trying his best to comfort the players, Michael Bernard wherever he was, and Gavin Bernard who was lying quietly in the ground; these people tightly surrounded Tang En, making his chest tight and short of breath.

He felt a tightening of his heart.

The season was over.

Ten days later, at Bradford City's Valley Parade Stadium… the stadium had a nice name, but did not give Warnock the glory he had dreamed of. His team would concede three goals to Wolfhampton Wanderers, and lose the qualification to advance to the Premier League. Warnock had used all of his energy to deal with the tough Tony Twain and won, but he had exhausted his last ounce of strength while doing so.

Three days after that semi-final game, on May 19, on the southern coast of Iberian Peninsula, at the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla in Seville, a Portuguese man named José Mourinho would defeat Brian Clough's pupil, Martin O'Neill, by 3:2 in overtime. Portugal's FC Porto would beat Scotland's Celtic F.C. and win the 02-03 season UEFA Europa League.

This victory had made the whole of Europe aware of the young Portuguese coach, who was not used to smiling or saying much, and his group of outstanding players.

But none of this had anything to do with Twain. His season ended on May 16. This was his first season as a professional manager leading a professional team. Although it was incomplete and imperfect, it had profoundly impacted Twain's future.

He would forever remember these two games that he lost to West Ham United and Sheffield United. A voice would always reverberate in his heart to remind him:

How painful it is to fail.

Chapter 72: Picking Up Trouble Part 1

It was almost one month since that soul-crushing semifinals playoff match. Although Tang En had long recovered from the defeat, he still dreamed about being disqualified, and this time he suffered an even more miserable loss—0:4, his team completely unable to retaliate.

The team had already ended all of its matches for this season, and a team like Nottingham Forest, which struggled in the second level of the English Football League, did not have any commercial matches to play. The team had been disbanded on the day after the match, giving the players and managers a long holiday to enjoy themselves.

The 02-03 English Premier League season had long ended its last round of matches on May 11th. The end result was just as Tang En had said. Manchester United, which was trailing behind Arsenal by five points, began to mount a comeback after Christmas. In the end, they even managed to lead Arsenal by five points to become the champions. Tang En won the bet between Burns and him, but he was not in the mood to make Burns pay up, because Gavin had just passed away. The bet that had been made in the bar was disregarded, but Burns fulfilled another promise. From that day forward, all of Tang En's drinks in Forest Bar would be free of charge. After that incident, Burns looked at Tang En as if he were a gypsy fortune teller.

In between, there were many other things that happened. Ferguson kicking a boot at David Beckham took place on schedule, garnering worldwide attention for a brief period of time. Everyone thought that Beckham and Ferguson's 11 years of mentor-mentee relationship had finally come to an end, as well as his fate with Manchester United. However, there was much speculation regarding his next stop, with most people leaning more toward the idea of him going to Real Madrid. This was because in the previous Championship match, Beckham had been exchanging glances with Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid's president, Florentino, firmly denied that Real Madrid would buy Beckham.

There's no Story Between Real Madrid and David Beckham

Tang En bought The Times from the newspaper stand on the street. He skipped past all the political and economic news and flipped directly to the ninth section, the sports segment. The first thing that greeted his eyes was the large title. The season had just ended, and the media had already started to speculate excitedly about the transfer of some players. The transfer market was like that every year, but that year was particularly crazy and bustling due to the addition of a superstar.

He looked at this piece of news which was reported with a definitive tone and felt extremely disgusted. Looking at the hottest topic of discussion in that year's transfer market from the perspective of someone who had been through it, it could only be described as a farce.

Real Madrid kept clarifying: We won't buy Beckham. How is it possible for us to buy Beckham? There's no way we can buy Beckham! We have a good relationship with Manchester United, and we are all part of the G14. How could we do something like poaching him?!

And everyone else believed them. But in the end, look what happened.

When Beckham, who once wore the Red Devils' captainship armband and fought for Manchester United, held the white-colored Real Madrid Jersey and took a picture with Florentino, as well as Honorary President of Real Madrid, Di Stefano, the Manchester United fans around the world felt that they had been deceived. Yes, they had ample reasons to bear grudges against it. However, if they had been smarter, they would have realized long ago—Real Madrid's promise of "We will definitely not buy someone" should not have been taken at face value. Think about how Ronaldo came over. Beckham going over to Real Madrid was only a matter of course.

Tang En browsed through the newspaper for that day and found out that most of the news was related to Beckham transferring clubs. If his team had successfully been promoted, he would have been really fond of reading those kind of tabloids. However, the matter of fact was that, currently, he was not in the mood to care about the fate of others.

Rolling up the newly bought newspaper, Tang En threw it into the trash and decided to wander around as a form of relaxation.

Tang En had originally wanted to go to China with Yang Yan. After much interaction with Yang Yan, he then realized that Yang Yan had not emigrated, but only came to Nottingham to study. After she graduated, she would return to China. Her family members were all currently situated in Sichuan Province, but a sudden epidemic outbreak completely foiled Tang En's plans.

Over the span of a few short months, SARS had plagued all of China, and there was virtually no place that was lucky enough to be free from it. May was the peak of the epidemic, and even in June, Beijing remained a travel-restricted area. Even if Tang En did not fear death, he had no means of travelling to China. Right after Tang En finished his matches in May, the period when the epidemic was the most serious, he had once pretended to phone the wrong number and called home to check on their situation. Everything was fine, which made him slightly relieved. In any case, Tang En still wished that he could see his parents with his own eyes and see that they were still alive and healthy. During the one-month holiday, he was mainly busy with trying to get to China, but there was nothing he could do to obtain a visa to travel to there.

As for the other Tang En.... He remembered that he was extremely unlucky in the year 2003 and had lost two phones over the span of the first half of the year. He had changed his cell phone number countless times. As such, he could no longer remember the phone number which he had used then. He had no means of contacting himself even though he wanted to, and he could only pray that the other him was just like he was in 2003, safe and sound. As for the two phones which he had lost, he considered them a kind of payment for staving off disaster.

Actually, besides returning to China to visit his parents, he had had another very important goal—to spend time alone with Yang Yan. He had not expected his plans to go down the drain. After muttering "it's not meant to be", Tang En whipped out his phone to call Landy to drive him downtown.

It was at that moment, he suddenly realized that there was a girl standing beside him. He was uncertain of how long she had been standing there. From the looks of it, she appeared to be around 16 years old and wore a pleated, red, short skirt, revealing two long, slim, tender legs. The light grey t-shirt had a picture of a cute teddy bear printed on it, which was looking at Tang En.

The girl had dark-brown, shoulder-length hair, with neat bangs on her forehead. Beneath her finely curved eyebrows were a pair of extremely big eyes, and they were so clear and bright that they resembled a clear spring. In addition, Tang En noticed that the girl's eyes were not commonly seen among westerners. They were not a blue, green, or hazel color, but instead they were the same color as her hair, dark brown.

The girl raised her head and looked at him, while Tang En lowered his head and looked at the girl. In that way, the two of them stared at each other by the street.

Tang En did not know why the girl was staring at him, and he was sure that his face did not have any bread crumbs, butter, or grains of any sort on it. Tang En was also very sure that he had zipped his pants properly before he left the house.

Tang En treated it as a contest of patience, and the winner would be the one that could outlast the other in terms of keeping quiet, forcing that other one to admit defeat.

"Sorry for disturbing. Sir, may I ask if you know the way to 13 Bradford Garden Street?" the girl surrendered first and asked. Her crisp voice contained a sliver of shyness, and she spoke extremely fluent English with a London accent. The words which were spoken from the pink, tender lips were simply a form of enjoyment to the ears.

However, Tang En shook his head and muttered softly to himself, "Too bad it's a washboard..."

Upon hearing Tang En, the young girl was startled and frantically raised her hands and blocked her chest.

"Mister!" The girl pouted and stared at Tang En as she scolded, "I'm going to call the police!"

"Ah? Police..." Tang En turned his head around and saw a patrolling yellow-vested policeman walking toward him. I can't be that unlucky, can I? If he got arrested for sexually harassing a young girl, then he could forget about getting through the summer in peace.

Tang En very much wanted to hide, but the policeman seemed to have already seen them and was making his way straight for them.

The girl was extremely happy that the policeman had noticed what was happening, and she walked up to him with the intention of lodging a complaint. "Mr. Policeman, this guy..." She pointed toward Tang En, but realized that the policeman appeared to have not seen her and walked directly past her. After that, he opened up his arms and walked toward the man she was pointing at.

"Ah ha! I really didn't expect to see you here, Mr. Twain!" the policeman elatedly greeted Tang En. However, both the girl and Tang En were momentarily dumbfounded.

"I saw the last match. Truth to be told, we were extremely unlucky!" As his back was to her, the young girl did not know what kind of expression the policeman had. However, from his voice, it was very easy to tell the mood of the patrolling policeman. "As for that child's death, I am also terribly sorry... I wasn't on duty at that time."

Tang En finally understood—the policeman he met was a Forest fan! He immediately retracted his shocked expression. "I'm terribly sorry, for not being able to let the team successfully promote..."

"No, no, that's a small matter, Sir. I believe that as long as the club gives you one more year, you can definitely do it. I really like to watch you direct the Nottingham Forest matches, you know why? Because we will always be able to win, haha! Don't be disheartened! The next season, we'll definitely do it the next season! Forest! Forest!" The amusing policeman shouted the fan slogan twice before patting Tang En's shoulder and leaving. He completely did not see that there was still a pitiful girl who was waiting for him to save her.

Upon seeing that the policeman was quite some distance away, Tang En lowered his head and looked at the shocked girl with a triumphant look. Then, he gave her a smile that he thought was most charming and said, "Young lady, what were you going to ask me?"

The girl did not reply to Tang En, but instead softly cursed, "Darn it!"

"It's not good for girls to utter vulgarities."

"It's none of your business!" The girl shot an angry stare at Tang En.

Tang En sized up the girl from head to toe. She was wearing a pair of comfortable white sneakers and a short dress. She had a black and white Adidas sports bag slung across her back. In addition, she spoke fluent English without any Nottingham accent and appeared completely different from the usual English girls. From that information, Tang En knew that the girl was a tourist. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm only trying to help a foreigner like you out of goodwill... Very well, since it's none of my business, I'll leave. Goodbye, little girl."

He waved his hand and was about to walk away.

This time, it was the girl's turn to admit defeat. She shouted, "Do you know how to get to 13 Bradford Garden Street?"

Tang En, who had his back to the girl, got a triumphant smile on his face that only victors wear. After that, he smiled kindly and turned around. "You're really lucky, I happen to live on Bradford Garden Street." The place where they stood was less than 50 meters away from the newspaper stand where Tang En had bought his newspaper, and the newspaper stand was only 500 meters away from Tang En's house.

The girl looked at Tang En with suspicion. Perhaps she felt that this perverted weird man, who stared at her chest not long after they met, did not seem like a good person.

"What? You don't believe me? You think that I'm lying to you?" Tang En opened his hands and shrugged his shoulders innocently. "I happen to stay at 13 Bradford Garden Str..." Upon saying this, Tang En suddenly stopped and looked in shock at the girl opposite him.

".... Street…"

Both of them were momentarily stunned.

Chapter 73: Picking Up Trouble Part 2

After 10 minutes, the two of them were standing outside of Tang En's house. Tang En pointed to his house number and asked the girl, "Did I lie to you? Number 13 of Branford Gardens, the place where I live."

The girl nodded and walked straight to the door, trying to open it as if it was her house.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Tang En was shocked.

"Going inside to rest," the girl turned to him and said.

"But this is my house. I have been here for… for seven years, just me alone and do not have any Auntie Ryan that you claim lives here."

"Liar!" The girl was holding the door handle stubbornly.

Tang En looked at the girl's face, and he suddenly felt there was something similar between his and this girl's personalities. As a result, he took out the key, went to open the door, and said, "Fine, you can come inside and look. You are not going to find your Auntie Ryan."

The girl did not expect Tang En to allow her to go in so quickly, and she stood still and hesitated.

"What? Having doubts?" Tang En laughed.

The laughter triggered the girl's curiosity, and she walked in with her head high. "I am going inside to take a look. You think I do not know that you live downstairs, while my auntie stays upstairs?!"

She walked to the staircase while she said this, and Tang En followed her with his head firmly nodding. "Yes, yes! How nice if there was a beautiful auntie living with me. She would help me cook, and I would wash dishes, and then we would watch TV together…"

The girl stopped walking and glared at Tang En, "Auntie Ryan is 53 years old."

"Huh." Tang En scratched his head. "Well never mind then."

They walked up to the second floor. The girl saw an open door. She did not pay attention to what was inside the room, only the big photo that hung on the wall that faced her. Under a great red background, there was one person standing with his arms shot straight into the air.

The picture caught her full attention, and she approached it directly.

"Hey, this is my bedroom." It was to late for Tang En to stop her.

The girl stood beside the photo and said, "You are really a football manager."

"Well I'm not paid to lie to you." Tang En rolled his eyes. How should I make myself look more like a football manager? Wear sports tees, white sports shoes, and walk around with a whistle hanging from my neck all day? That look is stupid.

"So cool," the girl said and then looked around the whole room. "So this is your room?"

Tang En realized that his room was quite messy at the moment. He had not done his laundry or made his bed. There were clothes thrown on the floor, and the book he had been reading the night before was laying open on his pillow.

The girl's expression showed some disgust for the horrible state of the room, but Tang En, scratching his head, could think of nothing to say except, "All single men are like this. That's enough. Let's go. This is my room, and I did not invite you in here!" He suddenly felt strange about how he behaved. Why was he being so pathetic in front of this "guest"?

The girl hurried out of the room, and Tang En said, "See? No Auntie Ryan."

The girl then pointed to the other three rooms with their doors closed.

"Two of them are guest rooms with no one staying in them, and the other one is the bathroom." Tang En opened the doors one by one to show her.

The girl fell into silence after she saw all the empty rooms with only beds in them. Tang En had no idea what was she thinking, but he had to ask her to leave.

"You have seen it with your own eyes. There is only me living at 13 Branford Gardens Street. I have no idea where your auntie is. Now please leave," Tang En said standing by the staircase.

The girl was in a daze while looking at the rooms, and then she said, "I can pay you. Would you let me to stay here for one night?"

This suggestion was unexpected, and Tang En was taken aback. He realized that the girl was thinking of his house like a hotel.

While the girl was taking out some coins and notes, Tang En frowned.

"Not enough?" the girl asked softly. "But this is all I have…"

"Where are your parents? I think I better give them a call, tell you—" Tang En's words were cut off by the girl's screaming.

"Please, no!" She gripped her hands. "If you do not want me to stay here, I can leave now!"

At her reaction, Tang En was even more shocked. He decided to find out more. "I can let you to stay here and will not take your money, but you have to tell me about your parents."

The room fell silent again after he finished his words. The girl seemed like she was considering or hesitating, and Tang En did not push her to respond faster. For him, it would not be a problem if he allowed this child to stay here one night. He was just quite curious as to why the girl had behaved so strangely this whole time.

After a while, the girl finally spoke. "I actually escaped from my house. There is no Auntie Ryan. I was adopted when I was young, but they treat me badly, and I hate them!" She lowered her head and stood in front of Tang En. Her long hair covered her face. Tang En could not see her, but the girl's voice was very low. The hatred she spoke of was real.

Now the problem was more complicated and hard to decide about. Would she be any trouble?

The girl did not hear anything from Tang En, and she raised her head and looked at him with a scared look. She saw that Tang En frowned even more.

"All right, Sir. I know my request is unreasonable." The girl lowered her head again, as her hope was broken, and she picked up her bag to go.

Tang En stopped her using his hand. "I'll agree to let you stay here, but we have to sign or make some agreements. Something like a rental agreement will do. I do not want to have any problems or arguments with you in the future. This is beneficial for both of us. Do you understand what I mean?"

She nodded vigorously. "I understand fully! Uncle you are such a nice soul!"

Upon hearing the girl's last sentence, Tang En's mouth twisted up and then he pointed a finger at her. "I have one more condition. Do not call me uncle. I am not that old yet! This kid… what is your name?"

"Jude, Jude Shania Jordana. You can call me Jude, Sha, or Jor," the girl answered him, smiling. The afternoon sun that reflected from the windows of the rooms shone on her face. Looking at her happy face, Tang En wondered if the pitiful expression she had been wearing a moment before was just an act.

Tang En continued to ask questions. He at least needed to know the basic information of his temporary tenant.

"Okay, Jude. How old are you?"

"13!" Jude answered clearly, and her answer shocked Tang En.

He tilted his head and examined her from head to toe carefully.

Tang En's height was 186 centimeters, and the little girl in front of him almost reached his throat. At that height, who would believe that she was just 13? Especially with those long legs. Her face, however, was youthful, which matched her age.

"How tall are you?"

Jude thought for a while and then answered Tang En, "Maybe I am 5'3" or 5'4". I'm not exactly sure."

Five-feet-three inches was equivalent to 160 centimeters, while 5'4" was approximately 163 centimeters.

These numbers shocked Tang En again. He really wanted to ask Jude what she ate, and in what way her adoptive parents abused her to make her reach a height that some women might not even reach.

Just casually standing there, her posture was naturally straight, and Tang En thought, She is model material.

The rest was easy to handle. Tang En asked more about her basic information and drafted a simple agreement, which both of them signed. Jude was a Brazilian girl who came across the Atlantic to escape her foster parents who had always mistreated her. Tang En was amazed at her precocious mind.

That night, Tang En brought Jude to the Forest Bar for dinner, and their arrival caused a small stir.

Quite a few people came over to greet Jude with their beer glasses, but immediately noticed Tang En's unfriendly eyes. Jude smiled sweetly and said hello back to the English men, just like how she had greeted Tang En on the street. But Tang En knew how the men would behave once they were drunk.

Several people around Tang En started to tease and make fun of him, even Burns.

"Hey, Tony. Since when did you have a daughter?"

"Haha!" the people around them laughed.

Tang En defended himself, "Oh, Dear Kenny. You know that no one can ever replace you."

Everyone laughed even more, including Burns.

Jude curiously watched the two of them arguing. Everything there was foreign yet interesting to her. She was not afraid of these men with their red faces and their energy. She felt safe instead, although she did not know why.

After they had finished dinner, Tang En did not stay at the bar to continue chatting and drinking with everyone like normal. He had Jude to take care of.

"Bye, guys. I have to go home now." Tang En held Jude's hand and tried to say goodbye at the door.

There was a loud sigh from the bar.

"Tony! Just go home. No one would ask you to stay longer, but Jude can stay!" Burns winked at Tang En.

His words received everyone's support with their laughter. "Kenny's got a good suggestion, Tony!"

"No way!" Tang En showed his fist. "Go home and spend quality time with your wives!"

Tang En and Jude left the Forest Bar filled with laughter.

On the way home, Jude was quite interested in Tang En's relationship with the people in the bar.

"Are you close to them?"

It was just a casual question asked by a curious girl, but suddenly Tang En's heart was touched. He thought about all the people that he had met and the things that he had encountered in the past five months. The first time he met Michael; the exciting halftime and the second half of the match with West Ham United; George Wood who loved his mother and his mother who loved him as well; the happiness of seeing Yang Yan again; the "humble" lesson Mr. Clough taught him; Mark Hodge, who only had honor on his mind; the innocent little Gavin; and the playoffs that were on the verge of success… It was such an unbelievable half year in his life.

"Do you want to hear a story, Jude?"

Jude nodded happily.

"The story is very long, and the ending may not be satisfying. Do you still want to hear it?"

"Yes, yes please!"

"It's from a long time ago…eh, well, it was actually just five months ago…"

As Tang En was telling his story in his deep voice, the two of them walked slowly under the sunset with their shadows trailing behind.

Now that Tang En was no longer living alone, and there was a temporary tenant, he woke up early the next day to prepare breakfast for Jude. When Tang En was alone, his breakfast was always simple with just one bottle of milk and one slice of bread. Now that the girl was there, Tang En had to try to make something better, something more nutritious.

Luckily, there was still some food in the fridge.

One cup of hot milk, an egg, one slice of bread, cheese, and smoked ham. Looking at all the food on the table, Tang En thought a while and then went and got an apple from the fridge, washed it, and put it beside the plate. Since he had transmigrated there half a year ago, he had not once prepared such a delicious breakfast. Even before then, he did not know how many years it had been since he had made a real breakfast. He was definitely out practice, because he had gotten shell in the egg.

After he clumsily finished making breakfast, Tang En noticed that Jude had not yet come down. He thought that she must be tired from all her travelling and wanted to let her rest more. So, Tang En started to read the newspaper at the dining room table.

The name that appeared the most was David Beckham, followed by Chelsea and Bates. The old man had finally given up on fighting off the more than ￡90,000,000 debt of Chelsea and planned to sell off his club. After months of speculation, lies, and claims, the most likely buyer had finally surfaced, which was the ultra-wealthy Russian Roman Abramovich.

Now the media was buzzing about this person and his mysterious property, and some viewed him as some kind of savior of the Premier League.

What pleased Tang En was the fact that there was not much difference between what was happening now and his memory of it from his other life. He had already planned to benefit from the ripple effect all this transfer of clubs would cause once the Russian took over Chelsea.

After thinking about it for a while, Tang En became frustrated. His team did not have any outstanding players to interest the Russian and swindle him with. Michael Dawson was not mature enough, and even if the Russian wanted him, he would not sell him. For those he would like to sell off, there was no reason to think the Russian wanted them in the first place. Furthermore, due to the interference from the Russian, all the clubs would double the price of their players in the near future. As Forest was in such a bad financial situation, it would be almost impossible for them to get any player at a cheap rate.

On second thought, the entering of the Russian was way more harmful than beneficial to Tang En. He cursed out loud and put his newspaper to the side.

He realized that Jude was still not up. The food would be no good cold. So he decided to go up and wake the kid up.

Tang En knocked on the door softly at first, but there was no answer after a few knocks. After that, he shouted, and there was still no reply. Worried, even though there was a girl inside, he took out his key to open the door.

The black and white bag was half open on the floor. Her clothes and belongings had been scattered on the floor. On the bed, the blanket was messy and hanging half off the bed. Under the blanket, there was a small body that was shaking like a poor, frightened cat.

Tang En rushed to the bed.

Jude seemed to be having a seizure. Her face was frowning, her teeth were gnashing, and she was saying something that Tang En could not understand. She obviously had a fever.

Tang En took out his phone, called Landy, and put the phone between his ear and shoulder. While waiting for Landy to answer, he removed the blanket and picked up Jude in just her pajamas and rushed downstairs.

"Landy, where are you? I have an emergency, and I need a car immediately! Please come quickly. It's life or death!"

Landy glanced at his GPS and said, "Three minutes, three minutes at the most."

Then he told the passenger behind him, "I'm so sorry, Sir. Please fasten your seatbelt, because I have to rush over to get someone else." Following these words, there was a loud roar from the motor, and the little taxi suddenly turned to a race car. It drifted into a turn, adjusted back, and immediately rushed in the direction of Branford Gardens Street.

Tang En stood at the side of the road waiting anxiously for Landy's cab. From time to time he looked down at the curled up Jude. Though she was not short, she was still light to carry, and Tang En attributed that to her cruel parents. There was sweat on her forehead, and her hair was wet and stuck to her face as if she had just come up from under the water. Tang En's clothes were also wet from Jude's sweat. The girl's body was sticking to his, which was slimy and uncomfortable.

He looked at the girl whose life was in danger and sighed to himself, I really picked up big trouble this time!

Chapter 74: Tang En’s Holiday Part 1

Volume 2 The Sky Of Nottingham Chapter 2 Tang En's Holiday Part 1

The sharp, penetrating sound of rubber tires skidding to a halt on asphalt outside the the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University, caught the attention of many. The rear door of the black cab flew open before it came to a full stop at the curb. Tang En jumped out of the car with Jude in his arms and did not forget to turn back and thank Landy as well as the kind, middle-aged man whose cab ride had been hijacked by Tang En.

"Thanks, Landy. I will pay you later! And for Mr. Finnan's fare, too!"

He was running the whole time, shouting back at the cab.

That passenger, Mr. Finnan, who was sitting up front with Landy, looked at Tang En, and shook his head. "It is hard to imagine, a professional football manager…"

Landy laughed and started the car again. "Sir, that was the much-loved manager, Mr. Tony Twain. Also, I have to specially thank you for your time, I am so sorry…"

Finnan waved his hand. "That is what a gentleman is supposed to do."

He thought of the scene when he saw Tang En at Branford Gardens Street 15 minutes before and was smiling again. As a gentleman, he had never used vulgar language and felt displeased whenever he heard it. However, he had not taken offense at all when Tang En had thrown around a very liberal amount of curse words in the cab. He could tell it was because the man really cared about the girl. The girl who, even while struggling with fever, still looked pretty.

To cause such concern, the girl must be Tang En's daughter. Finnan looked in the direction of the hospital entrance and prayed in his heart for the father and daughter.

Tang En rushed into the hospital, looked around, and felt that he had lost his sense of direction. Finally, he found the elevator and ran over to it quickly.

At this moment, Ms. Lilith at the registration desk stood up and shouted at Tang En, "Sir, you have to…"

"F*ck the registration!" Tang En replied angrily before she could finish what she was saying.

"I am just… I just wanted to ask you about the patient's condition," She muttered after the fierce man's back, not recognizing Tony Twain.

Tang En saw the elevator was full of people and decided to take the stairs to level four.

The girl's temperature was extremely high, and her pajamas were entirely soaked through with sweat. She seemed to be having a nightmare. More and more she spoke in a language that Tang En could not understand. Her hands and legs were shaking, as evidenced by scratch marks on Tang En's neck. She was obviously in great pain.

Tang En knew nothing about medicine, but he knew that even if a small cough was not treated, serious consequences could follow. Jude's high fever was no small cough.

In late spring 2003, there had been a SARS epidemic in China. Tang En remembered clearly the harm the disease had caused. During that time, even someone with a small cough was treated as a potential SARS patient and was segregated. A high fever was much more serious, of course.

He did not know if there were reports of SARS in England. All of his attention had been on China back then. He had to be cautious. What if this girl had gotten SARS? She spoke fluent classroom English and had an Asian face… What if she came from China? Tang En had no way of knowing, so he did not dare jump to any such conclusion.

After carrying Jude to the fourth floor, Tang En was exhausted. He found room 415. Looking at the closed door, he gave up on the idea of knocking, since both of his hands were holding Jude. Using his leg, he kicked the door.

Professor Constantine was chatting happily with his pretty nurse who he was about to ask out to dinner for that weekend. But before he could, the was a loud bang on the door. Annoyed by the interruption, the professor went over and yanked the door open. Whoever it was better have a good reason for such a rude disruption.

"Professor! Patient!"

"Tony?!" Constantine was shocked to see Twain standing there with a young girl in his arms.

The nurse examined the girl in Tang En's arms and said she appeared to have a serious fever.

"Fever, but Tony, this is my office. I don't treat—"

"Hell!" Tang En cut off the professor, "I didn't know where else to go!"

Constantine nodded, unfazed by Tang En's rudeness. He then turned and asked the nurse to go find some assistance.

The nurse nodded and hurried out. Then Constantine looked at the exhausted Tony Twain and the girl in his arms and asked, "Tony, who is she?"

Tang En gasped heavily. "I just picked her up somewhere…" He did not have the energy to explain anything at that moment.

Seeing this, Constantine tried to comfort him instead. "Don't worry, we'll arrange for a full examination and get her the best treatment. She'll be in good hands here."

While the professor was assuring him, the nurse returned with hospital staff and a gurney. They quickly put Jude on the gurney and rolled her away.

Tang En felt relieved to have the weight taken from his arms, but realized that they were so far past the aching stage that he could not feel anything. Although the girl was not heavy, carrying someone for so long was strenuous work.

Constantine did not go with the hospital staff, as they were not under his charge. He patted Tang En's shoulder. "Come in, I will make coffee for you. Take it easy. She will be fine. So, did you really just 'pick her up' outside?"

The sound of footsteps had finally disappeared at the end of the corridor. Tang En turned back and nodded to Constantine. "I picked her up on the street… big trouble indeed."

Waking from her terrifying nightmare, Jude realized she was not in Tang En's house, but at the hospital instead. She tried to move her neck but her head ached terribly. So she gave up moving and just rotated her eyes around the room. She saw the machines and infusion bag beside the bed, and she saw Tony Twain standing on the other side. His back was to her, and he was mixing something.

She opened her mouth, wanting to call his name. But her lips were extremely dry, and her throat was so sore she dared not make a sound. As a result, she could only turn her head a bit, to look at Tony, who was busy making something for her.

They had only known each other for less than a day.

When she saw Tang En almost throw the spoon away, but then test it in his mouth to see if it was too hot, she could not help but smile.

Chapter 75: Tang En’s Holiday Part 2

The soft laughter interrupted Tang En, and he looked back to see Jude staring at him with bright eyes. Suddenly he felt a bit shy. "Eh, it is still hot… You're awake?"

It was an obvious question.

Jude wanted to nod her head, but she didn't have the energy, so she just smiled softly.

"Here, finish this." Tang En gave the cup and spoon to Jude, and she looked at the black pasty substance and frowned.

"What… is this?" the girl asked.

"Sesame paste." In order to get it, Tang En had spent a long time looking for it, and had to go some distance to a larger Chinese supermarket. He did all this while Jude was still unconscious. The "black sesame paste" was a common remedy in China.

A strong fragrance came from the cup and went up Jude's nose. She took a deep breath and tried to take in the smell. It was definitely the smell of sesame.

She really wanted to try the sesame paste, but her hands had no strength to hold the cup and carry the spoon to her mouth.

Seeing that Jude hesitated, Tang En then realized the reason. Patients often need someone to feed them when they're sick. How could he forget that? So, he took the spoon from Jude's hand and held it in front of his own mouth.

Jude stared a him and realized that Tang En was actually blowing on it because he did not want the paste to burn her.

She lowered her head and softly said, "Thank you."

"Thanks for what?" Tang En put the spoon in front of her face.

"We've only known each other…" Tang En gently pushed the spoon into her mouth to stop her from speaking.

Hearing Jude talk like this, Tang En shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just didn't need the hassle of the police asking me why a pretty girl died in my house?"

Jude had not expected his teasing reply. He had a way with talking to girls. In response, she pretended to pout angrily and bit the spoon hard inside of her mouth. Tang En was surprised at the girl's reaction. He tried to take the spoon out of her mouth and failed. He stared at her.

Jude, who was still biting the spoon, gave him a triumphant look.

Tang En laughed, took out his phone, opened the camera function, and pointed it at Jude.

"What are you… ah?!" Jude, alarmed, forgot the spoon, opened her mouth to protest, and the spoon dropped onto the bed.

At that exact moment, Kacha! Tang En pressed the camera button.

"That was too perfect…"

Two days later, Jude was able to leave the hospital. She was diagnosed with a common cough and fever that had been intensified by the strain of travel and not enough rest. Tang En thought it had to be more complicated.

Constantine agreed and said that if the treatment did not continue to work and if the high fever returned, it could trigger a more dangerous illness, such as meningitis.

After she left the hospital, Jude was back to her energetic self again. She had no symptoms, and Tang En was relieved. He had just gone through Gavin's death. Tang En did not want to see anyone around him suffer, even if he had only been with the person for three short days.

Although he knew it was unusual that he already thought of Jude like he did others in his life, he did not think that there was anything wrong with it. The problem was, people got the impression that they were father and daughter. The nurse, Kate, that took care of Jude in the hospital for two days, was always calling them father and daughter. Tang En could not bring himself to explain the situation or Jude's background. Oddly, the name that Tang En did not like, "Uncle Tony", seemed to save him the trouble of explaining. Therefore, he had to let Jude refer to him as such, and it became his permanent name.

Furthermore, his voice had turned deeper and rougher from shouting during matches, and he even sounded older when he spoke. A 13-year-old girl calling him uncle was nothing, as long as he was not a creepy uncle.

Jude was very happy, and she always called him "Uncle Tony" even when she didn't want anything. It was a pet name. At first, Tang En thought that she only called him that when she wanted something from him. But soon he realized that wasn't the case at all, and he left it alone.

Once they were home, Tang En realized that his precious holiday time was almost over. This was his first holiday after becoming a manager, yet in the end he had done nothing.

The first third of his vacation had been spent in the pain and self-pity regarding his failure as a manager. His head had been very muddled during those days. The middle third of it he had been busy applying for a visa to China, which had ultimately been denied. And the remainder of his holiday was already partially used up because of Jude's arrival.

Tang En felt that he could not spend his time like this anymore, and he looked at Jude who had just recovered from her illness, and thought that he should take her somewhere fun. The poor girl had come from a bad family life. In the last three days, whenever Tang En asked about her parents, the outgoing girl would become silent immediately. It would be nice to give her some relief from all that.

About Jude's future, Tang En didn't allow himself to think. He could not think of any solutions, and he was not used to planning for things that had not yet happened. If the real Tony Twain were there, he might know what to do and how to handle it. Tang En only wanted to enjoy the rest of his vacation.

At the next morning's breakfast, Tang En looked at Jude who was eating a breakfast prepared by him and chatting away, and asked her what kind of place she would like to visit.

The little girl thought for a while and then shook her head. "I don't know."

Tang En sighed and had to decide on his own. He knew he didn't want to stay in the U.K.

He scanned the entire map of Europe in his mind and at last targeted the Iberian Peninsula that was located in Southern Europe.

"Let's go to Spain!" Tang En made the suggestion, and Jude raised up both of her hands to show that she agreed.

"Okay! Spain!"

Actually Tang En's decision to go to Spain was because there were some football clubs there that he had been interested in for a long time. Nottingham Forest was unable to compete in European matches, so he could use his holiday to observe and learn from these really powerful teams. If time had permitted, he would have taken a football trip around Europe to Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, and even the Eastern European countries.

Since he was already in Europe, not taking the chance to get in touch with these famous football clubs that were always on TV, would have been a waste.

Sometimes Tang En's mind as a fan was hard to resist. But at least he hadn't embarrassed himself by doing something silly like asking Michael Dawson for his autograph at the training ground.

For Jude, Tang En's suggestion of Spain was perfect. She was exited about the sun and the beaches in Spain.

Girls always had unrealistic fantasies at all ages. However, Tang En did not know this, and he was just glad that Jude agreed to his plan.

After that, everything was easily settled. He bought the plane tickets, and Tang En's football trip around Spain would start with the two clubs in the capital city of Madrid!

Chapter 76: The Holiday Is Over Part 1

"Look! This is the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium!" Tang En stood under the huge white wall, and pointed at the name on the wall as he said it happily. But Jude just yawned. They had been in Spain for a few days, and she thought that they would go to the beach or do some sightseeing. She had not expected that they would be visiting a stadium so early in the morning.

"Uncle Tony, have you not seen enough stadiums in your work?"

Tang En was so impressed by the grandiosity of Bernabéu Stadium that he did not see the dissatisfaction on Jude's face and in her tone. He shook his head. "How can that kind of middle school level stadium be compared with this football palace?"

This time Jude purposely yawned louder and with exaggeration, and Tang En finally noticed.

"Aren't you awake yet? I thought I asked you to go to sleep by 11 last night."

His reply made Jude feel hopeless, and she rolled her eyes and stopped yawning. "I did. I was just exercising my face muscles, a beauty trick."

"You are too young to be thinking about such things," Tang En laughed. After a few days of staying with this girl, he felt that she was very cute.

Sometimes he thought that if the girl really did not want to return to her adoptive parents, he could apply to adopt her. Though he did not know if he would feel like having a kid around in the future, he kind of liked his current life with the company of this outgoing angel. He was rarely bored, and having someone to bicker with made life more interesting.

"You really love football," Jude said it in a sarcastic tone.

"Don't you like it? I thought you came from Brazil." Tang En glanced at her.

"Of course! I am Brazilian. I like football, too. So let me change my words…. you do not just like it! You are obsessed with it! Obsessed!" Jude pointed at Tang En and announced loudly, "You are obsessed with football, just like how you can be obsessed with women!"

"What do you know about obsession with women!" Tang En let go of Jude's hand and pointed at her. "Football and women are two separate things. Are you hungry now? C'mon. I'll take you to get something to eat."

Jude thought it was weird that they were leaving. "Are you not going in?"

Tang En raised his head and looked at this magnificent stadium, then shook his head.

"Jude, I am a football manager. You know that right?"

Jude nodded, but she had no idea why he was asking.

"If the day ever comes when I enter this place," Tang En pointed at Bernabéu and said, "then there will only be two possible reasons why. One, because I brought my team here for a match. Or two, because I own the place."

Tang En's back was to her when he said this, and Jude could not see his face.

"Let's leave here and go to lunch! I'll take you to eat the famous Madrid ragout." Tang En held Jude's hand and left the football palace of his heart without looking back.

In the following days, Tang En took Jude to the home stadium of Madrid, Calderón, the home stadium of Barcelona, Camp Nou Stadium, and also to the Mestalla Stadium, which was the home stadium for Valencia. They rushed over to different cities as if they were running out of time, then roughly and briefly visited the stadiums in each city, and then went to the next destination.

Jude could only look at her beloved sun and beach from a distance, as well as the rippling sea far away from the windows on the train when they were passing the outskirts of Barcelona.

Although she had physically been in Spain for a week, she felt no different than being in Brazil or England. Did we go to Paradise City Malaga? Did we watch the famous bullfights? Did we go to the last land of heaven on the Mediterranean, Formentera Island? Did we go to the Seville Cathedral? Did we even go to Catedral de Santa Eulalia de Barcelona? We have not gone anywhere yet. All the hundreds of pictures in that phone's gallery are of football stadiums!

She sighed and looked at Tang En, who was sleeping beside her, and pouted.

The vacation that she had been looking forward to would be over soon. So boring!

Tang En, who was so sleepy, and Jude, who was pouting about the trip, did not know that while they were running around Spain, someone was frantically searching for them in England.

The gentleman Finnan's ritual was to read The Times newspaper after he finished his breakfast. After carefully reading the latest financial and political news, he saw a photo in the corner of one of the pages.

It was a notice for missing person. The extremely worried parents were asking for the public's help in finding their daughter who ran away from home. Beside the photo was a clear description of the girl, including her name, age, and height.

The photo caught Finnan's attention. He was sure he had seen her before. Then he realized that it was the girl from the cab, the sick one that had been curled up in Tony Twain's arms.

Although he did not know the whole story, he felt it was his responsibility to call the number in the notice about the missing girl.

While waiting for their flight at the Madrid Airport, Tang En tried to sort through the photos in his camera. This was indeed a huge, time-consuming process, and Tang En did not expect to finish it in just this one short hour. Jude was sitting opposite him, kicking her legs back and forth. The constant movement of the two snowy white legs was very distracting.

Tang En kept his original position, but was secretly looking up to examine the little girl closely.

She seemed to be bored and did not sit still on the chair. She was looking around as if she did not know what to do. Sometimes she pouted while watching the planes landing and taking off outside the window. And sometimes she took out her nail file to file her nails. Then her attention was soon on the long beard of a man who sat diagonal to her.

That's when Tang En realized that the whole time his mind had been on football and famous teams, and that he had unintentionally snubbed Jude. Despite this, Jude had not acted pissed off at all in front of him, and the most she ever did was sigh a lot or pout.

Tang En decided to try to do something for her, and he got up said, "Jude, I'll be back in a while. Just wait for me here."

When she heard Tang En talking to her, the sadness on her face immediately faded, and she nodded. "Okay, I will wait for you here."

Coming out of the waiting area, Tang En looked around the terminal for a souvenir gift shop. He had meant to buy her something, but he forgot about it when they were in the tourist places. It was hard to find something suitable now to make up for it.

Tang En was just looking around without any particular plan, and then he found a shop that sold souvenirs. The soft toys posing cutely in the display case caught his attention. He was sure that girls liked cute little creatures like them.

He went into the shop to pick out one that Jude might like. There are so many of them! Which one would be best? Finally, he stopped on the largest soft toy, and it was a Totoro. He remembered when he first met Jude, there was a mini Totoro hanging on her bag. This is the one!

After returning to the waiting area, Jude was still filing her nails with her head lowered, though there was nothing much left to file. Since she was distracted, Tang En decided to tease her.

He quietly went over behind Jude's seat and put the stuffed Totoro slowly in front of the girl. Tang En purposely lowered his voice to emulate the sound of Totoro.

"Waaaaa!" Jude almost jumped off from her chain from fright.

Tang En could not help but laugh loudly as he watched her pop up in her seat.

Jude realized that she had been teased by Tang En and frowned. She sat with her lips tightly closed and did not say anything. She only glared at Tang En, but Tang En could not see any real anger in her eyes. He handed over the soft toy to Jude, who was pretending to be agitated.

"See, this is for you. At first, I said I was taking you on a trip, but it turns out that you accompanied me in my pursuits. I have totally forgotten about your feelings." Tang En felt embarrassed as he said this, and he nervously touched his nose and scratched his head with his free hand and did not know where to put.

Jude made a "hmm" sound in reply to Tang En, noticing his embarrassment. But then she took the soft toy and hugged her face into the fluffy Totoro.

"Totoro!" she shouted with excitement into its fur

Seeing her mood was better, Tang En felt relieved.

His holiday was over, and he needed to face the new training for the upcoming season when he got back to Nottingham. Although the team was still on their holiday, he, as manager, had to prepare in advance. What if his work got super busy and irregular? Then how was he going to take care of Jude? He had to face the question that he had been avoiding for a week.

After one week's time with her, Tang En discovered many adorable and pleasing things about Jude. He felt that perhaps his life would not be so bland with the company of this outgoing little girl. Before he met Jude, his life was actually very simple and boring. Except for his job, he spent most of the time in bars and occasionally looked forward to Yang Yan's lessons.

If Jude also enjoyed spending time with him, why not just adopt her? Especially since she had been adopted by cruel parents. Actually, the real reason for wanting to adopt her—that Tang En kept hidden in his heart and maybe even from himself—was that this 13-year-old intelligent little girl made him think of another child, who would be around the same age as her, but would never have the chance to show his smile.

"Jude, do you still want to go home? Uh, I am referring to your home in Brazil."

Jude shook her head while she was happily playing with Totoro.

"Then…you…" Tang En did not know how to ask that question.

"I can just live with Uncle Tony. Don't worry. I will not make any trouble for you!"

This was what Tang En wanted to hear, and he grinned. However, his heart frowned. The child thinks that this is going to be an easy thing. Though Tang En had never adopted any children, he knew that the process would be complicated. It looks like this summer is going to be busier than usual. Maybe I'll have to find that lawyer, Jack Landy, to ask about legal procedures for adoption.

Tang En could not stand it as he watched Jude hugging the Totoro who was almost half her size. He shook his head and laughed. It was quite unexpected that he did not have wife, but had a child instead.

Chapter 77: The Holiday Is Over Part 2

Thinking of the lawyer, Tang En took his phone from his pocket. He had been shutting off his phone since he left Nottingham, as he did not wish to be disturbed in Spain. Because they were on their way home, he turned it back on.

He had just turned his phone on, when he saw that he had many messages. He glanced through all the names. There was Des Walker, Kenny Burns, and Ian Bowyer. Most of them were from people he knew. Perhaps these were all just casual calls. Then Pierce Brosnan's name appeared. The reporter had Tang En's number, but had never contacted him before. Tang En continued to scroll down and saw that Walker had sent him five messages in one day.

The content of the messages was generally the same, asking where he was, explaining that there was something urgent, and for Twain to call back as soon as he saw the text.

Tang En knew that Walker was not the kind of person who would mess around with him. If he was that anxious, it might mean that something major had happened.

So, he gave Walker a call.

"Tony? Tony! Tony where are you?" He had just answered and Walker immediately came at him with the question.

"I'm in the airport in Madrid."

"Oh, Sh*t! You're traveling?"

"Eh, yes. I went to Spain."

"Do you always shut down your phone when you travel?" Walker interrupted Tang En again.

"Hey, Des. What's going on?"

There was silence from Walker's side for a while, and then he sighed, "It's not something I should tell you over the phone. You just hurry back and find us at Forest Bar. The only thing I can tell you is that, Tony, you have a big problem to settle!"

Jude did not notice the change in Tang En's facial expression, as she was still playing with her Totoro toy. Tang En put his phone down and zoned out.

What kind of trouble? Serious to the extent that even Walker, who was always calm, was panicking?

Tang En brought Jude back to Branford Gardens Street in Nottingham and saw that a group of people was waiting for them. There was a white Ford car parked in front of his house with a middle-aged couple in it. The lady had a nice body with a lovely figure, and the man looked like a well-mannered, white collar type. In addition, there was a fat woman with them and a bunch of reporters all carrying cameras with excited faces. The mob was completely blocking the way from Tang En's small garden to his house.

Tang En stared at them. The abusive parents have found her? Fine. It would be better if this could be talked over face to face.

The woman saw Tang En and Jude, who was holding hands with him, and she became excited.

"Jude! Jude!" She shouted, walking toward her to take her hands, but Jude avoided her.

Tang En tried to protect the girl behind him and attempted to talk nicely with her parents. "Ma'am, I think—"

He was cut off by the lady who screamed, "Give me back my daughter!"

The man came up to pull back the overly excited lady, and then he nodded politely to Tang En. "I am sorry. My wife really misses her daughter."

Tang En was kind of pissed off at the neurotic woman, but he calmed a bit with the man who seemed more reasonable. "I understand, but I think we still need to—"

Before he finished his words, the man was frowning and yelling at Jude who was behind Tang En.

"Jude Jordana! Have you had your fun? The holiday is over!"

Tang En could feel that Jude was frightened, and he said to the man disapprovingly, "Please mind your words, she is a child…"

The man did not bother about Tang En and, continuing to stare at Jude, said to her in harsh tone, "Jude, do you want me to repeat my words? Do you know how worried your mom was? As soon as we heard you were here, we came to wait for you, and we've been waiting for you for days! It's time to come back with us, now!"

Tang En was confused by what was going on, and he turned back to look at Jude, who was hiding behind him. The girl hugged the Totoro toy in front of her, only showing her eyes, which looked at the two men with fright.

"Jude, what is he talking about?" Tang En frowned.

The girl kept silent for a while, but eventually lowered her head down. She said softly, "They're my parents."

"Your abusive adoptive parents?"

The man looked at Tang En, wondering what in the world he was talking about.

Jude shook her head. "They are my biological parents. Sorry, Uncle Tony. I lied to you. There are no cruel adoptive parents. My dad and mom wanted me to train as a model during vacation, but I didn't want to. I hate the boring training and the vicious trainer! So I just told them that I came to England to visit my Auntie, and then I came here…"

Tang En closed his eyes and shook his head. He actually got conned by this little girl! Do my instincts and better judgment drop when faced with cute children? He opened his eyes and saw the fat old woman approaching him. And this is the Auntie Ryan that Jude spoke of? God… I even imagined living with her!

The man pulled Jude away from Tang En and said, "I am thankful to you for caring for Jude all this time. We're sorry about the trouble she caused you. Thank you." He said the words with very little heart and then took Jude to the car.

The door closed. Tang En saw Jude look back at him, and then she was hugged tightly by her weeping mom.

The old woman came up to him and shouted angrily, "You better have a good lawyer! You can expect a court summons soon!" After spewing the harsh words, the old woman also went to the car, which sank down when she got in inside.

When she was yelling at Tang En, all the reporters were taking pictures as if they had finally obtained some valuable news. However, Tang En was in no mood to bother about the old woman's threats and reporters' harassment. He was stunned and just blankly watched the car drive off. In the car, Jude sat in between her parents with her head lowered and did not turn back.

The large stuffed Totoro toy had been left on the road, and its white fur had some dust on it, which made it seem dirty.

Tang En bent down, picked it up, and dusted it off softly. After that, he sighed while looking at this poor creature with round eyes and its mouth opened, yet unable to talk.

He then turned and looked at the frenzied media reporters. Unexpectedly, he did not throw any harsh language at them and only walked back to his house with his luggage.

The holiday is over, isn't it?

Although Tang En did not really feel like it, he still went to Burns' Forest Bar to meet Walker. For him, losing Jude and possibly getting a court summons was too much trouble. What else could be more serious than that?

But Walker had news that would shock Tang En out of his muddleheaded state.

"Tony, we heard about Jude. But I advise you to put that out of your mind because you have bigger trouble." Walker put a few Nottingham local newspapers on the table and told Tang En to read.

--Nottingham Forest receives financial support from America!

--Nigel Doughty has officially retired, and his son Edward Doughty is going to replace him as the new chairman of Nottingham Forest

--New chairman, new manager

Below this news was a picture of two people. Tang En recognized the one on the left as Edward Doughty. The one on the right, who was shaking hands with Edward and grinning from ear to ear, he did not recognize.

"Who is he?" Tang En pointed at the photo and asked.

Walker answered, "Stan Collymore. The new head manager of Forest."

Tang En looked at Walker unbelievably, his eyes widening with the growing anger and shock. Walker looked away and said softly, "Edward said he wanted to contact you, but your phone was off. The League matches are going to start on the 9th of August and it's already the end of June. He said that the team needed to confirm the head manager as soon as possible."

"So my manager's title is f*cking useless now?!" Tang En shouted. Too many awful things had happened in one day, and he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

Burns put his hand on Tang En's shoulder. "Calm down, Tony."

"How can you ask me to calm down, Kenny? When the team was handed over to me, what was the situation? We made it to the playoffs, and now he wants to replace me! What do you—"

"Tony!" Burns raised his voice and tightened his grip on Tang En's shoulder. "You're forgetting… the word 'substitute' has always been in front of your title!"

Tang En was stunned to hear this. Burns was right. He was just a substitute manager. Though he had done so much for the team, and Nigel had said that he would fully support him, there had been no contract made that removed the "substitute" from his title. What gave him the illusion that he was already the real manager?

Walker continued to explain. "Tony, though Edward's decision is very unacceptable from an emotional standpoint, the truth is, he did not do anything wrong. The contract you signed with the club as a substitute manager was until the end of this season. Originally, Nigel had said that he wanted to have you sign a formal contract after your performance in half of the season. However, who knew that he would announce his retirement right after this season?"

Tang En collapsed in his chain and muttered to himself, "So, I must return to managing the youth team with nothing gained for my efforts? Right?"

No one answered his question. He gazed intensely at Edward Doughty and Stan Collymore on the newspaper, as if he could see through them.

Chapter 78: The New Manager Part 1

Twain stood outside the gates of the Wilford training base. Ian MacDonald noticed that he had stood outside for several minutes, but had not come in.

"Tony?"

Twain turned to look at the old guard. "Evan's not here yet?"

MacDonald shrugged and shook his head. "It is only eight o'clock, he won't be here this early. He's been coming in at nine o'clock for the past week or so."

Twain nodded and walked towards the guard's room. "Do you mind if I sit here a while?"

MacDonald opened the door. "No, I don't mind at all. Sometimes it's pretty boring to sit here alone. It will be nice to have someone to accompany me and chat with."

Twain stood at the door and looked at the small guard room with a chair, a table, several spread-open newspapers, an antique-looking radio, a water glass, and a kettle. The room could not sit two people at all; there weren't even enough chairs.

He simply leaned against the door frame.

MacDonald looked at Twain. "Tony, you know about... the matter?"

"Which matter?" Twain was a little distracted. He leaned against the door frame, but his gaze was on the small white building inside the gate.

MacDonald glanced back at the newspaper that was on the table. It was no wonder Twain had responded this way.

Ex-Forest manager was suspected of kidnapping an underage girl!

Manager Tony Twain was going to face charges!

Collymore talks about the new season: I'm back to lead the Forest team out of this quagmire!

Polls: 46% of the Forest team fans support Collymore coaching the team, 42% are against and 2% do not care.

Both of those major events were headaches for Twain.

Just as MacDonald was hesitating whether to repeat his question, Twain spoke first instead. "Ian, do you like Collymore?"

MacDonald did not expect this question, and did not know how to answer. Twain could clearly see that he was in a predicament. So, he gave him a smile and said, "It's okay, Ian, tell me what you really think."

"Umm… How I should say it? I think most of Forest's fans will love that guy, even though his behavior outside of the field was embarrassing… It's complicated." MacDonald had finally given his opinion of Collymore. "We have complicated feelings about that guy."

"Love and hate?" Twain asked.

MacDonald nodded. "Yes, we miss the glory days when he played for the Forest team, but at the same time we don't like the scandals he made outside the field."

"Well, in that case, do you think he can lead the Forest team back to the Premier League?"

MacDonald pondered Twain's question for a long time. Looking at the old guard's awkwardness, Twain knew he did not need an answer.

He picked up the newspaper on the table and looked at the three poll figures. As if talking to himself, he said, "Well, I'm happy that at least 42% of people support me. Bye, Ian."

Twain went through the gate and walked to his office—If it still belonged to him.

When he heard Twain's tone, MacDonald suddenly felt a trace of unease. "Tony! You will stay on for the Forest team, won't you?"

Twain looked back at the white-haired old guard and smiled. "Maybe. No one can predict the future, Ian. You know me… the man who never makes plans for the future. So…"

MacDonald nodded. "I understand. Good luck, Tony."

"Thank you. And good luck to you too, Ian."

After leaving MacDonald, Twain turned and continued ahead. Just then, he heard the roar of the engine coming from behind, and the clatter of iron gate opening. Without turning his head, he knew who was coming.

A familiar dark red Audi A6 parked beside him. Evan Doughty got out of the car and walked around it towards Twain. "Good morning, Tony."

"Good morning, Mr. Chairman," Twain replied.

"Oh, come off it! We don't have to be so formal!" Evan used the tone of two old friends reuniting, and patted Twain's shoulder. "I know you have something you want to say to me, and it just happens that I'm looking for you too. Let's walk and talk." He tapped the car window to tell the driver to take the car to the parking lot first.

He and Twain then walked to the training ground.

"It was really hard to find you. Was Spain fun? I heard there are a lot of amazing nude beaches!"

"The trip was okay."

The two men did not head to the office for a serious sit-down discussion. Instead, they stood at the sidelines of the training ground and watched the turf maintenance workers preparing for the first training two days later, while appearing to have a casual chat.

"Tony, I know what you're here to talk to me about."

"Evan, do you really know Stan Collymore?" Twain asked. He wanted to know why his successor was not Terry Venables, Stuart Pearce, or anyone but Stan Collymore.

Other than his beautiful goals, he was infamous for his continuous string of scandals. This was a man who was called "a complete dog" by the British media.

When he was still a footballer, Collymore had started off in Crystal Palace and, because he was unable to adapt to professional football, had gone to the Southern League's semi-professional team, Southend United.

It was there that he had quickly become the top striker, and attracted the attention of the then Premier League team, Nottingham Forest.

It was in this Premier League football club that Collymore had become a real star player. Because of his outstanding performance, he transferred to The Reds in Liverpool for a high price of 8.5 million pounds, and then became a stunning superstar player at Anfield Stadium's Kop.

He and Fowler, his attacking partner, swept across England, where they were naturally chosen for the English national team.

However, the brilliant striker was ruined by his unbridled lifestyle.

Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman were Liverpool's famous playboys. Whenever they got together, no elaborate introduction was required; one could imagine that the key words to describe them were "raunchy, beautiful women, and sex."

In 2001, Collymore transferred to Real Oviedo, which was still in La Liga. However, three months before the end of the contract, he suddenly announcement his retirement, which was a huge blow to the team. After that, the team was relegated to La Liga 2, and dropped down three levels within two years, reduced to the fourth division of the Spanish league.

And Collymore continued his controversial and raunchy lifestyle outside the field.

After retiring, Collymore quickly found a job as a guest football commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live, but did not settle down.

After his ex-girlfriend, Ulrika Jonsson, who was the English national team's manager Eriksson's rumored girlfriend at that time, published an autobiography describing him as "a beast" and "a monster." Collymore, severely damaged by it, threatened to release a compromising videotape of Ulrika for sale!

Collymore's lawyers used a lot of vivid phrases to describe the kind of impact that this videotape would have. Furthermore, he said that his employer wanted to release the tape to the world, and he had the digital copyright, film adaptation rights, and so on. As long as someone had the money, everything was up for discussion. There was absolutely no concern about copyright or likeness infringements.

It scared Ulrika to tears.

What happened next was even more outrageous.

Collymore was exposed by two reporters at The Sun for his participation at sex-in-the-car parties; simply put, he hooked up with gorgeous women in England's famous woodland parking lot in Staffordshire, and then had sexual relations with them in or outside of the car. The woodland parking lot was known to everyone in British celebrity circles, because the car park was among the best car parks in England, and it was also a hunting ground for some celebrities. Cory was obsessed with this lifestyle, even though four miles away from the parking lot, his childhood sweetheart and wife, Estelle Williams, was waiting for him to come home every night.

Later, he even declared that this was the future lifestyle of England. This angered the British public and for a time, and he became the subject of everyone's contempt.

Under an enormous amount of pressure, Collymore was forced to resign from BBC 5 station, publicly apologized in the media, cried for public forgiveness, and pledged to be a new person.

And then...

"And then you gave him a chance to be a new man again, Evan." Twain said with a hint of irony.

"I know about everything you just said, Tony. You and my dad both thought I knew nothing about football in this country but I'm actually quite aware. Allan Adams recommended Collymore to me and I have seriously reviewed his resume. I don't think we can negate a person's future because of his past. There are many examples of retired players becoming good managers: Kevin Keegan, Stuart Pearce… not to mention, and the legendary figure of this team that you all admired the most, Brian Clough, was also a player who directly became a manager."

Twain quietly looked at Evan Doughty and did not express any opinions on his unconvincing examples and excuses.

"And...Tony, you may not know this yourself, but personally I've always treated you as a friend. You have a straightforward personality, and I like that very much." Evan Doughty looked at Twain.

"What am I supposed to say? That I'm overwhelmed and flattered by your favor?" Twain shrugged his shoulders. He did not appreciate the sentiment, "Since you think of me as a friend, then you would rather trust a person who is dodgy in his personal affairs than trust in a friend?"

Chapter 79: The New Manager Part 2

Edward Doughty squinted in the stadium under the hot sun, and then turned to Tang En. "Tony, I watched the playoffs. Do you know why I did not choose you?" He did not continue, but was waiting for Twain to give the answer. If Tony Twain were smart enough, he would know the reason.

"Because I lost?" Tang En answered.

Edward smiled and did not reply.

"So, just because I failed, you chose a newbie. What if he also loses at the end of this season? Are you going to find someone else to replace him? Edward, do you really know anything about this sport?!" Tang En raised his voice and questioned him.

Edward did not become angry in the face of Twain's anger. He looked up at the blue sky, and then looked at the training grounds in the distance. A glitter reflected from the sun shining on the green turf, caused by the water drops left by the sprinklers.

"Tony, you can be Collymore's assistant manager. I believe that you would do a good job together." Edward spoke slowly as he gazed far away.

Tang En looked at Doughty, the new chairman of the club, and shook his head in disappointment. "Edward, I hope you know that I, Tony Twain, would never be anyone's assistant, and no one deserves to have me as his assistant. I am glad that you treat me like a friend. See you."

After he said this, he put on his sunglasses and left the place without hesitating.

He had no idea whether he had any chance to come back there. Yes, he planned to leave. Before he was too emotionally invested, it would be easy to leave Nottingham with no hesitation.

Twain's dismissal by the new chairman had spread through the industry very quickly. In his pocket he already had three paper slips with other club's contact numbers written on them. Those who called him said, "We were truly impressed by your achievements and coaching style during the last half season, and my club will always welcome you, Mr. Tony Twain."

This slightly improved Tang En's mood, because he knew that the effort he had put in during the half season was not totally meaningless, and that he would be accepted elsewhere. Although none of them were Premier League teams, there were two teams that were the same level as Forest. The last one was from League Two.

Tang En went out the main gate and said goodbye to Ian MacDonald, and then walked home slowly down the quiet boulevard. While he looked at the patches of training ground that showed through the dense forest, he knew that it was time to make the decision. Whether to stay here and be the manager of the youth team, or go to another team and be their manager.

Tang En was long gone, but Edward Doughty remained standing at the side of the field as if he had great interest in the work of turf maintenance. Actually, he was only staring through the training ground, looking at the sky.

The sound of footsteps came up behind him and then stopped.

"He's gone already, Edward?" someone with a sharp voice asked.

Edward nodded. "Yes, he left."

"Is he going to leave this place?"

"I am not sure, but I think perhaps."

"Such a pity," the voice replied. "If only he had more patience…"

"Actually, I can understand him, Allan. Anyone who was in his position would choose to leave immediately. It would be a miracle if he stayed," Edward Doughty sighed.

Edward turned and looked at the man behind him with golden hair. "Allan, we will succeed, right?"

Allan Adams, Edward Doughty's financial advisor and his roommate at Harvard University, was his most trusted assistant and friend. He nodded. "Don't worry. My plan is perfect. The financial situation of this club is worse than we estimated, but I still see great potential in it. You must do this in order to own the club yourself."

Edward nodded to show that he understood. "But…" He looked in the main gate's direction, shrugging his shoulder. "I really like Tony. If he became our enemy in the end, that would be too unfortunate."

Whose misfortune would it be? Forest's? His? Or Tony Twain's?

Tang En did not forget there was another thing for him to deal with while he was making a decision about his future. The media that had been camped outside his house had not left yet, and it seemed that they had planned to stay there even longer. Tang En felt like a guy going to meet a prostitute whenever he came and went form his house, like he was avoiding being seen by people.

Tang En really wanted to use Chinese to scold those idiot reporters who shouted, "Readers have the right to know the truth!"

At least he was able to control himself. There was no reason anyway, because they would not understand Chinese. Besides, everything was so up in the air, he did not want to create more trouble.

Tang En hid himself at home that afternoon, searching for the lawyer Jack Landy's phone number. He needed to find out about the court summons that he might face.

"I told you, Mr. Twain, that you would be famous," Landy laughed after listening to Twain describe the whole story. He did not seem too worried. "I have already heard of your story from the newspapers. Although you insist that you did not, nor ever would kidnap a child, that means nothing in the eyes of the law. But the real problem is that the media is reporting that a professional football manager is suspected of kidnapping a girl. I've seen the photos and reports… Mr. Twain, have you received a court summons yet?"

"It's only been a day, how is that possible?" Tang En asked.

"So let me evaluate your current situation, Mr. Twain."

Tang En suddenly interrupted Landy. "Mr. Landy, have you started charging me already?"

Landy laughed. "Not yet, Mr. Twain. This is a free consultation to thank you for allowing me to experience some dramatic moments in the FA Cup. So, back to the subject. If the relationship between you and the girl is as you have described, I think there is no need for you to worry. First of all, the girl's parents are the ones who must decide whether to prosecute you, and not her English auntie. Also, international prosecution is difficult. Even if they really want to prosecute you, they'll have to make their way to England. Honestly speaking, if the girl has nothing to say against you, then why would her parents come all the way here to prosecute you? When you returned the girl to her parents, she was healthy and happy, right? Am I making sense to you?"

"Yes," Tang En replied.

"I think anyone in their right mind would not prosecute you. If it were not for you caring for her, who knows if they would have gotten their child back? But don't forget that, according to the law, your actions could be considered as kidnapping. However, if they do not intend to prosecute you, or if they do, but the court rejects the case, you will be considered innocent. Of course, if you do receive a court summons, do not worry. I will be your lawyer and plead your case. Additionally, Mr. Twain, I have a piece of advice for you."

"Yes?"

"If the girl's family does not intend to prosecute you, you might consider prosecuting the media that has damaged your reputation. Actually, I have always hated The Sun. If this really happened, I will be more than pleased to be your lawyer. But not for free, of course."

Tang En laughed out loud. His bad mood surrounding the "prosecution" rumor was immediately gone. "What a brilliant idea, Landy! Yes, I will definitely think about this plan." He pulled back the curtain and looked at the reporters who still waited outside his house.

He had been struggling with all the media that was everywhere he went, but Landy's words cheered him up.

After he hung up the phone, Tang En looked at the Totoro soft toy that he had placed on his table. Actually, he was not fond of this kind of fluffy soft toy, but he kept it in his room. The cute Totoro did not at all match Tang En's masculine bachelor-pad.

He was not sure why he kept it. Maybe he just sat it there and forgot to take it out. Or maybe it was for other reasons?

Uncle Tony? Uncle Tony! Uncle Tony…

Tang En turned his head, but he could not hear anything.

That clear and melodious calling had gradually faded.

Chapter 80: The Reception Part 1

After tossing and turning in bed the entire night, Tang En was still considering that question—should he stay in Nottingham Forest?

…What were the pros and cons of leaving or staying, what kind of effect it would have on his future, how it would impact his life, and whether success would be guaranteed if he were to move to a new city and start again…

These questions circled in his mind, making him feel distracted. It was as if his brain had become an old computer that would always stop responding for a period when he was dealing with those tedious problems.

When dawn came the next morning, Tang En still had no clear answer. He hated making detailed plans for his future and was not good at predicting his own fate. He had avoided such multiple-choice-type questions as much as possible in his past 26 years, and now he could avoid them no longer.

Yesterday, he almost impulsively blurted out, "I have decided to leave Forest!" in front of Edward. As the saying went: "If there's no place for me here, there will be a place for me somewhere." But after one night, Tang En hesitated when that initial anger from the deep sense of abandonment gradually faded.

At this point, it would be so nice if someone could counsel him and recommend something from an objective point of view. Or even if no one could give advice, someone to just listen to his troubles would be nice.

Tang En climbed out of bed and planned to start a new day, even though he did not know what to expect of that new day.

He had just finished washing up in the bathroom when he heard his cell phone ring in the bedroom.

Could it be another club that had taken a liking to him and wanted to talk to him about managing their team? Feeling uncertain, Tang En ran back to the bedroom and answered the call from an unfamiliar number.

A female voice said, "Mr. Tony Twain?"

"Ah, it's me, I'm Twain. Who's calling?"

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Barbara Clough, Brian Clough's wife."

"Oh!" Tang En immediately changed his tone and even unconsciously straightened his body. "Mrs. Clough. What can I do for you?"

"Don't be so nervous, child," Mrs. Clough laughed on the other end of the line. "Do you have any plans today?"

Tang En shook his head without hesitation. "Nothing, ma'am. I'm free all day."

"That's great. Brian would like you to accompany him to the League Managers Association's reception."

He did not understand why the old chap would suddenly want to bring him to a reception. They had not had any form of contact since he had visited Clough. But the experience of that day had left a deep impression on Tang En. He knew that the old chap did everything for a reason.

"It would be my honor to do so, ma'am," Tang En quickly replied with a nod. "Would you like me to pick up Mr. Clough at your place?"

"Oh, no. There's no need. Nigel will pick you up in his car. They know where you live. You just wait at home. I think they should almost be there."

As soon as Mrs. Clough finished, Tang En heard the honking sound of the car horn from outside. He pulled open the bedroom curtains and saw a white Ford sedan parked down the road.

"Oh my God! Look who's sitting in that car!"

"It's Brian Clough! How long has it been since he last showed up?"

"Hey, Clough, how's your health?"

"I heard that you've just recovered from a liver transplant. Will you please… can you open the window and accept a brief interview?"

The reporters near Tang En's house suddenly became excited after they saw the car appear, and their camera flashed repeatedly around the white Ford sedan.

Tang En saw the scene from his bedroom on the second floor. Without Mrs. Clough telling him, he already knew who was sitting in the car.

"Yes, ma'am, they are here."

"Well, go on, child. I hope you'll have a good time."

"Thank you, Madam. You have a good day, too."

Tang En hung up the phone and threw a jacket on as he ran down. To be invited by this legend to participate in the reception… it would be a lie to say that he was not secretly pleased. At this point, Tang En admitted he was as happy as a child who had been brought to the playground by his parents as a reward for good grades. As for what he should choose for his future, he had already put it in the back of his mind.

Opening the door, Tang En slightly calmed himself, and then strode toward the car.

When the reporters saw Twain come out, they immediately pointed their cameras at him, and there were some who wanted to ask him questions. But Tang En did not give them the chance. He quickly got into the car and closed the door tightly.

The old man sitting next to him reached his hand out and said to him, "I am very glad to see that there will soon be a second Fleet Street near your place." Fleet Street was synonymous with the British media, because all the British newspaper corporations and television stations were once concentrated on that street in central London. Of course, now with the relocation of many media companies, the street was no longer such a place.

A middle-aged man sitting in the driver's seat laughed. Tang En could not see what the other man looked like, but he knew that this man was Clough's son, Nigel.

Tang En was a little embarrassed. He reached out and shook hands with Clough, and then Nigel turned around, smiled, and shook his hand. "Nigel Clough. Nice to meet you."

The reporters outside the car pressed their camera shutters in a frenzy to take pictures of these three men together. Even though they did not know why Clough had come there to meet Tony Twain, they could always use these photographs for something.

Seeing the enthusiastic crowd outside, Brian Clough held Twain's hand again and gestured to him to face the window and smile. Tang En did not understand why he had to do so, but he did it anyway. This roused the media again, and the flashes made Tang En a little dizzy. But when he was about to crease his brows, the old man said to him, "Smile, son."

With their faces smiling, they just shook hands and gave the reporters a full minute to take their pictures. Then Tang En looked at Clough in puzzlement.

The old man gave a wry grin. "During my time, the press was like this too. You have to learn to make use of them." Then he knocked on the back of the driver's seat. "Let's go, Nigel."

The reporters gave way to the car. It looked like they were still quite afraid of Brian Clough. As Tang En was watching the reporters holding their cameras, he repeatedly thought about Mrs. Clough's parting words to him.

The League Managers Association was unfamiliar to Tang En, as if it were a new firm suddenly emerged from some dark corner. But in fact, this was an influential organization in the English football world. Founded in the 1990s, it was the only official representative organization of the football managers in England.

This union was divided into two different associations—the executive board and the non-executive board. The difference between the two was the responsibility for specific management matters. Brian Clough was the Vice President of the non-executive board, along with Sir Bobby Robson. And the President of the non-executive board was Kevin Keegan, who was less experienced and younger than they were. The Chairman of the executive board, responsible for specific management matters was Howard Wilkinson, and the Chief Executive was John Barnwell. Dave Bassett, Sir Alex Ferguson, and David Pleat were all committee members of the executive board.

The members of the League Managers Association were mostly managers and assistant managers of the 92 football clubs, as well as the managers who had been laid off for less than a year. Based on this condition, Twain could still be counted as a member of the League Managers Association.

This reception was not simply for everyone to get together to drink and chat—although there would be drinking and chatting. There was another reason to gather everyone. First of all, it was to congratulate Sir Alex Ferguson who had just won the Manager of the Decade in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards. Secondly, it was to congratulate the Everton manager, Moyes, on being elected and awarded with the 2002-03 LMA Manager of the Year by the League Managers Association.

Nigel took his father and Twain to the reception at Sheffield, said he would pick them up at two o'clock in the afternoon, and then drove away. Tang En was a little surprised by this.

"Isn't Mr. Nigel coming with us?" On the way, Tang En had heard that Nigel was a manager, too. However, he was only part time, as he was also a player for the team he managed. He had led his Burton Albion team and won the Southern League Cup in the 01-02 season.

Clough shook his head. "He's only a player-manager of a non-league team. He's not eligible for this reception. Besides, he's busy with his own matters. Let's go."

The reception was held at a small hotel bar on the second floor. Tang En was dazzled when he followed Clough and stepped through the door. He saw many people who he could only normally see on television screens, mingling and chatting with their glasses in their hands in the reception hall. At one point, the England National Team Swedish manager, Eriksson, walked past him to the most central part of the room where most people congregated.

His gaze followed Eriksson and found that this England National manager's target was Ferguson, surrounded by a cluster of people!

These were all the big-name managers!

But Tang En's heart rate did not increase, his mouth was not dry, and he was not tongue-tied or weak in his hands and legs. Because the real world-class manager was standing beside him.

A red-faced old man with silver hair welcomed Twain and Clough when he saw them come in through the door.

"Brian, how's your health? I heard you had a liver transplant at the beginning of this year." He spoke with a strong voice, and his movements were vigorous, which were completely incongruent with his aged appearance.

Clough slightly shrugged his shoulders. "I think the old boss up there, God, doesn't want me to come up yet."

The silver-haired old man chuckled and turned his gaze to Twain, who stood beside Clough. "Mr. Tony Twain, I'm glad to meet you."

"I'm also very pleased to meet you, Sir Bobby Robson." Tang En respectfully extended his hand to express his respect for that famous English manager.

"I heard that you had some trouble recently. Do you need help from the League Managers Association?"

Tang En did not know which "trouble" Robson referred to. He deliberated for a moment, then he decided not to talk in riddles with the manager and pretend to know when he did not. So, he asked, "I'm sorry, Sir. But which trouble are you referring to?"

Robson laughed again. "I forgot you have more than one trouble!"

A waiter holding a tray came up and stood next to the three men. Robson took a glass of red wine for himself and then got a glass of whisky for Clough. Tang En hesitated for bit before he chose a whisky for himself.

With a drink in his hand, Clough was more animated than when he first stepped in. He said to Robson, "I think we should suggest that the association set up an annual Most Unlucky Manager award, and you can then personally hand the first trophy to him." He pointed at Tony Twain with the glass in his hand.

This time, Tang En and Robson laughed together. In his first meeting with Clough, Tang En had experienced this old Englishman's humor during conversations, and now he became the target of his humor. But he felt very happy. Why? Because it meant that Clough treated him as one of his own people.

After laughing, Robson said to Twain, "Stan Collymore was a good footballer, but not a good manager. I don't understand why the new chairman of the Forest team chose him."

"It's very simple: because Doughty, that old man's son, is an American." Clough shrugged and said, "Bobby, do you expect those Yankees to understand our sport?"

Although the topic of their discussion was related to him, Tang En seemed to be more like an audience. He could not quite interrupt the conversation between the two football bigwigs. He stood beside Clough as if he were the boss' personal assistant—if Clough were to take off his suit jacket, he would surely have had Tang En hold it for him.

He did not mind holding his jacket or helping the manager with little things. But he disliked the feeling that somehow, he was being excluded. So, he decided to express his opinion. After all, they were discussing his business, weren't they?

"Um, thank you for your concern, Sir Robson. But I think maybe it's time for me to have a change of scenery," said Tang En who pretended to be light and easy.

Clough did not follow up on Twain's words. He brought his drink to his lips, but he was looking blankly ahead at the spot where most people were. No one knew what was on his mind. Tang En did not know, either. There was a momentary awkward silence between the three men.

Chapter 81: The Reception Part 2

Tang En did not know what was wrong with what he had just said. In short, there was an awkward silence.

Luckily, Robson quickly rescued Twain from the awkward situation. He smiled and said, "Maybe, maybe not. Mr. Twain, did you know I was born in Newcastle, but I didn't get the chance to coach my hometown team until I was 66 years old? Before that, I wandered everywhere, Holland, Portugal, Spain... Mr. Twain, you are much luckier than I, this old man. So, would you like the League Managers Association to provide you with legal assistance for those troublesome charges?"

Tang En shook his head and declined Robson's kind offer. "Thank you, Sir, but I have found a lawyer who will file the lawsuit on my behalf."

"That's good." Robson nodded and said, "Put aside your troubles and enjoy the reception. Have a good time." After that, both Robson and Clough left and walked toward a group of old men. They were the ex-managers of the England National Team. Or perhaps they were rivals when they were managers, but that did not stop them from drinking and chatting together after their retirements.

That was life and football.

No one introduced or warmly welcomed him into the circle, and Tang En had some doubts about Clough's intention in bringing him to the reception. He had not received an invitation from the League Managers Association before. Had Clough purely done it on a whim, or was it because his son, Nigel, had to leave and needed someone to accompany the old man who had just recovered from his operation?

Tang En stood at the door and sized up the lively venue. It was a large bar, but it was not as dazzling and high-society as Tang En had imagined. It was just a bigger place than the average bars people gathered to chat and drink in. People were coming and going as they pleased. Tang En knew some of them back when he was a fan and had seen their faces on television. He also saw rivals he had encountered when he coached the Forest team. But he did not know most of their names and backgrounds.

Ferguson was surrounded by a lot of people who were congratulating the Premier League Manager of the Decade and paying him all sorts of compliments. Flattery was not exclusive to any nation or race; it was popular everywhere. Ferguson smilingly accepted the congratulations from the others. He was in a very good mood after Manchester United overturned Arsenal and won the Premier League title for that season.

But Tang En did not intend to join in the fun. Firstly, he and Sir Alex were not familiar with each other. Secondly, he had a proud character and did not like to follow the crowd. If the crowd were to leave Sir Alex Ferguson alone at this point, he would take the initiative to go up and congratulate him. But if most people were doing the same thing, he would think it was beneath his dignity to do so. He did not necessarily dislike Ferguson and his accomplishments. It was purely driven by his character.

Everyone liked to join in the fun, but he deliberately stayed in the corner. Just like his regular seat in the Forest Bar, he was in the farthest corner. He had walked around till he was in a corner with no one. He coolly watched the group of people and did not step into the excitement of this circle. These men were the managers of the professional clubs, the real managers. But he was nothing but a substitute who was fired.

Ferguson was the focal point of the room. Even standing before these accomplished retirees, he knew he could have a place that belonged to him.

Tang En randomly found an empty seat and slowly sipped his whisky. Feeling slightly bored, he started playing the "spot a familiar face" game to see how many faces he could recognize.

He recognized a lot of faces that he had previously heard of in name, but had rarely seen. However, he did not see two foreign managers in the crowd. One was Claudio Ranieri, the manager of Chelsea, which was rumored to be in the middle of an acquisition. Perhaps many people in this room did not know what was going to happen, but Tang En knew that very soon, The Tinkerman, Claudio Ranieri, was about to become the object of their jealousy. It was June 27th. If he remembered correctly, on July 1st or 2nd, the Chelsea officials would publicly announce that Abramovich was the official new owner of the London club. Bates had originally bought the Chelsea club for just ￡1, and now he had sold it for ￡60,000,000. And with all his debts totally wiped cleaned, it was a good deal. Tang En had a regret: why had he not transmigrated to before 1982, and then been ahead of this Jewish man to buy Chelsea at the cost of a pound?

The other one was Ferguson's arch-rival in the Premier League for a decade, the French manager of Arsenal, Arsène Wenger.

Tang En thought about it, and Wenger's absence was understandable. This Frenchman was almost incompatible with the entire English football community. He never sat down with a rival manager after a match to have a drink. Even though that was an English football tradition, "Le Professeur" Wenger had no intention of following it. In his view, many of the English football traditions were decadent and deep-seated problems that blocked the development of football in the country.

In this respect, Tang En fully agreed. He too did not think that it was a good tradition to smoke and drink during halftime and discuss how to play in the second half.

While Tang En was in a daze, someone came up beside him. "Excuse me, has someone taken this seat?" he asked politely. Tang En did not respond, and he reflexively shook his head.

"Thank you." The person sat down and put out his hand to introduce himself to Twain. "Hello, I'm David Moyes."

Upon hearing this name, Tang En slightly shook his body to pull himself out of his reverie and turned to look at the young manager with some surprise. He had slightly pale skin, a skinny, sharp face, light-brown short hair, and gray eyes. It was the Everton manager, David Moyes!

"Ah! Hello, I'm Tony Twain. Very nice to meet you." Tang En quickly reached his hand out to respond in kind.

"Likewise." Moyes took back his hand and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Why are you sitting here alone?"

"I'm not too fond of crowds," said Tang En with a shrug, and then he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten one thing. "Congratulations on winning the LMA Manager of the Year last season."

"Thank you." Moyes gave a modest smile. Last season was the first time he had managed a Premier League team. He had not expected to succeed. Tang En favored this young manager because he had followed the Everton matches closely. Everton received the sponsorship of the Chinese Electronics firm, Kejian, in the 02-03 season. Two Chinese players came to the team to try out and train. Finally, Li Tie successfully remained to play in the Premier League and wore an Everton jersey with Chinese characters printed on the chest.

Tang En did not know what to say next. They would have fallen into an awkward silence, but Moyes suddenly spoke up. "I remember now, Mr. Twain. You're the manager of Nottingham Forest!"

The words stabbed at Tang En's sore spot. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I used to be."

"Although I'm managing a Premier League team, our family still regularly watches Preston North End's matches. My eldest son is a loyal fan of Preston North End. He sometimes talked to me about PNE's opponents, but he talked the most about Nottingham Forest. Do you know why?"

Tang En did not answer. He just looked at the smiling Moyes.

"Because the Forest team has an impressive manager. My son said so. The Forest team was the team with the biggest difference in their performance between the first and second half of the season. If you're worried about where to go, it would be better to go to Preston North End. I believe the people there would welcome you."

Behind the three phone numbers in Tang En's pocket, there was no Preston North End name. But Moyes's remarks tempted him a little. He sat in his seat and pondered. Moyes did not bother him. He just drank his wine.

At this time, Tang En saw Clough wave to him from the crowd. He quickly apologized to Moyes beside him. "I'm sorry, the Boss is calling me. It was nice to meet you."

Moyes shook hands with him. "Me too. I hope that one day we can meet on the field. That would be very exciting!"

After saying goodbye to Moyes, Tang En went to Clough's side and found two Asians with black hair standing next to the old man. They were a man and a woman, and they looked like reporters. "What's the matter, Boss?"

"Well, go and help me call Bobby over here."

Tang En nodded. His attention was more focused on the woman. She looked very young, about twenty-something years old. She was dressed in a light gray suit with a pair of slender legs underneath her short skirt. The only thing about her that Tang En somewhat disliked was her short hair. With her back facing him, he could not see her face, so Tang En only quickly glanced at her and turned to look for Robson.

It was easy to spot him because his silver hair was quite striking. Tang En brought Robson to Clough and Clough pointed out Robson to the two reporters and spoke. "These two Chinese reporters asked me why I let you be the manager of the England National Team." When Greenwood left the position of the England National Team manager in 1982, the calls for Clough to take over the position were more than for anyone else. But in the end, it was Bobby Robson who became the manager.

When they heard that Robson had come, the two reporters turned back. At this point, Tang En was able to see the female reporter's appearance. Tang En breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her pretty face with light make up. He was glad that she did not belong to the "when seen from behind, one wants to get closer, but when seen from the front, one wants to run way" type which was popular back home. Her features were exquisite and quite Eastern Asian. She was indeed Chinese. As for the other male reporter, Tang En automatically ignored him.

The two reporters were rather excited when they saw Robson, and Twain was naturally ignored by them.

Robson laughed when he heard Clough's question. "That was because everyone knew you didn't want to deal with the damn Football Association!"

The reporters laughed, too, and Tang En stood behind them, as quiet and low-key as a personal attendant. His gaze was fully on the beautiful Chinese female reporter. Watching her cover her mouth while she laughed happily, he felt that he did not waste his time coming here today. It was better to have a beautiful woman to admire, than to look up and see a sea of men.

The two Chinese reporters chatted with Robson for a while and left with satisfaction. Tang En's "scenic view" also ended with their departure, so he returned to his corner. Moyes had been pulled by someone to celebrate his first personal award. When he looked at the 39-year-old Moyes who was surrounded by the crowd and showing a smile of success, Tang En felt bile rising in his throat. He never thought he was weaker than others, but this time he had lost at the starting line.

He loathed failure and did not want to be a loser. But on this occasion, he was the biggest loser. Tang En did not understand why Clough had brought him here. He felt annoyed just observing the lively chatter of these people. Ferguson, Eriksson, Moyes... Finding himself among these big-name managers, he had no intention of being a groupie, because he considered all of them his rivals.

One day, Tang En will defeat you all, one by one! This was not an ignorant fellow's fantasy. This was an oath he pledged to himself deep within his heart.

Taking his physical condition into account, Brian Clough and Tang En took their leave of everyone after the cold buffet lunch. They were warm in their farewells, but almost everyone did not seem to see Twain standing beside Clough. For these professional managers, they had seen too many newcomers like Twain, so they did not care about him.

In that circle, if one wanted to gain everyone's attention, wanted other people to surround one, wanted to receive their approval, it was necessary to prove oneself.

Tang En had really wanted to ask Clough exactly why he brought him there once they were in the car. But as soon as he got into the car, the old man dozed off in the back seat. In his light snoring, they returned to Nottingham from Sheffield.

Tang En told Nigel he was not going straight to his house. He wanted to visit the Forest training ground to see it again.

When the car stopped at the gate of the Forest team youth training camp, Tang En and Nigel said goodbye. Then he looked at the Boss who had his eyes closed and seemed to be fast asleep. He opened the door and was ready to get out of the car. Just that moment, he heard Clough's old and faint voice ring out, "Son."

Tang En looked back at Clough with his eyes still shut.

"Nowadays, a lot of people still mention my achievements and glory in this city from time to time." Clough leaned against the seat and murmured, "I had led my team to win two European Cups, one Premier League title, four League Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, 42 consecutive undefeated matches... What do you think of such achievements?"

"Impressive," answered Tang En.

"Then how about when I lost three matches out of six, set the second worst coaching record of the club's history and was dismissed after 44 days, what do you think of that result?"

"Er..." Tang En did not know how to answer the question.

"Now, there are very few people who will mention that period when I was the manager of Leeds United." The old man sighed. Perhaps that was one of the regrets he had in his career as a manager. "Let's go home, Nigel."

All the while, the old man did not open his eyes.

Tang En said goodbye to the two men and got out of the car. Then he stood on the side of the road and watched the white Ford sedan disappear at the end of the avenue. With the wind stirring up his hair and clothes, he thought there was no need for him to question the boss's purpose in taking him to the League Managers Association reception.

Because he already had the answer in his heart.

No matter what my final choice is, I still want to thank you, Boss. This is the second time you've helped me.

Chapter 82: To Stay Or To Go? Part 1

Tang En stood in Wilford Lane, which was shaded by the trees with the incessant song of the cicadas above him. To the north of him was the youth team training ground and to the south was the adult team training ground. Both training grounds were quiet and deserted today.

He knew that the adult team would only begin the formal training tomorrow, and the youth team was still on holiday. Other than the staff, there would be no one else in these two grounds. For them, their long and beautiful vacation was not over yet.

Tang En walked in from the gate of the youth training ground. There was not a single car in the parking lot and the office building door was closed. Both his feet felt hot as he walked on the asphalt road with the scorching afternoon sun beating down on it. Today might be the hottest day of the year.

He skirted around the two-story building and walked toward the sidelines of the first field, and it was empty with no one around. The first and third fields were connected and separated in the middle by wire mesh fence up to seven meters in high. Tang En looked out and saw that there was no one on the third field either. It seemed that the youth team was still on holiday.

Tang En stood on the empty training ground. If he chose to stay, this would become his domain, and Kerslake would become his assistant again. But what good was it to lead the youth team matches? Tang En was feeling a little depressed. In his eyes, the sense of achievement brought by the youth team's match victory was no more than one third of that of the adult team. As he was accustomed to being the focus of attention, what was the point, even, if he led the youth team to win the Youth FA Cup championship?

He looked at the field and decided to leave.

He came to a forked road when he stepped out from the first field. If he went straight ahead, he would return to the main gate. If he turned right, it would lead to the northernmost side of the second field. The quality of the turf in the second field was not very good, so it was rarely used.

Tang En had a completely different feeling from everyone else regarding the second field. He had only been on the second field once after he started coaching the Forest team. That experience occupied an important place in his memory. He had met the adorable Gavin there, and George Wood also gained his first fan.

It was a place of sadness for Tang En. All the events of great joy and sadness for the latter half of the 02-03 season started to turn from there.

Standing at the fork in the road, Tang En felt that all this seemed to reflect the choices he had to face now—move forward and leave the training ground, leave the sleeping Forest; or go right ...What does it mean to go right?

Tang En looked at the path that had been extended to the front and hesitated. He then chose to go to the second field.

As he approached, he found that there was a man on the field, running back and forth between two cone markers.

It was George Wood!

Tang En did not think that he would see him here. Had the clock turned back the time? Was it not June 27th now, but March 21st? Well, there was something different, like Wood did not have a coach around him, and Tang En did not have Michael and his son Gavin beside him.

He stood outside the wire mesh and quietly watched Wood train. Wood did not discover his presence. He just continued to concentrate on doing the most basic exercises.

Tang En stood and watched for about 15 minutes before George Wood finally changed his training routine. He put the two cone markers together with about half a meter gap in the middle. Then he stood five meters away to kick the ball toward the cone markers. Tang En did not understand what he was trying to do. He also did not see this kind of training routine in Kerslake's youth team training or Walker's adult team training. He had intended to quietly walk away, but now he decided to stay. He wanted to see what was going on.

Wood kicked the ball 10 times. He was obviously not training to shoot the goal, because he was deliberately suppressing the speed and power of his delivery and was very careful about his accuracy. If the football shot past in between or outside of the two cone markers, he would shake his head. If the ball hit the cone marker, he would make a fist.

Then Wood changed his angle and positioned himself at a 45-degree angle to the cone markers to repeat the 10 ball kicks. As before, most of his shots would pass the sides of the cone markers and only very few finally hit the target.

Tang En looked at the distance between the two markers, and then he looked down at his legs and separated them slightly, about half a meter apart. It was exactly the length of the gap between a man's legs when he stood with his legs apart!

This kid was trying to practice passing on his own!

The end of June was the hottest time of the year in Nottingham. In the empty training ground, only George Wood was hard at work and training. The hot season, bad weather, relaxing vacation... he was unconcerned with all of these. And because it was during the vacation, the training ground would not provide a lunch specifically for him. He had to make several round trips between here and his house every day. His training jersey had been soaked with perspiration many times over, so he simply took off his jersey and hung it on the goal crossbar every time he started training and trained shirtless. His muscular, tense body seemed to contain an explosive force. Every time Wood unleashed an action, the sweat would run down his clearly-defined body. His entire person would glisten with brilliance under the scorching sun.

George... If you can't succeed, then no one in the world canl succeed!

In order not to disturb Wood's training, he quietly left the remote training ground surrounded by the woods. Looking up at the sky, Tang En decided to go to one last place.

Nottingham was a city built on hills, with undulating and varied terrains. The church in front of Tang En was built on a small hill. The bricked chapel was not as grand and exquisite as the famous St. Mary's Church in the city center. Like the buildings surrounding it, the ash grey fa?ade was not very impressive. But under the clear blue sky, the chapel, which stood on the green grass, made him feel comfortable. He felt calm just looking at its fa?ade.

Tang En went around the church and walked along a gravel road through the woods. He came to a cemetery surrounded by a forest.

To his surprise, a man was standing in front of Gavin Bernard's tombstone.

"Michael!" He shouted, breaking the quiet atmosphere of the cemetery.

The man turned around and was somewhat surprised to find that the man who had called him was Twain. "Tony? What are you doing here?"

Tang En stepped forward and placed a bouquet of lilies in front of the tombstone. "I came here to do exactly what you came here to do. It's been more than a month, how are you feeling?"

Michael shook his head. He was still in low spirits. "Tony, it's just as well that I ran into you here. I was planning to say goodbye to you."

"Goodbye?" Tang En sensed something was not quite right in the air. "Why are you saying goodbye? Where are you going?"

"Los Angeles."

"America?!" Tang En exclaimed. "Why are you going so far away?"

Michael looked at his son's gravestone and slowly said, "I forgot to tell you that my wife is American. She can't bear the pain and grief of staying here and thinking of Gavin all the time. Now Nottingham is a place of sadness for our family. Everything she sees reminds her of Gavin, the house, the yard, the street outside our door, a neighbor, even a football match... I don't want her to cry all day long. I want to take her form here and return to her hometown. Perhaps it will be better."

Tang En frowned. "What about Gavin?"

"Gavin is not like us." Michael knelt to brush away a few fallen leaves off the tombstone. Then he looked at the golden name on the white marble tombstone. "I can change my feelings about football for my family. But he won't. He'll always be a Forest fan. From birth to death, he will always be."

After those words, he stood up again and said to Twain, "You must be feeling pretty happy? You don't have to be afraid that someone will abuse you in the back of the technical area the next season."

Tang En gave a wry smile. "Michael, don't you even read the football news anymore? I was sacked by the new chairman of the Forest team, and my agency contract has expired."

Michael did not expect this answer, and he stared at Twain in astonishment for a long while to make sure he was not joking. "Damn it! Where will you go? The youth team? Or...?"

Tang En shook his head. "I have asked myself these questions many times in the last two days, and I still haven't got an answer."

"Are you here looking for answers?"

"I don't know."

"Tony, would you like to hear the advice of an old fan who used to follow the Forest team for 44 years?"

Tang En looked up at Michael.

"Although I have decided to leave football, I still recall the first half of my life. The time that I will miss the most, besides Clough's era, is that half of the season when you led the team. Both of you have some similarities, such as passion and attention to details. You are both full of talent and many conditions required for success. I still remember that day Clough came to the team was January 3rd, 1975, and you came on January 1st, a difference of only two days. What a shame. We all may have missed a very legendary story." Michael patted Twain's shoulder and walked past him.

"Goodbye, Tony."

"Goodbye, Michael." Tang En stared blankly as the man gradually faded away in the distance.

After his strange arrival in that place, he was in a bar fight with that man, and then they became good friends. In this unfamiliar place, Michael gave him a lot of help that could not be thanked with just words. He had wanted to repay Michael's friendship with achievements, but all that vanished with the accident.

Chapter 83: To Stay Or To Go? Part 2

Gavin was dead, Michael was gone, and as for himself... his future was uncertain. Where would he end up? He looked around and gazed at the blue sky again. He had arrived there half a year ago. Although his body and instincts had accepted this fact, he still could not accept that he was British in his heart.

Tang En saw an epitaph inscribed on Gavin's tombstone: "Some are dead, and some are living."

Covered by the flowers which were placed there, the bottom section of the tombstone seemed to have something else inscribed on it. He knelt on one knee to move the flowers aside and found a line of small words in black. If he had not paid close attention, he would have basically overlooked it and treated it as part of the pattern on the tombstone. The inscription read:

Here rests the most beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard, the most loyal fan of Nottingham Forest, and George Wood's eternal supporter, Gavin Bernard.

Tang En was struck by this inscription. He had to use his hand to support himself on the tombstone so as not to fall. Staring at the fine line of words on the glossy marble headstone, it was as if it reflected the father and son pair strolling out of the stadium, wearing the Forest team red scarves around their necks. The father was singing loudly to cheer the team on, and then they clapped together and shouted, 'Forest! Forest!", the gruff man's voice mingling with that of the young boy's, as they gradually walked away.

Edward Doughty was in his office talking to the new manager, Stan Collymore, about the new season when he received a call from Twain.

"Tony, I'm so glad you called me." He had no intention of being evasive in front of Collymore.

"Edward, I've decided to stay on the team. But I'm not going to be an assistant manager to Collymore." Twain's voice came out of the phone and sounded vaguely unclear. Edward looked at Collymore sitting opposite him. He did not seem to hear anything.

"I will return to the youth team, but I hope you can agree to my two conditions: First, my youth team will have nothing to do with Collymore's First Team. He will have no right to interfere in any of my work. Second, if you do decide to change the manager one day, please remember to call me first. After you have thought these over, please call me back."

"Wait... There's no problem, Tony! I can agree to this now," Edward hurriedly replied as if he were afraid that Twain would change his mind.

"Thank you. Then I'll leave you to it. Bye, Edward."

"Bye, Tony."

Tang En put his cell phone in his pocket and pulled out the few pieces of paper with the phone numbers and club names on them. He looked at them, crumpled them up, and threw them into a roadside trash can.

Ian Bowyer had already left the team to manage Hereford United. But Tang En still clearly remembered what he said. "Only you can lead the Forest team, Tony."

That's right, only I can lead this team to victory. Collymore is nothing but a passing traveler in this Forest.

Stan Collymore, I'll remain in the youth team and watch how long you can stay.

The trouble with the allegations that Twain might face had also been cleared. Shania's family did not appoint a lawyer to send a warning notification to Twain, nor did he receive any subpoena from the court. The media later also confirmed that the plump auntie had said those things to Twain in a moment of anger. The lawyer, Jack Landy, had advised Twain to sue the media, which had added fuel to the fire and created the trouble by starting the rumors and exaggerating the incident. Tang En carefully considered it for a long time and decided not to sue them for now. His life had undergone major changes. He now urgently needed to prove himself again at work so that everything could get on the right track again.

But with this incident, those tabloids left a deep impression on him. He would remember their names and then in the future... deal with them one by one. One must know, Tang En was someone who would bear grudges.

Once he had determined his way forward, Tang En threw himself fervently into work. For him, he was basically back to the starting point. After he finally got to know the Forest First Team with great difficulty, he returned to the youth team. Now he must start to get to know this youth team from the beginning. Fortunately, Kerslake would help him assimilate with the team as soon as possible. Tang En did not need to worry on that point.

Instead, he had to be clear about his objective for the youth team—a result he could give to Edward Doughty to prove that he was the best manager for the Forest team and not anyone else.

The First Team had resumed training, and most of the players were surprised when they saw their new manager. They probably did not understand why Tony Twain, who had performed so well in the second half of the last season, was replaced by the new chairman with the inexperienced Stan Collymore.

But this was football. Who could clearly explain what happened behind the scenes?

Edward inherited his old man's, Nigel Doughty's, shares in the club. Although he was the chairman, he did not have absolute power within the club. A lot of matters required the board of directors to convene and decide. This was what Edward and his financial advisor, Allan Adams, detested. They wanted to transform Nottingham Forest into a modern enterprise, like the Edwards family's Manchester United. But the board was very wary of the two Americans and was always a hindrance.

Edward had already invested ￡500,000 into the club to repay the debts owed to the bank. After the team officially started the summer training, he announced again that the transfer budget for this season was about ￡3,000,000.

After hearing this piece of news, Tang En could only sigh that the lecher had better luck than him. If he had been given so much money six months ago, he could have guaranteed that the Forest team would now be readying for the Premier League matches, and he would not have been dismissed for the team not being promoted.

Ah, this is really life!

The Forest youth team assembled two days after the First Team, and what slightly gratified Tang En was that the lads were delighted when he appeared at the youth training ground and was introduced by David Kerslake as the new head of the youth team. No one had any objections. Tang En knew that his performance with the First Team had laid a solid foundation for both now and in the future. He had already demonstrated his ability, and now he did not need to establish any kind of authority with the youth team. This group of boys would listen to him. He only needed to consider how to lead the team to play with good results.

Tang En was not quite sure how to coach the youth team, so he simply transferred the same style that he had adopted for the First Team. He just needed to achieve good results. All else would be taken care of by David Kerslake, and everything would be fine. Normally, the youth team would be grooming players to be substitutes for the First Team. But Tang En did not want to pour in his utmost effort for Collymore. He earnestly wished that the lecherous maniac would be fired soon due to bad performance. If he wanted a player from his team, the answer would be, "No way!"

Wes Morgan, who had briefly played a few matches for the Forest First Team during the end phase of last season, had returned to the youth team and continued to be the team captain. With him there together with Tang En, he believed that everything would go smoothly.

As for George Wood, Tang En had agreed to stay, partly because he did not want to see this kid's career come to a premature end. He knew very well that except for him, no one could manage the kid. If he had left, then it would be harder to predict Wood's fate. He firmly believed that George Wood had a great talent. In addition, he had seen this kid's attitude toward football. As long as he had a good coach, there would be another star player in the English football world in the next few years—a ferocious defensive midfielder machine.

Tang En released Wood from his solo training and allowed him to train with the team. He believed with him on the sidelines, the kid would exercise restraint. In addition to his personal skills, the most important part of being a defensive midfielder was teamwork and an excellent awareness. And all these required him to train with the team so that he could accumulate the experience.

When Tang En began to strive again in the youth team, Collymore was not idle. His frequent attendance at various press conferences, cocktail receptions, and dinner parties was a marvelous time for him. That feeling of living again under the spotlight was too wonderful for words.

He threw a lot of the team's matters to Desmond Walker to deal with. He had dutifully stayed on the sidelines the entire first day that the First Team had begun training. But the next day, he was nowhere to be seen. According to him, he was on the hunt to recruit players for Nottingham to add on to the team's strengths for their Premier League promotion goal for that season.

It might be so…

Chapter 84: Accidental Success Part 1

The young reporter, Pierce Brosnan, was assigned to City Ground by the newspaper, where a high-profile press conference was about to be held. All the Nottingham Forest supporters were excited about this press conference for the summer's transfer market. Almost all the local media in Nottingham had come, and the London media had also sent people to attend.

Sitting at the table filled with microphones from the various media companies, the newly appointed Forest manager, Stan Collymore, was pleased as punch. The new chairman of the club, Edward Doughty, sat on his right and looked equally pleased. Sitting in between the two men, was a Ukrainian of small stature and the main reason for this press conference. He was the former Tottenham Hotspur striker no one had expected to come to play for a League One team, Serhiy Rebrov.

He was by far the most important big-name player in the League One transfer market! Maybe the new manager, Collymore, who had missed the training sessions, was really out looking for players everywhere.

Two million pounds was the Ukrainian's current price, even though he was worth up to ￡11,000,000 in 2000 when he transferred from FC Kyiv Dynamo to the North London team, Tottenham Hotspur FC. However, after three years, the former partner of Shevchenko had long become a huge burden that Tottenham had hoped to get rid of the most.

He had 29 appearances in his first season, but only scored nine goals, which was severely inconsistent with his value. Then the Ukrainian striker, who was often mired in a state of injury and illness, had only scored 12 goals for the team in two and a half years. Such a performance was obviously dissatisfactory to the team and the fans. Rebrov was a player who was signed when George Graham was coaching the Spurs. But when Glenn Hoddle became the Spurs manager, he began to gradually be reduced to a substitute.

The Spurs were eager to sell this ineffectual, overpaid Ukrainian striker. And it just so happened that Nottingham Forest needed to bring in a talented, high-profile player who had the power to rally the supporters. The two teams managed to strike a deal. Although the ￡2,000,000-transfer fee was somewhat low, this "measly" sum was still acceptable compared to letting this player stay on the team and continuing to pay him his salary until he was free to leave when his contract expired, leaving the Spurs without a single cent in return on their investment.

The Forest team was also grateful to the Spurs for their generosity. After Abramovich had become the Chelsea owner, almost all the players had doubled their transfer fees. They were lucky to buy a player from the Spurs "on the cheap."

After serious consideration, Rebrov felt he would rather directly transfer to Nottingham Forest than to be on loan to Turkey.

Collymore had assured him that the team would return to the Premier League at the end of the season. He had also promised him the position of main striker and had shown him his grand plan for the team. All these things touched Rebrov, who decided to "condescend" to join the second-highest division of the English Football League and prove himself again.

Of course, his salary was the highest on the team.

Collymore faced the microphones and said with a smile, "I have assured you that we will be in the Premier League in the coming season. Do you believe me now?"

Rebrov also smiled, took over the press subject and said to everyone, "Nottingham Forest is a great team and once had a glorious history. I hope my arrival will help the team return to the top once again." His words made a favorable impression on many Nottingham local journalists. The Foresters liked others to mention the former glorious years to them. But this period of history was too long ago and not everyone knew about it. Even the professional players often did not know that this team, which was in the second division league, had acquired such impressive achievements.

Therefore, Rebrov, who had taken the initiative to bring up the past, immediately changed the local media's attitudes. They originally had not been favorably impressed by this "Premier League parallel import." And now they believed that the Ukrainian could really contribute to the team. But, had no one ever thought that the Ukrainian was just regurgitating information he had memorized?

Pierce Brosnan was in deep contemplation when he looked at the three people. The Ukrainian striker had not proved himself in the Premier League. Could he prove his ability in League One, which was of a lower skill level? In his opinion, the failure of Rebrov's Spurs career was not a question of strength, but a result of the incompatibility of his personal style and the English style of football.

Collymore, in Brosnan's eyes, was inferior to Twain. What Tony Twain could not do, could Stan Collymore do it?

Although he had been ridiculed by Twain, that person was capable, and he would not negate a person due to his personal preferences. Like Tang En, he could not understand the appointment by the new manager of the Forest team. In his view, the failure of the playoffs was not solely Twain's responsibility, even though he took on all the blame after the defeat. Suddenly he raised his hand, and Collymore nodded at him to indicate that he could stand and ask his question.

Pierce Brosnan was no longer that intern reporter who had stuttered when he was ridiculed by Twain. He looked intently at Collymore and clearly stated his question. "Mr. Manager, the pre-season training has already been underway for 10 days, and you've only signed a striker. What kind of lineup do you intend to use to charge into the Premier League?"

When this question was asked, there was a minor commotion at the conference. Some people turned to look at Brosnan, who was standing in the back row with a microphone, and some people looked at Collymore with smirks and wanted to see how he was going to handle it. Others were whispering to each other, discussing the question. The English media had always been widely known for being tough, tricky, and ruthless. It was not their style to gather around one person to sing his praises. It was the fine tradition of the media to stand up and sing a different tune like Pierce Brosnan.

The smile on Collymore's face froze, and then slowly disappeared. And sitting beside him, Rebrov also looked a little awkward, because the person who signed him was Collymore, and questioning Collymore's ability was tantamount to questioning his ability. Only Doughty sat on the side with his arms around his chest and wore an inexplicable smile on his face. As if he were a spectator who had nothing to do with the matter.

Brosnan glanced at him and turned his attention back on Collymore. If this rookie—yes, although Brosnan had only just been confirmed as a regular reporter, to the face of this first-time manager he would be blunt enough to call him a rookie—did not give himself a satisfactory statement, he would not give up.

"This…" Collymore slowly opened his mouth, his eyes scurrying around, and he was still wondering how to answer the reporter's question. "Just as you said, the pre-season training has only been going for 10 days. We still have more time to perfect the team. I think what you will see next is that there will be more high-level players appearing on City Ground, and the team transfer process is far from over." After he spoke, he looked at Doughty, hoping that he would come out and say something on his behalf.

"Yes, the transfer process of the Forest team is not over yet. We believe in Mr. Collymore's ability," Edward Doughty corroborated.

Brosnan apparently did not intend to let them off, so he followed up and asked, "Mr. Chairman. Last season, the team that manager, Tony Twain, was defeated in the playoffs and was stripped of his position. So, I would like to ask, if we were to still remain in League One at the end of the season," as he said this, Brosnan turned to Collymore, "will Mr. Stan Collymore still be sitting here for interviews?"

These words felt quite combative, and the press conference was immediately filled with the presence of gunpowder.

Collymore's bad temper seemed to rise again, and he wanted to open his mouth to censor this overconfident reporter, but Doughty interjected. "Sorry, I never assess something that has not happened yet. If you're asking if Mr. Collymore will be dismissed, you will have to wait until that day when I am able to answer you. All right, everybody," Edward stood up and clapped his hands, "let's go to the stadium where hundreds of loyal Forest fans are waiting."

The reporters got up and crowded around Collymore and Rebrov as they walked to the stadium behind the press conference room.

Pierce Brosnan did not squeeze to the front. He waited for everyone to leave before he followed at a distance. But he discovered that another man had also deliberately fallen behind.

Edward Doughty looked back at Brosnan and saw that he was looking at him, too. The two men stared intensely at each other. Both knew what the other meant, but they did not say anything in the end, and just headed toward the stadium.

When Brosnan was putting Collymore on the spot at the press conference, and Rebrov's arrival attracted half of Nottingham's attention, Tang En was not at the youth training ground. In fact, he was not even in the city.

Collymore disregarded and threw aside the team training. He said he had to search all over the world for the players needed for the team. Tang En was doing the same thing as him. The difference between the two men was that Tang En was not just talking.

The sea breeze caressed his hair and jacket lapel, and the air carried a hint of salty taste. These were the characteristics of a port city.

Tang En breathed in the damp seaside air and continued to focus on the field in front of him. There were many people around. Some were just ordinary fans, and some were like him. They stood there, each with a different reason for watching a fourteen and under youth team training game.

Chapter 85: Accidental Success Part 2

Yes, Tang En came there looking for what he considered in his mind a "wonderkid." And so were the others. They were football scouts for all the major clubs. Southampton Football Club's training program is well-known throughout England, and even all over Europe. football scouts in various disguises often showed up there. Why the disguise? Because the Southampton club was not happy to have their young talent, after taking great pains to groom them, poached by opportunist scouts who didn't have to spend a single penny.

Well-known football scouts within the circles could not appear there because they were too easily recognized.

Tang En did not have that worry. He was not famous in the scouting circles, and he wore sunglasses as a precaution.

He had been standing there for almost the entire afternoon. But honestly, he was disappointed.

He did not see Theo Walcott, who would be famous in the future. Tang En was sure that he did not just overlook him, because Walcott's speed was too outstanding. If he had been on the field, he would have spotted him. There was only one explanation for it—Theo Walcott was not here.

This was Southampton's youth training ground. If Theo Walcott was not there, could it be that he was not in Southampton? Could it be? He was certain that Walcott would be on Southampton's youth team at this time, still a nobody and unknown to anyone.

Could it be...

Suddenly, an unpleasant thought flashed through Tang En's mind. He thought of that incident when Lee Bowyer had a scuffle with his teammate, Defoe.

Could it be that the future he was familiar with had changed? Theo Walcott was not in Southampton, but went to some other team that had deep pockets, like Chelsea. Or did he simply not play football and was just a regular English kid who dutifully went to school every day?

"Dammit! What the hell! Damn transmigration!" Tang En lowered his head and softly cursed. The most depressing thing was not the transmigration itself, but to have transmigrated just to find out that what he knew in advance was now useless.

Tang En's foul language caught the attention of the short, portly man next to him. He turned to look at Twain and suddenly asked, "What are you talking about?"

Tang En was confounded by his remark. What do you mean, "What are you talking about?" Can't I mutter to myself without bothering you?

"I heard you said 'transmigration'. What does 'transmigration' mean?" This man seemed to be the type of person who was chummy with everyone, who would get to the point right away and could chat cordially with anyone he met.

"Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself." Tang En made it obvious that he did not want to be disturbed by this person while working. He quickly closed the topic, leaving no room for the guy to continue the conversation.

But Tang En clearly underestimated this man's congeniality. The portly, middle-aged man nodded and quickly changed the subject. "What do you think of my son?"

"What?" Tang En's brain suddenly crashed. His hard drive light flashed for quite a while, but he did not understand how the two questions, "What are you talking about?" and "What do you think of my son?" were connected. It was as if the topic of conversation had jumped from Earth to Mars.

When Tang En did not speak, he took the initiative to pick up the thread of the conversation. "Are you a football scout? Arsenal? Manchester United? Chelsea? Liverpool? Or Tottenham Hotspur? Hmmm, let me think… maybe Real Madrid? Barcelona? AC Milan? Bayern Munich? Inter Milan?"

The fellow gave a rundown of almost all the names of the famous football clubs in the world in one breath. Tang En was dizzy just listening to him. He waved his hands at the man to signal for him to stop.

"Sorry, I'm not a scout, and I'm not working for any of those teams."

When he heard Tang En say that, the man was disappointed, and his interest in the conversation seemed to lessen. Just as Tang En was about to relax a little and move to a different spot to watch the match, the portly man returned to a previous topic. "What do you think of my son?"

Tang En, who had made a wasted trip, really wanted to rail at this jabbering man, I do not know your damned son! But he suppressed his anger and asked with gritted teeth, "Who's your son?"

The man did not perceive Tang En's angry tone. He extended his pudgy hand, pointed to the field, and said, "He's right over there!"

Tang En looked to where the man pointed, and he saw a group of children running on the field, huffing and puffing.

"Sir…" Tang En was unable to bear it any longer. The growl in his voice had begun to reverberate from his throat. "I asked you who your son was. I did not ask where he was." He was interrupted by the whistle from the field and the sound of cheers around him.

"Ah! The game is over! I'm sorry, I have to pick up my son." The man with the short-circuited brain abandoned Twain and squeezed out of the crowd.

At that moment, Tang En felt like, if he could, he would blow up the planet. His anger was raging in his heart. If someone were to argue with him right then, he would beat that person half to death. If the person who picked the quarrel happened to be that jabbering short, portly man…

That man turned back again and was accompanied by a child who would soon be as tall as him. The chummy man completely failed to notice that Twain's face was as dark as the British winter. He pushed the child forward and introduced him. "This is my son! What do you think? He's great!"

The man's loud voice attracted the attention of a few people nearby. They turned around to look and then kept walking. They had seen too many instances of a father approaching some unknown scout with his son to promote and market him.

No one took a liking to this ordinary child. But when Tang En saw the boy's face clearly, his anger instantly vanished without a trace.

Having just finished playing, the boy's Southampton jersey was soaked with perspiration, and it was stuck to his body, revealing his physique. Tang En gauged the boy's height, which was about 1.5 meters. The body was a little thin for a player. But that wasn't what got Tang En's attention. It was the child's face.

The boy pursed his lips and looked at Twain curiously, which highlighted his distinctive facial features even more. When Tang En first saw him, he thought that the child looked quite distinctive. His mouth was very prominent, which could be described with one word—simian. He looked quite simian.

That appearance suddenly reminded him of someone. So, he hesitantly asked the father next to the child, "Sir, what is your son's name?"

"Gareth! Gareth Bale!" When he spoke his son's name, the father looked proud.

Sure enough, Tang En thought. But he had to make sure.

"Is it G-A-R-E-T-H, Gareth, B-A-L-E, Bale?" He asked with anticipation.

The man nodded. "Yes! Gareth Bale! My son is very talented!"

Tang En also nodded, vigorously. "That's right!"

The number one left back wonderkid in Football Manager 2007 was the future Wales National Team's youngest player and scorer. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United had been rivals in trying to sign this 18-year-old player. How could he not be a talent? He originally came to Southampton to find the 13-year-old Walcott, but he had unexpectedly encountered his future roommate!

He had lost a player and gained another. It did not matter that he did not find Theo Walcott. In any case, he was destined to belong to Arsène Wenger and Arsenal, and good attacking players were a dime a dozen in the future. But this child in front of his eyes would be the genuine article in a few years! Even a team like Real Madrid was frantically looking for an outstanding left back to replace Roberto Carlos, who was leaving soon. The entire world was short of left backs at that time.

Bale's father, seeing that Twain agreed with his opinion, happily said to Bale, "Look, son! This gentleman also agrees that you're a talent. Don't worry, you will have a promising future!"

The child just gave an indifferent, mumbled answer. He was obviously down and seemed to lack confidence.

Tang En sensed there was more to the story that would explain the kid's demeanor. So he asked, "Excuse me, but can I ask what has happened?"

When he saw that there was someone willing to listen to his grievances, the father just let all out. In the end, Tang En finally put together the ins and outs of the matter, after listening to the man rattle on without touching on the important points in his endless account.

The Welsh boy was indeed the Gareth Bale who was born in Cardiff, who Tang En knew of.

Although Gareth Bale was known as a "football talent" while playing for his school, the youth team professional managers had apparently seen enough "talents." Compared to Walcott, who was a talent that had already surpassed his level, Bale was considered a very ordinary player. Bale's father talked and cajoled for a very long time before Southampton's youth team agreed to his son's six-week trial. Today was the second time he had come. He was just in time to catch a training match. He played the second half, but did not display anything exciting. The little guy was very frustrated.

But when Tang En heard the story, he was so delighted that he wanted to laugh. All he knew of, before he had transmigrated, were Bale's accomplishments. He never knew he had an unknown back-story that was even more brilliant. He really wanted to thank the Southampton youth team coaches for giving him this great opportunity.

If I can't seize this opportunity, then I won't go back to Nottingham today. I'll just jump into the English Channel and drown myself!

The portly man told him that Walcott was in the club, but that he was not on that team. He had already been promoted to the 17 and under youth team. His two days of training time per week weren't even there. He was placed at the King Edward VI School with its AstroTurf field, where he was receiving a liberal arts education and training at the same time. No wonder Tang En had stood there all afternoon without finding him. But now Tang En did not care about a little tiger like Walcott.

He looked down and took out his notepad from his inside pocket, tore a piece of paper, wrote down his name, phone number, and the address and contact number of the Forest youth training ground. Just like he had handed it to Wood before, he stuffed the note into Bale's hands.

The man looked at Twain strangely, and the child looked down curiously at the words written on the note.

Tang En smilingly said to Bale's father, "Southampton doesn't believe in your son's ability. I believe. If you can, I hope you will bring Bale to the Nottingham Forest Youth team tomorrow afternoon. I think the Forest team will be happy to directly give your son an apprenticeship contract without any trial training."

"Nottingham Forest?!" The man yelled. "And you said you were not a scout!"

"I'm not lying to you, Sir," laughed Tang En. "I'm certainly not a scout. I'm the head of the Forest Youth Department. Very nice to meet you. My name is Tony Twain."

He extended his hand to the stunned father and son.

Chapter 86: Investing In The Future Part 1

The next afternoon, Tang En and Kerslake met the short, portly man and his son, Gareth Bale, at the Forest Team youth training ground.

"I was worried that you wouldn't come." Tang En was delighted to see the father and son pair.

"Why wouldn't we come? Of course, we're here. I have confidence in my son's ability. He is talented!" The man shook hands with Twain and Kerslake.

"Yes. But we still have to do a little test." Kerslake wanted to conduct this in an official manner. Before they met the pair, Twain had told him about the matter. He was worried that Twain was being impulsive again and had picked up another bull-headed kid from the streets who could not play football.

The father was a little upset by Kerslake's chilly attitude. "Why? Are you doubting my son's abilities?"

Tang En promptly tried to smooth things over. "Ah, Coach Kerslake is earnest and responsible. You will be most assured with your son training under his care. All right, let's go."

The test was very common. One had to complete some technical movements based on the coach's requirements, and then undergo a simple physical check-up. And if everything checked out, the contract would be signed on the spot.

The test took about half an hour, and Tang En tried to keep his face expressionless or to maintain a faint smile. To be honest, he was a little disappointed when he saw Bale's performance. Kerslake did not say anything. Perhaps he did not have too much hope to begin with.

Bale was completely different from Tang En's impression of him.

Unlike the regular FM gamers, although he did indeed begin to learn about this Welsh lad from the game, he had specifically searched well-known foreign video sites for the boy's match videos to directly observe and gain a more intuitive sense of his style of play. What had impressed Tang En most was Bale's precise left-foot free kicks.

His ability to kick from tricky angles, powerful and strong kicks, fast speed, ability to strike from a distance—these were the distinguishing characteristics of Bale's free kicks. The first goals he scored at Southampton and on Wales National Team were direct free kicks.

During the test, Tang En specifically asked Bale to shoot a free kick. His response was a little confusing. He did not at all look eager to show off his unique skill. When Tang En saw this, he thought it was strange. Tang En was even more baffled after his performance of the test—that left back, who was adept in free kicks in his memory, looked as if he had never shot a free kick.

If it were not for this kid's outstanding left foot technique, Tang En might have thought he found the wrong person. On the other hand, to find two people with the same first and same last name, from the same city, born on the day, and that had the same face… was impossible.

Fifteen minutes later, the physical examination report was sent to Twain. With the current and previous test reports in hand, Tang En asked the Bale father and son to wait outside for a moment, and then walked into the office with Kerslake and the team doctor, Fleming.

Leaving the door ajar, the three men gathered to discuss the results.

Kerslake asked Twain, "Tony, what do you think?"

Tang En shook his head. "I want to hear your opinion first."

"I think we can sign this boy. But I'm still uncertain as to whether he can become a remarkable player," Kerslake voiced his inner worry. "This boy's ability is quite average in all aspects. His physical fitness is not too bad, and he can just about reach the requirements of a player."

Beside him, Fleming nodded in agreement with Kerslake's view. "He's neither good nor bad."

"That means the decision lies with me." Tang En went to the door and peeked through the crack to observe the situation outside.

It was indeed Gareth Bale. He was the right person in terms of looks, age, place of birth, habitual use of his foot… But why was the circumstance so different? Was it because his arrival had really caused a ripple effect to occur in this world and slightly shift everything that he had known from its original position?

The man seemed to be comforting Bale, who looked despondent. The child was sensitive. Perhaps he already knew his test performance was not good. In response, his carefree father was spiritedly patting his son on the head and encouraging him. Tang En could not hear what he said, but he could imagine what it was. My son most certainly is a talented player! Trust your dad! When did your old man ever lie to you?

Ah, another father and son...

Looking at them, Tang En somehow thought of another father and son pair. Michael would now be starting a new life with his wife in the United States. They would probably never have a chance to meet again.

Tang En turned back and said to Kerslake and Fleming, "Let's sign him. I believe we will not be disappointed."

Kerslake nodded. "Okay. I'll go get the apprentice contract."

Tang En opened the door, and the three men came out of the office. The short man looked up at Twain. "What were you discussing inside? Do you need a round table conference to sign my son? I'm telling you, my son is a genius! If you don't want him, you'll regret it sooner or later!"

That's right, fatso. Southampton will regret it in a few years... if they still remember that their youth team once had such a talent.

"Mr. Bale, before that, I would like to tell you and your son a story. Are you interested in hearing it?"

The father and son looked at Twain with puzzlement. They did not know why he wanted to do this. Was it not just a yes or no? Why did he need to tell a story? Why the suspense?

The father shook his head in disagreement, but his son nodded his head.

"Ah! As you wish, son." The man immediately changed his mind.

Tang En looked at this funny pair and laughed. The man glared at him. "What are you laughing about? Don't you have a story to tell?"

"Well, it's like this… Shaun Wright-Phillips, have you heard this name before?"

Both nodded, and Bale's father added, "The short guy from Manchester City."

"That's right. He's doing well at Manchester City. But did you know he was actually groomed by our Forest team?"

Both Bales shook their heads.

"Despite the fact that his family home was in London, he commuted back and forth to Nottingham to receive his training every week. But Paul Hart, then the Youth Academy Director, told him one day, because he took into consideration that his commute from home to his training was so far, it was not conducive to his growth. So, he hoped he would change to a different club... do you know what that means?"

Bale's father nodded. "Simply put, the short guy was gotten rid of."

"Yes. Manager Hart thought that Shaun Wright-Phillips was too physically unfit and that that made him unsuitable for professional football. So, he found such an excuse to get rid of him. Unexpectedly, this kid later went to Manchester, which was farther from London than Nottingham. So far, he has played for Manchester City for one and a half seasons in the Premier League, a season in League One, and 85 games. Hart once said to me..." As a matter of fact, Tang En did not know if Hart had ever said anything to him before, but it did not hinder him from weaving that into the story. "…even though he brought out a star like Jenas, it's his biggest regret to have let Shaun Wright-Phillips go. I have said a lot of things… actually what I really want to tell you is that the mistake that Manager Hart made will not be repeated by me."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Kerslake had returned with the contract, so he reached out and patted Gareth Bale on his shoulder. "Do your best here, kid. You will succeed."

Bale nodded hard. Even if he was a person of few words, perhaps all he needed to say was said by his father who liked to chatter endlessly.

After signing the contract in Twain's office, Tang En reached out and shook hands with Bale. "Very well. You belong to me now. Say goodbye to your father." Then he waved to Bale's father and spoke in a childish tone, "Bye, Daddy! I'm not going to miss you!"

Everyone in the room laughed, and Bale, who had had a long face the whole time due to nervousness, finally smiled. Tang En, who was quick with his eyes and hands, took out his cell phone and captured the moment. He then handed it over to Bale before everyone figured out what he was doing, to show him the smile on his face. "What do you think?"

Bale did not speak. His father came over and drew down the corners of his mouth. "It's too blurry and shaky."

"But you can see he's smiling, can't you?" Tang En asked. Kerslake and Fleming suddenly realized that they had not seen the child smile since they had met the father and son.

"Gareth, would you like to hear some advice from me?"

Bale nodded.

"First of all, I would like you to change to playing the position of a left back from today onward. As for the reasons, I will explain them to you in detail in the future." After the test, Tang En found out that Gareth did not play as a left back, but as a left midfielder. But in Tang En's view, letting the child play as a left midfielder was equivalent to wasting half of the left corridor on the left side of the field. He hoped to train Bale to become a player like Roberto Carlos of Real Madrid—when at his peak, the entire left side of the field was his.

Bale hesitated but still nodded in acceptance.

"Secondly, I want to practice your free kicks. I think you have a natural gift for that."

Kerslake looked at Twain when he made that remark. When this kid was doing the free-kick test before, he had been right next to him, but he had not seen any natural gift. He did not understand why Twain was persistent in getting Bale do free kicks.

Bale agreed to this as well.

"Lastly." Tang En used his hands to push up the corners of his mouth to form an arc rising on both ends. "I hope you will be more like this, smiling and confident."

As for this, Bale did not immediately nod his assent. He looked down at his toes and whispered, "They always laugh at me and say I look like a monkey..."

Chapter 87: Investing In The Future Part 2

Hearing his son say something like that, the father who was standing at the side, sighed. It was apparent that he could not do anything about it. Tang En thought he found the reason why the child was so quiet and did not like to talk.

Tang En shook his head. "I don't agree. I think you look great when you smile. If you open your mouth and smile, you look just like the great beauty, Julia Roberts." Hearing this analogy, Bale could not help but laugh. That was too comical. How could a young boy be like a woman?

"Besides, look." Tang En slightly opened his mouth just like Bale, who was standing in front of him. After that, he nodded his head and said to the kid, "Isn't it very cool? Very focused?"

Seeing Tang En nod his head, Bale followed suit and nodded his head reflexively.

"That's the way. Football stars are all like this." Tang En touched Bale's headful of soft, brown hair. "Besides, you have to learn from your father." Tang En pointed at the short, plump man.

The father and son had similar facial features, but why hadn't Tang En noticed that when he first saw the kid? Probably because his attention had been completely fixated on the chattering. Of course, Tang En did not want Bale to learn his father's habit of chewing his tongue, but instead to learn the confidence that his father displayed—daring to speak up, daring to show off. That would be good enough.

"Your father is very impressive, kid." Tang En knew that this man's endless chattering must have been a result of speaking to his quiet son for a long time.

Bale nodded his head vigorously. "I understand, Mister. Thank you, Mister. I am also very happy to be able to play for Nottingham Forest." Although his voice was very soft, that was the longest sentence that he had said for that day.

"Yes, yes, I know. Now go back and celebrate with your father!"

Tang En sent the two people out, and when they reached the gates of the training ground, he shouted and stopped the man. "Mr. Bale, your son still doesn't have an agent, right?"

Father Bale nodded his head and replied, "No, he doesn't."

"Alright then. In that case, I hope you can be his agent."

He understood Tang En's meaning. "Yes. Thank you, Mr. Twain."

Tang En smiled and shook his head. "From today onward, it's me who has to thank you and your son. Goodbye."

After bidding farewell to the delightful father and son pair, Tang En prepared to return. Kerslake was standing behind him, looking at him with a face that was all smiles.

Tang En felt immensely creeped-out by his smile and shrugged his shoulder. "You have something to say, David?"

"Des once told me that the Tony Twain he saw in the past six months had been an eye-opener for him. I intend to say the same words again today. Gareth Bale is only a normal football apprentice, and yet your attitude toward him made me understand the reason why you are regarded so highly by Paul."

Hearing such bare naked praise, Tang En felt slightly guilty. If he had not known Bale's accomplishments in the future, he would not have taken the spare time to care for a small kid that could be eliminated anytime from the professional football scene.

Although he felt guilty, Tang En still smiled and boasted shamelessly. "David, there will be more such eye-opening experiences for you in the future. Hehe!"

Tang En had signed the first player ever since he had become a manager, and it was an extremely important investment for his future. That was because he firmly believed that he would ultimately remain at Nottingham Forest, and rule over City Ground Stadium. That was why he dared to spend so much effort to find young players to join the youth training camp of Nottingham Forest.

At first, Tang En thought that the youth team was merely one football team. However, when he became the supervisor of the youth training department, he found out how terribly wrong he was. Youth team was only a common term for all of the youth players, but there were many different teams of various age groups under this common term. Nottingham Forest's youth training system was always exceptional and comprehensive. It had a team for each age group, but the players were rarely able to receive training at the training grounds. Most of the trainings were conducted in Nottingham's primary and secondary schools. The players would take cultural lessons while receiving professional football training at the same time. That was the case for Bale, who had just turned 13. He had been assigned to the U14 youth team, and in another two years' time, he would be able train there every day when he joined the 16 and under youth team. Of course, should Bale's performance be exceptional, Tang En would promote him in advance, like Theo Walcott, who represented "The Saints" in a U14 competition when he was 12 years old. He received the U17 team's jersey from the club when he was 13 years old. By the time he was 14, he was already representing Southampton for their U19 youth matches!

Speaking of this Walcott, Tang En knew that the future had been altered due to his interference. In the original world, Walcott was Bale's roommate at Southampton. Their relationship was quite good, and they would have been playing for Southampton together. Yet now, because of his flagrant interference, Bale and Walcott's fated encounter would completely disappear, just like that.

Nobody knew who would become the roommate of the Little Tiger, Walcott.

After poaching Bale, Tang En stopped going out to search for "wonderkids." On one hand, he could no longer think of any players who he could sign for free at that point. On the other hand, most of the young players with potential had already been signed by other clubs and were under strict supervision. Either that, or Nottingham Forest did not have the ability to attract them.

For instance, Tang En knew that the extremely famous football genius and midfield master, Francesc Fàbregas, was still on Barcelona's B team at that time, troubled and dejected over his unforeseeable future. But in reality, Tang En knew that Wenger had been keeping a close eye on this young man for quite some time. If everything were to go smoothly, he would be brought to Highbury by the French manager in January next year.

With Nottingham's current ability and fame, was it even remotely possible to snatch the players from powerhouses, who had been eyeing them for a long time?

The answer was negative. A team like Nottingham Forest, which was struggling in the second tier English League, had completely no appeal for those young and talented players. Only if they made it to the Premier League, would Tang En be able to compete for players with these powerhouses.

Tang En decided to put the focus of his job on coaching the U18 youth team and George Wood. After letting Wood join in the team for training, his performance made Tang En feel a sliver of relief. Although he was still not good enough, he was almost a completely different kid from a half year ago, who did not know anything. The foundation which he had built over half a year, had finally born fruit, with his moves and posture having some decent form. This time, Wood not only looked like he was playing football, he was actually playing football.

There were times when Tang En thought to himself, Will I be able to nurture a talented midfielder that will be able to shock the entire English football scene? A player just like Francesc Fàbregas, who will be able to amaze the whole of England the moment he enters the field. However, their specialties were completely polar opposites: one was adept at organization, while the other one was adept at destruction.

Upon thinking about it, Tang En thought it was a pity. How good would it be, if the two of them were able to pair up? One would organize attacks, while the other one would become his body guard. Snatching back the ball once they lost possession, and counterattacking after snatching back the ball. This kind of midfielder duu would be unrivalled!

Hey, wake up! Wake up, Tang En. What are you doing, daydreaming in broad daylight?

Wiping off the saliva on his mouth, the pitiful Tang En still had to face reality. For a poor and no-name youth team manager like him, he had better start by developing the potential from his own team.

The English U18 youth team league was about to begin on August 16th, leaving him with little time left.

Chapter 88: I Will Return Part 1

When Tang En was building up his youth team, Collymore and Doughty were not just standing around. Rebrov had cost Nottingham Forest two-thirds of their budget for this transfer season, but the fans were willing to believe that this expensive Ukrainian would become City Ground's new hero and lead the team back into the English Premier League.

Subsequently, Collymore made the controversial decision to sell Nottingham Forest's previous season top scorer, the league's silver boot, to West Ham United, which had been relegated from the English Premier League. Actually, what everyone was dissatisfied about, was not the sale of their main striker, but that Collymore sold him off at such a low price. West Ham United gave an asking price of ￡500,000, and he hurriedly sold Harewood away, as if the value of the player would depreciate after a few days.

Of course, there was also information saying that it was because Harewood once talked back to Collymore on the way back to the changing room after a certain training. The two started off as bickering, which eventually escalated to pushing and shoving… But who could confirm the authenticity of a story that took place in a corner away from the eyes of the media?

After that, Nottingham Forest had recruited Danny Sonner from Walsall by means of free transfer. For the 31-year-old midfielder, this was already his third team in three years.

At the end of July, Nottingham Forest also recruited Icelander defensive midfielder, Brynjar Gunnarsson, from Stoke City by means of free transfer. Aside from being a defensive midfielder, the tall and strong Icelander could also assume the position of a center back.

In the end, Nottingham Forest managed to best another club, Barnsley F.C., and recruited Australian player, Jacob Burns, for free from Leeds United, which was in a state of financial crisis.

With new people coming in, there would be people leaving as well. After Harewood departed from the team, the previous season's core center back and Dawson's partner, Jon-Olav Hjelde, was told by Collymore after his contract ended that there was no position for him in Collymore's plan for the new season. Left with no choice, the Norwegian could only choose to leave and decided to free transfer to distant Asia—Korea's K league team, Busan Icons. Another center back who Tang En really admired, Christian Edwards, was loaned out by Collymore to Oxford F.C., which was in the Third Division. When Tang En heard the news, he sighed. Edwards was already 26-year-old, and for him to play in that league, there was not much hope for him to improve.

The previous season's core defensive midfielder, Riccardo Scimeca, also chose to leave when his contract ended, and the club that had its eyes on him was Leicester. Jim Brennan also left by means of free transfer, and his next stop was Norwich City, another team in League One. Benjamin Gavanon, who was on loan from Marseille, returned to France when his contract ended.

The young defender, James Biggins, who had scored on his own goal during the playoffs and caused the team to lose, had been sold by Collymore at the cheap price of ￡50,000 to an English League Two team, Queens Park Rangers. This poor young man, his professional career had not yet begun, but it was already almost over.

Before the start of the English League One season, Collymore and Nottingham Forest's gains from the transfer market were as follows:

They spent ￡2,000,000 to purchase Rebrov from Tottenham, and this was one of the transactions that garnered the most attention. They recruited Danny Sonner by means of free transfer. In terms of selling players, Marlon Harewood had been sold to West Ham United at a price of ￡500,000, and James Biggins to English League Two team Queens Park Rangers at a price of ￡50,000. Hjelde, Scimeca, and Brennan left Nottingham Forest by means of free transfer.

There were not many changes in other aspects, and Nottingham Forest maintained their main lineup from the previous season, and even received some strong additions. As a result, the ￡3,000,000-budget for the transfer window was still left with ￡1,650,000.

Nottingham Forest's first team was also more or less confirmed for the season.

The two goalkeepers were 29-year-old Welsh Darren Ward and 21-year-old Irish Barry Roche. Ward's position in the starting lineup did not have any issues in either Tang En or Collymore's hands.

The back defensive line was led by the 20-year-old team captain, Michael Dawson, with 27-year-old Belgian left back Davy Oyen, 22-year-old center back Chris Doig, 21-year-old right back John Thompson, 27-year-old French right back Matthieu Louis-Jean, and 19-year-old Scottish left back Gregor Robertson.

The midfield included the newly joined Brynjar Gunnarsson, 20-year-old German player Eugen Bopp, Danny Sonner, 21-year-old Gareth Williams, 20-year-old Brian Cash, 20-year-old Andy Reid, as well as the 32-year-old Eoin Jess.

Strikers included 26-year-old David Johnson, 18-year-old Craig Westcarr, as well as 29-year-old Serhiy Rebrov.

When interviewed, Edward Doughty claimed that he was extremely pleased with Manager Collymore and his work, because Collymore had not squandered away the entire ￡3,000,000 budget. He said he had sufficiently considered the financial position of the club, which had just recovered from a financial crisis.

The media also took photographs of Collymore personally demonstrating on the training field, during which he appeared to be all smiles, evidence that his mood was rather good. Perhaps he really was preparing to start fresh.

Of course, there usually was only one indication to assess how well the manager was doing—the results of the team. If he could save money when buying players, then he could go and be an accountant. And if he could only personally demonstrate moves, he could continue to be a football player. Even though the current Collymore looked very good now, it did not mean that it would stay the same in the future.

Brosnan looked at the new manager of Nottingham Forest in the picture and went into a daze for a while before throwing it aside. After that, he created a new folder on his laptop, and set the settings of the folder to private. He then named the folder as such—Countdown to the End of Collymore's Class.

On August 9th , the 03-04 English League One season officially began. One day later, Collymore's Nottingham Forest welcomed on their home ground their first opponents for the season, the "Black Cats" of Sunderland.

To Collymore, this was his first big test, and the previous warm-up matches had only been small-scale.

The results of the match left Collymore and all of the supporters of Nottingham Forest extremely satisfied.

After only 19 minutes into the match, the "highest-bid player" Rebrov, who had just transferred over to Nottingham Forest over the summer, had scored his first goal for the team, causing the entire City Ground Stadium to erupt in jubilation.

When Tang En, who was seated in the crowd, saw the Ukrainian and his teammates hugging each other, he knew that the future had been irreversibly altered, and that these kinds of changes were occurring at the center of Nottingham Forest and would gradually expand. It was like a rock that had been thrown into a peaceful lake, and the ripples, as a result, pushed the fallen leaves on the surface, scaring away the shoal of fish beneath the water. After the ripples on the water have disappeared, the lake and whatever was beneath it would cease to be what it used to be.

In Tang En's memory, Rebrov had indeed come to England's League One before, but that was one year later to West Ham United. After playing for only one season, he returned to the Ukrainian team, Kyiv Dynamo.

Tang En knew that these changes were definitely a result of him coming there, because they were all things that were related to him. He had no power to change the situation, and he could only hope that the changes were not too big, or rather, he hoped that those memories of his would still prove to be useful when he needed them.

At the 41st minute, French right back Matthieu Louis-Jean, who had been thrown into the reserve team by Tang En the previous season and yet heavily utilized by Collymore this season, scored his first goal in Nottingham Forest.

Seeing this scene, Tang En kept shaking his head. The player that he did not regard highly had just scored a goal under someone else. Would that not make the media think that Collymore replacing him was the correct choice?

In the second half, neither team scored any goals, and it ended with a score of 2:0. Collymore and his team had a good start to the season.

When the crowd was dispersing, the fans beside Tang En were excitedly discussing the future that the new manager was able to bring them. Tang En, however, was not interested in the subject at all. He squeezed out of the crowd with his head down and left City Ground Stadium without even thinking about looking back.

Three days later, Collymore's team won Port Vale in the first round of the EFL Cup. Although they successfully advanced, this match was extremely tough for them. Collymore did not expect Nottingham Forest, a team in the English League One, to be forced to a 0:0 score by a League Two team after 120 minutes, only claiming victory from a penalty shootout. It was no wonder that after the match, the media grudgingly said that Nottingham Forest only advanced because of their good luck.

Although the second match was not won that convincingly, Collymore still received praises and recognition for the two consecutive wins, and he became Nottingham Forest's new figurehead. The fans and the media were still looking forward to the kinds of results he could bring to the team.

In the newspapers, the media used flattering terms which had been used to praise Twain in the past, simply replacing Twain's name with Collymore. However, if there was anyone who thought that Twain hated to be compared to Collymore, and that he hated all the news reports regarding Collymore, then he would be sorely wrong. Tang En had long made up his mind to watch every single Nottingham Forest home match from then on. In addition, he would also pay special attention to all of the news regarding Nottingham Forest and Collymore, even if they were regarding the board of directors or management. He was making preparations for the day he would return to that position.

It was just like what Tang En had said to Professor Constantine, after being selected as the best coach for February. I, Tang En, am just the kind of person that has belonged there from the day I was born. Born to become a manager, born to pursue victory. The current dormancy is merely to pave way for the explosion in the future… Doughty is absolutely right. I am still not stable and mature as a person, or else I wouldn't have lost to that old man Warnock in Sheffield.

But just you wait. When I reappear before everyone, I assure all of you that you will see a completely different Tony Twain.

Chapter 89: I Will Return Part 2

On the 15th of August, while Collymore and the first team departed from Nottingham for Reading to challenge their home team, Tang En's youth team welcomed their first round of opponents in the youth league—Leicester City.

Unlike Reading, to where most of the media followed Collymore, the youth team's training grounds were desolate. Aside from some parents and relatives of the young players, there were only two groups of reporters present. One was Nottingham Forest's official website, while the other one was the Nottingham Evening Post.

Tang En looked strangely at the refined young man who was standing beside him.

"Mr. Reporter, the first team's match is in Reading, not Wilford," Tang En playfully reminded the news reporter, Pierce Brosnan.

"I know that, Mr. Manager." Brosnan stood there, without any intention of leaving.

"If you know that, then why aren't you leaving? The match takes place tomorrow. If you go now, you can stay overnight and interview the Nottingham Forest players regarding their exciting night lives."

"How exciting, Mr. Manager?"

"Erm…" Tang En looked at the sky and replied, "You'll have to ask Mr. Stan Collymore about that."

Brosnan laughed. "Mr. Manager, I was worried that you wouldn't recover, but it seems that I was wrong."

"Hmm?" Tang En thought what he said was strange and asked, "Why would I be unable to recover?"

Brosnan looked at Tang En and discovered that his shocked expression was not feigned. Brosnan shook his head and replied, "Never mind, it's nothing."

"Alright, that's the end of our chatting time. Why aren't you leaving already?"

"I won't leave, Mr. Manager. I won't just be here today. I'll be here in the future as well. From now on, I'm in charge of reporting on the Nottingham Forest youth team."

Tang En opened his mouth wide. After scratching his head, he muttered, "Up to you…" Then, he returned to the resting area of the team and made the final preparations for the upcoming match.

Brosnan suddenly stopped him. "Manager Twain! Can I ask you a question?"

Tang En turned around and looked at him. "Speak."

"Regarding our match with Leicester, how confident are you in the team's victory?" Brosnan whipped out a small notebook and prepared to take down Tang En's reply as he flipped the pages.

Tang En waved his hand. "There's no need to take notes. The question that you just asked is extremely meaningless."

Brosnan was slightly shocked, as he did not expect this to be the reply that he would receive.

"Of course we will win. What other questions do you have?"

Hearing this classic Tony Twain reply, Brosnan smiled and shook his head. "I don't have any more questions to ask."

When Tang En returned to the team, the young players were already changed into their jerseys and had formed a circle, awaiting his lecture. Tang En looked at the blue sky above his head, and then looked at the hopeful looks on these kids' faces. If a person had done something very impressive, then that impressive thing would come to symbolize him and be mentioned on many occasions. What Tang En did at halftime during the match against West Ham United was remembered by everyone. Upon returning to the youth team, Wes Morgan must have vividly illustrated to this group of kids everything he had seen or heard about Tony Twain.

Although that had not been Tang En's intention, he had to admit that Morgan had done him a huge favor by doing so. Young people were the easiest to gain adoration from, and he, Tony Twain, was undoubtedly the idol of this group of boys. They would listen to anything that Tang En said.

It was good that way, as it saved him a lot of trouble.

In the distance, the young players from Leicester also surrounded and listened to their manager. They were wearing blue jerseys that only had numbers and not names on them. However, they were just like the young lads from Nottingham Forest and were players who had received professional football training.

Aside from the fact that the empty Wilford Youth Training Grounds lacked a three-story tall viewing platform and enthusiastic audience, Tang En felt that the current environment that he was in was no different from professional matches.

"Listen up, guys," Tang En said with a stern look on his face. "I was just interviewed by that reporter over there, and he doubts your abilities. He thinks that all of you will have a hard time performing against the youth team of a Premier League team." Tang En pointed to Pierce Brosnan in the distance.

Having been provoked, the young players immediately shot their gazes toward Brosnan, shouting and waving their fists at him. Brosnan, who was kept in the dark, had no clue why they were behaving that way toward him. He waved back in a friendly way, but the young men did not reciprocate.

"Alright, alright. Don't scare that pathetic reporter." Tang En clapped his hands, telling them to put their focus back on him. "The youngest among all of you is already 17 years old. For most of you here… no, perhaps for all of you, your goal is to become a professional player, to become a star like Michael Dawson, and to play a match in City Ground Stadium while wearing a red Nottingham Forest jersey with your own name on it. Am I wrong?"

The young men shouted in reply, "No! Not at all!"

"That's what we want!"

"Very well." Tang En nodded his head. "You guys are no longer eleven- or twelve-year-old kids who are content with playing four hours of football every week and spending the remaining time as good kids in school with your bags on your back. All of you have signed a professional contract with the club and are professional football players. Am I right?"

"Yes! Yes! We are professional players!" the young lads shouted as they waved their fists. If it was not for their still very youthful faces, their physiques might have convinced one that they were professional players playing for the first team.

"Therefore, when you all are unable to win the next match, when you make people feel that you are unable to attain victory, you will be looked down upon by them." Tang En once again pointed at Pierce Brosnan. "Just like that. I know that all of you are unwilling to submit, and I have already given that guy a tongue-lashing! I've already told him—we will definitely win! He will regret ever looking down on all of you!"

"That's right! He will regret it!"

Tang En extended both of his arms, signaling for them to quiet down and let him finish his sentence. "But! We all know that talk is cheap and bragging is something that anyone can do! I want you to prove with your actions in the coming match that I'm not wrong! Make that reporter who looked down on you regret his ignorance!"

As the young men started to become agitated, Tang En shot a glance to the side and saw that George Wood, who was standing at the outermost part of the crowd, had his fists clenched tightly as well, and was biting his lip forcefully. Although he would not be fielded in this match, Tang En was extremely happy to see Wood react like this. This was a good opportunity to instill his football philosophy in the group of young lads, and he could not stop there.

"All of you must remember!" Tang En waved his arms forcefully and swatted them toward the ground. "Manager Tony Twain's football is a victorious football! From the moment that you change into the jersey inside that changing room, get rid of all the random thoughts inside your head! The only thing that you should think about is how to obtain victory! You have to tell yourself: I must win today! And not 'what if I lose'!"

"We must win!" Wes Morgan took the lead and shouted loudly, and the group's victory announcement attracted the guest team's attention. They watched the bunch of maniacal opponents with strange looks.

"We—must—win!"

After 90 minutes, guest team Leicester City's youth team left the venue crying as they returned home with a score of 4:1. They had been completely frightened and stunned by the group's fierce display during the match.

Brosnan, who was by the side of the field, was happy that Tang En had won. However, the Forest youth team did not seem to like him at all, as they made faces and shook their fists at him while they ran back to the changing room.

Just as Brosnan was thinking that it was preposterous that the whole team hated him, Tang En walked up to him with a radiant smile on his face and said, "Mr. Brosnan, look for me tomorrow afternoon at Forest Bar. I'll treat you to some drinks. I really got to thank you for this match!"

Brosnan scratched his head, not understanding why Twain had suddenly become so friendly. But Brosnan still happily accepted his offer. "I will be there, but what is there to thank me for?"

"I, uh… just need to thank you."

The next day, Brosnan was at Forest Bar with Tony Twain, Kenny Burns, and several loyal Forest fans. They were drinking beer together as they watched the live broadcast of the match in which Nottingham Forest challenged Reading F.C.

Under the bright afternoon sun of Reading Town, Nottingham Forest played the most miserable match of the season. Rebrov, who had high hopes placed on him, exposed his old problem of being unable to adapt to the English football style. Faced with the tall, bulky builds and rough playing style of the Reading defenders, he was at a loss of what to do and did not manage to accomplish anything. As a result, he was subbed off the field 60 minutes into the match.

The match ultimately ended with Nottingham Forest losing 0:3. From the beginning to the final score, the match went extremely terribly, with no way for Forest to come back!

When the match broadcast was nearing the end, the television screen suddenly showed Collymore's stunned close-up. Waves of coordinated shouts suddenly erupted inside Forest Bar. "Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!" These fans, who were watching the match, shouted Tony's name as if they were on the viewing platform rooting for the team.

Tang En and Brosnan stood in the middle of the fans. Brosnan was startled by the sudden shouting. He looked around the bar, and discovered that almost everyone inside the bar was standing up and clapping their hands while shouting Tony's name.

In contrast to Brosnan's surprise, Tang En was extremely calm. Or rather, it should be said that he viewed the occurrence as a given.

"Mr. Twain, this is…" Brosnan said in bewilderment.

Tang En opened his mouth, revealing two rows of neat teeth. Just like a lion, the king of the beasts that was respected and surrounded by the rest of the animals, Tang En shot a look at Brosnan, before shouting at a volume so loud that he could almost blow away the ceiling. "Mr. Brosnan, one day, one day, I will return! At that time, you will hear cheers much louder than this!" He opened up his arms, before clenching his fist and punching it up in the air.

Chapter 90: Beautiful Tackle Part 1

As the team that had reached the last round of playoffs the previous season, Reading was seen by Nottingham's media as Forest's main competitor for promotion to the Premier League. In the first round of matches, Reading had been forced to a draw by Ipswich. Therefore, as long as Forest won against them in the second round, Forest would be able to widen their point difference with Reading.

However, who could have guessed that Nottingham Forest would suffer such a miserable defeat?

"0:3! This is really a complete defeat!" That was the evaluation given by John Motson, the commentator, after the match. It was clear that he, too, understood exactly what awaited this new manager one week after the match—typhoon-like warnings!

The completely unmotivated Forest!

The crushing defeat of Forest!

Collymore helpless!

0:3!

Ever since the start of the press conference after the match, the tips of the media's spears had all been pointed at the team's manager, Stan Collymore. It was now Collymore's turn to have a taste of the blame which Tang En had once faced in the past.

Collymore had become the target of blame for all of the mistakes during the match: The initial lineup, the substitution lineup, his shots calling, player substitution, halftime adjustments, etc. As for the other players Collymore had bought during the summer transfer window, their performances were not good either. However, those were not considered too serious a sin, because everyone's attention was still focused on the most expensive Rebrov.

Faced with the tall and burly English defenders, Rebrov was completely unable to adapt, causing the audience to begin missing Harewood, who had continuously performed well in the second half of the previous season. The striker, whose techniques were gradually maturing, had already scored goals during both rounds on his new team.

The Nottingham Evening Post even brought it up: Who was the one who chased away our best striker?!

Who? Of course it was Manager Collymore.

Faced with the sea of complaints, Collymore managed to quickly and completely shirk his responsibilities. He felt that the reason as to why the team was unable to score any goals during the match with Reading, and could not do anything against their concentrated defense, was due to the team lacking a strong center forward. Looking into the camera lens, he said sternly, "Before the summer transfer window closes, I will make a request to the club's board of directors and buy a strong center forward! When that time comes, I will let all of you see what the true Nottingham Forest is!"

Edward Doughty consented to Collymore's request enthusiastically. On the 20th of August, three days before the third round of matches, he brought a strong center forward to Collymore—Gareth Taylor. This 30-year-old center forward formerly from Burnley, was 1.88 meters tall, weighed 85kg, and was good with headers. He had been on loan from Man City to Burnley in the second half of the 00-01 season. After scoring 4 goals in 15 matches, he then joined the team for free. After that, he was fielded a total of 18 matches in the next two seasons, and scored 32 goals. The numbers were very equal, having scored 16 goals in 40 matches in both seasons. As a center forward from a League One team, one could not ask for too much, and the result was impressive enough.

Collymore's words gave Burnley F.C. the heads-up to hike the price. This burly player's value suddenly inflated from ￡2000,000 all the way to ￡550,000, before Edward Doughty could finally bring him to City Ground Stadium to meet the media and fans.

During the press conference meet and greet session, Collymore happily patted Taylor's shoulders and announced to the media, "I'm extremely happy to obtain Taylor. He is a very good player. With him on our team, we will be able to blast away the gates of all the teams in League One!"

Blast away all the gates of the teams?

Cardiff City laughed as they left City Ground Stadium contentedly with their three points, while leaving Collymore with a score of 1:2, as well as a mess to clean up after.

The guest team, Cardiff City, scored two goals 10 minutes into the match, completely beating Nottingham Forest senseless. It was only at the 70th minute that Reid managed to score a goal with a free kick, but it was already too late. Collymore sent the Rebrov-Taylor striker combination out, but the pair, which he had high hopes for, did not score a single goal, causing him to lose face completely.

Faced with the media and fans who were already complaining, Collymore found yet another excuse. "Taylor has only been with the team for a short three days, without even having time to have a combined practice with them. Not having chemistry is extremely normal. But I believe that as long as I'm given a bit more time, I assure you that you will see a strong Nottingham Forest!"

Well said!

How beautiful it sounded!

Feeling the immense pressure from the outside, Nottingham Forest and Collymore finally won a match. They defeated Coventry City in their away match with a score of 3:1. However, what made things awkward for Collymore was that his trusted Rebrov and Taylor still did not score any goals. The first two goals were scored by Andy Reid at the 19th and 61st minutes respectively, while the third goal was scored by David Johnson at the 85th, and who was substituted in at the 77th minute. They were completely unrelated to Rebrov and Taylor.

Four rounds into the season, and the team's best scorer was actually Andy Reid, who was positioned in the midfield, with a total of three goals.

The 20-year-old Reid had a weekly salary of ￡1,000, while the 29-year-old Rebrov had a weekly salary as high as ￡11,500, the highest salary on the team. In terms of salary, Reid was not even one-tenth of Rebrov's, and yet the number of goals he scored was three times that of the Ukrainian's. What irony!

Just when Collymore thought that he could finally catch a breather, on the last day of August, Nottingham Forest welcomed Norwich City on their home ground in the fifth round of the league. Forest was forced to a 0:0 draw in a home match. Before he assumed his managerial position, he promised the media and fans that they would be able to see beautiful offensive football, insinuating that the previous style was not beautiful at all. What about now?

In terms of the quality of the players, perhaps his predecessor Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest was not as good as the current one. However, they had been able to crush Stoke City with a score of 6:0 on their home ground. Collymore's team, on the other hand, was not able to win even against Norwich City, not managing to score a single goal.

Rebrov could already clearly hear the jeers from City Ground's viewing platform directed at him. Taylor was also not having a good time, as he had a height of 1.88 meters, and yet he was unable to score even a single header.

Goals! Goals! Goals! We need to score goals! the media was shouting, and the fans were also questioning why a ￡2,500,000-striker combination could not score a single goal.

After five rounds of the 03-04 English League One season, Nottingham Forest, which had been previously regarded by the media as the favorites to advance into the Premier League, had two wins, two losses, and one draw, and was ranked 12th in the season with a total of only seven points. Those kinds of opening results were even worse than Paul Hart's in the previous season.

The Nottingham Evening Post did a short survey on the streets of Nottingham, and the fans who felt that Nottingham Forest would return to the Premier League by the end of the season, had already decreased to 36 percent from the original 71 percent before the season began. Sixty-two percent of the fans felt that this terrible situation was the result of Manager Stan Collymore's incapability. On top of that, 4 percent of the people surveyed even felt that, should Stan Collymore continue to be the manager of the team, it would not be possible for Nottingham Forest to remain in League One by the end of the season—next season, people would find Nottingham Forest's name on League Two's roster.

Before he promised to become the Manager of Nottingham Forest, Stan Collymore thought that it was easy to be the manager of a team, as simple as scoring a goal was to him. However, he was currently in a fix.

Collymore was completely clueless regarding the means to improve the team's results. Perhaps he could only hope that Rebrov and Taylor, whom he had pinned his hopes on, would have an explosive performance and score a goal soon to salvage the situation.

Collymore had thrown the planning of the training to Des Walker during the preparation phase before the start of the season, showing no interest in it. He was even regularly absent from practices. God knows where he had gone to… perhaps lying in the arms of some woman, or vomiting in front of some toilet bowl in a drunken state.

Regarding Collymore's habits, Des Walker was felt very helpless. He had reminded Collymore several times to pay attention to his actions as the manager of the team, as they would negatively affect the players, as well. However, Collymore simply rebutted him saying, "I am the boss here."

Seeing the team's low morale as a result of their poor performance, even Walker, as the assistant manager, felt dull. Walker suddenly missed Twain, who was sent back to the youth team, and wondered how he was doing on the northern side.

If he was here, he definitely would not have allowed things to develop to the current state. I really don't know why Mr. Chairman fired Twain from his post... Hey, Mr. Chairman, seated high above on the second floor, please open your eyes. Collymore is better than Twain? Can someone tell me, in what way is Collymore better?

While Collymore was blamed for the team's poor performance, Tang En's youth team, on the other hand, had gotten a three-win streak in the fourth group of the youth league. The three wins were, 4:1 against Leicester on home grounds, 2:1 against Derby County on away grounds, and 1:0 against Walsall on home grounds. In addition, the team had even won 2:1 against West Bromwich in the first round of the FA youth cup on the 19th of August, advancing to the second round. On the 27th of September, they would be welcoming Bradford youth team on their home grounds.

When Tang En was in charge of the youth team, he discovered his own strengths and shortcomings. Just like when he was on the first team, he was still not adept at training the players. Although he could perhaps say something general, such as advising a certain player to train more on a certain aspect, he could not give specific details regarding the training plan. Deep within his heart, Tang En understood that perhaps that would be the shortcoming that would accompany him for the rest of his managerial career. However, he also did not have plans to improve his ability in this aspect. A person's time and energy is limited, and one being good in one aspect would invariably cause him to be lacking in another aspect. Becoming an all around talent was impossible for Tang En, who had only joined the scene recently.

Although his ability to train the players was lackluster, his ability to direct the match and tune the psychological state of the players made assistant manager David Kerslake extremely ashamed. This person, who was an apprentice under Paul Hart together with Twain, also felt that Twain leading the youth team was too much of a waste of his talents.

A certain day after training, Kerslake pointed to the training field of the Wilford training ground and said to Tang En, "Tony, your field is not here." He then pointed to the north, which was where the City Ground field was located, and said, "Your filed should be there."

"David, you're right. My field is there. But not now. I'm still waiting," Tang En muttered as he looked at the evening sky in the north.

Chapter 91: Beautiful Tackle Part 2

On Nottingham Forest's youth team, there were two people Tang En paid the most attention to. The first person was Gareth Bale, who had been personally poached by Tang En from Southampton. He would occasionally take the time to observe Bale's training progress and see if he was improving.

Bale was very obedient. Although Tang En forgot to tell him the reason for switching him over to the position of left back, he still continued to practice his techniques as a left back. Although there were no notable results currently, he still continued to practice. Another thing that Tang En paid much attention to was Bale's free kick practice.

What made Tang En extremely excited was that, after going through proper guidance and practice, this kid's talent in the aspect of free kicks was finally showing. According to Bale's father, Bale loved free kicks. Now, he only did one thing during his physical education classes in school and in his backyard after he returned home—practiced his left foot free kick.

Standing by the side of the field and seeing this kid kicking the ball over the moving human walls time and again, Tang En felt as if he was witnessing the birth of another Beckham. The feeling of achievement from witnessing a player's average abilities gradually become outstanding, was one that could not be expressed with mere words. It was just like, like…. like giving birth to a child and raising him up with one's own hands.

These young players were his children, and Tang En was their father.

As for the other person whom he paid much attention to, it was naturally George Wood. His attention toward Wood was already publicly known, and the entire youth team knew that this silly kid was highly regarded by the manager. However, there were few who could tell the reason why this was so. Wes Morgan was one of those who understood the reason.

After leading the team for four matches, Tang En did had not sent Wood onto the field even once. Every time, Wood would be on the substitution name list, but he would merely watch from the side. Tang En did not give him a chance to go onto the field for even a single minute. Kerslake thought that Tang En was worried that this kid would go up and injure another person from the opposing team again. However, Tang En, himself, knew very clearly, his reason for doing so.

Did George Wood know? Tang En had no idea. This lad did not speak much usually, and if one did not take the initiative to ask, Wood would not reveal anything. If Wood had something on his mind, it would just sit there and ferment, buried in his heart. Therefore, Tang En decided to have a talk with Wood one day after training.

After a full day of training, the players of the youth team started leaving the training grounds, discussing where they would go and what they would do that night. This was a good chance for them to rest and relax. Tang En and Kerslake never interfered with the players' personal lives, as long as they did not go overboard with it.

After bidding farewell to Kerslake and the rest of the coaches in the office, Tang En hurried toward the changing room. There were still a few players who had just finished showering and were sitting and chatting half-naked while waiting for their bodies to dry. Among them was the youth team's captain, Wes Morgan.

Tang En's entrance interrupted the young men's discussion. He looked around, but did not find George Wood. He asked, "Anyone seen Wood around?"

Morgan stood up and said, "No, Manager. We haven't seen him come back."

"Hmm?" Tang En thought that it was strange. "Haven't seen him come back?"

Morgan nodded his head before pointing to the north. "I saw him walk directly in that direction right after training ended." After thinking for a short while, he added, "And he was hugging a football ball."

Upon seeing Morgan point in to the north, Tang En had already guessed—George Wood must have run off to the second field to do some extra training on his own. This kid!

"Thanks a lot. Hope you have a great time tonight!" Tang En bade farewell to the players and walked toward the second field.

Upon reaching the second field, it was just as Tang En had expected. Under the evening sun, George Wood was continuously doing the same fundamental practices that he had been doing for the past year: headers, passing, dribbling…

Seeing this, Tang En did not feel touched at all. In fact, he was slightly angry. He quickly rushed forward and stepped on the football ball that Wood kicked.

George Wood's eye shifted upwards from Tang En's foot and saw an angry Tony Twain.

Tang En raised four fingers and displayed them in front of Wood's eyes. With a slight tinge of anger in his voice, Tang En said, "Four hours. The maximum training duration that the UEFA has set for youth players." After that, the four fingers turned into two fingers, and it seemed as though the number had been reduced.

"Twenty hours. The maximum training duration for youth teams in a week. Do you know why they had to specifically make such a rule, George?"

Wood shook his head. He did not care much about this. To him, training and practicing was all that mattered to him.

"It is to prevent people like you from doing stupid things like this!" Tang En reprimanded sternly. "Do you know why I stopped your fundamentals trainings here after moving you to the team? If you continue to train for two more hours after receiving three to four hours of highly intensive training daily, your body will crumble before you become successful and famous!"

Tang En said it in an intimidating tone and had originally thought that George Wood would be frightened by it. Instead, he shook his head and replied in a nonchalant manner, "I don't find the daily training of the team too tiring."

Shit! Tang En scolded in his heart.

"Are you King Kong or Hulk? Alright, I don't care how much your current body can take. In any case, you have to stop training at once and go home!" Tang En stepped and rolled the ball back and forth, as he thought about how he could successfully flick the ball from the ground to his hand in one try. He was unwilling to lose face in front of his own player.

Tang En, who was focused on thinking about how to flick the ball, did not notice that George Wood had already fixated his eyes on the ball, and was following Tang En's movements closely.

After pulling the ball back and forth around ten times, Tang En estimated that he should only need one try to succeed. He pulled back his right leg forcibly, and rolled the ball back slightly. After that, he kicked the ball forward quickly, and flicked the tip of his foot. He was met with the ball that was rolling back, and it looked just like he had used a shovel to "shove" the ball up!

Haha! I did it! Tang En, whose football skills were extremely terrible, wanted to laugh out loud, but he suddenly felt a gust of wind beside him! Sensing danger, he instinctively arched his body backwards. After that, he saw clearly...

He was not sure for how long, Wood was almost lying on the ground, his body nearly parallel to it. His right hand supported his body, and at the same time his left leg quickly swung toward the ball in the air. The gust of wind that he had felt previously was actually from this leg!

The ball was less than five centimeters away from Tang En's foot, and looking at Wood's extremely aggressive stance, if he had just kicked the ball slightly off, Tang En's right leg would be in a cast the next day, and Tang En would have to come to training with crutches.

Bang! With a loud sound, a few pieces of grass clippings flew in front of Tang En's face, causing him to squint his eyes uncontrollably.

After which, Tang En landed on the ground on his butt and stared dumbfounded at the row of trees in the north. Wood had actually kicked the ball directly toward the back of the forest. There was a slope there and beneath the dam at the bottom of the slope was the Trent River!

This kid! To have actually kicked the ball so far...That's not the point! The point is, he was actually able to perform such a clean tackle! If this had happened during a match… it was a defensive move that would rouse the cheers of the commentators and fans. Swift! Accurate! Powerful! It was too perfect! Wood, you are indeed suited to become the support of a team!

George wood did not know what Tang En was thinking about at that moment, as he stood up and was about to get the ball. After running for a few steps, he was stopped by Tang En, who had recovered from his initial shock. "Don't go, George. Do you know where you kicked the ball to?"

"There." Wood pointed at the dark forest under the evening sky.

"Wrong. It's even further than that. Tang En pointed upwards and said, "You kicked the ball to the Trent River. Don't bother with picking it up."

"But that's the club's ball." Wood was afraid that the club would make him pay for it.

"Every year, the club loses a countless number of football balls. Losing one more doesn't affect it much. If your luck is good, I think that perhaps you will be able to see many more football balls in the river during spring."

"Why is that so?" Wood was confused.

"Because that ball you just kicked would have swam back from the Atlantic Ocean with its offspring! Haha!" Tang En burst into laughter while seated on the ground. However, he suddenly coughed in the midst of his laughter, and frowned. "Ah, dang it! You kicked me!"

He lightly touched the tip of his foot. It was extremely painful there and was probably due to being hit by Wood's studs.

"Come over, help me up." Tang En, who was seated on the ground, extended his left hands toward Wood. However, he quickly changed his mind—and extended both of his hands. "Just carry me directly!"

"Why?" Wood appeared to be slightly unwilling.

"Why? You injured me and caused me to be unable to walk. If you don't carry me, do you expect me to hop back with one leg? In addition, don't you have a lot of excess energy that you have not used up? Carry me home, this is also a form of physical training. Quick, it's almost dark."

Left without a choice, Wood walked over to Tang En and bent over to let Tang En climb up his back. After that, he used his strength and picked him up. A 17-year-old lad carrying a 34-year-old man. The scene was quite comical.

Tang En slightly adjusted his position, so as to make himself feel more comfortable. Aside from the sweat beads on Wood's body, the benefits of being carried were quite good.

"Hey, George." Tang En, who was on Wood's back, patted this kid's broad shoulders.

"What?"

"Tell me, why do you insist on giving yourself extra training?"

"Because I..." Wood snorted. "I feel that my fundamentals are too weak."

Tang En smiled. "George, do you know the reason why I didn't let you onto the field for the past few matches?"

"Because my fundamentals are weak."

"That is only one of the reasons. Actually, I hoped that you would observe closely from the substitution bench how those teammates of yours, who have received seven to eight years of football training, do it on the field. There is no use in letting you watch those high-level football videos now. You have to start learning from the people around you, learn how they deal with the ball, how to react to the various situations during the match, and remember them by heart. This will become your experience. Remember these experiences by heart, and the next time you encounter a situation where the enemy striker is running in front of you, and you are chasing from behind diagonally, you will then know what the best thing to do is."

"Mmm." Wood nodded his head.

"And if you still insist on training after the daily trainings... you may do so; I give you permission for it. However, you have to do it under my supervision, and you can't spend more than 40 minutes on additional training in a day. In addition, George..."

"Hmm?"

"Although you hit my foot just now, I still have to say that, that tackle of yours was very, very.... beautiful!"

Tang En did not catch Wood's reply to this, and Wood did not thank him or say anything. However, Tang En could feel that this kid's walking speed had increased, and his strides had become more energetic.

Chapter 92: The Arsenal Match

August, the hottest month of the year, had passed, and the Nottingham weather gradually cooled going into September. Sometimes early in the morning, Tang En had to put a coat over his T-shirt.

Yang Yan ended her summer vacation and returned to Nottingham from China. During the two-month holiday, she first went to Italy with her friends, and then returned to her hometown after the SARS outbreak in China eased and the travel ban was lifted.

Though he had wanted to, poor Tang En could not go back. He was leading the team matches.

After Yang Yan returned to Nottingham, she gave Twain a call to say hello. She told him that she had returned from her China trip and brought a Chinese gift for Manager Twain, who loved the Chinese culture. It was supposed to be something that would please Tang En, and he would thank Yang Yan.

But now he didn't look forward to Yang Yan's appearance as much as he used to. For two months, he had not seen Yang Yan, did not hear her voice, and did not think about her at all. In the past, besides his greatest expectation of leading the team to victory, the thing he looked forward to most was Yang Yan's Chinese class every week

Later, when school had started, Yang Yan took the initiative to propose cutting the Chinese lessons from twice a week to once a week, because she would be busier than before in the new semester, and she thought that Twain's Chinese level was already very high. "I'm afraid your level is higher than some Chinese people." So there was no need to waste time on it.

Tang En now had little time for his Chinese studies, and he did not really need to learn at all. So, when Yang Yan put forward this request, he simply agreed to it, and added that if it was inconvenient for her to come on the scheduled day, she could just call and let him know.

Due to the adjustment of the game schedule, most of the teams' sixth round of matches were postponed to the end of October, including Nottingham Forest's. Collymore could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But the media did not intend to let him off just like that. They watched him closely every day as they wanted to see what other excuses Mr. Collymore could find.

If he said the team did not yet have a rapport, that's fine. Now that the team had been given a two-week adjustment period, 12 days should be enough for you to break the team in. No matter how stupid Gareth Taylor was, he should have a little bit of a rapport with the team by now, right? If we continue to lose, then we'll see what else you have to say.

Besides getting his rest every night and studying the former Tony Twain's notes, Tang En now spent his time in Burns' bar, chatting with everyone about the current situation in the football world, and talking about the recent difficulties the Forest team had encountered. If someone wanted him back at City Ground, he would never refuse.

Ever since he found out that Twain often went to Burns' Forest Bar, Pierce Brosnan treated it almost like a second home.

Tang En did not really want the media to get too close to him. He hated the media. So, he always tried to think of ways to drive Brosnan away during the several times he had met Brosnan in the bar.

"Hey, are you going to kick me out again today?" Brosnan stood in front of Twain's seat and looked at him with his hands in his pockets.

Tang En was eating his meal, and when he saw Brosnan, he put the spoon aside. "Damn it, I lose my appetite when I see your face. Why do you still want to come here? You should be working overtime at the office putting together sensationalized news. Where's Kenny?" He lifted his head up and looked around.

"Stop looking. I am a paying customer. He has no right to drive me out, the same goes for you, too." Brosnan took two glasses of beer from the waiter. He took one for himself and put the other one beside Twain's plate. Then he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You want to bribe me with a glass of beer?" Tang En had not finished speaking when Brosnan pushed the beer in front of him.

"If you want more, there's more."

Looking at Brosnan's smiling face, Tang En sighed again. "Very well. If you want to come here to look for me, then do as you please. But I warn you: You're not a reporter here, and whatever we talk about, I don't want to see it in the papers." Tang En used this to flush out Brosnan's purpose in getting closer to him.

If he wanted to get some kind of exclusive scoop here, he would get rid of him right away.

Brosnan nodded. "Of course, I'm just a regular Forest fan after work."

"Very well. Not a bad answer." Tang En pushed the glass back to Brosnan. "I just thought of it, Mr. Brosnan. If I suddenly decide to write a biography one day, I must look for you."

"If there was truly such a day, it would be my pleasure," Brosnan laughed. "In addition, can I ask you a question, Mr. Twain?"

"Okay?"

"Are you getting ready to go back to City Ground?" Brosnan lifted his glass.

The two men's glasses lightly clinked together

"What do I need to get ready? I don't need to prepare. But now is not the time to go back. It's not the right time yet."

No, now was not the best time for Tang En to return to City Ground, and God did not seem to have abandoned Stan Collymore.

Having rested for 12 days, the Forest team had a home match with Sheffield United, the team which eliminated them in last season's playoff match in the seventh round of the league. It was a very important game for the Forest fans. They could not lose that match.

Collymore and the Forest players were obviously aware of the importance of the match, as well. So, it was only a matter of course that they would win the match on their home ground.

Gareth Taylor, who Collymore had placed high hopes on, finally broke out. He scored two goals at the 30th and 56th minutes of the match, bringing the score to 2:1.

At the 75th minute, Andy Reid put icing on the cake. Nottingham Forest eventually won the match amidst the roar of the fans.

Collymore, who had won the match, was very proud. He kept mentioning Taylor's two goals in the interview, both of which were iconic headers.

Of course, it was not entirely without problems. Although Rebrov contributed an assist, the number of goals he scored, as the main striker, was at a standstill since the first round of the league. What was the use of a main striker that assisted more than he could score?

On September 17th, at the eighth round of the league, Nottingham Forest challenged Burnley on an away match and this time, they had a straightforward victory, 3:0.

David Johnson, Andy Reid, and Gareth Taylor each scored a goal. The two consecutive victories and two consecutive matches of Taylor scoring goals made Collymore so happy that he excitedly announced a day off for the team. Then, on the night of the match, he disappeared, and his hotel room was empty. Who knew which beautiful woman he had found to spend the night with.

The two wins in a row enabled Collymore and his beautiful companion to spend the night together and eased the pressure inside him a little. As a manager, victories and defeats were commonplace. Therefore, he could always easily forget the situation he was facing. Tang En's appraisal of Collymore was he was a typical "live in the moment and enjoy while he can, only worry when the worries come" kind of guy. He seemed to never plan the team's future. Once the pressure to win a match had eased, he would go pick up a girl. When he lost a match, he would blame this and that.

He didn't think Doughty was a fool. What could a manager of such level bring to the Forest team? Even the American, who did not understand football, should know better. But why was there no news of activity within the club's higher-ups? Tang En began to pay attention to all the news about the Forest team's finances and the club's board of directors.

Anyway, compared to his previous role as the First Team manager, his current job was as light and easy as if he were on vacation. He had plenty of time to analyze the things he had never been involved with.

Speaking of Tang En's work, the Nottingham youth team was ranked second in the fourth group of the FA Youth Cup. They only had two points less than the top ranked Aston Villa, which was the champion of the 2002 England FA Youth Cup.

The Forest team youth also successfully broke into the third round of the FA Youth Cup. The young players were very fond of Twain's coaching style, because it could bring them victory. Wasn't winning the whole point of playing the match? Winning matches meant that they would be noticed by more people and that they could have a better future. Even if the First Team was not keen on them, they could still have a good frame of mind, couldn't they?

Tang En had never let his players "enjoy the game" during a match, unless the team had a four-ball advantage over their opponents and at the same time the game only had 10 minutes left. He never told the young players that "football is such a wonderful sport." He usually said, "What a wonderful thing it is to win."

The youth team had George Wood's name on the substitutes' list for every match, but he still had not received even a minute of play in a match. To be honest, the other youth players were quite puzzled by Twain's approach. Everyone could see that the manager was very concerned about Wood. He would take him to go to the second field to have additional practice every day after the training. But why did he not let him play in a match? This kid's performance was also quite good during the usual training. Kerslake often loudly praised him.

When no one was around, even Kerslake would sometimes suggest to Twain to let Wood play in a match, but Twain's answer was "wait a little more."

So, this wait became another two months.

When Tang En finally changed his pairing of a black suit with a red round neck T-shirt, he could still feel the morning chill even as he wore a long-sleeved shirt underneath his suit. Nottingham's late autumn had arrived.

The rainy season had also arrived in Britain. Ah, that was incorrect. Britain had a rainy season all year round. It was now a cold, rainy season.

Tang En stood on the sidelines and watched the youth training with a shrunken neck. He simply put up the collar of his suit, but the rain kept pouring into his neck. Kerslake, who was personally instructing the players on the field, looked even worse than he did. His Umbro sportswear was so slick from the rain that it could reflect light and illuminate a person.

Tomorrow was the third round of the FA Youth Cup, in which the Forest team would play a home match against their opponents. It was a strong team from a Premier League club with a world-renowned reputation for cultivating young players—Arsenal!

The Arsenal adult team was a strong team and their youth team was just as strong. In addition to Arsène Wenger, a manager who placed great importance on the building of youth football, they also had a modernized youth training ground, the best youth coaches, and the ability to purchase and groom young players with huge potential from all over the world.

Tang En was not afraid of Arsenal, but he must pay attention to this team. Because there was currently a very special person on the Arsenal youth team.

The exercises carried out in the rain were mainly targeted defense. George Wood was clearly the key figure in training. He was "specially cared for" by the coaching team. The 18-year-old Ross Gardner was a midfielder who came from Newcastle in the summer and was now the main midfielder of the youth team, the core of their formation. James Beaumont, also 18, was Gardner's midfield partner. He was evenly-skilled and an all-around midfielder.

The coaching team had asked the two to take turns going up and organizing the offense. And Tang En asked Wood to defend against these two men. He was supposed to closely mark whoever was up. If the two people attacked together, he must hold his position well and not allow the other side to easily break through their line of defense. He could not expect there would be anyone around him to help. He must do all of it alone.

"George Wood!" Kerslake blew the whistle to stop the training. He stepped on the mud and marched toward Wood, who was heavily panting and standing in the rain. "You've lost your position again! Position, position! How many times do I have to tell you? Defense is not about seeing the other side with the ball. You just f**king rushed up to tackle the ball like an idiot! Look at your front and back, left and right, hold your position to force the other side to shift to the side or turn back. Look what you just did. Gardner got through again!"

Kerslake's roar in the rain was clear and distinct, and the raindrops around him all shot out. Wood lowered his head and did not speak. The other players took the opportunity to take a breather. The training class had already been interrupted many times. Wood always liked to rush ahead first for his defense, and then the other side would easily bypass him. If he were to mark one player, his performance was not bad. But when he had to hold his defense position… that was where the problem started.

Tang En stood on the sidelines and quietly watched Kerslake lecturing Wood. He was aware of Wood's current shortcoming. This kid was good at close-marking defense because his abnormal physical ability could make up for the disparity in his experience, awareness, and skills during the one-on-one marking. And a defensive stance relied more on experience and awareness, and these were the things that Wood lacked the most now.

Tomorrow's game... can we count on him?

Seeing how the players sprinted, tackled the ball, and rolled on the rain-soaked field, digging up one piece of soil and turf after another, Mr. Andrew, who was specifically in charge of the turf maintenance at the training ground, stood next to Twain and frowned in distress.

"Mr. Twain, can't you go to the second field for the training? We have just trimmed this field, and now look, it's a swamp!" He complained, "We are going to play on this field tomorrow."

Tang En looked at this 40-something-year-old turf employee and comforted him, "Don't worry, Mr. Andrew. I did it on purpose. After the training, you just need to cover up the dug-up grass. You don't need to put too much effort into tidying up the field."

"This..." Mr. Andrew did not understand.

"By the way, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, you will have to water the field even more an hour before the match starts."

Andrew knew what was going on when he heard Twain. He asked excitedly, "How much water should we use, Mr. Twain?"

Tang En looked at Andrew, who had caught on to it, and smiled brightly. "What if I say you and your men can flood it here... Is that okay?"

Then Andrew chuckled. "Mr. Twain, you're so wicked! Don't worry, I'll get it done well. I guarantee the Arsenal kids won't feel comfortable playing here."

Because the match was the next day, training was soon over. At the end, Wood's understanding of the defensive stance did not improve much. Kerslake sighed at Twain, shook his head, and went back for a shower and change of clothes.

The players ran back to the locker room with their heads down. Only Wood was standing on the field in a daze. His performance that day on the muddy ground was indeed terrible. But it did not matter, it was good for him to know his own shortcomings. Tang En never worried that Wood would lose his drive because of the impact of being reprimanded. His reason for playing football was different from the other kids on the team. He had a tough body and was tenacious.

Tang En stepped forward and patted the dazed Wood.

"Go back and change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Wood looked up at Twain, hesitated a little, and then asked, "Am I still on the list tomorrow?"

"Of course." Tang En nodded. "Head back quickly. If you catch a cold, I'll have to remove you from the list."

Then, Wood ran back to the locker room. Looking at his back, Tang En had a headache about the same worries that Kerslake had.

The sky was dark, because it was cloudy and raining. It was not even 5:30 p.m., and it was dark as night. The patter of rain hit the windows and ground, making a continuous crackling sound. From time to time, someone would run past below the window, both feet stepping on the puddles, the crackling sounds came from far to near, and from near to afar. Because of the weather, the street outside was much quieter. There was no loud noise of children gathering and making a racket and no shouts from quarrelling couples.

Although it was very cold outside, this simple kitchen and dining room seemed particularly warm because of the warm fire, orange lights, and fragrant black tea.

This was the feeling of home.

Although the family of two who lived here had no money, their home was much warmer than Tang En's cold and empty house.

George Wood, who just had a hot shower, threw all his clothes, which were dirty and wet from training in the rain, into the washing machine. He then scooped in the detergent, pulled down the lid and turned on the switch. After finishing this task, he returned to the kitchen to help his mother wash the dishes. Sophia sat at the table and cut the potatoes to prepare for dinner, even though it was still quite early.

"George."

"Eh?" Wood took the clean milk pan out of the water, wiped it dry, put it aside, and picked up a plate and put it into the water.

"If I remember correctly, you have a game tomorrow?" Sophia casually asked as she diced the potatoes with her head lowered.

Wood gave a grunt again. Even in his own home, his words were few.

"Are you on Mr. Twain's list again?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to play this time?"

Wood stopped his chore, looked at the running water from the tap in a daze for a moment and then shook his head, "I don't think so."

"Why?"

"Maybe I'm still not good enough."

"What's considered good enough?" His mother asked.

Wood continued to shake his head, "I don't know. When Twain thinks I'm okay, then I am."

"George, you have to call him Mister," Sophia corrected her son's impolite behavior.

Wood reluctantly said, "Mr. Twain."

Sophia smiled, "I think I want to see you play tomorrow."

With a crash, the plate in Wood's hand slipped into the water. He turned and looked at his mother, somewhat surprised. "Your body…"

"It's only walking. Oh, George, don't think so little of your mother," Mommy Sophia said and smiled at Wood. But her son did not give in. He just frowned without nodding.

The mother smiled and looked to her son. Her son gloomily faced her with the sound of water rushing behind. Sophia pointed to the sink behind her son and alerted him, "It's overflowing, George."

Wood turned around to turn off the faucet and continued to wash his plate.

"George, do you like playing football?" Sophia changed the subject.

Wood shook his head.

"You do not like it, or you do not know?"

"I don't know."

"Do you feel happy when you're playing football?"

"I never think about it."

"It's not going to work if you continue this way." Sophia put down the potato and knife in her hands, then got up and went to her bedroom. Then she took a mirror from inside her room, walked behind Wood, and slowly put the mirror in front of Wood.

Wood looked at himself in the mirror, not knowing what his mother was doing.

"Look, George," His mother whispered softly behind Wood. "Why do you always wrinkle your brows? Did someone upset you?"

"No, mother." Wood shook his head.

"Laugh more, George. Don't you think you'll look handsome when you smile?"

Wood opened his mouth in the mirror, revealing two rows of white and neat teeth.

"Little Lion George." His mother ruffled Wood's shiny black hair that was sticking out messily on his head and looked like a lion's mane.

After their affectionate exchange, Sophia returned to the dining table. "What do you think of Mr. Twain?" she asked, seemingly casual, but it caught Wood's attention. "Optimistic and cheerful, he seems full of energy every day. George, you should be like him." His mother did not notice the change in Wood's expression, and she bent her head to cut the potatoes in concentration.

"I've decided. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I will go to see your game."

While eating dinner at the Forest Bar, Tang En looked up at the television to watch the weather forecast.

"...Nottingham will have little to moderate rain tomorrow, from morning till night, temperature..."

"Yeah!" Tang En pumped his fist. This was the weather he wanted.

Next to him, Burns put down the newspaper and said to him, "You care a lot about tomorrow's game, Tony."

"Of course. We will be in the fourth round if we win." Tang En lowered his head to dig into his meal.

"What are the chances of winning?" asked Brosnan, who sat opposite.

Tang En shook his head. "It's not easy to say. Arsenal is very strong, and there are a few strong players on their team, especially that Spaniard…"

"You mean Fàbregas? But he's only 16 years old," Brosnan shrugged.

"Mr. Reporter, for some people, age is not an issue that affects their performance. We generally call these type of people 'geniuses'." Tang En pushed the plate aside, took a gulp of his beer to rinse his mouth, and finished his dinner.

The impact and ripple effects of Tang En's transmigration had appeared in front of him more and more, but fortunately it did not affect some important events, such as the transfer of Francesc Fàbregas. Immediately after October 1st, the young midfielder from Barcelona B club was transferred to the London Premier League team, Arsenal. Le Professeur Arsène Wenger could not wait until the transfer window opened next January to get the best player in U-17 World Championship, even though he was still unable to give Fàbregas a First Team position.

"Oh, don't worry, Tony!" Big John held his glass and said to Twain, "All of us will go to cheer for your team, and hopefully we will not scare those Arsenal kids!"

His words were echoed in agreement by the others, and everyone said they would go to watch the youth team's game.

Tang En lifted his glass to thank him. "But John, there are only standing tickets for sale."

The match was held on the training ground. There were basically no tickets for sale. Anyone could watch the game at any time, just had to stand outside of the mesh wire fence beside the field. This, of course, was the "standing ticket" as compared to the plastic seats in City Ground.

"It doesn't matter. We can even squat to watch the game."

Bill, who was skinny, interrupted John. "Wrong, fatso. We can squat and watch the game, you can't. If you really want to squat down, just be prepared to sew your pants! Ah ha ha ha!"

The people in the bar all laughed.

John scratched his head in embarrassment. "Whatever, squatting or standing is fine. But Tony, so many of us are going to watch the game, you mustn't lose!"

"When have I let you down before?" Amidst the laughter, Tang En replied loudly, "Of course we'll win!"

Chapter 93: Let Me Play Part 1

Tang En stood on the sidelines of the first field of the youth training ground and watched Andrew lead his men in watering the field. Then he looked up at the sky. Even though it was cloudy, it had not rained.

"Damn it! Weather forecasts can't be trusted anywhere!" Tang En muttered a curse under his breath. "Is this little to moderate rain?"

Tang En looked at his watch, and it was still nearly an hour before the game began. He signaled to Andrew that they did not have to do the watering anymore.

"You want us to stop watering? Are you sure, Mr. Twain?" Andrew asked loudly as he stood in the middle of the field, holding a running hose in his hands and wearing a raincoat and wellington boots.

"I'm sure! Very sure! If you keep watering, we're going to change to playing water polo with Arsenal!"

Andrew heard Twain's answer and waved his hand. The staff gathered up their equipment and left the field. Tang En took a few steps on the field, and it was slippery as if it had just rained. He was satisfied with Andrew's work.

Before the mid-nineties, the Arsenal playing style, especially in Graham's era, was rough and tough and strictly adhered to the cut and dry "1:0 code". The football ball was just flying back and forth in the air most of the time, which was not very interesting to watch. But since the arrival of the Frenchman, Arsène Wenger, their style of play has had a massive transformation. The Frenchman brought the art of football and stressed on making football entertaining to watch. He paid particular attention to short passes and ground coordination and encouraged his players to show off their personal skills. Today's Arsenal played the most beautiful football in England and was praised around the world.

However, the team that liked to play this way had higher requirements of the venue. The slippery and muddy football field, which was uneven and filled with holes, was not a suitable arena for Arsenal's performance.

Big John and Skinny Bill had arrived. There were a lot of people there. If they had been in City Ground, they would have almost filled a whole section of the stands. They stood in two rows outside the wire mesh fence, occupying half the length of the field. Although not everyone was wearing the Forest team's red jerseys like John, they all had the red scarves, and someone even made a banner overnight and hung it on the wire mesh. Tony Twain's caricature was drawn on it. Although it did not look quite like him, it highlighted his distinctive feature—his messy hair, which he had never taken care of. A caption was written next to his caricature:

Hey, Tony! Give us another victory!

As the wind blew, the caricature fluttered, and it looked like Tony Twain shouting on the field.

Looking at these enthusiastic fans, Tang En smilingly shook his head and then walked over to chat with them through the wire fence. These people were regulars at the Forest Bar, and Tang En clearly knew they were his most loyal supporters. Just as every player has a group of fans and fan club, Tang En, though not a player, had his own fans.

Ah, it felt good to be liked and recognized.

They chatted together for more than 20 minutes. The youth team players came to the field in succession, and then Kerslake led them to the locker room to change and come out to warm up. John and the others began to cheer for this group of kids. Although the youth team often had loyal fans coming to watch, today's number was so many that the players were surprised and excited.

Just as these kids were getting ready to do their warm-ups on the field, their opponents arrived.

With the blare of a horn, a red and white bus turned in from the asphalt road next to the field. The body of the bus was decorated with the Arsenal club logo and name. The bus passed the field and headed for the parking lot. Tang En glanced at it, took his leave of John and the others, and turned back to the home team's technical area, which was actually a few folding chairs for the coaches and wooden benches for the players to sit on.

Very soon, the Arsenal youth team players came in through the main entrance. Tang En saw several familiar faces in the crowd—Francesc Fàbregas, Ga?l Clichy, Michal Papadopulos, Philippe Senderos…

The owners of these names would have roles to play in the international football arena in the future. Now the oldest player was an 18-year-old and the youngest was only 15 years old. After the players, the coaches entered the field.

Liam Brady, the head of the Arsenal youth team, came toward Tony Twain and extended his hand to his opponent. He was a famous Arsenal player, who had once played for Arsenal from 1975 to 1980. He was the core of the team's midfield, the brain on the field, and now the youth director of the Gunners. But Tang En did not know this man. What startled him was the tall man, standing not far behind Brady, with silvery grey hair and a big protruding nose that made him looked like a serious version of Mr. Bean—the Gunners manager, the French Professor, Arsène Wenger.

Why did the First Team manager come here? Tang En's brain flashed a trace of doubt.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Twain. I hope this match will be a good one." Brady gave a weak, bland, and useless conventional greeting. He took Twain lightly, as well as the Forest team. So what if they had the top youth training facilities in the United Kingdom? We have the world's top youth teaching system for Arsenal.

"Well, um..." Tang En's mind was filled questions like Why is Wenger here? What is his intention in coming? Who is directing Arsenal for this match? So, he responded indifferently to Mr. Brady's greeting.

As for Arsenal's famous Mr. Brady, this naturally displeased him. He thought that Twain looked down on him and the Arsenal youth team. So, he did not say more, turned around, and walked back. Tang En's gaze was still on Wenger when he realized another person was suddenly next to Arsène Wenger. Mr. Brady has already walked back? What did he say to me just now? Oh, hell, it looks like I've offended someone again.

Arsène Wenger was talking to Brady while keeping his eyes on Fàbregas on the field. Tang En then understood that the Frenchman must have come to inspect the performances of a few young players.

The 18-year-old French full back, Clichy, had transferred from France's AS Cannes that summer. He had already played for the Arsenal First Team in the Premier League, but he had limited appearances. To maintain his competitive state, Wenger let him participate in the youth team matches. In the same situation as Clichy was the tall Swiss center back, Senderos.

Without a doubt, Tang En had reason to believe that the most important purpose of Wenger's trip to Nottingham was to inspect the Spanish kid whom he had just bought a month before—Francesc Fàbregas.

Fàbregas, who was of a lean build, was warming up on the field. He seemed very confident and without any performance anxiety. Even though he had only been on the team for a month, he looked as if he had been at Arsenal for a decade. Obviously, he would be the core of the team and the key player in the game.

Is there anyone currently on the Forest team who can defend against him? Tang En looked at the Forest players who were warming up on the other side of the field and scratched his head.

Arsène Wenger's arrival had created a flurry of excitement among the football fans watching on the sidelines. He was a celebrity from the Premier League and a world-class manager. Within John's group, besides being supporters of the Forest team, some of them were Arsenal fans too, because Arsenal played very well in their matches and had excellent offensive.

Someone was so excited that he whistled, "Look! It's that Frenchman!"

"Why is he here?"

"Who cares! Maybe we can ask him for an autograph after the match has ended..."

"Fools!" Big John interrupted their excited discussion and said with a stern face, "Now he is our enemy. Don't show so much enthusiasm! You're humiliating! Come, shout with me. Forest Forest!"

"Forest! Forest!!" A group of men pumped their fists in the air and yelled at top of their lungs.

Mr. Brady had wanted to go out on the field and personally guide the team in their warm-ups. He had just stepped onto the field when he suddenly heard the roar of the fans outside. He got a shock, slipped, and landed on his butt!

"Dammit! Ahh!" Falling on the ground and feeling embarrassed, Brady angrily smacked the ground. As a result, a piece of mud was flung onto his face and his palms were covered with more mud. "What kind of rotten field is this?"

Standing next to him, Wenger had seen Brady's foot slip and wanted to reach out to catch him. But he was too late, and the head of the youth team comically fell to the ground in front of him. Wenger smiled a little as he saw the expressions of the players on the field who had wanted to laugh but dared not to. "Liam, get up. The Forest team must have done this on purpose." He took out a clean towel and handed it to Brady. "Wipe your face first, then wipe your behind."

As matter of fact, Wenger had already noticed the problem with the field. He watched the players' expressions and actions while they were warming up on the field, and then he looked at the repeatedly overturned dirt and turf... He had encountered such a thing in the Premier League, too, but, it seemed that no other team had done it to such an extreme extent as the Forest team. It appeared they were not that comfortable in their warm-ups, as well.

After the warm-up had ended, both sides returned to their respective technical areas to receive their coaches' final biddings.

Chapter 94: Let Me Play Part 2

Tang En did not know what they were saying on Arsenal's side. He only took a quick glance and found that Wenger did not replace Brady to exercise his managerial authority. Instead he just stood to a side with his arms folded across his chest and watched the young Arsenal youth team players gathered around to hear Brady talk. So, he turned his attention back to his team.

"I don't think you need me to say anything more, do you? Do you all know what I like?"

"Victory!" Morgan growled, and his teammates immediately loudly agreed.

"Very good! Arsenal is not weak, but we are also very strong. It has rained every day for a while now, and I have not asked you to train indoors. When you were soaking wet from the rain and rolling on the muddy ground, battered and exhausted, and could only swallow your misery and only complain in your hearts, did you ever think that maybe we should let our opponents have a taste of that feeling?"

Although the players were shaking their heads, the excited looks on their faces were obvious.

"That's right! The Arsenal boys didn't think of it either! Go and give them a surprise, lads!"

"Forest! Forest! Victory!" The players roared together in a huddle and ran out to the field.

Wenger's attention was caught by the shouts coming from the Forest team. He turned to look at them but met Twain's gaze as he happened to be observing him at the same time.

When Wenger found that Twain was looking at him, he turned his gaze back. But Tang En was still staring at the Frenchman as if he wanted to see through him.

Arsène Wenger... We'll have a direct fight someday.

After the start of the match, the Arsenal youth team found it difficult to adapt to the terrible field condition. Many of their usually successful coordinated plays became misses because of the field.

The force of their passing diminished. The football would roll several times before it stopped in the mud. If they used too much force to kick it forward, it might directly fly out of the line. If they ran too quickly, they could not brake in time, and if they ran too slowly, they then simply could not receive the ball.

After half an hour, the score was still 0:0. The score had not changed, but their clean yellow Arsenal jerseys for the away match had almost turned black.

At the 32nd minute, the Forest team players seemed to have a little problem with their physical strength. The pace of their attack slowed down, and they began to pass the ball back and forth in the backfield. At this point, the increasingly impatient Arsenal players rushed over the halfway line like a swarm of bees, hoping to score a goal before the end of the first half. They had not expected to be trapped in a quagmire with their opponents.

Wenger raised his eyebrows at the sight of his players' show of impatience. But he did not make a sound to alert Brady who was standing on the sidelines and directing the match by shouting and yelling.

When Senderos pushed past the center circle after they could not be held back any longer, the only Arsenal player left, other than the goalkeeper, Craig Holloway, was only one center back, Franklin Simek, with a wide expanse of empty space all around him.

Wes Morgan intercepted Arsenal's Czech midfielder Papadopulos' pass and then drove the ball straight forward. For the many young Arsenal players, they were blindsided and had to scramble to kick the ball out of penalty area to crack their opponents' offensive. But who was in front of them? The Forest players were almost all huddled up in the backfield, playing defense.

They thought it was good that there was really no one from the Forest team on that side. But they did not know that the Forest team had a fast striker—Spencer Weir-Daley!

This single-handed tactic of having the full back driving the ball and doing a long pass to the striker was a drill that Tang En often ran during training. But because Weir-Daley was almost useless except that he ran fast, the success rate was not high. This did not change Tang En's mind, and he insisted on this tactic. Even if it only succeeded once out of a hundred times, as long as he scored this one time at the most critical moment!

Like now...

Weir-Daley quickly ran past Senderos' side, and he seemed completely unaffected by the muddy ground. Senderos was so shocked that he wanted to turn around and chase after the Forest player who was so fast he could not see his jersey number, but he was struck in the face by a blob of upturned mud.

The ball was still in the air and Weir-Daley had already run past the midfield. He was approaching the opponent's 30-meter zone.

John and the others on the sidelines cheered loudly and cheered Weir-Daley on.

"Run, Lad! You can do it!"

The Arsenal full back, Simek, had just started to come up to stop the ball when his feet slipped out from under him. Then he looked up in despair at Weir-Daley sweeping past him from the side.

"Keep running!!"

Weir-Daley, who had received the ball, had only one player left in front of him now—the goalkeeper, Holloway. His opponent already behind him, the rest was simple. Amidst the loud cries from the crowd on the sidelines, Weir-Daley easily moved past Holloway, who had lost his center of gravity, and shot the ball into the empty goal!

The ball was in! The ball was in!

The Nottingham Forest youth team led in the third round of the FA Youth Cup against the mighty Arsenal youth team by 1:0!

John and the rest were so excited on the sidelines that they jostled the mesh wire fence making a rattling sound. It looked as if they were going to push down the mesh wire fence and rush onto the field to join the Forest team to celebrate the goal.

"Well done, lads!" The assistant manager Kerslake stood up to congratulate the players who had run back to the technical area, and Twain applauded behind him. Things were much easier now with one goal. Now that they had the advantage, if Arsenal wanted to win in this away match, it was not going to be that easy!

On the other side, Brady shook his fists angrily and then yelled, "That damn Tony Twain!"

Wenger stood with arms around his chest behind him, and he still did not say a word. But his gaze had now shifted from the field to the sidelines, and his attention had turned from the young Arsenal players to Tony Twain.

He knew how to use the weather and field conditions to lay the foundation for their tactics. If the weather was not favorable to them, he artificially created the conditions which were conducive to them. He made full use of every winning factor that could be used. This youth team manager was not simple.

Ten minutes later, the first half of the match ended. The visiting team, Arsenal youth, was behind the Nottingham Forest youth team by a goal for the time being.

Looking at the players who looked down and were in low spirits since they returned from the field, Wenger suddenly asked Brady who was busy comforting them, "Liam, did you bring any spare sneakers this time? The ones with the long spikes."

Brady understood, and he nodded, "Yes, I did. I'll have them all change into those now." Then he turned to the young players and said, "Change into the shoes with the long spikes and show those little rascals how powerful we are in the second half!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of shoe spikes clashing everywhere. Wenger nodded lightly, as long as the team adapted to this slippery muddy ground, he believed that with the team's overall strength, they could still overcome the Forest team.

As he was thinking about it, he turned his head again toward the Forest team manager. He wanted to see what Tony Twain was doing.

"You've done a great job!" Tang En was loudly praising his players. "When we were running freely on this field, our opponents were frantically trying to keep up with us. Continue to play like this in the second half, increase our tackles on their players with the ball, so that they will keep missing, and then miss again!"

"Yessss!!"

When he heard the cheers coming from the Forest team, Wenger called Fàbregas aside and alone.

"Cesc, how do you think you played in the first half?"

Cesc Fàbregas shook his head honestly, "Not very well, sir."

"And the reason was?"

"Well, I don't want to find an excuse, but the field condition is terrible. I've never played on such a lousy field. The ball can't be dribbled at all." Fàbregas pointed to the field behind him, which was indeed terrible as if it had just been plowed up by a tractor.

Wenger expressed his understanding, "You're right in saying that. The field condition really does restrict your play. But I think, after the first half, you should have already adapted to this field?"

"Yes, sir."

"I want more passes, chest-high balls, reduce the contact between the ball and the ground as much as possible. Less dribbling for the break throughs." Wenger patted Cesc Fàbregas on the shoulder. "Remember Cesc. You are the midfield, the core of the team, the brain. Use more of this here to play." He pointed to his own temple. "If the situation is not fine, then you change to another method to cope with it. During a match, the manager can't call you at any time or anywhere to instruct you on the next step. You have to be the second manager on the field."

Fàbregas firmly nodded. "I understand, sir. I know what to do!" He returned to his teammates and looked at the Forest team resolutely because he now had a clear purpose.

Soon after the second half, Tang En felt something was wrong. Cesc Fàbregas, who was trapped in the quagmire in the first half, was revitalized. He was the core of Arsenal's midfield, and his resurgence meant Arsenal was on the rebound.

The young Spanish midfielder oversaw the midfield and managed it. From time to time, Clichy, the French center back would interject from behind him to help break the Forest team defense line. Michael Papadopulos would receive Fàbregas' pass in the front and then use his skills to break away from the defenders and seek opportunities to score. Senderos, after being censured by Brady at halftime, rarely rushed up to the front in the second half, unless there was a good position for a free kick or a corner kick. Other times he was holding the ground in the backfield and Weir-Daley did not have a chance again.

Arsenal was like a machine. Fàbregas was the core controller of this machine, and the others were operating around him. When he was running normal, the team would run normal. If he was not normal, this team would be in danger.

In the first half, even though this Spanish machine controller was apparently a little short-circuited by the muddy water, he resumed operation again in the second half.

Twenty minutes later, if the Forest team had not been lucky, their goal would have been breached at least three times. Once, Papadopulos' powerful long shot had almost entered the goal. The Forest goalkeeper, John Lukic, threw himself to block the ball, and the ball slowly rolled toward the goal line. But just in front of the white line, Wes Morgan managed to rush up in time and kick it out!

"Ah!" A loud sigh broke out from the Arsenal technical area, and the Forest team's side breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can't keep going like this," Kerslake said to Twain. "That Spanish boy is too good! His passing is fantastic! He finds our strategic point almost every time."

Tang En squeezed his chin and murmured, "Yes, yes, you're right, David. He's indeed very good. He's very powerful. But do we have someone now who can defend against him?"

Kerslake was rendered speechless by Twain's question. That's right, does the team have anyone who can defend against this best player of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship?

The two coaches stared at Fàbregas, who was very active on the field. They had run out of ideas. Sitting at the outermost edge of the substitutes' bench, George Wood did not care what was happening on the field. He had been fidgeting for almost 65 minutes and honestly could not just sit there and learn anything from his teammates on the field. He sprang to his feet and walked up to Twain, blocking his view.

"George?" Tang En looked up at Wood.

"Let me play." Wood got straight to the point without any nonsense.

"Now? This is not a good time." Tang En was right. Fàbregas' playing exceeded his expectations in this match. He was originally going to let Wood play in this match, but now that he saw Fàbregas' second half performance, he promptly changed his mind. "In line with the principle of protecting young players..."

"Let me play!" Wood repeated his request.

"Tell me your reason." Normally, George Wood listened to Twain, and he had only been difficult a handful of times, like his unyielding attitude at the moment.

Wood hesitated for a second, then pointed to a remote corner outside the field and said, "My mother is here, and I want her to watch me play in a match."

The astonished Tang En looked in the direction that Wood's finger pointed, and saw Sophia, who was hiding in a corner that was not easily noticed and away from the place where John and the other fanatics were, standing behind the mesh wire fence to watch the game.

"How did she come here?"

Wood was unwilling to explain the matter, so he repeated, "Let me play."

Tang En looked at Wood's resolute expression in his eyes, thought about it, and nodded. "Well, go warm up, you only have three minutes, and then come back to me."

Chapter 95: A Fateful Showdown Part 1

Wood soon returned to Twain's side, and as he looked at Twain, Twain looked down at his watch. "So soon? Has it been three minutes? All right. Let me tell you what you should do when you get on the field." He grabbed Wood and pointed at Fàbregas who was running and passing the ball. "Look, the opponent's number 25, do you see him?"

Wood nodded. "I see him."

"He's Arsenal's midfield commander, the center of the team, and the key to whether Arsenal is able to beat us in this match. His name is Francesc Fàbregas. Remember his name, his face, and his number. Then go up and mark him one-on-one, watch him closely, freeze him. Don't let him easily receive the ball from his teammates' passes. Don't let him pass the ball easily. If he wants to drive the ball to break through, tackle him. Do you understand?" Tang En turned to look at Wood. The lad seemed to be looking forward to playing in this match. He could not stay calm beside Tang En, bouncing and upbeat throughout, as if he were still warming up.

That was the way he should be. He was always stone-faced and had a robotic appearance. Who would like that? A normal lad was expectant, could be stirred up and excited.

"Yes, I understand."

Suddenly, Tang En's attention was drawn to Wood's bare legs. He frowned and asked, "George, where are your shin pads?"

"I didn't put them on."

"Why aren't you wearing them?"

"I don't like them, they feel uncomfortable."

"That can't be done, go put them. Wearing shin pads is to protect you from injury and harm."

"I won't get hurt."

"Come on, don't talk nonsense. Put them on, or I won't let you play!" Tang En said sternly.

The trick worked, and Wood ran back at once. Watching him carelessly stuff the shin pads into his socks, Tang En shook his head helplessly. Maybe what this kid said was true… there was no one in the world who could hurt him on the field.

When the opportunity of a dead ball came, the Forest team made a substitution. George Wood, wearing number 55, was brought on to replace number 18, James Beaumont.

Brady saw the Forest team make a substitution, and he glanced at Wood's number. "Number 55?" Generally speaking, a player with such a large number, aside from personal preference, did not occupy an important position on the team. He was normally a substitute for the substitutes. All the good numbers had been chosen by the others and when it was his turn, only the numbers after 30, of little value or interest, were left. To wear such a number was as good as announcing to everyone: I am a substitute. I have no ability!

He did not understand why Twain had put this person in.

"Who knows who number 55 is?" He turned to look at the coaches and the team doctors. Everyone shook his head in reply to his question.

No, not only the Arsenal coaches, but no one in the whole world knew who that tall, built number 55 lad was. What position did he play? What was his style of play? How were his kicking skills? What were his strengths and weaknesses? How was his temper? Was he a genius or a loser? Was he a future star player or an ordinary player, doomed to mediocrity?

To the football world, George Wood was a blank canvas. He could be painted on with intricate color and detail, or he could be randomly smeared with a few strokes and then be crumpled up into a ball and thrown in the trash.

Now, in front of the powerful team Arsenal, in front of the insightful Le Professeur, Arsène Wenger, Wood would give his career the first stroke.

What suspense!

When he got on the field, George Wood went straight across half the field to the Arsenal player, Fàbregas, and then stood still, staring at him...

Tang En rolled his eyes, and he heard the sigh of Kerslake behind him.

Everyone at the Arsenal technical area laughed. Brady gave the most exaggerated laugh. His facial muscles convulsed, and he could not speak properly. "Well, well, we now know he's the guy in charge of defending against Fàbregas. Ha ha!"

On the field, Fàbregas looked strangely at the player who was taller and stronger than himself. He judged that he was of mixed ethnicity and handsome.

Number 55? You send a player with such a high number to guard me?

He took his eyes off Wood and fixed his gaze on the Forest manager, Tony Twain.

Hey, Mr. Manager. Is this some kind of joke?

Off the field, even the Forest fans could not understand Twain's substitution.

"Hey! Who's that number 55? Does anyone know?"

"Is he a fool? Standing in front of the opponent and just staring him down?" Someone complained loudly. "What is Tony thinking? Bringing on a big idiot to defend against the opponent's number 25?"

As soon as the man finished speaking, John grabbed hold of him. Big John's angry, wide face appeared in front of him. Like a 22-inch widescreen monitor, it had quite a visual impact.

"Shut your mouth! Don't underestimate him!" John growled.

The man who mocked Wood was so stunned, he couldn't respond.

Someone next to John asked, "John, do you know that number 55?"

Bill nodded and helped John answer, "George Wood. Tony picked him up from the streets."

"How does he play? What's his position?"

This time Bill shook his head. "We've never seen him play, but Tony thinks a lot of him."

Someone in the crowd whistled to express his dissatisfaction.

"All of you shut up!" Big John pushed the poor man aside and shouted, "No one is allowed to doubt his ability!"

"Why, John?" Everyone was asking at once.

"Yeah, he has not proven himself at all! What ability does he have?"

"Because... He was Gavin's hero! He was Gavin's favorite player, and the most promising player!" shouted the angry man as he stared everyone.

Everyone suddenly quieted down.

Big John cleared his throat, took a deep breath, raised his hands, and set his pose. "Chant with me now! Wood! Wood! Wood, Wood, Wood! Grow into a Forest!"

John clapped his hands hard and loud.

"Wood! Wood! Wood, Wood, Wood! Grow into a Forest! Forest! Forest!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Wood! Wood! Wood, Wood, Wood! Grow into a Forest! Forest! Forest!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Forest, Forest -- Forest!!"

These people followed John and Bill to loudly chant the adapted cheer to rally George Wood.

Apart from the related personnel of the two teams, they had the largest crowd. When they began to chant, they attracted almost everyone's attention.

Tang En looked back at John, who was cheering for Wood with a serious face, and grinned.

Everyone in the Arsenal technical area also noticed this sudden outburst. Brady could not laugh anymore. He was a little dumbfounded. Could it be that this was a significant player? To have so many fans supporting and liking him that they even created a cheer for him. This was not how an idiot was treated!

Number 55, exactly what kind of player are you? Are you Tony Twain's secret weapon?

The attention of the people from the two teams in the technical area was not on the field, and the same went for the players on the field. Almost everyone was turning his head and casting strange and surprised looks at the Forest fans, who were still cheering for Wood as they watched.

The Spanish teenager standing in front of Wood slightly turned his head; his attention was also caught by the cheering fans on the side of the field.

George Wood was the only one on the entire field who had no reaction after hearing the chants. He was still staring at Fàbregas.

Because Twain had said to him, "Mark him one-on-one, watch him closely, freeze him... wipe him out!

Ashley Cole's substitute for the First Team, the French teenager, Clichy, made a forward pass to Fàbregas, and then focused on sprinting ahead, hoping to do a wall pass and a one-two combination with his teammate. But after he ran, he realized that the football had not been passed as expected.

At almost the same time Fàbregas received the pass from Clichy, he was also bumped by George Wood from behind. So, when he was struggling to keep his balance, he naturally could not pass the football to where he wanted to pass, and the football was kicked out of bounds by him.

Fàbregas complained to the referee that Wood's action was a foul, but the referee ignored it.

This level of physical collision in England was almost as common as eating and drinking. If every bump required the referee to whistle a foul, the match would be interrupted dozens of times. Not being able to counter the bump from the other side just meant that one wasn't strong enough.

Seeing how Wood single-handedly and successfully defended against Fàbregas once, Tang En high-fived Kerslake. The boy was performing better than anyone expected. After 10 months of training, he was no longer the kid who was at a loss in his first game and then used his foot to kick and break another player's leg.

Fàbregas was confident, but George Wood was confident, too. Fàbregas had no performance anxiety, and George Wood didn't know the meaning of the word "scared." So what if you have your gifted teenager and the Golden Player of the UEFA U-17 European Championship? My George Wood was born fearless!

To prevent Wood from colliding into him when he received a pass, Fàbregas had to forge ahead to receive the ball and at the same time, turn it around and make a big detour and adjust the attacking direction. This should shake you off my tail, right?

No!

Fàbregas turned around to find that the hot breath of Wood's exhalation had already been sprayed on his face!

This bastard! He was unwilling to let up on his relentless pursuit!

Fàbregas, who found the football under his foot in danger, quickly adjusted his body. His back faced Wood again, and he was finally able to protect the ball. But had he now just made a big circle? Did this not just render the detour that he had made earlier useless?

His opponent was silent, but Fàbregas could always hear breathing coming from behind his back, like he could not shake off a ghost that was stuck to him.

Chapter 96: A Fateful Showdown Part 2

Can't shake him off?

Still a boy, Fàbregas' competitive spirit rose within. He forcefully shoved backwards a little, hoping to create a little distance that would allow him to move. He did not expect his opponent to remain motionless. It was as if he had struck a huge stone wall, and the rebounded force almost propelled him forward. The stumbling Fàbregas suddenly had an idea.

He staggered forward and knocked the ball ahead, chasing after it. Then, when he felt that pressure slightly ease, he immediately made a feint. He made Wood think that he was going to change his direction to the left, but he quickly moved the football to the right, and turned around at the same time!

The inexperienced Wood was indeed fooled. When he saw Fàbregas' upper body moved to the left, he shifted his focus accordingly. And then he realized that his opponent had fled to the other side!

Has he broken through?

This thought flashed across Wood's mind, and another sentence sounded at the same time, "If he breaks through, then you must foul!"

He did not forcibly return to his center of gravity. Instead he just seized the opportunity to turn left and circled a long way to the right. After taking huge strides, he was now running neck and neck with Fàbregas again!

It was indeed a terrifying burst of energy!

At this point, Wood could choose to continue to close in on Fàbregas, so that he could not easily move the ball and make a pass. But Wood's mind only had the one thought: "use a foul to stop number 25 from breaking through." So, he simply used his foot to kick off the ball, but he also brought down Fàbregas at the same time.

The referee's whistle finally blew, and Nottingham Forest's number 55 had committed a foul.

"Bastard! There wasn't even a verbal warning!" Brady was dissatisfied and complained on the sidelines.

Wenger, sitting next to him, said nothing. Now his attention had shifted from Twain to this mysterious number 55. It was not easy for Cesc to be so pathetic, even if his opponent was two or three years older than him.

Who was he? What was his football performance in the past? How big could his grooming prospects be?

It was interesting that he had come to Nottingham with his team, just to see the performances of Fàbregas, Clichy, and Senderos. But he did not expect to find such an interesting young man.

With Le Professeur's experience and foresight, he could already tell that Wood was not experienced enough, but his physical fitness had greatly made up for the gap with Fàbregas. In addition, Fàbregas was not familiar with Wood and therefore was at a loss. If there was another game, he believed that Wood would not be able to mark Fàbregas so easily. But that was not important. The important thing was that Wenger could see the potential in this kid, a potential diamond in the rough.

Wenger straightened up and turned his gaze toward Tony Twain, who was directing the match on the sidelines. No matter what the final result of this match was, he could perhaps find the man and talk to him after the match had ended.

As Wenger was quietly inspecting Wood from the sidelines, Wood, on the field, had once again successfully blocked Fàbregas' offense. Fàbregas finally found the opportunity to face Wood. He intended to force a breakthrough past this annoying person. He did not expect that the common problem of "slow turn" for defensive players would not be a problem for Wood. Although at the time when he decided to turn his body, he was indeed slow—he only turned when he saw Fàbregas dribbling the ball past him—and it looked like he was a step behind Fàbregas. But what really happened?

Fàbregas found out that he could not outrun this big guy. He always easily appeared beside him. The only thing he was able to take advantage of was that he had more experience than this player. He could trick him into committing a foul, and then he could gain an offensive free kick.

The match seemed to become a one-on-one fight between him and the opponent number 55, but no one raised any objections. This kind of game was supposed to be a contest between the best players.

Arsène Wenger looked at Fàbregas who was exerting all his strength to play against Wood on the field, and thought of how Cesc was still younger.

He said to Brady, "Liam, let Cesc go back." He made a recall gesture.

"Do you mean... withdraw him from his current position?" Brady was surprised.

"Well, from the center midfielder to a defending midfielder. Pull him to that line in front of the full back and farther away from number 55. Let him reduce the number of his assists, use long passes and direct passes to breach the opponent's line of defense."

Brady took a glance at Wenger and knew what the decision meant—Fàbregas was forced to avoid number 55's dominance. A nice way of saying it would be "strategic retreat and diversion", a not-so-nice way to say "escape"!

"This..." Brady was a little worried that doing so would hurt Fàbregas' confidence and spirit.

"It's okay. Cesc is smart. He'll understand."

Brady stood up, walked up to the sidelines, and yelled, "Fàbregas!" When the Spaniard looked at him, he leaned his head to the side and waved his hand backwards. "Defending midfielder!"

Fàbregas' gaze swept past Brady and then stopped at Wenger. Le Professeur was expressionless, he said nothing and did nothing. He nodded and turned to run back.

When he saw his prey did not advance and had instead retreated, Wood was a little at a loss, did he need to follow him?

Just as he was wavering, the defending midfielder, Fàbregas, launched a 50-meter long ball attack, followed by Clichy receiving the ball and passing it to Papadopulos, whose shot was blocked by Wes Morgan. It was a corner kick! Senderos ran up.

"Tony," Kerslake reminded Twain.

Tang En nodded in response. "I know." He looked at Brady who was also loudly directing the match on the sidelines, to let the center back press ahead to score. This guy is very smart. But do you think everything is safe just because you let Fàbregas retreat? Dream on!

Arsenal's corner kick shot out, Wes Morgan was defeated in the confrontation with Senderos, and the opponent shot a header! This time, the team was saved by the goalkeeper, Lukic. He safely pressed this close-at-hand header attack on the goal line.

"George!" Even though he saw the danger averted, Tang En still shouted, "Did you forget what I said to you?" He pointed to Fàbregas, who was returning to his position. "Mark him! Watch him closely! No matter where he is! Get up there! Mark him closely, mark him closely!" Tang En clenched his right hand into a fist and hit his left palm.

He was not afraid of his tactical arrangements being heard by the opponents. Even if you know, what can you do about it? Unless you change the core of your midfield now, I'm going to crush Arsenal and Fàbregas today.

So, Wood kept close again after receiving his latest instructions. This time, even if the other party retreated to the goal line, he would not hesitate to follow.

"B*stard!" Brady cursed. "Does he not care about the team's overall formation? Does he not care if this causes the team's offensive to become chaotic?"

Next to him, Wenger laughed instead. "Of course he doesn't care about those things. He is the one in the lead now, not us, Liam. A one ball lead can change a lot of things. He is standing in a favorable position where he can use tactics which he normally can't use to deal with us. And we… if we can't think of a better way, we can only be led by the nose."

Brady looked at his watch. The match had gone on for another 15 minutes. It was 10 minutes away from the end of the match. "Have you conceded, Arsène?"

"No, I certainly have not. The game is not over yet." Just as he finished his words, Wenger suddenly felt a chill on his forehead. He looked up in doubt.

Tang En also looked up at the sky and saw rain!

It had been overcast for most of the day, but now it rained at the end of the match. It went from no rain to raining, from little to heavy rain. In a very short time, the rain was clear and visible. The weather forecast had reported little to moderate rain today...

Damn it! It suddenly occurred to Tang En that there was someone of poor health still standing on the sidelines. He took out an umbrella, which he had thought he would not need today, from his backpack underneath the chair and called Beaumont.

"James." He saw Sophia still standing in the rain, and the rain was gradually becoming heavier! "Do you still have the energy run?"

Beaumont nodded, "Yes, sir!"

"Very good. See that lady?" He pointed to Sophia and asked.

"I see her, sir."

"Now run over and give this to her! Quickly!"

"Yes, sir!" Beaumont took the umbrella and ran quickly, like he was in a relay race. Tang En's gaze followed him to Sophia. Sophia took the umbrella with some surprise. He also saw Beaumont point back to him and say something. Then Sophia looked at him, and Tang En could see the smile on her face. He made a gesture to open the umbrella, to remind the lady to open the umbrella first before thanking him.

And when Sophia dutifully opened the umbrella and was ready to thank Mr. Twain again, she saw that Twain had already turned his head back to focus his attention on the match again.

The men's black umbrella completely shaded the petite Sophia. Now no matter how heavy the rain became, she would not get wet, not even a drop on her clothes.

Not only had the people on the sidelines felt the sudden downpour of cold rain that was becoming increasingly heavier, George Wood noticed, too. Although he was still defending against Fàbregas, and Fàbregas had just received a pass and was ready to launch another offensive, he suddenly forgot his opponent and turned to check on his mother.

When he saw his mother holding an umbrella, standing in the same spot to watch him play, his attention swung back to the match. Fàbregas had dribbled the ball and left him behind. He planned to attack. But he had not completely thrown Wood off. It was not even a distance of 10 meters.

Wood turned and charged up to Fàbregas like a tiger and ended Arsenal's offense with a foul. He received a yellow card, and Fàbregas could only angrily slam the ground with his fists, splashing a puddle of muddy water. He had not expected number 55's turnaround chasing speed to be so fast! Or was it the speed of the soul returning?

The rain was getting heavier and more people were holding up umbrellas on the sidelines. Tang En continued to stand in the rain to direct the match. In fact, there was no need to direct anymore. He knew it, and he believed it was clear to his opponents, too.

Wenger took the umbrella that Brady handed over and held it above his head. Listening to the pitter-patter sound of the raindrops on the umbrella, Le Professeur sighed again, "Liam, the match is over. We have lost."

Brady did not speak.

Indeed, under the circumstances of their score behind their opponent, the rain became the straw that broke the camel's back. The field was muddier, the players were agitated, and the core of their midfield was completely frozen by that unknown kid. If they still wanted to make a comeback, the rain would have to be poured back into the skies.

The Arsenal technical area fell into a silence. The sidelines in the distance rang out with the chanting and cheering of the Forest fans. John and others, drenched by the rain, clapped their hands in an accompanying beat to their cheering.

"Wood! Wood! Wood, Wood, Wood! Grow into a Forest! Forest! Forest! Forest, Victory! Hurray! Forest, Forest!"

Chapter 97: The Idiot Collymore Part 1

The referee finally blew the end of the match whistle. The Arsenal players were mostly slumped in the mud, and the Forest players hugged to celebrate their hard-won victory. They had defeated the favorite Arsenal youth team and advanced into the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup!

Fàbregas, who had lost, leaned forward and stood in the rain. He put both his hands on his knees and was panting heavily. The final 25 minutes of the second half were much more tiring than the entire 65 minutes before. There were fatigue and failure, and these were served up to him by that Number 55.

He looked up at Number 55, who was surrounded by his teammates, and was at a complete loss. He was a rookie!

I was actually rendered useless by a rookie for more than 20 minutes! I will never forget this humiliation! Someday, I'll get you back! If we have a chance for another match…

He suddenly straightened himself up and walked off the field with his head held high. He did not give another glance again to the Forest players and that Number 55, who were wildly celebrating their victory on the field.

Despite losing the match, Brady was still gracious. He took the initiative to shake hands with Twain, and Wenger was at his side.

"As I had said before the game, this was indeed a good match." Having lost the match, Brady appeared to be convinced.

Tang En was in a good mood, and his words were not harsh. "You were excellent, too. You just had a little bit of bad luck."

Brady did not say anything else to him. He just smiled and walked away. Wenger, who was holding an umbrella, did not follow suit. Instead, he stood before Twain.

Tang En knew that this Frenchman had something to say, but he would not ask first. It would make him look too anxious. He was the winner, so he must maintain a certain reserve.

As a result, Wenger stood in front of Twain with an umbrella, and Tang En stood in the rain in front of Wenger. The two men did not open their mouths to speak. Finally, unable to bear being drenched any longer, Tang En changed his mind and gave in. "Mr. Wenger, may I ask what you want to see me about? If there's nothing, then I have to head back and change my clothes."

Then Wenger gave a triumphant smile. "Mr. Tony Twain, I have come to congratulate you. You did a great job, and your team deserved to win the match." Le Professeur's gentlemanly praise of Twain made him looked more like a victor.

Compared to this authentic gentleman, Tang En appeared somewhat uncouth. Yes, in front of this Frenchman, who did not even have a drop of mud stain on his trousers, the rain-drenched Twain looked like a country bumpkin.

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Wenger. Is that all?" Tang En suddenly saw from the corner of his eye that there was another man at Sophia's side. And that person, wearing a purple suit with a pink shirt collar poking from underneath, was definitely not Wood. He was standing in front of Sophia and seemed to be saying something. Because it was sheltered by the umbrella, Tang En could not see Sophia's expression and reaction. But he was a little worried. He wanted to end this conversation with Wenger as soon as possible and hurry over to take a look.

"Oh, it's like this. I want to ask about that number 55..."

Tang En had already guessed what Wenger meant even though he had not finished his words. When this lethal-eyed Frenchman asked about a young player, it was because, nine times out of ten, that player had caught his eye. So, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wenger. Wood is not for sale. I will never sell him to anyone."

Looking at Twain's decisive and firm attitude, Wenger nodded. "I understand. In that case, goodbye, Mr. Twain. I hope the next time we meet and chat, it will not be in such a place."

"Of course. I hope so, too." Tang En knew what Wenger meant, and he wanted to say, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wenger. I think there's something I need to deal with now." He had already seen Wood run to his mother out of the corner of his eye. Regardless of who was next to Sophia, or what he was doing, he was going to be out of luck! He had to stop him before Wood caused any trouble.

"Very well, good luck to you, Mr. Twain." Wenger had not finished speaking before Twain turned and ran off, moving as if he were a professional footballer.

"What an interesting man." Wenger shook his head and turned to leave the place.

Sophia, who was holding the umbrella on the sidelines, saw Wood surrounded by his excited teammates. She was pleased with her son's performance and acceptance by the team and felt warmed by Mr. Twain's meticulous care.

To come watch her son's game, Sophia specially put on makeup and dressed up before she went out. She looked 10 years younger with her raven black hair put up with a white hairpin on top of her head, her white turtleneck sweater with blue floral print over jeans, and a lovely little bag in her right hand. Standing in the rain with the umbrella, Sophia looked like a flower moistened by raindrops, gently swaying in the wind and rain.

Collymore stood behind Sophia and was completely captivated by this quiet woman. He even forgot his purpose in his coming there. The shouts of the men around him were clear and audible, making him feel even more that in this noisy and cold world, what a wonderful thing it was to have a delicate flower suddenly appear.

The only pity was that the large black umbrella in the woman's hands did not match her appearance. Such a lovely woman should be carrying a delicate red floral umbrella, looking slender and elegant in the drizzle. Well, of course, today's rain was a little too much.

Just when the match had ended, Collymore took the initiative to approach. He had plenty of experience hitting on women in the parking lot. Usually after 15 minutes, he would be having passionate sex with his pick-up target in the car.

"I did not expect such a beautiful lady like yourself would come to watch such a boring game." Collymore stood behind Sophia, and the two people were very close together. "May I have the honor of knowing your name, Miss... Ahhhh!"

Sophia, startled by the voice of a man who suddenly spoke behind her, abruptly turned around, and the raindrops on the umbrella splattered Collymore's face.

"Oh! I'm sorry, sir. I'm not..." She saw that Collymore had closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, but looked pathetic because he could not dodge in time and his face was wet with the water. Sophia repeatedly apologized and took out a tissue from her handbag for him to wipe the rain water off his face.

"Ah, there's no need for an apology, my dear lady," Collymore said gently. At the same time, he quickly gripped Sophia's small hand and held it in his palm, feeling the coolness of her fingertips. He was completely unconcerned with wiping the water off his brow.

"Sir, stop!" Sophia did not expect him to grab her hand in such a blatant manner. She tried to struggle free, but the other party held on tightly.

"Ah, your hand is so cold and small, makes one feel so tender-hearted," Collymore said while basking in the moment.

"B*stard! Take your hands off her!" His musing was awakened by a shout.

A boy, wearing the number 55 Forest jersey and all covered in mud, was standing inside the field. His hands were clutching the mesh wire fence, and he growled at him with a grim face, like an enraged beast.

Collymore glanced at him and frowned, but he did not listen to him and kept his hand as it was.

"Mr. Stan Collymore, I suggest you let go of her hand." Another voice came beside the kid.

Tony Twain glared at Collymore. He had not finished speaking, and the angry Wood had begun to climb the wire fence.

"Ah! Damn it!" Tang En knew what Wood was going to do, so he rushed up the wire fence, too, hoping to get in front of Wood to stop him. But it was somewhat difficult seeing how fast he climbed.

As a player, Wood was more agile than Twain. He jumped off the wire fence first, rushed forward after landing, and punched Collymore!

"Wood!" Tang En had just straddled the top of the fence and could do nothing to stop it from happening.

"George!" Sophia exclaimed.

Collymore was knocked down and made a splash on the ground. The umbrella was overturned in the rain and swayed gently. As for his hand, he naturally released his grip.

He fell in a puddle and was soaked all over. His brand new suit and shirt were so drenched by the dirty water that their original colors were no longer apparent. His right cheek was bruised and swollen. He was a passionate playboy a moment ago, but now he had become a pathetic, wet dog.

"You little b*stard!" said Collymore, who, humiliated in front of the beauty, got up and was going to fight back. But this time Tang En stood between them.

"What are you doing, Mr. Collymore?" Tang En blocked him and stared at him coldly.

"Move aside! This is none of your business!" The furious Collymore growled and shook his fist.

Tang En had no intention of listening to him. At the same time, behind him, Wood was also misbehaving. He wanted to get at and beat up the man who dared to be handsy with his mother. Sophia was trying so hard to pull him back that the umbrella in her hands fell to the ground.

"George, help your mother with the umbrella, don't let her get wet in the rain," Tang En said without turning his head.

Wood stared blankly for a moment, looked at his mother with her hair wet with rain, and quickly rushed to pick up the umbrella. He then shielded it over his mother's head. He wanted to dry his mother's face without knowing if her face was wet from the rain or with tears, but his hands were full of mud and so was his jersey. He helplessly dawdled in front of his mother and could not wipe her face.

Still, Sophia smiled and took out the tissue from her bag and wiped the mud from Wood's hands and the sweat and rain from his face.

Chapter 98: The Idiot Collymore Part 2

"I'll say it again, mind your own business," Collymore spoke through gritted teeth and stared at Tony Twain in a very unfriendly way. "That mixed b*stard punched me. I'm going to make him pay!"

Tang En laughed. "Are you talking about yourself, Mr. Collymore?"

Collymore called Wood a mixed b*stard, because at one glance he could tell that Wood was biracial. But he forgot that he was not of a single ethnicity, either.

Tang En's sarcasm added fuel to the fire. Collymore recklessly shook his fist at Twain, who grabbed it with ease. Although he was once a strong and powerful professional athlete, after many years of immersing himself in the life of alcohol, sex, and excess, Collymore was no longer the fearless sportsman. Now, he just had a showy appearance, and had long been without substance inside.

"Don't forget where you are, Mr. Collymore. This is the youth training ground. It's my territory. You're just the first team manager, you don't control me." Tang En gripped Collymore's fist in his hand, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not break free. "Wood is my player. You want to touch him, you have to ask for my permission first. Did you ask me, Mr. Collymore?" Tang En's tightened his grip a little, and Collymore's face turned ugly.

Seeing the conflict off to the side, the fans all gathered around. John asked enthusiastically, "Tony, are you in trouble?"

"No, I'm not in trouble." Tang En let go of his hand. Collymore groaned and held his fist.

That's when everyone recognized the first team manager who had previously had his back to them. "Ah! Look, who's here! Mr. Stan Collymore!" Bill yelled, causing a hissing sound all around.

"Oh, oh, oh! Collymore! Oh, oh, oh! When we were moaning and groaning in the stands, he was whining and weeping in the bed of the nth girlfriend's house!" The fans sang their self-composed song loudly. Tang En had heard this song sung by the fans in the stands in City Ground. The first time he heard it, he was shocked. But after a few lines, he could not help singing it; he had no choice, the tune was too catchy.

"Oh... my dear, the team had lost again! I am very sad! So very sad! Comfort me!" Bill dramatically threw himself on Big John, causing everyone to roar with laughter.

Seeing how Collymore was taunted and ridiculed by all, Tang En remembered the scene when he first arrived in this world. A year had quickly passed, and he had already received these people's acceptance and welcome. Now, it was Collymore's turn to be unlucky.

"You b*stards!" he said. The infuriated Collymore tightly clenched his fists in front of the singing and dancing fans. He seemed intent on pouncing on the fans to grapple with them.

"This is really good news! The Nottingham Forest manager, Stan Collymore, acted inappropriately toward a youth player's mother, assaulted the youth director, and abused the fans. Newspaper sales tomorrow will certainly break records. I am the Nottingham Evening Post reporter, Pierce Brosnan. I would like to ask Mr. Stan Collymore this: is the team's current poor performance related to whether you have put too much energy into bed?" At some point, Pierce Brosnan, who was interviewing the team, had entered the circle and was clearly taking photos with a phone.

Collymore reflexively raised his hand to cover his face. He knew he was in deep trouble today. Initially, he was just bored and had decided to come watch the youth team's game. He did not expect this to happen.

He looked at the unfriendly faces around him and knew that he would not find a friendly face today. He simply left behind some harsh words before he took off. "Pierce Brosnan? Don't expect my team to grant you interviews!"

"It doesn't matter. I only report on the youth team."

The people around them laughed and sang to send Collymore off.

After he had dealt with Collymore, Tang En turned to the frightened Sophia with the intention to comfort her. "Madam, I'm really sorry that something like this has happened."

The drops of water on Sophia's face had been wiped dry, and she looked paler after a little bit of rain. She shook her head gently. "No need for any apology, Mr. Twain. I would like to thank you for your umbrella. It's you who is soaked through now."

Tang En smiled sheepishly. "This is nothing. A little rain is good for me."

John and the others, who were watching the two of them, had begun to quietly retreat to give them a little privacy.

But...

A car horn wrecked their plans. The Arsenal youth team bus pulled through from the parking lot, leaving Nottingham.

"Oh, damn it!"

"Darn it!"

"Those b*stards!" The crowd began to noisily grumble.

Tang En looked strangely at the fans who reacted oddly, "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

"Don't mind us!" John replied loudly.

Tang En shrugged and then said to Wood, "It's still raining. Don't stay here too long. Take your mother home, take good care of her, and don't let her catch a cold. You played well today! Go back and celebrate a little."

Wood nodded.

After Sophia thanked Twain, she slowly left with Wood supporting her arm. After watching them leave, Tang En turned to John and said, "Hey... I have nothing to say, except… tonight, Burns' Bar! Drinks on me!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Generous Tony Twain! Oh, oh, oh! He invites us to drink, and we love him! He gives us victory, and we love him!" The group of fans immediately danced with excitement, changing the lyrics to that song that they had just used to ridicule Collymore, to praise Tony Twain.

Tang En looked at the group of lovely fans and smiled. He then lifted his hands and sang along with them.

The bus slowed down as it passed by this crowd, so that it would not splash the dirty water as it drove past.

People in the bus noticed the singing and dancing outside and among them was Wenger. He turned to look at the scene outside the window. The animated fans, the number 55 who froze Fàbregas, and the woman who looked like his mother. And of course, how could that one person be left out? He was the core of it all—Tony Twain. He was completely drenched in the rain, but he was still singing with the fans.

This man was very interesting.

At the Forest Bar that night, John and Bill vividly recounted to the others who did not go to watch the wonderful game in the afternoon, how Tony Twain single-handedly faced-off against Collymore in a hero rescue/damsel in distress drama. The group of men were loudly clamoring while they listened.

"Collymore, that incompetent idiot! I've been wanting to punch him!"

"The Forest team is now ranked sixth from the bottom! It must be rough for him to have all these good players and to produce such results!"

"He should just get lost and go back to being a stallion. The manager post does not suit him; his battlefield is in the bed!"

"Plus women's tits and between the legs."

"Aha ha ha ha!"

The men spoke more and more crudely, stimulated by the alcohol. Tang En was not interested in discussing Collymore's usual comings and goings. He turned around to thank Brosnan. If he had not shown up that afternoon, he did not know how things would have turn out. Although he was not afraid to fight with Collymore, it was clearly not a good time to use violence to solve a problem.

"I think he's going to take his anger out on the newspaper that you're working for."

Brosnan shrugged. "Just as well. We've found the perfect pretext to criticize him without restraint, an excellent chance to only speak negatively of him and not say anything good. You have no idea how long the old guys at the newspaper have been itching to do this." Brosnan had been hanging out with Twain and the others for a long time now. His tone had become a bit rough, and he was not so careful with his words. If it had been before, he would have said:

"Oh, it's actually nothing. We may have a reason to criticize him. Several old gentlemen in the newspaper had long hoped to do so."

Tang En burst into laughter. "Although I don't like the media very much, I have to admit that sometimes you guys are pretty amusing!"

Brosnan tried to justify it a little. "Uh, sometimes we flatter the team and say things that go against our beliefs. We have no choice. We can't get better press seats if we don't have good relationships with the clubs."

Tang En narrowed his eyes at him. "So, did that mean all those praises I had received from you all earlier this year were just flattery?"

"Ah! No, no!" Brosnan hurriedly waved his hands. "Those were our true words, Mr. Twain. You did a great job for the Forest first team during that half season! It's not an exaggeration, really!"

Tang En raised his glass, clinked it with Brosnan's and muttered, "Anyway, it's still a mouth with two faces, whether it's good or bad, it all depends on what you say and write ..."

At this time Walker squeezed in. He had recently been depressed about the team's poor results. He rarely came there to drink and chat. So, Tang En was very glad to see him show up again. He raised his glass and shouted, "Hey! Des! Long time no see! How have you been lately?"

Walker shook his head with a wry smile. "The team is in the bottom six. I'm in the hot seat every home match. It's like I'm an egg in a frying pan. How do you think I am?"

Tang En chuckled, "You must be missing me now, right?"

"That's right. I miss you, so I've come to see you." Walker took the beer from Burns' hand and sat down. "Tony, I heard there was an incident at the youth team game this afternoon?"

Burns smiled. "Des, you heard right."

Tang En nodded. "It's a small matter. Collymore came to my territory and behaved atrociously. He tried to take liberties with Wood's mother."

"Oh. I heard Collymore was beaten up by someone. Was it you?"

"No." Tang En shook his head. "It was that kid, Wood. I didn't manage to stop him. I blocked Collymore when he tried to fight back. What's wrong?" He saw from Walker's expression that something was up.

"Well, I heard he went to see Mr. Chairman."

When he heard Walker said this, Tang En smiled instead. "Is he a still child who hasn't grown up yet? When he's bullied, he only knows to cry and go home to find mummy for comfort. Don't worry about me, Des."

"I certainly wouldn't worry about you, Tony. I'm worried about Wood. He was the one who hit Collymore," said Walker with a frown.

The other three men sitting around the table were silent. Wood had just shown that he was suitable for professional football. Would he be forced to end his career because he hit someone?

Tang En took a big gulp of his drink, and then said, "There's no need to be afraid. Worst comes to the worst, I'll help him shoulder the blame. If Doughty wants to get rid of me, I'll go somewhere else and coach."

Burns pressed his arm and shook his head. "Don't talk like this now. Maybe things won't be as bad as you think."

Walker nodded. "I've just come to warn you in hopes that you will be mentally prepared to deal with this. And everyone knows what kind of person Collymore is. You just tell the truth about what happened, and it should be okay. I don't think there's more than five people in the club who like that b*stard. When Collymore transferred back from Southend United to the Forest team, his relationship with his teammates was strained. I was not on the Forest at the time, but whenever I chatted with my former teammates, they almost all mentioned Collymore's name in their complaints." Walker looked at his watch, then got up to say good-bye. "I have to go back. Another thing, Tony. When you see Wood the next time, thank him for me."

"Huh?" Tang En did not respond for a moment.

"He did it beautifully! Honestly, I've wanted to punch that jerk for so long." Walker swung his fist and then turned around to leave the lively bar.

"Don't be surprised by Walker's words." Burns looked at Brosnan with a smile and continued the topic. Walker had left the Forest before, but Burns had always been living in Nottingham. He knew and saw everything that happened with the Forest team. "Des was right when he said that no one on the entire Forest team liked him. To the extent that no one would go up and celebrate with him after he had scored a goal."

Tang En clicked his tongue. It was truly rare that a player's relationships with people could be broken down to that extent.

"In order to escape training, Collymore lied about his family, claiming that his poor grandmother would have a serious illness from time to time." Burns continued, "At that time, the Liverpool manager, Roy Evans, liked him so much that he brought him to Anfield with a record-breaking transfer fee of ￡8,500,000. Whenever Collymore had a problem, he would help him shoulder it. Whenever Collymore did something wrong, the old man would apologize to the fans at the training ground sidelines—even though almost all the mistakes had nothing to do with him."

Tang En looked up at the ceiling and tried to imagine a gray-haired old man standing in front of a mob of angry fans, trying his best to placate them and appease their fury. He shook his head with his lips pursed. This manager had a hard job to do, which would drive him to an early grave!

"Evans preferred to shoulder the blame instead of Collymore. But what did he get in return? Collymore slept with his daughter." Burns shrugged with open arms and did not go on.

Brosnan said, "In other words, it sounds like Wood's punch this afternoon was not harsh enough. When I saw Collymore, he was like a fly buzzing around a coconut cream cake. It's not a bad idea to give him a heavy blow and let him sober up. Don't worry, Mr. Twain. If Collymore is going to be against you, the Evening Post won't let him go easily."

After listening to everyone's opinions on Collymore, Tang En had reached a decision in his heart. "I know what to do on Monday." He drained his beer from glass to belly in one gulp.

Stan Collymore, you're a genius on the field but an idiot off it!

Chapter 99: Tang En And Edward Part 1

After an entire week of intermittent rains, the sky was finally clear on Monday morning. For England, which was almost entering winter, this kind of weather was extremely worthy of being cherished. This was even more so for Nottingham City, where the weather was always erratic. One never knew when the sky above his head would become overcast out of nowhere, followed by the sudden splattering of raindrops falling from the sky.

Beads of water hung onto the tree leaves by the side of the road, reflecting the morning sunlight. They were like diamonds that had been left behind in the bushes, and that was all the proof needed that it had rained all through the night.

Tang En stood outside the Chairman's office within the compound of the club's training grounds, which was next to the first team's training field. Des Walker's shouting could be heard continuously, and the sounds of the whistles did not stop at all. It was very likely that Collymore did not come down to the field yet again, and the fact that he was hit the day before, gave him all the more reason to openly give himself a break.

Edward had found such a useless person to be manager. One could hardly fathom what he was thinking when he did that.

Tang En saw his own messy hair in the window. When he woke up in the morning, he only casually dressed himself up and left the house. Half of his shirt and his collar hung out, while the other half was tucked in. The only good thing was that his collar and his buttons were not done wrongly. He flipped over his collar, and used his hands to tidy his hair while facing the window. Tang En discovered that there were a few strands of hair that continued to stand upright obstinately.

He saw beads of water glistening on a plant and wiped his hands across it to wet them. Then, he continued to tidy his hair. Finally, he was ready.

Looking at his reflection in the window, Tang En smiled contentedly. Almost one year had passed, and he had become completely accustomed to this body and its looks. After looking at his reflection in the mirror every day, he finally found his looks more pleasing.

After all that, Tang En turned and entered the building. As soon as he entered, he saw a young lady who swung her hips when she walked, and even though she wore a normal green business suit, she was extremely sexy. The lady quickly walked past Tang En, and Tang En's line of sight followed her. That curly red hair of hers appeared to be like a ball of flames, and it bounced slightly as she walked, varying according to the magnitude of her footsteps.

Since when did the club have al female employee like her? It was at that moment that Tang En realized that he had been away from the core of this club for far too long, and it was gradually becoming more and more unfamiliar to him.

The lady who swung her hips when she walked, suddenly stopped in her tracks before turning around and looking at Tang En. This action gave Tang En a scare, causing him to forget to stop staring.

The lady did not become angry and revealed a professional smile to Tang En. "Are you Mr. Tony Twain?"

Tang En nodded his head blankly.

"Are you here to find Mr. Doughty?"

Tang En nodded his head again, and his field of vision stopped at her chest, once again forgetting to not stare. The depths of those mountains that towered high into the clouds, was the final vanishing point of his line of sight.

"Really sorry. Mr. Doughty is currently not in his office."

"Oh… Huh?" Tang En finally returned back to his normal self and shifted his line of sight back to the woman's face. Her looks were above average, and her figure was not bad. He then replied, "Where did he go?"

The woman lightly shook her head, and that ball of flames jumped up again. "Mr. Doughty did not tell me. May I ask if you have arranged an appointment with him prior to this?"

Tang En shook his head and said, "No, I merely… suddenly remembered that I have to find him. He didn't say when he would be back?"

"No, Sir. Would you like to wait in Mr. Doughty's office for him?"

"Alright, I'll wait awhile then." Tang En thought that since Kerslake was with the youth team to oversee things, there was nothing much for him to worry about regarding training.

"This way please, Mr. Twain." The lady returned to lead the way, and, therefore, Tang En could once again admire the lady's walking style.

The lady brought Tang En inside Doughty's office, and placed a cup of water next to him before taking her leave. However, Tang En stopped her.

"This… Erm, Miss. I haven't seen you in the past. Are you new here?"

The lady smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, Mr. Twain. I am Mr. Doughty's personal secretary, Barbara Lucy. You may call me Barbara."

"Ms. Barbara, you are not British, are you?" Tang En asked, as Lucy spoke with a fluent America accent.

"Yes, Sir. I am from Liverpool, but I lived in America when I went there to study."

"Oh."

"Mr. Twain, do you have anything else you want to ask?"

"Erm, I guess not. Uh, no more."

"Then I'll take my leave. Goodbye, Mr. Twain." Barbara Lucy politely bade farewell to Tang En, before turning around and leaving the room.

Tang En looked at her as she closed the door, and then shrugged his shoulders. He curled his lips in an attempt to imitate the way Ms. Lucy spoke, and mumbled to himself, "Good morning, Sir. No, Sir. Alright, Sir. Thank you, Sir. Goodbye, Sir… Are you producing English robots for domestic sales?"

When Tang En was the only person left inside this spacious room, he could finally take a good look at the inside of the office. There was a new computer on top of the boss's desk, causing the old room to be momentarily filled with a modern feel. There were many other changes like this in the room, and the room appeared to be vastly different from the last time he had seen it.

He still remembered the last time he was there. He had just time travelled to Nottingham Forest a few days before and was about to head to London for a hearing for badmouthing the Football Association. It was at that point, when old Doughty said to him with all smiles on his face, "Don't worry, Tony. The club will give you its wholehearted support."

Half a year later due to health reasons, this old man who supported him passed the baton on to his son Edward Doughty, the man who drove him to London in the past.

Support me?

Thinking back, these words were currently extremely ironic. If you supported me, did you offer me a conversion contract after I led the team on a five-win streak? If you supported me, did you call me after the team lost during the playoffs, to comfort me and to repeat those words which you had said to me previously?

There was absolutely nothing.

Old man, right from the start, you never once considered my future seriously. Anyone can pay lip service. Thinking back on the first half of the year, I've been extremely foolish. To have been striving and chasing after a carrot on a stick, chasing it non-stop… I should have left this place with style right from the start.

But….

Tang En remembered the tombstone that was quietly erected in the graveyard behind the small church.

…Nottingham Forest's most loyal fan, George Wood's supporter forever…

Old man and Edward... Do you really think that I chose to stay behind for my unparalleled love and loyalty for the club?

If I was alone, I could leave anytime I wanted. It's no big deal! But there's still two children here who I'm worried about—one is extremely smart and sharp, while the other one is quiet and honest. It's just that I can't stop worrying about them. Although one is already in a deep slumber underground, the other one is still alive!

Tang En took in a deep breath, causing him to regain his composure once again.

Suddenly, Des Walker's angry voice flew into the room via the open window. "Get your damned spirits up! Take a good look at yourselves! You are worse than those casual players!"

Tang En walked to the windows and opened the curtains, wanting to take a look at what was going on during the first team's usual training. In the end, the situation which he saw made him shake his head and sigh.

Almost everyone on the training field was listless and distracted. Even the team captain, Michael Dawson, had also lost his exuberant fighting spirit. His brows were knitted into a frown, and his footsteps were slow.

This was the Nottingham Forest which he had known?!

What the heck is this idiot Collymore doing! Tang En thought as he smashed his fists into the wall.

I painstakingly made the team recover their fighting spirit and confidence, and your blind meddling has caused the team to revert back to their old ways overnight!

Seeing the scene on the training field, Tang En really wanted to rush forward and kick the butts of those professional players one by one. They were nowhere as likeable as those young lads from the youth team.

Des Walker shouted a few more times before he stopped, realizing that it was futile. The team was currently ranked sixth from the bottom and had an eight-match losing streak. The morale of the team could not get any worse, and even Nottingham Forest's listed stocks had been affected, plunging downward dramatically. What more could he do as the assistant manager?

Bowyer was extremely lucky to have kept the most beautiful memories of Nottingham Forest, and not have to deal with this infuriating Nottingham Forest!

Tang En no longer wished to continue looking. He discovered that he had waited for Edward for too long, but there was still no sign of him returning. Who knew where he had gone to? Perhaps he was hiding somewhere and did not wish to meet Tony Twain!

Pushing open the door, Tang En almost knocked into Ms. Barbara Lucy. Fortunately, he managed to dodge in the nick of the time, or else he would have definitely been scalded by scorching-hot coffee.

Cling! The ceramic cup dropped onto the floor, shattering into pieces upon making a clear cracking sound. The fragrant and rich coffee was spilled all over the floor.

"Ah! Sorry, so sorry, Mr. Twain! Did you get burned? Did I dirty your clothes?" Ms. Lucy panicked and shouted. She was at such a loss of what to do, even her pitch changed.

Instead, Tang En started laughing. "Of course I'm alright. I only pity that cup of coffee. Were you going to give it to me?"

"Yes, Sir. I was afraid that you had been waiting for too long."

Lucy squatted down to pick up the pieces, and Tang En bent over as well to help her out.

"It's alright, I was about to leave." Tang En placed the shards of the cup onto the tray, before dusting off his hands and standing up.

Lucy, who was still squatting down, was somewhat shocked. "Are you not going to continue waiting, Mr. Twain? Perhaps Mr. Doughty will be coming back soon?"

Chapter 100: Tang En And Edward Part 2

Tang En looked down at her from above. Through the neckline of the light yellow shirt, he was able to see clearly the Mariana Trench that was inside. "It's alright. I think Edward must be busy with something. In addition, I also have my own things that I have to do. Goodbye, Ms. Barbara." Waving his hand, Tang En turned and left.

His original bad mood had been uplifted from the mere sight of seeing this "female robot's" other side. No, she was no robot at all.

Lucy tilted her head as she looked at Tang En's back, as if she was deep in her thoughts.

Kerslake, who was supervising the training field from the side, heard sounds of footsteps going past him. He felt that something was amiss, but he did not pay much heed to it. Kerslake only asked casually, "You're back so quickly, Tony? Or did you leave something behind? Or you suddenly dared not meet that Yankee?"

"Are you referring to me, Mr. Kerslake?"

"Wa!" Kerslake jumped up in fright. After recovering, he discovered that the person standing beside him was not Tony Twain, but the chairman of the football club and the person who he had just called a "Yankee," Edward Doughty.

The young chairman of Nottingham Forest was dressed very casually. He wore a yellow jacket over his green sweater, light-blue jeans, and white sports shoes. He was completely different compared to that father of his who, no matter the occasion, always wore a neat suit and combed his hair neatly before appearing in front of other people. Edward appeared to be extremely energetic, but completely unlike the chairman of a traditional English football club.

"Mr. Chairman. You... Why are you here?" Kerslake was so shocked that he was tongue-tied, as Doughty clearly overheard Kerslake calling him a Yankee.

"I heard that you defeated Arsenal two days ago, so I came over to congratulate you all. I can't do that?" Unlike his father, Edward did not look into the other party's eyes when he spoke. Instead, he tended to look around.

"Of course you can. But in actual fact, we only defeated the youth team of Arsenal. It's nothing much, actually."

Doughty coughed twice before saying, "No matter the case, you should be rewarded for winning. Congratulations, Mr. Kerslake, you did a great job." Edward extended his hand to shake the hand of the assistant manager of the youth team, David Kerslake.

"Thank you for your praise, Mr. Chairman. But the main bulk of the credit should go to Manager Twain."

Edward nodded his head and asked, "Where is Tony?"

"Hmm? You didn't see him on your way here?" Kerslake felt that it was strange. Edward was even more puzzled than him.

"Oh? I didn't see him. In that case, he went to the first team?"

"He went to find you, Mr. Chairman."

"Ah..." Edward scratched his head. He had come to find Twain, but Twain had gone to find him instead. The two of them even missed each other on their way. He casted a look of boredom to the field, but soon had his attention completely stolen by one of the players on the field.

The players were currently undergoing Rondo training on the field. The training usually had four or five people forming a small circle, whereby the people in the circle would continuously pass the ball to one another. The only requirement for them was that they could only touch the ball once every pass, and there would be another player inside the circle in charge of snatching the ball. The snatcher could use any and all means, except fouls, to touch the ball. This type of training that seemed like a mini game could raise the player's proficiency in ball passing, and at the same time improve their teamwork. The training was also conducted in a small area at a fast pace, which was extremely similar to real match situations.

Due to his exceptional performance during the Saturday's match, Kerslake arranged for Wood to be the ball snatcher as a form of reward. The person, whose pass got touched by Wood, would not get to join the circle and snatch the ball. Instead, he would be required to run one lap around the training field as punishment.

Edward was not knowledgeable about football, and naturally, could not understand the meaning and purpose of such training. However, this did not stop him from noticing George Wood, who was snatching the ball in the middle of the circle. In a short five minutes' time, he had already made all five of the people in the outer circle change once—all of them had been made to run one lap around the field. His speed was extremely fast, regardless of it being when he was turning around, when he was sprinting, or when he was kicking the ball. It was almost as if he was already in front of the receiving player when the ball had just been passed, causing the teammate who was caught off-guard to let Wood successfully intercept the ball.

"Very impressive. His speed is fast and his actions are forceful! Just like a hunting dog who is familiar with the smell of the football ball." Edward exclaimed.

Kerslake followed Edward's eyes and looked over at Wood. Kerslake smiled "Are you talking about him? Mr. Chairman, George Wood is a genius that Tony Twain found from the streets! A defense genius!"

While they were talking, another person left the circle for his punishment. This person was Ross Gardner, the player with the best passing techniques on the team. He did not proceed to run his punishment lap, but instead ran directly to Kerslake and complained, "Manager, this is too unfair. The circle is too small. Before we even receive the ball, it's intercepted by Wood."

"Then do you have any better suggestions, Ross?" Kerslake did not scold Gardner who took things on his own accord, but instead directed a question back at him.

"Expand the circle, Manager."

"Until how big?"

Gardner turned his head around and looked at the rest of the people who were extremely busy with Wood, before saying to Kerslake, "A 15-meter radius circle."

"Oh no, this wouldn't meet the objectives of training all of you," Kerslake said as he shook his head.

"But… Manager." Gardner appeared as if he had something on his mind, but did not dare to say.

"Is anything else the matter, Ross?"

"Manager… Aside from Wood, the rest of us unanimously feel that your objective is not to train our passing, but instead to train Wood's defense."

Kerslake could no longer hold it in and burst out in laughter upon realizing that these kids were rather smart. That's right, that was his idea. "Alright, alright, expand the circle to a radius of 15 meters. But you still have to run your lap, Ross." Kerslake said as he winked at the disappointed Gardner.

Gardner lowered his head dejectedly and proceeded to do his lap. Edward, who overhead their conversation by the side, became even more intrigued by George Wood. Hence, he continued to stand there and observe for another 10 minutes.

Although the distance of the players' passes increased after the circle was expanded, their success rate increased as well. Those who were passing the ball were happy, but it took an immense toll on Wood. He was running inside the circle back and forth with all of his energy and was finally unable to keep up with the speed at which the ball was being passed. However, he was not disheartened by it, and continued running back and forth after the ball.

Kerslake, who was by the side of the field, was shaking his head instead. This lad still only knew how to make use of his physical fitness to chase after the ball, but how could a person outrun a ball that was being passed around by so many people? Kerslake took a bow at Edward, who was standing beside him, and said, "Sorry, Mr. Chairman…" He pointed to the field.

Edward knew what he was trying to say, so he nodded his head and replied, "Go get busy. I have to go back as well."

"Goodbye, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps you might be able to meet Tony on your way back."

"Haha, I hope so too. Goodbye, Manager Kerslake."

Looking at Kerslake who was striding over to the field after blowing the whistle to signal the pausing of the training, Edward turned around and left the training field. When he was quite some distance away, he could still hear Kerslake's shouting.

"Position! Position! How many times have I told you, George Wood! Don't just chase after the ball blindly, you got to judge you and your opponents' positions, before deciding your next move!"

Edward raised his head and looked at the bright, clear sky. At the same time, he listened to the chirping of the birds and the manager's energetic shouting, while he breathed in the fresh air that was accompanied with the fragrance of soil. Edward suddenly had the impulse to scream at the top of his lungs—this is the club that would soon belong to me, Edward Doughty, alone!

Chapter 101: One-Time Handshake Part 1

Kerslake was spot on. Doughty and Tony Twain did meet each other on Wilford Lane, which was located in between the northern youth training grounds and the southern first team training grounds.

Seeing Twain walk toward him, Edward asked loudly, "Were you looking for me, Tony?"

At almost the same time, Tang En also opened his mouth and asked, "Were you looking for me, Edward?"

The two of them were momentarily stunned, before they burst into laughter together.

"That's great. Look, Tony. We have a very good rapport, and we will definitely coordinate very well with each other," Doughty said as he laughed in front of Tony.

However, Twain lightly shook his head instead and said, "Edward, have we ever coordinated?"

"Of course not at until now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future. Why were you looking for me, Tony?"

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Looks like our reasons are the same. Let's chat while we walk." Doughty said as he patted Tony's shoulders.

Tang En did not move. He pointed to the north, then to the south, before asking, "Which way?"

Doughty raised his head and looked at the path that was full of fallen withered leaves. "Let's just casually walk along this path."

It was currently late autumn. During the summertime, this path would always be sheltered by the thick trees, preventing the skies from being seen. Tang En had hesitated and pondered about the uncertainties of his future in the same exact spot. Now, the narrow path was already covered by a thick layer of fallen leaves. Upon stepping on them, a puffing sound could be heard, and its soft texture was as if one was walking on a carpet. Just like that, half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Tony, what do you think about Collymore as a manager?" Doughty asked as he stepped on the fallen leaves, with his head lowered.

"Worlds apart from his abilities as a player," Tang En replied.

"Mmm, I observed that as well. He is not suited to be a manager, at least not now."

"Then why did you choose him back then?"

"This I can't tell you, Tony. But I can tell you something else." Doughty shook his head.

"Hmm?"

"Prepare yourself," Doughty said as he stopped in his tracks and looked at Twain.

"Prepare myself for what?" Tang En shrugged.

Looking at Twain's innocent face, Doughty smiled. "Tony, do you need me to spell everything out for you?"

"Alright, alright. I get it." Tang En raised his hands, signaling that he knew the meaning behind Doughty's words. "But can you tell me roughly when?"

"I can't. Because even I myself don't know yet. However…" Doughty raised his head and looked at the skies, before continuing. "It should be very soon."

Tang En had originally wanted to find Doughty in order to shoulder the responsibility for Wood's assault on Collymore. If Doughty really wanted to fire Wood, then Tang En was prepared to quit his job and follow Wood. Instead, he was hearing such great news—that's right, I'll be returning to City Ground Stadium very soon! Going back to the place where I rightfully belong!

Just as Tang En was secretly celebrating, Doughty just had to dampen his spirits. "Oh, I forgot, there's still one more thing. Perhaps I should let you know in advance."

From Doughty's tone, Tang En was able to tell that something was not good. He looked at Doughty and waited quietly for him to finish his sentence.

"You might have to re-select a new captain, Tony."

"What?" Tang En now understood why he wanted to beat around the bush. "Dawson is leaving the team?!"

Doughty nodded his head.

This news left Tang En extremely shocked, but his shock was not caused solely by the fact that the team's pillar was leaving. He remembered that Michael Dawson's departure from Nottingham Forest was supposed to be an incident that took place in January 2005. This came more than one year early!

"How did it come to this?" Tang En muttered.

"Dawson was extremely disappointed by my decision to make Collymore the manager. On top of that, the team's poor performance and inability to win any matches has also made him lose confidence in the team. And you know that the super clubs tend to be more attractive for young players," Doughty explained without any intention of shirking responsibility.

"Which team?"

"Huh?"

"Which team is Dawson going to?"

"Tottenham Hotspurs."

As expected. Tang En suddenly recalled another person and asked, "Aside from Dawson, who else is leaving?"

Doughty looked at Tang En with a face full of shock. "How did you know that there are other people transferring out? You're right. Reid will be also be going to Tottenham with Dawson."

Aside from the timing being different, the rest remained the same as Tang En knew it to be. The players were the same, as well as the club they headed to. There was still another question Tang En wanted to confirm.

"How much did Tottenham pay for the two of them?"

"Eight million."

"Pounds?" Tang En asked.

"Pounds." Doughty nodded his head.

Even the transfer fee was the same.

Seeing Tony Twain lowering his head and not uttering a single word, Doughty thought that Tony was dissatisfied with this transaction. Doughty explained, "Tony, you must know, for Nottingham Forest, which has just recovered from a financial crisis, eight million is not a small amount. We don't have a reason to reject the offer."

Tang En nodded his head and replied, "I understand, I understand. Eight million, eight million…. But Doughty, I want to ask you a question, and you must reply to me seriously."

"Speak your mind, Tony."

"What's your reason for abandoning your business in America and promising your old-fashioned father to return to England to take over this debt-ridden club? What are you after? You are a businessman! Please don't tell me something like devotion to your dad or because of your love for Nottingham Forest!"

Hearing Tang En's question, Doughty remained quiet for some time. Tang En also did not press him for his reply. He simply stood there, while he awaited his answer.

"Tony, if I were to say that it's to earn money, would you believe me?" Doughty looked at Twain.

Tang En looked back at him and determined from his eyes that Doughty was indeed telling the truth. Tang En replied, "I believe you. But you know that there are countless football clubs in this world, and only how many amongst them are earning money?"

"We have our own plans, Tony. I am the club's board of directors' chairman. I am in charge of managing the team and naturally won't wish to make a loss out of it. Didn't Manchester United allow for the Edwards Family earn lots of money?"

Tang En also knew nothing in terms of managing the club, and he did not want to become entangled on a topic that he was not familiar with. So, Tang En redirected the conversation. "Very well, you have your own plans. Do you know which are the sources of income for a football club?"

Doughty nodded his head and replied, "Of course. Television broadcast, various sponsors, player transfers, tickets sales, as well as the development of other related products and facilities."

"Ha, looks like you really did put in a lot of effort, Doughty. Good, you took Manchester United as an example, or rather a goal. Let me tell you from my professional perspective, the method to make money." Tang En raised one finger and continued, "Television broadcasting fees are one of the biggest sources of income. The more your team's matches get broadcasted by the television stations, the more broadcast fees you will get. You must be very clear on this point."

"Mmm hmm." Doughty nodded his head.

"Then in your opinion, between the broadcasting fees for a League One match and a Premier League match, which one is more?"

"Of course it's the Premier League."

"Very good. Then, how many times do you think a sh*tty team barely surviving in League One can have its matches broadcasted? We are currently in League One, and did we get a substantial amount from television broadcast? Didn't we also experience a financial crisis, just like any other team?"

"Tony, the situation was very complicated. If the independent digital company had not gone bankrupt, we wouldn't have suffered so much."

"Alright, I get it. Then let's talk about sponsors instead. What kind of teams are able to attract more global enterprises to sponsor them? Vodafone, Nike, Adidas, Opel, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Fly Emirates, etc. What kind of teams can attract them? Can a sh*tty team barely surviving in League One do it?"

Doughty was no fool. He already knew what Tang En was trying to get at.

"Doughty, I know that you want to make money, but what's the most basic foundation for attracting capital? The team must have good results, be able to rise to even higher tier leagues, and win the championships and glory! Attract the attention of the whole world. Only after that, can you talk about the other stuff. You know this logic better than me. What are the fundamentals for winning the championships and glory? Outstanding players and a stable team! Now, you just sold the team captain and the core left midfielder, just for that darned eight million pounds!" Tang En paced back and forth in front of Doughty, flailing his arms about and appeared to be slightly agitated. "If you had waited a few more years, you could have sold them for 18 million, and even up to 38 million! Why? Because we would be promoted to the Premier League, able to win the trophy, and the players would be able to join the National Team! When that time comes, the players' values will skyrocket and countless clubs would compete to discuss with you their transfer fees. At that time, you can just ask them for any amount you like and demand an exorbitant price. It's all up to you!"

Tang En paused for a while, and resumed with a significantly calmer tone. "Doughty, I understand your predicament, that the club needs money. You want to make money, while I want glory. We both have very lofty ambitions. But a team that only knows how to sell away their core and star players is bound to have a bleak future. If you believe in me, I can build a solid foundation for your money-making plan. I can't help you earn money, but I can help you win matches. Do you believe in me, Doughty?"

He looked at Doughty, and Doughty also looked at him.

"I believe you, Tony."

Tang En nodded his head, "You're right, Doughty. We do have good rapport with each other, and we will coordinate very well. Alright, Dawson and Reid are a thing of the past, let's not talk about them anymore. Is the club's financial crisis resolved?"

"It's resolved. But 10 million pounds is not a small amount."

"It's a cumulative 10 million over the years?"

Doughty began to grin. "That's right. My father already repaid some of it, and I've cleared the remaining debt since my takeover. When you come back, it'll be a completely financially-healthy, zero-debt Nottingham Forest!"

Chapter 102: One-Time Handshake Part 2

"It sounds really exciting. In that case, I don't have to worry about the club not being able to pay the wages of the players and don't have to worry about the chairman telling me before the transfer window, 'Tony, so sorry we are currently in a very poor financial state, so you can only scout for cheap players on the transfer market,' right?" Tang En said as he tried to emulate Old Doughty's tone.

"Of course not," Edward laughed.

"That's great. Don't touch that ￡8,000,000. Wait for me to use it." Tang En rubbed his hands, as excited as a young kid who had all gotten all of his desired presents during Christmas. The club had been poor for an entire year! He had been watching others feast on meat the whole time, and yet he could not even get a sip of the soup. Now, things were going to be different, and better!

"Oh, that's right. How long will the contract between us be?" Tang En thought of the most crucial question. Collymore only signed a one-year contract with the club. If he was the same as well, then it would not be possible to fulfil and actualize everything he had envisioned previously. Managers are unlike players who can go to different teams every year. The manager is the core of the team, and a manager that wants to be successful must have a plan to build the team. He must also know how he wants the team to play, and buy or sell players according to the tactics that he has in mind. He also has to think about the construction of the youth team, the results of the reserve team, and how to improve on the weaknesses of the team, etc. All of these require time to complete, and although a temporary manager can perhaps obtain success in the short-term based on his own abilities, if the club does not offer him a long-term promise, the club can forget about any good performance from the team in the future. Tang En's experience in the first half of the year was a live example of this.

In most cases, managers of English football teams were much more blessed than managers from other countries. That was because the chances of managers from English football teams being fired were the lowest. On top of that, there were many managers who even offered their meritorious service to the same club for 10, 20-plus years.

Of course, this was also partially related to the differences in football cultures between England and the European continent. In England, the managers mostly assumed the role of managing the team, and they held greater authority. On the other hand, in the equivalent role in European countries, the head coach, merely assumed the role of the coach. He would only be in charge of training the team and bringing them to matches, and did not hold much authority himself. They could even become the chairman's scapegoat at any moment, or become implicated by the power struggle among the upper echelons of the club. They were also usually the loser who leaves should they engage in a quarrel with the players.

Tang En, of course, knew about those sorts of good traditions in English football. However, Nottingham Forest had already changed their managers eight times in the past eight years. This statistic was rather unfavorable to him.

"How many years do you want, Tony?" Doughty chuckled when Tang En asked.

"Erm…" Tang En wanted to say, "the longer, the better." However, upon giving it serious thought, who knew what the future would be like? Under uncertain circumstances, one should never give an absolute promise and leave some leeway for himself. As such, he rolled his eyes before saying, "Let's go with three years. It's beneficial for both of us."

Edward nodded his head.

"Oh right, I have a condition," Tang En supplemented. "And this condition must be written in the contract."

"What condition?"

"Edward, you are the chairman of the club, while I am the manager of the football team. You are in charge of operating the club, while I am in charge of training the team and bringing them for matches. I will definitely not make any comments regarding the operating state of the club, but you also must not interfere in any and all matters of the team. I will have full say over the purchase and sale of players, and also the continuation of players' and coaches' contracts. Your only role is to give me the money required. You must promise me this. You will not interfere in the matters of the team as the operator of the club. If you can't do it, then I will not sign that contract," Tang En said resolutely and decisively.

This was a matter of principle for him, and there was no room for negotiation. If a manager could not control his own team and was merely an obedient puppet and the loud-hailer of the chairman, then why did he continue to stay in this position?

Regardless of whether he was a football fan watching the matches, or he was a manager of the team, Tang En always disliked a chairman which interfered in the matters of the team. This was completely unrelated to how much the chairman knew about football. If the chairman always liked to flaunt his own knowledge about football, then why did he not come down from the VIP lounge and direct the match himself?

Since you chose to make me the manager of the team, you have to trust and respect my work. Otherwise, you might as well not approach me. That was Tang En's train of thought.

As such, Tang En felt that many of the European football clubs' chairmen could not be considered as good chairmen. Some of these included AC Milan's Berlusconi, Inter Milan's Moratti, Real Madrid's current chairman, Florentino, as well as his future successor Calderon. In comparison, the chairmen of most English football clubs met the selection criteria of the "most outstanding club chairman" award in Tang En's heart. Of course, the chairman who he felt was the closest to that title was Manchester United's chairman—Edwards.

This Englishman, whose name sounded rather unfamiliar, never interfered with Ferguson's actions, even if he threw a flying shoe in the changing room at the team captain and a top football star like Beckham. This person almost never appeared in front of the public. Even though he supported Manchester United for more than 20 years, with the team receiving countless glories and becoming the most profitable football club in the world, the fans widely believed that all of these were completely unrelated to Chairman Edwards. There were even many fans who hated this businessman who wanted to sell off the club at anytime.

However, Tang En liked him because he never interfered in the affairs of the team. But why was Tang En's evaluation of him only at "the chairman closest to that title"? That was because this businessman chairman was too stingy. If he were more generous, then he would be perfect.

Ferguson had even mentioned before, "Conversations with Edwards are always very joyous, until you ask him for money."

Tang En believed that Doughty must have also made Manchester United his goal, and Edwards his role model, when he promised his father to take over a club that he did not love. It had to be known that Edwards had earned more than ￡100,000,000 from Manchester United over the years.

Tang En hoped that Doughty could have the same attitude that Edwards had toward the team, and at the same time be more generous than Edwards. Hopefully, this would not be a lunatic's ravings.

Edward considered for a while before nodding his head. "Alright, I agree."

Hearing Doughty's reply, Tang En smiled. "That's great! You know what, Edward? I actually don't care if you really like football, or how you look at the team. I also don't care if you wish to make money out of this club. As long as you give me sufficient freedom, I assure you that you will get everything that you want."

Doughty extended his hand. "Look, Tony. I've said before that we can coordinate very well!"

"You're right, Edward." Tang En smiled and nodded his head vigorously.

Both of them shook hands.

After they finished discussing, Doughty mysteriously told Tang En that he hoped Tang En would not leak this news out beforehand. Tang En did not ask for the reason and agreed to it. After which, Doughty then left with peace of mind.

However, when Tang En, who was finished with the day's training, returned back home, the first thing that he did was not to change his clothes and go to the bar and chat with those people there. Instead, he sat in front of his computer and opened the Google webpage. After which, he keyed in the keywords "Nottingham Forest", and began his investigation work.

He wanted to verify a suspicion that he had in his mind right from the start.

When he knew that Collymore's contract was only one year, and he had his suspicions about it already. If it was like what Edward had said during the press conference for signing the new manager, that Collymore was "Nottingham Forest's hope from the outside", then why did he only sign a one-year contract with Collymore—a duration of one year was really considered short for a manager.

At that time, Tang En convinced himself that the reason was that Collymore was a newbie, and that the continuation of his contract would rely heavily on the results of the team under him. This reason seemed impeccable at first glance, but Doughty's confidence during their conversation made Tang En think about some other stuff.

The whole of England knew what kind of a person Collymore was. His personality and his temper were known by everyone. In this day and age of advanced technology, famous people had no privacy to speak of. Then why did Edward do the incomprehensible move of changing managers? Although Tang En's defeat in the playoffs could be used as an excuse, it should not necessarily have resulted in that. At least many people like Burns knew that if he had let Tang En continue, returning to the Premier League the next season would definitely not have been an issue for the team.

And now? On one hand, the team's ranking had fallen to sixth from the bottom, only three points away from entering the relegation zone. Faced with the reporters' accusations, Collymore only knew how to remain silent or shout as a response, completely unable to produce any good solutions. On the other hand, he still had the leisure to dress up like a poor playboy and flirt with the mother of a young player!

The board of directors could actually tolerate such an incompetent coach and let him remain in his position?

All these abnormal situations made Tang En think that he should shift the angle of his focus and thinking, from within the field to outside the field.

Looking at the very dense search results, Tang En directly skipped past all of the websites which were related to Nottingham Forest's history and its latest performance. After going through over 13 pages, his eyes finally stopped and became fixated on a short message.

"…. As a result of the team's poor performance, Nottingham Football Club's stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange have been on a steady decline. As of yesterday, they have already dropped to 21 pennies per unit of stock. According to the analysis of experts, if the team's results do not see an improvement soon, then even if the new chairman Edward Doughty appears to be a rich American, the stock prices which had gone up slightly because of his arrival, will continue to fall." Although they had just announced that the club had already gotten out of the financial crisis and repaid all of its debts, this kind of situation was still unpreventable.

"…A noteworthy a piece of news for reference: Leeds United, which had been suffering from a financial crisis as a result of their poor results and entrance into the relegation zone, the price of their per unit stock has already fallen to 2.6 pennies! This is the lowest price ever since their entrance into the market…"

This was a piece of news briefly describing the performance of the various clubs recently in the stock market, and had been published four days ago.

Teams which had their stock prices fall as a result of poor performance, were not limited to Nottingham Forest. There was still the pitiful "White Rose" Leeds United.

Tang En re-read this piece of news a few times, before finally stopping at the portion which mentioned "if the team's results do not see an improvement soon, then even if the new chairman Edward Doughty appears to be a rich American, the stock prices which had gone up slightly because of his arrival, will continue to fall."

Just as expected!

Tang En leaned against his chair and stared intently at the computer screen. Biting his lips, he fell into a deep slumber.

Chapter 103: Walker’s Farewell Part 1

It was already November, and the matches of the league were becoming more packed. However, Tang En's job remained the same, leaving the team's training to Kerslake and occasionally giving Wood some guidance. After the match with Arsenal, everyone knew George Wood's impressiveness when it came to man-marking, as well as his weakness in zonal marking. So, the coaching staff intentionally reduced his man-marking practices, and instead let Wood participate in more Rondo trainings to train his zonal marking sense. Tang En and Kerslake both agreed that George Wood was a defense genius, and that as long as he trained properly and accumulated more experience during matches, this kid's future would be bright.

On the other hand, Tang En also focused more of his attention toward the future. Although Doughty did not give him a definitive date for his return, Tang En reckoned that it would be around the winter break. If it were any later, there would not be much use. If it were earlier, it was unsure if Doughty would have finished the things that he had planned to do.

As if to confirm the information that Tang En had searched on the web the other day, Nottingham Forest's stock prices continued to fall, and had already dropped all the way to 19 pennies per unit.

He knew that it was the time for Edward to act. No, perhaps he had already acted on it.

Then, it was time for him to act, as well.

A scout is a staff-member that could not be lacking in any professional football club. They were familiar with a specific place's football environment, had wide connections, were well-informed, and had a discerning eye. It was an essential profession that provided the football teams with fresh blood.

The amount of money required to hire a scout was quite considerable. The expenses were not limited to the scout's salary, but also included the travelling fees, lodging fees, equipment fees, and even the fees used to bribe the family members of the players. Nottingham Forest, which had fallen into a financial crisis, obviously did not care much about their scouts. As a result, most of their scouts left, and there were only three scouts left at the moment—58-year-old football scout Ian Storey-Moore, 35-year-old Dave Johnston, and 43-year-old Colin Hudson.

The latter two were often outside, and were not even locals of Nottingham. They would write letters back to the clubs irregularly to inform about the place where they found talented young players, as well as attach footage of that person's play—should the conditions permit. It was almost impossible to find them on the team's training grounds.

As the other scout, Mr. Storey-Moore was in charge of scouting for players in the Nottingham surroundings, and, theoretically, he should occasionally have been seen on the training grounds. Tang En thought for a while. Ever since he became the first team's manager, Tang En had not even seen Storey-Moore even once at Wilford, even though it was said that during that period of time, Storey-Moore had appeared on the team's training grounds before.

This person's whereabouts were elusive. Now that Tang En needed his help, he didn't want to hear that he had to wait at the training grounds for his appearance?

Tang En decided to find Walker, as he must know Storey-Moore's phone number and home address. If Storey-Moore could not be found in the club, then Tang En would phone his house and pay a visit to him.

He just did whatever he had in mind. Tang En was not worried in the slightest bit about the awkward situation if he were to meet Collymore in the first team's training venue. That was because he knew the chances of Collymore appearing at the training venue at that time were near zero.

The team was not performing well, and that idiot seemed to have resigned himself to it.

When Tang En reached the first team's training venue, the team's training had already ended. The players were either showering and changing in the changing room, or they had already left the training grounds.

He saw Walker and another old man standing together, their moods did not appear to be very good. The old man had his back to Tang En while he shook his head, while Walker repeatedly said something.

Tang En hastened his steps and approached them, waving toward Walker who was facing him. Walker saw Twain and said something to the old man, before walking toward Twain.

"Tony, why did you come here to find me? Ever since you went to the youth team, you haven't come here even once."

"Of course, you know, I don't wish to see Collymore. But I came here today with a favor to ask of you. Des, do you know Ian Storey-Moore's phone number and home address?" Tang En asked.

Hearing the name that Tang En uttered, Des was momentarily stunned before he turned around and laughed. "You came here at the right time, Tony." He used his eyes to signal to Tang En, to look at the old man behind him. "You see him?"

"Who is he?" Tang En asked in bewilderment.

"The person you're looking for, Mr. Ian Storey-Moore, the team's top scout."

"Ah? Thank God!" Tang En clapped his hands. Such a coincidence! He had appeared in front of Tang En right when Tang En needed to find him. "Thank you, Des." He patted Walker's shoulders, before walking toward the old man.

"Hey, Tony, but…" Tang En seemed to have not heard Walker, as he continued walking. Looking at his back, Walker sighed, "Forget it."

Storey-Moore saw a young man headed toward him, with his hand extended and a face full of smiles. Was it an intention to shake hands? Storey-Moore also extended his hand.

"Mr. Storey-Moore, pleased to meet you. I am Tony Twain, the supervisor of the youth team," Twain introduced himself.

Moore nodded his head and said slowly, "I've heard of you, Mr. Twain."

Storey-Moore, who was 58 years old, had a head full of white hair. The crevices on his face intersected, and the pair of eyes that had discovered countless youth talents were buried deep within his eye sockets. In the dusk, they appeared to be not very clear, but Tang En was still able to see a glimmer of light flash past amidst the darkness.

"Can I help you?" Moore asked slowly.

Tang En smiled. "It's like this, I would like to engage Mr. Moore's help with finding someone."

Before he could even finish his sentence, Moore shook his head and refused his request. "Really sorry, Mr. Twain. I've already decided to retire."

"What?" Tang En thought that his ears were playing tricks on him.

Walker walked up from the side and sighed. "Mr. Moore came to find me to talk about this matter. I wanted to persuade him to change his mind, but from the looks of it, it seems fairly impossible." Walker shrugged his shoulders with resignation.

"But…" Tang En looked at Storey-Moore from head to toe and said, "But your body still appears to be in a great shape and can even rival those professional players!"

Moore smiled and said, "Thank you Mr. Twain for your compliment. If you are referring to those players over there," he pointed in the far direction at the group of Nottingham Forest players who had just exited the changing room and was walking toward the car park and said, "I think I am even better at running than them. But this part of me," he pointed toward his heart and continued, "is tired."

Tang En understood. It was yet another person that had been knocked down by Nottingham Forest's consecutive disastrous results and the bleak future of the team. Faced with an old man like this who had dedicated 30 years of his life to the club, what more could Tang En ask for? Could he say, "Don't worry, Mr. Moore. I will soon become the master of this place. When that time comes, Nottingham Forest will have a bright future"?

He could not, because even he himself did not know what would happen in the future. No, perhaps it should be said that even though he knew the fates of a few people and the occurrences of certain events over the next few years, he did not know his own fate in the future, not even his fate for the next day.

"Did Mr. Chairman agree to it?" Tang En did not want such an experienced veteran scout to leave just like this. He wanted to personally persuade him to stay.

Moore nodded his head. "Yes, he has agreed to my retirement."

What is that b*stard Doughty doing! This kind of person is the wealth of the club and should be held on to firmly. How could he let him go? Tang En scolded in his heart. Afterwards, he raised his head and looked at Moore, unwilling to give up just like that.

"Mr. Moore, although you've already decided to retire, can I ask for a personal favor from you to find a person?"

Moore looked at Tang En before replying, "A person that can make Mr. Twain so persistent… I would also like to meet him."

This is considered a yes, right? Tang En smiled. He whipped out a piece of paper that contained the name of the person he wanted to find, and passed it to Storey-Moore.

"Eastwood?" Moore read out the name written on it. "Only this? Nothing else? Is this a surname or a name?"

"It's a surname… Erm, I don't quite remember his name anymore." Tang En was not lying. He had only remembered this person's surname as it could be easily translated into Chinese: 东木头—Eastwood. As for his name, he really could not recall.

"Mr. Twain, there are more than 10,000 people in the whole of England whose surname is Eastwood—men, women, adults, children, old people… even your hometown is called Eastwood." Moore shook his head. Searching for this person was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, and he was slightly inclined to refuse this request already.

Tang En quickly added, "I still have some other information regarding him. I believe it will prove useful to you, Mr. Moore. He used to be a player of Westham United's youth team, and should have still been there until the last season. I've tried searching him up on the internet, but Westham currently doesn't have such a person. I don't know where he went."

Tang En knew this person even before he time-travelled. However, that was only because of a coincidence, and he had not heard of him before that. When Tang En searched Gareth Bale's football videos on Youtube, he found a video compilation of several young players with a lot of potential called "Best Young Players Outside the Premiership." This person was one of the players in the video. After that, Tang En specifically went to look for his stats in FM07. What he found shocked him, and was completely beyond his expectations. That kid was very, very outstanding, and the few crucial statistics for the striker were all above seventeen. The maximum points for any statistic in the game was only 20!

Chapter 104: Walker’s Farewell Part 2

FM was a football manager game that was based on reality, and possessed a vast, detailed database about players. If a certain player was considered a genius or a wonderkid in the game, then he would not be too far off in reality. Many players who had been determined as wonderkids in the game previously, were now famous football stars, such as AC Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaká, who had just been bought over from S?o Paulo FC this summer.

It was said that in 2007, there were even managers in England who looked for players with decent potential or abilities based on FM.

The historical record of the person whom Tang En saw in FM, was that he left Westham United in this season. The game would not tell its players why a player left. As for the team which he later joined, Tang En could not remember it clearly. At that time, he did not have such a great memory as he currently did for English words.

"How is he?" Moore asked.

Tang En scratched his head. How should he answer this question? Obviously, he could not say something like he looked pretty good in the game. "I think, perhaps, not bad."

"Have you seen him play before?"

"Yes," Tang En lied. "Striker, and rather good with scoring and long passes. I have quite a bit of an impression of him, so I hope you can help me look for him."

Moore stared at the name written on the piece of paper for a while, before nodding his head. "Alright, I promise to help you Mr. Twain. But I cannot guarantee that I will be able to find him in the end."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Moore!" Tang En agitatedly shook Storey-Moore's hands again forcefully.

After sending off Storey-Moore, Tang En did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood by the side of the field and chatted with Walker, cracked a few jokes, and asked about the team's current situation in the changing room. Tang En was someone who was about to return, and therefore understanding more about the team's current situation would be beneficial for him to assimilate back into the team.

"Des, how's the team currently?"

Walker smiled bitterly. "The whole world knows about it. Is there still a need to ask me?"

"What I meant was, how's the team's situation in the changing room?"

"Very, very terrible. Completely no fighting spirit, blaming each other, panicky. Just multiply the most horrible situation you can think of by 10, and it should be about right."

"It sounds like a completely dark hell." Tang En pinched his chin and pouted. It appeared to be much worse than he had expected. "Don't worry, Des. The situation will improve."

"Perhaps so. But in any case, I won't be there to witness it." Walker shrugged his shoulders.

Tang En deciphered another message from this complaint. Staring at Walker, Tang En asked, "Why?"

"Tony, I heard that Dawson and Reid are leaving."

Tang En was shocked. "Who did you hear it from?"

"Everyone is talking about who will be leaving, and some things are just so easy to guess. Dawson and Reid are the only two people in the team who are able to perform on the field, and it isn't just a one- or two-day thing that the Premier League teams have been eyeing them. The team is scattered."

Hearing Walker say this, Tang En recalled a line from a movie, "It is difficult to lead the team with the people's hearts scattered."

"I'm leaving as well, Tony."

This sentence was the one which dealt the heaviest blow to Tang En. He jumped up abruptly. "What did you say?"

"Bowyer is doing rather well at Hereford, and he invited me over to help him. I've already agreed to it." Walker had not even finished his sentence, before Tang En grabbed him by his collar.

"B*stard! You can't do this!" He shouted at Walker, his voice was mixed with rage, disappointment, and sadness. "We are the best partners! You train the team, I direct the match. We will go to the Premier League, and we will also win trophies one after another, until City Ground Stadium is unable to fit them all!"

"Tony, I…"

Tang En could not care less about his promise to Edward about keeping it a secret. He shouted loudly, "I will come back soon! Doughty has already promised me. I will return! This darned winter!"

Walker's shock at that moment was in no way inferior to Tang En's. He looked at Tang En, and asked stuttering, "To, Tony… What did you just say? You will be coming back, this winter?"

"Yes." Tang En stood with his back against Walker, as he took a deep breath to calm himself down. When he heard that Walker was leaving, he really felt a tinge of fear—this was the person on the team he was on friendliest terms with. He was not only just an assistant. He helped Tang En with far more than training the team. Walker was the one who guided Tang En into this profession, helped him, reminded him, and took care of him in his life. Was their relationship as simple as one between a manager and assistant manager?

"I was not supposed to tell anyone. Doughty promised me that I will be returning back to City Ground Stadium's manager seat within a fixed period of time." Tang En turned around and saw the shocked Walker. "I was originally looking forward to leading the team together with you, Des."

Hearing this, Walker was like a deflated ball. His shoulders dropped and his head lowered as he said feebly, "If… if only you had looked for me one day earlier. I've already signed a contract with Hereford. My contract with Nottingham Forest will end in June next year, and then I will go to Hereford… At that time, I thought that Nottingham Forest was about to be relegated to League two, and the darkest for the team was finally coming. I don't wish to see the team fall so low! But I am only a goddamned assistant manager. Aside from arranging the trainings daily, I can't do anything else. There are times when I even wished I could personally go onto the field! Darned professional football players."

Walker suddenly erupted like a volcano, shouting at Tang En and venting the accumulated rage and frustration over the past season.

Tang En did not persuade him, did not console him, and did not stop him. He merely stood in his original spot and looked at him quietly.

Ten months ago in Coventry's home ground Highfield Road Stadium's changing room, Ian Bowyer left and returned, telling Tang En that he wanted to leave Nottingham Forest to pursue his own future. Tang En tried to persuade him to stay but to no avail. Furthermore, at that time, he did not even know where his future lay. What could he use to persuade Bowyer to stay?

Now that Tang En had already gotten chairman Doughty's promise and guarantee, he suddenly did not feel like persuading Walker to stay. Walker's reason for leaving were much ample than Bowyer. He had already supported this team on his own for too long. His heart was battered and his body was worn out. What reason did Tang En have to ask him to continue to stay behind under such unknown circumstances?

Everyone has their own life, and everyone will choose their own paths. Whether it turns out to be bitter or sweet, blissful or failure, whether it is thorny and bumpy or a smooth sailing bright future. All of those paths are walked alone. When Tang En was fired from his post, he was undecided for a while before ultimately deciding to stay behind and wait for an opportunity to prove his worth once again. Under such circumstances where Walker was unable to see his future, it was also his freedom to choose to leave.

"Alright." Upon thinking about it, Tang En sighed lightly. "At least we could perhaps still work together for half a season. But it's just a pity. What can we still do with the remaining half of the season? Prevent the relegation of the pre-season favorites?"

Both of them became silent. This goal of theirs sounded really depressing.

"No, Tony! I've thought of it! Perhaps we still have another method to end this season!" Walker suddenly said loudly in an excited manner.

"Hmm?"

"We just defeated Portsmouth in the third round of the EFL cup with a score of 4:2 during the penalty shootout, and the FA Cup has not started yet as well!"

Tang En's eyes were once again lit up.

"Thank you, Des. I promise you that when the time comes, you will have a glorious departure!"

Chapter 105: Gypsies Part 1

One week had already passed since Tang En had gone to look for Storey-Moore and Des Walker. In that period, the youth team played a youth league match in the fourth group. Compared to the previous match, Tang En had given George Wood the chance to play for half the match and his performance remained rather good. In fact, it was even better than the previous match. Kerslake felt that it had to be attributed to Wood's extremely sturdy psychological quality.

"Oh gosh, Tony. This kid doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word 'nervous'!" Kerslake exclaimed.

Tang En laughed out loud and said, "That is because he always played truant during his lessons!"

Of course this was a joke. Tang En did not tell Kerslake that aside from Wood's psychological quality, there was another very important reason for Wood's good performance for two consecutive matches. That it was his mother, Sophia, who had been watching him play from the side of the field.

Wood told Tang En, that he and his mother had reached an agreement—if the weather was good and the sky was clear when he had a home match, he would permit his mother to come watch. If it was raining or it looked like it was going to rain, then she would not be allowed to come.

Hearing Wood's words, Tang En smiled and said to him, "Rest assured, George. As long as it's a match on our home ground, the weather will definitely be good and won't rain."

Sure enough, on the day of the match, the skies of Nottingham, which had just entered winter was extremely clear, with the sun shining brightly. Under the close watch of his mother, Sophia, George Wood also beautifully completed his performance in the second half, helping the team defeat its opponent with a score of 2:1. Tang En made him mark the enemy team's core offensive player. As a result, the core player who had been quite active in the first half, was almost nowhere to be found in the second half. In the end, the opponent team's manager could only substitute him out. Tang En also made use of this chance to let Wood apply what he had learned during his training—become a fixed position defensive midfielder, and serve as the first line of defense instead of marking a certain specific player.

Although he made some mistakes—the entire managerial team was able to see that—this lad was slowly working toward the right direction step by step.

Give him more time and let him participate in more matches. After that… what will we get?

What a highly anticipated future!

At the same time, Collymore's days became increasingly unbearable.

He stayed true to his word and refused to accept all forms of interview from the Nottingham Evening Post. After that, his good days had completely come to an end.

Pierce Brosnan, James Robson, and various other big and small reporters from the Nottingham Evening Post, all became the forefront of the anti-Collymore faction. Even if Collymore was slightly distracted for a split second when he answered questions during the post-match press conference, he would be caught by the Evening Post and be attacked for it. They would also make accusations about him which seemed possible but were actually wrong.

The readers also liked reading these sorts of articles. With the increase in the Nottingham Evening Post's sales, their scolding was taken to a whole new level.

Today was a Sunday, and Nottingham Forest's first team was headed to Wigan for a match. As such, Tang En did not need to go to City Ground Stadium to watch the match. Tang En, who was in a good mood, got out of bed early and made himself a simple breakfast. After that, he watched the morning news on the television while enjoying the wonderful morning. Ever since he knew that he would soon return to the manager's seat in the first team, his mood was so good that it was as if he were able to see sun daily during winter.

The television was rebroadcasting the sports news from the night before. The Nottingham Forest's local television station paid the most attention to Nottingham Forest and Derby County. As for Premier League or any other matches, even those were of a lower priority than these two teams.

Nottingham Forest had been the focal point of the press recently, and it was because of their terrible results as well as that incapable manager.

If Collymore did not come up with anything soon, and the team's results continued to spiral downward, then at the end of the season Nottingham Forest would have the "honor" of becoming the first team that had won the UEFA Champions League, and yet have to struggle in the country's third tier football league.

Looking back at the past glory of this team, and then looking at their current horrible situation, it was really a heartbreaking sight. There were even some newspapers that were unable to hold themselves back from making headlines such as: Former European champion in dire straits, its future bleak and dark! They had already completely stopped believing in Nottingham Forest's ability to make a comeback in the remaining half a season.

The reporters from the TV station casually interviewed a few football fans on the streets, and asked for their opinion regarding Collymore as well as the team's prospects. Tang En watched them interview four people, and none of them said anything positive. Three of them accredited the team's terrible results to Collymore's low standards and lack of professional ethics. At the same time, there were also two people who felt that the club's board of directors should also take responsibility for the current disastrous state of the team.

"If they didn't fire Manager Tony Twain, perhaps we would already be in the top six position of the league!"

"You're wrong, idiot!" Tang En pointed his fork at that plump football fan on the screen and said, "We would be first in the league!"

"If Brian Clough was still around, the situation would not have worsened to this current state," A female football fan shook her head and said painfully to the camera. The male football fan standing beside her, obviously her husband, continued.

"I think that Tony Twain can do it as well. It's a pity that he's currently managing the youth team."

Those words made Tang En feel extremely flattered to have people pin their hopes on him like they did for Nottingham Forest's legendary figure, Clough. Their expectations for him made him feel a sense of accomplishment. He even felt that when he led the team in the second half of the season and advanced all the way into the playoffs, the prestige and expectations that the fans pinned on him then was much lower than they had for him currently, when he became part of the youth team.

Perhaps people tended to place higher expectations for the things that they were unable to attain at the moment.

Right when Tang En was reveling in front of the television, his phone rang.

"Mr. Twain, I've found the person you tasked me to find."

Half an hour later, Tang En and Moore were already onboard the train from Nottingham to London.

"Freddy Eastwood, born in 1983 on the 29th of October in Epsom, located southwest of London. Currently, he is staying with his wife as well as his son, who is not even one-year-old yet, at Basildon." Moore, who was seated opposite Tang En, remained calm and collected, and he continued to speak slowly. Tang En, on the other hand, was very eager to meet the person. "Once we reach London train station, we will take the subway before taking a bus there."

Tang En shook his head, and said in a somewhat excited manner. "No, no, Mr. Moore. There's no need for so much trouble. We'll rent a car and head there directly."

Moore remained expressionless, and his body swayed to the rhythm of the moving train. "Mr. Twain, looks like you can't wait even a minute longer."

"That's right, Mr. Moore," Tang En chuckled. "Truth to be told, I can't wait to meet him immediately!"

"I can understand how you feel, Mr. Twain. But, I heard that he had been fouled intentionally in a youth match in the first half of the year. As a result, he broke his leg." Moore said slowly as he looked at Tang En without blinking. At that moment, Tang En had already felt that something was not right. "At that time, he was still on Westham United's team, and their opponents for that match was—Nottingham Forest."

The smile on Tang En's face immediately turned stiff.

They directly called a car rental company at the London train station. A black rental car came to pick them up, driving them toward Basildon, which was located in the northern part of London.

Tang En, who was seated in the car, was no longer as excited as he was when he departed. He sat at the back quietly as he looked out of the windows at the wilderness and buildings which flashed past in an instant.

If Tang En really met Eastwood, how should Tang En approach him after revealing the motive of his visit and his background?

The wilderness outside the car gradually decreased. Row upon row of buildings became increasingly common. They had finally reached Basildon.

After they entered the town, Moore made the driver pull over by the side of the road.

"We will have to walk in from here on." Moore said to Tang En.

Tang En got out and looked at the environment around him. They were currently at the National Highway Section A127 which connected London and Basildon. There were houses on both ends, and two rows of shrubs which separated these houses from the highway. Despite much of the leaves falling due to winter, it still appeared to be rather dense.

Moore led the way in front without saying anything, while Tang En followed behind him quietly. After his interaction with this old man, Tang En discovered that Moore was not someone who liked to talk. So, Tang En did not take much of an initiative to strike a conversation with him.

After walking for a short distance, the ground below their feet was all muddy and difficult to walk on. The shrubs on both sides of the road also gradually increased. Tang En felt that they were not looking for a person, but observing wild animals.

"Where does he stay?" Tang En could not help but ask.

Right at this moment, Moore stopped. He turned his head around and said to Tang En, "We're here, Mr. Twain."

Tang En took a step forward from behind Moore, and then looked around at the surroundings. This was undoubtedly a small residential area, and the area was filled with old-style red-bricked houses. In the middle of the buildings was an empty space that was surrounded by shrub bushes.

After that, Tang En saw that there was a long yellow wagon parked in the middle of the empty space. There was even a white-colored curtain laced with designs of flowers inside the car. Outside the car were two red-colored foldable chairs, three pails full of water and a few empty bottles. At a not-so-faraway distance, there was a rope with both of its ends attached to two trees. On it hung a few clothes with flower designs, which appeared to be female clothes at first glance.

Seeing this sight made Tang En's mouth gape wide in astonishment. After a long while, he finally recovered from his shock and asked the silent Moore, "This… this is his house?"

Moore nodded his head.

Chapter 106: Gypsies Part 2

Tang En scratched his head, "Have we arrived at an early 1990s' refugee zone?"

Moore pointed to a yellow long wagon and announced, "The modernized wagon is part of the nomadic way of life, Mr. Twain. Freddy Eastwood, who you're looking for, is such a Romanichal Gypsy."

"This sounds like a fantasy novel," Tang En chuckled. "Can he do divination? The sparkling magic crystal ball, the mysterious cabin with the half-covered hanging screen by the door."

Moore shook his head. "He can't. But ..."

"But?"

"It is said that his wife is able to. She is also a Romani."

Looking in front of him, Tang En had no idea what to say. He came here to find the wonderkid from the game, not a Romanichal Gypsy who was living with his wife in a wagon outside mainstream society.

The white curtain in the third window frame from the left, directly opposite them, swayed a little. Moore called attention to Twain who was still in a daze, "It seems that the sound of our conversation has awakened the owner here, Mr. Twain."

"Huh? What?"

Tang En's question was interrupted by the creaking sound of a door opening.

A girl in pink pajamas with messy hair, wearing a black fur coat on the outside–Tang En was not able to say if it was a woman in front of him because she looked too young–stuck her head out of the wagon.

"You two gentlemen, are you here to buy a car?" The girl's voice was crisp, like the song of a bird in the morning.

"Buy a car?" Tang En thought he had heard wrong.

Moore's slow, deep voice rang out in his ear again. "He has joined a local amateur team and is helping his father sell second-hand cars when he's not training or playing."

Tang En glanced at Moore. "Mr. Moore, do you know anything else about him that you can tell me all at once?"

When Moore was about to open his mouth, the girl jumped down from the wagon and stood barefoot on the grass in the early winter morning. She curiously sized-up at the two visitors. "It appears that you are not here to buy a car, nor are you here for divination. Are you guys sent by the old man Boris?"

"Who is Boris?" Tang En did not understand. With all these things happening, he felt that he should not have gone out today!

"A local councilor." Moore explained again. "He has publicly condemned them on many occasions that it is illegal to put their home on the community greenbelt. And he has also appealed to the relevant authorities to investigate the matter."

"Thank you for the clarification, Mr. Moore." Tang En nodded. He was completely out of temper.

"You're welcome, Mr. Twain."

"But, I don't think you look very much like government people either." The girl was also observing Twain and Moore while they were talking. "In that case, what exactly are you here to do?" Out of nowhere, she pulled out a deck of playing cards, shuffled them in her hands and played with them over and over. Tang En's attention was caught by her excellent card skills.

What kind of people are from this family?!

At this time, he heard a burst of "clop clop" sound from behind him. Then a loud and sharp male voice suddenly rang out, "Hey, Sabina! Do we have visitors? Are they here to buy a car or looking for a divination? Is the baby awake, did you give him milk? Oh, quickly go back, you have no shoes on!"

This sudden voice sounded like a machine gun. He was speaking very quickly, and his elocution was unclear, ratatatat, ratatatat... Tang En simply could not catch what he had said in time and then it was over.

He and Moore turned back to look, and a man's head appeared above the bushes. "Good heavens, he's really tall!" exclaimed Tang En. Although the bushes were not that tall, they were as tall as a man, and this man looked taller than the bushes. Was he another Jan Koller? No, he remembered this man in the game was not tall at all.

"Mr. Twain, in fact," Moore corrected Twain's remark, "he is not that tall. He seems tall to you, because..."

Eastwood looked at these two unfamiliar men in front of his eyes, shook his head curiously, and then came out from behind the bushes.

"...because he's riding a horse."

When he saw Eastwood "walking" out, Tang En heard something clicked in his brain.

Moore was right, the man was indeed riding on the back of a black steed! The horse flicked its tail continuously and snorted.

"Oh my god! Am I in the Middle Ages?" cried Tang En. He might never forget what he had seen today for the rest of his life—Tang En's medieval fantasy trip!

The gypsy couple looked strangely at the man who was scratching his head and wondered what he was doing. At this time, a baby's cry could be heard in the wagon, and the woman hurriedly ran back. The man jumped down to lead the horse to the woods behind and fasten the reins to a tree. Having done this, he walked back to the wagon, sat down in the chair by the doorway, and studied the two men.

Tang En finally recovered from the bewilderment. He stepped forward, gave a cough, and then introduced himself. "Hello, Freddy. I am... um, I'm..." He was stuck. How should I introduce myself?

"It doesn't matter who you are, Sir." Eastwood sat on his chair in a very relaxed manner, shaking his head. "What's important is your purpose in coming here."

"Freddy, do you want to play professional football?" Tang En got right to the point.

This question caught Eastwood's attention and he scrutinized Twain for a long time. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh, rose from his chair, and shouted at Twain, "I remember now! You're that guy from Nottingham Forest!"

Tang En nodded, "Just as you thought. I'm that guy." It was a good moniker which saved everyone a lot of trouble.

Eastwood snorted, "Whose fault was it that I was kicked out of West Ham United? You have some nerve coming here to look for me. Are you planning to let me play for you?"

Hearing the other person say so, Tang En scratched his nose abashedly. The matter with what Wood did was indeed a little unscrupulous, but if it were not for that foul, how could he have found out what position Wood was good for? If this person in front of him was not injured at that time, he might not be reduced to the point of playing for an amateur team. But if it did not happen this way, how could they have such a face-to-face opportunity today?

Ah, karmic retribution.

When Tang En saw him, he was certain that this man was the very stubborn Freddy Eastwood in his memory. His slender figure, pale face and brown hair completely matched his impression of his face. It was this man who helped his team eliminate the mighty Manchester United with a direct free kick in the EFL Cup in the 06-07 season.

The only concern Tang En had now was that he could not remember the reason for his abandonment by West Ham United; was it because West Ham thought he had no potential or was it because of his injury? Did George Wood's foul toward him affect his future ability? Was Eastwood, standing before Tang En now, still the one who would wipe out Manchester United?

Eastwood was still complaining on and on when his wife, who appeared behind him carrying their child, gave a cough, "Don't look for excuses, Freddy. Haven't you always wanted to play professional football? Heres your chance now."

Eastwood was immediately muzzled.

Then the woman smiled at Tang En. "I'm sorry, sir. That injury was really a huge blow for Freddy."

Tang En apologetically nodded. "He has every reason to do this. It is me who should say sorry for that matter."

Eastwood's wife continued, "When Freddy's leg was healed, he had once thought about giving up football and concentrating on helping Dad with his car dealership. I persuaded him to try his luck at the other clubs, and he went to Charlton…."

As his wife was recounting these past events, Eastwood sat in his chair and looked up at the sky as if this had nothing to do with him.

"But when the people at Charlton heard that Freddy had just broken his leg a few months before, they didn't even spare him a minute's chance."

All this was caused by Wood. Although it did not have much to do with Tang En, he shouldered the responsibility for this. "I am sorry, madam. We've come to him now, hoping to make up for this regret." After saying that, he looked at Eastwood and quietly waited for his answer.

"Freddy!" His wife raised her volume to call her husband's name.

He finally lowered his head to look at Twain and grunted, "We Romani Gypsies are particular about fair dealing in our business. Since you have come all the way from Nottingham to find me, you have shown your sincerity. Then I also must show my ability. Or you would be worried if I could still play after my right leg had been broken."

Tang En smiled. "No, I'm not worried."

"This afternoon at the New Recreation Ground, come watch me play in a game!"

This was a Southern Amateur Football League game. What was said to be a game at the New Recreation Ground was only an ordinary soccer field and a small stand made of steel frames. Tang En once lamented outside the Bernabéu Stadium that the Forest team home ground was like a sports field in a high school as compared to the Real Madrid home ground. But now the "Playing Fields" in front of his eyes were 100 percent a "high school sports field."

Almost everyone stood on the sidelines of the field watching the game. There was no billboard to circle the football field, no television broadcast, no large number of news reporters, and no locker room... nothing whatsoever.

Looking at such a surrounding for a match, Tang En felt sorry for Eastwood and at the same time, even more deeply apologetic in his heart.

"Stimson is a good man. When I wasn't playing, he asked me to come to Grays Athletic. Even though they are amateur games, I can always stay in shape and maintain my feel for the ball. I think he'll be happy to see that I can return to professional football. To repay him, I'm going to score a lot of goals in this match." Eastwood said this to Twain before the game, as if scoring goals came easy to him, like he could score as many as he wanted.

And now he was standing in the center circle on the field, getting ready to kick off.

"What do you think, Mr. Moore?" Tang En asked for the opinion of the Forest football club's former chief scout on the sidelines.

"I have not watched his matches before, Mr. Twain," Moore answered truthfully. "But those cheers with his name around the field should be able to explain some things."

"I think so too," said Tang En with a smile.

The game had only gone on for 50 minutes, and Tang En already could not contain his excitement. He really saw it. He saw the Freddy Eastwood who was exactly the same as that Freddy Eastwood in FM. The wonderkid with player attributes like Scoring - 18, Passing - 17, Free Kicks - 19, Technique - 18, Dribbling - 17, Long Shots - 16, Flair - 18, Acceleration - 17, Balance - 17, Pace - 15!

The spectators around New Recreation Ground shouted Eastwood's name, worshipping him like a god!

In the 50 minutes, he had already scored six goals! A penalty kick, a free kick, a long shot, a corner kick, and dribbled past the goalkeeper to shoot a goal in! He performed almost every scoring method as if he were demonstrating his shooting ability to Twain.

"What do you think now, Mr. Moore?" Tang En said to Moore standing next to him amidst the cheering sounds.

"Just as you said, Mr. Twain. He is a genius." Moore's face finally showed a slight change of expression as he answered with a slight smile. Clearly, the Romanichal striker's performance also won over the picky old scout.

"He's only 20 years old!" Tang En applauded Eastwood with the people around him. "He does not belong to such a shabby stadium and a match with no television broadcast and reporters! We must sign him. He will become a sharp tool on the Forest team's frontline!"

"I agree too, but I have an issue with this from the beginning, Mr. Twain."

"Huh?"

"Signing new players seems to be the job of a First Team manager."

Tang En turned to look at the old scout standing beside him. "You can see me as the future Forest First Team manager." He saw there was a flash in the old man's deep-set eyes. "Mr. Moore, are you going to reconsider your decision to retire?"

"No, Mr. Twain, I will not withdraw my decision."

Tang En was a little disappointed when he heard Moore say that. It still did not work. This old man is really stubborn!

"But, just like this, you can ask me for help in your individual capacity, Mr. Twain." Old Moore still had no expression, but Tang En seemed to see an old man smiling at himself.

There was cheering around him once more. Eastwood had scored again.

Chapter 107: Welcome Back Part 1

Freddy Eastwood's matter was settled very easily. As he was currently playing for an amateur team, he was valued at a very cheap amount. Nottingham Forest only needed to pay ￡100,000 to take him away from Grays Athletic. Actually, it was possible to not pay a single cent. However, as Tang En felt bad for Eastwood, he still gave the money. After all, it was because Grays Athletic had been willing to take in a striker who had broken his leg, let him participate in matches to keep him in shape, that Tang En was able to see such an energetic Eastwood.

Both parties signed the club transfer agreement. From the first of January onward, Eastwood would be considered a member of Nottingham Forest.

Tang En, who had just returned from Basildon, heard that night that Collymore's team had lost yet another match. He knew that this kid was not far away from stepping down.

On Monday morning, the London Stock Exchange Market was open, and Nottingham Forest club announced through a stock market announcement, the changes in the shares of the club—Edward Doughty was currently in possession of 75 percent of Nottingham Forest's shares through means of purchase.

The news confirmed Tang En's guesses. He also completely understood what Doughty and his financial advisor had been doing for the past half of the season.

What did it mean for someone to possess 75 percent of the shares of an English football club? It meant that that person would be in an authority position higher than the board of directors, and that the entire club would completely belong to him. He could immediately announce the club's exit of the stock market, and make the private limited company with a shareholders' system into a private club. There was also no need for him to go through board of directors' meetings to carry out any new policies and future development plans for the club, including reconstruction, expansion, new football fields, purchase and sale of players, the appointments of the upper echelons of the club… In other words, he would become the emperor of the club, and no one could go against any decision of his.

Even if Doughty were to say "from next season onward, Nottingham Forest's season ticket prices will increase by 300 percent, and the prices of the food and beverages sold within the stadium are to be increased by 100 percent", this would become an unchangeable decision despite the fans' protests.

Of course, Tang En believed that Doughty would not be foolish to such an extent.

Tang En took a look at the league's points ranking. As Nottingham Forest had consecutively lost matches, it had already fallen to the fourth last team in terms of ranking. It had to be known that the last three teams of the league would be relegated to League Two after the end of the season. If Nottingham Forest were to really be relegated, the percentage of shares Doughty possessed would no longer matter.

If he wanted to make the team into a money-making machine that served a few people, the team would have to produce good results.

Tang En knew that it would soon be time for his debut.

Edward! Give me a call! Tell me you need me!

Just as Tang En finished shouting in his heart, his phone suddenly rang.

"It can't be that coincidental, can it?" Tang En muttered as he picked up the call.

It was indeed Doughty, but his purpose for finding Twain was not to ask him to return to City Ground Stadium, but to tell him unexpected news.

"Tony, I just received a call, telling me that Collymore has been assaulted in a small alley outside a bar, and that he is currently being sent to the hospital. Do you know any news regarding this matter?"

"Ah?" Tang En was stunned for a while, before shaking his head and said, "No, I don't know. This incident won't have any negative repercussions, will it?" Actually, he really wanted to say, "Who assaulted him? I want to write him a letter to express my thanks." However, thinking that such an incident had happened when Doughty had just taken control over the club, there would undoubtedly be some negative association.

"Maybe yes, maybe no." But upon hearing Doughty's voice, he seemed to not be worrying much at all. "I'll make a call to verify. I was afraid that you were somehow related to this incident."

Tang En thought of someone. Rolling his eyes, he said, "No, why would it be related to me? You know I've been busy recently with Eastwood's matter."

"Mhmm. In that case, I'm relieved. By the way, Tony… Are you ready?"

"I've been ready for half a year, Edward."

Amidst the laughter of the two of them, Tang En hung up the call.

Tang En stood up and got dressed. Although it was already close to 10 p.m., he had to make a trip.

Sophia looked at the old Quartz clock hung on the wall anxiously. The hour hand had already passed 10, while the minute hand was pointed to six. It was already half past ten.

One hour ago, she made Wood go out to buy some things. With Wood's speed that could rival track and field athletes, he only required a little bit more than half an hour to come back. But now...

She heard an anxious knocking sound coming from the door on the first floor. She hurried to the windows and peeped through the small gap in the curtains. The person whom she saw knocking on the door shocked her—Tony Twain!

It is already so late. Why is Mr. Twain here?

Sophia wanted to go down and open the door, but right when she reached the staircase, she made a U-turn and returned to her room. Standing in front of the mirror, Sophia took her comb and tidied her hair despite the fact that her hair was not messy at all. After confirming that no issues could be spotted from any angle, an exultant smile akin to that of a young girl appeared on her face before she joyously ran to open the door.

Waiting for the female that was extremely shocked by his sudden visit to tidy up her looks, Tang En had already been out in the cold wind for about a minute knocking on the door several times.

Just as the disappointed Tang En was about to leave, the door creaked open. The light from within the house leaked out, sprinkling on Tang En's feet. Tang En lowered his head, only to see the figure of a woman standing inside the house.

He was slightly shocked. "Madam?"

"Mr. Twain, why are you here?" Sophia was slightly panting and her face was slightly flushed. Her pair of bright eyes were covered with a thin layer of mist, unknown whether it was due to the fatigue from sprinting, or a result of some other reason…

"Erm, I'm here to look for George. Is he around?" Actually, when Tang En asked this question, he already knew the answer.

Sophia made way for the door and replied, "He went out to buy something. Please come in Mr. Twain. It's cold outside."

Tang En hesitated for a while, but still walked in.

The tenant residing on the first floor had not come back. Perhaps he was still working hard outside to make a living. Currently, there were only two people in the house, himself and the woman in front of him. Suddenly, Tang En's heart raced.

"Mr. Twain, do you still not add anything to your red tea?" Sophia was making tea for Tang En.

"Yes…. Erm, no need to trouble yourself, Madam. I'll leave as soon as I see George." Tang En wanted to stop the enthusiastic female owner, but it was apparent that it was no use. Sophia opened the refrigerator and took out two boxes of biscuits, before turning around and waving the biscuits at Tang En.

"Do you like milk-flavored or chocolate-flavored?"

"Both are fine with me."

As such, Sophia placed both boxes of biscuits on the table, before taking the plates from the cupboard. Seeing Sophia's happily busy look, Tang En gave up on persuading her, as long as she was happy.

Before he knew her, how often was she so energetic, with a brimming smile on her face?

Sophia seemed to have wanted to get the plates from the highest row. Seeing her tiptoeing with great effort yet unable to reach when she extended her arms, Tang En decided to help her.

He stood up and walked to Sophia, standing behind her. Then, he extended his arms and easily touched that row of plates.

"Did you want this, Madam? Erm.." Tang En, who asked this question, felt that something was amiss.

Unknowingly and accidentally, both of their bodies were touching each other. Despite this being the winter and they wore proper clothes, the awkwardness caused was still inevitable.

The room was momentarily silent. The yellow light cast a vague, joint shadow on the wall beside the two of them. If Tang En put down his hands which were raised up high, it would look as if he was hugging Sophia.

Sophia was not tall, so when Tang En stood behind her, her hair happened to be right under Tang En's nose. A clear fragrance could be smelled alongside the smooth hair, and he could not help but greedily inhale a breath.

Tang En felt the body that he was in contact with, tremble. He instantly regained his senses and immediately took a few steps back. Slightly at a loss of what to do, Tang En explained to Sophia, "So, so sorry! I.. I didn't do it on purpose. Sorry! Sorry." He was still holding on to the porcelain plate in his hands when he was flailing his arms around. The light reflection made it seem as though he was an acrobat.

Sophia was tickled by Tang En's actions. "Can you pass me that plate, Mr. Twain?" She extended her hands naturally, but her cheeks secretly revealed a slight blush.

Tang En looked at the plate in his hand embarrassedly, before handing it over.

Sophia stood in front of the table with her head lowered, as she transferred some biscuits onto the plate. Her long, black hair lowered like a waterfall. Seeing this, Tang En recalled that incident from just now. Did that fragrance actually come from her countless strands of hair, or from the naked and exposed neck?

Shutting his eyes, he suddenly missed that feeling.

He could clearly feel the burning ball of flames that was in contact with his body at that time. The air was filled with mesmerizing fragrance that was extremely elusive. When one wanted to catch a hold on it, it would escape right from the tip of the nose.

"Smells really good," he lightly sighed.

When Tang En opened his eyes again, he discovered that Sophia was looking at him and smiling. The biscuits were already placed on the plate, and the fragrance of the tea filled the room.

Chapter 108: Welcome Back Part 2

"Mr. Twain, what smells good?"

"Tea… As well as…." Feeling Sophia's intent gaze at him with her head tilted, Tang En silently cleared his throat and mumbled, "I was saying, nothing much…"

The room was dimly-lit, and there was a beautiful lady in the room. Tang En lowered his head as a form of cover-up as he tried to resist an impulse that could not be expressed with words. It was no wonder that Collymore had expressed his interest for Sophia in public. Her natural charm was indeed enough to make anyone fall for her.

"Mr. Twain?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you looking at?" Sophia smiled as she asked Tang En.

"I am… Err, I'm admiring an oil painting."

"Oil painting?"

"Yes… Mona Lisa…"

Right after he finished his sentence, Sophia's face blushed red with embarrassment, and she lowered her head shyly.

Ah! Darn it! This is simply too ridiculous! Tang En silently scolded in his heart. He originally did not want to say this, but upon seeing Sophia, he suddenly lost control over his own tongue. Wood, Wood, if you don't return soon, I'll… I'll!

The creaking sound of the door opening was heard coming from downstairs.

Tang En, who had been caught in an internal struggle, finally let out a sigh of relief. He sat paralyzed on the chair. God! My back is drenched in sweat!

Following a series of hurried footsteps, Wood appeared at the door of the room. When he saw Twain, who was seated before the dining table, he was stunned.

Sophia walked up to Wood and took over the bags from her son's hands. While doing so, she asked concernedly, "Where did you go, George? Why did you spend more than an hour… Oh!" She frowned upon smelling a strong alcoholic smell emanating from Wood. "You went drinking, George?" Her tone became slightly sterner.

Hearing Sophia say this, Tang En turned his head and stared at Wood intently. There were no bruises or cuts on his face. Shifting his gaze slowly from top to bottom, Tang En finally saw a black mark on Wood's pants in his knee area. Although it had been repeatedly dusted off by the owner of this pair of pants, Tang En could still tell that it was definitely a shoe mark.

"No, Mom." Wood shook his head.

Sophia had no intentions of letting Wood off the hook. She used her hands to fan the air. "Then what is with the alcoholic smell coming from you?"

"On the way back I passed by a bar street, and met with a few drunkards. They were hard to deal with, so I spent quite some time trying to get away from them." Wood tried his best to make himself appear as though nothing happened.

"Open your mouth, George." Sophia made clear her intentions for Wood to open his mouth, to take a whiff of his breath.

Wood did as he was told. Sophia went close to her son's mouth and took a deep sniff with her nose. Then, she gently rubbed Wood's cheeks and said, "Go wash your face. Look at you, full of perspiration on your face. Mr. Twain came to look for you specifically, and has waited for a very long time."

Wood shot Twain a look, before obediently heading to the bathroom.

Sophia smiled apologetically at Tang En. Tang En shrugged his shoulders to show that he understood, and the suspicions in his heart had been confirmed. It was time to bid farewell. So, he got up and said to Sophia, "So sorry Madam. I think I should be going. It's getting late after all."

Hearing Tang En say this, Sophia made no attempts to cover up her disappointment, and the smile on her face disappeared. She of course knew Tang En's request was very normal, and she did not have any reason to hold a man back in her house at around 11p.m.

"What a pity, Mr. Twain," Sophia sighed, pointing to the red tea and biscuits left untouched on the table. "You haven't eaten anything yet."

Actually… If not for Wood's timely return, perhaps Tang En would have stayed for the night. He saw Sophia's disappointed face, which had lost all radiance, and said consolingly, "Madam, I think… There are plenty of opportunities like this in the future."

Hearing Tang En word it like this, Sophia happily raised her head, with the radiance on her face restored.

At that moment, Wood emerged from the bathroom and frowned slightly. After that, he leaned against the door and looked at the two people in the room without uttering a single word.

Tang En saw him come out, immediately shifting his eyes away from Sophia's face and waved at Wood. "George, I'm leaving. Are you not going to send me off?"

Standing outside the house, Tang En chatted with Wood casually while waiting for Landy to come and fetch him. He knew that Sophia must have been watching them from the windows on the second floor. Wood did not want his mother to worry too much and Tang En felt the same way as well.

"George, I have something to tell you." Tang En decided to test the waters so as to confirm his guesses. "That scoundrel who was all over your mom the other day has just been beat up by someone. Do you know who did it?" When Tang En said this, he stared intently at Wood, hoping to be able to spot some traces from his reaction.

But he was disappointed. Wood did not even bat an eyelid at that.

"I don't know." His voice also did not have the slightest fluctuation in emotion.

This brat!

But you are too calm, to the extent that you don't seem to be hearing this news for the first time. You're still too green to be playing with me.

The suspicions in Tang En's heart were all quelled, but he did not expose Wood. He only smiled and nodded his head, "Very well, I was worried you were the one who did it. If it's not you, then great."

The street in front of them became lit-up by two bright, circular lights. From this, Tang En knew that the driver, Landy was there. He decided to bid farewell to Wood, but suddenly recalled something else. "Oh, and… Hmm, I think, if there are no mishaps, perhaps from tomorrow onward, I won't be able to train with you and direct your matches anymore."

Upon hearing Twain's words, Wood turned around and looked at him. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I'm leaving." Tang En suddenly thought of teasing this rigid child, as he nodded his head.

"Where to?"

"To the south."

"Is it very far?"

"I think it is…" Looking at this child who still did not reveal any signs of reluctance, Tang En was slightly disappointed… Don't tell me that there isn't any semblance of teacher-student relationship between us?

Wood remained silent for a while, before turning around and said with his back to Tang En, "Oh, then goodbye."

This scoundrel!

Tang En decided to stop playing along, and shouted as he waved, "Hold on! Forget it. I was lying to you. Although I am indeed going to the south, I am only going five meter away from the youth team training grounds—the width of a small alley!"

Just as he finished speaking, Wood immediately turned around and stared at Tony. The look on his face was definitely not one of joy, but of anger after realizing that he had been deceived.

Faced with this child's angry look, Tang En was somewhat at a loss of how to explain the gimmick which he thought of on the spot. He could only continue his sentence somewhat awkwardly. "Erm, if everything goes smoothly, I'll be the manager of Nottingham Forest's main team from tomorrow onward. When that time comes, I'll have to leave the youth team, but you have to continue to train and play for the youth team."

Landy, who was not far, sounded the car horn to rush Tang En.

"I have to go, George. I hope you can continue to listen to Mr. Kerslake and the other coaches, train hard, and play seriously. You are doing very well right now, and all of us feel that if you can continue on like this, then earning ￡120,000 a week is not an issue!" Tang En knew the one and only thing that could motivate this kid was not glory or passion. There was only one keyword—money!

"Continue performing well, kid! I will keep an eye on the youth team at all times. If you perform well there, I will promote you to the first team. At that time, you will receive an entirely different contract… Do you know how much salary you can at least get when that time comes?"

Wood shook his head.

Tang En did some mental calculation. With the club's financial position improved, the salary of the players should also increase in tandem. If Wood really continues his outstanding performance at the youth team, and he successfully enters the adult team, his weekly salary would be no less than ￡1,500. So, he said to Wood, "At least ￡1,500 every week! And that's excluding other monetary rewards!"

Only then did Wood's facial expression finally change. It appeared that he was very satisfied. Tang En was also very satisfied with Wood's expression, and therefore smiled as he waved toward him. "Work hard! Remember, George, regardless of where you are, the better you perform, the more money you will get!"

Tang En turned around and got in the car. The cab left very quickly. Wood stood in front of the door for a while before entering the house.

Sophia saw Wood return, and asked, "George, what were you guys talking about?"

Wood's mouth opened and revealed a rare smile. "Money. Mom, we will become rich very soon."

Sophia's extended her hands and caressed her son's hair lovingly. "Silly boy. George, you have to listen to Mr. Twain. He is a very very good person." When she was saying this, Sophia looked out of the window at the pitch dark streets. Tony Twain's car had long driven off.

Wood escaped from his mother's tender touch and suddenly asked, "Mom, do you like him?"

Hearing her son ask this, Sophia became flustered. She immediately retracted her gaze and looked at Wood, before averting her eyes again. "Ah, no no, it's not possible! How… How can it be?" She tried her best to avoid her son's eyes.

Hearing his mother reply in this manner and looking at her reaction, Wood did not say anything. He only continued to look at his mother silently, as though he could see through everything.

Sophia coughed and looked at him with a stern face. "Alright, George, you should go to sleep soon."

"Goodnight, Mom." Wood kissed Sophia on the cheek.

"Goodnight, George." Sophia returned with a kiss on George's forehead.

Wood returned to his own room, closed the door and turned off the lights.

Sophia sat in front of the dining table and placed one hand on the table, resting her chin on it as she stared blankly at that red tea which had already turned cold, as well as the biscuits which were left untouched. She recalled her time alone with Twain. Time no longer had any meaning, and everything around her appeared to be frozen in time. After that, it was stored inside a picture frame and stowed away in her heart.

She lightly sighed as she removed the plates and cups from the table.

When she turned around, Wood's unlatched room door was being softly closed.

"…There were six of them! Six strong rugby players! I don't know where they came from and I haven't met them prior to this. Just when I was about to leave, they assaulted me in an alley! It was a sneak attack, sneak attack! Otherwise I wouldn't have lost to them. Who do you think I am? I am Stan Collymore!"

"Hahahahaha!" Tang En and Edward, who were watching the television, could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.

Collymore, who was lying on the hospital bed while being interviewed, illustrated his own "one versus six" heroics with his saliva splashing in all directions. Tang En, who knew what really happened, doubled over in laughter. As for the reason why Doughty was laughing so happily, it was because of an entirely different matter.

The television program which they were currently watching was only the news, and the videos played during the news would usually not be live broadcasts. So, it was not possible for that unlucky guy who had shouted "I am Stan Collymore" to be currently as excited as when he was being interviewed.

The reason was very simple, because his contract with Nottingham Forest had been officially terminated as of that morning.

Nobody expressed any form of shock, bewilderment or protest at this. When the team's performance was so terrible, Collymore had still gotten himself into a scandal. If he wasn't fired, then who would be? Even though Doughty could not avoid having to shoulder the blame of "erratic decision-making", but… surely nobody expected this club chairman who possessed 75 percent of the club's shares to resign and transfer away all of his shares, just because he had hired a bad manager?

Stan Collymore ended his extremely disastrous career as a manager after half a season. This experience would no doubt be remembered by him forever, regardless of whether he would continue going down the path of being a manager.

As for Collymore's successor, there was almost no suspense at all.

At that time, was there anyone else more suited for this role than him?

"It's about time, Tony. Let's go." Doughty looked at the watch on his wrist.

"Mhmm." Twain nodded his head.

The two of them stood up and pushed open the door of the chairman's office. Ms. Barbara Lucy was already waiting for them outside the door.

On the first floor, a dark red Audi A6 waited quietly near the gates. The driver was seated there waiting for further instructions, with the car doors already opened.

This car would be headed toward City Ground Stadium, where numerous reporters would be waiting at a press conference.

There was even a small group of fans assembled outside the stadium. They were led by a fat guy, and all of them were wearing the red Nottingham Forest jersey as though they were dressed to watch a match. They were singing loudly as though there was no one else in the vicinity, in front of the reporters and cameras. These fans that had attracted the attention of the reporters raised a large cartoon portrait in the air. And written beneath the head were these words:

Welcome back, Tony!

Chapter 109: The Discipline Of The Team Part 1

On Monday, December 7th, the players, who had just finished their one day of vacation after the match, returned and were back in training. Most of them appeared to be inattentive because the team had just experienced an important personnel change that would affect their future.

As the players were changing their clothes in the locker room, they were discussing their new manager—it was not a "new" manager for some of them.

Some people were excited, some people were frustrated, and some people were scared.

Serhiy Rebrov sat bare-chested on the bench and leaned against the wall. He did not know whether he should feel dismayed or terrified now.

It was ironic that the managers who had trusted him always got dismissed. This was exactly the same situation he had at Hotspur.

At that time, he was brought to North London from Kyiv Dynamo by the Hotspur manager Graham. The club and the manager had high hopes for him, and the ￡11,000,000 illustrated very well how high that expectation was. But? Not long after, Graham was fired because of the team's poor performance. Rebrov's own performance was also unsatisfactory. When the new manager Hoddle brought on six new players in one shot upon his arrival, Rebrov knew his time at White Hart Lane was coming to an end.

Tottenham Hotspur had once wanted to sell him. He and Shevchenko had formed a dream team of striker combination that year at the UEFA Champions League, and now he was of no interest to anyone. Later, he was temporarily on loan to Turkey's Fenerbah?e team. His performance was still poor. He only scored one goal in half a season.

During this period, he not only lost his position in the club, but also lost his position on the Ukraine national team.

That summer, Shevchenko had just won the UEFA Champions League in AC Milan. He received a hero's welcome on his return to home for holiday. When he appeared in front of the Ukrainian people with the UEFA Champions League trophy, the square broke out in great cheers, as if the trophy in his hands was not the UEFA Champions League but the World Cup.

And what about him? Reduced to a point where no one wanted him!

Why were their outcomes so different when they became famous as partners in the first place?

In the rainy winter of London, he could not see through the heavy dark clouds overhead. Was it the same now under the sky of Nottingham?

Am I really not suitable for English football? Was it a mistake to decide to go abroad to earn my living at that time? Why did Shevchenko succeed in Italy, and I, his partner, couldn't?

In fact, Rebrov's situation was not fine in this team now. As the team's most expensive and famous star player, he held the highest weekly wage, but completely contributed nothing to the team. But no one could say that the Ukrainian did not do his best and took the money without doing his job. He was cautious and conscientious in training, and never put on the airs of "a Premier League striker." No one saw him being lazy. Sometimes his performance and condition during the training was also quite good, but he just could not find the goal on the field during the match.

It was baffling.

Another person who looked like he had a heavy load on his mind was the team's young captain, Michael Dawson. But his reasons were different from Rebrov. He stood in the middle of the locker room and watched his noisy teammates in a daze.

Why was the chief back?

The veteran player, Eoin Jess stood up, looked at the dazed Dawson and frowned. Michael, you can't be like this. You're the captain, you cannot show the slightest indecision or hesitation.

He walked up and touched Dawson, whispering his name, "Michael, Michael."

"Huh?" Dawson snapped out of it and looked at Jess, somewhat confused.

Jess sighed in his heart, and then said to him, "Tell everyone to go out. We took so long to change our clothes. If the boss finds out, he will certainly be angry."

"Oh, right. Yes, the chief hates the most being late for training and things like that," Dawson nodded and muttered.

When Tang En was leading the team last season, he would be on the training ground earlier than the team every day. Although he did not care much about the concept of time in his personal life, he was disciplined at work. If he said to start training at nine o'clock, then running out of the locker room at ten seconds past nine o'clock would get one laps as a punishment.

In fact, regarding this, Tang En had learned from his high school teacher in charge of his class. When the school bell was about to ring, that stern teacher would stand outside the door to catch any late students. He thought this was a good trick, so he used it.

Dawson looked around the locker room and the coaches were there. At this moment, he should take the responsibility as the captain. So, he clapped his hands and said loudly, "All right, everybody! Get dressed, we're going out for training!"

Not everyone listened to him. When everyone else had gotten up and gone out, Gareth Taylor was still sitting on the bench, and had not changed his clothes.

Collymore's indifference to the discipline of the team had naturally fostered the players' slack habits. Taylor, who had been a newcomer transferred to the Forest this season, had already scored 10 goals and half the season was not over yet. He was the Forest team's top scoring forward, so he deliberately put on some airs.

Dawson wanted to go up and grab this nonchalant man and push him out. But Jess stopped him and shook his head.

Helplessly, he gave Taylor another glance, then Dawson and Jess ran out.

It was drizzling under the gloomy sky. The rain was not heavy, but it was cold enough.

Tang En and Walker stood at the corridor entrance from the locker room to the training ground. It was now 8:59. They did not have an umbrella, nor did they wear a raincoat and pullover. They just stood there and let the cold winter rain gradually wet their hair and clothes, and then drip down their necks into their bodies.

They waited, and still did not see a figure running out.

Seeing this embarrassing scene, Walker shamefacedly said to Twain, "Collymore ... never care about the discipline of the team."

Tang En nodded, "I understand. I don't expect a coach who doesn't always come to the training ground to be able to bring out a group of players who respect discipline and have the concept of time. It's just that it's a bit unexpected for me that not a single player has come out." He looked down at his watch, and it was nine o'clock sharp.

"Let's start counting the time, Des."

Walker nodded and began to start the stopwatch.

When the number jumped to 47 seconds, someone finally came running out and it was Andy Reid.

"Boss!" Reid was a little excited to see Twain's long-lost face, "Long time no see!"

Tang En smiled and nodded. "Indeed, Andy, it's been a long time. You look stronger than before."

Reid scratched his head, feeling somewhat self-conscious.

"What about the others?" Tang En asked.

"Oh, they're still in there, Michael's hurrying them." Just as he spoke to this point, Reid suddenly remembered that Twain disliked the players being late for training, and he suddenly stopped talking.

Tang En looked at him and laughed mischievously, "Andy, you're forty-seven seconds late. You know what to do?"

"Uh, I'll run the laps." Reid turned to run and was called by Twain again.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one today. Go to the field and wait."

Reid's Adam's Apple swallowed a little, he knew that everyone was going to have a hard time today. So, he obediently moved to the side. But why did he still felt like he was looking forward to something... like he was expecting a good show about to be staged.

Then there were more people coming out from inside, and most of them saw Twain standing on the sidelines waiting for them and happily came up to greet him. Tang En responded with smiles and said nothing about running laps for being late.

Seeing Twain's performance, Reid grew more excited. He forgot that he was also on the punishment list. He folded his arms around his chest, cheerfully watch the show at the side. At the same time, he counted the number of people who came out and how many unlucky ones who were still inside and did not come out.

Michael Dawson appeared in front of Twain together with Jess and he looked slightly uncomfortable when he saw the manager. It was Twain who took the initiative to say hello to him, "Michael!"

"Chief..."

"You look a bit down in the dumps. What's the matter? Your girlfriend kicked you out of her bed?" After he said that, Walker and Dawson both laughed.

"Without Chief, she wouldn't dare to kick me."

"Well, that's good. I wouldn't know how to explain to the reporters if I lost a midfielder because you had a falling with her in bed. Ha ha! Go on." He patted Dawson on the shoulder. "Oh yes, how many people are there left in the locker room?"

"Only one, Chief."

Tang En nodded.

Dawson ran toward Reid and found that he was looking at the passageway entrance, smirking.

"Hey, Andy, what are you doing?" He asked, puzzled.

"Ah, it's Michael!" Grinning, Reid pulled him forward, and placed him to stand beside him so as not to block his view. "Is that dawdler Taylor, still in the locker room?"

Dawson nodded, "He hasn't even changed his clothes."

Reid smiled even more happily. "Awesome! I haven't been able to stand that guy for a while now. Just wait for a good show, Michael!"

"Hmm." Dawson understood what Reid meant and he also knew what Twain was going to do. He waited in anticipation for Gareth Taylor to come out.

The players were standing on the training ground in twos and threes and the coaches were on the sidelines. The new manager, Tony Twain, and his assistant, Des Walker, were standing at the entrance of the passageway and facing the locker room direction.

Rebrov found this a little strange. Why had they not started the training? Was everyone not here yet? What were they waiting for?

Chapter 110: The Discipline Of The Team Part 2

He looked left and right and found that his Forest teammates who had been on the team since last season did not seem surprised by the situation, but instead they smiled and faced the direction of the locker room together with the manager. Only the few "newcomers" who arrived this summer were just as puzzled as he was.

It looked like they were all quite familiar with the new manager. His face was full of smiles as he greeted everyone, which seemed kind of nice. Maybe they would get along nicely... maybe.

Just as Rebrov was feeling uncertain about Twain, the last man in the team, Gareth Taylor, came out from inside.

Seeing him, Walker stopped the stopwatch and handed it to Twain.

Tang En took it and looked at the time shown: five minutes forty-nine seconds. As he tossed the stopwatch back, he muttered to Walker, "Women change clothes faster than he does."

Walker shrugged. He had become accustomed to Taylor's way of dragging his feet and no matter how many times he had said something to him, it did not work. If he tried to punish him during training, Collymore would say, "Oh my god! I used to do that frequently when I was playing. As long as he can score goals, why should you care if it takes him 10 minutes or 10 hours to change his clothes?" After that, the discouraged Walker simply did not care anymore.

With his head lowered, Taylor was still fastening the belt on his shorts as he was walking out. He obviously did not see Twain and Walker standing at the side. Seeing how he was about to walk past them without looking up, soft laughter could be heard in from the training field.

Tang En turned his head and glanced at them, and the laughter stopped at once. Walker called out to stop the last man.

"Taylor."

When he heard someone call him, Taylor finally raised his head. When he clearly saw the two men standing in front of him, he immediately realized he might be in trouble.

The assistant manager Des Walker, and an unfamiliar man, both had the same expression on their faces—straight-faced and unsmiling.

"Uh, what's the matter, coach?"

Walker did not speak, but the unfamiliar man next to him said, "Gareth Taylor, you were transferred from Burnley at the start of this season with a transfer fee of ￡550,000. You represented the Forest team for seventeen rounds of League Championship games and three cup matches and scored 10 goals and had one assist. These statistics are not too bad."

Taylor could not understand what this man was trying to do. He could only stand there and remain silent.

"But you're in the wrong place." Tang En pointed to the northeast side. There was another training ground behind a row of trees and wire fence. "You should be training on the fourth field."

"What?" Taylor thought he heard wrong.

Tang En nodded in affirmation, "Congratulations, Mr. Taylor. From now on, you're a member of the reserve team."

Not to mention the shock on Taylor's face, Walker had no idea that Twain's approach to dealing with it was this. The new manager had decided to put changing the locker room atmosphere at the top of his list when he heard about the general situation of the locker room.

"Why?" Taylor became anxious. He knew the straight-faced man in front of him was the new manager. "Why do you want me to go to the second team?"

"Because you're much better than the third team." Tang En gave a shrug of his shoulders. After he had said that, he turned to walk toward the training field and ignored the poor thing who was tardy.

This answer stumped Taylor for a moment. He looked at the back of Twain and looked at his teammates on the field. Before that, they had gathered to chat and joke together in twos or threes, and their expressions looked as if they were waiting to watch a good show. And now they were quickly assembling and lining up!

He suddenly realized that those good days where he could go to bed an hour later at night and wake up an hour later would never return.

Walker followed behind Twain and whispered the worry in his heart. "Tony. I know you want to reshape the team discipline, but isn't this way too direct and brutal? Taylor does procrastinate, but he's still the team's number one striker. He plays a large part in us advancing to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup."

Tang En looked at the players who had knowingly lined up in two rows on the training field ahead, smiled, and then turned his head to Walker and said, "Des. It is necessary for them to understand now that the only irreplaceable person within this team... is me."

Then he marched up to the group of players who had become well-behaved.

"The earliest one of you was 47 seconds late." Tang En raised his hands and pointed to his watch on his left wrist with his right hand. "And the latest person who came out was one minute and 32 seconds. I don't care why you were late, even if you say you were shaving your legs in the locker room. It doesn't concern me. All I know is that you guys are late for your training by one minute and 32 seconds!" He yelled. "I don't care how the previous manager trained you. Now I'm the manager, your boss! I want you to know the importance of discipline in the team. Anyone who violates that discipline will be punished!"

He looked at the silent players and then pointed to the sidelines.

"A lap for every 10 seconds, 13 laps in total. I'll discount you that two seconds. All right, all of you run now! I'll double the laps if you try to slack off!"

The players who had expected the result had no objections. All of them ran to the sidelines with their heads lowered and started to run the first lap of their 13 laps.

Rebrov looked at the man who turned and spoke to the assistant manager and followed behind his teammates to run laps without protest.

This manager is totally different from Collymore.

After about a week of observation, the team's training situation made Tang En very satisfied. In fact, with Walker around, the team's training schedule had been without any problem. The key was no one checked these players and told them that they must follow the rules. Collymore indulged the players, which was like he indulged in himself, and he suffered the consequences of his own actions. Tang En was not going to be as stupid as he was.

When they first met, he had already used practical actions to inform the group of undisciplined and disorganized players. Here, I am the boss. Whoever doesn't want to do it, Taylor is the example. He must be very lonely on the reserve team and anxiously waiting for someone to accompany him.

Of course, Tang En also knew to act within limits. After using Taylor as a "sacrificial lamb", the team performed to his satisfaction and he did not raise a big stink anymore.

During the training, he rarely expressed his opinion. Everything was like last season. He would watch on the sidelines. Walker and the rest of the coaching staff oversaw the training, and Tang En was very pleased with their work. Since he had decided to hand over the training to the coaching team and had already reviewed and passed the training program, it would seem disrespectful to the work of the coaching team if he were to interject. This type of behavior was also what Tang En found the most annoying.

He only needed to let the players know he was there. So, he stood on the sidelines and wore his sunglasses, looking cool like Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix."

The media had polarizing views of Twain's appointment.

The out of town media were not optimistic about Twain's coaching prospects. Nottingham Forest's goal this season should be to avoid a relegation, and not a promotion. But to a young team manager suddenly taking over the team, he had to face a team morale that had hit rock bottom like the Nottingham Forest Club's share price, tackle a nervous and divided locker room, and lead a team that would bid farewell to the two main players during the winter break. The news that Michael Dawson and Andy Reid would transfer to Tottenham Hotspur had been announced during the winter break, and this had caused the fans to resent the club's top brass and Collymore. But, as it was previously said, no one could change any of Doughty's decisions. It might be too difficult to complete the mission to avoid relegation.

In response to this, the local media in Nottingham gave a rebuttal. Pierce Brosnan applauded the club's board of directors' decision to appoint the new manager in an article in the Nottingham Evening Post.

"....If the reason for being down on him was due to the terrible atmosphere in the locker room and the low team morale, then did the Forest team, that Mr. Twain took over on January 3rd this year, have a favorable atmosphere and a show of solidarity throughout the ranks? Was the morale running high and were they united in their striving? What was the result last season? From the fourteenth place, we advanced into the playoffs, and it was the team with the greatest progress in its ranking in that season. I have the same view as many of the Forest fans: if there is anyone else who can lead the team now, it must be Tony Twain!"

Tang En was very grateful to Brosnan speaking on his behalf, but he knew very well that it did not matter what each side of the media had said about whether he could lead the team or not. The only convincing proof were the results from leading the team. If they won, it meant that he led the team well. if they lost, it meant that he did not do a good job.

Next, Nottingham Forest would play in a home match against their direct rival to avoid relegation—the third lowest ranked, Crystal Palace.

This was going to be an uphill battle.

Chapter 111: Twain’s Return Part 1

The Ukrainian player Rebrov had been depressed for the past week. He frowned during training and back at the hotel. After seeing the new manager's way of handling things, he already gave up all hope regarding his future in the team. After this match, he was prepared ask his agent to help him find another team to transfer to.

The manager, Mr. Twain, spoke to many people on the team individually. From Wes Morgan, who had just been transferred over to the first team, to Michael Dawson and Andy Reid, who were about to leave the team. Only he had not been approached by Twain.

He was thinking he had already been abandoned by the manager.

The next day would be their match against Crystal Palace, and the team only did some simple drills on set piece play for 40 minutes before ending the training. Rebrov frowned again, as he left Wilford disappointedly.

Seeing the back view of Rebrov walking toward the parking lot with his head lowered, Tang En said to Walker, who was beside him, "For the match tomorrow, I think we should still let the Ukrainian guy be the starting striker."

"Of course. You chased Taylor to the reserve team, which leaves us with only three possible candidates to be at the front line. Wescarr's abilities are limited, which leaves us no choice but to put Johnson and the Ukrainian guy on the starting line up.

Hearing Walker say this, Tang En chuckled. The day before, Tang En and Walker specifically went to watch the reserve team's match. Taylor was part of the starting line up, and he managed to maintain his good performance throughout the match even after he scored a goal. However, he had no intentions of moving Taylor back to the first team. Tang En wanted Taylor to continue training with the reserve team. His headers were definitely crucial at times to score goals, with the team currently lacking in offensive power and a lack of strikers to be on the starting line up. Walker did not understand Tang En's plans, but he trusted that Tang En knew what he was doing.

On Saturday night, outside Nottingham Forest's home grounds. The team's consistently poor performance had also affected the seat occupancy of the stadium. In the matches before this, the average seat occupancy of City Ground Stadium was less than 20,000, with a large portion of the viewing platform still empty. Under such circumstances, the players were also unable to play well in the matches.

However, today was different. Under the dark starry sky, City Ground Stadium had already turned into a sea of red.

Reporters from Nottingham's local television stations were able the capture on camera the sight of fans rushing to the stadium from all directions, waiting for their turns to enter the stadium. The large crowd formed several long red snakes and waved unstoppably while singing the fans' songs loudly. There were even fans who were shouting "Tony! Tony! Tony!" excitedly at the camera.

Even the businesses of the hawkers stationed outside the stadium, which sold various club merchandises, regained much patronage.

A reporter stood in front of the camera with a mike in his hand, while covering one side of his ears with the other hand. Trying his best to suppress the fans' shouting with his own voice, he said, "Did you see this? City Ground Stadium has reawakened! I believe… believe that our Nottingham Forest will also awaken from its deep slumber!"

A BBC reporter, on the other hand, was on the other side of the snaking queues doing his news report for that night. "Just changing the manager is enough to ignite the fans' passion! I believe Nottinghamians must have missed the sight that they have seen today! In the second half of the previous season, most of Nottingham Forest's home games were like this! The failed Collymore has already been forgotten by the people, as the fans welcome back the young manager, Tony Twain, who had led the team all the way into the playoff matches."

Just as he was saying this, a plump person suddenly jumped in between him and his camera. He closed in on the camera and made a drunk belch, before taking in a deep breath and shouted with his eyes wide open, "Nottingham Forest will definitely win! Long live Tony! At night… burp… buy me to a drink!"

Not waiting for the reporter to react in time, the plump man exited the camera amidst the loud laughter of his companions. The alert cameraman immediately shifted the camera toward him and his companions, videoing their back view.

A group of fans wearing Nottingham Forest's red jersey walked together, waving the scarves in their hands while singing loudly some song which they composed themselves.

"Oh oh oh! Generous Tony! Oh oh oh! He treats us to drinks, we love him! He brings us victory, we love him! Forest Forest! Tony Twain!"

While wiping off the sweat on his forehead, the reporter continued with his work. "Erm… reality has proven to us that Manager Tony Twain is regarded very highly by the Forest fans." He caught a glance of another group of drunk fans walking unsteadily behind the cameraman, before hastily ending his report, "This is BBC news reporter, Larry Jackson, reporting from Nottingham's City Ground Stadium. Thank you for watching! Goodbye!"

Even shutting the door tightly had little effect of blocking out the loud singing voices coming from the viewing platform outside. Compared to such an excited group of Nottingham fans, the people inside the changing room were extremely calm. Of course, they only appeared so on the surface.

Assistant manager Des Walker was announcing the starting line up for the match, starting from the goalkeeper.

"Darren Ward, John Thompson, Davy Oyen, Michael Dawson, Wes Morgan, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Jacob Burns, Andy Reid, Gareth Williams, David Johnson, as well as…" He finally called the last person.

Rebrov sat on the chair with his head lowered, as if he held no hopes at all. Then, he heard Walker say, "…Serhiy Rebrov. It will be these 11 people!"

He raised his head immediately. I actually made the starting line up?! However, after giving it some thought, he finally understood—the top scorer Gareth Taylor has been relegated to the reserve team. Now, the team lacked players for the front line. It was therefore a given that he would be inside the starting line up.

After announcing the starting line up, the changing room became filled with the debating voices of the players. Walker hit the tactics board with force, signaling to the players that the manager wanted to have a word with them.

Waiting for the changing room to quiet down, Twain shouted, "Crystal Palace is ranked third from the last, while we are ranked fourth from the last! What does this match mean? I don't want all of you to feel that 'ah, things are not that bad'. I hope all of you know clearly that, dammit, things are already so bad'! Out of the 22 rounds of matches, we have only won four of them, but we lost 13 of them! This result is extremely horrible! Before this match, you guys were on a six-loss streak. I don't care what you guys have been thinking about, but in any case I've had enough of losing, and I don't want to continue losing! Which one of you here doesn't mind losing, raise your hands!" He flailed his arms around, but none of the people listening raised their hands.

"Very good! It seems like all of you don't want to lose anymore." Tang En nodded his head and put down his arm, before glancing at Rebrov, who had his head lowered. "I am a new manager. I don't care how you performed before this, and don't care what the previous manager promised you…"

Rebrov nodded his head. He was listening very intently.

"I will only look at your performances from this match onward. If you perform well, you'll be part of the starting line up! If not, you will be a reserve! It's just that simple. If you want to play in matches, then you better tighten up that winder behind your ass!" Tang En made a twisting gesture, and everyone felt their back tighten for a split second.

Doughty wore a suit and a tie, and was dressed much more formal than his usual office wear. He sat down in the VIP lounge, prepared to watch the match. His financial advisor Allan Adams had already flown back to America after settling the acquisition of Nottingham Forest's shares. There was nothing else left for him to do in England, and Doughty also needed someone to look after his business in America.

Actually, Edward detested watching matches in the lounge, because all the stadiums in England had a rule: anyone watching the football match in the lounge had to wear a tie. This was a rule to be observed strictly, and even if the president of the United States were to come, he had to adhere to it as well.

Doughty did not like to wear a tie as a result of an incident when he was young. He detested everything that tightened around his neck…

However, he was currently the chairman of the club. Therefore, he had to be present at the stadium for all the home matches. Of course, this was the case even when the team performed poorly and had low morale.

He could only try his best to loosen his tie as much as possible. By doing so, he would feel slightly better.

The middle-aged man seated beside him was the opponent team, Crystal Palace's chairman, mobile phone seller Simon Jordan.

Different from Doughty, his tie was wrapped tightly around his neck. He wore an extremely neat suit and was very particular about his clothes.

Before this, when the two of them shook hands and greeted each other, Chairman Jordan did not like the way Doughty was dressed, and spoke with an extremely arrogant attitude. Even though his team was ranked even lower than Nottingham Forest, it still did not prevent this man from saying, in an interview before the match, that his team would definitely beat Nottingham Forest and climb the ranks from here onward. He even tactfully insulted Doughty, as he felt that an American like him that did not understand football should not have meddled with English football.

Faced with all these words, Edward's only reaction was to laugh it off. But who knew about the raging flames inside his heart?

Dammit Tony! You must win this match! We definitely, definitely can't lose to this phone-selling b*stard!

When Crystal Palace's manager, Steve Kember, saw that Nottingham Forest's forward standing in the kick off circle was that useless Ukrainian player, Rebrov, he laughed. Afterwards, he said to his assistant manager, Terry Bullivant, "Terry, looks like we don't have to worry about our backline defense in this match anymore."

It was almost halfway through the season, and the disastrous performance of Nottingham Forest thus far was able to tell the various managers from League One a reality, and that was that the "Premier League-level shooter", Serhiy Rebrov, who had once been held in high regard, was an utter and complete fake!

As long as he was on the field, Nottingham Forest's opponents could focus entirely on offense, because this 29-year-old forward could not find where the goalpost was located on the field.

The progress of the match also proved this point. Rebrov, who was positioned at the front line, was completely unable to find the right spot to shoot after being marked by big and tall English defenders.

Tang En was shaking his head on the manager's seat, and said, "That Ukrainian has already completely lost all confidence. He doesn't even dare to shoot."

Walker nodded his head in agreement.

Many professional football players have had similar experiences of a loss of confidence after consecutive poor performances, thereby heading toward failure. Serhiy Rebrov was also in the midst of embarking on the path leading toward darkness. If nobody pulled him out of it, then he would continue sinking deeper.

Although that has nothing to do with me… but that would affect this match's results. What I want is victory, and you, Rebrov, are the key player for it!

Chapter 112: Twain’s Return Part 2

From the looks of the 30 minutes of the match, Nottingham Forest's performance did not seem to have much difference from the past. They were unable launch an offensive stance that made their opponents afraid. Rebrov's existence instead dragged down the entire team's performance.

Taking advantage of the state of disarray Nottingham Forest's offense was in, Crystal Palace scored a goal at the 39th minute mark of the first half! The scorer was Andrew Johnson, Crystal Palace's best shooter. He had already scored 16 goals in the first half of the season, and was ranked first in the shooter's ranking.

"Oh! Andrew Johnson! This is his 17th goal in the season. Wes Morgan, who had just joined from the youth team, is still too green. His mistake allowed Crystal Palace to take the lead."

Seeing his own team score, Simon Jordan suddenly jumped up in the stadium's VIP lounge, startling Doughty. He was so carried away that he celebrated this goal in front of the home team's chairman, as if his team had already won the match.

Edward knew that this person did it on purpose and wanted to embarrass him. Too abominable!

However, after waiting for Jordan to finish his butt-shaking dance, Doughty still forcibly extended his hand toward him and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Jordan."

At the same time, he was shouting in his heart: Tony, what are you doing?!

When Tony, who was seated on the manager's seat, saw this misplay, he only shook his head and did not say anything else. Morgan was too green, that was something that he definitely knew. But that was the price to pay for utilizing teenagers, and he was prepared to bear the price right from the start.

Walker looked at him before asking, "Is everything just like 11 months ago?"

"Hmm?" Tang En did not understand what Walker was saying.

Walker pointed at the viewing platform and said, "You don't do anything in the first half of the match, and then you make everyone's eyes open wide in the second half."

"You really understand me, Walker." Tang En smiled. "The second half will decide the victor!"

During the time when the match was in progress, Tang En had been trying to make clear a question in his mind. In his memory, after Rebrov had been abandoned by Hotspurs, he had basically left the mainstream football scene. As such, it was unlikely that a Chinese football fan like Tang En could hear much news about him. He even thought that this person had retired. Afterwards, when Tang En once again saw Rebrov appear on the Ukrainian football team during the 2006 Germany World Cup, he was extremely shocked, as if Poborsky was still on the Czech national team.

He remembered that the person who formed the Ukrainian team's frontline duo with Shevchenko was no longer Rebrov, but someone else—Andriy Voronin. However, Rebrov was still a core member of the team. Since he was not playing as a forward, then what position was he playing?

Tang En tired his best to search his memories, but during the 06 World Cup, Tang En only paid attention to Shevchenko, and really did not pay much notice to Rebrov. When Crystal Palace's Andrew Johnson scored, he finally recalled, midfielder!

Rebrov was playing as a midfielder at that time!

During the few years when he left Kyiv Dynamo, he turned into a midfielder organizer from a killer. Was there some unknown backstory which he did not know at that time? And would this story be related to Nottingham Forest and Tang En?

Thinking up to this point, Tang En finally understood. He did not know in the previous world, who was the person who made Rebrov play as a midfielder instead. However, it was very clear now that, should the Ukrainian team still be able to make a historical advancement into the World Cup Finals in the current world, then Rebrov who would be playing as a midfielder must be caused by him!

By the end of the first half, Nottingham Forest was temporarily down by one ball on their home ground. Despite Crystal Palace being in the lead, the Nottingham fans on the viewing platform did not appear to be dejected at all. The jeers directed at the manager and the players, which had been prevalent in the past, also did not appear. The fans all believed that Tony Twain's team would not let them down.

The plump John stood on the viewing platform and looked at the players who walked back to the changing room with their heads lowered, as well as Tang En who was standing by the side of the field. He shrugged his shoulders at the people beside him and said, "We all know that this guy loves to go all out in the second half. Lads! Let's go drink some beer to moisturize our throats, we'll be extremely busy in the second half!"

In the past, Tang En would always be the first person to walk to the changing room when the whistle sounded. However today, he stood at the side of the field and waited for someone to exit the field.

Rebrov lowered his head and headed toward the changing room. The depressed him did not see the team's manager walking toward him.

"Serhiy Rebrov," Tang En called out the name of this restless Ukrainian. "If you don't raise your head soon, you will knock into the utility pole."

Startled, Rebrov raised his head, "There are no utility poles on the field." He looked at Tang En who was grinning, and knew that he had been played by the manager.

"Hmm, you know that there are no utility poles on the field, so seems like you are still conscious." Tang En nodded his head. "Don't rush to go back, I have something to say to you. I heard… you failed to qualify for the Ukrainian national football team?"

This question was considered a direct hit to Rebrov's wounds. He remained silent for a while before nodding his head. "Manager, I hope the team is able to put me up for listing either during the winter break period or after the season."

Tang En was not at all shocked at Rebrov's proposal. "Why? Because you failed to qualify for the national team, so you hope to start over from another place?"

Rebrov shared his thoughts. "I think that I'm not suitable for English football, and that coming to England to play in itself, was a mistake."

Tang En shook his head. "You think you finally found the root cause for your poor performance? You really disappoint me… If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But do you think there are still any teams who are willing to accept you? Oh, maybe some English League Two teams might happily accept you. But are you willing to go to that sort of place?"

Rebrov did not utter a single word, because deep down in his heart, he was also unsure whether leaving the team would solve everything. He was merely taking a gamble.

"I will agree to place you on the transfer market. Not during the winter break period, but only after the season ended. Before this, I will give you 45 minutes as your last chance."

Rebrov raised his head and looked at Tang En, unsure of what this new manager was planning to do.

"If you want to prove your worth to the other clubs, the next half of this match will be your last chance. If your performance still doesn't improve, you can only sit on that bench for the rest of the season. Don't think that I'm threatening you. Better treatment and getting more teams to be interested in you, those things can only be acquired by you. In the next half, you will play as an offensive midfielder." Upon saying this, Tang En turned around and left the field. Rebrov looked at his back, and the last sentence made him go deep into thought.

During the halftime break, Tang En did not criticize the team's performance in the changing room, and only did some adjustments to the player line up. The defensive midfielder, Eugen Bopp, replaced center forward Jacob Burns, who did not perform well. This was a very normal substitution, but Tang En's decisions after that made everyone, including Walker, shocked. He did not substitute out Rebrov who had been constantly underperforming, but instead made the Ukrainian play as an offensive midfielder!

The condition which Tang En gave Rebrov was to make use of his own techniques to create an opportunity for his teammates. Only when the opportunity was prime, would he try to shoot the ball. If he did not have the confidence to aim accurately, then he should pass the ball over to his other teammates in the other positions. In other words, it meant more passing and less shooting for him.

After deploying the tactics for the second half, Tang En's cell phone rang. He looked at the number, and it was actually a call from Doughty.

"Des." He pointed to outside the door.

Walker nodded his head, indicating that he knew.

Tang En walked out and closed the door, before he answered the call.

"Tony!" The call just got through, but Edward's furious voice could already be heard rushing out from it.

"What's the matter, Edward?"

"Can this match be won?"

"Erm, I am unable to promise you anything before the match ends." Tang En looked at the field outside, and saw the reserve players warming up. What he had planned for, was to end the match in a tie. After all, Rebrov still needed time to accustom himself to his new position. Moreover, it was Tang En's first match after taking over the team. It would therefore be unrealistic to have too high expectations for it.

"No! You must win, must win!" Doughty shouted over the phone.

Tang En felt that it was rather strange. "Hey, Edward, does the boss of Crystal Palace owe you a lot of money?"

"No, but I just hate that guy!" Upon hearing this, Tang En could completely imagine how angry Doughty was, and the sight of him shouting at the phone and flailing his arms about. "I hate him very very much! That b*stard actually dares to look down on me… and our team! Tony, didn't you say that you only pursue victory? There's such a chance right now. Defeat him, humiliate him!"

To think that Doughty, who always appeared extremely amiable, would have such an angry moment. Looks like that Crystal Palace boss must have done something extremely overboard.

Tang En pouted, before saying, "Alright, I will try to obtain victory over Crystal Palace."

"No, not try. You must! Must!" Doughty corrected.

"Alright, alright, I must win Crystal Palace… Must, must."

Once again returning to the changing room, Tang En looked at the players and suddenly decided to tell them what just happened. Perhaps, it could have quite a considerable effect on them.

"Does anyone know who that call was from?" He whipped out his phone and shook it.

Nobody nodded their heads, but nobody shook their heads, either.

"It was the club chairman."

Everyone focused their attention on Tang En, wanting to listen to what he had to say.

"Hmm.. He is currently extremely angry with the team's performance in the first half, because Crystal Palace's boss looked down on us in the VIP lounge. Crystal Palace's boss felt that it was a given for us to be losing to his team, and even more of a given that we would lose to them by the end of the match. This made Mr. Doughty, who loves the team, extremely furious. He cannot tolerate seeing the team he loves humiliated by other people. Do you all mind being looked down on by a team that is beneath us?" Tang En asked expressionlessly.

The players were already unhappy with the actions of Crystal Palace's boss. Someone screamed out, "Of course, we mind!"

"I also mind it a lot, so we have to obtain victory by the end of the second half, to tell them that, low-rankers like them better behave themselves!" Tony Twain, who appeared indifferent just mere moments ago, suddenly erupted like a volcano.

"That's right!"

"Shut that idiot's mouth up!" Tang En flailed his hands around violently.

"That's right!!"

"Make him… reap—what—he—goddamned—sowed!" Tang En emphasized on each and every word he shouted.

"That's—right—!!!"

Chapter 113: Tang En’s Return Part 3

The excited players jumped up from their seats and shouted with their necks and faces red. Even those who were not on the team in the previous season could not help but clench their fists and feel the boiling blood gush up. The atmosphere in the changing room, which had been sorely missed in the first half of the year, was returning gradually.

Walker stood at the side and looked at Tony Twain, who was shouting together with the players. Even a simple phone call could be used by him to serve his intended purpose… Tony, Paul Hart was not wrong about you; Ian Bowyer also was not wrong about you; "Chief" was even more so not wrong about you. And as for me, I'm really lucky to be able to work with you. But it's a pity… only until the end of this season.

※※※

Tang En's adjustments during the halftime period were completely beyond Crystal Palace manager's expectations. Rebrov was still on the field, but his position had been changed from a forward at the front to a midfielder! Steven Kember tilted his head and looked at his assistant manager, Bullivant, and asked, "Terry?"

Bullivant's responded with a shake of his head, indicating that he was not sure, as well.

Rebrov, who was standing in the middle of the circle and waiting to kick off the ball, suddenly discovered that the field in front of his eyes was extremely wide, and the gaps in between the opponent defenders were that big. A mere change from a forward to a midfielder allowed him to see an extremely different world from before.

He looked at Manager Tony Twain, who was standing at the side of the field and shouting at him while waving his hands non-stop. However, he could not hear clearly Tang En's English which had a heavy accent. It doesn't matter, I know what I should do.

I have very good techniques, I am fast, I am good at dribbling. I won't have any problem breaking past their defensive line! When I was partnering with Shevchenko in Kyiv Dynamo, I was also not a pure forward in the matches where we blasted AC Milan and Barcelona's goalposts. Andriy was at the forefront while I would be at the back. I'd pass him the ball and he'd score the goal.

I am an organizing midfielder! I cannot score goals, but I can assist!

He looked at those tall but clumsy English defenders and laughed. The moment when all of you let me face the goalpost, that will be your doomsday… I guarantee you that.

Walker, who was seated on the manager's seat, saw Twain turn around. He had been shouting loudly at Rebrov to pass more and intercept more, but nobody knew if the Ukrainian guy heard him.

"Tony, why did you suddenly think of letting a forward who has never played as a midfielder during training, play such a position?" Walker asked as he pointed toward Rebrov.

"Rebrov's problem doesn't lie with the fact that he is not good enough, but that he is not accustomed to the style of English football, as well as the defenders' ferocious snatching. As time passed, he lost his confidence to shoot. After that, he will continue to lose his confidence in his other skills as well. His skills are still there, just not being utilized at the suitable position. The reason why I pulled him back, is so that he would be further away from the defenders whom he's so afraid of. This way, he will have more space to maneuver and assist in offense. His techniques and awareness made him an extremely valuable player in League One. Furthermore..." Tang En looked at the away team manager's seats beside them and giggled, "Crystal Palace's current manager is an idiot. He is worse than his assistant manager. This kind of change will cause him to scratch his head and to make a wrong assessment. We will definitely win this match. Des, you know what? I've suddenly changed my mind."

"About what?" Walker was puzzled.

"Not only do we have to achieve breakthrough in the Cup, I am also thinking of being directly promoted to the Premier League by the end of the season!"

Walker stared with his eyes widened at Twain, whose grin almost touched his ears.

"You don't believe me, Des? Even if we are currently last in the season, becoming the champions of the league by the end of the season is not something unattainable."

Looking at Twain who was brimming with confidence, Walker muttered to himself, "What a crazy plan…"

The match had already started, and Tang En stood up from his seat, getting ready to direct the match from the side of the field. Before he left, he shot Walker a look and gave him an even more shocking goal: "League One Champions, promotion to Premier League, EFL Cup or FA Cup championships, qualifying for UEFA Europa League… This time, I will not fail!"

※※※

John and gang continued watching the match, each of them holding a plastic cup filled with beer.

"Why is that Ukrainian still on the field? Why did Tony not substitute him out? Even I can tell that he is completely useless!" Someone complained.

John shot him a stare and said, "If you're so good, then you go be the manager! Just watch the match. You still don't believe him after all this time? Tony has never disappointed us before!"

Crystal Palace's manager, Steve Kembler, was originally in charge of their physical fitness and not a manager. Led by his level of ability, the end result was that Crystal Palace had come in third place from the bottom after playing 21 rounds in the league.

As for Tang En's arrangements, Steve could not tell what purpose it served.

If the forward can't score, then make him play as a midfielder? Manager Tony Twain, the changes in your tactics are based too much on assumptions!

Playing a 4-5-1 formation with two defensive midfielders, are you trying to concede less goals on your home ground? Stop dreaming, my Andrew is in tip-top condition!

Just as he finished chanting in his heart, Nottingham Forest managed to steal Andrew Johnson's ball in the backfield. Gunnarsson passed the ball to Rebrov, who was waiting in front—Tang En had specifically instructed previously, to hand over the task of organizing Nottingham Forest's offenses to Rebrov, place sufficient trust in him, and hope that they could see a completely different, super player.

Rebrov, who received the ball, discovered that for the first time, there were actually no defenders from the opponent's team rushing up to him, kicking and shoving to steal the ball from him. He calmly adjusted the ball, before dribbling the ball over toward Crystal Palace's defensive line.

"Serhiy Rebrov, he dribbles past one… The second one! It's really hard to believe that this is the Rebrov we saw in the past! He got past the third Crystal Palace defender, breaking into the penalty area—"

Rebrov suddenly discovered that the defenders who had once made him extremely scared, were no more than wooden stakes. Yes, with a change in perspectives, he saw the world in an entirely different light!

Crystal Palace's defender, Darren Powell, rushed forward, but Rebrov agilely avoided him. Right as Rebrov was about to continue his advance, he was tripped by Powell.

"Darren Powell… Penalty! Penalty!" The television commentators shouted.

Not waiting for the referee's whistle to blow, City Ground Stadium erupted into an uproar.

"Penalty—!"

Tang En, who saw this scene unfold, jumped up in joy. Damn, I placed my bet correctly!

The referee ran toward the spot where the foul occurred, and at the same time, pointed his finger at that white spot in the middle of the penalty area—that's right, penalty!

"This is undoubtedly a penalty! Rebrov managed to single-handedly break past the entire defensive line of Crystal Palace and won the team a chance to even the score. His performance is as though he is another person! What did Tony Twain, the magician say during the halftime break? Just from letting Rebrov change his position, this Ukrainian managed to be reborn!"

Rebrov, who fell inside the penalty area, got up on his feet. He saw the Crystal Palace players surrounding the referee and begging for mercy, while his Nottingham Forest teammates ran toward him with their arms open, after which, he once again fell on the field.

Penalty? I was the one who made it happen?

This feeling is really good!

When Andy Reid scored the penalty chance which was created by Rebrov, the viewing platform once again burst out into cheers. They were cheering for Reid, who was about to leave the team during the winter break period. Of course, Rebrov's name also appeared amongst their cheering noises this time.

Nottingham Forest brought the score to a tie, stunning the players and managers of Crystal Palace. After 15 minutes, Rebrov finally scored a goal!

When all of the defenders were trying to prevent Rebrov from breaking through, he chose to shoot from outside the penalty area. The football ball was like a cannonball, directly blasting into Crystal Palace's goalpost!

"Serhiy—Rebrov!" The viewing platform erupted into loud cheers.

"This is the real Rebrov! This is the person who partnered with Shevchenko and made AC Milan and Barcelona experience fear, Rebrov!"

Rebrov was once again pressed against the floor by his teammates, while Tang En was once again hugged by the excited Walker beside him.

"I believe you, Tony! We can, we really can!"

At the same time, Doughty who was in the VIP lounge stood up from his seat and extended his hand toward the depressed Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan. Although he was happy, he did not do something rude like dance and shake his butt in front of Simon Jordan.

"What a pity, Mr. Jordan," he smiled and said. "Although you share the same name with one of the NBA gods, but it's a pity that this is a football match."

Simon Jordan's facial expression became even more awkward. His hand was extended in midair, unsure of whether he should shake or not…

Outside the lounge, the shouting of Nottingham fans could be heard. "Victory!" Crystal Palace's chairman's pale face was just like a streak of lightning in the night sky.

Pierce Brosnan, who was at the news reporters' seats, looked around the excited viewing platform and looked again at Tony Twain, who was celebrating the goal with the players who were running back. He suddenly thought of that sentence, that sentence which he heard when he was brought to Forest Bar.

That man just stood there amongst a group of worshippers and opened his arms, as if he wanted to hug the entire world. Amidst the "Tony! Tony!" shouting, he was just like a lion, the king of the jungle, leading the pack in their roaring.

"One day, I will return one day! When that time comes, you will hear an even louder cheer!"

Louder cheer… The viewing platform beneath his feet shook amidst this "even louder cheer." His eardrums started to hurt, and he could not hear anything clearly, but he knew that the shouting was that which welcomed that man back.

Chapter 114: Another Encounter With Millwall Part 1

The match between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace was over. Thanks to the home team's resurgence of Rebrov and prevailing 2:1 over the rival after much difficulty, their distance to the relegation zone had widened.

After the match, almost all the Nottingham media widely covered the match. All Forest players became heroes, especially Rebrov, whom the media praised to the skies. The media hailed him for regaining his status as a Premier League player.

And what about Tony Twain who directed all that? The photograph of him seeking out Rebrov, and their private conversation on the field during the halftime break, had already made the news headlines. At the post-match interview, the reporters asked Rebrov, who was elected to be the match's best player for the first time, about what his manager said to him during the halftime on the field.

Rebrov smiled and said, "Nothing much, he just told me to pull back from my position and allow myself to play for me. After that, I saw the world from a completely different perspective."

"...This is Tony Twain. He has the ability to turn something rotten into something miraculous. I agree with the TV commentator during the match who said he was a magician. Look at Collymore's Forest team, and then take a look at Tony Twain's Forest team. All the players are the same players as before, but the team is completely different. We obtained the crucial three points and restored our morale. Listen to the cheers inside the City Ground, the Nottingham Forest is gradually waking up!"

The moving tram gently rocked, and the carriage was empty inside except for a few old men who were having a shut-eye. The tram was traveling through the suburbs of Nottingham. Almost no car horns could be heard outside, and even the pedestrians were scarce. It was early Sunday morning, and Tang En was sitting on Hucknall-bound tram. Outside was the quiet countryside. He looked outside and then looked at the inside. A passenger on the opposite side held up this morning's newspaper and was totally engrossed reading it. On the page facing Tang En was his own picture and a bold headline:

"Tony Twain Returns!"

Seeing this, Tang En softly chuckled. It sounded like "Superman Returns." He had returned to the front page top headline, and the feeling of being worshipped and focused on was quite nice.

On this quiet morning, the inside of this empty tram was completely different from the impressive atmosphere of the City Ground yesterday. Twain leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes to relish the match that had just passed.

I am back again, and this time I will never leave easily.

With a silvery sound of a bell, the tram stopped rocking. Tang En opened his eyes and saw the steeple of the church on the hillside. He had arrived at his destination.

Tang En stepped down from the tram, gave his body a stretch and walked toward the church.

He had not been there for a while since the one time he was there in the summer. In the twinkling of an eye, half a year had passed. He was no longer that unemployed manager Tony Twain who was at a loss and unable to see his way forward.

Because of Gavin, he had decided to stay in the Forest team and wait for the opportunity to return to the City Ground technical area. Now he was back and had led the team to victory again. So, he returned to here again.

For him, the cemetery behind the gray masonry church was the starting point of another journey. And when he was about to stride forward, he should come back here to reaffirm his direction.

Even though it seemed to look quite close by, there was still some uphill distance from the tram stop to the church. Tang En bought a bouquet of lilies from a lonely flower shop on the street and thought about it as he held the flowers in his hand. Then he asked the florist for a card, pulled out his pen and wrote:

--to the most loyal Nottingham Forest fan, the eternal supporter of George Wood: Gavin Bernard.

※※※

There was a group of children kicking a ball in the green area in front of the church. Several of them wore the red Forest team jerseys. They yelled and clamored for the ball. When someone shot a football in between two piles of clothes, they would imitate all kinds of celebratory actions that the football stars would do.

As a child, Tang En often played this way too. However, it was not on such a good lawn, but on an embankment used to dry grains in the sun back home. They would take schoolbags, bricks, old shoes, clothes, baskets ... In short, everything that could be moved to build the goal. And then a group of children would chase a worn-out ball on the embankment. From Tang En's current point of view, even when someone from that group had shot the best "star player" shot, it was actually a sorry sight, but everyone played happily. Next to the embankment was a pond used to raise ducks, where people would often accidentally kick the football into the pond. Even though he played badly, Tang En, a good swimmer, would always be that person who retrieved the ball from the pond every time.

In high school, he went to a boarding school in the city, where there were no shabby embankments and ponds. There was a specialized field, but Tang En had already stopped playing football. He only watched others play from the sidelines. He was the same in college. Until now, he was used to standing on the sidelines to watch others play, and even found a completely different pleasure and sense of accomplishment in it than from personally playing football.

Tang En lingered for a little while around these lovely children before continuing forward. He went around the deserted church and turned to the little path in the woods.

The cemetery was even lonelier than the church. Surrounded by the dense woods, it seemed that the temperature was one or two degrees lower than the outside. Tang En tightly bundled up his coat and went straight to Gavin's grave.

He was surprised when he saw a bouquet of lilies in front of the tombstone. Water droplets were still on the fresh petals. Whoever had left it there was obviously just here. Tang En looked up and around at the cemetery and did not see anyone.

He looked down and noticed a card was also similarly in the bouquet, so he picked it up. There was only a line on it:

To Gavin.

There was no dedication and Gavin's name was misspelled. Looking at that crooked handwriting which still looked inferior to a grade school student's handwriting, Tang En smiled.

He put the bouquet back down and carefully placed his bouquet beside it. After this, he pulled out a cigarette from his coat pocket and prepared to take a puff. The lighter was clicked on, but he watched the leaping flames in a daze instead. Then he took the cigarette out of his mouth and slide it back into the cigarette case.

He had forgotten that there was a child next to him.

So, he squatted down again and looked at the small line of inscription at the bottom of the tombstone.

When Michael had said to him at the bar, "Tony, I'm not going to see the game tomorrow. I will not go to one again," his face was calm as if he was talking about someone else who was completely unrelated to him. At that time, Tang En thought something must have died in his heart, even to the point that ... he no longer loved football but hated football instead. Because football took away his beloved son.

That day when Michael told him here that he was going to America, Tang En was more convinced that this was the case. Michael hated football and wanted to flee from football.

But when he later saw the fine line of inscription at the bottom of the tombstone, all the impressions that Michael had left him with were instantly flipped.

He loved his son so much, and he also loved football so deeply. He must bury this love deep in his heart, then lock it away, and never touch it again, whether it be someone else or him.

Tang En swept away the dead leaves fallen in front of the tombstone. He then stood up and turned to leave from this humble little headstone.

The Forest team would start training again this afternoon. Three days later, on December 17th, in London, on the southern bank of the Thames, at the Den, they would play in the EFL Cup quarter final match and face their opponent—Millwall

To Tang En, it was a match that they absolutely could not lose!

※※※

Back at the club's training ground in the afternoon, Tang En went to see the reserve team before the team's training. At the sidelines of the reserve team's training ground, he saw Gareth Taylor, who had seen him, too. From the expression in his eyes, he still looked as if he was unwilling to comply with the young manager himself.

But it doesn't matter ... Kid, if you refuse to comply, then so be it. I just need you to score for me.

He beckoned to Taylor, and the reserve coach called the big guy over.

Tang En looked Taylor, who stood in front of him and was slightly taller than he was, and then turned to go, "Follow me."

Taylor did not move, "Where to?"

Tang En made a half turn before he turned to look at Taylor, then turned back again, and extended his two fingers, "I'm not in a good mood, so I'll give you two choices: first, don't ask and just follow me; or second, you'll continue to stay here until the transfer market opens in winter. Make your choice."

After he had spoken, Tang En never glanced at the stunned big guy again. He just turned around and walked away.

Taylor did not expect Twain to so firmly walk away. He stood rooted to the ground for a moment. The reserve team coach lightly patted him, "You're still not following him?"

Taylor stirred as if he had woken up from a dream and ran to catch up and then followed silently behind Twain. Both men walked to the sidelines of the First Team training ground. The players were already on the field getting ready to warm up at this time.

Tang En stopped at the sidelines, and Taylor had the self-awareness to just run to the training ground, and he never dared to ask the stony-faced manager another word again.

The players were not surprised that Taylor had returned to the team. Now that the forward line was short of players, it was only a matter of course that Taylor, who had repeatedly scored goals in the reserve team, would return.

Walker just walked past when he saw Twain standing on the sidelines with his lips tightly pursed.

"Des, look at his training performance. If it is possible, put him on the team's main list. We will play the 4-5-1 formation, defense and offense. He's an important player. Have the team practice this formation and tactics these next two days." Tang En said to Walker when he saw him walking past.

Walker nodded and went back when he saw that Twain was moody. When he returned to the training ground, he blew his whistle and shouted, "All right, lads! Start training. Don't think you can have an easier time now just because you have won a match! Buckle up, from now on you'll have to pay the debt you owe for the first four months! You have to use all you have to pay back!"

When he heard Walker shout and looked at the players who were startled, a smile emerged on Tang En's face.

※※※

In fact, with Nottingham Forest's poor performance in the league, it was truly amazing that they could surmount all the difficulties along the way to advance to the quarter finals of the EFL Cup. Collymore was not completely worthless. At the very least, Tang En could thank him for having led the team and persisted to this point.

Originally a week ago, when the Forest team had just changed their manager, all the major bookmakers were not very optimistic about Nottingham Forest team's odds of winning for this away match. But after Twain had led the team to defeat Crystal Palace which capped his perfect return, the bookmakers immediately adjusted the odds.

Among them, William Hill PLC, the leading bookmaker in United Kingdom, had the most representative odds.

Although the Forest team had won a match which made a lot of people feel optimistic about the team again, it only slightly improved the visiting team odds of winning when they considered that this was their away game and the team had a new manager. Their situation was not stable yet.

From the original 3 to 1 odds, the Forest team's odds of winning on an away match became 2.1 to 1.

Tang En did not bet on football, and he also did not like to bet on football. But it was still possible to get a general understanding of the current situation from the odds of the sports betting that had been perfectly integrated into English football. To put it bluntly, although the team had just won a match, there were still many people who did not think that they could beat Millwall in an away match. By the way, the odds of winning the EFL Cup for Nottingham Forest were only a little higher than their current rival Millwall, according to the major bookmakers.

What did the high payout of the odds mean? That meant that the bookmakers and the public were not confident in them.

For example, in a match where the two participating teams were the home team, Manchester United and the visiting team was an amateur team which could not even afford the hotel costs and heavily laden with debt. Then the odds of the home team winning were 1.1 to 1, and the odds of the visiting team winning was 11 to 1. The former's odds were low because Manchester United's strength was too strong, and they were almost certain to win the match. In order not to lose money in the payout, the bookmakers gave these odds, and everyone knew that this result was easy to come by. Although one invested money, ￡100 to buy, one could only earn a profit of ￡10. Although the earning was less and cost more, it was stable and there was no loss. The latter's odds were high. Even if one were to put in ￡100, one could gain ￡1,100 if that team won. But the probability of such a result was very low. So, a team with high odds represented that people were not confident in it.

This EFL Cup quarter final match was actually the least attractive of the four matches. What was the point of a match between two League One teams? In the other three matches, there were two matches with Premier League teams battling against each other, and there was also one match in which one of the participating teams was the most popular Arsenal team who always played beautifully.

Besides their respective fans, who would pay attention to this quarter final match?

※※※

A cup of fragrant black tea was placed on the table by the window. It was cloudy and dark outside the window, and it looked as if it would rain at any moment. But this did not affect the relaxed mood of the person, who was enjoying this cup of tea while being engrossed in the newspaper and putting his leg up to lean against the couch. If the weather had been nice, this would have been a wonderful afternoon tea time.

He put down the newspaper, stretched himself, leaned over the couch to take the cup of black tea and turned his head to look out the window. Leisurely as if he were an ordinary tourist, he and the people who were busily walking around him in the noisy lobby where he was, were in two completely different parallel spaces.

For the Nottingham Forest manager Tony Twain, this was a rare pre-game leisure time.

Chapter 115: Another Encounter with Millwall Part 2

With a "ding" sound, a rush of many footsteps came from the elevator direction. Tang En, who was sitting and drinking tea in the lobby by the window, turned his head.

The players, who just had a short break, came out from the elevator. Someone was still yawning. Des Walker quickly came out from among the players, turned around to look at the elevator and loudly urged, "Come on, hurry up! Don't look like you're still half asleep, now is not time for afternoon tea!"

Ever since he had determined the goals and direction that the team was striving for this season, the man had regained his passion for work overnight.

Tang En looked down at his wrist watch, it was 1:55. It was just right for the team to set out at this time. He put the cup back on the table, folded the newspaper which rested on his knee and put it back in the newspaper rack next to his seat. He then got up and walked to the hotel front door.

It is now almost two o'clock in the afternoon on December 17th. At the Scottsdale Hotel in South London, a red coach, printed with the words "Nottingham Forest" and the Forest team logo, parked quietly at the entrance and waited to drive them to their destination, The Den.

When they saw their unspeaking manager standing by the door, the players unconsciously began to trot up and hurry to get on the bus. A few players did not understand why the manager was not happy when they had just defeated Crystal Palace, their direct rival to avoid relegation, in the league.

Since the start of the second day of training after the match, few people had seen Manager Tony Twain smiled.

All the players got on the bus, and Walker walked up to Twain and said to him, "Tony, everyone's here."

"Well. What about the coaching team?"

"They went first, with the equipment."

Tang En nodded, "Good, let's go, too."

Just as he was about to step onto the bus, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind, "Mr. Twain! Wait! Mr. Twain hang on a minute!"

"Ah, Brosnan." Tang En turned to see the Nottingham Evening Post reporter with his little black leather notebook in his hand, panting as he ran out of the lobby. "What's the matter?"

Brosnan ran up to him out of breath, bent down at the waist and gasped for a moment with his hands on his knees, before he got up and looked at the bus, and said to Twain intermittently, "Very… sorry, could you please give me a lift?"

His request was a bit of a surprise to Tang En. "You want me to let a reporter on the team bus? Brosnan, your request is really... unusual."

"I'm really, really sorry... I overslept, and my colleagues were gone. They must have thought I set off first." Brosnan helplessly explained the embarrassing situation.

"You can call a taxi." Tang En pointed at the street.

"My... my wallet was in my bag which was taken away by my colleagues," Brosnan blushed.

Tang En sighed and looked at this unfortunate man and thought about the nice things he had written in the newspapers on his behalf. Now that he had some difficulty, it would be a little unconscionable if he did not help him.

Walker got onto the bus and found that Twain did not follow behind, and the players all looked out of the window, so he jumped down from the bus, "What's the matter, Tony?" He saw the Evening Post reporter standing next to Twain. "Brosnan, now's not the time for an interview."

"Mr. Walker, I'm not here for an interview."

Tang En interrupted him and said to Walker, "He's a poor bastard who has been left behind by his colleagues because he overslept. And now he has to hitch a ride with us."

Then he waved to Brosnan, "Get on the bus! Be glad you're not a woman."

There were some taboos in professional football that could not be ignored in any country. For example, women were absolutely prohibited to ride on the same bus with the players. That would be seen as an ominous sign of failure. That was why Tang En had said that. If Brosnan was a female reporter, then even if Tang En agreed, the rest of the team would also adamantly oppose having a woman riding on the same bus, going to The Den. Everyone would become very sensitive and superstitious before a big match.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Twain! And, Mr. Walker, thank you." Brosnan gratefully thanked the two coaches and tried to shake hands, but Tang En shoved him up the bus instead.

"Stop talking nonsense! We have been delayed long enough. If you want to thank us, then continue to help us by putting in a few good words in the newspapers!"

"Of course, of course." Brosnan stumbled up the bus and saw a group of players curiously looked at him, so he waved hello awkwardly. "Hello, everyone... I, uh, I..."

Just as he did not know how to explain his abandonment by his colleagues, Tang En came up from behind, pointed at him and said to the players, "This unlucky chap is an Evening Post reporter who overslept and is without a single cent on him!"

"Boo—" There was a gloating hiss and laughter in the bus.

"Mr. Reporter, tomorrow's Nottingham Evening Post front page headline will not be about us advancing to the EFL Cup semi-finals, but you!" yelled a player, which caused the other players to laugh even louder. Even Tang En had a smile on his face. He patted Brosnan's shoulder and motioned for him to sit down next to him.

"No matter what you see or hear in this bus, I don't want to see it in tomorrow's papers. I'm just giving you a lift, but you're not allowed to interview."

Brosnan nodded. "Rest assured, Mr. Twain. I know what I should and should not say."

"That's good. I'm only letting you ride on the bus because I trust you." After that, Tang En stood up, raised his arms and shouted, "Drive! Let us go to Millwall's home ground and destroy those b*stards!"

"Yeah--!!" The players brandished their fists and echoed in unison, their sluggish energy completely swept away.

Brosnan secretly wiped his sweat, no wonder Twain would not let him put what he saw and heard in the newspapers. These things might only be disclosed later when he decided to retire to work on a book he planned to write about the Nottingham Forest or Tony Twain, or his own personal biography.

※※※

The red bus traveled through the crowded traffic on the London roads. At this time, any road leading to The Den was estimated to have a high traffic flow. Others did not value this game, but the Millwall fans who lived in the vicinity placed a lot of importance on it. They flocked to The Den from all directions to watch the EFL Cup quarter finals. Half a season had passed and Millwall was still in the middle of the League table. Judging from the situation, it would be extremely difficult for them to advance to the Premier League in the remaining half of the season. Therefore, they were pinning their hopes on the "neglected but hotbed" EFL Cup and the FA Cup.

Along the way, they could see cars carrying Millwall fans driving past the side of the Forest team bus. Those fans, wearing in the blue and white Millwall jerseys, would stick their heads out of the cars when they saw the Red Forest bus. They snarled and bared their teeth at them as they brandished their fists and gave them the middle finger. By making out the shapes of their mouths while they were shouting obscenities, they could understand the meaning of their swearing.

Seeing these people reminded Tang En of Mark Hodge. That middle-aged man, who usually looked agreeable, would become an abominable beast when he was at the stands and had even a drop of alcohol. But even so, he was nothing compared to the Millwall's football hooligans.

After Gavin's accident, Tang En never heard that man's name again, nor did he go to the Robin Hood bar where the football hooligans gathered. Maybe Hodge had left football, just like Michael; maybe he was still active in the stands, but just as an ordinary fan; or perhaps he was now leading his men in some corner in the big city of London, where the CCTV cameras and policemen could not cover, and waging a battle with the Millwall football hooligans who defeated them in the 'battlefield' last season, all for their glory.

Not only in football, these people were also the black spots in the entire British society and could hardly be eradicated. No matter how the government cracked down on them, these football hooligans who came from the grassroots and had taken root would develop alongside with the growth of this sport, just like the shadows beneath the feet. Maybe some people would sympathize with and understand them, just like he did initially. There would even be some people who would support, envy, desire to join them, become a new football hooligan, brandish their fists, and burn with anger to fight for the honor of their gangs and team.

Since entering the 21st century, there had been signs of a revival in British football hooliganism. They had learned to assemble their crews online, to discuss strategies for fighting against rival firms, and to set out the routes for their destinations, which made it impossible for the police to defend effectively. Tang En was not a saint who loved everything in the world altruistically, nor was he able to stop these young men who were stuffed with muscle and alcohol. He just hoped that a tragedy like Gavin's would not happen around him again. He regretted not stopping that fight in time the last time. Now he would not allow anyone to harm his friends or anyone else in his life.

Snapping out of his contemplation, Tang En suddenly realized that the view outside the window had not changed for some time. He looked strangely at the front and looked at the back again.

The bus had stopped and just like them, all the surrounding vehicles had stopped too.

"Des, what's going on?" He asked Walker in the front.

Walker looked back at him and shrugged, "I don't know. We're stuck here."

Tang En stood up and looked inside the bus. All the players seemed unaware of anything strange. They were all busy with their own things, listening to music, resting with their eyes closed, on the phone, or chatting with their teammates.

So, he sat down again. He did not know what was going in front of them. Anyway, it was a traffic jam, and there was nothing to be done except to wait patiently. He hoped it was only temporary and would not delay the game which was about to start soon.

He glanced outside the window again. He could not see past the traffic in front and at the back. Even if he wanted to let the driver turn the bus to look for another way out, it could not be done with all the cars around them.

As there were more anxious drivers honking their car horns outside the bus, Tang En felt disturbed by these ear-piercing intense noises. He suddenly felt a sense of foreboding emerging inside him, like the dark clouds gathering in the sky.

The players in the bus began to notice the situation outside when the bus driver could not help but urgently press on the horn. Someone stood up and looked around, someone took off his headphones, pointed outside the window and chattered with the others, while another opened his eyes from taking a little breather and stared strangely at the stagnant traffic outside the window. Tang En noticed the little commotion inside the bus. He looked back, waved downwards and said loudly, "Sit down and continue with what you're doing!"

The bus was quiet again, but Tang En could not erase the puzzled expressions on the players' faces.

And the dark clouds inside him gradually gathered with the incessant car horns outside and without any sign of the traffic moving.

He looked down at his watch, and it was half past two.

The kick-off time was three o'clock sharp!

Just then, Walker's cell phone and Brosnan's cell phone both rang at the same time.

Walker looked at the number and said to Twain, "It's the coaching team..." and then pressed the answer button.

Brosnan also looked down at the number and excused himself to Twain, "It's my colleague." Then he got up and went to the front of the bus to answer the phone.

"Hello? You're all there… Us? We're still on the road ..." Walker looked out of the window at the motionless traffic. "It's a traffic jam... It's serious! Yes, what? They're warming up?" His voice grew anxious and at the same he looked at Twain.

Tang En looked down at his watch again, a minute had passed, there were only 29 minutes to the start of the game!

Damn it! He cursed in his heart.

On the other side, in the front, Brosnan's voice grew louder. "Yes, I'm sorry, Mr. Robson, I overslept. Where am I now? I'm on the bus with the Forest team, and I've gotten a ride on their team bus…. No, I think we're in a traffic jam. What? A car accident?!" Brosnan could not help screaming loudly, then he turned and apologetically look at Twain, hoping that he was not annoyed. "Are you sure, Mr. Robson? You're certain. Well, I don't know if I can." He looked at all the players who had stood up and did not continue.

The players in the bus were no longer quiet, they stood up and looked around in a panic, whispering to each other.

Tang En had ceased to ask them to be quiet. In fact, he could not ask. He turned his head to look out of the window, and there was an increasing steady stream of restless horns. He forced himself to calm down in this environment. At this time, everyone in the entire team looked at him and placed all their hope on him. He was the team manager and someone whom everyone would choose to trust in an emergency. He must not show the slightest bit of panic.

Suddenly, he saw a building by the street in front of them which looked like an entrance to an underground pedestrian tunnel.

He got up from his seat, walked to the driver's side and asked, "How far away are we from the stadium?"

"About five miles, sir." The driver looked at the map shown by the GPS satellite locator on the bus and replied.

Tang En nodded, "Please open the door!"

Then he turned to the players on the bus who were at a loss and said, "Lads, there's good news now: you don't have to warm up on the field later." He pointed to the open door, "There's also the bad news: leave all your odds and ends in the bus and let's all run now! We're taking the underground!"

Chapter 116: On The Subway Train Part 1

A subway train accelerated and departed from the platform. The loud blasting noises reverberated in the tunnels, becoming increasingly distant. The subway platform once again regained the silence it had previously.

It was the last carriage, and there weren't too many people inside it. Before the Nottingham Forest players got on, there was only an elderly couple with a child. Upon getting on the train, the players were able to find a series of empty seats which were together. Walker made all of them sit together, just in case. Tang En stood on the aisle, grabbing on to the handrail.

He specifically chose a carriage which looked empty. Although the players were not wearing the red Nottingham Forest jerseys, and did not have any Nottingham Forest logos on, he was still worried… After all, there were football stars on the team like Rebrov, Michael Dawson, and Andy Reid, who appeared frequently in newspapers and on television. Nobody knew whether they would be recognized. They were currently on the turf of Millwall fans, and he did not want to create unnecessary trouble before the match.

That elderly couple kept glancing at them, as if they identified who they were. However, Tang En was not worried about the two old people and child. Even if they were hardcore Millwall fans, their fighting strength was simply too weak,

Millwall's football hooligans were extremely famous throughout the whole of England and were regarded as one of the strongest and most brutal groups, along with the football hooligans of a few other teams. Although not all of Millwall's fans were football hooligans, when faced with an enemy football team after drinking a tad too much… then even God could not guarantee their safety.

Millwall's football hooligans would throw Molotov cocktails and tear gas at bars which fans of other teams frequented, in order to force them out of the place. After that, they would take advantage of the thick smoke and use sticks and chains to welcome those unsuspecting people who covered their heads and noses. Regardless of gender or age, anyone who supported enemy teams was a target of their assault.

Once you understood what kind of people the Millwall football hooligans were, you could understand why Tang En was being so careful.

Prior to this, Tang En had warned the players not say anything on the train, and to shut their eyes and pretend that they were asleep. As for those who were more easily identifiable… straighten their collars, or bury their heads, or block their faces with newspapers… In any case, no accidents were to happen.

But speaking of which… Could the number of accidents today be anymore? Tang En tilted his head and looked at Brosnan, who stood behind Tang En with his head lowered, as if he felt that his presence on the train made the team's luck turn bad.

Tang En nudged him, and whispered softly, "What are you doing? You are not a woman… even though your character resembles one… Haha!" Tang En started laughing. Currently, there did not seem to be any danger, so he could be slightly at ease.

"… Arriving at the next stop, New Den Stadium in 10 minutes. Arriving at the next stop, New Den Stadium in 10 minutes." An electronic voice announcing the next train stop could be heard in the train carriage.

Tang En lowered his head and checked his watch. It was currently 2:39 p.m., and they would reach their stop at 2.49 p.m. He also did not know how far this train station was from the stadium. Even if the stadium were to be right outside of the train station, it would also take at least 10 minutes for the players to run to the changing room, change, and then come out. By then, it would be 2:59 p.m., leaving him no time to even plan any battle tactics.

Tang En looked at the players who were seated on the two sides of the carriage. Although they appeared to have heeded his instructions on the surface, Tang En was still able to tell that they were secretly surveying their surroundings. There were even a few players who were not as famous, looking around as if everything was completely fine. It was apparent that the players were still somewhat excited with regard to this special method of travelling to an away match. They did not need to wrack their heads over the tactics arrangements, or whether there was sufficient time. They didn't have to worry, because all these problems were on the backs of the managerial team.

Being a player and being a manager were two completely different feelings.

Tang En decided to conduct his pre-match tactics preparation meeting in the train carriage. This was perhaps the most special meeting conducted in English football. Tang En coughed a few times, reminding the players that they did not need to keep up their pretense anymore.

While waiting for everyone to focus their attention on him, Tang En squatted down on the aisle of the train carriage. He lowered his voice, trying his best not to draw any attention to them. "I think everyone knows what kind of a situation we are in currently, so I shall get straight to the point. These two days, we mainly focused on defending and counterattacking during our trainings, so everyone also knows that…" He did not complete his sentence, because he saw that all the players' attention was directed to somewhere behind him.

He turned his head around, and saw the scene which he did not wish to see the most. A group of people dressed up like football fans were standing at the connecting part of the carriage, a few of them even wearing a blue-white Millwall jerseys. That group of people used an extremely unfriendly gaze to look at Tang En, as well as the players which surrounded him.

"Darn it!" Tang En turned around and cursed. After that, he told the players in a soft voice, "All of you, get back to your seats. Nobody is allowed to say anything, and nobody is to make any noise. Leave everything to me."

After that, he stood up and looked at those ill-intentioned bunch of people.

The group of people had already rushed into this carriage, while the old couple rushed along the child and escaped from behind the Millwall fans, running to another carriage. All that was left was them. With the door located in the middle of the carriage as the boundary, they were in the left half of the carriage, while Tang En's team was on the right half.

Nobody said anything, and only the loud noises from the tunnel could be heard. The body of the train shook slightly, and Tang En stood in the middle of the carriage. He faced those "ill-intentioned" fans, with his players behind him. They had just sworn on the train that, he would not let anyone do harm to the people around him, and the time to fulfil his promise was now.

You want to do harm to my players? You have to get past me first!

Tang En and the other party stared silently at each other. The air seemed to be frozen, causing the atmosphere to become extremely pressurizing.

※※※

John Motson was in charge of commentating for one quarter of the matches for the EFL Cup. He was originally not supposed to be commentating this match, but after knowing that Tony Twain had immediately gotten a victory upon returning to lead the team, he suddenly could not hold back the curiosity in him. As such, he decided to apply to commentate this match, which was bound to lose in terms of viewership as compared to another quarterfinals match. In the eyes of this old commentator, a match between two League One teams was much more attractive than a match between Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough.

In the Stadium, the home team Millwall were already doing their warm-ups, but there was still no sign of Nottingham Forest.

The manager seats and reserve seats were completely empty. It was said that aside from a few coaches who came early to place the equipment, no one else was present. Even the Nottingham Forest coach bus was not here yet.

Motson sat on the commentator's seat and put on his headphones, silencing the loud noises which came from the viewing platform in all directions. Millwall's fans were singing and shouting non-stop, appearing to be extremely optimistic.

It is currently less than 15 minutes to the start of the match, and Nottingham Forest is still not here yet… What exactly is Tony Twain and his team doing?

※※※

Aside from the loud noises from outside the train, there were also a lot of heavy breathing noises coming from within the carriage. Tang En hoped that this group of people were merely normal Millwall fans. However, after seeing their expressions and eyes, he understood that this time, he was extremely unlucky to have met a bunch of fans which were not ordinary.

Even though this group of people did not say anything, Tang En was able to get the following information from the looks on their faces:

Get rid of the bunch of Nottingham Forest b*stards in front of us and our team will be able to win without even playing, successfully advancing into the semi-finals of the EFL Cup!

Tang En believed that under the effects of alcohol, it was really something that they would do.

Now what? He did not have the confidence to beat over 10 people in a fight. Regardless of the situation, the players were not allowed to fight with fans, or else what awaited them would be a long term ban on matches. Just like Cantona who did a flying kick on a Crystal Palace fan. Even though the other party insulted his family, he had still been banned for eight months.

But… did that mean a manager could fight with the fans? Tang En had not really thought about this question before.

Walker, who was behind Tang En, whipped out his phone and wanted to called the police. However, he saw the signal on the screen of his phone and softly cursed. They were currently underground, and the signal was not as good compared to if they were on ground level.

Even if they wanted to call the subway police over, it was most likely not possible as well. That was because the team was in the last train carriage, and the only way out was from behind the Millwall fans.

Brosnan whispered to Tang En from behind, "Mr. Twain, hang on till we get off the train. Before I get on the train, I already phoned my colleagues. I believe they will have already called the police along with them."

"Thank you so much, Brosnan. In order to express my thanks, I allow you to record everything that you see from now on, and publish it on the newspaper." Tang En stared at the fans, while saying this to Brosnan who was behind him. "Do you have a digital camera with you?"

"No, Mr. Twain."

"Use your phone instead then."

The fans opposite them got a scare upon seeing the short man behind Tang En whip out his phone and aim at them.

"What the heck are you trying to do?" They shouted and were about to rush forward, but were stopped by Tang En.

"Let's not be agitated, gentlemen." Tang En now knew that these people did not drink much actually, and that things weren't extremely terrible yet. "As you can see, this short mister over here is a news reporter." Tang En said as he pointed to Brosnan, who was behind him.

"A reporter!" The effect of this term on the group of people, was one that Tang En had hoped to see.

What kind of people did the football hooligans hate the most and were most afraid of? Aside from the police, it would be the media. That was because, even when these people wrecked havoc, they did not wish for reporters to take pictures of their faces and appear in the headlines the next day. This would mean that they would lose the opportunity to watch matches.

Chapter 117: On The Subway Train Part 2

The English specifically set up a record for football hooligans. As long as one's name was captured inside the records, he would be banned from watching football matches at the stadium. For such fanatical fans like them, banning them from watching games at the stadiums would be akin to depriving them of their lives.

Seeing the group of people in front of him suck in a deep breath, Tang En smiled. "Of course, if any one of you doubts my words, I can ask him to display his reporter pass."

After Tang En finished, Brosnan whipped out his pass from his pocket, which was originally hung around his neck.

"I think you guys must know who I am, so I won't do any self-introduction here." Tang En signaled for Brosnan to step back. He stood at the forefront and said while pointing toward the door at the side, "With this door as the boundary, you guys stay there, and we will stay here. We'll play our match while you will watch your match. Everyone will be safe if nobody crosses the boundary." Tang En clapped his hands. "Isn't this suggestion fantastic?"

"Why do we have to listen to your arrangement?" A bald man shouted from within the crowd.

Tang En looked at him, before pointing toward Brosnan who was behind him. "If you hope to not be able to watch a live match at the stadium in the future, I am completely fine with you coming over."

"Darn it! Even if I were to not watch a match for the rest of my life, I also have to…" The bald guy waved his fists at the back of the crowd.

Tang En saw through his bluff and understood. So, he waved his hands at the other party. "And what? Sir, over there, I feel that you will be more convincing if you say these words in front of your comrades. If you hide behind the crowd and keep asking for a fight, what if a fight really breaks out? Will you then push the others in front of you instead?"

Hearing Tang En word it in this manner, the group of football hooligans naturally turned their heads around and looked at the bald guy.

"Come out. If you really want to hit me, then stand out here in front of me on your own. Let me see how big your fist is." Tang En took a step forward and stopped right in front of the boundary he had set, as if he was not at all worried about the other party really hitting him.

The players behind him were all worried for him. In fact, Dawson was already prepared to lunge at the person if he dared to touch Twain. He did not have the leisure to care about the bans or punishments that would be meted out.

The bald person felt rather guilty under the silent stares. As such, he gritted his teeth and made his way to the front.

Looking at his actions, Brosnan shouted, "What are you doing? I'm warning you…"

Tang En waved his hand to interrupt the agitated reporter. "It's alright, Mr. Brosnan."

The bald person soon in front and looked at Tang En with a face full of smiles and confidence. After that, he turned around and looked at his comrades who remained silent. At that moment, he felt as though he was that slice of beef in between a sandwich…

Tang En was actually very nervous deep down in his heart. He had been carefully choosing his choice of words, and was afraid to antagonize the group of people and rouse their violent tendencies. The only thing he could do right now was to stall for time as much as he could. Once they reached the train station, the crisis should be averted. As gutsy as this group of people were, they would definitely not dare to get physical in front of a reporter and the police, right?

He was here to bring the team to play in the match, not to get into a fight. However, he could absolutely not show any signs of weaknesses in front of this group of people. He had to act tough, and make them feel that even if they were to come together all at once, Tony Twain was not afraid at all!

Tang En was currently thinking… if only he had something like a nunchaku or some sort, he could at least put on a bluff and deter them. On top of that, he could imitate Bruce Lee and shout a few times, and it would most probably make them beat a retreat.

Seeing the awkward look on the bald guy's face, Tang En shrugged his shoulders and said, "Look at how good this is. You guys stay there, while we stay here. We don't interrupt with each other. Pal, we're here to play in the match, not here for a war. What's your name?"

The bald guy reflexively answered, "Simon." Before he could even complete his sentence, he had been pulled back by someone. Following that, another man who appeared to be in his fifties stepped out from behind.

"Mr. Manager, I also don't wish for the wretched media to say after the match, that Millwall's victory wasn't clean." The man pointed at Pierce Brosnan behind Tang En. "Of course even more so, I don't wish for my people to be on the police's blacklist for this kind of thing. We won't do anything," he said as he opened his hands.

Tang En nodded. "Is that so? Then I have to thank you for that." Although he said it like that, Tang En did not turn around and walk back. Instead, he continued to stand there, in between the fans and the players. Deep down, Tang En did not really believe the words of these kinds of people. Ever since Gavin's death, Tang En always detested football hooligans as well as all Millwall fans. Perhaps it was a prejudice, but Tang En did not intend to change his perspective.

The only pity was that he did not have time to tell the players what tactics to use, and how to play during the match.

The train carriage regained its peace, like before those football fans first entered. The two groups of people stood on the two ends of the carriage respectively. In the middle of the two groups were their bosses, who stared at each other silently. Neither side would avert their gaze, because that would be seen as a sign of cowardly escape.

Just like that, they stared at each other, remaining calm and not showing any signs of anxiety or impatience. Even the frequency of their breath was normal. They didn't think about anything, had no expression on their faces, and no feelings from their eyes. They would not show the other party even the slightest flaw and would not let themselves be at a disadvantage.

This was even more tiring than directing the World Cup finals!

Just like that, the air grew heavier amidst the silent exchange. Even Tang En did not know how much longer he could last. He hoped he wouldn't collapse. It was as if the temperature in the train carriage rose, and visible beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of both parties. Tang En could even feel a drop of sweat rolling down his eyebrow. If he did not blink, it would enter his eye…

Just as Tang En was put in a tight spot, a voice was heard from the top of train carriage. "Entering New Den Stadium station, entering New Den Stadium station…"

The darkness outside of the windows reached its end, and flashes of light could be seen.

Not just Tang En, but almost all of the Nottingham Forest people heaved a long sigh of relief.

They had reached the train station of the match venue.

The train slowly decelerated, and Tang En saw reporter Robson who had once interviewed him at City Ground Stadium. Beside him were reporters from other media, as well as more than 10 policemen in black and bright yellow vest. Tang En knew that this contest with the fans had finally ended.

When the train stabilized and the door opened, the man made a gesture to invite him out. Tang En did not move, and waved his hand for Walker to lead the players off the train first.

Only after the last Nottingham Forest player exited the train carriage did Tang En turn around and walk out. When he was getting off the train carriage, a gust of wind came from the direction of the tunnel, blowing past Tang En. Only then did he realize that his shirt was already completely drenched.

Seeing Tang En come out of the train, the reporters rushed up, with their mikes almost blocking his path.

"If you have any questions I'll address them after the match. Now could you please let my team go to the stadium?" Tang En answered loudly. He pushed away the reporters blocking his way, before running behind the players to catch up to them.

James Robson saw Pierce who was looking around the moment he got off, and pulled him over. "You brat. You made us extremely worried!"

Instead, Brosnan smiled and said, "Mr. Robson, I think I've gotten the best news! Mr. Twain has already allowed me to write the happenings on the subway train and publish them in the newspapers!"

Suddenly, a hoarse shouting voice could be heard coming from the entrance, resounding throughout the entire subway station. "Hurry! Hurry! We have less than 10 minutes' time! Now is the time for all of you to warm up, get running!"

Brosnan turned his head toward the exit. Although they could no longer be spotted, their shadows were still elongating and visible on the stairs.

"Perhaps you're right. Now, I am slightly regretful as to why the person that overslept wasn't me." Robson patted Brosnan and continued, " Let's go, the match is about to begin."

※※※

What made Tang En think of himself as lucky, was that the exit of the subway station had a straight pedestrian walkway to the entrance of the stadium. The stadium was around 500 meters away from the subway station, and was not considered far. What was even luckier for him, was that because the match was about to begin soon, this road which should have been extremely crowded, was only left with the hawkers and very few football fans. As such, his players were able to practically run into the changing room without much interruption.

One minute later, the panting players pushed open the changing room's door. Tang En stopped at the entrance unable to even catch a single breath, shouted loudly, "Change into your jerseys, make sure you wear them correctly! Boots, shin guards…"

Frenzied sounds could be suddenly heard coming out from the changing room.

Tang En turned his head around and looked at the panting Walker. "Walker, you've only been retired for one year… you should train your body."

While panting, Walker replied, "Let's not talk about that now… Tony, you are too awesome! Without doing anything, you were able to stop the other party!"

Dawson, who was in the midst of putting on his shirt, also interjected, "That's right, that's right! I think that everyone was scared stiff at that time. Boss, your performance is too admirable!"

Reid added, "That's right. To be honest, I did not know what to do."

Tang En was extremely happy that everyone felt the same way. Although it was an accident, his prestige among the players had increased yet again. "Andy, it's just that you are too timid… Alright! Enough of the chatter! Quickly change into your clothes, we'll be going on the field! I dare bet you that those b*stards from Millwall must have thought that we were already extremely exhausted, and that they could easily obtain victory. Now, it's time to tell them how sorely wrong they are!"

Chapter 118: The Hard-Nosed Millwall Part 1

When the Millwall fans in the stands saw the sorry sight of the Forest players hurriedly running out, they roared with laughter. It set the tone for the match—this was not going to be a civilized and friendly game, but a real fight-to-the-death knock-out match!

Moreover, the relationship between the Forest fans and the Millwall fans had been tense since Gavin's incident. So, the Millwall fans were more than happy to jeer at the nearly late Forest team.

Tang En came out of the passageway and stopped at the sidelines to look up at the stands. Large areas of blue color were interspersed with white color. And the red color was squeezed into a corner, surrounded by the blue and white colors, but tenaciously jumping. Those were the waving arms of the Forest fans.

An away match? Jeering? We'll give you something to laugh about later, Tang En snorted in his heart and walked to the technical area. On the field, Dawson was the captain, and he was in front of the referee with the other team captain to do the coin toss to pick a side.

That small-built man was the Millwall team captain, Dennis Wise, who had played for Wimbledon and Chelsea before.

Wise was an English player who Tang En had a deep impression of. Because a long time ago, roughly before 1999, Tang En was a Chelsea fan for several years. At that time, Chelsea was not known as The Ruble Army. With Zola, Vialli, Gullit, Poyet, Wise, de Goey, Flo... and so many star players, they played what Gullit termed as "sexy football." In the Premier League, they represented the blue force and Arsenal represented the red force, and they competed with Manchester United for several seasons.

The first jersey that Tang En bought was Chelsea blue jersey, and he especially liked that lion on the Chelsea crest. Later, with the departure of Gullit, Vialli, Flo, and other players, and as Zola grew older, Tang En also gradually became a "universal" fan with no favorite team. But that blue period of memory was left in Tang En's mind.

As the Chelsea team captain of that period, Wise was a player that Tang En was very fond of. He liked his bold style, his courage and daring to go up against Keane and Vieira.

When he cheered and pumped his fists in front of the television for this small-built man, he never thought that there would be a day where he would lead a team that was his opponent and enemy.

If the players on his team were defeated by his boldness, it was very likely he would curse him out instead of cheer for him.

Tang En shook his head and tossed the old memories out of his head. I'm Tony Twain, the Nottingham Forest manager; I'm Millwall's enemy and rival! I'll fight to the death with you today!

For getting the championship for the EFL Cup to qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season, this was the most feasible option that Tang En had chosen from countless options in his plan to promote the team's prestige and rebuild the team within a short period.

The FA Cup match schedule was too long and the odds of encountering strong teams were high. This option was discarded by Tang En first. The EFL Cup was the championship that the Premier League teams placed the least importance on within the three major championships. Many teams even used the EFL Cup as the place for their youth team and reserve team to warm up and condition. And the EFL Cup schedule was very short. The two semi-final games for the EFL Cup were held in January and the final match was in February. In other words, Tang En could focus his energy on maintaining the team's position within these three months and strived to take down the championship. And then they could concentrate all their efforts to qualify for the Premier League.

Tang En had a team building plan in mind and a list of players to buy. Since he had transmigrated to this world, he had an advantage that no one else could match. For example, he knew some players who were still unknown now but would become talents later on. Or he knew the right time to buy players in the future and when to spend the least amount of money to get the highest profits.

If the Forest team continued to remain in League One, then the chances of getting those players would be slim. He should at least get his team to the top 20 teams in the Premier League or qualify for a European tournament.

When he was a fan, Tang En did not place much importance on the UEFA Europa League, thinking that it was just an adjunct to the UEFA Champions League. But now he deeply realized the role of the UEFA Europa League.

This was the first coordinate of Nottingham Forest's getting back on track again!

Therefore, this match, no matter how bad the situation that they were facing was—the traffic jam, meeting the rival fans on the subway, the hard-nosed team—none of those could stop Tang En's conviction to seek victory.

A sharp whistle sounded, immediately followed by a surge of a tremendous earth-shattering clamor, and jolted Tang En awake, who had been lost in thought.

As he glanced around the stadium and looked at the crazy fans in the stands, he knew that the match with Crystal Palace was just a warm-up. The real game had only just begun now!

※※※

Rebrov had originally wanted to show off his personal skills in front of the Millwall players, but he had just move the football before it was kicked out by Wise. The referee's whistle rang and caused a hissing sound of dissatisfaction from the stands.

Looking at Wise with a fierce look on his face and gritted teeth and listening to the endless stream of hissing and abuse, Rebrov realized today's match was far more difficult than he'd imagined.

Tang En, who witnessed this scene from the technical area at the sidelines, muttered to himself, "The hard-nosed Wise, the hard-nosed Millwall team, the hard-nosed Millwall fans…" He now felt more and more how awful it was that he could not give the team specific tactics because they had encountered the rival fans on the subway.

If football could be paused like basketball, he would make changes accordingly. Unfortunately, he could only wait until the halftime interval and hope that their opponents did not score a goal in the first half.

For the defensive counterattack, the two defensive midfielders were the key, and he hoped that Eugen Bopp and Gunnarsson would be able to hold on.

※※※

"Fifteen minutes have passed! The match is going at a speed of a hundred miles per hour and the ball is zipping over the heads of the players. Under the leadership of their captain 'The Roaring Mouse' Dennis Wise, the Millwall players have launched a frenzied offense and attack against the Forest team. Any footwork tricks and tackles were crushed by the ruthless closing in of the 'Double Lions'." Motson summarized the 15 minutes of the match in such a way that was both accurate and vivid.

In the first half of the season, under the leadership of the Forest team's new manager, Collymore, who used to play the forward position, the team once again returned to the tradition of paying particular attention in containing the situations and the fondness for playing with meticulous coordination. With regard to the failure of Collymore's coaching career, the tactical side of things only accounted for a tiny fraction of the reason, but it could not be overlooked.

He asked the players to do more ground coordination, even in front of the penalty area, they must pass the ball as far as possible into the goal area before shooting a goal. At that time the commentator's appraisal of the Forest team's style of play was, "Collymore hopes that his striker will be able to get past the goalkeeper and then shoot the goal when the goalmouth is empty."

This style of play looked very good, but it was too complicated and difficult to score a goal.

In order to take on this characteristic of the Forest team, Alan McLeary, the Millwall manager, specifically designed the offense tactic of pressing on and tackling the opponent. At present, he was quite successful.

The kind of momentum that the Millwall players were showing at their home ground totally intimidated the Nottingham Forest players who were exhausted and tormented from having to switch to riding the subway because of the traffic jam, then encountering a group of seemingly vicious fans, and battling and fighting them. Plus they had to deal with the tension and panic of having to run hundreds of meters in a hurry to quickly change and get ready for the match and only pathetically emerge on the field three minutes before the start of the match.

Yes, that was exactly what was happening in the match now. The Forest team was gradually losing it. It was almost impossible to say that the things which had happened before the match did not affect the team. But what could Tang En do? This was luck. He only hoped the team would be able to make it through this period until the halftime interval when he would have plenty of time to adjust the team. He still believed there was no problem in defeating Millwall.

The key to it all was the Forest team must defend its core against the wave after wave of offensive from Millwall.

The situation was not good. Gunnarsson and Eugen Bopp were overwhelmed and in a frenzy. The pressure on Michael Dawson and Wes Morgan was also very high.

Within the Millwall formation, besides Dennis Wise, there was another player which Tang En recognized, an Australian attacking midfielder wearing the number 4 jersey, the 23-year-old Tim Cahill.

Tang En knew him through the 2006 World Cup in Germany in the Australia versus Japan match where Australia had a remarkable massive reversal at the final moment. Cahill alone scored two goals and became a hero. It was also that match that made Tang En an Australia fan during the World Cup. Unfortunately, they lost to Italy in the end.

At the present moment, Cahill was not as mature as he was at the World Cup, but his offensive ability was enough to give Tang En a headache.

Nottingham Forest finally had a chance to counterattack after great difficulty. The ball had just been passed to David Johnson's foot, and it was intercepted by the Millwall midfielder, an Australian player, Kevin Muscat with a ferocious tackle.

"Foul!" Tang En leapt up from his seat in the technical area. It had been a tackle from the back!

But the referee ignored his shout, and David Johnson fell to the ground in pain. But Muscat kicked the football to the captain Wise, who returned to assist, before Wise organized the offensive again.

"B*stard! He didn't even whistle at a tackle from the back!" Tang En waved his fist and cursed. But other than the fourth official who paid a little attention and glanced at him, no one else heeded his complaint.

Chapter 119: The Hard-Nosed Millwall Part 2

Walker also stood up to protest. Just as they were all dissatisfied with the referee's decision, Millwall started a speedy offense on the field.

Wise passed the football to Cahill ahead of him. Then Tang En saw Cahill dribble the ball straight along the wing, very close to the sideline and past Gareth Williams. After entering the 30-meter area of the Forest team, he made a feint and suddenly changed to cut through to the inside!

This move deceived the right back, John Thompson, from the Forest team who came up to defend against him. Next, he dribbled the ball across, and Eugen Bopp came up to tackle. He put his hands up to block the German teenager and continued to dribble towards the middle zone.

At this point, the Millwall strikers were crossing into the penalty area and interweaving inside. They broke through the Forest defensive line.

Upon seeing this, the scene that Tang En saw in the 2006 World Cup suddenly appeared in his mind. Tim Cahill, who also wore the number 4 jersey, was at the arc in the penalty area, ran up in an assist, and almost lifted his leg…

"Don't let him shoot! Foul! F**king foul!" yelled Tang En. But his voice was soon drowned out by the loud cheers.

Cahill, number 4, had suddenly ran across to kick the ball into the goal!

The football entered through the small gap between Michael Dawson and Wes Morgan! With a gust of wind and brushing across the grass tips, it flew into the net past the hands of the Forest goalkeeper, Darren Ward.

"Goooooooooooal! Tim Cahill! What a beautiful long shot, he alone defeated the Forest team's entire defensive line! The twenty-three-year-old new star! Such unparalleled momentum! The home team, Millwall is in the lead!"

The Millwall players hugged together to celebrate the goal, and Tang En and his assistant, Walker, complained to the fourth official about Muscat's foul.

"That was obviously a foul! You don't even blow the whistle for a slide tackle from behind, what are you doing?! Do you have to wait for that damn Aussie guy to break my players' legs before you do something about it?" With his mouth wide open, Tang En sprayed spittle at the fourth official as he yelled.

Millwall's center back, the deputy captain, Kevin Muscat was considered "notorious" in England. He even had the title of "The First Butcher."

Not long ago, he broke the leg of a player from Charlton. Although he received ￡750,000 pounds of retirement compensation, he would never play ball again.

There was a long list of names who had fallen under the feet of this 1.8-meter-tall center back: Craig Bellamy, Dugarry, Lazaridis...

Luckily, Johnson dodged at the critical moment, otherwise his name would have immediately been on the list.

When Tang En was badgering the fourth official, the Millwall manager, McLeary decide to come up and butt in. He said sarcastically to Twain, "Mr. Twain, you'd better look into your own problems and not trouble the referee."

Tang En widened his eyes and stared at the other man, "You are a b*stard who has just gotten off lightly, and you have come to gloat?!" He really wanted to pounce on the nasty jerk and give him a punch, but unfortunately if he did that, he would also have to leave—McLeary, naturally, would be sent directly to the hospital.

The Millwall fans who saw this scene from the stands naturally booed at Twain, and the fans who were closer in distance loudly hurled abuse at Tony Twain, their voices clear and audible.

The fourth official, who was sandwiched between the two managers, had no choice but to give them a slap on the wrist and issue a warning to each of them, "Both of you, return to your area. Whoever leaves his technical area again, I will have the referee issue you a penalty to go to the stands! Go back now!"

He waved his hands. The Millwall manager raised his head as if he were a victorious rooster and marched back. And Tang En, who was still swearing, went back to the technical area unwillingly. In fact, he knew in his heart that as long as the referee decided to count the goal, no matter how much noise he made, he could not change the result. This was not the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the absurd era whereby the referee could be made to change the score when the crown prince of a small West Asian country threatened to leave the match.

They still could not hold in the end! The situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable. With a goal in hand, Millwall could completely withdraw and defend their half of the field, and then they could make use of their brutal defense and home ground momentum to block the Forest team's counterattacks and maintain the score of 1:0 to the end.

This was the scenario that Tang En did not wish to see the most.

※※※

When the match resumed, Millwall's performance seemed to confirm what Tang En had in mind just now. They deliberately reclaimed their defensive line and then used vicious and brutal defenses to stop the Forest team's counterattacks.

David Johnson was twice violated by Muscat again within 15 minutes. When he stood up with a limp, the punishment for the perpetrator was merely a verbal warning from the referee.

In this way, the Forest players were enraged by this sort of defense from Millwall, and this anger was further ignited by the home ground fans' incessant booing, laughter, and jeering.

Full of youthful vigor, when Eugen Bopp saw his teammate assaulted by the Muscat again and again, he was determined to find the opportunity to retaliate against him and to let him know that the Forest team was not to be trifled with!

When Muscat had just stopped a pass through a suspected foul slide tackle, he rushed forward. He looked like he wanted to seize control of the ball. In fact, he used his upper arms to push the other man in the ribs. The impact lifted the unprepared Muscat from the ground!

The referee blew his whistle, and the surrounding Millwall players rushed up. The Nottingham Forest players also joined in. There was a loud hiss from the stands.

It was a chaotic scene.

"This b*stard!" Tang En scolded Bopp from the sidelines. "Isn't this just what Millwall wants? He's too immature!"

Because of the referee's hurried whistling and a few clear-headed players from both sides, a fight did not happen. The referee called out Eugen Bopp and gave him a yellow card.

The Millwall players were dissatisfied with this result. They believed that a red card should be given for such an intentional foul. The referee ignored their complaints and called Muscat aside to give him a few words of admonishment. Muscat thought that this matter was okay, and he was still complaining. He did not expect the referee to also raise his hand to flash a yellow card in front of his eyes!

The Millwall players rushed around the referee again. The booing from the stands also switched their target to the referee.

Tang En who saw this scene from the sidelines, snorted, "They have gotten what they want with a cheap shot and still pretend like it's nothing, from the manager to the players, to the fans, all of them are sons of b*tches!"

Walker sighed. He was powerless in the face of such a match. Everything was against them.

"Des, how much longer do we have before the end of the first half?" asked Tang En when he heard Walker sigh.

"Nine minutes." Walker looked at his watch and said, "Tony, the situation is not so bad... At least Bopp didn't get sent off, and we didn't lose any more balls."

Tang En interrupted him, "You'd better not say that before the first half is over. In addition, Bopp will miss the EFL Cup semifinal match due to this yellow card—that is if we can make it to the semifinals. Gunnarsson is also in danger, he also carried a yellow card from the previous game."

Upon hearing what Twain had said, Walker did not know what to say for a long time, and stood with his mouth open. The situation was worse than he thought.

"Let the entire team regroup. Do not press on, so that Millwall will not fight back. It's easiest to lose the ball in the midfield right before the end of the game." Tang En instructed, and Walker got up to convey his intentions.

Now they could only hope that the score would not change before halftime. They could still make a comeback at 0:1. If it were 0:2 in this situation, it would be very difficult to make a comeback.

※※※

The referee broke up the Millwall players buzzing around him like annoying flies. Muscat's yellow card could not be changed like the score. In fact, they should be glad that the referee only showed the card now, otherwise the center back's previous actions were enough to get him sent off twice.

The game resumed, and once the Nottingham Forest players took the ball, the hissing in the stands became louder than before. The Millwall fans believed that Eugen Bopp should be sent off right away. They even thought that the entire Nottingham Forest team should be sent off.

The group of fanatical home fans began to verbally attack the Forest players on the field, insulting their families and all their female relatives. They changed their tactic, hoping to provoke the Forest players. Not only that, they were also trying to attack the Forest fans in the visitors' stands.

The Den appeared to be the scene of a noisy foul language competition. This type of swearing and booing was only suspended when the Millwall players had possession of the ball. As soon as a Forest player touched the ball, the noise would start again. It was like a well-trained symphony orchestra.

Tang En did not take such noises to heart. He had led his team to many away matches, and this was not the first time that he had encountered such a scene. Even though when the noise started, and he felt like a heart attack could be brought on just listening to it, it no longer affected his mood in the end.

Suddenly, a song came from the stands behind the technical area, from far to near, and as it became louder, it was getting increasingly clearer. Not only did Tang En hear it, but even the players on the bench and the members of the coaching team were so shocked that they stood up.

Then this voice spread to the entire stand, the Millwall fans, ruddy from their drinking, sang excitedly with their arms in the air:

"There was a kid named Gavin! He used to like Nottingham Forest! And now he's lying on the ground, his trampled face was all smashed up! All smashed up! Get lost and go home! All you Nottingham b*stards, that dead boy is your example!! Oh, oh, oh, oh! Gavin, Gavin! All smashed up! Yea, yea, yea, yea! Gavin, Gavin! All smashed up!"

Tang En's heart suddenly tightened and almost stopped beating.

Chapter 120: Provocation Part 1

"There was a kid named Gavin! He used to like Nottingham Forest! And now he's lying on the ground, his trampled face was all smashed up! All smashed up! Get lost and go home! All you Nottingham b*stards, that dead boy is your example!! Oh, oh, oh, oh! Gavin, Gavin! All smashed up! Yea, yea, yea, yea! Gavin, Gavin! All smashed up!"

Tang En turned his head around and stared at the Millwall fans. They were singing it all together. They were either waving their fists or pointing their middle fingers. With their mouths wide open, their sharp teeth were revealed, as if they were fierce-looking wild beasts. Wrong, they were not wild beasts, they were worse than beasts.

Tang En stood beneath the viewing platforms with his back to the field and gave a death stare to a few Millwall fans that were still making faces at him. His lips were bitten pale, his face ashen-colored, his neck stiff, and his entire body trembling.

Walker, who was beside Tang En, noticed his abnormalities. Walker, of course, knew what those fans were singing about, and he was also very angry. But when he saw Tony's look, it was as though he wanted to rush up and fight those fans!

"Tony, Tony… Calm down!" Walker pulled back Twain, but to no avail.

All of the players on the substitutes' bench heard the song by the fans, which used "Gavin" in its lyrics. They also stood up and stared at those fans. The song was extremely loud, and it could be heard throughout the entire stadium.

Hearing the ear-piercing song, Brosnan stood on the reporters' seat and clenched his fists rightly. He had never imagined he would encounter such a despicable thing while reporting a football match! In order to provoke Nottingham Forest, the fans of the opposing team actually shamelessly used the name of the small Nottingham Forest fan who had passed away, in the lyrics of an insulting song!

They had already achieved their objective. It appeared that Nottingham Forest had indeed been affected by the song coming from the viewing platform. After hearing the song, Michael Dawson and Andy Reid became exceptionally angry. However, they could only take it out on the Millwall players, which in turn gave the Millwall fans a reason to sing the song even more loudly.

There were already signs of the match losing control.

Tang En still stood below the viewing platform with his back to the field, and the group of fans noticed him. Seeing that he did not look pleased, they continued to sing the song even more loudly.

They were smugly taunting each and every person on Nottingham Forest.

Suddenly, the silent Tang En punched the awning above the technical area. Crash! Following that, the plastic baffle shattered into countless pieces, falling onto the seats!

"Tony!" Walker and the other people from the managerial team were shocked. They thought that Twain would rush onto the viewing platform after that, and quickly hugged him, dragging him backwards.

The fans near the technical area saw this scene, and were momentarily dumbfounded. However, they soon recovered from their shock, and scolded Twain, "Who doesn't know how to shatter a few pieces of plastic board? Come up and hit us if you got the guts!"

"Nottingham b*stards!"

"Idiots! Cowards! Trash! You and your team are all trash!"

Tang En's punch not only drew the outburst from the fans, it also attracted the attention of the fourth official, as well as the camera.

"Mr. Twain." The fourth official walked to Tang En, and said to him with a stern face, "Intentionally destroying the stadium's facilities is a punishable offense."

"Do as you wish!" Tang En turned his head around and stared at the fourth official as he said fiercely, "Are you intending to ban me from the field? How much is the Football Association intending to fine me? If I am punishable for my offense, then these people…" He broke free of Walker, and roared as he pointed to the gloating Millwall fans on the viewing platform, "These people! They should all go to goddamned hell! Can't you hear what they were singing? Can't you hear?!"

Walker also stood out and protested, "We are here to play in the match, and not for those b*stards to insult our dead fans! We are lodging an official protest right now."

Of course, the fourth official had heard the singing on the viewing platform. As such, he was currently speechless after being asked by Tang En. After standing there dumbfounded for a while, the fourth official finally replied, "Alright, I will write all of these inside the match records. I believe the Football Association will conduct investigations regarding everything that has happened during this match. But I hope all of you can remain calm. After all, the match is still going on."

Tang En tidied up his shirt before saying to the fourth official, "I am very calm, very very…goddamned calm!"

After which, he turned around and shouted at the players on the field who had been distracted by these happenings on the side of the field. "What are you standing there in a daze for?! We are still trailing, so you guys better buck up! Shut the mouths of those b*stards on the viewing platform!"

Tang En's voice was so loud that even the television broadcast managed to record it, especially that line "those b*stards on the viewing platform!"

The fourth official looked at Twain. Tang En also stared back at him with an unfriendly look, and said domineeringly, "What's the matter? Mr. Referee, are you also going to interfere with the things that I'm shouting when I'm giving instructions to my players?"

Hearing him say this, the fourth official turned around and returned to his original position.

Right when everyone thought that the match was about to return back to normal, an even greater accident happened on the viewing platforms.

※※※

Ever since the Millwall fans started singing the song which insulted the innocent young football fan, Gavin, who was killed in a football hooligans' brawl the previous season, the Nottingham Forest fans at the southern viewing platform became increasingly agitated. However, the Millwall fans near the southern viewing platforms continued to rub salt into the wound and provoke them.

"Your team is just like that small brat, vulnerable and fragile! Trampled and smashed up by us! Trash! Scram and eat sh*t!"

"Oh oh oh oh! Gavin Gavin! All smashed up! Yeah yeah yeah yeah! Forest Forest! All smashed up!"

With the team they were supporting currently trailing behind as well as being provoked by the Millwall fans seated opposite them, the red-eyed Forest fans collectively rushed toward the barrier formed by the police, and were quickly chased away by the police. At the same time, the Millwall fans who had been itching for a fight for a long time also took advantage of the chaos and rushed toward the viewing platform of the Nottingham Forest fans. Faced with such an attack from both sides, the defense line formed by the police was in danger!

"Darn it! Son of a gun, let me teach them a lesson!" The Forest fans roared as they collided into the human wall.

"Dang! Comrades, let those Nottingham bumpkins know our fearsomeness! For Millwall! For the lions — ! Screw their entire family!" The Millwall fans began to tear out the seats, before throwing them at the group of Forest fans while swearing loudly.

"You will pay the price for whatever you have just done! B*stards!" The Forest fans were also unwilling to be outdone, and retaliated by tearing out seats and throwing them back at the Millwall fans.

"The ones who should know their place should be you idiots! Take a look at whose territory this place is!"

"I couldn't care less! You southern b*stard!"

Bam bam!

Crash! White and blue plastic seats flew back and forth across their heads. The viewing platform, when viewed from below, was in an utter mess.

Under the aggressive pushing by the two parties, the fully-equipped riot police were about to cave in. Seeing that they were unable to deal with the situation, they requested support through the walkie-talkie on their shoulders. "This is the fifth viewing platform! The fans are rioting! Requesting back up! I repeat, this is the fifth viewing platform… Darn it. You, back off!"

Seeing the crowd gushing forth, the riot police which was requesting assistance frantically waved their batons, in a futile attempt to break up the red-eyed fans from both sides.

In the end, it was no longer a fight between the Nottingham Forest fans and the Millwall fans. Instead, it evolved into a three-way chaotic fight between the Forest fans, Millwall fans, and the riot police!

The match was practically paused, with everyone's attention drawn toward the fight in the vicinity of the southern viewing platform.

Motson had stopped commentating immediately after hearing the Millwall fans' singing. That was because he completely did not know how to commentate on that kind of match and those kind of fans. Only now, upon seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, did he furiously say in the broadcast, "This is simply the disgrace of English football! football violence had left us for many years, and that devil is now back again!"

More and more riot police in their bright yellow vests and transparent helmets ran toward the fifth viewing platform, holding their shields and batons in their hands.

Although the Millwall fans quite some distance away from the fight were unable to directly participate in it, these passionate fans continued to sing the song on their own viewing platforms, cheering on their comrades who were fighting at the forefront. It was considered an away match not only for the Nottingham team players on the field, but also for the Nottingham Forest fans.

There were signs of the conflict expanding, with some of the people from both parties even throwing the seats onto the field!

Seeing such a situation unfold, the head referee could only blow the whistle to pause the match. This was already not an issue of the match. He had to wait for the stadium to regain order, before he could allow the match to resume. If the situation continued to worsen, then he could only terminate the match. As for the results of the match… the Football Association should most likely choose another date for a rematch after investigation. In addition, in order to prevent another fan rioting incident, the rematch would be held at a neutral venue, with a limited number of fans from both teams able to watch the game live at the stadium.

Perhaps there would be some people who thought that such a result would be something that Tang En and Nottingham Forest hoped to see. That was because with the match postponed to another day, the 0:1 score would cease to exist, and they would not be down by one ball.

However, Tang En did not think of it this way.

The players on the field stood on the field stunned as they watched the shocking scene unfold on the viewing platform. Even the Millwall players did not seem to have expected that their fans would be so fanatic. Luckily… English football fans were unlike their Italian counterparts who liked to wave flames while watching the matches. Otherwise, the viewing platform would definitely be burning and filled with smoke.

Tang En hugged his chest and stood at the side of the field, with Walker positioned beside him. They looked at the riot unfolding on the viewing platform expressionlessly. The match that day… was really "wonderful"!

Chapter 121: Provocation Part 2

"Des, I don't wish for this kind of thing to interrupt my match."

"Hmm?"

"I want to mount a comeback in the rest of the match! I want to let those fans that mocked and humiliated us, as well as that idiotic manager, realize their consequences for doing this!" Tang En lowered his head and looked at his watch, before walking toward the fourth official whose forehead was full of perspiration.

"I suggest we proceed for the halftime break early." Tang En pointed at the field, and said to the fourth official, "We are currently one minute away from the end of the first half. I won't allow my players to continue to wait on the field like that. Who knows what those crazy fans will do? If they break past the police barrier and assault my players, will you be able to take responsibility for it? Enter half-ime, and we'll return to the changing room. Leave everything here to the police to handle!" The questions posed caused the perspiration on the fourth official's forehead to become even more concentrated…

McLeary, the manager of Millwall, also happened to approach the fourth official at the same time to express the same opinion.

Tang En did not have any intentions of being on the same side as McLeary and turned around to leave as soon as he saw McLeary approaching. Because of the incident just now, Tang En did not view this person in a positive light.

Since the managers of both teams requested for an early halftime break, the fourth official called the referee over and briefly discussed it with him. After that, the referee blew the whistle on the side of the field, signaling the end of the first half. Players from both teams began running toward the changing room, and it was apparent that they also felt that staying on the field was a very dangerous thing. The fans' rioting should be left to the police to deal with. Even if they had remained on the field, there was nothing that they could do.

Tang En saw the scene that he had hoped for and returned to the changing room as well.

Just like that, the first half of the EFL Cup quarter finals ended in a kind of chaos and riot.

※※※

All of the players entered the changing room. Even the substitute players, who should have been warming up on the field during halftime, were called over by Walker. It would be crazy if they were to proceed with their warm-ups under such circumstances.

Tang En stood at the door of the changing room and watched as the players ran into the room with their heads lowered.

Compared to the depressed Nottingham Forest players, the Millwall players who were leading were very excited. Even though there was a riot going on, their mood was hardly affected. There were even people who intentionally laughed loudly while discussing about Cahill's goal as they walked past Nottingham Forest's changing room, such as their Australian center-back, Kevin Muscat.

Hearing that unpleasant laughter which sounded like a male duck, Tang En shot him a glare. The other party, upon seeing that he had successfully gotten Twain's attention, even shrugged his shoulders smugly before leaving with his laughing teammates.

Tang En turned his head around and closed the door after entering the changing room. As a result, the laughter and noise from the outside immediately ceased to be heard.

Looking at the room full of dejected players, Tang En felt as if he had gone back in time. This was exactly the scene which he had seen when he first arrived here in January.

Of course there were some aspects which were different, such as Tang En being at a loss and not knowing what his own future was. At that time, it was as though he was a drowning person struggling in water. He wanted to grasp at anything that could save his life, even if it was a straw.

And now? He had a goal to strive hard toward, and he knew what he was currently doing, as well as what he should be doing. He was no longer at a loss, no longer hesitating, and no longer in doubt… His heart was firm, and his feet were on solid ground. Every step he took on it left behind his footprints, and these footprints accumulated from here and extended into the far distance.

This was his road to glory, his road to being a champion.

Everyone's head was lowered, and nobody uttered a single word. The atmosphere in the changing room was exceptionally suffocating. It was several hundred times more suffocating than that on the train.

Walker very much wanted to say something, but upon seeing the long faces of Tang En and the players, he seemed to have no idea of what he should say. Say something like "We will definitely win"? But who would believe these words, which were not convincing at all? Say something like "Everyone get your spirits up"? But what was the use of such a superficial encouragement?

How he wished that Twain would say something at that moment. Regardless of what he said, even if he would just casually make some noise, it would be much better than letting the silence in the room continue! The morale of the team… The morale of the team was about to suffocate and die under this unbearable silence!

Tony!

Walker turned his head and looked at Twain, but discovered that he had his eyes fixated on the walls of the changing room, as though there was something that was very attractive.

Finally, someone could no longer bear the awkward atmosphere and broke the silence with a cough. After that, even more players raised their heads, and looked weirdly at their manager.

This kind of movements finally pulled back Tang En's attention. He looked at the curious faces of the players and laughed. "So sorry, I just recalled some things." Currently on the team, there were a few players who had not been under him in the previous season. They were Rebrov, Gareth Taylor, Gunnarsson, and Danny Sonner. Tang En wanted to let them know of the similar situation in the previous season.

"Hmm, I recalled some things in the previous season when I first took over this team." Tang En was not in a hurry to arrange the tactics and, instead, began narrating a story. "At that time, the team's situation was even worse than it is now. Yes, how bad was it… Financial crisis, no funds for transfer fees, and even all of the money gotten from player transactions had to be used to repay debts. The team was ranked in the middle, and everyone on the team wanted to escape City Ground Stadium. We lost quite a few matches consecutively, and we lost 0:3 on our home ground in the first match that I led. I was even knocked onto the ground by David, making a fool out of myself." Tang En stopped here and pointed at Johnson, causing that black lad to lower his head in embarrassment.

"The situation was terrible, and those who were on the team in the previous season must remember it very clearly as well. What was worse was that we were about to face off Premier League team Westham United in the match after. Even though they were already a League One team like us, but they were still very formidable at that time. That match…" Tang En raised his head. That match was really unforgettable for him. "By the end of the first half, we had been dunked three goals by them. Terrible right? It was simply awful!"

Although that was what he said, Tony Twain began giggling.

Those veteran players in the changing room also followed suit and started laughing, leaving the few new players bewildered and confused. They looked at the people around them, baffled. Was trailing by three goals something to laugh at?

"At that time, we were left with no means of retreat, completely no means! If we did not come up with something in the second half, then we would continue to concede even more goals! But the end result was? We turned the tables and scored four goals back at them!" Tang En shouted as he felt the fervor and excitement from that day at City Ground Stadium returning to him. "Four goals! Before the match, nobody had any hopes for us. We made the Premier League team Westham United completely lose face! In the end, they could only rely on the referee to escape! That darned referee blew off two of our goals. Although we lost in terms of the rules, but I have never once viewed that match as a failure," Tang En stood at the door of the changing room as he said to the players listening attentively to him.

"And now? The team is ranked fourth from the bottom in the league, and has an extremely low morale after switching managers. Before this match, we were met with a lot of troubles as well. In addition, we are trailing by one ball in the match, provoked by those b*stards on the viewing platforms with their singing, and the fans' rioting… etc., etc. Is our defeat for certain? Quit joking!" Tang En waved his hands. "We are only trailing by one ball! We were able to mount a comeback even when we were three balls down, much less one ball!"

"Michael! Andy! Everyone else too, have you all heard those singing from the viewing platform?" Tang En asked loudly.

"I heard them, boss." Andy replied softly.

"What do you guys think?"

"I.. I can't wait to kill those b*stards!" Dawson said as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. The other Nottingham Forest players were equally furious. These people had all experienced the pain of failing to promote in the previous season.

"Me too," Tang En nodded his head and said. "But we cannot do that. We can use another way to teach them a lesson."

The players all raised their heads and looked at Twain. Actually, they knew very well what he was referring to, but they looked forward to hearing those words directly from the boss's mouth.

"They dare sprinkle salt on our wounds in hopes of angering us, so that we will lose our calm, be at a loss, lose our fighting spirits, and surrender on our own accord! They think that they've succeeded in doing so! We are currently down by one goal and left the field dejected…Those Millwall idiots, from the fans to the team, are all waiting to laugh at us! I dare to bet that their changing room is now filled with laughter, just like all of you imagined!"

Tang En punched the door forcefully, causing a loud bang to be heard.

"We were insulted by them!" Tang En poked at his chest and said, "Our fans were insulted by them!" He pointed toward the ceiling and continued, "Even a dead person had to be insulted by those sons of a gun!"

Bam! Yet another fist hit the door.

"Yes! They've succeeded! They've angered us!"

Bam!

"But they will soon regret doing so! We will make it clear to them, what lies in wait for them when they anger us!"

Bam!

Apart from the banging noises from Tang En's fists hitting the door, no other noise could be heard in the small changing room. Everyone looked at the manager which was almost crazy, and every banging sound that was heard, was as though their hearts had been punched. They were being told again and again: This is what humiliation means!

"In the second half… In the second half, use your goals to defeat them! We'll score a goal each time these b*stards sing! Every time they sing, we'll score one goal. Every time they sing, we'll score one goal! Until those b*stards won't even dare to open their mouths! Until they are not even allowed to speak—at—all!"

Bam—Bam—Bam—!

Tony Twain's roaring resounded throughout the room. His left fist appeared as though it was an iron ingot that had been burnt red, while the metal door of the changing room trembled and made lamenting noises after being continuously pounded by Twain's fists.

Everyone present was shocked by his murderous intent…

Chapter 122: The Consequence Of Provocation Part 1

Tang En stopped talking and the locker room was quiet again. But there was an undercurrent brewing beneath the calm. After a while, the sound of heavy breathing in the room grew louder, and Tang En knew the time was right.

"Well, lads, we can't win the match with hot-bloodedness alone. We still need to use our brains." He knocked on the tactical board, "I think we all have seen what kind of football Millwall plays. Who else is going to reveal his footwork in front of them? No one? Very good."

"In the first half they used all their efforts to press hard across the entire field. The results were very good, and we were unable to react well. But I must say that the other manager is an idiot. There are already some problems with their physical fitness. The second half is destined to be our world. Learn to make use of the width of the field. We move around more and more direct passes. Play a more straightforward game. They want to keep and fight us in the midfield, don't give them the chance, just swiftly break through the midfield. They like to kick long balls. We'll do the long-ball play with them! Taylor!" Tang En looked at Gareth Taylor, who had just returned from the reserve team.

"You're on for the second half. You're going to substitute for Johnson. Pay attention, everybody!" He raised his voice. "When you have the chance, kick long balls! Their center back can't compete with you on headers! The one who's most capable on headers, Darren Ward, is not even on the main list for this match. The 21-year-old Mark Phillips is still too inexperienced. He's not a threat to you." Tang En looked at Taylor as he said these words, everyone could see that the key to the team winning in the second half laid with this guy.

"As for the other player... that b*stard, Muscat, is only 1.78-meter tall, shorter than you by 10 centimeters. And that guy's header skills... are far worse than his ability to slide tackle and break someone's legs off! But the task that I'm giving to you is not to defeat him with a header. I want you to... bring him down! You know what I mean?"

Taylor thought for a moment and then nodded. "He has a yellow card on him."

Tang En grinned and chuckled, "You're smart, big guy. Find a way to bring him down, but don't hurt yourself. Remember, you must be realistic! If you get a yellow card for a fake dive, I won't feel sorry for you." He wagged his finger.

Taylor nodded again. "I know what to do."

It was Tang En's method of bribing the team's heart by entrusting Taylor with a heavy responsibility in front of the entire team. The so-called carrot-and-stick approach.

After the task had been assigned to Taylor, everyone knew what the team's tactics were going to be in the second half: to use the 1.88-meter-tall Taylor, who was excellent at headers, as the bridgehead for the offense and breakthrough to the opposing side. Whether he was going to shoot a goal or make an assist, all had to pass with his head first.

"Rebrov, your mission in this match is not to organize the offense, but to score a goal. Taylor will soon be marked by the opponents, he will attract all of Millwall's defensive attention. You have to follow him by his side. When he seizes the control of the ball, you have to grab the second pass before the Millwall players and then, I don't care what method you use, you must strike the ball into their goal!"

Rebrov nodded vigorously.

"Next... Eugen Bopp, you should reflect on that stupid yellow card in the first half. If I had a defensive midfielder substitute, I would have brought you off immediately," Said Tang En while he stared at the young German player. Bopp lowered his head and dared not look at him. "But lucky for you, except for you and Gunnarsson, we do not have another defensive midfielder. So, you still have to stay on the field. Mind your actions, don't take the initiative to apply for a red card!"

"I... I got it, boss." Bopp replied with a low voice.

"Gunnarsson, Bopp has a card. You will need to help him more in the second half. You two will work together to closely mark Cahill! Don't give him a chance for a long pass like the first half!" Tang En waved his fist. Cahill was able to easily shoot in the first half because Bopp and Gunnarsson did not close in around him in time.

"Yes, sir." The Icelandic man replied with an expressionless face.

"As for their captain..." Tang En closed his eyes and paused a little. He would have to say goodbye to the past from now on. Dennis... Let me send you off one last time!

"There's no need to be afraid of a 37-year-old man!"

※※※

While Tang En was assigning tasks to the players and laying out their strategies, Des Walker went out alone to see the situation in the stadium. The disturbance in the stands had subsided and returned to calm. But at a glance, there were still a lot of empty seats. Those people must have been taken away by the police, or sent directly to the hospital...

There were three rows of fully armed riot police stationed on both sides of the visitors stands. Occasionally, fans from both sides still engaged in a war of words across the three-layer human wall, but the situation had largely been restored to calm. It seemed like the second half could proceed normally.

It just so happened that the referees came out of the referee's lounge and Walker looked at them questioningly. The fourth official nodded to him. "The second half of the game can continue, Mr. Manager."

"That's good news," Walker smiled. "If the referees decided to cancel the second half and postpone the game, Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain would suffer the biggest blow."

Seeing Walker's response, the fourth official stopped and said to him, "I too think it's good news, Mr. Manager. I also hope that in the second half we will all see a match, and nothing else. So, please tell your manager to calm down on the sidelines."

Walker shrugged his shoulders, "Do you plan to say the same thing to the Millwall manager and their fans, Mr. Referee?"

This question stumped the fourth official and he did not know how to answer. He froze for a moment, and then shook his head, "I will report all the facts of this game to the Football Association. Good-bye, Mr. Manager." Then he turned and left.

Looking at the back of this man, Walker laughed and said loudly, "You should wish Mr. McLeary good luck!"

He turned and walked toward the locker room, opened the door, and found that Twain was almost done talking.

"Tony, the second half will start on time." He brought the best news to Tang En.

Tang En smiled. "That's fantastic! Guys, you don't have to worry about not being able to give vent to your rage! Do you still remember everything I said?"

"We remember, boss!" The players answered loudly.

"Close your eyes and think about how they've treated us in the first half! What do you recall? How do you feel?" Tang En was like a virtuoso guiding the players to reach the desired state that he wanted.

Michael Dawson raised his clenched fist and trembled slightly. "I... I want to get out there and play! Chief! I want to shut those b*stards up!"

"Then let's do it! Wipe them out!" Tang En and Walker stepped aside in the doorway and the players all rushed out. "Let them know... the consequence of provoking us!"

※※※

After the second half of the game kicked off, the hissing sounds from the Millwall fans in the stands did not seem to diminish and some singing voices could even be heard insulting Gavin. But Tang En was no longer in competition with the fans in the stands behind the technical area. He stood on the sidelines, with his hands in the pockets and watched the ongoing game with a grim face.

Looking at him, he seemed to be very worried about the outcome of the game because his team was behind by a goal. McLeary sat in the technical area with his legs crossed, getting ready to enjoy a good show.

But... whose good show was it going to be?

Cahill attempted to dribble the ball to break through from the middle zone. But he was blocked out by Gunnarsson and Bopp in unison at the goal area. Gunnarsson who seized the ball, passed it to Andy Reid on the left wing. Reid's strength was in long passes, and he followed Twain's instruction and directly shot it to Gareth Taylor in front.

The man defending against Taylor now was not Muscat, but young Mark Phillips, who could not compare with Taylor both in terms of experience and physical size. The two players had not even jumped, and he had already lost first—Taylor squeezed in front of him and he completely missed his position!

Now Taylor had not entered the penalty area yet, so it was impossible to do a header straight away. During his struggle with Phillips for the position, he saw Rebrov running up from behind, and Wise followed him closely behind. Should he pass the ball to him?

When he saw Reid pass the ball to Taylor, Rebrov ran forward, and Wise, with ample experience, guessed the Forest team's tactic almost instantaneously and had followed up, too. This created a huge problem for the Ukrainian player in his next move.

Stopped the ball? It would likely to be cut off by Wise. That little man's feet were too fast! And now there were not many people on the Millwall defensive line. He had hoped to directly wade into it, seize the opportunity to break through those defenders who were too close to each other, and then face the goalkeeper. It looked like this was out of the question now.

In order not to let Wise cut off the football, he could only stop the football on the wing. Although he could still retain the possession of the ball, he would also lose the best opportunity for an offense.

What was he going to do?

When Collymore left, Rebrov originally thought that his days on the Forest team were numbered. However, he did not expect that in the previous match, the new manager's words and a change of position had let him regain a new lease on life. Yes, though he was originally a striker, he did not obtain the kind of results that corresponded with the title of a striker when he played for Tottenham Hotspur. It was the same in the Forest team. Just when he began to doubt his ability, Twain told him to move his position backward by 20 meters and he would see a completely different world.

Chapter 123: The Consequence Of Provocation Part 2

You will see a completely different world...

Rebrov looked up at Millwall's goal. The opposing goalkeeper stood in the front and there were very few defenders. He could envision countless routes that the ball could be launched from his current position to the goal across the huge expanses of empty space,

Yes! I see it!

Taylor trapped Phillips behind him, and he looked up at the ball and spied Rebrov from the corner of his eyes. His teammate in the yellow visitor jersey was waving at him, and his gesture indicated to him to pass the ball back with a header.

I'll pass it to you!

Taylor suddenly leapt and pressed Philips down. Then he headed the long pass that came from Reid to assist Rebrov who was charging forward!

Wise had tried to keep up with the opponents' preparation, but he did not expect the Forest team number 10 to suddenly accelerate and shake him off in two strides! He tried to catch up, but he found his body ignored his command. He was getting old... He could only stumble and watch Rebrov receive the ball flying toward him, leap sideways, swing open his leg, and whip his leg toward the football...

"Taylor, a header..."

I see it, this is the path to the goal, this is... a whole new world!

"Rebrov... Rebrooooooooooooooooooooooooov!"

Tony Warner, Millwall's goalkeeper, did not think that Rebrov would directly kick the ball while it was still so high in the air outside the penalty area, which was still 30 meters away from the goal! He was positioned too far ahead. Even if he leapt high with all his might and stretched out his arms, he still could not stop the powerful force of the shot from that leg! The football swept past the top of his hands, then rapidly fell and hit the net as the commentator was yelling!

"Incredible! It's unbelievable! A super long shot! From Serhiy Rebrov--!"

A tremendous cheer erupted in the visitors' stands, heavily surrounded by the police. At that moment, they quelled the Millwall fans' singing and jeering. At that moment Nottingham Forest shut the Millwall fans' mouths!

"This is Rebrov! What a magnificent goal! Tony Twain's team showed us their remarkable nerve! They have leveled the score in this away match! There's absolute silence in the home team grandstand. Everyone's stunned by this amazing long shot! Beautiful shot! Beautiful! The Millwall goalkeeper Tony Warner is speechless with this loss!"

After finishing the shot, Rebrov got up from the ground and looked up at the goal. The football had just hit the net. He knew he had succeeded! He was so excited that he did not hug Taylor for his assist. Instead, he turned and ran toward Tony Twain, his team manager who was on the sidelines, celebrating the goal with Walker. He wanted to thank this man for giving him a new lease of life!

He was not good with words and unable to say anything too sappy. At this moment the only way for him to express his gratitude... was to hold the man firmly in his arms. His arms tightly clasped and almost crushed the breath out of Tony Twain. Behind him, his teammates flocked around them and knocked him and the manager down, and then they all piled on...

"Ah! Damn it! My ribs!" Tang En, who was the one crushed at the bottom, howled in pain.

※※※

"...This is the quarter finals of the EFL Cup! Millwall versus Nottingham Forest in a home ground match! After the fan riots at the end of the first half, the second half of the game continues! We're just less than five minutes in, and we have already seen this beautiful goal! This is a value for the price of the ticket goal!"

Motson's animated voice boomed from the television set in the bar, and it was a sea of cheers under the television. A few excited fans jumped onto the tables and poured down the large mugs of beer in their hands. And more people imitated them and splashed their beer into the air. Beer was raining down in the bar and the beer showered on everyone. But they did not care. They drank the beer that fell from the air with their mouths wide open, fists pumping and hollered, "Well done! Ukrainian! Good job! Tony! This is the best way to retaliate against those b*stards!"

"No one can get away safe and sound after provoking us! No one!"

"Those Millwall idiots will regret it! You should not have mentioned Gavin's name!"

※※※

The cheers and celebrations of the Forest fans in the stands still continued. The game had started again, and the Millwall fans' resentful hissing started again.

After the score was equalized, McLeary went to the sidelines in a panic and tried to redeem the situation. Tang En gave him a disdainful glance. This man did not pose a threat to him at all.

After leading the First Team to play more than a dozen games, the only manager that deeply impressed him was the Sheffield United manager, Neil Warnock. Because that old chap defeated him in the most crucial match, which left him with a failure that he would never forget.

Having equalized the score with a breathtaking kick, Nottingham Forest was completely playing in peak condition. Even Wise was helpless when faced with the rush of the Forest players. For the first time in his 19-year career, he felt a sense of powerlessness surge from the bottom of his heart... He was getting old, the field belonged to the young.

Seven minutes after the Forest team's equalizer, they successfully reversed the score. This time it was Andy Reid who scored the goal. As a result of a beautiful coordination by the Forest team in the penalty area, he was able to dribble the ball into the penalty area, and then he kicked a low shot into the net from the left wing!

After taking the lead at 2:1, the Forest team played even more aggressively. The Millwall players could also see that their opponents were hooked on the offense and would not give up at this point.

Because Mark Phillips was unable to defend against Gareth Taylor, Kevin Muscat was instructed by Manager McLeary to mark Nottingham Forest number 18, who was 10 centimeters taller than him! The disparity was not only reflected in height, but also reflected in physical strength.

Muscat spent all his energy in his entanglement with Taylor, and his temper was rising as fast as a thermometer that was put into boiling water. He really wanted to boot this big guy's leg. At the most he would be sent off with a red card, but the opponent might end up in the hospital for up to half a year.

When he slide-tackled Gareth Taylor from the back again, Taylor screamed and fell to the ground. Then he held his ankle in agony and rolled around. It looked as if his leg was really broken.

The referee's whistle rang, and the Australian defender, Muscat, accepted his ending with a smile—second yellow card and a red card. This was what he had anticipated, and he did not even make any excuses. When his teammates surrounded the referee and still pleaded on his behalf, he tugged his jersey out of his shorts and smiled at Taylor, who was lying on the ground.

Boy, I'm walking off the field and you're being carried off, these are our respective endings. Which one do you think is better?

He had just finished his thoughts when he saw the big guy, who had just been tossing and turning and desperately calling out for a stretcher, stand up before the team doctor. And he even walked off the field on his own!

Of course, he did not forget to turn his head around and give Muscat a smile.

My friend, we're all walking off the field. But I can come back up after this and you... will go back to the locker room, get dressed, and then go straight home!

The smile on Kevin Muscat's face froze.

※※※

Short of a player and behind in the score at the same time, Millwall did not give up the game and were prepared to go on a frenzied counterattack with their fans cheering them on.

However, their fighting spirit had not even been ignited before it was extinguished in their hearts.

Muscat had just slowly shuffled to the sidelines when another immense cheer came from the visitors' stands.

"Gareth Taylor! What a stunning header! Poor Mark Phillips could not defend against Taylor who is of the same height. Nottingham Forest's number-one scorer this season, just added the eleventh goal to his personal goals! 3:1! The away team, Nottingham Forest is leading by 3:1 at The Den!"

Upon seeing Taylor hugging his teammates to celebrate the goal together, Muscat angrily struck the railing beside him. He was duped by this big guy, no, fundamentally speaking, he was duped by that other person!

He turned his gaze toward the Nottingham Forest technical area. Tony Twain jumped up and pumped both fists in excitement.

All of a sudden, he felt that not only was he tricked, but Mr. McLeary, manager of his team, was also caught in Twain's trap.

This... son of a b*tch!

At the urging of the fourth official, Muscat, who was sent off by the red card, finally reluctantly left the field and entered the player's corridor.

Next, the Millwall fans in the stands gradually quieted down. They could only powerlessly watch their team being slaughtered by the sudden eruption of the Forest team. Why had they used the name "Gavin" to provoke Tony Twain's team?

Look what happened!

4:1!

5:1!

6:1!

7:1!

The Forest team went on a frenzy as if they could just score a goal with any random shot. No matter what kind of substitution adjustment McLeary had made, he was unable to save the team from the fate of their disastrous defeat on their home ground.

He stood dumbstruck on the sidelines and could hardly believe everything he was looking at. How... How did it come to this? He was feeling smug and complacent before the match. He had bright prospects at the halftime interval and now... everything that was happening now was a disgrace to him!

The referee finally blew the whistle at the end of the match, and the nightmare of the 38-year-old Millwall manager, Alan McLeary, and his team, as well as the Millwall fans in the stands, had come to an end.

Chapter 124: Press Conference Part 1

In the hearts of the reporters, the match was an interesting one with many ups and downs. However, the press conference held after the match was their real focus. The reporters were eager to hear from the managers of both teams regarding their opinions on the fans rioting which had occurred during the match.

Soon after the match ended, the reporters quickly ended their interviews at the mixed zone and assembled at the venue where the press conference would be held while waiting for the managers to come out.

Tang En was the first to come out, and the dejected person following behind him closely was Millwall's manager, Alan McLeary. According to the norms, the two managers should shake hands as a form of courtesy. However, Twain sat in his seat with both his hands in his pocket, and seemed to have no intentions of shaking hands with McLeary at all. McLeary stood on the stage dumbfounded for a split second, before proceeding to sit down on his own seat in a somewhat awkward fashion.

As soon as the host announced the commencement of the press conference, all of the reporters immediately raised their hands.

It was evident that the topic which the reporters cared about the most was not the shocking 7:1 score. Any score was possible on the football field, and a score of 7:1 was still within the boundaries of the Earth, and not that far-fetched as though it was on Mars. This match was full of publicity value and stunts. The story which would attract the public's attention happened on the viewing platform. The Millwall fans insulting songs as well as the rioting caused by both parties' fans were the topics of interest which the reporters asked questions about.

Faced with these questions, Tang En snatched the microphone first to answer. The earlier he finished whatever he had to say, the earlier he could leave this place and return to Nottingham. He did not have any intention of sitting with the guy beside him for too long.

"I understand that all of you are very eager to know about those things which happened on the viewing platforms, but I don't wish to mention it again. I suggest you ask the Millwall club chairman as well as Mr. Manager seated beside me instead. They should know best what kind of people their supporters are." This sentence directly caused Twain to make an enemy of all the Millwall people, but he did not care at all as he did not rely on getting in the good books of enemy fans to obtain victory. "I only want to say one point, that I am extremely pleased with my players' performance in the second half, and that they are every bit worthy of this match's victory."

A reporter seemed to have seen through Tang En's intention to leave soon, and hurriedly asked, "Excuse me Mr. Twain! Your team's performances in the first half and the second half are worlds apart. What did you say to them during the halftime break? Were there any special arrangements?"

Tang En stared at this reported and said, "I told my players that if they were furious at the Millwall fans' singing, then they should score goals to shut their mouths up. Every time they sang, we would score a goal. Every time they sang, we would score a goal. Until they don't dare to make a single noise. I am very happy that my players managed to accomplish this."

After that, Tang En paid no heed to the uproar caused by this statement and placed the microphone on the table, before taking his leave.

The host reminded him, "Sir, the press conference has not ended yet…"

"His press conference has not ended, not mine." Tang En pointed toward McLeary and said. "I have nothing more to say, Mr. Host. Everyone!" Tang En raised his voice at the reporters and said, "If you have any questions, you may ask Mr. Alan McLeary to your hearts' content!"

After which, he turned around and left.

The dejected McLeary mumbled behind Tang En's back, "I've never seen someone with such bad manners."

Tang En, who was in the midst of leaving, stopped because of this sentence. He turned around and looked at McLeary, giving off a look so fierce as though he wanted to gobble McLeary up. "Manners? Mr. Alan McLeary…" Tang En spoke slowly, articulating each and every word clearly. "There's something that I can be sure of, and it's the fact that my manners are definitely a few hundred million times much better than you and your supporters on the viewing platform!"

After finishing his sentence, Tony Twain completely ignored the reporters who shouted his name and left the small press conference room without even turning his head around.

※※※

Nottingham Forest triumphed over Millwall with a score of 7:1 in their away match, successfully advancing into the semi-finals. However, there were few reports regarding this score. Instead, the rioting fans made the headlines of most English newspapers after the match.

The media was able to make the connection to the previous season's match between Nottingham Forest and Millwall, where the football hooligans' fight caused an innocent child's unfortunate death. Hence, they titled their newspaper articles as such: The return of football hooligans! The return of football violence!

A kind of suppressed excitement could be vividly seen in the papers.

Actually, this kind of attitude by the media could be explained by a catastrophe from 14 years before.

Ever since the Hillsborough incident, Lady Margaret Thatcher who had always been opposed to football as a sport, finally found an excuse to remediate this form of "violent sport." She tasked Lord Justice Taylor to carry out a detailed independent investigation targeted at the football environment in England at that time. As a result, two versions of "Taylor Report" were published over the span of six months.

In this famous report, Lord Justice Taylor proposed various suggestions for football as a sport, as well as suggestions pertaining the English society's attitudes toward the assumption of responsibility. However, the English government only adopted a few of the suggestions, such as the reconstruction of stadiums, changing all of the standing accommodations into all-seater models, and tearing down the fences.

The Sports Ground Safety Authorities was already established in 1973 by the English Government, and those sports stadiums which did not meet the safety requirements would not be issued safety certifications. However, the safety certification of Hillsborough Stadium, where the tragedy took place, had already expired for more than 10 years! According to the expired safety certification at Hillsborough Stadium, the third and fourth zones of the West viewing platforms could only hold up to 2,200 people. But in actual fact, its maximum holding capacity was less than 1,700 people. When the tragedy took place, there were more than 3,000 fans trying to squeeze into these two small zones, directly causing the tragedy with an overcrowded stampede.

Although speaking from a subjective point of view, Lady Margaret Thatcher's actions were all carried out in order to oppress football, a sport which she thoroughly detested. Objectively speaking, those action did revolutionize English football. Now, the spectators were able to sit on plastic seats and there were also specialized evacuation routes in the stadiums. The ability to watch football matches in refurbished football stadiums had to be credited to the Taylor Report and the Thatcher government.

The Taylor Report also built a solid foundation for the establishment of the English Premier League in terms of safety and hardware facilities. In 1992, the long-awaited English Premier League finally made its debut, momentarily drawing the attention of worldwide football fans with its captivating matches. Under the highly marketed and commercialized management, the English Premier League became increasingly captivating as the years went by. It looked like English football once again regained its former glory and even the blights like football hooliganism seemed to have disappeared from the top tier English leagues.

In reality, with regard to the issue of football hooliganism, the ones who should take responsibility and atone for those tragedies should not only be limited to the fans. The English government and the media should also shoulder some of the responsibilities.

In fact, perhaps 99 percent of the English football fan population was innocent. However, as long as the remaining one percent of football hooligans existed, the rest of the fans would be blamed as well. There was a 'blacklist' inside the English Police Headquarters Scotland Yard used specially for the recording of football hooligans' identities, and this list had been established since the times of the Thatcher Government. More than 10 years had passed since then, and they continued to abide strictly by Lady Thatcher's principles which she had once tactfully proposed—she'd rather get 3,000 people killed wrongfully, than to let one culprit off.

As a result, countless innocent fans were implicated as well. There were some fans with a proper occupation and no past records listed on the blacklist, banned from watching live football matches. The reason was simply because "they once entered the same stadium as the football hooligans", or that "they had drunk in the same bar as the football hooligans."

Of course, for the government to have treated the issue of football hooliganism so harshly, the media also played an integral role in adding fuel to the flames.

A representative example from English history was enough to explain the kind of role which the media played in aggravating the issue of football hooliganism.

The Liverpool fans staying in Merseyside would not forget their hatred toward The Sun for the rest of their lives, because this newspaper company, which had a considerable amount of influence in the country, had, in an attempt to attract attention and vie with The Daily Mirror for news resources, decided to make a selective compilation of reports to sensationalize the incident. As a result of their success in doing so, until now there were still many people who, as a result of the news reports at that time, believed that the Hillsborough incident was caused by the "notorious" Liverpool fans, and that they "deserved to die."

That headline of The Sun on that day was named "the most shameless headline of news history"—THE TRUTH!

The Sun's supposed truth was that the Liverpool fans died a deserving death, because it was precisely the drunk Liverpool fans' fighting which caused this tragedy. They vividly described to the readers everything that happened in the Hillsborough Stadium: those "scumbag" Liverpool fans took advantage of the chaos and snatched the purses of the deceased, clothes, watches… peed at the police who were trying to maintain order, hit the staff who were administering resuscitation to the injured, and even attempted to gang rape a deceased female fan!

They had originally designed the headlines for this news report to be "All of you are scumbags", before editing it to "THE TRUTH" right before publishing it. What an irony that was. What was the real truth?

As the Thatcher government determined football fans to be "internal enemies", it was not possible for the government to care about their enemies' safety or innocence. In fact, they even hoped that the media would collectively report the Hillsborough tragedy as a football hooligans' riot incident. That way was the only way that could beautifully show how far-sighted they were, and provide justification for their disgusted attitudes toward football as a sport. The fact that till now, Lady Thatcher's private consultant still felt that The Sun's perspective at that time was correct is the best proof for it.

The real truth only slowly surfaced years after the incident, but this sort of truth only existed among the people. After countless court trials, the English court ruled the Hillsborough as a "fortuitous incident", with the police not having to shoulder any responsibilities for this incident. The ironic thing was that all of the evidence which the court based its ruling off was provided by the police. After that, the English courts refused to reopen another court hearing in this matter, because according to the English laws, a private prosecutor had no rights to make an appeal.

Chapter 125: Press Conference Part 2

In English, "justice" can refer to the quality of being fair and reasonable, or the judge of a country's Supreme Court. The judge who represents justice had ironically personally closed the door to justice for the family members of the deceased.

And the souls of the 96 Liverpool fans shall never get the chance for their grievances to be redressed. Until now, they had been labelled as "football hooligans", hovering in between Heaven and Hell. They are unable to enter the gates of Heaven, but they are also unwilling to enter Hell and be tortured.

Later, the furious Scousers launched boycott activities against The Sun, and those activities were still going on. It was not unusual to see Liverpool fans raising posters high up in the air, with the following words written beneath a bloodied The Sun logo:

The truth is that 96 people died in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy! For the deceased, don't buy The Sun's newspapers!

Until now, The Sun newspapers' circulation in Liverpool remained at a meagre 10,000 copies, which was 200,000 copies less compared to before the Hillsborough tragedy took place.

To the powerless Liverpool fans, this was their only means of fighting back given that they were not even able to obtain support from the law. However, this means of fighting back remained powerless and insignificant in the face of the watchful eyes of the police, judges, lawyers, and English government.

After understanding that background, one would be able to understand why the media paid so much more attention to the viewing platforms instead of the field.

Ever since Thatcher's indiscriminate, ironfisted policies, football hooliganism appeared to have left the masses' fields of vision. The media reported mostly about the tabloids of football stars and managers, but the match from yesterday caused the paparazzi all over England to become excited once again.

Yes, football hooligans were back! Football violence was back! The thing that allowed us to draw the attention of the masses was back!

※※※

With a whooshing sound, Tang En threw the newspapers in his hands out. He had originally thought that things would end just like that, and let the past remain as the past. He did not expect that…

After experiencing the Hillsborough tragedy, the English media displayed much more restraint. This time, most of them felt that the Millwall fans were the ones at fault. At first, a group of extremist Millwall fans began singing mocking songs about the deceased young football fan, Gavin Bernard, who had died as a result of a fight that broke out between football fans. Then, the song began to spread and raise discontentment amongst the Nottingham Forest fans, which caused the clash during the match.

Fundamentally, Tang En felt that this was still considered a just report from an objective point of view, as it did not label the Forest fans that were forced to retaliate as "football hooligans."

However, Millwall FC Chairman's words made Tang En extremely furious.

"…I am enraged by those who say that the Nottingham fans only clashed with the police after being provoked by our fans. I witnessed with my eyes that the Nottingham fans were the ones who incited the fight this time. They tried to rush on the field and threw the plastic seats, which they tore off, onto the field…" This was what Millwall FC Chairman Theo Paphitis said when he was interviewed by the reporters.

"I was directing the match at the time, and could not possibly notice what happened on the viewing platforms. No coach would focus his attention on something unrelated to the match. However, I heard about the incident afterwards, and I feel that this incident was not caused by the Millwall fans, but instead by a group of ruffians from Nottingham! Therefore, the ones who should shoulder the responsibility should be them and not us!" This was what Millwall FC Manager Alan McLeary said in an interview with a reporter from The Sun.

The riot which took place this time at New Den Stadium resulted in 13 people injured. Five Millwall and two Nottingham fans were arrested by the police. In addition, a total of 88 seats sustained damages of varying degrees, and there were several policemen who suffered light injuries as well. It was considered one of the largest-scale fan riots to take place in an English stadium in recent years. The largest-scale fan riot that took place outside of the stadium would have to be the riot which took place on the 7th of June in the previous year, when the Millwall fans rioted after Millwall FC was defeated in the playoffs.

For the Millwall chairman and manager to say something like this with various media paying close attention to the incident, it was no different from trying to shift the blame to Nottingham Forest.

Tang En personally already disliked Millwall as a club, and his hatred for it only grew after this incident.

He decided to break the silence and give those shameless people a sound slap on their cheeks.

Therefore, he took a piece of paper and decided to write an open letter before tasking it to Pierce Brosnan to help him publish it in the newspapers. The feeling of having to suppress one's words inside the heart was too unbearable. Luckily, he had a reporter friend who he was on relatively good terms with.

Just as Tang En finished writing the first word, he received a call from Doughty.

"Tony, can you come to City Ground Stadium?"

"What's the matter? I'm currently…" Tang En looked at the open letter, which he had only begun to write, and was about to ask if it was something urgent. If it wasn't, then he would decline.

"Regarding the fans rioting incident which took place yesterday, I intend to hold a press conference under the name of the club. Come… I know you must want to scold that bunch of b*stards. Now, I'm giving you a chance to scold them in front of the whole of England!" Doughty said fiercely.

Tang En was overjoyed. "You really know me well, Edward! I'll head there right now!"

※※※

Fifteen minutes later, Tang En appeared in Doughty's office located inside City Ground Stadium. When he was invited into the room by Ms. Barbara Lucy, Doughty was standing in front of the windows with his back facing the door as he looked at countless reporters rushing toward the gate.

Mr. Doughty, Mr. Twain is here."

Doughty turned around and smiled at Lucy. "Thank you, Ms. Lucy."

Ms. Lucy poured a drink for Tang En before leaving the room promptly.

Tang En's eyes followed Ms. Lucy's shaking butt until it exited the room, before turning around. He saw Doughty staring at him and laughing, and therefore scratched his head embarrassingly. Tang En explained awkwardly, "Erm… your new secretary is not, not too bad…"

"That is not a new secretary. Ms. Lucy followed me here from America and has always been my personal secretary. She and Allan are both people who I can completely trust."

"Mhmm, I know. Then what about me?" Tang En was very intrigued by Doughty's last sentence, and decided to ask.

"You too, Tony. Although we've only known each other for a short time, but I like your straightforward personality a lot." Doughty sat casually on one corner of the table. This kind of situation was something that would never been seen during his father Nigel Doughty's time as the club chairman.

"Hey, when you told me I wasn't in your plan, I really thought that I had been abandoned." Tang En shook his head lightly. "Did you know? At that time, I had at least three club's telephone numbers in my pocket, and I could have left whenever I wanted."

Doughty nodded his head, signaling that he knew. "That's why I always had a question. Tony, what made you ultimately decide to stay in this club where you were unable to see your future, even if it meant going back to the youth team to coach?"

This question made Tang En silent for a while. After which, he replied softly, "Doughty, when I was deciding between whether I should leave or stay, I hesitated for a very long time. Many people helped me directly and indirectly, for instance… Boss Clough took me to the managers' cocktail party to gain exposure. There, I met countless successful and unsuccessful managers, and it was as though I had entered a completely different world from before. He even told me that failure is only temporary. After that I went to the youth training grounds and amidst the empty compounds, I saw George Wood—the genius who I found in the slums that day—he was practicing some basic techniques alone in the training field, striving hard toward his dream of becoming a football star. After that, I paid a visit to Gavin's grave."

Hearing Tang En say this, Doughty no longer sat on the table casually with his body slanted. He got off and listened to Tang En while standing in front of the table.

"I met Michael there, and he told me that he wanted to return to America. His wife was unable to bear the pain of staying here, haunted by her longing for their son. Hence, they wanted to migrate to a country where there was no football. I did not try to persuade him, because his family and life are more important than football. He knew that I might leave, so he said…"

Tang En continued speaking slowly and softly, as though he had once again returned to that fateful afternoon. In front of Gavin's tombstone, Michael patted Tang En's shoulders and said, "… Brian Clough came to this team on the 3rd of January, while you, Tony Twain came here on the 1st of January with a difference of two days. What a pity, perhaps we have all missed a legendary tale."

"He left after that, while I remained in the empty cemetery alone. Even though Michael compared me to Clough, I still did not make up my mind to stay. Until I saw a line of words carved on Gavin's tombstone. The words were extremely small and had been neglected by me all the while. Do you want to know what was written on it?"

Doughty nodded his head.

"Written on it was: The person resting here is Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard's deeply loved son, Nottingham Forest's most loyal fan, George Wood's number one supporter forever—Gavin Bernard."

Tang En did not continue, and Doughty also fell into silence.

He knew of the incident between Tang En and Michael. Michael Bernard was a famous person amongst the football fans of that district, and everyone knew that he had a smart and lovable son. Doughty also felt sorry for Gavin's death. Otherwise, why would he have thought of holding a press conference today, in order to refute Millwall's groundless claims?

But he had not expected that young child would hold such an important position in Tony Twain's heart. Looks like he did the right thing by calling him over.

Doughty coughed and said, "Alright, I think it's almost time. Let's go down…"

The silence in the office room was finally shattered, waking Tang En from his deep thought. He raised his head and looked at Doughty, before frowning and standing up.

"Erm, Tony," Doughty reminded him. "Do you need to prepare the script for your speech? I had Ms. Lucy draft up a copy for you beforehand…"

Tang En shook his head and declined his goodwill respectfully. "Thank you, Edward, but there's no need for it. I've never heard of someone using a script when scolding people." After that, Tang En pushed open the office door and walked out.

Chapter 126: Big Mouth Twain Part 1

Pierce Brosnan spent an entire night and stayed up late to finish the news report, "The Dangerous Encounter of Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest in the London Underground." He wrote it in the style of a novel and wrote it with relish. He hoped that the readers would read it with relish, too. That was truly a rare experience.

But when he presented the manuscript to the editor-in-charge, the editor told him that the manuscript could not be released.

"Why?" Brosnan was a little annoyed. Why was the manuscript which was an all-night effort, not allowed to be released? He did not include any content that was not allowed to be published, and Britain was a democratic country with freedom of the press. Furthermore, Millwall had unjustly accused the Nottingham Forest fans of causing the riot. He needed to inform the readers through an accurate account of this news report who the dangerous people were and who the thugs were!

"Ah, don't get me wrong, Pierce," the editor-in-charge smiled and said to him. "I mean I can't release it now. We have just received a press conference notice. Mr. President wants you to attend, and then come back and write a report."

Brosnan, still unwilling to back down, asked, "What does this have to do with this report?"

"Well, I think... this story, put together with the report from the press conference, will be more appealing." The editor-in-charge was not miffed, he just smiled and said, "Do you know what that press conference is about?"

Brosnan shook his head.

"It was called by The Nottingham Forest football club in response to Millwall's nonsense about which side had caused the fans to riot."

Brosnan's eyes widened.

"So, you will go, Pierce. Your friend, Tony Twain will be at the press conference, and I think wherever he's at, there will be no shortage of news elements and dramatic scenes."

The editor-in-charge had just finished speaking when Brosnan turned and rushed out of the office.

※※※

When Brosnan breathlessly ran into the press conference, he found that inside was already a full house and all the seats were definitely gone. He could only stand at the door and squeeze among the TV station cameras in the back row.

The number of media which attended this press conference exceeded Brosnan's anticipation. Just counting the television networks, there were already five of them, two Nottingham local television stations, and the other three were Sky TV, BBC, and an independent station.

As far as the print and online media were concerned, there were so many more that it was impossible to recognize them one by one.

It looked like everyone was very concerned about this fan riot in the stands. Violence in the world of football seemed to have kept far away from the leagues, but in fact it had never disappeared. It lurked insidiously outside of everyone's awareness and revived at the first opportunity. Brosnan thought of Gavin, who had died in innocence... A few days ago, he had gone to Gavin's grave and found two bouquets of flowers in front of his tombstone. Neither of the cards had been inscribed with the names of the senders. But Brosnan guessed that one of the bouquet must have been sent by Twain. With him being more frequently in contact with Twain during this more than half a year's time, he found that underneath the man's irascible appearance that always seemed to be wearing a hanging sign that said, "Strangers keep out", he was in fact a rather sentimental person. It was just that he was not too good at expressing the feelings from the depths of his heart.

How else could the Forest team defeat Millwall by 7:1 in an away match in the midst of adversity? Brosnan thought about this question during and after the game. If the Millwall fans did not use Gavin's name to provoke and mock the Forest team, perhaps Nottingham Forest would have lost this tough match. But they did deliberately do this. It was tantamount to stabbing a knife into Twain's heart, and it was not just stabbing. It was adding salt to the wound after the stabbing.

Tony Twain was a football coach, not a killer. He could not have abandoned the match, jumped to the stands and gotten into a fight with the fans. But the fury inside him had to have a place for him to vent, and so the poor Millwall team became a victim of their fans' momentary gratification. Brosnan could even imagine how Twain had behaved during the halftime interval. He must have been brandishing his clenched fists and roaring in the small room to let all the players understand that all those who infuriated him, annoyed him, provoked him, mocked him, and repeatedly challenged his bottom line, would not have a good ending.

Just like what he had said at the post-match press conference, "When (those fans) sing once, we'll score a goal! Sing once, score a goal! Until they dare not open their mouths again!"

To be honest, Brosnan had no doubt that the Forest team could really do this. Because he knew that was Tony Twain's Forest team. At that time, he was very excited in the stands every time the Forest team scored a goal, as if he were a fervent Forest fan sitting in the press box. After the tumultuous first half, any Forest fan would be as excited as he was, right? Looking at those Millwall fans who gradually became silent, all the despondence inside them was completely swept away! It was more exhilarating than an orgasm!

What Twain said was right. What was the best kind of manager who would win the hearts of the fans? Victory! A manager who could bring victory! Judging from these two matches and after experiencing the failure of the team's promotion, Tony Twain had become more mature after his experience in the youth team—of course, he was more mature as compared to before. He must have seriously considered his current situation and future. After he was clear about his forward direction, he no longer hesitated and just steadily moved forward step by step with both feet firmly on the ground.

While Brosnan was in deep contemplation, the din at the press conference gradually waned, and finally disappeared completely. Tony Twain and Edward Doughty, the two leading figures at the Nottingham Forest Football Club, went up to the stage. The chairman sat down, and the manager stood in front of his seat, looking at the microphones, recorder pens, tape recorders and even the cell phones on the table. He did not count them because they were too many to count.

However, he still saw a few familiar logos.

"Sky TV, BBC, ITV, The Sun..." Tang En casually listed the logos he knew, as if talking to himself. "That's good, all the influential media are here."

Then he looked at the reporters sitting in front of him, "I want to ask, are there any Millwall media, such as from their official website, or a reporter who has a close working relationship with that club?"

The reporters looked left and right, front and back. No one raised their hands or stood up, and no one uttered a reply.

Tang En shook his head, "That's a shame. Never mind, it will be the same talking to you. I believe that blind Chairman Paphitis' ears are still functioning. If he can't read the newspapers, he can still always listen to the television and radio, can't he?"

His first remark caused a commotion among the reporters below. This was plainly a personal attack…

So, someone raised his hand.

"You, sir, do you have a questions?" said Tang En as he pointed to him.

"Um, Mr. Twain, I hope you know the impact of what you've just said and how will affect you ..." a balding reporter of a small stature wearing a beige suit stood up.

"Oh, why didn't you raise your hand when I asked just now if there was any media related to the Millwall club?" Twain frowned.

"I have no relationship with the Millwall club, I'm just reminding you, Mr. Twain. I am..."

Tang En waved his hand and interrupted the reporter, "I don't care which media company you're from. I know what you're going to say... only that blind Mr. Paphitis will be very angry, and the consequences will be very serious. Right?" He glared at the reporter aggressively. "Then I would like to respectfully ask you, Mr. Reporter... How do you think I felt when his club's fans in the stands made lyrics about a young dead Forest fan, insulting my team and provoking my fans? How do you think I should feel?!"

Twain suddenly raised his voice, and that poor little reporter's body even gave an uncontrollable shudder under his sudden outburst.

"He said he did not see his team challenging the Forest fans in the stands, and he said he didn't hear the song that the fans were singing? Ah, I'm sorry, I just said he was blind, actually, he is not only blind, but deaf as well! If he intends to say that he doesn't understand the meaning of those lyrics that the fans sang, then I'd be honored to announce that Mr. Paphitis has a problem with his head! 'Brain-disabled'! Have you heard of this term? No? Very well, the Encyclopedia Britannica should include this word. I invented it, and then wrote in the entry note: The brain has a disability, for example: Please refer to the distinguished chairman of the Millwall club, Mr. Theo Paphitis!" Tang En took on the reprimanding tone which he used on his players to scold the Millwall club chairman. The poor reporter must have been seen as Theo Paphitis by Tang En.

"His fans used songs to insult my fans, it was so loud that it could be heard clearly in the broadcast. There was half a minute of TV footage focused on that section of the stands that hadn't changed, and he said he didn't see it and didn't hear it! I mean, is there any logical reason why I can't state that he's blind and deaf? Did I slander him? Am I talking nonsense? What is he angry about? What gives him the right to be angry? If he still intends to pretend that he's muddled, then I'll tell him now, his fans use the most despicable and shameless means to mock my team, I'm motherf**king angrier than he is! The consequences are even more f**king serious!"

Twain slammed his fist on the table and angrily growled. The press conference was silent. Maybe everyone was frightened by the emotion he showed.

For some of them, before their arrival, they thought it was just the Nottingham Forest Club issuing a claim to the Millwall Club, an official procedural statement. No one had expected to see such a good show. How could this be the official statement? This was just someone scolding at the top of his lungs. He wouldn't be the first manager to swear at a press conference, right?

Chapter 127: Big Mouth Twain Part 2

Only Brosnan did not find it strange. Because this was the Tony Twain that he knew. He was emotional and somewhat impetuous... and sometimes he did not appear to be a very mature professional manager. He was already 35 years old, but he looked like a 26- or 27-year-old young man, about the same age as himself.

"As to what the serious consequence is, I think everyone saw it yesterday. If the Millwall chairman has to look for an excuse to explain his team's crushing defeat, I suggest he go after the Millwall fans who sang in the stands yesterday. They asked for it! They lost the match and said the riot was caused by my fans? I'm here to tell him to look into his conscience and see if he dares to repeat those words again?! As a man, he failed to assume the responsibility for the defeat. In order to give vent to his anger, he actually inverted right and wrong, fact and fiction, and misplaced his anger and blame on the innocent party. I can't believe there's such a chairman and such a manager... tsk tsk!" Tang En shook his head. "It's perfectly normal that we could defeat them by six goals! Why did they link the subway station to the stands at Millwall's new home, The Den? I think that this Mr. Chairman must be well aware of it in his mind. Just like he must also know very well what kind of people their fans are."

Not only the chairman was aware of this but also the reporters present knew too. Millwall's The Den was a newly built stadium in the 1990's. The prevalent problem of the Millwall football hooligans was considered during the design and planning stage. Therefore, the visiting fans' stands were designed in the most southeast section whereby the visiting fans could directly go from the stands to the train station next to the stadium through a passageway and then buy their tickets home. It was convenient for the visiting fans to evacuate the stadium in the fastest time.

Millwall's football hooligans were notorious all over the United Kingdom, hence they had such a design feature in their stadium.

"If Mr. Paphitis thinks he's being insulted for no apparent reason and wants to sue me, then I will also seriously consider suing him and Manager Alan McLeary for the slander of Nottingham Forest fans and the club!"

As soon as Twain had finished, Doughty, who sat next to him, continued, "We will sue them using our club's name. Please rest assured that we are not making light of this or saying this in the heat of anger. Our Forest club will be happy to oblige them if Mr. Theo Paphitis and Alan McLeary intend to bring this deluded quarrel to the court of law, to trifle with the law and public trust."

If this was half a year ago, Doughty would have no right to say such things. This official decision, in the name of the club, required to be passed through a board of directors' resolution. Now he owned 75 percent of the club shares, and he was the only owner of the Forest club, so he could do whatever he wanted.

Upon hearing these two men's words, there was a buzzing chatter among the crowd below. Was this an official declaration of war between Nottingham Forest Club and Millwall Club? Their innermost paparazzi blood was ignited and set ablaze! Our trip today had been totally worth our while! Manager Tony Twain, you did not disappoint us! Ah, with a gush of words from your big mouth, our newspaper sales are steadily rising!

"That's all I have to say. Good day, everyone!" After speaking, Tang En turned around and left the scene of the press conference. He did not care about the trouble that his words would bring him. He just had something to say and would feel aggrieved if he was not allowed to say it. He felt very good and refreshed now. As to how Mr. Paphitis and Mr. McLeary would feel about this, he did not care.

Brosnan looked at Twain's back and shook his head. Tony, you're being exploited by the media!

※※※

"Tony, did you see the reporters' excited faces?" Doughty was at the window of his office with Twain, watching the reporters walk out the door.

"Of course, I saw it. That little man pretended to be pathetic to lure me to say what he wanted to hear. He succeeded."

Doughty scratched his head. "I thought you didn't know. What do you think?"

"The news media are happy... But I think public opinion is good for us. I did not think too much about the other stuff. If Millwall really want to sue me, I will not run from it."

When he heard Twain say that, Edward smiled. "You don't have to act like a hero, Tony. With regard to this matter, the club will completely support you. It concerns the club's reputation. I will not stand by and watch and not do something about it. Tony, you know what? After listening to you talk about the relationship between the team's performance and economics at Wilford Lane the other day, I re-drafted a terrific plan. Do you want to hear it?"

Twain turned his gaze away from the window and looked at the smiling Doughty. "Let's hear it, Edward."

"This can't be discussed in two or three sentences... We can have lunch together. It just so happens that Alan has come back from America. We'll have a lot to discuss." Doughty patted Twain on the shoulder.

"That financial advisor of yours?"

"That's right, but soon he'll become the club's marketing manager. He will be responsible for bringing in the money..." Doughty did not go on, he just smiled and looked at Twain.

Twain understood, and he smiled too. "And I'm in charge of winning."

"Yes, the three of us will get along quite well, Tony!"

※※※

When Pierce Brosnan listened to the recordings of the press conference and organized his manuscript all over again, he felt more and more that the editor-in-charge was prescient. This highly charged declaration, when put together with the thriller-like news article documentary, was indeed more eye-catching than the other uniform media reports.

Of course, every word that Twain had said at the press conference was enough to attract more eyeballs... Looking at the obscenities in the manuscript, Brosnan sighed and then deleted them.

As a result, the draft that he had handed in was returned. Brosnan found it odd as he opened the Word document. He found that those swear words that he had originally deleted were added back in again and furthermore, they were also highlighted in bold.

He grinned. This must be Mr. Editor-In-Charge's handiwork. Though it might be unfavorable to Tony Twain, he had to admit that Mr. Editor-In-Charge doing this had made it more appealing to readers' interest.

The media's top priority would always be to attract the readers' attention... What about the journalistic ethics? The news media's social responsibility? Stop kidding…This was serious business. Ever since Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of The Sun, he started the trend of vulgarization in the newspapers, and in addition he successfully acquired The Times, revered at that time in the British newspaper media. He practically aligned the national newspaper which enjoyed a high prestige throughout Europe with the third-rate tabloid newspaper The Sun. As of today, 40% of all British newspapers were controlled by Murdoch. Morality and responsibility had long since been removed from the news lexicon.

And now, whatever that would attract the readers would be reported. If the news was not appealing enough, the news editors and reporters would write it until it could make the newspaper, or they would meticulously orchestrate and coordinate from all angles to seduce the leading news characters to act out a good story. This sounded like a Hollywood movie, but in the current news environment in the United Kingdom, this was a fact.

Brosnan knew this well, so he sighed and agreed to the editor-in-charge's amendments. Then he put his byline on it and sent it up again. This time it was not returned. He knew that starting from this afternoon, a news war between the media had begun.

Mr. Twain, you are truly a "news figure"!

Chapter 128: The Media’s Pet Part 1

While the English media were busy with the fans' rioting incident and the two clubs' war of words, Tang En was eating poor-tasting Indian dishes at an Indian restaurant with Doughty and Allan Adams, who were using forks and spoons to illustrate their blueprints for their future.

Actually, before Tang En met Allan Adams in person, his only impression of this person was that impressive stock acquisition plan which had kept everyone in the dark, including himself and Edward's father. As such, before they met, Tang En had always imagined Allan to be a potbellied fatty with a flushed red face and to have a pair of eyes which glimmered with a cunning light.

After seeing him, Tang En discovered that Allan actually had a baby face! He had a head full of curly golden hair, and the area below his eyes was full of freckles. From his looks, he only appeared to be in his twenties. However, when Doughty introduced him, he mentioned that Allan Adams was already 45 years old!

It was really unbelievable. One only had to imagine what a 45-year-old doll looked like, and he could more or less experience the shock experienced by Tang En. Luckily, Allan had already gotten used to being looked at this way whenever he met someone for the first time, so he was not bothered by Tang En's impoliteness. He was very friendly and took the initiative to shake hands with Tony. "Mr. Tony Twain, nice to meet you. You may call me Allan."

"Ah, nice to meet you. Allan, you may call me Tony." Tang En abruptly snapped out of it and extended his hands in reciprocation.

Edward was very pleased with the first meeting between these two and signaled for everyone to take a seat first before they continued chatting. "This is a very authentic Indian restaurant. What would you both like to order?"

What replied to him were two extremely loud sneezes. Tang En turned around and sneezed twice consecutively. As a result, he drew much attention from the other customers in the restaurant. "Ah… I hate curry. I am sensitive to it. Why do you guys like to eat Indian cuisine?" Tang En rubbed his nose and said in a slightly awkward manner.

Doughty, who was seated opposite Tang En, chuckled as he saw that Tang En embarrass himself, while Allan passed him a tissue.

"Thank you, Allan. Next time, I'll treat you guys to some Chinese cuisine. It's much better than this! China has a few thousand years' worth of food culture, and definitely nothing like Indian cuisine, which looks like... Erm, that kind of weird-tasting curry which could rival…" He had originally wanted to say "looks like a turd", but quickly recalled that they were in a high-class restaurant. It was not a place like the school lunchroom, where he could crack any kind of joke with his friends in the past.

"Alright, Tony, I know what you're trying to say… We also know that you are obsessed with Chinese culture." Doughty waved his hand in a bid to interrupt Tang En's sentence. Then, he touched his chin and said jokingly, "But if you really intend to treat, I would have to consider getting more people…"

"As long as you don't call the entire team over…" Tang En scratched his head.

"Oh! That's a really great idea!" He turned his head and looked at Allan who was seated beside him, and the two of them burst out laughing.

"Please spare me, the Chinese cuisine here is extremely expensive…" Tang En raised both of his hands high up in the air to make a surrendering gesture.

"But really, Tony. If you are able to get the team to return to the Premier League by the end of this season, I'll personally treat the entire team to a Chinese meal. How about that?" Doughty smiled as he looked at Twain.

"From being ranked fourth from the bottom, to being promoted to the Premier League within half a season's time.. This is really very challenging." Tony frowned.

"If it wasn't challenging, I wouldn't have gotten you, Tony." Edward's words made Tang En feel good inside. That's right, he liked the feeling of being trusted by others.

As such, his frown gradually grew lax. "You're right, Edward. I love challenges. Moreover… my plan does not stop at this goal." Tang En emptied his right hand and raised his thumb and began counting. "Qualifying for the Premier League, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League next season, first or second place in the EFL Cup… I want all of them."

Looking at the three fingers raised by Tang En, then looking at his confident expression, both Edward and Allan were dumbfounded. They looked at each other before Edward shook his head at Tang En. "Tony, you are crazier than I expected."

Tang En liked the expressions on those two faces, and he began laughing loudly. This once again drew looks of displeasure from the customers who were seated around them.

Seeing Twain's smug smile, Allan also nodded his head and said, "Indeed, much crazier than our plan."

Hearing Allan say this, Tang En stifled his laughter and asked, "Speaking of which, what exactly are your plans?"

Doughty looked at Allan, and Allan coughed once before unravelling the puzzle for him. "Tony, you know about the G14 right?

With a "Cling clang" sound, the spoon in Tang En's hand slipped out of his hands and fell onto the ground. This caused him to be able to attract the attention of the surrounding customers for the third time, as well as the restaurant waiter's "special treatment." An Indian waiter with black skin and dressed in red walked up to Tang En. He had originally planned to remind the customer to take note of his own actions, so as to not affect the other customers' meal.

However, before he could open his mouth, Tang En bent over and picked up the spoon before stuffing it into the waiter's hands. "That's great, I was just about to call for you. Can you get me another? This one dropped on the floor. Thanks!"

The young waiter took the spoon back somewhat perplexedly, while Doughty and Allan were trying their best to suppress their desire to burst into laughter. They bit their lips tightly and tried to hold it in until their faces turned red. They let out a "ho ho" laughter, as though it came from the depths of their throats.

Tang En knew that he had been set up by the two of them. "I feel that your plan is the truly 'crazy' one."

Allan lightly shook his spoon and said, "No no, Tony. When G14 was first established, that organization seemed extremely hard to enter. But it's different now. The clubs only needed the following three conditions in order to apply for it: To have had a long glorious history, a strong financial foundation, and to possess a rather high position in the home country's league. Then, as long as you have some good connections, there won't be much problem. Nottingham Forest has a long and glorious history, as we are one of the five oldest football clubs in the world. In addition, we have won two consecutive UEFA Champions League Championships. Even Chelsea cannot compare to these kinds of results."

Tang En nodded his head to express his agreement. Although Chelsea was wealthy, why was it that many people still referred to them as "upstarts"? That was because, compared to their current wealth, their historical results were extremely poor in comparison. Till now, there are only a few teams in the entire Europe that could successfully defend the UEFA Champions League championship title—Real Madrid, Benfica, Inter Milan, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, as well as Nottingham Forest.

"I really didn't expect you to know this much about football, Allan." When Tang En was agreeing with Allan's opinion, he also felt shocked that Allan was somewhat knowledgeable on the topic of football.

Allan shook his head and said, "Tony, you know I'm an American, but I am currently working for the Nottingham Forest Club. Therefore, I naturally have to understand the situation of my work environment. This is my own work ethic. Edward wouldn't hire some idiot who knows nothing about football to help him, right? If that was the case, then he would be an idiot."

Tang En could hear Allan's displeasure from this and apologized to him. "So sorry Allan, I was just slightly… Erm, slightly shocked." The waiter who came to deliver the new spoon arrived at the right time, helping him out with his predicament.

Allan shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's alright. As an American, it is not uncommon to be asked this kind of questions in this country: 'God! An American knows about football?' I'm used to it. Let us continue, where were we?"

"G14, long glorious history," Doughty reminded him, before taking the opportunity to call the waiter over and order some Indian dishes while Allan was explaining the plan to Tang En.

"That's right. Nottingham Forest already has a glorious history, so we definitely fulfil that criteria," Allan continued. "And from the current looks of it, a strong economic foundation appears to be as far from us, as we are currently from New Delhi. But this is precisely my job."

Tang En interjected, "You are in charge of making money."

"As well as PR. A good connection requires outstanding PR work. And this kind of PR is not only targeted at the important figures of the European football scene. Our PR is well-rounded. But it is very troublesome to go into the specific details of this. In any case, this is also within my job scope, and you can just leave it to me. As for you, Tony," Allan looked at Twain and said, "You are the key to this plan. Obtaining a strong financial power, a healthy club finances, a good worldwide reputation, and the qualifications to negotiate on equal ground with the important figures… All of these require us to fulfill criteria beforehand—use the outstanding performance of the team as a foundation. You are very right, Tony. A team who is not playing in England's top league cannot possibly get the support of top-tier sponsors, and can't possibly receive even greater market share. A team that cannot obtain glory can never have the chance to talk to those powerhouses on equal ground. Wanting to enter G14, wanting to earn more money… they are just wishful thinking." Allan threw down his spoon and leaned against the seat after shrugging his shoulders. He had finished what he had wanted to say.

The three of them fell into a period of momentary silence.

Tang En was deeply attracted to this grand plan. Wasn't this the goal which he had been yearning for? An even broader stage, an even high glory, matches after matches of consecutive victory, and cheers! Even louder cheers! Trophies! Even more trophies! Make Nottingham Forest once again return to the top of the world!

Tang En cleared his throat, because his throat had become parched from the stimulation brought about by the fascinating future.

"This…is really… a plan so crazy… it can't get any crazier…" He said intermittently.

Chapter 129: The Media’s Pet Part 2

Hearing him mouth it like this, Edward and Allan looked at each other, and did not understand Twain's attitude toward their plan. Was he going to join or refuse? If he wanted to join, then everything was fine. But if he refused, then although it would be a pity, they would have no choice but to look for someone else.

"It sounds as though… we are building castles in the air. If you randomly find a person on the streets right now, and tell him that Nottingham Forest will become a member of the G14, he will definitely think that you are crazy."

"Tony…" Doughty just opened his mouth when he was interrupted.

"To achieve this kind of goals… If we really managed to accomplish such a goal, then it would be similar to a legend, right?" Twain continued mumbling to himself. "But…"

He raised his head and looked at the two of them. "The feeling of creating a legend must be incredible." The two people opposite him laughed, because they saw that familiar, confident smile on Tony Twain's face. "To be striving toward such a goal has filled my blood with fervor once again!" He clenched his fists and pressed tightly against the table, as he leaned over and growled, "I love it, I love this crazy plan so much!"

Doughty smiled and said, "As long as you like it, Tony. We can give you time, eight years or even 15 years for it. We know that managers of English football clubs always tend to have a long office term."

"Moreover," Allan added, "Tony, if your team can really advance into the UEFA Europa League in the next season, I think that we would be one large step closer to our goal."

Tang En closed his eyes and thought for a while, before reopening his them again. "After the winter break, I will let you both see an entirely different Nottingham Forest."

"We believe in you." Both of them laughed.

"Hehe, speaking of the future, I've recalled something. I've once made a wager with Kenny Burns that the champions of the previous seasons Premier League would be Manchester United, and not Arsenal. In the end, I won and got a voucher for a lifetime's worth of free alcohol at his bar."

"I've heard of this incident." Doughty nodded his head. "They all say that you have the ability to look into the future, just like a Gypsy shaman."

"They are right. So Edward, in the future, you will definitely become the greatest chairman in Nottingham Forest's history. And Allan, you will become a manager that will put Moggi and Kenyon to shame." Tang En said while pointing at the two of them. After that, he pointed to himself and said, "As for me…"

This time, Doughty and Allan did not wait for him to continue, as they said together at the same time, "Will become the most noble manager in Nottingham Forest's history!"

The three of them started laughing loudly, completely not caring about what kind of looks the surrounding customers gave them.

It may sound very cliché, but… when Nottingham Forest is mentioned in future football-related historical data or news reports, perhaps aside from Brian Clough, it is also reported that the three masterminds which created Nottingham Forest's second glory had decided its future in an Indian restaurant.

※※※

It was just as Pierce Brosnan had expected. From that afternoon onward, the press conference held by Nottingham Forest had been reported and presented to readers and audiences from all over England via newspaper and television. The media excitedly reminded the readers and audiences that: Although Nottingham Forest was still struggling in League One, their manager was still full of entertainment spirit.

The English media which liked to rake up the past even found out Twain and Shania's "past", so as to prove that Tony Twain was definitely not a manager that behaved himself. He was definitely not someone to be taken lightly.

The most enthusiastic The Sun even listed out all of the "news" which Tang En had appeared in, starting from 1st January 2003 until 18th December 2003:

During his first match directing the team, Twain had been knocked over by his own player, falling into a temporary comatose; When he held a press conference in front of the hospital, he accused the English Football Association of having a mastermind, because his team lost to the Premier League Team Westham United; When he went to London for his hearing, it was unsure what methods he used, but this amateur manager who had just begun his career as a manager and received a "heavy sentence" from the media before his court hearing, had ultimately gotten a sentence that was akin to tickling him—something that will only make him feel more comfortable; After a young fan passed away during a football hooligans' riot, it was said that he had once barged into the hideout of the football hooligans alone, but no one knew what he said there; In the summer, he had charges pressed against him for allegedly abducting an underage girl—of course in the end, it was unsure what methods he used, and there was no further news regarding this matter; When they were on their way to Millwall to participate in the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup, they decided to switch to the subway instead due to a traffic jam. When he unexpectedly faced off against a group of Millwall fans on the train, he did not appear to be in an inferior position at all; During the match against Millwall, he broke the plastic baffle because he was displeased with the fans singing and insulting his team, but this action only resulted in louder jeers and insults directed at his team; During the press conference after the match, he spouted ravings and angered the Millwall manager and chairman; The day after the match, he scolded the Millwall Chairman saying that he was deaf and blind, and even scolded the Millwall Manager for not being a man in front of the countless reporters. On top of that, he even conveniently invented the term "Brain-disabled"—by the way, the media even agreed to put this entirely new English term inside the Oxford Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica. For this purpose, they even specially derived the special term "Brain-disabled person" based on this term, and even enriched the definition of "Brain-disabled" so as to differentiate it from "neuropathy", "mental illness", as well as "autism." Of course, even though the editorial team for the Oxford dictionary and the Encyclopedia Britannica did not adopt the opinions of the media, it did not prevent the use of this entirely new and trendy word from becoming used widely all over England… but all of these happened afterwards.

After analyzing these "glorious incidents" of Tony Twain, the media excitedly discovered that they had finally found the successor to the maverick old manager, Brian Clough. Although his results were incomparable to the old manager whose team obtained the championship title of the UEFA Champions League, he did not lose out in terms of his personality.

Upon discovering this point, the media was soon able to dig out that picture which was taken in the summer: Clough was in front of Twain's house, seated in the car smiling and shaking hands with Tony Twain while greeting the reporters. This seemed to further confirm their judgment.

Of course, there were also some who felt that it was a pity for Nottingham Forest to lose to Sheffield United during the playoffs last season. Because after getting tired Sir Alex Ferguson and French Manager Wenger's mutual "insulting" of each other, the public urgently looked forward to a manager with more personality and entertainment value to enter this circle. But it just happened that Twain was unable to lead his team and advance into the Premier League, and his experience at League One and the Youth team caused him to be noticed by few media, and in turn lose the opportunity to be noticed by the public.

However, now that Nottingham Forest had already gotten two consecutive wins in the league and EFL Cup under Tony Twain, perhaps it was not impossible for them to advance to the Premier League through the playoff matches after the season.

Disregarding how the Millwall side would respond to this matter, at the very least Tony Twain is now absolutely famous. The whole of England knew overnight that there was actually a charismatic manager with such an outstanding character hidden within English League One.

Does anyone know the reason why the moment Mourinho entered England he was so popular with the media? And as a result his fame and image went up to become one of the most famous managers in the world? Just because he had a big mouth that the media liked, and a unique character completely unlike the others. The thirsty English media liked to hype up every single sentence, every action, and every scandal of his…

Now, before Mourinho arrived in England, Tony Twain had accidentally replaced his position in the media's eyes… Tang En no longer had any confidence that the things which would happen in the future, would continue to be within the domain of his understanding.

Chapter 130: Merry Christmas, Tony Part 1

To the great disappointment of the eager media, Millwall did not respond the way they wanted. The Millwall chairman and manager had remained quiet about this matter. Perhaps they knew they were in the wrong… But the media were upset. They had spent so much effort, and what did they get in the end? They only managed to hype up an obscure and unknown manager and nothing more!

Sometimes when the media calmed down and thought about it, they felt that they had been used by Tony Twain.

Because who was the only person who had benefited from this matter? It was that big mouth, Twain. Not only he had led the team to a sweeping victory of 7:1 over Millwall at The Den Stadium and advanced to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, he also successfully raised his profile. Pierce Brosnan's story on the subway incident also helped Twain gain a lot of popularity among the football fans. Now almost all of Britain knew that Nottingham Forest had a manager who dared to confront the football hooligans to protect his team. And those dangerous football hooligans were surprisingly well-behaved in front of Twain.

His only punishment was to receive a bill asking him to pay for the plastic barrier board next to the visitors' seats at The Den.

After the investigation, the Football Association concluded that Manager Twain did not have any excessive behavior. As for the war of words between the Forest Team and Millwall, it was a personal feud between the two clubs which the Football Association would not intervene or meddle in. Otherwise... Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, Manchester United and Bolton, Manchester City and Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton, West Ham and Millwall, Nottingham Forest and Notts County, Manchester United and Arsenal... If the Football Association were to manage all the grudges between these clubs, then they would not be able to take care of anything else during the year.

The investigation report was quite unfavorable for Millwall's home fans. They believed that the Millwall club had not stopped the fans' extreme conduct in time, which led to the fan riots in the stands. At the same time, after the incident had occurred, the Millwall club chairman's method of shirking his responsibility had disappointed the Football Association. Given that the history of the Millwall fans repeatedly causing trouble in their stadium, the Football Association levied the Millwall Club a fine of ￡15,000, ordered the Millwall club to improve the atmosphere of the stadium, and to strengthen the supervision of the fans to strictly prohibit such similar fan riots again.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities in this riot. If people were killed, the punishment would definitely not be something that could just be settled by a fine. London was preparing to bid for the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Any small amount of negative impact could have incalculable consequences. From the looks of it, the Football Association was still considered lenient.

Due to the EFL Cup schedule and Christmas, the 24th round of the English Football League Championship was postponed to February 27th, 2004. Therefore, the Forest team had nine days to prepare for the next round of the League Championship after the EFL Cup which gave Tang En precious time. Just like the first time he took over the Forest First Team, he had 14 days of training time after they had finished playing for the FA Cup.

Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was the arrangement of fate. These two longer periods of preparation gave Tang En the time to familiarize with the team and also gave the team time to breathe.

The media hype did not affect the team's training because Tang En had organized a sealed training to disallow any media from approaching the training ground.

Rebrov was basically fixed in a midfield position by Tang En and it looked like Tang En was using the 4-5-1 formation with a single striker. But it was not really that simple in reality. When Tang En was watching the games, he already held the view that the formations had long ceased to be the most important part of football. The era of discussing formations first when it was time to talk about tactics had passed. The age of depending on unchanging formations, which had swept the football world, had long passed. It did not make any sense for the team to submit the formation layout to the television broadcasters before the game and then play according to the formation layout on the screen. A real manager should be able to make appropriate adjustments at any time based on the situation of the match, and formations were just for references only.

It looked like Nottingham Forest had abandoned the 4-4-2 formation they had played last season and changed to 4-5-1 formation. However, during the actual game, the formation was sometimes still 4-4-2, but with some changes in certain portions. For example, Rebrov was still a striker, but his position was moved backwards. He was a coverted second striker. In this way, not only could Rebrov avoid being besieged by the opponents, he could also effectively unleash his skills. His special characteristic was he was good at dribble-and-pass, and then inserting himself from the back to create a bigger threat.

A seemingly simple positional adjustment had let Rebrov score in two consecutive games. This was sometimes the case with excellent managers. An ordinary change could produce a great result. It was best not to think of football tactics as complex. If it were too complex, the manager himself would be dizzy with confusion first. So, the wise man's approach was often to simplify what looked to be very complicated.

Brian Clough, for example, was proficient at doing this. He once said to Roy Keane, who was at his debut on the Forest team, "Don't think so much about it, lad. You just go up and pass the ball to someone in the red jersey, and then you run forward. It's that simple."

Roy Keane had kept that in mind throughout his career, and faithfully executed the old man's tactical instructions given to him. Just like that, he played his way from a new star player in Nottingham Forest to the Republic of Ireland National Football Team, kicked his way into the Red Devils Manchester United, became the captain of Ireland National Team, and also became Manchester United's captain.

Keane's football was so simple, and he succeeded.

Tang En also wanted his players' understanding of the tactics to be simpler, because it was counterproductive to think too much on the field. For example, his instruction to Taylor was to seize possession of the ball first, and then to either shoot or pass, and not think too much about it.

And his instruction to Rebrov was to follow Taylor and pay attention to the second point. Once he received the ball, he could use his own judgment whether to pass, shoot, or break through.

The manager could not take the place of the players on the field, so it was impossible to lay out every step of the players, and therefore, it was even more necessary for the players to comprehend for themselves.

That was why it was said: a first-rate player used his brains to play, a second-rate player used his body to play, and a third-rate player... could not play football.

Ole Gunnar Solskj?r was known as a "super-sub" because he always played the most important role for the team within a limited playing time. Ferguson had praised him as a player who was "able to read the game on the field and have a very high level of comprehension." One must know that the substitutes often had more difficult jobs to do than the starting players because they were usually not given much time. It was impossible for them to spend dozens of minutes to get into the rhythm of the game. When they were required to play on the field and must quickly be effective, they were expected to enter the condition of the game at the fastest speed and immediately understand the situation on the field... All these requirements were basically impossible tasks to complete if the player did not use his brain to play. That was the reason why there were so many substitutes, but few and far between were known as "super-subs."

In addition to the team's tactical drills and adaptation of the players' new positions, Tang En had another task.

When the League Championship was set to reopen, it would be after Christmas. From then on, he had to start thinking about candidates to replace Dawson and Reid. No one on the Forest team could play left midfield except for Reid. Tang En realized he was really fortunate that Reid did not suffer any injuries during the year, and he took part in every game. In that case, he had to search around for a left midfielder. His value could not be too high and, in addition, his ability must absolutely not be so poor that Tang En could not consider him. He was not going to purchase a player at a high price for their promotion to the Premier League. He had more ambitious goals waiting for him before that.

There was a piece of good news for Tang En. Leeds United's performance continued to decline, the share price had fallen again, and the team was now in a panic. Around the Elland Road stadium (Leeds United's home ground), a rumor was spreading that "once the team is eventually relegated to League One, the club will declare bankruptcy and all the players will be listed for sale."

Tang En knew clearly that this was no rumor. His chance had arrived. Therefore, he once again, "in his personal capacity," asked the old scout Mr. Ian Storey-Moore to make a trip to Leeds. The focus of this lobbying was for Aaron Lennon on the youth team, who had not yet signed a career contract with Leeds United. He hoped he would transfer to Nottingham Forest. The suggestion that Tang En gave to Moore was he must convince Lennon. If he couldn't be won over, then sway his parents and family. If necessary, bribe with money. In short, don't let him sign with Leeds United. Tell him about Leeds United's current situation and let him seriously consider his career prospects and promise him that the Forest team will advance to the Premier League this season. If the final promise is not fulfilled, the Forest team will voluntarily relinquish the ownership of him, and he can go to any team he wishes to go. This condition can be written into the contract. If the Forest team does not comply, Lennon can bring the club and Twain to court.

Of course, if Lennon's entire family were staunch Leeds fans who were loyal to the club, and the team also greatly valued Lennon and had prepared a generous contract for him, resulting in an unsuccessful purchase, Tang En also had a back-up plan. He just needed to spend a little more money. He believed that in the midst of a financial crisis, there was no player he could not afford to buy from the near-bankrupt Leeds United. The sale of Dawson and Reid earned the club ￡8,000,000, so Tang En was qualified to seek out players that he had yearned for in the past, those who he previously could only look at and not touch.

In fact, in terms of attacking players, there was a long list of names on Tang En's shortlist. There were far more attacking talents in football now than defensive talents. Even with Reid gone, the impact on the team was not that big. The greatest impact was actually the departure of the team captain, Michael Dawson.

Tang En had always believed the fact that Tottenham Hotspur was willing to pay ￡8,000,000, it was mainly to buy Dawson, and Reid was just a "gift with purchase", or it was half sale half giveaway. Because there were so few good defenders now.

With the departure of Dawson, the current Forest team's center back combination, it might not be a problem for their promotion to the Premier League, but what would happen after the promotion?

Chapter 131: Merry Christmas, Tony Part 2

Tang En thought about it for a long time. There were plenty of good strikers and front field players, but good center backs were pitifully few. The defenders he was familiar with could not be bought with the Forest team's current league rankings, prestige, and financial resources.

He could only dig from the Forest team's opponents in the English Football League Championship. Tang En sighed. He somewhat missed the scouting tool in FM. After all, the manpower was limited and not as convenient and fast like the computer system. Thinking about it, Tang En suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his head. Why not imitate the Football Manager and Championship Manager games and build a scouting data system? The information of the players visited by the club scouts could be entered into the computer system. It could be as detailed as the player's name, age, place of birth, position, all the clubs he had played for, his technical characteristics, game videos, related media reports… all of the information. It would be updated once a year. When a manager required a player in a certain position, he could find one directly in the computer database system. Wouldn't that be a lot easier? It could also save a lot of manpower and resources.

With this in mind, Tang En decided to mention this plan to Doughty some other time and spend money to commission a programming company to develop a database like this and apply for a patent. If the result was good, they might also be able to promote this to the other clubs. It was always a bonus to make some money.

Walker and the coaching team were fully in charge of the training. Besides having a meeting with the coaching team every morning, Tang En would review the training program and schedule for the day and basically that was the extent of him interfering with the team's training.

At first, those players who had just joined the team that season were still a little uncomfortable with it. How could the team manager not care about the training? But soon those old players who had been in the Forest team since last season told them: "The chief is such a manager, as long as he can win the game, does it matter whether he's personally overseeing the drills during the training time, or just impeccably dressed in a suit, watching from the sidelines?"

Yes, there were many types of managers. Some managers did not like to personally drill the team. They usually systematically developed the training plan, and then handed it over to the assistant manager to execute, like the former Barcelona manager, the Dutchman van Gaal. And some managers had no training programs and liked to participate in the training. They might adjust their training ideas at any time, such as the former Barcelona manager, now Newcastle manager, Sir Bobby Robson.

Tang En was clearly somewhere between them, but as his experience grew, his approach to the training gradually became closer to Louis van Gaal, even though he did not quite like this Dutch manager.

※※※

The days when the sun could be seen in the sky were gradually becoming a lot less. The weather was now usually damp with continuous rain, and the wetlands were wetter. Visible white mist could be seen coming out of one's mouth when breathing and talking. The temperature was dropping every day, and the sense of the year's end was becoming stronger.

Christmas was coming. This was the most important festival in the Western culture, equivalent to the Lunar New Year in China. Nottingham City was brimming with the thick festive atmosphere and had lights and decorations everywhere. A more than 10-meter-high Christmas tree was erected in front of the Victoria Center in the city center. With lights hanging high, the brilliant lights on the Christmas tree could be seen from afar when the lights were on at night. The city lights almost lighted up half the sky. Such a scene would only appear in the ancient city of Nottingham during Christmas.

A small Christmas tree was also placed at the club's training ground, and the base of the tree was filled with the small gifts that the club had prepared for the players. Tang En did not know whether the Forest club had such a tradition before, but from the players' expressions of pleasant surprise, he guessed it was part of what Allan Adams said about "public relations with the team."

Every present had a player's name on the gift packaging. Everyone from the First Team to the youth team had a gift. And all the coaches' gifts were sent directly to their offices and placed on their desks.

In the first building lobby of the training ground, the players were happily rummaging around the Christmas tree to look for their gifts. Whenever someone found his, he would lift it up and let out a cheer. And he could not wait to open it. There were not many variety of gifts. It was basically a small gadget attached with a greeting card, and not too expensive. But the club's kind intentions still made a lot of people feel warmth in their hearts.

Tang En looked at these players who were "celebrating the Chinese New Year" and chuckled while he stood at the main entrance. He did not hurry them to the training ground. No matter how much their weekly salaries were, most of them were still kids, and sometimes they should loosen up when it was time to unwind.

Today was December 24th, Christmas Eve, the last day before Christmas. The team would only train in the morning and the afternoon would be a half-day holiday. The team would be on leave until the day after Christmas when the players returned to gather in the afternoon. They would then get ready to play against Norwich City in an away game, which was the match in the 25th round of the English Football League Championship.

Tang En saw the figure of George Wood on the outer edge of the crowd. Ever since his return to the First Team, he had not had time to go back to the youth team to take a look. But he felt very gratified when he saw Wood was much more mature in every aspect. Kerslake valued Wood as much as he did. Under his care, he would not worry about the boy not playing in games.

George Wood did not squeeze with the players, instead he waited outside while he gazed around like he was looking for someone.

Tang En felt he must be looking for him, and sure enough, Wood walked straight to Tony when he saw him.

"Hi, Merry Christmas, George." Tang En waved his hand first to greet him.

"Merry Christmas." Wood wore the club's standard issued winter sports jacket, which was thick when worn on him, but without the puffiness. On the contrary, he looked Herculean with his 1.86-meter height and after a year of professional training, he no longer merely "resembled" a professional player. "Do you have anything going on this evening?"

Tang En spread opened his hands. "No. I'm by myself, I have nothing on."

"... My mother invites you to our house for dinner tonight." Wood hesitated for a moment before he told Twain his purpose of finding him.

Sophia? Upon hearing this, Tang En's first thought was to think of the night when he was alone with Sophia. He immediately smiled and said, "Okay, tell your mother I'll be there this evening."

But Wood did not walk away at once, instead he stood before Twain and continued to look at him.

"Is there anything else, George?" Tang En asked him.

Wood then turned to the Christmas tree, where there were a few people now. He found his gift easily. Then he took his Christmas present, turned around to leave, and went back to the youth training ground.

Tang En looked at his back, shrugged his shoulders, and walked toward his office.

After he pushed the door open, he was startled by what he saw. His desk was piled with all kinds of gifts, big boxes and small boxes... There was even a potted Christmas tree tied with a ribbon!

Seeing this scene, the truth was that Tang En was very touched. For a manager, besides the scores, what else would give him a sense of accomplishment, make him feel that everything he had done was worthwhile and feel gratified? It was recognition and acknowledgement from the players, fans and club: you shoulder all our hopes, you are the manager of Nottingham Forest, and not some nobody who came from nowhere!

Looking at the table full of presents, Tang En knew that as the "new" coach who had led the team to play two matches, he had already gained the trust and support of the team. Was this simply because the team had won two consecutive victories? No, it was because of the incident in the London subway when he had stood in front of the team and faced the drunk Millwall fans. Tang En had not known how the players had regarded him when they were behind him.

It was a common occurrence in the brutal world of professional football to abandon the players for one's own future. The managers were used to sacrificing the players for their own benefit. However, Tang En chose to bravely stand up to protect his players when faced with a potential life-threatening situation. Maybe he did it because of Gavin's death, but in the players' eyes, this man was a manager who deserved everything that they could do to help him gain victories and win success and recognition. If he said, "Guys, I need you to win this game." Then no matter how powerful the opponents were, they would fight with confidence and resolution.

This pile of gifts came from the players, coaches, team doctors, the club chairman, and the marketing manager who had not officially started yet but had already started working. Most of them were just greeting cards, but Tang En still opened and looked at each one of them. He was as happy as if he had received a valentine card from a girl he liked when he was still at school.

Serhiy Rebrov: Thank you, sir, for helping me regain my confidence. I once regretted coming here and thought that I was just wasting my time. But now I'm very glad I'm playing under your guidance. Merry Christmas, I wish you happiness every day.

Des Walker: Merry Christmas, Tony! Although I'm leaving the team at the end of this season, working together with you during this period has been an invaluable experience, and I've learned a lot from you. Hopefully someday, we'll still have an opportunity to work together again. Remember, we're the best partners!

Edward Doughty: Tony, don't forget our plan! Victory! Victory! We will become the best chairman and manager of the club. Also, Merry Christmas!

Allan Adams: Merry Christmas, Tony. I hope this time next year we will be spending it in the Premier League. By the way, your proposal to build a player database system is so exciting to Edward and me—it is such a great Christmas present. I'll fly back to America after Christmas to handle it.

Tang En's eyes misted over when he looked at these cards. He rubbed his eyes and continued reading. On this cold winter morning, the office door was opened, and the cold draft poured in from the corridor, but Tang En felt that the room was like a warm spring day.

Chapter 132: Christmas Present Part 1

In England, Christmas is the most important holiday of the year. As such, regardless of how thrifty everyone usually is, during this time of the year everyone will rush into the malls with their families and splurge. A Christmas tree is something that every family has to buy, and they also have to prepare Christmas gifts for their children and friends. During this season, there will always be a wide array of discounted items for sale in the shops, causing one to be spoiledfor choice. Although England's shops start to enter their peak sales season one month before Christmas, the real peak is always right before Christmas Eve.

The afternoon sky gradually darkened, and it had even begun to drizzle. Although the weather forecast had reported that the temperature from the afternoon onwards would only be eight degrees celcius, it was unable to stop everyone's passion for buying things. The various shops in the Nottingham shopping district were all brightly lit up, and all the shops had advertisements for their store's discounts in order to draw in more customers. Tang En was strolling through the streets, and he could often see people who were content with their purchases walk past him. Seeing those people hugging and lugging around bags which were almost half the size of a person, Tang En felt worried for them. He walked from one store to another and hopped from mall to mall, thoroughly enjoying the festive mood. This was his first Christmas spent in England! Moreover, seeing this kind of festive mood, Tang En could not help but be reminded of the Spring Festival in China.

The laughter of small groups of strangers sounded beside Tang En as they walked past him, and their faces were filled with excited smiles as they carried shopping bags of all sizes. Regardless of how much sadness the past year had held, all of that was in the past.

One hour passed unnoticed, but Tang En's hands remained empty. That was because he simply did not know what kinds of gifts he should get for Sophia and Wood.

Tang En had never been good at buying gifts for other people. If given the choice, he would rather just give them money.

All of Wood's soccer equipment was provided by the club, so there was no need for Tang En to buy him a pair of soccer shoes. As for Sophia… Thinking of her name, Tang En was not even sure what kind of feelings he had for that woman. The pity that he had for the weak, which he had used to feel towards her, had slowly faded. Instead, another feeling was slowly blooming within his heart.

In the end, Tang En picked a red wool scarf for Sophia, and decided not buy anything for Wood because he already knew what present he should give him.

When the golden star on top of the Christmas tree downtown lit up at six o'clock in the evening, Landy James's black rental car was parked outside of Wood's house. The song "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" was playing in the car. Amidst the children's joyous singing voices, Tang En pulled out three nicely wrapped gifts and gave them to Landy, who had accompanied him for the past year.

"Merry Christmas, Landy. Thank you for driving me around for the past year. You can return the car now and go be with your family. These presents are for you and your family." After watching Landy receive the presents, Tang En opened the car door, ready to leave.

"Wait, Tony." Landy stopped him and said, "I've also prepared a… Erm, you're a manager, so you definitely make more than me. I didn't know what I should give you, so I just wrote a greeting card for you." He pulled out an envelope with the card inside and passed it to Tang En. "Merry Christmas, Tony. I hope you have a great evening. When you're going home, remember to give me a call." He made a phoning gesture before restarting the car engine.

After Tang En watched Landy leave, he lowered his head and opened the folded card. As expected, there was something written on it.

"Tony, thank you for choosing not to leave Nottingham Forest during the summer. I know that you were in a difficult situation at that time, and that there were also many other teams which were inviting you over. Actually, I was very worried that you would leave, but out of consideration for your own well-being, I could not say anything at the time. But everything turned out well. You stayed on and returned. Two consecutive wins! Bring us more victories, Tony! We love you! Merry Christmas!"

Tang En lightly shook his head, smiling. British people had a habit of bashfully expressing their inner feelings, regardless of whether they were of joy or of sorrow. It was therefore no wonder that they were so passionate about soccer; the stadium was the only place where they could express their inner emotions to their heart's content. Landy was an example of that kind of typical Englishman.

Tang En raised his head and surveyed the surrounding streets, and discovered the greatest difference from when he had first come here: there were "Merry Christmas" signs displayed in the windows of each and every household. In addition, there were even some houses which had hung a series of colored lights on their walls or had inflatable snowmen displayed in front of their doors. Regardless of how tough and difficult their lives usually were, they could not afford to be stingy during festive seasons. Although this was the slums of Nottingham, the festive mood here was in no way inferior to the bustling shopping district downtown.

Tang En raised his head and looked at the Wood family's windows. The curtains had been drawn, allowing the orange-yellow light inside the house to escape outside. Tang En thought about Sophia and Wood who lived there, and even though it was a dark and drizzling night, it was still enough to make his heart feel warm and fuzzy.

Knocking and pushing open the door, Tang En saw George Wood with his sleeves rolled up. Evidently, he was in the midst of helping his mother.

"Ah, I came at the right time. Do you need help?" Tang En asked.

Wood nodded his head and replied, "Yes."

Sophia, who had heard their conversation from the second floor, shouted, "No! Mr. Twain, you just sit down and rest!" Hearing her panting voice, Tang En smiled and replied in the same loud voice, "Don't put on a front, Madam! I'll make some Chinese cuisine for you guys. It's something that I've just learned," he said, laughing.

※※※

After much bustling, the three of them weren't able to sit around the dining room table to enjoy their Christmas Eve dinner until after 8pm.

There was a small Christmas tree in the corner of the combined living and dining room, and it was decorated with colored lights and greeting cards. There were also colored ribbons strung from one corner of the ceiling to the other, and an old-fashioned candlestick placed in the center of the dining room table. On top of the candlestick was a brightly-lit white candle. Seeing the sumptuous spread of food on the table, Tang En felt that it was very similar to the Chinese reunion dinner, where the entire family would gather together and make merry. The only difference was that he and Wood were not family.

Before they started eating, Sophia returned to her bedroom and changed into her best-looking winter clothes. At the same time, she also touched up her makeup, which had partially come off while she was roasting the turkey. Her hair was no longer tied up, and instead was fully let down. Under the lights, her hair gave off a black luster and looked like a waterfall. Tang En felt that this lady had taken on an entirely new look. Compared to when they first met, the current Sophia was like a completely different person. Even the sickness in her body had been chased out.

When Tang En saw Sophia's eyes, full of tender affection under the candlelight, and her smile, which carried a tinge of shyness, he felt that he already knew the reason for her drastic change.

Feeling that fiery gaze from Sophia, Tang En looked away somewhat abashedly. He noticed the presents which he had left under the Christmas tree when he first entered, and decided that he might as well take that opportunity to go and get the gifts.

"Merry Christmas, Madam. This is for you." Tang En passed the nicely wrapped scarf to Sophia.

"It's really beautiful… How did you know that I like red, Mr. Twain?" Sophia said with shock, as she unwrapped the gift and took out the red scarf from within.

That can't be right? What a coincidence! Tang En was slightly dumbfounded. "Err… Sometimes, a man's intuition can be pretty spot on." That was the only way he could explain it.

Sophia happily wrapped the scarf around her neck before running back into her room and looking into the mirror.

During this short interval, Tang En looked at Wood who was seated opposite him. Wood was also looking at him, but neither of them said anything, which caused a slightly awkward atmosphere between the two of them. After a while, Wood finally opened his mouth, lowered his voice, and said, "My mom also has a present for you. If you don't want it, I'll kill you." It was apparent that he did not want his mother, who was in the room, to hear.

Tang En smiled. "Of course I won't reject it. Why would I do that?"

Hearing this, a sliver of a smile appeared on Wood's face as well.

"George, looks like you're doing great on the youth team." Tang En took the opportunity to say with concern. "How much time does Coach Kerslake give you for every match now?"

"I just got to play throughout an entire match," Wood replied.

"How do you feel about your performance?"

"Very good." It did not sound fake in any way, and there were no fluctuations in Wood's voice when he said it. The casual way in which he had said it implied that that kind of performance was a given.

Tang En nodded his head and did not say anything else. At that moment, Sophia emerged from her bedroom with a box in her hands. The scarf around her neck was already nowhere to be seen, evidence that she had carefully stowed it away.

"This present is for you, Mr. Twain. Merry Christmas to you too!"

"Thank you, Madam." Upon receiving the box, Tang En opened it up. To his surprise, it was also a scarf! But this one was white.

"I noticed that you didn't seem to have a scarf, so I knitted one myself. Because I didn't know what size would fit, I used George as a model," Sophia said as she turned her head and smiled at her son. "At first, he thought that I was making it for him, and refused it profusely."

Tang En gently stroked the purely hand-knitted scarf, which did not have a store label. Just from putting his hands on it, he was able to feel its warmth. In reality, it was not that he didn't have a scarf, it was just that he wasn't in the habit of wearing one in the winter. But perhaps from that day on, he would get into the habit.

Seeing the slightly distressed Wood, Tang En smiled. "George, so sorry. I didn't bring your present today. Wait till I return from Norwich, and find me in my office."

Wood nodded his head, but did not ask why. This disappointed Tang En slightly. He had originally expected Wood to ask "why", so that he could unravel the mystery.

"Erm… After the winter break, the team will have two EFL Cup semi-finals matches, and we just happen to be lacking a defensive midfielder. I intend to move you over to the first team, and if you perform well, you will stay and sign an entirely different contract… This time, it will be a professional contract for the first team."

Before Wood's face could have any expression, Sophia, who was at his side, shouted with surprise. "Is that true, Mr. Twain?"

Tang En nodded his head and said, "Your son will soon become a real, professional soccer player, Madam."

At that moment, Wood was finally struck by the realization of what had happened. He looked at the smiling man in shock. Tang En liked that expression on Wood, so he said with a smile, "Merry Christmas, George."

Chapter 133: Christmas Present Part 2

After the Christmas Eve dinner, Tang En left for home. At first, he had thought that he would have to spend this Christmas "all alone." However, not only had he managed to eat a sumptuous "reunion dinner" at Wood's house, he had even received a present. With the white scarf around his neck, Tang En was no longer afraid of the cold.

The next morning, Tang En discovered that the streets were extremely quiet. The bustling sight of families going out to play, which he had expected to see, did not appear. This caused him to think that he had woken up too early. As a result, he went back to sleep and woke up several times, until he felt something was amiss. He then checked his watch, only to discover that it was already 10am.

As part of his daily routine, Tang En went to the mailbox outside his door to collect the newspaper, and discovered that there were two other letters that had dropped out of the mailbox alongside the newspaper.

Tang En did not remember having friends outside of the club who would mail letters to his house.

Tang En picked up the letters and opened them. The first one had been sent by Yang Yan from Liverpool. Aside from the festive greetings, there were also details written in the letter, saying that she was still interning there and would stay there for at least half a year. She apologized for not being able to continue conducting lessons for Tang En, and tactfully proposed her intention of cancelling the Chinese classes. After all, Tang En's current command of Chinese language was already very good; he was adept at listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Tang En could only shrug his shoulders at this. For the past half a year, the Chinese classes had basically been on a hiatus. On one hand, this was because of the fact that Yang Yan was always very busy during her last semester; on the other hand, aside from preparing the team to compete in matches, Tang En had been secretly learning how to train the team from Kerslake. In addition, he had also been looking through and analyzing the original Tony Twain's soccer books, lesson plans, and notes that had been left in the house. The failure of the previous season made him realize that he still had many shortcomings. Someone like him, who already had a coaching license, could not possibly undertake lessons in a coaching school. At the same time, he did not want anyone to find out that he actually knew nothing at all and was a fraud. In addition, he could only try to learn alone at home, not daring to tell anyone for fear of raising suspicions and giving himself away.

Therefore, canceling those time-wasting and meaningless Chinese lessons was probably a good thing.

The second letter was an airmail, and on top of the postmark was a word that Tang En was very familiar with: "Brazil"!

This discovery agitated Tang En. It had already been half a year, and he had almost forgotten about that person's existence. He had assumed that the other party must have also forgotten about that experience in the summer. To think that…

He tore open the envelope, and it was indeed a Christmas card. A yellow colored paper fell out from in between the folds. Tang En bent over to pick it up and carefully dusted off the dirt on top of it before opening it.

"Dear Uncle Tony, you haven't forgotten about me, have you? Guess who I am… You must be frowning, unable to guess my identity, right?"

The beautiful handwriting was filled with that playful tone.

"Forget it, let me reveal the answer myself! If you want to know who I am, please look at the signature!"

After reading this far, Tang En could no longer hold in his laughter. There's no need for that, I already know who you are…

"After returning to Brazil, I returned to my model training again, which I hate… but in the end, I still promised mommy that I will work hard towards becoming a supermodel. You want to know why? I won't tell you, you have to guess! This time, even if you read to the end, you won't find the answer."

Tang En shifted his sight downwards, and discovered that there really were no answers written there.

"It is currently bright and sunny in Brazil. It must be raining there in England, right? When I'm with Auntie Ryan, there always seems to be only one conversation topic: she is always complaining to us about how terrible England's weather is, and how she envies the sunlight of Brazil. I find that pretty weird; if she hates the wetness of England so much, why doesn't she move to Brazil? Still, I think it's better for her to not move. Otherwise, I won't have an excuse the next time I want to run away from home. That reminds me—speaking of running away from home, I still haven't apologized for that incident from last time. My daddy and mommy are very strict with me, and they both hope that I can become a model. They even say that I am very gifted in that respect. But why can't I see it? I don't like them, because they are always forcing me to practice this and that. Of course, an uncle like you whose head is filled with soccer is really boring as well. But I still feel like you are better than my daddy and mommy."

Hey, brat!

"So, if I ever run away and find you again, you are not allowed to chase me away, and you're not allowed to collect rent from me. Therefore, you have to keep my Totoro safe on my behalf. Hey, Uncle Tony, you haven't thrown it away right?! I know that all grownups like you hate soft, furry toys…"

How could that be possible? That toy is still placed safely in my bedroom. Even if I don't like it, that doesn't mean that I would just throw it away. After all, it doesn't take up much space…

"…Actually, I only wanted to write 'Merry Christmas, Uncle Tony' at first, and mail it out like that. But I suddenly had so many things I wanted to say to you, so I just wrote them on this piece of letter paper. Daddy and mommy never hear me out about these things, so I can only talk about them to you. I hope you don't find me annoying. A soccer manager shouldn't be all that busy right?"

If I receive your letter, then I of course won't be busy at all, brat.

"I also think you shouldn't be busy, seeing as you are so carefree every day, as though you were unemployed. Alright, alright, that's all I have to say. Lastly, wishing you a merry Christmas, Uncle Tony!"

The sign-off was written as "Missing you, Jor", and had a smiley face drawn beside it.

This was perhaps the greeting card that made Tang En happiest upon receiving it. He had originally thought that she was just a passerby in his life, but instead their paths had intersected once again. Recalling that young girl's playful smile and her accent, as well as that crisp-sounding "Uncle Tony" made Tang En feel that this darned overcast was no different from the sunlight shining over the Brazilian beaches. How adorable!

This really is a perfect Christmas! Tang En, still wearing his pajamas, stood in front of the door and laughed foolishly, completely forgetting to go back inside.

※※※

In the afternoon, the team resumed normal training. Tang En went to the training grounds with the eye-catching white scarf around his neck. By the time he reached them, the players were already waiting for him on the field.

"Merry Christmas, lads! How was your Christmas?" Tang En waved and said loudly in front of the players.

"Very good, Chief."

"Not bad, Boss."

The players replied at the same time. Tang En noticed that Dawson was not in a very good mood, and knew that it must have been because he only had two matches left with the team before he had to leave them.

"Hey, Michael, were you kicked out of bed by your girlfriend again?" Tang En suddenly asked. "Why are you so listless?"

"Huh? No! No! She wouldn't dare to…" Dawson was in the midst of replying, before he discovered that he had been tricked. The teammates around him burst into laughter. "Chief, you tricked me again," he said, somewhat indignantly.

"Alright, alright." Tang En waved his hands, gesturing for the rest to stop laughing. "Lads, we will be playing two consecutive matches on the 27th and 28th. It will be an away match followed by a home match, and that's gonna be really demanding. I hope that all of you have already finished recharging your energy over Christmas! Not playing for ten days has made my body itch all over, what about you guys?" Tang En raised his voice and asked.

"Same, Chief!" The players replied to him in a loud voice.

"Very good. We should not be ranked fourth from the bottom. Take down all of our opponents, and we'll be going to the Premier League next season!" Tang En clenched his fists.

Two days later, on the 27th of December, Nottingham Forest, under the leadership of Tang En, put up a tenacious defense and launched a one-time sneak attack, allowing them to defeat the current top-ranked team with a score of 1:0 on their home turf, in Norwich City's Carrow Road Stadium. With this, their rank increased by one, moving them to fifth from the bottom. It was obvious that Norwich City had underestimated their opponents. Faced against Nottingham Forest's seamless defense, their players became increasingly impatient after being unable to break the stalemate after seventy-nine minutes. In the end, their fullback made a mistake, and Tang En naturally accepted this present happily. The circumstances did not seem to favour Nottingham Forest, but they won anyway. To Nottingham Forest, this match was not as simple as obtaining three points. What was more important than points and rankings was the return of the team's confidence. Tang En used the victory to convince the players that they could beat any team. Regardless of whether they were ranked first or last, they would be able to win. This would have a crucial impact on future matches.

Nottingham Forest, who had won a match in Norwich, got onto a bus and rushed back to Nottingham the same night. The next day, they would be welcoming Westham United, which had been relegated from the Premier League, at City Ground Stadium.

To Tang En, this opponent held a very special meaning. On January 4th, in the third round of the English FA Cup, he had faced off against Westham United in the same stadium. It had been his first time leading a team, and it was also then when he had confirmed the direction which he was moving in: natural manager. Now, almost one year has passed, and he had experienced a lot in that one year. Leaving and returning, failing to get the team promoted to the Premier League, and Westham United being relegated to League One just as he had "cursed" them during the press conference. Facing off against this team in City Ground Stadium again made him feel as though he was back at his starting point.

The opponent, venue, and goal were all the same as well: to be promoted to the Premier League by the end of the season.

This time, I, Tang En, will definitely not fail!

On the 28th of December, at Nottingham's City Ground Stadium, Nottingham Forest defeated Westham United, who was ranked eighth in the league, with a score of 2:0.

Nottingham Forest, who had obtained four consecutive wins in the league, had also risen from being ranked twentieth to eighteenth. It was just as Pearce Bruce had written in the newspaper:

"Tony Twain's team is currently on an expressway, speeding and rapidly heading in the right direction!"

Chapter 134: The Rookie Reports Part 1

January 1, 2004, was New Year's Day for the others, the start of a new year. But for Tang En, there was another layer of excitement for him—the winter transfer window was finally open. For the first time, he could experience that feeling of being a manager, running around, brandishing the checkbook everywhere, and signing the players he admired.

Of course, it was inevitable that as he welcomed new players, he also had to send some players off.

Michael Dawson and Andy Reid were leaving for London on that day. With a value of ￡8,000,000, they were joining the Premier League elite squad, Tottenham Hotspur. There was a small press conference to welcome them.

And 33-year-old Eoin Jess also told Twain that although he was delighted to see Twain back on the Forest Team, he wished to leave the club at the end of this season and return to the team where he first made his debut, Aberdeen, to retire.

Tang En did not try to persuade him to stay, because he and Jess knew that the chances of Jess playing this season were getting slimmer. Even if the team succeeded in their promotion to the Premier League, there would not be a position for him. No matter how many goals and the number of assists he had contributed to the team, it was useless. The current Forest team was still not qualified to be a retirement home.

This was also a cruel aspect of professional football. The old men would naturally be replaced by younger people. With the constant injection of new blood, a team would always retain its vitality.

The other player who would be leaving the team was the striker, Craig Westcarr. The 19-year-old had not played much after he entered the First Team, and furthermore, his ability fell too short of Tang En's requirements. It just so happened that there were two clubs who had submitted a purchase application for him. Even though the money was not much, only ￡150,000, Tang En agreed. The remaining thing was for Westcarr himself to negotiate the contract with the two teams.

The old scout Storey-Moore came back from Leeds and did not bring Tang En the results he wanted. The Lennon family was even more loyal than he had imagined. Even if Moore had offered a signing fee of ￡100,000, it could not shake their belief that they would remain at Leeds to sign a career contract.

Tang En shrugged his shoulders to this and did not blame Moore. He did his best. But he knew that if there were no surprises, Leeds would be relegated at the end of this season and was certain to be bankrupt. By that time, there was no reason he would not be able to buy Lennon if he made an offer. As for Lennon himself... Would he prefer to play in League One or go to the Premier League? It was too easy to make a choice to this question.

The only pity was that it would take a lot more money than ￡100,000 to purchase Lennon, the 17-year-old genius. Hotspur had spent one ￡1,000,000 in the 05-06 season to buy Lennon from Leeds. Tang En believed that to purchase during the 04-05 season would not be more than one million, but it was unlikely to be much less.

Rebuilding the team during the winter break was risky, and Tang En could only do minor revamps. The main team would remain unchanged. He could fully tap into their potential and rely on them to play and advance into the Premier League. Then he could reconsider the reconstruction plan. In fact, in all fairness, the players that Collymore bought basically still had strong abilities. But he did not train these players well, did not create a cohesive team to form a strong enough fighting power. A divided team, even one like the powerful Real Madrid could end up with an embarrassing situation of coming up empty-handed for three consecutive championship seasons, not to mention Nottingham Forest.

As for the center back, Moore had recommended a player for Twain. After only watching several of his game videos, Tang En decided to buy him.

Clint Hill was an example of a good bargain for a full back in the CM era. He was supposed to play for Stoke City this season and it would become more difficult to buy him. But with the arrival of Tang En, the ripple effect of the influence on this world proliferated, it had also changed Hill's career trajectory. The Stoke City team did not managed to agree on a transfer fee with Hill's Oldham Athletic before the transfer window was closed. Hill could only remain in the League Two team, Oldham Athletic. And Tang En took advantage of the situation at this time.

Hill, who was not so tall, was only 1.83 meters, but his physical fitness was excellent and his abilities for headers, tackling, and marking were outstanding. The only problem was that he lacked defensive and positional awareness. His strengths and weaknesses were clearly detailed in Moore's scout report. However, for Tang En, having such a full back as the main force in League One was not an issue. Even when they were in the Premier League, it would not be a problem. The substitute position for the main force would at least be guaranteed.

Therefore, Tang En instructed the club to contact Oldham Athletic to propose the acquisition of Clint Hill. Although Hill was now the main center back in Oldham Athletic, Tang En knew that neither the club nor the player himself could refuse his request.

Moore also did not return empty-handed from Leeds. When he could not get Lennon, and Twain did not further request, he judged that the team lack players on the wings based on his own experience. So, he brought back a young player's training video from Leeds United for Twain.

"Stephen McPhail. The 24-year-old Republic of Ireland national footballer was capped seven times and scored one goal. He can play two positions in the left wing of the midfield and middle of the midfield. He's a very creative player with outstanding passing and crosses. I think if Taylor is the main striker, then he'll come in handy." Moore pointed to the Leeds United player on the television screen who was dribbling to break through.

Tang En nodded in agreement with Moore's point of view. This little guy's personal skill was indeed good, even better than Reid who had just left the team. Although he did not get Lennon, the left wing in the midfield should be fine if he was added in.

"But ... his value must not be low?" This was what Tang En was most concerned about. He only had ￡8,000,000 to spend this season. He had to use it sparingly.

Moore nodded, then shook his head again. "4.4 million pounds. But I suggest you loan him. Leeds and he want to get more chances to play through being on loan. The only problem is Leeds expects us to pay 90% of his salary."

Tang En frowned. Was Leeds United so poor to the point that they could hardly afford to pay their players? "How much is that?"

"His weekly salary is ￡9,000."

Tang En turned to look at Moore, with his eyes widened. "Leeds should just simply go rob a bank. Only Rebrov is drawing a weekly salary of over ￡10,000 on the Forest Team. He's only a short-term loan, and I have to dig out 9,000 per week... Forget it. I don't want him. It's not as if I do not have other candidates for the left midfield."

When he heard Twain said this, Moore was also interested. He found that the manager's knowledge of many players seemed to be no less than his. For example, Eastwood was discovered by Twain. So, he asked, "Who have you taken a liking to again?"

Tang En took his notepad and pen which were always with him, wrote a name on it, and handed it to Moore, "Mr. Moore, you help me pay a visit to Stoke City to see how this man is doing."

"Kris Commons?" Moore stared at this name and then gave a firm nod, "I know who he is. You have taken a fancy to him?"

"Well, his team played against us last season. He was brought on at the last minute, but he caused a lot of trouble for my team. His team eventually lost six goals to us in that game, but he was the only Stoke City player who I remembered." Tang En nodded and said, "His breakthrough, crosses, long shots, powerful free kicks... he is not a bad left midfielder. And I don't think his price will be too high, so we don't have to have that ￡9,000-weekly-salary guy."

On the television screen, McPhail beautifully went up against two opposing players on the wing alone. Then he deployed a very imaginative way to send the football through the middle of the two players, and he increased his speed to bypass around them. At this time, his opponents were still rooted to the ground and did not know where the football had gone. It was immediately followed by a beautiful cross, which he assisted his teammate to score.

Watching this scene, Tang En coughed a few times. "Well, actually, it's not bad to loan him. After all, I do not know whether Commons can persist and appear in every game without any injury or illness. All right, it looks like we need to have a good talk with Leeds."

Next to him, a hint of a smile appeared on Moore's face again.

It was at this point that the cell phone in Tang En's pocket rang. It was a call from the entrance guard, Ian MacDonald.

"Tony, I have a guy here who wants to see you. He says he's a newly signed player for the Forest Team, but I think he looks like a liar."

There was a quick-talking and sharp voice on the other end of the call. "I'm not a liar! I am a professional footballer! Shall I give you the original agreement? Damn it! Sabina, quickly help me find that agreement!" It was followed by the sound of a baby crying.

When he heard these, Tang En smiled and asked MacDonald, "Ian, the 'liar' you referred to, did he drive a yellow wagon to come here?"

"That's right, Tony. It almost blocked the front gate! I've never seen a 'professional player' who has a home in a wagon. What do you mean he's not a liar? And..."

"I said it before, I'm not a liar! I have proof!" The sharp voice rang out again. Even Moore could hear it.

Tang En and Moore glanced at each other in tacit understanding and laughed.

"Ian, you did well. I'll be right over."

※※※

When Tang En and Moore hurried to the front gate of the training ground, Eastwood was still in an argument with Ian MacDonald. The old guard dutifully listened to Twain's instructions and refused to let the Romanichal Gypsy who did not look like a professional footballer enter the training ground. And Eastwood was waving his arms at MacDonald in frustration because he and his wife could not find the agreement. His wife, Sabina, was calming her child on the side as the little baby was apparently frightened by his father's sharp quarreling sound. He was crying nonstop in his mother's arm and struggled with all his strength.

This was indeed a boisterous scene!

Chapter 135: The Rookie Reports Part 2

This stalemate was finally broken by Tang En's and Moore's loud laughter. Whether it was MacDonald or Eastwood, it was a relief to see Tony Twain in front of them—the person who could prove they were right was there.

"Tony, you're finally here..."

"Mr. Manager, you have to quickly tell him that I am not a liar, I'm a professional footballer!"

At the moment, Tang En could not speak as he was snickering pretty hard while he looked at the two men who were flushed with anger from arguing with each other. Next to him, Moore helped him explain, "I think... this is a misunderstanding between the two of you."

"Yes, that's right." Tang En's laughter slowly died down. "Ian, thank you for your due diligence. But the person who drove the caravan here in front of you is really a player I signed."

MacDonald's mouth opened wide in disbelief. He pointed to the parked yellow caravan that nearly blocked the entire gate and asked, "A professional player who lives in a caravan like this?"

Tang En nodded and did not speak. Eastwood interjected impatiently, "This is our Romanichal tradition!"

Still adamant, MacDonald pointed to the back of the caravan, and there was a trailer attached to the caravan. Tang En stretched his neck to look over and was startled.

"Is a gypsy tradition to bring a horse to the training ground?" The old guard asked.

Eastwood exclaimed, "Yes! When the automobile industry had not emerged yet...ahem, we Romani gypsies have travelled the world with horse-drawn wagons! Horses and dogs are the gypsies' most faithful companions, they're just like family..."

He had not finished speaking when he was contradicted by his wife. "Don't be funny, Freddy. I told you to leave it at your father's house, but you wouldn't do it. You see, Mr. Manager's brows are creased."

Tang En was indeed in a somewhat awkward spot. It was still acceptable to park the caravan here, but a horse was another matter. This was a training ground for a professional football team, not a zoo.

"But that's my secret to guarantee that I'm able to maintain my condition!" Eastwood was still reluctant to admit his mistake.

"I've told you a long time ago that your habit of warming up with horseback riding on the morning of every game day should be changed!"

While this young couple argued, a long line was forming outside the blocked gate. The players, coaches, and the other staff members of the club had arrived to start the day's work. But now their cars were stuck outside by Eastwood's caravan and could not get in. A lot of curious players just surrounded the trailer and watched the horse eating the hay with its head down in the trailer and in animated discussion among themselves.

Tang En also found Doughty in the crowd!

Crap, Eastwood, you're so bullheaded! The first day on the team and you already caused this sensation. It's a pity the media is not here, or you would be famous, red-hot popular!

Doughty saw a noisy young man and woman at the gate and moved the crowd aside to walk over. He looked at Twain strangely, "Tony, what's going on?"

Tang En was a bit embarrassed. He scratched his head. "Oh... it's a new player, the first one that I have signed. That's Eastwood. I told you about him." He pointed to the still quarreling Mr. and Mrs. Eastwood. Strangely enough, the child who was just crying non-stop, was now quietly lying in his mother's arms and watching his father and mother quarrel endlessly with his big bright eyes wide open. And he even smiled!

What kind of family was this?

Instead of getting angry, Doughty just smiled. "This is funny. But you'd better advise them to drive in, otherwise we all can't get in."

Tang En nodded and then interrupted the quarrel between Eastwood and his wife. "Excuse me, Eastwood... Well, you can drive the caravan in first. Drive to..." He wanted to say the parking lot, but when he thought about it, with such a big car in the parking lot, it would basically occupy one third of the space. Where would the other cars park? He turned his head and saw an open space at the entrance of Building One, pointed to it, and said, "Drive your caravan there, and we'll further discuss the matter about your horse in detail."

"Very well, I'll listen to you, Mr. Manager." Eastwood gave his young wife a glare, then returned to the car section and started the caravan.

Upon hearing the roar of the engine, the horse in the trailer finally stopped eating and looked up curiously at the players around it.

From the rearview mirror, Eastwood saw the men around his caravan. He waved his hand and shouted, "Guys! Let's make way, I'm going to reverse the caravan!!"

When they heard this, those people hurriedly retreated. The cars that were parked behind the trailer quickly reversed to give way to and make space for this two-in-one colossus.

Tang En and Edward stood at the building entrance and watched Eastwood skillfully reverse, shift the gears, turn the steering wheel, and then smoothly make a turn through the gate to park the car by the entrance. They both exclaimed in admiration.

The entrance way to the gate was cleared, and the others were able to drive in. When they passed by the entrance, they did not forget to greet the manager and Mr. Chairman who stood at the door.

After greeting them, Walker asked, "Tony, did the zoo send a horse?"

Upon hearing this question, Doughty suddenly burst into laughter. Twain looked at Walker in dismay. "Des, why would you think that?"

"Uh... Then who are they?" He pointed to Eastwood and his wife who had come over.

Twain smiled and said to him, "He's the first player I signed during the winter transfer, the future striker of our team, the cheerful and optimistic Romani, Freddy Eastwood, and his wife and child."

Eastwood walked over and spoke at a rapid-fire speed. "Okay, Mr. Manager, I've parked the car there as you requested!"

Completely unprepared, Doughty and Walker could not understand clearly his machine gun-like words. Only Tang En and Moore understood. Tang En nodded. "Very well, Freddy. Let me introduce you." He pointed to Doughty wearing a beige jacket and said.

"Mr. Edward Doughty, the chairman of the club."

Doughty and Eastwood shook hands. "Welcome, lad."

"Hello, Mr. Chairman!"

Tang En pointed to Walker as well and said, "This is the assistant manager of the team."

The two men also shook hands with each other.

After the introduction, Twain said to Eastwood, "Well, there is something you need to know. The club will not hold a special press conference just for you but will let you enter the field before the game to meet the fans at the FA Cup. But whether you're going to be playing in that game depends on the state of your training."

Eastwood nodded. "No problem. It doesn't matter to me that there are no reporters. I do not like press conferences anyways. As long as I can play. Shall we go to the training, Mr. Manager?" He leaned over and asked Twain.

Seeing how he was itching to get on with it, everyone around him laughed.

"Don't worry, there's no hurry. Freddy, we still have some things to talk about. Like your horse." Tang En pointed to a trailer in the distance that was still surrounded by people watching.

"Ah, the horse ..." Eastwood was about to explain when he heard a cough from his wife behind him. "Well, the horse... All right, you can handle it in whichever way you think."

When he saw Eastwood become down, Tang En smiled instead, "Don't treat it like it's such a serious problem, Freddy. You can place the horse in the care of the zoo."

Walker coughed beside him, "Tony, Nottingham doesn't have a zoo."

"Oh..." Tang En scratched his head awkwardly. "I didn't expect that a city surrounded by forests has no zoo. Okay... You can still place it in the care of those pet shops. A horse is also considered a pet, right?"

No objections were raised.

"Ok, we'll place it in the care of a pet store, sign a contract, and let them to take care of it for you. If they don't take good care of it, they will have to compensate you. Then on every home game morning, you can take out your horse and ride it around the streets to complete your top-secret warm-up." Tang En clapped his hands. "Don't you think this is quite good? And if after you perform well, score a lot of goals, and make a lot of money, you can buy a small estate outside Nottingham. That way, you can keep your horse in the garden, and you can ride it whenever you want."

Eastwood thought about it, then nodded and agreed. "Well, if I find that those pet stores don't take good care of my horse, I'll send it back to my father."

"Very good, now let us solve the second problem... Freddy, do you have to live in the caravan? The era of caravans has passed. And as far as I know, many gypsies are now living in brick houses. Those fixed dwellings have garages."

Both Eastwood's and his wife's opinions were of the same on this point. "I'm sorry, Mr. Manager. We are accustomed to living in a car. Besides, Sam is the son of a gypsy, so he must to live in the caravan first," said Sabina. The young wife looked at her son in her arms.

He never expected this young couple to be so traditional. Tang En gave up the intention of persuading them and shrugged, "Very well, Freddy. Anyway I just want you to score for me, so I don't care where you live. It just so happens that there are lots of unused open spaces in the training ground. You can just find a suitable place to park your caravan and set up home. But I have a piece of advice for you. Don't park too close to the field and be careful of balls flying out of the field and smashing the glass in your home. Go on, pick a good place, park your car there, and you don't have to worry that the congressman here will come looking to give you trouble. This is our Forest Team's turf." Tang En spread his arms and said, "Park your car well and go to the number one training field. We'll start training shortly."

Looking at Eastwood running to the distance, Doughty said happily, "Tony, why do you always find the interesting guys?"

Next to them, Walker frowned. "But honestly... Tony, have you seen him play?" Obviously, he did not feel very reassured with this unknown player.

"At an amateur game. That should be considered as having seen him play." Tang En told the truth. He could not lie about this because Walker's coaching team had to know every player's real situation so that they could plan everyone's training program.

Edward suddenly exclaimed, "Tony, I think I have heard you say this guy's leg was kicked and broken by one of our players?"

"Yes, by George Wood."

Walked sighed, "Tony, do you really believe he's the one we need?"

The yellow caravan was just passing by them, and Eastwood leaned out of the driver's seat window and shouted at Twain, "Mr. Manager! Which one is the first training ground field?"

Tang En waved his hand to the opposite side of the road, "Look to your right! The one with people on it!"

Eastwood twisted his head to take a look, and then turned back, "I see it! Thank you, Mr. Manager!"

The modern caravan continued to drive forward, then turned a corner in the front and was concealed within the forest.

Then Tang En turned his head back to look at Walker, nodded, and answered his question in an affirmative tone. "I'm certain, Des. He'll surprise us all."

Chapter 136: This Is Eastwood! Part 1

This was the day that Eastwood and George Wood first met on the training field. As the rest of the team all watched their new teammate's style at the gates, they did not appear to be that unfamiliar with Eastwood. Some jokers even cracked jokes to Eastwood about the horse. A very likeable smile remained hanging on the the Gypsy's face, and he did not seem to take the jokes to heart at all.

Only when he saw George Wood did the smile on his face disappear. He did not greet Wood, shake his hand, or make any other gestures to signify his goodwill. Wood did the same. But this did not mean that Wood bore a grudge like Eastwood did. That was simply the expression he usually wore when meeting strangers. He had long forgotten the name and face of the player whose leg he had once broken due to a reckless foul tackle.

Tang En witnessed the scene from the side. Out of "goodwill," he did not remind George that he had once broken his new teammate's leg. Personal grudges between players had to be resolved at a suitable time.

For now… Let's just leave it alone.

Eastwood was an extrovert and an optimist by nature. This was evident from his continuous smile, and from the fact that he had continued playing football even after he had broken his leg. Tang En was not the least bit worried about him being able to adapt to the team.

But would the Football Association let him on the field?

Nottingham Forest's opponent in the third round of the FA Cup was West Bromwich, which was in League One. Currently, West Bromwich's ranking in the League was not bad at all; they were in second place, with a total of forty-six points after twenty-six rounds of matches. They were only five points beneath Norwich City, first in the league. However, it was very close to the teams ranked beneath it; there was only a five-point difference between the second place and sixth place teams in the League. A piece of information that was advantageous to Tang En's goal of being promoted to the Premier League by the end of the season, was that the fourteenth ranked team was only two points away from the eighteenth ranked team, and three points away from the twelfth ranked team. On top of that, there was also only another three-points difference between the twelfth ranked team and the ninth ranked team. The teams in the middle were very close in terms of points, with three teams having thirty-three points, two teams having thirty-five points, and two other teams having thirty-six points.

As long as Nottingham Forest won the few upcoming crucial matches and did not make any serious mistakes, it would be able to steadily improve its ranking and return to the first group of the League. Once its ranking entered the top ten, Tang En would be able to launch into a sprint towards qualifying for the playoffs.

Nottingham Forest was currently ranked eighteenth in the League with a total of thirty-one points. But it was precisely because the teams' points were so close that Tang En dared to "boast" about his team returning to Premier League by the end of the season. This was not an unfathomable miracle. It was simply born of a lack of understanding and analysis on the part of those who felt that way.

To Tang En, January and February would be the most crucial period for the team. If the team messed up during that period, then they would really have to hope for a miracle if they were going to catch up.

The two matches at the end of January were matches which Tang En had to win.

Following this train of thought, Tang En eventually decided to give up on the FA cup. He hoped that West Bromwich would advance as far as they could in the FA Cup, and, if possible, he hoped that they would advance straight into the finals. That way, their attention and efforts would be split on both ends, allowing Nottingham Forest to overtake them…. I hope that West Bromwich, who has advanced into the finals of the FA Cup, will proceed to make an "impressive record" of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League as a team in the second tier football league! Tang En thought to himself. As for the English Premier League qualification, Nottingham Forest will just have to "bite the bullet" and take their place!

Tang En, who had devised this plan, told the coaching staff to plan their training sessions to target Nottingham's next opponents — Sunderland. That would be an away match, and Sunderland was currently ranked fourth in the league.

To Tang En, this match belonged in the category of, "We have to win at all costs, no matter what methods we use." This category included all of the matches against teams which were currently ranked higher in the league than Nottingham Forest.

Since it was an away match, Tang En continued to insist on adopting tactics which prioritized defense. Sunderland's past records on their home grounds were relatively good, with seven wins, five draws, and one loss. This record was good enough for them to be regarded as the kings of their home turf. Challenging an opponent like this would definitely not be easy. The only thing that Tang En could use to his advantage was that Sunderland's back defensive line was awful. They had conceded thirty-eight goals, the most among the top six teams. Even Bradford, which was ranked second from the bottom, had only conceded thirty-nine.

Hence, the coaching team used this to devise a training plan. Rebrov would be stationed in the middle of the field, and Gareth Taylor would be at the forefront. These two people were the team's greatest investments of the season, so none of the coaching staff would dare to not use them. Tang En moving Gareth to the reserve team for two matches was already a testament to his character. If he was a "good-guy" manager like Ranieri and did not dare to offend anyone, then the team would be an absolute mess. It was precisely because of this that Chelsea's new boss Abramovich was already unable to stand its performance this season anymore.

But that was beside the point.

The person to whom Tang En paid special attention during training was the team's newcomer, Freddy Eastwood. After two days of trainings, all of the coaching staff was completely at ease regarding this player who had once broken his leg. In terms of ability, he did not have any problems.

Even Walker could not help but be impressed once again by Tang En's insight. He really did not know how Tang En had discovered a person like him; someone who had never taken part in any first team's matches, and had gone to play in the Amateur League after sustaining a leg injury and being abandoned by his previous team.

Of course, Tang could not tell him that he had seen footage of Eastwood playing three years later in 2007, and had previously used him in a version of Football Manager. Hence, he simply offered no explanation at all, and let his colleagues continue to look at him with veneration. This actually worked out in his favour, and was helpful for the continued fortification of his position and authority.

One should never show all the cards in their hands to others, even their best friends or colleagues. Especially as a manager, a job which required personal charisma, Tang En needed a mysteriousness which made others, like Brian Clough, unable to comprehend him at times. Peter Shilton, English National Football team goalkeeper and core player in Nottingham Forest's attaining of two consecutive UEFA Champions League championships, once said, "Shankly, Ramsey and Ernst, all these managers are impressive. They have an aura and charm, but Clough also has the mysterious X genes."

In the end, reality proved better than anything else that maintaining a suitable amount of mystery and a sense of unapproachability in front of other people was beneficial in improving one's reputation and credibility on a team.

※※※

On the 3rd of January at City Ground Stadium, Nottingham Forest faced off against West Bromwich in the third round of the FA Cup. Before the match, Tang En made Eastwood don Nottingham Forest's jersey and appear in the middle of the football field to meet the fans. The fans' reactions towards the unfamiliar man were slightly cold, and whereas the fans' cheers shook City Ground Stadium, this time there was no welcoming scene.

The meet-and-greet session was very simple: Eastwood stood by the side of the field and waved at the fans while holding a Nottingham scarf in his hand and letting the reporters take a few pictures. It lasted for less than five minutes before Eastwood got off the field. After that, he took off his jersey and, dressed in his neat attire, watched the match from the lounge located by the stands. He did not even make it into the reserves for the match.

The match ended with Nottingham Forest losing to West Bromwich with a score of 1:2, and Nottingham Forest's disqualification from the FA Cup. The fans were slightly disappointed, but they still clapped for the team when the match ended. After all, the team had at least entered the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and they should not be too greedy.

Instead, Eastwood, who had made his debut before the match, soon became the center of the media's attention. The reason was simple. The media discovered that Eastwood had just broken his leg and had been playing for an amateur team, without any match experience with a professional team.

Although this transaction only cost the club a hundred thousand pounds, the media, which liked to make a mountain out of a molehill, still sensationalized the matter. Quite a few media outlets questioned Tang En's judgement and, at the same time, questioned Eastwood's abilities.

Although it was unclear how they managed to find out, there were even some in the media who reported about the dramatic scene that had unfolded when Eastwood had first arrived at Nottingham Forest. They exaggerated the events of that day, and tried their best to mock Eastwood. In the end, they finished with assertions like, "Eastwood is a gypsy who lives inside of a large caravan and brought a horse to the training grounds to report on his first day as though he lived a primitive life. Someone who helps his father sell second-hand cars, broke his leg, and could only play for amateur teams…. This is Tony Twain's frontline lance? Nottingham Forest's hope? The world must have gone crazy!"

In reality, Bruce was also somewhat worried about this newcomer's abilities. However, out of trust for Tang En, he did not publish any articles that were unfavorable towards Eastwood. When he expressed his pessimism towards Eastwood's prospects, he was always very careful with his choice of words. But the rest of the media did not care as much. They were still unhappy with the fact that the war between Nottingham Forest and Millwall had not been started. With such a good opportunity in their hands, how could they let it go so easily?

"…I've seen a varnisher become a professional football player, I've seen a plumber become a professional football player, and I've even seen someone doing odd jobs at a restaurant become a professional football player. But I've never seen a vagrant whose entire family lives inside a caravan become a professional football player!"

"As we understand it, when Freddy Eastwood was playing for the Westham United youth team, he once received a serious foul from a Nottingham Forest player during a youth league match. Could it be that Mr. Tony Twain wants to make amends to him, and that's why he signed a player who completely hasn't proven his worth? Hey, Mr. Twain, are you planning on changing careers and becoming a philanthropist?"

"Freddy Eastwood almost entered Charlton FC. At that time, Eastwood hoped to be able to try out for the South London team's trials. But after the club found out that he had once broken his leg, they rejected him without hesitation."

Of course, not all of the reports cast doubts on Eastwood. There was still someone who stood out and spoke for Tang En and Eastwood, even though it was only one person — Mr. Stimson, the manager of Grays Athletic, who Eastwood had previously played for. Mr. Stimson was furious at the media for mocking Eastwood, and he even felt that this player, whom he himself had convinced to return to the field, would definitely shock everyone with his performance.

"When he was on my team, he usually scored five to six goals in a single match!"

But who would pay any attention the comments of the manager of an amateur team? Indeed, his words were soon turned into a new excuse for the media to mock Eastwood.

"For a player who had received professional training from an official youth team, the ability to score five or six goals in amateur matches is nothing to brag about!"

Chapter 137: This Is Eastwood! Part 2

In reality, the main reason for the media's big fuss over such an unknown player being hired was the "gag order" which Tang En had announced after the incident with Millwall. He forbade all players and staff from accepting any interviews from the media. At the same time, the team's training had changed from being open to being closed off. Not even their fans, let alone reporters, were able to get their favorite player's autograph by the field.

The fans were more understanding; they knew that it was for the sake of the team's performance. But the media was different. Not letting them interview the team took away their ability to create news, which in turn prevented them from making money. The English media industry was very competitive, and any reporters who were unable to churn out articles would most likely lose their jobs. The media therefore hoped that the other football clubs would be more cooperative.

But Tang En understood less than anyone the minute details of all of this. He only felt that the team needed a quiet atmosphere to readjust in preparation for the series of important upcoming matches. Therefore, he directly announced the team's enclosed training, not realizing that in doing so, he was offending the media that had once liked him so much. Even his newest player, Freddy Eastwood, was not spared from it. His personal life had become an excuse to question his abilities.

Tang En had seen all of the news articles. Such doubts were enough to destroy a young player like Eastwood; he had not even done anything yet, and he was already being completely written off. If his emotional stamina were any lower, he could have been completely drowned in the media storm.

But Tang En wasn't worried. Eastwood showed no signs of being affected by it during training. Either he never read sports-related newspapers, or he was just confident in his own abilities. Tang En was more inclined to believe the latter, based on the understanding of Gypsy that he had gained over the past few days.

As such, he put the Gypsy onto the team's name list for the next match. If the opportunity arose, he would consider letting Eastwood onto the field. There was no better way to rebut the ignorance of the media than by proving them wrong through his own actions.

※※※

It was January sixth, the morning before the day of the match. Rarely seen sunlight appeared in the skies over Nottingham, putting Tang En, who had arrived at the field early, in a good mood as he waited for the players.

Because the next day's game was an away match, the team had to assemble that morning and take a coach bus to Sunderland together. In the afternoon, they would familiarize themselves with Stadium of Light in preparation for the next day's match.

Tang En saw the familiar blue tow car parked silently inside the gates. Tang En's eyes drifted along the small path outside of the training field, and in the distance he saw a man on a horse cantering towards him. The crisp, clear clattering sound hoofs broke the morning silence of the training grounds.

"Good morning, Freddy." Tang En waited for the gypsy to approach before raising his hand and greeting him.

"Good morning, Sir." Freddy jumped off the horse, gripping the reins tightly in his hand. He appeared to be in a fairly good mood.

"Are you getting used to life here?"

"More or less. It's very quiet here, not many disturbances. Sabina and I both like it."

Tang En nodded. "That's great. If you have any difficulties, just bring them up to the club. Anything can be resolved… you know, aside from building a stable."

Eastwood laughed. He patted the black horse's neck and tidied up its glossy mane. "It's doing fine at the pet shop. Sabina and I went to lots of places before we finally found one that was willing to take it in. No other shops had a big enough space."

"Well, if you'd said that you were a Nottingham Forest player, I think they would have been more willing."

"Yes, Sir, I mentioned it. If I hadn't, that shop's owner wouldn't have agreed to it."

Tang En chuckled. "Freddy, once you score goals during the matches, I think that that owner would be eager to sign a pet-feeding contract with you."

The conversation topic then shifted naturally toward the matches.

"Have you seen the media's comments about you?" Tang En asked.

Eastwood nodded. "I've seen them all. Nothing new. It's all the same old stuff." He shrugged his shoulders and said in disdain, "There's no proof that I'm not a good player. Will I be playing in this match, Sir?"

Tang En shook his head. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "Depends on the situation. If we're unable to break the deadlock after too long, I might consider switching you in. You're the only striker that I've brought along as a reserve, so if I have to make any adjustments to the forward line, you're the only person I can switch in."

Seeing that Eastwood was had gone silent and was petting his beloved horse, Tang En asked, "Can you tell me why you like to warm up by riding your house before every match?"

"I'm not sure why… I've always liked horses, so perhaps riding a horse just helps me get peace of mind and calms my nerves. It actually is like that; I've never felt nervous about an upcoming match," Eastwood answered. Tang En believed that this was the secret behind his ability to score so many goals: a calm mind.

He did not care that reporters were fixated on him, and did not care about the media's doubting of his abilities. He did not care how much he earned every week, and did not care about whether his life in a caravan was primitive or not. He did not care what looks people gave him, whether they be of anticipation or disappointment. He never thought about anything that did not concern him.

There were so many people who spent their lives thinking about how much they gained. In the end, they ended up losing even more because of it. Eastwood, the pure gypsy, only wanted to play soccer, and got his first professional contract because of it.

Thinking about this, Tang En said to him, "Freddy, you must have heard the rumors about me, right?" Tang En was referring to the rumors that "Nottingham Forest's manager has the ability to see into the future," which were mostly spread from Burns's Bar.

"Are you referring to the rumors that you're a sorcerer, Sir?"

"That's right, looks like you already know! I have the ability to see into the future!"

"More accurately than us Gypsies?" Eastwood returned with a smile.

"Of course! Freddy, you will score many, many goals in the future, and obtain so many trophies and medals that you won't be able to hold them in both hands. And you will earn lots of money," Tang En said, trying to sound mysterious. "When that time comes, you can buy a plot of land, build a small manor and a stable, and ride your horse around every day to your heart's content!"

Eastwood laughed loudly and said, "Thank you for your suggestion, sir. If I really end up earning that much money, I'll consider it."

"No, no, it's not a suggestion. It's a prophecy. You will become successful. I've never been wrong about anyone!" Upon finishing, Tang En looked at his watch. "Go back and have your breakfast. It's almost time for the team to assemble."

Eastwood bid farewell to Tang En and hopped onto the horse, leaving amidst the sounds of neighing.

Behind Tang En, the red Nottingham Forest coach bus was already stopped in front of the training ground entrance.

※※※

Sunderland, Stadium of Light. There was a large screen located in between the two blocks of fully-seated stands. It clearly displayed which teams were participating in the match, the time passed in the match, and the current score:

Sunderland versus Nottingham Forest, seventy-seven minutes, 0:0.

The stadium was filled with a hubbub of voices, despite the fact that the home team was unable to break the stalemate so late into the match. Despite this, Sunderland's fans continued to cheer and sing loudly to root for the team. Tang En often witnessed similar scenes in City Ground Stadium as well, and he had stopped saying things like "English soccer fans have a lot of sportsmanship" a long time ago.

At that moment, Freddy Eastwood, who was wearing the number 23 jersey, was standing at the side of the field, waiting for a dead ball.

He would be replacing the defensive midfielder Eugen Bopp, and becoming part of a double-arrowhead along with Gareth Taylor. This time, Tang En had decided to deal a fatal blow.

Freddy Eastwood, despite being only twenty years-old, had experienced a great deal of ups and downs in the past year. Due to a bone fracture, Eastwood, who had been raised in Westham United's youth team, had had his future completely ruined. Idling at "home," the only thing he could do was help his father sell used cars. It appeared that he would continue like this for the rest of his life, have a few more children with his wife, and continue staying in the caravan, living the traditional Gypsy life. But still he returned to the field, even though he could only play in amateur matches, which did not have viewing stands and were not broadcast on television. He hoped to prove that he could still play soccer, even though his dream of becoming a professional soccer player appeared to have all but vanished.

That is, until a certain day about one month ago, when a man suddenly came knocking on his door looking for him, and asked him, "Freddy, do you still want to play professional soccer?" The flames of his dreams within his heart had been ignited once again.

This man was the only person who still believed that he could play soccer professionally, so Eastwood joined his team. Now, his first time playing for that team had finally come, even though there were less than fifteen minutes left in the match.

Just one minute ago, that man had called Eastwood over. He asked Eastwood to take off his warm-up vest and prepare to get on the field. The man did not say anything superfluous, and only told Eastwood this: "Fundamentally speaking, professional matches are not much different from amateur matches. So once you get the ball, just shoot, regardless of whether you are outside of the penalty area or inside the goalpost area."

Eastwood continued to chew his gum, his expression relaxed. The cheering sounds of the Sunderland fans could not scare him, and the fourth ranked team in the league could not scare him either. Because, fundamentally speaking, amateur matches were no different from professional matches. They were carried out in the same manner. The goalpost for an amateur match would not be any larger, and a ball used in a professional match would not be any heavier.

"Nottingham Forest is making some adjustments to their team lineup. They are switching out the defensive midfielder Eugen Bopp for the new striker Freddy Eastwood, who has just joined their team from the amateur league." John Motson reported this substitution of players very systematically, and did not think that this switch would make any difference. "Manager Twain hopes to strengthen their offenses, and doesn't want to return to Nottingham empty-handed. But this player substitution is nothing to have high hopes over; a striker who has broken his leg and plays for the amateur league… I don't think that Manager Twain is some philanthropist, but this young lad really does not inspire hope," Motson said, shaking his head.

Finally, Nottingham Forest got an out-of-bounds ball at the front. The fourth official raised the signboard to signal the player substitution.

Bopp ran off the field, panting heavily, and clapped Eastwood's hand before returning to the substitutes' bench.

A male voice was currently reporting the player substitution in a live broadcast. A wave of jeers suddenly came from the home team's stands. Not every player on a guest team would have received this kind of treatment. It was apparent that the 0:0 score not only made the Sunderland players on the field impatient, but also put the fans of the Black Cats in an extremely bad mood.

"Scram back to that village caravan of yours, Gypsy!"

"We'll break your leg all over again!"

"Amateur league brat, you should never have come here!"

Eastwood appeared not to hear any of this as he ran towards the sideline.

The Nottingham player who was supposed to start the ball purposely dragged the match time, aggravating the Sunderland fans. The jeering in the stadium was taken to the next level. It was under these circumstances, where the jeering noises were deafening enough to cause a heart attack, that Freddy Eastwood received the pass from his teammates.

He calmly received the ball, and, after turning around to have a look, discovered that nobody was marking him. Of course; who would care about an amateur player like him, who had once broken his leg and was playing his first professional match? He brought the ball down the middle, and still no one was coming to steal the ball from him.

Tang En's words once again rang in his ears. "….Once you get the ball, just shoot, regardless of whether you are outside of the penalty area or inside the goalpost area."

So he lightly tapped the ball forward, with his left leg bent back slightly, supporting his entire body. Afterwards, he pulled back his right leg, the leg which had once been broken. His body was like a taught bow. After releasing it, a great force was unleashed.

Long — shot!

The soccer ball shot towards the goal posts like a cannonball. The Sunderland goalkeeper sprung high into the air, attempting to stop the ball. But he only managed to intercept the wind. The ball had already grazed past. Behind him, the net was rippling violently.

"EASTWOOOOOOOOOD!" Motson shouted at the top of his lungs. "What a genius shot! What a beautiful goal! A thirty meter-long shot!"

The jeering in the Stadium of Light vanished completely in an instant. Everyone was dumbfounded. The mouths of the people who had been spouting vulgarities hung wide open as though they had forgotten how to close their mouths.

Eastwood rushed towards the side of the field, sliding on his knees. Behind him, his Nottingham Forest teammates were running towards him.

Walker, who gaped at Eastwood as he was being buried underneath the rest his team, excitedly shouted beside Tang En, "Tony! You were right! You shocked everyone! He shocked everyone in Sunderland!"

Tang En, however, was not as overwhelmed as Walker. He only stood in front of the manager's seat and clapped. After all, he had known for a long time that Eastwood could do it. He could score goals, and he would score even more goals.

The television was replaying Eastwood's thirty meter long shot, and Motson's excited voice was still speaking. "This is his first goal, seven seconds after entering the field! Seven seconds for one goal! Seven seconds ago, nobody knew him. Now, allow me to introduce him once again — Ladies and gentlemen, this is Freddy Eastwood!"

Chapter 138: The Winter Transfer Part 1

Even though they were lagging behind, Sunderland was unwilling to accept defeat on their home ground. They mounted a large-scale counterattack in the final ten minutes of the game, hoping to even out the score. Tang En called off Rebrov, who was clearly exhausted, and brought on the Australian midfielder, Jacob Burns. This substitution was not intended to defend the midfield, but rather to launch a targeted offense on the midfield to replace an all-out attack on the opponent's entire field. Instead, after their lead, Tang En changed from being passively pressured by the home team, as they had in the first seventy-seven minutes, to using offense such that Sunderland dared not press on them too heavily. Jacob Burns' passing coordination was better than Rebrov's, and with him on the field, the Forest team had more control in the midfield.

As time passed, Sunderland was getting more and more impatient, and the empty spaces in their backfield were fast becoming as barren as moon craters. Tang En knew that, as soon as they scored another goal, he would win.

Very soon, his wish was fulfilled.

Taking advantage of their opponents' desperate counterattack, the Forest team successfully intercepted the ball just in front of the penalty area and quickly counterattacked. Burns send out a clever pass in the midfield, and Eastwood came up from the wing. After receiving the ball, he faced the opposing goalkeeper one-on-one. Then, in a calm, collected manner, he shot the football into the lower right corner.

At this point, the time shown on the big screen was fixed at ninety minutes. The Stadium of Light was extremely still, and completely silent.

Tang En turned to Walker with a smile. "Des, we've won again."

Walker pumped his fists at the field and said, "Yes! I can't wait to see what the media are going to say tomorrow!"

"Freddy Eastwood! He's the star of this match!" Motson was shouting excitedly in the press box. It was truly amazing to see such an ordinary, mediocre player become triumphant and successful with one's own eyes.

This goal completely destroyed Sunderland's confidence to counterattack. They were defeated by an amateur player who was playing professionally for the first time and had once broken a leg.

The final score for the match was 2:0. Thanks to the outstanding performance of Eastwood, Nottingham Forest defeated the fourth-ranked Sunderland, and gained the valuable three points.

That night, when the last match was over, the league's newest rankings were released.

Because they lost to Nottingham Forest, Sunderland only managed to accumulate forty-four points. But "The Black Cats" fans were worried that the gap between themselves and the teams behind them was getting narrower. As Preston North End had won a match, their points increased from forty to forty-three and their ranking also rose to the fifth in the league.

Because both teams which were ranked sixth and seventh in the league had matches, the score difference between the teams ranked from fourth to seventh in the league was only one point. Three teams had forty-three points and one team had forty-four points.

Such close scores were the kinds of results that Tang En liked to see the most, in addition to his team winning.

Due to their game victory, Nottingham Forest's score changed from thirty-one to thirty-four, and their ranking rose from eighteenth place to fifteenth. They were only one point behind Walsall, who was ranked fourteenth. In ascending order, the teams above the Forest team had thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, and thirty-eight points.

Of course, the Forest team's own position was far from secure. After all, below their thirty-four points, there were three other teams with thirty-three points and another team with thirty-two.

With such a close rankings, tremendous change could come out of only a single round of matches.

Seven days later, in the 28th round of the League Championship on their home ground, Tang En's team would be playing Reading F.C., who was ranked tenth with thirty-nine points—another team in the "must win" category.

Five days later, on January 22nd, Nottingham Forest would play on their home ground again. This time, it would be a fierce battle – it was the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final, and they were playing against the Premier League team Bolton Wanderers, who had just narrowly won a 4:3 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the previous round of Premier League.

Then, on January 28th, the Forest team would play an away match in the Reebok Stadium. This was the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final game.

The competition schedule was not considered intense; it was essentially one game per week. But these three games were going to be tough battles. Tang En had no intention of his team continuing to play in League One next season. At the same time, he had personally promised that they would be in the UEFA Cup.

Such questions plagued him for two consecutive days—did they have to give up a match in the League Championship, let their rivals overtake them again, and then go all out for the EFL Cup, where they had the highest chance?

Because the EFL Cup's latest schedule was out, the League Championship's schedule was also adjusted accordingly. Despite originally being scheduled for January 31st, the 29th round of the League Championship, where Nottingham Forest was playing in an away match against the Cardiff City team, was postponed to April 7th.

Tang En considered this good news, because he could make up for the League Championship after doing his best for the EFL Cup. Even if his points temporarily lagged behind the other teams, it was it was only because he was one game short. It was as if he had postponed the victory and three points to the future, it would no different as long as he obtained them when the time came.

※※※

Tang En, who returned victorious from Sunderland with three points, heard good news from the transfer market. The Forest team had bought Clint Hill, the main center back for the League Two team Oldham Athletic, for three hundred thousand pounds. But Tang En still could not set his mind at ease about the defensive line. After the departure of Dawson, the team really only had one center back: Wes Morgan. His current partner, Chris Doig, was not purely a center back. Relying on Morgan and the newly-joined Hill for the center back positions clearly would not be enough. Tang En might be able to put up with this for other positions, but he would not be careless when it came to their defense.

This time he focused on Chelsea.

With the entry of their Russian boss and the injection of money into Chelsea, the club would inevitably develop the temperment of the newly rich. Ranieri was also not an assertive, individualistic manager. Chelsea had bought nine new players that summer on a spending spree. There was the veteran Marcel Desailly in charge of the center back position, the young player John Terry, who was maturing with time, and William Gallas, who could play any position on the defensive line. Even Glen Johnson had been put in the center back position by Ranieri and had played a few matches. And then there was Geremi and Mario Melchiot, who were able to play in matches due to their jack-of-all-trades abilities. With Claudio Ranieri, often called the tinkerman, at the helm, a player had to be ready to play any position.

Because it was such a competitive environment, the 18 year old German player, Robert Huth, only played on the club's reserve team. Tang En wanted to purchase him directly, and it was possible that it could be settled for more than two million pounds. But Chelsea held Huth in high regard, and thought he would be the center back in the future and would partner with Terry to become the main force of the club. They would not let him go. So, Tang En had to relent and request the second option—a loan.

Ranieri thought it was a good idea to put Huth out on loan for training. The rich and imposing Chelsea did not require the Forest team to pay his salary like Leeds would have done. And this time, Tang En could get the future main center back substitute of the Germany national football team without spending a single penny.

After the consecutive acquisitions of Clint Hill and Robert Huth, the center back vacancy left by Michael Dawson was finally filled.

Tang En's request to Evan was that the tasks to supplement the team must be completed before the EFL Cup semi-final began; that way, he could have a complete team to create a complete strategy, and the entire team could work together to achieve it.

And so the Forest team accelerated its work in the transfer market. After acquiring Clint Hill, Moore brought some good news to Twain. Kris Commons' skills were completely in line with the Forest team's requirements, and he was happy to join the team. Although he had been cultivated as a player in Stoke City, his favorite team was Nottingham Forest. He was willing, and the Forest team had expressed more than enough sincerity in its offer. The deal was eventually sealed at a price of three hundred thousand pounds. For a young player who had only played in the First Team, the Forest team's offer was quite generous.

The team paid three hundred thousand pounds for Commons but, in turn, became rather stingy with the loan of Stephen McPhail. Leeds insisted that the Forest team pay 90% of his weekly salary. Whether it was Tang En, Evan, or the cheapest among them, Allan Adams, not everyone agreed to their terms.

At this time, the benefits of the team purchasing Commons first became clear. Tang En began to spread information to the press claiming that he was satisfied with Commons joining the team. "Although Reid left the team," he would say, "we have Commons. And the fans can look forward to Commons' performance just as much as they did Eastwood's." Now that the team had won a few matches in succession, Tang En also lifted the media ban. With the easing of tension with the media, Commons' performance in the training field would spread through the media easily.

At five and a half feet, Commons had a fairly typical height for the football field. Even though speed was not his specialty, his outstanding skill made up for his physical deficiencies. Whether it was his passing or his shooting, he had proven that the Forest team's offer of three hundred thousand pounds was well-worth the money.

Allen, who was in charge of the players' transfer negotiations, talked to Leeds at the negotiating table. "Do you see?" he said. "Our newly-signed left midfielder is also excellent, so we aren't as desperate for your player. The Forest will only be responsible for 50% of McPhail's salary. This is our last offer. If your club doesn't agree, that'll be it. Either way, we've got Kris Commons."

Leeds, who was mired in a financial crisis, could not stand its ground. They agreed to lower the weekly wage standard to 60%, hoping the Forest team would understand their difficulties. Allan knew to quit while he was ahead and agreed to a 6,000-pound weekly salary. He brought back Stephen McPhail just as Twain wanted. And McPhail, who could not play in matches at Leeds, was happy to be on loan to the Forest team, if only to stay in shape.

Chapter 139: The Winter Transfer Part 2

With their two consecutive acquisitions of midfielders, the Forest team's left wing was set. Now it was the right wing that gave Tang En headaches. He originally envisioned that he would be able to persuade Lennon to transfer to Nottingham Forest, which would solve the problem of their right wing. He had not even considered that the plan might fail. Plus, the performance of Brian Cash was disappointing; the kid seemed immersed with himself and his own dribbling, and had no regard for the team's overall tactics. After a full year, he had made no progress. Tang En deleted his name from his future plans.

Therefore, after leading the team for a month, he still had not found Nottingham Forest the right player for their right wing.

The team's offense was now seriously leaning to the left. That was a big disadvantage. A team like that might as well be walking with a limp.

At that time, the old scout, Moore, helped him out again. He recommended a young player to Twain. Even though he had played in one match on the First Team, as soon as he heard his name, Tang En decided to buy him no matter the cost.

Moore's recommendation to Twain was an eighteen-year-old midfielder who had just been moved to the First Team by the Watford club: Ashley Young.

The young man was a strong player in the making in FM, and was not bad in reality either. In the 06-07 season, Aston Villa spent eight million pounds to take him away from Watford. He could play both left and right wings of the midfield, his passing and dribbling were outstanding, and he had a beautiful free kick and goal shot.

Any player who could be spotted by Moore, the Forest team's chief scout, would surely be highly valued by the other team as well. If he did not pay the right price, Tang En would not be able to bring the young player to the City Ground. But Tang En believed the other club's stance would not be a problem. Purchasing Clint Hill had cost three hundred thousand pounds, and Kris Commons had cost another three hundred thousand, adding up to six hundred thousand. Meanwhile, the transfer fund that Tang En had at his disposal was eight million pounds. There was still a balance of seven million, four hundred thousand pounds remaining. This money was a huge sum for a League One club. Tang En was sure that Watford would be unable to resist such an onslaught of money. The only uncertainty was the attitude of the Young himself. If Ashley Young was another Lennon, then no amount of money would be enough. Tang En knew how to spend his money, provided that the player's feelings were clear.

Naturally, it would violate FIFA's regulations to circumvent the club and contact players privately. But as long as one was not so blatant and obvious that everyone knew, it was permissible.

If Ashley Young could be convinced, the Forest team's right wing problems might be solved.

In addition to the continuous good news coming from the transfer market, there was another thing that kept Tang En's spirits high.

Because he had scored two goals in the Sunderland match and become the number one contributor to the team's victory, Eastwood could receive a goal bonus according to the contract. Plus, the media's opinion on him had changed overnight.

Even the harshest media outlets, when faced with two goals and that beautiful long shot, had no choice but to restrain their discriminatory views and acknowledge that Eastwood's performance had been a great surprise.

Of course, two goals were considered insignificant in the grand scheme of a long season, and there was no guarantee that Eastwood would continue to score in future games. But this at least gave him a good start on the Forest team and lead the Forest fans to immediately accept the new player. For a striker, there was nothing more pleasing to the fans than a goal.

As Eastwood became famous, his treasured colt was also became a star before long. The pet store which it was placed in the care of not only decided to help Eastwood raise his horse free of charge, but also advertised it in the newspaper. The full text of the advertisement was as follows:

"The House of Pets" offers the best service to Freddy Eastwood's darling horse!

At these words, the shop became incredibly busy. There was a steady stream of people who came every day to see Eastwood's horse. So, naturally, the store launched a "photo with the star player's darling horse" promotion. It only cost a pound to stand outside the railing and take a photo with the horse.

It was common to take a photograph with a star player; but suddenly, taking a photo with a star player's horse had attracted the interest of countless fans.

Eastwood was not jealous of his horse, but he did make an agreement with "The House of Pets" that they needed to ensure the horse's health. The stipulated working hours stated that it could only "receive customers" for five hours a day at most, and that they needed to use a minimum of 30% of the revenue to improve the horse's daily treatment. He believed in his horse's "professional ethics," and was confident would be no incidents of biting or kicking its fans. After all, he often rode it along the shoulder of the A127 highway with cars coming and going; what couldn't it handle?

It was fairly accurate to describe the horse as steady and calm, experienced and knowledgeable.

Unsurprisingly, when this matter appeared in the newspapers, it became a new joke among the team about the Romani.

Everyone on the team liked Eastwood very much. Even though the two goals accounted for a large part of the reason, that was not all. Eastwood's character was great. He was warm and cheerful, and got along well with everyone. Coupled with his low-key personality, even Gareth Taylor, whose main position was threatened by him, could find no reason to dislike the man.

Nevertheless, Eastwood, despite his popularity, had one exception in his attitude towards his teammates.

※※※

George Wood, like Eastwood, was one of the players that Tang En paid the most attention to during training. Since he was transferred to the First Team after Christmas and had only been in training for half a month, he had not had a chance to represent the First Team by playing yet. His contract was still the one he had signed for the youth team.

But Tang En did not let Wood stop playing. In the past few weeks, he had allowed Wood to train with the First Team, familiarize himself with his teammates, and play in the reserve game to stay in shape. He would attend and watch every game to personally inspect Wood's condition. To his relief, the boy was still making progress.

However, he still often appeared inexperienced, rough, and unable to calmly judge the situation on the field. He had more than enough drive, but he could not remain calm.

Tang En did not ask too much of young men. Compared to other people around the same age as him, he was remarkable enough.

Tang En had decided to give up the game against Reading in the 28th round of the League Championship and to just train young players and reserve players for it. After competing for half a season, the main lineup of the First Team would need a break to lessen the chances of injuries and prepare for the EFL Cup.

On January 16th, after the last day of training before the League Championship, Tang En announced the list of players for the next day's game on the training ground as usual. For the starting lineup, he generally waited until before the start of the game and announced it in the locker room.

At such times, the competition that was usually hidden behind friendly smiles would emerge. Except for a few players who were almost certain to be included in the list because because of their outstanding and steady performances or special positions, the players would tensely wait for the moment Twain read his name. There was only one exception.

George Wood, who stood in the last row of the team, did not care what Twain said. He was thinking about how to play well in the reserves game the next day. His mother was very happy that he had been transferred to the First Team. Although he was still only playing in the reserves games, it was enough to make her proud. In her mind, the reserves team counted as the Second Team. It was certainly of a higher level than the youth team was, which meant that her son was more powerful than before. He did not want to disappoint his mother, so he would never allow himself to make mistakes.

His mother's expectations and money were the only two reasons for him to continue on this path.

He suddenly heard someone calling his name and saw all the teammates at the front turning their heads to look back at him. He looked up in confusion and, through the gaps of the crowd, saw Twain, standing in front and looking at him.

"Wood, you stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed!"

The players dispersed and went to the locker room, each with his own thoughts. The main player list had been released; some people were happy, and some were concerned.

Wood stood motionless on the spot, and most of his teammates turned to look at him as they left. He did not understand why.

When everyone else was gone and there were only the two of them left on the training ground, Tang En walked over and pulled out a ticket to the game from his pocket and handed it to Wood. "Go back and give it to your mother."

Wood did not take it. He did not understand what had happened.

Seeing his bafflement, Tang En asked, "Were you in a daze just now? Didn't you hear me calling your name?"

Wood nodded.

"Well... This is a ticket for the VIP box in the City Ground. Go back and give it to your mother so that she can go to the stadium tomorrow to watch the game. The club will have someone to receive her then, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Wood still did not understand.

Tang En smiled. "George, go home and tell your mother to take this ticket to the City Ground tomorrow afternoon to watch you play in the game. Remember, it's tomorrow afternoon, not morning. You're going to start in the League Championship game." After he spoke, he stuffed the ticket into Wood's hand, then turned and waved as he returned to his office.

"Bye, George. Have a good night's rest. Be here at nine o'clock in the morning, sharp."

Wood clutched the ticket tightly as he stood on the training ground, staring blankly at Twain's back.

Chapter 140: Wood’s Debut Part 1

Even though Tang En did not spell it out, the media, the fans, and even the players themselves knew that he had given up on this match. The only reason that he didn't spell it out was because no manager would say to his players right before a match, "Lads, I've given up on today's match. You guys just do as you see fit." On the contrary, he hoped that those players chosen for today's match would know that, as long as they performed well, there would be more chances for them to play in the future. This would be a match for them to fight for their own benefit.

So, the players who rarely played, along with those who had just entered the team, were about to step into the spotlight.

The starting goalkeeper was the twenty-one year old Irishman Barry Roche, who usually did not get many chances to play. The center backs were also an entirely new combination: Clint Hill and Robert Huth. Both of them had either been recently transferred or loaned, and had not even undergone one week of combined practice with the team. Tang En's choice to deploy that back combination was more than enough to reveal his intentions for the match.

In addition to using a new combination of center backs, Tang En also made some adjustments to the two full backs. Chris Doig, who had played as the center back in the previous match, was made to play as a left back this time. As for the right back, John Thompson was benched, and Matthieu Louis-Jean took his place.

The midfield still got two defensive midfielders, with Brynjar Gunnarsson remaining in the starting lineup, and Eugen Bopp being replaced by George Wood. By arranging things that way, Tang En's was preparing for the first round of the EFL Cup semi-finals. That was because by then, Forest's two midfielders would be Gunnarsson and Wood. Eugen Bopp would be unable to participate because of his suspension.

Tang En chose to let Chris Commons play on the left wing, and let Stephen McPhail play on the right for the first time. He instructed Commons to pass more to the center, and told McPhail to go down the middle and shoot. As for Ashley Young, Moore had just made contact, so there were no results yet. He would have to make do with this. Tang En had also completely given up on Brian Cash. If any team offered a reasonable price, Tang En would release him without hesitation.

The frontline deployed by Tang En was David Johnson and Freddy Eastwood. Johnson was unable to play in matches yet, but he was a passable substitute. As for Eastwood, Tang En hoped to make use of this match to help improve his condition, so that he could reel in goals during the EFL Cup.

The players on the substitutes' bench were goalkeeper Darren Ward, full backs Wes Morgan and John Thompson, midfielder Serhiy Rebrov, and forward Gareth Taylor.

Seeing that formation, it was no wonder that even Nottingham's fans would accept a loss for the match. After all, there were more important EFL Cup semi-finals after it.

Reading's manager, Steve Coppell, was someone Tony Twain knew very well. When he had still been the manager of Brighton the previous season, he had done a pretty poor job. Tang En had managed to beat him on Brighton's home grounds. Brighton was relegated after that season, but their manager, "good guy" Coppell, managed to find an even better job: being the manager of Reading.

Currently, Reading was ranked fourth in the league, and seemed to be in good shape. Mr. Coppell's career as a manager also seemed to be on the right track.

Coppell had a rather unpleasant impression of Twain. This was because when (two full days after that previous season's match) he had finally understood why Tang En had referred to him as a "good guy" during the post-match press conference, the conclusion he had come to had made him furious. He realized that had been taken for a ride by a young manager who was less qualified than him.

When the two teams had clashed in the first half of the season, his team had won a crushing victory over Nottingham Forest on their home ground, with a score of 3:0. Coppell's only regret was that the Nottingham Forest at that time wasn't being run by Tony Twain. This made the victory he had obtained feel rather tasteless.

This time, the match would be held at City Ground Stadium instead. Coppell hoped that his revenge against Twain could be completed with a victory. Of course, he also believed in Reading's abilities. Faced against a Nottingham Forest which was comprised mostly of substitutes and new players, victory should not be difficult.

He was wrong.

※※※

The time that these Nottingham Forest players had spent training together was no more than one week. So, even after twenty minutes of gameplay, Nottingham Forest still could not pose a threat to Reading's goalpost. But Reading also soon discovered that they could not easily score on Nottingham Forest's goalpost either.

It was predicted before the match that the two center backs who were pairing up for the first time would leave lots of gaps in Nottingham Forest's defensive line. And although that was not too far from reality, what Coppell did not expect was for Tang En to deploy a turtling tactic on their home ground.

Apart from Eastwood, the Nottingham Forest players had to return to the penalty area and play defense whenever it was time to go on the defensive. Therefore, David Johnson frequently stayed inside the penalty area for extended periods of time.

Tang En did not care that the team was being suppressed on its home grounds, or that the team appeared to be in a precarious and tight spot. It was true that Tang En was not planning on winning this game. But still, in the words of Argentina's famous football manager Carlos Bianchi, "Even if you can't win a match, don't lose it either." Tang En did not have high hopes for the team's ability to beat Reading, but this did not mean that he would allow them to lose on their home ground. In order to stop the other competitors from widening the gap in the scores, they must not lose this match.

SInce the two center backs were pairing up with each other for the first time, holes in their defenses were inevitable. Therefore, the role of the defensive midfielders became all the more important. Not only did they make up the first line of defense outside the penalty area, but they also had to run back into the penalty area and act as center backs, and at times even became the sweepers. There was no need for Tang En to worry about Gunnarsson; his experience ensured that he was capable enough for the role. As for Wood…

Absentmindedly, Tang En turned around and glanced at the top floor of the stands behind him.

There was a row of VIP suites, and George Wood's mother, Sophia, was currently sitting inside of it with Evan, watching her son play.

With her around, surely nothing could happen to Wood, right?

A sharp and hurried whistle sounded, regaining Tang En's attention. He saw a player from Reading lying on the ground. It was Reading's top shooter, the Bermudian Shaun Goater. Last season, he had still been in Manchester City as Sun Ji Hai's teammate. He had scored a total of eighty-six goals over seven seasons of playing for Manchester City, and was one of Manchester City's fans' favorite players.

Goater, who had once helped Manchester City return to the Premier League by scoring twenty-eight goals during the 01-02 season, and had scored nine goals for Reading in the first half of this season, was currently lying on the floor and hugging his leg in pain as he raised his hand and requested a stretcher.

And the person standing calmly beside him was none other than George Wood. Even when the referee issued him a yellow card, his expression did not seem to change.

Walker looked at Tang En, who thought very highly of Wood. Tang En only scratched his head. Wow, he thought. Don't tell me he got overexcited.

After the stretcher carried Goater off the field, Tang En saw a mixed-race man being called over by Coppell. As he listened to his manager's instructions, he took off the jacket he was wearing, revealing the number and name written on the back of his jersey: 22, Tyson.

"Nathan Tyson, forward." Walker said beside Tang En. Tang En nodded his head. He did not expect that Wood's yellow card would be able to switch out the opponent team's core forward. Therefore, that foul wasn't for nothing. It had become slightly easier for Nottingham Forest to end this match in a draw. Goater's entrance into Reading FC had played a big role in the team's ability to achieve the fourth position rank in the league. Coppell's tactics were almost entirely built around him.

It was hard to tell how serious Goater's injuries were, but judging by the way he was covering his face on the stretcher, Tang En could tell that the injury was pretty serious, and not one that would be healed by just a week or two of rest.

Wood, you brat! You really are the midfield mincer, the ace killer.

Tang En did not know what Sophia was feeling when she saw her son receive a yellow card, but he himself was thrilled. This was because Wood had succeeded in the task that Tang En had given him before the match. For a defensive player, fouls were normal. The number of fouls and the number of cards issued to a defensive midfielder was a very important statistic that was required to assess his abilities.

Not only did modern football require defensive midfielders to wrestle the ball from the opponent's feet, but it also had to be done in a clean, sportsmanlike manner. If a defensive midfielder did not get a single yellow card throughout his entire career, then that person was like a god.

Goater's injury gave a warning to the Reading players who had launched a joint attack against Nottingham Forest: "Listen up, you Reading lads," it said. "Whoever dares to get carried away in front of George Wood will end up just like that old man!"

Subsequently, the Reading offenses, which had once been as fierce as raging tides, started to gradually subside. Both parties became engaged in a stalemate in the middle of the field. As a result, Wood and Gunnarsson became the two busiest and the most featured players on camera.

Tang En's allocation of tasks for these two defensive midfielders was as such: since Wood had good stamina, fast speed, and a tendency to aggressively snatch for possession of the ball, Tang En positioned him slightly forward in order to give him the first opportunity to get the ball. Gunnarsson, on the other hand, had a wealth of experience, and was calm and collected. So, Tang En made him defend behind Wood. If an opponent broke past Wood, Gunnerson would then immediately intercept him to buy Wood time to return to his position.

From the thirty minutes of the match that had passed, the two player's coordination was fairly good; it did not seem like they had only trained together for two weeks. Gunnarsson also liked the feeling of coordinating with Wood. It was as though they had been born with chemistry between them.

"George Wood, a young eighteen year-old player, entered Nottingham Forest's youth team to undergo training when he was only seventeen. We don't have any information about his football career prior to this. I don't know if that's because he didn't stand out and I could not find his relevant information, or because he doesn't even have any at all. " Motson looked at the detailed information sheet in his hands regarding the Nottingham Forest players. All the other players had, at the very least, a few hundred words of introduction and details. Meanwhile, George Wood's data prior to 2003 was completely blank. "This is the first match that he is playing for Nottingham Forest's first team. Based on these first thirty minutes, he seems to be pretty good! With him and Gunnarsson running tirelessly and tackling fiercely in front of the center backs, an insurmountable wall has been formed. Even though he is representing the team for the first time, we can't see even a hint nerves on his face. Nottingham Forest's youth training camp has very high standards. Even with Michael Dawson and Andy Reid's departure from the team, it seems like we won't have to worry too much about not having successors for them."

Perhaps Motson himself had not realized, but he had unknowingly become a supporter of Nottingham Forest. This was why he was commentating on so many of Nottingham Forest's matches. He enjoyed seeing Tony Twain's unrestrained display of beautiful, ready command at the side of the field. He also liked to see teams filled with such passion for victory, while looking forward to those unpredictably funny accidents which would make him burst out laughing.

Even though this match did not look interesting from the stands, he was still able to quickly find aspects of Nottingham Forest to compliment. In the past, he would have shaken his head and sighed, while criticizing the match for its lack of intensity.

There was indeed a mysterious aura surrounding Tony Twain which attracted people to him, and John Motson, the English pundit, was merely one of them.

Chapter 141: Wood’s Debut Part 2

After the first half of the match, the score was still tied at 0:0. Tang En was very satisfied. His mood got even better after he saw Coppell's grimace.

In the changing room, he did not specifically praise any individual player, but rather commended everyone on the team. He wanted to let them know that a football match is played by a team, and was not meant to be a stage for any individual player. No one player should be placed above the rest of the team.

There was a great quote in the movie "Goal!" that had deeply moved Tang En when he had first seen it.

In the movie, Newcastle's manager pointed at the team logo on the main character's jersey, patted the shoulder of the player behind him, and said, "Remember, the name on the front of the shirt is more important than the one on the back."

Therefore, even though Wood's performance was exceptional, Tang En did not praise him at all. Plus, he also knew that that kind of flattery was completely ineffective on George Wood. Instead, Wood, who was representing the adult team for the first time, received praises and encouragement from his other teammates. His midfield partner, Gunnarsson, sat with Wood and said, patting his shoulder, "Well done, young lad! You're much better than I expected!"

Morgan, who had played with Wood before on the youth team, said teasingly, "Brynjar, what you just said was pointless! George has always been outstanding."

"Huh?" Gunnarsson didn't get why Morgan had phrased it this way.

"Do you guys know that Spanish guy from Arsenal?" Morgan saw that everyone else became as interested as Gunnarsson, and decided to start showing off, standing in the middle of the changing room. Tang En and Walker did not stop him, because there was nothing much for him to say for the time left in the break. The time was better off left to the players themselves.

Most of the players did not know who Morgan was referring to. Only Huth, the German midfielder who had just entered the team, nodded his head and said, "His name is Fabregas."

Morgan was glad that someone else knew who he was referring to. Otherwise, he would have embarrassed himself. "That's right, him! I heard that he's already playing for Arsenal's first team! Do you know how young he is?"

Huth nodded his head again. "He just turned sixteen."

"Wow, you really do know everything!" Morgan liked his midfield partner a lot. They had a lot of chemistry between them, and were sure to become great partners.

"When I was in Chelsea," Huth said, "I often overhead the others discussing the new young guy that Arsenal had just bought."

"Huh? What? What were they saying about him?" The players immediately redirected their attention. The untold stories of an English Premier League changing room were something that many people enjoyed hearing about. Even Tang En, who outwardly acted disinterested, was actually listening intently.

Huth was an honest man. Seeing everyone's interest, he told them everything he knew. "That youngster only entered Arsenal in October, and had represented the first team in a match before Christmas. Although the outsiders still don't think much of him, everyone on the team thinks that he's a genius. He is very… um, very mature, and looks nothing like a sixteen year-old. And frankly, I feel that even Chelsea's midfielders can't compare to his talent."

His appraisal was very good, and the players around him, who were playing in a lower tier league, did not even dare to think about it. English Premier League… To the majority of players, it was like a dream. The ability to play in the English Premier League at the age of sixteen was no ordinary feat. Not to mention, he was in a top club: the highly-competitive Arsenal.

Eastwood did not agree with Huth, because he had been in Westham United's training camp with Joe Cole at the same time. "Joe Cole is also in Chelsea, no?"

Huth nodded his head and said, "Yes, but I think that even he is no match for that Spanish lad."

"Why?"

"Well... I don't know. If you insist on making me give a reason, I can't really explain it. But I just feel like that young man has a very bright future ahead of him," Huth said, scratching his head and frowning. He appeared genuine.

Looking at the honest German, Eastwood said no more. He believed that Huth had told the truth.

Morgan, who had been completely forgotten, perked up again. "That's right! That Spanish guy is amazing! But do you all know, there is someone who's able to mark him so well that he can't perform at all!"

He had very successfully recaptured his teammates' attention.

Tang En knew who Morgan was talking about. He looked at Wood; his expression was calm. He even looked slightly stupefied. He was neither filled with anticipation, nor did he feel at all shy. It was as though the person that Morgan was about to mention was not him.

Hence, Morgan continued to vividly describe an FA Youth Cup match played on a muddy field. "…. Although we were leading, Arsenal, under the lead of that Spanish lad, launched wave after wave of offenses against our goalpost. I even saved a ball at the goalpost line. But we all knew full well that the situation could not carry on this way. Chief also knew this!" At this, everyone turned their head towards Tang En, who was standing by the door.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Tang En only smiled and continued the story. "That's right, I switched George in." He made everyone turn their attention towards Wood instead.

Morgan continued, "I was on the field, so I don't know what Chief had said to Wood. But I clearly remember seeing him point to that Spanish lad and say something. Afterwards, Wood ran onto the field and stood in front of him. Afterwards, that talented Spanish player could no longer pose any threat to us for the rest of the match!"

After the story was over, everyone else was still looking at Wood. However, the look in their eyes was completely different this time. This included Gunnarsson as well, who had been encouraging Wood a few moments ago. Even Eastwood, who had had no interest in him a moment ago, became fascinated by this quiet teammate of his.

Nobody uttered a single word; the changing room fell into a state of utter silence.

Tang En clapped his hands and reminded everyone to snap out of their thoughts. "Alright, alright, Lads. You guys did very well in the first half. Keep playing that way in the second half! There's not much time left, so get ready to go back onto the field!"

With mixed feelings, the players stood up once again, opened the door, and headed towards the field. Wood was behind the group, and was stopped by Tang En.

"George, do you have any thoughts on that story?" At times, Tang En really wanted to see what material the lad's heart was made of. He simply did not act like an eighteen year-old.

Wood shook his head and replied, "Nothing."

"You're not excited? Or happy?"

Wood kept shaking his head. "No. That day, you told me to mark number 25 with my full might, so I did. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Tang En shot Wood a look, before laughing and shaking his head. "You did well, very well. George, your mother is watching you in the VIP suite. Did you know that the club's owner is there as well? If you perform really well and win his favor, he will let me give you a new contract. A contract to join the adult team."

Hearing Tang En say this, a glimmer of light flashed across Wood's eyes.

"I could earn a lot of money, right?" Wood asked.

Tang En nodded his head. "The better you perform in the second half, the higher your weekly salary will be on that contract."

Wood looked at Tang En and asked, "What do you want me to do for the second half?"

With his goal achieved, Tang En shrugged his shoulders. "Exactly what you did in the first half. You're a defensive midfielder, so the region in front of the penalty area and the region after the halfway line is your territory. Don't let your opponents get past your territory and threaten our goalpost without a fight. Any opponent that wants to cross your territory… get rid of them." Tang En made a slashing gesture before adding, "Just be careful not to get any more cards."

Chapter 142: Theres Someone Up There

Warning! This is our territory. Trespassing will be considered an illegal invasion. Please withdraw immediately. Otherwise, it will be regarded as a provocation, and I will break you!

I repeat! This is our territory. Trespassing will be considered an illegal invasion. Please withdraw immediately. Otherwise, it will be regarded as a provocation, and I will break you in three seconds!

One!

Two!

Three!

Boom!

There was a muffled thud, and beads of sweat sprayed everywhere. Cut grass scattered.

The Reading player, who was wearing a horizontally striped white and blue jersey, was pathetically hurled sideways. And George Wood stood at the point of the collision, with the football he had just seized lying still beneath his foot.

"Foul—" The Reading fans could not finish speaking before they were drowned out by louder cheers.

"Well done; beautiful!" The Forest fans all stood up and shouted.

The referee also seemed to hear the cries of the home fans. He wagged his finger at the prone Reading player, who was demanding a free kick as he ran backwards away from him.

"Give me the ball!" Gunnarsson called out next to Wood. This was a great opportunity for the Forest team to fight back.

Wood did as he was told and passed the ball, but did not follow. He firmly remembered Twain's request to him: defend, and don't let the opponents get past him to threaten the goal. The vast area between the halfway line and the line at the penalty area is my territory, he seemed to be saying. I'm the ruler here, and anyone who wants to pass through must ask for my permission! The kid from Reading just now did not get my permission.

"What a beautiful defensive block!" exclaimed Motson. "Steve Sidwell is a player with a great physique on the Reading team, but he doesn't stand a chance in front of George Wood! Coppell is furious at the referee's penalty decision. But in fact, this was actually a reasonable collision. If he were to question why his player had flown so far... Well, there's only one explanation, and that is that George Wood is too strong! Poor Sidwell hit a wall directly while he was dribbling the ball at high speed!"

When he saw Coppell stomping in front of the technical area as though he were a monkey robbed of its banana, Tang En could not suppress his inner delight. He looked at Coppell, who had been clapping for Wood's performance a moment ago, and said to Walker beside him, "Des, did you see that, Mr. Nice Guy is getting impatient."

Walker smiled and said, "I think he flew into a rage during halftime."

"This is good. I know he wants to beat me here, so the longer the score remains at 0:0, the better it is for us."

※※※

Both Tang En and Walker were right. Coppell wanted to defeat Twain so badly that he was almost insane with the thought of it. During the halftime interval, he had berated all the players in the locker room, as the combined force of Reading's entire main lineup had been unable to take down the Forest team's substitute lineup in the first half. His plan was not just to obtain the three points from this match, but to obtain them beautifully. Whether it was through the gameplay or the score, he wanted to leave that cunning Tony Twain speechless.

"Don't tell me you guys can't even beat the damn Nottingham Forest Second Team! Those two center backs have never been partnered before. They've probably spent less time practicing together than you all have f**king spent in women's beds! Break through those two stupid center backs! They will collapse at the first attack!"

The players sat in the locker room with their heads lowered. Who knew what was going on in their minds?

It was not that they didn't want to win. Indeed, they launched a frenzy of offense against the home team the moment the second half started, but the two defensive midfielders were simply too powerful. Most of the offense ended in front of them, and even if they were able to get other passes through, they were collectively resisted by the Forest team's defense. They knew that the two first-time center back partners were the Forest team's Achilles' heel for the game, but still, it was as if they had formed a steel barricade in front of the Forest team's penalty area.

Sidwell's courage was admirable, but the outcome was disappointing.

The one wearing the Nottingham number 33 jersey was not a player, but a wall. A wall that ran from one sideline of the field to the other.

Sidwell still clearly saw him defending on the right wing. After a three-touch pass, the football was passed to the left wing. The Reading player was about to speed up to break through the Forest defensive line, but just as he kicked the football out, he was tackled. When he finally got up from the ground, he looked at the back number on the jersey... It was number 33 again.

The game had already been going on for seventy-nine minutes, but his speed had not varied at all!

This is terrifying!

This was the only thing Sidwell could think when he saw George Wood for the first time.

Wood could be seen repeatedly doing lateral sprints in the 30-meter zone for the duration of the match. He might look silly playing this way, simply following the football, but he still terrified his opponents. He and Gunnarsson were like a pair of steel jaws, ceaselessly opening and closing, and snapping off the Reading team's offense route.

Wood rendered Reading completely helpless, so they simply lobbed the ball from the backfield to pass it to the striker in the front. This happened to fit with Robert Huth's intention. George Wood's hyper style of play had kept him idle for too long.

Now, as he watched the football fall from the sky, he and Hill jumped up and took turns cleaning up the overhead zone of Nottingham Forest's penalty area.

Reading, who had lost Goater, was completely unable to pose any threat to the Forest team's defensive line. If they intended to break through the Forest team's intensive defense from the wings, then at least one of the two defensive midfielders would immediately help the backs defend the wings. If they were going to take a long shot from the midfield, it was highly likely that the moment the striker swung his leg, the football at his feet would be tackled by Wood and Gunnarsson.

At the eightieth minute, the latest game statistics were displayed on the television screen. Twain's team had the absolute disadvantage for ball possession, at only 31%. The Reading team had 69% of the ball control, but they still had only eight shots on goal.

"This is insane! I know that before this match, there were a lot of Forest fans looking forward to fantastic goals from their new favorite, Freddy Eastwood. But this game has become the stage for this eighteen-year-old, George Wood! I think it's worth reminding you once again that this young man wearing the number 33 is playing for Forest's First team for the first time today! This is his maiden battle, but it's so perfect that it leaves you speechless! We may be seeing the rise of another star player!" The fervor in Motson's voice could be heard across the United Kingdom through the satellite signal.

Tang En did not know how many people would watch a League One match on the television, but he knew that Wood had succeeded. The kid's performance was better than he had imagined. Much better.

Next to Twain, Walker said excitedly, "Tony, I saw you pull Wood aside and speak to him for a while in the locker room. What did you say to him that made him so energetic in the second half? It's like he's on drugs!"

Tang En shrugged. "I told him that because he was transferred to the First Team, I would consider giving him a new contract to replace the original youth contract."

"Is that all?" Walker was a little disappointed.

"Of course not. I also told him that the better his performance is, the higher his weekly wage on the contract would be."

Walker paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

※※※

In the VIP box, Evan was congratulating Sophia. "Madam, you have a talented son! Tony's never wrong about people."

Sophia smiled. "Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Chairman."

On their other side, the Reading chairman was depressed. He could hear Evan Doughty's laughter from several seats away. Before the game, he had been looking forward to a beautiful victory when he heard that Twain was going to send out his substitute lineup.

Damn it! Even a draw can make you so happy, you good-for-nothing Yankee!

※※※

From the 85th minute onwards, Tang En began his substitution plan. He basically let the players on the substitutes' bench do their warm-ups to drag out the game time. So, he did not bring on three substitutes at once, but rather brought on a substitute once every one or two minutes.

The score was still 0:0, and his purpose had been achieved. Next, he could reasonably make use of the rules to prolong the game time, and he could obtain a point that way.

In fact, it was not pointless for the Reading team to tie the game today. Although it seemed like the Forest team had deployed a lot of new substitutes, most players on the team would be the main force in the latter half of this season. For example, Tang En had decided to fully promote George Wood to the First Team. With such a fantastic performance in his first game, he was certain that no one would question that decision. At the same time, he was not concerned at all that letting Wood play for the First Team so soon would ruin the young man... "The Cautionary Tale of Zhongyong" would not apply to George Wood.

Rebrov stood on the sidelines and waited for a dead ball. He was going to replace Eastwood. For tactical reasons, the Romani had not had much to do in this match. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that the Forest team's spotlight had simply been on George Wood alone in this game. Before this game, the critics were worried that Twain would lose. Now that they had seen this, would they have anything else to add? Or would they have to eat their words?

The Reading team launched another attack. They were unwilling to draw a tie with the Forest team for this match.

But George Wood's invisible wall emerged once again. Compared to the exhausted Reading team, who were staggering along in their dribbling, he looked as if he had just been brought on, vigorous and swift.

Pop! Wood intercepted the ball from the Reading attacking midfielder, James Harper. He then took a big step forward to bypass his opponent and kicked the ball before he could even react, completely thrusting the football out of the other's range of control.

Then Wood caught up with the football and got it back. But what should he do next?

Over the past year or so, he had only practiced defense. Other than the basic techniques of passing, he knew nothing about attacking tactics. What could he do?

He did not see the emptiness in Reading's defensive line, nor did he see Eastwood, who intended to outmaneuver them from the wing. Suddenly, he heard a roar.

"What are you doing? Pass the ball! Kick the ball forward!!"

Tang En was waving his arms and shouting at him from the sidelines.

That's right, now is a good time for the team to attack. But who do I to pass it to?

"Don't worry so much, damn it! Just kick it to the front! Use all your strength!" Tang En, who was standing on the sidelines at that point, wished he could personally go on the field to replace Wood to kick the ball.

Now was the best chance for the Forest team to fight back and seize this opportunity. Maybe they could emerge victorious from the match!

But if the opportunity was wasted due to Wood's hesitation, and the team lost the chance to score... Tang En wouldn't know whether to cry or laugh.

"Kick towards the goal!"

Wood snapped to attention from Tang En's tone. He no longer cared about the chaotic situation in the Reading team's front field. He kicked the ball with all of his strength. The football flew high into the air and drew a rainbow-like arc, hurtling towards the goal.

The cheering in the stands grew louder and louder. Amidst the cheering, the Reading goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown turned and ran towards the goal.

Seeing this scene on the field, even Tang En was stunned. Was he possessed by the spirits of David Beckham and Xabi Alonso? Even during training, this kid had never kicked such an accurate shot!

"George Wood passes... My God! Is that a direct shot?"

In the VIP box, even Evan Doughty could not help but stand up to lean over and watch the football flying across the stadium.

Coppell rushed out of the technical area and almost dashed straight to the field. He clutched his fists and shouted, "Damn it! Don't let the ball in!"

Ashdown looked up at the descending football and muttered to himself, "You will not go in, will not go in, will not... go in!"

He watched and timed his opportunity to move backwards and leap. He raised his hands with the intention knocking the football off the beam. That way, everything would be over.

But he underestimated the power and speed with which Wood had kicked the ball. The football did not strike his fingertips, but slammed into his wrists. Then Ashdown fell into the goal, and the football did not fly out off the beam as intended. Instead, it bounced back to the front of the goal.

Damn it! There was still a chance ... Ashdown struggled to untangle from the net and got up to pounce towards the football. At the same time, as he heard the cheering from the stands suddenly get much louder than before, there was a sudden whoosh beside his ears as if a supersonic plane had just flown over his head.

A shadowy figure appeared in front of the football. Due to the backlighting, he could not see the man's jersey color or appearance. Was it his teammate, a Reading center back coming to defend?

Tang En jumped on the sidelines.

Motson stood up from his seat with the microphone in his hands.

Evan Doughty's hands pressed tightly against the box window, and his fingers made a squeaking sound from pressing so hard.

Ashdown saw the dark shadow swing his leg, and fiercely kick the football. He watched in despair as the ball flew past him. The clamor from the stands reached a climax and he could not hear anything else that followed.

"Goooooal!! Oh my God! Nottingham Forest takes the lead against Reading at the last moment of the game! Freddy Eastwood appeared like a ghost in front of the goal! What a beautiful assisted shot! I bet even Twain did not expect to win the game! Look at him on the sidelines! He's going nuts! He's hugging everyone he sees! This is truly an incredible goal! A sixty-meter indirect assist shot from the eighteen-year-old George Wood, who made his debut in this match! Beautifully done, kid! This is your first game; continue to play like this, you will have an incomparably brilliant and bright future!" Motson howled along without any regard. He had every reason to be impulsive after such a goal.

The Nottingham Forest players, who had been waiting in the backfield without any expectations, spread their arms and roared as they rushed towards Eastwood in the front to celebrate the goal that had ignited the City Ground.

Gunnarsson punched the back of his midfield partner in excitement. And when Wood turned to look at him, he laughed and shouted, "Are you stupid? We scored! Nice work, lad! It's your assist!" Afterwards, he ran towards Eastwood, just like everyone else.

While everyone else was going wild, Wood still had no reaction. He stood in the center circle in a daze, in the exact spot where he had just taken the shot. He looked at his celebrating teammates around him, looked at Eastwood who was crushed underneath, looked at Tony Twain who was hugging everyone on the sidelines, and saw the cheering fans in the City Ground stands.

Apart from gasping for breath, he was only thinking about one question: How much can this performance increase my weekly salary on that contract?

※※※

Walker shook Twain's shoulder with all his strength, screamed at Twain with the tip of his nose almost in his face. "Tony! Tony! He's a genius! I swear! I swear by my twenty-year career, he's going to be a great player! You know who I'm talking about, right?"

When Tang En finally calmed down, he grabbed Walker by the shoulder and replied, "Of course I know, Des!" Then he turned and looked at George Wood, who was in a daze on the field.

Kid, from the moment you were alone on the youth team training ground, thinking of ways to practice your passing; from the moment you went to Gavin's grave alone to give him flowers; from that time you came to my doorstep and said to me, "Sir, you should sign the best player in England," I knew damn well you were going to succeed, George!

Gavin's idol can't be an insignificant nobody!

Kid, you've got a fantastic start, now are you ready? Stride forward on this road ... No, run! Charge at full speed!

※※※

That wonderful goal had completely crushed Reading. Nottingham Forest defeated Reading, with their last-minute "lucky ball," and received an unplanned three points.

At the post-match press conference, a reporter suggested that even God did not want Nottingham Forest to lose, and had helped the team at the last moment. Tang En was not angry, he joked good-naturedly, "In fact, when I need to, I will always ask God for help. Mr. Coppell is a good man, and I want to thank him again for delivering the three points to my team when I needed them."

Coppell was a little embarrassed. "I agree with Mr. Twain's words. This time, my team did not lose to Nottingham Forest, but to God." He pointed above with a wry smile.

He was right. There was someone up there for Tony Twain!

Chapter 143: The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 1

Nottingham Forest rose by one spot in the rankings after winning the match. They had risen from fifteenth to fourteenth, while Reading fell from tenth to eleventh due to their loss.

However, the greatest take away from the match was still George Wood's rapid growth. Tang En no longer had to worry about the issue of only having two defensive midfielders. Now, he had three defensive midfielders: Brynjar Gunnarsson, Eugen Bopp, and George Wood. Those three players should be more than competent enough to handle the next few month's matches.

Because this was only a normal English League One match, its influence was nowhere near that of an English Premier League match. Therefore, Wood had not succeeded countrywide. But still, he had become the new pet of City Ground Stadium. He had already become famous in Nottingham.

Of course, if that sixty meter long shot had directly flown into the goalpost, things would be different. Tang En was sure that Wood would have become famous throughout England overnight. People would definitely have compared Wood to David Beckham—in the past, the now world-famous Beckham's amazing long shot had made everyone remember his name and his bright smile.

Becoming famous too early was not necessarily a good thing. At the very least, Tang En would have to start worrying about lots of other teams asking the club for a price, or doing to Wood what Nottingham Forest was currently doing to Ashley Young.

The most urgent matter at hand was giving Wood a new contract, and the contract had to express sufficient sincerity.

Tang En decided to find Evan to discuss Wood. He knew that Evan had seen Wood's performance that day from the suite. And as for the contract, Tang En could decide it completely on his own. Still, there was still one other matter that required further discussion with Evan.

Tang En had just left his office when he saw Evan appearing from the staircase exit. After seeing Tang En, Evan waved happily at him and said, "Looks like I came at the right time. Are you going out, Tony?"

"I was actually about to go find you, Evan," Tang En said.

"We really do have a connection, Tony," Evan said, laughing. "I'm here to find you as well."

Tang En smiled. "Well, let me guess why you're trying to find me… I think I know."

Evan nodded and said, "I know why you wanted to find me too."

After that, the two of them said simultaneously, "George Wood."

Tang En snapped his fingers and said, "Very good. I was planning on giving him a new professional contract."

"I agree, that kid's future should be with Nottingham Forest. Tony, give him an eight-year contract."

Tang En became silent for a while after hearing this. The longer a contract was, the better it was for a club. But for the player, it would become slightly more difficult for his salary to increase.

Evan knew what Tang En was thinking about, and said with a smile, "The contract may be slightly longer, but you may do as you see fit for the rest." This clearly meant that as long as the contract period was long enough, everything else—from the salary, to the prize money—was up to Tang En to decide.

Tang En understood what Evan meant, and lightly nodded his head before saying, "There's still one more thing that I want to discuss with you."

"Speak your mind, Tony."

"The match that day, did you see Wood's mother in the suite?"

Evan nodded his head and replied, "I didn't expect his mother to be that young and pretty… she doesn't look like the mother of an eighteen year-old."

"Yeah. She loves her son a lot. Wood's performance is great, and she seems to be in good spirits too. But did you know? His mother's body has actually always been in a poor state."

Upon hearing Tang En, Evan was slightly shocked. "I really couldn't tell…"

"The main reason that Wood plays football is to earn money to treat his mother's illness. He loves her a lot. His family situation is pretty complex. To put it simply, he and his mother lead a hard life. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at?"

Evan stroked his chin, not giving Tang En an immediate reply.

"Evan, if you want a player to stay in the club, the effect of a contract is relatively small," said Tang En. "As long as someone else wants to snatch our people, there's always a way for them to do so. And Wood's situation is very special, so I think his mother is a very good way to-"

"I understand. You can go and offer Wood the contract, and tell him that the club will arrange treatment for his mother's illness. Not to mention, a new star staying in the slums… I'm a little worried about that. Let him move out of there; the club will provide the house."

Tang En was elated. "Thank you, Evan, on Wood's behalf."

"Don't thank me, Tony. You're right. Players need to feel like it's worthwhile to be on the team. If they're working for the club, then the club has an obligation to take care of them and help them resolve their problems. I also have another piece of good news to tell you."

"Yes?"

"We got that young lad that you wanted." Evan clenched his fists and continued, "Allan gave his family one hundred thousand pounds, and they agreed to convince their son to cooperate with us. Now, we can officially make an offer to Watford. But.. Tony, do you think this kid is worth that price?"

Tang En thought about Ashley Young's value in the future and smiled. "Evan, rest assured. In a few years time, you will be very happy that we bought him. Freddy Eastwood, George Wood, Kris Commons, Wes Morgan, and Ashley Young; those kids are the future of Nottingham Forest. If we get promoted to the English Premier League, I will continue to find more young people… when that time comes, I will shock all of England!

"That's awesome!" Evan clapped his hands and continued. "If you require any assistance from the club, contact me immediately. I believe in your foresight, Tony."

Tang En laughed. You should, he thought. My foresight goes three and a half years into the future!

※※※

After the morning's training ended, Tang En called Wood into his office, where there was a stack of papers on the desk. Tang En stuffed a fountain pen into Wood's hand and pointed at the stack of papers. "George," he said, "this is your new contract. Want to take a look?"

Wood approached the desk and picked up the contract. He saw that they were all legal provisions that he did not understand. "Where's the salary portion?" he asked.

As expected, simply hearing about the new contract was not enough to excite Wood. He only cared about his weekly salary. That was Wood's style.

Tang En approached him and flipped two pages before pointing to a line in the middle of the page and saying, "Here, you want me to read it to you?"

Wood nodded and passed the contract back to Tang En.

"Your weekly salary from now on will be two thousand five hundred pounds." After reading to that point, Tang En looked up at Wood. He saw that the expression on his face had changed slightly. Tang En continued, "But this is only your salary, and only the first year's. In the future, your weekly salary will increase by fifteen percent every year…."

"How much is that?"

"Umm…" Tang En grabbed a calculator from one of the desk's drawers. After tapping furiously on it for a while, he raised his head and told Wood, "For the first year, your weekly salary will be two thousand five hundred. Second year, two thousand, eight hundred and seventy-five. Third year, three thousand, three hundred. Fourth year, three thousand, eight hundred…. and so on and so forth."

Wood did not object. Right now, earning three thousand eight hundred pounds a week was like a dream to him.

"And that's not all," Tang En added. "For the first two years of the contract, there's an additional reward every season when you play twenty matches. Sounds pretty good, right?"

Wood nodded his head. It did sound much better than that contract he had signed for the youth team.

"There's still more." Tang En removed a credit card from the drawer and passed to Wood. "The club made this for you. There's already ten thousand pounds on it. That's your signing fee. In the future, your monthly salary will be transferred to this account at the right time."

Wood received the card from Tang En, and started to grip it tightly. His thumbs slid up and down the card as he felt its texture. His name and card number were on it. This tiny little card contained ten thousand pounds. This was not a dream; the card was really in his hands.

Seeing that Wood was interested, Tang En smiled and said, "George, now your credit is also guaranteed by the bank."

Hearing those familiar words, Wood raised his head and looked at Tang En.

Tang En patted his shoulders and said, "There's still another piece of good news for you. The club has decided to fund your mother's treatment and find new lodging for you two. The club will pay for half of the monthly rent. Soon, the two of you can move out of that slum."

Wood stared at Tang En with his eyes wide, as though he dared not believe what he was hearing. Tang En nodded his head and said, "Are you intending to stay nearer to the training grounds, or further away from it?"

George Wood was agitated, and stuttered when he spoke. "I…. I don't know."

Tang En passed the fountain pen over to him and said, "Sign your name here, then go home and discuss with your mother where you want to stay. Tell me tomorrow when you come for training."

Wood grasped the pen tightly in his hands, and the tip of the pen stopped on the contract. The last time he had signed his name like this was at the side of the training field. He had done it in order to satisfy the request of a child he hadn't known, named Gavin Bernard. Later, the boy died, while Wood became a professional football player.

He hesitated for a few moments, then signed his name.

From that moment onward, he was an official member of Nottingham Forest's first team.

Chapter 144: The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 2

George Wood signed an eight-year contract. Nottingham Forest's fans were happy to see that the young player had placed his future in Nottingham Forest instead of going elsewhere for money.

After settling Wood's contract, Tang En also managed to secure the purchase of another important player.

That concerned Ashley Young. When Nottingham Forest first offered five hundred thousand pounds, Watford was not moved at all. Nottingham Forest offered six hundred thousand pounds the second time, but Watford still remained unmoved.

This time, the effect of the one hundred thousand pounds which Allan Adams had given to Ashley Young finally kicked in. Ashley Young made it very clear to Watford club that he wanted them to let him go to Nottingham Forest. That was because he was currently unable to play in any matches there, and he was already eighteen years old. If he was unable to get sufficient play time on the field, he wouldn't be able to improve his skills.

After that, Tang En gave Young a call. Over the phone, Tang En promised Young that he would be given a core position on the team. At the same time, he hoped that Young would continue to cooperate with Nottingham Forest and have one or two press interviews. Publicly expressing his intentions to join Nottingham Forest would also put pressure on Watford FC.

Upon being promised a core position on the team, Ashley Young was naturally willing to do whatever Tang En told him to. One day later, in front of his house, he accepted an interview from Pearce Bruce, a reporter from the Nottingham Evening Post. The interview was mainly centred around Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain.

During the interview, Ashley Young expressed his desire to join the team under Manager Twain. He also casually talked about Nottingham Forest's five win streak in the league, and how he felt that much of the credit should go to Tony Twain. While still wearing the Watford jersey, Ashley Young had already begun to praise Nottingham Forest.

"…Nottingham Forest has a glorious history. It would be a dream come true to play for a team like that! You know that young guys like me tend to experience the greatest spikes in their abilities. So, there is a need for us to participate in more matches to gain experience. Since I'm unable to get many opportunities to play at Watford, why shouldn't I change to a different environment?"

With interviews like that being published, Watford FC could not deny that they would not be able to make the team's greatest hope stay. Now, all they could do was let the team earn as much money as possible through Ashley Young's transfer, and make up for the loss of the player by monetary means.

But Allan was unwilling to be ripped off any more. He made a final offer to Watford—seven hundred thousand pounds, and not a penny more. "After all," he told them, "the player's attitude is clear for everyone to see. The rest is up to you. At worst, Nottingham Forest can just switch to another target. Seven hundred thousand can get a very good player in League One."

Just as Nottingham Forest made their offer, Young called Watford's manager to inform him that he had just suffered an injury and would have to take one day of leave, and that he would be unable to to participate in training.

Given the situation, what more could Watford FC say? They knew full well that a coincidence like that was impossible. It must have been a collusion between Young and Nottingham Forest. But even though they had no doubt that they were right, they did not have enough proof to raise the matter to the English Football Association and FIFA.

Just like that, Nottingham Forest bought Watford's rising star, Ashley Young, with a transfer fee of seven hundred thousand pounds.

But Tang En's footsteps in the transfer market did not stop there. There was still a very big problem with the team's left and right backs. And, at the same time, because Rebrov was playing as a midfielder, there were only three people left on the team's frontline. This was evidently insufficient for the team to deal with the demands of the remaining half-season, considering the team's participation in both League One and the EFL Cup.

In the previous season, the team's right back had had an issue, so Tang En had made John Thompson play as right back instead. It later proved to be a successful switch. Now, it was the left back's turn to be Nottingham Forest's weak spot. Although Gareth Bale was talented, he was only fourteen. As the saying goes, "Distant water cannot quench present thirst." So, the team still needed to search for a suitable left back on the market.

Tang En was not too knowledgeable about League One, but he knew an expert. He told Moore, the old football scout, that the team currently needed a young left back who could be nurtured, and who had a lot of potential and room for growth. After Moore heard the problem, he immediately wrote down an answer: Leighton Baines, a young player from Wigan Athletic F.C., who currently was only a substitute player for the team. If Tony Twain wanted, he just had to do what he had done for Ashley Young and promise him a position as a core player. If that happened, neither Wigan nor Baines himself could reject an offer.

Tang En stared at the name for quite some time before he finally recalled who this person was: the team captain of Wigan during the 06-07 English Premier League, England National Team U21 core left back, and the new talent whom Manchester United's Manager, Ferguson, openly expressed his desire for.

And it just so happened that Leighton Baines was currently only playing as a substitute for Wigan. From this, Tang En knew that he had gotten a good deal once again. If Tang En did not buy him now, it would be difficult for Nottingham Forest to purchase him once Wigan realized his true value.

As such, without uttering another word, Tang En sent a request to Wigan for the purchase of Leighton Baines, along with an offer of four hundred thousand pounds. For a young player who had just started playing for the first team, this price was far from low. So, Wigan did not have any reason to refuse it. Just like that, the future team captain of Wigan was snatched away by Tang En.

With Leighton Baines and the Norwegian Davy Oyen, Tang En was finally able to rest assured about Nottingham Forest's left back issues.

As for the striker position, Tang En had thought of a suitable candidate long ago.

That person was Peter Crouch, who liked to perform a robot dance after he scored, and who would later become Liverpool and England's tall-guys killer. However, he was currently very unsatisfied with his time at Aston Villa. Crouch had debuted in Tottenham Hotspurs, but he only started to draw the attention of other clubs when he was in Portsmouth. There, he scored a total of eighteen goals in thirty-seven matches over the span of one season. Following that, he had been bought over by Aston Villa at a price of five million pounds, where he still remained. However, he had been unable to recapture the glory of his time at Portsmouth.

In the 01-02 season, when he had just joined Aston Villa, he had scored two goals in seven matches. After that, he represented the team fourteen times in the 02-03 season and did not score a single goal. By the end of the first half of the 03-04 season, he had been fielded sixteen times and was part of the starting lineup for nearly every match of the season, but he only scored four goals…

For a core striker, these kinds of results were nothing short of miserable.

Aston Villa had started to regret its impulses back then, and was currently in a hurry to get rid of him. Hence, Nottingham Forest appeared at the right time, bringing up a loan-to-buy proposal to Aston Villa. Crouch would be loaned to Nottingham Forest till the end of this season, and, should his performance be good, they would buy him for one million eight hundred thousand pounds.

The English Premier League team, Aston Villa, agreed to this proposal, so the only thing left to do was to discuss personal benefits with Crouch. Tang En was originally a bit worried that a core striker playing for an English Premier League team like Crouch might not be willing to play in a League One team. But this turned out not to be an issue at all. Crouch wanted a change of environment, and the league which had made him famous before was League One.

Since the player had no objections, things were much simpler. Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa came to an agreement on the loan-to-buy proposal, and Crouch made things easy for Nottingham Forest in terms of his personal benefits. With both parties willing, Tang En got the tallest striker in the England National football team's history, Peter Crouch, who was six feet, seven inches tall.

Two days before the first round of the EFL Cup semi-finals, Tang En brought all the Nottingham Forest players, including those who had just joined the team during the winter transfer window, to attend a press conference. This was so that he could do a simple announcement of the new players to the public.

Freddy Eastwood (transferred from Grays Athletic for one hundred thousand pounds), Clint Hill (transferred from Oldham Athletic for three hundred thousand pounds), Robert Huth (on loan from Chelsea), Kris Commons (transferred from Stoke City for three hundred thousand pounds), George Wood (transferred to first team, new contract), Stephen McPhail (on loan from Leeds United), Ashley Young (transferred over from Watford for seven hundred thousand pounds), Leighton Baines (transferred from Wigan Athletic for four hundred thousand pounds), and Peter Crouch (loan-to-buy from Aston Villa for one million eight hundred thousand pounds).

Tang En smiled as he stood amidst the players and let the media take pictures of them. That winter, Nottingham Forest spent a total of three million, six hundred thousand pounds in the transfer market. Tang En had already assured Evan that the money would not go to waste. These people were Nottingham Forest's future. Under the flashing lights, an entirely new Nottingham Forest was forming.

Chapter 145: The Future

The transfer budget announced by Nottingham Forest the previous summer had been 3.5 million pounds. Of the many players that Collymore had bought at that time, the only ones who could play as the main force were Gunnarsson, Rebrov and Gareth Taylor. And in the winter, the Forest team did not announce what their transfer budget was. The media told readers that Tony Twain's actual investment in the transfer market had already exceeded the summer budget, and that he had mostly bought young players. Therefore, was the 3.6 million spent this time worth the money? The media heavily questioned Twain's actions in the January transfer market. Almost all of the players he had bought were young, and had yet not proved their abilities in the adult teams. What would they bring to the team? Dynamism and healthy competition, or impulsive recklessness and lack of experience?

At the press conference, Tang En told the press and the equally skeptical fans that these players were the future of the Forest team. 3.6 million seemed to be a lot, but they were investing in the future. In a few years' time, 3.6 million would seem miniscule compared with their value.

Basically, the goal of the winter transfer period was to supplement the existing lineup. Tang En was compelled by circumstances to make the bold and decisive adjustments that he did. Considering the stability of the team, Tang En told Evan that he no longer needed him to introduce anyone from the transfer market.

Next, he had to deal with a Premier League team. On January 22nd, the first round of the EFL Cup semi-final would be Nottingham Forest playing against Bolton Wanderers in a home match.

Bolton Wanderers was a special team in English football because they were especially international. Of course, internationalization was nothing new for the English Premier League; the former Chelsea had set a record by not putting any English players in their eleven-player starting lineup for the Premier League. But Bolton Wanderers' internationalization was nothing like Chelsea's.

Bolton Wanderers currently had all kinds of international players on their team: the Brazilian striker Mário Jardel, the Danish striker Henrik Pedersen, the Nigerian midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha, the French midfielder Ibrahim Ba, the French midfielder Youri Djorkaeff, the Greek midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos, the Danish defensive midfielder Per Frandsen, the French full back Bruno N'Gotty, and the Spanish full back Iván Campo.

These players were all famous, and the youngest among the international players was the substitute striker, twenty-eight-year-old Henrik Pedersen. The oldest was thirty-five-year-old Djorkaeff, who had formerly been the main midfielder for the world champion French national football team. Most of these men were star players who were already past their prime, unable to play on their original teams, and were therefore transferred to Bolton Wanderers. In addition, Kevin Davies, the team's main striker, was only twenty-six years old, but because he was burdened with premature fame and displaced from Southampton, he joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer.

This was a very interesting phenomenon. In the English Premier League, very few clubs would be keen to choose veteran players who were past their prime to become the teams' main forces. The values of these players were not high, but their salary requirements were. They still had their reputations, but they were not as strong as they had been. It stood to reason that with its English Premier League team qualification, even though Bolton Wanderers had little money to purchase foreign superstar players, it would not be a problem at all for the team to still buy outstanding domestic players.

There was an historical origin to this and it was largely related to Manchester United. In 1958, after the Munich air disaster, the Golden Age Manchester United team was nearly dismantled. Sir Matt Busby, who had escaped with his life, regrouped the team and continued to play in matches with the Manchester United Youth and Second Team players. After Manchester United's misfortune, the team's struggles aroused the sympathy and admiration of the entire football world; throughout football's entire history, football has always been seen by English people as a sport for the brave. Even if a player's leg was broken, he would still insist on finishing the game before going to the hospital. Therefore, the fighting spirit demonstrated by Manchester United won everyone's respect. Three months after the plane crash, Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers both advanced to the FA Cup final. In that match, Manchester United with its heavy casualties not only lost to Bolton Wanderers, but also suffered unacceptable humiliation from the Bolton Wanderers' fans.

They did something completely outrageous during the match: nearly a thousand Bolton Wanderers fans waved their hands and made a humming drone sound. The action was meant to mimic a the sound of a plane falling and crashing, and was done to humiliate Manchester United. Their lack of basic compassion led to the isolation of the Bolton Wanderers, and more sympathy for Manchester United.

Since then, Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers have become irreconcilable arch-enemies. And Bolton Wanderers had gone back and forth between the Premier League and League One for nearly a decade. It was said that one of the reasons was that the teams in England's northwest region tried hardest when playing against Bolton Wanderers. Furthermore, Bolton Wanderers also had a hard time buying good players in England, so they had to look to the international market to seek out those veteran players who were past their prime to help the team avoid relegation.

It was awful that the team had to pay for the sin of its fans. But this was part of English football tradition, where the clubs and fans were inseparable. The fans fanatically followed the team, and the team would never abandon their supporters.

Of course, Tang En had no intention of using the past to motivate his team to defeat Bolton Wanderers. The Forest team had nothing to do with Manchester United, not to mention that Manchester United had previously thrashed the Forest team in a Premier League away match with a final score of 8:1. The relationship between the two teams was not a close one. On the other hand, the Forest team had a closer relationship with Manchester United's deadly rival, Arsenal—because Arsenal was built by men from the Forest team.

Tang En could not care less about the enmity between Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers, but it did give him an opportunity to take advantage of it. Bolton Wanderers had not been able to buy players with high caliber, so although the team was in the Premier League, it was relatively weak. Most of the players on the team were older. Even though they were experienced, their physical strength was much less than that of the young Forest team.

Due to many successive battles, the Bolton Wanderers team had sustained lots of injuries. Their main striker, Kevin Davies, for example, was injured in the last game against Portsmouth. If he wanted to play in the EFL Cup semi-final, he would have to play while still injured, and his strength would take a massive hit.

Their other striker, the Brazilian Jardel, seemed to have been born in the wrong place. At six feet, two inches, he should not have been Brazil, but rather in any European country. The roughness of his technique was the most important reason that he was left out of the big clubs. Although he had not scored at all during his first seven games for Bolton Wanderers and thus was benched by the club, his height and header were still no small threat to Tang En. No one could say when a player like him would suddenly erupt and counterattack. Just a day after the last round of the English Premier League match, a piece of welcome news came from the transfer market: the twenty-nine-year-old Brazilian striker had been loaned to A.C. Ancona on its final tour in Serie A to help the team avoid relegation. Tang En heaved a sigh of relief at his departure. If that towering player had appeared in the EFL Cup semi-final, his impact would have been a severe test of the new Forest team's defenders.

As for Djorkaeff, he was turning thirty-six years old in about a month. He could only play as a substitute on the team, and his opportunities for an appearance were lessening. Although his experience was still intact, his body was losing its vigor.

One of the biggest threats on the team was the Nigerian Okocha, who was excellent at dribbling and capable in assists. He was now the core of Bolton Wanderers' midfield and the initiator of the team's offense.

If the English Football League Championship hadn't happened, Tang En might have been worried about defending against Okocha. But now, he knew what to do.

George Wood's defensive stance was still problematic; there was no way around it, other than compensating through continuous competition and accumulation of experience. However, his ability to focus on one-on-one marking had reached its pinnacle. Okocha would find his opponents harder to deal with than he had anticipated.

※※※

On the morning of January 22nd, although the atmosphere in the city was charged with the anticipation of battle, the weather remained uncommonly calm. Tang En got up early and went to the Forest training ground.

According to the regulation of the team, the players on the main list must arrive at Wilford in the morning before every home game, take the team bus to a hotel close to the stadium to eat and rest in the afternoon, then take the bus to the stadium again for the match.

Tang En liked to arrive earlier than everyone else before the home game and chat with Eastwood, who was warming up with his horseback riding in the empty training ground. This was a rare moment of relaxation before the game. Once the team was assembled, Tang En and Walker would be secluded in a hotel room to study their opponents.

"Good morning, sir." Eastwood greeted Tang En loudly as he rode up to him on his horse.

Every time he saw this young man, Tang En could not help but smile. Eastwood was such a cheerful and optimistic person that his optimism was contagious.

"Good morning, Freddy. How are you feeling today?" He looked up at the Romani Gypsy.

Eastwood jumped down from his horse. "Very good, sir. I feel like I'm gonna score some goals today."

Tang En laughed. Eastwood had scored consistently since he joined the team in early January, scoring three goals in two games, which perfectly proved his ability. There were no longer any criticisms or doubts about him, whether they be in the newspapers, on television, or on the radio.

When you succeed, everyone will shut up, Tang En thought.

Looking at Eastwood, Tang En nodded. "Very well, Freddy. You can start in the game today. You actually might have a new partner by then."

"That telephone pole?" Eastwood was referring to Crouch by the nickname he had given to his new teammate. Crouch quickly accepted the nickname because everyone in the team used it. With his tall, lanky build, the nickname suited him well.

But Tang En had discovered an issue. It seemed that taller players like Robert Huth and Crouch were naturally more wooden or straightforward. Although Crouch was not wooden, he was straightforward. He also had a nice temperament. He was not upset by Eastwood's new nickname for him, and was happy when everyone else called him that too. This was because Walker had told him that if players assign their teammates a nickname, that means that they have accepted them.

"Well, but I don't know when he will be on the field," Tang En said, shaking his head. Who could say clearly how the game was going to go? If football games depended only upon words, ideas, following tactics, and taking turns to rehearse so that the outcome would be predetermined, then it would not be so popular.

The suspense of not knowing what the future held was the most thrilling part.

"Another thing, Freddy. It seems you and George's relationship isn't very good." They would be frequently working together on the field in the future. If their relationship was not managed well, it might drag down the team. This was not what Tang En wanted to see. Even a stronger team could fall apart due to locker room issues. He had to nip it in the bud while he still could.

Once Tang En brought it up, Eastwood fell silent for a moment. Even optimistic and cheerful people often have a reluctance to mention the past. Originally, he had had a promising future at West Ham United. And if he had continued on that path, he might even have been playing for the First Team at West Ham United by now. But his injury ended everything. He was laid off by the West Ham youth team and could not find any team willing to accept him even after his injury had healed. Eventually, he ended up playing in the amateur league. Training time for amateur games was almost never guaranteed, and was far worse than the training he had received at West Ham United. When he was not training, he was a salesman at his father's used car dealership.

Sometimes, when he was idle, he would look into the distance in a daze. Would he have to live this way for the rest of his life? He would wait till his father was old before taking over the car dealership; he would sell used cars, raise several children with his wife, and then send them to play football when they grow up. Then he would go down to the club every day to pick them up and watch his sons live out his own dreams...

Was that his future?

And who was responsible for all of that? George Wood, who always looked at others with menace in his eyes.

They may be on the same team now, but that did not mean that they had to be friendly.

Tang En saw that Eastwood did not speak, and he knew he must be thinking of the past. So, he suddenly asked, "Gypsies are descendants of Indians, right?"

This question was a big jump from the previous one. It stumped Eastwood for a moment before he nodded and said, "Yes, that's what everyone says."

"So do you believe in Buddhism, then?"

Eastwood shook his head. "No, I'm not religious."

Tang En was a little surprised. He thought that nomadic ethnic groups always believed in some kind of religion, like Christianity. But he had to continue on the topic, so he said, "There is a word in Buddhism: 'Karma.' Do you know what it means?"

The word could be easily comprehended from its meaning, "cause and effect," so Eastwood nodded. But soon, he shook his head again.

"Well, simply put, it's the idea that... Everything in this world is connected. It may seem unrelated, but there's a link. If... If you had not been injured at that time, do you know where you'd be and what kind of life you would be living right now?"

The question made Eastwood think for a moment, then he shook his head and said, "I don't know. That didn't happen."

"Well, we can still use common sense and hypothetically say that if there was no accident, you would have been transferred from the West Ham youth team to the First Team, and then you would have represented the team in the League Championship this season, and we would have been opponents." Tang En pointed at Eastwood, and then to himself. "But you're right, that didn't happen. We're in a team now, I've signed you on and you're scoring goals to prove that I made the right choice. Why do you think we're able to have this nice chat instead of spitting at each other before the game?"

"Because... of that injury?" Eastwood said.

Tang En nodded. "George's foul, that was definitely wrong of him. But he didn't mean it. He'd been playing football for less than three months. I wanted him to play the striker position at the time, but he was completely overwhelmed on the field. He was nervous, and his mind went blank. And when he saw you running past him with the ball..." There was no point in saying what happened next. Eastwood could still feel the pain in his right leg whenever he recalled the incident.

"I'm not trying to explain anything on his behalf, because that's ultimately his responsibility. That was an unscrupulous foul, and it almost ruined your future. What I do want to say may not make you happy, but I have to tell you... Freddy, sometimes I think, 'I should thank George. If it wasn't for his foul, how could I have a striker as good as Freddy Eastwood?' Maybe, in that alternate future, I'd hit the roof on the sidelines because you breached my team's goal. Or maybe you'd knock my team out of an important game make me fail, and then maybe I'd be dismissed and continue to be a youth coach, or work God knows where else... just like the future you imagined for yourself. But now it's alright, those things never happened. They only exist in another future. And you," Tang En pointed at Eastwood and said. "Freddy Eastwood now wears the Forest team's red jersey and has scored three goals in two consecutive games. You live on the training ground in Wilford, joke with my players, and come to training in a good mood every single day. You bring me victory by scoring goals in matches, and even your horse has become the darling of this city... This is your present. As for your future? You're going to be the greatest striker in the history of this team. You're going to score a ton of goals, you're going to bring me and the Forest fans one trophy after another, and the City Ground stands will go crazy for you countless times. And then, when you decide to retire..."

Tang En looked up at the multicolored glow of the sunrise in the eastern sky, took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, shook his head, and said, "I can't imagine what it will be like."

After hearing Twain say so much without stopping, Eastwood did not utter a word. His hands were just unconsciously stroking his horse's neck.

"If you were not hurt, maybe you'd still be at West Ham United, or maybe you'd go to another lower-level team, and then you'd eliminate Manchester United in some match, and you'd score the winning goal. You'd become a celebrity in England within a week, appear on television and in the newspapers. Then you'd be forgotten while you still played on that team until you retired in obscurity. That goal with which you eliminated Manchester United would be the most glorious moment of your career," Tang En continued. This was a different future from what Eastwood had imagined. He had never thought of a future like that. But Tang En knew that that was the future he was supposed to have if he'd kept going.

"It's different now. You don't have to worry about that future. Because you've joined Nottingham Forest. You've joined my team, and you will join me in becoming the second most brilliant creator of the Forest team." Tang En spread his arms to embrace the Wilford training ground.

"I'll became a legendary manager and you'll became a legendary striker. We'll be mentioned all the time, all the way until we're old. People will say, 'Eastwood is the greatest striker in the history of the Forest team, how could anyone compare that clumsy little kid to him! Tony Twain's most successful deal in his career was buying Freddy from an amateur team! Look at all those prizes in his trophy room!'"

Tang En imitated the tone of the fans' discussion, and Eastwood was amused by the manner in which he spoke. He was so serious in his description of that imaginary future that Eastwood did not know if it was true or false. Perhaps he was spinning a story, perhaps... could it really be realized?

"So, I have to say, Freddy... I am very grateful to you for accepting the invitation from Nottingham Forest to join the team. I'm also thankful to God, even though I've never believed in him. It's fate that's let us stand together now to discuss each other's future. Do you doubt our future?"

Freddy shook his head. "I don't know, sir… Everything you're saying is so crazy that I really don't know if it's true..."

"Yes, it's crazy." Tang En thought of the lunch that day with Evan and Allan and how he was shaken to the core when they told him about the plan. "But to prove that I'm not lying, to prove that I can see the future, Freddy, we will win this afternoon. Because this game is the starting point for that future."

Afterwards, Tang En waved good-bye to him. "See you later, Freddy. Go back and have breakfast."

Eastwood looked at the back of Twain's confident figure and opened his mouth, but said nothing.

Chapter 146: The Cunning Allardyce Part 1

The stands of City Ground Stadium were already fully seated. At a glance, almost everyone appeared to be Nottingham Forest fans wearing red jerseys. There were only one thousand, three hundred Bolton fans there to root for their team.

The match had not started yet, and both teams' fans had just finished one round of "antiphonal singing." They temporarily lowered their banners and muffled their drums, deciding to resume the sounds of battle after the match began. The broadcasting system in the stadium started playing the Forest fans' favorite songs. Some of them were the newest and most popular songs, while some were oldies which had been popular during the seventies and eighties. These oldies had witnessed Nottingham Forest's first tastes of glory. As such, whenever they resounded throughout the air of City Ground Stadium, it was as though the older fans had travelled back in time twenty years. There, Nottingham Forest triumphed over their opponents one after another. They were fearless, and nobody could defeat them. They were England's champions. They were the Kings of Europe!

Now, even though the oldies and City Ground stadium remained, the people have changed.

Many fans looked forward to this EFL Cup semi-finals. Do we still have a chance to witness the start of another round of glory? they all wondered. Brian Clough, the legend of Nottingham Forest, once led the team to obtain three EFL Cup championship titles. Can Tony Twain, who has been deemed by most people as the person who resembles Clough the most, prove his own ability?

※※※

Martin Taylor was a tall old man with white hair. From his looks, he did not seem to be any different from any other old gentleman from London. He wore a neat suit, had neatly combed hair, and had a natural smile. However, everyone that was familiar with English Football knew who he was. He was one of England's best football commentators, and one of Europe's best commentators. He was, in fact, one of the best football commentators in the world. His voice was widely considered "the nicest-sounding sports commentary in the world." His voice and pronunciation were clear, and his commentating style was humorous and interesting, calm and neutral, yet not lacking in passion. He had almost no shortcomings to speak of. He was the idol of many sports commentators throughout the world.

Andy Gray was an ex-professional football player who had, upon his retirement, become a commentator. Unlike Martin Taylor, his voice was quite passionate, especially when a goal was scored. The combination of these two men has been regarded as the "golden duo" of English sports commentary, and their voices have been used as the commentary for several generations of the famous football game series, "FIFA". At the same time, they were also the two most reputable English commentators in China.

If the two of them appeared at a stadium at the same time, then there could only be one reason for it—they were there to commentate a match.

Gray smiled and looked at the man in front of them. "John, the Sky plc is the one in-charge of broadcasting. What are you doing here? Be careful not to let those news reporters from smaller firms get a picture of you, or else they would publicize widely: BBC's best commentator John Motson intends to switch over to Sky plc!" Gray imitated the reporters and shouted like he was trying to make a fuss.

Motson smiled and said, "Andy, why can't it be 'Sky plc's golden duo intends to betray their former company, joining the BBC as a pair?'"

The football commentators relied solely on their words and their wits. When it came to bickering, they would never lose to anyone.

Martin Taylor clapped his hands off to the side and said, "Alright, if the two of you continue on like this, the argument will go on for another three days. Motson, what are you doing here?"

Motson had thirty-one years of experience commentating football matches, while Martin Taylor was very experienced as well. Before the German World Cup, he had already commentated for seven consecutive World Cup matches. With these statistics of his, it could be said that there was no one else more experienced than him in the entire commentating industry.

"Watching the match," Motson said as he shrugged his shoulders.

His reply surprised Taylor slightly. "John, I seem to remember that you aren't a fan of Bolton, am I right?"

"I'm not here for Bolton, Martin."

"But you aren't a Nottingham Forest fan, either," Gray, who was beside them, added on Taylor's behalf. No wonder they were the golden duo.

"Can't I watch their match if I'm not their fan, Andy?" Motson asked back, smiling.

He had a point. Gray scratched his head while Taylor immediately continued, "John, you seem very interested in Nottingham Forest. I've noticed that you've commentated on almost all of their recent matches. What made you regard them so highly?"

"Hmm, instead of saying that I'm interested in Nottingham Forest, I think it's more accurate to say that I'm interested in their manager."

"Tony Twain?" Gray asked.

Motson nodded his head and said, "Martin, you guys have always commentated on the Premier League, so you might not know much about Twain. But, I advise the two of you to pay more attention to him during the match; you'll discover that he is a very interesting person."

"Very interesting? How so?" Gray asked.

"In every way." Motson smiled and waved goodbye to them. "Alright, the match should be starting soon. I'm going to the stands."

He turned and left the lounge, heading towards the passageway leading to the stands.

Gray stared at Motson's back and shook his head before asking Taylor, "Martin, what do you think of that? It's very unlike him. Motson has actually come down to watch a live match of a team he doesn't support, simply because he thinks that Tony Twain is interesting!"

Taylor laughed. "Exactly what kind of person he is, I suppose we shall see for ourselves. I've done some research on Tony Twain as well, but that's only the homework that I did in order to commentate this match. I believe that seeing him with our own eyes will help deepen our impression of him. Let's go, Andy. Our work is about to start."

※※※

John Motson was seated in the third row of the stands, and he looked just like the normal fans seated around him. Nobody knew that this person, who wore a dull grey overcoat and had a head full of white hair, was the commentator whose passionate voice they heard every weekend.

Motson was seated very near to the Nottingham Forest's manager's seats, and he could see Tony Twain, who was standing at the side of the field, if he stood up. Twain had just exited the changing room, and his team was already on the field preparing for the match.

This was not the first time that Tony Twain was leading his team to play against an English Premier League team. Motson still remembered the FA Cup match held last year on January 4th, when Nottingham Forest had faced off against West ham United in this exact stadium. Two days prior to that match, he had still been laughing at Twain's clumsy first appearance on the field in a television broadcast. However, on the actual match day, he had been completely fascinated by the second half.

Cup matches seemed to be where Tony Twain was catapulted to fame.

The previous time was the FA Cup, and this time was the EFL Cup. What kind of match would the man bring this time?

The clear sound of the whistle resounded throughout the stadium, but it was quickly buried beneath the sound of cheers. The match had begun!

※※※

What kind of team was Bolton? It was certainly not a team that adhered to the currently popular technique-centric play style, nor was it a team that subscribed to the standard style either. They had a very traditional English play style instead, with the team adopting a sturdy formation. Their midfield and backfield defense was fierce, and they would make use of long passes to assault the enemy's back defense line.

This was clear just from their two frontline shooters on their starting line up. The first, Kevin Davies, was extremely adept at headers, despite the fact that he was only six feet tall,. The other was Henrik Pedersen. Although his techniques were not that refined, he had the build of a classic Northern European player.

When these two were paired together, the strength of their assault should not be underestimated.

To Tang En, the main flaw in Bolton's frontline was Kevin Davies' injury, as well as Bolton only having one method of offense.

Even an idiot knew how Bolton would play—they would send a long-ball through the air to get the ball in front of Nottingham Forest's goalpost, then rely on Davies and Pederson's header abilities. Even if they ended up unable to shoot the ball, they would still be able to cause chaos in the penalty area.

As such, Tang En sent out Wes Morgan and Robert Huth as center-backs. They were not fast, but they were strong and good at headers. They were the only combination that could guard against Bolton's frontline. As for Clint Hill, he was awaiting further instructions on the substitutes' bench. The right back was still John Thompson, but Tang En decided to use the younger Leighton Baines instead of Davy Oyen for the left back. Baines was much better in terms of stamina and speed, and he was also able to do long shots and free kicks.

For the midfield, the starting line up sent out by Bolton was Kevin Nolan and Ivan Campo. The left side was Okocha while the right side was Giannakopoulos. Among them, aside from the Nigerian, the other three were adept at sprinting and intercepting, reducing the opponent's room for offense. It was as though they had set up an iron fence in the midfield hat prevented their opponent's offense from passing through easily.

In response to this, Tang En removed Rebrov from the midfield, and instead sent out players who were very similar to Bolton's. The two defensive midfielders in the middle were Gunnarsson and George Wood. The left side was McPhail, who was still on loan from Leeds United, while the right side was Ashley Young, who had just joined the team.

Tang En hoped to stabilise the backline defense with those two defensive midfielders. At the same time, with a lack of an organizational midfielder, the team's offense would have to rely heavily on the two wings. McPhail and Ashley Young were both individually strong and skilful players with the ability to dribble and break through with the ball before passing to the middle and shooting, all by themselves.

Tang En's tactic for this match was still to counterattack. After all, Bolton was still an English Premier League Team and should not be underestimated.

Tang En felt that there was an irrefutable truth on the football field: victory for a match must be built upon the foundation of a sturdy defense. Without defense, a team might as well forget everything else.

McPhail and Ashley Young had both demonstrated exceptionally strong individual abilities and exceptional conditions during training. During the tactics briefing before the match, Tang En had told the two of them that if they were on the offense during the match, the team might not be able to lend them much support. However, he would not excessively ask them to return to defend either. Rather, they had to rely solely on themselves for offense. Tang En encouraged them to be in less of a hurry to pass the ball out once they got it. Instead, they should be more willing to break through and engage in a one-on-one face-off. If they lost possession of the ball, they should try to regain possession on the spot without panicking. Wood and the others were still behind them. The key was believing that their own techniques would be effective against Bolton's defense line.

Chapter 147: The Cunning Allardyce Part 2

Many managers liked to restrict the performance of young players on the field. They desperately wished that they could plan the players' every action and make them carry them all out meticulously and flawlessly. During tactics briefings and trainings, they would often tell young players "don't dribble excessively," or "don't do one-on-one face offs," or "don't try to forcibly break through," or "don't hog the ball." If a player did not do as he was told, he would lose his position on the field. And just like that, a young genius with overflowing talent would be smothered.

Tang En was different. During trainings, he liked to encourage the young players to play freely, and was pleased to see those players suddenly veering from his instructions and resolving issues in their own ways. When he gave them that confidence, the young players would reciprocate with results that thrilled him. It was football's version of "giving a plum in exchange for a peach."

On the frontline, Tang En let the well-conditioned Freddy Eastwood remain on the starting line up. His partner was the skillful Rebrov. This was the first time that Rebrov would be returning to the frontline in six matches. Tang En hoped that his skills and speed would create some trouble for Bolton's rear defense line, which was comprised mainly of older, slower players.

Bolton's starting lineup for the match was thirty-two year-old French veteran player Bruno N'Gotty, thirty-year-old Anthony Barness, thirty-two-year-old Simon Charlton, and twenty-year-old Nichy Hunt. Although this defense line was very experienced, no one could know what would happen if it was relentlessly assaulted by Nottingham Forest's young players. After all, even the oldest players in Nottingham Forest's current starting lineup, the goalkeeper Darren Ward and forward Serhiy Rebrov, were only twenty-nine years-old.

Tang En used such a young team because he believed that it is alright to be lacking in experience, as long as you make up for it in stamina. However, only ten minutes into the match, Tang En already felt that things weren't looking good for them.

The team had already given Bolton three consecutive free kicks in front of the penalty area. Each time Nolan stood in front of the ball and prepared for the free kick, Tang En's heart rate would skyrocket.

All three of the free kicks were given to them by George Wood; he was still too young and lacked match experience. Out of the three, two of them could have been avoided. Fortunately, Nolan's free kicks did not score. Conceding a goal ten minutes into the match would have had too great of an impact on Nottingham Forest.

But still, the situation made Tang En unable to resist raising his voice and reprimanding him. "Wood!" Tang En shouted. "Calm down! Don't tackle when you don't need to! Just sticking to him is enough!"

These words should only really be shouted at the side of the training field. But Wood's training still was not sufficient. No wonder he was always requesting more training. He too was well aware of his own issues.

Once he was finished shouting, Tang En returned to the manager's seat. When he got there, Walker said to him, "Tony, you should really calm down too. We're only ten minutes into the match, there's no need to be so anxious."

Tang En drank a mouthful of water and nodded. "You're right, Walker. But this opponent is not easy at all." He shot a glance at the away team's manager seat. Seated there was a strong, slightly tanned, square-faced man: Sam Allardyce. "Allardyce is a cunning guy," Tang En said.

As Tang En remembered it, Bolton recovered under Allardyce's leadership. He led the team into the Premier League, and successfully defended their place in the league for three consecutive years. Afterwards, he had even led the team into the UEFA Europa League. He was a very good manager, so he later assumed the managerial position for Newcastle, the powerhouse. The previous manager of Newcastle had been Glenn Roeder, who had almost let Tang En mount a comeback in last year's FA Cup.

Walker smiled and said, "But why do I feel that you are even more cunning than him?"

Tang En scratched his head. He knew what Walker was referring to. When interviewed right before the match, Tang En had acted extremely confident and smug, claiming that he would play offensively on his home grounds to defeat Bolton. At the end, right after he had closed the changing room's doors, the first sentence which had came from his mouth was, "Defense, lads, I want you all to know the importance of defense!"

In the end, it was clear that Bolton's starting lineup had indeed been affected by Tang En's declaration of "offensive tactics." Although Kevin Nolan was adept at intercepting, his offensive talent was not to be underestimated either. Walker believed Allardyce's reasoning for letting the twenty-one year-old Nolan be part of the starting line up, and not the real defensive midfielder Per Frandsen, was that he hoped to give the midfielder a chance—aside from tackling, Nolan was still exceptional at passing and place kicking, as well as the ability to shoot from far away.

Tang En watched the match while chatting with Walker. "Nolan is actually the proof of Allardyce's cunning. If he had chosen Frandsen to be part of the starting lineup instead, I would be happier. It's a pity that he chose to use Nolan. He's good at offense and defense…"

While he was still speaking, Nolan skilfully broke past Gunnarsson. This time, he was already at the arc of the penalty area.

Where was Wood?

Tang En could not help but stand up.

Okocha! Wood was marking Okocha, and Okocha was still five metres away from Nolan. In other words, Wood was about five metres away from Nolan!

Currently, the players in front of Nolan were Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, who were part of the back defense line. He had ample space to go for a long distance shot!

"Dammit…" Tang En swore. Afterwards, he fiercely raised his voice and shouted, "Don't let him shoot!"

Before he finished his words, Nolan raised his leg outside the penalty area and shot.

Wes Morgan rushed up to use his body to block this sudden shot; the ball bounced once on his shoulder, and just happened go in the complete opposite direction from where the goalkeeper had lunged. A loud cheering noise was immediately heard coming from the Southern stands.

"Kevin Nolan!" Martin Taylor shouted from the commentator's seat.

Afterward, his partner, Andy Gray, shouted even louder, "A beautiful far shot! In the English Premier League, Kevin Nolan has already delivered four such far shots for us! And he has done so once again today at the EFL Cup. His goal has helped Bolton to take the lead on away grounds!"

From the side of the field, Tang En looked at the ball that had flown into Nottingham Forest's goalpost. Ward, who had lunged in the wrong direction, was unable to do anything about it. Tang En angrily threw a punch to the ground, before turning around and walking back to his seat. Walker was also speechless at this conceded goal. If Morgan had not blocked it, perhaps it might not have gone in.

Tang En stood in front of Walker, and said with his arms unfolded, "Twelve minutes in, and we're already down. Before the match started, I spent ten minutes talking about the importance of defense. In the end, we ended up losing the ball even sooner! We were just talking about Nolan, and he just scored!"

Walker shook his head and said, "Tony, think about it this way… conceding a goal so early might not necessarily be such a a bad thing. We still have seventy-eight minutes to chase back the score."

Tang En turned around and looked at the Bolton players, who were running around the field and celebrating their goal, as well as the Bolton fans, who were cheering from the Southern stands. He gritted his teeth and said, "You're right, Des. But nobody likes to concede goals… How are we supposed to play our counterattack like this?"

Walker did not say anything, because he did not know how to reply. Tang En was right; how was Nottingham Forest, who had accidentally conceded a goal, going to continue their strategy of counterattacking? What if they went on the offensive? Bolton still had three defensive midfielders waiting for them.

Thinking about it this way, Walker discovered that what Tang En had said was indeed true. He turned his head and looked at Bolton's manager Sam Allardyce, who was currently celebrating with his assistants at his seat. Nolan had already attempted three far shots twelve minutes into the match. Evidently, he had been specially instructed to do so before the match. Allardyce was very cunning indeed.

Chapter 148: The Better Interceptor Part 1

Tang En realized that he had made more than one mistake. The game had already been in progress for more than twenty minutes, and since the Bolton Wanderers had taken the lead, the Forest team had not immediately organized a counterattack. But this was not because they did not want to, but because they could not.

The problem lay in his deployment and formation of his players.

He had let Rebrov play forward, and had originally hoped to use the Ukrainian's speed against Bolton Wanderers' sluggish defense. He did not anticipate that the ball could not be passed to Rebrov's feet at all from their own backfield. And Rebrov was not great at being the first player to intercept long passes.

Even though Bolton Wanderers' four midfielders were in parallel positions on the list before the match, the formation turned out to be 4-3-1-2 once they started playing. Iván Campo, Kevin Nolan, and Giannakopoulos were the three main defenders behind Okocha. Their presence was the chief reason why the Forest team's offense could not be organized smoothly.

Rebrov needed the support of the midfielders to give him more passes to the leg instead of header passes if he was playing forward. But now, because of Bolton Wanderers' three defensive midfielders, the Forest team's offense could not break through the first line of defense. Obviously, there would be no support for the striker.

The other mistake that Tang En made was having George Wood closely mark Okocha.

Now that he thought of it, Wood's amazing performance in the previous game may not have been a good thing. It seemed that he had caught the high-level attention of Bolton Wanderers Manager Allardyce. Otherwise, he would have been Tang En's surprise attack to catch his opponent unawares. Wood's performance in the previous game had been so dazzling that even if he had not become the most famous young player in the United Kingdom, he could not have escaped Allardyce's notice.

Originally, Okocha had been a very important piece in Bolton Wanderers' offense, and his personal skills would often bring unexpected rewards. But looking at this game, Okocha was more of a "relay station." Whenever the ball was passed to him, he passed it out again after it had attracted Wood's attention. He rarely dribbled the ball to break through the midfield before passing the ball out, and almost never shot at the goal.

Clearly, Allardyce had specially laid out the plan before the match to reduce the number of Forest defenders in the midfield at the expense of Okocha. Then he had arranged for Kevin Nolan to come up from behind to shoot for the goal. He succeeded, and, thanks to his strategy, the Forest team was currently behind by a point.

Kevin Davies, who had a slight injury to his foot, replaced the player who was originally slated to play. But why start with the tall, strong Henrik Pedersen? It was to give Tang En a false message: I will continue to insist on playing the traditional tactics of high balls and fight high, so that Twain will put the defense focus on high balls in the penalty area, and then Nolan will complete the real killer shot!

Their real aim was to score a goal and obtain three points in this away match so that they would have more leeway when they returned to the midfield. At that time, Davies' injury would have been better, and the lagging Forest team would have played directly into the Bolton Wanderers' hands.

After they had had the lead for more than ten minutes in the game, the Bolton Wanderers changed from charging forward and aggressively striking to retreating and defending across the board and then using long passes to harass the Forest defense line.

They wanted to maintain the current score.

No wonder there were three defensive midfielders on the field with excellent physical fitness, running abilities, and interception abilities. Forest's midfield line was pushed back to within thirty meters of their penalty area. The Forest strikers, Rebrov and Eastwood, were essentially surrounded, with no room to unleash their strengths.

And what about the Forest team's two wings? Bolton Wanderers' three defenders in the midfield were basically taking care of the middle, left, and right wings. Every time Ashley Young and McPhail dribbled to break through, they would be faced by at least two Bolton Wanderers players - a wing-back and a defensive midfielder.

So, while Bolton Wanderers' center of the field might seem a little empty, Allardyce was not afraid, because he knew the Forest team did not have an attacking midfielder player who would be able to intercept the ball in the center of the field, organize an offense, and break through. The two defensive midfielders, Gunnarsson and George Wood, could not intercept the ball to organize an offense.

He had carefully calculated all the arrangements of the Forest team before he made this tactical arrangement.

Tang En looked at Sam Allardyce, who stood on the sidelines, watching the game with his arms across his chest. He truly was a man capable of taking over Newcastle. He could see right into Tang En's mind.

The Forest team had intended to do a long pass to Rebrov and Eastwood at the front, but the Bolton Wanderers center backs were able to shoot it out with their headers. Bolton Wanderers players were not afraid of high balls. They played like this in the Premier League, so they naturally knew how to stop Tang En's team.

Tang En looked at his players, who were at their wits' end on the offensive front. Then he again looked at Allardyce on the sidelines, waving his arms to direct his team's defense.

Allardyce was considered, at most, an upper mid-level manager in the Premier League. And if the Forest team reached the Premier League, Tang En would have to play against managers like Ferguson and Wenger, and the tactical master Rafael Benítez. These world-class managers were much more powerful than Sam Allardyce.

If you can't handle the likes of Sam Allardyce, Tang En told himself, if you can't even beat Bolton Wanderers, ranked in the middle of the Premier League... Then when you're at the Premier League, you're due early for relegation!

Don't think of this game as the EFL Cup semi-final. To hell with the trophy! Just treat this game as a Premier League match! Check to see if you, as a manager, are qualified to have a foothold in the Premier League. Find out if you're capable of leading this team to the future you talked about this morning!

The players are watching you, the coaching team is watching you, Mr. Chairman sitting in the box is watching you. The loyal fans in the stands are watching you, and even the little Gavin is watching you from heaven!

Allardyce... Tang En turned his head again and looked at the man. If you want to hold on to these three points, I will let you hold. I want to see how long you can hold on for!

He turned to walk back to the technical area and asked Walker, "Des, how much time is left in the first half?"

Walker looked at his watch. "It's just past thirty minutes. Tony, our offense is completely closed off..."

Tang En reached out to interrupt Walker's complaint and then said to Peter Crouch, who was sitting on the substitutes' bench, "Crouch, you go warm up and go to the locker room at halftime!"

In general, those substitutes who would not be expected to appear in the game for the time being, would be led by the coaching team to do their warm-ups on the field rather than go to the locker room during the halftime interval. There was only one type of substitute player who would be asked to follow the starting lineup to the locker room at the halftime interval, and that was a player who was going to play when the second half started.

Crouch was stunned. He had not expected to get a chance to play so soon.

"Quickly, go!" Walker turned to him and signaled.

Crouch immediately stood up from the bench. There was a "bang" sound, and he covered his head and sat back down. Walker and Tang En turned their heads away; they could not bear to watch. He had bumped into the awning over the substitutes' bench.

The cameras naturally captured the amusing scene, and Andy Gray laughed in the press box, "Maybe the Forest team should have a special seat for Crouch: a skylight in the awning over the substitutes' bench!"

"Hey, hey!" exclaimed Tang En, "Are you gonna have to be taken to the hospital on a stretcher before you even play? How are you feeling, Crouch?"

When they heard Twain, the surrounding substitutes could not help laughing. Crouch clutched his head and mumbled, "Don't bring me off, Boss, I... I can do it..."

Even Tang En burst into laughter.

"You haven't even played yet, Peter!"

Red-faced, Crouch went to do his warm ups.

As Crouch ran off to the distance, Tang En returned to the sidelines. Walker followed too, and voiced his doubts. "Tony, Crouch is tall, but his header abilities aren't too great. Can he really play against those defenders?"

"Des, the tallest Bolton Wanderers defender is only six feet, two inches. How does that compare to Crouch? That five-inch gap is not so easy to make up for. Besides, I'm not just trying to get him to intercept with headers." Tang En glanced at Allardyce. He had noticed Crouch, who was warming up on the sidelines. He was too conspicuous to keep a low profile. "What do you think about a man with a height of six feet, seven inches who can pedal and dribble?"

"It's a little weird." Walker knew who Twain was talking about.

"Yes, his ability is beyond our normal comprehension. Even if he's not good at headers, his height on the field acts as a deterrent to the defenders. His ability to assist his teammates with the ball is outstanding. We can take advantage of that and pass the ball to him. He's different from Rebrov in that he's not afraid of the English-style defense. And I think he's going to make the Bolton Wanderers defenders feel very uncomfortable."

After listening to these words, Walker did not say anything, because Crouch's performance during training made it obvious. His long legs indeed made it difficult for Wes Morgan and Robert Huth to defend against him, let alone Clint Hill, who was shorter in stature. They could not keep up with Crouch's pace.

Just as he was about to turn back to the technical area, Tang En added, "Another thing, Des. After this game, design a specialized practice program for Crouch to strengthen his headers. It's a waste of his height if he doesn't have a good header to complement it."

Crouch did get some headers, but that was because of his height advantage. He still lacked header skills. Tang En wanted to make Crouch a veritable "Air Master," but that was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Beside the problem of the strikers, the Forest team's two wings did not soar like Tang En had imagined either. Under the opponents' fierce pressure, McPhail and Ashley Young finally got a rare opportunity for an individual breakthrough which brought several place kicks for the Forest team.

Chapter 149: The Better Interceptor Part 2

If the two wings could not soar, there would be no chance in the middle and no hope of winning. Tang En would have to hope that God would lend a helping hand again. But Tang En did not think that God was "Lei Feng." If everything required a miracle, what was the point of him as a manager?

In reality, his current issue was not worrying about what Bolton Wanderers would do. It was obvious that Allardyce was very satisfied with this away game score of 1:0. The entire team had been recalled. Kevin Davies was only in front field for show, and he had taken the initiative to give up a number of shots that had given both sides a chance; after all, his injury had not fully recovered, and he dared not risk it.

Tang En's problem was that he could not make any substitutions now. Through the recent games, Rebrov had just started to play with confidence. If he was brought off in the first half, it would truly be all for nothing.

After watching the game for nearly thirty minutes, Tang En caved and decided not to make Rebrov play as the striker anymore, not even as the occasional guest player. The twenty-nine-year-old "veteran" had come to the point where he had to use his experience and passing to assist the team, and was not scoring goals. He and Shevchenko were not the same type of players after all.

"Rebrov!" He stood on the sidelines and shouted towards the field. His voice traveled over the Bolton Wanderers fans in the south stand of the City Ground. "Retreat!" He waved his hand towards the halfway line, and the meaning of this hand gesture was clear.

Having played in the midfield for a few matches, Rebrov too felt that playing as the striker was quite uncomfortable now, and he was glad that the manager had changed his mind.

Back in midfield, Rebrov's performance was much better than it had been for the previous thirty minutes, and the Forest team was able to organize some effective offense. And at the same time, because of his presence, the three Bolton Wanderers defensive midfielders could not help being distracted while trying to guard the middle; they were clearly aware of Rebrov's recent repeated use of long shots. This gave McPhail and Ashley Young a chance to be active on the wings.

After Ashley Young received Rebrov's pass, he used his speed to forcefully break through Iván Campo and Simon Charlton. Eastwood's deft running position shook off the center back who was marking him. He then swung a header to shoot at the goal, but the header was slightly too high. Although there was no goal, the City Ground burst into loud cheering. It seemed that, against the odds, the Forest team might be able to score in the first half.

Tang En saw the way Freddy Eastwood was rubbing his head with regret, but he was not as disappointed as his team looked. At least he knew now that the Forest team had been revitalized.

※※※

"Eastwood! Oh—he missed a chance to score!"

"Opportunities like that don't come often! The Forest team has only just awakened from their slumber in the latter part of the game's first half. Their attacks are gradually getting more menacing, but it's not nearly enough! Manager Tony Twain's move to let Rebrov return to the midfield was right. With him there, the Forest team's offense is as slick as oil! Just look at Ashley Young's breakthrough! It was truly beautiful; Iván Campo and Simon Charlton were powerless against his speed. But it was ultimately thanks to Rebrov's passing. He sent the ball directly where Ashley Young was sprinting to, and not to his feet. That way, Young could take full advantage of his speed..."

Allardyce had come to realize the threat of Rebrov in the midfield, so he signaled to Nolan on the sidelines to mark the Ukrainian.

Nolan was younger, physically stronger, and more than enough to deal with the twenty-nine-year-old Rebrov. But, just when he had just made the adjustment, Tang En followed suit.

When he saw Allardyce's signal to Nolan on the sidelines, Tang En knew what he was going to do. It was nothing more than letting a defensive midfielder closely mark the core of the Forest team's offensive organization and using all possible means to curb Rebrov's play.

That tactic was often employed by the La Liga managers against Real Madrid's core midfielder, Guti, during the 06-07 season. As long as Guti was guarded, the entire Real Madrid team was essentially guarded as well. This was because Guti was the key figure in controlling Real Madrid's offensive momentum.

Rebrov was playing this role for Nottingham Forest now. His experience could help the team control its rhythm, and tell it when to divide, when to control the ball, when to be fast and when to be slow. His experience was a cut above the rest of his teammates. After all, he was a veteran who had played in the UEFA Champions League, and of a different level from the Forest team boys in the midfield.

Bolton Wanderers intend to use young Nolan to grind Rebrov down, but... have you asked for my opinion, Mr. Allardyce?

The visiting team was now playing a defend-to-the-death tactic, and Okocha seemed dispensable on the field. And Wood was still following him...

"George!!" Tang En yelled from the sidelines, and Wood temporarily took his eyes off Okocha and turned to his manager on the sidelines.

"Protect the Ukrainian!!" Tang En pointed to Rebrov, who was tangled with Nolan. "Don't let him lose the ball!"

In such a noisy environment, he could only summarize, and could not exhort repeatedly as he would in the locker room. Now he could only wait to see how much Wood could comprehend.

Rebrov planned to dribble past Nolan, but the ball at his feet was cut by Nolan. Cheers erupted again on the south stand; this was a chance for the Bolton Wanderers to counterattack!

But when Nolan had just bypassed Rebrov and was about to drive the ball away, he saw that a man had also charged to the front of the ball. The man was wearing the red home team jersey!

They each had a chance! Nolan did not intend to give back the ball without a fight. He exerted his utmost strength to charge past the man. He planned to use the momentum of his recent successful interception to intercept the ball again!

However, the person he faced this time was no longer Rebrov, but ...

"Boom!" The two men's feet clashed ferociously, and the football swerved to the side. Nolan wanted to intercept, but he could do nothing because he had tumbled to the ground. Even though his opponent staggered, the man was able to maintain his balance, and he ran past Nolan without turning back.

The entire City Ground broke out great cheers on the stands. George Wood, the "magic kid" who had done the crazy incepting in the midfield and eventually assisted with a sixty-meter long pass in the previous match, was back!

Rebrov turned his head back and saw Wood. He immediately abandoned his plan to turn back to intercept. He knew this kid's ferocious intercepting skill from training. With Wood by his side, he only had to think about how to attack. He did not have to worry about losing the ball and the opponent fighting back; he could go forward boldly without fear.

Wood caught up with the football and, without any hesitation, chose to pass the ball to the nearest person he could see, and the one to whom he could pass the ball most easily—Rebrov!

Nolan was powerless. As he lay on the ground, he turned to look back at his own defense zone being breached. There were no Bolton Wanderers players around Rebrov, and he had plenty of time to decide whether to shoot for the goal or pass the ball once he had taken control of it...

"Nottingham Forest has gained the advantage with its offense! With no one to mark Rebrov... Here comes the long shot!" Martin Taylor called out.

After seeing Nolan being broken through, the Bolton Wanderers' Finnish goalkeeper, Jussi J??skel?inen, was ready for Rebrov's long-range shot. When he saw his kick, he leapt and soared, and used both his fists to strike out!

"Beautiful block by J??skel?inen! He saved the goal!"

There was a huge collective sigh from the stands, but soon the fans applauded Rebrov, who had tried to shoot, and George Wood, who had intercepted the ball for the counterattack.

Although the counterattack had not resulted in a goal, it gave the Forest team more confidence, especially for the attacking players. They all knew what type of person was backing them up: he was tireless and had excellent interception ability. It was like having a wall of silence standing tall and upright inside the halfway line, giving them support and a peace of mind—You can attack as boldly as you want, I'm here to watch your back.

That was it. Tang En would recover by allocating a dedicated bodyguard for the core of the organization.

Mr. Allardyce, do you think that players like Kevin Nolan, Giannakopoulos, and Iván Campo are good at intercepting? Very well, now, let them see who the better interceptor is!

Chapter 150: The First Half Part 1

Tang En knew that George Wood was a naturally outstanding football player, because he could faithfully complete all the tasks his manager gave to him. As a defensive player, what else was more important?

He had made Wood protect Rebrov, but he could not say it clearly due to the restrictions at the time. In the end, Wood was able to quickly understand his thoughts, and executed the task perfectly. It was so perfect that nobody could have asked for anything more. No one could ask him to protect Rebrov, keep an eye on Okocha, dribble the ball past five people, and pass the ball to his teammates in front of the goalpost all at once.

Wood's position was brought forward, and he followed Rebrov everywhere. In return, Gunnarsson shouldered Wood's original task—marking Okocha. Luckily, Bolton was still heavily focused on defense, so Okocha was not being too daring.

Kevin Nolan had already scored a goal in this match, and was in top condition. However, it was just his luck to have met George Wood. Although the Rebrov was having a hard time being marked by him, he was having an even harder time being marked by Wood!

Not to mention, Nolan was consistently unable to snatch the ball away from Rebrov. Even when he was able to snatch the ball, he was immediately faced with Wood's attempts to steal it back. George Wood had marked him perfectly as though he was Okocha, completely crippling his ability to turn around or get past anyone. If he was any slower, the ball under his feet would be stolen away.

This kid was fast in every way, from his sprinting speed, to his reaction speed and the speed at which he could kick.

What made Nolan even more furious was that Wood had not received any new instructions from the technical area, but had taken the task up on his own. Whenever Bolton gained possession of the ball and was about to go on the offensive, he would run up and try to snatch the ball as soon as Nolan received it, stopping them from constructing any effective offense.

"Kevin Nolan is completely unable to turn around! Even though he's being marked by George Wood alone, he must feel that there are people surrounding him on all sides!" Andy Gray commentated. He had become slightly more interested in George Wood. "Ah! Nolan passed back, and Bolton's offense was once again stopped… Something that Bolton had required three defensive midfielders to do was single-handedly accomplished by George Wood! What an impressive young lad! Where exactly did Tony Twain find him?"

"It was said that it was Wood himself who went to find Twain. Before that, he had never touched a football before…" Ever since Wood's spectacular performance during his first match, the media had paid an increased amount of attention to them, even gradually digging up much of his past. "What a genius…"

Upon seeing Wood's performance, Motson, who was in the stands, once again remembered the previous match that he had commentated. This lad was no longer a newbie playing his first game, someone whom he could not say much about. Tang En, who was looking at Wood from the side of the field, must feel overjoyed. However, he was probably getting a headache as well—how was he going to handle the other clubs' interests in George Wood?

Various big clubs were placing more emphasis on defenders, especially defensive midfielders. Chelsea was one of them. Makelele was already almost thirty, but they still bought him from Real Madrid. Why would they do that? Because they lacked a player who could stop offenses and who intercepted offenses frantically.

But now, Real Madrid has sold Makelele. Although they have the newly-joined Beckham, their results have not improved at all. Instead, they have become even worse. Without Makelele tirelessly sprinting around and intercepting in the midfield, Zidane and the others are unable to carry out their offenses without risk. Pavon and Helguera also lost the barrier in front of them. With the back defensive line directly facing off against the opponent's firepower, it would be a wonder if they did not concede goals. In the past, when Makelele was still around, there were no criticisms of Real Madrid's defense being not up to par. Ever since Makelele left, rumors of Real Madrid's backline defense being amateur-level started to appear, before gradually becoming the general consensus.

This was precisely the importance of that plain-looking, inconspicuous Makelele, who did the dirty work and received a low-paying salary. By the time Real Madrid realized that the club truly could not do without him, it was already too difficult for them to find a replacement, because the entire world lacked a defensive midfielder who was that good. Graveson and Pablo Garcia proved to be a failed introduction into the team, and they were completely unable to replace Makelele's role in Real Madrid. It was only during the 06-07 season, when Capello brought in three defensive midfielders all in one go, Diarra, Emerson and Gago, that they could begin to achieve Makelele's effect. But it was not always effective, and the entire team of eleven players was still required for defense, as opposed to only one, as it had been during Makelele's time.

Although Motson was worrying on Tang En's behalf, Tang En did not care about that in the slightest. He knew that Wood would not be leaving Nottingham for at least three years. After all, Nottingham Forest was still actively searching for a way to cure his mother's illness. Tang En was well aware of the kind of person Wood was. He believed that Wood himself also understood that the reason he could enjoy his current success was because he was in Nottingham Forest, which was willing to give young players opportunities. And, because he met Tony Twain.

Out of the players who changed football teams at a young age, only a few were able to become successful in the end. Defensive players were unlike offensive players; one mistake would be enough to end his entire professional career. If a forward missed the chance to score, he could simply wait for the next time his teammate passed the ball to him. But what about defensive players? Their margin of error was just too small.

※※※

The match continued with both teams in a stalemate for the rest of the first half. Although Nottingham Forest's offense exerted quite a bit of pressure on Bolton in the last ten minutes, Bolton still managed to stand their ground and did not concede a goal. This upset Nottingham deeply.

Tang En was already quite satisfied with these results. The most important thing was for the team to regain their confidence and their fighting spirit. As for equalizing the score by the end of the first-half, that would have been an extra bonus.

Nolan discovered that after he had been consecutively intercepted by Wood, he had actually somewhat lost the confidence to face off against him. Now, whenever Nolan saw Wood, he would have the urge to quickly pass the ball out. This time was no exception. Campo had passed the ball to Nolan, before running forward in hopes of attracting the attention of the Nottingham Forest defenders. But to his surprise, the moment Nolan saw Wood lunging at him murderously, he panicked and passed the ball back immediately. However, Ivan Campo was no longer there.

Ashley Young easily received the ball that Nolan had unwittingly passed to him, and the only person standing before him was Simon Charlton, whom he had already broken past once before!

"A passing mistake! This is a fatal mistake!"

Upon realizing that the ball had been passed behind him, Campo, who had dashed to the front, frantically turned around and chased after the ball. However, it was already too late. Ashley Young was on the move.

Simon Charlton rushed up to defend against him, hoping to use his experience to trap Young. But, next to the agile Ashley Young, Simon Charlton seemed clumsy in comparison. The young number 18 player from Nottingham Forest had changed direction three consecutive times while running, causing Charlton to become dizzy and expose his back to Ashley Young. Afterwards, Young did not hold back as he circled around Charlton's back, diagonally running into the penalty area.

Cheering sounds exploded from the stands.

Now, Ashley Young could shoot or pass the ball; it depended entirely upon his mood.

Bolton's goalkeeper, Jaaskelainen, immediately moved to block Ashley Young's shot, and Bolton's center back Hunt's first choice was also to block his shot. Ashley Young raised his right leg, and it appeared as though he was going to shoot for the goal.

Hunt rushed forward and did a sliding tackle in hopes of blocking the shot, but Young did not kick the ball out. Instead, he suddenly turned towards the center. His actions fooled both Jaaskelainen and Hunt.

Hunt, who was unable to stop himself in the midst of the sliding tackle, tripped Ashley Young, inside the penalty area.

The sound of the whistle rang out.

"Ashley Young falls to the ground! This is a penalty, no doubt! The first half was about to end, and Nottingham Forest has gotten a penalty kick!" Martin Taylor shouted loudly. City Ground Stadium's stands were filled with roaring; the camera lenses were trembling from it.

Seeing this unfolding, Tang En, who was by the side of the field, suddenly jumped up, turned around, and hugged Walker tightly.

This was really an unexpected bonus!

"This is a perfect display of Ashley Young's individual skills! Tony Twain has brought another genius kid from Watford! Five consecutive direction changes in a row…Poor Simon Charlton, poor Nichy Hunt, poor Bolton!"

Martin Taylor, who was beside Gray, added on behalf of his partner, "Poor Watford. For seven hundred thousand pounds, not only did they lose an exceptional young player, they also provided reinforcements for their competitor in the league."

The Nottingham Forest players ran towards their newly-joined teammate, surrounding him and congratulating him for his brilliant performance. He had used his individual skills to bring the team a chance for comeback. This was the best way to integrate into the team!

The cheers gradually died down as Freddy Eastwood hugged the ball and stood in front of the penalty spot. He was the player appointed by Tang En for penalty kicks.

He carefully placed the ball on the white dot, and took a few steps back.

Everyone on the stadium's stands—the technical area by the side of the field, the audience in front of the television, and the listeners in front of the radio—all held their breaths, not daring to make a sound.

Tang En stood by the side of the field and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned pale.

Eastwood raised his head and looked at the goalpost, but his brain was replaying that scene at Wilford, when Tony Twain had said to him, "Freddy, we have to win this afternoon's match, because this match is the starting point of that future!"

That future?

You are the legendary manager, while I am the legendary shooter?

Sounds great!

The whistle blew.

"Eastwood runs up to the ball… And he shoots! In the middle!"

Jaaskelainen predicted the wrong direction and leapt to the right side, but Eastwood had shot the ball towards where he was originally standing. The ball flew into the goalpost!

"GOOOOOOOOAL!!"

The stands went wild once again. This time, the camera lenses shook even more vigorously than they had before.

"YES! YES! Nottingham Forest has evened out the score! Their relentless offense has finally paid off! This is Freddy Eastwood's fourth goal in three consecutive matches! What a terrifying killer! Now, who still dares to say that he is an amateur player?"

After scoring, Eastwood rushed towards the technical area. His target was Tony Twain, who was currently in the midst of celebrating with the managerial staff.

Now I believe you, Boss! We will have that future!

When he was still about three or four meters away from Tang En, Eastwood leapt into the air in Tang En's direction. Tang En, who had just turned around, was unable to defend himself, and Eastwood collided with him. Afterwards, even more players joined in, causing Tang En and the coaching staff behind him to finally be unable to take the weight. As a result, all of them fell to the ground, and more than ten people were stacked on top of one another. It was a spectacular sight!

It was rare to see a player knocking over his manager after scoring a goal, with the rest of the team joining afterward. However, it had happened to Tony Twain twice. Seeing this, Taylor and Gray thought to themselves that it was no wonder Motson called Twain interesting. He seemed very well-liked by his players.

Motson, who was seated in the stands, was surrounded by cheering Nottingham Forest fans. Seeing the human pyramid in front of the technical area, Motson smiled.

Poor Tony…

The referee finally appeared to save Tang En. With his intervention, the fanatical Nottingham Forest players finally returned to the field. By the time Walker pulled Tang En up from the ground, his suit was already extremely wrinkled, and his white shirt had gotten dirty. One of his buttons had fallen off, his face was flushed red, and his hair was very unkempt. He looked like he had just finished doing a very different activity.

Seeing Tang En like that, even Walker could not help but burst out in laughter.

"Darn it!" Tang En panted heavily and waved his hands about. "I want to add a new rule to the team's rules and regulations: Pushing down the manager and piling up into a pyramid as a form of celebration is strictly prohibited! My clothes!" He unfolded his hands to express his "miserable state" to Walker, but instead caused an even louder wave of laughter from the technical area and the substitutes' bench.

Martin Taylor, who was on the commentator's seat, had the same opinion as Tang En. He laughed and said, "I think Mr. Twain should suggest that FIFA prohibit using these kinds of celebration methods after scoring a goal, especially if the person at the bottom is the manager…"

Gray, who was beside him, did not care that it was a live broadcast. He leaned on the table and started laughing loudly.

※※※

Nottingham Forest, who had equalized the score, very much wanted to ride the momentum and score more goals, but the referee saved Bolton by blowing the whistle and signifying the end of the first half.

"1:1! Looking at the process, I would guess that neither team is too happy with the progress. But from the results, this is a very fair score. Tony Twain and Sam Allardyce will be making use of these fifteen minutes of half time to make some necessary adjustments. Let's rest for a short while as we look forward to an even more exciting face off in the second half!

"See you in fifteen minutes time."

As soon as Martin Taylor took off his soundproof headphones, waves of loud noises assaulted his ears, taking his breath away.

"An atmosphere like this at City Ground Stadium," He muttered to himself. "Just how many years has it been since we last saw something like this?" Even the knowledgeable Taylor could not remember.

"Hey, Martin! I think Motson's right; Twain is indeed a very interesting fellow. I've commentated football matches for many, many years, but I've never seen an entire team of players collectively rush to their manager and stack on top of him like that! For Tony Twain to be so popular with the players, he must have cast some magic! Just like Harry Potter!" Andy Gray, who had just taken off his earphones, continued to talk non-stop as though he was in the midst of commentating a match.

Taylor smiled and said, "If Twain knows magic, then he wouldn't have to tie with Bolton in the first half. He could just win with a wave of his wand!" Taylor waved his hands. "Let's go get a drink, Andy. Who knows; we might even meet Motson. He understands Twain better than both of us combined. Whether or not Tony Twain knows magic, we'll find out when you ask him."

Chapter 151: The First Half Part 2

In the changing room, the Nottingham Forest players were in a rather good mood at first, since they had managed to equalize the score by the end of the first half. On their way back to the changing room, they were laughing and talking happily. Upon seeing this, Tang En, who was off to the side, scowled at Walker. Walker knew that the players, despite feeling great about themselves, were in for a tongue-lashing.

As expected, once everyone entered the changing room, Tang En's face turned into a glower as soon as Walker closed the door.

When everyone saw the manager's face, their idle chatting slowly died down until the room became completely silent. With the manager in such a bad mood, who would dare to keep talking?

"Who still remembers the first thing I told all of you before the match?" Tang En glared at the twelve players in the changing room, but nobody dared to make a sound. Perhaps they had already forgotten, or perhaps they remembered; but they dared not say because they did not know what their manager's intentions were.

So, Tang En started to call names. "Morgan?"

Morgan hesitated for a split second before answering in an unsure tone, "Well... I think it was about defense, chief."

"Well... I think it was about defense…"Tang En imitated the tone of his young center back. "Are you doubting your memory?"

"It was defense! Defense! That's right, it was defense!" Morgan frantically shouted.

Tang En looked at Morgan and grinned, but it managed to make Morgan even more uneasy and frightened. Morgan felt that he had already been made the target for the boss to vent his anger on.

"Very good, Mr. Morgan. You may take a seat now," Tang En said, waving his hands.

It was only at that moment that Morgan realized that he had stood up from the bench, just like a student who was answering a teacher's question during class.

Tang En turned around and looked at the rest of the players. After that, he unfolded his hands and once again repeated his words from before the match. "'Defense, lads, I want you all to know the importance of defense!' We spent ten minutes talking about how to guard against the opponent's offenses, and in the end we conceded a goal twelve minutes into the game. Now, I know you guys all want to say that that goal had a certain element of chance involved. But a goal conceded is a goal conceded. I don't want any excuses for it. Honestly, we played poorly in the first half. Very poorly. We should feel lucky to have tied with Bolton. Ashley Young performed outstandingly, Freddy as well." Tang En looked at the two players who had contributed significantly to the goal and nodded his head to express his recognition of their efforts. "But this shouldn't conceal the issue. I admit that I'm also partially responsible for our horrible performance in the first half. My tactics failed and gave the opponent a chance to score. But all of you should also reflect on your performance."

After that, Tang En walked to the tactics board and drew the actual formation of Bolton and Nottingham Forest during the match. It was derived from what Tang En had observed during the match. Bolton's was 4312, while Nottingham Forest's was 4231.

"Rebrov did very well in the midfield, so I want you to continue playing that position." Tang En drew a circle around the middle of the three midfielders, before drawing another arrow from within the circle, pointing towards the kick-off circle. "But you have to position yourself slightly farther back in the second half. Maintain a sufficient distance away from Wood, but don't leave his protection range."

Rebrov nodded his head, showing that he understood.

"And Gunnarsson, very sorry, but you'll have to rest for the second half. I'm going to let Crouch substitute you. You did pretty well for the first half; you provided effective support behind him. However, there are only eleven people on the field, and we need to go on the offensive in the second half." Tang En stared at Gunnarsson, trying his best to appear to be as sincere as he could. Being substituted out during half-time was not considered a good thing.

Gunnarsson was slightly unwilling, but he still nodded his head. George Wood's performance was indeed much better than his, so there was nothing wrong with leaving Wood on the field.

Seeing Gunnarsson nodding, Tang En wiped away the solid circle he drew on the board. Afterwards, he added a symbol beside Eastwood that was meant to symbolize Peter Crouch.

"Crouch, when you're up on the field, make use of your height and create opportunities for your teammates to score as much as possible. If the opportunity arises, you can try to score yourself. Simply put, you can choose the most appropriate way to deal with the ball according to the situation. Don't be constrained by my instructions. You got it?"

"Got it, Boss," Crouch said with a sullen face. This was his first time representing Nottingham Forest in a match. If he played well, his future would be guaranteed. But if he didn't… He would have to sink yet again into uncertainty. He did not want to return to Aston Villa, as the experience he had had there was like a nightmare. He knew that Nottingham Forest had a loan-to-buy contract with Aston Villa regarding him, but whether he would be bought over by Nottingham Forest would be entirely dependent upon his performance this season. Now was his best chance to prove his worth to his new manager.

Tang En saw Crouch's expression, and felt that it was too grim. This was not good; it would affect his performance on the field. Tang En smiled and said, "Don't pull that long face, Peter. Do you like to dance?"

Crouch nodded his head fervently, unsure how the manager knew.

Tang En paid no heed to Crouch's curious stare. He winked at Crouch and said, "If you score, just dance on the field! Like this…" He imitated Crouch's robot dance from his memories, which Crouch often did when he scored for the national team. However, Tang En's imitation was not like it at all. Instead of looking like a robot, he ended up looking more like a marionette puppet. As a result, the changing room erupted into a wave of laughter. The heavy atmosphere from Tang En's lecturing had gotten livelier.

"Tony, is that a rusty robot man?" Walker eized the opportunity to poke fun at him.

Tang En scratched his head with embarrassment and said, "Anything will do, as long as you guys stop pushing me to the ground. Look, my button…" Tang En pulled on his collar.

This time, even louder laughter erupted within the changing room, and there were even whistling sounds.

Tang En did not interrupt the players' enjoyment. He smiled and looked at them from the side. After everyone finished laughing, he made a gesture to quiet down the room. "Alright lads, let's continue. McPhail, your performance in the first half wasn't good enough. You should be more active later. Where did your imagination go? Dribble past those defensive players. Don't be afraid to lose possession of the ball. Even if you do, there's still George!"

Tang En pointed at Wood, who was sitting at the corner of the room expressionlessly. A smattering of laughter resounded throughout the changing room.

"Hey, George, you hear that? Everyone thinks highly of you, so keep on playing like that in the second half!" Tang En took that chance to brief Wood on his task for the second half. "Intercept all the balls that try to get past from your side!"

Upon finishing the player arrangements, Tang En began to talk about the overall tactics to be deployed.

"We managed to equalize the score by the end of the first half. If I were Allardyce, I definitely wouldn't let the matter rest. I'd search for opportunities to take back the lead as soon as the second half began. So, all the full backs will have to be on high alert for the first ten minutes of the second half, because Bolton will definitely apply pressure and go on the offense. Our formation will have to be more defensive. We'll need to play counter attack as our strategy. After ten minutes, if Bolton still doesn't score, they will definitely start to try for a stable game, and hope to maintain this score. They will then play to win back on their home grounds next weekend. We can't give them that chance! If they retreat, we'll go on the offense instead! Give them a fatal blow!"

After saying this, Tang En clenched his fists and raised his voice. "Lads, I don't care whether you transferred over last summer, or if you just joined the team this month; I also don't care if you were transferred over to the first team from the youth team, or if you've been on this team all this time. I don't care which team you were previously on, which manager you played under, whether you've gotten honorable titles or you have nothing to your name… In short, we are now one team, and we trained together. So, I want you all to understand what my football—Tony Twain's football—is like!" Tang En said, pointing to his own chest.

"I'm sure some of you here already know what happened to Nottingham Forest during last season's playoffs, so I can tell all of you: what is Tony Twain's football? It is victory! I hate defeats! Especially those that happen when I'm on the brink of success! I hope that the only thing that you all think about when you're out there playing, is victory! You must tell yourself, today I must win! Not 'what if I lose', or other worthless thoughts like that!"

"Now that we're already in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, we're only one step short of advancing into the finals! Just one month ago, who would have thought that we would be able to accomplish that? At that time, we were ranked fourth from the bottom. Even Crystal Palace ridiculed us, and they were ranked third from the bottom! That match, we showed Crystal Palace how small they are! Now, we have to show Bolton the same thing! Finish them off on our home grounds! Don't let them have a chance of comeback on their home grounds! It's ours, and nobody can take it away from us!"

※※※

"What kind of person is Tony Twain? How should I say it…" In the resting room designated for announcers, John Motson was currently discussing Twain with the two people opposite him. "I can't define him. I really is impossible to say with any certainty what kind of person he really is. The definitive adjectives used to describe him in the past are completely wrong… It's very complicated. So if you ask me what kind of person he is, I can't answer you. I'm afraid even Twain himself is unable to do so. Hence, in order to understand what kind of person he is, you will have to see for yourself…"

"Hey, John. Why do I feel like you're patronizing us?" Gray said, sounding annoyed.

Motson shrugged. "I can only say what kind of person I feel Tony Twain is. He seems to be very rash, one who speaks his mind. He will use any and all means to achieve his goal, and he is someone that bears grudges easily… But this may not necessarily be your evaluation of him. There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes. The same thing applies to Tony Twain."

Martin Taylor fell into deep thought for a while before opening his mouth. "Andy, I feel like there's a need to repeat what I said to you before the match—exactly what kind of person Twain is, we'll have to see for ourselves."

Motson agreed with Martin. "That's right. You two have to see for yourselves during the match's second half. It will be a good opportunity to do so. According to my experience, Tony Twain's team tends to always start performing after the half time break…"

Chapter 152: Backfired Part 1

The second half of the match had just begun, and it was as Tang En had said: the Bolton Wanderers launched a fierce offense against the Forest team's goal and seemed poised to take the lead again. If Tang En had allowed his team to counterattack the Bolton Wanderers now, there would have to be something wrong with his head.

As a football fan, Tang En had enjoyed watching both sides attack each other with each team alternatively scoring goals one after another. But since he had become a manager, that interest was snuffed out. The only true way to win a football match was defense. A game was like a pyramid; the offense was the most dazzling and eye-catching peak, and the defense was the base and the foundation. If there was no solid foundation, then offense would only a castle floating in the sky. A beautiful offense must be built on a solid defensive foundation. That was the truth of football.

Without Gunnarsson, Rebrov was asked to defend as well. But the most pressure was on George Wood.

Kevin Nolan and Jay-Jay Okocha battered Wood's defensive zone one after another, and Rebrov's ability to help with defense was limited. A game like this was a good opportunity to toughen him up. Tang En stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed and did nothing as he watched Wood, who had his hands full. He believed in Wood. The kid's defensive talent would not disappoint him.

In the future that Tang En had envisioned for Wood, what kind of defensive midfielder would George Wood be in his prime? He might not become the sort of midfielder who was good at attacking and defending like Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, and he also might not be the type of midfielder with outstanding scoring ability like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. But he could still be the best defensive midfielder in the world. By then, even if Tang En arranged for three attacking midfielders out of the four midfielders, plus two fullbacks to assist, George Wood would still have the ability to firmly hold the Forest defensive zone in a deadlock, as if it were heavily chained... No, it would be a wall, an incomparably tall and sturdy city wall.

But he couldn't know how far away that future was.

Currently, Wood was still very inexperienced; he could not fully cover the defensive zone, and maintaining his stability was still an issue. This championship season still had a long way to go, and his professional career was also very long. How could he be expected to repeat that breathtaking performance from the previous match in every game? It was impossible. Better to take it slow.

In the midst of his busyness, Wood made a mistake and failed to see the agile Okocha. The Nigerian nimbly swung past Wood, and appeared in front of the penalty area!

A loud hiss rang out from the stands. The Forest fans hoped to put psychological pressure on the Nigerian.

"Damn it!" Walker cursed beside Twain. He felt that Twain should not have taken Gunnarsson off at the start of the second half. At the very least, he should have waited for the opponent's wave of attacks to be over before the substitution... But what was the use of saying that now?

"Okocha broke through George Wood! If the Nigerian is allowed into the penalty area, Nottingham Forest will be in danger!" Gray finished speaking when Okocha fell just outside the penalty area.

The referee's whistle sounded, and it was a foul.

This time, the man who had saved the Forest team was not George Wood, but Freddy Eastwood, who had returned to defend the front of the penalty area. He had pushed Okocha over from the side. He was given a yellow card, but he had helped the Forest team resolve a major crisis. The yellow card was worth it.

Walker let out a long-held breath. Tang En looked back at him and laughed. "What are you so nervous about, Des? We're not going to lose. Don't you believe me? Our future is bright."

Eastwood accepted the yellow card, then ran back to the front to wait for the chance to counterattack. Wood turned to look at him; he had helped him.

In contrast to Tang En's ease, Mr. Allardyce was furious about the foul, not only because Eastwood had toppled Okocha and prevented the Bolton Wanderers from a good offense, but also because the referee had only given him a yellow card. He thought that a red card would not have been an overreaction.

Naturally, a manager would always want the penalty to give the advantage to his team.

※※※

Eastwood's foul was a watershed moment in the circumstances of the game. Bolton Wanderers' offense gradually weakened, while the Forest team, like a compressed spring, rebounded strongly as soon as the Bolton Wanderers loosened their grip.

Tang En stood on the sidelines and seemed almost relaxed as the Forest team's offense increased. There were three consecutive shots at the goal within five minutes! He was not anxious, but Mr. Allardyce, in the next technical area, became impatient. He walked up and down between the sidelines and the technical area with a dark, almost frightening expression on his face.

Mr. Allardyce, Tang En thought. Do you have any more moves left? If not, then I won't hold back now... Tang En turned back to the technical area and looked towards Walker. Walker knew that he was going to ask him for the time. Twain had a watch, but he never looked at it. The game time was displayed on the big screen, but he never looked at it either.

"Ten minutes have passed." Walker answered.

Tang En nodded and went back to the sidelines. He shouted Rebrov's name and asked him to move his position forward slightly.

The Forest team, like a compressed barbed spring, was going to fight back.

Tang En believed that once both his wings soared, the Bolton Wanderers would not be able to stop them. Just look at the tall man in Forest's penalty area! If they used two players to guard Crouch, then Eastwood would have more freedom. And if they brought in their fullback to fill the gap to defend it, the space in the wing would be free.

Now, all Tang En had to do was wait on the sidelines for a goal.

He hoped he wouldn't have to wait for long…

※※※

Seventeen minutes had passed in the second half, and the Forest team had the upper hand. They pressed on the Bolton Wanderers with their offense coming in like the tide. Fat John jumped and yelled in the stands, "That's right! That's right! This is how the home team should be playing!"

There were a lot of people who shared his views. The tired and feeble Forest team in the first half greatly had depressed these people. So what if they were playing a Premier League team? As far as the ambitious Forest fans were concerned, any opponents in their way would be beaten.

The Forest team was not even frightened of Liverpool, who had once dominated English and European football in the past.

Brian Clough's team had had such a diehard temperament that they were not even afraid of their strong opponents. Instead, they would only be more motivated. Now, if Tony Twain wanted to achieve the same success as Clough, his team would have to be the same as that Forest team: whether it was against a Premier League team or a big European club, they had to be fearless.

※※※

When Nolan saw George Wood's ferocious interception, he suddenly had an idea. Since the Forest team's only defensive midfielder position is occupied by that stupid boy alone, why not lure him out, and then launch a counterattack to remove the obstacle?

Kevin Nolan marveled at his own ingenuity in finding an effective tactic in such a complicated situation on the field. Taking advantage of a dead ball opportunity, he called Okocha and Giannakopoulos over to tell them about his tactic. They all thought it was feasible. Okocha also detested Wood. It would be really perfect if they could lure him out of the defensive zone.

Therefore, the three men put their heads together and, after a simple discussion, they separated and waited to execute their plan.

Allardyce had always wanted Nolan, the young player, to become Bolton Wanderers' future commander of the midfield. Consequently, he exhorted him during training to use his brain to play. Now, Nolan felt that he already knew how to use his brain to play, because he could set up specific tactics based on actual circumstances during the game.

His heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment, excitedly looking forward to the following scene:

Starting from Okocha, Wood would be slowly drawn out and progressively kept away from the defensive zone. Then, through continuous back-and-forth passing, they would completely pull him apart, and swiftly pass the ball to Okocha to launch a counterattack. After that, they just had for the cheers to come from the south stand. He, Kevin Nolan, would be extolled in the media for personally engineering the strategy, and the birth of another commander of the midfield would be proclaimed! It really was so exciting to think about!

Okocha received Nolan's pass; his back was facing the attack direction. As expected, Wood rushed up. Okocha looked up and saw Nolan's signal to him. It was time for action.

]He used all his efforts to protect the ball and not let it be poked out by Wood, while he slowly dribbled back, giving the illusion that he was tightly pressed on and forced to backpedal. At the same time, he paid close attention to the situation behind him and was relieved to see that pressure was still there.

Now, he had to make his act even more genuine, so that the inexperienced kid would be completely fooled...

He felt the pressure behind him getting stronger, and he hastened to pass the ball to Nolan, who came to his rescue.

Nolan, who had just received the football, looked up and was delighted to see George Wood give up Okocha to charge towards him.

So, he pretended to turn around in a slight panic to guard the ball.

Even Martin Taylor and Andy Gray in the press box were deceived by Nolan's performance: "George Wood is on the go, pressing on Okocha so much that he can only choose to pass the ball back. And now, it's Kevin Nolan's turn!"

If Nolan could have heard the commentary, he would have been pleased with himself. Wood was aggressively hammering him from behind, and he seemed agitated. What an inexperienced idiot, Nolan thought.

Nolan was going to further provoke Wood, so he slammed backwards. Then he passed the ball to Giannakopoulos, who was further behind. Then he saw Wood drop him to rush towards the Greek. The smirk on his face deepened. He could almost the coming scene: Giannakopoulos would kick a long pass after receiving it, and Okocha would dribble and break through to the penalty area to shoot the winning goal... No, Nolan corrected himself. Dribble the ball into the penalty area, then get tripped up by the opposing defender, and it will be a penalty kick! We lost a point because of a penalty kick, so we need to get back the score through a penalty kick!

Because Giannakopoulos's distance to Nolan was very close, he did not use much strength to make the pass; this was out of consideration for his teammate, and should have allowed him to stop the ball more easily. But the still fantasizing Nolan did not notice how fast Wood was running… running right past him.

Chapter 153: Backfired Part 2

In the box, Evan Doughty watched the scene unfolding on the field. He suddenly recalled the first time he had gone to the youth team to find Tony. He had seen the kind of training that took place on the training ground—a group of players would form a small circle, and Wood would go back and forth in the middle to intercept the other players' passes. Any player whose pass was intercepted would be made to run laps as a penalty. At that time, many players were punished, and he still remembered a young kid running out and saying to the coach, "The distance was too close, Wood intercepted the ball before it could even be passed!"

Ah, it's similar to today….

Giannakopoulos stood in the same spot waiting for the football to be passed, while at the same time he adjusted his legs, intending to continue dribbling the ball forward without stopping. This impulsive, silly boy is so easy to fool, he thought.

"George Wood rushes to the opposing half to force an interception!"

Giannakopoulos soon realized something was wrong; he was doomed to fail at receiving the pass. Nolan's passing was not very powerful or swift, and they did not expect George Wood's to be so fast!

Their plan had backfired!

The panicked Greek's intention was to move forward to receive the pass, but Wood was one step ahead of him. He lowered his body to skate past and, using the speed and momentum of his continuous sprint, rushed ahead of Giannakopoulos and intercepted the ball.

Giannakopoulos risked being injured by Wood's tackle, but the football rolled past his foot.

"George Wood's steal was a success!" exclaimed Gray. "Nolan was too careless! His pass was too gentle... How could he make such an irresponsible pass when his opponent was closing in on him?"

"The Forest team's fighting back! The ball broke through the line of defense... and Eastwood!"

Cheers erupted throughout City Ground again. Their best striker for January received the ball from Wood's interception. Because Nolan's return pass was cut off, the Bolton Wanderers' entire line of defense had no reaction to the seizing of the ball. They just looked on helplessly as Eastwood received the ball without anyone to mark him. He then swung up his right foot as he faced toward the goal...

A legendary manager! A legendary striker! My foot is about to kick open the door to a glorious future!

"What a goal!! A genius strike! This is Freddy Eastwood's second goal in this game, and his fifth goal in three consecutive games since he has joined Nottingham Forest!"

The City Ground was rocking, and Tang En felt as though he was in a volcanic crater about to erupt; he was swaying on his feet.

"George Wood scored consecutive steals from the backfield to the front field, and he finally succeeded in intercepting Nolan's pass! Eastwood shrewdly appeared right where he should be! An eighteen-year-old, a twenty-year-old, plus the nineteen-year-old player, Ashley Young, who made the penalty kick in the first half! Nottingham Forest's young stars are on the rise!"

After the goal, Eastwood had originally planned to find Wood, who had given him the assist, and to take this opportunity to show him friendship. But next to him, Crouch's long legs appeared in front of him as he hugged him tightly. Then, more of his teammates rushed up and surrounded him. He could not see the situation outside. How's Wood? Is he in this group? Or is he standing blankly outside like before?

"Poor Kevin Nolan; his passing mistake in the first half gave the Forest team a chance to equalize the score with a penalty kick. In the second half, it was still his passing blunder that gave George Wood a chance for an assist again! Today is not his day!"

Seeing his highest-valued player continuing to make such low-level errors, Allardyce felt flustered and exasperated. He turned to the Frenchman sitting on the substitutes' bench and shouted, "Djorkaeff, get ready to play!"

He had decided that Nolan was out of form today. His only question was how his gameplay had taken such a nosedive, even though he had scored in the beginning of the game.

If Kevin Nolan had known that he had been brought off because of this misstep, he would certainly have felt aggrieved. It was not a mistake. His plan was flawless! Just blame it on that number 33; he was too fast! If it had been a different team and opponent, his plan would have surely succeeded!

He stood in the same spot with the annoyed Nigerian next to him. And in front of them was Giannakopoulos, who had fallen to the ground. The Greek had bravely clashed with Wood without any regard for his personal safety, and the result was that he had hurt himself instead. He held his ankle as he lay sprawled on the ground with an expression of agony on his face.

They were rendered speechless in the face of the situation.

And who was the culprit behind all this?

George Wood ran towards the celebrating crowd, but after a few paces, he stopped. He really wanted to celebrate the goal with those people... But he did not know how to blend in—how to laugh happily, shout excitedly, pump his fists.

It was he who had created the goal. It was his assist, but now he was like an outsider.

※※※

Trailing behind, Bolton Wanderers replaced the malfunctioned Kevin Nolan with Djorkaeff. Nolan was disappointed with Allardyce's decision. After he was brought off, he went straight to the player's corridor without shaking hands with his manager or returning to the substitutes' bench. Tang En noticed the scene. Was there a rift between the men? This was good news for the Forest team's next round.

Allardyce did not care about how Nolan was feeling now. He had already used one substitution slot, and was faced with the predicament of having to use another; Giannakopoulos was injured, and the team doctor advised that it was best not to let him continue. He had to be brought off immediately.

This gave him pause for a moment. He had wanted to replace Kevin Davies, who was still recovering from his injury. Giannakopoulos's injury had disrupted his entire deployment plan.

He decided to let Giannakopoulos hold on for a while to observe the circumstances of the game.

The team doctor spoke some comforting words to the Greek, showered him with painkillers, and allowed him to return to the field.

The game continued.

Although Nottingham Forest players' celebration on the field was over and the game was back on track, the fans in the stands were still celebrating the recent goal. George Wood was rushing from the back field to the front, relentlessly trying to intercept the ball, and eventually succeeded in cutting a pass to assist his teammate, laying waste to two opposing players—one was brought off, and the other was hobbling. Such exploits were praised by the fans through word of mouth, and unknowingly, Wood had become a favorite of the City Ground stands, even though before the previous game, few people had even heard his name.

Allardyce hoped that the team could quickly regain their morale and resume their offense against the Forest team. How could Bolton Wanderers, a Premier League team, lose to a team which was in the middle rankings of League One?

But only two minutes later, his team was hit hard again; Nottingham Forest had scored another goal!

This time, the Forest team had taken advantage of the bombardment on the Bolton Wanderers and launched a highly effective counterattack. Wes Morgan kicked a long ball to the front, and Rebrov stopped the ball and dribbled it into the Bolton Wanderers' penalty area. J??skel?inen and Crouch rushed to the ball at the same time.

If J??skel?inen had been facing Eastwood, then he would have had a more than 50% chance of getting the ball, because he could use his hands; when the ball was shot high, he could jump up and save it directly.

But the man who was fighting with him now was the incredibly tall Crouch!

His chances were far from 50/50! They were 80/20!

The distance between Crouch and the football looked closer than the distance between J??skel?inen and the football. The Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper must get this ball... but then he extended his leg!

J??skel?inen saw the football suddenly soar in front of him, and over the top of his head. And then, in the midst of the thunderous cheers of the City Ground, it fell into the goal behind him!

3:1! Nottingham Forest was leading by two goals on its home ground!

What was more lethal than this goal was the time when the goal was scored; it was less than two minutes after the previous goal. Just when Bolton Wanderers was about to raise its spirits and morale to equalize the score, they lost another goal instead.

This third goal came so quickly that the Bolton Wanderers were completely crushed. Even if the veteran Djorkaeff was brought onto the field, it would not change anything in the game; they were sure to lose.

Listening to the singing in the City Ground and looking at the surge of a red tide in stands, Allardyce emphatically spat and reluctantly accepted the inevitable outcome.

Davies and Okocha were brought off, and a defensive midfielder and a center back were brought on. The haughty Premier League manager had to lower his head before the League One team, and bow down to accept defeat.

Chapter 154: New Forest Part 1

After beating Bolton in the first round of the semi-finals, Tang En gained not only a victory, but a better reputation as well. Now, all of England came to know of Nottingham Forest's ingenious manager. Despite his youth, he was able to lead a team that was ranked fourth from the bottom in League One, all the way to the semi-finals. Not only that, but he had also managed to triumph over his semi-finals opponent, a Premier League team.

The scene of Tang En being pushed to the ground by the players as a form of celebration had been published in a small segment of the "Match of the Day" weekday edition called "2 Good 2 Bad." This was a small segment that was only available during the weekday editions. It usually only featured Premier League highlights, and rarely featured other league's matches. However, what happened to Tang En was so amusing that the editors decided to add the scene into the highlights compilation.

The host of the program, BBC's pundit Adrian Chiles, freely described the sight in his own words. In the end, he made it sound very fun, making the already interesting story sound even better.

"Goal! This is too great, hey…hey! Hey! Freddy, you're running to the wrong place… Ah! Can anyone~~save me~~~~Alright, Tony Twain may very well be the only manager that doesn't wish for his team to score a goal…"

The host and the guests burst out in laughter.

Everyone came to know what kind of manager he was—he was the happiest person to see his players score, but whenever they did, he was also the unluckiest person.

Tony Twain was not the only one whose reputation improved. His team, as well as the young players who had performed exceedingly well, earned a better reputation as well.

George Wood had only played two matches for Nottingham Forest's first team, and there were already football clubs asking Nottingham Forest for an asking price.

Since this matter concerned the purchase and sale of players, Evan Doughty kept his promise and did not interfere at all. Instead, he let Tang En have full say over the matter. Tang En's stance was firm: he wouldn't sell.

Tang En knew how scarce good defensive midfielders would become in the next few years. As long as Wood continued to play like this, his value would quickly inflate. To sell him just because someone offered? Tang En was no fool. Moreover, the club had just signed an eight-year contract with Wood, and it was definitely not just for show.

In reality, Tang En was not at all worried about the issue of Wood's loyalty. The lad knew that the club had helped him a lot, and he knew full well whether he should choose to stay or leave. But the situation did make Tang En start to worry about Wood for another reason; perhaps George should have an agent to help him settle his personal affairs and manage his finances.

It was true that the Professional Footballers' Association could help players negotiate contract terms on their behalf, as well as settle some financial problems for them. Doing it like that could prevent him from being exploited. But who has ever seen a football superstar who still needed the Professional Footballers' Association's help with their contract?

Tang En felt that Wood was sure to become a superstar, but only under one condition: Wood had to be playing for Tang En, not some other football club.

Tang En was not opposed to the idea of football players finding agents; they required professionals like agents to help them manage their finances and public relationships. Managers were not gods, and were therefore unable to take care of all the players' needs. So, those kinds of things should be handled by agents. Tang En hated agents who prioritized their own benefits instead of the players' benefits, sowed discord between the players and their clubs or managers, endlessly requested pay raises, and threatened the football club on the slightest whim.

The reason for Tang En's hatred was not because he could not stand seeing football players and their agents earn money. No, the only reason was because they would invariably oppose Tony Twain, the manager of the team. They would infringe upon Tang En's profits, and that was something that Tang En could not allow.

So, if Wood were to find an agent, it would have to be someone whom he trusted. If possible, it would be best not to engage with big shot agents. Those without much power in the circle would be unable to create unnecessary trouble. But at the same time, Tang En wanted someone who could put in his best effort to package Wood and was very successful in business operation models. That way, Wood would be able to earn a lot of money, and his entire family could live a carefree life.

Are those conditions too hard to fulfill?

Tang En shook his head, deciding not to think about the issue for now.

※※※

While the search for an agent could be done slowly, matches waited for no one. One week later, Tang En led the high-spirited Nottingham Forest to face off against Bolton on Bolton's home ground, Reebok stadium. This time, although his team lost, they still managed to score a precious goal. The EFL Cup's semi-finals' rules were not quite the same as normal Cups' rules. If both teams were to draw, they would proceed to overtime instead of looking at number of goals scored on away matches. If it still ended in a draw after overtime, the number of goals scored on away matches would then be taken into account. If the number of goals were the same, then a penalty shootout would take place.

Nottingham Forest beat Bolton with a score of 3:1 on their home grounds. On the away grounds, Bolton tried very hard to beat Nottingham Forest, and they managed to achieve it. However, it was to no avail. When the whistle came, signifying the end of the match, the large scoreboard revealed the final score: 2:1. Even though Bolton won the match, they lost the overall semi-finals.

The person who had scored the crucial goal for Nottingham Forest was Peter Crouch, the tall forward on loan from Aston Villa. During his time at Aston Villa, his professional football career had been in peril. Nobody had expected that after coming to Nottingham Forest, he would score in two consecutive matches. Seeing his exceptional performance on the field and his constant use of exceptional techniques to create opportunities for his teammates, Andy Gray, in the commentator's seat, could not help but praise Tang En's ability to train his players. In terms of realizing the players' potential and helping them build confidence, Tang En was indeed in a league of his own. First there was Rebrov, then there was Eastwood, and now Crouch. It was no wonder that he was so well-liked by the players. How could the players not like him, a manager who could make players who had hit rock bottom shine with new splendor?

The sound of the referee's whistle became the overture of the Nottingham Forest players' revelry. They were celebrating their advancement to the EFL Cup finals to their hearts' content. Although the EFL Cup was of little interest to strong, Premier League teams, and was only used for them to train their young football players and reserve teams, it held much significance for Nottingham Forest, a declining team who had once been a powerhouse.

For a team like Nottingham Forest, which had struggled in lower-level leagues for many years, advancing to the EFL Cup finals did not only mean that they had a chance to obtain a championship title; much more importantly, it made people once again remember the old times. Over twenty years ago, Nottingham Forest had swept the English Football scene and the European continental wearing its red football jersey. And now, just as the Nottinghamians became sure that they could no longer see the red Forest, when their old, fearsome team appeared be buried forever under the dusts of time, Tony Twain had managed to bring that team back into the present!

"The match has officially ended! Forming a stark contrast with the dejected Bolton players, are the overjoyed Nottingham Forest players! They will be advancing to the EFL Cup finals! This is their first time entering the EFL Cup finals since they got second place in the 1992 EFL Cup! Twelve years have passed, and the match venue for the EFL Cup finals has also changed from Wembley Stadium to Cardiff Millennium Stadium. The Red Forest is finally back!" Andy Gray's excited comment at the end of his commentary made it seem as though he was a Nottingham Forest fan, even though he was actually an Everton supporter.

The Nottingham Forest fans who were unable to watch the match at the venue, and could only follow the match through their televisions and radios, let out a shout that could be heard throughout England. "Yes, we are back! Nottingham Forest is back!"

"February 29, Cardiff Millennium Stadium! Let's look forward to the EFL Cup finals match between Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough! Will Middlesbrough obtain its second EFL Cup trophy in its entire club's history, or will Nottingham Forest win the trophy for the fifth time, and become the football club with the second most EFL Cup championship titles? Ladies and gentlemen, we will know when the time comes!"

Nottingham Forest's celebration was wild, but once they entered the changing room, Tang En's face turned sour. Now was not the time for celebration.

"Lads, I'm giving all of you ten minutes to shower and change before we leave this place. If you guys want to pop a champagne and celebrate, wait for the night of February 29!"

After Tang En said this, everyone calmed down and proceeded to shower and change.

Afterwards, Tang En turned back to attend the press conference. As the victor, he had the right to let Bolton's manager Sam Allardyce wait for him in the press conference hall for that short while.

The victor becoming the protagonist of the press conference was almost law. Tang En was bombarded with many questions, and most of them revolved around Nottingham Forest's advancement to the EFL Cup finals for the first time in twelve years. Tang En was in a good mood, so he did not feel irritated by these repeated questions. However, he was also very smart. He did not reveal any plans he had for the finals during the press conference; not even his goal.

It was a given that Tang En hoped to win the championship title. Since they had already made it into the finals, what purpose would it serve to make pretentious remarks like, "We're doing this with a learning attitude," or "We'll just try to do our best, the results don't matter"? Of course we're here to clinch the championship title. And not accomplishing it means failure!

But there was no need to tell the press that.

Although Allardyce was rather sad about his loss, he also commended Nottingham Forest's performance during the press conference. He even put in a few good words for Tang En, saying that it was respectable of Tang En to have achieved such a remarkable feat at such a young age.

As soon as he said this, the reporters once again shifted their focus to Twain's age. Indeed, for a manager who had led his team into the EFL Cup finals, thirty-five years old was really quite young. He was even younger than Bolton's Djorkaeff by a year! Upon noticing this, the reporters became more excited. That was indeed a good topic to sensationalize!

In response to this, Tang En's reaction was quite dull. "If there are fifteen, sixteen years-old players who can represent their clubs and their national teams, why can't managers be younger too? I don't think that age is an issue. What's important is the results of the team. It doesn't matter if he's seventy-six years-old, or twenty-six years-old. As long as he can bring victory to his team, he's a good manager!"

The next day, his words made the news. Soon, everyone knew about him—the manager who only cared about victory.

Chapter 155: New Forest Part 2

Advancing into the EFL Cup finals was undoubtedly a joyous occasion. When it was combined with the postponing of the team's next match, Tang En felt extremely generous and decided to give the team a two-day holiday so that they could thoroughly relax. Before they went on their holidays, Tang En specifically told the overjoyed players this: once they assembled again, they would no longer have the chance to relax like this. If they wanted to relax again, they could, but only after clinching the EFL Cup championship title.

George Wood's condition remained great during trainings. Tang En felt that the kid was born to be a football player, because his psychological qualities were so much better than others of his age. There was no need to worry that his condition would be affected by external matters.

After three highly successful matches, Wood had already completely replaced Eugen Bopp, becoming Gunnarsson's defensive partner in the midfield. Gunnarsson was also fond of cooperating with his quiet but reassuring teammate. Gunnarson once "complained" after a training warm-up match by saying, "God! This is too crazy! Seeing George's non-stop running, I find myself unable to stop either!"

This was precisely the effect that Tang En had hoped for. The kid was able to spur his teammates into working hard together with him. This was something that even the previous captain, Michael Dawson, had been unable to accomplish.

What made him even happier was that Freddy Eastwood's attitude towards George seemed to be gradually improving. It was no longer as it had been, when they had given off confrontational vibes whenever they met. The two of them could be said to be the team's pillars in the future, and their ability to work together would ensure that the team could continue advancing forward.

Things were gradually changing.

The club chairman's personal secretary and receptionist, Miss Barbara Lucy, discovered that the number of reporters visiting and interviewing the team had increased significantly compared to the past. Among them, there were even some that came from other countries. They were all there hoping to interview the club's manager, Tony Twain.

So, Evan suggested to Tang En that they should just host a small-scale, impromptu press conference after training. This could be used as a platform to inform the press of the team's situation, as well as let a few players show their faces and increase their fame. It was a good way to better Nottingham Forest's reputation, and Tang En did not oppose it.

The club had become different in many ways compared to the past. Allan Adams had adopted some successful traditions from American NBA clubs' operations, such as expanding the outreach and reception department that specialized in welcoming visitors and reporters, as well as handling various interview requests. In the past, Nottingham Forest Football Club only had two staff members in that department, and they utilized a traditional working style that was quite inefficient. Due to Nottingham Forest's poor results in the past, the club had not paid much attention to these "image branding efforts".

Evan and Allan, however, valued all of these highly. The entire office was equipped with computers, and IT professionals were hired to design the company's internal network. They adopted the modern office, which had a full set of digitized office work procedures. Doing so would greatly raise their efficiency. Take, for instance, something that Bruce Pearce, a reporter from Nottingham Evening Post, felt strongly about. Before Evan had become the chairman of Nottingham Forest, whenever Nottingham Evening Post wanted to interview a certain player from the team, it would usually take at least three days before the request sent to Club would be approved. At that time, if Tang En himself hadn't phoned the Evening Post for the picture, giving the Evening Post the opportunity to request an interview from him directly, it would probably have taken an even longer time. After all, almost nobody was in charge of these things. In contrast, one could now receive a reply in the afternoon of the same day on which they sent the request, whether it was through fax, telephone, or through sending an E-mail to the E-mail address provided on the club's official webpage. Moreover, these interview requests would typically be approved; of course, this was partially because Nottingham Evening Post was currently on rather close terms with Nottingham Forest.

Another example was that the outreach and reception department now had four people who specialized in handling various pieces of fan mail sent in from all over the world. The four of them had to open and read each and every letter, before replying to each of them and sending them various souvenirs from the club in a bid to promote the new Nottingham Forest. Each and every letter had to be responded to; not a single fan could be left out. This was the work requirement that Allan gave them. If they failed to fulfill it, their salary would be deducted.

If these people discovered any mail that was slightly more special, they would have to hand it over to the department's supervisor; he would then decide on the appropriate course of action and inform Allan at his discretion. If there was a need for the team to cooperate, Allan would then directly approach Tang En and discuss the matter with him. Of course, this was rare.

After establishing his absolute position as leader of the club, Evan Doughty started to carry out reforms to the club's structure in a bold and decisive fashion. Under him, he split the club into two big departments: the Sports competition department, and Business marketing department. Just from their names, it was clear which department was in charge of what.

Aside from holding the title of team manager, Tang En also assumed another position: manager of the Sports competition department. Now, he could be considered a true "manager." All the players in the club, from the first team to the under-twelve youth teams, were all under his control. He had complete authority over the teams' matters. The buying and selling of players was decided by him, and he just needed to ask Allan for the money after the transfer contract was finalized.

On the other hand, Allan Adams was the manager of the Business marketing department. He was specifically in charge of the club's management and market development matters. These ranged from things as small as the set price for the match tickets and development of merchandise, to important issues such as the club's long term investments, image promotion, commercial tour matches, selection of sponsors, and signing of contracts with them. His mission was to do everything he could to help Evan earn money, and to have sufficient capital to give to Tang En when he needed money to buy players. Of course, Tang En also had his responsibilities, and that was to cooperate with Allan if he needed the team's participation in his business plan. For instance, Tang En had to cooperate with the Asian tour matches and the team's attendance of certain sponsorship events.

As for how to not let these commercial events affect the team's performance, this was something that required discussion between the two of them. Their positions in the club were beneath only that of the club chairman, Evan Doughty. They wielded similar amounts of power, and that was also the reason why Evan arranged things the way he did—he did not want either one of them to have greater power over the other, or to make decisions beyond their intended job scope. Currently, Nottingham Forest could be considered as having many issues to address, and it therefore require everyone to work together. However, Evan had been able to more or less relax after that lunch appointment; Tony and Allan had gotten along with each other rather well.

There were many football clubs in England that had, because of their long and rich history, become gradually eliminated from the world as a result of their lack of flexibility and rigidity in handling matters. A very good example would be those football teams which had their glorious days during the early stages of modern English football. By now, they had either become down and out, or had already dissipated into dust. Evan Doughty hoped that through his efforts, some positive changes could be brought to Nottingham Forest Football Club, even though his aim was not to save English Football or Nottingham Forest Football Club, but simply to earn more money for himself.

Did he love Nottingham Forest? Yes, as long as it could earn him more money.

Evan Doughty's club was gradually steering towards the right track, while Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest team was also taking large steps in the right direction. It seemed like their futures were bright.

Chapter 156: EFL Cup Part 1

On February 7th, Nottingham Forest was back on their journey in the English Football League Championship. After more than a dozen days of rest and reorganization, they scored a modest 1:0 victory against Coventry City on their home field.

While the dozen or so days of break gave Tang En the time to adjust the team's tactics, and once again prepare for a new battle, it interrupted the Forest team's rhythm. It was a tough game for them to play on their home turf, and they finally beat their opponents by scoring a somewhat suspect, offside goal.

After the game, the Coventry City manager jabbered on about the referee's decision, thinking that his team should have been the winner. But Tang En, who got off lightly, insisted that the referee was right, and did not want to further mention the goal.

It was not important for Tang En and the Forest team, whether the ball was offsides or not. But, it did matter to the Coventry City manager, who was splitting hairs over this issue. He just needed to know that his team had received the three valuable points in said situation.

Victory was the most important thing, after all, and the process ... was just part of the path towards victory. No matter what methods were used, they just needed to reach the finish line.

A week later, Nottingham Forest's winning streak finally ended. In the 31st round of the League Championship, they were forced into a 1:1 draw with Walsall at their home turf. Because they were one match short, they were still in 14th place. The tied game also did not affect them much. After all, they did not lose. This went to show that Tang En's insistence on a motto, "Don't lose, even if you won't win", was correct.

On February 17th, in the 24th round of the make up game, Nottingham Forest challenged Gillingham to an away match. Judging from the scene, the Forest team was still at a disadvantage.

The young players' problem of unstable state of play was fully exposed. They could get the better of their opponents in succession, or they could also let the opponents gain the upper hand consecutively. Eventually, the final score was tied at 0:0. Tang En unequivocally relied on his tactics to obtain a point in this away game, finally, with much difficulty. He was most gratified that, in the end, they did not lose.

He was realizing more and more, the kind of pressure that came from being a manager. As in, every time he saw the opponents surrounding his own goal, and bombarding it, his heart would be in his throat. Every time a shot to the goal was attempted, his heart would stop. It was an awful feeling.

February 29th was the EFL Cup final. Before that, Nottingham Forest had one match every three days: three League Championship matches on the 14th, 17th, and 21st. This caused Tang En to make some veiled criticisms at the press conferences. He complained that the League committee did not know how to adequately accommodate the players, especially regarding the fact that such an intensive game schedule was arranged before such an important match, providing his team with no time to rest.

As a matter of fact, the League committee was justified in this arrangement, because one of these three scheduled games was a make up game, and they had also postponed the 33rd round match between the Forest team and Bradford City. If the games were to proceed as usual, the kick-off date of the game would be February 28th ...

On February 21st, the 32nd round of the League Championship, Nottingham Forest continued traveling to away games. This time, their opponent was Rotherham United, and the final score was 1:1. It was another draw. After their winning streak, the Forest team had consecutive draw matches, but, again, at least they did not lose.

Tang En was slightly relieved, but he had to put all his efforts into preparing for the EFL Cup final with Middlesbrough. Now, eight days away from the finals, the media coverage had gradually increased.

Because the Forest team was a League One team, and was back in the final after twelve years, they received more attention. Even Tang En felt a little nervous, as he was watching those media reporters wandering outside the training ground. But this kind of tension could not be shown in front of outsiders, as he was the leader of these players, and the leader could not be nervous, could not hesitate, and could not disappoint them.

※※※

Des Walker gave the new training plan to Tang En. Today was February 23, and they still had six days for targeted training. Before the training session on this day, the coaching team must come together to discuss this plan.

Tang En looked at it, and deleted all the training on offense, except for the "offensive positioning ball drill", then he passed it to everyone present. Walker and the coaches looked at this "new plan", and glanced at each other.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Tang En smiled. "It's very simple, we're not going to use offense on Middlesbrough in the match. We are going to play defense, and let them attack. Not only that, there's also an additional training program in this list – to increase the amount of training on penalty kicks by twenty minutes at the end of each day's training," he explained.

"Tony, you want to bet on the penalty kicks?" Walker asked.

Tang En nodded, "Yes. Starting tomorrow, the team's training that is opened to the media and fans will be shortened to half an hour. We will continuously practice defense for this one week. Middlesbrough seems to be similar to the Bolton Wanderers, which we have beaten in the semi-final. They rely on lending or buying those star players past their prime in order to support the team. But, their offense ability is stronger. If we play hard, like we did against the Bolton Wanderers, then McClaren (Middlesbrough manager) will be delighted. Did any of you guys pay attention to the media coverage from Middlesbrough?"

Everyone shook their heads. Clearly, few people would care about such things. But Tang En cared, as he said, "I recently collected all kinds of information from there. Although we couldn't go directly to their team's training grounds to observe, I can tell from these media reports that the Middlesbrough team has a positive attitude. I think Middlesbrough must be happy to know that the final match will be against a team from the middle rankings in a second-tier league."

All the coaches understood what he meant. Middlesbrough felt that there would be a greater chance of winning against a League One team.

"If they think that, then that is a big mistake!" Tang En smirked. "When they hope to use offense to end the battle, we will let them hit a wall!" He punched his fist into his left palm.

※※※

After the coaches' regular meeting, the entire coaching team began the "construction of the wall", according to Tang En's requirements. Even Eastwood, who normally did not need to participate in defense, had been specifically asked by Walker in training: If the ball were to be lost, he must counter seize on the spot. If he did not succeed in seizing the ball on the spot, he must immediately turn back to chase, or hand the target over to any midfielder who would head up to defend, and he must return to replace the midfielder's position.

This was not just a requirement for Eastwood alone. All the attacking players must follow this call, too. If someone had performed a token extending of his leg or spreading of his arms after losing the ball, he would immediately hear the sharp ear-piercing referee whistle, and Walker's berate.

In particular, the wingers were almost used as second full backs. When they were carrying out an offense to hit their opponents to the fullest, their defense must be withdrawn to their bottom line.

In addition, Tang En was firm in regards to not practicing to create offside traps. For Nottingham Forest fo face Middlesbrough, which was fast in the wings, creating offside traps was tantamount to suicide.

The key to their defense was to constrict their opponent's control of the ball, as well as their space and time for passing. Creating offside traps was not an ideal choice. The Forest team's three sections must keep a tight distance in the game, so it was not a surprise for the strikers to return to defend the center circle.

For the current football world, it was annoying to ask the team to play such a defense, which was equivalent to playing passively. But Tang En knew clearly that the rest of the world would realize the benefits of this kind of compact defending after this summer. Why? Because the Greek team won the championship. In the German World Cup two years later, the Italian team had had the last laugh, due to their better defense tactics.

The players did not understand, and Tang En would tell them during the training intervals that focusing on the proper defensive was the only way to win the cup. Those who wanted the championship and glory must follow accordingly, and those who did not ... Are you still professional players? Are you still men?

Des Walker fully experienced the true essence of Twain's belief: "There's no tactic which cannot be changed, as long as I can win the game. I don't care whether we use defensive counterattack or offensive football". In order to enter the finals, under the circumstances of losing a goal first, he could decisively abandon the idea of minimizing the loss of ball control and defense, and switch to offense, like in both the home and away matches against the Bolton Wanderers. Finally, he depended on a valuable goal in an away match to gain admission to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Once they were in a match where victory was certain, he would discard the "offense" unimaginably far away, and use all efforts to defend to the death. He would rather drag the game to a penalty shoot-out, with both sides each having half a chance, than to fight to the death with the opponents within the ninety minutes. This was because that kind of tactic was considered to be "riskier" for him.

Twain once said to Walker, "Des, you know I'm obsessed with the Chinese culture, their cuisine, their traditional customs, their history ... even their military strategy and tactics. Do you know ?"

Seeing Walker shake his head, Tang En expressed his understanding, and then explained, "It's a very famous volume of art of war in China, which specifically talks about military tactics. With more than three thousand years of wisdom, it is no longer just about military tactics. I think it can also be used in football. Football is war. There's a saying in the book: 'Water shapes its course, according to the ground over which it flows; the soldier maps out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, there are no constant conditions in warfare.'"

Walker was mystified by this sudden emergence of Chinese language from Twain. Tang En smiled and explained, "The translation means that, 'Water will change its flow, based on topography and terrain. The soldiers should decide their winning strategies, according to the different enemies.' Therefore, what it is saying, is that there is not a fixed situation in war, just like there is no constant pattern to a water flow. A football match is no different from a battle. I always avoid being seen through by our opponents. Whether we are playing defense or offense, our strategy depends on what kind of opponents we face, what kind of game, what kind of situation ... I know this kind of expectation may be a bit high for the team right now. But ..."

He pointed to the players, who were currently training on the field, and said with pride, "We will train them, and they will be able to do it when they need to."

Chapter 157: EFL Cup Part 2

Having been a full back, Walker was truly an expert at defense training. Even a player like Eastwood had been trained till he resembled a defensive midfielder, not to mention George Wood, who was extremely talented in defense.

Even if Walker hollered next to his ear, he did not even crease his brows, and he certainly did not complain. He just did what the coach said the next time. Tang En liked this point about Wood the most: he was hardworking and willing to strive for his and his mother's future. Compared to those "prodigies", who became famous at eighteen, he did not give himself the chance to relax and slacken.

Tang En also did not worry that Wood would lose his way in fame and fortune, because the goal he was fighting for on the field and training ground was not the same as those young geniuses whose dreams had already come true. He seemed to always have a sense of crisis in the depths of his heart. And that sense of crisis was like a whip at his back, flogging and inciting him to constantly move forward. Tang En thought this also might be related to the poverty that he witnessed and experienced as a child.

Sophia once told him that the house they lived in, when they first met, already had the best condition, because Wood was able to make enough money. So, he had to wonder, what kind of awful conditions did they live in, in the past? When Sophia did not mention it again, Tang En did not ask. The important thing was that, now, they lived well, as the club found a rental house near the training ground for Wood, and the landlord was a hardcore Forest fan. What's even better, when he heard that it was for a new Forest star player, the rent was reduced by half!

This was not a million-pound mansion in The Lace Market, but it was good enough for the Woods. There were no downstairs tenants returning home late at night. With a lower level and an upper floor, it was spacious and wide, bright and clean. There were no children begging for money, or shady-looking men in the vicinity. Surrounded by nature, such a place was ideal for Sophia, who needed to be near the outdoors, and take care of her health.

Once his mother's condition was stable, and he no longer had to wear himself out with worries about feeding his family of two, Wood would be able to devote himself to the sport of football. Tang En had even suggested to Evan that the club pay for Sophia's treatment, partly out of sympathy and concern for this kind and beautiful woman, and also partly due to "selfish" considerations. I mean, one had to wonder what kind of player would Wood develop into if his worries were all resolved?

The situation was just like when he had asked himself one and a half months ago, "How would Wood play in his debut match?"

He was really looking forward to it ...

As to whether Walker would stay or go, Tang En had never asked him to stay in front of Walker. Even when he was joking, he did not want to make things difficult for Walker.

Everyone had to choose his own path. As to whether this path was easy to walk or not, or the scenery ahead was beautiful or not, one had to personally walk it to know. Therefore, whether Walker's decision to leave was right or not, that was his business.

What Tang En could only put his efforts to, at least while they were still working together, was to try and leave Walker with good memories. In the future, if Walker wanted to come back to help him, he would open the door wide to welcome him.

What gave him a headache was wondering, where was he going to find an assistant manager, with whom he had a rapport and was compatible with? Currently, the division of work in the football world was very meticulous. The managers would throw many specific tasks to the assistant managers. They were unknown and obscure in the media and the public eye, but their role in the team was irreplaceable. There were even incidents of players, who only submitted to assistant managers, and did not to listen to the managers.

The help and support to the manager would be huge, and the team's ability could also be greatly improved, if the right assistant manager could be found. If the right assistant manager could not be found, the situation would be bad.

Therefore, many teams' assistant managers often stayed longer in the teams than the managers, were more familiar with the teams than the manager, and could help the managers to familiarize with the teams faster. They were often cultivated from within the teams, seen as being the real "descendants".

This was particularly the case for the English teams. For example, if a team were to decide to change its manager, their first choice must be the team's assistant manager, and the second choice was usually the youth team manager.

That was why, as a youth team manager twice, Glenn Roeder was able to serve as the First Team manager for West Ham United and Newcastle United respectively. The English clubs were especially loyal, and the managers, who had worked for the teams for years, were more likely to gain the trust of the fans and the top brass, even if their levels were simply not up to par.

There was another position for this kind of loyalty: the team doctor. The professional term for this role was "physiotherapist". Even now, a lot of the English team doctors were unlucky retired players or turf maintenance employees, club guards, and even the manager's loyal friends.

These people did not have professional licenses at all, and relied on the most superficial common sense to treat the injured players. Thus, it was not hard to explain why a lot of English players were unable to recover after suffering from major injuries, since the last century till now. For example, the former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp's brother, Mark Redknapp, who was once the hopeful star of A.F.C. Bournemouth, while playing as a full back, his future looked about the same as his brother's.

However, in a game with the Cardiff City reserve team, Mark was toppled over by his opponent, and was carried off. Because he had been treated by the team doctors, he has only been able to walk with crutches ever since. He later became an agent of another defender, Rio Ferdinand. And his younger brother, Jamie Redknapp, unwilling to follow in his brother's footsteps, used his own money to pay a private doctor for his surgery. Although he successfully returned to the stadium, he had to leave Liverpool, because he "broke the rules."

The English clubs were so faithful to these two traditions, that they had been preserved from the last century, without caring if they were right or wrong. Consequently, the English Football Association would prefer to cooperate with the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University if the players were injured, rather than looking for the Premier League clubs' team doctors. After all, who knew if the "quacks" would recommend a player who had a hernia (a torn muscle in the groin) to undergo an operation to remove his pubic bone?

Naturally, it was thanks to this "tradition" that Twain could become the First Team manager straight from being the youth manager, and to quickly build his reputation among the fans, because he was someone cultivated by the Forest club, and one of "our own". Walker was also "one of our own", but his departure could be said to be an exception. If it were not for the team's broken spirit, Walker would not have any intention to quit. But who knew ... he had just decided to leave, when he heard the news that Twain was coming back. Caught in a dilemma for a while, he still chose to keep his promise, leaving the Forest team to help Ian Bowyer before the end of the season.

After having determined his path ahead, Walker was even more involved in his work. During training, Tang En did not even have to open his mouth, because Walker's voice was louder than his. He knew that it was his goal that inspired this man's entire enthusiasm and fighting spirit.

The EFL Cup, the Premier League qualification, the UEFA Europa League qualification, nothing less! It is a goal that ignites a man's passion!

And now, it all starts with the EFL Cup!

Middlesbrough and McClaren, you're going to hit the wall!

Chapter 158: The Curse of the South Changing Room

When Nottingham Forest was in the midst of training hard for their first EFL Cup championship title in twelve years, an absolutely disadvantageous piece of news was heard from the EFL Cup committee. The committee had announced the allocation results of the two teams' changing rooms.

According to the rule, "Northern teams will use the North changing room, while Southern teams will use the South changing room". Middlesbrough, which was located even more to the North than Nottingham Forest, obtained the right to use the North changing room. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, could only helplessly accept what fate had arranged for them — to use the "cursed" South changing room at Cardiff Millennium Stadium.

Once this news was announced, Nottingham's local press erupted with complaints. The majority of them lamented about fate not being fair, and placed much emphasis on fatalism.

There were also a minority of them, who felt that this new rule of changing rooms was not logical. And that, instead, it should be abolished, and the allocation of rooms should be decided the "old-fashioned" way, via balloting.

Of contrary opinion, Middlesbrough's side was overjoyed. Aside from the local media's advocating strongly that fate had treated its team well, they also did not forget to seize the opportunity to strike at their opponent's confidence.

They were opposed to the idea of changing this rule, because Middlesbrough City was one of the most northern cities in England. The only two teams, which were located even more to the North than Middlesbrough, and that also had the abilities to advance into this kind of Cup final, were probably only Newcastle and Sunderland.

The evidence, which they had provided to refute Nottingham's press, appeared to be extremely convincing. Before the 2002 FA Cup finals match, Chelsea and Arsenal had both advanced into the finals. Although both teams were based in London City, which was located in the south of England, Arsenal was based in North London, while Chelsea was based in West London. Hence, with Chelsea being located closer to the south, they had to use that south changing room.

It was noteworthy to know that, in the eighteen months prior to this, Cardiff Millennium Stadium, which replaced the under-construction Wembley Stadium, had hosted finals of various competitions (including FA Cup, FA Community Shield, EFL Cup, League One and below playoffs and elimination matches). Among these, all of the teams that used the south changing room had, without exception, lost in each of their respective matches. Cardiff Millennium Stadium's south changing room was, therefore, deemed to be a cursed changing room.

Chelsea was naturally dissatisfied with losing such an important match, as a result of what was dubbed the "North-South fate", and therefore, protested against the Football Association. The Football Association decided to use a coin toss to determine the allocation of the changing room, and in the end, Chelsea was still allocated the South changing room.

In order to counteract the "curse of the south changing room", all of the Chelsea players had worn their "lucky white socks" during the match. But, in the end, they had lost to Arsenal in the finals, with a score of 0:2, and the players scoring for Arsenal were Parlour and Ljungberg.

By using Chelsea as an example, Middlesbrough's press was trying to tell Nottingham Forest's press that, in the face of the almighty fate, you should just stop struggling on your deathbed! Hence, even if they determined the room allocation by coin toss, you will still get the south changing room, and you will still lose to us, the mighty Middlesbrough!

In their minds, this was a result that was predetermined!

As soon as the changing room allocation was announced, Tang En felt that they still stood a chance — one that he could make good use of. As for how to use it, that would have to depend on the specific situation.

Tang En had heard tales about Cardiff Millennium Stadium long ago, when he was still a football fan. It was truly quite a severe spot. Out of the seventeen matches held there, fourteen of them were won by teams which had used the north changing room, and only three were won by those which used the south changing room.

Among the three wins, two of them were obtained by Arsenal, while the third victory was a promotion playoffs match in League Two, which had little significance. The team that had obtained the victory while using the south changing room was Stoke City. However, three wins were still unable to change the majority mindset that "Cardiff Millennium Stadium's south changing room was inauspicious", and that there was a valid reason for it.

Before Stoke City and Arsenal's victory, Cardiff Millennium Stadium specially invited a Fengshui master from China to resolve the issue for them. In the end, after switching the placement of some of the things in the room, and inviting Welsh artist Andrew Vicari to draw a seven-inch long wall painting, depicting a phoenix, galloping horses, and a sun to shield against the curse, Stoke City and Arsenal managed to attain victory.

However, right when people thought that the curse had been completely dispelled by Arsenal, they lost to Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. Since then, the lore and legend of Cardiff Millennium Stadium's south changing room curse have continued….

The curse's impact on the team was definitely not something to be overlooked. Football players were mostly superstitious, which could explain why there were many weird rules, such as women not being allowed in the same car as the football team. There were even more instances of small, personal superstitions, such as stepping into the field with the right foot, some managers always wearing their lucky ties… etcetera.

Tang En was originally not a superstitious person, but thinking from the perspective of the entire team, he had to be superstitious for once. At this time, if Tang En said things like "Curses are all bluffs! Those are superstitions not backed by science! Ability is the foundation for winning matches" to the players, nobody would actually believe him.

There was something, in this case, that was extremely advantageous for Tang En — his love for Chinese culture was a fact well-known by the entire Nottingham City, especially within the team. In addition, the person who temporarily dispelled the curse of Cardiff Millennium Stadium also happened to be a Chinese Fengshui master, a fact that was also known throughout England.

Therefore, in order for the team to not lose, in terms of psychological warfare, before the match even started, it was necessary for Tang En to pretend, and put up a show! Hence, when he was being interviewed by the reporters, Tang En appeared to be extremely confident towards the match, and completely showed no signs of worry regarding the south changing room "curse".

Not only that, but he also spoke casually about Cardiff Millennium Stadium's invitation to the Fengshui master to dispel the curse. Pearce Bruce cleverly guessed Tang En's hidden agenda, and therefore, wrote this in the following day's :

"…Manager Twain mentioned inviting a Fengshui master to dispel the curse. On top of that, we all know that he personally loves Chinese culture. It was rumored that his Chinese teacher had brought back from China a mysterious gift for him, and he has never told anyone else what it was. Exactly what kind of "mysterious gift" was it, we wonder?"

In answer to this thinly veiled query regarding the gift, actually, there was nothing mysterious about it! It was merely a set of traditional Chinese costumes. As Tang En told Yang Yan that he liked traditional Chinese culture, Yang Yan went home and decided that buying a traditional Chinese costume for Tang En would be most appropriate.

Moreover, she also wanted to see how a westerner, especially one with such a high nose bridge and white skin, would look when wearing a traditional Chinese costume. However, because of the nature of Tang En's work, he was required to be in a suit almost all-year round. Hence, that set of traditional Chinese costumes was left hanging inside his closet.

Fortunately, the traditional Chinese costume that Yang Yan bought for Tang En was not flowery and bright-colored, or else Tang En would be too embarrassed to use it as a Taoist priest's robe…. Although the westerners would not be able to tell the difference, but, still, an actor's tool had to be slightly more professional.

As for the other important tools which he needed, Tang En had no choice but to ask Yang Yan for her help again, to try and see if there were any Fengshui compasses for sale around Manchester's Chinatown. Tang En thought that some traditional items would be much more well-preserved in places like Chinatown, as opposed to in mainland China. Something like a Fengshui compass should be very easily found in Chinatown.

Yang Yan asked Tang En why he needed a Fengshui compass, so he told Yang Yan his plans. Over the phone, Yang Yan smiled happily, exclaiming, "Mr Twain, I look forward to your shaman dance on the television!"

They were currently able to directly converse in Mandarin, so Yang Yan was not afraid that Tang En did not understand what "shaman dance" meant. After conversing a while, Yang Yan continued to ask, "Can putting up a show, and doing such gimmicks, also help to win matches?"

"Hmm, this question is difficult to answer. But you can treat this as part my job of fine-tuning the team psychologically…"

"Hearing you say it like this, being a football manager seems to be very interesting!"

"Hehe, the team's changing room is even more interesting. However, I'm really sorry that I'm unable to share with you these stories."

Tang En was not wrong in saying such a thing. To an outsider, a changing room was a very mysterious place, and there were many interesting and fun happenings taking place inside it every day.

The players and managers treated this place as their private venue, and no outsiders were allowed to probe into it. There were many unspoken rules in the football industry, and "nobody in the team is allowed to divulge anything that takes place in the changing room" was one.

Although Tang En was the manager of the team, he also could not violate this rule. Otherwise, he would lose his players' trusts, and his colleagues' respects. A manager, who could not control the team, was viewed as being no different from trash.

Two days after speaking to Yang Yan on the phone, right before Tang En was about to lead the team to Cardiff, he received an express delivery parcel, sent from Manchester. Opening the parcel, Tang En discovered that it was exactly the Fengshui compass that he needed.

Chinese characters and the symbol of eight trigrams were engraved all over it. It was a Fengshui compass that appeared very mysterious in the eyes of westerners.

Having obtained such an item, Tang En was confident that he could intimidate everyone by using it. When the time came, it would definitely cause an uproar among the English media. The sheer thought of his impending successful mischief made Tang En chuckle.

※※※

Cardiff, the capital of Wales, was where Cardiff Millennium Stadium, which hosted the EFL Cup finals' match venue, was located. It was not considered as being too far from Nottingham. For Middlesbrough to arrive there for the match, they had to take an airplane, while Nottingham Forest only had to take the bus.

On the bus, the players' morale was low. Evidently, they had been scared by that "south changing room curse". Quite a handful of them felt that this was an inauspicious sign, signalling that the team's defeat was imminent.

A football team was a combined entity. One person with such a though could very well affect two other people. From there, two people then could easily turn to four people, four people to eight people, eight people to sixteen people…and so on. In the end, no matter if one said "those are just baseless nonsense", they would still question themselves, wondering, "Is the curse real? Will we really lose the match, all because we used the south changing room?"

As the saying went, "Repeat a lie enough times, and it will be believed", this was the same rationale behind the Chinese teams'"koreaphobia". They were originally equally matched, in terms of ability, and it wasn't much of a big deal to lose to them a few times.

However, after the press proposed the idea of "koreaphobia", as well as promoted its propagation, in the end, even the Chinese teams themselves felt that they were born fearing the Korean teams. This was in spite of the fact that they were a team comprised solely of players born after 1989, and they were not even born when "koreaphobia" first started out. This, however, still did not change the fact that they were equally "afraid of Korea".

Tang En knew very well about how terrifying words could be, just from looking at these silent players on the bus. In the past, everyone used to talk a lot and crack jokes on their way to the matches.

He knew that it was impossible for them to win with this mental state. Before the match even started, his team had already lost to the opponent, in terms of its morale and desire for victory. How were they, then, supposed to put up a good fight in the match later on? This cannot carry on, so thank goodness, Tang En had long made preparations for such a situation as this.

The coach bus driver was in the midst of driving attentively, until he suddenly discovered that there was someone else beside him. He turned his head around to see, and discovered that the person beside him was the team's manager, Mr. Tony Twain. He held a disc in his hand, which he was inserting into the bus's DVD player. As he only glanced up for a split second, he could only catch a glimpse of the disc cover, which seemed to have the words "85' LIVE AID" written on it.

After inserting the disc into the player, Tang En continued to dabble with some of its settings. Afterwards, he took the remote controller and stood near the front bus door. At this moment, the players were either keeping quiet with their heads lowered, or they were looking outside the window, as though they had a lot on their minds. Seeing this, Tang En pressed the play button.

Suddenly, the audio system on the bus started blasting loud noises, without any warning. They sounded like the loud buzzing, cheering, clapping and jeering noises heard at the stadium's stands, all mixed together. As a result of this sudden wave of loud noises, everyone in the bus jumped in shock.

After the loud noises gradually died down, what soon followed was a series of drumbeats with a very familiar rhythm. All the players on the bus raised their heads, somewhat shocked.

This was part of the song performed by Queen in 1985 at Hyde Park, during a charity concert aimed at helping Africa and raising public awareness for the African regions, which were the ones that needed assistance the most. That concert had been voted by music critics as being the most noble live rock concert in history.

The song tune which followed closely behind the drumbeats was indeed that famous song, . This was a classic rhythm, one that could make people become excited. By then, Tang En had noticed that there were already some players moving to the beat.

was very short, and the song that came on after that was something that everyone was even more familiar with, . This version of the song was different from the one produced in the recording studio. It was a live version, and was even more passionate, as Freddie Mercury's (Queen's lead singer) delivery was much more explosive.

Afterwards, Tang En spoke with this music playing in the background.

"I intend to add a new rule to the team — in the future, whenever we go to Cardiff Millennium Stadium and Wembley Stadium for matches, we will play this song on the coach bus. Look at all of your shocked expressions…. Do you think that this is the only time in our whole lives that we're going there?" Tang En smiled, then continued, "The EFL Cup is merely the beginning. There will be many, many more matches waiting for us. And there are many, many more championship trophies waiting for us to clinch. Hence, I feel that there is a need to set such a tradition. Alright, lads, stop looking so gloomy. I know what you guys are worried about, but I think that there's completely no need for you guys to worry about that."

He continued, "You think that at Cardiff Millennium Stadium, the teams that used its south changing room cannot win. This kind of curse has already been around for quite a long time. But this curse is not completely infallible. You guys should have heard of Arsenal and Stoke City, right? When they emerged victorious from their matches, the changing room assigned to them was precisely the south changing room."

"But, Boss," the honest Huth raised his hand and said, "that is because they hired that… that…. that…."

He continued saying "that" for quite some time, but was still unable to say the term which came after. In the end, everyone started smiling as a result.

Tang En had originally turned his head around to hear what he had to say, but seeing that the German really could not come up with that term, Tang En could only say it on behalf of him. "Fengshui master. They hired a fengshui master from China to temporarily dispel the curse of the south changing room," he defined.

Huth nodded his head vigorously, expressing that that was indeed what he had wanted to say. The rest of the people on the bus also played along. Tang En unfolded his arms, then whipped out an item from behind his back, as though he was performing a magic trick. "Does anyone know what this is?" he asked.

The item in his hand was indeed the Fengshui compass. There wouldn't be anyone, who would know what that was, so everyone was shaking their heads while looking at it in Tang En's hand.

"I reckon that everyone should know about my finding a Chinese teacher to learn mandarin, and that my results were quite good, right?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Very well, as Fengshui is also part of traditional Chinese culture, I happen to know about it as well," Tang En said unashamedly, as he put on his "Fengshui master" hat. In reality, even when Tang En was still in China, he had little knowledge on Fengshui, and much less now. "This is a Fengshui compass. In china, it is used to assess Fengshui, and to dispel ominous curses."

Upon hearing Tang En's words, the look in the players' eyes also changed. Quite a few people looked at their manager with a shocked look, as though they still had some doubts about it.

Tang En's face displayed an extremely confident smile. "Why? Have I ever lied to you guys?" Tang En discovered that he was really very well-suited to "act"….and wondered why hadn't he discovered this talent of his in the past? "Whenever I say that we will win, have we ever lost?" he continued to probe.

"No!" The players replied at the same time. This was something they were extremely proud of. Ever since Tony Twain took over this team in the middle of the season, Nottingham Forest had yet to experience defeat in their matches.

"Isn't that right? Rest assured, I will definitely be able to dispel the curse of the south changing room by the match day! Therefore, there's no need for you guys to worry about some curse. Moreover, I think that.. perhaps after the finals, the press might even start reporting about a "north changing room curse"!"

Everyone — including that coach bus driver, who had been attentively driving, started laughing out loud.

"That's the way, that's the way! This is the true Nottingham Forest!" they guffawed.

The music was still playing from the audio system, and the passionate voice of the lead singer from the most noble band in English rock history continued to envelop the entire bus.

"We are the champions! My friends! We are the champions! And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end! We are the champions! We are the — champions of the world!"

Chapter 159: Wizardly Twain Part 1

"Welcome to Wales! Welcome to Cardiff!" The Sky TV reporter stood in a crowded square with a microphone. Behind him was the largest professional football field in the United Kingdom, and one of Europe's most modern football fields, completed and put to use in 1999 - the Millennium Stadium.

Baring their teeth and waving wildly, the Middlesbrough fans walked in front of the camera and shouted, "The North will win! Victory to Middlesbrough!"

They had just walked past, when a group of fans from Nottingham, wearing red jerseys, jumped out and stood in front of the camera lens. With glowing red faces and beer bottles raised up in their hands, they shouted in unison, "Forest, Forest! We are the champions!" After shouting, they belched from the beer, laughing as they walk towards the stadium entrance.

"Welcome to the venue of the 03-04 season finals of the England League Cup, the Millennium Stadium!" continued the announcer.

Because the Millennium Stadium was located in the city center of Cardiff, whenever there was a game, traffic control would be implemented in several main roads to the city center. No vehicles were allowed to pass through, except for the team buses of both two sides. Consequently, the fans had to walk to the stadium.

Gareth Bale and his father were among the crowd flocking to the stadium. Since the First Team had advanced to the EFL Cup final, all levels of the youth team were not required to train today. His father decided to bring Bale Junior to watch the Forest team's glorious moment. After all, he was now a Forest player, so he should cultivate his feelings for the Forest team.

Besides, Tony Twain was the one who gave Bale a chance, and now Bale was doing well in the youth team. He was competent both as a left back, and as a left midfielder, and he also had a beautiful free kick. Also, now that he had been leapfrogged to the under-seventeen youth team, his self-confidence had greatly increased.

All of these things were thanks to Manager Twain. Since the game was held in in his home city, it would be inexcusable not to come watch and cheer Twain on.

After more than half a year of training and building his self-confidence, Bale was taller and stronger than before. A smile would often be on his face, when he was chatting with his father. He was no longer taciturn with the hangdog look.

While they were lining up outside the stadium and waiting for their tickets to be checked to enter, both team's buses arrived at the same time. This sparked a commotion among both sides of team fans outside the stadium. Everyone rushed to the side of the bus of the team they supported. They were cheering, singing, and loudly clapping to greet their respective team.

As the official jersey colors of both teams were red, the team bus colors also looked similar. The only real way to differentiate them was to look at the respective team emblem, as well as ... the Forest team's red color was deeper than that of Middlesbrough's.

Inside the deeper-colored red bus, everyone did not see Twain's figure. The cameras swept across all the players' faces, even the driver'sl, and still, the team's manager could not be found.

Where was Tony Twain?

In fact, Tang En was in the bus, but he hid in the back exit of the bus in order to change his clothes, as he did not want to be seen from the outside in that spot.

I didn't expect to arrive at the stadium at the same time as Middlesbrough. This made Tang En very happy. The confidence to strike my opponents begins now!

After they had waited for Twain to finish changing his clothes, the Forest players inside the bus compartment looked earnestly at the funny-looking tall man. Tony Twain, the manager of this England professional football team, was transformed into a "Feng Shui master", wearing a "Taoist robe" and carrying a compass. Furthermore...who could tell that he was an impostor, when they looked at his severe and serious expression?

Obviously, Tang En managed to convince himself, too. On the way from the hotel to the stadium, he stayed silent, and did not speak a word, continually self-hypnotizing to make himself believe that he was indeed a Feng Shui master from China! He seemed more mysterious and profound in the players' eyes, so it was exceptionally quiet inside the bus compartment along the way.

When the two team buses stopped and opened the bus doors, the camera lens respectively aimed at the doors of the two team buses, cutting between the two scenes. The first to alight from Middlesbrough's side was their manager, Steve McClaren, who later became the England national team manager, and his assistant manager, Terry Venables. The media's evaluation of the two men was: "The best person to be the assistant manager is the manager, and the best person to be the manager is the assistant manager."

This statement incisively pointed out what McClaren was good at, and his capability. And Tang En knew he was best suited to the position of the manager, and moreover, the First Team manager. Thus, this was a competition between a manager and an assistant coach.

Next, the Middlesbrough players got off the bus in succession, but there was no movement on the Nottingham Forest side. The deep red bus door was closed. Looking at the inside through the window, the Forest team players were all standing up and looking in the same direction, but did not move.

At this point, despite the fact that the players were still filing out on the Middlesbrough's side, the television camera lenses were still firmly pinned on the Forest team bus. Everyone had the same question: Why Tony Twain was not on the bus, and what were these players doing?

What were they doing? Naturally, they were waiting for a person to get off the bus first.

Inside the bus, Tang En said to the players who were watching him, "All right, guys. When you get off the bus, no matter what you see or hear, don't look surprised. Everything is as normal. Got it? This is no different from you going to the locker rooms in the City Ground."

"Got it." The players answered with taut faces.

Looking at their expressions, Tang En nodded his head to show his approval, and then he said to the driver, "Please open the door."

Because the Forest team was late in coming out, it made people suspicious, so there were more and more people around their bus now. There were even Middlesbrough players, extending their heads to peer over this side. The game had not started yet, and the Forest team had inadvertently stolen all the limelight.

Just when "all eyes were on them", the door of the Forest team bus finally slowly opened, and everyone craned their necks, hoping to see what kind of Forest team would come out after the delay. Unexpectedly, the first person to appear caused an uproar across the board.

Clad in a traditional Chinese robe, and carrying a compass in his hand, Twain stalked down the steps. He immediately attracted everyone's attention! He became the real focus of the fans, the reporters, the television cameras ... All were attracted by him and firmly directed their attention at him.

And what about him? The silent crowd did not have any effect on him. It was as if he could not see these people or the cameras. He marched evenly and calmly towards the stadium along the separated passage, as though there was nobody else present. Regardless of the way he dressed, he did really have a bit of "the air of a grandmaster".

The players behind him looked as serious as he was. They were evidently intimidated by Twain's appearance. They did not dare to make jokes at this time, laugh loudly, listen to music or send text messages on their cellphones. They obediently followed behind the manager, and the team walked towards the corridor leading straight to the locker room in the stadium, all under the gaze of countless people.

McClaren was so flabbergasted by Twain's appearance that he stared blankly for a long while without any reaction. Is this still a football match? Can the English Football Association allow a coach to wear such attire onto the field?

In the midst of the uproar in the crowd, Gareth Bale laughed instead. His father looked at him with uncertainty. He pointed at Twain, who was walking in front of the team, and said, "Mr. Twain is very funny! I've never seen a manager like him, I want to follow behind him to walk in, as it must be very exciting! So many people are looking at them."

Again, he pointed to the Forest First Team players, then turned back to his father and said, "Dad, I really want to be inside with them now. I think it must be fun to play for him. Have you heard about it? They took the subway once to a game, and then they encountered some football hooligans!"

His son was speaking excitedly in front of him, and he seemed completely unafraid of the football hooligans. The father affectionately patted his son, and then said, "When you continue to do well in the youth team, I think this day will soon come, Gareth."

When the father and son looked up again, Twain and his team had entered the corridor. Apart from the media, the ordinary fans did not know what would happen inside. But there were still a lot of people milling around, and they were expecting the media to return with something interesting, and then broadcast it in the evening news.

But maybe they would be disappointed. The television station's filming could only follow to the locker room door, and then just shoot the inside from outside the door. They did not have the right to shoot inside the locker room.

The Forest team locked the door after they entered the locker room. Then, no one else would know what was already happening, or what would happen inside. Why was Twain wearing such attire? Was it just to do something wacky, to ease the pressure on the players? But his players looked more serious and tense than usual ...

And what did he have in his hand? A compass? But a compass could not be so complicated ... it was engraved with Chinese characters and strange symbols ... Could it be that this was the "mysterious gift from the East" that Pierce Brosnan mentioned in his article?

Did he plan to use this thing to break the curse of the south locker room?!

Steve McClaren, who was leading his team towards to the locker room, suddenly felt his eyebrows twitch. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to looked outside of the corridor. There was a large crowd of fans and media, who should have completely dispersed to either enter the stadium or go to the bars to watch the game by now.

"What's up, Steve?" McClaren's assistant, the Middlesbrough's assistant coach, Steven John Harrison, saw him stop, and turned to ask.

"Oh, nothing. Let's go ..." McClaren replied, as he shook his head.

Maybe I'm thinking too much?

Chapter 160: Wizardly Twain Part 2

As soon as Tang En entered the south locker room, he saw the giant oil painting – even if he did not want to see it, it was hard to miss it, as it took up almost half the wall and was very eye-catching. He had no appreciation of the arts, and had nothing to say in the face of such an oil painting. However, he felt it was out of place in the stadium locker room.

Since this was the only place in the south locker room that was different from the north locker room, and other people had used it to write articles, Tang En might as well do it again today...

He pulled out a neatly folded red cloth from his backpack and unfolded it. A huge team flag appeared before everyone. When they saw such a large team flag, someone in the locker room exclaimed, but soon the voice died down. Tang En indicated to Crouch and Ward, the team's two tallest players, to hang it over that painting.

While the two men were busy doing so, he explained to everyone, "Before me, there was a master, who said that the wall was the source of all the curses. According to my on-site survey just now, I think he was right. At that time the master suggested that the stadium to commission a huge oil painting to block the bad energy, which proved to be successful from the beginning. But... the Feng Shui of this place is terrible! Very hard to change! It's difficult to change, unless the entire stadium is demolished and rebuilt ..."

Some of the players gasped, and it appeared that they were convinced by Tang En's words.

Tang En continued his speech: "The master could only choose to use the oil painting as a temporary protection, so today, we will use our team flag to block that energy of 'resentment' that has penetrated through the oil painting! Our Forest team's red flag is our lucky banner. It can break the curse and bring us good luck!"

He he finished speaking, he turned his head to see that the team flag had been hung high up and affixed to the wall, just blocking the painting. "Very good! Now for us, there is already none of the 'south locker room curse'! You don't have to worry about being cursed. The ones who should worry are our opponents, because we're going to defeat them!" Standing under the huge team flag, Tang En opened his arms and said loudly with confidence.

"The Boss is right." Eastwood stood up, saying, "The day before yesterday, when we set out from Nottingham, my wife specially did a divination, and the prediction showed that the result of this game is also our victory!"

Tang En looked at his disciple, who was turning to the players to advocate how powerful his wife's divination was, and that even the local counselors would come to consult his wife about the outcome before the election ... Tang En did not know if what this Romani gypsy said was true, but he did want to thank him.

"Okay, guys!" Seeing that this matter was settled, the assistant manager Walker also spoke, "It's time for you to go out and warm up, we've delayed long enough ..."

Tang En corrected his wording, "We have let those northerners wait long enough."

The locker room broke out with the players' happy and light laughter. Tang En knew his plan had worked. Dressing in a disguise and play-acting could also help the team build up confidence.

※※※

When the team went out to warm up, Tang En was busy working on the tactical board in the locker room. He might not know it yet, because their getting off the bus and warming up were much later than the opponents, but whatever was going on in Nottingham Forest's locker room had become the focus of many media and fans. There was a story that began to circulate among the reporters - Tony Twain had used the Eastern Feng Shui that he had learned in the locker room to help his team break the curse of the Millennium Stadium south locker room. If it succeeded, then his team and Middlesbrough would be on the same starting line!

This was a rumor that got the media excited. If it is true, then Twain will become the first manager to use this unnatural means to help the team. If the Forest team really wins in the end, will McClaren complain about his opponents' use of this practice? If he does not complain, it does not matter, as we can lead the topic in that direction during the post-match press conference….

If the Forest team did not win the championship, the reporters could also ask Manager Twain how he regarded "his get-up and play-acting" before this game – no victory meant that it was ineffective, and that meant he was just hamming it up. Thus, they could then ask him if he should have spent so much effort on this, rather than on the tactics for the team.

In short, regardless of the final outcome of this game, and no matter who would get the title, the media had a topic that they could use. And, at that time, there would be a good show!

※※※

When the Forest players returned from their warm-up, they saw that Manager Tony Twain had already taken off the "Taoist robe" and put on a dark red suit. The compass was nowhere to be found. Both teams' starting lineups were drawn on the tactical board, the wall facing them was a large Nottingham Forest team flag, and all towels were neatly placed in their respective positions.

It looked no different from a regular team locker room. Thus, they did not even think about the matter of the "south locker room curse". There was only a single thought running through their minds now: Middlesbrough, the finals, and the Championship Trophy!

Gazing at the expressions in these people's eyes, Tang En was very satisfied with their mental state. Their gazes were firm, and not so erratic, like they had been two days ago. Back then, with one glance, he could tell that they were too preoccupied, and did not have the heart to prepare for the game.

Now everything was good, his team had entered the best state, and he was smart enough not to mention that curse anymore. When everyone was seated, and the locker room had gradually quieted down, Tang En spoke, "Guys, the moment has come. This is the final, and I hope you understand that. It's not an insignificant pre-season game, and it's not a game that you lose, where there will be a next one. It's the EFL Cup final, that we will to f**king wait for another year for another chance at, if we lose! So, buckle down and chant aloud with me: 'This is the final in the live national broadcast!'"

"This is the final in the live national broadcast!" The beginning voices were still a little jumbled, and not very orderly. Some people were fast, and some people were slow, some people's pitches were high, and some people's pitches were low, but soon, everyone was unified in their chanting pace.

"This is a great opportunity for me to make a mark!"

"This is a great opportunity for me to make a mark!"

"This is the perfect stage for everyone to witness my ability!"

"This is the perfect stage for everyone to witness my ability!"

Tang En vigorously fist-pumped, and the exaggerated powerful body language symbolized him. He swung his clenched fist and pounded into the void, allowing the players to feel an unparalleled, powerful force being smashed into their bodies, along with their boss's action.

"Let us trample on the carcass of Middlesbrough and go to Europe, in the name of the English Football League Cup champion!"

"In the name of the champion!"

After leading the round robin chanting, Tang En watched those impassioned players and laughed, "Does anyone still think that what I'm talking is an impossible joke? Is there still any doubt that we can beat the Premier League team? Does anyone think that a Premiership team is stronger than a League One team? Does anyone think we can't win?"

No one hesitated this time, as everyone loudly replied at the same time, "No one!"

"Very good! Do you believe in me? Do you believe I will lead you to victory?"

"We believe!"

"Fantastic! I believe in you too, I believe you can defeat our opponents and win the championship! We are a team, and we are one. I believe in you, and you believe in me. We can overcome all the opponents in front of us, because they block our progress. Why have we practiced so hard on our defense for a week? Since you first stepped into the world of professional football and received your training, you have shed sweat and tears every day, and even bled and suffered injuries. What is it all for?"

He turned around and erased both teams' starting line-ups on the tactical board, and wrote a big word on it -- "CHAMPIONS".

"For the championship! Only the championship can reward everything we've invested, only the championship can satisfy our hunger and make us happy. In addition to this ..." He forcefully swung his hand, and made a knife-cutting action, "... We will not accept any other result!"

Chapter 161: Wall Part 1

Inside the Cardiff Millennium Stadium's VIP suite, a golden-haired beauty, who was dressed fashionably, could not help but yawn, as she changed her sitting position somewhat uninterestedly. She was not a professional fan. In fact, she could not even be considered a football fan at all.

She felt that, the more important the match was, the more exciting the match should be. However, the match situation a mere ten minutes in, was so dreary, that it had made her extremely disappointed. In the eyes of this beautiful girl, this match was extremely tasteless and boring.

Actually, this beautiful girl was not the only person, who presently found the match boring. The football fans, who were seated on the stands and in front of the television, felt this way as well.

As this was an extremely important finals match, playing conservatively and steadily was the way to go. The commentators, Martin Taylor and Andy Gray, knew this very well, and therefore, did not complain during their commentary.

Instead, Gray questioned Nottingham Forest's concentrated defensive play style — defending like, ever that since the match started, how much longer could Twain's team continue on? Forty-five minutes? Ninety minutes? Or… One hundred and twenty minutes?

"Massimo Maccarone attempts a distance shot! It had hit the body of a Nottingham Forest player, before going out of bounds. This is a corner kick. The Italian has appeared to be very excited, ever since the match started. In a mere eleven minutes, he has already attempted two shots at the goalpost!" remarked one of the commentators.

For this match, Middlesbrough sent out an offensive lineup. Evidently, McClaren did not think that crucial matches should be played conservatively, or at least he didn't choose to play conservatively, when facing off against Nottingham Forest.

Actually, ever since Robson had become the manager of the team, Middlesbrough's tradition tactic was to use technique-centric, offensive football. Among the Premier League teams, they were nicknamed the "giant slayers", as they had a lot of experience playing against strong teams. However, when playing against teams, which were adept at snatching and had players with exceptional physiques, they would become somewhat at a loss for what to do.

Their greatest characteristic was having a strong offense and a weak defense. Although McClaren did not know what Tang En's plans were, he still decided to launch an unrelenting offense, right from the start of the match. He hoped to make use of this momentum in order to secure a leading advantage, as this would make things easier for Middlesbrough, which had more skilful players, in the rest of the match.

His plan for the match was the complete opposite of Tang En's. McClaren did not intend to fortify his defences during the match, but instead, chose to maximize their offensive advantage. He hoped to completely destroy this League One team's fighting spirit, by consecutively blasting balls into Nottingham Forest's goalpost.

As a result, McClaren had chosen to dispatch his most offensive lineup for this match. The frontline consisted of the power duo of Massimo Maccarone and Joseph Job. The former was the most accurate with shots, while the latter was extremely proficient with dribbling.

The four people in the midfielder positions were Middlesbrough's stars of hope. From left to right, they were: the nineteen-year-old genius football player Stewart Downing; Juninho, the 1.65metres tall Brazilian midfielder with exceptional techniques; the Dutch midfielder George Boateng, who defends aggressively, runs fast, and was not afraid of body rams; and finally, Gaizka Mendieta, the Spanish midfielder, who was on loan from Lazio.

The lineup for Middlesbrough's full backs did not have much change, but McClaren also did not have much choice in the selection of players. The French left back, Franck Queudrue, was a player that posed a huge threat to Tang En, as he was a player that could execute both defense and offense seamlessly.

Although he was only 1.83 meters tall, Franck Queudrue possessed exceptional header and free kick skills. In the two most recent seasons, he was one of the most outstanding left backs in the Premier League.

The right back position was assumed by Danny Mills, an England national team player on loan from Leeds United. The two center backs were thirty-one-year-old veteran player Ugo Ehiogu and the young twenty-three-year-old Chris Riggott. The goalkeeper was Australian national team goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

With this lineup, aside from Juninho, almost everyone else was part of Middlesbrough's main line-up in the English Premier League. Among the four midfielders, only Boateng was a defensive player. The other three midfielders were all better in terms of offense. McClaren's intentions were extremely obvious — and that was to go on the offense!

Playing defensively was never a style that Middlesbrough adopted. They liked executing give and go, a type of offensive football that was seamless. But today…. They still did not know that, the offense, in which they took so much pride, was about to hit a major wall.

※※※

Juninho kicked off the ball, but Queudrue, who was being heavily marked by Nottingham Forest's players, was unable to receive the ball. As a result, Middlesbrough's offense was temporarily stopped.

Very quickly, Middlesbrough players, in their yellow jerseys, went on the offensive once again, because Nottingham Forest did not have any means of counterattacking at the front. Only Crouch was there, so even if he managed to snatch the first point of contact with the ball, using his height advantage, the goalkeeper could easily run over, and there was nothing Nottingham Forest could do to stop their opponent from regaining possession of the ball during the second point of fall.

Although Nottingham Forest's formation, which had been decided prior to the match, was supposed to be 442, during the actual match, only Crouch was positioned at the forefront. In the past, Tang En would arrange for Eastwood to roam around Crouch, keeping a lookout for the second point of fall. However, he did not ask Eastwood to do this today. Instead, he positioned the Gypsy slightly backwards in the field, for defense.

Nottingham Forest had almost completely given up on offense. This was done precisely to build a high wall in front of its goalpost, and to completely shut down all of Middlesbrough's offenses.

Italy had a tradition of adopting "Catenaccio", which referred to the entire team being focused on defense, and being closely-linked together. Prior to this match, Tang En had spent over a week devising a new defensive system for Nottingham Forest, which he had named the "wall defense". It was a welll-rounded, reinforced and concrete defensive system.

The back defensive line would definitely not pressure forward and would definitely not go out of position, with the three lines maintaining a close proximity and perfect formation at all times. In the area within a thirty meters radius from the goalpost, they were able to force a situation, whereby they would outnumber their opponent. It required the entire team to assist in defense, in order to reduce the amount of space their opponent had for their offense.

With your superb ball control, you might be able to continuously pass the ball around horizontally, when you are outside my defensive line. However, my players will not chase after you because you did that. No! No matter how you passed the ball around, as long as you don't make a direct pass, I will continue to watch your ball possession from behind the defensive line. It doesn't matter, even if you had an eighty percent ball possession by the end of the match.

But, if you decide to change your offensive direction from horizontal to vertical, and wish to directly penetrate my defensive region… then I'm very sorry, I'm unable to let you get what you want. Fierce tackles, two to three people's encirclement, impenetrable penalty area.. those are the situations that you will have to face.

Such was the thought process of the coach, as he devised his fierce game strategy!

Nottingham Forest's defensive area was like a muddy swamp. If you didn't step into it, you wouldn't face any issues. But once you stepped into it, it would be difficult for your offenses to advance a single step!

The majority of the people perceived defense as being something that was within the job scopes of the back defensive line and the defensive midfielders. In this mindset, while the rest of the team was focused on defending, the forwards and offensive midfielders could simply stand at the front and wait for their chance to counterattack.

This type of defense was just like a three-layered plywood. Although it seemed as though it could keep out rain and wind, one small poke was all it would take to pierce through it, as it did not possess enough strategic depth. A brilliant direct pass would be enough to tear through this paper tiger-like defensive line.

However, the idea behind Tang En's defensive system wasn't like that.

What was a "wall"?

A wall was something that had sufficient height, length, and thickness, something that was built using boulders, and that was difficult to overcome.

Height —

George Wood was 1.86 meters tall, possessed exceptional jumping power, and was not too bad at headers. Robert Huth, who was 1.90 meters tall, was tall enough, and was good at headers. Wes Morgan, who was 1.88 meters tall, was adept at air defense.

Length —

The entire field, from its left wing to its right wing, was within the control range of Tang En's overall defense. The role of the two left and right midfielders on the starting lineup, Kris Commons and Ashley Young, was not to pass the ball to Crouch's head, but instead, to double up as left and right backs.

Thickness —

Could a wooden board that was 1cm thick be called a wall? Everything in between its forwards and full backs was within the defensive area for Nottingham Forest's moving wall. Ever since Crouch and Eastwood had faced off against Middlesbrough's offenses, Nottingham Forest's defensive system could be considered to be in place already.

This, with all these above critical components, was a true wall that was 2.5 meters tall, 60 meters long, and 30 meters wide!

Middlesbrough's offense gradually weakened, after the fifteenth minute mark. It wasn't that they gave up on offense, but it was simply because, against Nottingham Forest's defense, they had consumed twice the amount of energy that they usually would have.

Tang En told the team that, during defense, they had to be more daring, when it came to tackling. They had to do it swiftly and fiercely, and were told not to stop, when closing in on their opponents. Even if they were unable to successfully execute a tackle, they still had to follow through with the action, because that would affect the opponents' subsequent receiving and passing of balls. As time passed, and as their opponents began to make more mistakes, Nottingham Forest would have achieved its aim of playing defensively.

Tang En firmly believed that, no matter how much of a technique-centric faction Middlesbrough was, their players' individual skills and the overall coordination of the team would still be inferior to teams like Real Madrid. When playing against teams, which snatched for ball possession fiercely and played extremely defensively, even Real Madrid could not do much about it, much less Middlesbrough, which was merely a mid-tier team in the English Premier League.

Juninho was a player, who displayed outstanding skills with his feet. However, he had come to Middlesbrough thrice. In spite of his first appearance, which had left a deep impression, Middlesbrough was still relegated. In the next two times, when he returned to this team, Juninho was no longer as good as he had been before. This was especially true after he broke his legs, which saw a huge dip in his performance as a result.

McClaren's original rationale for letting Juninho on the field was in order to make use of his personal skills to create some trouble for Nottingham Forest's back defense line. He looked at Nottingham Forest and Bolton's semi-finals matches, especially the first match.

McClaren felt that Bolton's manager, Allardyce, had made one of the greatest mistakes, in that he did not completely make full use of Okocha's individual techniques. During that match, George Wood was extremely active on the field, but McClaren had felt that Wood lacked the experience to adapt to different situations. Therefore, if Allardyce had given Okocha sufficient freedom, from the start of the match, to make a mess out of Nottingham Forest's defense, Bolton would have completely crushed that newcomer Wood's debut match.

Chapter 162: Wall Part 2

Although McClaren had guessed correctly that Wood was still too inexperienced, he did not expect Tang En to make the entire team focus on defense in order to dispel this unstable factor. However, inside Nottingham Forest's walls, any mistake of letting his opponent get past him, by any player, would not be a fatal one. That was because there would always be someone beside him to fill in for him.

Think back to the match played between France, the host, and Paraguay, the weakest country among the top sixteen teams, during the 1989 World Cup quarterfinals: Paraguay had played their defense almost to perfection, but in the end, it was all for naught.

Tang En felt that this result was because Paraguay's defense had been too passive, and overly reliant on the individual skills of the goalkeeper, Chilavert, and the full backs, which were few in number. In contrast, the current Nottingham Forest was truly relying on the entire team for defense. Tang En would never leave the deciding factor of the team's defense to the goalkeeper, because by the time the opponent's forward made his shot at the goalpost, it often meant that ninety percent of his defense would have already failed.

Nottingham Forest would not give Middlesbrough's players the opportunity to comfortably control and retain possession of the ball. As soon as they entered Nottingham Forest's defensive region, they would immediately feel that the match's pace had been raised by more than hundred percent! If they did not quickly pass the ball, stop the ball, and dribble the ball, it was highly likely that the ball underneath their feet would be snatched away from them.

The once pointed out that, the deciding factors that could break the balance of top matches were possibly: the manager's decision during the match, the performance of the individual star players, a counterattack, a place kick and a crucial mistake. Aside from the factor of "the manager's decision during the match", Tang En hoped that the utilization of the "Wall defense" could reduce the risks of the other four factors to a minimum.

In Tang En's eyes, the only player in Middlesbrough's lineup that could decide the match's outcome with his individual skills was Juninho. However, his current condition was not as great as it once was. Moreover, past experiences had already proven that most Brazilian players were incompatible with English Football, and Juninho was no exception to this. His fluctuating performance during English football matches was also largely caused by this.

During this sort of intense ball-snatching that almost resembled a foul, Juninho was not even able to display thirty percent of his usual performance, much less change the match outcome.

As for the other star player, Mendieta, who used to be extremely famous…. Ever since he decided to leave Spain and venture overseas, he no longer possessed any form of threat. He belonged to the category of players, who could only perform to their full potentials under a specific football environment, with a specific team, and with a specific manager. Italian football did not suit him, and the same could be said for English football.

Perhaps Downing's speed and momentum could bring some changes, but he too, lacked experience. In addition, his passing and shooting skills were far lacking, when compared to his speed.

Against Middlesbrough, this was the best strategy that Tang En could come up with. As for the actual situation during the match, that would have to depend on both team managers' decision-making during the match…and this was something that Tang En was least worried about.

※※※

When Juninho finally dribbled the ball past Nottingham Forest's defensive midfielder Gunnarsson, he was knocked down by George Wood from the side, along with the ball. However, seeing that the referee did not call a foul, the Middlesbrough fans on the stands finally could not take it, and started jeering. From their points of view, almost every single action of Nottingham Forest could be considered a foul, hence, the referee's decision made them extremely displeased.

However, when they were jeering, did this problem ever cross their minds? If the 1.65 meters Juninho and the 1.86 meters George Wood made body contact, Wood would have nothing to gain from fair charging at Juninho? The referee was right beside the two of them, and he was able to see this ball very clearly. Wood did not commit a foul, but had simply kicked out his foot faster than the Brazilian.

When dribbling the ball, Juninho felt the pressure created from Wood charging at him. Hence, he decided to avoid Wood by going to the sides, but Wood was able to quickly kick away the ball under his feet. Afterwards, he could not brake in time, causing him to accidentally knock over the Brazilian guy, who wanted to get a front positioning ball.

The referee's eyes were extremely sharp, causing the furious Juninho to hit the turf angrily. At the same time, Tang En provocatively pointed a thumbs-up to the field.

"Nottingham Forest's defensive organization is very successful. At the very least, looking at the first twenty-four minutes of the match, it is like this. Middlesbrough, which had sent out their strongest offensive lineup, had only made four shots at the goalpost by the halfway mark of the first half, and all of them were not within the goalpost. Most of the time, they would lose their ball possession under the Nottingham Forest players' forceful snatching. Taylor, I feel that, if manager Twain had switched in a faster forward, the current score should have been 2:0, with Nottingham Forest in the lead!"

Martin Taylor smiled and said, "You're right. But if manager Twain intended to go on the offense, then his team would also be unable to completely devote themselves to defense. This match was not interesting at all, but this is still a very crucial match. I think that neither parties are willing to make any mistakes. After all, this match could very well determine who could go to Europe next season…"

Tang En stood by the side of the field. Till now, he was very satisfied with the team's performance, as they had completely played to their usual training standards. Even though there were still some gaps during the start of the match, they were able to quickly adjust accordingly. From the looks of it, this bunch of young lads did not feel nervous for their first EFL Cup finals match. This really had to be credited to the coaching performance he gave prior to the match.

Although the players performed outstandingly, Tang En did not feel surprised. It was because this was his team, a football team that was created according to his thoughts and wants. Whatever his character was, this team would have the same character as him. He, Tang En, had never been afraid of anyone, so Nottingham Forest would also be fearless.

Tang En allowed his mind to further bolster his positive thinking and game tactics:

Being known as the Premier League's "giant slayers" doesn't mean anything. The title of England's young and successful manager also doesn't mean anything. As long as we are able to advance into the finals, we have the strength to defeat you and claim the championship trophy!

McClaren sat at the technical area as he stared at the field without any expression on his face. It seemed like he almost did not take to heart, the predicament that his team was currently facing. However, deep in his heart, he was trying to assess the match's development situation.

It is obvious that the manager from Nottingham Forest wishes to restrain our team's offense by deploying a concentrated defense. By doing so… should I say that he is smart, or dumb? Will playing defensively definitely yield results? Or does he have some other tricks up his sleeves for the second half? By concentrating his defenses during the first half, he intends to deplete our players' stamina. By provoking my players with rough defensive actions, he wants to make them lose their calm and become more irritable…Afterwards, he will start to make some adjustments to his players in the latter half of the second half, and play a quick counterattack strategy….And what about that Ukrainian?

McClaren turned his head around and looked in the direction of Nottingham Forest's substitution bench, hoping to find Rebrov, the player who had been reborn ever since Tang En took over the players and changed his position on the field. However, McClaren had accidentally discovered that Tony Twain was currently looking at him. When Twain saw that McClaren was looking at Twain, he even smiled at McClaren. Seeing this kind of reaction from the other party, McClaren could only choose to avoid it. He turned his head back, and continued to watch the match.

At a glance, Nottingham Forest's side of the field was almost full of people…Juninho had lost possession of the ball once again. He furiously protested to the referee, saying that Wood's tackle was a foul. However, the referee continued to ignore him.

This Brazilian! Instead of wasting time debating with the referee, the time would have been better off spent trying to snatch the ball back! From the looks of it, Juninho's condition was still very poor. Damn it! His performance had clearly been outstanding during trainings!

There was almost no hope left for that Brazilian guy. He did not even dare to engage in a one-versus-one at the sides… His confidence had been eroded by his illness and injury in Italy. He was no longer the Mendieta the world had seen shine in Valencia.

Only Downing…Looking at Downing, who tirelessly sprinted back and forth on the field and tried to break through, McClaren's heart was somewhat comforted slightly. Juninho and Mendieta were definitely going to leave the team after this season. Moreover, Downing's rise would also squeeze Zenden onto the substitution bench. Downing was the true hope and future of Middlesbrough.

The only thing was that, he was overly excited, and was too quick with his actions. As a result, he also made more mistakes than usual. He was simply too young!

After taking a look at all the players on his team, McClaren had discovered that he currently had no means of dealing with Nottingham Forest's well-rounded defense — when he knew what Tang En named this strategy as, McClaren would definitely agree with it as well.

McClaren covered his forehead with his hands. This time, he had really bumped into a wall!

Chapter 163: A Crack Part 1

Middlesbrough, who was driven far away from the penalty area by the Forest team's defense, was able only to attempt to breach the Forest team's goal with long-range strikes, which might have been the best way to break the intensive defense. However, their team lacked a player with excellent long-shot ability. Sometimes, the shots might make the Forest fans break out in a cold sweat, but they did not threaten the security of the Forest team goal.

Tang En remained unmoved. He felt that his team's current tactics were very good, and could restrain Middlesbrough's attacks. As long as McClaren did not make a move, he had no need to adjust his original intentions.

The two managers sat in their seats, plotting their tactics, and the fans in the stands thought this final was very boring. The first half was almost over, and the Forest team had only attempted one shot. Although Middlesbrough seemed to be fierce in their offensive, there was no good opportunity. More often than not, they could only cross, pass, and pass the football to each other in front of the Forest team's defense line. If they moved forward, they would soon be cut off.

Nottingham Forest's defense had left the Middlesbrough players helpless. Without further instructions from their manager, they could only play according to the formation set before the game ... But the tactics laid out before the game were obviously unsuitable to deal with the current Forest team.

Only Downing was working hard. This was the EFL Cup final. Like what Tang En had said, this was the best opportunity for a young rookie to make his mark and become famous with one shot. At this time, if he did not perform, what was he still waiting for?

But he, who wanted to be famous, had picked the wrong opponent. The heavily defended and compact Forest team was definitely not the best opponent for Downing to bring his strengths to play. His two rivals, which he currently faced, were the Forest team right back, John Thompson, and right midfielder, Ashley Young, the more imposing of whom looked to be the right back.

Ashley Young was fast and physically flexible. He was definitely on par with Downing one-on-one. While John Thompson was inferior to his opponent with his personal ability, he had a very good advantage, which allowed Tang En to buy so many players during the winter transfer period, that he had not introduced a right back.

For Thompson, who had switched playing as a center back to now playing as a right back, his assist ability could not compare with Leighton Baines, who played on the other side, and his personal skills could not be compared with Ashley Young, who was now in front of him. It looked as if he did not seem to have any essential skills. But, he had been the Forest team's unwavering, main right back, ever since Tang En took over.

He was chosen for this position, because he played cleanly and played his defender position very well. If the passing was inaccurate, or the pass speed was slow, he would not go in for an assist. If his technique was not good, he would just kick the ball out. With him around, the Forest team's right wing was safe. Therefore, Ashley Young could do several passes in the game, because he knew that if he lost his ball, Thompson would be behind him.

In this game, because Ashley Young came back to play defense, Thompson's position was closer to the midsection of the penalty area, in order to prevent the opposing striker and offense from taking advantage of this gap to make a breakthrough. Of course, he was really here to increase the defense of the wing.

Downing's personal ability was excellent, and Tang En knew that Ashley Young, the interim defender, was absolutely unable to mark him, so he arranged for Thompson to be the second guard. When Downing dribbled the ball over, Thompson would help Ashley Young defend. When faced with such a dedicated and unyielding right back, Downing really had no other good ideas.

"Downing was closely marked by Ashley Young and John Thompson. In this way, all of Middlesbrough's offensive tactics were rendered ineffective. Does McClaren have a new plan?" Even Martin Taylor and Andy Gray, who were in the press box, could see it, and they believed that it was impossible for McClaren not to see it also.

In fact, it was not difficult to figure out the problem, as even fans who had watched football for more than a few years could see it. The difficulty lay in how to solve this problem, and this was the manager's job.

"Actually, to break the intensive defense, there are several ways to try it. One of them is a long shot, and the other is to let a player with outstanding foot technique come forward, and then use this player to break through and disrupt the Forest team's defense, which would expose the gap ..." Andy Gray gave McClaren some advice in the press box.

McClaren understood all these principles, as he was also a manager. The problem was ... he knew that this method might be possible to break the Forest team's intensive defense, but he did not have such a player in his team, who could do so. The player in his team with the best technique was Juninho, but he was closely marked by George Wood on the field, who was also making fierce interceptions and tackles, regardless of his physical strength. Thus, he was completely out of action.

Adding to this, there were no players on the substitutes' bench, who could take on this important responsibility. Boudewijn Zenden was quite skillful in breakthroughs, but he could only play on the wing, and he also had to replace Downing. McClaren thought Zenden could not be as effective as Downing. If he brought off Downing, it was a clear waste of a substitution quota.

Maybe... if he let Juninho come off the substitutes' bench, it would be more effective than his starting lineup. Just when the Forest team's defensive lineup had adapted to the Middlesbrough starting lineup, to suddenly bring on a player with outstanding personal skills, excellent foot technique, and the ability to dribble past several players to create opportunities for his teammates, could completely upset the balance of the field ... Unfortunately, such a player could not be found on the Middlesbrough substitutes' bench.

The skill level of the Middlesbrough's substitutes was the biggest factor in restricting their ranking with the Premier League. In this important final, it had unexpectedly put McClaren in a difficult predicament.

McClaren now regretted his initial decision. His idea of having a strong offense at the outset, trying to break the deadlock and establishing the tone of the game as soon as possible, was proving to be a mistake now. He had no idea that Manager Tony Twain would be so hard to deal with.

The Bolton Wanderers manager, Sam Allardyce, had an encounter with him, which should have sounded a warning to him. But the League One team, the south locker room ... all this nonsense had caused him to lose his guard. He overestimated himself and Middlesbrough, and underestimated Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest, with its mostly young players.

The first half of the match calmly passed. Apart from both sides' hardcore fans, no one was satisfied with this first half. Filled with much anticipation, what kind of game did they see? There were no brilliant shots at the goals, let alone the actual making of an exciting goal. Middlesbrough did its best, yet failed in its attacks, and Nottingham Forest was so conservative, that it dared not attack at all. In this way, forty-five minutes were all used up, without the referee giving any injury stoppage time. He simply whistled at the end of the first half.

※※※

Besides George Wood, all the other Forest players, who returned to the locker room, were gasping for breath, without exception. The first half's forty-five minutes was really tiring for them, with the non-stop running, sprinting, slide tackling, then climbing up and repeating the same series of actions.

This set of tactics was very physically demanding on the players. Hence, the intensity of Tang En's training in this one week was not minor. In addition to the tactical training, the physical training was essential every day. One must know that it was easy to play for forty-five minutes, but it was not as easy to play for one hundred twenty minutes as one might think.

Looking at these exhausted players, Tang En smiled, then asked, "How is it? How are you feeling in the first half, guys?"

"Not bad, boos. They don't stand a chance!" Wes Morgan, gasping for breath, replied in high spirits. This was reassuring to Tang En.

"I can also see that they don't have a chance. I think McClaren certainly would not have thought we would play with them in such a way in this game. They must have thought we were going to press on and counterattack, but that's what a fool would do." Tang En shrugged, "We will continue to play like this in the second half, and they are going to get more impatient. You guys all saw it ... A Premiership team is only so-so. Nothing to worry about, listen to me, we can win our first championship! We will take more and more championships in the future! Do you believe me?"

"We believe it, Boss!" The players answered in unison.

"Excellent." Tang En nodded, "Now it's your free time, so have a good rest. The game will become tougher after this."

He rarely made any adjustments or tactical arrangements during the halftime interval, and especially because the team was currently in good shape, no adjustment was obviously required. It would help the players to relax, instead, during this time, by leaving them alone to rest. Sometimes a manager was required to keep talking, but sometimes it was better for the manager to keep quiet.

Now, the one who should be talking nonstop would be ... perhaps the one next door.

※※※

McClaren looked at the players in front of him with a dark expression. No one had expected before this game, that the team would be confronted with Nottingham Forest's stubborn resistance. Some even thought it would be the most relaxing EFL Cup final ever played. Would anyone still think that now?

Like the Nottingham Forest players, the Middlesbrough players were also out of breath. In fact, their fatigue was more a result from the psychological burden. The game was far from what they had imagined before. Their opponents' tenacious resistance, the crisis of not being able to score ... Over time, this pressure had only increased.

Perhaps it was inconceivable to some people, how the dominant teams would be more pressured than the inferior teams. But this was football, and there were many things on the field which could not be analyzed with simple common sense.

If it was possible, McClaren wanted very much to put pressure on the team. But this was not possible. At this crucial moment, when the team was already nervous, if he said to the players, "Hey, guys! Don't be so nervous, it doesn't matter if we don't win this game. Even if we lose, it's ok, as long as we do our best. Don't worry about the result, just enjoy playing football!", it would not to lessen the pressure on the team. Instead, it would discourage the team.

After all, which manager would say such words to his players at such an important final? He would be an idiot. If he did this often, it would also make the players feel that the manager lacked the desire to win, and even perhaps had no confidence in the players. As time passed, his days as the leader of the team would also come to an end.

Chapter 164: A Crack Part 2

McClaren was in a difficult predicament now. He could not lessen the pressure on the players, nor let these men relax. He also could not continue to provoke these players' tense mental states, for fear that someone's psychological quality would be weak. He would be in trouble, if that player broke under the pressure and ended up making a mistake in the game.

At this time, he could not tell these players "be indifferent to the outcome of the game", and he also could not say "we absolutely must not lose". It was a real headache that he could not use the halftime interval to inspire his players. In fact, McClaren knew that, in order to reduce the players' psychological burden, and to liberate them from this vicious circle of their current psychological state, there was only one way, and that was to get a ball into the Forest team goal.

As long as they scored a goal, there would be no problem. The must-win pressure, and their opponents' fierce interceptions, all that would vanish. However, this was a difficult problem for McClaren. If it was so easy to score a goal, the scores in a football match would be on par with a basketball game.

It did not seem feasible now, to try and change the situation by bringing on a substitute. What else could he expect? He began to run through the current situation in his mind, in all its possible scenarios:

A. The game currently had eleven players on the field; B. The rival manager became muddled, and made a wrong decision; C. The opposing players made a mistake, and sent the ball their way; D. A well-placed kick would be made..

To tell the truth, McClaren did not hold too much hope that his players would bring any of these to bear on the field. This was constant, not a variable. What would be the variable? Tony Twain, being dazzled by the atmosphere of the championship finals, wrongly judged the situation on the field and made inexplicable adjustments. Under Middlesbrough's continued offense, the opposing players' pressure to let go and the psychological stress became stronger, till they were overwhelmed, made mistakes, and then collapsed ...

At the thought of this, McClaren's eyes lit up. Why not? My players are under immense pressure, because they are unable to break through. Why would the opposing players not feel pressured, because they constantly need to be on guard against our offense and always think that they can't lose the ball? Look at the way they bent their backs and were out of breath when they left the field. Tony Twain's tactics are too demanding for the players. Whether it was the aspect of their physical strength or psychological quality, McClaren did not think that the Forest team could consistently execute this tactic.

In that way, as long as we have enough patience, and constantly make use of the offense to harass the Forest defense line, we'll wait until their confidence and resolve begin to waver, and then, we'll suddenly strike the fatal blow!

Then, the game will be over ...

McClaren, with a clear tactical intent in mind, was visibly relieved. He now knew what to say to these players.

"Is there anyone beginning to doubt that we can win this final? Have your confidence and fighting spirit shaken earlier than our rivals?"

Upon hearing his voice, the initially crestfallen players looked up at their manager, the young manager Steve McClaren, who had also convinced them with results, and their confidence was restored. Their spirits were further raised when they saw their boss' smiling face again.

"No, boss. No one has given up on the game!" The team captain and their goalkeeper Schwarzer stood up and said.

※※※

As the second half began, Tang En realized that Middlesbrough had stepped up their offensive. They seemed to be going up against Nottingham Forest's "Wall Defense". McClaren did not let his team slow down and do multiple passes, but instead, he sped up the offense. High-speed passing, faster interception, fast attempt shots to the goal, all of this was performed, plus the direction of their passing went from crossing to vertical, and the forward passes significantly increased.

That was also a way to do it, but Tang En was not worried. The advantage of a wall was not in speed, but in its depth and in the stability of the formation. Immoveable, like a mountain, was the best description of this defensive tactic, allowing play to remain constant in order to deal with changing conditions of the game.

As long as they were able to hold the defense for the first ten minutes of the game's second half, the momentum would gradually fall into his control for the remaining game time. The ones who should worry about not scoring a goal was McClaren and his team.

However, ten minutes into the second half of the game, he jumped from his seat.

After Middlesbrough intercepted the ball and shot out a long pass from its own half of the field, the ball went directly behind the Forest defense line. John Thompson, who had always performed calmly, missed the ball with his head! The swift Downing got into action behind him at the same time, when his teammate had passed the ball. When Thompson missed with his head, Downing rushed past the Forest team's last line of defense!

The Middlesbrough fans in the stands jumped up from their seats, cheering with their arms raised! This was the perfect opportunity that they had waited for in the last fifty-five minutes.

Downing had just stopped the ball, and intended to seize the opportunity to break through inwards. Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind in front of him, and a dark shadow flashed past. Immediately, the ball underneath his foot had disappeared, and he was suddenly knocked out. At that moment, he felt as if he had been hit by a boulder. He was writhing in pain on the ground, and the football had already flown out.

"It's a f**king foul!!" All the Middlesbrough fans were shouting.

"Damn your bloody rules!!" This was the Nottingham Forest fans' comeback.

Both managers stood up from their seats, almost at the same time, nervously waiting for the referee's decision.

The referee ran forward, pointing with the corner flag –"This is a corner! It's really an incomprehensible ruling... Look at the faces of the Middlesbrough players, and there's a loud booing in the front field of the stadium!"

Because Nottingham Forest's goal in the second half was close to the Middlesbrough fan area, this spot was suddenly drowned out by hissing. The Middlesbrough players rushed around the referee, and they could not believe their eyes! How could this ball be a corner ball?! This was clearly a collision! And it was absolutely unreasonable!

McClaren turned around in anger, and smacked the awning of the technical area. He could not understand the referee's decision any more than his own players could. Did the damn referee not see Downing flipped twice in the air? He had rolled from inside the field to past the sidelines! What's wrong with his eyes? The fuming Middlesbrough manager pointed to his own eyes with two fingers in protest.

Twain let out a long breath and sank down to his seat. Although Wood was young and had not played in many official First Team games, he was the core of this defensive tactic. His tireless running and rough defense were important deterrents to the opponents. If he were to be sent off with a red card, his defensive system would collapse. Without him running and intercepting in the wide middle, this wall would be nothing but a hollow wall. One jab, and it would come crumbling down.

The referee must have been baffled by Wood's speed, or perhaps his active performance in the first half had caused some inertia in the referee's mind. But this danger had passed, and there was a greater danger waiting for Tang En and his Forest team.

"George Wood had made a dangerous defense. Fortunately, the referee did not pursue it. From the replay, Wood did touch the ball first, but his defensive move was too big and very aggressive. McClaren had enough reason to complain – this could have been a turning point in the game, leaving the Forest team without an absolute defensive core, and at a disadvantage, both on the field and in terms of player numbers. But now, his team has only been given a corner kick, and Downing, who had been the most active so far, since the first half, is still under treatment! Listen to the booing at the Millennium Stadium!" Even with a soundproof headset, Andy Gray could barely hear himself. He had to raise his volume during his commentary, just to compete with the roar of the raving Middlesbrough fans.

As a matter of fact, Steve McClaren did not have to be so angry. Even though he did not reduce the Forest team's numbers, at least he had finally split open a crack in their thick and hard wall in fifty-five minutes. Would this be the beginning of a full-scale collapse of the Forest wall?

Perhaps the two managers, Steve McClaren and Tony Twain, would have to reconsider things carefully in their minds.

Chapter 165: Who Is Afraid Of Who Part 1

Because Wood collided into the other party, Tang En stood up from his seat and walked back and forth a few times, before finally returning to his seat. He looked at Walker, but did not say anything before turning back.

Folding his hands by the side of the field, Tang En stood still with his lips tightly puckered. Deep inside, Tang En was somewhat worried. However, he could not say it out, and he could not let others know that he was worrying, hesitating, or wavering.

Downing's breakthrough served as a wakeup call for Tang En. Theoretically, this "wall defense" of his should not have any problems…however, the most unreliable thing in a football match was "theory". When it came to the execution of a strategy, there were many things that were changing by the second.

Like just now, when, before the match, he asked the back defense line to not overextend, and to stay as far back as possible at all times, in order to prevent their opponents from passing the ball over them. But what happened in reality? Didn't they just let their opponents pass the ball over them?

It was impossible for the back defense line to stick to the end line at all times, and that was also not the correct way to defend. There would definitely be gaps, and it was just that Middlesbrough was unable to seize the opportunity in the past. This time, they happened to be able to seize this chance. However, just because it was by accident, it did not mean that Tang En need not take it to heart.

As long as there was a first time, there would definitely be a second time. McClaren himself must have noticed this as well. With Nottingham Forest's left and right backs both being of a relatively young age, each of them had their own weaknesses. The left wing was still alright, but Thompson and Ashley Young on the right wing were under immense pressure, because of Downing's presence. If McClaren made the team focus their offenses here, and had the players take turns to attack here, would Thompson and Ashley Young be able to fend them off?

Very soon, Tang En would know the answer to this question...

As expected, Middlesbrough intentionally strengthened their offense on the right wing. Downing had tried to break past Thompson three consecutive times, and if not for the combined efforts of Thompson and Ashley Young to prevent against it, he would have definitely gotten past.

But they were finally unable to surround him on his fourth attempt. Ashley Young was slightly slow to react, and Downing managed to get in between the two of them, knocking the ball past them!

A sudden loud cheering noise erupted from the Middlesbrough fans. This time, that abominable George Wood was still in the center, and he could not rush over in time!

"What a beautiful breakthrough! Downing's speed has caused Nottingham Forest to have a tough time! In the second half, he is becoming more and more active. The person with the biggest headache should be Manager Twain… A cross!"

The German player Robert Huth immediately rushed in front of Maccarone, kicking the ball out of bounds. It was yet another corner kick. Over the past few minutes, Nottingham Forest had been even more passive than the first half, and that was all because of one person — Downing.

Walker, who was seated at the technical area, stood up and walked towards Tang En. Standing beside Tang En, Walker said worriedly, "Tony, things are not looking too good."

Tang En nodded his head and said, "I know… McClaren made some adjustments, and we also have to do something… Call Bopp over here."

Walker turned around to call Bopp, while Tang En walked back to the technical area and grabbed a bottle of water to drink. Although he did not say much, Tang En could already feel that his throat was parched. Nervousness... These feelings once again returned to him.

This is the EFL Cup finals…Damn it, how could I let this become your chance to become famous, Downing?

"Boss?" Bopp, who was standing beside Tang En, called out in a slightly bewildered tone. He was standing there, but Tang En had not seen him.

"Ah…Eugen." After Tang En calmed down his inner feelings, he turned to face this German player, who could only play as a substitute, ever since Wood appeared out of nowhere. "You will replace Ashley, and tell George to switch positions. Tell him… to mark Downing closely, that number 28."

"Mhmm." Bopp nodded his head.

"And you will partner up with Gunnarsson, and become the defensive midfielder. Defend against Juninho, that Brazilian guy. Be more ruthless when you strike, let him know that you, who have just entered, are also not someone to be trifled with!" Tang En said, as he clenched his fists.

"Understood, Boss."

"Then go!" Tang En patted Bopp's shoulders and encouraged him, "Don't think too much, just play as you always do during trainings. Just perform to your usual standard, and that will be enough. You can do it."

After sending off Bopp, Tang En continued to watch the match from the side of the field. Walker also did not return to the technical area, and instead, stayed with Tang En at the side.

"Tony…." Walker said hesitantly.

However, Tang En knew what Walker wanted to say. "You are worried that we might lose this match, Des."

Walker did not make any noise, and that was the equivalent to agreeing with Tang En.

"Des, in terms of age, you are older than me. So, I think that saying something like this might not be too appropriate. But, I still want to give you a piece of friendly advice — regardless of whether you're helping Bowyer, or you intend to become the manager of some other team in the future, you have to remember this." Tang En stared at the field and said, without even turning his head around, "As a manager, even an assistant one, no matter the occasion, you must never lose hope and confidence. Because these players in front and behind you… they are all looking at you. You understand what I mean? We will win this match."

Although his heartbeat was no slower than Walker's, Tang En still turned his head around and gave him a confident smile.

※※※

"Nottingham Forest has made their first substitution of the game. The defensive midfielder, Eugen Bopp, will replace Ashley Young. Manager Twain's intentions are very obvious. After the consecutive waves of offense by Middlesbrough, he wants to continue to strengthen their defense. It seems as though he wants to defend until overtime?"

"No, Andy. He intends to defend until the penalty kick," Martin Taylor corrected him. "Till now, throughout the entire of this boring match, the most eye-catching person was Middlesbrough's winger, Stewart Downing… His sharp breakthrough on the left has applied a huge amount of pressure on Nottingham Forest's defense! It's a pity that he lacks that little bit of good luck." Taylor was referring to Wood's foul, which had not been called out by the referee. Being able to reduce the opponent team by one player through his performance, would at least be considered as doing the team a big favor tactics-wise.

Downing's performance was very active, which was something that Tang En did not deny. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such an adjustment like that. However, to say that he was the player with the most outstanding performance in this match…. You would still have to ask one more person if he agreed with it.

Ashley Young ran to Tang En, heavily panting. Tang En gave him a hug, thanking him for his performance during the match.

On the other side, on the field, Wood heard Bopp's words, and raised his head towards the side of the field. Tang En nodded his head at Wood. Hence, he obediently ran to the side. Even though he had never played this position before, as long as his job was to mark other players, it made no difference to him wherever he was positioned!

Upon seeing that the player that now stood in front of him was number 33, the person who once knocked him over, Downing frowned.

I was just about to settle my score with you, and you came on your own accord..Very good. I'm currently in tip-top condition, and I'll let you witness my prowess!

Wood, expressionless, looked at the opponent standing opposite him, who suddenly clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Wood did not know what Downing was thinking about, but he also did not care about it. No matter the case, you are the same as those people, who I once faced in the past, opponents and enemies who wanted to impede my obtaining the championship prize money. I don't care if you are some left wing genius in English Football, or if you are Middlesbrough's hope, or any other thing… Since Twain made me mark you, you can forget about running away.

McClaren, who was by the side of the field, already stopped caring if Juninho in the middle would have a better performance after George Wood had gone to the side. Now that Downing's condition was becoming more and more stellar, McClaren made his team pass the ball to this young man, as many times as they could.

Standing on the stage of such an important finals match, only two types of people could perform well. One type was the veteran player with a lot of experience under his belt, while the other type was the new star, who was filled with hope towards his future.

Downing was the latter. He hoped to be able to become famous through this EFL Cup finals, which was broadcast live to the entire country. Hence, he decided to work harder than he had in the past, for this match.

Come on kid, let me see what you've got!

In order to get more balls, Downing took the initiative to run backwards and ask his teammates for the ball. Very quickly, the ball was passed to him. Afterwards, he turned around in a somewhat flowery manner, which attracted a wave of clapping sounds from the stands.

Seeing this, McClaren finally revealed a heartfelt smile on his face. If he still had the mood to play around, it meant that there was nothing wrong with his current condition.

Walker, on the other side, frowned. "Wood did not follow up in time…"

"Don't worry, Des." Tang En consoled him by the side and said, "That kid will very soon discover that he chose the wrong side…"

As for Wood, perhaps there were only two people in the entire world that placed boundless faith in him. One of them was his mother Sophia, who did not know anything about football. The other one was Manager Tony Twain, who watched him grow, step by step.

Andy Gray, the commentator, also had the same opinion as Walker. "What a beautiful receive. George Wood did not close up in time, giving Downing the space required for him to raise his speed and do his tricks. Nottingham Forest's backline defense is in danger again!"

As Downing dribbled the ball down the wing, the distance between him and Wood became smaller and smaller. Downing began to sway the upper half of his body, hoping to be able to confuse his opponent. When they got much closer to each other later on, Downing would kick the ball to the right side of Wood, while he would attempt to accelerate and break past from the left side, knocking the ball past Wood!

Upon seeing this, Tang En, who was at the side of the field, smiled, thinking: This fool, do you really think that Wood is a wooden pile? You want to compete with him in terms of speed? You are not the first idiot to lose to him in terms of speed, and you won't be the last!

Seeing that the ball and his opponent were suddenly headed in two different directions, Wood did not hesitate at all, and immediately turned around to chase the ball, completely ignoring Downing, who was on the other side. Downing, who had painstakingly attempted to break past from the wing, soon discovered, to his shock, that by the time he had done so, the ball was already out of his range of control!

That number thirty-three player, his turning around speed was actually much faster than Downing's dash. He had turned around, boxed out, and intercepted the ball, all at one go! Downing could not stop in time, causing him to bump into Wood's back. A strong repulsive force struck him, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Downing's attempt to knock the ball past.. Ah! It failed! George Wood's reaction is much faster than he expected! Beautiful defense!"

John Motson, who was at home watching the live broadcast on the television, laughed out loudly and happily, after hearing Andy Gray shouting. Gray was not the first commentator to be shocked by George Wood's speed. He remembered those words, which he had told this kid after his first match — Well done, kid! Just continue playing like this, you have a bright future ahead of you!

From the current looks of it, what John said was not exaggerating at all. This kid…as long as Nottingham Forest could be promoted to the English Premier League this season, would definitely be known by many more, and he would also make more people exclaim:

"God! This kid is really fast!"

"Gosh! His body is really strong!"

"My god, this is already the ninety-third minute, and he is still able to sprint back and forth! Is he the terminator?"

And so on and so forth…

Unknowingly, Motson had actually started looking forward to Nottingham Forest's performance, after being promoted to the Premier League. What kind of force would they become? What kind of drive would this manager, a man of character, bring to this stagnant pool of water?

Chapter 166: Who Is Afraid Of Who Part 2

Downing, who had been rebuffed twice by Wood, refused to give up. Instead, his strong desire to win had been ignited as a result of this. Downing did not believe that he would suffer a third setback by the same person today.

It was yet another attempt at a breakthrough from the wing, and Downing decided to stop playing any tricks or flowery actions, and instead, relied solely on his speed to overpower this opponent. He attributed his previous failure to the fact that he had kicked the ball too softly, causing the ball to be too slow. As a result, Wood happened to be able to intercept the ball right after he turned around.

This time… I won't make any more mistakes!

"Downing dribbles the ball and attempts to breakthrough. He is very fast! It's really praiseworthy…." Gray was so engrossed in this young man's performance, that he almost overlooked another young man.

Seeing that his opponent intended to dribble the ball and break through from his side, Wood naturally would not let him past. Hence, he also turned around and tried to catch up.

Perhaps the most regrettable thing for Downing this match was the lack of understanding regarding his opponent — George Wood. But it was not a big deal. After this match, Downing would become familiar with Wood, and he would know what he should do in the future. Thus, the next time he met this quiet mixed-blood, he would definitely attempt to break through from the other side instead.

Downing once again raised his speed. He was in top form, and in possession of the ball. The ball was at a suitable distance away from his feet, making him feel as though he was flying…This was his favorite style of playing. When I am in my best form, I am the only master on the field. When I spread my wings and soar, nobody can stop me, nobody!

Suddenly, Downing caught a silhouette out of the corner of his eyes… a wave of an oppressive feeling surged forth!

Who is this? That stupid Thompson? I've already reached somewhere near Nottingham Forest's penalty area so quickly? It seems like I've long shaken off that number thirty-three, that useless guy!

However, McClaren, who was at the side of the field, suddenly shouted, "Bastard! Pass the ball!"

Although he was not on the field, McClaren could sense the impending danger much earlier than Downing. That black shadow only swayed for a split second, before disappearing. Have I also passed Thompson? Great, I shall seize this opportunity and go all the way into the penalty area!

Just as Downing intended to do this, he suddenly felt that his center of gravity became unstable…

George Wood decided to stop running together with this person. The opponent's dribbling had always been on point, causing Wood to be unable to grasp any chance to steal the ball. Currently, Downing seemed to have the intention to change the pace. This was evident from the way he kicked the ball, as it became slightly more forceful. This was the sign of Downing intending to raise his speed once again. However this time, Wood would not let Downing do as he wished.

When he was still in the youth team, Wood had been told by Tang En that the best timing to perform a tackle was at the moment when the opponent kicked the ball away from himself. As long as he could seize the right timing, even if he tackled the other party from behind, it would not be considered a foul, as that would be a perfectly clean tackle!

Just like a cheetah, Wood sprinted forth, and his center of gravity shifted downwards very quickly. Making use of the momentum from his high-speed running, Wood tackled the football right in front of Downing. This was the best timing.

Right now!

Wood's leg kicked the ball, causing it to bounce up. As a result, the ball happened to hit Downing's right calf, which was raised in the air, before changing direction and flying out of bounds!

On the other hand, Downing, who was completely caught completely off guard and could not stop in time, had habitually tripped over Wood's body, causing him to fall flat on his face… this was his third time suffering a setback.

"Dang it, another foul!" the Middlesbrough fans once again shouted furiously.

"As if it was a foul!" the Nottingham Forest fans replied them in the same heightened manner.

Even the commentator was on Nottingham Forest's side. "What a beautiful tackle! What a beautiful tackle! A perfect defense! Stewart Downing has suffered three consecutive setbacks by George Wood. He is really very unlucky!"

Lying on the ground in an embarrassing position, Downing turned his body to face the referee, asking for a foul card to be given to Wood. However, the referee and the linesman both made an unanimous decision, with the hand and the flag both pointing towards Middblesbrough's side of the court — that was Nottingham Forest's out-of-bounds ball!

The displeased Middlesbrough fans in the stands started jeering, but this unpleasant noise was soon interrupted and drowned out by an even louder song...

"Pitiful McClaren, chose the wrong opponents for the finals! Pitiful Stewart Downing, chose to race the wrong opponent! Wood! Wood! Wood Wood Wood! Long Live Forest! Forest! Forest! Forest — Victory! Oh la la! Forest Forest! Let us go to Europe!"

The plump John stood amidst the crowd and started clapping, like the people around him, to provide the beat for themselves. At the same time, they loudly sang praises for Nottingham Forest and George Wood. This song was composed by himself, and was originally meant to be used during the youth matches to show support for George Wood, the player whom Tang En held in high regards.

Later, alongside with Wood's promotion to the first team, as well as his exceptional performance, they decided to bring this song over to City Ground Stadium. Once they started singing this song, it soon spread like wildfire across the stands. Now, they had managed to bring this song over to Cardiff Millennium Stadium and, through the live television broadcast, the entirety of England would hear their singing, and everyone would know of that person's name in the song.

Ladies and gentlemen, please remember, he is George Wood, and he will become the King of the Forest!

※※※

Wood's tackle was so beautiful, even Motson, who was seated at home, almost jumped up from his sofa. Needless to say, the fans watching the match live had even greater reactions. Countless people dedicated their ovations to this young player wearing the number 33 shirt, who had made Juninho and Downing suffer setbacks, one after another.

Gareth Bale, who was in the stands, turned his head around and asked his father excitedly, while clapping, "Dad! Can I be like him? Being cheered on and clapped for by everyone here?" Wood had been promoted to the first team from the youth team, and his immediate outstanding performance led to his signing of a contract with the first team thereafter. Wood, therefore, naturally became Gareth Bale's idol and goal that he worked towards, as Gareth Bale was also playing for the youth team.

His father smiled and said to him, "Of course you can! My son is a genius!"

※※※

The three consecutive failed face-offs against Wood had a very negative impact on Downing's confidence. This kind of setback could take quite some time before its effects could be dispelled. He had always thought that he was the best, but the best him was actually unable to break past that quiet number 33.

He was suddenly somewhat afraid of facing that guy one-on-one. So, when his teammates passed the ball to him, he always passed it away very quickly.

McClaren, who was off the field, noticed this and sighed. Afterwards, he shouted Downing's name loudly, and made a hand gesture to him, signalling for him to switch positions.

Letting Downing switch positions with Mendieta, who was on the other side, and using the experienced Spanish person to deal with that young brat. was his original intention. Since Downing was destined to be unable to perform well on that side anymore, McClaren wanted to simply switch his position and let him try to break through as usual. This was no big deal. This match's outcome would have to depend heavily on how this kid performed now…

Tang En noticed McClaren's actions at the side of the field, and just as expected, Downing indeed went to the other side.

You're afraid? Very good!

"Geor — ge!" Sucking in a deep breath, Tang En also shouted Wood's name loudly. After Wood turned his head and looked at Tang En, Tang En extended his hands and pointed in Downing's direction.

Wood understood what Tang En meant, and he turned around to switch positions with Commons as well. When Downing discovered that the person in front of him was still that detestable number 33, he even helplessly shot a look to the side of the field, hoping that McClaren could give him some new instructions…Should he change back?

McClaren was completely at a loss of what to do. It was obvious that the other party wanted to completely freeze out the most active player on the team. No matter what position you made him play, it was believed that George Wood would not be too far away from him.

Damnit!

McClaren did not want to resign to it, but he did not have any means to deal with it. What else could he do? He could only wait silently, and hope that the other party would soon crumble under the pressure

Would Tang En let him get what he wanted?

George Wood's exceptional performance strengthened his teammates' confidence and fighting spirit. Wood used his actions to tell his teammates, who had already been battered and worn out from Downing's breakthroughs, that they could completely hold off their opponent's relentless waves of offense. Wasn't Wood a live example?

This match was currently back on Tang En's tracks once again, and was in the midst of slowly inching towards the outcome he had hoped to see…

Chapter 167: Penalty Shootout Part 1

With their confidence boosted by Wood's wonderful performance, the forest team players united to form a stronghold, defending against Middlesbrough's frenetic attack at the last moment. Despite looking like they were dejected and depressed, and battered and exhausted, they successfully kept the score at 0:0, then went into overtime in the end.

This was a watershed moment. Before this game, Middlesbrough did not think this match would be dragged into overtime, and thus, they launched a frenetic offense in the last few minutes of the game. Although Tang En's heart beat wildly, and his pupils suddenly shrank as he watched the game, he sensed the deathbed struggle within the crazy Middlesbrough ranks.

This is their last madness, and when the game goes into overtime, according to my expectations, the Middlesbrough players will not have any strength left to pose a threat to my goal. This is what happens, when you underestimate me and my team!

Because they had expended too much physical and mental energy in the first ninety minutes for the offense, Steve McClaren did not manage to wait for the moment when the Forest team was unable to hold on any longer. Instead, his own players were under more and more pressure, that they kicked the final shot directly into the stands, which only helped the Forest team out of the siege.

There was a five-minute break between the ninety-minute match and the half-hour overtime. It was not too long, but just enough for the players, who had played hard for ninety minutes, to sit down to catch their breath, drink some water, and listen to their manager chatter on about the tactical layout at the same time. Then, immediately, they had to stand up and continue on into battle.

Such little time was not suitable for a detailed tactical arrangement to be launched. Tang En let everyone sit around him together, and then told them, "In the overtime, we will continue to defend. Once we enter into the penalty shootout stage, we will certainly win!"

Everyone understood the simple and straightforward tactical arrangement that he had explained. He no longer needed to give encouragement. Currently, the team confidence was high, and their morale was flourishing. There was no need for him to say anything more.

After the game went into overtime, as both sides' strength was in deep decline, Middlesbrough could no longer besiege the Forest team, and Tang En intended to delay the time by planning to bring on substitutes. In the first half of the overtime, he brought off the exhausted Crouch, bringing on Rebrov, and at the last moment of the second half, Clint Hill replaced Gunnarsson, who was so physically maxed out that his legs were cramping.

Until the last moment, except for the goalkeepers, only George Wood was still able to sprint back and forth. This was also the most important guarantee that the Forest team had not lost the ball during the overtime. His physical strength was completely astonishing.

McClaren also used his last substitution quota during the overtime in order to try and make a last-ditch attempt. However, Zenden, who had just come on, encountered the same problem as Downing, as he tried to use speed to break through George Wood.

Like McClaren, he thought that Wood, who had run for one hundred minutes already, would not have the physical strength to tangle with them. But, alas, they were wrong. It was as if George Wood was being brought on the same time as Zenden. There was no problem with his physical strength, and his running speed was not affected. He also caused Zenden, who was in front of him, to tumble.

"George Wood, a perpetual motion machine!" In the end, Andy Gray simply gave this indefatigable guy a fitting moniker.

Guided by "the Perpetual Motion Machine", the Forest team persisted, until they obtained what they most wanted to see – amidst the loud booing of the Middlesbrough fans, the referee finally blew the whistle to officially end of the 120-minute game!

"The game is over! Of course, it's just the 120-minute game that has ended! After a long battle, both sides entered the penalty shootout stage! This is the moment Manager Tony Twain wants to see the most. But, can his team beat Middlesbrough in a penalty shootout?" Gray was skeptical about this. Among the managers, who deliberately dragged the game into situations which they liked to see, but then realized that the outcomes were not what they wanted, well, these types of incidents were quite common. "A penalty kick largely depends upon luck to determine the winner ..."

※※※

Tang En squatted on the turf, the players sitting around him, gasping for breath. He held the name list for the players, who were going to represent the Forest team in the penalty shootout. The game had finally reached the moment of his plan. He, who had held on till his opponents' last moments of madness, had never been more confident. Yes, I can win! I can win my first championship trophy, ever since I have been a manager! If you want to ask me the reason, my answer is: No reason! I just believe I can win!

Gazing at the players sitting around him, who were being massaged by the medical team, Tang En shook the list in his hand and said, "I've heard this argument numerous times, that they think a penalty kick is a competition of luck, and the winning side is luckier than the loser. Now, I want you to know what a load of crap this is! If a penalty kick is just relying on luck to determine the result, why do we have to repeatedly practice it every day for one week? Let me tell you what the factors are that determine the final result of a penalty kick: Confidence and willpower! Just these two! Do you believe you can win this final battle? We've endured 120 minutes of difficult challenges, and we've successfully come to the end. Now, is there still anyone who doubts that we can win?"

"No, Boss!" the players answered loudly, despite their exhaustion.

"Very well! I know you have never doubted, because you are my players and you strongly believe as I do that the final victory must belong to us. You are all strong-willed warriors, who are never easily shaken! Close your eyes and think about the path you've gone through so far this season, then recall about the opponents we've overcome and the difficulties we have faced. When we were at our worst situation, in the away challenge against Millwall, what kind of game was that?" Tang En guided the players patiently and systematically. With their eyes closed, the players scowled and clenched their fists, remembering. The players who had not experienced that game also closed their eyes. Tang En did not care what they thought, because none of his players came from Millwall.

"From the traffic jam, riding the subway, the encounter with the football hooligans, all of this, then we finally won! 7:1! We shut everyone up, those who had laughed at us and humiliated us! A Premier League team couldn't stop us, and we have reached the finals. Before all these things, how many people would have thought we'd end up at the Millennium Stadium? No one, except ourselves. We have made so much effort to defeat one opponent after another, stomp on their bodies to get to the throne, and now we are only one step away from that glittering crown! What reason do we have to fall down here? I know you're all very tired, someone's even got a cramp in his legs." Tang En looked at Gunnarsson, wearing a team jacket, while he was being massaged by the team doctor on one side. He was bought by the former Manager Collymore, but his professional spirit and attitude had made Tang En choose to continue trusting in him, and he was glad had not misjudged him.

"But now ... Even if we have to climb, we will climb up, too! There's no difference whether we lose in the last step or in the first step, we will all be losers! We must win! We must certainly win!" Tang En clenched his fist and growled. His gritted teeth and fierce look made everyone also feel his thirst for victory and the championship.

Walker quietly watched Twain do these special "penalty kick tactical arrangements". According to common sense, most managers would try their best to lessen the pressure on the players before such an important penalty shootout, telling them to be normal or to let go of the outcome. Only Tony tried his hardest to make everyone understand that winning was the only way out, to let them know that they must win this game, and to give them increased pressure, so that they may rise to the occasion. Was he not afraid that the players would be crushed by the pressure? Or was it…he believed in his players more than most managers would?

Suddenly, a thought came to his mind, and he boldly stated, "I trained them, and they will be able to do it when I need them to." Tony's voice was filled with pride, like a general watching rows of well-trained soldiers walk past him into the battlefield. He trained them, and trusted them, and they had repaid his trust with real actions.

The boss said that we can win, then we will definitely win! The boss said we can do it, then we can certainly do it!

Why? You're asking me for a reason? Why? I can't tell you, because we don't know, but we believe in him, just as he believes in us. It doesn't need any reason!

Walker thought, perhaps this was a manager's charisma. Just like his boss, Brian Clough. Although he rarely appeared on the training ground, and he would only see him a few times a week, everyone was willing to follow him, believe his every word, and even obey his arrangements. If the boss had said, "Guys, we need a win", then they would fight to win the next match.

And this kind of manager was becoming more rare nowadays. It was the age of a player's outsized personality now, and the manager was becoming an unqualified worker. They directed the game, but could not discipline the team. They could be dismissed by the boss at any time, thus becoming the team's scapegoat for a poor record. Without saying anything else, would a manager now dare to slap the team's main players? Would he dare to punch a player in his stomach, due to poor performance? Risking being late for the UEFA Champions League final, just to get a player to return to the hotel to shave his beard?

No, there would never be such a manager anymore. Because, such men would absolutely not last long in today's football environment!

Though Tony would not dare to slap his own players, and would never let the players shine his shoes, he was really like "The Boss" in some areas! It was no wonder Bowyer said that there would be people who would compare Tony with "The Boss".

A manager, who could win the hearts of the players, and made them willingly to follow him, was truly admirable!

Chapter 168: Penalty Shootout Part 2

Walker saw Twain stand up and walk towards him. He knew it was time for him to work, so he took over the list from Twain's hands and walked to the middle of the players, to explain the list of appearances and some things to take note of. Twain and the entire coaching team were well-prepared for the penalty shootout.

They had studied the videos of all the Middlesbrough players' penalty kicks, that is, if the player had played a penalty kick in a game. In addition, they also studied the Australian, Schwarzer's, who was the Middlesbrough main goalkeeper's habits in regards to his saving penalty kick shots. These were all passed onto the players during the usual training. Now, he just repeated it, to remind them to pay attention.

Twain had already gone back to the technical area for a drink of water. After using his voice to shout so many words, his throat must be very strained. Tony's voice was now hoarser than it had been when they first worked together. This was because they repeatedly roared on the sidelines, in the locker room, on the training ground, and so on.

Walker could also clearly feel the excitement of the players, especially when he was pointing out the things to take note of to the players, who were like the manager, eager for the championship trophy, and hungry for glory. After all, these were the players trained by Tony Twain.

His work went well, and the players were called by the referee. The penalty shootout was about to begin. Walker did not feel even the slightest bit of "nervousness" from these players. Instead, they only seemed to exude immense confidence. He looked at Twain, who was gulping down water, then laughed and said, "Tony, we can win!"

※※※

Wood, who was not good at shooting, was placed at the bottom of the list, at the eleventh spot. The goalkeeper, Darren Ward, was even placed a spot before him. He had wanted to stand outside the crowd in order to watch the penalty shootout that seemed unrelated to him, but Wes Morgan pulled him in.

Then, two arms, each from a different person, hung over his shoulders, as all of them hugged the shoulders of their teammates next to them and stood side by side. They used this approach to convey trust and courage to each other, proving that they were a team that could not be defeated.

In the middle of the wall, Wood was a little overwhelmed at first. But, he soon felt that, in such an environment, it felt very awkward for his arms to still hang by his side, so he simply followed the others, placing both his arms over the shoulders of his teammates' shoulders on both sides. Then, he watched the first penalty player from the team, Kris Commons, step forward.

The Cardiff Millennium Stadium, which could accommodate seventy-five thousand spectators, was suddenly silent, with everyone nervously watching the square in front of the South Stand. Kris Commons was one of two best players in the team's penalty practice, and the other was the Romani player, Freddy Eastwood. Therefore, Tang En arranged for him and Eastwood to appear first and last respectively, like bookends. Kris Commons would shoot the first penalty kick, and Freddy Eastwood would kick the fifth.

In addition to having excellent penalty kick techniques, these two penalty players must also have outstanding psychological qualities. If the opening shot was unsuccessful, it would affect the performance of all the players thereafter. Once again, Tang En demonstrated his unquestionable attitude by entrusting the heavy responsibility to Commons, who had only joined the team during the winter transfer.

Commons placed the football carefully on the penalty spot, then withdrew from the penalty area, his eyes locked on the Middlesbrough goalkeeper Schwarzer. He was not afraid to look directly at the goalkeeper, because those tricks were ineffective on him now!

He never regretted coming to the Forest team, and he did not want to be just a transient player in this team. He wanted to make his mark on the Forest team's honor list, and to become a star player of the Forest team. This was the perfect stage to do so!

"The first player to come up for Nottingham Forest is Kris Commons, who has just moved from Stoke City. This transfer deal cost Manager Tony Twain three hundred thousand pounds, and now it's time to show everyone if that three hundred thousand pounds is well-worth the money spent!" the commentator was getting the crowd's excitement at peak.

Pop!

"A long distance ... powerful run-up! A shot to the goal! The ball is in! Kris Commons! He withstood the pressure of the first penalty kick, and fooled Schwarzer! An energetic volley from the middle!"

A great cheer erupted in the stands, where the Forest team fans gathered. Below the stands, though he was not as excited as the people around him, Tang En brandished his clenched fist.

The Forest team got off to a good start, and now, the pressure was on Middlesbrough. McClaren's first appointed penalty player, Mendieta, had the best penalty kicks in the team. So, it seemed when he brought him on, McClaren had already made plans to play a penalty shootout with the Forest team.

Mendieta was experienced. Such a penalty kick was not difficult for him, and he also shot the ball into the goal easily. It was the Middlesbrough fans' turn to cheer. After a battle round of penalty kicks, they equalized the score with the Forest team at 1:1.

Next, the players from both sides did not make any mistakes, and the cheers rang out in the South Stand and the North Stand correspondingly. After four rounds of penalty kicks, the score was tied at 4:4.

Tang En was well-prepared for this penalty shootout, and it appeared that Middlesbrough was no soft touch either. The fifth player to appear from the Forest team was Freddy Eastwood. If he did not shoot the ball in, the pressure would completely shift to the goalkeeper, Darren Ward, which would be dangerous for the Forest team. He had to enter this penalty kick to the goal, so the pressure would be shifted to their opponents, and not his teammate.

"Freddy Eastwood .... he was just an amateur player, selling used cars three months ago, and now, he's standing in front of the penalty kick at the Millennium Stadium, readying for a crucial penalty kick."

Martin Taylor spoke out loud Eastwood's inner thoughts at this moment. Three months ago, he did not know if he would be able to play professional football again at all, and now, not only had he received a professional contract from Nottingham Forest, but he had also come to stand on the field of the EFL Cup final, as a key player for this important penalty kick!

Once again, he recalled the future that Manager Twain had promised him. Before the EFL Cup semi-final, he had said that they would definitely win that match. As evidence that he did not lie, it turned out that they had won the game, and that they had also made it to the finals.

It sounded like a fairytale story, but it really happened. Since that game, Eastwood no longer doubted this manager's words. He always seemed to have a mysterious power, as if he could really see the future.

He said, "We can win! And we will win!"

So..... We can really win, and we will win!

Tang En had no idea what Eastwood was thinking now. He stared at the Romani Gypsy's back, his fists clenched. His body even slightly trembled involuntarily. This was a critical moment, and his heart was beating faster and faster ... Damn it! Why hasn't the referee blown the whistle yet?!

Just as Tang En was grumbling, the referee finally blew the whistle, allowing the penalty kick. Standing in front of the ball, Eastwood took a two-step run, then swung his leg and kicked!

Schwarzer judged the direction correctly, but Eastwood's shot was trickier than he'd imagined! The football swiped across the turf, brushed past the goalpost, and rolled into the net!

"What a beautiful corner! Freddy Eastwood! He scored the crucial goal!" Andy Gray yelled amidst Forest fans' louder voices at the Millennium Stadium. It was a cathartic goal, and Eastwood deeply knew it. After scoring the goal, he stood on the same spot, leaned back, and raised his head to roar at the sky, which led to all the Forest fans in the stands, following suit, letting out a long howl skyward at the same time. That force, it was enough to make any opponent tremble in fear!

Differing from the excited players and fans, Tang En was extremely tense before the goal was shot in. But when Eastwood really kicked the ball in, he only just swung his fist hard, and there was no other exaggerated display of emotion, because he knew Middlesbrough had another player, and that the game was not yet over.

If the opponent also scored, then the penalty shootout would continue, except the rule would change to a sudden-death penalty, which was even more brutal. The psychological pressure on both teams' players would also be far greater.

What was in his favor, was that Eastwood had withstood the pressure of being the fifth penalty player and had scored a goal. Now the enormous pressure had shifted to the last Middlesbrough player, Massimo Maccarone.

Italians ... They've never been good at penalty kicks ...

The Forest fans were making an enormous ruckus, hoping to create more pressure on Maccarone. But would it go their way?

This was a critical moment. Although the key to determining their fate was not in Tang En's hands, this was the moment that would truly define it. Thus, this was his most intense moment.

He felt the time was at a standstill, and all the voices in his head were gone. Only his heart was still beating. The sound of his heartbeat reminded him that he was still alive, and not a hollow shell.

His heartbeat was getting faster, almost bursting, till he could not withstand the tremendous pressure coming from his left chest. He could not even complain about the opponents delaying their shot, because he was afraid that, once he opened his mouth, he would explode due to the pressure!

Will this be my first championship? Will this be the starting point of a path full of glory and trophies? Will this... be my destiny?

Suddenly, a crisp whistling sound rang out in his ear, as if it was the sound of nature. Then, he saw Maccarone do a quick sprint, then vigorously kick the football, which shot into the sky!! Over the beam!! Flying--straight--into--the--stands!!!

Seemingly quiet just a moment ago, the stadium suddenly erupted in massive cheers, as if barrels of gunpowder had been detonated, and the earth-shattering sounds came roaring towards Tang En.

Boom!

"Maccarone overshot the penalty kick! The League One team, Nottingham Forest, has won the championship! They are the English Football League Cup champions for the 03 to 04 season!! Fourteen years later, this Red Forest tapped into what they used to be best at, and finally returned to the spotlight. Welcome back, Nottingham Forest! Congratulations to the EFL Cup Champions!!"

Chapter 169: Want To Make A Bet? Part 1

The capital of Wales, Cardiff City, Cardiff Millennium Stadium. Everything that took place there on that afternoon, down to the most minute details, would still be remembered by Tang En clearly, even after many years. That was because this was his first championship title, the starting point of his glorious journey.

He stood at the sideline blankly, and there was already no one around him — all of the Nottingham Forest staff and players rushed onto the field, celebrating their victory with the other eleven players. He felt as though his entire body had been emptied, and he had been completely drained.

He couldn't even go forward and celebrate the victory with the rest of the people, even if he had wanted to. What did he want to do the most at the moment? It would definitely be to find a quiet place alone to sit down, then slowly relishing and savoring the joy from his victory.

But evidently, it was something that he couldn't do at the moment. Tang En was surrounded by loud cheering noises all around him, and the broadcast system in the stadium was still in the midst of announcing the current season's EFL Cup champions. Each time it was announced, it would always be able to cause the Nottingham Forest fans on the stands to echo loudly.

"The champions for the 03-04 EFL Cup are..."

"Forest Forest! We are the champions!!"

While Tang En was still staring blankly by the side of the field, his players and coaching staff ran off the field and raised the defenseless Tang En high up over their heads. This victory belonged to Nottingham Forest, but if not for Tony Twain, and all the hard work that he put in for this match, then perhaps they would be looking at other people's celebrations instead. Therefore, who was the person they should be most thankful for, after attaining this victory? Everyone knew very clearly the answer to that question.

The people standing at the periphery of the crowd were unable to squeeze in, and could only splash their unfinished water at Tony Twain, who was in mid-air. He had been drenched from head to toe, and his suit resembled a wet rag. But he no longer cared, this was the moment for him to enjoy himself to the fullest.

Nottingham Forest players used this method to express their gratitude towards Manager Tony Twain. When Manager Twain first took over the team, this was a team that could not see any semblance of hope, as they were ranked fourth in the League, with six consecutive losses, and their morale was at an all-time low.

But now…they were the champions of the EFL Cup! Congratulations to them, as Manager Tony Twain has managed to nurture a team into one that is now full of fighting power. This is something that his predecessor, Collymore, was unable to achieve, even before he left. This became the line of demarcation of these two managers' fates.

Fourteen years ago, during the 1990 EFL Cup finals, Nottingham Forest had claimed their last championship trophy under the lead of their legendary manager Brian Clough. Today, they have, under the lead of another young manager, once again snatched back the EFL Cup championship title, which has eluded them for fourteen years.

What's more, Nottingham Forest fans have reasons to look forward to more to come. Under Manager Tony Twain's lead, this Nottingham Forest team has given everyone a refreshing feel. A League One team defeating a Premier League Team, what a complete upset! If Nottingham Forest continues to stay in League One by the end of this season, then all will be fortunate enough to see a second division team participate in the UEFA Europa League!

"Martin, why is it that Nottingham Forest will not be promoted to the Premier League by the end of the season? Regardless of whether it is through direct promotion or the play-offs… after seeing today's match, I firmly believe that Nottingham Forest has the ability to do so," Andy Gray said, as though he had become Tony Twain's ardent supporter. "Because they have a very exceptional manager."

At this moment, he recalled what John Motson had said to him previously, "Manager Twain is a very interesting person, in all aspects."

He is indeed very interesting!

※※※

Nobody cared about the fates of the defeated, or about their feelings at the moment. After shaking hands with Tang En, out of routine, McClaren walked back to the changing room. When the match organizers began setting up the podium in the middle of the football field, his team had already finished changing, and appeared by the side of the field.

At that moment, Nottingham Forest's celebration was still ongoing near the Nottingham Forest fans' stands. They were simply too excited to care about how their opponents felt at the moment, as they unleashed their inner joy to their heart's content. The television reporters and staff carried their cameras, and ran after them around the field.

However, Tony Twain was not with them. He had been blocked off by even more reporters by the side of the field, answering the interview their countless questions. Pearce Bruce was also amongst them. This was a treatment exclusive to the victors, and Tang En loved this kind of treatment.

"….Yes yes! We are currently the champions! The south changing room's curse has no effect on us! Why? Because I dispelled it! I'm not afraid of some curse, and reality has proven everything…An upset? No no, not an upset! Any team that has advanced into the finals has the ability and possibility to win the championship title. I don't think that English Premier League teams are necessarily much stronger than League One teams, all these are just nonsense! Who is stronger than who? Whichever team that triumphs over the other is the stronger team!"

Once the big mouth of the excited Tang En opened, all the reporters around him laughed. This kind of manager, one who did not give the losers, his opponents, any face, how long has it been since they last saw someone like this? He was really arrogant…but they loved it!

Without his arrogance and his personality, how could there be news? Without news, how could the reporters earn a living? Not only did this publicize and promote a manager, it also allowed countless news reporters to make a living. If such a schtick could kill multiple birds with one stone, why not?

Nottingham Forest's celebration was very soon restricted to a very small area. That was because the prize ceremony had already started. In order to express sufficient respect to their opponents, no matter how happy they were, Nottingham Forest had to wait until the runners-up collected their medals on the podium, before they could continue with their celebration. So, they had to slightly suppress their emotions for the time being.

There was nothing special with the runners-up collecting their prizes. They accepted their silver medals amidst the Middlesbrough fans' clapping, before walking down the podium sullenly. What ensued was the moment that excited everyone!

The broadcast system in the stadium shouted, "Let us welcome… the champions — Nottingham Forest!!"

"Forest, Forest!" the crowd chanted.

The Nottingham Forest players got onto the podium, one by one, amidst the cheering sounds of their supporters. Against the banner in the background, which had the words "03/04 EFL Cup Champions" printed on it, they received their gold medals from the chairman of the organizing committee, Sir Mosine. This was a moment that many people dared not even dream about — them, becoming the EFL Cup champions, and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League next season!

When they felt that their futures were bleak during the first half of the season, could they have ever thought that they would have such a day? Who was the one who brought them this kind of glorious moment?

When Tony Twain walked up to the podium, the cheering noises from the stands erupted forth, louder than before. All of the Nottingham Forest fans obviously knew the person who brought such a tremendous change to the team. They thanked him and respected him by this showing of support.

After Tang En walked up to Sir Mosine, Sir Mosine grabbed hold of Tang En's hands, and said with a smile, "Well done, Mr. Twain. You have raised the public image of League One matches. Congratulations, champion manager!"

These words made Tang En feel extremely good, especially his last sentence, where he called Tang En a "champion manager".

"Thank you, Sir Mosine." Tang En bent over, allowing the other party to hang the gold medal around his neck. Tang En, with his head lowered, saw a flash of golden light, as soon as his neck sank from the weight of the medal. This was a genuine glory that was hanging around his neck!

I also have a championship title under my belt!

The people lining up behind Tang En to receive the medals were the coaching staff. They had contributed greatly to the team's championship title with their hard work, and therefore, were entitled to gold medals as well.

After the coaching staff received their medals, the person who got on the podium was George Wood. When Tang En was clapping for Wood, he was also rather amused by the sight of Wood, who stood in front of Sir, not knowing what he should do. The other party grabbed his hand and said something to him, but he did not know what kind of expression he should respond with, evidently in distress. After all, he was still a somewhat shy big boy! Ha ha!

After Wood lowered his head and allowed Sir Mosine to hang the gold medal around his neck, Wood walked off the podium, but was soon pulled by Wes Morgan into the group of excited teammates.

"This is very good," Tang En thought, as he smiled.

The last player to get onto the stage and receive his prize was the current team captain, goalkeeper Darren Ward. When he received that delicately crafted trophy from Sir Mosine, the atmosphere in Cardiff Millennium Stadium reached its peak. Red confetti and colored ribbons began spraying out from behind the backdrop, as the stadium started playing that classic song, .

This was Tang En's favorite song from his favorite band.

We are the champions!

"Congratulations to Nottingham Forest! They are the champions of the 03 to 04 season EFL Cup! They are fully-deserving of this title!"

Tang En and Ward each grabbed onto one side of the trophy, raising it high up in the air!

This was really a wonderful afternoon…

Chapter 170: Want To Make A Bet? Part 2

Nottingham Forest winning the EFL Championships was a big deal in Nottingham. Even though their archenemy was still in the same city, the Nottingham Forest fans escorted the Nottingham Forest coach bus all the way from Cardiff back to Nottingham.

This was considered a very grand welcome ceremony. It had to be known that in the past, this scene had happened only when Nottingham Forest had won the UEFA Europa League; the fans had spontaneously assembled outside of Derby County's airport, and later drove their cars behind the team's coach bus.

Now, the weakened Nottingham Forest had long forgotten the feeling of attaining a championship title, and even the past glory of being the UEFA Europa League champions had been gradually forgotten. Right then, Tang En was making them relive that classic moment. How could the fans not go wild? Therefore, although it was the most lightweight championship title among the three English championship titles, the Nottinghamians still showed ample enthusiasm.

Championship titles! No matter what they are, we only want championship titles! The Nottinghamians have had enough not having any championship titles!

On that same afternoon, Pearce Bruce had published a passionate article on the extra edition of Nottingham Evening Post. In the article, this was what he wrote: "...Only championship titles could make us remember once again that we were once the king of Europe! We were once glorious! But the only difference is that the current us no longer needs to indulge ourselves in past glories. We have a new symbol of pride: Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest!"

Almost all of the local Nottingham media (except for the ones which supported Derby County) reported Nottingham Forest's spectacular feat on their front pages. For Nottingham Forest, which had been on the brink of relegation during the first half of the match season, the fans could be said to have gotten on an exciting roller coaster ride. They had had their ups and downs, experiencing both agony and joy, the two extremes of the spectrum.

Because Nottingham Forest had clinched the first championship title in England this season, other media, not limited to Nottingham's local media, also gave significant coverage on their victory. Miss Barbara was so busy that she could not maintain that professional smile of hers. Nottingham Forest Football Club had received requests from a total of fifty-six different media companies within a span of two days, and there were a few overseas ones among them.

If these media companies were to line up for their interviews one by one, they might have to wait all the way until the current season ended. Moreover, if the time allocated for such celebratory activities was too long, it would severely affect the team's preparation. After Tang En discussed it with Allan Adams, they decided to hold a press conference instead to satisfy all the requests in one go.

The press conference had a very positive effect, and Nottingham Forest's image was improved. The young and capable manager and the American-styled boss were focal points, not to mention the legendary feats of Nottingham Forest this season. For a period of time in England, "The rising Nottingham Forest" became the conversation topic of many people during their free time.

Of course, not everything that Tang En and Evan heard was nice.

The football commentator who posted a review article on the ESPN official website, Mr. Jon Carter, was an example. In his post-match review, he complained about the unfairness of the match towards Middlesbrough. He felt that Nottingham Forest won the championships using a very ugly method. They had not shown any signs of initiative during the match, and played very conservative, slow-paced football. In spite of this, they actually won the championships. That was the blot of the EFL Cup finals. At the end, he ridiculed Nottingham Forest's ranking in League One:

"Can anyone imagine a team not in their home country's top league representing that country in the UEFA Europa League? If we let Nottingham Forest participate in the UEFA Europa League, how will the people from other countries see us? They will laugh at England for being unable to produce a more competent team! Don't believe me? Just wait and see!"

In addition, Mark Lawrenson, who was not optimistic about Tang En from the previous season, once again spoke about Nottingham Forest's prospects on the Match Of The Day program. He still did not think that the team would be able to be successfully promoted to the Premier League by the end of the season. The reason appeared to be ample and convincing: because Nottingham Forest spent too much effort in the EFL Cup, a smart manager would definitely give up the league. After all, they had already gotten the qualifications to participate in next season's UEFA Europa Cup. The UEFA had never said that a team belonging to the country's second division league could not participate in the Europa Cup.

Tang En had never heard of Jon Carter prior to this. He rarely appeared on the ESPN websites, and the traditional media did not have his name either. Tang En felt extremely displeased that he, the "Champion Manager," had been scolded by a nameless grunt. As a result, he asked Bruce Pearce, "Where did this bastard come from?"

Bruce told him the answer.

Jon Carter did not have much fame to speak of in the English Football commentary circle. This was perhaps also his first time commenting on actual football; the articles that he had been previously publishing on the ESPN webpage were about various football video games, such as what FIFA07 could do in order to surpass Pro Evolution Soccer, which game was more fun to play between the Championship Manager series and the Football Manager series, and other articles of the sort.

His understanding of reality football and his severely outdated arguments were perhaps all based on information that he had gotten from playing football-related games, and he published these arguments soon after basing them on these assumptions.

Tang En may have been a loyal player of various football games, but that did not mean that he would feel any sense of familiarity with a stranger whom he had never even seen. Now that Tang En had garnered quite a bit of fame, he suddenly felt like venting all of his pent-up frustration towards the media on that pitiful Carter. So he wrote a "China style" open letter, which English people were new to and did not have much of an understanding of. It was a satire that was filled with cold humor and exaggeration, and Tang En let Bruce publish it in the Nottingham Evening Post. This was Tang En's one-time retaliation towards that guy, who knew nothing but still spouted nonsense, spitting on anything that did not conform to his own thinking. He gave Mr. Carter the nickname "spouter."

Jon Carter, after being mocked by Tang En, was naturally unwilling to be humiliated that way. So, he retaliated by publishing another article on ESPN. But Tang En was in no hurry to reply; if he did, it would seem as though he was urgently looking forward to bickering with him. He waited for a few days before throwing another short article that was a few hundred words long on the Evening Post, continuing to mock and ridicule Mr. "spouter," who claimed that Nottingham Forest was playing football that was behind the world football scene by an entire century.

The real reason behind the two men's battle of words in the media was pretty lame. Tang En had said himself that the debate between offensive football that was nice to watch and utilitarian football that could bring championship titles "had already been debated non-stop for half a century," and there was no need to continue discussing it. But Tang En's replies were full of rhetoric and humor, which was quite a treat for readers. Hence, this became another focal point of the English Football scene for a period of time.

People who played football generally tended to be less well-educated, and there were even many people who were unable to speak fluent, standard English. So a manager like Tang En, who could write an article in such a sharp-tongued manner, and at the same time utilize various rhetorical devices, received the support of many people.

For instance, England's Plain English Campaign announced that the people in the English Football scene could learn from Tony Twain, because his analogies were often used aptly, and left a deep impression on readers. This was because they were always complaining that the Football scene had many people who could not speak in a comprehensive manner: "The 'philosophy' of the people in the Football scene has always brought a great amount of obstruction to our goal to advocate proper English. They are too used to speaking before they think."

Amidst the commotion between both parties' bickering, the president of Nottingham Evening Post saw an opportunity that he could make use of. So, he borrowed Bruce Pearce's voice to extend their invitation to Tang En, offering him a special column in their newspapers. There was no fixed format, no fixed word count, no fixed time. Whenever Tang En wanted to express his personal opinion on certain things or a certain person, he could publish an article in his own special column. The company would pay him a fee according to the word count, and should the contract expire, both parties could continue to renew the contract if they felt that they could continue the partnership.

Tang En thought that this was a great idea; he had been earnestly hoping for a platform through which he could express his views. Holding a press conference for every small thing was very inefficient.

After coming to terms with the contract, they immediately signed the agreement. This would be the first time in Tang En's life that he would have a special column belonging to him, and he could even get draft fees from it.

After receiving the support of Nottingham Evening Post, Tony Twain went all-out in the argument, and Jon Carter lost very quickly. Therefore, this battle of words, which had a very lame reason and only served to one-sidedly showcase Tang En's proficiency at mocking, officially came to an end. Just like on the field, Tang En won his battle in the media.

Jon Carter was not a prominent figure, and his words held little influence. As for his other critic, Mark Lawrenson, Tang En had to use another method to deal with him. He did not criticize Mark Lawrenson's opinion towards his football team, but he spoke to Mark Lawrenson very clearly in his article:

"…Just like how many people once said that it was impossible for Nottingham Forest to obtain the EFL Cup championship title, and just like how many people asserted with certainty that Nottingham Forest was bound to be relegated a few months ago, now there are people jumping out to say that it's impossible for Nottingham Forest to be promoted. I usually ignore these kinds of comments, but I don't want my players to think that my silence is affirming these groundless statements. Therefore, I am very serious and sincere in inviting Mr. Mark Lawrenson to make a bet with me: I bet that my team will appear in the English Premier League matches in the next season. If I win…do you still remember what Mr. Lawrenson said in the previous season? I am very willing to see him shave his beard. And if I lose, I will shave my entire head!"

Chapter 171: Time to Speed Up, Forest Train!

In his newspaper column, Twain used his hair to make a bet with Mark Lawrenson, the BBC's famous football pundit in England, an interchange which soon became a nationwide topic, thanks to the highly developed media and paparazzi in Britain. Such an interesting manager would always attract the public's attention. The Nottingham Evening Post had made a worthwhile deal.

Since Manager Twain had already made a public bet with Lawrenson, Gary Lineker also highlighted this matter in the next program segment of "Match of the Day". Amid Lineker and Alan Hansen's roguish laughter, Lawrenson publicly responded to Twain's wager in the show, agreeing to Tony Twain's bet. If the Forest team did not end up continuing to stay in League One, based on his words, and instead, they advanced to the Premier League, he would shave off his cherished beard!

The next day, Twain's column quickly responded. Twain praised Lawrenson's courage, and very enthusiastically recommended to him which brand had the better razor to use, ranging everywhere from the traditional to electric shavers, including various models and different prices! This wager attracted a lot of attention, including, unsurprisingly, the Forest Football Club's own people.

Even the old guard, Ian MacDonald, would yell to Twain during his work at the training ground, "Hey, Tony! We all want that Lawrenson to shave off his beard. You have the confidence to win against him, right?"

"Of course, Ian. I have no intention of changing my hairstyle!" Twain would shout back, then they would look at each other and laugh.

Obviously, not everyone supported Twain. There were also many people, who thought that Twain was only bluffing, and that the end of the season was still a few months away. How could he be so certain that his team would advance to the Premier League?

Regardless of whose point of view it was, there was nothing wrong with what Mark Lawrenson had said. Even though winning the EFL Cup title was something that the Forest team could be proud of, there was no reason for them to arrogantly think that the Forest team could have the last laugh in the lengthy English Football League Championship. The Forest team was currently ranked 17th in the league table. Evidently, this ranking was also because they had two less rounds of matches than the other teams in the League Championship.

Skeptics and critics could not figure out one thing: Why was Tony Twain so confident? He was not coaching the world's strongest team, but Nottingham Forest, an ordinary League One team. Tang En was not interested in explaining this to them. Instead, he devoted all his energy to his work. With the EFL Cup over, the team's goals and plans had to be changed, and the coaching team must draw up a new program schedule.

Going into March, there were only two months until the end of the League Championship. The Forest team had to play sixteen rounds of matches within eight weeks. On average, there were two games every week. Considering the factors, such as giving way to the national team and the FA Cup, this density was overwhelming, which was the main reason why Lawrenson and the others were not optimistic about the Forest team's ability to be promoted successfully.

Tang En was also very clear in his mind about this. He already knew this League Championship game schedule by heart. In fact, he could almost recite it.

After going through the trial and training for the EFL Cup, Tang En already had a main lineup in mind. For the past two months, the team's breaking-in period had also gradually passed. He believed that they no longer needed to work more on the tactics.

Sometime into March, the team's training sessions focused on stamina and fitness training. The amount of training increased in order to build up the players' stamina, to cope with the intensive match events.

Stamina was what Tang En had repeatedly emphasized. Modern football, without stamina, would be useless. This was the basis of all technical and tactical skills. The advantage was that the team's morale was high now, and the locker room atmosphere was good. Tang En did not have to worry about issues outside of the field.

The EFL Cup was a goal carried out in stages, and the final League Championship was another step-by-step goal. When a goal was achieved, and before the start of another goal, Tang En thought it was necessary to gather the team and give them an "ideological and political lesson". And, of course, this was meant to be a joke. The main point was that they were entering the final leg of the League Championship. At such a critical time, he wanted to unify the team's internal way of thinking, and to clearly define everyone's goal, boost their morale, raise their spirits, and basically, to encourage everyone to do his best.

Although the training and tactical factors were important, Tang En believed that a true master-level manager must be an expert in the aspect of psychological regulation. He had to be adept at mobilizing the mood of the team, and at solving the psychological obstacles of the players. There was a saying, which he had forgotten where he saw it, but it had made a deep impression on him nonetheless, as he wholeheartedly agreed with it. It said:

A third-rate manager watches the players, a second-rate manager observes the tactics, and a first-class manager studies the mentality.

The more important the moment was, the more essential the role of the mental state was. Thinking back to the 2001 China national team, the players were still the same, but they eventually made it to the FIFA World Cup. In the past forty-four years, there had been countless more favorable situations than that one, and the China national team had failed every one of them, without exception. Only the 2002 FIFA World Cup was a success.

What had changed for the China national team, who had always been "met with unexpected failure" and tied in matches to being "qualified, but will surely lose"? Milutinovi?'s tactics did not cause too many people to slap the table and shout with praise, but his level of psychological regulation could definitely be classified as being world-class. His innumerable psychological regulatory methods worked like magic, and changed the mental spirit of China's national football team.

He inspired their fighting will, and enhanced their ability to create a never-seen-before miracle. And yes, it was a miracle. Since then, the overnight scene of seeing red color everywhere during that national celebrations on October 7, 2001, never appeared again.

It was also since he started to understand Milutinovi?, that Tang En, as a fan, regarded the role of one's psychological state in football as being particularly important. This was because, in front of him, was a living example. To be able to train what started out as an inept China national team, and turn them into a united and relentless team, wasn't this evidence strong enough?

And, currently as a manager, Tang En had many opportunities to put into practice the role of "psychological factors" in football. Therefore, on the first day of the implementation of the new program schedule, before the start of the training session, on a sunny morning, Twain appeared on the training ground to spend half an hour talking to the players. Des Walker and the members of the coaching team stood behind him and listened.

"How does it feel to be the EFL Cup champion, guys?" Twain stood in front of the players, and asked the question, as if they were friends greeting each other.

"Excellent, Boss!"

"Fantastic, Chief!"

"I haven't been able to sleep for days! I see the finals every time I close my eyes!"

"Hahahaha!" Twain laughed with the players, and did not stop them from being laxed on the training ground.

"Very good, it looks like you're all in a good mood." When the laughter died down, Twain continued, "But now, I have to start worrying about another problem." At this point, Twain paused a little, deliberately cryptic in order to further entice the interest of the players.

"Someone must have started thinking: 'What is the problem that I am worried about?' Thank God we have no serious injuries in our team, no losing streak, or low morale. What else could be wrong? Well, to be honest, I'm a little worried about whether you're still as motivated as you were a month ago. We've just won the EFL Cup. No matter what is going to be our ranking at the end of this season, we'll definitely be able to participate in the UEFA Europa League next season. You'll have the opportunity to be in all of Europe ... Oh no, in front of the world to show your talents. That's a very, very exciting thing! Am I right to say that?"

The players nodded.

"So, now I'm worried that, after you have won a championship, you will lose the drive to move forward, and think of the remaining sixteen rounds as 'a waste of time'. Perhaps you may think that we have completed all of our goals for the season, and that we can relax and unwind! Is that it?" As Twain was saying this, he already saw many people shaking their heads, some of whom were repeatedly whispering "No". So, he asked more loudly at the end.

As expected, everyone responded loudly, "No! That's not it!"

"The wind is too strong, I can't hear you clearly ..." Twain turned his ear towards them and said.

"No one thinks of it like that, Boss!" This time, the players were almost yelling, "No one!!"

Twain eased off, and nodded in satisfaction, continuing his pep talk, "Your voices are loud. It looks like you are sincere enough. So, can somebody tell me, now that we've won the EFL Cup, and we're booked for the European championship for the next season, why do we have to train hard and compete for the next two months? What are our goals? Wes, you tell us." Twain called out Morgan's name.

"For our team to be promoted, Boss! We want to advance to the Premier League, which we should have gone to last season!" Morgan hit the nail on the head with his answer, the painful experience of their last season's loss at the play-offs having scarred him.

This answer was exactly what Tang En had wanted. But, when he turned his head and saw the silent George Wood, he suddenly exclaimed, "George! Can you tell us why we have to fight hard to win in the next two months?"

When they heard Twain call out Wood's name, they all turned their heads and looked at Wood, curious about what kind of reason this normally quiet teammate would give. George Wood looked up at Twain, and did not answer his question. He did not seem to like to speak his mind in front of so many people.

Twain did not back down, but continued to look at him. The two men stared at each other in front of everyone, until one of them could not persist any longer and relented. Wood lost. He lowered his head and said, "You get a bonus, when you win the game."

After having taken quite a while just to make this remark, his surrounding teammates all laughed. Twain laughed too. But after laughing, he said to the others seriously, "George is right. You've all seen the EFL Cup prize money, and our chairman is not stingy at all."

He spoke the truth. After the EFL Cup victory, in the locker room at the Millennium Stadium, the excited Chairman Evan Doughty promised everyone on the spot, including the players and coaches, a five-thousand-pound bonus. Two days later, this sum of money went to everyone. Not only the players and coaches, who participated in the finals, but everyone in the club received the championship bonuses, the only difference was the amount.

"So, if we can advance to the Premier League after the end of this season, I think Mr. Chairman will definitely be happy to give out another bonus. As for how much each of us can get, that is up to our performances for the next two months!"

The players gave a cheer when they heard about the money. Twain was very pleased with the players' reactions. No matter who it was, this type of motivation always worked the best. Who did not like money? Who did not want to receive more money? From this perspective, George Wood's answer was what Twain had wanted most.

"Very good, now I believe you do have enough motivation to push forward!" he said with a shrug.

The players chuckled. Even Walker and the others who stood behind Twain, laughed as well. There were few managers, who could joke with the players in this way, as most managers always wanted to maintain an imposing manner in front of the players, wearing solemn expressions to make the guys fear them and not dare to refute any of their words. They did so because they wanted to establish their authority in the team through highly pressured means.

But Tony Twain was this way. He was very young, and familiar with the thinking of many young people. He knew whom among them liked to listen to songs by the band, Oasis, and whom liked to secretly have a drink or two at the bars. And, as long as it was not particularly serious, Twain would not get to the bottom of it, and he would just give a reminder to his players on any issue.

He was frank with the players, and did not call them "players", but "guys". He never deliberately showed his authority, but everyone listened to him. He was rarely angry, but everyone was afraid that he would be angry, for fear that they would be sent to play in the reserve team, with the reason given that it was "because you play better than the Third Team".

The players treated him as if he were a friend. In some cases, such a relationship would sometimes cause them to overlook the gap in their respective ranks. But, when Twain needed them to work for him, these people would have no complaints.

This manager, in order to be able to achieve this, it was no wonder that he could lead the team to become the EFL Cup champion. Collymore was too lax with the players, and so he did not receive the support of the players. Paul Hart was too serious. Although Twain was trained by Hart, he had already surpassed his mentor, because he had his own uniqueness.

"Guys, do you like me?" Twain suddenly asked.

"Yes, we do!" This was the expected answer.

"That's great! You all know about my bet with that Lawrenson, then? Let me ask you this... You guys don't wish for me to have to shave my hair, right?" Twain asked expectantly.

"No, Boss!" Eastwood shouted in reply. His answer made Twain happy, and he was about to compliment the Romani Gypsy, when unexpectedly, Eastwood immediately smiled and added, "Uh, actually ... Boss, we all think it's nice for you to have a change of hairstyle!"

"Ah ... You cheeky bastards!" Looking at the players, who were having a ball laughing, Twain reluctantly admonished, "The chat time is over! Get back on the field for your training! I'm going to kick your a**es! Lay waste to you! So, you won't have the strength to think of these bad ideas! For the coming week, the stamina training will be increased to twice a day!"

"Woah!!" The players gave a plaintive whine.

"Know your places, boys!" Twain snickered.

※※※

At the City Ground two days later, the great cheers from the stands rang out in the night sky of Nottingham. That song "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands" was sung repeatedly, and the applause were endless. Twenty-seven thousand fans in the stadium had once again witnessed an overwhelming victory.

"The referee blew the whistle at the end of the game! 2:0! Tony Twain's team played a fantastic game on the City Ground, and they got an impressive three points from winning against Gillingham! Including the 34th round of the League Championship three days ago, Nottingham Forest won two consecutive victories after three tied games! What's even more incredible, is that, after battling hard at the EFL Cup semi-final and final, Tony Twain's team had not lost a game in the League Championship since he took over!"

The impassioned voice of John Motson rang out from the television. While he was being affected by Twain, he had unknowingly become the Forest fans' favorite commentator, all because he always said nice things about the Forest team!

The post-match Nottingham Evening Post published an article written by Pierce Brosnan, which was so filled with praises, that Twain almost became the spokesperson for victory. Brosnan gave the many Forest fans a recorded account of every victory since Twain took over, and every victory was thrilling.

Of course, the icing on the cake was the EFL Cup title. But Brosnan also did not forget to tell the fans that they could continue looking forward to more. The Forest team was not done yet. By the end of this season, there was the possibility of them entering the first group as one of the three teams to join the Premier League in the next season.

From March 6th onwards, after the 35th round of the League Championship, there was a piece of paper in the home team's locker room in the City Ground, which was posted on the most prominent position on the wall, and it read:

Nottingham Forest Exclusive Train

The next arrival station – English Premier League!

The scheduled arrival time - May 9th!

The forecast – possibility of an early arrival!

Chapter 172: A Timely Loss Part 1

On March 13, during the 36th round of league matches, Nottingham Forest beat Crystal Palace on their home turf. The match was not won easily, and there were situations in which some Nottingham Forest players were unable to run during the match. The physical fitness coach told Tang En not to worry about it, and that it was a very normal reaction to the increased workload in physical fitness training. Once this phase passed, he said, all would be well.

Tang En was not actually worried about the problem, as long as they won their matches.

Nottingham Forest, who had won three consecutive matches, saw their rankings soar. They went from seventeenth place to fourteenth, and were only eight points away from Wigan Athletic, who was ranked sixth. Moreover, they had two less matches than WIgan Athletic. This meant that, even if Wigan Athletic won all of their remaining matches, as long as Nottingham Forest won their next two rescheduled matches, they would only be two points away from them—a matter of only one match.

Therefore, for the remaining matches, Tang En said that no matter how the team played during matches or what methods they used, as long as they won the match, it would be considered a good game. In order for them, the pursuers chasing from behind, to make their opponents feel pressure, Nottingham Forest could not be too particular about how they achieved their victories.

For the next few matches, Nottingham Forest played rather unsteadily, but Tang En did not care, because they continued to win.

On March 18, Nottingham Forest beat Burnley FC on their home grounds with a score of 1:0. After that match, Burnley's manager was extremely displeased with the decision of the referee presiding over the match; he felt that the referee had blown the whistle on a goal that was perfectly fine. The referee had even sent one of their players off the field. Nottingham Forest had only managed to win by one goal, despite having the advantage in numbers. It was therefore no wonder that Burnley's manager wanted to complain.

But what could he have done about it? It was just his luck that his team was playing on away grounds.

On March 20, under their tightly-packed match schedule, Nottingham Forest beat Derby County by a large margin of 4:2 in their away match. Eastwood's performance was exceptional, getting a hat-trick and becoming the person who had contributed the most to the team's victory. During his commentary, John Motson said, "…Most of the time, Twain relies on the football team as a whole to play. However, even when the entire team is in poor condition, he always has a way of obtaining victory, such as a referee's wrong judgement, or a certain player's sudden exceptional performance."

On March 24, there was a rescheduled match. That day, Nottingham Forest would get back their lost time; because of the EFL Cup matches, the 33rd round of the league had been postponed until now. Nottingham Forest faced off against Bradford on their home grounds. In the end, Nottingham Forest won with a score of 2:1. Nottingham Forest, with one less match than the others, was ranked eighth with a total of fifty-nine points. In front of them were Westham United, with a total of sixty points, and Wigan Athletic, which had sixty-one points. Both Westham United and Wigan Athletics had played one more match than Nottingham Forest.

There was only a difference of three points between the league's eighth-ranked team and sixth-ranked team. Tang En's unremitting chase had finally been rewarded. As long as they beat Crewe Alexandra F.C. in their next match, and one of the teams ranked sixth or seventh lost, they would be replaced by Nottingham Forest.

Prior to this, in order to sustain a favorable situation for the team, Tang En had gone to great lengths and used all of the methods that he could come up with to encourage the team. He knew that they could not afford to lose. As soon as they lost a match, then a season, no, half a season's worth of effort would have gone down the drain. So this was definitely not a time when they could afford to be discouraged.

And once they were only three points away from moving into sixth place in the league, the team finally did not need his encouragement. Everyone could already see that they were very close to obtaining their goal. They knew that if they continued winning like this, they would be able to appear in the English Premier League next season, not the unpopular League One in which they currently played. They were not only fighting for the club, they were also fighting for their own sakes.

On the March 27 was the 39th round of the League, at City Ground Stadium. As soon as match started, the Nottingham Forest fans began singing and cheering the team on, not resting for a single moment. This intimidating home ground atmosphere made their opponents, Crewe Alexandra, shudder, naturally scaring them. Crewe Alexandra, which had a rather low rank in the league, did not even have the willpower to resist before they surrendered. Nottingham Forest won against Crewe Alexandra with a score of 2:0. At the same time, another match took place that also delighted Nottingham Forest's fans; Wigan Athletic was unable to handle the pressure that Nottingham Forest had put on them, and lost in their away match against Watford with a score of 0:1.

After thirty-nine rounds of matches in the league, amidst a storm of counterattacks brewed in Nottingham, Wigan Athletic was the first team that could not withstand it and failed to stand their ground.

By this time, the tempestuousness of Nottingham Forest had already attracted the attentions of higher-ranked teams. Which team would be the second to be pulled down by Nottingham Forest?

After the 39th round matches was completed, Westham United had defeated Gillingham in their home match, and was ranked fifth with a total of sixty-three points. Nottingham Forest, who now had sixty-two points, replaced Wigan Athletic, who also had sixty-two points, obtaining the last seat of the first group. They were now sixth in the league! This was a very attractive ranking, as it meant that, as long as Nottingham Forest maintained their ranking until the end of the season, they would be eligible for the play-offs.

At this point, Tang En had to think again. For the rest of the matches, should the team set its sights on maintaining their rank? Or should it ride the momentum, try to win as much as it could, and rise as high in rankings as possible?

Tang En was stuck in quite a difficult spot.

There was also another problem that had been bothering him for a while: although consecutive wins were worth being happy about, there was a hidden danger behind them: exceptional results would inadvertently exert an invisible psychological pressure on the players. Before every match, all they could think was that they "definitely couldn't lose." While having these thoughts for one or two matches could help them perform to the best of their ability, having these thoughts before every single match could give the team a mental breakdown.

"Victory" was a team's belief, and also their curse. Coming up with an appropriate way to deal with this problem was making Tang En's head hurt.

All of the matches in March had already ended, and due to Nottingham Forest maintaining their winning streak in the league, Tony Twain had been chosen as the best League One manager of the month, and Eastwood was chosen as the best player.

This was not a good sign; when Tang En was receiving the award—a bottle of champagne—he could not even squeeze out a smile. The huge amount of pressure on his heart was turning into dense, dark clouds, discreetly exerting their force on his heart.

Giving Tang En an award at that time was not an encouragement, but a curse: You may have been the best manager of the previous month, it said, but you will definitely lose your next match!

It turned out as expected. On April 3, during the 40th round of league matches, Nottingham Forest lost to Sheffield United. Tang En also had not wanted to lose the match, but all of the players on the team performed poorly. Tang En was in the technical area, powerless to do anything but simply accept the loss. The only thing that gave him relief was that his loss was not too miserable, a small loss of 0:1. The team had not displayed signs of completely breaking down.

During the press conference, Tang En attributed the loss entirely to himself, and was very low-key in front of the victor, Warnock. He commended Sheffield United's strength, and admitted the mistakes that he had made in his tactics, even though everyone could tell that they were not very serious mistakes. Tang En simply refused to mention the players' terrible performance. He was carefully protecting the players, even more than a mother hen watching over her eggs.

Still, the players were worried that Tang En, after returning from the press conference, would give them a tongue-lashing in the changing room. They themselves knew that everyone had performed poorly in the match.

Their no-loss streak, maintained ever since Tony Twain had taken over Nottingham Forest, ended just like that. Anyone else in Tang En's shoes would feel upset as well.

Tang En was, naturally, displeased, and seeing the smile on Warnock's face made him even more furious. He had lost to this old man time and again, and to the prideful Tang En, that was quite a humiliation. But what could he have done? He had used up all three of his substitutions, had used every trick that he had up his sleeve, and still had lost. The match had already ended; the whistle signalling the end of the match had been blown a long time ago, and even its echo had faded. So what good would getting angry do?

After Tang had En darkened his face and endured the old man's arrogant, non-stop boasting for a full five minutes, the press conference finally ended.

Tang En and Warnock merely touched each others' fingers and treated it as a handshake. Afterwards, Tang En paid no heed to the reporters around him as he turned around and left the press conference, walking towards the changing room.

Deep down inside, Tang En knew very clearly what kind of situation the team was in. In reality, even though they lost the match, things was not nearly as bad as he had originally thought. This was based on the findings that Walker found out about after contacting Bruce, who had told Walker the results from the latest round of matches.

Nottingham Forest, who had just lost a match, fell to ninth place with a total of sixty-two points, but they were only three points away from the team in fourth place. The teams in front of Nottingham Forest were neck-to-neck. In summary, Tony Twain's team had lost at the best possible time.

Once he had thought about that, Tang En's mood improved quite a bit. After pondering it again, he became even happier.

Hadn't he always been worried that the pressure on the team would be too great after all their consecutive wins, and that it could give them a nervous breakdown? Now that they had lost, that worry was no longer relevant.

Pushing open the changing room door, Tang En discovered that it was complete silence in there, which he was not used to. He thought for a moment that he had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had walked into the wrong room.

So he walked out, closed the door, and saw the "AWAY" sign on the door. Only then did he finally confirm that he had not entered the wrong room by mistake.

Opening the door once again, he saw his players, all dumbfounded by his actions. Seeing this, Tang En suddenly could not hold it in and burst out laughing. "I thought I went into the wrong room." He pointed towards the door and continued, "So I closed the door to see what was written on it. You guys were so quiet that I got confused. What's wrong with all of you?"

"We lost, Boss." The players thought that Twain was asking the obvious, and that this was definitely the prelude to the ensuing storm. So they were rushing to admit their mistakes.

Seeing this scene, Tang En shrugged his shoulders. "Does anyone want to know why I thought I walked into the wrong room just now? Because I was thinking about a problem. Anyone interested in what I was thinking about?"

Nobody answered him, because nobody could see through the manager's plans. If one of them said something wrong, the first drip from the raging storm would land on his head. Nobody wanted to be that person.

Seeing that nobody was answering his question, Tang En felt slightly bored. He scratched his head and said, "I was thinking… that we did well by losing. It was... a timely loss."

After he had spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.

Chapter 173: A Timely Loss Part 2

"Hey…" Tang En knew that saying things like that made some people think that there was something wrong with his head. So he decided to word it in a different way. "I said, are any of you still using that bulls**t mentality of 'definitely cannot lose' and 'consecutive no-losses'?"

After he phrased it that way, everyone started to understand what he was getting at. Now that they were feeling upset about their defeat, they no longer thought things like, "We finally won, we definitely won't lose the next match," which were thoughts that had frequently crossed their minds prior to this.

"No more, Boss."

"No, Chief."

Tang En nodded his head and said in a pleased tone, "There is no team that has never lost before. Losing now is much better than losing at crucial moments. So lads, stop thinking about the match. We have to leave this behind. We just have to make up for today's loss by winning the upcoming matches. It's no big deal!"

Tang En's greatest problem had actually been solved by this coincidental situation, and it had been resolved in a beautiful way. Everyone knew about the rule of unluckiness after achieving the best awards. Therefore, nobody would think too much about this loss, and the players had also taken this chance to get rid of the burden in their hearts.

That was why Tang En said that they lost well, and that it was a timely loss. If it had been one match earlier, it might have negatively impacted the team's high morale; if it had been one match later, perhaps the pressure would have been much greater, to the extent that it would have caused the players to have a mental breakdown. Fortunately, neither of these happened.

After leaving Bramall Lane Stadium and Sheffield, Tang En looked back at that period of time and realized that his luck had been good. He had experienced the referee's partiality and losing a match at a good time. Could it be that God himself is feeling guilty about making me time travel, and decided to make amends by boosting my luck?

Tang En shook his head at that preposterous thought. Fate has always been in my own hands. Luck favored us, only because we performed better in other aspects as compared to the truly unlucky souls.

Warnock….Sheffield United….We will still meet, but when that time comes, where will we be, respectively?

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Nottingham Forest's loss made some people extremely happy, such as experts who had published articles on media platforms claiming that it was impossible for Nottingham Forest to be promoted. The supporters of Nottingham Forest's direct competitors felt that Nottingham Forest was already on the brink of a breakdown. They would definitely lose their next match, and an even greater, unstoppable breakdown would begin. With only one month left before the season ended, no matter how miraculous Tony Twain was, he would be unable to salvage a lost cause.

All of this was appalling to hear, and even the Nottingham Forest supporters started to feel worried about the team's future prospects.

Tang En did not rebut those people's opinions in his own special column, as whatever he said right now would be mocked and laughed at. If he really wanted to rub their noses in it, the only way to do it would be victory. When everyone looks badly upon you, doing something brilliantly to shock them before coming out and giving them a slap to face was the best revenge.

Therefore, Tang En's silence did not mean that he was afraid, nor was it a sign of weakness. In reality, he was only doing it for the sake of conserving energy for a much more vicious comeback.

All those who look down on me will have to pay the price. However much you look down on me today, I will make sure to recover fully tomorrow! It's only a matter of time…

On April seventh, the rescheduled match for the 29th round of the league matches took place. Nottingham Forest, which had just been defeated, travelled to their match venue in a low-key manner. It was the capital of Wales, Cardiff, and they had gone there to challenge their opponents in the league, Cardiff City F.C.

This city was not unfamiliar to either Tang En or Nottingham Forest. Those beautiful memories were still lingering in their minds, and it all came back to them yet again. Their goal was still the same: victory. Except, their states of mind were quite different already.

They had let go of their emotional burdens, and at the same time, Tang En hoped that the team could, in front of the rumor-mongering media, once again prove themselves by winning a praise-worthy victory.

Nottingham Forest completely crushed the home team with a score of 3:0.

The fans who had been worrying about Nottingham Forest's future prior to the match watched the game with smiles on all of their faces. Who said they could not be promoted?

Tang En appeared rather arrogant during the post-match press conference. "Cardiff is a very nice city; I always manage to get beautiful memories here…The match season is a long process, just like a match. If someone tells me one second after the match has started that 'Nottingham Forest will definitely lose!', I will look at him with pity, and advise him to get a brain check-up. And I believe that the majority of people feel the same way that I do. But now, there are quite a few experts who make us wonder if their brains work normally. They like to brazenly express their opinions on various media platforms, announcing Nottingham Forest's death sentence even before the end of the league matches. Originally, I didn't want to waste my time talking nonsense to those idiots, but a one-off strategic misstep has made them even more arrogant. Many of them rushed and jumped up to announce the end of Nottingham Forest for this season! So, I feel the need to ask them now: Everyone, how does this slap to the face feel?"

After finishing, Tang En could not be bothered with the reaction of the people in the press conference room, immediately turning around and leaving the room. What was left behind for the reporters was the silhouette of a man that they could not grasp at all.

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Tang En's speech during the press conference was broadcasted live without editing. Hence, what he said naturally became another hot topic for debate in the media.

Those who had gotten their faces slapped naturally did not let the matter rest. They definitely had to win back some face. As a result, all sorts of comments flowed in, directed at Tang En. Some criticized him for not being adept at training, some criticized him for being so arrogant, just because he had won a small championship title. There were all sorts of criticisms.

And what about the central figure of the news discussions?

Tang En did not care about how people scolded him. He knew that his only method of retaliation was to continue winning. What other way was there beside using results to rebut those ignorant people?

On April 10, the 41st round of the league matches, Nottingham Forest welcomed their opponents, Stoke City, amidst the jeering of those people. The final score was 1:0, with Nottingham Forest's victory.

On April 12, in the 42nd round of the league matches, Nottingham Forest defeated Preston North End in an away match, with a score of 2:1. After one loss, Nottingham Forest, which had gotten three consecutive wins, accumulated a lot of points, and had already successfully risen to third place in the league!

They were only four points away from the second place team, West Bromwich. And as for the current Nottingham Forest, a four-point difference was completely unable to stop their advancement.

As for the sceptics, Tang En felt really good getting back at them. How could it not be the same for the players, who felt that they had been belittled?

Chapter 174: Pressure Part 1

In the 42nd competition round of the English Football League Championship, Nottingham Forest ranked third, and was four points away from the second ranked West Bromwich Albion. There were still four rounds left in the League Championship.

In the 43rd round of the League Championship, Nottingham Forest would be playing against Millwall in a home match. This was a game that boiled the blood of the entire team, and Tang En did not have to worry too much about the outcome. Their rival, West Bromwich Albion, was heading north to challenge the fifth ranked, Sunderland, in an away match.

According to Tang En's plan, this game was their first opportunity to narrow the gap between them and West Bromwich Albion. He hoped that Sunderland would be able to create some trouble for their opponents at their home ground.

In the 44th round, Nottingham Forest would challenge Ipswich, which ranked a spot behind them, in an away match. The West Bromwich Albion people must be happy, as the result that they most wanted to see in this game must be a draw, or for the Forest team to lose to Ipswich in this away match. They had reason enough to believe that Ipswich would not let the Forest team get away in winning the home ground game, because they also had the same possibility of storming to the second place in the final three rounds of the League Championship. While the League Championship's third and fourth ranked teams were fighting each other, West Bromwich Albion was biding its time with ease, playing a home match against Bradford City, which would definitely be relegated.

The only one that Tang En needed to worry about for this game was himself, not his opponents. Only by defeating a strong opponent, could they be qualified to catch up to West Bromwich Albion.

In the 45th round, the penultimate round of the English Football League Championship this season, Nottingham Forest would play against Wigan Athletic F.C. in a home match, and West Bromwich Albion would play in an away match against Reading. This round of the League Championship, it was estimated that the points of both teams would not have any changes. If Sunderland could beat West Bromwich Albion in the 43rd round of the League Championship, then both team's points should only have one-point difference.

In this way, the most critical moment was the League Championship final round. In the 46th round, Nottingham Forest would be playing in a home match against their direct rivals, West Bromwich Albion!

If the Forest team's performance stayed stable before this game, then the outcome would be conclusive. By defeating West Bromwich Albion, the Forest team would be able to achieve the greatest reversal of this season, thus rising to the second ranking in the League Championship, and qualifying for a direct promotion.

And, if the Forest team played poorly in the three rounds before the last round, thus losing points, or if West Bromwich Albion performed steadily and continued to surpass the Forest team by four points, then this game would lose its meaning. It would then be time for Tang En to prepare for the play-offs.

When the Forest team charged up to the third ranking, those who once claimed that the Forest team could not return to the English Premier League at the end of this season, finally shut up! The more they looked down on this team and that manager, the better the team that he led performed. And now that it was already finalized, that the Forest team was qualified for the play-offs, most of these people were discreetly not talking about the Forest team's prospects, with the exception of a handful of diehard proponents.

The observant television viewers had also noticed that, in the recent show segments of , the object in Gary Lineker's hands had changed from a pen to ... a razor! Mark Lawrenson was not on the show, but he had promised in his personal column on the BBC website that, if he lost, he would personally shave his beard on .

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Millwall, this was the name that made the Forest team and the Forest fans furious, when it was mentioned. Initially, these two teams had little grievances with each other, but because of Gavin Bernard, the young fan who lost his life during that fans' clash, the two teams and their respective supporters became sworn enemies.

When the Millwall fans used Gavin to provoke the Forest team in the EFL Cup quarter finals, the Forest fans had waited for this day to arrive, having Millwall in the City Ground and wiping them out! To use their middle fingers and "F***" to return their compliments! Let them know that Nottingham Forest was not to be messed with! And, to let them know the consequences for the profound sin of desecrating the name of the dead!

To prepare for this special game, Nottingham City deployed one-third of the city's police force, and concentrated all of them on the main roads, commercial streets, train stations and City Ground. There were even police cars driving back and forth, patrolling with loudspeakers to remind both sides of team fans to remain calm, and to not cause any trouble. But, who would care about this?

From the moment the fans from both sides met, the confrontation of obscenities and abuse began...

"F*** staying calm! You bloody Millwall bastards! You're not going to get out of this city alive!"

"You Nottingham hicks! We're going to make you pay today, for humiliating us at the EFL Cup! The team you support can forget about being promoted! Today is the day of your death!"

"The coward, who lost 1:7 to us, still has the cheek to mention that game here? Did you go crying home to mommy for her milk? Ah, haha!"

"You motherf**kers! F*** your entire family!"

Similar scenes like this confrontation, which took place across a wall that was formed by three rows of policemen, were repeated all around the City Ground. The mood of the fans had reached the critical boiling point, and they needed an outlet to vent. Since they could not charge towards each other and come to blows, they were only left with the game.

In the locker room, Tang En looked at the players, who clenched their fists and shrugged, "I know it is difficult to ask you to be calm at this time. So, what I have to say is ..." He suddenly brandished his fist, "... Get out there and kill those bastards! Let them know that, once they have angered us, they will forever be trampled by us! Wipe them out! For our victory! Destroy them! For our promotion!"

Due to their fans' unruly behavior, the poor Millwall team would suffer repeatedly. At the City Ground, they experienced the same treatment from the Forest team as they had the last time at The Den. Whenever they had the possession of the ball, they were greeted with a barrage of boos and curses. When the Forest team had control of the ball, the Millwall fans tried to use the same method to deal with the Forest team, but their boos had just started, before they were drowned out by louder singing voices.

Such a terrible home ground atmosphere had caused the Millwall team to lose their fighting spirit, and the Forest players played more and more enthusiastically amidst the sounds of their fans cheering. By the end of the game, it was 3:0! Nottingham Forest won decisively and undoubtedly. When the referee blew the final whistle, the entire City Ground was filled by cheers. The Millwall fans were still swearing, but no one heeded them.

The Millwall manager had been changed from that incompetent Mr. Alan McLeary to Dennis Wise, the semi-retired player and player-manager. At the press conference, he did not say much about this game, but only admitted that Twain's team was better than Millwall in every respect, and that they had deserved to win. Millwall's goal was not for this season, and they had lost.

Winning was something that made Tang En feel good, but at the same time, the news from Sunderland had suddenly diminished his doubled pleasure by half. Even though Sunderland had created some trouble for West Bromwich Albion in their home match, the team did not persist to the end. West Bromwich Albion narrowly won against Sunderland in the away match by 1:0. Their seventy-eight points continued to lead Nottingham Forest by four points.

Tang En scored a beautiful victory in his home ground, and his rival did not drop the ball. So, now, the situation was disadvantageous to the Forest team. It would be too difficult to hope that West Bromwich Albion would lose to the second-lowest ranked Bradford City in the next round of the League Championship. He was unwilling to place his hopes of promotion in the hands of completely unrelated strangers again.

There were still three rounds in the League Championship. No, to be exact, there were still two rounds left. If West Bromwich Albion stayed on its current course, then Forest team's last round of playing against West Bromwich Albion in their home ground would be pointless.

※※※

As if to reaffirm Tang En's worries, the Forest team played exceptionally hard in the 44th round of the League Championship, while on the other hand, West Bromwich Albion scored a two-goal lead early in their home match, and easily maintained it to the end.

The outcome of the game between Nottingham Forest and Ipswich did not become apparent until the last minute. Ashley Young's breakthrough led to a free kick for the Forest team, and Eastwood took the kick under enormous pressure. When he volleyed the ball into the goal, Tang En almost slumped to the ground, while everyone around him was jubilant. It was not just Eastwood who was under immense pressure, but Tang En, as a manager, as well.

He did not want to play the play-offs, because his team's stamina was already on the verge of breaking. The mid-season EFL Cup had cost them too much energy. At the beginning of the season, Collymore's slackness had resulted in the lack of systematic training of the players' physical fitness.

Now, all the repercussions flared up in the final stage of the League Championship. He simply did not dare bank on the play-offs, as the team's current morale was high enough to cast the physical problems aside for the time being. When the season was over, would the Forest team still be able to cope with the play-offs, once their rhythm had been interrupted?

Tang En did not know.

Consequently, the best way was to take advantage of the team's current high morale, and charge into the top two spots in a spurt of energy, to qualify for a direct promotion to the English Premier League.

Ah, as time passed, more things could crop up, and who knows what else can go wrong?

After all the matches in the 44th round of the League Championship had been completed, Nottingham Forest was still four points behind West Bromwich Albion, and there were only two rounds left, so it seemed impossible for them to achieve the goal of direct promotion. Just as Tang En was feeling down and in a bad mood, he received a call from Kenny Burns of the Forest Bar.

"Tony, if you feel a little stressed out, come have a few drinks at my place. Tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. Come and drink in my bar. I think there's someone who will probably want to see you."

"Who?"

"If I told you, you might not come. So, if you want to know who this person is, come and see for yourself!" Burns said with a smile. "Besides, you haven't been to my bar for a long time, ever since you've become the manager of the Forest First Team."

"Oh ... I'm sorry, Kenny. The immense work pressure has caused me to forget a lot of things. OK, I'll be there on time tomorrow."

What Burns said was right. When he took over the Forest team midway last season, he did not feel the same pressure as he had this season. This was because he was at a loss with regards to his future at that time, and was just satisfied to get by. Things were different now. He had a clear goal now, and he must strive towards that goal. And along with it, came immense pressure.

Chapter 175: Pressure Part 2

There was a Chinese idiom that made a lot of sense: strike a balance between work and rest. Now that he was under intense pressure, he should really take a break. Otherwise, the team might not collapse under the weight of it, but instead, it would be him who fell apart first – as soon as he thought that last moments at Portman Road stadium, the fear that his heart would give way lingered. If Eastwood had scored with that free kick, the Forest team would have to give up on their dream of striving for that second spot in the League Championship.

All right, I'll go to Burns' bar and relax. It'll be good to hang out with John and the others. I'll put aside my troubles about the promotion for the time being.

Tang En did not expect that the next night, he would not see Fat John and the rest at the Forest Bar, but another group of people. Tang En did not know this group of middle-aged men, who were the same age as Burns.

These men crowded around an older man in the middle. The older man, who was talking to others with a glass in his hand, was the focus of everyone present. He was the legendary manager of Nottingham Forest, Brian Clough.

Tang En did not expect to see the Chief here. He stared blankly at the entrance until Burns walked towards him.

"This is ..." The baffled Twain had just opened his mouth, before he was interrupted by Burns with a smile.

"This is a simple dinner to commemorate Nottingham Forest's 25th anniversary of winning the UEFA Champions League. Apart from you, everyone present here are those who participated in the UEFA Champions League final in 1979." Kenny Burns brought Twain in, and Clough, who was standing in the middle of the room and talking, saw them.

He raised his glass to Twain, "Look who's here. How does it feel to win a championship?"

His remark turned the other people's attention towards Twain, who had just entered. They all laughed, when they saw who had just walked in.

"Mr. Twain, you've been a news figure for the last two months!"

"Chief, I think you two are very alike!"

Clough did not express an opinion to such a remark, and Twain felt somewhat ill-at-ease. He did not know these men, except for Burns and Clough. But they seemed to be familiar with him. Burns got him out of a bind by handing him a glass of wine.

He took the glass and thanked Burns. Then, he answered Clough's first question, "It feels great, Chief."

When he said this, the others laughed again. Then, the discussion turned to the interesting incident before the EFL Cup final: "I could hardly believe my own eyes when I watched the entire Forest team walking down past the bus on the TV."

"Me too, Peter. The appearance of Mr. Tony Twain was impressive!"

"Haha!"

Tang En knew they were talking about his outfit. When he had watched the replay later, he thought he looked funny at that time, and he did not go through that again.

"Even though you looked like a clown, ... it was effective, wasn't it?" Clough sipped his drink, and then looked at Twain and said.

Twain nodded. Even though the people standing in front of him had held the UEFA Champions League trophy in their hands, as an EFL Cup winner, Twain also had the confidence of talking to them as an equal. "The team was not doing very well at the time,and I could only use that approach to help them build up their confidence. I also thought I looked comical, when I looked at myself later. But, since we finally won the championship, it was no big deal playing the clown."

The topic seemed to be developing in the direction of communication between the two men. Upon sensing this, the others tactfully drifted off, one after another, to chat freely with each other, glasses in their hands. Now, only the two men, Clough and Twain, were left in front of the table in the middle of the room. Clough made a "sit down" gesture, and the two men sat down, face-to-face.

"To be able to see the Forest team's red jerseys again in the EFL Cup final, that feels really good," the older man said slowly. "Do you know when we were last in the EFL Cup final?"

"Twelve years ago, Chief," Twain replied without hesitation.

Clough slowly nodded, "Even Wembley Stadium has been rebuilt, so it really has been a long time." He turned his gaze towards the bar entrance, recalling his years as the Forest manager.

Twelve years ago, in 1992, the last season before the establishment of the English Premier League, Brian Clough's last year as the manager of Nottingham Forest, the Forest team advanced to the 91-92 season EFL Cup finals. That was the final twilight of the once popular Nottingham Forest. They lost to Manchester United, and that saved Manager Alex Ferguson, who was in the midst of a crisis of confidence. And the Scot's achievements later made Manchester United his dynasty, and he was then awarded a knighthood by the Queen of England. And, as for Brian Clough, he and his legendary Forest slowly faded from history.

The Chief was two years younger than Bobby Robson, who was still in charge of Newcastle, and he was only seven years older than Ferguson. At this age, he could still absolutely command a game from the technical area, instead of sitting at home, drinking all day, and then being forced to undergo a liver transplant.

What would have happened, if the Forest team had not lost to Manchester United at that time? Would the Forest team have taken the opportunity to revive its glory? Would Ferguson be dismissed? And, what about the fate of the Manchester United 1992 generation of players, like Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and so on?

There was no point in thinking about these questions now. When Twain snapped out of his reverie, he realized that Clough was looking at him.

"I've heard from Burns that you've been under a lot of pressure lately."

"Well .... yes, Chief. In the last round of the League Championship, I felt like I almost had a heart attack at the last moment."

Clough grinned, "It's not that easy to be a manager, son. I spent eighteen years in the Forest manager post. What kind of things have I not experienced? Undefeated for forty-two rounds, in the finals of the UEFA Champions League for three consecutive years, but I ..." He pointed to the people who were chatting, "never let them know the thoughts in my mind, especially the bad ones. Do you still remember the first time we met, son?"

Twain nodded. Burns, Walker, and Bowyer had brought him to Derby County. It was as if it were yesterday, that they were having tea at the Chief's house.

"What did I ask you at that time?"

This conversation felt similar to the conversations Twain had often had with his players, except the roles were now reversed. He was not the manager, but was more like a player, under Brian Clough. He thought about it, and then replied, "You asked me what I thought a manager did."

"And how did you answer that?"

"To lead the team to victory ..."

Clough took a sip of his drink, and then he answered, just as Twain had remembered back then, "Wrong, son, that's just part of the job. Now, I think you understand the meaning of this sentence?"

Twain nodded, "I already know it clearly, Chief."

"Wrong again. How long have you been sitting in this position? Your seat is not even warm yet, and you said you know it well. What do you know?"

Faced with this kind of rhetorical question, Twain did not know how to answer.

"You still have a long way to go, son ..." Clough slowly rose, then looked down at Twain. Then, he took his glass and went to chat to his old subordinates.

Following this, the dinner returned to being the main theme of this event. Everyone gushed about the old glory days of the Forest team. Twain sat on the side, quietly listening. At the same time, he imagined – One day, I will also sit here with my former staff, recalling the European championship years. How many years will that be?

The dinner was simple and private. It was also not open to the media, and no announcement was made to them. It was over at 10 in the evening. At the entrance to the bar, everyone was busy saying goodbye.

At this point, Twain became the busiest person again. All the people would specially come over to say goodbye to him, and then say one or two words to encourage him. After all, everyone used to play for the Forest team, and there were still some attachments.

Finally, it was Brian Clough's turn. He sat inside the car, wound down the car window, and looked at Twain. Twain, knowing that he had something to say, quickly leaned over and stood outside the car window.

The older man looked at Twain, thought for a second with his head tilted to the side, and shrugged, "I almost forgot something ... Congratulations, son." Then, he rolled up the car window again, and knocked on the back of the driver's seat as a signal for him to drive onward.

The white Ford slowly drove away from Twain, and everyone else drove away as they also bid farewell. Lively only a moment ago, the bar entrance was now suddenly deserted. As Twain stood by the road, Burns came up to him and said, "Are you okay? Just sitting there and listening to us talking about the past?"

Twain looked back at the kind man, and responded, "I'm okay ... I've often had such experiences in the past." He was referring to himself in China. While attending the class reunions, everyone was happily talking about their recent experiences, but only he was like an outsider, not interested in those topics.

"Well, to be honest ... it was the Chief who asked me to call you. Originally, we only invited those teammates who played in the '79 UEFA Champions League final. Before you came, the EFL Cup final came up when he and I were chatting, and he said that your tactics in that game reminded him of the first time the Forest team had won the Champions League, as we also had relied on an air-tight defense to win. Oh, and one more thing, although the Chief did not say it, I think that, if the Forest team is really back in the Premier League at the end of this season, he will be very happy." Burns looked into the distant night sky as he spoke.

Twain smiled, "Thank you, Kenny."

"Don't thank me, thank the Chief. All of us old guys can relive those years that were once faded away in your Forest team, so everyone has high hopes of you. What do you think? Now that I have said this, is the pressure getting heavier in your heart?" Burns laughed.

"Kenny, if I don't succeed, I'll come to you, and drink all your alcohol!"

Chapter 176: Of Course We Will Win Part 1

Perhaps because they had drank with their boss, their luck became better. May first, the second-last round of the league matches, was Nottingham Forest's last chance to close in on West Bromwich.

In the end, Nottingham Forest beat Wigan Athletic on its home turf, with a score of 1:0. For that match, most of the Nottingham Forest fans were not focused on City Ground Stadium's field. Instead, they were more focused on Reading and it's home grounds, the Madejski Stadium. There, West Bromwich was met with Reading's tough resistance.

When the match results from there finally came out, City Ground Stadium was in a state of jubilation!

1:0! Reading had beaten West Bromwich on their home grounds!

Lady luck had once again smiled upon Tang En and his team at the most crucial moment. Now there was only a one-point difference between Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich!

If Nottingham Forest beat West Bromwich in their last match, they would be able to surpass them and gain second place, thereby attaining the qualifications to be promoted directly to the Premier League. Tang En felt that his confidence had been completely restored. He no longer needed to activate plan B, to study the situations of his play-offs opponents. He had already analyzed West Bromwich for a full month!

Because they had lost a match at such a crucial moment, it was believed that West Bromwich's morale must have taken quite a blow. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest's morale was high, and its players had never been so confident in their direct promotion to the Premier League. The last match would be held at Nottingham Forest's home stadium yet again, and over the span of a single night, almost everyone started favoring Nottingham Forest.

These people's opinions just bend with the wind! Tang En did not pay much attention to the opinions of others. When they did not look upon Nottingham Forest favorably, Nottingham Forest still did not lose even once. Now that they favored Nottingham Forest, the still weren't guaranteed to win.

The training plan had been arranged long ago, and the coaching staff was in charge of all aspects of it. Offense, defense, place kick, stamina, ball control, and various other things. Everything was going smoothly according to the plan.

The players' mentalities, after going through so many matches, had also been optimized.

Tang En and Walker had already analyzed West Bromwich for an entire month. He knew about the team's strengths and what kind of changes they had gone through even better than many of the die-hard West Bromwich fans.

What else did Tang En have to do? Before this extremely important match, he suddenly found that he had become the most idle person on the team.

It was almost May 9. Upon realizing this, Tang En felt that he should pay another visit to that place.

Exactly one year ago, Gavin had been laid to rest. One day later, Nottingham Forest had lost their first round of the semi-finals play-offs. One week later, Nottingham Forest had lost the entire play-offs. Tony Twain, who had been chosen as February's best manager and pursued victory as his target, had instead lost his most important match.

Although he claimed that "I only pursue victory," as long as he was still stuck in League One, he would always be a lying braggart, unable to raise his head in front of Gavin's soul.

Now, one year had passed. The time to decide Nottingham Forest's fate had come once again. As such, Tang En felt that there was a need to pay another visit to Gavin's grave.

On May eighth, the last morning before the match day, Tang En headed to that small grey church on the hill after the team's training.

Tang En figured that the cemetery would definitely not have any visitors aside from himself. However, when he finally got there, he realized, to his shock, that fatso John was there as well. He held a bouquet of white lilies in his hands, and was in the process of bending over and putting it down.

When fatso John stood up and discovered that there was another person beside him, he jumped, looking startled.

"Tony! You scared me." He had really been frightened; the muscles on his face were trembling.

Tang En smiled dryly, chuckling.

"Why are you here? Doesn't the team need to train?"

"Training has already ended," Tang En said, shrugging.

"Isn't the match tomorrow?"

Tang En walked up and placed the bouquet in his hands in front of the tombstone, right beside John's. Afterwards, Tang En stared at the short tombstone and said, "It's because the match is tomorrow that I have to come here."

John understood what he meant, and he was also lost in thought while he stared at the name engraved on the tombstone. For a moment, neither of them said anything. This quiet cemetery seemed to be completely empty, and the only sound was the occasional chirping of birds above their heads.

After a long while, Tang En sighed and asked, "Do you and Michael still talk?"

John shook his head. "No. Phone number, new address… He didn't tell them to any of us. It's like he disappeared off the face of the earth."

"He must be living a good life in America." Tang En did not know what else he could say. This did not seem to be a good place for them to chat.

"Michael… always liked football." John murmured. "In the past, when we were together, he would always say that he loved football more than his wife, and that football was his everything. He won't be able to live a single day without football. Can you imagine how crazy he must have been?"

Tang En nodded his head. For a person who had created a football hooligan firm with his own two hands, that degree of madness was normal.

"If it hadn't been for Gavin, I think he might have still carried on with that madness of his," said John. "We came together because of Football. After he left for America, Bill and I weren't really in the mood to come out and drink for a while."

"You guys actually stopped frequenting Burns' bar too."

"Because we had to spend time with our families."

"Is Football still everything in your lives?"

Faced with that question, John did not answer immediately. "Personally, I feel like nothing in this world can be seen as everything in someone's life. Of course, Gavin was the exception. Football was everything to him."

After hearing John say that, Tang En recalled Michael saying something similar about Gavin. "From the day he was born till the day he died, he was always a Nottingham Forest fan".

Perhaps feeling that the topic was rather depressing, John steered the conversation in another direction. "Tony. Tomorrow's match… We will win, right?"

"You don't sound too sure." Tang En smiled. "What are you worried about?"

Fatso John curled his lips and said, "Alright, I know your answer… What a pity, Michael is unable to bear witness with his own eyes. Each time he watched a Premier League match, he would always shout at us, saying how Nottingham Forest would perform if it were in the Premier League instead..." He realized that the conversation topic had been steered back yet again.

"Nottingham's performance in the English Premier League… you'll know when the time comes." Tang En gazed into the hazy sky in the distance and said, "I'm gonna head out, John. I hope it won't rain tomorrow. That way, we can celebrate our victory to our hearts' content."

Fatso John waved at him and said, "Even if there's a raging storm, we can still celebrate to our hearts' content. Bye, Tony." John watched as Tang En slowly walked out of the quiet cemetery, surrounded by forest.

※※※

Just like Fatso John had said, it rained heavily on the day of the match. The sky was dark; thick, black clouds filled Nottingham's skies. Despite it being only the afternoon, City Ground Stadium had to turn on all of its lights. The rain droplets leaked from the skies, turning the area near the stands' ceilings into something not unlike a waterfall.

Would the match even continue in such heavy rain?

Of course!

The drainage system of City Ground Stadium was pretty well-made. Even though the area near the stands, around the technical area, was being showered with heavy rain, aside from the field being slightly slippery, there was not much stagnant water on the field.

Tang En stood at the side of the field, letting the rain drench his suit. He was looking at the field with his brow furrowed.

This was the last round of league matches, and all of the venues commenced their matches at the same time. This was also the most crucial match, and the Nottingham Forest players showed obvious signs of nervousness. Their actions on the field were stiff, and in addition to the slippery field, the match was currently headed down an unfavourable path for Nottingham Forest.

The current score displayed on the scoreboard was 2:1. The team in the lead was the away team, West Bromwich.

When the match had just started, Nottingham Forest managed to seize the lead right at the start. At that moment, the entire City Ground Stadium erupted into a frenzy, including the technical area and substitutes' bench. Everyone was jumping about and cheering happily.

All of them were thinking, This is a good opening! Rank two in the League and English Premier League are both waving to us!

However, after scoring a goal, the Nottingham Forest players became more relaxed, immediately allowing West Bromwich to seize a chance to counterattack, successfully launching a sneak attack on them. After the score became 1:1, the mentalities of the Nottingham Forest players underwent another round of changes.

They started to become impatient, and the thought of trying to score another goal made them press forward too far. Such a good chance for counterattack would naturally not be forgone by West Bromwich, the second-place team in the League. With another counterattack, the score became 2:1.

Nottingham Forest's mentality went from relaxed to impatient, before turning into nervousness. Throughout the first forty minutes of the first half, this basically sums up the change in Nottingham Forest's mentality.

Nottingham Forest started to worry. What if they lost the match? What if they could not be promoted directly? Thinking about this, their actions became sluggish, they became distracted, and their rhythm was non-existent. Nothing was going well for them.

How could they possibly win like this?

They had forgotten everything that was told to them before the match. We have prepared for more than one month, and all the hard work and sweat we put in will be washed down the drain alongside this heavy rain?

Dammit!

Only the fans in the stands did not give up. They were still singing and clapping tirelessly, rooting for the team. Perhaps all of them believed in Tang En and his team, and felt that the score of 1:2 was merely a small setback before they ultimately achieved victory.

Our future is bright! We have to replace West Bromwich and advance directly to the Premier League! As for who will become the unlucky ones to be eliminated in the play-offs, that's not our concern!

The fans of the away team used singing to retaliate against the arrogant Nottingham Forest fans. Seeing that neither the match situation nor the match score were in Nottingham Forest's favor, they began singing gloatingly, "We're going to Premier League! West Bromwich! You're going nowhere, going nowhere!"

When the whistle signifying the end of the first half blew, the score was still 2:1, with West Bromwich in the lead.

Chapter 177: Of Course We Will Win Part 2

Since this was such an important match, it had been chosen to be broadcasted live to the entire country. Looking at the score, the commentator John Motson shook his head. "Tony Twain promoted the use of younger players, and this has benefited him many times. It has allowed Nottingham Forest to become more impactful and much better in terms of stamina, and gave it a much stronger fighting spirit. In return, he got his first championship trophy in his managerial career. However, he's paying the price for it now. At the most crucial moments, young players lack the experience to handle these kinds of situations. There is too much fluctuation in their mentalities. They're just not stable enough."

What he said was completely true. The youngsters were too emotional. Simply receiving a small praise could make them happy for a long time. On the contrary, the moment they were chided, they dared not make a sound.

As for the team's performance in the first half, Tang En was furious. From being arrogant, to overtly belittling their opponents, to getting tied up and becoming so nervous that they were at a loss for what to do… If they ended up losing the match because of that, Tang En might start banging his head against a wall.

In the Nottingham Forest changing room, it was evident that the players were also aware of their poor performance. When they returned to the changing room, they did not even dare to sigh loudly, and they sat down with their heads lowered.

A wave of footsteps could be heard from outside the door. That was the loud laughing sounds of their opponents, the excited West Bromwich players, who were passing by the Nottingham Forest changing room on the way to their own.

This noise worsened the feelings of the Nottingham Forest players. Whenever they recalled their performance during the first-half, they would feel ashamed of themselves. Before the match, they had felt that they were a great team, and that it was only natural for them to be promoted directly to the Premier League. What had happened?

Footsteps could be heard from afar, and they persisted until they stopped in front of the door.

There was no need for them to raise their heads to see who the approaching person was.

Tang En entered the room with a look of fury on his face. Seeing the silent players with their heads hung low, the fury in his chest did not lessen. After seeing the team's performance in the first-half, if Tang could resist scolding them, then he would have had an extremely good temper, a temper so good that it was beyond reason.

His hoarse voice resounded throughout the changing room, slowly and quietly. But everyone in the room could clearly feel his anger.

"Who remembers what we said before this? Do you need me to repeat myself? League One is not where we should be! Our goal is the Premier League! We need to face teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle! And teams from Europe! Not these lousy teams that are fooling around in League One! We set our sights much further and much higher! We are the team that will be participating in the UEFA Europa League next season! And now… now you all are about to lose to a League One team!" It was as though Tang En already completely considered his Nottingham Forest a Premier League team. "You guys are actually losing to West Bromwich! Hm? West Bromwich? Those idiots only managed to rank higher than us and flaunt in front of us because of dumb luck! You guys are actually about to lose to them?"

After he had finished shouting, Tang En slammed the changing room's left, slamming the door behind him. There was no need for him to deploy any tactics. The tactics for this match had been planned for an entire week prior to this; the problem did not lie with tactics.

The room door slammed shut with a "bam." The changing room regained its state of silence. Tang En's actions clearly showed how angry he was at that moment.

Tang En, who had walked out of the changing room, headed straight for the field and back to the technical area. The rain was still going on, but it was much lighter than it had been for the first-half.

Am I going to fail at the most crucial moment again? What's the difference between falling in front of the finish line and falling at the start line? For unsuccessful people, no matter how well you perform, you will still fail to succeed in the end. When you touch your chest and say "I did my best", are you really content? You really think that you can have a clear conscience? Do you really not feel shortness of breath or the slightest tinge of tightness in your chest? Why can't we be the ones making our opponents say "I did my best"? Why do we have to be the ones to say that?

Tang En sat in the technical area alone as he looked at that empty football field and the sparsely seated fans on the stands. One and a half years. He had been here for one and a half years. Thinking back, he could still vividly remember the many things he had experienced and the many people he had met over the past year and a half.

Since it was still raining, the majority of the fans in the stands had gone somewhere else to seek shelter from the rain. Those who were still defending their posts were the truly die-hard, fanatical Nottingham Forest fans. These people did not make up a large portion of the fan base, but their voices were the loudest. The songs sang to cheer up the team in the first half had mostly come from them.

Those people were assembled at the City Ground Stadium's north stands, which were near Trent River. They wore red Nottingham Forest jerseys, held Forest scarves in their hands, and continually sang and clapped with rhythm during halftime. They were not currently rooting for the team, because the players had all returned to the changing room already. They were probably only entertaining themselves.

Amidst the group of people, Tang En saw fatso John and skinny Bill's figures. He squinted to look carefully. It was definitely them. Their movements were very familiar, and they seemed to be the leaders of that group of people. This discovery diverted Tang En's attention. Tang En stood up and walked over, intending to ask John why they were still in the rain, instead of enjoying a glass of beer in the Stadium's restaurant.

Right when Tang En reached the North stands after walking through the rain, the fans discovered him too. They stopped their singing as they looked at the manager of the team. This was a man that had earned their respect through his actions.

"John! Bill! Why are you guys still here?" Tang En shouted from below. "It's half-time, why are you still singing?"

"Practicing, Tony! We're practicing!" John replied in a hoarse voice. These fans' throats were damaged the quickest, because they would sing and shout throughout the entire 90 minutes without any rest. As a result, lozenges were their standard equipment.

"Practicing? This is not a singing competition! Are you guys intending to compete with West Bromwich's people to see who sings better?"

"They can't hold a candle to us," Bill said in disdain. "We're practicing how we should destroy those West Bromwich bastards! On the stands!" His words got the support of everyone else, and a wave of boorish laughter sounds could be heard from the North stands.

Tang En could not hold it in either, and laughed. These fans, who always knew when to love and when to hate, were really very adorable.

Fatso suddenly thought of a question and asked, "Tony, it's half-time. What are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be in the changing room?"

Tang En shrugged his shoulders and said, "I've said everything that I needed to, so I'm out here to take a walk."

"Tony! What plans do you have after we get to Premier League?" This was probably what the fans were most concerned about.

"Who are you going to buy? Need my services as a football scout? My services are free; you don't have to spend a single cent to get a world-class football scout! The only remuneration I require would be to let the players sign an autograph for me every day."

"Enough of that, Steve. Stop bringing up those people from your games, I'm annoyed just from hearing about it!" John said as he picked at his ear, and the people around him started laughing.

"Actually, I think that that Rooney from Everton is really good! He will become a football superstar, Tony. Let's buy him!"

"No, I like AC Milan's Kaka! We should buy him!"

"Why not Beckham? Weren't the papers talking about the possibility of him returning to England?"

The fans tried to give Tang En various ideas, despite the fact that the players they were recommending weren't reliable. Tang En smiled and said, "Hey, hey, we're still behind. It's not confirmed that we can go to the Premier League."

"No!" This time, all the fans stopped their heated debate and answered Tang En in unison. "We can definitely win! Those scoundrels from West Bromwich can't stop us! Tony, are you hesitating? You don't believe we can win?"

A few hundred pairs of eyes stared at him. From this, Tang En felt that they placed a lot of anticipation and trust in him. Michael….Weren't you also like them in the past, watching my team and I from the stands? Gavin, what about you?

They looked at Tang En, but none of them dared to make a sound.

"Are you all waiting for my reply? That question is just too stupid," Tang En said, shaking his head.

Before he managed to finish his sentence, the Nottingham Forest fans on the North stands said together on his behalf, "Of course we will win!"

Chapter 178: The Red Forest Part 1

This was a truly hard-to-explain situation, as the fans were more confident of winning than the players on the field! They did not know what happened in the locker room. Despite the fact that the team was trailing behind, they still believed that the team would win.

Why was that?

It was probably because Twain's team had a series of outstanding performances, making the fans willing to believe that they could accomplish anything that was usually hard to do.

What will happen if the team let the fans down in this match?

No, we cannot lose, must not lose, and also, will not lose this game!

He turned and walked towards the locker room. He wanted to make up for the team's mistakes, before the start of the second half. He wanted to let them know how much these fans believed in them.

If we lose this game, how are we going to face the more than 20,000 Forest fans in the stands? Although they will still be in the stands, singing and clapping for us while braving the wind and rain, shouting "Come on, it's ok. We still have the play-offs" ... can we accept this trust and tolerance with a clear conscience?

But, when he marched back to the locker room, he almost got knocked down by the player who opened the door. Opening the door, the first person to come out from the inside was Ashley Young. When he saw Twain, he was a little surprised. But he quickly set his face and said very seriously to Twain, "Boss, rest assured! We're not going to let them go on a frenzy attack on us in the second half! You know... none of us wants to lose, either! We all want to go to the Premier League!"

"Yes, Boss! If you're still angry, watch our performance in the second half!" More and more players rushed out, speaking all at once.

"We're not going to lose to those West Bromwich Albion sons of bitches!"

Twain had not reacted yet, when Walker's voice rang out from inside, "Why are you still dawdling? Time to get on the field!"

These people hurriedly left the confused Twain, and ran towards the field. Twain looked at Walker, who quickly walked out from the room, then asked in puzzlement, "What's going on, Des?"

Walker smiled and said, "I told them you were very, very angry and very, very disappointed in them. I told them that almost everyone's transfer was personally decided by you. But, at the crucial moment, they had failed your expectations, instead ... and I scolded them as cowards who could not bear the pressure and burden of responsibility, so then their eyes all turned red!"

Looking at the man who was about to leave the team, Twain felt for the first time in the game that he was not his subordinate, but rather, was an excellent, dedicated assistant manager, his priceless and invaluable right-hand man.

"Thank you, Des."

"Why are you thanking me? This is my last game as an assistant manager in the Forest team. I don't want to leave with any regrets for myself." Walker shrugged, and then he looked back at the empty locker room, saying, "It's me who should say thank you, Tony. In the first half of the season, I repeatedly asked myself, 'Is there no chance to see the Forest team return to the top league again?' That period was a mess, and I couldn't convince myself to continue to stay. So, now, I thank you."

Twain patted him on the shoulder, then said, "Let's go, Des. We still have forty-five minutes left."

"Ok."

※※※

After the second half of the game restarted, it was still raining, and the ground was still wet and muddy. However, the mental state of the Forest players was completely different. Having overcome their psychological obstacles, they moved with ease, gradually unleashing their true strength.

And the leading West Bromwich Albion had evidently slackened at the City Ground. After fifteen minutes of the halftime interval, they entered the game state a lot later than the Forest team. From their frequent mistakes made during the Forest team's intense pressure, and their interception suffered after the start of the game, it was evident that they could not adapt to the sudden accelerated tempo of the Nottingham Forest team.

There were no talented or star players in West Bromwich Albion lineup. Thus, they depended on the team's overall combat skills. And Twain's Forest team had many talented young players.

The state of mind of these young players was unstable, and their psychological quality was not up to mark yet. These were their shortcomings. But, they also had their strengths, among which included that they were easily motivated, likely to break through their state of mind, and dares to reveal their personal abilities. And, sometimes their outstanding personal abilities could often change the course of the game, even determining the final outcome.

Ashley Young was the absolute main force of Nottingham Forest's right midfield in the second half of the season. With his swift-as-the-wind speed on the right wing and excellent personal skills, plus his fearless heart, he was a player greatly trusted by Twain. Although West Bromwich Albion specially arranged a close-marking tactic to deal with him, and they had successfully marked him in the first half, he was like a different player in the second half, when compared to the first half.

When a West Bromwich Albion player faced off with him one-on-one, he was not able to defend against him. That was, unless they had two or even three players at the same time, then they might be able to cut off the ball at his feet. He was quick as lightning on the right wing, threatening to breach his opponents' defense line repeatedly.

"The Forest team has put the path of their main offense on their right wing, Ashley Young, who has become the Forest team's most dynamic player in the second half! It looks like West Bromwich Albion's defense line cannot hold on any longer. Although the field is slippery, Ashley Young had at least three chances to successfully break through to the penalty area ..."

Motson spoke the truth. The West Bromwich Albion manager, Gary Megson, could no longer sit still. He decided to reassign a defender from the middle to help Neil Clement defend against that active Ashley Young.

Seeing this change, Twain finally had a smile on his face. This was a set of tactics that they had repeatedly rehearsed before the game. Ashley Young's efforts made their opponents think that the Forest team had focused its main offense on the right wing.

However, in fact, the hardworking Ashley Young was just faking the attack, nothing more. The Forest team's real killer move was a large-scale diversion tactic. When the opponent's defensive force was gradually attracted to the left, they would suddenly do a long pass in order to shift the football from the opponent's defensive line, from the left wing to the right wing, and then launch a quick attack that directly threatened the opponent's goal.

In order to do this, the team had to practice their long passes every day. Ashley Young and Kris Commons had to pass the ball back and forth from both wings of the field. They must be able to pass the ball while running, and the margin of error could not exceed four meters. Furthermore, they must try their bests to stop the ball from their teammate, with just three moves, and then dribble the ball to break through.

This tactic basically had not been played yet, because the Forest players' mentality was not right in the first half. Now, they could finally put it to use!

Kris Commons, who seemed to have been at a standstill on the other side for a long time, had nothing to do. Seeing this, his opponents slowly relaxed their vigilance.

Both West Bromwich Albion's left back, Neil Clement, and defensive midfielder, Ronnie Wallwork, had come up to press on and defend against Ashley Young. Not far from them, there was also the center back, Paul Robinson, waiting in the wings. In this way, the defensive formation between these two to three players in the wings was like a small cage, sealing off Ashley Young.

The fact had also proven this point. Ashley Young was unable to fully show his foot techniques on the slippery ground. He was a little inattentive, and his ball was intercepted. But the Forest fans were not worried about losing this ball, because after half a season, they knew that there was a moving wall in the Forest team midfield!

"West Bromwich Albion successfully intercepted the ball! They want a swift attack ... George Wood!!" Every time he called this name, Motson's voice would suddenly raise an octave in excitement, "Beautiful! Beautiful slide tackle!"

Wallwork had almost just turned around, when he saw that the Forest team's Number 33 had already turned his body sideways to slide across to shovel the football out in front of him past the sideline. The idea of a fast attack was immediately squashed.

West Bromwich Albion immediately tossed out the out-of-bounds ball, however, their ball was cut off by Wood's forward defense. Following which, he did not let the football stop at his feet. He quickly passed it to Ashley Young ahead. It looked like the Forest team was still playing on this side. Megson was not worried, as his players were still piled on this side. The opponents would not have any space for any action and coordination.

But... when he least expected it, Ashley Young, who had acted alone since the beginning of the second half till now, unexpectedly took a big swing of his leg, kicking the ball to the other side of the field!

"What a gorgeous and precise transfer! Kris Commons receives the ball, and West Bromwich Albion is completely without players on this side!"

Massive cheers erupted from the City Ground stands, as the fans' waiting was finally rewarded. This was, indeed, a great opportunity! Upon seeing this scene, Twain stood up in the technical area, raised his clenched fist, and leaned out his body, fully prepared to rush out and celebrate.

When the West Bromwich Albion players turned around and realized that there were no defenders in front of Commons, they chose to pull back the penalty area defense and let another midfielder, Andy Johnson go after the dribbling Commons. They wanted to prevent Commons from passing the ball. After all, if he were to directly shoot at the goal, the angle was not wide enough, and the probability of scoring was not as high as passing the ball towards the goal.

This was a conventional defense. But, obviously, Commons did not intend to do as they had envisioned. Instead, he dribbled for two more steps, and discovered that the opponent did not immediately press on, but instead retreated. So, Commons decided to make a risky attempt. He adjusted the football under his foot. In the drizzle, amidst the cries of the Forest fans, he suddenly shot the ball towards the goal outside the penalty area!

The ball looked a little high, and the West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Russell Hoult dared not disregard it. He jumped high into the air, and stretched his hands out, but did not touch the football!

The football suddenly fell behind him, then brushed the goalpost beam, before it flew into the net!

Chapter 179: The Red Forest Part 2

The City Ground, which was noisy just a moment ago, became silent at this moment, immediately followed by huge burst of loud cheers!

"What a great gooooal!! An unbelievable goal! Outside the penalty area, at a narrow angle, and made by Kris Commons! The young player, who had just joined the team during the winter, scored his fourth goal in Nottingham Forest. Beautiful!"

"Nottingham Forest has equalized the score! West Bromwich Albion has finally experienced the feeling of playing in an away game!"

What Motson said was right. For a long time, the West Bromwich Albion manager coach, Megson, thought he was at a home match. His impetuous and disorganized opponents simply posed no threat to his team. Once they had finished the game time, his team would be able to advance to the Premier League easily, and at that time, he would have a relaxing and happy vacation....

But, now! Kris Commons' astounding goal-in-one shot had pulled him back from his fantasies to the brutal reality: the game was not over, and it was not guaranteed that the team could advance to the Premier League. Thus, his happy holiday was just written on the planner for now.

The Forest players flocked in a frenzy towards Commons, who had just scored the goal. This is a great morale-boosting goal, not only because we have equalized the score, but more importantly, this shot was just too beautiful! Completely unexpected, just watch our opponents' dejected performance after this goal to see that!

You must have enjoyed the first half? Now, it's our turn to have some fun!

Tang En rushed out of the technical area, brandishing his fists. He had waited too long for this moment!

After scoring the goal, Commons did not seem so excited. He shouted in the crowd to his excited teammates, "Hold on, guys! This is just an equalizer! Have you forgotten what Boss said to us? We must win! Keep our eyes on that victory!" He waved his arm vigorously, "Let's have a few more!" Then, he broke free from his teammates' hugs and ran to West Bromwich Albion's goal. He then picked up the football from the net, and ran to the center circle, the ball in his arms. All the Forest players followed behind him.

With the score equalized, it was time for the Forest team's real performance!

※※※

Kris Commons equalized the score for the team, and Tang En made his first adjustment. He brought off a defensive midfielder, Gunnarsson, and brought on Rebrov, who had appeared less and less in the second half of the League Championship, due to physical strength reasons.

The team formation became a diamond-shaped midfield. Crouch and Eastwood were still in the front, and Rebrov came on as an attacking midfielder, to use his skills to create opportunities for his teammates. George Wood was the only defensive midfielder. Now, it was not just Twain, but the rest of the team that had completely trusted the kid. The two wingers were Ashley Young on the right wing, and Kris Commons, who scored the crucial goal on the left wing.

This was the Forest team's strongest attack lineup. Tang En held nothing back. He wanted to use offense to completely defeat their opponents, West Bromwich Albion. A tied game was meaningless to the Forest team. They could only overpower West Bromwich Albion with victory, and thus, rise to the second rank to qualify for a direct promotion to the Premier League.

They had to take advantage of the momentum of the goal scored just now, and win this game with this spurt of energy! They could not give their opponents a chance to breathe, nor let them have a chance to recover, so they had to crush them with a frenzied attack!

The appearance of Rebrov on the field further increased the Forest team's midfield control of the ball. This would further allow the two wingers, Commons and Ashley Young, to bring to bear their power and, at the same time, seek opportunities for coordinated attacks in the middle, as well as threaten the West Bromwich Albion goal with long shots. It was necessary to know that both Rebrov and Eastwood had good long shot skills.

The weather and the venue no longer affected the Forest players' playing. Their entire playing state was completely inspired by Commons' goal. No one would be able to stand in their way to stop them now.

In the 68th minute of the game, the Forest team's bombardment finally paid off. After three consecutive long shots did not manage to strike open the opponents' goal, Rebrov slightly changed the plan. He did not continue with a long shot after receiving the ball in the middle. Instead, after the opposing center back was diverted by Eastwood and Crouch, he suddenly made a cross, which Ashley Young quickly injected,, and it was not offsides!

"Don't let him shoot ..." Russell Hoult was not done shouting, when Ashley Young made a pass!

The football flew past between Hoult and the West Bromwich Albion full back, who rushed back to defend, but neither of them reached the ball. The best scenario for West Bromwich Albion was for the football to pass through this way, and since no one could reach it, to just let it roll out the sideline or the end line ...

However!

From the time Rebrov passed the football to that gap, a continuous roar rang out from the City Ground stands. The volume suddenly increased sharply at this moment, almost rivalling the sound of a supersonic jet taking off: "WHOOSH!!!"

"Eastwood!!!"

The unmarked Eastwood used all of his force to sweep the football into the empty goal, and the ball entered as expected, igniting everyone.

"We're in the lead! We're in the lead!" The Nottingham Forest radio commentator exclaimed. His excited voice traveled over the airwaves to all the Nottingham people, who were watching the game. When they heard the news, they all jumped, no matter what they were doing at the time.

"Nottingham Forest is leading against West Bromwich Albion at their home ground! They were still behind by 1:2 in the first half, and now, they are leading 3:2!" At the same time as Motson's commentary, the television screen displayed the latest league table: the Forest team with a two-point advantage pressed ahead of West Bromwich Albion, and became second in the League Championship, while West Bromwich Albion fell to the third in the League Championship!

"If the score stays to the end, then Nottingham Forest shall return to the Premier League after four years!"

At the same time, a song that raised the spirits of the Forest folks rang out from the North Stand: "When we are in the Premier League next season, where will you be? West Bromwich Albion, where will you be?" The lyrics had been changed from the same tune that the West Bromwich Albion fans had used in the first half, and now it had become a weapon that the Forest fans were using to taunt their opponents.

Sure enough, the West Bromwich Albion fans were silenced, when they heard the song.

When you mock us, this is the most powerful comeback!

Apparently, the Forest fans, like Manager Tony Twain now, liked to stab a knife into their opponents' heart, twist it, and then sprinkle salt into the wound. However, the 3:2 score did not guarantee the success of the Forest team, because West Bromwich Albion would only need to put effort into it, score another goal in the next 20 minutes, and that would make the Forest team's efforts come to naught, especially if the goal was scored during the injury stoppage time, then, there would not even be enough time to turn the situation around.

Consequently, at this point, Tang En was trying his hardest to yell at the players on the field, "Keep calm! Keep calm!" He pointed his hands at his temples, reminding the players to stay calm and not let their heads be turned by the situation before their eyes, "The game is not over yet!"

This was a critical moment, and they could not afford to be careless. Defense was always more difficult than offense, especially after they had just scored a goal. Because the players were too easily distracted, due to their over-excitement, to stay focused. They could ignore important things, such as a leak in their defense, the loss of a position, and so on.

Fortunately, among the excited crowd, George Wood, the Forest team's midfield protective barrier, was calm and steady as ever. He seemed to have been completely unaffected by the fervent atmosphere at the home ground, and just dutifully continued to do his job well.

The rest of the game was a test for the heart of anyone who supported Nottingham Forest. West Bromwich Albion, who had already fallen behind in both the score and the league table, was not resigned to lose this game just yet. They launched a series of attacks on the Forest team's goal, with each wave surpassing the previous wave, hoping to equalize the score as soon as possible, and thus, regain control.

But their efforts lasted only twelve minutes, before it was ended. At the 81st minute, when the game only had nine minutes left before the injury stoppage time began, the Forest team seized an opportunity, while the opponents were launching a large-scale and high-pressured offense, to equalize the score. Crouch scored a decisive goal, locking in their victory!

"4:2! The City Ground has gone crazy!"

The Forest fans in the stands surged to the front row, like the tide coming in, as if they would break through the gap between the police and billboards at any time, and rushed onto the field.

"The Forest team returns to the Premier League!" A voice roared out the heartfelt wish of all Nottingham Forest fans in the stadium broadcast.

"The West Bromwich Albion players just sank to the ground, as they can't believe the score ... Tony Twain's Forest team gets the last laugh again! There are still about ten minutes left in the game. Let's have a look at West Bromwich Albion now, they can't possibly turn the situation around with two consecutive goals, the Forest team will not give them such a good chance!"

This time, Tang En no longer asked his players to remain calm. The players on the field all rushed to, and piled up, at the sidelines, and the substitutes also flocked to join the celebrations. As for Tang En, he looked back at his partner, Des Walker, whose face was so wet that he could not make out whether it was the tears or the rain.

"Des, we've won. We're back!"

Walker pressed his lips together and nodded hard. He was speechless at this very moment.

※※※

The next day, the front-page headline of the latest publication of the was a large photograph of Tony Twain, surrounded by countless reporters, pointing at the camera. The headline above the photograph read:

"Young manager issued a declaration: English Premier League, we're back! The Red Forest is back in the European Championships!"

Chapter 180: The English Premier League’s Footsteps Part 1

The madness of celebrating Nottingham Forest's return to England's top league persisted for a full three days on the old streets of Nottingham City. The Town Hall Square in the middle of the city was overcrowded. In most of the media articles published, it was said that this once again made people recall the first time when Nottingham Forest had obtained the UEFA Europa League championship title in 1979. At that time, many people from Nottingham City had gone to receive the team, and the crowd extended all the way from Birmingham Airport to Nottingham. During the journey back to Nottingham City, the streets on both sides of the coach bus had been filled with Nottingham Forest fans.

Of course, Nottingham Forest, which had only obtained second place in League One, did not need such a parade. Doing so would be mere arrogance.

Despite this, Nottingham Forest still held a small celebratory dinner party on the night of the match. Evan Doughty fulfilled the promise that he had made, and treated all the players and staff to the most famous Chinese restaurant in Nottingham. At the dinner party, all rules disappeared and alcohol could be drank freely. Even if they got very drunk, nobody would blame them.

Evan Doughty was thrilled too, but he was the chairman of the club; with him around, nobody could enjoy themselves to the fullest. After realizing this, he simply congratulated the players and gave out the prize money that he had promised, before finding an excuse to leave. Of course, he had his own celebratory activity, but it was just that the people who were attending that event were completely different from these noisy players—it was a very small-scale dinner party, but everyone that should have gone, went. The guests were very well-dressed, and they carried themselves in a graceful manner. These people were perhaps not football fans, and their motive for attending was not to celebrate Nottingham Forest's return to the Premier League. Instead, there was something else much more attractive waiting for them.

After Evan and Allan left, Tang En took the lead, and they all acted crazily. He was forced to drink by at least fifteen people, and by the end of it, Tang En completely lost track of how many bottles of beer he had drank. In any case, the beer can in his hand never seemed to be empty. So when he woke up in bed the next day, his temple was throbbing with pain.

The rest of the day was filled with all kinds of congratulatory phone calls. There was a phone call from Yang Yan, and also from Kenny Burns. On the night of the match, he had dedicated his stomach to the team. Tonight, he would go to Forest Bar instead, to participate at the free event hosted by Burns, in order to celebrate Nottingham Forest's return to the English Premier League. At the same time, he had to thank the fans who had supported him and his team all that time.

In any case, it was yet another day of being hungover until late at night. Two consecutive days of drinking had caused his complexion to become pale, and as a result, his spirits were affected as well. He did not feel particularly excited, and felt slightly exhausted.

He was thinking about the team's last meeting of the season that would be held later in the morning, where he had to make a speech. He specifically spent half an hour showering in order to make himself look as unlike a drunkard as possible.

May 11 was a beautiful morning that had bright sunlight and a cosy breeze. With that weather, Tang En's spirits finally recovered.

This was probably the first time that Tang En had arrived later than the players. By the time he rushed over to the training field, there were already groups of players on the field, gathered together and chatting casually. This was not a training day, so naturally, no one had gone to the changing room to change into their training jerseys. They were wearing casual T-shirts and shorts, and not a single tinge of nervousness could be seen on their faces. Crouch was the most extreme; he brought a large leather suitcase to the training grounds, and wore a fanciful gridded top and shorts.

Tang En sized him up for a while, causing him to feel embarrassed. Only then did Tang En furrow his brow and mutter, "The heck, Peter. You must be in the wrong place. This is Wilford, not Hawaii."

Amidst the laughter in the background, Crouch said, "Boss… Actually, I bought a plane ticket to Barcelona at noon. I was thinking of going to Burmington Airport directly from here."

Tang En arced his eyebrows and continued. "In that case, I'll keep this short, or else you would miss your flight. If you missed your flight, you wouldn't be able to enjoy Spain's sunshine beach and nude beaches! Those passionate Spanish girls have already opened themselves up, and are all waiting for you, right? But if you don't get on the plane, all of that would be for nothing… You'd be pretty sad, wouldn't you, Peter?"

"No… That's not what I meant, Boss…" The awkward Crouch did not know how to explain, afraid that the manager was actually angry at him.

"Alright, I won't take up too much of your time. Compared to a middle aged man like me rattling on and on, naked Spanish girls are much more attractive, I know." Tang En purposely said it in a very disappointed tone, and the laughter sounds surrounding them became slightly softer; they already had lost the energy to laugh loudly. "Actually, you can interpret it as the jealousy of an old man, who couldn't even find a girlfriend till now…"

Right after he said this, Tang En himself started laughing, too. He could no longer keep up the stern look on his face, especially looking at Crouch's blushing.

"Is everyone here?" He swept his gaze across them, and Walker answered from the side cooperatively. "Everyone's here, Tony."

"Very good. In order not to delay the tall and handsome Mr. Peter Crouch's trip to Spain in search of love, let us begin." Hearing Tang En say this, everyone gathered around while laughing.

"The weather's great," Tang En said as he stood in the middle of the circle, squinting his eyes as he raised his head and looked at the sun in the sky. Standing beside him, Walker's hands were completely empty, not holding anything like a tactics board. "My mood is great too. I'm sure that when all of you woke up this morning, regardless of what the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was, or who was lying beside you, the first thing you did must have been checking your wallet and heaving a sigh of relief. 'Santa Maria, the prize money is still here!'"

Everyone burst out in laughter.

"I say lads, you guys finally don't have to worry about being punished for coming late to trainings. Even if you guys slept all the way till midnight, you still wouldn't receive the club's love call: 'Hello! Little baby, lazy bones, time to wake up! You're going to be late for school…'" Tang En titled his head, imitating the scene of a mother making a call. After which, he suddenly screamed. "No! You're already late, you naughty boy, what were you doing last night?!"

Another louder wave of laughter erupted. Ever since Tang En had returned to City Ground Stadium, he had made a series of rules restricting the players, and there was this rule amongst them: if a player was late for training by half an hour, the coaching staff would directly make a call to "convey their greetings," asking the player why he did not come for training.

After Tang En was finished with the joke, and those who had yet to fully wake up became more alert, he decided to move on to the more serious matters. He turned around and looked at the entire coaching team standing behind him, before saying to the players, "This season had a terrible first half, and a second half that I couldn't have asked for anything more from. To be able to attain such glorious results under such unfavourable circumstances… Well, I want to thank my coaching staff, thank the team doctor. Thank everyone who works for the team. Without your support, I would have not been able to lead the team towards victory."

Clapping erupted from both sides.

Chapter 181: The English Premier League’s Footsteps Part 2

"Des." Walker waved at Walker, signalling for him to come forward. "Shall you say a few words?"

Walker did not decline, and walked forward. As the assistant manager, he was the main executor of Tang En's plans during the daily trainings. All the plans devised by the coaching staff were executed by him. The other coaches were in charge of their respective training plans, and Walker was the person in command of all these people. Most of the time, he was fully in charge of all matters related to the team's trainings. Most of the time, Tang En would take his hands off the training-related matters once he confirmed the training plans.

"I…" Walker cleared his throat and continued, "I am very happy that I am able to bid farewell to everyone under this kind of situation. Very happy that in our last match, we won our opponents. You all made me see that moment, which I very much wanted to see once again. What I want to say is… no matter where I am, what I'm doing, I will never forget the second half of the 03-04 season for the rest of my life. As the manager that was able to lead all of you, I… feel proud from the bottom of my heart! You guys are the best players I have met, and the same can be said for the staff from the coaching team. You guys are the best colleagues I've ever met, and I thank all of you for the help and support you have rendered me all these years! Thank you!"

Another wave of claps and whistling exploded on site.

"Additionally! I would like to add on that…. Tony, is the best manager amongst all those that I've ever worked with! I'm not lying!"

This kind of raw, genius praise was accepted by Tang En happily. The players also showed their agreement with Walker's comment by whistling excitedly.

"Of course we know that Des doesn't lie…" As he walked up, Tang En smiled and said, "Just like him, I would like to thank all of you, lads. To be honest, the manager is a role that just moves his mouth outside the field. If not for your spectacular performance, we would also not be able to get this kind of results. Frankly speaking, the difficulties of some trainings would have made me raise my hand and surrender a long time if I were in your shoes. But you guys persisted, and what was your reward?"

"Champions! Victory!" Everyone answered in unison. This had already become a kind of mentality Tang En had infused into the players: He, Tony Twain, existed for the sake of pursuing victory and championship titles, and his team would also work hard towards this goal.

"Looks like you guys haven't got carried away from the victory." Tang En clapped his hands and continued, "That's right. We attained the qualifications to be promoted directly to the Premier League, and you guys will have an additional two weeks of holidays. Look, what a beautiful thing. I'm very happy that you guys didn't give up at any point in time, and didn't give up on this idea. I also feel extremely proud for being able to coach all of you, for winning the EFL Cup championship title and for our promotion to the Premier League! You guys are not one of the best! You guys are the best! Of course, me too…"

"Hahahaha!" Everyone started laughing.

"That's all the nonsense that I'm going to say. We've worked hard for one entire season, so just enjoy this holiday to the fullest. Wish all of you an enjoyable one! Dismissed!"

When Tang En passed down the order to dismiss, the players did not turn around and leave immediately. Instead, they lined up to hug Walker, who was about to leave the team.

At that moment, this assistant manager who was extremely strict during trainings fully experienced the players' respect for him.

Tang En quietly stood at the side as he witnessed everything, unable to hide the smile on his face.

After waiting for everything to end, when everyone that should have left was gone, Walker looked at and said to Tang En, who was still standing beside him, "Tony, you said you wanted to give me the best farewell, and you did it. Thank you…"

Tang En shook his head and replied, "No, 'we' did it. You think I could have achieved this on my own?"

Walker smiled, but did not answer his question.

"Actually, I really want you to stay. You've help me with a lot, a lot of things….Still remember the first match I directed here?"

Walker nodded his head.

"I asked Fleming who you were, and I made you direct the match on behalf of me… Thinking back now, it is really hilarious." Tang En started laughing and continued, "In the blink of an eye, one and a half years have passed since then. Time really flies. The only people left from those drinking sessions are Kenny and me."

"Tony, the times I've spent with you were my best times at Nottingham Forest. I spent the last year of my professional career here, hoping that I could do something for the relegated Nottingham Forest. Now, I'm very happy, because I've finally accomplished it. I think…when I go over to Hereford and tell Ian about what happened in the second half of this season, he will definitely be extremely envious of me."

Walker laughed, and Tang En laughed foolishly as well. He did not know what more he could say at this moment.

"Very sorry Tony, I can't go with you to the Premier League. But I think you need an assistant better than me. After all, it's a completely different world there compared to the League One. My abilities are still not up to par with requests on a higher level than this.

"No, Des, you are great! I mean it…"

"Goodbye, Tony. And I wish you good luck." Walker waved his hand and interrupted Tang En's sentence, before turning around and leaving the training field which was only left with the two of them.

"….I wish you good luck too, Des." Tang En murmured as he watched Walker's back.

The wind blowing from the northern Sherwood Forest stirred up the fragrance of the training field's green grace and the smell of the soil. That, was the smell of the start of summer. The forest in the distant made swishing noises, but it returned back to a state of quietness very soon. Tang En turned around to look at the empty training grounds. The silhouette of Walker shouting and scolding loudly on the training grounds in the past was fading away slowly. Wilford, which had been bustling for the past ten months, had finally quietened down. One month later, this place would once again become bustling once again. The days of sweating it out for the victory of every match on this training grounds repeated time and again, and it had gone on for many years. Each year, some people would leave while some new people would join. And Des Walker's figure would cease to appear here from this year's summer onwards.

One season had passed, and another season was slowly approaching.

When the sounds of the wind stopped, the branches stopped swaying. Tang En listened attentively, and he could even hear the footsteps of the new season. It sounded increasingly heavier, as it inched nearer towards them from afar.

One year later, he finally did not pass by and miss those footsteps narrowly again.

※※※

Those who should have left had done so, and those going on a vacation… had already left after rallying their friends. Tang En walked home alone, and took the opportunity to seriously consider how he was going to spend this holiday.

During last year's holiday, because they lost their matches, Tang En had been uninterested in entertainment for a long period of time. It was not easy for his mood to finally improve slightly, before he ended up meeting a troublesome young girl during the last few days of his holiday. This caused his hard-to-come-by holiday to become very fragmented. Now that he had finally gotten a holiday that nobody would interrupt, what was he going to do?

Learn from Crouch and search for passionate Spanish girls on the Iberian Peninsula beaches, and experience a romantic one-night stand in a foreign land?

It seemed like a pretty good idea…but he definitely could not be seen by Crouch.

With his head lowered, Tang En walked and when he reached his house, he finally snapped out of his own fantasy world as he whipped out his keys and prepared to open the door. It was at this moment, that he suddenly heard a voice from behind that sounded familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. "Uncle Tony."

This voice appeared to be from the distant Brazil, but it did not sound too distinct after travelling from a distant place…. It pierced through Tang En's body, causing his hand which was holding on to the keys to stop right in front of the keyhole. It was only after he was stunned for a while, before he suddenly turned around.

He looked at that girl with a ponytail standing under the bright sunlight, wearing a T-shirt and jeans while carrying a large sports bag and smiling at him very happily. It was Jude Shania Jordana.

Chapter 182: The Free Babysitter Part 1

Shania, whom he had once lived with for over ten days, who had ran over to Spain from England, whom he had secretly considered taking in, was currently standing in front of him and smiling with both hands behind her back. She was very happy that she had been able to shock Tang En.

It was as though all of his memories from last summer had been blown past his eyes; he almost did not dare to believe what he was seeing.

"What's going on? Did we go back in time?" He furrowed his brows and muttered, before immediately nodding his head. "That's right, I know... Of course I know how to get to Branford Garden Street 13. Are you looking for your aunt?

Shania giggled and said, "No, I'm looking for Uncle Tony. Is he not in?"

Tang En rolled his eyes, before opening the door at a lightning fast speed, rushing into the house, and closing the door. Afterwards, he immediately opened the door again and snuck his head out to take a peak. That was when Tang En saw Shania and said to her, "I heard that a young girl was looking for me? Ah! Look who's here!" He opened the door and walked out of the house with his arms spread wide. "Shania! Why did you come here?"

Tang En's exaggerated body language and expressions made it seem as though he was acting in a play. The sight caused Shania to giggle uncontrollably.

"You didn't run away from home again, did you? You're a bad kid…"

Shania pouted. "I didn't. They approved my visit to England this time. And I didn't come here just for a vacation. I might be staying in England for a long time this time.

"Hm?" Tang En felt slight bewildered, and sought further clarification.

"Because they're both very busy with their work, they feel that they don't have the time and energy to take care of me. Hence, they decided to send me to my aunt's house in England, and I'll be attending school here…"

"You're planning to quit modelling?"

"I'm still continuing. There are models in both England and Brazil… It's the same everywhere." Shania shrugged. The moment they talked about models, her excitement level dropped drastically. She quickly changed to another conversation topic. "I went to my aunt's house at Newcastle first, before coming here. Because of my good performance, I have an entire summer to plan! This time, I want to stay at your place for free, and then we can go to Spain to play. But I don't want to go to some football field this time…"

The moment she mentioned playing, Shania's excitement level rose back up again.

However, Tang En became anxious instead after hearing about it. With Shania by his side, his plan to have a one-night stand at Spain's nude beach would have to be called off. He couldn't possibly flirt with a half-naked girl in front of a child, right? That was simply unimaginable.

"Um… Come on in first. Of course I won't collect money from you. You can stay for as long as you want. After all, the house is pretty empty with me being the only person living here." After welcoming Shania in, Tang En took the bag from her hand. The bag was not as heavy as he had thought it would be. It most likely had clothes and toys inside.

Upon entering the room, Shania abandoned Tang En and ran upstairs. The thumping of her footsteps resounded over Tang En's head. Afterwards, he heard Shania shout loudly, "Totoro!"

Tang En, who was downstairs, started to smile. He had kept that toy all the while, leaving it in the room that Shania had once stayed in. The furniture and decoration of that room remained untouched. Aside from the weekly cleaning by the cleaners that he had hired, even Tang En himself rarely entered the room.

The thumping footsteps resounded again. This time, Shania came running down the stairs while hugging Totoro. She said happily to Tang En, "I thought you'd have thrown it away, Uncle Tony!"

Tang En scratched his head and replied, "Why would I do that… It doesn't even take up much space. Plus, I personally don't have a habit of throwing things away. But I do have a bad habit of picking up things that I see on the street, such as you…" Tang En said with a frown on his face, as he pointed at Shania.

Shania hid behind Totoro, leaving only her eyes exposed as she looked at Tang En timidly.

He did not know why, but whenever Shania looked at him like that, Tang En's heart would suddenly tighten its grip, and an inexplicable feeling would come over him.

Seeing Tang En suddenly staring at her dazedly, Shania slowly shifted Totoro upwards until it completely covered her face. Afterwards, she started to imitate the sound which Totoro made in the cartoon. "Uwaaa Uwaaa..."

After he had snapped out of it, Tang En saw Shania and laughed embarrassedly. "How long will you be staying in England for?"

"I don't know, maybe two years, or maybe I'll just stay here forever!" Shania said as she hid behind Totoro.

After hearing her reply, Tang En muttered, "That would be really good…" What was so good about it? He could not put it into words.

A short moment of silence suddenly enveloped the room; neither of them uttered a word.

"Um, are you tired?" Tang En was slightly at a loss for what to say. Shania's arrival had surprised him. After his initial excitement, it was apparent that he was somewhat unprepared for it.

"I'm not tired." Shania turned around and ran up the stairs again. It was highly likely that she had returned to her room to unpack her bag. Tang En seized that opportunity to sit in the living room as he wondered about how he was going to spend the holiday. It was apparent that Shania would definitely be with him during the holiday, so Spain was out of the question. The plan of going to Italy or other countries to visit their football fields was impossible too. Last summer, upon returning from Spain, Tang En had only had the chance to reflect on his actions after Shania left. He realized that he only cared about himself at that moment, and had completely overlooked Shania's feelings. She had originally wanted to play with Tang En, and it was not her intentions to become someone to be compared against.

But he really did not have any experience dealing with kids… What was he supposed to do with a young teenage girl beside him?

While Tang En was still deep in thought and had not had any ideas at all, Shania walked down the stairs with a phone in her hand.

"My dad wants to speak with you."

Tang En received the phone, and the sound of a man's polite voice came from the other end. "Hello, Mr Twain? This is Shania's father. I'm so sorry that she's troubling you again."

What ensued was just some idle chatter. In short, her father was saying that his daughter was rather mischievous, and that he hoped she wouldn't cause Tang En too much trouble.

After hanging up, Tang En looked at Shania and said, "I feel like I've become your free babysitter."

Shania smiled. "You mean sugar daddy!"

Tang En raised his hands and made a knocking gesture towards her head. "I'm not one of those old men who curry favor with girls by buying expensive gifts."

Shania raised the Totoro soft toy high in the air, until it completely blocked her face. Afterwards, she shouted excitedly, "This is the proof!"

Tang En shrugged his shoulders. "But it is not valuable."

"No!" Shania shouted. "This is very valuable to me!"

This girl… Tang En did not continue to debate with her on the matter. "Hmm, Shania… I don't think we can go to Spain anymore."

"Why?" She replied dejectedly.

Even Tang En could not quite explain the specific reason for it. Perhaps it was because going to the same place for two consecutive trips would bore him. However, he could not say that to Shania. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he thought of a rather ingenious idea. "Because I thought of an even better place than Spain."

"And where is that?"

"China!" Tang En had decided to secretly pay a visit to his parents from his past life, and at the same time show Shania around to appreciate China's scenery. Sichuan Province had beautiful scenery, and was definitely a good place for them to spend their holidays touring.

Shania's reaction was beyond Tang En's expectations; she was very happy, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Awesome! I've been wanting to go since forever!"

"Ah?"

"Because I'm of a Chinese descent! People say that I look like an Easterner all the time!"

"Resembling one doesn't necessarily mean that you're of Chinese descent…"

It would have to be such a distant Chinese descent that by the time it reached Shania's generation, there would be nothing much left to speak of. Aside from her facial features and her eyes still retaining some semblance of it, no matter which direction one looked from, they would not be able relate her to China.

However, this additional connection instantly made Tang En feel much closer to Shania. Even though he was currently British, that did not prevent him from taking a liking to everything related to China. After all, he was still Chinese through and through.

"That's right. I was worried that you wouldn't be willing to travel to somewhere that far." Tang En started to call the airline company, making reservations for flights flying from London to Hong Kong in two days.

Shania laughed from the side as she watched Tang En make the call. It seemed like she was looking forward to the trip. Tang En stole a glance at her and thought, "What a small kid..." She was just like Tang En when he was young. Whenever he heard that they were going to the city market, Tang En would become elated. As long as he could leave his house and go to an unfamiliar environment, he would be thrilled.

Although Shania had the height of an adult female, she was still a fourteen year-old girl. She still liked things that girls her age liked, and hated things that they hated.

Tang En had not expected that his soft-heartedness in the heat of the moment would have caused him to become a free baby sitter. But Tang En liked taking care of kids like her. That's right, he liked it a lot!

That night, the two of them went to the Chinese restaurant where the team had gone the other day to celebrate their promotion to the Premier League. Tang En told Shania that it was called a "welcoming dinner" in China, a formal dinner hosted to welcome guests that had come from afar. At the dining table, Tang En took the opportunity to explain some China-related things to Shania: China's food and drink, China's local customs, the etiquette and taboos in China…Tang En regarded this as a cultural lesson that would be her tuition before they went China.

It was evident that Tang En, who had drank some red wine, had gotten a little too excited; he spoke much more than he usually did. He even started talking about the gimmicks he employed in the Cardiff Millennium stadium, causing Shania to laugh uncontrollably.

Tang En was surprised to find that the sight of Shania chuckling at the table had caused him to be a great sense of accomplishment. The feeling was actually comparable to the feeling of leading the team and winning a match!

Tang En scratched his head, thinking that he perhaps had had a drink too many.

Chapter 183: The Free Babysitter Part 2

The two of them returned home excitedly, and Shania insisted on watching television right after she got there. Now that Tang En was her babysitter, Shania's demands had to be met as soon as possible. Tang En obediently switched on the television, but before anything showed up on the screen, he could hear Lineker's familiar voice coming from it. "I think that the viewers seated in front of the television today must have waited a very long time for this week's episode!"

The famous gentleman from the English football circle raised his voice as though he was not hosting a football program, but instead commentating live at a match.

After that, Tang En heard whistling sounds, which were soon followed by Alan Hansen's excited reply. "That's right! We've waited for far too long!"

The television finally displayed something. Lineker looked the same as he always did, but Alan Hansen, who was beside him, looked much more dramatic. He held a small red flag in his hands, which he waved around excitedly. Meanwhile, Mark Lawrenson sat in between the two of them with his head lowered. In front of him was a brand new electric shaver, with its packaging still intact.

Seeing this, Tang En completely forgot about Shania's request to watch cartoons. Instead, his eyes fixated onto the screen and he started giggling. Alan Hansen is right, I've also waited a long time for this!

Seeing Tang En smiling in such a sinister way, Shania's curiosity was piqued. She squeezed forward, intending to see exactly what had made Uncle Tony so happy.

Lineker pointed towards the shaver on the table, and said with a sinister smile, "When trying to decide whether an electric or manual shaver should be used, we did a ballot; Mark luckily got the faster and more convenient option, the electric shaver. Although we express our deepest regrets towards this, we cannot do anything but accept it. It's just like a match. Once it ends, even if people have doubts, the score doesn't change. Therefore, Mark, what I want to say is… After the program today, please remember to buy a lottery ticket. Your luck is simply too good! Come, let's first give the shaver a close-up. It is, after all, the star of today's program."

The cameraman obediently closed in, and gave a close-up shot of the electric shaver that lasted for a full thirty seconds. The shaver's exterior design had been displayed from all angles, just like a product that was on sale. It was so clear that even the brand could be seen distinctly. At the same time, a banner ad appeared at the bottom of the screen: Gillette—men's choice!

After seeing this, Tang En, who was seated in front of the television, finally could not hold it in any longer, and burst out laughing.

There were also others laughing together with Tang En: Lineker, Alan Hansen, as well as the Nottingham Forest fans and countless other viewers who were seated in front of the television at that very moment.

"Thank you, Gillette, for your special sponsorship of this event. After the program, the electric shaver that they specifically provided will be put up for auction. Viewers can start calling the number 0911114400 or send an SMS to bid for the shaver. All these years, after retiring from his professional football career, Mark Lawrenson has always appeared in front of us with that huge moustache of his…" The television screen displayed an image of what Lawrenson had looked like when he was still playing for Liverpool. The big moustache above his lips was extremely eye-catching. "I believe that everyone must be tired of seeing him that way, right? Let's interview Lawrenson's teammate in Liverpool, Alan Hansen, and see what his view on it is."

The camera turned towards Hansen, and he answered the question with a mock-serious expression on his face. "Hmm, that's right… because the team had too many big moustaches, like Souness… we often got them mixed up. When you see a big moustache walking towards you from afar, and you wave to him and greet him saying, 'Hey, Mark! How was your night?,' and you discover that that person was actually Graeme Souness… do you know how awkward that is?"

Lineker was already laughing at the table, with Mark Lawrenson, one of the main characters, seated between them. Tang En felt sure that he was extremely nervous right now, but as the victor of the bet, Tang En was thrilled to see what was happening.

Shania did not understand why Tang En was so interested in a man's moustache, so Tang En explained the bet between Lawrenson and him. After finishing the story, Shania was very excited. Shouting, "Uncle Tony, you really are evil," Shania watched the television attentively, looking forward to seeing Lawrenson shave off his own moustache.

After finishing their joke about Lawrenson, Lineker whipped out a glove from nowhere, as though he was performing magic, and put on the pair of white gloves. Afterwards, he solemnly tore open the shaver's packaging. Meanwhile, Lawrenson, who was by his side, had steeled his resolve long ago, and was quietly awaiting his fate.

When the packaging for the shaver had been torn open, Lineker quickly installed the batteries. After switching it on, the camera did another close-up shot.

"Please pay close attention. This is a real Gillette electric shaver. The blades are smooth and sharp, and it is very safe. It has a comprehensive design that is compatible with human ergonomics… This is definitely not a movie prop, and you can buy it at any store. But the shaver that shaved off Mr. Mark Lawrenson's moustache is one-of-a-kind, and is therefore very valuable as a collector's item! What are you waiting for? Why are you hesitating? Call now to place your order through the phone… Let the auction begin!"

All of the viewers seated in front of the television fixed their eyes on the screen. They saw Lawrenson hesitate after receiving the shaver, before slowly extending it towards the area slightly above his lips. Lineker, who was by the side, thoughtfully raised the mirror in front of Lawrenson, while Alan Hansen cheered from the side.

This sight was extremely comical; Shania was rolling around on the on the sofa, laughing uncontrollably. Although Tang En also laughed very loudly, his eyes never left the television screen at any point.

When the shaver got in contact with Lawrenson's moustache, the television started playing "Time to Say Goodbye," the classic song sung by the blind Italian singer, Andrea Bocelli, and the famous high-pitched singer Sarah Brightman. This caused the atmosphere to reach its climax. This was a classic song, and amidst the two world class singers' melodious voices, Mark Lawrenson's stern and solemn expression actually created a strange feeling in the viewers' hearts—it was a comical feeling born of the incompatibility between the solemn atmosphere and the theme of the program.

At that time, all the viewers seated in front of their television to watch this week's episode of Match of the Day were laughing uncontrollably—of course, Tang En and Shania were no exception.

Tang En laughed so hard that there were tears in his eyes. As he wiped away the tears, Tang En said, "I will always love this song, from now on!"

At the same time, the bottom of the screen also displayed the auction figures bid by the viewers. From the original bid of five pounds, the highest bid had already risen to three figures — the newest bid was 141 pounds. For an electric shaver, this was already a ridiculous price, so the number did not change for a long time.

Shania realized that, and gave Tang En a playful suggestion. "Uncle Tony? Why not buy it as a memento?"

Tang En froze for a while, before smiling and saying, "That's a great idea!" He whipped out his phone and called the hotline. After doing as he was told, the system informed him to enter his bid amount.

Here, Tang En hesitated for a while, before decisively entering his bid: 3,000 pounds!

For an electric shaver, a bid of 3,000 pounds was almost inconceivable! But Tang En felt that it was worth it. This was like spoils of war that he had obtained by defeating his enemies. It was something that no amount of money could buy. What if he gave an amount that was too low, and got out-bid by someone else? He did not know whether he would be allowed to re-bid. What if it was an auction that only allowed each person to bid once, in order to prevent acts of mischief that would drive up the price?

After putting all of this into consideration, Tang En decided that he might as well offer a high price right from the start, to make others back off from the auction. Moreover, as long as it was something that he liked, he did not care how much money he spent on it. Even if Tang En had money, happiness was something that was difficult to buy.

The auction price would refresh and appear at the bottom of the screen once every ten minutes. Ever since the 3,000-pound bid came out, the price that flashed across each time remained the same. This persisted all the way until the program ended, and there were no further changes to the price.

After Lawrenson had kept his word and shaved off his moustache, Lineker and Alan Hansen praised his new look all the way until the program ended. Truth be told, Tang En also felt that Lawrenson looked much more spirited and stylish after shaving his moustache.

Match of the Day had been over for less than ten minutes before Tang En received a phone call from the program staff to confirm his bidding details, as well as to obtain his contact details and address. Once he had paid for the shaver, they would mail it out to him.

On the other end, the three people who had just finished the program sat in the studio, chatting as they packed up.

"Mark, I'm not joking, I'm saying this completely seriously: you look much more handsome with your moustache shaved!" Lineker said with a smile.

Lawrenson looked at his own reflection in the mirror, before picking his eyebrows and replying, "Perhaps."

Alan Hansen listened to his headphones carefully, before taking them off and saying to his two partners, "The news just came in that we have just broken the highest viewership record for this week, across the five stations' programs in the same time slot. Mark, beautifully done!

Everyone started laughing.

"And one more piece of news… Do you all know who the person who won the auction for the shaver was?"

Lineker shrugged his shoulders and said, "It couldn't be Tony Twain, could it?"

Alan Hansen nodded his head and said, "Gary, you are spot on. It was him! Our editor just contacted the winner of the auction for his contact details and name: Midlands County, Wilford district, Branford Gardens, Street thirteen, and his name is Tony Twain. Three thousand pounds, payment received."

Lineker and Lawrenson both looked at each other with immense shock written all over their faces.

Hansen was very satisfied with their display today, and he said with a laugh, "Seems like we really will have more interesting things happening in next season's Premier League."

Chapter 184: The Flow of Time on the Other Side Part 1

When Tang En stepped on the floor of the terminal building of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan, he was somewhat moved. No matter what skin color he was on the outside now, he was still made in China on the inside. At this moment... could he also be considered as returning to his hometown?

This feeling was truly inexplicable. After the mysterious transmigration, he used a brand-new identity to return to Chengdu, Sichuan, China in 2004. When he was chatting with a pretty stewardess on the plane, with a proficient and completely unaccented Mandarin, it caught the attention of many passengers on the plane. Even Shania, who was sitting next to him, looked at Twain with an expression of astonishment and admiration. After all, she did not think that Twain could speak fluent Mandarin.

Tang En was secretly pleased. I haven't even started speaking in my fluent Sichuan dialect!

Coming out of the airport, Twain pulled along the similarly striking Shania to the cab stand, in order to wait in line for a cab. Next to them, an airport staff suggested to them, in stumbling English, to take the airport bus instead. Twain politely declined his kind suggestion in Mandarin, and headed straight to a cab.

Every time he had taken the airport bus, he did not know which places the bus would go. Hence, it was much more convenient to take a cab, state a destination, and go straight to it.

Seeing that they were not only foreigners, but were an older person and a younger person, a man and a woman, and even a beauty at that ... The cab driver was full of warmth towards them, and helped them put their luggage in the trunk. The airport staff member, who had advised them to take the airport bus, registered Twain's destination of their trip, and then waved them off.

"Shifu, Sichuan Hotel." Twain spoke confidently, as if he was familiar with the area. But, in fact, he knew very little of the hotels in Chengdu. In the vicinity of Chunxi Road, where he shopped and watched pretty girls, he would always see the Sichuan Hotel, and would even flag down cabs there. It was one of the few hotels that he had any impression of.

When he heard Twain state the destination in Mandarin, the cab driver looked back at him in surprise. Twain smiled at him, then opened his mouth to say something that made the driver even more shocked, "I'm also from Sichuan. Drive, Shifu." He now spoke with a Sichuanese accent.

The driver dumbly turned his head back, then dutifully started the car. Pleased with himself, Twain turned to Shania, and gave her a wink.

Although she did not understand what Twain had said just now, Shania could still comprehend a little from the driver's face, and his subsequent reaction, to understand enough. She buried her face in her Totoro soft toy, which was always with her, and giggled.

It was a smooth ride along the way, perhaps because Twain had immediately shown his hand to curb the driver. There were no detours, and no taking of the long route. When they reached their destination, the price on the meter was reasonable. Twain paid the fare, and also gave a tip. Then Twain alighted the cab with Shania. Immediately, there was a bell boy there to help them with their luggage and lead the way.

To tell the truth ... If it weren't for the bell boy's cues, Tang En would not have known where to go. He had not been to the hotel before, and as such, would not know where to go to book rooms, or any other procedure.

The bell boy took them to the front desk, and Twain gave the customary, usual tip. He then looked at the front desk service staff, smiling warmly, and started to worry, wondering in his mind about how he should book the rooms.

He was a man, and Shania was a female. Males and females were quite different. They should book two rooms. But... why did he feel somewhat reluctant to go according to this plan? For two people to stay in two standard rooms, it feels empty and cheerless, plus, it's extravagant and expensive ... and, if something happens, it's inconvenient to have to go out and look for each other.

Seeing that Twain still had not spoken, the front desk service lady asked in English, "What can I do for you, sir?"

Twain frowned, "You can speak Mandarin, as I can understand it."

Seeing the pretty lady's expression, Shania buried her face in her Totoro soft toy, and laughed. Shania's giggle reminded Twain that he was being a little impolite. So, he immediately smiled at the lady, and said, "Sorry. I can speak and understand Mandarin, so it's not a problem at all. Well, I would like to book ..."

Perhaps she was charmed by the adorable Shania, or she wanted to please the foreign guests, but the young front desk lady looked at Shania, and smiled, saying, "It's okay, sir. Is this your daughter? She's really beautiful! Would you like to book a room for the both of you?"

This was a timely question, and Twain went along with it, agreeing readily, "Yes, one room ... We need a room." He looked back at Shania. She had no interest in the conversation, especially since she did not understand Mandarin. She was just looking around curiously, watching people coming and going in the lobby. Most people were yellow-skinned and black-haired Chinese. Apart from the different skin tones, she felt that these people were similar to her.

Although she was part-Chinese, she did not understand their language at all, so it was like they were from two completely different worlds. When she saw how Twain was communicating fluently in Mandarin with the other people, Shania frowned. She also wanted to learn Mandarin, so at least she would not have a feeling of being excluded at this time.

After Twain finished paying at the front desk, the attendant took them to their room. Shania did not raise any objections to the arrangement of sharing a room. Twain was still a little nervous, however. He only gradually felt more at ease, when he saw that Shania did not have any reaction to it.

To tell the truth, although Shania was still a child, besides having a small chest, she looked no different from other twenty-something year old girls in other aspects. When Shania was staying at his place, they would not be sleeping in the same room... But now at the hotel ...

He gave the attendant a tip, and sent away the young lad, who had showed a keen interest in Shania. Twain pointed to the bathroom, "You can use the shower first, Shania."

Shania went ahead. Later, Tang En listened to the sound of water coming from the bathroom, and his thoughts gradually drifted.

To be honest, he did not quite understand why Shania liked to hang out with him. She had just arrived in England, after briefly visited her auntie in Newcastle first, and had then come to Nottingham to look for him.

Tang En admitted that he was also delighted the moment he saw her. There was something likeable about this child, although he could not specifically explain why. Anyhow, when he was hanging out with Shania, he did not feel bothered. Instead, he was rather comfortable. If he was not in a good mood, he could not help but have a smile on his face, when he looked at the vivacious Shania. She had a joyful spirit, and maybe that was the reason.

"I'm done, Uncle Tony!" Shania walked out of the bathroom, as she dried her hair with a towel. Tang En glanced at her, and suddenly, everything swam before his eyes.

She was wearing a yellow strappy camisole top, which showed her collarbones and slender delicate neck ... and she paired it with a very short pair of jeans, which was an outfit that was a bit too revealing for the situation, Tang En felt, his heartbeat quickening as he thought of this.

Chapter 185: The Flow of Time on the Other Side Part 2

He grabbed his change of clothes in a haste, and hurried into the bathroom, "I'll also have a shower ..." Fortunately, Shania's focus was on her hair, and she did not notice Twain's gruff, harried manner.

In the bathroom, Tang En turned on the cold water, and then stood under the shower nozzle and gave himself a slap in the face ... Damn it, she's just a 14-year-old kid, this may not be an appropriate situation!

To distract himself from this possible snafu on his part, Tang En began to recite the technical and tactical analysis handbook of the FIFA's 2002 World Cup. He then further diverted himself by thinking about who he should add to his transfer-in list for the new season, and who would be transferred out on the list ...

When the list became clearer in his mind, he had calmed, and decided all would be fine. Not knowing how long he had been in the shower, Tang En came out to find Shania all curled up and fast asleep. He stepped forward and covered her with a thin blanket. Then he went to the window. It was still currently in the afternoon.

The Chengdu skies were still grey, the same as they had been in 2007. Four seasons a year, with more rainy and cloudy days, it would almost rain every night in the summer, whether it be heavy or light. Tang En liked this kind of weather very much. Although the winter was cold and damp, the weather in Chengdu would turn lovely, when the sun did come out.

If there was such weather on the weekends in winter, he would sit in the warm sun, brew a pot of tea, and read a book. It was a leisurely and carefree way to spend a day.

Although Nottingham was nice, Sichuan was the place where he lived for more than twenty years. He stood in front of the window on the twenty-third floor, and looked at the endless flow of traffic and crowds on Shudu Avenue. Everything felt extremely familiar.

※※※

Tang En's plan was first to bring Shania on a sightseeing tour within Chengdu and its surroundings for a few days, and then travel along the way to the south, to his hometown, and then, from his hometown to Kunming, to Dali, Yunnan, and then fly to Hong Kong en route to returning to England.

Shania was very interested in everything about China, which made Tang En very happy, because, originally, the suggestion to come to China was out of his own selfish interests. Thus, if Shania was unhappy, he would also feel guilty.

Tang En took her to Wenshufang to watch Li Boqing perform his Sanda Pingshu style of storytelling. Although Shania did not understand anything, she could appreciate that kind of traditional atmosphere. And she liked to touch the wood carving of the Maitreya Buddha at the entrance.

Also, since they were in Sichuan, then food was a must in the plan. There were more than enough snacks and street food to satisfy Shania. She told Twain, while training to be a model, that her dietary requirements were very strict, in order to maintain her physique. So, she always felt that she did not eat enough to feel full, but there was no other way.

When Tang En heard this, he finally understood why Shania liked to hang out with him. With him, she could be free to relax, and eat whatever she wanted to eat. Her modeling coach was not beside her with endless criticism. Occasionally, he just had to look stern, and she would immediately obey.

Perhaps she was stifled as a child in her own home. He thought of his childhood. In the countryside of South Sichuan, his parents were good-natured farmers. They would not plan their child's future and life before he was born. Therefore, his childhood was carefree, and without worries, and he was free to do as he pleased. Other than not being able to compare to Shania now, in terms of material wealth, Tang En felt that his spiritual wealth was much more abundant.

The two of them spent three days in Chengdu, and were almost done with their sightseeing in the city. They had even been to Dujiangyan. Tang En planned to go to Mount Emei and Qingcheng Mountain, and then go to his hometown to visit his "parents".

But his plan met with an unexpected event...

On Sunday, at Chunxi Road, outside the Southwest Book City, he encountered himself. This sounds somewhat paradoxical, so it could best be explained in this way:

Tony Twain encountered Tang En...

At that time, Twain was standing with Shania at the junction of Chunxi Road, waiting for the traffic signal to change. By the safety barrier opposite the road, a crowd was waiting. This was an intersection with a relatively concentrated flow of traffic and people, so the waiting time was longer.

Shania was still curiously observing the unfamiliar city, and the surrounding people with yellow skin and black hair. Twain was just glancing around without purpose or focus, as he usually did. But soon,he saw a once-familiar face in the opposite crowd!

It was a once very familiar face, although he had not seen it for one and a half years...

The man, who was standing across the street and holding a stack of books in the crowd, was Tony Twain's former body… the real Tang En! And evidently, because he was staring too intently, he also attracted attention to the opposite Tang En. The two of them looked at each other across the street. Even the cars passing by in the middle could not interrupt them.

Such an encounter was so inconceivable, that Tang En could not describe this moment. Even though he was Tony Twain in appearance, he was still Tang En on the inside. Therefore, since he was still Tang En of China, then, who was that Chinese Tang En standing across the street? A Tang En, who had the same thinking, same memory, and same character as himself?

How could there be two identical Tang Ens in the world?

Besides, I have traveled back to 2003 from 2007, which is three years later, so ... what happens to Tang En after 2007? Does he just disappear into thin air? Death? What happens to Tang En before 2007?

He had also lived through the period from 2003 to 2007. So, why did he not remember meeting a foreigner, who was staring so intently at him?

If he continued to delve deeper, if the time really progressed in a linear fashion, then it meant that, changing the past could affect the future. Could changing the future also affect the past?

Just like him, coming from the future, and then squeezing someone in the past out of his "place", and then replacing that person... How would this kind of thing impact the person who had been squeezed out? In other words, when Tang En suddenly came to Nottingham in 2003, from China's Sichuan Province in 2007, and possessed someone else's body, what was the fate of the man whose body had been possessed by Tang En? The same one who had suddenly come to Nottingham, England, in the 2007, from Sichuan, China, in 2003, to the other person? Did he disappear into thin air? Could a person's consciousness really be discarded, just like that?

The thought of it made Tang En shiver a little. He seemed to feel that he was touching a door, which had been strictly forbidden, and that what was behind that door ... he did not know.

The middle-aged woman, who stood on the side of the road to maintain order, blew the whistle in her mouth, and then made way for the pedestrians. The crowd from both sides of the road merged together, and crossed the main road, which was not too wide.

Shania was going to walk over, but she found that Uncle Tony did not move beside her. He just stood there, and frowned, staring at a particular spot in front of him. She followed his gaze, and saw that there was a man on the other side of the street, who looked over at this side with the exact same expression.

Tang En realized that the other man had noticed him too. Suddenly, a seemingly preposterous, but entirely probable, idea jumped out in his mind: He had inexplicably transmigrated from 2007 to 2003, and possessed an Englishman Tony Twain's body. And, the soul of the Englishman Tony Twain, whose body was taken over, possessed the body of the Chinese Tang En in 2003!

As to where this 2003 Chinese Tang En had gone, perhaps he had transmigrated to Sichuan, China in 2007, in order to fill in the gap first left by Tang En. Once he had woken up, he would be stunned that he had traveled to the future. However, Tang En, who transmigrated from 2007, could not think about this matter now.

It sounded like a very complicated matter, but if one did not look at "time" as a single line, but rather as a net, then this problem would be better understood. In other words, Tang En in 2007 and Tang En in 2003 were not on the same timeline.

Even though they all looked the same, that was just looking at their appearances, as in actual fact, they were not exactly the same. Then, there was a division point in the timeline of Tang En in 2007. From this point, the original timeline splintered into several different directions, one of which was folded into the timeline of Tang En in 2003.

Meanwhile, in England in 2003, Tony Twain's timeline was splintered, when he first coached the Forest First Team, and one of which bent towards Tang En in 2007, and merged with Tang En's splintered timeline. This was why Tang En had transmigrated and possessed another stranger's body.

While this 2003 timeline was not done splitting yet, the other timeline flew towards the timeline of Tang En in Sichuan in 2003. At the same time, in Sichuan, China, that Tang En's timeline also similarly splintered, one of which turned towards Tang En's timeline in 2007.

After the divergence, it merged perfectly with his main timeline in 2007, and continued to progress in the original direction. Hence, he had replaced his future self!

Like the Chinese character "爪", it was split into several lines in the middle, and then countless characters of "爪" were lined up in an array. They were connected to, or parallel to, each other, forming an intricate relationship.

Tang En was not a scientist, nor did he have any theoretical knowledge. He simply imagined it, solely based on the novels, movies, and comics that he had read in the past.

When the cars moved again at the intersection, many pedestrians gathered on both sides of the road, waiting to cross the street. Tony Twain was still on this side, and Tang En was still over on that side. There was a road between them, but it looked like the flow of time in between.

Chapter 186: The Two Tang Ens Part 1

When Tang En woke up, startled, on January 1, 2003, he sat on his university dorm bed, drenched in sweat. His head hurt a lot, and his entire body was drained of energy. He had forgotten what he had been dreaming about the instant he opened his eyes. Even Tang En himself found it strange that he had woken up with a start from his afternoon nap. When he had finally recovered from his initial daze, he sat up in bed and tried his best to recall, but to no avail.

Picking up his watch from beside the bed, Tang En discovered that it was already 3.30pm. The dorm was completely empty, and his roommates had all gone out. This was rather meaningless for someone like him, who had few friends and did not have a girlfriend. Aside from sleeping and reading, he could not do much of anything. So, after he had gently massaged his temples, which were still experiencing sharp pain, he fell back onto his pillow.

Afterwards, Tang En discovered that his body seemed to be undergoing some sort of unknown change. For instance, he, who had always had mediocre English scores, found himself able to completely understand an English movie. He also suddenly became more familiar with things related to England.

This persisted for around half a year.

Half a year later, when he had graduated from a university in Northern China and gone to Chengdu city to find a job, he once again woke up from a dream one night, startled. Amidst the pitch-darkness of the room, he finally recalled what had happened in the dream.

In the dream, there was a man and a woman. He did not know their names, but he knew that they were his parents. They quarrelled frequently; his mother looked down on his father for being unable to support the family despite being a man. His father, who had lost his job, carried a huge amount of pressure. Faced with countless setbacks, he could only drown his sorrows in alcohol. When he returned home in his drunken state, it was inevitable that he would be met with his wife's sarcasm. Unable to win against his wife in an argument, the man could only resort to his fists, which he had always been proud of.

It was a very common case of domestic violence. His dream was filled with the woman's screams, the man's angry shouts, and the sounds of things being smashed. Tang En felt very uneasy; faced with a family like that, he did not know what he should do, and nobody told him what to do. The two adults, who were fiercely battling it out, did not care about the feelings of their six year-old child.

Even if he had said something, what use would it have been?

"Mom, I'm hungry. What time are we eating?"

"Go and find food on your own, if our house still has that kind of thing."

"Dad, I…"

"Scram! Don't bother me!"

So he shut his mouth, and shut it tightly.

Everything that had happened in the dream was incredibly real, including the feeling of loneliness. He did not know where he was inside the dream, but he could assure that it was a completely different place from China. It was mostly unfamiliar, yet with a tinge of familiarity. And he had a name that did not conform to traditional Chinese names: Tony Twain.

He did not know how he suddenly became Chinese… Prior to this, he had known nothing about the country. After figuring out his situation, he lived his life in panic for a period of time; clearly, the actual Tony Twain was less capable of adaptation than the fake Tony Twain was.

It was not that Twain did not have any thoughts of starting anew back in England. But his job at that time was still very unstable. It could be said that he was penniless, and he still had to rely on his parents, who were staying in the village, to support him financially. How could he possibly buy plane tickets? What could he use to pay for his travelling expenses?

When Tang En had mysteriously transmigrated to England and had worried about his own survival, it was the same for Tony Twain, who had mysteriously transmigrated to China himself. He was quiet by nature, but he was not at all stupid. He could assess the situation calmly. As a result, the thought of returning to England had been suppressed by the urgent need to find a stable job with which to support himself. During Chinese New Year, he made a trip back to his house in China. He had been completely enveloped in the Chinese New Year atmosphere, with the entire family seated around as they celebrated the festival happily.

This was a completely different world from that of his past. For as long as he could remember, the only things that had filled his ears were the sounds of his parents quarrelling, as well as the sounds of objects being smashed. When he was ten years old, that fragmented family of his had finally become unsustainable. His mother, who was still quite pretty, ran off with some rich man, while his father, who was unable to find work, could only do some odd-jobs. His father continued to indulge in his drinking habits, and would take it out on Twain whenever he was drunk. After Twain had turned eighteen, he had moved out of that ice-cold house.

When Twain returned home for Chinese New Year and casually mentioned that the bed was slightly cold at night, he saw electric blanket on the bed the very next day. For someone like Twain, who had come from an unloving family background, there was no way to understand how he felt at that moment.

After that New Years, Tony Twain completely gave up on the idea of returning to England. After one year of learning, he was already becoming accustomed to China's way of living. Even though he was still not quite used to it, it did not pose much of an issue to him anymore. He felt that everything that was happening must have been arranged by God. It was God who had given him a family that was not wealthy, but was extremely warm.

He was very content, and was fine with having exchanged his body to get what he had now. It did not matter to him that his soul currently possessed a stranger's body; he felt that it would be fine as long as he could adapt to it psychologically. Moreover, the process of adapting was actually very easy. But finding a place that could be called home…that was not so easy.

He had decided to work hard and earn lots of money; so much money that it could allow his parents, who were not his biological parents but who treated him far better than his biological ones ever had, to retire and stay at home without worrying about their expenses.

That was the current plan of the ex-Tony Twain.

In May of 2004, that plan was in the process of being put in place step by step, even before Twain met himself outside Southwest Book City at Chunxi Road.

That afternoon, Twain had just spent an entire day shopping at the bookstore, and was standing by the side of the road waiting to cross and take a bus. While waiting, Twain was hugging a few books related to Chinese history when he caught a glimpse of a foreigner on the opposite side of the road. At first, it did not bother Twain much; it was not uncommon to see foreigners on the streets of Chengdu City. However, he soon discovered that that foreigner was staring intently at him, so Twain decided to take a closer look at the person's face. Afterwards, he thought that he was not standing in front of a bustling street, but a mirror.

Inside the mirror, he saw himself from one-and-a-half years ago. That face, the face that he had seen in the mirror for thirty-four years, had appeared in the streets of Chengdu City and was staring intently back at him.

Seeing the other's expressions, Twain suddenly came to the conclusion that the soul that was currently in his original body was, in fact, the original owner of the body that he was currently in control of. There were no reasons, no scientific proofs, no rational analyses to support his conjecture. But he just felt a sense of familiarity that had come from the bottom of his heart; a type of resonance.

Just as he stood there lost in a daze, the Tony Twain on the opposite side of the street walked towards him. Beside him, there was also a woman… Well, judging from the youth and immaturity of her face, perhaps the word "girl" was more accurate.

The man walked and stopped in front of him, before asking with a slight Nottingham Village accent, "Mister, may I ask if you know the directions to Xinhua Gardens? We want to go there…"

Xinhua Gardens? Isn't that where I live? Why would he ask me that? Don't tell me he is hinting at something?

※※※

Tang En felt that he should be slightly more proactive at the moment. If everybody froze there, then Shania would soon realize that something was amiss. A child's intuition was not to be belittled. His true identity and his background were absolute secrets that had to be kept. It was something that could not be mentioned even to the people closest to him, and Tang En had no intention of telling Shania.

So he crossed the road and walked directly to the person, before pretending to be someone asking him for directions as though he was lost. Tang En also conveniently mentioned a place that the other person should be very familiar with. Upon asking his question, Tang En stared at the man, intending to use the changes in his facial expressions and body language to find out any useful traces of information that he could.

Shania felt that it was slightly strange, because there was no such place as "Xinhua Gardens" in the travel itinerary that they had prepared prior to the trip.

If this Tang En was still himself, then he should respond to the question as though it was any other passerby asking him for directions. He would tell Tang En how to walk there, before saying goodbye and turning around. He would not be so cold as to say that he didn't know despite the fact that he knew, nor would he be so kind as to personally show them the way if they did not understand his directions.

However, it was very obvious that the Tang En before him had gone into a daze after hearing him. Would something as simple as being asked for directions make one become lost in a daze that way?

Tang En could therefore confirm his suspicions that the person in front of him was definitely not the past him. Instead, it was the unlucky Englishman, Tony Twain.

"Mister?" Tang En asked again, snapping Twain out of his daze.

"Umm, Uh… Xinhua Gardens is just, just right in the vicinity of where I live…" Tongue-tied, the real Tony Twain answered in English. It had been a while since he had tried conversing in the language.

Hearing him reply that way, Tang En smiled. "That's great. Are you going back now? We can head there together." Afterwards, Tang En did not wait for the other man's reply. He simply extended his hand and flagged down a car.

Having completely understood Tang En's intention, the other Twain knew what to do as well. He said in English, "You might not be able to get a car here even if you wait for half an hour." Pointing to the front, he continued, "Walk a bit more in this direction."

In the street slightly farther ahead, the three of them managed to flag down a car easily. Perhaps it was because the driver saw that there was a foreigner by the side of the road, and drivers generally thought that it was easier to earn a foreigner's money.

Once in the car, Tang En intentionally asked for the other's name. As expected, the reply he got was "Tang En." This Tang En was a man of few words, which matched the personality of the original Tony Twain. By then, all of Tang En's doubts had been resolved.

Looking at the version of himself who was seated quietly in the front seat, Tang En suddenly had a thought: Walker had already officially left the team, and he was lacking a capable assistant manager who had a sufficient understanding of Nottingham Forest, and could have good rapport with him. A capable assistant manager was much harder to find than a capable manager…

But wasn't there a perfect candidate right in front of him right now?

Chapter 187: The Two Tang Ens Part 2

When Tang En transmigrated and travelled back in time, he did not inherit much of the original Twain's football knowledge. Therefore, when the original Tony Twain possessed Tang En's old body, he must have brought all of his memories with him. The original Tony Twain was a manager that Paul Hart had held in high regard; that was why he was recommended to become the substitute manager for Nottingham Forest.

However, after Tang En learned about everything, he felt that the original Tony Twain's personality made him unsuitable to become the manager of the team. Paul Hart had valued Tony Twain's ability to train the team, but he had overlooked his personality. And that just happened to become the determining factor for Tang En's decision.

Tang En felt that the original Tony Twain was most suited for the position of an assistant manager. In terms of planning for the team's trainings, Tang En firmly believed that he would be just as good as Walker. After all, he was a professional manager—someone with an England Coaching Certificate—despite the fact that his certificate was now Tang En's.

If Shania had not been standing next to him, Tang En would have conversed with Twain in English to discuss the issue. However, now was not the right time.

The car reached Xinhua Gardens, and the three of them got out. Tang En wrote down the phone number of the hotel in Chengdu City where he was currently staying on a card, and told the other Tang En that he wanted to express his gratitude for leading the way. As a way of thanking him, Tang En wanted to treat him to a dinner.

Upon receiving the card with phone number written on it, the Chinese Tang En lowered his head and flipped it over. On the other side of the card, he saw the following words written on it: I want to talk to you.

He did not agree to it, nor did he disagree. He looked at it again, before putting the card in his pocket and saying goodbye to them. Afterwards, he turned around and left.

As Tang En watched him leave, it was as though he had seen a reflection of himself. However, it soon changed into a reflection of Tony Twain, who had only existed in his imagination prior to this meeting.

Will he come tomorrow?

Tang En, who had snapped out of his daze, discovered that Shania, who was standing beside him, was looking at him. He smiled and said, "Let's go, we'll walk around the garden. I'll bring you to see the one of the traditional pastimes of Sichuan people. It's the most popular and most influential game…"

"What might that be?" Upon hearing that it was related to playing, Shania's interest skyrocketed again.

Alongside swooshing sounds, what appeared before the two were hundreds of tables with four people seated around each table. People from all walks of life were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Mahjong," Tang En said, as he started laughing.

※※※

The next day, because he wanted to treat the real Twain to a meal, Tang En did not plan any activities for the day, allowing Shania to sleep in instead.

In the afternoon, Tang En, who was watching television in the hotel, received a phone call from Twain.

"Sir, I would like to talk to you as well."

At 7 in the evening, the three of them ate authentic Sichuan dishes in the private room of a small restaurant. Afterwards, they casually chatted in Chinese, as though they were old friends who had known each other for many years.

Shania was very interested in the delicious Sichuan cuisine, and instead paid no attention to the conversation between the two men. Even if she had tried to listen in on their conversation from time to time, she would have been unable to understand their Chinese. From the expressions on their faces, it seemed that they were discussing something important, almost as serious as a football match.

Tang En looked at the Tang En seated opposite himself (it is quite confusing to say it like this, despite the fact that that really is the situation) and both of them felt that they were looking into a mirror.

At that point, nothingmore needed to be said about who the person seated opposite him was. Deep down, both of them knew the other's identity.

The only troublesome question that they had right now was, how should they address each other? The relationship was far too complicated; I know that the person seated opposite me isn't myself, but on the surface, it is me…. Do you understand? I'm not me and you're not you… It would probably sound something like that.

Although it was a thank-you dinner on the surface, the two Tang Ens were not in the mood to eat. They stared at each other, wanting to see for themselves the changes to their original body over the last year-and-a-half.

"This meeting is... something that I didn't expect." The Twain seated opposite Tang En was an introvert, and did not say a single word for quite some time. The Manager Tang En was slightly more proactive, and he naturally chose to speak in Chinese. "Actually… when I first discovered the situation I was in and found out who this body belonged to, I wanted very badly to apologize to you. I just didn't know where you were at the time. But after seeing you yesterday, I suddenly felt like neither of us owes the other anything. Our debts cancelled each other's out!"

Tang En started laughing, and Twain raised his head and shot him a look, but did not say anything.

Seeing this, Tang En thought to himself that this person was indeed very gloomy. As such, he suddenly switched to another topic. "My parents… Are they doing fine?"

This question made Twain, who was seated opposite him, nod his head. "They are doing very well."

Tang En revealed a bitter smile and asked, "Do you know why I came to China?"

The person opposite him nodded his head again and replied, "I know."

"I'm preparing to leave tomorrow, after I sneak a look at them. Of course, if they suddenly saw a foreigner calling them mom and dad, they would get the shock of their lives… You see, although I don't know the reason why we swapped bodies, me going to England and you coming here, our futures have already changed completely, right? I don't think it's possible anymore for me to return to the South Sichuan countryside and call them mom and dad…"

Upon saying this, Tang En became silent for a brief moment.

"My life has already completely changed… But I feel like yours hasn't." They were finally getting to the point. "I know that you don't have much experience in the past… but I also know that you are different from me, I'm just a fake. You are a real football manager… But I replaced you, and I personally think that I'm pretty well suited for the position. By the way, Nottingham Forest has been promoted to the Premier League by the end of this season.

After he finished speaking, the Twain seated opposite him, who had his head lowered and did not speak at all, raised his head instantly.

"You didn't expect that, did you?" Manager Tang En smiled. "I'm doing pretty well in this position, right?"

Twain seemed to being trying his hardest to recall what the team had been like when he had first taken over Nottingham Forest. Afterwards, he compared it to the current situation of the team, which had already made it to the Premier League. Upon finishing the comparison, he nodded his head, admitting that the fake seated opposite him had indeed done a better job. Of course, this was only a possibility. After all, his career as the manager of the team had only just begun, before it was ended due to various absurd reasons. Nobody knew what would happen in the future.

Tang En continued, "Now, Des Walker, who had always been my partner, left the team after this season ended. What do you think of him?"

Twain tried to recall for a while, before replying, "I think that he's better off being a player than a manager."

Seeing the assistant manager whom he had worked so well with being commented on that way, Tang En could only give a bitter smile. That was because he knew that Walker was indeed lacking in some respects; Walker himself knew that. However, the requirements for League One were not as high as those of the Premier League.

Tang En had become even more interested in the person who had just made this comment.

"Before I met you, I was still wracking my brain over where I should go to find an assistant manager who could work well with me. Now, I think that my problem is resolved… Are you interested in quitting your current job and returning to Nottingham Forest?"

Hearing the fake Tony Twain ask that question, the real Englishman stared at him intently, as though trying to judge if he was serious.

Chapter 188: The Assistant Manager Candidate Part 1

With regards to Tang En's invitation, the real Tony Twain did not give an answer on the spot, because he did not know what to choose. He currently had a stable and well-paid job, and as long as he continued to work hard, it would not be a problem for him to become the regional manager, and even the general manager, in the future. Thus, he valued his second life. God gave him a perfect family, which was also his biggest concern.

He thought that his future would continue in this way, according to plan. But, when he met the other him, he listened to him talked about Nottingham Forest's recent developments. When he asked him, "Do you want to return to Nottingham Forest?", he admitted that he was indecisive, as to what to do.

Now, there was a chance for him to return to the old days. No, not return, exactly, because he knew very well that he could not be the manager, if he went back. He would be going there with a new identity, and not in the capacity of the authentic Tony Twain.

Did he not love football? Of course, he loved it, whether it was before, or now. The perfect combination of passion and work, this was the former life of Tony Twain. Now that he could return, he had to admit that he was somewhat tempted.

Tang En did not ask the other man to give an answer immediately. When they were bidding farewell to each other, after their meal together, he said to his imitation, "Give it some consideration. Anyway, I will still be staying in China for a few days. This is my phone number in China, and as for the the number in UK… you already know it. When you have an idea about what you want to do, please call me immediately."

Tang En was trying to frame his words well, when he said those things. He did not know if the other man would follow him to England. He always felt that he had robbed another person's body, status, glory and money. Now, it was very thick-skinned of him to ask the man for help.

The next day, Tang En took Shania on a sightseeing tour, all the way to the south. They toured Qingcheng Mountain, Mount Emei, and Leshan. And, when they passed through his hometown, he made an excuse to bring Shania to go eat the most traditional bean curd, so that he could sneak a glimpse of his biological parents. Looking at their busy figures on the embankment, he was assured and relieved that both his parents were healthy and in good spirits.

As for calling on them to pay a visit, he'd better forget about it. With Shania always at his side, Tang En did not want her to feel confused.

Furthermore, he would only bring about complications, if he called on them. Besides, that imitated Tang En must be doing better than him, as they did not think their son had any problems. After all, who would have thought that the soul of one's son would transmigrate, possess another body, and then swap with the other person? As long as his parents felt that their "son" treated them well, then Tang En would not have any objections.

From his hometown, Tang En and Shania went on a tour of Shangri-La in Yunnan Province. This was an amazing journey that made Shania exclaim in admiration repeatedly. When they boarded a flight back to Britain from Hong Kong, she was still recollecting everything that she had seen in Shangri-La. She had never been as happy as she had been during this period.

Shania was very happy, and naturally, Tang En felt happy too. But, he still had one regret: until he had left China, that other Tang En did not call him, and he did not respond to his invitation.

Could it be that he had already decided to stay in China? Does everything in Britain have nothing to do with him? Had he completely accepted his new identity?

In this case, I'm going to have a headache finding a suitable assistant manager. Well, maybe David Kerslake from the youth team would be a good choice. But, if he gets transferred to the First Team, who's going to manage the youth team?

The Forest team's youth training system was a great success, and Tang En did not want to touch the youth training department, at least until a suitable candidate could be found. That was the foundation on which the Forest team could continue to develop.

Assistant managers were easily well-known, just like the players and managers. Hence, it was difficult to appoint an assistant manager. It was common to find someone from one's own coaching team.

However, Tang En had very high requirements for his assistant manager. The person needed to know what he was good at, and what he was not good at. Then, he needed to know what the manager was good at, and what the manager was not good at. He must also know how to coordinate with the manager for his work, assist in managing the coaching team, manage the players, and, in addition, it would be better if he was familiar with the team.

So, yes, it was as if he must like Superman!

Was he being too exacting? Tang En did not believe this was the case. What did "excellent" mean? If he could not do it, he could not be considered as being outstanding. At the most, he was considered as simply being eligible. After believing and understanding Tony Twain's past, and looking at his room filled with all kinds of books and notes, Tang En thought that man was perfectly capable of meeting his requirements.

He originally thought that he could not find this person again, so he did not take it to heart. But, when he saw the vanished Tony Twain in his body, appear before his eyes, he could not suppress the surge of thoughts in his mind.

We have both inexplicably swapped bodies, but still retained our memories. If we work together, what would it be like? I know your past, and you also understand mine. I am now in your position, and you are in my position. I am you, and you are me. Is this not the highest level of cooperation, with rapport?!

But, it was now useless to say all these things. That real Tony Twain did not reply to him, and he did not know what the other man thought. Also, it was not Tang En's habit to put all his eggs into one basket.

Since this man did not give him an answer, he would be busy when he returned to the United Kingdom. If he could not find an assistant manager in time, he would do all the work himself, first. Then, he would slowly make his plans.

After all, the UEFA European Championship was about to begin. He would have to go to Portugal to watch the entire tournament, and pick the right players for the Forest team...

※※※

Once they returned to England, Shania reluctantly bade farewell to Twain. It looked like, although she did not like her auntie, she was still a little afraid of her. Why did she come to England, if she did not like to be with her auntie?

Tang En shrugged his shoulders, and could not figure it out. Hence, he did not give it any further thought.

After sending off Shania, Tang En's work had already begun, even though the team was still on vacation. He specially made a call to Evan Doughty, who was in the United States with his wife and daughter.

In fact, there was nothing specific to discuss. He just told Evan some of his plans before the season, to coordinate with the club. He needed to go to Portugal in June, to watch the tournament and personally inspect all kinds of players, an expense that was definitely not going to be from his own pockets!

In addition, there were some personnel matters to attend to, such as Twain hoping that the club would increase the number of football scouts. Old Moore had completely retired, so now the club only had two football scouts, which was obviously not enough.

Apparently, the football scout database system, which he had proposed at that time, was nearing completion. This required more football scouts to continuously add detailed information on players to the database. In summary, as the new team in the Premier League for the next season, Nottingham Forest had a lot of things to prepare.

Evan's answer was that Twain could decide on his own any matters that had to do with the team. If he needed football scouts, he could issue the recruitment notice, and notify the club during the signing of the contract.

All of the expenses of going to Portugal to watch the tournament, would be covered by the club, including the buying and selling of players. But, after deciding which players to buy, he must make sure to draft a list for both Evan and Allan. They had to know where the club's money was being spent, and if it was worth the expense. Needless to say, Twain understood.

Ultimately, Evan honored his original promise to not interfere with all matters of the team, and Twain had the final say in the team. Indeed, after witnessing Evan's sincerity, Tang En felt the heaviest weight lift from his heart. But, he also knew what it was that enabled him to have all of these things: results.

If he had led the team on a losing streak, and lost the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, then losing the EFL Cup would also mean losing the League Championship. At that point, regardless of whether he was promoted from within the club, or how much the Chairman liked him in private, there would have been only one ending waiting for him: dismissal.

Every transfer market before the season, the boss of the football club always wanted to see results, especially after spending a lot of money. Playing well was not the result the club owner wanted to see. Otherwise, he might as well spend a few dozen pounds on an Arsenal home game ticket. No, the real result that he wanted to see was his team's achievements: the champion's glory, and the vast benefits it brought along with it.

If you take the money, you have to work for it. It was the same everywhere.

Tang En was well aware of this hard truth. Therefore, after carefully studying the UEFA European Championship's tournament schedule, he began to prepare the itinerary, and the list of players that required focus and special attention.

It was more difficult without an assistant manager. Originally, he wanted to pull in Old Moore, who had been a football scout all of his life. However, he was getting on in years, and his vigor was not like before. It was still manageable for him to travel around Nottingham, but to let him fly across the sea to Portugal, seemed a bit too taxing.

With only one person, Tang En's time and energy were limited, so he must plan his itinerary well for the trip ...

Chapter 189: The Assistant Manager Candidate Part 2

At that moment, while he was still working, he received a call from China.

A call that he had been looking forward to for a long time, and had almost given up waiting on.

When Tang En picked up the phone, he did not immediately hear the voice that he had once been most familiar with. However, he did not urge the person on the other end. He just held the receiver and waited patiently. He did not know what kind of response the person would give him, but he could still look forward to it.

After some time had passed, Tang En finally heard the voice he wanted to hear the most. "You... still need an assistant manager?"

With the cellphone in hand, Tang En grinned widely and soundlessly. His biggest problem had been solved.

"Certainly! Of course, I still need an assistant manager! Very much indeed!"

After he had hung up, Tang En called Evan Doughty again and told him that an assistant manager had been found, and that the club did not have to worry about it anymore.

Evan was delighted as well. "That's great, Tony. Who is he?"

Tang En was stumped for a moment. What was he going to say to Evan? Was he going to tell him that the assistant manager that he had found was just a 24-year-old Chinese guy who was unknown in football circles, had no coaching experience, and was younger than the players? He could almost imagine that Evan would have thought he had had one drink too many.

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Tang En decided to be honest and tell Evan. He did not want to let him find out later and think that he had deceived him. It would not be good for the cooperation between them.

"Um, Evan... He's a young man who hasn't even received his coaching license..." He tried to frame his case with a more tactful approach.

However, Evan was obviously happy, and ignored the true meaning of the sentence. "Young people are good; the Forest team lacks young people. Aren't you one as well? We both are, Tony. Good, you can prepare a contract for him, however long you want to sign him for."

Seeing Evan speak so boldly, Tang En felt too sorry to tell him that he had misunderstood him... he could only pretend not to know.

※※※

A week later, Tang En had finished redrafting the schedule and itinerary for the two-men Portugal tournament trip, under Ms. Barbara Lucy's proactive workings. It was then that his assistant manager, the other guy named Tang En, arrived at Nottingham, England from China.

Tang En made a special trip to London to pick up his assistant manager at Heathrow Airport. In reality, even if he had not gone, the other Tang En would have known his way. After all, he was the genuine englishman. However, to show his enthusiasm, Tang En felt that he owed this Tang En. If he did not try to do better in other areas, he would feel guilty.

Sitting in the car while returning to Nottingham, Tang En from China looked out the window at the fleeting scenery and was quiet all the way. Perhaps the familiar sights reminded him of his past here.

Landy's car sent the two men directly to No. 13 Branford Garden Lane. After getting out of the car, Dunn stood in a daze in front of the house where he had once lived.

Tang En put the luggage on the ground as he watched this scene, not knowing what to say. I feel like a cuckoo stealing a magpie's nest; I'm like a body snatcher... I occupy this other person's body, and also occupy his house. Of course, he also occupies my body. But from the current point of view, I seem to be doing better than he is.

"Um, some things have been changed since you last lived here." Tang En opened the door in front, then stood aside in the doorway and motioned for the other man to come in.

Once they had entered the house, Tang En closed the door, and led Dunn to the second floor. A bedroom was specially prepared for him, on the east side of Shania's room. Incidentally, Shania now also had her own fixed bedroom here.

When they had just walked up the stairs and the main bedroom was directly ahead, Dunn looked up and saw the photograph hanging on the wall. Upon seeing him staring blankly again, Tang En scratched his head, laughing awkwardly. "I think I did a good job."

Dunn said nothing, walked into the bedroom, stood under the photograph and looked up at the photograph of him with his arms raised and shouting—his former self. He had never had such a wild, glorious moment. After looking at it for a while, he looked back at Tang En standing at the door.

Tang En knew what he was going to ask, so he pointed to the photograph and said, "This was the first victory I led the team to win after I came to this place. The next day, this photograph was published in the newspapers. I like it a lot, so I asked for an enlarged copy. I have to admit that sometimes I can be kind of vain..."

"It's looks good," Dunn replied. He turned to walk out of the room.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come at first, because you didn't call me until the day I left China. What made you decide to come back to Nottingham?" Tang En asked, standing at the door.

Dunn looked back at the photograph hanging on the wall and said, "I... I just don't think I can do anything well except football."

" I decided to agree with your self-evaluation so that I could have a great partner." Tang En laughed. "I've seen the notes and information you left in this house. I must say... I don't know what you'd achieve in other jobs, but it's truly a shame if you're not a football manager! I'm very glad that you could come. I've made a few friends here, and we have a great plan. I think if you listen to it, you'll be interested." Seeing Dunn looking less than convinced, he continued. "Well, even though you don't say much, and you don't seem too likeable most of the time, I know you and I are the same person. Do you like failure?"

Dunn shook his head.

"I don't like it either." Tang En smiled and spread his hands. "You see, I'm right in what I said. We are men who don't like to fail. Okay, do you want to hear the plan for the Forest team? Well, it's not something that can be made clear in two or three sentences. Why don't you take a shower first? And then, we will talk this over slowly... I guarantee you'll like it, because we're both men who dislike failure. In other words, we both like to win, like to be champions, right?"

Chapter 190: The UEFA European Football Championship Part 1

The only thing that Tang En remembered about the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship two years after it took place was the Greece national team. In that European Football Championship, there were many occurrences which had shocked Tang En at the time, such as Rooney's springing to fame, and Zidane's turning of the tides at the last minute of the match. However, it was only at the end of everything that Tang En realized: the thing that had left the deepest impression on him was a team, not any football star in particular.

Being able to watch and relive the 2004 European Football Championship live was an entirely new experience for Tang En, and this made him feel that travelling back in time still had many perks. In addition, he could also learn, from close up, how Rehhagel deployed his tactics. The overall tactics of the Greek team was simply too strong, and Tang En even felt that it had completely surpassed that of every other team in the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship. They were really the most deserving team of the championship title in the end.

Now, the only thing that worried Tang En was the question of whether the ripple effects caused by his arrival would affect the UEFA European Football Championship held in Portugal. What if Greece did not become the Champions in the end? Of course, luck would have a part to play in a team's obtaining of the championship title. But still, Tang En felt that Rehhagel's train of thought and the tactics he deployed at the UEFA European Football Championship would still be proliferated and passed down, even if the Greeks did not win the championship. The only difference was that their proliferation would be much faster if the Greek team were to win the championship title.

In the past, everyone had said that the Greek team's skills were very unpolished. Counterattacking relied heavily on the interception of the ball with very tight defense, before doing a long pass to the front and making use of the tall center-forward's header advantage to pose a threat to the opponent.

However, the counterattacking style displayed by the Greek team during their matches was different: from the moment they intercepted the ball, to the moment when they pushed the ball into the opponent's penalty area, their speed was very fast; but they did not always perform long passes and let the ball fly through the air without touching the ground. Instead, the coordination between two or three of the players, as well as their swiftness in passing the ball, was the essence of Rehhagel's counterattacking tactic. Seeing the tall players passing the ball around skilfully and reaching the opponent's goalpost after just a few passes with the rest of the team positioned favorably was very enjoyable for the viewers, even though it was just a counterattack.

Upon getting news of Tang En going to Portugal to watch the matches, Nottingham Evening Post hoped that Tang En would write some observations in his special column. Tang En was still troubling over what to write at that time, but now he decided that he would fully focus on watching Greece. Regardless of whether the team could win the championship title, they would definitely give the whole world a pleasant surprise.

After hearing Tang En's plans, Pierce Brosnan was in a slightly difficult position. "Well, actually, we were hoping that you would write more about England…"

Tang En shrugged and replied, "Everyone else is writing about England, and I don't want to jump onto the bandwagon. Mr. Reporter, I would be willing to bet that Greece will be the greatest dark horse in this year's European Football Championship!" Tang En did not mention the other reason he did not want to write about England. It was because he simply did not like Eriksson as a manager, so he was never optimistic about England's prospects in big matches.

During the 2002 World Cup, the English media advocated and promoted the idea that the English team for that year was the best one since England won the World Cup in 1966. And look what happened in the end? England had lost to Brazil, which was stumbling during the qualifiers and had been completely suppressed in their first match against Turkey. The only consolation for them was that Brazil ultimately became the World Cup Champions for that year. In the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, Tang En, who was still a football fan then, still did not look favorably upon the English team. So when Rooney got switched out due to an injury and England was eliminated by the host in a penalty kick, Tang En thought that it was reasonable. In the 2006 World Cup, if not for David Beckham, who had been widely criticized by the media as largely incapable, perhaps Eriksson's team would not have even made it out of the group matches.

English people always had this sense of arrogance, often thinking that they were the place of origin of modern football, and that their playing standards should therefore be number one in the world. As a result, no matter what new football star they had, he would be propped up into a world-class football star by the media. With the English team made up of this group of "world-class" football stars, it was only natural that they would be the best team.

England's arrogant mentality was not only reflected in terms of football. It was reflected in many aspects of the society. There were many people who were still reminiscing about the past, about how glorious it was for the empire on which the sun never set. Now, their influence internationally had been greatly weakened, and they were reduced to being America's lackey. As a result, they could only use their absurd sense of arrogance to continue and sustain their dignity in their hearts.

Tang En was completely uninterested in this ridiculous national pride. He was not an Englishman himself, so he did not bear any good feelings towards the British empire. In addition, Tang En knew the English team's fate in this year's European Football Championship, and he could not pretend that he was looking forward to their performance and tell the readers, "We will definitely become the champions!"

Eriksson was much more suited to be a football club manager instead of a national team's manager. He had too soft of a personality.

Perhaps it was prejudice on his end, but Tang En simply felt that people with soft personalities were not suited to be a strong team's manager.

"Greece?" Bruce remained stunned for a while before he continued. "I haven't heard that name for a long time in international matches. Are you sure?"

Tang En nodded. "I'm sure of it. They have a very, very capable manager, and a team of players with decent abilities."

On the plane to Lisbon, Portugal, Tang En also talked to Dunn about this problem, and expressed his opinion that the tactics employed by Greece were something that Nottingham Forest could emulate in their first Premier League season.

Compared to the other teams in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest had no advantage in terms of overall strength. Many teams would look down on their opponents when fighting against a team that had just been promoted, and often lacked understanding of their opponents. Nottingham Forest could deploy a tactic of counterattacking to stabilize its position in the Premier League.

Dunn was curious as to why Tang En would know so much about the national team of a country which Europe was not too familiar with. Tang En could only scratch his head and say that he preferred to pay more attention to small teams.

Bruce Pearce reached Portugal earlier than Tang En, but their targets of interest were different. In order to bring back news that readers cared about most, he had to follow the English team throughout their entire journey. He had to report everything back, regardless of whether they were important or trivial. Even the type of clothes worn by the wives of the players when they went out on street had become a topic of interest for reporters.

Before the matches started, practically all of the newspapers in England were filled with articles regarding the English team. The article in the Nottingham Evening Post, in which Tang En had written about Greece extensively, had been completely ignored by the readers.

In the end, after the opening matches were finished, Bruce's first reaction was to find a two-day-old copy of the Nottingham Evening Post, which had an article written by Tang En and published in his special column. Matching the words in the articles to the results of the opening matches, Bruce discovered that he perhaps had no choice but to admit that Tony was God.

The words that he had written two days ago were completely correct after checking them against the match results.

Bruce was not the only person who was shocked. Dunn, who had been inseparable from Tang En since the beginning, was surprised as well. The only difference was that Dunn's shock came much earlier, because he had watched the opening matches with Tang En. During the match, he and Tang En could not stop discussing the tactics used by Greece and Portugal.

When Karagounis scored the first goal, Tang En affirmatively said that Rehhagel's tactics could completely suppress Portugal. After watching the first half of the match, Dunn already completely believed the person next to him.

Scolari was a master tactician, but so was Rehhagel. Although the cards in Rehhagel's hands were not as good as those in Scolari's, Rehhagel managed to be in a more commanding position than Scolari. Perhaps in the eyes of the hosts and many fans, Greece's playing style was boring, as they made ten people defend and one person attack. However, from a manager's perspective, Dunn felt that all of this was quite normal.

The Greek team currently did not have the qualifications to dance the European Samba in front of the Portuguese. If they wanted to prove that they were stronger than the hosts, they only had one way of doing so: they had to defeat them, regardless of what tactics they used.

And Rehhagel managed to accomplish it. The results that nobody had expected prior to the match had become a reality. Despite him saying, "This is the greatest victory in the history of Greece!" after the match, both Tang En and Dunn knew that Rehhagel did not let the victory get to his head. He was very clear about his goal for participating in the UEFA European Football Championship. It was not to win an opening match, or to score a goal, or to draw a match… He had a very noble goal, one that nobody knew.

Only Tang En knew.

In the remaining days, aside setting time aside to write articles for the Nottingham Evening Post, Tang En and Dunn spent most of their time on the bustling streets. They watched most of the matches live at the stadium, and they also watched the remaining matches which took place at the same time on the television, not forgetting to record them.

The reasons for Tang En going to Portugal to watch the matches live were firstly to assess the cheap yet useful football players. The second reason was to learn from the various outstanding managers' experiences. Regardless of whether those experiences were successes or failures, they would still be in Tang En and Dunn's list of things to analyze.

In terms of finding players for the team, this year's Championship League made Tang En feel slightly disappointed. Those who had been called the "stars of hope for the European Football Championship" were all players who had been famous for quite some time. As a result, it was completely lacking in terms of novelty. Even if Nottingham Forest wanted to buy some of those players, they would be facing off against a lot of competitors; for instance, Wayne Rooney, who was still under Everton F.C, had been immensely sensationalized by the media, with various experts sharing the opinion that Rooney was the greatest reward the English team had in this year's UEFA European Football Championsip. However, Tang En knew that after the Champion's League, Wayne Rooney would be purchased by Manchester United at a high price. For Nottingham Forest to try to snatch a player from Manchester United? Fat chance!

As for the new star from Holland, Robben, the new Swedish player, Ibrahimovic, and the Czech Republic's young goalkeeper, Cech, all of them had already been famous for a long time. Robben and Cech were already reserved by Chelsea, and no matter how rich Evan Doughty was, how could he be richer than Abramovich? Furthermore, although Ibrahimovic rejected the Italian team for this year's European Football Championship, Italian Football Clubs were still very interested in him. If everything went smoothly, Juventus F.C should successfully snatch this young Swedish man, who had been nicknamed the "second Baten" ever since Ajax's time.

Chapter 191: The UEFA European Football Championship Part 2

The shining new football stars were all taken a long time ago. In that case, what could Nottingham Forest, a new Premier League team that was neither as influential as the powerhouses nor able to promise better wages to those players, use to attract them? Perhaps the only thing that it could offer was "participation in the next season's UEFA Europa League"….But for players who were being contested over by various powerhouses, which one of them would still care about the qualifications for the UEFA Europa league? Shouldn't their battlefield be the UEFA Champions League instead?

It really was really a paradox; the players who had caught Tang En's eye would not show the slightest interest in Nottingham Forest, while the players who would be interested in Nottingham Forest would not have caught Tang En's eye.

Greece's center back, Dellas, was instead a rather decent candidate for the newly-promoted Nottingham Forest. His performance in the UEFA European Football Championship had gotten widespread recognition; he was currently deemed the last traditional sweeper remaining in Europe. But the problem was that if Tang En had quoted a price to Roma one month earlier, then the club, which had already decided on giving up the Greek player, might have even given him away for free. However, that opportunity was no longer available. If Nottingham Forest really wanted him, Roma could definitely ask for an exorbitant price based on his extraordinary performance during the UEFA European Football Championship. In any case, there were many other teams that were interested in this tall Greek player, and Nottingham Forest was merely one of the many.

As the UEFA European Football Championship progressed, Tang En and Dunn's workload actually lessened. By the end of the championships, there were only those few teams left. The players whom they had to assess had already been assessed, and the only ones left were either those who did not catch Tang En's eye or who Tang En had no means of purchasing at the moment.

The Greek team played well, challenging the traditional perspectives of European Football time and again in their matches. This had, however, also repeatedly caused football fans to grind their teeth in hate. However, in Tang En's eyes, despite him always putting in good words for the Greek team in his special column, none of the Greek players caught his attention. That was because Tang En knew that even if the Greeks were to attain the championship title this time, it was still insufficient to say that their players were on the same level as the other top players in Europe, or that they were on equal footing with other football stars from traditional strong teams.

It could only be said that throughout the twenty-odd days of the UEFA European Football Championship, the Greek team was the best-performing team among the sixteen teams present, and that their players worked together the best. Nothing more, nothing less. After the finals ended and everything settled down, discussing whether Greece would become a powerhouse in the European Football scene from then onwards, or whether Greek players would become more popular, was completely meaningless.

Perhaps others might disagree, but it should be noted that Tang En had time travelled back in time from year 2007. How many players from the Greek team had continued to play well for their clubs? Not even one.

※※※

When the Greek team had defeated many powerhouses such as France and Czech Republic to finally advance and meet Portugal in the finals, the whole world favored Scolari more. Regardless of which angle they looked from, they felt that Portugal should win that night. They were the hosts, had a world-class champion manager, and their opponents were one of the weakest teams, Greece.

Even the waiter at the hotel where Tang En was staying gave him an unusually friendly smile. The waiter took the initiative to chat with Tang En about the finals match that would be held that night. This Portuguese youngster was very confident about his country's national team. Out of sympathy, Tang En did not shatter his dreams.

After sending off the waiter, who had rattled on endlessly, Tang En stood near the windows of the hotel and saw the crowd of Portuguese fans assembled downstairs. They were wearing red and green colored Portuguese jerseys, waving Portuguese flags, and singing songs as they walked past the hotel in flocks.

"I really don't know what these people's expressions will look like in a few hours. Celebrating so brazenly before the match even starts... aren't they afraid of angering the Greeks?" Tang En shrugged and turned around to look at Dunn, who was still taking down notes in front of the table.

"Got it, Dunn." Tang En walked up to Dunn and closed his notebook. "You got to learn how to enjoy things… Only when you learn to enjoy life can you enjoy your work. Haven't you heard that saying? They often use it in advertisements, but I've got to admit that it's true. Let's go, we'll get a drink."

Dunn looked up at Tang En, who shrugged again. "You can't become a successful manager by just burying yourself in a mountain of information. Go and relax a bit, engage in some idle chat, and maybe you'll find some inspiration. Let's go."

Dunn still did not move.

"Alright, I don't care what you were like in the past, but now that you're with me, you have to do as I do. That way, we can improve our chemistry." After Tang En said that, he directly dragged Dunn out of the hotel room.

Tang En randomly chose a crowded bar along the streets outside, brought Dunn along, and squeezed in. The majority of the patrons in the bar were Portuguese, but there were, of course, still a minority of Greeks present as well. This was easily discernible just from a look at the jerseys which they wore. Before the match started, everyone was still able to get along with one another, taking pictures of themselves raising their beer glasses as mementos. Speaking as a whole, the Greek fans were slightly low-profile. Next to the Portuguese people, who were celebrating as though they had already won the championship, the Greek fans did not seem humiliated.

Tang En squeezed to the bar counter and asked for two glasses of beer in English. Afterwards, he pushed one glass to Dunn and said, "Just drink. It's not poison."

Dunn shook his head. "I once swore never to drink alcohol again."

Tang En did not want to put him in a tight spot, so he took that glass of beer and put it in front of himself. "What a coincidence, I was afraid you would want to drink… mmm…So good!"

After downing a mouthful of icy beer, Tang En felt so good that his hair was standing on end. Unable to help it, Tang En shivered.

Seeing that Tang En was completely immersed in it, Dunn remained unmoved. Right at that moment, another voice sounded from behind Tang En. "What a coincidence! Hi Tony!"

Right after Tang En opened his eyes, he saw Pierce Brosnan standing behind Dunn and waving at Tang En frantically.

"Hi, Mr. Reporter." Tang En said as he waved, and Dunn turned his head around to look behind him.

"It's really unbelievable that even though we're both in Portugal, we only met on the day of the finals." Brosnan saw Dunn, and the sight of an Asian face shocked him.

"Hello." Dunn took the initiative and greeted the other.

"Hello..."

"I forgot to introduce him to you." Tang En waved his hands at the waiter to ask for more beer before pointing at Dunn and saying to Brosnan, "Dunn, from China. From today onwards, you'll be seeing him very frequently."

"Chinese? Your second Chinese teacher?" Brosnan started laughing. "He looks really young… How did you guys get to know each other?"

"No, Mr. Reporter." What Tang En said after made Brosnan stare at him in shock, unable to believe his ears. "He's the new assistant manager of Nottingham Forest; my assistant, partner, and colleague."

As Brosnan turned his head and saw the calm look on Dunn's face, his mouth was opened so wide that one could stuff a beer glass into his mouth.

Tang En was pleased to see Brosnan in such a state of shock. and he continued to giggle by the side. Despite bringing the beer glass to his mouth, Tang En was simply unable to pour it into his mouth.

Brosnan, who had finally recovered from his initial shock, shook his head and said to Tang En, "Tony, we all know that you like to do things in an unconventional way… but I dare say that your action this time is the most exaggerated one ever! You know that? Never has there been any English Premier League team that is willing to hire a Chinese person to be an assistant manager. And he is still so young…"

Tang En pointed at Dunn, who was behind him, and said, "Be careful what you say, Mr. Reporter. Dunn is completely able to understand what you're saying. His understanding of English Football might even be more than yours and mine combined."

Brosnan still felt found it hard to believe, and said, "An Indian fan who reads the news everyday might also be more knowledgeable about English Football than us! But what's the point of all this? He… does he have a coaching license?"

"I will make him get one this summer," Tang En casually said as he sipped on his beer.

"Which is to say that he doesn't have any coaching experience?"

"In a way… you can say it like that, but it isn't entirely correct…" As he said this, Tang En thought about how Dunn's work experience on the youth team alone was much more than Tang En's experience as a manager.

"No fame, no qualifications, no… nothing at all. You intend to let this kind of person become Nottingham Forest's assistant manager?"

Tang En suddenly hated Brosnan's tone and attitude. This was in spite the fact that Tang En knew that it was only natural for him to doubt Dunn. After all, Dunn had not displayed his abilities to others yet. However, Brosnan yelling at his assistant manager in such a rude manner was equivalent to doubting Tang En, because this person was chosen by Tang En himself.

"I don't feel like there is any issue. Assessing a manager's abilities cannot be done by looking at boring things such as their qualifications or reputations. Whether or not he is able to be an assistant manager, won't the answer be clear once you see him in action? You, on the other hand, Mr. Reporter, must be terribly drunk. You should go to the toilet and sober yourself up," Tang En said unceremoniously, with a displeased look on his face.

Realizing that he had gotten carried away, Brosnan sat dumbfounded for a while before apologizing awkwardly to Tang En and Dunn. "I'm really sorry. You're right. I don't even know how many glasses I drank just now. Alright, let me go to the toilet and sober up…"

Seeing Brosnan's figure disappear amidst the crowd, Tang En said to Dunn, who had been silent all the while, "Dunn, you've been doubted by someone. And you'll have to get used to it. There will be more such situations happening this summer."

Dunn replied dismissively, "It's very normal. I haven't done anything yet."

Looking at that placid face, Tang En felt that that was a face that he wouldn't have made if it were him. "You don't feel that you've been humiliated, or feel angry?"

"I'm different from you. I'm not used to quarrelling with people." Dunn finished all the water in his glass before turning and heading for the exit. "I'm heading back first."

Tang En, who was holding the beer glass in his hand, grinned behind Dunn. Unsure of the reason why, Tang En suddenly recalled the piece of red paper that was stuck onto the refrigerator door: "Must win," accompanied by three big exclamation marks.

Chapter 192: Gerard Piqué Part 1

When the final was over, the city of Lisbon was silent for a few seconds. Tang En stood in the stands and applauded the Greek national football team. Everything had happened exactly as he had known it would, and there was no change in the course of events. In this tournament, it could be said that only Otto Rehhagel's Greek national football team could completely restrain the official host team.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's Portuguese national football team not only wanted to win the championship, but also wanted to win beautifully on their home ground. But their offense did not work in the face of the Greeks' well-fortified defense. It was as if a beautiful crystal dagger was used to stab a boulder; the final result was only a white scratch was left on the boulder, and the crystal dagger was smashed into countless pieces.

The score was 1:0. The low-key Greeks defeated their overly confident hosts. They achieved the greatest victory in the history of their national team.

Watching the ecstatic Greek players, Tang En was not as excited as he had been when he had seen this scene for the first time. While he was clapping, he said to Dunn beside him, "I can already imagine what the major media's headlines will be for tomorrow. They may be the most unconvincing champions in the history of the European Cup; even the Denmark national football team was more credible than they are."

"Because of Peter Schmeichel and Michael Laudrup?" Dunn asked.

Tang En nodded. "The Portuguese must be upset by the loss. They lost to a team with no star players. The total value of the entire team might not even be higher than the value of Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo... It really is ironic. Dunn, we're not going back to England tomorrow. We're going somewhere else first."

"Where?"

"Spain. Barcelona." Tang En glanced back at the lively scene in the middle of the field and turned to leave the stands. "Let's go, the game is over."

Whether it was the ecstatic Greeks or the frustrated Portuguese, or those people with views on and understanding of the Greece national team taking the European championship and going as far as the FIFA World Cup, none of these things had anything to do with Tang En and his assistant manager, Dunn.

Their busy summer had officially kicked off.

※※※

The next day, while the two men were on the plane flying from Lisbon to Barcelona, Dunn was reading the latest published newspapers; the European Championship final that had ended last night was naturally the focus of the media. Tang En was right. The media reaction to the Greeks winning the championship was fascinating. The local media in Portugal was almost unanimous in thinking that the Greeks had stolen the championship. They thought that the tactic of having ten defensive players and only one attacking player was despicable.

And other European media, such as that of Spain, also thought that the Greeks' revelry was not a good thing for the future of European football.

Utilitarian football would sweep across Europe again, and the viewing pleasure of football would be greatly reduced. This might make the already shrinking football market more challenging. No one enjoyed dull and boring games, so the fans would not like it, and neither would the sponsors.

Tang En glanced at it a few times; he could not understand Portuguese at all. But he was not surprised that Dunn could understand it. Dunn was very keen to learn; he spent all his spare time on his studies, so it was not surprising that he knew Portuguese.

"What does it say?" Tang En asked casually.

"It was the same as what you said yesterday." After living with Tang En for a while, Dunn had begun to talk more. When living with someone who was constantly chattering, one would gradually get more talkative. "Nothing new."

Tang En smiled. "The losers always have all sorts of excuses to justify their mistakes. Is the whole world going to start talking about defense now?"

Dunn put aside the newspaper and looked at Tang En's smug face. "I don't think defense will become a mainstream tactic for many teams in the future. But all the managers will start studying how to break this type of defense."

Tang En shrugged. "No matter what they think or do, defense is the foundation of all tactics. When we reach Barcelona, there's a young man there whom I'm very interested in. And our rival this time is powerful." Looking at the confused Dunn, he chuckled. "Very, very powerful."

Only when the two men had found a hotel in Barcelona to put their bags down, and then rushed to Barcelona's youth training camp, did Dunn know who the target was this time, and who the Forest team was going to compete against. It was, just like he had said, a very powerful rival.

Tony Twain had his eye on the Barcelona youth team's center back, Gerard Piqué. At this point, Piqué was not famous yet. However, in the hearts of the Barcelona fans, he was the future successor of the team captain, Carles Puyol.

When they were standing at sidelines of the training ground watching their target train, Tang En even found Lionel Messi there. But he did not get excited or plan anything with regards to this discovery at all, because he knew that Messi had become the focus of Barcelona's First Team's scrutiny.

As for Piqué, he knew that there was a loophole which he could use.

Spanish law was special because it stipulated that a juvenile under the age of 18 would not be allowed to sign any professional contract. This was a common law put in place for any company in Spain, and it naturally included the football clubs as well. Therefore, when Spanish clubs took great pains to cultivate a new star player and watched him become the main force of the Spanish youth team, they could not help being wary, for fear of visits and harassment from the foreign clubs.

Because they could not sign a career contract with the young players, they could not restrict the player's situation at all. If the player felt some loyalty towards the club that trained him, and the club made a commitment to his future, he would obviously be happy to stay on. But if the club was unable to promise a future to the young player due to some of its own difficulties, and another club which could make the commitment took advantage of this, then it was completely conceivable for the talent to leave.

One example was Cesc Fàbregas. He loved Barcelona deeply and his entire family was made up of diehard, loyal Barcelona supporters. He did not receive the conscription of the Barcelona First Team because for a long period of time Barcelona could not make a promise to the young man for him to become a main force in the future due to the strength of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and other players.

Consequently, the Golden Player of the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the captain of the Spanish youth team, left Barcelona, who had trained him, and went to North London.

Arsène Wenger was a very cunning man. He had a keen sense of judgement and a unique way of looking for loopholes.

Spanish law did not allow their professional clubs to offer professional contracts to young players under the age of 18, while English law allowed clubs to offer professional contracts to young men over the age of 16. This two-year difference resulted in English clubs rushing to Spain in succession to search for players that they could rely on: Young man, the club that trains you cannot provide you with a career contract, or promise you a future. But we can!

Arsenal's Wenger was like Christopher Columbus in the era of the great voyages. He opened up a whole new continent for the English clubs. All the English managers knew that Spain had a large number of outstanding young players, and that they were free to sign without any signing fees, and were ready to play! Especially to Barcelona, Cesc Fàbregas' success at Arsenal had proved the strength of their youth training, somewhat to the embarrassment of the Catalans.

Hence, Tony Twain was not surprised to see English-speaking people at the training ground. He knew that, among the incognito crowd, there would be scouts from Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea. And the object of their investigation was also the purpose of his visit: Gerard Piqué.

Standing at the training ground and watching the Barcelona youth training for a while, Tang En asked Dunn beside him, "What do you think?"

"His physique is excellent. As a center back, his skills are much better than an English center back's," Dunn commented. This was his conclusion after half an hour of observation. He did not evaluate his other qualities, as he did not see. "Physically, I don't think he'd have any problem adapting to the English league championship. Who are our competitors?"

"As far as I know... Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea." Tang En stated the names of the three most influential clubs in England at the time.

Dunn was not surprised. He nodded. "Of course." An outstanding player would naturally attract favorable attention from the best clubs. What interested him more was how Tang En planned to compete against these three clubs for the player.

In terms of financial strength, Nottingham Forest could not compete with Chelsea's deep pockets. As for the glory, the declining Forest team was inferior to Manchester United, which had been the top team of the Premier League for ten years. On the training of young players, they were not as good as Arsenal, and the Arsenal team currently had Piqué's good friend, Cesc Fàbregas.

In fact, before Tang En's arrival, Piqué had already been infinitely closer to Manchester United. Ferguson's trust and cultivation of young players touched Piqué. Chelsea had the least advantage of the three clubs, and their First Team was already stocked with too many star players. Piqué knew clearly that there would not be much of a difference between going to Stamford Bridge and staying at the Camp Nou.

It was out of Tang En's control that he was later than the others to act. A few months ago, his future and that of his team were uncertain. If the Forest team could not succeed in its promotion, they would have been a laughing stock for coming to Barcelona to compete against the three major clubs for a player.

Chapter 193: Gerard Piqué Part 2

Half a year had passed since Nottingham Forest's dark days, and the situation had changed dramatically. Tony Twain of today was very confident about going up against Ferguson and Wenger.

"It's clear that you think highly of him too. Let's head back, Dunn. Let's talk to his agent first... I've asked him to have dinner together tonight."

※※※

Obviously, when Tang En was in Portugal, he had already arranged everything for Spain. No matter when or whom he was to meet, he had made the reservations for the restaurants.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Tang En and Dunn ate some bread to tide them over; otherwise they would be hungry. Even when Tang En was still in China, he had already known that the Spaniards were famous for lateness in their daily schedules—when he spoke to Piqué's agent, Arturo Canales, over the phone, he had said that dinner time was eight o'clock in the evening!

It was hard to imagine the manager of a Premier League football club drinking mineral water and eating bread in a hotel room. But when the Forest team was just getting started, what else could he do? Besides, Piqué was a player that Tang En thought highly of. It would seem more sincere if he appeared in person, and he also hoped to impress Piqué in this way, and be more persuasive.

But first, they had to go through the agent. The relationship between a manager and an agent was complex. Sometimes, the manager needed to curry favor with the agent, and sometimes the agent needed to please the manager. Now, it was Tony Twain's turn to make Piqué's agent happy.

At 8:15, a little later than the appointed time, Tony Twain and Dunn met Arturo Canales at the pre-arranged restaurant. Even though the player that he represented was still a young man who had not played in a professional league, he was qualified enough to put on airs before Twain.

Piqué was the Spanish youth team's main center back. His future was almost certain, even without the analysis of experts. And the agent also benefited when so many big clubs had their eyes on Piqué. While on the verge of reaching a consensus with Manchester United, Canales had no real need to meet with a manager of a recently promoted Premier League team to discuss the future of his client. However, over the phone, Twain had made him a tempting promise: if he did his best to facilitate the deal, then he would personally receive an additional fifty-thousand-pound commission from the Forest Football Club!

Mr. Ferguson did not promise to pay him an extra compensation, and as for Tony Twain... Canales could still remember that the first time he called him, he had already mentioned it. Even though Canales had never heard of him, it was clear that Mr. Tony Twain, despite being less famous than Sir Alex Ferguson, knew the business. Yes, he knew it very well.

When he arrived at the restaurant, Canales was a little apologetic towards Twain, who stood up to greet him. He said, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Twain. There was a traffic jam." He spoke fluent English.

After exchanging a few words of conventional greeting, the two sides quickly came to the point. Twain made no secret of his liking and pursuit of Piqué, and he hoped that Canales would convey this message to Piqué: that although Nottingham Forest had just been promoted to the Premier League, the club had a very ambitious plan which was a very suitable way for the young Piqué to fully show his talents. In addition, he and the Forest team had the tradition of putting young players in important positions. He did not have to worry about not being able to play in matches when he joined the Forest team. The Forest team would not make him play in the youth league championships or reserve games. Twain wanted to buy him to let him play as the main center back, rather than as an investment for the future. Thirdly—and this was Twain's trump card—although Manchester United could take part in the UEFA Champions League next season, if Piqué were to join Manchester United, it was absolutely impossible for his name to enter the Champions League list, which both Piqué and his agent, Canales, were very clear about their interest in. But the Forest team could guarantee that Piqué would definitely play in UEFA Champions League, because the Forest team was one of three teams to represent England in the UEFA Europa League next season.

What did it mean for a young player to participate in a European tournament? Twain believed Piqué and Canales must clearly understand that players could participate in more games to raise their profiles, accumulate experience, and, at the same time, help increase their business value.

Holding a negotiation while Manchester United and Piqué were already getting closer in their relationship was advantageous to Tang En, in that they did not have to be entangled with the issue of the player's sentimentality towards his club, nor could Canales use that point to ask for high prices.

Piqué was certain to leave. The only question was which club he would go to.

When they had finished their discussion, they were like old friends, chatting about Catalonia and the weather in the United Kingdom. In this regard, Twain was bound to compliment the sunny weather and beaches of Barcelona, as well as its delicious cuisine. Then, Dunn excused himself from the table to go to the restroom, and Twain slid a twenty-thousand-pound check in front of Canales and told him that it was an advance payment. If the matter was successful, the remaining thirty thousand pounds would reach Mr. Canales's account immediately. If it was unsuccessful, these twenty thousand pounds would be the basis for their future cooperation.

When Dunn returned, the perfectly satisfied Canales took the check and said goodbye to them. His attitude was quite different from how it had been during the first phone call.

After they had sent Canales off, Tang En and Dunn took the car back to the hotel. In the car, Tang En said to Dunn, "Money makes the world go round… the great wisdom of the Chinese."

"I... don't really if it's worth doing this for a young player who has not proven himself yet in the professional arena." Dunn expressed his caution and concern.

Tang En shook his head. "In a few years, you will be glad that we only had to put out fifty thousand pounds to get him, and the people from Barcelona will regret it very much... Actually, they are already regretting it now, but they can't do anything about it. I love Spain... and its law!" He laughed.

※※※

A day later, Tang En received a call from Mr. Arturo Canales, who told him that Gerard Piqué Bernabéu would like to speak with him face-to-face.

After he hung up the phone, Tang En looked at Dunn, who was sitting on the couch and watching him. His face revealed a barely-concealed smile. "Dunn, half the battle is won. The team I want is taking shape, and I can already see it."

Chapter 194: The Future Of Youth Players Part 1

The meeting with Gerard Pique Bernabeu had been arranged at the same restaurant.

Speaking of Pique's last name, almost all Real Madrid fans would find it extremely familiar; it was the last name of Real Madrid's legendary Chairman, Santiago Bernabeu. The only thing was that Pique was not related to Real Madrid's Bernabeu in any way. Instead, his grandfather was the ex-vice chairman of Barcelona. This made people feel that Pique should be exceptionally loyal to Barcelona. But that was not really the case.

Pique loved Barcelona a lot, but he also knew that his own future should be prioritized before all else.

The young Pique still retained some semblance of a child's looks, and his most distinguished feature was his thick lips. Standing at a height of just over six feet, Pique also stood out in a crowd with his height.

When Tang En got news that Pique wished to speak face to face, he already knew that his journey to Barcelona this time had succeeded at least halfway. If Pique had steeled his resolve to join Manchester United, then he wouldn't have agreed to meet Tang En in the first place. Although Pique's agent, Canales, who was behind him, helped out greatly, the most crucial determining factor must have been Pique's thoughts.

Tang En could see this from his memories of Pique giving up on Barcelona to go to Manchester United. Gerard Pique was indeed someone who was very assertive.

"Pleased to meet you, sir." Pique, who was only seventeen years-old, did not appear nervous at all. Perhaps it was due to him growing up in a powerhouse football club from a young age, which had probably caused his confidence to be much higher than that of others his age. "After Mr Canales passed your message on to me, I felt that there was room for discussion."

"Of course." Tang En smiled and continued, "I expected it." That was definitely the case, seeing how this meeting was worth twenty thousand pounds!

"Well, sir, you know… Manchester United has already contacted me, and they've moved me with their sincerity," Pique said with his brows furrowed together. His facial expression was so serious that he looked as though he was the agent, while Canales had become the translator.

"Yes, I know about that. Manchester United may have expressed their sincerity, but we here at Nottingham Forest are sincere as well. Look, we've made a trip down to Barcelona especially for you." Tang En spread his hands and continued, "Please believe that our sincerity towards you won't lose to any other club."

Pique nodded his head lightly, but did not say anything else.

Tang En knew that it was his turn to speak. "I know the reason why you chose Manchester United and not Arsenal, despite the fact that your good friend is there. But I have to point out that in England, Manchester United and Manager Ferguson are not the only ones that hold young players in high regards. There's still us, Nottingham Forest. If Mr. Canales has briefly introduced to you to Nottingham Forest's situation last season, you will know that the majority of our team's core players are very young. I know, Nottingham Forest's reputation right now cannot hold a candle to Manchester United's, but we have an advantage that they don't have. May I ask you, Gerard, if Manager Ferguson's representative has promised you anything?"

"He promised me the future," Pique answered.

"Very good, very good. Manchester United has promised you the future, and I don't think that they are lying. But Nottingham Forest can promise you the present." Tang En extended one finger and said, "The reason for me coming all the way to Barcelona is not just to invest in Nottingham Forest's future. You already know; Nottingham Forest has already successfully advanced into the UEFA Europa League, and we need to participate in many different leagues and championship cups. Therefore you don't have to worry at all about not being able to play any matches once you come over to Nottingham Forest. If you go to Manchester United, what can the present-you get? Youth team matches, reserve team's matches one year later, being loaned out two years later to continue to accumulate experience, because the main team still won't have a position for you… Do you think I'm exaggerating?"

Pique did not answer.

Manchester United and Barcelona were both considered powerhouses, and Pique knew very clearly what a powerhouse's main team looked like. How many powerhouses out there really valued their youth team's talents? While Barcelona's La Masia youth training grounds was considered one of the best in Spain, and it had indeed nurtured many outstanding young players. But how many of them actually made it to the main team?

Why did Fabregas choose to leave the team, and head to the cold, gloomy, dampness of London? Others might not know, but how could Pique, Cesc's best friend, not know?

Barcelona's new chairman, Joan Laporta, in a bid to achieve good results as soon as possible and further stabilize his position as the chairman, would rather believe in spending huge amounts of money to buy famous football stars from other teams, than believe in giving young players a chance.

Fabregas's departure made the youngsters of La Masia see their futures. Just like that, Arsenal's star of hope became the role model for those people. He made everyone reconsider their futures if they stayed with Barcelona. Aside from Pique, there was another person who was also hesitating about his career as a professional footballer. That person was none other than the Barcelona C team's captain, Francisco Merida.

If Barcelona was in that kind of situation, what about Manchester United, a fellow powerhouse? If Barcelona did not give opportunities, would Manchester United be any different?

The center-back is a very special position. Unless the core center-back player was injured, there weren't many managers who would be willing to casually give a seventeen year-old child an opportunity. The stability of the backline defense was something that was especially important to powerhouses, who needed immediate results. What if Pique had chosen Manchester United, and by the end of three years was still unable to play for the main team, and could only play on the field when he was on loan to other clubs, just as Tang En had described? Would his current decision still be correct?

Players usually grew the most between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two. If they played in too few matches, then the player would stop improving. The common reason behind the stagnation of countless geniuses was largely due to their lack of match experience.

Manchester United was a powerhouse, which meant that for the sake of results, they could channel more money to the transfer market and buy mature players. In that case, how many opportunities would the team give a young player?

Although Nottingham Forest was a small team, there were also some advantages to being a small team. And that was the ability to give young players the room for growth that they required, as well as the their willingness to give the young players more opportunities to play in matches. Although the characteristic of lacking the financial ability to purchase those expensive famous football stars remained the sorrow of small clubs, it worked out great for young players.

Thinking about it in that way, Tang En's position as the manager of a newly-promoted team was very advantageous.

And Tang En was definitely not being an alarmist. As someone who had been through it, Tang En was very clear about Pique's future at Manchester United…. During the 04-05 season, he played for Manchester United's youth team in the FA Youth Cup. 05-06 season, he was loaned out to Real Zaragoza FC, a club playing in the La Liga. As per the contract, Pique had to be sent out to play at least twenty-times. At the start, Real Zaragoza was still unwilling to send Pique out too many times, and instead often only sent him out for the sake of counting it towards the required twenty. For the 07-08 season, Tang En did not know what would happen, but he felt that Ferguson still would not give Pique many chances. That was because Rio Fernando and Nemanja Vidic's positions as the core players of the team were very secure, and no manager would casually break up a center-back duo who coordinated so well with each other, just for the sake of nurturing a newbie whose future was still unknown.

Ferguson would not know about Pique's future achievements, and the same could be said of Tang En. However, from Pique's performance over the next three years, he knew very well that the season during which he was with Real Zaragoza was sufficient to see the youngster's abilities. Not only could he play as a center-back, he could also play as a right-back; and if the situation necessitated, he could be deployed midfield, and play as a defensive midfielder. Of course, that would only be a temporary substitute, and not a long term plan.

Seeing that Pique had gone silent, Tang En knew that Pique must be hesitating inside. As such, he decided to strike while the iron was hot. "You won't get any chances at Barcelona, and being in Manchester United will only be slightly better than that. But if you join Nottingham Forest, you can immediately get the chance to play. I don't think there's anything better than that. Moreover, We are a team that will be participating in the UEFA Europa League. What are you hesitating for, Gerard?"

Regardless of which aspect Gerard looked at, the conditions offered by Tang En were the most favorable for him. Gerard would not be given opportunities to play at Manchester United and Barcelona; when the time came, in order to ensure that he played in sufficient matches, they would have to loan him out. He would be sent to a team from a lower league, and the same fate awaited him for the next season as well. If he wanted to play as part of the main team, it would require taking into account lots of various aspects.

Pique continued to remain silent. However, Tang En did not rush his this time. Instead, he leaned back against his seat and sipped his drink casually.

Canales lowered his voice and said a few words to Pique, and they continued to discuss something in Catalonian. Tang En did not understand what they were saying, but he knew that it must be related to the current issue that Pique was facing.

Tang En's guess was spot-on. Pique was asking his agent, "Since I've already decided to leave Barcelona, is going to Manchester United or Nottingham Forest, which came out of nowhere but has better conditions for me, better?"

The moment Canales thought about the thirty thousand pounds waiting for him once the mission was accomplished, he immediately, without hesitation, recommended that Pique choose Nottingham Forest. His reasoning also sounded very convincing. "Gerard, I feel that Nottingham Forest is much more beneficial towards your future development. Since Mr. Twain over here has promised to give you sufficient matches to play in, I believe that he is being serious. The significance of this period of time to you is something that you definitely know better than me. Playing in more matches is the most important thing. Since Manchester United will still loan you out even if you join them, why not go to a team that will give you a core position on the main team? Moreover…" Canales shot a look at Tang En, before telling the player he was representing, "When your contract is up, you may also choose to go to bigger teams, and win even more glory. Nottingham Forest is only a stepping stone for you."

Chapter 195: The Future Of Youth Players Part 1

The last sentence was the determining factor. Pique lightly nodded his head and said, "Mr. Canales, you are right. But currently, on Manchester United's side… Mr. Ferguson has very high hopes for me."

Canales shook his head and said, "You don't have to worry about that. I'll be the villain. We only have to ask him if Manchester United is willing to give you a position on the first team next season. And we all know the answer to that question. If that's the case, why is there a need for you to go to his club and become a player for the youth team, when Nottingham Forest is willing to give you a position on their first team? Did Manchester United give us any promises or guarantees? Have they paid us in advance? They have given us nothing. Remember Gerard, your future is the most important thing for us to consider. You don't want to see yourself remain unheard-of after leaving Barcelona, right?

Pique shook his head.

"In that case, do as I say: wait. Don't answer him right now. Tell that manager that you have to go back and talk with your parents, and that you will give him a reply after one day. Don't appear too anxious, I want to get you the best contract you can get."

The two of them finished their discussion. Pique told Tang En, "Mr. Twain, the conditions you've offered are very good. However, I have to go back and talk with my parents. I'll give you a reply in a day."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for your call in Barcelona." Tang En stood up and shook Pique's hand, showing that he agreed. Afterwards, when Canales and Tang En shook hands, Tang En winked; both parties had a tacit understanding of the situation.

※※※

For the rest of the day, Tang En and Dunn were at Barcelona's youth training grounds, La Masia, watching Barcelona's youth team train. He found a few familiar figures in there. There was Giovani dos Santos, who resembled Ronaldinho in terms of hairstyle, skin tone, and skill. As a result, he had been nicknamed "the young Mexican Ronaldinho." Francisco Merida, the midfielder passer of Spain's national youth team and Barcelona's youth team, was also there. Then there was Bojan Krkic, the "child prodigy" whom Barcelona had high hopes for… and then the famous Messi. He had already been transferred to the main team by Rijkaard, and would be commencing his training with top-tier stars such as Ronaldinho, Puyol, Giuly and Xavi, once the summer started. As such, he would hardly appear at La Masia once summer came.

Looking at those prodigious players, Tang En really had the impulse to poach them all at once. But he knew that that was impossible, and there was only a slight possibility with Merida… But his play style did not seem to fit in with that of the English Premier League. If Tang En's memories served him right, Merida would later fall out with the upper echelons of the club when he was fifteen years-old, and would refuse to sign the contract with Barcelona. Afterwards, he left Barcelona and went to Liverpool for trials. However, Tang En did not know the in-depth details of the situation, only having heard that Mereda did not stay on with Liverpool. One year later, Merida would go on to join Arsenal's youth team.

On one hand, the main teams spent lots of money purchasing famous football stars; on the other hand, there was an increasing backlog of talents nurtured by the youth teams. This contradiction seemed irreconcilable. The main team's manager had a tendency to distrust young players, because the pressure placed on these managers was much greater than the pressure on the youth team managers. When Tang En was playing Football Manager, he had experienced this same dilemma.

As a player, Tang En liked young prodigies who had a lot of potential. However, whenever he discovered famous football stars on the transfer market, he would be unable to resist the desire to buy them.

There was also another powerhouse which faced the same issue as Barcelona: Real Madrid.

As the football club which had the most number of La Liga championship titles to their name, Real Madrid also had a fine tradition of placing emphasis on youth training. Real Madrid's "Vulture's Cohort" during the 1980s was the most classic example of their emphasis on youth training. However, entering into the twenty-first century, along with Florentino's implementation of the "one football star every year" policy, the number of players that were transferred to the main team from the Real Madrid Youth Team gradually decreased. The policy of "Zidane + Pavon", which was spoiled with excessive enthusiasm, was a joke. Despite Real Madrid's youth team always obtaining good results in La Liga 2 every year, despite the fact that the media and fans were always able to discover prodigies or rookies every year, in the end, almost none of the players from the youth team managed to make it to Real Madrid's main team. Portillo, for example, was the forward that was named to be Raul's successor, but his talent was later depleted during the time when he was repeatedly being loaned out to other teams. Mejia was once the team captain of Real Madrid B team, and was the team's core center-back player. However, once he had transferred to Real Madrid's main team, he became the definition of a worrywart. There was someone else in the same situation as him, and that person was Raul Bravo. He had once been deemed Roberto Carlos's successor, and had even been selected to be part of Spain's national team. However, he could only be sidelined when he was on Real Madrid's main team. Additionally, after Portillo, Soldado appeared out of nowhere; and despite him breaking the records that Raul had set in Real Madrid's youth team, there was no place for him in Real Madrid's main team.

Aside from those mentioned, there were countless other "future stars" from Real Madrid that had already been forgotten completely. Where are they, and what are they doing now?

The greatest irony was that even though Real Madrid had the grandest training grounds in all of Spain, the talents nurtured by the youth training camp had all ended up leaving to play for other Spanish football clubs aside from Real Madrid.

Currently, Tang En did not have to worry about the younger Nottingham Forest players being unable to play in matches. The only thing he worried about was not being able to find players to play in the match.

Small teams always worried about the abilities of their substitute players on the bench, while the powerhouses were instead always in a dilemma over who they should send up onto the field.

One day later, Pique met up with Tang En again. This time, the reply that they gave Tang En was well within Tang En's expectations: Pique agreed to join Nottingham Forest and reject Manchester United. He hoped that Manager Tony Twain could honor his promise of giving him sufficient playing time on the field.

Tang En smiled and said, "Of course, Gerard. I didn't travel all the way from England to Barcelona just to search for talents to join the youth team. Soon, you will realize that your decision to join Nottingham Forest was very wise."

Afterwards, Tang En represented Nottingham Forest and signed a four-year professional contract with Gerard Pique Bernabeu in the restaurant. From that moment onwards, Pique, the pure-Barcelonan player born in Catalonia, became Nottingham Forest's player.

And Nottingham Forest only had to pay a sum of two hundred and twenty thousand pounds. To Barcelona, that amount of money was almost nothing compared to the amount that the club had spent on nurturing a player like Pique. However, they had no choice but to watch helplessly as the Englishman took him away, snatching away the team's future core backline defender.

Of course, the Barcelonans had reasons to be angry about this. After all, they had nurtured Pique, and Pique's grandfather had been Barcelona FC vice-chairman in the past. That added layer of relationship would make the Barcelonans view Pique's leaving as a form of betrayal. However, the most angry person was not a Barcelonan, but a Scottish man.

Pique signed his name on the contract, finally putting an end to his worries for his future, which had plagued him for half a year. He revealed a relaxed smile to Tang En and said, "Should I learn from those English players and address you as Boss? Mister?"

"Hmm, not necessarily… Welcome to the Nottingham Forest's big family. You'll have a lot of freedom here, including how you choose to address me. There are a few ways you may choose to address me: A, boss; B, mister; C, chief; D, manager. Which do you like?" Tang En said to Pique, mimicking the voice of a robot.

Pique smiled and replied, "C."

"Very good, kid! You'll love this team, I guarantee it!" Tang En said, laughing loudly and patting Pique's shoulder. That was the person who would become the future pillar of the team!

※※※

When Pique and Tang En were signing the contract in the restaurant, Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who was preparing for the next season in Manchester, received a call from Barcelona.

"Boss, bad news. Pique no longer belongs to us."

"What?" Ferguson thought he had misheard. Half a month ago, his assistant had still been telling him that Pique was very willing to sign a contract with Manchester United. The Scottish manager was feeling extremely triumphant for being able to defeat Arsenal in terms of the competition for talents. Little did he know that after a mere two weeks…"Is it the French guy?" The first person Ferguson thought of was Wenger. As the two of them were arch rivals, Wenger was naturally the first person that came to mind whenever his plans were foiled.

"No, boss. It's not Arsenal. They've already given up. It's another Englishman… Tony Twain."

Ferguson was momentarily stumped. This name sounded somewhat familiar, but he could not recall who it was. He asked, "Who is that?"

"Nottingham Forest's manager, boss. They just got promoted to the Premier League this season.

After hearing that, Ferguson remembered fully who it was. It was that young man who had made Mark Lawrenson disgrace himself and shave his moustache on a television program!

"What reason did he give? I want to know what the newly-promoted team did to snatch away our player!" Ferguson's face started to flush. That usually foreshadowed an outburst of anger.

"He did not divulge any specific details. He only said that while Manchester United can only promise him his future, Nottingham Forest is able to promise him the present."

Those words struck at the Achilles' heel of Manchester United, causing Ferguson's anger to stick in his throat, unable to be released. Manchester United could not refute that reasoning for snatching away his player. Ferguson suddenly became extremely interested in the "youngest manager of the English Premier League," whom he had not had much knowledge of prior to this.

Who is he? And what abilities does he have?

Most importantly… Can he pose a threat to Manchester United?

Chapter 196: The Disruption of Tony Twain Part 1

Tony Twain and Dunn, who had bought Piqué, soon left Spain.

The English Premier League would start earlier than the championships in other countries, and would be in full combat in the middle of August. For that reason, the Premier League teams' preparation time was earlier than those of any other country.

Now, for Tang En, there was a problem that needed to be addressed: his partner's coaching certificate.

Tony Twain had a FA Level 4 (UEFA A) coaching certificate; of course, the examination was passed previously and had nothing to do with Tang En, who transmigrated. Even though Dunn was the original Tony Twain, his current identity as a Chinese man did not even have a FA Level 1 coaching certificate.

Strictly speaking, without a coaching certificate, the English Football Association would not permit him be a coach for a Premier League team. But if this was the case in a lower-level league, the Football Association would turn away and pretend that they had not known about it. This was a tradition of English football. Since retired players could put on white gloves and become a team doctor, why couldn't the retired players put on a suit and become a coach?

For almost all the English football clubs, letting a retired player who had played for the club for years become a coach was the best reward for his loyalty. And loyalty was what they valued most.

Dunn was not a retired player in the Forest team, but he could be an assistant manager. Nottingham Forest could get into trouble with the English Football Association and if anyone had any objections, it would not be because Dunn did not have a coaching certificate, but rather because he was too young, and because he was not an Englishman.

Tang En and Dunn had no way to solve these two points. They could not change Dunn's nationality or age. The only thing they could do was to have Dunn obtain a coaching certificate, and to make the appointment of the new assistant manager more convincing. How did they expect anyone to trust a young assistant manager who was a foreigner and did not even have a coaching certificate?

Tang En had specifically asked Dunn before making any arrangements, and Dunn had no objections with re-taking the test for the coaching certificate, since he was quite certain he could pass.

So, Tang En left Dunn in Nottingham and flew off on another trip.

This time, he went to Denmark to bolster the team's frontline.

The only Forest players left from last season who could play at the frontline were Freddy Eastwood and Peter Crouch. Two strikers were too few for a team that needed multiple attacking avenues.

Tang En's transfer strategy for this summer was primarily to get a hold of the future star of hope. Whether he would become a future leading Forest player, or be sold for money, it was all worthwhile. Just like Piqué.

He went to Denmark this time for a young forward who was still relatively unknown at the time: Nicklas Bendtner.

He was a 6 foot, 3 inches tall center forward, but his footwork was better than most other center forwards. He was fast, excellent at headers, and had a strong physique and outstanding techniques. These were his strengths, but his greatest strength was his youth.

In the first half of 2004, he played three times and scored three goals, representing the Denmark national team for under-16 games.

In Tang En's memory, he was snatched up by Arsenal this summer, and since then he would be training in the Arsenal youth team and reserves. Later on, in the 06-07 season, he would be on loan to Birmingham City and was the biggest contributor to Birmingham City's promotion to the English Premier League.

It was the summer of 2004 now, and if Tang En did not act, Bendtner would be taken by Wenger. Although Tang En did not have a bad impression of the Arsenal manager, Wenger, he would have to be ruthless and relentless when it came to matters regarding the team's performance. Taking the non-stop flight to Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, he used the same approach as he did with Piqué, and contacted Bendtner and his agent himself, which led to another negotiation.

The negotiations with Bendtner were more difficult than Piqué's had been.

A position in the First Team, a younger lineup, an English Premier League team, and the UEFA Europa League qualification were the four key conditions that Twain used to attract players to join the Forest team. They were very tempting, but Bendtner had some hesitation.

Wenger and Arsenal were extremely famous. Unlike Piqué, who grew up in a wealthy, big-name football club, Bendtner did not know that the big clubs were crowded with many talented players, just like him. Going to Arsenal could satisfy his ego. After all, it was a wealthy, English Premier League club, and who had ever heard of Nottingham Forest?

Twain could only repeatedly state his analysis that if Bendtner went to the big clubs, he would only play in the Second Team as a reserve and then experience the pain of only being able to play in matches through being on loan. Whereas in a small team, there was the benefit of playing often for the First Team as a regular player. Furthermore, the Forest team would be able to join the UEFA Europa League this season, and it was the winner of the EFL Cup last season. Its reputation was not so bad.

But the notion of a big club was too deep-rooted. For a younger player who played in Denmark, the call of a European powerhouse was too irresistible. Arsène Wenger thathad promised him that the future of Arsenal would belong to him. Even though Bendtner knew he would not be able to play in a First Team game now if he went to Arsenal, it was a glorious thing to be the main striker for the Gunners in the future.

Therefore, Twain told him a tale about a big club, and trotted out the example of Barcelona's young center back Gerard Piqué. Barcelona was also a big club, but Piqué tried every possible way of leaving. Now that he was a player for Nottingham Forest, he had no need to worry about not playing in matches.

The negotiations with Bendtner lasted three to four days, and the golden-haired Danish guy was finally convinced. He agreed to reject Arsène Wenger's call, and joined the Nottingham Forest team.

Then, just like the situation faced by the Manchester United's Manager, Ferguson, Wenger received a call from his scout in Denmark informing him that Arsenal's must-have Danish genius forward, known as the "Danish Ibrahimovi?," Nicklas Bendtner, had given them the brush.

Wenger's first thought was that Ferguson had gone behind his back. He did not expect the scout to tell him that it was the manager of Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain, who had gone to Copenhagen in person and secured Bendtner.

When he heard the name, Wenger stared blankly for a while and he thought of the battle in the rain.

He realized the words which he had said before were fast becoming true.

The next time they met, it would be at the English Premier League.

"In addition, Sir, there's something very interesting that I think you would like to hear."

"What is it?"

"Do you still recall the young Barcelonian center back, Gerard Piqué, whom we competed against Manchester United for some time ago?"

Wenger nodded, "Of course, I was very sorry when he chose Manchester United."

The scout at the other end of the line burst into laughter. "Sir! Piqué did not go to Manchester United. He, like our other target, Bendtner, was taken away by someone else halfway. Although the news has not been announced yet, it is certain. Piqué is now a player for Nottingham Forest!"

Wenger was stunned for a moment and then laughed as well.

This season's Premier League is getting interesting, isn't it?

※※※

After settling the matters with Piqué and Bendtner, Tang En no longer needed to personally go anywhere to recruit players. They had a perfect system; the transfers could be arranged through the telephone or fax. If Tang En was required to appear in person each time, how could he do other things?

Evan Doughty was still in the United States with his wife and children. He had just become the new chairman of the team, and the Forest team had already won a cup title and the qualification to the English Premier League. He was in a very good mood, and was not concerned about the team's general affairs. After all, Tony was overseeing the team and Allan was in charge of operations. He did not have to do anything.

They could just discuss one thing through the fax or phone and it would be decided.

During this period, Twain hired three new scouts for the team. Together with the two current scouts for the club, the Forest team now had five scouts, which was not considered small for a team that had just been promoted to the English Premier League. Obviously, compared to Manchester United and Arsenal, which had football scouts all over the world, it was still not considered enough.

However, the construction of the team was a very long process, and could not be rushed; it must be built step by step.

There were still a few days before the team ended its vacation and returned for their assembly. Tang En became busier. There were a lot of issues he needed to consider such as which players the Forest team needed in the transfer market and who could be bought, and who would have to be given up after their promotion to the Premier League. Not to mention the warm-up match arrangements, the production of the team's newsletter, and the media interviews.

The most troubling thing for him was how to introduce and place a young, seemingly inexperienced, and unknown Chinese man on the Forest coaching team. Evan did not know the new assistant manager's identity. But when he did, what would the expression on his face be?

Tang En did not think Evan would smile, pat him on the shoulder and say, "Young people are great."

He also did not think the players would believe him based on what he said. "Even though this assistant manager looks very young, has no coaching certificate, and is unknown, he is actually very powerful!"

He also thought that the coaching staff, the team doctors in the medical team, the football scouts, the turf maintenance workers, the chefs at the club restaurant ... and even Ian MacDonald, who opened the gate, would not easily believe that Dunn was a qualified assistant manager who could help him a lot.

Chapter 197: The Disruption of Tony Twain Part 2

Maybe Tang En was the only one in the entire world who believed in Dunn's ability. But if he could not make anyone else believe, even if Dunn was outstanding, it would be pointless. He had invited Dunn on an impulse, and should not let Dunn leave just because he could not get the trust of others. He had to be responsible for his actions.

Furthermore, Tang En also knew that to make others believe in Dunn's ability, the best way was to prove it with actual results. But would others give Dunn this opportunity and time? Tang En did not know.

First of all, he would have to clear this with Evan.

Twain could certainly use his authority to forcibly put Dunn in the assistant manager position. But as a result, his reputation in the team would be affected and it would cause an irreparable rift between him and Evan. This was not what Tang En wanted.

Now, besides attending the coach training courses of the English Football Association, Dunn rarely appeared outside. He seemed to be trying hard to make up for the year-and-a-half of lost time. But seeing Dunn like this gave Tang En a bigger headache instead. Dunn was not good at communicating with people. He could converse more with him, perhaps because they shared the same fate.

In reality he was quite lazy as a person and disliked trouble. So why was he always taking the initiative to attract such trouble?

When he returned home every day, Tang En would chatter nonstop, even if Dunn only spoke ten words that night. He would continue talking and chat about the things he had encountered when he first got here and about every little thing that had happened over the last year and a half. If there had been nothing to say, he would have just said some nonsense.

He only hoped that the reticent Dunn would get livelier. He did not expect him to jabber on in a torrent, but he also did not want him to be so uncommunicative and to have nothing to talk about but football.

Every time Tang En tried to get him to go have a drink at Kenny Burns' bar, he always shook his head and refused. If he asked him the reason, he would not explain except to say he had vowed not to drink. Tang En tried many ways, but he just refused to go. Tang En finally had met a man who was more stubborn than he was.

Evan would be back tomorrow. He had specially called him and wanted him to bring the assistant manager along to meet him. It seemed he was also concerned about the team's assistant manager.

What would happen tomorrow?

Looking at Dunn, who was still poring over the video of a football game, Tang En scratched his head.

"Dunn... Well, tomorrow, Evan—that's the young Mr. Chairman of the club, I spoke to you about him before—He wants to... he wants to meet you."

Dunn knew what was going on when he saw Tang En's sighs.

"Are you worried that my identity won't be accepted?"

Tang En nodded. "It really is ironic. A Chinese guy who doesn't understand anything is immediately accepted, just because of his body. But the real football coach can't get the opportunity to prove himself because he's in another skin. Hey, Dunn, do you ever hate me? You know, because everything I have now was supposed to be yours?" Tang En had had this worry when he found Dunn. A position that originally belonged to him was snatched away by a stranger who did pretty well, but in turn, he... Tang En did not know what to say.

But wouldn't a normal person think like that?

Loathing, jealousy, resentment, hate... One would want to take back the things that belonged to them. Was this not how a normal person would feel? "That's mine! Glory! Money! Beautiful women! Status! They are all mine! You just robbed me of my body and now you are enjoying everything that is supposed to be mine! You son of a b**ch! Give me back my stuff!"

Wouldn't anyone think that that behavior was consistent with common sense, and the logical thing to do?

Tang En thought so too. If he had returned to China to find Dunn surrounded by countless beautiful women, sitting in helicopters with the Air Force escorting him to Chunxi Road for a stroll, being worshipped by people around him, with no need to have money, and he could just directly take anything he wanted to buy... In that case, he would be jealous even if he was successful in Britain.

Dunn looked at Tang En and then turned his gaze back to the television screen.

"If I suddenly jump up, throw you down on the floor and use all my strength to strangle you, hoping to kill you, do you think that would fix anything?" He said abruptly, with his back facing Tang En.

Tang En felt slightly chilled by his words. If Dunn really were to do that, he would not be surprised. A taciturn person always gives off a dark feeling, doesn't he? At the sudden thought of this question, he realized that he and this person had lived under the same roof for more than a week. It was really daring of him to do so. He could not help but rub his neck.

"If I say I'm very glad to see what you've accomplished, then I must be lying to you." Dunn continued, "If I say congratulations, Manager Twain, then I must be confusing you to let you lower your guard against me. And one day, if your performance is bad enough to be criticized by the media, the person who speaks ill of you behind your back and wants to replace you would be me. So, now, are you starting to regret letting me come to Nottingham?"

When he heard Dunn's words, Tang En was stumped for a moment, and then he burst into laughter.

Dunn was somewhat astonished at Tang En's reaction. He frowned back and said, "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. It feels nice to hear you talk so much in one breath. If you didn't talk like this, I would really have thought that you had a speaking disability." Tang En smiled and shrugged. "Do you know? When I found out that I was you, I was angry for a long time... Yes, but I've looked this face all day long, and I'm used to it after a year and a half. I don't know how you have adapted to this situation, but I think I've adapted pretty quickly. Maybe I'm a heartless person."

He looked at Dunn, and Dunn looked back at him. Neither of them spoke.

After a while, Dunn turned back to continue watching the video of the games, and said vaguely, "I think this is how we were originally supposed to be."

Were we born in the wrong place?

Tang En shook his head and said to Dunn, "Tomorrow, I will try my best to fight for you with Evan."

Dunn interrupted him. "I know what you're fretting about. You can make David Kerslake the assistant manager for the First Team. He's a very responsible coach."

"What about the youth team?" Tang En stopped speaking and saw that Dunn was silent. Wasn't the real Tony Twain transferred from being the head of the youth team to the First Team? Very well, he and Kerslake had also worked together in the youth team for half a season and worked well together.

"That's a good idea. If it's acceptable to you, I've got no problem with it either. It's still gonna be difficult to persuade Evan to agree, but it'll be easier than convincing him to agree to you being an assistant manager."

Chapter 198: Start All Over Again Part 1

Dunn's life had changed twice in a short span of one and a half years, and this type of change could not be compared to his parents' divorce when he was still a child. After one and a half years, Dunn had stopped thinking about absurd questions such as "Who am I,""Where did I come from," or "Where am I going," a long time ago. Moreover, he felt that going to China in such an absurd manner had not been detrimental to him in any way.

He did indeed love football, and it had used to be his everything in the past. But compared to a warm and loving family, football was something that he could bear to give up on.

Dunn even felt that it was better that way, that he should have been a normal person born in a Chinese village instead. His life prior to this must have been a mistake on God's part, which had caused him to be born in England by mistake. He didn't like England, or anything about it. What had his days in England left him with? Nothing but nightmares.

So he decided to leave behind everything related to England and embark on his new life in China. I am Dunn, the Chinese Dunn, not some Englishman Tony Twain. His past, his present, and his future are all none of my business!

That was how he had felt until his fateful encounter with Tang En on the streets of Chengdu City.

Could this be fate?

Now, he was once again seated inside the Nottingham Forest Chairman's office, quietly watching as Tang En and Evan quarrelled over him. He was not concerned about the contents or the results of their quarrelling, but was instead looking at the furnishings around the room.

He remembered this place very clearly. When Paul Hart, his teacher, was about to leave Nottingham Forest, he had recommended Dunn to the club's chairman, Mr. Nigel Doughty. As the board of directors was not opposed to this recommendation, Dunn, the young manager nurtured by the club itself, naturally became the substitute manager for Nottingham Forest.

The only problem was that his career as a manager only managed to last for a short first-half of a match before it was forcefully ended.

During his daily conversations with Tang En, Dunn also learned about how well Nottingham Forest and Tang En had done after they had swapped bodies.

Now that this room was refurbished with lots of new facilities that he had not seen in the past, the century-old football club's feeling of solemnity had been largely reduced. It now had a much more modern vibe.

The chairman when Dunn had been here, Mr. Nigel Doughty, had also retired due to health considerations. As a result, Dunn felt pretty unfamiliar with the current Nottingham Forest. For instance, this new chairman appeared to be very casual in front of Tang En, completely unlike Doughty's usual seriousness.

Evan Doughty was currently seated at one corner of the desk. Faced with Tang En's endless talking, the only thing he did was shake his head continuously.

"Tony, I know that you always do things in unconventional ways, but you've gone too far this time/ You are making this person, who doesn't have any coaching experience, who has no prior experience with professional football, who is preparing to sit for the England coaching license exams, the assistant manager of Nottingham Forest? Now that Nottingham Forest is an English Premier League team, I can't let you do this."

"You think I'm fooling around? Evan. Do you think that I'm the type of person to play when it comes to serious matters like this? Look, I acknowledge that Dunn doesn't have anything right now, but we can give him a chance to prove himself. That won't require too much time-"

"Tony!" Evan slightly raised his voice. "Putting the main team's results at stake just for a newbie to prove himself is not something that we, a newly-promoted team, can afford to do!"

It was a rare sight to see Evan looking this serious. Tang En was momentarily dumbfounded before he recovered from his shock and curled his lips. "You said that I have full say over the team's matters."

Evan sighed. "Tony. I don't know how you got to know this Chinese man" Evan shot a glance at Dunn, and discovered that he was not paying attention to the conversation between him and Tang En, and did not have the nerves and apprehension that normal people should have in this situation. "Alright, perhaps he's related to that beautiful Chinese teacher of yours. If you intend to arrange a job position for him in the club, that's not an issue. You can put him on the turf maintenance team, the equipment maintenance team, or let him be a waiter at the canteen... or any job of the sort, really. But he simply cannot become the assistant manager of the main team. That is a very important position."

"If you know that that position is so important, why did you agree to let Walker leave?" Tang En retorted.

"Um…" Evan was at a loss for words. He knew that he was at fault. He scratched his head and jumped off the table before turning around and walking to the large French window behind his seat. Evan looked at the busy training grounds and saw the workers hastily making preparations for the training that was about to commence. "Tony, letting Walker go was my problem. At that time, there were many things about this team that I did not understand. I thought that as long as the team had an outstanding manager, any and all problems would be resolved. After my father caught wind of this, he told me about the importance of an outstanding assistant manager on a team. It's precisely because this that I can't let him become the assistant manager."

Tang En looked at Evan without uttering a single word. He simply stared. Evan saw the look in Tang En's eyes before adding, "Perhaps he can become the assistant manager in the future. But not now. It doesn't matter if he is competent enough. Find someone else for now, Tony."

The two of them looked at each other for a short while before Tang En shook his head and complained, "I spent an entire summer in China to find the most suitable assistant manager, and now you're telling me the club doesn't agree with this personnel appointment, and that I have to find someone else. Evan, do you know how much time we have left? The team will be starting its pre-season trainings in two days, and all the plans have to be formulated by then. Asking me to change to someone else now… How do you plan to solve the familiarization issue the team will be facing in the future?"

Evan spread his hands and continued. "You can transfer someone from the club. I remember that in the past, you were promoted directly from the position of the youth team's manager to the main team's manager."

The fish had taken the bait.

Tang En pondered out loud, "What you're saying is that you want me to get David Kerslake? We have worked together at the youth team for a long time, and he also has a certain level of understanding with regards to managing a football team…"

Hearing him say that, Evan started nodding his head. "You're very smart, Tony. That's exactly what I mean. Wasn't Walker also a player from Nottingham Forest? Why must you go outside to find an assistant manager?"

Tang En turned his head and looked at Dunn, who was still looking around the office and appeared to be deep in thought. "If Kerslake comes to the main team to be my assistant, then who will be in charge of the youth team? Evan, you have to know that youth training is the most valued tradition of Nottingham Forest."

"That's not an issue, we can always promote one of the youth team coaches."

Tang En shook his head, rejecting Evan's suggestion. "I've been on the youth team for a very long time, and I understand those colleagues of mine very well. All of them undeniably have decent abilities. But I feel like putting any one of them in charge of the youth team would be detrimental; it would stop them from being able to fully maximize their fortes." That was Tang En's tactful way of telling Evan that when those youth team coaches were put in charge of a specific type of training, they performed quite well. But making any one of them the manager just because of that would never work.

"That's…" Tang En and those people had worked together before, so if he said that those people were not competent enough for the position, it was definitely more convincing than Evan's train of thought, which was purely based upon assumptions. For a short while, Evan was out of ideas.

Tang En felt that it was time for him to reveal his true motive. "Alright, we seem to have forgotten about someone," Tang En said as he looked at Dunn, still seated on the sofa.

"That twenty-five year-old?" Evan knitted his brows.

"Are you going to use your veto power again, Evan?"

"Um... Tony. You must know better than me that the Football Association won't agree to let someone who doesn't have a coaching certification become the manager of our Youth team…"

"He'll get his very soon, even though it might be the lowest tier." Tang En shrugged his shoulders and continued. "You know, Evan, there's a saying that goes like this… Mosquitoes might be small, but they still have meat… It's just… Um, a common saying from a certain country that I've been to in the past. But that's not the point. The point is, we have to decide on a person to take over as the youth team manager right now, before transferring David Kerslake onto the main team. I definitely won't let the main team's coaches become the manager of the youth team, and wouldn't think about touching the rest of the youth team's coaches."

Evan nodded his head and said, "I understand what you mean, Tony. But have you ever thought if Dunn—your Chinese friend—is suited to become the manager of the youth team?"

This question indeed had not crossed Tang En's mind before, because Tang En had become the manager of the youth team and the main team at a very young age, and got along well with the coaches. So he had not been met with a situation where they were not convinced by his abilities. But his situation was truly different from Dunn's. The only reason Tang En could be accepted by his other colleagues the moment he took up the manager's position, was because of the person in front of him. It was the efforts of Dunn, who had worked in Nottingham Forest for seven years and slowly climbed his way up. However, Dunn had become a newbie who did not have anything. His achievements were completely empty, so how could he convince others that he had the right abilities to become the youth team's manager?

Tang En discovered that he had viewed the question too simply. Although Tang En knew about Dunn's ability, would others believe him?

Evan trusted Tang En a lot, so if even Evan could not believe Tang En's evaluation of Dunn, it was all the more unlikely for others to believe him.

Tang En suddenly felt that his impulsive decision to invite Dunn back to Nottingham Forest was very foolish. Not only had he made Dunn lose his job, it was even possible that he would face the fate of being sent back to China after travelling all the way to England.

Just as Tang En was beginning to feel dejected, Dunn, who had been sitting on the sofa all along as quietly as though he were an unconcerned outsider, stood up. He said, "I can begin from working as the most elementary level coach, Mr. Chairman."

Hearing him say this, Evan looked at Tang En, and Tang En turned his head to look at Dunn, trying to figure out what was on his mind. When Tang En had brought Dunn to England, his original intention was to make Dunn his assistant manager. Tang En believed that they would cooperate very well with each other, because they had each other's bodies, and they knew what the other person was thinking about. It was an innate kind of chemistry between them. Now, if Dunn were to become a normal coach of the youth team, what was the point of bringing him all the way back to England?

However, Tang En was unable to derive the answer to this question from Dunn's face.

Chapter 199: Start All Over Again Part 2

"Tony?" Evan asked.

Tang En nodded his head. "That's not a bad idea; I'm not against it." Although doing so would be a waste of talent, starting him off at the youth team could definitely prevent many people's tongues from wagging. There were quite a few young coaches on Nottingham Forest's youth team, so a twenty odd year-old coach like Dunn would not be rare.

"Doing this would be in everyone's best interests." Evan still thought that Tang En only tried so hard so that he could land his friend a job at the club. Since that Chinese man must become a coach, then arranging for him to become an insignificant coach on the youth team was naturally the best course of action.

Just like that, they finally came to an agreement. Dunn entered the Nottingham Forest youth team coaching team with a low profile, and the club later announced the personnel changes within the club. The youth team's manager David Kerslake would be transferred over to the main team, becoming manager Tony Twain's assistant. Ian Greenwood, who had originally assisted David Kerslake on the youth team, would be promoted to the manager of the youth team and placed in charge of all the matters pertaining to Nottingham Forest's youth team.

After deciding on all of those things, Tang En was about to bring Dunn and leave the office, but he was stopped by Evan.

Tang En could only let Dunn wait outside the room.

After closing the door, Evan whispered to Tang En, "Tony, tell me what's on your mind. If he's a friend or younger brother of your Chinese teacher, are you trying to curry that beautiful Chinese lady's favor?"

Hearing Evan say this, coupled with the smirk on his face, Tang En silently sighed. "He is indeed related to my Chinese teacher, but that's completely unrelated to this… Evan, are you doubting my foresight?"

Evan Doughty shook his head and said, "If that's the case, great. If Nottingham Forest is able to advance into the Champions League finals, then the person seated beside me will definitely be Dunn." Tang En pointed to the door before he bade goodbye to Evan and walked out of the office.

※※※

When Dunn and Tang En were standing on the youth training grounds, which were still not open for trainings, Dunn breathed in the once-familiar air and felt as though it was no different from a year and a half ago. The last time he was here, he had worked here for seven years. How much time would he need this time round?

"It won't take too long," Tang En, who was standing beside him, said.

Dunn looked at Tang En, and Tang En looked back. Afterwards, Tang En shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know what you're thinking. Don't forget about the relationship between us. Do you feel disappointed, Dunn?"

"Hm?"

"It was me who wanted you to come here and become the assistant manager of the main team, but now you have to start all the way from the bottom, as a coach of the youth team. You even quit your job in China… Have you told mom and dad?"

"I told them I've been sent overseas by the company for three years," Dunn replied.

"Three years… that's more than enough. Let's go. From tomorrow onwards, everyone will be busy. The new season is approaching!" Tang En waved his hands before turning around and leaving.

Dunn looked around at the extremely familiar training ground before following behind Tang En.

The next day, Nottingham Forest Football Club announced the personal changes to the coaches on its official webpage, finalizing the new assistant manager, which the fans had been very concerned about. Nobody expressed any form of doubt or discontent regarding David Kerslake's assumption of the position. That was because just like Tony Twain, David Kerslake had been nurtured by Nottingham Forest Football Club, and was part of the Nottingham Forest family.

Tang En knew that it was practically impossible for him to challenge that Nottingham Forest tradition. He was only an individual, but he was facing off against Nottingham Forest's 140 years of rich history.

Although making Dunn start work as a normal coach on the youth team was not Tang En's original intention, at least Dunn still stayed behind him. Once he got his professional coaching certificate in August, everything else would be easier to deal with.

The coaching team's staff had already been finalized, so Nottingham Forest's match preparations for the new season could finally commence in full.

The players also ended their holidays, and everyone returned to the team on time.

On the morning of the first training, when Tang En looked at the group of high-spirited players standing in front of him, he was filled with anticipation for the future.

"The sun is very bright, and everyone's skin has darkened considerably. How did you guys find your holiday?" Tang En asked, smiling.

"Very good!"

"Where did you guys go?"

"Paris!"

"Hawaii!"

Everyone started reporting the countries they had gone to during the holidays.

Tang En saw Crouch, and suddenly asked, "Peter, how did your romantic trip to Spain go?"

Crouch immediately blushed.

"Looks like it went quite well."

Hearing this, all the players burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, Crouch also started giggling. It seemed like Tang En was spot-on.

After waiting for the laughter to subside, Tang En pointed at David Kerslake, who was standing beside him, and said to the players, "This is your new assistant manager, Mr. David Kerslake. He was the manager of the youth team, and he will now be in charge of managing the main team with me. He will be in-charge of all training-related matters, so if you guys have any questions during training, you may raise them with him at any time."

As a form of response to the players' claps, Kerslake waved at them.

Afterwards, Tang En called out the two players whom they had gotten during the summer transfer window: Gerard Pique and Nicklas Bendtner.

"These are your new teammates. This is Gerard Pique, a center-back who used to play for Barcelona's youth team. And Nicklas Bendtner, a forward from Denmark's Kj?benhavns Boldklub."

"Hello everyone." The two of them greeted their teammates in English, a language which they were not very used to speaking. Pique was somewhat shy, while Bendtner appeared calm.

Tang En patted them on their shoulders, signaling to them to stand together with their teammates. The two new teammates were quickly welcomed by the other players in a warm manner. During the previous season's winter transfer window, almost all the players who were brought over by Tang En were young players, so the Nottingham Forest players were already used to welcoming young players to the team, which was evident from how they welcomed the two new young players who were still seventeen or eighteen years-old. Moreover, almost half of the players on the team were youngsters in their early twenties, so it was easy for these like-minded people to bond together.

Seeing that Pique and Bendtner were quickly accepted by the other players, Tang En heaved a sigh of relief. He clapped his hands, reminding everyone to focus their attention on him. "I believe that after a week of rest, you guys have already made sufficient preparations physically and mentally, so you must be longing for a match right now, right?"

"Right! Boss!"

"That's right, Chief!"

Seeing their teammates replying to Tang En's questions in such an excited manner, the newly-joined Pique and Bendtner were rather puzzled. The relationship between this manager and his players seemed different from the usual, simple manager-player relationship.

"It's really great to see all your high-spirited faces. We'll be playing in the English Premier League this season, and do you guys know the idea behind English Premier League? It's the best league in England, and we'll being facing many opponents which are much stronger than any team that we've played before. There's also the UEFA Europa League, and all the participating teams are strong champion teams from all over Europe! Are you guys scared now?"

"No!"

"They should be the ones that are scared! Not us!"

Pique and Bendtner turned around and looked at their teammates around them who were fanatically shouting. Nottingham Forest was only a newly-promoted team, so what gave them so much confidence? Thinking about it logically left the two newcomers confused.

"Every season, there are only the same few teams contending for the championship title: Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool… I dare wager that the audiences must be sick of this. Fortunately, we are here to mess things up for them, and make them go from belittling us to fearing us! We have to make the clapping and cheering sounds from those audiences belong to us, not any other teams!"

Tang En waved his hands forcefully.

"This season, we'll give them the shock of their lives!"

Chapter 200: Forest in The Transfer Market Part 1

The team had started training, and the Forest team's movements in the transfer market did not stop for a moment.

For the midfield section, the Forest team finally bought Aaron Lennon, the young player from Leeds United whom they had wanted to buy during last season's winter transfer period. As Tang En expected, Leeds United was relegated to League One, and had then immediately declared bankruptcy. The team faced another terrible misfortune in the form of a possible relegation to another level. At that time, the minds of everyone on the team were in turmoil, and it was normal for any player to want to leave. Twain once again asked Leeds United for a quote on Lennon. Leeds United, who was beleaguered with debt, did not ask a high price for the young player. They quoted a price which was acceptable to Twain: one million pounds.

Lennon himself had a clearer understanding of the fact that he would be better off if he left Leeds United. If he stayed on Leeds United, his own strength would not be nearly enough to change the status of the team. At the age of sixteen, he had just begun to play in First Team games. Nottingham Forest was naturally the best choice due to the club's sincerity towards him and the fact that he was able to enter the Premier League at this juncture.

Tang En was worried that things might change if they took too long. So, without further ado, the payment was transferred, and he quickly signed the contract with Lennon. From then on, England's star of hope became a Nottingham Forest player.

When the Forest team announced on its official website that Lennon was joining the team, the English media realized that, while they had been paying attention to this summer's clash between Chelsea's newly appointed Mourinho, Arsenal, and Manchester United in the transfer market, they had ignored the quiet, newly promoted Nottingham Forest.

Even though it was not yet known how the Forest team would perform after the start of the season, they had already made tremendous, high-profile headway in the transfer market.

With regards to this, The Sun had a special topic in their article to analyze and forecast every club's movement during the summer transfer period. Placed in the headline photographs were several Premier League managers: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, Chelsea's newly appointed manager, the talented José Mourinho (who had just led the Portuguese FC Porto to become the champion of the UEFA Champions League), and the just as successful Rafael Benítez, who had just joined Liverpool from Spain's Valencia CF. And the man placed behind them was the manager of Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain.

The article analyzed that, as a new entrant to the Premier League as well as a competitor in the UEFA Europa League, the Forest team faced the predicament of battling on multiple fronts. But to Tony Twain, it was a chance to expand the size of his team. So far, the players that the Forest team had bought were mainly young players. It was obvious that Twain had set his sights on the future. However, the Premier League was the top level after all, and the goals of the club's higher powers would change accordingly. If they were not able to achieve results that were to their satisfaction, then it would all be meaningless, no matter how young and talented the players were.

After introducing Gerard Piqué and Nicklas Bendtner in succession, as well as Aaron Lennon, what else could be happening in Twain's Forest team?

※※※

It was end of June, and the sun was scorching and intense. At noon, the concrete ground of the pier was baking. It was lunch break and the narrow, run-down pier was empty. Only one person was sitting on the shore, ignoring the sweltering hot sun above.

This was in Boulogne-sur-Mer, a small coastal town on the west coast of France. In France, people callously labeled it as "the worst town in France." Poverty had afflicted every resident in the small town. Now it was troubling the young man sitting in the sun, too.

He looked down in a daze at water below his feet crashing into the pier repeatedly. The long scar along his right cheek looked ghastly under the glare of the sun.

The young man was frowning, thinking about something very important to him: money.

At the age of sixteen, in pursuit of his dream of playing professional football, he had moved out of his house to Lille. However, he had been rejected due to insufficient academic qualifications; like most clubs in France, the young players were not only required to learn football, but also to achieve a certain degree of education. Five years had passed, and now he could not even afford to pay his rent.

He had played in Olympique Alès a year ago. On a monthly subsidy of one hundred and fifty euros, he lived frugally. He could not afford to rent a house. In order to change his impoverished situation, he had switched to another football club, Stade Brestois 29 in Ligue 2. But his situation still did not improve. Apart from the necessary expenses, he found that he had not earned a single penny by the end of the season.

When his contract expired, the club obviously did not intend to renew the contract with this unsightly, unlikable young man. The Brest team was not in a good position either, so he had to look for another team again. But he found that he did not seem to have a future in France. None of the big clubs liked him, and the small clubs offered too little money.

It really was a headache. The young man scratched his head, accidentally touching the scar on his cheek.

It had happened when he was two years old, due to a car accident. He had flown out of the car window. He had survived, but a permanent scar was left on his face. This used to be the reason that he was ridiculed and teased; its existence made him feel ashamed. He wished he could get rid of the scar by scraping it off with a knife. Of course, what he really wanted to do was find a plastic surgeon to help him fix the scar. This was a good idea; modern medical technology could fully meet his requirements. The only problem was that he had no money.

The failed professional footballer sat on the seaside for a while, looking miserable. He had no idea what to do about his future. Dizzy from the sun, he got up and staggered to his rented house, which was not far from the pier. He walked straight out of the pier, crossed a street, and on the way to his place, passed through a clearing that was full of weeds and covered in trash. Whenever he opened his window, he could see the sea outside—but since the window could only be opened halfway, the view was not too good.

This was not some luxury seaside villa. It was an ordinary, four-story small brick building with a gray steeple, and the young man lived in the topmost attic where the light was dim. Every time he opened the half of the window and looked out at the sea outside, he would wonder; would it be better to leave France? He really could not envision a future here for him. He could only see the English Channel shrouded in fog before his eyes. What was waiting for him beyond the mist?

Taking out his key to open the dilapidated door, he saw the plump landlady standing on the stoop and holding the receiver. When she heard the door open, she turned saw that the person entering was the one with the scarred face. She cried out, "Franck! Come here!"

With the receiver in her hand, she waved to the young man standing at the door.

"Why are you still standing there? It's for you! What a coincidence, I was just about to tell him that you weren't here, so come quickly!"

Putting the phone into the young man's hand, the landlady turned and waddled up the stairs.

The young man stared blankly for a moment and then put the receiver to his ear and whispered, "Hello?"

A male voice spoke out from the other end. It was obviously French spoken with an English accent. "Is this Mr. Franck Ribéry?"

"Yes... that's me."

"Let me introduce myself; I'm Arnold Duran, a football scout from Nottingham Forest football club, specializing in the French region."

What the person claiming to be a football scout said next immediately made Ribéry feel like he was in the clouds. He wondered if it was because of his exposure to the noon sun outside; if he was so dizzy from the hot sun that he was hallucinating, imagining the words.

"Well, here's the thing. My boss is very interested in you and he wants to find out what your answer will be to our inviting you to join the Premier League team, Nottingham Forest."

Nottingham Forest? Has anyone ever heard that name? Wait a minute... What did he say? English Premier League team? Is there such a team in the Premier League?

Ok, I guess I don't really keep track of English football.

When he did not hear Ribéry's reply, the Forest team's new football scout, Duran, asked again. "Mr. Ribéry?"

"Um... Uh..." Ribéry opened his mouth and did not know how to face the sudden news. Firstly, putting aside whether Nottingham Forest was truly a Premier League team, and whether the name was familiar or not, just a moment ago he had still been worried about the rent. And now, a job opportunity was delivered to his doorstep! Would such a wonderful thing fall into Franck Ribéry's his lap?

"Excuse me, sir, I just... I just somehow don't believe it. You know, my contract is expiring with my team and... and I played in the Championnat National, so... I can't be sure..." Ribéry was stammering; his throat was dry. "Are you serious?"

After his question, he heard the voice of another man over the phone. He spoke in English and was speaking very fast. He could not understand it at all. After a while, Arnold Duran's voice rang out again. "Very sorry, Mr. Ribéry. That was my boss, the Forest team manager, Mr. Tony Twain. He asked me to tell you that you don't have to doubt the authenticity of this call. Indeed, we have taken a liking to you, even though you're still playing in the Championnat National. Nottingham Forest is a team that's just been promoted to the English Premier League from England's second level league at the end of last season, and won the EFL Cup title last season as well. It is qualified to participate in the UEFA Europa League this season. Mr. Twain believes that your unique skills are fully in line with the Forest team's tactical requirements, so he would like to talk to you about a contract. If you agree, we will prepare a ticket for you from France to the United Kingdom. All expenses will be covered by the Forest football club."

After he had hung up the phone, Ribéry's ears were still ringing with what Duran had said—English Premier League, EFL Cup champion, UEFA Europa League eligibility, new contract, salary...

Am I dreaming?

Chapter 201: Forest in The Transfer Market Part 2

Ribéry suddenly let out a loud scream, alarming all the tenants in the house. They stood on the stairs and looked in puzzlement at the lad with the knife scar on his face, who was spinning in circles and screaming repeatedly. The fat landlady squeezed to the front from behind the crowd and shouted in a louder voice than Ribéry to calm him down. Ribéry finally stopped his madness.

"Franck, what is wrong with you?" asked the landlady.

Ribéry shouted, "I'm going to Britain, I'm going to the United Kingdom!"

"Britain? Isn't it just across the sea? What are you going to do over there?" asked a tall, lanky man who was in his underpants.

"Play football! Play professional football!!" Just from thinking about that call and a future in England, Ribéry's face was bunched up in excitement. "I... I'm going to invite you all to dinner! And drinks! I want to celebrate!"

The landlady spread her hands and said sternly, "Well, Franck, since you have money, pay me last month's rent first."

Upon the mention of the matter, Ribéry's face fell again. "Can I owe you first, Aunt Emma?" You know I'm..."

Seeing his embarrassment, the landlady smiled as she ambled down the stairs and gave Ribéry a hug. "Okay, don't worry, Franck. I wish you good luck." Then she gently kissed Ribéry's forehead. After her, the tenants who lived under the same roof also came up to Ribéry and congratulate him on finding another team.

"Do your best, Franck! Become a star player! Just like Thierry Henry!"

"Let all of France know that we can produce a superstar if we work hard!"

"Franck—Ribéry!"

"Olé! Olé!"

※※※

Ribéry felt lucky that a Premier League team was keen on him even though he was only a young, unknown footballer playing in the Championnat National. His biggest problem had been resolved.

And Tony Twain felt that he was lucky too. Either FC Metz had not approached Ribéry yet, or something unexpected had happened. Either way, the future France national team's main force in the midfield, the extraordinary Scarface warrior in the World Cup held in Germany, now belonged to him. Extremely fast and an exceptional dribbler, Ribéry would be like a sharp blade on the Forest team's left wing; he was also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder, right winger, and forward. To get such a well-rounded midfielder for free? Where else could one find such a bargain?

The deal was finalized four days later, and Nottingham Forest obtained the twenty-one-year-old French midfielder, Franck Ribéry, for free. When the Forest team announced their confidence in the the deal on their official website, even the English correspondents and commentators with the most encyclopedic knowledge of football did not know who Franck Ribéry was. However, his scarred face became a point of interest for the media. With regards to him joining the team, the media's general view was that, because Twain did not spend a single penny, he had simply increased the number of substitutes on the bench.

Since Twain had cast his net for targets in France, there is one person who should not be left out. One day later, the Forest team announced a deal with the French Ligue 1 team, SC Bastia. For a price of one million pounds, the team reeled in Bastia's main right back, Pascal Chimbonda. As Batisa's main right back, Chimbonda had appeared in thirty-one games last season and scored a goal. With his outstanding performance, he had already attracted a lot of interest from various teams. And that time, Twain was, once again, ahead of his competitors.

In terms of center backs, although the Forest team already had Gerard Piqué, Clint Hill, and Wes Morgan, it was far from enough. They needed to fight on multiple fronts.

Entering into July, the latest news on the Forest team's official website about transfers was constantly refreshing.

On July 1st, Nottingham Forest announced an agreement with Birmingham City F.C. to sign Birmingham's main center back, Matthew Upson, for four million pounds. Upson, who came from Arsenal's youth camp, was not a top defender in the Premier League, but he could still play a major role in a Premier League mid-stream team. And the main reason that Twain had his eye on him was that the 25-year-old Upson had more experience than any other center backs on the team, and had played for many teams. In addition, the transfer to Nottingham Forest was, to some extent, revisiting an old haunt for Upson. He had been on loan to the Forest team by Arsenal during the 2000-01 season, but unfortunately he had only played one game.

On the front line, Twain gave up Gareth Taylor, who had joined the team last season, giving him two options: either accepting being a substitute, or being transferred or on a loan. Taylor chose the latter option, and the Forest team was now in contact with several teams who were interested in Taylor.

Eoin Jess ended his contract with the Forest team and chose to return to Aberdeen Football Club for his retirement. The Forest team was now short a player in the midfield who could organize attacks and place kicks as well.

Twain had initially been interested in Mikel Arteta, who had just returned to Spain from Rangers Football Club in Scotland. He had hoped to persuade him to join the ambitious Forest team. But Arteta was not interested in the newly promoted Forest team because La Liga's Real Sociedad had invited him. As a Spaniard, a team from his motherland was clearly better suited to Arteta. He turned down Twain and chose to go to Real Sociedad.

Twain sighed after learning about Mikel Arteta's choice. Even though he had changed the trajectory of Piqué's future, he had not managed to change Arteta's. Mikel Arteta was another fine product of the FC Barcelona youth camp. He was once regarded as the successor to Guardiola, Barcelona's jersey #4. As a central midfielder, he was good at organizing attacks, and his footwork was also good at placing kicks. These were the reasons why Twain was interested in him.

But instead, he chose to join Real Sociedad, exactly as Tang En remembered. With no opportunities to play in matches while he was in Barcelona, Mikel Arteta had had no choice but to be on frequent loans to other teams in order to play. In the 2000-01 season, he had been put on loan by Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. Even though he had only played six games, he'd managed to score a goal. In the 2001-02 season, he continued to be on loan to Paris Saint-Germain, and his performance was average. When he returned to Barcelona, he found that there was no place for him. Having no other options, he chose to terminate his contract with Barcelona and went on a free transfer to the Rangers in Scotland. His two seasons in Scotland were wonderful. He played fifty times for the team and scored ten goals. Then, Real Sociedad took a liking to Mikel Arteta in Scotland and sent him an invitation. He proudly returned to Spain only to find that things were not as simple as he'd imagined. In Real Sociedad, he still did not receive opportunities to play, and after half a season in January 2005, he was put on loan to the English team, Everton, by Real Sociedad. Half a season later, he would be permanently transferred to the Liverpool team. After one big circle, he would finally find a stable home. By that time, he would already be twenty-three years old. He would have wasted his youth, wandering ceaselessly.

Tang En had wanted to bypass Real Sociedad at this juncture and bring Mikel Arteta, who had become accustomed to the British-style football, from the chilly Glasgow to Nottingham. What to do...

This is fate, everyone has their own lives and must embark on their journey...

Mikel Arteta was not the first person to rebuff Twain in the transfer market, and he had not given up the idea of looking for a player who could organize offense in the midfield. This time, he had his eye on Xabi Alonso. However, in terms of the Forest team's financial strength and influence, it was too difficult to successfully pull in a midfielder who was coveted by Real Madrid.

Alonso refused to even talk to the Forest team because he felt certain that he would not go to a newly promoted team. If he had to leave Real Sociedad, he would be going to a big team. In the end, Liverpool got him at a price of 10.5 million pounds.

After meeting with a succession of setbacks while he was looking for a midfielder, another piece of news added to Twain's woes - the Forest team received a fax from the distant east, Ukraine. They had made an offer of three million pounds to the Forest team, requesting to purchase Sergei Rebrov.

Chapter 202: The Old Soldiers Part 1

Tang En had long forgotten about what he had said to Rebrov in December of last year, during the half-time interval of the game against Crystal Palace FC in City Ground Stadium: "I will put your name on the list of transfer players." After half a season of integration, Rebrov was already completely able to ensure a spot on the team. As such, Tang En had never considered fulfilling his promise.

So when he received the fax from FC Kyiv Dynamo, his initial reaction was one of shock; he had never considered selling Rebrov. The Ukrainian was one of the few experienced players on the team. Currently, young players made up the majority of Nottingham Forest. Although they were undoubtedly very talented, they lacked the most important thing: experience. The English Premier League and League One are two completely different types of leagues. Lower tier leagues were usually like "Home Alone," where young people had most of the power. As such, large clubs were willing to loan out their young players to League One teams as a form of training. However, in the Premier League, there were very few teams that were comprised largely of young players, as most managers dared not shoulder the responsibility of losing a match because of sending out too many young players onto the field.

There were two reasons for Tang En's purchase of so many young players. The first reason was due to his love of young players that he had gotten from playing the Football Manager game. The second reason was that he did it out of helplessness. There were really very few players which fulfilled his requirements of being experienced and still being at the peak of their professional careers.

For Nottingham Forest, although he did not have many chances to play in the second-half of the season due to his fitness and his injury, Rebrov's wealth of experience was still very helpful to the team at crucial moments.

Tang En snapped out of his daze and took another look at the name on the fax. Without hesitation, he rejected the transfer request from Kyiv Dynamo.

The next day, Rebrov went to find Tang En before training. "Sir, Kyiv Dynamo's chairman just gave me a call."

Tang En sighed. It turned out that the Ukrainian Football Club was prepared on both ends.

"Chairman Surkis told me that Dynamo needs me. And I believe him."

Tang En looked at Rebrov and said, "Then, Serhiy. What if I told you that I need you too? Would you believe me?"

Rebrov smiled. "Of course I believe you, sir. But Kyiv Dynamo promised me a core position on the team. Sir, can I get the same promise from you, for this season's Premier League matches?"

This question struck at Tang En's core. He had indeed not considered giving Rebrov a core position. In highly-intensive matches like the Premier League's, Rebrov's ageing knees had become the biggest restricting factor for his performance. If Tang En gave a core position to an old player that might sustain frequent injuries, it would be quite irresponsible of him.

However, Tang En knew that if he told Rebrov his plans, there would be a very high probability of losing him.

After pondering for a while, Tang En finally opened his mouth and asked, "Serhiy, if I say that I promise to give you a core position on the team, will you stay with Nottingham Forest?"

Without hesitating, Rebrov nodded his head. "I will, sir. Being able to play under your management is my honor."

Lying could retain a player that was useful to the team, but once he discovered that he had been lied to, his relationship with Tang En would beyond salvation.

Tang En sighed. "I really want to lie to you, Serhiy, but I have to tell you the truth. When this season begins, you definitely won't be a core player."

This was a reply that was within expectations. As an old professional soccer player that had played for many different clubs, Rebrov had gained a clear understanding of his future a long time ago. He nodded his head and smiled. "Thank you, sir, for being honest with me. And even more so for your guidance during my most difficult times."

Is this a farewell speech? Tang En thought to himself. In the past, Collymore had spent two million pounds to bring him from London to Nottingham, and now Nottingham Forest had the opportunity to sell him for three million pounds, ultimately earning them one million dollars. No matter how he looked at it, it was definitely a profitable transaction. The price also revealed how highly Kyiv Dynamo regarded Rebrov.

The player wanted to leave, and there was another team that wanted him. Nottingham Forest would lose a veteran player, but could earn one million pounds.

Tang En nodded his head. "if you think that returning to Ukraine will be better for you, then I'll allow you to leave the team. But Serhiy, I want to remind you for the last time… The moment you return to the freezing cold of Eastern Europe, you will be saying goodbye to the mainstream European football world…"

Upon getting the manager's approval, Rebrov was in an extremely good mood. He chuckled. "Sir, do you think that I'm still fantasizing about being able to join a powerhouse club, and winning the championships? I'm already past the age of dreaming. Now is the time for me to seriously consider how I'm going to spend the little time that I have left before I go into retirement."

He was right, and Tang En could not say anything more. Talking about glorious ambitions and achievements at Rebrov's age was indeed not very practical.

"Alright, you win. I wish you luck, Serhiy," Tang En said, waving his hands.

"I wish you good luck too, Sir."

※※※

One day later, Serhiy Rebrov became the first person of the summer to confirm his departure from Nottingham Forest. Kyiv Dynamo had, for three million pounds, bought the Ukrainian player who had found his confidence and his forte while playing the midfielder position.

Through this, the media confirmed Tang En's ability to guide and nurture players. Rebrov had only displayed his truly exceptional performance for half a season, and that was right after Tang En had taken over and became the manager of Nottingham Forest. For a player's value to not dip but instead rise over one season was more than enough on its own to display Tang En's ability.

Rebrov's departure fortified Tang En's determination to find another experienced veteran player for Nottingham Forest's midfield. Currently, the team severely lacked players that could play in the middle lane of the midfield. The only players that were confirmed to be in Tang En's plans were George Wood and Brynjar Gunnarsson. The rest of the players would most likely be purged: either loaned out or sold to other teams.

The team needed veteran players, and Nottingham Forest, which was comprised mainly of young players, was essentially crippled. In that case, who were the veteran players out there that fulfilled Tang En's requirements?

He suddenly thought of someone.

Tang En thought that he might have to make another trip to Italy with a translator.

It was really nice to be the manager of a professional football team, as he could use the company's funds to go on a "vacation."

After he had informed Evan of his destination, the club immediately made all the necessary arrangements for Tang En. Bringing an Italian translator with him, Tang En flew to Milan, Italy in the afternoon of that same day.

At night, when Tang En was eating at the restaurant appointed for the meeting, there were two people seated opposite him. The first was the agent Branchini, and the second was the target who Tang En had specially flown to Italy for: Demetrio Albertini, a curly-haired man who did not look like a football star, and always had a plebeian smile on his face.

When Tang En had still been a football fan, he had not been a diehard supporter of any specific club who would support his team no matter what. Instead, he loved many teams, but would never quarrel with someone over Real Madrid and Barcelona's hundred-year feud. He liked many football stars, but he was not one to hate on other football players just because he liked some other ones.

He was not a supporter of AC Milan, and therefore would not shed tears of joy just because they won the Champions League. Still, he liked the man sitting opposite him.

He was the ex-vice captain of the powerhouse AC Milan, and was highly reputable among football fans. He was AC Milan and the Italian national team's absolute core, and had even been deemed by Maldini as someone who "could make all of Italy catch a cold when he sneezed." The number of glorious titles he had gotten and the number of grand occasions he had experienced were so many that they could not be listed even in a span of two days. However, all those were already things of the past.

By now, he had already been gone from AC Milan for a long time, and was currently intending to annul the contract with Lazio because the club, which had gotten into a financial crisis, could not afford his salary—one million, two hundred and fifty-thousand pounds after taxation.

For SS Lazio, which was badly battered by their financial issues, this was no small amount of money. They had just signed a two-year contract at the start of the year with Albertini, who had been deserted by Milan. With an annual contract salary of one million, two hundred and fifty-thousand pounds, two years' worth of salary would be two million, five hundred thousand pounds. However, this amount of money was still affordable by Nottingham Forest, which had resolved its financial crisis and was a newly-promoted team in the Premier League.

That was the reason why Tang En had chosen Albertini.

Tang En believed that Albertini was not so old that he could only earn his salary on the bench while he silently waited for his retirement. He wanted to give both this Milanese man and Nottingham Forest a chance—a chance to become more mature, to become stronger.

However, it was not like there were no competitors the time. Atlanta United FC's transfer market supervisor, Larini, had also met with Albertini's agent, Branchini, just a day before Tang En arrived in Milan. This was an incident that taken place in the original timeline, from before Tang En's meddling.

"Deme, we all know Lazio's current situation, and I also know that Atlanta is very interested in you. But please don't doubt Nottingham Forest's sincerity. You really believe that this is the end of your professional career? You really think that you've stooped as low as playing for a Serie A team that was at the bottom of the league?" Tang En started showing off his glib tongue in hopes of convincing Albertini to stop his negotiations with Atlanta and turn to Nottingham Forest instead.

After the Italian translator translated Tang En's words, Albertini fell into deep thought.

When he had been abandoned by AC Milan during the 02-03 season and loaned out to Atletico Madrid, he had still been hopeful that he could return back to Saint Siro Stadium. However, it was only after he spent one season in Spain and returned back to Italy that he realized that there was no place for him in Milan.

Chapter 203: The Red Forest Chapter 11 The Old Soldiers Part 2

In the previous season, he had been loaned out by Ancelotti to Lazio in exchange for Pancario. During the winter break, Galliani explicitly told Albertini, who still held some hopes in his heart, that "the current AC Milan doesn't have a position for you, Deme. Pirlo, Gatusso, all these young players are doing very well in your position. Moreover, we still have Kaka…"

Albertini finally decided something: perhaps he still did not know where he would be during the final moments of his professional career, but it was definitely not Saint Siro.

Just like that, in the freezing cold of winter, Albertini left Milanello alone and signed a new contract with Lazio—a contract for two years, with an annual salary of one million, two hundred and fifty pounds after taxation. From then on, he completely took off the red and black AC Milan jersey, changing into SS Lazio's blue eagle jersey.

What he hadn't expected was that his career at SS Lazio only would continue for one season before coming to a premature end. Due to the financial difficulties of the club, Lazio had to put many players up for sale. Hence, Albertini, who had been deemed "old and frail," naturally became part of their purge list as well. Even if Lazio had not intended to let Albertini go, his agent, Branchini, had already intended to leave the club.

After all, Atlanta United, a team that had recently been promoted to Serie A, had just sent an invitation to his player.

If the Englishman had not appeared, perhaps they would have had to agree to Atlanta United's terms.

But now that Tony Twain had brought his Italian translator along and given them an even more alluring invitation. This included a core position in Nottingham Forest, an annual salary that was no lower than the one he was promised in Lazio (not inclusive of the various cash prizes), the chance to participate in the UEFA Europa League, and a "2+1" contract (which spanned two years and could possibly extend for another year) that was subject to both the player's condition and the number of matches played in the final year of the contract.

Albertini and Branchini whispered to each other before his agent raised his head and spoke to Tang En. "Deme wants to know, why did you specially come all the way from England to invite him, a player who is already preparing for his retirement, to join your team?"

The fact that the agent had dared to ask that question showed that Tang En stood a chance. Elated, Tang En said, "Although we are a newly-promoted team, the same as Atlanta United, Nottingham Forest's goal is not merely to remain in the Premier League. We have greater plans. Does Atlanta United have the participating rights to this season's UEFA Europa League? We do! Moreover, Nottingham Forest is currently made up mostly of young players. Therefore, I strongly believe that your experience is what Nottingham Forest needs the most, Deme. Moreover, I think that… Deme, considering retirement at thirty-two years-old is simply too early! The thirty-two year-old Paolo Maldini is still the team captain of AC Milan, and the thirty-two year-old Rijkaard once led a group of youngsters to win the Champions League…And you, Deme, will have these kinds of chances now, too. I'm not lying."

Tang En had used two of the most important players in Milan's history to illustrate his point. Since they were realistic examples that Albertini was very familiar with, they had a considerable impact on him.

Albertini remained silent for a while longer before saying, "I've heard that Italian football players tend to be unhappy in England."

"Oh, no." Tang En shook his head and continued. "Just think about Zola and Vialli. Zola was the best foreign player in Chelsea's history, and in the ten years that he played in the Premier League, the number of times that he received the "best foreign player" award was second only to Cantona. That kind of achievement can't be considered poor, Deme. I believe that you won't fare any worse than them. Moreover, what does Atlanta United have that attracts you? Their jerseys will only remind you of AC Milan."

Although that reasoning might appear trivial, it really could be the deciding factor.

Tang En was right; Atlanta's jerseys for their home games were black and blue striped. If they changed the sponsor's name that was imprinted on the front of their jerseys, there would be little difference between the jerseys of AC Milan and Atlanta United, especially from a distance. Albertini was an ardent supporter of AC Milan. Even when the club made clear to him their decision to abandon him during the 02-03 season, Albertini still said, "If I must leave, I hope that I can continue playing in another country. I don't wish to fight against Milan." In the end, he went to play for Atletico Madrid.

Even though Albertini still ended up going to Lazio the next season, Tang En believed that it was because he simply had no choice. No other foreign clubs wanted him, so in order to continue playing football, he could only choose to be loaned to Lazio by Milan in exchange for Pancario, whom Ancelotti had taken a liking to. That was perhaps the last contribution he could make to AC Milan.

With better terms than Atlanta United, the manager's high opinion of and trust in him, as well as not needing to deal with the psychological burden of facing off against AC Milan, Tang En firmly believed that Albertini already belonged to him. So Tang En said no more as he quietly waited for a reply from the person seated opposite him.

Upon hearing Tang En finish, Albertini shut his eyes. For Albertini, the future, which he had thought was fixed, was suddenly met with new changes. How should he actually spend this last stretch of his professional career?

If Albertini went to Atlanta, he would not have any ambitious goals. Perhaps he would wear the captain's armband and play for two years before discreetly announcing his retirement. Only at that time would people remember; Ah, so it turns out that Albertini from Milan's glory days is still playing!

Going to an unfamiliar team in a foreign country, taking on a new challenge, leading a group of young lads, working hard towards a championship title of more importance than the Europa League... In three years time, what kind of comments would he receive when he decided to retire?

Albertini had only two options: to end his professional career without anyone knowing, or to take on a new risk. Perhaps he would succeed, or perhaps he would still leave the professional football scene without anyone knowing.

It might have been a long while, or it might have just been a thirty-second pause. But Tang En finally got a reply from Albertini.

The Italian, who had a slightly pale face and a head of curly hair, nodded lightly and said, "I think… Mr. Twain, although I'm not very familiar with either your team or English football, I feel that… this might be a choice that is worth taking a risk over. You believe in me, so I won't let you down!"

In that split second, that dejected Albertini vanished into thin air. What replaced him was an ambitious young man that was exuding limitless vigor and youthfulness from his entire body. Tang En was right. Thinking about retirement at the age of thirty-two was simply too early!

※※※

Three days later, the list of players that were going to Japan for an exhibition match, which was announced by Lazio's officials, did not have Demetrio Albertini's name on it. The next day, Lazio announced that they had annulled their contract with Albertini. The club thanked Albertini for his contributions to the club over the past year, and wished him good luck in his future endeavours.

On that same afternoon, Nottingham Forest's official website announced at once that they had, by means of a free transfer, recruited the Italian midfielder Demetrio Albertini, who had just annulled his contract with Lazio. Both parties signed a contract that would last for two years; on the last year of the contract, the extension of the contract for another year would be subjected to Albertini's performance and the number of matches he played.

The picture shown on the news was that of a curly-haired Italian man standing next to Tony Twain with a Nottingham Forest jersey in his hands. The number on the jersey was the same number that had been on Albertini's jersey when he was still in Milan: number 4. The only difference between the two was that, with the red color of the jersey, there was no trace of black left.

※※※

After settling the administrative matters of Albertini's transfer, Tang En continued to set his sights on experienced old soldiers because they were the people who Nottingham Forest needed the most at the moment.

Another person that caught his eye was Hierro, the ex-captain of the Spanish national team and Real Madrid.

Unlike Albertini, Hierro's reason for leaving Real Madrid was not his slipping skills due to old age. Instead, it was because he had offended the upper echelons of the club. As such, during the summer of year 2003, on the second day after Real Madrid had obtained their twenty-ninth league championship title, Hierro had been kicked out of the club by Florentino.

When this news was first announced, it had garnered quite an uproar. Hierro, who had left the team, heeded his agent's advice and went to play for the Qatar Stars League. However, after one season, he was no longer able to tolerate his days at Qatar, where he had played football purely for the sake of money. Or rather, it could be said that Hierro felt that he wasn't so down-and-out that he had to resort to playing only for money at Qatar Stars League. Therefore, after one season, he decisively ended his contract with the Qatar Stars League team and decided to find a stronger European team to join.

Upon catching wind of this, Nottingham Forest and Bolton contacted Hierro's manager at almost the same time. The results of this competition were no different from the past few times. Nottingham Forest, which offered much better terms than Bolton, won Hierro's favor. The ex-captain of Real Madrid felt that Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest really had large aspirations, and that going there would not be a waste of his talent. It could also be said that only by joining a team like Nottingham Forest could he have the chance of getting back at Real Madrid's chairman, Florentino.

There were many different views regarding Albertino and Hierro's choices. Among these, the most popular explanation was that these two people were nearing the later stages of their professional career, and that they therefore hoped to simply expend whatever fight they had left in them on a team before going into retirement. Nobody believed that they still had any ambition left, or that they still dreamed of achieving success at this point.

That was completely understandable. After all, losers always think that everyone else is the same as them.

They would never get the chance to hear the words Tang En said when he introduced the two old soldiers during the team's training session: "Lads, from now on, if you don't work hard, your positions might get snatched away by these old guys!"

Chapter 204: Get Ready Part 1

The entry of the two champion players, Demetrio Albertini and Fernando Hierro, was a great boost to morale. In general, the current Forest team could be regarded as a young team. The players were dynamic, energetic and motivated, but lacked experience. And Hierro and Albertini, two veterans who had led big-name teams to victory in the UEFA Champions League, could bring the experience and stability that the young players required. Tang En believed that having the older guys on the team would benefit the team a lot, both in training and in the games.

He had to admit that when he went to look for those two old guys, he was somewhat motivated out of the selfish interest as a fan who used to like them. Nevertheless, the difference between having the veterans in the Forest team and not having them was pretty obvious. It could be seen during the training. Young players always liked to imitate the famous players and Albertini and Hierro were willing to teach these kids during training.

Although Piqué was a Barcelona player, Hierro, the former Real Madrid captain, took great care of his fellow Spaniard junior.

And as for Albertini, Twain specifically asked George Wood to learn from Albertini. Not only to learn his defensive stance and route running, but also to learn his ability to organize offense. Albertini was not just a defensive midfielder.

Twain had high hopes for Wood and wanted to make Wood more well-rounded. He could not lose his defensive gift and talent, but his offensive capability should not be nil, either.

He would often praise the achievements of Hierro and Albertini in front of all the team members, hinting at the players that they were their role models.

Privately, he also hoped that Hierro and Albertini could help these young men on the team, and that the two veterans would not refuse to do so.

That summer, Manchester United and Arsenal had not been as active in the transfer market, so Chelsea, with its newly appointed manager, and the high-profile promoted Nottingham Forest attracted a lot of attention.

Since the arrival of José Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea had brought in several strong players such as Arjen Robben, Mateja Ke?man, Petr ?ech, Didier Drogba, and many others. In addition, Mourinho also brought in his players under his direct command in FC Porto: Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Tiago Mendes.

As Chelsea's new manager, Mourinho came at the heels of his championship title of the UEFA Champions League. That title was much more luminous than Twain's.

What interested the British media was that Mourinho was clearly not an easy man to deal with. When he started work at Chelsea, his speech to the players on the first day of team training was leaked to the media.

"Standing in front of me is a group of outstanding players. But boys, you have to remember—there is a great coach standing in front of you. I, José Mourinho, am a European championship manager!"

Prior to this, during a press conference held by Chelsea to welcome him, he looked directly at the cameras and said point-blank, "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one."

No matter what other people thought, the media was happy. Tony Twain had just led the Forest team to their promotion to the English Premier League, and everyone still remembered the scene where he had made Mark Lawrenson shave his beard in front of the entire British television audience. And now came a Portuguese man who completely held his own next to him, spoke in fluent English, and exuded the mature charm of a successful man. He would become an excellent media figure in every aspect.

The only regret the media had was that, by the middle of July, the two most individualistic managers had not directly faced off against each other in the transfer market. The Forest team repeatedly blocked Manchester United and Arsenal from getting the players they liked in the transfer market, with only Chelsea seemingly being left alone.

※※※

Allan calculated and provided Twain with an account of his spending during the transfer period. At the end of it, Tang En was surprised to find that he had not spent much money. Could it be that he was too accustomed being poor?

Up until now, the Forest team had bought a total of seven players. Ushering in Piqué only cost two hundred and twenty thousand pounds, the introduction of Bendtner had only cost two hundred thousand pounds, and buying Lennon had only cost one million. Then, he had obtained the three players—Ribéry, Albertini and Hierro—for free. One million pounds were spent to buy Chimbonda from SC Bastia. The center back Matthew Upson was the Forest team's biggest expense: four million pounds.

Saving money was good, but Allan hoped that Twain would continue to increase their investment in the transfer market. Although Albertini and Hierro were championship-level players in Twain's eyes, they were older, and their appeal was not as big as before. Twain had previously focused on how to maximize the ability of the team, and had ignored the needs of the market.

Allan specifically told Twain that he expected Twain to consider bringing in a popular player and said that, if possible, it would be best if he was a striker.

In Tang En's view, the only players in the Forest team currently qualified to be in the English Premier League were Freddy Eastwood, Peter Crouch, and Nicklas Bendtner. The latter was young, and was expected to be a substitute while developing progressively. As for David Johnson... Tang En initially had planned to loan him out, but Johnson wanted to stay with the Forest team.

Having only three strikers was not very reassuring to Tang En. It was imperative to bolster their forward strength.

He picked up his list of candidates for players; this list was specifically used to record the names and information of the players he was interested in. Originally this function should have been replaced by the "Player Database System" that Twain had proposed last Christmas. However, when he received the beta version sent from the United States this summer, he had only used it for fifteen minutes and decided to break off their cooperation with that American I.T. company. The system was idiotic and not user-friendly at all. There were a lot of problems using it and there were so many bugs that Tang En had lost count. At that time, he had so many matters to attend to that he did not have the time to handle the matter. He had put it aside for the time being. Now he had to replace the computer program with the most traditional method, pen and paper.

Tang En went through the names one by one and circled the names of the players that he was interested in. Putting aside whether the Forest team could afford them in the first place, Tang En would circle the names of the players he felt good about and then refine the list after he had completed this step.

Hernán Crespo, the Argentinian national footballer, was one of the top players in terms of both strength and market appeal. Furthermore, Hernán Crespo's relationship with the Chelsea manager, Mourinho, was not very cordial. After Mourinho had been in office for several days, when Crespo was mentioned, the self-important Portuguese man said, "I haven't seen Hernán Crespo since I came here. Have you seen him?" It seemed feasible to make a transfer request to Chelsea at this time. But the reality was that Carlo Ancelotti had long promised Hernán Crespo. AC Milan had already gotten in touch with Chelsea, hoping to get the Argentina's main striker.

Tang En crossed out Crespo's name.

Patrick Kluivert, the Netherlands national footballer, was the striker for Barcelona. But his days at the Camp Nou seemed to be coming to an end ever since the introduction of Samuel Eto'o and Ludovic Giuly. In addition, with the gradual rise of Lionel Messi, Kluivert had lost his groove and position as the main striker. It would naturally be a wise choice to leave Barcelona at this time. But would he come to the Forest team? Apparently not; Newcastle had just announced that Kluivert was their man.

Kluivert's name was also crossed out.

Nwankwo Kanu? He was abandoned by Arsenal, so obviously Tang En would not want him too.

After reviewing the list, Tang En's eyes locked on two people from the same team.

Leeds United was finally relegated to League One last season, and it was heartbreaking for fans of Leeds United. But for the managers of other teams, it was a good opportunity for big purchases.

Tang En was not a fan of Leeds United, so he was delighted to see Leeds United being relegated and going bankrupt as he had expected, and to see them forced to sell their team's star players to repay their debts.

He had his eye on Leeds United's two strikers: Alan Smith and Mark Viduka.

Strictly speaking, Smith was not a striker. He was more of a midfielder than a striker. But Tang En thought that a striker like Smith could raise the Forest team's potential for offense on the front field. He knew that with certainty. According to his memory, Smith would go to Manchester United this summer, but since he had already taken Piqué from Manchester United, why not try his best to snatch Smith?

The only problem was the player's individual aspiration. The contract between Smith and Leeds United was up. Come summer, he would be free to choose to go to his favorite team, rather than be at the mercy of the club. This had left the Forest team at a disadvantage at the start of a competition with Manchester United.

Actually, Tang En really wanted to tell Smith that going to Manchester United did not mean that his career would reach a peak, but that it was a honey trap. But then again, he could not say that. Why? Because even if he had said that, Smith would not believe it. He might think that this was a way to persuade him to join the Forest team.

Wouldn't there be more opportunities for glory on a big-name club than a recently promoted team? Even if I'm not going to Manchester United, why would I choose Nottingham Forest?

In the campaign for Smith, Nottingham Forest's Tony Twain lost to Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson. Nottingham Forest could not match the allure of a big club.

As far as young players go, he could still attract them with opportunities for steady appearances in games. However, for those mature players who had no need to develop their skills through regular appearances and longed for glory, Tang En was out of ideas.

Chapter 205: Get Ready Part 2

After losing Alan Smith, Tang En could only wish the ingenious striker, known as the successor of Mark Hughes, good luck. If Smith could not escape his fate in the end, then Tang En could only sigh helplessly.

The second person that Tang En was interested in was Smith's front-line partner at Leeds United: Mark Viduka. That name was deeply ingrained in Tang En's mind. When he was still in school in China, he had already heard the Australian's name. That time was probably the most glorious period of this young Leeds United player's life, and the whole world knew that Australia had two talented players, one named Harry Kewell and the other named Mark Viduka.

During that time, Tang En still remembered a local football magazine describing Mark Viduka as an "Australian Bull," because he was so strong. As a result, Tang En had always figured that Mark Viduka was a quintessential British-style striker who relied on his bodily strength to play, had crude footwork, and was only good at headers.

Later, he discovered he was very much mistaken. Mark Viduka's strong physique was his advantage, but he was, at the same time, a very well-rounded striker, and his footwork was nowhere near as crude as Tang En had assumed.

In the Forest team's frontline, all three strikers had a common trait: they were too young, and lacked the experience of the European arena. On the other hand, Viduka had exactly that type of experience. At that time, when he had been on the Leeds United team, they had eliminated AC Milan.

Mark Viduka was currently the most suitable striker for the Forest team in every aspect. Having made up his mind, Twain made Leeds United an offer of 4.5 million pounds to purchase Mark Viduka. The Forest team quickly received a response: Leeds United had refused the offer.

There were, after all, a lot of teams pursuing Mark Viduka at the same time. For example, the team closest to the Australian was Middlesbrough, who had also offered 4.5 million pounds. Leeds United was harsh towards Twain because the Forest team was the most active club in the transfer market this summer, and they thought that their offer of 4.5 million pounds was too little.

This was a clear ripoff, but Twain was happy to have Leeds United jack up the price. That was not because he wanted Leeds United to make more money and get themselves out of their financial crisis as soon as possible; he was not so kind-hearted. Rather, he was feeling generous because Forest was in good financial shape, and Allan had hoped that Twain would be able to pull off a "massive deal." If Leeds United felt that 4.5 million pounds was not enough, then Allan too would find it inadequate.

Consequently, the Forest team made a second offer right away. Twain increased Mark Viduka's value by 1.5 million pounds, offering to buy him for six million pounds.

That price was beyond the benchmark of the other pursuing teams. Even Middlesbrough, who had initially been determined to win, hesitated. Middlesbrough was furious at the way Nottingham Forest liked to barge in when others were nearing the end of their negotiations. Last season, Twain had seized away their opportunity for qualification for the UEFA Europa League. And now, a player that they were interested in was going to be snatched. It was incredibly aggravating.

No matter how furious they were, the Middlesbrough team had no other options. Compared to the triumphant Nottingham Forest team, which just received an injection of funds and had been promoted to the Premier League, Middlesbrough was very poor. Their annual transfer budget was pathetic. If it was not, why would they have to wait for discounts before they were able to buy players?

With a team that was able to compete in Europe wanting him to join, the Australian would naturally not refuse. Between Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, choosing a team was hardly worth hesitation. Upon learning that the Forest team had raised its offer a second time, Mark Viduka immediately notified his agent to terminate negotiations with Middlesbrough regarding his contract and to wait for Leeds United to respond to Nottingham Forest. He believed that the club, which was in a financial crisis, would not reject the opportunity to sell him without losing a penny, and Leeds United would have made a profit: four years ago, when Mark Viduka had transferred from the Scottish Premiership's Celtic F.C. to Leeds United, the latter had spent six million pounds.

As per his expectation, the Leeds United team had no reason to refuse the offer. They agreed to allow the Forest team and Mark Viduka to further negotiate individual salary and benefits. Things had progressed very smoothly up to this point. Three days later, Nottingham Forest's official website updated their transfer news again. The Australian national footballer, the famous striker Mark Viduka, appeared on the latest transfer list.

The fans cheered when Mark Viduka joined, as he had amply proved himself in the Premier League for the past four seasons. Everyone believed that his arrival on the Forest team would improve the team's attacking power and, at the same time, provide valuable experience to the young Forest team's frontline.

Allan was very pleased with the deal as well. Mark Viduka's popularity in Australia was comparable to Kewell's, and his long experience of playing in the English Premier League had made quite an impact in the United Kingdom. A power striker like him was sure to be more newsworthy and produce faster results than Bendtner and Piqué.

The excited marketing manager even had the team magazine cover all figured out. They would use the photographs of four players: Viduka, Hierro, Albertini, and Eastwood. The first three players were new to the team this summer and were quite prestigious. Eastwood's selection was necessary to please the fans; the Romani Gypsy was "the most popular player" selected by the Forest fans last season.

After buying Viduka, Twain told Evan and Allan that he had no need to buy another player in the transfer market. Except for those players who were determined to leave the team and were not in his plan, the Forest team's lineup had essentially been fixed. If any problems were to be found during the league championships, then they could adjust when the winter transfer window opened.

Nottingham Forest, which had just been promoted to the English Premier League, had burned through 12.42 million pounds in less than two months. Still, Tang En did not think that they had spent much money. He felt that every cent was spent on necessary areas, and that the strength of the team had already dramatically changed compared to six months ago.

After confirming the halting of all transfer activities, Twain brought together all the players whom he had bought over the summer and held a press conference and a meet-and-greet with the fans.

He stood in the middle. On his left were the former Spanish national team captain, Fernando Hierro; the Barcelona youth team's main center back, Gerard Piqué; the Frenchman, Pascal Chimbonda; and the center back from Birmingham City, Matthew Upson. On his right were the former Italian national footballer, Demetrio Albertini; the young player, Aaron Lennon; the Danish star player, Nicklas Bendtner; the unknown French player, Franck Ribéry; and the Australian striker, Mark Viduka, the latest to join the team.

Some of these players were veterans with rich experience that had won countless championships. Some were strong, outstanding star players of their time, and some were young players who represented the future and hope.

Surrounded by these players and faced by the cameras held up by the reporters, Twain grinned with delight under the continual flashing lights of the cameras.

This was his team. Every player was bought according to his exact wishes. With these players, he could look forward to much more. They did not only want to maintain their position in the Premier League; the Forest team's goal was more ambitious than anyone could imagine.

Chapter 206: The List For First Team

Goal keeper: Darren Ward (1), Barry Roche (12), Paul Gerrard (25).

Full Back: Davy Oyen (2), John Thompson (3), Clint Hill (16), Wes Morgan (5), Leighton Baines (22), Pascal Chimbonda (23), Gerard Piqué (24), Matthew Upson (33), and Fernando Hierro (6).

Midfielder – George Wood (13), Demetrio Albertini (4), Brynjar Gunnarsson (8), Eugen Bopp (31), Kris Commons (20), Ashley Young (18), Aaron Lennon (17), and Franck Ribéry (7).

Forward: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nicklas Bendtner (21), Peter Crouch (9), Mark Viduka (10), and David Johnson (30).

Above is the final list for Nottingham Forest this season, with their jersey numbers inside the parentheses. When the list was announced, everyone was focused on Franck Ribéry. This youth, who had not even managed to play in the Championnat National and had been at risk of losing his career, was actually wearing jersey number seven for Nottingham Forest!

Everyone knows that that the lower the player number in a team, the more likely they are considered for main positions. What did it mean for Tang En to give Ribéry number 7? It meant he valued scarface. Tony Twain never disappointed when it came to his judgment. Was there indeed something amazing about Ribéry?

Outsiders were sceptical of Ribéry because they did not understand his ability. However, internally, the team had no objections to the number arrangement. Since the first day he had come to the team for training, Ribéry showed immense ability in the wings. His dribbling and speed were weapons he could use to dominate the wings. Beyond that, his shooting was good as well. After a week of training with him, even his direct competitor, Kris Commons, had to admit that the French guy was better than him.

"Do all players at the Championnat National play this well?" he asked.

Tang En smiled. "No, Franck is an exception."

When Scarface had first entered the team, he was always quiet and did not like talking. He seemed worried that his teammates would mock his appearance. But the truth was that although they were surprised by the scars on his face, the team did not mock or shame him at all. That was not something that would happen on Tony Twain's team.

In the locker room, after Tang En intentionally got Ribéry to talk about how his scars came about, everyone became sympathetic for him.

Upon realising that his teammates did not look down on him because of his scars, Ribéry finally let go of his anxiety. He gradually started talking more, quickly returning to his lively self. Although he still could not speak English, he worked hard at learning in the hopes of assimilating as quickly as possible to the team.

Ribéry knew how difficult it was to get this job. Not everyone had the experience of living with an allowance of only 150 Euros and being unable to afford rent. Precisely because he knew how hard his life had been, he developed a special attitude towards money. Now, his weekly salary was 6500 pounds. This wasn't a particularly high salary within the team. At most, it was mid-range. But to Ribéry, who had had enough of being poor, it was much more than what he gotten from any other club he had played for. He also knew that if he performed well, even greater rewards awaited him. The better he played on the field, the faster that day would come.

He was valued by the manager, was treated well, and had good relationships with his teammates. A new environment, a new league… What was there to worry about? Right now, he only wished for the Premier League to start quickly, and for him to prove to everyone that though he, Franck, from the Championnat National, was worth every penny he was paid, and was worth the trust of his manager!

Although Tang En did not know Ribéry's thoughts, he could tell that the Frenchman always worked hard during trainings. He remembered seeing such zeal before in George Woods. Those who had been through poverty would especially cherish any opportunity to earn money. They had no right to any slack.

There are many successful people, but there is only one quality that is shared by all of them: a successful person is always a thousand times more diligent than someone who fails. This is regardless of where that diligence stems from; whether it is from their own willingness or from forced circumstances in life.

George Woods had succeeded, and his debut had scorched the people with a deep impression. Tang En believed that Ribéry could be the same.

He's no joke. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, France's national team manager Domenech will definitely try to recruit him from us!

With the advancement of England's media, Ribéry would certainly become famous even earlier than when he had played in France. Now, Tang En could only hope that Ribéry would still remember where his heart was even after becoming famous.

After confirming the First Team's formation, Tang En cleared some of the members who were not needed on the team. They could choose to join the Reserve Team or be either loaned or sold to other interested clubs.

This was different from the achievement he felt from buying players. Tang En still harboured great affection for the team that he had led for half a year. Faced with the departure of players who had fought with him for the championship and promotion rights, he still had no choice. The team had to improve, so those who could not keep up had to be eliminated. The original formation for Forest had many players with limited skills who were already unsuitable for the Premier League. Forest could not afford to let them goof around on the team and pay them for nothing.

Although there is kindness within professional football, most of it remains cruel. When you are unable to satisfy demands, no one pities you. Only your own lack of ability is to blame.

The good thing as that everyone knows about this; no one had unrealistic expectations about staying on the team. After seeing Forest's signings over the summer, everyone knew their situation; Forest had no place for some of them. Rather than staying with the team and only playing in Reserve Team Competitions, scrapping up whatever status or fame they had left, they might as well take this time to look for another road out while they still had worth.

Rebrov, Eoin Jess, Gareth Taylor, Chris Doig, Matthew Lewis Rang, and George Robertson were all gone. Danny Sonner was loaned out, and Gareth Williams left too. The team was no longer the same one that Tang En had taken over.

The people who should be there had come, and the people who should have left were gone. With their team stabilised, Tang En and David Kerslake could finally dive into tactical training. He had realised his ideas from the UEFA European Championship.

The success of the Greek National Team had stirred him up. Even though Nottingham looked like a high-profile team on the transfer market, Tang En knew that defense was the key to getting a firm footing in the Premier League. If there were no surprises, Nottingham should be retaining the same configuration for the midfield, with two defending midfielders and two side midfielders with outstanding abilities. The main mission of the defending midfielders was defense: to build a wall in front of the Defensive Line, and pay little heed to attacking. Meanwhile, Tang En expected more from the two side midfielders. Not only did they have to actively defend, they also had to be able to switch to offense at any point. In addition, they also had to go one-on-one with opponents; in these moments, their technical ability would become exceedingly important. They were not merely side midfielders who passed the ball to support the offense; they were also wingers who had the ability to score and create a decisive win.

Kris Commons, Franck Ribéry, Ashley Young, and Aaron Lennon; Tang En believed that the four of them would be able to match up to his demands, or he would not have needed to buy them in the first place.

This was different from the finals of the EFL against Middlesbrough. Tang En's defense emphasised the importance of midfield control and would not easily yield the midfield to their opponents. That ran the risk of letting the opponents lay siege to Nottingham's goal, which was too dangerous.

Whether it be offense or defense, the midfield is territory that Tang En needed to claim. A chain reaction resulting from a loss of control in the midfield was terrifying. This was also why Tang En put in so much effort into the midfield compared to the forward line.

George Wood and Albertini should both be starting midfielders. Defense was entrusted to Wood, who was young and exceptionally strong. While supporting Wood in defense, Albertini would mainly be using his experience and passing to facilitate movements in the midfield. He had done the same for Italy's national team and AC Milan. Tang En trusted that he would have no problems with it at Nottingham.

On the defensive line, one of the main positions was sure to go to Hierro. Despite being already 36, Tang En had no doubt that Hierro would be able to take up the role. His experience was what he team needed most on the field. For all his slowness in turning and his other weaknesses, Wood would be there. What was there to be afraid of?

Hierro's partner should have been Matthew Upson. Wes Morgan and Piqué were still too unskilled. Clint Hill's problem with defensive positioning resulted in him only being able to play as a substitute. The good news for Piqué was that although the center back is unable to act as the main force, Tang En intended to let him try out being a right back instead. In Tang En's recollection of history, when Piqué was initially on loan to Real Zaragoza FC, he was unable to be fielded at all. It was only when Diogo got injured that Piqué was arranged to play as a right back. He ended up performing well in the new position.

At the beginning of that season, to make up for the 20 matches for Piqué under competition regulations, Real Zaragoza FC wasted no time in casting Piqué as a jack-of-all-trades. He played as center back, side back, and even Defending Midfielder. In all of those positions, Piqué did well. From that, Tang En realised Piqué's ability as an all-rounder. Although he would not intentionally push Piqué to be a jack-of-all-trades simply to fulfil the promise he had made, any manager would love to have a few all-rounders on their team.

Whenever the team is down a member because of injury or sickness, having one more well-rounded player means having another option and some buffer time. Of course, Tang En's focus for Piqué would still be the Center Back position. This was both his favourite and best position.

Before and after their summer training, they played a number of friendly matches. Most of their opponents were teams from England, since Nottingham was still not well-known enough to be invited overseas for friendly matches.

There were both wins and losses. At that point, Tang En did not really care about the results. Friendly matches were not designed for the pursuit of victory. To managers, there were usually two main functions of friendly matches: To check the physical conditions and forms of the players upon their return to the team after the rest period (this way, any issues discovered would be quickly resolved), and to allow the manager to observe any difficulties between old and new players, test tactical strategies and their actual results in implementation, find the most suitable strategy for the current team and make progress with it, etc.

Friendly matches belong to the classic trope of "the process is more important than the result." In such matches, Tang En would be most concerned about the performance of the new players and how well they were assimilating into the team. Then, based on how they did, Tang En would decide if he should give them more opportunities right from the beginning of the League.

Although Nottingham would participate in multiple leagues, Tang En had no intention of using a rotation system. The stability of the formation was more important than anything else. Additionally, his team did not have the luxury of doing that. Tang En needed to determine the main formation for the new season through the friendly matches and then do further adjustments.

It would be impossible for Hierro to hold out through the entire season. Though he would be part of the main force in the beginning, Tang En was considering gradually giving more playing opportunities to Piqué. The future still depended on the young.

In Albertini's case, things were different. From his age and condition, it would not be too difficult for him to be one of the main midfielders throughout the season… Unless he got injured. Tang En intended to stabilise the center of the midfield, which fell to the partners George Wood and Albertini. Throughout training, he nurtured their ability to work together. Even though one spoke Italian and the other English, they still had the common language of football.

The feedback Tang En received from training filled him with confidence in his plan. Albertini and Hierro were both amazing players and great older brothers. As Tang En hoped, they did their best to guide the children on the team.

Even though Piqué came from Barcelona and Hierro from Real Madrid, they were both Forest players with red Forest jerseys now. Several times, Tang En witnessed Hierro taking the initiative to stay back and lead Piqué through additional training, and to share his own successful experiences in learning when he should take opportunities to advance, when he should pull back, and how he should box out his opponents.

And Albertini and George Wood were a match made in heaven. George Wood was a little quiet, but had a kind of arrogance along with his low self-esteem. Such a character is not usually well-liked, yet Albertini was able to get along well with the unsociable person. Tang En even made the effort of casually asking Albertini his thoughts about his little partner in the midfield. Albertini liked Wood very much as he felt that Wood was serious, hard-working, and not at all lazy.

Even when Albertini had been in the renowned AC Milan, he had not liked much publicity. Rather, he was approachable and helpful, winning the respect of his teammates. Otherwise, how could he have become the vice-captain of AC Milan? Understanding that, Tang En chose to give the Captain's armband to Albertini on his second day after joining the team. To make someone who had only been on the team for two days, and who did not even know how to speak English, the captain of the team—the media was incredulous. But Tang En stuck to his guns, and the results were not bad at all.

After putting on the Captain's armband, Albertini seemed even more motivated. He was always taking the initiative to help out members of the team, regardless of if they were old players or new. He did not seem at all hesitant about whether or not was appropriate to do as a new member himself. Perhaps this was what it was like for a born leader.

When Tang En asked Wood to learn more from Albertini, he asked, "What should I learn?"

At first, Tang En wanted to list out Albertini's strengths for Wood to take note of, but after thinking about it, he realised it would be too cumbersome to list them out one by one. There were simply too many. Instead, Tang En replied, "Learn everything about him, whether it is on the field, or off."

Since that was what Tony Twain had said, George Wood naturally did it.

Although Tang En only had only intended to look for an experienced veteran for the team to strengthen the deployment in the midfield, he had unexpectedly found a great teacher for Wood. It was fantastic. Tang En then decided to develop George Wood's leadership ability.

As the manager, he also needed to nurture a supporter. Otherwise, in times of crisis, who would willingly stand up for him?

With George Wood brought into professional football by Tang En himself, he was the best candidate.

While Tang En led the First Team in their final preparations before the new season, Dunn's work in the Youth team also took off slowly. Unlike Tang En, Dunn still was not trusted by the rest of his colleagues on the youth team. But soon, through his hard work, he would make them look at him differently. After all, this work was all too familiar to him.

He spoke fluent English and was familiar with everything in this country. He was as familiar with Nottingham as with his own house. He almost knew all the names of those on the Youth team… After he was brought back to Nottingham Forest, he could feel memories sleeping somewhere deep inside of him begin to stir.

To be brought back to Forest by Tang En was a great opportunity for him. His passion for football and dream of being an extraordinary manager had never died. The Youth team was only his first step.

Chapter 207: The Premier League Kickoff Part 1

By the time July turned into August, Nottingham Forest had quietly withdrawn from the transfer market. While the media was still conjecturing Tony Twain's next target, the Forest team had completed the formation of the team and set the lineup. The remaining time was spent on preparing for their opponents in the new season.

In order to do this, in addition to the usual training, Tang En refrained from going to the pub every night to drink. Instead, he and Dunn stayed at home to watch the video profiles of all their opponents in the English Premier League. Apart from that of the Forest team itself, they studied the summer transfer data of all nineteen Premier League teams to understand whether their opponents had been strengthened or weakened.

Tang En's advanced three-year knowledge of the world played an important role at that time. For the summer transfer market, there were many things that no one could be certain of, such as whether a player bought by a team was worth the price, or whether some unknown kid would perform beyond everyone's expectations. One could also never know which players would exceed their value and which players would not live up to their reputation and become a washout after one season.

However, Tang En knew. He had knowledge of who had made the right purchases and who had made poor purchases.

When he discussed the Premier League with Dunn, he would mention some names, but he would not clarify too much. He was afraid of arousing Dunn's suspicions. After all, he was from the future; but Dunn just possessed his body, but had remained in the same time period.

Even though they had the same experience and an extraordinary tacit understanding of each other, there would still be secrets that Tang En would not tell Dunn, and that Dunn would not tell Tang En.

※※※

Based on the scores, the twelve-million-or-so pounds that Tony Twain had spent to create the new Forest team was clearly unsatisfactory.

The results of the five friendlies were one victory, two draws, and two defeats. The biggest problem they exposed was that there was not enough rapport in their cooperation, and that their physical strength recovery was less than ideal. There were other conventional issues as well. He discovered that the team lacked techniques when turning defense into offense and did not have the most effective means of attack. Albertini was the midfield core of the Forest team, but he had not completely adapted to English style football; the one word which could sum up his style was "fast." Fast offense, fast defense, fast to turn defense into offense. Maintaining that fast-paced momentum during an intense confrontation proved to be a bit difficult for Albertini, who was accustomed to Italian football.

Nonetheless, Twain placed a lot of trust in him. Even when it was obvious that he had not played well and had caused the team to lose, he would not criticize the Italian veteran at the post-match press conference. If the reporters pushed the issue, he would state with a serious expression that Albertini was still at the stage of familiarizing with the team, and it was very normal for his state to be unsteady or less than ideal.

He did not doubt Albertini's ability and competence. The only problem was adapting to the football style, which required time. And he believed that at Albertini's age, there was no need to spur him on. The player himself would want to prove himself more pressingly than anyone else would.

A veteran as well, Hierro performed quite well on the defense, but due to his age, he had completely abandoned his ability to attack and concentrated solely on defense.

In the friendlies, perhaps the most satisfying player who had just joined the team this summer was Viduka, the Australian striker. After all, whether it was his adaptation to the Premier League, his competition experience, his age, or his skills, he was very much in sync with the Forest team. Compared with the 02-03 season, Mark Viduka's last season in Leeds United had slightly declined, because he had been affected by the club crisis. In truth, there had been very few players who had still been in the state of mind to think about playing. Despite that, he had still appeared in thirty matches in the League Championship and had scored eleven goals.

Viduka scored three goals in five friendlies, and was the team's highest scorer in those games. As a result of his outstanding performance, Crouch could only be a substitute for him. And partnering with him was the nimbler Freddy Eastwood.

Nicklas Bendtner and Peter Crouch would be substitutes for the front line. When necessary, Twain would consider rotating, and, in the case of not being able to break through, bringing on Crouch with his unique skill; the tall Bendtner with outstanding headers would also be an excellent choice. After all, their Premier League rivals were more familiar with Viduka and less familiar with Bendtner.

The Forest team's biggest advantage was not that the players were young, but that they were so unknown to their Premier League opponents. Half of the team was rookies and some of the others had not played in the Premier League before. They needed to adapt to the Premier League, and the other Premier League teams needed to get to know them as well.

In August, the Premier League would have four rounds of matches. The Forest team's competition schedule was arranged such that the opening match was against a weak opponent, and things would become progressively more difficult. In the first round, Forest would be playing against Blackburn Rovers in an away match. They would return to their home ground in the second round and play against Aston Villa; their opponents' strength had already begun to rise. The real battle would start in the third round, against the defending champions, Arsenal, on their home grounds! And the fourth round would be an away challenge against Everton.

In reality, the "weakness" of the opponent mentioned earlier was relative. Tang En looked at it, and he did not even think that any of the four opponents were truly weak. Now that they were in the Premier League, any opponent would be stronger than the Forest team. The days when they would just play as they pleased against the lower ranking teams in League One were gone forever.

On August 8, Twain announced a day off for the team, and dragged David Kerslake on a trip to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, to watch a game at his lucky spot, the Millennium Stadium. It was the 04-05 season's Football Association Community Shield. He was not going as a fan either team. He was there to get a closer look at and understand the Forest team's two opponents this season.

Tang En dared not flippantly vouch to become the Premiership champion. The English Premier League and League One were two totally different types of tournament; it was almost like they were from two different worlds.

Last season, Arsène Wenger had led Arsenal to create an incredible record of being undefeated in the thirty-eight-game league, and took the title. Although this was not the first unbeaten record in a top English League, it was not easy to remain undefeated for a season in today's more competitive and intensely confrontational environment. With Arsenal around, would Twain dare to say that he would take the league title this season?

Arrogance did not equate to idiocy. He knew when to be arrogant and when to be low-key.

Arsenal and Manchester United had been the biggest pair of rivals in the Premier League ever since its inception. In the past, the relationship between Manchester United and Arsenal might not have been as tense as it was in the last decade. The man who changed everything was the Gunners' boss, the Frenchman Arsène Wenger. After winning the Premier League's first two seasons, Ferguson started to yearn to become the master of his dynasty in the Premier League. Blackburn Rovers was widely considered to be an upstart and flash-in-a-pan team trying to seize the title mid-way, and could not pose any threat to Manchester United. Indeed, in the ensuing season, Manchester United successfully overtook Blackburn Rovers.

In the first five years of the Premier League, Manchester United had won four titles, all of which belonged to Sir Alex Ferguson and his Manchester United Football Club. Just as Ferguson thought that he had established the foundation for his Manchester United dynasty, and the next step was consolidation, the Frenchman, Wenger, arrived. Arsène Wenger, who was still managing a team in Japan, was unknown. Nobody had heard of his name or ability. There were even people who mocked the Frenchman; Britain and France had always been at odds with one another.

And the result? The first season Wenger had come to Arsenal, he had won the Premier League title, and they were named the season's double crown, having won the FA Cup too. Wenger dealt a blow to the triumphant Ferguson, which had led the two managers and two teams to be nemeses ever since.

Until the end of the 03-04 season and the following six years, the Premier League was basically a power struggle between the two most powerful teams, Manchester United and Arsenal. They both won and lost at different times. Liverpool completely sank into oblivion and Chelsea was not stable enough. With the two traditional goliaths and the two charismatic managers, coupled with their teams heavily marked by the managers' personal imprint, the rivalry between both sides ran throughout most of the Premier League.

Therefore, whenever these two teams met, it would be explosive both on and off the field, which the spectators and media found immensely enjoyable but was a huge source of worry for the Football Association.

Even though it was a Community Shield game, it was also a battlefield that they were vying for. Tang En earnestly watched the game in the stadium and greedily absorbed everything he could learn: how the two veteran managers made substitutions during the game, their starting lineup, the actual tactics in the game, and so on. The outcome of the competition was secondary.

It was not until the end of the game, when Tang En saw the score, that he realized that the result did not deviate from this period of history in his memory; Arsenal beat Manchester United by 3:1 and won the first championship trophy of the season. Even the players who scored and the way they scored were the same: Arsenal's Gilberto Silva scored the opening goal for Arsenal and then Alan Smith, who had turned down the Forest team this summer and transferred to Manchester United, scored his first official goal after joining the Red Devils. He helped his team draw the game to a tie. Then the young Spanish player, José Antonio Reyes, helped Arsenal take the lead again, and in the end, Manchester United's Mika?l Silvestre became Arsenal's top contributor, scoring a goal which helped Arsenal secured their victory.

After the game, the Arsenal players excitedly picked up the shiny silver trophy plate to celebrate their first championship victory of the season. The Manchester United players left the stadium earlier. They did not want to serve as the backdrop for their opponent's celebration, with their own loss in contrast to the other party's joy.

Twain had no interest in Arsenal's championship celebrations either. He and David Kerslake followed the surge of the crowd out of the stadium and planned to return to Nottingham by car.

The Arsenal fans were still in the stadium, unwilling to leave. They wanted to celebrate victory with their team. Almost all of the crowd leaving now appeared to be frustrated Manchester United fans. Tang En was surrounded by fans wearing Manchester United jerseys. They were silent, and so depressed that their heads were lowered as they hurried home. There were still others, unable to accept the defeat, chattering and arguing with the people around them about the game that had just ended. There was a fat man next to Twain and Kerslake, who had complained to Twain about the unfairness of the result as they exited the stands. Finally, as they were about to part ways, he shrugged and said, "This is good. The Community Shield can be theirs, but the Premier League will be ours!"

Chapter 208: The Premier League Kickoff Part 2

In English football, there were a few tiny rules, or minor curses, like the fact that a team could not win if they used the South locker room in the Millennium Stadium. Of course, this had been broken by Nottingham Forest's Tony Twain, and Arsenal had used the South locker room for today's game. Another curse was that the team that won the FA Community Shield at the beginning of the season would lose the Premier League championship. In 2000, the FA Community Shield champion was Chelsea, and that season they were only placed in the sixth place. The Premier league championship was taken by Manchester United. In 2001, after brilliantly winning five championships, Liverpool had won the Community Shield in the new season but did not win the Premier League championship. Then, in 2002, Arsenal fared the worst. They had won the Community Shield, but their success was reversed by Manchester United after they had been leading for half of the league. In 2003, the Community Shield belonged to the Red Devils team, but Arsenal was unstoppable that season and took the championship with an impressive record of being undefeated in the 38-rounds. And Manchester United even lost to Chelsea at the last minute, and only placed third.

As for the 2004 Community Shield champion, what would their outcome be at the end of the season? Tang En remembered very clearly.

After hearing the Manchester United fans' never-ending complaints and self-deprecating remarks, he laughed, "That's not certain yet, maybe this season's Premier League champion will be Chelsea!"

That fat man looked at Twain in surprise and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "How could that team of mercenaries be our opponent? Just because they were the runner-up last season doesn't mean they'll be able to take the first place this season... don't you know anything about football?"

It seemed that his words had provoked the man's temper, and Tang En did not want to argue the issue with a belligerent fan. So, he and David Kerslake quickly left the Millennium Stadium.

On the way back, Kerslake also talked about the issue. He felt that Arsenal's current state was very good, and that their winning streak had not declined due to the long summer.

"Why can't Wenger's team break the curse that a Community Shield champion can't get the Premier League title? You mentioned Chelsea, but I don't think they're that good. Like us, they brought in too many new players over the summer. The team manager and the players are all new, and breaking in the new team is going to take up a lot of their time. I don't believe they can pose any threat to Arsenal and Manchester United this season. I'm more optimistic about them for next season."

Twain was not willing to bet with Kerslake. This was not because he was uncertain as to whether the future would be the same as he remembered, but rather because they had joined the Premier League as well. "This year is the best chance for Chelsea to win the championship," he said, shaking his head.

"Why?" Kerslake was puzzled.

"Because..." Twain turned to look at his partner and laughed mischievously. "Starting next season, we're in."

※※※

The FA Community Shield was precursor to the English Premier League, meaning that the league tournament would be fully opened a week later.

During that one-week period, Twain and the Forest team accepted an interview with Sky TV. This was a feature segment that Sky TV, which was in charge of broadcasting the Premier League, would produce every season; through it, their audience could see the new season's twenty teams. Besides the winning favorites, the most important portion of the program was the newly promoted teams. After all, for the majority of the audience, the three newly promoted teams were brand new and unfamiliar. Because the Forest team was the most unique one among the three promoted teams, they received more attention.

As they were a newly promoted team that had to take part in a European tournament, the media's main concern was what the Forest team's goal was this season. For almost all newly promoted teams in their first Premier League season, the goal would be to simply maintain their status; this was because it was a qualitative leap from League One to the Premier League. Many teams which had been formidable in League One were badly battered when they entered the Premier League.

Twain obviously did not want something like that to happen to him, but he did not state his exact goal. He just said, "We want to win every game that we think is necessary to win." That was the goal of the Forest team.

The Sky TV reporter tried to decipher the hidden meaning of his remark, so he followed up excitedly with more questions. "For example, last season, Arsenal..."

This was a dangerous sign. Journalists always liked to use this approach of thinking out loud and using a seemingly inquiring tone to reel people in. Twain firmly shook his head. "Arsenal is Arsenal and Nottingham Forest is Nottingham Forest. I'm not going to repeat the path that others have taken."

The disappointed journalist thought of another related question. "The longest unbeaten record in England's top leagues was maintained by the Forest team, forty-two games..."

"The past record has nothing to do with the current Forest team. Just like no one thinks that the Forest team is a European champion right now."

Twain's answer was completely uncooperative, but the Sky TV journalist still did not give up. He rolled his eyes, and suddenly thought of a very exciting topic. "According to the competition schedule, the Forest team will play against Arsenal on its home grounds on August 26."

Twain nodded, not knowing what the rather annoying journalist was going to say.

"If Arsenal wins the first two rounds of the league tournament, did you know, Mr. Twain, that Arsenal and the Forest team's third round of the league will be Arsenal's forty-third game after their record of being undefeated for forty-two consecutive rounds?"

Twain was stunned to hear the reporter say that. When he had first focused on the competition schedule, he was already vexed that they had to encounter such a strong team at the beginning, but he did not think that there was another hidden meaning within.

Twain got a little impatient now that he was entangled with this journalist over one record. He frowned and said, "A record is meant to be broken by others, I don't think that's a bad thing. In addition, I think I need to remind you, sir... Are you certain that Arsenal isn't the subject of today's segment?"

The journalist was slightly embarrassed by Twain's counter question, and had to switch to some very ordinary and common topics that were mundane and uninteresting to the audience. Twain managed with a few remarks, left the crew, and ran to the training ground to focus on the team's training.

For him now, appearances on television were completely incapable of satisfying his sense of achievement and ego. He cared more about the team's victory and glory. Furthermore, it felt awful to be belittled by this blasted journalist. Now that Arsenal had won the Community Shield, all of England was concerned about when the record would be broken by Wenger's team. Hence, having created this record previously, the Forest team had been dragged out of history and dusted off to be used as a backdrop for Arsenal's brilliance.

The feeling of being a supporting actor to others made Tang En uncomfortable.

When will the damned media and fans talk about the Forest team as a leading character rather than as a supporting role?

Ah, it looks like I still have a long way to go!

When the new season's Premier League was about to kick off, the lower level league tournaments were already up and running. The opponents that Tang En was familiar with were struggling in a completely different world, and he no longer wished to go back.

At the same time, the Football League First Division had been renamed the EFL Championship since the start of the new season because of new sponsors, and the corresponding lower-level leagues had also been renamed. The name "championship" sounded flashy but, in fact, it was just a change in name, not in substance.

After being promoted to the Premier League, Tang En did not care about the miscellaneous matters of the lower-level leagues. But the league's name change did make him a little rueful.

Perhaps there would never be an "EFL Championship" trophy in the Forest team's trophy room.

Chapter 209: Record Part 1

A week after the FA Community Shield, the 04-05 season of the English Premier League officially began.

At the moment, all of England had their eyes on Arsenal. They were only two matches away from breaking the undefeated record that had been held for 25 years. From the overwhelming victory over Southampton with a score of 6:1 on 7th May 2003 in a rescheduled Home match in the 02-03 season, Frenchman Arsène Wenger's football team broken a series of records in English football: Preston North End had maintained a no-loss streak through the 1888-89 season, which was an incredible achievement despite only having 22 matches in a season; Burnley had maintained a 30-match streak with no defeat in the 1920-21 season, losing only three matches at the beginning of the league before revitalising themselves and rampaging to the end of the season (that was also the first time in club history that they became league champions); Leeds United had won 29 matches with no losses in the 1973-74 season; and Liverpool had had an unbreakable 29 matches without defeat in the 1987-88 season.

At the beginning of the season, Arsenal already had a stunning streak of 40 league matches without defeat. Today, the only record that stands in their way is the undefeated no-loss record of 42 games by Nottingham Forest led by Brian Clough between the 1977-78 season and the 1978-79 season!

If they locked down the first two matches in the season, Arsenal would already be on par with this record. After that, they just need one more match to break the old record and set a new one for undefeated matches.

At this point, Arsenal was in great condition. Even if they had to face Everton in their first match as an away team, there was little to worry about.

And as expected, Arsenal easily triumphed over Everton with a score of 4:1 in the away match and maintained a streak of 41 victories!

On the other side, Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest appeared to have met with a little trouble…

※※※

During the summer transfer, Nottingham Forest was constantly in action. Their activity was even comparable to Chelsea, who was owned by a Russian tycoon; they were in the limelight. People had high hopes for Tang En's team, and even the local media in Nottingham looked well upon the new Forest.

In their first round, Forest was to challenge Blackburn in an away match. Before the match, Tang En spent a lot of effort researching their opponent—the team, the players, and the manager. He investigated and analyzed all of them. As such, he believed that he was already familiar with Blackburn. As usual, he led his team to the home of Blackburn Rovers, Ewood Park, with great confidence.

After 90 minutes, the Forest team, who had been filled with hope for the new season, lost 0:1 to Blackburn.

Although it appeared to be very good, based on the score, for a newly promoted team to lose by only one ball to a veteran team, it was not really so. The scores would never be able to fully show the difference between the two teams.

For this match, Tang En had used the 442 formation, which was most practiced one during trainings. He also sent out the 11 players who he felt were in their best conditions. The goalkeeper was Darren Ward. The two center backs were Fernando Hierro and Matthew Upson. The right back was the frenchman Pascal Chimbonda, whose performance had completely surpassed John Thompson during trainings, while the left back was Leighton Baines, who held a strong footing as one of the main positions through the last half of the previous season. Midfielders were positioned side-by-side, with Frenchman Franck Ribéry on the left, Ashley Young on the right, and George Wood and Albertini steadfastly guarding the path through the middle. Finally, on the forward line were the partners Freddy Eastwood and Mark Viduka.

Additionally, on the substitutes bench were goalkeeper Paul Gerrard, full back Wes Morgan and Gerard Piqué, midfielder Kris Commons, and forward Peter Crouch.

This formation was Tang En's strongest. In the trainings before the season, it was also shown to be the most stable starting line-up. Tang En believed that it was comparable to Blackburn Rover's.

But Blackburn, who had only been ranked 15th in the previous season, taught Forest a good lesson. It was na?ve to believe they would become a strong Premier League team because of the new players bought over the summer. The Premier league was a completely different world from the EFL.

Failure is inevitable when you compete in the Premier League with the same attitude as when playing the EFL.

Many promoted teams did not perform as well as expected. Although part of this was due to a lack of investment in the transfer market, a big part could also be attributed to their mentality.

From what happened on the field, the problem with Forest clearly lay in their transition between defense and offense. Albertini seemed to have difficulty getting used to the intense speed of the playstyle in English football, resulting in a lag in rhythm. For Wood… other than defending, he could not be expected to do anything else.

Tang En knew about these problems. To counter them, he asked the two side midfielders to be more active and try for breaks when they had possession, opening up a path from the wings. At the same time, the two forwards were to frequently switch their positions and constantly move back and forth to attract the attention of Blackburn's defensive line. This would create space for the side midfielders to break through.

The idea was good. Only 10 or so minutes into the game, Forest's wings had already begun creating difficulties for Blackburn. But Blackburn's manager, Mark Hughes, quickly realised Tang En's intention, and that the greatest danger from Forest came from the wings. Due to the player allocation in Forest's midfield, there was no way they could threaten Blackburn's goal from there. Hughes then strengthened his defense on the wings. Therefore, although Ribéry and Ashley Young tried to breakthrough several times, it was to no avail. At times, they could not even turn after receiving the ball. They were completely suppressed.

Forest's offense was dependent on the two wings, so when Tang En noticed that Ribéry and Ashley Young were closely marked by their opponents, he decided to activate the second-level offense manoeuvre and have the side back join in to support the offense. Pascal Chimbonda and Leighton Baines were both side backs that liked and excelled at supportive offense. In the usual trainings, Tang En also requested for both side backs to actively go on offense, creating greater depth in Forest's offensive ability.

The engagement of the side backs in offense livened up Forest's offensive maneuvers, and the teams went back and forth with each other, switching rapidly between offense and defense. However, the first half still ended with a score of 0:0. In the second-half, after Mark Hughes had familiarized himself with Forest's attacking strategies, he found a method to completely cripple Forest's wings: he requested for his team to strengthen their offense in the wings, going head-to-head with Forest on both ends. To counter offense with offense; to defend by going on the attack. With a lack of experience and still-developing coordination, Forest's wings were gradually suppressed. And then… the Blackburns scored.

When Blackburn's veteran full back Craig Short took a corner kick and scored the only goal of the entire match, Ewood Park went into a frenzy. The Blackburn Rovers had a good start, and Forest tasted a bitter defeat.

Despite losing the first match of the league, Tang En did not behave as people expected and rage at the players. Instead, during the press conference after the match, he admitted that his team did not do very well, but that was because, he said, "You cannot expect a team that swapped out nearly half of its main players over the summer to be able to make exceptional plays or have offense that is natural and fluid. I am very satisfied that we lost only one ball to the home team."

That's right. Tang En did not even come close to losing his temper with his players after the match. Losing was within his calculations. He took it as payment for his first lesson in the Premier League. And if he was right, he still needed to pay the fee from time to time. Nottingham Forest was not Arsenal, and Tony Twain was not Arsène Wenger. He had no interest in glorifying the past record set by his own team 25 years ago. Those who wished to maintain an undefeated streak should continue, as should those who wished to stake a claim on being champions. Tang En's goal was simple: To stand firm in the Premier League and continue on.

Rather than blaming the poor performers on the team after their loss, he'd rather think about what could be improved on the team. He still had a week's time. He could collaborate with the managerial team to further improve during their training.

After the first round of matches ended, the media commented on each team's performance. The remark given to Forest was "disappointing." The media felt that Forest had failed to give them a good show after spending 12 million pounds during the summer and buying 11 players. Instead, they stuck to a boring routine of attacking from the wings and played into a dead-end.

Yet, Tang En strongly believed that persisting in the direction of attacking from the wings was the right move. He only needed to sort out the coordination between the midfield and wings when going on offense, such as the players' positional awareness and other small details. At the same time, he hoped Albertini would get used to playing in the Premier League quickly. If Albertini could display just half of his prowess from his prime at AC Milan, it would be enough to bring Forest's midfield to life.

Seven days after August 22, City Ground welcomed its first home match for Forest, four years after their last time hosting a match in the Premier League. To numerous fans of Forest, it was a significant and memorable day.

On match day, City Ground, with a spectator capacity of 27 thousand, had no empty seats. Though the fans were disappointed by their loss in the first match, they still remained fervent supporters of the young team. Since they had entered the stadium, the entire place was filled with endless waves of singing.

When Tang En was still a fan, he had often watched the La Liga, mainly for Real Madrid and Barcelona. Watching this, Tang En could not help but sigh at the cultural differences in football between England and Spain. Directing a match in such an environment was the dream of nearly every manager.

For the loyal fans, they absolutely had to win this match.

Chapter 210: Record Part 2

After another week of polishing their coordination, Forest welcomed Aston Villa on their home ground.

In that match, Nottingham forest started with the same formation as the previous away match against Blackburn Rovers. But Tang En saw new hope during the match; the players were improving in their positional awareness and coordination during give and go. This meant that he was right to persist in this direction during their trainings.

However, it was not all smooth-sailing during the match. Surrounded by the deafening cheers of their fans, Forest initially intended to take advantage and launched a fierce attack on Aston Villa in hopes of nailing the first goal.

But the first goal was made by the away team instead! Only four minutes into the match, the Swedish National team's Olof Mellberg from Aston Villa took a long kick that blasted through the posts guarded by Darren Ward. In an instant, the whole of City Ground lapsed into silence.

The song had only begun, and Forest had already lost a ball. Spectators without seats only turned to look at the scoreboard when they heard fans from the away team cheer, becoming surprised by the score.

0:1! The home team Nottingham Forest was behind!

Would this end the same way as the previous match? Would Forest's return to the Premier League after four years begin with two straight defeats?

The cameras turned to focus on Tony Twain in the manager's seat. Since the beginning in January 2003, this man had rapidly became the favorite coach of Forest's fans. His secret lay in how he could always manage to bring victory to Forest's fans when it was most needed. As the youngest manager in the current season of the Premier League—a mere 35-year-old—many people were sceptical of his ability and whether or not he could lead the team in their battles in the Premier League.

Turning to look at David Kerslake beside him, Tang En said nothing. Out of habit, he still thought the man sitting there would be Des Walker. When Walker had left, he had said that he felt his abilities were not enough for the Premier League, which was why he needed to go train on his own.

What about Tony Twain, then? He did not doubt himself. His confidence was necessary, even if he may appear ignorant at times. But the situation was forcing his hand to prove himself again. So, he turned again to Kerslake and said, "There's nothing to worry about. We still have 86 minutes to level the score and overtake it."

Assistant manager Kerslake nodded. Tang En was right. It was much better to lose a ball in the first four minutes of the match than in the last four minutes. As a foregone conclusion, this was much better than the alternative. Aston Villa, who was leading, became more reserved. Clearly, they had not expected to be able to lead the match by a point as early as the first half of the game. Olof Mellberg was a center back; for him to rush forward and take a long shot was unusual.

As Aston Villa relaxed momentarily, Forest grabbed hold of the opportunity and counter-attacked, putting the flow of the match entirely in their control.

Finally, at the 38th minute, under enormous stress with wave after wave of attacks from Forest, Aston Villa's defensive line made a mistake. A sharp break on the left wing from Ribéry allowing a pass to the center caused center back Martin Laursen to slip up under pressure, heading the ball into his own goal!

An own goal!

City Ground exploded into resounding cheers.

Ribéry, who had led the attack, was surrounded by his excited teammates congratulating him for his outstanding display. From playing in the Championnat National to being one of the main players on a team competing in the Premier League, Ribéry had risen with a speed that rivalled his dribbling on the field. And even faster than that, he had won the hearts of his teammates.

"Beautiful!" Assistant Manager Kerslake looked even more excited than Tang En, running out of the technical area and jumping around.

Tang En only stood and raised his arms. Ribéry's performance was within his expectations. For someone who was a future candidate for France's national team, and who was to become Zidane's successor as France's core player in the midfield… of course he could deal with a match at this level.

Sky plc's commentator was shouting Ribéry's name and praising Tang En. "God! Where did he find this genius? Franck Ribéry! Just half a month ago, he was unheard of! But now, he is 'Scarface'!"

Combining the scars he saw on Ribéry's face with a well-known action movie he knew from Hollywood, the commentator created "Scarface," a name that would follow Ribéry throughout his entire career!

It sounded good. Ribéry himself was very fond of it too.

The final score for the match was 1:1. Ribéry's impressive performance in the left wing dissipated much of the Forest fans' skepticism. They could only bow down to Tony Twain's eye for talent.

※※※

The news of a newly promoted team getting their first point of the current Premier League season was only sellable within Nottingham itself. Outside of Nottingham, no one cared if Forest had lost again or about Ribéry's brilliant performance. At that point, almost the entirety of England was singing praises of only one team and one man. On the August 22 2004, at the same time as when Forest was levelling the score with Aston Villa, Arsène Wenger's Arsenal won a home match 5:3 against Middlesbrough and was neck-to-neck with the undefeated record of the highest streak of no-defeats in the Premier League created by Forest in Clough's time.

Before this match, the Executive Chairman of the Premier League had given Arsenal a Premier League Champion Gold Cup to commemorate their undefeated performance in the season. "Arsenal, 2003-2004 Champions, 38 matches, 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 losses" was etched on the cup. At the same time, Henry received the "Golden boot", denoting him as the best forward of the previous season.

All of it looked like a celebration for Arsenal, and the trouble caused by the people of Middlebrough was quickly forgotten in the cheers for Arsenal.

Arsène Wenger rode on the crest of success. Arsenal seemed perfect, and conquering them appeared an impossible task. Their opponents could only bow down to them.

The feeling of standing solitary at the top of the world… Had Wenger, the Frenchman, experienced it yet?

After the match ended, Arsenal's official site posted a special article. They listed the opponents, scores, and timing of all 42 matches, in commemoration of the glorious path walked by the team. And then there was a line of red beneath " Arsenal 5, Middlesbrough 3, 22-08-2004; 42," which read, " Nottingham Forest—Arsenal, 25-08-2004; 43?"

"43" and the question mark at the end were magnified and bolded. But perhaps it was not truly a question at all.

Chapter 211: The Fateful Matchup

The tied game with Aston Villa on their home ground made the Forest players find that the number of reporters at the sidelines had suddenly increased during their usual training. Everyone knew the local media, which made them think that most of the unfamiliar faces were from London.

"We just tied a game. Why is the media so excited?" Eastwood asked with confusion as he pointed to the cameras behind the mesh wire fence during an interval in the team training.

"Because they've realized that we're destined to be the champions of this season!" Twain affirmed with a nod.

Eastwood turned his head in astonishment to look at Twain. "Boss, you aren't kidding, are you?"

Twain seriously shook his head, "No, of course I'm joking."

Someone was chuckling next to him.

Next to them, David Kerslake explained, "They are paying close attention to us, not because of us, but because of our opponents in next round. Arsenal."

Recently, the media had been hyping up the fateful entanglement between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. It was like a melodramatic primetime soap opera, and there were only a handful of people who did not know about it. Only people like Eastwood, who did not care about anything except playing football well, were surprised to see so many reporters gathering in Wilford.

Standing outside the training grounds with the other reporters, Pierce Brosnan could not help but lament the fateful arrangement: the opponent that Arsenal was facing while looking to break the record was the team that had created the record. When Brian Clough had led the team to create the record, it was thought that no one could hope to break it for a long time. And now the record was in danger of being broken while he was still alive.

The North London media, with the exception of those in support of Tottenham Hotspur, were unanimously in support of Arsenal and optimistic that Arsenal would break the 25-year record on the Forest team's home grounds. After all, Arsenal was strong and in good shape, and the Forest team still had not adapted to the rhythm of the Premier League. Their score of one point from a concession and a draw in the first two rounds of the tournament was unconvincing in the face of the mighty Arsenal.

At the end of training, the players walked from the training ground to the locker room, and along the way, the reporters came up to them to ask questions related to the record and Arsenal. Most of them asked, "What do you think of Arsenal's strength? How likely are they to break the record?" Some players were able to politely answer the questions, even though they had little to do with them.

However, they occasionally met a bad-tempered player who was unresponsive to the reporters, like George Wood. He looked coldly at the reporters putting their microphones in front of his lips, and just as the reporters became full of anticipation, he turned his gaze away and left the group of reporters without a word.

Afterwards, there were more and more Forest players like him who treated the reporters that way. At first, everyone was interested in the attention, as it still felt fresh. After all, they were so far away from the record that happened 25 years ago that Arsenal breaking it wouldn't be too bad.

But if the people around them constantly asked questions like "How's Arsenal," and "How's Henry," and the like, they would feel that they were being derided.

At the Forest team's regular press conference, about 95% of the reporters asked questions about the next game, and 80% of those requested that Twain talk about his view on Arsenal looking to tie the record.

Tang En himself did not dislike Arsenal or Wenger; after all, he had a tiny bit of friendship with Arsène Wenger. But he detested the media, which was just playing up the news. He did not want to play nice with the media.

So, when all the reporters had finished asking their questions, Twain tugged his ears in front of the cameras and asked, "I keep thinking I'm mishearing you, so I checked my ears to make they're working okay. But apparently, my ears weren't the problem. So then I thought to myself, maybe my brain's out of order. Maybe I just couldn't understand your questions properly. But that can't be right, because it's impossible for my brain to go wrong. So finally there's only one conclusion I could arrive at: you must be the problem."

He had said so many misleading things that the reporters were completely baffled; they did not understand what he had said or what he wanted to express.

Looking at the bewildered reporters, Twain sighed. "Sure enough, I have to be blunt so that you can understand. Ladies and gentlemen, you have come to the wrong place. If you're interested in Arsenal, go to North London. This is Wilford, not London Colney. Still, I'm sure that you won't be able to ask any questions that aren't about Arsenal, so today's press conference is over. Until the game is over, my team and I will not be accepting any types of interviews."

After that, Twain got up and left the conference hall, leaving the room full of stunned reporters, looking at each other in dismay.

Twain firmly walked away, and Ms. Barbara Lucy from the Forest club stayed behind to clean up the mess for him. "Ladies and gentlemen, today's press conference is over. Please kindly make your way back."

After she was done, she quickly walked out to catch up with Twain, who was marching back to the office.

"Mr. Twain?" She called in an inquiring tone.

Twain stopped and turned around to look at Evan's private secretary. "What can I do for you, Miss Lucy?"

"Um… I'd like to remind you that Sky TV has one more interview with you tomorrow morning."

"To ask me questions about Arsenal while we sit in the café at the Wilford training base?"

"I don't know, but I think… yes." Lucy nodded.

"Very well, you can help me reject it. If we've already agreed to the interview, let David deal with those pesky reporters while I train the team."

Lucy nodded and left. Just as Twain entered his office, he received a call from Evan Doughty. "Tony, I hear that you're make things hard for the media all over the UK."

"You're very well-informed, Evan."

"Don't forget, I have friends in the media too." Evan laughed. "They called and complained to me that the Forest manager refused to play ball with them."

"I really wanted to oblige, but they were all about Arsenal. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't work with them." Twain shrugged.

"Come on, Tony. You don't have to do this in front of me. You felt uneasy, didn't you?"

"Well… If someone was singing your direct competitor's praises in front of you, wanted you to say nice things about your competitor, and on top of that, would be dissatisfied if you didn't say anything nice… Well, I think you would be unhappy too, Evan."

"With regards to that… You're quite right, Tony. Do your job well, and just let those who look down on us suffer!"

Having just finished his conversation with the club chairman, Twain received another call from Pierce Brosnan. "Tony, did you really mean what you said at the press conference just now?"

Brosnan was still standing in the Wilford training base parking lot while the other reporters complained as they left about Tony Twain acting all high-and-mighty. He was the only one still reluctant to leave. He hoped to use his personal connection to obtain the rights to an exclusive interview.

"Of course it's true," Twain said, his tone serious.

"That's…"

"All right, Mr. Reporter." Twain always called Brosnan "Mr. Reporter." He did not want Brosnan to think that they had a close relationship. "There are some things that I think it's more appropriate for me to say personally than for you to say on my behalf. So I'll be updating my personal column in the Evening Post soon."

"But…" Brosnan still wanted to have his name on a report that would attract public attention.

"Mr. Reporter, would you dare to call your colleagues 'sons of b**ches' in an article that you wrote?"

"How could that be? Why would I-"

"That's right, but I dare to." Twain guffawed and hung up the phone.

※※※

The next day, in the Nottingham Evening Post, Twain's column published a statement about his refusal to do an interview. In the article, Twain rebuked the media for being disrespectful towards others, and said that they had no professional ethics. At this point, he used the term "sons of b**ches" to describe the media for the first time. Of course, despite the use of foul language, his tone was not intense; it was still in his trademark style. Sarcasm and swearing coexisted, interspersed with irony and all sorts of bizarre metaphors.

Twain refused to mess around with the media. Trying to pry any information from him was just wishful thinking. The first to hit a snag had been the Sky TV reporter. Twain used the excuse of having to lead the team's training, and, in order to reject the television network with the exclusive rights to broadcast the Premier League, said that he could not be distracted before an impending big game.

The media had to dig deep for gossip. They tried every possible way of locating Forest players from twenty-five years ago, but there were only a handful of people to be found. Needless to say, most of the focus was on the Forest team's past manager, Brian Clough.

More than twenty reporters gathered at Clough's doorstep in the distant Derby in a single day. They all wanted to hear the record-maker's views on the team that was fast overtaking him.

Clough was much more experienced in dealing with the media than Twain was. He extolled Arsenal in the interview, claimed he was an admirer of Arsène Wenger, that Arsenal was his favorite team, and that his favorite striker was Thierry Henry. He said that he believed that Arsenal played the art of football, and that it put them ahead in the decade-long Premier League. Therefore, if his own record were to be in a tie with, or even broken by, such an outstanding and remarkable team, he had nothing to complain about. Finally, he encouraged Arsenal to go beyond the Forest team of that time.

He may have delighted the Arsenal fans with his words, but then the recalcitrant old man added, "Just like what Manager Tony Twain said: records are made to be broken. After all, we set the record, no one can deny the existence of that record. For me, forty-two undefeated games are even more exciting than becoming the Champions League champion. Arsenal is just a younger generation challenging us."

This remark was not made until the end, but it was enough to illustrate the old man's pride. Unfortunately, not everyone noticed.

Tang En noticed it, and the remark made him feel a lot better. He knew the Chief was still helping him, but the way the old Englishman expressed his feelings was more steeped in the English tradition. He would always like to convey his feelings in an unspoken and understated manner.

I support you, Tony, he seemed to be saying. But don't expect to publicly hear a good word from me.

Perhaps one day, when you reach the stage that I was at in my peak, I will grudgingly say, "It will do, it's just like when I was young."

That will be the best compliment I'll give you, kid!

※※※

Arsène Wenger had little affection for the English press. But still, unlike Twain's gruff handling of the media, he would always try to be cautious and rarely appeared alone in front of the media. This was because when he first arrived in England, the British paparazzi had claimed that the Frenchman was gay.

Now that Arsenal was close to breaking the record, he had to appear in front of the television cameras more often than usual, or in the sports edition of the newspapers.

Whenever Nottingham Forest was mentioned, he would express his obligatory respect for the team. When Clough said he was his idol, Wenger also spoke with excitement and proclaimed that he was a Nottingham Forest fan too. He had liked to watch Clough's team play when he was young. The years when the Forest team had swept across Europe were still unforgettable to him. Just thinking about it still stirred his heart.

But who knew which remarks were true and which ones were fake?

When the topic of the imminent game came up, Wenger put aside his admiration for Nottingham Forest. Although he gave recognition to Tony Twain's achievements in the summer's transfer market, he stated with much confidence that his team was ready to create a new record.

"The best way to pay tribute to the record holder is to beat them and create a new record." After this declaration of victory that thrilled the media, Wenger walked back to his office building. He already understood how to deal with the media, but evidently his opponent was still ignorant.

A smile emerged on the Frenchman's face as he thought of the contentious relationship between Twain and the press.

A 35-year-old manager? So young…

※※※

"Welcome to Nottingham! The historic city of central England. Here lies the lush Sherwood Forest and the world-renowned bandit who robbed the rich to help the poor, Robin Hood! There is also a notable team here: Nottingham Forest!" The cameraman coordinated with the Sky TV Reporter's words at this point, and cut to the City Ground Stadium behind the reporter, zooming in to provide a close-up shot of Nottingham Forest's logo. The red color was particularly eye-catching in the sun.

"Yes, Brian Clough created the Forest empire, and left a record for future generations to look up to—an unbeaten record in England's top league: forty-two games! Until today… twenty-five years later, this record may be rewritten. And we can't help but rue the mysterious twist of fate: For the team to succeed in breaking the record, they must defeat the creator of the record!"

As soon as he had yelled this out, he saw two groups of people, both wearing red jerseys. But when the two separate groups of fans walked past him, the Arsenal fans were singing songs that supported Arsenal, and the Nottingham Forest fans were singing new songs that they had made up for Tony Twain.

The camera closely followed these two groups of people and seemed to get a glimpse of the match that was happening in a while.

The stands were almost full, and the news media was huddled outside of the stadium. Everyone was looking forward to the performances of the two opponents, who were brought together by destiny in this fateful showdown.

Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were deeply connected, because two of the founding members of Arsenal were Nottingham Forest players. When Arsenal was first established, they did not even have their own kits. Those two founders went to the Forest club to borrow a bunch of jerseys and footballs, which was considered to have helped build up their team.

However, the developments of the two teams could be said to be polar opposites. Arsenal relied on Herbert Chapman in the 1930s to create their dynasty, and embarked on the road to riches. And what about Nottingham Forest? It had never been considered a rich and powerful club. It was considered an old-style strong team at most, but only became a household name during Clough's era. Finances, influence, strength… no matter which aspect was compared, the Forest team looked like a poor country relative to Arsenal, even though it was this poor relative that had helped Arsenal when it was in its infancy.

Next to Arsenal, perhaps the only ways that the Forest people retained their self-respect were their two shiny silver Champions League trophies and their record of 42 consecutive undefeated games in the England's top leagues.

But now, the Champions League trophy was a thing of the future, and it was uncertain when it would happen again. But the 42-game record had been tied by Arsenal, and furthermore, the day of the record being broken was publicized by the media as if it were today.

The glory of the past was gradually drifting away, and now the Forest team was starting again from the beginning.

Chapter 212: This Is My Team Part 1

The viewing stands of City Ground were already full of fans and their loud, unceasing cheers. Both teams were warming up in the middle of the soccer field. Tang En sat alone in the locker room, staring at the blank tactical board and mumbling to himself.

"Guys, what match are we playing today? I know that the record from 25 years ago is too far away from us in history. At that time, some of you weren't even born yet. Even so, that glory belongs to Nottingham Forest. And today, someone is here attempting to take away glory that belongs to us. Will you cede it?"

Tang En paused and thought briefly. "No, that's too sentimental."

He coughed and waved his hands with furrowed brows. "Arsenal is a strong team. They've already gotten 42 matches with no losses! Are you afraid? Have your legs gone soft?"

"No… that just sounds like a bluff." Tang En dismissed it again.

"Aha! Our… this season, we have not had the best beginning. In two league matches, we got a loss and a draw. Now we have to face an opponent like Arsenal…"

Tang En stopped before he had even finished.

Tang En felt a tinge of nerves. What he had felt half a year ago at Cardiff Millennium Stadium all came rushing back. But this situation was different from that one. In truth, this was just a normal league match.

Why do I have to care about a record that has absolutely nothing to do with me? Regardless of whether we let Arsenal take three points or one, and allow them to set a new record, what loss is it to us? Arsenal is not our direct competition in the path towards the championship. It is completely understandable if we lose this match. After all, difference between Arsenal and us is simply too great…

If I were smart… I would tell our players to relax as much as they could, and to get rid of any unimportant thoughts unrelated to the competition. No matter the result, we just need to learn something useful in our fight with Arsenal. That's enough.

But…

"Mr. Twain, what do you think of Arsène Wenger and his team tying with Forest's undefeated record of 42 no-losses in the English Premier League?"

"Mr. Twain, what do you have to say, as the holder of the current record, about meeting with Arsenal in this crucial match?"

"Arsenal is very strong. As their opponent, what does Forest have in store for this match?"

"Henry has been in excellent condition recently. Can you say what special arrangements you have in mind to counter him?"

"As a team that has managed to go neck-to-neck with the record by Forest, do you think that Arsenal is already a great team?"

"What do you think of the manager Arsène Wenger? Do you intend to learn from him?"

Whenever he recalled these questions, he was not, in fact, smart. Tang En was not one who did not know his limits, but this did not mean he could tolerate such insults and contempt without retaliating, either. It made him feel impotent.

He hated being looked down on, hated being ignored, hated being made to be a stepping stone for someone else. He was only 35; but in reality, he was even younger!

He was still young, and the young would always be rash without thinking of the consequences. They just wanted to retaliate straight away, and what came later would come later.

That's not a bad thing. This is soccer, not some kind of political show. We can retaliate when we are unhappy; we can box them in their ears if we're looked down upon, or even pinch their cheeks to make them face us. Why should we have to give up our hard work if we truly want to win? Is it only because our opponents are stronger than us?

Bulls**t!

I was never afraid of anyone, no matter who is sitting in the managerial seat opposing mine. Whether it was Wenger or Ferguson. My team shouldn't be afraid of anyone either, regardless of whether it's Arsenal or Manchester United that stands before them!

The corridor filled with the crisp sounds of shoes hitting the ground. Tang En knew that his players were back from their warm-up. He relaxed his clenched fists and waited for the players to open the door, so that they could see a confident manager full of fighting spirit.

※※※

At the same time, in another locker room, just like Tony Twain, Arsène Wenger did not go out with the players to observe their conditions during the warm-up. Instead, he stayed back alone in the locker room for the away team, trying to calm himself down.

He was anxious… or excited. At this point, just 90 minutes from now was a crucial moment in which he could potentially make history. He was both as nervous and as exhilarated as a new player.

They stood on the home ground of the current record holders and faced their guardians. As long as they did not lose to them, Arsenal would become the new record holders and be written into history. And he - Arsène Wenger, a Frenchman, would be the chief manager behind this record. It would be an incomparable achievement in his managerial career. Compared to this, a mere Premier League championship appeared almost insignificant.

Arsène Wenger paced about in the somewhat cramped locker room with its old installations.

The tactics for the match were well-thought out, and he did not believe that his players would have any problems implementing them during the match. The team's condition was good, and they had already defeated countless strong opponents before this. There were only a handful left who could possibly resist the domination of his team.

His only regret was that the match was not held in Highbury.

What threat could Forest possibly present? Wenger remembered the time when he had followed the Youth team to Nottingham to participate in one of the usual matches of the FA Youth Cup. It was there that he had gotten to know Tony Twain, who had left him with an impression. It was not easy for any manager to be remembered by the rather arrogant Frenchman.

He did not expect the words that he had said to Twain after the match to become reality so soon.

What should he be on guard against? Tony Twain was not a man he could see through. What kind of trouble would he create in the match for Arsenal?

He couldn't know.

But there was one thing he did believe: so long as the team played to their own rhythm in the match, victory would not be far from them. They had done that for the past 42 matches, and would surely do the same for the 43rd. There would not be any changes simply because they met with Nottingham Forest.

Noisy footsteps filled the corridor. Wenger stopped and sat down in his seat as he waited quietly.

※※※

"Does anyone know if there's any special meaning behind this match?' Tang En asked with a raised hand.

"Isn't it about that record? A streak… A streak of no-losses for 42 matches?" All the players spoke over one another, some with certainty and some without.

What Tang En thought was not wrong. What has a single 25-year-old record got to do with the current Forest? What does it have to do with these players, who only joined Forest this summer for various reasons?

If he spent precious time here babbling to the players about the once glorious history of Forest, he was sure a good half of them would fall asleep. It simply had nothing to do with them; they were not interested. It would also have no effect whatsoever on drumming up their morale…

"Wrong. There is no special meaning behind the match today." Tang En waved his hands and said, "This is just any normal match in the Premier League. What does a record from 25 years ago have to do with us?"

A number of people shook their heads and agreed with Tang En.

"There are only four days between the second and third round. Our time is very tight. Not to mention, we still have to deal with the damned media pestering us, asking questions like what we think of Arsenal… what a joke. What does Arsenal's record-breaking have to do with us? I hope you can win this match today, but it isn't for some pointless reason like stopping Arsenal from breaking the record. It is because this is a Premier League match that we can either win and get three points from, or lose and get nothing. Arsenal is our opponent. Which team would not want to beat? We did not have a good start with a loss and a draw, so we have no right to just give away three good points to our opponents on our home ground. Do you think I'm just boasting when I say I want to defeat Arsenal? That I'm just day-dreaming?"

Tang En looked around at the players in the locker room. He scrutinized their expressions, hoping for a clue to their thoughts.

Albertini shook his head. He still did not know how to speak much English, and only knew a few words, but he said, "No, manager."

Hierro's English was just slightly better than Albertini's. That was probably because there were English players on Real Madrid. When Steve McManaman first arrived at Real Madrid, Hierro was the person in charge of introducing him to the team's traditions and his teammates, and making all sorts of arrangements for McManaman.

The Spanish veteran said, "Even teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona do not undefeated forever. I will not have any surprise if Arsenal end up losing this match."

Even with his struggle with grammar and pronunciation, everyone understood what he was trying to say.

"In a football match, anything is possible." Viduka did not say much, but spoke to the point.

Tang En's gaze stopped at Wood, hoping he would express his thoughts in front of everyone. With a look at Tang En, Wood declared, "If you tell us to win this match, we'll win it."

His words amused the audience in the locker room. How could it be that easy?

Tang En also smiled and nodded. "Very good, George. I'll tell you that we need to win before every match we play in the future."

Chapter 213: This Is My Team Part 2

After saying that to Wood, Tang En turned to face the rest of the players in the locker room. He spread his arms out and said, "Everyone, remember this. This is a Premier League match on our home turf. It's a match that we have to take down if you don't want to be kicked back into the EFL at the end of this season. So, we can't allow the Londoners to do whatever they want. I hope you understand. Regardless of how we see this match, Arsenal intends on including this match in their plans, and to celebrate making history with a new record. It's not my style to let my enemies celebrate their successes on my home ground."

Tang En shrugged and continued. "I've already told you about the tactics we'll be using in our match today. I believe everyone knows what to do."

Everyone nodded to show that they understood their duties. Tang En placed both palms onto the table with the tactical board and looked hard at his players. Some of them were older than he was, but he had never doubted his own ability to lead this team. Even if the original, "real Tony Twain" were to be found, Tang En did not worry that his place would be stolen from him.

This was a team that belonged completely to him. He wanted to give this team his ideals, his understanding of football, his persistence towards victory, his hatred of failure, and his greed for the championship. He wanted to instill all these into the team. He would brand his person on Nottingham Forest, just like old man Clough. Whenever the Red Forest that once swept across Europe and England's football was mentioned, Clough's name would also be heard.

In several years' time, he hoped that people would talk about Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest.

"Guys, you need to remember: Nottingham Forest fears no opponent. Whether it is Liverpool, who were UEFA Champions for three years in five, or Arsenal, who has an undefeated 42-match streak of no losses… Go get 'em!"

※※※

Fàbregas stood with the away team in the waiting area. Just beside him was the home team, Nottingham Forest. It was unknown if this Spanish boy, who had been in UK for less than a year, had already memorised the 20 teams in the Premier League. Regardless, the name "Nottingham Forest" would be the most unforgettable one he encountered in his football career.

When he was the part of the main core of Arsenal's youth team, it was Nottingham Forest that had dragged him, from high up in the clouds, straight down into the mud, teaching him that English football was not as easy to deal with as he had imagined. He would remember for life the match he had played in mud and heavy rain, in the FA Youth Cup.

And there was one other person he could not forget.

Even though the starting formation of Forest included his Spanish comrade Hierro, Fàbregas barely gave him a glance, seeming uninterested in greeting his senior. Instead, as he stood among his team members, he looked only diagonally ahead with his eyes focused on one Forest player.

He was in a red Forest jersey with "13, G.Wood" written on the back. After that setback, Fàbregas had hoped in his heart that he could some day pit himself against Wood again. He had not expected that day to come so quickly. It had not even been a full year, and he was already going to meet him on the field for a second time. The difference between now and then is that it was no longer a low-level competition like the FA Youth Cup. Now, they were representing England's highest level of competition: in the English Premier League!

Fàbregas was not a jot surprised to see his "old rival" in the starting formation of Forest team. After that match with him, he could tell that the quiet little guy was not just some mediocre player. In such a weak team, it was always easier for the young to grab the limelight. Hadn't Piqué already told him that? He had chosen Forest simply for a higher chance of getting fielded and receiving more training. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have gone to Manchester United or Arsenal instead?

But Gerard Piqué was in the substitutes' list while this lad was part of the main force… George Wood, how much stronger have you already become?

Fàbregas had been staring at Wood in a daze while someone called his name in Spanish. With a start, he realised it was Hierro from Forest, smiling and greeting him. It must have been fate to be able to meet another Spaniard here, not to mention that they were once each other's rivals in the domestic league.

"What are you looking at, Cesc?" Fàbregas had no time to look away before Hierro managed to follow his gaze, finding his teammate George Wood at the end of it. Hierro smiled knowingly. After the match schedule for the league matches were announced and it was known that the third match was to be with Arsenal, Wes Morgan spared no effort relating to the new recruits how George Wood had once single-handedly managed to freeze out Fàbregas. After hearing the story, Hierro could more or less understand the grudge between the two youths.

Despite the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, they were both Spaniards, so Hierro still knew a little about Barcelona's Youth team players, such as Fàbregas. According to rumours, Fàbregas had once been looked upon as the successor of Pep Guardiola and Xavi. Even without seeing Fàbregas play, Hierro knew enough about Pep Guardiola to understand how good Fàbregas must be. If George Wood could successfully freeze out such a player, whose successor could he be called?

To save Fàbregas from embarrassment, Hierro thought quickly and changed the topic. "Are you looking for Piqué? He isn't in the starting line-up."

Fàbregas nodded. "That's too bad, I noticed that too."

Now that they no longer played for their old teams, there was less blustering and aggression in the air, even as opponents. Hierro joked, "Look at us. You're from Barcelona and I'm from Madrid, but even when we were in Spain we didn't get to play with each other. Now that we've come here, we are…"

On mention of the two teams, Fàbregas started laughing. "But I've jeered at you, Hierro… from the spectators' stand." The 'War of the Century" that Hierro used to be a part of had had no shortage of heated exchanges. On the field, this Spanish player from Barcelona, clad in his white jersey, had showed no mercy and toppled anyone who tried to breakthrough his iron guard. For that, he probably received the most boos and jeers. But that was several years ago.

Hierro laughed too. "What a coincidence. Piqué had said that to me before as well…"

The two of them stood in the players' walkway and made small talk with seemingly no air of tension for the impending match. On the other hand, George Wood kept a straight back and stared forward into the entrance to the stadium with an apparent lack of interest in the conversations around him.

Hierro was a veteran who had already experienced countless important matches; he knew how to pace himself mentally and physically. Meanwhile, for George Wood, so long as Tony Twain commanded it, he would execute it faithfully.

And Twain had said, "Arsenal is our enemy! We have to defeat them!"

Wood resolved to look upon the people around him as his enemies and refused to make contact with them; his mind was filled only with thoughts of defeating them. Though his might seem like a one-track mind, it was exactly what Tang En liked about him.

The three referees ahead of the teams looked back and gave the signal for their entrance. Immediately, Hierro nodded to Fàbregas and their conversation came to an end. The smiles on their faces vanished in an instant, and just like that, the air of tension before any important match returned to the players' corridor.

There was no longer chatter or whispering of any kind.

The broadcast in the stadium rang out with a loud voice. "Let us welcome competing teams, Arsenal and Forest!"

"Alright, it's us!"

"Time to go!"

The captains from both teams shouted as they led their teams out.

Waves of cheering from the spectator's stand greeted them, washing over each of their proud faces.

Chapter 214: The Start of the Match Part 1

Although Nottingham Forest was just a newly promoted team, and their opponent, Arsenal, was the defending champion, it was no exaggeration to say that this was the most high-profile match in the Premier League.

Sky TV had chosen this game to be broadcasted live to all of England. It was believed that on top of the benefits for the Arsenal fans, there would be a lot of interest in whether the 25-year unbeaten record could be broken.

"Forty-three, this is a captivating figure. As long as Wenger's team does not lose to Nottingham Forest here, they will set a new record. But Arsenal has to be careful, since at the same time, this can also be a pitfall." Martin Taylor sat in the press box and began to speak, giving the audience his analysis of the game through the microphone. "I don't think Tony Twain will let his opponent get three points on the Forest team's home ground."

Next to him, Andy Gray added. "Yes, that's right, he's like a bulldog."

"That's an accurate description."

The pair of partners laughed.

The two commentators had time to joke, but the players on the field did not even have time to catch their breath. From the moment the whistle blew, they had to be in the zone.

The result of the coin toss was that Arsenal got the right to kick off. But less than a minute after shooting out the ball, they lost control of it. But the Forest team did not get it either.

Because he was the replacement for Patrick Vieira's position, young Cesc Fàbregas had to take on the responsibility of organizing the offense, and most of Arsenal's balls had to be delivered to his feet; even more so for the kick offs.

But just when Fàbregas had stopped the ball, he saw the number 13, George Wood, charging up from the other side.

For this game, the task Twain had given to Wood was to mark Fàbregas. And if he had any energy left, he could help Albertini. Even though Fàbregas was still young, and perhaps it might seem incomprehensible that Twain was so worried about the kid, Tang En knew his energy. If he left him be, he would have suffered the consequences sooner or later.

Albertini's mission was also focused on defense because in this game, the Forest team was up against the formidable Arsenal. After only two rounds of the tournament, Arsenal had already scored nine goals: a 4:1 victory over Everton and a 5:3 victory over Middlesbrough.

Arsenal's starting line-up in this game was not too different from what it had been in the first two rounds. There was the German goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann, and the the right back, Lauren. Then, because Sol Campbell had not recovered from his injury, Pascal Cygan and Yaya Touré were partners for the center back positions, and the left back was Ashley Cole. The four players Arsenal placed in the midfield were Jermaine Pennant, Gilberto Silva, Cesc Fàbregas and Robert Pirès. And up on the frontline were the two partners, their team captain, Thierry Henry, and the veteran, Dennis Bergkamp.

Their lineup was dynamic and experienced. When comparing the strength of the two teams, Wenger did not believe that the Forest team was even close to being the more powerful team. What made him feel a little uneasy was that Arsenal was playing against the Forest team on their home turf, and according to rumors, Tony Twain was a man who placed great importance on home games.

Additionally, looking at a series of performances from Twain before this match, Wenger did not think that the Forest team would let Arsenal easily create a new record on their home ground.

In this game, he wanted his team to channel momentum into their control right at the start of the game. If they did that, the next step would be easy. His Arsenal players were always skilled at controlling situations, and directing the momentum of the game to move according to Arsenal's rhythm.

However, Twain was well aware of it too. It was clear from the beginning that he had no intention of handing over the rhythm of the game so readily. Arsenal likes to control the field, doesn't it? And it likes to emphasize playing beautiful football, doesn't it? Well, my team may not have those skills, but we're superb at wreaking havoc!

George Wood had good stamina and a remarkable physique, so he was given the responsibility of causing destruction and marking Fàbregas closely, just like he had done to him in that youth team game.

From the opening seconds of the game, Wood was doing very well.

The young Spaniard had just stopped the football, and Wood had already rushed up to him. He nimbly dodged the tackle with the intention of flashing past his charging opponent. But Wood's left foot dragged behind and hooked Fàbregas' foot. The football was derailed but they remained on the same spot. The referee's whistle was well-timed. The applause from the stands was not for the referee, but for George Wood.

Who would not like a player who was groomed from their own youth team and ended up in a main position on the First Team?

When he saw Fàbregas tripped by George Wood, Wenger shot a glance at Tony Twain from the technical area and wondered if this would be the Forest team's tactical tone in this game.

He decided to observe for another ten minutes.

※※※

Within those ten minutes, the Forest team thoroughly carried out Twain's destructive tactics. He never tried to overwhelm Arsenal on offense, or compete with Arsenal on which team had a higher rate of ball possession or had more passes. But if Arsenal wanted to play with ease, the Forest team would not let them.

Besides the goalkeeper, Twain wanted the team to proactively intercept the ball and fortify their defense from the front field to all other sections. They must not allow Arsenal to do passes, control the ball, or dribble it. Otherwise, the Forest team would only end up chasing the ball on their opponent's tail.

This was only the way for the current Forest team to compete with Arsenal.

In the previous day's tactical preparation session, Twain had drawn a red line just in front of the arc in the opponent's penalty area on the tactical board. He told the players that this was the first line of defense for the Forest team. "Our defense starts from our opponent's penalty area." Since he had said so, that was what the players did.

After a full ten minutes, when the score was displayed at the bottom of the screen, it was still 0:0. Arsenal slightly predominated in the possession rate, with 54% versus Forest's 46%. Arsenal had two shots on goal, and the Forest team had one. The number of fouls that the Forest team had was four, and Arsenal did not even have one.

The simple data statistics were already enough to summarize what had happened on the field in the last ten minutes.

In front of the televisions, the Arsenal admirers did not see the robust victory that they anticipated or the typical Arsenal style of play. They saw mistakes, fouls, whistles that interrupted the game from time to time, and the Forest fans singing in the stands.

What else was there? The King of Highbury, Henry, breaking through on the left wing and then crossing inside to shoot at the goal? Pirès' skillful running passes and coordination with Henry on the left wing? Pennant's sharp breakthrough from the side? Dennis Bergkamp's amazing technique? Ashley Cole plugging in from the rear to assist in the attack?

No, there was nothing.

Apart from Wenger, Tang En might have been the only person in the world who understood Wenger's trust in and high regard for Fàbregas. He knew that Vieira's injury might be considered bad news in the minds of Arsenal fans, but for Arsène Wenger, it was a chance for Cesc Fàbregas to properly establish his position.

Arsenal's offense must be launched by Fàbregas. During an offense, all the balls would be given to him first, and then he must decide on the direction and manner of the offense. Whether it would be a long pass behind, or a short pass to infiltrate and drive forward layer by layer; whether they would seize the opportunity to quickly counterattack or stabilize first and wait for teammates to come up and support… All of those decisions were handed over to the 17-year-old Francesc Fàbregas.

That heavy responsibility was not given to any other players, even considering his young age. Since he was taking Vieira's place, he must be able to realize Vieira's responsibility.

In Arsenal's first two victorious rounds, Fàbregas did not manage to score a goal, but the role that he played on the field spoke for itself. The media had already eagerly begun to bestow the Spanish lad with the title of "Vieira's successor."

Twain had appointed George Wood to carry out man-on-man marking defense against Fàbregas. No matter where Fàbregas was, as long as he received the ball, Wood must immediately close in on him without any fear of losing his defensive position. When Wood was putting pressure on Fàbregas, Ribéry would cover the center.

First of all, they had to prevent Arsenal from entering their familiar rhythm. Then, the Forest team must find opportunities to counterattack in the chaos. It all depended on Albertini's performance. Tang En believed in the Italian, just like he trusted George Wood. The Forest team's first shot to the goal, within ten minutes of the start of the match, came from a long pass by Albertini after he intercepted the ball in the backfield.

※※※

Seeing how the game had developed, Wenger was certain of what Tony Twain had in mind. But he did not get up and walk to the sidelines to make any adjustments. Instead, he turned to his assistant manager, Pat Rice, who was sitting beside him, and asked, "What do you think, Pat?"

"I think Twain is no different from most other opponents when it comes to dealing with our tactics," Rice said.

"But if the game only lasted for ten minutes, he would have done better than the other opponents."

"Are we going to change anything, Arsène?"

"No…" Wenger rested his chin on his palm and shook his head. "No, it's too early. Their tactics are flawed too. Every time number 13 presses forward to defend against Fàbregas, there's a gap behind him. We'll continue to observe; if Cesc can't handle it alone, let Dennis help him."

Pat Rice nodded and jotted down Wenger's remark in the little notebook that he carried.

Chapter 215: The Start of the Match Part 2

Cesc Fàbregas felt like he had gone back to that day on the muddy field, being dogged by the relentless opponent who was always silent, but whose presence he could always feel.

What is this bulls**t tactic? One-on-one marking starting from the center circle? I see the gap behind you all… a big, empty gap. As long as I pass through it… as long as it's passed, it will be a penetrating… Dammit!

Fàbregas finally shook off Wood's defense, but he did not dare to dribble another step. Wood's stamina was perhaps the best he had ever seen in his many years of playing. If his pace was slower by half a beat, he might end up tangled up with him again.

Without managing to reconfirm the situation ahead, he lowered his head and shot a direct pass. In all other previous games, the player who received his passes from this position was supposed to be Dennis Bergkamp. He would use his excellent footwork to control the ball, taunt the opposing defenders, and then, as the stunned spectators watched, he would shoot the football into the goal…

Yes, just like that.

Who was going to be the unlucky one to fall under his feet this time?

Just as he passed the ball, Fàbregas felt a gust of wind on his face; Number 13 for the Forest team had swiftly returned to defend his position. Seeing the man rushing back, the Spanish kid smiled. Ah, so you realize that a gap forms if you try to put pressure on me.

He gazed past George Wood and saw a player in the blue Arsenal away jersey with a number 10 on its back receive his pass. He was reassured to see Dennis.

Bergkamp had just received the ball, and a player had already marked him. Not George Wood, who had returned to defend, nor Ribéry, the substitute. This player wore the bright team captain's armband and had a head full of curly hair; it was the Italian, Albertini.

Unlike Wood, Albertini's defensive position calling card was so good that when Bergkamp received the ball, he found that he did not have a forward route for the ball.

He paused for a moment and immediately pulled the ball back to his foot to avoid being robbed by his opponents. If he had been facing Number 13, who only knew how to pounce at the first touch, he could have seized the opportunity to pass easily. But the opponent in front of him made him pay attention again. When he was still playing for Inter Milan, he had played against Albertini, who who had been playing on AC Milan.

This was not an easy player to deal with.

He pulled the ball back, turned around, and pushed his back against Albertini. He looked up and saw that Wood was already charging back, which meant that no one was watching the Spanish player!

Without hesitation, the Dutchman passed the football to Fàbregas at the back, and then turned to shake off Albertini and ran forward. It was a two-versus-one pass!

Wood, who had just run back, found that the football had been passed behind him again. He stared blankly for a moment; it seemed like his brain had short-circuited. The 32-year-old Albertini reacted faster than he did. After seeing that Bergkamp had turned, he turned around as well. In order to make up for the disadvantage in speed, he skillfully thrust himself into the middle of Bergkamp's forward line and stretched his arm out to pull as well.

Fàbregas understood Bergkamp's intentions, so he did not let the football stay at his feet, and immediately crossed the ball with a header, hoping to pass ahead to Bergkamp's foot. But the ball was intercepted halfway, and the player who cut the ball was the veteran, Albertini.

While he turned to run and follow Bergkamp, he did not forget to look back at Fàbregas' movements. When he saw Number 15 move his leg, he knew where he was going to pass to, so he turned decisively again. And when the football came, he jumped and headed the ball to George Wood, who was not too far ahead.

When he landed on the ground, Albertini made a "pass it back" hand signal to Wood, who dutifully passed the ball back to him. The Italian seemed bent on giving Fàbregas a lesson, and passed the ball directly to him without stopping; but the pass was farther, faster, and more accurate!

The football flew high over Arsenal's midfield to the Forest team's right wing, where there seemed to be no one.

"Ashley Young!" Taylor screamed.

The ball that Albertini passed suddenly descended from above to a spot in the distance where Ashley Young could catch up; there was not even a person within ten meters of him, in front or behind!

Just now, when Fàbregas had been planning the attack, Arsenal's left wing, from Pirès to Ashley Cole, had all been under pressure. They did not expect the Forest team to counterattack so quickly, or that the Italian's passing would be so sudden and so accurate.

As long as Ashley Young stopped the ball well, the Forest team's counterattack would be a cinch.

Ashley Young looked up at the ball over his head, stretched his feet to hook the ball, and the football stopped ahead, slowly rolling.

"Beautiful!" David Kerslake could not help but jump to his feet in the technical area.

"There are only two men in Arsenal's penalty area, Cygan and Touré, and the Forest team's counterattack is too precise!" Martin Tayler shouted. He really wanted to rave about Albertini's long pass without stopping the ball, but unfortunately he could not deal with it now. "Ashley Young crossed the ball!"

If Campbell had not been injured before the season and hadn't needed to be out for two months, the French center back, Cygan, would not have had the opportunity to be in the starting lineup. After Arsène Wenger had spent two million pounds to bring him to Highbury, his performance had been disappointing, and as a center back, his judgement of ball placements was terrible.

The partner that Ashley Young was passing to was clearly rotating. Cygan had originally intended to jab under his opponent's foot. But now, he could only hurriedly jump and hope to head the ball out. But the football slipped past his shiny forehead.

A missed header!

At that moment, Cygan's heart went cold.

He knew who was behind him, and it was definitely not his teammate, Touré. It was the Forest team's powerful center forward, Mark Viduka!

"Boom!" The City Ground stands had already erupted in a rush of cheers.

Mark Viduka headed the ball to the goal with all his might.

The only person that Arsenal fans and players could pin their hopes on for now was their goalkeeper, Lehmann, who was less than five meters away from the ball. But that distance was too small, unless it was God's will, or something utterly unexpected happened...

Although Cygan missed the football, his missed header in front had rocked the Australian instead, and Viduka did not have time to adjust the angle of his header. He could only strike the football straight towards the goal. The consequence was that Lehmann was standing right in front of it.

It looked like Arsenal might not concede the ball!

Lehmann's conditioned reflex made him jump backwards and swing his hands up to block the ball. His action was terrible, because he was reaching forward with his hands, not upwards towards the rear.

He successfully blocked the ball at the cost of falling into the goal. But he did not smack the football far enough away; Touré and Viduka collided, and Cygan was still on the ground after he pounced. At that time, who else was in the Arsenal penalty area?

The fans cheered the answer excitedly. "Eastwooooooooood!!"

The Romani Gypsy, who had been lying in ambush behind Mark Viduka, finally stepped up. When he was presented with this golden opportunity, he swept the football with a kick into the Arsenal goal without any reservations. It was as easy as shooting during training!

"YES!It's a GOOOOAL!!"

The City Ground reached fever pitch.

Chapter 216: Adjustments Part 1

"YES! It's a GOOOAL!"

The moment that Freddy Eastwood scored, the spectators' stands exploded into a frenzy of cheers. All of Forest's fans were jumping out of their seats with their arms up in the air.

"The is the first goal for Nottingham Forest in this Premier League season! The actual first! Unbelievably, it was on Arsenal's goal! What a beautiful counterattack! An incredible long pass! A banana shot by Albertini!"

Instead of running to the sidelines to celebrate with the fans, the scorer, Freddy Eastwood, turned and ran to the midfield to give their new Captain, Albertini, a tight hug.

At least 85% of the credit for that goal belonged to him.

Watching the ball cross the goal line, Tang En and Kerslake both jumped from their seats and went running to the sidelines with raised arms. He did it! His tactic worked!

"Nottingham Forest is beating Arsenal on their home ground! This match is looking to be more than a simple record-breaking ceremony for Wenger. Just like Tony Twain said: as much as he doesn't care about a 25-year-old record being broken, he doesn't want to lose this match either."

After cheering for Freddy Eastwood, the fans of Forest immediately began singing a song that they had come up with in the spur-of-the-moment, in praise of Albertini. "We have an Italian, with curls and messy hair! He may be 32, but take him lightly and you'll pay! Take him lightly and you'll pay!"

As a player, a single beautiful performance is enough to win over fans.

Surrounded by his teammates, Albertini was bombarded with their excited yells, so much that he could not even make out what the fans were singing. But there was one thing he was certain of: leaving Italy and coming to the UK was the right choice.

Clustered between his teammates, feeling their expectations and his heavy responsibility, having his name hailed loudly by their fans; it felt incredible. It was as though he had returned to his time in AC Milan. I, Albertini, am far from being old!

※※※

But the point was lost all too suddenly. Beside him, Pat Rice held his head in his hands. Wenger turned to look at Tang En and his assistant, who were celebrating the goal at the sidelines, and stood. He could not allow the match to be dragged into Forest's flow. He had to bring the focus of Arsenal's offense back to Dennis Bergkamp.

As he stood at the sidelines, all of Arsenal's players looked back at him, knowing that their manager would surely have new instructions for them after losing a point. Wenger signalled to Dennis Bergkamp, getting him to withdraw just enough to support Fàbregas instead.

Bergkamp nodded in understanding.

Although the starting position of the Dutch was technically a forward wherein he was Henry's partner, he could also play well in the midfield. Withdrawing to coordinate the offense would help to take some pressure off of Fàbregas, and at the same time, open him up to opportunities to take advantage of the gap left behind by Wood once he moved forward.

The adjustments Wenger made had some effect. With both Bergkamp and Fàbregas working together and coordinating the offense, it pulled the attention of Forest's defense. With Henry's positioning being more flexible, he would often pull to the left and partner up with Robert Pirès. That way, Forest's defensive line had no choice but to run with Henry; after all, that Frenchman was the greatest threat on Arsenal.

Arsenal did not just rely on Henry to score. Pirès, Bergkamp, Jermaine Pennant, and even Gilberto Silva and Ashley Cole all had the ability to rush in and score a goal. Arsenal had many places from which they could attack, and anyone of them could be part of the offense. Just two or three of them with a pass-and-go combination would easily create the space they needed.

When Henry successfully received a ball, he launched it towards the goal with a spin and a kick. Amidst the held breath throughout City Ground, Tang En rose from his manager's seat. And then the ball hit the goalpost.

Tang En could tell that Arsenal had given Bergkamp, not Fàbregas, more responsibility in the organization of offense. Since Wenger had made changes, Tang En moved to adjust accordingly. Wood's duty remained the same: to continue guarding aggressively against Fàbregas. With him acting as the core, the entire formation of Forest would advance and put pressure on Arsenal. Forest, who was in the lead, did not withdraw into a defensive position like a cowardly turtle, but instead moved up their area of defense.

It seemed that Tang En had not given up on close-marking and tackling, even with a numerical advantage. He understood deeply the strengths of Arsenal, which were about the same as those of every technically strong football team. They absolutely could not be given any space that will allow them the full use of their technical capabilities; otherwise, the team with the weaker skillset, Forest in this case, would be set on a path to failure.

Bergkamp's withdrawal to reorganize was a clear attempt to use the space created by George Wood's advancement. Since that's their intention, we'll use the whole team to fill up this hole for good. With the entire formation advancing, we'll continue to pressure Arsenal and eventually take initiative in the match.

In advancing the formation itself forward, the best tactic would naturally be offside traps. At the same time, Tang En did not intend on restricting Forest's offense for the sake of defending. In contrast, he expected Ribéry and Ashley Young, the two side midfielders, to actively support the offense. Once Forest got an opportunity to attack, the side midfielders and full backs would cut forward and suppress Arsenal's offensive abilities in the wings.

In addition, they were to use the most efficient method in their offense; the ball could not stay under their feet a second longer than necessary if a pass was possible. The idea that Tang En had tried to instill in the players during training was this: opportunities and breaks were not created by dribbling; instead, they were created through the team's positional awareness and passing. The future direction of their offense would be to use their movements to create opportunities for themselves on one hand, and to force opponents into dead-ends on the other.

They could not pin their hopes on using their own ability to singularly take on five defenders before scoring. It was Arsenal they were facing, not amateurs.

Even if Arsenal had had Jermaine Pennant and Robert Pirès in the wings, Tang En did not think Ribéry and Ashley Young would have lost out to them. In fact, he believed that Ribéry was superior to Pennant.

This differed greatly from what Wenger thought. In terms of ability, Wenger did not think that Forest was at Arsenal's level at all. However, Tang En felt that what Forest was lacking was not ability, but experience. The experience gleaned from the top-level league was more important than anything else.

Having to harden up and fight such a tough battle with Arsenal just in the league's third round, Tang En believed that the match will give his players a tremendous amount experience, probably the equivalent of playing in at least five normal matches.

※※※

Wenger quickly discovered the changes Tang En made, but he did not follow-up with any adjustments. From another perspective, it was no longer the knowledge of the managers that was at play between the two teams, but the abilities of the players.

However, Wenger had to admit that Twain had improved markedly since their first meeting. In their first encounter, Tony Twain, who had at the time been managing the Youth team, could only use weird strategies to deal with Arsenal. But now, he was already able to go head-to-head with him in his tactical maneuvers.

Looking at George Wood's animated figure on the field, Wenger thought that perhaps he really should have tried to poach the boy over. Even if he himself did not like rougher tactics or players who could only use their body to play the game, he had to admit that Number 13 would likely become a threat to him in the future.

Forest continued to press for the ball, but the main referee was light on the whistle because it was Forest's home ground. Several defensive measures that looked almost like fouls were ignored. As a result, even if Wood had gotten Fàbregas rolling on the ground before passing the ball to Albertini, with the young Spanish champion making a huge show out of it, it would not have caught the referee's attention.

To be fair, Fàbregas's abilities were not less than George Wood's. Rather, Tang En's strategy, which was designed specifically with Arsenal in mind, played to Wood's greatest strengths while effectively restricting Fàbregas's abilities.

After watching for another ten minutes, Wenger shook his head at Pat Rice, who sat beside him. "Tang En has thoroughly analysed us, but we know very little about this Forest team. We've been too passive."

Rice nodded in agreement. "Before this, I thought he was just quarrelling with the media for all four days."

"No, Pat. What Forest has showed in this match can't be achieved in just four days."

Pat looked in surprise when Wenger said this. "You mean..."

"From the moment Tony Twain was promoted to the Premier League, he must have already thought of us as an important opponent." Wenger continued steadily. "It's quite funny for a newly promoted team to view the defending champions as their main opponent, isn't it?"

Pat did not know what to say. Arsène had once warned him to be careful of Tony Twain, but had said nothing when asked why. Now, Pat understood it better.

"No... that's incredibly ambitious for a newly-promoted..."

Wenger looked down at his watch. Without him realising it, the first-half was already ticking down to its end.

The match seemed to have passed in a flurry of tackling or being tackled. The lofty and sophisticated offense that was said to be as fluid as water and as elegant as a dance, so prized by Arsenal, was completely absent from the match.

Wenger did not give a thought to making any adjustments before the end of the first half. The situation was not going to change simply by shouting from the sidelines or changing a single player.

Half-time would be good.

Very well, Tang En. You win the first half...

Let's fight again in the second half!

Chapter 217: Adjustments Part 2

"Forest team did beautifully." Taylor, on the viewing platform, praised the home team, who had managed to retain their lead in the first half. "Of course, I'm not referring to their style of football, or the one-point lead they have. In truth, Arsenal's defensive line has been problematic for the last two rounds, allowing their opponents to score. However, the control Forest has over the pace of the match is telling..."

"...Of a chance to overtake Arsenal!" Gray shouted, without any fear of offending Arsenal's supporters.

Although Tang En could not hear the praises being sung of him by the two commentators, he could see that Forest had the advantage from the situation on the field. The resounding cheers from the spectators' stand for Forest team did not stop for a single moment. Even assistant manager David Kerslake, who sat next to him, could not stop smiling as he watched the match. He had not expected results like this, being able to lead by a point and completely restrict their opponents.

But Tang En only frowned joylessly. From time to time, the lens of the camera panned to his face. With that expression, he was sure to mislead anyone who had just switched on their televisions to think that Forest had fallen behind.

With Forest's current abilities against an opponent like Arsenal, having a one-point lead was not enough to stop Tang En from worrying.

1:0. In Tang En's opinion, that was the most unstable score possible.

Soon, the main referee blew the whistle signalling the end of the first half amidst the cheers of Forest's fans. The players from Arsenal hung their heads as they quickly made their way towards the players' corridor. It was not that they were unhappy with the score. Rather, they were upset that they had remained at a disadvantage throughout the entire first half; that they had been beaten into helplessness by a newly promoted team and been unable to render any effective offense in return. Although they lead the league in their technical ability, a combination of rough fouling, forceful pressing with disregard for stamina, numerous little tricks, and a splash of bias from the referee had forced them into a corner.

Returning to the locker room, Arsenal's players were panting roughly. They looked even more tired than Forest's players, who had been running non-stop for the entire first half.

Of course, Wenger did not consider that a sign of a physical issue. He stood in the locker room and scanned his audience. No matter what, the players could not lose their morale.

The Frenchman started speaking. "I thought that the most important match was the previous round of the league."

He spoke with an even, unhurried tone at a normal volume. It was almost as if he was speaking about something that had nothing to do with himself.

"Do you still remember how painfully we were whacked by Middlesbrough on our home ground? In three minutes, we lost two straight goals and let our opponents overtake us with a score of 1:3. At that point, everyone thought we were goners; that the pressure of trying to level with an undefeated record was too much for us. But what was the final score? 5:3."

Wenger stretched out his hands, indicating five on his left and three on his right.

"After that match, I thought that you guys had already figured out how to deal with this record thing. We may be Forest's opponents, but their manager, Tony Twain, said something very true: 'Records were made to be broken.' Put your hearts into the match, and don't think about anything that comes after."

At that point, Wenger looked at Fàbregas. The Spanish boy was still trying to catch his breath, his head down. It seemed like he was thoroughly pestered by George Wood in the first half.

Wenger asked, "Cesc, what do you think of Number 13?"

In response to the manager's question, Fàbregas looked up, his breath suddenly becoming steady. He shook his head. "It's no problem. I can deal with it."

Wenger smiled and made no move to strike at the youth's pride. But that was in spite of what he could see; Fàbregas was not performing well in the face of George Wood. Wood surpassed him physically. Perhaps if it was Patrick Vieira playing, the situation would be different. His experience, technique, and fitness would all allow them to regain control of the midfield. Unfortunately, Vieira had gotten injured before the start of the season.

"Good. In the second half, make sure you reduce your time in possession of the ball."

Fàbregas nodded. It was a first for Fàbregas to be met with such a setback twice in a row against a no-name player like George Wood.

Wenger knew what Fàbregas must be thinking, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to the Captain, Henry, to discuss their successes and failures in the first half. With one watching from the manager's seat, and the other experiencing the match in the field, both of them had to put their heads together to discuss their thoughts.

※※※

On the other side, the atmosphere in Forest's locker room was not as exultant as one would expect. Tang En's brows, which were still tightly furrowed, were noticed by the players coming in. His expression made them unsure if they had done badly in some way, and all of them to quieted down.

Fortunately, Tang En quickly answered their unspoken question. "Do you know why I'm still frowning? You guys did very well, and I should commend you. But I hope you realize that the match still has 45 minutes left. A one-point lead is not much insurance, and after the goal in the first half, we spent put way too much effort into defense. In the next half, we need to make some changes…"

He pointed to the tactical board, which was already drawn up with the formation of both teams.

"Ribéry and Ashley Young. When we're in possession, I want the two of you to cut inwards and allow Baines and Chimbonda to come up into the wings to pull on the full backs from Arsenal. When you have an opportunity, try to cut in from the sides of the penalty area."

Tang En drew an arrow as he explained, "Demi, your mission is to send the ball to the same area in their defensive line. If the opponents start taking notice of your position, send the ball straight to the mid path."

Albertini nodded in affirmation as he looked at the crisscrossing arrows and lines on the tactical board. He felt good about his condition in the match; it should be no problem for him to send out such a ball.

Tang En then looked at Wood and said, "George. When we are attacking, your main priority is to protect Demi. You know what to do, right?"

Wood nodded.

"Excellent. Everyone knows what their target is. Don't slack! Our opponents are not of a League One team. I hope we can all celebrate a victory together when the match is over!"

Tang En clapped his hands and held up his fist.

"Let those who looked down on us go to hell!"

Chapter 218: One on One

Arsenal tried to regain control of the game five minutes into the start of the second half. Henry was more active than he had been in the first half. He was constantly on the wing, seeking out opportunities to coordinate with Pirès and trying to break through the flanks. They almost succeeded once; Henry and Pirès did a two-versus-one pass on the wing and then cut into the penalty area. Coming up to defend against Henry, Matthew Upson's foot slipped, and he suddenly fell.

Henry did not expect this, and as a result, he shot the ball towards the stands behind back of the goal.

All of the Nottingham Forest people gasped. Twain was also startled, and almost jumped from his seat in the technical area.

Upson got up from the ground and turned to look at the goal in panic. Hierro came up to him and patted his shoulder to reassure him.

On the Arsenal side, Henry held his head in his hands. He had not thought that his volley would overshoot and fly out. When Upson fell down, it was just the Forest team goalkeeper in front of him, and the the goal. During training and even during matches, a situation like that would normally have been a walk in the park.

Wenger looked even sorrier than Henry. He stood up from his seat, saw that the ball did not go in, suddenly waved his hands, and sat down.

Arsenal's luck did not seem too good today.

After their narrow escape, the Forest team launched their offense. During the halftime interval, Twain had told them that they were not secure at all with only one goal. What he said had almost come true just now; the Forest players understood the principle.

Albertini was responsible for organizing the attack. Bergkamp came up to intercept, and Albertini chose not to break through, even though he was certain that he could drop the Dutchman in front of him. But he glimpsed George Wood standing not too far from his side.

He remembered Twain's separate conversation with him after a training session.

"Demetrio, what do you think of this George kid?"

"Not bad, very good." His English was not very good, so he did not say much.

"I'm sure you can also see that I value him very much. Now, he's impeccable in his defense, but he lacks a lot in offense. I was hoping you could help him."

"I understand, sir."

Bergkamp saw Albertini move the football to the right. Thinking he was going to break through, he quickly shifted his center of gravity. His opponent did indeed run towards that direction, but he had also passed the football to George Wood with his heel.

Wood received the ball; however, Albertini was enmeshed with Bergkamp. What should he do?

Fàbregas saw Wood take the ball and rush up with gritted teeth. He wanted to take revenge. I can't always let this kid pressure me. You robbed me, I'll rob you back!

Wood, who had received the ball, did not know what to do next. He had wanted to pass the ball to Albertini, but he saw that Albertini had an opponent at his side, so he dismissed the idea. Just when he was at a loss, Fàbregas charged up!

Unsurprisingly, George Wood, who was not good at ball control, lost the ball.

"Arsenal has the ball again! Beautiful steal! Cesc Fàbregas' steal has given Arsenal a chance to fight back, and the Forest team hasn't been able to defend against it, since everyone is still on the offense!"

What Taylor had said was right. When the Forest players saw that Albertini had the ball, they all pressed on eagerly, especially everyone from the two wings. They all rushed up and interrupted the team's coordinated offense.

What they did not expect was that Albertini did not pass the ball Ribéry or Ashley Young, but to George Wood, who rarely participated in the team's offense. Leighton Baines and Pascal Chimbonda had to run back at all costs, just like during their sprinting drill. Just like that, their physical energy was wasted.

Wood just saw a flash in front of his eyes, and suddenly there was nothing in front of his feet.

He had lost the ball.

At that point, Wood would not ask himself what to do. Almost instinctively, he turned to stick to Fàbregas. With his superior physical strength, he crushed down on his opponent. The Spaniard could not speed up, and could not shake him off.

Fàbregas was rammed by Wood from the side, causing his body to lose balance and his pace to become erratic. The football was knocked away, beyond his control range. Hierro received the football just in time, and the ball was back under the Forest team's control.

Twain, who witnessed the scene from the technical area, shook his head and said to David Kerslake, "Looks like we should strengthen Wood's offensive training."

Kerslake nodded in agreement. "Compared to his defense, his offense is almost amateur."

The spectacle of that 60-meter indirect assist to Freddy Eastwood's goal during his debut for the Forest First Team was never seen again in subsequent competitions or training. Wood might have been possessed by some supernatural power that day.

Hierro passed the ball back to Albertini, who retreated to provide support. This time the Italian did not pass the ball to Wood, but passed it straight ahead to Viduka. Under pressure from Touré, Viduka could not turn around, so he could only pass to Ashley Young on the wing. And in the face of Ashley Cole's defense, the youthful Young had no other options; he chose to pass the ball to the right back, Chimbonda, who had just wedged in. The Frenchman just received the ball when his fellow countryman, Pirès, forced his way in. Thus, he could only pass the ball to Albertini in the middle, and Albertini cleverly gave away the ball.

After the football had gone in a big circle, it ended up back in front of George Wood.

Everything that then happened on the field was like a replay of what had happened a minute ago; Fàbregas came forward again to snatch, George Wood lost the ball, but he immediately used his defensive instincts and superhuman stamina to intercept it again.

"I really don't understand! When did Wood become the core of the Forest team?" a disgruntled fan complained in the stands. Perhaps they thought that if Albertini had the ball, the team would have already struck the opponent's penalty area, and it would not have been necessary for them to engage in a technical entanglement in the midfield.

Even Kerslake could see that Albertini was deliberately giving George Wood chances to take the ball. He turned to look at Twain, and Twain looked back at him and shrugged, indicating that this was not his idea.

In fact, Twain knew very well that Albertini doing this had something to do with him asking Albertini to teach Wood.

What did Albertini have in mind?

Twain put his chin on his hand and looked at the running figure of Albertini.

※※※

Albertini believed there was no better way to teach a man like Wood than to push him into an unavoidable situation. He passed the ball to Wood again and again, forcing Wood to think about how to pass the ball forward instead of just across and back.

When Wood received the ball again, he saw Fàbregas dashing over, so he acted on his conditioned reflexes and passed the ball back.

Albertini waved to him and yelled, "Forward!"

Wood was stumped for a moment. Then he obediently ran forward and brushed past Fàbregas, who had rushed up. At the same, Albertini passed the ball ahead of him. A two-versus-one pass!

The Arsenal players did not think that George Wood would be able to dribble the ball and plug in the attack. Even Fàbregas did not react. He turned sideways and looked at Wood, still awkwardly dribbling the ball, and forgot to defend in turn.

There was not a player wearing the yellow Arsenal away jersey within five meters of Wood. What should he do now?

Albertini ran up from behind, waving at Wood. "Over here!"

Wood listened and passed the ball to him. Albertini shouted again, "Forward!"

Wood continued to move forward, and the Arsenal players reacted. The Forest team was planning on utilizing the coordination of the two men in the center to force a breakthrough!

How can we let you get away with that?

Cygan rushed up to block Wood's running route, and Touré was in the wing to protect Cygan's back whenever necessary. At this time, the two Arsenal center backs put all their focus on George Wood, who had suddenly stepped forward, while neglecting the others.

Albertini made a feint and suddenly shot a direct pass!

All of a sudden, Viduka was no longer in an offside position; what was more, he had received the ball. He was going to single-handedly make the shot!

The City Ground burst into deafening cheers. This was an amazing opportunity. The same thought emerged in everyone's mind simultaneously: if we lead by two points, we will definitely win!

Lehmann attacked, and Viduka received the ball and turned. There was no time to determine the goalkeeper's position, so he just swung his foot and made his shot.

A striker's instinct let him choose the angle of the shot, hoping to bypass Lehmann. But when the tall German landed from his jump, his toes still grazed against the football, the ball bounced and brushed against the goal post and rolled out past the end line.

"The ball didn't go in! This was the best chance for the Forest team in the second half so far; even better than Henry's chance. It's a pity that Viduka didn't make it." Taylor shook his head and sighed, "Lehmann saved the team and rescued Wenger."

What Taylor had said was right. When he saw that the opponent directly struck the heart of his team from the middle, Wenger could not sit still. He suddenly got up from his seat and marched towards the field. The team's performance had not improved, and the Forest team's oppressive defense had completely restrained Arsenal's tactics.

He glanced sideways at Twain, who was also standing on the sidelines. The other man was focused on the game and did not notice him.

Wenger went back again, and said to his assistant manager, Pat Rice, "Get Ljungberg and Reyes to go warm up."

His long-term partner, Rice, could hear that Le Professeur's voice was not as mild as usual.

※※※

Viduka's shot had only been a corner ball in the end, but it still electrified Twain. He felt like his heart was about to pop out of his mouth.

He rushed to the sideline. When he discovered that the ball had not entered the goal, he scratched his head with some embarrassment.

But he did not lose heart, because he saw a scene full of hope.

Albertini was leading George Wood to run forward, and taught him step by step how to pass the ball and position himself; Wood did well, too.

He rarely emphasized offense in the center. The Forest team was a team that placed importance on offense through the wings. However, if Wood could develop quickly, the center could also become an important trigger point.

Viduka had wasted Albertini's incredible pass. It was almost impossible to get another opportunity like that in the game because a high-caliber opponent like Arsenal was very adept at self- adjustment.

But Albertini did not grumble about Viduka. Instead, he stepped forward to pat the Australian on the shoulder and ruffled his short hair. Without a word, he ran to the spot for the corner ball. He was also the Forest team's player in the first position for the place kick.

While the team was using a place kick to attack, Twain's task for Wood was to be at the back to defend. Hierro and Upson both ran up, and Wood turned and ran back. Standing in his position and looking at the crowded penalty area, he was still relishing his recent drive.

Twain asked him to learn the Italian's playing style and how to handle the ball. So he watched Albertini very closely during the game. He remembered the scene of Albertini letting him press on, but not passing the ball to him. Instead, he had passed the ball to Viduka. Honestly, he had not even anticipated it. He had not seem Viduka's position while he was pressing on. Furthermore, he was even facing Viduka; Albertini's back was to him. How had he known that Viduka was inside the penalty area?

And there was also the long pass in the first half. It was so accurate! He had never kicked a pass that was more than fifteen meters long, but the team captain's pass was estimated to be fifty meters! He seemed to know in advance that area had no opponents, and knew in advance that Ashley Young would run up, and then he had timed his pass perfectly. It was amazing!

Wood almost never admired anyone, and would not say good things about others. However, at this time, he sincerely admired his team captain and mentor who did not speak much English.

Just as he had snapped out of his thoughts, the Forest team's corner ball was kicked.

Lehmann did not feel reassured by the center back, Cygan. He stood in between the two men and struck out Albertini's corner. Fàbregas beautifully dropped the ball outside the penalty area. George Wood was still in the Forest team's midfield area. Now no one could threaten him, and he could finally handle the ball comfortably.

Henry was starting to make a move!

He scanned this point from the corner of his eye, immediately shot a direct pass and sent the football accurately to the foot of the team captain.

"Arsenal counterattacks! Their speed is incredible!"

The Forest players ran back as if their lives depended on it, but for a veteran like Hierro, the mind was willing, but the body was powerless.

"The Forest team's singlehanded shot boosted the players' morale, and almost everyone rushed up for the corner ball; maybe they thought that they were close to scoring a goal… but now, the Forest team's large-scale pressure made the Arsenal players feel like they're closer to the goal!"

"Now, except for the goalkeeper, Darren Ward, the only Forest players in the backfield are the left back, Leighton Baines, and George Wood! Arsenal's counterattack is swift. Except for Henry, Pennant and Pirès have quickly followed up, three against two! An excellent opportunity for Arsenal… not to be missed!"

As Taylor was shouting excitedly, Twain was not excited at all. He cursed, "Damn it!"

He suddenly remembered one of Henry's goals. It was Arsenal against Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur's throw-in ball was headed by one of the Arsenal players; then Henry received the ball in the midfield, and began a long-range raid. Through the change of speed and rhythm, he continuously flashed past the interception of Matthew Etherington, Stephen Carr, Ledley King and other Tottenham Hotspur players, and finally shot the ball into the Tottenham Hotspur's goal, which helped Arsenal win with a score of 3:0.

That had happened in November 2002. Was he going to replicate it in the City Ground in 2004?

Ribéry chased Henry at full speed and dived behind the opponent to shovel him, at the risk of getting a red card.

It was as if Henry had eyes on the back of his head. He accelerated the ball forward, then jumped just in time to escape Ribéry's dive, and continued to move forward!

Everyone in the stands, whether they were Forest fans or Arsenal fans, all stood up from their seats.

Would this be another magnificent goal for the Arsenal fans to relish? Or were the forest fans about to be humiliated?

"Henry broke through Ribéry! Now, the only man in his way is George Wood!"

※※※

George Wood looked up at Henry, who was driving the ball towards him, and did not show any confusion or panic. There was no time for him to do such a thing. Henry was charging like the wind.

Do I commit a foul? Or should I…

Henry would not give Wood time to make a choice. He suddenly slowed down and let Wood think that he was about to do a feint to bypass him. Wood was fooled, and lowered his center of gravity.

Henry was delighted to see this. He was the most frustrated person in this game. The Arsenal midfield was completely restrained by the destructive play of the Forest team, and was unable to support him effectively. And when he had finally gotten the ball after much difficulty, he was surrounded by the Forest players and it was hard to break through. Now it would all be okay; as long as he bypassed this kid in front of him, it would be wide open ahead!

Wood had just dropped his center of gravity when he saw Henry suddenly poke the ball outwards and then speed up! He overtook him from the side!

"And he has broken through!"

He had forced a breakthrough!

Wood's reaction was also quick. The cheers of the Arsenal fans had just begun to ring out when he turned around and chased Henry.

He did not give up; he did not know how to give up. All he knew was that Twain had told him to keep the defensive line safe, not to let his opponents break through right in front of him, and he had to do it. This is my job. If I can't do this, how am I supposed to get paid?

With this in mind, Wood pounced towards Henry.

"Oh, no! He didn't shake him off! The distance between George Wood and Henry isn't widening!" Andy Gray exclaimed. Even he did not think that George Wood's speed was on par with Henry's, who was widely recognized as a speedy striker.

"Get past him!!" The Arsenal fans leaned forward and shouted in the stands.

"Stop him!" The Forest fans roared, waving their fists.

Henry was a little surprised to find himself entangled again. He knew it was that Number 13, whom he had not expected to be so tenacious. He decided to switch gears again, and stopped suddenly. He pushed the ball slightly leftward with the outside of his left foot; Wood missed his aim and overshot. Henry started again and was going to catch up with the football, thinking that he should have completely shaken off this troublesome shadow now.

No!

After Wood found that he had missed his target, he came to a sudden stop as well, and then turned around, hurled himself across, and dived towards the ball at the fastest speed he could muster.

He might lack experience in his technique compared to Henry, but in terms of physical fitness, he would not lose out to anyone.

The football was rolling in front of Henry; as long as he could get over to it, he could do it with a single shot....

Suddenly, a foot cut in front of his eyes, and the football was swept by that foot and flew out!

Damn it!

Who's this?!

When Henry jumped up to avoid the leg, he saw that the man lying on the ground was Number 13!

How—can—this—be—possible?! Where did he come from? I clearly shook him off! He couldn't possibly have show up again!

The seasoned Henry stared wide-eyed at George Wood, and watched him get up from the ground and stagger along to kick the football in front of him out of the sideline, despite the fact that there was no other Arsenal player apart from him. He could take control of the ball and seize the opportunity to give Arsenal a chance to fight back.

"What a hero! George Wood!!"

Gray used the tone reserved for cheering after a goal to shout Wood's name.

When Henry first had begun to speed up his dribbling, bypass Ribéry, and charge across the center circle, who would have had the slightest confidence that Wood could stop the King of Arsenal from moving forward?

When Henry was switching gears between fast and slow to break through him, who would believe that this kid could still turn around and stick to him?

When Henry used the sudden stop to make Wood overshoot, how many people had already thought that Henry had succeeded?

The kid had done it. Even though nobody knew how, he had surprised everyone. He successfully defended against a world-class striker in a one-on-one defense of the rapid dribbler, Henry.

The moment when they saw him turn around to intercept the ball from an impossible position, forcing Henry to jump up, was even more exciting than watching a goal being scored!

The fans felt the same way. The chants of "Wood! Wood!" over the City Ground were louder than the ones that had come after Eastwood's goal.

Albertini rushed back and hugged Wood. He then slapped him on the back and shouted repeatedly, "Well done! Well done!"

He almost gave up when he was still running forward at that moment, and many of his teammates probably had the same thought. But George Wood's performance spurred them, and they sped up their slowing pace. They gritted their teeth and ran back, panting, to their defensive positions.

Met with Albertini's praise, George Wood did not have a happy expression on his face, but his heart was a little excited.

This feels terrific!

Chapter 219: Forgone Conclusion Part 1

Playing football was like fighting a war; it was a fight between the teams' morale. In his face-off with Henry, George Wood's successful defense greatly boosted the Forest players' morale; it told them that they were not inferior to Arsenal. Even the opponent's captain, their strongest forward, was unable to get an edge over Wood. In the face of the Forest team, the rest of Arsenal would be the same!

Soon after, Arsenal adjusted. In the 67th minute, Wenger replaced Pennant, who was not performing well, with Ljungberg. Even though the young man was Nottinghamian, he received the most jeers from the spectators when he was fielded. He was a player nurtured under Notts County, Forest's rival.

Next, Wenger replaced Bergkamp, who had been completely clamped down by Wood and Albertini, with Reyes. As Reyes was entering the field, Wenger pulled him aside and told him to relay one thing to Fàbregas: "Keep your cool."

George Wood performed brilliantly, not just in his successful face-off against Henry, but in his close-marking defense with Fàbregas; it rebuffed his advancement countless times. Against such an unreasonable defender, the Spanish lad really had no better ideas about what to do.

Still, Wenger insisted that Fàbregas stay on the field. On one hand, he had no better option to replace the Spaniard; on the other, he felt that the experience would be good training for Fàbregas. If Cesc wanted to become a player like Vieira, this match was necessary for him. Only after experiencing setbacks would he be able to take a step forward; otherwise, this could be as far as he went.

He needed to learn to cool down and use his brain, not just his body, to play football. That could be very helpful to him. After all, Fàbregas's physical capability was far from Wood's, and a competition of physical abilities between players would continue to occur in all sorts of matches. If Fàbregas always failed to play up to his usual standards just because he was faced with a fierce defender, he could not amount to much.

The appearance of Ljungberg and Reyes on the field increased the offensive abilities of Arsenal, improving their initially weakened wings. Wenger's players were gradually taking back control, but time was running out for them.

"The match is already into its 75th minute and the score remains 1:0. Home team Nottingham Forest is leading against Arsenal. Against Forest, who is aggressively pressuring them in defense, Arsenal's players are lacking options. They've made too many mistakes. If the situation continues, it's only a matter of time before Forest wins their first three points in this league's season."

Only a matter of time...

That must be what the players from Forest were thinking in their hearts. Though it was not impossible, whether in theory or reality, for a newly promoted team to defeat the defending champions, the notion of defeating defending champions, who had not yet lost in 42 matches, still stirred the players up.

The veterans with experience who had already gone through all sorts of similar situations knew exactly how to handle the match. But there were too few veterans on Forest team; they could not stop the young players, who were thinking in their hearts, "We're about to defeat Arsenal! We'll soon become an amazing dark horse that overturned the defending champions! Their streak of 42 no-losses is going to end at our feet!"

It really was a seductive future.

Just like Medusa's alluring face, it tempted the young of Forest team to forget that they were still in the midst of an intense match; to forget what sort of dangerous creature they were facing.

※※※

The match time passed into its 80th minute. Forest maintained its lead and the enthusiastic cheers from the spectators' stand rose and fell with no sign of stopping.

As the players began losing their focus, Forest's oppressive-style defense started to show cracks, with more and more of them appearing quickly. This resulted in Arsenal's players beginning to feel that they could keep possession of the ball for a longer time. In fact, some of Forest's players no longer tried to press for the ball in the first place. Instead, they looked and waited to see if they should go for the ball or simply retreat and box them out.

Tang En sensed the danger in the air. He took up a position at the sidelines and hollered while gesturing with his hands agitatedly, "Press for the ball! Press for the ball! PRESS FOR THE BALL! Don't give them a chance to get it! Dammit!"

What Tang En wanted from the forwards was the use of counter-pressing as an oppressive play, but both Viduka and Eastwood were obviously not as eager as they were at the beginning of the match. George Wood was still running without a pause, but would he be able to cover the entire field? Albertini too was still running, but he was 32; he had the will but lacked the strength.

Ribéry, Ashley Young, Baines, and Chimbonda… all of them looked like they could no longer run. The match had them constantly running forward and retreating, retreating and then rushing ahead. It had had too much of a toll on their stamina. Even so, Tang En still stood on the sidelines asking them to continue pressing for the ball; to not let Arsenal have even a sliver of an opportunity. How did Forest do so well in the initial 80 minutes? It was because they had sacrificed their stamina to prevent Arsenal from falling into a match pace that they were familiar with.

Now that their stamina was beginning to wear out, Arsenal was slowly making their way back into a rhythm.

Fàbregas had also cooled down. He had no more intentions of toughing it out against George Wood. If Wood came up to press against him, he would immediately pass the ball out. After that, through his positional awareness, he would try to create opportunities for himself to receive the ball again. He was not going to get into any more useless entanglements with Wood in the midfield.

What makes a strong team strong? Their experience and their patience.

Despite the chaos in the first half of the match and Henry's failed solo runs on two separate attempts, Arsenal's disadvantageous situation in the field did not cause their players to fall into a panic. Wenger's substitutions stabilized Arsenal's conditions and their players waited patiently for an opportunity.

At the 83rd minute, after a one-two combination from Pirès and Henry, the ball was not passed into the crowded penalty area but went outside instead. Gilberto Silva came up suddenly from behind and took a long shot, but it went high. This, however, was not the crux of the matter. The crucial matter at hand was that before the Brazilian took his shot, there were approximately three seconds that passed without a single Forest player trying to interrupt him.

Tang En was extremely displeased with the situation and decided to make a substitution.

84 minutes into the match, Aaron Lennon was fielded to substitute Ashley Young. This was an attempt to increase the threat from the wings and to use Lennon, who was younger, to suppress Ashley Cole.

Before Lennon even made any contact with the ball after being fielded, Arsenal launched another attack. Fàbregas and Ljungberg attempted a combo attack. After attracting George Wood's attention, Fàbregas passed the ball to the Swede and quickly continued cutting forward. From this, it looked as if he was about to do a one-two combination with a wall pass. George Wood continued pressing Fàbregas, attempting to block him from receiving a pass.

As expected, Ljungberg passed the ball back to Fàbregas. Under George Wood's close-marking defense, Fàbregas had to switch directions quickly to protect the ball. With Arsenal's offense already in the penalty area, Fàbregas did not believe Wood would dare to risk a foul. Gilberto, on seeing that Fàbregas had control over the ball, rapidly pressed forward.

The earlier long shot from the Brazilian had alarmed Forest. This caused Center back Upson to immediately press Gilberto when he rushed forward again. Fàbregas faked a side pass. Upson who thought he was going to pass quickly, surged forward another step. At that moment, the young Spaniard champion suddenly used his back heel to pass behind him instead. Separated from George Wood, the ball penetrated the defensive line and was received by Henry, who had gotten past them unnoticed.

No one expected that. With Fàbregas completely disabled by George Wood's defense throughout the match, the rest of Forest's players paid little heed to the area where they were engaged. Instead, all their attention was caught by Gilberto, who came up from the back. With Wood in his way and his back against the direction of the attack, how did he know there would be a break? And how did he even anticipate Henry's appearance there?

Regardless of how Fàbregas had managed it, his pass created an opportunity for Henry to get his third solo run in this match. If he could not score a goal off of such a ball, he would not be Thierry Henry!

The Frenchman took his shot at the goal. Grazing the turf, the ball flew rapidly and slid off Darren Ward's hand, bouncing off the inner pole on the far end of the goalpost and bounced in!

"Magnificent! Arsenal scores an equalizer in the last moment!! Thierry Henry! Arsenal's king! This could be a record-making goal!!!"

Three-quarters of City Ground's spectators fell into silence while the away team fans gathered at the viewing platform loosed a cacophony of cheers. The players from Arsenal were also celebrating wildly as members of Nottingham Forest stood shock still in their positions, not believing what they saw.

They had persisted for 85 minutes but had still failed to guard it in the end. Tang En, who was on the sidelines when the ball was lost, threw a punch at the glass board next to the manager's seat. He could not put his rage and disappointment into words. He only knew that he was angry. Very angry. How could Upson have rushed forward so rashly?

Chapter 220: Forgone Conclusion Part 2

Albertini had been running towards Gilberto. Even if the ball were to be passed to the Brazilian, Albertini would be able to prevent him from scoring. But Upson had left his post and abandoned his position. The pass from Fàbregas landed exactly where Upson should have been.

Even with Hierro's vast experience, he had no way of dealing with a mistake like that. Furthermore, it was already the 85th minute and he could barely run.

After venting his frustration and unhappiness, Tang En called up Peter Crouch, who had just finished his warm-up from the substitute's bench. Tang En refused to end the match on a draw. He did not care a bit about that record; he just could not accept that the three points that they had almost had in their hands had slipped away and become only one!

We were dominating the entire match. But just because of a low-level mistake, we ruined such a good situation. I cannot accept this!

While Arsenal's players finished their celebrations and were about to kick off the match, Forest changed out a player on their sidelines – Tang En substituted Hierro, who was already dog-tired, for Crouch.

The tactics of the Forest team morphed into something simpler and cruder in an instant. There were no more complicated maneuvers, like cutting outside for support or feinting attacks from the wings while attacking from the middle. All backfield players took only one action when they received the ball – to pass it forward to Viduka and Crouch. If they had the opportunity for a direct attack, they would take it. If not, they would return it to Eastwood or Ribéry to use in long shots and high balls.

There was not much technique to speak of, but at this point, Tang En could not care less about that.

Forest, which had begun their battle anew, pressed towards Arsenal's penalty area in a frenzy. Tang En's substitution at the eleventh hour stirred up all of Forest; everyone knew that their boss was enraged. He could not accept this result.

And so, Arsenal, who had dominated the English Premier League for over a season, were pushed back into their penalty area even after their goal!

"This is a frenzied attack coming from Forest! Albertini makes a long shot! But Ashley Cole takes a mighty kick to get it out of the attacking area… Such desperation! Ribéry gets a break, and he's in! He fell over! The main referee refuses to award a penalty kick! City Ground's spectator's stands are ringing with heart-stopping jeers! That is despite the fact that Ribéry looked as if he was purposely trying to get a penalty kick off the judge from the footage…"

As his partner commentated enthusiastically, Martin Taylor shook his head. "If only Forest had started playing this way 20 minutes earlier, the score would have been 2:1 with them in the lead by now. It's too bad…"

He cast his gaze towards the sidelines. Both Wenger and Tang En were standing on the sidelines, anxiously watching the match's progress while looking at the time. While it felt all too long for the prior, it seemed much too short for the latter.

Although Forest's final wave of indiscriminate attacks had caused the defending champions some embarrassment, Arsenal managed to get the result they wanted: a 1:1 Draw. They managed 43 matches in a row without defeat, and a new record was birthed.

When the final whistle of the match was blown by the main referee, thunderous applause filled City Ground. Of course, the fans were not congratulating Arsenal for their new record, but Nottingham Forest, whose players performed remarkably despite the draw at the last minute.

Martin Taylor said it well. "Although Nottingham Forest did not manage to end the legend of Arsenal's undefeated streak, the young team showed the future to a countless number of Forest's fans. If this scene was the deciding factor of the result, then maybe they had not failed completely. But in all fairness, this match would have ended 3:1 with the home team victorious. It was too bad. Their youth gave them their courage, but it also made them pay for it. Regardless, I still like this Forest team. Looking at the back of a team of young ones running brings me hope."

No matter how they were at each other's throat during the match, the tension from Tang En's body seeped away as soon as the final whistle was blown. He looked at the scoreboard and then at Arsenal's players, who were running and cheering. He could only shake his head helplessly. The rage he had felt when they had lost the ball had all but disappeared.

The match was over, wasn't it?

He turned to see Wenger walking towards him with a smile and an outstretched arm.

"Whatever the result, this has been a great match," Wenger said, an echo of what Arsenal's youth team manager had once said to Tang En. That was during his first encounter with Wenger.

Tang En shook his head. "Except for the result, this has been a great match."

Wenger laughed. He was in a good mood.

Although Tang En himself was not in the best of moods, he still congratulated Wenger. "Congratulations on the new record."

This time, it was Wenger who shook his head. "Oh, no. A new record is only made for others to break. I hope we'll meet again on the field. I'll see you later at the press conference. I have to leave now."

Wenger gave Tang En a pat on his shoulder and left to join the celebratory crowd.

The despondent Forest players had their heads bowed as they walked past Tang En. He looked at Wenger and then shouted at the players, "Why do all of you look like you have lost a ball? Listen to the cheers from the spectators' stand! Who do you think they're for? They're not for Arsenal, they're for us! Everyone did well! Raise your heads!"

Tang En shouted so loudly, even Wenger could hear him clearly with his back turned. He only smiled and, with a shake of his head, walked to his own players with open arms.

※※※

At the press conference after the match, the media put all their focus on Wenger, who had led Arsenal to the making of the new record. They heaped all kinds of praise onto him, forgetting that Arsenal's field performance was almost abysmal.

Tang En sat at the side with crossed arms, staring coldly at the media who were all such opportunists.

In this regard, Wenger was much more considerate than the media and took the initiative to direct the topic to Forest instead. He repeatedly complimented the excellent performance and tactics shown by Forest and their players; how it all took him by surprise, and the outstanding management by Tony Twain. At the end, the Frenchman also gallantly paid tribute to Brian Clough.

The press conference ended with the managers in an embrace and shaking each other's hands. Everything appeared joyous and wonderful; on Forest's end, they did not lose the match and even got a draw off the mighty Arsenal; for Arsenal themselves, a new record was successfully etched into history.

However, in the hearts of the two, it was not as harmonious as it appeared to be. While this draw schooled both Tang En and Forest team, it also made Wenger realize a formidable opponent he would face in the future.

Chapter 221: Need to Win Part 1

The players took the team bus back to the hotel to rest. They would be dismissed the next morning for their break. And Twain made an excuse that he needed to take a breather and be alone. He did not curse and swear in the locker room, nor did he rebuke Matthew Upson for his blunder. He was not even disappointed with the team's performance in the last moments. He just wished everyone a good rest and announced that they were dismissed.

He sat in the locker room and waited for the singing Arsenal fans outside to disperse before he left. There was already not one fan left to be seen in the City Ground stands other than the cleaners. There were still a handful of fans in the square outside, but they did not notice the middle-aged man who slowly walked out the gate.

Walking out of the stadium and standing at the edge of the square, Tang En did not know where to go. He did not want to go drinking, and he didn't want to find a girl, either. He stood on the side of the road and planned to take a walk to let his mind calm down and seriously think about the mistakes he had made today, the team's shortcomings, and the future direction of the team.

Three rounds had already been held in the English Premier League and his team had not tasted victory yet, considering Nottingham Forest had been invincible in Football League First Division (now called the EFL Championship). Tang En did not know if anyone else would have thought doing it this way, winning a low-level league title so as to be promoted to the Premier League. He was filled with joy and full of anticipation, as if he had been walking on clouds. But half a month later, the team was struck down by their rivals. He was afraid that the drop in his confidence would only get worse.

No matter how many players the team had bought in over the summer, or how much money they had spent, Tang En did not think his team had the ability to cope with battling on multiple fronts. This had nothing to do with the abilities of the team's substitutes. The problem was the lack of experience. Whether it was the young Forest team or him, they just did not have the experience of facing multiple fronts at the same time. Just exerting all of their strength to fight on one front was enough to give Tang En a headache.

He had to choose one option and give up a few others.

The answer was almost evident. No matter what, the Premier League was the most important and the results of the Premier League was the basis for everything else. Even if they won all the domestic cup championships, but were ultimately relegated to the EFL Championship, what was the use? It could be said that the cup results only represented the team's past and present, while the Premier League's results represented their future.

But when he thought about how difficult it would be for them to enter the UEFA Europa League and play in a European tournament for the first time, he knew that it would be such a pity if they were to give up now.

For Tang En, it was more exciting to compete in Europe than to compete in the domestic league because there would be new opponents and a higher profile.

Another point was that the European tournaments could increase the chances of meeting other European powers. Although the Forest team had not accomplished anything in the English Premier League yet, Tang En was already eager to play against the European giants that he had only been able to previously watch on television.

Therefore, the Premier League was in fact the most important. If their Premier League results were not good, they would not be eligible for the European competition. The Forest team could not play in the UEFA Europa League every year. The UEFA Champions League was Tang En's highest goal.

However, since it was obtained with so much difficulty, he could not just let the UEFA Europa League qualification to go in vain. At the very least, they should break out from the group stage and advance to the top thirty-two to prove their strength.

Although the Forest team was the EFL Cup champion, because it was the second domestic cup in the country, they had to participate in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. According to the schedule, on September 16, the Forest team would be playing in a home game against Czech Republic's FC Baník Ostrava. Then on September 30, the Forest team would the visiting team in the Czech Republic to play in the second leg of the qualifying round. Only by passing the qualifying test would the Forest team be able to participate in the tournament. At that time, they would be put into new groups again and would not know who their opponents would be. But Tang En was confident about going into battle against them.

Nottingham Forest may not be able to win the UEFA Europa League title, but they had to make their mark and let the whole of Europe know that they've been there before, and they'll be back again.

※※※

The newspapers published the next day all put Arsenal on the front page. The photographs of the three men—Henry who scored the goal, Fàbregas with his assist, and Manager Wenger—became the headline photos. As a team that had created a new record, no amount of praise would be an exaggeration.

But the Nottingham media made little mention of Arsenal's record. More attention was placed on the Forest team. Almost everyone thought that the Forest team's performance in yesterday's game gave them hope. Even though they did not manage to keep their unbeaten record of forty-two games, they had a more ambitious goal.

"...Let the record breakers break the record. Instead, we gained an exciting new Forest." That was Pierce Brosnan's commentary piece in the Evening Post. He gave voice to many people's heartfelt wishes.

The team resumed their normal training the following day. The first part of the training was watching the game; Twain showed the video of the match against Arsenal to the players and then, along with David Kerslake, they discussed and analyzed the details of the match with the players. This was not a critique session to point out everyone's problems, but rather a chance for them to improve in training and to pay attention to themselves during the game.

This was a training method that Tang En had developed for the team this season. Through watching a video of the game, they were able to both find the team's problems and discover their strengths. But Tang En had one person to thank for this idea: Dunn. He had seen that Dunn would come home and watch the match videos all day, and Tang En would discuss those match videos with him. Soon after, he thought of the team's situation and an idea struck him: why not gather the players to watch the match video and discuss the successes and failures together?

Many details of the game were known at the time, but they might have been forgotten afterwards. It was better to let everyone review through the video. Moreover, certain sections could be played repeatedly, freeze-framed, and re-evaluated using the remote control for emphasis.

Such teaching methods were common in the coaching association's curriculum, but Tang En had not received any real training before, so he had overlooked it.

Although they had conceded, the atmosphere was relaxed when they watched the video. Unless Twain was especially angry, he would try to use a conversational tone when he was making a criticism so that it would be easier for the players to accept it, and to build a closer relationship among themselves. As a manager, he might not have other advantages, but he could mingle quite well with the players. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he used to be a fan.

When he talked to the players about the game, he omitted any mention of the word "record," instead treating it as an ordinary match. David Kerslake was in charge of the main commentary with Twain only pitching in when it was required. Together, the two men spoke about the players' biggest mistake.

"Over here… This is it…" Twain pointed to the television screen with the remote control; it was the frame in which Upson had dropped his position and pounced towards Gilberto Silva. "Matthew, do you have the hots for that Brazilian guy?"

Upon hearing the manager say that, everyone in the room burst into laughter. Matthew Upson shook his head, laughing. "No, boss, I'm straight."

There was another burst of laughter.

"Honestly, when I saw this happen the day before yesterday, I was thinking to myself: "Oh my god, Matthew must be crazy! What was it about that Brazilian that was so attractive to him? He didn't even care about his own position…"

The laughter continued.

"All right, Matthew, can you explain to me what you were thinking at that time?"

The laughter subsided, and Upson scratched his head. "Well, I don't know either… I only thought of not letting him shoot a goal, and then…"

Twain nodded, not wanting to get caught up in the reason. "Well, a center back needs to stay calm. You could learn from Hierro. Watch him at that moment." Twain pointed to Hierro in the corner of the screen. "Calm and steady! That is experience!"

Hierro raised his hand, "Boss, actually, I was just too tired to run at that point."

Everyone laughed. That time, even Twain laughed. Of course, he knew that Hierro could not run at that time. He had deliberately made a joke to relieve the pressure on the young team. They had not won a single match in three consecutive rounds of the tournament. He believed that everyone was under great pressure.

Chapter 222: Need to Win Part 2

When everyone had stopped laughing, Twain looked at them and said seriously, "Even though we didn't beat Arsenal in the end, I think you could all see it... the defending champion was pathetic when we pressed on them hard. If I say the Forest team isn't afraid of any opponents, I wouldn't be lying, would I?"

"No!" The players replied loudly.

"With better luck, we can beat them. The same is true for the other opponents. Although the Forest team is a newly promoted team, we are on the same starting line as them. Does anyone have any doubts about our future because of the draw?"

Everyone shook their head at the same time.

"Excellent. Neither have I." Twain firmly nodded and clapped his palms together, "Go out and warm up; let us do some recovery training!"

When Twain opened the door to leave, he was startled. There were a lot of fans outside the training ground. The number was many times more than usual, but they did not make a racket. They only cheered when they saw that Twain and the players were coming out.

In general, the first day of training after a game was completely open to public, because this was basically for their recovery training. There was no need to keep anything confidential from the media. However, this was the first time that Twain had seen so many fans gathered on the sidelines of the Forest training ground.

Without having to guess, Twain knew the reason why they were here. He looked back at the still surprised players and said, "This morning's training is canceled, guys, go and sign some autographs for them. Don't refuse their requests." He pointed to the lovely, enthusiastic fans.

In the corner, the BBC Five station reporter smiled at the camera and said, "From this scene, you would think that Twain's team was the one who created a new record."

※※※

Arsenal's setting of a new unbeaten record was a big deal, but for Tang En, the whole matter had ceased to be of any concern to him.

He no longer cared whether Arsenal continued its unbeaten record to forty-nine games before it was ended by Manchester United, just as he remembered.

There was not much time left for him to care about others. On the 28th, Nottingham Forest would be challenging Manager David Moyes's Everton team in an away match in Goodison Park stadium.

Tang En recalled how he had met and spoke to Moyes at that coaching association reception. At that time, they were both young managers, but not only was Moyes young, he was also promising. Twain, meanwhile, was nothing but an unknown manager who had just lost his job.

Things were not the same now. Twain's team had become the champion of last season's EFL Cup and reached the European tournament, and he had led his team to being promoted to the Premier League. Although he had only led the team for half a season, he had been rated as the best manager in League One at the end of last season. He was also young and equally promising.

This was a contest between the two young men. After last season's award, Moyes specifically had specifically given Twain a call to congratulate him. He might have been the person whom Twain had the closest relationship with in the Premier League, but there was no room for friendship in a football game.

Everton had already begun three rounds of matches. They had not competed in one round, had one win and one defeat, and were ranked 13th. The game they had not competed in was with Manchester United. The game was postponed to August 30 after their fourth round. Even though Moyes had put all his energy into preparing for the Manchester United game, Tang En did not think that his team would be able to get the three points on Everton's home ground.

During the match against Forest, Everton's Duncan Ferguson scored two goals alone and was the hero of his team. Two goals on the Forest side were completed by two different players. The first goal of the team was scored by the striker, Viduka. In the last match against Arsenal, he wasted a chance for a single-handed clear shot, but in this match, marked closely by the opponent, he had scored a beautiful header instead. The second goal of the team was scored by the veteran, Hierro. The Forest team was awarded a penalty kick, and Hierro was the team's first choice for the penalty. He easily scored a goal and equalized the score at 2:2.

That score was maintained till the end, and it was a tied game again.

The result of the game was 2:2.

If they had just looked at this result, it seemed to be a satisfactory achievement to tie the match with Everton on their home ground. But it was a little upsetting when they thought about the fact that the Forest team had tied their games for three consecutive rounds. They were clearly very close to a victory, but were unable to successfully break through. Generally, for a newly promoted team, which was only four rounds into the season, to obtain three points and only concede one game was considered pretty good. But for Tang En, a draw was useless. He needed a victory. And he strongly believed that once the first victory came, more victories would follow on its heels.

The problem was… when would the first victory come?

In the post-match press conference, while facing the reporters' questions, Twain continued to express his confidence in and support for the players, as always. He praised the team's performance and unreservedly proclaimed that he was very satisfied with their present achievement. As a newly promoted team, he was grateful to have only lost one game.

The media had been hoodwinked. They commented in their own articles:

Tony Twain is very pleased with his team's performance!

The Forest team still has a long way to go, but they are doing very well!

Nottingham Forest's goal this season should be to remain in the Premier League!

The English Premier League and EFL Championship are totally different leagues, and Manager Tony Twain feels tremendous amount of pressure!

And so on.

Such commentaries were amusing to Tang En when he read them. However, he was happy that it was this way. Why? Because it would confuse his next round of opponents.

Due to the match period for the national team, there was a break of twelve days after the end of the fourth round in August. On September 11, the battle fever of the Premier League would be reignited.

Tang En knew exactly what his team needed right now.

Victory.

He needed a victory to strengthen the players' confidence and morale, and he also needed a victory to lessen his pressure. Otherwise, he could talk it up all he wanted, but if they did not win in succession, the players would start to get ideas. His current team was newly formed. And what had brought the players together? Of course, it was not love for this team. It was because when Twain was recruiting them, he had promised them victory and glory. If every game was a draw… Even if they were to be like Arsenal, to have a record of forty-four unbeaten games in a row—and all were tied games—what was the point?

He told the players that he had an ambitious goal. What he was seeking was victory, and if they were with him, there would be opportunities for glory. Well, now was the time to do something to prove it.

In the fifth round of the league, Nottingham Forest was up against Manchester City on their home turf. This team was not an target that could be easily pushed over by Twain. However, he and the Forest team obviously could not delay any longer.

Chapter 223: Victory Part 1

Following China's convention of dividing the English Premier League into factions, Tony Twain and Stuart Pearce would both belong in the same trench. This was because the two were Brian Clough's students and successors; thus, they were from "Clough's faction."

Stuart Pearce was known as a tough guy within English football. He even received a nickname, "Crazy," for his tough style and character. The moniker followed him almost through his entire career. England's media once described him as a person with a "heart of Oak," Oak being famed for its toughness.

Why was it necessary to discuss Pearce during a match with Man City?

Although Man City's manager was still Kevin Keegan at the time, Tang En knew that Keegan would step down with his assistant manager taking over after the current year. That would be Stuart Pearce, who Keegan thought highly of. It was not just Tang En who took notice of Pearce; the Nottingham media was also very interested in him.

That was because Pearce used to be, and still was, a god in the heart of Nottingham Forest's fans. In his 12 years with Forest, he was fielded 522 times and scored 88 goals. As a Left Back, those were terrifying statistics.

The current Forest team under Tony Twain did not yet have a player who wielded the same influence and status with Forest's fans. That could only be attained with time and loyalty. When Forest team had fallen into First Division in 1992, Keane and other members had left the team. Stuart Pearce alone had chosen to stay. At that time, Manchester United and other big teams were keen on poaching him, but he turned down their invitations. Instead, after a season, the legend of a Captain had led the Forest team to fight their way back into the Premier League. His story was comparable to Gabriel Batistuta's experience in Fiorentina; however, Pearce was not as internationally well-known as Batistuta was.

Tang En had once met with Pearce at Burns' bar. It was in the earlier half of the year, at the dinner commemorating Forest's clinch of the European Champion Clubs' Cup 25 years previous. The two had only chatted briefly when they met, but Tang En had a rough grasp of what Pearce was like as a person. Even during a casual chat whilst drinking, Pearce's gaze was steady, with very few moments of uncertainty. When he spoke to someone, he looked straight at the person without drifting to look at the ceiling or his toes. Although they had not interacted much, Tang En had a positive impression of him. It was probably because of his sincere attitude.

This was not Pearce's first match back in City Ground since his departure from Forest. When he had still been a player on Man City, his team had dropped into First Division (now the EFL), and he played with the away team in City Ground against Nottingham Forest, who had also fallen. Before the start of the match, Pearce had stood at the sidelines and bowed to the fans of Forest in the spectators' stand. Despite his merciless defense against Forest's players, he still received the most applause from the fans of the home team.

Four years had passed. Pearce was once again stepping onto the turf of City Ground. But this time, he had changed out his football jersey for a suit.

The match had not yet begun, and players from both teams were taking pictures on the sidelines. Tang En stood in the technical area and watched the media, who were all gathered at the manager's seat of the away team. Their focus was on a sole person; not manager Kevin Keegan, but Stuart Pearce, who was sitting beside him.

The Forest fans in the spectators' stand held a large poster saying, "Welcome home, Crazy!"

As an opponent, this was the best welcome one could receive. Nothing could be better.

Tang En's attention was completely captured by the scene. He did not know if he would be working for Forest for his entire life. Maybe not. Who could know about their future? But if he did leave the team and return once again as an opponent, would he see a poster like that one, "Welcome home, Tony?"

This did not look like a blood-thirsty league match, but rather someone's commemoration match upon their return.

Bursts of cheers sounded from the spectators' stand for Pearce. Faced with such passionate fans from Forest, Pearce had no choice but to walk out from Man City's technical area to the foot of the stands where the fans were most concentrated. He bowed and waved to them, receiving even louder cheers and applause.

Even Fat John and Skinny Bill, who were Tang En's supporters, stood right at the front of the crowd, applauding Pearce with tears in their eyes. Looking at him reminded them of the old times; when they, together with Michael, were full of excitement for football. When they had drank with a vengeance, and when they were all still very young. Back then, they had had no duties as husbands and had not needed to worry about football hooligans hurting their own children.

Pearce walked from the technical area for the away team towards the home team manager's seat, all the while waving to greet his fans. Just like them, this place held his most precious memories. His eyes filled with tears; he had not expected to receive such a welcome on his return. It was a rare moment of tenderness before the match.

After he finished greeting his fans, Pearce turned and saw Tang En beside him. He walked over and reached out a hand. Since the two of them were acquaintances, Tang En did not reject the offer. They shook hands without a word. After, Pearce returned to Man City's technical area and sat next to Keegan. Tang En noticed Keegan turning to say something to Pearce, but he was too far to hear anything.

The interaction between Pearce and his fans was a small interlude before the beginning of the match. Once the match officially kicked off, Forest's fans were not going to give their applause to Man City simply because Pearce retired there. Just like Tony Twain, Forest's fans knew who to love and who to hate.

In China, Man City's fame as a team was not at all inferior to that of historically powerful teams in the Premier League. Even though not many of the fans from China understood the team's history or current status, many were familiar with its name because Chinese player Sun Ji Hai was playing for them.

It was also because of Sun Ji Hai that Tang En had had some understanding of the team. Of course, he understood even more now that he was here; not merely out of interest, but because he needed to better understand future opponents.

As usual, one had to look at the manager to understand a team. By Tang En's measure, Kevin Keegan was not a successful manager. Perhaps fans of Newcastle and those who liked Keegan would disagree with such an appraisal, but Tang En was insistent. What was a "successful manager?" Could a manager who was unable to lead a team to glory be considered successful?

Other than the manager, whose name he was familiar with, Tang En also knew a few of Man City's players, such as season starter Forward Robbie Fowler; Right Midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips; Full Back Danny Mills, who was part of England's main force in 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan; Trevor Sinclair, who was also England's national player in the 2002 FIFA and who was notorious for his involvement in the rape case with 8 Premier League players; England's national Goalkeeper David James; Steve McManaman, who had played for Liverpool and Real Madrid; and Forward Nicolas Anelka, who played for France and other renowned powerhouses. Just hearing those names was enough to frighten off most people.

And of course, there was also Chinese player Sun Ji Hai, whom Tang En was most familiar with. He was also part of the starting line-up for Man City.

Since the beginning of the season, Man City had only gotten one win, one draw, and two losses. For Man City, who owned the aforementioned big names, ranking 10th was not something that could be cheerfully accepted. According to rumours, the club was already primed for action with plans to get Strachan, ex-manager of Southampton, to take over for Keegan. From Tang En's understanding, Keegan would turn in his resignation in only in April of the second year. However, he could not deny that a victory over Man City would turn out to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

In the previous season, Man City's weak defensive line caused them lots of misery. Because of that experience, Keegan put in a dedicated effort to change the defensive line, with Dunne and Distin as key players. However, the performance of the two was unstable, and fluctuated between good and bad. Defensively, Sun Ji Hai also performed comparatively worse than he did in offense. On top of it all, their main midfielder, Barton, got injured and could not participate in matches. Altogether, it seemed like anything that could go wrong was.

Tang En carried out a detailed analysis of Man City – the team's defense remained its greatest loophole. On the other hand, their offense capabilities did not have to be explained. Anelka himself had already scored three goals in the four rounds, while Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was once considered a futureless player on Nottingham Forest's Youth Team, had a tight hold on a main position in the team as Right Midfielder. He was currently being eyed by several well-known teams. In addition was "God" Robbie Fowler, with his extensive experience, and McManaman, who had been partnering Fowler since Liverpool. That attack formation, just in terms of their reputation, would completely crush Forest.

After their ferocious battle in the round with Arsenal, Tang En believed that the Premier League teams would start paying more attention to Forest. Unfortunately, that also meant that Keegan was unlikely to take Forest lightly on their home ground or somehow underestimate them. Tang En's tactic for the match involved clamping down on Anelka and Fowler during defense and using attacks from Forest's wings to suppress Wright-Phillips and McManaman. Scoring would be a crucial factor in the match. Since Keegan was so attentive to Man City's weak defensive line, Tang En intended to help him further firm up his dedication of working on the defensive line.

Chapter 224: Victory Part 2

Barton's lack of presence as someone who could control the midfield had an enormous impact on Man City; it made their offense seem much more disorganised. Furthermore, with George Wood and Albertini's teamwork getting stronger in the central midfield, MC (Midfielder Center) Reyna and Bosvelt could not find an effective method to breakth rough their defence.

Ribéry, who had gotten frustrated from not getting the ball in the wings, vented all his frustration into this match. He played ruthlessly in the left wing and broke through to completely stop the offense from Wright-Phillips. Right from the beginning of the match, Ribéry's sharp breaks bought the fans' applause, earlier given to Pearce. Even though it was only the fourth round of the league matches, Nottingham's local media was already eagerly reporting Franck Ribéry as Tony Twain's most successful purchase this summer. Originally, Keegan's main mission for Wright-Phillips was to support the Forwards' offense. However, Keegan now had little choice but to stand at the sidelines and shout at Wright-Phillips to also take note of defense. In comparison with Wright-Phillips, Ribéry's breakthroughs appeared sharper, more resolute, and a much more daring use of his speed to run straight at his opponent without slowing down; it was exactly Ribéry's expertise to use a changing mix of his speed and movement direction to throw off his defenders and break through.

On the other side, Ashley Young was making use of his youth to go toe-to-toe with McManaman. However, Tang En was not pinning his hopes on Ashley Young being able to suppress his opponent. After all, that was McManaman, an old snake with much more experience; he was different from Wright-Phillips. Although the focus of Forest's offense started off from Ashley Young's side at the beginning of the match, it was just a deception. It aimed to convince Keegan of Forest's intent to attack through his wing. Then, when Man City's defence began slowly leaning in that direction, the offensive would immediately make a switch to take off from Ribéry's left wing instead. Without hesitation, Ribéry forced a break three times in a row, stirring up a maelstrom of confusion in Man City's defense system.

If Keegan readjusted the focus of their defence, Forest would give the ball to Albertini and let him organise the attack. Watching from a television screen, Forest's midfield appeared to be using a flat back four, but in reality it was a butterfly formation – the two side midfielders were positioned slightly forward while Wood and Albertini lagged a few steps back. That way, both offense and defense could be appropriately enhanced when necessary.

The mission of Forest's midfielders was to use their passing to probe for weaknesses in the opponent's defensive line. There were still many points of weaknesses in Man City's defensive line.

Although Sun Ji Hai belonged to the top tier of players in his nation, he still had some difficulty facing Ribéry. Not to mention, Wright-Phillips was of no help to him at all in terms of defense. In their pre-arranged strategy for the match, Keegan even requested that Sun Ji Hai try to help Wright-Phillips when they went on the offense. Well, now they were completely suppressed at their defensive line without a chance of getting out.

Forest's ferocious attack in the wings quickly reaped rewards. The problematic partnership between the two Center Backs, Dunne and Distin, was caught by Viduka. Faced with Dunne, who had outstanding physical abilities, the Australian bull opted not to go against the stubborn Center Back, and instead made a lob upon receiving the ball!

The timing was perfect. Not only did it neutralise Dunne's presence, it also completely wrecked the rhythm of the goalkeeper, James. He had just lowered his center of gravity to jump for a high ball, only to see it fly past his head and into the net.

"That was a lob! A lob! This is unbelievable… Viduka's lob ball! Look at James's expression! He looks like he just saw an alien! Nottingham Forest takes the lead! That goal was… completely unexpected! I'm not talking about the fact of it, but its method – the way it was scored was so surprising! Forest team has been holding the advantage throughout, so it's only natural for them to take the lead!"

If Man City's fans believed that it was luck that had allowed Viduka's goal, they were lying to themselves; Forest team had had no reason to take the lead so easily. Then, another goal just before the end of the first half struck them dumb.

This time, the scorer was Eastwood.

Ribéry's frequent breakthroughs had shredded Man City's defensive line. On this occasion, Sun Ji Hai was spun completely about by Ribéry's maneuvers and could only sit helplessly as he watched the new French player break out from his and Wright-Phillips' defence, charging into the penalty area…

Just as James thought Ribéry was about to take a shot at the goal, the ball was instead passed to Eastwood, who had managed to advance. What followed created a sea of joy in City Ground.

"2:0! That's the score at the end of the first half. Keegan's face is looking sick; there's been too much bad news about him, even before the match. With such an unstable position, a general stands on shaky grounds with his men. Look at Anelka's performance in this match; it's like he's asleep!"

Falling behind two goals in the away match caused an internal struggle within the team. What Man City still achieve in this state?

As Anelka walked past Keegan at the end of the first half, Keegan simply looked faraway as he turned a blind eye to Anelka, while Anelka held his head up high without acknowledging the manager.

Rumour had it that the untameable French forward did not get along well with Keegan. They had a very poor relationship, and had even quarrelled in trainings before. Now Tang En himself, being a witness to it, could confirm what had previously just been rumours.

This delighted Tang En. Bad news for his opponents was good news to him.

There were no surprises in the second half of the match. Nobody knew what happened in Man City's locker room, but Anelka was immediately substituted for Karl Bermingham at the start of the second half. However, he was too young to threaten Forest, allowing Tang En's team to play much more freely in their offense.

When Viduka scored a second goal in the 71st minute, Man City completely gave up on trying to even the score.

The match ended in Tony Twain's victory.

This was Forest's first victory of the season, with three points in their bag. City Ground's spectators' stand once again rung with the team song of Nottingham Forest, "We got the whole world in our hands."

After the match ended, Keegan, who was in a bad mood, left hurriedly after a brief handshake with Tang En. In contrast, it was Stuart Pearce who took the initiative to make conversation with Tang En while shaking hands. There was not really much fresh content; mostly congratulatory statements to the winner, compliments, and so on.

But right at the end before Pearce left, he said to Tang En, "There's something… I have to thank you for."

"Hm?" Tang En could not react in time.

"Seeing the Forest team so full of hope reminds me of the past. So… I have to thank you. Thank you for giving the boss and I another opportunity to see the Forest in the top league. The Boss would never say something like that to you, of course. He always pretends to care the least in front of the people he likes the most."

At this, Pearce laughed.

"But I felt that someone needed to tell you that. You have really done well. You've done something not many of us could have. So… thank you. And, good luck, Tony. I hope we have an opportunity to meet again in the future."

Having finished what he wanted to say, Pearce turned to leave.

Tang En said to his back, "I think we will have an opportunity soon, Pearce!"

"Crazy" Pearce took Tang En's words as a sort of blessing, and took little heed of them. Smiling, he left the stadium, which was filled with songs and joy. To Stuart Pearce, such a scene had not been seen for too long.

So, even though he was part of the managerial team for Man City and his team had lost the match, he was not even the least bit upset.

This is what you deserved, Forest. Beautiful work!

Chapter 225: The Chief Part 1

The Forest team had achieved their first victory of the season, which was considered a big story in Nottingham. For several days in a row, the new reports had revolved around the game with Manchester City. Keegan's days were getting tougher, but Tang En could not care less. The pressure on him was temporarily removed, and now the team's internal and external environments were both perfect.

With peace of mind, he could prepare for the September 16 UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Ostrava, their first round of competition.

If it was not for the UEFA Europa League qualifying round, Tang En might not have tried to get to know the Ostrava team. After gaining some understanding of the team, Tang En did not think that they would cause any trouble to the Forest team; not to mention, they were playing on their home ground.

The team was in high spirits now, and if they had difficulty playing a Czech Republic team on their home ground, then they could forget about accomplishing anything in the UEFA Europa League.

As it turned out, it made sense for Tang En to feel confident.

The Nottingham Forest team easily defeated the visiting Ostrava with a score of 3:0. Although their opponents were quite weak, the City Ground was full again as this was the Forest team's "opening battle" after their return to the European tournament after eight years. The Premier League had begun more than a month ago, and the City Ground stadium was officially counted as having the highest rate of seat attendance: a full house, 100%!

It was evident that the supporters of Nottingham Forest were anxious about being able to make it to the top league tournament. They were releasing all the emotions which they had suppressed for eight years. They were clearly felt throughout England.

After their victory over Ostrava, the people of Nottingham were still soaking in joy, and it seemed almost certain that the team would be able to qualify in the next round of away matches.

Having won their first match in the league with a three-goal advantage from their first UEFA Europa League qualifying round, it looked like the Forest team was doing well. However, on the September 18, in an away challenge against Fulham F.C., the Forest team wasted three good chances to score, and finally only drew with the opponents at 1:1.

In the overall plan of the season that Twain had drawn up for the team, for those teams which were ranked below the tenth spot, Twain had asked that they must try to get the three points however possible, regardless of whether it was a home or an away game. As a newly promoted team, the Forest team could only grab points from teams with similar strength to them. If they conceded too many points to these teams, then the Forest team would really have to fight just to remain in the league.

The result of such a game clearly would not satisfy Twain, but for the sake of the team, he still had to smile to lessen the young men's unease.

The pressure that he felt should not be transferred to the players. It should be borne by the manager alone. This was a principle that Twain insisted on.

At a news conference after the game, a reporter asked why the Forest team's performance was always up and down; when everyone thought that they could win the game, they did not.

In this regard, Twain thought that since the Forest team was a relatively young team, it was normal for their performance to still be unsteady, and there was no need to make a fuss.

Despite what he said, Twain was not going to be tolerant of the group of players who were unstable. On the day when the game ended, when the Forest team was on the bus back to Nottingham, even though the next game was four days later on September 22, Twain announced the cancellation of the next day's break.

At that point, the players, who had watched the news media reports and thought that Twain was not angry, were now aware that the boss was quite dissatisfied with the team's current instability.

Six rounds had already come and gone in the Premier League, and the Forest team had obtained one victory, four draws, and one concession. With a score of seven points, they had the same score as Liverpool. As a newly promoted team, they should be satisfied with such a start. But Twain was a man who was not willing to stay with the status quo. He was playing under the banner of a newly promoted team, and yet he had a plan to compete against the top six teams in the league. How could he hope to close the gap between them at the start?

With five wins and one draw, Arsenal had accumulated sixteen points, which put them at the top of the list. They were followed closely by Mourinho's Chelsea with their four wins and two draws. And in the third place was Manager Moyes's Everton, with four wins, one draw, and one concede. Twain believed that if the Forest team had won the game against Fulham, they would have accumulated nine points by now, which would have at least put them in the second tier, between seventh and ninth place. However, the Forest team was currently ranked 13th.

In that week's segment of BBC Match of the Day, Gary Lineker and Mark Lawrenson talked about the Forest team Tony Twain. Lawrenson, who had shaved off his moustache, seemed to be determined to act the role of someone who disliked Twain. On the show, he said that Tony Twain claimed to be in pursuit of victory in the Football League First Division, and the results of his leadership were consistent with his claim; the Forest team had had a high victory rate, and was ranked first in League One. But when they had reached the Premier League, Twain no longer talked about "the pursuit of victory." Obviously, he had learned his lesson and knew that the Premier League was not the same as the lower level leagues. He would not be able to obtain a good ranking with a just few arrogant remarks.

Twain had not made any comments on this yet, and the local media in Nottingham did not release any articles on it either. Pierce Brosnan wrote a rebuttal article to Lawrenson's nonsense, and argued that Lawrenson's unfair comments about Twain and the Forest team were due to a grudge over his lost bet, and that he was just waiting for his chance to retaliate.

The Premier League had never lacked such lively scenes.

Since Brosnan had helped him out, Twain was disinclined to waste any energy on the media. He was concentrating on training for the next round. In the seventh round of the tournament, Nottingham Forest would be playing at home against Chelsea. It would definitely be a tough battle!

※※※

On September 20, an ordinary Monday morning, the sun was shining brightly. Twain was leading the team in training as usual. He suddenly saw the club chairman, Evan Doughty, who had not made an appearance for a long time, on the sidelines of the training ground.

If the Chairman was there, it must have had something to do with Twain. Twain signaled to David to continue the training and turned to walk off the training ground.

"Evan, I rarely see you around here. If you're here, it must be something important!" Twain joked as he walked towards Evan. Despite the team's current average performance, Twain always acted optimistic in front of Evan.

"Well, it is something big… Tony, I just got a call from the Derby City General Hospital." Evan did not smile at Twain's joke. He said with a grave expression, "Brian Clough has just passed away. Stomach cancer."

Twain froze for a moment. He thought that he had misheard him. "What did you say?"

"Mrs. Clough would like you to attend a private funeral tomorrow. I know the relationship between you and the Chief, Tony..." Evan patted Twain on the shoulder and without saying another word, he turned and left the training ground.

Twain stood on the sidelines alone, staring blankly at Evan's back, and did not react for a long while.

Evan had just gone out of sight when Twain saw Pierce Brosnan stumble along outside the wire fence and gesticulate frantically to him, hoping that Twain would approach.

As Twain walked over, Brosnan asked wheezily, "Tony, I've tried to call you… Did you not receive it?"

"I don't have my cell phone with me during training..."

"I just received the news, I've come to inform you: Clough… Brian Clough's dead!" Brosnan said in alarm. To him, this was a huge moment in the history of Nottingham football. A momentous event. Twain's reaction was not as intense than he had imagined.

"Evan, the Chairman, just informed me. I've been invited to attend a private funeral tomorrow." Twain pointed to the direction in which Evan had disappeared. His face was neither shocked nor sad when he said this.

Brosnan looked at Twain, then nodded, "In that case, I'm going to go off first and head to Derby to follow up on the story."

"Bye, Mr. Reporter."

"See you, Tony."

When Brosnan had also disappeared from his view, it seemed that Twain's mind had just started to respond to the news.

Chapter 226: The Chief Part 2

The Chief's dead? How can that be? Back in May, we were still drinking and chatting... how can he die just like that?

He was roused by the whistle, looked at the team still in training, and walked over.

"David." He waved to his assistant manager.

Kerslake ran over. "Tony, what did Mr. Chairman want you for?"

Twain did not answer Kerslake's question. He just looked at his assistant manager and looked at the players, who were still in training and knew nothing. His eyes were unfocused.

Kerslake noticed that his partner was acting abnormally. He followed Twain's gaze and turned his head. The training was progressing normally.

"Tony, what's the matter with you?"

"Uh… David, tomorrow… tomorrow's training, you'll be in charge. I won't be here."

"What happened, Tony?" asked Kerslake; he sensed that something strange was going on.

"I'm going to attend a private funeral, and I think I have to go."

"A funeral? Whose?"

"The Chief... the Chief's funeral."

When he heard Twain said this, Kerslake also froze.

※※※

Just an hour later, with the help of an advanced Internet and television news network, the news of Manager Brian Clough's death spread throughout the United Kingdom.

Pierce Brosnan stood in the midst of the crowd, surrounded by fellow journalists. The Derby City General Hospital had just finished the press conference, and now the scene was slightly hectic. At the press conference, in addition to releasing a statement on Clough's cause of death, a spokesman for Derby City General Hospital praised the hospitals work on behalf of Mrs. Barbara Clough. "She is very grateful to all the doctors, nurses, and hospital personnel for their work and accompanying Clough in his last moments."

But these were not the things that the reporters were concerned about.

Clough's recent bad health was not news. A year ago, he had undergone a liver transplant surgery and was hospitalized numerous times. But no one had thought that this time, it would really be farewell.

"…He was diagnosed with stomach cancer after his liver transplant surgery, but he had refused to operate. We did not know what Mr. Clough's thoughts were. He is still one of the most special characters in English football. He did a lot of things, and said a lot of things, which were difficult for people to understand. But his position here was never in doubt, and now it's a pity that he has left us forever…"

The BBC reporter next to Brosnan was holding a microphone and doing live coverage in front of the camera.

James Robson, the leading reporter who had come with Pierce Brosnan, gave him a pat and said, "Let's go, there's nothing to look at here."

"Where are we going?" Brosnan asked.

"To go back and write the report."

"But we didn't get anything worthwhile from the interview…"

"Do you think you're going to get anything valuable from the interview? It won't be just us, the entire English media will be the same. Go back and watch the Forest team's match videos to find previous news reports related to Clough, and then write his memoir." Robson shrugged. "When he was still alive, he was a man who liked to be in the spotlight. Now that he's dead, he's still in the limelight. The only thing that's really valuable here is Brian Clough, the founder of the Nottingham Forest Dynasty, the legendary figure of English football, whom many people liked. Many people also wished was dead, and well, now he finally died."

Robson looked at Brosnan and said, "You're surprised that I said that, aren't you? Lad, when I was a young man like you, my first interview task was to go to the City Ground to cover the news on Brian Clough as the newly appointed manager of the Forest team. If you had seen how he led the Forest team to the top like I did, and how he constantly set himself against the press, you would understand how I feel about him."

The two men walked towards the parking lot and got into the car. Then Robson started the car and slowly drove away from the chaotic scene at the hospital gate.

"Pierce, have you figured out how to sum up his life? Only one word is allowed."

Robson and Brosnan continued their conversation during their drive.

"Well… I thought maybe he was a great manager? or successful… legendary…"

Robson shook his head at every word Brosnan had said.

"I can't think of anything else." Brosnan gave up.

"You know, Pierce, at your current age, standing from where you are now in your life, looking at Clough will make you feel like he's a very successful and admirable manager. However, the people of our time will not see it that way. To the later generations, he may be a god, but to us old guys, he was just a man. So, if it were me, I'd choose the word remarkable."

"Remarkable?"

"Yes." Robson nodded. "He was definitely not the greatest or the most successful manager in the history of English football, but he was definitely the most remarkable one, and could not be copied."

When he heard his senior colleague evaluate Brian Clough that way, Brosnan suddenly thought of Tony Twain. He always felt there were many similarities between the two men.

"As compared to him, Mourinho and Tony Twain are just another style of manager. No one can emulate Brian Clough, no one," Robson muttered, as though he had guessed Brosnan's thoughts.

The car drove past the Derby County Football Club's home, Pride Park Stadium. There were already a lot of mourning fans gathered outside the stadium. These people were the old fans of Derby County. They still remembered the legendary experience of how Clough led Derby County, a team that was never favored, to become the champions of the England Football League First Division.

But because Clough had once coerced the club to give in by using underhanded means of inciting the fans to go out on the streets to protest and so on, the relationship between the old man and the Derby County Football Club had not been very good.

Through the corner of the car window, something seemed to be fluttering that attracted Brosnan's attention. He turned his head to the side and looked, only to discover that it was the Derby County Football Club flag, which was always hanging high on the top of the flagpole and not easy to see. Today, however, the Derby County Football Club flew its flag at half-mast for the coach, and his lifetime of endless controversy.

He was indeed a "remarkable," larger than life figure.

Chapter 227: Clough the Second? Part 1

This was Tang En's second time going to a funeral since his arrival in England. However, compared to the first, he did not feel sorrowful. A person like Boss invoked complex feelings in him. Fondness, respect, and some displeasure, all mixed together. So Tang En couldn't be like Clough's family, who all had tears running down their faces.

It was a private funeral. Very, very private. Other than Clough's family, Tang En was the sole outsider. He wore a black suit with dark sunglasses and stood with his head bowed behind the rest, attending the funeral in silence.

Other than comforting Madam Barbara, who did not actually seem in need of comforting, but for a few words at the beginning, Tang En did not say a word throughout the funeral. And the ceremonial process made no arrangements for him to speak.

The others—Ian Bowyer, Des Walker, Stuart Pearce, Martin O'Neill, Trevor Francis—none of them received an invite. The only one invited was Tang En, who had gotten to know him the latest. Tang En wondered if it was Clough's idea to ask him to attend such a private event.

After the funeral ended, the group silently walked out of the graveyard located behind the church. Tang En did not know what to say, and kept silent. Not far ahead was where everyone's cars were. It seemed that the funeral had come to its end. Tang En figured he should also hurry back to Nottingham to meet up with his team. Then Madam Barbara, who was ahead, stopped and turned to face him.

Tang En knew she must have something to say, and paused in his stride.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Twain, to ask you to come at this time." Barbara said with her head bowed.

Tang En quickly waved his hands. "No, I'm glad I came. I'm honoured to have been invited."

"In truth… Brian didn't say who could attend his funeral. In the last few days, he was hardly ever conscious. After discussing it with my children, we decided on a private funeral. Brian never liked the media, even up till now, so we didn't want to be disturbed by strangers. And you, Mr. Twain… Did you know about Brian accepting an interview after Arsenal fought Forest to a draw?"

Tang En nodded.

After the draw between Forest and Arsenal, Arsenal had set a new record for the highest number of matches with no losses. The media wanted to interview Brian Clough because of this, in hopes of hearing his opinion about the new record. He fulfilled their hopes well, praising Arsenal's football as as beautiful as the Marilyn Monroe he saw in his dreams. "If there was anyone who could break that record, it would be Wenger's Arsenal."

Later, he had also spoken about Chelsea's new manager, José Mourinho. He had considered the Portuguese man to be his successor. Whether it was the handsomeness of his youth or the style of his leadership, Mourinho was very similar to him. During his time as a coach, Clough was someone who could always attract the attention of the media with bold declarations of his opinions, his arrogance, and his tendency to say quotable things. José Mourinho had all those traits as well.

Thus, the media began calling José Mourinho "Clough the Second," ignoring the previous comparison that they had made between Tony Twain and Clough.

During the interview, Clough made no mention of Tony Twain at all.

Who is my favourite manager? Of course, it's Wenger. He's my idol.

Which manager is most like me? It has to be José Mourinho; he's as handsome as I was when I was young.

"But when he was at home, do you know who he talked about the most?"

Tang En shook his head.

"You, Mr. Twain." Madam Barbara pointed at him. "He was always talking about this Forest team of yours. When you defeated Man City, he was in front of the television acting as excited as a young man… Can you imagine, Mr. Twain, what it looked like for an old man like him to be jumping up and down the sofa with his arms up?"

Tang En continued shaking his head. It was indeed unimaginable. When they were playing Man City, Clough's health had already been not too good.

Madam Barbara smiled but for an instant. "He would always talk about you, so my children and I feel as though we've known you for a long time."

Tang En was shocked by what Barbara had said. "I didn't know that Boss... he, uh, he never talked about that with me."

"You have to understand, Mr. Twain. Clough is like that. At times you might feel like he's arrogant and extreme, but in reality, he was just putting on a fa?ade. He rarely complimented someone to their face. That was why people would often find him cold. Clough probably wouldn't get another chance to tell you that. Thank you, Mr. Twain. You brought lots of happiness to the last two years of Clough's life."

Madam Barbara said her goodbyes to Tang En and left in a car. Tang En stood alone outside the church, savouring what he had just heard.

He still remembered when he had first met Brian Clough. Straight from their first encounter, the pushy old man had thrown him questions to which he had no answers.

"Lad, what do you think the manager does?"

"Bring the team to victory…"

"That's just one part of their job."

A honk from a car startled Tang En from his thoughts. He saw Pierce Brosnan sitting in a Jeep, looking at him.

"What brings you here, Mr. Reporter?" Tang En asked with some surprise.

"Um…" Brosnan scratched his head. "Mrs. Clough said that this funeral was meant to be a private affair, but the public still hopes to learn a little more about it… but I saw nothing." He shrugged. "I'd gone through almost every church in Middlesbrough before I found this. I knew I got the right place when I saw you here, but I'm obviously too late."

"No, you're not late. In fact, you're right on time," Tang En said with a shake of his head. "I need a car to take me back to Nottingham right now."

Brosnan smiled. "Hop in, Mr. Manager."

As they rushed their way back to Nottingham from Middlesbrough, the radio in the car continued to air news of Brian Clough's passing. The glory that he had achieved at Nottingham Forest was brought up yet again.

"He was one of the best managers in England!" As Brosnan drove, he said so to Tang En with certainty. "But on the best managers' ranking board in the UK, he could only rank 8! Alf Ramsey is above him, and that's only because he led England to the World Cup once. In the hearts of Nottinghamians, he really is the best! Even better than Paisley! It's a pity… He had to retire early because of his drinking."

Brosnan sighed. "Tony, you should drink less too…"

"Well…" Tony answered distractedly as he peered out the window. The discussion within the radio receiver had already turned to the question of Brian Clough's successor. Clearly influenced by the media, several listeners felt that it was José Mourinho, the Portuguese man. Then there were others who believed that it was Tony Twain.

Tang En himself was uninterested in the discussion. He did not want to become someone's successor; the second coming of anyone. If José Mourinho is happy to be, then let him do it. I want to be Tang En for life!

※※※

"In our final interview with Brian Clough, who has just passed away, José Mourinho, the manager of Chelsea, was said to be the one most similar to him. But let's not forget, before José Mourinho came to England, who was the manager we said was most like Clough? Tony Twain! Let's hear Tony Twain's views on Nottingham Forest's home match against Chelsea tomorrow. It will be a contest between the two successors of Clough."

City Ground's gates appeared on the television screen. The previously empty grounds were filled with fresh flowers and lit candles all around. Meanwhile, numerous red scarves of the Forest team were tied onto the bars of the iron gate. The square area in front of the gates was also filled with many mourning fans. They had come to offer flowers and their scarves, which they had had with them for numerous years.

That was the scene at City Ground in the afternoon. Tang En then appeared on the screen wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses. He had clearly just returned from the funeral at Middlesbrough.

"… I don't think that this is the right time to discuss about who is Boss' successor. But I know the media is always doing inappropriate stuff like that, so I'm used to it. You want my views on the matter? I think it's pretty clear. José Mourinho is, without doubt, Clough's successor. And I think so too." Tang En had not forgetten to mock the reporters he disliked. "I respect Boss very much. And because of that, I don't want anyone to call me his successor, or whatever. I firmly believe that boss wouldn't want me to become another him. Of course, if José Mourinho is happy to take on the title, then you guys can feel free to call him "Clough the Second" in the future, not José Mourinho, right?"

Tang En's words to José Mourinho could hardly be considered friendly.

Chapter 228: Clough the Second? Part 2

The reporter from BBC smiled at the camera and said, "Let's see what José Mourinho has to say."

José Mourinho, who had accepted the interview from the hotel he was staying at, appeared on the screen. He wore his signature black coat and looked quite cool.

"Clough? I know. His compliments made me very happy. But, just like Tony, I don't want to be anyone's successor. I hate the news you've been stirring up about "the fight between Clough's successors." I think that the world would be more peaceful if you could do something more useful with your time. On another note, I think that comparing a manager who has led a team to become UEFA champions to one who has not achieved anything is unfair to the latter."

Tang En was unfriendly to José Mourinho, but Mourinho was similarly unrelenting. While appearing to be sympathetic to Tony, who had been compared to a successful coach like him, he was in fact just mocking Tony Twain's lack of achievements as a manager.

David Kerslake, who was in front of the television, glanced at Tang En as if keen on knowing his reaction. But Tang En did not do anything except to switch it off, telling Kerslake, "Alright, David. Let us keep researching Chelsea…"

Although Tony appeared calm, the media did not believe it. Before José Mourinho's arrival in the UK, the media was hoping for Tony to help increase the sales of the newspapers. Later, after Mourinho came to England with his new-found fame as the manager of the champions of UEFA, he had momentarily attracted everyone's attention. His loud-mouthed and showy character turned him into the media's pet. Now that the two managers, both with extreme characters, had met, how could things be calm and tranquil without any incidents?

This was only the prelude to their war of words.

※※※

The media's assumptions were quite accurate. Tang En, of course, would not allow someone to look down on him. Not even if the person was a one-time UEFA Champion manager like José Mourinho, and not even if Tang En, as a football fan, liked the manager's strong character. Now that they were opponents, he was not about to show his adoration.

Either way, what did Tang En have to adore José Mourinho for? In the past, it was because he was a football fan. Seeing a manager with an unusual character made him seem great. Now that Tang En himself had become quite a character of a manager, he did not need to look to anyone else. He could just adore himself.

On the second day before the match, when Tang En was accepting interviews from reporters, many raised the topic of José Mourinho's remarks and wanted to hear Tony's retaliation. He did not disappoint them. He knew that the reporters wanted to hear something sensational from him. At the same time, he was making use of them.

"Naturally, in the eyes of a manager of a UEFA Champions team, a mere EFL championship is as unremarkable as air. We have to understand the feelings of a Champion Manager, who has eaten such a luxurious dinner that he's become contemptuous of a normal home-cooked meal. So, before the next feast, a Champion Manager would surely not have any plain food. I hope he won't starve before getting to his second feast."

Reporters who were interviewing José Mourinho mentioned this to him. Mourinho's reply was exquisite. "Country bumpkins always think that nobles have great feasts. But to the nobles themselves, it really was just a home-cooked meal."

The official match had not even begun, yet the managers from both sides were already locked in a tongue-lashing battle so intense it was white hot. This brought the watching media and public immense satisfaction. Clough's passing was a sorrowful event for English football. But watching the two young managers go toe-to-toe with each other, the people felt they would not be bored, even with Clough's departure.

On Lineker's personal web column, he commented, "Even though the achievements of both managers cannot yet be compared with Brian Clough, their mouths are definitely giving off the vibe of Clough's successors."

※※※

With Clough's passing and popular opinion about the match being a contest between "Clough's successors," it grabbed the limelight in the current round of the Premier League. This was regardless of how unlikely it appeared, from the rankings, that the match between Chelsea, who was ranked second, and Forest who was ranked 13, would be a focal point.

Tang En felt that Clough's departure would not be too impactful on the current Forest team. After all, his era was long ago, and numerous players in Forest had already been swapped out. On the current team, how many still retained a special affection for Clough? It was just like the record; players such as Gerard Piqué and Nicklas Bendtner did not even know about its existence.

So, just like the previous time, he did not make a big splash before the match talking about Clough's contributions to Forest team or his achievements with them. Tang En believed that if the players were concerned about the team, they would already know what they had to know. He did not need to rehash the glory once attained by Forest again and again like a loud-mouthed gossip.

In City Ground's locker room, the players sat in various spots, changing their clothes after their warm-up and awaiting the scheduled event; Tang En would always speak a few sentences to them before every match.

"So, recently, Forest team has had quite a lot going on. I'm sure you all know. But all of that has nothing to do with today's match. I believe everyone understands that this is just like any usual league match. There's no difference, except that our opponents are slightly stronger. But how much stronger can they be? Did Arsenal get an edge over us on our home ground?"

Eastwood shouted as he shook his head. "Of course not!"

"So, Chelsea's fate will be the same. But I hope I don't see last minute blunders happening again. If there must be blunders, I'd rather they come earlier. But are you guys planning to make any mistakes?

Everyone shook their heads.

"That's right. No one wants to make a mistake, so buck up everybody! That Portuguese man is looking down at us. Do you know how he talked about us? 'Country bumpkins'… pfft, country bumpkins! Hierro, is Real Madrid a team of country bumpkins?"

Hierro shook his head. "That's impossible."

"Demi, is AC Milan a team of country bumpkins?"

Albertini also shook his head. "No, sir."

"Very good. I'll admit that Chelsea, with their rich Russian boss, is much richer than we are. They look more like noble lords. But don't forget who came from Nottingham: the great thief Robin Hood! If the Chelsea lords had simply stayed in their impenetrable Stamford Bridge castle like cowardly turtles, we wouldn't have cared about them. Now that they've come knocking on our doors, they can't blame us for not being polite. This is Nottingham, a forest filled with hidden danger. Let's show Chelsea what we can do. Let them come, and never come back!"

Chapter 229: Unlucky Ferreira Part 1

Before the start of the game, the constant singing voices which could usually be heard in the City Ground stadium were not present. There was absolute silence in the stands. The players from both teams stood on the edge of the center circle, lined up in a row, and lowered their heads to observe a moment of silence in tribute to the recently deceased Brian Clough.

Twain stood in front of the technical area and watched silently.

Pierce Brosnan had told him yesterday that Clough's mental state had declined since he had resigned from the Forest team's manager position. His feelings for the team were something that the average person could not even imagine. For eighteen years, his brilliance was closely tied to the name of Nottingham Forest, like Ferguson with Manchester United and Wenger with Arsenal. But the birth of the English Premier League completely shattered the beliefs that Clough insisted on. Even if the Forest team was not relegated in the first season, it still would not be able to escape the fate of falling to pieces. Why? Because the Forest team had no money; no matter how many championships they won, they still had no money. The way the team had operated at that time was completely different to the way it was operating now.

The thing that Clough was most proud of was crushed by the brutality of commercial football. He believed that there was only one boss on the team, and that it was him. No matter how famous of a star player arrived in the Forest team, he would still be subordinate to him. Clough was the king of the Forest team. He had the final say in everything, and the club's board of directors and club chairmen had no right to dictate or criticize his conduct. He could have punched Roy Keane and knocked him to the ground due to poor performance in the locker room, or strung up a goalkeeper to beat him because he was angry, or locked a gay player, Justin Fashanu, in the locker room and berated him... And of course, to protect his players, he had punched fans who had rushed onto the field to celebrate a victory with the team, and even sent two fans to the hospital.

Such ways were almost extinct in football now. Commercial football increasingly emphasized the value of star players, and what was known as a "manager" in England was gradually transitioning to a "coach." A growing number of Premier League clubs were starting to put the heads of marketing in charge of the club's operations, while the managers were responsible for coaching the team and directing the games; even the buying and selling of players had changed from the managers "making the decisions" to "offering advice."

The club did not need a maverick manager. Clough was unique, because in today's football, it was almost impossible for someone to emulate him. Even the "madman," Mourinho, could not do it.

Clough, who felt like he could not keep up with the times, finally chose to retire, even though he was only fifty-eight years old, an age which was not considered old for a manager.

After retirement, Clough was soon suspected of receiving a kickback for Sheringham's transfer, and was under investigation. After being tormented and worn-out from the investigations, his reputation was damaged. The final investigation results showed conclusive evidence that Clough had indeed received a kickback. However, the Football Association did not take any further action, and the matter was left unsettled. Perhaps they had considered that the old manager's health was steadily deteriorating and chose to keep it quiet as a result.

Later, it came out that that soon after his liver transplant surgery, Clough was diagnosed with stomach cancer, but he refused to go to the hospital to undergo surgery until he was bedridden. His grandson was pleading with his grandfather by his bedside; only then did he promise to go to the hospital for treatment.

"He firmly believed that no star player should outrank the manager; he insisted that he was the only one who could decide on anything in the club. However, all his beliefs were shattered by the current reality of football. The glories of the past that he had achieved were turned to dust, and the 58-year-old was forced to retire. He turned to alcohol to kill time and numb himself... It was too hard for him to live like that," Brosnan said with a sigh while in the car back to Nottingham.

This made Tang En think of another person, who was also talented, egotistical, defiant, and highly controversial: the former United States Army Four-star General George S. Patton. Patton died not long after the end of the Second World War. He did not sink into oblivion during the days of peace, but rather retained his perfect image, and was worshipped by countless people in later generations. And what about the Chief?

One day, after all the glory that I have pursued and achieved has become the distant past, will I be like the Chief?

Tang En, who was lost in thought, suddenly shivered and felt a chill down his neck. He touched his neck and it was wet.

It was raining.

Damn, why was I so silly to think of such a philosophical question?

Tang En shook his head, collected his thoughts, and turned his gaze towards the field.

The moment of silence had just ended, and there was shouting again from the stands in the City Ground. But this time they did not shout the name of a popular player on the Forest team, but the name of the legendary king of the Forest team, Brian Clough. In the drizzle, it was unclear whether the water marks on the fans' faces were from tears or rain.

There was a saying that Tang En had not said out loud, but for the past day, with everything that he saw, heard, and thought about, he had been saying it to himself in his mind countless times:

The Chief's era in Nottingham Forest has completely come to an end.

※※※

Is Chelsea considered a strong team?

If Tang En were to answer that question, he might not hesitate to say yes. Because he knew how many championship trophies Chelsea, the best team in history, would win in the future.

Would the commander of Chelsea, Mourinho be considered a successful coach?

According to Tang En's own standards, Mourinho was considered a successful coach because he had won six championships at Chelsea.

But those were "future" matters. The current situation was that Mourinho had just arrived in London with the aura of a European champion. He had led a mercenary squad to play for six rounds of the Premier League, and had four wins, two draws, and not a single defeat. No one knew what was going to happen in the future. Even Tang En was also not sure now if Mourinho's team would win the league title this season, in light of his participation.

Before this game, Chelsea only had a two-point difference from the league's top ranked team, Arsenal, which was playing against Manchester City in an away game while Chelsea was playing Nottingham Forest. In Mourinho's eyes, getting three points from this game was in the bag.

Not many people in English football knew José Mourinho at that time, but Tang En knew him well because he had a few more years of memories.

He understood Mourinho was and his coaching style. Playing opposite this man made him feel more comfortable than facing the other managers in the English Premier League, because he was familiar with him.

If Mourinho knew that Tang En had had read his autobiography no less than three times, he would be surprised; after all, his autobiography, José Mourinho - Made in Portugal, had only been available in Portugal for one month, and there was no official English translated version yet. Of course, what Tang En had read was translated online in the future. Due to his fascination with that unique manager, he had read it so many times that he could recite certain parts.

Mourinho had never been a coach who pursued beautiful football and the art of football. His idol was the tactical master, Capello, and he insisted on the 1:0 doctrine.

Chelsea, who was fighting the Forest team now, was one such team.

Mourinho's emphasis on the entire team with a particular importance on individual physical fitness, speed, and strength was the new concept he had instilled in Chelsea. He paid attention to efficiency, he pursued victory, and he did not care what method he used to overcome his opponents. From that point of view, Tang En was very similar to him.

For this game, Chelsea had deployed their strongest lineup, and they immediately started in offense mode for the match. Mourinho evidently did not care about the newly promoted Nottingham Forest.

Tang En believed that Mourinho would have watched the video of the game between his team and Arsenal before this game, and determined that the Forest team was a defensive team. After all, any newly promoted team would always be defensive when facing a strong team, with hopes to retain one meager point. Of course, the Forest team's victory over Manchester City was their only win in the league this season; so Mourinho might have a look at it, but he would not take it to heart at all, because he also looked down on Manchester City and the incompetence of Kevin Keegan. That game was regarded as an isolated case, with no reference value.

Chelsea was indeed more powerful than Nottingham Forest.

The goalkeeper, Petr ?ech, had already been the main goalkeeper for the Czech Republic national team at a very young age, and played brilliantly in Portugal this summer. The right back was Paulo Ferreira, the best right back in Europe last season, whom Mourinho brought from the UEFA Cup Final champion, Porto. The left-back was the England national footballer, Wayne Bridge. The center backs were captain John Terry and the Portugal national footballer, Ricardo Carvalho, who was also brought by Mourinho from Porto to London. In the midfield, Mourinho, who valued defense, would certainly not give up Claude Makelele, the French veteran was like a wall in the midfield. Partnering with Makelele was Chelsea's iron man, Frank Lampard. Due to his injury, Arjen Robben did not even make the list, so the starting left midfielder was Joe Cole, whom Tang En was very familiar with. The right midfielder was the speedy Irishman, Damien Duff. On the front line, in charge of breaking through the stockade, were the two newcomers who had joined the team this season: Mateja Ke?man, the Serbia and Montenegro striker who was impressive and unrivaled in the Dutch league and who had therefore come to seek new challenges in the English Premier League, and the Premier League player with the highest transfer bid this summer, the Ivory Coast striker, Didier Drogba, whom Abramovich had spent twenty-four million pounds on.

And the Forest team had made some changes to their original lineup.

Crouch replaced Viduka as the starting forward to partner with Freddy Eastwood. There was no change in the midfield, with Ribéry and Ashley Young on the left and right respectively. George Wood and Albertini were guarding the middle. On the defense line, the center back combination was tweaked a little, and the older Hierro with less physical endurance was replaced by Piqué.

Chapter 230: Unlucky Ferreira Part 2

Without Robben, Chelsea was less of a threat to Tang En. Otherwise, this game would have been difficult for him. The Forest team's offense mainly depended on the flanks. If Chelsea had had Arjen Robben, the Forest team's attacks from the flanks would be suppressed. But now...

Joe Cole was not really a left midfielder. His placement in the left midfielder position was due to a lack of a better option; if such a gifted athlete were to play as a replacement, the player himself and the fans would certainly not agree to it. However, if he wanted to have his first public showing on the team, he could not be in the middle of the midfield, because that area belonged to Lampard and Makelele. Therefore, Joe Cole only had two options: warming a seat in the substitutes' bench, and sucking it up to play for a position that was unfit for him so that he could make an appearance in the game. He chose the latter.

He was completely restricted on the left flank. He could not break through without speed, and if he were to lean towards the middle, he would constrict the space of his teammate, Lampard, which made his playing very awkward. Mourinho obviously knew this, so when Arjen Robben was still playing, Chelsea's main offense focus was on the left flank. For this game, the focus was switched to the right flank.

Another problem cropped up as well. Duff on the right flank was left-footed. Although he could handle the right flank on occasion, it was not at all the position he was best at. On the left flank, he could use speed and continuous change in direction to shake off his opponent, and then cross directly. On the right flank, he would use speed to cast off his opponent; then, he would have to flip the ball to his left foot with his right foot, and then cross. The best time to pass the ball was often lost at that juncture. It would completely turn into a situation where he had to battle the Forest team's defense, and his speed advantage would be useless.

So, what was Chelsea relying on if the team could not attack through the flanks? For a long pass from the backfield to the front, the powerful Drogba was their man; Ke?man could be his cover, and then Lampard would plug in to make use of a long shot to seek a scoring opportunity, or Didier Drogba, with his strong physique, could take the ball and attack.

This later became the most frequently used offensive routine for Chelsea, and it was in its fledgling stage in this game against the Forest team.

Tang En knew about Drogba's formidable strengths and specifically arranged for Piqué to mark the Ivory Coast giant. However, Piqué alone could not reassure Tang En, because the young Spaniard was far less experienced than Drogba. So he counted on George Wood to assist whenever he had a chance.

As for the defense in the midfield, Makelele's offensive threat was nearly nonexistent; the main trouble was Lampard, but he could be handed over to the veteran, Albertini, to defend against.

Then the Forest team used their sharp offense on the flanks to suppress Chelsea's wings.

This Chelsea team seemed powerful, but in fact, it was not without its weaknesses. Paulo Ferreira was one. If the Forest team used him well, it could open the door to victory through him.

Despite his outstanding performance in the UEFA Champions League and the fact he was selected as Europe's best right back last season by the UEFA officials, he had not acclimatized since his arrival in the English Premier League. His defensive ability was lacking, and he was not determined enough in his offense. Tang En was well aware of all these problems, as he was now familiar with every Chelsea player.

Mourinho wanted to cultivate his own disciple at Stamford Bridge, but he had chosen the wrong person.

※※※

As a new member of the team, Ferreira had been under a lot of pressure lately. He came to Stamford Bridge under the aura of being Europe's best right back last season, but now he needed to work hard to prove that he did not rely on his relationship with Manager Mourinho in order to join the Blues lineup.

Before this game, the Chelsea fans had already expressed their dissatisfaction with this right back, who seemed less than reassuring. Ferreira knew that if he continued not to show good performances, even Mourinho would run out of trust in him someday.

But the more he thought about it, the worse his performance became. He seemed to be caught in a vicious circle: perform badly, get chewed out by the media and the fans, try to prove himself, be unable to focus on the game as a result, continue to perform poorly, get slammed by the media and the fans… the more he wanted to prove himself, the more he was unable to focus on the game, and the worse his performance was.

In this way, Ferreira, who was vivacious at the UEFA Champions League final, was never seen again.

Tang En was certainly not the angel to save Ferreira. Instead, he was going to give Ferreira a shove while he was in the process of falling.

The Forest team's attacks today would all go through Ribéry. Duff had initially tried to break through alone to create opportunities for Chelsea, but he soon found that Ferreira could not hold up on his own.

The Frenchman, Franck Ribéry, realized that the right back in front of him could only be led by the nose, and that every time he took the ball to face the Portuguese, he felt certain that he could bypass him.

"Ribéry receives the ball, watch his movements… he's accelerating!"

None of the Forest players went up to coordinate with Ribéry. They were all in front of Chelsea's goal, waiting to receive Ribéry's cross. These players seemed to be aware that Ferreira would be broken through.

When he stepped back, Ferreira saw Ribéry suddenly take off and promptly strode over to block the Frenchman's oncoming path. On the hand, Ribéry immediately switched the ball with his left foo, and turned his body to cut inward.

Ferreira was undeterred at this point. He forcibly turned his center of gravity and planned to keep sticking to the Forest team's Number 7 to give his other teammates time to come up and lend support.

And what was Ribéry best at? He continually changed his direction. After seeing Ferreira's actions, he thrust the ball directly between Ferreira's legs, used his speed to force a breakthrough past his opponent, and successfully rushed past him!

Ferreira turned too slowly, and when he turned around, he just saw Ribéry's back. In that moment, an image of him warming the substitutes' bench suddenly flashed across his mind.

No... I can't lose here, I can't let him break through, otherwise it's all over. My future, my prospects... My...

Don't think about the past!

Ferreira roared within and lifted his foot to slide tackle the Frenchman.

Caught off guard, Ribéry fell to the ground. The football rolled out of the end line and a deafening hiss rang out from the stands. The referee's whistle could not even be heard amidst the thunderous hissing.

Upon seeing this, Twain rushed out of his seat, waved his fist and growled, "Good work!"

Almost at the same time, Mourinho slammed his tactical board to the ground. "F**k!"

The famous English referee, Graham Poll, who was refereeing this game, did not run to the scene of the incident. Instead, he ran to the spot for the penalty kick in the penalty area.

"Looking at the direction of Poll's finger... This is a penalty kick! Without a doubt! We don't know what Ferreira was thinking at that moment, but this is a penalty kick! He shoveled Franck Ribéry in the penalty area."

The Chelsea players were agitated. One by one, they surrounded the referee to explain to him that Ferreira's foul had happened outside the penalty area and that Ribéry just fell inside the penalty area ...

But Poll ignored them, moved the crowd aside, ran towards Ferreira, who was still sitting on the ground, pulled a red card out of his pocket, and flashed it to him.

There was a ringing in Ferreira's head, and he knew he was finished.

Chapter 231: Going Toe-to-Toe Part 1

Naturally, Chelsea's players and fans had reason to doubt the decision made by the referee. They could reason that Ferreira did not slide tackle Ribéry, and he fell only because of the slippery ground, or that Ribéry had purposely flopped in hopes of being awarded a penalty kick. But their doubts or protests could not change the results.

Just 11 minutes into the match, Right Back Paulo Ferreira was given a red card because he had tackled a player from the back. In addition to that, Nottingham Forest was awarded a penalty kick by the referee.

Ribéry, who had gotten tackled, lay outside the field. He was receiving treatment from the team doctors, and his condition did not seem serious. On the other hand, Ferreira looked dazed as he stood and watched the main referee raise a red card at him. His mind was a mess. Not only was he given a red card, he also had given the opponents a penalty kick; he had put Chelsea at a disadvantage both in terms of the number of players and points.

José Mourinho pursed his lips as he watched all of this from the outside. He was the one who had brought Ferreira in from FC Porto. In the new club, Ferreira was one of the more trustworthy players; after all, he was already an old troop. He chose not to use William Gallas or Glen Johnson, insisting on using Ferreira all in hopes of letting someone familiar take up a main position on Chelsea's first team; to help firm up his position as their general. Unexpectedly, Ferreira, who had been such an eye-catcher with his excellent performance on FC Porto, had had persistent difficulty in getting used to the style of English football after coming to London. Match after match, he played worse and worse until no one had any confidence in him at all.

Perhaps it was time to give up on him.

※※※

"Red card! Penalty kick! This is a catastrophe… Paulo Ferreira's performance is a complete mess! This poor Portuguese man couldn't keep up with Ribéry's speed and rhythm at all. He was taken for a spin by his opponent, and in the end, could only finish up this failure of a match with a foul."

Looking at the displeased expression of the referee, Ferreira lost all strength to try to defend himself. He simply hung his head and turned to walk off the field.

On Nottingham Forest's side, Tang En gave a deep sigh of relief as the team doctors informed him that there was no big issue with Ribéry's ankle. With the Frenchman's outstanding performance, he had already become one of Forest's main players. If something happened to him, Forest's threat in their offense would take a huge hit.

Now that Ribéry was fine, and Chelsea had lost a person along with a penalty kick, Forest's situation was extremely advantageous.

Eastwood put the ball on the penalty spot and took a few steps back as he prepared to take his kick.

In front of him was Czech's genius goalie Petr ?ech. A big man who stood over six feet tall, his robust body reflected both his strength and speed. When he stood before the goal with his arms stretched wide, the opening looked entirely sealed off.

Chelsea's players still held onto a sliver of hope. Penalty kicks did not have a hundred percent chance of becoming a goal; and added to that were the slippery grounds caused by the rain. Perhaps Eastwood would be unsteady on his feet, slip, and miss the ball.

But Eastwood quickly burst their bubble of imagination.

On the referee's whistle, he took off with strength and speed, shooting a powerful volley!

ech made an error in his judgment of its direction. As he hurled himself towards the right side of the goal, the ball went towards the middle instead.

"Goal! 1:0! Home team Nottingham Forest leads Chelsea!"

The spectators' stand in City Ground erupted with ear-splitting roars. Earlier, they had still been shouting Brian Clough's name. Now, they were stamping their feet and clapping for Freddy Eastwood.

While all of Forest was celebrating the goal, José Mourinho was pestering the fourth official, protesting the unfair judgment made by the main referee. The fourth official warned him to be careful and not to throw around accusations without conclusive evidence. Furthermore, the referee was the law on the field. His judgments could not be changed.

Tang En could not care less about what José Mourinho was trying to do; he was celebrating the goal with the rest of the managerial team. In fact, he might as well take up a spot supervising on the sidelines. Now that his team was leading and the opponent had one less player, the situation was greatly to their advantage. He needed to be on guard against Mourinho's retaliation and remind the players to maintain their composure.

After waiting for the players to get back onto the field and be ready for the kick-off, Tang En yelled at them from the sidelines to capture their attention. He gestured, pressing down both his hands and making a motion to "keep steady."

The most dangerous moment was often after a goal while gaining a lead on the opposition. It was easy for players to get off track in their thoughts and lose focus. This could lead to a chance for the opponent to even the score, which would be a huge blow to the team's morale.

Other than helping his players calm down, Tang En did not need to do anything else. The situation was good, and he only had to wait quietly in a corner while Mourinho adjusted.

José Mourinho quickly did so by substituting Forward Ke?man for William Gallas. Now, his priority was how he could prevent losing any more goals, not how many to beat Forest by.

Chelsea's core in their midfield was Frank Lampard. However, his main purpose was not managing the ball, but in scoring. It could even be said that Frank Lampard had become so successful only because of Mourinho's tactical arrangement.

Tang En asked Albertini to guard Lampard for the match, primarily to prevent him from scoring after a break. As Lampard was not a holding midfielder, it would reduce his threat if he was only allowed to pass.

Originally, Tang En was worried that Albertini would not be able to cope on his own. But now he no longer had that worry. With Chelsea down a player, they were forced to swap a Forward for a Full Back. This took pressure off Forest's defense. So, Tang En adjusted his own strategy. George Wood would continue his co-defense with Piqué against Drogba, and Albertini and Matthew Upson could handle Lampard.

Chelsea, who had lost a player, resolutely began playing with the strategy of long passing from the backfield to Drogba. After losing a ball, it caused the pressure on Forest's defense to sharply increase.

What was the saying?

There was not much technique to speak of, yet it was very effective. The strategy of using long passes in England was exactly that.

With Drogba's physical capability and skill in heading, he was suitably qualified for the position as a center-forward who set up shots. Because Ke?man had been swapped out, Lampard advanced more frequently, almost as if he was playing as a Forward. Drogba would often hold the ball and look for Lampard. In direct confrontations with Drogba, Piqué was often at a disadvantage; the difference in their experience was too big, and he lost out slightly in the physical aspect. Furthermore, in their co-defense, Wood and Piqué faced an issue with their coordination.

In the backfield, Terry wound up for the kick, once again looking for Drogba.

The African stuck close to Piqué and stopped him from coming around to his front. He then jumped to receive the ball. Piqué, who had been squeezed to the back, could only watch helplessly as the African jumped to head the ball out.

When Lampard received the ball while under Albertini's disruption, he chose not to take the midpath and instead moved diagonally towards the right wing. Drogba, who had passed the ball to Lampard earlier, turned and ran towards the goal, readying himself to receive Lampard's pass.

When George Wood saw this, he heeded Tang En's instructions and followed Drogba into the penalty area.

With Forest's defenses focused on Drogba and Lampard, the area in front of the penalty box was empty. At the opportune moment, Lampard made a horizontal pass, his aim not towards Drogba, who was right in front of the goal, but Joe Cole, who was outside the penalty area!

"Chelsea has a chance!"

Joe Cole suddenly appeared in the middle, throwing Nottingham Forest into mass panic. Upson quickly turned and tried to get to him, but the distance was too far. It was impossible for him to stop Joe Cole from shooting.

As José Mourinho saw Joe Cole lifting his right foot to kick, he shot up from the manager's seat and stared straight at Nottingham Forest's goal.

"A direct volley!"

Joe Cole's long shots were inconsistent, sometimes great and sometimes bad. When they were good, they could be a fantastically amazing shot; but when they were bad, they posed no threat at all. Which would it be this time?

The football flew over Matthew Upson's head, who was trying to block the shot, past the outstretched fingers of Darren Ward, and past the top of the crossbar… It went high!

The whole of City Ground took in a deep breath. The shot had only scraped past the crossbar before going out; it was nerve-wracking.

"Dammit! Another loophole!" Tang En groused. They were lucky not to have lost a ball. "The defensive line isn't focused enough. David, we're back to the same old problem."

"Tony, I don't think this problem can be resolved with just training. But there are two methods which might be effective. First, to just keep accumulating match experience so the players know when they need to stay focused; Second, to yell at them during halftime to wake those lads up." Kerslake laughed.

Tang En scratched his head. "I'm afraid it'll be too late by the time half-time comes around."

He rose and walked to the sidelines. Taking a deep breath, he yelled into the field, "Keep a close eye on your guys! Don't let them out of your sight! Mark them! Kill them!" He pounded his fist.

When Joe Cole took the shot, José Mourinho had expected it to be in the bag. He did not think it would graze the crossbar and fly out instead. It sent him reeling back in his chair as he stomped his foot and cursed silently. As he did so, he saw Tang En yelling at the sidelines.

Kill us?

With tight brows and pursed lips, he narrowed his eyes at Tang En.

Don't think the match is won just because you're leading by a goal and have a player more than us.

He also stood and walked to the sidelines. He held out two fingers to both Full Backs and pointed in the direction of Forest's goal, directing them to actively cut forward. Don't worry about the space at the back being used by your opponents. If Forest team dares to attack again from the wings, we'll push them back with our offense!

※※※

For the rest of the first half, it was Chelsea, with one player less, who had the advantage in the field. They suppressed Forest into their half and bombarded them. The blues, who were behind and lacking a person, appeared to have been provoked into a fiery anger.

Tang En believed that the character of the team reflected the character of their manager. In the past, during the time of Ranieri, despite the lion on Chelsea's emblem, they were as soft and gentle as a cat. This Chelsea, since José Mourinho took over, had the character of the Portuguese man branded on it. Wild and unruly, with upturned noses and arrogance. In such a tight spot, a team like them would explode with immense fighting power. They absolutely would not allow themselves to be defeated by a team that had only just been promoted.

Tang En knew this. It was why he loudly reminded the players to be careful after Joe Cole's attack. It was a sign of Chelsea's retaliation.

Now that Forest team had provoked a fearsome beast, it was the most dangerous period. With wave after wave of attacks from Chelsea, Drogba gave Forest's defensive line a lot of trouble. A defensive line that was this inexperienced faced too much difficulty in trying to completely stop Drogba and Lampard.

"Lampard tries for a long shot! Darren Ward takes a mighty leap!"

"Drogba unleashes a header! At such a short range, that shot took on a tricky angle! Darren Ward has already given up… Ah! But the goalpost helped him out!"

"Joe Cole… what beautiful technique, he went past! Against Matthew Upson, a backheel pass! Frank Lampard – this time it's Piqué! The Spanish champion used his body to block Lampard's powerful shot! He's collapsed onto the floor. Main referee Poll is signaling for the team doctor to go over… What an intense match, Chelsea's constant attacks at Forest's goal are giving them no space to breathe! Under a mighty attack from the Blues, George Wood and Albertini have lost their control over the midfield. Chelsea's attacks are unimpeded! Nottingham Forest has lost an important piece of territory. Things are not looking good."

While Piqué was undergoing the medical examination on the field, Tang En took the opportunity to call Albertini over. He used simple English vocabulary and gestures to get his message through.

"After intercepting the ball, do your best to kick it forward. Don't think about controlling the ball from the back and passing it up level by level. Chelsea is tackling fiercely and pressing tightly at the front. Every second with the ball under our feet is an extra second of threat to our goal. Play simply. Do you see Crouch? Send every ball over to him!"

When Albertini nodded in understanding, Tang En patted his shoulder and sent him back. With the team doctor's help, Piqué stood up and exited the field. He was bent over with a hand holding his chest, possibly requiring further treatment. Or it could just be a formality. Even if the injured player had recovered, he still had to exit the field accompanied by the doctor and wait at the sidelines until the main referee permitted him to enter.

Joe Cole from Chelsea ran towards the corner, ready for a corner kick.

Tang En stood at the side, anxiously watching the crowded mess in front of the goal.

Piqué's departure from the field would definitely be used by Chelsea. As expected, he saw José Mourinho, also on the sidelines, waving vigorously to signal Carvalho and Terry to move up from the back.

"This bastard…" Tang En muttered. He then shouted, "Crouch! Back! Go back to defend!"

Chapter 232: Going Toe-to-Toe Part 2

Crouch was the tallest point on the field for Forest. Since Tang En was prepared to launch a counter-attack at any moment after a corner kick, Crouch did not usually have to return to the penalty area to defend them. Now that Piqué was not around, however, Tang En could only get Crouch, who was still not too good with headers, to guest-play as Center Back.

Center Back Terry, who was team Captain, encouraged his teammates with a raised fist as he ran towards the penalty area. "Guys! They have the same numbers as us now. This is a perfect chance, don't waste it!"

Albertini too raised his voice to bolster his teammates. It was too bad that he was only improving slowly in English and could not speak in long sentences. He could only shout a few simple phrases and words, "Defend! Pay attention to your opponents! Suppress them!"

Among the crowd of players, George Wood kept a close eye on the black man with a head of braided hair. Since Piqué was not here, Wood naturally assumed Drogba was the target he needed to mark during this corner kick. Since their entrance into the Premier League, in the six matches that they had played, Wood felt that he had barely had any competition in the aspect of his physical capabilities. It was only in this match that Drogba made him feel some strain. Wood understood that he did not have good technique. He never competed technically with his opponents, but heavily prized the physical game with them. He felt that that was a crucial factor in how he had become a core player for Forest.

Now that Wood had met with an opponent who managed to make him feel strained, he did not feel dejection or fear. Rather, it made him a little excited. In the depths of his heart, he felt a rising fervor for truly going at it; a thirst to have a showdown with this man. Earlier, it was mainly Piqué defending Drogba while he assisted. Also, with Drogba as a Forward, his position clashed directly with Piqué, who played Center Back. Wood had had no good opportunity then.

Since Piqué was not around, his opportunity was here.

He leaned forward heavily. Drogba, feeling someone behind him, twisted back, catching Wood's chest with his elbow. If Wood had been an experienced player, he would have gone with it and dropped to the ground in pretense. But Wood did not care about that. He took Drogba's action as a reply to his challenge and butted forward again without relenting.

When Drogba felt the pressure steeply increase instead of decrease, he knew that his opponent was onto him. He then threw his shoulder back, hoping to squeeze Wood out of his own position.

Wood did not pull with his hands but went sideways in an attempt to get to Drogba's front and box him out to stop him from jumping to receive the ball. However, in a physical fight, Wood could not get an edge and Drogba stayed firmly in front of him without budging.

Their entanglement quickly aroused the attention of the referee, and he whistled to stop Joe Cole from taking the corner shot. He ran to the front of the goalpost and pointed at Drogba and Wood, signaling with his hands for them to separate.

"Watch yourselves!" Poll sternly warned the two.

Drogba raised his hands in innocence, implying that it was Wood who had come rushing at him. Meanwhile, George Wood was glaring at him without paying heed to Poll. Of course, the two separated, about two fingers' widths apart.

After warning them, Poll retreated out of the penalty area and signaled for Joe Cole to take his kick.

As soon as Poll left, Drogba and Wood got into each other's space again. Their actions just looked less intense than before, with the two quietly putting their backs into it.

At the whistle, Joe Cole took a run and sent out a quick, level ball, flying straight to the corner near the goal where Drogba was!

Both of them jumped at nearly the same time, but as Drogba jumped, he leaned back slightly and pressed down on George Wood, who was unprepared. With Drogba pressing down on him, Wood could not use his strength or jump high, not to mention trying to contest for the header against his opponent.

With the ball in front of his forehead and no interference, Drogba flung his head to hit the ball into the goal!

This time, the goalpost was not on Darren Ward's side, and the ball barrelled into the net!

"It's GOOOAL! Beautiful! Chelsea's relentless efforts are being rewarded! Just four minutes before entering injury stoppage time in the first half, they scored an equalizer! Drogba is terrifying! He stood at a complete advantage in his fight with George Wood himself! What a beast!"

After scoring, Drogba had no interest in looking back at the losers. He opened his arms wide and ran towards the corner flag, hugging Joe Cole, who had assisted in his attack. Behind them were a flock of Chelsea's players.

In the misty drizzle, Chelsea's fans on the away stands frantically waved their fists in celebration. From a penalty kick right at the beginning with a red card that took down a player, to the evened score now, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

※※※

"Bloody hell!" Tang En, enraged by the loss of the ball, swung his foot in a kick, accidentally sending a bottle of mineral water near his legs flying.

The bottle fell into Chelsea's technical area with a loud thud and startled José Mourinho who was celebrating the goal. The water spilled and got all over his pants.

Tang En, however, did not see where the bottle had landed. He had immediately turned to walk back to the technical area.

Mourinho thought that Tang En was purposefully provoking him, grew angry. With a kick, he knocked the bottle back to Twain!

Both managers had good footwork; Tang En had kicked it exactly to where José Mourinho stood, and Mourinho also knocked the bottle back to Tang En's feet. A thud sounded again, and Tang realized with surprise that the bottle he had sent flying had returned to him. He then heard someone yelling at him from behind.

With a turn, he saw José Mourinho's unhappy face. The man pointed at him and was saying something, but with the stadium so noisy that Tang En could not hear a thing.

Between the blend of cheers from the away fans and jeers from the home team fans, who could possibly understand Mourinho's weird accent?

So Tang En put his hands to his ears and turned sideways, indicating that he could not hear clearly. Mourinho took this as a clear sign of provocation. Was he pretending to be a mute?

"What's happening on the sidelines?" The voices of the commentators sounded even more excited and enthusiastic than when Drogba had scored the goal. "It's José Mourinho and Tony Twain! It looks like something happened between them. Let's look at the replay… Beautiful! Tony Twain's twist and volley got the first point for Forest team, but José Mourinho immediately returned with a screw kick! 1:1, the score is even for now. What an exciting match, both on and off the field!"

Just as both managers were about to snatch the limelight from the goal scorers, the fourth official came forward and wedged himself between the two, who looked ready to jump at each other's throats, warning them. "Gentlemen, please be aware of your own identities. You are the managers of your teams and have to present yourselves as good examples to the players."

"Of course. I am simply demonstrating to my players how to send the ball into the opponent's goal," Tang En said with a slanted grin, shrugging his shoulders carelessly.

"Mr. Twain…"

"Yes, and I was telling my players how to effectively equalize the score. As you can see, my example had the right effect, Sir." Mourinho shot back, glaring at Tang En as he replied.

"Mr. Mourinho!"

Faced with the two most charismatic managers in the league, the fourth official felt a headache coming on. He had no choice but to bring out his trump card. "I'm warning you again! This is a match. You are the manager. Please be aware of the kind of influence you have with your actions! I hope you will keep your calm and stay reserved. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to allow the referee to invite you into the spectators' stands." He pointed into the stands, which were filled with red.

The threat was effective and both of them backed down, at least in appearance. They uncrossed their arms, indicating they would stop.

"Good. I hope the two of you can cooperate with me. Now, please return to your seats."

Tang En shot a glance at Mourinho and walked away. At the same time, Mourinho also turned back toward the technical area, continuing his celebration of Drogba's goal with the players on the substitutes' bench. In his bickering with Tang En, he had not been on the losing end. And his team had just evened the score on the field. Mourinho, with his good mood, wanted to purposely show off his excitement in front of his opponent, Tang En, to anger him.

Immediately after his return to the manager's seat, Tang En's face darkened. It was even darker than the sky, which was raining down a drizzle.

"Damn it! Bastard! I knew it… I knew something would happen! We got suppressed by Chelsea for 25 minutes but couldn't do anything about it!"

"Including the injury stoppage time, there's still about six minutes before the end of the first half," Kerslake reported.

"Mmm… Remind the players to keep up with the original pace of the match and not to let this ball affect their performance." Tang En plopped into the chair. He would just get the assistant coach to do that. Now that he was in a bad mood, he was worried he would affect the players.

"We'll make adjustments at halftime…"

※※※

While everyone's attention was captured by the clash between the two managers on the sidelines, George Wood sat on the wet ground and watched Chelsea's players, who were celebrating.

He had lost in his showdown with Drogba. That feeling… it felt like his heart had become hollow in an instant. All of his team's hard work had gone down the drain with his failure. Although his face showed nothing, he felt terrible inside, as if he had not completed his mission. He must have also disappointed his mother, who was watching the match at home.

At that moment, a person approached him with a hand out. It was a hand donned with the Captain's armband.

"Get up. The match isn't over."

Wood did not take the hand Albertini had offered, and chose to stand on his own.

"George, wait till you have actually lost the match before getting dejected and unfocused. For now, let's just keep going." Albertini patted Wood's strong shoulders and walked together toward the center circle.

Wood said nothing and nodded.

Chapter 233: Entanglement Part 1

The confrontation between the two managers on the sidelines became the most talked about topic. The television broadcast repeatedly replayed the situation from different angles and positions to provide the overall view on the entire process, to satisfy the viewers' curiosity.

The game was still going on, but the spotlight had moved from the star players on the field to the two managers, Tony Twain and José Mourinho.

"We could say that the managers have stolen the limelight from the players. Whenever there is a game with Mourinho and Twain, they will be the focus of everyone's attention. What a riveting game. We have just enjoyed a terrific goal, and we can also watch the passionate and hot-blooded duel of the two head coaches!"

Amidst the commentator's laughter, the first ended with Nottingham Forest temporarily tied with Chelsea at 1:1. If the strength of the two teams were taken into consideration, this score could satisfy Nottingham Forest. However, considering the number of players on both sides and the spectacle in the first half of the game, Tang En did not feel any satisfaction at all.

※※※

Losing the ball at the end of the first half was a blow to the Forest players. This was clear from their heavy and hurried breathing as they sat down.

Twain stood in the locker room and watched the players as they changed into their clean jerseys in silence.

"I remember a few days before the game, I was stressing to you what kind of team Chelsea's team is. I said that if we are leading, we have to pay attention to their counterattack. Now my words are confirmed. Chelsea, who is a player short in this game, equalized the score.

"It looks like we conceded the goal because Wood did not defend against Drogba, or because Piqué left the field due to his injury, leaving us with one less player to mark and defend against Drogba. But in reality?" Twain spread out his arms. "We were already playing under pressure from them for twenty-five minutes before we lost the ball! We were completely helpless!

"In those twenty-five minutes, if they had been lucky, they could have scored at any time, and it would definitely not have been a draw now. We're completely controlled by them, aren't we? When we attacked, we couldn't succeed. When we tried to defend, it was difficult."

The players were quiet because obviously they felt the same. Chelsea was truly strong, and they had only realized it after playing against them. No wonder they could keep pressure on Arsenal, the leading team in the league.

"All right!" Twain said, suddenly raising his voice, "Don't lower your heads! Let's look at this problem from another angle. It's not necessarily a bad thing to concede the goal at the end of the first half. At least we have more time to make specific adjustments. And their momentum is interrupted by the halftime interval. It's only an equalizer. Do you think our goal in the first half was just luck? Were we lucky that Ferreira was sent off? Chelsea is not an invincible battleship, they have a lot of weaknesses too. Franck, why did it look like you disappeared in the latter half of the first half?"

"I… Well, I was back on defense." Compared to when he had first come to Nottingham, Ribéry's English had improved rapidly. In both his comprehension and oral skills, he did not have many issues.

"Okay, remember, in the second half: Continue to play like you did in the first part of the first half. Our offense is mainly on the flanks. If you and Ashley Young are missing, how can we fight back? You two, listen; in the second half, we will play like this on the flanks..." Twain turned around and drew on the tactical board. "Your mission is not to pass the ball close to the ground outside the penalty area."

He drew two oblique arrows into the goal area at the two corners of the penalty area. "Push the Chelsea full back into the penalty area, try your best to retain control of the ball, and then try to break through them after entering the penalty area. Take bold actions in the penalty area and be mindful of your opponents."

Ribéry and Ashley Young nodded at the same time.

Twain turned around and looked at George Wood. "George, mind telling me how you felt when you were marking Drogba one-on-one?"

Wood looked at Twain, and then spat out a remark. "He's very strong."

"Of course. Twenty-four million pounds was not just a story." Twain shrugged his shoulders. "In the second half, your mission is the same; two men against Drogba, press on and defend against him with Piqué. Don't give him too many opportunities. If he has the ball with his back towards the goal, don't give him the space to turn around, and be careful of his long shots. If he returns a pass, leave him alone and let him pass, but never let him face the goal area once has the ball. Don't underestimate his crude technique. Understand?"

Wood nodded.

After he had assigned the individual tasks, Twain began to talk about the team tactics. "Guys, you've all seen it. Chelsea has been very aggressive in our backfield, which is key to their continuous attack. So in the second half, I want you to play a little more succinctly. Be fast when you receive the ball, and run quickly. Your passing speed must be swift too. We can't give Chelsea the chance to intercept the ball at our feet. It's very dangerous to keep the football in our backfield. If you can't find a suitable teammate to pass the ball to, just kick the ball far to the front field. Do you see? Crouch is so tall. If he shaves his head again, he'll simply be a beacon for you in the fog to show you the way forward!"

Twain slapped Crouch hard on the shoulder and his teammates laughed.

"Well, if we look at the rankings, we're not doing too badly. Chelsea is second place and we're only thirteenth. A difference of eleven spots. If we treat ourselves as an ordinary, newly promoted team, the result could be worse. A lot of teams will have already made up their minds to view not losing as some sort of victory for themselves when they encounter stronger teams. But we can't do that. Why? Because we are different from them. We aren't an ordinary newly promoted team.

"Our objective this season is not just to maintain our spot in the league. We have a bigger quest. We are the home team in this game, so there's no reason for us to feel satisfied with a tie. If we don't win at the end of this game, I guarantee you that we won't have a rest day tomorrow. From this game onwards, I hope you guys can understand that if it's a game that we can win, I will never accept a draw. And if it's a game we can't win, I will never accept defeat!"

※※※

Dunn sat alone in his seat. It was now in the halftime interval. Most fans had gone out for beers and food to replenish their energy. He was not interested in that because he was not like the people around him, screaming, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, exerting their strength to almost nothing, and straining their voices.

Nottingham was a city with many foreign students, so it was not uncommon for black-haired, East Asian fans to be here. No one took another look at the manager of the Forest youth team.

Twain was the team manager. He would be allocated a certain number of tickets before every home game and would always leave a ticket to Dunn, regardless of whether he went or not. Most of the time, Dunn chose to watch at home. At the same time, he would also record the games on video. He could replay the games clearly in slow motion, which would help him to analyze the games.

But today, when it rained, he chose to watch the game at the stadium. At the end of the first half, he saw the exciting confrontation between the two managers. If he were the Forest manager, such things would never happen. He had more than once thought about how he would be if he was the head coach of the team.

He was very different from Tang En. Tang En wanted him to be his assistant manager and run the team with him. However, he considered often whether his personality would work well with such a brash person. They did live together, but as one man was the manager of the First Team and the other was the manager of the youth team, they were completely different in their work styles.

On the contrary, Tang En had always said that they would work well together. Would they work well together just because they always came together at night to study all kinds of videos? Dunn always felt that he did not know Tang En at all, and felt that his actions were sometimes completely inconceivable. For example, during his confrontation with Mourinho, was he not worried that this would provoke Chelsea? One must know that Chelsea was ranked second, and was a powerful team that had not lost a match since the start of the tournament.

It was still raining, and there were more and more people around him. The second half of the match was about to begin.

※※※

Tang En did not know what Mourinho had said to his players at the halftime interval. The Chelsea players seemed to be in high fighting spirits and did not feel that their prospects were bleak just because they were a player short. However, he was not worried; his players were equally motivated, and did not feel frustrated by the ten-man opposing team equalizing the score.

Both teams were in a good state of mind, but what about the two managers?

Naturally, they too were in exuberant fighting spirits.

Both teams had fought each other from the start of the match till now, and unsurprisingly, they were unwilling to lose to each other. Losing three points was considered a small thing, but it was very important not to lose face.

Just because your boss is wealthy, you've won the UEFA Champions League title, and you have lots of strong players, I'm supposed to be afraid of you?

No matter how rich your boss is, no matter how many championships you've won, or how famous your players are, all this means nothing in the game. We'll let the score speak for itself!

In the second half, we'll fight again!

※※※

In the second half, Chelsea did not change much in its tactics compared to the latter part of the first half. They pressed on hard in the front field, then created chaos within the Forest team and took advantage of their mistakes.

Chelsea relied on this method to successfully equalize the score in the first half. Mourinho believed that the inexperienced Forest team would be helpless in the face of waves of oppressive defense, and that many mistakes which would not normally be made would occur. Mourinho was smart, but Twain was no fool either. Since Chelsea had equalized the score by depending on that move in the first half, how could he not defend against it?

The Forest team intended to consciously use long shots in its attacks to pass to Crouch in the front. And if the opponent was not too aggressive, they would transfer the ball to their flanks, to Ribéry or Ashley Young. The players would decide the details of their attacks. And the Forest team's defense? Everyone tried to reduce the time for possession of the ball. The defenders just needed to kick the ball far ahead, regardless of whether Crouch could receive it or not.

The Forest players were very determined to carry out this tactic; ten minutes later, the Chelsea players realized that they had been running around nonstop in their front field to intercept the ball to very little effect. Every time they saw the Forest players receive the ball not far ahead, they would hurriedly rush over and their opponents would kick the ball far behind Chelsea without hesitation.

This was indeed annoying. Chelsea's forceful tactics were curtailed, but at the same time, the Forest team's offense appeared to be too simple and crude, with a low success rate. The game was in a stalemate, and neither side had any good opportunities except continually making mistakes again and again.

Chapter 234: Entanglement Part 2

"Well, I'd rather watch Tony Twain and José Mourinho one-on-one on the sidelines." The commentator did not conceal his dislike for such a boring competition. "Honestly, I don't think Peter Crouch is qualified to be a center forward, and he has such strange traits… The Forest team is wasting their few opportunities for counterattacks. Maybe Tony Twain thinks that Peter Crouch can become a good center forward, but evidently he isn't now."

Tang En could understand the complaint that the commentator was making. Crouch was not the type of center forward who could use his own body to retain control of the ball, control it under fierce pressure from his opponents, and wait for his teammates' support. Crouch was a hard-working player, but he was struggling under the defensive pressure from the two center backs, John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. What Tang En needed was a center forward with a strong body, an outstanding header, and good ball control footwork, rather than the exceptionally tall Crouch, who preferred just to use his feet.

If Crouch was not the best person to carry out the tactic, then who would be?

He glanced sideways at the substitutes' bench and saw a young man. Since joining the Forest team, he had only appeared in a few warm-up games, and out of the four strikers, the Danish kid was placed last for the lineup.

Freddy Eastwood was a protégé that Tang En had directly unearthed, who needed to be specially cultivated. His position of being the main force was naturally stable. Even considering his great ability and reputation, Mark Viduka had still cost the club six million pounds. When the club had spent so much money for a striker, how could he be just a substitute? And Peter Crouch had such a prominent trait, but was still quite low-key in the team. When Twain had arranged for him to be the third striker, he had not complained. And what about this other young man? If he did not give him a chance to prove himself, he guessed that the reporters, who stared at the Forest locker room all the time trying to dig up some explosive news, would have something to exploit.

"Ask the Danish kid to warm up." Twain said to David Kerslake.

"Bendtner, you have five minutes to warm up." The assistant manager stood up and faced the bench. He raised his right palm and spoke to Bendtner, who sitting on the bench.

Bendtner turned to look at Kerslake. Then he gazed past the assistant manager and looked at Twain next to him. He saw the young manager concentrating on the game, so he stood up, put on a yellow vest and jogged out.

※※※

Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were still entangled with each other; they were like two boxers in a tight embrace who had no way to carry out their most powerful moves because they were too busy keeping a tight rein on their opponents.

This scenario of mutual restraint was not what Mourinho wanted to see. He loathed to being dragged into this quagmire. Why? He was furious that he had been forced to be so impotent in an away match.

To José Mourinho, Tony Twain was a nobody, just like any other unfamiliar English manager. His real targets were Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger. Chelsea's opponents were Manchester United and Arsenal! He did not even take Liverpool into consideration. Since his team had performed smoothly from the start of the tournament, Mourinho had never thought that he would grapple with such a tenacious obstacle in a stadium that only held twenty-seven thousand spectators.

What kind of team was Nottingham Forest? A team that won two UEFA Champions League titles more than twenty years ago? That was just a flash in the pan.

I've seen many such teams. You want names? I could state names non-stop until you're tired of hearing them.

But I'm not here to talk about history, I'm here to beat this damned Nottingham Forest!

Chelsea's offense was met with the Forest team's stubborn resistance. The Forest team's backfield was almost entirely filled with players. In the drizzle, the turf was slippery and not suitable for Chelsea players to play on. Other than his shot that had brushed past the goal crossbar and flown out in the first half, Joe Cole had no other performances that could appear on the television close-up. Not to mention that Duff, who was already having a hard time on the right flank, was now completely suppressed by the Frenchman, Ribéry, who had come out of nowhere.

Chelsea's flanks were paralyzed.

This would not do. He had to find a way out.

※※※

Bendtner soon heard the assistant manager call his name and beckon him over. So he took off his vest as he ran back.

Twain stood up from his seat in the technical area and took the tactical board from Kerslake. Bendtner ran towards him a little breathlessly. Tang En could see that he was looking forward to playing and was confident.

Twain looked at the excited young man and glanced at the tactical board in his hands. Then he threw it onto his seat, pulled Bendtner aside, and made him face the field.

"What do you see, lad?" Twain asked.

"Um..." Bendtner froze for a moment, thinking that Twain would tell him directly who he would be replacing, what his task was, and how to do it, then pat him on the shoulder and push him to the sideline. He did not expect this manager to ask him a question like that.

"Well… Things aren't looking too good..."

"Yes, even a bonehead can tell that things aren't looking good. Do you know what a bonehead is? No? Well, forget it, I'll explain it later. What do you think we can do to end this stalemate?"

Bendtner knew that this was not a situation that could be hastily resolved, and he thought this might be a chance to make a good impression on the manager.

"Well… I think we need a center forward."

"Of course, why else would I make you go warm up and summon you here? What do you think should be done if I bring you on?"

This time Bendtner did not rush to answer Twain's question. He stared at the field for a moment, and then said, "I need to do a header and fight for the first drop point. If I can take possession of the ball, I'll do that. If I can't, I'll pass it to one of my teammates. If there are no teammates around, I'll just shoot towards the goal myself."

Twain patted Bendtner's shoulder hard. "Very good, just do what you said. Go up and play!"

William Gallas slide-tackled the ball at Ribéry's foot of out of the sideline. The Forest team received a throw-in. The assistant referee raised the flag up in his hands over his head, which meant that there was a substitution. The referee whistled to indicate the same thing. The throw-in needed to be delayed a little.

The fourth official examined the cleats on Bendtner's shoes, checked his shin guards, and then raised the substitution board: "Number 21 to come off, and Number 9 is being brought on!"

Crouch raised his hands to the applause of the fans and ran off the field. A young man with long blond hair tossed his rain-soaked hair, exhaled, and ran onto the field.

This was the first official game he was playing on behalf of Nottingham Forest. Although he was not in the starting lineup, he would still prove himself, and show the boss that it was a waste to use him as the fourth striker!

Chapter 235: Air Battle Part 1

"Nicklas Bendtner, six feet two inches and 176 pounds. Currently playing as the main forward in Denmark's National Under-17 football team. In Denmark, he once held the moniker of 'Denmark's Ibrahimovi?.' In summer this year, several Premier League teams expressed an interest in him. However, it was Nottingham Forest's Tony Twain who successfully signed him on. This was allegedly because Twain promised him more opportunities to appear on the field with the First Team. Still, except for a few warm-up matches, this is Bendtner's first appearance in an official Nottingham match. Tony has substituted Crouch for someone who's more of a Center forward than Crouch is. He isn't willing to end on a draw with Chelsea on his home ground."

After Bendtner was fielded, Nottingham Forest's tactics became clearer and simpler: to find Bendtner, who outperformed Crouch in headers, for long passes. Albertini also did not advance much by dribbling. Instead, he used his precise placements in long passes to launch attacks; all of his other efforts were expended in dealing with Lampard.

※※※

Seeing a such a childish-looking boy before him, Carvalho underestimated him immediately.

You think you're handsome because of your long hair?

Kiddo, let me tell you… you're still an amateur!

With a long pass from Forest's backfield, Bendtner retreated with the intention of receiving the pass but was caught off guard by Carvalho's sudden break from his side to jump in front of him, heading the ball away.

When they landed, Carvalho glanced backward at Bendtner. Though he was expressionless, Bendtner could tell that he was being taken too lightly.

This poodle is looking down on me!

Chelsea's offense stopped at George Wood. Drogba realized that he had met trouble. The lad whom he had defeated in the first half of the match had seemingly found a different method of defending against him. While the Spaniard was disrupting him from behind, Wood went against him from the front, blocking off the pass routes between him and his teammates.

Wood's improvement with Albertini was apparent. Previously, Wood's greatest weaknesses were his inability to see the big picture and his predictive reading. However, Wood was slowly beginning to develop his own sense in reading the opponents' intentions during their offense.

Duff suddenly broke free of Ribéry in the wings. He had planned to pass to Drogba but was intercepted by Wood, who had routed to the front to defend. Wood, with his successful interception, passed the ball to Albertini, who launched another attack via a long pass.

This time, Bendtner did not retreat but stayed in front of Carvalho, boxing out the spot and waiting for the incoming ball.

Carvalho found himself blocked by his opponent and tried to shift around to Bendtner's front. But he quickly discovered the surprising robustness of the seventeen-year-old in front of him.

He could not budge the boy at all.

The ball was coming. There was no time for Carvalho to reposition himself. He could only jump behind Bendtner instead. One can imagine the results; the Portuguese midfielder, whose favorable position was taken, did not even touch the ball. He could only allow Bendtner to head it away.

Bendtner passed the ball to Eastwood, who had been constantly roving around him. Without hesitation, the Romanian adjusted his position upon receiving the pass and immediately raised his foot to shoot at the goal.

"A long shot… And ?ech! A gorgeous save!"

Czech Republic's national goalkeeper, ?ech, took a flying leap with his body outstretched, bumping Eastwood's attack out of the goal. Forest was awarded a corner ball.

"It looks like Nottingham Forest, who is ranked 13, and Chelsea who is number two in the league, are evenly matched. Taking into consideration factors such as being on their home ground and the number of players, perhaps this is reasonable. But let's recall how Arsenal "equalized" with Nottingham Forest, and how Nottingham Forest defeated Man City; from those two matches, it's apparent that Tony Twain's team is fully able to go head-to-head against strong teams. No, I'm not exaggerating. This Nottingham Forest is already an entirely different team from the one we've been familiar with these past few years. Now, at least, they have no fear when facing such strong teams."

※※※

In all sizes of bars near Stamford Bridge in London, fans of the Blues who had gathered to watch the match hurled curses at the television. "Bullshit! They have more players than us. If they were scared, they might as well go back to the First Division!"

※※※

Nottingham Forest's corner ball came, not finding Piqué, but going even further back. From the crowd, Bendtner jumped up high and headed the ball towards the goal. ?ech had no time to try to save the ball, but it knocked into the side of the net. The spectators' stand in City Ground again let out a huge sigh.

At that point, there was a small disturbance in front of Chelsea's goal. After Bendtner headed the ball, there was a conflict between him and Carvalho.

Earlier, when Bendtner was heading the ball, he had pressed down on Carvalho. Carvalho felt that the Forest team had fouled in their offense, and the main referee should give Chelsea a free kick. Originally, he had wanted to appeal to the referee; but upon catching a disdainful look from Bendtner, Carvalho immediately got annoyed. He lunged and stepped in front of Bendtner with an incensed look on his face. They were practically in each other's faces, with their noses close to touching. Bendtner made no move to back down and stared back at him. Although no one said a thing, everyone could sense the rising winds before a storm.

Their nearby teammates would naturally not allow the storm an opportunity to land; the group of them rushed forward and pulled the two apart. The whistle of the main referee blared as well. He rushed into the crowd and stood between the two players with his right hand raised, blowing bursts of shrill whistles continuously.

"Bastard!" Albertini pushed Bendtner out of the crowd and glared at him. "What are you doing?! Calm down!"

Although Bendtner's face was still visibly angry, he looked at the team captain before him and seemed to shrink, muttering, "He looked down on me first…"

"Score a goal, and he'll know how good you are!" Albertini said, smacking his fists together. He then wrapped his arm around Bendtner's neck. "Don't let the boss down."

Hearing this, Bendtner looked up at the technical area. The manager was staring at him.

He fell quiet for a moment, then nodded his head.

"I'll listen to you, Captain."

Albertini cracked a smile as he lightly punched Bendtner in his strong chest. "Listen, Nick. The best way to get back at an opponent who looks down on you is to get a goal off them!"

As Albertini was encouraging Bendtner, Carvalho started to argue with the main referee.

"He was the one who pressed down on me!" Carvalho repeatedly told the referee with his somewhat broken English. Poll only shook his head and flashed a yellow card at the Portuguese man.

"Ah, Carvalho gets a yellow card! It looks like Chelsea's players are somewhat agitated, but Poll is unmoved and stands by his judgment. It looks like a mess of a match for Chelsea today!"

When Mourinho saw the referee flash his yellow card at Carvalho but not pursue Bendtner's part in it, he got so furious that he simply waved and turned his back on them.

What a preposterous home field!

※※※

"Bendtner is too eager to prove himself," Assistant manager David Kerslake said to Tang En.

Tang En nodded in agreement. After freezing this boy, whose ambitions were sky high, for a month, he was like a lion crazed from starvation. As Tang En saw Albertini pulling Bendtner to look in his direction and pointing towards him, he immediately put on a face and stared at Bendtner. Only when the boy hung his head did he begin to laugh, murmuring lowly in Chinese, "If you want a hound to run fast, you have to keep his appetite sharp!"

"Hm?" Kerslake answered, thinking that Tang En was speaking to him.

"Ah, nothing." At times like these, Tang En especially wished that the person next to him was Dunn. At least then it would be someone who could understand him. Plus, he then wouldn't have to worry about having spies from their opponents eavesdrop on their discussions of tactics on the sidelines. Don't think that spies on the soccer field are only things of fiction. On the sidelines of a soccer field, anything is possible. Tang En's opponent in the play-off of the first season, the old schemer Neil Warnock, had previously sent spies to his opponents to listen in on their strategies.

Chelsea's players, who had surrounded the referee in their appeal, scattered. They knew that they would not be able to change the referee's decision on this, no matter what they did. Either way, it was just a yellow card, not a red one. Surrounding the referee, making some fuss, or stomping their feet was just a way to vent their grievances.

After the match resumed, Mourinho stood on the sidelines shouting at Carvalho to give up marking Bendtner and to deal with the Romanian from Forest instead. Bendtner was passed to their Captain, John Terry, who had the same tough playstyle.

Tang En made some changes, but Mourinho did not make any substitutions. Due to Ferreira's red card in the first half, he had unexpectedly lost a count for his substitution quota. With that, so long as the field situation remained within control, he would not make a substitution lightly.

Even if Duff's performance appeared lacking, he was in no hurry to change him out.

Duff's performance was indeed very poor. He was completely suppressed by Ribéry, who was less well-known than him. Ribéry branded Tang En's expectations of him onto his heart: When attacking, you must be able to move forward; when defending, you must be able to return.

He was young, had good stamina, and was fast. So again and again, he sprinted back and forth in the left wings. Duff is a swift Irish horse? When it comes to speed, I fear no one!

Chapter 236: Air Battle Part 2

Just as Drogba got the ball, he found himself faced with a pincer attack from two burly men. The one pressing in on his back was the Spanish lad, while the person taking wide strides towards him with the intention of stealing the ball was the mixed-blood man.

Tang En knew that when Drogba had first entered the Premier League, his footwork was as rough as it could get. So long as he had two defenders working a pincer on him, he had a high likelihood of losing the ball. That's what Wood and Piqué were doing to Drogba. Currently, Chelsea only had two routes of offense: one route depended on Lampard cutting forward and shooting, and the other relied on Drogba. Lampard was guarded by Matthew Upson and Albertini, whereas Drogba needed to face two physically strong opponents who did not have much match experience.

As Wood took a sweep at the ball, Drogba hurriedly pulled back. However, behind him, Piqué had stretched out his foot at the best possible moment.

It got stolen!

It was so easy to take Drogba's ball!

Drogba, the beast, would not easily give up possession of the ball, and spared no effort to chase it. But just as he shifted his center of gravity to surge forward, a red back with a huge number 13 on it appeared in front of him. It was George Wood, who previously lost out to him while competing for the header, which had resulted in Chelsea equalizing the score.

Drogba felt as if he had crashed into a rock. He had never thought that his body could be inferior to anyone's; this was the first time he had ever received no reaction from his opponent after running into them. In fact, he got bounced back!

With his experience, he took the opportunity to fall to the ground. George Wood did not continue moving after he got into his path but paused momentarily. Surely this was considered an obstruction?

The player fell to the ground, but a whistle did not come. Forest had gained a great opportunity to counterattack.

"What an amazing physique! We have mentioned this several times now, but I want to say it again; George Wood has defeated Didier Drogba! It's unbelievable that such a player has been playing soccer for less than two years! His sturdy build is God's gift to Nottingham Forest!"

While the commentator was singing praise for Wood, Forest was amid a crucial transition from defense to offense. Chelsea had just pressed forward to attack and had not expected Drogba's ball to be intercepted so quickly. Their players had no time to return to defense and form a complete defensive line; there were large swathes of open field ahead of them. As long as Forest seized the opportunity with the timing and positioning of their pass, this counterattack could be a huge threat.

But Wood was clearly not cut out for this.

Out of habit, he wanted to pass the ball to Albertini. But as he raised his head, he saw that Lampard had not retreated to defend, but stepped forward to box out Albertini instead.

It was an intelligent move from Lampard. He knew that the attacks from Forest had to be launched by the Italian man; so if he guarded Albertini, he would have contained the launching grounds of Forest's attack. Additionally, he could buy some time for his teammates, who were rushing back to defend.

In Wood's mind, a voice suddenly told him that he couldn't do that; that he could not pass it to the captain. Otherwise, not only would they be unable to launch their attack, the ball may even be intercepted by the opponents. They would then immediately go on the offensive!

So he took a look at Albertini and turned back. Ribéry was running forward now; Scarface was incredibly fast… Why not him? I'll kick it hard forward, to somewhere empty, and then… just let Scarface run!

Wood executed his idea as soon as it formed in his mind, giving the ball a good kick forward that sent it flying high. He could only do his best to ensure the ball stayed its intended direction. As to exactly where it would land, he really had no inkling at all.

"This is Forest team's counterattack!!" The commentator called out excitedly but soon regretted it. "Oh… the pass seems to have gone wide. It can't possibly be received!"

Ribéry, who was dashing forward, heard the cheers from the stands intensify and looked back, realizing that the ball was suddenly above him in the skies and was falling just ahead of him. He increased his speed, but a blue figure abruptly appeared.

"William Gallas. He appeared at the right place just in time! The ball is coming, and he jumps! He heads the ball away to safety… But he misses!"

The ball sped towards the ground and rebounded up high in front of Gallas, bounding right over his bald head… It was incredibly improbable.

"Go!" Tang En rushed to the sidelines and hollered. It was such a ridiculous scene, but he had no time to stop and laugh.

Franck Ribéry had originally intended to slam on his brakes and wait for Gallas to stop the ball before going up to press on him. On the other hand, he thought that he might as well run back for defense. But his strong inertia stopped him from slowing down in such a short time; unexpectedly, it aided his breakthrough. He sped past Gallas and even remembered to use French to tell his comrade from France, "Merci!"

No one had thought that Gallas would miss the header. In an instant, Chelsea's defensive line had collapsed. Terry and Carvalho both dropped their marked targets and dashed towards Ribéry; the new pairing of midfielders for the season was still not synced up enough.

When Terry saw Carvalho, he waved to signal him to return and defend the middle path, leaving Ribéry to him. Obediently, Carvalho retreated. But Ribéry was not a fool. He was not going to give Chelsea's defenders an opportunity to rebuild their defensive line! He made a swift decision to give up on breaking through to the end line and immediately lifted his foot to pass to the front of the goal!

The football flew over Terry's head, entering the airspace of Chelsea's defense. As Carvalho turned and jumped to head the ball, he saw a figure hurtling towards him from the air.

"Nicklas Bendtner!"

The golden hair of the Denmarkian boy swished an arc in the rain. Carvalho even felt the water droplets from it whipping onto his face, into his eyes. And then… then there was a solid impact between bodies. Following it was the sound of ear-splitting cheers.

"What a GOOOOOAL!!! What a powerful clash! Nottingham Forest takes the lead again!"

As Carvalho fell backward into the mud, he watched the red figure, with wide open arms, run somewhere beyond his vision.

Chapter 237: The Madman Part 1

After seeing the high ball from Ribéry, Bendtner knew that this ball had to be his. Because of its hasty return to defense, the Chelsea line of defense had been ripped apart. Now, the only player close to him was the curly-haired Carvalho; and he was not worried that he would lose to him.

This is the moment I've been waiting for!

He took a big step, opened his arms and dashed towards the football. Even though he knew that he would collide with Carvalho, he did not seem to consider protecting himself. Instead, he forcibly knocked his opponent aside with his body and swung his head to head the ball in!

The speed, strength, and angle of the ball were impeccable. Petr ?ech brandished his hands, but could not stop the ball from flying into the goal. Perhaps he had not expected his teammate to concede in the contest for the ball in the air.

After the goal, Bendtner charged towards the corner flag with his arms spread wide open and stood under the surging waves of red in the stands, pulling at his jersey and yelling. When he had chosen Nottingham Forest and given up Arsenal's invitation, there were some people who had laughed at him. When he came to Nottingham and played as a substitute continuously for a month without even appearing in an official game for a minute, the mocking had become even louder.

Now, he finally had used concrete actions to prove his strength and shut the mouths of those who laughed at him.

There was no better maiden showing than this.

"This is the first goal scored by the Dane in an official game played on behalf of Nottingham Forest! The seventeen-year-old genius, Nicklas Bendtner, has a strong body, excellent skills, and a formidable force of impact! What's even more unbelievable is his youth! Tony Twain has good cards in his hand; look at his players, behold their performances, and consider their ages. It's really exciting!"

※※※

When he saw Bendtner head the football into the goal guarded by Cech, Twain and his assistant manager, Kerslake, jumped out of their seats. David rushed to the sideline while Twain brandished his fist in the direction of Mourinho in the Chelsea technical area and looked at Mourinho with a triumphant smile.

He did it on purpose; he was deliberately provoking Mourinho, and he enjoyed the thrill of being in the lead over his opponent. Indeed, he had not even felt so exhilarated when he was ahead of Arsenal.

He was delighted when he saw his opponent's surly expression.

Mourinho was truly upset. Like Twain, he did not want to lose this game, especially not to this man. Originally, this had just been a normal match in the league and the Forest team had been just an average opponent. But Twain's provocation before the match and that clash during the game made him dislike this manager. In fact, often times, Mourinho's arrogant and conceited way of antagonizing people everywhere was a form of premeditated psychological warfare. But this time, he really detested the sight of the nobody who was celebrating and gesticulating in joy next to him.

"Call Eieur Guejohnsen over to get ready to play." He turned back to his assistant manager, Steve Clarke. Just when Clarke was about to turn to go, Mourinho stopped him again. "Get Parker here too!"

Clarke obviously understood what the remark meant, but he was still stunned for a moment and did not turn to go immediately. Mourinho stared at the field and said, "Steve, there are times… when a little risk is needed in football."

※※※

"This is the Forest team's out of bounds ball, and Chelsea is bringing on a substitution. Mourinho is bringing on two players with twenty minutes left in the game... attacking players! Both an attacking and defending midfielder, Scott Parker and the Icelandic striker Eieur Guejohnsen! Mourinho has used up all of his substitutions. It looks like Chelsea, currently behind, is going all out!"

Mourinho had brought on two attacking players, and the pressure on Nottingham Forest's line of defense spiked. Twain countered the move and made his substitutions when Mourinho made his. He replaced Ashley Young with a defending midfielder, Gunnarsson. He then allowed Ribéry to move freely in the front field, interweaving between the left, middle, and right flanks. His role was not to organize attacks, but to maintain constant pressure on Chelsea's defense. More often than not, the football was sent directly from the backfield to the top of Bendtner's head, and Ribéry did not need to organize any attacks. Of course, if he did receive the ball, it would be his priority to try to control the ball in every possible way. He could covertly waste the game time by tricking his opponents into committing fouls.

In addition, Twain asked Gunnarsson to pass on a message to the team: Once our opponents commit a foul, if you can lie down on the ground, just lie down for a while. Don't be in a hurry to get up, regardless of whether you have the physical strength or not, whether your body is strong or not. It doesn't matter if you only joined the game after the starting lineup.

For the sake of victory, we will use any means. What's a little procrastination in the game time?

Twain looked at the frowning Mourinho in the other technical area, pacing back and forth between the technical area and the sidelines, and smirked.

For the rest of the game, the Forest players suddenly all became fragile. Whenever the Chelsea players tried to tackle and trip them, they would immediately scream in pain and roll in the mud. Following that, there would be the sound of the referee's whistle, and Chelsea would have committed a foul.

The game would be interrupted by one incident or another, and Chelsea could not get their rhythm in sync, let alone win the game. The Forest team had three defending midfielders and two center backs. Against such abilities, Lampard felt as if he was stuck in a quagmire.

And Drogba? With two players, Piqué and Wood, defending against him, he could only hurriedly shoot towards the goal, but did not pose much of a threat to the Forest team's goal.

Off the field, Mourinho decided to defend and fight for the game, but the current Chelsea team was not the one that would sweep across England a year later and maintain their unbeaten home ground record. The players were very impatient on the field and out of sync with each other. Guejohnsen and Parker, who were just brought on, each thought that he was the savior of the team. When one of them received the ball, he would want to break through to shoot the goal. Even when they faced the Forest team's defense and had no chance, they would force a long shot; it's not hard to imagine the outcome of that.

When he first saw this, Mourinho would stamp his feet on the sidelines. Later, he simply sat in his seat, saying and doing nothing. In the face of the Forest players, who relaxed more as they played with even the center back daring to make bold moves, Mourinho seemed to have already felt his defeat.

It did not seem like now was the time to fight to turn the tide of the war, but rather to reflect on why they had arrived at this point.

What exactly happened...and how did we end up like this? I will admit that Ferreira being sent off more than ten minutes into the start of the game put us at a disadvantage in our numbers, and it was no small impact. But later we equalized the score and at one point we had a chance to turn the tide and reverse the situation. What happened then?

He glanced at the Forest team manager, the one that he loathed, Tony Twain. He was no longer putting on a show, but just stood on the sidelines, watching the game.

He looked down at his wrist watch again; it was less than ten minutes until the end of the game.

Winning? Don't even think about it!

※※※

The cheering in the City Ground's stands was getting louder and louder, and the Forest fans chanted Brian Clough's name. This was not to cheer on the Forest players in the hopes that they held fast against the enemy's frenzied attack. No, this was a call to the legend of their generation in the heavens, telling him the current situation of the team that he had once led, but which had fallen into the abyss.

The fearsome Red Forest had come back!

No… Maybe it hadn't quite fully returned yet, but it was not far!

※※※

As the match time went by minute by minute, Chelsea had utterly run out of ideas. Mourinho had already stopped directing the game and just sat in his seat and posed with a dark expression. He intended to let his team have a taste of defeat, but that did not mean he would willingly lose to Tony Twain. From a long-term point of view, the benefit of losing a game at this time was even greater.

If we want to win the championship, it's better to let them know the taste of failure at the right time, and to be on guard against failure at all times, than to fail at the most critical moment of the championship battle.

When the fourth official raised the sign on the sidelines to indicate that the injury stoppage time was three minutes, Mourinho stood up from his seat. Of course, he did not go to the sidelines to shout at the players to stake it all and attack. Instead he just stood on the edge of the technical area. The cheering in the City Ground stadium grew increasingly louder. He just coolly watched the excited red-clad fans.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all had red colors, and now there was a red colored Nottingham Forest. One of English football traditions was the red and blue confrontation. It did not matter whether the Forest team was comparable to the three teams now; in Mourinho's mind, it had been elevated to the same position as the first three teams. Wait till we return to Stamford Bridge. We will strike back for today's defeat!

In the last half-minute of the injury stoppage time, Chelsea's offense gradually vanished. The football was controlled at the feet of the team captain, Albertini. Lampard did not go up to snatch it. He was not the only one. The other Chelsea players also seemed listless. Before the game, when they had arrived at the City Ground stadium, they had held the view that "these three points are in the bag." They had not expected to lose the game.

The referee, Poll, did not continue with the injury stoppage time, but wisely blew the whistle to end the game.

"The game is over! In an unexpected turn of events, Nottingham Forest has beaten Chelsea on their home ground! Mourinho's team has lost for the first time this season, and Tony Twain has scored a key victory on this special day. Brian Clough has a successor to carry on his work!"

Chapter 238: The Madman Part 2

Just as the final whistle blew, Mourinho, who stood on the edge of the technical area, turned and walked towards the tunnel. He completely ignored the tradition and courtesy that the two managers should shake hands after the game. Of course, Twain had not expected this defiant man would shake hands with his sworn enemy after the defeat. Tang En already knew this based on how Mourinho treated Arsène Wenger in the future. Thus, his first reaction after the game was not to go to the Chelsea technical area to shake hands and exchange greetings with his opponent, or perhaps pretend to say a few polite words, but to walk straight to the players who were celebrating the victory on the field.

As a result, there was this weird scene on the sidelines: Both assistant managers came together and completed the post-match custom on behalf of their managers. They shook hands, the loser congratulated the winner, and the winner consoled the loser.

After Twain walked onto the field, he made a beeline for the Danish center forward, Nicklas Bendtner, who had scored the winning goal. The young lad looked very excited and when he saw Twain coming over, he rushed up to hug him, "Boss! We won, we won!"

"That's right, we won. Good job, Nick." Twain was bound in a tight embrace by the other man. He grimaced and said, "If you could let go of me, I would feel even better..."

Bendtner sheepishly let go of Twain, but more Forest players came up again and surrounded the manager, full of admiration in their hearts.

Since the Forest team had lost the game to Blackburn in their first round of the league, they had not lost again. That was an incredible achievement, and what made the players full of confidence was that Nottingham Forest had never been at a disadvantage while playing against the stronger teams.

Seeing how everyone's spirits were running high, Twain simply let them surround him in a circle and stood in the middle. He said now what he had wanted to say in the locker room. "Guys, how does it feel? It feels fantastic to win, right?"

The players laughed loudly.

"That's it, victory. Constant victory. Give all the frustration and pain to our opponents, and enjoy our one-day break tomorrow!"

Cheers rang out from the crowd.

"Well, go and thank the fans who persisted and cheered for you in the rain, then go back to the locker room to take a shower and change. Enjoy your night!"

After watching the players thanking the fans, Twain turned and walked towards the tunnel. There was a press conference waiting for him, and it would be another head-on confrontation with Mourinho. Of course, now that he was the winner, he was looking forward to it. There was a smile plastered on Twain's face as he walked.

※※※

While the Forest players were still outside celebrating the victory with the fans, Twain was already seated in the lobby of the press conference, waiting for his rival, Mourinho, to arrive.

Mourinho must have been admonishing his players in the locker room at the time. This reminded Twain of the situation after his first game. In the FA Cup, the Forest team had lost to West Ham United. At that time, the West Ham United manager had made him wait alone for a long time at the press conference, until he was so annoyed that he announced the start of the press conference in advance.

But today was different. Mourinho had made him wait here, but he willingly waited because he had won the match and was in a good mood.

There were not many reporters in the press conference hall; instead they crowded in the mixed zone, interviewing the players. Twain was not in a hurry, so he sat and waited. As time passed, more and more reporters came into the hall, and it seemed like the players had returned to the locker room.

At that time, Mourinho also arrived. He sat with a serious expression in the seat next to Twain. The reporters, who had gathered together to chat in groups of twos or threes just now, saw that the two leading subjects had arrived, and hurriedly returned to their seats. The press host also announced the official start of the press conference.

The reporters were not very enthusiastic about the result of the match, but they were very interested in the retaliatory confrontation between the two managers on the sidelines. Almost all of the questions were related to the near-end of the first half, when the two managers had clashed.

Twain did not want to talk much about this issue because he was the winner. He hoped that everyone would focus more on the match results than the silly "one-on-one match between the managers."

Mourinho also refused to answer the question because he was in a bad mood due to his defeat. He ignored the reporters' questions to him and talked directly about the game. "I don't want to talk about the results of the game, I just want to talk about a few points of the game. First of all, it was absolutely unfair for Ferreira to be sent off, I think that there's a high chance that Ribéry was just diving. Don't ask me why, I don't have a reason, but I ask you to go back and watch the game video."

At this point, Twain interjected next to him. "Of course, after watching it a hundred times, you will also think that Ferreira's red card was a result of his own actions." When he said this, he did not look at Mourinho, but instead glanced at a corner of the room. It was obvious that he disregarded Mourinho.

The expression on Mourinho's face grew even darker. The reporters were thrilled. Is there going to be a repeat performance of the scene on the sidelines?

But they were disappointed. Mourinho clenched his jaw and pretended not to hear Twain. He continued. "Secondly, I suggest that the English Football Association consider a penalty for the deliberate action of wasting time in the game."

"Well, first you'd need to have a lawsuit for one year to prove someone's 'deliberate action of wasting time in the game.'"

It was as if these two men were in a debate. One stated a remark, the other returned with another remark. Twain deliberately interjected Mourinho's speech, and Mourinho intentionally ignored Twain.

"Thirdly, it was only a victory for a game, it doesn't prove anything. We lost this game, but we're still a strong contender for the league title. As for the Forest team, I sincerely hope that I'll still see them in the Premier League next season." He could ignore it all he wanted, but his fury within could not be concealed any longer. Mourinho had finally targeted the attack directly at Twain's team.

"Ah, are you talking about the Champions League?" Twain smiled. "I also hope I can see Chelsea there."

Mourinho got up directly from his seat, and the reporters' cameras were flashing wildly.

What were they anticipating? Of course, it was Mourinho, unable to endure any longer, punching Tony Twain, and then the two managers quickly punching each other's lights out in full view of everyone. The newspapers, on the radio, on the television, on the internet the next day… All the media would be broadcasting the sensational affair. The English Football Association would be the one with the headache, but the media and readers would be thrilled.

However, to their disappointment, Mourinho did not swing his fist at Twain. Instead, he turned and left the scene of the press conference, leaving behind Twain to do his one-man show.

Twain was not embarrassed by the sudden departure of Mourinho. In fact, he had expected that this would happen. Mourinho was a conceited man. When faced with his repeated provocations, it was not possible for him to just sit there, answer questions, and pretend to play nice with a person he disliked. Think about how he treated Arsène Wenger.

Therefore, Twain was completely unaffected by Mourinho's early departure, and did not complain about the other man's manners like he once had with the West Ham United manager Glenn Roeder.

He looked down at the group of stunned reporters and said with a smile, "Firstly, I want to make clear that I don't wish to see you define this game as 'an upset.' Any mention of 'an upset' in your questions, and I will directly refuse to answer. It's a normal outcome for whoever won the match between us and Chelsea. And I think that even if we win against Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool, it's still not an upset. Because we have the strength, it's just that you never knew it. Well, gentlemen, do you have anything you want to ask?"

No one immediately raised their hands to ask questions. The media were obviously shocked by the performance of these two idiosyncratic managers and forgot what they were here for. There was a loud buzzing in the press conference hall.

Twain sat on the platform, not caring if no one asked him a question. On the contrary, he looked at the scene in front of him with satisfaction.

Chapter 239: The Entertainment Circle? No

On the afternoon after the match, several major media sources reported on the league match where Nottingham Forest, on their home ground, had welcomed Chelsea. It was not only because Forest team, who ranked 13, had beaten Chelsea who was ranked number two. It was also not due to Chelsea, who had previously won four matches and drawn two, getting its first taste of defeat. And it was most certainly not because of Denmark's genius Nicklas Bendtner having made a stunning appearance, or Paulo Ferreira receiving a red card. In fact, the reason for the media reporting this match with such fanfare had absolutely nothing to do with the players from the team. It was because of the teams' managers.

A half hour after the match ended, the official website of the English Premier League updated their homepage. They put up a picture that took up almost half of the screen; one that captured the scene of Mourinho and Tony Twain confronting each other on the sidelines. Below it was a simple caption:

Enemies.

An appropriate interpretation.

The evening program "Match of the Day," during its live broadcast, even specially invited lip-reading specialists to help audiences decipher what the two managers had said during the confrontation. The results were mostly true to what had happened. After watching the exchange between the two generals, even the usually eloquent Lineker was without words. He seemed at a loss about how to comment on the two managers' performances.

Of course, that was all just a gimmick. If Nottingham Forest wanted to gain a greater position in the League, it was not enough to depend on Tang En hopping up and down in a verbal war with the opposing manager. Forest needed to show off their capabilities, and the victory came at just the right time. Even though the audience would inevitably feel that Tang En's words at the press conference were somewhat arrogant, Forest's fans would be supporting Tony Twain more fervently than ever.

Old fans who still missed the era of Brian Clough and the new fans who had no experience but had heard the legend of Clough and his character countless times all declared that they had found the true successor of Brian Clough. It was not José Mourinho. It was Tony Twain, who continued to deny any intentions of becoming Clough's successor. They could care less about how Tony saw it. They simply published their own expectations.

After the match had ended and Forest's players had satisfied the signature requests from their fans, they boarded the bus. Tang En, who was last to exit, then walked out of the stadium. Amongst the cheering crowds along the way, he noticed a fan with a head of white hair. He looked like an old fan who must have experienced the period of Forest's greatest glory. He stood next to the Forest team's bus. Unlike the other Forest fans, who were dancing, singing, and jumping, he only stood there with a board in his hands. On it was written, Forget Robin Hood, Remember Clough. Now, we have a second Clough.

As Tang En passed by him, his attention turned to the words written on the board. He then raised his head and looked closely at the person. The old fan looked back at him without a word, asking for neither signature nor photograph. Tang En gently shook his head and turned to board the bus.

He knew of the hope that the fans had for him, but looking at such words, he still did not know what to say. Would he never be able to step out from under the shadow of Clough? No matter how successful he became in the future, others would only say, "Tony Twain is Brian Clough the Second!"

At the thought of this, Tang En smiled wryly. Even though the Boss looked well upon him, he was trying so hard to reduce the man's influence on himself. It was an unexpected situation.

A characteristic manager?

He wasn't trying to intentionally imitate the Boss' style; he was just being himself.

Just ten minutes before Forest's team bus left City Ground, Chelsea's blue coach took off as well. Mourinho turned down all interview requests from the reporters. As the loser, he swiftly left with his team, all the while thinking about the ample time he had ahead of him to return the favor.

A BBC news reporter stood in the middle of City Ground square and said to the camera, "Although Brian Clough has left, he left us with a topic to ponder for a long time: who is his true successor? José Mourinho or Tony Twain? For a while, I believe that the contest between the two will be an indispensable part of the Premier League. It will definitely be entertaining…"

※※※

On the second day, the discussion of who would be Clough's true successor continued. Naturally, Nottingham's local media leaned towards Tony. London's media, meanwhile, showed no interest in the moniker, but media from other areas seemed keen on joining in the fun. If only from their achievements, Mourinho indeed appeared to be closer to the title of one of England's most successful managers.

Tang En had no interest in the debate and made no attempt to take the opportunity to update his column. This disappointed the owner of "Nottingham Evening Post." It was such a hot topic, Twain surely could attract more readers to participate in the discussions. Newspaper sales would definitely be on the rise. It was too bad. The manager of the Evening Post could not do anything as he watched an opportunity slink away right under his nose.

He could not order around someone like Twain. The person who could do so was probably not born yet. Furthermore, when both parties signed the agreement, there were no stipulations for how often Tony would hand in articles; Tony had complete freedom.

The second day after the match was a day off for the team. The players had no training and plenty of time to rest at home or to go out with friends.

When Tang En woke up, he saw Dunn watching the videos again and frowned.

The weather was not especially sunny, but it still wasn't right for Dunn to always stay at home without interacting with anyone. Moving closer, Tang En realized that Dunn was watching a recording of the Youth team's match. In Tony's time with the Youth team, he had not done any sort of match or training recordings. However, through occasional chats with Tang En after Dunn had joined the Youth Team, they discussed the reason behind Ajax's high level of youth training: the recording of their trainings and review afterward. The discussion that day had inspired Tang En, who had then brought Dunn to find Evan. He suggested equipping the Youth Training Camp with more modern equipment to implement a modernized training model. Of course, Tang En did not forget to continually emphasize that the idea had come from the Chinese man beside him. Evan agreed to Tang En's proposal, furthering the tradition of valuing youth training and bringing it to greater heights.

"Hey, Dunn. You're such a shut-in. Stop hiding at home; go out with me!" Tang En stood behind Dunn and washed his face as he said this.

"A shut-in?" Dunn looked back at Tang En.

"You stayed in China for a while. Haven't you heard that term?"

Tang En only responded when Dunn shook his head. The term "shut-in" had only become popularized in China in 2007; the term was less well-known in 2004.

"Oh. It refers to being overly obsessed with something and constantly staying at home without going out to interact with others. It isn't a healthy way of living. Look at you; other than going to the training grounds to work, you're always at home watching these videos." Tang En pointed to the huge number of videotapes scattered all over the floor.

Before Dunn's arrival, Tang En had always tried to maintain the cleanliness of the living room because Yang Yan would come for lessons. Now, the whole area had been overtaken by all sorts of recordings with various titles: Forest's First Team match videos, Youth Team training and match videos, English Premier League match videos from various teams, UEFA Champions League match videos, UEFA Europa League match videos, and National team match videos. Any video he could possibly want could be found there. Even Tang En himself did not know where the surplus of videotapes had suddenly come from but found himself sighing at Dunn.

Dunn turned back to the screen and pressed the pause button. "What do you want to go out and buy?"

Tang En shrugged. "I'm not buying anything."

"If you're not buying anything, why do you want to go out?"

"You can't go out if you're not buying anything? We could go out to breathe in some fresh air, meet some new friends. Look at the sky outside, it's so clear!" Tang En said, lying blatantly as he pointed to the grey skies outside the window.

Rather than complying and looking out the window, Dunn turned to the television screen. "That's not part of the plan."

Tang En strode in front of the television and switched off the power. "You're always stuffing your life into a planner and following it to a tee. Haven't you had enough of those days? If everything had to be planned, life would be missing a lot of surprises! Do you ever need to plan to go to the washroom? Let's go, let's go."

At last, Tang En managed to successfully drag Dunn out of the house.

Tang En chattered happily as he stood at the door watching Dunn, who was just leaving the house. "There's a saying in China: to balance between work and leisure. Did you know?"

Dunn ignored Tang En's excitement. He squinted and asked, "Where are we going?"

"'Somewhere lively," Tang En said, spreading his arms.

※※※

George Wood was different from other boys. Not only did he enjoy shopping, he hardly ever slept in. On the afternoon of the second day after the match, while the other players were all still in bed and unwilling to get up, he was already out accompanying his mother shopping.

Due to Tang En's connections with Professor Constantine, Forest had reached out to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to help with Sophia's treatment. Over the past half year, she had undergone a major surgery and had since been in the adjustment and recovery stage. Tang En rarely went to disturb Sophia. He had only asked Constantine about her briefly and received scattered bits of news. Apparently, the results of the surgery were fine, although she still had to undergo a few others to continue the treatment.

Tang En knew very little about matters of medicine. Since Constantine had told him that Sophia's health was slowly improving, his mind was set at ease. He was not willing to attend a third funeral in the UK.

Despite becoming Forest's main defensive midfielder and performing more and more outstandingly with each match, Wood still had not learned how to be a celebrity. While accompanying his mother out to shop, he still dressed in the most ordinary of clothes and wore no sunglasses or a pulled-down cap. He wore the same clothes he always did.

The main defensive midfielder of Nottingham Forest seemed no different than any other ordinary kid. As a result, when he was recognized by Forest's hardcore fans in the heart of downtown and got surrounded, He appeared lost and even nervous. He put himself in front of his mother, an instinct bred from having lived for a long time in areas with security concerns.

"Look, it's Wood!"

"Wood! Wood!"

The more ardor the fans presented him with, the more nervous Wood got. Sophia, who was protected behind him, laughed at the scene. She gently rubbed his back and reminded her son softly, "Don't worry, George. They're only expressing their fondness for you. Smile. Smile at them."

It was a little difficult to expect Wood to smile under the circumstances, but his body was not as stiff as it had once been. Some fans took out paper and pens in hopes of getting Wood to sign for them. With the reminder from his mother, Wood took the pen and wrote his name on the papers. Unlike other celebrities, his signature was not at all flashy. It was slightly lopsided and looked like it came from a small child who had just learned how to write.

But the fans did not care. They took Wood's signature and left delightedly.

After he satisfied a few more such requests, the crowd surrounding Wood eventually dispersed. Wood's forehead was covered in beads of sweat. Seeing this, Sophia dotingly wiped the fine beads away. "You have to get used to this, George. You're a star now."

Faced with his mother's praise, George became slightly embarrassed.

At this moment, a well-dressed middle-aged man stepped in front of Wood. He first politely bowed to Sophia. Without knowing why Sophia returned the gesture. Following this, the gentleman turned to Wood, who was next to her, and beamed a smile wide enough to dazzle the females around him. He said, "Do you have any interest in joining the entertainment circle?"

If this had been asked to any girl or a handsome guy, they probably would have answered the question with eagerness. But for George Wood and his mother, their first reaction was to wonder if they had heard him wrong.

※※※

Tang En and Dunn walked along the lively streets, with the former feeling pretty good because of his win over Mourinho, while the latter thought that it was a waste of time to walk meaninglessly, aimlessly.

Tang En was the same as George Wood and did not like putting on a fa?ade in public. So, even though he would still put on dark sunglasses and keep up a cool appearance at some places, he would not burden himself that way when he was out to play. As a result, he always ended up being recognized by someone. However, with Tang En's supporters being older, they were not as fanatical as the younger fans, like Wood's. At most, Tang En's fans would wave and greet him. Tang En would just return the gesture.

It was just like two friends greeting each other when meeting on the streets.

"Look at this, Dunn. Isn't this nice?" Tang En turned to say to him as he sent another Forest fan away. "Have you heard of 'The Man in the Case?' You're almost becoming that. You need to communicate and interact with different people. Do you want to become an outstanding manager? This is an essential quality!"

In front of Dunn, Tang En would often ramble. Dunn was long used to it, so he just kept silent, neither disagreeing or agreeing. Tang En was also used to his silence and continued chattering away, figuring that it would somehow get into Dunn's head.

As the saying goes, "many a little makes a mickle."

Just as the chattering Twain and silent Dunn reached Victoria Shopping Mall, Tang En noticed a familiar figure in the crowd… No, it was two familiar figures: George Wood and Sophia. There was also another middle-aged man whom he did not initially notice, but who quickly attracted his attention.

Since their backs were to him, Tang En suddenly became very keen on eavesdropping on their conversation. He signaled to Dunn and crept up near to them.

Following that, he heard the man say to Wood, "Your appearance and demeanor are both very suitable for a career in the entertainment circle. Don't you think you should consider it?"

So, it was a poacher!

"I'm afraid not, Sir." Tang En could not help but interrupt, shocking Sophia.

"Mr. Tony!" Her voice was filled with surprise.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry I haven't gone to visit you, but it seems like you're recovering well." Tang En smiled as he greeted her. Then, he stepped forward and stood between the man and Wood.

"If you are looking for some handsome dude to participate in reality TV, I advise you to change targets. He's mine," Tang En said as he pointed to Wood.

Wood frowned at his words but said nothing.

Seeing that someone had cut in, the middle-aged man looked at Tang En. After taking in his appearance, the man frowned as well and turned again to Wood. "Boy, I really think you have potential. You can try, or if not…"

Tang En, who was completely ignored, gnashed his teeth.

"Do you need me to remind you again, Sir? He's mine." Tang En moved and stood right in front of Wood. "He's a main player for Nottingham Forest's football team. He's a professional football player, not some pretty boy. You've got the wrong guy."

Now the middle-aged man had no way of ignoring Tang En. He said with a frown, "I don't think being a football player means you can't be a movie star or a model."

"Perhaps others could; but with me, it can't be done."

The two started arguing.

"Maybe we should listen to what the boy thinks." As if realizing how stubborn his opponent was, the man decided to bypass Tang En.

Tang En wanted to reply with, "I'm Wood's manager. I have the authority to decide this." But he thought better of it.

Wood should answer the question. He was interested to know what the kid thought about football.

Wood peeked at his mother, who was staring at Tang En, and then at Tang En himself. Finally, he shook his head at the middle-aged man.

"I like football."

Hearing the reply from Wood behind him, Tang En finally smiled at the other man. "Alright, Sir. You have your answer."

The man sighed. "What a pity… I'm sorry for disturbing you." He even remembered to bid goodbye to Sophia with a, "Goodbye, Madam."

On the other hand, Tang En waved and said, "No hurry; goodbye."

He glared at Tang En and handed Wood a business card. "This is my card. If you change your mind, you're welcome to come find me at any time, son."

He watched Wood take the card from him before turning to leave. As he left, he made a point to say to Tang En, "I won't give up."

"That's not up to you," Tang En said, shrugging.

Chapter 240: Read the Headline Part 1

Since he had met Sophia on the street, Twain's outing today naturally gained a purpose: he would introduce Dunn to Sophia and invite them to dinner.

"I really didn't expect to meet you here, Mr. Twain." Sitting at the dinner table while waiting for their food, Sophia spoke with barely concealed excitement.

"Me neither, ma'am." Compared to Sophia, Twain was obviously more restrained as he replied with a smile, "I've been busy with too many things with too little time. I'm sorry I haven't visited you."

"Don't be sorry, Mr. Twain. I've heard from George. He always tells me about what's going within the team now."

Sitting next to them, Wood gave a cough and Sophia laughed. Twain laughed too when he saw Wood looking uncomfortable. He finally had caught a hidden side of Wood!

"This is Dunn, my Chinese friend." Twain introduced Dunn to Sophia. "He's... well, a little shy."

Dunn did not mind Twain's comment about him. He just nodded politely at Sophia. "Hello, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Mr. Dunn. Glad to meet you, too." Sophia returned.

Twain had been secretly observing Dunn's expression after seeing Sophia, and was disappointed with his response. Seeing how indifferent Dunn was to this beautiful woman, Tang En wondered if he was playing for the other team.

Then Twain and Sophia were conversing happily while Wood and Dunn sat in silence next to them.

The two of them talked about a wide range of topics, starting with their daily lives. Later, when Twain saw how quiet Wood was, he tried to pull him into the conversation by leading the topic of conversation towards the team. Sure enough, Wood had to join the conversation because his mother would always ask him, "Is that true, George?"

Then Twain also pulled Dunn into the conversation by beginning with his trip to China in the summer and then talking about the China as a whole. Dunn had no choice but to be part of the conversation. No matter how reticent he normally was, he could not ignore the queries of a lady.

From hearing Dunn answer Sophia's questions, Twain could tell that he had really made an effort to understand the unfamiliar country while he was in China. It seemed that he truly intended to live in China for the rest of his life and be the Chinese Tang En.

But who could predict fate?

If Tang En himself had not missed his parents in China and made that trip, perhaps their futures would not have intersected at all. And he, as Tony Twain, would continue to be a professional football manager, maybe accomplishing great things, maybe not. And he, Dunn, would have had a warm home and would have peacefully become an ordinary Chinese man, busying himself with his daily livelihood.

When he thought about it, it didn't seem too bad.

But Tang En had changed Dunn's life; he had changed it twice. If he had not run into Dunn, nothing would have changed. But as it happened, they did meet after all.

Watching Dunn, unable to refuse Sophia's request, using a knife and fork to demonstrate to her the use of chopsticks, Tang En thought that the way they were now was not too nice…

After lunch, despite some reluctance, Sophia had to say goodbye to Twain. After all, she was still in recovery and needed to pay attention to her health. Because of her excitement in meeting Twain, her breathing had quickened a little.

After saying goodbye to Twain, Sophia turned to Dunn and smiled at him. "I've always felt that Mr. Twain must be very lonely living alone. But now, with Mr. Dunn around... you two both like football so much, you must have endless things to talk when you're together."

Dunn did not know how to respond to this. He looked at Twain and saw that Twain was just smiling and looking at Sophia, so he nodded and said, "Actually, most of the time, he's the one doing the talking."

Sophia covered her lips and giggled lightly. "Mr. Twain must have bottled up a lot when he lived alone."

Twain coughed and scratched his head, "That's right, I often talk to myself. It irritates him." And then, he pointed to Dunn.

"It's okay, after listening to him for a long time, it's no different from listening to rap. I just treat it like it's background noise and tune it out."

Dunn's earnest answer made Sophia laugh heartily with her head lowered. Both shoulders trembled, and her beautiful face was flushed.

"Mr. Twain, Mr. Dunn, I should get going. George?"

When Wood heard his mother's words, he said goodbye to the two men standing in front of him. He did not say much. He just waved his hand. "Bye."

After seeing the mother and son walking in the distance, Tang En looked back Dunn and said with some surprise, "I didn't know you were capable of cracking jokes."

"Listening to you talk all the time, I think any blockhead would have already gotten the hang of it by now."

"Isn't this nice!" Twain shrugged. "You have potential for dry humor! Rap? It's a good analogy, but I actually prefer British rock. Do you like the band Queen? I'm a fan..."

Tang En was jabbering on again.

"Right." Dunn extended his hand to Tang En. "I forgot to congratulate you. I watched that game at the stadium, it was very exciting. The tactics, I mean."

Glancing at Dunn's outstretched hand, Tang En smiled and shook it. "Thank you."

※※※

Three days later, Dunn continued his work on the youth team, which was something he was already familiar with, and Twain led the Forest First Team and flew to the city of Ostrava, Czech Republic, to challenge their opponent in the UEFA Europa League qualifying match. This was a decisive game because the Forest team had already won 3:0 in the previous home game. As long as they did not concede four goals in this game, they would enter the UEFA Europa League official tournament.

The Forest team did not have any doubts about winning this game. They felt that even if it was an away game, winning would not be a problem.

They were the Nottingham Forest team that had just beat Chelsea! And what sort of team was FC Baník Ostrava? Could it compare to Chelsea? Could it compare to Arsenal?

With opinions like these, the Forest team was hammered by its opponent at the start of the game. They were behind by a goal.

The opposing striker, who the Forest players could not even name, kicked a long-range shot and struck into the goal that Darren Ward was defending within five minutes of the game's start.

Having conceded a goal so quickly, the Forest players did not react in time. They were completely stupefied and played terribly in the first half of the game. As a result, in the last moments of the first half, Ostrava seized another opportunity and scored another goal. The initial three-goal difference which had made Nottingham Forest so full of confidence had suddenly turned into a one-goal difference!

They had played amazingly in the last game, but played so terribly in this game that it was infuriating. With mostly young players, the Forest team could be very unstable.

Chapter 241: Read the Headline Part 2

During the halftime break, the players heard a roar that had not been heard for a long time. Twain, who was furious at the team's performance, screamed at them with his neck all flushed red. "When the score was at 3:1, you must be thinking to yourselves, 'What's there to be afraid of? We're still ahead by two goals!' When it was 3:2, were you still saying to yourselves, 'What are we afraid of? We're still ahead by one goal!' If we are neck-and-neck with them at 3:3 in the second half, what are you going to do? Am I mistaken or are you mistaken? This is the UEFA Europa League qualifier, not some f**king warm-up match! So, you'd better get your heads on straight, and be serious! If we lose to this team, then when we return, each one of you prepare a rope and be ready to hang yourselves!"

His words were a bit harsh, but what else could he do to make the group of heartless little bastards feel the crisis they were in? They had just defeated Chelsea, and they were already so elated that they had forgotten themselves. Where was their dignity as a powerful team?

The Forest team of the second half was very different from that of the first half. When looking at both teams' strength, Nottingham Forest was certainly stronger than Ostrava. Even factoring in the home ground advantage, the Forest team had no reason to take a tumble here.

The home team, Ostrava, seemed to have hopes of entering the UEFA Europa League after they had turned their total score around to 2:3. At the start of the second half, they launched a series of attacks on Forest's goal. However, this time, their offense could not breach the Forest team's penalty area as easily. Wood and Albertini erected an impenetrable wall in front of the center backs, especially Wood. His and Albertini's positions were not exactly parallel, but slightly misaligned. Albertini was slightly ahead, and Wood was more towards the rear. From this position, one could see their division of work on the field.

Albertini not only had to attack, he also had to organize the team's offense. Wood only needed to intercept his opponent's attacks behind Albertini. For George Wood, who was improving rapidly, this was not difficult to accomplish.

The Czechs soon discovered that the English team, which they had easily breached in the first half, was completely different. Their offense was totally ineffective, and their defense was in jeopardy at the same time.

At the 68th minute, Nicklas Bendtner, who was in the starting lineup for this game because he had scored a goal in the game with Chelsea, scored his second goal of the season. This time, it was not a header, but a vigorous volley after he had single-handedly broken through the opposing defenders.

The Forest team drew the total score to 4:2, but this clearly did not satisfy Twain, who continued to yell at the players on the field to score more and more goals.

Soon after replacing Eastwood, Crouch fulfilled Twain's demands. He utilized an unconventional header to widen the gap to 5:2, with two goals in the away match. Leading with a total score of 5:2, the Forest team had fully locked in their spot for the UEFA Europa League with twenty minutes left in the game.

Subsequently, Ostrava lost its fighting spirit, and Twain began to make back-to-back substitutions, allowing players who rarely had opportunities to appear in matches to familiarize themselves with the feeling of being in a tournament.

Aaron Lennon replaced Ashley Young, and Ribéry was replaced by Kris Commons next.

By the end of the game, the score of 2:2 had not changed, and Nottingham Forest had successfully won their entry to the UEFA Europa League.

However, Twain did not senselessly rush to the field to celebrate their victory. To him, getting into the UEFA Europa League was just the first step in a long journey. If he were to be beside himself with joy now, how was he supposed to tell his players to stay calm?

Therefore, when the game was over, he just turned and walked towards the home team's head coach to shake hands with him.

"Congratulations to you and your team. The team that performed better has won entry into the UEFA Europa League." Despite losing the game, the head coach of the other team still politely congratulated Twain.

"Thank you very much. Honestly, your team performed very well; we just had better luck this time." Twain said some polite words that he did not even believe, and a modest smile was plastered on his face. But after bidding farewell to the other man, he turned around and watched the players who were still exchanging jerseys with their opponents. He pumped his fists in front of his chest.

The UEFA Europa League! Although it was not as high profile as the UEFA Champions League, it was still a European tournament with many opportunities to encounter powerful European teams. Playing against these strong opponents was what Tang En was looking forward to the most.

Champion?

I'm not giddy yet. What is the goal of Nottingham Forest in Europe this season? To create a stir among those European powers!

Europe, here we come.

This time, it's real.

※※※

The news that the Forest team had successfully broken into the UEFA Europa League was a matter of some interest to the English media, since this was an old football team returning to the public eye. But most media outlets were cautious about Nottingham Forest's prospects in the UEFA Europa League. They thought that the Forest team, which had been absent from the UEFA Europa League for a long time, would not be able to keep up their momentum. They even earnestly brought up the painful memory of the '95-96 season, in which the Forest team had lost to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Europa League quarter finals with a total score of 7:2, to support their views on the Forest team.

With regard to those suspicions, Twain chose to fight back in his column, but he did not write a lengthy rebuttal to make his case point-by-point. The latest issue of Twain's column attracted a lot of attention both because of his headline and his main body text.

The headline was: The UEFA Europa League is just the first step towards the UEFA Champions League title.

The full text of the article was only three words: Read the Headline.

The contract between Twain and the Evening Post stipulated that his fees were based on word count, so Twain would not receive a single cent for this article. However, it doubled the sales volume of the Evening Post, and all the readers fixated on its arrogance. They could almost imagine Twain saying those words with a condescending expression.

The next day, even Gary Lineker mentioned this matter in his online column and considered Twain's simple "Read the Headline" was the most ideal comeback, and that it was perfectly succinct.

Everyone was talking about Twain and the article. He might be the first manager to lead a newly promoted team and still proclaim to take the UEFA Champions League title.

Mourinho was arrogant because he had won the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League, and the Portuguese league, which had led Porto to achieve a treble in a single season. He had the qualifications to be outrageous.

And Twain? What did he have to show other than a measly EFL Cup title? It was an eye-opener to see how a man with nothing could be so conceited.

More and more people were becoming interested in the Premier League's youngest manager.

When the Forest team was training the next day, there were more journalists around the training base than ever before, which surprised the club chairman, Evan Doughty, as drove up to the base.

While parking his car in the parking lot, he saw Twain, who was approaching after getting rid of the reporters pestering him, and quickly stopped him. "Tony, what's going on here?" he said, pointing to the gate.

Twain smiled and said, "Evan, don't you ever read the papers?"

"Of course, I do but what does this have to do with... Oh! I know!" Evan Doughty cracked up in laughter. "Is is because of 'Read the Headline'? That was good, I loved it!"

"Did you think I deliberately did that to refute the press?" asked Twain.

Evan shrugged. "I don't know about that."

"Evan, remember that time when we were planning the future with Allan in that Indian restaurant?" Twain glanced at the clear sky.

Evan nodded with a smile. "Of course I remember. How could I forget?"

"It's getting closer and closer," said Twain with certainty.

Chapter 242: The Unstable Forest Part 1

With October coming, there were more national team matches and the schedule for the English Premier League seemed somewhat messy. On October 3, Forest team would host a match against Bolton Wanderers F.C. After a 13-day rest, on October 16, they would challenge Norwich City in an away match. Thereafter, the schedule would suddenly tighten up with the first group stage match of the UEFA Europa League on the 21, an away match with Crystal Palace on the 24, and a challenge up north against Newcastle on the 30.

The draw for the UEFA Europa League group stage had also just been announced. Nottingham Forest was placed in Group E with AS Egaleo Aigaleo Athens from Greece, Lazio from Italy, Villarreal from Spain, and Partizan Belgrade from Serbia and Montenegro.

Taking into consideration the congestion of matches in the latter half, Tang En decided to focus on training up their physical reserves in the earlier part of the month. Now that the team's basic strategy had been formed and the players had gotten used to each other, Tang En did not need to worry about much.

On October 3, Nottingham Forest would host a match against Bolton Wanderers F.C. To Tang En, that opponent was not a stranger at all; they had met in the previous season of the EFL Cup. That time, Tang En's team had kicked Bolton Wanderers F.C. out of the final match. This time, it was only within reason that Forest, who was on their home ground and boosted greatly in their ability, would win.

And with a score of 2:1, Forest took two straight wins.

The league proceeded to its eighth round. With their results of three wins, four draws, and one loss, the newly-promoted Nottingham Forest accumulated 13 points to rank sixth in the League! This was astonishing for a team that had just been promoted. Even if the league was only beginning and the final results were hard to predict, it was astounding enough for Forest to be able to break into the top six.

Looking at the results Forest team had had and going back to flip through the article written by Tony on Nottingham Evening Post titled "Read the headline," some people began to think that the young man's arrogance was perhaps not unfounded.

As a result, not only did the media praise Tony, they praised Forest team to the skies as well.

Thirteen days later, the well-prepared Forest team unexpectedly failed to take down Norwich City, whose abilities were weaker than Forest's despite being on home ground. They came to a draw of 0:0. After the match ended, neither manager had the intention of making nice with a handshake. While the home team manager groused about not getting a victory on their home ground or accumulating more points for the team, Tang En was extremely annoyed that they fought such an opponent to only a draw.

If you had not harbored too much hope for the current Forest team, it would surely give you a great surprise, making you want to shower them with praise. But when you did so, you would quickly begin to regret it because their performance would then infuriate you to boiling point.

Take this match as an example. Norwich City's abilities were inferior to Nottingham Forest's; yet their performance in the field was completely reversed, with Forest's players being listless and showing an apparent lack of interest in the match. They could not seem to get in gear and into match conditions. No matter what Tang En did during halftime, it was to no avail.

By the time it got to the final portion of the second half, Tang En simply sat in his manager's seat with crossed legs and watched the match mutely.

Under such conditions, it was only Forest's luck that they did not lose a ball.

But there was no time now for Tang En to work on that. Four days later, the team would be flying to Greece and fighting their first match on the UEFA Europa League group stage.

They had to win the match. In the group, the weakest was the team from Greece. If Nottingham Forest wanted to advance, they had to get the full six points from both home and away matches and create some maneuvering space for themselves in the latter part of the competition.

Tang En's brows started to tighten as he looked around the plane at the players who were filled with yearning for the UEFA Europa League.

Would being overly optimistic about their future bring about terrible consequences? It seemed that his arrogance had already started affecting the young players.

As the manager of the team, he could not always tout the strength of their opponents merely to gain their attention. That would affect the team's confidence and make the players feel as if the manager himself had little confidence in attaining a victory.

Tang En sat at his seat and dug out the match schedule. After scrutinizing the arrangements for the next stretch, he decided to wait and observe.

They would win what they could for the matches. What came after could be considered later. Thinking too much right now would only cause hesitation, and they would not be able to move forward. They were a newly-promoted team; they did not have the right to plan which opponents they could lose to and which they could not. To them, their mission was simple: to do their best to get points. Before they tired out and were completely analyzed by their opponents, they had to accumulate enough points to safely touch base. During the second half of the League, they could then afford to put in more effort in charting the next season instead of having to labor at keeping their position.

Following their ascent into the league, the problems plaguing the team were many: the players' attitudes, their physical fitness, health or injuries, personnel issues, and scouts' recruitment assessments. Additionally, the player data/statistics system that Allan had gotten the old American to build for them still could not meet Tang En's expectations after he had used it for the recent months. He decided to give up entirely on using the program from that company but had no inkling of which other company he could approach to write the new program. Naturally, those things fell to him to consider. After all, he knew more than Allan about such professional matters. But at that point, he could not afford to care about those things. The team's first season with the English Premier League was his first too. Everything had to be slowly figured out.

His head started to ache just from thinking about those cumbersome matters. After all, reality was no game. Here in the real world, although some things could be neglected, anything could come back with terrifying consequences.

Tang En laid his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes to rest.

He really needed every bit of opportunity to properly rest. A few days ago, when he was video-calling Shania online, the girl had made a big fuss about how Uncle Tony was pale-faced, must not be physically or mentally well, and so on. Tang En told her that it must be the lighting effect that came with the camera that caused the target being filmed to appear pale. But he knew the truth; ever since he had taken on his position as Forest's manager, stress had been a constant companion and would continue to be, unless he left his post and quit being a manager.

Speaking of which, star players like Beckham buy insurance for their bodies. Why don't managers insure their hearts?

Thinking about such nonsensical matters, Tang En gradually fell asleep.

※※※

Nottingham Forest's performance completely fulfilled the expectations Tang En had had in his heart. They did not make any targeted arrangements just because this was their first official opponent in the UEFA Europa League; there were no special changes to their tactics. However, Forest team's performance was a world of difference from their performance in the previous match. Just a match before, they had almost lost to Norwich City on Forest's home ground. But today, they won 3:1 for their first group match in the UEFA Europa League in a location even more alien to them: Greece.

Tang En stood outside the technical area for the away team in Dimotiko Stadium. He looked at the field with both hands in his pockets. There were still five minutes before the match ended, but Forest team had already cemented their victory.

This match was completely different from the match with Norwich City. The entire Forest team was extremely energetic that day; their movements, passing and receiving, efficiency at offense, and accuracy in shots were more than a mere level above their performance from a few days ago.

Maybe it was because the UEFA Europa League excited them.

But there was no way to always keep them excited. A crest could not possibly be maintained; if it could, it would not be called a crest.

Tang En scratched his head and turned to see David's beaming face. With such results, the assistant coach had nothing to complain about. For a team that had been struggling to keep their position in the First Division just a year ago, it was a rather huge leap for them to attain victory in the UEFA Europa League just a year later.

"Congratulations, Tony. We won again."

"What is there to celebrate about this?" Tony waved his hands. "Wait until we get a bigger victory, like…"

He got stuck there and did not know how to continue. UEFA Europa League Champions? It seemed a little too difficult… or how about to beat Lazio in the group matches? That sounded a bit too small-minded.

"Such as being champions in the UEFA Champions League?" Kerslake was surprisingly bolder than Tang En and directly stated his final goal.

Tang En looked questioningly at his assistant coach, who had more confidence than he did. Could this all be because of his "Read the headline" column article?

"Ah… Of course. If we could take that championship, it wouldn't even matter how we celebrated it. But we still have a long way to go."

He turned his head back to look at the main team, who looked listless.

There was no real thrill in beating such an opponent.

It still took defeating a manager like Mourinho for the thrill to come in like a high tide, wild and stormy.

※※※

After Forest had brought three points back to the UK, there was no time for Tang En or his players to breathe. Without returning to Nottingham, immediately after disembarking the plane from Heathrow Airport in London, they had to travel to Crystal Palace in southern London to prepare for the league match in two days.

After much consideration of factors such as the exhausting travel, battling an away match, and that the next league match would be another away challenge against Newcastle—a difficult team to deal with—Tang En decided to field more substitute players in the current match to allow the main players an opportunity to rest.

However, the result of the match was again beyond Tang En's expectations.

Chapter 243: The Unstable Forest Part 2

The local media of South London thought that Nottingham Forest before the match was just a tired lion. They ran back and forth and were not even able to return to Nottingham. Even if they had won in the match in UEFA Europa League, it would not have proved anything. Crystal Palace, who did not have to deal with such a tight match schedule, waited calmly for the fatigued team and thought that they would surely be able to take down Nottingham Forest, currently ranked sixth, on their own home ground.

On a separate note, due to their recent results and an arrogant loud-mouthed character, Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest had already been listed as prime targets for research by several Premier League team managers. Especially for the teams who were behind in their ranks, they hoped a win against Forest team could comfort them. Even a newly-promoted team could climb all the way up to rank six; if they could beat them, wouldn't it signify that their abilities were closing in on that rank?

So, despite Crystal Palace only accumulating five points after nine rounds in the League (ranked one from the bottom), it did not stop their fans from imagining Forest's defeat on Crystal Palace's home ground, freeing them from their misery.

But the reality was unavoidably cruel.

Tang En fielded a large majority of substitutes and younger players for the match. On one hand, it allowed the main players to rest; on the other, it served to train the team up. Center Backs Piqué and Wes Morgan were new partners. And while there was no change for the Left Back, Chimbonda as Right Back took a break with John Thompson taking his place. Midfielder Albertini rested, while Brynjar Gunnarsson and George Wood partnered up. Kris Commons started as Left Midfielder as a substitution for Franck Ribéry. Right Midfielder Ashley Young was replaced with Aaron Lennon. The Forward line was made up by double Center Forwards Crouch and Bendtner.

Forest's strategy in the match was very simple. They kicked high balls as often as possible with their Side Midfielders passing to the middle from the endline instead of cutting inwards. It was very rare for a manager to field two tall Center Forwards at the same time in a match, but Tang En did it and its effects were surprisingly good.

Crystal Palace was at a complete loss in the face of Bendtner and Crouch's team-up. They had not expected Forest to field that combination. Bendtner was an all-rounder in his techniques, excelled at headers, had a robust body, and could score goals on his own. At the same time, he could support the offense of his teammates through passing. Although Crouch's heading ability and physique were not as good as Bendtner's, his outstanding height helped him to successfully contest for many more headers than an average player. Additionally, those long legs of his were often difficult to defend against.

This strange combination for the Forward line created a total of 11 goal shot opportunities in the match, with seven that got within the goal area, and three actual goals. Among the three, Crouch scored twice, while Bendtner scored his second league goal of the season.

Even though the match results made Tang En very happy, what he was more excited about was the growth of the young footballers. There was nothing more to say about Bendtner or Crouch; Tang En clearly understood Bendtner's abilities, while Crouch, at well over six feet tall, had already attracted the attention of some clubs.

The one who truly excited Tang En as well as comforted him was Aaron Lennon. As England's new star of hope—with England's stars of hope perhaps just being those who weren't completely wicked (the media had a knack for making some quiet somebody overnight geniuses)—he could only be Ashley Young's substitute after entering Forest because of his youth. Most of his time was spent training with the First Team and the Reserve Team Competition. Sometimes he would even be borrowed by the Youth team.

But he seemed grounded. He did not make any overly demanding requests, such as having a secured spot playing as a main player or have a guaranteed amount of time to be fielded. He simply immersed himself in training and worked hard to improve his own ability.

In the match with Crystal Palace, he directly assisted with two out of the total of four goals by Forest. He also indirectly assisted another one; he passed center towards Bendtner, who ferried the ball over to Crouch. The latter then shot the ball in.

On another note, Kris Commons' performance in the left wings was average. Even though he was not as outstanding as Lennon, he was very stable. Tang En liked such players. Often, their demands were not high; they were not like star players who would often hope to be starters, have their salaries raised, or ask for this and that. They were clear about their own positions and would work hard at what they had to do; to perform at their best when they were needed. Even if their abilities did not top the main players, they were satisfied with being excellent substitutes.

All teams required players like that. Those willing to be substitutes. Kris Commons was someone like that. While he was a low-key player on Forest team who did not usually attract any interest, someone occasionally neglected by even Tang En, he would not disappoint whenever he was needed to perform.

Substitute Midfielder Wes Morgan was in a similar situation to Commons. While he could only be a substitute in the current season, he had played as a main player in the previous one. Yet he was still one of the most optimistic players on the team, and no one had ever seen him show any dissatisfaction.

With such players on the team, Tang En worried much less.

The final score of the match was Nottingham Forest, as the away team, winning by 4:2 over Crystal Palace. This further cemented Crystal Palace, who was ranked one from the bottom, in their position as the "vice-monitor." There was no change to Nottingham Forest's position, with them still ranking sixth with 17 points. Looking at the names of the teams sandwiching Forest team on the ranking board, with number five being Manchester United with 17 points as well and rank seven being Liverpool with one less point, the fans of Forest had good reason to be proud of the team's performance.

After the match ended, Crystal Palace's players were dejected while Tang En contentedly brought Forest back to Nottingham. Five days after, they would be heading North to challenge Newcastle. Ranked eighth with the same number of points as Liverpool, 16, they were an opponent of a completely different level in comparison to the vice-monitor that was Crystal Palace.

Forest team's easy victory in the away match against Crystal Palace was not in any way indicative of their ability to do the same in an away match with Newcastle. Furthermore, after the match with Crystal Palace, Forest was faced with a mini-monster of a schedule:

October 30: Challenging Newcastle as an away team.

November 4: UEFA Europa League Group Match Round 2, Home match with Lazio.

November 7: Challenging Liverpool as an away team.

Forest's status was currently unstable, fluctuating between good and bad. It was the main reason why Tang En felt so uncertain.

With such an opponent, it was not like when they had fought Norwich City. Back then, even if they were not playing well, they could still scrape by and get a draw. However, any mistake here would cause them to lose a ball.

Chapter 244: Newcastle and Shania Part 1

Based on the results of the last ten years, Newcastle United was a strong team in the world of English football. This began when Kevin Keegan took the helm at St. James's Park. Tang En felt that the most brilliant years of Keegan's coaching career were at Newcastle, not later for the English national team.

Putting aside their decade in the Premier League, Newcastle United was still undeniably a traditional strong team in England. Although they had only won four league titles in the early part of last century, they had been six-time champions in the highest ranked FA Cup. Even in the early days of the Premier League, the FA Cup was still the most important tournament in the minds of the English people; that is, until the FA Cup gradually lost its status due to the influence of the Premier league and the UEFA Champions League.

What made Newcastle United unable to compare with Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool was that they had not left their mark in the English football history and had not continuously ruled the English football world. Consequently, they could only be considered a second-rate team, not one of the powerhouses.

Nottingham Forest was not a powerhouse club, but they had an advantage over Newcastle United: they had won the UEFA Champions League title.

Nonetheless, it was meaningless to bring up past successes. Newcastle United was still considered a second-tier team; compared to them, even though Nottingham Forest was ranked higher, the media still considered them inferior in strength to The Magpies.

What did Twain think of that evaluation?

"Newcastle United is a robust team, and Graeme Souness is an excellent senior..." He said this in an interview with The Northern Echo outside of the Newcastle airport; since when did Tony Twain use the term "senior" to address his opponents?

He had never used it on Arsène Wenger, and he had not used it on Ferguson either. He did not even address the Chief as "senior". Souness was certainly a senior, but his achievements were far less than those of the the three men above. Did saying that mean that Twain was going to admit defeat in this away match?

"An away game is always harder than a home game, and it's harder to play at the St. James' Park Stadium. So, if you ask me what the outcome of this game will be... I'm sorry, but I can't comment." Squeezing out of the crowd of reporters, Twain quickly got on the bus. Once the bus door closed behind him, it departed for the airport, leaving behind reporters with nothing to report.

As the bus drove into the city, the roof of St. James' Park stadium loomed over the banks of River Tyne; it would suddenly emerge from behind the buildings in the city and disappear again. Because this stadium was in the city center of Newcastle on the Tyne and it would be very congested on the day of the game, the Forest team stayed in a hotel in the vicinity of the stadium, which was only a ten-minute drive away if the traffic was smooth.

Newcastle had been England's golden football city for a long time because, compared to the other prosperous "derby" cities in England, Newcastle upon Tyne only had one team in its big city: Newcastle United. In a city of only 280,000 people, during every home game, the St James' Park Stadium would seat 50,000 people.

The roar from a 50,000-person packed grandstand was a scene that the Forest team had never experienced before. The biggest venue that they had played in before then was the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but that was considered neutral ground. The St. James' Park stadium could be ranked second in terms of having the most explosive atmosphere in an English Premier League stadium.

Which stadium was ranked at the top? That stadium was not as big; it could even be said to be small. It accommodated less than 10,000 people, but was the most terrifying stadium for opponents because it was the home ground of "The Crazy Gang," Wimbledon FC.

Since their promotion to the Premier League, the Forest team had played in a lot of away games; still, Tang En believed that St James' Park was the best place to test the team's mettle.

Needless to say, everyone wanted to encounter an easy opponent; but this was essentially impossible. Nottingham Forest had played a total of ten rounds this season, and had fought against strong teams like Arsenal and Chelsea. In addition to that, their strongest opponent might have been Everton. They had achieved an unbeaten record of one win and two draws. But taking into account that the matches with Arsenal and Chelsea were on home ground, the Forest team had had a huge advantage.

Newcastle United was not weaker than Everton, and the Forest team was playing in an away game this time. The competition schedule was intensive and fierce. It was no wonder that the Newcastle local newspaper, The Northern Echo, had an optimistic analysis of the game and thought that Souness' team would obtain the three points effortlessly.

Nottingham's local media's view was quite the opposite of Newcastle's. The Nottingham Evening Post believed that the Forest team was currently in its best state. Having won consecutively, the Forest team would at the very least score one point at St James' Park.

※※※

After the team had checked into the hotel where they were staying and had had a simple lunch and a break, Twain asked Kerslake to gather the team and go to St James' Park to train and familiarize themselves with the venue.

Since they were only training to prepare themselves before the match, there were not many reporters following them, and the media did not have the permission to enter the stadium for interviews. They could only be stationed outside to shoot the scene of the Forest team's bus going into the stadium. However, after the adaptability training was over, the league would arrange a pre-match press conference where both managers would be present to answer some of the media's questions and concerns.

This included the disagreement between Alan Shearer and Graeme Souness and the gossip around Patrick Kluivert's partying. They could also expect an amazing, arrogant quote from Tony Twain.

By that time, lots of media would have arrived.

At that moment, there were not many reporters there, but there were many Forest fans who followed the team from Nottingham to Newcastle. They wore eye-catching red jerseys and waited outside of the St James Park stadium, hoping to see their idols. The requirements of the fans were as simple as that.

Twain saw them from the bus and said to Kerslake, "Later, inform the players that I'll only give them ten minutes to shower and change after training. After that, they'll come out and sign autographs for the fans."

David also noticed the fans and nodded. "Got it."

Looking away from the fans, Tang En began to think about how they would beat Newcastle United in this game. But he completely missed the little green dot in the sea of red.

※※※

The adaptability training was very simple; it mainly allowed the players to adapt to the field, do a few set pieces, and finally shoot at the goal to relax before completion. The plan was fully arranged before they arrived, and the coaching team was responsible for this specific training. Twain and Kerslake paced back and forth on the field as though they were taking a stroll. But in reality, they were using their feet to personally check the quality of the turf.

"It feels a little soft; will it rain tomorrow?" Twain gazed at the sky, somewhat worried. It was overcast, and he could feel the dampness in the air just through his breathing.

"There's a good chance of rain." said David Kerslake, walking beside him.

"Damn it!" Twain swore under his breath. "Let me think. From what I recall, the Forest team has played a few games on sunny afternoons this season, right? Fortunately, there are no hurricanes on the North Sea..."

Kerslake chuckled quietly. "I remember that youth team game when you used the hose to dampen the field and create trouble for Arsenal."

Upon hearing Kerslake say that, Twain squatted down to stroke the turf with his hands, and found that it was wet. "Damn it! They also sprinkled a lot of water!"

Kerslake burst into laughter, "It looks like everyone's using that trick. I rarely hear you complain about the weather, Tony. What are you worried about?"

Twain looked around at the empty stands in St. James' Park. A day from then, they would be filled with countless fervent Newcastle fans. They would be constantly jeering and singing to put pressure on the Forest team. The Forest team had only lost one game this season, during the first round of the league tournament in an away game against Blackburn Rovers. Playing in an away game and playing on home ground were two completely different feelings.

He was indeed worried, but he could not tell Kerslake.

"No, I'm not worried about anything. We have nothing to worry about."

※※※

After the adaptability training was done, Twain met Souness in the stadium press room. The gray-haired Scotsman looked a bit severe. He had just taken over as manager from his predecessor, Robson, in September, and had already won Newcastle two consecutive victories. His performance was quite good, and he was currently flushed with success. Twain's addressing him as "senior" seemed to make him take on the air of a senior. His smile on his face was almost nonexistent when he shook hands with Twain in front of the reporters.

In truth, this was the scene which the reporters wanted to see the most. They looked forward to Twain's counterattack, but Twain had let them down. After simply answering a few questions until the conference was over, Twain did not have any exchange with Souness again.

At the end of the press conference, the Forest players also came out of the locker room and went to the parking lot to sign autographs for the fans. This was what the manager wanted, and everyone had to follow. Twain left the press room and walked straight out to the parking lot, where the coaches had already gotten on the bus. Twain stood outside and chatted with Kerslake while casually watching the players' behaviors. He was happy to see that no one showed any impatience with the eager fans.

Chapter 245: Newcastle and Shania Part 2

Twain was just looking around when he suddenly saw a familiar person. The discovery greatly surprised him, so he left Kerslake and strode towards them.

When this other person saw Twain walking towards her, she was delighted. She bounced and waved enthusiastically at Twain.

"Uncle Tony, Uncle Tony!" This voice that was calling his name belonged to none other than Shania.

"Shania, why are you here?" Using "astonishment" to describe his mood at this time was not quite accurate. It was more appropriate to use "pleasantly surprised."

Wearing a green coat, Shania stood on the edge of the crowd with her long brown hair in a smooth ponytail that swung along with her bouncy movements. Seeing Twain, she smiled radiantly.

"Can't I come?" Shania stopped jumping, leaned towards Twain across the metal railing, and smiled.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"It's okay to skip a class once in a while..." Shania pouted. "If I don't skip class, I won't be able to see you!"

"Well, if you want to see me, we can just video-chat online."

"No! How can online compare with talking in person?" said Shania, frowning. She seemed to realize something. "You don't look well."

"Well, it's a cloudy day and there's not enough light in this weather, so I don't look good." Twain scratched his head.

They were both happily talking there when, all of a sudden, there was the sound of a cough beside them. Twain discovered that there was a guy standing beside Shania who was about Shania's height, but who was clearly older than Shania.

Shania stuck her tongue out. She had forgotten, too.

"Uncle Tony, this is my cousin, Tom." Shania pointed at the guy and introduced him to Twain, then turned to the guy and said, "This is Uncle Tony; I've mentioned him to you before. I didn't lie to you."

The reason that Twain had ignored the guy at first was that he wore a Newcastle United home jersey. He had thought that he was a just Newcastle United fan who had come over to join in the fun. He did not expect him to be Shania's cousin.

Wait a minute! Cousin? A cousin who's living under the same roof?

Twain looked at Shania, looked at the guy, and reached out his hand. "Hi, I'm Tony Twain. Very nice to meet you."

"Hello, I'm Tom Sawyer, Judy's cousin. Nice to meet you too." The two men shared a brief handshake.

Judy...why is he calling her so intimately? Tang En thought, and then turned to Shania and said, "Shania, are you free this evening? I'd like to take you to dinner."

"Okay, sure..." Shania said happily before she suddenly frowned. "Oh, in the evening, my aunt..."

She did not need to finish her sentence; Tang En could already roughly guess the situation. Ah, it appears that Shania's immediate family aren't the only ones who instill a strict upbringing. Even her relatives are the same...

Are we going to miss this great opportunity? It's not easy to meet with her, and we can't even have a meal together? Tang En was a little disappointed.

While both of them were feeling awkward, Tom, who stood next to him, spoke. "I can call my mom and tell her that I'm going to eat with Judy this evening. It should be okay."

Shania was very happy and turned back to looked at her cousin. "Really?"

"Of course." Tom only smiled when he faced Shania.

Tang En secretly rolled his eyes. Now he had to take one more person out for dinner. It was not that he was reluctant to part with the money; it did not cost that much to treat one more person to dinner. It was just uncomfortable to talk with an unfamiliar person around. But did he have a choice?

"That's a good idea," Twain said casually.

Then Tom went and looked for a quiet spot to call his mother. Shania nagged at Twain, pointing to Twain's face and saying that he did not take care of his health. Twain did not deny it; he just bowed his head to admit his failure.

Tom Sawyer soon returned. He smiled at Shania and nodded, saying, "I took care of things with my mom."

"That's great!" Shania clapped her hands.

Twain turned around and looked at the players, most of whom had already finished signing autographs and had returned to the bus. They were now going back to the hotel to rest. So he said to Shania, "You guys wait for me."

He then turned and walked towards David Kerslake, who was standing at the bus door. The latter was smiling and looking at him, and he also saw the players smiling at him too when he glanced at the bus.

"Uh… David, I'm not going back with you guys. I..."

"We know, Tony," said David. There was a burst of laughter in the bus behind him. "Have fun."

Twain scratched his nose. What was this group of people thinking? But he did not have time to correct them. He knew a saying that went, "to explain is to cover up." Let them think what they want. I haven't done anything wrong!

"Well, okay... Oh, yes, give me the game tickets, please." Even though it was an away game, the team would still receive some tickets. Naturally, the number of tickets was not as high as that of a home game, but they were still enough for a gift.

Kerslake took out a stack of tickets. "One or two?"

Twain extended two fingers. "Just two."

"That Newcastle United kid should have a ticket, right?"

Twain looked back. Tom seemed to be chatting happily with Shania. "I'm not sure. It doesn't matter even if he does. He won't refuse if I want to give him a free ticket. Let him watch tomorrow's game among the Forest fans. It will definitely be a very special feeling for him."

The two men looked at each other and laughed in mutual understanding.

Twain took the tickets and turned back. Kerslake boarded the bus and asked the driver to take them back to the hotel. On the bus, the players' gazes were still following their manager. Several of them pointed to Shania stuck their tongues out. When Kerslake saw this, he clapped his hands to signal for everybody to turn away.

"All right, everybody's seen it."

"Of course!" A group of people answered in unison.

"We don't have a reason to lose the game tomorrow," Kerslake said, laughing.

"That's right!" There was a huge burst of laughter inside the bus.

The bus drove past Twain and the others, and the men in the bus whistled at him. Twain glared at the guys with a stern expression, but his imposing manner was ineffective.

As the bus drove away, Twain looked at the two young people in front of him and said, "I'm not familiar with Newcastle; where would you like to have dinner? Or, we can go shopping first. Shania, do you have anything you'd like to buy?"

※※※

Finally, they decided to go shopping first and have dinner afterwards. Shania did not have anything she wanted to buy. Twain bought Tom a pair of Adidas sneakers in the latest model as a meeting gift. After receiving the present, Tom had a distinctly better attitude towards Twain and he smiled more. He also became more talkative.

During their dinner, Twain had initially want to catch up with Shania, but he was tied up with Tom. The guy was an avid football fan, and he could talk endlessly with another fan, even one with only a little football knowledge. But Twain was not some fan who only knew a little football. He was a professional football manager.

As a result, once Tom opened up, it was like opening the floodgates of the River Thames.

Shania became a tag-along guest and sat beside them, unable to get a word in edgewise. She smiled when Twain glanced at her.

If the kid weren't Shania's cousin, Twain would have really wanted to stuff a whole piece of steak into his mouth.

The conversation naturally turned to tomorrow's game. Tom was full of confidence in the team he supported, and did not care about Twain's feelings. He believed that the Forest team could not win this game.

"Shearer's very good, and he's been in great condition recently! Bowyer is also really powerful; his left foot is simply amazing! And then there's Kluivert... he's currently the team's number one striker!"

Twain calmly listened to his bragging, and then said evenly, "Thank you for the reminder, I'll go back and tell my players to focus their attention on those players."

Still chattering away until then, the smug Tom was stumped. Shania, sitting next to him, snickered.

Tang En felt that time was wasted this evening when he could have had the opportunity to chat alone with Shania, and he wanted to get rid of this Newcastle United fan who was full of hot air.

He glanced at his watch; it was 8.45 PM.

When Shania saw this, she knew it was time to say goodbye, so she tactfully said to her cousin, "Tom, it's getting late. We should head back."

"Oh? Oh, ok. Sure." Tom nodded in agreement.

When they reached the hotel entrance, Twain took out two tickets from his pocket and handed them to Shania. "You can go watch the game with your cousin tomorrow afternoon, Shania."

Shania nodded and gave a ticket to her cousin.

Tom was delighted. "That's fantastic, I was worried about not being able to buy tickets!"

Twain chuckled happily. "Well, see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay, sure."

The taxi, which the hotel had called for the guests, had stopped at the entrance. Tom opened the car door for his cousin to get in. Shania got in the car, and Tom went around to get in from the other side. At that time, Shania leaned out of the car window and said to Twain, "Uncle Tony, where are you going for Christmas?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Twain shrugged.

"That's great, I'll go visit you then!" She said with a smile.

"I'm going too!" Tom called out from inside the car.

Shania turned to him and said, "Aren't you going to Switzerland with your classmates?"

"I don't really want to go..."

"Didn't you say you would send me a lot of photographs?"

"Uh… of course. But I was just kidding..."

Shania leaned out of the car window again and waved to Twain with a smile. "See you then, Uncle Tony!"

"I'll see you then, Shania." Twain watched their taxi merge with the traffic before turning towards the taxi that was waiting for him.

When he got in the car, the radio was broadcasting a sports segment, which was a recording of the press conference from that afternoon. Souness answered the reporters' questions with great confidence. "The Forest team is strong, but Newcastle United is playing on its home ground. I hope to give the fans a wonderful game at that time; when the game is terrific, the results will be terrific too."

Sitting in the back seat, Twain sneered.

I'm also looking forward to it.

Chapter 246: We will Definitely Win Part 1

When Cousin Tom was excitedly discussing the upcoming match with Shania, she had the urge several times to remind him to change out of his black and white Newcastle jersey. In the end, she managed to restrain herself.

Shania herself wore a red coat, though it went unnoticed by her cousin.

As a result, when she got to the away spectators' stand at St James' Park and was surrounded by all of Forest's fans in red, she felt at ease. But for her poor cousin…

In a square of red, one can imagine that a Newcastle fan in his black and white jersey would stick out like a sore thumb.

Tom Sawyer shrank back into the crowd as the surrounding Nottingham Forest fans looked at him with expressions that seemed to harbor ill intent. Judging by their physiques—burly people with arms as big as his thighs—they were clearly not to be trifled with. He could only pray that the men would not drink too much. Otherwise, it was hard to tell what would happen.

"Should I be hoping for Newcastle to win or lose?" he muttered.

With Forest's fans currently cheering with their arms raised, no one paid attention to his whining. Shania also followed the men jumping and shouting. In their own house, Tom had never seen Shania acting so crazy before. He had always wanted to nurture the Brazilian girl to be a Magpie fan, but he had not expected her to be a Nottingham Forest fan instead. Was it because of that "Uncle Tony?"

"Uncle Tony" appeared very agitated. He was waving his arms wildly on the sidelines with big, exaggerated movements.

Tom took a glance at the scoreboard:

Newcastle 1:0 Nottingham Forest.

The goal occurred six minutes ago. The scorer was Alan Shearer, the "Angel of the North" in the hearts of Newcastle's people. When he saw Newcastle score the goal, his conditioned reflex was to jump up and cheer loudly with his arms up high. On seeing the surrounding Forest fans who had descended into silence, he sensibly sat down immediately.

"Perhaps a draw would be nice..." he thought to himself.

※※※

Since the team had lost a ball, Tang En had been standing on the sidelines without returning to the manager's seat.

Later, David Kerslake walked to his side from the seats and stood with him at the sidelines.

"Alan Shearer is incredible," Tang En sighed, "to still have that level of impact power at 30 years old."

He was referring to the ball lost by Forest team; a classic Shearer-style goal, speedy and powerful.

Even youthful and strong Piqué, in facing Shearer's sudden breakthrough and aerial battle for the header, was utterly defeated.

He was a step late in the jump, which resulted in him being pressed down by Shearer without any ability to resist. He could only watch from below as the opponent headed the pass from Bowyer straight into the goal.

Compared with Drogba, Shearer was clearly better at perfectly combining the use of his body, technique, and experience. Piqué was decimated.

Kerslake, who stood next to him, nodded. "We took him a bit too lightly."

Forest's previous strategy placed the focus on taking care of the most outstanding shooter in the current league season, a Dutch player called Patrick Kluivert. Before this, Souness had not made known to the public his starting lineup for the match, so Forest did not know who he would be fielding. Among Kluivert, Michael Chopra, and Alan Shearer, Tang En picked the first two as Alan Shearer got injured in their prior match against Man City. Though they had narrowly won, with score 4:3, Alan Shearer had had to be changed out early.

This made Tang En think that Shearer would likely be sitting on the substitutes' bench for this match. After all, although Shearer was an older player, he was considered an important player in Newcastle's formation. Souness had no reason to allow Shearer to play with an injury. Prior to the match, there was constant leaked news of Shearer still being in recovery.

It turned out to be fake.

Not only did Shearer get fielded, he even scored.

"Alan Shearer, The Goal Machine." Tang En growled.

Compared to Shearer's stunning display, the other Forward, Kluivert, appeared somewhat lacking. His movements were not too enthusiastic and his shooting accuracy seemed off.

"He must have forgotten his shooting shoes in a room in some nightclub!" the television commentator said, teasing the Dutchman who was known for his nightlife.

The fans of Newcastle did not care about Kluivert's performance. Alan Shearer alone was enough to attract the attention of the entire stadium. Ever since Shearer had scored the goal, the singing of the Newcastle fans had not stopped for an instant. All of it was in praise of Shearer; there were nearly 50,000 fans singing different tunes in praise of their god.

With such an atmosphere in the away field, even Tang En, who was only on the sidelines, could feel the suffocating pressure. And the players running on the field felt it even more.

"David, we need to score a goal." Tang En turned to Kerslake. "The earlier the better. We need to beat down Newcastle's momentum! Get Viduka to withdraw outwards. Then, tell him to quickly cut in if number six from the opponent team gets pulled outwards. Also, get the two wings to throw out more diagonal passes towards the empty space behind Newcastle's Full Backs."

Kerslake nodded at each sentence from Tang En. He waited for Tang En to finish before turning to gesture towards the field. At the same time, he blew his whistle to get the players to take note of his gestures. All this was already specifically rehearsed during Forest's training. If they did not want to allow the opponent to easily see through their tactical maneuvers, they needed to use some signals.

In the face of Newcastle's immense offensive capabilities, their defense could not be compared. From the time of Kevin Keegan, it had been Newcastle's style to place more emphasis on their attacks and less on their defense. Geordies were pleased with themselves because of this. Without any reservation in their style of football, their fans were happy 80% of the time in a season. However, they could only get through the other 20% in sorrow and disappointment. While they were able to play offensive-style football that could win cheers and applause from even neutral fans, they were unable to win back a League Championship Cup for their own.

Could Newcastle fans be said to be fortunate or unfortunate?

※※※

When Boumsong realized that Forward Viduka, who in all the previous matches was usually right at the front, was beginning to move outwards to receive the ball, he naturally thought it was because of his own defense. He figured it must have been his close-marking defense against the Australian that forced the man to move back to receive balls.

The television commentator thought similarly. "Newcastle got a great increase in their morale. Nottingham Forest does not have any good opportunities; they can't even get within Newcastle's penalty area. Look at Viduka; he can't even receive passes at the front. He can only retreat to search for other opportunities."

Are you trying to break free from me?

Boumsong looked at Viduka's back as he ran out and grinned to himself.

Dream on!

He quickly followed Viduka to press on him.

Souness, who was outside the field, saw Boumsong run out of the penalty area to chase after Viduka. As he watched the strong Center Forward oddly retreat from the penalty area, he suddenly stood up from the manager's seat. He could smell danger in the moist air.

As Boumsong ran out, another young Midfielder, Steven Taylor, was also pulled outwards. Before the match, Viduka was one of the Forest players most talked about by Souness. Out of the current Forest team, England's managers were the most familiar with Viduka.

Souness had told his players that Viduka was a strong, remarkable player. He excelled at scoring goals and was currently Forest team's number one shooter; a prime target for them to take note of. 18-year-old Taylor took his words to heart. His eyes now saw only Viduka. Everything else around? He would just leave them to his teammates.

Nottingham Forest's captain, Albertini, was currently in possession of the ball. Newcastle's defensive Midfielder, Amdy Faye, went forward to press him but was passed with Albertini's technique. After passing Faye, the experienced Italian was in no hurry to pass the ball. He only faked a pass, resulting in a domino effect in Newcastle's defensive line.

Another defensive Midfielder from Newcastle, Nichy Butt, leaped towards Albertini, completely forgetting Freddy Eastwood who was beside him. Or maybe he took notice of him but did not think the Romanian would be any threat. It was already more than 30 minutes into the match, but Eastwood's chances of shooting had been pitifully few. He was hardly a threat to the goal guarded by Given.

To Nichy Butt, the man dribbling the ball in front of him was far more of a threat than Eastwood.

Souness suddenly widened his eyes and rushed to the sidelines yelling, "Watch that guy!"

He was pointing to Freddy Eastwood. From outside the field, he could see clearly; when Nichy Butt had leaped forward to guard Albertini, there was no one at all near Eastwood; he was completely unguarded!

Taylor finally noticed the blind spot and quickly turned to run towards Eastwood. At that moment, Albertini passed! But he did not pass to Taylor's target, Eastwood. Instead, he unexpectedly passed it into the wings, to Franck Ribéry.

Based on his stellar performance in the recent rounds of the League matches, the Frenchman was beginning to gain more and more attention. Newcastle's players also paid Scarface special attention. When Taylor saw Ribéry receive the ball, his first reaction was to expect him to dribble past. The defensive line needed to be fortified – he needed to fill in for the defense. If Ribéry passed Carr, it was just free space!

Thinking of this, the young Center Back ignored what he saw earlier and ran from Eastwood's side towards Ribéry, together with Carr.

Ribéry, who was in possession, immediately moved upon seeing Taylor. He was waiting for exactly this moment. He kicked the ball diagonally, and it shot right between Taylor and Carr.

Chapter 247: We Will Definitely Win Part 2

"Ribéry's pass… Beautiful!"

Eastwood acted at the same time and appeared right behind Taylor. By the time the panicking Taylor turned around, he was already unable to catch up with Nottingham Forest number 11.

Boumsong's first reaction was to raise his hand, signaling to the referee that Eastwood had gone offsides. Instead of hearing the referee's whistle, he only saw Viduka swiftly turn to run past him towards the penalty area!

"The offsides is reversed! Celestine Babayaro is right at the back!"

"Dammit!" Souness cursed as he jumped up. He saw Forward Eastwood receive the ball and Given's hasty defense.

The away stands suddenly burst with cheers. Over a thousand Forest fans had stood from their seats, screaming Forest's name over and over.

"Forest, Forest!!"

"Eastwood gets past Given, the angle is really tight… and he shoots-"

At this point, it was no longer a concern for Tang En. Immediately after seeing Eastwood pass Given, he had already raised his arms in preparation for celebrating on the sidelines. Both the commentator and he shouted at nearly the same time, "GOOOOOAL!"

"GOOOOOAL! What an extraordinary goal! Freddy Eastwood!! The miraculous Romanian! He only allowed the joy of Newcastle's fans to last 10 minutes! 1:1, both teams have returned to the starting point!"

"GOOOOOAL-!!!" All of Nottingham Forest's fans surrounding Tom Sawyer bombarded him as if they were about to swallow him whole. Sitting among the hollering people, Cousin Tom could only shrink his neck and lower his head, allowing those people to season his ears with their spit. Now, he really regretted accepting the ticket from Tony.

※※※

The morale of Forest team climbed, and they pressured Newcastle into their side of the field. This time, it was Forest's fans' turn to sing incessantly.

The first half ended on the high notes of Forest's fans' singing. Both teams had fought back onto even ground for the moment. The players of Forest were obviously excited as they left the field, practically skipping as they made their way out. On the other side, the players of Newcastle seemed somewhat low in spirits. Their team captain, Shearer, had tightly knotted brows as he hurried into the players' corridor. It looked like he was even unhappier with the team's performance in the first half than the manager was.

Halftime was a respite for Shania's cousin. He found an excuse and hastily bade goodbye to Shania, escaping from the stadium. He would rather fork out money and cheer at a bar with other Newcastle fans than continue watching the game while being surrounded by a bunch of Forest fans. As for Cousin Judy, who was not willing to go, he'd just let her be!

Shania laughed heartily as she watched Cousin Tom make his hasty escape.

Just as the figure of her cousin disappeared into the stairwells, a fat man by Shania's side laughed pointedly. "Look at him. Frightened out of his wits."

Shania shrugged and smiled at the man. "Thank you, Uncle John."

"No need for thanks, lass. When I saw the boy and you together, and the expression on your face, I put it together. I say, your tickets were given to you by Tony, were they?"

This fat man was not just anybody; it was John, who had followed the football team to the away field to help cheer for them. Those around him were the people from Forest bar. They saw Shania when Tony first brought her to Forest bar to eat. She was also considered someone they knew. Naturally, they had to give her a hand when she was in trouble.

Shania nodded.

"What a jerk!" John laughed out loud. "You just relax and enjoy the match here. Watch how we're going to butcher these Northerners! You don't mind me saying that, do you?"

"I'm Brazilian." Shania grinned. "I'm Tony Uncle's fan!"

"What an enviable guy!" John said with a frown.

Someone by the side immediately said aloud, "Hey, John! Watch it, or I'll tell your wife!"

His remark sparked off guffaws from the rest of the people around.

Sitting amid the group of men, Shania did not seem to have the same concerns as her cousin. She felt more comfortable in this crowd than anywhere before. So, when the men were loudly laughing, she too laughed along with them without a pause.

※※※

While Shania was having fun with John and the rest of the gang on the spectators' stand, Tang En was praising the performance of the team in their locker room.

"Guys, everyone did well in the first half, especially that last part. We have to play the same way in the second half. Newcastle's defense is still their biggest issue. As long as we grab another opportunity, we can end them!" Tang En said, waving a fist.

Eastwood stood up and said, "Boss, you don't have to worry. We'll definitely win this match. We don't want you to lose face in front of that girl! Don't we, guys?" he turned and shouted at the room full of his teammates.

The audience started to echo him in agreement.

"That's right, Boss! But how did you get to know that girl?"

"Boss, what's her name? Where is she from?"

"Ashley, are you hitting on the boss' girl? Don't you want to keep your position and chances for getting fielded?" Eastwood jumped out and reprimanded Ashley Young.

"Oh-"

And someone simply began whistling.

Faced with the crowd of excited men, Tang En could only give a forced laugh and shake his head. It seemed like he would have to keep his meetings with Shania from them in the future. Otherwise, they would surely keep bringing this up to joke at his expense.

"Ashley, if you want to know, you can go ask on your own. Don't worry, I won't stop you." Tang En said as he pointed to Ashley Young, embarrassing him instead.

In Newcastle's halftime, Souness must have been busy criticizing the team's defense and setting up tactics to cope with the second half. On Forest's side, they were so relaxed it was as if they were at a party. If Souness knew what their opponents were doing, he wouldn't know what to think.

※※※

After the second half of the match began, Alan Shearer was switched out by Souness. Watching him limp back, Tang En realized that the media had not reported false news at all. Alan Shearer truly was playing with an injury. Playing for half the match had worsened his injury, and he was forced to take an early leave.

With the absence of Shearer, the offensive power of Newcastle also dropped a level. Kluivert was no longer the same boy genius who had beaten the buzzer in the Champions League against AC Milan, nor was he the world-class Forward who had a stable seat in Barcelona. The shine he used to have, after the effort he had put into his colorful nightlife, was gradually fading away.

With Shearer getting called off the field and Newcastle's offense becoming a mess, Nottingham Forest took the opportunity in that slip and took another point. With Viduka's assist and Albertini's banana shot, they blasted open the gates guarded by Given.

2:1. Forest became more and more relaxed, while Newcastle tensed up under Souness' bombardment.

When the referee blew the final whistle of the match, St James' Park, which had a capacity of 50,000 people, was filled with only the singing of Forest's fans. In facing his junior, Tony Twain, whether he was willing or not, Souness had utterly lost.

"…Tony Twain's team was remarkable. It was only right for them to have won. I have nothing else to say…"

During the press conference, no hint of pride could be detected on Souness' face.

Chapter 248: Angel of the North Part 1

As the Forest team was walking out of the stadium and getting ready to get on the bus after their victory, they saw the fans who had come to support them running towards them. This time, without any prompting from Twain and Kerslake, the players took the initiative and walked towards the fans to sign autographs.

After leaving the press conference, Twain went directly to the parking lot through a side door to meet up with the team. He had just stepped outside when he heard someone calling him. "Tony!"

"Hey, John." Tony turned to see Fat John waving to him; then, from behind Fat John's wide body, Shania jumped out.

"Uncle Tony!"

This time, she did not have her pesky cousin Tom beside her. He did not know how Shania had gotten rid of him.

Twain smiled and walked towards her.

"Where's your Cousin?"

Shania pointed to John. "Uncle John scared him away."

The fat man scratched his head and said to both of them, "You guys can have a chat, I'm gonna go get my boys."

"Thanks, John." Twain nodded to him, "I'll buy you a drink when we get back."

John winked. "That's what I've been waiting for! Bye, Shania."

"Bye, Uncle John." Shania waved to John with her petite hand.

When the other man left, Twain looked at the young girl, whose cheeks were slightly flushed with joy, and smiled. "Was this your first time watching a live game at the stadium?"

Shania nodded. "Tom's always wanted me to be a Newcastle United fan, and he always harps on me to come here with him to watch the games. But I always refuse. When I told him I didn't like football, he was shocked, and asked me, 'Are you really a Brazilian?'"

Shania widened her eyes and lowered her voice to imitate Tom's tone and expression, which was so amusing that it made Twain laugh.

Shania giggled when she saw him looking so happy, as if it was an accomplishment.

"Oh, you little imp!" After laughing, Twain was still a little breathless.

Shania stuck her tongue out. "Will you guys stay here for another night?"

Twain paused for a moment and then shook his head. "We're going back to Nottingham now. See that bus?" He pointed to the bus in the distance. "We're going straight from the stadium to the airport."

Shania was a little disappointed when she heard him say that. "I thought you guys would stay here one more night..."

"Well, I'd like to as well, but there's a UEFA Europa League game coming up next, and we have to go back and prepare." Twain also regretted that there were only a few opportunities to come to Newcastle every season. Nowadays, Shania's Aunt Ryan was very strict with her. She had said she would visit Nottingham every weekend this past summer. But in the end, she had not even visited once.

Looking at Shania's pouting, Tang En really could not bear to disappoint her.

Although there were many advanced modes of communication available now with cellphones and video-chats, Tang En still felt that face-to-face communication was more enjoyable.

As he creased his brows in discomfiture, Shania grinned. "Actually, it's nothing. Either way, we'll meet again at Christmas. I've already discussed it with my parents. This time they won't think that I'm running away from home!"

At the mention of running away, they both laughed. If she had not really run away from home that time, they might never have met in this lifetime.

After laughing, they looked at each other. Although they both knew that it was time to say goodbye, neither wanted to say it first.

Finally, Twain gave in first. He shot a glance at the overcast sky and said to Shania, "It's going to rain today."

"Well, I should go back, then." Shania looked at Twain and nodded.

"Then we'll see you at Christmas, Shania." said Twain with a smile.

"Yes, see you at Christmas! I've got to head off. It's not nice to keep them waiting for a long time." She pointed to the team bus. Twain looked back and found that the members of the coaching staff, the players, and even the fans around the bus were watching him and Shania.

He cleared his throat and secretly cursed the group of busybodies. He deliberately looked serious. "No, I'm their boss. If I tell them to wait, they have to wait!"

"But the plane waits for no man."

She was right. Twain rubbed his nose. "In that case, it's really goodbye for now, Shania."

"Yes. Goodbye, Uncle Tony."

Shania gently waved and turned to leave.

Looking at her small figure gradually walking away, Tang En had an inexplicable feeling slowly bubbling within him that felt similar to the weather.

Damn it! I should be happy, shouldn't I? We're the ones who won the game today...

※※※

As the bus headed for the airport, streaks of water appeared on the bus windows. On cloudy evenings, the street lights reflected on the bus windows and refracted in a kaleidoscope of radiance.

Twain looked out the window at the increasingly overcast sky. The first thing that came into his mind was Shania. He was worried about whether she had caught the train or not, whether she was wet from the rain or not, and if she was drenched, whether she would catch a cold.

"Tony?" A man's voice suddenly spoke beside his ear, startling him.

"Oh, David. What's the matter?"

"I can tell that you're suddenly in a bad mood. What's wrong? Didn't we just win the game?" Kerslake asked with concern.

Hearing his assistant manager's question, a smile appeared on Twain's face again. "Yes, we've won. It's nothing, I was looking at this lousy weather..." He pointed to the darkening sky outside the window.

"Ah, you're worried about that. Rest assured, I don't think these weather conditions are going to delay our flight."

There was a flash in front of Twain's eyes, and he looked at the sky again. Suddenly he wished that the weather was worse.

How bad could the weather get? Just cancel the flight!

He turned to look out the window. Because of the dark and rain, the view was not so good; but he still saw the famous statue towering in the distance: the Angel of the North.

The rust-colored steel angel had a pair of wings that looked like those of a Boeing 757. It had stood on the hillside of Gateshead for seven years, ever since it was erected in 1998. Even a hundred-kilometer-per-hour storm could not shake her. Now she had already become a symbol and landmark for Newcastle and the entirety of northern England.

For Tang En, there was another angel in Newcastle, and she had become a symbol of the city of Newcastle in his heart.

Twain's wishful thinking ultimately did not come true. It did keep raining, but it rained all year round in England. This level of rain would not affect the normal operations of the airport.

The Nottingham Forest team boarded on time for the flight to Birmingham.

Before boarding the plane, Twain received a text message from Shania which told him that she had already made it home. She was a little wet from the rain, but it was no big deal. Finally, she congratulated Twain's team for winning the game. She had forgotten to tell him outside the stadium, and could only do so through text.

Twain wanted to reply and tell her to watch her health, but the team had already begun boarding, so he had to turn off his phone.

Once the plane had pierced through the rain and fog and soared into the sky, the dark of outside the window quickly brightened, which attracted Twain's gaze. He turned to look out the window. Below were the white clouds, and above was the clear sky. At the tip of the wing was a red sun setting in the Pennines mountain range. Its afterglow reddened the western skies.

※※※

After winning the away game against Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest ranked fifth with a total score of twenty points in their eleventh round of the league. Manchester United, which had had the same number of points as they did in the last round, fell to the seventh place after losing to Portsmouth in an away match for the current round.

These results made the Forest supporters happy, but Tang En was not happy.

The first two spots in the league were Arsenal and Chelsea, with twenty-six points each. Arsène Wenger's team had been defeated by Manchester United in the tenth round of the league, and their undefeated record in the top league had stopped at the 49th game, which was exactly the same as the history in Tang En's memory. Their opponent was Manchester United and the players who scored were Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Although Arsenal had lost the game, they and Chelsea deserved to be at the top.

The third in the league was Everton, and the fourth was Bolton Wanderers! The team that had been beaten by Forest!

The traditionally strong teams, Manchester United and Liverpool, both fell into a slump and were ranked seventh and below.

The outside world attributed the Forest team's current ranking to Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as the overall downturn of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. The evidence supporting their views was the league's points table. The four teams that shared the top six spots of the league with Nottingham Forest did not live up to their names.

Twain did not think that was the case with the Forest team; rather, he was worried about Manchester United's strength.

What did it mean to be the fifth in the league? They could take part in the UEFA Europa League next season, and with some good luck, they could participate in the UEFA Champions League if they advanced another spot!

Glory, fame, and money would come rolling in.

In reality, the final result of this season should be Chelsea winning the league title with its high score, and Arsenal ranking second after being unable to continue their unbeaten record. Manchester United would then race to third. David Moyes' Everton would rank fourth and be qualified for the UEFA Champions League qualifying match. And Liverpool, which would eventually win the UEFA Champions League this season, was ranked fifth. It was embarrassing for a situation like the defending champion not being able to qualify for the next UEFA Champions League to happen to a traditional powerhouse club. Fortunately, the English Football Association actively mediated, and finally the UEFA set the first precedent for them.

Chapter 249: Angel of the North Part 2

This was the 2004-2005 season that Tang En was familiar with. But now, because of his and Nottingham Forest's participation, the future would change; and whether the changes would be major or minor would depend on the extent of his and the Forest team's involvement.

Tang En certainly did not want to end up empty-handed this season. He was not enlightened enough to sacrifice himself to protect the consistency of history.

On November 4, Nottingham Forest was playing against their second opponent in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League: the Serie A team, Lazio, in the City Ground stadium. The City Ground stadium was ushering in the UEFA Europa League tournament once again after eight years. On the day of the match, not only was the stadium full, but even most pubs and bars in the city were crowded with people.

The fans of Nottingham Forest let the Italians, who had traveled from afar, witness their fervor. From the beginning of the game to the end, the Forest fans' singing and shouting did not cease once. The City Ground stadium was a standard football field with no track separation between the field and the stands. Such a small stadium obviously could not be compared to the opponent's Stadio Olimpico in Rome. However, it had one advantage: it allowed the visiting team to feel the force of the home fans and caused them to feel an enormous sense of oppression.

Coupled with the rather unique style of the English fans, playing in an away game here could almost give a person a heart attack.

Since this was his home ground, the tactics that Tang En used here were not conservative at all. The intense style of offensive playing in the entire field made Lazio feel suffocated. The Italians had not expected a newly promoted English team to be strong enough to leave them unable to retaliate; they were beaten.

When the game finally ended, the score was set at 2:0. Nottingham Forest had defeated the Italian Lazio team with its home advantage.

As the visiting team was leaving City Ground, the Forest fans were still gathered in the square outside the stadium, brandishing their fists at the visitors' bus and singing "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands." The song had originally accompanied Clough's Forest team across Europe, and now it was back!

※※※

Now that they had defeated Lazio in the UEFA Europa League home game, Nottingham Forest had won two consecutive victories in the group stage. There were two games left: an away game against Villarreal CF, and a home game against Partizan Belgrade. As long as they did not commit any major mistakes, their situation for qualifying in the group stage was excellent.

After their victory in this game, the Forest team seemed to lose their momentum all of a sudden, as if they lost their spirit due to their fear of peaking, despite having more than half of their long journey to go.

Three days later, in an away match on November 7, Nottingham Forest faced Liverpool, which was not in good condition. It was a good opportunity to gain points in an away game. However, the Forest team performed poorly, which was incomprehensible to everyone.

Twain's best motivation was totally useless in this game. His constant emphasis on the spirit of never giving up had not come in handy, and his tactics were firmly suppressed by the tactical master from Spain, Rafael Benítez. He did not stand a chance. Whatever arrangements he made, they would be perceived by the other manager. No matter what substitute adjustments he made, he could not escape the trap that Benitez had set for him.

He could only watch his team lose at the Anfield stadium by 1:4. It was Nottingham Forest's second defeat in the league this season and its biggest loss.

How painful it was to see this as the manager of the team… The greater pain was not the terrible score, but that Tang En felt powerless to stop the loss, and far less capable than the Spaniard in his tactical ability. It was not luck that had allowed Liverpool to reverse the second half of the game against AC Milan and win the UEFA Champions League.

When Tang En had been only a football fan, the reversal had not deeply affected him. However, after playing against Benítez, he found that he was far from being a world-class manager.

At the post-match press conference, the media was waiting to see what reasons Twain would give for the loss. The troublemaking reporters did not expect Twain's opening remarks to disappoint them.

"I have nothing to complain about; we've lost. I don't want to make excuses for our failure, like our physical fitness not being good, or that there was too much pressure, or that the opponent was too strong, or that this was an away match, or anything like that. There's no excuse. Losing is losing." Twain sat beside Benítez and just focused on his speech. "The only reason that we lost was because we did not do well enough. Congratulations to Benítez and his team. Liverpool played better than us in this game and they deserved to win."

Right after he finished, someone could not wait and raised his hand. "Manager Twain, what is your evaluation on your team's performance?"

Twain glanced at the person. "I never comment my team and players at a press conference." Obviously, he was talking nonsense. He had praised his players on many occasions after games. He only refused to comment because he had lost.

The reporter also knew that Twain's words were false, but what could he do if the man refused to comment? He could only sit down in frustration.

Another reporter stood up and asked, "Excuse me, Manager Twain, since you are not willing to comment on your players, can you remark on the Liverpool players? What do you think of their performance in the game?"

Twain felt that the reporter was obviously undermining him, so he asked, "Are you a journalist for Liverpool media?" Seeing the other man nod, he went on to say, "Very good. I think some of the Liverpool players played very well, and some of them were average. You can fill in the blanks yourself and replace 'some of the players' with the name of any Liverpool player. It's up to you to fill it in." He spread out his hands.

Even though Twain said that he had nothing to complain about at the beginning, it did not mean that he could chat with the reporters here and smile. After giving perfunctory answers to a few questions with a gloomy expression, he got up and left the conference. He left the leading role to the victor, Rafael Benítez. Twain did not care how his opponent evaluated the game.

No one knew how many times Tony Twain had left a press conference ahead of time, but they knew that this time would absolutely not be the last.

Chapter 250: Wood’s Struggle Part 1

Forest's defeat by Liverpool appeared to be only a small setback. In the following match of the English Premier League, its fourth round, Nottingham Forest won the match with complete domination. On an away field, they won by 4:0 and eliminated Colchester United from League One (Previously Second Division).

On November 14, in the 13th round of the League matches, Nottingham Forest won by 2:1 in their home field against Middlesbrough, sustaining their continued victory in the battle with Steve McClaren.

From an outsider's point of view, Forest seemed to have no problems and was set to keep moving forward on the right path.

But in their 14th round in the League on November 20, Forest Team lost to Tottenham Hotspur by 0:1 in an away match.

Their streak of unluckiness was just beginning. On November 25, in the third round of the UEFA Europa League Group Stage, Nottingham Forest was defeated by 0:2 by Villarreal CF from Spain. In front of the Argentine Román Riquelme, George Wood was as helpless as a child on his first field appearance. When Wood guarded Riquelme, he found Riquelme particularly difficult to deal with. The Argentine's changing pace often confused him, causing him to be at a loss for how to defend. He was entirely at his mercy.

Later, Albertini went to assist Wood and could not help to organize their offense. Riquelme alone managed to hold back Nottingham Forest's four midfielders.

After the match, the Spanish media gave Riquelme a high score of nine points (a score he lived up to) while giving George Wood a low three. The media evaluated that George Wood's show of utter ignorance in the match about what he needed to do and his terrible performance was directly linked to Forest's eventual loss.

In the face of the overwhelming speculation of the media after the match, Tang En simply said, "I will never make any public comments on my players after matches," and dismissed the lot.

The truth is, if we had won, it would have been perfectly fine with saying something nice; both the media and we would be happy. But we lost, so I'm sorry. I only criticize my players discreetly within the boundaries of the locker room. Why should I tell you, the reporters?

※※※

On the day the match ended, Forest team took a flight back home to prepare for the League match set for three days later.

On the flight back to the UK from Spain, Tang En took special notice of Wood. The boy seemed very quiet. He did not usually talk much to begin with, but now he was practically mute.

They had lost a match in the League's Group Stage, but it was an away match. Furthermore, their situation was not so dire that they would be unable to further compete if they had lost that match. Their next match was on their home ground against Partizan Belgrade, a team which was not strong. So long as they got a draw, they would be able to advance.

Everyone knew this well. So, after a brief lapse of unhappiness, the other players recovered quickly. Even for the younger players, their understanding of football went much deeper than George Wood's. Since they had begun their training, they had met with more than their fair share of defeats and had learned how to cope with them. With a defeat of this degree, there was no need to be upset for even a few days. Just a few hours were enough. After waking up, there would be no changes to the way they lived and the world as they knew it.

Aboard the plane, they all did their own things. They chatted, listened to music, slept and rested. It was no different from any other away match.

Only Wood remained in the shadow of failure.

Tang En had turned to look several times and noticed Wood looking upset with his brows tightly knitted. He had had that expression since the final whistle of the match. When everyone's mood was equally terrible, their expressions looked about the same. But now, with only Wood this way, it seemed out of the ordinary.

Tang En looked around and rose from his seat to walk to Wood's. He patted Albertini's shoulder.

"Demi."

The Italian understood what his manager wanted to do and stood to swap seats with Tang En, switching to sit next to assistant manager David Kerslake while Tang En sat by Wood.

Wood was so absorbed in his own world that he did not notice the change. "George," Tang En said.

Wood shifted his gaze to him without turning.

"Did you already give your mum a call?"

He nodded in reply.

"Hm…" Tang En shifted his position and placed his pillow on the back of the seat. He closed his eyes to take a nap. "Did the two of you talk about the match?"

Tang En could not see Wood's expressions or actions but heard his low reply after a brief pause. "Yes."

"What did your mum say?"

"She said… I played well."

Tang En's mouth lifted into a smile. Sophia would never question her son's ability or say anything bad about him.

"See? there's still someone who would praise you. What are you worrying about?"

"Mum, she…"

"Are you going to say that you think your mum is lying to you?" Tang En said, taking the words out of Wood's mouth.

Wood started and then shook his head. "No."

Tang En opened his eyes with a smile. "George, how long have you been playing soccer? Do you know how long that Argentine guy has been playing? Your mum wasn't lying to you when she said you did well. She knows you better than those moronic reporters. Your performance in the match was normal. We didn't lose because you performed badly. We lost because Riquelme, number ten, was truly amazing. It's that simple." Tang En ended with a shrug and wave of his hands.

Wood looked at Tang En without a word, and Tang En understood what he wanted to say. He nodded. "Yes, don't think of this in such a complicated way. There are more than a hundred thousand, even a million, professional football players. Out of those, some are stronger and some are weaker. Some used to be strong and are now weak, and there are some who are now weak but will become strong. Riquelme is strong now, while you're weak-"

"I don't accept that," Wood suddenly said, interrupting Tang En's rambling.

Tang En was not at all unhappy about being interrupted. He asked Wood, "What did you just say? I couldn't quite hear you."

"I said…" Wood ground out, "even if he is better than I am, I'm not willing to lose to him."

Tang En cracked a grin and laughed soundlessly. Wood really was a person he valued highly. His temper and character were so much like he had used to be.

"I understand. I completely understand what you're thinking. But if you're unwilling to lose to him, it's useless to sit here stewing. George, do you still remember the first time I went to see your match at the Youth Team?"

Wood nodded. That day, he had broken Eastwood's leg in a sliding tackle; he could not possibly have performed any worse. He had thought that it was the end of his professional career as a footballer. However, after a session of beratement in the locker room from the man before him now, he had persisted and eventually won a contract with the First Team through his hard work.

"Your performance in that match was… too terrible to even watch." Tang En recalled with a shake of his head. "At that time, you had systematically been training for only a little more than two months. On the field, you had no idea what to do. You looked like an idiot."

Tang En lowered his volume so he would not disrupt the rest, saying, "And then… the FA Youth Cup with Arsenal's Youth Team. You remember, don't you?"

Wood continued to nod.

"You successfully defended against the core of the opponent's midfield, rendering him completely at your mercy. That lad that you marked and pushed back again and again, do you know what kind of background he came from?"

Wood shook his head this time.

"Half a year before that, he had just become the Champion of the FIFA U-16 World Championship and was the recipient of the Golden Ball award. In other words, he was the best player in the world within his age group. But with you marking him, he had no opportunities at all."

Faced with Tang En's praise, there seemed to be no change to Wood's expression.

"Later, when you were given a chance to represent Forest's First Team in a match… Remember that match? I can still remember your debut. It was flawless."

Tang En closed his eyes as he reveled in it. He was not exaggerating. Compared to when he had first witnessed Wood's claim to fame, he was not as excited when Ribéry had attained success during the EFL Cup. That was because Tang En had known for certain that Ribéry would succeed. Even if it was not on the Forest team, Ribéry would still go to Olympique de Marseille a year later. In two years, he would become the most outstanding player in the France Ligue 1. Thereafter, he would be brought to the German World Cup by Raymond Domenech and shoot to fame overnight.

It was as if he was watching a suspenseful movie; while others were watching with relish, Tang En himself already knew the ending and felt somewhat bored.

George Wood was different. Tang En had never heard his name before, and the international football scene did not have him. From when he had softened and allowed Wood to enter the Youth Team for training, he had no idea whether the boy could eventually carve out a career successfully. And precisely because of the uncertainty in his future, it created suspense. When Tang En saw the brilliance of George Wood in Forest's match against Reading F.C., a surge of accomplishment suddenly filled his heart. It was almost comparable to the moment when he had lifted the EFL Cup.

Without relying on and taking advantage of his pre-transmigration knowledge, this was a player who had come from true nurturement. In some ways, George Wood's success represented Tang En's success.

Chapter 251: Wood’s Struggle Part 2

"Think about it from the moment you stood in front of my home and told me, 'I think you should sign on the best player in all of England' to now. You have become Forest team's main player and played in all the matches of the season. What changes have occurred in you? You've become stronger – countless times – stronger than the silly lad you were then. It's been two years. Time passes quickly, but your improvement is even quicker. If you can't accept losing like this to Riquelme, being completely at his mercy, don't just sit here and stew. You need to work even harder. If you want to attain victory over your opponents, you need to work hundreds of times harder, even more than usual! Do you understand me?"

Wood nodded and said, "I understand."

Tang En laughed. "That's right. The match is already lost, so just let it go. Don't keep looking so upset, as if someone died. It'll drag everyone else into a lousy mood. If you can't accept it, then vent your grievances on the training ground. Demi is a greatly experienced Defensive Midfielder. You can learn many things from him that will last you throughout your career."

"I know. He… is really great." Wood, who was a little arrogant, would rarely have admiration for someone else; but he would willingly complement the Italian man whose face was constantly adorned with a smile.

Hearing Wood speak two sentences in a breath, Tang En knew his mood had gotten better. He rubbed his hands together and indicated with two fingers, saying, "Just before I came to speak to you, I had two options in mind for the next match. A, to let you rest for a round—tell the media that your body is exhausted, and rotation is needed—or B, to let you continue as a starting player without making any comment to the media."

"My body is fine." Wood said, making the decision for Tang En.

"I thought so, George." Tang En nodded. "Even if I said you needed to rest because of an injury or exhaustion, I wouldn't believe it myself. So, there's only option B left. But, there isn't much time left for you. You won't have the chance to work harder, a hundred times harder, on the training field to improve yourself. Three days after, we will be heading to Old Trafford to go against Manchester United. Are you ready to deal with the people who will question you first thing in the morning and shut them up?"

The two looked at each other, and Wood took his time to respond. After a while, he asked, "Is Manchester United strong?"

This was not Wood acting stupid. He did not have such humor yet.

Before being promoted to the English Premier League, George Wood had never been concerned about the situation there. Furthermore, he was the same way before playing soccer, and Manchester had started on the low in the current season. It was normal for Wood not to know about the might of Red Devils.

Tang En started laughing. "Don't you ever read the news or watch television? Villarreal CF had only one Riquelme, but Manchester United has several players like him."

On hearing that, Wood's eyes brightened.

※※※

Tang En was right on the money. They awoke from their sleep to much commentary and remarks about Forest's match that day. Most of it had to do with Wood, and of those, 99 percent were criticising his performance.

Comments about his youth and lack of experience could not even be considered criticisms any longer. England's media had always been harsh and critical with no heed to "being discreet". Some of the commentaries even slammed George Wood for being as stupid as a pig before the Argentine.

"Riquelme's pace was already slow enough, but George Wood's reactions were even slower."

"… Yes. The rest period for Spaniards has always been late. Notice that the kick-off for this match is not 12 midnight; El Madrigal is not selling supper to satisfy hungry fans. But George Wood is playing sleepily; it's as if it's already late at night!"

"Look at him being played by the Argentine. I couldn't bear to watch and turned off the television…"

"Why not use Brynjar Gunnarsson who is much more experienced? George Wood's player resume is a great big blank slate. It's so clean, it's unbelievable. Against a player like Riquelme in an away match, why choose to let such a child defend? The two of them are just not on the same level!"

"We all know that Tony Twain's strategy is to let George Wood protect the space behind Albertini. This allows Albertini to organize the offense. With Nottingham Forest playing as the away team in El Madrigal, playing defense and counterattacking needed precisely the Italian's expertise in long passing. But George Wood could not even complete his mission. In the end, Albertini had to give up on the offense instead to assist him with the defense…"

"… to tell the truth, this is just Tony Twain's biased trust of George Wood. It's incomprehensible. Let's review the appearances of Nottingham Forest's players in this season. Other than player number one, goalkeeper Darren Ward, who else appeared in all matches, league or otherwise? It was George Wood, without even a minute of absence. The problem, then, is obvious. How can it be solved?"

It was practically a one-sided "George Wood Criticism Fest." If the criticized player was weak-hearted, he would probably have already drowned in the heartless media.

Coincidentally, they had met with a professional player who cared little about the news or anything that happened in the football scene.

The match with Villarreal CF ended on the night of 25th November. There were only two days left for the Forest team before they challenged Manchester United on their home ground. It would be too silly for them to spend this precious time waging a spit battle with the media.

The gates of the Wilford Training Ground continued to be surrounded by reporters, but they had no hope of interviewing any player from Forest. Tony Twain had also rejected all interviews and instructed the club to cancel the routine press conference on the 26th. Just when the English Media had begun stirring up the topic, Forest team shut their doors to them. No one knew what was happening on the team.

Even after arriving in Manchester from Nottingham by car, at the front door of the hotel the team was staying at, Tang En did not say a word to the flock of media around him. The disappointed media could only wait until the pre-match press conference on the day before the match after the teams had settled in. Both managers would be attending on that day. They refused to believe they would fail at prying Tony's mouth open by then.

The media, with no real news to report, could only write with their imaginations, fulfilling the desire of the public to sneak peeks. Their articles all began with, "according to a certain Forest player who had disclosed," or "based on what certain high-ranking personnel of Forest has said..."

Whatever it was about, such as chaos happening in the locker room, Gunnarsson accusing George Wood of playing like he was sleepwalking and appealing for an opportunity to be a starter, the club's higher-ups being displeased with Tony for his stubbornness in player usage, and George Wood explosive clash with Albertini during training involving punching and kicking.

These reports were as bizarre as the readers wanted them to be, fulfilling their obscene desires.

So, when Ferguson saw his assistant at Old Trafford completely engrossed in reading the newspaper with Tony's photograph on it, he said disdainfully, "What are you doing, reading that? Are you collecting the latest information on our opponents? Don't believe a word of what the media says. In fact, you can't even believe some of the things you say to them."

Queiroz grinned as he looked up at the old Scot, saying, "No, Boss. I'm reading a novel."

Chapter 252: Heavy Responsibility Part 1

The readers in England who liked to peep at other people's tabloid papers soon realized that the reports were all nonsense; the same newspapers had similarly related news except today's and yesterday's versions of the story were completely different.

The reporters also felt that the writing was too exaggerated. It was better to wait for the press conference the day before the game. They were so looking forward to the conference that while the Forest team was in the Old Trafford stadium doing their drills to adapt to the field, a group of excited reporters was already waiting in the conference room.

When the team had finished their training and walked back to the locker room to take a shower, Twain went straight from the field to the conference room.

At the end of the corridor, Twain nearly collided head-on with someone who had walked around of the corner. Seeing the other person's full head of white hair, Twain reflexively took the other person's arm to assist him, assuming that he was a clumsy old man. He was surprised to find out that the man whom he was supporting was actually the manager of Manchester United, Alex Ferguson!

The encounter was incredibly awkward.

These were the circumstances in which these two men, whose teams were about to play against each other, met for the first time.

Ferguson looked down and patted the dust from the walls off of his body, and was surprised to see Twain when he looked up.

The two men looked at each other for a while, and Ferguson smiled. "You must be regretting taking a step back just now, Mr. Twain."

"Now that you mention it, I do regret it a little, Sir Ferguson." Twain replied.

"People say that Tony Twain is a manager with a powerful and glib tongue… well, I finally believe it." Ferguson's expression remained unchanged. What was initially seen as a friendly smile now felt like a gibe.

Ferguson was great at playing mind games with other managers before games. It was his forte. Kevin Keegan, who had been doing well at Newcastle United, was thrown off by a similar blow to his mentality, and thus readily surrendered the championship title of the league. The poor man had even ranted on a television show, "I would love it if we beat Manchester United; love it!" The former European Footballer of the Year clearly did not stand a chance when it came to engaging in a psychological battle with Ferguson.

The long-term trading of blows between Ferguson and the Frenchman, Arsène Wenger, had become a hallmark of the Premier League, and now he wanted to use his move against Twain.

But he seemed to have picked the wrong opponent.

Twain smiled. "I'm the opposite of you, Sir Ferguson. I never doubt your eloquence."

The two men stood in the corridor, both feeling that they had met their match.

Upon hearing Twain's reply, Ferguson nodded. "Would you mind going out at the same time with me?" He pointed in a direction where some noise was coming from.

This was not at all a signal that Ferguson wanted to shake hands or make peace with Twain. But Twain would have been cowardly to refuse, so he nodded.

When the managers appeared together at the press conference, they immediately attracted the attention of the media. The small room was filled with camera flashes and for a few seconds, the press room became brilliant white.

Ferguson was accustomed to scenes like that. He walked to his own seat with his head held high. But Twain was still somewhat uncomfortable. He squinted and crossed the room with a frown on his face and his head lowered.

After the managers were seated, the press release official announced that they could start.

Just as the announcement was made, all the reporters held up their hands, and half of the raised arms were directed at the Forest team for the recent events.

When Twain heard the first reporter's question, he knew.

"Hello, Mr. Twain. I'm from The Sun. I'd like to ask about the recent media coverage. Is it true?"

Twain did not directly answer the reporter. Instead, he faced the other reporters with looks of anticipation and said, "Who else is going to ask about the internal dynamics of the Forest team these past few days? Why don't you all ask together, and I'll give a unified answer."

When the reporters heard that, they thought that there was going to a show. So they all stood and threw out all the questions they had long kept in their minds.

Twain sat in front of the microphone and listened carefully to every question. Sometimes he would even nod lightly, and seemed to be thinking about how to organize his answer.

When everyone was finished with their questions, he raised his head and asked, "Anyone else? If there's no one else, it's my turn to speak. You've all raised a lot of questions here; that's good, reporters always like to ask questions. Now I also have a question, and I hope you can answer me... I summed up all the questions you have asked just now, and found an area that I can't understand: why is it that some of the questions that puzzle you are about the news that you wrote yourselves? Well, who can tell me? The Sun asked me whether the news was true, and I wanted to ask them, if it wasn't true, why did you publish it in your newspaper?! Are you scamming for writing fees and wasting the publication's layout space and paper?"

Twain really wanted to curse and swear at the group of reporters. Fortunately, he refrained from doing so. He would not have been able to escape a penalty from the Football Association if it had come to that. Although he did not use foul language, his tone was harsh; and unless the reporters had problems with their intelligence, they could make out the hidden anger in his remarks.

"Today's press conference is about tomorrow's competition, not about the press conference after the last UEFA Europa League game. Everyone, please be clear about that. While you're so morbidly interested in the Forest team's locker room situation, have you ever considered the owner here?" Twain looked at Ferguson sitting next to him.

In the eyes of the reporters, Twain did this out of respect for his senior, Sir Alex Ferguson. Such a stance was reasonable in an away match.

Then Twain said, "So let's focus on tomorrow's game. Manchester United is a great team with many outstanding players. Sir Alex Ferguson is also a remarkable manager. Just look at his many accomplishments."

His words corresponded with everyone's expectations. Almost every manager who came to Old Trafford would say the same thing to the reporters, with the exception of Wenger and Mourinho, of course.

However, after that, Twain had a sudden change of tack. "But Nottingham Forest is not here to worship the mighty Manchester United. We are here to compete. The game has only one purpose, and that victory."

Once he had made his stance clear, Twain stopped. "I've said everything I wanted to say."

Ferguson glanced at Twain and then continued his train of thought. "That's right; a football game is about winning. I agree with Mr. Twain on this point."

Twain looked at Ferguson and smiled, and the old Scottish man smiled at him too.

Their competition continued covertly.

※※※

A football fanatic might get dizzy when seeing these names appearing on the field as one's opponents. Such a fan would know what these players' strengths were, and what they represented.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Netherlands national team's main striker, whose nickname was "The King of Goal Area," and whose perceptive awareness in shooting into the goal was world class.

Wayne Rooney, England's golden boy, and the biggest discovery of the England national team in the UEFA European Championship held in Portugal. He had quickly established himself in the squad after his transfer to Manchester United at a sky-high price.

Cristiano Ronaldo, another golden boy; he was the golden player of the Portuguese national team. Known as the successor to Luís Figo, his fancy dribbling and formidable speed were his key features.

Paul Scholes, the Manchester United veteran, was cautious and conscientious. With outstanding strength, his powerful long shots were his signature skill.

Ryan Giggs, the lightning-fast Welshman and national team captain of Wales, was one of the world's top three left wingers.

Gary Neville was once a key figure in Manchester United's brilliant '92 generation. He was England and Manchester United's number one choice for a right back. He had a robust way of playing and his interceptions were fierce. At the same, he was excellent at long range crosses, and had a successful partnership with Beckham in the right flank with plenty of assists for each other.

Rio Ferdinand, who had been the most expensive defender in the world when he had moved from Leeds United to Manchester United in 2002, was still the most expensive defender in England. Before the drug test uproar, he was the English national team's main center back. And before the sudden rise of John Terry, the center back combination of him and Sol Campbell was considered the best in the football world.

And of course, Roy Keane should not be forgotten; the Irishman was the captain of Manchester United, the spiritual leader of the Red Devils after Eric Cantona, and an indispensably important figure. As long as he was present, Manchester United would always be full of fighting spirit and unafraid of any opponents. His enemies would always hate him and wish he was dead, and the Manchester United fans would always support him and love him to death.

Chapter 253: Heavy Responsibility Part 2

Because Keane was transferred from Nottingham Forest to Manchester United, he accepted media interviews before this game and talked about the game.

"I was never surprised by the arrival of this day because I've always known Nottingham Forest would come back." The Irishman was still very fond of the team who brought him into the top English leagues, "Even today I still thank Mr. Clough; I'll never forget everything that he had taught me in his lifetime..."

When Keane had played for the Forest team, the Forest manager at that time, Brian Clough, had doted on him a lot due to his amazing talent. His requirements would be met as much as possible, and every time he wanted to take time off Clough would agree without question. After Keane's outstanding performance in the first season, Clough even gave him a brand-new Ford car. At that time, Clough was Keane's most respected and admired person. However, due to what had happened later, the outside world had always thought that their friendship had faded away.

At a time when many football clubs wanted to buy Keane, Keane had been at a crucial moment of renewing his contract with the Forest team. Clough naturally assumed that Keane was using these transfer rumors to put pressure on the Forest club and get the salary that he had hoped for. Consequently, Clough publicly chided him as a "greedy kid" in the newspapers. Nonetheless, it was not these trivial matters that led them to part ways. It was when, after a terrible performance in a game, Clough slapped Keane in front of everyone in the locker room doorway.

Only now, after Brian Clough had passed away, did Keane then once again publicly reveal his respect for the old man. But was it too late?

Without going too far off the topic, in short, Keane expressed his respect for Clough in the interview, and then mentioned the current Forest team. "I don't agree that this game will be relatively easy for Manchester United. No game is easy for Manchester United. Not to mention, the Forest team is still ranked above us."

Keane had become a Manchester United man through and through. It might be sad for the older fans to hear him mentioned. But the younger Forest supporters did not feel that way because they had another Roy Keane: George Wood, who had quickly become the new darling of City Ground by virtue of his performance.

After he lost to Villarreal CF, only the media outside Nottingham criticized him. Nottingham's local media and fans remained confident in Wood.

"George Wood is the best!" said a banner on the away stand at Old Trafford, a counter-response from the Nottingham Forest fans to the harsh media.

At the present, the players from both teams, who had just warmed up on the field, had returned to their respective locker rooms to make final preparations for the game that was about to be kicked-off.

※※※

"In fact, our recent achievements are not bad." Ferguson stood among the players and paced back and forth. "We've won a few crucial games. But we are Manchester United, and we are not going to be satisfied with being in the top ten like ordinary teams. We're aware that we've also unaccountably lost a few games."

Manchester United's locker room was silent, with everyone focused on listening to their boss's speech. In this room, there was only one boss; that was Alex Ferguson. Those who dared to oppose him, and those who dared to show disrespect to him, would be kicked out uncompromisingly. Jaap Stam and David Beckham were examples.

"I'll say it again; Nottingham Forest is a strong team. If anyone else thinks that they're just insignificant clowns, you can raise your hands now, and I'll replace you with someone else. That Portuguese guy, Mourinho, underestimated that team, and Chelsea lost as a result. Souness was tricked by Tony Twain's modesty, so Newcastle United lost. Do you want to be an idiot who gets ridiculed by your opponents after losing a game?"

The players shook their heads.

"That's right. We all like to mock idiots, but I don't think anyone likes to be the object of ridicule. We're at our home ground for this game, so failure is absolutely unacceptable!"

※※※

The visiting team used the locker room on the other side.

"Compared to their powerful offense, Manchester United's weakness is in its defense." Twain stood in front of the tactical board and analyzed their opponents for the players. "The weakest link in their team is the goalkeeper. Their sixth place ranking after fourteen rounds in the league this season has a lot to do with the instability of their goalkeeper. Tim Howard, did well in his first year, but his problems are all being exposed this season.

Truthfully, the Forest team's problem was their goalkeeper as well. The Forest team still had very few games in which they did not concede a ball. Darren Ward's ability did not qualify him to be the main goalkeeper in the Premier League. But Twain had neglected the issue during the summer transfer and now he regretted it.

"Rio Ferdinand is an outstanding center back, but he has never had a stable partner. Wes Brown, John O'Shea, the Frenchman, Mika?l Silvestre; none of them were qualified to be center backs. We can make use of that in this game; bypass Rio Ferdinand, and break through his partner. If Ferdinand comes to help fill the gap, seize hold of the gap he's left and pass the ball!

Twain marked Rio Ferdinand's position with an arrow directly inserted into Manchester United's goal.

"Keane is a problem. So during this game... Demetrio, you need to move up in your position to hinder him; don't give him too much time to help Ferdinand.

Albertini nodded. "Okay, boss."

"When Manchester United attacks, you have to return to defend; I'll let George help you."

Speaking of which, Twain glanced at George Wood. Even though the Forest team was now within his control and the atmosphere on the team was fairly good, he still could not penetrate other people's thoughts. The media's unscrupulous speculation, which did not care about what the Forest players thought, might really convince the rest of the team that he overly favored George Wood. Like Brynjar Gunnarsson, who was repeatedly mentioned in those nonsense reports as a direct competitor with Wood for the same position. With the media adding fuel to the fire, who knew what Gunnarsson really thought?

As young players, Piqué and Bendtner had to be substitutes. Why was George Wood able to be in the starting lineup for every game?

Could anyone guarantee that such thoughts would not emerge in the young players' minds?

Such problems initially did not exist, or were not serious enough to produce any disastrous effects. However, due to the fact that the Forest team had lost to Villarreal, it was hyped up by the media to such an extent that it attracted Twain's attention.

This was another reason why Twain was harsh and insolent towards the media.

I can understand that you need to create fake stories and sensational news to attract the public's interest for the sake of sales volume and your livelihoods. After all, I'm not a moralist. I have absolutely no interest in correcting British society by calling for the return of media ethics and asking the public to reflect on the lack of media integrity. But if you target my team, don't blame me for not giving you face.

The Chinese had a good saying: If others do not offend me, I will not offend others; if other people offend me, I will retaliate!

"George." Wood stood up when he heard his name called.

"You have a heavy responsibility for today's game. In addition to defending Manchester United's number 8, Scholes, you have to pay attention to covering Demetrio. If Keane comes up to attack, you will be required to defend against him at times. Also... if our defense in our flanks is tight, you'll have to help too." Even Twain, not to mention the other players on the Forest team, thought that this demand was a little harsh for Wood.

How could one man deal with all ofthose situations at the same time?

Some people turned to look at George Wood in the corner, but they did not see Wood frown with hesitation. Instead, they saw him nod and reply simply, "Okay."

Doesn't this kid know how to complain? This is not a job that one man can do! Is he right in the head? How can he just agree to whatever the manager says? He should have his own thoughts once in a while!

Twain had not expected Wood to answer so straightforwardly. His original intention was to just mention it; but in reality, all four midfielders would still be involved in the defense. Ribéry and Ashley Young needed to retreat to assist the full backs defend.

Unexpectedly, Wood had agreed, so he grinned. "Are you sure you're capable of accomplishing all of that, George?"

With a calm face, Wood said, "If not, you can bring me off the field."

Was he confident? Or was he dim-witted?

Twain sighed. "Alright. Ribéry and Young, you two can be more aggressive on the flanks and create pressure for the Manchester United's defense to prevent their two wingers from stepping forward and participating in offense."

The two midfielders understood why Twain wanted them to do that. They both looked at Wood. Victory was most important, but now they had one more thing to look forward to. They all want to see if George Wood could accomplish all the tasks that the boss gave him, or have to be brought off earlier.

And they could tell that there were more than a couple of people with the same idea. It was clear from everyone's expression as they looked at Wood.

Chapter 254: Going Head-On Part 1

While the players from both teams were waiting in the players' corridors in Old Trafford to enter the field, cheers drifted in from the spectators' stands outside. The atmosphere at the dream stadium of English football washed over Forest's players.

The younger players on Forest seemed somewhat agitated about the match. It was not because of an inane reason like being able to play at their dream stadium; instead, they were influenced by their manager to have a desire to battle the strong.

All youths have the same way of thinking; If we defeat mighty opponents, it can only mean that we are mightier than them!

Even if Manchester United was currently two ranks lower than Forest, their fame was already far beyond that of Nottingham Forest. In terms of total honors received, they were pulling ahead of Forest by leaps and bounds. People would easily believe the truth of Manchester United as a strong team, but not of Nottingham Forest. There was no way out of it; it was a habitual way of thinking. Now that Nottingham Forest was ranked fifth and was said to be a dark horse by some—a considerably courteous nickname—there were still others that believed that Forest's sustained rank was a product of mere luck. Those who had said this had obviously neglected to consider how Tang En's team had forced Arsenal to a draw, how they had defeated Chelsea and Newcastle, and how they, after the first round of the League match, had maintained ten consecutive rounds with no defeats. They only saw Forest team's continued lack of victory (which was simply a series of draws), and how Forest had lost to Black Rovers and Liverpool.

Keane, as the captain of Manchester United, stood right at the front of the team with the captain's armband.

Numerous people had mentioned to Wood that Manchester's Roy Keane was what he would be in the future; his goal. It was only in today's match that Wood got an opportunity to observe his "future self" at close range.

The Irish man would occasionally turn back to look at his team. Wood could make out the stern expression he had on his face. His gaze swept across the people behind him and finally landed on George Wood, who had been staring at him the whole time.

Wood found Keane looking back at him but made no attempt to move his gaze away. After a brief look at Wood, Keane turned back to the front. No one had ever told him that the youth in front of him, the one that seemed rather rude, would one day become like him. He was not interested in George Wood. Maybe the lad was a new player who had more curiosity than usual; someone who would accidentally go into a daze upon seeing a football star.

George Wood stared at the back of Roy Keane for a while before retrieving his gaze. He stood just behind Darren Ward, the goalkeeper, and was situated extremely close to the Manchester captain. He suddenly remembered that Keane was their opponent in this match. Did he seem as if he was forwardly expressing some sort of goodwill by looking at Keane like that?

That would not do; it was not George Wood's style. As he shifted his gaze he saw Albertini, who was at the front of the team looking back at him smilingly.

"George." Albertini turned and rounded past Ward, stepping in front of Wood.

"If you have an opportunity during the match, you could try to cut forward. The Boss gave you some heavy duty guarding to do, but it would be meaningless for you to just stay behind while we are engaging in offense. It is not enough for an outstanding defensive midfielder to only defend. Do you understand what I mean?"

Wood shook his head and said, "He told me I only needed to focus on defense…"

Albertini smiled and said, "If you wish to achieve more than Roy Keane, you cannot afford to only pay attention to defending. Your defense is already fantastic; you're the best defensive player I have seen!" Although his words were slightly exaggerated, it worked as an effective encouragement.

"What should I do, Demi?"

"Work a little more on offense. The defensive midfielders can no longer just stick to defending. At times, you need to rush into the opponent's penalty area and do a powerful long shot!" Albertini said with a smack of his fist.

"But I'm terrible at shooting…"

"If you don't try at all, how do you know if your shooting is bad? When was the last time you took the initiative in a match to shoot?"

Wood thought for a bit and shook his head. "I don't remember…"

Albertini spread his hands out and laughed. "See. Start with this match. I will create opportunities for you. During our offense, use your own judgment to decide if the situation is suitable for you to move forward. Don't just stick to doing only whatever the boss says. You have to exercise your brain too." He pointed towards his own head. "Football. To kick well, it's not enough to only use the body, you also need to use your brain."

Wood nodded. "I got it, Demi."

Albertini patted his shoulders and turned to walk back.

Just as the main referee was speaking to Keane about something, he saw Albertini walking towards them and called him over. At that point, Keane twisted to face the Manchester players behind him, shouting, "Get ready, guys! It's time for us to move out!"

Although Albertini was facing the referee, he raised his right arm high at the same time. The Forest players at the back who saw their captain's motion fell into silence. The chattering and laughter among them ceased, and everyone's expression turned serious.

The match was about to begin.

※※※

Old Trafford was England's largest football stadium. Although Wembley had a greater seating capacity, they also had running tracks and were therefore not considered a professional football stadium.

This stadium had 96 years of history behind it. After numerous expansions and renovation work, it could seat 67 thousand people. The red Old Trafford was once called the "The Theater of Dreams" by a famous football star from Manchester, Bobby Charlton. This moniker was incredibly apt; whether from its scale or past glories, the Old Trafford could certainly to live up to it.

Today, 28th November 2004, Nottingham Forest team opened the curtains for the play in "The Theatre of Dreams." In the face of Roy Keane's defense, Albertini appeared calm and dignified. Compared to the other children on Forest, he was an experienced old general. Here, the only one who could be discussed at the same level as those football stars from Manchester was him, Demetrio Albertini. The old Spanish Midfielder, Hierro, was not included in the list of starters.

Keane clearly knew the kind of player he was facing and was in no hurry to rush forward. Instead, he boxed out the position.

Albertini looked up and surveyed the situation around him. In the left wing, Ribéry was closely marked by Gary Neville. On the right, although there was no one around Ashley Young, Ronaldo was prowling nearby. It seemed like a purposeful trap.

Ahead…

Needless to say, both Eastwood and Viduka were being closely marked. Even if the ball could pass through and be received by them, there was no way for them to turn around; they would only end up being surrounded by opponents.

Keane's positioning was excellent, much better than Wood's. It prevented Albertini from suddenly going for a break and passing. In the end, he could only choose to pass the ball back to George Wood.

Although the Wood of today was still quite distant from the skill level of Roy Keane, he was far from a new player who would be at a loss after receiving the ball.

Seeing Albertini's situation, he turned and passed the ball back to the right back, Chimbonda. With the full back in possession of the ball, Cristiano Ronaldo was not very active in pressing to get the ball. He took a step forward and attempted a steal but was easily passed from the side. Ashley Young saw Chimbonda move forward and hurriedly shifted towards the middle to make space for him.

Compared to Gary Neville on the right, Manchester's Left Back had always been a problem. Despite having tried a number of players for the position, Ferguson had yet to find someone he was satisfied with.

This Summer, he had bought the Argentine Gabriel Ivan Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain for a price of seven million. Based on his performance over the last few months, he had a good hold over the main position of the Left Back on Manchester United. Against Heinze, Chimbonda tried to break through but was intercepted. However, the Argentine failed to keep control of the ball; the ball he had managed to intercept was picked up by the alert Ashley Young from Cristiano Ronaldo's side.

Right after, Ashley Young took advantage of Heinze moving out of his position and broke in from the wings.

"Nottingham Forest is on the attack; their momentum is strong!"

As Heinze was already passed, the Center Backs of Manchester United needed to eke out a player to fill in. The responsibility fell to Wes Brown. But this way, Manchester United's penalty area became empty. Roy Keane had little choice but to patch up the space left behind by Brown. Defense was an engineered system; once a problem appeared somewhere, it would create a ripple effect down the chain.

Viduka, Eastwood, and Ribéry all cut forward into Manchester United's penalty area. Albertini alone stopped halfway outside it. At this point, Ashley Young passed to the center. He did not pass it towards the penalty area but instead to Albertini, who was just outside it. While Roy Keane was retreating to fill in the gap, he was also taking notice of Albertini's movements. He was sure of the Italian's abilities. Age was not a factor that would affect Albertini. They were both 32; they were far from being old.

"S**t!" With a curse, Keane turned and dashed outwards towards Albertini.

Albertini got into position; it was a pose for a direct shot! Albertini's banana shots were famous, only a fool would let him have a clear shot without any disruption!

Keane leaped forward in hopes of using his body to block Albertini's shot at the goal.

"The Italian is about to shoot!"

Ferguson stood from his seat with fisted hands, ready to curse.

But the curses he had set to unleash were quickly swallowed down; Albertini did not shoot. He positioned himself in that manner, but watched as the ball whizzed right past him.

When the ball landed at the foot of another Forest member, everyone was stunned. It was not just Manchester United players; even Forest's players themselves did not expect it. The one who had appeared at the landing point and received the ball was George Wood!

Chapter 255: Going Head-On Part 2

All the players of Manchester United had their eye on the three Forest players within the penalty area. Even Albertini only had Roy Keane to guard him. Upon stopping the ball, there was no one within five or six meters of Wood; he could see no red jerseys from Manchester United.

No one had thought that Wood would appear at a spot so close to the penalty area – prior to this, he had almost never participated in the offense.

Even the commentator was taken by surprise and shouted, "George Wood! When did he get here?!"

There was nobody to disrupt him where he stood, and he could take his time to adjust his distance to the ball satisfactorily before gracefully swinging his leg to powerfully volley the ball…

Unlike usual, Albertini did not yell from the side, "Shoot!" Instead, he quietly fisted his hands as if trying to conserve some energy for Wood.

Wood looked down at ball beneath his foot. His mind swam with Albertini's words. "If you don't try, how do you know you can't do it?"

Do I still remember my goal shooting training while I was on the Youth Team? What did the coach say? Straighten my arch?

He lifted his right foot with a flourish.

"George Woooooo- Wow…" The commentator had originally intended on dragging out his voice to cheer for Wood's goal, but the actual shot made it hard for him to get excited.

Wood kicked with all his power and the ball shot towards… the second level of the Northward spectators' stands.

Before Wood had taken his shot, Manchester's goalkeeper, the American Tim Howard, was rather nervous. In the end, he saw the ball flying out while he jumped for show. His hands were not even raised – the ball was ten meters away from the post!

"Defensive Midfielder Wood takes a powerful kick to eliminate the threat, kicking the ball towards the spectators' stands." The commentator could only describe the attempted shot this way – in a way much closer to the situation in reality.

Wood was disappointed in his own performance and looked towards the stands behind Manchester's goal in a daze. Then, Albertini came to give him a pat on his shoulder. "Not bad."

Wood did not understand why the captain would say that and looked at him questioningly.

"It's a start. A good start," the amicable Italian said with a grin.

※※※

Wood's terrible shot received thanks from Manchester United's fans by way of their loud jeers. They were truly disagreeable people.

Outside the field, Kerslake noticed Wood's decision not to pass the ball but instead take a rare shot at the goal. He turned towards Tang En. Tang En read the confusion and unspoken question in his eyes all at once, shrugging. "It wasn't me."

What a familiar scene… Tang En recalled. In the match with Arsenal, Albertini had also encouraged Wood to take the initiative to cut forward and take part in the offense.

Seeing Albertini hurriedly run up to Wood to comfort him after he missed the shot, Tang En broke into a wide smile. This old general was indeed the right choice!

Kerslake asked from his side, "Should we remind him, Tony?"

Tang En shook his head. "No, why should we? Don't you think this is good?"

"But we lost such a fantastic opportunity…"

"In exchange for growth, I'm absolutely willing to waste ten more chances. David, you also came from the Youth Training Camp. Do you still remember what the youth players needed most?"

Kerslake scratched his head. "Um... We're in the English Premier League now. It's a little different from the matches with the Youth Team…"

"Of course. This is the English Premier League. But we have many youths so full of potential in our team. Why did they choose to play with us? It's because we can provide them with opportunities, many more than if they had gone anywhere else. As far as such valuable experimentation goes, not only should we hold back our criticisms and restrictions about it, we must encourage them. This aspect, I think, is no different from the Youth Team." As he finished speaking, Tang En rose and walked towards the sidelines, showing a thumbs-up sign to George Wood and Albertini.

After doing so, he walked back and sat down. He continued to say to David Kerslake, "Of course, about George's difficulty with aiming… I think there's a need for us to consider including more shooting drills during his daily training…"

Kerslake laughed. "Tony, I'm suddenly remembering the first time you brought George over to the Youth Team Training Grounds. What is it that makes you look so well upon him; to value him so greatly?"

Naturally, Tang En could not reveal that he was initially just patronizing the silly boy when he had first brought him to the Youth Training Grounds.

"Maybe it's because I saw something in him that I don't see in many others: foolishness."

"Foolishness?" Kerslake said, seemingly perplexed.

"Yes… because he was foolish, he knew that he needed to put in much greater effort in order to stand on the same field as the others. Because of his foolishness, he never dared to give himself any slack. Have you ever seen him loaf around during training?"

Kerslake shook his head. "I've only ever seen him giving himself additional training."

"Exactly. It is because he knows how lacking he is compared with the others. If he doesn't work hard, it will be impossible for him to even passably become a professional footballer. Frankly, I didn't initially see any potential in him to play soccer. With his physique, he could possibly have had a future as a track and field athlete. But later, his performance completely won me over and I decided to give him a chance." Here, Tang En pointed his chin towards the field.

Manchester United was on their offense. George Wood stood at the back of captain Albertini, alertly marking the opposing players. Compared with the George Wood who had first appeared on the sidelines of Forest's training area, loudly demanding to train with the First Team, he was completely and utterly transformed into a person who was beyond merely looking like a professional footballer.

He was now an authentic professional football player. Compared with other players who had more fame or earned more money than him, he was much purer.

※※※

"George Wood of Nottingham Forest has wasted their best chance to score since the beginning of the match. They may quickly begin to regret their reckless handling of things. After all, they're facing Manchester United! Any wasted opportunity will be punished!"

As the commentator was prattling on endlessly, the attack from Manchester United got blocked by George Wood and Albertini's co-defense.

Paul Scholes tried to dribble past Albertini in an attempt to draw Wood out before passing the ball.

But before he could even completely pass Albertini, George Wood had already dashed forward with a ferocious but legal slide tackle from the front. Worried about getting injured, Scholes jumped up and allowed Wood to slide under his legs and tackle the ball away from him.

But Manchester United's attack had not yet ended.

Roy Keane followed behind Scholes and rushed forward.

Wood also got to his feet to pursue the ball.

The Manchester captain took possession of the ball and took a fury-filled shot!

"Roy-"

The commentator's howling had just taken off when the ball viciously rebounded back.

A muffled thump could be heard throughout the stadium. Keane's powerful shot had smacked right into the face of George Wood, who had surged forward to block the goal.

The shot was so strong, the ball rebounded up high and flew directly out of the end lines from the middle of the penalty area. Meanwhile, Wood fell backward and landed heavily like a sandbag on the ground.

Chapter 256: Roy Keane Part 1

Lying on the ground, Wood stared blankly at the sky over Old Trafford, his mind blank. He did not know what had happened, but he could feel something warm flowing from his nose to his lips, and it tasted salty.

I'm supposed to playing, right? What's going on?

The sky over his head was getting smaller, and there were many people in the periphery. They were looking down at him.

He could recognize a few people; there was Demetrio, Roy Keane…

There was an uproar. Lots of sounds reverberated in his ears, and he could not hear what the people were saying.

While Wood was still lying on the ground and wondering what was going on, Keane was explaining to the referee that it was purely an accident. Who could know that his volley towards the goal would be blocked by George Wood, using only his face?

Wood was surrounded by many people. Off field, Twain did not know what had happened. He only saw George fall suddenly backwards. Keane's shot was too fast and too close, and his eyes could not keep up. But soon he saw the referee looking down to assess the situation, so he got up and waved to the Forest substitutes' bench to signal for the team doctor.

"What's going on?" He turned to look at the big screen above the stands at Old Trafford, where the scene was being replayed.

Keane's volley had smashed Wood in the nose!

Twain winced. He could not help but feel the pain just by watching it.

"Keane's shot hit Wood in the face. It looks like Wood is hurt pretty bad. He's still lying on the ground and can't get up..." The commentator had not finished his sentence when he saw Wood get up unsteadily from the ground.

Wood was finally able to hear what the people around him were saying. He froze when he realized that the referee wanted to send him off the field.

Send me off? A red card? Did I get sent off? How can that be? I haven't fouled yet… No, it wasn't me who fouled just now… No, who just committed a foul?

He felt dizzy and could not think clearly. He shook his head hard.

The referee assumed that his action meant "no." He spoke sternly to Wood. "Lad, you have to leave the field now!"

"Why?" Wood responded in confusion.

Next to him, Albertini explained hurriedly. "You're injured. You have to leave the field so you can receive medical attention."

"But I feel... there's nothing wrong with me." Wood was not lying. Other than his head feeling a bit heavy, he was fine. Even the feeling of dizziness was rapidly diminishing.

The Forest team doctor, Fleming, finally rushed into the crowd. He brushed aside the players who were watching hullabaloo, ran to Wood, and exclaimed, "Oh my God!"

Next to them, the referee shook his head. "Even if your body really is strong enough for there to be no problem at all, you still need to go back to the locker room and change your jersey." He pointed at Wood's chest. "The rules don't allow players to continue the game wearing a blood-stained jersey."

Upon hearing what the referee said, Wood looked down at his chest. His yellow Forest team away jersey had a huge stain of fresh blood.

What's going on?

He reached up to touch his lips and found that they were wet. Then he looked at his hands and saw that his fingers were red. Obviously, it was blood.

"Bloody hell!" Next to him, Fleming shook his head and swore. He had finally snapped out of his shock at the sight of Wood glancing down at his chest indifferently and touching his lips. "George! Look at you. You looked like someone threw ketchup on your face! What the hell are you still doing here?" He stepped forward and grabbed Wood's arm. "Come with me!"

"I'm fine, I can still..." Wood struggled.

"Do you really think this red stuff is ketchup? It's blood!" Fleming raised his voice to admonish the kid. At the same time, he also sighed internally. Does this kid not know what pain feels like? He was hit directly in the face by this shot, but he didn't even contort his face in pain.

After the referee had repeated the rules to Wood, he went to the sidelines accompanied by the team doctor, Fleming, to receive treatment to staunch the bleeding.

Roy Keane stood outside the crowd and watched Wood walking off the field at Fleming's request. He had intended to apologize to the kid and explain himself. But now, Wood did not even seem to need it.

※※※

When Twain saw the replay on the big screen, he knew that the Forest team would be down a player for a while. As a result, taking advantage of the fact that the situation on the field was still chaotic and the game had not resumed yet, he called Albertini over to the sideline, and told him to remind the entire team to focus on defense. In the absence of Wood, the team had to prioritize defense. They could not let Manchester United take advantage of the fact that the Forest team was a player short.

Albertini nodded and ran back.

After he had covered that important matter, Twain was in the right mindset to think about Wood, who was undergoing treatment from Fleming on the other side of the field. I hope it's not a broken nose.

If Wood was truly hurt and could not play for the Forest team… Twain had never considered who would be his substitute.

Gunnarsson could do it. However, in Twain's view, he had completely failed to keep up with the pace of the English Premier League. He was definitely good enough to play a main role in the English Football League Championship, which was the former Football League First Division. However, in the Premier League, he could only really be a substitute for the Forest team; after all, their goal was not simply to maintain their rank.

※※※

Wood was on the sidelines, receiving treatment to stop the bleeding. Fleming had to first check whether his nose was broken or not, because that kind of impact was likely to lead to a fracture of the bridge of his nose. It would not be a simple matter of stuffing two balls of tissue paper up his nose.

He touched it and found that it was normal. He was relieved, and gave Wood the tissue paper.

"Stuff them in."

Wood listened and stuffed them in, but immediately took them back out.

"I can't breathe," Wood said to the perplexed Fleming.

"Breathe through your mouth..."

Wood shook his head, and then raised his head up high. He looked up at the sky and did not say anything. He then sucked in through his nose with all his strength; occasionally his throat would rattle, and something would be gulped down.

Fleming did not know what Wood was doing; soon the lad lowered his head again and said, "I'm ok."

"You're ok? It stopped?" Fleming was a little surprised. "What did you just swallow?"

"Blood," Wood answered truthfully.

Fleming grimaced. "You swallowed the blood from your nose?"

Wood nodded.

"Oh my god..." Fleming had no idea what the expression on his face looked like.

Wood ignored him and turned back to the field, but was stopped by Fleming. "Where are you going? You can't go back now without the permission of the referee. Have you forgotten? You've got to back to the locker room and change your jersey."

Wood looked down at the red bloodstains on his jersey, which did not look good at all.

So he ran past Manchester United's substitutes' bench, into the players' corridor, and back into the locker room to change his jersey.

After he watched Wood disappear into the corridor, Fleming walked towards the Forest team's technical area. Twain asked him, "What's the situation?"

Fleming grinned. "You saw him run. Do you still think there's a problem?"

"Erm..." Twain also felt he asked a rather silly question.

"What the hell did he eat growing up?" Fleming said to himself, frowning.

"What's the matter?"

"I gave him tissue paper to stuff his nose to stop the bleeding, and he complained that he couldn't breathe. Then he tilted his head back and swallowed all the blood from his nose..." Fleming grimaced.

When he heard what Fleming had said, Twain smiled. "Just get used to it, Gary."

When Wood had returned to the sidelines from the locker room, Twain stopped him. "How does it feel, George?"

Wood did not understand what he was asking. "How does what feel?"

"The feeling of shooting into the goal."

"I... can't say." Wood shook his head.

"Well... Slow down, don't rush. Don't forget to defend, either." Twain patted Wood on the shoulder and said nothing else.

The fourth official came over to check Wood's nose and make sure he had no bloodstains on his face, his neck, or his new jersey. Only then was he allowed to stand on the sidelines and wait for the referee's call.

The referee saw that Wood had already changed into his new jersey. He waved to him as he ran towards the Forest team's midfield, and Wood ran up.

※※※

Because George Wood had gone back to the locker room to change his clothes, the Forest team had had about five minutes during which they had one player less than Manchester United.

That had been a great opportunity for Manchester United to break out of the deadlock from earlier, because the Forest team was not short a striker, but a vital defensive midfielder. However, Twain's earlier adjustment had made the Forest team completely abandon their offense for those five minutes. They did not give up of their own accord, but rather because of Manchester United's fierce attack. Even if they had wanted to counterattack, they were essentially powerless.

Compared to Ryan Giggs on Manchester's left flank, Cristiano Ronaldo on the right flank was much more active. Franck Ribéry, who had consistently performed outstandingly for the last two months, was so quashed by Ronaldo that he could not attack at all.

Fortunately, Albertini was experienced, and quickly organized the Forest team's midfield defense. Apart from one time whereby Piqué did not shoot far to lift an attack and Rooney missed the goal after seizing the opportunity of not being marked by anyone, there were no other thrilling moments.

As a result, when Wood was back on the field, the score on the big screen scoreboard had not changed. It was still 0:0.

Nottingham Forest was far more tenacious than Manchester United had anticipated.

Chapter 257: Roy Keane Part 2

Albertini saw Wood run to the field again and returned to his side. He turned and smiled at him.

"How's it going, George? You okay?"

Wood nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Great, then we can make an attack now!"

When he heard Albertini say that, Wood looked at the time on the big screen. The game had been going for twenty minutes, and the score was still 0:0. The Forest team looked a little battered, but this had happened at Old Trafford to, hadn't it?

※※※

Manchester United continued to attack. After Scholes had taken possession of the ball, he gave it to Ryan Giggs on the flank. The Welshman was old now. If he had received the ball two years ago, he would have caused his opponent's entire right flank to go into high tension. His breakthroughs had always been successful and intimidating for his opponents.

Now, his breakthroughs had obviously lessened. Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo on the right flank, he looked like a hero past his prime. But that did not mean that he should be taken lightly.

Chimbonda, the young man from France, had somewhat underrated Ryan Giggs. He had heard of the Welshman's fame for his prowess, but that was a long time ago, and no one could escape the stress of time.

That was what Chimbonda thought when he rushed up the first time. He wanted to seize the opportunity from his rival not yet adjusting his ball to intercept and counterattack. Except he underestimated the strength of the veteran. Giggs saw Chimbonda rush up, and nimbly used the tip of his toes to poke the football in between Chimbonda's legs!

Afterwards, he immediately jumped to dodge his rival's tackle.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!" The commentator was excited. After twenty minutes of play, Ryan Giggs had not had a breakthrough. It had been disappointing not to see the Welshman's lightning-fast breakthroughs. "Ryan Giggs! Look at the gap between Chimbonda's legs! Big enough to drive a car through! What was he thinking? He's too rash!"

When Albertini saw Giggs break past Chimbonda, he hurriedly dropped his position and rushed to the flank because he was closer. Instead of letting the center back rush over, it was better for him to go. So, he ran towards Ryan Giggs and signaled to Matthew Upson to return to his position.

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney were not just there for show.

Seeing Giggs break through Chimbonda, Ferguson stood up from his seat and clenched his fists, waiting for the right moment to cheer.

The Nottingham Forest defensive line had been torn apart. To make up for the crack, the Forest team would need to draw their players from other areas; in that way, more cracks would appear one after another. This was the moment he had been waiting for!

In contrast to Ferguson's expectations, Twain also stood up from his seat and leaned out of the Old Trafford technical area, clutching both his fists; but it was not to celebrate anything. His lips were pursed as if he was ready to swear at any time.

Giggs saw Albertini coming at him, and he knew clearly the situation in the penalty area without even looking.

It was crowded in front of the Forest team's goal. Ruud van Nistelrooy attracted all of Gerard Piqué's defensive attention, Wayne Rooney was marked by Matthew Upson, and Leighton Baines had come back to the penalty area to help defend. Cristiano Ronaldo had also gotten in on the action. It would be ineffective to kick the ball to the front of the goal, which would most likely be headed out anyway.

Albertini was getting closer to him. Ryan Giggs feinted a direct cross movement, which tricked Albertini into doing a slide tackle. The Welshman simply twisted and flashed past Albertini, and then crossed the ball to the front of the penalty area.

And Scholes was there!

Albertini went up to fill the position; George Wood naturally would cover Albertini's position.

Paul Scholes ran towards the ball, looking like he was going to shoot directly. Wood wanted to leap and block the line of shooting while he was swinging his feet to kick. But there was a sudden flash in his mind of the scene of Ryan Giggs whizzing past Demetrio...

Therefore, he suddenly halted; at the same time, ahead of him, Scholes missed the ball!

The football flew past Wood and fell to Roy Keane!

Not again!

Wood turned at the same time and rushed towards him again. He could not think about whether the ball would hit his face or not. He was the defensive midfielder and the first barrier to the goal. He absolutely must not retreat.

"Roy Keane received the ball... and George Wood rushed up!"

When the football had not yet zoomed in, Keane had already swung up his leg on the spot with the intention of volleying the ball with his leg straight away. But he suddenly saw Wood turn around, which surprised him a little. Why wasn't this kid tricked by Paul?

The next second, he did not have time to think about that problem. Keane changed his mind about a direct volley at the last moment because he was not certain if he would hit the Wood with the ball again.

Kid, even if Scholes couldn't trick you, you won't have any other way now!

Wood saw Keane swing his leg, so he vaulted himself again; everything was exactly the same as when he was hit in the face. However, this time he was tricked.

Roy Keane was poised, and George Wood leaped out. It was a vivid scene. But then Keane kicked the ball close to the ground, and Wood flew past him.

Immediately after, without waiting for Wood to get up, the Manchester United captain changed to his other foot to shoot!

This time it was not a feint, it was real!

"Roy Keane!!"

It was as if the football was shot from a cannon. It instantly passed through the crowd in the penalty area, and when Wood turned back, he could only see van Nistelrooy lowering his head to let the ball pass.

Because his view was blocked by the crowd in the penalty area, the goalkeeper, Darren Ward, did know how to be on guard against Keane's long shot. Although he leapt up, he was too far away from the ball.

"What a GOOOOOOOAL!! What a great GOOOOOOOAL!!!"

The football forcefully lifted the net up, and the stands in The Theatre of Dreams erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. The leading man, Roy Keane, clenched his fist, brandished it into the sky, and hollered skywards!

And under his feet lay George Wood, who was beaten by his single shot.

Chapter 258: In Trouble Part 1

When Ferguson saw Keane get past George Wood by changing directions and shooting the ball into Forest's gates, he dashed down excitedly from the technical area with his arms raised. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for; the moment of celebration!

Meanwhile, Tang En plopped back onto his seat and cursed under his breath. "Dammit..."

He was not cursing at George Wood. He was only expressing his disappointment in losing a ball.

In the five minutes without Wood, the Forest team, now a player down, managed to defend against the tidal wave of attacks coming from Manchester United. As he watched the players' performance, Tang En's confidence filled to the brim. Yet, when Wood returned to the field and evened the player numbers with Manchester United, they actually lost a ball!

Just behind the technical area was Old Trafford's spectators' stand. The cheers from the fans of the Red Devils swept across Tang En, ruffling his hair and his mood.

"Tony, should we do anything?" Assistant manager Kerslake came forward to ask.

Tang En shook his head. "No. 20 minutes in is too early to make adjustments... In our plans, we didn't say that we would forbid Manchester United from scoring any goals. But it is a pity..."

A pity for the draw that had lasted for 20 minutes.

※※※

Keane was clustered in a hug by his teammates, basking fully in a moment of glory that belonged to him. And what of George Wood?

Alone, Wood stood up from the ground. Surrounding him were the Manchester players who were celebrating the goal. In the sea of red, wearing the yellow jersey of Forest as the away team, he seemed out of his element.

Wood's gaze swept across the faces of the celebrating players from Manchester and landed on Keane.

First was a kick that caused him to suffer a nosebleed. And now, Keane had scored a goal right before his eyes.

Roy Keane... I don't care if I'm supposed to be aiming for you! Right now, you're my enemy! I won't allow you to be so gleeful in front of me!

Keane cared nothing for what the loser thought; in fact, he had not even once turned around to look at Wood's darkened expression.

※※※

"Manchester United takes the lead. After 20 minutes of resistance from Nottingham Forest, they finally take a point. Roy Keane's performance today is fantastic; even better than his previous matches... let's guess, is this because he is excited about his opponents for this match, Nottingham Forest?"

A cool-faced Roy Keane appeared on the screen, making the commentator's remark about his "excitement" seem wildly inaccurate. However, in reality, Keane was indeed excited about the match.

Ferguson, who was outside the field, could see this clearly. The match had only progressed to its 20th minute, but Keane had already taken two shots at the goal. He seemed very keen on scoring.

The Scot did not bother considering the reason for Keane's excitement. All he knew was that the team was benefiting from it. The match had just become much easier with a goal in the bag, and with them playing on their home ground.

Nottingham Forest was not a weak team. He could tell from the list of strong teams that had gotten in trouble with them: Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle... Manchester United could not be as useless as Arsenal, their arch-rivals.

Ferguson felt pity each time he saw Piqué playing as Nottingham Forest's center back. He could not believe that Twain had stolen such an outstanding young center back. And now he had even become their opponent!

Thinking of this, Ferguson became furious. He glanced at the manager's seat beside theirs. The young manager overseeing Forest was seated in his place with his eyes fixed on the field, appearing to be in some sort of discussion with his assistant manager.

Ferguson suddenly remembered something as he watched them. He turned to ask his assistant, the Portuguese man Queiroz. "Carlos, do you still remember the newspapers you were reading yesterday?"

Queiroz nodded, "Of course, Boss."

"Tell me, do you think the Forest team you see on the field is a team full of conflict, a team that could fall to pieces at a moment's notice?"

Queiroz shook his head. "No. I don't see any signs of that, Boss."

Ferguson simply made an indistinct sound in reply.

Although the stories in the newspapers were full of fabrication, Ferguson thought that the reporters could have been onto something. There must have been an issue internally with Nottingham Forest... it could be something huge or tiny.

If that was the case, their streak of losses could help them in uncovering these problems.

※※※

Cristiano Ronaldo was the golden boy of Portugal; with expertise in dribbling, his footwork was exceptional. In the current football scene, he was one of the few players who could seemingly perform magic with his feet.

In addition to that was his handsome appearance. He had won the hearts of countless football fans the moment he had come to Old Trafford. Wearing jersey number seven left behind by Beckham, he ran back and forth on both sides of the field, putting to use his dazzling techniques to break through his opponents and earn cheers in The Theatre of Dreams. On the spectators' stand on the north side, there was a banner that would appear in every home match:

There is only one Ronaldo!

Meanwhile, Franck Ribéry was only considered an "old rookie." Unlike Ronaldo, who had a secured position both in Portugal's National Football Team and Manchester United, Ribéry was only a main player with Nottingham Forest. The summon from the French National Football Team was just a start for him.

Ribéry was pushed back into the backfield by Cristiano Ronaldo. He could not have helped in the offense even if he wanted to. Along with him, another player being suppressed was the left back Leighton Baines.

The Frenchman admitted that his opponent was good; incredibly good. He did not dare to give an inch of slack when he was facing off against Ronaldo. Just a second of carelessness would allow Ronaldo to break through with his dribble and directly threaten the area behind them.

He needed support from somewhere, just not the left back Leighton Baines. Baines still had to carefully pull Rooney, who had come to the wings to coordinate with Ronaldo, away. Both Ronaldo and Rooney were exceptionally brilliant youths from their respective countries.

This was how rich and powerful teams were; they could easily put together the best youths of each nation.

But Forest also had the best.

Cristiano Ronaldo felt a little contempt for the Scarface before him. Regardless of fame, technique, achievements, or looks, this man was a long-shot away from him.

Manchester United, who was leading, played in a relaxed manner. This included Ronaldo. He stopped the ball less than three meters before Ribéry and began to execute stepovers. His speed was incredible, and both of his feet flew over the ball in a flurry. However, he did not try to make a break in any direction. It was merely a fake out.

Ribéry was taken in by the opponent's speedy movements and took a step backward. But Ronaldo did not make a breakthrough with the ball. Instead, he stood where he was and smiled at him.

This was clearly not a kind smile. Since he was young, Ribéry had been faced with this expression from numerous people. At times it was because of his looks; other times because he was poor. He knew exactly what the expression meant. It was a mocking smile.

Bloody hell! This Portuguese lad is looking down on me!

This is not just a football match anymore! This is a bloody war! I am going to make you pay, you piece of s**t!

Ronaldo started a step over again. This time he slightly nudged the ball outward, and Ribéry surged forward. Seeing him move, Ronaldo used his right heel and knocked it back inwards behind him, planning to break through from behind Ribéry.

Ribéry was not a clumsy center back; his turning speed was not at all slow. Ronaldo had just spun around when Ribéry turned in the same direction to block his path forward. But Ronaldo's reflexes were even quicker. With a glimpse of his shadow, Ronaldo immediately realized what had happened. This time, he swiped backward with his left heel and nudged the ball back to his right side.

With his center of gravity still in the midst of adjusting, Ribéry had nothing left up his sleeve. He could only watch as the opponent who had mocked him dribbled past him from his side and broke through with a swagger.

"Ronaldo passes to the center!"

Nistelrooy jumped up to attack the goal with a header but was beaten to it by Piqué. After training with Hierro for the competition, the improvement in Piqué was as apparent as in George Wood.

Although Piqué had managed to head the ball away, he could not get it too far under Nistelrooy's disruption.

Roy Keane dashed forward again. The commentator was right. The Keane of today was truly excited. Based on his previous matches, it was rather unusual for him to stick so closely to the penalty area.

George Wood gave Keane a glare as he noticed him rushing forward. You want to go at it again?

"Roy Keane has arrived once more! Ah... George Wood!"

Taking the risk of having Keane's shoes slam into his face, Wood jumped up in front of Keane and headed the ball. Keane's leg was already in motion, but he suddenly saw a dark shadow come into view and the ball disappeared.

Keane did not continue his motion of shooting at the goal but also did not withdraw his foot. After Wood headed the ball out, Keane conveniently gave Wood's arm a kick. As if nothing had happened, Wood dashed off immediately after landing. The ball was still within the danger zone, and Gary Neville was running towards it.

Young George Wood was clearly faster than Gary Neville. He managed to reach before Neville and kicked the ball towards the front. This was a great chance for Forest Team to launch a counterattack, but the referee's whistle sounded.

Eastwood, who had just run out, heard the whistle and gestured helplessly with his hands. He did not understand where the problem was.

Tang En ran to the sidelines from the technical area, loudly complaining the ridiculousness of the judgment. "Advantage clause! The Advantage clause! Dammit!"

Chapter 259: In Trouble Part 2

Hearing Tang En's last statement, the Fourth Official walked over. Tang En glanced at him and turned to return to the manager's seat. As he watched Tang En walk back, the Fourth Official also turned to return to his place. He had no intention of pursuing the matter. He knew how Tony Twain was as a manager; it was something that had already spread among the referee circle. Sometimes, it was better to have less fuss.

The referee's whistle to stop the match was clearly due to Roy Keane's foul against Wood earlier. His leg had been raised too high. He could have kicked Wood's jaw if he had gone even a little higher...

But Nottingham Forest's members were more displeased than the offending party. The Manchester United's players had taken the opportunity to run back for defense. Forest's captain, Demetrio Albertini, stood before the referee and questioned his call for the foul.

"Sir, we were on the attack. According to the Advantage rule, you can't..."

The referee shook his head. "I know the rules. Manchester United's captain needed to be punished for his foul." As he said this, he waved Roy Keane over and raised a yellow card at him.

Keane did not try to defend himself and turned to run back. His previous kick was done on purpose. Before the kick, he had noticed the situation around him. With Gary Neville a little too far away and Ronaldo still near the end line, their opponents would certainly go on the counterattack if he did not manage to receive the ball. He might as well commit a foul on purpose and buy some time for his teammates to return for the defense.

A yellow card in exchange for stemming the flow of the opponent's fast break. It was more than worth it.

Wood did not understand the ruling. A call for a foul by the referee was supposed to protect their interests. So why was it the opponent's interests that got protected in the end? He pointed at his arm and told Albertini, "I'm fine. Why did the referee whistle for us to stop?"

Albertini gave Wood a wry smile. "Because we are the away team. You did well, George."

※※※

The television screen replayed the scene of the foul. Wood was facing Keane when he jumped so he could not have missed seeing Keane's leg coming up. But he made no attempt to dodge and stretched his head out to head the ball away. Similarly, Keane did not try to pull back his leg but waited with his right foot in the air to collide with Wood.

"Keane raised his leg up too high! He did not have any intention to pull back his leg..." the commentator said, shaking his head. That was Roy Keane's style.

After the match restarted, Forest's offense from the backfield was of no threat to Manchester at all because their players had already returned for the defense. When it came to such positional play, Forest had fewer options. They lacked a pure holding midfielder. Albertini was, after all, a defensive midfielder. At times, even he had no way of effectively standing in for an attacking midfielder.

Forest's attack died down eventually.

20 minutes earlier, Forest team could still contend with Manchester United on even grounds. However, after Keane's goal, the match initiative was now in the hands of Manchester. Their tidal wave of attacks completely suppressed Forest's offense. For a period, Nottingham Forest could only stay on the defense. Their few attempted sneak attacks were of little threat to the defensive line led by Rio Ferdinand.

Ribéry, who had been performing outstandingly for the past two months, was almost invisible in Forest's attacks during the match. That was because he was trying to compete with Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese man felt particularly good about himself today. The opponent he faced was not much and he could break through at will.

This time was no exception.

Ribéry did not excel at defending; he was only battling Ronaldo because of a drive that stemmed from an unwillingness to lose. But defense was not something that could be carried out by a mere drive.

He had learned his lesson. He was in no hurry to make his move when Ronaldo was doing his fakes. Instead, he followed the steps of the opponent and retreated accordingly. He was so focused on Ronaldo that he forgot that he was already on the penalty line.

The dribbling Ronaldo realized that Ribéry was completely focused on the ball beneath his foot and grinned. He raised his foot and made a false swipe over the ball, looking as if he wanted to bring it towards the end line. Instead, he took it outside in a bid to forcefully break through or pass to the center.

When it came to speed, Ribéry was not at all afraid of Ronaldo. He sprang into action to try to kick the ball out from Ronaldo.

Ronaldo attempted another pass but Ribéry stretched his leg out to block it, sealing up Ronaldo's pass route. The price was the loss of his center of gravity.

The Portuguese man was waiting for exactly this moment. As he watched Ribéry leap to block his pass, he pivoted his ankle and changed the pass to a nudge that moved the ball to Ribéry's back.

He thought he had gotten Ribéry, but he was the one who had been deceived!

Although it appeared that Ribéry had thrown his entire weight forward and should not have been able to do anything to the ball behind him, he had left his leg dragging behind him. After the nudge by Ronaldo, the ball collided with Ribéry's leg and diverted from the planned route. Ronaldo could no longer maintain control of the ball under his foot.

Dammit!

Ronaldo watched Ribéry's leg and moved without any hint of hesitation. Changing directions, turning, breaking through... he then stuck his foot in and fell forwards, flopping right into the penalty area!

The referee's whistle shrieked loudly among the ear-splitting jeers and cheers ringing within the grounds of Old Trafford. He ran towards the penalty area with a finger pointing at the penalty spot.

"Penalty! Ronaldo tripped by Ribéry!"

When Ribéry heard the whistle, his first reaction was that Ronaldo must have made a dive. But when he turned back and saw the referee pointing towards the penalty spot, he sprang up from the ground and rushed towards him. Fortunately, Matthew Upson hastily blocked the rash man with his quick eyes and deft hands. Otherwise, they would have been lucky to get away with only a yellow card.

But not everyone was as calm as Upson was. Ashley Young ran before the referee and loudly questioned his call. He believed that Ronaldo was just faking the fall and should have been given a yellow card as well. But the result was a yellow card for himself.

Albertini herded the teammates who had come forward to "reason" with the referee. A matter like appealing to the referee should be undertaken by the captain, himself. Even though he did not see clearly what happened, he figured from experience that Ronaldo had fallen somewhat too exaggeratedly.

The referee shook his head and stood by his judgment. He stood beside the penalty spot with his arm raised, signaling Manchester United to approach for their penalty kick.

Ronaldo and his teammates were in a group hug, celebrating the awarded penalty kick.

Meanwhile, Ribéry bit his lip furiously as he stared daggers at the delighted Ronaldo.

※※※

On the sidelines, Tang En was extremely dissatisfied with the penalty. He raged at the Fourth Official. "First, it was a disregard for the Advantage Clause. Then, it's a ruling to award a penalty kick for a flop!"

"Mr. Twain, please calm down," the Fourth official said unflinchingly, without a care for Tang En's flying spit.

"I am very calm!" Tang En knew that the result could not be changed, but he simply could not accept the fact that they were already behind Manchester United in the first half.

Boiling with anger, he spun around and walked back. He stood on the sidelines and watched as Nistelrooy kicked the penalty ball into the goal Darren Ward was guarding. Once again, resounding cheers rang through Old Trafford.

"Bastard!" he cursed quietly. He was exceptionally unhappy with the current situation. They were now two goals behind in an away match. Would Forest end up with two losses in a row?

Chapter 260: A Show of Genius Part 1

The penalty shot in the 31st minute of the first half was a heavy blow to the Forest team. For the rest of the time, Nottingham Forest played somewhat listlessly. They had conceded two goals to their opponents in within thirty minutes, and furthermore, their opponent was Manchester United. How were they supposed to play this game?

Some people thought about their loss to Liverpool in that championship game. Then, it had also been 0:2 in the first half of the game, and the team completely collapsed afterward.

It was the same today, only George Wood was still running; but he alone was too insignificant for Manchester United's mighty midfield.

When the whistle sounded at the end of the first half, the cheers of the Red Devils were ringing throughout Old Trafford as though they could see that a victory was within reach.

Twain did not rush back to the locker room. He just stood on the sidelines, watching his men enter the corridor. All the Forest players who had played bowed their heads when they passed by their manager. They all felt that they played terribly in the first forty-five minutes of today's game.

Opposite them, Ferguson did not rush back to the locker room either. He stood on the sidelines with a smile on his face. Whenever a Manchester United player passed by him, he would pat the player on the shoulder.

The contrast between these two managers, one with an expressionless face and the other with a face full of smiles, was as wide as the difference between the scores on the electronic scoreboard.

When the field was only left with the substitute players from both teams warming up, Twain and Ferguson entered the players' corridor one after the other.

Pushing open the door, Twain thought momentarily that he had walked into an empty room. It was completely silent, as though there was no one around.

Looking at the dejected players. the original speech that Twain had prepared vanished without a trace. It was necessary now to change his strategy.

He cleared his throat to alert everyone of his presence. It attracted a lot of people's attention.

Once he got everyone's attention, Twain lifted his wrist to look at his watch and pretended to be surprised when he said, "Is there something wrong with my watch? Is the game over? David, should we compare the time?"

Kerslake knew what Twain wanted to do, and he shook his head. "There's no need, Tony. It's only just the end of the first half."

"It's the end of the first half? Are you sure?" Twain widened his eyes in response.

"I'm sure." Kerslake nodded in reply.

"Well..." When he heard the answer, Twain looked at the players. "It looks like my watch is normal... and my memory is fine… In that case…"

He dragged out his voice and paused for a moment. "We still have forty-five minutes left, so what are you guys doing? Every one of you looks so glum, I thought that I had entered the wrong room or remembered the wrong time. Is the game over? No? In that case, why are you all looking like that? Or is it because…" He gestured to the door of the locker room and raised his voice. "You think that we won't improve? That we have no chance in the second half, and that this game is over? Just like that? Answer me!"

There were a few sporadic replies among the players, "No, boss…"

"On my team, I will never put up with cowards who give up hope and think that they have lost before the game even ends! If anyone here doesn't have confidence in himself or his teammates, you can put your hands up now. The time is near for the winter transfer period!"

No one raised their hand.

"What? No one's raising his hand? So, were you sleeping just now? Okay, let's put that problem aside for a while..." Twain waved aside the issue. "I don't want to waste my time talking about this nonsense for the whole fifteen minutes of the half time interval. Yes, we're not in a good position right now; we're two goals behind in the game. It seems difficult to bounce back. But these are not reasons to give up the game. We have no reason at all to give up hope of winning."

When they heard the manager's tone soften, the players, who had had their heads down and had dared not breathe too loudly for fear of being scolded, slowly raised their heads one by one.

"Franck." Twain turned to the corner of the locker room to look at Ribéry and said, "You're a midfielder and even a winger. Remember, you're just helping Baines to defend. I will not criticize you for giving our opponent a chance to fake-dive for a penalty, but you have to know that you are an attacking player. Defending is not your primary task. How many times have you tangled with Ronaldo near our penalty area? How can we counterattack if we successfully intercept the ball?"

Twain's tone was not severe, and everything he said made sense. Ribéry repeatedly nodded as he listened. He was too rash on the field; he only thought of how to win in the one-on-one with Ronaldo, and completely forgot the team's overall tactical needs. In hindsight, his actions lacked consideration.

"We all know that in addition to creating opportunities to score goals on the flanks, focusing our effort on the flanks plays an important role in suppressing our opponents' offense there. So, Franck, if you retreat too much, it's equivalent to letting our opponents suppress our offense on the left flank..."

Ribéry fully understood what Twain had said up to this point. He had been completely steered by Ronaldo.

"I understand now, boss. I'm not going to let them get so comfortable in the second half," he said, clutching his fist.

Twain nodded and turned to Wood again. "And… George. Remember your mission from before the game?"

Wood nodded his head.

"Your support for the flanks isn't enough. If you're more active, Ribéry won't be under so much pressure."

Wood opened his mouth as if he wanted to defend himself. But he immediately gave up the idea and said nothing. Instead, next to him, Albertini spoke up for him. "Boss, I'm not… Actually, Keane has too much pressure on George."

Twain nodded to indicate that he knew. However, he continued from Albertini's words. "Anyone would be under great pressure playing against Keane. Do you think that the Arsenal team captain, Patrick Vieira, isn't under a lot of pressure? He's the same. Roy Keane is just that kind of player. So, George, I'll say it again: if you can't accomplish the mission I gave you, I'll make a substitution."

Twain spoke amiably to Ribéry. But to his most favored George Wood, he was instead harsh to the point of being unreasonable. In the face of such a ridiculous arrangement, an average player might have complained already.

But not Wood. He did not show any changes in his expression; he just nodded his head. "Okay." His tone was so even that some of his teammates thought that he must have not heard Twain's words, but he had just simply answered.

Twain also did not ask if they understood again. He just turned around and spoke to all the players. "Guys, you should know that football is a team sport. Whether it's offense or defense, it's not determined by one or two players. So... you also need to help Wood." He smiled. "Don't let Wood become a superman on his own, I need eleven supermen!"

"That's easy, boss!" Eastwood raised his hand and stood up.

"Do you have any good suggestions, Freddy?" Twain looked at him.

Freddy nodded and said seriously, "Just wear your underwear on the outside!"

Even the usually-serious Mark Viduka could not help but laugh when he heard his forward partner say that. His laughter in the quiet room was like a spark. Everyone, including the players and coaches, all laughed loudly. The oppressive mood in the locker room was swept away by laughter.

※※※

When both managers of the two teams were back on the sidelines waiting for the whistle to kick off the second half, Twain stole a glance at Ferguson, The old Scottish man's seemingly smiley face was flushed pink.

When he saw the faintly smiling face, he felt uncomfortable and quickly turned his face back.

There are still forty-five minutes left; don't get happy too soon, Sir Ferguson...

※※※

After the start of the second half, there seemed to be a repeat of the first half. Manchester United made use of their home advantage to launch a tidal wave of attacks on the Forest team's goal, one wave after another, and battered the other team.

Ribéry remembered Twain's words during the halftime interval. However, when he found that he could not reach the football during the game, he hesitated for a while and ran back. Counterattack? First, we have to not lose the ball before we can do it.

When he saw that the situation had not improved, Twain stood up from the technical area and walked to the sidelines. He waved to the field and shouted, "George!"

Wood heard Twain's call, but he did not look back. He knew why Twain had called him.

Keane pressed on more frequently in the second half, which seemed to be inspired by Ferguson. Scholes and Roy Keane, together with Wayne Rooney and van Nistelrooy taking turns to retreat, were making the defense in the middle very tense.

Wood had never experienced this kind of feeling in a game. When he faced Roy Keane, he would feel extremely nervous. There was no time to breathe. Any negligence could bring about fatal results. He did not have the presence of mind to think about other issues; he only had eyes for Manchester United number 16.

Tang En could understand Wood's current situation, because he remembered that when Keane had announced his retirement in the future, his sworn enemy in the Premier League, Patrick Vieira, had paid tribute to the Manchester United captain, saying he was the greatest midfielder he had ever played against. He had to bring his A game when playing against Keane in a match and use all of his energy. He liked the thrill of being totally involved in playing against a dab hand.

Tang En did not know if Wood liked that feeling, but he was certain that by playing against Keane, who was in tip-top condition, in a life-and-death game, George would develop far more than he had from three months of hard training in the training ground.

There was something buried in Tang En's heart which he did not say to anyone: Even if they lost this game, then as long as the process met Twain's expectations, he would not have any complaints. He could withstand the pressure of a losing streak.

Everything that he had showed so far was to motivate the players, and was not evidence that he was unable to withstand loss as others might think.

Failure was the only way to victory. Of course, that failure must be worthwhile.

※※※

"Roy Keane has possession of the ball, but he's unable to shoot at the goal... He's always followed by George Wood at his side, and Wood is inseparable from him, like his shadow. This must be the tactical arrangement of Manager Tony Twain."

Keane saw George Wood closing in on him and immediately passed the ball to Ronaldo on the flank. Wood saw it and rushed to Ronaldo again. The Portuguese player saw him coming and passed the ball back to Keane. The center back, Piqué, stepped forward to fill the gap, but the ball was passed behind him. Luckily, the Forest team's right back, Leighton Baines, received the ball in the penalty area in time and obstructed Wayne Rooney by kicking the ball out.

Twain shook his head on the sideline when he saw the scene. This won't do, people can't outrun the ball no matter how fast they are.

Wood stood beside Keane and saw the goalkeeper, Darren Ward, give Baines a thumbs up, thanking him for the timely recovery and for lifting a threat. Suddenly, there was a flash of inspiration in his mind.

Why can't we do it this way?

He walked towards Albertini and succinctly conveyed his idea. Albertini quickly understood what Wood had in mind. He considered it, and then nodded. "It's not the boss's arrangement, I think we can give it a try."

Next, he turned to tell everyone Wood's idea; not everyone agreed. Some of them hesitated because George Wood had never been trained as a full back, and the Spaniard, Piqué, had never been a defending midfielder.

Taking advantage of the dead ball, Albertini informed several teammates who needed to take part in the plan. "I don't think there's any hesitation in this. Look at the score, we're already two goals behind. If we can't curb Manchester United's attack, we have no chance to fight back. George's idea isn't bad. Piqué, have you ever played as a defending midfielder?"

The Spanish lad shook his head. "No, Demetrio."

"Then why not take this opportunity to try?"

"But this is an important game..."

"Forget about that, it's not a cup final. Okay, it's settled. Piqué, you will still play center back as usual. If you see Keane coming up to get the ball, just head the ball out to stall him. Then Baines, you'll receive inside the penalty area as a center back and leave the flank to George. Any problems? No? Then let's do it!" At this critical moment, Albertini showed a team captain's capability and courage, and concisely assigned the new tasks. Of course, this had something to do with his English proficiency. He always avoided using grammatically long and complex sentences, and instead used phrases to express his meaning so that everyone could comprehend him well.

No one had any objections to him doing this because everyone knew that how highly Twain regarded the Italian team captain. The relationship between the two of them sometimes did not seem purely like that of a manager and player.

From the sidelines, Twain saw his players gather together and part quickly. He did not know what had happened. Then, when Manchester United attacked again, he was surprised to find Piqué in Wood's position!

"Defending midfielder!" He could not help yelling, and next to him, Kerslake asked, "Is there a problem, Tony?"

Twain hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, this is good..."

He still remembered that, because Piqué was unable to play in any tournaments on the Manchester United First Team and Ferguson had felt he would be wasting time playing in the reserve team games, he was put on loan to Real Zaragoza FC, a team in La Liga. Right from the start, he was faced with the same dilemma of not being able to play in competitions. But the contract between Manchester United and Real Zaragoza FC stipulated the number of appearances for Piqué. He had to play twenty times in a season, so Real Zaragoza arranged for Piqué to play in the last few minutes of the game while also using him as a jack of all trades, a utility player. He would play in whichever position that was short of a player. This included defending midfielder.

Originally, Piqué could only play right back and center back. But, compelled by the circumstances in Real Zaragoza, he also developed a third position as a defending midfielder.

As it turned out, Piqué also did well in the defending midfielder position, even though his favorite position was still center back.

I didn't expect Piqué's third position to emerge in the Premier League two years ahead of time, Tang En thought.

Piqué was pushed entirely beyond his limit the first time he played as a defending midfielder. He seemed to be at a loss facing off against Keane. He was easily shaken off. Fortunately, Albertini made up for the breach in time and resolved the crisis.

Piqué made a gesture of apology to the team captain. Albertini smiled at him and said, "It was inevitable for your first time. There's actually no difference in the position, you just need to pay attention to your movements. The defense for outside of the penalty area and inside it are not the same. Don't strike with your foot too easily, just stick to him!"

Piqué nodded to show that he understood.

On the other side, the Portuguese genius Cristiano Ronaldo was somewhat surprised to find that his opponent had changed. Leighton Baines had gone to the penalty area; he looked like he was a center back, and that Scarface…

Ribéry wanted to come back to help with the defense, but he was only supposed to "help." Although running up and down frequently made him feel tired, he persisted with gritted teeth.

Wood looked up and saw Ribéry running towards him. "What are you doing?"

"The boss said to help with the defense..." The Frenchman secretly pointed to the Manchester United number 7.

"No need." Wood bluntly rejected Ribéry's good intentions. "If you're here, who's going to attack?" He pointed to Manchester United's backfield.

Ribéry wanted to refute Wood, but he shut his mouth as soon as he opened it, turned, and ran back.

Cristiano Ronaldo was close to Wood's side, and he could clearly hear his conversation with Ribéry. The kid did not even glance at him when he spoke, and the Portuguese player suddenly felt slighted. Are you looking down on me? Do you think you can defend against me alone? Okay, let's see you try!

When Keane once again received the ball and faced Piqué while preparing for a breakthrough, he suddenly saw Ronaldo waving at him from the flank, asking him to pass the ball.

With such an obvious intention to pass the ball, any idiot would know to defend ahead of time!

Keane ignored him and chose to pass to Paul Scholes. Scholes then passed to Giggs on the left flank. Giggs crossed to van Nistelrooy, giving him a chance to a shot into the goal; but his header missed.

This seemed to give Ronaldo a chance to show his displeasure. He wagged his hand and was somewhat unhappy that Keane did not pass the ball to him. Keane glanced at him and turned to run back.

Twain was amused by the scene. Ronaldo, who had just joined Manchester United, had extremely bad relationships in Manchester United's locker room because of his smugness over his exceptional dribbling skills and his good looks, him being highly regarded by the manager, his arrogance, and his unsociability. At that time, there was no lack of negative news about him. He was even directly sent back to his home country, Portugal, by Ferguson for a long time after a fight with his teammates. It was once reported that he was going to be transferred out of Manchester United.

The kid was still far from being mature.

Chapter 261: A Show of Genius Part 2

The Forest team's attack on Old Trafford was a bit monotonous. They could not break through from both flanks, which was what they were best at. Albertini was restrained in the back and the Forest team could not even attack from the center. In that way, the flanks could not break open, the center was a no-go, and the Forest team's two strikers had become completely extraneous, not being seen in action for a long time.

At that point, Twain had a desire to have an attacking midfielder on the team who could share the responsibility of organizing the offense. It did not have to be an attacking midfielder, but it did have to be a midfielder who could organize.

Ribéry dribbled the ball across the flank to break through, but his pass to Eastwood soon after was suddenly intercepted by a figure behind him.

"Cristiano Ronaldo! He rushed back from the front field and cut off Ribéry's pass!"

The impatient kid had actually acted on his own to snatch the ball.

The Forest team's offense was suddenly terminated, and the entire team hurried back to their positions. Ronaldo would not give them time to return to their defense set up. After his successful interception, he turned and broke through along the flank, hoping to use his speed and skills to dribble the ball directly to the Forest team's penalty area.

After poking the football out, he saw a figure appear to his side.

It's that boastful number 13! It's good you're here… block me if you can!

Ronaldo dribbled and charged towards Wood, then made a dazzling scissor move that was fast and lethal. Wood was swayed until his center of gravity became unstable.

This is it!

Ronaldo jabbed the football to the side and accelerated. When he tried to immediately cut inside and use his back to block against Wood, he suddenly felt his body leaning against a barrier.

"Ronaldo wants to make a breakthrough! But George Wood has a tight grip on him."

After running a few paces alongside Wood, Ronaldo found that it was difficult to rely purely on his speed to break through number 13. It looked like he would need to use his best step-over move to seek a breakthrough.

Ahead of him was the Forest team's center back, Matthew Upson. Ronaldo came up with another plan. His back would push against Wood while he ran, and then he would cut inward to make Wood think that he was going to force a breakthrough; that would cause his opponent to speed up.

Wood was fooled. After feeling that Ronaldo was going to break through, he immediately sped up and raced to Ronaldo's front; he then looked back and saw Ronaldo use his right heel to knock the football on the outside of his foot towards inside of his foot. At the same time, he did a sudden stop and pivot and bypassed Wood.

"Look at that! What a thrilling breakthrough... This is Ronaldo's moment! At the Theatre of Dreams at Old Trafford, a genius play is being staged!"

Seeing how easily Ronaldo shook off Wood, the commentator heaped all the praise he could think of onto the Portuguese player, as though he were in a theater tossing flowers at an actor.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest fans booed loudly in the south stands of Old Trafford.

Skinny Bill took off his headphones and said to Fat John, "The commentator said this was the moment for Ronaldo's genius performance!"

"Bulls**t! We have a genius too!" John hurled an empty paper cup that he had in his hands. He was fed up with the commentator's nauseating adulation. "Come on, lads! Don't let those Manchester United bastards look down on us! Sing with me!"

"Wood! Wood! Wood Wood Wood! Grow into a Forest! Wood! Wood! Wood Wood Wood! Let your opponents struggle! If you want to bypass, the ball stays! Stays! Stays! Wood! Wood! Wood Wood Wood! Grow into a Forest! Forest! Forest! Victory! Go, Go, Go! Forest Forest!"

Ronaldo heard the loud cheers coming from the Old Trafford stands. He liked to hear spectators cheering on his performance. This really is The Theater of Dreams.

Matthew Upson was up ahead. When he saw Ronaldo bypass Wood as he knocked the ball some distance away from himself, Upson wanted to rush up and intercept the ball. But he underestimated the Portuguese's speed. He was just a half step earlier than him to touch the football, and then he leaped and did a Marseille Turn, dragged the football, and brushed past Upson!

"Ah! It's beautiful! A genius performance!" The commentator was shouting uncontrollably, as though he had seen the unveiling of a good passing performance by several players, like the scene with Thierry Henry's shot into Tottenham Hotspur's goal. That terrific goal had been exciting enough to repeatedly broadcast as an opening title on the BBC for a year.

Ronaldo, who just used the Marseille Turn to rotate past Upson, thought that he already had a clear expanse ahead of him. But he was suddenly caught unawares and was hit, almost losing his balance. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, and the ball at his foot scuttled to the left flank from the force of the impact.

It was then that he was free to see who had knocked into him. He was startled by who he saw: George Wood!

The Forest team number 13 had taken advantage of the chance to chase him again when he had used the Marseille Turn to rotate past Upson and had had to slow down!

This guy… Is it over yet?

Seeing how he had gone from directly facing the goal to facing the flank with just one knock from Wood, Ronaldo was now competing with Wood. Even if van Nistelrooy was not far behind him and was coming up to assist him, he would not pass the ball. He was bent on fighting it out with number 13.

With a sudden halt, he stopped the football with his heel, turned around, and looked up to see George Wood again!

There was no other way. He turned again and simply kicked the football to continue towards the end line and break through. At first, he was ahead of Wood, but after two steps, Wood was parallel with Ronaldo.

In terms of running ability, Ronaldo was not as good as the man in front of him. His stamina was horrifying!

The secret to Wood's defense was using his supernatural physical fitness, firmly sticking to the opponent, not letting him break through easily, and shooting into the goal with ease. So, in reality, to deal with him, one needed to handle the ball immediately. Once the football stayed at their feet for too long, it would get increasingly difficult to manage.

That was Ronaldo's mistake.

Even though he could see the end line getting closer, he was getting farther from the goal and could only cross the ball.

The brilliant one-man show that he had wanted to perform was no more.

The commentator's interest had also gone from lavishing Ronaldo with praise to marveling at Wood's defensive ability.

"This is unbelievable! Ronaldo was completely unable to get rid of George Wood!'

※※※

Watching the game with his headphones on, Bill screamed, "Of course he can't! Because George is a genius! It's just that you guys don't understand a genius like him at all!"

※※※

Close to the end line, Ronaldo discovered that the other player had no intention of slowing down. So he simply accelerated, and then swung his leg to cross!

This was his last opportunity to lose his opponent. After all, only Upson was in the Forest team's penalty area. As long as he could trick Wood, he could still find the perfect opportunity to be one-on-one with the Forest goalkeeper. He was not willing to exchange a beautiful breakthrough for a corner kick in the end....

When Wood saw that Ronaldo was going to cross, without thinking, he extended his leg to block the ball's path. Ronaldo was waiting for him to do that; he immediately stopped and used his heel to place the football on the end line, because he and Wood were going to slip.

The only difference was that Wood's whole body slid out, and Ronaldo's center of gravity was not lost, since he was already prepared for it. He only needed to adjust himself with two steps, and he was back in control of the ball!

As for Matthew Upson, who had sprung forward? He had at least ten ways to break through those blocks.

Wood saw that Ronaldo did not cross. Instead, he left the football inside the field, knowing that he had been fooled. So, when he slid out, his hands became claw-like and grabbed the turf to slow his pace. He clawed ten gouges on the field! It was like tire prints left on the road when brakes are applied.

In the end, Wood's hands were stuffed with chunks of turf.

Ronaldo finally stopped his dash. He took a small step, preparing to stride forward and kick the ball.

Wood's hands pushed hard and he sprang back into the field again.

Ronaldo's second step was bigger than the first; he was still adjusting his center of gravity.

Matthew Upson rushed up recklessly.

Van Nistelrooy ran towards the goal, raising his hand to call for the ball. Currently, the Forest team did not have any defenders in front of their goal. As long as the ball was passed there, a fatal blow could be dealt. At that point, it would be 3:0, and the Forest team would be finished.

Wood raised his hands and tossed the turf he had gripped in his hands onto the photojournalists' camera lens behind him. He seemed to shoot out like a bullet and while he still at a distance from the football, he flew across with a tackle!

Ronaldo finally stepped back on the field. The football was closer to him. It didn't look like Wood had a chance. Looking down at the football, he did not notice Wood's movements at all, and extended his foot to kick the ball. Suddenly, a leg appeared in his vision; that foot was closer to the ball than his!

Who the hell is this?!

The yellow-clad figure charged like a train into his field of vision, and the football was kicked off!

"George Wood! Incredible steal! No one expected that he would seize that opportunity when everyone had given up!

The number 13 streaked past Ronaldo, who had completely forgotten what he was going to do. He lifted his leg in that spot, but did not respond.

From the beginning to the end, he had never completely gotten rid of number 13, and his opponent had successfully intercepted in the end! He could not believe his eyes.

※※※

When they saw Wood steal the ball from Ronaldo in advance, the singing and applause of the Theater of Dreams vanished everywhere except in one spot.

The Nottingham Forest fans in the South Stands were reaching fever pitch. They loudly sang the song written for Wood, and finally shouted together at the end of the song, "He's the real genius!"

Chapter 262: The Lead of the Theatre of Dreams Part 1

Ronaldo made a fake pass that he thought looked quite authentic. He gracefully got past his defender, George Wood, with a fake pass and a kick that switched his movement direction. With the camera tightly focused on Cristiano Ronaldo, the genius from Portugal, Wood rapidly disappeared from the screen. Any fan of Manchester United who watched the scene could not help but sigh. "He got past another person beautifully!"

The commentator was already waving both hands, preparing to cheer for Ronaldo's breakthrough.

Right at that moment, another leg suddenly appeared on the screen followed by a person dashing in. Ronaldo had just lifted his foot when the football in front of him vanished.

"Ronaldo, Ronaldo! Rona… Wooow! What is this?! George Wood! Where did he come from?"

As Tang En watched from the sidelines, Wood flew back into the scene from outside and intercepted Ronaldo's ball. As if the team had scored a goal, Tang En pumped both his fists victoriously into the air.

"An incredible defense!" The commentator continued in surprise. He even used a famous line from the English former commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme, "When they think it's all over… George Wood comes back!"

When Wood cleared the ball Albertini, who had just returned, gave him a tight hug. "Great job!" Without another word, he clearly expressed the feelings in his heart.

If not for Wood, who gave his all in chasing the ball back and not giving up even when he was thrown out of the end line, Forest could be behind three goals by now. They would have been smashed by the home team on the away field with 0:3. At that point, the match could practically be considered over.

But Wood had saved a glimmer of hope for Forest team. Perhaps it wasn't much. But the match was yet to end. Who knows? Perhaps his defense would become a turning point.

While Ruud van Nistelrooy was complaining about how Ronaldo had not passed the ball in time, the Portuguese man ignored him and stared at Wood's back in a daze. He still could not understand how Wood had managed to dash in from the outside. If it was because of his reaction speed, that would have been unbelievably fast.

It was not just beautiful goals that could raise morale; seemingly impossible defenses could too.

Wood was someone like that; rarely would he use words to encourage his teammates. He also did not know how to speak like Tony Twain to rouse the team's fighting spirit. In fact, he did not know what it was to "boost morale." He only knew that he had to complete the mission he was given. Regardless of how the mission may appear to be impossible to accomplish, he would still find a way to do it. Wood did not think about how he may influence his teammates because of this, but the truth was that his actions had shone a light of hope for the others.

The defense against Ronaldo's rapid entry this time was comparable to the goalie's defense against the penalty kick at score 0:2. Manchester United's probable goal was, to much astonishment, eliminated by George Wood. All of Manchester's people had already gotten ready to stand and cheer for such a stunning ball, but Wood shoved their cheers back down their throats.

"George Wood. It's hard to believe that he has only been playing for two years… Where did Tony Twain find such a genius? His shooting may be terrible enough to make someone vomit, he is a true genius in the realm of defense!"

Following the praise of the commentator, the camera pivoted and shot a close-up of Wood. His face was expressionless and as cold as an iceberg. Behind him was Cristiano Ronaldo, who looked somewhat lost. From the shot, it was obvious that Ronaldo was still staring at Wood as if he wanted to see right through him.

Tang En waved his fist wildly and turned to Kerslake, who was similarly happy. "Look, David," he said. "When I first brought him to you, neither of us thought we would see this day."

Kerslake nodded. "That's right. We found someone amazing!"

※※※

Thanks to Wood's successful defense, the morale of Forest skyrocketed in an instant; they had all seen the hope of a graceful retreat from this match.

On the field, they also gradually became able to go toe-to-toe with Manchester United.

Piqué, in his new position as a defensive midfielder, performed commendably. Roy Keane's bids to assist during their offense were reducing, and Manchester United appeared to have the intention of shifting their focus to defense for the match.

Ronaldo received the pass again with George Wood still guarding him. Ronaldo had learned his lesson and did not wait for Wood to come forward and press on him. He surged ahead with the ball and tried a quick breakthrough via the sidelines without allowing Wood an opportunity to get close. Wood's defense was even simpler this time. He fiercely tackled Ronaldo, sending both Ronaldo and the ball out of the sidelines.

Amidst the loud jeers from the spectators' stands of Old Trafford, the referee's whistle sounded. Yellow card.

Wood did not care about the referee's warning with the yellow card. He also made no attempt to help up a grimacing Ronaldo. Wood simply got up and ran off after dusting himself down.

Since a long time ago, after Tang En told him that the players on the field were all his enemies, he had never shown any friendliness to his opponents. To be amiable to his enemy was to be cruel to himself. Wood had taken his words to heart.

Ronaldo lay on the ground and did not get up. Upon seeing this, the referee waved for Manchester United's team doctors to approach. It seemed like he needed some simple treatment…

By the time Ronaldo returned to the field again, he seemed a lot tamer.

When Ferguson saw this from the outside, he signaled from the sidelines for Ronaldo and Giggs to swap places on the wings. The lofty Portuguese man made no protest to the decision. His ribs were still throbbing from Wood's earlier clash with him. Somewhere in the depths of his heart, he felt that it was probably better for him to avoid that wild kid for now.

As Tang En watched Ronaldo and Giggs swap places—the Portuguese moved to the left and the Wales veteran shifted to the right—he knew that it was an adjustment made with Wood in mind. So he also waved his hands and moved Wood to Forest's right side. Leighton Baines moved back to the position of left back while Chimbonda retreated into the penalty area. This gave Wood the mission of defending against Ronaldo on the right; Tang En wanted the Portuguese guy to stay uncomfortable.

With a significant amount of pressure off the defense, Forest began to think about retaliating. The opportunities for Albertini to advance started increasing, and he patiently kept a look-out for chances to capitalize on loopholes at Manchester's end.

Wood has already done his utmost. Now it's our turn to make a contribution!

When Forest was in possession, Albertini did not kick the ball forward in search of Viduka's head as he had done previously. That mode of attack was much too simple and would be easily defended by Rio Ferdinand.

This time, Albertini chose to fake a pass, creating space for him to move. He then accelerated suddenly and cut forward with the ball.

Scholes failed to defend in time, not expecting Albertini himself to breakthrough with a dribble. He could only watch as his opponent ran past him.

Roy Keane came up to defend against Albertini, but the intelligent Italian had already given the ball up to Ribéry. Although Gary Neville approached Ribéry to box him out, he had no intention of making a break. Instead, he took a kick that sent the ball flying to the other wing, where Ashley Young took over.

As soon as Young got the ball, Forest's right back Chimbonda followed the routine attack pattern they practiced in training, cutting forward in response.

This was originally a very basic mode of assist for the full backs. However, Chimbonda only managed to do it once within the duration of the match. Manchester United's pressure on the flanks was much too strong; this caused him to struggle with just defense alone, not to mention taking part in the offense.

But now, he did not worry that the space he had left behind upon cutting forward for assists would be made use of by a Manchester player; he had George Wood behind him. Even though Wood did not talk much, he was truly dependable.

Chimbonda's advancement was so resolute and rapid that it attracted Ronaldo to return for defense and distract Heinze at the same time. Seeing Chimbonda run up to help, Heize retreated a few steps in preparation to prevent Ashley Young from passing the ball over to the full back.

The gap from those few steps was fully seized by Ashley Young; he did not pass but took the chance to suddenly nudge the ball inwards; a breakthrough!

He was heading straight for the penalty area!

Rio Ferdinand hastily moved forward to fill in the gap for defense once he caught onto Ashley Young's movements. He planned to stop his opponent from even entering the penalty area.

But just as Ferdinand dashed forward, he saw Ashley Young glance down at the ball he was dribbling and pass it out to exactly where Ferdinand had originally stood.

Viduka received Ashley Young's diagonal pass. Thanks to Ferdinand being pulled outwards, there was not a single Manchester United player near him; it was a beautiful assist.

The goalkeeper for Manchester United in the match was the American Tim Howard. Last season, his performance could be said to be perfect, and he had taken the main position from Fabien Barthez, the goalkeeper for the French national team. However, his performance in the current season was extremely unstable. Ferguson would not have fielded Howard if he had been able to find a more stable candidate.

Viduka killed the ball and looked up at where Howard stood. Staying where he was, he followed it up with a chip shot.

The football drew an arc in the air and, at an unexpected moment, dove straight into the corner of the goal!

Howard did not even attempt to save the ball. He had not expected Viduka to be left unguarded, and to score so easily.

The goal came so suddenly, the audience in front of the television could not react in time. In fact, because of the lack of cheering from where it had happened, Forest's fans thought the ball did not go in. Only when they saw Viduka running with raised arms towards Ashley Young, who had given him the pass, did they know for certain that Forest had scored.

"The ball… the ball went in!" Not only the audience, but even the commentator himself was taken aback. Forest was constantly suppressed by Manchester United and did not have many good opportunities. But this single attempt at offense had unexpectedly resulted in a goal. The commentator seemed unprepared for it. "Rio Ferdinand made a mistake! He lost his own target… and Nottingham Forest wins back a point! There are still 17 minutes before the end of the match. What a dramatic moment in an originally one-sided match! Might we be able to see a completely different end to this?"

"Yes!" the Nottingham Forest's fans in front of the television screamed.

※※※

Tang En was not as excited as people expected him to be as he watched Viduka make his goal. He stood on the sidelines and clapped for the players in the field but did not raise his arms to cheer for them. To him, there was no difference between a score of 1:2 or 0:2. He had already seen what he had most wanted: George Wood's growth.

Instead, it was his assistant beside him who exclaimed, "Tony! There's hope!"

"Of course." Tang En nodded. "But it depends on if Ferguson will react in time. It will be impossible for him not to make any adjustments, David."

Kerslake calmed down. Tony was right. With barely over ten minutes left before the match ended and the loss of a ball, Ferguson would not stand by and do nothing. Kerslake looked over at Manchester United's technical area; the hale and healthy Scot had indeed stood up.

Just a minute after Forest scored the goal, Manchester United made a substitution.

Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the field with a disgruntled look. Substituting for him was a Brazilian defending midfielder, Kleberson. Ferguson intended to keep the one ball advantage they had.

Ronaldo, who had gotten changed out, did not go to the home team's substitution bench. Instead, he walked straight back toward the locker room. Even a fool could tell that he was upset by the substitution. Maybe he thought the others did not perform as well as he did and questioned why it was he who got substituted and not someone else. Take Rooney, for example. His performance in the match was average, and he had made few threats to the opponent's goal. Why not substitute him?

Other than the cameras, no one cared about the disgruntled Ronaldo. The match was still going on, after all. Forest was high in morale. For a whole, unbroken five minutes, they bombarded Manchester United's goal.

If Ferguson did not adjust in time, the goal guarded by Howard would truly be in danger.

Now, Manchester United amassed their players before the penalty area, resolutely eliminating any opportunity for Forest team to bring the ball into their penalty area. They could not care less about the ball being passed around within 30 meters outside. But they would not even let Forest dream of entering it.

Chapter 263: The Lead of the Theatre of Dreams Part 2

The match was at a stalemate. Forest team was furiously trying to go on the offense to even the score before the end of the match; getting one point was better than getting none.

Meanwhile, Manchester United steadied their foothold and maintained a stable defense. They also went on the attack whenever there was an opportunity, keeping Forest's defensive line constantly on their toes. This prevented the whole of Forest from being able to press forward. Although Ronaldo was off the field, George Wood still had to remain at the back to deal with the attacks from Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes, Rooney, and Giggs.

The difference between now and earlier was that Forest could daringly make full use of the two full backs in offensive assists. They did not have to worry so much about leaving gaps behind for Manchester United's players to work with.

Roy Keane's withdrawal to defend also reduced the stress on Wood; he no longer had to face two Manchester players at a time and could roam the entire backfield, becoming Albertini's bodyguard.

At the 80th minute of the match, Tang En made a substitution. He put in a forward, Crouch, to take the place of center back Matthew Upson, further enhancing their offensive power. The Forest's formation became 3-4-3. In reality, their backfield was only left with three people—Piqué, Wood, and the goalkeeper Darren Ward—whenever they went out on the offense.

The players of the Forest team were going all out, and so was Tang En. To say "I wouldn't feel angry if we lost" was a matter for after the match ended. Right now, so long as there was a glimmer of hope that they would not lose, they must not give up.

"Time is running out. The players of Forest are looking as though they can no longer run… Manchester United still hasn't given up on the offense, and George Wood is being kept busy in the backfield. He can be seen all over their half of the field. Does this kid know what it is to be tired?"

The commentator was right. The match was about to be over, but the limelight was on neither the offensive players of Manchester United or Forest team. It was on George Wood.

On Ferguson's command, Manchester United did not give up counterattacking. Whenever they got an opportunity, they would rush forward determinedly.

So, Wood had no choice but to frequently fill in the gaps left behind by his teammates, who had moved forward to assist. He would turn up momentarily at the position of right back, a little later stand in for the left back, and follow up with guest-playing as the center back, clearing the ball with a header.

Under Forest's offense, Manchester United's defense refused to yield. Compared with the ball he had lost earlier, Ferdinand had become much more cautious. Wood, while defending the back, was also paying attention to the situation in the front. Seeing no change to the score after a long time, impatience inevitably seeped in.

The time left in the match was only getting shorter, and Forest's players were tiring. Even a player like Ribéry found it difficult to dash forward. Most of the time, the team could only try to utilize long passes to Crouch or Viduka, but such simple tactics were not very effective against Manchester United.

When the Fourth Official raised the sign for an additional four minutes of play at the sidelines, Tang En turned his back on the field. It looked like they could only accept the result.

Now, regardless of who got the ball, Forest or Manchester United, the air of Old Trafford was filled with jeering. They were not jeering at either of the teams or their players but at the four minutes of injury stoppage time. For Manchester United, who only had one point of advantage over their opponents, four minutes of additional play was far too long.

What could happen in four minutes on the field? An offense, a head-on crash, or meaningless passing of the football…

Manchester United held possession of the ball, and they were not at all eager to pass forward. Instead, they dilly-dallied in the hopes of wasting some time. In terms of ball control, the Forest team was no match for Manchester United. Eastwood, Viduka, and Crouch were all trying their best to steal the ball at the front but were powerless; their ability fell short of their wishes. They ran hither and thither thanks to the passing among Manchester United's players.

Time ticked down rapidly.

It seemed like there was nothing else Forest could do.

Matches were like that. Despite all of the effort Forest team had put in in that time, their effort came a bit too late. At this point, that mere difference of a single goal became a barrier they could not cross.

Ferguson walked down from the technical area and stood at the sidelines. He was preparing himself for a handshake with Tony after the match ended. Regardless of the result of their squabble before the match, he was the victor of the match now. Even though Tony was not a renowned or highly-regarded manager within the English football scene, there was an even greater satisfaction in defeating such an untameable, unruly opponent than in defeating Kevin Keegan.

Queiroz stood next to his boss, waiting along with him for the handshake. They seemed utterly convinced of their victory. With Manchester United in possession of the ball, would it be possible to intercept their ball?

Three minutes of the injury stoppage time had already passed. The end of the match was only a minute away. The players from Forest were already prepared to give up. The ball was under the foot of their opponents, after all. If they simply passed it around in the backfield, they would be able to prevent Forest from stealing the ball.

They did not care about wasting their energy to press for the ball, only to be played around with like fools.

After Rio Ferdinand got hold of the ball, he found that even Crouch, who had entered the field last, made no attempt to come up and press on him. At that moment, he knew that the match had ended; they just needed to wait for the referee's early whistle to signal the end of the match.

He looked up at the referee ahead of him. Good, the referee was looking at his watch.

Wait up!

What was that?

A streak of shadows abruptly appeared within his field of vision.

"Oh, God!" Even the commentator himself exclaimed. "This is… where did he spring out from?! George Wood!"

At that moment, Ferdinand's brain shorted out; he was shocked by the yellow figure that suddenly dashed in front of him.

No one knew how Wood had rushed all the way forward; even the Forest players themselves did not know. Only Piqué saw it… When Manchester United's players started passing among themselves in the backfield and Forest's members were already too drained to run forward to press them, there were several points in which Wood had wanted to rush up.

But this time, he had more resolve than he had the previous times. He had no intention of returning to defend once he moved forward.

At the 93rd minute, George Wood seemed as if he had only been on the field for 93 seconds. He was completely energized with a running speed no different from when he had chased after Cristiano Ronaldo. Just like the wind, he flew across the field, passing Albertini, passing Scholes, passing Eastwood, passing Roy Keane, passing Kleberson, passing Viduka, and finally emerging swiftly from behind Crouch!

Ferdinand was standing before the penalty area when he started paying attention to the referee's actions. At that point, he did not expect there to still be a Forest player who had the ability to press forward and steal the ball!

As Tang En turned, preparing to return to the technical area, collect his tactical board, and shake hands with Ferguson, he heard loud yelling from Kerslake beside him. "Wait! Tony! Wait… Oh God, it's Wood! He rushed forward!"

Tang En spun and saw Wood run in front of Ferdinand. Just how he would defend in the penalty area, he stretched his leg out to steal the ball…

The jeers that erupted from the spectators' stands of Old Trafford were louder than ever before.

"Ferdinand lost the ball!! He completely failed to see Wood!"

The biggest problem with England's most expensive midfielder was that he would, from time to time, lose his focus while on the field. Now he was caught by the ever-persistent Wood; he only felt a brief stumble of his feet, and the ball was gone!

Wood had jabbed the ball away, leading to another surge in the jeering.

He had no one in front of him. There was only the goal and Manchester United's goalkeeper, Tim Howard. There were no teammates who could come forward to support him; it was impossible for him to make a pass.

When Tang En saw this, he was immediately reminded of the scene just a while after the beginning of the first half: Wood's attempt to score. His position then was about the same as now. Previously, Wood had booted the ball straight up into the sky… and the results of his shooting drills in the usual training were not the best either. To entrust all the hope of Forest to someone like that...

Why wasn't it Viduka, Eastwood, Crouch, Albertini, or even Chimbonda who had stolen the ball? It just had to be George Wood, who was the worst at shooting!

He suddenly regretted not getting Wood to do more shooting drills during training.

Regardless, he still blurted, "Shoot!"

Wood stared at the rolling ball beneath his foot. The steal he had pulled off in one breath was successful, but what was he going to do next? Pass? There was no one to pass to. Shoot?

Shoot…

He remembered what Albertini told him before the match. "At times, you need to rush into the opponent's penalty area and do a powerful long shot!"

Isn't that time now?

A voice suddenly rang out from the sidelines and drifted into his ears, "Shoot!"

His gaze sharpened as he looked down and lifted his right leg.

I have no other choice but to shoot.

With an arched heel, pointed toes, a mighty swing of his arms, a twist of his waist, and a follow-through with a swing of his leg… Shoot!

Under the gleaming lights of the Theatre of Dreams, the yellow Nike football transformed into a streak of a shooting star, streaking past Howard's outstretched fingers and slamming into the net!

Ferdinand turned around only to see the football fly into the goal. His half-turned body abruptly lost momentum and collapsed onto the ground.

Roy Keane, who was running back to defend, stopped in his stride, breathing heavily as he stared wide-jawed at the shamefaced goalkeeper, Howard.

Tang En pounded his fist on the floor.

The smile on Ferguson's face stiffened, and the outstretched hand towards Queiroz stopped in mid-air as if paused.

The jeers stopped.

On the television, a high voice could be heard from the receiver, "This is incredible! Incredible! 93 minutes 47 seconds! 2:2! Defensive Midfielder George Wood dashed madly across half the field, stole the ball from Ferdinand's careless handling, and took a shot… And he succeeded! Tonight, the lead of the Theatre of Dreams, just as the curtains were about to close, made another grand appearance!"

Chapter 264: Wood Learned to Be A Star Player Part 1

At Forest Bar in Wilford, Nottingham, the beer in the cups was all splashed upwards, and everyone raised their fists up and yelled. The sound from the television set was drowned out by their yells, but no one wanted to hear the commentator clearly at that point.

"Even though it was a draw, the Forest team's single point was as precious as three in terms of the process. They forced their way into an equalizer with Manchester United in this away game. As a newly promoted team, it's extremely difficult to get results like that! George Wood is undoubtedly the hero and leading player of this evening! Whether it was the process or the result, this goal was perfect!"

※※※

At the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, George Wood stood at the spot where he had shot the goal. He did not run with open arms, did not take off his jersey and throw it to the sky, did not even do a fist pump. He just stood in the same place, turned, and saw his excited teammates dashing towards him.

He had never scored a goal in a game, nor did he know how to celebrate after scoring a goal. Should I yell and swear to express my feelings?

"Well done!" Ashley Young rushed up, grabbed him, and shouted in his ear, "What a beautiful job!"

Then more teammates swarmed round him; even the goalkeeper, Darren Ward, had bolted from the backfield. The exhausted-looking Forest players now looked as energetic as when they had first come onto the field.

Twain knelt on the ground and smashed the turf. An excited Kerslake pulled him up. "He did it! He really did it!"

The Forest players on the field and the substitutes huddled together. The referee looked down at his watch and blew the whistle three times to signal the end of the game.

The Manchester United team continued their "bad luck" for the season, allowing Nottingham Forest to equalize the score in the last ten or so seconds on their home ground.

Even though the Forest team had only gotten a draw, they looked like winners as they celebrated Wood's last-minute goal.

Twain fist-pumped as he looked at his players. Then he remembered that there was somewhere important he had to be. He turned toward the middle of the two technical areas, and Sir Alex Ferguson was waiting for him there.

"It was really a good game." Despite losing, Ferguson still had a smile on his face. It was not easy to restore his expression back to normal in such a short period of time. "Your team is terrific, Mr. Twain."

"Thank you very much for your compliment, Sir Ferguson." Twain's tone was not as sharp and unkind as before. After all, for him, a draw was a victory. There was no need to be ungracious.

Ferguson nodded and left. Just as he turned around, the Scottish man's smile completely disappeared. The question that he had in his mind over the summer now had a definite answer: will they pose a threat to us? Yes, they are already a threat.

※※※

Twain stood on the sidelines as he watched Ferguson leave. Then he looked back at the players, who were still celebrating. A smile emerged on Twain's face as he saw George, looking stunned while surrounded by a swarm of people.

He believed that if Wood were to repeat exactly the same shot, there was a 99% chance that he would not be able to make the goal.

In fact, it did not matter how the goal was made; what mattered was the outcome. Wood had become a real superman for once. A hero. The one.

I think he'll remember this game for a very long time.

Nice work, kid. Keep on playing like this, and your future will be bright.

※※※

Wood finally managed to break free from the hugs of his teammates after much difficulty. Everyone went on to the players' corridor and back to the locker room one after another. Wood was about to leave the field when he ran into Roy Keane on the sidelines.

Apparently, the Manchester United captain was waiting for him.

When he saw Wood coming, Keane took off his jersey and handed it to Wood. "You've done a good job, lad."

This was the first time Wood had ever encountered a situation where his opponent had voluntarily requested to exchange jerseys. He was a little overwhelmed. Twain happened to see it. An exchange between players would usually have nothing to do with a manager, but he walked over anyways to remind Wood, "Why are you staring like that? Swap your jerseys!"

Wood heard Twain and looked back at him. Twain winked.

Accordingly, Wood bent his head to take off his jersey and exchanged it with Keane's number 16 Manchester United jersey.

When Keane touched Wood's jersey, he could feel that it was completely soaked with sweat; it was damp and heavy. This kid really uses all his physical strength to run. He thought of that last goal. Only a jersey like this would be worthy of that goal.

It was an opportunity borne out of ninety minutes of running.

He saw a shadow of his former self in this young man. How he had worn the Nottingham Forest jersey for his appearance at Anfield to play the most powerful team at that time. On that day, his career had begun.

Looking at Wood, he nodded. "We'll play against each other often in the future. Don't let me down, lad." After that, Keane turned and walked to the corridor.

Wood did not say anything; he did not know what to say. Twain patted him on the shoulder. "How're you feeling, George?"

Wood looked at Twain and said, "Very good."

"You're really not humble at all..."

"What do you mean?"

"No, nothing. This is good." Twain smiled. "Do you know who that person who exchanged jerseys with you is?"

Wood nodded.

"It's not easy to get his admiration or recognition... Go, get back to the locker room." Twain pointed to the left of the fork, which led to the visitors' locker room. Continuing straight led to the press conference room, which was Twain's destination.

"Another thing, George. You should smile at times like this." Twain pointed to Wood's face and said before he left, "You performed really well. Why don't you smile?" Twain grinned.

Wood moved his lips and finally smiled. Well, it would be more appropriate to say he just imitated Tony Twain's expression.

Twain laughed happily when he saw Wood's odd smile.

"Remember, George. Don't get discouraged when you fail. Enjoy your victories to the fullest. We're going back to Nottingham tomorrow morning, so enjoy tonight!"

After giving a pat on Wood's shoulder, Twain went straight to the press conference room.

※※※

At the post-match press conference, Twain made the reporters present laugh when he spoke.

"A football match is like life: full of ups and downs." He shrugged and said with a smile, "I'm very happy with my players' performance. It may have been a draw, but there was nothing more that I could have asked them to do. This really is perfect. Manchester United didn't lose on their home ground, and we didn't return empty-handed."

Ferguson glanced at Twain.

"I'm very satisfied with the result of the game, and even more satisfied with George Wood's performance. I think... those reporters, the ones who were so excited about the Forest team's internal conflicts a few days ago, must be feeling stupid now." After he praised the team and finished talking about the game, Twain changed the topic and his fighting style returned again. "And, to those who think that I favor Wood without grounds… After watching this game, would anyone still dare to say that I trust him for no reason?"

The reporters did not laugh, nor did they utter any reply.

Looking at them, Twain smiled again. "That's why I said I'm very happy with the performance of my players in this game. Very, very satisfied."

After saying that, Twain stopped talking. He just leaned against the back of the chair and listened quietly to Ferguson's speech with a relaxed smile on his face.

The pleasure of his retaliation against the media was intense; he was afraid that if he continued to speak, he would break out into laughter. If Wood's last goal hadn't happened, he might be in another mood now. The reporters would pester him with endless questions about his failure. No matter how hard he tried, it would be useless once he lost the game. The media were always good at sensationalizing any matter which seemed normal, and turning it into something that looked like the end of the world.

There was nothing special about Ferguson's speech. Before the game, it was a trade of barbs with both parties sharply opposed to each other. Now, his tone was a lot milder. Without any thinly veiled insults or sarcasm, Ferguson praised the Forest team's performance in the game and specially complimented George Wood's spirit of perseverance. He then obliquely criticized the performance of Manchester United. He did not name names, but said that someone had not considered the whole team. As for the person he was referring to, anyone who watched the game should know.

Now, the media's attention had transferred to the Manchester United team's infighting.

When Ferguson was criticizing Cristiano Ronaldo, Twain gave him a glance. The red flush on the old man's face was even deeper, he had probably been venting in the locker room a moment ago.

Twain sat, remembering. Cristiano Ronaldo was temporarily expelled from Manchester United by Ferguson and returned to Portugal to recover in the middle of December 2004; now it was November 28, not far from that day.

Chapter 265: Wood Learned to Be A Star Player Part 2

What directly triggered it in that timeline was the fact that their gap between Chelsea and Arsenal in total points had not narrowed due to the 1:1 equalizer by Fulham. As a result, in the locker room after the match, Alan Smith, the one who had scored the goal, accused Ronaldo of playing too independently and not knowing how to cooperate with his teammates. The two men's quarrel developed into a physical fight. Ferguson then announced that Ronaldo's condition was not good enough and that he needed to return to his hometown in Portugal for a period of time.

There was a smirk on Twain's face as he thought about this. Maybe the new trigger would be Nottingham Forest's 2:2 draw against Manchester United.

Of the history that he was familiar with, how much had he personally changed, and how much more would he still change?

Because Ferguson had inadvertently diverted the attention of the media in the post-match press conference, Ronaldo became the focus of everyone's discussion, and Twain was liberated. He watched the show happily from the sidelines and wondered if Ronaldo would be back in Portugal sooner than he remembered.

Twain, who fully understood the situation, felt that this was quite interesting compared to the history that he had experienced and remembered.

※※※

The next day, a large photograph of Ronaldo's face was published in The Sun. Everyone was discussing the internal problems of Manchester United, and ignored Nottingham Forest.

More and more hot news items were dug up by the loathsome reporters, things like the fact that Manchester United team had long put up with the Portuguese kid; that van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo did not get along; that Gary Neville had criticized Ronaldo for not considering his teammates while playing; and so on.

The British tabloids were as lively as festive celebrations these days.

However, Nottingham's local media was completely disinterested in the drama between Ronaldo and Manchester United. Their focus was on the Forest team and George Wood, "the genius,""the prodigy,""the phenomenon." All of those titles were put on him.

At first, a player like Wood had a limited number of fans, people like Fat John and his group, with no female fans in sight.

However, when the Forest team was back in Nottingham on the first day training, Twain saw several young female fans outside the training grounds holding pictures of Wood and hoping for their idol's autograph.

The girls were young and full of youthful vigor. Whenever Wood was close to the wire fence on this side, they would shriek out his name.

As a result, the team whistled non-stop during training. Everyone was familiar with Wood after interacting with him for a long time, and knew that although this kid did not look friendly, his character was still good. He would not get mad at that kind of innocuous joking.

"George, you have female fans!" Wes Morgan was probably the player that Wood got along with the best, because they were from the Nottingham youth team and had partnered together before. Taking advantage of the break interval during training, the players sat around Wood and joked about him.

"Are you jealous, Wes?" Ribéry asked next to him.

"How is that possible? I already have a girlfriend..." Wes's retort drew laughter from everyone.

In the video room, Twain and Kerslake had just finished analyzing the training. Dunn's method of recording videos of the training on the youth team had produced excellent results. Because of that, Twain brought it to the First Team, and the results were equally good. When they came out, they saw that the players sat together, chatting and laughing. Twain and Kerslake smiled at each other.

The team was in a good mood. Even though their results were uneven, he did not have anything to worry about as the manager.

He went over and stood outside the crowd as he said to Wood, "Hey, George. Aren't you going to sign your autographs for those pretty girls? Do you really have the heart to disappoint them?"

Upon hearing that, the players did not have to look back to know that their chief was there.

"I ..." Wood had never dealt with any female fans, not to mention the keen female fans who were waving at him from a distance and screaming whenever they saw him look over.

"What are you hesitating for? George, you're a star now, and you can't do anything to disappoint the fans." Twain was egging Wood on. "Go and sign autographs for them! That's part of training!"

Wood turned to glance at the serious-looking Twain and got up from the ground. Then he walked towards the overjoyed female fans. He did not look like he was on his way to sign autographs for his fans. He looked more like he was going to meet his maker.

Then someone laughed.

Twain nodded and commented behind him, "Don't laugh, boys. I bet those girls will like him even more now. These days, girls all like unfeeling, cool guys!"

The laughter became louder.

Indeed, as Twain expected, Wood had a stern expression all throughout the ordeal of signing the autographs for a few girls, and also gave in to their request for a group photo. In the end, he did not make them unhappy. He actually became even more wildly popular with them.

After that one game, George Wood truly became famous. Twain knew that such scenes would become commonplace in the future. For Wood, this might be a good chance to gradually change his personality. Of course, Tang En would have to be behind him to give a push from time to time.

Damn, Wood, you're like a tube of toothpaste. Unless you're squeezed, nothing comes out of you!

※※※

In the next league match on December 4, Nottingham Forest won against Portsmouth in an away game by 3:2. The Forest team's defense had become the focus of their attention. They had conceded two goals even though they were only facing Portsmouth. It was hair-raising for Twain to watch the game while he sat in the technical area.

At the start of the game, things were very smooth for the Forest team. They soon led by a goal. However, a mistake from their defensive line gave the opponents a chance to equalize the score. Then, in a spurt of energy, Portsmouth scored another goal. If Twain had not adjusted their tactics during the halftime interval, they might have lost the match.

After their eventual complete reversal, and turning of defeat into victory, Twain was not as excited as he had been at Old Trafford.

On December 11, in the 17th round of the league, in a match which all analysts were quite confident in before the game, Nottingham Forest lost to Charlton in the home game with a score of 1:2.

Fortunately, next, on the 15th, at the final game of the UEFA Europa League group stage, the Forest team defeated Partizan Belgrade on Forest's home grounds by 3:0 and successfully advanced from the qualifying round group stage, which gave them a buffer.

However, just as they achieved their victory in the European tournament, when they returned to the league competition, the Forest team lost to Birmingham City F.C. by 0:2.

Twain knew it was time to make a change.

Chapter 266: A New Goalkeeper Part 1

The team was practicing on the training field with assistant manager David Kerslake leading. Meanwhile, Tang En was in the Chairman's office with Evan Doughty. They were both watching the ongoing training through an enormous French window.

"Tony, is there a problem with the team?"

Evan was clearly asking the obvious. Currently, the team had two straight losses in the League. Furthermore, since Tang En had taken the initiative to approach him, even a fool would be able to deduce there was a problem. As if realizing that his question was silly, Evan continued, "I meant to ask what the problem is."

Tang En peered down at the training grounds and hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Yeah, Evan. We may need you to fork out some money again. There's a position that needs to be filled. Within the 18 rounds of the League, our team loses goals to the opponent in practically every match. Based on the recent matches, I have to say that Darren Ward is no longer able to fulfill my expectations."

"Darren Ward? Are you planning to buy a new goalkeeper during the Winter transfer window?"

"Yes. I already have a candidate, but we might face competition from elsewhere…" In fact, Tang En knew. The competitor that Forest would be facing was the opponent who had made George Wood an overnight star: Manchester United.

"So, in the financial sense, I really need the club's full-hearted support."

Evan did not immediately respond but lowered his head in deep thought.

Tang En was in no hurry. He stood at the side as if watching the training. He understood Evan's difficulties.

After all, he had spent quite recklessly during the summer. The English Premier League was rather different from Serie A or La Liga. Spending several million pounds on transfer fees was a considerable expenditure for a club that was neither considered rich or powerful. Unlike the La Liga, it had once been practically unheard of for an English Premier League team to spend a hundred million in one summer buying players.

Due to a champion level manager, Mourinho, joining Abramovich's Chelsea this summer, their expenditure also rose to a champion level. Abramovich drove the consumption boom in the English Premier League scene; this summer, the spending of English Premier League clubs on player transfers increased tremendously.

According to convention, Nottingham Forest, who had just been newly promoted and who had recently gone through a financial crisis, would be lucky to get a five or six-million-pound budget for the transfer. However, Tang En had asked for 12 million and basically squeezed the finances of the team dry. He also understood that the monetary request would not be as easily agreed to by Evan as during the summer.

"I'm very interested to hear your target, Tony." Evan was in deep consideration and still did not agree.

"Fulham F.C. and Netherlands National Football team's goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar," said Tang En.

Evan dug around in his mind in recollection, seemingly having some impression.

"The tall lanky one? He's pretty good, but I heard that Manchester United is also interested in him."

Tang En laughed wryly. "That's why we need to prepare more funds… The only condition we can appeal with is to increase the transfer fees and meet the salary demands of the Dutch man."

"How much is his weekly salary in Fulham F.C.?"

"40 thousand pounds." Tang En held up four fingers.

Evan frowned. If they wanted Netherland's national goalie, their offered salary could not go beneath that value. But doing so would inevitably destroy the current pay structure within Forest Team. The most highly-paid in Forest player right now was Viduka; his weekly salary was only 40 thousand. Even for George Wood, who had recently shot to fame, his weekly salary remained the same as that of the contract signed last season: a sum of 2,500 pounds.

"How high of a transfer fee are you expecting, Tony?" Evan asked again.

"I think…" Tang En recalled briefly. Manchester United signed on Edwin van der Sar in July next year. How much did that cost them? Three hundred? Five hundred? I remember it was a rather special number… Got it!

"It should be no less than 2.5 million pounds."

"Why 2.5 million?"

"Well, if we go any lower, Fulham F. C. probably wouldn't agree. They spent more than five million pounds when they first bought the Netherlander from Juventus. Now that Edwin van der Sar is almost 34, he can't possibly be sold at a higher price than before. But it can't go too low either. After all, we aren't the only party interested in Edwin van der Sar."

Hearing Tang En's explanation, Evan nodded. "You're right, Tony. But surely your candidate list doesn't have just one name?"

Evan was not wrong; Tang En would not put all his eggs in a basket. "Of course… I have many names, but I'm afraid the most suitable candidate is Edwin van der Sar. Evan, do you know France's national goalkeeper, Frey? He's the main goalkeeper for Parma. Even with Parma in a financial crisis, we would probably need to fork out a much higher transfer fee if we want to get him. Plus, we'd also face competition from Manchester United. their goalkeeper issue in this season was as apparent as ours. To save some money, we could consider loaning Toldo from Inter Milan. However, I don't think that would be a wise choice. His performances have been deteriorating tremendously… Otherwise, I also have several names of younger goalkeepers. But they are all much too young. They belong to the future and would not be able to solve our current problem."

Listening to Tang En's analysis, Evan had to admit that his proposal came from deep thought.

"Alright, Tony. We're currently in talks with the bank about renewing our loans. If we're successful, you wouldn't be lacking funds come January next year."

Evan Doughty finally gave a nod.

On hearing that there would be funds for him, the heavy worry in Tang En's heart finally dissipated. Forest was currently in the stage of a transformational change and funds were required in many areas. Tang En felt quite grateful for Evan's cooperation. A club chairman like him was becoming harder and harder to find. Perhaps it was due to his identity as an American who knew nothing about football, but he was able to delegate more authority to Tang En and tended not to overly question matters of the team. So long as Tang En gave a reasonable explanation, Evan would make no objections.

Although they were not as rich as the old Russian, Tang En felt grateful whenever he recalled the differences between Abramovich and Mourinho in the future.

Just as he relaxed a tad, Evan suddenly said, "Of course, Tony. Since we're investing more, we'll need to get higher returns. What's our aim for this season?"

Tang En understood the meaning behind Evan's question. As the team's chairman, it would be impossible for Evan Doughty to not have known the aim for the season; that was something decided upon before the season began. He nodded to Evan.

"We are not just aiming to avoid relegation. By the end of this season, I hope to appear in the list of teams eligible for the European tournament."

Evan burst out laughing. "I'll say. We are pretty in sync, Tony!"

Tang En scratched his head and chuckled.

※※※

The League was still ongoing, but Nottingham Forest had already sent someone to get in contact with Fulham F.C. To Tang En, his greatest advantage was that he knew Manchester United's cards. Ferguson had been making secret overtures to Edwin van der Sar for a while, and the media had long been reporting on the matter. However, Manchester United still had a lot of options, so they did not make any substantive contact.

Frey, who was unhappy in Parma; Juventus goalkeeper Buffon; and goalie Casillas from Real Madrid. As a rich and powerful team, Manchester United would always have some sense of superiority over Forest. The players they picked had to be of value. Although Edwin van der Sar was once numbered among the top few goalkeepers internationally, he was already 34 years old. It would be difficult for Manchester United to spend too much money on buying an older guy who would be retiring in a year or two; Manchester United's chief executive, David Gill, would not agree to it.

In the end, after the reported failure of Manchester United's attempts to bring in both Buffon and Casillas, they bought Edwin van der Sar over for only 2.5 million pounds. When Edwin van der Sar came over to Manchester United, very few people looked well upon him. After all, he was an old veteran. Everyone thought that Ferguson had bought Edwin van der Sar as emergency first-aid and that Manchester United would continue their search for outstanding goalkeepers in the transfer market. Indeed, the rumors of their involvement with Casillas never once stopped.

The financial situation at Fulham F.C. was not very good, and Edwin van der Sar was still drawing a salary of 40 thousand per week; Fulham could no longer withstand it. They would happily respond to an interested buyer, though they still needed to put up some show of reluctance.

In the face of Forest's asking price, Fulham F.C. initially started with the position of "Edwin van der Sar is our primary goalkeeper. He's not off-limits, it's impossible to get him cheaply."

Under Tang En's instructions, Nottingham Forest replied, "We definitely wouldn't be paying five million for an old player!"

Fulham F.C. also knew that. The buyer was no fool. So they brought up Manchester United. "Manchester United is also interested in Edwin van der Sar right now…"

Nottingham's reply was, "Have they made an offer?"

The answer was a definite no. There were only three clubs that still had interest in Edwin van der Sar. One was the rumored Manchester United – notice the "rumored." The other was a Netherland football team, Ajax. However, Edwin van der Sar had lived in England for four years and had gotten used to the football and lifestyle here; he no intentions to return to the Netherlands. After all, the English Premier League was considered a top-level League. The third club was Nottingham Forest, who had come knocking at their door.

Of the three, the only club who had made an offer was Forest.

Chapter 267: The New Goalkeeper Part 2

After analyzing the situation, Fulham F.C. agreed to discuss terms with the Forest team regarding Edwin van der Sar. When Forest first offered 2 million pounds, Fulham turned it down without a thought. They felt that if Forest team was truly hoping to acquire Edwin van der Sar, they should at least show enough sincerity.

As such, Forest team upped the offer to 2.5 million. This time, Fulham hesitated for a while and made no prompt reply.

As they were hesitating, the Nottingham Evening Post published an interview article with Tang En. In the article, Tang En spoke of matters relating to the football team, one of which was their issue with the goalkeeper. While he did not deny the discussion with Fulham F.C., he still made no confirmation of Edwin van der Sar's transferral. Regarding goalkeepers, he made mention of Frey in Parma and expressed his admiration for a goalkeeper like him. Thinking of the goals lost by Forest and Parma's recent financial situation, everyone thought Tony Twain must be interested in Frey and hoping to bring him to England.

Forest's and Manchester United's expansive hunt for a goalkeeper was no longer news; Forest's goal losses in the first half of the season were ranked at the top. Everyone could tell that Darren Ward was done.

After lengthy consideration, Fulham finally agreed to Forest's offer of 2.5 million pounds. Now, Tang En could directly discuss terms with Edwin van der Sar.

Before this half of the season, Forest had held almost no allure for Edwin van der Sar. But the situation had taken a turn. Nottingham Forest successfully entered the knock-out phase of the UEFA Europa League and was in the top ranks of the English Premier League. Other than losing to Liverpool, Forest had the upper-hand practically whenever they played against a strong team. They exhibited abilities that were completely mismatched with their identity as a newly promoted team. Edwin van der Sar was an intelligent man. While there was not even a glimpse of a shadow of the promise with Manchester United, this was a real opportunity in front of him. He had long been eager to leave Fulham F.C, which was half-dead. Nearing the end of his professional career, wasn't it good that he could still join a club that aspired to something?

He did not know that after the summer transferral next year to Manchester United, he would not only help Manchester United win a league championship but would also become one of the most stable players in Manchester United.

Forest promised no adjustment to his salary and would maintain it at a weekly fee of 40 thousand. There were also additional rewards should he perform well. His contract would span two and a half years, and thereafter they would decide if the contract should be renewed after a review of his condition. After all, Edwin van der Sar would be 36 in two years, and no one knew how well he could still perform at that point.

Edwin van der Sar was extremely satisfied with the contract and signed it.

Before Christmas, the official website of Nottingham Forest and numerous media sources reported that the Dutch goalkeeper from Fulham F.C., Edwin van der Sar, had signed a contract with Forest team. The contract would take effect on January 1, 2005, until June 30, 2007. Concrete details of the salary were not publicised.

Tang En was delighted about Edwin van der Sar's final decision to join Forest. To him, although the Dutch veteran was not part of the plan for Forest, his arrival enabled Forest to pass through the next two years with some stability. With this time, Tang En could continue to unearth young and promising goalies in the transfer market. Furthermore, Forest's defensive line also needed Edwin van der Sar's experience. Hierro was already 36 years old. With his age and affected health, he would not get many chances to be fielded.

The goalkeeper was a position that would not be easily changed once it stabilized. Tang En felt at ease with Edwin van der Sar directing defense at the back.

Once again, Tony Twain successfully snatched a coveted player right from under Alex Ferguson's nose. It seemed that the feud between the two would only get bigger and bigger. After snatching away the supposed main goalkeeper for Manchester United, who would they pick in the future to re-enact their glory?

Tang En could not find the answer. On another note, Tang En had no way of knowing the expression on Sir Ferguson's face after hearing news of Edwin van der Sar getting stolen by Forest.

Secretly, Tang En did not think there would be any statements such as, "I greatly admire him" appearing between him and such a legend of a manager within the English Premier League.

Why so? It was not that Ferguson looked down on Tang En, or that Tang En was a snob. It was because, in the future, they would become each other's most ferocious opponents.

※※※

Before Christmas, the League matches reached the 18th round. With seven wins, six draws, and five losses, Nottingham Forest was ranked eighth with a total of 27 points. At their best, they were ranked fourth. If not for their streak of lost goals in their recent league matches, they could have sat steadily at rank five.

Tang En was saddened by their two-match losing streak to teams whose abilities were only low to middle tier. Now that they have signed on Edwin van der Sar, he hoped it could change Forest's terrible ball-loss count.

The League's 19th round of matches was held on December 26. Nottingham Forest, who had lost two matches in a row, would be on their home ground welcoming the fight against Southampton, who was ranked second from the bottom. This was a great chance for the team to break out of their lull.

The day before the match, the team only trained for half a day. Tang En only remembered that it was Christmas when he saw another Christmas tree being put up in the living room of Building One and the presents piled up beneath it.

Another year had passed in a blink of an eye.

He stood beneath the tree watching the players engrossed in searching for packages with their names. Everything felt so familiar. Other than having changed a few people, it was no different from a year ago.

When he spotted Wood not participating in the fun but walking towards him, he immediately knew something was going on.

"Merry Christmas, George."

"Merry Christmas, Sir."

"How's your mother feeling?"

"Good. She asked me to invite the both of you for dinner tonight at our place." As Wood said that he looked around him, seemingly somewhat embarrassed.

"Both of us?"

"You and that…" Wood frowned as he recalled, and continued. "Dunn, the Chinese guy."

Tang En scratched his head. He had forgotten about Dunn… Was his subconscious hoping that there wouldn't be a third wheel? There was no way he could know.

"Sure. When training is over, we can go over to the Youth Training Grounds. I have to go call him."

Wood nodded at him but made no move to leave. Instead, he dug out a small box from his coat and thrust it into Tang En's hands. He then turned to return to the Christmas tree in search of his own present.

Tang En tore off the wrapper. A shiny ZIPPO lighter sat in the box. It was not a particularly valuable gift. But a small greeting card lay beneath the lighter, and on it was scrawled,

"Thank you. Merry Christmas."

Tang En smiled.

Chapter 268: Merry Christmas Part 1

When Twain took Wood to the youth training base to look for Dunn, Dunn had just finished his day's work and was ready to go home as planned.

"Don't go back, we have other plans for tonight," Twain said to him.

Dunn looked at Wood, who was with Twain, and nodded. "I understand. But..."

"But?"

"This isn't going to work." Dunn pointed to himself.

Twain then noticed that Dunn was wearing an oversized sports jacket. He was not used to wearing such attire. Even in normal training, he was dressed more or less like a mob boss: a dark red suit to represent the Forest team's dark red color, a white shirt, and a black wool coat.

Tang En looked Dunn up and down and agreed. "Yes, we'll make a trip back first." He turned to Wood and said, "George, you go back first. We'll go over when we're ready."

Wood nodded and turned to leave.

Twain and Dunn left in the other direction, which was closer to Branford Garden Lane where they lived.

They passed through the youth training ground, where nearly all of the young players had left. And now, only the turf maintenance personnel were there, watering the training field that had just been used.

Twain paused for a moment on the sidelines to look around at the open training base. From behind, Dunn asked him, "What are you thinking about?"

"I worked here for half a season," said Twain, pointing to the training ground. "No, not even half a season. My time here was very short, but I've used what I learned during that time all the way until now. I've read all the notes and books that you put on the bookshelf at home." He turned to Dunn and said, "Your mentor was Paul Hart, and my mentor is you."

"Why do you want to talk about that today?" Dunn did not smile. He just continued his questions.

"No reason... Just, another year has passed. Feeling a little rueful."

Dunn, who stood behind Twain, wanted to say something, but in the end, he gave up the idea and remained silent.

"A year ago, George was still training on this field, and I had promised to put him on the First Team by Christmas. At that point, I still thought I'd let him train on First Team, play in the youth and reserves games, occasionally put him on the First Team's substitutes list, and then bring him on from the bench in the last moments from time to time to feel the atmosphere of an official game. And after a season, I thought I could slowly try to let him play more games... But the kid's performance far exceeded my plan, and my expectations..." Twain looked up at the overcast sky. "Now, Dunn, did you know? I get asked by several football clubs almost daily for prices, and they are all about him."

Dunn nodded. "When I was with the Forest youth team, there was no one like that on the youth team." He meant that Wood was a rookie of Twain's own discovery; it was a roundabout way of complimenting Twain's ability to nurture young players and unearth talent.

Twain smiled back at him in thanks. "Let's go."

When the two men came to the side door of the youth team training base, they saw Gareth Bale and his father, Senior Bale, who was putting a scarf of young Gareth.

Senior Bale faced the door and saw the two managers walking side by side. He quickly waved to say hello to them.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Twain! Merry Christmas, Mr. Dunn!"

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Bale. Why haven't you gone back yet?" Twain was surprised to see his first contract signing here.

"We're just about to go back by car."

Young Bale turned and said hello to the two coaches.

He was stronger and more confident than when Twain had last seen him, and he seemed to be doing very well on the youth team.

Dunn, who stood next to Twain, said to Gareth Bale, "Bale, don't forget to come on the afternoon of the 29th."

Bale nodded with delight.

Dunn was referring to a Christmas award ceremony held inside the Nottingham Forest Club. On that day, a number of awards selected from within the club, such as best player of the year, best coach of the year, best young player of the year, and rookie of the year would be presented. There would also be a few very interesting awards, such as the year's most popular coach, the year's most popular teammate, the year's best turf maintenance staff, and so on.

As the manager, Twain already knew which of the awards belonged to whom, but the players themselves only knew who had entered the shortlist. Of course, whether they were nominated or not, they all would have to attend the event, which was also a Christmas party.

In the past, the Forest team had had a lot of ups and downs, and when they were at the lowest ebb of their fortunes and faced a financial crisis, the club was not in the state of mind to organize such activities. Now that Evan was in charge and their situation had stabilized, he wanted to start up the tradition again and make it more modern. It was also a great opportunity to create goodwill, cultivate the players' sense of belonging to the club, and re-establish the image of Nottingham Forest.

After seeing Gareth and his father off, Twain and Dunn went home to freshen up and get ready for their appointment.

※※※

The two men slowly walked back to 13 Branford Garden Lane, and Twain saw a person seated at the door of his house from a distance. He wondered who it was. He walked closer, and was astonished. "Shania!"

When she heard Twain's voice, Judy Shania Jordana, who was sitting at the doorway and nodding off, suddenly looked up. Upon seeing that the man who stood before her was indeed Tony Twain, a happy smile appeared on her face. "Merry Christmas, Uncle Tony!"

"Merry Christmas, Shania... What are you doing here?"

Hearing Twain's question, Shania pouted. "Did you forget? I told you I'd spend Christmas with you."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean… Aren't you supposed to be with your aunt and family tonight?" Twain hurriedly explained, as he knew Shania had misunderstood.

"I spent Christmas Eve with them, and came here today. I specifically didn't call you, just because I wanted to surprise you. Am I not welcome?" Shania was still pouting.

"Why would I not welcome you?" Twain opened the door. "Come in!"

Shania picked up a backpack that was disproportionately large relative to her size, and smiled to Dunn next to him. "Merry Christmas, Uncle Dunn! I won't be in your way, will I?"

Dunn shook his head. "No, Tony already told me about this. He cleans your room every week..."

Twain cleared his throat beside him.

Shania gave Twain a sideways glance and her face finally revealed an impish smile. Then she entered with her head held high and chest puffed out. Behind her, Twain waited for Dunn to walk up and softly muttered, "Why do you have so much to say today?"

"Didn't you want me to be more outgoing around people?" Dunn asked.

Twain had no retort. Darn, I've no one to blame but myself.

"Hey, why aren't you both coming in? What are you talking about out there?" Shania turned back and found that Twain and Dunn were standing outside the door.

"Um, nothing..." Twain came in first, and Dunn went straight upstairs to his room to take a shower and change.

Shania was very much at home here. She went straight upstairs and opened her bedroom door. It was exactly as it had been in the summer. The room was very clean, and it seemed that Dunn was right. Tony did clean the unoccupied room every week. She let out a yelp of excitement, and then, with her backpack still in the doorway, dove onto the bed and hugged the big Totoro soft toy. She buried her face in it and rubbed its belly, making the toy squeak non-stop.

At that time, Twain was considering another problem in the living room.

Sophia had originally invited him and Dunn to her place to celebrate the holiday, but now Shania was here as well. He could not leave this young girl here alone and go to the dinner with Dunn. And he also could not refuse Sophia's invitation just to accompany Shania. The only real solution was to bring Shania to Sophia's home.

He did not know if the young girl would agree with that arrangement.

Thinking of that, Twain went upstairs to ask Shania's opinion. "Shania?"

"Yes?" When she heard Twain called her, Shania sat up from the bed.

"Are you hungry?"

Shania shook her head. "Not hungry!"

"Well, are you tired?"

Shania continued shaking her head. "Not tired!"

"In that case... let's go out later for an appointment."

"An appointment?"

"Um... Do you know George Wood?"

Shania nodded. "Of course! How can I call myself a Forest fan if I don't even know who Wood is?"

Twain laughed; the young girl was so adorable when she spoke so earnestly. "His mother invited us to dinner this evening."

"Fantastic, I'll go too!"

"Of course, how can I leave you alone in a cold and dark house? Put on your best clothes." Twain winked at Shania and then left the room, remembering to close the door behind him.

When he went downstairs, Dunn had already changed his clothes and was sitting down on the couch. He was wearing a dark blue jacket with a turtleneck sweater. He looked nothing like the football manager Dunn, who wore a sports jacket all day.

Seeing Twain come down, Dunn said to him, "I'll admit it..."

"What?"

"The new Tony Twain's life is much better than the old Tony Twain's."

Twain laughed. "Isn't that good?"

Dunn nodded and muttered, "Yes… It's very good…"

Chapter 269: Merry Christmas Part 2

While they were chatting, there were footsteps on the stairs behind them. "Uncle Tony."

Twain and Dunn turned at the same time, and then they both stood in amazement.

Shania wore a tight-fitting black dress. The dress hugged closely to Shania's legs, and the layers of ruffles gradually fanned out from her calves, touching the floor. It made her look like a beautiful black lotus flower. She did not wear any other accessories, just that simple black dress. Standing on the stairs, she looked like the model she was.

"I didn't bring any nice clothes, just this dress that I don't usually wear. Is this okay, Uncle Tony?"

"Oh my god ... Shania, are you in a runway show? There's no need to dress like that..." Twain regained his composure.

"You're the one who asked me to wear my most beautiful clothes!" Shania whined.

"Well, it's my fault ... I forgot that you're a model. Honestly, you look good in whatever you wear. Just don't wear that. You could catch a cold." Twain apologized quickly.

Shania gave a huff, and then lifted the hem of her dress to run upstairs. Her rapid footsteps were incongruent with her dignified and elegant image.

Twain wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned to see Dunn staring at him till he felt somewhat guilty. "Do I have something on my face?"

Dunn looked away.

When Shania appeared again in front of the two men, she had changed out of her dress into a pair of skinny jeans and long boots, a light beige sweater with a red scarf around her neck, and a silver-gray coat, not yet worn.

"Well..." Twain thought if he had known earlier, he would not ask her to change clothes. After all that back and forth, she was back to her original appearance that she had worn when he saw Shania at the doorstep, except that she did not have that big bag with her now. "Good! You look nice!"

Shania rolled her eyes at Twain and then looked at Dunn.

Dunn also nodded. "Very pretty."

"Let's go, we shouldn't make the host wait." Twain wanted to quickly end this somewhat embarrassing situation, so he reminded everyone to set off.

※※※

Wood's new home was close to the Wilford training base; he ran to get to the training grounds, unlike the star players, who drove. Therefore, Wood's house was not too far from Twain's place, and the three of them took a stroll over.

Along the way, Shania was very excited and chatty. Twain tried not to make it obvious that he was only half-listening to her, because he now had another headache: when they arrived at Wood's place, how was he going to introduce Shania to Wood's mother, Sophia?

'This is my friend, Shania.'

What is the relationship between me and Shania? It seems a little too unfamiliar to say we're friends. So, if we are not friends, then what are we? Relatives? That's a blatant lie.

As a result, Twain still had not figured out how to introduce Shania by the time they reached Wood's doorstep.

Wood was surprised to see another person when he opened the door. Twain cleared his throat. "George, this is Judy Shania Jordana. I think you already met in Newcastle?"

Wood nodded, then said to Shania, "Hello, Merry Christmas."

Wood was now the Forest team's big star player, but Shania wasn't intimidated. She greeted him with a relaxed smile. "Hello Wood, Merry Christmas! You'll have to give me an autograph later!"

In the face of such a lively girl, Wood could not refuse; not to mention, Twain had brought her. He nodded somewhat hesitantly. "Okay, okay."

Twain chuckled on the side, and Wood gave him a glare before stepping aside to let them enter.

Still busy preparing for dinner, Sophia came out of the kitchen, smiling and ready to welcome Twain and Dunn. She was a little surprised to see Shania, but her expression was fleeting, and no one noticed.

On the way here, Twain gave Shania a brief introduction about Sophia, including the process of how they met. of course, he omitted the part about how the two of them almost slept together within five minutes of their meeting. Even though they did not do anything, it was better not to confuse things by speaking about it. Twain simply buried the matter within.

Apart from him and Sophia, it would be best if no one else knew.

Shania was very happy to meet Sophia. Twain's story, combined with thoughts of her own parents, made her feel very envious of Wood for having a mother like her. Her parents always forced her to do things she didn't want to do, and Wood's mother always wanted Wood to do what he loved.

Because of this contrast, Shania's impression of Sophia was quite favorable. She even bought a shawl as a gift for her along the road there.

Sophia looked at Twain, and then at Shania, who had a bright smile. She smiled and accepted the gift. Then, after a few exchanges of pleasantries, she went back to the kitchen to get busy. Shania offered to help, but Sophia felt that as a guest, Shania should not be helping.

Then, Twain made a suggestion that nobody would feel awkward about. "How about this—Sophia can make us her best Jamaican food, Dunn and I will prepare Chinese food for you. And then..." He looked at Shania. "Shania can also cook pretty well."

"But Mr. Twain, you're all our guests, how can I let my guests ..."

Twain anticipated Sophia's words with a smile. "Ma'am, if you think about it that way, that means we're keeping each other at arm's length! I think it would be great for everyone to make their best dishes in the kitchen, not to mention festive. Who says we have to follow Christmas traditioins? It's a holiday. What does it matter, as long as we're having a good time?"

Shania was the first to respond to his view. "That's right! Uncle Tony is right, I think it's fun! At my aunt's place in Newcastle, they always have rules like that, and I don't like it at all."

Looking at the lovely Shania, Sophia also laughed. "All right, Mr. Twain. I guess having a different kind of Christmas could be nice."

So the five people crowded into the kitchen. Fortunately, Wood and his mother had moved out of the slums. The kitchen in their new house was big enough for five people to be busy in it at the same time. Although it was still slightly crowded, they jostled each other and shouted happily.

"Ah! The water's boiling, Dunn! Quick, put in the meat. Be careful, don't let it splatter..." As Twain scrambled to instruct Dunn to put the meat into the pot, he also turned to look at Shania, who was watching over a simmering aluminum pot. "Smells good, Shania, what are you making?"

"Feijoada!" said Shania as she watched after the steaming pot.

"What is that?"

"Delicious food... Unfortunately, there's no cream or tapioca flour here..." Shania smacked her lips.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Shania. I didn't know we needed to prepare those ingredients..." Sophia hastily apologized as a host who had not adequately prepared.

"It's okay, Aunt Sophia! It's all Uncle Tony's fault. If he had said so earlier, we could have gone shopping!"

"Excuse me, I only thought of this in the spur of the moment. Shania, you should compliment me for thinking quickly on my feet instead."

"The meat is going to be overcooked," Dunn reminded him, watching them chatting happily.

"Ah... scoop them out, quickly!" Twain almost grabbed the pot without mitts.

"What is this?" Next to him, Wood took the colander to block Twain's hands.

"Thank you... It's twice-cooked pork! Twain used a ladle to fish out the pork from the pot, and then prepared to slice it.

"Pork that is cooked twice?" From the name that Twain had said, Wood had a hard time understanding what this dish was.

"Um..." Twain did not know how to translate it properly. The name of the Chinese dish had always been a deeply profound question that had always bothered the local "experts." He recalled how, in order to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games, a series of specially translated names for the dishes was introduced. When he had read the list online, he had burst into laughter. He had not thought he would be in this position now.

"Well, it's a delicious dish, the name is not important. The key is what's in it ..."

"Hui Guo Rou." Twain did not know how to say it, but Dunn used Pinyin to read it out.

Having been to China before and eaten this dish, Shania giggled next to them.

After an hour of cooking, the exquisite dishes of different countries were placed on the table. Twain's twice-cooked meat did not look too presentable. Wood frowned as he looked at the dark substances.

"Is it really okay?"

"Stop talking so much!" Twain admonished him and said, "The food is meant to be eaten, not to be looked at."

Shania was trying so hard not to laugh that her shoulders shook, making Tang En doubt his excuse. Sophie also bowed her head and smiled politely. Only Dunn did not laugh at Twain. He calmly said, "Let Tony have a bite first."

Shania finally could not help herself. She just leaned over the table and laughed loudly.

Seeing that, Twain coughed and raised his glass. "Ahem! Well… Let's make a toast to our gathering on this wonderful night. Um, come on, raise your glass. Shania, stop laughing! Laugh again, and you won't have anything to eat!"

Shania looked up for her glass. Because she had laughed so much, her face was as rosy as the wine in the glass. "This is so much fun! I'll come again next Christmas, and we can all spend it together!" She declared loudly.

"Oh, it's so lovely that you all could come." It was rare for Sophia to have such a joyous occasion. The cold, bleak days of the past were over.

Wood was naturally happy when his mother was happy.

Dunn looked at the glass in his hand; it reflected five smiling faces, including his own. How long has it been since I've seen this look on my face?

"I agree with Shania. We'll be together next Christmas!" Twain nodded and said, "Come on..." he raised his glass. "Merry Christmas!"

Chapter 270: The New Sponsor; An Ambassador Part 1

Perhaps it was because of the joyous Christmas dinner, but George Wood was performing particularly well. The voice of critics from weeks ago had yet to completely disappear, but Wood gave the critics slap after slap to their faces with his consistent performance.

On day two of the match, Forest won 2:1 on their home ground against Southampton. Despite the continual loss of goals, they still managed to win the match in the end.

On December 29, Forest challenged Man City in an away match. In that match, Tang En was resolved to improve their defense. In Maine Road, he arranged for the team's strategy to be defensive counterattacking. Under fierce offense from Man City, Forest did not manage to counterattack. However, their defense underwent a tedious examination. Defensive midfielder George Wood and Gunnarsson were partnered as starters in the match. In the after-match evaluation, Wood received good reviews for his performance. Facing Man City's bombardment and suppression in their half of the field, George Wood performed brilliantly and diffused threats to the goal on several occasions. This helped Darren Ward, whose skills were clearly falling short of his wishes. Wood's efforts allowed Forest to take away a point from the away match.

During the press conference after the match, Kevin Keegan indignantly told the reporters, "It's so unfair, we have 11 people playing in the match, but Nottingham Forest has 12!"

Of course, he was not talking about Forest getting a point due to aid from the referee. In truth, the referee would have been biased towards the home team, Man City. That would be the norm as well; after all, no referee would take the side of the away team, right?

The twelfth man Keegan spoke of was George Wood. The season was at its midpoint with the league matches on their 20th round and UEFA Europa League on its 6th. Including the matches for the EFL Cup, George Wood was present in all of them and for their entire duration. His body was not at all affected by his full attendance. In the match against Man City, his running speed remained the same from the first second to the last; he really knew how to use his body to compensate for his lack of technique and experience.

It was little wonder Keegan felt upset. His words echoed in the same way as a prior comment in the soccer scene referring a Brazilian right back, Cafu, as being a "man of three lungs."

Since George Wood's successful defense against Cristiano Ronaldo in the match with Manchester United and the equalizer he scored at the final minute, he was set on a steady path to becoming one of the hottest rookies of the English Premier League.

The topics regarding Wood had also begun increasing. The difference from before was that it used to be doubt; now it was all praise.

Tang En did not worry that such unrestrained and mushy praise would cause Wood to lose his composure and ruin his future. He knew the kind of person Wood was; he cared nothing for such praise. He did not yet understand how such an inflated reputation could benefit him.

※※※

A day after the match, Nottingham Forest Club organized an internal Christmas dinner and gave out several awards in recognition of stellar performances, in various areas, of Forest's personnel throughout the year. The method of selection was through a nomination vote held within the team. After that, an anonymous voting session was conducted. In other words, if a person was awarded as the best, he had surely received the recognition from the majority.

Based on Freddy Eastwood's stable and outstanding performance since his entry into the team, as well as his repeated scoring in crucial moments, he received the honor of being the Best Player of the Year.

The Best Rookie of the Year award was also indisputably won by George Wood.

According to convention, award recipients were required to make an acceptance speech on stage. Eastwood was naturally glib, and making such a spontaneous speech was nothing more than chicken feed to him. He easily humored everyone, making them laugh in delight and bringing the atmosphere to a high point.

George Wood had never stood on the stage like this, speaking to so many people at once. Tang En was not sure which would trouble Wood more; handling such a situation or going head-on with Roy Keane again. When Tang En announced that "The Best Rookie Award of the Year goes to George Wood," the entire place rang with enthusiastic claps. Some even whistled excitedly.

Wood, who sat beside his mother, was shocked at Tang En's announcement. He looked around at the surrounding teammates cheering and whistling for him, as if in disbelief of his level of popularity.

Tang En stood on the stage and waved the translucent trophy at Wood. "George, if you don't come to take the award, I'll be bringing it home!"

Everyone chuckled in amusement.

Amidst the laughter, Sophia straightened the shirt collar inside her son's suit. With tenderness and pride, she said to Wood, "Go ahead, George. It's impolite to make someone else wait."

It was only at that point that Wood stood to walk up to the stage. He received the trophy from Tang En and held it in his hands, the coolness of the trophy calming him down.

"Say something, George." Tang En passed a microphone over to Wood.

Wood held the microphone in his hands, biting his lips as he gazed out at the anticipating looks toward him.

What should he say?

When he had still been working as a porter, the men around him were all football fans. During their leisure time, they would often passionately discuss the matches held the day before. Most of them were supporters of Nottingham Forest. At that time, he did not imagine that he would ever become a Nottingham player and become the new topic of their discussions. He felt that that world was too far beyond himself; until one day, when he had bumped into someone on the street. Everything had changed then.

"I…" After an extended pause, Wood finally opened his mouth. "In the past, in the past, I've never… I never thou- thought that I would become a professional football player."

Could this really be a long speech? Tang En thought gleefully to himself.

"I don't know what to say…"

The large hall was silent. Everyone waited quietly with bated breath. They all knew that George was not good at speaking; they had hardly ever heard him say so much in one breath. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see him standing in front of everyone speaking like this.

"I don't know what to say… this is even harder than asking me to score against Manchester United…" Wood said with a straight face. Meanwhile, the audience laughed themselves into stitches. Even Tang En, standing behind him, was chuckling to himself.

"So, I can only thank everybody…" He bowed to the audience and left the stage.

Applause followed.

Even though he said so little, Tang En did not request him to say more. For a boy who hardly interacted with anyone, this was already a tremendous improvement. Growth was a very long journey and one could not ask for more.

Wood, who returned to his seat, received an encouraging kiss from his mother, making him somewhat abashed.

The following award given out was 'Best Player' for the Youth Team. The person receiving the award was Gareth Bale, whom Tang En had brought over from Southampton. Even though he was only 15 years old, he had long ago become the exception and was moved to the Under-18 Youth Team. Now, Tang En was just waiting for him to reach 16 years of age to sign a professional contract with him, firmly tying his future to them.

With the main awards already given out, the atmosphere became relaxed, and of all sorts of other awards were presented. Tang En was an expert at setting the atmosphere. Whether it was in the locker room, on the sidelines of the football field, or here, he could always make everyone laugh.

After half a season of battling, both managers and players could finally put the opponents, points table, and aim of the season behind them and relax.

The dinner commenced after the award ceremony. Tang En became the busiest person in the room, dragging around Shania, who came to join in the fun, and searching all around to get signatures.

Without any mention of Shania's actual age, no one would believe she was just a child.

As everyone smiled and nodded at Shania, giving their signatures to her, they were gossiping. "Oh– So, that's the girl that went out for dinner with Boss that day!"

Tang En, of course, knew what the group of boys was thinking, but he pretended not to see anything and continued bringing Shania around, introducing her, greeting others and asking for signatures. From this side to the other, and back again; his head spun.

He unknowingly led Shania to where Evan and Allan were. He had only started saying, "The two of them are…" when he felt something odd. He looked up and realized the club's chairman and marketing manager were both grinning at him.

"Tony, do we have to sign too?" They asked with raucous laughter.

"Uh…" Tony scratched his head embarrassedly. He had better introduce Shania to them both. "Judy Shania Jordana."

Evan nodded. "I know you, Miss Jordana. The week before last, I saw you at a fashion show."

Both Tang En and Shania looked at him with wide-eyed surprise. While Shania was surprised that the club's chairman before her would know of such a small-scaled launch of an unknown brand, Tang En was taken aback by the fact that she was already modeling at such a young age.

"Hmm." Evan appraised Shania, who was dressed casually. "You are completely different from when you were walking on the runway. I didn't recognize you earlier until Tony introduced you by name."

Shania made a face and raised her head slightly. She glanced at Tang En beside her and said to Evan Doughty, "Is that true?"

Evan smiled. "Yes, I agree."

Shania's resumed her usual expression and stuck her tongue out. "I don't like that, but as a model…"

Evan and Allan both nodded in understanding. Beside her, Tang En was momentarily distracted by the cool expression Shania had suddenly put on. He had never seen this side of Shania before. It created a sense of cool aloofness that put miles of distance between them. Was that what the model Shania was like?

It was little wonder why Shania did not like being a model. She was born with a cheerful and bubbly personality. Making someone as young as she put on a face to intimidate people was… not ethical.

I don't like that Shania either, Tang En thought in his heart.

Chapter 271: The New Sponsor; An Ambassador Part 2

"Tony? Tony?" Evan's voice sounded out.

"Ah? Evan? What's the matter…" Tang En, who was jolted into awareness, saw Evan smiling at him mysteriously.

"Do you still remember the present you gave us last Christmas? The concept of a player database?"

Tang En nodded. At the mention of that, he became furious. The American company had made a product that was completely incompatible with his demands. He had known at one glance that it was created by someone who had no understanding of football. After a period of trial usage, he had tried to get them to revise the program, but the result of the revision still failed to satisfy him. At that point, he had simply terminated the partnership with them and temporarily shelved the plans.

"We know that the previous one was terrible… So Allan went searching again and found a company. They promised to make us a data system."

"Do they have any proof of their competence?" asked Tang En.

Evan indicated for Allan to take over. Allan nodded at Tang En. "Tony, I think you'll be satisfied with this company. They're a local company, SI."

Tang En was stumped for a second upon hearing the name. SI? SI! Was that the production team that developed the Championship Manager series as well as the FM series (Football Manager series) – Sports Interactive? He could not believe that Allan had managed to find them! Tang En admired the old American even more now.

Looking at Tang En's expression, Allan knew he must have found the right company.

"They've agreed to start cooperating with us not only on the database system but in other areas too. When I approached them, they made some co-op requests that you might be interested in."

Tang En looked at the somewhat bored Shania beside him and said, "Shania, do you want to get more signatures? If you use my name, no one will dare to refuse you. Actually, you just need to smile at them and they would definitely listen!"

Evan and Allan laughed.

Shania astutely realized that Tang En must be discussing some important matters and that her presence was inappropriate. She nodded and turned, walking into the crowd.

At that, Tang En pointed at some sofas ahead of them. "Let's sit there and discuss."

The three sat down and Tang En launched into a question. "Concretely, what are their proposals for cooperation?"

"They hope to become one of our sponsors; not by way of monetary funding, but technical sponsorship. In other words, there will not just be a single version of this database. They will be in charge of maintenance and further developments of better and more comprehensive abilities…"

Tang En nodded in understanding.

"And they also hope for you to become the game ambassador for the latest Football Manager game, FM2007."

That request came unexpectedly to Tang En. He paused for a long while before realizing that he did not hear wrong and that Allan was not joking.

"Me? An ambassador?"

"Yes. There's no monetary remuneration because it's a cooperation. This will be their take-away from the sponsorship; they won't be getting any money from us."

Tang En went silent and delved into deep thought. In his mind, he was searching for all the information he could remember about SI and the FM series. Since it was a manager series that he considered up to standards, he had played from the earliest FIFA96 developed by EA until CM and FM. He was also aware that the FM series was a product after the split of SI and EIDOS.

Back then, SI had always overseen the development of CM while EIDOS had handled only the distribution. Later, both parties chose to go their separate ways for unknown reasons. EIDOS had inherited the title CM and the familiar operating interface. They chose a development team which previously oversaw "Gianluca Vialli's Football Manager" to continue the production of CM. Meanwhile, SI inherited the gigantic player database as well as the source code of the game.

The two companies should have gone their separate ways the year before. The classic CM0304 would be the final version of the game that they would produce. After that, they pursued separate paths.

EIDOS was an old hand in the gaming industry; they had access to plenty of resources. Their inheritance of the name and the CM logo was equivalent to their continuation of the series. Meanwhile, SI was restarting their business. Other than the player database and source code, they had nothing else. Their initial steps would be crucial. Last month, SI had released "FM05," a brand-new football manager game that took more than a year of development for retail sales. In comparison to CM, this was a completely unfamiliar game to both the players and the market. They urgently needed better advertising to promote the title.

At this point, Allan had coincidentally found SI and hoped for them to create a soccer database for the Forest team. SI then saw a new position from which they could advertise.

To SI, who held a network of more than 2500 researchers all over the world, it was more than simple for them to create a database based on Forest's requirements. On the reverse, it was much more important for them to make use of this chance to establish a strategic partnership with an English Premier League team. Despite having once sponsored the newly established AFC Wimbledon team, that was only driven by a desire to show support for a club that was completely established by fans themselves; it could not be considered part of their business interests.

After putting together all those factors, Tang En more or less got the picture. Although he was a football manager, wasn't it also interesting for him to use some of his free time to be a game ambassador?

So, he nodded. "It's no problem; but how do they want me to represent them?"

"Oh, for now, there are plans to advertise through print media. You will also need to attend a press conference held by their company to announce our partnership. In addition to that, the cover of the new game will be using your image."

"They aren't planning to film a TV commercial?" Tang En was a little disappointed.

He remembered the television commercial filming of the current manager of the Japanese National Football Team, Zico from Brazil. It was for Pro Evolution Soccer. The timing for that seemed to be earlier; it appeared that Tang En would not be able to get the title of "The First Manager to Get on TV as a Game Ambassador."

Evan chuckled. "Tony, are you already thinking of switching careers? That would depend on their budget. As a new company, they probably don't have much money at the moment."

Tang En scratched his head. Although he was unable to get on a TV commercial and experience the feeling of being an actor, his vanity was somewhat appeased by his soon-to-be appearance on the cover of a game that would be known throughout the world.

"Other cooperative ventures could be slowly considered at a later stage. Now that you've agreed, I can reply to SI after Christmas. I think you'll definitely be happy with the database they come up with."

Tang En laughed. "It seems like you know quite a bit about SI, Alan."

"I did some special investigation. I can't make another mistake like the previous time." Allan answered with a grin.

Seeing that official business was concluded, Evan Doughty raised his wine glass. "Alright. Let us all forget about that for now. Tony and Allan, Merry Christmas. Thank you for the hard work you've put in this year."

"Of course. We've got to be working since you're paying us." Tang En raised his own glass. "Cheers. Merry Christmas to everyone. Next year, I think we'll be celebrating Christmas with an even better mood."

The three glasses gently clinked together, making a clear, crisp sound.

Chapter 272: Mr. Two Trillion Dollars Part 1

Allan's Christmas present for Twain was a large package. Twain did not even think about the collaboration with Sports Interactive. Surprisingly, had Allan clinched the deal. This not only brought a new sponsor for the club, but it made him a spokesperson for the game as well.

Obviously, the collaboration with SI would need to wait until Christmas was over, when there would be more things to do. This would include the press conference for the announcement, the cover, the production of the new cover, packaging of the game, the shoot of the print, advertising for the game publicity, and so on.

The English Premier League was different from the other European tournaments in that there was no winter break. Although the English national manager, Sven-G?ran Eriksson, had proposed a winter break a few years ago, the English Football Association did not adopt it. Not only was there no winter break, but the schedule for the Premier League was at its the most intensive directly before and after Christmas. The Forest team would be playing two consecutive games on the 26th and 28th. Such arrangements were common every year during that period.

The Forest team's Christmas party was over, and the calendar had turned to the new year. In a blink of an eye, 2005 had arrived. Tang En had been here for two years, which was not too long. But it was not short either. The current Twain and who he had been in January 3, 2003 were completely different. At that time, he had been pretending to be a manager; now, he had gradually developed into a qualified manager.

At first, he had not known anything. He had just relied on his past gaming experience in the Football Manager Game, watching all kinds of football-related news reports, and his own imagination to pretend he was a football manager. Due to good luck and coupled with a little talent, he was not dismissed halfway and ended up destitute.

Now, he no longer thought of himself as an impostor. He had faith in in his ability and believed that he could lead the Forest team towards success.

※※※

On January 1, before the Forest team played against Bolton Wanderers in a home game, the Forest team introduced the first player of the winter transfer period. The goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar came to report, and Twain attended the press conference with him. Naturally, before meeting the press, as the manager of the team, Tony Twain had an exchange with Edwin van der Sar in his office.

Van der Sar was brought by his agent. At the door of his office, Twain saw the Dutchman, who had come from London and who looked exactly as Tang En had guessed; tall, quiet and steady.

"Welcome to Sherwood Forest in Nottingham, and welcome to the Red Robber Gang. I'm the boss of this gang of robbers; you can call me chief, you can also call me boss or Tony, or whatever else you like." Twain's self-introduction was refreshing for Edwin van der Sar. He had been to many teams in his career, but he had never seen any football manager introduce their team and welcome newcomers in such a manner.

The Dutchman did not react because he was a little surprised. Next to them, the assistant manager, David Kerslake, laughed. "This is his style. You'll get used to it."

Van der Sar came forward to shake Twain's hand. "Hello, boss." The Dutchman was not used to calling a man who was only a year older than himself "Boss."

"I'm very glad you chose the Forest team, Edwin. I'm sure you didn't come here with the idea of retirement, did you?" Twain came straight to the point after shaking hands with Van der Sar.

Van der Sar nodded, "Of course not. If I wanted to retire, I could just have gone to Ajax."

When he heard Edwin's answer, Twain nodded and pointed out the door. "Yes, I agree. We all know why you made this choice. There's lots of media outside now. Did you just see? The car park is full."

Van der Sar nodded in confirmation.

"Many of them people questioned this transfer. They said that the Forest team would only spend money to pay for old guys who no one wanted, or that Edwin van der Sar is preparing for his retirement… that kind of stuff. They seemed to take their talk very seriously. We just need to prove that they're wrong in the future. I'm an ambitious manager. What about you, Edwin?"

Van der Sar smiled. "Me too, boss."

"Very good, then we're going to work well together! I'll take you to meet your teammates in a while. The press conference is very short, and we won't arrange to meet with the fans this time. After the press conference, you can go to the locker room and familiarize yourself with everyone. Then... do you need to go back to the hotel for a rest?"

Van der Sar shook his head. "No, I can start training right away." He believed that this was Twain's tiny test for new players. He had to impress the new manager, so he showed that he was making effort.

As expected, Twain was satisfied with Van der Sar 's answer. He clapped his hands and said, "In that case, let's go to the press conference first. If we let that group of reporters wait, who knows what they will write in the newspaper?"

Van der Sar found that Twain was different from every other manager he had ever met. He was humorous and young; barely older than himself.

After that, Twain introduced Kerslake to the Dutchman, and then took him to the press conference.

Although it was the new year, there was still a lot of media because it involved the transfer of the most famous player in the English football for this winter transfer period so far. The 34-year-old Dutchman chose Nottingham Forest over Manchester united, which would be news in itself in any case.

Indeed, as Twain had said, most of the media's questions were focused on van der Sar's decision to change clubs at the age of thirty-four.

Edwin's response was in line with Twain's expectations. He appeared to say some nice things on the surface, but it was really just fluff. He did not give to the reporters who liked nothing better than to tamper with others' speech and take advantage of others.

Twain sat there smiling the entire time. He had solved his most troublesome problem. There was nothing else he had to be worried about.

On the forward line was the stable partnership of Mark Viduka and Eastwood. Even though Bendtner and Crouch could only be substitutes for both of them, everyone had enough ability to appear in the starting lineup in Twain's eyes.

Not to mention their strength in the midfield, with George Wood on the rise and the veteran, Albertini, still robust. There was also Ribéry, Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon...Maybe the weaker players there were Kris Commons and Brynjar Gunnarsson.

On the defensive line was the veteran, Hierro. Even though his number of appearances had slowly diminished, his experience was still the team's most valuable asset. Piqué was gradually developing into the main center back, and Twain had abided by the promise he had made to him when he first signed the contract with him and given him chances to play. Piqué quickly seized those opportunities and gradually showed his strength.

Now, the goalkeeper position had enlisted a strong player too. Edwin van der Sar might have been thirty-four years old, but his condition was still very good. Twain did not have to worry about goalkeeper problems again within two or three years.

After the press conference had ended, Twain led van der Sar to the locker room, and the players who had been training came in one after another. Along the way, Twain gave van der Sar an introduction about the team and the players. "As a whole, everyone gets along well. Have you heard any negative news about the Forest team's locker room?" He saw van der Sar hesitate a little, and knew what he was thinking. "That was just a story the press made up. You'll see for yourself. I promise, you'll like the team before long."

Before they even got to the door of the locker room, the two men heard loud laughter coming from inside.

Twain smiled at Edwin, then pushed open the door and appeared in front of everyone.

"Guys, let me introduce you to your new teammate, Edwin van der Sar." Twain beckoned to signal for van der Sar to come up and greet his teammates.

"Hi, everyone." van der Sar greeted his new teammates openly. As team captain, Albertini was the first stand up and welcome him. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect us to become teammates, Edwin."

Edwin van der Sar had played for Serie A's Juventus for some time, and had often played against Albertini from AC Milan. Although it was rumored that Juventus and AC Milan had a sacred alliance in Italian football, there was no alliance or friendship between the two teams in the fight for championships.

Van der Sar was very happy to be able to meet an "old friend" here. Even if they had not been before, they were now.

Obviously, Albertini should not just step up and assume the responsibility of assimilating new players into the team. Accordingly, when everyone came up to say hello to van der Sar, he quietly left the room.

The mood was congenial, except for Ward, who would be replaced. He politely came up to shake hands with van der Sar before retreating into a corner.

As for the depressed Darren Ward, Twain had other plans. During the winter break, he would find out if there was any football club which would be interested in him.

※※※

Twain did not receive any offers from interested clubs for Darren Ward, but he received a great deal of inquiries about quotes for George Wood.

In the 21st round of the English Premier League, which ended on January 2, Nottingham Forest obtained a small victory of 1:0 over Portsmouth on their home turf. Wood's state of play was still stable, which was always the case, but the goal he had scored against Manchester United changed all that, and he had attracted more attention.

It was ironic that no one had praised a defensive player who had done his job seriously, but had just nitpicked him a lot. But when he scored a goal, he immediately received praise from everywhere, which almost put him on a pedestal. Defensive players had to rely on goals to prove their ability because most people believed that football was most exciting when goals were scored.

Chapter 273: Mr. Two Trillion Dollars Part 2

There were a lot of teams interested in Wood, but very few which could make Twain feel nervous.

Could anyone imagine George Wood, who was the main force in the Forest team, going to a lower-ranking team in the league?

In the past, there had been a lot of clubs asking about prices just like that; there was even an English championship team asking if they could loan Wood! Twain thought that they should really check their intelligence before coming to him about Wood.

However, on the morning of January 3, the Nottingham Forest Club received two offers from two different clubs, giving Evan Doughty no choice but to call Twain from his house. Together with Allan, they gathered to discuss the two offers.

Evan sat behind his desk with two faxes on it, one with the Manchester United team emblem and the other with Chelsea's.

"Tony, did their men get in touch with Wood?" Allan asked Twain.

Twain shook his head. "I don't think so, but I'm not certain. I don't have twenty-four hours to watch him."

"Tony, what do you think of this?" Evan looked at Twain.

"Refuse both of them." Twain answered without hesitation. "We won't sell, no matter how much money they offer."

Manchester United's offer was four million pounds, which was a big investment for Manchester United's tightfisted board of directors.

The rich and imposing Chelsea was even more excessive. Abramovich had not yet realized how foolish he was to throw away his money. He continued his strategy of burning cash to buy players. Their offer was ten million pounds!

It should be said that Evan Doughty, as a businessman, was stunned at the first glimpse of Chelsea's offer. George Wood was just a newcomer to the Premier League. It was only because of his steady play and his beautiful key goal in Manchester United's game that he was put on a pedestal by the media. Evan was the owner of the Forest club, and he knew his player's real price was absolutely not ten million.

He did not think that Abramovich and Mourinho were fools. So what did it mean that the first offer for a rookie defensive midfielder was ten million pounds?

Twain lit a cigarette, took a puff, and then shrugged. "We can interpret it as flaunting, or as a show of force. The Russian is using it to tell us that there are no players they can't buy. Chelsea ranked second last season, and they spent one hundred and ten million pounds. They are ranked second in this season for now, and have spent eighty-nine million just in the summer. Take a closer look at the prices they offered to buy players. They're much higher than the average market price, and they always get the players they want."

Evan and Allan might not fully understand the way the Russian oligarch and his manager, Mourinho, spent their money, but Twain, who had been around the block, was certain.

In the 2004-05 season, Mourinho's Chelsea had won their club's first Premier League title in fifty years and created a series of records. This championship title was the most expensive in the history of the English Premier League, built on the foundation of one hundred and ten million pounds used by Ranieri, and achieved by Mourinho, who had spent eighty-nine million.

When Chelsea won the league title, Abramovich had been in the Chelsea club for six hundred and seventy days and had invested up to 683.40 million pounds, averaging more than one million a day! In 2004, Chelsea's annual financial loss was 87.8 million pounds, which created a new record in the football world. However, just a year later, Mourinho raised the figure by 60%. It reached a staggering 140 million pounds!

Looking at the world of football, which club would dare to burn more money than Chelsea? Even Real Madrid was not that daring.

Countless clubs had experienced Chelsea's deep pockets and surrendered before the Ruble legion. Take a look at the names in the list below and the clubs they once belonged to:

24 million for Didier Drogba, 19 million for Ricardo Carvalho, 13 million for Paulo Ferreira, 12 million for Arjen Robben, 8 million for Tiago Mendes, 7 million for Petr ?ech, 5 million for Mateja Ke?man, 8 million for Asier del Horno, 21 million for Shaun Wright-Phillips, and 24 million for Michael Essien.

Before the Russian man arrived at Stamford Bridge, English football did not have a clue about spending and pointless squandering of large sums of money. The total investment of the three-time Premier League champion, Arsenal, was no more than 39 million for three seasons, whereas Mourinho's lowest spending in Chelsea for a season was "only" 53 million.

That was the earth-shattering change that the Russian had brought to the English Premier League. Now, everyone used the default "championship rule" of "No money, no champion." If a team wanted to win the championship, large sums of money would need to be spent. If a team was reluctant to spend, the team would face ruthless elimination. It was the football version of Darwinism.

"They think that no matter how much we value Wood, we won't hesitate to accept it if they open with an unimaginably high price." Twain opened his hands. Roman Abramovich did exactly think this way in the first few years of his arrival in Chelsea.

After hearing Twain's words, Allan pondered for a moment, then looked up at Evan and Twain. "That's right. Now there are two options before us: ten million and George Wood. Which one do we choose?"

They had automatically ignored Manchester United. Four million to buy Wood? There was no need to even talk about it.

"I don't think those are the options we need to think about, Allan." Twain shook his head. "I also think that there's nothing in the world that money can't buy, and if no one can buy it, it's only because the price isn't high enough. But I think that the Russian can't afford the price I gave to Wood.

Evan smiled, "I'm interested to hear your price for Wood, Tony."

Twain nodded. "Just as well. Chelsea's offer reminded me to hold a press conference to make a statement specifically for the clubs that are always harassing us."

Allan seemed somewhat hesitant. After all, he was responsible for the club's finances. Ten million was not a small number for the current Forest team.

Evan did not immediately answer Twain either. He was thinking about it, just like Allan.

Twain knew that there was bound to be some hesitation in their minds. After all, the offer… Well, from an objective point of view, Twain thought that it was completely worthwhile. But he was unable to view the offer objectively. Wood had been personally cultivated by him. You want to buy him for ten million? Mr. Abramovich, you've underestimated me!

Evan recalled what Twain had said to him one time in an alley in Wilford, when he had told Tony to sell Michael Dawson and Andy Reid.

Now that the team was on the rise and Wood had just won the best rookie of the team award, it would be truly a pity to sell him for ten million. So, he nodded. "Wood is a new star that we personally cultivated on our own. From the standpoint of the team's image and achievements, I don't agree to selling him."

Both men agreed not to sell, and Allan did not need to insist, so he nodded.

In that way, the Nottingham Forest Football Club held a small press conference that afternoon. Although it was small, there was a lot of media there because everyone knew that Chelsea had just made an offer of ten million pounds for Wood.

With regards to the recently popularized focal figure, his every movement, and any information about him, would attract public attention. The small City Ground conference hall was crowded with reporters, packing the space.

At the press conference, Twain smiled at the reporters and gave the official response from the Nottingham Forest Club to the transfer request.

"I've never said that George Wood is not for sale, and I won't say that in the future either."

The reporters were delighted. Could this deal really be happening?

"Wood can be taken away from the City Ground stadium as long as a club can make a price that we think is right."

It's true! The reporters were excited and got ready to raise their hands and steer the topic to its climax.

"Excuse me, Mr. Twain, what is George Wood's value?" There were already reporters who could not wait to get up and ask questions.

"Whatever Britain's GDP was last year. That's George Wood's value." Twain answered the reporter's question with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, not only all the reporters present, but Evan and Allan, who sat next to Twain, were stunned.

Although the British government had not announced last year's gross domestic product number, from the data and growth rate of the first three quarters, the past year's number should not have been less than two trillion US dollars...

Two… trillion?

When they finally reacted, Allan and Evan glanced at each other. That price… not even Mr. Abramovich could afford it.

The press conference exploded, and the reporters scrambled to raise their hands. Someone even directly asked aloud from their seats, "Mr. Twain, are you joking?"

"No, I'm serious. George Wood is worth that price. If anyone can afford it, I'll allow him to leave. But if you can't, then don't come back for a quote from us and waste all of our time. Also, Nottingham Forest doesn't accept installments or loans for the player. This is the official stance of the Forest club."

Just like an auctioneer in the auction house, Twain's decision was final.

Chapter 274: Derby Part 1

Tony Twain's words again put George Wood on the cover page. Already, the media gave Wood the exaggerated epithet of "The World's Most Valuable Player." Even more of them gave him the moniker of "Mr. Two Trillion."

From the outsiders' perspective after the press conference, regardless of whether or not Twain's words were true, there was one thing that was certain; George Wood was Nottingham's, and he was not for sale.

Could anyone in the world afford to pay two trillion dollars? A single player was almost equivalent to a nation… Since no one could afford that price, what was he but a non-saleable commodity?

Due to that situation, Nottingham Forest's performance on their home grounds against Newcastle in the 22nd round of the League match garnered much attention. Everyone wanted to see if the performance of "Mr. Two Trillion" lived up to his value. They also wanted to know if George Wood would be crushed under the pressure. Some had criticised Tang En, saying that his words showed irresponsibility to the players under him. They questioned if he had considered that giving the status of "World's Most Valuable" to such a young player did more harm than good. After all, no one could withstand such pressure.

But Tang En did not seem to care one iota about the matter. He knew that Wood did not care for the status of "World's Most Valuable" or "Two trillion." If it were another player, Tang En may not have chosen to say that during the press conference. However, George Wood was different. The mental condition of the lad was much better than others in his age group.

The match against Newcastle was also the first time the Dutch goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, would be representing Nottingham in the English Premier League. While there were still some adjustment difficulties with the team, primarily on the side of the defense, Edwin van der Sar was greatly experienced and could reduce such negative impact to a minimum. Since Tang En had purchased a world-class goalkeeper, he was not about to let him sit on the substitutes' bench. The conditions also did not allow for Edwin van der Sar and the team to continue adjustments on their training grounds.

Edwin van der Sar, who wore jersey number 33, stepped onto the field and started his performance in the last phase of his professional career.

Tang En's reformation of Forest's defense was still in the works. Although Newcastle was playing as an away team in the match, they had every intention to get three points out of it. Souness had held a grudge against Tony Twain for their loss on Newcastle's home ground. In this away match, he fielded his strongest line-up. And what was the result?

0:0.

The performance of the new goalkeeper and Mr. Two Trillion was flawless. No one dared doubt the ability of the 34-year-old veteran Edwin van der Sar or say that George Wood's title of "Mr. Two Trillion" would be too much pressure for him.

Wood's performance in the match was no different from any other. The media was awfully disappointed to realize that he had not failed to perform up to standards because of the tremendous pressure, nor was he particularly inspired to perform because of the excessive encouragement… nothing at all. He was much like his name: wood.

The media outside were crazily stirring up news of his apparent value, but he himself looked as if nothing had happened!

After the match, the players had to go through a common area where they would often be stopped by reporters for interviews. Most of them surrounded George Wood and Edwin van der Sar.

The most common questions fired at Edwin van der Sar remained the usual few:

Why did he choose Nottingham Forest? How did he feel about this first match? Was he in sync with his teammates? What was his impression of the manager? How did he feel about Forest's fans?

All these questions were handled with ease. He knew how he should answer to please the fans and close the distance between himself and his teammates.

On Wood's side, most of the questions stemmed from his "two trillion value."

Standing amidst the crowd, he waited until all the reporters had finished their questions before asking, "How much is two trillion?"

The reporters were momentarily stunned by his question. How could they explain the concept of two trillion to this person?

"That would be the entire GDP of UK last year…"

While that sounded very intimidating, it meant nothing to George Wood, who did not even know the concept of "GDP."

"Is that a lot?"

"It is estimated to reach and even go beyond two trillion US dollars!"

"How much is two trillion?"

And the question comes around again…

Someone amid the reporters wailed. This topic was clearly a juicy piece of meat for them, but in the face of such a player, they felt helpless with no inkling of where they could start.

Pierce Brosnan, who was among the crowd, took out his cell phone and opened the calculator. After clattering through some calculations, he looked up at Wood and said, "George. Based on your current weekly salary, you need to work for 7.692307 million years before you can earn two trillion dollars."

Everyone gave Brosnan grateful looks. This numerical value was much more comprehensible in comparison to the intangible GDP concept. It was like telling someone who had never seen a yacht that it was expensive. Exactly how expensive was it? You simply had to convert the money needed to purchase a yacht into units of a familiar food, and it would become clear.

The reporters waited in anticipation for Wood's thoughts, but he only nodded his head after hearing the figure.

"Oh. Well, I can't live for seven million years, so that's meaningless to me."

Everyone except one was disappointed. Brosnan was laughing soundlessly in great delight at the back. He knew that Wood would say that; he understood the kind of person George Wood was.

George Wood indeed liked money very much, but that was when he had needed a large sum of money to provide treatment for his mother. Now that the treatment of his mother's illness was overseen by the club and his living standards had improved more than a fold—he lived in a brand-new apartment and lived a life he could have only imagined or yearned for in the past—he had nothing else to pursue. What was left was to work hard and play well enough to be worth the salary paid to him by the club.

To him, a weekly pay of 2,500 pounds was an incredibly high income. He did not even know how he could spend it all. In fact, there was no real difference between receiving 25 thousand and 2,500 pounds; both were high salaries that he had no idea how to finish spending. His mother's and his living needs were only so much. Especially since he had no need to fork out money for his mother's treatment, all the excess money was saved up and there was nowhere that needed spending. He bought no branded clothes, expensive sports cars or luxury goods. Furthermore, he did not have a girlfriend and made no habit of visiting expensive entertainment centers. He had no vices that needed to be fed with large sums of money. Even though he was now earning much more than before, other than having a better quality of life, he and his past self were essentially the same.

Brosnan got why Tony looked so well upon the silly lad; he had a superior quality that many young players did not. This quality guaranteed that he would not lose his way and walk down the wrong path, causing himself to fall rapidly from a bright star into a shooting star.

Brosnan did not only get to know football from his work as a reporter. In his twenty years of experience watching football, he had seen more than enough genius players who came to a premature end. Often, it was not because they were lacking in ability, but because they could not withstand the temptations that came from beyond the football field.

Clearly, it was much better to entrust his hopes onto a player like Wood than onto those playboys.

Though George Wood did not come from a strong academic background and had never undergone any trainings for professionalism, he followed a very simple principle. That was something taught to him by his mother since he was young; once he had taken someone's money, he must do his best to work for them. Whether it was as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown or as a professional footballer, well-dressed with a bright future, there was no difference. To Wood, they were both just types of work.

Taking his chance while the reporters were flummoxed by Wood's reply, Wood turned and left the common area. He rarely took on interviews. In the past, he was not one of Forest's famous, big-shot players, so no one cared much about a young boy who did a tiring and dirty job on the field. Now, things were different. After he had scored a goal, he became a genius overnight and everyone started paying attention to him. Even his good looks became a reason for his genius. After practically every match, there would be reporters in the common area waiting to stop him. Initially, he was not willing to say a word before so many people; but when Tang En told him he had to, he complied. But he would never use two sentences if he could express himself in one, and would always take one word over two.

He was not as long-winded as Ashley Young. In any of his interviews, just his pet phrase, "you know," would be repeated more than 20 times…

※※※

Although they only fought Newcastle to a draw on their home ground, Tang En was exceedingly satisfied with his players' performance. In the first place, he had intended to observe how Edwin van der Sar was working with the team. The result of having zero ball-loss was perfect and proved that Edwin van der Sar's assimilation into the team was progressing successfully.

The following match that Tang En had to face was a unique one.

In the third round of the English FA Cup, Nottingham Forest was playing as the home team against their arch-rivals from the same city: Notts County.

Nottingham Derby. In the history of world football, this could possibly be a derby in the oldest cities, or perhaps "one of the oldest." In the recent decades, due to Notts County staying consistently within the lower leagues, there were few opportunities for the two teams to meet. The so-called arch-rivals also had little chance to go up against each other on the field. However, this would not in the least affect the mutual rivalry between the two teams.

The fans of Notts County insisted on calling City Ground "a place of sin," and Nottingham Forest's fans as "The F."

It's quite easy to guess what the F was meant to stand for...

Chapter 275: Derby Part 2

As an outsider, Tang En did not understand much of the rivalry that spanned close to one and a half centuries between the two teams. He was more willing to attribute it to Notts County's jealousy of Nottingham Forest's achievements. After all, Forest had twice attained the highest honor within the European clubs. Furthermore, they had also maintained a long-term position in the first group within the domestic league. The honors they had gained were so much more than those of Notts County.

Within Nottingham, Notts County had always represented the citizens of a lower tier. Black and white jerseys, a club that never managed to escape the clutches of a financial crisis, playing around in the lower leagues… All these were compatible with the image of poor miners. It was just like the two teams in Spain's capital, Madrid: Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. While Nottingham Forest represented the well-off middle-class citizens, Notts County was the ideological prop of the poorer, lower-classes.

Once soccer was elevated to a height of a class-struggle, Tang En could visualize and understand the heated clash that was bound to occur.

Reality proved his speculations.

The tickets for the match sold out early. It was not just on the day itself; the tickets were sold out two days before the match. When Notts County had successfully advanced into the third round of the English FA Cup and was scheduled to meet with Nottingham Forest, all the tickets were quickly snatched up.

To Notts County, whether they could become champions of the FA Cup was of no consequence at all. Even if they lost to a less worthy team in the next round, they would not be too upset. However, this was only true if they beat Nottingham Forest this round.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest did not have any particular obsession with this match. If not in consideration for the feelings of Forest's fans, Tang En was considering sending out a combination of the Youth Team and Reserve Team. There were hardly any players from Nottingham Forest that held a deep grudge against Notts County; most of them were "migrant workers." Faced with a derby game in which teams came from different levels, there was just not that much interest.

The pre-match preparations progressed as per usual. Forest's players did not care much about their opponents. In their eyes, both the Premier League and UEFA Europa League were much more important.

Just five minutes into the match, Notts County gave Forest a taste of their prowess, sending the ball slamming into their goalpost with a long shot from afar!

When it came to passion for "Derby games," England's fans were in the top three.

Once the match had begun, so long as Notts County had possession, the entire City Ground would be blanketed with loud jeers. But now, there were at least two seconds of silence that filled the spectators' stands. For the Forest fans, they saw the victory of this match as a given; there would not be any incident.

Yet, Notts County's first shot had almost scored them a goal. Forest was momentarily stunned.

In the previous round of the league match, they had played on their home grounds against Newcastle, who were also in black and white jerseys. The fans had taken that match as a rehearsal for today. Playing amid ear-deafening jeers, the players from Newcastle were completely discombobulated.

But this technique seemed to have no effect on Notts County.

In the first half of the match, Notts County was not at all disadvantaged and was fighting with Forest Team on even grounds. Though neither the abilities nor overall stamina of their players were on par with Forest team, they clearly had a greater fighting spirit than Forest's players. They were more willing to run and give their all. This attitude made up for whatever else they were lacking.

The first half ended with 0:0. Both teams fought a bland battle for 40 minutes. Although there was not much technique involved, it was still effective against Notts County.

At half-time, Tang En told his players not to view this match as a simple match-up against a football team from a low-level league. The concept of "Derby" did not need further explanation from him. They had to face up properly to their opponents, especially their arch-rivals from the same city.

Forest's players who returned to the field with the attitude of "this is an important match, and we have to do our best" were no longer as easily dealt with by Notts County.

After just ten minutes of resistance from Notts County in the second half, their goal finally took its first hit.

A direct free kick from Albertini 28 meters outside the penalty area shot beautifully into Notts County's goal. The goal ignited City Ground and, at the same time, demolished the intangible wall between the two teams.

While spirit could influence a moment or two, it could not influence the entire match; on the soccer field, it was still concrete ability that spoke the loudest. Although Notts County was unwilling to lose, they knew that the difference in their abilities with the current Forest Team was too great.

A point behind Forest, Notts County continued struggling to retaliate with the intention of equalizing the score.

But five minutes later, the merciless Forest team scored another goal. Ribéry finally scored his first goal for Forest. Based on his capabilities, this goal came indeed a little too late. However, in exchange, he ranked first within Forest Team for his offensive assists.

In facing Notts County's players who were evidently weaker than he was, Ribéry put up a good show of a tremendous struggle in the wing, dribbling past numerous Notts County players with the ball, and finally took his shot at the opponent's goal from a corner of the goal area.

The difference between 2:0 and 1:0 was not merely a single goal. What followed was the complete collapse of Notts County.

Throughout the whole of the second half, Tang En stood at the sidelines. His action made Forest's players think he was supervising them; they did not dare to slack off.

At the end of the match after 90 minutes, the electronic scoreboard stopped at a score of 6:0. What was an intensely ferocious derby game transformed into a one-sided butchering thanks to Tang En's work "behind-the-scenes."

Looking at Notts County's fans giving him the finger from the spectators' stand, Tang En knew that the differences between the two teams would continue to intensify in his period of management of Forest Team. While there might not be an opportunity for them to meet again on the field, the score of 6:0 was enough to sear it into their minds for a lifetime…

He shrugged and smiled as he turned to walk towards the location of the press conference.

Being hated by his enemies felt good.

※※※

"…We played a brilliant game. I am very proud of my players' performance. They didn't take their opponents lightly simply because their abilities were less than ours; they displayed great sportsmanship with their performance. I believe that the fans of Notts county will agree with me on this. They will not regret being defeated by an opponent that did their best…"

"Dog-s**t! Who likes being defeated by you guys?!" A Notts County fan spat in fury and threw the Nottingham Evening Post onto the ground.

"We sure would rather you serve up your Youth Team to lose to us!"

Looking at Tony Twain's happy, beaming face on the newspaper, he stomped on it. As if it was not enough, he spat on it again, right onto Tony's face.

Chapter 276: Poaching Part 1

After eliminating Notts County in the English FA Cup and winning his first derby since starting to coach the Forest team, Twain was in a good mood. And there was more to add to his mood. Sports Interactive was going to hold a press conference in London to formally announce its collaboration with the Nottingham Forest Football Club, as well as their appointment of Manager Tony Twain as a spokesperson for one of their company products, the "Football Manager" series, or FM.

After the press conference, without a break, Twain rushed to shoot his first personal advertising photo. It could not delay the team's normal training, so it had to be completed within a day.

Shania had returned to Newcastle before the FA Cup since her Christmas holiday was over. Otherwise, Twain would have really wanted to bring her to attend the press conference.

First, the guests from Nottingham were taken to the company's headquarters in Islington, North London, where they visited the developer of the small-scale but world-renowned football video game. Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were just going through the motions. They followed their host and nodded, or expressed surprise and interest at the appropriate times. No matter how much they knew about the game series, it could not be more than Tony Twain did, who was there with them.

It was very gratifying for an FM gamer to be able to go inside the company that made the game, and see for himself how they developed the game. That was how Twain was. He showed a greater interest than Evan and Allan did, and did not seem to be faking.

As the group was heading towards the press conference, Twain and the others were introduced to the company's capabilities and were assured of the quality of the database that they wanted.

In the history of English football, this was the first time that a commercial collaboration between a professional football club and a football game developer was launched with such great fanfare; as a result, it attracted a lot of media attention. Moreover, the news about Twain serving as the spokesperson for the FM series was sent out in advance. With a game being endorsed by a Premier League manager, how could such a unique occasion not receive the British paparazzi's attention?

The press conference was packed.

After the routine statement, both sides announced a strategic partnership and signed a collaboration contract in the presence of the reporters. Although the collaboration was the first of its kind, there was nothing surprising about it. After all, both sides' interests were aligned with each other. The next part was the highlight of the media's expectations.

SI announced that they would engage the Nottingham Forest Manager Tony Twain to be the spokesperson for their newest Football Manager series, and there would be an additional image of a man on the cover and game display of FM, and that person would be Tony Twain. Furthermore, in the game, Tony Twain would become an active character. Unlike the other coaches, who were just amalgamations of data, he would have a higher degree of freedom and do a lot of things that were consistent with the true character of Tony Twain. For example, after the gamer played against Twain and defeated him, he might say "we've been raped." When the gamer wanted to buy George Wood in the game, Twain would inform the gamer, "unless you can fork out the United Kingdom's GDP from last year, there's no need for discussion" Of course, those changes would only be realized in the next game, FM06.

"I think I'll play the game and choose to coach Nottingham Forest to see which football club I'll be squeezed into in the game. It would be wonderful to play against myself."

Twain's words amused everyone present.

When asked why Manager Tony Twain was chosen as the spokesperson, the head of SI said, "We followed the Forest team's movements in the last summer transfer market very closely, and discovered an amazing coincidence: Tony Twain's picks were identical with our game developers' picks. At that time, FM05 was not on sale yet on the market, but the new Wonderkids inside the game were always the ones Mr. Twain had his eye on. Maybe that's not the right way to put it, but I can't think of a more appropriate statement. FM is about emulating the real football environment in the digital world, and Mr. Twain is playing FM in the real football world."

Twain smiled as he listened to the compliment, and said in his heart, "That's right, I am playing FM!"

At the end of the press conference, the reporters did not disperse. Instead, they followed Twain to the advertising shoot. SI did not stop them because it was an opportunity for free publicity. Why would they give that up?

When Twain was posing according to the photographer's requirements on the set, although the door was closed and nothing could be seen, there was still a large crowd of reporters outside, waiting to interview Twain after he was done.

Truthfully, Twain enjoyed this lifestyle now. Most of his desires that he had had when he had first arrived had been realized: to become a real football manager, to become a public figure, for his every word and action to be followed with interest, to be liked by some and hated by others… He remained calm throughout because he knew how everything came about now.

To solidify that life, he had to lead the team to win continuously and bring home championship trophies. He had seen too many examples of people who were glorious one day and forgotten the next; he did not want to be such a loser.

He still had a lot of victories which he had not achieved yet, and he still had not won a lot of championship trophies. He also had a lot of powerful opponents that he still had not played against, and his coaching career had just begun.

※※※

Today was the first day of Forest team's resumed training after the FA Cup. The sun made a rare appearance in the sky. Twain was in a good mood, having just finished his first advertisement in his life. On his way to the Wilford training base with Dunn, he bought a copy of the newspaper with his photograph on it. They looked at it as they strolled along, and when they reached their destination, he also read the newspaper report about Twain's trip to London yesterday.

After parting ways with Dunn on Wilford Lane, one of them went northward, and the other walked southward.

The weather was nice, and his mood was good. Twain did not go directly to the training ground, but circled around to see Eastwood first.

"Hey, Chief! Good morning!" Eastwood beckoned to greet Twain, while holding a newspaper in his hand with Twain's picture on it.

Even though Eastwood had become the star player of everyone's focus, he still lived in a caravan in the training base and did not feel that it was at odds with his star footballer status. He did not care about how other people talked about or viewed him. Twain was very glad to have such clear-headed players in his team.

Chapter 277: The Red Forest Chapter 50 Poaching Part 2

"Good morning, Freddy." Twain noticed the newspaper in Eastwood's hand and laughed. "I thought you never read the newspaper."

"I do skim through, I just rarely read the sports section. But today, because of this..." Freddy Eastwood pointed to Twain's photograph in the newspaper and smiled, "I didn't recognize you at first. Chief, you look different from usual with makeup on."

Twain looked down at the newspaper in his hand. He did look different and more handsome from his reflection in the mirror. No wonder those stars had outstanding images. It was all due to the credit of the makeup artist, lighting technician, and photographer.

"You must have been mistaken, Freddy, I've always looked like this." Twain chuckled as he pointed to the newspaper. "Where's Sabina?" He realized that Eastwood was along in the caravan.

"She sent the kids to school."

"Sending the children to school while she's pregnant..." When he thought of the young mother who was pregnant and yet could not sit still all day, Twain smiled and shook his head. Was it because she had excess energy? Or was it because she was stubborn? "So, is your second child a son or a daughter?"

"A girl!" The Gypsy said immediately. "We always wanted a daughter, and we already thought of her name."

"What's her name?"

"Chardonnay."

When Twain heard the name, he felt a little awkward. "It's a strange name… What is that?"

"It's a type of green-skinned grape and the most popular wine variety, it's precocious!" Eastwood explained earnestly.

"Oh..." The Romani Gypsy sometimes had a different mindset than ordinary people. After understanding this, Twain no longer wondered about Eastwood's strange words and actions. However, giving his daughter such an odd name was still an eye-opener.

He looked down at his watch; it was almost time.

"Let's go, Freddy."

The Romani Gypsy nodded, got up to put the newspaper back inside and turned to leave with Twain to go to the training ground.

The training base was gradually becoming livelier. The players and coaches, who were here for the training, continuously appeared on the training ground. George Wood was still the first to arrive, and the wire fence outside the field was surrounded by a lot of fans who had come to watch the team in training and seek autographs from the players they liked. Wood, currently the most popular, was the focus of their attention.

The weather was good today, and the number of people outside the training ground had naturally increased.

Twain walked behind them and could clearly hear the voices of the fans talking excitedly about Wood.

"He's so handsome!"

"So cool!"

"Look at his eyes!"

They were all female voices. Most of George Wood's fans were women. Truthfully, George Wood did have the makings of an idol. He might not be considered handsome, but he was manly and strong-jawed with sharp and angular lines on his face. Furthermore, his position on the field and style of play easily gave a feeling of aloofness. But he did not realize that himself, and never deliberately tried to work that angle.

Suddenly a male voice emerged from the sea of female voices, which naturally attracted Twain's attention.

"What a gorgeous man!"

Twain shivered slightly when he passed by the man. He stopped in his tracks and looked to see who had said it.

The man had his back towards Twain. His clothes were not flamboyant but were appropriate to the occasion and without creases. His blonde hair was smoothed down at the back and combed meticulously. His shoes gleamed like a mirror.

Such a person would not be a fan of a player like George Wood.

Twain stood behind the man, trying to make sense of him. The more he looked, the more he felt that the figure looked familiar.

"Such appeal is many times stronger than those sissy types. Why didn't I discover you earlier? Oh, George Wood."

Hearing this person muttering to himself, Twain suddenly remembered.

"You still haven't given up."

Twain abruptly spoke up behind the other man, startling him. His shoulders visibly shook, and then he turned around to look at Tony Twain, who was standing behind him. He said with a frown, "Didn't anyone tell you that it's impolite to eavesdrop and interrupt someone without permission, Mr. Twain?"

As expected, it was the same gentleman who had blocked Wood's path on the street to give him a business card that day.

Not knowing why, whenever Twain encountered this man, Twain would suddenly feel dark, as though the sky had become gloomy.

"In that case, has anyone ever told you that it's rude to always think about poaching someone else's men, sir?"

The two men opposed each other measure for measure, neither willing to give in.

"Would you like me to remind you again? George Wood is Nottingham Forest's core player. He will do nothing but play football. Don't even plan on grooming your entertainment star."

This man also knew that some things were hard to change. Right now, George Wood was in hot demand. He had no reason to persuade this kid to give up this seemingly promising career to try his luck in the entertainment industry.

But he just could not stand the man's overbearing attitude and the tone of his voice, because he himself was the kind of person who liked to be above others.

"Nottingham Forest welcomes everyone who supports the team, but if you want to take Wood away from Wilford I'm afraid I can't let you."

After saying this, Twain turned and walked away. Staying behind, the gentleman pursed his lips tightly and glared at Twain's back.

"We'll meet again, Mr. Twain... I promise you."

※※※

On January 15, Nottingham Forest defeated Fulham, which had come to challenge them at their home ground by 1:0. With the 23rd round over, Nottingham Forest ranked sixth with a total of thirty-seven points, the same score as Liverpool, but with a slightly lower number of goals. Having played more than half of the league tournament, Tang En was very satisfied with the result. At the beginning of the league tournament, many of the two or three-tiered teams had been able to advance to higher than sixth place, but now Nottingham Forest was the only one that had remained at the top.

Tang En was not surprised that Everton was ranked fourth because he knew Everton's ability and Moyes' standards. This was a reasonable and fair result. But he also knew that the second half of the season was crucial for Moyes and himself. The Forest team was under great pressure to maintain their sixth-place position. Similarly, Moyes would also try hard to keep within the top four.

Tang En always subconsciously treated Moyes' Everton as his direct competitor in his mind because Everton and the Forest team were the closest in terms of ability.

Chelsea was high up in the ranking now. They had won eighteen games out of the twenty-three rounds with four draws and one defeat. The team was ranked first with fifty-eight points, ten points ahead of the second-ranked Arsenal!

Continuing with this momentum, Chelsea were almost certain to win the league title this season, the way Tang En remembered it; and the only game they had lost was the one against the Forest team.

Chapter 278: Agent Part 1

George Wood's value of "two trillion" was only a way to indicate that Wood was not for sale. While Wood himself may never be able to reach such a status in his lifetime, it clarified his current position in the team from another angle. Chelsea's reported offer of ten million for the rookie player caused some to see an opportunity for profit.

Before George Wood became famous, other than the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) kindly asking him if he needed them to represent him for a variety of his contractual discussions, no other professional agent had approached him. With the world soccer scene constantly producing innumerable new professional footballers, there would not be enough agents to go around if every player was approached.

There was only a total of 170 professional football agents in England. In Europe, this was already the highest number of agents. Even so, not every professional player had an agent; that included George Wood. When Wood first signed on with Forest, there were no negotiations involved. He had also known nothing about the standard procedure. The club gave him a contract that he read through. He felt satisfied with it, and so he signed it.

It was that simple. Making use of Wood's ignorance, Forest team successfully got him to sign a contract that seemed extraordinarily worthwhile in hindsight.

It was not that Tang En had never considered finding an agent to take care of George Wood, help him manage his finances, and earn more money; but getting an agent was a double-edged sword. There were both pros and cons.

If the rules had permitted managers to also be players' agents, Tang En believed that 99 percent of the world's managers would fight tooth and nail to become exactly that for their players. This would give the managers a firm hold over them; something that every manager wished for. In this manner, they would not be bothered by the problems that came with signing contracts, renewing contracts, or raising salaries.

Unfortunately, that was not allowed.

Tang En hoped George Wood would be able to find an outstanding agent; one who did not simply excel at his work but was of an even greater character. Someone who would not quarrel with Tang En every two or three days to make presumptuous demands or make threats of Wood's transferral in demanding for a higher salary.

But such an agent was as rare as a world heritage.

Several footballers who became famous when they were young all but wasted their talents between frequent transfers and running counter to their clubs. And that was simply because they could not find a good agent. Such players were not in the minority; an example was the former forward for the France National Team, Nicolas Anelka, who was once hailed as a "child prodigy."

Tang En did not wish for George Wood to get involved with such agents. Unfortunately, in Tang En's position as Forest's manager, he had no right to help his players choose their agent. That would incur unnecessary trouble and jealous speculations. Whenever it involved a conflict of interests, the manager needed to stay away from it.

He knew that more and more people had approached Wood in hopes of becoming his agent. Just like flies which had spotted a butter cake, they were clamoring around Wood, buzzing.

Perhaps he should give Wood some suggestions… It was not against the rules for the manager to give some suggestions, right?

※※※

After training ended with the players having showered and changed in the locker room, everyone got ready to return home. The leaving players saw Tang En standing outside the locker room and thought it a little strange, but still greeted and said their goodbyes to him. Tang En responded to them but made no move to stop and speak to anyone; clearly, it was not them he was waiting for.

George Wood was the last person to emerge from the locker room; he had been the last to enter. After he exited, Tang En called out to him, "George, have you met with any trouble recently?"

Wood shook his head, thinking it was odd for Tang En to ask such a question.

"Uh, I mean, have there recently been lots of people calling themselves agents looking for you?"

This time, Wood nodded. "Yes. But not a lot."

Tang En did not know if Wood's and his idea of "many" were the same, but that was not the issue at hand. He gently nodded and continued. "What do you think about it? What do you think of those agents?"

"I don't know. They told me many things, but I have no interest in them."

"What are you interested in?"

"Playing soccer."

Tang En laughed. It seemed like this lad had become fond of the game. Even so, Tang En needed to correct Wood's archaic view of the world.

"No, no. That won't do," he said. "It's not enough for a professional player to just play soccer. You still need to do many other things. I don't mind if you become a big star, if you choose to represent any number of international brands, or if you can earn even more money in a year. That is all what you deserve."

"Isn't the duty of a professional footballer to play football?" Wood asked.

"Of course; their job is to play football, but that's only one part of it. You're a star now, George. You can't just play soccer… let's put it this way, when do you think you can play soccer until?"

Wood thought about it and shook his head. "I don't know."

"Okay. In general, it's normal for a player to play until they are 34 before retiring. But I think you can kick till you're 40." Tang En laughed. If Matth?us could do it, surely George Wood was not that far off?

"If you only think about playing soccer before your retirement at 40 and care about nothing else, the money you could earn would be limited. And what about your retirement after that? What will you be living on? Your mother has no source of income, and at that point, you'll have to provide for your wife and children… Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Wood understood. Tony was telling him that once he retired, he would not have any source of income. Just depending on his savings from playing soccer these years, he not only had to provide for his mother, but he was also likely to have his own family by that time… In that case, how could he guarantee the comfort of his family?

"So, you should still consider getting a trustworthy manager and employing him to help you manage your finances and earn more money. That way, you won't have to worry about all those problems even after you retire." Tang En said, revealing his aim for their talk.

Wood nodded upon hearing his words. "I'll think about it."

Tang En clapped his hands in satisfaction. "Go on home, don't let your mum wait for too long."

As he watched Wood walk away, Tang En breathed a sigh of relief. What was now left was to see the kind of agent Wood would find in the end… hopefully, the situation would not be too terrible.

※※※

The condominium that Wood and his mother, Sophia, currently resided in was located just North of the Wilford Training Grounds. Wood only needed 20 minutes to return home from the training area, but he would rarely walk. He usually ran like a warm-up before a match, jogging throughout.

When he arrived at the front door of his house today, he found someone standing there. The door was opened, and his mother stood outside discussing something with the man. She waved to Wood in a hurry when he appeared. The man also turned to look over.

It was someone dressed meticulously. He seemed familiar. The man hastily greeted Wood when he saw him. "Hello, Wood."

Immediately after hearing his voice, Wood recalled the man in question. This was the enthusiastic agent for artists that he had met when he accompanied his mother out to shop. Was he looking for Wood to join the entertainment circle again?

"I'm not interested in the entertainment industry."

Before the man even said a thing, he shook his head in rejection.

Unexpectedly, the man did not seem disappointed to hear the refusal from Wood. Instead, he smiled in response and said, "I think you're mistaken. First, allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Billy Woox, a professional football agent. I have just received certification from The English Football Association Committee. I'm not here today to ask you to join the entertainment circle. Rather, I hope to become your football agent and your legal representative in managing your contracts and business matters."

Wood was stumped for a moment upon hearing him speak. He'd had a change of identity?

After his self-introduction, Billy Woox turned to smile at Sophia. "Madam, could we discuss more in the house? As you know, it's winter now and the weather outside is truly…"

Sophia did not immediately answer but looked to her son. All the other agents had contacted him via phone. This one had come knocking on the door personally; perhaps he should speak to him. He nodded.

"Please enter, Mr. Woox." Sophia opened the door to let them both in.

When Billy Woox, the gentleman-like man, stepped into the house, he covertly but thoroughly examined its décor. While being extremely simple, it was not crude. Other than the daily necessities, there were few decorations or luxury goods. Before coming, he had specially analyzed Wood's income at Forest team. 2,500 pounds per week and that was before taxes. That salary could not be considered high at all…

Even though Forest Team took responsibility for the treatment of Wood's mother, and they had no need to spend his salary on surgeries, the female owner of this house was clearly used to their days in poverty and was very thrifty.

After understanding the situation, Woox knew in his heart what he needed to say.

Chapter 279: Agent Part 2

Wood sat in the living room with the visitor, Billy Woox, while Sophia was in the kitchen making tea.

Billy presented him with a new name card, with the title on it now changed to professional football agent. Wood looked up at him questioningly and received a smile from the man.

"I got tired of the entertainment industry," he explained.

Wood was not interested in understanding his backstory. He put aside the name card and looked at Billy in silence. He did not know how to start; he had never done anything like this.

Billy Woox saw through Wood's unease. As an agent, his duty was to consider all the factors for his client. Even the most minute detail could not be neglected; if he could achieve that, he would be able to garner the favor of the other party. It was the same whether he was facing a professional footballer or a big-shot celebrity.

Since Wood doesn't know what to say, I'll do it.

Billy Woox maintained a smile on his face and revealed his aim in approaching Wood. "It's this… I understand you have not found an agent, yes?"

Wood nodded. In comparison to agents who only called once or twice, this man, whom he had previously met, was clearly a more familiar face.

"Then, I hope to become your agent… Ah, thank you, Madam."

Woox took the cup of warm tea from Sophia and set it on the table. He continued. "I'll be entirely in charge of the contract negotiation between you and the club, and help you contact various sponsoring brands. I'll package you in the most comprehensive manner and work out a financial management plan that would benefit you the most. So much so that even if you stopped playing soccer, you would be able to continue earning money. But of course, I am not trying to encourage you to leave the professional soccer arena. However, no matter how well you play soccer, you won't be able to become famous and earn more if there is no one to package you. Look at David Beckham; he's a symbol of success.

Beckham's success was well-known throughout England. Wood knew it well. Even after Beckham went to Spain, his influence within the UK did not consequently lessen.

"And Beckham's success is inseparable from his team of agents." Woox took a sip of his black tea. "George, you have every single quality essential to becoming a star idol. Now, you only require an outstanding agent." Before he realized, he had started referring to Wood as George instead. This made the two seem even closer.

After making tea for the visitor, Sophia sat down beside Wood and quietly listened to their talk. She did not voice any opinions or ask any questions. In her eyes, Wood was already a grown-up and should make his own decisions on such matters.

After thinking for a long time, Wood finally asked a crucial question. "But you don't have any experience in being a football manager."

Billy Woox knew this question would come. It was true that he had just switched careers to become a football agent. He looked like a rookie just entering the industry, but he only looked like it.

"Of course, I won't deny that I have never been a football agent. However, I am extremely experienced in being an agent. I think that the work as an agent for an artist and a footballer have their commonalities. If I become your agent, I would not need to be involved with soccer matters for a period… In other words, George, I'm asking if you have thought about leaving Forest?"

The question came quite abruptly, stunning Wood momentarily and causing his brow to tighten. Even Sophia was surprised enough to show a change in her expression. Billy Woox took all this in and realized that Wood had misunderstood his question. He hurriedly explained. "I'm not trying to instigate you to leave. I'm only asking if you have considered it."

Wood shook his head. He had never thought about leaving Nottingham Forest. To him, it was everything to play soccer on Forest. Why would he go to other clubs?

"Look, it's clear that you don't have any thoughts about leaving the club. Basically, that means that I would have very little involvement with soccer. Our initial work involves expanding your influence and reputation beyond the field, and this is what my expertise is in." Woox said confidently.

"I have a very wide network outside the field. And what's most important to an agent is the network they establish. I know many other agents have approached you. I don't know what kind of promises they made to you, but I have the confidence and ability to nurture you into a professional footballer who can earn the most money; the most successful football star. Beyond that, I will also help you plan and put the money you are earning now into investments. After you retire in the future, you will have no worries about not having income."

His words resonated with Wood. This was exactly what Tang En was talking about. Once he retired, the money he earned from playing soccer would eventually finish. He had no other skills; surely, he wouldn't go back to being a porter? Wouldn't it be better if he could use the money he earned now to make more money in the future?

Wood asked, "If… If I sign a contract with you, what do I have to do?"

On hearing what Wood said, Billy Woox knew he had him. Now that there wasn't an annoying Tony Twain around to be a hindrance, wasn't it up to him how he wanted to deal with this inexperienced boy?

"You don't need to do anything," Woox said with a grin. "Just like now, you only have to play well. Your brilliant performance on the field will be the basis of my work to help you attain more benefits. Of course, when you're not playing in a match, you may need to attend some sponsor events with me, like filming commercials…"

"Just like Boss?" Wood was referring to Tony Twain, who had just gone to London to film a commercial.

Billy Woox was initially stumped, and only later remembered Tony. He nodded. "That's right, just like that. You might feel a little busier, but in comparison with the profits you will get, becoming busier is but a trifle matter."

As if a devil from the abyss, Woox used his honey-coated words to seduce the boy before him to accept his conditions.

"You will earn so much money, you won't have to rent and stay in such a simple apartment. You can buy the most luxurious homes in the best locations with pools, tennis courts, and garages. If you're willing, you can even build your own football field. At that point, you could employ many domestic helpers, and your mother," Woox turned to smile at Sophia, "can relax and enjoy all this without ever having to work hard again."

Wood looked at Sophia, who was smiling at him.

Why did he initially, as a silly lad who knew nothing, run off to find Tony? Why did he agree to accept training at the Youth Team and accept only a meager allowance? What was he training so hard for? What was the reason he had stepped onto the path of professional football?

Billy Woox removed a stack of files from his bag and placed it on the table. "This is a report I made for you. It's an analysis of your advantages and market audience…"

This was Billy's final ace up his sleeve: a report detailing a bespoke plan to package Wood… but Wood appeared to have no interest in it. He interrupted Billy's stream of words and said, "You can be my agent."

That simple statement decided their future.

Chapter 280: A New Contract, A New Player Part 1

While Tony Twain was still worrying about whether Wood would be able to find an agent whom he could be satisfied with, a man who called himself "George Wood's agent" appeared in front of him.

"Ah, Sir. Are you here to observe our training?" Twain again encountered the middle-aged man who was in close pursuit of George Wood at the gate of the training base. He looked down at his watch. "There's still quite a while before training starts, you've come too early. Or are you still getting ideas about George Wood?"

The tall man standing in front of him was indeed Billy Woox. He smilingly (yes, Twain was not mistaken, this man, who used to look at him with a frown, was smiling at him right now) said to Twain, "I'm sorry, neither is the case., Mr. Twain. You've guessed wrong."

"Oh?" Twain looked at the man. He could not understand why he was being so amiable with him.

"I came to discuss the new contract with you, Mr. Twain."

Twain cocked his ear to the side, thinking that he had heard wrong. "What did you say?"

"My apologies, I wasn't clear. I'll say it again: I would like to talk to you about the new contract between George Wood and Nottingham Forest, which is quite different from the one you signed a year ago. A new contract," Woox said solemnly, his smile gone.

"It's still three months away from April 1..." Twain thought that the man must be pulling his leg, and he did not want to waste his time at the gate with a delusional basket case. He turned to walk away.

He heard the sound of flapping paper behind him. "Mr. Twain, I think you might be interested to see this."

Twain admitted he was curious, so he stopped and turned around to see a piece of paper in the other man's hand, gently flapping in the morning breeze. He could not see it clearly. "What is it?"

"A copy of the contract signed between George Wood and myself. From now on, I am his only agent, in charge of all of his matters, including negotiations with the football club to improve the terms of his original contract." Woox self-importantly held the piece of paper, as though he were a Scotland Yard policeman showing his credentials.

Twain snatched the paper away in a flash and looked at it carefully. It was indeed an agent contract, and the signature below was undeniably Wood's handwriting and, of course, his fingerprint.

The contract clearly defined the role of this middle-aged man. Billy Woox and George Wood's relationship was one of a professional football agent and a professional football player. It also stipulated the power that Woox had as Wood's agent. It almost covered all aspects, from the inside to the outside of the field. He could not only act in charge of his finances; Woox could even be said to be Wood's advisor!

Twain shifted his gaze from the paper to Woox's face. His smile had returned, but he no longer concealed his smugness.

Tang En lowered his head and swore under his breath. How did it come to this?

I told George Wood to look for a trustworthy agent. I didn't ask him to find this man! Isn't this... Isn't this going against me?

Wait a minute!

He suddenly thought of something.

"Well... Mr. Woox, I remember you were a former showbiz agent, right?"

Woox certainly knew why Twain was asking this. In order to let him completely acquiesce to this, Woox took out his license from his bag. "The English Football Association recently issued me a professional football agent license. I'm a football agent now."

Twain took it and scrutinized it, but he could not find any fault with it. It was indeed issued by the FA, but it noted that Billy Woox had not been accredited by FIFA, which would have meant that he was qualified to act as the player's intermediary for the international transfers.

"You're just in England..."

"Of course. I've just become a football agent. I haven't had time to submit my information to FIFA. But that doesn't mean I can't be Wood's agent." Woox shrugged.

"But you don't have any prior experience as a sports agent."

Woox grinned. He could tell from that remark that Twain was stubbornly resisting. "As for how I became a football agent, that's not the point here. The important point is, I'm Wood's agent now, and there's nothing wrong with my credentials."

Twain wordlessly looked at the certificate that was stamped with the official seal of the Football Association.

A hand reached out in front of his eyes.

"If you don't mind, you'll give it back to me now, thank you."

Twain brusquely smacked the certificate into Woox's hands. He did not know what deception Woox had used to gain George and Sophia's trust. However, the facts, laid in front of him, could not be changed now.

When he saw that Twain was speechless, Woox revealed a triumphant smile. "Do you need me to repeat that, Mr. Twain? I came to see you today on behalf of George Wood and-"

Twain waved his hand to interrupt. "I get it, but not today. We'll make an appointment for another time."

Today really was not a good day. Twain's mind was a mess. It was impossible to discuss the contract with this shrewd man. First, he needed to calm himself down. Then, he needed to find Wood to understand the ins and outs of the matter. After that, he could deliberate on how to discuss Wood's new contract with Woox.

"Of course, I respect your decision. I have your number. In that case, we'll talk about it another day. I'll be in touch, Mr. Twain."

Twain grunted and turned to walk towards Field 1 on the training ground. He could not wait to see George Wood now to ask him, What the f**k is going on here?

※※※

Soon, Twain saw George Wood on the training ground. He looked the same as usual, and Twain called him to his side.

"George, have you found a new agent already?"

Wood nodded.

"Well... Can you tell me how you went about it?" Twain wanted to know how that man had become Wood's agent.

Therefore, Wood faithfully recounted what had happened the previous night.

When Twain heard his explanation, he suddenly felt astonished of "how is it so coincidental that whatever I said, he said the same."

Out of consideration for Wood, he had said those things to let Wood seriously look for an agent. He had not expected that that kind of "Mr. Five Percent" would also consider the perspective of the players, or say it so beautifully from the point of view that Wood cared about the most. But he still wanted to ask, "I think those things can be done by any agent. Why did you choose him?"

"He came to my house, and I thought he put it so well, so I signed it." Wood's deliberation was very simple on the matter. Since everyone is the same, then why should I call an agent whom I haven't even met? Meanwhile, this person in front of my eyes can be my agent. It might as well be him.

Wood did not know about the matter between Woox and Twain. Obviously, he did not know that Twain was dismayed that he had chosen Woox.

"What's the matter?"

Twain shook his head. "No, nothing. You can go for your training."

Wood turned and ran back to the training ground. Alone, Twain lowered his head and rubbed his temples. It looked like he would have to deal with that unpleasant guy for a long time to come.

※※※

In the days leading up to the 24th round of the league, Twain did not receive a call from Billy Woox. It seemed like the man knew that Twain was in a bad mood now.

Twain really was in a bad mood. Ever since he had found out that Woox was Wood's agent, questions that he had never worried about before had come to the surface. Would that agent be able to manipulate George Wood like a puppet? Would he alienate Twain?

Most important of all, would George Wood leave him someday?

The player that he had personally cultivated, breaking away from him and leaving to transfer to other teams... This was not just alarmist talk. Before his marriage, Beckham and Ferguson were like father and son. And after? The two men almost turned against each other.

Twain did not want things to go that way with Wood. However, now that there was such an antagonistic agent, the future was uncertain.

He was a territorial person. He liked the feeling of being in control. But the truth was that not everything in the world could go as he wished.

On January 22, Nottingham Forest challenged Norwich City in an away match. The league's sixth ranking team played against the second lowest ranked team. Unsurprisingly, the Forest team won 2:0 in a clean and decisive game.

The arrival of Edwin van der Sar had greatly reduced the Forest team's number of concessions. He was far better than Darren Ward in terms of both experience and skill. Twain was very glad that he had made a quick move while Manchester United was still wavering; otherwise, he would have missed a goalkeeper of such high caliber. He did not know what would have happened to the Forest team in the second half of the season.

Unquestionably, they still played well in this game and George Wood was as steady as ever. His performance was no different from that of any previous game. Nonetheless, it was not the same in Twain's view.

He knew that after this game, he was going to receive a call from Billy Woox.

As expected, when Twain returned to Nottingham the next day, his cell phone rang.

Chapter 281 - A New Contract, A New Player Part 2

“Mr. Twain, I think we can talk about George Wood’s new contract now.”

Twain was instantly in a bad mood upon hearing the cocky voice.

“But there are still seven years before the contract expires.”

“Mr. Twain, you must know how unfair this current contract is to George Wood!”

Twain frowned. Of course, he knew that the remuneration in the contract was too low for Wood. However, why was the person who proposed to modify the contract not Wood himself, or any other agent but Billy Woox? He always felt annoyed when Woox used Wood to threaten him.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Twain said, “State your terms, sir.”

“Increase his salary to 40,000 pounds and shorten the contract to four years.”

“That’s impossible!” Twain immediately refused without any consideration. It was a high asking price. None of the young players received a 40,000-weekly salary. 40,000 was the Forest team’s highest wage. No matter how well George Wood performed, he could not receive such treatment. Otherwise, the remuneration balance of the Forest team would be completely disrupted. “Do you think you’re talking to Mourinho, about his player’s new contract right now?” Twain ridiculed Woox for not thinking through his insane demand.

“Certainly not, Mr. Twain. Otherwise, I would have asked for a 100,000-pound weekly salary.” Woox did not take it lying down either.

Twain gritted his teeth in anger. “If that’s the case, then I don’t think we have anything to talk about. Either way, the contract doesn’t expire for seven years. Until then, Wood is still a Forest player. Want to talk about a new contract? Come and see me in six years!” Twain hung up the phone.

He completely realized the shrewdness of this agent. But he believed that Billy Woox, taken aback on the other end of the phone, also knew how difficult it would be to deal with him. And he would have to face him many times in the future.

※※※

Twain became busier near the end of January. He not only had to deal with Wood’s agent, but he also had to search for targets in the transfer market. The Forest team lacked a holding midfielder or a versatile, well-rounded player. After all, Albertini was more of a defensive midfielder and Ribéry preferred to play on the flank. The Forest team’s current main tactic was defensive counterattacking, which came in useful when other teams regarded them as a “weak team.” Ribéry and Ashley Young’s speed were their guarantees for counterattacks, and Albertini’s long pass was the basis.

However, as the Forest team’s achievements grew, few teams regarded them as a weak team anymore. They had to face their opponents’ intensive defense many times. At that point, their defensive counterattack became positional offense. Not having a holding midfielder really was a pain in the neck.

In that case, Twain directed his focus towards Spain. He had his eye on the Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta, whom he had already wanted to hire last summer. And evidently, he would have to compete against Everton.

Although he had a good relationship with Moyes, Twain had thrown everything extraneous aside when it came to competition on the field. It was precisely because Everton was the Forest team’s rival for Mikel Arteta that Twain must win.

He knew that Everton would eventually finish fourth in the league this season and qualify to compete in the UEFA Champions League because of Mikel Arteta. If he could take Mikel Arteta away from Everton, it would not only boost Forest’s strength but also weaken the strength of their direct competitor and lay the groundwork for their UEFA Champions League dream next season.

Now, the UEFA Champions League was only a dream for Twain. But if he could secure Arteta, then this dream would likely become a reality.

Moyes proposed the idea of a loan to Real Sociedad because he needed half a season to test Arteta’s ability to adapt to the English Premier League. With regards to this, Twain seized a decisive opportunity and made a direct offer to Real Sociedad: three million euros.

Arteta had played for the Rangers Football Club in the Scottish Premier League last season. He was a major contributor to the team’s coronation as league champion. Therefore, after the season was over, Real Sociedad spent four million euros to bring him from Scotland back to his motherland. Unexpectedly, Mikel Arteta, who had roved about outside of Spain, could not completely adapt to Spanish-style football. He only played fifteen games and scored one goal for Real Sociedad in half a season. On top of that, he was in low spirits due to constant injuries. Real Sociedad now regretted spending four million euros to purchase such a useless player.

There had been a lot of clubs interested in Mikel Arteta last summer. However, after watching his performance over the past half-season, only two interested clubs were left: Everton and Nottingham Forest.

Nonetheless, Everton’s condition was a loan for half a season. Then, they would decide whether to buy after the end of the season. Nottingham Forest, however, directly quoted three million euros to initiate Arteta.

From the club’s point of view, the Forest team’s offer was more attractive. Was it still necessary to choose between getting cash in hand and the unknown transfer fee after half a season?

Real Sociedad rejected Everton’s loan request and agreed to the Forest team’s offer. The next step was for the Forest team and Mikel Arteta to discuss the individual contract between them.

In order to progress to that point, it was almost as if Arteta had joined the Forest team. At this stage, there was little attachment between Mikel Arteta and Everton. He would go to whichever team offered better conditions.

Moyes had hoped that the Everton board of directors would give him more money to get involved in this deal. However, the Everton board, which had just sold Thomas Gravesen, had been slow to respond. They began to wonder whether it was worthwhile to spend so much money on a demoralized player. Recalling original history, Tang En remembered that Everton had only managed to loan Mikel Arteta at the last moment before the end of the winter transfer window on January 31.

Compared with the dawdling Everton, Twain had more power. He could promptly decide everything. Based on his style, he would not delay to tomorrow a matter that could be settled today.

After Real Sociedad replied that the Forest team could negotiate the individual contract with Mikel Arteta, Twain called Arteta’s agent without delay. After a round of bargaining, both sides made concessions and Mikel Arteta agreed to come to the United Kingdom to sign the contract. The Forest team immediately booked tickets from Spain for the next morning for Mikel Arteta and his agent.

The two men arrived at the London Heathrow Airport, and Nottingham Forest’s limousine was already parked at the exit.

Everything had been discussed and settled through telephone and fax the previous day. What both sides had to do now was very simple: the physical examination and signing of the contract.

All of this was done in secrecy. When Moyes finally persuaded the board to come up with a large sum of money for him, he was ready to join Nottingham Forest in the scramble for Mikel Arteta, only to find out that his target had already been signed by Tony Twain.

On January 23, the Forest team had offered to purchase Arteta from Real Sociedad. On the afternoon of January 25, the Forest Team’s official website announced their second player to join in the winter transfer period. His name was Mikel Arteta, a Spanish midfielder. He would be wearing the number 14 jersey to compete in the English Premier League.

Everton knew that the Forest team had made an offer to Real Sociedad. But they were unaware of the private negotiations between the Forest team and Arteta, which had made them completely incapable of dealing with it. Moyes had suffered a big loss in Twain’s “lightning strike.” It was unfortunate for him that they had both had their eye on the same player.

At the press conference, Twain and Mikel Arteta stood together. They held a red Forest jersey with Arteta’s name and number. Facing the reporters, Twain smiled and said, “I know people will have questions about this transfer, but I can guarantee that Mikel will succeed here.”

In Liverpool, Moyes expressed his displeasure with the Everton club chairman. “If we had used the time and energy we wasted on board meetings on Spain, he could have been standing next to us in a blue jersey now! Mr. Chairman, you don’t realize what an excellent player the board has let go!”

Indeed, they had relinquished an excellent player and let go of even more. But Moyes did not know that yet.

Chapter 282 - The Star of Tomorrow Part 1

The successful signing of Mikel Arteta not only boosted the strength of Forest team in the midfield; it also had an unintentional side effect: Billy Woox’s anxiety.

After turning down his demands for an increase in George Wood’s salary, Forest rapidly brought in another midfielder who played the same position. It did not take much to make the connection.

Early morning on the day after, Tang En’s phone rang. A look at the incoming number told him that it was Billy Woox calling. Tang En chuckled to himself. He knew exactly why this person was in such a hurry to deal with the matter of increasing Wood’s salary. Clearly, it was because the two had just signed the agent contract and Woox hoped to produce some results to prove his capability.

Of course, there was also little need to question his immense enthusiasm in changing the treatment clauses for a player under his charge. Tang En doubted he was sincerely doing it for Wood’s good. In truth, the income of the agent was completely dependent on the players under him. FIFA-approved agents were only allowed to draw up to five percent of the total income generated by the footballer (this included income from salary, brand endorsement charges, fees from portrait rights, etc.), as well as 10 percent of the player’s transfer fee.

Wood’s current weekly salary was only 2,800 pounds. Five percent of that was 140 pounds. Furthermore, other than George Wood’s weekly salary as a consistent stream of income, he had no other sources. In other words, as Wood’s agent, Billy Woox could only receive up to 140 pounds of remuneration per week. That was indeed a little too shabby…

Tang En waited for four rings before picking up the call. He grumbled, sounding purposefully half-asleep. “I hope you know what time it is, Mr. Woox…”

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Tony. I didn’t think that you?wouldn’t be up by now.” His tone of voice was as caustic as ever without a shred of remorse.

Tang En had wanted to tease his opponent but was unexpectedly made fun of. With a cough, his voice returned to normal. “What’s the matter, Mr. Woox?”

“Ah, of course. I hope we can begin a re-negotiation of George Wood’s terms of contract.”

Tang En interrupted him. “Is it still a weekly salary of 40 thousand?”

If it was still 40 thousand, there was no need for a discussion. He would put down the phone and have breakfast, continuing to coolly deal with this.

Naturally, Tang En understood that Wood’s salary at the moment was considered to be very little. However, he needed the other man to make an offer that was acceptable, and not one that was overly exorbitant. In other words, what he needed was a graceful retreat. Unfortunately, the Woox’s personality made him think too highly of himself. His excessive demand of “40 thousand per week” at a go discomforted Tang En enormously.

“If the club feels that it’s not a reasonable number, we can continue discussing.” Since Woox made a clear indication of taking a step back, Tang En followed his cue.

“Very well, Mr. Woox. Please come down to my office at 3:30 this afternoon. Let’s speak face-to-face.”

※※※

Currently, Forest was undergoing double the load of their usual training. They were preparing for the impending fourth round of the English FA Cup. They would be welcoming a strong foe on their home grounds, a team they had won not long ago, but still could not let their guard down against – Manchester United.

The afternoon training ended very early; it ended exactly at the time of Tang En’s appointment with Woox, at three-thirty.

Tang En stood within the halls of Building One, hidden in the shadows of the wall. He saw Billy Woox and George Wood discussing something as they walked in from the Training Grounds. The two of them had only just signed the agent contract, but they looked as if they had known each other for a long time.

Tang En pursed his lips and turned to walk back to his office.

Compared to the manager, the agent obviously had a closer, more intimate relationship with Wood. In the past, Tang En could still frequently chat with Wood. Now that there was Woox, the interactions between the two of them seemed to have reduced… Without Woox, if Wood was unhappy with his current income, he would have walked up directly to Tang En, telling him “I want a raise.”

But now, Wood said nothing about what he thought of his own pay. Instead, he handed everything over to Woox to manage. Even if this little bit of pay was no big deal, what about the future? In the future, they still needed to discuss many issues. Would their discussions all be done through this overly calculative agent?

Tang En suddenly felt that his prior encouragements to Wood to find an agent were silly. Now that Wood had found one, Tang En only felt upset.

As he stared out the window at the desolate training grounds in a daze, a knock sounded from behind him.

“Enter.” Tang En turned and calmly watched Billy Woox enter the room. Compared with his own untamed appearance, the man before him seemed to be ever so meticulous. Tang En had never seen Woox with a single strand of hair out of place, or a wrinkle in his shirt or pants.

What a man of detail.

Tang En made such an appraisal of Woox in his heart.

“Please sit, Mr. Woox.” Tang En indicated to the sofa in front of his desk.

A knock came again at the door just as Woox took his seat. Miss Barbara Lucy walked in holding a steaming cup of black tea and gently placed it before him. Woox thanked her.

After doing so, Miss Barbara left the room. Tang En and Woox then began their discussion.

“Mr. Woox, let’s begin the discussion immediately. I don’t like to make small talk.”

Woox nodded in reply. “Me too, Mr. Tony.”

“Let me first say this. The previous demand you made for a weekly salary of 40 thousand pounds is completely impossible. The highest-paid player on Nottingham Forest receives that amount. It’s impossible for George Wood to attain the same pay as they do.”

“Why not? As far as I know, Mr. Twain, George is not any less effective than Edwin van der Sar or Viduka.”

Tang En looked at Woox. “Let me ask you a question, Mr. Woox. How much do you know about football?”

“Not much,” Woox answered honestly.

“Do you watch at least a match every weekend?”

Billy Woox shook his head.

“In other words, in the world of football, I have a greater right to speak.” Tang En laughed. “To give a young defender who has not even played for two years a weekly salary of 40 thousand pounds; what do you think the other players in the team would think? You can look up your own information. Look and see for yourself if you can find any such case in the football scene.”

Billy Woox fell silent as if seriously considering what Tang En was saying.

Tang En knew that a new contract was well overdue. Wood’s current salary was one of the lowest on the team, yet his contributions were near the top. There would inevitably be problems if the input and output were unbalanced. He could not possibly expect someone to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. It was no use to have even better relations with Wood and his mother. Giving Wood a higher remuneration was also showing him due respect.

Sometimes, everyone needed to take a step back. No matter how much he hated this man, he was Wood’s agent. In the future, they would still need to cooperate in many ways; it would not be beneficial for them to have a soured relationship. To a very large degree, agents could influence the thoughts of their players. Wouldn’t he be driving Wood away if he went against his agent?

Tang En coughed and said, “I know that George’s current salary is low. I also planned on signing a new contract with him.” He took out a drafted contract from his drawer and passed it to Billy.

Woox perused it. While doing so, he made no sound or change in his expression, making it impossible for Tang En to guess at his thoughts about it.

He finally looked up at Tang En and said, “A weekly salary of 10 thousand?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I just think if the Forest Club truly values George as a premium youth player to groom, there should be a sufficient show of sincerity.”

“Are you saying that that’s too low?” Tang En took back the contract and pointed to the terms, saying, “In the whole of England, there are no more than five clubs who would be willing to give a youth, who has represented the First Team for only a season, a weekly salary of 10 thousand pounds. Forest is not the richest club around. I hope you understand that, Mr. Woox.”

“Of course, I understand. But I don’t think that has anything to do with my demands. I think the Forest team should give us more confidence in your offer to retain talents. To be honest, I think this number is patronizing. According to what I know, the ones who have this pay on Forest are not in the minority. This is slightly below the average pay. And George Wood’s function is most definitely not beneath average.”

Tang En gritted his teeth. This man was so difficult to deal with!

“Furthermore, I think an eight-year contract is unreasonable. A contract of such length will restrict the freedom of the player. If I bring this up to FIFA, the Forest team will be the one deemed unreasonable.”

Clearly, Woox had come prepared this time. Tang En acknowledged that their original contract of eight years with Wood made use of loopholes. Their aim was to make Wood stay with Forest for a longer period at a smaller price. When Wood had had no manager, no one had raised such queries. Wood could continue playing happily while Tang En enjoyed the victories. But after the addition of such a brilliant manager next to Wood, Tang En’s troubles started increasing.

“Of course, I’m here to negotiate with you, Mr. Tony. There are some things we don’t have to let others know. I can accept a five-year-contract, but certainly not one for eight years.”

Tang En leaned forward on his desk and did not reply, but only looked at Woox, who spoke plainly and directly. Tang En waited for him to finish what he had to say.

Chapter 283 - The Star of Tomorrow Part 2

“My terms are a five-year-contract, weekly salary of 20 thousand pounds with a 15 percent raise every year, and an additional bonus of 100 thousand for signing on.” Woox said, finally revealing his expectations.

“A contract of five years, weekly salary of 10 thousand with a 10 percent raise per year, and… a 50 thousand bonus sign-on fee.” Tang En said in response.

“Five-year-contract, weekly salary of 20 thousand with a 15 percent raise per year, and a sign-on fee of a hundred thousand.” Woox said, refusing to budge.

Tang En very much wanted to tell the man before him that they were in discussions about player treatment, not haggling for pork at the market. But, he figured the old Brit would not know what he meant even if he said it.

An extended stalemate would not benefit him in any way. These days, he had been busy with the purchase of Arteta as well as dealing with Wood’s agent; it was troubling. As a result, he had not been able to prepare much for the FA Cup match with Manchester United. The earlier it ended, the earlier he would be free from this…

“I’ll give in just a step more, Mr. Woox. If we still can’t reach a consensus, I will not further discuss the terms of George’s new contract before the end of the season.”

Tang En took out a fountain pen and wrote the new terms on a piece of memo. He passed it to Woox.

Receiving it, Woox looked at the numbers written:

5, 15000, 10%, 100000.

He contemplated it for a moment, weighing it in his mind, and finally nodded his head with a smile. “I accept, Mr. Tony.”

Tang En’s face also broke into a similar smile, seemingly delighted to have reached an agreement. In truth, the darn agent was close to becoming blue with bruises from Tang En’s cursing in his heart.

He felt that Woox’s choice of timing in his approach was entirely within his calculations. His approach immediately after Forest team had signed on Arteta made Tang En think that he was eager to seal the deal. Instead, he wasted Tang En’s time just before a crucial match trying to wrangle over the terms. At first, Tang En did not think of this. It only came to mind after he saw the smile on Billy Woox’s face.

This damn bastard!

Woox stood and reached out with his hand. “I am happy that our cooperation has gotten off to a good start. I hope we can keep continuing to cooperate like this in the future.”

“Of course, so do I.” Tang En smiled forcefully and put out his hand as well. The tips of their fingers had barely touched before they both retrieved their hands. That could be considered a handshake as well…

“But, I still whole-heartedly suggest for Mr. Woox to learn more about this industry. Soccer and the entertainment circle are not the same things.”

Woox said nothing in agreement or denial. He simply maintained a smile and ignored Tang En’s words.

The two then agreed for Billy Woox to bring Wood to the club next afternoon for the signing of the new contract. And that was the end of this matter.

※※※

After sending Woox off, Tang En sat on his chair and swivelled back to look at the training grounds. Everyone had already left, including the workers who maintained the grass.

Even his battles against Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, and Benítez on the sidelines had not made him this tired. Perhaps it was because he had not, in these two years, gotten much contact with such astute agents.

George Wood had mentioned to Tang En that Billy Woox quoted David Beckham as a player model of success to him. As a result, Tang En was suddenly gripped with worry that the history of Beckham and Ferguson would be repeated by George and himself.

When the money George earns get to point where Sophia no longer had to worry for their livelihood, could he still maintain the attitude he had now? Under the guidance of Woox, when he gets into contact with a new dazzling world of temptations filled with flamboyantly-dressed men and women, and a life of extravagance, would it shaken his resolve to keep going down the path he was on now?

Staying in luxurious houses, driving expensive cars, interacting with celebrities and other star artistes, getting into all sorts of messy rumours with beautiful women, filming commercials, movies, releasing albums… What was the difference between that and an entertainment star?

Tang En stood up abruptly from his seat.

Beckham was a professional footballer who was also an entertainment star! He finally knew the reason Billy Woox wanted to become Wood’s agent; since Wood was already a professional footballer, why not groom him into a footballer who also had the demeanour of an entertainment star? It’s little wonder why he chose Beckham as an example.

Tang En swore and sat down again.

Alright then. He would wait and observe exactly the kind of big star George Wood would become…

※※※

The next day, after George Wood ended his training, he arrived at Tang En’s office with Billy. Both Wood’s manager, Tony Twain, and the club’s chairman Evan Doughty were already waiting for him. Both parties exchanged greetings and got seated. After a final look through the contract, Wood signed his name on the new contract prepared by the club.

A weekly salary of 15 thousand. George Wood had leapt into the mid-to-upper tier salary range within Forest team.

“George, you’re a big football star now! Tang En joked.

Although Billy Woox by the side made a show of approval, he followed-up without giving any face, “Hmms. A big football star with a weekly pay of 15 thousand.”

Tang En glanced at him but said nothing. In his heart, he knew that this figure would not satisfy Woox. In the future, when Wood’s performance becomes better and better, and when he gets selected for the national team, Billy Woox would continually pop up to look for Tang En and request for a revision of their contract; to increase his pay.

Only… if at that point, Forest’s results were excellent, and the operational situation of the club was good, Tang En would be willing to give Wood even a weekly salary of a hundred thousand.

After sending off Wood and Billy, Evan and Tang En who were standing at the doors exchanged glances.

Tang En said with a smile, “In the next five years, we won’t have to worry about defence in the midfield.”

Evan was seemingly uninterested in Tang En’s words, and said with a frown, “Tony. I don’t usually get involved with matters of the team, but I have a suggestion.”

“Yeah?”

“I have quietly gotten word out to Nottingham’s media to highly publicise the contract renewal this time.”

Tang En was taken aback by what Evan Doughty said. Earlier, he had noticed that Evan did not smile much and thought his boss was unhappy because of the terms they had agreed to for such a young lad. He did not expect it to be highly publicised!

“George Wood is a player nurtured by Forest team, us. As a young man, he has a lot of potential to be able to sit steadily in a main position for the First Team. Even I can tell that. So, I hope you will consider nurturing him to become the future captain of the team…”

“This…” To be honest, Tang En had not considered such a matter. At best, he thought Wood had the potential to become the future core strength of the midfield in the team; he had never once thought of putting the captain’s armband on Wood’s left arm.

“From the perspective of the image of the club and our fans’ feelings, I think we have a need to nurture a captain of our own. I don’t care what position he plays, or what style of football he kicks, but he must be loyal; he must be someone we groomed on our own, a player of ours.

A cursory look at the First Team revealed that the only person who fulfilled the criteria seemed to be George Wood alone.

While Wes Morgan was a player groomed by Forest’s Youth Training and was even the captain of the Youth Team, his abilities were limited and was unable to hold a main position in the English Premier League matches. The team certainly could not allow a substitute to be the captain. Eastwood was greatly loved by the fans, but strictly speaking, could not be said to be Nottinghamian. Only George Wood was both groomed by Forest’s Youth Team and took on a main position within the First Team. Additionally, he had become one of the hottest younger players within England. It was only within reason to make him the successor to the captain’s position.

After considering these, Tang En nodded. “Okay, I will consider this matter. But I think it would need some time. George is still lacking too much to be suitable as a captain right now.”

Evan agreed and replied, “That’s right. That is why I think you are right to let him learn more from Demi. He should be able to learn a lot from the Italian. We have all seen his improvement; in fact, it is progressing at an incredible speed.”

The backs of George Wood and his agent had already disappeared into the alleys outside the gates. Evan Doughty was still looking in that direction.

“A chick who is forever protected under the wings of his mother would never be able to grow into an eagle who can soar and take flight in the skies. Push him forward, Tony.”

“Yeah.”

Chapter 284 - A Win-Win at the FA Cup Part 1

Evan Doughty had not deceived Twain. The next day, all of Nottingham’s pro-Forest media gave lots of coverage of the contract renewal. The one with the best relationship with the Forest team, The Nottingham Evening Post, even used the corny caption “The renewal that defines the future” to determine Wood’s contract renewal with the Forest team.

The media had not even been this positive when the Forest team had introduced Mikel Arteta a few days ago. It looked like Evan had really put in a lot of effort.

Encouraged by his agent, Billy Woox, George Wood gave an exclusive media interview for the first time. Twain glanced at the news story and knew that Wood’s answer was scripted by Woox. The meaning of the words was close enough; his expression just seemed more fluent.

Twain believed that, since Evan Doughty handled the publicity of Wood’s renewal in such a high-profile manner, he must be prepared to continue the spending. In the next half of the season, there would definitely be other players in the Forest team who would propose amendments to their contract requirements.

George Wood had striven for a better deal for himself based on his outstanding performance. But did that mean that the other players did not perform well? Leighton Baines, Ashley Young, Freddy Eastwood, Peter Crouch… Those players were probably going to need better contracts to inspire them to contribute to the team.

Twain thought about it. Instead of waiting for the other agents to approach and wasting time with each of them, he should just be realistic and issue new contracts across the board to save time and boost morale.

Naturally, now was not the time. At this time, the Forest team was about to go up against Manchester United on their home ground. This was the focal battle in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

※※※

Because Manchester United had conceded on their home ground to Nottingham Forest, the Forest fans were filled with wonderful expectations of victory for this game.

Ferguson did not mention to the media the past painful loss of three points in the league tournament’s final moments. Whenever the media asked, he would evade and gloss over the subject. But before the game, he did, consciously or unconsciously, recall a wonderful moment when Manchester United had been here before.

“My team and I have a very good memory here from six years ago. Even now, I’m still thrilled when I think about it. I’m sure Ole Gunnar Solskj?r will agree with me.”

The moment that Ferguson referred to was February 6, 1999. That season was Manchester United’s most splendid one: The Treble. On February 6, Manchester United had played in an away game in the Nottingham City Ground stadium to challenge the already declining Forest team. Before the UEFA Champions League final of the season, this match was the super-sub’s, Solskj?r’s, most brilliant game. It was the perfect interpretation of his moniker, “the super-sub”.

In that game, Manchester United created a bloodbath on the field. They wiped out Nottingham Forest by 8:1. Solskj?r, the substitute at the last moment, scored four goals alone in twenty minutes and created a Premier League record.

For Ferguson and Solskj?r, it was indeed a wonderful moment to remember and cherish for a long time. But Ferguson should not have mentioned it in front of the Nottingham Forest fans.

That match and score was simply a nightmare for the Forest fans. It was the last thing they wanted to mention, and they especially did not want the Manchester United team to bring it up.

The Nottingham media had used that 2:2 tied game from more than a month ago to mock Ferguson. They had not expected that they would “court a rebuff” instead. Ferguson’s casual mention of how he had enjoyed that game six years ago was like a slap in the face. To have him say it with such delight was a major humiliation.

This was Ferguson’s most commonly used psychological tactic: enrage the other party and let his opponents lose their heads in their tactical arrangement. It did not matter now whether the Forest team and Tony Twain were provoked; the Nottingham Forest fans and media were aggravated.

Tang En was neutral about the feud between the two teams. He had still been in China in 1999. At that time, he had not known much about the English Premier League and did not care about the performance of a declining team like Nottingham Forest. He had only heard of the 1:8 game from other people down the road. Ferguson’s provocation had little effect on him.

But his players did not feel that way. Although none of them had experienced that fiasco, none of them wanted to be belittled as a player.

What did Ferguson mean when he said that? The Forest players felt that Ferguson’s unspoken words were, “If I could conquer Nottingham Forest with 8:1 six years ago, then I can defeat them today, too!”

They felt deeply insulted.

Even though Albertini and Hierro remained calm, their calm aura had only a small effect on a few people among a large group of enthusiasts.

Twain seriously considered the issue. Ferguson’s speech had angered his players before the match. So should he deliberately avoid this outrageous mood during the game, or should he go ahead and take this opportunity to motivate his players and inspire their potential?

Anger had two possible consequences. One was that the angry side was torn to shreds by emotion, and the other was that they would use their anger to tear the provoker to pieces.

Twain had to choose between the two outcomes. He could not choose the middle way. The middle ground was useless on the football field.

He took a while to learn how each player on the team felt. He discovered that the overwhelming majority of them were infuriated by Ferguson’s remarks and thought that they had been disrespected. Those who thought that the Forest team should treat the game as an ordinary FA Cup match were pitifully few. Consequently, Twain decided to add fuel to the fire.

In the last few minutes before going onto the field, he managed to convince the players that Ferguson was a detestable old Scottish man and make them feel genuine animosity towards Manchester United. He even convinced himself. He was very satisfied with his incitement.

As a result, when the players were actually on the field, Twain sat in the technical area and found that he seemed to have gone overboard.

Amidst the harsh jeers of the home fans, even the Forest team was affected. The anger inside of them was intensified by the jeering, far beyond Twain’s anticipated level.

There was a fine line between irrational fury and inspired anger. Now, the Forest team was showing clear signs of losing its rationality.

The livid Forest team took the lead. They got off to quite a good start. Just seven minutes after the start of the game, Manchester United’s goal was breached by Mark Viduka of Nottingham Forest. It was cracked open. With Ribéry’s cross, Mark Viduka had the upper hand in the confrontation with Ferdinand. He crushed his opponent and shot Ribéry’s pass into the goal guarded by Roy Carroll.

The American goalkeeper, Tim Howard, had completely lost Ferguson’s trust. Carroll was the one standing guard for Manchester United during this game, but it seemed that his performance could not satisfy Ferguson either.

Before the game, the reason for Ferguson’s mention of the 8:1 was clear. On one hand, he had angered his opponents. On the other, he had motivated his players. If the Manchester United team lost in the end, it would be Ferguson’s own humiliation. He would have to find a way to win.

Chapter 285 - A Win-Win at the FA Cup Part 2

Updated by .Com

The first conceded goal caused Ferguson to get up from his seat and stand on the sidelines. Although he did not say anything, the Manchester United players felt a lot of pressure. The name “Hairdryer” was not given for nothing. Anyone who had not been a player in Manchester United could never understand the terrible feeling of a telling off by Ferguson.

After taking the lead, Nottingham Forest seemed to have forgotten that their opponent was Manchester United, the “Red Devils” Manchester United, led by the Premier League’s best manager for ten years, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Twelve minutes after they scored, Manchester United equalized the score.

The goal was scored by England’s Golden Boy, Wayne Rooney. This time, he made full use of his personal ability to receive Roy Keane’s passing outside the penalty area. He used his outstanding explosive force to shake off Piqué. Then, he broke through into the penalty area and shot a volley. The football pierced the bottom corner of the goal, close to the turf. Faced with such a tricky shot, Edwin van der Sar was powerless and could only watch as the football flew past his fingertips, strike the back column, and bounce into the goal.

After the goal, Rooney was so excited that he pulled the front of his jersey and rallied 27,000 Forest fans at the City Ground stadium.

The last time the two teams had competed, Rooney had not scored a goal. He had not performed much throughout the entire game. After the game, he was criticized and thought that the key to his depressed state was Manchester United team’s failure to beat the Forest team. He finally vented his grievance with a beautiful goal in this game.

Tang En saw a bizarre scene on the field: his memory of Manchester United’s future main goalkeeper’s goal breached by Manchester United’s main striker in this game. He remembered that the time from which he had transmigrated was still two and a half years away. The future that he could control was getting lesser and lesser. He had to hurry. Tang En was so preoccupied with the question that he forgot to be upset at the loss of a goal.

※※※

Roy Keane was the captain of Manchester United. But he used to be the star hope of the Forest team, just like George Wood was now. Twain favored George Wood, just like Clough had favored Roy Keane. Thirteen years had passed. Clough had gone to heaven to vie for the top spot with God, and Roy Keane wore Manchester United’s jersey to return to Nottingham. Even though they were both red jerseys, the emblems on the chests were different.

The moment he entered the field before the start of the game, Keane was welcomed by a tsunami of cheers in the stadium. However, when the game started, his performance left little impression of how much he was loved there.

The lineup sent by Twain for this game was no different from that of the past. Arteta, who had just joined the team, did not even make it to the big list. He was a spectator in the stands.

Roy Keane’s scope of activity was even wider in the midfield than it had been the last time the two teams had played against each other. When defending against the Forest players, he was ferocious and never avoided any physical confrontation.

What excited the commentator was that the last time the two teams had played against each other, Keane and Wood had not had much direct contact. However, this time, thirty minutes had passed in the first half and Keane and Wood had already clashed face-to-face twice. Both times were Wood defending against Keane. And there was one more incident whereby Keane actively rushed up to intercept the ball from Wood.

The result was Keane triumphing over Wood by 3:0. Facing the mature and seasoned Keane, Wood was as tender as a newborn.

In this game, Ferguson obviously strengthened the watch over Wood, which was clear from Keane’s interception. The Forest team had managed to equalize the score at the last moment in the previous game. In addition to Wood’s unexpected tenacity, there had also been a lack of attention and familiarity on Manchester United’s part towards the Forest team. But Ferguson had made meticulous preparations for this game. He spent a full five days studying Nottingham Forest based on the previous match, just like when he had first studied Wenger and, later on, Mourinho.

Nottingham Forest was already an enemy that needed Manchester United and Ferguson’s full energy to deal with.

In this game, Manchester United was completely in control of the midfield. After the equalizer, the Forest team’s morale fell and he was forced to play defense under pressure.

Twain sat motionless in the technical area. He knew that he had no good way to deal with the situation. He had incited too much anger in his team, and it had lost its cool head. Plus, Ferguson had studied his team very carefully, and every tactic was targeted.

He considered the February schedule in his mind and decided to give up on the game. The team itself was competing on two fronts: The Premier League and the UEFA Europa League. There was no need to add another FA Cup now.

The goal of the Forest team this season was not to win a domestic cup title. From a long-term perspective, it was essential to play well in the Premier League.

The Forest team made adjustments in the second half.?Gunnarsson was brought on to replace Albertini. Crouch substituted Viduka, and lastly, Aaron Lennon replaced Ashley Young.

On the surface, it looked like they had given up the game by replacing three players in one go. Even though they actually were, the produced effect was that the players who had been brought on played as if their lives depended on it, which created a lot of trouble for Manchester United.

The score on the electronic scoreboard was fixed at 1:1 for about twenty minutes. It was a deadlock for both sides. It seemed like Twain would reap an unexpected benefit. But then, at the 21st minute, Manchester United scored again.

This time, Ryan Giggs had scored the goal. It was a direct free kick. Edwin van der Sar could not save it in time, and the football slammed into the net.

Since Beckham had left, Manchester United’s first choice for free kicks had become Ryan Giggs. This was not the first time he had scored a direct free kick.

Seeing Manchester United players celebrating their goal in their own stadium, Twain and David Kerslake shot a glance at each other without saying anything and shrugged.

※※※

Soon after, the Forest team launched a counterattack. But under the tight defense of Manchester United, Carroll was not tested too much. Roy Keane, who had returned to the City Ground stadium, was surprisingly good. He alone could guard the front line of the penalty area during his defense. Since Twain had changed to purely defensive play in the midfield, the Forest team also did not have a lot of approaches in their offense. They could only shoot long passes and let their two flanks take turns to attack. The lack of delicate front field coordination and imaginative passing made it extremely difficult to defeat Manchester United in this game.

The 90-minute game was soon over. Nottingham Forest lost 1:2 to Manchester United at their home ground. They were eliminated from the FA Cup.

At the post-match press conference, Twain did not look annoyed or frustrated. Instead, he looked relieved.

“Now, we can put more effort into the Premier League and the UEFA Europa League. Congratulations to Manchester United.”

Ferguson praised his opponent with a smile and said that the Forest team had been hard to beat. After all, Ferguson had seen how strong Chelsea had been in this season, and now the gap between Manchester United and Chelsea in the league standings was eleven points. It was almost impossible to reverse it. It was also nice to get an FA Cup title rather than ending up empty handed at the end of the season. His good mood was justified.

At the end of the press conference, Ferguson invited Twain to have a drink, and Twain did not refuse.

This was supposed to be an invitation from the home manager. And now, with Ferguson taking the initiative, it suggested that his good mood at the press conference was genuine.

Looking at the two beaming managers, the reporters really did not know what to say about the game’s significance to both teams. Was this really a win-win situation?

Chapter 286: Burst Part 1

The loss of the FA Cup affected neither Tang En's mood nor the overall atmosphere on the team. Everyone had a clear idea of what they should be working towards in the current season.

It was already February. Although Forest was eliminated from the FA Cup, they did not falter because of that but kept moving forward. Manchester United had helped Forest team in removing heavy baggage, allowing them to advance into battle with little burden.

On 1st February 2005, Nottingham Forest played as a home team against Crystal Palace. Tang En must have been extraordinarily lucky to meet with such an opponent right after the FA Cup loss. Forest could make use of a weak team like this to re-adjust their mentality and conditions. Amidst the shouting and cheering of nearly 30 thousand fans, Nottingham Forest took down Crystal Palace easily with a score of 2:0.

In the 25th round of the League, Forest accumulated a total of 40 points. They remained below Liverpool at rank six.

To climb even higher up the ranks, Forest's first enemy would be the team sitting directly on top of them: Liverpool. Currently, both teams had accumulated the same points. If Liverpool made a mistake, Forest would have an opportunity to take their place.

And it was nigh impossible for Liverpool not to make any mistakes. This season, they had planned to mostly focus on the UEFA Champions League. The team's energy was limited; if they were planning to succeed in the Champions League, they had no option but to give the Premier League up. At that point, Forest's chance would appear.

What Tang En needed to do now was to win as many matches as possible and hibernate quietly behind Liverpool. Once Liverpool ran out of stamina and they begin to fall behind, Forest would then overtake them with a sudden burst of power.

Even if Liverpool made no mistakes, it was fine. Nottingham Forest still had another match to go head-on against them. This time, they would be on their home ground and Tang En would not allow the team to fail again.

Of course, Forest themselves had to first make sure they do not slip in the ranks before the decisive match between them and Liverpool. After the hard work of the team for half a season, Tang En did not wish to see them gradually fall behind the main group in the later stage and end up getting left behind.

In their training, Tang En emphasized more on the team's defensive practices. As quickly as possible, he hoped Edwin van der Sar and Forest's defensive line could develop enough synchrony. One of the reasons for their loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup could be attributed to the co-op issues between Edwin van der Sar and the defensive line.

Additionally, Tang En was concerned about how Arteta was meshing with the team after joining Forest, and the position he would be playing.

When Forest team bought Arteta, there were people worried that Tony would have difficulties arranging Forest's midfield. With proof of the immense success of Wood and Albertini's pairing in the first half of the season, the manager had no reason to break up the duo because of a new player.

However, from Tang En's perspective that was not an issue.

The pace of the English Premier League was the fastest within the four major top-level League competitions within Europe (excluding France Ligue 1, which used to be part of the five major leagues). The switch between offense and defense, the speed of offense, the speed of passing, the speed of running and tackling... to put it simply, everything happened rapidly. Such pacing for the matches placed a high physical demand on the players. Albertini was already a 33-year-old veteran. His body would not be able to withstand being a starter in every match through the entire season, for the entire duration of 90 minutes. He needed a substitute player and Arteta was the most suitable candidate.

The current Arteta was different from the one Tang En remembered. In his recollection, Arteta was a core player in Everton who had the power and ability to make things happen as he willed. However, the current one was a player who had not yet proven himself in Real Sociedad. So, he had no grounds to act like a big-shot. At this point, he was neither a part of Forest's core in the midfield nor one of their famous football stars. This could also be seen from his value of only three million Euros. A conversion to pounds would only make it about one and a half million; a pitifully low value.

Arteta's arrival in Nottingham was kept rather low-key. From the first day he entered the team, Tang En told the Spaniard very frankly that he was currently unable to play as a main player on Forest. However, he would be the primary substitute for Albertini; other than Albertini, he was the player with the greatest ability to organize and set-up attacks in the midfield. So long as he performed well, he would similarly have opportunities to leap from being a bench player to a main starting player. Naturally, there would be even more chances for him to be fielded if he did not mind playing both in the midfield and the wings.

Arteta accepted Tang En's suggestion and agreed to consider playing a greater variety of positions in the midfield; he was also keen to prove that his abilities were not as weak as when he was in Real Sociedad. To leave the manager with a good impression, he was even willing to become a utility player.

Up until this point, Tang En's choice in refusing to buy star footballers also stemmed from this consideration – for someone as young as himself, would he be able to manage famous players? If there were too many well-known football stars on the team and they did not listen to the manager, then the entire team would have no combat ability to speak of. Tang En would rather look for normal footballers than established, renowned star players. While the normal players were without fame, they still had abilities that could hardly be called weak. To put it nicely, "no one should be placed above the whole of the team". One could also say the same in a slightly more arrogant manner: "no one should be placed above Tony Twain."

In that aspect, there was a remarkable likeness to the deceased Clough.

In terms of becoming used to the English style of football, Arteta had no issues whatsoever. Even Albertini needed some time to get used to it when he first came to Forest, but Arteta had no such worries. This was due to his prior experience playing in Scotland. He had already gotten used to the UK's football. However, getting used to something is not the same as assimilation. At the same time as getting used to English football, Arteta also retained his exquisite footwork and an extraordinary imagination; he had all the positive attributes of a Spanish player. Such a player was the dream of every manager. He could bring something new to the team which would shape its uniqueness within the Premier League.

Tang En regarded Arteta highly and hoped to nurture him to be the midfield's playmaker in the future. At that time, George Wood would protect Arteta just as he protected Albertini and Rebrov.

As a result, Tang En would often arrange to keep Wood and Arteta in the same group during training; to gradually start developing their tacit understanding with each other.

※※※

The 26th round of the Premier League was held on February 5. Nottingham Forest continued their away journey, this time with Aston Villa as their opponents.

During the earlier period of the Premier League, Forest team had, in a home match, drawn against Aston Villa thanks to a mistaken own goal from them. That was the first point Forest received in the Premier League. From that point, Forest had a 10-match-streak of no defeats!

Even if it were against the same people, the Forest of now and then were already two different teams.

With half a season of training and experience, the Forest of today had already become more mature, stronger; enough for them to stay within the top six ranks. That was not something that could be achieved by mere luck.

Although they were the away team, Forest still defeated Villa.

In this tough away match, the player who performed outstandingly and brought their final victory to them was Freddy Eastwood.

For a duration, the Romani had not been appearing on the headlines of the sports section in the newspaper. Thanks to what the club had needed, most of them had recently been loudly publicising about his teammate and "enemy," George Wood, instead. One had to wonder what it was like for Eastwood to read all those articles. Fortunately, it did not affect his ability to perform. Perhaps because he was not considered the most brilliant football star within Forest team, other than his goal-scoring in matches, beyond the field he was low-profile to the point of vanishing. On occasion, he would return to London to visit his father, but even more of his time was spent in his huge caravan caring for his wife and their unborn child.

Until now, Eastwood had yet to find an agent. Although there were people who had tried to contact him in hopes of becoming his agent, they were all rejected. As a result, other than soccer, he did not have other commercial activities; his exposure in the news was also naturally largely reduced.

This time, however, he was found on the headlines. And it was not just Nottingham's local media; he was also the hottest subject on London's Fleet Street.

Within the grounds of Villa Park, there were several players who shone brightly. There was the forward, Angel, who scored the first goal for Aston Villa; Ulises de la Cruz – an old Ecuadorian veteran – who scored the second goal for the home team that the fans went crazy for; Netherland's national goalie, Edwin van der Sar, who remained calm despite having lost two balls; experienced veteran Hierro, who reconstructed the defensive line to prevent any further opportunity for the opponent; Viduka, who created chances for his teammates by diverting attention from the opponents' defences; Arteta, who made his debut appearance representing Forest in the English Premier League in substitution for Albertini... But there was only one who was truly incandescent. That was the low-profile Romani, Freddy Eastwood.

Just 20 minutes into the beginning of the match, the home team used fast breaks to rapidly score twice. Fans within Villa Park must have assumed that the Forest team had already been beaten silly and that they could begin celebrating their victory 70 minutes before the end of the match. At that moment, Eastwood stepped up to tell Villa's fans their foolishness for such a premature celebration.

His powerful long shot that originated from outside the penalty area rebounded up high on the leg of a Villa player, and from a powerful volley, it transformed into a lob. It flew just over the head of Villa's goalkeeper, Thomas Sorensen, who had fallen to the ground thanks to the deceptive first shot. He looked up at the ball as it bounced over his head and fell into the open goal.

After Eastwood's goal, his performance only became livelier. With Viduka attracting attention away from him at the front, he gained greater freedom. Eastwood was not the sort of forward who would wait before the opponent's goalpost for a ball; he was a second striker, a player who preferred to move freely behind their teammates. Despite having boosted the defense of the front line before the penalty area, the presence of a forward whose positioning drifted about uncertainly remained troubling to the manager of Villa, David O'Leary.

At some points he appeared in the middle, hiding behind Viduka in wait for a scoring opportunity; yet during defensive counterattacks, he was all the way at the front dribbling in a surprise attack. When the focus of the defense shifted to the middle, he pulled outwards to the flanks to pass center.

Closing to the end of the first half, Eastwood caught hold of a fleeting chance within the penalty area, suddenly slipping through a crack between the two enormous midfielders. Making full use of Ashley Young's pass, he headed the ball into the goal. 2:2! Forest had equalized the score!

Chapter 287: Burst Part 2

Just as Forest launched their attack, Villa's manager, O'Leary, was about to drink some water. As he attended to the change in the situation on the field, the bottle of water that was lifted to the side of his mouth stayed unmoving. When the ball headed by Eastwood went into the goal, O'Leary's first reaction was to hurl the bottle angrily onto the floor. He no longer cared about the water, instead turning and swearing. Meanwhile, Tony Twain rushed to the sidelines with his arms raised, waving his fists in a show of prowess towards the filled stands for the away team.

The fans, earlier celebrating with such disregard, had all fallen into silence.

"... Freddy Eastwood has told the fans of Villa that even a lead of two points is no insurance!" the commentator Martin Taylor said, speaking aloud the words in Tang En's heart.

Swapping sides in the second half, both teams re-entered the battle having adjusted their deployment. David O'Leary especially must have made comprehensive defensive arrangements to deal with Eastwood during half-time. The Romani no longer had the same opportunities in the second half of the match.

At the same time, Forest's defensive line, led by veteran Hierro, was unshakable. It prevented Juan Pablo Angel, Villa's forward from Colombia, and famed Peruvian Nolberto Solano from having the chance to stir up trouble. While Hierro had aged and his turning speed was much too slow, his experience and ability to box-out opponents early continued to neutralize numerous attacks from Aston Villa.

He remained Tang En's most trusted center back. It was a pity that his physical condition did not allow him to play throughout the full season. Perhaps the delay of a year when bringing Hierro onto the team had sealed the fate between Tang En and the greatest center back in the history of Spain's National Team as well as Real Madrid; their time with each other was only a year long. The contract between Hierro and Forest was only for a year, and the Spaniard veteran had no intentions of renewing it. However, it was inevitable. A year ago, Forest was still struggling within the First Division. The Nottingham Forest of then could not have attracted the attention of a person such as Hierro.

The match entered a stalemate with the score stuck at 2:2. It did not change for a long time.

Tang En began adjusting; he swapped out Albertini, whose stamina was beginning to fall behind. The newcomer during the Winter Transfer, Mikel Arteta from Spain, finally got to represent Forest in a League match.

This was not a warm-up routine for the new player to get familiar with the atmosphere in matches. This was a decisive move which required him to help his teammates break out of the stalemate. Arteta knew the exact meaning behind Tang En's substitution; much hope was pinned on him. But wasn't that always the case for a professional footballer? He did not care about the pressure that came from expectations; he knew he would not let the manager down.

I am not a young boy who needs to prove myself. During my time in Scotland with Rangers, I have already done so. Now, I only need to do my part and contribute. That will be enough.

From Arteta's first contact with the ball on the field, a familiar sensation returned to his body. It was the feeling he had been searching for throughout half the season with Real Sociedad. He understood the style of football here; he was familiar with the match pace; he knew exactly what he needed to do each minute and second while on the field here. Perhaps, all those years back when he had drifted around, from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain and from France to Scotland, he had already become estranged from Spanish football. Instead, he had developed affection for English football with its more rapid pace.

As Arteta was substituting Albertini in the field, he naturally had to take over the responsibility of organizing the team's attacks. This meant more balls were passed to him.

After a brief period of warming up and familiarizing himself, Arteta began to pass forward, actively participating as well as setting up their attacks.

After giving out a series of good passes, Arteta's confidence returned rapidly. The offense of Forest started to pick up. Different from Albertini, Arteta's dribbling and passing were imbued with greater ingenuity. Frequently he would make incredible passes to the least expected places. He also utilized more short passes. With the ball under his feet, the attack patterns of Forest became much more varied and complex. They no longer had to stick to a single pattern of taking the ball outside to the end line; they could now attempt to enter from the center with their combinations.

With only 10 minutes left in the match, a single combination from Arteta and Ribéry successfully deceived the entire defensive line of Villa. Just before the penalty area, Arteta held onto the ball instead of immediately passing, as if waiting for someone. At this moment, Ribéry suddenly cut forward with breakneck speed in the left wing. His abrupt movement attracted the attention of Villa's right back, Ulises de la Cruz. He had no choice but to retreat and defend against Ribéry's breakthrough.

But Arteta did not pass the ball to Ribéry. Instead...

"Arteta! A direct pass! No, not to Ribéry. It's to... to Eastwood!"

Although Arteta was facing Ribéry's direction, he passed the ball to Eastwood who was diagonally behind him!

Due to the forward movements of Aston Villa's defenders, the Romani was originally in an offside position. However, Ribéry's sudden forward cut forced Ulises de la Cruz to retreat. As such, Eastwood became no longer offsides. Grabbing hold of this moment, Arteta passed the ball to Eastwood who had already slipped behind the two center backs.

With an opportunity like this, Eastwood, in excellent match condition, could not possibly waste it. He spun around and kicked!

"It's GOOOAL!! The third goal! This is Eastwood's first hat-trick of the season! Absolutely beautiful! Freddy Eastwood alone defeated Aston Villa; he is the best player of the match today, and no one deserves it more... the best!"

Tang En jumped from his seat. What excited him about this goal was not only that they had turned the tides, but also that he had witnessed an inspired moment of Arteta and Eastwood's burst of brilliance. In the face of such a rewarding match, who could be happy if he wasn't?

※※※

After the match ended, Eastwood became the focus of the media's reports. Like George Wood, the Romani's story also had a somewhat mythical feeling to it. And very soon, the media discovered the story between Eastwood and George Wood. This tremendously excited the gossips within the English tabloids.

Eastwood became the hot topic in Fleet Street, while Forest again appeared in numerous sports sectors in the media.

Tony Twain's team had accumulated 43 points. They held tightly onto Liverpool, who was just ahead of them. With the same number of points, it now came down to a question of which team would first buckle under the pressure and fall behind.

Forest was beginning to pick up speed, readying themselves to challenge the strong foe sitting right above them.

Chapter 288 - The UEFA Europa League Champion?

As Nottingham Forest continued to pose a strong challenge and remained on top of them, it looked like Liverpool would not be able to keep going.

On February 12, in the 27th round of the league tournament, the Forest team scored a victory against Southampton in an away game, and Liverpool lost to Birmingham City in an away game. Liverpool seemed distracted as the UEFA Europa League knockout phase was about to start.

The Forest team overtook Liverpool with a three-point advantage and was now ranked fifth with forty-six points!

This was a great achievement. What made Twain most happy was not that they had surpassed Liverpool, but their gap with Everton was only two points. One game could solve everything. Everton had lost 0:1 to Chelsea on their home ground at this round of the league.

In this way, the tournament’s top six rankings were Chelsea with 68 points, Manchester United with 59 points, Arsenal with 57 points, Everton with 48 points, Nottingham Forest with 46 points, and Liverpool with 43 points.

After this round of the league was over, the Forest team could start to prepare for the UEFA Europa League. In a way, it could also be considered the end of a phase. The Nottingham media sang praises of Twain and his team. Everyone agreed that young Manager Tony Twain was a major contributing factor in the team’s ability to get where they were. As a newly promoted team, the Forest team had managed to be in the top five halfway into the league tournament and ranked above Liverpool. This was something that most of the Forest fans could not have imagined before the season.

Gary Lineker praised the Forest team in Match of the Day. “...This young Forest team reminds us of David O’Leary’s Leeds United: young, energetic, and not afraid of anything. To tell you the truth, I really like Manager Twain’s team. They’ve brought a new wave to the Premier League. Remember what we said at the end of last season, Mark? I said this season’s Premier League would be exciting to watch. It turns out that I was right.”

This season’s Premier League was indeed different from the previous years. Mourinho’s strong involvement, the fatigue of traditionally strong teams like Liverpool and Manchester United, the rise of Everton, and the return of Nottingham Forest had caused upheavals in the Premier League this year. It was also particularly appealing because it was more suspenseful, unlike the last few seasons. Previously, everyone had known from the start of the season that the league title was just a toy that Manchester United and Arsenal competed for. And Chelsea? Maybe it could create some trouble but to no avail. It was even more unthinkable that Everton would be in the fourth place and have high hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Before the season, everyone had said that Nottingham Forest’s goal for the season was to avoid relegation. No one had mentioned that idea since.

However, Twain was well aware that the Forest team’s current results had a lot to do with good timing. If it were the first few seasons, or any other season when the new structure of the Premier League was being formed, it would have been difficult for the Forest team to get a foothold. This was Mourinho’s first season in Stamford Bridge. His arrival had a great impact on Arsenal and Manchester United. Arsenal had had a fantastic season. It was as if they had ascended the peak of the mountain and now it was their time to descend. And Manchester United’s fatigue seemed to have much to do with Ferguson’s age. After that FA Cup game, when Twain and Ferguson were having a drink together, Ferguson had vaguely alluded to his desire to leave Manchester United after the end of this season. He jokingly asked Twain if he wanted to come to Manchester United to coach, which Twain had rejected in the same joking tone.

If it had not been for the major shifts among the powerful teams in the Premier League this season, it would not have been possible for Twain to lead the Forest team to this point given his experience. Gary Lineker said that the Forest team had disturbed the inherent pattern of the Premier League and made this season’s Premier League exciting and suspenseful to watch. But Tang En, who actually knew history, was aware that it was not the emergence of the Forest team that had broken the Premier League’s order. That order would have been broken anyway. If it hadn’t been the Forest team, it would have been Chelsea. Twain’s appearance just added to the Premier League’s existing chaos, which made it easier for him to take advantage of and profit from the chaotic situation.

The Forest team, which had achieved fifth place in the league, was in high spirits and played extremely well in the next UEFA Europa League game.

In UEFA Europa League’s 16th round, Nottingham Forest’s opponent was the rather weak Austrian team, Grazer AK. In the first round, the Forest team played in an away match. The Forest team was stronger than their opponent. However, Grazer AK was playing on its home ground, which was a factor that could not be ignored. In the end, they battled to a draw at 2:2. Twain was very pleased with the result. With two goals scored in the away game, they would most likely be in the UEFA Europa League’s top 16.

Back on their home ground, the Forest team thrashed Grazer AK by 2:0 amidst the cheers of their fans, and successfully advanced to the top 16.

At this point, Twain had basically completed his European goal for the Forest team set before the season. The Forest team not only broke into the knockout stage but advanced to the top 16 as well. As a team that had been away from Europe for eight years, that was enough to announce their return.

The question Twain needed to consider now was, did they want to continue?

He decided to ask Dunn’s advice.

“...I think that right now, the team has the ability to go further in the UEFA Europa League, but I’m not sure if we should keep advancing...” Twain raised his question at the table during dinner.

After he listened quietly to Twain’s question, Dunn asked, “How far are you intending to go?”

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe to the quarterfinals, maybe to the semi-finals…”

“If it’s not for the finals, then what’s the difference between the top four and top 16?” Dunn’s remark left Twain speechless.

He’s right; why do I want to go further? What’s my goal after going further? Is the goal to go a step further a kind of victory too?

“If you’re not sure about winning the championship, I suggest you abandon the UEFA Europa League completely. If you-”

Twain interrupted Dunn’s analysis. “I’ve decided to give it a try. Regardless of the outcome, it’s always good to try.”

“And you’ll give up the Premier League?”

“No... I’m not really giving up. It’s just a temporary change of focus. It’s a... strategic adjustment.” Twain said that a little grudgingly. Had he not thought of giving up the Premier League?

The glory of the UEFA Europa League was too tempting. Twain had not even dared think about it half a season ago. But that did not mean he could not think about it now. If I can lead the team to win the UEFA Europa League, I’ll be a manager with a European championship under my belt...

At the thought of this, Twain could not help himself.

This was his dream. Compared to this, there was no difference between the top four or the top six in the Premier League. Even if he could not be in the top six to be eligible for the European qualification next season, he was willing to do so.

“So, it’s decided. The Forest team’s goal for this season is the UEFA Europa League.” Twain decided what the Forest team was going to put their efforts into for the next half of the season, even though he looked a little cavalier about it with the fork and knife in his hands.

Hearing Twain say that, Dunn smiled slightly as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, he did not say anything.

※※※

During the next day’s training session, Twain informed the coaching team that he had decided to give up on the Premier League for the time being and concentrate on the UEFA Europa League. He did not receive unanimous support. Kerslake was particularly worried. He had never had high expectations for the UEFA Europa League. For him, the domestic league was the most important.

Initially, the Forest team had had very good momentum in the Premier League. It had already overtaken Liverpool and was only two points away from Everton. As long as they continued their pressure on Everton, they could replace them and become fourth in the league. After that, as long as they maintained their ranking until the end of the season, they would be able to participate in the next season’s UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.

After training was over, Kerslake stopped Twain in his office and asked why he had become so interested in the UEFA Europa League overnight.

“Tony...” Twain heard him before he had entered. He looked up, saw Kerslake hurrying in, and smiled.

“I know what you wanted to ask. Have a seat, David.” Twain pointed to the chair.

Kerslake sat down and bluntly asked, “Tony, I can’t figure out why you’re so interested in the UEFA Europa League all of a sudden.”

Twain casually sat at a corner of the table and said with a smile, “Isn’t a championship something that every manager should be interested in?”

It was a good statement, but Kerslake did not intend to go along with it. He tried to persuade Twain from another angle. “Tony, we’re in a good situation with the league right now. Why should we give up the league to pursue the UEFA Europa League, which is much more difficult? Do you know who our opponent in the next round of the UEFA Europa League is?”

“Sporting Lisbon,” Twain said simply, as though he did not take the opponent to heart. “Don’t worry, right now they have no Figo and no Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“Of course Sporting Lisbon isn’t as strong as before. But they’re still strong enough to knock us out.”

“But it’s not as if we don’t have a chance to beat them. David, I know what you’re worried about. But isn’t football supposed to be like this? We’re always going to take a little risk, aren’t we? No victory is assured. Sometimes we need to just take a gamble. If we always follow the set plan, it’s not very interesting.” Twain shrugged and looked up at the clear sky outside. “Recently, I’ve been missing the moment when we won the EFL Cup championship last season. It was thrilling… Very thrilling.”

“But ... Isn’t it an exciting thing to be eligible for the UEFA Champions League next season?”

“It’s still a little lacking compared to being a European champion this season,” Twain smiled and said to Kerslake, as if he was not angry with his assistant manager, despite his insistence on his different view.

Hearing what Twain had said, Kerslake paused for a moment and muttered, “Alright. Maybe it’s because you have such ambitions that you can lead this team. If your mind is made up, then I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, David.” Twain’s gratitude was sincere. He was really very lucky not to encounter the ugliness of the power struggles seen in bigger football clubs. A small club was not as strong, but there were still benefits to small clubs. At least the people here were simple. They loved the team and wholeheartedly cared for it without any malice.

It had given him David Kerslake, who had initially trained with him under Paul Hart as his coach, and was now his uncomplaining assistant manager.

※※※

Since the assistant manager had no objections, the coaching team basically unified their thinking. The Forest team’s immediate priority was to defeat Portugal’s powerhouse, Sporting Lisbon, in the UEFA Europa League in the 16th round, then launch their low-key assault on the UEFA Europa League champion title. The media didn’t yet know that Twain wanted the UEFA Europa League title, and naturally, no one would have speculated on the subject.

Two days after their game against Grazer AK, the Forest team would welcome their 28th round opponent, Blackburn Rovers, to their home ground. Due to the series of battles in the tournament, Twain adopted a rotation system. The appearances of many substitute players did not particularly weaken the Forest team’s abilities. Rather, the hungry and thirsty players worked harder to make a better impression on their manager. Despite that, the weary Forest team was forced to a 2:2 draw.

Everyone felt that that score was normal. After playing so many games in a row in the Premier League and the European tournament, it was good that they had at least not lost. No one realized that the Forest team had shifted its focus. Even Moyes still felt the pressure from Forest. He was completely unaware that his main competitor was no longer focusing on the league.

It was now March, more than two months from the end of the league. The Forest team’s fifth-place rank was stable, and the sixth-ranked Liverpool had had one less game, which left them at forty-three points. In order to get rid of any entanglement from Forest, Moyes’ Everton used all of its force and accumulated fifty-one points in the 28th round of the league. The gap between them and the Forest team had widened to four points. However, Moyes could not rest yet because he was also well aware of his team’s situation. Without Gravesen, and without having been able to successfully bring in Mikel Arteta during the winter transfer period, Moyes felt it was a great pity that when he saw the Spaniard perform beautifully as a substitute in the 26th round of the league. If he had been more determined in the beginning, if he had made a direct offer rather than a loan, he might have already negotiated individual remuneration with Mikel Arteta before Twain’s intervention. Arteta was not a player who was picky about teams. At that time, he could not wait to escape the quagmire of Real Sociedad. No matter which team approached him, he would have agreed.

Moyes’s Everton gritted its teeth and soldiered on. He hoped that, while the Forest team was battling on two fronts and had an intensive schedule, they would widen their gap in points with the Forest team so that there would be greater leeway in the future.

On March 5, in the 29th round of the league, Nottingham Forest challenged Middlesbrough in an away game.

This time, the Forest team sent in the same lineup as before.

Having lost to the Forest team in the EFL Cup final and in the first half of the league, McClaren finally had his chance for revenge. All the conditions were favorable for Middlesbrough and they defeated Nottingham Forest by 2:0, with half of the Forest team’s main force out of commission.

The media finally realized that something was not quite right. The UEFA Europa League was six days later, and there were not two games that week. The Forest team had no reason to rotate in the game. What was even fishier was after they lost the game, Tony Twain was exceptionally calm when he faced McClaren.

It was incredible. Since that EFL Cup final, the media knew that Twain and McClaren had disliked each other on sight. In the first half of the tournament, after the Forest team defeated Middlesbrough by 2:1 on their home ground, Twain was visibly happy at the press conference and did not hold back in his speech. McClaren, meanwhile, looked grim throughout. Everyone could see the disappointment on his face.

Now that McClaren had reversed the roles with Tony Twain from the first half of the season, Twain did not look gloomy. Instead, he looked calm.

It was not in line with Twain’s character. In the past, when he lost to McClaren whom he despised the most, he might have gotten up earlier and left the press conference following the reading of the game summary. Now he actually sat there and listened to McClaren praising Middlesbrough’s excellent performance, how they had suppressed the Forest team’s attacks, how they defend against as strong a center forward as Viduka, and they had caught Albertini in a defensive quagmire.

He did not refute it at all until McClaren had finished speaking. Then he took his time to express his satisfaction with the performance of his team, because “the young players and those who don’t normally get many chances for appearances are being given opportunities to play, which is extremely important for their development.”

Did he see the Premier League as a training ground for new players? Was he confused? Who put place the Premier League at that level? He should be training new players in the EFL Cup or the FA Cup, not in the Premier League!

Was he arrogant or ignorant?

Even McClaren, who sat happily next to him, could not help but shoot a glance at Twain. He thought that he must have been faking it to annoy him. But… I’m sorry, Mr. Tony Twain, I wasn’t born yesterday.

Twain stood up and took the initiative to extend his hand to McClaren. He smiled and said, “I wish you good luck, Mr. McClaren.”

“Good luck to you too, Mr. Twain,” McClaren replied, smiling back.

Chapter 289: Wood and Eastwood Part 1

When Tang En's unusual reaction to Forest's loss against Middlesbrough was publicized by the media, the first person to react was Moyes.

He searched for Forest's schedule in the UEFA Europa League and looked through it. It dawned upon him quickly.

Clearly, the Championships for the UEFA Europa were more alluring.

After realizing this, Moyes did not relax. Instead, he tightened up on training the team. He intended to make full use of this period to widen the gap of the scores between the two teams, to a point where Tony Twain could not catch up even if he wanted to.

Since the end of February, after Everton's loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup, they were left with only the Premier League as their aim this season. While Forest team still had to deal with dual line-ups for matches, Everton had more than enough time to recuperate and welcome the final round of league matches in their prime condition.

Moyes, who had been staring blankly at Forest's match schedule, shook his head and sighed. He had not expected the young man he had seen at the League Managers' reception to become such an incredible character. Back then, he had seemed so uncertain about the future. Moyes recalled how he had acted in a seemingly generous way, offering Tony a place to coach an EFL team, as if trying to give him a job. It was funny now...

During the same dinner, he had even said he was looking forward to a match against Tony Twain. Moyes believed that that day was not far off. It would be in the 31st round of the League matches, on April 3. Nottingham Forest would be playing on their home ground against Everton. If they were still unable to ditch Forest by that time, the match would very likely become the decisive factor in the final positioning of the two teams.

※※※

When it came to Sporting Club de Portugal, Tang En was not at all unfamiliar with them. Of course, what he was familiar with was the name of the team, and not all the members it consisted of.

The reason why Tang En was not worried about them was that he knew that Sporting CP was no longer the same as they had been. Within Portugal, they were on the decline: FC Porto had already overtaken them in the number of times they had won the domestic championship; and they had only won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once, 40 years ago.

The Sporting CP now no longer shone with the same brilliance as they once had. Currently, they were ranked fourth in the domestic league. There were also no big-name football stars on their team. They seemed just like any ordinary Portuguese football team.

The dream of attaining the highest honor in Europe made Tang En's blood boil with passion and fearlessness.

He did not think that the current Sporting CP could be any threat to him. Within Portugal, the teams that could possibly do that included only FC Porto, the team left behind by Mourinho, and Benfica. But, if Tang En had known half as much about the UEFA Europa as he did the Champions League, he would have known that Sporting CP was the runner-up for the season.

According to the match schedule by UEFA Europa, they were to play in round 16. The first match between Nottingham and Sporting CP was set to be in Nottingham, with the Forest team first playing as the home team and later as the away team.

This match arrangement was the only thing Tang En was truly worried about. In such a two-legged tie, the away team had an advantage in scoring. Tang En felt very little assurance with Forest team playing the away match in the second leg. He preferred to deal with the worst-case scenario first. If they played the away match first, they would have some chance of recovery in the second match on their home grounds. But if their first match was on their home ground, they would not have that option.

Just as he was about to delve wholeheartedly into the preparation against Sporting CP, he became annoyed with another matter. Ever since the media had found out about the "story" between George Wood and Eastwood, they began making a fuss about the relationship between the two; were they friends or foes?

During their usual training, observant individuals would realize that the optimistic Eastwood was always smiling towards everyone on the team. He was always friendly and amicable, except to Wood. Facing Wood, his expression was somewhat cold.

After this discovery by the media, who blew the matter up, the results were completely different. For most reporters, one of the most exciting things to do was to dig around for conflicts within the locker room. Compared to an unchanging report of only Forest's match results, such gossip could attract greater attention from the audience.

Was Freddy Eastwood nursing a grudge against George Wood because he once broke his leg?

Was George Wood saddled with guilt because he had broken Eastwood's leg in a tackle? Or was he like Roy Keane, who was gleeful about having seriously injured Haaland's leg? Weren't there many who kept saying how George Wood was, in recent years, the player most like Roy Keane?

Did no one think that having the two of them co-exist peacefully in the team for a whole year was something incredulous?

Within a team, it was impossible for everyone's relationship to be fantastic. It was just common sense. There would always be some who did not get along so well with the others. In that case, between George Wood and Eastwood, who was it?

No matter how one looked at it, Eastwood's relationships seemed better. But currently, it was obvious that George Wood was more favored by the club and manager, Tony Twain. Was there still a need to point out which was more beneficial? Having good relationships with other players or the upper echelons?

As a result, three months after the "locker room scandal" that occurred before their match with Manchester United, another so-called scandal erupted on Forest team. Some media purportedly claimed having received internal tips from such-and-such Forest player. They reported on George Wood and Freddy Eastwood's apparent mutual dislike for each other in the locker room: they never talked, never joked, and minimized contact with each other during training... Evidently, the relationship between the two was dreadful. They were just a step away from being complete strangers.

In truth, the media was not entirely making up falsehoods this time around. The matter had some basis in fact and was obvious to anyone who was meticulous and observant enough. Every team had a player or two who rubbed each other the wrong way, so nobody was initially bothered by the issue. However, now that the media had exposed the backstory of George Wood having broken Eastwood's leg during a tackle, everyone made the connection and began to realize the matter was not as simple as they had thought it to be.

To them, the matter was as incredulous as having Roy Keane and Haaland play together on the same team. Haaland had once mocked Roy Keane for faking an injury during a Manchester Derby and called him a liar through-and-through. As a result, Keane held a grudge against him and finally found an opportunity for revenge during another Manchester Derby: whilst Haaland was receiving a pass, Roy Keane gave a vicious stomp to Haaland's knee from the side. The kick was so vicious it whipped Haaland into a spin in the air before he fell to the ground. Following the serious injury he inflicted, Haaland directly announced his retirement.

Their enmity was well-known across the UK.

Eastwood was also nearly forced into retirement because of George Wood's tackle. Even though Wood himself had never claimed that it was on purpose, no one could rule out the possibility of George Wood writing some autobiography years later after becoming famous and gleefully admitting that it was on purpose. After all, Roy Keane had already paved that path before him. The power of role models was boundless.

From this, it was clear that the media was not simply blindly firing this time. However, Tang En could still feel no shred of good feelings for the English paparazzi; their timing in stirring up this news was impeccably bad.

Right before facing the challenge from Sporting CP, the media just had to be so keen on stirring up conflict within Forest's locker room. Weren't they trying to cause trouble for Tony?

This was the same as when the England National Football Team was getting ready for the World Cup Qualifiers. During that crucial period, England's tabloids were making a big fuss over Sven-G?ran Eriksson's "sheik" incident. This group within the media was without any writing ethics or quality to speak of. In pursuit of their own benefits, they were willing to go to any lengths.

In certain aspects, Tang En felt that the media in England and China were rather like each other. To attract the attention of their readers, they spared no effort to exaggerate, sensationalize, completely make up stories, and even skirt boundaries with attempts at sexualization... Tang En recalled King Kong from Sina Sports. That was really a god to bow down to. Even after two years in the UK, he had not seen an editor, reporter, or column writer who had as much talent as him.

He digressed. Anyhow, Tang En was immensely displeased that the media had spread news of "George Wood and Eastwood's soured relationship" just before the UEFA Europa's 16th round. However, in consideration of the stability of the team, he had been suppressing his temper. He did not want to negatively influence the mood of the preparing players.

At the end of their scheduled press conference, Tang En had said in a surly manner to the reporters clamoring for sensational insider news, "I am terribly disappointed that you have not shown me anything new. Three months ago, you were stirring up news of George Wood's tense relations with his teammates. Now, you're still doing the same thing. I hope that you can bring out something a little fresher after another three months. It gets boring otherwise. We all have got to learn to improve, haven't we?"

Although Tang En managed to give the reporters a verbal lashing, the problem remained unsolved. Tang En also knew of the strained relations between Eastwood and George. He had expected this when Eastwood had first entered the team. The media had gotten at least one part right: if this was not well-handled, it would indeed become a peril to Forest's stability.

Chapter 290

Not long after Eastwood showcased his hat-trick, it became obvious that he had become a front-line shooter who Forest could not part with. On the other hand, George Wood had also just signed a new contract with the team and was being promoted as the next successor to the captaincy. Both players formed the future core of Forest. Tang En did not wish for the key players under him to have too many differences.

While the situation at hand could be considered a mid-tier crisis, it was also an opportune moment for him to deal with the relationship between the two. It had been something of a headache for him.

On the final day of training before the matches began, Tang En gave out simple instructions for next day's match. After he did so, Kerslake, who was next to him, announced the end of the training session. Tang En added, "Rest well for the night, everyone. Relax a little. I don't want to see anyone's calves still shaking on the field tomorrow."

A burst of laughter came from the team and the group scattered.

"George, Freddy. You two stay behind." Tang En pointed to Wood and Eastwood, who were both preparing to walk out.

While the two in question seemed somewhat surprised by Tang En's request, the rest of the players were not.

Even David Kerslake left the area. When the training grounds were only left with Tang En, Wood, and Eastwood, Tang En swept his gaze across their faces. Eastwood appeared massively ill at ease. The usual smile on his face was gone, and in its place was an uncertain expression. Meanwhile, George Wood stayed silent, his face expressionless.

While Eastwood had a good reason for his dislike of Wood, Wood probably had realized the disparity in Eastwood's attitude towards him and their other teammates. He assumed it was because Eastwood looked down on him. Since Eastwood did not like him, Wood had no reason to shamelessly insist that he had to. Those were likely Wood's thoughts about the matter.

Tang En deliberated for a moment and then asked, "Do you know why I asked the two of you to stay behind?"

Neither answered. Regardless of who it was to answer, responding either "I know" or "I don't know" would be an embarrassment.

Knowing what the two were likely thinking, Tang En broke into a brief smile. No matter how, these two were still just boys.

"Have either of you recently read the newspaper or gone online?"

Both shook their heads.

"Hm. Well, it makes no difference if you have or haven't. Either way, the two of you definitely know more about this matter than reporters who only know how to make up stories. I'm also sure the both of you already know why I've asked you to stay behind. So let's not all stand here posing; there aren't any paparazzi around us. I know, Freddy. You've always harbored a grudge because of the injury Wood caused you. I'm not the kind of person who would ask someone else to simply forgive and forget. But I know you're a reasonable person, right?"

Eastwood bowed his head and made no response. He did not know how to reply to such a question.

Tang En then turned to Wood. "George, I believe you've long been aware of the matter between you and Freddy. After you knew about it, did you apologize to him?"

Wood was momentarily silent before shaking his head.

So that was it! This silly lad!

Tang En sighed internally. It seemed like there would not be any resolution today. Knowing the whole story without trying to resolve it, and not knowing the whole story and therefore being unable to find a way to resolve it were two entirely different matters.

Now, it was evident that George Wood knew the situation leading to the poor relationship between him and Eastwood. Yet he made no attempts to show kindness or initiate a friendship to let the victim, Eastwood, feel better about what happened.

This kid had no idea how to work with people!

Tang En looked down at his watch and waved his hands at them. "That's all for today. Both of you will be starters tomorrow. I hope this won't affect your match conditions. Regardless of what grudge you have with each other, don't bring it onto the field. Go home and have a good rest."

Tang En shook his head helplessly as he looked at Wood's retreating back. Wood was so much like himself in the past, with an awful lot of pride... It was a very simple statement, yet it was so difficult to say it out loud.

※※※

When the team bus of Sporting Club de Portugal arrived in City Ground the same time as Nottingham's, the fans surrounding the square became excited. Fans of the home team burst into loud singing. They were standing on the two sides of the road in an organized manner, slapping their palms on their boards. They appeared rather imposing. And all this was without anyone directing them. On the other hand, the fans who had traveled all the way from Portugal also displayed their capabilities. Singing Portuguese songs unknown to the English, most of them wore the green and white striped jersey of Sporting CP and were waving their flags. The police who were within the area of the stadium and square immediately became more alert, scanning every little corner in the area.

Portugal did not have football hooligans, but England did. Moreover, with this sort of "life and death battle" that dictated which team would advance, the enthusiasm shown by the fans was still within expectations of the police. They only had to make sure to extinguish any little fire that could eventually lead to chaos.

The good thing was that everyone stayed calm and nothing happened that upset anyone. Only when both teams had gotten off the bus and entered their respective locker rooms did the fans gathered at the square begin entering the stadium. Those without tickets made their way to the nearby bars to watch the match. The police only relaxed after the crowd in the square became sparse.

Ever since Tony Twain had taken over the Forest team, the police were always the most exhausted whenever there was a home ground match. There was an obvious increase in the number of football fans who returned to City Ground to watch the matches. When the fans' fervor and anticipation towards football and the red Forest returned, so had the fanaticism. At first, the police paid little attention to it; after all, Forest had been on the decline for a long while. Even at its peak, City Ground was never at full capacity. The number of football hooligans had also steadily decreased. Most of the time, the police in charge of security at the stadium were only carrying out routine work.

However, from the time of the fatal incident involving Gavin Bernard, an innocent football fan, due to the fans' riots, everyone began refocusing on the issue of security. The police had no choice but to re-examine the kind of impact Nottingham Forest could now have.

After Forest was successfully relegated to the English Premier League, it became the norm for the police to maintain high-security in every home ground match.

As the crowds in the square began to lessen, the singing from the stadium also rose in volume. The police who were still outside patrolling looked towards the towering walls.

The match was about to begin.

Chapter 291 - Dirty Rochemback Part 1

When Sporting Lisbon arrived in Nottingham, the manager, José Peseiro, spoke modestly at a press conference held in a hotel. “Nottingham Forest is a strong team, and I’ll be glad to be able to obtain one point in this match.”

This modesty was not only present in that one press conference; it was displayed in various ways. It seemed that Nottingham Forest was indeed a dangerous adversary in Sporting Lisbon’s view. The Portuguese did not open their adaptive training to the media when they arrived in Nottingham a few days ahead. This cautious and prudent behavior was not a symbol of strength to the people of Nottingham.

Indeed, today’s Sporting Lisbon was not the Sporting Lisbon of yesteryear. The only time they had won a European Championship was forty years ago.

The final game of round 16 had just begun, and the Forest team demonstrated their home field advantage. They did not test the ground in the midfield. The Forest team charged to Sporting Lisbon’s front in the first attack.

Twain had sent out eleven of his best players for the match.

The goalkeeper was van der Sar and the center backs were Hierro and Matthew Upson. The left and right backs were Leighton Baines and Chimbonda. The defensive midfielders were George Wood and Albertini. The left midfielder was Franck Ribéry and the right midfielder was Ashley Young. The two strikers were Freddy Eastwood and Mark Viduka.

This was the Forest team’s main lineup when Twain did not rotate it. It was a perfect combination of youthful vigor and the veterans’ steady calm.

On the other hand, Sporting Lisbon’s lineup looked unfamiliar to Twain. It was difficult for him to put a name and number to the faces of most of the players, let alone have a deep understanding of them. But fortunately, the first round was on his home ground. Twain’s tactic was to gain points on their home ground. They had to win and score big. They had to concede as few goals as possible.

It would not be a victory if they failed to achieve those three targets.

“...Mark Viduka! Terrific shot! Ricardo made a wonderful save. This Portuguese national goalkeeper once personally scored the last penalty kick in the UEFA European Championship and eliminated England in that game.”

He was a brash goalkeeper. Tang En had a deep impression of him. In that game, Ricardo had first saved England’s penalty kick without gloves, and he had personally shot the last penalty kick into the goal to eliminate England. Due to this, Ricardo’s wonderful save did not win applause for him but instead invited jeers from the English fans.

Ricardo was the team captain of Sporting Lisbon and one of the few Portuguese national footballers on the team. With him as the core, Sporting Lisbon’s defensive tactics for the game were already obvious.

Peseiro wanted to get one point on the Forest team’s home ground; on that basis, it would be best to get another goal in this away game if possible. Even if they could not obtain a point in the end, as long as they scored a goal in this game, everything would be fine when they returned to their home ground.

However, Twain would not let him get what he wanted.

Viduka’s explosive attack kicked off a surge of attacks from the Forest team. Amidst the Forest fans’ cheers, wave after wave of attack struck Sporting Lisbon’s goal.

“... Nottingham Forest played aggressively at home. The speed at which they got into the rhythm of the game is amazing!”

This was expected. Twain had prepared a long time for this game. Recently, the team’s daily training had been centered around the UEFA Europa League. If the game did not meet Twain’s requirements, it would have been all for nothing.

Viduka did not manage to score a goal, but a goal was coming soon.

In the ninth minute of the first half, the Forest team’s continuous offensive finally breached Sporting Lisbon’s goal.

Viduka attracted two Sporting Lisbon fullbacks in the front, and soon after passed the ball from his foot to Albertini, who came up. The Italian assumed the stance of swinging his leg to shoot directly into the goal. The Portuguese defenders dared not ignore this and rushed to slide to intercept. Although the Italian was old, his long shot was still enough to frighten the enemy.

When the opponent jumped up to use his back to block Albertini’s shot, Albertini suddenly sent out a direct pass.

Eastwood received Albertini’s pass in the front of the penalty area. After he leaned against Fábio Rochemback, who came up to defend, and blocked him, he turned around to hook the ball into the penalty area. As a result, the Sporting Lisbon players around him would not be hasty with their feet because if they ran into Eastwood with their extended legs, there was a very high chance that the opponent would respond by falling to the ground. Compared to a one-on-one face-off with the goalkeeper, it was more stable to score with a penalty kick.

The surrounding Sporting Lisbon defenders refrained and dared not make a hasty move. Rochemback, who was blocked by Eastwood’s back, could not care less. He only knew the opponent was in the penalty area and had edged him outside. Seeing that he was about to shoot, he absolutely could not let his opponent succeed.

He pushed from behind, hoping that Eastwood, who was about to shoot, would lose his balance. But he did not expect Eastwood to use the push and turn it into a launch!

His center of gravity leaned forward with his legs planted and his toe tips pointed. The football soared and flew over Ricardo’s head from where he had initially obstructed Eastwood’s shooting angle. The ball went into the goal behind him in the midst of cheers from the Forest fans.

“1:0! The game has barely been going on for ten minutes, and Nottingham Forest has taken the lead! This is really an exciting start! Look at Tony Twain’s excitement!”

Twain really was excited. He knew very well what it meant to take the lead in the home ground of this important game. No wonder when he saw Eastwood shoot the ball into the goal, he was the first to rush to the sidelines with his arms raised high from the technical area. He pumped his fist to the sky so that everyone could see his undisguised emotions.

After gaining the lead, the Forest team would undoubtedly play better.

Now it remained to be seen what the Sporting Lisbon manager had planned for this game. If he treated conceding fewer goals as a form of winning, then this score was not unacceptable, and he could continue to hold. But if he wanted to score a goal in this away game and obtain a point, then he had to attack. Even though this would dramatically improve the chances of a goal, there would be more gaps in their defensive line that could be exploited.

Safety or risk. Peseiro had to make a choice.

“0:1? This is nothing.” Peseiro, sitting in the visiting team’s technical area, shrugged and spoke to his assistant manager. He was not that frustrated. “We have to take everything into consideration in an away game. This is in my plan. There’s no need to make any changes yet. We’ll keep playing. We have enough time.” He looked up and glanced at the electronic scoreboard on the stand.

※※※

“The scorer is Freddy—”

The live broadcast of the commentary announced the player who had just scored, and the fans in the stands replied in unison, “—Eastwood!”

The Romani Gypsy celebrated in the field with his teammates.

The Brazilian player Fabio Rochemback stood in the spot where the opponent had scored, staring at the crowd with a dark expression.

He had initially thought that by pushing forward to harass the skinny-looking kid, he should have lost his balance. He did not expect to help him instead, and let him make a shot that Ricardo could not save!

Perhaps at least one-third of the credit would have to go to Rochemback.

This was what caused the Brazilian to feel outraged. His defense had turned against his own team. He clenched his fist. I will make them pay for this sooner or later!

※※※

The game started again. Nottingham Forest was in high spirits. Their fans in the stands continued to attack Sporting Lisbon with loud singing, without intending to take a break at all.

They were still not safe with their one-goal lead. Twain had successfully instilled this idea in his players. They would never stop after one goal if they could get two. There were different levels of conservative play. To play conservatively after scoring a goal was obviously low-level. High-level conservative playing was for two to three or more goals. As for playing conservatively without being in the lead, it was clearly the lowest level. One could reference Italy’s 1998 match against France in the FIFA World Cup.

After the goal, Eastwood was exceptionally active. He would withdraw to receive the ball and assist his teammates. He would look for opportunities around Viduka. If he could not shoot, he would coordinate with Viduka. In any case, he played a very important role on the field.

Twain watched Eastwood’s energetic performance and wondered if the club’s focus on Wood had spurred him on. The Romani Gypsy did not care about the club’s favoritism. Deep down, he just did not want to lose to George Wood.

Despite becoming the father of two children, Eastwood was still a young lad in terms of age. The age at which Romani Gypsies could get married was so young that they could marry and have children from the age of fourteen.

Since he was so young, he was still quite competitive. Losing to someone he did not like? That was not acceptable to Freddy Eastwood.

Twain knew the Romani Gypsy’s mentality. He had known it early on. At that time, he thought that it could be controlled as a form of healthy competition. It was a good thing for the Forest team. However, after the media’s unscrupulous speculation, the healthy competitive atmosphere might be shattered at any moment. There was only a fine line between healthy and vicious competition. The consequences could be polarizing.

This game might be an excellent opportunity for them to get to know each other and resolve their differences. Or it could worsen matters with a loss.

At the moment, the team was leading and Twain did not need to worry.

“Freddy Eastwood is by far the most active player on the field. After scoring, he threatened Sporting Lisbon’s goal several more times. Recently, he completed his first hat-trick of the season. He’s in great shape.”

Chapter 292 - Dirty Rochemback Part 2

Even the commentator could see how well Eastwood played. How could Sporting Lisbon’s manager, Peseiro, not see it? He got up from the technical area, walked to the sidelines, and urgently whistled twice.

Upon hearing his whistle, the other Sporting Lisbon players had little reaction. Only the defensive midfielder, Fábio Rochemback, turned his head to the sidelines. It appeared that the whistle was specifically meant to be heard by him.

Peseiro pointed at Eastwood, who had withdrawn to support the midfield. Rochemback nodded. He knew what he had to do. It was exactly what he wanted to do.

The manager had asked him to closely mark the most active player on the Forest team.

Because the Forest team usually did not have an attacking midfielder, as a defensive midfielder, Rochemback did not need to mark any players. On the other hand, Eastwood preferred to pull back to receive the ball. His actual position was quite flexible in the opposing half, not like a striker. Consequently, having Rochemback, the best defensive midfielder in the team, to defend against Eastwood would not disrupt Sporting Lisbon’s defensive formation but still ease the pressure on the defensive line.

It was a good idea and Rochemback liked it a lot.

※※※

However, before Rochemback could carry out the plan, Sporting Lisbon lost possession of the ball again.

The Forest team took advantage of the opportunity that opened up from Sporting Lisbon’s adjustment to their defense and implemented a very efficient counterattack.

Eastwood pulled out, attracting all of Rochemback’s attention. Ribéry, who was originally active on the flank, suddenly switched to the middle to replace Eastwood’s position. Within a short time, the Sporting Lisbon player lost his defensive target and Ribéry was unmarked! Without hesitation, Albertini passed the ball just in time. After Ribéry received the ball, he did not give the Sporting Lisbon’s center back the opportunity to defend. He immediately kicked a long shot and the football flew into the Sporting Lisbon’s goal for the second time.

“What a wonderful goal!” The commentator shouted, “2:0! Nottingham Forest once again widens their lead! Sporting Lisbon is in trouble!”

Twain jumped from his seat again, but this time he was not as excited as when the first goal had been scored. He just raised his clenched fist and waved it vigorously in front of his chest.

“This is wonderful, David! 2:0 on home ground!”

Kerslake smiled and nodded. Regardless of how he had previously objected to Twain’s plan, he could only concentrate on doing well since he had agreed. Now the score clearly illustrated that their efforts were not in vain.

“I think... Tony, maybe we should think about defense.”

Twain looked up at the time on the electronic scoreboard. The first half had already been going for twenty-seven minutes. He shook his head. “It’s still too early, David. We’ll assess the situation in the second half before we decide.”

※※※

Despite their two-goal disadvantage, Sporting Lisbon did not give up. After all, there was plenty of time for them to equalize the score. Although it was an away game, the experience of playing in an away game was common for professional players.

They had to be able to compete under the pressure. If they were unable to, they would not be Sporting Lisbon, one of Portugal’s top three teams.

Even though he had caused the team to concede a second goal by letting Rochemback mark Eastwood, Peseiro did not intend to change the arrangement. However, he still took advantage of the moment when the Forest team players celebrated the goal to summon Rochemback to the sidelines. He did not provide any additional tactical instructions. He only made one remark. “Fábio, I don’t care what method you use. I want you to completely freeze Eastwood so that he can’t pose any threat to us! Remember, I don’t care what you do!”

Eastwood’s nightmare began at that moment.

Rochemback might be the most technically crude Brazilian player, but he did not need to rely on his skills because he was a defensive midfielder. He did the dirtiest, most tiresome, and the most detestable moves on the field. He was like the common laborer who was most likely to be ignored by the fans and the club chairman, but who was still the most important and indispensable.

Rochemback was not elegant and at ease like Fernando Redondo, who could turn his playing as a defensive midfielder into an art form. He worked simply; he stuck close to force interceptions. He used petty maneuvers and ferocious tackles. He would commit fouls if necessary.

After Eastwood became entangled with Rochemback, he realized that he could not take possession of the ball as comfortably as he just had. He often had to turn his back towards his opponent’s goal to receive the ball. Whenever the football reached his foot, his center of gravity would tilt forward from a violent push from behind. Or whenever he was about to turn around to break through, he would feel an additional weight on his shoulders.

He had to use all of his focus to deal with the player behind him. It was hard to say how much he could contribute to offense at the time. If possession of the ball was lost at Eastwood’s feet, it would cause problems for the Forest team’s offensive and defensive conversion. Then, if Sporting Lisbon were to seize the chance, it might lead to a reversal of the situation.

Twain saw that Sporting Lisbon was trying to simplify the Forest team’s offense by curbing Eastwood, who was the most active. This would make the team easier for the remaining players to defend against.

Passing to Eastwood would put him under tremendous pressure. He could lose control of the ball at any time. If the ball was not passed to him, the Forest team only had a few attack routes. Eastwood improved the middle in many ways. The flanks were primarily dependent on Ribéry and Ashley Young.

It seemed like the Sporting Lisbon manager had put in a lot of effort to study his opponents.

Twain looked at José Peseiro, who stood on the sidelines to supervise the match.

Do we ease the pressure on Eastwood, or do we carry out the Forest team’s offense like they want us to?

※※※

Eastwood received another pass from Ribéry. Behind him, Rochemback fiercely pressed on. The physical collisions almost became normal defensive actions. This time, Eastwood did not want to pass the ball back. That would make him looked too cowardly!

You want to force me to submit, but I won’t!

Eastwood leaned back with force and used his upper body to signal that he wanted to make a breakthrough on the left. Then, not caring if it worked or not, he quickly switched the ball from the opposite direction and turned around!

He did not look back and could not turn back to confirm if he had successfully shaken off his opponent. But he thought he had done it because he felt that the pressure from behind was not as strong as before. Now, he could speed up and rush past his opponent to charge straight into the penalty area! He could disrupt their defense, score the third goal for the team, and completely lock in the victory!

The football was slowly rolling on the ground, not far from his feet. Eastwood established that he just had to take another step to smoothly dribble the ball away. At that moment, he would have turned around and the pesky Brazilian could no longer have restrained him. He would make the City Ground stadium erupt in momentous cheers again...

The piercing whistle rang shrilly.

There were no momentous cheers. Instead, there was an explosion of earth-shattering boos, enough to make his heart stopped beating.

The football was still rolling in front of Eastwood’s eyes, but he had fallen to the ground. Rochemback was about to climb up from the ground. He raised his arms to indicate that the other man had done a flop.

Indeed, the Sporting Lisbon players were happy to accept this version. But the Forest fans were not. Just as Eastwood was about to get rid of Rochemback, this fierce and violent defensive midfielder had ruthlessly tackled Eastwood.

Chapter 293 - Wood’s Revenge Part 1

Eastwood was collapsed onto the ground. He struggled to get up, but it was clear that doing so was already beyond his ability.

Meanwhile, Fábio Rochemback was still busy explaining to the referee how he had not touched Eastwood and that his opponent was trying to deceive the referee to be awarded a free kick.

“Dammit!” Tang En who was watching Rochemback put on an act of innocence from outside the field cursed aloud in Chinese. He could care less about the strange looks from the people nearby. He could not stand having a liar hurt his players and then utilize his acting skills in front of the referee to escape punishment.

The Nottingham players rushed forward, intending to demand an explanation from Rochemback. Deftly, Rochemback’s teammates pulled him away in a hurry. They all knew about his temper; he could make a mountain out of a molehill and start fights over the smallest matters.

When Rochemback was still with Barcelona, he had also depended on his tough defense to eke out a position for himself in one of La Liga’s powerhouses. However, his temper was much too wild, and very few teams and managers were willing to put up with him. Finally, he could only leave Barcelona and seek opportunities in Portugal.

If they did not stop Rochemback from starting a fight, Sporting CP would end up with one less player on their side. If they lost a player in addition to already being behind 0:2, they could basically raise a white flag in surrender.

Numerous players from Sporting CP dashed up to surround Rochemback, whose expression was inordinately gleeful. They separated him from Nottingham Forest’s enraged members. The scene was a mess, and the referee had no choice but to blow hard on his whistle, reminding the mass of players to calm down. Sporting CP’s players, who had already benefited from the incident, tried to smooth things out as they held back Forest’s players. Those who could speak English well could assist in explaining: “Look, he didn’t mean to do it. It’s a football match, this sort of contact is inevitable, isn’t it…”

While Forest’s players amassed where the referee and Sporting CP’s players were, demanding a resolution, George Wood alone stood apart from them. His face was cold as if the situation before his eyes had nothing to do with himself. This made the reporters even more certain of their own thoughts: the relationship between George Wood and Freddy Eastwood could not be any worse! Now, after his teammate had gotten violated and everyone else on the team had gone forward to stand up for him, Wood alone was hiding in a corner instead, looking on impassively. What a beautiful image. Once they captured it and published it as the headlines of the newspaper, complete with some sort of shocking title, it would certainly have an earth-shattering effect. That would attract the attention of readers who would fight to purchase copies.

The reporters no longer saw the football field nor heard the racket from the spectators’ stand. Instead, they were looking at a mosaic. From afar, it looked like a spectators’ stand, a football stadium, a soccer field, and some lively players. But as they got closer, it became clear that they were dollar bills! Pieces and pieces of real dollar bills!

George Wood looks upon his teammate’s injury coldly!

Differences between George Wood and Eastwood exposed!

George Wood without a shred of responsibility!

Titles such as those rapidly formed within the minds of the reporters.

Amid the chaos between the referee and the players from both teams, Forest’s team doctors had rushed onto the field with a stretcher. After a brief examination, Fleming decided to bring Eastwood off the field to carry out further examination and treatment. The situation did not seem optimistic.

When the situation on the field got under control, the referee called out Rochemback from the crowd and flashed a yellow card at him.

In an instant, City Ground was again filled with ear-splitting jeers and boos. The fans of the home team were immensely dissatisfied with the referee’s decision. They could only use jeers and English cuss words to vent their unhappiness with the Italian referee. The players from Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, were unable to utilize such a direct manner to express their anger.

Team captain Albertini went forward in hopes of a brief chat with the referee, also from Italy, to understand his decision. The referee said, “The tackle came from the side. According to the rules, it was not a serious foul that required an immediate red card. Naturally, you will have your own considerations. However, as the main referee, it is a very important aspect of my work to maintain the balance of the match.”

The referee only explained so much to Albertini because they were countrymen. Otherwise, he would not have even bothered.

“But his foul caused an injury to our player…” Albertini pointed to Eastwood, who was being carried off the field.

The referee shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Demi, I feel sorry for that too. But the rules do not account for resulting player injuries nor the severity of any such injury. If he was tackled from the back, even if your teammate were not injured, I would have still given him a red card immediately. But with the current situation, I don’t have a choice.”

Albertini knew the referee had told him only the truth. After all, they were all Italians, and there was no need for them to hide anything while conversing in their own language. Albertini’s influence in the scene of Italian football was still present. It had not waned because he had left the country. Before, he had worked as an official within the Italian Footballers’ Association. In fact, at one point, he was thought to be the most likely candidate to succeed the chair position of the association. If he had continued living in Italy…

After receiving such an explanation from the referee – one he was not happy about but could only accept – Albertini turned around and took his leave. The grating jeers from the spectators’ stand showed no sign of weakening, and the fans had transferred all their displeasure with Sporting CP onto the Italian referee.

Italy’s football scene had always been unclean; the whole world knew that. Inevitably, the English fans made their own conclusions and wondered if Sporting CP had bribed the Italian referee.

Eastwood was still receiving treatment outside the field. Albertini raised his voice and shouted to his teammates. “Alright! Let us keep our focus on the field; the match is far from over!”

※※※

Coincidentally, the stretcher Eastwood was lying on was placed near the sidelines of Nottingham Forest’s technical area. Tang En saw the three team doctors surrounding the stretcher. After a brief hesitation, he decided to go over to check on the situation.

“How is it, Gary?” He saw the group of them in a long discussion and felt that things must not be too optimistic.

As expected, Gary Fleming was frowning deeply when he looked up to respond to Tang En. He pointed at Eastwood on the stretcher and said, “It’s bad, Tony. I can’t make an accurate diagnosis here. He has to be sent to the hospital for a more detailed examination.”

Tang En’s heart dropped. That was the worst case scenario.

“I don’t think it’s too bad, Boss,” Eastwood said through a grimace of pain and tightened brows.

“It’s not too bad, Freddy. But you certainly won’t be able to rejoin the match today.” Tang En comforted him and moved away. Fleming rose and sensibly followed him.

“Call the ambulance” Tang En instructed. “And tell me the truth, Gary. How bad is it?”

“Tony, before he came over, do you remember him getting his leg broken by Wood?”

Tang En nodded.

“The injured spot is now only slightly better than that was.”

“F**k!” Tang En cursed lowly. He already knew how bad this would be.

The ambulance from the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University, which was stopped outside, swiftly entered the stadium compounds. They picked up Eastwood from the sidelines with Fleming also getting on board. Under the gaze of countless spectators, the ambulance sped out of City Grounds. Through the whole process, the TV camera kept going back to focus on it. It was obvious that the severity of Eastwood’s injury was unexpected. The culprit behind it, Rochemback, likely felt the same way.

After seeing the ambulance off, Tang En turned his attention back to the person next to him. It was Peter Crouch, the tall center forward, who had already changed and gotten ready. Tang En sighed. He did not expect to have to so quickly use his first substitution. Although they were leading by two goals in the match, it had suddenly developed into a much more difficult situation.

“Peter. After you get in… just play the same as in usual practice. You don’t have to take on all of Freddy’s responsibilities. Take turns with Viduka…”

※※※

After sending Crouch into the field, Tang En returned to the manager’s seat. Immediately after sitting down, David Kerslake anxiously asked him, “How’s Eastwood?”

“Very bad,” Tang En answered as he stared into the field. “I have an awful feeling about this. It’s possible that the Romani will have to miss out on all the upcoming matches in the season…”

Kerslake was stunned by his words and fell silent, asking nothing further.

Tang En did not have any confidence about the effect of the hasty substitution. He also could not bring himself to care about how Crouch and Viduka’s stylistic clash might cause Forest’s offense to become disorganized. He only hoped to hold on for the next ten minutes and work on a more detailed adjustment during halftime.

Who was it exactly that had created such a messy situation? Tang En cast his gaze towards the other half of the field with Sporting CP, spotting Rochemback with ease. Of course, Tang En knew that both teams on the field saw each other as enemies. For their own victory, it was very common to make use of fouling tactics to take out the most threatening player on the opposing team. However, Tang En could not accept it happening to himself.

Fábio Rochemback!

You’ve succeeded!

I will remember you!

Chapter 294 - Wood’s Revenge Part 2

Rochemback himself had not expected such a miraculous effect for his first foul. For the price of a mere yellow card, he had made the opponent’s main forward leave the field with an injury. The price seemed a trifle in comparison. And even though he had received a yellow card, he did not need to worry about having to play more reservedly in defense. After Eastwood went off the field, Forest had no one who specialized as an attacking midfielder; there were not many opponents to deal with.

With needing to mark any Forest player now, Rochemback even had opportunities to dribble the ball forward and assist in the offense. With Forest adjusting, Sporting CP intended to take the chance and pull their scores closer amid the confusion.

Perhaps that tactic was not the most glamorous, but the manager of Sporting CP, José Peseiro, still had to praise Rochemback for his earlier kick. Shouldering the danger of possibly receiving a red card, he had helped the team deal with one of their most dangerous foes.

While Sporting CP was on the attack, Fábio Rochemback noticed from the backfield that almost every Forest player had returned to defend. The only player left on his side was a player as tall as a utility pole. Rochemback figured that he might as well try to participate in the attack and get a ball in or rack up assists, instead of staying in the back without much use.

Meanwhile, Albertini was directing George Wood to defend and take note of opponents possibly breaking in from the flanks. Wood was told to prepare himself to assist Ribéry at any time.

Wood nodded but his gaze was fixed on Rochemback, who was steadily moving closer.

He did not know the name of that person, but he remembered his face and number. Wood did not believe he would mistake him.

Pinto was currently in possession. He realized that the success rates of a forward pass were low. George Wood and Albertini had formed a wall in front and sealed off all possible passing routes.? ?

At this point, he heard someone calling from behind.

“Jo?o! Jo?o!”

It was Rochemback.

George Wood looked up. His gaze shot past Pinto’s shoulder to find Rochemback hiding behind Pinto’s back.

On hearing Rochemback’s call, Pinto passed the ball backward with his heel.

Almost at the same time, George Wood abandoned his defensive zone and rushed out; his target was the receiver, Rochemback!

As if he had not seen Wood, Rochemback kept his eyes on the ball and made a move to receive it.

The ball arrived and so did Wood.

Rochemback noticed Wood from the corner of his eye. Suddenly, a crazed idea emerged in his mind: why not take that silly lad down as well?

Rochemback moved the ball to the side in a bid to lure George Wood to commit a foul. So long as he made it look genuine, he might just force Number 13 right off the field!

Come on, boy! Come on!

I’m here, bastard!

George Wood flew out with a tackle even before he neared Rochemback. Rochemback had just finished turning when Wood’s right shoe landed on his left ankle!

Firmly and solidly, he stomped down.

With its loud but muffled thud, even the spectators on the viewing stands could clearly feel the power in his strike.

After the back tackle to Rochemback, George Wood continued sliding forward from the momentum. Meanwhile, Rochemback was sent flipping into the air, somersaulting before crashing back to the ground with grass clippings flying up and dropping back on him.

The raucous stadium lapsed into a momentary silence followed by a piercing whistle.

The referee ran to the scene of the incident, at the same time withdrawing a red card from his breast pocket to flash at George Wood. A tackle from the back; it was unquestionably an immediate red card.

Wood ignored the referee. He stood and immediately walked off the field. Even before he had struck out, he had known what was waiting for him. But that could not prevent him from taking this strike. Since he had achieved his motive, he could hardly care less about the penalty given to him.

After flashing the red card at George Wood, the referee again experienced an outburst of jeering and insults from the home team fans. From the fans’ perspective, since Wood was fouled out, Rochemback, who had similarly taken down Eastwood and given him an injury, should also have been given a red card.

Rochemback had achieved his aim. He had single-handedly caused Forest to lose two of their core players. The price was that he would probably be unable to continue playing this match. Rochemback only felt a numbness where his left ankle was, and nothing else. He tried to regain some form of control over it, but it was pointless. As a professional footballer, he knew that it was time for him to exit the field.

He had not expected George Wood to be so vicious, so quick. Wood had not at all been going for the ball. Right from the beginning, he had intended for Rochemback to go down!

George Wood calmly walked off the field at a languid pace. He was not in the least bit sorry or guilty about having injured someone. Furious players from Sporting CP tried to rush towards him to demand an explanation, but before they could even get close they were pushed away by Ashley Young and Viduka.

In an instant, the entire scene became chaotic again. Players from both teams gathered together with every intention of starting a fight. The referee had no choice but to leave behind the injured Rochemback and run towards the confrontational players amassed together, all the while blasting on his whistle. Of course, he also remembered to signal to the off-field to quickly bring in the stretcher.

Tang En saw the whole process from outside the field. He had already anticipated it from the moment he caught Wood rushing towards Rochemback. It was useless to say anything more; either way, the Forest team was fated to battle with only ten players.

He stood on the sidelines and waited for Wood to get off the field, stepping forward to give him a pat on the back.

“Go back to the locker room to shower and change.” He said.

There was no reproaching and no lamentation.

Wood nodded.

“And, clap for the fans to show your thanks.” Tang En instructed.

There had never been a player who would greet his fans after being fouled out; such an action was too provocative. Usually, the penalized player would be hanging his head and walking quickly to the locker room for fear of facing the fans. But Tang En insisted for Wood to do so as if in his eyes Wood was not being penalized, but being substituted as per usual.

Wood obediently raised his hands and clapped towards the spectators’ stand and at Forest’s fans in thanks.

The response?

From three of the stands, he received thunderous applause.

“What an unbelievable sight! George Wood, who fouled and violated his opponent, who was sent off the field with a red card, has become City Ground’s hero!”

To Sporting CP’s players, Wood’s actions were regarded as a provocation and an insult. Even the bench substitutes from the team rushed to the sidelines to make loud protests. Wood ignored them, continuing to wave to the fans as he walked towards the players’ corridor. What made José Peseiro, even more, unhappy was that Tony Twain did not seem shamed by the action. Instead, he was clapping alongside the fans for Wood!

“Mr. Tony! Do you still have any sense of sportsmanship?” Peseiro scolded Tony with his semi-fluent English.

Tang En replied with a beam. “That’s a good question, Mr. Peseiro. Please ask Fábio Rochemback on my behalf.”

“You…”

The Fourth Official appeared between the two and glared at them. Peseiro obediently returned to his manager’s seat. Tang En continued standing on the sidelines, his gaze turned towards the field.

The chaos had already settled. With the combined efforts of Hierro, Albertini, Edwin van der Sar, and other veterans, they had managed to stop the fight from erupting.

George Wood had already disappeared into the players’ corridor. The applause from the stands returned to jeers; jeers so overwhelmingly fierce that the players on the field almost forgot they still needed to continue the match.

David Kerslake walked up and stood next to Tang En. “What a terrible match; isn’t it, Tony?”

“You’re right. It is terrible, David.” Tang En said with gritted teeth. “Call Gunnarsson back. I think it’s time for him to play.”

Chapter 295 - Unacceptable Part 1

Now the Forest team had to make a quick adjustment. Albertini alone in the middle would not be able to withstand Sporting Lisbon’s bombardment. José Peseiro’s reaction was so fast that Twain even thought Rochemback and George Wood’s clash was his plan. If not, why had Sporting Lisbon adjusted its tactics right after Wood had come off the field?

The visiting team, Sporting Lisbon, put the focus of its offense in the middle of the field. They intended to use the strength of their numbers to storm the Forest team’s defense in the middle. The middle was different from the flanks. It was the most dangerous and the hardest area to break through. Almost all teams would amass their forces in the middle during defense and push their opponents’ offense to the flanks.

Compared with the long and narrow flanks, the wide middle section was more difficult to defend. Once a problem emerged, the opposing party’s offense would directly face the goal from the best angle and position. The flanks, meanwhile, were different in that the attacking side required one more step: passing the ball from the flank to the middle.

That was why the role of a defensive midfielder in a team was so important. The defensive midfielder was the last line of defense in front of the center back and was the key to increasing the strategic depth of the defense. If the defensive midfielder was not competent, it would cause their goal to be exposed to their opponents’ long shots for a long time. It would also nullify the center back’s defense. If there was no depth to the defense, it could always be penetrated by a volley. One example was how the loss of Claude Makelele had led to Real Madrid’s pathetic performance in a game. That made clear the function of a good defensive midfielder.

George Wood’s function on the field was the same. With him on his side, Albertini could feel assured that he could do his assists. Even if he needed to defend, the Italian veteran would not be under too much pressure.

Now that there was no tireless George Wood, always actively running and able to appear in any position at any moment, Albertini’s pressure increased sharply. He needed to face the impact from Sporting Lisbon in a very short time. No matter how experienced he was, gaps would inevitably surface.

On the brink of danger, Gunnarsson was brought on to replace Ashley Young, strengthen the defense, and stabilize the defensive line in the middle. And Ribéry moved to the attacking midfielder position.

Twain intended to defend to the last until the end of the game when he would make adjustments.

On Sporting Lisbon’s side, Peseiro also made a substitution after adjusting the main direction of the offense. Rochemback confirmed that he could not continue playing. According to the team doctor’s preliminary diagnosis, his ankle was probably sprained. At the same time that Wood had stamped on it, Rochemback had just turned around. The two forces twisted together, and that was how Rochemback had ended up that way.

If Rochemback had not wanted to take Wood down in the first place, he could have only suffered injuries like scrapes or bruises by swiftly jumping up to avoid him. Instead, he wanted to play dirty but Wood turned the table on him. It really was a case of him trying to gain an advantage only to end up worse off and suffer a loss.

Sporting Lisbon did not immediately replace Rochemback after he was brought off. They waited for about three minutes. During those three minutes, they sacrificed the advantage of their numbers to wait for one player.

When that man took off his vest and stood on the sidelines to wait to play, Twain saw clearly who he was.

He thought this man looked a little familiar, but could not recall who he was immediately.

The alternating green-and-white jersey was printed with the player’s name: Nani.

Nani.

Nani?!

Tang En was shocked.

How is he here? How could he be here now?

It was unlikely that any FM gamer would not know the name “Nani.” But his recollection was that Nani did not appear in the Sporting Lisbon First Team so early. Was it because of his arrival that Nani’s debut had happened earlier?

The Sporting Lisbon manager, Peseiro, had sent Nani for lack of better option. The departure of Rochemback due to his injury, combined with the fact that they were behind by two goals, made him simply decide to stake it all and go all-out. Nani had performed extremely well in the youth team, but he did not have experience with representing the First Team. He had hoped that by bringing him on at this time, his momentum would bring unexpected surprises to the team.

The Forest team had now given up the flanks and intended to hold their ground in the middle. And Sporting Lisbon had dispatched a young lad who could carry out attacks on both sides of the flanks. His skills were outstanding. Even if he was entrapped, he would still find ways to break through.

When Nani first came into contact with the ball, Tang En was sure that this person was indeed Nani. His stunning dribble caused the Forest team’s defensive line to be full of mistakes. Without George Wood, it did not seem like just one player was missing. It felt more like the Forest team was missing two players.

Peseiro gave Nani a very simple task, which was to go wherever there were opportunities or gaps in either the left or right flank. After he had possession of the ball, he had to break through, disrupt the Forest team’s defense, and wait for an opportunity to pass the ball or shoot.

This arrangement posed a great threat to Nottingham Forest and was highly targeted.

Even when Gunnarsson was brought on, the defense did not improve much. On one hand, Gunnarsson had too few opportunities for appearances; he was unable to maintain his condition, and he was now rushed to play. On the other hand, his ability was far different from the standard of the current game. Bringing him on, too, was for lack of better option.

The first half had not ended yet, and two substitutions had already been used. There was nothing that Twain could do in his situation. He could only sit and watch where the game would go.

He could not use all three substitutions now. He should keep at least one just in case.

※※※

The shouts of the Sporting Lisbon fans grew louder in the stands. Whenever Nani took possession of the ball, the visiting fans who came from afar would get very excited. Nani did not disappoint them. His continuous sharp breakthroughs made the Forest team’s defense particularly pathetic.

Albertini watched Nani being active on the two flanks but had no way to stop him.

The Forest team’s defensive line was in a constant state of emergency.

Twain looked at the game time. The first half would be over in seven minutes. He believed that he would find a way to deal with the situation as long as they could endure into halftime.

But the question was, would Sporting Lisbon, who was desperate to close the gap in the score, give him a chance to wait until halftime to adjust?

Time passed, minute by minute. Twain stood on the sidelines and waited with apprehension for the whistle.

Once again, Nani received the ball from his teammate.

Nani appeared confident as he faced Leighton Baines’ defense. He was a player who seemed to be born for the big leagues. Currently, his team was two goals behind in the away game. Not only he did not feel disheartened, it actually inspired his fighting spirit.

His upper body swung to the left and Leighton Baines followed. At the same time, Nani moved the ball to the right. He was going to break through!

How can I give you what you wanted?

Baines struggled to change his center of gravity. He turned back to tackle Nani. When he saw Nani’s leg swing with the intention to cross, he recklessly leaped to block the path of the ball’s crossing. This time, he had no way of stopping Nani’s escape.

Nani saw Baines fly out to block his pass, so he immediately changed his tactic and kicked the football into the penalty area!

“Nani! He broke through!”

The effect of a single point being breached was now extended to the entire surface.

Baines, this single point, was breached. The Forest team’s defense had a chain reaction. Hierro must fill Baines’ position, and Matthew Upson would fill Hierro’s position. Chimbonda retreated to the penalty area to act as a center back, and Albertini also had to retreat to the penalty area to help defend.

Hierro and Gunnarsson rushed up from two different directions to defend against Nani. Nani passed the football within the encirclement. His target was not the Brazilian striker, Liédson, who waited for the pass by the goalkeeper. He suddenly passed the ball to the empty area behind the crowd; it was within the penalty area, near the spot for penalty kicks.

Everyone’s attention was drawn by Nani’s breakthrough. They only focused on the front of the goal, so no one noticed what was happening behind them. Now, Nani took hold of the loophole and included Hugo Viana, who interjected.

“Hugo Viana! Not at all surprisingly, the ball is in the goal!!”

Viana’s powerful volley pierced through the crowd. When Edwin van der Sar, whose view was obstructed by those players, caught sight of the football, it was too late to save it. He watched as the football flew past him into the goal, and the visiting team fans behind him in the stands burst into loud cheers!

“Sporting Lisbon turns the score to 1:2! The first half is not over yet. It looks like the outcome of this game is not decided. They still have a chance! Nani! This 18-year-old is brilliant. His breakthrough created a chance for Viana to score. The Forest team’s defensive line is powerless against him! He had never played a game for the First Team. His debut is in such an important 16th round game for the UEFA Europa League. His performance was flawless! Another star winger has emerged in this Portuguese powerhouse that once nurtured Luís Figo, Sim?o Sabrosa, Ricardo Quaresma, and Cristiano Ronaldo!

※※※

When some people were happy, naturally there would be some people who were worried.

The cheers from Sporting Lisbon’s substitutes’ bench and technical area reached the Forest team’s side. Twain swore in anger. He turned back to the technical area and sat down. Now his heart was not in his throat and he no longer felt perturbed. Either way, Sporting Lisbon had scored a goal. It was too late to say anything now.

Nani! Nani… If I had known today would happen, I would have brought you from Portugal to England last summer!

You son of a gun! Now that you’re famous, I’m out of luck.

The first half of the game ended a few minutes after Sporting Lisbon pulled the advantage closer.?Nani was in a good mood despite the fact that his team was still behind. He did not expect his debut performance to be so good. Twain scowled as he looked at the elated Portuguese kid and turned to walk towards the locker room.

Chapter 296 - Unacceptable Part 2

George Wood was the first to reach the locker room. He had already showered and changed his clothes. He just sat there, looking up at the television broadcast.

When he heard someone come in, Wood took a glance and saw that it was Twain. He did not look away; he just stared.

“If you were in the game, the score wouldn’t look like this.” Twain shrugged. “But I’m not blaming you. I think your choice was understandable under those circumstances. I just hope you can be smarter the next time, George. You can wait till the 89th minute before you wipe out the bastard.”

Wood was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. He lowered his head. “I’m sorry, boss.”

Twain gave a grin, walked in, and patted Wood on the shoulder, “All right, let’s not think about it. No one will blame you. I don’t, and they won’t.” He pointed to the door as the noises outside grew louder and nearer. The players were heading back.

He knew why Wood was the way he was, so he said he understood Wood and did not blame him. For people who were not good at expressing their inner feelings to others, they could only choose the method which they thought was the most direct, even though they might look stupid to other people.

The first person to walk into the locker room was Ribéry. He was not surprised to see Wood and Twain standing together. He gave Wood a thumbs-up and shouted, “Well done, George!”

His voice caught the attention of the rest of his teammates returning to the locker room after him. They expressed the same opinion as Ribéry.

“That’s right! I’ve wanted to deal with that bastard for a damn long time!” Leighton Baines said.

Just as Twain had said, no one complained that Wood’s foul was a momentary impulse of individual heroism which disregarded the team’s interests. No one felt that Wood was accountable for turning their two-goal lead into one goal. Everyone commended Wood’s actions for retaliating on their behalf.

Eastwood was extremely popular on the team. Even though everyone speculated that there were some irreconcilable differences between Wood and Eastwood, it was hard to believe those rumors again based on what he did today.

Albertini and the assistant manager David Kerslake were the last to enter the locker room. He looked at the situation in the locker room and turned to ask Twain, “Chief, how’s Freddy?”

Everyone fell silent. They were still haunted by the image of Eastwood being taken to the hospital in the ambulance. As a professional footballer, they were well-acquainted with the feeling of an injury. His was definitely not a minor injury.

Twain shook his head. “I don’t know, there’s no news from the hospital yet. But our goal now is to play this game well.” He smacked his hands, signaling for everyone to re-focus. “The opponents took advantage of our chaotic timing to regain a goal. We can’t give them that chance in the second half. In the next half, we’ll concentrate on our defense. We’ll guard against our opponents’ attacks first, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.”

※※※

The halftime interval went by quickly. The fifteen-minute period probably felt long for the viewers, who were bored stiff watching the commercials in front of the television while they waited for the second half. But for Tony Twain, who was making impromptu adjustments in the locker room, another fifteen minutes for him would still be too few.

Eastwood’s departure due to his injury and George Wood’s sent-off completely disrupted his pre-game plan. He needed to almost completely overturn his plan during the fifteen-minute halftime interval. Keeping Nani in check was the key.

They could not continue to let Nani be. But who was going to take care of him? It was really a problem.

Gunnarsson could not keep up with Nani’s pace. Albertini was in charge of the middle and could not be moved. If Wood was here, then he could have marked the active young man. But not now...

In the end, Twain decided not to use man marking. Instead, he would employ zonal marking. Wherever Nani went, the focus would be on defense and preventing his breakthrough.

After the start of the second half, this zonal defense gave Nani some trouble. He had to face two defenders at all times. Although the Forest team had one less player than Sporting Lisbon, the entire team retreated to their own half of the field to defend. It was not difficult to gain the advantage of strength in numbers in their half.

Nani soon found it difficult to seek a breakthrough on the flanks.

Twain had changed the Forest team’s midfield positions. It was formerly a triangular layout with two defensive midfielders and an attacking midfielder. After conceding a goal, he found that that defensive combination was not good enough. Assigning an attacking midfielder position also wasted already tight human resources. As a result, he simply withdrew Ribéry to the right in the second half.

The three midfielders’ positions were parallel. Ribéry was on the left, Gunnarsson was on the right, and Albertini was in the middle. In this way, it solved the problem of the defensive forces being too weak in the middle, and also balanced the left and right flanks. Whether on the left or on the right, Nani would have to face the tight defense of two Forest players (a fullback and a winger).

Looking at the scene of Nani struggling to cope, Twain was a little relieved on the sidelines. They had conceded a goal to their opponents, but it was better than losing the game.

He had not at all expected Nani’s appearance. Was this kid Sporting Lisbon’s secret weapon?

Just as Twain breathed a sigh of relief, the Forest team conceded another goal.

This was due to the fact that the Forest team had put most of their defensive effort on Nani but overlooked the others.

This time, the player who had seized the opportunity was Sporting Lisbon’s other midfielder, Pedro Barbosa.

When Nani had engaged the Forest team’s excessive attention, he and Jo?o Pinto used a simple two versus one pass in the midfield and dribbled the ball within his shooting range, which was then followed by a powerful long shot!

Edwin van der Sar tried his best to save the goal, but he only brushed the football. He could not completely change its trajectory, and the football slammed into the net!

Seeing the football fly into the goal, the Forest team momentarily froze and seemed to think they had seen wrong; surely the football had not entered the goal, but had gone over the beam to hit the top of the net…

But the reality was cruel. The referee’s whistle and gesture were clear: it was a valid goal.

Amidst the silence, the cheers from the visiting fans in the stands were particularly harsh.

※※※

Twain, sitting in the technical area, did not jump out of his seat in rage over the loss. He just suddenly brandished his fist and punched the awning in the technical area.

To play like this on our home ground is simply terrible beyond words!

Kerslake held his head in his hands. Their two-goal lead was equalized to 2:2 just like that! He found it unacceptable; no one would stand for this!

Chapter 297 - What Comes Around, Goes Around Part 1

At the 57th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest was at a draw with Sporting CP with 2:2.

No one could have expected to see that score when Forest team had been leading by two goals.

What did it mean? Sporting CP had gotten two precious away goals! This result meant that they practically had gotten half of their foot in the quarterfinals.

Were they giving up?

There was no reason to. The first round still had 30 minutes left, and the second had 90. It was much too early to give up.

Tang En turned and looked at the substitutes’ bench. The players were all warming up outside. He thought for a moment and asked Kerslake to call Mikel Arteta back.

“This is bad, Mikel.” Tang En said to Arteta. “Have you ever seen such a match on home grounds? It seems like we’re the ones on an away match. For this match, I want you to play right midfielder. Even though it’s on the wings, I still want you to play like before and set up the attacks.”

Arteta nodded. “I understand.”

Even though Arteta was a Spaniard, he had already kicked through an entire season in Scotland. It was not a problem for him to converse in English.

“We have to score again. Create opportunities for your teammates or do it yourself. Go! Tell them to attack! Other than attacking, don’t think about anything else!”

※※※

“Just 30 minutes before the end of the match, Twain has finished all three of his quota for substitution. Mikel Arteta substitutes Leighton Baines. Forest team has one less fullback. Instead, they opted for an additional holding midfielder. Clearly, Tony is not willing to end the match this way, despite already having such a terrible situation on his hands. They’ve fought their opponent to a draw of 2:2 on their home ground.”

During the period when Arteta stood on the sidelines waiting to be fielded, those who saw it must have thought that Viduka would be changed out. A forward for a midfielder. That would maintain the formation and stability of the defense; it was the normal method of substitution. Unexpectedly, Tang En took off a defender instead and was playing with only three fullbacks. He no longer cared about defense.

Tang En knew that Sporting CP’s morale was at an all-time high. It might not be effective even if they continued to fortify their defenses. Furthermore, they had already lost two home goals. Any further fortification of their defenses made little difference. They might as well go on the attack and take down the match. The two-goal losses could be considered later.

He simply could not tolerate losing this match. If they lost the match, wouldn’t Eastwood’s injury and George Wood’s penalty be for nothing? If they lost the match, what kinds of feelings could Tang En have when visiting Eastwood in the hospital?

Arteta ran onto the field and yelled at his teammates for attention. He threw his hands forward.

“Attack! The Boss wants us to attack!”??U.p.dated by novelfull.Com

※※※

In the following period, Forest reactivated their attacks amid waves of cheers, each louder than the last, from their fans. They had the same thoughts as Tang En. No one was willing to lose this match. It had nothing to do with victory and everything to do with honor.

If you win through honorable means, we have nothing to say. We were simply lacking in skills. But if you use underhanded means to take advantage of us? There’s no way!

Defense? F**k that! Go ahead and attack if you can! The question is, can you get in?

“Mark Viduka! A beautiful shot! It went a little high. Ricardo didn’t even get to touch the ball even though he took a mighty leap to save it. He got lucky!”

“Forest is going on the offense now. Arteta is very active. He hasn’t even been on for ten minutes, but he’s already made two incredible passes. It’s a pity that the forwards failed to make use of the opportunities. Who will he be passing it to this time… A breakthrough! He dribbles the ball alone in a breakthrough!”

Arteta’s breakthrough threw Sporting CP’s defensive line into confusion and created chances for his teammates. But Crouch still failed to make good use of the chance this time; his shot went ridiculously wide. The Sporting CP fans on the spectators’ stand applauded him for his shot.

Even though they had not yet been rewarded for their efforts, the attitude displayed by Forest gave their fans great confidence.

Arteta was remarkably spirited. With him on the field, Forest’s organization of the midfield had much more order to it. The aim of their attacks also became clearer; they were no longer just blindly passing the ball forward. Although Albertini was similarly clear in that aspect, he was positioned further away from the front of the field. The attacks he launched depended more on long passes. On the other hand, Arteta could get closer to the opponent’s goal, causing his passes to become even more threatening.

Tang En felt extremely satisfied with Arteta’s performance. It proved that he had made no loss in his transfer. In his recollection, Arteta was the future midfield core of Everton. Only, from now on, he was to become Forest’s midfield core.

“This is hard to take in. Nottingham Forest, who is a man down, is suppressing Sporting CP. I don’t think anyone would agree if I said this was only due to the home team advantage.”

Sporting CP’s manager was already satisfied with the current result. Even if they lost the match in the end, he could ask for nothing more after having gotten two goals in the away match. When they returned to their home grounds, the two away goals here could be considered four there. So, when he noticed the Forest team’s attacks beginning to intensify, he decided that he might as well substitute in defensive players to enhance the defense. It would be even better if they could maintain the draw until the end.

As a result, the scene was a strange sight. Forest, who was lacking a player, was oppressing Sporting CP on their half of the field, bombarding them with attacks. Meanwhile, Sporting CP with their extra player had instead sent out defensive players, withdrawing into a passive defense in their backfield.

Nani felt rather helpless. His reason for being on the field was to attack and score goals. Yet, before being able to obtain more chances to show off his skills, the team’s tactics had changed again. Now, it became the priority to defend. He had to retreat for the defense. The front field did not even have a forward left behind, not to mention a midfielder like him. But he did not like defending. That work was way too troublesome.

Several times he drifted to the side of the team’s formation, imagining that he could get an opportunity. The opponent team would launch a massive attack and empty their defenses; his team would successfully intercept the ball, but there would be no one in the front field! At that point, he would suddenly raise an arm to signal his presence. A precise long pass would come his way, sending the football to his feet. With the wide, open field before him, he turns, dribbles, and breaks through!

Alone, he would ditch all those chasing behind him and have a face-off with the goalkeeper. He would use his flashiest moves to get past the poor goalie and stop the ball on the goal line itself. When the opposing team finally chased him down, he would tap the ball into the goal with his heel. Immediately after, he was going to put his finger to his lips and get the opponent’s fans to all shut their mouths!

What a fabulous feeling it would be!

But now… Pinto kept on reminding him to defend, defend, defend… he had gotten sick of hearing it. What was a football match? Defense? Bulls**t! It’s for attacking, for scoring goals! What’s the point of football if you can’t score goals?

Are you already happy with only a draw now?

I’m not!

Arteta was currently in possession in the front field, looking around for someone to pass to. He was deliberating about how he should pass the ball when Nani suddenly burst out from his diagonal, stretching his leg to steal Arteta’s ball!

Arteta, completely taken by surprise, allowed Nani a successful steal!

“Arteta lost the ball! This is deadly!”

On seeing Nani’s successful steal from Arteta, Tang En’s first thought was, if Wood were here, so what if it got stolen… but after returning to his senses, he dashed to the sidelines and hollered towards the field, “STOP HIM! Dammit…”

The moment Albertini saw Nani’s steal, he did not wait for Tony’s reaction before sprinting straight for the opponent. That was despite his tiredness. He was extremely tired. Without Wood, his workload was simply too heavy. Even though it was only the 74th minute of the match, he was even more tired than usual. The demand on his body already made it so that he could not participate as often during their attacks. Arteta’s appearance on the field relieved him of some of his duties, and he could stay behind in the backfield to defend.

In the past, such situations were always handed to Wood to deal with; but it was his turn now.

No matter what, I’m also a defensive midfielder!

“Move forward to support him!” Sa Pinto saw Nani’s successful steal and immediately knew that it was a chance to catch hold of a win, a golden opportunity to turn the tides. They must not just let it go. Without thinking, he waved his hand to signal his teammates to press forward, switching from defense to offense.

Nani, in possession, saw a flicker of a shadow rushing towards him. He did not know who it was, but that was not important. Regardless of who it was, they could not stop him from fulfilling his dream of making his mark.

This is my chance, I must grab hold of it!

Albertini was gradually closing in. With his speed, he was certainly unable to outrun Nani. He knew that he absolutely needed to block this ball when he got to Nani; there would not be a second shot at it.

There was only this chance, right here!

Nani had intended to abruptly switch up his dribbling rhythm and pass by Albertini, who looked as if he was rushing too heavily forward. But, as Nani lowered his speed and shot the ball between Albertini’s legs, momentarily parting from the ball, Albertini suddenly deepened his stance. Snapping together his feet and sinking, he blocked the ball.

By this point, Nani had already passed Albertini, prepared to continue dribbling forward. In other words, he had already completely lost possession of the ball; he was already intercepted!

Trying to get past me from under? Do you really think I’ve gotten old?

Albertini did not bother sparing his defeated foe a glance. Instead, he left Nani surprised and looking backward at his tall, proud back.

Sporting CP, who had been transiting between defense and offense, suddenly became stuck in an awkward position. Clearly, it was impossible for them to try to attack from this position. Defense-wise, they needed to return immediately; but would Forest team give them such an opportunity?

The answer was no. Albertini made a pass straight to Arteta, who immediately kicked it over to Viduka.

Striking a pose, Viduka lifted his feet and readied to take his shot. Just as the opponents shifted in front of him to block it, Viduka passed the ball to Crouch instead.

Chapter 298 - What Goes Around, Comes Around Part 2

This time, Crouch even had a Sporting CP player marking him by his side. The opportunity did not look too good. However, Crouch having someone marking him so closely seemed to be forcing him to perform at his best. He suppressed his opponent with his towering body and a swipe of his long leg.

“GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! Crouch, who had wasted several chances, finally gets ahold of this one. He scores a crucial point! Nottingham Forest takes back the lead!”

Crouch was incredibly excited after he scored. Despite knowing that the value of victory in this match was not all that high, especially since their opponents had already gotten two away goals in, he was still happy to be able to win. This win was for Eastwood and for George Wood. It was a match that they had to win for their teammates.

He had not even taken two steps before being pulled down by Viduka. Following that, more of his teammates swarmed over and piled atop them, their faces all twisted from the excitement.

At the moment that the ball flew through Sporting CP’s goalposts, a long-suppressed outburst of cheers erupted from Tang En’s side.

“That was damn beautiful!” Even Kerslake, who usually refrained from cursing, could not help but swear. It was easy to imagine their level of excitement.

While Tang En himself was not as excited, he was still overjoyed by the goal. He stood and gave a thumbs-up to Crouch. His thoughts were the same as those of the players. If this was merely about advancing into the quarterfinals, they were no longer that hopeful after having played to a draw. The team had no reason to risk so much, running their bodies haggard with the risk of injury. But they all knew the true meaning behind the victory of this match.

Honestly, as the manager, he should be more utilitarian. But Tang En very much liked the feeling of being one with the team, working hard together in pursuit of a victory even if it appeared meaningless. Although professional football was ultimately about profit, wasn’t it also meaningful to occasionally play a match like this? Tang En keenly felt that only such a team would have a future to envision. It was because they were an inseparable team.

※※※

Forest was leading once again. The cheers that arose in the stadium continued for ten minutes straight.

In the face of the loss of a ball, Sporting CP’s manager, José Peseiro, was not in the least bothered. After all, he had already gotten two away goals.

Just like that, the match progressed to its end without any more surprises. While Forest’s players were collectively thanking their fans in the stadium, Tang En left the area and headed towards the location of the press conference.

As a manager who had held in his temper fairly well earlier, this was where the fun began.

It was not only he who knew this. The reporters and their keen noses knew it too. After quickly wrapping up the interviews in the common area, everyone had swiftly taken their spots in the press conference hall, waiting for it to begin.

When José Peseiro arrived, the press officer announced the commencement of the press conference. Countless hands shot up immediately.

No one cared about how the match’s results would impact Forest’s pursuit of the UEFA Europa League or Nani’s breakthrough performance. Everyone was only concerned about the two injuries and one red card that had appeared in this match.

Peseiro’s expression was grim when he took his place at the press conference. The joy from scoring two goals on an away match had all but vanished after hearing about Rochemback’s injury.

According to the preliminary examination by the team doctors, Rochemback’s injury was most likely to be a ligament tear in his ankle. After hearing this, the smile on his face completely disappeared. As a manager who was constantly in contact with football and its associated injuries, he knew exactly what it meant for a player to get a ligament tear.

For this season, Rochemback was finished.

As a result, he spoke nothing about the results of the match during the press conference or if it made him happy. Instead, he jabbed his fingers towards Nottingham, Tony Twain, and George Wood.

“…I think that the foul by Forest’s number 13 was an extremely unethical and dirty play. He needs to suffer a heavier penalty for it! That was completely…”

Peseiro had not even finished his criticism when he was interrupted by Tony Twain beside him. “I think there’s a need for me to remind Mr. José Peseiro of something. If Rochemback had received a red card after fouling against Eastwood, he wouldn’t have gotten injured. No one would have gone looking for trouble with him in the away locker room. Rather than criticising my player, shouldn’t you be reprimanding the main referee for this match? Of course, if you must keep criticizing my players, I would like to trouble you to first lecture Fábio Rochemback, your own player. Currently, Eastwood is still lying in hospital, and I have no news of the severity of his condition. Can I ask, Mr. Peseiro…” Tang En swiveled his head to glare at his opponent, suddenly raising his voice, “What are you angry about?!”

“That- that was just an accident. Such accidents will occur from time to time in a football match. That can’t become an excuse for your player to maliciously violate Rochemback!

“Very well, then. Regarding George Wood’s foul, I feel extremely sorry. I’m sure that was just an accident that we did not want to see, right? Such accidents occur from time to time in a football match. Surely, there’s no reason to feel angry because of it. I’ll ask the same question, Mr. Peseiro. What on earth are you angry about?”

Watching the confrontation of the two managers who had begun arguing back and forth without heed to their audience, the media kept their silence. They were all watching a good show. No one tried raising their hands to ask questions; that would only disrupt the ongoing dramatics.

Tang En’s retort left Peseiro without any response. Realising that the situation was not going well, the press officer made a move to end the highly-reactive press conference ahead of time. However, Tang En raised a hand to stop him.

“Allow Mr. Peseiro to finish venting his anger. You can’t stop him from speaking, can you? Mr. Peseiro, what are you angry about? Don’t you feel that it is very, very normal for your player to intentionally violate my player, that it’s something that ‘occur from time to time in a football match?’ Yet, when an opponent fouls your player, it’s unethical, dirty, and should be severely punished?”

Tang En continued pressing him, his barrage of questions causing Peseiro to sweat.

“I am truly sorry about George Wood’s foul. I believe that he definitely, definitely did not mean to do it. After all, no one on the field would purposely try to violate a stranger that they don’t have a grudge against, right?” Tang En purposefully emphasized heavily on “don’t have a grudge,” making the sarcasm painfully obvious.

“I don’t know if Mr. Peseiro has ever heard of the phrase, double standards. I think that your earlier performance gave it an excellent definition. You have flawlessly explained to our current audience what makes a double standard. Oh, dear. In fact, I should have spoken first in today’s press conference. In that case, I would surely have pronounced Fábio Rochemback’s foul to be extremely unethical, supremely dirty, and deserving of a more severe punishment. That way, you could have used my words against me. You were too anxious, Mr. Peseiro. As for Rochemback and his injury, I believe he had the same realization when he acted against Eastwood. What goes around, comes around.”

After saying this, Tang En stood and said to the reporters below the stage, “Everyone, despite Sporting CP having scored two away goals, we are greatly overjoyed about our victory. That is especially true after the situations that cropped up. I am tremendously proud of my players and team. I am also proud that Forest has such great fans. Thank you, everyone. Today’s press conference will end here. Thank you and goodbye!”

Once again, he prematurely left the scene… Or perhaps not; he had already announced the end of the press conference.

Chapter 299 - The Fate of The Romani Part 1

Tony Twain was once again in the news. However this time, he did not only appear in the local media of Nottingham or the English media; he was also in the major sports editions of the European media.

The focus of media coverage was not the 3:2 Nottingham Forest home game, a narrow victory over Sporting Lisbon, but the argument that had happened at the post-game press conference. The first to break the news was the Lisbon media in Portugal. Naturally, they would not say that José Peseiro was at fault. The Portuguese people described Tony Twain in the news as an ill-mannered, arrogant, rude,?and uneducated country bumpkin and hooligan. They twisted the words he had used to attack Peseiro and published them as evidence.

The Portuguese press fired the first shot, and the English tabloids had absolutely no reason not to retaliate. “The Times” launched the first counterattack from the English press. The English media’s counterattack was mainly focused on Rochemback’s malicious assault and his smug expression afterward. Thanks to the advanced television technology, such a subtle and fleeting expression could be captured, and the frozen frame could be repeatedly broadcasted for a long time for viewers to appreciate.

Both countries’ media waged a war of words which, unsurprisingly, attracted the attention of the media of other countries in the European continent. In the UEFA Europa League 16th round match, two players were injured and one player was sent off. After the game, the two managers did not let the matter drop and quarreled endlessly in the press conference. There was a lot to cover.

Funnily enough, Tony Twain was now a manager of some European renown.

But Twain was simply in no mood for jokes.

As mentioned earlier, it was a game with two serious injuries. Sporting Lisbon’s Fábio Rochemback was diagnosed with an ankle ligament tear, accompanied by a slight fracture. It was optimistically estimated that he would not play for eighteen months!

George Wood’s seemingly ordinary kick had that kind of power. If Peseiro had known that exact piece of news about Rochemback’s recovery time after the game, it was likely that he would have enacted a scene from “Mortal Kombat” with Tony Twain on the spot in front of reporters.

Eighteen months was a full year-and-a-half. It would be 2007 before Rochemback could return to the field. Even if he recovered, his condition and physique would surely take a nosedive, and he might never return to his former self. Rochemback was a tough and strong defensive midfielder. Perhaps he did not know how many opponents he had injured in his career, but he certainly had not expected that he would be seriously injured with a kick one day.

Manager José Peseiro had a good reason to be angry. And Tony Twain was no exception.

As soon as the press conference was over, he received a call from Professor Constantine himself, telling him the bad news.

Freddy Eastwood’s injury was in the medial meniscus of his knee.

Just hearing this name, Twain’s heart leaped wildly. When he was a football fan, he had often heard this term. Countless players were ruined by this small medial meniscus.

Eastwood’s right knee had suffered severe trauma again and his outer meniscus had ruptured. He had to undergo surgical treatment and required a minimum of five months of recovery after the treatment.

This meant that if he was lucky and everything went smoothly, Eastwood would still have to wait until next season to play again. Furthermore, the meniscus was basically a special part with very little or no regenerative ability. Even if the operation was very successful, Eastwood’s right leg would be permanently left with hidden damage. He could fall again at any time due to this injury. Even if he was not injured, the damaged meniscus would greatly limit his play. No one knew how he would perform when he returned to the field.

Only two years had passed since his last serious injury and now he was seriously injured again. Twain was very worried that Eastwood would lose his mind before his body recovered. The next day after the game, he decided to personally visit the striker he had brought back from a community green space in East London.

He hoped to still be able to see Eastwood’s mischievous smile and hear his rapid, sharp, and cheerful voice.

※※※

Twain had not been to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University for a long time. The first time he had come here was to find someone who could give his head an authoritative appraisal. From then on, he had met the loyal Forest fan, Professor Constantine, and procured two clinical experts in sports injury as well. The last time, he had brought Shania, who had seemed to be running a high fever. He and the young girl had gotten to know each other well for the first time here in the hospital ward. Time flew so quickly; one and a half years had gone by in a flash.

Professor Constantine greeted Twain alone at the gate. Although Eastwood was under sports injury, which he was not in charge of, as Tony Twain’s personal friend he still helped in the matter.

“How’s he feeling, Professor?” was the first thing Tang En said when he arrived.

“I don’t know what to say.” Constantine shook his head. “We informed him of the injury. His reaction was very... Well, it’s inappropriate to say he was happy. But he was the one who smiled and comforted others. I feel like his mood is abnormal. It’s not the kind of emotions a normal person would display at a time like this. You know what I mean, Tony?”

Twain nodded.

“The same area suffered two serious injuries. I’m worried about his career...” Constantine could not continue. He was aware that Twain knew as well.

Twain did not speak and his head was lowered. He just quickened his pace.

The two men walked silently into the inpatient building.

Compared with the comings and goings in the outpatient building, the inpatient building seemed deserted and quiet. The footsteps of Twain and Professor Constantine were crisp in the corridor. The last sound of their footsteps faded away in front of a door.

“Here it is.” Constantine pointed to a door with the number 402. “I’ll go back first. Come find me if you need anything, Tony.”

Twain nodded again. “Thank you, Professor.”

When Professor Constantine turned and left, Twain raised his hand to lightly tap on the door of the ward.

“Come in, please.” A female voice could be heard from inside.

Twain pushed open the door and stepped in. He saw the heavily-pregnant Sabina peeling an apple for Eastwood.

Sabina’s back was towards the door and she did not see who pushed the door open and entered. Lying down, Eastwood sat up on the bed. “Chief.”

The room was filled with flower baskets, like a florist. The biggest one was from the Nottingham Forest Club and the rest were from the Forest fans and players.

“It all looks really nice, chief,” Eastwood quipped when he saw Twain fix his gaze on all the flowers. “Even if I retire now, at least I can open a florist.”

Twain smiled. “That’s pretty corny, Freddy. Are you starting to think about your life after retirement?”

When Sabina heard the two men starting to discuss the topic, she quickly put the apple down and found an excuse to go out.

Twain watched Sabina leave and then asked, “When is your baby due?”

“There are still three months,”?Eastwood replied.

“You’re so young, and yet you’re going to be a father of two...” Twain sat the chair where Sabina had sat, picked up the half-peeled apple and continued Sabina’s unfinished task.

“Chief, don’t you want to find someone for yourself?”?Eastwood laughed.

“Uh... I haven’t met the right one.”

“Who would be the right one?”

Twain lowered his head to peel the apple and said, “I don’t know. That’s too difficult to answer. There is a saying in China; a real man aspires to travel far and make his mark. That is to say, a man should put his career first. Matters like finding a wife before you’re successful in your career should be secondary.?As you can see, I still haven’t achieved anything yet.

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

“The legendary manager...” muttered Eastwood. It was a picture of the future that Twain had once painted for him, and it was wonderful. “I think... Chief, maybe you need to find another legendary striker to partner with you.”

Twain cut off the last apple peel and handed the apple to Eastwood. “You have no confidence in your abilities, Freddy?”

“No, I never doubt my ability. I just... I just have no confidence in my body.” Freddy took the peeled apple and stared blankly at it. “After my first injury, I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to play professional football again. Chief, you helped me to realize a dream that I could only think about occasionally. I even got a championship trophy. I’m very lucky compared to the guys I used to know on the Grays Athletic team. Some people love football, have a healthy body, but can’t even touch glory. And me? I have a championship, played in European competitions, participated in the English Premier League and scored goals...”

Twain quietly waited for him to finish his words and then put away the fruit knife. He looked at him and asked, “Do you know the result of yesterday’s game?”

Freddy nodded. “Sabina specifically bought a lot of newspapers for me. I even watched the news on TV. We won. It was really good, but too bad we let the opponents score two goals.”

Chapter 300 - The Fate of The Romani Part 2

“Hmm...” Twain tapped his nose. “You know, when the opponents scored the second goal, it didn’t matter how we played in the end; the Forest team would be considered to have lost. You were injured, and George was sent off by a red card. In the second round, the Forest team will be down two main players. I don’t have high hopes for the away game.”

The Romani smiled. “Chief, when did you become so uncertain?”

“When we lost you and George.”

“Me? I can’t be that important, can I? Even if I can’t play, there’s still the Australian beast, the giant machine. And that Danish kid who always likes to show off. We have a strong forward.”

“They are them and you’re you. No one can be replaced by any others. The substitute can relieve your position, but they can’t replace you. Without you, we’re going to have a harder time playing for the rest of the season. But I think the team will persist till you’re back. I didn’t ask them to do that. It’s what they want.”

Eastwood did not speak. He thought about what would happen if he did return. Playing with an injured leg was like having a bomb waiting to explode at any time. He could become a burden to the team at the most critical moment; just like in this UEFA Europa League game.

“Are you worried about becoming a liability to the team?” It was as if Twain could read Eastwood’s mind. He questioned the Romani, looking straight into his eyes. “Where’s the Eastwood that I know? The one who’s optimistic and cheerful, always speaking the fastest speed and the loudest? The popular one who likes to joke and give his teammates nicknames? Every time I see you riding a horse in the morning, I think of our first meeting and I laugh. You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met, Freddy. I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone like you again. You think your right knee can’t hold on anymore? But when you became a member of the Forest team, did those doubts crush you? When you were at the Stadium of Light making your debut on behalf of the Forest team in the tournament, did those Sunderland fans’ abuse scare you? Those people who thought you weren’t worthy of being a Forest footballer, that you had no right to stand on the field wearing the red Forest jersey, ridiculed you for being an amateur player and thought you would never be successful… and what did they get in return? A loud and clear slap on the face! You never doubted yourself. You always believed that you could play professional football ever since you played in an amateur team two years ago. Why are you cowering now?”

Eastwood tightened his jaw. The apple in his hand changed shape and the juice seeped out of his fingers.

“Do you believe in fate, Freddy? Sabina often uses cards to tell people’s fortune. You also know a thing or two. Do you ever believe it? What do you think fate is? ...It seems to me that fate isn’t a net that sets a path for you to walk on. Fate is a network of crossroads, and you’re always faced with a variety of choices.” Twain thought about Tang En, how he inexplicably transmigrated into this world and time period. Perhaps that could also be considered fate. If he had abandoned himself to despair at that time, indulged in the British pub culture, and went to work with a muddle-through attitude and no desire to do well, what would have become of him? Where would he be, what would he do, who would he know? He had no idea, but Twain firmly believed that if he had done that, he would never have been better off than he was now.

“If you choose A, you will give up B, C, and D. If you choose B, you will give up A, C, and D... Your choice will be your fate. I choose to be a legendary manager, and I will continue to try my best. No matter how many crossroads I face, I will only choose the direction that I can take to achieve my goal. Maybe it’s left, maybe it’s right. But no matter which direction, I will never choose to stand still. Because I don’t know if I’ll have the courage to continue on if I stop to take a break. And now, Freddy!” Twain suddenly raised his voice, “You have come to a crossroads just like that. What will you choose? To continue to go forward, or stop here and now? Are you willing to accept it? To stop? Are you physically and emotionally exhausted?”

With a pop, Freddy Eastwood crushed the apple to pieces in his hand, scattering them across the bedding.

“I... I’m not willing, chief. When I see healthy people, I can’t accept it. If... if you can give me a pair of healthy knees, I can score more goals. I think I want to be a legendary striker… I want to help you, chief.”

Always optimistic and cheerful, his laughter always heard before his face was seen, the Romani now buried his head in the blanket and wept. This father, soon to welcome his second baby, cried like a child.

Watching him cry, Twain smiled. He put his hand on Eastwood’s head and gently rubbed his hair.

“We can do it. I’ll be the legendary manager, and you be a legendary striker. It’s going to be okay. Your knee will be just as healthy and active as before in a few months. Don’t worry; there’s nothing to worry about. You’ve done a lot of things that people with a pair of healthy knees can’t do. Okay, don’t cry. Now is not ‘time to say goodbye.'”

Eastwood nodded his head and gradually stopped crying.

When it was time for Twain to say goodbye, he said to Eastwood, “Relax and work with the treatment and rehabilitation. The team is waiting for you to come back, as am I.”

※※※

Having said goodbye to Eastwood, Twain found Constantine, hoping he would take him to meet the chief surgeon of the operation so that he could feel reassured.

Upon hearing his request, Constantine’s expression looked a little odd. He told Twain that the surgeon was a diehard Notts County fan and his family had been Notts County fans for several generations. He was worried that it would be awkward when they met.

“I think it’s okay... I’m meeting him in my personal capacity, not as a manager of the Forest team.”

Constantine nodded his head in assent, seeing Twain’s insistence.

The surgeon in charge of Freddy Eastwood’s meniscus removal surgery was Stephen Albert, a bald, middle-aged man with golden-rimmed glasses and a somber expression. He looked rather difficult to deal with.

Twain tactfully explained his purpose for coming to Albert. The other man looked serious and did not reveal a warm smile.

“I think Professor Constantine has explained some things about me to you...” When he said this, he gave Constantine a glance. However, Constantine looked out of the window and pretended not to have noticed.

“Yes, I’m a Notts County fan. Notts County and Nottingham Forest are arch rivals. But Mr. Twain, there’s one thing I want you to understand; I’m a doctor before I’m a Notts County fan. It’s my job to save lives. My work at the operating table has nothing to do with whether I support Notts County or Nottingham Forest.”

Twain smiled. “Thank you, Dr. Albert. Professor Constantine says you’re a respected physician, and I’m sure he’s right.”

Twain had made this up. Constantine certainly would not make such a sappy remark.

Unsurprisingly, when Albert heard Twain say that, he turned to the slightly uncomfortable looking Constantine who stood on the side and smiled. “Constantine, that old chap, would never say such nice things about me. That said, I would still like to thank you for your compliment, Mr. Twain. I also admire your devotion to your players.”

After the lie had been laid bare, Twain did not feel embarrassed and gave a chuckle. He asked some questions relating to Eastwood’s surgery and then excused himself.

※※※

After he thanked Constantine for his help and said goodbye, Twain left the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University. Eastwood had regained his fighting spirit and confidence, so Twain was in a good mood. Though he was fated to lose the Romani for five months, it was better than losing him forever.

So Twain was not in a hurry to go back. He decided to take a walk.

At that time, it was not crowded near the hospital entrance. The hospital was not in the downtown area. It was a very quiet road and the traffic flow was not busy. There were few pedestrians on the sidewalk.

There was a person walking towards him, holding a bouquet of flowers. Twain thought the person looked very familiar, and the other man saw him too.

After he saw Twain, that man seemed to a little flustered. He hesitated for a moment and turned to go.

“George!” Twain called out.

Wood broke into a run as if he was afraid to see Twain here.

“Stop there, George! If you run again, I’ll send you to the reserves team to calm down!” yelled Twain.

It worked. The person ahead stopped running and stood on the spot. He looked somewhat awkwardly at Twain walking towards him. Twain smiled happily. “George, are you visiting someone? I just happen to know the exact ward he’s staying at.” He pointed to the flowers in George Wood’s hands.

Chapter 301 - As Expected Part 1

In the end, George Wood chose not to go to Eastwood’s room. He left the flowers at the counter on the ground floor, asking the nurse to pass it on to him before leaving.

Tang En noticed that he had written only “Good luck” on the card, and asked, “You’re not signing it?”

Wood shook his head. “No.”

Tang En knew how he felt and smiled. “But it doesn’t matter. Within the team, only your handwriting is that unique. Even if you don’t write your name down, he’ll know who it is. You’re the only one with such terrible handwriting that even your name is hardly legible.”

Wood paid no attention to Tang En’s joke. He placed the card among the flowers and gave them to the youthful and pretty nurse.

The nurse had long ago recognized the man who stood before her. After receiving the flowers, she put them aside. She then picked up a piece of paper and presented it to Wood, asking somewhat nervously, “I… I’m a fan of yours, George. You- You… Could you sign for me?”

Wood hesitated briefly, perhaps thinking it was not a suitable time for him to be giving out signatures.

However, Tang En coughed behind him, reminding Wood not to disappoint his fans. Wood obediently picked up his pen again and wrote his name on the piece of paper. Slanting awkwardly, the signature showed no bearing of a star at all. But the girl liked it very much and carefully put it away.

Tang En and Wood walked out of the building. Tang En looked up towards the fourth floor and asked Wood, “You’re really not going up?”

Wood shook his head. “No.”

“That’s a shame…” Tang En retrieved his gaze. “This was a pretty good chance. You… why can’t you just be a little more honest? Where did the courage you used to tackle Rochemback go?”

Wood stayed silent. There were some things that he truly did not know how to say.

He rarely said “I’m sorry” to anyone. Even if he knew that something was his fault, he did not know how to bring himself to say it.

“Never mind. I’m not going to force you. From watching you tackle Rochemback and his departure from the field with an injury, I’m sure Freddy already understands.” Tang En shrugged. Some things were better left unsaid; let them just keep it in their hearts.

“Do you have anything urgent to attend to right now?”

“No.”

“Very well; walk with me.”

“Where to?”

“Anywhere.” Tang En pointed towards the small path before the hospital gates. “Let’s just walk along this path. We can go anywhere. A stroll.”

※※※

“George… By tomorrow at the latest, I believe the notification for your punishment will be out. Do you have any thoughts on it?”

Strolling on the small, quiet path, Tang En and Wood began chatting casually.

“Thoughts?”

“It’s been almost a full day since what happened. Do you regret it? I mean… do you regret receiving a red card for taking revenge on Rochemback?”

“No. It’s already done.”

Hearing such a response, Tang En could not help but burst out laughing.

“If you met with that situation again, would you still choose to tackle him?”

Without any hesitation, Wood nodded.

“Hm…” Tang En rubbed his chin. “You can ask for some guidance from the older members on our team. About how you could… you know… without getting fouled out. I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about, right?”

Wood looked at Tang En and indicated his understanding. “I get it.”

Tang En sighed again. “But I know that this is a little difficult for you… you’re always so direct. It wouldn’t really be you if you were to use such underhanded tricks.”

Wood finally broke and asked a burning question on his mind. “So… how is his injury?”

“Not too great.” Tang En glanced at Wood. “To receive such a serious injury twice around the same area… It would be the greatest victory if he could return to the field at all. I can’t ask for more than that…”

Wood bowed his head as he listened to what Tang En said. He obviously knew who the culprit was behind the first of his injuries. If it wasn’t for the first, the second injury would perhaps not have been as severe.

“Will he… retire?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to look at how the surgery goes, and his post-surgery recovery.” Tang En told him the truth. Who could know anything for certain about the future?

Looking at the somber expression George Wood had, Tang En gave him a smile.

“Don’t mind that. As a football athlete, it’s common to get injured. This has nothing to do with you.”

Even with Tang En saying that, George Wood’s expression remained unchanged. Eastwood’s situation today had originated from the foul that he had committed when he was on the Youth Team. There was no way he could just forget it.

Seeing him that way, Tang En did not try to further persuade him and let him be. Perhaps it would be good for him to have some pressure. But there was still something that needed to be said.

“George, do your best. Now, you’re not just playing for yourself alone. Freddy may not be able to participate in any matches for half a year. Let’s work harder together on his behalf.”

Wood nodded vigorously at his words.

※※※

The next day, UEFA sent a punishment notification regarding George Wood. Based on the recording of Wood’s tackling of Rochemback, there was no conclusive evidence to show his act was malicious or to purposefully seek revenge. When Rochemback had received the ball, it originally lay between him and Wood. Wood’s foot must have been going for the ball. Unexpectedly, in an attempt to lure Wood to commit a foul, Rochemback pushed the ball aside and allowed his own ankle to directly receive Wood’s tackle, thereby causing his injury.

In conclusion, Wood’s punishment was a four-match ban from the European tournaments. That punishment was not considered harsh. Usually, a red card would result in a two-match ban. Wood was only barred for two additional matches. In comparison to previous guesses from the others of something like a half-year ban, this was much better. Such an extreme contrast made it seem as if Wood had not received any punishment at all.

Following that, the UEFA evaluated the referee of the match and found nothing unusual. They also had no doubts about the yellow card awarded to Rochemback.

It could basically be viewed as a move against Tony.

As expected, after the explanation the UEFA warned Nottingham Forest’s manager, Tony Twain, not to cast doubts on the referee’s judgment. The referees in the UEFA were chosen through strict selection criteria.

The UEFA Referees Committee was extremely displeased with Tang En’s words. They felt that Tang En was disrupting the referee’s work and had made attempts to influence the refereeing world. He was perceived as trying to use his perspective to influence the judgments made by the referees. Tang En, however, cared nothing for their anger. In his viewpoint, since it was all a kind of work, the referee’s job should also be open to criticisms from other people. Getting it wrong meant getting it wrong. There was no need to cover up the matter.

Before he could relate that to them, Evan Doughty approached him. Evan hoped he would not go against the UEFA at such a crucial point. Tang En understood that Evan was saying that for his own good, so he could only swallow his unhappiness with the UEFA Referees Committee and suppress it in his heart. He would wait for another opportunity to vent.

Nottingham Forest Football Club accepted the result of the punishment. What else could they do if they did not? Nottingham Forest’s era of great reputation within the European Football scene had been over for a long time. Currently, their words carried little weight. UEFA was already considerably lenient for not barring Wood for half a year.

With the loss of two core players, Forest’s journey against Sporting CP was not looked well upon.

Despite having various options and combinations for their forward line, Tang En found himself at a loss when it came to the position of the defending midfielder. After a search, Tang En found that there was truly only one George Wood, and there was no suitable substitute for him. The home match against Sporting CP already showed that Gunnarsson was unable to effectively replace George Wood. If the same arrangements were made for the away match, Tang En reckoned that his team would perish even more horribly.

As the team’s main manager, Tang En was already considering selling Gunnarsson after the season ends and finding a suitable substitute for Wood.

Tang En was not worried about Wood’s physical condition developing problems. However, the red card set off blaring alarms for him. Wood was not a nice guy with a good temper. The battles within the English Premier League were fierce, and such clashes were inevitable. Wood’s collection of foul cards in the future would certainly be more than just a few. And when Wood got barred from matches because of an accumulation of yellow cards, or from receiving a red card, there needed to be a substitute that Tang En could have confidence in. He did not have to perform as well as Wood, but he could not perform too poorly either.

In truth, it was often more difficult to choose a substitute than a core player. While a core player needed only the ability to perform. A substitute not only needed ability but also the mental toughness to sit on the bench. They had to be able to withstand the loneliness. Being a substitute for someone like Wood it was even tougher; Wood was the kind of player who rarely got injured.

What player would willingly sit on the substitutes’ bench for a majority of the time? Almost none. Yet, the team could not function without an able set of reserve line-ups. Though rotation may be a feasible method, it was only a possibility. The stability of the formation and a rotation system ran directly counter to each other.

Furthermore, to do a rotation on the position of a defensive midfielder already sounded ridiculous. The most essential requirement of a defensive midfielder was stability. With changing here and there, it would not only be the rotating players who felt uncomfortable; the entire team would be at a loss.

In Tang En’s heart, if Forest team in the future truly became strong enough to require a rotation system for competing in multiple leagues, there were two positions that he would not implement rotation on: one was the goalkeeper, and the other was George Wood.

Chapter 302 - As Expected Part 2

The thoughts of such unrealistic matters were much too far-off from now. With Wood unable to participate, Tang En decided to give up focusing on defense in the away match. He partnered Albertini with Arteta in the center of the midfield as starters.

Since they had already had lost two goals to their opponent in the home match, there was no point in trying to maintain their current single goal lead in the away match. They might as well just go on the attack and try to score more than two goals in the away match. That way, they could nullify the goals that Sporting CP had scored in their away match.

For that reason, Forest trained to go on the attack throughout the week. With Arteta as the attacking core, he took command of their offense. Tang En also felt that he could take this opportunity to realize the ideas he had had in his heart, allowing Arteta to utilize the chance to gradually solidify his position as the playmaker of the team.

From Arteta’s recent performance during substitutions, Tang En could be certain that the Arteta he knew was no different from the previous one. His abilities and talent were present, which would be sufficient for him to fulfill his potential as a playmaker.

Before this, Tang En had been worried that his appearance here would cause a change in the abilities of the players. But looking at it now, it seemed that most of them still remained at the standard they should be at.

※※※

After undergoing three days of training at Nottingham, Forest flew to the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. Over there, they carried out two days of training to familiarize themselves, getting used to the grounds, holding the press conference, and so on.

From their first step off the plane and onto the grounds of Lisbon, Tang En could feel the enmity pouring out from all over Sporting CP’s home grounds. After all, they had taken out their main defensive midfielder in the previous match and had even mercilessly ridiculed Peseiro in the press conference afterward.

As such, they now had to bear an enormous amount of pressure in the beginnings of their away match journey.??U.pdated b.y .Com

In the two days before the match, Forest’s training was constantly disrupted by Sporting CP’s fans gathered at the sidelines. It resulted in Kerslake having no option but to request that their Portuguese counterparts close off their training grounds.

The situation got even worse when it came to the day of the actual match.

Estádio José Alvalade was devoid of any empty seats. From the point of entry of Forest’s players, grating sounds of jeering constantly rang out. In truth, most of them were aimed at Twain.

But the Tony of today was not the same man as the football manager who had insufficient ability or was starting out mid-career. It was not his first experience getting jeered at by an entire stadium of fans. The only difference was the number of people. Nothing else. He had already learned to ignore it. His entire focus now was on the match itself.

Right from the beginning of the match, the tactics used by the teams in the match were glaringly obvious.

Due to the two away goals in Sporting CP’s pocket, along with being only behind by a single goal, they played patiently. On their home grounds, they chose the strategy of defensive counterattacking, something that surprised even the commentator.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest also unexpectedly formed an attacking formation.

It was as if the two teams had switched their roles of away and home team.

From the first second of the match, Forest team used the fact that they kicked-off to launch a ferocious attack at the heart of Sporting CP.

With the loss of Rochemback, the defensive responsibilities of Sporting CP seemingly fell to the entire team; everyone had to participate in defense. Their priority was to prevent any loss of goals on their home ground and to only take the chance to counterattack when there was one.

George Wood’s red card was a domino effect. Peseiro was clear about that. Currently, Forest did not have the guts to merely defend their single goal advantage in the away match. If that was the case, they would be finished as long as Sporting CP scored a goal. So, in this match, Forest would certainly be trying to score as many goals as possible.

Peseiro wanted precisely to capture this mentality of the opponent. First, they would defend stably. After dragging it out long enough for Forest to become impatient, they would initiate a sudden attack. They just need one goal to beat down Forest.

The offense Tony Twain trained a week for, and the defense José Peseiro trained a week for; it was a head-on clash this time.

At the end of the first half, despite having put all their effort into it, Forest remained unable to break through the gates of the home team. Instead, Sporting CP, on their home grounds amid their cheering fans, were gaining momentum with each successive defense. Their frequent sneak attacks sent Forest’s defensive line into a mess of jitters, and Edwin van der Sar into a tailspin.

After the halftime break, Forest continued going on the offense in the second half. However, they had also gradually moved to focus more on their defense. Tang En intended on using their offense to curb the attacks of the opponent, replicating the effect of defense itself.

Their points remained at a stalemate. The tidal wave of attacks from Forest forced Sporting CP to put more of their attention into defending. Time ticked down. Just as everyone assumed Forest team would take a spot among the final eight in this way, Sporting CP scored a goal four minutes before entering injury stoppage time.

It was not due to a defensive counterattack from Sporting CP. Instead, it came from a corner kick.

In a moment of sloppiness in the final minutes of Forest’s defense, Matthew Upson failed to follow his mark. A fleeting moment of carelessness led to an irreparable result.

Sporting CP led against Nottingham by 1:0!

If that score persisted until the end of the match, Sporting CP, who had a higher number of away goals, would eliminate Nottingham Forest.

Forest was obviously unwilling for that to happen. In the last moments, Tang En used up all three of his substitution quota. He substituted center back Upson for a forward, Bendtner.

Including the three minutes of injury stoppage time, there were only seven minutes left in the match. In those seven minutes, Forest only had a single fullback left on the field: Hierro. Both Leighton Baines and Chimbonda had received Tang En’s instructions to go full out on offense and ignore defending.

The formation of the Forest team abruptly became an astonishing 1333 – one fullback and two rear defenders moving forward to join Albertini in a row as part of the midfield.

Tang En’s way of battling to the death was to entirely disregard their defense. Even so, Forest team did not manage to get the result they yearned for in Estádio José Alvalade.

When the German referee sounded the final whistle to signal the end of the match, the cheers that erupted from within the grounds of Estádio José Alvalade shook the skies with its ferocity. The players of Sporting CP hugged one another in celebration of their hard-earned victory.

On the other end, Nottingham Forest’s players were collapsed on the ground breathing heavily, reluctantly watching the joy of their opponents.

Conversely, Tang En was neither dissatisfied nor dejected. At the point when Eastwood was sent to the hospital for his severe injury and George Wood was fouled out with a red card because he took revenge, this result had already been foreseen by Tang En.

Watching the celebratory scene of their opponent’s victory and listening to the wave of cheers, each louder than the last, drifting in from the spectators’ stands, Tang En turned to face David Kerslake beside him. He said, “I think… you’re right, David. I made a big mistake. A very, very big mistake. and now I’ve failed.”

Chapter 303 - Time to Hurtle Part 1

When the Nottingham Forest team flew back to London from Lisbon, the players did not smile. It had been a defeat in the away game, which was quite different from the away game loss to Villarreal CF.?No matter what, they had known that losing to Villarreal would not stop the team from breaking out of the group stage. Therefore, after one night, the players had quickly recovered from their anger and chatted and laughed on the plane.

It was different this time.

Losing to Sporting Lisbon meant that they had completely lost the UEFA Europa League that season. There was no hope for a championship. As a result, no one could laugh on the plane.

There were currently many young players on the Forest team. Some of them had just participated in a top league and a European tournament for the first time. There was an advantage to such a team: they would be deeply struck by their failure. They would not take it lightly. Such a failure would continue to affect them for a long time.

Twain still had a straight face. He was different from the players. It was not because he had lost a game or a UEFA Europa League, but because he felt stupid. A little success made him complacent and lose his head. He had wanted to claim the title of the UEFA Europa League, but he had not considered his and the team’s current abilities. Now that he thought about it, he realized how ridiculous he had been when he had bragged to Dunn. He wondered if Dunn had thought the same thing.

In his view, it was not that the players did not do a good job, but that as a manager, he had sought the wrong objective. He had been blinded by his hubris.

Twain was in a bad mood, so no one was willing to deal with him. Next to him, Kerslake glanced at him several times but did not know what to say. Eventually, he just sighed and said nothing.

The team flew back to England and returned to Nottingham in silence.

Their European games of this season were all over.

※※※

When the team arrived in Nottingham, Twain announced that the team would be dismissed on the spot for a half-day break. They would resume their training the next morning. Despite a league game three days later, Twain was not in a hurry gather the team for their training immediately. After a big game, he wanted the players to rest for a while and regain their strength.

Of course, that was only one of the reasons. The other reason was that Twain needed to think about what the Forest team was going to do for the rest of the season.

When Twain had previously contemplated such things, he would go to the bar to think and drink. Later, after Dunn came, Twain had been more willing to discuss things with Dunn at home.

This was no exception.

Dunn quietly listened to Twain’s doubts and then asked, “How many points does the Forest team have now?”

“Forty-seven, and Liverpool has forty-four.” Twain remembered those figures very clearly. “But they are short a game.”

Dunn nodded. He talked more now, compared to when he had first arrived in England. Twain was happy that he could change a person, even just a little. “And Everton?” Dunn asked.

“Fifty-one points; a four-point difference. Third in the league is Arsenal with sixty-one points. It’s a gap of ten points with Everton.”

“The top four in the league are eligible to participate in the UEFA Champions League,” Dunn said. “A four-point gap shouldn’t be too much for you, right?”

Twain thought for a moment with his head bowed and nodded. “I understand. The next nine rounds will be a battle of us versus Liverpool and Everton.”

“Don’t forget Charlton and Middlesbrough,” Dunn cautioned.

Twain waved his hand. “I don’t place much importance on them.”

Dunn chuckled a little.

Twain stared at him strangely, “What are you laughing about?”

“Nothing.” Dunn shook his head. The smile was gone from his face. But Twain did not let it go. He continued to stare at him. Finally, Dunn put up his hand in surrender. “It’s just… you just lost an important game and now you’re so confident.”

Twain scratched his head, “I thought about it for a long time on the plane. No, actually, I’ve been thinking about it in my hotel bed for a long time since we lost the game. You were right, Dunn. But you stopped trying to persuade me. You wanted me to learn the hard way on my own?”

Dunn’s lips twitched a little, but he still did not say anything.

“Now come to think of it, I was very foolish at that time. But fortunately, we lost early. If we had lost in the semi-finals, I would have ended up empty-handed for the season.” Twain sat at the dining table and looked the cutlery in his hands. The silver metal gleamed a little under the light. He then looked up and found that Dunn had been looking at him. He laughed self-deprecatingly. “What’s the saying? Better late than never.”

Dunn nodded to show that he understood. Then he shook his head again. “There’s something you are right about. Football can’t be planned.”

※※※

Twain tried his best to seem confident. However, in the 30th round of the league tournament, the weary Forest team was completely out of shape. They lost 0:2 to Tottenham Hotspur. He had lost a great opportunity to gain more points.

During that round, Tony Twain’s two rivals had a direct match. It was the start of the Merseyside derby at Anfield Stadium.

Regardless of the results and ranking of the two teams in the league, those things had no reference value for the Merseyside derby.

After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, Rafael Benítez’s Reds defeated Moyes’ Everton.

After selling Gravesen, Everton had not made up for it in the winter transfer. They were not Liverpool’s opponents in that away game. They were beaten in the first half by 0:2. In the second half, Everton launched a frenzied counterattack. Perhaps they would not care if the match was so fierce that it affected the entire season. For the Derby opponents, this game was more important than a season’s league.

Red and blue were the two most traditional colors in English football. The two colors could almost be regarded as arch rivals in any city, such as the red Manchester United and the blue Manchester City, the red Arsenal and the blue Chelsea, the red Liverpool and the blue Everton.

Despite the brilliant success of the Liverpool Football Club, Everton had a much earlier history in the city of Liverpool than the Liverpool club did. Unsurprisingly, Everton was unwilling to lose to Liverpool. Even in an away game, they would not be willing.

In the second half, Everton started a fierce counterattack that made Liverpool feel like they could not withstand it. They scored a goal halfway through. But they were slightly less lucky. The ball bounced out after another shot hit the goal beam at the last moment.

When the referee blew the final whistle, the score on the electronic screen was set at 2:1, and Liverpool won on their home ground.

As a result, the gap between the Forest team and Everton had not changed, but Liverpool caught up with the Forest team with 47 points. They then relied on a weak goal difference advantage over the Forest team to rank fifth. The Forest team fell to the sixth place.

The seventh-ranked Charlton had 43 points, which was four points away from Forest.

It was really a situation in which three teams grappled for the spot in the UEFA Champions League.

※※※

The match against Tottenham Hotspur was held a little bit earlier than the Merseyside derby. When the result of the Merseyside derby came out, Twain was very depressed. He knew he had lost an excellent opportunity. If the Forest team had beaten Tottenham Hotspur at home, then they would only be one point away from Everton now, and would still maintain a three-point advantage over Liverpool. Even if Liverpool won in its make-up match, they would still have the same points. This could be crucial for the last few rounds of the hurtle phase.

It was too late to say anything now. Another chance had been missed. Besides, the team’s condition was really not good. There was no way to fight against Tottenham Hotspur, who took advantage of their exhaustion.

The loss of the game caused the media to resume their speculation on the subject of “The end of the young manager.” Sports media might be the most ruthless and effective of all the media in the world. Because the sports competition itself determined the hero through the outcome of victory or defeat. When one performed well, one received everyone’s praise. No matter how fulsome the flattery was, they would pile it on. But if one lost, no matter how good one’s performance was before, there would be many people who blamed and reduce them to nothing.

This world was so cruel; a victory would always be a victory and a defeat would always be considered a defeat. A draw was the most unremarkable result and the most meaningless.

Twain had seen such matters in the media two years ago. The winner would dominate and the loser would be powerless. When he became a manager and experienced those things first hand, he had not felt indignant about it. Instead, he could make use of the media to achieve some of his goals.

Just like this time.

The Forest team was eliminated from the UEFA Europa League, suffered two defeats, and did not win for three rounds in the Premier League. In the reporters’ gifted writing, these results were described as the end of the road for the Forest team.

Surprisingly, Twain did not return fire in his own column to counter those remarks.

There was a twelve-day period until the next round of the league tournament. The competition for the national teams was being held during that time. For those big football clubs, this was the time when the FIFA virus spread. However, for such a small club like Nottingham Forest, it was a good time to recuperate and regroup.

Compared to Liverpool and even Everton, the national footballers in the Forest team were pitifully few. Edwin van der Sar remained the main goalkeeper for the Netherlands national team. He would play with the Netherlands team in the qualifier for next year’s World Cup. Of the four main defenders, Hierro had long retired from the national team and Matthew Upson and Leighton Baines had not been selected for the English national team. Not to mention Pascal Chimbonda; the French national team did not have a position for him yet.

Chapter 304 - Time to Hurtle Part 2

In the midfield, Albertini had retired from the Italian national team a while ago. George Wood was not selected for Eriksson’s English team. Although Ribéry had performed well in the Premier League this season, he did not receive the French manager Domenech’s attention. Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon had only played for the England national youth team. Mikel Arteta, who had played overseas for a long time, had never been selected for the Spanish national team.

For the strikers, Viduka was still the Australian national team’s main striker. However, Australia basically had no real opponents. Rather than saying he was going back to compete, it was more like he was going back for a vacation. Nicklas Bendtner was recruited by Denmark’s national football team. But it was hard to say if he would have a chance to appear. Perhaps he would just be on the substitutes’ bench for two games. Peter Crouch was noticed by Eriksson, and the media reported it. But he did not appear on the national team’s big list for this game.

In this way, Edwin van der Sar and Mark Viduka were the only ones who would really leave the Wilford training base. The Forest team’s lineup remained quite intact, sufficient enough for Twain to practice formation tactics and make targeted arrangements. Compared with their two rivals, the Forest team suffered the least shortfall.

When the Premier League tournament started again on April 3, the Forest team would face its direct rival, Everton, at its home ground. It was not going to be an easy game.

In Eastwood’s absence due to his injury, Twain deployed a whole new front line. Unfortunately, with one striker injured and the departure of two forwards in their four-forward front line, only Crouch remained. Twain could not fully conduct training for the coordination within those twelve days. He could only rely on the rapport that they had built during the usual training. Bendtner was delighted to be selected for Denmark’s national team at such a young age and was eager to play for Denmark. When he left, Twain also encouraged Bendtner and hoped that he would perform well. But in reality, Twain was keen for Bendtner to remain on the substitutes’ bench for the entire two games so that he could get back a healthy Bendtner when the national team games were over. With only three forwards left on Forest’s front line, they could not afford any more injuries.

For the challenge against Everton, Twain would put the healthy Bendtner and Crouch in the starting lineup. Viduka would be on the substitutes’ bench. He would watch and decide if he needed to play depending on the situation.

In Twain’s view, Bendtner could completely replace Viduka and play the role of a powerful center forward. And what about Crouch? He was the tallest, but he was not the type to play as a strong center forward. He had good footwork, which was especially important for a six-and-a-half-foot striker.

The two midfielder candidates for the flanks remained unchanged in the midfield. They were the team’s main forces, Franck Ribéry and Ashley Young. In the middle of the midfield, Twain made a change which originated from the UEFA Europa League: Albertini, who had played continuously in a series of games, would be rotated out because George Wood, who had been suspended for more than half a month for the UEFA Europa League, was back in the starting lineup. His partner was Mikel Arteta, who made his debut in the last UEFA Europa League game.

Tang En decided to have a little fun for this arrangement. He used the Everton core midfielder in his own memory to deal with Everton. He thought that it would be very interesting. But Tang En did not know if Moyes would find it amusing.

Wood’s mission was simple. Previously when Albertini was playing, he was in charge of watching the team captain’s back. This time, he was replaced by Mikel Arteta. Wood’s mission remained unchanged. He would still be watching Arteta’s back and support Arteta when necessary.

On the defensive line, Hierro was rotated out. The two fullback partners, Matthew Upson and Piqué, remained unchanged.

During those twelve days, the Forest team would use those formations to perform repeated drills. And it was not just to deal with the game against Everton. More importantly, for the next eight rounds of the season, the Forest team would use this lineup most of the time to finish the season and only do some fine-tuning in a few small areas.

Twain and the Forest coaching team used all available time and means in these last twelve days. Earlier on the day after losing the game, Twain held a simple meeting with the coaches in the hotel room before going to the airport. At the meeting, he openly acknowledged his strategic mistakes. After giving up the league tournament, he did not even achieve any good results that he had hoped for at the UEFA Europa League in the end. For Twain himself, the UEFA Europa League runner-up and top 16 were just levels. If he did not win the championship title, it was not considered a good result.

Soon after, Twain told the coaching team that the team’s goals had changed and that their focus was back on the Premier League. The team was still based on the Premier League. It must be said that even though the ability of the Nottingham Forest coaching team might be in the middle level of the league, everyone was very nice. No one mocked Twain for reaping what he had sowed. No one complained that they had done a big circle around the UEFA Europa League. For them, the team’s collective performance was far more important than individual honor. As long as it was good for the Forest team, they would do the right thing.

Twain knew what kind of people these coaches were. But regrettably, now was not the time to say thank you. After all, their goal had not been achieved.

During the day at the team’s training base, Twain and the entire coaching staff led the team in training. They studied tactical arrangements, ensured that the players were in good condition, and paid attention to their physical condition. The countless small details were all taken care of by specific people. Twain only needed to create an overall plan. However, after losing a few games recently, his role as a manager might not be reflected in the team’s specific training, but in psychological adjustment.

He needed to convince everyone that these failures were just minor setbacks. Provided that they put in a little more effort and soldiered on, they could do it. And for Twain, this was probably the job he was best at.

Twain continued to be busy at night. He did not go to the bar at all during that period. After going home, from dinner onwards he and Dunn would study each opponent of the remaining eight rounds. No detail was spared. Dunn did not have a heavy responsibility in the youth team training. After all, the youth team and the First Team were still very different. Therefore, he would help Twain gather a lot of the competitor’s video material. After dinner, the two men would sit in front of the television and watch the game videos of those teams over and over again.

Although Dunn was not a First Team manager, he was doing a job that any member of the First Team’s coaching team would do.

After losing the UEFA Europa League, if they did not want to end up with nothing this season, then everyone had to gather his strength and try his hardest to fight. Now there was no way back.

The time to hurtle was here.

Chapter 305 - Against Everton Part 1

April 3, Rain showers.

Nottingham, outside City Ground.

Despite the lack of cooperation from the Heavens, such weather in England was all too common; it was unable to deter Forest fans from watching the match live. Various shades of umbrellas gathered at the gates of the stadium, forming a long, snaking line. As the mob of umbrellas moved along with the flow and got to the spectators’ stands, it all vanished into thin air in an instant. What was left were people welcoming the wind and rain with loud songs and their wide open arms; every person, every group.

This was the 31st round of the English Premier League, with Nottingham Forest on home ground against Everton. To other football fans, this may not be a particularly special match; it was not a must to watch it. But for the fans of the participating teams, this was a crucial match with no less importance than the city’s derby games.

Everyone had put forth their best effort in preparation for this game. No one would be willing to be the loser at the end of the 90 minutes.

※※※

The locker room of the home team was quiet. The players who had just returned from their warm-up on the field were drenched in sweat and hastily changing into their clean jerseys. Tang En stood at the door of the locker room and watched his players methodically accomplish all of that. David Kerslake seemed a little anxious. He stood at the side and from time to time, raised his wrist to look at the watch.

Tang En cleared his throat and raised his hands. “You guys can go on, I’ll just say a few words.”

All the players paused in their motions and looked back at him. With a wave of his hand, Tang En signaled for them to continue doing their own things. As he watched the players go back to changing, Tang En scratched his head and said, “Um, half a month ago, we lost the UEFA Europa League. Although I had rather excitedly declared that we were to become the Europa League champions, the result turned out to be a joke. I’ve lost.”

The players on the scene were taken aback by how easily Tang En voiced the statement, “I have lost.” Their manager was thought to be someone who would not admit to losing at any cost; and even if he did, he was the kind who would at least want to win a verbal battle. Why was he being so strange today?

Tang En looked at the players’ expressions and understood what they were thinking. He cracked a grin and asked, “Has everyone changed into clean clothes?”

The players nodded.

“Very good. Settle down and keep listening to me. We’re a newly promoted team, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we are.” Some players responded.

“Usually, a newly promoted team would aim to avoid relegation, right?”

“Right.” This time, there were more respondents.

“But…” Tang En suddenly switched the focus of the conversation, “The League matches are already in their 31st round. Look at our current results. We are number six in the league! What newly promoted team has such good results? If we surpass just two more teams, we’ll be able to participate in next season’s UEFA Champions League! To discard the Europa League for the Champions League, I think it’s worth it. There are still eight rounds left in the league. To achieve that goal, we need to start sprinting from now on. A sprint… full-speed ahead! Everton is our direct competition. While we’re running forward, so are they!”

Tang En walked into the center of the room from the door. He stood among the crowd of people and looked around the room.

“Recently, our luck hasn’t been good. We’ve lost goals, the Europa League, and two Premier League matches in a row. The media outside is making a big hoo-ha out of it. They make it sound like it’s the end of the world for us. They’ve prematurely announced a death sentence for us when there are still eight more rounds to go in the league! They’ve declared that it’s the end of us this season, that we’re doomed!”

Tang En jabbed his finger towards the door and cursed. “Those bastards! What do you guys think? Do you think it’s the end of us for this season? Are we already finished?”

If anyone at that point answered, “Yes, I think we’re finished,” then they were obviously seeking out death. All of Forest’s players yelled, “No!”

Tang En was immensely gratified by their response.

“I’ll tell you this. I’ll guarantee it; Liverpool will fall behind! Liverpool will definitely fall behind! Don’t look at how they’re ahead of us right now. We’ll surpass them! So, in fact, our main opponent is only Everton. And the decisive match with them is today! So long as we can close the gap between us to a single point, the ones who won’t be able to withstand it and collapse under that pressure will be our opponents!”

Tang En curled his fist and smashed it downwards. Even though he hit nothing, everyone around could hear the bang as if he had.

※※※

“Ranked sixth in the Premier League, and in the final 16 of the UEFA Europa… For a newly-promoted team and a manager who’s only 36 years old, I think this is already outstanding enough.”

The match had not begun, but the work of the commentators had already started. Martin Taylor and Andy Gray were analyzing for their audience some relevant information to the match.

Gray laughed. “Martin, I don’t think Manager Twain would agree with you.”

“Hm?”

“He’ll think this isn’t enough because it has yet to reach his aim. So long as it doesn’t reach his aim, it can’t be outstanding. We’ll surely be able to tell a little more from this match. I’ll bet you that Forest will go all out for this match against Everton. It’s impossible for this to end in a draw. At this point, getting a draw would be the same as failing for a man like Tony Twain.”

“Andy, when did you get to know him so well?”

The two men who were seated in front of their microphones began chuckling.

※※※

When players from both teams got on the field, Moyes noticed Mikel Arteta among the 11 players of Forest’s starting line-up. A surge of inexplicable feelings momentarily engulfed him.

This was a player who should originally have received training under him; a player who should be wearing the blue jersey of Everton to fight in the Premier League. Instead, he was in Nottingham Forest and had become his opponent.

He turned his gaze towards the manager’s seat.

Tony Twain appeared dignified and serious. Moyes could hardly make the connection between him and the down-hearted, frustrated man he had known two years ago. In a span of not even two years, there was such a big change...

No, we have become opponents now.

This is not the time for mutual appreciation.

Moyes retrieved his gaze and sat waiting at the manager’s seat for the match to begin.

※※※

Even after the match started, the rain continued. It was not heavy, but its pitter patter was rather annoying. Without any flooding on the field, the ground became even more slippery.

Before, Tang En had used to hate playing matches on rainy days. It would cause the team to be unable to perform up to even two-thirds of their usual standard. But after staying in the UK for more than two years, he could do nothing except surrender to nature’s might. After all, he could not possibly change the UK’s weather, right? If he could, he might as well quit being a manager, wear his underwear on the outside, and become Superman.

In the current Wilford training grounds, since the time of the match against Arsenal’s Youth Team, there was a designated field that would always be filled with large amounts of water whenever the weather turned nasty. It simulated the match conditions on a rainy day and allowed the team to undergo adaptability training. After several repeats of such focused training, the team’s deterioration in ability during rainy day matches had already been greatly reduced.

Looking at things, his decision to let Bendtner and Crouch be starters was perfectly suited to the weather conditions. With the two towering players, the majority of their attacks could now avoid the slippery surface and go to the air instead.

Unlike Wenger, he did not think it a must for the team to play beautifully. Tony Twain was a pragmatist. If he could win through ugliness, he did not in the least mind letting the match seem completely unentertaining. Of course, Arteta, who possessed exquisite technique and imagination in passing, could also make Forest’s offensive strategies much more complex. Tang En was not afraid of having too many attacking patterns. He could not be happier for more; to have so many more that it would throw his opponents into confusion and put them at a loss about how they should defend.

After Everton’s midfield lost Gravesen, their abilities significantly weakened. In Tang En’s recollection, even though Gravesen’s time in Real Madrid turned out to be a terrible failure, he fully deserved his core position when he was in Everton. Not only was he able to defend, but his ability to pass also allowed him to take up the responsibility of organizing attacks. It was only after his departure to Real Madrid, where there were too many strong players, that he became unable to show off his true potential; there was simply no space for that. Furthermore, a team like Real Madrid was unsuitable for Gravesen. Not every core player from a small to mid-tier football team could become a main player in such rich and powerful clubs. Later, following Capello’s entry into Real Madrid, the pressure bore down on the Denmark “Hulk,” and he was eventually purged by Capello due to a fight with Robinho.

Everton today was without Gravesen and the Arteta that Tang En was familiar with. Moyes could only choose to groom another player to become Everton’s midfield core: the Australian Tim Cahill.

This man was not unfamiliar to Tang En. Whether it was in his memory or his own experience as a manager, Cahill had left him with a deep impression. The former Millwall player was now wearing Everton’s blue jersey and standing against Tang En once again.

However, Tang En now was not the same Tang En from a year ago. Nottingham Forest as well was no longer a team stuck struggling, futureless, in the position of a vice-monitor in a second-level league.

As the core of the midfield, Cahill was still much too immature.

Moyes was expecting something beyond what Cahill could be. Against such a midfield core, George Wood alone would be plenty in managing even two of them.

Moyes himself also knew that Everton’s midfield could not contend with Forest’s midfield. So, despite all appearances of being an offensive midfielder, Cahill was, in fact, a forward.

Everton’s starting forward was Duncan Ferguson and James Beattie, the “Saint,” who had transferred this season from Southampton. Their greatest use was perhaps to assist Cahill in diverting the defensive capabilities of the Forest Team.

The true final strike would be accomplished by this Australian lad.

And in the midfield, Tang En’s most familiar player, Li Tie, did not even manage to get into the player list. He was injured and currently in recovery.

Chapter 306 - Against Everton Part 2

On the defensive line, there was another familiar face in Tang En’s recollections: Joseph Yobo. Back then, he was the one who had supplanted Li Weifeng. Within the Premier League, Joseph Yobo was regarded as a considerably capable fullback. However, he had never gotten famous.

Overall, in comparison to Forest, Everton was a team that was lacking star players. However, their team was strong when considered in its entirety. Just this point alone was enough to show the management level of Moyes. To be able to make seemingly average players into a “strong team” with hopes of participating in next season’s Champions League; there was no other reason other than having enough skill as a manager.

From time to time, Tang En would still be in admiration of Moyes. After all, Moyes did not possess the same pre-transmigration memory and knowledge as he did. Purely through his own capabilities, he took step after step to get to this point. But, it was a pity. While he admired him, Tang En did not have such a good character as to fulfill another’s wishes. If he allowed Moyes to achieve success, he himself would lose everything.

Originally, this season should be the time for Moyes to shine brilliantly. But it’s a pity I am here…

※※※

Yabo was entrusted the mission to guard Bendtner. Although the rain made defending more difficult, the Nigerian stubbornly followed Bendtner, not allowing the Denmarkian boy to comfortably receive any passes.

Moyes could tell that Tang En wanted to play long balls, so he got Yabo whose skills in heading was the best among the center backs, to guard against Forest’s best header in their offensive line-up – Bendtner. Immediately, Forest swapped the focus of their long passes to Crouch, relying on his height to make up for his weakness in heading.

Both sides countered each other, going back and forth for several rounds with neither side getting the advantage.

The match lapsed into a stalemate, and the score was firmly stuck at 0:0 for half an hour without change.

Tang En gently shook his head and said to Kerslake, “Long balls aren’t going to work. Our opponents are also a team from England… a formation change!”

Kerslake understood what Tang En meant. He rose and walked to the sidelines, signaling the change of formation. Swiftly, the Forest team assembled themselves into a diamond formation of 442. Same as before, George Wood remained at the back as the sole defensive midfielder in charge of midfield defense. Arteta, on the other hand, attained a higher level of freedom. While he was moved closer to the front of the field, it did not mean he could only stay there. He could also run in any area within the midfield, appearing in any spot.

In the 12 days of their closed-off training sessions, Forest had repeatedly rehearsed this strategy. This was also the first time Forest was using the 442 diamond position in the English Premier League. Tang En believed it would completely throw Moyes for a loop. Before this, everyone assumed the 442 flat four was the only formation Forest was good at. This was in fact also a common problem with most of England’s football teams; they had played forty years of 442 flat four positioning and never changed. This was because England considered themselves the “ancestors of modern football.” They were always concerned about protecting their laughable “traditions” and had never considered making a change.

But the truth proved otherwise. Those who were willing to embrace change, willing to take a new step forward; those teams usually received a favorable result. A classic example of this was Arsène Wenger from Arsenal.

Moyes did not expect Forest team to suddenly change their formation in the first half of the match with five minutes before entering injury stoppage time. They pushed Arteta forward to become an offensive midfielder, while George Wood alone played as a single defensive midfielder. Such an adjustment allowed Forest’s attacking line to be much closer to Everton’s goal, becoming a greater threat and gaining more opportunities.

Faced with such ferocity from Forest Team, Everton could not adjust their defensive deployment in time. Using the same strategy for long balls against Nottingham Forest’s ground offense, how could there not be any problem?

Arteta was in possession of the ball in Everton’s half of the field. Lee Carsley, Everton’s defensive midfielder, was currently guarding him with much difficulty. The footwork of the Spaniard was so incredible, just preventing him from advancing was already quite challenging. Interception? It was better not to think about it for the moment unless Carsley was willing to commit a foul. But to foul in such a sensitive area… it would still be his failure if he allowed this person to score from a direct free kick.

He might as well delay their attack and call for his teammates to help him. Two Everton players rushed over. It seemed like Forest’s offense would meet its end here. Arteta had no choice but to continue protecting the ball by turning his back on their direction of attack.

And then, under the pincer defense of the two, Arteta finally lost possession of the ball. Everton grabbed hold of the opportunity to rapidly counterattack, scoring a fatal goal.

The players from Everton must have hoped for matters to develop that way. But...

“Arteta passes the ball to the wings, Ribéry follows up… an amazing breakthrough! This French lad is like a razor, slicing through Everton’s defensive line! And he passes center!! It’s – GOOOOAL!! Peter Crouch! England’s tallest player is using his actions to tell Eriksson how unfair it is for him to remain uninvited to the national team!”

Obviously, these were only the made-up thoughts of commentator Andy Gray. Crouch had no intention of showing off his abilities to the national team manager, even though Eriksson at this point was indeed sitting in the private room above the spectators’ stands.

After scoring, Crouch ran towards the cameras situated at the corner flag with his arms splayed open and waved at his teammates to follow him. Then he lifted his jersey. The white singlet under it had a line written on it:

Freddy, we are waiting for you!

The other Forest players also pointed to the words on Crouch’s chest, signaling to the TV camera to focus on the words and not on them.

At the same time, a banner also rolled out from the spectators’ stand in City Ground:

Eastwood, we are with you!

All of Crouch’s teammates rushed before the cameras and clustered around him, the scorer. Instead of rushing at him and pushing him down, all of them only surrounded him and made space for the camera to clearly capture the words displayed on Crouch’s chest.

In that scenario, George Wood stood outside the circle, uncertain about whether he should join them or escape from them. He raised his hand and then dropped it to scratch at his own head instead. After that, he hid away in a corner that would not be seen by the camera.

The people who were celebrating paid no attention to that single oddity. The stands of City Grounds, as well as its field, were filled with cheers that rose one after another. Nottingham Forest had finally, after failing to achieve a single victory from a series of three league matches, gotten off to a good start for the spurt ahead of them.

Even though the rain was still coming down on them, the fans of Forest felt as if it had already stopped.

※※※

Off the field, Tang En and Kerslake exchanged astonished looks. “I did not ask him to do that. I had no idea they were planning it…”

Tang En nodded but was rendered speechless looking at this scene. He only slapped his thigh hard and said, “I got it… this bunch of boys! Good, very good!”

Kerslake smiled.

Chapter 307 - Fallen Behind Part 1

During the halftime interval, Twain praised the entire team and gave special praise to Crouch. However, he did not praise Crouch for lifting his jersey to dedicate the goal to Eastwood. Instead, he praised Peter Crouch’s keen senses. As for the players’ affection for Eastwood, it was enough that Twain knew it in his heart. Twain felt that it would be a little affected if he made too much of it.

He did not know if Eastwood was watching the game. He would leave it to him to thank Crouch and his teammates when he returned.

The Forest team’s ground attack tactics surprised Everton and the team had scored a goal at the end of the first half. Twain affirmed this tactical play and praised Mikel Arteta. He knew very well that the Spaniard was now urgently in need of praise, so he was generous with it. Arteta did a good job. So why not say what he wanted to hear?

In the second half, Twain asked the whole team to continue sticking to this style of play. He was intimidating Everton with Mikel Arteta, whom the Forest team had and not them.

After the game began, the Forest team continued to suppress the midfield. Arteta used offense to press on, and George Wood completely froze Everton’s most threatening player, Tim Cahill. He would not let him do what he was best at, which was to rush up from behind to shoot the ball towards the goal. With Wood around, Arteta could make full use of his offensive talent and neatly sort out the middle of the Forest team’s front field.

Everton did not have Arteta, so their offense was messy. They knew that they could not afford to lose this game, but they did not have a good solution. Cahill often could only choose to shoot long range shots when he had possession of the ball. It was obvious that such offensive efficiency would be low.

And what about Nottingham Forest? They continued at their own pace, which was not too fast and not too slow. Everything was under Arteta’s control.

The past twelve days were not a waste of time. During those twelve days, Twain clearly told the players, Arteta is the core of the team; all tactics we carry out will revolve around him. It’s the same for the game. You have to listen to him and follow his pace. Arteta’s pace is Nottingham Forest’s pace.

And now, the result of the twelve-day training was properly validated on the field in this game.

Although the score had remained unchanged at 1:0, Everton was unable to gain even the slightest advantage on the field. They were kept frantically busy by the Forest team. Looking at this, Twain was confident about the Forest team’s performance for next season.

“Take a look at this Spaniard. Manager Tony Twain has a pretty amazing judgment of players. Mikel Arteta, whose performance in Real Sociedad was terrible to watch, only had two clubs interested in him during the winter transfer period, and now they are both here on the field. Moyes hesitated at the time, hoping to review Arteta’s ability through the loan. But Tony Twain made a direct offer to Real Sociedad to take away the player. Now, Arteta returns the trust of his manager. His performance is phenomenal!”

Andy Gray briefly introduced Mikel Arteta’s relationship with both teams. He could bet that Moyes had never regretted it as much as he did now.

Gray guessed right. Arteta’s performance gratified Tony Twain, and made David Moyes, in the next wall, felt like he was on pins and needles.

As time passed in the second half, Everton’s situation did not improve. Moyes sat in the technical area, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and coolly watched the field. No one knew what was on his mind.

Perhaps now he knew that the board of directors’ indecision had not only cost him a good player but much more.

※※※

In the latter part of the second half, Nottingham Forest, continually spurred on by Arteta, repeatedly launched attacks on Everton’s goal. Finally, in the 77th minute of the game, Ribéry received Arteta’s clever pass and scored again.

Even worse than the 2:0 score, Everton had no way to regain control of the game. They had two defensive midfielders on the field, but no one had a clear idea on how to attack. Everyone wanted to equalize the score as soon as possible. However, some of them wanted to shoot a long ball from the backfield to break through so that it would be quicker and more direct. The others thought they should advance steadily, layer by layer, and strike hard. They thought that they should have the possession of the ball at their feet before they could attack.

They were not unified in their thinking. It would have been a wonder if they could play the game well.

On the contrary, led by Arteta, the Forest team played more and more at ease. They fully mastered the situation on the field.

Cheered on by the Forest fans, the game finally came to an end. Everton lost 0:2 in the away game against Nottingham.

When the final whistle blew, Moyes looked up and sighed. It had stopped raining. He strode to the home team’s technical area and was the first to extend his hand towards Twain.

“Just one-point difference, Tony. I’m not going to let you get what you want.”

“Then you should be more careful!” Twain, who had won, was in a good mood and answered with a smile.

The two men shook hands. Moyes turned to leave the stadium and Twain continued to stand on the sidelines, quietly watching the players thank the fans for their support. Having won this crucial battle, Twain did not feel unburdened. The season was not over yet. In the next seven rounds of the league, the Forest team needed to do their best to ensure that they would not fall behind any one of their opponents.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United. They would face all four strong teams in the final seven rounds of the league.

If he thought that, after beating Everton, they could breathe a sigh of relief, lie down, and take a break, then the Forest team’s achievements would end here.

Moyes was not too disheartened when he shook hands with Twain because he had considered that. Based on the schedule, Everton, who had one more point than the Forest team, had an advantage. Their final seven-round opponents were not as difficult to deal with as the Forest team.

Even though Everton currently ranked higher than the Forest team, their strategy was no longer trying their best to shake off their opponents. Instead, they focused on playing well and waiting quietly for the Forest team to make a mistake.

Moyes did not believe that Twain’s team could avoid a mistake. These four opponents are too powerful. Twain will certainly make a mistake! He will! He will not be able to withstand the pressure, and he’ll collapse. At that point, he would not need to exert any force and could easily pull far ahead of Nottingham Forest.

Now, not only was Tang En unable to breathe a sigh of relief, but he could feel tightening around his chest. But he could not let the players detect the slightest hint of it. The guys had performed beautifully in this game. He should praise and encourage them instead of telling them with a tense expression that the hard times were just starting.

Tang En did not know what the other managers in the world did. He had not actually received any formal training. His experience of how he became a manager also seemed somewhat mythical.?The so-called “mythical” actually meant that his path was completely unorthodox. Therefore sometimes, when he considered some problems, his usual thinking was not from the perspective of a professional football manager, but from other angles.

Tang En was used to putting all the pressure on his shoulders because he was the manager of the team, which meant that he was the boss of the team. What’s the role of a boss? It doesn’t mean that I alone get all the credit and glory. It means that I’ll take on all the blame for my men and clean up the messes. If other people bully my people, I must be the boss and stand in front of the guys. Even if my men have done something wrong, it’s not for outsiders to censure. It’s completely up to me to teach and reprimand them behind the closed doors of the locker room.

This might sound like the big bosses in those Hong Kong gangster movies. But that was how Tang En felt. He interchanged the football team with a gang, and manager and boss meant the same thing. Due to the fact that his interaction with the team was shorter than the other managers’, he used his own ideas to manage the team. What was the actual result? It was quite good. So far, Nottingham Forest did not have any conclusive evidence of a scandal. There were no conflicts in the locker room. Why? Because the team has such a gangster boss.

His way of managing the team was rarely seen in English football circles. He could joke with any player off the training field. No matter what kind of jokes—vulgar, dirty, tacky—he could make them. The players could also joke with him. He did not keep them at arm’s length with a serious expression because he was the manager. Even if the players had difficulties which had nothing to do with the game and football, he would certainly try to solve them, rather than pretended not to know how. When the media condemned his players, it was like they had attacked him instead. He would readily step up and give the media the fiercest comebacks he could.

Mourinho was similar to Twain in this respect, but it was still not the same. Mourinho always had some sense of superiority. But Twain did not. He had no sense of superiority.

The Forest players finally finished thanking the fans. One by one, they walked off the field. When they passed by Twain, he smiled and patted them on the shoulders. “Terrific job. Hurry back to the shower and change your clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”

He said the same to everyone who walked by. When Crouch walked over to him, Twain looked up at the tall guy and smiled. “Peter, how are you feeling? Eriksson was up there watching, and you scored a goal.” He pointed to the box suite behind the main stand.

Chapter 308 - Fallen Behind Part 2

Crouch lowered his head with a smile and replied, “Very good, chief.”

Twain nodded. “You’ve seized this opportunity. I hope it will be the same for you in the future. Go on back, don’t catch a cold.”

Wood was the last Forest player to appear in front of Twain. Twain looked at the quiet kid and cleared his throat. “Peter Crouch lifted his jersey to celebrate the goal. Did you guys know about that before the game?”

Wood nodded his head.

“Whose idea was it?”

“His own.”

“Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

“Crouch said... He didn’t know if he could score a goal. He was afraid…if he told you and didn’t score a goal, it would be for nothing.”

Twain smiled. “Why didn’t you celebrate with them?”

Twain could see clearly what the camera did not capture.

Wood hesitated for a moment and said, “I couldn’t squeeze in.”

Twain suddenly threw his head back and laughed. He was not faking it. He was really amused by Wood and laughed until tears came. Wood was not annoyed by his amusement. He stood there, waiting for him to finish laughing.

There were not many people on the field at the time. The reporters all flocked into the mixed zone to interview the players. Twain and Wood stood on the sidelines without attracting much attention.

The laughter finally stopped and Twain wiped his eyes, smiled, and said, “Oh, George. What am I going to do with you? Can you find a more probable excuse next time, please?”

Wood grimaced.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Twain stepped forward and held Wood’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. I won’t force you to do things you don’t want to do or say what you don’t want to say. I just want you to understand.”

Wood shut his lips tightly and nodded.

“Okay, go on, get back to the locker room and change your clothes. Look at you. You’re wet, sticky and uncomfortable. Go on, let’s go.”

Twain turned Wood’s body around to directly face the players’ tunnel and gave him a push forward.

Watching Wood disappear into the glare of the tunnel, Twain gently shook his head and turned to walk in another direction. There was a door that led directly to the site of the press conference.

※※※

The 31st round of the league was over. Both the Forest team and Liverpool won. After Everton lost to the Forest team, there was no change in the rankings, but the gap between Everton and its two pursuers was now only one point.

Over the next three days, Liverpool would finally make up for the one game that they had missed. For this game, Twain sat in front of the television to watch the entire match. When he saw Liverpool equalize with Newcastle before the end of the game, he was so delighted that he jumped off the couch.

“I said they would fall behind! Definitely will fall behind! One hundred percent chance! Only a fool would give up the UEFA Champions League and compete with us for the league rankings. Go and win the UEFA Champions League. The distant championship cup is calling, hurry up and make a miracle, Liverpool boys! You belong to the European arena! This season, you will definitely win the Champions League! Just leave the qualification for next season’s Champions League to us. Thank you!” He stood in the middle of the room as if he was alone and howled in Mandarin. He was not acting like a professional team manager at all. He was as happy as a little boy.

Dunn sat on the couch and watched the animated Twain. He turned his head and smiled.

He was aware that Twain had been under a lot of pressure lately because they lived together under one roof. Although Twain had not told him, he could see it. As a coach, his observation skills were quite sharp.

This sort of pressure could not be told to others, and Dunn never asked.

But it was not good to bottle it up. It was great that he could vent through such lighthearted means.

After howling, Twain turned to look Dunn with his head lowered and pumped his fist. “I love Souness! I love Newcastle! I’ll go easy on him at the press conference next time!”

Dunn raised his head and tried to hide his amusement. “You’re that happy?”

“Of course! The sooner Liverpool quits, the less pressure Forest will have.” Twain said seriously, “I was worried that I would be crushed under the pressure before they reached the end. Now that Liverpool is out, I think that this will be a big boost to the players’ confidence. You can’t always tell them how hard or dark the road ahead is. We have to give them hope from time to time. Now there’s a ready-made one.” Twain pointed to the television.

On the screen, the Liverpool players listlessly exchanged jerseys with the Newcastle players.?Gerrard was topless, with an unknown player’s Newcastle jersey on his shoulder. Perhaps it was Shearer’s. He looked frustrated as he stood on the corner of the field, staring distractedly at the others.

“With the equalizer in this game, the Liverpool players are well aware that they have slowly pulled out of the top four in the league,” said the commentator. “With forty-eight points in thirty-one games, two points away from the fifth-ranked Nottingham Forest, three points away from the fourth-ranked Everton... Manager Benítez should put all his efforts into the Champions League semi-final.”

Dunn now understood but he still said, “In fact, now it’s easy for the Forest team to stay within the top six in the league.”

Twain shook his head and interrupted. “I no longer want to play in the UEFA Europa League. I would rather not have this trophy in my trophy room than play the UEFA Europa League again. People always have to aim high, don’t they?”

“You’re right, Tony.” Dunn nodded.

The television broadcast continued to the post-match press conference. When Benítez was interviewed, in less-than-perfect English, the Spaniard said, “I have not thought about next season’s plan; that’s for after the end of this season. Now I think we should get a trophy in this competition first.”

“Are you referring to the UEFA Champions League?” asked the reporter.

“What else is there?” Benítez smiled.

The two men were caught up in this interview. Dunn pointed to the television and asked, “Do you think one day… you will too?”

Twain looked at Benítez and then at Dunn. Then he nodded. “In order to win the UEFA Europa League, I went a little crazy and gave up the Premier League. For the Champions League title, I don’t mind going a little crazy again. But…” Suddenly he burst into laughter, and it was a wicked laugh. “why can’t we grasp with both hands and make sure both hands hold tight?”

Chapter 309 - A Job Well Done Part 1

The news of Liverpool having drawn a crucial match was wonderful for Nottingham Forest. Tang En was certain that there were a number of players who were also concerned and watched the match on TV. Before the commencement of afternoon training the next day, everyone was still discussing the previous night’s match.

Tang En was delighted. As he gathered the players for training, a smile stayed on his face the whole time. Looking at the players who were also beaming, his smile deepened. Finally, he could not resist and shouted, “Who watched yesterday’s match?”

A flurry of hands came up; nearly half of them.

“Does anyone remember what I said to you before Everton’s match?”

Tang En had his hands on his hips as he stood before the players, looking like a spirited general lecturing them.

“I said, Liverpool would definitely fall behind, definitely fall behind!” He waved his hands vigorously, pointing downwards. “Was I right?”

“Yes!”

“Hey, boss! Tell me the lottery numbers for next week!”

A burst of laughter erupted from the team.

Tang En waved his hands and said, “Nonsense! This isn’t foresight on my part. But what does it show? Liverpool is playing in more than one league. Giving up one of them is a certainty. To them, The UEFA Champions League is much more important than the Premier League. On the other hand, to us now, there is nothing more crucial than being in the top four of the Premier League and qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Some people have called us a new promotee, and they think the aim of a team like us for our first season should only be to avoid relegation. In their eyes, the best we can do is merely to avoid early relegation. Let us correct their mistaken assumptions! Who says a newly promoted team can’t participate in next season’s Champions League? This time, we are going to show them!”

※※※

April 10, the 32nd round of the Premier League. Nottingham Forest challenged Bolton Wanderers F.C. in an away match. Forest, with high spirits, launched their offense against Bolton Wanderers on the away grounds. The two teams scored a total of five goals with the final score being 3:2; Forest attained a risky victory.

Everton’s home match in the same round ended in 4:0 against Crystal Palace, a huge victory. They maintained a one-point lead over Forest.

In Liverpool’s rescheduled match three days before, Liverpool came to a draw against Newcastle. Originally, they had had the same number of points as Everton, 51 points, which was still slightly higher than Forest. However, perhaps because they had truly shifted their season’s aim to the Champions League, they lost 0:1 in an away match with Man City in the 32nd round of the Premier League.

The 32nd round of the League matches concluded. Everton had 54 points, Forest had 53, and Liverpool had 51.

April 17. The 33rd round of the Premier League. Nottingham and Everton’s matches were both delayed. Everton’s away match against Newcastle was rescheduled to May 11, while Nottingham Forest’s away match against Chelsea was changed to April 26.

There was no delay for Liverpool’s match, but they still failed to attain victory. In their home match, they drew with Tottenham Hotspur at a score of 2:2. As Forest Team and Everton were both missing a match, the accumulation of points and overtaking of ranks remained incomplete.

From the beginning of the 34th round on April 21, Forest’s opponents in turn were:

Manchester United, Forest playing as home team; Chelsea, with Forest as away team (the rescheduled match of the 33rd round); Liverpool, against Forest on their home grounds; Arsenal, with Forest as away team; Charlton, with Forest as away team; and finally, Birmingham City, with Forest playing on home grounds.

Such a schedule was ridiculous.

That was also the biggest reason why Moyes believed Everton would be able to maintain the fourth position.

In the remaining six matches, Forest could not afford to lose any.

※※※

At the end of the final day of training before the matches, the players came off the field and entered the locker room to find someone else already there. They were intending to shower and change, but found their manager busy in the locker room instead.

Tang En had put up an enlarged version of the match schedule in the locker room. On it, all of Forest’s opponents from the first to the 38th league match were written. Up to the 32nd round, each of their matches had the final score noted between the names of the two contending teams. There were wins, losses, and draws. Starting from the 33rd match against Chelsea, the area in the center that was meant for the score was blank. Those opponents were the ones Forest would be facing in the upcoming half of the month.

After carefully putting up the gigantic schedule sheet, Tang En hopped off the stool. As he dusted his hands, he turned around and noticed the players gathered at the door.

“What is it?” Tang En asked as he looked down at his pants, patting the dust away.

“Boss, this is…” The players were perplexed. They had already memorized the match schedule. Why was there still a need to put it up in the locker room?

“I’m just putting up the match table. It’s enlarged. You guys can see it clearly, right?” Tang En turned back and gave the match table a pat as he spoke.

“But… but we all know who our next opponents are…” One of the players said.

“Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal… Everyone knows that? Then that’s good. I’m sure I don’t need to say anything more about the abilities of our opponents.”

Tang En had not finished speaking before he was interrupted by Albertini.

“Boss, what are you trying to say? Are you worried that we’ll be unable to perform out of fear for our opponents?”

Tang En scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. Albertini had hit the nail on the head; that was exactly what he was thinking.

Looking at the manager’s response, Albertini knew. He turned to his teammates and all of them started laughing.

“Such provocation isn’t going to work,” Ribéry said with a pout. “We’re already immune to it.”

Albertini said with a laugh, “You can stop worrying, Boss. We’re more eager than you in wanting to qualify for the Champions League. Ask anyone here. Is there anyone who doesn’t want to play in the Champions League?”

“The captain’s right!”

“Champions League! Just thinking about it excites me!”

The group of young men started getting fired up as they imagined what it would be like to participate in the Champions League next season.

“Eh, Matthew, who do you think we’ll meet then? AC Milan or Barcelona?”

“What’s the point of meeting with such strong teams? I’d rather we meet with all the weak ones. Without anyone noticing us, we’ll kill our way through the weak teams and get into the final 16.”

“You have no ambition! I’ll hope to be in the same group as the strongest teams in Europe. That way, I’ll be able to show the powerhouses how good we are!” Bendtner said, tossing his head of blonde hair.

Tang En watched the group’s enthusiastic discussion and shook his head, at a loss as to whether he should be crying or laughing.

“Alright, alright! Go take your showers, go on! Don’t be getting the flu now.” Tang En waved his hands at them, disrupting their daydreams.

Only after everyone ran into the locker room to start changing did Tang En turn to take his leave.

Although he restrained himself outwardly, Tang En was deeply elated. This group of kids turned out to be better than he imagined. He had nothing to worry about. Even if they had to face teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, so what? If he had worry about the teams in their domestic league, even if they did break into the top four of the league as they hoped and passed the qualifiers for the Champions League, how could they hope to cope with the powerhouses in Europe? Were they going to surrender just from hearing their names? In that case, they might as well just give up now rather than shaming themselves all the way to Continental Europe in the next season.

Wasn’t it just the top three teams in the Premier League? What’s the big deal? They just had to give it their all!

Tang En abruptly slammed his fist into the wall. His expression turned stern as he gritted his teeth. With a ferocious look, he looked forwards and fixed his gaze on the light from where the exit was, as if that was the path of glory towards the Champions League.

After staring for a long while, Tang En exhaled. “Crap! This hurts! Damn it… what did I have to smash the wall for? I…” He quickly withdrew his fist and hugged it to himself, cursing quietly.

※※※

The next day was the beginning of the matches. Following the advancement into the final stages of the Premier League, the fight for their own goals also intensified to a fervor. Tony Twain’s team only needed to fight to be within the top four of the League, for the mere qualification to enter the qualifiers of the Champions League. Similarly, Manchester United hoped to get the qualifications to enter the Champions League. It was no longer possible for them to become the League Champions.

On the other hand, Arsenal and Chelsea were fighting for the title of League Champion. Despite Chelsea already having 82 points and ranking at the top, Arsenal was only 11 points away from them. The League had not ended yet. That point difference was not large enough to allow Chelsea an early claim on the title of Champion. This round would be key; Arsenal was matched up against Chelsea in an away match. To maintain their hopes of being champions, Arsenal must defeat Chelsea. If Arsenal lost, the gap between the two would become 14 points. With both teams having left 5 matches (one of which was the rescheduled match from the 33rd round) and a 14-point difference, Chelsea would have to lose all matches with Arsenal winning all of theirs for them to take the title. That condition seemed all but impossible…

So, if Wenger still intended on defending their title of Champion, the crucial step lay in taking down Chelsea in today’s away match. That would shrink the point difference between the two teams to only eight points. Furthermore, triumphing over the opponent in their home grounds would put enormous psychological pressure on Chelsea.

Everton’s opponent for the current round was Man City. They were also playing an away match against a difficult opponent; Man City had just defeated Liverpool. To participate in the UEFA Europa League, Man City would be happy to defeat Liverpool’s arch-rivals from the same city.

Liverpool’s match for the round was against Portsmouth. If there were no surprises, the three points were already in the bag.

Should Forest Team lose to Manchester United while playing on home ground, they not only run the risk of Everton expanding their point difference to four points, Liverpool would also catch up with them. After all, the difference between them and Liverpool now was only two points.

Even if Forest fought to a draw, Liverpool and Forest would both have 54 points. In the rankings, Liverpool would hold the advantage in the goal difference, ranking ahead of Forest.

With the situation at hand so clear, what they needed to do was beyond obvious.

Chapter 310 - A Job Well Done Part 2

Tang En placed his palm on the tactic board’s rack; the tactic board itself, which had become a mess of drawings, had already been relegated to being next to his feet. He gazed at the prepared players, saying resolutely and steadily, “I only have a single request for this match: winning!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest wanted to defeat Manchester United?

If that news had spread half a season ago, anyone who heard about it would end up in stitches laughing. It would have been as nonsensical as Mr. Bean.

But when Nottingham Forest said something like that now, there were not many that dared to doubt their intentions.

Half a season. Tang En had used half a season to change Forest’s image of a “weak team” in the eyes of others. If they were a weak team, how could they possibly still be ranked steadily within the top six of the Premier League by its 34th round and even sit atop Liverpool? If they were a weak team, how could they have maintained no losses until now whenever facing the top four teams in the League? Drawing against Arsenal and beating Chelsea on Forest’s home grounds; drawing with Manchester United when playing away; and against Everton, drawing on the away match and winning on home grounds. This was the result shown by the young Forest Team. It was such a satisfying result, there was no way to ask for even more from them.

Before the match began, Ferguson and Tang En both behaved gallantly, shaking hands on the sidelines before parting.

To be honest, Tang En did not hate the old Scot at all. Even though the other party mocked him, he had done the same to them. In football matches, such occurrences were very common. The taunts between him and Ferguson were not as severe as the ones between Ferguson and Wenger.

But while the absence of hate is one matter, not giving face is another. When there was a need to be merciless, they had to be.

In this match, Tang En’s Forest team had to win, but so must Manchester United.

As with Chelsea, Arsenal was missing a match. In 32 rounds, they had accumulated 67 points. Everton, ranked fourth, was a good 13 points away from Manchester United. It would probably be too difficult for Everton to overtake them. On the other hand, Manchester United’s difference with Arsenal, ranked second, was only a mere three points. If Arsenal was defeated by Chelsea in their away match, Chelsea would practically have won the championship prematurely. Meanwhile, Manchester United would end up having the same points as Arsenal; in the next five rounds of the League, their chances of overtaking them would become very high.

Ferguson cared nothing for the position of runner-up in the Premier League. He did not need such false titles. In fact, there was no real difference between being second or third in the League match to him. If it were now Newcastle in the second position, Ferguson would not give two hoots about it. However, it was not anyone else but Arsenal who sat atop Manchester United. Ferguson would not allow such a scene. No matter how they did it, Manchester United had to drag Arsenal down and sit above them.

With both teams aiming for victory, the two were embroiled in an intense match from the second it began. For this match, Tang En and Ferguson had deployed their strongest formations. Tang En did it for survival; to get into the top four of the League and qualify for the Champions League. Their qualification for it translated to greater monetary rewards and bonuses, which in turn meant they could buy better players to help little Forest Club slowly move towards fulfilling their glorious goal…

On the other hand, Ferguson did it for the honor. He would not allow himself to lose to Wenger.

The match had only been going for 20 minutes, and neither side had scored a goal. Yet, the cumulative scoring attempts were a total of 24, an average of 12 attempts per team. As for foul counts, Nottingham Forest had racked up 14 fouls while Manchester United had 10. Manchester United players also went offside slightly more often than Forest, 3:2. While the data was extremely dry, it clearly reflected the intensity of the match.

On their home grounds against a strong foe, Forest was not at all reserved. They brought out the attitude of offensive-style football with all intentions of suppressing Manchester United. Not to be looked down upon, Manchester refused to budge. Ferguson was not someone who enjoyed pretending to be pitiable. The more his opponents displayed their strength, the more Manchester United would try to utilize an even stronger force to defeat their opponents. Ferguson and Wenger’s conflict with each other stemmed precisely from the unwillingness of Wenger’s Arsenal to submit to Manchester United, and their persistent desire to suppress them and reign over the Premier League.

Both Forest and Manchester United held the stance of one who was unwilling to cede to a strong opponent; both parties desired to be that strong one. They were the types that would become stronger when facing a tough opponent. As a result, the match naturally developed into one of meteoric intensity.

Sky plc’s choice of live broadcast was not this match, but Chelsea’s home match against Arsenal. From the perspective of the end-impact level of the matches, although Forest’s home match against Manchester United was more important, what was between Arsenal and Chelsea was beyond just the field.

Barely a season after Mourinho’s arrival in the Premier League, he had already offended anyone he could offend: Ferguson, Wenger, Benítez, and Tony Twain. Sky plc’s decision to live broadcast the match was made because of the mutual disdain between Mourinho and Wenger. Such a match was assumed to be explosive.

It was a pity that they had guessed wrong.

The actual match between Arsenal and Chelsea turned out extremely boring. While Arsenal was keen on winning, Chelsea only wanted to get a draw. This led to Mourinho’s team choosing a tight defensive formation, allowing Arsenal to launch a tidal wave of attacks from the outside. Even with the storm of attacks, Mourinho refused to come out. A match without mutually attacking parties was devoid of any entertainment value. The commentator, Andy Gray, watched with a yawn. He wrenched off his earphones and mumbled as he covered the microphone, “If I had known, I would have done the commentary for the other match!”

The other match he was referring to was indeed Nottingham Forest’s match with Manchester United.

Based on the match data transmitted to them in sync, it was evident that Forest’s match was highly intense. By a minute before the end of the first half, both teams had already drawn to a score of 2:2. Meanwhile, the score at Stamford Bridge remained at 0:0. It was truly boring…

With the end of the first half, Andy Gray handed Martin Taylor a glass of water after watching him take off his earphones.

“Thanks.”

Gray shook his head. “External factors, external factors… Even if the external factors of this match were enough to fill a wagon, what about it? What are the people at the TV station doing? They can’t even differentiate which match is actually more important…”

Taylor smiled as he put the empty glass back. “Don’t complain. In the next season, I’m afraid you’ll be commentating on his matches until you puke.”

Gray maintained a straight face as he said, “That’s impossible. He’s a pretty interesting fellow.”

※※※

While the commentators were evaluating Tang En in private, City Ground’s match had just ended its first half. The electronic scoreboard displayed a score of 2:2. Forest had Viduka and Crouch scoring a goal each. Manchester United also stepped up; each time Forest Team took the lead, they would swiftly equalize the score. The main credit for Manchester’s success belonged to their mighty combination in the forward line: Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rooney.

Hierro was old. In the face of Rooney’s assaults, Hierro’s abilities evidently fell short of his own wishes. Fortunately, George Wood knew what he had to do. Without needing Tony to shout at him, he took the initiative to assist Hierro in his defense and take some pressure off of him.

When it came to halftime, Tang En showered the players’ performance with praise despite them allowing the opponent to score twice in that duration.

“Well done! Let’s keep playing this way in the second half!”

After the kick-off of the second half, Forest had the home ground advantage. Amid the shouting of nearly 30 thousand fans, Forest launched fiery attacks one after another against Manchester United’s penalty area.?Without Edwin van der Sar, the major problem in Manchester’s defense persisted. Ferguson knew that. So he had no intentions of retreating to defend in the second half. Instead, he made an identical decision to Tang En’s – to continue strengthening their strong point; to attack.

Tang En brought in Arteta, continuing to enhance their offensive power, while Ferguson switched in Alan Smith. Both were attack-type players.

A head-on clash. While the fans were greatly delighted, the managers began to frown as they stood on the sidelines, closely supervising the changes taking place in the field.

As the pace of the switch between attack and defense got faster, the mistakes made by both parties also began increasing. Although the scene appeared spectacular, the technical content had decreased.

There was no other good strategy Tang En could use, and he believed Ferguson was in the same boat. In such kinds of clashes, the manager could do very little. What counted for more were the performances of the players on the field.

A single moment of inspiration could decide the result of the match.

Suddenly, Arteta dribbled the ball in a forceful breakthrough from the center. This prompted Roy Keane to advance forward to stop him. Arteta, after seeing Keane move up, abruptly passed the ball outwards instead, to Ribéry, who received the ball. Rather than taking it to the endline and passing center, Ribéry chose to suddenly cut inward despite being pressured by a pincer defense from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gary Neville. He dashed towards the penalty area!

This change took Manchester United by surprise. They hastily shifted heavy manpower to entrap and intercept the ball. Following Ribéry’s successful diversion of three of Manchester’s defenders, he did not continue to breakthrough, but faked a move and passed the ball into the penalty arch.

“Mikel Arteta!”

Without killing the ball, Arteta took a direct long shot!

Keane did not think that Ribéry would so quickly pass the ball back. Even more unexpected was Arteta’s choice not to run into the penalty area, but to stop outside instead to wait for this pass.

Carroll’s reaction was not slow either. He made a furious leap to save the ball and successfully knocked it out. But the ball did not fly outwards away from the goal line, instead rebounding inwards. While the ball flew high, and when everyone could only look up at it, Crouch took a leap. Without any interference, he headed the ball right into the unguarded goal using his usually less-than-stellar skills in heading.

※※※

Stamford Bridge. Andy Gray yawned again. The score was still 0:0. Regardless of how spectacularly the media had stirred up news of this match, it was not in the least bit worth its ticket price. A row of text appeared at the bottom of a small monitoring device in front of him, attracting his attention:

Nottingham Forest 3:2 Manchester United. Scorer: Peter Crouch, 79th minute.

His eyes widened.

※※※

The cheers in City Ground continued from Crouch’s goal until the end of the match. Despite having tried all ways and means, Manchester United failed to break through Forest’s defense again and could only helplessly accept the result.

Ferguson stood before Tang En, his face grim as he put out a hand. “Each time I see such you with your youth, I think… Have I gotten too old?”

“Ah… that’s…” Tang En did not know what to say. Since he had won the match, reason dictated that he should say something pleasant to comfort Ferguson. But he felt that Ferguson was not the kind of person who needed the victor’s comfort after his loss.

“I’m kidding. After seeing you, my plans for retirement have to be delayed again.” The old general heartily gave Tang En’s palm a good smack and turned to lead his managerial team into the players’ corridor.

After seeing him off, Tang En turned and saw his excited players.

“Well done, boys. This was a job well done.”

Chapter 311 - When the Dust Settled Part 1

Despite the fact that Nottingham Forest defeating Manchester United was not considered an upset, the media still expressed some surprise at the result. The general view had been that the Forest team would fall behind under the attacks by the four powerhouse teams. They had not expected them to win against Manchester United instead.

For Twain, the news from the Maine Road stadium was equally as good as they had beaten Manchester United at their home ground. After they squashed Liverpool, Manchester City also leveled Everton. In this way, despite the fact that the 33rd round of the game had not been played, the Forest team completed its reversal to surpass Everton. With fifty-six points they advanced to fourth place, above Everton with its fifty-five points.

In March of this year, Kevin Keegan, who had been unable to lead Manchester City, was dismissed. His successor was the then assistant manager, Stuart Pearce. He became the acting manager of Manchester City as the club continued to look for a new manager. But while they searched, they realized that the right person for the club was right in front of them; Pearce was Manchester City’s best manager. It was not necessary to search externally.

Manchester City scored 15 points in eight games under his leadership, achieving Manchester City’s best Premier League results in a decade. If everything went on without a hitch, Pearce would be April’s best manager.

Led by him, the Manchester City team was revitalized. It was not surprising that they had been able to level two teams from Liverpool.

Pearce was previously trained in Nottingham Forest. Twain had no evidence that Pearce had deliberately helped the Forest team. After all, Manchester City also wanted to survive, as well as to work hard to qualify for a spot in the UEFA Champions League. But he still kept his gratitude to Pearce at the bottom of his heart. He would thank him in person when he had the opportunity to meet him in the future, whether he accepted it or not.

Arsenal tied with Chelsea in the away match. This result basically meant that unless there was a miracle, Chelsea already had the Premier League championship title in the bag for this season.

To end up in this state after such a brilliant start must have been quite upsetting for the Arsenal team. They desperately need a way to release tension like volcanoes.

※※※

On April 23, the Forest team won against another opponent in the City Ground stadium after defeating Manchester United: Liverpool. Twain also put in a lot of effort for this game, even though he knew that Benítez might not put in his full effort. This was because Liverpool still needed to face the UEFA Champions League final.?The Champions League final was obviously more important than the Premier League.

However, knowing that clearly did not mean that he would relax his requirements. Twain’s tactics and lineup were exactly the same as they had been for their home victory over Manchester United.

As expected, Liverpool did not send out its main forces for this game, but only half of them. Benítez conserved his forces for the Champions League final.

The Liverpool players’ hearts did not seem to be in the game either. Unsurprisingly, Twain took revenge for their devastating defeat at Anfield in the previous half of the season and won against the distracted Liverpool by 1:0.

At the end of the game, Twain, who benefited from the situation, shook hands with Benítez and even wished him well in the Champions League with a radiant expression.

“I think AC Milan may have underestimated you, Mr. Benítez. You have a great chance of winning the championship.” He winked at Benítez.

Benítez did not understand what Twain meant, but still, he thanked him politely with a smile.

After seeing Benítez off, David Kerslake came up quickly and said to Twain, “Everton had a draw again.”

Twain turned to look at Kerslake.

His assistant manager nodded. “I just heard from Goodison Park stadium. The game ended at 1:1. They tied with Birmingham City. They almost lost the game. Five minutes into the game, Heskey from Birmingham scored a goal. Duncan Ferguson from Everton only equalized the score at the 86th minute.

After listening to Kerslake, Twain shook his head. “That’s too bad. If they had lost, I could have gotten a good night’s sleep tonight. But this is quite good too, David. Moyes and Everton can’t hold on any longer.”

Kerslake gave a firm nod.

Twain was right. After the end of this match, they were still short one game. The Forest team had fifty-nine points and was ranked fourth. After consecutive draws, Everton scored fifty-six points and was ranked fifth. They had two points more than the sixth-ranked Liverpool, and three points less than the fourth-ranked Forest team. Even if they shared the same score as the Forest team, they would still be ranked below the Forest team because of the goal difference. As a result, these three points were not just a difference in the outcome of a game.

After fighting for a season and now being in the final hurdle, Everton was just one of the many who could not withstand the constant pressure.

※※※

On April 26, in the 33rd round of the league tournament, the Forest team challenged Chelsea in an away match. This might be the chance for Everton. As long as the Forest team lost to Chelsea and Everton defeated Arsenal in its away game, they would achieve the same score and still have a chance to compete for a spot in the final three rounds. However, while it was possible for the Forest team to lose to Chelsea in the away game and the probability of it was not low, it was somewhat difficult for Everton, in its current state, to try to defeat Arsenal in the away game.

Tony Twain obviously knew that.

He did not expect to beat Chelsea, which was in a good shape. Besides, his team had beaten Mourinho at their home game in the previous half of the season. The manager certainly wanted to get them back when they returned to Stamford Bridge. Therefore, the aim of the Forest team in the game was not to win, but just to not concede any goals. To compete on patience with Chelsea, Twain was not afraid that they would not score any goals and was also not afraid of a draw. He wanted a draw. By the time Chelsea was worn down and became irritated by his rogue tactics, this game would be a cinch.

What about Mourinho? Perhaps he would feel that he earned it if he tied with Arsenal at a home game. But he would not be happy if the home game was a draw with Nottingham Forest.

It was Twain’s principle to enjoy doing things that were not to his opponents’ liking. He was not a nice person who would be thoughtful of his opponents.

In this away game, the Forest team played more conservatively than Chelsea had played against Arsenal in the previous match, which was to concentrate the players in its own half of the field. Twain’s purpose was very clear: holding on to one point.

Chelsea naturally was unwilling to let go of this opportunity to settle the score. Right from the beginning of the game, they continuously launched attacks on the Forest team’s interior. The Forest team used Wood’s extensive running and tough physique to disrupt Chelsea’s midfield arrangement.

Chelsea’s ace, Robben, was the type of player who needed space to sprint and make all kinds of feints. And the aim of the Forest team’s concentrated forces in its backfield was to restrict such space for Robben and Duff. Without space, the threats that Robben and Duff posed would be minimized to the lowest level. They could not break through in both flanks and face intensive defense in the middle. Under such circumstances, they would require not only strength but also a lot of luck if they want to score goals.

Unfortunately, luck was not on Chelsea’s side that day.

The score displayed on the big screen at Stamford Bridge had not changed since the start of the game: it was still 0:0.

Chapter 312 - When the Dust Settled Part 2

When the game was over, Chelsea’s fans were in an okay mood. The players thanked the fans for their support on the field. They were getting closer and closer to the league title. There were only rounds thirty-six, thirty-seven, and thirty-eight left league; Chelsea was now ahead of Arsenal, which was short a game, by eleven points. They had essentially locked in the league title. If Abramovich wanted to, he could have handed out the championship bonuses to his players that evening.

Only the team manager, Mourinho, was sullen. He pursed his lips and left without even shaking hands with Twain. Twain looked at Mourinho’s back and smiled mischievously. He was not annoyed at Mourinho’s ungraciousness because he could fully understand the Portuguese man’s mood. He had lost to a person whom he did not want to lose to; a draw was considered a loss for Mourinho. If he had been able to come up with a smile and shake hands with him, he would not have been Mourinho.

The Chelsea players were happy because they had the league championship title in the bag. This would be the second Premier League title in the history for the Chelsea Football Club and also the first in fifty years.

Twain was in a good mood because the Forest team, which had played one more game, had already widened its gap with Everton by four points. Even if Everton unexpectedly beat Arsenal in the away game, they would still be one point behind the Forest team. Provided that the Forest team did not make any mistakes in the next three rounds, they would be eligible for the Champions League next season.

He knew clearly that ever since Everton had tied the game with Manchester City in the away game, the goal that Everton had worked hard to hold on to the entire season had begun to crumble. Moyes always used the Champions League qualification to encourage his men. Now that they were overtaken by the Forest team, suddenly there was a sense of exhaustion. What had they gotten after trying so hard? Nothing.

No team was afraid of conceding a goal. They feared to feel at a loss after the loss of their target. A minor version of it would be a game, but it could be as major as a season. A team must have a goal so that the coaching team and players could have a direction for their efforts. And Everton’s current situation was that they were gradually losing their goal.

What was the point of striving so hard to continue their fight when the qualification for the Champions League had been granted to others?

※※※

On April 30, Nottingham Forest challenged Arsenal in an away game. Although the Premier League title was almost certainly Chelsea’s, Arsenal had not given up their quest for victory in the tournament because they were now only four points ahead of Manchester United, who was in third place. Wenger did not feel secure with only a four-point gap in the final three rounds.

He wanted to win, and Twain did not want to lose.

However, after continuous battles with many strong teams and a tight schedule on top of that, the Forest team was finally overcome and lost by 0:2 to Arsenal in the away game. Initially, they only conceded one goal; but in the last moments of the game, the Forest players were sluggish. Only Wood could still run, but he could not do much on his own. Arsenal seized the chance due to the Forest players’ exhaustion. At the 90th minute, the Brazilian midfielder Edu Gaspar scored a goal that completely sealed their victory.

After the game, Wenger was in good spirits. He shook Twain’s hand and chatted with him for a few moments. This time, he asked about Mikel Arteta and Ribéry. Twain knew what the Frenchman had in mind.

“Arsène, would you like me to repeat my answer for the Chelsea Football Club?” Twain was referring to his response to the rumor that Chelsea wanted to buy Wood.

Wenger knew, and he smiled. “Well, I admire your judgment. But since you’re not willing to sell to Arsenal, don’t sell to Manchester United either.”

Upon hearing the Frenchman, Twain burst into laughter. Wenger said goodbye to him while he laughed and turned to leave.

“I won’t sell to anyone,” he said in his heart after laughing.

Next to him, Kerslake’s attention was caught by Twain’s laughter. He asked in puzzlement, “Are you still so happy even though we lost?”

Twain smiled and nodded. “You should try it too. Smile.”

Kerslake forced a smile but did not mean to laugh.

“There are still two rounds left in the league, and we’ve lost. We still have no idea about the outcome of the Everton game. They started half a match later than us. At this point, there’s more need for us to smile, not to put pressure on the players. They’ve done very well. They won against Manchester United and Liverpool and tied with Chelsea. It’s ok to lose one game. It’s just a matter of adjusting our mindsets. I think the players are in good spirits, so let’s not scare them with a straight face.”

After he heard Twain’s explanation, Kerslake smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

On the bus from London back to Nottingham, Twain thought about asking the driver to turn on the radio and tune into the channel that was broadcasting the Everton game so that everyone could listen. He knew that the players were also concerned about that game.

When they heard the game, it was already the second half. When the commentator reported the score, everyone cheered inside the bus. Everton was trailing behind Fulham by 0:2.

In the 76th minute, the Fulham’s main midfielder, Papa Bouba Diop, was sent off by a red card; the Forest players were worried that Everton, with its advantage in numbers, would completely reverse the situation. It was not until the end of the game that Everton, dominant in numbers, showed the slightest intention of trying to equalize the score.

Cheers and whistles rang inside the bus. They knew that this score meant that the Forest team now maintained a four-point advantage over Everton.

Twain turned to look at Kerslake sitting next to him. Like the players, he laughed happily.

“Tony! Do you know how I’m feeling now?” he asked.

Twain nodded, “Of course I know.”

“The UEFA Champions League... Just the thought of it... I can’t control my emotions. Since the Chief, the Forest team hasn’t been able to enter the UEFA Champions League. In the 140-year history of Nottingham Forest, we’re the second Forest team to enter the UEFA Champions League!”

“Hey, David. We aren’t sure if we can enter the Champions League next season. Even if we can be in the Premier League’s top four, we still have to play in the qualifying round and win to qualify so that we can properly enter the Champions League.”

Kerslake interrupted Twain. “I believe you, Tony. I believe you can do it. So what if it’s a qualifying round? Before this season, who would have thought that a newly promoted team could reach this level? The UEFA Europa League’s round 16, fourth in the Premier League, and a UEFA Champions League qualifier! No one thought we could, but we did it.” He clenched his fist and suddenly jumped to his feet. He shouted to the players in the compartment who were still cheering for Fulham. “Boys! Tony is worried that we won’t even pass the UEFA Champions League qualifying round next season!”

The players were stunned at first. Then they whistled and booed their assistant manager. “Come on, coach! Today isn’t April Fool’s Day. Do you really believe that?”

Kerslake was not annoyed at all. He looked down at Twain, chuckling in his seat.

Twain stood up and cleared his voice, “I’ll say, It’s a little early for you boys to be happy. There are still two rounds left in the league. Everton still has three games to play and they’re only four points behind us. All right,” Twain waved his hand. “Don’t give Everton a chance!”

Chapter 313 - We Are Back Part 1

They had gotten past the most excruciating part of the match schedule. Currently, Nottingham Forest had two rounds of matches remaining, against Charlton and Birmingham City in turn. If anyone thought the two matches were merely about going through the motions, they would be making a big mistake. While the Forest team was left with two rounds in the League, Everton still had three. The two teams had a difference of four points. If Forest were to lose both rounds with Everton winning all, Forest would still end up losing the qualification rights to the Champions League.

Tang En made sure to prevent falling into such an avoidable mistake. He reminded the players not to give Everton any opportunities, and not to underestimate their next two opponents.

On May 7, the Premier League’s 37th round, Nottingham Forest challenged Charlton as an away team.

In the match, Forest appeared utterly unaffected by their loss to Arsenal in the previous away match. This was despite the match similarly being held in London with the same setting as an away match. In The Valley, Forest took down the match with a decisive win of 2:0. At the same time, on Everton’s home grounds, Goodison Park, Moyes’ team won a tough battle against Bolton Wanderers with a score of 3:2. In that way, they managed to keep the uncertainty alive.

※※※

May 12. Forest Team had no scheduled match. Everton was to head to London to proceed with a rescheduled match against Arsenal.

The match would take place in the afternoon. As a result, Tang En decided to cancel double training for the day. After the end of morning training, he holed himself up at home with Dunn and prepared to watch the match.

Dunn noticed Tang En grabbing a can of cool beer from the fridge before the match. After seeing him place it on the table, he asked, “Do you need peanuts?”

Tang En was momentarily startled by Dunn’s question. Then he laughed. “I’m used to it. When I’m watching football in the country, alcohol’s my companion. It’s a combustion aid for my inspiration.”

Dunn turned back to the television, mumbling to himself, “You wouldn’t say that if you were burnt silly by it…”

Tang En shrugged and stooped on the chair. “Hey, Dunn. What do you guess the result of the match would be?”

“I don’t ever guess the scores or who the winner or loser will be before a match.”

“Pfft. What a bore. Tell me about your situation at the Youth Team, then… Have you already been promoted to assistant manager?”

Dunn nodded in response but was unwilling to continue discussing the matter. He pointed at the screen and said, “The match has started.”

The two stopped chatting and focused all their attention on the match.

After 20 minutes, Tang En downed the beer he was holding in a breath and let out a sigh. “I don’t think there’s any need to watch this further. This is how this match is going to go.”

“It’s only 2:0. Everton still has a chance,” Dunn said, his gaze fixed resolutely on the screen.

Tang En shook his head and stood from the chair. “It’s the end. It’s the end for Everton. We’ve won. The qualification to enter the Champions League belongs to us now.”

Hearing Tang En’s words, Dunn looked back at him. “You’re unhappy?”

“No, it’s just… after achieving any goal, there’s always a feeling of emptiness. Are you still watching? I’m going out for a walk.”

Dunn nodded, indicating that he was going to continue. Tang En stuffed both his hands into his pockets and headed out.

※※※

Even though there was still a round of League matches left, Tang En already regarded today as the end of the season. No matter how they performed in the final match, it would not affect their results.

Qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

The Champions League; tyrants, glory, money, stars… Just two weeks earlier, the thought of any of that would have excited him. But now that it had turned into reality, he could not seem to muster up any excitement. Although no one would believe him, a feeling of “Oh, that’s it,” of the situation being a given, arose in Tang En’s heart when he saw Everton being completely decimated by Arsenal in Highbury, losing two balls within just 20 minutes and showing signs of further losses.

When everything came together in an expected manner, the jubilance naturally lessened. In reading novels, comics, or watching movies, he always hoped for more dramatics, always more. However, when he himself was in the same position, it felt better to be in a safe position. Otherwise, his heart would not be able to withstand it.

Tang En touched his chest. It had already experienced countless moments of overexcitement. The work of a manager was said to be one with a high risk of heart attacks; that was doubtlessly the truth. Experiencing instantaneous leaps between exhilarated highs and sorrowful lows was something common among managers.

Tang En, whose mind was brimming with a mess of thoughts, had unknowingly walked himself to a place with a familiar sign. Although he had no set destination, his legs had, out of habit, brought him to the front of the Forest Bar.

Ever since Forest had begun their spurt towards attaining the qualification to participate in the Champions League next season, he had not stepped foot into this bar. Standing outside it now, he could hear the din coming from within.

“Brilliant job! Arsenal!”

“Another one! Score another one!”

The group of people was watching the match too. Hearing such yells, Tang En laughed to himself. Although it was not Forest’s match they were watching, this match would end up deciding if Forest’s goal for the next season would be the Europa League or the Champions League. The fans’ attention to the match was, in fact, the same as the attention given to their own team.

Tang En stood at the door of the bar. He felt a little thirsty and was attracted by the fragrance of the spirits emanating from the gap in the doors. As his hands landed on the door handle, hesitation overtook him and he gave up on the idea of entering.

At that point, he did not want to become surrounded by people bombarding him with questions about how he planned to play in the next season.

He wanted to sit alone somewhere, quietly.

Glancing back at the noisy bar behind him, he donned his sunglasses and turned around. He had thought of a place he should visit.

※※※

On the green field next to the small forest, a group of children was happily playing football. Within the cemetery, however, it was still as quiet as ever.

The headstone had a layer of dust accumulated on it. Tang En had almost forgotten the place, forgotten this corner of his heart. Today, he returned. He took out some tissues and wiped away the dust on the headstone. Kneeling, he blankly stared at the words carved on the stone.

The person lying there was the beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard; Nottingham Forest’s most loyal fan; George Wood’s eternal supporter. Gavin Bernard.

Each time he attained success, Tang En would have thoughts of Gavin, wondering what his expression would be if he saw Forest with such remarkable results.

Hey, Gavin. Back when you declared yourself George Wood’s loyal fan outside the Youth Training Grounds, did you ever think he would become as famous as he is now? He’s a football star now. Not just a football player, a football star. A celebrity. His first signature must be incredibly valuable now…

Tang En sat down and leaned back on the headstone. He looked up, gazing at the blue skies through the lush green leaves.

If Gavin was still here, if Michael and everyone else was; just like when he had first arrived in Nottingham, would he feel a greater sense of achievement today?

What damn nonsense are you sprouting, Mr. Tony? Of course, we’ll like victory. We even like returning to the Premier League after this season, and most of all, we like becoming next season’s champions of the Premier League! The season after the next, we’ll be the Kings of Europe!

Although it’s a little late, we have not strayed from our path. Michael, can you really get used to your days without football?

Manager Tony Twain, are you intending on becoming the headlines for The Sun for terrorizing children?

That’s why I admire him, because he defeated me! I have decided to become his fan!

Sign for him. George, he’s your first fan. You can’t treat him so coldly. Kneel and give him your signature!

Even if I have no money to buy a new jersey, I won’t sell it off!

Knocking over an innocent child and then stepping over his body… this is the honor you speak of? This is your godd**n honor?! Do you think you are great? Do you think you are the hero of this team? You… you bastards!

Like a movie, scenes of the past resurfaced before Tang En’s eyes, replaying themselves against the backdrop of the sky.

From January 2003 to May 2005, the period of two and a half years passed by in a blink. Him… Tang En or Tony Twain had completed the transition from an average football fan who had somehow transmigrated here into a professional football manager. But, of those who had walked with him on his journey… how many were left?

Michael was gone, Gavin was gone, Walker and Bowyer were all gone. Even “Boss” was gone… And those footballers, the ones he had encouraged, severely scolded, and those he fought shoulder-to-shoulder with. The Forest of today was completely different from the Forest team of two and a half years ago. Like an iron-casted barracks, its soldiers came and went.

A ringing tune sounded from his pocket, scattering the images before him into the wind. Tang En took out his cell phone and pressed on the button to receive the call.

“Uncle Tony!” Shania’s happy voice drifted into Tang En’s ears.

“Shania?” Tang En asked, surprised.

“Congratulations, Uncle Tony!”

“Congratulations? What are you congratulating me for?” Tang En’s mind had yet to catch up, still trying to process the surprise from Shania’s abrupt call.

“Didn’t Forest Team qualify to participate in next season’s UEFA Champions League? Arsenal has just defeated Everton… Guess what the score was?”

“It’s over?” Tang En dipped his head to look at his watch. “I can’t guess.”

“7:0! Isn’t that amazing?”

“Wow, that’s incredible!”

In truth, Tang En was not at all surprised. He understood this to be a normal result. The difference between Arsenal’s and Everton’s abilities was not as simplistic as ranking second and fifth in the League. Just 11 minutes into the match, Arsenal had already gotten two goals. Tang En immediately knew it would not be of any surprise if the score turned out this high. He had noticed Everton’s players beginning to lose their direction and focus. With their broken dreams of attaining the Champions League, perhaps the Europa League was also a good option. In the previous season, Everton could not even participate in the UEFA Europa League.

To have lost their fighting spirit and goal, what else would there be to watch for this match? That was why Tang En chose to leave so early.

But to keep Shania from being disappointed, he pretended to be surprised. As expected, her laughter drifted in from the other end.

Chapter 314 - We Are Back Part 2

Tang En suddenly recalled. “What are you up to, Shania? I remember that you’re to model for some show?”

“I’m done. I heard people chattering about the match backstage, so I thought I’d call you.”

“Is it fun modeling?”

“No, not really… It’s not as fun as being with you, Uncle Tony. Where are we going over the summer?”

Tang En scratched his head. This girl. “Don’t you still have to attend shows? I thought models were extremely busy people?”

Shania giggled. “No need! I’m not a supermodel, I’m not that busy. We can take the summer off! Where to, where to, Uncle Tony? Where are we going?” she asked eagerly.

Tang En rolled his eyes. He still could not make the connection between the cold-faced model Shania and this mischievous, fun-seeking child.

“Uh, I don’t have any ideas…”

“How about this? Let’s go to Brazil! I’ll bring you to my hometown!” Shania excitedly announced the plan.

Hearing the place “Brazil”, Tang En’s heart skipped a beat… a stray thought abruptly emerged:

Meeting the parents…

The thought had only just emerged, but Tang En was already shaking his head vigorously, wanting to hurl the idea away all the way to Java.

“You don’t like the idea?” Shania did not hear any reply from Tony and thought that he was not that keen on Brazil.

“Un, no… no. I like it very much. I like Brazil…” Tang En replied hurriedly, ditching that absurd thought of his. He truly thought going to Brazil was a rather good idea. The place had produced numerous geniuses, geniuses who remained undiscovered. He could go there for a look and see if he could find a talent or two that were yet to be snatched by Europe.

While Shania was full of thoughts of sunny beaches and seaside strolls, Tang En was thinking of Brazil’s football scene abounding with talent…

“Then, it’s a deal! It’s my turn to go on-stage now. See you, Uncle Tony!”

“See you, Shania…”

After hanging up, Tang En’s somewhat depressive mood took a turn for the better.

Blue skies and green trees.

Beyond the trees, distant laughter could be heard from the children. Maybe they had scored again.

Tang En patted the headstone behind him as if ruffling Gavin’s head.

He stood up.

Champions League, here I come!

He waved his fist in the air.

※※※

The rescheduled match of the 33rd round had just ended. Everton had challenged Arsenal as an away team and was massacred. The end score was 7:0. The 8th minute, 11th minute, 39th minute, 50th minute, 70th minute, 75th minute, and 85th minute; Arsenal scored one goal after another. Pirès scored twice, while Robin van Persie, Vieira, Edu, Bergkamp, and Mathieu Flamini each scored once. Since Chelsea had already won the Championship, Arsenal, who failed, had vented all their anger on this match. Poor Everton became their punching bag.

After the match, Moyes did not appear as down-cast as people had expected him to be. Instead, he seemed to have cast off the heavy burden in his heart. He knew that the qualification for the Champions Cup had disappeared and would not be coming back again.

Their loss to Arsenal forced him and his team to painfully accept the result. While it was hard on them, they could only accept it unwillingly. After all, football did not revolve around this match or this season alone.

Two years ago, he was still sympathizing with Tony Twain. He did not expect their roles to reverse, leaving him being sympathized. The future is truly unpredictable.

※※※

Three days after was May 15. It was the final round of the English Premier League 04-05 season. Other than some uncertainties about which three teams would be staying in the league or getting relegated, it was certain that the Championship belonged to Chelsea. Other than that, the four teams who had acquired the qualification to enter the Champions League next season were also already locked-in. With one more match left, Nottingham Forest, who was fourth in the rankings, led Everton by four points. There was no way for Everton to come back from this.

On the other hand, the qualification for the UEFA Europa League was still filled with possibilities. Everton, with 61 points, had only a two-point difference from Liverpool. Meanwhile, Bolton Wanderers, in 7th place, had the same number of points as Middlesbrough, who was ranked 8th. Both were a mere point away from Liverpool.

Any one of them could drop out.

All this mess had nothing to do with Tang En. In the final round of the League, he sent out the entire reserve line-up, allowing those who did not usually get fielded to enjoy the cheers of the fans. Bendtner and Crouch, Kris Commons, Aaron Lennon, Gunnarsson, Wes Morgan, Piqué, and George Johnson … Among them, George Wood still held tightly to his position as one of the starting players of the eleven.

Tang En did not care about the result of this match. In fact, he told the players before the match to play as they liked and to showcase themselves as much as possible.

He was not afraid to lose. Even if they lost 0:100, they would not lose their qualification to play in the Champions League.

Forest’s fans also understood that the result of the match was meaningless. They had come to thank the team, the players, the manager; to thank them for the joy Forest had brought them throughout the season.

On such a relaxed note, both teams played the match in a carefree manner. Without any worries about relegation, and not having any desire for the UEFA Europa League, Birmingham City was happy to end the season in a laid-back manner.

Although the players from Forest were mostly made up of their reserves, they displayed an indomitable will and immense energy. Players from both teams dedicated a spectacular head-on clash to the fans. Neither side cared about their defense. Anyone who received the ball would only have one thought in their mind:

Forward! Towards the goal!

The final score of the match was 3:3. Forest shook hands with Birmingham City. Both teams and their fans were in a joyous mood.

When the match progressed to its injury stoppage time, Forest’s entire team had already gathered by the sidelines. Even those who were not included in the player list were waiting there in casual clothing. They were waiting for the end of the match when they would all rush onto the field to celebrate. A grand occasion like this made it seem as if they were the Champions of the Premier League.

The live broadcast within City Ground suddenly sounded. A voice was commentating, one that had not been heard for a long while – it was the commentary from when Nottingham Forest had first become the champions of the UEFA Champions League. It was from a time so long ago that the recording came with loud static. But every fan of Forest within City Ground knew what the voice was saying. “…Let us congratulate them, the new champions of the UEFA Champions League, Nottingham Forest! Congratulations and best wishes to them! Brian Clough has created history! Two seasons ago, this unknown team was still fighting in the Second Division. Today, they’ve become the European Champions, a well-deserved title…”

Ear-deafening cheers arose from within City Grounds.

Like the tides, the voice from 27 years before gradually receded amidst the fan’s cheering, and a new voice rang out, “A year ago, we were still in First Division. Today, we have acquired the qualification to participate in the UEFA Champions League! Champions League, we are back! Nottingham Forest is back!”

“We’re back! Nottingham Forest is back!!” A cacophony of shouts resounded in the air-space of the stadium.

Among these voices, the main referee blasted the whistle signaling the end of the match. The players amassed at Forest’s substitutes’ bench rushed onto the field in a drove. Waving their arms wildly, they dashed towards the other 11 players on the field.

Tang En had been standing at the back when he abruptly felt his body tilt – he was lifted by someone.

Before him were the exhilarated faces of Forest’s players, and looking beyond, towards the spectators’ stand, there were thousands of hands swaying along. Over there, he saw Michael, he saw Gavin, he saw Walker, Bowyer, and even the Boss…

He smiled.

Chapter 315 - A Sunny Holiday Part 1

Speaking of Brazil, the first thing that Tang En thought of was football. The second thing was still football. When it came to Rio de Janeiro, it still reminded Tang En of football. He was a football fan at heart; football was everything in Brazil. Brazil was football; the two equaled each other.

But when he came to Rio de Janeiro, his eyes were not drawn to football, but to its exotic atmosphere, which was different from Britain and China.

He was no stranger to football. Football was his job every day. In Brazil, he suddenly turned a blind eye to the kids who played football in the streets.

The sunny beaches, tropical weather, passionate and bold bikini beauties, and the palm trees swaying in the sea breeze. The sounds of the distant tide and rippling blue waves were in his ears.

“Too bad it’s not February, or else you wouldn’t be able to turn your eyes away.” Next to him, Shania piped up suddenly.

“February? Why February?” Twain was puzzled.

“Because of the Rio Carnival; the world-famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro-” Shania dragged out her voice.

Twain turned to look at Shania. The young girl was looking less and less like a child. Of course, now that they were both in Rio de Janeiro’s most famous Copacabana beach, there were people everywhere on the white-silvery beach. It was exceptionally lively.

Twain stared at Shania for a while until Shania seemed somewhat self-conscious. Then he chuckled as he turned his head back. “I’m not interested in that.” He said as he laid down, “Everyone squeezed together, there’s nothing to look at. But Brazil is really a good place to be.” He opened his eyes to look at the clear blue sky and white clouds. It was basically impossible to see such a sky in the United Kingdom.

Next to him, Shania hummed gently.

“What do you think of my mother and father?” She turned to Twain and asked.

“Better than I’d imagined...” Twain continued to look up. He could not get enough of the sapphire sky.

“Huh? What’d you imagine?” Shania was very curious. Twain had never told her his impression of her parents.

Twain’s gaze remained unchanged, but yesterday’s scene appeared in front of his eyes.

※※※

He and Shania arrived in Brazil the previous day. They had just arrived at the airport when Shania’s father was already outside of the airport, waiting with his car.

Shania’s father was as polite as he was when they had first met. And Shania’s mother was a lot nicer than when they had first met. Her manner was very consistent with the image of the wealthy middle class. There was always a smile on her face, and it made Twain feel a little less unfamiliar. Perhaps he was so accustomed to Shania’s sassiness that he was not used to a somewhat formal meeting all of a sudden.

Not knowing why, Twain was easygoing with Shania during their chats, but when he was speaking with Shania’s parents, his back would involuntarily straighten, his speech would become slower, and his tone would be even. No one asked him to do that, and Shania did not give him a fair warning in advance about how to talk to her parents. It was all his subconscious behavior.

That discovery made him a little annoyed, but he could not show it. He did not want to leave a bad impression in the minds of Shania’s parents.

They treated him like a distant visitor and took great care of him. There was nothing to complain about. Both of them worked and were very busy. So, they let Shania take care of him in Brazil and accompany him on the sightseeing. They arranged the schedule and activities on their own without the two parents’ involvement. From this point of view, they seemed quite at ease about Twain.

Early this morning, when Twain had woken up from his sleep after he got used to the time difference, he found that Shania had already made breakfast.

While having their breakfast, Shania asked Twain where he wanted to go. Twain was not familiar with Brazil, so he naturally could not say. Then Shania decided to go to Rio de Janeiro’s most famous beach, and the world’s most famous beach: Copacabana Beach.

This place was the first stop for nearly all visitors to Rio de Janeiro. Shania also had a little selfish motive of her own: she really wanted to go to the beach to sunbathe. In Britain, it was impossible to see such a beach in the cold, damp Newcastle.

Twain had no objections. Either way, as a coach, he was still in good shape. He was not afraid to wear his swim trunks on the beach.

※※※

“Anyway... Your parents are more easy-going than I thought.” Twain said.

“Is it because of that time when my parents went to England to fetch me that you have that impression?” Shania giggled.

“How can you still laugh about that?” Twain glared at her, “It was on you. You made a fool out of me.”

His remarks made Shania giggle even more. Her feet tapped on the fine sand with her head lowered and her shoulders trembled in laughter.

Twain cleared his throat. Finally, when Shania’s laughter subsided, she flipped her messy hair and smiled as she glanced at Twain. “Sometimes I think you’re just too cute.”

Twain huffed and reached his hand out towards Shania’s underarm. “I’m going to tickle you for being so cheeky.”

Shania pulled her arm away, but Twain did not give up and extended to her other side. This time, Shania could only lean towards Twain to dodge the attack from the other side. Twain seized the opportunity to move forward and blocked Shania’s escape route. At this point, Shania could withdraw within his arms as she giggled and begged for mercy.

“Spare me, Tony. Uncle Tony!”

Shania laid on the beach and Twain propped himself up with both hands. Shania’s face was flushed from Twain’s tickling. Her breathing was ragged as she laid weakly on her back, breathing heavily. Her bellybutton was like a tiny mouth opening and closing with her breathing.

The two of them suddenly became quiet. Shania’s smile froze on her face, and Twain’s hands were motionless. They could hear the laughter of the young and gorgeous people around them, accompanied by the sound of the crashing waves.

He suddenly snapped out of it and turned his body over to lie down. He was afraid to look at Shania lying beside him. He could hear her timid voice, “Uncle Tony...”

When her voice reached Twain’s ears, he could feel the fine hair in his ear tickled by a warm breath. It was ticklish and tingling. His heart trembled as his gaze turned to the distance and became unfocused without a focal point. He just wanted to keep his attention away from his side for the moment.

“The weather is so nice. Much better here than in England.”?He gave a cough.

“Well, actually, I don’t like England at all!” Shania sat up. Her voice regained its vitality again.

“Then why did you go there to be a model? If you wanted to be a model, wouldn’t you be able to do it in Brazil? Modeling isn’t football; the world’s center isn’t in England.”

Behind him, Shania was silent for a moment, and then she softly said, “The English weather and food are very bad, but it is not all bad.”

“A place like England, you’ll get used after living there for a long time. I just thought of a joke about the weather. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes, I want to. Let’s hear it!” Shania was always very interested in fun stuff like jokes.

“Well, it’s actually not really a joke. This really happened. It is said that somewhere in England, there’s a magical stone which can automatically forecast the weather, and it’s very accurate!”

Twain successfully piqued Shania’s interest with his words. She frowned and asked, “Is that possible? Can a stone really predict the weather?”

“Of course, it can. It goes like this... The magical stone is tied to a rope and hangs in mid-air. Behind the stone, a sign reads: Gary’s weather forecast stone. You’ll know exactly what the weather will be if you compare what he has written down line by line. It says, ‘If the stone is wet, it’s raining. If the stone is dry, it’s not raining. If the stone casts a shadow on the ground, the sun is out. If the top of the stone is covered in white, it’s snowing...”

Shania began to laugh when she heard up to that point. Her laughter started softly and became louder as her shoulders shook.

Twain was still talking about the stone with a serious tone of a weatherman, “If the stone cannot be seen, it means there’s fog. If the stone is swaying, its windy. If the stone is shaking up and down, that means an earthquake. If the stone disappears, there is a tornado!” He made an exaggerated expression with his hands waving like a gust of wind was blowing.

Shania sat on the ground and thumped the ground with her hands.

Twain looked at the happy Shania. He reached out to brush the fine white sand off her long hair and then used his hand to gently comb her hair. He carefully gathered and combed the scattered and messy strands of her dark hair.

Shania’s laughter gradually subsided. She buried her head between her arms, “Uncle Tony...”

“Yes?”

“I’m so happy to be with you...”

“Okay.”

“So, thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I should thank you instead. Without you, my life would be boring.”

Chapter 316 - A Sunny Holiday Part 2

Shania giggled and turned to sit up.

Twain got up and adopted a posture of inviting Shania to take his hand by reaching out. Shania was also very ladylike when she held out her hand for Twain to hold. “Are we going to dance, sir?”

“Oh no, just taking a stroll, my lady. As for dancing...” Twain grinned. “I’m afraid I’ll step on your feet.”

“Even the blind lieutenant colonel could dance the tango well!”

“Who was that?”

“The leading man in Scent of a Woman. Have you have not watched it, Uncle Tony?”

Twain recalled a Hollywood film called Scent of a Woman in which the film’s star, Al Pacino, portrayed a blind lieutenant colonel. This role won him the 1993 Academy Award for Best Actor. The scene where Pacino held a beautiful young lady to dance the tango in the hotel was a classic among the classics.

He scratched his head. “Of course I’ve seen it. But I can’t be compared to Al Pacino.”

“But you look a little alike!”

“An older man version of him?” Twain rolled his eyes.

Shania smiled and ran away.

“Let’s race, Uncle Tony!” She stood in front and waved.

Twain looked around the strolling crowd and cleared his throat. “That’s silly.”

“Uncle Tony...” Shania looked at him and Twain put his hands up in surrender.

“All right, it’s good to exercise occasionally... Wait till I catch you, you gonna pay for this!” Twain suddenly dashed. He wanted to catch Shania unawares. But, he forgot he was on the beach. He could not exert much force on the soft sand. It was completely different from running on the firm ground. He immediately lost his balance and fell forward to the ground. He even ate a mouthful of sand and laid on the ground, coughing non-stop.

Shania was in stitches. Unlike Twain, Shania grew up in Brazil and played on the beach. She had a natural instinct for how to run on sand. Twain got up from the ground and continued to stumble after her. She skipped ahead like a small rabbit and even had enough spare energy to stop and tease him.

The young girl ran easily ahead and turned back to laugh from time to time, while the middle-aged man struggled to follow with his hands and feet at the back. It was a sorry sight. This was somewhat of an odd scene on the beach, which attracted many people’s attention. But Twain did not care. He did not feel like his actions would look stupid. It was enough that Shania was happy.

Tired of running, Twain sat on the beach. Even as the sea water rushed up to dampen his swim trunks, he just waved his hands weakly. “No, I’m not running anymore. I’m exhausted!”

Shania turned back with a grin and sat with Twain in the sea water. “Uncle Tony can’t get up.”

“Hey, to say a man can’t get up is the biggest insult to him!” Twain replied as he gasped for air.

“Why?” Shania was puzzled.

Twain had responded with a joke that had a Chinese undertone that foreigners might not understand. He could only beat around the bush to explain “That means a man can’t...”

That explanation was worse than no explanation. Shania was more confused.

“Can’t do it means can’t ...um, it means a man is...” Twain said in a low voice.

Shania cocked her ear as she heard him. She covered her mouth and pretended to be shocked as she exclaimed, “That’s not decent!”

Twain was a little embarrassed and suddenly gave a sharp cough to hint that they should stop discussing the subject. He quickly found something to distract him. There was a large crowd in front of them and they were shouting strenuously.

“What is going on?” He pointed ahead and asked Shania beside him.

Shania glanced at it. “Beach football.” She knew that Twain’s addiction to football had reared its head again.

And sure enough, Twain got up and walked unsteadily towards the crowd, “Let’s take a look.”

Shania just pouted as she followed. She suddenly felt a little bit jealous of football.

※※※

Ahead of him was a beach football game that could be seen everywhere in Brazil and in Rio de Janeiro. There was no referee and no commercial sponsorship. It was just three or five good friends arranging to play with several other people in an open space on the sand. They would use clothes or shoes to create the goal and start the game with a football.

This scene was common in the feature clip which introduced Twain to Brazilian football. This was a special feature of Brazilian football, or it could be said to be a flair of Brazilian football. Playing football in the soft sand for a long time helped to enhance the player’s physical flexibility and balance, as well as his explosive force. The famous star players in Brazilian professional football were often good at beach football. And here, regardless of whether they were men or women, the skills that they displayed amazed Twain.

The players who participated in this match had no distinction of age, gender, or occupation. Children, women, and old people could all play. Anyone here could basically put the Forest team to shame with their footwork.

When Twain squeezed in, a game was already over. The losers would step off and the new team on the sidelines would step up to challenge the winners. It was quite like a single-elimination tournament, where the winner stayed on till defeated.

Although Twain’s football skill was lousy, he liked to watch people play. This was not an occupational hazard as a coach, but his hobby as an ordinary Chinese football fan before he had transmigrated to England. He critiqued others in his mind as he watched people play football. Why did he keep his comments to himself? Because he was afraid that it might cause a dispute if he said them aloud. He was always harsh.

Among the five new players, a tall young man caught Twain’s interest. He focused all his attention on the man because he felt that the person looked familiar. But he could not recall who the man was.

He could only stand on the sidelines and observe the person’s every movement in the game.

After playing for ten minutes, Twain suddenly smacked his forehead. He remembered!

Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira!

If anyone thought that that long and complicated name sounded too unfamiliar and had never heard of it, then he had another name which would be familiar to all gamers who had played FM 2007 before.

Pepe.

Chapter 317 - Pepe Part 1

Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira, or the youth named Pepe, stood apart from the crowd, peering somewhat strangely at the man and woman before him.?The girl was tall and beautiful. The man claimed to be the manager of an English Premier League Club… Pepe found him unfamiliar. Was he truly the manager of Nottingham Forest?

Pepe’s match before had ended in victory. Just when he was about to welcome the next team of challengers, the man before him approached with his name card.

Following that, Pepe casually found a substitute to take his place and headed out to have a detailed discussion with the man.

A manager from a professional football club from Europe had come looking for a professional player; what else could it be? Not everything had to be spelled out so clearly; Pepe already knew what to expect.

“Mr. Tony…”

Tang En signaled to him to wait, pointing to a row of umbrellas on the beach. “Let’s take a seat there to talk,” He said.

After the three sat down, they asked for three glasses of juice from the waiter who came over.

Meanwhile, Tang En took this time to think about Pepe’s current situation.

As a loyal FM series player, it was impossible for Tang En to be unaware of the center back with the greatest body values in FM07 – Pepe. Whenever he had met with a formidable player in the game, Tang En had had the habit of conducting research online to uncover all the relevant information on the player. From this, he would gain a better understanding of them. Thereafter, when he returned to play the game, there was also a greater sense of immersion.

As a result, when Pepe was still undiscovered by the world, it had seemed as if Tang En had already known him for a very long time within the world of FM07. He knew about his work history, his past in FC Porto, and even the name of the first club he had played in when he had first arrived in Continental Europe. Naturally, Tang En was also aware that it was currently a low period for Pepe.

The waiter served the three glasses of fruit juice and left. Shania took the straw and drank her juice quietly. She had no interest in the conversation between the two men and could only gaze afar, watching the people and admiring the scenery.

“I’m not one to make small talk,” Tang En said, looking at Pepe. “Nottingham Forest is qualified to participate in the Champions League next season. With Hierro retired, we’re looking for a fullback who can replace him; and I think very highly of you, Pepe.”

Pepe was stunned. Even though he had known that the man was probably looking for him to discuss exactly this, he had not expected him to be so straightforward.

Furthermore, a particular name had struck a chord with him.

“Hierro? Real Madrid’s Hierro?”

Tang En laughed. “He’s Nottingham Forest’s now… Well, he used to be. But he’s retired. Forest is looking for his successor. Do you understand, Pepe? I think you have many commonalities with Hierro.”

Pepe’s idol was Hierro. Tang En’s words were very pleasing to Pepe.

“A tall and sturdy body with outstanding technique and burst power… You are very similar to Hierro in his younger days. The only thing you need to improve on is your ability to assist with long passes. In terms of attacking, Hierro is an expert.”

Pepe frowned. He felt that Tang En had hit the nail on the head. “Uh. I’m a center back. I would often be behind the team. But…”

“You started out as a forward, right?” Tang En suddenly asked.

“Yes.” Pepe nodded. “At first, I was a forward. Then I became a midfielder. As I played, I eventually became a fullback.”

Tang En chortled. “Many Brazilian fullbacks come about this way.” Sensing that Pepe could misunderstand and think of it as mockery, Tang En added with a smile, “Practically anyone who walked down that path turned out to be a brilliant defender.?Lúcio, Cafu… I think that in the bones of Brazilian players must be some instinct to push forward; even if the position played was the goalkeeper. What makes you think a fullback has to stay at the back?”

“Of course, uh… it’s because the coach requested it of us.”

“In reality, if you take Hierro as your idol, you should learn how he launches attacks from the backfield. To be honest, as the manager, he has taught me many lessons through the year I worked with him in Forest.”

Tang En naturally exaggerated some aspects of what he said. However, it was true that Hierro had given Tang En much help and inspiration in many areas. In the past, Tang En had believed that the center back should always stay behind. Other than participating in the attack when there was a place-kick in the front field, the center back should always prioritize safety. Exceptions could be made when the situation was particularly unfavorable; when it was necessary to implement desperate measures. In those situations, Tang En might allow the center back to advance forward and act more like a forward; in his first season with Forest, he used that tactic twice.

After Hierro’s arrival in Forest, his body could no longer keep up as well. However, the awareness he displayed in grabbing hold of opportunities to boldly cut forward during training was something Tang En had learned much from. What is the effect of a center back, a position that everyone believes should stay docilely in the backfield, suddenly taking the ball and cutting forward during a match, or launching counterattacks with long passes?

The defense of the opponents would be thrown into chaos, allowing the attack to be further obscured, and subsequently increasing its chances of success. Additionally, functioning as a rear defender who could observe the situation from the back, it was much easier for them to utilize gaps. They would always be able to find gaps that got overlooked by the players on the frontline. Then, as long as he had a good grasp of his ability to long pass, his shots held the potential to become a buzzer beater.

Such an attack launched directly by the center back would save traveling over the midfield. Not only does it save time, but it also occurs so out of the blue that it becomes incredibly challenging to defend against.

During Hierro’s prime in Real Madrid, it was not merely his ability in defense that sparked admiration; it was also his talent in attacking that benefited them. Before Raul, Hierro was the highest scorer representing Spain’s National Team, despite his position of a center back. In that era, he was perhaps the greatest scorer among the center backs within the international soccer scene.

※※※

The two men, Tang En and Pepe, sat before the breath-taking view of Copacabana beach and started chatting about how a center back should participate in the offense. They looked so utterly delighted chatting that they exuded a feeling of regret for not having known each other before.

Shania was bored. The straw in her mouth started making wheezing sounds as she sucked on air; she had finished her juice. She looked around for a waiter, but there were beginning to be more and more people coming to the area to rest, so she was unable to find one quickly. A glance at Tang En’s glass got her attention. It was still full without even a sip taken!

She rolled her eyes and stretched her hand out to take the glass. Poking her straw into the glass, she sucked vengefully on the two straws with a loud slurp.

Her tremendously unladylike way of drinking the juice finally caught Tang En’s attention.

He turned to look at Shania, who looked back innocently. Turning his gaze downward, he noticed the empty glass before him and grinned at Pepe. The other man indicated his understanding and returned the grin.

Both seemed to realize that the conversation was at its end. Pepe had yet to agree to the matter of transferring. Since Tang En’s first brief mention of it at the beginning of their conversation, there was no other further segue into the topic.

“Well... I think I should… My friends are still waiting for me.” Pepe arose, pointing at a few people a distance away. They were the players on his team earlier on.

Tang En nodded in understanding. Having such a delightful chat, he had almost forgotten his original aim of finding Pepe.

Just as he was standing to send him off, Pepe suddenly turned and asked, “How did you know Hierro was my idol? I don’t remember having told you that, Mr. Twain.”

Tang En knew that it was a problem caused by his pre-transmigration memory.

He could only use a rather unconvincing excuse to explain how he knew Pepe so well. He said, “Didn’t you feel… that we were chatting as if we were old friends?”

Pepe cracked a smile at his reasoning and waved at him. “Goodbye, Mr. Tony. It’s a pleasure to know you.”

“Goodbye, Pepe. You too.”

“Goodbye, my lady,” Pepe said, not forgetting to bid farewell to Shania.

Shania had put on a look of disinterest as she listened to the men talk, peering at whatever was around. However, after noticing signs that their talk was about to end, Shania started listening in. Hearing Pepe’s goodbyes, she stood up happily and waved. “Bye, Pepe!”

After sending Pepe back to his companions, Tang En turned back to Shania. He said nothing but looked at her, his face beaming. His smile was so bright, it could almost compare with the sunlight shining down on their heads.

Seeing his expression, Shania sighed. “If I had known, I would have suggested a vacation in America!”

Tang En knew it was his fault that he had neglected Shania. A man should not be afraid of making mistakes, but must still own up to them.?So, he took the initiative of inviting Shania to dine together.

“I’m not hungry! I’m full enough from the juice!”

Looking at the two empty glasses and Shania’s unhappy face, Tony also made a face as he sat down. “Then I’ll drink with you.” He waved his hand to call for a waiter, but Shania’s hands shot out to block him.

“Fine, fine. If we drink any more, we’re going to turn into fruits. I know a restaurant with delicious barbeque. It’s your treat!”

Hearing Shania’s words, Tang En’s face lit up once more.

“Alright, don’t be angry anymore, Shania. I promise to keep you company throughout our time in Brazil, so much that you get annoyed.”

“No way!” Shania retorted, keeping half of her sentence to herself.

I would never…

※※※

Tang En and Shania enjoyed their day in the bustling city of Rio de Janeiro, only returning home in the late night. Shania’s parents seemed unconcerned by her wild antics. Perhaps it was because Tang En was accompanying her, but they felt no need to worry. Or it might be because Shania was usually taken care of by an even sterner Auntie Ryan in England; they figured it was not a bad thing to allow Shania to relax during her vacation. After all, she was only a 15-year-old child. With both of them so busy with their jobs and other social events, Tang En’s “free nanny” services, accompanying Shania 24 hours a day, was something they were more than happy to have.

Chapter 318 - Pepe Part 2

When Tang En woke up the next day, it was still only Shania and him in the gigantic house. Same as the previous morning, Shania only woke Tang En up after making breakfast. She then sat at the table and watched him eat breakfast on his own.

Just as he finished his meal, an unknown call came in. Since the time he had brought Shania for a vacation in Spain, he had learned his lesson. Regardless of what time it was, his phone would be switched on; the entire 24 hours. He was not the same guy as before, a poor football fan from China. He could afford the roaming fee now.

The number was unfamiliar to Tang En. After staring at it for a while, his mind racking for possibilities, he still could not figure out who the number belonged to.

He took the call. Thick, Latin-accented English drifted into his ears from the other side.

“Good morning, Mr. Tony. It should already be morning in Brazil, right?”

“Ah… You’re right. It’s morning now. Good morning, Sir. You are…?”

“My apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Jorge Mendes, Pepe’s agent,” the voice said unhurriedly.

Tang En was stunned to hear the name. As a football fan, it would not be surprising for that name to be unheard of. However, as the manager of a team, it would be a grievous mistake. Even with Nottingham Forest’s lack of interaction with Spaniard footballers, Tang En still knew of the man on the phone.

Almost all the managers of Europe’s powerhouses and their directors would have this person’s phone number somewhere among the numerous name cards on their tables; he was the most well-known professional agent in Spain. Furthermore, he was a football agent who held tremendous influence over Europe. He maintained good relationships with people such as Chelsea’s owner, Abramovich, and had feelers in every corner within Europe.

Jorge Mendes could be considered the godfather of professional agents in Spain. He acted as the proxy for famous managers and players, such as Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, and others.

The man was a hot-shot among agents; naturally, his ability to scheme was among the best. He would need to be dealt with carefully. Tang En nodded at what was said, only realizing after that his actions were not visible to Mendes. He added, “I’ve heard of you, Mr. Mendes. I didn’t expect Pepe to be one of the footballers you represented.”

A hearty laugh sounded from the other side. “I’m afraid there aren’t that many managers who have yet to hear my name. I’ve also heard of you, Mr. Twain. In the last two years, Nottingham Forest has been on the rise, skyrocketing upwards. I think you’re likely to be the youngest manager in next season’s Champions League. You met up with my player yesterday?”

“Oh, we met by chance. I am taking a vacation in Brazil. Coincidentally, Pepe is too. I’ve always thought he was in Spain…”

Mendes fell silent for a moment. “Pepe, he… he has met with some trouble over here in Spain, so I suggested that he to return to Brazil to unwind a little.”

From his tone of voice and choice of words, it did not sound as if Pepe was a player under the current manager of FC Porto, Dutch Co Adriaanse. Rather, he sounded like one of the agent’s subordinates. When his player got into trouble and needed help, his first thought was of him – the agent – and not the manager of the team he played for.

“Mr. Twain, what do you think of Pepe?”

“He’s fantastic. Very good indeed. He has a style I can appreciate.”

“Pepe called me yesterday and told me about your discussion. He mentioned that you seemed to know him very well, even better than Adriaanse.”

Tang En knew that this was thanks to his pre-transmigration memory from 2007, but he could not possibly be honest. “Well… it’s like this. I actually began noticing Pepe a long time ago.”

Mendes laughed again. “What a coincidence. There’s another person who has been interested in Pepe for a long time. In fact, FC Porto’s choice to bring Pepe from Maritimo to Estádio do Drag?o was on the strong recommendation from this person. Unfortunately, before Pepe joined, he had already left. Do you know to whom I’m referring, Mr. Twain?”

“Of course, Mr. Mendes. That person must be Mourinho, former manager of FC Porto.”

“That’s right! It’s a pity. Currently, that man is unable to utilize Pepe well. Are you interested in hearing what Pepe said to me yesterday?”

“Certainly.”

“He said that his conversation with you yesterday left a deep impression on him. When he was in FC Porto, Adriaanse?would never speak with him in the same manner, to try to understand his way of thinking or to help Pepe understand his. He felt very good about it… I’ll be honest with you, Mr. Twain. I feel that letting Pepe play under a manager who understands him is a rather good idea. Pepe is my player. There isn’t a manager out there who would wish for his players to be a substitute, to sit on the cold bench and gradually depreciate in value. He’s still young. I believe there is a lot of space for his value to appreciate. However, the current FC Porto is unable to create the conditions for him to do so.”

Mendes had already made it out to be clear enough. He was evidently keen on letting Pepe join Forest. What now stood between them was the transaction between FC Porto and Forest.

Tang En felt jubilant on hearing that news. He had experience in this. He knew the backstory of what had transpired between Pepe and FC Porto.

In the next season of 05-06, due to the pressure of FC Porto’s unseemly results, manager Adriaanse?was forced to make changes to the formation of the team. He changed it to a 343 formation, which had greater offensive power. At that point, Pepe was able to become one of the main players. He became the best candidate for their third midfielder. However, that was something that had yet to take place. Even a godfather like Mendes could not predict the future. He did not know Adriaanse would have a change of attitude towards Pepe, nor did he know what level Pepe’s future value would rise to. Even Tang En himself was unaware that Pepe would become the most expensive fullback in Europe’s transfer market in the summer of 07; Tang En had already transmigrated before the opening of that summer transfer market.

But Tang En knew that Pepe was currently quite unhappy being in FC Porto. The club had designated him as the substitute for Pedro Emanuel, Jorge Costa, and Ricardo Costa. In the position of center back, he was only their fourth choice.

After meeting Pepe by chance yesterday, Tang En ran through, briefly in his mind, the experiences of this Brazilian defender in recent years. Although it was a chance meeting, the timing was perfect. Tang En did not wish to let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had an indelible impression of how capable Pepe was in the game. In real life, Pepe was not at all weak either. Didn’t Forest Team lack a good center back? Give him a main position, trust, and freedom. Let him join Forest!

Piqué and Pepe were the two center backs with the most impressive physiques within the game. Just the thought of such a combination filled Tang En with excitement.

“Mr. Mendes, I believe Nottingham Forest would be able to create those conditions for your player. But I’m worried about FC Porto…”

“That, you don’t have to worry about, Mr. Twain. If the player is willing, you’re willing, and I’m willing, we can already begin discussing Pepe’s transfer fee as well as his terms and conditions.”

His words made Tang En vividly aware of Mendes’ level of influence in Spain. The poor Dutch man, Adriaanse…

“What do you think about a transfer fee of four million Euros?” Mendes asked.

A year before, FC Porto had bought Pepe for a million. A year after, they got to earn three million. This transaction should be able to satisfy FC Porto. But the enthusiasm showed by Mendes unsettled Tang En, so he held back from replying.

The other man evidently knew what Tang En was thinking. He said with a laugh, “Ah. Earlier, I mentioned my having noticed Nottingham Forest. That’s because your team’s rise to fame is too rapid. In the future, I believe that more and more people will begin paying attention to your team. As for me… I just have slightly better foresight than they do. I’m sure you know, Mr. Tony. As an agent, such foresight is crucial.”

It dawned on Tang En in an instant. By using Pepe, Mendes hoped to pull the relationship of Forest and Tang En closer to himself. All of it was because he looked well upon Forest’s future. This was equivalent to making a risky investment. With how the European soccer scene was set, there was only that group of powerhouses and small-to-mid scale clubs. There would not be many changes. However, the rise of Forest heralded the potential of breaking that stalemate. Mendes had spotted exactly that potential, which led him to be so proactive in contacting Tang En. Despite his honeyed words earlier, the truth was that he held the cards to various football stars under his wing. What was a single Pepe worth? By going with the flow and doing Forest a favor, he could sweeten their relationship. Before making any future movements in the transfer market, wouldn’t Forest still need to consult a financial shark such as him? Through this, he could gain control over the transfers of the Forest Team, reaping greater benefits for himself.

It was difficult to ascertain if that was right or wrong. Tang En knew that everyone hoped to benefit themselves. Perhaps he should even feel somewhat honored? After all, Spain’s hot-shot agent had seen that Forest’s potential would further develop. Regardless, Tang En’s principle was not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Regarding control over the club… If he has the ability, then let him try!

Tang En nodded his head. “I understand. Four million is a reasonable price. Mr. Mendes; regarding Pepe’s terms, we could have a face-to-face discussion.”

He looked at Shania, who was clearing the cutlery. “My apologies. I’m still on vacation in Brazil. When my vacation ends, I’ll call you as soon as possible.”

Mendes acknowledged his words, agreeing with a laugh. After saying their farewells, they put down their phones.

Tang En looked to Shania and asked with a smile, “Where are we going today, Shania?”

※※※

If Mendes had also transmigrated, he would not have chosen to take the same actions as he did today. If he had known that Pepe would be able to fetch a price of thirty million Euros in just two years, he would certainly wallow in regret over what he did.

And if Tang En could have transmigrated just two months later, he would be over the moon for what he had earned. Four million in exchange for thirty million; what a haul!

Chapter 319 - So Long, Brazil

After he took care of the matter of Pepe, Twain felt completely settled. There were indeed many Brazilian football geniuses. However, Twain did not need to add new players in some positions. Not to mention, talents who had not been targeted by the European powerhouses getting a work permit for the Premier League was a huge issue.

After Kaka was snatched up by AC Milan, Manchester United was furious. They thought it was the bulls**t work permit policy of the English Football Association that had caused Manchester United to lose non-European Union geniuses like Kaka time and time again. Kaka’s first season with AC Milan was a great success, and it had also sent shockwaves through the English Football Association. They realized that if they still clung onto this old mindset, perhaps they would be cast further aside by the global football world.

As a result, an “exceptional talent clause” specifically for those non-EU players was released.

This clause was meant to provide convenience for the Premier League clubs to compete with the Continental European clubs for those non-EU talents. When a club was interested in a non-EU player who had not yet played for a national team or his number of appearances had not reached the criterion, then the club could make use of this right to apply for a work permit for him. After the Football Association review, he would be able to represent the club’s team. Whether or not this player was talented and qualified enough depended on the team’s public relations standard.

That was a good clause. The only problem was that every club had only one spot per season.

The Football Association always wanted reform to align with the world, but could not take the leap. That quota vividly reflected its dithering and indecisive attitude.

But now, Twain did not need to consider those problems. The troubles were for the English Football Association. Now he just wanted to spend a wonderful holiday with Shania on the picturesque Brazilian beach.

※※※

In the past, when Tang En was still in China, he probably had not seen so many bikini-clad girls in all his twenty-six years of life. They appeared in droves in front of Twain and then ran off, giggling. However, Twain was not like he had been when he had first arrived in Brazil. Now he was more composed.

Twain turned his head to look at Shania, who was happily eating her ice cream.

Last year, he had taken Shania back to his hometown. This year, Shania brought him back to her hometown. The two of them really did have an affinity.

Twain had not seen Pepe again over the past few days. Perhaps after he knew his future, he had returned to Portugal.

At the thought of being able to work with such a player, Twain had a sense of accomplishment. He had used to play FM, and had looked forward the most to the transfer period because he could recruit his favorite players. Now that he had become a real-life football manager, that pleasure was even more pronounced and intense.

Twain smiled at that thought.

Shania, who was still licking her ice cream, gave Twain an odd look. “Uncle Tony, what are you smirking about?”

Twain turned and glared at Shania, “How was that a smirk? It was a heartfelt smile!”

“Whatever you say.” Shania shrugged. “Do you feel bored, Uncle Tony?”

Twain was a little surprised at Shania’s question. “Bored? Why would I feel bored?”

“I’m always dragging you to places, and I don’t let you do your favorite things. It must be boring to accompany a little girl like me.”

Twain smiled. He turned to look at Shania and reach out to touch her head. But he suddenly thought that that action would be the same as treating her like a child. So, he pulled his hand back. “How can that be? Hanging out with you is my favorite thing.”

Shania tilted her chin up to look at Twain, “Even more important than football?”

“The most important thing. Number one. Football is below you.” Twain winked at her.

Shania smiled. “My father and mother would like to invite you to dinner this evening.”

“Don’t we already eat dinner together every day?” Twain found it a little strange.

“No, I mean to treat you. Not to have dinner at home. We’re going to a restaurant.”

※※※

It was not a fancy restaurant where he would need a jacket to get in. Many of the customers who passed by Twain and the others walked in wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Some even wore flip flops as if they had just returned from the Copacabana beach.

At night, Rio de Janeiro had another kind of atmosphere. During the day, it was like a passionate young girl, cheerful and lively, and the brilliant sunshine was like a smile on her face. At night, Rio was more like a mysterious girl in black, with every inch of her exuding a seductive sensuality. The glittering lights were like priceless jewels on a young woman.

Twain turned his gaze back from the window. Shania and her mother went to the restroom. Twain was left with Shania’s father, Bruce Tenório, sitting at the table.

“Thank you so much for keeping Jordie company all this time. Her mother and I have too little time.” Tenório seemed to be a courteous gentleman. Twain felt comfortable with him.

“It’s nothing. I like being with Shania.”

Tenório looked at Twain and said, “As her parents, this is also the first time we’ve seen her smile so much. She smiles every day, all the time. I’m not exaggerating. Whenever she was with us before, she would always have a straight face. We could never tell what was on her mind.”

Twain nodded in understanding. Every parent was the same. More often than not, they did not understand their child. “Because of differences in perspective and ways of looking at issues, parents usually have a generational gap with their children.”

Tenório smiled. “Mr. Twain...”

“Call me Tony, Mr. Tenório. That’s too formal. We’re not talking about business, are we?”

“In that case, call me Bruce.”

The two men smiled at each other and accepted it.

“Well... Tony, you seem to know a lot about this. But are you still single now?”

“I don’t have children, but I used to be a child.”

This remark made Tenório go silent for a moment; he nodded thoughtfully.

“Bruce, did Shania tell you that she did not like to train as a model?” asked Twain.

Tenório shook his head. “She did not say, but we always knew. The resentment she showed during her modeling training, running away to England and meeting you. All these were done to show us. Her mother used to be a model, so she hoped Jordie could be a model too.”

Twain smiled and nodded to express his understanding. This problem existed all over the world. Parents always wanted their children to follow their planned path because they believed that their experience could prevent children from taking detours. But the children felt that their parents interfered with their freedom, that they had become their parents’ puppets, and that their lives were hollow.

No one was right or wrong. Each had their own reasons.

Since the ancient times, even an honest and upright official would have difficulty resolving family disputes and Tang En did not wish to be one.

“But ... Jordie received her modelling training at a young age, starting with her mother. If she doesn’t become a model, what else can she do?” Tenório pointed out the essential part of the issue. Shania was not like Yang Yan, a golden standard of an extraordinary girl who was a clever and studious student since youth and capable of obtaining a foreign university’s master’s degree.

Perhaps her parents wanting her to learn to be a model was to provide her with a livelihood for her future, not to make their daughter famous and for their family to bask in the glory. After all, Shania’s parents did not seem like the kind of poor family who would rely on their daughter to support themselves.

That was why Twain thought that the issue was not black and white, and that it was impossible to state who was right or wrong.

Twain sighed softly. It was really not easy for a person to find an occupation that he liked and was good at. Compared to many people, he, Tang En and Tony Twain, was lucky. Perhaps the Heavens had sent him through to England to embark him on the correct trajectory for his life.

“I still want to thank you, Twain... Tony. You’ve made Shania’s life in the last two years richer and more colorful. You gave her a lot of things we couldn’t give her. Aunt Ryan is a very stubborn and traditional Englishwoman. Shania would definitely not be happy living with her. So... She is still going to stay there for a long time, and I hope you can continue to take care of her.”

Twain was stunned for a moment. He looked at Tenório and saw that the other man also smiled and looked at him.

“Is this a father’s request?”

Tenório did not answer; he just kept smiling.

“Then, I promise.”

“Thank you, Tony. You’re a good man. I knew it from the first moment I saw you...”

Twain made a face. It was one thing to seen as a good person by Shania, but now Shania’s father thought so too. Am I really a good person? It doesn’t seem right. What have I done to show that I’m a good guy?

At that point, Shania and her mother came back. They seemed to have taken a long time to go the restroom. “What are you talking about?” Shania was in a good mood. She bounced and sat beside her mother and looked at Twain and her father opposite her.

“I’m ratting you out, saying that you’re disobedient.” Twain said fiercely. The conversation just now had made him open up more in front of Shania’s parents.

Shania sniffed, but stole a glance at her father’s expression at the same time. When she saw that her father’s face was full of smiles, she put her heart at ease.

When Tenório saw that everyone was seated, he turned over an object on the table that was shaped like a common toothpick holder which Tang En often saw at restaurants in China. The originally red color on one side had flipped over to green.

Soon after, a waiter came with a long-forked skewer of meat.

“Jordie must have taken you to a Brazilian barbecue, but I guarantee that this is the most authentic.” Tenório smiled and pointed at the waiter.

※※※

The holiday in Brazil was very enjoyable. Especially after the conversation with Mr. Tenório, Twain felt that he had a much better impression of Shania’s father.

Before, he always thought that Mr. Bruce Tenório, who was busy with work all the time, was too cold towards Shania and that there seemed to be no father and daughter relationship. Since he and Shania were on the same side, he was naturally uncomfortable to see Shania being neglected. But after that conversation, Twain knew he still cared very much about what Shania thought. That was why Shania’s parents were happy to see their daughter together with him all the time.

However, the way fathers expressed their feelings might cause their children to misunderstand. They were often not as revealing and expressive as mothers. Their love, no matter how much, could only be kept within.

Twain recalled the scene of the two of them at his doorstep in Nottingham waiting for Shania. The conduct of the two parents fit well with their respective roles. Her mother was anxious and desperate and her father was calm and collected, not forgetting to show his authority.

He smiled.

“Uncle Tony, what are you smirking about?”

Twain rolled his eyes. “Cheeky.”

His vacation was very short, but Shania’s holiday was still very long. Twain had to return to England to deal with the matters in the club. A one-week holiday might not be enough to release him from the strain and pressure since the last season, but he did not want to throw his time away on personal relaxation. There were still a lot of important matters waiting for him at the club. The players’ renewal contracts, the introduction of new players, the transfer of existing players… All of that required his decisions.

Therefore, today was the day that his holiday had come to an end in Brazil. He was going to fly back to England to start work and would bid farewell to Shania, who would continue her stay with her parents in Brazil.

Since Shania’s parents were as busy as usual, only Shania came to send him off. But this could be the send-off Twain had hoped for.

Looking at Shania, who was waiting beside him for the boarding, Twain reminisced about the happy times of that week and was suddenly a little reluctant. He had to find a way to divert his attention.

“Shania, I think your father... um, is quite nice.”

“Yes.” Shania nodded, “I’ve always liked my dad very much.”

“Do you like him and fear him as well?” said Twain with a grin.

Shania scowled at Twain. “I don’t know why. Even though I spent more time with my mother growing up, I’m closer to my dad. I’m very happy whenever I see my dad. But he always looks so serious to me.”

Ah, daddy issues.

Twain cleared his throat, “That’s because you were still young. Now that you think about it, your dad doesn’t look at you with a straight face anymore, does he?”

“It’s because I haven’t been in Brazil for a long time.” Shania grinned. “And you’re here with me, so he doesn’t dare give me that look!”

Tang En thought of his childhood. If relatives and friends came to visit, he could act up a little more and misbehave without worrying about being punished by his parents. The adults called him the jester, playing and acting up all the time. If there were no visitors, he would not dare to act up. Shania was similar to himself at that time. She might be catching up to him in height, but she was still a child.

He expected that Shania would behave more obediently at home after his departure today.

When he thought of that, Twain again felt that Shania was a little pitiful, and he felt reluctant to go. He had circled back to the same mood.

The airport announcer began to inform the passengers for the flight from Rio de Janeiro to London to start boarding. Shania looked up at the ceiling of the airport hall and seemed to search for the place where the announcement had been sent from.

“Shania...” Seeing her like that, Twain said hoarsely, “I’m leaving.”

Shania glanced down and her face lit up with a smile, “All right, Uncle Tony. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Shania.”

In the end, neither of them moved.

“I’m really going.”

“Okay, Uncle Tony. Remember to call me when you get there.” Shania made a telephone receiver gesture with her hand next to her ear.

After a brief silence, the announcement came overhead again. The sweet female voice sounded particularly unpleasant to Twain. He looked up and took a deep breath. “Shania, if you... well, if you feel alone and bored in Brazil, just go back to England earlier.”

He had not expected Shania to smile and decline Twain’s kindness. “I want to stay here with them for the rest of my holiday.”

“Ah...” Twain was somewhat disappointed. But soon he realized that that was impolite. So he immediately bent down to pick up his suitcase.

Just as he put his hand on the suitcase handle, he heard Shania say, “But when I’m bored, I’ll call you. Don’t turn off your cellphone! If I can’t get hold of you when I’m bored, I won’t spare you when I get back to England!”

“Hey, when do you ever see me turn off my cellphone? I don’t even turn it off when I sleep. I’ll be on call 24/7!” Twain grabbed the handle and straightened up. His heart suddenly felt lightened. Ah, what beautiful weather, so full of sunshine…

“I’m really leaving this time, Shania. I’m really happy that I got to be with you in Brazil for the holiday; happier than when I led the team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League qualifier. Thank you.”

Twain pulled his luggage and turned to walk away as Shania was still gently waving behind his back.

“Thank you too, Uncle Tony.”

Chapter 320 - Work Permit Part 1

Tang En had only just set foot into the UK when negotiations between Nottingham Forest Club and FC Porto regarding Pepe’s transfer began. The other relevant issues in relation to the matter proceeded as well.

Other than the negotiation between the two clubs, there was another matter that could not be ignored: Pepe’s work permit. Although Pepe has been playing football in Spain for numerous years, he held only Brazilian citizenship and was thus considered a non-EU player. As he was never fielded as a representative of the Brazilian National Team, he could not fulfill the 75% participation rate in senior international matches. If the transfer got blocked because of the work permit issue despite all three parties (the two clubs and the player himself) not having any problems with it, Tang En would be enraged. He had not had such problems when he was playing FM.

One thing that comforted him was the fact that Pepe’s application for Portuguese citizenship had been submitted.

If the application failed to go through on Portugal’s end, Tang En had one more ace up his sleeve: the Exceptional Talent Clause. The sole thing he was worried about was that no defender has been successful in applying for it since its establishment. The thought of having to make nice with the disgusting officials from the English Football Association also annoyed him deeply. The more time Tang En spend in the UK, and the more interactions he had with the FA, the more he felt that they, known as the “origins of modern football” and “world’s first professional football management,” were, in numerous repulsive aspects, remarkably like the Chinese Football Association.

Pedantic, foolish, inflexible, opinionated, bureaucratic, old-fashioned, conceited…

All of which were the “seven sins” of the English Football Association.

Unless it was truly necessary, Tang En did not want to have any dealings with that group of officials.

※※※

As promised by Jorge Mendes, FC Porto did not impede the transfer of their fourth midfielder substitute. The price was also exactly four million Euros. Neither party needed to waste any time negotiating the transfer fee. They immediately proceeded to the step of discussing the player’s terms.

In truth, Tang En had long ago finished discussing the terms with Mendes. Pepe had authorized Mendes with full representative rights in all negotiations on his behalf. What followed was simple. Accompanied by Mendes, Pepe flew to Nottingham, England, where he received a full-body examination at Forest Club. The results of his examination took the sports medicine experts aback. Fleming’s words to Tang En were, “The boy does not appear particularly strong, but his physique is, in truth, near perfection. His body has terrifying abilities.”

Mendes had immense confidence in his player. Even then, listening to such an evaluation delighted him again.

Since he passed the body examination, both parties could officially sign the contract, after which the official website would announce the successful transfer of the player.

After signing, Tang En shook Pepe’s hand and said, “Welcome to Nottingham Forest, Pepe.”

“Mr. Twain, I am very happy to play on your team.”

“Don’t call me Mr. Twain. You can call me ‘Chief’ or ‘Boss’.” Tang En patted Pepe’s sturdy shoulders. “In England, that’s how the players address their manager. You’ll have to get used to it.”

“Okay… Chief.” A somewhat silly smile emerged on Pepe’s rounded face.

“You can continue your vacation now. The vacation period for the players has not ended yet. Additionally, if you have any requests for your future accommodations, you can let us know. The club will take them into consideration when we’re searching for a house for you,” Allan said, standing beside Tang En.

They had only just finished signing the papers. Pepe had not expected the club to already be considering those matters. He looked at Allan in surprise. Tang En said with a laugh, “The club has professionals in charge of managing your day-to-day issues. You don’t have to worry about your living situation here. All you need to do is one thing: play soccer; and play it well. I believe you will come to like this place.”

“I already like it here, Boss.”

Everyone in the room laughed.

※※※

Evan had always seriously analyzed the differences in Forest’s competitiveness and loyalty-building of their players in comparison with other richer and more powerful teams. Trying to depend on their past glories and influence in the football scene to attract and retain players was clearly unworkable; Forest could not compete with the other powerhouses. To depend on high salaries for enticing players… Evan was not Abramovich. After much thought about it, they could probably, at their current stage, only put forth more effort in the minutest details to let their players feel that the club was truly thinking for them; to let them see it was a club worthy of their contributions.

Evan’s thoughts were inspired by Tang En’s prior request for him to fork out money in the club’s name to treat Wood’s mother and to arrange living accommodations for their family. Evan was a witness to its effects. Just spending some money for the medical treatment and an apartment allowed the club to gain a skilled midfielder who was on a rapid rise to fame within England. It was something that caused even Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and other powerhouses to be envious of them; Forest finally had something they coveted.

Although Forest’s aim was to enter the ranks of G14, they were undeniably still a small club. Evan recognized this, so he needed to put in a lot of work. Tang En’s mission was to train the team and play in matches. Allan was responsible for making money. And he, as the chairman, naturally had to think up ideas in his management of the club.

Tang En knew that Pepe was a player who prioritized his family. If he were to stay in a hotel after coming to Nottingham Forest, it would surely interfere with his performance. Giving him a fixed place to live in, even only a rental house, would stabilize Pepe’s condition. The club made sure to consider such day-to-day issues in the greatest detail and manage them to the best of their ability. In this manner, Pepe and other foreign players would be able to give their all in training, better contributing to the team.

Tang En frequently used a saying on the training grounds: the devil is in the details.

By paying attention to every little detail during training, the players would be able to do their best in every one of them during matches. Victory would then come naturally unless their luck turned out superbly bad.

That saying was also applicable to the management of the club. Evan hoped that Forest would become one of the most unique teams within the 20 clubs of the English Premier League. Other than just their results, there were many other aspects to them that were differentiated.

For proof, one only had to think about how FC Barcelona had managed to get Messi to stay with them wholeheartedly. It was not only because they were a powerhouse. It was more because the club sponsored Messi’s treatment for GHD (Growth Hormone Deficiency) and even arranged work for Messi’s father within the club to help with their financial difficulties.

Others in similar situations include Giovani dos Santos, wherein FC Barcelona had forked out funds for the education of his brothers and provided them a place to stay. Those details, while humanizing, were often neglected. When people shone a spotlight on the outstanding performances of those geniuses, very few would realize the painstaking efforts of the club behind it. And when those details accumulated, one by one, it would unleash an astounding power when needed: loyalty.

After taking over the position of the club’s chairman, Evan began a fervent investigation of the history and backstories of almost all the successful clubs within Europe. From the perspective of a businessman, the successful clubs could also be regarded as individual companies; each of the English Premier League clubs was also a type of private limited company. However, they differed slightly from a company in its ordinary meaning, as the projects managed by them and its clientele were special.

Since they were companies, they must have a corporate culture. In other words, the bearing of a club. Any successful club must have a certain something that stood apart from the others.

Unlike Real Madrid, Nottingham Forest did not have a lasting glorious history or international renown; they could not possibly set splendor or glory to be the core of their club. They were also not like Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao, who had a strong sense of regional identity. Regardless of their results, they would always have a humongous group of loyal supporters. Yet from another angle, Forest would not be able to compete with Liverpool’s tradition of a KOP spectator stand, and a past that rose and fell with both glory and dishonor.

Evan conducted a thorough investigation of Nottingham Forest’s history and made a depressing discovery. Other than having an ancient enough history, they did not have anything else that lasted throughout their time. Even the two consecutive years of glory winning the Champions League were not really the era of the club. It was more like the era of a sole person: Brian Clough’s era. From the establishment of Forest club till now, a duration of more than 140 years, it was difficult to identify Forest’s unique point.

Evan once discussed this with Allan and Tang En when they were eating together. Just as he was troubled over how Forest Team had no unique points, Tang En said something that brought him immediate clarity. “Isn’t it even better to not have any unique points? We’re like a piece of blank paper, you can draw or write anything you want. We can start from the beginning. You can build this club and brand with your personal flavor onto it. Some years down the road, when people think of Nottingham Forest, they will surely say that you were the one to pen its history. Won’t you feel an even greater sense of achievement from that rather than just carrying on the traditions of before?”

Evan became inspired. Although Nottingham Forest was only a small club now, it was nothing to be embarrassed about. In addition, being small came with its own advantages. Each time Evan saw Tony and the players joking without any regard to status or position on the training grounds, he would be sitting alone in his office equally amused. Nottingham Forest, with its 140 years of history, was doubtless a young football team. From the chairman of the club to the main manager of the team, and even to the average age of the footballers on the team, Nottingham Forest would be ranked number one within the 20 EPL teams for its youthfulness. Bound together, they were a young team filled with vigor and hope. Led by a manager who excelled at winning over people, they were running forward towards their goals. Without the backstabbing and politics within bigger clubs, everyone’s faces brimmed with brilliant smiles. Wasn’t that also remarkable?

Chapter 321 - Work Permit Part 2

Evan decided to learn from AC Milan, to learn their culture of a “big family.” If possible, he hoped to bring back all those who had played for Forest before and have them continue contributing to Forest from outside the field, whether it was as a manager, a scout, or in the administrative field.

Of course, having a plan was wonderful. But, there were many other factors to be considered in carrying it out. They would start with managing the daily needs of the players.

※※※

After the confirmation of Pepe’s transfer, the Forest Team submitted his information to the English Football Association for record-keeping and the application for a work permit.

However, they received two pieces of bad news four days later.

The English FA rejected Pepe’s work permit application as Nottingham Forest’s newly signed player. The reason was what Tang En had been worried about all along: Pepe’s citizenship issue.

According to Portugal’s legal regulations, so long as the individual applying had resided in Portugal for a full six years, they would be able to pass the series of reviews and obtain Portuguese citizenship. However, the process required time. Based on the procedures listed out by the Portuguese government, Pepe did not have any hope of obtaining citizenship before the closure of the summer transfer window.

Jorges Mendes related the situation to Tang En apologetically over the phone. The news had caught Mendes unawares. Originally, he had thought that he would be able to “expedite” Pepe’s application with his influence. Unexpectedly, the Portuguese government intended on reviewing and passing a new set of “Nationality Laws.” The reviews of Portuguese citizenship applications from foreign immigrants had been tightened to the point where there was no space for negotiation; they could only do it step-by-step as required by the procedure.

Mendes politely said that he would try to think of a way, but Tang En had already lost hope in the matter. After putting down the phone, he cursed. “F**king bureaucracy.”

Dunn, who had been watching tapes, turned around to give him a strange look. Without paying him any heed, Tang En dipped his head and made a call to Evan Doughty.

“Evan. I’ve got bad news. Do you want to hear it?”

Evan laughed wryly on the other side. “I already know, Tony. FC Porto just called to inform us. We have to either cancel the transfer or delay it to the same time next year. What are your thoughts?”

From all appearances, the second option sounded good; it was only a delay of a year. However, from a practical perspective, those two options were unacceptable. Disregarding the double impact caused to the teams by suddenly announcing the delayed transfer by a year, Forest was going to go into battle in the new season of the Champions League. In the new season, with Hierro’s retirement and the situation of Tang En being unable to entirely trust Matthew Upson, what was the use of delaying the entry of a player who he planned to be included in the team? They had to waste an entire season waiting for a single person?

“Both are unacceptable.” Tang En said decisively. “The transfer has to be done by this summer. I have to get Pepe. I’ve decided to use the Exceptional Talent Clause for Pepe to apply for his worker permit.”

Dunn, who had been listening in, was shocked. He knew what it meant for Tang En to activate the Exceptional Talent Clause, which could only be used once in an entire season. To activate that precious clause for a defender? Was Tang En crazy?

Over the phone, Evan evidently had the same thoughts as Dunn. Shocked, he said, “Are you crazy, Tony? He’s only a fullback!”

“Can’t fullbacks also be geniuses, Evan?” Tang En shot back. “We can search in the EU players for the other positions. But for Pepe, if we don’t take him now, I guarantee we’ll regret it. So long as we give him an opportunity, groom him, and trust him, he will become a world-class fullback! Then, we can proudly announce that this world-class defender came from Nottingham Forest Club!”

The other side of the phone fell into silence. Dunn waited quietly as well.

After a long while, Evan Doughty’s voice sounded. “Alright, Tony. You have full say over the matters of the team. If you think doing this is worth it, then go ahead.”

“Thank you, Evan.” Tang En realized that he had seemed overly forceful before his club’s chairman. After gaining the result he wanted, he made sure to get a good gauge of Evan’s feelings. “In two years’ time, I believe you’ll be very happy.”

Ending the call with the chairman, Tang En found Dunn staring at him.

“What’s the matter?”

“You’re that sure this Brazilian would become a world-class fullback?” Dunn asked.

“No, I’m not certain. Not at all.” Tang En answered with a shake of his head. “I’m only betting. His chances of success and failure are both 50%. It’s half-and-half.” This was the truth. Even Tang En, who had transmigrated, could not be certain that the players he was familiar with could be as successful in this world. His arrival had, in most instances, created too many variables.

“I don’t like to gamble,” Dunn said, returning to his never-ending stream of videos.

Tang En shrugged behind him. “I like the thrill of making a bet.” Then, he dipped his head again to dial Pepe’s agent, Jorges Mendes.

“Mr. Mendes. We’ve decided to use the Exceptional Talent Clause to apply for Pepe’s work permit. We need you to provide all the information you have on him.”

Like the other two, Mendes was taken aback. He had heard about the two suggestions provided by FC Porto. Wouldn’t a more normal person pick the second option? But if he could seal the deal now, he would be more than happy to. After all, Forest was the one who had to go through the trouble, not him. So, he nodded and said, “No problem. We have all the information; even during his period of play in Corinthians Alagoano.”

Tang En was glad of Mendes’ cooperation with him. “Thank you, Mr. Mendes. Additionally, if possible, it’ll be best if you are able to find someone with considerable influence in the scene to testify to Pepe’s capabilities. That way, his chances of getting through will be much better.”

“Someone with considerable influence?” Mendes said, pondering. “I have someone in mind. Whether it is his influence, ability, or qualifications… he’s exceptional.”

Chapter 322 - An Exceptional Talent Part 1

José Mourinho was considering the new signing plan for Chelsea’s new season in London. Being the head of a powerhouse squad like Chelsea was a matter of envy to other managers, but it also carried tremendous pressure. Because the Russian boss spent a lot of money, he had to see results. Those Rubles could not be thrown away money.

He did not have to worry about whether Chelsea had the ability to buy a player. He just had to think about whether the player’s arrival would increase Chelsea’s strength by another level.

It was not an easy job.

At that moment, he received a call from his own “agent,” Jorge Mendes. Although Mourinho would not admit that he had an agent, his relationship with Mendes was as such.

What Mendes told him came as a surprise to him.

“I need to testify in court? For Nottingham Forest?” He thought he was dreaming. “Jorge...”

Mendes interrupted him. “I know what you’re going to say, José.”

“I’m glad you know, Jorge. I’m afraid it will be very awkward for me to meet the Forest team manager... ”

Mendes smiled, “I know how you are, José. Just help me this once.”

Mourinho was silent for a moment. “Is it because Pepe can’t get a work permit?”

“Yes. I had a little trouble when I helped Pepe apply for Portuguese citizenship.”

“You want me to help you add another strong opponent against Chelsea?”

This remark interested Mendes greatly. “Since when do you put Nottingham Forest on your list of opponents? I remember what you said last season. ‘They were just plain lucky!'”

Mourinho pulled a face. “I just don’t like them. But that guy, Twain, does have some ability.”

“Since you think Pepe’s joining will enhance the strength of the Forest team, why didn’t you ask me for Pepe this summer? You insisted on Porto’s purchase of Pepe at the time.”

“I have Terry and Carvalho. Pepe isn’t up to their level yet. And...” Mourinho looked at the transfer list he had been working on just now. “Mr. Abramovich prefers beautiful football. He does not like defensive players.”

“Since that’s the case... we don’t know if Pepe can reach Terry’s level. Maybe he can succeed in the Premier League, maybe not. Who knows? Do me this favor, José.”

Mourinho felt that the Portuguese super-agent must have his reasons to be so eager to do this. However, he knew that it was Mendes’ personal business. He and Mendes were friends. Those business matters were not his concern. After being silent for a long time, Mourinho asked, “When is this hearing?”

※※※

Mendes passed all the information about Pepe to Twain. He even included the transfer offer that the Turkish Süper Lig top-flight team, Galatasaray S.K., proposed to Marítimo when he had played for Marítimo. This could also prove Pepe’s ability.

However, Twain frowned when he read the information. The details of the materials were meticulous, but there was still a lack of strong conclusive proof that could convince the officials in the Football Association of Pepe’s abilities. Pepe had not received any awards with an intercontinental reputation. He did not represent the Brazilian national youth team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup or the UEFA U-17 European Championship. He had not received any Portugal Rookie of the Year award, the World’s best youth team, or any other honors. His title of the captain of the Marítimo youth team was not even worth mentioning in front of the English Football Association.

Like Twain, Manchester United’s manager, Ferguson, faced the predicament of a work permit. He wanted to usher in from PSV Eindhoven the South Korea national footballer, Park Ji-sung. However, because of Park Ji-sung’s injury for the last two years, he had not represented the South Korean national team in at least 75% of the competitive “A” team matches. There he could not obtain a work permit. Now Manchester United was conducting a search for people to gather information in their preparations to use the “exceptional talent clause” for their appeal. They were said to be in contact with the PSV Eindhoven coach and former South Korea national coach, Guus Hiddink. As long as Hiddink could testify, then by virtue of his position and influence in international football circles, Park Ji-sung’s title as an “exceptional talent” would be affirmed and his work permit would be a cinch.

Manchester United could get Hiddink for Park Ji-sung. But who could the Forest team find for Pepe?

Mendes said yesterday that he could find someone to testify for Pepe, but he did not state who it was. This made Twain doubtful. The vague answer did not assure him.

The cell phone on the table rang, and it was a call from Mendes. Twain grabbed the phone. “Mr. Mendes?”

“Good news, Mr. Twain. I found someone willing to testify for Pepe. The former Porto boss, Mr. José Mourinho.”

After he heard the name, Twain held the cell phone for a long while without moving. But Mendes had anticipated his reaction. As one of the closest people to Mourinho, how could he not know the relationship between Mourinho and Twain?

The only regrettable thing now was he could not appear in front of Twain and see the look on the young manager’s face. It must be very interesting.

On one end of the phone, Mendes regretted that he could not see Twain’s expression. And on the other end, Twain rested his forehead in one hand while he held the phone in another. He had never thought it would be Mourinho. Although it could have been deduced from some of the previous data, he would always involuntarily bypass this every time he came close to this subject.

He did not need Mendes to tell him. He was well aware of what Mourinho thought of him. As last season’s champion, Chelsea almost swept all the teams in England during their championship season. Only two teams were unbeaten when they faced Chelsea. One was Arsenal, led by the French manager, Arsène Wenger, and the other one was Nottingham Forest. Arsenal only tied with Chelsea for two rounds, and Nottingham Forest was the only team that won against Chelsea in the entire season. Mourinho initially had been very hopeful that Chelsea would be unbeaten again for thirty-eight matches for another season after Arsenal, but it was destroyed by Nottingham Forest.

If Mourinho could still have cordial feelings towards Tony Twain who always opposing him, hell would have frozen over.

Why would such a person be willing to step out and help testify for a player whom Forest was interested in and help Pepe to obtain a work permit?

Twain was perplexed, his head full of questions.

However, on the surface, he was still grateful for all the efforts made by Mr. Mendes. “That’s terrific, getting a European championship coach to testify for Pepe. I don’t think there should be a problem. Thank you, Mr. Mendes. Oh, and please thank Mr. Mourinho on my behalf.”

Mendes laughed and interrupted Twain. “If you want to thank José, you can do it in person. The two of you will definitely meet at the hearing.”

At this end of the phone call, the corner of Twain’s mouth twitched. Such a meeting was really not what he wanted.

But he would endure it for Pepe’s work permit.

※※※

The call with Mendes quickly ended after he confirmed the hearing time. Twain got up to head upstairs and find the club chairman, Evan Doughty, to inform him of the latest developments.

Evan was surprised to hear that Mourinho had agreed to attend the hearing for a Forest team player. He was aware of the story between Tony Twain and José Mourinho.

He thought about it for a while and asked distrustfully, “Could it be that Mourinho is going to stir trouble up at the hearing?”

Twain did not expect his words at all. It took him a while to respond. He shook his head. “I don’t think so. But one thing is certain. His willingness to attend the hearing is not to help us. It must be to help his friend Jorge Mendes.”

Speaking of Mendes, Evan smiled. “This agent is an interesting guy.”

Twain knew what Evan’s “interesting” meant, and Allan, who was not around, was probably even more aware. The unanimous view of the three of them was to make use of what they could, and whatever they could not make use of they would discuss when the time came.

※※※

Now that Mourinho had agreed to attend the hearing, Nottingham Forest submitted all of Pepe’s information to the English Football Association to appeal Pepe’s work permit.

The next thing was to wait for the Football Association’s reply.

During this time, the Forest team and Twain were not idle. They still had to continue with the many jobs required for the purchase and sale of players and not delay the team due to a single player like Pepe.

Eastwood’s injury did not just cost the Forest team a good striker, but it also served as a wake-up call to Twain——He realized that his players were not robots which would never get hurt, get tired, or be in a messy state. Although fate had been very good to him these two seasons and his team had not been plagued by extensive injuries, who could guarantee what would happen in the future?

The Forest team’s most important target this summer was the striker. With Eastwood still injured, it was likely that he would not recover in time to return at the start of the new season. The remaining three strikers on the Forest team were mainly center forwards now. Therefore, the Forest team tactics would become unvaried. This was not what Twain wanted to see. What he advocated was the idea that “water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing,” and not being a one-trick pony.

The Forest team needed a fast striker to match up with the center forwards.

Eastwood did not rely on his speed. He was stronger in his overall skill. Now, Twain much preferred to organize around a player’s distinctive skills.

The Forest team’s first target was Inter Milan’s Obafemi Martins. But Martins’ loyalty to Inter Milan would not be moved by the English pound. Inter Milan told the Forest team that Martins did not want to leave the Giuseppe Meazza stadium because he was very happy here.

When he heard this reply, Tang En scoffed. After this season, Martins’ loyalty to Inter Milan would be worthless. No, maybe it was still worth ten million; that was the amount Newcastle United paid to Inter Milan in transfer fees when they brought in the Nigerian striker. After a season, Inter Milan had hoarded six strikers and a housecleaning was needed, so the lowest-status Martins were forced to move to the United Kingdom.

But Tang En could not use a future matter to persuade Martins to leave the Meazza stadium ahead of time to avoid watching the celebratory scene of the newcomers Zlatan Ibrahimovi? and Hernán Crespo scoring a goal at the sidelines of the training ground. Martins would definitely not believe it if he were to say that now. Currently, he and Inter Milan were in the “honeymoon period”. The combination of him and Adriano was the main striker partnership in Inter Milan.

Twain also knew that if he were to poach Martins now, he would have to pay a very high price. He did not want that. The Forest team was not a wealthy club now and did not have the ability to spend large sums of money. They should save in areas where they could.

Just after the transfer plan for Martins was abandoned, the Nottingham Forest team received a notice from the Football Association summoning them to the Football Association headquarters in London to attend a special hearing for Pepe.

Chapter 323 - An Exceptional Talent Part 2

The meeting with Mourinho was outside the English Football Association building located in Soho Square, a small embankment where many London Plane trees were planted.

This time he did not look around at the skyscrapers while in the car. Even though the last time he came here was two and a half years ago, that one time had left him with a very deep impression.

Representing the Forest team for the appeal was Jack Landy, the lawyer who had defended Twain the last time. They met again without any of the tension of the first meeting. When Landy shook hands with Twain, he smiled and said, “I knew we were going to meet again, Mr. Twain.”

Twain squinted and said, “I don’t often get into trouble. I was afraid you were going to be unemployed.”

In view of everyone, the two men laughed as if there was no one else around.

Mourinho stood next to them without expression; or more accurately, he wore a straight face with slightly pursed lips and a crease in his brow. He clearly was not happy to see Twain acting so smug in front of him.

Next to him, Jorge Mendes lightly cleared his throat to introduce Mourinho to Twain.

On hearing the cough, Twain’s expression quickly changed, as if he was already adjusting his face. His smiling expression towards the Landy quickly disappeared, and his smile immediately became warmer and more cordial. However, no matter how one looked at it, it felt overly enthusiastic and too friendly.

He turned to Mourinho and extended his hand. “I never thought we’d meet this way, Mr. Mourinho. Anyway, thank you very much for being able to attend this hearing for Pepe.”

Mourinho did not intend to extend his hand. He continued expressionlessly, and his voice sounded a little cold. “Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Twain. I’m just as disgusted with the English Football Association as you are.”

His answer made the people present feel a little awkward. There was a momentary silence. Twain’s hand was still hanging in mid-air. He did not know what to do with it.

But soon Mourinho had a smile on his face, and he clasped Twain’s hand. “I also did not expect for us to collaborate in this way, Mr. Twain.”

After that momentary silence, the atmosphere returned to normal. Mendes was in a pleasant conversation with the Forest Football Club chairman, Evan Doughty. Evan introduced Jack Landy to Mendes. Although the lawyer was sometimes inflexible and stubborn, his service was impeccable. If Mendes had any disputes in England, he could employ his services.

Intentionally or otherwise, everyone seemed to be distancing themselves from Twain and Mourinho to give them space to talk alone.

It was June, and the London Plane trees were luxuriant and leafy overhead. The mottled sunlight spattered at their feet. The breeze was gentle, the light shimmering.

Mourinho looked around and turned his gaze towards the agent, Mendes, but he did not look at Twain. “I have a very good relationship with Jorge, so I agreed to help him.”

Twain looked up at the fragmented sky, divided by leaves overhead, and nodded. “Of course. I know.”

“But don’t be happy too soon. Nobody knows if the work permit will be successfully obtained. I’ve never heard of a successful application for a center back using the ‘exceptional talent clause.'” Mourinho’s tone showed clear disdain.

Twain returned his gaze and looked at Mourinho. “Then I’ll be the first to do it.”

Mourinho grunted and said nothing.

※※※

The hearing on Pepe’s qualification for the work permit was held inside the Football Association building. It was the same room that Twain had been in the last time. However, the secretary who received them was not Faria Alam, who walked around with her hips swaying. She was replaced by a capable male secretary. And in the boardroom, the Chief Executive of the English Football Association waiting for them was not Mark Palios. The two of them, him and Miss Alam, had both resigned a year ago after the “Zippergate” scandal. As for the more disgusting details behind the scandal, there’s no need to discuss them here.

The male secretary, leading the way, was surprised to see José Mourinho and Tony Twain together with his own eyes, so he said, “I didn’t expect Mr. Mourinho and Mr. Twain to be here at the same time.”

Without waiting for the two managers to speak, Jack Landy stepped forward. “Why? Is Mr. José Mourinho testifying for Pepe from the Forest team, not in compliance with the rules?”

The secretary realized his gaffe and quickly shook his head. “Oh, so sorry. I was just a little surprised. Please, come this way.”

As he turned to lead the way, Twain and Mourinho shook their heads at the same time. This damn lawyer! Count your luck, kid!

Landy looked back and smiled at the two of them. Mourinho looked up at the ceiling and Twain seemed more interested in the photographs in the corridor.

According to the rules, the judge’s panel must be made up of the English Football Association, a British government official, a member of the Professional Footballers’ Association, and three experts during an appeal for a player’s work permit. Their opinions determined whether a player could obtain a special work permit.

Apparently, the members of the judging panel were somewhat surprised when Mourinho and Twain appeared at the same time.

It seemed that the disagreement between Twain and Mourinho was well known.

The entire appeal process was very procedural. The members of the judging panel read Pepe’s personal information first, including documents and images. The judging members from different departments would have different appraisals of Pepe’s ability. Twain and Mourinho were here mainly to deal with their questions.

First up as the “mentor who discovered Pepe,” Mourinho testified that Pepe did indeed have outstanding ability and limitless potential. His words clearly carried more weight than the data.

Twain sat on the side and watched Mourinho stand in the middle of the room to answer one question after another in correspondence to his wishes. He felt that aside from their mutually competitive relationship, Mourinho was actually a good person.

When it was Twain’s turn, the questions were mainly focused on Pepe’s position.

“Mr. Twain, obviously Pepe is a center back...”

Twain forced a smile. He actually gritted his teeth and asked in return, “Yes, what’s the issue?”

“What I am more interested in is this: in using this “exceptional talent” quota for a center back, is the Forest team not planning to bring in a striker this summer? Eastwood’s injury has not healed yet, has it?”

Twain looked at the other members of the panel and asked, “Is this a question that must be answered in accordance with the procedure?”

Someone in the panel stood up. “Don’t misunderstand, Mr. Twain. It’s just a little bit of curiosity from some of us.” The man who stood up and said this was one of three experts, Gary Lineker, who had retired long ago and now worked in television. He had agreed to serve in the judge’s panel at this hearing because it was Nottingham Forest’s appeal and Tony Twain was bound to come.

Twain glanced at Lineker. It had not been his question, but he guessed that the man must have had a part in coming up with it.

“When people talk about talent, the first thing that comes to mind is the striker, the midfielder, or the attacking midfielder... how can it be that there are no talented defensive players?” Twain spat out the words that had been in his heart for a long time. “Is there anyone who thinks that Rio Ferdinand is not a genius? Does anyone think George Wood is a not a genius? If I can apply for an attacking player under the ‘exceptional talent’ label, why can’t I apply for a center back, who truly has great potential and is really a genius, as an ‘exceptional talent?’ Pepe’s ability is described in detail in the information. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten Mr. Mourinho’s statement just now. I don’t want to prove whether Pepe is an exceptional talent or not. I just want to ask: Mr. Lineker, what do you consider genius?”

After he finished speaking, the three experts on the judge’s panel put their heads together and whispered. Other than their three voices, no one else asked Twain a question. Twain waited quietly.

After about five minutes, more and more members of the panel joined in the three-person discussion. The Football Association official had to stand up to announce the end of the hearing. The judging panel would need to continue to their discussion and review. They would notify the Nottingham Forest Football Club whether Pepe would be eligible for a work permit two days later.

“So that’s it?” As they came out of the Football Association building, Twain shrugged his shoulders and asked Landy, “Is this always the case with the FA? Will they take another two days to finish the discussion when everything is clear?”

Landy shook his head in puzzlement. “No, this is the first time I’ve ever seen it. Mr. Twain, perhaps your player has divided their opinions.”

“And does that mean there’s no difference between our current situation and yesterday’s as far as whether Pepe is able to receive a work permit?” Twain asked again.

Landy nodded and did not speak. Beside him, Mourinho smiled and took over the topic. “Mr. Twain, it’s not easy to be the first. There are still matters to be taken care of in the club. Sorry, I have to make a move first.”

After that, without waiting for Twain’s response, he slightly nodded to the other people and then left. He did not even shake hands with Twain. It did not look like the two men had just fought against the Football Association shoulder to shoulder. It looked more like they had just ended another match against each other.

Mendes smiled at Twain and shrugged.

Twain admitted he had no such luck.

Mourinho was so adamant in leaving that he did not give him a chance to fight back.

It looked like he had to wait until the new season began to get him back.

Chapter 324 - Forward Line Problems Part 1

Two days later, there was finally a piece of good news from the English Football Association. Tang En and the Forest Team heaved a sigh of relief. Brazilian player Pepe was granted his work permit; he could sign with Forest and represent the team in various competitions. From this point on, Pepe truly became a member of Forest Team.

This was certainly fantastic news to Tang En. Like he was a piece of meat that had yet to land in his mouth, it was difficult not to be anxious about Pepe’s transfer. Now that the final obstruction to Pepe’s transfer to Forest was eliminated, the only thing left was for Forest to wire the transfer fee over to FC Porto’s bank account. With that, Pepe would officially become a member of Forest Team. In truth, he had already joined the Forest Team for their training in Nottingham. The vacation period for Forest’s players had come to its end, and everyone reassembled to prepare for the new season. They were also paying special attention to the upcoming qualifying match in late August on their home grounds for the Champions League. Their opponent was Villarreal CF, whom they had lost to during the UEFA Europa League Group Stage.

After resolving Pepe’s work permit issue, Nottingham Forest again tried inquiring about the possibility for Martins’ transfer from Inter Milan. The inquiry ended the same way as Tang En expected it to. Inter Milan very resolutely turned down Forest’s asking price. On Martins’ side, he also accepted an interview from ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ and expressed his loyalty to the team. He claimed to only belong to Inter Milan, regardless of the interest of any club. He had been trained there as a youth, made his mark there, and stepped into the European tournaments from there. It was the place where he had become a true, professional footballer. He did not think it would be possible for him to leave such a great club.

Seeing that interview, Tang En did not wish to make further remarks. He informed the club to cancel their offer for Martins, as well as other plans for the transfer. He had originally thought that he might be able to loan Martins even if a transfer were not possible. Since it was now evident that Martins wanted to express himself as a loyal subject of Inter Milan, Forest would give him that chance. Tang En just hoped that things would not develop the same way they had in his recollection: over the next year, Martins would continue to be loyal to a heartless Inter Milan.

Though it was already impossible for Martins to join Forest, Tang En still continued his pursuit of a speed-type forward.

Allan suggested that Tang En consider England’s golden boy, Michael Owen, who had been rather unhappy in Real Madrid. From a timing perspective, it was doubtless a great opportunity to bring in Owen during the summer this year. From a commercial perspective, Owen had incredible value. However, Tang En told Allan to dismiss the idea of having Owen join them unless the Forest Club owned a professional medical institution at the same level as the Milan Lab. Otherwise, spending over ten million on a glass man… Tang En did not want to become a laughing stock.

With Martin’s deal falling through, Tang En’s substitution of choice was Darren Bent, the number one shooter from Ipswich, an English Premier League team in the previous season who had gotten relegated. Whether it was his price, ability, or potential, Darren Bent satisfied all of Tang En’s requirements. However, among the many clubs interested in him, Bent leaned heavily towards Charlton. Charlton’s manager, Curbishley, was the first person to see potential in him, constantly expressing his interest in recruiting Bent. To provide a main position on the team after his entry, Curbishley even let go of two of the team’s forwards, Jeffers and Lisbie.

Furthermore, on their team were two former teammates of Darren Bent from his time with Ipswich. When choosing which club to go to, he even called them for their opinions; they certainly would have pushed him towards joining their own team.

As a result, Darren Bent turned down Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Aston Villa and several other clubs to join Charlton.

Currently, Forest was in an awkward position. On one hand, Forest had attained the qualification to participate in the season’s Champions League, becoming a source of much allure to numerous football players. On the other, Forest was still no powerhouse; in the eyes of many football stars, Forest would not be their first choice. In this way, the situation became one in which players sought after by Tang En were not willing to come, while those who were keen were not within his considerations.

※※※

But that was not all. While Forest was worrying over which forward to acquire, they were also faced with the problem of head hunters going after their players.

Following Forest’s meteoric rise in the English Premier League last season, several players on the team were viewed as stars by various managers; George Wood especially was. If not for Forest’s new contract with him, there would probably be enough European clubs coming for him to storm through the gates of Forest. Based on his outstanding performance last season, he was chosen as the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Young Player of the Year.

Several other young players on Forest also performed brilliantly. Chimbonda, in his position as right back, played through all the matches of the season. Although the lad was not as eye-catching as Wood or Eastwood, his steady performance was something indispensable to Forest. While fans might not notice him, professional managers and scouts did. In the summer, Manchester United put in an inquiry to Forest about Chimbonda’s price. Of course, Tang En did not hesitate to stamp a “not-for-sale” tag onto Chimbonda.

Despite Chimbonda’s excellent performance, he was not considered Forest’s most successful transfer of the season. After the season ended, his French comrade, Franck Ribéry, was widely regarded by the media to be the best transfer in England for the 04-05 season. Comments by the media were as follows:

Manager Tony Twain has a pair of eyes that warrant our inquisition. He did not only find players like George Wood and Chimbonda; the most exciting transfer in the last season was the young man he brought back from Ligue 2: Franck Ribéry. It was a free transfer that did not cost Forest a single penny. Now, a conservative estimation of his value has already risen to ten million euros. Assists, scoring, as well as the speed and demeanour he displays when he takes the ball on a breakthrough in the wings; those are the qualities that placed Ribéry on the same star-player level of discussion as Giggs in the Premier League. When Forest qualified for the Champions League, Manager Mourinho commented that Forest and their manager had ridiculous luck. But looking at it now, is it mere luck to be able to gather up so many young players with such potential?

After Arsène Wenger, we now have another manager to look out for during the yearly transfer market. In this year’s summer transfer, Tony Twain pulled out all the stops, activating the “Exceptional Player Clause” to bring Brazilian center back Pepe in. What kind of player will he be? No one has heard of him before, but he will surely show us something new in the upcoming season. Why? Because he’s valued by Tony Twain.

Rumour has it that SI, who has a cooperative relationship with the Forest Club, would consult Tony Twain on some of the players’ abilities and potential in the making of the FM game series! This is astonishing. Everyone knows that SI has around 2500 data researchers gathering information on various players. This is truly a marrying of the strong.

It was a glorious time for Ribéry. Ashley Young, on the other side of the wings, also received a commendable evaluation. Although he had only scored three goals throughout the entire season, including the EFL Cup matches, his total passes to the center took first place on the team. Compared to scoring goals, it seemed that he preferred assisting.

A few other young men like Piqué and Bendtner performed in a less striking manner, but were still similarly remarkable. Piqué did not showcase any spectacular performances, conforming to the norms and expectations and instead displaying the most important quality of a defensive player: stability. He performed and grew steadily, with much anticipation accompanying each of his steps.

Bendtner’s performance mid-season was brilliant. Following that, his appearance on the field was reduced due to Forest’s strategic requirements; among the four forwards, he was last in line. However, the five goals he scored, his incredible physique, and his exquisite technique revealed his unlimited potential.

With so many outstanding players, it was natural for them to attract the attention of wolves.

Ribéry, Chimbonda, George Wood, Bendtner, Ashley Young, Crouch… All of them received invitations from other teams.

Among them, Liverpool’s reported offer of 7.5 million pounds to buy Peter Crouch came within Tang En’s expectations. In his memory, it was this summer that Liverpool ended up purchasing Crouch. Crouch’s performance in the last three months of the league had managed to capture Benítez’s attention; after Eastwood’s injury, Crouch had managed to score several crucial goals. However, this was not the real reason behind Benítez’s resolution to buy him.

Just like Tang En had, he saw value in Crouch because he was a tall center-forward who possessed top-notch footwork. With that, his presence could greatly enrich the strategy of the team. He was essential to enabling greater variation in a team’s offense. Liverpool was lacking exactly such a center-forward. After becoming the recent victors of the Champions League, The Reds hoped to be even better in the new season; such a center-forward was indispensable to their goal.

Forest’s initial purchase of Crouch had cost 1.8 million pounds. After a single season, his value had risen to 7.5 million! However, that increase was unable to satisfy Tang En. He rejected Liverpool’s offer. After the rejection, he immediately contacted Nottingham Evening Post’s reporter, Pierce Brosnan, for an interview. In the interview, the two naturally segued into a conversation regarding recent news of Crouch’s transfer. Tang En then made a big splash about the unique abilities of Crouch. He made it sound as if all of England’s clubs required such a “tall, technically outstanding, and selfless player who could pass to his teammates as well as score goals on his own.” Finally, after listing out Crouch’s various positive attributes, Tang En stated that the player was an important member of the Forest Team. Under the situation where Forest had to play in multiple leagues, Tang En was not prepared to give up a player with such unique abilities.

But honestly? Upon receiving Liverpool’s first offer, Tang En had already decided to sell the towering player. On one hand, Evan was no Abramovich, and Nottingham Forest was no Chelsea. The finances of the club could not possibly be only incurring losses without any profit. After purchasing so many players two years in a row and hardly selling any of them, Forest needed to adequately cost-save through such sales.

On the other, Tang En was also aware that he had too many tall center-forwards on the team: Viduka, Bendtner, and Crouch. Having all three of them was a bit excessive. The best way to resolve that was to sell one. In the current transfer market, there were not many parties interested in Viduka. Bendtner was a player Tang En absolutely refused to sell because of his youth; he could still represent Forest for a very long time. Crouch was the only suitable candidate.

Tang En was just a little disdainful about Liverpool’s offer of 7.5 million.

Chapter 325 - Forward Line Problems Part 2

After rejecting Liverpool, Tang En was not worried that Benítez would simply let things go; he knew that Liverpool badly needed a forward like Crouch.

As expected, Liverpool’s second offer swiftly appeared before Tang En and Evan. This time, their offer was irresistible to Forest: 11.5 million pounds!

Upon seeing the offer, Tang En looked up at Evan with a grin. “The new Euro Champions are indeed generous.”

Evan nodded. “What about Crouch’s side?”

“I haven’t asked, but I don’t think Crouch and his agent would refuse Liverpool’s offer. Their terms of contract are much better than what we currently offer.”

As they started discussing wages, their attention moved from Crouch’s transfer to an adjustment of the pay structure of the team.

“What’s restricting the growth of the team now is no longer the question of whether their transfer fee is enough, but their wages. Evan, if we can’t offer a higher salary to the players, we won’t be able to attract them to join us no matter how many promises I make about becoming champions. The football world is very practical. I’m sure you know this better than I do. For professional footballers, playing football is their work. It’s for earning a wage to feed their families.”

“Yes… I have been thinking about that too. The club approves raising the salary ceiling. Regarding players who have already signed, we’ll slowly adjust when we renew their contracts.”

After coming to an agreement on an appropriate rate for the highest pay, they also agreed to sell off Crouch.

※※※

The next day, Nottingham Forest replied to Liverpool Club, agreeing to their offer. Now, Benítez could speak with Crouch and his agent regarding the details of their contract. There was nothing else more to do with Forest and Tang En.

Crouch’s departure from Forest had become set. Benítez’s expenditure of 11.5 million pounds resolved Liverpool’s issue with their forward line.?Meanwhile, Tang En continued to be troubled over his forward. He now had lots of funds, but nowhere to spend them.

Forwards were closely related to the scoring of goals of a team and their results. It is a critically important position. As a result, Tang En’s requirements for it were equally harsh. They could not just bring in any second-rate player from the domestic leagues. Since Forest’s intention for this season was to battle in the UEFA Champions League, it was best for them to find a forward who had experience playing in Europe. The player could not be too young, as Forest team was not lacking in youth forwards. What the current Forest team wanted was a forward who was in his prime and did not need additional grooming from the team. He needed to come ready for battle.

There were plenty of forwards within the European and international football scene. However, not many would be left after sifting them through with Tang En’s requirements.

If the Forest Team was not fighting in the Champions League, Tang En could even buy Harewood back from West Ham United. He was, after all, also a speed-type forward. Furthermore, if it was the Forest team who called him back, he would be more than happy to return to City Ground and work under Tang En.

Yet, in Tang En’s view, Harewood was still lacking a little compared to his requirements.

Just as Tang En was at his wit’s end about the signing of a forward for the team, Nottingham Forest Club received a phone call. The man on the phone claimed to be the agent of French forward Nicolas Anelka. He hoped to speak with Tony Twain about Anelka’s interest in transferring to Forest.

Tang En was stumped for half a day after hearing that news. In his initial search for a suitable forward, he had cast his gaze all around the international soccer scene but had not for a moment thought about the name Anelka. The Frenchman, who had been estranged from European’s football mainstream circle, seemed to already have been forgotten by the world.

He vaguely remembered that Anelka had transferred from Man City to Fenerbah?e S.K., a team in Turkey, just last season in the final moments of the winter transfer window.

It had only been half a season. Could Anelka’s older brothers, his managers, no longer stand the loneliness?

Chapter 326 - About Anelka

With regards to Claude Anelka and Didier Anelka, the two brothers and agents of the French striker, Nicolas Anelka, everyone’s bad comments about them could go on for three days and three nights and still not finish. Almost all the coaches, club chairmen, and managers abhorred them. The French Football Federation officials treated the two Anelkas as if they were dealing with frauds and thieves, full of contempt and disdain. The English media were more direct and called them “parasites living off Anelka.”

In the football world, it was common for players to make their relatives and immediate family members agents, such as the French superstar players Zidane and Djorkaeff, the Brazilian star players Ronaldinho and Kaka, “The Flying Dutchman” Robben from the Netherlands, and so on. They had chosen their brothers or fathers to be their agents to handle the contracts with the club as well as to negotiate various endorsements.

In doing so, there were obviously cost savings. After all, even if there was no common saying in other countries for “keeping the money within the family,” the meaning was the same. But compared with those professional agents, the players’ families lack of experience and knowledge often led the players astray and ruined their future.

A living example was right in front of everyone’s eyes.

Starting from the transfer from Arsenal to Real Madrid in 1999 until 2005, there had been five transfers in six years with Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Liverpool. Four of the powerhouses in Continental Europe had his footprints. However, being in so many big clubs had not helped Anelka’s career. His football resume was filled with glorious names, but the only honors he had won were double Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League title. The lack of personal honors was not the most fatal. The most fatal was the string of frequent transfers that gradually exposed the greed of his two agent brothers. Now, almost no club dared to ask for Anelka. After the conflict with Keegan last season, no team would venture to take on such a player in the winter transfer period.

In the end, the Turkish Süper Lig team Fenerbah?e S.K. announced the deal of seven million pounds to bring in Anelka at the last moment of the transfer window closure.

Seven million! Did it sound like a lot? It was not when Anelka’s several transfer prices were reviewed: when he decided to leave his training place, Arsenal, and his mentor, Wenger, Real Madrid paid twenty-three million pounds for him, which was the most expensive for a young player at that time. He was brilliant then and on top of his game. He was hailed as the only talented striker who was comparable to Ronaldo and the most gifted talent in French football in a decade. Later, he commented on his fellow countryman, Henry: “He’s playing at Arsenal now, which I, Anelka, did when I was nineteen years old.”

Later, he went to Paris Saint-Germain. Holding a high salary, he became a “cancer” that only caused trouble for the team. When he went to Liverpool, he had a brief recovery. However, due to his two elder brothers’ insatiable greed, Houllier dumped him. Later on, he settled in Manchester City for a price of thirteen million pounds. He thought he had finally found his base. He did not anticipate that he would clash with the manager again after one season. This time when he was leaving, his two brothers sprang into action and put him in touch with Arsenal, hoping to increase his price through speculation. But it did not work this time. Wenger and the Arsenal chairman came out to deny the rumor and that they did not intend to purchase the Frenchman. In the end, they could only go to Turkey with their tails between their legs. The price of being away from the center of European football and away from everyone’s line of sight was just seven million pounds.

“...And now, after being in Turkey for half a season, did they finally find something was wrong?” With this call record, Twain looked at the caller’s name, Claude Anelka, with disdain. “With their dear brother far from the center of attention, they can’t get more money, can they? I remember that just five days ago, the Fenerbah?e club seemed to have rejected Newcastle United’s offer for him.”

Evan Doughty sat in his seat and reminded him, “It wasn’t a refusal. Newcastle United asked for the price, and they listed the Frenchman at twenty million pounds, which scared off Newcastle United.”

Twain shrugged his shoulders. “A covert refusal, just like us. You state that a certain player is not for sale, and everyone continues to attempt to an inquiry, testing your patience. Consequently, you give a price that the buyer can’t afford or is not willing to pay to so that the houseflies know to back off. Didn’t we give George a price of two trillion pounds?”

Speaking of which, Evan laughed. “Tony, you know what? In SI’s latest release of the FM series, the George Wood’s price is listed as two trillion.”

Upon hearing that news, Twain was momentarily stunned. He then shook his head and smiled. “Is that special treatment for a partner?”

Evan brought the conversation back to the point. “What do you have in mind, Tony? You’re the manager. Allan and I are still going to refer to you for any signings in the team.” As he said this, he glanced at Allan.

Twain put the call record back on the table, leaned back on the chair and answered simply, “Nothing. I’m going to reject this. I don’t want to deal with those bloodsuckers.”

Just as Evan nodded, Allan suddenly reached out his hand. “Wait a minute.”

In Evan’s office, there were currently only three of them: Twain, Allan, and Evan. Allan, who had been frowning and in contemplation since he had come in, suddenly spoke up. That attracted the attention of the other two men.

“Why not give it a try?” Allan looked up at the two men, and all three of them looked at each other.

“Give what a try?” Twain looked away first after looking at him for a while.

“Talk to Anelka’s brothers.”

Twain waved his hands, moving somewhat exaggeratedly. “Allan, do you think this is some kind of free Turkish shish kebab? Do you know what kind of people Anelka’s brothers are?”

Allan nodded. “I know. I studied the both of them before I came.”

His reply was somewhat unexpected for Twain. He had not even considered it when he received the news. He had already refused in his heart. He had no idea that Allan would look into Anelka’s two brothers, especially for this matter.

With his mouth agape for a moment, Twain could only give a forced laugh to dispel the awkward silence in the room.

Allan asked in return, “Tony, do you have any good candidates for the team’s forward line?”

Twain helplessly shook his head. “No, the forwards who I’m interested in won’t come, and those who would I’m not keen on.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t we give this a try? The new season is getting closer and closer. Instead of wasting time in the transfer market, let’s try to get in touch with Anelka’s agents. I think something must be going on since they took the initiative to contact us after they had just arrived in Turkey for half a season. Perhaps this is better for us.”

“What else can be going on? Not getting along with the manager? Or the club chairman? But five days ago, the Turkish chairman of Fenerbah?e showed the close relationship between Anelka and himself.”

“Tony, do you know Figo and Redondo?” Allan again surprised Twain with his question.

“Yes... Of course, I know them. The former is a Real Madrid player, and the latter is recovering from an injury with AC Milan.

“Then do you recall the how they moved to their new clubs despite being satisfied where they were?”

The question stumped Twain. He frowned as he searched carefully in his mind, and then said uncertainly, “It seemed that Figo left Barcelona to move to Real Madrid because he had previously promised Real Madrid’s president that if he was elected, he would transfer to Real Madrid. As for Redondo, I heard that it was because he chose to stand on the wrong side in the Real Madrid presidential election. He chose to support Lorenzo Sanz instead of Florentino?”

Allan chuckled and said, “No, I’m not talking about that. I mean, do you know the attitudes and opinions those people and clubs had shown before and after the transfer?”

This time, Twain simply shook his head. “How am I supposed to remember that?”

“It was a coincidence that I turned to these old events yesterday when I checked up on the information about Anelka’s agents. On July 14, 2000, Figo, who had just performed well in the UEFA European Championship, publicly told the Barcelona fans that he would not transfer out of Barcelona, much less go to Real Madrid. His original words went like this—” Allan rummaged through his own folder and read, “I’ve made an irrevocable decision. I will not be a member of Real Madrid. If the fans are disappointed and upset by the rumors about me, then I ask for their forgiveness. But they should believe what I said.”

After he read, Allan looked up at Twain. There was no need to say what happened next. He believed that as a professional football manager, Twain would know the ending of this matter better than himself.

“And ten days later, Figo signed a 56.1 million transfer contract with Real Madrid...” Twain continued Allan’s thread and soon after he sighed, “All right, I know what you mean. Both the club and player were good at lying. The thing is — the chairman of the Fenerbah?e club said that Anelka now enjoys living in Turkey, perhaps to create a reason for their price increase. And they really wanted to drive that troublemaking Frenchman and his two greedy agents out of the club, but the Turks were just trying to get a little bit more out of Newcastle United. They had not expected to shoot themselves in the foot by scaring the Newcastle United chairman away.”

After he heard Twain’s story, Allan laughed. “That’s a possibility. It could also be those two greedy agent brothers using us as a cover to try to get a higher salary for their cash cow. All of Europe knows that Nottingham Forest is looking everywhere to buy a striker. In order to negotiate with the Fenerbah?e club, they could be using this as a bargaining chip to ask for a sky-high price.”

Evan Doughty applauded after Allan had finished speaking. “Those are both wonderful stories. Which one is closer to the truth?”

“There are other possibilities, but that’s not the point.” Allan looked at the club chairman and his old partner. “The important point is that since they got in touch with us, we’ll talk to them, no matter what their purpose. We’re short speedy forwards now. Is Anelka fast?” He turned to Twain again.

Twain nodded.

“Since Anelka is the type of striker we need...”

Twain interrupted Allan’s words. “He is not necessarily what we need. A player like Anelka is very difficult to control. He’s recalcitrant and does not play well with others. Even managers like Wenger and Bosque could not take him. I think a manager who is able to train him well may not have been born yet. He’s a ticking time bomb in the locker room, a bad example in the training ground and a negative factor. He’s a risky investment and the club finance doesn’t know whether he will be a profit or a loss.”

Again, Allan interrupted Twain. “But we have you, Tony. Remember Rebrov? What did everyone call him before you came on board? A parallel import! And then what happened?” He beamed at Twain.

Twain scratched his head. “Do you really trust me that much?”

Evan also spoke. “Tony, honestly, Allan and I admire the way you manage the team. There have been no scandals or disputes in our locker room so far. The overall mood on our team is good, and we have a good rapport with the fans. I think that’s all to your credit.”

Twain had long been accustomed to such barefaced flattery. He was so impervious that his expression remained unchanged. “That’s because the players on the team have a good disposition.”

“George Wood is not an easy kid. Except for you, I’m afraid he won’t even listen to me.” Evan saw through Twain’s ploy.

Allan cleared his throat, “Look, we are in agreement on your standard. Very well, since Anelka is the type of striker we need, why don’t we try getting in touch with his agents just once? I feel that aside from his character and two brothers, Anelka is still a very powerful player.”

“Compared to him five years ago, it’s already night and day,” muttered Twain.

“But he fits your requirements now. He must think highly of us if he wants to come.” Although Allan still had a smile on his face, his stance was tougher. He was not going to budge.

Twain made a face. “I don’t want to deal with those two agents.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tony. I’ll take care of Anelka’s agents and be responsible for getting in touch with them. But you have to promise me that if I can successfully sign the Frenchman, you won’t refuse.”

Twain sighed as he conceded, “Okay, since you want to give yourself trouble, I’m not going to stop you, Allan. I promise you, as long as you can sign him, there will be a position for him in the team. I will not make things difficult for you. But… there is a common saying in China: ‘Ugly words must be said first.’ Whether he can play the main position and be the core of the team or not, it all depends on him and his performance.”

Allan nodded with a smile. “Of course.” Then he turned to Evan.

Evan Doughty thought about it. “Selling Crouch will get us ten million. So, the target that I give you is that the transfer fee cannot be higher than that figure.”

“Seven million to buy him and ten million to sell after half a season. It’s already very lucrative for the Turks.” Twain grumbled next to him, “I’d still like to warn you, beware of those two agents ... I get a headache when I think of them.”

Allan smiled. “They’re just two greedy pigs. Plus, they’re amateurs.”

※※※

Thus the plan to get in touch with Anelka’s agents was determined. Twain dumped all the hassle on Allan and was busy coaching the team and continuing with the job of bolstering other positions. Regardless of Allan’s progress, he had already made plans to rely on the three forwards till Eastwood returned from his recovery. Anyway, he did not have any hope for Anelka. Even if he came, there were still his brothers to consider. Twain could not count on anything.

Allan had just returned from the United States and brought good news to the Forest team. He had negotiated a sponsorship contract with Nike. In the next five years, Nike would be the sponsors for the team’s jerseys. Allan thought that it was fitting for the Forest team, which was stepping into the UEFA Champions League. If the team was still wearing the British domestic sports brand, Umbro, on the one hand, it was not international enough and, on the other hand, Umbro also gave less money than Nike.

In fact, Twain was more inclined to sign a jersey sponsorship contract with Germany’s well-known sports brand, Adidas. However, Adidas’s reaction to a collaboration with the Forest team was lukewarm. Twain was not willing to be snubbed when an overture was made. Both Evan and Allan were from the United States and favored American sports brands.

This contract brought a five-year income of twenty-five million-pounds to the Forest team, which had undoubtedly given the Forest team, competing for higher honors, a boost to their investment confidence and more clout in the transfer market.

There might be small disagreements like how to deal with Anelka, but Twain felt that the cooperation among the three of them was clearly successful. Allan brought him a lot of money, and Evan regulated the entire club’s business. In turn, he played various roles between Twain and Allan. He was a mediator, friend, and a listening ear. Most importantly, of course, he was the decision maker.

After he saw the new sponsorship contract that Allan had brought, Twain sometimes thought that maybe Allan could successfully subdue Anelka’s brothers. Just like Allan himself had said: One is a professional player; the other is an amateur player.

Chapter 327 - Impressions Part 1

Tang En handed over the matter of Anelka to Allan Adams to deal with. He did not ask further questions. Allan would let him know whether it went through or not.

Meanwhile, Tang En threw himself into the team’s training and other signings.

As Tang En could find no better alternative as a substitute for Forest’s defensive midfielder, he decided not to let Gunnarsson go. Despite his abilities being much too lacking in comparison with George Wood and having a very limited effect on the field when he was required as a substitute, Tang En took into account that his plan barely involved fielding Gunnarsson. Unless Wood was rash, Gunnarsson would likely have very few chances to play. Letting him remain in the team was only to deal with any accidents that might occur.

Although Forest had spent four million pounds to acquire Pepe, Tang En’s reformation of the defensive line was not yet complete. For a team that wished to conquer the UEFA Champions League, Tang En deeply understood the importance of defense. In fact, in the recent decade, almost all the final victors of the Champions League depended on their defense, and not offense, to win. In such league competitions, only a team possessing great defense would go far.

Tang En felt that Forest was still lacking a well-rounded player who could play several positions; in other words, a utility player. Such players did not need particularly outstanding abilities. Instead, they had to be able to quickly adjust to whatever position they were playing and perform at their usual level.

It was challenging to find someone capable of that.

Even after racking his brain and agonizing over it, he could not think of any suitable person to play as a substitute for Forest.

At first, he had had his eye on younger players. Due to Tang En’s habits when playing FM, wherein he often preferred using younger players, he became somewhat youth-oriented in his management. He hoped that the players he purchased were young and talented, with the ability to serve Forest for a long time. However, wasn’t it wasteful to designate such a person as a substitute? Furthermore, if it was truly some football genius, which club would easily give them up to their opponents?

Tang En had been keen on Man City’s young defender, Micah Richards. The youth, turning 17 next year, was still on Man City’s Youth Team. Despite this, he had already attracted a lot of attention. Forest Team communicated their hopes of buying Richards to Man City and immediately got turned down. No matter how good the relationship between Stuart Pearce and Tang En was, it was beyond negotiation. Richards was to be the future star of Man City. Tang En had seen something in him that Stuart also saw.

Over the phone, Pearce honestly told Tang En that he could not sell Richards to any other team; the lad was going to become Man City’s future. Currently, he was the captain of the Youth Team. In the future, however, he might just take on the same position on Man City’s First Team.

Hearing this from Pearce, Tang En knew that he could dismiss all ideas of owning Richards. If he wanted to make a purchase, he might have to wait a few more years. But at that time, whether Richards could still perform up to the same standard and whether Forest would still be interested were both uncertain.

“…If that’s the case, Pearce… I would like to purchase another player from Man City: Sun Jihai.”

Pearce’s brows tightened when he heard the name. “But he’s one of our main players now.”

“Pearce, it’s either Richards or Sun Jihai. You’ve got to at least give one of them to me, right? Or, you could loan Richards to me…”

Pearce paused briefly, and said, “I’ll need some time to consider this, Tony. Wait for my call.”

※※※

Sun Jihai was a name that Tang En casually had brought up. Of course, he knew that Sun Jihai was a main player in Man City. Other than having played only nine matches in the previous season due to his injury and illness, he had always been the leading choice to fill Man City’s position of right back from the EFL to the Premier League. However, his recent comeback from recovery caused some doubt in his ability.

Tang En’s aim was really to add the statement, “or, you could loan Richards to me.” He felt that Pearce would not agree to sell Sun Jihai to him; after all, Man City still needed him right now. Richards, on the other hand, was on the Youth Team. It was not a bad idea to loan him out to Forest.

Tang En’s mind was relentlessly fixed on Richards. However, the news of his intended purchase of Sun Jihai became known to the all-pervasive media. China’s media, naturally, had the biggest reaction to it:

A team who has attained the qualifications for the UEFA Champions League is intending on bringing in Chinese player, Sun Jihai, to enhance the positions of their left and right back. This is something worthy of Chinese pride – should the transaction be successful, Sun Jihai will become the first Chinese player to appear on the European competition scene.

As such, the transaction, which had yet to even be decided, was already being stirred up by the Chinese media. Within a remarkably short time, it had already gotten to the point of the Chinese being utterly convinced that Sun Jihai was going to join Nottingham Forest.

From this, Tang En managed, once again, to experience the passion of China.

“Just this afternoon alone, I’ve had 17 phone calls requesting an interview. There were some who wanted to interview me directly, and some who wanted to get confirmation from the club about the news… On their end, they’re almost at the point of reporting that ‘Sun Jihai has already joined Nottingham Forest.’ Only now do they remember to learn the actual news!”

Tang En patted the stack of papers in his hands as he spoke to Dunn beside him. “Your Chinese comrades are sure full of passion…”

Dunn smiled. “Aren’t they also yours?”

“Ah. My apologies. I got too much into the role.” Tang En scratched his head.

Dunn turned back to retrieve a videotape from the recorder labeled “Sun Jihai” on its side. He passed it to Tang En.

“He fits your requirements very well indeed. He can play almost all the positions on the defensive line, as well as defensive midfielder and side midfielder… If you’re willing, he can even play as a forward.”

Tang En took the tape and shook his head. “Of course, I know all that. I watched him play earlier than you did… But, I don’t think that Pearce would be willing to give Sun Jihai to us. They don’t have that many player options for right back.”

After a look from Dunn, Tang En hastily raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I’ll be honest. I didn’t want Sun Jihai. My mind is set on Richards. I only want to make Pearce understand that while they can’t do without Sun Jihai for now, they are able to loan Richards to us…”

“Then what are you frowning about?”

Tang En pursed his lips. “I’m worried about how I should manage the Chinese media. Their passion is hot. Should I tell them honestly that I was just kidding?”

“Deal with it perfunctorily,” Dunn said as he busied with choosing a tape. In response, Tang En just shot him a look.

※※※

The next day, Tang En called on Barbara Lucy. She was the person in charge of managing media calls.

“There are so many of them… We can’t possibly hold a press conference over a transfer that hasn’t even come to pass. Why don’t you pick one of the media companies and invite them to Wilford? I’ll speak to them on my own. You can just turn down all the other requests.”

“Alright, Mr. Twain.”

Barbara Lucy was extremely experienced and decisive. What she had promised Tang En to do in the morning was accomplished by afternoon, with two Chinese reporters arriving at the Wilford Training Grounds. They showed their identification to Old Ian at the guardhouse and were let in after Ian’s confirmation over the phone with Ms. Lucy.

The two reporters walked into the training grounds and looked around curiously. They were probably the first two Chinese reporters to step foot in Forest’s training area.

Ms. Lucy did not let their Chinese guests wait for too long and swiftly came out of the building, bringing them to Tang En’s office.

Tang En was not present when they arrived. Lucy arranged for them to sit while they waited. After serving them both tea, she left.

The two Chinese reporters, a man and a woman, rose from the sofa immediately after Lucy’s departure. They scrutinized the modestly-sized office. An entire wall was filled with books, all sorts of books related to soccer. The office desk appeared rather messy and on it sat a computer currently in sleep mode. The computer case emitted a soft whirring sound.

A glass cabinet stood on the side of the wall where the sofa was. The numerous honors received by the manager of the team were displayed there: three “Football League First Division Manager of the Month” (now EFL Championship), two “Premier League Manager of the Month,” and last season’s “Premier League Local Manager of the Season.”

On seeing the final trophy, the male reporter laughed.

“Last season’s ‘Premier League Manager of the Season’ was Mourinho. I heard that many people in the English football circle then believed that Tony only lost to Mourinho because he was not famous enough; because Nottingham Forest was not as influential as Chelsea…”

The female reporter on his side replied, “If Forest had the same kind of influence as Chelsea, but only attained fourth in the League, I’m afraid Tony Twain would be fired by the board of directors.”

The man looked back at her and laughed dryly. “I say, Tang Jing, you’re a football journalist now, not Mourinho’s groupie. Maybe you should take note of your own status.”

The female reporter referred to as “Tang Jing” ignored her colleague and walked to the front of the enormous French window. She looked towards the training grounds not far away. From her position, she could clearly observe the team’s situation during training. Tang En’s back was to the window. As usual, he did not demonstrate personally on the field but stood by the side supervising.

The male reporter walked over to Tang Jing. He gave the group of people a quick scan and pointed out a tall, bald player, saying, “That’s Pepe. He cost four million pounds and used up the sole ‘Exceptional Talent Clause’ quota per season for Forest. I wonder what kind of performance he’ll have in the new season.”

The woman’s focus, however, was not on the team. She had been looking at Tony Twain, whose back was to them.

Ms. Barbara Lucy, who had led them in, made her appearance at the training grounds. She walked over to Tony’s side and said something; she was probably informing him about the arrival of the media’s representatives. Tony nodded, but did not turn to look at the office behind him.

She left after relaying the message. Tony continued standing at the sidelines, supervising the training. It seemed like he did not have any intention of leaving the grounds to return to his office.

“That’s George Wood. He looks so stern; it fits the media’s evaluation of him. It’s not so easy to get an opportunity to observe Forest Team’s training this close up.”

The man seemed more interested in Forest’s players.

Tang Jing interrupted him, saying, “Wang, you’re already an old football journalist, not some small-time football fan. Maybe you should take note of your own status.”

The middle-aged man called “Wang” chuckled embarrassedly. “So, you’ve learned! I say, if you don’t like this manager, what did you come along for?”

“For work.”

“If it’s for work, I would be enough on my own.”

“Wang!”

Uncle Wang coughed and changed the topic. “To be honest… this Tony Twain is pretty interesting. He likes Chinese culture, and the rumor is that he can speak fluent Mandarin. It could get interesting if his team becomes linked with Sun Jihai. If Sun Jihai really comes to Forest, it might turn out to be a great opportunity for him. Think about it. How helpful would a manager who is able to communicate directly in Mandarin with Jihai be to him?”

“Sun Jihai plays a main position in Man City. Why does Forest want to buy him? I think it’s to make him a substitute for the French fullback. Moving from a main position to be a substitute – I don’t think that would be any help to Sun Jihai’s career.”

“But Nottingham Forest is qualified to enter the Champions League this season.”

“It’s only the qualification matches of the Champions League. Whether or not they can play in the Champions League itself remains uncertain until after they win Villarreal CF.?And who was the only opponent they lost to in the Europa League Group Stage last year? Villarreal CF.”

Tang Jing was not optimistic about Forest’s future in the Champions League.

Wang made no comeback to Tang Jing’s words.?He was twelve years older than this girl; there was no need to compete with her. She had just been sent to the UK by the agency for the long-term. Of course, the most important reason was that Tang Jing was the president’s daughter. Many times, he still had to give in to her a wee bit for appearances’ sake.

Tang Jing had some real ability and was professionally trained as a journalist. Since she was young, she had followed in her father’s footsteps, his influence nurturing her interest in football. While she had taken the back-door to get into the agency, to get to London, she was not going to just be a gold-plated vase. But who knows what she would tell her father when she returned home? And how would her doting father interpret what she said? All in all, it was much better for him to act prudently.

Chapter 328 - Impressions Part 2

The room lapsed into silence. As Uncle Wang turned his attention back to Forest’s players, his mind churned, thinking about how he should interview the manager of Forest, who was said to be rather erratic, to successfully extract the news he wanted to hear. Meanwhile, Tang Jing continued staring at Tony’s back, as if she could see right through him.

At that moment, the sound of a whistle pierced through the silence in the office.

Tang Jing noticed that it came from Tony; a whistle was in his hand when he put it down. Following that, he waved to the Assistant Manager on the training grounds and exchanged some words before turning to walk to the exit of the training grounds.

The manager was finally coming to speak to them.

The two reporters went back to their seats. Uncle Wang even lifted the teacup to his mouth in an act of sampling the tea.

Swiftly, hurried steps rang from the corridor outside the door. It swung open. The manager, who was said to only give exclusive interviews to Nottingham Evening Post, at long last appeared before the two Chinese reporters.

“You guys act quickly. I didn’t think I would see you before the team’s training ended.”

A fluent conversant in Mandarin with a less-than-appealing tone was the first impression Tang En gave to them.

“Let me introduce ourselves. We are London-based journalists from Titan Sports. I’m Wang Huasheng, and she’s Tang Jing.”

It was Uncle Wang who responded quickly. He hurriedly stood and introduced them, smoothly getting past the awkward opening lines.

“You speak Mandarin well, Mr. Twain.”

Tang En beamed and said, “Thank you. Of course, I am fond of China. As you know, I very rarely accept interviews from other agencies. My interviews are usually published only on the Nottingham Evening Post, but for the sake of guests who have come from afar, I’ll make an exception.”

Tang En said that without a red face or any unevenness in his tone.

“Mr. Wang, Ms. Tang…” Tang En shook their hands one after another before walking over to his desk. “Welcome to Wilford. I apologize, however, that we only have 15 minutes. In a while, I’ll have to return…” Tang En said as he indicated to the training grounds behind him.

Wang Huasheng nodded his understanding while Tang Jing maintained a professional smile but said nothing.

In that manner, the interview officially began.

“First, I have a question that I hope can be answered by you. Forest’s interest towards Sun Jihai is something I made mention of over the phone to Pearce. How did the media get hold of that news so quickly?”

Tang En sat on a corner of his desk and looked to the two Chinese reporters.

“Stuart Pearce approached Sun Jihai’s agent. And then the matter got discovered by us.” Wang Huasheng answered honestly.

Tang En was shocked to hear that answer; Pearce actually went to look for Sun Jihai’s agent?! What did it mean? Did Stuart really want to sell off Sun Jihai?

Oh, no. How could this be dealt with?

“Ah… This is indeed the age of information…” Tang En laughed dryly. “Regarding Sun Jihai… I like him very much. His technique is excellent, and most importantly, he can play in many positions. I believe no manager would refuse to have such a player on their team.”

While it sounded like Tang En was praising Sun Jihai and he gave off an impression that Forest coveted him, he said it in truth for Pearce to hear: Look, Sun Jihai is that important; he can play any position! He could be moved to anywhere that needed him. It would be better for you to hold onto him and give us Richards!

“But Sun Jihai is a main player in Man City. Isn’t Forest’s current main right back Chimbonda?” Tang Jing, who had been quiet, finally spoke.

The subtext of that question was, “Aren’t you just buying Sun Jihai to be the substitute of the French lad? You’re using our national team player as a substitute for someone who isn’t even playing for their national team?”

Tang En took notice of the woman. He felt that she was somewhat familiar, but could not place where he had met her before.

“Ms. Tang… do you know what’s most important to a team playing in multiple leagues? Which team would play an entire season with only a single line-up? For an English Premier League team, just playing in the league itself would include 38 matches in the season. In addition to that, there are still two domestic cups, warm-up matches pre-season, and the Champions League; that’s a total of about 60 matches. Do you think just a fixed line-up of 11 players would be able to play through all those matches?”

Maybe it was because Tang Jing was the daughter of the agency’s head, but Wang Huasheng was always polite in the way he spoke to her. Even when he was criticizing her, he would do it tactfully and in a joking manner. But Tang En did not care for that. He did not know who this Tang Jing was, and even if he did, it would not be enough to counteract his displeasure towards this reporter who liked flaunting her tiny bit of soccer understanding.

Catching the scent of gunpowder in Tang En’s words, Wang Huasheng quickly made a move to change the topic.

“Would Forest be using a rotation system?”

Tang En glanced at Huasheng, nodding. “That’s right.” He replied, letting the female reporter off.

“Sun Jihai is an extremely helpful addition to our line-up. With his presence, I have greater leeway in reselecting players when deciding on the formation and strategy. Additionally, Sun Jihai has a streak of toughness found in the Chinese; he’s grounded and hardworking. I am fond of such players.”

Tang En suddenly felt disturbed. The more he talked, the more he felt that Sun Jihai was more suitable than Richards… He was mature, experienced, and did not have many ridiculous demands… An old veteran who had already seen through both glory and dishonor; wasn’t he better suited to the current Forest team than a mere boy?

Wang Huasheng was tremendously satisfied by Tang En’s answer. From it, he heard Forest’s sincerity… As for Tang Jing, she fell silent after the bout of admonition from Tang En. Following that, practically the entire interview process took place within the conversation of Huasheng and Tang En. It made Tang Jing look rather irrelevant.

The topic after Sun Jihai moved towards Tang En’s personal interests. The two of them began chatting about Tang En’s fondness for Chinese culture. Wang Huasheng was surprised to find that Tang En was practically a China expert. His understanding of China was not shallow; instead, he had his own comprehensive views about everything in China. After coming to know that Tang En liked Chinese culture, Wang Huasheng had assumed that it was the gimmick of one of those foreigners who liked eating Chinese cuisine – the kind that thought themselves able to speak Mandarin if they knew how to say “hello.”

He was completely taken aback by the situation. “Mr. Tony, your knowledge of China is as if you have lived in China for several decades, or perhaps you were originally Chinese!” Wang Huasheng said, sincerely expressing his admiration at the end of the interview.

Tang En smiled, replying modestly that he barely knew the tip of the iceberg. In truth, he was beaming happily in his heart:

Your sixth sense is truly on point, Mr. Wang! Originally, I was Chinese!

※※※

After sending away his guests, Tang En stood in his office watching the team, who had already begun training. Thinking back on his own words about Sun Jihai, his brow tightened even further. His heart was starting to waver – should he be pursuing Richards, or buying Sun Jihai?

Richards was a future investment, but Pearce was unwilling to hand over Man City’s future to Nottingham Forest.

On the other hand, Sun Jihai’s edge came from his experience. If Tang En wanted to buy him, now was the time. It would stabilize the team greatly. Tang En did not know which the better choice was. From a perspective of ease, Sun Jihai was much easier to attain than Richards. For the time being, the question had no answer. Tang En massaged his temple as he walked out to the training grounds.

※※※

On the other side. Wang Huasheng looked back at the gates of Wilford Training Grounds. Meanwhile, Tang Jing was rushing him as she sat in the car.

“Wang, what are you doing? We should go.” She had arrived in high spirits but was returning in disappointment.

“Oh… yes, yes.” Uncle Wang opened the side door and entered, pulling on his seatbelt. As he fiddled with it, he asked casually, “Tang Jing, do you still remember… when we attended the reception organized by the League Managers’ Association two years ago?”

Tang Jing nodded. “Of course. That was when I came to play in the UK during my vacation. I became very interested after hearing about the reception, and you went to great lengths to obtain a reporter’s pass for me to get in.”

“Do you remember that we had interviewed Forest Team’s legendary manager, Brian Clough, at that time?”

“Wasn’t it that old man with a flushed face, holding a wine flute? I remember. He’s quite unique. He is completely worthy of the title of ‘legendary.'”

Wang Huasheng laughed as he listened to Tang Jing’s description. “Back then, we asked him why he chose not to be England’s National Team Manager despite so many voices in favor of it; he let Robson take the job. He waved over a young man and asked him to get Robson for us… do you have any memory of that?”

Tang Jing’s brows furrowed in thought. Then she nodded. “Yes. I thought that the young man was Clough’s son or some supervising physician from the hospital. Hadn’t Clough just undergone a liver transplant surgery?”

Huasheng looked at Tang Jing and said, “That was Tony Twain, Nottingham Forest’s current manager. He’s thought by the English themselves to be the person most like Brian Clough.”

Saying that, he turned again to glance at the gates of Forest’s training grounds before dipping his head, starting up the car. He purposefully avoided looking at Tang Jing’s expression.

“Let’s go. We’ve got to hand our report in!”

Chapter 329 - China Sun

When Wang Huasheng sent the draft to China, he divided the single interview into two articles.

One of the articles was briefly on the news about Nottingham Forest’s interest in Sun Jihai. The other article was their conversation with Twain re-organized as an interview, which naturally included some of Wang Huasheng’s own material. He stated that it was to introduce the British manager, who was very fond of and knowledgeable about China, to the Chinese readers.

Tang Jing did not say anything when she saw that he had concocted this exclusive interview on his end.

She had heard of such a thing: a certain Chinese reporter had gone to Spain and taken a photograph with a star player. When he returned, he had fabricated an exclusive interview and then sent it with the photograph back to China, where it was published in the newspaper.

In comparison, Uncle Wang had exercised restraint in his conduct.

No one would know what kind of response the report would cause in China. However, Wang Huasheng was convinced that the newspaper sales would certainly increase by a lot. A British coach, who had a lot of connections with China, was linked up with a Chinese player this time. It was worthwhile to continue following up on the hype.

He took a risk this once. It was just like when Li Xiang established a close relationship with Milutinovi?; the result was that she immediately became the most valuable reporter, with influence and money rolling in.

※※※

Regardless of the uproar that that half-truth “interview” might cause in China, Twain had forgotten about the matter the next day after he had sent the two Chinese reporters off.

Pearce had returned with an answer, but this time his answer had put Twain in an awkward situation. Pearce had agreed to loan Micah Richards to the Forest team.

Twain was embarrassed that after these days of careful deliberation, he did not want Richards.

The Forest team’s defensive line was generally young: 18-year-old Piqué, 26-year-old Chimbonda, 26-year-old Matthew Upson, 20-year-old Leighton Baines, 22-year-old Pepe...

If a younger Richards were to come in, Twain felt that it would not be ideal for the defensive line, which needed experience and stability.

Therefore, after being quiet on the phone for a while, Twain still wanted to suggest to Pearce that the Forest team was very interested in Sun Jihai and he hoped that Manchester City could seriously consider the transfer arrangement of Sun Jihai.

“This puts me in an awkward position...”

When he heard Pearce say that, Twain was delighted because he knew the matter had legs. At least Pearce had not rejected it right away. It meant he had considered Sun Jihai’s departure. He decided to strike while it was hot, “Loaning Richards to us is to train him and for him to accumulate experience. Keeping him in Manchester City and giving him the main position are also training him and letting him accumulate experience. Both results are the same. I think it may be more beneficial to Richards’ development if you keep him by your side.”

“Tony, this does not sound like you.”

Twain chuckled. “I’ve given it serious consideration, and I think Sun Jihai is more suitable for the Forest team. Help me, Pearce. You also know that, according to Richards’s growth rate, he will be able to completely replace Sun Jihai in the next two or three years. At that time, Sun Jihai’s position in Manchester City will become rather tricky. And the Forest team needs him now. You can use Richards to play as the main force. Put your trust in him and the kid will repay you generously. Maybe the best young player in the new season is him.”

“The future is unclear.”

“This is a win-win situation and a good thing, Pearce. You may rest assured that the Forest team will make it up to Manchester City in the transfer fees.”

After a long silence on the other end, Twain thought Pearce was gone. Finally, the Manchester City manager spoke. “All right, the club will send you a fax on the transfer fee. If you can accept that price, you can go and talk to Sun’s agent.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Pearce!”

“If you really want to thank me, lead the team to play well in the UEFA Champions League! The Forest team has only competed in the Champions League three times and won two trophies. To return after all these years, I do not want to see a loss like the 2:7 defeat to Bayern Munich again...”

Twain knew that Pearce was referring to the 95-96 season. Nottingham Forest had returned to the European arena after eleven years and broken into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. But they were ultimately humiliated by the dominant Bundesliga team, Bayern Munich, by 7:2. Perhaps in the eyes of others, Nottingham Forest had performed well enough after they had returned to the European arena after so many years. But in the hearts of those Forest players, it was still a shame in their lives to have lost so miserably and to be so powerless to fight back even if they were facing a Bundesliga leader like Bayern.

The soul of Nottingham Forest had vanished when Brian Clough left.

“Rest assured, Pearce. Nottingham Forest is like a rock in the toilet.”

“What does that mean?” Stuart did not quite understand the Chinese allegory.

“It is smelly and hard. Those Continental European teams will have to be careful of their teeth if they think they can bully the Forest team.

Pearce paused for a second and then guffawed.

“What a good piece of smelly rock we are!”

※※※

The next day, Manchester City Football Club sent a fax to the Nottingham Forest Football Club, starting with a price that Manchester City could accept as the transfer fee for Sun Jihai, which was four million pounds.

Originally, Manchester City had bought Sun Jihai from Dalian Shide for two million pounds, which made the highest transfer fee for a Chinese player’s transfer to a foreign club. And now, apparently, as long as Tony Twain nodded his assent, Sun Jihai would once again create the highest record in value for a Chinese player.

Twain cursed Stuart Pearce’s shamelessness on the inside while he nodded in agreement to the price.

For four million pounds, Nottingham Forest officially requested the purchase of Manchester City’s right back and a utility player in the backfield, Sun Jihai.

Officially confirmed, this news caused a stir in China once again. Like Twain, the Chinese media knew what that price signified. No Chinese player had ever been able to command such a high price. This figure allowed Sun Jihai to be ranked among the mainstream players in the Premier League.

In the past, Chinese people always had the idea that when a Chinese player moved out of the country, he would be an outlier. Even when Sun Jihai was able to play as the main force in Manchester City, his countrymen still lacked a sense of security about him. If the Chinese media promoted how a Chinese player had made good overseas, soon a lot of people would exaggerate and believe in their own lies.

Just as the news hit the Chinese online network, many comments called the validity of the news into question. Of course, these questions could only lead to one result, which was quarrels and abuse between different regions in China. This characteristic was global, not just unique to China. It was the same as how Northerners in Britain thought that the Southerners were fools, and Southerners thought that the Northerners were hillbillies and uncivilized buffoons.

Later, many major websites and newspapers had published the news which included screenshots of the official websites of the two football clubs. This quelled the doubts of the Chinese fans.

Sun Jihai was indeed likely to join a team that was going to participate in the UEFA Champions League!

As a substitute or a main force? After the online debate over one issue, a new round of controversy began on the Chinese network.

Twain did not care about those things. When he was free, he would surf online on Chinese websites, but he never read the people’s comments.

Would Sun Jihai accept the invitation from the Forest team?

This seemingly simple question contrived to cast some doubts. Which team should he choose; a team that could only play in the domestic league or a team that could participate in the UEFA Champions League? Was it not obvious?

However, Sun Jihai hesitated.

He liked Manchester City and his life in Manchester. He had lived there for five years and had a deep bond with the fans. Perhaps in today’s football world, there were fewer people who believed that a player could have feelings for a team and fans because there was no commitment or trust in the face of money. But Sun Jihai was that kind of person.

His traditional Chinese thinking was deeply rooted. There was an old saying: East or West, home is still the best. The same meaning could be applied to football clubs.

Even if Nottingham Forest could take part in the UEFA Champions League, what about it? Sun Jihai liked Manchester City and had bought a house in Manchester. His wife and children lived there. The place was his home. The Chinese people put family and home first.

Furthermore, he had another reason for hesitation. He did not know Manager Twain’s attitude towards him. Many Chinese media analysts said that the Forest team just wanted to buy a substitute player. Why did Twain stress that Sun Jihai was “strong in every area?” Was he not just looking to find a substitute player for Chimbonda, Leighton Baines, and the others? If he transferred to Forest but was not valued by the team, and had also abandoned his Manchester City fans, he would feel like a real fool.

Twain decided to personally call Sun Jihai to give him a reassuring boost.

When the call was connected, Sun Jihai habitually greeted him in English, but Twain spoke fluently in Mandarin, which stunned him.

“There’s no need to speak in English. You can speak Mandarin, which I can understand.” He even learned a little Northeastern Chinese accent.

It was hard for Sun Jihai not to laugh when he realized who had called him. “Your Northeastern dialect is highly irregular, Mr. Twain,” he said in jest.

“I’ll learn from you eventually. Then I won’t be afraid that my accent is inaccurate. Do you know why I called you?”

Sun Jihai nodded. “Yes.”

“What are you hesitating about? Are you worried that there’s no position for you, going to the Forest team? Do you believe the Chinese media? Four million to buy a substitute for occasional play?! I’m not crazy!”

Twain was aware of the matter. The Chinese media’s analysis thought that Nottingham Forest’s purchase of Sun Jihai was just to increase the abilities of its team’s substitutes. Their analysis seemed reasonable and, as a result, they had a confusing effect on the readers.

But Twain just wanted to curse and swear when he read it. It was just as he had said to Sun Jihai: Even if the Forest team wanted to burn money, they would not burn it by spending four million pounds on a substitute.

“The Forest team is competing on multiple fronts this season, and the team does not have a differentiation for main forces or substitutes. Whoever is in good condition and performs well, I’ll put that player in the starting lineup. Whoever’s stamina and condition are not good will rest. It’s that simple. But the media had to create a whole list of reasonings.”

Sun Jihai’s hand shook as he held the phone. He was trying to hold back his laughter, but in the end, he could not suppress it.

“Mr. Twain, you have to be the funniest manager I’ve ever met.”

“Actually, I’m very easy to get along with.” Twain continued while he was ahead. “You’ll find out when you join.”

Sun Jihai was silent for a moment.

“Sun” To tell the truth, it was somewhat awkward for Twain to address Sun Jihai like this. He really wanted to call him “Ah, Sihai,” but it felt too unnatural to address him that way in their first encounter. “Why did you become a professional player? To make money? To prepare for retirement? There will come a time when you can’t make money anymore, right? When you decide to retire, don’t you want to leave a different legacy for yourself? I’ll be honest, you’ve reached your limit in Manchester City and that’s how it’s always going to be. Manchester City is a team with no ambitions. But I have ambitions, and so does Nottingham Forest. I’m sure you can see that from the transfer market over the past two years. The reasons I want to buy you from Manchester City is not to spend four million to buy a substitute to sit on the bench as a spectator. Secondly, it is not to open up the Asian market or the Chinese market. I’m interested in your ability and think it will be very helpful to the team. What are you still hesitating about?”

Another silence ensued. Twain did not speak either. He had finished what he wanted to say. What else was there to say? If Sun Jihai still did not want to join, there was nothing more he could do. He just had to suck it up in private and then grow a thicker skin to ask Pearce for the loan of Richards again.

But he did not believe that Sun Jihai could refuse an invitation from him. In any case, there was nothing to lose for a player like Sun Jihai by transferring to Nottingham Forest. The Forest team gave more remuneration than Manchester City. In terms of honor, the Forest team had the ambition and goal to strive towards glory. He would not only increase his value, but he would also gain fame and four million to join a high-profile team that was going to participate in the UEFA Champions League.

Twain quietly waited for Sun Jihai’s answer. Soon, he received the answer he wanted.

“Okay, Mr. Twain. I’ll go with you.”

※※※

So Twain settled the matter of Sun Jihai. There was no problem with his agent. The only obstacle to the transfer was the player’s individual will. Now everything was ready. The Forest team and Sun Jihai’s agent quickly negotiated his personal contract and signed the contract with the fastest speed.

A day later, Sun Jihai and his agent were at the Nottingham Forest City Ground Stadium, holding the red Forest team jersey to meet with the fans, media and the Nottingham Overseas Chinese Students Association. He gave a bashful smile, standing beside Twain and Evan Doughty,.

When he stepped into the stadium from the press conference, he looked up and saw the banner that the fans had put up in the stands: “China Sun, welcome to Forest!”

Twain also noticed the banner, which was not made by the Overseas Chinese Students Association. The people holding the banner were purely British fans. It was easy for Twain to spot Fat John and Skinny Bill. It must have been their idea.

While the cameras flashed repeatedly in the hands of the reporters, Twain turned to look at Sun Jihai, who was looking at the banner, and said, “You see, when there’s sunlight, the Forest can carry out photosynthesis. With photosynthesis, the Forest can flourish.”

Perhaps Sun Jihai could not know what kind of brilliant achievements he would have in his career after he came to the Forest team. However, one thing was certain: there would be a big difference between here and Manchester City. He would have something different in his career.

When he heard Twain’s words, Sun Jihai smiled as brightly as the sun.

Chapter 330 - From Youth Team to First Team Part 1

Although Tang En had told Sun Jihai over the phone that the team was going to play on a rotation, his first choice of candidate for the right back would still be Chimbonda when the new season began. Buying Sun Jihai was to increase the depth of the team, not create problems for Tang En when deciding on his deployment and strategies.

The reformation of the defensive line had yet to end. Left back had Sun Jihai and Chimbonda rotating; Center back had Piqué, Matthew Upson, Pepe, Wes Morgan, and Clint Hill. Many options. But left back still only had Leighton Baines.

It was difficult to find a left back on the transfer market and even harder to find an outstanding one.

The good mood brought about by Sun Jihai joining the team lasted only a day. Tang En began to fret over the rotation candidate for the left back.

Dunn knew what Tang En was worrying about. Over dinner, he intended to recommend someone to Tang En.

“You only looked at the transfer market. Why not look downwards?”

“Downwards?” Tang En asked, confused.

“The Youth Team,” Dunn said, rising from his seat to walk to the television.

“Are you going to show me some recordings again?” Tang En had found Dunn’s favorite hobby: not shopping, pursuing girls, or drinking; he just liked to watch those football recordings of his.

“Recordings are good. They allow you to directly see a player’s growth.”

Dunn walked to the shelves just behind the TV. Several rows of videotapes and DVDs were neatly arranged on them. Brushing his finger across them, he picked one and removed it, putting it into the DVD player.

Dunn treated these videotapes and DVDs like they were his children. Not only did he categorize them and give them sequential labels, he even made an introduction for each of them. At its moment of play, the introductory recording would display the footballer’s name, time of the shooting, location of the shooting, age at that point, team, and position played.

Such an introduction appeared on the screen:

Gareth Bale; 16 years old; Nottingham Forest Youth Team; Left midfielder, left back; 23/04/05; Filmed on Wilford North Training Grounds.

It was him! Tang En recalled him the moment he saw the name; if it was the position of left back, Gareth Bale would be able to play, but…

“Isn’t he a little too young? He’s not even 17.”

Dunn did not answer Tang En’s question, instead stepping to the side to allow him to watch the video.

It showed a Youth Team match. Nottingham Forest against Sunderland. Gareth Bale took up the position of left back. However, he did not just defend. He assisted numerous times in their offense forward; the entire left wing was his domain. Breakthroughs occurred one after another, his passes to the center generating an immense threat to their opponents. At last, Forest team gained an opportunity to take a direct free kick in the front field.

Gareth Bale stood before the ball.

Watching up to this point, Tang En had already forgotten about dinner. His hands were still holding on to his cutlery, but his eyes were completely focused on the TV screen.

He had been waiting for this scene for much too long. Ever since he brought Bale to Forest team, he had been waiting in anticipation to see it.

As Bale stood in front of the ball, his teammates consciously paved a path for him. Evidently, he had already established his own capabilities as the kicker in such set pieces.

At the referee’s whistle, Bale took off in a run, pulling back his leg in a shot towards the goal.

The football went beautifully around the wall of jumping Sunderland players, finding its way precisely into the upper corner of the goal!

Tang En could not help but whistle as he watched the ball fly across the goal line.

“Beautiful!”

The lad truly had the talent for free kicks.

Following that were similar matches of the Youth Team. Bale showed a stable performance. Whether it was in defense or offense, he displayed a maturity that was discordant with his age.

“This is a recording from two months ago. He’s even better now. He’s currently the most brilliant player on the Youth Team. If you don’t sign him on now, I can’t guarantee that he will stay in Wilford.”

Tang En gave his own brain a hard tap. Even though he had been insanely busy recently, how could he have forgotten about this?

Gareth Bale had just celebrated his 16th birthday. He could sign a professional contract with any team. If Forest did not sign him on and the left wing genius from Welsh was taken away for free, Forest would become a fool, having wasted money grooming him for years only to give him away.

“We’re signing! We’re signing him first thing tomorrow morning! I want him. Starting tomorrow, he’ll be moved up to the First Team. I don’t need to find anyone else for the left back or left midfielder,” Tang En said, rubbing his hands in excitement after ditching his cutlery.

He was finally going to reap the growth of the seed he had sown two years ago. Gareth Bale, I have high hopes for you!

※※※

The next day, Tang En and Dunn together made their way to the Youth Team Training Grounds. He had not visited the Youth Team for a long period. The matters of the First Team had him worrying so much, he really could not afford to be concerned about the Youth Team.

The players on the Youth Team became excited when they saw the First Team manager appearing on the sidelines with their assistant manager; they threw themselves fervently into training. Tang En understood what this group of boys was thinking in their hearts, but knew he would inevitably disappoint them. He had come here today for only one person.

As the Forest Team’s fame continued climbing within the English Premier League, and as Tony Twain’s eye for players became better, the surrounding spectators around Forest’s Youth Training Grounds also grew. On Tang En’s way over, he saw quite a few scouts lurking around the training area.

Back then, it was him who had run over to Southampton to headhunt Bale. Now, the same scene was being replicated in Wilford. Except, the only being headhunted this time was his own. Tang En began considering discussing with City Hall about sealing up both entrances of Wilford Lane which ran between the North and South Wilford Training Grounds. Blocking the entrances with gates, they could prevent outsiders from coming in and out as they wished.

It’s okay for me to headhunt your people, but there’s no way you’re doing the same to mine!

Tang En believed that most surrounding the Youth Training Grounds were here for Bale. Gareth Bale. Although he was only 16 years old, he already had a good reputation among Youth Team players. Thanks to his outstanding performance in Youth Team matches, he had attracted the interest of numerous football teams. Currently, the scouts from those teams were waiting for an opportune moment to take him away from Forest.

But Tang En was not going to give them that chance.

Ian Greenwood, the main manager of the Youth Team as well as the Youth Ministry, stood next to Dunn and Tang En. Their focused gaze fell on a single person.

Gareth Bale was working hard in training, his face brimming with a confident smile. Compared to when Tang En had first seen him, he seemed like a different person entirely.

When people gained confidence, it was not only their mental appearance that changed.

“Actually, there are still many problems with Bale playing the left back…”

Greenwood knew the reason for Tang En’s appearance. The First Team was currently lacking a good left back, and there was little progress made on the transfer market. Naturally, he would come to the Youth Team to acquire what he needed. The presence of the Youth Team was specifically for grooming outstanding players for the First Team, helping to inject fresh blood into the team. Despite the joy of having the First Team manager appreciate a player, Greenwood himself had trained up in the Youth Team; he still had to be honest about some things.

“His body is a little frail, and defending is not his strong suit. For example, he’s almost never won a fight for headers. He’s also overly fond of attacking; after cutting forward for an assist, he might not return in time to defend, overly relying on the center back to close the defensive gap. Besides that, tackling is also a weakness of his because of his thin and frail physique.”

After relating that many weaknesses in a single breath, Greenwood was beginning to worry that Tang En would not want Bale anymore. So, he hastily tried to add on Bale’s good points but was stopped by a wave from Tang En.

“At his age, he’s already more than outstanding. And about those weaknesses… he isn’t a main player on the First Team, so he can slowly learn and grow. And although I am looking for a left back, I won’t rule out the possibility of letting him play left midfielder if his abilities and characteristics better suit another position.”

Greenwood nodded. “I think he’s actually more suited to play as a left midfielder. His desire to participate in the offense is very strong.” After saying so, he waved his hand at Bale to get him over.

“Bale!”

Under the envious looks of his teammates, Gareth Bale ran towards the three managers standing at the sidelines.

“From today onwards, you don’t have to train here.”

Greenwood pointed at Tang En who stood beside and said, “Go with him, Bale.”

Tang En winked at Bale from behind Greenwood.

Bale beamed. “Yes, Sir!”

Just like that, they completed the handover of the player with ease. Greenwood gave a few simple instructions to Bale, doubtlessly something along the lines of “continue working hard”.

Following that, Dunn and Greenwood continued with their work on the Youth Team while Bale carried a backpack stuffed full of his possessions and jerseys as he followed Tang En in the direction of First Team’s South Training Grounds.

Tang En purposefully took Bale on a route that went around the outside instead of taking the internal tunnels. He took him through all three training areas, just as he had done back then when he brought Wes Morgan to the First Team. However, although the Youth Training Grounds were a lot more crowded now—there was a group of scouts following Bale and Tang En’s movements with their gaze—the Michael father-and-son duo could no longer be found here.

“Bale, there are many people greatly disappointed by your departure.” Tang En said, indicating the group of scouts on the side of the road.

Bale laughed. “I’ve been waiting for you, Sir. Recently, many people have approached my dad. Some even went to my house, hoping for me to join their team. But, my dad turned them all down. He said that it was Forest Team who gave me a chance, so I must repay the team.

Tang En looked at the boy before him, who still had a face full of youth, and felt shame weighing down on him. It was he who had neglected his duty; he had forgotten such a brilliant youngling on his own Youth Team. If not for Dunn’s reminder yesterday, he almost would have missed such an opportunity in Bale.

He reached out to ruffle Bale’s messy hair. “Work hard, Gareth. Don’t let your father down.”

“Yes!”

Bale nodded vigorously.

Chapter 331 - From Youth Team to First Team Part 2

Gareth Bale gave his dad a call after getting onto the First Team. On hearing that Forest was offering a professional contract, Bale’s father did not wait for him to finish his words before dropping the phone and driving from Cardiff to Nottingham in a rush.

Still, he needed time to get all the way here. Tang En and Bale could not possibly just sit and wait in the office. So, even though they had not officially signed the professional contract, Tang En brought Bale to the training grounds to introduce him to the members of Forest’s First Team.

Wes Morgan was delighted to see yet another player from the Youth Team coming to join them. Although he did not have much status on the First Team, he was still happy to help the newly arrived boy.

Tang En washed his hands of the matter after making the introductions; with a push, he passed Bale off to his team members.

After seeing Bale quickly become friendly with Wes Morgan, Kerslake stepped forward and announced that the day’s training was officially beginning. Meanwhile, Tang En continued standing by the sidelines and supervising them.

To Gareth Bale, the First Team, with the presence of Wes Morgan, George Wood, Kerslake, and Tony Twain, felt no different from the Youth Team he was familiar with. He believed that he would be very happy here and able to quickly adjust to the managers’ demands. He was also sure he would swiftly meet with opportunities to display his abilities.

Wes Morgan took great care of this little brother, helping him out numerous times during training. Tang En took it all into consideration. While Wes Morgan could only play as a substitute fullback from the perspective of his abilities, his warmth as a person was irreplaceable on the team. Because of that, Wes Morgan was also a non-saleable player of Forest.

The training had barely started when Tang En’s phone vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out. It was Allan.

Ever since Allan had taken on the matter of discussing Anelka’s transfer, he had for a while disappeared from Tang En’s sights. Tang En did not know how the negotiations were going; if everything was going well, or if they had gotten into a stalemate. He figured Allan’s call must have something to do with Anelka.

He took quick strides to the rest area on the sidelines and found a quiet corner to pick it up.

“Allan, I almost forgot about you.”

“Ha! I’m sure you know what I’m calling you for, right?” From Allan’s voice, Tang En found it hard to tell if the situation was good or bad; he excelled at hiding his emotions and intent.

“Of course. Other than Anelka, I can’t think of anything else.” Tang En shrugged.

“That’s right. I wanted to confirm your intent towards the French forward. Do you absolutely have to have him, or does it not matter either way?”

Tang En thought briefly. “Doesn’t matter either way.” He could approximately guess the situation; the transfer had probably progressed into a stalemate. “I can wait until Eastwood recovers from his injury. I can even take this chance to search for another forward on the transfer market. But the timing has to be quicker on your end and conclude sooner. Have you met with some trouble, Allan?”

“Mmm…” Allan pondered for a moment. “The two agents have big appetites. They regard the treatment of their younger brother highly. Straight off the bat, they’ve already asked for a signing fee of 1.25 million pounds. And that’s only for the two agents; it doesn’t include what we need to pay their younger brother.”

Hearing Allan relate the matter, Tang En was not angry. Instead, he laughed. He had known that it would be this way, so he was not in the least surprised.

“They’ve always been that way and always will be. You can tell those two guys that Forest’s manager said this: either they accept Allan Adams’ terms, or they can pack up and run back to Turkey! Let them understand their situation. It’s not us, Nottingham Forest, begging to buy Anelka. It’s them who’ve taken the initiative to look for us, hoping for us to give their brother a way out.”

Allan burst out chortling when he heard Tang En’s words. “You’ve been keeping a lid on those words, haven’t you, Tony?”

“Of course. Ever since you intended to speak to them.”

“Oh right, Tony. The team recently bought a Chinese player? What kind of considerations did you have? The Chinese market?”

“You’re not the Marketing Manager for nothing, Allan. Your whole mind is filled with thoughts of market expansions… I bought him because he compliments our team’s abilities well, not for his commercial value. Plus…” Tang En hesitated. “I don’t think that well of the Chinese market. If you’re intending to sell jerseys, we should sign-on a Japanese player. Japanese fans are really easy to rip off.”

Allan laughed and said, “Tony, you aren’t the manager of the Sports Competition Department for nothing either. Market expansion isn’t just about selling jerseys or opening merchandise stores for fans. But the joining of the Chinese player reminded me; I’ve got a new plan. Maybe it’s just because you’re the manager, so whenever you’re signing them on, you believe in looking only at a player’s techniques and their ability to enhance the team’s potency. However, I’m the Market Manager. What I’m interested in is how the players you’ve signed on can broaden the influence of the club and their effects on the market. It’s your job to train players and lead them to win matches and championships. Figuring out how to get the players to help the club make money is mine.”

“You’re right, Allan. We each have our jobs to do. Oh, are you negotiating with Anelka’s agents?”

“Yes.”

“Then what are you doing here, calling me and discussing market development in China?”

“I need to let those two guys cool down somewhat. They’ve probably never seen real money in their lives. If you’re free, we can keep chatting about other stuff. Do you like listening to music? I like Elvis. Is that surprising? In this age, I don’t think there are many who would still like his song. Evan likes Elvis a lot too. Both of us have the same hobbies. We’ve been old friends for many years.”

“I like Queen…Ah, Allan, you’re evil!” Tang En laughed uproariously, attracting even the attention of the players on the field. “You’re just letting the two Frenchmen wait for no reason in the room?”

“Yes. If I hadn’t suddenly remembered the Chinese player, I would have gone to find a room to nap for a bit after asking you about your intentions towards Anelka. Or maybe, I’d have gotten a cup of coffee and some sunshine. There are quite a few cafes on the streets of Paris. I’ll treat you the next time we come. In truth, the taste of the coffee isn’t that crucial… What’s important is the surroundings and the atmosphere. The atmosphere on Paris’ streets goes impeccably with coffee. In that aspect, England is not at all…”

Before Allan, Tang En would admit to a complete defeat. Allan, with his baby face, was easily underestimated by others. But, whenever that happened, the person was in for some bad luck.

“Then, what drink is suitable in America?”

“Cola. Walking and drinking it at the same time.”

The two chatted happily as if they had entirely forgotten about Anelka. Only after a long while did the two finally end their call, and Tang En returned to the sidelines of the training grounds to watch the team practice.

※※※

On the other side, Allan headed to the washroom after hanging up the phone. He faced the mirror and held his breath. His reflection in the mirror got redder and redder, and beads of sweat began to line up on his forehead. His neck also started reddening. He suddenly opened his mouth when he could not hold it in any longer, gasping roughly for air. Leaning heavily with his hands on the sink, he breathed raggedly to satisfy the demands of his lungs of getting fresh air.

As he breathed, Allan reared his head to look at the mirror. Satisfied with his current state, he unbuttoned the top of his shirt and turned to walk out of the washroom.

While Allan and Tang En were laughing and joking with each other over the phone, both Claude Anelka and Didier Anelka were becoming impatient waiting in the hotel room.

When Allan left, he had told them he was going to give the team’s manager a call to inform him about their terms. Who knew he would be gone for so long…

Each time they heard footsteps in the corridor, the two would straighten up their posture. But each time, it was not Allan returning It was very frustrating.

When Allan opened the door, he immediately noticed the two Frenchmen leaning back on their chairs, looking bored stiff. Naturally, he pretended not to see the astonishment on their faces and said to the both apologetically, “I’m sorry about making you wait for so long.”

“Ah… it’s no matter. Can we continue now, Mr. Adams?”

Allan Adams sighed. “What I’m even more sorry about is… Our main manager Tony Twain, does not intend on accepting your terms. I argued with him for a long time, but he insisted on his opinion that Anelka is not a player that he needs. I’m sure you all know, but I am immensely keen on bringing Anelka into the team. From the beginning, he was against the idea. So… if he isn’t agreeable, I’m afraid there aren’t any other options. You must understand; the team is under his charge. Furthermore, our club’s chairman, Mr. Evan Doughty, has extremely good relations with Mr. Twain…” he shrugged. “I’m truly sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. He says, if you don’t accept the current terms offered by Forest, then there is no need to continue transferral negotiations.”

Anelka’s brothers were utterly boggled.

Chapter 332 - Eight Million Part 1

Three days after Allan called Twain, he still had not received any updates about the transfer negotiations for Anelka. Twain thought the matter was over, and it looked like Allan could not handle the two Frenchmen either. Unexpectedly, he received a telephone call from Fenerbah?e in Turkey this time, hoping to talk to the Forest team about Anelka’s transfer.

Meanwhile, Allan showed up at Evan Doughty’s office, looking travel-worn. Evan joked that Allan had returned with the sand from Turkey. Twain realized the delay in the last few days was because Allan had gone to Turkey to negotiate with the Fenerbah?e club.

When he saw Twain, Allan showed a bright smile. “There’s nothing good to drink in Turkey; no tea, no coffee, no coke.”

The two men laughed loudly.

“It’s settled.” After laughing, Allan sat down, ready to reap the rewards for his efforts. “We’ll give Anelka’s brothers some appropriate remuneration. They helped us put pressure on the Fenerbah?e club. Because you’re in England, you don’t know the news over there. In Turkey, lots of negative news had popped up recently about Anelka being late for training and talking back to the coach. They were the work of the two agents. Fenerbah?e Club had been overwhelmed by the disruptions. When I went to Turkey, I was able to quickly put the process of Anelka’s purchase into place. Guess how much money we need to buy Anelka?”

Both men shook their heads.

Allan raised both hands and splayed his ten fingers.

“Ten million?” Twain slightly creased his brows.

Allan shook his head with a smile and retracted two fingers. “Eight million.”

The other two men laughed at the same time. This deal was a bargain. The price of eight million to buy Anelka was well within the range that Twain could afford. If it were ten million, Twain would inevitably feel the pinch.

“To have earned one million in half a season, the Turks don’t feel like they’ve lost out. In addition, the individual contract with Anelka was settled before that. A four-year contract period with a weekly wage of...” Allan deliberately kept them in suspense, “forty-five thousand pounds and an annual increase of 10% percent per year, plus a six hundred thousand signing fee. As a concession, we gave up all of Anelka’s publicity rights.”

Twain was also very satisfied with the conditions. Previously, the team’s top weekly wage was forty thousand pounds for Edwin van der Sar. However, with the new season, the Forest team had adjusted the team’s pay structure. Although it had not been publicly announced yet, the level of forty-five thousand was only in the upper middle strata of the new wage structure.

As for publicity rights, it was fine to give that up. Anelka’s publicity rights were not worth much money. Only his brothers were still hanging on to it like a treasure.

Delighted, Evan suddenly thought of a problem. “Allan, what you said made me a little worried. Now that we’ve allowed Anelka’s two agents to treat Fenerbah?e this way, who can guarantee that after a year or two, no other team will secretly instigate these two greedy guys to treat us like this too?”

Allan did not answer but looked to Twain.

Twain gave a cough. “Evan, you know… The football world may be short of good players in many positions, but there is never a shortage of good strikers. It does not mean that we stop looking for a good striker now that we have bought Anelka. I will always keep an eye on the transfer market. If they want to make trouble, let them. We’ll make a profit in the transfer market.”

Evan suddenly saw the light. He turned around to retrieve a bottle of whiskey and three glasses from the liquor cabinet. He poured into each glass and then gave them to Twain and Allan.

“Two and a half years ago, my father summoned me back from the United States and wanted me to take over his club. In order to make me interested in running a football club, he took me to the Forest team’s training base to look at the Forest team’s stadium, and to meet with the Forest players and coaches. But he didn’t think those were enough. He thought that perhaps the best way to make a basketball fan like myself interested in football was to watch a match. So, he brought me to an official Forest team game.” Evan looked at Twain. “It was the third round of the English FA Cup, and the League One team Nottingham Forest’s home challenge against the Premier League team, West Ham United.”

Twain knew what Evan wanted to say. He touched the tip of his nose somewhat embarrassedly.

“In the first half, I looked at the full grandstand and felt unable to comprehend the thoughts of those people. It was a game with a low-level team which was of a low standard, played badly, and even conceded three goals to their opponent... What was so good about a game like that? I thought the fans who sat in the stands to watch the game, or my father who spent his energy and money on the team, were stupid and wasting their time.”

Evan shrugged his shoulders.

“During halftime, my father insisted on taking me to the locker room to meet the players, even though I didn’t think it was the right time. Who would want to go to the locker room for an awkward meeting when the team was lagging behind? Then we heard something amazing in the locker room.” Evan winked at Twain. “It was wonderful. I was interested in football for the first time. I think it would be difficult now to see those twenty-seven thousand middle fingers that made up the Sherwood Forest again, wouldn’t it?”

“That had become a swan song, Evan,” Twain answered with a smile.

“You’re right, Tony. The current Forest team is no longer the team that lost all hope. I still remember that second half very clearly, even though we lost in the end... But Tony, no matter how long ago, I have to say it was still the best game I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you.”

“Since that game, I became interested in running a football club. I suddenly felt that it might not be a waste of time to sit in the stadium box and stands every weekend and watch my team play. After returning to the United States, Allan and I had a serious discussion about giving up our existing business and returning to the UK to run a football club. At first, Allan thought I was crazy.” He looked at Allan Adams again.

“You told me you were really crazy because of that game.” Allan smiled and took over the conversation. “I studied the operations of the American NBA teams and the business model of the UK’s traditional football clubs, and I thought Evan might be crazy, but not without reason. The American NBA is the world’s most commercialized and most successful league. I think their way of doing business is worth learning. The British football clubs and NBA are different. Due to historical factors, many people think that a club belongs to the fans themselves. It’s beside the point whether it can make money or not. But I don’t think so; if we want the team to make money, we must change some of the old ideas. Fortunately, the Forest team was in a terrible situation at that time. There was its financial crisis, the continued decline in the team’s performance, and the fact that the fans were tired of the team’s current situation, and they wanted change. So...” He glanced at Evan again, “Evan and I came up with a plan to push the Forest team further into the abyss at that time. The plan was dangerous and entailed great risk. If it had failed, Evan and I would not only lose the anticipated rewards but also lose even more to compensate, just like walking a tightrope on top of the Empire State Building. Fortunately, we succeeded.”

“So, as the person who came up with this plan and even implemented it, you’re crazier than I was, Allan.” Evan Doughty joked.

Twain listened to the two men recounting the past. Although he experienced those things, he still admired Allan, looking at this now from a different angle. He was able to break new ground in the management of the football club.

“Businessmen always have to deal with all kinds of risks, especially an opportunistic businessman like myself.” Allan laughed.

“So, in fact, I’m not a man with any special talent. I don’t know how to coach the team and not that good at making money. With your help, Tony and Allan, the Forest team is where it is today. Thank you,” said Evan Doughty as he raised his glass.

“Isn’t too early to say thank you now?” Twain asked.

Allan nodded. “Save it for when we reach our goal, Evan.”

“You’re both killjoys!”

※※※

As it was already settled with Fenerbah?e and the player’s agents, the transfer negotiations became a formality. The representatives from both clubs sat together with the player’s agents and conferred for half an hour to confirm the terms of the contract and sign their respective names on the contract.

The entire negotiation and signing process was private. Allan was only aware of the situation during the course of his discussion with Anelka’s brothers, so he could quickly rule out the other party trying to use the Forest team to ask for a higher wage for Anelka from Fenerbah?e. On this afternoon, when the Fenerbah?e club announced the official transfer of the French striker, Nicolas Anelka to Nottingham Forest on its own official website, the ripples caused by the earth-shattering news were conceivable.

Half a year ago, all of the British media was delighted by Anelka’s departure. They did not expect that half a year later, this eccentric player and his two annoying brothers would be back again!

All the English media still remembered how difficult it was to interview Anelka, the French striker, during the season when he was still doing well in Manchester City. You want to interview Anelka? Sure, just hand over forty thousand pounds. The media only needed to give eight thousand pounds if they wanted to interview the Manchester United star, Ryan Giggs!

Anelka’s reputation was ruined by his agents in England and he was not well-received anywhere. This time, even the famous BBC football show host, Gary Lineker, who always thought well of Twain, could not understand. He talked about the transfer deal in his online column, “Manager Twain’s behavior is always incomprehensible, and this is no exception. I think he should know very well what Anelka will bring to his team… goals, of course; I never deny the guy’s talent and abilities. But I think the team will pay a huge price for those goals.”

Chapter 333 - Eight Million Part 2

The day after the Fenerbahce club’s announcement of Anelka’s transfer, Nottingham Forest’s official website also published a large photograph of Anelka with a prominent headline to usher in the Forest team’s new outstanding striker.

The high-profile publicity also confirmed the news from the Turkish side. The English media went into a tizzy.

Almost everyone looked down on the transfer. Many people questioned Twain’s decision.

“...I can hardly believe my own eyes. I thought today was April 1. Anelka’s back! Damn it! Pardon my language, but I really can’t figure it out. Why did Twain choose this man?”

“Tony Twain must be out of his mind to choose Anelka. Does he feel like his locker room is too calm?”

“What’s so good about the Frenchman? There are a lot of strikers who can score as well as he does, but there are few strikers in the world like him who are a headache for every manager.”

“I’m sorry, but I think Twain wants to challenge himself.”

“...This is good. We can take this opportunity to expose Anelka’s misdeeds in England over the past few years. But don’t expect us to interview Anelka.”

“I wonder why Anelka chose to return to England after just half a season. It seems like he wasn’t happy in Turkey. But I think that if he doesn’t change his character and fire his two agents, he won’t be happy anywhere.”

“To be honest, I’m completely doubtful about Tony Twain’s decision. Initially, I was full of anticipation for the Forest team’s new season, but now I’ve changed my mind ...”

Twain shook those newspapers in front of Dunn and complained. “I never said I wanted to buy that Frenchman, and now I’m the one taking the blame for Allan’s decision.”

“But the media doesn’t know what happened between you two.”

Twain obviously knew this. After he fretfully paced around the room, he went upstairs to get his laptop from his room.

“What are you doing?” Dunn asked in puzzlement.

“I’m going to write an article for my column to scold those media bastards!” Twain gnashed his teeth as he pressed the power button.

“What are you going to reprimand them about? Scold them for not knowing what’s going on between you and Alan, and making stories up?”

“No, I’m gonna scold them for all their doubts, criticisms, and gibes about Anelka.”

Dunn was so surprised by his answer that he stopped watching his video. He stood up to go to Twain’s back and watched him open a document.

“You are not...”

Twain knew what he was going to say, so he nodded. “Yes, I don’t like that French striker’s two agent brothers, and by virtue of their relationship, I don’t like the French striker either. But now Anelka has become a member of the Forest team, which means he’s one of my men. I will never allow the media to chew out my players. I can’t break my own rules over Anelka. No one can criticize my players, except me. If someone wants to discipline the dog, it still depends on its master, does it?”

Dunn frowned and thought for a moment, “Are you angry with the media for questioning you?”

Twain shrugged his shoulders. “Think what you want.” Then he stopped talking and his fingers quickly jabbed at the keyboard.

※※※

The next day, the Nottingham Evening Post published the full text of Twain’s column, which fully refuted the media’s doubts and gibes about Anelka. Still, in the eyes of many professional sports reporters, the purpose of the article was not to refute the media but to demonstrate Twain’s stance. He was on Anelka’s side.

As the closest journalist to Twain, Pierce Brosnan was aware of Twain’s view of this transfer. Hence, after receiving the article, he was very surprised at Twain’s manner taking a 180-degree turn.

If it was about taking care of his own men… Brosnan thought that explanation was somewhat far-fetched.

Like Brosnan, Evan Doughty also thought it was strange. This afternoon was the press conference for Anelka’s joining of the Forest team. He felt that it was necessary to ask clearly.

Faced with the question, Twain smiled mysteriously. “Whether I like Anelka or not, he’s here. I can’t possibly tell Fenerbah?e to take the player back just because I don’t like him. That’s not how it works, right?”

Evan nodded in agreement.

“Since he’s here, I’m certainly not going to put him on the bench just because I don’t like him or send him to the reserves. That would be a waste of the club’s money. So, I’m going to use him well and let him play to the best of his ability.”

Evan continued to nod. Even an idiot could understand his point. But he did not understand what that had to do with his question.

Looking at the puzzled Evan, Twain cleared his throat. “Everything that was said before was nonsense. I’ll tell you the truth, Evan. There’s a saying in China: ‘an iron hand in a velvet glove,’ which means to use gentle methods and force at the same. The carrot and stick have to be used to deal with Anelka. A single method is not effective. You have to let him know that the manager trusts and supports him. At the same time, I have to let him know that if he intends to use this to step out of line, there will be nothing good coming for him. And now, as a welcome gift, I made him feel the warmth of the team and a manager’s support for him. And later...” Twain winked.

※※※

At the press conference that afternoon, Twain showed his so-called “enthusiasm” in front of everyone. He praised Anelka’s scoring ability, which was a headache to the opposing defenders, but he did not mention Anelka’s equally troublesome temper. In short, if one listened to Twain’s speech at the press conference, one would think that this was the Forest team’s most important acquisition of the summer. Anelka was simply the future hope of the Forest team.

Brosnan shook his head as he listened. Based on his understanding of Twain, when Twain was being so obvious and slightly exaggerating his praise of a person, it often meant that the person being praised was not going to have an easy time.

However, Anelka, who did not have much contact with Twain, did not know that. He was very happy with the support and trust showed by the manager.

Being able to return to the heart of the football world and have the manager of the new team support him made him talkative at the press conference. Naturally, he also talked about his original intentions in joining the Forest team:

“The Forest team is a very enterprising team. Manager Twain is also a very capable coach.?He has talked to me about his many great goals. I hope I can help him achieve them.”

Almost all the reporters rolled their eyes internally. Who could believe Anelka’s words?

Did he believe them himself?

When Twain and Anelka stood up at the end, holding the number 39 Forest team jersey for a group photograph, the reporters looked at the dazzling smile on Twain’s face and then saw Anelka’s slightly shy but confident smile; they all knew that there would be a good show from the Forest team this season.

Chapter 334 - The New Season Part 1

Anelka’s performance in the press conference managed to satisfy Forest’s supporters. Not only did he appear resolute in playing his part to serve the team, but he also made a fuss about Forest’s once glorious results. He said that Nottingham Forest was a “great” club and a “great” team.

Fans were na?ve. If a new player said that they loved the team and was able to mention a thing or two about the team’s past glories, the fans would be more than happy to accept them. So, even a player like Anelka could receive the support of numerous Forest fans.

There was another important reason that explained how they could so quickly accept Anelka. As fans who had personally experienced their journey these past few years—of Nottingham Forest being a no-name to being renowned throughout Europe; of a team that was bogged down by a mire of relegations to a team that had gotten into the qualifiers of the UEFA Champions League; of a Forest that was the champion of the EFL Cup—they all had a kind of fanatic trust in following and supporting their manager, Tony Twain.

They were fond of Tony for more than his lack of standoffishness with the fans; when he saw them on the street, he would greet and chat with them like they were old friends. But what was more important were the results he produced when he led the team. Before him, perhaps only Brian Clough performed better.

While the fans liked the faithful old blokes who had been serving in Forest’s managerial team for decades, they liked, even more, a manager who could lead the team to victory and glory.

Forest’s fans believed that Manager Tony would have a way of dealing with Anelka, no matter how eccentric he was.

So, what method did Twain have?

“What method could I possibly have? I’m not the Encyclopedia Britannica, Superman with his underpants on the outside, or a particularly smart person who can solve any issue with a scratch of their brain…” On their way to the training grounds, Tang En was grousing to Dunn. “It is difficult to change a person’s character. It’s even more difficult to change a person who is stubborn and willful. And it’s above and beyond difficult to change someone who’s stubborn, willful, and has two agent brothers by his side feeding him lousy ideas!”

Dunn stayed quiet, allowing Tang En to vent his frustrations. When they got to Wilford Lane and the two had to go their separate ways, Tang En suddenly stopped short. He looked up at the thick shadow from the trees and muttered to himself, “But why do I have to change him? If he’s useful, use him. If not… We’ll see!”

Returning to the manager’s office, Tang En found David Kerslake waiting there. It appeared as if he wanted to discuss something with him.

“Is anything the matter, David?”

Kerslake looked like he was struggling to say something.

“This isn’t your style, David,” Tang En said, feeling odd. “You’ve always been very straightforward.”

“Uh… I’m a little worried about Anelka. Would he disrupt the mood of the team? You know, our team’s atmosphere has always been pretty good…”

Tang En started laughing. “Isn’t it a little too late to be worrying about that? Now that he’s a member of Forest, there’s no point worrying. If not… Should we put him in the reserve?”

Kerslake’s head shook like a pellet drum. “No way. If we do that, we’ll become laughing stocks. Who on earth would put a player costing eight million pounds onto the reserve team?”

“So.” Tang En shrugged. “Whether we want him or not, Anelka is here. We need to treat him just like any other First Team player.”

The reasoning was understood easily enough by Assistant Manager Kerslake. “I know… Should we speak to Anelka privately?”

Tang En looked at him oddly. “What about?”

“Uh… To tell him to take note of the unity in the locker room…”

“Don’t joke, David.” Tang En laughed again. “Telling someone with an eccentric personality, ‘I think you have a bad temper, and you need to change.’ Do you think he’ll listen?”

Kerslake shook his head. “I guess not…”

“So, we’re not going to do anything. Remember what I said earlier. Just treat him like any other player. That’ll do. We’ll treat him just as we treat the others. If he thinks he’s a huge star who won in the Champions League before and wants to throw his weight around here… very good.” Tang En nodded firmly. “I’m not afraid of wasting Allan’s money.”

“I thought you and Anelka had discussed this… During the press conference yesterday, the both of you looked so cheerful,” Kerslake said with a shake of his head.

“How is that possible? I only gave him a call after the signing of the contract to welcome him to Forest Team. Nothing else was said. And what was said during yesterday’s press conference was entirely arranged by those two brothers of his.”

It dawned on Kerslake. “Their arrangements for these sorts of matters are always impeccable looking from the outside.”

“But, of course. Those two are the best at putting on a show. Transferring six times in six years; even if they didn’t know how to, they would have learned it by now,” Tang En remarked, sarcasm dripping off his words.

Resuming his normal tone as he turned to speak to Kerslake, he said, “Anyway, David, just remember this. No matter what, don’t treat Anelka in any special way. You don’t have to worry about anything. After joining a new team, I believe he will behave himself for a while…”

Tang En was unaware of what had happened in Turkey. But, according to what he had heard from Allan, the transfer this time was not planned by the two greedy agents. In fact, it was Anelka who had initiated it. However, Fenerbah?e S.K. was unwilling to let the forward who had only played for half a season and cost seven million pounds go. So he privately contacted Nottingham Forest, who was desperately looking for a forward.

Perhaps the lofty French forward could not withstand the differences he felt after abruptly leaving the heart of the soccer scene for such a remote place; perhaps he was greatly disappointed by the atmosphere in the Turkish Leagues; perhaps he felt that he had not yet fallen to the point of playing there; or perhaps he even hoped to earn more money through his return to the center stage of soccer… Regardless, he hoped to gain something.

That was good; Tang En did not need anyone who had no desire for glory, victory, or money. He was not afraid of someone who was hard to tame, he was afraid of someone without the will.

No matter how Anelka was as a person or what nasty ploys the two brothers behind him were cooking up, so long as he was useful to the team, Tang En would use him.

But, if you want to pull any tricks… I’m sorry to say, the eight million did not come from my pocket. I would not feel any pain at all if I let this money go to waste.

“Let’s go, David. I think they should have arrived.”

It was Anelka’s first time participating in Forest’s training. As per the custom, Tang En would be introducing the new player to his teammates. Even if the player joining was a big, internationally-renowned star like Beckham, he still had to go with the procedure and make an introduction.

“Nicolas Anelka.”

Tang En motioned to the French forward standing beside him, saying, “Even though there are many rumors out there, I hope everyone will use their own eyes to see if he’s really a jerk.”

The crowd laughed lightly.

“From today onward, he’s a member of Forest.” Tang En gave Anelka’s back a pat.

“Go on. They’re all great to mingle with.”

Anelka smiled somewhat bashfully, walked towards the team, and stood to the side.

Tang En waited for the attention on Anelka to fade before clapping his hands, indicating that he wanted to say something else. “Alright, everyone. A new season has started again. Champions, victory, and a trove of prize money… That all awaits us. There’s nothing more exciting! After the rest you’ve had, I’m sure everyone’s feet have begun to itch, hoping to have a match with some team to scratch them, right?”

The Forest players who had followed Tang En through the last season, and those from the season before the last, all let out knowing laughter.

“You’re right, Boss!”

Tang En waved a hand. “Of course, the opponents in your warm-up matches can’t rouse your spirits at all; and not mine either. I’d like to have real fights, real opponents!” He balled his hands into fists. “It’s meaningless to win a competition that comes without a prize. If we want to win, we’ve got to win the Premier League, win the Champions League! Win the toughest competition and beat the most difficult opponents! Last season, we made those who looked down on us pay a painful price. Think about Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton, and Liverpool. Think about all those who we have beaten. And then think again about the faces of those who took us lightly at the end of the season. How do you guys feel?”

“It feels awesome!”

“Oh yeah!”

“Good. Let’s continue that this season!”

Tang En had barely finished his sentence when whistles, laughter, and clapping spilled over one another. He did not stop them from going wild but instead stood by with an indulgent smile as he watched them.

※※※

After bringing in Anelka, Tang En seriously re-examined the members of the team and discovered that there was no further need for them to procure more players despite having gained the qualifications for the Champions League. His plans to build up the team culminated from when he had first taken over until this moment. Every player was slowly bought over according to how he wanted it. Forest did not need to crazily wipe out the entire transfer market, buying seven or eight players at a go while letting go of the ones they had like they did some summers ago.

Nottingham Forest no longer needed such a huge change of blood on the team. The team now had a reasonable age variation and adequate allocation of players; there were no wastefully hoarded players.

In other words, the Forest Team no longer needed to continue their search on the transfer market. The formation of Tang En’s football team had essentially been confirmed.

Chapter 335 - The New Season Part 2

For the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar remained the core player, with Barry Roche and Paul Gerrard. There were no changes there. So long as Edwin van der Sar remained uninjured, the other two would not have many opportunities to be fielded. However, Tang En might consider fielding Barry Roche for the EFL and English FA Cup. Darren Ward, who had lost his core position because of Edwin van der Sar’s arrival, was sold to an EFL Team, Norwich City, for a price of 1.5 million pounds.

For the fullbacks, Davy Oyen had already been sold by Tang En to the EFL Team, Crystal Palace, for a price of one million pounds. In the previous season, Oyen barely had any opportunities to represent the team. His abilities were also no longer on par with the team’s expectations. Selling him in exchange for funds was the best way to go about things.

Sun Jihai’s arrival nudged John Thompson from the position of the first reserve for right back to second reserve. Although Tang En was not willing to sell him for cash, Thompson himself had requested a transfer from Tang En. With the team’s development taking off as rapidly as a rocket, Thompson knew that it no longer had a position for him; and it probably would not in the future either. He might as well capitalize on whatever fame he had accrued from the previous few seasons and leave Forest while there were still other teams interested in him. For him, that might be the better path to take.

Tang En had originally intended to loan out Thompson for the short-term or leave him on the reserve team so he could continue playing matches and maintaining his condition. However, Thompson had his own plans. Tang En was very fond of the guy. After all, in the earlier period when Tang En had had it the toughest, Forest’s main right back had been Thompson. For the Forest Team to have successfully broken into the English Premier League, his contributions were indisputable.

Tang En still retained a sort of Chinese mentality. He thought of a player like Thompson as one of the founding members of the team. So long they had some ability, Tang En wanted them to stay. He would rather have the team take care of them. They had once gone through trials and tribulations together; now, he wanted everyone to be able to experience great wealth and fortune together.

But Thompson did not give Tang En that chance. He was very resolute in his departure. Before leaving, he asked Tang En if Forest still had a place for him. Tang En was unable to lie, so he could only sigh and let him go.

Clint Hill would also be loaned out to Reading F.C. At the same time, Forest Team had established an agreement with them: Reading F.C. had priority to sign on Clint Hill. At the end of the loan period, Reading F.C. only needed to fork out another 1.5 million pounds if they wished to acquire him from Forest. To a team at the EFL level, Clint Hill was considerably strong. However, to Tang En’s Nottingham Forest, his position was a little awkward. Originally, he was a center back purchased by Tang En as a quick aid for the team. After the team gained Piqué, Pepe, and Upson, it no longer had a place for him. While Wes Morgan’s abilities were slightly inferior, he was a player groomed by Forest themselves. No matter what, Tang En would not be letting him go. As a result, the only person who could leave was Clint Hill.

For the midfield, Brynjar Gunnarsson was retained by Tang En. He promised to give him more time on the field and expressed his importance as a player on the team… As a football manager, he needed some degree of talent in lying. Fortunately, Tang En had had no lack of practice since he was a kid. He had already reached the stage of being able to lie without blushing or unevenness in his breath and could maintain a stable heartbeat.

The other defensive midfielder, Eugen Bopp, was no longer able to keep up with the needs of the team; Tang En added him to the list of players to be purged. It had to be acknowledged that while some people were geniuses, there were also others who were mediocre. It was not that Eugen Bopp did not put enough effort into training, but that he simply did not achieve growth to assure Tang En. In comparison to Wood’s tremendous improvement, Bopp’s growth was much too small…?Bopp’s future direction was a little more cumbersome. Due to the issue of his abilities, there was no Premier League team nor any England team who wanted him. The final team, a League One Club, Rotherham United, was very interested in him, but could not afford the transfer fee of 500 thousand pounds. In the end, Tang En had no choice but to loan Eugen Bopp out to Rotherham United. After the season ended and the contract between Eugen Bopp and Forest Team comes to its end, Rotherham United would be able to sign him on for free, if Forest did not have the intention of renewing the contract and they were still interested. Even though Tang En was unwilling to lose the 500 thousand pounds, he had little choice in the matter.

For forwards, only David Johnson was unincluded in Tang En’s plans. He was loaned out to Sheffield United.

Other than letting go of the players who were not in Tang En’s plans, he had to turn down numerous transfer requests for the other players. For example, Chelsea and Liverpool’s offer to buy Franck Ribéry for 15 million, Real Zaragoza FC’s loan request for Piqué, Aston Villa’s offer of eight million for Ashley Young, Birmingham City’s loan request for Nicklas Bendtner, and Tottenham Hotspur’s offer to purchase Aaron Lennon at a price of five million.

The players who had caught the attention of those teams made up Forest’s framework. Tang En was not about to sell off the entire team for just a little money.

In the previous season, although Aaron Lennon had spent most of his time training with the First Team, he was competing in the Youth Team instead. There, he had become bosom buddies with Gareth Bale. This season, like Gareth Bale, he was officially transferred to the First Team by Tang En. With the Forest Team playing in multiple leagues, their right wing needed him and Ashley Young to take turns.

Tang En regarded Lennon highly. He seemingly did not have an iota of doubt about his potential and capabilities. In fact, he believed that Ashley Young may be forced to become Lennon’s substitute after half a season.

On August first, Forest submitted their team’s complete player list to the League Committee of the EPL. At the same time, Tang En informed Evan and Allan that he was not planning to take any further action in the transfer market; Nottingham Forest’s transfers would stop here.

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar (1), Barry Roche (12), Paul Gerrard (25).

Fullbacks: Leighton Baines (22), Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Sun Jihai (21), Gerard Piqué (24), Matthew Upson (33), Pepe (6), and Wes Morgan (5).

Midfielders: George Wood (13), Demetrio Albertini (4), Brynjar Gunnarsson (8), Kris Commons (20), Ashley Young (18), Aaron Lennon (17), Franck Ribéry (7), and Mikel Arteta (14).

Forwards: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nicklas Bendtner (9), Mark Viduka (10), and Nicolas Anelka (39).

Tang En felt immense satisfaction looking at the list. From the quality of the players, they could certainly compete in the UEFA tournaments; and from the numbers, he did not have to worry about unhappiness among the players from not being fielded frequently enough. A matured team with the strength to compete should have at least two strong players in each position. The current Forest had satisfied that requirement.

With the name list confirmed, this was a crucial period for Tony Twain to lead the team in their final preparations. But at that point, he received some bad news.

Chapter 336 - The Injury Part 1

Albertini was injured.

Less than a week from the first round of the UEFA Champions League qualifier, he pulled his left thigh muscle during training.

There was no fierce impact. It did not happen during a training match. It was when he turned around during a normal sprint. Regardless of whether he had finished running or not, his mood was very relaxed. This was just a warm-up before the start of training.

At that time, Twain was still talking to Kerslake about how to make tactical changes against Villarreal and to ask the team to pay attention during the usual training.

On the field, it was Albertini and George Wood’s group doing laps. Wood sprang ahead in the first sprint. He was always like this during usual training. He ran as hard as he did in official games. Albertini did not have to run as hard as that silly boy. He should have kept to his rhythm and speed, with George Wood easily shaking him off and leaving him in the dust.

However, it was different today. Right from the beginning, Albertini tried to nip at Wood’s heels and Wood dashed without knowing that Albertini was gritting his teeth to try and keep up. But competing with the young Wood in speed was too straining for the already 33-year-old Demetrio.

During the first return, Wood easily and smoothly turned around while Albertini suddenly slowed down. Then he went from running to walking. After a couple of steps, he simply stood still.

The first to realize the anomaly was the team doctor, Fleming, who was always on the sidelines of the training ground. He ran up when he saw Albertini stop.

Soon after, Kerslake’s attention was drawn by Fleming’s action. He interrupted his conversation with Twain and looked at the training ground. Twain followed his gaze and only saw the moment Albertini sat on the ground.

The other players apparently noticed their captain’s unusual behavior. They stopped their training, ran towards Albertini and surrounded him.

George Wood rushed to the finish line in one shot. And when he realized that no one else was around him, he turned his head in bafflement and saw the crowd behind him. He still did not know what had happened. He saw Fleming push through the crowd and rush in. Before his teammates could close the gap, Kerslake also rushed in. Twain was blocked outside.

After he rushed in, Fleming did a simple examination; Kerslake was at the side, asking non-stop, “What’s the situation?” Fleming did not answer him, but just stood up and called for a stretcher. Hearing that, Kerslake shut up.

Being lifted out of the training ground on a stretcher meant that the injury could be serious.

When he heard Fleming call for a stretcher, Twain pushed aside Wes Morgan and Franck Ribéry in front of him and squeezed in.

“Demetrio?”

When Albertini saw that Twain had appeared in front of him, he suddenly came to his senses. He found himself surrounded by his teammates, coaches, and team doctor. He saw through the gaps in the crowd that there were two men running up with the stretcher.

He abruptly put his hands out and struggled to sit up. “No, no need.” He was the captain of the team now. Being carried away on a stretcher during training and in front of all his teammates… Can’t I walk on my own? No.

“George!” Twain suddenly yelled, “Get over here and help carry Demetrio to the sidelines!”

Wood quickly ran up and parted the crowd. He obediently helped Albertini up and then supported him by the arm as they moved step by step to the sidelines.

After watching the two men and Fleming go to the sidelines, Twain turned and waved his hands. “Keep training, there’s nothing to look at.”

Then he turned around and went towards Albertini. Kerslake took the hint and blew the whistle. “Concentrate!”

Twain walked to Albertini’s side, looked at Wood beside him, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder. “Go back to training, there’s nothing more you can do here.”

When Wood was gone, Twain crouched down and comforted Albertini. “Don’t worry; you’ll be alright, Demetrio.”

Albertini nodded. “I’m going to miss the qualifying game.”

Twain waved that aside. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a qualifying game. You just wait to return and go straight to the actual games!”

Next to them, Fleming said to the two men who had just lifted the stretcher, “Take Demetrio to the infirmary.”

The two men stepped forward to help Albertini up and slowly walked off the training ground.

Fleming did not follow them but stayed behind.

“What’s the matter, Gary?”

Fleming shook his head. “I don’t know yet. I’ll only know his specific injury after he undergoes a detailed examination. But according to my experience, it doesn’t look good. He suddenly stopped when he turned and restarted. My guess is a pulled muscle. This kind of injury can be very troublesome. Even if he recovers within a short period of time, he will not be fully recovered. Instead, his injury may recur more frequently. As Demetrio gets older, it will become much more pronounced.”

Twain frowned and bit his lip.

It was the UEFA Champions League soon. As a player who was the team captain with plenty of championship experience that few players on the team had, Albertini’s injury at this time was a huge blow to the team.

Seeing that Twain did not speak, Fleming turned to leave. He was going to be busy with Albertini’s check-up to determine his injury and its severity.

Twain looked at Fleming’s back and turned to watch the players training on the field. Several players were obviously distracted and worried about Albertini’s injury. He looked up at the clear sky. He really wanted to curse.

Why was he so unlucky in 2005? Was this the end of his good luck? Was the ill fortune of injuries starting to plague his team?

What was a professional team most afraid of? It was not a strong opponent, a bad environment, or even a vicious referee working against them. They were most afraid of injury.

No matter how powerful or invincible they were, a team could be brought down by an injury overnight even if they had established a great undertaking that surpassed all others of its kind.

Twain was reluctant to think about the teams and players who had been dragged down by injuries. He felt that it was ominous to even think about the lessons of those predecessors.

Looking at the flickers of doubt in his players’ eyes, Twain steadied his mind and stood on the sidelines again. He did not turn to leave or look around distractedly. He stood on the sidelines and supervised the training as usual.

He looked as though nothing had happened here just a few minutes ago.

※※※

The results came out a day later. Twain was the first to get the results, even before Albertini himself. This was customary in English football. A player’s knowledge of his injury must be after the team manager had been informed. Any team doctor who directly told the players of their injuries before the managers would be dismissed by the clubs and would almost be never appointed by other clubs.

Albertini had a pulled muscle in his left thigh. The estimated recovery time was one month, and the full recovery time was unknown.

“Basically, there’s little possibility of a full recovery due to his age,” Fleming said to Twain. “After one month, he’ll look like he’s not hurt, but we won’t know when he’s going to get hurt again in the same area. Moreover, this was not his first injury. That area belongs to an old injury over the course of his career. Frankly speaking, this cannot be cured. All we can do is try to let him recover as soon as possible and then take good care of him. He will undergo a half-hour massage after training every day. That will help…”

Twain interrupted him. “Don’t rush his recovery.?Better to be safe. I can wait. I don’t want to rush him back to the field and then get hurt again after playing two games. I don’t want Albertini to rest for a month to play two games, and then rest again for another month.”

“In that case, the team’s game...”

“That’s for me to worry about, Gary. You just let Demetrio rehabilitate. Don’t tell him the exact recovery time. Just let him know that he’ll get better soon.”

Fleming was silent for a moment and then nodded. “I understand.”

After he left Twain, Fleming went back to his own office. Twain was right. He did not have to worry about what would happen to the team without Albertini. The only thing he needed to worry about was how to let Albertini recuperate with peace of mind and how to let Albertini’s injury heal smoothly. He was the head of the Forest team’s medical team and was duty-bound to do those things.

But he did not believe that he could hide that from Albertini. Demetrio was not a young man who had just entered professional football. Some things could be understood just by looking.

However, he also knew that Twain was being kind, so he could only do his best.

On this end, Fleming fretted about how to face Albertini; on the other side, Twain agonized over Albertini’s injury.

Fleming had just stepped out of his office. When he closed the door behind him, he swore.

Only thirty-three years old! Matth?us played till he was forty years old, and Zidane’s retirement at the age of thirty-four was considered too early. You’re not old, Demetrio.

Chapter 337 - The Injury Part 2

Albertini’s injury suddenly made the team’s atmosphere a little more somber. Having a key player fall at a critical moment was a huge blow to the team’s morale.

Regardless of Twain’s wishes, he must now accept the reality that the team would have to start the new season in the absence of the team captain.

He made some adjustments and placed Arteta in the core midfield position during training. It was obvious that the Spaniard would replace Albertini.

At the same time, because Arteta would play in the starting lineup, the Forest team’s offensive tactics also required further adjustments. After all, Albertini and Arteta had different ways of organizing attacks. The team needed to familiarize with them. Fortunately, in the final stage of the last season, Arteta played in a lot of games and the team was not unfamiliar with this more meticulous offense tactic.

The only problem was that George Wood and Mikel Arteta’s coordination was not tight enough. Less than half a season of conditioning was far from enough. Most of the time, Wood still followed the ideas and routines of his partnership with Albertini. The most obvious example was Arteta would get closer to the opposing penalty area than Albertini and in that way, the distance between Wood and the Spaniard was imperceptibly widened. It was easier for the opponents to cut off the connection between the two players. Once the defensive midfielder could not provide enough protection to the attacking midfielder, then the Forest team’s offense could not be organized. It would be easy for opponents to intercept and break up their pace. Then they would completely lose control of the midfield; losing the midfield control was tantamount to losing the game.

Twain saw that situation on the training field and felt dismayed. If this had not happened, he would not have realized that Albertini’s influence on George Wood was so deep.

This had been a good thing in the past. But now, with their current situation, Twain was getting a headache again.

If there was any good news during this time, it would be that Anelka’s performance was still in line with the team. He did not give Twain any trouble to add to the chaos.

As he was new to the team with a new manager and teammates, he would naturally behave himself since he did not know the manager’s temperament. Twain did not relax his vigilance against Anelka due to this. He firmly believed that a leopard could not change its spots.

He did not think that Anelka would suddenly become an optimistic, cheerful, likable chap just because he had come to Nottingham Forest. Even if he seemed to be that way on the surface, it was only because he was trying to suppress his true nature.

Anelka was not a player he had advocated for the introduction of. It was different for Bendtner and Eastwood. He was not enthusiastic about Anelka. Although he told Kerslake to “treat him like any other regular First Team player,” he was still somewhat prejudiced. He could not help it.

If you perform well, I’ll give you a chance, just like giving any good player a chance. But if you have a problem, I’ll give other players a chance.

But if Eastwood had a problem, Twain would shoulder it and help Eastwood return to his condition.

That was the difference.

※※※

On August 10th, the first game of the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualifier would be held two days later at the Forest team’s home, the City Ground stadium.

This was the first step for Nottingham Forest to return to the UEFA Champions League after twenty-four years. What was an ordinary and even low-level qualifying tournament had become a hot ticket right away because of its new significance. The tickets for this game were completely sold out a week in advance. Everyone in Nottingham was very interested in the game. Up until two days before the game, there were still many people in the square outside the City Ground, holding “I need a ticket” signboards, hoping to meet someone who wanted to refund. But all were disappointed. Not only were there no refunds, even the scalpers were nowhere to be found. Any tickets which could be sold were sold. Even if the scalpers wanted to make more money, there were no tickets.

Now the players with families in Nottingham were starting to fret because their relatives and friends who did not have a ticket came to them hoping to get tickets which were allocated to the players and club staff members. There were not many tickets. There were only three to four tickets for each person.

As a result, the tickets for the players whose familiar were not in Nottingham or even abroad were all snatched up by the local players.

Of course, there were exceptions. George Wood was a local player, but all of his tickets were given to Wes Morgan. Other than his mother, he had no relatives or friends asking for a ticket. He did not even know whether it was a good or bad thing to have relatives and friends.

Twain had six tickets with him, which was the manager’s entitlement. But no player dared to take his tickets, which was also the privilege of a manager.

Twain could not think of who to send the tickets to. Shania was still in Brazil and Sophia also did not need his special attention. Wood would save a ticket for his mother.

The six tickets in his possession had no one to go to.

The group of people in the Forest bar were loyal Forest fans. How could they not have tickets for the game? Kenny Burns needed to watch over his bar. He had not been to the stadium for a long time to watch a game. No matter how important the game was, he would not go.

But Twain thought of a person when the Forest bar came to mind.

He went to look for Fat John and asked for Michael’s contact address in the United States.

“What are you going to do? Send him a ticket? He won’t come. Plus, he’s in the States. By the time you mail it over, the game will be finished...” John was puzzled.

“Of course, I’m not asking him to come watch the game.” Twain said to John as he wrote the address on the airmail envelope, “I just want to tell the guy, even though he’s sworn that he will no longer love football, that I didn’t just make the Forest team return to England’s top league. I also led the Forest team back to the top league in Europe. I don’t care if he’s not interested or whether he remembers that or not. I promised him before, and now I’ve done it.” Twain looked up at John and put the ticket in the envelope.

John kept quiet.

Twain mailed out a ticket and there were still five tickets left. He took them all to Gavin Bernard’s gravestone. He lit a fire with a lighter. Following a Chinese tradition, he sent the tickets to the Forest team’s eternal fan, little Gavin.

“Five tickets may be too many, but I have no one to give them to. You can keep the extra ones as keepsakes.”

Chapter 338 - The Captain’s Armband Part 1

Tang En did not dare take Villarreal CF lightly. In the past, though the team was only capable of ranking between the lower and middle tiers within Spanish football leagues and had little fame to their name, Tang En knew exactly how strong this season’s Villarreal CF was.

The 05-06 season was one of the most glorious seasons for Spain’s “Yellow Submarine,” Villarreal CF. From the beginning of the Champions League qualifiers, where they defeated Everton (ranked fourth in the English Premier League), they commenced their stunning journey as the dark horse of the Champions League. On the way, they eliminated Celtic F.C. and A.S. Roma, battling all the way into the semi-finals of the Champions League. However, they could not defeat Wenger’s Arsenal in the semi-finals and had to, regrettably, halt their steps at reaching the top four.

Villarreal CF’s line-up for this season was not actually its strongest. In truth, that would occur only one season later. However, the current capabilities of the team were enough to be considered the strongest in the club’s history.

In Barcelona, Riquelme was an untrusted player when he was under Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard, However, in El Madrigal (Villareal CF’s home), he found his place as a core player; Villarreal CF made him the core of the team, with the team’s strategy revolving around him. The team’s offensive pace was controlled by him alone, strung along in tandem with the speed of his movements.

In the last season, Nottingham Forest had already suffered at his hands during the Europa League matches. In this match, Riquelme was slated as a priority target to mark. And of course, the person defending him was still George Wood.

Wood was evidently quite excited about his mission, filled with eagerness to try. Since the time he heard that Forest’s opponent in the Champions League qualifier was to be Villarreal CF, he had been anticipating this day.

He did not care about the kind of position Riquelme had in the football scene or the Argentine team, one of the strongest in the world. He only knew one thing: he had once lost to this person, and now he was going to win.

Of course, as the main manager, Tang En’s considerations were not only for the issue of Riquelme. He was well-aware that Villarreal CF’s gobsmacking achievements in this season were not just because of Riquelme’s go-between play in the midfield, or Forlan’s siege in the forward line. Instead, the crux was an Argentinian player, Sorin, hidden behind Riquelme.

The Argentine captain’s tireless running on the field to intercept and assist was the true moving force propelling the submarine forward.

If Forlan and Figueroa were the torpedo launcher, and Riquelme was the control room, then Sorin would be the engine of the yellow submarine.

Just like Sorin, another escort of the submarine for Riquelme was the Brazilian defensive midfielder, Marcos Senna. Even though Senna was Brazilian, he had no hope of being selected for the National Team in the land of Brazil which was filled with experts. Instead, due to his outstanding performance in the La Liga matches, he attracted the favor of the Spanish manager, Camacho. At the end of the year, Senna would be granted Spanish citizenship. Rumor had it that Camacho was interested in bringing Senna, a Brazilian with Spanish citizenship, into Spain’s National Team. Senna could play numerous positions, not just as a defensive midfielder; he could also play as fullback. He would be a beneficial addition to Spain’s defense.

The Villarreal FC under Chilean Manager Manuel Pellegrini was a team consisting of excellent football stars with a strong emphasis on unity. The overall team was a team with tenacious combat ability.

Such an opponent was tough to deal with, so it was no surprise that Everton met their end at their hands.

That was what occurred during the same period in Tang En’s memory. Right now, right here, in City Grounds, Tang en did not wish for history to develop as he remembered.

Utilizing the time before the match began, Tang En went through their strategy in the locker room with the players once more. He reminded them of how they could interfere with Riquelme’s performance, block Sorin’s path forward, prevent Senna from assisting Riquelme, and contain Forlan so that he remained helplessly isolated.

All those strategies were already implemented and practiced during their usual training sessions, but Tang En still felt the need to repeat himself again before the match. The pressure on him for the match was not minor. The club had spent so much effort as well as funds, and the fans were all harboring enormous hopes for the Forest Team in the new season. If they suffer a thrashing defeat in their first match, Tang En would not know how to look at all those faces in the spectators’ stand afterward.

After revising all the strategies once and making sure every player had a clear idea of what they needed to do, Tang En removed a Captain’s Armband from his shirt pocket.

Ever since Albertini had gotten injured, there has been no one wearing the armband. While it mattered little to have nobody wearing the Captain’s Armband during their training, it was now a formal match. How could they allow the absence of a Captain on the field?

He swept his gaze across the locker room. Based on their age, experience, and convention, Edwin van der Sar was likely to be the best candidate. However… Tang En remembered Evan’s hope. So, he waved a hand, saying, “George, come here.”

Wood stood from the corner and walked forward.

Tang En raised the Captain’s Armband with the intention of putting it on for Wood. But his conditioned reflex was to dodge it, spurring loud chortles from the rest of the room.

Tang En glared at the group of boys, and with a twist of Wood’s left arm, slipped the Captain’s Armband on him firmly. Following that, he gave a hard slap to Wood’s arm, saying, “From now on, when Demi isn’t around, you’re the Captain.”

Wood naturally knew what the Captain’s Armband represented, and what a person in such a position did. He looked at Tang En in shock.

“What are you staring at me for?” Tang En stared back. “From now on, you have to work even harder than before. And you can’t just bury your head in hard work all on your own. There are many more matters you need to consider now. You’ll learn slowly, lad.”

After lecturing Wood, Tang En turned to ask the audience of players in the locker room, “George Wood is to become the team’s second Captain. While Demi is recuperating, Wood will temporarily stand-in as Captain. Does anyone object?”

Not everyone had an interest in being the captain. Although some would think they would look impressive with the Captain’s Armband, gaining a sort of status, most would likely see only the endless duties and responsibilities that came with it; they would never be able to stop asking the best of themselves. To conclude in a single word: tiring!

Furthermore, George Wood’s captaincy had already been decided by the Boss. His fondness for Wood was obvious to everyone. If someone still stood up at that point to say, “I object,” they would just be asking for death.

So, as expected by Tang En, no one had any opinions about his decision.

“What’s left…”

Tang En heard a flurry of footsteps from outside the locker room. It was probably the away team, Villarreal CF, getting ready to enter the field. He looked at his watch. “There are still three minutes left. There’s no hurry to get out there. Let them wait for a bit. Everyone, go do something… At least, stop sitting there in such a silly way; you looking at me, and me at you.”

A burst of laughter erupted from the locker room.

Chapter 339 - The Captain’s Armband Part 2

Tang En made his way to Kerslake and the two started chatting in a low voice. The other members had also slipped into a relaxed mood quickly, finding those they were on good terms with to mingle. As the locker room livened up, everyone’s attention was diverted from the Captain’s Armband to other places.

Tang En glanced sideways at Wood. He did not look for anyone to chat with, and no one approached him. He was just staring blankly at the Captain’s Armband.

Kerslake noticed the same thing. “Tony, is this too early?”

“It’ll happen sooner or later. There are benefits to having it happen earlier… I don’t think George is the sort of person who will crumble under pressure and responsibility. Otherwise…”

Tang En thought about Wood, who worked to feed his family while worrying about his mother’s illness. All that time, they also had to stay in a dangerous environment with a need to be constantly alert, having no peace at all.

“…He would have crumpled by now. By putting the Captain’s Armband on him, I hope he can become even more mature and learn to consider things from a well-rounded perspective, giving him the ability to see the bigger picture.”

Kerslake nodded. He understood Tang En’s good intentions. There was no need for him to worry about Wood. It was someone else he was worrying over.

“You assigned Anelka to play as a reserve in this match. Was he... dissatisfied with anything?” he asked quietly.

Tang En retrieved his gaze from Wood, turning instead to Anelka who sat in another corner of the locker room.

“Right now… I can’t tell. He’s quite introverted; he wouldn’t easily express some of his emotions.”

“Didn’t you explain to him?”

“What about? I’ve already said. I’ll just treat him like any normal player. Isn’t it normal for the players to be either on the starting line-up or reserve line-up?”

Tang En still chose to treat Anelka coldly.

Kerslake laughed.

Tang En was well-aware of what he was doing. Whatever he said now would not be the least bit persuasive. His tone softened as he said, “I’ll find a chance and speak to him… but not now.”

As the final player to join the team as a new member, Anelka seemed rather misplaced in the lively locker room. He sat alone in a corner with his headphones on, listening to music.

※※※

Forest’s starting lineup for the match was not much different from the final segment of the last season. Tang En did not use the newly-joined Anelka on the forward line. Instead, he partnered up Mark Viduka and Nicklas Bendtner. In the midfield, the position of left midfielder was firmly held by Franck Ribéry. Meanwhile, for the position of right midfielder, Forest chose to use Ashley Young, who had greater chemistry with the team, in this match. Aaron Lennon was put on the substitutes’ bench.

In the center of the midfield were George Wood and Mikel Arteta.

In the position of center back, the starters were two young champions – Brazilian midfielder Pepe and Spain’s National Youth Team player, Piqué.

In fact, the entire defensive line in Forest’s starting line-up was made of youths. The starter left back was Leighton Baines, 20 years old, and the right back was Chimbonda, who was 26.

Within this team Edwin van der Sar was one of the oldest, his experience becoming strikingly important on the youthful Forest Team.

Tang En instructed George Wood to mark Riquelme. Riquelme’s actions were slightly slower as he liked maintaining possession of the ball. That would be Wood’s opportunity. Whatever the method—even fouling—he must not allow Riquelme to be comfortable with the ball. He must give him neither the space nor the time to.

Boxing out Riquelme was equivalent to completely disabling Villarreal CF’s offense.

On Forest’s side of the offense, due to their deployment of two center forwards, their main offensive direction would be from the two wings. In matches, Sorin was quite active; his favorite activity was to run back and forth on the wings, making use of his enthusiastic sprints to supplement the offense of his team. However, Tang En did not intend to especially manage the Argentine madman and his tendency to cut forward. Since Sorin was fond of advancing forward to assist, Tang En planned to go all out on the offense to suppress him. With both of their wings launching ferocious attacks, it would force Sorin backward, allowing him to stay only on the defense without daring to attack.

This was Forest’s home ground. Tang En hoped that the team would be able to establish the grounds for their advancement in this match. He wanted to absorb the lesson he had received last season from the match against Sporting CP; for two-legged matches where they first played at home and later away, he certainly could not allow the deciding moment to be left to the away match.

※※※

Not long after the beginning of the match, City Ground became a cacophony of noise stemming from the audience.

From the start of the match, George Wood made his attitude clear: he was going straight for Riquelme.

The away team Villarreal CF won the toss; they were to kick-off. As the core of Villarreal CF, Riquelme very quickly received a pass. He was the person launching the attack. Like a wolf in search of food, George Wood rapidly closed in on him.

After half a season of experience, the George Wood of today was not the same boy who had been easily toyed with by Riquelme.

Foul.

George Wood had tripped Riquelme.

Riquelme lay on the ground and looked up at Wood. He recognized the kid. In the previous season, this boy was toyed with to the point of helplessness. It directly led to Forest’s loss in that match, while he himself was selected as the match’s best player.

How was it that when meeting him again after half a season, he was actually donning the Captain’s Armband?

He was the captain of Forest?

“George Wood is wearing the Captain’s Armband for Nottingham Forest. This is somewhat surprising. With Albertini injured, the best candidate for captaincy should be Edwin van der Sar. Honestly, I don’t think much of Wood as a captain. He could be an amazing defensive midfielder—a genius at defense—but, such talent is separate from being a captain. I don’t understand why Tony Twain would make such a choice… Look at when they were tossing the coin earlier; his awkward performance is truly worrying!”

The commentator did not praise Wood’s defense this time around. Meanwhile, Forest fans felt that the commentator was being too noisy, spouting nonsense that had nothing whatsoever to do with the match. What about Wood becoming the captain? He was a player groomed by their Youth Team; their own people! As fans, they supported Tang En’s decision to make him the captain.

Numerous fans began to reminisce about the times they had had, while Forest was still competing in League One, of John Motson commentating for them. Since Forest’s rise to the English Premier League, Motson’s voice had practically vanished from their ears. It was just too bad that England’s BBC channel had failed to attain the broadcasting rights for the English Premier League.

Although Martin Taylor and Andy Gray were extremely popular commentators, they remained objective towards the Forest Team. On the other hand, John Motson made his fondness for Forest obvious; it was something that truly won the favor of Forest fans.

After tripping Riquelme, Wood ran back to the team.

Sorin came forward to give his Argentine comrade a hand. “Are you alright?”

Riquelme shook his head.

“Watch out. That lad… I’ve heard some things about him. Last season, he kicked the Brazilian from Sporting CP and caused a major injury.”

Riquelme looked at Sorin, who nodded. “I’m not kidding. That Brazilian is still lying in the hospital. And for 18 months.”

Chapter 340 - Bright Red Part 1

(Author’s apology announcement: Due to my mistake, when writing the latest chapter, I forgot that George Wood was suspended in the European tournament last season. Although the foul was committed in the UEFA Europa League, this suspension was a suspension for all European club events. Therefore, even though Wood would not play in the UEFA Europa League this season, this suspension would automatically carry over to the UEFA Champions League. As a result, Wood would not be qualified for the qualifying game. However, due to my negligence, Wood had already worn the captain’s armband to play the game and overturned Riquelme. By the time I saw my readers’ kind reminder, this chapter had already been completed and handed over to the editor responsible for the update, which basically made it impossible to change. So, I could only continue with the mistake and let Wood play the two qualifying games. Then, his three-game ban would start with the group stage. I hope everyone can kindly understand. If you have doubts when you see Wood in the game, please follow this explanation.)

※※※

The competition was very intense. With the Nottingham Forest team full of expectations for the new season, how could Villarreal not be as well?

Both sides parried each other on the field. The speed of their offense and defense conversion was very fast.

The spectators were enjoying themselves.

But in reality, Pellegrini secretly complained in his heart.

The Spanish team was very uncomfortable with the pace of this type of offense and defense conversion. Furthermore, Villarreal still had Riquelme, whose “slowness” was world-famous.

He knew it must have been deliberately arranged by the opponent’s young manager. The English Premier League was the fastest league in the world, and this Premier League team was also very familiar with how to rip their opponents’ defenses apart in a fast-paced attack-and-defend rhythm.

Nottingham Forest wanted to establish a home advantage for the qualifier.

Pellegrini paced back and forth on the sidelines, anxiously watching the field. He wanted to tell the team not to follow the opponents’ rhythm. However, he could not do it from the sidelines. The deafening shouts in the City Ground stadium completely drowned out all the sounds he had made.

The Yellow Submarine players were unconsciously led by the nose by Nottingham Forest.

Riquelme also wanted to regain control of the rhythm and get the game back on a familiar track. But he was under so much pressure from George Wood that he could not fend for himself. So how could he lead his team?

He had to admit that this guy behind him was a lot better than he had been half a season ago. He might not be able to easily intercept the ball at his foot, but he could make him unable to pass the ball comfortably to where he wanted it to go. There was no way he could smoothly dribble the ball to break through without any impediment and clear the way for Villarreal’s line of attack.

Wasn’t that the purpose of defense?

※※※

Off-field, Twain looked at Kerslake next to him and laughed. “Looks like the captain’s armband motivated him.”

※※※

Twain was right. Wearing the captain’s armband really did make Wood feel different. When his arms moved as he ran, he would catch a glimpse of the armband on his left arm from the corner of his eye and remind himself that he was the team captain now. What did it mean to be the team captain?

Just like Demetrio, he had to work harder than the others and even harder than before at any time and under any circumstances.

Wood did not know how to lead a team, and he certainly did not know how to lead the team to victory. All he could do was to help the team with practical actions. Previously, he could run 50,000 feet in a game. In that case, he would run 65,000 meters in this game.

Wood’s style of football was very simple. He used running distance to measure whether he was doing his best.

Every time the captain’s armband on his left arm appeared in the corner of his eye, it served to remind him repeatedly:

This is what Demetrio wore; so you cannot put Demetrio to shame and you cannot let Demetrio down.

In training before the game, Twain repeatedly told Wood to not easily make a move when he faced Riquelme, or that he must guarantee to intercept the ball in one shot if he made a move. If not, he should keep pressing on him, constantly interfere with him, and harass him to force him into a dead corner and into a siege.

Those were the only two approaches.

Wood chose the latter. When Riquelme did not have the possession of the ball, he was only 15 feet away from the Argentine. Once the football was passed to Riquelme, he would rush over. When the opponent had the ball, it would become a close marking defensive stance.

Wood’s advantage was that he was faster than most of the defenders Riquelme encountered, giving Riquelme no chance to get rid of him. After more than two years of competition experience, Wood now grasped how to maintain a reasonable distance.

Riquelme had a technical advantage and George Wood had the physical advantage. Both of them played a well-matched game in the midfield.

The commentator was amazed by this. Before this game, he had not thought that Riquelme would be immobilized by George Wood.

“This is unbelievable. The Argentinian football midfielder genius was trapped in the quagmire of George Wood’s defense. Villarreal’s offense has entered into a deadlock at the same time!”

As if in response to the commentator’s doubts and surprise, a loud singing broke out in the stands. It was sung for their new team captain, George Wood.

Each time Wood successfully defended against Riquelme, the stands cheered and put great psychological pressure on the Villarreal players. Such a crazy stadium environment could not be seen in Spain. The English football hooligans were world famous, and so were the English hardcore fans.

The thousand-strong Spanish fans, who followed the Yellow Submarine team, did not dare to make a noise amidst this powerful outpouring at home. In fact, even if they tried to make a sound, they could not be heard. From the start of the game, the entire City Ground stadium was surrounded by sounds of feverish clamor.

The Spanish football tradition was completely different from England’s. In La Liga, there were very few visiting fans who would follow the team and attend an away game. They focused more on their home games. Moreover, the Villarreal home stadium, El Madrigal, could only accommodate seventeen thousand people, which was ten thousand people less than the Forest team’s City Ground stadium.

If the atmosphere of the stadiums were to be compared, the Spanish fans could not compete with the English fans in any case.

Faced with the fanatical onslaught of the English fans, these poor Spanish fans were powerless to fight back, just like the team they were supporting right now.

※※※

While Wood was trying his hardest to enmesh Riquelme, the Forest team’s offense was not idle either. The situation on the field was evolving. Villarreal did not pose a threat to Forest’s penalty area, so it was the Forest team’s turn to create trouble for the opponent.

Franck Ribéry continued his excellent play from last season and faithfully carried out Twain’s tactics. He zealously assisted on the left flank. He kept pressing on, again and again. He alone pinned the two Villarreal players.

On the other side, Ashley Young also performed well. Although he was not like Ribéry who could contain two players simultaneously, he made Juan Pablo Sorín rather afraid. He was less active in plugging in to assist than before.

Together with Arteta’s control of the middle, the Forest team’s midfield turned around smoothly. The four players each had a clear division of labor and their respective roles. Their well-oiled coordination made a strong overall formation in the Forest team’s midfield, rather than each fighting on his own. That was what Twain would like to see the most.

Unlike a striker such as Anelka, Viduka and Bendtner required more support from the midfield. They would only have a chance to score when the midfielders could deliver the strikes.

And now, in the contest for the midfield, Nottingham Forest had beaten Villarreal. In that case, the striker’s breakthrough was only a matter of time.

Chapter 341 - Bright Red Part 2

Thirty-two minutes into the first half, the score was still 0:0. But the Forest fans were full of confidence for the outcome of the game because Nottingham Forest was completely in control of it. Tony Twain had no intention of letting the Spaniards turning the situation around!

Villarreal had automatically adjusted their tactics in the game. After seeing Riquelme being blocked by Wood, the ball was seldom passed to their side. Even if the ball was passed to the Argentine, he could not organize a decent offense.

Senna rushed to take on the task of organizing offense for the team. But he still was not made for offense. When he dribbled the ball forward this time, Arteta intercepted it and the Forest team immediately launched the attack from the vicinity of the center circle. Arteta passed the ball to Ribéry, who retreated to help with the defense. Compared to Sorín on the other side, the strength of Villarreal’s right back on this side was not as strong. The Forest team seized upon this point to maneuver the main attack to be on the team’s left flank, which was the opponent’s right flank. And on the Forest team’s left flank, Ashley Young’s main task was to contain and suppress Sorín.

Ribéry received the pass and turned around, relying on his speed to force a breakthrough past the Ecuadorian player, Antonio Valencia. Ribéry’s rapid breakthrough on the flank was one of the Forest fans’ favorite thing to watch last season. Whenever Ribéry forced a breakthrough, the Frenchman’s nickname would be chanted: Blade Warrior.

Just like this, Ribéry cut through the Villarreal defensive line at the flank like a sharp blade.

“Oh my God! Ribéry is really fast! He plays like he’s gliding on ice with skates on. This is a quick counterattack from Nottingham Forest!”

It was indeed a quick counterattack from the Forest team. When Senna dribbled the ball for the attack, it was Villarreal’s offense opportunity. They did not expect the ball to be intercepted in the midfield. The Yellow Submarine team had to fall back in a flurry to defend.

But how could the speed of their return to defense be faster than the Forest team’s counterattack?

Last season, the Forest team had relied on their speed at the flanks in the English tournaments. In this new season, that fine tradition naturally could not be lost.

Ribéry broke through on the left flank and Ashley Young worked in concert on the right flank. Equally fast and resolute in pressing forward, he firmly restrained Sorín and prevented him from going to the middle for support. At the same time, Viduka and Bendtner charged into the penalty area one after another. After he passed the ball, Arteta also rushed forward. In the moment when they changed from defense to offense, the Forest team had put in five players.

This was the result of the Forest team’s usual training. Twain hoped that his team could maintain this mobility to be able to advance to attack and retreat to defend. Since he had started coaching the team, he had continually instilled that idea in training and competitions. Now, it was finally assimilated into the blood of the Forest team.

He did not need to wave his arms and roar like a madman on the sidelines anymore, saying, “Go up! Rush up! Attack!” or “Come back! Return! Withdraw!”

His players knew what to do in those situations.

Attack!

The goal is near!

Ribéry beautifully changed direction and accelerated to flash past the Dutch defender, Jan Kromkamp. He then looked up at the penalty area and saw the tall Bendtner and the strong Viduka. So he no longer hesitated and swung his leg to cross the ball!

There were only two fullbacks in front of the Villarreal goal. Their attention was still on the football.

Viduka slashed across to rush forward. He caught all of Villarreal’s defense attention. But as he exerted all his energy to leap, he drew back his neck instead and let the ball pass over the top of his head!

The two Villarreal defenders, including the goalkeeper, were distracted by Viduka. Sorín was also caught by Ashley Young and was helpless against what happened in front of the goal in a flash.

Bendtner suddenly charged up!

“Nicklas Bendtner!! And GOOOAL!”

The City Ground stadium shook violently with the roar.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s first Champions League goal in twenty-four years! This is the City Ground’s first rallying cry for a Champions League goal in twenty-four years! The cameras are shaking. I’m sorry we can’t see the scene after the goal in the first instance. But I don’t think we need to watch this scene to understand. We can imagine it in our minds! The team that once had power over Europe, Nottingham Forest has finally returned!”

Regardless of the differences in the domestic arena, patriotism still prevailed in such European competitions, not to mention the proud British people. They were accustomed to thinking that everything British was good and outstanding. At that moment, not only the Forest fans but even the commentator, who never liked the Forest team, cheered without reservations for Nicklas Bendtner’s goal.

Twain knelt on the ground, raised his arms, and looked up at the sky. He had waited two years for this moment!

The pain of losing a friend, the isolation of meeting with setbacks, being ridiculed, being insulted, and the crushing pressure he had faced. And now it was like he was a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Surrounded by people cheering, the coaching team, substitute players, and fans in the stands behind him, he was still kneeling on the ground with his hands pointing to the heavens.

Thank you, God, for sending me here. This is your best decision!

※※※

The Forest bar had become a sea of beer with the golden suds splashing in the air and raining down on everyone’s faces. Laughter, singing, and shouting had long drowned out the sounds of the television.

Either way, the sounds from the televisions must have been the cheering from the City Ground stadium. There was no need to listen when they were cheering too.

The bar’s owner, Kenny Burns, did not join the cheering crowd. He just stared at the television screen and watched the sea of red inside the City Ground stadium, lost in his thoughts.

How familiar this is...

The cheering sounds around him changed and faded into the background. The sounds from the television had also changed, becoming somewhat hazy and indistinct.

“Kenny Burns… What a terrific assist! Nottingham Forest is one of the most powerful teams of this era. Brian Clough’s team defended their Champions League crown! He has accomplished a great achievement that no one has even dared to think of before! The red tide has swept across Europe! Red is the only color of European football in this era!”

Chief, did you see it?

That Forest team is still here. It has come out of the fog of time. Twenty-four years have passed, and the red color is still brilliant.

Chapter 342 - The French Forward

The cheers in City Ground did not rest until the end of the first half. Forest’s supporters were still exhilarated over the goal they had scored.

All sorts of voices rang out, singing for a whole 15 minutes. From the end of the first half, it lasted all the way through to the kick-off of the second half.

Compared to the first, there appeared to be slight changes in the second half; Riquelme was more active now than he had been; perhaps he had communicated with Sorin during the half-time break.

George Wood’s pressure mounted, and Riquelme began showing signs of recovery.

Tang En could tell at once. He could not let it happen.

Once Riquelme began livening up again, Nottingham Forest’s one-goal advantage would be threatened.

Taking the opportunity of a dead ball, Tang En walked to the sidelines and hollered into the field, “George! Be more vicious! Did you not eat!?”

Since Riquelme was afraid of getting injured and fouling, George could play for real.

George Wood was indeed an obedient player. Just as Tang En turned to return to the manager’s seat, he suddenly heard a whistle from the field.

In his struggle with Riquelme, Wood had pressed down on the Argentine’s neck, pushing him to the ground.

Tang En lowered his head to look at his watch. It had been 10 minutes since the second half started. Depending on such a method could temporarily stem Villarreal CF’s offense, but it was not a long-term solution. Although he placed great importance on defense, he did not think it was a miracle pill that could cure any problems.

In their situation, the best method to strike at the opponent’s confidence was to score another goal, and even more.

He turned around to look at the substitutes’ bench.

Then he pointed at Anelka, who was sitting at the corner. He waved his hand and said, “Go warm-up, Anelka!”

With a look at Tang En, Anelka stood and removed his jacket before running out.

Kerslake, who saw Tang En do that, asked, “This early?”

“What’s the use of buying him if I’m not going to use him? Disregarding his temper, his abilities are excellent. Plus, his specialty would be very useful in this match… We’re lacking a speed-type forward. If Pellegrini boxes out our wings, we won’t be able to launch any fast breaks. Putting in another forward will make Villarreal CF’s defense more difficult.”

Kerslake nodded and asked no further.

In truth, Tang En also felt rather uncertain. He did not know what kind of performance the eccentric Frenchman would show on the field later; would such a sharp dagger end up in the hearts of the enemy, or in the backs of their own people?

※※※

While Anelka was warming-up, he continued observing the field. He took note of everything occurring on it. As he had guessed, the manager asked him to warm-up because he was clearly displeased with the current situation of the team and hoped for a change. After getting a one-goal lead, were they going to fortify their defenses or enhance their offense? The personality of a manager could be seen from such a decision.

Someone who was more reserved would choose to fortify their defenses, while those who were more willing to take risks would choose to enhance their attacks.

Getting Anelka to warm-up must mean he was planning to ramp up the offense.

This was Anelka’s first match since joining the team. Due to his late arrival, he had not even been able to join the team’s warm-up matches prior, only managing to train with the team in their usual training for a week. It was a very short period, so much so that he hardly had any rapport with his teammates.

Not being put in the starting line-up of the first match made Anelka somewhat unhappy. In his opinion, he should certainly be part of the main force; he had no doubt in his abilities at all. He did not care about a lack of cooperation or rapport; he believed that he would be able to decide the outcome of the match on his own.

The good thing was that the manager was giving him an opportunity in the second half. He did not have to wait in vain on the substitutes’ bench for 90 minutes.

Anelka shuttled back and forth in a sprint on the sidelines to warm up. He could feel the strength pumping through his legs and muscles. He told himself that his condition was the same as before; he had not become useless after the half year he had spent in Turkey.

He had never believed he should end his career at such a terrible place in Turkey. He absolutely had the ability to establish himself in one of the richer and more powerful clubs. So, he came back. Starting from Nottingham Forest, he was going to push forward step-by-step, towards the goals he hoped for.

His two big brothers had helped him out a lot; he had to be grateful. Now, it was up to him.

※※※

It was no longer realistic to let George Wood defend against the onslaught of Villarreal CF alone. Arteta was forced to frequently retreat to defend, and Ashley Young on his side was also being suppressed by Sorin. Only Ribéry continued to hold out; after all, his abilities were superior to Ashley Young’s.

It could not go on this way. Tang En decided to make a substitute.

He asked Kerslake to call Anelka back from his warm-up.

Looking at the man from France, Tang En found it beyond his imagination that such an untameable forward could be standing before him now, waiting to be dispatched to the field.

“Hmm… When you’re on the field, I don’t need you to set up plays for your teammates, or work with them. I’ll arrange for the team to send you passes. Once you get the ball, you only have one mission: to take it to the goal and score.”

Anelka nodded. He liked the arrangement.

“But…” Tang En said, turning his words around swiftly, “since your mission is that simple—only needing to score goals—you should know that if you don’t succeed…”

“Then, it means I’ve underperformed.”

The Frenchman was brimming with confidence. He wanted to show this youthful team and their young manager his capabilities. He would shut the mouths of those who had either publicly or privately voiced doubts about his abilities.

Tang En looked at the serious Frenchman, his mouth turning up into a smile. “Very good! I like that!”

※※※

George Wood used a defensive maneuver that was just a nudge away from being a foul and tackled the ball from under Riquelme’s feet, kicking it out of the sidelines. He was already starting to pant heavily, and this was barely past the halfway mark of the second half!

At that moment, it was as if he had gone back in time to the previous winter in Spain’s El Madrigal. The unhurried Argentine gracefully showcased his footwork, taking him for a spin in that square inch of space. Still, derision and a lack of concern towards Wood were clearly written across that empty face.

George Wood could not withstand having the same thing happen to him again. More than half a season had passed. He should have become stronger than before.

Wood’s entire mind was filled with thoughts of how he should not be losing to Riquelme because of his improvements. However, he had not considered one factor: Riquelme was widely acknowledged by the public to be a world-class master of the midfield, a player greatly esteemed by Zidane. And how long had Wood been playing? At this point, Wood’s wish to devour Riquelme in a single bite was truly an underestimation of football in general.

Meanwhile, Riquelme, who had tossed out his thought baggage, began performing with greater ease.

The chains that had bound him were snapping apart ring by ring. The Riquelme adored by fans of the Yellow Submarine, the player who terrified his opponents, was gradually returning.

Sorin dashed forward, wanting to quickly launch a ball that had gone out of bounds, but was stopped by the whistle from the main referee. The ball that had been thrown into the field was again kicked out.

The referee signaled for a substitute on the sidelines.

The Fourth Official held a digital number sign with a red “10” and green “39”; red indicating the player stepping out, and green the player entering the field.

Anelka was substituting in for Viduka.

Watching the scene, the television commentator got excited again. “Oh! Anelka is being fielded! How long has it been? We’re again seeing this Frenchman on the field of the UEFA Champions League, despite this only being the qualifiers… the French forward has only joined Forest for a short duration of a week. They probably had barely a week to train together. What is Twain thinking, sending him out now? It’s perfectly normal to strengthen one’s offense when the defense is having some trouble. But, why would he choose to send out a player who hasn’t even established any rapport with the team?”

If Tang En could hear the doubts of the commentator, he would certainly remark on his silliness. Why send out Anelka? Why? Because his substitutes’ bench only had one forward!

Anelka slapped his palm against Viduka’s and ran swiftly into the field, even doing a short sprint. The familiar feeling was back.

Beside the field, Tang En blew once on the whistle. Upon hearing the sound, all of Forest team knew their manager was about to make some adjustments to the whole team.

When everyone looked at him, Tang En pointed to Anelka, who had just entered the field, and made a signal to pass to him.

Perhaps there were some who would be surprised by that decision—to let a forward who had trained for barely a week with the team be the attacking core, shouldering the heavy responsibility of scoring—but they all did as they were told. In Nottingham Forest, no one would doubt the decisions and power of the main manager Tony Twain. Many of them had been personally led by Tang En out from low-level leagues; he had given them glory, money, and fame. Leighton Baines, Ashley Young, Chimbonda, Franck Ribéry, and many others.

That was the advantage of having built up a team that was completely according to his own will. The manager clearly understood each player’s ability, character, strengths, and flaws, and was, therefore, able to have a firm hold over the entire team.

In England’s soccer scene, any team that had managed to sustain their successes was led by a manager who stayed with the team for an extended period. At the same time, the formation of the team was entirely decided by the manager himself, with no intervention from anyone else allowed.

For example, Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, Matt Busby’s Manchester United, Bill Shankly’s Liverpool, Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal, and Herbert Chapman’s Arsenal…. In the over 100 years of history of modern football in England, there were countless such “one man’s teams.” Of course, that also included Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.

Now, Tang En hoped that someday, people would add one more team and one more person to the list: Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest.

※※※

Forest quietly adjusted their strategy. That sort of adjustment was something that went even unnoticed by Pellegrini. In fact, he would not have believed it even if he had noticed it.

The Chilean would not believe that Tang En would dare to, in this sort of life-and-death match, allow a brand-new forward—who had joined for scarcely a week, had no rapport to speak of with the team, had an eccentric temper, and had been away from high-level European soccer for half a year—to be the key to opening the gates of victory.

But Tang En dared exactly that. The risk-taking side of him was constantly thinking about how he could make a splash. Coming up with something that made people’s jaws drop and tongues tie was his favorite hobby.

After his arrival on the field, Anelka speedily took on the heavy responsibility of Forest’s offense. Bendtner partnered with him in the front field, though it was more to the effect of having another person divert the attention of his opponents, assisting in setting-up Anelka’s play.

No matter from which direction, the ball was constantly sent to Anelka’s foot. And what everyone saw next was Forest’s members running into positions arranged to complement it, or to stand at the back watching the show. And Anelka was like a black cheetah released from captivity, surging towards the gates of Villarreal CF with the ball.

Forest’s strategy did not change. They continued to emphasize a rapid pace of attacking, passing, and moving through the midfield. Both their offense and defense were at a quick pace. What was different from before was that they had an additional express route to take: the middle.

The incredible thing was this: For Villarreal CF, who was now behind, to successfully get through the qualifiers, they needed to get at least one away goal in this match. Only in that way would they be able to maintain their morale when they returned to their home grounds, performing to a satisfactory standard. However, to be able to score a goal here, they needed to attack, which would lead to more gaps in their defense. At this time, Forest placing a strong forward who was quick and excelled at both dribbling and shooting was not just a push to widen the score gap. It also made it difficult for the Yellow Submarine to fully concentrate on their attacks.

It was a single move comprising of both offense and defense.

As expected, five minutes after Anelka got on the field, he dribbled the ball in a breakthrough, alarming Pellegrini to the point that he jumped off the managers’ seat to loudly reprimand the defenders from the sidelines. In that attempt near the margin of the penalty box, Anelka had gotten past two Yellow Submarine players one after another with little tricks before launching a shot at the goal. The shot was blocked by Vallejo’s leap, and the ball slid past the goal, flying past the end line.

The attempt caused Villarreal CF to break into a cold sweat. It also allowed Nottingham Forest’s fans to see that the abilities of the French forward remained intact.

While Pellegrini stood at the sidelines, infuriated over the performance of his own defensive line, Tang En was telling Kerslake with a straight face, “David, all nonsense about Nicolas Anelka aside, his abilities are still there.”

Kerslake was confused. “Of course, Tony. You just said that earlier.”

“Mmm, very good.” Tang En turned to continue observing the field. But before that, he did not forget to secretly glance at Pellegrini, who was still hopping away at the sidelines.

※※※

To defend, or to attack. Now that was the problem Pellegrini faced.

If they defended, they would be able to defend against Anelka, locking him down and freezing him out. Naturally, that was not difficult. But at the end of the 90 minutes, when the match ended, would they be resentful of losing the match, especially when the situation was originally starting to become advantageous for them?

If they attacked and threw themselves into the offense, they might just crush George Wood and the defensive line sitting behind him, earning an away goal; that was not impossible. However, the large swathes of empty space in their defensive line would then become Nottingham Forest’s racecourse, free for Anelka to gallop through.

Tang En’s move trapped Pellegrini and threw him into turmoil.

Pellegrini bit his lip furiously as he stood by the sidelines, his mind churning as it searched for an answer to the question.

Swiftly, he chose the first option: to defend. It was no big deal losing the match with a single goal difference. When they got back to their home grounds, it would still be advantageous for them.

He would leave the deciding factor to the second round and let Villarreal CF advance into the Champions League proper at El Madrigal.

A minute later, Villarreal CF made a substitute. Fullback álvarez took the place of forward Figueroa.

The substitution also conveyed the intentions of the manager to Villarreal’s members on the field; he did not wish to pursue victory in this match. A loss with a one-goal difference was acceptable. The team readjusted their focus, switching from offense to defense.

Riquelme had just gotten more active but was suddenly informed that he was of no use; the team need not go on the offense anymore. His face darkened. As a player who seldom needed to return for defense, he just stood in the front field watching his teammates at the back deal with Forest’s attacks repeatedly.

Since Villarreal CF had taken a step back, Tang En was not about to be courteous. He even pushed Arteta, who had originally retreated to help Wood defend, forward again; Forest’s midfield formation returned to a diamond position.

You retreat, and I’ll move forward. Anyhow, these are my home grounds; you’re at my mercy!

※※※

The situation on the field recovered in a way that satisfied Tang En. But Anelka was unhappy; he had yet to score a goal.

If he had known about Pellegrini’s choices, he would have been all too eager for the manager to decide to fight to the death instead, pushing the team to press forward. In that case, he would have many more opportunities to score.

But now? The Spaniard was acting like a coward, retreating for defense! His movement space in the front field was getting suppressed, and he was surrounded by players. How was he supposed to get a breakthrough like this? How was he going to shoot and score? How would he be able to gain the upper hand in his first exchange with the manager?

He knew that the main manager was not on board with his joining of the team. He was also sure in his heart that Nottingham Forest was merely a jumping-off point for him to spring towards an even greater stage. He did not wish to lose to such a young manager right after joining the team!

In the way he thought about Henry—what Henry was doing at Arsenal, Anelka had already achieved when he was 19—he could view Tony Twain the same way; at 19, when he was playing as the main forward in Arsenal, where was Tony?

The football was again passed to Anelka. He felt someone push him from the back, hoping to unbalance him.

He had already faced such situations countless times. Logically, he should pass the ball to a nearby teammate before trying to rid himself of the defenders who had marked him. Despite Ribéry being within just five meters ahead of him, Anelka did not want to pass the ball. He wanted to break through the opponents using his own technique and score a goal. This was a demonstration; one for the manager.

Anelka’s upper body moved quickly, a show of intention to pass to Ribéry. Even Ribéry himself was deceived; he had originally intended to cut towards the end line to disrupt the defensive line for Anelka’s benefit, instead, he jammed the brakes and twisted in a bid to return.

Anelka felt the person behind him adjust his center of gravity, intending to shift and press Ribéry directly. At that moment, Anelka swiftly nudged the ball behind him, and with a twist, he got past!

Without any impediment, álvarez, who just entered the field and was yet to warm up, passed by Anelka!

Letting a forward directly face the goalie was an extremely dangerous matter. Furthermore, it was a forward like Anelka, who excelled at shooting.

At 25 meters from the goal posts, Anelka struck the pose of wanting to do a long shot, lifting his leg high. Even the commentator was already exclaiming, “Anelka shoots-”

Just as the Brazilian, Senna, dashed forward to block Anelka’s shot, the French forward nudged the ball forward with the bottom of his foot and surpassed Senna, who completely lost his center of gravity.

Shouts of surprise rang from the spectator’s stand of Forest’s home ground. Such a purposeful display of a player’s footwork was hardly ever seen in Tang En’s football team. That was because Tang En emphasized the whole more; the techniques of the players he bought were not what he valued most. That was exactly opposite to “Le Professeur,” Wenger.

Anelka’s beautiful dribble, passing Senna, ignited the atmosphere within City Ground. The spectators’ stand erupted with deafening cheers. Everyone was waiting for a spectacular goal to occur.

After getting past, Anelka suddenly burst into action, accelerating and dashing straight into the penalty area with the ball!

The defensive line of Villarreal CF was momentarily thrown into chaos.

The way Anelka got past the two was too graceful and much too unexpected. Forest fans were delightedly surprised while Villarreal CF’s players were yelling in shock, “Block him, dammit!”

Just before two Villarreal players, donned in their yellow jersey, rushed forward hoping to prevent Anelka’s shot, the French forward abruptly took his kick!

The movement of his calf was extremely small; his act of shooting at the goal was thoroughly concealed. Villarreal CF’s goalkeeper Vallejo only noticed the shot when the ball came through from between the defender’s feet!

He leaped to the side but was too late; the ball had ricocheted off the ground next to him. By the time of its second landing, it had already gotten into the goal.

“What a great GOOOAL!!”

Perhaps, years later, Tony Twain’s “one man’s team” would not have Anelka’s name in it, and Anelka himself would not harbor any special feelings for Nottingham Forest; it was merely one of the many stations he stopped at throughout his professional career. But at this moment, City Ground resounded with record-breaking cheers for this French forward.

This was Anelka’s first goal in his first match representing the Forest Team, donning Nottingham Forest’s red number 39 jersey.

Chapter 343 - Role Model Part 1

Anelka’s goal made the two managers pound their fists on the sidelines. The difference was that Nottingham Forest’s manager slammed his fists in excitement and the Villarreal manager, Pellegrini, did so in frustration.

With fifteen minutes left in the game, Nottingham Forest led with two goals. This game was basically ready to announce its winner.

Villarreal had just adjusted its tactics and was ready to defend when the goal was scored. It was a heavy blow to their morale. Now, even if they wanted to climb back up with a goal, there was probably no chance of that.

Another person who was angry about conceding the goal was Riquelme. Although he seldom revealed his emotions on his face, anyone could see his frustration.

If the manager had insisted on attacking, perhaps they would have already equalized the score in the game before the Forest team chalked up the second goal. At that time, the situation on the field would have been different.

Now that all was said and done, they had to give up on offense and relinquish the power to win. That retribution came quite fast.

The game had already ended early.

※※※

When the referee blew the final whistle, the Forest fans were jubilant over the score on the electronic scoreboard. 2:0! It was a splendid home victory.

This was the first UEFA Champions League victory in the City Ground stadium in twenty-four years, which laid a solid foundation for the Forest team to enter the Champions League.

At the post-match press conference, Pellegrini said that the Forest team had performed better than his own team. It was natural that they won the game.

The Chilean left with his team in a hurry. The Forest team stayed behind in the square outside the stadium to receive applause from all their fans. Twenty-seven thousand people gathered outside the City Ground stadium. They blocked the Forest team bus as they sang the Forest team song over and over.

We’ve got the whole world in our hands, we’ve got the whole world in our hands...

Judging by the sea of red outside the bus it looked as if the Forest team had won and brought home the Champions League trophy. But it was only a qualifier victory.

The people of Nottingham Forest had yearned for the Champions League for far too long. Many people might have forgotten that the team they supported was once a strong team in the Champions League, which had won twice consecutively. Now Twain made them feel that again.

They did not have to watch the other teams’ Champions League performances in front of the televisions. They could look forward to their own in the Champions League. They could talk about their team’s performance at the end of a Champions League game, go to the City Ground stadium to watch the Champions League game, and cheer for their team.

If they imagined further down the road, they could even follow the footsteps of their own team, set foot in Continental Europe, and go to the stadiums of those powerhouse clubs to strut about and show off.

Just a little farther. Maybe we can set foot in the UEFA Champions League final once again?

Who said that it was impossible? When Nottingham Forest was promoted to the Football League First Division from the Second Division, who could have thought Brian Clough would lead the Forest team to win the UEFA Champions League Championship a year later and defend their Champions League title the following year?

Things were achieved by people. Just two years ago, when the Forest team struggled in the bottom fourth of the English Football League, who would have thought they could win Villarreal at home in the UEFA Champions League qualifying match today?

David Kerslake was like a child, pressing his face to the window to look out at the red ocean with a happy smile on his face. This was the first time he had seen this sight since he had entered the Nottingham Forest Football Club.

“Pretty good, right? There will be more in the future.” Sitting next to him, Twain grinned.

※※※

The next day, the Nottingham’s media was dominated by the game. All the newspapers, television stations, radio broadcasts, and everywhere on the streets talked about the game.

The popularity of Nicklas Bendtner, who had scored the goal, soared. Even Anelka received the fans’ support and acceptance. There was nothing the fans loved more than to score in what they thought was the most important game.

Needless to say, the fans still discussed the game enthusiastically. However, after a wonderful victory, the Forest players did not even get a half-day break. It was not because Manager Tony Twain was hardhearted, but because the Premier League’s new season had begun.

Out of the five major European leagues, the English Premier League was the earliest to kick off and the last to finish. There was no winter break in that most intensive competition. In Twain’s words, it was “savage and brutal. It’s double torture of the players’ body and mind. During the Christmas holiday period, it was a time for other people to go on family reunions or vacations. It was supposed to be an enjoyable time. For the Premier League players, they had to play twice or thrice a week as if they had to do back-to-back performances. In the cold of winter, the chances of injury also greatly increase.”

On August 10th, Nottingham Forest won the match against Villarreal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifying match, starting off well in the 05 to 06 season. Everyone, from the top echelons of the club down to the players and the regular fans, could approach the initial round of the Premier League three days later with a relaxed and happy mood.

The 05-06 season’s English Premier League fully began. Last season’s Premier League champion, Chelsea challenged the newly promoted team, Sunderland in an away match. In a home game, Nottingham Forest would face another newly promoted team, Wigan Athletic F.C., nicknamed by the media “the second Nottingham Forest.”

This nickname was given by the media to Wigan Athletic during the English Football League Championship because the team’s style and certain other characteristics were very similar to the Forest team. For example, their focus on pressing hard throughout the entire game, rapid breakthroughs in both flanks, relentless strength, as well as a plain, hard-working style of play made people see hints of Nottingham Forest in the year where they were successfully promoted to the English Football League Championship in half a season.

After Tang En realized that, he did not know whether to cry or laugh. He certainly knew how impressive Wigan Athletic’s first Premier League season was. If the media knew about the future, they would surely be complacent about the nickname they had given in advance. In fact, Wigan Athletic’s first Premier League season would be just as impressive as the Forest team’s last season, except that their final ranking was not as high.

From this standpoint, it was not wrong to call them the “second Nottingham Forest.”

What made Tang En feel the irony was that he had become a role model for others.

In an interview before the game, Wigan Athletic acted in a very low-key way. Their manager, Paul Jewell, simply admitted that for his team to be able to rise to the Premier League, he had learned a lot from Tony Twain. Twain’s Forest team gave him a lot of inspiration.

That was making “the second Nottingham Forest” name come to fruition.

Finally, Jewell also said, “…We certainly still remember the newly promoted Nottingham Forest’s outstanding performance in the Premier League last season. They were impressive, and I think Manager Tony Twain is an excellent English coach. No, I’m not laying it on thick. Wigan Athletic’s target this season is to defend our ranking, but I still hope the team will be called ‘the second Nottingham Forest’ when the league is over. But this time, it won’t be for our style of play, but our results.”

When Tang En heard those words, he felt somewhat amazed. His transmigration had unexpectedly made him another manager’s role model.

He wanted to laugh, not because he felt smug, but because he felt absurd. But he could not laugh because he took no pleasure from the matter.

※※※

The era of Sky Television’s monopoly on the Premier League broadcasts was coming to an end.?The European Commission had recently mandated Sky Television to allocate a portion of their monopolized Premier League broadcasting rights to BBC public service television channel and other television stations. This season’s Premier League would act as a trial period for the purchase of the new broadcasting rights. BBC and other independent television stations had been given a portion of the Premier League’s broadcasting rights.

While this would cost most of the small clubs to suffer some financial losses, it was nice for the Forest fans to have the return of the commentator, John Motson, who had been consistently supportive of the Forest team.

The Nottingham Forest’s game against Wigan Athletic would be BBC’s first Premier League live broadcast. As expected, the commentary would be covered by their ace commentator duo, John Motson, and Alan Hansen.

Twenty minutes into the game, Motson did not say a few nice words to the Forest team even though he had not covered a game in a long time.

“Now, I really want to replay the words that Manager Paul Jewell had said in the interview before the game.” Motson’s style was such that he could be generous and extravagant with his praise, but he could also be unbearably sharp and unkind in his criticisms. “The Forest fans must be starting to wonder now, what was Jewell’s motive for saying those words? I think it’s most likely to confuse the Forest team. Does Manager Twain feel angry?”

Next to him, Alan Hansen interjected and asked, “Why would he feel angry?”

“Because he’s been played!” Motson burst into laughter. He knew Twain, so he said that. Twain must have a feeling of being deceived. Based on Twain’s character, it was impossible for him not to be angry.

At that moment, Tony Twain was indeed fuming as he sat in the technical area. However, it was not because of Jewell, but due to his team’s poor performance.

The contrast was too great!

Three days ago, on the same field, the Forest team had efficiently defeated Villarreal. The scene after the victory still remained in the memories of the Forest players and fans.

And three days later, in this game, the Forest team was now powerless as they went up against Wigan Athletic’s tight defensive formation and rapid counterattacks.

Twain shook his head from time to time as he watched the messy situation on the field.

Chapter 344 - Role Model Part 2

“Indeed… it does look sort of like…” David Kerslake saw Twain shake his head again and said, “It reminds me of the game we played against Arsenal.”

“But they are more thorough and firmer with the recovery than we were that time.” Once someone spoke, Twain began to talk non-stop. “And their offense is much rougher than we were. They’re just kicking the ball with big strides and relying on two very fast wingers. How can we call this football?” He suddenly got up from his seat, pointed at the field, and said to Kerslake, “Look at their defense and watch their movements. What is Wigan town famous for? It’s not football, it’s rugby! The straightforward way of playing, frequent body contact defense, and counterattacks with the running speed of a striker are all clearly rugby moves! Just rotate the blue stripes on their jerseys and that would be their rugby jerseys! But! That’s not why I’m shaking my head.”

Twain took a turn in the technical area and waved his arms in agitation in front of Kerslake.

“What makes me angry is our own performance. Even if Wigan Athletic’s performance surpassed our expectations, we shouldn’t have played the game like this. Completely helpless! We’re completely helpless against our opponent’s defense! We aren’t the Nottingham Forest team that relied on defensive counterattacks to survive a year ago! We’re currently playing against an enemy that uses defensive counterattack to deal with us. Did we not think of this? What did the coaching team do all summer? We frequently practiced our offensive routines in the positional play during training. And now, in this game…” he turned around and pointed to the field. “Those guys have forgotten everything!”

Kerslake also didn’t know how to face Twain’s anger. He could only sigh without a word.

After venting, Twain sat down and crossed his legs. “I’m going to give it to them at the halftime interval!”

※※※

“The referee blows the whistle at the end of the first half. The Wigan Athletic fans are delighted, as are the players. They have not conceded any goals at Nottingham Forest’s home ground. They’ve successfully curbed the Forest team’s two flanks. The score is still 0:0! If this score is kept until the end, then Wigan Athletic will be the winner.”

Twain was the last one to enter the locker room. With a sullen expression, he slammed the door with a loud bang. One of the players almost jumped off the bench from the shock of it.

After that loud noise, the locker room was silent.

“You all know I’m angry, right?” Twain smiled wryly. But in the eyes of the players, no one would find his smile amiable. After a season under his command, everyone knew the manager’s temper. The brighter he smiled, the more severe the approaching storm was.

“Does anyone need me to replay the recording of the Wigan Athletic manager’s pre-match interview? The feeling of being worshipped and regarded as a role model is good, right?” Twain pointed at the locker room door, “Well, now you know what damn idiots we are! We’ve underestimated our opponent, haven’t we? Don’t try to deny it. Look at your performance on the field. Do you only know how to score with long shots? Or do you think you can win this game with the simplest possible method? That you don’t need to put in any effort to position yourselves, coordinate with your teammates, or use your brains to create or seek out gaps? And that by just standing in one spot to practice shooting the goal, you can win this game?! Are there any of you who are still sleeping? Raise your hands!”

Needless to say, no one raised his hand.

“It looks like your minds are still clear.” After the storm, Twain’s tone somewhat relaxed. “Remember, in the second half, there are two points for winning: first, place kicks! You must seize all the opportunities for place kicks. This is the best way to break the deadlock. Second...”

Anelka had been sitting in a corner of the locker room. This was the first time he had seen the Forest manager angry. He openly admonished them with a steady stream of foul language coming out of his mouth.

Arsène Wenger would not reprimand his players in the locker room. He would use another way to reprimand us. The Real Madrid manager, Bosque, would not even scold us. He was a nice man. And Houllier? That useless weakling? Then there was also Kevin Keegan. They were all the same kind.

He had never played for Manchester United. This was the first time he had seen a manager so unrestrained in the locker room. He suddenly thought that with a manager with this kind of behavior, he might behave differently behind the scenes. Surely it will be easier to get along with him if his personality is blunt and straightforward?

While he was lost in his thoughts, he vaguely heard Twain call his name. Even though he was uncertain, he still raised his head to look over.

“Your task is to break through in the middle and look for opportunities to score,” said Twain as he looked at Anelka.

In this game, Anelka was still a substitute. He wondered why Twain had suddenly assigned this task to him, nonetheless, he did not raise the question. He thought maybe he’d just missed something, but no matter. If he wants me to play, I’ll play. If he wants me to score, I’ll score a goal and score a few more. See if you’ll still put me on the bench.

“Their two center backs, Arjan de Zeeuw and Stéphane Henchoz, are older and slow in their turning. They’ve jammed our flanks, so we’ll open the gap from the middle.”

“I tell you, Wigan Athletic is just a small hurdle. If we can’t even get past them, then we can forget about the Champions League and any other championships… Those are mountains! We’ll just look up at the mountain, pack up, and go home. We can just wash up, change, go home, and sleep! Do you want that?”

“No…”

“No one wants that, chief.”

“I don’t want to wash up!”

“I don’t want to sleep either!”

The players’ voices were finally ringing out in the locker room.

“Then be more serious! This is the new season and the first game of the new season. Don’t blow it! So, Wigan Athletic wants to be the second Nottingham Forest? And they want to be a dark horse? Fine, we’ll teach them a lesson. We’ll let them know that the English Premier League is not as simple as they think!”

After fifteen minutes of the second half, the Forest players had played very hard but the situation on the field had not changed much. Wigan Athletic’s conservative tactics in the game were ugly to watch, but they were very effective.

Tony Twain once again recalled Anelka during his warm-up and then brought him on to replace Viduka, who was in a bad state.

Five minutes after Anelka came on the field, the situation changed with three forced breakthroughs.

As Twain had put it, the Wigan Athletic team’s defensive weakness was not in the flanks as in most cases, but in the middle.

Anelka forced a breakthrough in the middle and tore open a gap for the Forest team. Wigan Athletic was caught off guard and their defensive line immediately became a mess.

At that time, Arteta seized the opportunity for a precise straight pass. He passed the ball to Bendtner, who was ahead. The Danish kid pushed his back against Henchoz, who returned to defend and sent a volley over the hands of the Wigan Athletic goalkeeper, Mike Pollitt, to fly into the goal.

The impasse on the field was finally broken.

The goal, firmly held by the blue-collared Wigan Athletic for sixty-five minutes, was finally breached.

Scoring a goal gave a boost to the Forest team’s morale. With persistence, another goal was scored, this time by the substitute, Anelka. While he was still without the ball, he nimbly got rid of de Zeeuw, who was guarding him, and then received Arteta’s timely pass to shoot the goal with a low shot.

With a score of 2:0, the Forest team set the tone for the game.

Although Jewell knew that he had lost the game, he still remained on the sidelines and repeatedly yelled at the players not to give up. Even if they lost, they still wanted to score a face-saving goal.

This made Twain sit up and take notice. He had a whole new level of respect for them.

Perhaps Jewell’s words were not said just to confuse him. His Wigan Athletic team really did have a lot of similarities with his own Nottingham Forest team from a year ago.

The grassroots football team in the English Football League Championship had held so much of its strength that they had charged straight up to the English Premier League. After the exhilaration and excitement, they calmed down to think about how to survive with their club’s financial resources and their players’ abilities as compared to the other teams. They depended only on this unyielding integrity: we can concede the goal, but we cannot lose our spirit. Even if the opponent is strong, we will still face the challenge.

He liked this Wigan Athletic team, as well as the manager who instilled this notion in the team.

※※※

The game did not end as Jewell had hoped. In the end, Wigan Athletic could not score a goal. They still lacked offensive strength. But the players stuck to the last second.

As the final whistle sounded, Twain took the initiative to go to the visiting team’s technical area and shake hands with Jewell. He seldom took the initiative to shake hands, more often waiting for the others to come up and shake his hand, or simply turning around and walking away. That would be the most extreme display of his bad mood after losing a game that should not have been lost.

Kerslake was aware of that. Therefore, he was not surprised that Wigan Athletic would eventually gain Twain’s favor after they had created so much trouble for the Forest team and made Twain furious in the locker room.

That was who he was. He would respect people that he thought were worthy of respect and disregard those who were not. The media said he was arrogant and putting on airs. They said he was ignorant and fearless. It was all good. Kerslake knew that Twain was just someone who had well-defined likes and dislikes. Of course, the standards of his love and hate were not constant.

At the post-match press conference, Jewell praised Twain and his team again. At the same time, he was also proud of his players. “…They did their best, and we lost in our overall strength. But I have a lot of hope for my team. As long as I don’t give up, we’ll stay in the Premier League by the end of the season!”

Twain admitted that Wigan Athletic had caused a lot of trouble for his team in the first half and was optimistic about the team’s future for this season.

“Manager Jewell believes his team can stay in the Premier League at the end of the season. I disagree with him.” He deliberately paused at that point and then watched everyone’s reaction with anticipation. He was satisfied with what he saw. Everyone looked nervous and thought that he was going to make some startling remarks. Jewell was also a little shocked. Then, Twain chuckled and finished his sentence. “I think his team can do better than he anticipates by the end of the season! Just keeping your position in the Premier League? Mr. Jewell, you underestimate yourself.”

Everyone laughed. This sort of relaxed and happy post-match press conference was rarely seen in Twain’s presence.

“I still stand by what I said. It’s nothing to lose this game. You can win it back in the next game. Of course, I don’t want Manager Jewell to win it back against Forest.”

The press conference broke out into laughter that was louder than before. Amidst the laughter, Twain stood up and shook hands with Jewell again.

“Thank you, Mr. Twain.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank your players, Mr. Jewell. They did well,” said Twain with a smile.

Now, he felt that it was nice to be regarded as a role model. It motivated him even more.

Chapter 345 - Heart-to-Heart Part 1

Tony Twain’s team had a fantastic start in the new season. Champions League Qualifiers Round 1: Win! English Premier League Round 1: Win!

More than the results, what made Tang En happy were the conditions of the players. Naturally, there were also players for him to crack his head over, such as Anelka.

The better Anelka’s performance was, the worse Tang En’s headache became. This player, who was originally unincluded in his plans, was substituted twice in a row and scored each time. Such a performance made it incredibly hard to argue against letting him play as a starter.

But letting him play as a starter? Tang En was worried that Anelka would become overbearing.

Either way, it seemed problematic.

Tang En had a habit of speaking to Dunn over dinner whenever he was faced with a problem he could not resolve. Dunn might have a solution; or even if Dunn did not have one, Tang En might somehow be struck by inspiration and be able to find a solution as he spoke.

“Field him,” Dunn answered simply after hearing Tang En’s dilemma.

Tang En looked at Dunn and suddenly waved his hands. “Don’t tell me why. Let me guess. Hmm… His excellent condition is a given, anyone can tell. But, whether he would throw around his temper or not remains unknown… So, there’s no real reason not to let him be a starter.”

Dunn nodded.

“Then, if he acts like a big-shot… I’ll just deal with him when he does that.”

The matter was settled just like that.

Although Dunn was not a member of the First Team’s management, there were many times when he had the same effect as those who were. Tang En had always wanted an excuse to transfer Dunn to the First Team. Dunn working at Tang En’s side would be a great help to him. So, at that point, he spoke up. “Dunn, do you have any interest… in coming over to the First Team?”

He imagined that Dunn would agree to it without any hesitation, and he would then follow-up with an invitation.

Unexpectedly, Dunn shook his head. “No.”

“Why?” Tang En thought that was odd. He had thought Dunn would be eager to be promoted to the First Team.

“I have no plans to skip ranks in my promotion.”

Tang En rolled his eyes. That reason could only be thought up of by a person like Dunn. Although Dunn had gradually changed after living with him for a year, there were still some deeply ingrained aspects that could not be changed. Things like having to stick with his plans for work, and remaining alcohol-free despite living with an alcoholic.

“Your life… Is truly boring.” Tang En grumbled in annoyance.

“I have a question.” Dunn put down his knife and fork. “Why are you so interested in my life? From a year ago, until now…”

Tamg En laughed as he shrugged and shook his head.?“Does the world no longer believe in the joy of helping, or in the good nature of humans? Uh… if I say it’s because I’ve taken over your body, taken over your position, taken over your house, taken over everything of yours, and that I feel some shame and hope to compensate you somehow... Would you believe that?”

Without waiting for Dunn to reply, Tang En chuckled again.

“In reality, it’s like this. I need a good helper, but I never managed to find a suitable candidate until I met you. I was suddenly inspired, and I felt that you were exactly the person I’d been searching for all along. The helper I needed. So, to make good use of you, I naturally have to help you solve all your problems first; that included your daily needs… and many other things. That way, you would then willingly serve me. How about that explanation?”

“Forget it. I think the first explanation was good enough.”

Tang En laughed out loud. He liked to see Dunn this way.

When his laughter abated, Tang En decided to speak to Dunn about some more serious matters.

“Dunn, don’t you want to find yourself a girlfriend or something? In terms of real age, you’re older than me, aren’t you?”

Dunn shook his head. “I’m not interested in women.”

Hearing this, Tang En was shocked, jumping exaggeratedly up from his chair.

Dunn looked up at Tang En’s performance with an expressionless face, and said, “Don’t start having weird thoughts. I’m a celibate.”

Tang En chuckled and sat down again. “That’s good, that’s good… I don’t have much interest in taboo love…”

“What about your other half?’ Dunn asked after seeing Tang En sit.

“Me?” This question came unexpectedly, stumping Tang En for a bit. He looked up at the ceiling as if seriously considering it. “I’m not a celibate, but about my other half… I don’t know.”

A figure flashed through his mind, but he shook his head.

Another person drifted into his thoughts. But this time, Tang En did not hastily shake his head. Instead, he stared at the ceiling, his eyes becoming unfocused.

Dunn watched Tang En enter a daze, and muttered, “Some people are fretting about where they could find one, but you’re fretting about which one to choose…” He shook his head.

※※※

After deciding to let Anelka be one of the starters for the next match, Tang En felt that it was time for him to have a discussion with Anelka.

The arrogant and wilful Frenchman had played under numerous managers, several of which were world-class. Tang En did not presume to think he could do better than those people and manage to keep control over Anelka, but he had to at least try. What kind of manager would he be if he did not even make an attempt?

Two days before the match, on the day Forest was supposed to head to Bolton Wanderers F.C., they conducted a final team training. Kerslake arranged for a 20-minute warm-up match within the team. Usually, such matches would confirm the selection of the starting line-up and finalize the player list; Tang En could not possibly bring the entire team to the away field. He would only bring the 16 on the player list.

According to the norm, players who received the yellow vest during the pre-match grouping were 80 to 90 percent likely to be included in the starting line-up for the official match.

Kerslake held a list as he called out players. Those who were called stepped out and took the yellow vests being handed out by a manager at the side. Thereafter, they stood to one side.

Edwin van der Sar, Pepe, Piqué, Leighton Baines, Chimbonda, George Wood, Arteta, and Ribéry… Those were in the starting line-up of the previous match; there were no changes here.

But when they got to the final segment of calling for the forwards, the first name to be listed turned out to be Nicklas Bendtner.

Following that, Kerslake repeated “Nicklas,” but it sounded somewhat like “Nicolas.” Anelka was uncertain, but he then heard the Assistant Manager read out the full name. “Nicolas Anelka.”

Several players on the team turned to look at the Frenchman who stood in the back. In their hearts, they were hardly surprised. After seeing how the French forward had scored goals in both his substitutions, one match after the other, they knew it was unavoidable to have him playing as a starter.

Such a performance could not be ignored by the manager. He himself had said that there was no distinct separation between the main players and substitutes on the team. Their performance would decide if they played as a starter or reserve. If Anelka, with such a fantastic condition, could not play as a starter, how else would Tang En prove that his words about using a rotational system weren’t a lie?

Anelka kept the surprise from showing on his face. He strode forward, passing his teammates, and took the yellow vest from the manager’s hands.

It was his first time putting on the yellow vest since his arrival at Forest.

“Alright!” Kerslake blew hard on the whistle. “Get into positions!”

The warm-up match was beginning.

Tang En stood quietly at the sidelines, observing. Anelka was extremely active in the match; he continuously requested passes from his teammates and showed enthusiasm in his movements. The lad had yet to stir up any trouble since his entry into the team two weeks ago. It surprised Tang En…

Could he have misunderstood Anelka?

Before this, Tang En’s understanding of Anelka was only slightly better than that of a normal fan. Most of it came from rumors that stemmed from the media. But who could guarantee if the media themselves hadn’t added some personal spice to it? After all, they had been rather unhappy with Anelka and his two agent brothers.

In that case, what kind of person was Anelka, really?

Just from the interactions of the past two weeks, Tang En felt that Anelka was someone with a very introverted character. It was not just the usual introversion; he was extremely introverted, to the point he was somewhat shut-off. Other than being a little more open when he was with his two brothers, he was otherwise quiet and did not like to talk.

Eastwood was the perfect counter-example. The Romani could become familiar with everyone on the first day of his entrance. Anelka, on the other hand, had been on the team for two weeks but kept only to a hi-and-bye relationship with most of his teammates.

Anelka’s introverted character could also be viewed from another perspective. Despite being an infamous player who had a bad reputation among the media, there were hardly any scandals regarding his private life. The news about him was always about the differences between him and his manager. When it had something to do with the club, it was usually a squabble about the transfer fee or his salary. Or, it was about some opposition against the French Football Federation. There was essentially no gossip and only a scarce handful of scandals.

It was because his life was much too simple. There were also very few social events he would attend. After training every day, he would drive back to the hotel on his own and go out with his brothers for a meal. Then, he would look for some entertainment in bars and clubs before returning to rest.

That was a very common sort of night life for an adult. Tang En would do the same, so he did not think there was anything inappropriate about it.

A person with that sort of character would generally not be proactive in speaking about their thoughts. But once they exploded, it would be no small matter; a classic introvert with still waters that ran deep.

To build a relationship with such a person… What a headache. It was enough having someone like George Wood. Now there was the addition of Anelka!

Chapter 346 - Heart-to-Heart Part 2

The match ended very quickly. As it was just an internal warm-up match, the match duration was not set to be very long. It was only 20 minutes.

In the last segment of training, Tang En gathered everybody to stand in a circle. He and Kerslake then led the team through an analysis of the strengths and flaws observed from the session before dismissing them.

As the team was being dismissed, Tang En called out to Anelka. “Nicolas, come to my office for a minute after you change.”

This time, Anelka did not manage to conceal his own surprise in time; it showed clearly on his face.

“Not Bendtner, I mean you.” Tang En said as he pointed to Anelka. “Change and come to my office.” Saying that, he turned and left the training grounds.

Ribéry walked up to Anelka and gently patted his shoulders. Speaking lowly in French, he said, “Having a talk alone with the Boss is usually nothing good. You’ve got to watch out.”

Hearing such a tone of mystery from Ribéry, Anelka turned to look at his serious face but said nothing in response.

※※※

Tang En was organizing his desk in his office, but there was nothing much for him to pack. Most things were filed in the computer. Other than a pen and a notebook that he carried around with him all the time, the desk had nothing on it. He just did not want to look as if he was dumbly waiting for Anelka when he came in later. As the manager, he sometimes needed to make a show of attitude in front of the players, such as, ‘I called you here, but I’m tremendously busy; I’m taking time out of my busy schedule to speak to you.’

A knock could be heard coming from the outside. It was not loud, but Tang En caught it.

“Come in.”

Anelka pushed the door open and entered. He had already changed and was now wearing a white shirt with light blue jeans, complete with a casual suit jacket in sky-blue. He had even hung a pair of sunglasses at the neck of his shirt.

Tang En looked over his attire.

“What do you have going on tonight?”

Anelka was momentarily stunned, not expecting the manager to ask him that first. When he recovered, he shook his head in response. “I don’t have anything going on tonight.”

“Okay… take a seat.” Tang En casually indicated to the sofa. He then continued to be “busy” organizing his things. This time, he grabbed the mouse and continually refreshed his computer desktop just for show.

After finishing busying himself with that, he looked up at the Frenchman. “This is our first time speaking alone since your entry into our team. I’m sorry about that. I’ve been extremely busy until now. With the start of the new season, there seem to be a lot more things to deal with.”

Anelka nodded in understanding.

Tang En found it draining to converse with someone who had such lacking responses.

Holding a conversation was like playing tennis; it could only work when it went back and forth. But, when Tang En conversed with Anelka, it felt like he was just playing with air. Not only did he have to take charge of serving, but he also needed to run over to pick up the ball after. He was already tired and sweating, but it remained uncertain how much longer this would go on.

“Yes… Well, putting aside the other things, I’m quite interested in your sudden decision to return to England from Turkey. Do you mind telling me more about that?”

Tang En then intentionally paused, waiting for Anelka to speak, only to be disappointed. To prevent the atmosphere from becoming awkward, he could only continue, saying, “Uh… Your brother told me it was because the level of the leagues there was too low? And it couldn’t…”

At that point, Anelka suddenly interrupted Tang En. “Yes. I want to go to a higher-level league to play football.”

Tang En did not mind in the least bit; he was delighted that Anelka was willing to speak up at all.

“But, Fenerbah?e S.K. can also participate in the Champions League.”

“That’s too far.”

Tang En knew where Anelka was referring to when he said it was “far.” So, he only nodded.

“I think so too. Nicolas, do you mind telling me what you’re really thinking? That is to say… What other aims do you have? What do you hope to get? What is it that you are working hard for at football? Do you have some goal?”

These questions stumped the Frenchman. He sat there silently.

Some players played for the pursuit of glory, but he had almost received all of the highest recognition available to a club. Then there were those who played hoping to be selected for the National Team, battling for the World Cup; but he had already harshly told the French Football Federation that “unless Santini kneels and begs before me, I will never return to the National Team.” Saying that he wanted to work hard to enter the National Team would seem rather fake. In that case, what kind of goals or reasons was he left with?

“Do you want to hear my answers to those questions?” Tang En noticed Anelka’s silence and decided to keep on going anyway.

“Initially, I was the Youth Team manager of Forest. Gradually, from a normal manager, I became the assistant manager of the Youth Team, and finally the main manager. Following that, I became the main manager of the First Team, just like what you see now.” He extended his arms, indicating that the manager’s office belonged to him.

“Have you heard my story?”

Anelka shook his head.

“Then, let me tell it to you.” Tang En sat at the corner of his desk and crossed his legs.

“At first, I thought it was a good idea to become one of the managers of the Youth Team. I was very satisfied with the job. I’m an idiot who doesn’t know anything else apart from football; I didn’t know carpentry, didn’t know how to fix pipes, didn’t know how to sell merchandise, didn’t know design, make repairs, rob a bank… I didn’t know anything. I was over the moon finding a job in Nottingham Forest Club, and I had intended to just keep on working like that. After some decades, I’d become one of the old managers in the club and retire.”

“But later, I became this team’s interim manager. At the time, the team’s situation was miserable. Within half a season, I had to guarantee that my team could stay in the then First Division, now called EFL. In the beginning, my performance was terrible; the first match I coached completely fell through.”

Tang En shook his head, and said, “But, I thought later, since I had already become the main manager of the team, regardless of whether it was just interim, I should achieve something as proof of having been here, right? I decided to lead the team to a promotion… Yes, that’s right. You didn’t hear me wrong. I didn’t want to just avoid relegation, I was aiming for a promotion.” Tang En explained upon seeing Anelka’s shock.

The Frenchman nodded. He was completely engrossed in the story.

“I so nearly succeeded. That’s a nicer way to put it, but the truth was that I failed. For that, I lost many things. From that moment on, I swore that I must do even better and never be a loser. But God did not give me that opportunity. My time as an interim manager ended, and I returned to the Youth Team to continue being the main manager of the Youth Team. The position of the First Team manager was snatched away by a guy called Collymore. Have you heard of him?”

Anelka nodded. “I know. I hate that guy.”

Tang En burst out laughing. “That’s right, I hate him too! Look, we have something in common now.” As Tang En’s laughter faded, he continued.

“Very soon, that guy was fired because of the lousy results he led the team to. I was back in the same position again. At the halfway point of the season, Nottingham Forest was fourth from the bottom. No one believed that a crappy team like that could achieve anything. In fact, there were many who firmly believed that we would end up being relegated to Second Division at the end of the season. But in the end? When the season ended, my team were the EFL champions, and had the entry ticket to the English Premier League.”

“Isn’t that an incredible story?” Tang En asked with a show of his palms.

“What came after is even more incredible. In the new season of the English Premier League, everyone said Forest’s should just try to avoid relegation and guarantee their spot in the League. I held that idea in contempt. My aim was much greater and further than those bumpkins. You saw it too. My aim is the UEFA Champions League. Currently, we’ve gotten off to a good start. I’m no longer willing to return to the same life as before. To be satisfied mucking through life on the Youth Team. In my view, there are many more championships awaiting me.”

As he finished saying that, Tang En rested for a beat before continuing. “I’ve heard some things regarding your brothers…”

Anelka’s expression changed the moment he heard that it was about his brothers. Naturally, Tang En noticed that. Perhaps it was really that way; in Anelka’s heart, no glory could compare to his own blood. If he could have a falling out with the French Football Federation over his brothers, wouldn’t it be even easier to fall out with a mere club over them?

Today was meant to be a heart-to-heart. Tang En did not want to purposely poke at Anelka’s sore spot.

So, he followed up by saying, “To be honest, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with their methods. Anyone would want to fight to have more benefits for themselves. That’s totally normal. When I’m negotiating the terms of contract for my renewal with the club, I would also request for a higher salary and more monetary rewards. But, beyond money, I have other pursuits that can’t be satisfied merely by a high salary. As I mentioned earlier, I have many championships that I have yet to get. You’re now a player who has already been the champion of the Premier League, English FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA European Championship… You lack no glory and have no need to further prove yourself. Earlier, if you had answered that money was your greatest motivation to kick a football, and your only aim, I wouldn’t have been at all surprised. That’s very normal because you’re a professional football player.”

“I don’t care about your previous transfers. Now you’re my player. You’re playing on Forest team; that means you’re a member of Forest. I need you to help me achieve my aims… In truth, I’ve said this to every one of them. I need all of your help. Otherwise, by myself alone, I don’t even qualify to compete. We are a body, so our aims should be the same. I’ll take the championship, and you take the prize money.”

Speaking to that point, Tang En started chuckling.

“With championships, there’ll be money; with money, there’ll be motivation; with motivation, there’ll be championships. Look at how amazing that loop is!”

Although Anelka clearly understood that viewpoint, it was the first time he met with a football manager who would say it aloud so directly.

After working with so many managers, practically everyone believed him to be a greedy scoundrel whose head was full of thoughts about money. They believed he would not play well and was someone eternally incapable of any loyalty to a team.

Back then, during the period when he insisted on transferring to Real Madrid and leaving Arsenal, his mentor, Arsenal’s main manager Arsène Wenger, said, “People live for three meals and a bed. What do you want so much money for?”

Arsenal’s vice-chairperson also lashed out at him suddenly.

“In the final 48 hours of the negotiation, he mocked all the rules of English football; he completely lacks respect for others!”

Even earlier, Arsenal spent only 750 thousand for him to refuse a contract renewal with Paris Saint-Germain, where he first embarked on his career. He then took off all the way to London. His mentor, Fernández, angrily said, “It’s not worth mentioning that person. When he left, he himself slammed the doors to join Arsenal… Wherever he is, he would be a problem…”

In Real Madrid, people called him “trash.” At that time, there was a running joke:

A child frantically told his mother, “Oh no, someone has forced their way into our house!”

The mother asked, “What does he look like?”

The child replied, “Tall and thin. He was wearing Real Madrid’s jersey number 14.”

The mother then said, “There’s no need to be frightened, child. Such trash can’t do anything.”

...

There was only Tony Twain who would say that to him: Pursuing money isn’t a problem – it’s normal. I don’t need loyalty. I only need you to seriously fulfill your own duties during the period of your contract. Take the money and do the work; it’s that simple.

Anelka remained silent, his mind filled with what Tang En had said earlier.

“If you want to be a core player, show me the abilities a core player should have. If you have the ability and you show it, you’ll naturally become a core player. Of course, one day, when you start getting sick of everything here, and you find my face detestable, or you wish to earn even more money and there happens to be a club who has offered you tempting terms… When you decide to leave, please don’t forget to give me a call to tell me your thoughts. I won’t make things difficult for anyone who wants to leave this place, because it’s?your freedom to do so.”

Finishing his words, Tang En hopped off the table and exercised the half of his butt that had gotten numb from sitting.

“Let’s move. We should be going back.” Tang En switched off the computer on his desk and tucked his small notebook and pen away into his shirt pocket.

“Don’t you have some activity going on at night?”

Anelka stood up and shook his head. “I don’t have anything going on, Boss.”

Tang En laughed and said, “That’s great. Do you have a car?”

“Yes.”

“Can you give me a ride? Half my butt has gotten numb from sitting. It’s rather inconvenient to walk.” Tang En groused as he massaged his bottom.

“Of course, Boss.”

※※※

Three days later. Bolton Wanderers’ home grounds, Reebok Stadium. Nottingham Forest achieved a complete victory over the home team with a score of 2:0. Jersey number 39, forward Frenchman Anelka, played as a starter and stayed on the field for the full 90 minutes. In the 21st minute, he scored the first goal for Forest, contributing for his third match in a row.

Chapter 347 - The Tournament Part 1

With three consecutive goals in three games, Anelka’s performance attracted the attention of the media. Although the media might have little affection for Anelka’s two agent brothers, they could not ignore Anelka’s performance. The return of a prodigal son was the best topic for the recent Premier League.

As a result, the Forest team’s training ground had another increase of reporters. The buzzing flies had returned.

Looking at the reporters pestering Anelka, Twain suddenly felt that Anelka’s two brothers did a good job. The price of forty thousand pounds per interview could really scare away a lot of people. He rubbed his chin and wondered if he should give himself a price of one hundred thousand pounds to make his life quieter. With the success of the Forest team, there were more and more people who wanted to get in touch with and interview Twain.

Twain would not reject media interviews, but he could not accept it if they went to his house and blocked his doorstep.

That was what happened to Anelka, and Twain did not plan to worry too much about it. The French striker was someone who had been in professional football for years.?Some things were clear in his mind.

Anyway, he had made his stance pretty clear——Since you’re on my team now, you will have to do a good job. When you do well, there will be lots of money up for grabs. But if you’re not willing to do well and want to leave, I won’t make you stay.

What he had actually said to Anelka said that day was, Whether you stay or go, I don’t care.

Anelka was different from his other players. Twain did not need Anelka to be loyal to him because he was never part of his plan. He did not need Anelka to like him. He only needed Anelka to score for him.

What concerned him more was another person.

※※※

George Wood had encountered the most important problem in his nineteen years of life.

He thought that he should be a little different now from what he used to be, in training, in the locker room, and in the game....He should do some things that he had never done or paid attention to before.

But he did not know how to go about it.

Because he was the team captain. Although he was only a proxy, he was still the captain.

He needed to behave differently from the past because he wore the captain’s armband.

To be honest, asking him to do this was a little difficult for him.

When Albertini was around, he was able to make his teammates feel his presence as a captain, whether during training, in the locker room, or on the field.

George Wood did not have that ability. More often than not, everyone did not feel like they had a captain at their side during training, in the locker room, or in games.

Even though no one complained openly about it, Twain could see some signs of it; he believed that Wood could see it too. He was not an idiot.

He felt that he had to intervene to help with the matter. Since he had handed the captain’s armband over to Wood, he was obliged to pull him up when he encountered difficulties, or else he could hand the armband to Edwin van der Sar, or anyone else.

While the team was in training, Twain slipped back to his office and used the landline to call George Wood’s home.

The person who received the call was Wood’s mother, Sophia, who was pleasantly surprised to hear Twain’s voice. “Mr. Twain!”

Twain was not sure how to face the increasingly enthusiastic Sophia, so he rarely contacted her now. Nevertheless, it might be better for Wood’s mother to deal with the matter.

“Hello, Madam. Are you feeling better?”

“I’m much better.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“What’s the matter, Mr. Twain?” Sophia could sense that Twain was beating around the bush, so she asked first.

“Uh, Madam. Did Wood talk to you about his situation in the team recently at home?”

“Yes, he did. He said he was made team captain.” Sophia smiled. She was proud of her son.

“The thing is the new captain has met with some trouble lately.” Twain recounted the situation, “Wood listens to his mother the most. So, I need your help with this matter.”

Sophia kept quiet for a while over the phone, and then nodded, “Okay, I got it. Don’t worry, Mr. Twain. I know my son, I understand what I have to do.”

“Thank you very much, Madam.”

“I’m the one who needs to say thank you, Mr. Twain. If you had not allowed him to go to the Forest team for training, where would George be today?”

Twain laughed as he recalled his first season of coaching the Forest team. He had met George Wood in that cold season and the kid had said to him, “I think you should sign the best player in England,” as if he was reciting a line. Wood himself had had no idea what the best player in England was at that time but now he was getting closer to that goal.

After she thanked him again, Twain ended the call with Sophia and returned to the training ground. He stood on the sidelines and quietly observed.

Wood worked diligently, harder than before. He looked like he wanted to complete enough training for two people. But his simple and crude approach did not have any effect on his teammates, because he always worked hard. Everyone had long been accustomed to him working so hard.

The kid failed to grasp the point of it. Twain secretly shook his head.

He waited to see what Sophia could do to help.

※※※

A day’s training was over again, and Wood broodily head back to the locker room to change his clothes. He then walked away by himself.

He felt that today was as bad as any day in the past. He had not accomplished anything and had failed as a captain. He even began to doubt Twain’s decision to make him the team captain. He felt totally unfit to be a captain. Although he admired Demetrio and had learned some things from him, he did not think he could be a captain like Demetrio.

It was too difficult for George Wood to have a smile on his face all day long and treat everyone familiarly like old friends of many years.

Wood only smiled when he went home to face his mother’s smile. His mother always smiled at him and watched him smile. It was hard to keep a straight face. Furthermore, his mother’s smile was warm with no other meaning. It was a genuine smile, completely different from all the smiles he had encountered outside. That kind of smile completely put him at ease.

Both mother and son made dinner in the kitchen together. As if she suddenly remembered something, Sophia asked casually as she busied herself with her work at hand. “That’s right, George. When you return from Spain, I would like to invite someone to dinner.”

Wood was a little surprised. His mother was poor in health.?Except for Twain and his agent, Woox, who occasionally came to update Wood on work, they did not receive any guests at home. With his mother offering to invite people to dinner out of the blue, he could not help but be surprised. He turned to look at his mother.

His mother pointed to the pot. “Give it a stir.”

Wood obediently picked up a ladle to stir in the soup.

“Well, didn’t you become the captain?” His mother said with a smile. “I think we should thank a few people, so I would like to invite your mentors to have dinner at home.”

“Demetrio?” Wood did not think that his mother would have thought to invite him.

Sophia nodded. “He’s been a great help to you. I want to thank him in person.”

Although he was surprised, what his mother had suggested was appropriate. Wood did not object.

“Other than that, I would also like to invite Mr. Twain too.”

Wood turned to look at his mother again. Sophia bowed her head to busy herself with her chore as if she had not said anything.

“Oh, okay. I’ll talk to him.” Wood nodded.

Chapter 348 - The Tournament Part 2

After the team ended their game with Bolton Wanderers, they stayed another day in England before flying to Spain.

On August 25th at Villarreal’s home stadium, El Madrigal, the Forest team would challenge their opponents in the Champions League qualification game. This game was crucial. Even if Forest defeated Villarreal by 2:0 at home, there was no guarantee that nothing else would go awry.

Twain could imagine that this game would be difficult, so he reminded his players more than once to treat it as such and not think that they could rest on their laurels with a score of 2:0.

Twain showed caution in the tactical and lineup arrangements with the strongest squad and defensive counterattacking.

Anelka was still in the starting lineup. His speed was Twain’s most reliant weapon in the game.

Anelka was in the middle, Franck Ribéry was on the left flank and Ashley Young was on the right flank. This was the trident formation in the Forest team’s counterattack. Twain had only one request for them: to send the football to the opponents’ penalty area as quickly as possible.

Riquelme played a lot better than he had in the first round and Pellegrini did not make an indecisive error. The Villarreal team had an excellent performance overall and scored two goals in the game.

Despite that, the Forest team still held their destiny firmly in their hands during the second half.

After a beautiful breakthrough by Anelka, his shot was blocked by the Villarreal goalkeeper who threw out the ball. Arteta quickly followed up with a rebound shot and the ball went into the net.

That goal occurred four minutes before the end of the game. The Spaniards had already looked forward to overtime. They did not expect their fellow Spaniard, Arteta, to send his teammates into the UEFA Champions League tournament proper.

With an away goal, the score of 3:2 meant that if Villarreal wanted to drag the game into overtime, they had to score two goals in the remaining four minutes!

However, that was an impossible task to complete for the Yellow Submarine players, who had just suffered a heavy blow to their morale.

The fourth official raised the signboard to indicate the injury stoppage time of three minutes. From a minute and a half, the Forest team’s substitutes gathered on the sidelines to wait for the referee to blow the whistle and for them to rush onto the field to celebrate. Now every Nottingham Forest player found those three minutes of injury stoppage time to be too long. Every second seemed to crawl. Some people were even afraid that something else would happen at the last moment. Anything could happen.

Finally...

“The game is over! Nottingham Forest is back in the European Cup after twenty-four years!”

Of course, it was no longer called the “European Cup.” It was now called the “Champions League.”

The ecstatic members of the Forest team did not spend too much time on the field. After all, it was not nice to celebrate so publicly on another team’s turf. Their celebrations were moved to the locker room.

Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were also there to watch. After the game, they both came to the locker room to congratulate the team for their success.

Naturally, the most important person in the locker room was the manager. Twain waved his hands to quiet the crowd and then announced loudly, “You guys did a terrific job. Let’s go to the Champions League and do our best!”

※※※

The team returned to England with glory. At the Heathrow Airport in London, the hardcore Forest fans greeted them with songs and a number of media personnel.

Before the Forest team’s expedition to Spain, a piece of good news came from Liverpool.

As the defending champion of the Champions League and being decided on by the Union of European Football Associations to start from the first round of the qualifier, the “Red Army,” Liverpool, had prevailed in all the rounds to finally defeat the Bulgarian PFC CSKA Sofia in the third round with a total score of 3:2. They advanced into the UEFA Champions League tournament.

In that case, with the Forest team’s elimination of Villarreal, a new record was created. There were as many as five English teams in the Champions League this season.

This was a special circumstance caused by special reasons. It was regarded as a mockery of the UEFA Champions League that the champion of the UEFA Champions League was not able to participate in this new season’s championship due to its Premier League ranking. It would be the first time in its fifty year history that a defending champion was unable to play in the next season’s Champions League. This was because formerly, only the champions from each league could participate in the European Cup, while the previous European Cup champion could automatically enter the tournament. This was the reason why during Brian Clough’s time, Nottingham Forest had been able to participate in the European Cup even though they had not won the Premier League title. They were the defending champion. They were there by virtue of their last championship title, which allowed them to automatically participate.

After the European Cup was changed and became the Champions League, the number of teams that could participate in the Champions League increased and the automatic participation of the defending champion was canceled.

Liverpool’s situation was special. At that time UEFA had discussed it for a long while, and it had even involved the possible sacrifice of Nottingham Forest in exchange for the Reds’ eligibility for the Champions League. If this resolution was passed, then it would be unfortunate for the Forest team. Luckily, that seemingly absurd decision was rejected. The UEFA gave special permission to Liverpool to take part in the Champions League for the new season. However, it would have to start from the first round of the qualifying games. Furthermore, this was an isolated case and would not happen again.

But who would care about what would happen later?

The people of Liverpool benefited, and so did the English. From the moment the news was announced, the English people looked forward to the arrival of the day: five English teams collectively in the highest level of the European club league: the UEFA Champions League.

Now that the day had finally come, it was seen as a major victory for English football. It was also natural for the returning Forest team to receive that kind of attention from the media.

“It would be better if they could bring some fresh flowers.” Twain looked at the scene and spoke with indifference. What did the victory of English football have to do with him? He only cared about his team.

“No matter what you think, you still have to go for an interview,” Kerslake said while they waited to disembark from the plane.

“Once again, I think that Anelka’s brothers are too smart. I should set myself a one-hundred-thousand-pound interview price so that I don’t have to deal with this.”

“You might as well set a hundred thousand pounds per word,” George Wood unexpectedly said as he walked past Twain. All of a sudden, the laughter of the other players could be heard around him.

“Hey!” Twain made as if he was going to grab Wood’s sleeves and the laughter became louder.

Then, amidst the laughter, Wood walked past Twain and said, “My mother would like to invite you to dinner this evening.”

Twain was stunned.

Chapter 349 - A Captain Like You Part 1

Journalists are always passionate. They throw out all kinds of questions to make things difficult for their interviewee. Even things that did not seem the least bit connected would be regarded by them as questions that had to be answered.

Tang En’s method of dealing with such annoying inquiries was simple and uncouth: he turned down all of them.

After squeezing their way through the airport and getting straight on the team’s coach parked outside, it was only two hours later that the team finally arrived in the Nottingham they were familiar with.

At the gates of Wilford Training Grounds, Tang En dismissed the team and announced that the players had the day’s afternoon and the next day’s morning off; two half days.

As Tang En was about to leave, Wood repeated, “Eight o’clock at night.”

Tang En asked, “Is Dunn invited?”

Wood stood there thinking for a moment before he shook his head. “Mum didn’t say so. I’m guessing not.”

“Oh. Okay.” Tang En nodded. “Head on home early, don’t let your mum wait. I’ll be there later.”

Wood turned and left. The cars in the parking lot drove off one by one. All the players had left. Some had gone home to enjoy some peace, while others had gone to indulge themselves. Tang En stood alone in the empty parking lot, scratching his head.

Was this a dinner with only him?

※※※

From the moment Tang En returned, Dunn noticed him tidying up his appearance; bathing, shaving, combing his hair, changing, and polishing his leather shoes.

He was curious. Tang En was not usually this meticulous about how he dressed and looked.

“Are you heading out?”

Tang En nodded. “Oh, yeah. Dunn, you’ll have to settle on your own tonight.”

“Shania is back?”

Tang En paused in his polishing and turned to look at Dunn. “Why would you think of her first?”

Dunn shrugged. “I don’t know. Is it not?”

Tang En shook his head, continuing polishing his shoes. “No. It’s Sophia, George’s mum.”

“Oh.” Dunn fell silent.

Tang En lowered his head, repeatedly scrubbing at the shoe he held despite the fact that it was already gleaming.

Why would Dunn mention Shania first? The girl should have already returned to the UK from Brazil, right? Recently, he had been so busy, he had not contacted her at all. When they parted ways, he had even said he would call her, but once he started busying, he could care less about anything else. She couldn’t be angry, right?

Dunn heard the polishing become monotonous. He instantly knew Tang En must have been in some sort of stupor again.

※※※

Tang En reached Wood’s place slightly before the agreed time.

“It’s been a long time, Tony.” Sophia smiled as she opened the door for Tang En.

“Yes, it’s been a long time… You look great.”

After entering the house, Tang En realized that the big place seemed empty of anyone else. So, he asked, “Where’s George?”

“He went out to buy something. He’ll be back in a while.” Sophia continued looking at Tang En smilingly, making him a little embarrassed. He sat down with a cough.

“Do you want sugar in your tea, Tony?” Sophia asked.

“No, thank you.”

Sophia retreated to the kitchen to make tea for Tang En. At that moment, a knock sounded from outside the door. Tang En rose to stop Sophia, who had run out from the kitchen.

“I’ll open the door.”

He thought it was Wood who had come back. That way, it would diffuse the current awkwardness. He opened the door and found himself unexpectedly faced with a child’s face.

The child opened his mouth, but a matured voice sounded instead from behind it. “Ah, Boss! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Hearing the English words accompanied by a heavy Italian accent, Tang En immediately knew who the visitor was.

“Demi!” Tang En felt elated. Inviting Albertini for a meal was certainly a good way of helping Wood work through what was troubling him.

Albertini laughed at the side, while his wife, famous model Uriana Capone, carried the child. The beautiful former model greeted Tang En with a smile. “Good evening, Mr. Twain.”

“Good evening, Madam. Please come in. George has gone to buy some things while Sophia is making tea. I’m lending a hand to our host.” He opened the door for them and made a gesture welcoming them in.

“Hello, little Albertini.” Tang En reached out and nudged the child’s nose, making him giggle in his mother’s arms.

Tang En was no stranger to Albertini’s wife. When Albertini had transferred to the Forest Team, their family had moved from Italy to the UK. Despite not being quite used to the UK’s terrible climate, Uriana continued staying by her husband’s side. Occasionally, she would bring the child back to the grandfather’s place in Italy. Usually, however, so long as there was a home match for Forest, Urina would make sure to wear Forest’s red jersey and bring along their child to cheer for her husband from the spectator’s stand luxury box. They were a happy family of three.

Albertini’s quick adjustment to English football and Nottingham Forest was, in large part, attributed to his wife’s devoted care and full support of him.

The cup of tea Sophia brought out from the kitchen became three, and everyone sat together for a leisurely chat. From the looks of it, Tang En seemed more like the head of the house.

Until Wood returned.

Even though it was said to be dinner, the food was not of much importance. It was the conversation that was important. The women chatted about what interested them as the child played by the side. The men also flocked together to discuss their matters; the real aim of the day’s dinner.

The topic started with Albertini’s injuries.

“How’s your leg, Demi?” Tang En asked as he sat by Albertini with a cup of tea.

“Fleming says I’ll be able to return to the field at the end of next month if everything goes well.”

“And what do you feel about it yourself?”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t agree if I said I can return to the field right now, Boss.”

The two laughed.

George Wood joined them after helping his mother clear away the dishes. In truth, he already knew why his mother suddenly wanted to host a dinner at home, especially when the ones she invited were Albertini and Tang En.

As Wood sat down, Tang En glanced at him before giving Albertini a wink.

Naturally, Albertini knew what the real purpose of the dinner was. He looked at Wood and asked with a grin, “George, how does it feel to be captain?”

Faced with Albertini, Wood was somewhat embarrassed. He lowered his head and kept silent.

Tang En started laughing beside them.

“It’s not looking too good, Demi.”

He stopped laughing and said to Albertini, “This kid… he’s always trying to imitate you. Am I right, George?” He looked at Wood again.

Wood raised his head and said to Tony, “You made me the captain, and you’re the one who asked me to learn from Demi.”

Tang En did not reply, but Albertini continued. “George, tell me honestly. Do you think there’s anything we have in common?”

The question stumped Wood. He considered it carefully. Demi was a warm-hearted person. Despite being unable to speak much English when he had first joined the team, he could get everyone on the team to accept him in the shortest possible time. He was always happy to help the teammates who had difficulties, regardless of whether they had often interacted with him or not. His face always had a smile on it, and he was polite to everybody. Whenever he spoke in the locker room, everyone would naturally quieten down… Perhaps that was the unique charisma Demi had.

And did Wood have those qualities? Even though Wood did not always plaster an unfriendly look on his face, he gave off an impression of being unapproachable. Albertini used a month’s time to get his teammates’ acceptance and liking. But Wood took nearly a year and a half. He rarely went out to play with the others; after training every day, he would rush back home to accompany his mother. He also did not go out to drink or visit clubs to seek the company of beautiful ladies. He didn’t get involved in relationships or have any after-hours hobbies. He lived a simple life.

Wood shook his head. “No.”

Albertini laughed and gestured questioningly. “If we’re so different, why do you still think you have to become a captain like me?”

Wood squirmed for a bit before saying, “I think a captain… should be like you…”

Albertini was one of the captains George Wood had worked with the longest. It was very normal for him to have such ideas.

“No, no. It’s not like that.” Albertini shook his head.

“Since people have different characters, there would be different types of captains as well. You shouldn’t try to be a captain like me. You should try to be a captain like you.”

Chapter 350 - A Captain Like You Part 2

“A captain… like me?”

“That’s right. Like you. You work harder than anyone else on the team. No matter the results you attain, you’ve never become arrogant. You’re always firm-footed and grounded. Everybody sees this. Do you think your position in the team was only given to you because of the Boss?”

Wood turned to look at Tang En, but he only smiled.

“No. It’s because everybody knows you truly have that ability. Your performance had everyone convinced, so nobody objected to you consistently being a starter.”

Tang En nodded. “Last season, the media thought you sat so steadily in your position as the team’s main defensive midfielder because of special treatment from me. Do you believe that bulls**t?”

Wood shook his head.

“That’s it. You are a very confident person. I knew that from the beginning.” Tang En beamed. That’s right. Wood had wanted to train with the First Team right after entering the team and not having even signed a contract yet. Wasn’t that enough confidence?

“So… we are different people. You can’t imitate me in everything, George. Are you worried that you won’t have any authority or be trusted as the captain in the team? But, you have already proven it with your actions… Do you still remember the Europa League match last season? Do you remember what you did after Freddy got injured by the Brazilian’s tackle and had to leave the field?”

Wood nodded.

“Although the Boss is here, I still want to say that you did fantastic. At that point, I believe several people on the team must have had those kinds of thoughts; to do the Brazilian guy in. They did not have that courage, but you did it without hesitation. This matter made everyone adjust their perspective of you.”

Tang En interrupted Albertini, saying, “This, George… I must add, even now, I would still insist on applauding that foul. Back then, I was not purposely trying to pick a bone with the referee or vent my unhappiness. I just thought that the foul was incredibly cool! Do you know what a captain is? A captain is someone who would stand up for his teammates. You need to protect your teammates because they trust and support you. They know that even if they meet with some trouble on their own, the team captain would step up to help them solve it. If they get bullied by others, someone else would bully back on their behalf! That… is being a captain. It’s what a captain like you should do.”

By Tang En’s side, Albertini nodded in agreement.

“In that instant, you let your teammates feel that you’re someone trustworthy, someone worth supporting. You’ve succeeded, George. Think about it. Why did no one object when I announced your captaincy in front of everybody in the locker room?”

“It’s because you’ve used your actions to tell them that you would help them solve their problems whenever they meet with trouble,” Albertini said, chiming in.

“No matter the method used… You’ve already established your authority.”

It was as if Tang En and Albertini were performing, with them taking turns to talk, slowly helping Wood untie the knot in his heart.

“What are you still worried about? One day, if you suddenly act like Demi, smiling and greeting anyone whom you see, I’m afraid everyone would just think you’ve gone crazy.”

Hearing Tang En say that, Albertini chortled in amusement. He imagined Wood with a beaming face; it was just too strange.

“Your teammates have already accepted everything about you. Why do you still want to change yourself? No one said the captain had to adapt to the team. Conversely, a team should have the mark of the captain leading them. For example, Demi’s style is more like the wind while yours is like fire. That’s excellent. I do not think there are any problems having two captains of different styles. There is only one thing you need to change…” Tang En raised his index finger.

“Open your mouth and talk. Let your teammates hear your thoughts, opinions, your wishes about what you want them to do, your suggestions, what you hope they won’t do, or what you think is good and what you think isn’t… All your ideas, express them with your words instead of sitting in a corner of the locker room all day in silence. George, when you’re entering the field, how does it feel to stand right at the front of the team?”

Wood said nothing. He was still thinking on Tang En and Albertini’s words. He had believed that any captain should be like Albertini to receive everyone’s welcome, support, and respect. But, he never thought that there might be a different path to achieving the same things.

To be a captain of his own style?

It had never crossed his mind.

But… perhaps it was worth a try.

“I think…” Wood finally said, “It feels good.”

Tang En and Albertini exchanged looks and smiled.

※※※

Dinner had come to an end. Tang En and Albertini and his family bid their goodbyes.

Albertini and his wife thanked Sophia before leaving to retrieve their car. Meanwhile, Tang En had stopped Wood.

“Hmm… I want to say something. You say that you have no commonalities with Demi at all. But, I disagree. Of course, from the surface, one is an extrovert, and the other is an introvert. However, I still think there’s a very big common factor between the two of you. Do you know what it is?”

Wood shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Seriousness. You’re both very serious people.” Tang En turned to look at Albertini, who was waving at him from inside the car. “I believe that serious people may have to live a tougher life than most others, but they always achieve great things.”

Tang En patted Wood’s shoulder and left, walking towards Albertini’s car. Demi had said he would take Tang En home.

Albertini was serious about football, about Milan, about his own love and family. Wood was serious about how he treated his mother and similarly serious in how he treated football; otherwise, he could not possibly achieve the results he had gotten today.

Tang En was halfway to the car when Sophia called out to him. “Tony, feel free to visit whenever you have the time.”

He turned with a smile and nodded at Sophia. “I will, Madam.”

※※※

Sophia and Wood only returned to their home after seeing Tang En and Albertini leave.

“George. It was Mr. Twain who called me, telling me you’ve recently met with some problems and hoping I could help. You’re a lucky boy, with so many people keeping you in their thoughts. So, you mustn’t let Mr. Twain down.”

The mother gently ruffled her son’s hair.

“Yes, I know now,” her son said, vigorously nodding his head.

Chapter 351 - The Champions League Grouping Part 1

As the timing of the second leg of the Champions League qualifying match with Villarreal had clashed with the third round of the English Premier League, Nottingham Forest’s third round in the Premier League was postponed to December 14. The Forest team was now ranked within the first group with a score of six points from two victories.

With their qualification in the Champions League, the Forest team now seemed to come across as a strong team.

Just as everyone was beginning to feel that way, the Forest team lost to Fulham by 0:1 in the away game two days later on August 27th.

The outcome was a surprise to everyone. After the game, the media used the word “upset” to describe the game. Before the game, no one had thought that Forest would lose. The betting companies gave favorable odds and were all optimistic about the Forest team. They did not expect the Forest team to lose in the away game to Fulham, which was in the lower middle rankings.

The Forest players were very active and gave all that they had. However, Fulham’s tight defensive formation was very effective. The Forest team inevitably became impatient after seventy-five minutes of not scoring.

Twain knew what had happened.

Having qualified for the Champions League tournament, his bunch of boys was overly excited. They were energetic on the field but did not channel their energy into the right places. He watched them repeatedly run half distances to intercept the ball, make mistakes during passing, intercept the ball again, and then make mistakes again during passing. It was no surprise that the game was lost in the end.

Twain did not lose his temper over it. He thought that it was still a good result. Sometimes it was necessary to lose a game. It was better to concede at this point than to lose at a crucial moment. He did not want his team to be unbeaten for thirty-eight consecutive rounds to win the championship and then to take a dive in the next season. He did not care about such records. Nothing was more important to him than the end result. If a loss was more beneficial for an ultimate win, he was happy to lose.

That was the case now. If the team had won in succession, he could not be sure if it would produce any adverse thinking within the team, but it would certainly be detrimental to the team’s continued progress. Although it was not intentional, it was just the thing to lose to a weak team in the fourth round of the league. It would help to make the excitable boys understand reality and calm down. Otherwise, they might suffer a heavier blow down the road.

Therefore, at the post-match press conference, Twain said, “I don’t think it’s a bad thing to lose a game occasionally.”

Some people thought he was stubborn and refused to admit the failure. However, whether it was the case or not, Twain would show them eventually.

※※※

Twain did not follow the team back to Nottingham. Together with Evan Doughty, he flew directly to Zurich, Switzerland from London to take part in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony for the new season at UEFA headquarters.

He had participated in the UEFA Europa League draw ceremony before. However, the draw ceremony for the Champions League was on a different level. It could be seen as a gathering of the most powerful managers in Europe, and one which was packed full of firepower too.

The draw had not started yet. Those who went early to the draw location and managers who knew each other would gather together to chat. Twain was still a newcomer to European football. He did not know any managers there. Even though he came early, nobody talked to him. So he and Evan sat quietly as spectators on the side.

Fabio Capello was not so serious as he was on the side of the technical area. At this moment, he smiled and chatted with others. He looked distinguished with his glasses on.

Frank Rijkaard was flushed with success in the last two seasons. His team’s popularity had soared in European football. His popularity had also risen rapidly in coaching circles. There were a lot of people chatting with him. Twain roughly counted that there were always five people around him.

Ferguson had a lofty status in England. It was the same in European football. As the creator of the Manchester United era, he had a stellar reputation in coaching circles. Naturally, one would never find the Frenchman, Arsène Wenger, within ten feet of him.

The Arsenal manager was not there yet.

“I thought you would go up there and look for a topic to cut into the conversation.” Evan pointed to the small group of managers.

Twain snorted. “I’m not interested.” His team was one of the thirty-two participating teams. He had come to participate in the draw ceremony, not to attend a tea party.

Evan laughed. “But I’m really happy that my team can be here for this. It was still just a plan two years ago.”

“In two years, these people will come to talk to us on their own initiative.” Twain pointed to the crowd in the hall.

Twain was not the only one who appeared unsociable. The media outside the door suddenly fired up with a lot of camera flashes, accompanied by screaming female voices from onlooking fans.

Such scenes were rare in coaches’ gatherings. Most of the supporters were calmer. They just asked for autographs or took pictures. There were never any screams because most managers did not have anything that women would scream for.

That type of behavior was reserved for superstar players’ appearances.

Some of the managers in the conversations were attracted by the commotion at the door. Even Evan got up and looked over. Twain snorted while he sat. “Don’t look. Such a grand entrance can only be José Mourinho.”

He continued to gaze steadily ahead as if everything that happened at the door had nothing to do with him.

Evan sat down. “It’s interesting that a manager is more popular and well-received than his players.”

The person who entered was indeed a casually-dressed Mourinho. He gave no indication that he had noticed his welcome as he walked in with a blank expression. He slightly swept his gaze across the hall and paid no mind to the people who looked at him. He found an empty seat and went straight to it.

But…

Coincidentally, the vacant seat he found was next to Twain. Mourinho only realized it when he walked over. He was momentarily taken aback.

It was problematic for both of them to turn a blind eye to each other at such a close distance.

Mourinho smiled. “Mr. Twain, we meet again so soon.”

“Hello.” Twain had to stand up to greet him.

“Oh, I forgot to congratulate you on breaking into the Champions League.” Mourinho extended his hand.

“Thank you.” Twain also reached out with his hand. The two men briefly shook hands.

“Mr. Twain, I’m suddenly very interested. You did say we would meet again in the Champions League, didn’t you?” Twain had thought that they would not speak again after they each took their seats at the end of their brief exchange. He had not expected another question from Mourinho.

“You mean at the group stage?” Twain pretended to be confused.

“No, that was too unlikely. Teams from the same league have little chance of being in the same group.”

“Then I don’t think we’ll have a chance to meet.”

Mourinho shrugged. “What a pity. It could be interesting.” Then he pulled his chair and sat down.

The inexplicable start of their conversation came to an inexplicable end.

Twain looked at Mourinho who sat beside him, not doing anything. No one took the initiative to come up to talk to the young manager who had been in the limelight for the last two years.

He recalled some of the comments and articles he had read before about Mourinho. The reports might have been biased, but the Portuguese man’s relations with people did not seem good.

When he first came to England, he had almost offended all the managers in the English football circle. Maybe some people stayed away due to their jealousy of Mourinho’s current accomplishments. Whatever the reason was, Mourinho and Twain currently had something in common. There was a lively crowd in front of them, but it was deserted around them.

Arsène Wenger and the AC Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti, only came at the last minute. As soon as they entered the hall one after another, Wenger was delighted to see Twain and came over to say hello. However, he completely ignored Mourinho next to him. The two men’s discord was so deep that it was definitely not just a rumor.

After the two men arrived, the draw was about to begin. The UEFA officials told the managers to enter the venue. After they were seated, the media began to focus on the new season’s Champions League group draw after the announcement, with their camera lenses all lined up.

At the same time, the supporters of those teams all over the world looked forward to the results of the draw. After all, this likely concerned the fates of the teams they supported this season.

Tang En had not done such a thing when he was a fan because he did not have a fixed team that he would support. But he had been surrounded by a lot of such people who would go through all kinds of emotions with their favorite teams.

As it was just a Champions League draw ceremony, there was no elaborate cultural performance. After the introduction of the thirty-two teams, they entered the most crucial step, which was the draw.

Tang En already could not remember the UEFA Champions League grouping for the 05-06 season in the world he had used to be in. Anyway, he believed that it would not be exactly the same as he remembered. Villarreal had been replaced by Nottingham Forest. It would be impossible for it to stay the same now.

Chapter 352 - The Champions League Grouping Part 2

Since 1955, the Frenchman Gabriel Jarno had advocated for the establishment of a fixed event between European clubs. Since the start of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup up to the 05-06 season, the UEFA Champions League had gone through fifty years of history. During those fifty years, the Champions League had started from scratch, from a cup competition to a league tournament, from the name change to the repeated adjustment of the competition format. It had undergone many changes. But what had remained the same was that the tournament symbolized the highest honor among the European football clubs.

There might be fans who often argued about which country had the highest league standard and which country’s league was the best European league. But when it came to the clubs’ highest honor, no one would doubt the prestige of the Champions League.

Up until a few years ago, there was still a saying in the football world: The World Cup’s watchability, standard, and prestige were not as good as the UEFA Champions League. There was also a more extreme saying, which was that even if the World Cup were to be canceled, it was enough to watch the Champions League.

Obviously, that was preposterous, and no one took it seriously.

However, it showed the Champions League’s status.

For current football clubs, participation in the Champions League was not just about honor. It had more to do with the club’s budget in the new season. A large number of ticket sales, television broadcast royalties, and bonuses for each match had made many clubs set breaking into the Champions League as their highest goal. Many small league teams could reap immeasurable amounts of money as long as they could enter the Champions League once. It could even be said that if a team in a state of financial distress broke into the Champions League, it was likely to revive the team. Such was the power of money and the power of the Champions League.

It was still a big attraction for the Forest team.

Evan Doughty was not Roman Abramovich. He could not invest unlimited money in the club. He could not afford to let the club lose one hundred million pounds a year to win the championship and still live well.

Participating in the Champions League was a very useful supplement to the Forest team’s finances. Forest would have more funds to invest in the transfer market, the club’s daily operations, and its facilities.

In Allan’s budget report to Evan, he pointed out that as long as the team could enter the Champions League tournament every season, the club’s finances would continue to improve without needing to rely on Evan’s personal capital injections. The club could then be self-sufficient and profitable.

The Champions League grouping had two key points. One was to establish the seeded teams to ensure that the strong teams would not meet prematurely. The other point was common knowledge but not openly disclosed: the artificial control of the draw.

Was it considered fair to draw lots? Not necessarily; the ballot also contained an element of human control. This approach was first proposed due to “political considerations” to avoid situations whereby some of the politically sensitive countries’ teams could happen to be in the same groups. For instance, the Soviet Union and Albania at that time, or Greece and Turkey. Later, the political impact slowly faded and artificial control became the main means of guaranteeing ticket sales and broadcasting revenue.

Twain absolutely did not believe it was a coincidence that Chelsea and Barcelona had been grouped together for three consecutive years. Everyone liked to watch the battle between Barcelona, the representative of the beautiful game, and Chelsea, the powerful upstart. And the draw results satisfied everyone’s wishes. Obviously, this draw did not happen at a group stage draw, but at the draw after the knockout stage. For two consecutive seasons, Barcelona and Chelsea were drawn together. The third time, the two arch-rivals were even directly put together into the same group.

That was the case in Tang En’s memory. In the Champions League last season, during round 16, Chelsea had ousted Barcelona in two rounds, which caused enmity between the two teams. He could not remember this season’s Champions League group draw circumstances. He could only sit there quietly and wait for the results.

The Champions League group stage was divided into eight groups, in alphabetical order of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. Each group had a seeded team. The UEFA would divide thirty-two teams into four tiers. The seeded team of each group would be determined first and then the four teams in each group would be drawn.

Group A’s seeded team was from Serie A, “The Old Lady” Juventus.

Group B’s seeded team was the La Liga powerhouse, Barcelona.

Group C’s seeded team was England’s Arsenal, “The Gunners.”

Group D’s seeded team was from La Liga, the team which had won the most Champions League titles, “Galácticos” Real Madrid.

Group E’s seeded team was the Italian powerhouse club, AC Milan.

Group F’s seeded team was “The Red Devils,” Manchester United.

Group G’s seeded team was England’s traditional and strong team, Liverpool.

Group H’s seeded team came from Milan, Italy: Inter Milan.

After the seeded teams in the eight groups were determined, the draw began for the other teams.

As the small balls were removed from the glass bowl one after another, they were each opened and pieces of paper with the names of the clubs were displayed in front of the camera and then uploaded to the large screen onsite. There was a constant stream of voices of wonder, joy, and discontent.

The hands of destiny fiddled with the small balls in the box and played with the moods of all the managers.

Because the Forest team had broken into the Champions League again after twenty-four years, no matter how brilliant they had been twenty-four years ago, now they could only be counted as a fourth tier team. They would be drawn last.

Mourinho’s Chelsea was placed among the second-tier teams. When the person in charge of the draw opened Group G and the next person took out a written “Chelsea” note, there was a huge commotion for the first time.

In the Champions League last season, it was Liverpool which had eliminated Chelsea in the semi-finals before they had advanced into the finals to create that unforgettable reversal. Unexpectedly, those two arch rivals had come together today again. Some people whistled to gloat, and some people watched the show indifferently. Mourinho looked blank and expressionless while Benítez frowned.

Who could believe that there was no artificial manipulation in the UEFA draw?

At the very least, Mourinho and Benítez did not believe it.

Twain thought of what Mourinho had said to him before: “The odds of the teams from the same country league being in the same group are too narrow.”

That was really a farce. He also sniggered along with the others.

However, Twain’s laughter did not last long. Soon after, he frowned as well.

The draw of the fourth-tier teams began. The first letter to be taken out was “D.” Which unlucky team would be in the same group as Real Madrid, Benfica and Lille, and become the target to snatch points from?

The second person took a small ball out of the box, opened it and pulled out the folded note. He glanced at it, flipped it to show the audience, and reported the team’s name at the same time:

“Nottingham Forest.”

Chapter 353 - Round One: City Ground Part 1

The group draw ceremony for the 05-06 season of UEFA Champions League had just ended. Nottingham Forest drew Group D. Included in the same group were La Liga’s powerhouse, Real Madrid; last season’s champions of the Primeira Liga, S.L. Benfica; and the previous runner-up in France Ligue 1, Lille.

To Forest Team, the abilities of that group were far from weak; any one of those teams could bring them a lot of trouble.

Lille was perhaps the only opponent they could hold any kind of expectation for.

Real Madrid had practically made reservations on one of the advancement slots; no one would doubt that. No one believed that Real Madrid would be unable to advance from a mere group stage. That meant there was only one more advancement placement left amongst Benfica, Lille, and Nottingham Forest.

When Tang En had brought Shania to tour Spain in the summer of 2003, he had told her outside the grounds of Bernabéu that there were only two possibilities that would warrant him entering this stadium: one, that he became the main manager of Real Madrid and walked into this sanctum as its owner; or two, he leads a team to Bernabéu for a match and walks in as Real Madrid’s enemy, an opponent.

He had not expected for the second possibility to turn into reality so quickly.

Group D was not known as the Group of Death. The analysis of Europe’s media deemed Nottingham Forest and Lille to be teams that had no hope of advancing. Instead, they were thought to be the first targets for Real Madrid and Benfica to mine points and goal differences from as the two competed to get the first position in the group. That perspective was brought up by someone during the press conference at the end of the draw with Tang En.

“I don’t really mind being a slab of meat waiting to be slaughtered, but I hope the people preparing to butcher us sharpen their cleavers first. Otherwise, they might damage their own blades instead.”

Tang En did not show any inkling of fear or worry. On the contrary, the media felt that Tony Twain appeared to be brimming with confidence.

However, on the flight returning from Zurich to London, Tang En’s tightened brows could not relax.

He was deep in thought about how they could advance into the best 16 from among the group.

Lille, who was at about the same level as the Forest Team, was an opponent that Tang En felt it was necessary to take down. Only after taking both rounds of the match would they have the qualification to fight for an advancement. It was just like preventing relegation in the League. If they were unable to accumulate enough points from the weaker teams, they could not hope to be able to turn the tables on the stronger ones.

The Group Stage was a two-legged tie in both the home and away fields. Tang En did not wish to put his stake on the matches against Real Madrid. The key was to win both matches against Lille.

Time was extremely tight. After he got back, he needed to commence his attack strategy for the Champions League.

According to match schedule, Nottingham Forest would be welcoming to their home grounds the La Liga giants, Real Madrid, in their first Group Stage match.

To Evan, that was great news. The ticket revenue from their home ground, as well as dividends from the TV broadcast, would all go to Nottingham Forest. Real Madrid’s arrival would certainly make City Ground, which was popular to begin with, even more popular. That way, large sums of money would be rolling into Forest’s bank account.

But to Tang En… His brows furrowed even more tightly. George Wood’s bar from matches was still in enforcement with two more matches to go. It would be officially enforced from the beginning of the Group Stage matches. Without Wood, Tang En was unconvinced that they could shut down the terrifying force coming from Real Madrid. Although Real Madrid was undergoing consistent internal conflict, their football stars each had the ability to resolve problems on their own. Zidane, Ronaldo, Raúl, Roberto Carlos, and Beckham… the names were enough to dazzle anyone and be a source of an immense headache.

※※※

During their first training back in Nottingham, Tang En spoke to his team.

“Guys, I’m sure you already know what opponents you’ll be facing in the Champions League Group Stage. In 10 days, we’ll be welcoming Real Madrid into City Ground. How about it? Does that name make you unsteady on your feet? Is your heart beating faster?”

Ribéry raised his hand.

“Boss, my heart is beating faster. But, my legs haven’t gone soft. So, it’s not because I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to the match!”

“That’s right, Boss. We’re all looking forward to it!”

“It’s only worth it when we play against strong teams!”

Watching his players all raring to go, Tang En was reminded of when he had gone to the bar yesterday to chat with Burns. He bumped into John and the rest and they had talked about the night of the group draw. That group of hardcore fans had been watching in the Forest Bar. Their reactions at the end, when the draw revealed Nottingham Forest to be in the same group as Real Madrid, was a far cry from what Tang En had imagined; the bar had erupted into unanimous cheers.

John said to Tang En, “Tony, to be honest, we’re no longer that interested in watching you guys play against weak teams. We want to watch Forest match up with strong teams. The stronger our opponents, the more excited we get.”

Tang En rolled his eyes. “You guys just can’t wait for Forest to lose?”

“No. Who says we’ll lose? I believe that the stronger our opponents are, the greater our chances are of victory,” John said with a laugh. “Tony, this is the confidence you gave us.”

“Real Madrid is not just a team we’ve traditionally called strong.”

“Of course, we know. That’s why we’re looking forward to this even more.”

John raised his beer as he stood and opened his arms wide, shouting, “Cheers to Forest Team and this incredible grouping! Cheers for Forest Team! For victory!”

“For victory! For Forest!” The people in the bar yelled. Tang En held his beer as he lightly shook his head.

He could not let these people down; that gave him even greater pressure than aiming to get the championship.

Tang En, coming back to the present, found himself still on the training grounds. With a wave of his hand, he signaled for the players to quiet down.

“Very good. No matter what kind of opponents you meet, you can’t lose your spirit and confidence. Now, go train!”

※※※

In fact, Tang En did not believe that surrendering was the only way out of facing Real Madrid. Truthfully, it was not just Real Madrid. Even if pitted against any rich and powerful team from Continental Europe, Tang En would not simply surrender.

In recent years, Real Madrid had been full of internal conflict; all sorts of negative news emerged endlessly from their locker room, and the team’s capabilities deteriorated year after year. Tang En could use that when the time came.

He remembered that this season was the time when the “Galácticos” would fall apart; the season of their separation and departure from the historic stage. Just before the end of the season, Zidane would announce his official retirement after competing in the World Cup. Even before Zidane, already in summer at the beginning of the season, Figo had joined Inter Milan on a free transfer. This period of history had played out the same way as it had in Tang En’s recollection. Tang En was certain that the era of Real Madrid’s “Galácticos, Fight of the Superstars” would soon come to its end in this world.

Even on their home grounds, it was probably going to be a great challenge to take down Real Madrid. However, Tang En intended to try; his original plan was to hold onto one point and defend, using high pressing as a strategy and sticking relentlessly to them. Sacrificing their offense and stamina, they would firmly hold back Real Madrid.

Now, he suddenly wanted to see if he could win.

※※※

After the fourth round of the Premier League, between the end of August and mid-September, Forest had no matches to play; they could put all their focus into preparing for the Champions League Group Stage.

Tang En intended on going all out against Real Madrid on Forest’s home grounds. In that case, he needed to adjust his strategy. It was almost certainly useless to try to defend in this match. Due to Wood’s absence, Forest’s defense system was severely crippled. Tang En figured that he might as well throw caution to the wind and make a gamble. Anyway, if he only defended, the odds of losing a ball were huge. If they attacked… They might get lucky and even score.

However, the starting line-up was causing some headache for Tang En. While George Wood was not the only defending midfielder on the Forest Team, he was the only one in Tang En’s eyes. Tang En could not trust Gunnarsson’s abilities; not in a match like this.

On another note, Sun Jihai was bought to be their utility player. However, faced with Real Madrid, Tang En did not dare to let Sun Jihai be a starter against a team at their level. Furthermore, he knew that Sun Jihai excelled not in defending, but in assisting. Now that Forest’s offense was not lacking in manpower, the problem of defense in the central midfield was becoming apparent.

Either Piqué or Pepe could play briefly as an interim defensive midfielder, but they were, in the current season, Forest’s immovable center back duo. If one of them went to play as a defensive midfielder, who would play as a center back? Matthew Upson? Wes Morgan? Neither of them could set Tang En’s heart at ease.

His head starting hurting. Why was their first Group Stage match against an opponent like Real Madrid? Wood’s ban from matches affected the condition of the entire team. And it just happened that Wood’s substitute was immensely difficult to find; it had to be a player whose abilities were somewhat on par, yet also a person willing to sit on the bench for more than 30 matches in a season. Any player with such abilities would likely be poached by another club. Why would they choose to be a substitute on Forest?

In the end, Tang En decided to move Pepe forward into the midfield to play as a defensive midfielder. He had played that position for a period when he was in FC Porto, so he was not unfamiliar with it. For the center backs, Tang En partnered Piqué and Wes Morgan, forming a young defensive line.

Frankly, Tang En did not have any confidence in the duo’s ability to defend against Ronaldo and Raúl.

Chapter 354 - Round One: City Ground Part 2

Even though Raúl’s current condition could not be compared to before, and Ronaldo had already gotten fat enough to be out of human shape, the two players were superstars who could decide the win or loss of a match given just three seconds of time and some space. Forest did not have any such players. Tang En could not guarantee that his players would be able to, without the least bit of slack, pin down the two throughout the entire 90 minutes of the match.

Additionally, Forest’s current center back combination in the match had rarely been partnered.

Following an in-depth analysis, Tang En felt that it was much too tough, even on their home grounds, to defeat Real Madrid in Forest’s current situation.

Every day after getting home, Tang En would sit with Dunn and look through recordings of Real Madrid’s matches, hoping to find a weakness to exploit.

“I don’t think Real Madrid is undefeatable, provided you score first.” Dunn said to Tang En. “If you allow Real Madrid to get a goal first, then you can just wait and watch yourself lose.”

“We can have a guaranteed victory if we score first?”

“Of course not. But, it can improve your chances of success…” Dunn contemplated for a bit, and said, “by 20%.”

“What a depressing analysis. Forget it. I don’t want to care anymore about all of this. Regardless of if we can win, or our chances of winning, at the very least we have to go all out in the match.”

Hearing that, Dunn expressed it differently. “If you know that your chances of winning aren’t high, what’s the point of devoting so much effort to this match? This is not an elimination round. There are still many more matches to go in the Group Stage. If you suffer too much loss here, it would affect your future.”

Tang En interrupted him, saying, “This problem can’t be only considered from the match results or match schedule. In other words, it can’t simply be considered from the point of football competition itself. Do you know what Nottingham Forest depended on, this past two and a half years, to get from the EPL to the Premier League, and from UEFA Europa to Champions League? Skill? Sure, of course, we have skill; but we don’t have the kind of ability that would allow us to skyrocket like we did. Luck? Maybe. We haven’t gotten many injuries or illnesses. Our luck is pretty good too. But what’s most crucial is the spirit this Forest Team has. An undying spirit and a refusal to lose. It is exactly that spirit that allowed Forest to create so many unimaginable results that others don’t even dare dream of. We aren’t afraid of any team and we certainly won’t concede. Don’t you think I know the priorities of a match? Of course, I know. But, as the main manager of the team, I must stay unwavering; I must preserve this spirit for the team.”

“There are some matches that we seem to have absolutely no hope of winning. Even then, I will tell my players, ‘We can definitely win. We must make those who so confidently declared our certain loss eat their words!'”

Tang En balled his hands. His Forest Team was familiar enough with such things.

“Then, even if we really fail to win the match, in the end, the victors will always be us. I won’t keep arguing about the theory of an indomitable spirit, but if a team doesn’t even have that spirit… then, there’s no difference between Forest and those who are struggling, going back and forth in the lower levels of the league, thinking only of how they can prevent relegation.”

“I absolutely cannot tell my players to give up on this match and rest well to prepare for the next one. Perhaps that’s the truth; but, I must not say that out loud. Once I verbalize it, it means I approve of that attitude. In the future, when there’s a situation in a match, when the time comes that needs us to do our best, my players would remember those words. And then, they would say that since they have already given up once, there’s no big deal to giving up again. After all, they would have other matches in the future to play, and their manager would surely agree with doing so… That’s a very scary thought. It would spread like a pestilence.”

Tang En stretched out his hands and waved agitatedly.

“Quietly, without us realizing, it would erode the spirits and ambition of our players. At that point, the team would be finished. Regardless of how good the manager’s strategy is, they would be helpless managing such a team.”

“A team needs to have a soul. And the soul of Forest Team is knowing that something cannot be done, but continuing to try, regardless.”

Tang En ended his speech. Dunn raised his head and stared at him for a long while before slowly saying, “You’re indeed… more suited to being the main manager than I am.”

※※※

Just as they had analyzed prior to the match, Real Madrid was tough to deal with despite their numerous internal conflicts. But, Dunn was right about one thing: Forest scored first.

At the beginning of the match, Forest unexpectedly took up an all-offense stance, completely taking Real Madrid’s manager, Brazilian Luxemburgo, by surprise. He had thought that when going up against the mighty Real Madrid, Forest would first try to steadily defend. Contrary to that, Forest’s apparent strong start threw Real Madrid for a loop.

The superstars of Real Madrid seemed somewhat at a loss facing the aggressive attacks from Forest’s youth.

Finally, in the seventh minute, Casillas failed to defend the goal. Ribéry’s goal ignited the atmosphere in the stadium. Tang En also appeared extremely excited, as if he had seen the dawning light of victory.

However, after taking the lead, the pace of the match gradually fell under the control of Real Madrid. Pepe, after all, was not an actual defensive midfielder; it was a little exacting for him to be marking Zidane. Forest could only depend on their stamina and a numerical advantage in certain areas of their defense. The price of that was a lack of opportunity to attack.

The Forest Team, who had gained a lead, conversely became suppressed by Real Madrid and appeared to be in a sorry state.

Before the end of the first half, Real Madrid equalized the score. The scorer was neither Raúl nor Ronaldo. It was the midfield player David Beckham, who shot off his signature move: a Full Moon Scimitar free kick.

Beckham’s popularity in the UK was immense; after his goal, applause from the home team fans could be heard in City Ground.

Tang En could do little against such losses. Before the match, he had already emphasized not giving Real Madrid too many free kick opportunities at the front of the penalty area. His players had all taken the job seriously. Faced with Real Madrid’s tidal wave of attacks, they only gave them two such opportunities in the danger zone; the first was kicked out by Beckham, while the second was a goal.

The goal was not a loss due to their strategy. It was a loss because of the individual capability of a football star.

“David Beckham! A flawless goal! Edwin van der Sar had no cards to play!”

Seeing Beckham hug his teammates in celebration on the field, Tang En suddenly remembered that that person would be heading to America, a football desert, two years later, and end his professional career there. Whatever the reason for it, it still felt regrettable.

The situation did not take a turn for the better in the second half. Real Madrid continued their domination of both sides of the field in the away arena. No one usually felt anything special, but when Wood was absent from the match, everyone could feel the difference. It was not a problem of having one less player; they felt as if they had two less.

Pepe could not defend against Zidane at all. Other than having a large skill difference, the demands of a defensive midfielder were completely different from a center back; he found the position quite challenging.

Tang En decided to go all in. Taking Wes Morgan off, he moved Pepe back to his position of center back, into familiar territory and one that Pepe excelled at. Then, he substituted in a forward – Bendtner. That way, Forest changed their formation to 4:3:3. Basically, they gave up on midfield defense in the hopes that a crazy enough offense would be able to force back Real Madrid’s bluster, allowing them to score another goal and gain an edge in the situation.

Tang En half-succeeded. Forest, who had just adjusted, displayed an imposing spirit that was unexpected by Real Madrid players; they managed to push back Real Madrid’s offense.

Facing Forest’s wave after wave of attacks, even Real Madrid could not afford to be too careless; after all, their defensive line had never put anyone at ease. Luxemburgo’s team started to focus heavily on their defense. For a long period, there were no changes to the score.

The match looked as if it would end with a draw. Tang En thought that would not be too bad if it were to be the case. At least they could not be losing points first.

What was the difference between powerhouses and normal football teams? It could not be said that they had brilliant managers, or that their strategies were better than a normal team’s. However, they had superstars: players who could, on their own, be a deciding factor of the match.

In the final five minutes of the match, Ronaldo, who had been on a stroll for the past 85 minutes, suddenly sprang into action. He successfully reversed an offside and received a long pass to the backfield from Beckham. Breaking through into the penalty area, he easily got past Edwin van der Sar and, with a push, shot into the open goal. The score became 1:2. Forest had fallen behind on their home ground.

“Five minutes! It’s not over yet!” With a wave of Tang En’s hands, the whole team pressed forward. Whether they lost by a goal, two goals, or even three made little difference; a loss was a loss. This was not an elimination match, so there was no away goal rule. With the whole team pressing forward, perhaps they might be able to even the score.

Tang En’s aim had gone from winning the match to equalizing the score.

In the end, things did not go as he wished. Reality was cruel. On their home ground, Nottingham Forest lost 1:2 to the “Galácticos,” Real Madrid.

Real Madrid had a great opening for their new season of the Champions League. Meanwhile, Forest Team’s prospects of advancing had a shadow cast on them.

In the press conference after the match, Tang En expressed his indignance at their loss. He continually emphasized that his team had lost to two people, Beckham and Ronaldo; in other words, what he meant was that Real Madrid did not truly defeat Forest.

“I acknowledge that Wood’s absence has brought us tremendous trouble. I will give everyone a surprise the next time we go to Bernabéu.”

This fitted Tang En’s style of never losing the verbal battle despite losing the game. But, how many would take his words seriously?

Some of the reporters from Spain started laughing, and so did a few of England’s media. The prior laughed disdainfully, but the latter… That was a little more complicated; Pierce Brosnan was also among the laughing members.

Chapter 355 - Who Had the Red Card? Part 1

Losing a Champions League group match did not affect the morale of the Forest team. When they returned to the Premier League competition, the Forest team defeated Portsmouth in the City Ground stadium by 2:0. In five rounds of the league competition, other than the postponement of the third round, the Forest team had won thrice and conceded once, which gave them a score of nine points. They were still within the first block.

The most surprising team this season so far was no longer the Forest team. It was not remarkable at this point if Twain’s team performed well because everyone knew that the Forest team had the ability.

It was Charlton’s performance that many people had not expected. After the five rounds of competition, Charlton won four out of four games with one more game to make up. They had twelve points and were placed second in the league, at the heels of the top-ranked Chelsea.

Liverpool and Arsenal also shocked people with their performances. The two traditionally strong teams had been ranked outside of the top eight after five rounds of the new season. Short of one game, Arsenal had two victories and two defeats with six points in the ninth spot. Two games behind, Liverpool had one victory and two draws. They only had five points and ranked 11th.

The impact of the Champions League matches on those teams competing in multiple tournaments had become increasingly apparent. Twain also needed to learn to cope with the challenge.

The Forest team was fortunate. After they had just lost to Real Madrid, they would face a weak team in the league competition, which gave them a breather. Otherwise, the upcoming intensive schedule would certainly make the Forest team suffer.

On August 19 was the fifth round in the Premier League competition.

In the sixth round of the league competition on August 22, the Forest team played against Everton at home. Moyes’ team was in a bad state, and Twain had no qualms about striking them when they were down this time.

Next, on August 25th, the league’s seventh round, the Forest team would challenge Arsenal in an away match. This was also the highlight round of the league.

※※※

Twain noticed that recently Anelka had been very enthusiastic during training. At first, he thought it was strange, but when he saw the competition schedule, he understood.

For example, on August 25, in the seventh round of the league, Nottingham Forest would play against Arsenal in an away game.

Twain did not know what Arsenal represented to Anelka in his career. But he knew it must have left a deep impression on him.

Watching Anelka exerting his utmost strength on the training ground, Twain snickered inwardly. Money is not the only driving force for you to play…

Unsurprisingly, the gossipy English media would not give up the hype on that topic. What will happen when the former number 9 striker returns to Highbury? The mingling of gratitude and enmity between the mentor and protégé, the fans’ mixed emotions... And what would Anelka do to Arsenal? Who was going to avenge whom?

Consequently, a reporter asked that question at the team’s weekly regular press conference. Twain’s answer was, “I certainly want Anelka to score. Which manager doesn’t want his striker to score? Of course, I know that Arsenal holds a special significance for Anelka. He wants to score goals in this game, and I want that too. But I want to focus on the opponent we’re facing right now, which is Everton.”

The reporters did not listen to Twain. They revolved around the wildly speculated grievances between Arsenal and Anelka as if the Forest team’s rival was not Everton in the next round, but Arsenal.

On August 22nd, the Forest team ushered in their sixth round opponents, Everton, in the City Ground stadium as scheduled.

No one could be blamed for ignoring Everton either. After the start of the new season, Everton had been unable to get into a groove. The impact of losing the Champions League qualification last season at the last minute had proved too great for them. A large number of newly purchased players had brought a lot of breaking-in problems to the team, which prevented their overall fighting strength from taking shape. Moyes was also powerless and could only helplessly watch the league begin. With only one win and three defeats, Everton ranked in the bottom third and fell into the relegation zone!

That abysmal performance made Forest assume that they would easily win the game without any surprises and sprinkle another handful of salt to Everton’s wound.

But in reality, Forest was violently contested by Everton on their home ground.

Perhaps last season’s Champions League qualification being robbed by them caused Everton to be particularly spirited when it came to the Forest team. They pressed like crazy throughout the entire game and played using their utmost strength.

This completely exceeded Twain’s expectations. He had not expected Everton to be so high-spirited against the Forest Team when they had played so appallingly before.

The Forest players could not adapt properly to Everton’s frantic push, and they adjusted even more poorly in their mentality.

They were so flustered by Everton’s rushing that their formation was disrupted.

Eleven minutes after the start of the game, Everton seized hold of a Forest player’s mistake and scored the first goal!

City Ground stadium quieted down. The fans had not expected this: Everton, which was originally thought to be a pushover, had suddenly flared up! And they were even ahead in this away game! What was going on?

“Moyes is doing this to tell the Forest team, which didn’t take them seriously before this game, that Everton is not to be messed with! While everyone was still talking about Arsenal and Anelka, Everton scored a goal to wake everyone up to reality. The Forest team is now one goal behind!”

The commentator was right. Everton’s goal made the Forest team return to reality. After they conceded a goal, the Forest players calmed down. They were not anxious and knew how to win the game.

In terms of strength, Everton could no longer compete with the Forest team throughout the season. Moyes knew this. Twain’s team had made rapid progress. But he hoped to win a victory in this local campaign, which was also to get even for last season’s match.

Moyes might think so, but Twain would not let him succeed.

Just before the end of the first half, the Forest team equalized the score. Anelka was the one who scored. The Frenchman had become the Forest team’s core striker, and the team’s offensive tactics were built around him.

Twain kept his word. As long as Anelka continued to score, he would be the core of the Forest team’s offense.

And Anelka repaid Twain’s trust with a steady number of goals.

It looked as if he and the manager were still in their honeymoon phase.

At the beginning of the second half, Anelka was given a yellow card for a foul, which was an unwarranted foul. When the opponents took possession of the ball in the center circle to do a cross, the eager Anelka rushed up and tackled the Everton player, Tim Cahill, who had already sent out the ball.

The referee presented a yellow card to Anelka, and no one took it to heart. The striker’s chances of getting a yellow card were not high. One yellow card would not affect his future.

Moyes adjusted his tactics in the second half. He withdrew the team’s formation, but the pressure remained. The Forest team offense was not very smooth. Arteta often faced two Everton players closing in on him alone and often lost control of the ball. Under the circumstance, Anelka had to withdraw from the penalty area and actively return to the midfield to get the ball.

The minutes of the game ticked by and the score was fixed at 1:1. For the repeatedly defeated Everton, tying the away game with the Forest team was not an unacceptable thing. However, for the ambitious Twain, it was not good enough to be equalized by Everton, with their recent poor performances, at the home ground.

He let the team press forward and increase the force of their offense.

Anelka became more active. His dribbling and speed caused trouble for Everton.

As time slowly approached the end, the singing in the City Ground stands did not stop as they continued to cheer on the team. The Forest team also did not let up on the offense at all. Everton completely withdrew and did not attack.

They made up their minds to keep their one point.

Anelka would not let them get what they wanted. At the thought of the next game against Arsenal, he was full of inexhaustible power and would not be satisfied with just one goal. He wanted to score more goals in this game. He wanted to demonstrate ahead of time to Arsenal, Arsène Wenger, and David Dein, the Arsenal vice-chairman, and announce with more and more goals:

I, Nicolas Anelka, am back! I’ve returned to Highbury! This time, I will score in your goal and score plenty!

※※※

“Anelka has the ball now, and he’s on the move to swerve past Lee Carsley! Right to the goal!”

There was a huge cheer in the stands. The fans knew that Anelka was going to dribble the ball again to get past the opponents. That was one of the things the Forest fans looked forward to.

The Nigerian center back, Joseph Yobo, dared not make a hasty move. He could only follow at the heels of the advancing Anelka and try to block the angle of Anelka’s shot. Then he could leave it to his other teammates to besiege him.

Anelka could tell what Yobo had in mind. He certainly was not stupid enough to push himself to the point of being besieged. So, he suddenly started again and planned to rely on his speed to get rid of Yobo, knowing that Yobo did not dare to make the wrong move because they had entered the penalty area now.

Just as he blew past Yobo like the wind, the Nigerian man put his foot out.

Anelka saw the football roll over, and somehow his foot was obstructed. He staggered and tumbled to the ground.

“Penalty kick!!” Over twenty thousand Forest fans in the stands gave a deafening roar.

Twain jumped up from his seat with his fist clenched.

The referee blew his whistle.

Chapter 356 - Who Had the Red Card? Part 2

“A penalty kick… Oh! This is too dramatic!” The commentator changed his tune in time as he saw that the referee did not point towards the penalty kick spot after he whistled. Instead, he ran towards Anelka, lying on the ground with his hand on his chest pocket.

Twain gaped in shock on the sidelines. He could hardly believe his eyes.

After a brief silence in the stands, a shrill jeering suddenly rang out.

The Forest players had originally rushed towards Anelka, ready to embrace him in celebration. But instead, they turned towards the referee midway.

Anelka jumped up from the ground when he saw the referee’s hand reach into his chest pocket. He darted to the front of the referee and grabbed the referee’s hand. He tried to push the yellow corner back into his pocket.

“I did not dive! They fouled! It’s a foul!” He widened his eyes and argued. Usually aloof and detached on the field, the French striker suddenly became emotionally agitated. “I’m not faking it! Damn…”

He knew what it meant if the referee pulled his hand out. But could he just stop the referee like that?

The referee jerked back by a step and broke free of Anelka’s hands. With a grim expression, he pulled a yellow card out of his chest pocket.

“This is Anelka’s second yellow card of the game!”

The Forest players surrounded the referee to try to stop him from pulling out the other colored card. Anelka was stunned for a second, and suddenly frantically wanted to rush into the crowd. But he was tightly held back by his two French compatriots, Ribéry and Chimbonda. They did not know what would happen if Anelka rushed in. But it was frightening to look at his ferocious expression.

“I did not dive! I did not! I did not do a damn dive!” Anelka, who was being held tightly, roared outside the crowd. But he could not change anything.

A hand raised in the crowd. At the top was a red card, a bright red which was brighter than the Forest team’s jersey.

Everyone looked up at the red card, including Anelka.

When he saw the red card, he suddenly stopped the senseless shouting and quieted down.

“Red card! Leave the field!”

Ribéry and Chimbonda felt that Anelka suddenly no longer struggled within their grip. So they slowly released their grip. But they still hung around closely, just in case.

Anelka suddenly sneered and then turned to leave the field.

The hissing over the City Ground stadium was deafening. No other sound could be heard.

※※※

On the sidelines, Twain was so angry that he stopped the fourth official, England’s golden whistle, Graham Poll. He growled like an angry lion. “Check the monitor! Look at the big screen! Which of the referees saw Anelka dive?! Dammit!”

“Mr. Twain, please mind your language,” Poll warned.

“Mind my language? What do you want me to do? My player has been wronged, and you want me to mind my language? Fine. You have that authority.” Twain nodded and then jabbed his finger towards the referee on the field. “Then how the hell am I going to remind that bastard to pay attention to his refereeing? Mr. Poll, you’re the golden whistle. You go look at the game monitor. Look at it! And see if it’s a dive or not!”

Poll shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Twain. Maybe it’s misjudged, but the referee can’t decide based a scene from the television broadcast. That’s a FIFA regulation.”

“To hell with the damn rules!” Twain brandished his fist and suddenly turned back to the technical area.

Poll looked at Twain’s angry figure and shook his head helplessly. It was not the first time he had dealt with this manager. He knew he could be a little outspoken when he was agitated. He thought about it and did not write the incident into the game report. The penalty just now was a mistake. Anelka’s breakthrough was clean. The Nigerian had turned slowly, and his foot had tripped the French striker, causing him to fall.

It was just a shame that Johnson, the referee of the game, was too young to have enough experience to enforce properly in the Premier League game. Even if the penalty was for a dive, there was no need for a yellow card. It was another mistake upon a mistake.

He turned to look at the top of the main stand. In an area unknown to him, there would be two supervisors from the Referees’ Association who were responsible for scoring the referee’s performance for each game. Those with low scores would be ordered to halt their enforcement of the Premier League level competitions. This would affect their incomes and application plus the assessment for their international refereeing qualifications.

※※※

“Anelka was sent off by a red card, which means he will not be able to appear with the team at Highbury in the next round of the league.” The commentator shook his head and said, “From the replay, that is indeed a misjudgment. The referee, Stephen Johnson, with only seven games of English Premier League experience, has made a mistake in this intense competition. It’s really a shame. Because of a young referee’s mistake, Anelka has to miss the match with Arsenal. It’s not unreasonable for Manager Twain to fly into a rage on the sidelines. His team’s main striker, the team’s top scorer, and the attacking core will be absent for the next big game against Arsenal due to an error in judgment!”

※※※

Treated unfairly by the referee, the Forest team with one player short broke out with a more powerful attack. In the final stage of the game, the Forest team was awarded a direct free kick in the front field. Arteta took the free kick and shot the ball into the Everton goal. The Forest team finally defeated Everton by 2:1 at the last minute.

At the post-match press conference, the referee’s decision became the focus of everyone’s attention. Twain naturally did not let go of his opportunity. Despite his team’s victory, he still harshly castigated the young referee for his performance.

“Yes, it’s stipulated in the game regulations that the penalty should be severe for a dive and the player doing the flop must be shown the yellow card. But I would like to ask Mr. Stephen Johnson this. Are you sure you saw Anelka do a flop? The rules are used to crack down on the real deceivers, not to let you flaunt your authority in front of the players!”

“We’ll sort out the video clips of this game, and then we’ll appeal to the league committee.”

※※※

The next morning, the Forest team submitted the video of the game and documents for the appeal to the league committee. But given the bureaucratic style of England and the fact that there were only two days left before the game with Arsenal, no one knew if Anelka could appear in Highbury.

Chapter 357 - Ups-and-Downs

No matter the result of Nottingham Forest’s appeal, the red card had already affected Anelka’s mood.

On that day, in the locker room after the end of the match, Anelka was as gloomy as a ghost. Just getting close to him gave the others a chill.

In truth, the usual Anelka was also pretty cold, but especially because of what had occurred, it was unusual for him to still be that way.

Tang En thought about it but decided not to approach the Frenchman for the time being. At this point, his mood could not be any good.

There were some things that should only be spoken of after the fact.

After the EFL Cup Committee and The Referees’ Association received Forest’s appeal, their answer to Forest was that they could only decide after further analysis. However, they did not state when that would take place.

Upon hearing their reply, Tang En cursed loudly in his office.

“The damn bureaucracy! Even if the analysis results of those bastards showed Anelka’s innocence, he would still have to miss out on the match against Arsenal!”

Furious as he was, Tang En had no other option. He could not possibly run all the way to the office of EPL’s committee and make a din there, could he?

He could only make use of the last stretch of time to practice a new strategy in training.

Freddy Eastwood’s recovery was not proceeding too optimistically, so Tang En would rather let him continue recuperating than force him back into the team.

Now that Anelka could not be fielded, there were only two forests that Forest Team could use: Mark Viduka and Nicklas Bendtner.

Tang En did not intend on sending both center-forwards into the field at the same time. In the away match against Arsenal, he was set on playing with the strategy of a defensive counterattack. He would be satisfied if he took away just a point from Highbury.

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s away match against Arsenal was one that received great attention.

But, such a heavy-weighted match did not fulfill the pre-match hopes of the people. That was because the match and its “splendor” did not spill out onto the sidelines.

Anelka was not included in Forest’s player list. In the match, Tang En implemented a 5:4:1 formation. Mark Viduka alone stuck out at the front. Among the three midfielders, Matthew Upson and Pepe were positioned slightly forward, while Piqué stood slightly behind in defense.

Looking at such a starting formation, anyone with a bit of intelligence could guess that Tang En was planning to go on the defensive in this match.

And they were not just defending; they were buckling down to defend to their last.

Forest placed three center backs in the middle, firmly sealing up the area before the penalty box. Their offense was to launch the ball to the front field with powerful kicks, investing only two or three attackers there. It was a plus if they could form a threat, but even if they could not, it was alright; at least the team would not be vulnerable to Arsenal’s counterattacks because they pressed forward in offense.

Henry’s speed struck fear into Tang En.

Wenger’s team tried all ways to sniff out Forest’s weak point in defense, while the latter used any possible means to disrupt Arsenal’s offense.

Every passing second tormented Tang En’s heart. Each attack from Arsenal caused him tremendous anxiety. Once they lost a ball, it meant that their prior efforts would go completely down the drain.

George Wood was charged with marking Fàbregas. Both parties were engaged in the midfield, each winning and losing some. Watching the scene, Martin Taylor sighed and said, “This is the era of the young…”

He then looked at Tony Twain, who was walking back and forth on the sidelines.

18-year-old Fàbregas, 19-year-old George Wood, and a 37-year-old Tony Twain. They were gradually becoming the main forces of this League. Having led a team into the Champions League at the age of 37, no matter what results Tony Twain would achieve in the future, he had already gained UEFA’s attention. His charge, Nottingham Forest, was also becoming frequently acquainted with the European media.

According to convention, 40-year-olds in the role of the main manager were termed “young marshals.” Examples were Mourinho, Deschamps, Ancelotti, Marco van Basten, Rijkaard, Gullit, and so on. But, taking charge of Forest at 34, bringing them into the English Premier League at 35, and leading their charge into the Champions League at 36; what should Tony Twain, who had been climbing one stage after another with each year, be called?

England had not seen such a brilliant manager in many years. Now, successful managers active within the English soccer scene were practically all non-English; for example, Manchester United’s manager Ferguson was Scottish, Arsenal’s manager Wenger was French, Liverpool’s Benítez was Spanish, Chelsea’s manager Mourinho was Portuguese… Of the four major powerhouses, none of them were under the charge of an English manager. That had always been a source of shame for the proud English.

Tang En’s abrupt and dazzling appearance satisfied the “passionate patriotism” of the English. With the media’s unbridled stirring, Tang En was pushed forward to the fore of the audience. For all appearances, although Tang En was resistant to the media’s hype for him, whether he had made use of the media or not remained unknown.

※※※

On the sidelines, Tang En anxiously watched the match progress. He seemed unaware of how Martin Taylor had personally evaluated him. Or perhaps, he did not care whether or not he knew.

The first half of the match ended with Forest in a sorry state. However, the score gave Tang En a modicum of comfort; the score remained at 0:0.

During half-time, Tang En did not make any strategic adjustments, but boosted the confidence of the team, telling them not to give up regardless of the disadvantage they faced. The match would be considered a win so long as they play to a draw.

In the second half, Forest buckled down their defense even more thoroughly. Following the progress of the match, Arsenal’s players gradually became more and more anxious.

At the 79th minute, Arsenal scored a goal. However, amidst their heady celebration, the assistant referee mercilessly raised up one of their flags: offside!

It was indeed an offside ball. Even though it was not obvious, Henry had moved just a bit too early and was spotted by the eagle-eyed assistant referee.

Wenger appeared somewhat angry on the sidelines; perhaps he felt he had gotten tripped up by the referee. Meanwhile, Tang En was applauding. The main referee overseeing the current match was the Fourth Official, Peter, from the previous League match between Forest and Everton on Forest’s home ground.

“The match is left with four minutes before entering injury stoppage time. This is ending up a classic ‘Arsenal symptom.'” Martin Taylor said with a shake of his head. He had already lost all hope in having any goal scored.

The so-called “Arsenal Symptom” referred to having high possession and high goal attempts, but still no scores. The style of ball control valued by Arsenal often allowed them to have the advantage on the field and beautiful plays, allowing the audience a feast for the eyes. However, it was a pity that that habit—being fond of having the ball under their control—also made them lose numerous scoring opportunities. Some obvious opportunities for them to score were wasted because they were greedy for showing off pretty combinations.

Tang En took hold of that habit and deployed heavy manpower in the backfield; Arsenal, so fond of ball control, became faced with a rock that they were at a loss to attack against. Outside of it, they maintained their possession but found few chances to shoot at the goal and score.

In this match, Tang En had completely given up on the offense. Up until now, Forest had only gotten six shots at the goal. In exchange, they had successfully held the score at 0:0 and brought it into injury stoppage time.

Tang En was grateful that he was not managing Spain’s Real Madrid. Otherwise, regardless of the results of the team, his fate would still end up being a dismissal.

In truth, this was not what Tang En had hoped for. If Anelka had been able to participate in the match, he would not have minded going head-on with Arsenal in Highbury.

“The match has ended. What a boring match… Nottingham Forest has forced Arsenal to a draw in their away match! Manager Tony Twain has gotten one point, to his satisfaction, but it looks like the fans who came to watch won’t be too satisfied with this kind of game.”

“It’s a total disappointment!” Andy Gray covered his mouth as he yawned. “I don’t understand. Forest’s style isn’t reserved. Why do they have such terrible matches to watch sometimes?”

“Because Twain’s style is to pursue results,” Martin Taylor answered. “If being reserved would bring him the results he wants, then he doesn’t mind playing the most reserved football he can.”

Andy Gray rolled his eyes and shut off the microphone. “That’s the only thing I hate about him… Sometimes, he’s too utilitarian.”

Martin Taylor also took off his headset and ended his work.

“That’s how it is in the World Cup, and in general. It’s why teams like Arsenal and Barcelona are especially popular. Because they aren’t utilitarian.”

“It’ll be perfect if Tony’s team could kick as beautifully as Arsenal’s…”

“You’re asking for too much, Andy.” Martin Taylor laughed. Standing from the broadcasting seat, he saw Tony and his players hugging in celebration at the sidelines. They looked so happy, as if they had won the match.

“To have a team like Arsenal… you should be happy to get even one. The shortcut to success is still victory and results…”

※※※

After ending their match with Arsenal, Forest did not return to Nottingham. Instead, they flew directly from London to France and took part in the second match of the Champions League Group Stage, held on 28th September. Forest was challenging Lille in the away field.

In France, the tired Forest ended up making good with Lille, both teams having fought to a score of 0:0.

If the result of the previous League match, drawing with Arsenal, was something Tang En was delighted about, then the draw in this match was the opposite. He originally had wanted to see the team defeat Lille in the away match, gaining their first victory in the Champions League. However, Forest Team was much too tired after continuous battling. On the away field, their will could not make up for what their body lacked.

From the beginning of the first match in the Champions League Group Stage, on 15th September, Forest played five matches in a span of 13 days. Such a match schedule was too compact. Even though Tang En felt indignant, there was nothing he could do when faced with such a reason.

The only good news was that Real Madrid was forced to a draw by Benfica in Portugal; the score among the four teams in Group D had not been pulled apart. After the two Group Stage matches, Real Madrid was ranked first with four points, while Benfica and Lille ranked directly below with two points each. Nottingham Forest had only one point and was last on the rung; it seemed like they fit well with the “fourth tier” categorization that they were given by UEFA.

Nottingham Forest’s performance fell within the majority’s expectations. Having re-entered the Champions League after 24 years, they did not show convincing abilities; it was reasonable for them to be ranked first from the last. On the other hand, a strong team like Real Madrid did not perform as outstandingly as expected. They failed to take down Benfica in the away match and only won narrowly against Forest.

The advancement was not playing out as simply as people had previously imagined in this group.

No matter how they analyzed it, based on their performance in the first two rounds of the Group Stage, not many expected Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest to eventually be advancing. However, when they carried out such analyses, one issue remained neglected: Forest Team had been battling their opponents with a crippled line-up. Albertini had been injured, and George Wood was barred from matches. The importance of the two on the team was not so easily summarized in a line or two.

※※※

Returning to England from Lille, the final decision of the Cup Committee was also unveiled. Stephen Johnson had made an error in judgment. The red card and two-match-bar penalty for Anelka were canceled. At the same time, because of such a serious misjudgment, Johnson’s qualification to referee in the English Premier League was suspended.

That explanation could be said to be excellent news for both Nottingham Forest and Anelka, but Tang En did not appreciate it.

After receiving the result, he waved them in the face of the reporters, expressing his displeasure with a disdainful tone.

“Alright, everyone. Now, the truth proves that we were wrongly accused. But, what’s the use of it? In a crucial match, we lost an important forward. Who will compensate for that loss? I understand that they needed, for whatever matter it was, five days to analyze things, but who knew what they were analyzing?”

The next day, due to Tony Twain’s “untimely expression” of his views regarding the work of the Referees’ Association, he was fined 15 thousand pounds by the English Football Association.

Tang En did not care; he was already used to it. To him, it was a worthwhile deal to take, spending a little money to freely express his own thoughts.

In the following League match, Forest, who had regained Anelka, swept Man City away on Forest’s home ground with a score of 2:0. Tang En chose to do a rotation in the match, swapping out a bulk of the core players. That made Stuart Pearce think it was a good opportunity for Man City to gain points on an away field. Unexpectedly, after the rotation, Forest’s abilities were not negatively impacted; they became even more outstanding.

Sun Jihai was a starting player in the match against his old team. He played throughout the entire match, performing well within expectations. Naturally, on the side of Chinese media, that was called an “eye-catching performance.”

Gareth Bale also gained his first opportunity to represent the First Team as part of the starting line-up. His debut was relatively successful with an assist under his belt. Initially, Tang En arranged for him to play as the left back. When Bale’s performance appeared somewhat reserved, he was pushed to the midfield in the second half, changing positions to the left midfielder. Immediately, his performance took a turn for the better.

Even the match commentator, Motson, revealed his high hopes for Bale’s future. “At just 16 years of age, Gareth Bale is representing his club’s First Team to battle in the English Premier League. This must be a very fortunate day for him. And this is a great day for Forest fans too. After George Wood, their football team has gained another genius from the Youth Training Camp! Look at his series of performances before the assist for Viduka: calm, courageous, and resolute! It left a deep impression!”

Other than beginning to score goals again and the outstanding performance of Gareth Bale, Tang En received another great piece of news.

On the second day of the match against Man City, Albertini made an appearance on the sidelines of the training grounds in his training attire. All the players flocked to his side, welcoming their captain back to the team after a month-long hiatus.

Tang En smiled particularly widely. He stood before Albertini and joked loudly. “Look, who’s this? Demi, your legs must have gotten rusty, no?”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head, Boss. I’ve got to start being more active.” Albertini said, flexing his legs.

“Welcome back!” Tang En said, hugging Albertini tightly.

The team’s current results in the Champions League were not going as they had hoped. Albertini’s return brought back more than a mere midfielder; he brought his experience along with him. Albertini was the stabilizing pillar of the team.

As a result, Tang En’s mood was extraordinarily good. With Albertini’s return, he believed that there would surely be a massive change in the team’s performance in the Champions League.

Not to mention, Wood was also back. His match-bar had ended, and he would be returning in the next match, Nottingham Forest on their home grounds against Benfica.

What an occasion!

Those who looked down on us will soon discover how ridiculously wrong they were!

Chapter 358 - The War Between Two Men Part 1

Albertini’s return was not just about having one more player on the team; more importantly, it boosted the team’s morale.

Next, on October 15, the Forest team challenged Tottenham Hotspur in an away game. After a fierce battle, the Forest team defeated their opponent with a modest win of 1:0.

Unconsciously, the Nottingham Forest team, which was short one match, had already accumulated nineteen points and was ranked second in the league table. First place was still Chelsea. Mourinho’s team had won nine out of nine games from the start of the new season, topping the list with twenty-seven points.

Nevertheless, Twain was not focused on the Premier League at the moment, but on the Champions League tournament.

On October 19, the day of the Champions League game, the Forest team faced Benfica on their home ground. Twain adjusted his squad’s lineup. Arteta was replaced by Albertini. With the end of his suspension, George Wood returned to the starting lineup and the Forest team’s midfield was supported again.

What were the consequences of a supported midfield?

The Forest team finally won their first Champions League game on their home ground.

Nottingham Forest defeated last season’s Primeira Liga champions, Benfica!

Before this game, there were doubts about whether Wood, who had missed two Champions League games, could keep pace with the team. However, Wood seemed to perform the same as usual. The reason was that before the game, Twain had told Wood to play the Champions League game as if it were a regular game and that they were all football games. There was no difference between the games.

Prior to the game, Benfica also thought Nottingham Forest was easy meat, but they did not expect to be beaten.

In fact, Nottingham Forest’s performance was not bad for the first two group stage matches. It was only due to certain reasons that they had not won. In the first group stage match, the Forest team had scored the first goal over Real Madrid and was overtaken by Real Madrid at the last moment. And it was not easy for the exhausted Forest team to draw with Lille in the away game for the second group stage match.

No player was absent for the game. Everyone’s physical fitness, mentality, and condition were good. Playing at their home grounds, the Forest team finally unleashed their real strength. Benfica, which had underestimated the Forest team, became its first victim.

After the game, the Portuguese media used “an upset by the Forest Team” to describe it. On the other hand, the English media thought it was a given that the Forest team would defeat Benfica. The Sun mocked the Portuguese media’s theory of an upset: “The second-ranked team in the Premier League defeated the fourth-placed team in the Primeira Liga. How can that be called ‘an upset’?”

There was no strong and detailed comparative analysis, but it was clear to people at a glance how absurd it was to use the term “upset.” Although Twain did not like The Sun, it made Twain feel good that they had stood up for the Forest team.

In another group stage game held on the same day, Real Madrid easily defeated Lille at their home ground by 2:0.

As a result, the status quo in Group D became Real Madrid at the top with seven points from their two victories and one draw. Meanwhile, the Pot 4 team, Nottingham Forest, which was originally ranked second to last, suddenly became the second place in the group with four points because they beat Benfica. In the same boat of losing the games in this round, Lille and Benfica both had two points each and were ranked third and fourth.

After they beat Benfica, everyone looked at the Forest team from a different perspective. No one dared to look down on that tenacious team again. The latest installment of the UEFA Champions League Magazine introduced the game in this way: “…The youngest Champions League manager has led his team to win its first game in the Champions League. Let us take a look at what other results Tony Twain can create.”

Being the youngest really was a good headline grabber.

※※※

By the end of October, the Forest team had won in succession in the Premier League. It followed closely at the heels of Chelsea and kept Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and other strong teams at bay. They had also won their first victory in the Champions League. It looked like Twain should be feeling triumphant by now.

However, he still had a vexing matter which he had told no one.

On October 24, the day after the tenth round of the Premier League, Twain came to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to visit Freddy Eastwood.

After his first operation, the doctors found that his condition had not improved, and therefore a second operation was performed on Eastwood’s right knee. The Romani Gypsy’s comeback was pushed back once again. It had been seven months since he had been injured in the game against Sporting Lisbon. And it had been a frustrating seven months.

It was a cycle of surgery, recovery, lack of improvement in his condition, surgery again, and recovery.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel, and he did not know if his leg would suddenly have a relapse after recovery.

Twain still remembered that he had made a fervent speech to Eastwood in the hospital ward at that time. He had told him that fate was a massive network composed of choice after choice, in which people always had to face one choice or another. But regardless of the choice, one could never be at a standstill.

Seven months later, Twain felt ashamed to have said such things in front of Eastwood. He himself had waited in some despair. Every time there was bad news from the hospital, his heart sank further.

Twain did not ask for Eastwood’s ward location in the lobby below. He went straight up. He did not need to ask for that number; he had long known it by heart.

However, he only saw an empty room when he opened the ward door. Twain thought he had the wrong room, so he pushed it back and looked up at the ward number. It was Eastwood’s.

He stood at the door and thought for a moment. It was impossible for Eastwood to move out of the hospital without his knowledge. Professor Constantine kept him constantly updated on everything about Eastwood’s developments.

Twain walked in and found that the ward was very neat. There was a bouquet of flowers in the vase on the bedside table. He took a closer look. There were droplets of water on the petals and leaves. He felt the bed; it was still a bit warm.

It looked like Eastwood had not transferred, but… Looking down from the window, Twain soon found his target.

※※※

Freddy Eastwood was taking a stroll in the garden with his wife supporting him by the arm. He was somewhat surprised to see Twain appear in front of him.

“Chief? What are you doing here?” He sounded pleasantly surprised.

“I came to see you, Freddy.” Twain waved the floral bouquet in his hand and then smiled at Freddy’s wife. “Hello, Sabina.”

“Hello, Chief.” The Romani woman addressed Twain in the same way as her husband had.

The three people sat down on a bench by the gravel path.

“Yesterday’s game was really exciting!” Eastwood brought up football first. He was referring to the tenth round of the league competition that had just ended. The Forest team faced Middlesbrough at home. The game had garnered much attention due to the grudge between Twain and the Middlesbrough manager, McClaren.

The final score was 4:2. Both sides had waged a fierce battle. With a more incisive offense and a better defense, the Forest team beat Middlesbrough and continued McClaren’s record of losing at City Ground stadium.

Twain scratched his head. “You watched the live broadcast? Didn’t the doctor say you’d better not watch the Forest games?”

Twain did not jest even though he really had thought it was a joke when he had first heard the suggestion. After the second operation, Professor Stephen Albert, the chief surgeon for Eastwood’s operation, had seriously warned Eastwood that he had better not watch the Forest team games in order for him to recover as soon as possible, lest he hurt his fragile knees again in midst of any emotional excitement.

When people watched the games, it was inevitable to have some body movements in moments of excitement. If the action was considerable, it would not be surprising if he injured the knee that had just been operated on.

Eastwood snickered. Beside him, Sabina pointed to him and said, “He has watched every single Forest game. He watched them all live.”

“You can’t stop me from watching the game,” Eastwood said. “I can’t play football now. I don’t know how to pass the time if I can’t even watch it.”

Twain glanced at his right knee and hesitated before he asked, “How’s the recovery going this time?”

“I feel pretty good!” The Romani Gypsy answered simply and firmly. “I think I’ll be back at the training ground in two months.”

Unlike what Twain had thought before, the Freddy Eastwood before him was full of hope for the future and did not intend to give up.

Seven months and even a longer recovery period did not crush him. He was as optimistic as before.

“That’s good, Freddy. We’ll all be waiting for you.” Twain thought that he had worried for nothing. This was better than he had thought. “Oh, that’s right. In the next round of the league games, you don’t have to watch live TV. Just come to the City Ground stadium and watch it live.”

Eastwood paused for a moment.

“What’s the matter? You can’t go?” Twain asked.

“No, Chief. There’s no problem. Even walking from here to the City Ground is no issue.”

“No one asked you to walk there!” Twain laughed. “I want you to watch the game live, but you have to be careful with your knee.”

“Don’t worry, Chief. I want to recover sooner than you do! But… Chief, who are our opponents in the next round?”

“Chelsea,” replied Twain.

Eastwood whistled. “Chelsea, the one with nine wins, one draw, and not a single defeat?”

“Yes, that Chelsea. Which is now ranked first in the league and has twenty-eight points in ten rounds. Why, are you scared, Freddy?”

“Please! What’s there to be afraid of?” Freddy retorted loudly, and then whispered, “It’s not as if I’m playing this time.”

The two men laughed.

Chapter 359 - The War Between Two Men Part 2

After saying goodbye to Eastwood, who was in a good mood, Twain once again visited the attending physician, Stephen Albert.

“The Forest team has been doing well recently. Congrats to you; Mr. Tony Twain, the youngest manager.” The two men talked about football as soon as they met.

Twain touched his nose and cleared his throat twice. “Let’s leave any talk about the Forest team aside for now.”

“You’re here to talk about Eastwood’s injury?” Albert smiled.

Twain nodded, “I wonder when he might be able to recover to the level where he can return to the training ground again.”

Albert turned over Eastwood’s medical chart to have a look. He looked up at Twain and said, “The second operation was very successful. I think he’ll be able to walk normally in about a month’s time. In another month, it shouldn’t be a problem to start simple rehabilitation training.”

Twain thought about the time and then nodded. “That’s really fantastic news. After a seven month wait, I can finally get some hope.”

“As a substitute to Eastwood, Anelka plays pretty well.”

“Wrong, Doctor Albert. No player can substitute for another. Anelka is Anelka, Eastwood is Eastwood.” Twain corrected Albert’s statement, but the other man was not annoyed.

“Maybe I have too little contact with football coaches. This is the first time I’ve seen a football manager who cares so much for his players like you do, Mr. Twain. I’m touched by your concern for Eastwood, but I’d like to remind you: even if Eastwood can return to the field, it is uncertain whether he’ll be able to return to his previous level. I think it’s better if you don’t hold out too much hope. His right knee has suffered two major injuries. With three surgeries in three years, it’ll be a miracle if he can continue to play.”

Twain was silent for a moment. It was not that he had not thought of that problem. When Ronaldo had returned after a major injury, he was a completely different player from The Phenomenon. There was also Michael Owen, who was no longer the wonder boy after his frequent injuries. There were plenty of examples in the football world of such players’ returning to the field after serious injuries and never being able to play as gloriously as before. Twain did not know if Eastwood would be another one of those examples.

“I think what you said makes a lot of sense, Doctor Albert. We have no way to see the future. No one knows what the future holds. Frankly speaking, I don’t know whether Freddy can return to his former condition. But…” He changed his tack. “I just went to see Freddy. He’s in a good place and looking forward to getting back on the field. And he disobeyed your request and watched every single Forest game.”

“I’ve known that for a long time.” Albert nodded.

“So, if the player hasn’t given up, how can I, as a manager, be the first to give up? We don’t know what the future will be, but we have to try to help him rehabilitate properly from now on. I can’t give up first because of the ‘possibility’ that he may never recover to his former state. That’s not a reason to give up.”

“I know, Mr. Twain. The hospital will also make every effort to help him recover soon.”

“Thank you, Doctor Albert.”

“That’s my duty as a doctor. There’s no need to thank me.” Albert waved his hand. “It’s my job to heal the pains of my patients. If my family had not been Notts County fans since my grandfather, I’d really like to be a fan of the Forest team.” He winked at Twain. “Maybe you can consider quitting as the Forest team manager and going to coach Notts County!”

Twain laughed. “I don’t think there’s a chance of that. However, I can’t guarantee what the future holds, Doctor.”

※※※

On October 27, in the third round of the EFL Cup, the Forest team challenged Birmingham City in an away game. Although the EFL Cup was where Twain had risen up from, Twain chose to give up the lesser tournament for two consecutive seasons when the Forest team had competed in a bigger arena.

He deployed all of the Second or Third teams composed of reserve and youth players to face Birmingham City. He let all the First Team players rest and prepare for the next round of the important league competition.

Entirely made up of substitutes, the Forest team played tenaciously in the away game. However, they were not as strong as Birmingham City with its main force. The score was 0:1 and they were eliminated from the EFL Cup in their first game. Everything was the same as last season.

Everyone could see that Twain’s drive was not in that game. Losing the EFL Cup had no effect on the team. At most, the reserves team and the youth team had lost a place to accumulate actual competition experience.

Everyone was focused on the Premier League game after the EFL Cup, where Nottingham Forest would face Chelsea’s challenge at their home ground in the eleventh round.

It was a direct contest between the top two teams in the league and a face-off between two young and highly-individualistic managers.

Even before the EFL Cup, the media began to hype the game.

There are so many stories to be publicized between Twain and Mourinho. Those included how they were considered “Brian Clough’s successors,” when Chelsea had won the championship title with their only defeat to Nottingham Forest last season, and how Mourinho had helped the Forest team with a player’s work permit by attending the FA hearing that summer. What kind of relationship the two men had was worth pondering.

“...Manager Mourinho came to England with the reputation of a European champion. In one season, he swept away most of the English Premier League and defeated almost all of the managers. He had led Chelsea to win the league title after half a century, but he never defeated Tony Twain. No matter what others think, I believe that Mourinho will not allow this embarrassing matter to go on.”

” After ten rounds of the league, Chelsea has had nine victories and one draw. They remain unbeaten with twenty-eight points, topping the league. Short one game, Nottingham Forest has won six games, tied and conceded once respectively. They are in second place with nineteen points. The two teams are currently in very good shape. I think this is going to be a very intense and exciting game to watch because the characters of those two managers make it such that they’ll never admit defeat when they meet each other.”

“Before the match, Manager Mourinho had refused to comment on his opponent, Manager Twain. On the other hand, when faced with reporters’ questions, Twain expressed that it was pointless to comment any further and that the outcome of the game would clear things up. This is quite strange. The Portuguese man, who always likes to wage a war of words with the opposing manager before the game, opted for silence, and Manager Twain was also very low-key. Perhaps in their minds, they thought that it was meaningless to spar with each other before the game.”

“The two teams are nine points apart. This is not a ‘turning point’ game that affects which team can win the championship at the end of the season. The Forest team also does not expect to rely on this game to overtake Chelsea and become the first in the league. In that case, why is this game the focus of so many people? Instead of saying that everyone cares about the result of this game, I think they’re more taking an interest in the outcome of the contest between the two managers: whether will it be Mourinho ending his embarrassing record of not being able to defeat Tony Twain since his arrival in England, or if Twain will continue to maintain his edge over Mourinho.”

“This has nothing to do with the points. It’s not about the rankings. It can even be said that it has nothing to do with the two teams. I think as long as Manager Mourinho and Manager Twain are still coaching in England, this will continue. This is a war between the two men.”

Chapter 360 - The War Between Two Men 2 Part 1

“…Chelsea’s condition is good, and so is Nottingham Forest’s… Even though it’s a little too early, I still want to say- Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 11th round of the English Premier League: On their home ground, Nottingham Forest welcomes Chelsea! I’m John Motson. Today, our commentator for the match is Gary Lineker. Gary, what do you think about today’s match?”

“Mourinho doesn’t pursue an artistic way of playing football. He once declared himself a worshipper of Capello; from that, we can know what kind of manager he is. He puts more value on the results than how things appear; he puts more emphasis on the end than the means. So, despite Chelsea having a sharp offensive formation, they play with prudence. I believe the ‘1:0 philosophy’ is the best interpretation of him. But, but in this match, on the away field, I don’t believe Mourinho would insist on his 1:0 philosophy.”

“Because his opponent is Tony Twain?”

“Yes. This is the only manager he did not manage to beat in the previous season. We don’t know what relationship the two of them have in private; Mourinho once attended a work permit hearing for Forest’s player, Pepe. And before UEFA’s lot-drawing ceremony, Mourinho took the initiative to chat with Tony. But, on the field, the two of them are enemies. Neither Mourinho nor Tony would allow themselves to lose to the other. And, with both managers focused on the results, they would certainly use the most effective method of scoring to attack. With that, this match will doubtless be an extremely intense and fabulous watch.”

An hour before the match was to begin, the two in the broadcasting stands had already gotten busy.

In truth, much earlier before the start of the match—half a day before—various English media outlets had already started gathering in Nottingham. Despite the Northern London Derby ongoing today between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, the match held at Nottingham was the true highlight that attracted the attention of the entire nation.

Exactly like it was played up by the media, the people closely watching the match were neither Chelsea nor Forest’s fans. Instead, there were many neutral fans. According to the count after the match, there were even quite a few female spectators in the audience. Perhaps they did not care so much about which team would win, but rather hoped to see who it would be left laughing in the end. Was it going to be Mourinho or Tony Twain?

The Sun described it perfectly; it was “The war between two men.”

※※※

45 minutes before the start of the match, the spectators’ stands in City Ground were basically filled up. They were also prominently split into two parts: the clearly dominant red phalanx and the blue square congregated in the away stands.

Red and Blue were traditional colors in the English football scene. Most team’s home team attire was one of them. Although there is no conclusive evidence, the earliest suggestion for teams to wear different colored attires in matches first appeared in the “Handbook of Football,” published by Routledge, which listed red and blue as two colors of choice. “If it could be pre-arranged, one party could wear a certain jersey color, such as red, while the other could wear another, like blue. That way, it could prevent confusion among players and abrupt, ill-intentioned steals. Such a sight was commonly seen, and I often hear such an apology: ‘I’m sorry, I thought you were one of them…'”

That could be the earliest reason accounting for why scores of football teams in the current English football scene wear either red or blue jerseys. As a result, there emerged a tradition of the “Red Blue Battle”, wherein arch rivals within the same city were often in red and blue. For example, the two teams Liverpool (red) and Everton (blue) in Liverpool city; Manchester United (red) and Man City (blue) in Manchester; and the recent rivalry between Arsenal (red) and Chelsea (blue).

Currently, Forest Team and Chelsea had also sunken into an eddy of a “Red vs Blue Battle.”

Before the teams entered the field, fans from both sides had already launched into a full-out battle on the spectators’ stands.

Forest fans were mocking Chelsea with their songs, calling them ruble corps, a group of mercenaries who had long ago lost the traditional spirit of English football and become a toy for their Russian boss. Replying to Nottingham Forest’s provocation, Chelsea’s fans sang in loud voices, “We are f**king RICH!” There were even Chelsea fans who held up posters saying, “Do you need us to give you money to buy a stadium?” mocking Nottingham Forest’s poor stadium which could only seat 27 thousand people.

The police force in Nottingham Forest was on high guard against all eventualities; fearing that fans from both sides would end up in a clash drawing blood prior to the match, they set up an empty stretch of partition three stands wide between the spectating areas of the two teams. In the middle stood two rows of riot police with backs against each other in full gear, helmets on their heads along with tempered glass shields and police batons in their hands. They watched the red-faced, thick-necked fans alertly.

Pierce Brosnan, a reporter from Nottingham Evening Post, sighed as he watched the scene from the press box. “It’s hard to believe that these two teams had no enmity between them for the past hundred years…”

The combination of media advances and the fact that the two managers had equally untameable personalities caused the teams to rapidly become rivals. It was impossible for Brosnan not to know about this; rather, he simply did not wish to admit that he himself was one of those adding fuel to the fire. On occasion, he still imagined himself as different from the paparazzi who made up news and tried so hard to please their audience; his idealism had survived in his heart.

※※※

30 minutes before the match, players from both teams entered the field to begin warming up. The fans on the spectators’ stand finally stopped attacking each other, their attention having been drawn to cheering for the players and teams they supported instead.

Judging from the players who came out for the warm-up, it was clear that both sides were sending out their best with no intention to conserve their abilities. This was despite Chelsea having to play against Real Betis in an away field three days later, and Forest having to play Benfica in Portugal in four days.

“Indeed, this fits their personalities; neither wants to admit to a loss to their rival.” Motson counted the players warming up on the field and compared it with the team list he had just gotten. As expected, none of the core players were missing.

Chelsea had sent out their full team of core players, as had Forest.

Lineker laughed to the side.

“Isn’t this interesting? The personalities of these two are precisely what we hoped to see. Before, we were still worried about a lack of anticipated events within the English Premier League after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Now, we no longer have to worry… We still have Mourinho and Twain!”

15 minutes before the match, warm-ups on the field ended and players from both teams returned to the players’ corridors, each heading back to their respective locker rooms. Although nobody knew what went on in there, everyone was interested.

At the same time, a dark red Audi A6 drove into the gradually emptying square outside of City Ground.

“We’re late?” A shrill voice sounded from within the car.

“No. Mr. Doughty requested for us to arrive at this time. If there are too many people, we would worry about them crowding around and injuring you.” Another voice spoke up.

The car door opened. The first person who stepped out was a man in a black suit. Making his way around the car, he opened the rear doors. A woman – Freddy Eastwood’s wife – exited first with a baby in her arms. Following her was a young boy who hopped out of the car.

The man waited for them to exit the car before reaching in to help the Romani, Eastwood, out.

“OK, thank you, but…” Eastwood had noticed that the other man seemed intent on helping him all the way up to the luxury box, and hastily waved his hands to stop him.

“I can walk, just a little slowly.”

Sabina, standing beside them and patting the sleeping baby, said to the man, “Let him walk on his own.”

The man seemed somewhat reluctant. “But, your leg… Mr. Doughty specially instructed us to…”

“Chairman Doughty would also hope to see a healthy Eastwood, right?” said the Romani. “I’ll walk up. No problem.” He started walking towards the passageway that led to the main spectating stands.

The man hesitated at the back, but quickly caught up and followed beside him.

“Let’s go, baby.” Sabina waved towards the boy looking around.

※※※

As Eastwood was slowly climbing the numerous stairs, Tang En was in the locker room spurring on his players for the final time.

The strategy board was a mess, but it was of no importance. No one looked at it. The real strategies had long been imprinted on their minds.

“Everyone.” Tang En looked at the players, who were already changed into their jerseys and sitting in their places.

“Last season’s EPL champions are our opponents for this match. In this season, up until now, they have yet to lose any game, topping the ranks. No matter my personal opinions towards this team or Mourinho, I must admit that this is an extremely strong, superb team with great combative ability.”

At that point, he stopped and looked at his uncertain players.

“Look around at the expressions on your faces… Do you think it is weird for me to praise our opponents just before the match? Did any of you think I was joking to liven up the mood?” Tang En shook his finger at them.

“No, no. I’m not joking. All that I’ve said is heartfelt. Chelsea is indeed strong. Incredibly strong. In the last season, they almost achieved a zero-loss championship. They were so close to being on par with Arsenal’s 03-04 season record of a zero-loss win of the championship. But!”

Tang En swiftly turned his words around, abruptly jolting everyone’s spirits. “Why did I say ‘almost?’ Because they still lost a match in the League! Who can tell me, who was it they lost to?”

This was the moment they were waiting for. Everyone in the locker room chorused, “Us!!”

“Almost every team in England would surrender to Mourinho’s Chelsea. All except one team, who doesn’t fear them! Tell me, who is that!?”

“It’s us!” Practically the whole team had risen from their seats, yelling at the top of their voices with their heads up high; they looked just like wolves.

Chapter 361 - The War Between Two Men 2 Part 2

Kerslake clearly saw the fire in the players’ eyes. It had been a while since Tony had spurred the players that way in the locker room. Against most teams, there was no need to boost their morale; Forest’s capabilities no longer needed to depend on such psychological victories to win matches.

However, against Chelsea, against Mourinho, Tang En whipped out his trump card. A match like this was worthy of such an opening speech.

Even though Tony would often claim that the media only spun stories and exaggerated them without any understanding, they were right about this: Tony was unwilling to lose to Mourinho. He valued the victory of this match even more than the one in the following Champions League Group Stage match.

“In three days, Chelsea has a group stage match in the Champions League. Yet, Mourinho still sent out his strongest line-up. What does this mean? It means that they are afraid of us; they dare not conserve any strength even before such an important match!” Tang En said.

In truth, he had also sent out all his forces before another crucial match, but he would never say that he was afraid of Chelsea. The players themselves also did not care if Chelsea truly feared them, but they would gladly believe all that their manager said. In other words, right here and now, they believed their manager; they believed that Chelsea was well and truly frightened of them.

And it was extremely effective. Everyone’s spirits were greatly uplifted and energized.

“Oh, right.” As if Tang En had suddenly remembered something, his tone took on a change. “We have a special guest in the luxury box for today’s match: Freddy Eastwood.”

Although it had been a long while since they heard the name, it was endearing to the team.

“Ah!”

“Boss, he came to watch the match? Didn’t the doctor bar him from watching Forest’s matches?”

Tang En nodded and said conspiratorially, “That’s right, the doctor didn’t allow it. That’s why I secretly let him come…” He pointed upwards. “By now, he should be sitting in the luxury box above us. So, you guys better perform well. Don’t give him the chance to laugh at you – ‘Look, just because I’m not there, they can’t beat Chelsea! They’ve still got to depend on me!'”

Tang En imitated Eastwood’s shrill voice, mumbling quickly just like he would, prompting loud bursts of laughter from his audience.

The moment was just right. Tang En put out his right hand, showing everyone his five fingers, saying, “I only have one request.” His fingers snapped together. “Defeat them!”

※※※

Eastwood was panting. He had gotten to the top of the stairs. Smiling at the man beside him, he said, “Look. That was easy, wasn’t it?”

The man looked at the thin beads of sweat lined up on Eastwood’s forehead and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Eastwood.”

He was only a normal doctor from the hospital. Accommodating to the Forest Club’s request, he had accompanied Eastwood to the stadium just so there would be a professional doctor around in the case of an accident.

The image and reputation of Romanis in the eyes of the English had never been good. Many treated the group of wanderers with contempt and animosity. There were even old sayings about how “Romanis were not to be trusted.” However, Eastwood’s earlier performance filled the doctor with respect for the Romani.

Up on the platform, after a short corridor, was the luxury box.

“Let’s go. I think the match should be starting soon.”

The cheering from outside suddenly intensified. Eastwood started walking towards the luxury box.

The doctor continued following beside him, but he was no longer watching Eastwood as if looking over a poor patient who might slip and fall at any time.

He was healthier than everyone else.

※※※

“The players for both teams have entered the field! Albertini, who just recovered from an injury, is not a starter for this match. Tony has arranged for him to sit on the substitutes’ bench. George Wood continues wearing the Captain’s Armband, walking right in front. Look at how proud he is. He’s a completely different person from when he first represented the team as captain! The boy is improving incredibly fast!”

Motson did not try to conceal his bias towards Wood at all. On the BBC web column, he had, in his numerous writings, appealed for Sven-G?ran Eriksson to recruit the youth into England’s National Team. However, Eriksson was more fond of the big, established stars. He had no intention of recruiting young rookies for a midfield that was already saturated with stars.

But there was good news. Eriksson had come to City Ground for this match. He was observing both the performances of Chelsea’s players as well as those of the English footballers on Forest. George Wood was, naturally, included in that observation. As long as his performance was outstanding and eye-catching enough, even if Eriksson stuck to his guns, England’s media would be advocating for Wood to join the national team.

The English had good reason to be anxious. Rumour had it that the other nation Wood belonged to, Jamaica, was also considering inviting him to join their National Team.

※※※

Only after all players had entered the stadium did Tony Twain lead his managerial team to walk to the technical area from the locker room.

As the host, he had well and truly put on airs, making Mourinho wait for him for several minutes after Mourinho first entered.

On the field, both teams got in line and shook hands as part of the necessary procedure.

After Forest’s managerial team and other members had settled down on the sidelines, Tang En walked to the away technical area and shook hands with the members of Chelsea’s managerial team. Of course, this included Mourinho. It was also a necessary part of the procedure.

While shaking hands with him, Tang En smiled genially.

“Mr. Mourinho, shouldn’t you consider the Champions League Group Stage match in three days?”

Mourinho smiled as he answered.

“That is my question for you, Mr. Twain. Shouldn’t you consider your group stage match in four days?”

“Oh. In my opinion, beating Chelsea would allow me to bring the team to Portugal in a good mood and a great condition; it would be very helpful to the Champions League matches.”

“Change ‘Chelsea’ into ‘Nottingham Forest,’ and that’s my answer, Mr. Twain.”

“Ha! Let’s hope this will be a good match…”

“I hope so too.”

The two let go of each other’s hands. Tang En turned and went back to his own technical area. Neither of them had gotten an edge in the verbal battle, but they had not been hoping to crush their opponents in that aspect anyway. Regardless of what their mouths said, they still needed to look at the match results.

The television broadcast captured the scene of both managers shaking hands and sent it before the tens and thousands of families watching. Motson said, “Look at the brilliant smiles on Tony and Mourinho’s faces. They look like old friends who have known each other for years.”

Lineker chimed in, saying, “Do you really think so, John?”

Following that, the two commenters began laughing uproariously.

Chapter 362 - The War Between Two Men 3 Part 1

From the very beginning, the game was highly confrontational and fast-paced.

Mourinho’s and Twain’s teams did not feel out the situation first. They just directly exchanged fire.

The Forest team was awarded the right to kick off in the pre-match coin toss. From the moment the referee first blew the kick-off whistle, the Forest team quickly drilled the football towards Chelsea’s goal.

The game’s starting center-forward, Mark Viduka, fought John Terry for the header shot in front of the goal. Finally, he successfully headed the football, but he was also obstructed by Terry and was not be able to head the ball at the right angle. The football skidded past the goal, which scared the Chelsea fans into a cold sweat.

There was a loud collective gasp from the stands.

“The first attack from Nottingham Forest threatened Chelsea! It’s completely different from the team’s challenge against Arsenal in the away game. Neither team intends to hold back in this match.”

“This game is going to be a terrific one to watch.”

“That’s right, it’s very exciting. Both teams’ speeds of transition from defensive to attacking positions are very fast. As we speak, Chelsea’s counterattack has already reached within thirty meters of the Forest team’s area… And Frank Lampard kicks a long shot! And struck the beam! What a pity!”

Lampard held his head. He could not believe that his shot had bypassed Van der Sar’s fingers only to fail in front of the beam. The stands in the City Ground stadium gasped loudly again.

Still feeling unnerved, Edwin van der Sar laid on the ground as he looked at the trembling beam overhead.

He had thought this Chelsea main midfielder would choose to pass the ball, so he was unprepared for the long shot.

Edwin van der Sar was not the only one who was spooked; Twain’s heart almost popped out of his throat on the sidelines. He saw the football fly past the unprepared van der Sar and thought that it was going in.

“In the first two minutes, both sides each had a brilliant attack. I hope the two teams can slow down a little. Otherwise, I won’t have the opportunity to introduce the starting lineup and substitutes for today’s game.”

Next to him, Gary Lineker laughed into the microphone. “I don’t think they’ll do as you wish, John. You’ll have to make use of every second and divide the list into several sections for the introduction!”

※※※

Of course, Motson still found the chance to introduce both teams’ lists of appearances. However, the rate of his speech was faster than usual. Otherwise, he might have missed a wonderful scene.

Chelsea still remained in Mourinho’s traditional 4-3-3 formation with the Czech goalkeeper, Petr ?ech, and the four defenders. They were Paulo Ferreira, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and William Gallas. The three midfielders were Frank Lampard, Tiago Mendes, and Claude Makelele. The three strikers were Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, and Damien Duff.

The Forest team’s formation was still the traditional 4-4-2 with the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, and the two center backs being Gerard Piqué and Pepe. Both of them had relied on their actual performances to stabilize their positions as the main force in the team. The Forest team had only conceded four goals so far this season. The improvement in their defense was very obvious. Pascal Chimbonda was the starting right back and Leighton Baines was the left back. The parallel positions in the midfield from left to right were Franck Ribéry, George Wood, Mikel Arteta, and Ashley Young. The two strikers were a combination of tall and fast players, the center forward Mark Viduka and the speedy second forward Nicolas Anelka.

Mourinho was very focused on attacks through the flanks. Robben and Duff were both good at breakthroughs at the flanks. While Shaun Wright-Phillipson, still on the bench, was a similar talent. Attacking through the flanks was the guarantee of their victory.

Twain’s Nottingham Forest was also similar to Chelsea. Even though there were no wingers like Robben and Duff, the Forest team’s two side midfielders had garnered much attention since last season. Many teams coveted Ribéry and Ashley Young. Twain had rejected many teams’ offers for the two players that summer. The two extremely fast side midfielders could dribble, break through, pass, and shoot. They could advance to attack and retreat to defend, which made them more useful than wingers.

As a matter of fact, in today’s football world, the line between a winger and a side midfielder was becoming blurred. Ribéry and Ashley Young could be side midfielders as well as the occasional wingers. It was completely dependent on the team’s tactical needs.

In the face of Chelsea’s winger tactics, Twain’s response was to cement the defensive line firmly at the back. The two full backs were not allowed to assist. They must not give Robben and Duff the space to accelerate. When necessary, they could use foul as a tactic. At the same time, Twain did not intend to just focus on defense. To tame Chelsea’s flanks, the simplest way was to let Chelsea’s flanks attack first and then push them back.

Both sides of Ribéry and Ashley Young would be the Forest team’s main attacking corridors. Most attacks would be sent to their feet to be passed on to the forward line.

Unlike Lampard, Arteta would organize the offense more in the middle backfield rather than dribbling the ball to the front to shoot and score goals, even though his own scoring ability was not weak and he was outstanding at place kicks.

The most important part of Chelsea’s defensive system was not the team captain, John Terry, or the world-class goalkeeper, Petr ?ech, but the 32-year-old French veteran, Makelele. His blockade in the midfield was the key to Chelsea’s successful defense.

Chelsea had Makelele and Nottingham Forest had George Wood. Makelele’s body was not very strong. His defense relied heavily on experience, whereas George Wood’s defense was based on his supernatural strength. Wood’s importance to the Forest team needed no elaboration. With him around, the entire Forest team, regardless of whether they were the front field players or backfield players, would feel assured.

Chelsea’s three midfielders might appear to be less than the Forest team’s four midfielders. In fact, it could be seen that two out of Chelsea’s three midfielders were the defending midfielders and Lampard was an attacking midfielder. Robben and Duff could be seen as the two wingers. In this way, Chelsea had five midfielders.

However, the number of players did not represent strength.

So far, the game had been going on for twenty minutes, and the Forest team and Chelsea were on par, which was clear from the midfield. At the moment, the game situation was in a delicate balance. Both parties’ attacks were very fierce, and their transition between offense and defense was rapid. It looked like there were plenty of opportunities, but neither could grasp them.

The score was still 0:0.

※※※

“The display on the big screen shows that the game has been going on for twenty minutes…. The twenty minutes went by before you knew it! Time really flies. The fierce competition between both sides made us forget the passage of time. Other than the score, this is a perfect game!”

“But it’s just a matter of time before someone scores a goal in a game like this. It will be an irony if this game ends with a score of 0:0. Let’s see who will break the deadlock first, and whose favor the balance will tip in...”

Just as Gary Lineker ended his speech, Chelsea launched an attack. It was a surprise attack, a direct long pass from the back straight to Robben on the flank. Robben’s first stop was perfect. the ball halted just in front of him not far ahead. He immediately accelerated and dashed past without any hindrance from Chimbonda, who had rushed up to defend against him!

The Forest team’s defense was breached, and Edwin van der Sar’s save was critical!

Robben glanced up at the direction of the goal and then turned to speed up. In the middle, Drogba raised his hand as he followed up. Piqué and Pepe did not dare to slack and closely marked in the front and back. George Wood quickly chased from outside the penalty area. His target was Robben.

Since the angle was very tight, everybody thought that Robben would pass the ball. After all, even if Drogba was closely marked, there was still Lampard outside the penalty area. George Wood chose to return to chase after Robben, which meant that Lampard would be unmarked for a while.

As long as Robben was selfless enough, he could create a chance for the unmarked Lampard to take a big shot. But would Robben pass the ball?

It was a bit difficult for Robben to pass the ball to someone else after he had dribbled to break through to the penalty area when he was unmarked.

Robben looked up again. He was not looking for someone but confirming the goalkeeper’s position and the angle of the shot. He slowed down his pace and adjusted the football at his feet.

George Wood was already close at hand. He already did not care if this was the penalty area. He threw himself forward and slid sideways to tackle the ball!

At the same time, Robben’s calf quickly shot out and fired!

The football tore past Wood’s toes, and drilled past the unprepared van der Sar into the goal!

When the ball went out, Robben jumped and dodged Wood’s lethal tackle.

“What a gooooal! What a gooooal!! Chelsea is the one to break the deadlock! The first team to score is the visiting Chelsea, who now leads against Nottingham Forest by 1:0!”

“The balance is now tilted toward Chelsea!”

“This is an unexpected blow. The Forest team’s two side midfielders are still standing near the center line, and Robben is already celebrating his goal!”

After he saw Robben’s goal, Mourinho ran wildly with his arms wide open along the sidelines for about ten meters. He was so excited that it was as if he was going to hug Robben, the hero who scored the goal. In fact, all the Chelsea players were celebrating on the field. He did this for Twain. He almost rushed across the center line and ran to the front of Nottingham Forest’s technical area.

Twain twisted his head to look at the electronic scoreboard and turned a blind eye to Mourinho.

He knew what Mourinho had mind. He refused to yield.

Chapter 363 - The War Between Two Men 3 Part 2

Robben’s speed was still too fast. But that should not have resulted in the goal. If Chimbonda did not rush up when he saw Lampard’s long pass and left behind a large gap, and if after Chimbonda was bypassed, Pepe could fill the gap in time instead of defending Drogba in front of the goal, it might not have happened.

Unfortunately, there were no “ifs” on the football field. Hindsight was 20-20.

Twain turned his head and said to Kerslake, “Record the goal. We’ll break it down during training.”

After that, he got up and hurried to the sidelines. He whistled first for the team’s attention. Then he raised his index finger and shouted loudly, “It’s just one goal! No big deal! Equalize it and then overtake them!”

He could only pretend to ignore Mourinho now, or he really did not know what his expression should look like. What else could he do when his team was lagging behind?

Mourinho was asked by the fourth official to return to the technical area. He told him not to bother the opponent. If he wanted to celebrate, he could do it over at the other side. The fourth official pointed to the direction of the Chelsea substitutes bench.

Mourinho simply explained that he was just excited for a moment and had gone in the wrong direction. He then returned to his seat in the technical area.

※※※

The game restarted. The balance had been broken, and the Forest team faced an unfavorable situation. Since Twain had stood by the sidelines and shouted, he had not gone back to his seat since. Instead, he stood on the sidelines with his arms across his chest. He believed this could give the team a hint of self-confidence.

Of course, he did not stand on the sidelines like some managers who anxiously paced back and forth or fidgeted non-stop. He stood there with a straight back and stared at the field with a firm gaze as if standing at attention during his university military training.

It really did have some effect. After the kickoff, the Forest team’s fighting spirit did not deflate due to a conceded goal. On the contrary, their offense became fiercer.

Anelka began to retreat to aid the midfield frequently. Makelele’s defense in the middle was so strong that the Forest team’s strikers could not receive the ball for some time.

After the French striker’s return, the situation improved. The Forest team now had five midfielders, but Anelka was freer in his position. In addition, after his withdrawal, his speed advantage was also brought to play. Now that Makelele had run into the swift Anelka, it was not so easy.

Makelele’s positioning was very good. He was experienced and reasonably skilled in defense. However, those factors were a little weak in the face of a player who relied on speed to force breakthroughs.

After Anelka successfully broke through Makelele twice in a row, Tiago came to help with the defense.

When he tried to forcefully break through again, he was intercepted by Makelele, who grabbed hold of the opportune moment. Chelsea took the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Makelele passed the ball to Lampard, with Robben and Duff simultaneously advancing on the two flanks. But Chelsea’s rapid counterattack did not materialize as the ball at Lampard’s feet was stopped by George Wood.

George Wood passed the football to Arteta. During Albertini’s absence, he had gradually learned and became accustomed to his cooperation with the Spanish midfielder. In fact, he was the same with whomever he coordinated with. He would try to intercept the ball and pass it to another player after his successful interception. Then he would prepare for the next interception.

Anelka cut diagonally across the field. It seemed that he wanted Arteta to pass the ball to him. Makelele and Tiago closely watched Anelka’s movements. The French striker, who had just returned to the Premier League, had been performing so well lately that they dared not underestimate him. Moreover, Mourinho had also listed Anelka as the number one dangerous player in the Forest team before the game. He required the rear defensive line to raise their vigilance and be careful of his speed and unexpected shots.

The Frenchman’s positioning tore apart Chelsea’s midfield defensive line and disturbed their rear defensive line at the same time. Arteta took a look at Anelka, who ran and looked back at the same time; he had sent the ball directly to the left, which was the opposite of his running direction. It was Franck Ribéry’s side.

This was almost a replica of Chelsea’s goal before. The difference was that Chelsea’s goal was unexpected, and the Forest team’s attack was traceable. Anelka ran towards the right side, which spurred Chelsea’s defensive attention. There was naturally a lack of defensive strength on Ribéry’s side. Arteta delivered the ball in a very timely and accurate manner.

Ribéry was also determined to do his best as if he was in competition with Robben on ball-stopping skill. He stopped the ball firmly with one foot! But unlike Robben, who stopped the ball in front of himself to facilitate his acceleration and seamless action, Ribéry directly parked the football at his foot and remained still.

“This stopping of the ball...” Lineker wanted to say Ribéry’s stopping was not ideal, even though it might look impressive to be able to stop the ball securely with a more than thirty meters long pass. But what of it? It was not conducive to his next move, and could be considered as having “stopped him dead.”

Paulo Ferreira must have thought so too. He reckoned that this was a good chance to intercept the ball, so he rushed up without hesitation. At that time, Ribéry suddenly lobbed the ball at his feet forward!

Ribéry’s volley strength was so powerful that the football went far!

Was this a pass?

No!

After the football went out, Ribéry quickly got into action and bypassed the stupefied Ferreira!

This was a complete surprise to Ferreira, and also to Lineker’s surprise. Normally speaking, this was a stop-dead ball. Ribéry basically had no space to make his next move. But Ribéry had unexpectedly chosen the most direct method, which was to kick the football far away and then, while Ferreira could not respond in time, he suddenly started to accelerate and bypass the Portuguese full back!

“What a terrific breakthrough! There was not much technique required, but it was very effective!” Motson shouted out what Lineker wanted to say. There was indeed no technical skill to kick the football as far away as possible from the opponent. It also put the ball far away from oneself. He would have to then rely on ultra-fast speed to pursue to take advantage of the full back’s slow turn.

“Nottingham Forest has a chance! Ribéry single-handedly cut through the middle and into the penalty area!”

Carvalho dropped Mark Viduka and went to aid with defense, but Ribéry suddenly stopped the ball. Then he urgently spiked the ball the other way and swung past him. After he swung past, Ribéry did not continue to dribble the ball. He shot a volley on the spot!

ech judged the direction of his shot correctly. However, Ribéry shot was a fast rolling pass, which was the most annoying for a goalkeeper. The tall Czech goalkeeper landed on the ground at a slower speed than the football rolling forward... and the result was–

“A genius shot! Franck Ribéry! He has equalized the score to 1:1 for the Forest team!”

“This is the best comeback for Chelsea’s goal; the same method, but way more exciting! Even after he bypassed two players in a row, Ribéry’s speed and skill were at the top of the game! As the latest star player of the French national team, he has once again proved his ability!”

The atmosphere of the City Ground stadium was ignited by the goal. The torrential currents of red in the stands smothered the Chelsea fans’ blue squares.

Tony Twain, who had been standing erect on the sidelines, did not jump when he saw Ribéry’s goal. Instead, he vigorously pumped his fist.

The moment he had waited for was finally here. From the moment Mourinho wildly celebrated in front of his eyes, he had been waiting for this: the moment of revenge.

Now we’re even again, Mr. Mourinho!

Chapter 364 - A Dedication to Eastwood Part 1

When Forest equalized the score, Mourinho sat unmoving on his seat without any expression while the broadcast television gave him a close-up. Mourinho knew that there was going to be a camera turning his way to join in the fuss, so he kept his facial expression unchanged, not giving the TV station or commentators anything to talk about.

Even so, John Motson and Lineker, watching the scene from the broadcasting seats, could not stop laughing.

Tang En’s celebration at the sidelines was highly exaggerated. Mourinho, who was nearby, simply treated him like he was invisible, looking straight ahead without giving him a glance.

More than ten minutes ago, the two were in the exact same situation but with reversed roles.

Because of that, the scene seemed irrepressibly funny no matter how one looked at it.

With the restart of the match, both parties resumed some sort of balance. A stalemate in the field. Neither side was able to break through; in fact, neither side was willing to try and break through. They were only left with a few minutes before halftime. Neither intended to waste their energy on these last few minutes. Compared to their usual matches, this was much tougher.

Neither of the two managers said anything about making use of the last moments in the first half to go at their opponents. Tang En, who had celebrated the goal, continued standing by the sidelines while Mourinho stayed on the manager’s seat, not getting up.

The match time proceeded to its 45th minute, and the referee blew the ending whistle for its first half.

“1:1! It’s a very fair score. In the first half, both teams had their chances and took them. The performances of all the players were excellent. This matches our predictions from before the match. It is indeed turning out to be an exciting and intense match.”

“John, I think we can regard this as a rule. As long it’s Mourinho and Tony Twain’s teams clashing, it’s hard for it not to be this exhilarating.”

※※※

The members of Forest swarmed into the locker room. Ribéry started shouting, “Clothes off! Clothes off!”

With half the match past, it was a common occurrence for players to take off their sweat-sodden jerseys and change into their spare, fresh ones; but Ribéry’s purpose for shouting was certainly not that.

“Singlet, singlet… Wes, marker.”

Ribéry took the marker from Morgan and bent over the players’ bench, writing a line of words on the singlets, starting with his own.

The others gathered behind him, watching as he wrote on every one of their singlets.

Anelka made no motion to stop them, even when he saw them writing and drawing on his.

Their captain, George Wood, handed over a white singlet when it came to his turn, stumping Ribéry momentarily.

“George? I thought you didn’t ever wear this?”

“If I don’t wear it, where will you write?” Wood asked with furrowed brows.

Ribéry chuckled. “What a pity. We planned to write on your stomach.”

Laughter rippled through the locker room.

Tang En was met with that scene as he pushed the door open and entered the locker room. The players were all huddled in a circle. George Wood was standing in the middle while Ribéry was half sprawled on the floor. Everyone other than George Wood, including Albertini and Anelka who rarely laughed, was chuckling in delight.

“What’s going on?” Tang En was interested too.

Hearing his words, the group turned to look at him. Ribéry stood up from the ground.

“Boss, this is your fault.”

“My fault?” Tang En was completely confused.

“You knew that the Romani was coming to watch this match, right?” Ribéry asked.

“Yeah, but I wanted to give you guys a surprise, so I only told you before the match.”

“Look,” Ribéry said, opening his hands up. “We’re utterly unprepared. If you had told us a day earlier, we wouldn’t need to be writing on our singlets right now…”

The crowd parted, and Tang En finally saw what they were busy with. Their white singlets all had “Recover soon, we’re waiting for you, Freddy!” written on them with a marker.

He rubbed his nose, feeling a little abashed.

“If I could have lifted up my jersey up like this when I scored earlier!” Ribéry said, making the motion of flipping up his jersey, “Freddy would have seen it! Alas…”

“Eh… it’s not like we won’t be scoring in the second half. At that point, you can lift it!” Tang En said, also following-up with the motion to flip up his shirt.

“He’s just above us, and he’ll still be there in the second half. He won’t be leaving before the match ends.” Tang En pointed at the ceiling. “So, until the whistle signals the end of the match, you will all have the chance to let him see the words.”

Everyone agreed with Tang En and nodded.

“You’re right, Boss.” Ribéry stooped again and wrote the same line on Wood’s singlet. Regardless of if they were on the field or sitting on the substitutes’ bench, everyone had the same line written on their clothes.

Wood stood beside Ribéry, peering down quietly as Ribéry worked through their singlets.

Tang En was more curious about the other aspect of the matter. He asked, “Franck, which one of you came up with this idea?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Ribéry was busy with the writing and answered Tang En’s question without looking up.

“When I scored the goal, everyone came running over to celebrate. We felt we should show something to Freddy, but we had nothing underneath our jerseys. So, we thought we might as well write one.”

“Good…” Tang En nodded.

“Go busy yourselves, stop standing around.” With a wave of his hand, the players obediently moved back to their lockers and started changing, slipping the singlets over their heads.

While they were doing that, Tang En started talking about their gains and losses over the first half.

“Great job, everyone. Even though the loss of that first goal took me a little by surprise…” Without asking the players to stop what they were doing to listen, Tang En leaned on the front of the tactical board and casually continued. “But, our goal also certainly surprised Mourinho a lot.”

Chuckles filled the locker room.

“Keep playing this way in the second half. But, you two fullbacks…” Tang En said, pointing to Chimbonda and Leighton Baines, “Don’t move in too fast when you’re defending.”

The two nodded. Chimbonda understood that the ball loss was in no small part because of him.

“Other than that, I don’t have much to say. Overall, your performance was excellent. I can’t find any problems even if I scrutinize it with a magnifying glass. Are you guys this thrilled about going up against the number one team in the League? Against a team who’s had a no-loss streak for 10 matches?”

“Yes!”

“That’s right, Boss!”

“Good. Keep this momentum going. In 45 minutes, let’s come back here to celebrate a victory!” Tang En said, pointing to the spot beneath his feet.

※※※

In contrast with Tang En’s light-heartedness, Mourinho’s current expression was extremely stern.

In truth, the situation of a draw now was not bad. However, Mourinho’s expression would probably be somewhat better if Chelsea had been the one to equalize the score at the end. Right now, he had to walk off the field feeling like he was the loser.

The truth was that his team had not performed badly; they were at their usual standards. But, who had asked for his opponent in this match to be Tony Twain? Mourinho was completely unwilling to be at a disadvantage against that man.

Mourinho stood before his players and raised a single finger.

“In reality, Forest’s midfield defense consists of George Wood alone. But, our offense is not pressuring him much. He’s relaxed in the midfield, and we can’t have that! He’s the core of Forest’s defense. I am requesting that everyone pile even more pressure on him. Continue charging at him and creating trouble for him from all positions! Left wing, right wing, center…”

He turned to the tactical board behind him and quickly drew three lines. “When George Wood collapses, it’s not just their rear defense that will collapse; it’s also their offense. Just look what happened when they did not have Wood; they could not even beat Lille!”

“Additionally…” Mourinho suddenly recalled something. “According to what I know, George Wood doesn’t have a good temperament. If you can… find some way to do him in.”

Drogba whistled.

※※※

At the end of halftime, Mourinho held back Lampard, who was walking out.

“When I said to do George Wood in earlier, did you think it was a joke?”

Lampard was stunned, not expecting that a question from Mourinho. He deliberated about how he should answer but finally shook his head.

“No, Boss.”

Mourinho nodded.

“Good. I’m not joking. You know why I pulled you back to speak with you alone, right?”

Lampard nodded. “I know.”

“In this match, you have the most face-to-face interactions with him. You spend the longest with him… How much do you know about Wood?”

“I’ve heard some things about him. Just like you said, Boss. His temper isn’t good.”

Mourinho nodded as Lampard spoke. “Yes. Find a way to provoke him.”

※※※

The second half began. All of Forest’s players wore the singlets with “Recover soon, we are waiting for you, Freddy!” on them, and worked diligently towards getting their second goal.

Because of Tang En’s words, they suddenly had a new aim that was just as important as winning the match.

“He’s just above us, and he’ll still be there in the second half. He won’t be leaving before the match ends. So, until the whistle signals the end of the match, you will all have the chance to let him see the words.”

They must score!

Chapter 365 - A Dedication to Eastwood Part 2

George Wood realized that the opponent’s number 8, Lampard, who had been avoiding him throughout the first half, was actively engaging with him now in the second half. He was perplexed.

But, with such problems, if Wood could not think through it, he would simply stop thinking about it. Anyhow, Lampard approaching on his own initiative saved him trouble; he only needed to wait and defend.

In his mind, defending was several levels easier than going on the offensive.

He felt that Lampard was a little different from the first half; his hand movements were on the increase. But Wood was not at all bothered. When he defended, he also had additional movements like that. They were taught to him by the managerial team and his other teammates during training. In other words, while Lampard thought he was provoking Wood, Wood saw it as a very normal thing to do.

In the end…

Mourinho shook his head as he watched from below. He had miscalculated. He should not have gotten Lampard to do such a thing. Such an upright Englishman was not suitable for it…

There was no need to force it if it did not work; it was just a method he had come up with on the fly.

At that thought, Mourinho stood and walked slowly to the sidelines. He was prepared to signal to Lampard for him to stop whatever he was doing and to return his focus to breaking through Forest’s gates.

Simultaneously, Forest launched an attack. It began with Edwin van der Sar who threw the ball to Chimbonda. The Frenchman then passed it to Ashley Young, who had returned to follow up on their attack.

William Gallas approached to press him for the ball. In response, Ashley Young and Arteta pulled off a quick two-versus-one pass. Passing the ball to Arteta, Ashley Young turned and ran forward. Tacitly, the Spaniard immediately sent out a kick that went over Gallas’ head.

The ball did not land at Ashley Young’s feet, instead flying towards his front. That was exactly what he had hoped for. He could widen his steps and make full use of his speed advantage.

Gallas’ chase after Ashley Young was certain to fail. Carvalho then took off into the wings while Gallas sprinted towards the middle of the penalty area to momentarily take over the position of center back, filling in the defensive gap created by Carvalho.

“It’s another rapid counterattack! The speed of Forest’s flanks is not at all inferior to Chelsea, who has Robben and Duff!”

Although the brilliance and abilities of Ashley Young could not be compared with Ribéry, he was, at the very least, still frequenting England’s National Youth Team. Things like flanking attacks were some of his best moves. His breakthrough was like a strong gust of wind, stirring up the red waves in City Ground’s spectators’ stand.

Carvalho leaped forward ferociously. With an abrupt knock with his back heel, Ashley Young took the ball inside, at the same time switching up the direction of his movement. However, the core center back of the Portuguese National Team was not so easily deceived. Seeing Ashley Young lift his foot, he hastily skidded to a stop. When his opponent stopped, that was when he would stop too.

“It didn’t get past!”

But it wasn’t over.

After changing direction, Ashley Young rapidly followed up with his right foot, kicking the ball in the direction of the end line, yet again changing his line of movement.

Carvalho’s reaction was quick. Whenever Ashley Young moved, he followed. Although he could not keep up in terms of speed, he still had his legs. They were extremely close to the end line now. According to experience, Ashley Young would try to pass center; of all the midfielders in last season’s English Premier, he had the highest count of passes to the center.

As expected, at the moment when Carvalho stretched his leg out to block Ashley Young’s pass to the center, the core side midfielder of England’s National Youth Team attempted exactly that.

Except that his pass route was a little higher than Carvalho’s raised leg.

The football drew a high arc in the air, descending to the front of Chelsea’s goal.

“A pass to the center!”

The pass was still affected by Carvalho’s defense; its path was a little too high, a disadvantage for the forwards who had burst forward in their battle to get into position.

The three from Forest—Anelka, Mark Viduka, and Franck Ribéry—entered. Adding to that three rear defenders and a defending midfielder from Chelsea, seven people were crowded before the goal.

Faced with so many players crowded before him, ?ech calculated quickly in his mind and decided there was a risk of losing the ball if they continued trying to hold onto it; he might as well use a powerful strike to launch it outwards…

His fist landed on the football and successfully punched it out of the penalty area. But, the one who received the ball on the outside was not Chelsea’s player. It was someone in a red jersey—Arteta!

“Motherf…” Mourinho swore on the sidelines.

Arteta’s first contact with the ball could not kill it properly, and it bounced up in front of him.

“Makelele-”

The veteran French defensive midfielder dashed forward to intercept the ball, disregarding his own safety with the possibility of getting kicked himself.

Arteta was in a clear position to do a direct volley. The bouncing of the ball delayed him, but it was just as well. He could do a direct volley through the air!

Arteta did not see Makelele. His eyes saw only the football and the goal. Whatever was between did not exist to him.

“It’s- a volley!!”

ech quickly reacted. As he landed, he saw that Forest’s player had received the ball and immediately jumped to his feet again, leaping in the direction where the ball had come from. But...

If Makelele had not stood between Arteta and ?ech, the shot would have had an 80 to 90% chance of being blocked by ?ech. As it turned out, when Makelele stretched his feet out to block the shot flying at him, the ball bounced off his kneecap and changed directions.

Even if ?ech had been possessed by God in that instant, he could have done nothing to the ball that flew in the complete opposite direction.

Everyone watched as the ball crossed through the mob of players and flew into the other half of the goal.

Everyone—Tang En, the fans on the spectators’ stand, and the fans before their television sets—all jumped up with their arms raised.

“Nottingham Forest leads against Chelsea with a score of 2:1!”

“Forest! Forest!!”

Everyone, both at the live scene and before the television, started yelling.

“It looks like the psychological advantage that Tang En’s team has over Chelsea is continuing! Nottingham Forest does not fear Chelsea…”

“That’s right, they’re not afraid!!”

“Mourinho is in a pinch. From the beginning of the season until now, 10 rounds of the League have gone by. In that duration, Chelsea has yet to lose a match. On September 22 last year, in the seventh round of the last Premier League, they lost to Forest in this very stadium. From that point on, 41 rounds of the league have taken place. His team has not lost in the English Premier League since then! This is an incredible result. If they take down this match, they will create the second-best result of a no-loss streak in the English Premier League. They would be second only to Wenger’s Arsenal, and tied at second with Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. But now, Clough’s successor is taking actions to tell Mourinho, even if Forest’s previous record had already been passed, it’s still not that easy to catch up with it!”

“Forest’s previous glory has to be defended by Forest themselves!”

In truth, if Motson and Lineker had not brought that up, no one would have likely remembered that record. Anyway, it was already surpassed by Arsenal… Tang En had not used it to spur his team members before the match.

Especially after their goal, Forest’s players did not bother thinking so much about it. They had finally gotten an opportunity to score again. They would not be letting go of this chance! All of them excitedly ran to the main spectators’ stand as a group and faced the luxury box above. Under the lead of Arteta, who had scored, every one of them lifted their jerseys.

Including goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, the not-too-sociable Anelka, and George Wood, all eleven players had this written across their chests:

“Recover soon, we’re waiting for you, Freddy!”

Despite knowing beforehand what they were going to do, Tang En still felt moved when he was faced with the scene. Watching Anelka, who was usually distant from the entire team, and George Wood, who was always somewhat restrained, stand amongst the group with their unnatural expressions and their jerseys lifted to show the well-wishes written on their chests, Tang En felt that his team was already a cohesive unit no matter how it seemed on the surface.

When each person thought just a little more for someone else, that someone else would also think a bit more for them.

Tang En led the applause. Everyone in the technical area as well as those on the substitutes’ bench stood up and followed their lead in applauding those 11 players in thanks.

Following that, City Ground erupted in resounding applause that lasted for a long, long time.

※※※

“Freddy Eastwood, who was severely injured and absent from matches for seven months, is at this moment sitting in the luxury box. We don’t know how he feels watching this scene, but I have to say, this is one of the most moving celebrations I’ve seen. Borrowing their words, I also hope for Eastwood to recover soon and hurry back onto the field. He’s really a likable young lad.”

※※※

Eastwood, who had just been standing and cheering for the goal with the others, suddenly fell silent.

Sabina surreptitiously glanced at her husband and found him with a glimmer in his eyes. She smiled and said nothing, continuing to applaud.

Everyone in the luxury box responded the same way as did the 20 thousand fans beneath, in the spectators’ stands. They did not cheer loudly or scream in excitement; they only smiled and kept clapping.

Chapter 366 - It’s Not Over Yet Part 1

Twain stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest. The camera lenses were focused on his profile gazing into the distance at the top of the grandstand, where the electronic scoreboard clearly showed the score of 2:1. The home team, Nottingham Forest, was ahead of Chelsea.

Mourinho also stood on the sidelines. Unlike Twain, he had put his hands into his pockets.

Taking advantage of the loss of ball possession, Mourinho grabbed hold of Lampard. He told him to cancel that plan and devote all his energy to finding the Forest team’s defensive weaknesses.

The expressions on both managers’ faces were very serious. The game was not over. Being in the lead, Twain did not want Mourinho to catch up. He did not want to repeat Mourinho’s mistake. He knew that Chelsea was a tough nut to crack. There was nothing to be delighted about with a one-goal lead. Who knew what would happen next in the game?

Chelsea did not give up. There was still half an hour left in the second half of the game. They had time to equalize the score. They had not reached the end of the road yet.

What had they relied on to be unbeaten for forty-one rounds? It was not just Roman Abramovich’s ruble. Strictly speaking, this Chelsea team did not have any players recognized as international superstars. Although their values were not low, it was Abramovich who hyped the prices up. The team had been able to win the league last season with its absolute advantage because Manager Mourinho had united the team’s standard of fighting strength. He instilled an unyielding fighting spirit and a desire for victory in the “mercenary squad” put together by money. This point was very similar to Twain’s Forest team. Therefore, they won several times in face of adversity and managed to get out of danger repeatedly.

Today’s game was just one of those times to them.

Mourinho’s team never knew the meaning of concession.

After Chelsea lost the ball, they launched a frenetic counterattack against the Forest team, so much so that the leading Forest team had a hard time playing.

Mourinho let his team press forward to pressure the Forest team’s defensive line. At the same time, they created offside tactics to trap Anelka and Mark Viduka.

In that way, Chelsea’s formation was more compact, pressing and attacking layer by layer. Even if the Forest team used long passes to advance, the probability of the ball ending up at the feet of the Chelsea players was high. Then they would organize two, three, four strikes. This would give the Forest players the impression that Chelsea’s offense was relentless. For the defenders, as the pressure increased until they could not withstand the pressure and crumbled, the specific phenomenon would result in them committing errors on their own.

George Wood was so tangled up by Lampard that he was too occupied to attend to the other attacks from Chelsea.

In turn, Chelsea looked for a point to assail and repeatedly struck the ball in that direction, which was their right flank and the Forest team’s left flank.

Duff and Robben would occasionally switch positions in the game. They were not fixed to the left or right and the two players switched even more frequently. Leighton Baines was the weakest among the Forest team’s four starting fullbacks. Mourinho knew that, and so did the Chelsea players. They constantly struck Baines’ defensive zone to make him crack earlier than the other points in the Forest team.

“Push them out! Push them out!” Twain yelled on the sidelines and waved his arms vigorously, but no one noticed. Even if someone noticed him, it was of no use. It was not as if the Forest team’s front line could push out the opponents just because he shouted, “push them out.”

Chelsea pressed on too hard. The Forest team had completely fallen into their tempo. What good could come out of following the opponents’ pace?

In spite of the critical situation, Twain did not intend to adjust by substitution. He did not have a suitable substitute player for the current situation.

Any game could face a situation whereby the opponents suddenly exerted force to form an absolute advantage and lay siege to a goal. But still, one should not panic at those times. Blindly making hasty adjustments would only give the opponents opportunities to take advantage.

Twain did not make any adjustments. He believed that the eleven Forest players on the field could withstand the waves of Chelsea’s offense.

As long as they resisted, Chelsea would be dampened. Mental frustration would bring on physical exhaustion. At that time, it would be the Forest team’s turn to counterattack.

The crux of the matter only had one point, which was to withstand Chelsea’s tornado of attacks.

But the more crucial question was, could the Forest team withstand it?

They were not facing a team that was in the lower ranks of the league, but the top-ranked team, Chelsea, with the highest number of goals scored at twenty-four and the least number of conceded goals at only four in ten rounds of the league.

This was truly a tough challenge.

※※※

Leighton Baines felt exhausted. Even though the game had been going for sixty-five minutes, he was not a player who was physically weak. In fact, he had good stamina and could run very well. However, if he had to face a team’s offense, he would be worn down no matter how well he could run.

He had started out at Wigan Athletic, and he even received Wigan Athletic’s greeting before the season’s opening game with his former club. As one of the most successful players to debut at Wigan Athletic, he had become a standard brand name for Wigan Athletic’s youth training, that a football star could also come from a rugby-obsessed town.

Although he had joined the Forest team, his favorite team was still Wigan Athletic.

At that time, Twain had used the “main position” to attract him to the Forest team and he quickly became the main left back. Although he was only twenty years old, he already had a complete Premier League season experience. Now he was not considered an inexperienced rookie anymore. He was currently Nottingham Forest’s main left back and England’s under-21 youth team’s main left back. He was rumored to be a future star whom Ferguson was interested in.

Still, he played appallingly in this game.

He certainly knew who he was facing: Ireland national footballer Damien Duff and the Netherlands’ national footballer, Arjen Robben. They were the top players in European football. His ability was still far beneath theirs. But despite his opponents’ strength surpassing his, he was not willing to accept that it was natural for him to play so appallingly.

None of Twain’s players were willing to admit that they were inferior to others.

They were as competitive as their boss and did not like to lose.

Ribéry came back to help him defend, but the Frenchman was not good at doing that kind of thing. Not to mention, the Forest team was now overwhelmed by the pressure. They were most in need of using offense to turn the tides. If he came back again, who was going to counterattack?

Anelka and Viduka continued to fall into Chelsea’s offside trap. With Ribéry’s fast speed, the side midfielder could plug in to have more opportunities to break through the trap.

He did not want Ribéry to come back. Otherwise, even if he intercepted the ball, the ball would still be trapped in a tight loop and be unable to break through because the two players were too close. It could only be intercepted by Chelsea, and then he would have to repeat everything that had been done before.

It was too tiring!

Wood usually would support the defense on both flanks because he had good stamina and was fast. Twain also asked him to expand his defensive zone. But today, he was entangled with Lampard.

Just now, when he rushed over to help with the defense, Duff immediately passed the ball to Lampard in the middle. Chelsea’s number 8 kicked a long shot that forced Edwin van der Sar to make a wonderful save, which also made the Forest fans scream.

The defensive barrier in the middle had hit an impasse. All offense on the flanks were done to find opportunities in the middle. If Wood ran to support Baines, what about Lampard? What about Tiago?

This time Robben exchanged positions with Duff. He came to face Baines’ defense, and Duff went to the other side.

Robben’s characteristics were small running steps with a fast pace and straight upper body. He almost relied on his two legs rapidly alternating and zigzagging to shake off his opponents.

Baines put all his focus to mark Robben, who dribbled the ball in front of him. He knew Robben was fast. Half a second of negligence and distraction could lead to his opponent’s breakthrough.

Ribéry moved closer to Baines, but Baines had eyes for Robben alone.

“Mark him! Don’t make a move lightly! Stick to the inside line!” Even Albertini anxiously yelled on the sidelines.

Twain glanced at the Italian. Demetrio had said on more than one occasion that he wanted to be a manager after retirement. His favorite games which he was the best at were the CM and FM series. It looked like he had to cultivate his ability on the training field.

※※※

The Chelsea fans were excited by the continuous bombardment. The massive amount of adrenaline pumping through their veins made them cheer their team with flushed faces. The Forest fans jeered at Chelsea.

In such a noisy environment, Baines could not hear Albertini’s roar. But it was the basic requirement of a defensive player to know what the seasoned captain was shouting.

Robben’s speed did not look fast, but Baines did not dare not take it lightly. This was not the first time he had encountered the “Flying Dutchman” in this game. He knew that this seemingly slow dribbling of the ball contained a very strong explosive power.

Robben moved the football to his instep and Baines moved ahead to block. The Dutchman suddenly pulled back the football. The inside cut was only a feint. The purpose was to deceive Baines into shifting his center of gravity inward. His real purpose was still to get to the byline and deliver a cross.

Chapter 367 - It’s Not Over Yet Part 2

After he pulled back the ball, Robben suddenly accelerated and dribbled it towards the end line!

Baines anticipated Robben doing just that. He guarded against it when he tried to block the inside line. And now he quickly turned around. He brought up the fastest speed he could muster and closely marked Robben. He was still stuck on the inside and did not give the Dutchman the slightest chance of overtaking him. Robben was now ahead of Baines by about a quarter of his body length, but he was not confident of shaking him off.

Seeing that the football was going to be dribbled past the end line, Robben suddenly stepped on the ball at the end line and braked. He and the still running Baines slid out of the field together due to the sudden stop.

However, one of them suddenly stopped on his own accord, and the other one reacted to the sudden halt. Next, Robben had the upper hand with his reaction speed. He turned his body and shook off Baines, who was lying on the ground. He wanted to get the ball back and dribbled it into the penalty area. He was momentarily stunned when he turned: the ball was gone!

The referee blew his whistle. Robben saw the assistant referee raising the flag in his hand and pointing towards the corner arc under his feet.

“Corner kick! Just when he lost his balance, Leighton Baines stabbed out the ball, which Robben had stopped at the end line! Nice defense!”

Enthusiastic applause rang out from the stands.

Baines’s chest heaved as he lay on the ground. He knew that the applause was dedicated to him. But he was not happy because he knew that this time he had done his best and yet his opponent was still awarded a corner kick. He did not know what would happen next.

He wanted to get up and go back to the goal to defend but suddenly found that his right foot had no strength. He tried to use force, but instead, a piercing pain came over him. A thought suddenly came to his mind: I’m done...

Lying on the ground, Baines raised both of his hands, extended his index fingers, and slowly circled twice. This was a gesture to indicate to the manager that he could not play in the game any longer and needed to be replaced. After he did that, he covered his face with his hands and stayed still.

“Dammit...” Twain saw Baines’s signal and swore under his breath.

Fleming had already run over with the team doctor. Baines had fallen on the sidelines. They did not need the referee’s permission to enter.

“Gareth!” Twain shouted without turning his head, “Go warm up! You only have one corner kick’s time!”

Bale sprang from his seat, not looking surprised. Without hesitation, he took off his vest and ran to the sidelines.

Kerslake stood up from his seat and walked over to Twain. “Baines is done?”

Twain nodded. “I think it was a sprained ankle. I saw that his angle was a little awkward when he shoveled the ball... He used force to shift his center of gravity while moving really fast.”

“F**k...” Kerslake also swore. Albertini had just recovered from his injury, and now another player on the Forest team was injured. There were almost no major injuries in the previous two seasons. This season, when the Forest team needed to compete in multiple tournaments, there was one injury after another.

The two coaches stood on the sidelines and silently watched the field.

The referee saw Baines make the gesture for substitution and ran over to inquire. Then he routinely followed up with a wave of his hand to let the Forest team doctors come up. After he saw that the Forest team doctors already ran towards here, he returned to the field and signaled for the Chelsea player to reposition the football. Then he ran back into the penalty area.

The game would continue and would not be stopped because of a player’s injury. The Forest team could only play with ten players. One less player might be an important factor in breaking the balance for them.

Mourinho also clearly knew that the corner kick was an opportunity that he could make use of. He waved for the entire team to advance, leaving only Paulo Ferreira and the goalkeeper, Petr ?ech, in the backfield. The trio of fullbacks, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and William Gallas all rushed into the Forest team’s penalty area.

The atmosphere in front of the Forest team’s goal suddenly heated up.

“This is our chance to equalize the score! Don’t let go!” Terry shouted to rouse up his teammates.

“Defend! Watch them and mark them closely!” Edwin van der Sar also yelled at his teammates to mark Chelsea’s lanky player. “Push outward, push outward!”

※※※

It seemed so near and yet so far. Nothing could better describe how Baines felt.

The Forest team’s crowded goal area was five meters away from him. He could clearly hear the voices of both teams’ players while they competed for positions. With his eyes closed, he could imagine what it would be like at this moment in the goal area. It must be chaotic.

But he was unable to do anything. His injury had caused the team to be short a player. Could they withstand the attack? Did they have someone to take over and stand on the right post?

Fleming squeezed his right ankle and asked him if it hurt. He did not even answer.

“It seems that the injury is serious since you can’t even feel it.” Fleming took an ice pack from the medical kit and pressed it on Baines’ ankle, which he then wrapped in a bandage.

※※※

The rampage in front of the Forest team’s goal finally subsided, but everyone knew it was only temporary. Just like the calm before the storm, it was filled with pent-up anxiety and restlessness.

The referee blew the whistle in his mouth as he withdrew from the penalty area.

Lampard raised his right fist high in the air, which was Chelsea’s cue for the corner kick tactic. No one knew what it meant besides them.

The football shot out towards the goal. The two Chelsea center backs, Drogba and Carvalho, were still wrestling for control up until that moment. They had to jump to fight for the header, and the Forest team’s center backs were not going to let them. But those two players were just decoys.?The desperate display they put on in front of the Forest team’s goal was just to attract the Forest team’s defensive attention.

John Terry sprinted from the penalty spot and jumped.

He leaped high without anyone guarding him!

“John Terry... and a GOOOOAL!!”

Edwin van der Sar hurriedly tried to save the goal. He jumped up and waved his hands only to watch the football fly into the goal.

Great cheers broke out in the visitors’ stands.

Hearing the unfamiliar cheer, Fleming, who was bandaging Baines, lowered his head and swore. “Dammit!” At the same time, he accidentally applied more force with his hands.

Baines finally reacted. He frowned and gasped.

Gareth Bale, who warmed up with sprints on the sidelines, also stopped in his tracks. He could not continue to warm up because the warm-up area was full of people now. The Chelsea players bolted to the area to celebrate the goal. Waving their fists at the Chelsea fans in the stands behind him, the Blues fans responded with cheers.

Bale coolly looked at the people. Suddenly he heard someone call his name. The assistant coach, Mr. Kerslake, waved at him. “Gareth! Come back! It’s your turn to play!”

With another glance at the excited Chelsea people, Gareth Bale turned and ran towards the Forest team’s technical area.

When he passed Chelsea’s technical area, his eye was caught by the movements of Mourinho’s wild celebration. The Portuguese manager even knelt and slid on the ground like a player who just scored! He wore a black windbreaker and glided with both knees on the ground!

He was once again the focus of attention.

Knowingly and unknowingly, the television viewers and the spectators in the stadium all turned their attention to the manager who never hid his feelings.

“Wow! That’s is the best celebration from a manager that I’ve ever seen!” Motson shouted.

When Gareth Bale ran back to his team’s technical area, he still turned to look at Mourinho.

“Don’t look, Gareth.” Twain’s voice rang out from behind him.

“Ah, I’m sorry, sir...” Bale thought the manager must have been displeased.

Twain cleared his throat. “I’ve said many times that you shouldn’t call me ‘sir’ on the First Team. Just call me boss or chief.”

“Yes, chief...”

Twain glanced at Mourinho, who was still performing in front of the camera, and asked, “Do you think that’s a cool move?”

Bale nodded at first and then immediately shook his head. “No. That’s nothing, chief.”

Twain grinned. “Now you have a chance to let me do the same. Baines is injured, so you’re going to replace him as the left back. You have to plug in to assist when necessary.”

“Not defense, chief?” Bale was a little puzzled. A left back’s first responsibility should be to defend. After all, Chelsea had just attacked ferociously.

“If we keep defending, this is how it’ll turn out.” Twain pointed to the electronic scoreboard on the far side of the stand. “So, when you can, send the ball out.”

Bale nodded to indicate his understanding.

“Go on then, play well! If you score, I’ll give you a better celebration than that!” Twain winked at Bale.

The young man laughed. “What cool thing are you going to do, chief?”

“You’ll know when the time comes. Score a goal for me, and you’ll see!” Twain moved Bale towards the area just outside the center line.

After taking the lead in the first fourteen minutes, the Forest team was equalized, but it was not the end by any means. Mourinho, who caught everyone’s attention with an unconventional celebratory move in the blink of an eye, knew very well that Tony Twain understood that too.

It’s not over yet.

Chapter 368 - A Goal to Fame Part 1

Without the formality of the outgoing player and the one entering high fiving or hugging, 16-year-old Gareth Bale ran onto the field. On television, John Motson was introducing Gareth Bale’s youth to the audience, and how he surpassed the record in the English Premier League as the youngest player to be fielded during his match with Man City.

On the other side, Leighton Baines had hopped back on one leg with Fleming’s support. An ice pack was wrapped around his right foot on his swollen ankle.

Upon seeing him “walk” back, Tang En hurriedly went forward to give Baines a hug.

“You did great, Leighton. Have a good rest now.”

After Baines returned to the substitutes’ bench, Fleming came up beside Tang En and reported on the injuries.

“The situation is better than I originally thought. It’s a sprain, but he didn’t hurt the bones. Just one to two weeks of recovery should do the job.”

Tang En nodded. “That’s certainly better than I imagined.”

In that time, Nottingham Forest only had two matches scheduled. Furthermore, they were scheduled within six days from the end of the match; it was not a particularly packed schedule. Forest would have plenty of time to breathe.

※※※

“16 years old?” Mourinho flipped the notebook at hand. On it was the information for every player on the Forest Team listed with as much detail as possible. This was how Mourinho stayed a step ahead of the others. When he had been coaching in Portugal, the club had refused to assign him a scout. He had then used his own funds to hire one to help him investigate into detailed information on his opponents. Now, he had brought the same tactic into the Premier League.

“Doesn’t Tony have anyone else to use?” He threw the book to his assistant and stood at the sidelines, thinking.

“Tell them that the offense direction won’t change. Continue with that wing.”

He wanted to take advantage of the momentum after his team had scored to make another push, scoring yet another goal to complete the reversal. Mourinho understood what Tang En’s team was like. Only at this time would it be the greatest blow to Forest’s morale. A team like them would jump up and bite their opponents if they were not thoroughly beaten down.

※※※

The match continued. Chelsea’s shared consensus only increased. It was obvious to everyone; their target was still Forest Team’s left-wing defense. After Leighton Baines’s departure from the field, Gareth Bale was faced against Robben and Duff’s alternating attacks.

Everyone was worried about whether the 16-year-old Bale could hold on. In the event that he collapsed as well, Forest would be finished for this match. As a result, many people began doubting if Tang En’s decision to send Bale in was correct. Not only would it harm his own team, but it might also hurt young Bale; if he was crushed by the pressure of such an important mission in a crucial match like this, he would be embroiled in a nightmare of failure for a long time to come.

But Tang En was not worried in the least bit. He had seen Bale’s recordings during Youth Team training and matches. It was he who had brought Bale from Southampton to Nottingham; he understood the inner strength of the kid. He was not shy anymore.

When Tang En called him back to get ready to enter the field, the boy showed only a leisurely interest in Mourinho’s celebratory actions. From that, Tang En knew that he was not, in fact, anxious.

That’s right, Tang En recalled. Bale’s father was in the spectators’ stands. Tang En turned and scanned the stands. In the crowd of people, he naturally could not find Bale’s father, but Tang En believed he must have been in some corner. Ever since Bale had been formally transferred to the First Team, his father had made sure to watch the match live at the scene as long as Bale was informed of his selection as one of the 16 players on the team list, regardless of if it was a home or away match.

Although this was not Bale’s first time appearing in the English Premier League, and he had even played as a starter through the whole match against Man City, that sort of match could not compare with this match against Chelsea.

This could be said to be a critical mission entrusted to him.

※※※

Bale was truly calm. He was not in the least bit nervous. He greatly disappointed all those who were waiting to see him stumble because of his nerves. Just five minutes after he went onto the field, he successfully defended against Duff, blocking his pass to the center out into the sidelines.

On the field, Bale’s mind was filled with only the match, his opponents, and Tang En’s words: “Baines is injured. You’re going in to substitute for him as the left back. When it’s required, you also need to cut forward to assist with the offense.”

Just that. It was simple. He did not need to consider what other nonsense there was; how strong his opponents were, how they were at a disadvantage, how he was entrusted a critical mission, or what heavy burden he carried on his shoulders.

He just had to play well.

Thanks to Chelsea’s offense heavily leaning to the right, just six minutes after Gareth Bale entered the field, he had already been featured several times on the television monitor with numerous close-ups. Every one of the audiences could clearly see the serious expression and focused gaze on the youthful face of the young player who somehow looked a little like a monkey.

Chelsea came at them again. This time, the one charging was Paulo Ferreira. But his dribble went slightly wide. Bale, who was sharp enough to notice, suddenly cut in and intercepted the ball.

After intercepting, Bale boxed out the position to protect the ball. Unlike Baines, he did not immediately send the ball out with a powerful kick, instead continuing to fend off Paulo Ferreira, who was harassing him from his back.

Everyone worried for him as he maintained extensive possession of the ball on the defensive line; if he were to be intercepted, the opponent would obtain a fatalistic opportunity to directly go at their goal.

“A young player who does not know better” was the only evaluation some people had of Bale’s actions.

Duff noticed that Bale had seemingly gotten himself into a pinch, being entangled with Ferreira. He then decided to move forward to pincer Bale and steal his ball.

However, as he ran forward, Bale unexpectedly kicked the ball towards the sidelines. Then, just as it was about to roll out of bounds, Bale again used his foot to gently send it forward. The football rolled along the sidelines, passing Ferreira’s foot to behind the Portuguese full back!

And what about Duff, who had come forward to steal the ball? He happened to be blocked from advancing by Ferreira.

Bale swiftly turned and overtook them from outside the field, getting past Ferreira and Duff at the same time!

With the Portuguese fullback moving forward to assist in the offense, Chelsea’s right wing, for a distance, was void of defending players.

Upon seeing Bale break free from the encirclement, Ribéry immediately rushed towards the middle, pulling Tiago along with him. In that manner, the entire stretch of the flank became completely empty.

Bale also chose not to pass the ball to his senior, Ribéry. Instead, he dribbled the ball forward and charged ahead.

“A beautiful breakaway!”

Tang En, watching from the sidelines, balled his fists and shouted, “Good lad!”

Newborn calves are unafraid of tigers! Bale’s breakthrough was a great morale boost! In the situation where Forest had been thoroughly suppressed by Chelsea, so much so that they could not even raise their heads or kick the ball out of their half of the field, Bale beautifully and resolutely broke away from the two Chelsea players surrounding him, emerging from such a heavy encirclement. This was not just a mere breakthrough by kicking the ball out of Chelsea’s encirclement.

George Wood, all the while having been quiet on the field, suddenly hollered, “Everyone, move up!”

The constant suppression from Chelsea had inflamed him. Having been in such a sorry state, and with one of their own getting injured, how could it be acceptable if they could not counterattack even once? Would they still look as if they were playing a home ground match? Constantly having their opponents press down on their heads… Who was willing to suffer that?

So, seeing his teammates in a daze, he could not help but erupt with the first roar.

As if awoken from a dream, every one of Forest’s players pressed forward, sweeping the dark clouds from having been helplessly beaten by their opponents away.

Tiago realized something was wrong and hastily abandoned Ribéry, rushing towards Bale instead.

Anelka ran in towards the wings to support Bale, but the latter still had no intention of passing the ball. With a sudden turn, he turned his back to Tiago. Just as Tiago thought Bale would pass the ball to Anelka, or Arteta who was just a short distance away, Bale abruptly knocked the football backward with his heel, with the ball crossing over from between Tiago’s legs.

Tiago did not see that happening. All he saw was Bale suddenly moving from in front of him and instantly disappearing without leaving behind even a shadow.

“A turn and another breakthrough! Beautiful! Beautiful! Gareth Bale’s appearance has brought the entire Forest Team back to life!”

It was again an overtake from outside the field. Tiago hurriedly tried to chase after him, but he was unable to match up to young Bale.

Carvalho could no longer continue defending the middle. Now, there was not a single Chelsea player in front of Bale. He could go towards the end line and pass center or cut inward to shoot at the goal. Someone needed to stop him.

Bale, who was completely engrossed in dribbling the ball, could care less about who stood before him. He had only one thing on his mind: getting past him.

But the abilities of the Portuguese main center back could not be underestimated. Bale tried to abruptly change direction again, but the somewhat skinnier and weaker boy was abruptly slammed into by Carvalho, knocking the football cleanly out of the sidelines.

With Bale sprinting at top speed, he was knocked off balance by Carvalho and thrown out head first, rolling on the ground several times before coming to a stop. City Ground rang with resounding jeers, but the main referee did not foul Carvalho, only awarding Forest a throw-in.

Bale climbed up from the ground as if he was still within a dream. The young champion, who had calmed down after getting slammed into, could not believe he had dribbled the ball from Forest’s end line all the way forward in a craze, passing three players in a row and even managing to get so close to the opponent’s end line. He even made Chelsea’s defense general, Carvalho, resort to a “suspected foul” before he was stopped. His heart was still racing. Even he himself did not know if it was because he was tired, or for some other reason.

Despite their displeasure for the referee’s performance, all of the fans in City Ground dedicated their most enthusiastic applause to the 16-year-old, Gareth Bale. From within Chelsea’s encirclement, he led the team to slash a bloody path out; his performance was, without doubt, worthy of exuberant applause.

Hearing the applause, Bale looked back towards the technical area. He wanted to see the managerial team’s evaluation of his recent performance. What he saw was Tang En’s thumbs raised high up.

Well done, lad. Well done!

Bale finally smiled, though it was one with a hint of bashfulness.

Motson also showered him with immense praise.

“Gareth Bale! Everyone, remember that name! In years to come, he will doubtless grow into one of Forest’s core players. This long-range raid was simply exhilarating! That forward momentum and coolness he showed managing the ball makes it hard to believe he is only 16!”

Chapter 369 - A Goal to Fame Part 2

Anelka came up to Bale and punched him in the chest. He did not blame him for not passing, instead saying, “Not bad.” Then, he turned and ran back into the penalty area.

Ribéry also jogged over to pat Bale’s head. “You’re pretty great huh? You made me think the one dribbling earlier was me!”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense.” Arteta came up and pulled Ribéry away.

“Thanks for bringing the ball out and giving us an opportunity to attack.”

Faced with their various praises, Bale could only smile. He truly did not know what to say.

He suddenly noticed George Wood looking in his direction.

On the Youth Team, Tang En had once asked Wood to take care of Bale. Bale regarded Wood as a big brother and idol, looking up to him. Other than Tang En, the praise he hoped to hear most now was from Wood.

But when Wood saw Bale looking back, he moved his gaze away.

Bale felt somewhat disappointed. He lowered his head and turned to walk to the sidelines, preparing to throw-in.

At that point, Wood suddenly ran over and picked up the ball before Bale could.

Bale was taken aback.

“You. Receive the ball.” Wood said, pointing to the front. “Then bring it out for a pass.”

Feeling exceptionally happy, a smile grew on Bale’s face.

※※※

On the spectators’ stands, a short and chubby middle-aged man was pulling at the people around him, exclaiming excitedly, “Hey! Did you all see that? Did you all see that breakthrough? He passed three players in a row! That’s my son! My son is a genius! I’ll tell you, those idiots at Southampton didn’t believe me. They must be dying of regret! My son is a genius! A real genius!”

Whether the people at his side were listening or not, he kept rambling. And when he finished, he ran towards the field shouting, “Beautifully done, son! Let them see what you’re made of!”

※※※

Though the beautiful dribble still ended up being destroyed, Gareth Bale’s attack gave an enormous boost of confidence to Forest. The appearance of a mere 16-year-old child could disrupt and unsettle Chelsea. Why couldn’t they?

To be suppressed by the away team to the point that they could not raise their heads or launch the ball forward… Not only did the score get evened out, but they also had an injured teammate. They’d had enough!

If we don’t show you some claws, you’ll still think we, Nottingham Forest, are this easily bullied!

The situation on the field gradually started turning around. From Chelsea having the absolute advantage, it became a more balanced situation. In fact, on occasion, Forest could even suppress Chelsea for a bit.

Even though it was a forced substitution, they had managed to reap unexpected results.

In the managers’ seats, Kerslake said to Tang En, “Do you know what I remembered, watching Bale break through the wings earlier?”

“What?” Tang En asked without turning, his attention on the field.

“I remembered when you brought him to the Youth Team to sign his contract.”

Tang En turned to look at Kerslake.

“I thought it was brilliant. Not the breakthrough that just happened. I’m talking about when you told Bale in Wilford to have confidence and smile. That left me with a deep impression. When I saw him running with the ball earlier, I thought, this kid sure is confident! He was facing Chelsea, Paulo Ferreira, Damien Duff, Tiago, and Carvalho… But he didn’t retreat. He just…” Kerslake motioned forward with his hands. “Just went straight ahead!”

“That’s because you taught him well on the Youth Team, David. I didn’t do anything. A few words of praise are a simple thing to me.”

“But children always see that as the highest reward. It’s their motivation to keep working hard.”

Tang En chuckled.

※※※

“For fairness’ sake… A draw is reasonable for both sides. But…”

“But, neither of these managers would think a draw is reasonable or fair.” Lineker continued, following-up Motson’s words.

“You’re right, Gary. There’s still more to come for this match!” Motson said excitedly.

“I don’t want such an exhilarating match to end in a draw, that would be too bland!”

※※※

The match progressed into its final 10 minutes. The score for both sides remained at 2:2. On the field, the situation continued to be a stalemate. Both sides had opportunities, but neither got a good grasp of them.

Mourinho and Tang En stood at the sidelines and observed the field with stern faces. Mourinho did not dare to underestimate the 16-year-old boy any longer. After entering the field, Bale was extremely active. Though he was somewhat strained dealing with the defense, he received support from the other Forest players. Wood also purposefully leaned towards the wings; while keeping a close eye on Lampard’s movements, he also dabbled in the wing’s defense.

In terms of their offense, Bale was a beneficial supplement to Ribéry; his forward cutting put tremendous defensive pressure on Chelsea on his side of the wings. In comparison to Chimbonda, Gareth Bale excelled even more in assisting. His pass to the center from the left was more accurate than Ribéry’s; whether it was the arc, speed, or height of it, all of it were fantastic.

Looking at the lively Bale, Mourinho suddenly found himself full of envy for Forest’s youth training level. After he had taken over as Chelsea’s manager, Abramovich had poured in large sums of money to establish the Youth Team. He built them the best training facilities, the most modern training grounds, and hired the top Youth Team managers with attractive salaries. He even put massive funds and effort into buying young footballers with potential from all over the world. But none of the players in Chelsea’s Youth Team could be like Forest’s Youth Team, shining with such resplendence during a match.

Dammit!

※※※

Tang En looked down at his watch. There were still five minutes before the match’s injury stoppage time. He had just substituted Viduka with Bendtner to further enhance their offense. He still had a final substitution quota left. He was hesitating to continue his adjustments.

Arteta dribbled the ball, attempting to enter Chelsea’s penalty area, but was tripped by Makelele when he was seven to eight meters away. The main referee then awarded Forest a direct free kick.

As usual, Arteta put the ball he hugged onto the ground; he was intending to take the shot himself.

Off the field, Tang En’s eyes brightened.

As Forest’s core penalty kicker, Arteta would surely have been researched by Mourinho. It was impossible for ?ech not to know how Arteta was going to kick. Why don’t I swap out the kicker at the last minute? We’ll catch him unawares!

He brought both hands to his mouth and formed a horn shape, shouting onto the field, “Mikel! Switch with someone!”

Arteta looked back strangely at Tang En. Switch? With who?

“Let Bale do it! Let him kick!”

Bale was surprised to hear Tang En’s words. He had not expected the main manager to directly assign him to take the shot.

Arteta did not express any unhappiness. In training, Bale had trained for set-piece kicks like this with him. He knew of Bale’s capabilities. So, he waved for him to come forward instead and passed the ball with a pat to his shoulder. “You can do it!”

Seeing Bale come forward, Wood ran back and took Bale’s earlier position to substitute for him for the defense.

This was Forest’s hard-earned set piece opportunity in the last stages of the match. Practically everyone moved up for it.

They were 26 meters from the goal, with a slight lean towards the right. Forest had gained an opportunity for a direct free kick.

Bale was the kicker.

The short, chubby man who kept on raving about his son’s genius in the stands stopped. Instead, he anxiously watched his son as the boy bent down to position the ball.

On the sidelines, Mourinho had his head lowered, flipping through his notebook. There was a final line of “PS: Extremely good at free kicks” under Bale’s capabilities.

His brow tightened.

Extremely good. To what extent was he extremely good?

Chelsea arranged for a frontal five-man wall. Forest’s Arteta did not just stand in front of the ball for show; he squeezed into Chelsea’s player wall as well.

Once the ball was positioned, Bale took a step back and stood still. His run-up distance was much closer than Arteta’s. ?ech found the opponent before him extremely unfamiliar. He did not have any information on Gareth Bale’s free kick; he did not know what kind of style Bale had gotten into, which corner he preferred, how fast he was, or how powerful his kick was…?ech could only lean on his experience to leap for the ball.

The referee found the retreated distance of Chelsea’s player wall to be insufficient and went forward to request that they move further back. Chelsea’s players all shuffled backward unwillingly.

All of that failed to disrupt Bale. After he had set down the ball, he only stared straight at the opponent’s goal.

The referee jogged away in satisfaction once Chelsea’s player wall moved to the designated distance. The whistle then sounded, indicating for Forest’s player to take the penalty kick.

At the whistle, Bale tapped his left toe on the ground and launched into his run-up. One step, two steps, and shoot!

Just as he was in the Youth Team matches and in training facing a moving player wall, Bale felt he was in good condition the instant he took the shot.

Makelele leaped up, but the ball flew just a hair over his bald head! As it spun, the ball drew a wondrous arc, shooting through the Czech Footballer of the Year, Petr ?ech, and his 10 fingers like an arrow!

“What a fantastic goal by Gareth Bale!”

Chapter 370 - We’ve Won Part 1

“The game has progressed for eighty-six minutes and the home team, Nottingham Forest, has been awarded a direct free kick in the front field. This is a precious chance; almost all the Forest players have rushed up to watch.”

“Arteta gives the football to the young Gareth Bell. This is the first time he has stood in front of the football to prepare for a free kick since his debut. Gareth Bale, aged sixteen, is an outstanding player from the Forest Team Youth training camp. He can play the two positions of left back and left midfielder. He’s capable in assists and very good at free kicks.”

“Let’s see if young Bale can score the first goal of his career in the game against Chelsea! This is the crucial goal that decides the victory! The pressure must be high for him.”

“...But the kid’s performance has already surprised us repeatedly. If he can really withstand the pressure and score this goal, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“At sixteen years old, the Welsh kid, Gareth Bale, stands before the ball. In front of him is the wall of five Chelsea players. This may be the free kick that will determine the final outcome of this game and a goal that will determine Bale’s future.”

The commentator stopped his commentary. The spectators in the stands and at home held their breath.

On the tiny television screen, Bale stepped back. As the referee’s whistle rang, he ran and swung his leg to take a shot.

The football drew an arc over Makelele’s bald head, skirted ?ech’s outstretched fingers and brushed past the goalpost into the goal!

Countless arms stretched out, and no one could hear the sound of the commentary coming from the television. Even the image on the screen swayed violently. The entire City Ground stadium was in a frenzy.

“GOOOAL!” In the stands, Bale’s father turned to hug a man fatter than he was.

“GOOOAL!” Countless red-clad Forest fans jumped with their arms aloft in the stands.

“City Ground stadium is shaking. Gary, can you feel it?” Motson asked in the commentator’s box.

“Of course, John. Bale has ignited this red volcano, and it’s gorgeous! It’s perfect! At sixteen years old, Gareth Bale’s performance in this game is impeccable!”

“Wait, Gary, there’s something even more gorgeous.” Motson suddenly arose and looked down.

In the television footage, Twain, who had rushed out from the technical area, suddenly did a 360-degree side somersault and landed firmly. He vigorously waved his fists as if he was the one who had scored!

Lineker laughed.

Surrounded by his ecstatic teammates, Bale might or might not have seen the scene on the sidelines from the field.

“Tony Twain must have been in the circus. He did that with such ease!”

“The newspapers’ editors are gonna have a headache deciding who is going to make the headlines.”

“Tony? Tony?” David Kerslake called out to Twain who was still brandishing his fists.

“Yes?” Twain looked back at his partner.

“How did you think to do that?”

“I promised Bale that if he scored the goal, I’d give him a much cooler celebration. What do you think?”

“It was awesome!” Kerslake laughed, “We’ve won, right, Tony?”

Twain turned to look at the electronic scoreboard. The score displayed had changed from “2:2” to “3:2”. He looked down at his watch. There was not much time left until the end of the game.

“I don’t want to give a verdict when the game isn’t over yet, but...” He nodded at Kerslake and said, “You’re right, David. We’re all set for victory!”

※※※

Bale’s goal was a huge blow to Chelsea’s morale. They were overtaken by the other side when there were four minutes left in the game. Even Mourinho did not have a better idea at that point.

Instead, the Forest team was braver as they fought on. They still had the opportunity to break through Chelsea’s goal in the final stage of the game. If it were not for ?ech’s heroic performance, the game would have made Mourinho lose face.

When the referee blew the final whistle at the end of the game, the City Ground stadium became a sea of joy. The Forest team’s supporters sang their team songs at the top of their lungs to celebrate their team’s victory over Chelsea again.

“The game is over! After a fierce fight, Nottingham Forest defeated Chelsea by 3:2 on their home ground! Since their return to the Premier League, the Forest team has maintained their unbeaten record against Chelsea. Mourinho still has not beaten them.”

“With this game’s victory, the Forest team’s points rise from twenty-two to twenty-five points. After the start of the season, Chelsea, who has been unbeaten for ten rounds, suffered their first defeat. Their points remained the same and the second-placed Forest team narrowed the gap to only three points. The league is starting to look good!”

This time, Mourinho, who had been defeated, did not turn around and leave. Instead, he took the initiative to shake hands with Twain according to the usual custom.

“Till Stamford Bridge,” Mourinho said this when they shook hands. Twain knew he was already planning his revenge for the home game.

“Looking forward to it,” he replied.

Mourinho paid no heed. He let go of his hand and walked away.

Twain did not mind. Now he had no time to pay attention to the loser’s feelings. He turned and walked toward the field. At that moment, he wanted to celebrate victory with his players.

Bale became the focus of the crowd. Everyone gathered to congratulate him on his first league goal. He saw that Twain had also come up.

“Congratulations, Gareth.” Twain winked at him. “Did you see my celebration?”

Bale nodded heartily and laughed continuously. “It’s definitely awesome, chief.”

“Your performance was much better.” Twain smiled and touched Bale’s head. The seedling that he had personally brought from Southampton to grow in Wilford had finally blossomed. “Have you practiced your autograph?”

All the surrounding teammates laughed.

Every Forest player was in a good mood.

“All right, boys!” Twain stood in the crowd and said loudly, “Go and thank the fans! Gareth, don’t forget to thank your father!”

The players lined up as a team and waved to give thanks to the red formation in the stands.

Twain turned and walked away.

He walked very slowly and even seemed to be strolling aimlessly. He just paced on the field.

He wanted to enjoy the atmosphere here, the atmosphere after winning the game...

The reporters had already gone to the mixed zone to interview the players who had left the field. Twain was not worried about being disturbed. The stadium staff was cleaning up the debris in the field and stands. After an exciting victory, there was always a lot of litter.

Twain was fond of the calm after the din had passed. He walked back and forth with his hands in his pockets. He was in no rush to get to the press conference.

Suddenly a man approached him.

“If you want an interview, you have to go to the mixed zone,” Twain said. He pointed to Pierce Brosnan, who had walked over from the player’s corridor.

“I’m not here for an interview.” Brosnan smiled. “Look.”

Twain looked at his chest, and sure enough, his press card was kept away.

“What do you want then?”

Brosnan looked at the gradually emptying out stands and took a deep breath. “I like the calm after the excitement, so I came down for a walk. What are you doing here, Mr. Twain? The press conference isn’t here either.”

“I’m the same as you.” Twain looked around the stands.

“It was a terrific game. Everyone and every segment was wonderful, including that side somersault celebration of yours.”

“Thanks for your compliment, Mr. Reporter. Are you going to say that in the papers, too?”

“Why not?”

Twain did not elaborate. He just looked at the busy stadium staff.

“Mr. Twain, you know, occasionally I think of the press conference you gave at the hospital gate.” Brosnan laughed.

“Well, we were still newbies at that point.”

“I really didn’t think that there would come a day when we would stand here together to chat after you defeating Chelsea.”

“Maybe someday, after we beat Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich… We’ll chat like this again.”

“I believe you.”

“Well, I have to go now.” Twain waved and walked toward the player’s corridor.

Pierce Brosnan gazed at the man’s figure, lost in thought. Ah, it really isn’t right to connect the man who embarrassed me at the press conference and put me on the spot, with this man.

Chapter 371 - We’ve Won Part 2

At the post-match press conference whereby, the press waited to watch the verbal sparring between the two managers, Mourinho took the initiative to praise the Forest team’s performance. He gave special praise to Gareth Bale’s performance after being brought on.

However, he did not admit that his team had performed badly. He thought that they were just a little unlucky.

Seemingly to prove that his words were true, Twain also praised Chelsea’s good performance and said that their unbeaten record for ten rounds was not due to luck. It was because they were a truly strong team.

But then, Twain switched and said he was even prouder of his players because Chelsea had done so well. Everyone had done a great job.

He even took the trouble to mention every player individually to praise them by name. But he did not especially draw attention to Bale. He stressed that it was not an individual victory. Rather, it was a team victory.

He deliberately dialed down the spotlight on Bale.

Some players could withstand the tremendous pressure on the field, but might not easily cope with the praise and expectations outside of the field. Bale was still young, and Twain wanted to protect him.

Even so, Twain could not manage the media’s frenzied speculation about the young player after the game.

At 16 years and 105 days old, he had scored his first professional goal for his team. He had just broken the new record for the youngest player to debut in the history of the football club and the Premier League with the Manchester City match. And now he had now broken new heights as the youngest goalscorer in the history of the football club and the Premier League. Before this, the record had been held by the Everton’s young player, James Vaughan in a match against Crystal Palace on April 11 of this year. Vaughan was only 16 years and 271 days old when he scored the goal.

Bale’s goal made everyone review the changes in the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer record in recent years:

The first was Wayne Rooney, who made his mark in the Everton versus Arsenal match on October 19, 2002. When he scored that goal, he was only 16 years and 361 days old. After that, on December 26 in the same year, the young Leeds United player James Milner broke the new record at 16 years and 357 days. Two and a half years later, James Vaughan, once again a young player from Everton, set the record at 16 years and 271 days.

And now Bale’s goal had pushed the record up by another 166 days.

At 16 years and 105 days, perhaps the new record might not be toppled for a very long time.

Therefore, Twain’s thought of wanting to protect Bale was good. But because of the goal, Bale had gained the same level of attention that Wayne Rooney had received in that year.

The next day after the game, every newspaper headline was dedicated to the young man. The feud between Twain and Mourinho lost to Gareth Bale’s shot.

All the Welsh people claimed that they had gained another genius while the English discussed the new record enthusiastically.

On the surface, it seemed like everyone was delighted. Only Twain was between laughter and tears when he looked at the overwhelmingly large photograph of Bale.

Dunn consoled him. “Gold will shine sooner or later. When you took him away from my team, you should have known that this day would come. Unless you had no faith in his ability.”

“Are you trying to console me?” Twain rolled his eyes at Dunn and sighed. “Whatever. Looking at this from a different perspective, this is what Bale has to experience.”

Just as he was speaking, Twain’s cell phone rang.

Twain looked down at his turned-over phone and suddenly laughed. “A message from Eastwood. He told me he watched the game with Chelsea and couldn’t wait to get back to the team. He even said he knew what I’m worried about now because Sabina already predicted it. He said that if he’d played that last free kick, the result would have been the same, but I wouldn’t have to worry about anything!”

※※※

After training started again, Twain read the Romani Gypsy’s message in front of all the players, who all laughed.

“Finally, he asked me to thank all of you on his behalf. He loves all of you.”

The players whistled.

“Good job, guys. We’ve taken the first place in the league. Was anyone too excited to sleep last night?”

Bale raised his hand.

He immediately drew everyone’s attention. Everyone laughed when they saw that it was Bale.

“You need more practice, Gareth. It’s only a game! If you’re too excited to sleep after winning, then you have to live with insomnia for the rest of your life.”

The laughter became even louder.

Bale’s head hung lower.

Upon seeing that, Twain cleared his throat. “All right, everybody, listen up. From now on I want you to forget yesterday’s game and put all your energies into a new battle. Our opponent is...”

Everyone knew which game he referred to, so they answered in unison. “Benfica!”

After that shout, everybody laughed. This was a team they had defeated in the past. They did not feel any pressure at all.

“Very good; we just beat them not long ago. Now we’re going to defeat them again!”

※※※

Since Leighton Baines was injured, Twain put the young Gareth Bale in the starting lineup for this game in Portugal.

Before the game, Twain joked to Bale, “You may be the youngest player in a starting lineup the history of the Champions League. Are you nervous?”

Bale shook his head. “Still okay, chief.”

If Bale had said that he was not nervous with certainty, Twain might worry about it. Instead, his mind was set at ease. “Go ahead, don’t think about anything else. It’s just a game.”

The jeers of tens of thousands of Benfica fans on their home ground did not make Bale’s legs go weak. He was already a professional player who had been baptized in fierce battle. He was no longer a child who had no confidence because others laughed at his appearance.

In the game, Nottingham Forest experienced a tough ninety minutes and won 1:0 against the group’s qualifying competitor, Benfica. Their double victories over Benfica helped the Forest team stabilize their ranking with seven points and second place in the group.

Real Madrid, who defeated Lille in their away game, was at the top.

In this game, everyone on the Forest team kept up their condition from the game with Chelsea.?No matter what difficult situations they faced, they never gave up. They held on by the skin of their teeth in the team’s most difficult situation and did not let their opponents breach their goal. On the contrary, when Benfica was kept back, they succeeded with a sneak attack and completely reversed the situation on the field. Then the game submitted to the pace of the Forest team. Forest played well and with ease. Benfica became more and more impatient. Finally, they had to swallow the bitter fruit of their failure.

At the post-match press conference, Twain faced a room full of Portuguese media and said with conceit, “Until now, I believe many of you here were still skeptical about our strength and still believed that Benfica’s loss to Nottingham Forest in the previous game was an upset. An unexpected fluke. Now, we’ve proven you wrong. It would have been an upset if Benfica had beaten us!”

Chapter 372 - Goodbye, Ian Part 1

After the game, the Portuguese media addressed Tony Twain as “The Arrogant Englishman.” The English people were delighted. They liked the label and accepted it on Twain’s behalf.

“…I’m sure Benfica will remember Tony Twain, this ‘The Arrogant Englishman,’ for a long time.”

Back in England, the speculation about Bale continued. Twain decided to pay close attention but not to intervene too much. He believed that Bale himself must have been certain about what he should and should not do if he wanted to succeed. He understood Bale, a young player who liked to use his brains to play football. If he could use his head to play on the field, he must have known how to deal with the things that followed closely at his heels outside of the field.

Besides, he still had his good father.

※※※

Due to the continuous battle, the Forest team’s fitness coach reminded Twain that the strain on the players’ physical fitness was extremely high over a short period of time and that injuries were likely to occur under such circumstances.

Twain was well aware of that.

Therefore, in the 12th round of the Premier League on November 5th, the Forest team sent its second lineup. Except for George Wood, the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, and the striker Anelka, everyone else in the starting lineup had been rotated.

Wes Morgan and Matthew Upson formed a center back partnership. The left back was the young Gareth Bale, and the right back was the Chinese player, Sun Jihai. The left winger was Kris Commons and the right winger was Aaron Lennon, who was a year older than Gareth Bale. The two midfielders were Albertini and George Wood. The strikers were Anelka and Bendtner.

Sun Jihai’s appearance in the starting lineup made the Chinese media very excited. The day before Twain released the team’s starting list in advance, the Chinese media arrived in throngs.

Although this was the Forest team’s away game, there were still a lot of Chinese people who came.

The resurgence of the Forest team in the Champions League attracted more and more interest from the East. Since Sun Jihai had joined the team, he had few opportunities to appear because the team’s performance was good. Twain did not need to replace the starting lineup. So Sun Jihai could only play as Chimbonda’s substitute.

This time, Sun Jihai’s appearance in the starting lineup roused the Chinese fans’ interest in the Forest team. The Forest team’s popularity in China had risen steadily.

Twain’s hands were tied. When he had bought Sun Jihai, he had said that Sun Jihai would not be a substitute once he joined. However, who could have known the team would play so well when the season started that he would have no reason to change the team’s main lineup? As a result, he could only arrange for Sun Jihai play in the domestic cups and some unimportant league games. Fortunately, Sun Jihai did not have any conflict with Twain so far because he played less. He still trained diligently every day as he waited for his opportunity. In addition, he had a good relationship with his teammates. Everyone was very fond of the Chinese player. The atmosphere of the team was very good. Even Anelka, rumored to be terrible by the outside world, was not too difficult to get along with. Perhaps that could be a reason for him to feel at ease to stay on the Forest team.

In this game, the Forest team challenged Birmingham City in an away game. As their opponent was not very strong, the lineup which Twain had deployed somewhat underestimated their competitors.

But if he could have known the results of another league tournament in advance, he would have regretted his decision, preferring to send all the main players to win the game.

The Forest team’s last round of the league tournament was closely watched by the media because it was a competition between the league’s second-ranked team and the top dog. For this round of the league tournament, the media, which had previously given them attention, had all rushed to Manchester. Beside the supporters of Nottingham Forest and Birmingham, no one else cared about the two teams.

After all, there was a big battle going on in Manchester.

It was the battle between Mourinho and Ferguson.

This game was more intense by a hundredfold than the one between Chelsea and the Forest team. It might not be brilliant to watch, but it was certainly fierce.

During the game, the referee presented a total of seven yellow cards, three for Manchester United and four for Chelsea: Alan Smith, Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher, Didier Drogba, Paulo Ferreira, William Gallas, and Claude Makelele.

Manchester United was in the lead in the 31st minute when Fletcher scored a goal. Then the game entered a stage where the players from both sides continually fouled and received yellow cards.

Martin Taylor, who was the commentator for this game, explained, “An equally high-profile game, of course, the rivalry between Chelsea and Manchester United is much bigger. In the game with the Forest team, the competition was still focused on the football. But for this game, the focus of Chelsea and Manchester United players are on each other.”

“A red card has not emerged so far. The referee has been lenient!”

Other than the supporters of both teams, no one would think that this 1:0 game was enjoyable to watch. Manchester United had the last laugh in their game against Chelsea. They defended the dignity of a powerful old Premier League team and a former overlord.

Meanwhile, in Birmingham, the Forest team was dragged into a deadlock by the home team. They scored a goal, which was then equalized by their opponents. Both teams scored 1:1. No one had another way to threaten the opponent’s goal again.

The match ended in a draw.

Initially, Twain was still in a very good mood, as he had not conceded the game by sending a lineup mostly made up of substitutes. He was ready to praise the players in the locker room.

At that time, Kerslake ripped off the earphones stuffed in his ears with a dark expression. He had followed the other game closely on the radio—Manchester United versus Chelsea.

“Chelsea lost,” he told Twain.

Twain was stunned for a moment upon hearing the news. He immediately turned aside and swore. The only word to describe his mood at that moment was regret.

Why didn’t we defeat Birmingham? If we had beaten them, we would have had the same points as Chelsea now. And what’s more, we’re short a damn game! F**k!

Kerslake looked at Twain, who turned his head around with clenched fists. “Tony?”

When Twain turned back again, he had already returned to normal. “I’m alright, just feeling a little regretful, that’s all.”

“We didn’t even expect…” said Kerslake with a bitter smile.

“I want to call that Portuguese man and ask how he could have lost the game!”

Kerslake laughed aloud when he heard Twain’s angry retort.

“Forget it, the game’s already over. It’s useless to say anything. Let’s go to the locker room. We should commend the players on their performance.” Twain put up his jacket collar to withstand Birmingham’s chilly night winds. Then he walked towards the home team’s technical area to shake hands with the Birmingham City manager waiting there.

※※※

From the looks of it, the Forest team not winning this game meant that they had lost a great opportunity to catch up with Chelsea. No one had any idea the effect this would have on them in the long run.

As Chelsea had lost to Manchester United and the Forest team had tied with Birmingham City, the gap between the two teams had narrowed to just two points. Chelsea had twenty-eight points after the twelfth round of the league tournament, while the Forest team followed closely by twenty-six points with one game short.

Except for Tony Twain, most people had not expected the team ranked third in the league.

Placed after Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, the third-ranked team was Wigan Athletic.

This newly promoted team had lost to Nottingham Forest in the league’s first game. Since then, they had relied on their tenacity and an unyielding spirit unique to a grassroots team to achieve seven victories, two draws, and two defeats within their twelve rounds in the league tournament. Like the Forest team, they were also short one game. With their twenty-three points, they were ahead of Manchester United with twenty-one points and Arsenal with twenty.

The media exclaimed that Wigan Athletic was replicating Nottingham Forest’s “dark horse miracle” of last season.

Since Nottingham Forest was mentioned, the media pulled in Twain again to talk about his views on Wigan Athletic. Twain did not give any face to the media. He said, “You can just refer to the words I said at the press conference after the first round of this season and reprint them. I said what needed to be said two and a half months ago. I don’t want to repeat myself.”

He was still brooding about not defeating Birmingham City.

※※※

After the match against Birmingham City, the league tournament was paused to make way for the national team competition. Currently, the Forest team also had a number of players who were summoned to their respective national teams. From a certain perspective, a team’s strength could be seen from the number of national team players it had, even though a football club’s manager was always reluctant to have so many players leave his own team for the national team competition.

The First Team training base in Wilford suddenly became empty.

Twain still came to the training base early in the morning, but he did not go in.

“The team isn’t training today, Tony.” Old Ian was a little puzzled when he saw Twain standing at the gate.

Twain turned to look at the old man and laughed. He suddenly felt that this scene was similar to when he had first come here.

“I know, Ian. I’m waiting for Evan.”

“Ah, the chairman… Do you both have an event to attend?”

“Yes, a business promotion.” Twain was referring to the agreement with their partner company, Sports Interactive. Twain was the spokesperson for the Football Manager simulation games. Within the contractual period, he must be involved in the company’s promotional activities for the launch of each edition of the Football Manager game. They were going to attend the FM 06 promotional event today.

“Tony, you’re a busy man now,” Ian chuckled.

Chapter 373 - Goodbye, Ian Part 2

He was indeed busy. Being a Premier League manager was completely different from being an English Football League Championship team manager. Therefore, he could only smile at Ian MacDonald’s words.

“Oh, yes, I need to tell you something, Tony. I’m planning to hang up my boots.”

Twain did not react at first. “Hang up your boots?” What was the gatekeeper hanging up his boots for? But soon he understood and raised his voice in surprise. “You’re retiring!”

“Yes, my health isn’t so great. My kids are adamant that I quit.” Ian cleared his throat. “Initially I had said I would resign from the club next January. But I think I’m going to wait until the end of the season. I want to see the team go a little further. When the players stop playing, don’t they normally say they’re hanging up their boots? Well, I want to hang up my boots too!” Ian grinned and chuckled.

Twain was at a loss for words. He knew that Ian was in bad health and had been in the hospital for a period of rest some time ago. The club had temporarily transferred a security guard from the youth team to help out. At that time, Twain had felt unused to seeing a stern, cold-faced uniformed security guard at the gate day in and day out, and not that old man who always smiled and greeted everyone.

Considering the elderly man’s health, leaving the post was indeed a wise choice, and Twain had no reason to stop him. That was also why he was at a loss for words.

Seeing that Twain was quiet, Ian said, “But it’s good. Now, I can go watch a live match. It’s been a long time since I last watched a Forest game at City Ground. Sometimes...” He looked back at the radio on the table. “It’s uncomfortable to listen to the radio here and not watch the game.”

Twain’s lips quivered. “You’re still not used to it?”

“Of course I am. After all, I’ve worked here for more than ten years.” MacDonald turned to look at the inside of the training base. “When I first started standing here, it was Brian Clough’s last season with the Forest team. I can still clearly remember the day when ‘Big ‘Ead’ (Brian Clough’s nickname) bid farewell to this place.?He was alone, holding his dog as he walked out...” MacDonald pointed to the road in front of the gate and waved his hand. “When he passed me by, he said to me: ‘Goodbye, Ian. I wish you all the best.’ Then I said: ‘Good luck to you too, sir.’ Then he walked away without turning back and was gone.

“I’ve seen a lot of people walk out of this gate and never come back. Sometimes I think, ‘It’s really unlucky of me. Just when I was getting close with them, they’re all gone. The Forest team was also relegated.’ Then I saw more people come in, the Forest team was promoted, and relegated again, promoted again, and then relegated… After we were beaten by Manchester United by 1:8, they came here listlessly to start another new day of training. That was a tough time.

“Do you know what I thought when I first saw you here, Tony?”

Twain shook his head.

“I thought, another unlucky chap!” Ian MacDonald guffawed. He laughed so happily that he coughed.

Twain laughed with him.

“I had seen many new managers smugly take on their new roles and leave here without a choice in the end. I had no hope for you at all. At the time, I was worried about whether the Forest team would disappear from here because of bankruptcy. I think many people were worried about that. No one cared about how the new manager was.”

“But you’ve proven that you’re different, and the most special one. Thank you, Tony.”

Twain was about to say something when he saw MacDonald wave his hand in the direction behind him, “The chairman’s car is here, Tony.”

The red-colored Audi A6 stopped beside Twain during their conversation.

“Good morning, Ian!” Evan Doughty poked his head out from the driver’s seat to wave at Ian MacDonald.

“Good morning, Mr. Chairman.” Ian slightly nodded, and then said to Twain, “Goodbye, Tony.”

“Goodbye, Ian.”

“Let’s go, Tony!” Evan beckoned to Twain and motioned for him to get in the car. “Bye, Ian!”

“Goodbye, Mr. Chairman.”

Twain got into the car. Evan restarted the engine and drove through the gate of the training base. He looked back and could not see Ian MacDonald. Maybe he was back in the small guardhouse.

Even though there was no training today, he still had to be there to hold his post.

“Hey, Evan.”

“Yes?”

“Ian told me just now that he’ll retire when the season is over.”

Doughty looked at Twain, and Twain pointed towards the front. “You’re driving.”

Evan Doughty turned his head back. “Is it because of his health?”

“Yes. His children don’t support his continuing as a guard at the training base.”

“Ian MacDonald has been working here for thirteen years. He’s the last witness of that era, isn’t he? When my father took over the team, he had already been working here for a long time.”

Twain leaned back on the seat and said, “All the old people are gone.”

“Isn’t that nice? The cycle of life. You see what the media says about us? ‘The Young Forest team’! I like that label, young and full of vitality!”

“But… I’m used to having someone to say hello to me every day.”

Evan Doughty was silent for a moment and said, “Of course, the club won’t let him leave just like that. I’ll consider giving him an honorary title of a ‘Lifelong Fan’ and reserving a lifetime seat for him in the stands.”

Twain did not say anything. That was what Evan could do as the chairman of the club. What about him? He should prepare a parting gift for the old man too.

But what should he give him?

Chapter 374 - FIFA Virus Part 1

Between November 10 and 16, Europe held two matches between the national teams. Those powerhouse football clubs were deeply affected by the so-called “FIFA virus.” Even though the Forest team was not a big club, it still felt the impact.

The “FIFA virus” referred to the period stipulated by FIFA for the international top league tournament during which the national teams transferred a large number of players from the football clubs to conduct the intensive national team competitions. When the players returned to their respective clubs, they were physically and mentally exhausted. With their conditions declined, they played in the football club matches like they were sleepwalking.

This viral outbreak could be long or short. A short outbreak only affected one or two games. As for the long ones, there was another name for them: “World Cup Syndrome.” The players who performed well at the World Cup often fell into a downturn season.

Twain had met with another difficult problem in his coaching career: how to deal with and overcome the “FIFA virus.”

The Forest team’s main players list was reviewed.

The main goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, was drafted by the Netherlands national team.

Leighton Baines was originally the main force of England’s under 21 national youth team. But he was not selected due to his injury.

Sun Jihai was China’s national team’s main player. If he returned to China, he would need to travel across the Eurasian continent. That was not something to be pleased about. The long journey would greatly affect the player’s physical function and state of play. But fortunately, nothing deviated from history on that point. The Chinese national team was eliminated in the first stage of the German World Cup qualifiers for the Asia region. China lost to a Middle Eastern team in the supposedly fixed match. That happened a year ago on November 17. In the near future, Twain would not have to wrangle with the Chinese Football Association over Sun Jihai’s long-distance flights.

As the main force for Spain’s under-21 national youth team, Gerard Piqué was drafted to participate in the youth team competition.

The loss on the defensive line was smaller. After all, Pepe had not been selected for the Portuguese national team and the Brazilian Football Confederation did not come to him. Brazil had always been like that. There were too many local geniuses. Many footballers who played in Europe had been called geniuses in their country. However, only a handful was able to join the Brazillian national team. At that time, the top Bundesliga striker, Aílton, considered the idea of becoming a Qatar citizen to play in international games. The Barcelona midfielder, Deco, was even more thorough. He directly applied for Portuguese nationality and joined the Portuguese national team.

Countless geniuses had been unable to join the Brazillian national team in their lifetimes. What was another exceptional talent in the English Premier League?

In the midfield, Albertini had already announced his withdrawal from the Italian national team. He could use this time to take a good rest at home without the constant travel. Despite George Wood’s outstanding performance, there were a lot of star midfielders in England. Eriksson could not even manage his existing roster, never mind recruiting a newcomer. Therefore, Wood, highly praised by the media, could also take advantage of his rare free time to accompany his mother.

Ashley Young, who had always been England’s under-21 national youth team’s main force, was drafted into the youth team tournament. Like him, Aaron Lennon was enlisted, but in the under-18 youth team competition.

Although always the substitute player in the Forest team, Brynjar Gunnarsson was also recruited by the Icelandic national team.

As expected, Franck Ribéry was selected for the French national team. The French media had started to speculate on that very early on. Originally from a low-level league, the previously poor kid was now prominently chosen for the Gaul legion, like the classic Chinese phrase of a pheasant becoming a phoenix.

Mikel Arteta was perhaps the most frustrated midfielder in the Forest team. He was skilled and had performed well on the Forest team. However, no matter how well he performed, the Spanish national team was closed to him. Arteta might only be able to lament his untimely birth. At a time when the Spanish national team had Xavi and Iniesta at the helm, there was no need for another holding midfielder. Even Real Madrid’s Guti had not been put on the Spanish national team for a long time.

Arteta had only played a few games on behalf of Spain’s under-21 national youth team. He still had never represented the Spanish national team.

The midfield was the most affected, with the largest number of players drafted.

The situation with regards to the strikers was simple. Nicklas Bendtner was the Denmark national youth team’s main fixture. He must return to his country for the competition. Like him, Mark Viduka could not be missing in the important game to determine whether Australia could be in Germany next year. He had become the player with the longest flight distance on the team. It was a great test of his physical fitness. Fortunately, the Australian bull had always been proud of his excellent health.

And the other outstanding striker on the Forest team, Nicolas Anelka, was not selected for the French national team due to his terrible relationship with the French Football Federation.

Freddy Eastwood was overlooked because of his injury.

In that way, the Nottingham Forest First Team’s main list of twenty-three players now had eight players selected for their respective national teams. And most of them were part of the main force.

※※※

Twain’s attitude was contradictory towards the national team games.

For the players who could not play in the club at the moment (like Brynjar Gunnarsson and Aaron Lennon), Twain still wanted them to maintain their condition through the national team games.

And those players who were the main force players in the club, Twain did not want them to be the main force in the national teams because that would add to their burden.

In reality, that thinking was selfish. But what football club manager was not selfish?

Everyone wanted their players to be healthy, not be in a state of decline from not playing for long periods. Twain was the same. Even though he was an Englishman now, he was not patriotic. Is it to be expected that the English national team wants my players? Who’s going to take responsibility when my players are injured playing for the country?

It was also fortunate that the Chinese national team was eliminated a year ago. If not, Twain would have had to wrangle with the Chinese Football Association. He used to be from China and was still Chinese at heart. But if you want to take my player away from me? No way!

Fortunately, Albertini had already announced his withdrawal from the national team. Otherwise, the old Demetrio, who had just recently recovered from his injury, could be worn out by both the national team and football club. Who could withstand it? The cost of players who were injured while playing for the national teams would still borne by the football clubs in the end. It was unreasonable for the clubs to pay wages and bonuses to the players, only to be worried about the national teams which had no hope of reaching the finals.

It was said to be the responsibility of every player to play for the national team. But still, Twain would only be happy to let his players compete on behalf of their countries if FIFA ruled that the national teams would be responsible for all the medical expenses of the players who were injured during the national team tournaments and compensate for the clubs’ loss.

Chapter 375 - FIFA Virus Part 2

Up until now, the Forest team had rarely targeted African players in the transfer market even though Twain knew that the African players were very valuable. He used the more expensive European players rather than buy the Africans players. Why?

It was because of the continent’s conflict with the league tournaments and football clubs’ match schedules. The biennial African Cup of Nations was different from the other continents’ tournaments. Due to its special geographical location, their competition was not held during the Northern Hemisphere summer break of most national leagues, but during the red-hot winter tournament period of every national league. In that way, if a team had too many African players, then come January, most of its players would be missing. How were they supposed to play? Tang En was not without such an experience. When he played the FM game, he could not even get eleven players in the starting lineup in some key games because there were so many African and South American players on the team who returned to their countries for the tournaments.

Fortunately, that was just a video game. But Twain did not want that to happen in reality. It would kill him.

Twain had never wanted to be a manager of a national team, so he would certainly consider those issues from the football club’s standpoint. As the Chinese saying went, “The butt decides the head.” That meant that one’s position determined one’s perspective and scope. Wherever one was positioned would determine how they viewed the world.

However, because the two games of the national teams were not friendly matches or warm-up games, all the national teams viewed their two games with great importance. Therefore, Twain’s wishful thinking was not correct.

In the end, Brynjar Gunnarsson, the club’s perpetual substitute, was only a substitute in the Icelandic national team for two games and did not get a minute to play. How could he maintain his condition?

Ashley Young played two games for England’s under-21 national youth team for a total of one hundred and forty minutes. Aaron Lennon represented the under-18 national youth team and played the two games in their entirety, for a total of one hundred and eighty minutes. On behalf of the Netherlands’ national team, Edwin van der Sar played one hundred and eighty minutes of two games. Gerard Piqué represented Spain’s under-21 national youth team and also played two games in their entirety.

Franck Ribéry made his debut on his national team and performed well until he was brought off amidst the cheers and applause in Stade de France at the 87th minute. Ribéry looked proud of his success while Twain gnashed his teeth in front of the television. He could tell from tiny clues that Ribéry’s stamina was flagging in the final moments of the game. In the next game, Ribéry was a substitute; but still, he played for almost twenty minutes.

As the main center forward of the Australian national team, Mark Viduka naturally would not play as a substitute. He also played for the entire one hundred and eighty minutes.

Nicklas Bendtner fully played the two games on behalf of Denmark’s national youth team.

Although most of the players performed well in the games, Bendtner and Viduka both scored goals. Ribéry had his first assist in his national team career and the French media fell over themselves in their eagerness to make him the target of their reports after the game.

But Twain only saw those players’ listless appearances on the first day of training after they returned.

The training for that day was mainly to restore their physical fitness. Twain still had to rotate for the league game in three days’ time. Any players who played on the national team game had to take a break. His goal shifted from England to the Iberian Peninsula.

To Madrid, the capital of Spain.

※※※

Ribéry, who had represented the national team for the first time, was thrilled. He could not imagine he would have had such an opportunity a season ago. At that time, he was still at a loss about his future at a small pier in a town west of France. He did not know whether he was right to persist at being a professional player.

The phone call from the Nottingham Forest Club had changed the trajectory of his life.

From the familiar France to the completely unfamiliar England, he had made a mark for himself. Not only did he play in the top league, but he also quickly became the team’s main force and was well-known. Now he also became a member of the French national team. No one mocked his facial scar. Everyone put the focus on his legs.

This was the life he had wanted.

Therefore, when he started the game on the behalf of his national team, he gnashed his teeth to persist even when he was down to the last bit of his physical strength. He did not want to be replaced because he could not run. If that happened, he would have regrets in his first national team game.

After he returned to the club, the cost was that Twain had told him that he did not even make the cut for the next league game. He had to stay at home and rest.

Ribéry was not the only one. Piqué and Ashley Young also did not make the list for the game.

Wes Morgan and Aaron Lennon took their places.

Who their next opponent was, how strong they were, what the outcome of the game would be and whether their ranking would slip… Twain did not worry about those questions at all. A season was long. Even if they were halted at this point, they still had a chance to pull ahead.

However, Twain did not want to miss the game with Real Madrid. He wanted to make sure his team was in good condition and use his strongest lineup to be a “guest” of Bernabeu.

Apart from the revenge factor, Tang En had a tinny tiny wish in his heart, a fan’s wish. He wanted to compete with Zidane once at the Bernabeu before Zidane’s retirement.

Because of his arrival in this world, many things had slightly deviated. Twain did not know whether Zidane would continue to play after the end of the season. But he knew there were not many chances to play against Zidane. This time, the ballot had coincidentally grouped his team with Real Madrid. He had no reason to miss these two games.

In the first game at his home ground, the inadequate Forest team lost to Real Madrid. This time, in the away game, Twain could send his strongest squad. He wanted the challenge to see if he had the ability to defeat Real Madrid.

※※※

The Forest team needed to deal with their rivals in the league before they dealt with Real Madrid.

On November 19th, Nottingham Forest lost to Newcastle United at St James’ Park by 1:2. Their league points stalled.

For the first time in his real-life career, Tony Twain experienced the power of the FIFA virus.

Although his players had not been injured in the national team games and he had allowed the players who had not recovered physically to rest at home in Nottingham, he could not resolve the predicament of the Wilford training base being empty for one and half weeks. His main players were picked clean and he could not even carry the overall tactical training for the entire team. He could only let those who were left behind do simple physical training and technical exercises.

Then, three days after the players’ return, they traveled north to Newcastle and hurriedly challenged their opponents who had a strong home advantage.

With only one goal conceded, Twain had to be thankful for the players’ fighting spirit.

As Wigan Athletic lost to Arsenal at home by 2:3, the Forest team was able to keep their current second-place ranking in the league. However, the gap between them and Chelsea had widened to five points. Chelsea had defeated Blackburn Rovers at their home ground with a score of 3:0.

Twain exposed his lack of experience. After two consecutive defeats, he could only watch as Chelsea widened what was once a narrow gap.

But no matter how much rue he had in his heart, he still must smile in front of his team to encourage and console them.

“All right, let’s forget about the past games.” In the visitors’ locker room at St James’ Park, Twain smiled at his men and said, “There are more important games ahead of us. Two months ago, our opponents beat us on our home ground. Now we’re going to their home to get back what we lost!”

Chapter 376 - A Starry Night Part 1

That summer two years ago, Twain had come to Spain with Shania after first getting to know her.?Madrid, the Spanish capital, was the first stop to begin his tour of the European football giants.

There were big and small clubs scattered within and around Madrid, but only one could be called a real powerhouse club: Real Madrid, the symbol of Spanish football.

At that time, Twain had only done a turn round outside of Real Madrid’s home stadium, Bernabéu. He didn’t go in as the other tourists did. He was not an ordinary tourist anymore. He was the manager of another team. Which manager of a team would buy a ticket to visit the home of another team and take a photograph as a souvenir?

Twain did not want to display that kind of blatant worship.

If I ever go in, there are only two possible reasons. First, I became the owner of this team; or second, I lead my team to compete here.

He did not know if he would have a chance to realize the first possibility in this lifetime. However, the second possibility was close at hand.

The white Santiago Bernabéu stadium stood quietly in front of him. Twain sat in the coach provided by the Real Madrid club, looking at the letters on the giant white wall.

He did not have the excitement that he had had when he was in close proximity of this football temple for the first time. Obviously, he would not point at the building like a tour guide to the bus full of players and say, “Look! This is the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium!”

That would be embarrassing.

However, there were some players who took out their cell phones and digital cameras and snapped away happily outside the stadium. For some of them, to be able to play in this stadium was like a dream. None of the stadiums in England were as big as Bernabéu. Compared to the Forest team’s home, the City Ground stadium, Bernabéu was a real juggernaut for some people.

Twain turned to look at them and cleared his throat.

When they heard their manager cough, some people hurriedly put away their cameras. They did not expect to hear Twain say, “No need to put them away. If you want to photograph it, take a few more now. You won’t have the chance when you get out of the bus later.”

Everyone on the bus looked at Twain.

“We aren’t invited for a tour. This game is not a friendly warm-up match. So, when you get out of the bus later, you’d better behave like an opponent. Don’t let the people of Madrid mock you.”

The players put their cell phones and digital cameras into their bags and just turned their gazes toward the white stadium getting increasingly closer.

※※※

Today was not the game day. Other than the busy stadium staff, only Nottingham Forest came to Bernabéu to adapt to the stadium and do their warm-up training.

Twain sat on the real leather seat of the visiting team’s technical area at the Bernabéu stadium and watched the players do simple training drills on the field. But his mind was filled with thoughts about the pre-game press conference that had just ended. Both managers from the two teams attended at the same time, but the media was only concerned with Real Madrid’s Brazilian manager, Luxemburgo.

Before this Champions League group stage match, there was a fight of the century recently in the first leg of the season. Real Madrid had lost 0:3 to their arch rival Barcelona at home. Ronaldinho became the star of Bernabéu in that game. His second goal even made the picky and harsh Real Madrid fans stand up to applaud him. Naturally, from that perspective, it could also reflect how disappointed the fans were about Real Madrid.

Because they had just lost such an important game, the media had thrown that problem at Luxemburgo, who had struggled recently.

The media was concerned about whether Ronaldo, who had suffered minor injuries in the fight of the century, would be able to play. They were also worried that the condition of Zidane, who had returned to the French national team, would be affected by the recent national team game. They cared about Raúl’s continued decline in performance. They were interested in Beckham, Robinho, Casillas, Helguera… No one cared about the Nottingham Forest players.

Twain thought that that was a covert form of discrimination. As Real Madrid’s opponent, his team and Real Madrid were equal. But all eyes were still on Real Madrid. No one was interested in the “villain” of this game. It was as if the problem in Real Madrid was more difficult to deal with and more attention-grabbing than their opponent.

Can I treat this as contempt?

He wanted to ask that question, but he still resisted in the end. Since you don’t take us seriously, we will show you on the field.

As Twain was still brooding over what had happened at the press conference, David Kerslake came over and muttered, “This is the turf used in the stadium of a La Liga powerhouse club?”

Twain lifted his eyes to look at him.

“It’s terrible! It’s very slippery and unstable. I suspect the turf was pasted with glue.”

When he was a fan, Tang En had followed La Liga with interest and often stayed up late to watch the games. He knew that the quality of the turf in the Bernabéu was extremely bad for a period of time. Even their own players complained. Then, during the winter break of a certain season, Real Madrid changed the turf in Bernabéu and the criticism of their home turf faded away. Perhaps the Forest team had happened to encounter that period.

However, he still answered Kerslake, “Or can it be one of Real Madrid’s small tricks? To deliberately let us think that the turf quality is poor, and then for us to change our boots, so that they can beat us on normal turf.”

Kerslake paused for a minute when he heard Twain say that, wondering how probable it might be.

Twain laughed, “Don’t overthink it. I’m just talking nonsense. It’s unlikely that a big club like Real Madrid would do such a thing. The quality of their turf is really terrible. We just have to be ready.”

“They have the money to pay for big names, but they can’t change the turf?” Kerslake snorted.

“Who knows? Maybe they think that the substandard turf can cause more trouble for the visiting teams.” Twain shrugged his shoulders. “If that’s the case, they’re not thorough enough.”

When Kerslake heard that, the first thing that came into his mind was the time when Twain had instructed the training base’s turf maintenance workers to over-water the youth team stadium, and then dragged Arsenal, which relied on techniques to play, into a contest with the Forest youth team in the quagmire. He burst into laughter.

“Not everyone is such a jerk, Tony.”

Hoarse laughter rang out on the sidelines of the Bernabéu stadium.

The players glanced over there and then turned back. They were used to it.

※※※

Twain did not know much about Luxemburgo. Most of what he knew was entirely limited to his failed coaching experience. For example, he had had a lot of difficulty coaching the Brazilian national team in the South Korea-Japan World Cup qualifier and was almost eliminated. Or, for instance, the ugly defensive counterattack style of football during his time at Real Madrid. Although to be fair, Luxemburgo was not as incompetent as Twain had imagined. For example, he was the manager who had led his teams to win the most championship titles in Brazil and even led the Brazilian national team to win the 1999 Copa América title. His performance was not bad during his coaching in Real Madrid. However, he had lost a game that should not have been lost.

Four days ago, Real Madrid was thrashed 0:3 by Barcelona on their home ground, and they were powerless to fight back. The slogan “Get lost, Luxemburgo” resounded through the night sky at Bernabéu in that game. Until now, the dark clouds of dismissal still loomed over the Brazilian’s head.

Looking at how embarrassed Luxemburgo was, being pressed by the media in the pre-match press conference, Twain should honestly have been thankful. Of course, he was never afraid to face the crafty media.

Twain knew that Luxemburgo would be dismissed. That was something he was certain that it would happen because Real Madrid had lost to Barcelona.

Therefore, he did not mind adding a bit of fuel to the fire.

This period was the concentrated outbreak of all of Real Madrid’s problems in recent years. It was the lowest point of their lowest ebb. What Twain wanted to do was not to pull Real Madrid up at the critical moment, but to push them further into the abyss.

I want to wipe you out while you’re still ailing!

Chapter 377 - A Starry Night Part 2

On the day of the game, half an hour before the kickoff, in the visitor’s locker room at the Bernabéu stadium, Twain stood in the middle of the spacious locker room. “Does anyone here think Real Madrid is invincible?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“That’s right. They just lost to Barcelona, and lost miserably,” Twain said sternly. “So, we have nothing to be afraid of from Real Madrid.”

Ribéry stood up and said with a look of confusion, “Boss, we didn’t say we were afraid.”

Laughter broke out in the locker room. Someone even whistled gleefully.

Twain gave Ribéry a glare. The French kid had just ruined the stern atmosphere he had tried to set up. He cleared his throat to conceal his embarrassment. But the laughter in the locker room did not stop for a while. So he kept quiet and waited for the boys to stop laughing.

As their laughter subsided, Twain continued to speak. “Alright, had enough laughter, boys?”

There was another burst of laughter.

“You’ll be sorry later!” Twain pointed at them, “Seriously, our opponents might have encountered a lot of trouble recently, but a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. We can’t take them lightly. After all, this is their home ground, and Real Madrid always plays very well at home. We should be careful in dealing with them. Real Madrid is in a bit of a mess internally, but some of them are able to change the game based on their own strength. We have to pay special attention to those players.”

Twain turned around and wrote down a name on the tactical board: Zidane.

“This guy is Real Madrid’s midfield core. He has to be closely marked. As long as he can’t play fully, the Real Madrid offense will be partially paralyzed.”

All of the Forest players looked serious. They definitely knew how formidable the team captain of the French national team, number 5, was.

“So, we have to assign someone to specifically mark him.” Twain pretended to search in the crowd, but everyone knew who he would name. Pepe and Piqué, who sat next to George Wood on both sides, moved sideways accordingly.

“Well… George.” Twain pointed to Wood, “You’re going to mark Zidane in this game. He’s number 5 in Real Madrid. Try your best to entangle him no matter what.”

Wood nodded. “Okay.”

Twain took a look at Wood, who answered simply and did not say anything else. He shifted the subject to another person.

“Ronaldo.” Twain wrote another name. “He has put on more weight than he did when he was in Barcelona, but he’s still the most menacing striker on the planet. Do not give him space to shoot. All the defenders, you can mark and defend against him. His current build makes him less nimble than before, so you have to seize on that point. Pay close attention to his positioning and watch out for the long balls from Real Madrid’s backfield.”

The players on the defensive line nodded at the same time.

“As for Beckham... Be careful of his place kicks and try not to give Real Madrid a chance to take free kicks in dangerous zones. Remember how we lost the game in the first round. Don’t be deceived by his polished looks. He’s really powerful, a real genius.”

“And then we have Raúl...”

The players listened attentively. Twain covered almost all the eleven players in Real Madrid’s starting lineup. Even the goalkeeper, Casillas, was not spared.

He really had done a lot of homework for this game. Hard work would always pay off. Twain believed in that.

The preparation time before the game went by quickly. When Twain had introduced all of the Real Madrid players in one shot, it was time for the team to go out and play.

“Does anyone have any questions?” Twain raised his hand. “Of course, even if there is any problem, it’s too late to put it forward, guys.”

The players laughed. “No, Chief!”

“Good, I hope you guys really don’t have any. I don’t want to pile details on you like our points in the group, rankings, advancement, and so on. You just need to know one thing.” Twain paused to look at everyone and raised his arm. “Just win the game. Win and win again! And we’ll be able to charge our way out of this damn group! So, your job is very simple, and that’s to f**king-”

“Win the game!!” Everyone stood up and hollered.

Twain’s hand swung down with force.

“Fantastic, let’s go out!”

※※※

“Welcome to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium! Welcome to the hallowed grounds of football!”

“This is the UEFA Champions League Group D game, to be played by the home team, Real Madrid, against England’s Nottingham Forest!”

“…ESPN coming to you live from Santiago Bernabéu stadium!”

The Real Madrid flags unfurled in the stands and the fans held up high posters of the superstar footballers accompanied by the live broadcast of Real Madrid’s anthem, “Hala Madrid” (Let’s go, Madrid).

Twain looked around the towering stands, “It’s really lively.”

Kerslake stood next to him. “The Nottingham Forest people like this stadium very much.”

Twain glanced back at him. “Because we won the Champions League for the second time here?”

His assistant manager nodded, “Bernabéu has brought us only good memories.”

“What are you implying, David?” Twain laughed.

“We’ll only find out after the match.” Kerslake shrugged.

“Are you nervous, David?”

“It’s just a group stage game. What’s there to be nervous about?”

“Well said. Too bad our players don’t seem to be nervous at all, otherwise I would have let you say that to them just now.”

They shifted their gaze from the stands to the field.

The players from both teams shook hands in a file and then gathered together for the media to take photographs.

The red Nottingham Forest team, together with the white Real Madrid, the sparkling flashes from the stands, the billowing flags, the noisy clamor… Before his transmigration, he could only have had a taste of this experience in the FM game and watched such scenes on the television. Now it had truly appeared before Twain’s eyes.

And those stars whom he had used to look up to, like Zidane, Raúl, Ronaldo, Beckham, Roberto Carlos…

He thought of the tours that this team of “Galácticos” had done in China for two years in a row. That crazy scene was still vivid in his mind. He suddenly snorted.

Superstars?

Galácticos?

Invincible?

There is no such thing as an invincible fleet in this world. I’m going to take you down today!

Chapter 378 - Hiss— Part 1

When Wood and Zidane shook hands before the game, he carefully observed the Frenchman. Before the game, he had heard a lot about the man. There were many legends about him. What people talked about the most were the two headers in the World Cup final in France and that sky-high volley in the 2002 Champions League final.

Ribéry was the person who said the most because he had just gotten along with Zidane in the France national team games. Zidane was a living legend to him. He always thought he could only watch him from afar. He had not expected to have the opportunity to be in close contact with him and train with him for competitions. And now they had become opponents.

Ribéry seriously described to Wood how formidable Zidane was. Wood had asked at that time, more powerful than Riquelme?

Ribéry laughed heartily for a long time before he answered Wood. They are not at the same level.

Now, Wood had a distinct impression of him. He had not had a real sense of him when others had told him how powerful Zidane was before. But with Ribéry’s comparison, he understood. He had experienced firsthand how good Riquelme was. If Zidane was more powerful than Riquelme, he had to deal with him seriously.

The 33-year-old Zidane was no longer that young guy from AS Cannes. People had always said he was balding. Now he was actually bald.

The Real Madrid players were very serious when they shook hands with the Forest players. Even the cheerful and optimistic Roberto Carlos’ face was taut.

They obviously knew how important this game was.

After losing to Barcelona, everyone was under a lot of pressure. If they lost to Nottingham Forest again, they did not know what kind of storm would await them.

Luxemburgo stood on the sidelines with his arms folded across his chest and gazed towards the field with knitted brows.

In comparison, the visiting Forest team was not under any pressure. Twain told his players before the game that they had to win, but the players did not appear apprehensive.

After a simple ceremony, the players from both teams stood in their respective halves and waited for the kickoff.

Twain walked back to the technical area and sat down.

The referee stood outside the center circle and looked at his watch one last time before the game to confirm the time. When he looked up again, he blew the whistle.

And the game began!

※※※

Real Madrid kicked off.

Luxemburgo had deployed the strongest squad he could send for this game.

The goalkeeper was Spain’s number one national goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. The two center backs were Sergio Ramos and Ivan Helguera. On the left and right sides, the two fullbacks were the veterans Roberto Carlos on the left and Míchel Salgado on the right. There were four midfielders, Zidane on the left, Beckham on the right, and Gravesen and Guti in the middle. The two strikers were still Ronaldo and Raul.

There were also Robinho and Baptista sitting on the substitutes’ bench.

Luxemburgo did not have a pair of defensive midfielders in the midfield this time. Having just lost a momentous competition in his home ground, he hoped to use offense to express his goodwill towards the angry Real Madrid fans and save his precarious managerial position.

A banner with the slogan “Get lost, Luxemburgo” had already appeared in the stands of this game.

Consequently, he had two aims for this game. One was to win the game and the other was to win it beautifully.

Real Madrid also traditionally insisted on those two principles. Real Madrid’s football was like that. Victories were commonplace for them and not worth bragging about. Winning beautifully was something they were proud of.

To put it another way, the Bernabéu fans might be concerned about how many minutes Casillas could play continuously without conceding a goal. However, they cared more about how many games their strikers could continuously score more than two goals in.

For most other coaches, leading their teams to victory could be considered a great achievement. But for the Real Madrid manager, if he could not lead his team to play well, it would be useless to win more games. There was only one outcome. He might celebrate being the season’s champion in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles with the people, but the next day, all the major media outlets might be filled with the latest news of his dismissal.

As a result, it was hard to be the manager of Real Madrid.

Luxemburgo had experienced the glory and splendor of being a powerhouse club manager. Now it was his turn to experience the cruelty and ruthlessness of the powerhouse clubs.

“Real Madrid has launched a fierce attack at the Forest team’s interior since the start of the game. It looks like the Brazilian has decided to use offense to destroy the Forest team. How is Manager Tony Twain going to deal with it?” The ESPN commentator asked in the commentary.

How was he going to deal with it?

Twain asked himself that question numerous times.

He knew that Luxemburgo’s style in Real Madrid was defensive counterattacking. However, after he saw Real Madrid’s recent defeat to Barcelona, Twain thought Luxemburgo would not be able to persist with a defensive counterattack tactic which would incite a resounding jeer in Bernabéu for the game.

In order to please the fans with his own coaching position, he would definitely let the team press on and attack. They would play the “beautiful football” that the Real Madrid fans liked to watch. In that way, although the pressure on the Forest team’s defense surged, the massive empty tracts behind the Real Madrid defensive line could be exploited.

Twain changed his mind and decided not to engage in an intense exchange with Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. The Forest team was currently not Real Madrid’s match in offense, even if this Real Madrid was just a “feeble horse.”

Many teams would face a dilemma when playing against Real Madrid of whether to play offense or defense. Playing offense would mean going head to head with Real Madrid to score, which was too demanding for many teams. But what about defense? They would also worry whether their defensive line could hold up for ninety minutes in the face of Real Madrid’s frenzy of attacks.

But Twain was not worried about that. He understood Real Madrid, and he knew the current Real Madrid.

He knew how to defend against and stop the attacks of Real Madrid’s superstar squad.

And that way was to use high pressing.

The first line of defense was built, starting from the front line. If possession was lost, the players had to mark their opponents right away and immediately intercept the ball. Their movements had to be ruthless and fast. They must utilize physical impact, shovel the ball, take fouls, and use all allowed methods to disrupt Real Madrid’s offensive rhythm. They must force those arrogant superstars to scramble and get flustered.

Then they must end the game with a highly efficient sneak counterattack.

That was what Twain hoped to do.

To that end, he asked Anelka to defend and said that he must counter-intercept immediately. If he could not do it, he would bring him off.

※※※

The ball was passed to Zidane’s feet and George Wood immediately rushed up to intercept the ball. He thought that his speed must be so fast that the opponent could not respond in time. In the narrow space on the edge of the sideline, Zidane definitely could not evade him unless he kicked the ball out of bounds.

He did not expect Zidane to suddenly step on the ball, turn 180 degrees, and swing past the side of his feet!

“Wow—it’s the Marseille Turn!”

Stunned, Wood sat on the floor and watched Real Madrid’s number five elegantly bypass him.

This was his first exchange with the football legend, and he was defeated!

After he bypassed Wood, Zidane directly passed the ball to Roberto Carlos who plugged in from the flank. The compact Brazilian fullback swiftly plugged in from the back and Chimbonda cut across to block, but Carlos brutally broke through. Carlos jerked the ball forward and then sped forward to skirt around Chimbonda, who still needed to turn.

The cheering in Bernabéu stadium began from the moment Zidane swung past Wood, reaching fever pitch when Carlos broke through Chimbonda.

Twain stood up from his seat amidst the deafening cheers.

Roberto Carlos’ glance swept across the penalty area. He glimpsed from the corner of his eye that Chimbonda was back in pursuit, which left him little time.

So, he crossed the ball!

It was a classic Roberto Carlos’ type of cross. It was a powerful volley which sent the football into the Nottingham Forest penalty area. It was chaotic in front of the goal. As long as someone extended his leg to receive the football, there was a high probability of drilling the ball into the Forest team goal.

Raul had poked the ball first but had missed the goal.

The cheers in Bernabéu became a sigh.

Nottingham Forest had a narrow escape.

Twain sat back down again.

“Is it asking too much of George to defend against Zidane? Do you want Demetrio to help him?” asked Kerslake after he sat down.

Twain shook his head, “I can’t spare another man. I know that asking Wood to mark Zidane is difficult, but there’s no other way. Let George persevere.”

Chapter 379 - Hiss---- Part 2

Bypassed by Zidane, George Wood did not get back up and continue to fight as usual. Instead, he sat on the ground in a daze for a moment before getting back on his feet. At that point, Real Madrid’s first attack was over.

Zidane ran from his side and went back to his position. George Wood stood nearer to the middle. His eyes were always on Zidane. It was a fierce gaze.

He felt humiliated, which was unacceptable.

That turn brought him back to a year ago at El Madrigal. That terrible night when he was utterly played by an Argentinian attacking midfielder.

That indifferent Argentine always glanced at him with a colder look, as if to remind him: who do you think you are?

He could not stand such contempt.

When Zidane ran past him, it was as if he did not exist.

In fact, that was normal. Who would care about a common opponent? But it gave George Wood a bad association.

He wanted to beat the Frenchman. No matter how formidable Ribéry had described him as, he was going to crush him and leave a deep impression in the man’s heart. Just like the impression that Riquelme had left on him.

Nottingham Forest’s offense could not enter Real Madrid’s thirty-meter zone. As they had very few players for offense, their passes were cut off by Gravesen after the third pass.

This time, the football was not given to Zidane, but to Guti.

Like Zidane, Guti was a holding midfielder for Real Madrid. He was highly talented and had great passing ability. However, he could not be a major player. It was only in this game that Luxemburgo needed the team to launch a large-scale offense, so he replaced the Uruguayan midfielder, Pablo Garcia.

When Guti made his debut, he played as a center forward, a forward player with the same prospects as Raul. However, as the years passed, he played a lot of positions. He even occasionally played as a center back. Now he was fixed in the midfield. His scalpel-like passing precision was his trademark.

But the biggest difference between him and Zidane was that Zidane was like a waterfall whereas Guti was just a fountain. He was like Duan Yu’s Six Meridian Divine Swords, only effective intermittently.

His role in this game was not to organize the offense, but to assist Zidane and help him share the pressure. When the seasoned Real Madrid saw George Wood mark Zidane one-on-one, they changed the player to organize the attacks.

Guti was Albertini’s opponent.

The people at the Bernabéu stadium were not unfamiliar with the Italian. During the short period he played for Atlético Madrid, Albertini had used a beautiful long shot to deal the fatal blow to Real Madrid in the final moments of the game. It was the Madrid Derby. After the match, Raul took the initiative to exchange jerseys with Albertini.

This time was a repeat of a similar scene. Albertini appeared to be very active. He beautifully defended against and intercepted Guti’s dribble. He then immediately organized the offense on the spot and sent the football to the front field with a beautiful long pass!

“Albertini’s long pass! And Anelka!”

Anelka, who had just rushed up to attack, had not had time to fall back to defend when he saw the football flying towards him. Anelka, who could never lift his spirits for the defense, suddenly perked up.

His chance was here!

He was mocked by others when he had played for Real Madrid. He had only scored two goals in one season. Although he had helped this La Liga giant to take down the Champions League title that season, people ignored his contribution to the team when they tallied up the season. They could only see his faults and did not credit him for the Champions League championship. The entirety of Bernabéu was his enemy. Until now, when he received the football, he could still clearly hear the hiss from all sides of the stadium, which was evidently a welcome gift for him.

He hoped to score a beautiful goal here and complete his revenge on Bernabéu.

“He stops the ball beautifully!”

Anelka stopped the football evenly. Salgado rushed up to defend. But Anelka did not hurry to charge forward. He first controlled the ball under his foot. When Salgado came up, he deftly pulled back the ball and staggered his ex-teammate with the feint.

Then, he abruptly started and cut in diagonally!

The plucky Salgado would never let Anelka go so easily. He turned around and gave chase.

Anelka stuck his opponent firmly behind his back and guarded the ball while he hurtled towards the penalty area.

Helguera rushed over to defend against Anelka.

It was another ex-teammate.

The French striker clenched his teeth and quickly contracted his leg muscles to stop fast. He suddenly leaned back. Chasing at his back, Salgado could not circumvent him in time. He forced himself to an emergency stop, but it was difficult to accelerate again. Anelka interrupted Salgado’s rhythm with the emergency halt and disrupted Helguera’s rhythm at the same time.

As a former teammate, Anelka was very familiar with Helguera’s defensive shortcomings. Regardless of the situation, he was used to facing his defensive targets with his back and bottom. Due to that, he used to regularly bypass Helguera with ease during training.

This was no exception.

Anelka’s sudden halt made Helguera think that the Frenchman was ready to shoot, so he hurriedly braked and then turned to block this shot.

The French striker had waited for the moment when Helguera turned. He nimbly pulled the football to the side, which removed the ball from Helguera’s view.

The loud hisses from the stands were heart-stopping, but Anelka could not hear anything. He only had eyes for the goal in front of him. He just wanted revenge.

Ramos dashed to save it but it was too late. Having skirted Helguera, Anelka quickly shot towards the goal!

But this time, “Saint Iker” did not save Real Madrid.

The football brushed past his fingertips and flew into the goal behind him!

“GOOOAL!”

“Nicolas Anelka!”

Twain raised his arms and stood up from his seat.

The Frenchman, who had scored the goal, placed his index finger in front of his lips and did a circle in front of the goal facing the stands.

I’ve never been happier!

Chapter 380 - A Yellow Card Part 1

When Anelka put his index finger on his lips to make a “keep quiet” gesture, the Bernabéu stadium went quiet for a moment, but immediately got even louder.

The Real Madrid fans hated the French striker to the core. They did not hesitate to put up their middle fingers at the arrogant Frenchman and abuse him with the most commonly used insults in Spain.

Ear-splitting cheers rang out from Nottingham Forest substitutes’ bench and resounded clearly in the midst of the booing of the entire stadium.

The Forest team’s substitutes stood on the sidelines and applauded Anelka. Twain pumped his fists in celebration of the goal. He was not celebrating, he was demonstrating in front of Bernabéu.

Being ahead of Real Madrid was not very exciting to Twain. He had already done the same thing once in City Ground stadium.

Taking the lead over Real Madrid at Bernabéu was not considered a winning advantage. Still, Twain enjoyed the thrill of striking a blow to the team on their home ground.

As a result, he was very pleased to see Anelka put his forefinger on his lips to make the Bernabéu fans shut up.

※※※

“What a surprise, Nottingham Forest takes the lead in Bernabéu! The English scored a goal in the first five minutes of the game!”

The ESPN commentator was right. It was normal to lead against Real Madrid, but it was astounding to take the lead within such a short period of time from the start of the game.

“I believe that this Nottingham Forest team, which has defeated Benfica twice, is definitely not a complete unknown who pulled off an upset in Portugal.”

The group points and ranking were displayed in the lower left corner of the screen. Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest occupied the first and second spots respectively, but they had the same points: ten each.

The television footage then gave Tony Twain, who stood on the sidelines, a five-second closeup. His face no longer showed the excitement and joy from the goal. It was replaced with a serious expression.

“The youngest manager in the UEFA Champions League has taken the lead at Bernabéu. Tony Twain seemed to be shrouded in a mist that we can’t see through.”

Twain did not know that the television commentator was commenting on his close-up. He stood on the sidelines for a while before he walked back to the technical area.

“The game has just begun, David,” he said.

※※※

After the kickoff, Real Madrid was not adversely affected by the goal; instead, they soon launched a frenzy of counterattacks.

After all, this was a veteran powerhouse club. No matter what low point they were facing, their foundation still existed. It would be a sham if they were to be knocked out by one goal.

Wood once again became a busy man. Such a moment was rarely seen as the Forest team’s strength increased and their ranking in the Premier League rose. When the Forest team was weak and often pressed by their opponents’ positional warfare, George Wood was the most eye-catching player, which was one of the reasons why he quickly became famous even though he was young and had debuted less than two years.

More balls were sent to Zidane’s feet. It looked like they did not trust Guti, who was a brilliant but inconsistent playmaker.

More offense was concentrated on Zidane’s side, which meant that George Wood was under more pressure.

As the game progressed, Zidane made him feel bad again, whether Wood admitted it or not.

When an opponent faced the French baldie, he would always have a way to bypass his opponent. If he could not go around, he would immediately pass the ball and not leave his opponent with too much time to intercept.

This was not only a divergence in skill but also a huge disparity in experience.

Zidane took possession of the ball when he faced Wood and made a feint to move the ball to the left for a breakthrough. Wood quickly rushed out. Then Zidane calmly shifted the ball to the right flank as Salgado plugged in from behind.

Wood was not the only one under enormous pressure. The young left back Gareth Bale and the right back Chimbonda were equally so. It could be said that everyone in the Forest defensive line faced tremendous pressure. This defensive line was very young and the offensive lineup they faced was world-class.

Salgado did not break past Bale. But after he lured Bale to the vicinity of the end line, he passed the ball back.

And behind him was the right midfielder, Beckham!

“Beware the Englishman!” The commentator shouted in an exaggerated way.

Beckham did not stop the ball. Instead, he received Salgado’s return pass and made a direct pass.

The football drew a perfect arc in the air and almost hit Ronaldo, who was not good at headers, on the forehead!

“A header by Ronaldo... WOOOW!”

Close at hand, Edwin van der Sar made an incredible save. He deflected Ronaldo’s header with a single palm!

“Oh, what a shame! If the shot was headed by Morientes instead, it would have gone in.”

Ronaldo put his hands on his hips as he looked at van der Sar, who had gotten up from the ground, in disbelief. He had thought that this ball was set to go in.

In fact, when he saw Beckham swing his leg to kick, Twain’s heart leaped as well. At that moment, when he saw the football hit Ronaldo’s head and then change direction to fly towards the goal, his heart almost came out of his throat.

Fortunately, van der Sar’s outstanding performance put Twain’s heart back in its place. But it was still thumping wildly.

After taking the lead, Twain experienced that keyed up state where a heart attack might happen at any time.

1:0 was not secure at all.

However, the Forest team must now persevere with the defensive counterattack. They had to hold fast under their opponents’ constant onslaught and wait for the opportunity to sneak attack again.

This was not just testing the mettle of the players on the field, but putting this manager’s heart to the test.

Very soon, Twain was unable to sit still in the technical area. He stood up and held onto the awning of the technical area. He continued to keep a close eye on the situation on the field.

※※※

This was not the first time that the Forest team was confronted with a situation in which they were under enormous pressure from their opponents. They had recently had a taste of it in the league game with Chelsea.

It was painful, but they must bear it.

This was also a game experience.

Once there was a breakthrough by Zidane which resulted in a corner kick. Albertini pulled George Wood aside.

His hand slipped. He almost could not grasp Wood’s arm. Albertini realized that Wood’s arms were very sweaty.

“George.”

Wood turned his head to look at his captain.

“Let’s switch. I’ll defend against Zidane.”

Wood, who always listened to the team captain, shook his head this time. “No, Demetrio. The chief told me to defend-”

“But…” Albertini wanted to say, “But you won’t be able to.” However, before the words came out of his mouth, he swallowed them back. Those words would be too much of a blow.

George Wood was not a fool. He knew what Albertini wanted to say. He gasped, “He’s really good. But the chief said to let me defend against him. Unless I’m being brought off, he’s mine.”

After that, he ran past Albertini and returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense.

Albertini shook his head as he looked at Wood’s back, and then ran to go back.

※※※

Kerslake noticed that Albertini had pulled Wood aside to discuss the matter. He turned to Twain.

Twain shook his head and said nothing.

Kerslake turned his gaze back to the field.

※※※

The situation did not improve. Zidane was still very active. Pressing on, Real Madrid still bombarded the Forest team’s penalty area. It looked like they wanted to regain the dignity and position they had lost.

Twain stood up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines. Edwin van der Sar was preparing to kick off the ball. He placed the football twice. He had been wasting game time since the first half began.

Wood stood on the right side of the center circle, and not far from him was the Frenchman.

Twain took a breath, and then suddenly shouted Wood’s name. “George!”

Not only Wood but almost all of the Forest team and even some of the Real Madrid players heard it. They all eyed Twain at the same time.

“Did you forget what I said to you? Restrain him!” Twain pointed at Zidane. “I don’t care what you do, use any means! By hook or by crook! Use whatever damn means!”

He pounded his fist in the palm of his hand.

If Zidane could be hurt and brought off the field without Wood even getting a yellow card, that would be the perfect outcome in Twain’s mind.

However, that was not likely.

Real Madrid’s right flank was on the side of both teams’ technical areas. Beckham heard Twain’s expletive-peppered English clearly. He glanced towards the indecorous visiting manager and frowned.

Zidane also looked toward the sidelines. He saw Twain point in his direction as he shouted and knew in all likelihood that it was related to himself. It was merely to let the boy mark him. Zidane had seen much of that in his career. Almost every manager would instruct the same to his team’s main defensive players.

Except, the disparity between him and this Forest team’s number 13 seemed to be too big. Up until now, everything was well within his control. He did not feel that the game was too hard. Other than conceding a goal,?which was an accident, the Forest team was completely misfiring now.

Ever since they took the lead, they had not even fired a single shot at the goal. Everyone had withdrawn to their side of the field. As long as Real Madrid continued to attack like this, an equalizer was only a matter of time. Things would be simple once they equalized the score. The opponent would surely collapse. At that time, it would be a home victory for Real Madrid.

Chapter 381 - A Yellow Card Part 2

Zidane did not know what Twain had specifically instructed Wood, but it soon became clear to him.

Wood knocked Zidane out along with the ball he was dribbling with a vicious side tackle.

The referee’s whistle and the hissing in Bernabéu sounded at the same time.

A yellow card!

Zidane slowly stood up from the ground and moved his ankle. Everything was fine.

Then he looked up at the person who had shoved him. This was the first time he had taken a serious look at the opponent, the Nottingham Forest’s number 13, who had tangled with him for more than twenty minutes.

The “hit man” tightly pursed his lips as he stood in front of the referee and watched him record the foul in the small booklet with his head lowered. He did not apologize for the foul. He just had a blank expression on his face.

Beckham ran over to check on Zidane and found him staring at Wood.

“Be careful, Zizou.” He cautioned, “I’ve heard a lot of stuff about this kid.”

Zidane looked back at Beckham and nodded.

“I think they’re trying to provoke you, Zizou.” Roberto Carlos said in half-jest as he ran up for the free kick.

Zidane chuckled a little.

※※※

When he saw that George Wood was penalized with a yellow card because he had tackled Zidane, David Kerslake turned his head to look at Twain.

Twain looked back at him and shrugged. “He has to learn more techniques to control his fouls. That tackle just now was too aggressive. It looked like he had caused a lot of harm, but actually…” He paused for a moment before he continued. “If he’s going to get penalized, he also has to reap the equivalent benefits of getting that card. Now Wood has a yellow card, but he didn’t hurt Zidane.”

“Now I’m just worried about one thing, Tony. Wood has two options right in front of him. Will he choose to defend against Zidane at all costs and then get sent off after getting a second yellow card? Or will he be constrained in his defense against Zidane and let the defensive line in front of our center backs thin out?”

“That… you have to ask him.”

※※※

Just as Kerslake had said, even though there was no expression on his face, George Wood was confronted with a dilemma.

He knew that he would be sent off if he received two yellow cards in the same game. And now that he had one, it would not be easy to defend against Zidane. He could not guarantee that he would be able to defend against Zidane in the remaining sixty minutes without risking another a yellow card.

Regardless of whether or not he could defend against Zidane, it was extremely difficult not to risk a card in this high-intensity defense. George Wood was not Franco Baresi or Roberto Sensini. He could not play effectively and civilly during defense.

To counteract Zidane, he had to pay the price to make up the disparity between him and Zidane.

But now, getting a yellow card too early made him face a difficult situation.

If he did not want to accumulate another yellow card, he had to ease up on defense. The likelihood of getting a second yellow card would be greater if he did not let up.

He didn’t know what to do.

He did not want to be sent off. He wanted to stay on the field to compete with number 5. Twain wanted him to defend against Zidane. But if he was sent off by a red card in the end, then he would have failed in his mission. He did not want to be a loser.

This was Wood’s dilemma and Zidane’s chance. Accustomed to all kinds of circumstances and various types of opponents, how could Zidane not know Wood’s situation now?

He knew clearly. This was something he could fully make use of.

And he was not the only one who could take advantage.

After Roberto Carlos sent out the free kick, Real Madrid visibly shifted their offensive focus to Wood’s side.

Perhaps he might not get another card if he just defended Zidane alone. But when he had to face the entire team’s offense and could not even fend for himself, when he was dizzy and lightheaded from the attacks from everywhere, who could guarantee that he would not be impulsive, or react a little faster or slower, and then receive another yellow card?

Just as he strove to block Carlos’ pass, he watched the football bounce out and fall to Zidane’s feet. George Wood went all out to charge up, only to see the other party nimbly pass the football to Guti next to him.

Albertini came up to defend, but Guti passed the football back to Zidane again.

The French midfielder remained in his position. He did not rush to send out the ball as if he wanted to trick Wood into a foul.

But this time, Wood did not do as he wished and impulsively tackle him. Instead, he stuck close and constantly badgered Zidane for the ball from behind until the referee whistled.

It was a foul, but there was no card.

※※※

“He should have done this earlier,” Twain muttered to himself. He did not understand why Wood liked to tackle the ball. Was it because it looked aggressive?

※※※

This time, Real Madrid’s free kick was unsuccessful.

Wood strenuously propped up the defense, but he had not crumbled yet.

The game seemed to be in a stalemate. In the face of the Forest team’s tight defensive formation, Luxemburgo seemed to be out of ideas other than relying on the superstar footballers on the field.

The Real Madrid manager did not do anything except stand on the sidelines and occasionally wave his hands anxiously. Moreover, the Real Madrid players on the field might not even listen to the words he shouted. He had gradually lost control of the team. His desire to defeat Nottingham Forest at his home ground was just the final struggle of a dying man.

As shown on the field, Real Madrid did not perform as a whole during this period. They were completely reliant on those star players’ occasional flashes of brilliance. A nice way of saying it would be that those players had the ability to decide the game on their own. To put it bluntly, they were unable to cooperate with each other and fought alone.

If the superstars were not in condition for various reasons, then the game would be lost. And when those superstars lacked the desire for victory and had an inexplicable sense of superiority, they were likely to give up the game at the earliest point if the team was in trouble.

Fortunately for today’s game with regards to Real Madrid’s star players, although they were behind in the score, they were still dominant in the game. This gave them the motivation to win the game instead of raising their hands in surrender.

The supporters of Real Madrid were looking forward to Raúl, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, or Roberto Carlos… Any one of them to stand up to save the day. They believed that their team was still the most powerful in the world because they had some of the most powerful players in the world. As long as one player stepped up, he could turn the tide in the game.

The Forest team finally managed an offense and obtained a corner kick after their tireless efforts. The two tall center backs went up to prepare to scramble for the position. In the end, Viduka ferried the ball to Anelka, who stopped the ball and shot a volley amidst the booing of the entire stadium. This time, Casillas positioned himself accurately and judged correctly in advance. He sealed off the French striker’s shot angle and easily grabbed the ball.

Real Madrid immediately launched a counterattack after that. Casillas threw the ball to Zidane.

The Frenchman elegantly stopped the ball and turned. He dribbled the ball and charged into the Forest team’s penalty area in one go.

Piqué and Pepe turned to run back to their own penalty area after they saw Casillas take down the ball. They put in all their efforts and ran what was their personal fastest time.

They had to do that because there was only one fullback in the rear, Chimbonda, a goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, and a defensive midfielder, George Wood.

The first defender to meet Zidane was George Wood.

Wood did not directly face him, but slowly retreated on the side while he waited for his teammates to fall back.

However, Zidane would not give him the chance. He sped up!

The distance between the two men rapidly shortened.

Ten meters.

Wood quickly glanced behind him, which was still largely empty.

Five meters.

The Real Madrid players were pressing ahead quickly. Wood was not able to recognize them one by one in such a situation, but he saw four figures in white jerseys with one sweeping glance.

The enemies were pressing at the border.

Three meters.

Wood had to turn his gaze back. Zidane was already close at hand. He swept above the football with his left foot and did not touch it. It was immediately followed by his right foot sweeping towards the ball.

Wood did not know whether he was faking or playing for real this time. He quickly made a choice in his mind and decided to gamble that it was real this time.

Two meters.

As Zidane’s right foot drew across the ball, Wood shifted his balance. He was deceived!

One meter.

Zidane’s left foot kicked the football away from Wood’s side. Then he lightly leaped, and both of his feet went over Wood.

Such skill!

Wood still had a chance to stop this breakthrough if he extended his hand to hold the Frenchman’s jersey or quickly tripped him from behind.

However, if he did all of those, it would mean a foul this time. And judging from the vast expanse behind him, he was bound to get a card!

Wood must make a choice in a flash, whether his right hand or his right foot should move, or whether to stop the attack at the expense of being sent off.

Wood hesitated. At that time, Zidane bypassed and easily overtook him.

Bernabéu burst into deafening cheers, and the sound stirred Wood. He suddenly turned and gave chase to the white figure.

He wanted to make up for his mistake and could not let Real Madrid go into battle with this offense, no matter what price he had to pay!

When he was about two meters away from Zidane, Wood was ready to tackle the ball. He was ready to leave the field as soon as he struck with his foot.

He was going to tackle from the back!

As if he had eyes at the back of his head, Zidane suddenly jabbed the ball to the right at that moment Wood tackled. Then he jumped up as Wood’s legs slid under his body.

The football was sent to Raúl’s feet. He was in the penalty area and swung his leg to shoot!

Lying on the ground, Wood saw the scene while he was under Zidane. Edwin van der Sar did everything he could to save the goal, but he did not even manage to touch the ball. The ball hit the far end of the goalpost and shot into the goal.

Music was broadcasted at the Bernabéu stadium, followed by a roar. “And the goalscorer is Raúl González!!”

Chapter 382 - Multiple Choices Part 1

“And the scorer is Raúl González!!”

Dressed in the number 7 white jersey, Spain’s golden boy spread open his arms and ran to the side of the field. His right hand pounded twice on the Real Madrid crest on his chest and then made a “V” sign.

Zidane, who had assisted, ran to him happily.

In the stands behind those superstars, the white-clad crowd surged.

The loser, George Wood, stood on the field in a daze as he watched the celebrating Real Madrid players. He had more reason to be miserable than anyone because he could have stopped the goal at the cost of being sent off.

Albertini ran up from behind and rumpled Wood’s hair without saying anything.

Twain sat in the technical area. When he saw Zidane easily circumvent Wood, he had already expected this; he did not even get up.

Why had he not thought that they were safe with a score of 1:0? Because he knew how hard it was to prevent Real Madrid from getting a goal in Bernabéu. They had to widen their lead. But the advantage was gone before they could.

The television broadcast once again gave him a five-second close-up. Tony Twain remained expressionless.

Kerslake looked upset beside him.

※※※

After Real Madrid equalized the score, the situation continued to be in their favor. Nottingham Forest had no choice but to retreat entirely and completely abandon the attack. By doing that, they were able to resist the last-minute onslaught from Real Madrid in the first half.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the fans at Bernabéu stadium were full of hope for the second half. And the Nottingham Forest fans looked anxiously at the players with their heads bowed.

What kind of impact would the equalizer have on the morale of the team?

※※※

Twain looked at the players when he went back to the locker room. Everyone seized the moment to rest. He closed the door. He then went to the tactical board and wiped it clean.

“As I recall, I said that our defense would be full-on pressing before the game.” Twain re-drew the Real Madrid lineup, “But I didn’t see that. Did anybody see it?”

The players looked at each other. It looked like the chief was angry again.

“More often than not, what I saw was...” Twain drew eleven circles in the Forest team’s half of the field. “This kind of defense!” He slashed across the eleven circles with force.

“Eleven players pulled back into their own half of the field, waiting for the opponent to attack.”

“We only led by a goal and you just withdrew, hoping to hold on! Who told you to do that? Me?”

The group of players lowered their heads.

“What does high pressing mean? Are you guys from the youth team? Do you need me to explain?” After Twain vented his dissatisfaction, his tone slightly softened. “In the second half, we are going to fully press on, starting from the front line. First line, second line, third line, fourth line!” Twain began to draw straight lines from the front field, one by one up to their own backfield.

“I don’t want to see everyone turn and run back after conceding a goal. If the ball gets intercepted in the front field, counterattack on the spot. We’ll send as many players as we can spare. We don’t need a draw. You have to understand, this is not whether we can advance from the qualifier. Even if we lose to Real Madrid, we can still qualify! It’s a game related to our honor! We lost to them on our home ground. Do you want to lose to them again here?”

Twain gnashed his teeth and glared grimly at his players.

※※※

“Tony, just now, you were a little… We haven’t lost yet.” At the beginning of the second half, Kerslake spoke to twain.

“The score wasn’t the real reason I was angry. That was just an excuse.” Twain watched the field as he explained. “What made me unhappy was that the players’ performance went against our pre-match deployment. I allow the players to play according to their styles on the field. But if they play incorrectly, I will criticize them. It’s that simple.”

“In that case, Wood...”

During the halftime interval, Twain did not specifically say anything to Wood, nor did he ask Wood to stay behind in the locker room to talk alone when they headed out to the field. He did not praise or criticize him. He seemed to completely ignore his defensive performance with Zidane, including the concession of the goal.

Kerslake felt that this was not Twain’s style because it was well known that Twain favored Wood.

“There was nothing to say. He showed great effort, but there was a gap in his ability. And some things can’t be offset by putting in effort on the field.”

Kerslake was even more puzzled, “And you don’t even want to console him? He’s been very quiet, even quieter than usual. I think losing that ball was a big blow to him.”

Twain smiled a little. “He’s not a three-year-old kid who needs me to console him all the time. I think this is good. His career has been too smooth-sailing. It’s good to encounter some setbacks every so often.”

But Twain did not state the most important reason: he did not know what to do. Wood already had a yellow card. For a defensive core of the team, it was equivalent to having a bomb that could explode at any time. It was a hidden danger.

However, Twain was still hesitating on whether to replace him.

Replacing him was tantamount to removing the blockade in front of the defensive line which could let Real Madrid’s attack quickly reach dangerous heights.

If he did not replace him, once Wood had a second yellow card the defensive line would lose an important barrier and the Forest team would have one less player on the field, which was a more serious situation.

Based on a simple analysis, Twain should choose substitution because it would minimize the loss. But matters on the football field were not so simple and easily analyzed. Firstly, Wood might not necessarily receive a second yellow card; Secondly, if he were to replace Wood at the start of the second half, would it have an adverse impact on Wood? After all, this was practically the same as negating a player’s performance in front of everyone.

All those were uncertainties. Making judgments based on indeterminate factors and acting on uncertainties could produce uncertain consequences.

This collective of chaotic uncertainties made Twain hesitate.

He stopped talking and stared at the field solemnly.

※※※

Twain’s dressing-down in the locker room during the halftime interval was very effective. There was a massive change in the Forest team’s performance in the second half as compared to the first half. The players strengthened their interceptions in the front field. They did an excellent job of counter robbing the ball on the spot after losing it. Real Madrid suddenly could not adjust.

This was what Twain wanted to see. The Real Madrid players had to put in more effort to deal with the Forest team’s frenzied attacks rather than thinking about how to coordinate beautifully and score.

Real Madrid had always been afraid of that kind of forced interception. They overly emphasized the beautiful possession of the ball and offense, but did not have a player who had the ability to beautifully defend the airspace and against offense. The only Makelele was also abandoned by them. And now Real Madrid paid the price by ending up empty-handed for two consecutive seasons. Without any surprises, they would continue to be empty-handed this season.

The rise of the Nottingham Forest was inseparable from the fact that they had an excellent defensive midfielder, George Wood. When Wood was in stable condition, the rest of the Forest team could set their mind at ease and attack boldly. They did not have to worry about getting caught up in their opponent’s pressing because Wood could intercept better than the opponents. They were not afraid to lose the ball.

Real Madrid currently did not have the ability to do that.

What about Gravesen?

The Dane was not worth a mention in Twain’s eyes. At Everton, Gravesen could still shine. He basically went backward in coming to Real Madrid. In fact, it was a very interesting phenomenon. Many players, who had outstanding performances in the other teams, suddenly became average and did not stand out after arriving at Real Madrid.

For example, Gravesen was the core of the midfield and was able to organize offense at Everton. There was also the Uruguayan defensive midfielder, Pablo Garcia, who had transferred to Real Madrid this summer. When he was at Osasuna, he had the most yellow cards and was the “dirtiest” defensive midfielder in La Liga last season. Known as “The Butcher,” he suddenly lost his direction at Real Madrid. Similarly, Baptista, the core of Sevilla, was one of the most striking players in La Liga. His performance at Real Madrid had simply crashed to the ground.

As a defensive midfielder, whether it was defensive positioning, pre-judgment, running or defensive skills, Makelele far surpassed Gravesen. Twain even believed that Gravesen in Real Madrid was not as good as the Forest team’s George Wood.

He suddenly appeared to change from an all-round midfielder who could organize the offense and pass the ball accurately to a clod who only knew how to tackle the ball and commit fouls.

Chapter 383 - Multiple Choices Part 2

So far, Gravesen had not caused any trouble for the Forest team’s offense in this game.

Of course, Gravesen’s lack of action also had to do with the Forest team’s insufficient offense for the first half.

It was different now. The Forest team’s high pressing gave Real Madrid a headache. The star players’ mistakes gradually began to increase. The consequence of frequent loss of the ball was that the Forest team got more offensive opportunities. Real Madrid’s tattered defensive line was going to face a real test!

Anelka was one of the most active players in the Forest team’s offensive lineup. After he had scored a goal, he wanted to score more. The perfect ending would be a hat-trick from him, and then for Nottingham Forest to beat Real Madrid. It would be a complete revenge on both personal and team levels.

Albertini passed the football to Ribéry, who then dribbled it for two steps before realizing that Real Madrid’s defense was not so easy to break through. He passed the ball to Anelka.

Whenever the Frenchman received the ball, the Bernabéu stadium would ring out with a deafening hiss.

Nevertheless, Anelka was not affected at all. He was not afraid of that. Instead, he used the hissing as his motivation. The more the opponent’s fans booed, the more energetic he became.

Twain understood Anelka’s frame of mind, so he let Anelka start the game as an attacking core.

The player who came to defend Anelka this time was an opponent he had encountered many times previously in the Premier League: Gravesen.

He deftly skirted past the clumsy Dane. Slower by half a beat, Gravesen had to reach out and pull him down.

It was a free kick in the front field.

Albertini, who took the free kick, did not directly shoot to the goal. Instead, he passed the ball to Ashley Young on the flank.

Roberto Carlos cut across in front of Ashley Young. The youthful Young did not retreat but competed with the star footballer in speed on the flank. The final result was no win and no loss. He did not break through the Brazilian fullback, but he also compelled a corner kick. Carlos kicked the ball out of the end line with a quick tackle.

“The Forest team was on the offensive. They were repeatedly awarded the positioning balls in Real Madrid’s backfield. For the visiting Nottingham Forest team at Bernabéu, the positioning of the ball is their chance. I don’t think Manager Twain will be content to draw in this match with Real Madrid. He’s not that kind of person.”

The British commentator from ESPN remarked on that. He was right.

Bale kicked the ball out and Piqué headed the ball in the crowd. But his shot to the goal was saved by Casillas.

As a player from the Barcelona youth team, Piqué would have a special motivation in playing against Real Madrid.

When he saw Casillas hold the ball, Piqué and Pepe immediately turned and ran back. This was how the ball was lost in the first half. They did not want a repeat.

The more experienced Albertini actively chose to get close to Casillas, who had the ball and was looking around. Intentionally or not, he hung around by his side.

As expected, Casillas noticed Albertini move. He clamped the ball and waved helplessly with his other hand. Albertini faced toward him and slowly withdrew from the penalty area. He did not take any further action, so the referee could not say anything. However, he could delay Casillas’ kickoff to buy some time for his teammates falling back to defend.

That was very effective. Casillas gave up his intention of throwing the ball by hand for a fast attack. He waited for everyone to move ahead before he kicked the ball hard towards the front field.

Real Madrid’s front field players were not good at fighting for headers, so long balls were not really suitable for Real Madrid’s offense. Just as expected, Pepe headed the ball back as he returned to his position to defend.

Real Madrid’s offense still needed to be closer to the ground. The aerial contest was not their strength. Or since the departure of Fernando Morientes, the aerial zone in the opponents’ penalty area was not an area they could make use of.

The football was passed to Zidane’s feet.

In the first round of competition between the two teams, Beckham was the most active player and was voted the best in the game after the match. Beckham petered out in today’s game. Instead, Zidane suddenly broke out, which many people had not expected before the game.

Everyone thought Zidane was old and in a slump alongside Real Madrid’s downturn. Since his exit from the French national team, it could be seen that Zidane was actually tired of football.

He had almost obtained all the honors that a professional player could have. What motivation could he have to continue playing? Now the team was so messy within and the locker room was factional. If playing had become so tiresome, it was better not to play.

But if someone looked down on him, that person must pay the price.

As he watched Zidane confidently dribble on the field, Twain suddenly recalled the legendary French number 10’s curtain-call performance during the World Cup in Germany.

From the first game, people had talked about Zidane’s curtain call. Which game would be his farewell game? They did not expect him to do his curtain call all the way to the final. The World Cup final became the stage for his farewell performance. It was truly a magnificent stage.

When Zidane took the ball, the Bernabéu stadium broke out into huge cheers. The Real Madrid fans revered everything artistic. Zidane was the artistic master on the field. The welcome he received here was no less than the team’s headliner, Raúl González.

The player who was welcomed by the enemy was naturally a bigger enemy. George Wood’s eyes blazed when he looked at Zidane now. He could not forget the loss of that ball. He thought it was the consequence of his hesitation and wanted to make up for that misstep. How was he going to make up for it? He was not going to hesitate anymore!

The referee’s whistle sounded. Zidane sat on the ground, while George Wood stood beside him. It was a foul.

When he heard the whistle, Twain was nervous. He was afraid that the referee was going to give a yellow card to the hot-headed boy. They would be finished.

The cheers at Bernabéu instantly turned to boos. They put pressure on the referee in hopes that the referee would show a yellow card.

The referee did not do anything. He stood at the spot where the foul was committed and raised his hand to motion for a Real Madrid player to take the free kick. He did not say anything to Wood.

Wood went back to his defensive position with a sullen expression. But Twain could not sit on it any longer.

He called Mikel Arteta from the substitutes’ bench. “Mikel, go do your warm up!”

Kerslake glanced up at him.

Chapter 384 - White Handkerchiefs Part 1

When Salgado smashed Ribéry’s dribbling ball out of the sidelines, the assistant referee beside the ball did not indicate that this was Nottingham Forest’s throw-in. Instead, he raised both flags in his hands over his head.

That was to indicate that there was a request for substitution on the sidelines.

The fourth official stood on the sidelines and held up the electronic signboard: Nottingham Forest had asked for a substitution. Number 13 would be brought off and number 14 would come on.

Seeing the substitution, the ESPN English commentator was astonished. He rarely saw Manager Tony Twain replace George Wood in a game, not to mention so early in this game, at the 67th minute.

If bringing on Arteta was to strengthen their offense, then was it not better to replace the older Albertini? Why did he want to bring off the young and energetic George Wood, who could run and rob?

It could certainly be due to his yellow card. However, it was quite shocking for a while that Twain was able to make up his mind to replace Wood.

Indeed, even George Wood was taken aback. He stood on the field and looked at the sign held by the fourth official. That red number really indicated that 13 was to be brought off.

He had seldom had the experience of being replaced during a game. Since he had started playing on the Forest First Team, he had rarely felt like this. He was a little dumbfounded, but soon he became angry.

He, George Wood has been replaced ahead of time!

He could not continue to fight it out with Zidane on the field!

He had lost the contest with Zidane.

He did not care who his opponent was or what effect he would have on the football world if he successfully defended against him. He only knew one thing, which was that Twain had instructed him to mark Zidane. Replacing him early must be because he was dissatisfied with his work. It meant that he had failed.

The scene at the El Madrigal stadium from a year ago seemed to re-emerge in front of his eyes; the failed game, the opponent’s look of indifference, and the home fans in the stands all mocking him.

“George?” When Albertini saw that Wood did not move, he called to him from the back.

Wood bowed his head and walked off the field. He walked quickly, and soon he was at the sidelines. However, due to his bad mood, he did not even high-five Arteta. He just lowered his head and walked past his Spanish teammate.

Mikel Arteta did not mind. He could not wait to get on the field.

Kerslake knew Wood was not happy when he saw his expression as he came off the field. Consequently, he wanted to go up to him to give him a few words of praise. However, when he extended his hand, Wood paid him no mind and walked straight back to the substitutes’ bench. There he sat down and ignored everyone else.

Kerslake shrugged helplessly.

Twain focused his eyes on the field from the moment the assistant referee signaled for the substitution. When Wood came off and passed by him, he did not even give him a glance.

Thanks to the developed television technology, this scene was fully captured and faithfully presented in front of countless television viewers.

“George Wood is very dissatisfied with this early replacement. He ignored everyone and just sat back on the substitutes’ bench. Tony Twain did not seem to explain his decision to him.”

Kerslake approached Twain. “Hey, Tony.”

“Leave him alone and let him calm down for a while.” Twain knew why Kerslake had come to find him. “Just pretend you didn’t see that, David. Come on, let’s think about how we should play for the rest of the game.”

Kerslake sighed. “You brought Arteta on in order to strengthen our offense. Anyone can see that. What else is there to analyze there? But, if you’re taking George out, who are you going to send to defend against Zidane?”

“Demetrio.”

“Him? What about Guti?”

Twain gave a quick smile, “Luxemburgo’s biggest mistake in this game was letting Guti and Zidane start at the same time. They’re too similar in their characteristics and positions. Most of the balls will reach Zidane’s feet. So, what is Guti to do? He can only watch the show from the side.” He palmed his hands together. “Guti almost contributes nothing in defense and gets relegated to the side in the offense. It’s equivalent to Real Madrid only having ten players to compete with us. Guti plays like a fountain; he only attacks in spurts. His condition is unstable, and in today’s game… I don’t think he can play well.”

“So, you feel reassured enough to give Demetrio free rein to defend against Zidane?”

“Yes. They’re long-time rivals. He knows what to do. We don’t need to worry. We have now played for…” Twain lifted his wrist to look at his watch, “seventy minutes in the game. We still have twenty minutes to win this game. I’ve already instructed Arteta to bring this message to the players on the field. For the next twenty minutes, we’re attacking!”

※※※

Wood sat on the substitutes’ bench and watched the field in complete silence. His teammates did not dare to speak to him. Everyone could see that he was in a bad mood. It was written over all his face. It was best to leave him, or else one might suffer his wrath if the wrong thing was said.

He saw Albertini, who wore the team captain’s armband, run to defend against Zidane, while his replacement, Arteta, was in charge of organizing the offense. The Forest team kicked off their final attack.

Before Arteta came on the field, the Forest team’s offensive tactic was slightly one-dimensional. It relied largely on the two flanks, which could easily be blocked off by the experienced Real Madrid. Furthermore, there were two defensive players placed in the midfield and their offensive strength was not enough. When more players were required for the offense, there were often not enough attacking players to pose a greater threat to Real Madrid’s goal.

Now, after bringing on Arteta, who was being better at organizing offense, Albertini returned to be in charge of defense. The three Forest midfielders were now responsible for offense and the team’s attacks picked up.

In addition, Arteta’s presence gave the Forest team more opportunities in the middle. When Real Madrid found themselves unable to consistently block the two flanks, their lousy defensive line would scramble.

Twain had always believed that since Makelele had left Real Madrid, the team’s formations had moved to two extremes: a world-class offensive lineup and an amateur defense.

Always impatient and rash, Helguera employed amateur moves in his defense.

And on their flanks were the two fullbacks, Salgado and Roberto Carlos, who were heavy on offense and light on defense.

The still too young and tender Sergio Ramos was the center back.

If they did not have “Saint Iker,” Real Madrid might have hovered around the relegation zone every year these past few seasons.

Twain decided to seize that point and put it to use. No matter how ferocious a goalkeeper was, he would still have moments when he was powerful and too far away to help without the support of his rear defensive line. Therefore, he wanted to completely disrupt Real Madrid’s defensive line so that he could seize the chance once the loopholes emerged and attack.

Arteta made Nottingham Forest’s offense more varied and prolific, which confused Real Madrid’s defense.

Soon, Twain’s substitution made an impact. While Real Madrid’s defensive attention was still on the flanks, Arteta and Albertini coordinated in the middle with a long shot to the goal, forcing Casillas to make a wonderful save.

Whilst lamenting this attack, Twain stole a glance at Wood. The kid was still staring at the field with an inscrutable expression.

※※※

As game time elapsed, the dissatisfied buzzing for the home team increased.

Twain liked that phenomenon. At Bernabéu, the home team was booed the most, not the visiting team. It could be either because Real Madrid could not win the game, or because they were ahead but were not playing well. The Real Madrid players often felt at a loss.

Perhaps Real Madrid was a team that faced more pressure playing at home than away.

The score was still 1:1. If they tied at home with the team that they had beaten in the first round, they would face even greater boos. The Real Madrid players were getting impatient and their movements were becoming bigger, especially Guti’s.

When Arteta pulled his jersey and obstructed him from dribbling the ball during defense, he turned around and confronted his Spanish countryman.

Fortunately, Albertini appeared in time between the two men and separated them. Otherwise, they might have started on each other.

The referee came up and gave a stern verbal warning to the two players who had clashed, hoping they would calm down. But that was a bit difficult for the Real Madrid players who were being jeered at.

Three minutes later, Salgado tackled Franck Ribéry to the ground and received a yellow card.

Twain turned to look at the Real Madrid manager. That Brazilian still stood on the sidelines, immaculately dressed. But his anxious expression was laid bare on his face. He was anxious and at a loss.

He had no idea how his team should play.

Attacking would please the Real Madrid fans and club president. But offensive football was not merely the sum of the attacking players. Guti had hardly served any function since he’d started in the game. His continued presence on the field had become a destabilizing factor. Furthermore, now that the Forest team’s offensive had suddenly increased, Real Madrid’s defensive line was in a constant state of emergency. He was afraid that their defense would collapse if it was not strengthened.

Should he play defense? The current score was a draw and had already drawn jeers from the Bernabéu fans. If he brought on Pablo Garcia to strengthen the defense, would the jeering come to him in a flood?

If they want to win the game, they had to win it beautifully. It was worse to win the game with “ugly” defensive counterattacks than to lose by playing beautiful football.

Luxemburgo really did not understand the Spanish mindset. The team’s current situation was terrible. They urgently needed a victory to inspire their morale. As long as it was a victory, even if it was obtained through the defense, it should be encouraged and supported. Why were they still demanding to play beautiful football when Real Madrid was at their historic low?

He did not understand and could not accept it. It did not correspond to his idea of football.

What was the manager’s role here? Instead of coaching, leading, and directing the team to win the game, he was here to please the spectators and bigwigs in the platform.

But I’m a damn manager, not a circus clown!

Chapter 385 - White Handkerchiefs Part 2

Luxemburgo suddenly frowned, then turned to walk towards the substitutes’ bench and said to Pablo Garcia, “Go warm up.”

Garcia was a little surprised, but he quickly noticed the manager’s look of anger. He hurriedly rose from his seat, threw off his jacket, and ran out.

The hissing in Bernabéu grew even louder when they saw the defensive midfielder warming up. Real Madrid’s hard-to-please fans had reason to make disgruntled noises. With the team still tied with their opponents, their manager was not going to bring on an attacking player to fight for a goal. Instead, he was going to bring on a defensive midfielder to strengthen the defense!

They could not tolerate that type of cowardly behavior.

They certainly saw that Real Madrid’s defensive line required urgent assistance, and furthermore, they were constantly in a state of emergency. However, they thought that as long as the offense was strengthened, that level of urgency was nothing at all. Real Madrid’s football philosophy was that if their opponents scored nine goals, they would score ten in return! They did not compete based on which team would concede fewer goals, they would compete on which team had scored more goals!

Twain understood that concept and became more aware when he heard the louder hiss. But he liked to compete with that kind of team because a team that placed less emphasis on defense made things easier for the opponents. What trouble had this Real Madrid team caused Nottingham Forest up until now?

As long as the football crossed the center circle, the Real Madrid players in the front field like Ronaldo, Zidane, and Guti would stop running and stand in the front to watch. The Forest players could almost pass through the midfield to directly enter Real Madrid’s thirty-meter zone without any hindrance. Then, they could do whatever they wanted.

In the minds of those megastars, defense was left to the defenders. They just had to wait in the front field and take a second to determine the outcome of the game.

Ronaldo, for example, was always praised as a superstar who disappeared for eighty-nine minutes and then used one minute to determine the outcome of the game.

However, Twain did not like that kind of player. As he was the manager, he had to look at the problem from the manager’s point of view. If he had such an arrogant idler on the field, then he might as well have only ten players on the team for eighty-nine minutes of the game. He did not need the ability to determine the game in one minute. If it was not even certain if Ronaldo could score, then what was the use?

If the entire team played as a whole, then they could have the opportunity to determine the outcome of the game within ninety minutes instead of counting on the individual star player’s condition to decide that illusory minute.

If there was such a big shot on his team who dared to ask Twain such nonsense as “Have you ever seen a pianist run laps?” when the entire team was asked to run laps to build stamina, then Twain would sell him without caring how much loss it would cost the team’s finance. If he could not sell him, he would toss that player into the reserves. And if the club sided with the player, then he would leave. He was not the kind of man who would tolerate a player publicly confronting his authority.

Therefore, he had once worried that Anelka would disrupt the atmosphere of the locker room and the balance within the team. Thankfully, after an in-depth conversation with Anelka, he found that the Frenchman’s attitude was not bad.

※※※

When Pablo Garcia returned to the technical area to be briefed by Luxemburgo, the Forest team launched an attack.

After Anelka’s shot was struck out by Casillas, Viduka’s rebound shot was thwarted by Carlos and bounced out of the end line.

A corner kick was awarded.

Watching the noble Real Madrid being pressed on by the English provincial team, Bernabéu’s boos resounded through the night sky.

Twain looked up at the people in the stands and savored the feeling. This is fantastic, they’re not jeering at us!

That type of hissing was obviously not the maximum loudness that the Bernabéu fans could produce. When they saw the fourth official raise the signboard on the sidelines to signal that Real Madrid’s number 14 player, Guti, was to be brought off and replaced with the defensive midfielder Pablo Garcia, that hissing sound made many Nottingham Forest fans cover their ears.

What was that behavior for? In the eyes of the Real Madrid fans, under such unfavorable circumstances, for the team not to win by attacking and instead to be satisfied with a draw, was a blatant betrayal of Real Madrid’s century-old tradition!

It was absolutely intolerable.

The camera especially gave Luxemburgo a close-up shot of his calm face and then turned to the platform to give the club president, Florentino, another close-up of his expressionless face.

Luxemburgo had done something that went against all the Real Madrid fans’ wishes.

He knew that the probability of winning under such circumstances was already not great. It was sensible to first ensure they did not continue to lose possession of the ball, and then consider attacking. But the Real Madrid fans did not see it that way.

The referee motioned for Guti to leave the field. Guti did not look happy and dillydallied to leave the field.

Pablo Garcia stood on the sidelines with an awkward expression and waited for Guti to slowly walk off the field. He did not know whether the fans’ boos were meant for him, but on the surface, it looked like he bore a lot of the pressure from the boos.

His head was bowed. He had never imagined such a scene when he had joined Real Madrid, a century-old powerhouse club.

Real Madrid’s substitution took one minute, which helped the Forest waste game time.

When Pablo Garcia was on the field, he took over Guti’s position and naturally took over Guti’s responsibility. However, what was Guti’s responsibility in the defense of corner kicks? He simply stood the edge of the penalty area for show.

Garcia could not do that. He was a defensive player, so he squeezed into the crowd.

Gareth Bale raised his arms to indicate that he was going to do kick the ball.

It was crowded in front of Real Madrid’s goal area. The football volleyed into the air and suddenly everything became chaotic.

Who struck the ball? Who was blocking whom?

No one could see clearly at that moment.

Twain raised his head and stared. Then he saw a raised arm in the crowd, followed by two and then three arms!

Clad in a red jersey, Pepe came out of the crowd and spread his arms wide. He roared and charged towards the corner flag! All the Nottingham Forest players came charging behind him.

“Nottingham Forest scores! 2:1! They are beating Real Madrid in their away game!!”

Twain punched the ground.

It had finally happened. The moment when the so-called “Galácticos” was sunk. The deformed team was yanked off of their pedestal and “the era of superstars” was coming into an end.

Looking up again, he saw countless white handkerchiefs flapping across the stands. It was a traditional way for Spanish fans to express their dissatisfaction.

As he looked at the white handkerchiefs fluttering in the sky, he suddenly thought of the white banners billowing in a funeral procession.

It really fits with the occasion.

Chapter 386 - Wood at Bernabéu? Part 1

They had just made a substitution and the team lost possession of the ball. The media and fans would certainly not miss this opportunity to attack Luxemburgo. In their view, Luxemburgo’s substitution was a cowardly act for which he was being punished.

However, Luxemburgo could not think of that. At the moment, standing in the Bernabéu stadium filled with jeers, he was already thinking of another matter.

Real Madrid, once again overtaken, seemed to have lost their motivation to continue playing due to this substitution. They thought they played poorly in this game and that the manager was incompetent. The players on the field could not do anything.

Real Madrid had lost all will to fight.

After their lead, Nottingham Forest played without restrictions for the first time.

Twain looked at this “most successful team of the twentieth century” with their white jerseys moving like the walking dead on the field. They had no fighting spirit, no motivation, and no will to fight to the end. He shook his head and murmured, “It’s really such a pity. It’s pathetic and sad...”

The Real Madrid crest on the outer wall of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium had lost its former colors. The entire huge white building was surrounded by bellows of “F**k off, Luxemburgo.” People did not care about the outcome of the game. They were more concerned with what would happen after the game.

The competition had ended early.

※※※

Twain sat back in the technical area and crossed his legs to watch the show. He was not watching the game. He was watching the historical moment happening in Bernabéu.

Twain believed that Florentino Pérez and his policy of superstars, as well as this star-studded but malformed Real Madrid, had left an indelible mark on the world history of professional football. They were an extreme case of the conclusion between business and football. This representative failure also implied that commercialized football must have a limit. After all, football still had its own characteristics which could not be changed or tarnished. Those characteristics could not be replaced by money, no matter how much.

“To think that I have accidentally become a revolutionary...” Twain muttered. He suddenly felt like laughing. He wanted to laugh loudly and without restraint.

What could be more fulfilling than being able to change history personally?

Kerslake realized that Twain had been muttering to himself, but could not hear clearly. “What are you talking about, Tony?”

“Oh, nothing, David. Nothing...” Twain looked at his watch. Just as he raised his head, he saw the fourth official standing on the sideline with the electronic bulletin board in his hands. “Get ready to celebrate our victory. It’s a foregone conclusion that we’ve qualified!”

After that, he stood up and walked toward the sideline to wait for the celebration on the field.

Behind him, the other Forest players, as well as the coaches from the coaching team, had also stood up one after another. They were ready to dash onto the field.

The jeering in Bernabéu was not for them. Twain suddenly looked at Luxemburgo, who stood at the sidelines, with some sympathy. It really was not easy being the Real Madrid manager.

At the end of the game, the referee finally blew the whistle, which was almost lost in the sound of the boos. Albertini, the Forest player nearest to the referee, raised his fist. Then the players on the sidelines reacted and swarmed in.

Twain was not as anxious as they were. Rather, he slowly walked in with his head held high, as if he were touring his own territory.

The Real Madrid players quickly headed towards the players’ corridor with their heads down.?Whether it was targeted at the team or manager, the buzz over the Bernabéu stadium made them uncomfortable.

Their two consecutive defeats in a week were both suffered at home. It was as if it were suddenly the end of the world. Once so proud, the insufferably arrogant Real Madrid superstars had to lower their heads in front of the rejoicing English bumpkins.

There were few people in the world who could conquer Bernabéu, and Twain was now one of them.

Everything that happened on this night would be brought up countless times in the future, not because Nottingham Forest had defeated Real Madrid, but because “the age of superstars” was over.

※※※

At the post-match press conference, Luxemburgo calmly accepted the failure. He thought that it was no surprise that they had lost since his team’s performance was not as good as Nottingham Forest’s. Nottingham Forest had performed very well, and he congratulated them.

Then Twain said to the reporters with a smile, “Does anyone remember what I said at the press conference after the first round of the group stage match between the Forest team and Real Madrid?”

Everyone looked at each other. No one could remember what had happened a few months ago.

“It seems everyone has a short-term memory. I said, ‘The next time we go to Bernabéu, I’ll give everyone a surprise.’ A lot of people laughed. I think most people thought that I was just a sore loser. Does anyone think that I was a sore loser now?”

This time, no one laughed except Twain himself.

※※※

When Nottingham Forest flew back to England on the morning flight the next day, Twain bought a fresh-off-the-press morning paper at the airport in Madrid. Initially, he had no intention of buying a newspaper here. He had no interest in the Spanish newspapers because he could not read Spanish. But the photograph on the front page of the newspaper caught his eye.

It was a photograph of last night’s competition at Bernabéu. Luxemburgo stood expressionless on the sidelines with his arms across his chest. To his side, the big screen on the far side of the grandstand prominently displayed 1:2.

As he scrutinized the photograph beside the newsstand, the team’s Spanish player, Mikel Arteta, came over and looked at the newspaper. He then said to Twain in English, “Luxemburgo resigned.”

Hearing this, Twain turned to look at Arteta and then bought the newspaper with money from his pocket.

Luxemburgo’s dismissal happened more than ten days ahead of the time that he had remembered. But he was no longer surprised by things that did not correspond with his memory.

This was what he had expected.

He only cared about one thing. He found Arteta and handed him the newspaper. “Was the Brazilian dismissed by the executive committee or did he voluntarily resign?”

Arteta read it again and said to Twain, “He resigned on his own, chief.”

The extremely vexed Brazilian manager, who had swung between insisting on his football ideals and pleasing the Real Madrid fans, had finally done something he wanted to do.

After he thanked Arteta, Twain turned and rolled up the newspaper he had just bought to throw it into the bin.

In many other papers, the Spaniards hurled abuse at Luxemburgo. They thought that he had left a stain on Real Madrid’s glorious century-old tradition and caused the noble Real Madrid to become defiled. His departure was to be expected.

Over the course of the next few days, there would certainly be more gossip, such as Ronaldo secretly speaking to Florentino, hoping for a transfer.

However, Twain did not concern himself with such things. He had used to be bothered by what he heard, but now he had nothing to gain from concerning himself with such things.

※※※

Unlike the previous match in El Madrigal, Twain did not look for George Wood to speak alone on the flight back to England. He also ignored Wood’s reticence.

He intended to leave Wood alone for a few days to let him understand some things on his own. It was better than advising Wood on every matter.

However, after he had brought off Wood, his and Wood’s behaviors made the English media speculate anew. So, from the next day after the team’s return to Nottingham, a rumor about discord between George Wood and Tony Twain began to circulate on the press.

“Rumor” was an apt description because there was no certainty that it was true, but there was no denial that it was true. It gave everyone who saw it a message: We’re not going to say anything specific, but you can figure it out.

—George Wood was unhappy about being substituted early and confronted Twain in the locker room.

—Wood may be sold for his disagreement with Twain, who cannot tolerate anyone undermining his authority.

—The Spanish Real Madrid club is very interested in Wood, said Wood’s agent in an interview with our papers.

And so on.

A year ago, Twain would have laughed in the face of such rumors. But now, he could not. Why?

Because George Wood had a restive agent.

Billy Woox had been Wood’s agent for less than a year and had mainly been busy with his endorsements for commercial brands. At present, he had already successfully signed three brand endorsement contracts for Wood. He seemed to be more interested in Wood’s commercial value.

However, Twain was not at ease with an agent who actively approached Wood and won his trust. Perhaps it was due to his prejudice. He always thought that one day, Woox would seize all the opportunities he could grasp to take Wood away from his side.

He could not sit and wait. He must act.

He decided to call Wood’s agent to confirm the veracity of those reports in the newspapers and to suss out the agent’s thinking.

Chapter 387 - Wood at Bernabéu? Part 2

“Hi!” Just based on his voice, Woox seemed to be in a good mood.

“Mr. Woox.” Twain’s mood was not as good, and he felt worse especially after hearing such an upbeat voice.

“Ah, Mr. Tony Twain. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Twain could make out other voices in the background. He listened carefully and asked, “Well, Mr. Woox, you’re not in England now, are you?”

“That’s right, I’m in Spain. More accurately speaking, I’m on the beach in Barcelona, Spain. It’s the start of the rainy season in England now, and I hate that kind of weather.”

Twain cleared his throat and decided to cut to the chase. “Mr. Woox, I read in the papers that you recently accepted an interview with The Sun?”

“Yes, a phone Interview.”

“Well, the thing is, I would like to know your thoughts, Mr. Woox,” Twain said.

“It sounds like you want me to explain that interview. I didn’t lie. After your game with Real Madrid ended, I accidentally bumped into the Real Madrid president, Mr. Florentino Perez.”

Twain sneered. That “accidentally” was questionable.

“He is very interested in George. Everyone is criticizing Real Madrid for their lack of a good defensive midfielder. After seeing George’s success in England, he communicated his idea to me. He wanted to know if George would like to join Real Madrid.”

Twain did not interrupt. He just listened quietly to the story.

“I didn’t answer him yes or no. I just told him that I would convey his message. It’s that simple.”

Wood had been somewhat quiet during training recently. Twain suddenly wondered if it were somehow related to this. If Woox had told the truth… If Real Madrid wanted Wood, would he be able to hold them back? He was worried that Wood would let his imagination run wild after that substitution. He suddenly regretted it. Would it be better if he had looked for Wood to have a chat sooner? A lot of misunderstandings were caused by poor communication.

“In that case, did you convey Florentino’s intentions to him?”

“Not yet.”

When Twain heard that, he did not know what to say. Was this how an agent should act?

He rolled his eyes. “So are you going to tell him?”

“Well, of course. But I know what you’re thinking, Mr. Twain. You’re worried about George leaving the Forest team, aren’t you?”

Twain just gave a grunt. He did not answer.

Woox laughed on the other end of the line. “Mr. Twain, if you want to know whether Wood will leave the Forest team, why not call him directly? Do you need me to give you his cell phone number?”

“No, thank you. I have it!”

Twain abruptly hung up the phone. That’s right, why should I call this annoying agent first? He had used to talk directly to Wood. How had he made a habit of contacting the agent first?

Shaking his head, Twain dialed Wood’s cell phone number.

※※※

Wood, who came home at noon to accompany his mother for lunch, received a call from Twain. He glanced at his mother sitting opposite him and then got up to walk out of the restaurant.

“George! How have you been lately?” Twain started making small talk immediately.

“What’s the matter, chief?”

Twain had a bad feeling when he heard Wood’s chilly tone.

“Um, it’s this… I heard a rumor that Real Madrid was interested in you. Did your agent, Woox, tell you?”

“No, he didn’t.”

It seems Woox didn’t lie, Twain thought.

“Well, if…I mean if hypothetically if Real Madrid really had interest in you, would you like to go?”

Wood kept quiet on the other end for a while. “The Real Madrid that we just defeated?”

“Yes, that Real Madrid. Do you want to go?”

Wood looked over to his mother eating in the restaurant and then shook his head, “I don’t want to.”

Twain should have been happy, but he cocked his head. “Is it because of your mother?”

Wood wordlessly agreed.

“Let’s put the matter of your mother aside. Do you want to go?”

His answer was still the same. “No, I don’t want to go.”

“Oh. Can you tell me why?”

“No particular reason. I’m just not interested.”

This kid, does he not even have a professional player’s awareness?

But Twain felt relieved.

He intended to clearly explain the substitution to Wood. Who knew if he would still have any ideas in his head? Communication was key.

“Um, George. There’s still one more thing… During the game with Real Madrid, you were replaced… Oh, yes, what do you think of Zidane?”

Wood frowned. He was reluctant to recall that night’s failure. However, the scenes from that game would unconsciously emerge in front of his eyes and come to his mind over the past few days, lingering. Although the Forest team eventually won that game, Wood personally felt that he had failed.

“He’s very powerful.”

“He was selected by the UEFA as the best player in fifty years, surpassing a number of predecessors in history. Of course, he’s powerful. Do you want to beat him?”

“Yes.” He did not hesitate this time.

“But I’ll tell you the truth; you’re not likely to beat him now.”

Wood’s reaction to that remark was silence. Twain did not know if Wood was displeased with it, but he had to say it for the sake of Wood’s future development.

“Do you sometimes feel that you’re not motivated? Besides your mother, do you ever long for anything else? The media are all upset that you’re not on Eriksson’s national team, but you don’t care about that. You train and compete every week… Do you have any other desires for football that you want to pursue?”

Wood remained silent. He did not know what to say.

“To become a champion? Victory? Glory? Don’t many players want that? If you can’t answer, it doesn’t matter. If you’re not sure what you want, let me give you one first. Use Zidane as your target and redouble your efforts.”

“Beat him or surpass him one day. Both work, it’s all up to you. Well, that’s it. What do you think?”

Wood thought about it, and then said, “Not bad.”

※※※

Back in the restaurant for his lunch, Wood was greeted by his mother’s inquiring gaze.

“The agent called,” said Wood. “He said that the Real Madrid club was interested in me and asked if I would go.”

“Real Madrid? Is that the team you just defeated in Spain?”

Wood Nodded.

“Going means a transfer to Spain?”

Wood nodded again.

Sophia thought for a moment and asked, “Did you say yes?”

This time, Wood shook his head. “No.”

“Is it because of me, George?”

Looking at his mother’s gentle smile, Wood continued to shake his head. “No, mom. I like this team and I want to stay here.”

Chapter 388 - A Meeting Off the Field Part 1

Although Twain had sworn in his column that George Wood would not go anywhere except Nottingham Forest, the media did not buy it. They inevitably thought that as the manager, Twain must have been concealing the truth. The speculation about Wood and Real Madrid continued, but Twain no longer refuted anything. He had said what was needed to be said. It was unnecessary to entangle endlessly with the media on such matters.

Just a week later, a piece of news came from Madrid that shocked the international football circle and made many clubs applaud with approval: Mr. Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, announced his resignation as the president. His resignation was the direct result of losing three consecutive games after their loss to Barcelona at home. After the Bernabéu fans booed off Luxemburgo, they targeted the boos and aimed their middle fingers at the club president.

Florentino believed that he must take responsibility for the decline of Real Madrid, and the only way was to resign.

The stepping down of that major figure in real-estate was three months ahead of Tang En’s knowledge. He knew that he and his team had added fuel to the fire with regards to Florentino’s fall from his position. If he had not transmigrated here and coached Nottingham Forest, then matters might have progressed to the end of next February as scheduled. Florentino would have announced his resignation after being unable to bear the heavy burden any longer.

The manager had just left, and now the president had also resigned. Real Madrid’s situation seemed beyond hope. But maybe it was best to be hopeless.

Without destruction, there could be no construction.

The dismissal of Florentino indirectly helped the Forest team shake off the transfer rumors about Wood.

That was because the British tabloids had previously asserted that the Real Madrid person who was most interested in Wood was the club president, which increased the credibility and authenticity of their news.

Now that the most interested person had gone, then Real Madrid’s interest in Wood naturally vanished following Florentino’s resignation. Some people still speculated on the matter, but nobody paid attention because everyone felt that it was uninteresting.

With a stable environment restored, Nottingham Forest performed outstandingly in the following match.

The home ground game with Real Madrid gave the Forest team great confidence. They believed that there was no team in the world that could prevent their progress. Of course, that was also due to Twain’s “psychological instruction.”

In the next two rounds of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest, with their morale running high, respectively defeated Liverpool at home and Blackburn Rovers at an away game. They maintained pressure on Chelsea, the league’s top team.

Then, on December 8th, during the final round of the Champions League group stage competition, Nottingham Forest easily beat the group’s bottom-ranked Lille at home and advanced to the top sixteen together with Real Madrid. They were ranked second in the group due to fewer goals.

That match was rated as a “great victory” by the Nottingham media after the game. It was not because the opponent was very strong and that the victory was hard won. It was because Nottingham Forest successfully broke into the next round, proving that their rise was not a blip. They had the ability to prove themselves on a bigger stage.

Twain no longer had interest in such a victory. He was not like the Nottingham people who missed the former glory days. For him, that kind of victory was only a step on a long road. If he was ecstatic because of that achievement, then he should not expect to have any great achievements.

My Nottingham Forest team is not merely for people who miss the past. I want to create an era that is on par with the former Forest dynasty!

※※※

The league tournament continued. When Chelsea’s continued lead was no longer news and there was no more news fromTony Twain, a surprising turn of events came from Manchester United Football Club, which had not been doing well lately. It was one thing after another for the Manchester United team, which had recently been eliminated in the Champions League group stage.

It was more than half a month later than the timing that Tang En remembered. This must be because his arrival changed a number of things in this world; some subtle, some significant, some well-known, and some unknown.

On December 8th, Manchester United Football Club officially announced that the “Red Devils” team captain, Roy Keane, had already terminated his contract with the club and left.

This news shocked many people and the fallout spread to all of the British Isles, including Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. No one had expected Keane’s sudden departure. Just this morning, he had still shown up at Manchester United’s training base in Carrington to train with the team. Prior to that, Manchester United’s boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, had claimed that Keane’s health was close to complete recovery. Some of the media reported that the 34-year-old Irishman had already renewed his contract with the club. All indications showed that Keane would retire in Manchester United and forever be part of Manchester United.

And then, at noon on that day, Roy Keane and Ferguson had returned to the manager’s office at the end of the training. The two men closed the door for a private discussion. No one knew what they had talked about except that on the same afternoon, the news appeared on Manchester United’s official website.

Twain learned the news online in his office. After he confirmed the news three times in a row, the first thing he did was to pull out the telephone number of Michael Kennedy, Keane’s agent, from the drawer and call him to discuss bringing Keane onto the team.

He was unwilling to let go of the chance to get the world-class midfielder for free.

As the team’s medical unit had said, the recovery of Albertini had not been ideal. He was still some ways away from his condition from before the injury. He could not keep up with the intensity of the team’s competition on multiple fronts. Twain believed it was necessary to add a midfielder during the winter break. He also had to take into account that George Wood had started to steadily receive penalty cards in this new season.

Roy Keane, having just terminated his contract with Manchester United, was undoubtedly the best candidate.

“Mr. Twain?” Kennedy was a little surprised to receive Twain’s call. “Roy expected teams to be in touch with him, but he didn’t expect it to be so soon. You’re the first one, Mr. Twain.”

“The first one. So, is there any discount?” Twain laughed.

Kennedy laughed too. “You’ll have to ask Roy about that, Mr. Twain.”

He did not have to wait long. Ten minutes later, Twain received a call from Kennedy. Kennedy told Twain over the phone that the meeting was set for tomorrow afternoon at a restaurant in Nottingham. He specifically reminded him that it was an “extremely private” meeting.

Twain understood his meaning. Was this advantage of being first?

Twain had been excited about it for a long time. He was filled with a sense of accomplishment whenever he thought that Roy Keane was about to become an important player on his team.

Watching famous players who had once stormed the international football world serve in his team one by one, he truly had a sense of being in a real-life FM.

Chapter 389 - A Meeting Off the Field Part 2

Twain’s excitement did not last long. When he met up with Roy Keane himself, he poured cold water on his excitement.

“Mr. Twain, I know why you called my agent.” Seated in a booth in a regular Irish pub, the former Manchester United team captain spoke to Twain. “But I’m really sorry, I have to turn down your offer.”

Twain stared blankly for a moment. Is this Irishman so straightforward in rejecting people?

He pondered for a moment and could only simply ask, “Why?”

Next to them, the agent, Michael Kennedy. answered the question on Keane’s behalf. “Because Roy is not going to be an opponent of Manchester United in the Premier League.”

Based on what Tang En knew, after Roy Keane had left Manchester United and become a free player, he went to the Scottish Premiership team, Celtic, in the winter transfer season. He had joined the team that he had supported and favored since his youth. This was the reason. Since he had refused his invitation from that point of view, it really made it impossible for Tang En to continue to sell the idea.

He recalled Keene’s course after his departure from Manchester United: the Scottish Premiership team, Celtic, and then… He seemed to go on to become the manager of Sunderland. At the time of his transmigration, the man was still struggling hard to lead “The Black Cats,” which was ranked second from the bottom in the EFL Championship, toward the English Premier League.

No one believed that the Irishman could succeed, and neither did Twain before he had transmigrated. But now he believed it because he had personally experienced such incredible things.

He looked at Keane. A season ago, they had competed as rivals. He had not expected to be able to sit like this and have a chat outside of their uniforms.

Because of his arrival, he did not know whether Keane would become the manager of Sunderland in the future. He did not even know if Keane would become a Celtic player after rejecting Nottingham Forest.

“Roy… Do you have any plans for the future?” asked Twain after a moment of silence.

“Plans? Do you mean if I’ll join a club or…?”

“A little further down the road. What do you want to do when you hang up your boots?”

Keane thought about it. “Become a manager. In my career, there were two managers who so deeply impressed me that I hope to become successful like them in the future.”

The Irishman did not say who the two men were, but Twain knew clearly that one of them was the late Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough. He had brought Keane from his hometown to the English Premier League and groomed him to become a star footballer. The other man was Alex Ferguson, who took him from Blackburn Rovers to Manchester United and made him a world-class star player.

“I think we have something in common.” Twain decided to worm his way into being friends with Keane. Even though Keane had refused him, it did not mean that he would not change his mind later. “Well, in my coaching career, Brian Clough influenced me the most. After I achieved some small success when I first started leading the Forest team, Clough wanted to see me. I thought it was to commend or acknowledge me. I did not expect to play a completely unmemorable supporting role that afternoon.”

Speaking of which, Twain suddenly laughed. “Roy, we really have a connection.”

Keane raised his eyebrows.

“On the way back to Nottingham, I was unhappy about my cold reception. Then Walker, who was with me, told me a little story and I suddenly felt better. Do you know who was in that story? It was you, Roy.”

Keane was a little surprised.

“He told me that after you had a good debut performance, you ran into Clough the next day on the training ground. He asked for your name, and then you helped him clean his shoes.”

When he heard that, Keane also smiled. “Yes, that did happen. I didn’t think they’d remember.” He became quiet and seemed to be lost in the recollection of his past. That youthful-looking guy had already become a thirty-four-year-old “old chap.” Those twelve years had gone by in the blink of an eye.

“Roy, I don’t know which club you’re going to choose, but I hope you can accept my goodwill.”

Keane snapped out of his recollection and looked up at Twain.

“There are still twenty-three days before the start of the winter transfer period. Before you decide your next stop, you’re welcome to train with my team to maintain your stamina and stay in shape.”

When they heard Twain’s words, even Michael Kennedy was surprised.

“It’s just normal training. You don’t have to participate in my team’s training. You can train alone with your own program. The Nottingham Forest Football Club will provide you with all the facilities. You can use the players’ locker room, cafeteria, gym, treatment room… You can do anything except to play on behalf of the Forest team and participate in the team training. You can even wear your Manchester United jersey.”

The corner of Keane’s mouth twitched when he heard the last remark, and then he immediately became calm again.

Michael Kennedy looked at Keane.

Keane looked down and asked, “What’s in it for you, Mr. Twain?”

Twain spread his hands and shrugged. “Why do people have to ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’ when they’re doing something? Isn’t it just nice to be able to help others? Anyway, the Forest team’s training base has so much space. It won’t be overcrowded if one more person is there to train. Of course, if you really want me to give you a reason, I think you’ll be more familiar with the Nottingham Forest Football Club than with the other teams.”

“Even if I was familiar with the club, that was twelve years ago,” Keane mumbled.

Twain had thought that Keane would disagree. He was prepared to show a regretful expression on his face. But he heard him add, “Okay, before I find the right club, I’ll train there. I’m already here, anyway. Michael?”

Kennedy nodded. “Mr. Twain, I think your invitation is very timely. I’m also very grateful for your warm generosity.”

Twain chuckled. “It’s nothing. But I’m actually quite narrow-minded, eccentric, stubborn and spiteful. At least that’s what the media says.”

The other two men laughed too.

Twain patted his stomach and said, “Shall we have dinner?”

The subsided laughter started again.

Kennedy went to look for the waiter for the menu, while Keane leaned forward on the table to look at Twain. “Mr. Twain, I’m very interested in the story you didn’t finish just now. You said Walker told you my story when you were feeling down. So, what happened next?”

“Later...” Twain pretended to think back, and then said, “Later, Walker told me that the chap who had polished Clough’s shoes became a world-class midfielder and captain of the Irish national team. And much later… I think I’m doing pretty well now!”

The two men laughed at the same time.

To know humility, and not lose one’s confidence. The two men, who were three years apart in age, did indeed have that in common.

Chapter 390 - Hello Roy Part 1

When a new morning’s training was about to begin, the players and other staff members came streaming into the training base through the gate. Ian MacDonald smiled as he greeted everyone.

The people flowing through the gate lessened, and the training was about to begin inside.

It was at that time that MacDonald saw a figure emerged at the gate. He was surprised because he knew the person.

“Roy? Roy Keane?” The face was very familiar, but he still did not dare to believe.

The man, who was looking inside the gate, heard someone call his name and turned his head. When he saw Ian MacDonald, he was a bit stunned as well.

He was familiar with the face. It was just a little older than he had remembered.

“It is you, Roy!” MacDonald was delighted and bewildered. “Why are you here? Aren’t you… Um...” He was going to say, “Aren’t you at Manchester United?” But he immediately recalled that Keane had already canceled his contract with the Manchester United Club.

“You’re… Mr. Macdonald?”

MacDonald smiled happily. “I didn’t think you’d remember me, Roy.”

“I thought you no longer worked here.”

“I’m retiring at the end of this season.”

Suddenly, the two men were quiet for a moment. They did not know what to say. Finally, MacDonald pointed to the gate and asked, “Roy, who are you looking for?”

Keane shook his head, “No one, I’m here for the training.”

Upon hearing this, MacDonald’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m just here to train, not to sign on with Nottingham Forest. Mr. Twain invited me here to train so that I can stay fit and maintain my condition.”

MacDonald nodded in understanding, “Please wait for a moment. I’ll inform him.” MacDonald walked into the guardhouse and dialed Twain’s number to tell him that Keane had arrived.

In less than five minutes, Twain strode out. When he saw Keane standing at the gate, he waved to him happily. “Come in. Be careful though; the media, wherever they’re hiding, are going to think that you’re joining Forest!”

Keane said goodbye to MacDonald and walked in.

“Generally, my team practices twice a day. I thought you would only come this afternoon.”

“Well, I’m used to it.”

“Come on, let’s go straight to the locker room. I’ll assign you a locker. I’m sure the boys will be shocked to see you! I haven’t told anyone that you’re coming here to train.” Twain winked at Keane, his expression like a child looking forward to a successful prank.

※※※

The locker room was very lively. The Forest players casually chatted as they changed into their training clothes. Everyone was present.

At that point, they suddenly heard their manager’s loud voice outside the door. “Hey, guys! Let me introduce you to a new… teammate!”

Just as he spoke, the door was pushed open.

Twain stood at the door and looked at the crowd as they turned. He was satisfied that his yell had attracted everyone’s attention. Next, he took a step aside and waved towards the outside of the door at the same time.

A man then appeared at the door, and everyone in the locker room was stunned when they saw him.

With everyone stunned into silence, Twain was satisfied. He smiled.

Amidst the silence, Keane raised his hand and said hello to them. “Hey.”

“Ke… Keane?” said Wes Morgan. He still could not believe that the man standing in front of him was Manchester United’s captain and their opponent, Roy Keane.

“Chief, what’s going on here?” Ribéry turned to look at the grinning Twain. “Why is… is the captain of Manchester United here...”

Twain cleared his throat. “Don’t you watch the news, Franck? Roy just dissolved his contract with Manchester United.”

“So, you signed him?” Someone asked.

Twain shook his head, “No. Before Roy finds a new club, I’ve asked him to come here and train to keep fit and maintain his condition.”

“A new club? Why can’t it be us?”

“Because… Roy doesn’t want to become Manchester United’s opponent in the English Premier League.” Twain stole a glance at Roy who stood beside him, expressionless.

“Ah, that’s a shame! I was looking forward to becoming teammates with Keane...”

“I got excited for nothing!”

Keane looked at the grumbling men. They were his competitors not long ago. At that time, he had never thought that he would be in his opponent’s locker room like this. Life was truly marvelous, and he felt wonderful.

“All right, guys, you should get out there.” Twain clapped his hands and the players who had changed their clothes went out.

Twain brought Keane to a locker without a name tag. “You can use this one for now.”

Keane Nodded.

“Does it feel a little awkward?”

Keane glanced at Twain. “No.”

“Okay, that’s good. I’ll go out first.”

※※※

During training, there would always be a player who would cast his gaze in interest over at the other side of the field. Roy Keane was conducting systematic training by himself over there. He did not train with the team but practiced alone.

Twain handed the team training over to his assistant manager, David Kerslake. He then walked towards Keane.

“Do you need me to get a coach over, Roy?”

Keane declined Twain’s kindness. “No need, I’m training according to Manchester United’s training program. Your coaches have their own programs. It’s not the same.”

“You still remember those?”

Keane Nodded.

“I forgot that you want to a coach. Of course, you pay attention to the team training. Well, if you need any help, call me.” After that, Twain turned and walked Back.

After a while, Twain signaled for the team to stop training so that they could conduct small group matches. The twenty-three players on the First Team were divided into three teams. Each team consisted of eight players who would compete in one half of the field. The losers had to do push-ups as a forfeit and the winners continued to stay on the field until another team defeated them. Each game was limited to ten minutes. Whichever team scored the first goal would win. If no one scored in the ten minutes, the winner would be determined through penalty kicks.

Chapter 391 - Hello Roy Part 2

That was not a novelty. Since he began coaching the team, Twain had been using this rewards-and-penalties training model to train his players to be competitive. Even if it was a training game, no one was willing to lose. That was why his team was able to persist to the end of a tough game and beat their opponents.

The players were excited when they heard that they were going to play in the games. Their behavior attracted Keane’s attention. He paused in his training and stood on the sidelines to rest while he observed the other side of the field.

Manchester United also had such competitions, and he believed that Arsenal must have them too. He was not interested in the training itself. He was interested in the players’ performances during training.

Twain assigned the players for each team aloud. The grouping was not divided according to the main force or substitutes but distributed randomly among the main force and substitutes.

Because there were only twenty-three players, it was impossible to average eight players per team. One team would only have seven players, so one player needed to play for two teams.

This required a lot more stamina. Naturally, only one player could do it.

“George!” Twain waved the notebook in his hand. “You’re on two teams.”

Wood nodded.

When he saw George Wood, Keane quickly focused on him.

The media had dubbed the kid as “the second Keane.” It was impossible for him not to notice. After the first match between the two teams, he exchanged jerseys with Wood.

But in his opinion, George Wood was still too young to be the second version of him. He still had a long way to go. At best, George Wood was a good midfield soldier. I, Roy Keane, am not just a foot soldier who can only kick the ball out of bounds with force; not before, and definitely not now.

※※※

When the other team, watching the game on the sidelines, saw that Anelka did not intend to pass the ball to someone else as he faced Wood and instead wanted to rely on his speed to force a breakthrough, they started to hoot.

“Bypass him! Shake him off!”

“Don’t let him through, George! Stop him!”

Anelka zigzagged left and right, changing his speed and shifting constantly. George still firmly stuck to him. The French striker could not fully make use of his speed advantage in the small field, which frustrated him. When he wanted to forcibly break through, George Wood tackled his ball.

However, the ball that Wood had tackled did not fall under his foot. Instead, Sun Jihai received the ball as he plugged in from behind. The Chinese fullback passed the ball and Viduka headed the ball into the goal. Wood’s team was eliminated, but he had to stay on the field because he was on the next team.

Twain realized someone was next to him. He turned his head and looked. It was Roy Keane.

“What do you think? Do you want to go out there and play for a bit?”

Keane looked at him and then regarded George Wood. He nodded. “Good idea.”

Twain grinned and immediately waved his hand towards the field. “George! You’re off!”

Kerslake handed Keane a blue vest. Seeing Keane put on the vest, the other people burst into an excited catcall.

Wood came off the field and Twain patted him on the shoulder. “Stand here and watch.”

Then he turned to Keane and said, “Are you ready?”

Keane bent his knees for a moment and nodded.

“Go ahead then.”

Clad in the blue vest, Keane ran onto the field and the game started.

Perhaps because of Keane’s influence, the blue team mostly passed the ball to Keane, who organized the offense and controlled the pace of the game. Keane also did a great job, just as well as he did at Manchester United.

Whether it was his defense, the counterattack after intercepting the ball, or that he continued to press on after the opponent’s attack, Roy Keane performed very well. Even as a newcomer, he automatically took command of the team as soon as he played. Everyone obeyed his every command. No one questioned him.

Kerslake watched the scene from the sidelines and shook his head as he sighed. “Too bad he refused to come to the Forest team. He may be thirty-four years old, but he can still be the main force in any team.”

Twain smiled and stole a glance at George Wood beside him. He found that he was staring steadily at the field. Twain did not know who he was looking at, but he could guess that he was most likely watching Keane.

Why did he invite Keane to the Forest team to train and maintain his condition? It was all for Wood.

You have to understand my good intentions, George. You have to learn from him within this limited period of a dozen or so days.

Led by Keane, the blue team was in a deadlock with the Albertini-led yellow team on the field for ten minutes. Neither side scored a goal. The game extended into a penalty shootout.

In the end, Keane scored a goal but Wes Morgan missed his shot, so the blue team was eliminated.

“It’s your turn to play, George,” Twain said Wood.

Keane walked towards Twain after he left the field.

“How are you feeling, Roy?” asked Twain.

“Well...” Keane looked back at Wood as he ran past, turned back and said, “Ten minutes is too short.”

Twain chuckled and then asked, “What do you think of George Wood?”

“Apart from defense, he still has a lot to learn.”

“I think so too. He’ll learn.”

Both men stopped talking and intently watched the game on the field.

※※※

The news that Roy Keane was training at the Nottingham Forest training base soon became known to the media and then the whole of England through the media. Many people speculated that it was a sign that Keane wanted to sign a contract with Nottingham Forest.

After all, Nottingham Forest was the starting point in Keane’s career. After he terminated his contract with his previous club, Manchester United, returning to Nottingham Forest could be an option.

However, the Forest club soon came forward to clarify. “Keane did not sign any transfer agreement with the team. He is just using Wilford for his personal training, as agreed on with Manager Tony Twain.”

Soon after, Keane’s agent released the news that a number of domestic and foreign clubs were interested in Roy Keane and hoped to get the currently free midfielder.

“We’ve already turned down the invitations of Premier League football clubs such as Everton and Bolton Wanderers. Roy Keane would like to extend his thanks to those teams for their invitations, but he doesn’t want to be Manchester United’s rival on the field. So, he has rejected all invitations from teams in the English Premier League.”

Michael Kennedy made that statement on Keane’s behalf.

With the task of contacting the new teams handed over to his agent, Keane still arrived at Wilford training base every day to train. Occasionally, he would play small group games with the Forest players. But most of the time, he would carry out the Manchester United training regime on his own.

Other than that, he appeared to be no different from a member of the Forest team. They used the same locker room and eat in the same cafeteria. Twain did not avoid this outsider when he laid out the team’s tactics. Keane did not grimly turn away anyone who came and talked to him. Everyone could feel the air of natural-born leadership emanating from him. However, everyone realized that, except for Twain, Keane seldom actively talked to people first. He still deliberately maintained his distance from the team. Even if he was swept out of Manchester United, he did not forget that he was from Manchester United. Perhaps he thought it would be a kind of betrayal if he took the initiative to chat to the Forest players because the Forest team was a direct competitor of Manchester United.

Even though the Forest team was his starting point in England’s top league, the twelve years of his career with the Red Devils had been deeply rooted in his heart. Nothing could replace that position, not even the Irish national team.

Just after Keane’s personal training at Nottingham Forest’s training base was exposed by the media, Twain received a call from Manchester. He was familiar with the caller, Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson asked about Keane’s individual training over the phone. Apparently, he was still worried about the currently “homeless” Irishman, who had left the club.

Then Ferguson expressed his gratitude to Twain for his generosity.

Twain very much wanted to ask Ferguson what had transpired between Keane and Manchester United. He wanted to know what happened with him and Keane that would cause the Red Devils captain to suddenly end his contract with the club. However, he refrained from asking in the end. He knew that Ferguson must have had his reasons which could not be divulged. It was uncertain who was right and who was wrong with regards to Keane’s departure.

Some said that Ferguson no longer valued Keane, and that his search for a defensive midfielder was proof. Others said Ferguson preferred the Liverpool midfielder, Steven Gerrard, over Keane. But now Twain knew they were all talking nonsense.

※※※

On December 20th, Roy Keane left the Wilford training base. Accompanied by his agent, Michael Kennedy, they flew to Madrid, Spain. They were going to the Real Madrid club for a negotiation. Under the recommendation of his former teammate, David Beckham, Real Madrid had extended an invitation to Roy Keane.

Chapter 392 - Keane, The Man Part 1

When Roy Keane appeared again in the Nottingham Forest training base in Wilford to train alone, the newspapers reported that he had missed his appointment with Real Madrid.

The reports said that he had even passed his medical examinations and that when both parties were ready to sign the contract, Roy Keane had suddenly chosen to reject the transfer and leave Madrid.

No one knew why he had left. Some people speculated that it was due to the contract period. There were also some who speculated that Roy Keane felt tired of the many factions in the Real Madrid locker room. Some people also thought it was for familial reasons.

Twain, perhaps currently the closest person to Keane, did not ask him the reason. It was a relatively private matter which was inconvenient for him to inquire about. He was not an intrusive reporter.

The players were also surprised at Keane’s return. However, all of them restrained their inner curiosity. No one asked about the story behind his missed appointment with Real Madrid.

Michael Kennedy had been gone for days. He became busier after his return from Madrid. He flew to places all the time, searching for the right team for Keane. With such an agent, it was no wonder that he could accompany Keane on his journey to become a world-class superstar from being a nobody. His actions had changed some of Twain’s prejudices towards agents.

During this period, Twain did not become idle just to focus on Keane. His team played three rounds in the league tournament. On the 11th, they challenged Manchester United in an away game and the teams tied at 1:1 for the match. When the two managers had a drink together after the game, Ferguson specially thanked Twain for providing his training base at no cost for Keane to use.

On the 14th, the Forest team went away to play a make-up match in the third round of the league tournament. Their opponent was West Ham United. The outcome of the game was that Twain’s team defeated “The Hammers” by 3:1.

On the 17th, Nottingham Forest scored a massive victory of 4:0 over Charlton at home. After seventeen rounds of competition, they had accumulated thirty-nine points and ranked second in the league. They had a four-point gap from Chelsea, who was in first place.

And Wigan Athletic, the biggest dark horse for the first half of the season, seemed to shed the image of a dark horse. They encountered a succession of strong teams before Christmas and lost repeatedly. They slipped from third to sixth place in the league. Manchester United and Liverpool were catching up with thirty-seven points and thirty-one points, being in third and fourth place respectively. Arsenal was not doing very well. Being one game short, they only had twenty-six points and were ranked eighth.

Keane was present when Twain laid out specific tactics a few days before the games, excluding the match against Manchester United. He deliberately avoided the pre-match tactical training for the game with Manchester United. On that day, he gave himself a day off and went shopping in the city center.

A draw was the best outcome for Roy Keane, who was training at the Forest team’s Wilford training base.

Two days after his return from Madrid, Twain returned to his office to pack up and prepare to go home at the end of a day’s training.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Come in.”

Twain was not surprised to see Keane enter through the door.

“I’ve come to say goodbye to you.”

“Are you going home for Christmas?”

“Yes, in a way. But I’m not coming back after.”

Twain was somewhat surprised. He looked up at the Irishman.

“The Celtics are very interested in me and they sent me an offer.”

“The team from the Scottish Premiership?”

Keane nodded his head. “That’s the team I’ve loved since I was a kid. I want to spend the last days of my career there.”

Hearing Keane say that, Twain was quiet for a while. Perhaps it was because he had still kept a tiny bit of hope in his heart that Keane would decide to stay after spending some time with him. He was a little disappointed.

“Well, I wish you all the best, Roy.”

Keane cleared his throat. “I know it’s no use talking about it now, but I want to tell you this before I leave: I was going to approach you first to discuss a contract with Forest if the Celtic team hadn’t intervened.”

Twain looked at Keane.

“I admit that I became fond of this team from our interactions over these past few days. I’ve told you this. I actually didn’t have any feelings for the Forest team. Nottingham Forest was only special for me because of Manager Clough.”

“When I came here, Clough’s team was already in decline. I could feel the end coming. The locker room was filled with complaints. Everyone wanted to leave the club and find another way. I was the same. I thought that I could attract the notice of bigger clubs with my performance on the Forest team. It turned out that I was right. I went to Manchester United later.”

“After Clough left Forest, Nottingham Forest was no different to me from the hundreds of other professional teams in England. Well… now I’ve changed my mind. I like the current Nottingham Forest team. It’s completely different from what I had in mind. Totally different.”

Keane shook his head.

“I heard a lot of comments about you in Nottingham. It’s really a pity that I didn’t hear anything bad.” The Irishman laughed and said, “Michael and I had a serious discussion. We talked about what would happen if I played for you. Our conclusion was so good that I almost chose you. Unfortunately, the Celtics came in at the last second. When the team that I’ve loved and supported since I was young wanted me to play for them, I couldn’t refuse. It has nothing to do with money or honor. I just like the team. I want to be able to put on that jersey before the end of my career. Only then will I feel that my career as a footballer is complete and have no regrets.”

At that point, Twain sighed. “I understand. What else can I say? I can only say, I wish you all the best, Roy.”

Keane saw Twain’s expression and smiled. “Well, thank you, Mr. Twain. Before, I said I wanted to be a manager after I hung up my boots because I was influenced by two managers. Now I’m going to change that. I’ve been influenced by three managers. But I’m not going to say the name of the third person, I don’t want him to be too pleased with himself.”

Twain came up and extended his hand. “Hopefully someday, we’ll meet on the sidelines of a game again. Better be careful. I won’t show any mercy.”

Keane also put his hand out. “I’ve never been kind to my rivals.”

The two men tightly clasped hands.

※※※

Michael Kennedy, Roy Keane’s agent, waited for Keane to come out of the building in the parking lot.

“We’ll fly to Glasgow tomorrow and talk to them...”

Keane vetoed the plan. “We’ll wait another day before we tell them.”

Kennedy was a little puzzled. “Is there anything else left to do here?”

Keane looked back at the training ground in the twilight, “I forgot one thing. I’ll have to come again tomorrow.” Then he opened the car door and went in.

“Let’s go, Michael.”

Chapter 393 - Keane, The Man Part 2

When he got home, Twain could only vent all his disappointment to Dunn. This was not the first or second time that Dunn had acted as his audience. He ate his meal while he listened to Twain grumble.

“…Damn the Celtics! Dammit! If it weren’t for them, Roy Keane would be my man now! Our midfield would have a player who all our opponents would be afraid of, a fierce player and a commander! He could have helped me get all the championship titles. He can still play three more years of high-level football, not just run to Glasgow to prepare for his retirement! And that’s not even a good place to retire; it’s much worse than Qatar,” Twain eventually mumbled to himself.

When Dunn finished eating, he cleared the dishes and glanced the still somewhat agitated Twain. “In that case, the media will say that Nottingham Forest is a retirement home now.”

“I don’t give a damn what the media says.” Twain furiously took a bite of the beef.

“We still Wood in the midfield.”

“George? He’s still young and has a lot to learn. Roy Keane is a good teacher, but the time was too short. I don’t know what he has or hasn’t learned.”

“If you’re not sure now, you’ll know during the game.”

Twain sighed. “Dunn, I originally had a good plan, for Albertini to teach George how to be a qualified midfielder and professional player. That turned out pretty well. George is much better than he was when he originally joined the First Team. And his and Keane’s temperaments are very similar. I want George to be the kind of player who has the ability to lead a team. Why is Manchester United successful? Because they have Roy Keane. I think you understand that even better than I do.”

Dunn nodded. In the 97-98 season, Wenger’s Arsenal team had scored a double. That season, Roy Keane had only played nine games for Manchester United due to his knee injury. After that season, Ferguson acknowledged that Manchester United was unable to fight Arsenal without Keane.

Roy Keane’s role in Manchester United was not as simple as just a team captain. To a larger extent, he represented the spirit of Manchester United. It was almost impossible to link the name “Roy Keane” to any other teams. When Keane was mentioned, it would invariably remind people of Manchester United. When Manchester United was mentioned, it was not Beckham or Gary Neville that came to mind. It was only Roy Keane. He was even considered by many Manchester United fans to be the greatest and most successful captain in Manchester United’s history, surpassing “The King,” Eric Cantona, the legendary captain.

There was a word in football that vividly illustrated such a player: a linchpin.

Paolo Maldini was the linchpin of AC Milan, Raúl González was Real Madrid’s linchpin, Alessandro Del Piero was the linchpin of Juventus, Oliver Kahn was the linchpin of Bayern Munich, and Roy Keane was Manchester United’s.

Twain hoped that George Wood could become the linchpin of Nottingham Forest someday. He had wanted Keane to give Wood more help and guidance and bring him closer to becoming a linchpin.

But now...

“But now my plans are all over,” said Twain as he leaned back in the chair with his hands spread wide open.

“I remember you said to me once that football can’t be planned.”

“Oh…”

※※※

No matter how unwilling Twain was to let Keane go, there was no way to change things now. The only gratifying thing was that through this matter, he and Keane had become friends. Maybe that would be a good thing in the future. After all, as an outsider, it was better to have one more friend in the football world than to have one more enemy.

During training the next day, Roy Keane appeared on time in the other half of the field. Twain went over to say hello to him, and then he returned to continue the training. Everyone was accustomed to the scene and did not stare like they had on the first day.

Perhaps they did not even know that this was Keane’s last appearance at the Wilford training ground.

After he had returned home yesterday, Twain had checked all of the major media outlets and found no news about Keane’s transfer to Celtic. Keane could not have lied to him, so there was only one possibility: the news had not been disclosed yet, and he, Tony Twain, might have been the first to know of the matter other than the parties involved. From that perspective, Keane really saw Twain as a friend.

Every player who was on the starting list for the away game tomorrow had to prepare to play with Aston Villa, so there was only a half-day of training in the morning. After the training was over, George Wood would arrange additional practice for himself as always.

The coaching unit and the entire team were aware that that had already become Wood’s habit. A half-day training was too easy for him. Whenever there was a half-day, he would practice for another forty minutes after training ended.

When the players on the training ground went back to the locker room one by one, Roy Keane was still on the training ground beside George Wood.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that he had given himself additional practice.

Wood was practicing his passing, and Keane was practicing his shooting.

Twenty-five minutes later, Keane left the training ground first and returned to the locker room, covered in sweat. He took off his clothes to wash up in the next room. He did not stand under the shower but soaked inside the pool.

Fifteen minutes later, Keane heard the door in the locker room. He looked at his watch. It was exactly forty minutes after the end of the training, not a minute more or less.

This kid...

After the rustling sound of clothes being taken off, George Wood walked naked into the foggy bathroom, turned on the faucet, reached out to test the water temperature, and fully stepped under the nozzle to let the hot water rain on him from head to toe.

While he closed his eyes to enjoy a moment of relaxation after training, a voice made him reflexively tense up.

“Hey, kid.”

It was Roy Keane’s voice.

“What are you tense about?”

Wood relaxed his body and continued to stand under the shower. He did nothing except let the gush of water flow down from his head.

“You should know who I am. We even exchanged jerseys before.”

“Roy Keane.” Wood finally spoke.

Keane gave a bark of laughter. “It seems you haven’t forgotten me. Do you still remember what I said to you when we exchanged jerseys? ‘We’re going to compete often; don’t let me down, kid.’ It’s a shame that we’re not going to have many opportunities to do that. I’m going to Glasgow tomorrow. Do you know where that is? It’s the capital of Scotland. I’m going there to sign with a team... When we met, I never thought I’d leave Manchester United one day.” Keane changed his position in the pool and put his head on the side of the pool. He put his arms up on the edge and looked up at the ceiling.

“Even though we may not have many chances to compete with each other, I’ll keep my eye on you. You want to know why I care about you, kid?”

Wood moved a little to turn and look at the figure in the pool. “Um...”

“Because you have similarities with the younger me. Well, just some. Your talent is nowhere close to mine. Hey, I heard that Real Madrid was interested in you a while ago. Why did you reject them? It’s a much bigger football club than Nottingham Forest. While your team was still fighting to qualify for the Champions League, they considered about not winning the championship a failure. If you go there, you’ll soon become an internationally-renowned star. Honor, glory, and money would be yours. Why didn’t you go?”

“I don’t want to go.”

“Huh. Glory and money hold little attraction for you? Why did I transfer from the Forest team to Manchester United? Why did I insist on the condition that ‘if the Forest team relegates, I will leave the team,’ when I renewed my contract with Nottingham Forest? Because I knew that Nottingham Forest was only a small team that couldn’t hold me back. I had higher goals and bigger ambitions. I wanted to win a lot of things. Have you thought about that? What are you playing for, kid?”

Two people had asked George Wood that question, what are you playing for? In the past two weeks. The first was his manager, Tony Twain.

In the past, Wood had wanted to play because professional players were paid a lot. He could support himself and his mother, and his mother could receive treatment for her illness. Later, the Forest club paid for them to move out of the slums and get surgery for his mother. He had already achieved his goal for playing. So, what was he still playing for?

Wood contemplated for a long while before he bowed his head and said, “I don’t know.”

Keane did not mean to discomfit Wood on the issue. He changed the topic and said, “By the way, I heard you’re the team’s vice-captain now. How does it feel to wear the captain’s armband?”

“Very… It’s very complicated.”

“Do you ever feel proud of it?” Keane asked.

Wood nodded.

“And then do you feel stressed?”

Wood continued to nod.

At that moment, Keane laughed. ” And here I thought you were a hard-hearted monster. Kid, what do you think the captain does?”

Wood recalled the words that Twain and Albertini had said to him. “Help his teammates disentangle from trouble and lead the team to victory.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“It’s not that simple, kid. When I played on the Nottingham Forest team, I met a very, very good team captain whom I still thank today. Stuart Pearce. Have you heard that name before?”

Wood nodded. He was aware that he was the Forest team’s best team captain.

“I was a young and inexperienced kid then, and he opened my eyes. He showed me what a professional player was, what an outstanding professional player was, and… He showed how a captain should act. Consequently, when I wore the Manchester United’s captain’s armband at twenty-six, I seemed like I could do the job well and with ease.”

“Let me tell you… A captain is first and foremost a man. Do you know what it means to be a man, kid?”

Wood did not know how to answer Keane’s question. A man… Isn’t it just biological? He lowered his head.

Chapter 394 - Keane, The Man Part 3

“I know what you’re thinking,” Keane snickered. “It doesn’t make someone a ‘man’ just because of that something extra. There are countless sissies and cowards with two balls in the world but that does not make them a man. What’s a real man? It’s someone who always demands the most of himself. He’s brave, strong, optimistic, cheerful, confident, and knows humility. He can inspire people around him and be their role model. He can make countless young kids aspire to become like him. In my opinion, Pearce is a man. He’s so perfect that I cannot find any fault in him. A proud person like me was willing to obey him, listen to him, and try to be like him.”

Keane’s words echoed in the bathroom.

“So, a captain must first be a man himself. If not, he must at least strive to become a man and let himself become an example to all. It’s not enough to merely help others out of trouble. Anyone can compete against the opponents on the field.” Keane clenched his fist. “But it’s not a competitive and hard player who can become a captain. Do you think I became the Manchester United captain because I dared to fight others? Being a role model is not the same as being a backer of your team. The latter will only let your men be dependent on you. Cowards will still be cowards, nothing will have changed. The former can make them want to be you and let those cowards and sissies want to strive to be a man. It’s useless if you’re the only one who is a man. A flock of sheep led by a tiger cannot defeat an ambush of tigers led by a tiger. Do you understand what that means?”

Wood nodded.

“You’re very lucky, kid, luckier than I was at your age. You do not have to transfer to a big club to get glory or money now. You have a terrific manager and a group of very good teammates. That Italian, Albertini, is a very good captain, but he will get old one day, retire, and leave you and the team. That’s when you need to become the captain who will lead your players. At that point, dozens of pairs of eyes will look at you… No, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes will look at you, because you are the captain of Nottingham Forest. You will represent this team and shoulder all their expectations and responsibilities. You have to be their role model in order to be able to lead them to victory. Pressure? The person who cannot withstand that kind of pressure is not a man, nor does he deserve to be captain. For a coward, the captain’s armband will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. For a real man, that’s exactly what he should do.”

Due to the unique environment of the bathroom, Keane’s every spoken sentence was amplified several times. It surged in Wood’s eardrums and pounded in his heart.

“You don’t have a goal to play football? You feel lost? You’re worried you can’t be a good captain? Are you tired of facing what you have to face after becoming the captain? Do you think that as long as you practice hard in your usual training to be able to tackle your opponents, that makes you a good captain? Kid…” Keane snorted. “You’re still not a man.”

With the sound of splashing water, Keane stood up from the pool.

“First, don’t think about being a captain or your goal for playing. Strive to be a man first.” He stepped out of the pool and walked past Wood towards the door.

“Oh, that’s right. I heard that you have a bad temper. Have you ever thought about changing that terrible impulsive temper of yours?”

Wood was startled for a moment and then shook his head.

Keane smiled. “That’s good. Don’t change it. If you change yourself, you’re not you anymore. But if you always get penalty cards because of your impulsive temper, your manager will still get frustrated. I want to give you a piece of advice. Care to listen?”

Wood nodded.

“I used to be a bad-tempered person. I still am. But before, I used to reflect on my mistakes after I hit someone, and now I will consider before I start.”

Keane got dressed and left the locker room. George Wood was still standing under the shower, letting the water flow over him.

※※※

Michael Kennedy waited in the parking lot for Keane as usual.

“Can we go to Glasgow now?”

“Yes, I’m done here.”

※※※

The next day, various media outlets published this message:

The former Manchester United captain, the Irish midfielder Roy Keane, had signed an eighteen-month contract with the Scottish Premiership team, the Celtic Football Club. For the 34-year-old Keane, this would be his last contract as a player in his career. To be able to end his career in this favorite club of his childhood, Keane had lowered his salary requirements. His weekly salary of 90 thousand pounds in Manchester United had dropped to 45 thousand.

At the same time, the invitations that Keane had rejected included those from Nottingham Forest, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, and other Premier League clubs, as well as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and many other European powerhouse clubs.

On the same day, a public thank-you letter from Roy Keane appeared in the English media, which contained a vague explanation of his departure from Manchester United: his disagreement with the assistant manager, Carlos Queiroz. Certainly, it was mainly to show appreciation. Keane thanked Noel McCabe, the old Nottingham Forest football scout for discovering him at the beginning of his career and his former Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough. He expressed his gratitude to the first excellent team captain, Stuart Pearce, whom he had met during his career. He gave thanks to his old Manchester United teammates whom he had fought alongside with but had now retired, the teammates who were still currently in Manchester United and those who had left Manchester United but were still playing on other teams. He expressed thanks to Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskj?r, who had helped Manchester United win the 1999 Champions League, and David Beckham, who made the world adore Manchester United. He thanked the football club managers who had sent him warm invitations and offered him contracts with sky-high prices after he ended his contract with Manchester United. He was grateful to the Nottingham Forest Football Club for providing the use of its training base to keep him in shape and maintain his condition. He also thanked his agent, Michael Kennedy, his parents, his wife, and his children. Finally, he thanked Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager who had had the deepest influence on him and had helped him the most during his career.

“Without you, there would be no Roy.”

There was no mention of the name Tony Twain in the entire thank-you letter.

Twain thought of what Keane had said:

But I’m not going to say his name. I don’t want him to be too pleased with himself.

“This heartless bastard....” Looking at the photograph of the man holding the Celtic jersey in the newspaper, Twain shook his head and smiled. “I wish you all the best, Roy.”

Chapter 395 - Santa Claus Part 1

Keane left. In the end, he did not choose to join Nottingham Forest. He and Tony Twain had just brushed each other by. Twain guessed that they would not have a chance to work together in the future. After the opportunity to cooperate was lost, it was almost impossible to work together again. He knew that Roy Keane would not want to be his assistant manager, just like he would not want to be another person’s assistant.

Therefore, even if Keane retired in eighteen months and chose to be a coach, Twain could not extend the proud Irishman an invitation to serve as his assistant manager.

They could not be partners, but it was also good to be rivals.

If all the capable men were on his side, what was the point of competing in the games?

Twain did not want to lose interest in the game too soon.

※※※

Another Christmas approached. For Western countries, Christmas was equivalent to the Spring Festival in China.

Tang En had spent two Christmases in England. Because Sophia was around, he did not feel the loneliness of a foreign visitor.

He and Dunn would spend this Christmas with Sophia’s family as usual.

Unfortunately, Shania could not come to Nottingham to accompany her this year. Last Christmas, she had said that “It’s going to be like this every year.” But she could not realize her words. She had broken her promise.

But this breaking of her promise was a good thing for her personal career.

After a year of hard work in England, Shania gradually became known in the modeling world. As a result, she was now no longer an ordinary unknown young girl who could casually wander in the streets and go to school every day.

“I’m so sorry, Uncle Tony...” Shania apologized to Twain over the phone, but she sounded more like a child complaining.

“Why are you apologizing? I think it’s a good thing for you.” Twain held the latest issue of a fashion magazine. If he did not look carefully, he would not think that the person on the cover was the fifteen-year-old Judy Shania Jordana.

Her name was written next to the cover girl image, and below was a headline: “The future of the runway.”

That was a special edition of this issue, which featured some of the most notable new stars in the modeling world.

It was just like a football magazine, which would introduce the world’s up and coming star footballers.

Shania’s exceptional physical assets, as well as her qualities from her early professional training, got her on the list of top ten most promising models.

Although Shania always complained that she did not like modeling, there was no denying that she had the making of a supermodel. Twain once thought that Shania did not like to be a model because she was subject to the constant rigorous modeling training that caused her to resist. But in fact, she was most suited to be a model.

“But I want to spend Christmas with you,” Shania whined on the phone.

“This is your job too, Shania.” Twain cleared his throat. “Just like it’s my job to coach the team. Last Christmas, didn’t you see that I had to constantly lead the team through the training and competitions? I thought you didn’t want me to regard you as a child. Now that you’re busy with work during the holidays, it shows that you are an adult, Shania.”

Shania was quiet for a moment and said, “But now I want you to see me as a child!”

Twain rolled his eyes.

Without waiting for him to come up with new words of consolation, Shania sighed. “Okay, I know I’m being a little unreasonable. You must be in a difficult position, Uncle Tony. Are you thinking, ‘How can this child be so difficult!'”

Twain gave a hard cough. “Don’t you dare think that, Jordana!” His tone became severe.

Shania immediately became pliant, “I was just joking! Even if we can’t spend Christmas together, I still want a Christmas present! A new Totoro toy! It has to be different from the previous one. You can’t give me the same one again!”

Twain nodded and agreed. “No problem at all. You can have as many as you want.”

“No, I just want one! If I can’t spend Christmas with you every year in the future, you will have to buy me a different Totoro soft toy each time!”

Twain smiled wryly. This girl is already realizing that she is becoming an international supermodel. Why else would she say that? We probably won’t spend too many Christmases together.

Even though he thought that, he still said, “That won’t happen. We’ll spend Christmas together the next year.”

What could he do if he was the manager of an English Premier League team? Few tournaments in the world had intensive competition schedules during Christmas. The Premier League committee had hoped that the Premier League would bring joy to people who had been busy all year during the Christmas season. Going to the stadium as a family to watch the game or watch live television broadcast at home became their most important event during the Christmas Season. However, who was going to give a holiday to the players and coaches who had been busy for half a season and would continue to be busy?

A player or a coach was able to command a higher salary than the average person. But the pressure that they bore was not what ordinary people could imagine. Coaches might have one of the most stressful occupations in the world. One had to endure unimaginably immense pressure long-term and received very little vacation time. Many coaches liked to drink. Why was that? Because it was the only way they could relieve the stress and forget their troubles.

The former Liverpool boss Houllier had a heart attack due to excessive stress. Twain did not wish to be on the operating table someday for heart surgery. What was the point of earning more money if he could not live to spend it?

Shania might not agree with what Twain had claimed, but she accepted his comfort. “Yes, maybe we’ll be together again next year. I wish you a Merry Christmas in advance, Uncle Tony. The makeup artist is calling me.”

“Merry Christmas, Shania.”

After he hung up the phone, Twain looked at the glamorous Shania on the cover. Would readers and onlookers care about the price that the models had to pay behind the glamor?

He curled his lip and put the magazine aside. He got up and put on his coat as he walked downstairs.

“Where are you going?” Dunn casually asked as he saw Twain got dressed while he walked downstairs.

“I’m heading out to buy something.”

“Are you buying a gift for Shania?”

Twain nodded as he opened the door to go out.

Shania was participating in a party for a fashion brand in Milan during Christmas. Obviously, she was not invited to attend as a VIP guest, but as a brand endorsement model walking in the show to showcase the new products. She was not the only model who was busy working during Christmas. There were also a lot of young girls like her, dressed in glamorous clothes and walking the runway under everyone’s envious gaze. Some of them worked hard for their dream of becoming an international supermodel, while some people worked hard to just survive. The former did not want to be easily replaced and for the latter, modeling was just a job.

Chapter 396 - Santa Claus Part 2

Although they were missing one person, the Christmas dinner at Sophia’s place was still very festive. Everyone had a wonderful evening with Sophia’s meticulous planning.

Shania also received a large Totoro soft toy in Milan, Italy, sent to her via FedEx; a soft toy as tall as a person. Shania tore open the package in front of the other models, which got her exclamations of envy. That greatly satisfied the young girl’s vanity. Although she ate fast food backstage during Christmas, to be able to receive such a Christmas present was enough to make her the happiest of all the girls.

However, she had a little trouble answering the girls’ questions about the person who sent the gift.

Her parents and relatives?

Definitely not.

Friends?

In the end, she could only say, “It’s from a very, very good friend.”

How close are you guys?

We’re just very, very close.

※※※

After Christmas dinner, Twain led the team to their away game against Aston Villa on December 26th, which began their hellish competition schedule of two away games and one home game, a total of three matches in six days during the Christmas season.

On this day in Milan, the girls who roomed together went out to go sightseeing in this fashion capital, with most of the holiday spent on shopping. Shania declined her roommates’ invitation and chose to stay in the hotel room alone. She turned on the television and searched for a television channel on which she could watch the English Premier League game.

By the time she finally found a channel that broadcasted Nottingham Forest’s away game against Aston Villa, the second half of the game had already begun.

The television broadcast just so happened to show a close-up shot of the Forest team manager. Shania’s anxious and restless heart suddenly settled down after she saw Twain.

Aston Villa had just equalized the score, and the television broadcast wanted to show the expression on Twain’s face. But Shania did not care about the score. As long as she could see the person she wanted to see, she was content.

On the television screen, Twain could be seen staring intently at the field, unaware that the camera had locked onto him. He was also unaware that he was watched by another pair of eyes in Milan, Italy.

Sitting next to him, David Kerslake talked to him and Twain occasionally nodded as he listened. Then he stood up and walked to the sideline of the field.

He did not do anything. He just walked to the sideline and stood there with his arms across his chest. Nonetheless, his players seemed to receive some kind of motivation and the visiting team, Nottingham Forest, suddenly began to exert their force. Shania seemed to be in a trance as she watched. Although she liked Uncle Tony to joke around with her with his face full of smiles, she also liked this serious-looking Uncle Tony. Different looks had their different appeal.

When the television footage moved to the battle between the teams on the field, Shania rolled her eyes and curled her lip. She was not interested in the game at all.

The match commentary was not in Italian or English. It sounded like one of the languages from Scandinavia, perhaps Danish or Norwegian. But Shania did not care. It did not matter to her if she did not understand the commentary.

※※※

The Villa Park stadium was full of hubbub and the home fans worked hard to cheer Aston Villa on, hoping that they could give their supporters a victory on this Christmas night as a present.

But Nottingham Forest was not willing to hand over the three points. Both sides were in a stalemate.

Twain certainly did not think that tying the away game with Aston Villa was an acceptable outcome. The Aston Villa manager said before the game that he wanted to beat the league’s second-ranked team at their home ground to bring some comfort and confidence to the Villa fans who were in despair over the team’s current poor record.

It was good to have a winning conviction, but it also depended on where it was to be used.

Tony Twain was not Santa Claus for the Villa fans. He also had a reason that he must win.

With fifteen minutes left in the game, they entered injury stoppage time. Twain replaced the physically exhausted Albertini with Arteta to strengthen the organization of the midfield offense.

Twain noticed a detail.

When Albertini saw that he was going to be brought off, he turned to look for George Wood as he took off the captain’s armband from his arm. In the past, the Italian would have run over first to put it on George Wood. However, this time, it was George Wood who ran over first and took the captain’s armband from the Italian to put it on his left arm. Next, he waved his left hand with the captain’s armband on to let his teammates press up. He would defend the rear.

Since Keane’s departure, George Wood had seemed more active. He would often use body language to express his ideas.

Twain knew that Roy had talked to Wood before he left, but he did not know what was said. He did not ask Keane or Wood. He thought this should be a secret between both of them. He was glad to see that Wood was actively making some changes, and that was enough.

Aston Villa really wanted to win the game. They did not give up on the offense, even in the last ten minutes. Although the Forest team pressed hard, they did everything possible to seize the opportunity to fight back. The game suddenly intensified in the last ten minutes.

George Wood’s performance as the defensive midfielder made everyone feel reassured. Even though Keane’s training with the Forest team was short, George Wood had learned some things.

Aston Villa counterattacked after they intercepted Ashley Young’s dribble. But they did not expect the ball to be cut by George Wood rushing up just when they passed over the center circle. His tackle was very fierce, but it was not a foul. The boos at Villa Park were not enough to stop Nottingham Forest’s attack.

It was a very simple pass. Wood passed to Arteta, who in turn passed it again to Anelka. Finally, the French striker used a sudden change in speed to create a space for him to shoot. He kicked the shot without hesitation. The football brushed against the goal post and rolled into Aston Villa’s goal!

The jeering was gone. In its place was the Nottingham Forest fans’ cheering and the “Merry Christmas” song.

Amidst the “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” song, the goalscorer, Anelka, ran all the way to the substitutes’ bench and took the red Santa Claus hat from his teammate’s hand. Just when the television audience thought he would put it on himself, he suddenly turned towards Tony Twain, who was celebrating the goal with Kerslake, and put the hat on his head!

Then, before Twain could react, Kerslake pulled out a fake white beard from his chest and stuck it on Twain’s chin.

“Ah… You planned this!”

With a red hat and a white beard on his chin, Twain looked like a Santa Claus in front of the television camera.

“Merry Christmas, chief!”

“How’s this for a Christmas present, Tony?”

Everyone around Twain burst into laughter.

“You rascals...” Twain tried to scare them with a straight face, but he laughed as he looked at all the laughing faces.

Looking at the comical Uncle Tony in front of the television, Shania collapsed and rolled on the bed as she laughed, holding the Totoro soft toy.

※※※

“This was a surprise that the players gave Tony Twain. It looks like it’s a success! He was stunned!” The commentator, John Motson, laughed happily.

“Poor Aston Villa, their Christmas is destined to be associated with failure. Tony Twain makes a great Santa Claus, but he only serves the supporters of Nottingham Forest!”

“Merry Christmas, Manager Twain!”

Chapter 397 - “A New Player” Part 1

On December 26, Nottingham Forest triumphed by 2:1 over Aston Villa in an away game.

And then, on December 29, the Forest team returned to their home ground. Their opponents were “The Black Cats,” the Sunderland team. The two teams, who had competed against each other in the EFL Championship before, were now in the Premier League. The difference lay in the situations of both teams. Nottingham Forest had now accumulated forty-two points with a high ranking of second place, whereas Sunderland was at the bottom after eighteen rounds in the league tournament, with only six points from their single win, three draws, and fourteen defeats.

As they were facing such a weak opponent and it was their home ground, Twain carried out a large-scale rotation once again. Other than van der Sar, George Wood, and Anelka, all other players were changed.

Amidst the cheers of twenty-seven thousand Forest fans in City Ground stadium, Nottingham Forest easily won by 3:1.

Chelsea won, the Forest team won, and Manchester United also won. The three teams were in a tight race. The gap between Chelsea and the Forest team was four points, and the gap between the Forest team and Manchester United was two points. As for the league’s fourth-ranked Liverpool, the gap was too wide to pose a threat to the three teams for the time being.

“We can’t say Nottingham Forest is an outstanding disruptor anymore this season. Look at their lineup and current ranking; we should change to calling them ‘a strong contender for the league title.'” In that day’s segment of Match of the Day, Gary Lineker expressed his optimistic outlook for Twain’s team.

“As usual, I have a different take on this, Gary.” Mark Lawrenson appeared on the television screen with a serious expression.

When Lineker looked at the smooth skin on his chin and above his lips, he laughed. “Are you going to bet on your hair this time, Mark?”

Next to them, Alan Hansen laughed happily.

“No, I’m not betting this time.” Out of habit, Lawrenson touched his lips, even though there was nothing above them. “I’ll admit that Twain’s team is doing very well now. But I think the real test for him isn’t here yet.”

“This intensive competition schedule has not stopped Nottingham Forest from winning. What do you mean by ‘a real test?'” asked Lineker.

“February 22.”

Lineker raised his brows. “You mean, once the Champions League tournament starts again?”

Lawrenson gave a nod. “If Twain’s team can pass the third round in the FA Cup, then they’ll find themselves up against three tournaments. I think that’s the real test for Twain.”

Lineker was silent for a moment. During his silence, Alan Hansen spoke up and disagreed with Mark Lawrenson’s opinion. He cited the example that the Forest team had not fallen behind in their performance during last season’s double competition in the UEFA Europa League and EFL Championship.

“Alan, you have to understand that the Champions League and the Europa League are not on the same level. Competing for the league title is not as difficult as qualifying for the Champions League.” Lawrenson’s words sounded true and reasonable.

“Nottingham Forest currently only has three strikers. Anelka is stable and trustworthy after his return to the English Premier League, but this is still their greatest hidden danger. If one of the three strikers is injured again, it’s almost impossible to rely on just two strikers to combat three tournaments.”

“But Eastwood is going to be discharged from the hospital soon.”

“There’s still a big difference between being discharged from the hospital and playing on behalf of the team. What’s more, whether the Romani can return to his former state after two operations… I’m not optimistic about it at all.” Lawrenson shrugged, determined to stand on the opposite side of the Nottingham Forest fans.

Lineker knew that if the subject went any further, he and Alan Hansen would not be able to refute Lawrenson because what Lawrenson had said was reasonable. So, he laughed. “Okay, moving on, let’s turn our focus to Chelsea. Otherwise, we’re going to have our viewers complaining that we’ve become the Forest television station.”

The three men laughed and moved on from the Forest team’s issue.

※※※

As if to demonstrate against Mark Lawrenson’s remarks, on December 31, as the league tournament entered its second half, the Forest team beat this season’s “dark horse,” Wigan Athletic, in an away game. And then, on January 2, the Forest team had a 3:1 away victory over Charlton.

Since December 11, after a 1:1 tied game with Manchester United in the 16th round of the league tournament, Tony Twain’s team had had a five-game winning streak during the most intensive period of the competition schedule.

The mighty Chelsea was still winning. After 21 rounds in the league tournament, Mourinho’s Ruble corps was still progressing at a high speed. They had achieved 18 victories, one draw, and two losses. They were at the top with 55 points.

Following closely with fifty-one points, the second-ranked Nottingham Forest had 16 wins, three draws, and two defeats.

Manchester United had a run-in with their arch rival, Arsenal, in the 21st round. The visiting Manchester United tied at 0:0 with Arsène Wenger’s team. Now they were ranked third with forty-seven points. Their gap with Nottingham Forest had widened to four points.

However, no one dared to underestimate Manchester United. Ferguson’s team gained one point at Highbury, which brought them closer to three points. There was always hope when there was no loss, which all of Manchester United’s fans were probably thinking.

Twain did not dare rest on his laurels. He knew there was a pack of wolves relentlessly in pursuit. Even though he was also one of those wolves, if he even slightly slackened, he would be torn to pieces by those who caught up from behind.

After ending a physically-draining and nerve-wracking Christmas competition schedule, the various football clubs were given a chance to take a break. The next round of the league tournament would not start until January 14th; there was nothing else on other than an FA Cup match during those two weeks.

In the FA Cup game, Twain employed player rotations in such tournaments as usual. Their opponent was the EFL Championship team, Sheffield Wednesday, which Nottingham Forest easily beat at home and advanced to the next round.

Mark Lawrenson’s prediction seemed to be set in motion.

After a succession of victories, the Forest team stormed into the three competitions in a frenzy. While enjoying the thrill of victory, the danger of being toppled accompanied them at the same time.

But no matter how many crises lurked in their future, the victory before their eyes was considered good news for everyone on the Forest team. Who would not like to win?

Chapter 398 - “A New Player” Part 2

As the Chinese saying went, “Good things come in pairs.” For Twain, the happy event was not only their succession of victories. There was something that made him happier than all the victories.

Just two days after the team had just eliminated the Sheffield Wednesday team in the FA Cup and advanced to the fourth round, Freddy Eastwood reappeared at the Wilford training base.

While the players were still training on the training ground and knew nothing about it, Twain had already seen Eastwood in his office.

The Romani Gypsy had cut off his hair that had been left to grow long during his hospital stay and was back to his former crew cut. He had also shaved off his beard and looked completely different from the Eastwood whom Twain had seen in the hospital.

“Welcome back, Freddy!” Twain came forward and gave Eastwood a strong hug.

With his teeth clenched, Eastwood put his chin on Twain’s shoulder and muttered, “I’m back, chief.”

Letting go of him, Twain took a step back and looked carefully at the discharged Romani Gypsy. Eastwood just stood in front of him and smiled.

“How are you feeling?”

“I can move freely.” Eastwood moved his legs up and down.

Twain hurriedly reached out to stop him from doing it, “Don’t, don’t… Stop hurting yourself, you’ve just recovered.”

Eastwood listened to him and stopped moving his legs. He straightened up, looked at Twain again, and laughed.

“What are you laughing about?” Twain laughed too.

“Nothing…” said the Romani Gypsy as he laughed again. “I’m just happy. Finally, I don’t have to go back to the hospital ward. You know, I feel like puking whenever I see the color white!”

Twain threw his head back and laughed till his sides ached and he had to wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes.

David Kerslake, who came in from the outside, heard Twain’s laughter before he had even walked through the door. He was a little puzzled as to what had made Twain laugh so loudly. “Tony? What are you so happy about? Ah!”

Eastwood immediately turned around and saw the assistant manager standing at the door with his mouth agape.

“Freddy!”

“Coach.”

Twain’s laughter subsided as he turned around and looked at the two men. He first pointed to Eastwood and explained, “He has recovered and been discharged.” Then he asked Kerslake, “What can I do for you, David?”

“Well, the team has started training. When I didn’t see you there, I came over to take a look. I can see it’s because of him,” Kerslake said as he looked at Eastwood.

Twain nodded. “I deliberately did not inform you guys. I wanted to give you all a surprise.”

Kerslake came in to glance outside the window at the training ground and laughed. “You did it, Tony. They don’t know.”

Eastwood also came over. That green training ground was a little unfamiliar to him. Spending nine months in the hospital was too long for a professional footballer.

Seeing the glint radiating from the Romani Gypsy’s eyes, Twain clapped his hands. “You want me to go to the training ground, David?”

Kerslake nodded. “Yes.”

“Then let’s go, Freddy. Come on!”

Twain stood at the door and waved to Eastwood standing at the window. The Romani Gypsy took another glance at the sunny training ground outside the window and followed.

※※※

“It’s such a nice day...”

The manager and assistant manager were not here, so the players snuck in a little break during training. If the two coaches were on the sidelines, no matter how much guts they had, they only dared to rest when the chief yelled for a break.

Ribéry looked up at the blue sky and white clouds. In England, such weather was rare during the winter.

“Is it because we have won repeatedly, and this is a special reward from God?”

“Is God a Forest fan?”

“Who knows?”

A group of players took time out to gather for a chat.

George Wood did not join in. He was listening to Albertini’s instructions. The Italian was just telling him how to turn an opponent’s chance into their own opportunity in a flash on the field. The defense in the midfield was the key. But there was a lot more to the specifics of executing it.

A whistle sounded; it came from David Kerslake.

The chattering men were startled. Albertini and George Wood stopped their exchange and turned their heads to look at the sidelines.

The assistant manager, David Kerslake, had a whistle in his mouth. He looked seriously at those players, who were lazing. Wearing a black coat and sunglasses, Twain simply stood next to him, just like any other day. And Freddy Eastwood stood next to them with a smile brighter than the sun.

“I was just absent for a little while and you’re already relaxing?” Tony Twain spoke first with an icy tone. “Or are you only pretending to train hard during the usual training just to put on a show for me?”

Everyone immediately behaved.

“But…” Twain looked up at the sky. He was afraid of the glare from the sun with his sunglasses on. “It is nice weather.”

The teammates around Ribéry heard Twain’s remark and suddenly laughed. The stern atmosphere vanished all of a sudden.

“I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t punish you as long as you win the next game to make up for it.” Twain turned back his gaze and said with a straight face, “See, I’m very kind hearted.”

The team jeered.

Twain laughed as well, and then he waved it aside. “Freddy, come on!”

Eastwood stood up with a smile still on his face.

“This is our first deal in the winter transfer period.” Twain’s introduction made many people feel surprised. Was he leaving? Was this a farewell ceremony? Was he here to say goodbye? Some people’s smiles began to freeze on their faces.

“Freddy Eastwood has just transferred from the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University. To pay back the expenses for his nine months of medical treatment at the hospital which we had paid, he will be joining our team in this season’s winter break as our professional striker, wearing the number 11 jersey.”

Seeing Twain introducing the “new teammate” in all seriousness, the others were overjoyed.

Standing behind him, David Kerslake gave Twain a punch in the back. Twain’s opening remarks had almost given him a scare, even though he was privy to the details.

At the end of his speech, Twain was also happy. He looked back to Kerslake and winked like a kid who had successfully pulled off a prank.

Eastwood’s return made him happier than the succession of victories or the good weather.

After everyone’s laughter had subsided, Twain cleared his throat and his expression was serious again. “But today, Freddy…” He said to Eastwood, who was eager to give it a try, “You can’t train with the team, at least not for some time. You have to train separately to focus mainly on rehabilitation. I want to make sure that your knees are really okay before I will allow you to practice with the team. As for playing in the games… You don’t even have to think about it for one month. Do you understand, Freddy?”

Even though Eastwood was disappointed, he knew that the manager had said it for his own good and wanted to be responsible for his health. If it were another manager who did not care about him at all, he would be expected to just train with the team.

He nodded and said, “I hear you, chief.”

Twain looked at him and smiled. Then he waved to the team doctor, Fleming, standing at the side. When Fleming ran over, he hooked his arm around Fleming’s neck and with their backs to the team, he whispered to him, “Bring him in for the most detailed physical examination, then give me the analysis report. I don’t want to hear just good news. I want the truth. Tell me exactly how he’s recovering and the condition of his knee injury. I want to know how long we have before he’s able to get back on the training ground and into games. Don’t be afraid that he’s going to take long. Just put it down honestly in your report… I’m counting on you!”

Fleming listened carefully and gave a firm nod.

He understood how much this man cared for his players. He was not surprised by what he had said.

After he finished instructing Fleming, Twain turned to Eastwood and said, “Follow him for a physical examination.”

Eastwood nodded.

Twain put his hand on the Romani Gypsy’s shoulder and gently patted it. He opened his mouth and closed it again before he said, “Go ahead.”

Looking at the back view of Eastwood following behind Fleming,, Twain said in his heart, Don’t worry, kid. Your competition season is still long.

Chapter 399 - If They Want War, We’ll Give Them War Part 1

After a careful examination, the small unit of the team doctors handed Twain the conclusion that Eastwood’s knee was in good condition after the two surgeries. He could begin his physical training. He could undergo a month of training according to plan and then he would be able to meet the initial requirements to compete in the games.

Twain was very pleased with this and made thank-you calls to Professor Constantine and the main surgeon, Dr. Stephen Albert.

And then, just to be on the safe side, Twain asked the team doctors to set Eastwood’s return to the field to be at the end of February.

After all, they had already waited nine months. One and a half more month was not so bad.

Consequently, Eastwood would appear on the training ground on time every day, just like everyone else on the team. As the team trained together, he would undergo rehabilitation training under a dedicated coach, starting with the simplest running laps. The places where he went most often would be the strength training and physiotherapy rooms.

Occasionally he would feel the urge to play, so he would also kick a few balls with his instep to relieve the itch. But he would soon be stopped by the coach in charge of his physical recovery training.

※※※

The tournament schedule in January was not very intense. All the teams were busy recruiting to reinforce their strength for the next half of the season. The Nottingham Forest team, which had been striking everywhere in the transfer market for the past few seasons, seemed quiet during this month.

Because they lost to Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest in the scramble for the goalkeeper, Manchester United had been plagued by a defensive line problem for half of the season. Ferguson finally found a replacement for Edwin van der Sar this season: the young goalkeeper who played for Stoke City, Ben Forster.

Next, in the left back position, Manchester United introduced Patrice Evra, a young main force player from AS Monaco in France.

Currently, Manchester United was eight points behind the top-ranked Chelsea. Ferguson was not willing to give up the season. He had successfully overtaken Arsenal when he was more than twelve points behind, not to mention eight points.

Dunn had reminded Twain to watch out for Manchester United’s comeback for the next half of the season, and Twain had not taken it seriously. Now all his energies were focused on the Champions League round 16 competition, which was due to restart a month later.

After the group stage, the sixteen participating teams were already determined for the next stage of the competition. Next, the sixteen teams would be mixed up again for new pairings which would be decided with another ballot.

When Twain went to participate in the drawing ceremony again, he was no longer the nobody whom no one was interested in. He became the target that a lot of managers actively sought out to strike up conversations with. The reporters also directed the cameras towards this young and promising Champions League manager.

The UEFA Champions League Magazine had even set a time for an interview with him ——after the Champions League started again.

There were fewer people at this draw ceremony compared to the last time. It was slightly desolate. Among those who did not come that Twain was familiar with was Alex Ferguson. Manchester United was really unlucky the first half of the season. Keane dissolved his contract with the team and they were eliminated in the Champions League group stage. The Manchester United dynasty Ferguson had built seemed to have reached the end of the road.

Those certainly were other people’s affairs which Twain did not care about.

His concern was the outcome of the draw.

He was satisfied with the result of the draw this time because the Forest team drew a good ticket.

In the round 16 matches, Nottingham Forest would play an away game first and then a home game. Their opponent was the Rangers Football Club, a Scottish Premiership team.

Many of the managers cast envious or jealous glances toward Twain. Jumping for joy on the inside, Twain kept a frown on his face as if he had drawn a very strong team.

The draw results for the teams were as follows:

Bayern Munich versus AC Milan.

Real Betis versus Liverpool.

Real Madrid versus Arsenal.

PSV Eindhoven versus Lyon.

Chelsea versus Barcelona.

Rangers versus Nottingham Forest.

Ajax versus Inter Milan.

Werder Bremen versus Juventus.

As expected, Chelsea and Barcelona were paired by UEFA again.

※※※

After he returned to England from the draw, Twain’s team was encouraged by this good news, winning two league matches in succession. They won 2:0 in an away game against Portsmouth and defeated West Ham United by 3:2 in a home game. Twain demanded that the team was to obtain as many points as possible before the start of the Champions League so as to lay a solid foundation for their future double league tournaments.

As for the FA Cup… Twain used it to train new players as always. He would not say that he had given it up, but rather he would say that it was to give the players more opportunities to play and train. So, those who rarely had the opportunity to play would try their hardest to perform. As a result, they played better and better until he could not give it up even if he wanted to.

On January 28th, during the fourth round of the FA Cup, Nottingham Forest had a modest victory of 1:0 over Bolton Wanderers at home, and successfully advanced to the next round of the FA Cup.

This was Manager Tony Twain’s best record in the FA Cup in his coaching career.?He had lost to Manchester United in the fourth round last season. He did not know how far the team could go this season. He was only certain that each time the team advanced, a new “best record” was created.

Then, February arrived. Because Nottingham Forest maintained a winning record in all competitions in January, Tony Twain became the target of media attention once again. He was named the best manager in the English Premier League for the month of January. His team was rated as the best team, while his man Anelka was awarded the best player of the month with his constant scoring.

With three honors in a row, Twain’s career was in a wonderful upswing.

Needless to say, there would be detractors, saying that whoever was the best of last month would lose in the first game of this month.

And Twain again proved to be a magical manager who specialized in breaking all kinds of jinxes.

In the 24th round of the league tournament on February 1st, Nottingham Forest defeated Fulham by 2:0 at home. Those who waited to ridicule him were rendered speechless. He also settled the score for their previous defeat to their opponents for the first half of the season.

Chapter 400 - If They Want War, We’ll Give Them War Part 2

Nevertheless, Gary Lineker hit the nail on the head with an evaluation of Nottingham Forest he had made a long time ago:

This is a young team, dynamic and energetic. So, they are not afraid of any opponents and display a strength beyond any of our expectations when they play against strong opponents. But because they are young, their performance is very unstable. Therefore, when you want to have high hopes for Manager Twain’s team, they are likely to disappoint you. And when you no longer have any hope for them, they can surprise you. So… don’t believe any bookmaker’s analysis of the team before the game. That’s all nonsense.

After winning their first game of February, everyone agreed that Twain’s team should continue to close the gap on Chelsea and that it was time to put pressure on them. Instead, they lost to Arsenal in the 25th round on the February 4 home game.

In the previous round, the difference between both teams was only three points because Chelsea had tied with Aston Villa in their away game. However, in this round, Chelsea beat the strong team, Liverpool, by 2:0 at their home ground, whereas the Forest team lost to Arsenal at home.

The three-point gap between the two teams had widened to six.

At this juncture, Twain’s team did not have the ability to press on Chelsea. When the Champions League began again, they would be powerless to try and catch up to Chelsea in the league.

The focus of the team was not constant; it could change at any time. Now, they were focused on the league. In time, the Champions League would obviously be more important than the league tournament.

Wenger turned the tables on Twain in their match. His team beat Nottingham Forest with their eight-game winning streak in the City Ground stadium and ended Nottingham Forest’s eleven consecutive unbeaten rounds after they had lost to Newcastle United in the away game last November 19th. Simultaneously, this victory also allowed Arsenal’s ranking to return to the top five in the league. They were only one point away from the league’s fourth-ranked Liverpool.

Therefore, when Twain shook hands with Wenger with a worried frown after the game, Wenger teased him. “This isn’t too bad. Ferguson’s team is still twelve points behind your team!”

“They haven’t played the game in this round yet,” said Twain as he shook his head.

He was not worried about Manchester United. He was just upset that he had failed to seize the opportunity to catch up with Chelsea time after time.

Manchester United’s game was over the next day. With their bad luck last year continuing in this year, Manchester United finally won their home game by 4:2, defeating Fulham. They narrowed the gap between them and the league’s second-ranked Nottingham Forest by nine points. This might be good news for Manchester United, as it let them see some hope. However, for Nottingham Forest, it was a wake-up call.

Unfortunately, Tony Twain did not see it. The nine points were still within the safety zone for him. He focused all his energy on the preparations for the Champions League round 16.

On February 11th, in the league’s 26th round, with their winning streak recently ended, the Forest team regained another victory. They defeated Blackburn Rovers at home with a score of 3:1. But the game was not as easy as the score. The Forest team only ensured their victory at the last minute of the game. After the score reached 2:1, they were constantly in the position of having to deal with Blackburn Rovers’ counterattacks.

The Nottingham Forest supporters definitely would say it was because Twain had deployed nearly half of the substitutes to preserve their strength for the Champions League round 16. However, it was true that the young Nottingham Forest already showed signs of fatigue from competing on three fronts simultaneously.

※※※

On the evening of February 22nd, visiting Glasgow, the capital city of Scotland, Nottingham Forest ushered in the first round of their Champions League round 16.

Football in the city of Glasgow was always linked to religion and politics, which was related to their particular environment. Every year, the “Old Firm”—represented by the Protestant Rangers Football Club and the Catholic Celtic F.C.—waged battle in their city with a highly regarded derby.

Although the Scottish Premiership could only rank as second-rate in Europe, the Rangers and Celtic teams were still strong teams, not to be underestimated.

Twain had made very detailed arrangements for the game before he set out.

Fortunately, this game was just an ordinary Champions League round 16, and not the derby between the “Old Firm”, Celtic and the Rangers. Twain’s team did not represent any religious groups or interests, so he did not have to worry about being stabbed from behind by the fanatical Rangers fans after he got off the bus.

Certainly, if his team eventually defeated the Rangers team, he and his players might have to consider that point. After all, this was a city that was crazy about football.

During their warm-up in the stadium, the Forest players could hear the hissing and verbal abuse from everywhere in the stands. They tried every means to disrupt their opponents as the home fans.

Having to play in this environment so far from Nottingham really made the Forest fans break into a cold sweat for the team they supported.

“Don’t believe in that nonsense!” Twain told his players in the locker room before the game, “We’re not the Celtics. This is not their f**king ‘Old Firm’ game! It’s just an ordinary Champions League round 16 match that does not represent anything. We’re going to play today how we normally play.”

Before the game, the Scottish media announced that they were going to show England the Scots’ passion for football. The pro-Rangers media also started to feed the city’s frenzy, even citing some sensationalized data. In 1984, for example, the world was shocked by the Heysel Stadium disaster; but not many people knew that during the “Old Firm” derby that year, there were two attempted murders, two slashing cases, one hatchet wounding incident, nine stabbing injuries and thirty-five group brawls.

There were even people shouting a murderous slogan: “Football matches are modern warfare.”

They want Nottingham Forest to cower before the fight.

But Twain did not buy it.

“But I’m telling you these things, so people don’t think we’re afraid of them.” Twain raised his right arm and clenched his fist in front of everyone, “If they want war, we’ll give them war!”

※※※

The competition was very intense. The showdown between the two competing teams could not compare with those of the powerhouse clubs such as Chelsea and Barcelona, Real Madrid and Arsenal, or Bayern Munich and AC Milan, but this still might be the most entertaining game out of the four Round 16 games held tonight in the terms of viewership.

Neither side played conservatively. They mainly played offense. In the first half, both teams had already scored three goals; the home team, Rangers, led by 2:1.

During the halftime interval, Twain grumbled in the locker room. Getting one away goal did not mean victory for him. He wanted a complete victory, from the goal count to the overall points.

“It’s disgraceful that there are those who think that we should be happy with one away goal! This is other teams’ pathetic thinking, not Nottingham Forest’s! If the Scots think we’re satisfied with this score and that they can relax in the second half, they’ll be making a big mistake!”

“George! Destroy their offense at every point and every line to give us enough protection for our offense!”

In the second half, George Wood unceasingly darted around and appeared in every corner of the field to halt the opponent’s attacks. The statistics after the game proved his efforts: his individual fouls totaled thirteen in the game. He was fouled against seven times and presented with one yellow card. He ran a distance of up to thirteen thousand kilometers and passed the ball sixty times with a success rate of thirty-nine times. He successfully tackled seventeen times out of twenty-one. His headers succeeded ten of eleven times and he made eighteen errors. He became the target of constant jeers at Hampden Park. But the more he was hated by his opponents, the more he proved his success.

The ESPN commentator was amazed at Wood’s stamina. In this fast-paced and highly confrontational competition, he was still sprinting with his full strength until the last minute of the game, showing no signs of physical exhaustion. The closer he got to the end of the game, the more desperate his opponents felt about his sprinting.

The Rangers were finally worn down by Wood’s extreme stamina, and they could not organize their offense as the ferocious George Wood could appear in any corner. He could suddenly show his cleats, do a “reasonable collision”, or harass. When the attacking players faced him, they had to expend more physical energy than usual and brace themselves to break through the defense. It was simply too draining! Nottingham Forest’s offense suddenly attacked in the last ten minutes of the game. While the opponent’s physical strength was flagging, they scored two goals consecutively within seven minutes and turned the tides.

The boos in Hampden Park reverberated in Glasgow’s night sky. Tony Twain’s bright smiling face was magnified under the spotlight.

“... 3:2! Three away goals and one victory. Tony Twain’s team is well on its way to entering the top eight of the Champions League!”

Chapter 401 - The Pride of a Professional Footballer

The joy of victory brought back from Glasgow had not even dissipated before Twain received another piece of good news.

“Are you sure?” asked Twain as he stared at Fleming, the team doctor, in his office.

Fleming nodded his head, “I’m certain.”

When Twain heard him say so, he looked down at the stack of papers in his hands again.

It was the latest report on Eastwood’s physical recovery. The team’s medical unit did a follow-up observation of Eastwood’s body. They checked him every day to keep on top of it.

The conclusions drawn from the report were gratifying.

“We all agreed that after more than a month of recovery and training, Eastwood has reached the requirements of being able to play in a formal game.

Even though Eastwood had already trained with the team these days, Twain had not been able to send the Romani Gypsy to play in a game without the doctor’s say-so.

Twain turned to look out the window at the training ground. Eastwood was in training with the team.

“Have you told him yet?”

Fleming shook his head. “We had to inform you first.”

“Okay…”

“However, although his body is able to cope with competing, his fitness is still not good enough for him to play for ninety minutes.”

“Of course.” Twain nodded and said, “Forget ninety minutes, even forty-five minutes will be impossible. Let him get used to the pace and feeling of playing in a game first....”

Fleming nodded in agreement.

Twain rose from his seat and walked out with Fleming.

This was the last day of training before the next competition, and Twain needed to announce the starting lineup for the game.

※※※

The day’s training was over, and everyone could relax. Eastwood was joking with his teammates. With him around on the team, there was more laughter than before. He was a likable young man who could enliven the mood.

Twain and Fleming walked onto the training ground. Eastwood was called over by Fleming, and everyone knew that it must have something to do with him.

“I’m going to announce the starting list for tomorrow’s game.” Twain flapped the piece of paper in his hands and everyone on the training ground quietened down.

“The goalkeeper is Edwin van der Sar. The fullbacks are Sun Jihai, Bale, Chimbonda, Piqué, and Pepe. The midfielders are Wood, Demetrio, Ribéry, Young, Lennon, and Arteta. The strikers are...” Twain looked up at the crowd when he read to this point.

“Anelka.”

The Frenchman smiled lightly as he was not surprised. He was now the first striker in the team. Wouldn’t it be a joke if I couldn’t get in the starting list?

“And Bendtner.”

The Danish teenager was also used to getting on the main list and starting lineup. Due to Eastwood’s injury this season, he had received more opportunities for appearances. Although he scored less than Anelka, he also seized quite a good number of opportunities to score.

As expected, the two players would be the starting strikers in tomorrow’s game.

In the previous Champions League game, Anelka and Viduka were the starting forwards. On that occasion, Twain had preferred Viduka’s experience in the European arena. However, Twain needed Bendtner’s drive and stamina in the domestic league.

Twain had already reported fifteen names out of the sixteen players on the main list. The one remaining name should be the substitute striker.

Twain put aside the list and looked at everyone as he said the last player’s name, “And Eastwood.”

Whistles could be heard from the team.

When Eastwood heard his name, he stared wide-eyed at his teammates, who congratulated him. He could not believe it himself.

※※※

“According to the official lists that we have just received from both teams, we found that the Forest striker, Freddy Eastwood, who had been absent for ten months due to his injury, has appeared on it.”

“Ten months… In all honesty, I’m curious as to whether Eastwood can return to his former state. Just look the changes in Ronaldo before and after his injury. The Forest fans will not want to hear what I have to say, but I still have to say that I’m not optimistic about Eastwood’s future career.” As the guest commentator for this match, Mark Lawrenson was doomed to be hated by the fans of the Forest team.

John Motson, in charge of the commentary, cleared his throat. “Mark, this is not the BBC’s Match of the Day program.”

Lawrenson shrugged. “Nobody likes to hear the truth. For a player who underwent three surgeries on his right knee within two years, I think it’s too hard to get back to his former playing condition. It’s almost impossible. I’m very touched by Manager Twain’s concern for his players, but I think he should consider introducing one or two strikers to the team this summer.”

His remark was actually quite tactful. What Lawrenson meant was that Twain should give up Eastwood and look for a new striker to replace the Romani Gypsy’s position on the team.

Motson shook his head. “I don’t think Manager Twain will do as you say.”

“Professional football is cruel. Very cruel.” Lawrenson shrugged. “It’s already a miracle that Eastwood is back on the field. I think the Forest fans should be happy that they’re able to see him at the City Ground stadium.”

Motson was unwilling to admit it out loud, but he could not help but think that Lawrenson was right in what he had said. Aside from the emotional factors, Eastwood really could not return to his former self after going through such a serious injury. How could he play as if nothing had happened? His body could not support such fierce confrontation with his condition in doubt. Therefore, how would Tony Twain face that problem?

Would he seek a replacement for Eastwood during the summer transfer market? Or would he continue to use the Romani Gypsy, who did not know when his body would go wrong?

Would he be responsible towards the player? Or would he be responsible towards the club? What else could he feel responsible for?

While Lawrenson commented on Eastwood, Twain was in the locker room assigning tasks to his players and did not hear his comments. Otherwise, he might have flipped out on Lawrenson right on the spot.

As he looked at the manager arranging the specific tasks for each member of the starting lineup in the locker room, Eastwood sat aside. Even though there was nothing for him, he still smiled.

He enjoyed everything about this. He had not heard the chief’s spirited speech in the locker room for ten months.

So even if he was just an audience, it did not matter to him. He did not care if he was not allowed to play, as long as he was here and in the sixteen players’ list. It meant that he was a member of the team and no one had abandoned him. He did not care what the outside world thought about his re-entry to the game’s name list, because the decision did not come from the people out there. It was made by the manager and teammates here.

Sitting in the locker room, listening to the chief talk, watching him vigorously wave his arm to inspire morale, his spittle almost seemed to spray towards the ceiling ...All of that already felt a little unfamiliar.

“In the first half of the league tournament, we lost to Newcastle United. Today, it’s their turn to taste the same! We’ll show them, boys!” Twain grinned and clenched his fist.

※※※

Eastwood sat on the substitutes’ bench, surrounded by the media. They aligned their cameras and camera lenses towards Eastwood, wearing his jacket. As a player who had returned after ten months from his injury, it was perhaps just as Lawrenson had said: Regardless of whether he could return to his former state, it was already an enormous victory for him to be able to re-appear on the sidelines.

The media was focused on him now. It was admirable to be able to stand up again after three knee surgeries in two years. As to whether he could still play football...

Everyone tacitly refrained from discussing it——Is there a need to make it awkward for him? Isn’t it obvious? Just ask the Nottingham Forest supporters. How many people would naively think that their “Romani Rooney” can keep scoring goals for the team to win? Perhaps the most they will say is: “We’re just glad to see him again.”

Everyone in the City Ground stands happily gazed at Eastwood sitting on the substitutes’ bench, wrapped in a thick coat. But underneath their happy facades, there was probably pity.

He’s unable to get back to the top, so he can only be a substitute. We’re satisfied that he can still be here and occasionally play on the field.

On camera, Eastwood smiled at the reporters in front of him, and then he looked past them to turn his attention on the field. The game was about to start.

※※※

After the game started, Eastwood stopped smiling. He stared at the field with a serious expression. It was one of concentration.

He wanted to familiarize himself with the rhythm of the game as soon as possible. He wanted to be acquainted with the atmosphere and the feel of the game. He did not know when he would get the chance to play. It could be this game, or maybe the next one, or the one after the next. But he firmly believed that he would play. And when that time came, he wanted to show his strength. He did not have the luxury to wait until his warm-up before a game to get the feel of the game.

Eastwood was aware of his current situation. Due to his health, the chief could not give him too much time. If he did not seize the opportunity within the limited time, then what was the point of him? What team would keep a loser? No matter how deep their friendship was, there would still come a day when the contract expired.

Eastwood had signed a five-year contract with Nottingham Forest. Two years had already passed. It was customary for the club to sit with the player and the player’s agents a year before the contract would expire to discuss the renewal issue if both parties had the intention to renew. In other words, there were still two years to determine Eastwood’s future. Those two years were not too short or too long.

The Romani Gypsy knew that he could not go back to the way he had been before his injury. He had to make some changes if he still wanted to survive in professional football. Before, he could rely on his skills and speed to do a good job. Perhaps he would need to rely more on his brains than his legs in the future.

And he was going to start from this point on.

Eastwood rested his chin on his hand and carefully observed the players on the field, mentally outlining a new plan for himself in his mind.

※※※

The game progressed smoothly. Nottingham Forest dominated Newcastle United and Anelka scored a goal during the first half. The French striker had already scored thirteen goals and was ranked fourth in the league’s top goalscorer list behind the Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, and the Chelsea midfielder, Frank Lampard. That was unexpected for those who had opposed the introduction of Anelka before this season.

In this game, Twain made some localized rotations, such as replacing Chimbonda with Sun Jihai as the starting right back and Leighton Baines with Gareth Bale as the starting left back. Sun Jihai and Bale were both stronger in offense than defense. Twain’s intention was clear. He wanted to attack on their home ground and defeat Newcastle United with offense.

Before the game, Twain told two players, Sun Jihai and Bale, to press on and assist as boldly as possible. They did not have to worry about the defense. There was George Wood, who could handle two players’ job alone. What’s there to be afraid of? Just boldly press on!

During the game, those two players really played according to Twain’s instructions. The repeated plugins and assists from the fullbacks made Newcastle United’s defensive line unable to defend effectively, causing them a huge headache.

Originally, the Forest team’s two wingers were already very powerful. Attacks from the flanks had always been the Forest team’s characteristic and tradition. And now, in addition to the assists from the wingers, the Forest team’s two full backs also unleashed their strength. The tide was coming in wave after wave, and the waves were relentless.

And what about George Wood? Keeping watch at the rear, he could be seen in every corner of the rear half of the field. Sometimes he acted as the fullback and sometimes he entered the penalty area as the center back to lift the siege with a header. Most of the time, he was of course in the midfield to block the counterattacks from Newcastle United.

Newcastle United had initially thought to obtain one point at the City Ground stadium, which would be considered a victory for them. Instead, they were overtaken. In this way, if they did not attack, they would leave Nottingham in defeat. But if they did attack, they might continue to lose control of the ball. The Forest team’s aggressive offense in the game made them hesitate.

Even though Newcastle United had a world-class striker like Owen, he had no way out when faced with the more forceful George Wood. Wood’s rough defense naturally made Owen’s supporters loudly abuse him. However, as long as the referee did not cry foul on the field, these were defensive actions allowed by the rules.

“Let’s take a look at Owen. After he came to Newcastle United, he was often injured. He’s no longer what he used to be.” Lawrenson was also a former Liverpool player. With his remarks, one might think that his previous comment about Eastwood might have had nothing to do with the feud between him and Twain.

“As a lean and weaker center forward, it was impossible not to be injured after having to frequently meet the other strong defensive players head to head. If Owen continues to play this way, he will suffer more injuries.”

Lawrenson calmly analyzed Owen’s current situation and future. But to the Nottingham Forest fans, it sounded as if he was talking about Eastwood’s present and future.

On the field, George Wood successfully defended against Michael Owen, whose condition was in decline due to his injuries. Once an agile young kid and England’s golden boy, when faced with Wood, he could only walk away with his head bowed and panting for his breath after a hasty shot. Based on the stubble around his chin, it was hard to tell if this was Owen’s new style or if he had no time to take care of his looks.

A lot of people did not how to feel when they saw that scene. Eastwood, whom the Nottingham Forest fans were once so fond of, would become like this someday soon.

The Forest team had the overall advantage in the first half and repeatedly threatened the Newcastle United’s goal.

When they heard the whistle to end the first half, Eastwood and his teammates on the substitutes’ bench stood up and chatted delightfully about the first half of the game. With the team leading, everyone felt very relaxed.

The television broadcast gave Twain a close-up shot, and then turned to the substitutes’ bench to fix the shot on Eastwood’s face. It followed him until he entered the players’ tunnel.

During the halftime interval, Twain did not say anything except to praise the players for their first-half performance and encourage them to maintain it for the second half.

Everyone was in high spirits. It seemed quite easy to take down the second half. Eastwood just sat in front of his locker, laughing as he watched everyone.

※※※

When the second half of the game started, it was clear that Newcastle United did not want to leave Nottingham that way. They stepped up their offense. It was not a change in their formation or lineup, but their firm determination. They were determined to regain the situation in the second half.

The game was not going to end as easily as Nottingham Forest had imagined.

Twain had to make some adjustments.

Firstly, he replaced Arteta with Albertini to use the veteran’s experience to stabilize the midfield. Then he brought Aaron Lennon on to replace Ashley Young to continue strengthening the offense on the flanks.

Both sides were in a deadlock on the field, and it looked like Newcastle United had a chance to equalize the score. But with the efforts of George Wood, Pepe, Piqué, Edwin van der Sar, and the other defenders, the score remained fixed at 1:0.

Starting from the moment Albertini was brought on, David Kerslake called all the players on the substitutes’ bench to go warm up. Eastwood was no exception.

Twain looked at his watch in the technical area. The match had been going for seventy minutes. There were still twenty minutes before they would enter injury stoppage time at the end of the game.

“David, call the Romani back.”

Kerslake had not anticipated that. He was a little surprised and did not get up until Twain repeated himself.

“Huh? Uh… Okay.”

Kerslake got up and went to the area where the players warmed up. He did not yell and call back the warming-up players with a wave as he usually did. Instead, he walked straight over to pull Eastwood back.

The first to realize it was not the television broadcasting camera, but the fans watching the game in the City Ground stadium. Some of them screamed.

Then the television camera quickly cut over, and those Forest team fans who were watching the game on television saw the team’s assistant manager, David Kerslake, holding on to Eastwood as he bent his head down to say something.

※※※

“I’m going out?!” Eastwood was taken aback. He had not expected to get a chance to play so soon. He had initially thought that he was just here to re-familiarize himself with the competitive atmosphere in today’s game.

Kerslake nodded. “Tony told you to go back.”

Eastwood hurried over to the technical area.

Twain, who had just bent down to take the tactical board, saw Eastwood run back. He stood up and smiled. “You still haven’t warmed up enough yet? No rush, no rush.”

“You want me to play, chief?” Eastwood asked haltingly.

Twain nodded. “Yes, we need to make some changes to break the balance in the game. I think it’s a good idea to bring you on. What do you think, Freddy?”

Eastwood stared blankly for a moment and then nodded. “I agree, chief!”

Twain laughed as he looked down at the tactical board in his hands and then tossed it aside. After that, he pulled Eastwood over and the two men stood on the sidelines to look at the stadium.

“Freddy, even though I haven’t heard it yet, I think at this moment there must be a lot of people questioning my decision: letting a footballer who has just recovered from his knee injury play in this situation. What do you think?”

“They’re wrong.”

“Why?”

“Because you let me play right now, chief. If the team were ahead of the game by a lot and you let me play, then it would prove them right.”

“But that’s quite a nice way too. An easy game for you to slowly get into the rhythm of the game, recover step by step.”

“But then they would think that Freddy Eastwood was a useless player who could only play during garbage time. Even if I wanted to tell them I wasn’t, I couldn’t prove it.”

Twain turned his eyes towards Eastwood. The Romani Gypsy stared intently at the field.

“I know what those reporters thought when they surrounded me and took pictures before the game. I don’t want to give them what they want. Chief...” Eastwood suddenly turned his head to look at Twain and said, “If you also look at me with that kind, pitying expression, I think I’ll announce my retirement the next day. It’s no big deal, I can go back to my dad’s and sell used cars. I’m used to living in my caravan. Thank you but no thank you.”

Twain opened his mouth. He wanted to say something but did not know what to say. At last, he realized that there was no need to say anything.

He patted Eastwood on the back, pointed to the field and said, “Do you see our situation on the field now? Both sides are entangled, and we can’t shake them off.”

Eastwood winced, “That’s really terrible.”

“When you go up, try to get close to our opponent’s goal without being noticed. Then, once you spot the opportunity...” Twain clenched his hand that pointed at the field and slammed down. “give me a beautiful shot!”

※※※

Once the ball was out of bounds, the fourth official raised the signboard for the substitution. The number 9, Nicklas Bendtner, was to be replaced by the number 11, Freddy Eastwood!

Loud cheers and applause erupted in the City Ground stands.

A loud voice in the live broadcast shouted, “Let’s welcome back the Romani Gypsy who has been out for ten months due to his injury. Freddy...” The announcer dragged his voice out.

The fans smoothly followed up and answered, “Eastwood!!”

When Bendtner walked off the field, he high-fived Eastwood and said, “Go get them, Freddy!”

Eastwood nodded and ran onto the field.

After he high-fived Bendtner, Twain looked up at the stands and turned around. Everyone stood up to applaud Eastwood’s return. But how many of those people still held the same expectations of Eastwood as they had before?

In the past, when the Romani Gypsy had played, it had usually meant a goal. Everyone had wanted to see the smiling kid appear on the field.

And now?

His return was welcomed, and him playing again was considered a miracle!

Twain had heard such voices.

He thought about what Eastwood had just said to him again.

Those people might not mean harm, but that kind of sympathetic applause was even harsher.

※※※

As Eastwood ran onto the field, his teammates ran over to high-five him.

“Welcome back!” was the most commonly said phrase.

When it was Wood’s turn, he said nothing. He just extended his hand and gave Eastwood’s palm a hard slap. The Romani did not dodge it.

※※※

“I didn’t think Tony Twain would really let the Eastwood play,” said Motson as he glanced at Lawrenson next to him.

Lawrenson remained silent. He used his hand to constantly stroke his bare upper lip.

When he saw that Lawrenson did not respond, Motson had to continue the topic alone. “This was his last substitution quota, and it’s also a risk...”

※※※

“Eastwood received the ball from Albertini’s pass, with his back facing the opponent’s goal. But he passed the football again, seemingly afraid to make a move. The shadow of his knee injury hangs over him...”

“I said so before. A player with a severe knee injury cannot play like he used to.” Lawrenson finally spoke. He was relieved that Eastwood’s performance was in line with his expectations.

Ten minutes later, the game entered its last ten minutes. There was no change in Eastwood’s play. Both sides continued to entangle together. Newcastle United seemed to have a chance but still could not equalize the score. And if the game ended with this score, it was a fairly good result for Twain’s team. But for another person, it would be a failure.

At the 82nd minute, as Eastwood dribbled the ball along the front of the penalty area to look for an opportunity, he was pushed down by a Newcastle United player. His fall caused some chaos. The Forest players surrounded the offending player and glared at him. The Newcastle United players were obviously reluctant to let their own player be bullied by others. Both sides were really entangled this time. The loud hissing in the City Ground stadium fueled the conflict, and the source of this conflict, Eastwood, did not participate in it. Instead, he pulled back Gareth Bale, who came up to take the free kick.

“I’ll take the kick,” He said to Bale.

“But...” Bale hesitated. The manager said he had to take any free kicks that could directly threaten the opponent’s goal.

“Let me do it! Bale!” Eastwood intensified the urgency of his voice.

Bale looked at the fierce-looking Eastwood and let go of the football.

Eastwood gave Bale a weak smile. “Thank you.”

George Wood, with his captain’s armband, was right in the middle of the clashing crowd. The referee showed the yellow card to him. He and the player who had committed the fouls each received a yellow card.

If it was not for Albertini’s quick action, Wood’s right hand would have been on the other player’s neck.

At that time, it was not a matter that could be resolved with a yellow card.

When the conflicting parties were scattered, those who needed to form the wall went to do so and those who needed to interfere with the wall did so too. At that point, everyone realized that the person standing in front of the football was not the usual Gareth Bale, but Freddy Eastwood.

Everyone’s first reaction when they saw the scene was one of shock. Had anyone seen Eastwood’s direct free kicks in a game?

It was a rare sight.

Twain stood up from the technical area but did not walk to the sidelines. He just stood in front of his seat, even blocking part of Kerslake’s view.

“Eastwood stands before the ball, and it looks like he’s going to kick it. This… is a complete surprise.” Motson did not know what else to say. He did not have any statistics on Eastwood’s free kicks.

※※※

At the front, a five-man wall was lined up by Newcastle United. Eastwood stood behind the football alone. There was no one to cover for him to do a feint and run.

Once the referee saw that the wall was formed properly, and the distance was also in line with the requirements, he then moved back as he blew the whistle.

Eastwood ran up and swung his right leg to shoot.

His knee, which had undergone three surgeries, drove his calf to kick a curved ball.

The football bypassed Newcastle United’s wall and accurately drilled into the goal.

The goalkeeper, Shay Given, faced the goal without any reaction.

※※※

“GOOOOAL! GOOOOAL!! GOOOOOAL!!! Freddy Eastwood!!”

The loud “boom” which erupted in City Ground stadium was like a thunder.

Twain raised his arms high and tightly clenched his fists.

Next to Eastwood, Albertini was the first to rush up. He hugged Eastwood and lifted him up.

In the commentator’s box, Lawrenson was completely silent. Only Motson yelled into the microphone, “This is his first game since his return to the stadium after ten months and he has scored a goal! It’s too perfect! Too perfect! I don’t know how to describe this moment, but he has surprised us all!”

Eastwood broke away from the old team captain’s embrace to raise his arms to the sky. He brandished his fists and hollered.

I can’t return to my former self? What a joke! Why should I return to the past? I was just a used car salesman with a broken leg in the past, playing for fun in amateur matches ... Why the hell should I return to that?

So, it’s just enough for me to come back?

This legendary striker wants to score goals, and I want to score a lot of goals!

Chapter 402 - Advancement Part 1

The stands in the City Ground stadium reached a fever pitch as the crowd watched the football go into the net.

“Everyone has been guessing when Eastwood’s first comeback game would be. No one believed that Eastwood could return to his former standard after his recovery. They all thought that it was a miracle for the Romanito return to the field at all. But! Freddy Eastwood used this goal to tell us that all our speculations were wrong! Ten months later, he’s still the same Freddy Eastwood!”

Motson fired away at the microphone like a machine gun.

Mark Lawrenson was completely silent. This goal seemed like a slap in his face. Conventionally, it was very difficult for a seriously wounded player to return to his previous level. He had not expected Eastwood to fly in the face of convention!

“Look at Tony Twain’s excitement. That young manager was the one who cared the most about Eastwood during his injury. And now Eastwood repays all the care that Manager Twain has given him! The 2:0 lead over Newcastle United is like a buy one get one free giveaway. He has gained a healthy and perfect striker; this is the most important thing!”

Eastwood broke away from Albertini’s embrace and shook his arms as he shouted. But soon he was swamped by more Forest players. He was tightly held in the middle, with only one arm still raised high.

“Holy s**t, David, this is terrific!” The substitutes’ bench was full of cheers. Twain could not help but swear. “Can you imagine a more perfect comeback?”

Kerslake laughed as he shook his head.

※※※

Currently, it was no longer Souness of the previous half of the season coaching Newcastle United. As the results could not satisfy the Magpies fans, Souness was forced to leave the St James’ Park stadium. The Newcastle United chairman, Shepard, had chosen to let the club’s youth-development manager, Glenn Roeder, be the caretaker manager.

Twain and the man were old acquaintances. He was Twain’s first opponent when he had coached for the first time. He defeated Twain that time, but then the circumstances of both men were polar opposites to what they were now. Twain did very well as the manager of Nottingham Forest, whereas Glenn Roeder was still only a manager of a youth team and caretaker manager, moving from West Ham United to Newcastle United.

Tang En’s arrival changed a lot of things, but he could not turn a good-for-nothing into a genius, so Mr. Roeder did not change at all.

He wanted to equalize the score but lacked specific ideas. In the end, Nottingham Forest scored another goal and issued the verdict for the game.

What made it even more unbearable for him was that his failure became Eastwood’s glorious comeback. No one cared about Newcastle United’s performance or result for this game. Everyone was currently talking about one person: Freddy Eastwood.

However, Newcastle United was also a traditionally strong team in the North. Playing a supporting role to a player was an indignity.

Although the game was not over yet, the City Ground stands had already begun to celebrate in advance. Watching those jubilant Nottingham Forest fans, Manager Glenn Roeder was ashen-faced.

He was not incapable of accepting defeat. He just could not stomach that he had lost to that man again.

Although it had been three years, he still remembered what Tony Twain had said to him as he shook his hand at a press conference after the FA Cup: “You’d better pray that your team will not be relegated.” He had never met such a thoughtless manager. And what made him even angrier was that what this tactless man had said came true! After the season had ended, West Ham United could not escape the misfortune of relegation despite their efforts to catch up on the points in the second half of the season. His West Ham United team was probably the relegated team with the most points in history.

He believed this was all credited to Tony Twain’s curse.

The grudge was firmly lodged in his heart.

If the West Ham United team he had led eventually stayed in the Premier League after a half-season reversal, would his personal coaching career change and progress in a better direction? Roeder certainly believed this would be the case because he had done something which even his predecessor was not optimistic about. It could be called a miracle.

He did not think that due to that man’s “curse”, his miracle came to nothing. Success, honor, and money all vanished. Now, seeing how Twain was more and more successful, he was even more indignant. He felt as if Twain was stepping on his corpse.

Losing to this man again today made him even more disgruntled with him.

However, Twain could care less about Mr. Glenn Roeder’s mood and thoughts. Roeder loathed him so much, but Twain might have forgotten about the enmity between him and Roeder.

Who’s Glenn Roeder?

※※※

As soon as the game was over, Eastwood was surrounded by a crowd of reporters who had flocked around him. Once again he became the focus of the media. But this time, no one looked at him with sympathy in their eyes; only with respect, admiration, and some amazement.

No one would say that he was the poor guy who could only play during garbage time. He had proved with his actions that he had not sunk to that point.

After three knee surgeries, Eastwood could score the moment he played. He was even more powerful than ever!

He was the hero who had turned the game around and saved his team!

“The Romani Rooney” was back!

Those must have been the thoughts in everyone’s mind.

Question his ability? You must be joking; have we ever questioned it?! We’ve always believed in him.

Twain watched the reporters and the photographers carrying their cameras. It was like watching a bunch of flies around a buttercream cake.

He grinned and walked away from the noisy stadium.

Although he hated this kind of thing, he knew clearly that the football world was cruel and only cared about results. If Eastwood’s performance was mediocre in this game, then those countless questioning voices would not only have crushed Eastwood after the game, they would have overwhelmed him. But as long as one scored a goal, no matter how they performed at any other times, just one goal could let people forget one’s mediocrity at other points. As long as one scored a goal, they had succeeded.

What was the criterion to measure success? It was the result, not the process.

Fortunately, Eastwood proved his ability, upheld his dignity, and had not become a sacrificial victim of such rules.

The next day, the photos of Eastwood after he scored the goal were in all the major media outlets. Practically everyone was unanimous in their surprise that he was able to score in his first comeback game after ten months. Because of that, some reporters went to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to interview Dr. Stephen Albert who had treated Eastwood. The Notts County fan expressed disdain for the media’s surprise, “What’s so strange about that? I’m not surprised that he can score. Some people would be devastated after ten months of continuous surgery and treatment. But he never thought to give up. It’s perfectly normal that he was able to score in his comeback game!”

The papers which publicized the matter the most were obviously the local Nottingham media. “The Nottingham Evening Post” reporter Pierce Brosnan mocked Mark Lawrenson, who had repeatedly put down Eastwood before the game, “Luckily, he did not bet that if Eastwood scored a goal, he’d have to shave his head.”

Chapter 403 - Advancement Part 2

Eastwood’s return gave Twain great confidence. Confidence to go further in the Champions League.

Now the team basically had no major injuries. Everyone was in good shape. Twain could finally arrange his players and set the formations without having to factor in injuries this season.

After defeating the Rangers team in the away game, Twain met with the coaching team to readjust this season’s goals, which were to not compete for the title in the league tournament, letting Chelsea defend their own crown. It was good enough as long as the Forest team could maintain its current ranking. They would mainly focus on the Champions League. As for the FA Cup, their opponent for the next round was Chelsea. Twain decided to still send the players with few appearances to play in this game, regardless of the outcome. It would certainly be nice if they could eliminate Chelsea. But he would still be fine if they could not.

Where was the best stage to become famous? It was not a domestic league and definitely not the middling “oldest cup in history,” but the UEFA Champions League, favored by the television broadcasters.

Of course, as a former Chinese fan, Tang En still had a bit of a “Champions League Complex.”

This goal was consistent with Evan Doughty’s. Therefore, he was also very supportive after Twain told him the team’s future direction. Nottingham Forest no longer had the need to prove themselves in the domestic league. Now everyone recognized the Forest team’s ability as a first-rate domestic team. Twain now needed them to prove themselves internationally to the European continent and the entire world. Let everyone know Nottingham Forest through the Champions League. Let AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus… Let all those big guys know that from now on, they have another powerful opponent. We’ll take their money. Yes, Robin Hood is here to rob them of their money and honor!

So, even though there was another game, the Rangers team’s ending had already been determined.

※※※

Before the second leg of their match with the Rangers team, the Forest team lost to Everton in an away game for the league tournament, but no one was surprised by it. Twain had hidden away most of the main players. Even the main goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, who had played in the league tournament ever since he first started, was put on the bench. Twain’s thoughts were known to everyone.

Eastwood, who had scored the winning goal in the last game, was not in the starting lineup. Instead, he continued to sit on the substitutes’ bench and watch the game.

Twain gave him fifteen minutes in the game and his performance was quite satisfactory. The Romani Gypsy striker still lacked a rapport with the team, but he did not have to prove himself with a goal. He had already done that in the last round of the league tournament. Now no one doubted his ability anymore.

Moyes’s team sent his strongest lineup to face Nottingham Forest with half of its main force. Perhaps Everton never forgot that Nottingham Forest had surpassed them in the final stages of last season and become the fourth team to represent England in the UEFA Champions League.

Seeing how impressive the Forest team was now, the Everton side would inevitably think, If that were us, we would be just as impressive!

As a result, the game with Nottingham Forest had some special significance. They had lost to the Forest team in the away game in the first half of the season. This time, back at their home ground, Moyes did not want to lose again.

It was as he wished. The final score of the match was 1:0. The home team, Everton, defeated Nottingham Forest. Even though Nottingham Forest had deliberately retained their strength, the points were valid and solidly fought for. Nothing was more important than that.

After the game, Moyes was in a good mood. When he shook hands with Twain as friends, he wished the Forest team all the best in another tournament.

“I think the best result will be for Everton to be second in the league at the end of the season and for you to be the champions of the Champions League.”

Twain laughed when he heard that. He was not the slightest bit upset that he had lost the game. “You’re so unambitious, David. If it were me, I would say this: the best result will be that we become the Premier League champion and you become the Champions League champions. We’ll all be happy.”

Moyes also laughed. “No, that’s not your style, Tony.”

“No?”

“Well, your style is more like...” Moyes lowered his voice and said in a gruff voice, “The best result will be that we get the league title at the end of the season and then also win the Champions League.”

Twain scratched his head. That day was still a great distance away from him. Even though he wanted to say that, he and the Forest team did not have that kind of stamina yet.

Due to their loss to Everton and Manchester United’s away victory of 2:1 over Wigan Athletic in the same round, the gap in points between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United had narrowed from nine to six points. Ferguson’s team was so aggressive, but Twain was currently too occupied to take it into consideration.

Three days later, at the City Ground stadium, the Nottingham Forest fans anticipated their round 16 opponents: the Scottish Premiership team, Rangers Football Club.

Nottingham Forest played with ease. All of the conditions were favorable to them. Their morale was running high and the Rangers team was under immense pressure. The game was very difficult for the Rangers team. They not only had to beat the Forest team, but they also had to score big.

Nottingham Forest’s three away goals were like three mountains pressing down on top of the Scots.

That was not the worst thing to happen.

The match had only been going for three minutes and forty-one seconds when the home team scored a goal.

The player who scored the goal was Arteta. His long shot drilled through the Rangers goalkeeper’s ten-finger catch.

The City Ground stadium immediately went crazy. Twenty-seven thousand people seemed to send out the cheers of two hundred and seventy thousand people.

“4:2! Nottingham Forest has extended its lead to two goals! The Rangers are in trouble now. Before Arteta’s goal, they needed to win two goals against the Forest team in this game. Now they need to score three goals without letting the Forest team score again! But look at Nottingham Forest’s condition and momentum. I think that’s an impossible mission.”

That goal shook the Rangers players’ confidence; it had come so fast that they were completely unprepared mentally.

In the next ten minutes or so, the visiting team desperately tried to score goals. They kept attacking the Forest team’s penalty area. But they played haphazardly. The Scottish team’s play was simple and crude and consisted of long balls. In the face of defenders like George Wood, Piqué, and Pepe, they were not afraid of such physical attacks.

In fact, the Rangers players might ask themselves when they attacked: The home team has already scored three goals, is it still possible for us to stop them from scoring? We can’t do it at all!

Consequently, they really could not do it.

The game completely fell into Nottingham Forest’s rhythm ten minutes after the start of the second half. The home team recklessly passed the ball and the Rangers players were aggressive in their interceptions but to no avail. The Forest players were already in the zone and coordinated well.

At the 79th minute of the game, Mark Viduka scored the second goal of the game in a positional play, completely locking in the victory.

The Rangers players gave up on the conviction that they could continue to resist, and the game went into garbage time.

The score of 5:2 was like a completely insurmountable mountain in the visiting players’ minds.

In the last ten minutes of the game, the intense battle suddenly dissipated. The Rangers players did not know how to charge forward and rob the ball that was controlled by Nottingham Forest in the field.

The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands had already started celebrating.

They shot into the top eight in their return to the UEFA Champions League after twenty-four years. It was truly a great achievement!

The television cameras started to give Tony Twain frequent close-ups. This was the man who had created everything in front of them. The revival of Nottingham Forest had officially begun the day he took the Forest team manager’s position.

“The game is over! The leading dark horse of this UEFA Champions League is born: Nottingham Forest eliminates the Rangers and advances to the top eight! The scene from twenty-four years ago seems to have emerged in front of our eyes again: when Brian Clough led the small team to first appear in the European Cup, who paid any attention to them? Did anyone take them seriously? Did anyone think that they would threaten their teams? And what happened in the end? From now on, those European powerhouses must think long and hard about those questions!”

Chapter 404 - An Official Publicity Part 1

For Forest, which was not a powerhouse club yet, to be able to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals was considered a great achievement. Several days after that game, the Nottingham local media was still full of various reports and news articles about the team’s advancement to the quarter-finals. Many posts about the Champions League also appeared in the fan forum on the Nottingham Forest club website. Everyone was in high spirits. Many people looked forward to the start of the next round of the Champions League. Even though Nottingham Forest’s opponent was the Serie A powerhouse team, Inter Milan, they were not afraid at all.

However, for the team to advance to the quarter-finals, perhaps the biggest beneficiary could be Twain himself.

By now, Tony Twain was no longer a stranger to the English people. The fact that his Nottingham Forest team could be ranked second in the league was not just luck. In England, Twain was already a rather famous manager and was even called a “genius manager” on more than one occasion.?Some people already called him “the celebrated manager.”

But no matter how popular he was in England, he was not widely recognized in Europe.

In the European football world, managers like him—people who were a success in their home country, and then became tired and feeble when it came to the European tournament—were a dime a dozen. He was not unusual. After all, the domestic leagues and European tournaments were completely different in style.

Many teams could make a splash in the domestic league, but they ran out of firepower when they came to the European tournament.

However, to be able to get into the Champions League quarter-finals clearly explained Twain’s level. He was different from the coaches who were “experts in domestic competitions and laymen in international tournaments.” A Champions League game certainly did not prove anything. A flash-in-the-pan manager was not unheard of.

Would Tony Twain be a flash in the pan?

※※※

Twain’s cell phone had been ringing nonstop recently; it rang anytime and anywhere. He eventually turned his phone to vibrate. There was always this or that media outlet that wanted to interview him. He knew it was because of his team’s performance. This was his first time leading the team to play in the Champions League, and being able to advance to the quarter-finals in one stretch was unexpected for many people.

The vast majority of the media that wanted to interview him was outside of the United Kingdom.

What did that mean? It meant that he had begun to make a name for himself in Continental Europe.

That was a good thing; Twain was not terrified of fame. On the contrary, he could not wait to become famous. If not, why had he decided to forsake all the other choices to go on this path?

However, he still had to choose to accept the media. He knew that the more successful he became, the more reserved he had to be so as to help maintain his worth. He must keep his practice of accepting as few media interviews as possible to ensure that the outside world thought of him as inaccessible and proud. The harder he was to get to, the more everyone wanted him. The fewer media interviews he accepted, the more he would be able to keep the media focused on him.

He still remembered sitting in “The Chief” Brian Clough’s car and what the old man had said to him: “Learn to make use of the media.” He was doing that now.

On that day, just after a day of training, Twain received a strange call. He had become accustomed to it.

It was the UEFA official who had called him this time.

Twain was a little surprised when the other side introduced herself over the phone.

“Don’t be nervous, Mr. Twain. This isn’t the UEFA disciplinary committee.” The female voice on the phone laughed happily.

“Um...”

“We’re from the Champions League Magazine agency under the UEFA, responsible for promoting the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and other UEFA tournaments. Nottingham Forest is the biggest dark horse in the Champions League, and you’re the youngest manager leading a team to advance to the quarter-finals. We think you’re a worthy subject. There will be a lot of people interested in your experience and your team, so…”

Twain recalled when he had gone to the ceremony for the quarter-finals draw; he had had a conversation with someone from the UEFA Champions League Magazine about his interview, but…

“I remembered the person who interviewed me being a guy...”

The female voice over the phone laughed again, “Can’t we just substitute the person, Mr. Twain?”

He did not understand why, but every time the woman laughed he a little awkward. He cleared his throat. “Of course… Well, of course, you can. But be careful, madam, you have only two substitutions left.”

A tinkle of silvery laughter rang out again on the other end.

“You’re very funny, Mr. Twain. In that case, let’s talk about the exact interview time, okay?”

“Of course. I think… you can do it anytime.”

“Well, that’s just it, Mr. Twain. This is not a simple interview. It’s not the kind where I use a microphone to ask you questions and you sit on the couch to answer them. It’s not going to be like that. We want to give our viewers comprehensive coverage on your team and yourself.”

“Comprehensive coverage?” Twain listened to the pleasant voice from the other end and made a cheeky association. “Including my… personal life?”

The woman laughed again. “Stop that, Mr. Twain!”

This voice sent shivers down Twain’s spine. She sounds so flirtatious...

“Oh, how rude of me. I haven’t even asked for your name yet.” Twain sat back at his desk and put his feet up on the table. He was steadying himself for a “chat” with this madam or young lady with a nice voice.

“Clarice. Clarice Gloria.”

“Mrs. Gloria…”

“I’m not that old yet, Mr. Twain.”

Twain seemed to be able to see the pleasant-sounding Clarice Gloria winking at him. He raised his eyebrows. “All right, Miss Gloria. Let’s talk about business. You know, I don’t have too much time for interviews.”

“Yes, we all know that you never accept media interviews easily.”

“Yes. So I hope you can draft a good schedule for the interview and shoot and then fax it to me. We’ll agree on the time together and I’ll let the team work with you. But I also hope your work won’t interfere with our normal training and competitions.”

“Of course. That’s not a problem. In that case, we’ll fax you the timetable tomorrow.”

“Very well. If there’s nothing else, I think I’m going to get off work.”

“OK, I’ll be in touch tomorrow. It’s a pleasure chatting with you. Goodbye, Mr. Twain.”

“Goodbye, Miss Gloria.”

Twain hung up but did not rush to leave. Instead, he kept both his feet on the table.

Her voice sounded really nice. But a nice-sounding woman might not be pretty in person. In fact, Twain had seen quite a few people who sounded nice but were plain-looking in person, both in China and Britain.

Chapter 405 - An Official Publicity Part 2

The next day, Clarice faxed over the detailed schedule for the shoot. It was indeed very detailed. Twain took it and went to look for Evan Doughty. Evan was very satisfied and thought it was a great opportunity to publicize the Forest team. With the new replacement of the club chairman, the rising Nottingham Forest needed a chance to let the world get reacquainted with them. It was also a form of publicity that Twain had led the team to win repeatedly on the field. However, the official publicity from the UEFA was a more powerful weapon that would save their efforts and lead to better results.

The club chairman decided on the matter right away, and the rest was simple. Miss Barbara Lucy, who was in charge of external communications, formally informed the UEFA Champions League Magazine program unit that they could come to Nottingham for the filming and interviews. In addition, with Twain’s consent, they were given permission to enter the locker room and shoot.

After that, the message was posted on the official website of Nottingham Forest and then republished by more media.

Very soon, everyone knew that Nottingham Forest had received the attention of the UEFA officials.

Clarice and her team worked efficiently. After they received the confirmation and notice from the Nottingham Forest Club, ten of them arrived at the London Heathrow Airport the next day with various equipment and luggage. In the afternoon, those people already appeared on the sidelines of Nottingham Forest’s training ground with their cameras on their shoulders.

“You guys are really dedicated in your jobs, Miss… Gloria.” Twain met the lady from the phone call at the sidelines of the training ground. He stuttered a little because he was surprised when he saw her appearance. He had thought about this young lady’s appearance. She had a pleasant voice, but he often met people who did not look as nice as their voices. He had not expected Clarice Gloria to not only sound nice but also look as pretty as her voice. Was that a surprise?

She was young and beautiful, with a head of bouncy, curly blond hair, blue eyes, and a perfectly straight and slightly upturned nose. She also had a pair of very nice lips. What attracted Twain the most was her eyes. When she smiled, her eyes curved like the crescents of the moon and twinkled expressively.

At that moment, Clarice Gloria regarded Tony Twain with that pair of expressive eyes.

“How did you recognize me, Mr. Twain?”

“Simple.” Twain looked at the busy production crew milling around, “You’re the only woman among all of these strangers.”

Gloria tittered. Her lips opened to reveal her white teeth, and they glittered in the afternoon sun.

Twain turned his gaze. It reminded him of a Colgate commercial.

After she laughed, Gloria turned to look at the training ground. The team was in training under the guidance of Kerslake.

Although the manager and assistant manager were present on the sidelines, the arrival of the production crew still affected the team’s training. The players were somewhat distracted and looked around. Their gazes finally settled on Twain and Clarice Gloria.

“Mr. Twain...”

“Yes?”

“I just noticed you’re wearing sunglasses, but the sun today is too glaring...”

Now that Twain had taken his sunglasses off and put them in his pocket, he said, “I admire your observational skills, Miss Gloria. It’s just a personal habit of mine.”

“That is interesting, a manager who wears sunglasses to direct training.” Clarice Gloria nodded.

Twain also noticed that the players had lost their concentration and were looking in his direction. He knew that the boys were not looking at him, and must be looking at Clarice Gloria.

Ah, what a headache. The production crew has promised not to disturb the team’s normal training and competition, but who would have thought that such a beautiful woman would show up? Even if they really don’t want to disturb the team’s training, it’s hard to not to distract the players with such a woman on the sidelines.

“I’m sorry, Miss Gloria...” Twain pointed to the training ground.

Gloria expressed her understanding. “OK, I’ll let you get back to work. We also have to start working. I guarantee we won’t disturb you.”

Twain gave a wry smile. It’s already disturbed…

After he took his leave of Gloria, Twain turned and walked back to the training ground, while he took his sunglasses from his pocket and put them back on.

“David, gather the team.” He waved to Kerslake.

The production crew set up the equipment on the west side of the field. Twain brought the team over to the most eastern side. Everyone gathered in a circle with him standing in the middle. He did not speak loudly, just enough for the people around him to hear.

“As you can see, we have a group of guests here. I’m sure you all know that they’re here to do something. I gave them permission to shoot in the locker room, so…” Twain extended his index finger, “If you don’t want to be reprimanded by me in front of the camera, then do well in training. Look at your behavior just now. It’s just a blonde lady, and you can’t move your legs to run. Are you guys children who saw a woman for the first time?”

The players hooted with laughter.

The laughter spread to the other side of the field where the production crew was. They could not hear what Twain had said, but they could guess it was related to them. Gloria stood next to her colleague. She currently had nothing to do and was content to be idle and carefully observe this mysterious manager.

Before she had come here, she had read up on a lot of information about him, including some of the interviews he had accepted before he became famous.

Her final conclusion was that she was unable to draw any conclusions. She could not define the manager, and could not determine the subject of this filming.

Perhaps only by coming to Nottingham, England, personally seeing the manager who currently on the television screen, personally experiencing working with him, and interacting with him, would be able to draw her conclusion.

As a result, she tasked the production crew with shooting everything they saw, like filming a documentary. They had to record every second and minute of the manager at work, and then they would go back, cut and edit to summarize.

“Clarice.” A man walked over, the head producer of his interview. He was the one who had agreed on this interview with Twain at the draw ceremony in the first place. “Did you see something?”

“No.” Gloria shrugged. “We just met. It’s not in-depth yet. But...he’s a very interesting person. I’ve met a lot of people in football; players, coaches, club chairmen, general managers… He was the first one to make me feel like he’s not a part of that circle.”

The man looked at the Forest team in a distance. Twain was surrounded by his players and was barely visible. But everyone knew he was the focus of all eyes. It was not because he was the manager of the team and not because he was the subject of the interview. It was because he seemed to have something special about him that attracted people to get close to him and to want to get to know him.

In the spotlight, Twain gave a lecture to his team to keep them in order as usual.

“I know it’s a little hard for you to treat so many people like they’re invisible. I just hope you don’t let these things outside the field affect your performances. We’ve all undergone interviews before. Only this time, it’s longer. Okay, guys, stop acting like you’ve never seen a woman before. If you lose the game because of that, you’re going to be a laughing stock all over Europe!”

There was another burst of laughter.

Twain waved his hands and Kerslake continued to lead the team in training while he stood on the sidelines. He did not go back to Clarice Gloria to strike up a conversation. Instead, he watched the team’s training as he normally did, as if there was not a production crew of up to ten people working on the sidelines.

Chapter 406 - Call Me Clarice Part 1

It could be said that the shooting schedule Clarice Gloria gave was very detailed; but in fact, it was very simple. It was not possible for so many people on the production crew to stay with the Forest team for long. Twain would not give them too much time. The shooting time was only five days.

Gloria’s plan was to shoot a few days of training and then shoot a game with the Forest team so that the training and game were all captured on film.

The filming of the training portion was routine. Gloria looked forward more to the game. Her only concern was...

“All the newspapers reported that your team is currently in trouble, Mr. Twain.” Gloria took a copy of The Sun and flipped to the sports section. Nottingham Forest had not won in the last two rounds of the league tournament. They had lost to Everton in the 28th round away game and tied with Manchester City in the 29th round away game. As a result, the media voiced that the Forest team’s situation was not good.

Twain sniffed. “I don’t think so, Miss Gloria. I think looking at it from a different perspective proves that the Forest team is very strong.”

“Oh?” Gloria’s interest was piqued by his remark.

“We didn’t win for two rounds in the league tournament, and the media started saying that the Forest team was a goner. Don’t you think that just means that they’re used to seeing the Forest team win?”

Gloria smiled until her eyes curved into crescent moons.

Today’s training was already over. The players came out of the locker room in succession and headed for the parking lot. Their work had ended. The crew members were also busily packing up their equipment as their day’s work was over.

Gloria followed Twain to his office to discuss the filming of the game the next day, as it involved the question of shooting in the locker room.

“Well, let’s get down to business, Miss Gloria. Generally, the team’s locker room is definitely off-limits to the media, let along the camera-toting media.”

Gloria nodded to indicate that she knew of that practice.

“But… I had allowed a big group of fans in the locker room to help me teach the players a lesson during the halftime interval, so it’s no big deal to put a bunch of cameras in there. It’s just that you can’t shoot the entire process. I can only give you a few minutes.”

Upon hearing Twain say that, Gloria tilted her head to the side. “A few minutes? Mr. Twain, that’s too short for us to even set up the equipment.”

“You set up the equipment inside ahead of time. In fact, the preparation time before a match and the halftime interval are not very long. Even if you shoot the entire process, you won’t be able to shoot much. Besides, there are some things I can’t say in front of TV cameras.”

In the course of filming the training, even though Twain had said that the club would always cooperate with the entire process, in actual fact, the production crew were only allowed to film the physical recovery training, stamina training, technical training, and so on. Once it involved tactical drills, it was necessary to politely ask the production crew to leave the training ground.

Therefore, Gloria also knew.

“Well, I understand, Mr. Twain.” She pretended to sigh with regret. “It’s a pity we can’t get the most remarkable stuff on footage.”

“The most remarkable?”

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about you raining abuses on your opponents in the locker room to stir up your players’ morale.”

Twain scratched his head, “All the more you can’t film that.?That’s a private story in the locker room.”

Gloria raised her hands. “Yes, chief!”

She had also learned the players’ name for Twain during these few days of filming the team’s training.

Twain was momentarily taken aback when he heard Gloria suddenly address him like that.

Gloria laughed playfully when she saw Twain’s astonishment.

Still laughing, Gloria stood up, walked over to Twain, and extended her hand, “We’re leaving Nottingham the day after the filming ends. I think we’ll be busy packing all kinds of equipment and luggage at that point. And Mr. Twain, you must want to be with the team. We will not have much time. So, I’d like to invite you to have dinner together this evening. Will you have the time?”

Twain looked up at Gloria standing in front of him. She truly was a beautiful woman.

Then he looked down at the delicate pale hand.

“An invitation from a beautiful lady; the honor is mine.” Twain reached out and gently grasped Gloria’s petite hand.

Let Dunn settle his own dinner alone.

※※※

Although Gloria said it was her treat, as a host, how could he let a guest treat him to dinner? Consequently, the meal was still Twain’s treat.

Since it was Twain’s treat, Twain decided on where to have dinner. Tang En was not very interested in Western cuisine. Even if he was into it in the beginning, his interest had waned after eating it for so many years. Lots of Indian restaurants had sprung up in Britain, but Tang En could not stand Indian food and the taste of curry. There was nothing tasty about English food in Tang En’s view. As for the French cuisine? It was better in France.

Most importantly, of course, was that Tang En was a Chinese man who had transmigrated here and preferred Chinese cuisine. Therefore, he naturally chose a Chinese restaurant for his treat. Although the Chinese restaurant in Nottingham was expensive and not authentic, it was better than eating Indian food.

Besides, Clarice Gloria had not had authentic Chinese food before, so she could not distinguish between the good, the bad and the authentic.

As a result, Gloria ate happily and thought that she had finally tasted the legendary cuisine. Watching this beautiful television host show her satisfied expression like a young girl, Twain snickered. Such “gourmet” is common in China. Almost every restaurant is able to make it… The foreigners are really ignorant!

“I’ve read some of your bio. It is said that you’re very fond of Chinese culture. I did not expect you to know so much about Chinese cuisine.”

“I can also speak fluent Mandarin. But there’s little opportunity for me to use it here.”

“Don’t you have a Chinese player on your team....Sun?”

“Yes, but I never speak Mandarin to him.” Twain spoke the truth. Since Sun Jihai’s arrival in the team, he only spoke English to the Chinese player, whether it was during the team tactical layout meetings or private chats, even though they both could speak Mandarin. They just did not use it. Twain now only spoke in Mandarin and not English in one situation; that was when he spoke with Dunn at home. When Dunn first came to England, he wanted to speak in English. In the end, Twain had told him they would communicate in Mandarin when it was just the two of them at home.

Twain felt that he was somewhat unaccustomed to seeing a Chinese face speak to him with a fluent non-native language. Twain certainly had not considered whether Dunn would be accustomed to seeing his previous Caucasian face speak in the non-native language too.

“Why is that? If you can speak fluent Mandarin and so can Sun, isn’t it more convenient to communicate that way?”

“Of course, it would be very convenient. But Sun does speak and understand English. That way, I don’t have to translate in the locker room. Everyone speaks English, whether they are Spanish, French or Italian. When they joined Nottingham Forest, the first thing was to learn the language. If I and Sun speak Mandarin, it would give people an impression that he’s not a member of this team. That’s not good. Different languages are one of the main causes of miscommunication problems. I don’t want to make people think that Sun Jihai is special, or that he doesn’t fit in with the team.” Twain shrugged his shoulders. “He is a Nottingham Forest player, and that has nothing to do with his nationality or language.”

Gloria was silent for a moment after she listened to those words.

Twain could sense the awkward silence and decided to tell a joke to enliven the atmosphere, “Speaking of the players’ languages and nationalities, I thought of a joke. Would you like to hear it?”

Gloria’s contemplative gaze brightened, and she nodded with a smile.

“We all know that after Abramovich took ownership of Chelsea, he brought a lot of money to the club so that they could buy the best players in the world, as long as they wanted to. But in fact, before that Russian billionaire, Chelsea was well-known in the English Premier League for their multinational team. At that time, the team, coached by Gullit, once created a record: there was not one English player among the eleven players in the team’s starting lineup.” Twain deadpanned as he recounted. From the sound of it, this joke was not funny at all. He appeared to be telling Gloria the history of football. “Then, Chelsea had a new coach: the Italian, Ranieri. He was a successful coach in both Spain and Italy, and an Italian. The first problem he faced when he took over the team was not the team’s tactics, formation, or transfers, but the language. Chelsea had too many foreign players. At that time, the media laughed at Ranieri’s bad English: when he wanted to explain the tactics to the main players, he usually told the assistant manager Gwyn Williams first, and then Williams would relay it to the English players in English. Then Ranieri himself would speak to Zola in Italian, and after that he would use Spanish to speak to the Spanish, Argentine and Uruguayan players again. For the French players, Ranieri would use Italian to inform Desailly who had played in Italy first, and then the French player would repeat it to his countrymen. Everyone had to repeat the same words many times. No one knew the final meaning in the end. Have you ever played that game, Miss Gloria?”

Chapter 407 - Call Me Clarice Part 2

“What kind of game?”

“It’s the kind where a person conveys his message to a second person using body language. Then the second person uses body language to pass on the gist of his understanding to a third person, and so on… Finally, the last person will use words to describe what he has understood to see how much he can match up with the first person’s message. Often times, the difference is as far as the distance from the UK to China. The first person might have said: ‘Hey, do you think the clothes that I’m wearing today look good?'”

Twain stood up and demonstrated as he spoke. He pointed to his clothes and did a turn as if to show off his new clothes to his friends.

“Then the second person nodded and turned to the third person to pass on the message, ‘Do you think there’s something dirty on me?'”

Twain turned in a circle and briskly twisted his head left and right to look behind him.

Seeing this, Gloria began to laugh.

“The third person understands and nods. He turns to the fourth person and says, ‘I’m a little dizzy from spinning around.'”

Gloria threw her head back and laughed.

“The fourth person says to the fifth person: ‘I like to exercise with the hula hoop!'” Twain stuck his tummy out and swung his hips.

“The fifth person says to the sixth person: ‘Don’t do strenuous exercise when you’re pregnant!'” Twain drew an arc with his hands in front of his stomach this time and then raised his arms to wave.

This time, Gloria leaned over on the table, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Then we’ll ask the sixth person: ‘Do you know what he said to you just now?’ The sixth person nods confidently and says: ‘I’m very fat, don’t abandon me!'”

Gloria leaned against the back of the chair again as she laughed loudly.

Twain sat down and grinned at her, waiting for her laughter to subside.

After a long while, Gloria said intermittently, “Mr. Twain, you’re...really... Luckily I did not have food in my mouth just now.”

Twain winked at her.

Gloria finally stopped laughing, pressed her sides and leaned against the back of the chair, gasping. “You’re really entertaining.”

Twain scratched his head and did not know what to say.

Looking at his childlike gesture, Gloria smiled. “Do you know, Mr. Twain? When I decided to do this exclusive interview with you and your team, as the anchor and producer, I especially studied your profile information, including your coaching experience, and the media coverage on you over the years. I could not arrive at a conclusion. With most people, I can gauge what kind of person they are based on some impression, and his or her image will be formed in my mind. But I found you different. Well, how do I put it? When I first started my research, I thought of you as a particular kind of person, and that image had been established in my head. However, as I dug deeper, I found a new image that was different. They are complete opposites. Contradictory. But they’re still the same person. I don’t understand. In the end, all the previously established images are gone. I don’t know what kind of image of you I should have.”

Twain pretended to be a profound thinker and said, “Your question is profound, Miss Gloria. With regards to ‘Who am I,’ that’s the ultimate philosophical question. I actually don’t know who I am, where I come from, and where I’m heading...”

Gloria laughed again. “Cheeky!”

Twain laughed as well.

In fact, he did not know how to respond to Gloria’s words. If he answered seriously, the mood would be heavy. If he responded flippantly, he would seem discourteous. So, he muddled through it in a light-hearted manner.

Besides, Twain never thought about needless questions like, “Who I am, where do I come from, and where I’m heading?”. He did not reflect on “What kind of person am I?” So, what if I figured it out? And so what if I did not figure it out? I am who I am. Would I improve my life and let my bank account grow if I understand that?

Gloria looked askew at Twain and narrowed her eyes to carefully appraise the man. She had already been filming in the Nottingham Forest Football Club for three days. She not only observed this person but also interviewed a lot of people in the club, even including the old guard at the gate. Anyone who mentioned this man would say that he was incredible. Nobody had thought the team would be so brilliant when he took over. Some people even thought that there must be some secret behind Twain.

In short, this is a man that makes you want to get close to him, but when you get close to him, you find him harder to fathom.

What kind of man is he exactly?...

He’s an Englishman with a passion for Chinese culture, a man whose disposition changed due to a concussion, a young and promising man, a man who looks a lot younger than his actual age. But those are just some of his many facets. He’s like a man with a thousand faces. You will not know whether he’s showing you a real and complete picture, or just one side of himself.

A man with a thousand faces... does that describe Tony Twain?

Twain realized that Gloria had suddenly stopped speaking; she just stared at him until he was a little spooked. He asked, “Penny for your thoughts, Miss Gloria?”

Gloria snapped out of her thoughts and refocused her gaze on Twain’s face. She suddenly asked, “Mr. Twain, do you have a girlfriend?”

Twain was taken aback by the unexpected question. He paused a little and then asked, “You’ve read so much information about me. None of the information mentioned that?”

Gloria gently shook her head, “Your private life is very well-protected. Even the British media don’t know too much about your life outside of football, let alone me.”

“If the private life of a football manager becomes the focus of the newspapers’ hype, that would be abnormal, wouldn’t it? A manager is not a football star. He’s not handsome, there will be no companies to sign any endorsement contracts with him, so there’s no hype value.”

“That’s why I wanted to ask, Mr. Twain. Do you have a girlfriend?” Gloria repeated the question.

Twain’s digression was thwarted. He hesitated as the names of two people flashed across his mind. It was clear that they obviously were not. He shook his head. “Not yet.”

Gloria was surprised. “Incredible. An outstanding man like yourself, how can you not have a girlfriend?”

“At present... perhaps football is a good girlfriend for me?” Twain used a quizzical tone because he was not sure himself.

“Are you asking me, Mr. Twain?” Gloria astutely perceived that. She winked at Twain.

“Oh… No, it’s just that… I’m quite demanding. I’ve never met someone who meets my requirements.” Twain said offhandedly.

“So, what are your specific requirements, Mr. Twain?” Gloria rested her chin on her hands as she asked.

“My requirements...” Twain suddenly came to his senses and decided to counter. “Are you planning to apply, Miss Gloria?”

“I’m just interested in a fascinating man’s criteria for a girlfriend.” Gloria smilingly defused Twain’s counterattack.

The two people chuckled together, and neither raised the topic again.

※※※

After dinner, Twain insisted on sending Gloria back to her hotel. How could he allow a lady to return to her hotel on her own?

When he sent Gloria back to the hotel, the two of them said goodbye at the entrance.

“I have one more question, Miss Gloria.”

“Please go ahead, Mr. Twain.” Gloria stood at the hotel entrance. She wore a white dress and looked like a quietly blooming lily in the night breeze.

“You said you didn’t have a conclusion of what kind of person I am. What about now?”

“Right now...” Gloria deliberately dragged her words as her gaze drifted around to tease Twain. Her gaze eventually rested on Twain. “I still don’t have one.”

“Ah… That’s a pity.” Twain sighed exaggeratedly.

“Do you have any other questions, Mr. Twain?”

“I think… That’s all.”

“Well, good-bye then.” Gloria gently waved, like a lily swaying in the wind.

“Goodbye, Miss Gloria.” She rested her finger against Twain’s lips, which brought a womanly fragrance to Twain’s nose as he breathed.

Twain was a little startled. Gloria smiled and said to him. “Call me Clarice.”

“Goodbye… Clarice.”

Satisfied, Gloria took back her hand and turned to walk into the hotel lobby.

Twain lifted his hand to touch his lips and then turned to walk back to the taxi, where the driver, Landy, was waiting for him.

“Who’s she, Tony? Is that your girlfriend?”

Sitting in the car, Twain turned around and looked out of the car window at the brightly lit hotel entrance. He shook his head. “No, she’s not. Let’s go. Back to my place, Landy.”

Chapter 408 - What Relationship? Part 1

Having eaten dinner alone at home, Dunn asked Twain where he was as usual when he saw him come home. Twain did not completely tell the truth, and his answer was ambiguous. “I had dinner with the production crew.”

Clarice Gloria was part of the production crew, so having dinner with her could naturally be considered “dinner with the production crew.”

He did not wish to tell the truth to Dunn because Dunn knew a lot about his personal affairs already.

He suddenly could not bear Dunn looking at him with that expression- the sort of expression that was without any meaning and was just looking wordlessly. Twain did not understand what it meant and it was a bit annoying.

Dunn did not ask any further. It would not correspond with his character.

After a brief chat, Twain went straight upstairs to take a bath and rest.

After being with Dunn for a long time, the two of them had influenced each other. Influenced by Twain, Dunn gradually became livelier and would take the initiative to speak. And Twain’s daily routine became more regular under the influence of Dunn.

Clarice Gloria ran into the program’s head producer, John Trafalgar, at her room door.

“You still haven’t arrived at a clear conclusion?” Prior to that, Gloria had said to Trafalgar that if the answer could not be found during the course of the normal shooting, she would not mind using unconventional means. “I thought I wouldn’t see you here tonight.”

Gloria shrugged. “No. But I figured it out. It doesn’t matter if there’s one or not. Maybe he’s just a person who can’t be defined. But…” Looking Trafalgar leaning against the door, Gloria smiled slyly. “I almost let him take me to another hotel.”

Trafalgar rolled his eyes.

“But…” Gloria swung her small satchel to her back and placed her hand on Trafalgar’s shoulder. She looked at him and said, “He’s not good for a one-night stand.”

“Why?” Trafalgar looked at her and asked.

“Because that would be a waste.”

Gloria winked at Trafalgar and turned to open the door to go in.

“Good night, John.”

“Nite, Clarice.”

And the door closed between them.

※※※

The next day, the production crew started work as always. Twain and Gloria loudly greeted each other on the sidelines and went about their respective busy schedules. Gloria addressed Twain as “Mr. Twain,” and Twain still called her “Miss Gloria.”

As tomorrow was the game, there was not much training today. It was only half a day and mostly focused on tactical drills. Therefore, the production crew only filmed for fifteen minutes before they left the training ground.

They certainly did not disperse to return to the hotel. There was another important job: interviewing the club chairman.

As the person who had once fired and re-hired Twain, Evan Doughty was destined to carry his “crime” of error in judgment for a lifetime. The machination that he and Allan had pulled must not be publicized; or, to be accurate, it absolutely could not be revealed at this time.

“…You’re asking me for my thoughts on Tony Twain? I only have one thing to say: I want to thank him.”

Those were Evan Doughty’s heartfelt words.

For Clarice Gloria, who had interviewed many football celebrities, it was not surprising to find that conflict existed between a club chairman and a manager in the football world. Even the incumbent managers would have some complaints about their own club chairmen. No matter how much they praised each other when they were in front of other people, one could feel the dissonance somewhere behind the false fronts.

However, as Evan Doughty faced the camera, he offered no exaggerated exaltation nor were there any long-winded clichés. He only gave a plain and simple “I want to thank him.” It was rare.

Gloria believed the young club chairman was sincere.

What was the secret to Nottingham Forest’s resurgence? An unknown secret? When a team, from the chairman down to the ordinary players, were united in solidarity, when the relationship between people was simple and happy and they had the same goal, would it be difficult to create good results?

To apply an often-used sentence, Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest and his club chairman were in a honeymoon period. During this time, the team’s performance was good and there was no discord in the locker room. Everyone was flushed with success. Fame and money followed as well. It was the natural course of things. When there was no interference from messy external factors, the players could play to their fullest potential on the field.

Those teams that had achieved brilliant successes in history must have been in such a honeymoon phase.

A few examples like Barcelona in the last two seasons, AC Milan in the early 90s, “The golden age era” of Inter Milan, and Manchester United’s feat of a treble in 1999.

As to why every dynasty could not last long, it was because people always changed. Gloria did not know how long the honeymoon would last for Twain and the Forest team. That was not what the program wanted to investigate.

※※※

The next day’s game was held at the City Ground stadium. It was the 30th round of the English Premier League game, which belonged to the “let the viewers get to know all about the new Nottingham Forest” section in the plan. In addition to the daily training, a game was the natural next step to getting to know a team. Normally, the viewers watched a game from the perspective of a television broadcaster. The shooting angle of the production crew was not focused on every minute of the game, but the technical area, substitutes’ bench, locker room, and the stands.

Gloria’s filming plan covered two games. One game was the domestic league and the other was the next round of the Champions League on March 29th, which was Nottingham Forest’s away challenge against Inter Milan.

Nottingham Forest’s home game against Bolton Wanderers was not chosen by Sky TV for a national broadcast. However, there was still a lot of media. That was not due to the official influence of UEFA, nor a special phenomenon of the game. The English media had long understood that, as long as there was a Nottingham Forest game, it was important for them to pay attention, regardless of whether it was a national broadcast or not. Nobody knew when the manager would create new news and antics.

Letting slip the news would be to go against the national readers.

Gloria looked at the media, which there was more of than she anticipated. She exclaimed at the rising influence of Twain in England.

The game went well. Perhaps it was because the players were exceptionally energized with the presence of the UEFA Champions League Magazine. It could also be that they had not won for two consecutive rounds and that that put some pressure on the team, driving their desire to win.

In short, Twain’s team decisively won by 4:1 over Bolton Wanderers at home and used the victory to fight back the people who were in doubt.

The camera of Gloria and her crew recorded everything that happened in the jubilant City Ground stadium. She did not expect the frenzy shown in the City Ground stadium, which could only hold twenty-seven thousand people, during and after the game. She felt that the atmosphere was not like winning a normal league game, but more like winning the league title.

Chapter 409 - What Relationship? Part 2

After Twain ended the press conference when the game ended, he did not immediately get on the team bus. Instead, he went to send off Gloria and her crew.

Gloria mentioned the atmosphere of the match, which Twain felt was normal. “Almost every home game is like this,” he said. “As long as we win the game, it will be like this. What you just saw was no exaggeration. As for the reason… I think it probably has something to do with the Nottingham Forest fans being suppressed for too long. For a team who had been the defending champion of the Champions League twenty-five years ago to struggling in the lower level league, the psychological gap between their ideals and reality grew over time. Now, they’ve just found a way to vent.”

Gloria was satisfied with his answer. She smiled and said, “I suddenly understand why you hold such a high status in their minds.”

Twain shrugged and disagreed. “Any manager who can bring victory to his supporters will have that status. The rules of the world are simple: the winner rules.”

Gloria flicked her golden hair and extended her hand to Twain again. “We’re on the flight tonight, but now I’m a little reluctant to leave Nottingham. Our time together has been very short, but I want to thank you for working with us. Before I came here, a friend of mine in the media was kind enough to remind me that Tony Twain is a very difficult person to get along with. But from the moment I called you, I thought he was wrong. You’re easier to get along with than anyone.”

“Thank you very much, Miss Gloria.” Twain also extended his hand. “It’s been a pleasure working with you too.”

After they shook hands, Gloria took out a business card from her bag and handed it to Twain. “This is my contact number. I think we’ll stay in touch often in the future, Mr. Twain.”

Twain patted his pocket. “I’m sorry I don’t have a business card on me to give to you, Miss Gloria. I always forget to make my business cards. But you must have my cell number.”

“Of course.” Gloria laughed. “I’ll be in Milan too when your team is playing there. It’s the last part of the filming plan. Try not to lose, Mr. Twain. That would not make a perfect show.”

The two said their goodbyes in the noisy City Ground stadium.

Clarice Gloria and her colleagues left the United Kingdom.

And Twain went on with his life.

Other than some people on the team who were not used to not having a blonde woman standing on the sidelines, there was no difference from the usual.

It was just an ordinary interview, but some people did not see it that way.

※※※

Twain suddenly discovered that he had become the focus of media attention overnight. This time, he was under the limelight not because of a victory or defeat. It was because of his private life.

When Twain was asked by a reporter at the team’s regular Wednesday press conference, “Mr. Twain, may I ask- what’s the relationship between you and Clarice Gloria?” he realized that the story between him and Gloria was not done yet.

The reporter who asked the question had the latest edition of The Sun, which was full of photographs and very little descriptive text.

Though it was not in front of him, Twain could still recognize that it was a series of photographs of him and Gloria out having dinner.

There was a photograph of the two of them in front of the restaurant, holding their hands out to wait for a cab. A bunch of photographs of them at the hotel entrance saying goodbye to each other, and even one in which Gloria put her hand on his lips.

Twain was suddenly reminded that he lived in the United Kingdom, with the most developed media and the most rampant paparazzi.

“What do you say our relationship is, Mr. Reporter?” Twain calmly asked in response.

Ever since The Sun had vilified Twain for bringing Shania to Spain and other despicable acts, he had not read that newspaper. He also never accepted any interviews from The Sun, and The Sun reporters would not even appear in such routine press conferences. But the influence of the United Kingdom’s biggest tabloid on him was still everywhere.

It looked like he had been unknowingly followed by someone. That enraged Twain. He was trying to suppress his anger. Twain liked to be famous, but he liked to be in control of his fame. He did not like to publicize his private life. In that case, how was it any different from a reality television show? But now, without his knowledge of the situation, he was secretly photographed, which was worse than a reality television show. This was almost like “The Truman Show!”

He was kept in the dark and subjected to the viewers’ wanton commentary!

He found it intolerable.

This reporter was not a novice. He was able to see that Twain was angry, but he still wanted to deliberately provoke him. How could there be news if Twain was not incensed?

“I don’t know either. That’s why I’m here to ask you, Mr. Twain.”

Twain interrupted his words. “Did you just say, ‘here to ask’? Very well. This is the team’s regular weekly press conference, and I will answer any questions about the team. The relationship between me and Miss Gloria? What’s that got to do with Nottingham Forest? If you want to know what my relationship with Miss Gloria is, you can call my agent. Forgive me, I’m not here to answer that type of question.”

The reporter in question was confused. Since when did Twain have an agent? There was no news that Tony Twain had an agent. “But, Mr. Twain, you don’t have an agent.”

“That’s correct,” Twain said gruffly.

“But you said—”

“What I meant is that you shouldn’t even ask me that at all!” Twain was finally unable to suppress his anger and roared, “You go ask The Sun! Go and ask the son of a b**ch reporter who followed me all the way while he took my photos! If I said there was not a damn thing between Gloria and I, would you believe me? Are you going to honestly publish my words as they are in the press? Do you think I don’t know what you want to hear? If I don’t admit it, you’ll say I’m hiding something! You already have the answers in your heads, so why do you still have to ask?”

Twain got angrier as he spoke. At this point, he simply stood up.

“That’s it for today.” He even swore under his breath while he was leaving.

Looking at the back view of Twain leaving in a rage, a few of the reporters hooted excitedly. The press conference had just started, and the first question to be put forward was that. Everyone wanted to know about the relationship between Twain and Gloria. Not many people cared about the team.

Pierce Brosnan sat in his seat and looked at his excited peers around him, feeling somewhat awkward. He knew that he could not call Twain for at least another week. If he did not want to be implicated, he’d better not do anything for the moment.

He had a peculiar relationship with Twain. On the one hand, they could be friends. On the other, because of his special status as a reporter, Twain would sometimes take it out on him. He was helpless about it. He could not give up his job to get Twain to like him, just like he detested behaving like a paparazzo just so that he could cater to his readers.

However...

Brosnan looked down at the newspaper in his hand. It was the same newspaper that was in the hands of the reporter who had asked the question. It was the latest edition of The Sun, which featured the series of photographs that had angered Twain. Looking at the photograph in which Gloria had made that intimate gesture, Brosnan sneered.

I also want to know what your relationship with her is, Tony.

Chapter 410 - The Number You Have Dialed Is Not in Service Part 1

Twain brusquely refused the reporter’s question at the press conference. He just swore and left. Would the matter be over just like that?

No!

Of course not!

Things had just begun for the British tabloids.

In reality, they had only had one meal together. However, for people who did not know the inside story, the only way they could understand it was through the media. Whatever the media reported, that was how they viewed it. When the media said that the relationship between Twain and Gloria went beyond a platonic friendship or working relationship between a man and woman, then that was what the readers would think. They would not consider the whole story themselves. They could not do so, because they did not have enough clues. The media were always smart enough to conceal things which were unfavorable for them, and to exaggerate and embellish the favorable things.

Twain was aware of all that. He kept his silence now only because he wanted Clarice to come forward and explain. A woman’s words should be more convincing than a man’s. However, the problem was, when the media called Clarice Gloria, they discovered that she had turned off her phone!

When one person out of the two could not be reached, the other would naturally bear more brunt.

Now, the reporters lingered around the training ground and the stadium every day. People discussed the “relationship” between Twain and Gloria online and in the newspapers as if they had been confirmed as a couple.

Gloria was Europe’s famous and beautiful female anchor. She was only temporarily employed by UEFA this time. She was not just a pretty face who relied on her looks to get to the top seat. She was truly capable and successful. Hence, the “coupling” between her and Twain was made more interesting. Everyone knew that Gloria was not the kind of woman who would use her looks for hype. She had high standards and taste, which could be deduced from her previous singlehood. Therefore, the media could not be blamed for the fuss they showed over the scandal between her and Twain.

In the past, everyone had always been interested in Twain’s private life. The 37-year-old Tony Twain had never even had a nominal girlfriend. The Brazilian model, Shania, who was often seen with him, was a child. The Sun had publicized the two people’s “Tour of Spain” before. But when they found out that Shania was just a 14-year-old child and there was nothing between them, they lost interest.

As for Wood’s mother, Twain protected Sophia well. No one was aware that he knew such a woman. Twain understood that if his unique experience with Sophia was exposed in front of the media, then perhaps it would be a terrible thing for him, Sophia, and George.

Everyone felt that it was abnormal for the 37-year-old Twain to not even have a girlfriend. Only the appearance of Clarice Gloria could cause this kind of media attention.

When the media was speculating on Twain’s “relationship,” they never wondered why a football manager’s romance would receive this extensive level of attention. It was reasonable to say that only the star players would receive this kind of treatment. Had anyone ever seen the media care about the private life of a manager before this?

Nevertheless, Twain was now the focus of media attention because of his private life.

Perhaps his presence had changed something that people were accustomed to.

Clarice’s cellphone was turned off. The reporters could not get in touch with her. Nottingham Forest, where Twain was located, suffered. The reporters’ interest in the matter had gone beyond the event itself. The media and readers no longer treated Twain as a professional football manager but as an entertainment celebrity.

Not only the sports media but even the entertainment gossip media had gotten into the mix. The enthusiasm shown by the reporters for the incident had already greatly affected the team’s normal training.

The away game against Liverpool was a very important game for Nottingham Forest, and what was worse was that the game was immediately followed by another away game: the Champions League away game with Inter Milan. Given that the Champions League game was a knockout challenge and therefore more important, Twain did not send all his main players into the game against Liverpool.

As a result, the team lost 2:3 to Liverpool. Although they lost the game, they did not lose too badly. The players worked hard. Twain had nothing to complain about. But in the post-match press conference, a reporter asked whether the defeat was due to the impact of the matter with Clarice. Twain flew into a rage on the spot and only said “goodbye,” before he made an early exit again.

The next day, Twain explained the reasons for his angry exit in his column. His team had played very hard in the game. Although they lost, Liverpool did not win easily. All the players’ hard work was negated by that damn reporter’s gossipy question. They only focused on the silly gossip between a man and a woman and did not recognize the assiduous efforts of the players who desperately wanted to win but had failed to do so. He found that to be the most intolerable.

“If I were to answer that sonofab**ch’s question, it would be a betrayal of my players. My players competed in the field and tried incredibly hard, and you bastards only wanted to know what my relationship with Gloria was. Whatever my relationship with her is has not one ounce to do with Nottingham Forest’s game with Liverpool!”

The Nottingham Evening Post published his text word for word; even Twain’s swear words written in agitation were not deleted. Thanks to Twain, the Evening Post, which was originally only on sale in Nottingham, was now sold as far as Newcastle. Therefore, the Nottingham Evening Post took Twain’s side in this matter. They did not hype up the scandal and go against Twain. In fact, they did not need to hype it themselves. With Twain, who liked to fire away in his column, around, the matter would automatically be hyped.

※※※

After their return to Nottingham at the end of their trip to Liverpool, the team would fly to Milan the next day for their first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Initially for Twain, going to the game in Milan was something that made him very happy. That was not because they were there to challenge the Serie A powerhouse team, Inter Milan, but because he would have a chance to see Shania, whom he had not seen in a long time.

Nowadays, Shania seldom returned to the United Kingdom. After Shania was listed as one of 2006’s top ten up and coming models in the magazine that Twain saw during the Christmas season, Shania had become a hot commodity. Now, she shuttled more between Italy and France. She had even rented an apartment in Milan with plans to stay there for long term.

She had not visited her aunt in Newcastle for a long time. As for her studies, they were put on hold indefinitely.

In the beginning, Twain told Shania that that was a good thing; it showed that the young girl had grown up. Twain later regretted it because she was so busy. He did not expect that a model would have so many events after she became famous. He had thought that a model just needed to walk the runway. How many fashion shows could there be annually? He did not realize there were spring, winter, and fall shows.

Later, he discovered that Shania’s work was not just walking the catwalk in fashion shows, but that it included many more brand endorsements and various commercial activities.

He and Shania basically had no chances to meet, and could only keep in touch online and through their cellphones.

Shania really did not like modeling because it was tiring. Every time she felt tired, she would call Twain or chat online. Twain would comfort and encourage her as much as possible since he could not do anything else. He could not tell Shania to quit.

Just as Shania’s father had said to him, Shania had trained as a model since she was young, and becoming a model now was in line with her mother’s expectations. Therefore, if she did quit as a model, Twain really could not think of what Shania could do.

As a result, Twain lent his ear to Shania’s complaints. They included dissatisfaction with her work; the fact that, even though she was friends with her girlfriends, they were also secretly competing with each other; and the interesting stories behind the glamor of models. Shania would tell all those things to Twain. She was actually a very sensible child. Although she did not like her job and felt very tired and full of complaints, she would still dutifully do her job after she vented to Twain. Perhaps she also knew that she had nothing else to do but to be a model.

However, it was not as enjoyable to chat all the time over the phone. Twain had planned to take time out to bring Shania out for a meal or something. After they eliminated the Rangers, Shania had also specially called to congratulate her “Uncle Tony” and had looked forward to their time in Milan.

But now...

Due to the stir caused by the English media, Twain’s calls to Shania went unanswered.

On the eve of their expedition to Italy, Twain dialed that familiar phone number repeatedly, but there was always one sound which came from the earpiece: “The number you have dialed is not in service.”

After dialing ten times in a row, Twain tossed his phone onto the couch.

Dunn looked at him sympathetically next to him.

Twain gave Dunn a sideways glance, pointed at him, and said, “You’d better not make me mad!”

So, Dunn turned his gaze back to the television screen.

“You’re such a bore!” Twain rushed up to turn off the television. “You’re constantly home and watch TV all day long! You’re not even bothered!” He snapped at Dunn.

Dunn continued to look at him sympathetically. Although he did not say a word, his eyes said it all. Still waters run deep with this guy!

Chapter 411 - The Number You Have Dialed Is Not in Service Part 2

“If I didn’t watch videos all day at home, you’d be in a lot more trouble now.” Dunn finally spoke, but his words surprised Twain.

“Why?”

“Because the media would not be speculating about you and Gloria, but about whether you and I...” Dunn paused before he looked at Twain and said, “are a couple.”

Twain suddenly jumped away from Dunn. “I’m good… I’m okay.”

Dunn ignored Twain’s exaggerated display. He turned on the television again, but Twain did not stop him this time.

Twain sat on the couch and picked up the phone again. He looked at it and put it down.

With his back towards him, Dunn suddenly said, “I’m not optimistic about the team’s game in Milan.”

“Because I’m upset and distracted?”

“Ah, you know.”

Twain did not speak. He just looked at his cell phone, lost in thought. It was just groundless gossip. His conscience was clear. What was he upset and distracted about?

I shouldn’t be upset about this meaningless matter, because it’s nothing at all. Even though I have a favorable impression of Gloria, it’s just because I have favorable impressions of all beautiful women...

However, Twain thought about his recent conduct. It was as if he had leaped high after being stabbed in the rear. He was really somewhat upset and distracted.

But his emotional outburst had only happened this evening.

It was because Shania had turned off her phone.

“Hey, Dunn.” Twain leaned on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. He said to Dunn next to him, “What did you think after you saw those photos in the newspapers?”

“I was a little surprised.”

“Surprised at what happened between Gloria and me… Is that it?”

“No, I was surprised that you didn’t go out to dinner with the whole crew, but alone with Gloria.”

Twain had told Dunn that he was having dinner with the crew that day. Dunn’s understanding was in line with Twain’s desire. But now it was somewhat ironic to hear Dunn say that.

Twain smiled bitterly, “I just wanted to avoid some unnecessary trouble. I never thought… but trouble still found me in the end.”

“What’s the trouble? Isn’t it nice to be lovers with Gloria?” Dunn asked in return.

Twain froze for a moment, and then shook his head, “No, that’s not it. I admit Gloria is beautiful. But, how do I say it… I don’t have any special feelings for her. Other than the fact that I think she is very beautiful and a nice person, I don’t have other ideas. You know? it’s just like when you see a beautiful girl on the street, you’ll give her a few more looks, perhaps you may want to sleep with her, like a one-night stand. But the word ‘couple’ never comes to mind.”

Dunn was silent for a moment. “I don’t know much about that.”

“Dunn, between a man and a woman… There are some other things in addition to the mutual physical attraction. That kind of thing is very mysterious; I can’t tell you exactly what it is in words. Anyways, there is no such thing between Gloria and me. It’s that simple.”

Twain picked up his cell phone and dialed Shania’s number again. Without exception, it was still “the number you have dialed is not in service.”

This time he did not fling his cell phone but gently put it down.

Dunn suddenly spoke up again. “What about you and Sophia and Shania?”

Twain glanced back at Dunn and found that he had not turned his head to look at him. Instead, he continued to stare at the game videos on the television screen.

He was somewhat discomfited by this question because he did not know what to say.

Just at that moment, his cell phone rang. He heaved a sigh of relief on the inside. He just grabbed his phone without even checking the caller before he answered.

“Hello? Miss Gloria!” Twain sounded pleasantly surprised. When he heard the name, Dunn finally shifted his gaze from the television screen to look at Twain.

Gloria sounded full of apologies on the other end. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Twain. I was busy at work this whole time, so I did not turn on my public cell phone. I only just found out about everything.”

Twain opened his mouth but did not know what to say to her. In the end, he suddenly laughed. “I’m afraid I have nothing more to say about it other than to laugh.”

Gloria also laughed. “But it feels nice to have a “romance” in the media with you. Actually, you’re a very good lover.”

Twain could almost see Gloria standing on the opposite side, playfully winking at him.

He gave a hollow laugh. This woman does not shy away from controversies. She appears as if she was still very happy to play along.

“But please be assured, Mr. Twain, I will make a public statement to clarify our relationship. I also have friends in the British media who will help to speak on our behalf. It’s not going to affect your life. But, Mr. Twain, since you don’t have a girlfriend, I’m sure that it has not caused you any trouble, has it?”

Twain thought that even though he did not have a girlfriend, it had actually caused trouble. He thought of Shania, who had turned off her phone. He did not know the reason behind Shania’s switched-off phone. Perhaps it was due to work, but he still worried about it.

“I don’t know what kind of impact it’s had on my life, but it has caused problems for my team. We just lost to Liverpool in the league tournament. Do you know that?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. But it’s not because of me, is it? I heard you only sent half of your main force.”

As he listened to the two people, Dunn realized that the conversation had no further developments, so he re-focused on the game videos.

Next, Gloria told Twain that she had called to apologize for the trouble the matter had caused him, and also to discuss the shoot in Milan. After all, they still need to cooperate for one more game.

At first, during this sensitive time, Twain should reduce the chances of him appearing and interacting with Gloria in public. But now Twain decided to do the opposite. At a time like this, he should meet with Gloria all the more. Hence, the shoot would be carried out according to the original plan, and not be affected by the incident.

Gloria’s statement might mark the end of the media hype about their relationship. Twain believed that Gloria was capable of that. But his headache was far from over.

After he ended his call with Gloria, Twain dialed Shania’s phone number once again. He still received that message. “The number you have dialed is...”

Twain did not wait for the message to finish before he hung up the phone.

It seemed that the Milan trip was not going to be easy.

Chapter 412 - The Night Before A Tough Fight Part 1

With a streak of unease, Tang En led the team to their arrival in Milan, Italy.

What prevented his mood from becoming worse was that practically nobody in Milan cared about nonsensical topics like Gloria’s relationship with him. The questions raised by the reporters were largely related to the match. After all, this was Italy. The Italian media was not in the least concerned with the personal life of an Englishman.

On his end, Tang En did not care what their lack of concern stemmed from. What was most important was that he no longer had to entertain extremely annoying questions. He could finally settle his heart down to prepare for the match.

But his heart still could not settle.

Shania continued to be uncontactable; her phone was off when he tried calling, and she was offline on MSN.

Tang En knew that this was not the time to be distracted. Inter Milan could not be easily dispatched. Even if he was unable to contact Shania, he could only suppress his worries and prepare for the Champions League.

Everything proceeded as per the procedure: getting used to the grounds of Saint Siro Stadium and carrying out their usual, daily training.

Back in England, Gloria’s interview was published on various media outlets. In the interview, Gloria personally denied having any relationship with Tang En that went “beyond normal friends and a working relationship”. She did not forget to berate England’s tabloids for being “silly.” Regarding their meal together, Gloria said, “If any man inviting a woman to eat together is her lover, then, in this world, I think there are few husbands who don’t have mistresses.” About the act of affection, Gloria’s explanation was, “Mr. Tony and I are friends. Between friends, I believe that it’s very normal to occasionally have some actions intimating affection. If you always maintain five meters distance from your friends, be extremely formal whenever you speak to them, and act polite and cordial as if you’re wearing a mask, then please don’t use your alien standards to judge others.”

Gloria’s retaliation was very effective. In addition, The Sun did not have any further evidence, other than that single act of affection, to prove that Tang En and Gloria were in an intimate relationship. They had done nothing like going to a hotel on their own. If they had done anything scandalous, the photographer following them the entire time needed to show photo evidence of it. As it was, there was nothing except a few pictures of them having a meal together. What did it show? It showed that The Sun had nothing else up their sleeves. If they could not bring out any fresh photographs of scenes proving Tang En and Gloria had other acts of intimacy, or those of their sexual relations, then the topic that The Sun had stirred up was about to return to still waters.

Nottingham Forest’s trip to Milan for their match was perhaps an opportunity; one that would allow the media to regain their initiative. Everyone knew that Gloria’s film crew would certainly go to Milan and film the match live. In that case, the two leading characters of the story were sure to meet again. At that time, they only had to send someone to keep an eye on them to see if they were hiding something.

Italy’s professional sports media was all focused on the quarter-finals of the Champions League. England, who had no professional football media coverage, instead hastily sent out to Milan huge amounts of professional coverage for gossip and entertainment.

While the Italians were keen to know the match results of Nottingham Forest against Inter Milan, the English were more concerned about Tony and the true relationship between him and Europe’s beautiful anchor, Clarice Gloria.

Just a day after Tang En’s team arrived in Milan, they were conducting training in Saint Siro Stadium to get used to the grounds when Gloria brought her film crew to the location to commence filming. Under the gaze of numerous English media representatives who were present, they set up their equipment to proceed with the shooting.

As Gloria smiled at those who cast curious gazes towards her, Tang En led the team in their training. While it could not be observed from his appearance, he could not help but wonder, in the depths of his heart, what Shania was doing.

What a mess…

※※※

The next day was match day. Although Tang En did not set any prohibition from going out the night before the match, all the players stayed in the hotel anyway. Their entertainment was to go downstairs to the lounge and play billiards or ping-pong.

The managerial team, as well, did not stay up the whole night analyzing their opponents. As a well-known European team, Inter Milan had long ago been analyzed to bits by Tang En and the rest.

Unlike less renowned teams, information for a powerhouse such as Inter Milan was collected with ease.

As a result, when night came, the managers were left with nothing much to do.

Kerslake had originally intended on inviting Tang En downstairs to the bar to sit, drink, and chat.

Tang En lay on the bed clicking the television remote in boredom. It looked as if he had no intentions of getting up and out.

“I’m a little tired. I’ll watch some television and then rest, David.”

Kerslake saw how unenergetic Tang En was and sighed. He shrugged.

“Alright. Rest early then. Tomorrow, we’ll be having a… tough battle.” He then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Although Tang En’s mouth answered “yes,” his gaze never left the television screen as his hands mechanically went on pressing “next channel” on the remote. All kinds of programs showed up on the fluorescent screen: news, movies, soap operas, talk shows, sports competitions, mature programs… and fashion shows.

Hold on.

A fashion show?

Tang En froze for two seconds, stopping the finger that had been moving toward the “next channel” button. He abruptly came to his senses and hastily pressed back to the channel. When the screen returned to the models on the runway, Tang En only had time to see the back of a person walking to the backstage.

Despite just seeing the back, Tang En did not think he had made a mistake recognizing the person.

But this program… Tang En noticed a “LIVE” symbol on the top right corner of the screen.

Subtitles appeared at the bottom immediately after, stating the event today to be a new product launch of an internationally-renowned brand, CD.

Tang En suddenly launched off the bed.

Address! What’s the address?

Tang En was about to dash out the door when he realized he did not know the exact venue of where the fashion show was being held.

Riddled with anxiety, he walked in circles around his room. The models that appeared on the television screen were unfamiliar faces now. Suddenly, Tang En remembered someone who might have the means of finding out where this new product launch was being held. He dug out his cellphone and called Clarice Gloria.

“CD’s new product launch?” Gloria felt odd that Tang En was showing such sudden interest in that.

“I remember you as a person who’s at a complete loss when it comes to fashion, and has zero interest in it.”

“Uh… I’m going there to look for someone,” Tang En explained to Gloria as he kept glancing back at the television screen, hoping to see that familiar silhouette again.

“Hmm… alright. Wait for a while. I’ll call my friend and ask.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll wait.”

“I’ll have to put down the phone first, sorry.”

“No problem, no problem. I’ll wait…” The tone that occurs after hanging up a call started over the phone.

He waited for three minutes. Those three minutes were such a torture for him that he suspected that he had, in fact, been waiting for thirty minutes. Gloria’s call finally came.

“Tony, I’ve got the information…”

“Thank you so much!”

“But…”

“Ah?”

“Tony, are you as familiar with Milan as you are with Nottingham? Even if I told you the address, would you know how to get there?”

“Um…”

“So, why don’t you wait for me at the hotel entrance where you’re staying? I’ll drive you there.”

After thanking Gloria again, Tang En hung up the phone and dashed out of his room, draping a coat over himself.

He met with Kerslake as he left the elevator.

Kerslake thought it was strange for Tang En to be going out at this hour.

“Where are you heading, Tony?”

“I’m out to look for someone…” Tang En had originally intended to head out like that, but bumping into Kerslake made him pause. He hesitated, and then looked back at the utterly confused Kerslake, saying, “When time is up, get the players to rest. There’s no need to wait for me. I don’t know what time I’ll be able to get back.”

Kerslake nodded woodenly, still having no idea about what was happening.

As he watched Tang En’s retreating back, he suddenly remembered to remind him.

“Don’t forget there’s a…”

Before he could finish, Tang En had already run out of the doors.

“…A tough battle tomorrow…”

※※※

The English tabloid writers lying in ambush near the hotel’s vicinity immediately perked up when they saw Tang En run out of the hotel at eight thirty in the night and standing at the hotel doors looking around anxiously.

Taking a sudden trip in the night, and in such a secretive manner, not wanting anyone to see… What could this mean?

And Clarice Gloria was also in Milan!

The lens of the camera focused on Tang En beneath the street lamp. All eyes were anxiously staring towards where he was looking; from there, surely the answer for this story would emerge.

They did not have to wait long. Tang En only looked down once at his watch before a yellow FIAT drove over leisurely and stopped next to him. The car horn sounded twice.

As they pled gratefulness for the advancement of modern technology, the reporters looked through their camera lenses and found the leading actress of the gossip, Clarice Gloria, sitting in the driver’s seat of the car!

At that moment, like wolves in the night, their eyes lit up with a glow.

Chapter 413 - The Night Before A Tough Battle Part 2

A long, difficult wait came with rewards! In comparison to the scene before them, what were the insect bites from hiding in the grass worth? As they watched Tang En open the car door and tuck himself into the vehicle, the reporters were already beginning to make calls for the cabs they had reserved.

They did not know where Tang En and Clarice Gloria were heading to, but everyone hoped they were going to have dinner, visit a bar to indulge in drinks before going to a hotel to have inebriated sex… Then, they could take photographs of it and publish them in the newspaper, on television, and on the internet… They were eager to see what expression Tang En would have then. At that point, it would probably be useless no matter how he cursed or swore.

The paparazzi were in great anticipation, all of them eagerly tailing behind the yellow FIAT in the cabs they had called.

At the same time, in the car, Tang En’s heart started to settle down somewhat. Perhaps, he should not display too much of his true emotions in front of Gloria.

“In truth, Tony, I am quite curious. Who could make you so anxious to meet them at this hour?”

“Uh…” Tang En was at a loss about how he should answer her.

Gloria was an intelligent woman. There are two kinds of intelligent women; one liked to use their intelligence in an overbearing manner, causing others to be afraid of them; the other knew when they should be intelligent, and when they should pretend otherwise.

“I’m thinking it must be a person affected by the ‘scandal’ about us,” Gloria said with a laugh.

Tang En coughed twice, indicating a quiet assent.

“I’m truly sorry,” Gloria apologized again.

“Actually… it’s not what you’re thinking…” Tang En began saying. “But what it really is, I can’t explain clearly enough.”

It suddenly became quiet in the car. Gloria pointed at the car’s stereo system.

“Would you like to listen to music?”

Tang En shook his head. “No, thank you.”

He turned to look out the windows and suddenly noticed a few vehicles within the side mirrors. He laughed.

” Ms. Gloria.”

“Yes?”

“I think there might be some even more explosive news published tomorrow.”

Gloria took a glimpse in the rear-view mirror and nonchalantly said, “Let them be.”

“You’re always the one apologizing. I think I should apologize to you too. I’m sure this matter has brought you some trouble?” Tang En said sincerely.

Gloria laughed and unexpectedly shook her head. “I’ll hope for it to bring me some trouble, but unfortunately there’s nothing.”

“Uh, you… are you still single?”

“Are you accosting me?” Gloria asked, turning to wink at Tang En.

The two laughed.

※※※

The car reached its destination. After Tang En got out of the car, Gloria asked, “Do you need me to wait for you?”

Tang En looked at all the people that were hidden in the darkness and shook his head.

“No need. Thank you, Ms. Gloria…”

“Call me Clarice.” Gloria winked at him. “Give my regards when you see her. If you meet with any trouble, I can explain it to her personally.”

Tang En noticed that Gloria had used “her.” He smiled.

“I will. I’ll tell her what a good person you are.”

“Goodbye, Tony. Good luck.”

“Goodbye, Clarice…”

Tang En waved his hands and saw Clarice drive off in her car. He looked towards the slab of darkness again.

Sorry to disappoint you all!

The paparazzi were indeed tremendously disappointed. They had thought that they would be able to witness a passionate night between the two. Although they did come to a hotel, they did not get off the car together and go in to get a room. Instead, they bid their goodbyes at the door and went separate paths, doing their own things!

What was this!?

However, Tang En could care less about what the paparazzi felt. He walked through the main building and directly got into the connecting low-storied building behind it. This was the venue where CD’s new product launch was being held. The parking lot outside was filled with all sorts of luxurious cars. Evidently, those who could attend the launch were not mere common folk.

So, it was more than normal for Tang En to be stopped at the doors by security.

“Ah, I need an entry ticket?”

Tang En was faced with expressionless guards.

He peered around, showing his lack of class, attempting to find a ticket booth.

“Where do they sell tickets?”

“Please show me your invitation card.”

How could he have an invitation card? It was a sudden decision for him to come to look for someone. He patted his pockets.

“I don’t have one.”

“I’m very sorry, Sir. I can’t let you in.”

“I’m just looking for someone…” Tang En tried to walk in but was stopped.

“Only people with invitation cards are allowed in.”

Tang En looked at the pitch-black doors and stretched his head out to peer around but saw nothing. He looked again at the two icy guards and knew there was little chance of barging in. He glared indignantly at the two guards and looked at the doors once more before turning swiftly to leave.

Was he giving up?

Of course not.

He skirted around the building, looking for the back doors.

He ended up finding them. Like the front, there were some cars parked outside. However, they were not as luxurious as the ones parked in the front. While he was rounding the building, Tang En understood one thing: trying to look for Shania from the front was a silly idea. That was certainly not where the models entered and left from. There must be a back door, one that led directly backstage.

Now that he had found it, it was a pity that the doors were tightly locked from the inside.

He pushed it, but it did not budge. Pulling it was also an exercise in futility. He even tried knocking the door, but there was no response.

Tang En was at the end of his rope; the front door had refused to let him in, and he could not enter from the back. However, he did not intend to give up.

The new product launch would come to an end eventually. I’ll wait here. I’ll wait until you come out!

Unfortunately, he happened to be in a windy spot. The night winds in Milan made him feel rather chilly. Tang En could only turn up his jacket collar and squat at a spot facing away from the wind.

Just as Tang En began to get a little dizzy from stooping there, a ray of light shone over him.

“Who is it?”

The glaring light from the torch shone directly into Tang En’s eyes, blinding him entirely. He could only squint heavily and use both hands to block it out. The way he looked now made him seem anything but good.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?!”

As the other party spoke, they kept the torchlight shining directly into his eyes. He had no choice but to completely shut them to prevent himself from temporarily losing his sight.

“I said…”

Tang En abruptly remembered that he hardly understood or spoke any Italian. He shouldn’t have tried avoiding gossip by letting Gloria leave. She could speak Italian fluently! “I’m not the bad guy you think I am! I’m not a thief either! Or a pervert!”

He could only shout in English and hope the other man had at least gotten through eighth grade for English. But his hopes were dashed. The man only continued loudly berating him again and again in Italian. Both Tang En and the other man failed to understand each other.

The man decided it was just as well to dash forward and grab Tang En’s hand, but Tang En would not allow just anyone to put their hands on him. The two started to tussle. One wanted to catch the other, while the other refused to be caught. Amid all the pushing and pulling, Tang En’s jacket pocket tore. The other man even called for reinforcements.

Five tall, burly men surrounded Tang En with unfriendly faces, treating him like a thief.

Standing in the middle of them, Tang En did not panic. He opened his mouth to ask, “I say. Do any of you understand English? Chinese would work too!”

A slew of gibberish in Italian came back at him.

“F**k. The English penetration rate in Italy is not high enough!” Tang En cursed. He truly wanted to explain his identity to this group of people. “I am Nottingham Forest’s main manager. I’m a person with status! Hey, surely there’s a football fan amongst you? Football, football!” Tang En lifted his feet, intending to mimic the action of kicking a ball. Instead, the nervous guards perceived it as an attempt to attack them; all five of them sprung up and swarmed over him, pinning Tang En onto the ground.

“Dammit, Englishman! Even if we don’t understand English, don’t think we can’t understand you cursing at us. We can hear F**K as clear as day!” The Italian security said furiously, “Get a hold of yourself!”

Despite being pinned on the ground, he was still struggling, unwilling to succumb. He knew that this group of people was going to remove him. But, if he were taken away, wouldn’t it be a waste of a trip? He could not let that happen no matter what!

When the group of them were making a fuss to no end, there was a sudden creak, and a ray of light made its way into the battle, as did the laughter and chatter of some girls. However, all those sounds disappeared swiftly. The people outside looked up towards the back door while those within looked back in surprise at the several men tussling on the ground outside.

Tang En was no exception. Even though he had his head pressed down by a guard, he still tried to glance sideways at the back door. From the voices, he could tell that the models had come out. In that case, that girl should be with them too.

But the backlight obscured everything; he could not see.

The light from within the doors was blocked by the crowd, casting streaks of shadows across the ground. Even so, there was still some light passing through, lighting up the ground.

Shania, who was among the crowd, had been chatting jovially with her companions but was now stunned. She saw a familiar face. Despite it being somewhat dirty after the scrape with the ground, at the wrong angle, and with weak lighting, she could still recognize it.

“Uncle… Tony?”

Without letting down their guard, the guards who had been putting their all into holding Tang En down suddenly felt the body beneath their hands relax. Like a balloon that had deflated, the “thief” who had been continually struggling stopped fighting against them.

Tang En’s heart finally settled.

Chapter 414 - Thank You

“Uncle Tony?”

After she saw who was lying on the ground, Shania was stunned.

When he heard Shania call him that way, Twain’s agitation finally eased. He no longer struggled. He just laid on the ground with a crooked smile on his face.

“Judy, you know him!?” Her surrounding female companions were very surprised. How could this unkempt looking man know Shania?

Shania nodded. “He was the one who sent me the Totoro toy.” Next, she said to the security guards, “Please let him go, he’s here for me.”

Twain really had not expected that the young girl could actually speak Italian. Shania seemed to have a talent for languages.

“Mr. Twain!” A man’s voice rang out behind the security guards. This time, it was Shania’s agent, Terry Fasal, a boorish-looking but mindful and meticulous middle-aged man. He recognized Twain because of Shania. “What are you doing here?” He was a little shocked to see Twain pressed on the ground by a group of security guards.

“Well… It’s a long story,” Twain said with a grimace. “But can you ask them to pull me up first?”

“Uh, what are you doing? Mr. Twain is my invited guest.”

He was also another person who spoke fluent Italian.

The security guards, who were initially hesitant, did not hesitate this time. They immediately pulled Twain up. Someone even patted the dust off him and repeatedly said “I’m sorry” in Italian. The difference in their attitudes was really vast. Twain once again realized the importance of mastering a foreign language.

Twain, who had stood up again, had scratches and dust on his face. He looked at Shania with a silly smile.

When Shania saw his face, she could not lose her temper even if she wanted to. Instead, Fasal said, “Let’s find a place to sit and talk.”

※※※

In Shania’s apartment, Fasal left after a brief exchange of a few simple words. Now only Twain and Shania were left. Twain held a glass of water in his hands and looked at Shania opposite him with a silly grin still plastered on his face.

Shania was at her wit’s end when Twain was this way. She got up and went to the bathroom to take a towel. She passed it to Twain. “Wipe your face.”

Twain obediently took the towel and wiped his face. Then he continued to smile. “Shania, it feels great to hear you call me ‘Uncle Tony’ again.”

Shania pouted.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

Shania pretended to be surprised. “Did you call me?” Then she took out her cell phone from her bag and glanced at it. “Oh, it’s turned off.”

Twain knew that Shania was lying, but he did not point it out.

“Have you been busy at work recently?” He asked.

Shania nodded and then shook her head again. “It’s okay.”

“We haven’t seen each other for half a year, have we?”

“It hasn’t been that long. We just had a video chat two weeks ago.”

“Oh, but how can a video chat be better than talking face to face? No matter how high the resolution is on camera, can it be as clear as me, a real person sitting in front of you? Even if the network is advanced, can it beat being able to speak like this without any delay?”

Shania put her hands up in surrender. “All right, all right. We’ll take it that you’re right. It has been a long time since we last saw each other.”

Twain chuckled. “I haven’t seen you in six months. I feel like you’ve grown up a lot.”

“Are you going to treat me like an adult?”

“In my eyes, you’ll always be that little girl.”

Shania pouted in silence.

Children always wanted others to see them as adults. When Tang En was a child, he had also thought this way, so he could understand Shania. But…”Is it nice to grow up? Do you want to grow up, Shania?”

“I don’t know.” Shania shook her head. “But when I grow up, I can do what I want to do. I don’t have to worry about my father and mother always nagging at me. ‘Judy, you have to do this.”Jordana, you have to do that.’ It’s so annoying.”

It was just like a child who thought that if he were to grow up, he could watch cartoons every night and not be urged to go to bed. If he did not have to sit for tests, he would not have to worry about poor grades and being reprimanded by his parents at home. He would not be afraid of his teachers. He could do what he wanted to do without anyone’s control; he would decide for himself.

It was a simple idea.

Twain smiled as he looked down at the unhappy Shania. He got up to change his seat and sat next to Shania. He raised his hand over Shania’s head, hesitated mid-air, and finally gently placed his hand on Shania’s shoulder.

“But adults have worries too.”

Shania rested her head on Twain’s shoulder and asked a question that panicked Twain. “You mean like worrying about gossip in the media?”

After she blurted that out, Shania could feel Twain sit up with a stiffened back. She lowered her head and secretly smirked.

Twain coughed twice. “That’s all fabricated by the paparazzi. There’s nothing between Miss Gloria and me. We’re just good friends. She drove me here to see you. She’s actually a very nice person. You’d certainly like her if you met her.”

Shania snorted.

Twain felt that it was not a good idea to continue with that topic. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost eleven o’clock. “Ah, it’s really late. I should go back. There’s still a game tomorrow.”

Shania lifted her head from Twain’s shoulder. He pulled his hand back to take a ticket from his pocket and handed it to Shania, “I’m sure you didn’t buy a ticket, so I’m giving you one.”

“Tomorrow? But I have a job tomorrow.” Even though she said that, Shania still took the ticket to the game.

“If you’re too busy with work, it’s okay. You don’t have to go.”

Twain stood up and Shania saw him to the door.

Just as Twain was about to turn and leave, Shania called him. “Uncle Tony.”

“Yes?” Twain turned to look at Shania, leaning against the door.

“Thank you for coming to see me...” Shania lifted her head.

Twain smiled. “Go back and rest. You still have work tomorrow.”

“Ok.” Shania nodded. Twain watched her walk back into the apartment. When he heard her close the door, he walked to the elevator.

It was a high-rise apartment with elevator. They did not have to worry about the paparazzi loitering in the corridor or on the doorstep. The security guards would not let them in. However, no one could control them if they stood outside the building.

Twain walked out of the lobby and deliberately stood at the door for a while. He looked left and right. He knew that there must be people hiding on both sides. But he could not cut off contact and communication with people whom he was familiar with just because he was afraid of being followed and photographed by the paparazzi. If they want to take his picture, let them. He had nothing to hide.

At that point, Twain straightened his collar and stepped out.

※※※

Once she saw Twain get on the taxi downstairs through the window, Shania pulled the curtains closed. Then she gave a call to her agent, Terry Fasal. “Mr. Fasal, about the job tomorrow....can you postpone it?”

“Because you’re going to see the game?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I got it.”

“Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Fasal.”

“Not a problem. I’m glad to see that things between you two are alright again.” Fasal laughed and hung up the phone.

With the phone in her hand, Shania also laughed as she recalled the scene where Twain was pinned to the ground by the group of security guards.

Because he could not get through to my phone and happened to catch this week’s live broadcast program on the television, he decided to come in person, and was then mistaken as a thief and gangster by the security guards, and even pinned to the ground as he struggled. Uncle Tony is too adorable!

※※※

It was 11:30 P.M. when Twain returned to his hotel. The players had already gone to bed to rest. But Kerslake, who was worried about Twain, waited for him at the door of his room. He was a little surprised when he saw Twain appear in front of him. Not because Twain had come back, but because of his torn jacket.

“Were you out… in a bar?” Kerslake thought about it and did not say “fight.” Twain had a short fuse, but he was not a troublemaker.

“No.,” said Twain with a grin.

“What about your clothes?” Kerslake pointed to the torn sleeve.

“Oh.” Twain looked down. “It was purely an accident. But David, what are you doing here? Have the players gone to rest?”

“I waited for you.” Kerslake shrugged. “They all went to bed.”

“Good. You should go rest too, David. Don’t forget that we have a tough competition tomorrow.”

Kerslake looked at the smiling Twain. He sighed in his heart and darkly thought, So, you do realize that there’s a tough fight tomorrow, huh?

“Okay, you rest early as well.”

Even though he said that, Kerslake did not move. He looked at Twain open the room door, enter, and close the door before he turned to leave.

※※※

Twain slept soundly for a long time. He did not even dream. He was full of energy when he woke up, no longer agitated. Now no matter how much the media speculated, he would not lose sleep over it. He could really put all his energy into the game with Inter Milan. He just did not know if it was too late.

As the game was held in the evening, all the meal times had been pushed forward. After lunch, the team had a rest. Their dinner was around four o’clock in the afternoon. It was followed by a short break, then the team would wait for the bus to go to the stadium for their pre-game preparations.

There were only two main activities for the day, which were rest and competition.

During dinner time, Twain appeared in front of all the players in high spirits. His voice was also full of energy.

“Good morning, boys!”

There was laughter all around.

“Chief, it’s already afternoon!”

Twain laughed too. “It’s great to see you all in such good spirits. Is everyone ready?”

“We’re all ok.”

“Very good. Let’s eat.” Twain waved his hand and turned to walk out of the restaurant. There were still people waiting for him outside.

Clarice Gloria had already begun work. But since she did not see what had happened for the rest of yesterday, so she was not very assured. She especially came to the hotel to see Twain. Twain had to thank her in person.

Although there was a lot of media inside and outside of the hotel lobby, Twain and Gloria did not intend to hide their meeting. They openly found a place to sit down in the hotel lobby to have a chat and ignored the camera flashes from the reporters.

“I really want to thank you for yesterday,” Twain said.

“It looks like your troubles have been resolved, Mr. Twain. You look much better.” Gloria winked. “I look forward to tonight’s game.”

Twain smiled.

“Clarice?”

“Yes?”

“Have you interviewed a lot of people in the football circle?”

“Yes; I have a partnership with the UEFA. If they want to make some special features, they ask me for help most of the time.”

“Do you think a manager like me, who ran out to solve a personal problem before an important game, is incompetent?”

“Well, this is the real you, which I think is good. It’s much better than those who wear a mask in front of the cameras and say something that they would usually scoff at,” said Gloria as she shook her head.

“Thank you.”

Gloria stood up. “I should head back. You’re going to the stadium soon, right? We’ll meet there.” She graciously extended her hand.

“Ok, see you later.” Twain also put his hand out. The two of them shook hands naturally under the glare of the media.

Scandal? Twain now had no such word in his mind. Let other people think what they want. It’s ok as long as the people I care about don’t believe them. I’m not obligated to answer to the media and rubberneckers.

※※※

As a stadium which was similarly used by the sworn enemies in the same city, it was famous because both teams were Titans. Therefore, it had two names: San Siro and Meazza.

AC Milan fans called their team’s home ground San Siro, whereas Inter Milan fans called it Meazza. The AC Milan fans would never call the stadium “Meazza,” and Inter Milan fans would never allow anyone to call the stadium “San Siro” in front of them.

The rivalry between the two team fans had created the special story of the stadium.

There was a common saying in England about football: there would be no modern football without the derby.

That phrase was accurate whether it was applied to Britain or other countries. In Italy, Milan was the fashion capital but also the capital of football, because of the derby. Few cities had two world-class football powerhouses at the same time, each with a long and glorious history, sharing the same stadium.

Looking at the familiar stadium that appeared in front of him, Nottingham Forest’s captain, Demetrio Albertini, felt his heart surge with an inexplicable feeling.

He had not expected to return to the stadium after being on loan to Atlético Madrid in the 02-03 season. His opponents today were not AC Milan, but his old rival, Inter Milan.

He should thank Tony Twain. It was this man who had given him the opportunity to return to San Siro. But why did he have to be a visitor?

Sitting in the front row, Twain turned back to glance at Albertini, who was lost in thought as he stared out of the window and the stadium came closer.

Kerslake also noticed Albertini’s feelings about the stadium. He was somewhat worried. “Tony- Demetrio...”

“Don’t worry, David. I believe in Demetrio. He’s a professional player,” said Twain as he turned back to the front.

Twain was right. When Albertini changed to the Nottingham Forest jersey in the locker room and put the captain armband on his left arm, the expression in his eyes changed. He looked resolute and calm.

He was the captain of the team. The entire team and his coaches were watching him. How could he be distracted by feelings unrelated to this game? If the captain was shaken, the others could not be expected to play well.

The players had already finished their warm-up and were back in the locker room.

Twain stood at the door and said seriously to the roomful of players, “I don’t want to talk too much nonsense. I only have one requirement for every game. You all know it. Today’s game is no exception. Try your very best to win!”

When Twain finished speaking, Albertini was the first to stand up, which took a lot of people by surprise.

“Let’s go, guys!”

He took the lead to open the door of the locker room.

He took the path to that familiar green field. He had walked that path for fourteen years. Whether it was for AC Milan’s home games or “away games” with Inter Milan, he regarded himself as the owner of the stadium. This time, he really walked this path as a visitor.

But, so what?

I’m Demetrio Albertini. This is my way.

And Nottingham Forest number 4 marched out.

Chapter 415 - Giuseppe Meazza.San Siro Part 1

The broadcast of Giuseppe Meazza Stadium was reporting the player names of the away team. Most of Forest’s players were unfamiliar to Inter Milan’s fans, so they remained unmoved when hearing their names. This was just a required procedure that occurred before the commencement of the match. However, upon hearing a person’s name reappear in this place, loud jeers started up immediately.

“Demetrio Albertini!”

The jeers were not targeted at Albertini himself, but rather at the 14-year period with AC Milan that he represented. As their arch-rivals in the same city, it was enmity that would not fade even with the passing of time.

Faced with such a scene, Albertini remained impassive. He had long ago become used to it. In fact, he was not yet used to not hearing the same jeers in England whenever they played against a rival from the same city. Now that he got to hear this again, it felt somewhat dear to him.

The captain of Inter Milan was still the Argentinian, Javier Zanetti. The same captains from the two teams back then clasped their hands together once again.

“Welcome to Giuseppe Meazza,” Zanetti said.

“It’s San Siro,” Albertini answered.

The feeling of a derby returned to Albertini’s body.

Ever since Albertini had pulled his thigh muscles at the beginning of the season, his condition was no longer the same as before. Pulled muscles were injuries caused by fatigue. It was considered a chronic issue that was difficult to treat completely. There was the chance of a relapse whenever he became overly fatigued. Adding to that was Albertini’s increasing age; his bodily functions were beginning to deteriorate, making it easier for him to pull his muscles.

As a result, Albertini had suffered a small injury a few rounds before the current match. The duration of his field appearance became unstable. However, in fighting this Champions League match, Tang En still insisted on putting Arteta on the substitutes’ bench, allowing Albertini to be a starter instead. If there were no accidents, he also planned on letting Demi play the full 90 minutes.

Why?

Simply because their opponent for the match was Inter Milan. Albertini, more than anyone else, would have immense motivation in playing against that team, and would more easily perform at his highest level.

But… Tang En felt somewhat regretful at times. If only their match opponents were AC Milan… Would Albertini be even more spirited?

In the coin toss, Zanetti won and attained the right to kick off.

Players from both teams positioned themselves accordingly; the match was about to start.

Tang En had sat down on the managers’ seat but leaned out again to look back at the spectators’ stand.

He wanted to see if Shania had come.

Even though the girl had already told him she needed to work today, and he had also said it was okay not to come if she was busy, he still hoped, deep in his heart, that she would turn down work to come and watch the game instead… Perhaps it was a little selfish, but it was natural.

The ticket he had given to Shania was not a luxury box ticket. This was not Nottingham, and he was not the manager of Inter Milan. Long before the season started, even a few seasons before, Giuseppe Meazza’s VIP luxury box tickets had already been swept clean. Shania could only watch from the spectators’ stand like any other normal football fan, if she wanted to come.

Tang En only casually glanced over the stands; it was much too difficult searching for someone among the 80 thousand-strong crowd.

Not managing to find her did not mean she was not here. Tang En comforted himself that way, and then refocused his gaze on the football field.

The match had begun.

※※※

Inter Milan, second only to Juventus F.C. in their fame among Italians, had numerous fans. The Champions League quarter-final match filled Giuseppe Meazza Stadium almost to its maximum capacity; “almost” only because they had to leave a segment of empty seats as a buffer for safety considerations.

For this match, the Italians greatly emphasized the safety standards; after all, the two nations most renowned for their football hooligans in Europe were the UK and Italy. Having England’s football team come to Italy for a match would have large numbers of English fans inevitably following. When they drank too much, anything could happen.

On Italy’s side, the good news for them was that Nottingham Forest was a small team; there were only two thousand fans that came to Italy.

Italian fans on the spectators’ stands were loudly singing Inter Milan’s team songs to cheer them on. They completely ignored the presence of the two thousand fans from England.

Right from the start of the match, Inter Milan made use of their home ground advantage to launch a continuous streak of ferocious attacks on Nottingham Forest.

When Roberto Mancini first took over Inter Milan, the style of football he initiated was attacking football. His appearance made numerous Inter Milan fans jump for joy. However, with the season’s progression up until now, the position of that accomplished and cultured manager had become unstable; the results of the team were lacking. Mancini also knew that in an elimination competition such as the Champions League, defense was a better guarantee than offense.

But in this match, he still chose to let his team go on the offense, pressing forward; an oppressive style of offense… This was their home field. If he held back from attacking here, he would not have the opportunity to in the next round.

Mancini planned to make use of their offense and momentum, being on the home ground, to score more goals and attain three points. Later, when they got to the away field, he would implement the Italians’ tradition of Defensive Counterattacking, and eliminate Nottingham Forest. In other words, he planned to use his own attacks to curb Nottingham Forest’s.

What a pity. Tang En’s calculations were the same as Mancini’s; he intended to use defensive counterattacking in the away field to score away goals and minimize goal losses, thereafter capitalizing on scoring goals to crush their opponents in the home field when all factors—place, time, and people—were advantageous for them.

So, as a result of that, Nottingham Forest appeared to be in a rather sad state. They were being suppressed by their opponents, and it looked as if their goal was in imminent danger of being broken through by Inter Milan.

But in truth, Tang En knew that Forest’s goal gates were safe up to this point.

He could tell because George Wood continued performing steadily as per the norm.

At times, Tang En felt somewhat tired of that scene. He hoped that Wood would, in a series of matches, perform irregularly and have his condition fall to rock bottom… That would make Tang En feel that the child before his eyes was a normal person. Now, if not for the physical examination conclusively telling Tang En that George Wood was indeed human, he would have truly suspected that Wood was a humanoid robot who had traveled through time and space from the future. If a normal Chinese football fan like him could transmigrate to the UK to become a professional football manager, why couldn’t a 22nd century “humanoid weapon” transmigrate to be a professional footballer? Maybe his true aim was to assassinate a devilish foe who would come to threaten world peace in the future. And maybe, in the process of transmigrating, his enemies suddenly launched an attack on the time machine and caused it to malfunction, losing what information he had had and leaving him without knowledge of the mission that brought him to the 21st century. Perhaps not even aware of his true identity, he could only make a living through working as a mover to take care of the kind-hearted mother who took him in. This was until he met Tang En, who had also transmigrated… Wait, Tony, hold up. This is a YA football novel built on the basis of reality!

Unhappy jeers sounded from Inter Milan’s fans on the spectators’ stands. The match had been going for three minutes, and they had finally found a jeering target in place of Albertini; it was someone whom they could not help but dislike at a glance: George Wood.

Earlier, when Stankovi? had tried cutting inward from the wings with the ball, he was knocked down unceremoniously from the side by George Wood. Even though the referee had blown quickly on the whistle, signaling a foul, it still failed to stop the deafening jeers sounding from Giuseppe Meazza’s stands.

In the eyes of the fans, Wood’s actions of raising his head and turning to leave after his foul were truly arrogant and annoying. After committing a foul, most players would, in an act of friendliness or to escape being given a card as punishment by the referee, help up their opponents who had fallen. Patting their heads, they would say a word or two of apology, or something resembling it. But Wood never did that. It was not just against Inter Milan, so the fans from England were already inured against that oddity; when playing within the domestic leagues in England, Wood was as unlikeable as he was here.

Wood only pursued victory. Just like Tang En, it was easy for him to become engrossed and view his opponents in matches as enemies engaged in a life-and-death battle. Since they were his enemies, it was unnecessary to show any shred of pity or goodwill. That would just make him feel as if he lacked the will to fight, as if he had betrayed his teammates who were pursuing victory alongside him.

Oh, yes. George Wood’s world of football was that simple; other than his teammates, everyone else was his enemies. So, in these few years of his professional career, he had only once exchanged jerseys with his opponents. That was also only because he had scored a goal at the very last minute and was in a good mood after helping his team to equalize the score. To add to that, the other party was the one who had initiated the jersey exchange. The instance in question was the one where Roy Keane had exchanged jerseys with George Wood. Other than that time, Wood had no other history of exchanging jerseys.

An exchange of jerseys? If I were the victor, why would I care about the thoughts of the loser? And if I were to lose, why the hell would I still want to do such a thing with a smug winner, making myself lose face?

So, George Wood’s fans were Nottingham Forest fans. Beyond that, the supporters of any other team, without exceptions, hated him to the bone.

Now, Inter Milan’s fans were also rapidly beginning to dislike him.

What a boy he was to leave such a deep impression.

※※※

Paying the price of committing a single foul, Wood ended Inter Milan’s three minutes of crazed attacks from the opening of the match. After Adriano headed the ball high, Inter Milan’s offense began slowly receding.

Nottingham Forest started to go a little on the offense, although the troops they invested into it were few.

Mancini could tell. Tony Twain was intending to go on the defense in the away field, taking a minimal loss as a win. In that case, the best result for them would likely be a draw. This made him even more resolute about attacking in their home field.

However, the Italian general had only gotten the first part right. Indeed, Tang En intended to defend in the away field, but his aim was not to “take a minimal loss as a win.”

Chapter 416 - Giuseppe Meazza. San Siro Part 2

Just like before, George Wood was in charge of defending, being a “bodyguard on the field.” Along with Wood’s rapid growth, Albertini could afford to put less energy into defending. He was already 34 years old; he was not, like in the past, capable of both retreating to defend and advancing to attack. He had aged, and his physical fitness was not like before. However, the experience he had accumulated as well as his stability and calmness made him extremely suitable to take on the role of a midfield playmaker.

Tang En was fond of Albertini’s middle and long passes. Before Arteta, Forest’s offense was mainly activated by his mastered pass and its hidden genius, tearing apart the defensive lines of their opponents.

However, in this match, Inter Milan were being extra cautious against Albertini; as former opponents, they naturally understood Albertini’s strengths. Furthermore, Inter Milan’s current manager was Mancini.

Albertini’s “old friend.”

Back then, when Mancini was making his mark as a young manager in his time with Lazio, Albertini had once played a season of football under his charge. However, their relationship was not good. In truth, their cooperation started off very well in the beginning but rapidly deteriorated. The deterioration in their relationship was not due to issues about positionings on the field or problems of that nature. Rather, it was because Albertini felt Mancini lacked respect towards him.

Albertini was a straightforward person. He had had intense fallouts with numerous managers, but not with Tang En. Why? In their interactions during this half season, he felt that Tang En was a sincere person. Albertini was the same way, so he liked people who treated him sincerely. Tang En happened to fit nicely into his aesthetic sense.

Returning to the match, despite Albertini’s feelings about Mancini’s lack of respect towards him, Mancini was clearly, at least on the field, paying attention to the former vice-captain of AC Milan; it could be observed from just the first 10 minutes of the match.

Esteban Cambiasso was responsible for marking Albertini, but this was only on the surface. In truth, Mancini had requested for any nearest Inter Milan player to press Albertini at the first instance he gained possession of the ball, preventing him opportunities to establish control over the match pace. As a main manager who had once coached Albertini, Mancini knew all too well that no matter the strength of Inter Milan, they would only be led by the noses should they allow Albertini to take hold of the pacing of the match.

But, as a manager who played a refined-style, Mancini was not as shameless as Tony Twain. Unlike Tony, he did not have a player under him like George Wood, a midfield meat shredder. As a result, the pressure he tried putting on Albertini was still not nearly enough.

Ten minutes passed. After Albertini received the ball, Cambiasso tried to move forward to defend, but George Wood ran over in an untimely manner. He swept in between Cambiasso and Albertini, forcing the Argentine to slow down and give way to him. Getting slowed down in that manner immediately allowed Albertini to lift his foot for a shot, sending the football out.

It was a 35-meter long pass aimed at Franck Ribéry.

The infuriated Cambiasso glared at Wood, who had suddenly appeared in front of him, and turned to run back for defense. After the pass, Albertini also moved forward to follow-up with the attack. Meanwhile, George Wood, who had been providing protection to Albertini at the back, stopped in the backfield, awaiting the next offensive maneuver by the opponents.

As Albertini moved forward, he suddenly stopped and looked back to wink at Wood, thanking him for his soundless protection.

Wood maintained an impassive face and gave no response. We’re in the middle of a match, shouldn’t we be a little more serious?

Albertini was already used to the boy’s expressions, so he simply turned to continue moving forward without feeling odd.

Ribéry’s ball was kicked out of the sidelines by Zanetti, who returned in time to defend, buying some time for the rest of Inter Milan’s players to come back for the defense.

As Inter Milan’s captain loudly called for his teammates to return, Nottingham Forest’s captain waved his hands for his team to press forward.

“George!” Albertini waved at Wood, “Come forward!”

Turning left and right, Wood watched as the fullbacks ran past him, and hesitated.

“Come forward!” Albertini waved his hands again and shouted.

Although what Tang En appreciated in Wood was his ability to defend, Albertini hoped, being his teacher on the field, for Wood to become more rounded, like he was in his younger days.

Defense is not the only thing you are capable of, George.

Despite his brief hesitation, Wood still ran up. In truth, he was at a loss for what he should do after moving forward. When he was in the backfield, he felt like a fish in water; he had a clear mind and was sure about what his mission was, what he had to do. But, once he got past the halfway line and was faced with the opponent’s defensive formation and their goal, his brain would become somewhat inadequate. He was lacking experience in that aspect and had no idea how he should manage it. Perhaps what he needed to accumulate more experience in this area was to take greater initiative in moving forward during training and in matches.

But, Albertini did not plan on giving Wood a chance to slowly adapt to it. This was the pace of professional football; if he could not catch up, he would be eliminated!

Albertini received the ball from his teammate, Leighton Baines. He had just turned when he saw Cambiasso rushing towards him.

“Don’t let him shoot or pass!” Zanetti called out from behind.

The people in the stadium must still be familiar with the shooting of that youth who wore jersey number four for AC Milan. A long shot! Banana kick!

Right before Cambiasso, Albertini raised his foot.

In this stadium, would they again see that familiar downward arc?

Cambiasso leapt up selflessly, stretching out his body to block the shot.

But Albertini passed the ball horizontally to George Wood, who had run up instead!

George Wood was momentarily stunned. In the meantime, Inter Milan’s defensive players were already rushing forward. They were rather close to the penalty area, so the one coming forward to defend was center back, Materazzi!

Wood’s brain went completely blank. He was utterly unprepared. He was a defensive player; seeing the opponent’s rear defender come up, he knew exactly what it meant.

If the defensive midfielder who was originally responsible for defense rushed forward only to have his ball intercepted, it would turn out to be a fatal counterattack; what was to be Forest’s opportunity would, in an instant, morph into Inter Milan’s chance.

Manager Tony did not say anything in the match regarding Wood moving forward to take part in the offense. He only told him to oversee the defense, and especially to stay in the backfield when it was a set piece. Now that Albertini had arbitrarily gone against Tang En’s instructions, getting Wood to move forward for the attack, whose responsibility would it be if it caused a problem?

Wood did not want Albertini to take up that responsibility for him. In that case, he could not allow the football to be taken away from under his foot. As he watched Materazzi dash forward ferociously, Wood subconsciously nudged the ball gently to the outside.

Materazzi watched as the ball rolled past his feet; he was helpless to stop it.?He figured he might as well go with the momentum and knock number 13 down. After all, they needed to halt their attack no matter what they needed to resort to.

Keeping in mind the idea of “the ball passing, but not the player,” Materazzi joined both hands in front of his chest and slammed into George Wood.

What was the result of that? Before Materazzi fell on his back, he did not see Wood sprawling onto the ground with his four limbs up. Instead, Wood’s body only wavered slightly before steadying again.

He looked at Wood incredulously as he fell, even neglecting to put up his hands to protect his head. Who was Materazzi? After being purposely slammed into by Wood, how many were able to come off as if nothing had happened? Materazzi could not believe such a thing could happen, but there was someone like that before his eyes right now!

Materazzi had fallen. The obstacle before Wood was gone too. Looking at the football that was still spinning under his foot, Wood thought about nothing as he stepped forward and pulled back his leg.

After watching Wood knock against Materazzi, Tang En’s eyes shone as he leaned forward, seemingly expecting something. But, following that, he saw Wood use all his might to shoot at the goal, only to kick the ball towards the spectators’ stand behind it instead. Tang En sat back abruptly in his seat.

“Ah. That damn ‘terminator!”

Earlier, the hearts of Inter Milan’s fans had been about to leap out of their throats. Fortunately, Wood’s ridiculous high shot on the goal in a situation without defenders prevented their hearts from really jumping out. But, they became even more resolved in their loathing towards Wood; they believed that Wood must have knocked down Materazzi in front of their goal.

However, that was quite ridiculous. Anyone with discerning eyes could tell which of the two took the initiative in their exchange.

Wood was still fretting over his terrible shooting when Albertini came up with a smile and patted his shoulder.

“Beautiful job, George!”

“But, the ball…”

“No, I’m not talking about your shot. I’m talking about your performance before it…” Albertini looked at Materazzi, who was being helped up from the ground by his teammates, and could not help eventually bursting into laughter.

“If you were playing in AC Milan, this performance alone would have been enough for you to gain everyone’s welcome in San Siro.” He winked at Wood.

“But, I just want to stay in Forest…”

Albertini patted his shoulders, silently asking him not to say any more. “You did beautifully. Go back and defend now.”

Wood obediently ran back. Albertini did not follow to return to defend. He only looked at Wood’s back in a stupor.

...I only want to stay in Forest…

...I only want to stay in Milan…

The promises made in their youths, how could they make them count?

Lowering his head, he ran back.

“Demetrio Albertini has a grasp of Nottingham Forest’s match pace. His faked shot-turned-pass threw Inter Milan’s defensive line into major chaos. Even George Wood, who wouldn’t usually come forward easily, gained an opportunity to shoot at the goal because of him. What a pity; if he himself had taken the shot, even Júlio César would have been helpless against it. The 34-year-old him shows no sign of aging at all; his performance is as brilliant as before. It makes one reminisce, looking at him appearing in this stadium…” said Italy’s commentator from ESPN with a sigh.

Chapter 417 - A Pivot and A Long Ball Part 1

“After how well Albertini has performed so far, Adriano Galliani and Carlo Ancelotti must be kicking themselves! Demetrio is fully in command of Nottingham Forest’s rhythm. He’s like the conductor of a marching band. The Forest team’s offense and defense all revolve around him for execution.”

“I disagree with you, Malachi. Galliani and Ancelotti won’t come to watch Inter Milan’s game. I’m afraid they won’t even watch the television broadcast.”

“That’s a pity. At present, Albertini can totally play on AC Milan as the main force.”

The two Italian commentators praised Albertini for organizing the offense at that moment.

After Inter Milan’s bombardment in the first few minutes, Albertini pulled back the pace of the game to the benefit of Nottingham Forest.

The best move that Twain had made was letting Albertini be in the starting lineup because Albertini was familiar with Inter Milan. He knew how to deal with them. If it were Arteta, the Spanish kid would have been overwhelmed by the Italian-style defense.

The Italian-born Albertini, who had played in Italy for sixteen years, did not have that problem. He played the game skillfully and with ease, and performed gracefully and calmly.

Watching from his seat, Twain wanted to exclaim that this might have been Albertini’s best performance this season.

Cambiasso finally managed to intercept Albertini’s ball, but it was immediately intercepted by George Wood in return.

Now, when Albertini had the ball, there was no hissing sound in Meazza. However, Wood drew all the Inter Milan fans’ firepower. When he used his body to squeeze past Cambiasso and intercept the football, the shrill jeers started again.

Roberto Mancini finally stood up from his seat in the technical area.

Fifteen minutes had passed. Inter Milan’s attacks appeared to have increased and surged. However, the really threatening attacks were only a handful. On the contrary, Nottingham Forest made several counterattacks which were impressive and created a lot of trouble for Inter Milan’s defensive line. It looked like the Englishman Tony Twain was as good at defensive counterattacks as an Italian.

If they wanted to deal with defensive counterattacks, they could not leave too many empty gaps in their own backfield for the opponents to take advantage of. But if they wanted to ensure that their rear defensive line formation was stable enough to defend, it would affect the offensive strength in the front. Without sufficient force, they could not break through the opponent’s “defense” component of the “defensive counterattack.”

It was quite a dilemma.

Mancini could see that Nottingham Forest’s counterattack depended on the two flanks. Whether it was Ribéry on the left flank or Ashley Young on the right, they were both very fast and skillful. Many times, even without the support of their teammates, they could still dribble the ball and attack alone. And when assisted by Albertini’s accurate long balls, they could easily rip apart Inter Milan’s line of defense. By comparison, the Forest team’s two strikers, Viduka and Anelka, seemed to be less threatening.

So how should he solve this now?

Step up the defense in the flanks?

No, that’s not what should be done in this game.

Mancini whistled on the sidelines and extended two fingers. Then he pointed towards the Nottingham Forest’s goal. What he meant was to let the team step up the offense on both flanks and to suppress Nottingham Forest’s attack with Inter Milan’s offense.

Mancini did not believe that Inter Milan’s offense could not compete with Nottingham Forest’s. Moreover, this was their home ground. With more than eighty thousand fans cheering for them, there was no reason not to beat Nottingham Forest!

In this game, Mancini had deployed Dejan Stankovi? and Luís Figo on the left and right flanks. Adriano and Obafemi Martins were the strikers.

During the summer, Twain was interested in Martins. But now that he had Anelka, who was a more well-rounded than Martins, he no longer missed the Nigerian kid.

As a true powerhouse club, Inter Milan’s players seemed to be more popular than Nottingham Forest’s. Almost every player was an established star player or even a superstar. In contrast to Nottingham Forest, save for Albertini, Anelka, Edwin van der Sar, and Viduka, the others were recognized by the public in the wake the Forest team’s ascent over the past two years. It seemed that their strength could not be compared. However, in reality?

Inter Milan was ranked third in Serie A, while Nottingham Forest ranked second in the Premier League.

Twain did not want to fill his team with superstars, like Real Madrid, where a manager’s dignity was buried by the brilliance of the superstars. He was the kind of manager who needed to control every single player and aspect of the team. He could not tolerate having any players be placed above him. Consequently, he was very satisfied with the current team structure because he had personally hand-picked every single one except Anelka. And he was also satisfied with the French striker’s performance since his arrival, so he was no longer hung up on it.

Only a team like this could become whole and be united in the fight. Working together as one for a common goal would give them strength. Therefore, even though the Nottingham Forest players were not very well-known, they could rank second in the league tournament and reach the quarter-finals in the Champions League.

If there were people who still could not understand that, then they were the ones who would lose out. Take, for example, Benfica; the poor Primeira Liga champion team that underestimated Twain’s Forest team did not even make it past the group stage.

Another example was Inter Milan, which had suffered continuous internal strife this season. The clash between the “King” of Meazza, Adriano, and the Argentine midfielder, Juan Sebastián Verón, was already widely publicized. In this game, Juan was still in the starting lineup. But due to the conflict between him and Adriano, even if Mancini favored him, he would decisively abandon Juan and choose to stand on “King” Adriano’s side at the crucial moment for the sake of his managerial position.

Twain could only sigh on that point. The powerhouses needed superstars so they would buy a superstar at all costs. Therefore, when all brilliant names appeared on the game’s starting lineup at the same time, they felt that they looked good too. And because the locker room was full of star players, no one gave in to anyone and the dark side of struggles between cliques and factions was, intentionally or otherwise, ignored by the club’s decision-makers. Until the day when poor performance resulted in an eruption and exposed all the contradictions, the “purge” would be held off. However, the team’s fighting strength and honor would have inevitably been affected. In the end, who would be the ones hurt by this? It would be those fans who showed unconditional support without complaints.

Both Evan and Allan wanted Nottingham Forest to become a powerhouse club like Real Madrid, Inter Milan, or AC Milan. But sometimes Twain thought that it was nice as it was. There were no big-name stars, but a group of valiant and strong players, united in their struggle.

It was just that Twain was also well aware that if the team could continue to win more and more championships, they would not be too far away from the expectations of Evan and Allan. At that time, there would be more and more big-name stars on the team. As the manager of the team, in addition to racking his brains to deal with the opponents, perhaps he would also have to worry about dealing with his own people.

That was truly a worrying future.

Sitting in the technical area, Tang En shook his head, tossed aside that future, and went on to watch the game. Speaking of Adriano, he recalled what had happened later in his memory. He’s a king now but after two seasons… Trash.

Do I want to poach him at that time? Tang En frowned as he pondered the question. But soon he gave up on the idea. The discipline of Brazilian players was a headache for him. Even though they were all brilliant, they could also become a time bomb for the team’s locker room. Moreover, he knew what Adriano’s future would be like. Perhaps his arrival would make Allan beam in delight. But it would cause a headache for Twain, so it was better to forget about it.

Getting back to the present moment, Twain saw Edwin van der Sar dauntlessly push Adriano’s header out of the goal beam. The Brazilian striker seemed to use his own performance to remonstrate Tang En’s evaluation of him.

“Inter Milan has stepped up its offense on the flanks,” said Kerslake next to him. It was Figo who crossed the ball for Adriano’s header.

“We do not need to adjust our defense. The current situation is still good. As for our offense...” Twain touched his chin and said, “Let’s use Anelka on this point.”

Kerslake nodded in understanding. He stood up and walked towards the sidelines. He conveyed the tactical adjustment on behalf of Twain. It was to shift the offense direction from the two flanks to the middle.

It was almost impossible for the team to truly achieve the principle of, “Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.” That would be too demanding. However, through their usual repeated training, a similar situation could be achieved. And that was to prepare a number of programs to be run as repeated drills during the usual training. When the time came for the need, they could be adjusted at any time.

In most cases, everyone knew that the Nottingham Forest team was strong in the flanks. Many goals came from coordination in the flanks. The middle seemed more like a relay station to provide ammunition for the flanks. This admittedly had to do with the Forest team not having a genuine attacking midfielder. But this was not to say that the Forest team could not attack from the middle.

Chapter 418 - A Pivot and A Long Ball Part 2

Anelka’s arrival added new avenues of offense for Twain in the middle. When the opponents put their defensive attention on how to prevent the Forest team’s assaults from the flanks, Anelka’s speed and skills could sometimes be used with Albertini’s exquisite direct pass to rip apart the opponent’s defenses. And what was different from the flanks was, once the Forest team ripped apart the opponent’s line of defense in the middle, Anelka would directly face the goal and goalkeeper! At that time, with Anelka’s ability, his one-on-one face off with the goalkeeper often yielded a goal.

The only drawback was that that move could not be used much. After all, the middle was a zone that required any team to be heavily guarded by default. In the absence of powerful strength, heavily attacking the middle would only let their own offense sink into a quagmire. Now Inter Milan had put all their attention on the flanks. Whether it was offense or defense, they gave priority to the flanks. In that way, there would inevitably be gaps in the middle. As long as the Forest team could seize the opportunity, they might be able to score a goal.

Attacks in the middle required not quantity, but quality and success rate.

※※※

Finally, there was a dead ball. When he saw Kerslake standing on the sidelines, Albertini knew the coaching team must have had a new plan, so he ran over to receive Kerslake’s instructions.

Kerslake briefed him simply and Albertini ran back.

Anelka glanced over and the captain nodded to him. A smile showed on his face. After the others covered for him for twenty minutes, it was finally his turn to take center stage.

Inter Milan’s flank attacks had gradually pushed the Forest team back. Now they indiscriminately bombarded the Forest team and their fans in the stands constantly cheered. No one noticed that Nottingham Forest had quietly completed the adjustment of their main direction of offense.

As the center forward, Mark Viduka still attracted Inter Milan’s two center backs’ defensive attention in the forefront. Anelka drifted behind him. He looked a little anxious because he could not get the ball. He constantly ran back to raise his hands for the ball.

The two players’ positions and performances looked no different from before.

Outside the penalty area, Juan suddenly made a long shot and the football flew towards the Forest team’s goal. Edwin van der Sar focused his attention and pushed the football out of the goal beam.

“...Inter Milan’s offense surges. It seems like if they continue to play like this, it will be a matter of time before Nottingham Forest concedes a goal!”

The fans agreed with the commentators’ view. They heartily sang in the stands as if Inter Milan had already taken the lead.

“This is Inter Milan’s corner kick. Perhaps it’s their chance to break the deadlock! Let’s see... Materazzi and Samuel have rushed up, Mark Viduka also returns to the penalty area to participate in defense. In the first twenty-six minutes of the first half, Inter Milan is awarded a corner kick and the front of the Nottingham Forest goal is a mess.”

Materazzi rushed in and George Wood was responsible for defending against him. The two men collided and immediately ignited a spark. With the two sides entangled with each other, Materazzi wanted to shake off George Wood’s marking and George Wood pulled at Materazzi’s jersey without letting go. Seeing that the two players were about to come to fists, the referee blew the whistle in time and paused the game.

“The two of you, break it up now!” The referee ran forward and warned the two players. He swung his hands to both sides. “Separate immediately!”

Materazzi raised his hands to indicate that he had no intention of continuing the entanglement. He certainly did not want to continue tugging with Wood. Wood just dropped his hands to show that he was not pulling at the other man either.

When the referee exited the penalty area, his hand went up again.

Materazzi ignored him. He decided to himself that the best way to retaliate would be to head the ball in over the boy’s head. He certainly would not forget to connive with a covert petty maneuver when it was time for him to head the ball.

The referee whistled again. This time, the whistle was to signal that Inter Milan would kick off.

Stankovi?’s corner kick, aimed for Materazzi’s header, flew over.

The two players almost jumped at the same time, but no one clipped into a favorable position in the previous entanglement, so this time it was doomed to be purely a contest based on jumps and physiques to fight for the header.

Materazzi was six feet, four inches tall and weighed ninety-two kilograms.

George Wood was just over six feet tall and weighed eighty-four kilograms.

Everyone thought that Materazzi would win just based on height!

Unfortunately, the contest to fight for a header in the game was not merely jumping; it included a lot more things, including petty maneuvers.

After Materazzi jumped, he wedged his elbow between himself and Wood. He wanted to covertly push Wood so that he would lose balance in midair.

Clearly, Materazzi had not learned his lesson from the previous fall. His petty maneuver did not disturb Wood at all. Instead, he could not fully strive for the header.

When Materazzi reacted, he could only see a shadow appear over his head.

“George Wood’s header lifted the siege!”

The football was headed out from the penalty area by George Wood, and Albertini appeared right in the middle of the spot where the ball landed.

Zanetti hung around near the midfield, in charge of defense. When he saw Albertini use his chest to stop the ball, it was too late to shout for his other teammates to fall back, so he turned back to run over.

“Fall back to defend!” Mancini shouted on the sidelines.

Some of the Inter Milan players still had not figured it out. Even the opposing center forward had retreated to defend the corner kick. And now you want us to fall back to defend? Who are we defending against?

He firmly stopped the ball with his chest and the football fell to the ground at a moderate speed. As the ball completely stopped with his chest, Albertini turned around simultaneously and rotated his right leg.

Yes, the Forest team’s center forward had withdrawn to defend against the corner kick. However, the Forest team did not just have one striker!

Watching the football spin in front of his eyes, Albertini felt that his body was full of vitality. He felt better than ever. He was confident in passing the ball to where he wanted it.

“This is Albertini’s trademark!...But who did he pass the ball to? Anelka!”

The mystery was revealed.

It was indeed a corner kick to break the deadlock, but it was dedicated to Nottingham Forest!

“Anelka! There are no defenders around him. It’s not offside! Not offside! His timing to run forward is marvelous! He’s got the ball… He nicely stops the ball… Zanetti can’t catch up, but he’s still chasing... César sallies! And he shoots… Ah, a feint! He swings past poor César… And it’s a gooooal!!”

Everyone on the Nottingham Forest’s substitutes’ bench and in the technical area leaped up.

Chapter 419 - You Are Inter Milan’s Players! Part 1

“Anelka! GOOOAL! Unbelievably, Nottingham Forest takes the first goal in the away field and leads against home team Inter Milan!”

In a corner of Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Nottingham Forest’s fans were jumping and cheering for joy. Their voices were practically the only sounds resounding through Giuseppe Meazza’s spectator’s stands at the moment. As fans of the away team, they numbered only two thousand. Being greatly outnumbered by Inter Milan’s fans, they had originally been suppressed by them. But finally, they stood proud and elated.

The two thousand fans of Nottingham Forest loudly sang their team song. Meanwhile, Forest’s players dashed towards that part of the stands and gathered at the bottom, cheering with their arms high alongside the group of spectators above.

At the same time, within bars doused in red in Nottingham, countless Nottingham Forest fans were cheering with them.

“In the 27th minute, Nottingham Forest takes a lead of 1:0. The scorer is Nicolas Anelka!” The live broadcast of Giuseppe Meazza reported the scorer’s name as per the usual process, and this time everyone heard the jeers of the home team fans.

Tony Twain and his assistant pumped their fists in celebration with the others.

The match was proceeding in an unexpectedly successful way now that they had gained an away goal in such an important match.

With an away goal in the bag, everyone’s heart settled. Following that, so long as they did not lose to the opponents by a large margin, it would be considered a victory for them.

Naturally, Tang En would not be content with that. While getting an away goal was good, he would not say no to getting more of them.

“Demi!” Tang En stopped Albertini, who had run back to the sidelines to drink some water, and showed him a thumbs-up.

“Great job!”

“That can’t be the only thing you want to say, Boss,” Albertini said with a laugh as he drank a mouthful of water.

“Of course. Tell them to keep playing that way. Defend and counterattack!”

“Alright.”

Returning to the manager’s seat, Tang En muttered to Kerslake like he was talking to himself, “We’re leading, so we can play defensive counterattacking with even more peace of mind now…”

“I think it’s rather interesting that we’re playing defensive counterattacking in front of Italians,” Kerslake said, smiling.

“It’ll be even more interesting if we win.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

As the two managers of the away team chatted jovially, Mancini was biting his lip with an ashen face, staring into the field.

Was there anything that made him more unhappy than losing goals in the Champions League elimination match, on their home ground?

Yes, and that was to lose the match.

Although they had yet to lose the game, losing a goal was more than a small blow to Mancini’s plans. However, it was not yet time to make any adjustments. The strategy to go on the offense on their home ground was sound. Now, they could only continue attacking; he was not about to quietly watch his team fall behind.

As a result, when the match restarted, Inter Milan’s attacks became even more ferocious. Anelka, however, seemed to completely vanish after scoring the goal. Forest had no attack whatsoever to speak of; once again, they were forced into the 30-meter region by Inter Milan.

Up until now, Verón’s performance had been nothing special. In fact, Tang En felt that his condition was not too good; George Wood did not even need to specifically mark him. With heavy troops deployed in the mid and backfield for Forest Team, the area around and within the penalty box became as crowded as a wet market. When Inter Milan’s players broke through into the area, they immediately found themselves surrounded by people, making it beyond tough for them to accurately send the ball to another teammate.

Even Cambiasso came forward to participate in the offense. He tried to pass the ball over to Martins, who was in front, but it was intercepted by Albertini midway through; due to the crowd of players, it was a feat achievable with the mere extension of his leg. With everyone compacted in the area, it was very easy to kick the ball into the opponent’s possession.

But Albertini’s interception only circumvented that single attack from Inter Milan; the ball did not fall entirely within Forest’s control. In fact, it was the reverse. Due to Inter Milan’s team pressing forward heavily, the backfield of Forest formed tremendous depths. With the offensive line layered upon layers, Forest’s interception of the ball swiftly led to it again landing beneath the foot of another Inter Milan player. They would then move forward, be intercepted again. and the cycle would repeat itself in that way. Entering Forest’s penalty area was as difficult as climbing into heaven. George Wood and Albertini erected a tall wall before Pepe and Piqué. Other than long shots, frontal assaults had, on countless occasions, hit a dead end. And about passing center from the wings… Pepe and Piqué were both more than six feet tall and had excellent skills in heading; theirs was a defense that was entirely three-dimensional.

It looked like the defense of the English was even more authentic than that of the Italians.

But Tang En had learned tremendously about defending from the Italians. Now was an opportune moment to put it to use against an Italian football team; the effects seemed rather good. Inter Milan was unprepared against such a thorough defense from Forest. Other than using long shots, they did not have any better methods.

Verón took a long shot, as did Cambiasso, Figo, Adriano, and Martins. Even Materazzi ran up to take one. By the time the whistle sounded, signaling halftime, everyone had already lost count of the exact number of long shots executed by Inter Milan. The only thing they saw was Inter Milan’s helplessness against Forest.

In general, long shots are the easiest way to pry open an opponent’s defense when they are buckling down in their defense. But it is also the most uncouth, most technically deficient way of doing so. It felt like trying to hit the jackpot. From another perspective, the frequent use of long shots by a team clearly showed their agitation.

It was evident from the expressions of both teams when they were leaving the field; Inter Milan’s members lowered heads and walked swiftly, while Nottingham Forest’s players languidly walked to the players’ corridors.

That went for the two managers as well: Mancini had a stern and displeased expression, while Tang En and Kerslake walked back with smiles.

※※※

“Everyone did really well.” Tang En praised everybody immediately upon walking into the room. “We’ve made Inter Milan suffer. We don’t look good on the field, but look at it: we got an away goal. I think it’s worth it! If we keep playing like this in the second half and wait for Inter Milan’s players to get anxious, victory will be ours!”

※※※

“Look at what everyone’s been doing.” That was the first statement from Mancini after he entered the home team’s locker room. His icy tone showed how angry he was. “Who taught you to take long shots whenever you got the ball on the field? I don’t remember telling you during training that the way to break an opponent’s tight defense is long shots!”

Inter Milan’s players all sat in silence.

“In the second half, seal off Albertini completely. I don’t care what method you use, but you can’t let him get the ball or pass comfortably. He’s a dangerous person. I think a few of you here are familiar with that appraisal.”

Javier Zanetti lightly nodded. Indeed, he was no stranger to it. When Albertini turned to pass the ball, he immediately set off after him, but it was a pity; if he were just a few years younger, he might have been able to intercept that ball. Without his realizing, he had truly gotten old.

“Cambiasso, you have to mark him more tightly!” Mancini pounded his fists. “I don’t want to praise our opponents in front of you, but you should observe number 13 closely! Watch how he defends.”

He had originally wanted to say, “Watch how he defends Verón,” but thought saying so would be unfair to Verón, deciding to change his phrasing at the last minute.

“Foul! Play a little rougher! This is our home field, what are you afraid of?”

Cambiasso felt he could not raise his head after the rebuke from Mancini. He knew in his heart that his defense against Albertini in the first half had been unsuccessful. Most of the time, Inter Milan was suppressing the opponents, so there was no need to pay attention to defending against him. But, when it came down to really needing Cambiasso to mark down the opponent, he had let him execute a high-quality long pass, directly aiding Anelka in scoring.

“Do you need me to teach you how to defend?”

Cambiasso shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Albertini is the core of their team. There’s no need to care about anyone else, Ribéry or Anelka. You only need to mark Albertini, that’s enough! When they get the ball in their backfield, they look for Albertini and let him take the responsibility of sending out the ball. Watch him and intercept their pass routes. Employ high-pressing defense against anyone else who gains possession of the ball. Even if we can’t intercept it, we have to force them into mistakes!”

“In terms of going on the offense…” Mancini waved his hands and made a motion to pull back. “If they aren’t coming out, pull them out. I don’t want to see any more dumb methods like using frequent long shots to break their defense! Use your brains. You’re Inter Milan’s players. You are professional footballers, not any amateur team! Is this your first day playing football?!”

In the end, Mancini failed to control his temper.

“This is the Champions League. It isn’t some friendly match. If we lose this match, do you know what that means?” Mancini pointed upwards at the spectators’ stand.

“Remember what you need to do. Did you see the face of Forest’s manager when he went off the field? He believes he’s already won. He thinks his team can beat Inter Milan here! Don’t let him get away with this.”

Chapter 420 - You Are Inter Milan’s Players! Part 2

The duration of halftime went by torturously slow for Inter Milan’s players; for them, it was a period of having to withstand the manager’s rebukes and the enormous pressure brought about by their fans’ expectations. But who had asked for them to be a powerhouse? In contrast, Nottingham Forest’s players felt the time pass quickly. With traces of relaxed and joyful smiles yet to fade from their face, the second half had already started.

Tang En leaned back on his seat and crossed his legs. So long as his team continued defending like this, Inter Milan would certainly press forward heavily in an attempt to equalize the score as soon as possible. Only in that way would they have enough time left to try to overturn the scores. When that happened, numerous gaps would appear in Inter Milan’s backfield. Then, Albertini could make another long pass and Anelka would get another flash of inspiration, ending the match!

Everything was under control. Tang En believed that strongly in his heart.

“The second half of the match has just begun, and there’s no difference at all from the first half. Inter Milan is launching a tidal wave of attacks on Forest’s penalty area while Nottingham Forest has gotten more resolute, determined to defend after having taken the lead. Although it does not look good appearance-wise, this is the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Victory is the number one priority!”

The commentator got it exactly right. Whether it was Forest, who looked like they were being beaten to a sorry state, or Inter Milan, who was going full-out with offensive-styled football in their anxiety to equalize the score, both teams knew in their hearts that defending or attacking were only the means. In such a competition, their aim was certainly not to please their audience or neutral fans. Their aim was victory.

After five minutes, Inter Milan’s attacks began to recede. Forest gained an opportunity.

At that point, Albertini was the first to feel the difference; when he held possession of the ball, the defensive pressure he faced significantly increased.

Cambiasso tightly latched onto Albertini like he had been drugged, using both his hands and feet to make Albertini extremely uncomfortable. His opponent’s style had changed so suddenly, Albertini knew Mancini must have made some adjustments during halftime. Just as Mancini understood him, he also understood Mancini.

Fortifying their defense against him was indeed a good method to curb Forest’s offense; he was the brains of the team, the command tower.

Under the overwhelming pressure from Cambiasso, Albertini felt he had no choice but to pass the ball to Ribéry in the wings. Ribéry then faced overbearingly aggressive defense from Zanetti and ending up passing the ball back to Leighton Baines, having no confidence to break through. This time, Figo leapt forward to defend.

Even though Inter Milan was still suppressing Nottingham Forest, the situation was, in fact, already greatly different from that of the first half.

Seeing Baines forced into a corner and being unable to kick the ball out after a long while, Albertini ran over to receive the ball. In the end, Cambiasso followed along with him.

Albertini looked again at George Wood, who was being utterly unhelpful, standing at the side. He really wished Wood could become a well-rounded talent comprising abilities in both offense and defense. In a situation like now when he was being tightly marked, there would at least be one other person who could step up to organize the attacks. If they wanted to change the set situation of having one player attack and one player defend, they would need to change out a defensive midfielder and send in Arteta. But, who should they change out? Changing out any of them would not be good. If they took out Albertini, Arteta would still be quickly marked down when he came in; Inter Milan would just have a different target to mark, that was all. What if they changed out George Wood? Then, what would they do for defense?

Albertini, a hardcore fan of the CM series, unknowingly began to consider that question from a managerial perspective.

Despite knowing Wood’s low contribution to their offense, Albertini still decisively passed the ball to Wood after receiving the pass from Baines. There’s no time to let you practice going on the attack on training grounds, George!

Ever since pulling his thigh muscle and not playing for more than two months, Albertini acutely felt the changes taking place in his body. He was old, truly getting old. No matter how unwilling he was in his heart, his body was perhaps unable to hold on for much longer.

If I retire, who in Nottingham Forest’s midfield would be able to take control of the pace?

AC Milan’s loyal subject had, unconsciously, started thinking for the future of Nottingham Forest.

George Wood received the ball and looked at Albertini as well as his shadow, Cambiasso…

He spun around, looking at his surroundings, but seemed unable to find a suitable spot to pass the ball to. Every one of his teammates had Inter Milan players lurking nearby, waiting opportunistically. They were just waiting for him to pass the ball over so that they could surge forward to press and steal the ball, counterattacking from there.

Inter Milan had already shifted their defense from their half of the field into Nottingham Forest’s half.

The ball stayed under Wood’s foot for half a minute, but he could not find a suitable target to pass to. An Inter Milan player finally rushed over. Stankovi? wanted to intercept Wood’s ball, and Wood had no choice but to use his body to block the other party. Then, the ball was again passed back to Albertini.

After making that round, the ball still returned to its starting point. Nottingham Forest’s offense continued spinning in circles at the same spot.

This time, under Cambiasso’s man-to-man marking, Albertini finally made a mistake passing. While originally intending to launch the ball over to Ashley Young on the other side, he was intercepted mid-way by Stankovi?. After the interception, Inter Milan immediately switched to offense from defense.

Stankovi? looked up. Martins was running diagonally into position, directly entering the penalty area; this was an opportunity!

“Inter Milan intercepts the ball and counterattacks… a direct pass to Martins! A beautiful pass!”

The pass was indeed beautiful. With a kick, Stankovi? made a direct pass. The football passed through the space between Pepe and Chimbonda, appearing perfectly on the diagonal route Martins was running. The swift Nigerian horse did not need to kill the ball, simply moving forward with it. Accelerating, he passed Piqué who was following behind. His speed was doubtlessly fast enough! Once he was given a sliver of space, he immediately grasped the opportunity!

But!

After Martins used his speed to forcefully pass Piqué, he found the shooting angle to be extremely narrow. Finally, Martin’s decision to make a brutish shot at the goal deposited the ball straight into Edwin van der Sar’s arms.

Inter Milan’s threatening attack in the second half ended in that manner. Mancini was rather dissatisfied with Martins’ selfishness in the final moments, but he at least saw a hope of equalizing the score. Meanwhile, Tony Twain had already uncrossed his legs, sitting up again on the comfortable seats of Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.

He smelt a whiff of a coming thunderstorm.

Chapter 421 - The Price of Defense Part 1

Martins’ shot did not lead to a goal.?The Meazza fans in the stands might still be shaking their heads, but Mancini already saw hope because Nottingham Forest’s impenetrable defenses finally had a loophole.

Furthermore, the attack sent a positive signal to the Inter Milan players: if they closely marked Albertini, both Nottingham Forest’s offense and defense would fall into chaos.

In that way, their work was made simple. As long as they prevented Albertini from controlling the football, it was equivalent to preventing Nottingham Forest from controlling the ball.

George Wood was of no help to the Forest team’s offense. When Inter Milan stepped up on their offense, he was able to defend the middle and even help with the defense of both flanks. But what the Forest team needed now was not to hold, but to turn the defense into offense. He was powerless.

Albertini was closely marked by Cambiasso. Many of the Argentine’s actions bordered on becoming fouls, which made him very uncomfortable. But he could do nothing about it, because the referee did not blow the whistle, so it was not a foul. He was the team captain. He could not get angry over this or else the team’s core would be in an upheaval.

Who could he depend on now? If no one could relieve his pressure, he could only rely on his own strength to compete with the opponents’ midfield defense. However, as the game progressed, he was afraid of being worn down by the younger and stronger Cambiasso before long.

Should he pass to Ashley Young or Franck Ribéry?

They were both on the flanks and those positions limited their play.?Passing the ball on the flanks required coordination because they could easily be blocked by the opponents if they played too narrowly.

Only George Wood’s position was the best in the middle. He could pass to the front, back and sides.

But did he have a choice?

Albertini passed the football to Wood. Compared to him, there was no defensive pressure on Wood. Inter Milan’s players clearly knew that Wood’s contribution to offense was almost zero, so no one was specially arranged to mark him.

When he saw that the football was passed to Wood’s feet, Mancini whistled off the field to signal for his players to press up with speed and rob Wood, forcing him to make a mistake.

This time, it was Juan who came up to rob him. Wood was somewhat helpless against the aggressive Inter Milan player.

“Get past him!” Albertini shouted.

Wood recalled the scene when he had bypassed Materazzi in front of the opposing penalty area, and he intended to repeat it.

But this time, it was different.

Wood’s dribbling in the Forest team might have to be counted down. The last time he was able to successfully bypass Materazzi was because the other had lacked preparation. It was not so much that he had bypassed Materazzi, but rather that Materazzi himself had hit a wall, and then was pushed down to the ground by the rebound force. But real bypass techniques? Wood practiced those in training, but it was a different thing to show what was practiced during training in a game.

Wood wanted to send out the football, but he did not expect Juan to be so quick. The football he kicked was stopped by Juan, who simply flitted past him without even stopping for a beat!

“George Wood’s ball has been robbed!”

Cheers broke out in the Meazza stadium. They finally saw the number one villain in their minds for this game being made a fool of!

“Dammit!” Twain stood up from his seat in shock when he saw George Wood lose the ball.

What was Wood’s position? He was the defensive midfielder, and behind him was the center back! Losing the ball in this position meant that Juan could go up against a flimsy central defensive line. His breakthrough, long shot, or passing could all pose a great threat to Edwin van der Sar’s goal!

When his ball was intercepted this time, George Wood did not turn around immediately. Instead, he froze for a moment, and then suddenly turned to rush towards Juan.

Juan dribbled the ball as Wood gave chase at the back. In a flash, both of them were in the penalty area. Due to that, Piqué dared not make a rash move in the front. He also had to pay attention to Adriano and Martins on both sides for fear that Juan would suddenly send the ball out.

After entering the penalty area, Juan deliberately slowed down. He seemed to be observing the situation.

George Wood charged up. He leaned against Juan from behind, trying to intercept the ball.

How experienced was Juan? When he saw Wood leaned over, he immediately shifted his body to put the football in front of him.

Adriano raised his hands up high on the side of the penalty area, “Pass it to me!”

At that moment, he forgot his feud with Juan. But he did not know if Juan hadn’t seen him, or he did see him and deliberately chose not to pass. In short, after he protected the football, he did not hurry to send out the ball. He was waiting for Wood’s follow-up action.

Wood did not intercept the ball for the first time. Instead, he was forced to the back of Juan. This time, he pushed his body forward and extended his leg to intercept the ball again with his arm raised up.

Just as he was about to intercept the football, Juan suddenly fell forward to the ground.

The referee’s whistle sounded!

“Penalty kick!”

The Meazza Stadium was a sea of joy.

“This is a penalty kick! No doubt about it!”

Wood was stunned. He had poured all his attention into taking the ball. How could he have fouled?

Juan stood up from the ground and opened his arms to welcome his teammates’ support. He had successfully induced Wood to make the action he most wanted to see. Wood might not think he had fouled, but he had actually pushed Juan down from behind.

Twain sat down on the sidelines, covering his face in agony.

Wood wanted to turn around and look for the referee and reason with him, but he was held back by Albertini.

“If you still want a yellow card...”

Hearing the captain, he stopped in his tracks.

“I’m sorry.”

Albertini shook his head. “Why are you apologizing? Just learn from this. Next time I’ll still pass the ball to you, just don’t look so unprepared.”

“But, I-”

“Remember, George. When you take the ball, even if you don’t know what to do, don’t show it. You have to look like you have a plan. You have to act calm and confident to make people feel that you already have a lot of ways to deal with the ball and keep your opponent’s guessing! If you think ‘I don’t know what to do,’ then you really don’t know what to do. But if you keep your cool and observe your opponents, you’ll naturally know what to do.” Albertini took advantage of the opportunity to give Wood a lesson. “It’s actually not that complicated. If you have a better route to pass the football, you pass it. If not, pass it to your nearest teammates. That’s it.”

Wood bit his lip and listened quietly.

“Don’t take this penalty kick to heart. We don’t even know if the ball will get in yet. Even if it does, it will just be an equalizer. It’s not the end of the world.”

Albertini patted Wood on the back and walked out of the penalty area. The opponents were ready for the penalty.

Wood gave Juan a glare and turned to walk out.

Adriano walked in with the football.

Chapter 422 - The Price of Defense Part 2

“This is a great opportunity for Inter Milan to equalize the score. Juan’s interception in the front field won a penalty kick for the team! George Wood’s blunder was terrible. His performance in this game started off well and just went downhill. When faced with Inter Milan’s frenzy of interceptions, he did not play well, letting Juan seize this opportunity.”

The commentator chattered incessantly. Both the Inter Milan fans and Nottingham Forest fans wanted him to shut up.

“He’s still young.” The guest commentator made a very apt comment on Wood’s performance.

“Young man...” Twain sighed as he looked at Wood standing outside the penalty area. “He had to go and intercept that ball. All he had to do was to block at the back. Piqué was already blocking Juan’s shooting angle and forward route in front. By the time our defense had regrouped, Inter Milan would not have had the chance. He’s really… Oh, God.”

“Think about what to do next, Tony.”

“What else is there to do? Continue to play like this… A draw is fine for us, but it would be so nice if we could win.” Twain’s voice became softer, and he eventually stopped talking. He just stared at the penalty area.

Adriano carefully placed the football, and then stepped back. The referee carefully checked that the unrelated players had exited the penalty area before he whistled to signal the kickoff.

After the whistle had sounded, the noisy Meazza suddenly quieted down.

Adriano ran and energetically volleyed a shot!

“GOOOAL!! Adriano!”

The football slammed into the net. Adriano shook his fists and shouted.

The Meazza Stadium erupted in earthshattering cheers.

“Inter Milan equalizes the score. Both teams are now back on the same starting line!”

Inter Milan’s players rushed to the corner flag to celebrate the goal. The Forest team had already walked towards the center circle, waiting for the kickoff to restart.

※※※

This goal greatly boosted Inter Milan’s morale. Following that, the situation did not change much in the game. The visiting Nottingham Forest played under pressure from Inter Milan. The game became passive for the visiting team, which was utterly dominated by the home team.

The statistics for the two teams’ ball possession rate were displayed at the bottom of the screen: Inter Milan had 69%, Nottingham Forest had 31%.

Furthermore, this was not the most extreme situation. At its lowest point, Nottingham Forest’s ball possession rate dropped to 27%!

The idea that “the result is more important than the process,” which Twain had always insisted on, was exemplified most vividly in this game. It seemed that he was more conservative than the Italian footballers.

If he were to coach a La Liga team, it was estimated that he would have been ousted many times. However, in Nottingham Forest, the Forest fans were eager to be champions again after a downfall of twenty-odd years. They just wanted to have a manager who would pursue victories by hook or by crook and lead them back to glory.

Under Inter Milan’s frenzied attacks, the Nottingham Forest defenders were strained and on high alert. There were several near-misses with Inter Milan. All the Nottingham Forest fans who were watching the game on the television must have had their hearts in their throats.

Nottingham Forest tried to fight back, but Albertini was very closely marked by Inter Milan, which also took turns using foul tactics. Cambiasso was the first to foul. After a while, it was either Juan or Materazzi. In short, they would not let him take the ball comfortably and on the other hand, they also shared the risk of getting a card. After all, if Cambiasso was the only one who fouled, he was likely to receive two yellow cards and be sent off.

Forest did well in the first half because Albertini controlled the team’s rhythm. He knew when to attack, how to attack, when to defend, and how to defend. Everyone on the Forest team was familiar with Albertini’s passing routes on the field and had a rapport. It was very normal for them to be ahead of a team like Inter Milan.

But now that Albertini could not control the rhythm, the Forest team would naturally be suppressed by their opponents.

Inter Milan attacked ferociously amid the cheering of their home fans. Twain had already stood up from his seat. The current situation made him unable to sit still.

※※※

“Adriano shoots! Edwin van der Sar firmly holds the ball under his body.”

After the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar pounced on his power shot from the penalty area, he did not rush to serve the ball. Instead, he pressed the football down and rested on the ground to allow his wildly beating heart to calm down. He was almost a depiction of the entire team. Under Inter Milan’s oppressive offense and defense, almost everyone had to brace their nerves to deal with the opponent’s every attack. They did not dare to slack off in the slightest bit.

Next, Nottingham Forest’s counterattack hastily came to an end. Anelka’s long shot did not cause any trouble to Júlio César, Inter Milan’s goalkeeper, due to Samuel’s interference. Inter Milan was in control of the game. Their fans were not worried about their defense at all.

Although Twain had insisted that the team played a defensive counterattack tactic, the current situation was not defensive counterattacking. They were so pressed by their opponents that they could only play defense and could not counter. They could not continue like this. He turned to ask Kerslake, “How long has it been?”

“It’s been seventeen minutes in the second half.”

“This is not working. We have to make some changes. I hope it’s not too late. David, let Arteta warm up. We need him.”

Kerslake nodded and got up to summon Arteta.

Twain turned and continued to stare at the field. He thought about what specific task to arrange for Arteta after he returned from his warm-up.

At that time, the Inter Milan midfielder intercepted Albertini’s ball and launched another attack. Twain thought as he watched that if Arteta was on the field, he would be able to share the pressure Albertini was under and the opponents would not be able to intercept the ball so easily.

As he was still deep in thought, Cambiasso, facing George Wood, cleverly chose to change direction on time and passed the ball Figo on the flank. Just when the Forest team thought that Figo would attack from the flank, he passed the ball to the middle, to Cambiasso who rushed up!

George Wood gave chase, and after attracting his attention, Cambiasso passed the football to Adriano in the penalty area.

The Brazilian striker leaned against another Brazilian player, Pepe. He did not choose to pass the football to Cambiasso, who continued to rush forward. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that Nottingham Forest’s defensive line was currently focused on the Argentine defensive midfielder. He suddenly turned and struck!

Even Pepe did not think that Adriano would choose to force a shot under those circumstances. The football drilled between his legs!

Edwin van der Sar’s line of sight was blocked by Pepe. It was far too late when he wanted to make the save.

“Adriano! Twice in a row! That was so beautiful! The perfect combination of teamwork and personal technique! The tables have turned for the leading team and Nottingham Forest is in trouble!”

“Inter Milan reverses the score, 2:1! In fact, the arrival of this goal was just a matter of time. Look at Forest’s performance; they play too conservatively! Manager Tony Twain has paid the price for his lack of courage! As it turns out, just like defense, a one-goal lead simply doesn’t work!”

Chapter 423 - Looking On the Verge of a Loss Part 1

If Tang En had known that the commentator’s evaluation of him was “timid,” he would probably fly into a rage right then and there. He had never thought that persisting for victory was a performance of timidity. However, to recover his image in other people’s hearts, he needed to do something, something that fit with most people’s aesthetic sense of what was an attack adjustment.

On the other side, while the reserve players were excitedly celebrating the goal, Mancini only gave a simple high-five to his assistant before walking back to the manager’s seat. He was not trying to act cool. He had been standing from the first minute of the match and could finally sit comfortably for a brief rest.

A lead of 2:1. Though that single away goal felt like a nail in his heart and annoyed him, it was better to win than lose or even get a draw. Furthermore, from the two goals, Mancini could tell that Nottingham Forest was only bluffing with a strong front. When Inter Milan got serious with them, they were immediately seen through, revealing themselves. Teams lacking in depth were like that. With a moment’s momentum, they could gain the upper hand briefly, but it would never last long.

For numerous Forest fans, being able to gain the results of 1:2 in an away field already satisfied them. After all, they had gotten one away goal and were only behind by a ball. They could achieve more when they returned to their home field.

But, as the team’s main manager, Tony did not think the same way. From the beginning, he had never thought that losing by one goal was a victory. He wanted to counterattack, a real defensive counterattack.

Arteta jogged back from the warmup area. Tang En pulled him back and personally explained his mission on the field.

Upon hearing that the person he was substituting was fullback Leighton Baines, Arteta was somewhat taken aback.

“I’m not putting you in to defend, Mikel.”

“Yes, I know, Boss. But…”

“You’re worried about defense? That’s is not something you have to consider. Your mission is to get in and help organize attacks; relieve Demi of some pressure.” Tang En held the tactical board and spoke as he drew on it. “After getting in, discuss in more detail with Demi how the two of you want to do this. Whatever it is, don’t let him get surrounded again.”

Mikel Arteta nodded, but he was still fretting over the defense. “So, the defense…”

“Tell George to run more.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Go now, we don’t have much time!”

Kerslake waited for Arteta to stand by the sidelines, awaiting entry, before walking over to Tony.

“Tony, you’re really bold. Inter Milan’s attack is that strong, but you’re choosing to use three rear defenders?”

“I have no choice. The four-man grouping in the midfield is already set, and Arteta works in the middle. Between Albertini and George Wood, I can’t move either. If I change out George, it would be equivalent to having no one defending the midfield. When that happens, Inter Milan’s counterattacks would likely become even easier for them. If I change out Albertini, Arteta would be tightly marked very quickly after he gets in. That would be a complete waste of the substitution. The two on the forward line also helps to divert some of the opponent’s defensive energies, relieving our midfield of some pressure. So… only the players on the defensive line can be changed out.”

“You’re not worried about losing goals?”

“I’m worried. But… if I keep holding onto the idea of ‘not losing any more goals’ and refuse to make an unconventional change of players, we’ll definitely lose.”

Nottingham Forest was awarded a throw-in at the front field. Arteta finally got his chance to switch in. The Fourth Official raised the player change sign: Number 22, Leighton Baines, out; number 14, Mikel Arteta, in.

“Nottingham Forest is making a substitution. An attacking midfielder for a fullback. Manager Tony Twain has finally remembered that they needed to attack… but, how are they going to deal with Inter Milan’s attacks if they change out a fullback?”

“That isn’t something we have to crack our heads over.”

※※※

Arteta ran into the field and related Tang En’s tactical intent to Albertini.

Hearing that Arteta was being sent in to help share his burden, Albertini’s first reaction was to turn back and look at George Wood standing behind him.

If Arteta is in, he would no longer need to clutch stubbornly onto Wood as a life-saving straw. This way, Wood could properly focus on defending while Arteta and himself could focus on the offense. There would surely be some change in Forest’s situation.

From an overall perspective, this was a great adjustment.

But if the Boss was always using Wood as an engineer, when was Wood going to become a true well-rounded midfielder? Unavoidably, they all needed Wood for their defense. But, surely, they could not always take out a fullback and put in an attacking midfielder whenever they meet with these sorts of situations, right?

No matter; the main manager had decided. As a player on the field, he needed to adhere to it.

Albertini nodded to Arteta. “I got it.”

After completing his mission, Arteta ran back to his position. Albertini then ran to Wood.

“Wood, you’re in charge of defense. We only have three fullbacks, and our opponents are attacking fiercely. You’ll have to do the work of two players on your own.”

“No problem.” Wood nodded.

“Mm…” Albertini hesitated to speak, and finally just smiled at him.

“Go for it!”

From the angle of the television broadcast, it was evident that the Forest Team had adjusted their formation. Due to Leighton Baine’s departure from the field, the three—Chimbonda, Piqué, and Pepe—had become a defensive line formed by three fullbacks. In front of them was George Wood, a single defensive midfielder. Albertini and Arteta, along with Franck Ribéry and Ashley Young, formed a flat four positioning in the midfield. Meanwhile, Mark Viduka led them right at the front with Anelka slightly behind.

It was the 3:1:4:2 formation.

This set-up directly relieved Albertini of having to take care of both ends. At the same time, it also relieved George Wood. Now he could devote himself entirely to carrying out what he did best. He no longer faced a state of being at a loss whenever he needed to help Albertini with offense. Defending had already seeped into Wood’s blood, becoming an inherent ability in his body. There was no need for excessive words when asking him to defend; he knew what he had to do. Going on the attack, however, was not the same. To George Wood, defending was as simple as eating, while attacking was something much too complex.

As there were only three rear defenders left, Tang En stopped Chimbonda from assisting with the offense. The flanks were left entirely to Franck Ribéry and Ashley Young. At the same time, Forest had more options to attack through the middle with Arteta in the fold. Besides Albertini’s precise long passes, Arteta’s ability to dribble and break through, as well as his short passes, created more offensive maneuvers for Forest’s attack through the middle. This made it more difficult for Inter Milan to defend.

Naturally, when defending, the two side midfielders still had to retreat to help. Otherwise, Forest’s flanks would be almost empty. The good thing was that Forest’s players on the flanks were both younger and more physically capable than Inter Milan’s players; they could afford to run more.

George Wood obediently defended in the back, no longer thinking about the pressure he faced from sharing Albertini’s burden in organizing the attacks. Despite Inter Milan’s continued attacks without weakening, such work was something he did with ease. With his entire focus now on dealing with his enemies, his performance naturally started looking up again.

Verón wanted to face-off on his own against Wood. This time, Wood unceremoniously cut him off with his body, forcing his way in to steal the ball. Following that, Wood continued blocking him bodily and passed the ball to his nearest teammate, ignoring whatever attempts Verón made from behind. Thereafter, it was no longer Wood’s business. He continued awaiting the next attack from their opponents without worrying about the progress of Forest’s own attacks. If the passes from his teammates were intercepted, he would simply rinse and repeat what he did earlier.

Chapter 424 - Looking On The Verge Of A Loss Part 2

Arteta’s appearance on the field indeed ended up disrupting Inter Milan’s planned defense. Cambiasso’s man-to-man against Albertini completely lost its meaning; when Albertini was being marked, Forest’s players could pass the ball to Arteta instead. Alternatively, if they sent some of the defending troops to guard against Arteta, the pressure on Albertini would inevitably be reduced… Regardless, the two Forest midfielders demanded all the defensive capabilities of Inter Milan. Any one of them could independently take charge of organizing the attack. It was as if there were two cores. Placing a limit on only one of them was useless. Left with half of the second half, Nottingham Forest with their double core began gunning their engines. Inter Milan’s players gradually started feeling that something was wrong.

After gaining the lead, Inter Milan’s press for the ball became less severe. Following Mancini’s request, they gradually retreated to attract Forest to advance in their attacks, while Inter Milan took available opportunities to counter.

Mancini knew that the Forest Team, who was now behind, faced two choices. One was naturally to go on the offense to equalize the scores, while the other was to ignore Inter Milan’s retreat and continue buckling down on defense in hopes of defending to the final second. For them, it would mean bringing back the results of gaining an away goal and losing a goal back to the home field, strategizing from there.

Regardless of which situation it would turn out to be, both were advantageous to Inter Milan. If Forest advanced forward to attack, the defense in the back would surely have many gaps that could be made use of. Inter Milan could take the opportunity to counterattack and steal a few goals. If they chose not to attack, it was also a good option for Inter Milan to get a victory in their home field.

Tang En chose the first option; that conformed even better to Mancini’s hopes than the second would have. But Mancini had not expected Tang En to be that bold. Not only did he remove a full back whilst facing such enormous defensive pressure, he even put two playmakers in the midfield. Wasn’t he afraid of an overlap in their positions, or a clash in their intentions?

Unexpectedly, the two cores did not conflict with each other at all. Instead, they complemented each other so well as to draw out each other’s capabilities.

Furthermore, even with only three rear defenders, Forest’s defensive line stabilized after letting George Wood focus only on the defense.

“How could it be…” Without managing to even warm the seat under his bum, Mancini stood up again.

Nottingham Forest had very simply split into two parts of offense and defense. The defense cared nothing about the offense, while those going on the attack were almost entirely relieved of defensive duties. Both parties could put all their energy into their primary function. In this way, Inter Milan began feeling the strain.

After Albertini faked a pass to Arteta, he pulled the wool over Cambiasso’s eyes and took the ball for a breakthrough instead. When Cambiasso managed to refocus his aim on him, Albertini did a one-two combination with Ribéry via a wall pass. After entering the 30-meter range of Inter Milan’s field, he executed a beautiful long shot, announcing his awakening in the match.

“What a pity, it grazed the crossbeam and flew out!”

“Dammit… mark him closely…” Outside the field, Mancini was biting his lip tightly.

“Oh, oh! Mikel Arteta! Breaks through into the penalty area and shoots! Júlio César’s extraordinary performance saves Inter Milan! This is unexpected. Manager Twain made only one substitution, but it’s managed to revive Nottingham Forest.”

“Anelka! It slipped right by the goal!”

“Mark Viduka! The header is too strong, but this disappointment is to be expected…”

During that period, the words emerging from the commentator’s mouth were mostly filled with the names of Nottingham Forest’s attacking players. With the rise of Nottingham Forest’s offense, the jeers in the air of Giuseppe Meazza Stadium also increased.

Both managers stood at the sidelines. Mancini bit his lip tightly with a serious expression, while Tang En stuck both hands in his pockets with a calm face. Each was worrying about something.

※※※

Ten minutes passed, but Mancini did not see what he was hoping for. Listening to his words, the team did retreat. Forest Team also pressed outward as he had expected. However, Inter Milan’s attacks were unable to find any path in. The match pace was beginning show signs of leaning towards Forest; that wouldn’t do.

“Go out on the offense! You guys have retreated too much!” Mancini finally could not stop himself from shouting from the sidelines.

“This won’t do…” he muttered, and then turned to walk towards the substitute’s bench. He pointed to an Argentinian forward, Cruz.

“Cruz, go warm-up and come back immediately!”

Cruz obediently ran out. Mancini turned and pointed at another person on the bench.

“Recoba, you too.”

Very well, Tony Twain. If you want to go on the offense, I’ll go head-on with you!

Three minutes after, Inter Milan made a substitution. Mancini substituted in two attacking players in one go. Cruz substituted for Verón, who had been performing just averagely, while Recoba substituted for Stankovi?. Inter Milan transformed into a formation with greater offensive capabilities, 4:3:3.

The mighty Inter Milan finally forced Forest to show some restraint. The short duration of the crazed tidal wave of attacks stemming from the “double core” receded. The situation on the field became more balanced. Both parties had opportunities that they failed to capitalize on. But it was no longer the scene of any one side suppressing the other.

Looking at the time, there was still 10 minutes before injury stoppage time. Tang En decided to make another substitution. This time, he put in Eastwood and changed out Mark Viduka. Of course, he was not putting the skinny Eastwood in to be a center-forward and face-off with the ferocious Italian rear defenders. Instead, he pushed Anelka up and situated Eastwood behind him. Neither of them was the traditional sort of center-forward; both had extremely strong capabilities in playing independently. After Tang En’s overall adjustment to the strategy, he did his best to send in another player with the potential of creating miracles on their own. No matter what method he used, he did not want to lose this game!

Especially when Shania was watching on from the spectators’ stand. They had not met in a long while; his first meeting gift with her must not be a loss.

In truth, Tang En did not know if Shania had really come to watch the match. Before the match, they did not communicate, and he was also too busy then to care about it. However, he believed. He believed that Shania, who had said “I have to work tomorrow,” would certainly come. At that time, her tone had sounded as if she said it only in a moment of pique…

The match was close to its end, but neither side gave up. Inter Milan’s players were unwilling to beat Nottingham Forest by only one goal, while Nottingham Forest’s players were unwilling to lose to Inter Milan on the away field. Everyone’s spirits were high, going all out to the final moment.

Albertini could no longer run much. Many times, he only stood in the front field, panting as he waited for his teammates to pass the ball to him. Then, he would dribble the ball a few steps for show and pass it to someone in front the moment he had an opportunity. If he saw no openings, he would pass it back again.

The close-marking from Cambiasso earlier had forced him to use up large amounts of his stamina. Now, he truly had the heart and will, but not a body that could comply.

The trust from his teammates caused the ball to once again be passed to him. Cambiasso also came up to guard against him at the first instance.

While Albertini was focused on dealing with Cambiasso, he did not expect him to be just a decoy. Inter Milan’s captain, Javier Zanetti, suddenly abandoned his position and dashed out from his diagonal, stealing Albertini’s ball from the other side.

Chapter 425 - This Is My Way

No one had thought that Javier Zanetti would suddenly give up his position and rush to the middle of the midfield to fight for the ball. Even his teammates had not expected it.

Cambiasso was surprised to see the captain intercept the ball from under Albertini’s foot, and then watched him dribble the ball to the center circle.

“This is Inter Milan’s counterattack! At the final moment!”

The stands in the Meazza stadium erupted into earthshattering cheers.

“Javier Zanetti! He’s still fighting in the final moments of the game!”

Albertini was startled when he saw the football under his foot suddenly fly out. Then he saw his old opponent’s back, Inter Milan’s number 4, who flitted past him.

He wanted to fall back to defend. The ball was snatched from him. If Inter Milan made use of this chance to score, then he would become a sinner. He could never let this happen!

But just as he was about to run, he saw another figure dash from his side.

It was definitely not another Inter Milan player to the rescue. The figure was clad in red. It was number 13!

“After their intense offense, Nottingham Forest’s rear is empty! This is Inter Milan’s best chance. If they get 3:1, they can eliminate Nottingham with peace of mind. Oh, no! George Wood… Good heavens, he’s really fast! Did he just start to play?!”

George Wood sprinted toward Zanetti dribbling the ball. Watching him run at his full speed was like watching a leopard chasing its prey.

“Son of a b**ch! Go up and help him!” Mancini bellowed off the field without caring whether the players on the field could hear him clearly in such a noisy environment.

Twain also rushed to the sidelines, but he did not call for his players to withdraw and defend. He waved his hands forward!

“Don’t fall back! Dammit! Charge forward! Losing by one ball is still a loss, losing two is still a f**king loss! This is our last chance… George, take the f**king ball!”

In a flash, Wood caught up with Zanetti.

The Inter Milan captain had the ready-for-battle Pepe in front of him, and George Wood was closing in on his side. He knew for certain that he could not rely on his speed or force a breakthrough to get rid of the defense. It was not going to work. He was not the type of player who used speed. But if he stopped to hold the ball and wait for the support of his teammates, perhaps the opponents would fall back into place. That would put the football in his team’s possession, and they could drag out the game to the end. But Zanetti did not want to do it. If they only won by one goal in their home game, then when they played the away game, as long as the opponents won by 1:0, Inter Milan would be eliminated. For the safety of the team, in order to ensure that they could advance, it was imperative that they got as much of a goal difference as possible at home.

This was their last chance to attack before the game ended. He must seize it!

The fourth official appeared between the two referees. He raised the sign for the injury stoppage extra time. But almost no one looked at him. Everyone was focused on the sudden changes on the field.

“Three minutes of injury stoppage time. Inter Milan is in attack mode…If this ball gets in, Nottingham Forest will have conceded two goals. It will also be a tough fight when they return to their home ground. But if...”

The commentator had finished speaking when George Wood spotted a slightly bigger gap in Zanetti’s dribbling. He suddenly powered on and rushed to overtake him. Then he shoveled the ball with his foot and intercepted it from Zanetti. Before he could kick the football again, Wood jabbed it to Pepe!

Zanetti, who was unable to stop in time, kicked Wood in the thigh, staggered, and then fell forward.

“Foul!” A huge roar broke out in the stands.

The referee raised his right hand as he ran over. He shook his extended forefinger.

“Well played!”

All of a sudden, the roar turned deafening and heart-stopping.

Pepe easily received the ball from Wood. He had initially wanted to shoot a long ball straight ahead because most of the Forest players had not had time to fall back. Furthermore, a long pass was the most time-saving way when they were trying to quickly equalize the score.

However, he saw that George Wood had already got up from the ground and was waving to him.

Waving?

What did that mean?

“Give me the ball!” Unable to stand it any longer, Wood finally shouted when he saw Pepe staring blankly at him.

Though Pepe passed the football over, he was still in doubt that he had heard wrong. Since when did Wood show such strong initiative to take the ball?

Wood received Pepe’s pass, but he did not kick a long ball forward. It was largely empty in front of him. The Inter Milan players had just from shifted from defense to offense and now suddenly had to change back from offense to defense. The players had not reacted yet, so no one came up to defend against him.

At the same time, in the stands, a faint song suddenly rang out amidst the deafening hiss. It was certainly not a song to cheer for Inter Milan. It was the singing voices of two thousand Nottingham Forest fans. The singing was intermittent and always drowned out by the Inter Milan fans’ boos and roars, but not completely submerged. Like a small boat wrestling with the wind and waves, a wave would knock it into the water, and it would still emerge from underneath. The storm could toss it into the air and thwack it into the water, but it could not capsize it or make it disappear.

Martins used his speed to chase Wood. He quickly caught up with his target but was completely at a disadvantage when up against Wood! He had wanted to use a tactical foul from behind to stop Nottingham Forest’s counterattack. But he had not expected that when he struck, Wood would only stagger, whereas Martins himself completely lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The boos in the stands got even louder. The Inter Milan fans had already decided that each time one of their players was in a physical confrontation with Wood, it must be Wood’s foul if their player fell. The referee would not penalize because that cunning player’s dirty tricks were well-concealed.

Wood staggered a little, but he soon steadied the football.

At that time, he suddenly did not worry about how he was going to pass the ball because he simply did not care.

He saw the empty tracts in front, so he decided to dribble the ball forward.

Albertini saw the scene up ahead. He paused for a moment before he suddenly turned and ran forward. The Inter Milan players had closely marked the usual Forest offense players. If George suddenly inserted himself, he would be able to disrupt the opponents’ defenses. In that case, he or anyone else would have a chance. Now it was down to whether Wood could see it, think of it, and pass the ball.

Wood dribbled the ball in a straight line. Finally, someone came up to defend against him: Júlio Ricardo Cruz.

As a striker, Cruz’s defensive standard was underwhelming. George Wood just poked the football beside Cruz, used force to kick the ball, and then ramped up his speed. He just bypassed the Argentine.

Wood bypassed the player easily, but he did not have the time to gloat over his success.

Instead, Cruz remained rooted on the spot. He had not thought that Wood would be so fast. He had just made a turn and Wood, who was two meters away, had already swept past. It was not that he did not want to react, like reaching out with his hand or extending his foot to trip him; he just could not respond in time!

Relying on his speed to bypass Cruz, George Wood was already close to Inter Milan’s heavily guarded penalty area. This time, if he blindly barged in, there would probably be only one result: the ball would be cut off.

Wood was not a fool. He slowed down, but he still moved forward. As Cambiasso looked at George Wood, already close at hand, he recalled the profile of this opponent from before the game, which highlighted his defensive abilities. As to his offensive standards, it was glossed over with one remark: “When the Forest team attacks, you guys can treat it that he doesn’t exist.” His previous performance during this game also proved that point. If not, how did we get in our first goal? Didn’t Juan rush forward to intercept this kid’s ball?

If Juan can do it, why can’t I?

I don’t know what’s the matter with this kid that he thinks he can dribble the ball and tear open our defenses. He must be out of his mind!

I’ll finish you, boy.

Because he was the nearest Inter Milan player to him, Cambiasso rushed up.

Wood’s dribbling looked like he had done it to a T. His basic drills were done properly, but he was too rigid.

Cambiasso knew that Wood was stout. He did not intend to slam against him like that fool, Materazzi. Stealing a ball also required some scheming. I just have to let you think that I want to intercept the ball directly to force you to make a move. Then I can look for an opportunity to cut off your clumsy dribbling.

Take a good look, kid.

Cambiasso extended his leg as if he was going to poke at the football. As long as Wood jabbed the football out in panic according to his estimation, he would immediately turn his body to wedge into position. After he intercepted the football, he would organize the counterattack. Zanetti, Martins, Adriano, and Cruz were still in front and had not returned. This was truly a great opportunity to launch a counterattack against the Forest team.

George Wood was also in a bind. He had dribbled the ball to this point in one shot. What should he do next? The front was full of people now, and there was a bald man trying to rob his ball. Wood knew that if he did not pass the football and the ball remained at his feet, then there was a good chance that it would be intercepted again. The best scenario would be if he immediately fouled after the opponent robbed the ball to delay the Inter Milan offense.

That was not the result he wanted. He hoped that the Forest team could equalize the score. Why else would he dribble the ball from the backfield and dash over thirty meters to do something that he wasn’t good at?

As he was trying to figure out what to do, he saw a red figure flash ahead and disappear into the blue-black clad crowd.

“If you don’t know how to pass, then pass the ball to the teammates you see. It’s that simple.”

He did not see his teammates around, except for that red figure.

The bald opposing player was about to make a move, and another figure clad in blue and black also rushed up. They looked like they were going to double-team him and try to intercept the ball to fight back. There’s no time to consider, just do it!

Cambiasso’s toe tips were very close to the football. He did not poke directly at the football. Instead, he went around to the side of the ball. In that way, when Wood kicked the ball out, it would naturally be intercepted. But he overlooked something.

English boy, your show time is over… Huh?

Wood did indeed kick the ball aside when Cambiasso made it look like he was going to steal. But it was not a rush to thrust the ball before a breakthrough, but a direct pass! And, most importantly, the one thing that Cambiasso did not expect was that the football drilled through in between his legs! In order to successfully intercept the ball, Cambiasso spread his legs apart widely, but he did not expect to open a path for Wood instead!

But in the crowded penalty area, who did he pass the football to?

“Albertini!”

Nottingham Forest’s number 4 suddenly appeared in the middle of the defensive line, and because there was no Inter Milan player dedicated to marking him, he received George Wood’s direct pass!

The Inter Milan players had never imagined that Albertini would suddenly appear here, and much less thought that George Wood, who had never performed well in offense, could pass such a piercing shot!

Albertini extended his foot to take the ball and then simply turned. He could already see the goal very clearly. He could see the goalkeeper Júlio César’s mixed expression of alarm and astonishment plainly.

You didn’t think of this, did you, Inter Milan boys?

Nice work, George! I knew you could do it!

“Don’t let him in, block him!” Materazzi shouted as he rushed up. They were now in the penalty area. He definitely would not use a foul to stop the shot, but he believed that he would be able to obstruct Albertini’s goal if he leaned against him. He remembered very clearly the sight of Albertini holding his knee in the front field while gasping for breath. With this level of physical strength, he just had to exert a little impact, and that could cause him to miss the shot.

I can’t run anymore, and I don’t have the strength to return to defend. I’ve not been substituted because my manager and teammates trust me. Before this game, Chief said that he would let me play the entire game. I can’t end the game without showing any results.

Materazzi, when I played in San Siro, you were still a kid in some low-level team. I’m the master here!

I’m Demetrio Albertini. This is my way!

Albertini swung his leg to shoot, and Materazzi bolted to block with his leg raised high. But he missed his target because it was just a feint. The Nottingham Forest’s number 4, once Inter Milan’s number 4, overly lifted his leg, and then buckled down. He flashed past Materazzi, but Samuel also rushed over. Looking at his appearance, it seemed that as long as Albertini lifted his leg again, he would have the opportunity to kick the football out.

But Albertini would not give him the chance. He raised his leg to directly shoot into the goal!

The football flew between Samuel and Materazzi. It was not fast, and not very powerful, but it was sudden enough! It flew in an arc and bypassed Júlio César’s hands. Then it went downwards, drilled into the goal, and hit the net.

“A terrific goal!”

“Oh my god! Nottingham Forest scores an equalizer at the last minute!”

“GOOOAL!”

“Demetrio Albertini, the Nottingham Forest captain, captures the city of Inter Milan!”

“Nottingham Forest strikes back, and they’ve won! Two away goals! Two!”

Twain rushed out of his seat. He repeatedly waved his fists vigorously and showed off at Inter Milan’s home ground.

Albertini found it hard to suppress his inner excitement. He turned and ran towards Wood. He hugged him and then excitedly pulled him down to the ground.

“Thank you, George! Thank you!”

“Beautiful job, captain!” Eastwood sprang forward as more of his teammates leaped forward and stacked on top of one another. Even the veteran, Edwin van der Sar, came running from the goal post and jumped up while he waved his fists.

“George Wood’s assist was a complete surprise. Look at the excitement of the Forest team. It’s as if they have already been promoted. Two away goals are enough to make the English players leave Italy with a smile.”

The boos, abuses, and roars in the Meazza stadium were gone. Only the singing voices of the two thousand English people rang out in the stadium. The storm was over, and that small boat was still floating. The sun was shining on the boat after the storm had passed.

“We are the best team in England! We are the best team in the world!”

They were such arrogant lyrics, but looking at the scene on the field now, no one would think of the word “arrogant.”

They had really done it.

They had equalized the score with Inter Milan! Two away goals were worth thousands!

Mancini’s face was ashen, and his lips were white from biting. He seemed to be able to foresee what situation he and his team would face in England a week later.

Oh, f**k… Son of a b**ch!

※※※

The Nottingham Forest players’ crazy celebration required the referee’s intervention so that the game could continue. But with less than two minutes left, it was pointless.

After Inter Milan kicked off, it was a long shot to the front field, in hopes that the Recoba would be able to receive the ball. But the kick used too much force, and the ball flew directly out of the sidelines. They handed over the possession of the ball in vain.

What happened next was simple. Albertini returned to the backfield and used his technique and experience to keep the football firmly at the Forest team’s feet. He was not in a hurry to kick forward. He slowly whiled away the remaining time.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, the Nottingham Forest players held their arms aloft and celebrated on the field while the Inter Milan players slung back to the locker room with their heads lowered. For decorum’s sake, Mancini had to come up to shake hands with Twain.

“Congratulations, Mr. Twain.” Despite being dissatisfied with the score, Mancini still congratulated Twain with a smile on his face.

Twain obviously knew that Mancini’s smile was forced and that he would not be in the mood to smile with this outcome. Therefore, he tactfully gave a short and simple reply and the two men parted. Mancini was interviewed by several reporters in the mixed zone, and then he hurried away.

On the other hand, Twain went onto the field to celebrate the “victorious draw” with his players.

Albertini led the players to thank the English fans who had traveled from afar. George Wood was next to him.

He thought of the last goal. I really did not expect Wood to send out that kind of shot. Was I dreaming?

But regardless of the process, the outcome was still a good thing. He got the desired results, so he did not care too much about how Wood had achieved that pass.

Watching the celebrating players, Twain did not want to disturb them, so he turned and walked towards the players’ tunnel.

The inside of his pocket vibrated. It was his cell phone. He put it on vibrate during games.

There were two text messages. The first one was sent by Clarice Gloria.

“The game was a success, and that last goal was perfect. Thank you for your support and cooperation these days, Mr. Twain. May you go even further in the Champions League.”

Twain replied with one sentence: “I want to thank you too, Miss Gloria.” Then he looked at the next message.

It was not a text message, but a multimedia message.

Appearing on the screen of Twain’s cell phone was a selfie.

Shania stood in front of the camera with a happy smile and made a peace sign with her hand. Behind her was the jam-packed Meazza stadium stand. On the far end was a grandstand in a sea of red, which was the assemblage of Nottingham Forest fans.

Twain looked up and turned his eyes to the stands. The fans were already leaving. He could not find Shania in the mass of people in the stands.

But it did not matter.

The important thing was that Twain had had faith that Shania would come, and Shania had come.

Chapter 426 - George and Demi’s Future

Even after returning to Nottingham and resuming training, some of Wood’s teammates still talked to him about his forward cut at the final minute to assist with the offense. Precisely because of how he had moved up abruptly with the ball, Albertini was able to create an opportunity to equalize the score. Even the teammates who were familiar with George were mystified by his actions. Without considering actual matches, it was extremely rare to see George Wood dribble the ball for more than 30 meters even when they were playing against each other in practice matches during usual training.

“Uh huh. Wood, could you tell us how you felt after taking off with the ball to assist with the goal, from the back?” Ribéry asked Wood, acting like a reporter during a moment’s rest in training.

Wood look at him and expressionlessly said, “Not bad.”

Ribéry scratched his head. “Hey, George, you’re not cooperating at all. Reporters would have a headache, you know that? Didn’t that playboy agent of yours teach you how to deal with the media?”

“But you’re not a reporter.”

The surrounding teammates laughed.

Ribéry coughed twice and muttered, “Can’t tell if you’re not immersed enough in the act, or overly immersed…”

※※※

While Ribéry was joking with Wood on the training grounds, Albertini was not sitting at the sidelines and resting. Instead, he found his way into the manager’s office.

“Is anything the matter, Demi?”

Tang En was making tea for himself in the office. He liked drinking tea very much, but his habits of tea-drinking were not at all like those of an Englishman. Everyone in the club knew about that.

“Boss, I would like to discuss something about Wood with you…”

Tang En set the teacup on the table. “George? What’s the matter with him?”

“I think you’re using him in a rather limited way,” Albertini said seriously.

Tang En understood this man’s personality. He was the kind of person who would say exactly what he thought. That was the reason he had clashed with every other manager he previously worked under. However, nothing like that had taken place throughout their cooperation so far. Tang En was just beginning to think something was wrong, and he had immediately come knocking.

Tang En turned back to the tea. “Would you like sugar or cream?”

“Ah? Oh, no. Thank you, Boss. But water is fine for me.”

Tang En handed a glass of water to Albertini. “Now, tell me more, Demi.”

“Boss, you’ve been using George as a midfield engineer, but I don’t think he should be used that way. His position and effect shouldn’t be restricted to just being an engineer, to be responsible for the defense and ending his mission there. It shouldn’t be like that.” Albertini said, shaking his head.

“Then, what do you suggest?”

“I want George to become a midfield player who is capable of both offense and defense. To become a midfielder like me.”

“To take control of the pace of attacking and defending?”

Albertini nodded. “Where he has the edge over both Arteta and I is the fact that his stamina is better than either of ours. He can persist and play in every match in the season for the full 90 minutes without needing to be rotated. I believe stability is a prerequisite for being a core; regardless if it is the stability of his condition or the amount of time fielded. In that way, the team could also adapt to him more easily.”

Tang En nodded as he listened, and noticed Albertini looking at him. He waved his hand at him, saying, “Go on.”

“George has an outstanding physique. I think it is rather wasteful for him to only be a defending midfielder. If he could put his body into offense, he would surely create huge trouble for his opponents. Did you see the final goal we scored? Martins, Cruz, and Cambiasso all failed to threaten him. If we had a player like him capable of holding the ball in our front field, someone who was not afraid to lose the ball, our offense would be better paced.”

Tang En pointed to Albertini. “You could do it with George. You hold the ball, he protects. Haven’t we always done that?”

“If one person can achieve that, do we need two?”

Albertini’s question stumped Tang En.

“If one person can do the work of two, then wouldn’t the other person be relieved to do other things? Wouldn’t that be equivalent to having 12 people on the field for us?”

“You could be right, Demi. But you know that George is lacking talent in attacking.”

Albertini shook his head. “Perhaps that’s only because he performs too well in the defensive arena and it obscured his talent the other way. Did you see his performance in the final moments of the last match?”

Tang En nodded.

“Wasn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes. It was great, very beautiful.”

“If he truly had no talent, how could he have discovered that pass route? You must understand that the penalty area was entirely filled with people. I also made no signal for the ball from within that crowd. I only ran diagonally towards the gap I spotted, praying that George had also seen it. He did, and passed the ball accurately, without error.”

Speaking of that ball, Albertini was somewhat excited even now. However, he was not excited over scoring a goal himself; while he had not scored that many goals over the course of his professional career, scoring a goal was just not worthwhile enough for him to be that thrilled about it. What he was excited about was the fact that the ball came from George Wood’s assist.

“Uh... I think it was just a wild shot, Demi. It was a coincidence.”

“But, behind every such accident must surely be an inevitability. I believe that maybe he did not know I was in the penalty area. But he had surely seen that gap, otherwise, he wouldn’t have passed the ball to that spot. Do you agree with that, Boss?”

Tang En nodded. “Agreed.”

“Some football players would never be able to see that gap, even after playing football their whole life. But Wood could. Isn’t that also a kind of talent? It’s just that he expressed that talent a little later than other aspects of his genius.”

As the two were discussing that point, David Kerslake walked in.

“What are you guys chatting about?”

“We’re chatting about George’s future,” Tang En said, opening his hands.

“George’s future?” Kerslake asked, confused.

“I told Boss that he has a misconception about how to use George. George shouldn’t just be a midfield engineer, knowing nothing except defending.”

After hearing Albertini say that, Kerslake looked up at Tang En, wanting to know his opinion.

“We were just discussing whether George has any talent in attacking. What do you think, David?” Tang En asked.

Kerslake thought about it. “When he was in the Youth Team, I always let him play the position of a defending midfielder. I also told him to guard at the back whenever they were attacking… Because, truthfully speaking, I don’t see any attacking talent in him.”

Albertini was unhappy with Kerslake’s answer and shrugged.

“If you only tell him, ‘when attacking, you should stay at the back and wait’, how could you possibly discover other talents outside of his defensive capabilities?”

“Demi. Right in the beginning, George’s position in the team was a forward. But he never scored a single goal. Instead, he tackled Eastwood’s leg and broke it,” Kerslake explained to Albertini.

The Italian nodded.

“I know about that, coach. But, George back then and the George now are different. The current George is more mature. I believe he can do better than before… But, of course, I don’t think he is suitable to play as a forward. The best position for him is still a defensive midfielder, not merely an engineer who can only defend.”

“You want Wood to become the true core?” Tang En asked, understanding Albertini’s intention.

“Yes. Not just in spirit, but even more strategically.” Albertini paused momentarily and said, “In truth, there’s also another crucial reason. The other reason I hope for George to become a player like me, to become a midfielder who can both defend and attack is… I’ve decided to retire.”

The teacup that Tang En held by his mouth stopped moving. He thought he had heard wrong.

Kerslake turned to look at the Italian sitting on the sofa.

“I’m sorry… if I didn’t hear wrong, Demi, did you say you were going to retire?” Kerslake asked.

Albertini nodded. “My contract ends after this season.”

“Oh, no. No… the club has already drafted a new contract for you. The conditions are no problem at all. So long as you sign off it, you can continue to play. There’s no problem at all…”

Kerslake panicked. He thought Albertini was only saying that because the club had yet to announce a contract renewal with him.

“You misunderstand me, David. When I got injured before the season, I seriously pondered this issue. I feel that my body can no longer recover. If I continue like this, I will certainly continue getting injured in the matches I play. I won’t be of any help to the team. I don’t want to become a good-for-nothing who sits on the spectators’ stand drawing a pay.”

Tang En put down his teacup and pulled out his drawer. He scoured through it, looking for something.

“So, I decided not to renew my contract with the club after the end of the season. After that, I’ll go back to Italy to register for the manager’s course. After retirement, I plan to become a manager. This is something I’ve planned for since a long time ago…”

Tang En walked over, and with a wave, stopped Albertini from saying any more. He handed a document over to the Italian.

“It’s still not time to say goodbye, Demi. This is the draft contract the club has prepared for you. We were just planning to contact your agent for a discussion.”

Albertini flipped through the contract and returned it to Tang En. “I’m very grateful for the trust the club has in me. This is an extremely generous contract.”

It truly was generous. Same as before, it was a two-year contract. It was without stipulations on the number of times fielded, goals scored, assist counts, or any other conditions that would restrict him from continuing to receive a salary. In comparison to the first contract, the salary had been raised even higher due to the improvement in the club’s financial condition. At the same time, the salary standards across the team had also been raised.

“But I can’t accept it.”

Tang En looked at Albertini’s expression. “Do you think this is charity, Demi?”

Albertini shook his head.

“Your performance is worthy of this contract. The team still needs you. At this moment, if I walked out to tell them that their team captain has decided to stay on the team, do you know how elated they would be?” Tang En said as he pointed to the windows behind him.

“Look at your last match. Your performance was stunning. You’re not old yet, Demi.”

Albertini cocked his head and laughed. “I’m already 34. Not old? When I was young, I could play matches like that throughout the entire season. Now, I can only occasionally play that way. That’s the difference.”

That news came too suddenly for Tang En. During Albertini’s period of injury, Tang En had once worried about it. But at that point, Demi had appeared greatly optimistic. So, Tang En had also gradually forgotten about it. He had not expected the optimism to only be a fa?ade; he had been planning this the whole time.

Kerslake looked at the stubborn Albertini and was at a loss for words.

But Tang En was even more stubborn than Albertini.

“No, Demi. I hope you will reconsider your retirement. Didn’t you just say you hoped for George to become a midfielder like you? If you retire after this season ends, how will he ever become like you? If you must leave, please stay for another year and help us. Train George. You can do it in the matches and training. You can personally coach him about what he should do… what do you think?”

Albertini looked at Tang En. “The one who suggested this was me.”

Tang En nodded.

“So, the person to resolve this also has to be me.”

Tang En continued nodding.

Albertini dropped his head and thought seriously. Tang En did not hurry him, turning back to continue drinking tea.

“Really? Only for a year?” Albertini’s voice sounded.

“A year. But, if you think a year isn’t long enough, and you need more time, I won’t object.” Tang En said with a laugh.

“Alright. I’ll sign. I’ll call my agent to come tomorrow. You’ve won, Boss. But this is my final contract. When the next season ends, I’ll officially retire.”

It was already a rather good result, having retained Albertini’s service for another season in the team. Tang En had nothing more to ask.

“As you wish, Demi. Okay, return to your training.”

Albertini left with Kerslake. Tang En was in no hurry to return to the training grounds. He added some hot water to his now cold tea. Then, holding the teacup, he returned to stand by the windows, looking out at the training grounds outside.

He had thought that providing Albertini with an extremely generous contract would let him feel more for Forest Team. But in the end, whether it was Atlético Madrid, Lazio, or Nottingham Forest, none of them had managed to leave a deep impression in his heart; just like having the back of a blade running through it, it would only leave a white mark that would gradually disappear with time, no matter how hard one tried. AC Milan to him, on the other hand, was like a mark from the sharp edge of a blade; it was extremely painful and bled.?But after the bleeding stopped, it left a permanent scar that would stay there no matter how much time passed, to the point of death.

Tang En sighed as he watched Albertini return to the training grounds.

※※※

The next day, Nottingham Forest held an official press conference. Evan Doughty, Tony Twain, as well as Demetrio Albertini were all in attendance.

The first piece of information Tang En announced during the press conference was the renewal of Albertini’s contract.

“… I am very delighted to announce this decision. Demi has signed a new contract with the team. Next season, our number 4 captain will remain here and fight with us.”

A round of applause sounded from where the reporters were seated.

Tang En pointed to Albertini. It was his turn to speak.

“I’m very grateful that the club was able to provide me with a good contract. I like Nottingham Forest very much. Playing for Forest for two seasons has brought me great joy and terrific memories. Everyone here treats me very well, to the point that it made me feel as if I was not a foreigner here. That’s is the main reason I decided to renew my contract for another year. Thank you to the club’s Chairman Evan Doughty, Manager Twain, and each one of my teammates. I’ve decided to stay and battle through another season with you.”

Another round of applause sounded.

“At the same time, I’ve also decided that this will be the final contract of my professional football career.”

Faced with that declaration, the reporters were clearly unprepared. All of them looked at each other blankly.

Tang En sat to one side, quietly listening to Albertini speak.

“At the end of the next season, I will officially retire and end my professional football career. This is a decision I’ve made after immense consideration. Thank you, everyone.”

After Albertini finished speaking, he stood up and shook hands with Tang En before turning to leave.

Tang En turned his head and said to the reporters, “Just as everyone has seen today, we are lucky that Demi agreed to play another year. What’s not so lucky is that he will only be playing for one more year. I have nothing else to say. Today’s press conference ends here. Thank you, everybody. Goodbye!”

Chapter 427 - Famous

The day after the announcement of the contract renewal, Nottingham Forest ushered in their league tournament opponents at home.

Nottingham Forest’s current situation was very delicate.

On one hand, they were making triumphant progress in the Champions League; on the other hand, Manchester United continued to narrow the gap in points.

By the time they got to this game, the point difference between the two teams had shrunk from the highest at twelve points to the lowest at four.

Despite that, Twain still hid away half of his main force before the second Champions League game with Inter Milan. Even George Wood was seated on the substitutes’ bench.

The recent competition schedule was so intense that Twain had to consider every player’s stamina, which was also a decision made by the fitness coach.

In the end, Nottingham Forest shook hands and made peace with Aston Villa at 2:2 in the home game.

On the other side, Manchester United defeated Bolton Wanderers by 2:1 in the away game. The point difference between both teams was now at two points.

It was two points with a one-game difference.

The media in Manchester had already called out the catchphrase that they were going to overtake Nottingham Forest and return to the second place in the rankings.

Since they were being eliminated from the Champions League group stage, Manchester United’s condition became better. It was a blessing in disguise.

While Nottingham Forest and Manchester United were constantly tangled with each other, Chelsea continued to leave everyone else in the dust. At the end of the 32nd round of the league, Chelsea had already accumulated seventy-nine points. They had ranked first since the third round of the league and had never been dethroned.

Chelsea now looked like an invincible legion with outstanding players, excellent coaches, and a generous boss. This season, the English media had been discussing who could surpass Chelsea and unseat them. They came to a conclusion now; there was no hope of it happening this season.

Chelsea had accumulated 79 points, and Nottingham Forest had 71. With six rounds left in the league tournament, eight points might not be insurmountable, but the theoretical possibility of winning the title was useless to Twain. He was aware that if he wanted to win the title this season, not only must his team win consecutively for the last six rounds, but Chelsea must also lose in succession. Considering the fact that the Forest team also had to participate in the Champions League, it would be too difficult to achieve that.

Twain’s goal was to go as far as possible in the Champions League while holding the second place in the league tournament. In that way, they could continue to be in the Champions League next season and make money.

Now he sensed danger in the two-point gap between them and Manchester United. For the first time in the entire league tournament, he felt that the chasers were closing in on them. With only two points, too many things could happen with only six rounds left in the league tournament.

However, what troubled Twain even more was that he had no time to worry about the relentless Manchester United at all. In his mind, the crisis of Manchester United catching up needed to be temporarily placed in second. The first thing which urgently needed to be resolved was the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals with Inter Milan.

※※※

The next day after the game with Aston Villa, Inter Milan’s plane flew to London.

Twain had originally planned to rely on the tactic of defensive counterattacking in the away game and then using offense to eliminate Inter Milan when they returned to their home ground.

However, he had changed his mind after scoring the two away goals at the Meazza stadium.

Having lost two goals at home, Mancini must let Inter Milan choose to play offense in this game if they wanted to advance. Not to mention that surpassing those two away goals, Inter Milan must at least break the balance of the 2:2 score. Therefore, they must attack. If they still chose to play defense in this game, then Inter Milan would just be eliminated ninety minutes later.

As long as Inter Milan attacked, they should be able to find their opponents’ defensive loopholes. Twain was resolved to use the defensive counterattack at their home ground and quietly lie in wait for Inter Milan.

When they went to Italy, the two thousand Nottingham fans deeply felt the Inter Milan fans’ enthusiasm. Now it was their turn to show the Italian fans their more enthusiastic side.

The thunderous singing voices in the City Ground stadium, which could only accommodate twenty-seven people, made it impossible for the Italian fans to be heard.

“These English madmen...” grumbled the Italian fans. But that remark was not an exaggeration. The Nottingham Forest fans really were crazy. The Englishmen’s singing started before the game had even begun and had not stopped once.

Their voices never seemed to be hoarse and never stopped singing. In other countries’ league tournaments, so as to liven up the atmosphere and make the game look more exciting, there could be a live broadcast to play the fans’ cries to cheer the players on and to make everyone feel as though the fans were really singing and shouting in the stadium.

However, only the stadiums in England used “manual labor.” The live broadcast was only used to announce the list of appearances, goals, substitutions, and other procedural items. The atmosphere of the game completely depended on the fans’ mouths.

A qualified English football fan must carry lozenges with him when he attended a game.

With all the singing, cursing, and cheering, they seemed to be a harmonious chorus. They reacted along with the changes in the situation of the game. Those who did not understand would think they were too noisy, like static. And those people who understood thought that it was the most wonderful thing. When one thought about it, tens of thousands of people shouting one’s name at the same time, singing spontaneously written songs praising oneself, that feeling was wondrous!

Of course, for their opponents, it was a nightmare.

In this game, Inter Milan actively launched an onslaught in Nottingham Forest’s penalty area right from the start. Nottingham Forest also retreated, just like the first leg of both teams.

No matter how ugly the battle was when they were bombarded by the opponents in a siege around the goal area, they would not hear the Nottingham Forest fans’ dissatisfied boos. They continued to cheer for the team as always. As long as they made one fantastic defense, they would receive the full applause from the stands.

That was the driving force that supported the Forest team to move forward.

In the first half, the Forest team and Inter Milan tied at 0:0.

This was what Twain wanted to see.

In the second half, the teams changed sides and fought again. The Forest team did not change their tactics. They launched occasional counterattacks to threaten Inter Milan’s goal.

Inter Milan had more chances in this game than in the first round. But after the bombardment, when the smoke dissipated, Inter Milan supporters hopelessly discovered that Nottingham Forest’s goal remained intact. The score on the electronic scoreboard did not change in the slightest.

The Forest team’s defensive formations were well maintained. Once the Inter Milan players charged into the thirty-meter area, they found that there was no room to pass the ball.

As the game progressed, the more Nottingham Forest defended, the more confident they became and the more impatient Inter Milan became.

The Inter Milan players realized that if this score remained the same to the end, they would be eliminated because of the lack of away goals. They just needed one goal to change that outcome.

Inter Milan’s offense came in waves. Mancini sent all the attacking players he could send to strike a goal at the last moment to save him and their fate.

“One goal! We just need one goal!” Inter Milan’s captain, Javier Zanetti, urged his teammates on so that they did not give up the game.

“Defend! Don’t let them get close!” Albertini shouted.

The game had entered a climactic stage. For the sake of their own victory, it could be said that both teams became almost unscrupulous as far as the rules were allowed in the situation. In fact, the main performance lay with Nottingham Forest.

In order to waste time in the game, the Forest players paid the price of three yellow cards in the last five minutes. Even Edwin van der Sar received his first yellow card in the season’s Champions League because he took too long to throw the ball. Moreover, the players who received the yellow cards were spread out. Twain specifically briefed those players. He could not allow the players with existing yellow cards to deliberately get another one. The gains would not make up for the losses.

In addition to some overly obvious time-wasting in the game, there were some actions which would not result in a yellow card but objectively did cause the game time to be used up. In the last five minutes, for example, Nottingham Forest had three players fall on the field with cramps in their calves due to depleted physical strength. They were Anelka, Franck Ribéry, and Leighton Baines, who were in the forward, midfield and rear positions. When those three men held their calves in pain as they tumbled to the ground, who knew if they really had muscle cramps or were faking it?

However, the Forest players played fiercely. It would make sense that they were unable to endure physically in the last moments. If George Wood suddenly fell in pain to show that he was cramping, he would probably be booed; it would be too fake.

George Wood had excellent stamina. Whenever the Inter Milan players ran until they were exhausted and could still see the opposing number 13 in full sprint, they would feel a surge of despair from the bottom of their hearts.

The last moment of the game was the most stressful. Twain would never dare to joke and laugh with David Kerslake next to him about how they had won. His heart would not feel settled until the last second of the game.

Inter Milan had one last chance to attack. It was a corner kick!

Even their goalkeeper, Júlio César, gave up defending the goal and rushed over to huddle in the crowd to prepare for the fight for the header. There was no need to defend the goal any longer. If the ball did not get in, Inter Milan’s road to this season’s Champions League would end here.

After the corner kick was out, the Forest team’s goal area was chaotic. The people in the stands, in the commentator’s box, and technical area on the sidelines could not see clearly what had happened in front of the goal.

Did the ball get in?

Who has possession of the ball now?

Son of a b**ch, don’t block my view!

Is there a foul?

What’s going on down there?

Amidst the chaos, an Inter Milan player seemed to raise his arms, but his arms were quickly put down.

Materazzi’s header into the goal was very powerful. Edwin van der Sar could not save it in time. However, Chimbonda, who stood next to the goal post, blocked it. Chaos immediately followed. Someone kicked the ball, and someone else kicked another person. In the complete messy situation, Júlio César discovered that the football was right in front of him!

This was his chance to be a hero!

When he swung his leg, he found that someone else was faster to kick the ball than he was, except that it was in the opposite direction.

Amidst the chaos, George Wood became keenly aware of the unmarked Júlio César, as well as the football in front of him. Therefore, he risked being awarded a penalty kick for tackling a player in the penalty area and shoveled the football before César!

When they saw the football fly out of the sidelines, all of the Nottingham Forest people heaved a sigh of relief.

At the same time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

“The game is over!”

Twain stood up with both his arms raised high and his fists tightly clenched. His nails dug into his flesh. His heart had almost exploded just now, it was all so thrilling. If César had scored that goal, perhaps he would not have been able to stand up from his seat.

Fortunately, it was no longer in doubt.

“Congratulations Nottingham Forest! They now advance into the Champions League semi-finals! This is a great achievement for Tony Twain’s team!”

“On the other hand, I feel sorry for Inter Milan. They fought bravely in this away game. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Farewell, Inter Milan. Try again next season!”

※※※

The Red Forest returns to Europe!

That was not the local Nottingham media tooting their own horn. It was the front-page headline of La Gazzetta Dello Sport in Italy. Under the headline, the image of the red Nottingham Forest players racing to celebrate contrasted sharply with the opposing blue-and-black Inter Milan players.

There was also a small photograph below the large cover photograph, which showed the same red figures. But the style of the jerseys was very old. It was a photograph of the glorious period when Nottingham Forest had won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 1979.

With the two photographs put together, the meaning was obvious. It was to remind everyone that the team, after being almost forgotten by the world, was back.

The Italians analyzed the game from a tactical level and thought that Inter Milan’s defeat to Nottingham Forest was not unfair. Twain had used the Italians’ best defensive tactic to eliminate the Italian team. He made the Italians wholly concede their defeat.

Invincible Youth

That was the headline of the Spanish newspaper Diario AS. The main highlight of the article focused on the ages of the Forest players. The Spanish reporters said it was not unbelievable for the Forest team to reach the semi-finals. After all, the team was considered to be the darkest dark horse in the group stage of the Champions League. What amazed people more was that the team was so young. From the assistant manager to the manager and all the players, they were all so young. The 37-year-old Tony Twain was the youngest manager in the history of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

All of a sudden, Twain’s name and photograph were on the front pages of the major European sports media. The UEFA Champions League Magazine even released a carefully prepared feature film to introduce an overall view of Tony Twain and the astonishing Forest team.

The name Nottingham Forest was repeatedly mentioned in various articles. Evan was so delighted he could not stop smiling. He was once again convinced that he had made the right decision in choosing Twain and letting him stay on.

Nottingham Forest’s opponents in the Champions League semi-finals had already been decided. It would be an English civil war. The confrontation between the two sides had its origin in history. It began from the Nottingham Forest players who had first established this now brilliant club: Arsenal.

※※※

When the assistant manager Pat Rice knocked on the door of the manager’s office, Wenger was fiddling with his video recorder.

“You called for me, what’s the matter? What are you doing, Arsène?”

“I asked you to come and study my latest video.” Wenger squatted on the ground and did not lift up his head. “As you can see, I’m jiggling with this VCR. There’s a little bit of a problem, but it doesn’t matter.”

“But there was no competition yesterday...” Rice opened his hands in puzzlement. He walked over to the snowy television screen.

“It’s not a video of a game, Pat.” Wenger stood up with the remote control in his hand, turned to his assistant manager, and said, “Did you watch it? The latest edition of the UEFA Champions League Magazine.”

Pat Rice guessed, “You mean the edition that introduced Nottingham Forest?”

Wenger nodded. “What do you think of that episode?”

“It wasn’t bad. I learned a lot of things that I didn’t understand before. It was interesting. I seldom see such a meticulous feature about a football club. But that guy, Twain, doesn’t act like a football manager. He acts more like a primetime soap opera star.”

“That isn’t something we care about. Even if he decides to release an album, it’s none of our concern.” Wenger was not interested in Twain’s character.

“So, you called me here to…”

“I recorded that episode. I partly agree with you. The show is very detailed, as if it were a documentary. I don’t think that’s Tony Twain acting and showing off in front of the camera. That’s just how he is.” Wenger pressed the remote control in his hand and an image appeared on the screen. It was the scene where Twain was urging his players on the sidelines of the training ground. “So, I think that this episode is very valuable for our research. Especially before the Champions League semi-final game.”

Chapter 428 - “I”

“Uncle Tony, I saw that week’s show, but can I make a suggestion?”

“Sure.”

“The next time you go on television, remember to iron your suit.” Shania started laughing in delight.

Tang En, holding the phone on the other end, scratched his head.

Ever since the matter with Inter Milan, he had managed to patch things up with Shania. That probably made him even happier than eliminating Inter Milan. Just like before, they could chat on the phone or the internet. Clarice Gloria was no longer a problem. Still, Tang En still maintained contact with that beautiful woman.

During the period after the away match against Inter Milan, the English media attempted to stir up the gossip between him and Gloria. This time, Tang En completely ignored it, letting it pass. He did not appear in front of the media to explain his relationship with Gloria, and the lady in question made no further response. With time, their audience started to get bored. Or, more accurately, they found some other topic that piqued their interest. The relationship between them slowly fell out of the limelight, and everyone’s interest in Tang En refocused itself on football.

Shania laughed loudly over the phone. Her peals of laughter, sounding like silver bells, were like a song with a graceful melody. Tang En liked hearing it, so he said nothing.

“No matter what, you’re a huge star now. You have to be more attentive to your public image.”

“It’s alright, I do attend to it… I think it’s already pretty good that I’m not out every day wearing just sports attire. You haven’t seen how Dunn dresses. That’s what I call terrible!”

Tang En could almost sense Shania rolling her eyes over the phone.

“Two men living together. That’s the end of the world. How often do you clean the place? And how often do you wash your clothes?”

Tang En suddenly felt that Shania’s tone was not exactly one that a younger person should take on when addressing their elders.

“Uh, it’s fine.”

Shania sighed. That must be some kind of chronic disease for men. There was nothing she could do, so she changed the subject. “How’s Auntie Sophia? How’s her health?”

“It’s okay. She’s still recovering and maintaining her health. Now, Dunn and I have dinner with her once every two weeks. She’s been in good spirits.”

“I’m really sorry. We couldn’t spend Christmas together last year, and this year is unknown as well. Christmas is the busiest time for me. I really hate this job!”

“Shania.”

“Alright, alright. I’m just saying. I’ll stop here, I’ve got to sleep. There’s still work tomorrow.”

“This early?” Tang En raised his wrist to look at his watch. It was only 9:03 pm.

“I need rest so that I can maintain myself better.”

Hearing Shania act maturely and say something like that made Tang En smile. “Okay. Good night, Shania. Sweet dreams.”

“Good night, Uncle Tony.”

After hanging up the phone, Tang En walked down from his room upstairs. Dunn was still silently watching recordings from the matches and training. Tang En stood at the staircase and took in the mess in the living room; all sorts of packaging from the recordings, clothes, and newspapers were strewn all over the floor and on the sofa.

He had always lived in that kind of environment. But, after having it pointed out by Shania, he also found it somewhat unbearable. He walked down and began cleaning up the house.

Dunn heard some sounds behind him and turned to look. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning up.”

“Now?” Dunn looked up at the wall clock.

“Of course. I have to do it when I remember it.”

Dunn saw that he was about to arrange the packaging of his recordings and hastily stood.

“I’ll take care of that.”

Tang En passed the mission of cleaning up the record packaging over to him. He himself took the dirty clothes on the sofa into the washroom and dumped them into the washing machine. When he came out, he was holding a rag to wipe the table.

“You… finished chatting with Shania?”

Seeing Tang En being so Zealous, Dunn could guess the reason behind it.

Tang En nodded.

“Is she coming?”

Tang En looked up and glanced at Dunn before shaking his head.

“No. I just thought that it was scary that we’ve been living in a pile of rubbish.”

Dunn grimaced but said nothing.

“Hey, Dunn. Shouldn’t you consider getting married more?”

Looking at Dunn, who was so casual that he was somewhat slovenly, Tang En thought that having a woman who could take care of Dunn’s living conditions, entering his heart and occupying an important position, could effectively change his character and temperament.

“But I’m not interested in women now.”

“Oh, stop… I get nervous whenever you say that.”

Dunn saw Tang En’s anxious face and suddenly broke into a smile; it lasted for a mere second before disappearing.

“The law in China states that a male can only get married when they’re above 23 years of age. According to my age, I have only just crossed the average. There are still many in their thirties who aren’t even married.”

“But your true age…”

Tang En thought about the unique situation of their identities, and said, “Ah, how weird…”

“I’m Dunn now. 24-year-old Dunn.”

Tang En coughed twice. “That’s right, that’s right. I am Tony, Tony Twain.”

“37-year-old Tony Twain. Haven’t you, as well, yet to consider your own marriage?”

Tang En glared Dunn. “There’s history behind that. And there’s something I’m really interested in… How many memories do you have of me, Dunn? I’ve only retained memories of the period after you arrived here. I know nothing further back. What about you?”

“The entirety,” Dunn answered. “Since I began understanding things up to now.”

“I thought it was an equivalent exchange…” Tang En grumbled. He never knew the memories of the previous Tony before coming to Nottingham Forest. After meeting Dunn, it was not told to him. So, Tang En figured Dunn was purposefully trying to avoid letting people know. Perhaps, that was an extremely important or beautiful period for him, so he did not wish to share it with others. But it was no matter. If Dunn did not wish to talk about it, Tang En would not force him to. It was not as if he could not live on without having those memories. He did not care about those things.

“Because I… In the past, I’ve tried very hard to forget those days. Maybe that’s why you don’t remember them.” Dunn said, as if he knew what Tang En was thinking. Tang En would not be surprised if that were the case. When they were together, there was always a sense of telepathy between them. Perhaps it was due to having exchanged their bodies and souls.

It seemed that they were bad memories…

“Then, have you forgotten?”

“…No.”

Tang En did not wish to pry into his privacy. So, even though he was greatly curious as to what kind of period it was for Dunn to so desperately try to forget, he did not continue asking.

“Do you want to know about it?” Unexpectedly, Dunn initiated the topic.

“Huh?” Tang En was surprised.

“Do you want to know about ‘your’ past?”

Tang En did not know if he should say yes or no. It was true that he very much wanted to know what had previously happened to the body of Tony Twain, but…

“But, haven’t you always been unwilling to talk about it?”

“I want to talk about it now.”

“Why, suddenly…”

“Because I think it’s unfair to you. I know everything about your past, but you don’t know mine. Do you have anything scheduled tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Uh, I’m bringing the team to London for an away match against Chelsea.”

Dunn looked at Tang En. “That’s not an easy team to deal with.”

Tang En shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Do you need any suggestions?”

Tang En shook his head. “No, but thanks. And that sort of work can wait ’til you become a First Team manager.”

“Alright. When you return from London, I’ll bring you to look at your past.”

The sound of dripping water could be heard from the washroom.

“Ah. The laundry is done. I’ll hang them up.” Tang En tossed the rag down and turned, leaving the living room.

After bundling up the boxes from the recordings, Dunn took up the rag Tang En had tossed aside, continuing what he was doing earlier.

※※※

After eliminating Inter Milan, Tang En could, for the time being, finally put his focus on the domestic league. Currently, Nottingham Forest only had a two-point difference from Manchester United. Getting a draw in their match would allow the opponents to be on par with them while losing would set them back. In the final stages of the League matches, Forest still had two tough battles. A home ground match welcoming Manchester United, and an away match challenging Chelsea.

Even though all top four teams of the EPL would be awarded participation rights for next season’s UEFA Champions League, there was still a difference between entering the matches directly and needing to participate in the qualifiers. Leaving out the impact it would have on the team’s preparation for summer to play a few additional matches, the issue of saving face was no small matter; it was incredibly embarrassing if a strong team always needed to go through the qualifiers before participating in the Champions League proper.

The match with Chelsea was going to be a hard battle. But, the good news to Tang En was that this match was not scheduled in the period between the two Champions League matches. Otherwise, he would certainly give up the Premier League match and prioritize the Champions League. However, now that he had a week’s time to prepare, he made a detailed plan, formulated battle strategies, and researched his opponents thoroughly.

He was so busy that he had forgotten about his “fight” with Mourinho. That greatly disappointed the media, who were all too ready to watch the show and stir things up.

Tang En had no time to entertain the media and novelty-seeking audiences.

“Everyone, we have not been preparing a whole week only to come here and lose,” Tang En said to his players before the start of the match.

In this match, Tang En took everyone by surprise; he did not implement his most commonly used tactic of buckling down on defense. It not only took the audience aback but Mourinho as well. On Chelsea’s home ground, Nottingham Forest did not choose a reserved option of tight defense. Rather, they chose to clash directly against Chelsea, who had planned on slaughtering them with their offense.

It was a clash with no holds barred. It made those who had thought Tang En only capable of defense and nothing else watch dumbstruck. The match intensified to a white heat as soon as it kicked off. The pacing of the switch between offense and defense was so rapid that it left people speechless. Of course, it was also tremendously intense. In the first half alone, the main referee gave out a total of six yellow cards to the players. On average, each team gained three.

Chelsea crashed their gates first. Making use of a chance after Forest pressed forward, they counterattacked. In front of the penalty area, Drogba leaned back against Piqué, making Forest’s players think he was waiting for a teammate to take over. When their attention shifted to the others, Drogba made an abrupt turn and volleyed the ball. The ball flew beautifully into the goal, shocking the commentator so much that he repeatedly screamed, “Incredible!”

However, the Forest Team quickly equalized the score after the brief bout of happiness on Chelsea’s end; the goal was an own goal from Chelsea’s player. Carvalho made a mistake under Eastwood’s pressuring in the front field and headed Ashley Young’s pass into their own goal.

Both teams entered the second half with a score of 1:1. After changing sides, the primary pacing of the clash between the two continued unchanged.

There was also no end to the goals. Both parties scored in a very orderly manner; the home team would first score and then the away team would think up a way to equalize it.?Thereafter, the home team would again grab an opportunity to take the lead, with the away team soon tenaciously equalizing the score.

When the main referee blew the final whistle of the match, the score was set at 3:3. Using another defensive method, Tony Twain managed to secure his one point in the away field. Meanwhile, Mourinho continued his awkward record of failing to defeat Forest in the Premier League.

“3:3. You madman.” Mourinho said that with gnashed teeth when they shook hands after the match.?Before the television lens, however, he put up a smile. He had not at all expected Tang En to go on the offensive this boldly during their away match. They had the momentum of having put everything on the line, taking Chelsea’s players by utter surprise.

“A crazy match needs two crazy managers,” Tang En answered with a smile.

Someplace away from the ears of the media, the two engaged in another short verbal battle with neither the loser nor winner defined.

In truth, this result was the worst acceptable to Tang En. However, he had no choice. It was too difficult to win against Chelsea on their home ground. Currently, Mourinho’s football team was in prime condition; they were practically unassailable.

With Manchester United in hot pursuit of Forest, Tang En urgently wanted to pull apart their point score difference. At this crucial period, however, they had to meet with Chelsea. It was already incredible that Tang En did not end up losing the match.

On Forest Team’s journey back to Nottingham Forest, Tang En finally received a piece of good news. In a match between two strong teams, Manchester United, ranking number three, drew with Liverpool, who ranked at fourth in an away match. Neither side gained anything, instead benefiting Tony Twain.

When Kerslake announced that news, a loud cheer went up on the bus. Tang En also messed around with the players for a while before falling into deep thought. He leaned towards the window, looking outside and watching the scenery whizz by him, disappearing in mere moments.

Since Manchester United had failed to win, the difference between the two remained two points. At the same time, Arsenal, who had been focusing on the Champions League for the season, put in a last-ditch effort in the final stages of the Premier League and caught up. They were only three points away from rank four, Liverpool. As the three teams—Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur—were quite a ways in their point accumulation from the top three of the League, the final participation rights of the Champions League would be given to only one of them. It could be foreseen that the final rounds of the Premier League would be extremely cruel to those three teams.

Conversely, there was little meaning in watching Manchester United and Nottingham Forest’s fight for runner-up in the Premier League. When the time came, Tony Twain could also sit in front of the television and watch as everyone fought tooth and nail for a single Champions League entry ticket.

When the League progressed to its 33rd round, Tang En looked back on the season. What allowed him to sit back and relax now was the eight-match victory streak midway through the League. That helped the team earn numerous points. When the Champions League started, the team’s results immediately started becoming unstable. They had won no matches in the recent three rounds of the EPL, getting two draws and one loss. A little further before, they had only won a single match out of seven rounds. They were in the sorry state of being pursued this hot on their heels by Manchester United because of their terrible results from those seven rounds; one win, two losses, and three draws.

Despite Tang En’s current fame as a manager throughout Europe, his mind remained clear.

This season happened to coincide with Wenger’s focus moving from the domestic leagues to the European match scene. Adding to that a persistently low period for Manchester United, the traditionally strong teams did not manage to perform at the level of their true capabilities. Only this had allowed Forest to get to where it was. If Forest’s aim was only to assure their yearly participation in the European competitions, Tang En should be quite satisfied. However, his aim was to become the champion. How could they be worthy of the championship with such a performance? If he could not resolve the instability of the team when playing in multiple leagues, next year would be the same for them…

“Tony, what are you thinking about?” David Kerslake asked him with a smile.

“Ah… nothing much. You seem to be in a good mood?”

“Manchester United didn’t win, and we weren’t overtaken. How could I be in a bad mood?”

Tang En laughed. “We can’t always expect the opponents to perform badly… I think we should sum up our mistakes in our work this season, David.”

Kerslake stopped smiling. “The season hasn’t even ended.”

“We need to prepare for the future.”

“But I think you’ve already done well enough.”

“David,” Tang En said, looking at his assistant manager. “You have to understand, we are aspiring to become champions.”

※※※

On their return to Nottingham, after the announcement that the team was dismissed and to resume training the next afternoon, Tang En went home alone to find Dunn waiting for him. The two did not call for Landy’s cab, instead taking the tram directly towards a small town, Eastwood, north-west of the city.

“The same name as one of your favorite players on the First Team,” Dunn said, acting like a tour guide. The two stood outside a small church.

“Eastwood. Once upon a time, my hometown.”

When Tang En saw the church, he guessed as much.

They walked directly through the front of the church to enter the graveyard at the back. They stopped at a tombstone, the name on which had already been eroded to the point of being unclear. Dunn bent over and scrutinized it before standing up, saying, “This was my father.”

Chapter 429 - A Hidden War

The two men stopped in front of a tombstone with a faded inscription that had been eroded by the elements. It was just an ordinary tombstone. Sweeping their gazes across it, they saw that the cemetery had countless other similar-looking tombstones quietly erected.

However, this particular one was distinctive because it lacked care. The white tombstone had turned to a dark grey and it looked decrepit.

“This is ‘my’ father’s,” Dunn said as he stood in front of the tombstone.

Twain squatted down and reached out to pick out the black spots on it. He thought they were just regular spots. He had not expected the marks to penetrate the inner layers of the tombstone. It was impossible to pick them out.

“I haven’t been here since the burial.”

“How long ago?”

“Ten years.”

Twain looked up at Dunn. That was indeed long enough. The British people’s notion of a family was not the same as that of the Chinese. Children would leave their parents once they grew up and did not often stay in touch. However, to not even visit his father’s tombstone for ten years… It was too much, wasn’t it?

Dunn knew what Twain thought, so he said, “He was my father only because he and my mother gave birth to me.”

“You dislike your father?”

“No.” Dunn shook his head. “it’s more like hatred.”

Twain was speechless. It looked like ten years ago, a lot of things happened that Dunn desperately wanted to forget but ultimately could not.

“Because of his drinking and smoking, they detected three types of diseases in him before his death. Each one could have killed him on its own.”

“Where’s your mother?”

“She ran off a long time ago. Long enough that I don’t remember the exact time.”

“And she never contacted you again?”

When he heard Twain’s question, Dunn suddenly smiled. “She couldn’t wait to cut all ties with this family, even to the extent of forgetting she ever had one. Her drunk of a husband and incompetent, weak son were her nightmares. How could she possibly want to contact me? Maybe she’s already dead and buried in a public cemetery God knows where. I think the three of us being together was a big mistake.”

Twain was dumbstruck by what he heard. He had had no idea that “his own” history was so complicated that it appeared to be more miserable than George Wood’s.

He stood up again.

“Now I think I know why you were so willing to become Tang En.”

“I’m sorry. I took your family...” Dunn looked down.

Twain hugged him instead. “I never used to think that it was a great thing to have an ordinary nuclear family of three. I still don’t think it’s that great. But after knowing you, I think I was lucky to have that. You’re going back to China this summer, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I told them it was my ‘family leave.'”

“Say hello to the parents for me… Wait, no. Don’t.” Twain suddenly changed his mind. “When are you leaving?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it definitely has to be after the end of the season.”

Twain looked up and thought. He was thinking about Shania’s plans for the summer holidays. He was not able to call the young girl now and ask about her plans for the summer, but… He guessed she would be busy. She wasn’t a student anymore.

“See, Dunn. When the season ends, don’t be in a hurry to go home just yet. Come with me to Germany.”

“Germany? The World Cup?”

Twain nodded. “To watch the entire World Cup and see if there are any cheap bargains to be had along the way. Then I’ll go back to China with you.”

Dunn was somewhat surprised. “You want to go back too?”

“Well, do you remember when I met you in Chengdu? That time I tried to go back to my hometown to visit my parents. I just wanted to check in on them, because I didn’t know how to explain to them why a foreigner suddenly wanted to visit them. Now the problem is solved. I’m your friend. I can enter the house openly to visit… our parents.”

“Okay… That’s a good idea.”

“Come on, let’s go back.” Twain turned to leave the cemetery.

Dunn looked back at that tombstone and then turned to catch up with Twain.

“Hey, Dunn....in the past, I mean before we swapped our bodies, have you ever been in love? Have you ever liked a girl?”

“No.”

“God, your life is so boring.”

※※※

Now that Twain knew what “Tony Twain” had been like, his family background and his life, he felt the distance between him and Dunn lessen again.

He had already considered transferring Dunn to the First Team’s coaching unit next season. The chap had proven his ability in the youth team. In just two seasons, he had gone from being a coach in the youth team to being its assistant manager. Everyone on the team knew that Dunn had real ability and learning. He would not encounter any obstacles in convincing Evan at this point.

After the matter was settled in his mind, Twain put it aside for the time being and devoted his energies to preparing for the final stage of the season.

On April 15th, the Forest team ushered in Tottenham Hotspur at home. They must win this game because Manchester United was close at their heels.

The Forest players’ performance did not disappoint Twain. They beat Tottenham Hotspur by 1:0 on their home ground.

At the same time, Manchester United’s away game with Sunderland was a tie at 0:0. The gap between the two teams widened to four points.

On April 17, during the 35th round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest won by 2:1 against Birmingham City at home. Two consecutive wins at this critical moment bought Twain some time.

Although Manchester United had won this round too, the four-point lead gave him peace of mind to prepare for the Champions League semi-finals.

At the same time, while preparing for the semi-finals against Arsenal, Twain had a strange feeling that this was not the Champions League semi-finals, but just a regular league tournament game.

Why did he feel that way? Because both teams were so familiar with each other. They were in the same league and often played against each other. Twain and Arsène Wenger also had some kind of personal relationship.

He did not feel as excited about the semi-final game against Arsenal as he was about Inter Milan. He thought maybe if his opponent were switched to Barcelona or AC Milan, he would feel more excited.

At the mention of Arsenal, Twain suddenly remembered another thing. He had not taken the matter to heart before. However, now that the two teams were going head-to-head in the Champions League semi-finals, he had to re-examine it.

He went through Arsenal’s accomplishments for the Champions League this season.

Since they had entered the top 16, Arsenal had repeatedly scored big.

During the eighth-final game with Real Madrid, Arsenal’s total score for the two rounds was 4:2.

And they scored 3:2 in total for both rounds in their quarter-final game with Juventus.

Reviewing that data, Twain frowned.

It was not the same as what he had remembered.

He remembered that Arsenal’s ability to break into the UEFA Champions League finals this season was related to Wenger’s decision to take a strong defensive position. After Arsenal entered the top 16, they did not concede a single goal, which enabled them to advance into the finals. This was the best proof. At the same time, while emphasizing their defense, Arsenal’s offensive firepower was weakened, which was the price to pay for focusing on defense.

Twain recalled that he used to joke that Wenger had become smarter because he knew that defense was most important in the competition to win the championship.

So, what was happening here? Arsenal had not changed their usual style. Wenger still insisted on playing offense in the Champions League as always. They used swift attacks and subtle coordination to defeat Real Madrid and Juventus.

It was clear that the difference between the timeline that Twain occupied now and the timeline that he knew was widening increasingly. Arsenal did not rely on defense and yet they had advanced to the semi-finals. Their offense was still gorgeous and incisive.

Watching Arsenal’s game highlights on the television screen and examining at their familiar offensive routines and styles, Twain was certain that the team was indeed Arsenal. There was no doubt about it.

To tell the truth, Twain liked Arsenal like this because they were more wide-open. As their opponent, he would have more opportunities to find his opponent’s defensive weaknesses and loopholes when they were wide open, and then to make use of them. A football game was one that looked for the opponent’s weaknesses and tried every means to conceal one’s own weaknesses.

If Arsenal was really different from what he remembered and they still stuck with this open play in the semi-finals, then…

Another thought popped up in Twain’s mind.

“Dunn.”

“Hm?”

“Do you have a video of Arsenal’s recent league matches?”

Dunn stood up from the floor and walked to the front of a row of bookshelves. Although they were bookshelves, they were neatly lined with videotapes and CD-ROMs.

He stood before a shelf marked with the word “Arsenal” and asked, “Which rounds?”

“Starting from the 33rd round up to the present.”

Dunn took out the three videotapes that Twain needed and handed them to him.

“Thank you. Can you help me put them on?” Twain pointed to the video recorder.

When the footage of Arsenal’s latest three competition rounds came onto the television screen, Twain and Dunn watched the screen intently in silence.

After watching the three games in fast-forward, Twain stared blankly for a while.

“This was totally different than what I saw in the Champions League highlights. They played defensive counterattack, defensive counterattack, defensive counterattack. I’m surprised to see Arsenal play like that.”

Arsenal won all the three rounds of league tournament and the scores were all 1:0 without exception.

Arsenal did not dominate the games and played under pressure by their opponents most of the time. They also did not have the upper hand in the possession of the ball. The typical “Arsenal style” was nowhere to be seen, or it was cleverly concealed by Arsène Wenger. Henry and the other players were as efficient as ever, seizing the few chances that they had to end these three rounds in victory.

“Do you know what I think?” Dunn suddenly asked.

Twain nodded. He pointed to the screen and said, “Of course I know, this is classic Nottingham Forest.”

“Wenger spends more time studying you than you spend studying him.”

Twain bit his lip.

※※※

While Wenger was still busy at his office, his assistant, Pat Rice, came in.

“It’s really incredible. I thought I was back in the middle of the 1990s. I’m a little worried, Arsène.”

“Rest assured, Pat.” Wenger stopped his work and took off his glasses to put them on the table. “I’m not George Graham. Today’s Arsenal is not the Arsenal of yesteryear.”

George Graham was a Scotsman who had brought brilliant success to Arsenal and created a real “invincible army.” But he was also a manager hated by countless Arsenal fans because their supporters were tired of his “1:0 doctrine” and dreary football. Although Arsenal’s tradition was to be tough and never compromise, the tradition, which lasted for almost one hundred years, had reached another extreme and people began to tire of it.?Their playing was ugly to watch, and they played a football match like it was a military mission.

Until this Frenchman had appeared.

“Arsène, we all like this Arsenal now.”

“I like it too, Pat. But sometimes we need to make changes. Of course, it’s only temporary. Pat, you know what we’re up against this season. During the final stages of the league, we need to compete against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool for the last spot in the Champions League, and at the same time, we’re now in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Do you want to end up empty-handed?” Wenger opened up his hands.

“No, I don’t.”

“Neither do I. No one does.”

“But, Arsène, we stuck to our guns and broke into the semi-finals. I don’t think we need to start changing to another style two weeks ahead.”

“The boys are doing well,” Wenger answered, changing the subject slightly. “I’m amazed at the speed with which they adapted to the new tactics, and I’m proud of them.”

“Don’t change the subject, Arsène.”

Wenger shrugged and then pointed to the computer monitor, “Come, Pat. Take a look.”

Rice walked over and found a WORD document on the screen. In addition to a couple of long paragraphs of text, there was an image of Tony Twain.

“Oh no… You’re still studying him? Are you infatuated with him, Arsène? There are only going to be two semi-final games...” Rice covered his face.

When Wenger first came to London, he was very low-key and led a hermit-like lifestyle. He was touted as a homosexual by the English media. The impact of that incident on Wenger was that he would never accept any media interviews and completely hid his personal life.

“If it were only just two games, it certainly would not be worth putting in so much effort. But Rice, the contest between us and him will not end with just two games. I have to fully understand this person before I can understand his team. In this season and every season in the future, we’re going to keep competing. There’s a good saying from the East: if you want to defeat your opponent, you have to fully understand him first.

“He said,” Wenger pointed to the image of Twain on the monitor, “He doesn’t care which method to use, whether they play beautifully, or if their playing is ugly to watch, it doesn’t matter to him. He only cares about one thing, and that’s victory. Tell me, Pat, who comes to mind?”

Rice froze for a moment, and then said, “George, George Graham.”

“Take a look at their performance this season, especially in the Champions League, where the most typical example of them was in the quarter-finals with Inter Milan. The entire team retreated and compressed every inch of space and every second of time in their backfield, so that they were in a highly pressurized situation with their opponents. The game was suffocating and ugly, but they won.” Wenger spoke frankly and with confidence. “Twain likes to play aggressive teams the most. He prefers to lie in wait quietly, patiently searching for his opponent’s loopholes and mistakes; and then he strikes!” Wenger’s hand suddenly reached forward and startled Pat Rice.

“It will make him very happy if we launch a large-scale attack. I believe he’s quite familiar with Arsenal’s style. He must have devised a set of tactics to deal with our style, just like he did with Chelsea, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Real Madrid. So, we can’t act according to his expectations. We have to surprise him.”

“But, Arsène. we’ve won three uninteresting games with this set of tactics. Do you think that Twain wouldn’t figure it out by now?”

“Then let him have a taste of what it’s like to deal with his most commonly used tactics.” Wenger shrugged.

Pat Rice stayed for a while. He had to admit that Wenger was right. Tony Twain was such a fellow. “All right, Arsène. Our ranking in this season’s league is really terrible. I hope we can make it up in another competition arena. A historical entry to the semi-finals is not enough, we also have to advance to the finals and make history by holding the championship trophy in our hands!”

Wenger smiled and said, “I just read Twain’s words to you just now and you said it made you think of George Graham, the manager who would score a victory by all means. But I have to correct you. Twain is not like Graham. He does insist on the results, but his football is not as boring as Graham’s. He assimilates a lot of things and knows when to make adaptations. I think if we want to achieve a historic breakthrough, we also need to make some adaptations and incorporate things that are advantageous to us.”

“I understand, Arsène. I’ll make a move first.”

“Goodbye, Pat.” As he watched his assistant manager leave his office, Wenger put on his glasses again and gazed at the image of Twain on the LCD monitor.

※※※

Meanwhile, Twain was still bothered by his problem.

“Wenger, you wily old fox!”

Chapter 430 - Highbury

Tang En carefully considered the problem of Arsenal’s new strategy.

Although Arsenal had not played beautifully in those three matches, they had still managed to win. Tang En did not believe it was a coincidence. In fact, he felt that Wenger must be using the Premier League to train for the Champions League. While it would be difficult for Arsenal to achieve any breakthroughs in the Premier League this season, they could set a record of breaking into the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in history. Wenger would certainly not give up easily on that.

It seemed certain that Wenger would begin emphasizing defense in the Champions League. However, it was outside Tang En’s expectations for Wenger to change into playing defensively in the current Champions League because of him.

Now, Tang En did not feel an iota of achievement. His head was killing him.

If Arsenal decided to play defensively… Tang En was not in the least doubtful of the team’s ability under Wenger’s management; they would surely be able to accomplish it. The crucial factor was not how the opponents were, but how they themselves should respond to it. What was Nottingham Forest going to do?

If both Arsenal and Nottingham Forest went on the defensive, the match wouldn’t be able to go on. Would everyone only end up shrinking back into their penalty areas and waiting for the 90 minutes to end?

Tang En tried to recall, in detail, the original two rounds between Real Madrid and Arsenal. Although he could not remember the precise situation, he remembered the goal scored by Henry on Real Madrid’s home grounds. It was a classic fast break. Arsenal did not invest very much into their attacking forces, but their efficiency was extremely high. Furthermore, Real Madrid was at a complete loss against their tight defense.

If this was how Arsenal planned to deal with Forest in the future, how should Forest respond?

Arsenal had a troop of mega stars who were able to individually decide the match’s result. Tang En believed that playing defensive counterattacking would be more than simple for them. Henry was certainly one of the players who had to be closely watched, as well as Fàbregas, Robin van Persie, and so on.

As with Mourinho, Tang En had a knot in his heart.

Ever since Mourinho had joined the English Premier League, he had yet to defeat Tang En’s team even once. Similarly, since Tang En had led his team to enter the EPL, he had not been able to defeat Wenger.

Was this a coincidence, or Fate’s arrangement?

Their first round was to be held on April 19, and the second round a week later. Tang En did not have much time to prepare. If Arsenal was going on the defensive, he had to attack.

※※※

In contrast to when they had played against Inter Milan, Tang En led the team, a mere day before the match, in a coach to the hotel they would be residing in during their time in London.

“This doesn’t feel like going for a Champions League match,” Ribéry mentioned as he chatted with his teammates on the bus. Unexpectedly, many of them agreed with him.

Everyone felt the same way. Being at such close distances and sitting on a coach to get to the competition felt no different from the usual League matches. Shouldn’t the Champions League be of a higher standard, be something different?

Apparently not.

Before, after everyone’s flight to Spain or Italy, seeing Bernabéu Stadium and Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on their bus rides roused their emotions; the thirst for competition and their pursuit of victory filled their hearts.

Now, when the red coach, fully seated with Forest’s players, cruised past the corner of the street and saw the top of Highbury Stadium in the far distance, everyone’s mood remained completely calm without any feelings.

They visited this stadium at least once every season. If they met with Arsenal in the EFL Cup or the English FA Cup, they had to come by even more often. Even in pretense, they could not muster up any intense emotions.

Tang En felt that such an emotional state was good. It meant that everyone saw the match as nothing unusual.?Once their attitudes were right, the match would also no longer be difficult.

He stopped worrying.

※※※

Beyond being a civil battle within England, there was another matter of the match that made it a highlight; this match was to be the final European match held in Arsenal’s Highbury.

Countless people appeared on match day. Outside Highbury Stadium were massive crowds and bright lights that lit up the entire place. With both teams from the same nation, it was more convenient for away team fans to make the trip and watch the match live. However, more of the crowd came to commemorate the departure of the European battles from Highbury. A large number of fans wearing the nostalgic maroon version of Arsenal’s jersey swarmed out from the exit of Arsenal Station. The crowds meandered forward. Numerous streams of people moved towards the same spot—Highbury Stadium—hidden amongst the European-styled villas in the residential area.

Highbury, which could seat up to 38,500 people, was devoid of empty seats today.

While the fans made their way into the stadium, both teams were in their locker rooms making their own preparations.

“There’s no need for us to get used to the field. We’re no stranger to it. For the past week and more, we have been practicing going on the offense; attacking through all sorts of routes and in all sorts of situations. Do you know why?” Tang En stood before the players and said, “Because I plan to attack in the away field. Arteta, you’re a starter for this match.”

The team looked at the Spaniard. He nodded.

Tang En drew out the midfield positions on the tactical board. It was a standard flat diamond.

“Your position needs to be slightly forward, and a bit more active.”

Arteta continued nodding. “I understand, Boss.”

“And… George.” Tang En put a dot in the circle.

“Protect him?” Wood asked.

Tang En looked at him before nodding.

“Yes, protect Arteta. There’s no difference from before. Watch out for Fàbregas.” Tang En hesitated briefly and added, “Oh, if… If you have an opportunity, cut forward to assist in the offense.”

Everyone in the locker room was stunned to hear that. He had almost never asked for Wood to participate in offense. Though he would give Wood all kinds of missions, they could all, to a high degree, be summarized with one word: “defense.”

Wood had not expected that. His face was astonished.

“Uh... I’m saying, if there’s a chance… with the pre-requisite of securing the defense. Do you understand, George?”

Wood nodded. “Understood.”

“That’s good. You must know that an offense is built on the foundations of defense. George, and all our guys in the defensive line, you are our foundation.”

“Do you mean they’re all getting stepped on?” Eastwood loudly commented.

“What?” Tang En had not expected Eastwood to pull the rug out from under him that way. Unprepared, he was stumped with a hilarious expression on his face.

The locker room exploded into uproarious laughter.

※※※

In comparison with the somewhat relaxed atmosphere of Forest’s locker room, everyone’s expressions in Arsenal’s locker room were stern and serious, even rather grim.

The players had already changed into their jerseys, and Wenger stood in the center among them.

“Everyone knows Highbury will be getting demolished in the next season. It’s been our home field for 93 years. This match will be the final European match she hosts. Everyone knows what I want to say, right?”

Some of the players began nodding.

“How many trophies have we held up in this very stadium? So many I can’t even count them. She has been a witness to Arsenal’s glory and victories. Today is her first time hosting the semi-finals of the Champions League. Her legend has yet to end. Lads, don’t let her leave behind any regrets!” Wenger’s pre-match talk ended there. It was not long, having ended in just five minutes. But the effect was instantaneous. The eyes of Arsenal’s players were brimming with a thirst for victory; a passionate fire was burning ferociously.

※※※

“Okay, guys.” Tang En dipped his head to look at the watch. It was almost time. “Let’s go.”

The players stood up one after another and strode toward the doors.

As Anelka walked past Tang En, Tang En nodded to him.

“How are you feeling?”

Anelka stopped and turned to look at him. “Not bad.”

“You don’t sound too excited…”

“I’ll be excited after scoring a few goals.”

Tang En chuckled. “Go on.”

Anelka walked out with his head lowered. He knew what his manager was trying to say, or what he was worried about. Today marked his return to Highbury. He was certain that later, when the stadium broadcast announced his name, what he faced would not be cheers or applause.

But he was used to it. So Twain need not worry about that at all. In fact, Anelka thought he would probably not feel any motivation if those fans failed to jeer at him.

He had already become used to playing soccer among jeers and curses.

While Tang En’s gaze was still following Anelka, Albertini stepped in front of him.

“Thank you, Boss.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Tang En asked, feeling odd.

“You gave George a chance…”

Tang En laughed. “It’s still early. He’s got a ways to go.”

“But at least you gave him a direction, a sort of hint. That’s crucial.”

Tang En silently assented and changed the topic.

“Hey, Demi. Why don’t you just stay in England after you retire? I believe the members of the managerial team would be happy to see you join them.”

Albertini shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Boss. I like Italy, and I’m Italian. I hope for my managerial career to begin in Italy.”

“That’s a pity.” Tang En’s brow furrowed. He recalled the “Calciopoli” incident in summer that year. He really did not wish for Albertini’s future to be a trip into those muddy waters.

“Don’t worry, Boss. I was thinking, perhaps one day in the future, we could meet again on the sidelines of a match? That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Tang En recalled Keane and sighed in anguish. “Why do you all like being my opponents so much?”

“Maybe because defeating you and seeing your flustered, exasperated expression would give me a sense of accomplishment,” Albertini said with a laugh. “I should go now.”

Tang En waved.

The locker room was already empty beside himself. He looked around at the empty place and walked out as well.

※※※

Players from both teams jogged out from the players’ corridor, inciting the first high on the spectators’ stands. When Arsenal’s fans noticed that Nottingham Forest’s starting line-up included French forward Anelka, they showed off their chemistry jeering together as a unit.

“This is truly unfair,” The television commentator mocked. “Selling Anelka benefited Arsenal. They used half of the transfer fee to purchase Henry, while the other half was used to build the most high-tech training facility in Arsenal’s history, London Colney. Without all that money, Wenger’s team may still need to head to the hotel to shower and change after training every day.

As he spoke, the stadium broadcast announced Henry’s name. At that moment, the jeers were replaced by deafening cheers and applause.

“Welcome Thierry Henry, Highbury’s King, Arsenal’s captain!”

Wearing the captain’s armband, Henry, who was walking foremost in the team, raised his hand up high and fully displayed his leadership bearing. Initially, he came to Arsenal as Anelka’s successor. But he had unexpectedly surpassed Anelka, doing even better. In the club, he was the King, a representative player. Within France’s National Team, he was a core figure second only to Zidane.

Meanwhile, Anelka had become a Judas, who was spurned by the people.

The world is impermanent, and fate makes a fool of all of us. It was nothing more.

Among the piercing cheers, Nicolas Anelka kept his head up high. He stepped into the stadium, which had once given him immense glory but was now left only with heartless jeers and curses; a stadium that had already become someone else’s palace.

※※※

“This is the final UEFA Champions League match in Highbury. It is also the first time in Arsenal’s history that they have successfully fought their way into the semi-finals of the Champions League! On this memorable and special day, Wenger’s team will certainly not allow themselves to lose, on their home ground, to Nottingham Forest. Similarly, this is also the first attempt for genius Manager, Tony Twain, at leading his team in the Champions League. In a single stroke, they managed to barge into the top four. There is still much more for them to look forward to, and they will certainly be unwilling to end their steps here. This is a civil war in English football; two historic teams have walked to this point together. Welcome to ESPN’s live broadcast of the first round of UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the 05-06 season!”

Tang En walked out of the corridor to find Wenger standing in front of the home team’s technical area. He walked up to him and put out his hand.

“Mr. Wenger, I won’t be wishing for your team to do well.”

Wenger smiled in response. “Same to you, Mr. Twain.”

“Then, I’ll see you after the match.”

“See you after the match.”

The two managers briefly greeted each other before going their separate ways. Even though both knew each other well enough personally, this was prior to a match between them. They were still enemies and could not appear too close to each other. That would negatively influence their players.

The die-hard fans on Highbury’s spectators’ stands continually yelled “Arsenal” and “Highbury,” while those from Nottingham Forest went toe-to-toe with them from the Southern stands, shouting Nottingham Forest’s name. As much as they could, they wanted to make this match into Nottingham Forest’s home match.

Tang En returned to his seat. Next to him, the managerial team and reserve players took their seats in turn. Everyone was anticipating the match that was about to begin.

UEFA Champions League Semi-finals. Tang En took a deep breath.

The referee’s whistle sounded.

Chapter 431 - The Arsenal Style

“Thierry Henry! WOW!”

The football flew out of the goalpost and the Arsenal team captain missed his shot.

“In the seven minutes since the start of the game, Arsenal has already shot thrice. Two of their shots were within range of the goalpost and this time, the shot missed the mark. Arsenal appears to be very active and energetic on their home ground.”

“Henry is in top form. I think Nottingham Forest is in trouble.”

While the commentator said that, Twain and Kerslake were having a discussion in the technical area.

“No matter how I look at it, it does not look like they’re playing defense,” said Kerslake with a frown.

“What are they defending when there’s no goal?” Twain looked at the field and said, “We have a chance to change Wenger’s plan. As long as we break into their goal before they can score, we can force Wenger to give up his plan to use defensive counterattack, and let the game return to our track.”

Just as Twain finished speaking, the Forest team got a chance to attack. Arteta made a wonderful pass in the front field and Viduka acted as a cover for Anelka. After Anelka broke into the penalty area, he made a shot, but Lehmann quickly vaulted to pounce on the ball.

Lehmann’s performance won applause from the Arsenal fans, but there was still the sound of hissing in the stadium. This hissing was not aimed at Lehmann, but dedicated to Anelka who had made the shot.

Anelka turned and ran out of the penalty area as if nothing had happened. He was used to it. Of course, he did not forget to give a thumbs up to Arteta, who had passed the ball to him.

※※※

Lehmann threw the ball to start the attack and Cesc Fàbregas turned to receive the ball while George Wood followed closely. He did not care what his position was, because Twain had told him that he must follow Fàbregas whenever he withdrew to receive the ball. He listened to Twain’s bidding, which made Fàbregas a little uncomfortable.

“Cesc Fàbregas and George Wood! The two of them are at it again! This is one of the things we look forward to when we watch a game between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. Those two outstanding young men are fated to be arch enemies. I know it’s corny to say that, but can you find a more suitable description?”

Number 13 from the Forest team had tangled with him for two seasons, starting with the first youth team game. He had initially treated that time as an ordinary youth team game. With his level at that time, he already did not need to participate in the Youth FA Cup of the same age group. He had the ability to be promoted directly to the First Team. But in order to test his condition before a real First-Team game, Wenger had put him on the youth team to play a few games.

He had not paid much attention to his English peers before the youth team game with Nottingham Forest. For him, that kind of game was as casual as playing in the streets. It was something he could have easily won. After all, he was a world-wise and accomplished child. Besides giving him a warm-up, what other purpose would such a game serve? He was tired of the seemingly endless youth team games and was eager to go to the First Team to participate in the real league tournament and to feel the genuine victory and defeat...If he continued to play with that mindset, who knew if the brilliant young genius Cesc Fàbregas could still be seen in the future?

The game with the Nottingham Forest youth team changed his future. That was his first defeat after joining the Arsenal youth games. What bothered him was that the opponent, who had crushed him, was a nobody. He had no idea who the person was before then. When he closely followed any information related to George Wood, he discovered that Wood was actually a rookie who had trained for less than a year!

He was very angry and wanted to completely defeat Wood. He worked hard in training to adapt to the cold and damp weather in London as fast as possible. He made all these efforts so that he could defeat Wood in his next encounter with the Nottingham youth team. He wanted him to be crushed as well. However, there was no chance. More than a month after that game, he was transferred to the First Team by Arsène Wenger. Perhaps Wenger could also see that participation in the youth team games did little to elevate Fàbregas. He became a member of Arsenal’s First Team and the youngest player to represent Arsenal in the league. He even became the youngest player to score an official goal on behalf of Arsenal.

For a time, numerous praises such as “genius,””prodigy,” and so on were showered on him. He became the object of everyone’s attention. Football legends, television commentators, and fans all raved about him. However, within that omnipresent success, he was not as lost as he was in the youth team. He had a clear presence of mind because he knew that there was one person who he wanted to prevail over, but he had not had the opportunity to do so.

But then, Nottingham Forest was successfully promoted. He finally had the chance to compete with George Wood in an official match. He believed that one game could end all the enmity between himself and Wood, which he had not expected to continue to this day. George Wood was not a coward who would be knocked down by a single failure, and Francesc Fàbregas was not one either!

He could hear George Wood’s heavy breathing from behind and constantly feel the impact of repeated bodily collisions. He had to try his best to protect the football and not let it be snatched by the guy behind him. At the same time, as a midfielder in charge of the team’s rhythm, Fàbregas also had to look up to watch his teammates’ running positions as well as his opponents’ formations to search for loopholes to exploit and send the football through. If there was no opportunity, he still had to divert the football, then run to shake off Wood for nothing and re-organize the offense.

He spotted a gap that could be used. But Wood pressed on so hard behind him that he was not confident that the ball would fly to where he wanted it to go. If the ball was intercepted halfway, what should he do if Nottingham Forest had the chance to counterattack instead?

Fàbregas quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind and gave up the chance for a direct pass. Instead, he passed the football to Edu Gaspar beside him. Then, he turned and ran to another spot. George Wood did not give up and continued to follow suit.

Edu passed the ball to him again. Wood continued to press up right away and Fàbregas had no choice but to pass the ball again. This time, he passed it to Ashley Cole and the English national footballer dribbled the ball to break through.

Next, Fàbregas purposely noticed Wood at his side. He saw Wood turn around to look at him and then took another look at Ashley Cole, who was dribbling the ball forward. He finally chose to run back to defend. He ran quickly. It was not a normal fallback speed, but more like the backfield only had a goalkeeper left; then he had to run desperately to retreat. In a twinkling of an eye, he ran until he was a distance away from Fàbregas.

The Spanish teenager shook his head. He really did not know what he was supposed to feel. He had actually thought that such a slow-witted player was the opponent he wanted to defeat. Suddenly, a feeling of stupidity surged within, but soon the feeling disappeared without a trace.

Because he saw Ashley Cole get defeated by Wood in speed.

This monster!

※※※

George Wood successfully restricted Fàbregas. However, Fàbregas soon learned how to deal with it. He no longer monitored his teammates’ running positions after he received the ball. Instead, when he raised his hand to ask for the ball, he would pinpoint his teammates’ running routes and his opponents’ defensive positions in advance and then immediately send out the football. Or he would immediately make the next move after receiving the ball. He did not need to stop to think about what to do next.

This caused a lot of trouble for Wood’s defense. Even if he was faster, Fàbregas would still be able to catch hold of a gap to send the ball out.

Fàbregas came alive and Arsenal’s offense perked up too.

Edu passed the football to Fàbregas, and without not waiting for George Wood to press up, Fàbregas passed the ball to Bergkamp ahead. The Dutch veteran passed the football to Henry again, and then Henry took his shot. Although the offense did not score a goal this time, Wenger saw hope.

Fàbregas had completely replaced the position and role which Vieira had once occupied on the team, and Arsenal now had to revolve around him as the core. He was the team’s central nervous system. As long as he could figure out a way to deal with George Wood, Wenger was not afraid of Forest.

The game was now in a stalemate, and Forest wanted to be the first to break through to Arsenal’s goal at all costs. Arsenal had the same idea. It looked like both sides were attacking each other but to no avail.

Just like what was said before the game, the two teams were so familiar with each other that this game did not feel like a Champions League game at all. It was more like how they usually competed in the Premier League. Arsenal was aware of the habits of every Nottingham Forest player, and Nottingham Forest was familiar with Arsenal’s. Twain did not need to repeatedly exhort George Wood to closely mark Fàbregas and did not have to instruct Anelka to look for gaps in Arsenal’s defense. He did not need to tell the defensive line too much on how to deal with Henry and Bergkamp. They all knew what they should do.

Playing against such an opponent was quite tricky, especially in the context of the Champions League semi-final. It was not exciting enough.

※※※

The Forest team launched another attack. Ribéry boosted the ball into the penalty area. Viduka tried his hardest to fight for a header while Anelka cruised at the back, ready to quickly plug in. The football was not headed by the two of them but was headed out of the penalty area by the fullback, Kolo Touré.

Fàbregas, who had retreated to the edge of the penalty area, received the football. This time, George Wood was not near him. He quickly rushed towards him.

The young Spanish leader glanced at Wood and then passed the football to the incoming Henry. Everyone’s attention turned to the world-class striker. If everyone still remembered, they would feel that the way Henry took the ball now looked familiar.

On November 17th, 2002, in the North London Derby, Henry had scored the best goal of the Premier League that season in the first half of the game. He had hijacked the ball along the perimeter of his team’s penalty area and then began a sixty-five-meter long lightning raid. He had bypassed several people. From one restricted area to another, he shot the football into Tottenham Hotspur’s goal.

Was he going to do it again?

Henry began to activate his plan.

George Wood ran halfway and changed his target to chase after Henry. Presently, he was the only one in the backfield who could catch up with Henry with his speed.

Henry did not dribble in a straight line but dribbled the ball across. As a result, George Wood was able to easily catch up with him.

However, Henry used his experience and skill to shake off Wood and then to change his course to directly spearhead the attack against the Forest team’s penalty area.

Wood was not shaken off at once. He turned and sprang. At that moment, Reyes already quickly came up to support. George Wood did not notice him as all his energy were on Henry, who was dribbling the ball.

Henry certainly knew that Wood had targeted him. He had played against Wood several times and was familiar with it. He was well aware that it would be trouble once the kid managed to stick to and entangle with him. Therefore, he did not tangle with him. While everyone was focused the direction ahead of him, he suddenly made an astounding pass.

At that moment, Wood threw himself in front of Henry, forcing him to slow down. It appeared that Arsenal’s breakthrough was ended. Henry moved as if he was going to directly pass the ball to the goal area so that George Wood and the left-back, Leighton Baines, behind him would put all their attention in the penalty area.

Henry’s feint was so convincing that he even deceived the television broadcast cameras. The camera shifted its focus to the penalty area when Henry swung his right leg but did not capture the football flying out after the kick. It was at this time that the television producer realized that he had been fooled as well. The camera angle quickly switched and cut to see that there was nothing at Henry’s right leg. And the toes of his left leg, which originally should have provided the support, poked the football to the right flank, where Reyes swiftly plugged in from behind.

“Reyes! What a beautiful pass, just creative! Another exciting performance from Henry!”

Thunderous cheers erupted in the Highbury stadium. Henry played a beautiful hand. It not only won the applause from the stands but also boosted Arsenal’s morale.

And the so-called slightly playful nature of his passing made the defensive side of Nottingham Forest look somewhat awkward in comparison.

George Wood was completely fooled by Henry. When he turned to help Baines to defend against Reyes, it was too late. Reyes did not stop the ball; instead, he directly crossed the ball. He used his weaker right foot to send the ball to the middle of the Forest team’s penalty area.

The football skirted around Pepe and Piqué’s defense and fell to the back where no one was around.

Who was going to show up there?

George Wood turned to look.

“Fàbregas!!” The commentator screamed.

Wood saw Arsenal’s number 4. That slightly thin figure stealthily appeared at the point where the ball had landed and suddenly turned up in the front of Edwin van der Sar. Then he calmly lifted his left foot and gently tapped the ball passed from Reyes.

The football bypassed Edwin van der Sar, who jumped up to defend with both hands, and then fell into the empty goal!

All the Arsenal fans in brownish-red jerseys on the stands of the Highbury Stadium jumped up from their seats with their hands raised high.

“What a wonderful combination! A terrific goal! This is a classic example of the Arsenal style of offense. They played Nottingham Forest like a fiddle! Fàbregas, Henry, Reyes, and Fàbregas again! The perfect cycle, Arsenal leads with 1:0! They have an amazing start!”

All the Arsenal players ran up to embrace the ecstatic Fàbregas, Henry and Reyes. They ran past George Wood with open arms. Wood stood in the same spot and still turned his body to look back. He bit his lips hard as he watched their backs. He had failed to spot the kid.

At the same time, Twain threw a glance at Arsène Wenger, who was celebrating with his assistant manager. After Arsenal had taken the lead, it meant that the game was going to be on a track that Wenger would most hope to see in the rest of the game.

The situation was far from good.

After he had celebrated with his assistant manager, Wenger, also noticed that someone was looking at him. He turned his gaze to the Forest team’s technical area and smiled at Twain.

Twain turned his gaze away.

Wenger turned back to his assistant manager, Pat Rice, and said, “You see, Pat. As I’ve said before, we need to incorporate some of other people’s strengths, but at the same time, we have to maintain our own style. This is the Arsenal goal style. Our old friend is in trouble.”

Rice burst into laughter.

Chapter 432 - Make A Guess

With their lead of one goal, Arsenal could officially begin playing the defensive counterattack they had been preparing such a long time for. Tang En did not think that Arsenal was unsuitable or inept at playing defensive counterattacking. He just had to look at the Arsenal in his memories, the team that got into this season’s finals for the UEFA Champions League. To Wenger’s team, it was not a question of their abilities, but an issue of their desire to win.

If Wenger had truly hardened himself to play defensive counterattacking against him in this match, then Henry was doubtlessly an important figure in it.

Tang En briefly considered and decided against making any adjustments for now. Henry could be trapped by the entire defensive line. Wood’s target continued to be Fàbregas.

However, the goal loss earlier could not be blamed on Wood having lost his mark. At that time, his decision to guard against Henry was correct. After all, Henry posed a greater threat. It could only be said that Henry was truly a world-class player. He alone could change everything. Of course, manager Arsène Wenger’s contributions could not be dismissed either. It was he who had molded Arsenal from a team without any positive attributes to speak of into one that was this pleasing to the eye. This attack had a clear sense of Arsenal’s style. The exquisiteness of the goal was extremely difficult to put into words. People could feel a poetic pace in the running of the three Arsenal players; it was clear, smooth, and made people feel carefree and joyful.

In comparison, Nottingham Forest’s football had not much artistry to speak of.

Truly, the main manager of the team determined its character. The genteel manager, Wenger, put in charge of Arsenal, immediately made it a synonym for grace and artistry. Meanwhile, after the mercenary Tang En became Nottingham Forest’s manager, the team’s utilitarian nature became stronger.

Tang En stood up from his seat. He knew that the match had already fallen in step with Wenger’s plan; he must go along with it now. But he was unwilling to let the match continue like this to its end. There was no such thing in the world as an impenetrable defense and no goal that was invulnerable. So long as Forest continued attacking, a single chance grasped would be enough to once again tilt the scales of victory.

In the past, he had habitually depended on defending to solve the problem. Today, in this match, the key to resolving the problem was attacking instead.

How strong exactly were Nottingham Forest’s offensive capabilities?

※※※

Arsenal gradually began retreating and focusing on their defense. Forest also started pressing forward. Even George Wood advanced enough to cross the half line, moving closer to Arsenal’s penalty area.

In the front field, Arteta dribbled past Edu and suddenly drew back his foot to shoot at the goal. Jens Lehmann leaped beautifully but was unable to maintain control over the football. In his haste to initiate the jump, he could only choose to bump the ball outwards. But Forest’s offense did not stop there.

Ashley Young, in the wings, received the ball that was knocked out by Jens Lehmann. He stopped it from going out of bounds and turned to pass the ball center. The football flew again to the front of Arsenal’s goal. Under Touré’s close marking, Viduka managed to head the ball. Regrettably, his header was just slightly off the mark.

“Forest’s offense is, in fact, extremely monotone,” Wenger said to Pat as he sat in the technical area. “Throughout Tony’s management, he’s always spent tremendous energy defending. In their first season playing in the Premier League, Forest getting fourth had nothing to do with their offensive capabilities at all. The most goals they scored were only when they played an away match against Crystal Palace, who wasn’t in good condition. They scored four goals in that match. They depended on their defense to get into this season’s Champions League. Mid-way through the Premier League, they once maintained a streak of eight rounds without losing a single goal. And in those eight rounds, the highest score they had gotten in any singular match was no higher than 2:0. 1:0, 2:0, 1:1… those are the most commonly seen scores in the season.”

Pat Rice looked somewhat incredulously at Wenger. He did not expect the Frenchman to have such a deep understanding of the opponent’s data. Even Twain himself might not have been able to casually verbalize those things.

“There’s been no change to the situation this season. Tony’s reformation of Forest’s defensive line is extremely successful. Although a young defensive line would often commit mistakes, he made use of the cohesive unit to make up for that weakness. Currently, they have lost 33 goals. Most of them were lost in the recent few rounds due to Forest being distracted by the Champions League. The team was somewhat unable to catch up. However, although Arteta is being slowly guided, Forest’s offensive routes remain largely unchanged. They are still breaking through from the flanks and strengthening their attacks from the middle; it’s a standardized pattern. And, in contrast to their emphasis on the cohesive unit in their defense, Forest’s attacks appear to rely more on the individual performance of a few players…” Wenger said, stroking his chin.

“Arsène…”

“Hmm?”

“Your understanding of Nottingham Forest has probably surpassed Tony Twain’s.”

Wenger only smiled.

“My understanding of that team is only in terms of the numbers. The data is right there. Anyone who wishes to understand can certainly get to my level of understanding. But, Tony Twain… What he understands is something deeper. For example, the soul of a team.”

Rice stared at him.

“And that is the reason why, despite my understanding of Forest, I continue to be Arsenal’s manager while he is Nottingham Forest’s.”

※※※

While Wenger was analyzing Nottingham Forest as skillfully as a butcher dismembering an ox, Tang En stood by the sidelines, supervising the battle. Unlike Wenger, he would not analyze everything so methodologically. Although Dunn might do such a thing, Tang En would only use that for coaching the team.

Whereas Wenger brought to Arsenal a graceful artistry in their concept of football strategy and technique, Tang En gave to Nottingham Forest the trait of a willpower in striving for “victory, victory, and more victory.”

Nottingham Forest’s players were just like their manager. They had a crazed persistence and thirst for victory. They were lofty and unwilling to lose to anyone. So what if they were behind by a point? It was just a single goal. Their Boss always spoke of how the most dangerous situation was leading by a goal. This applied not only to the Forest Team themselves, but also to their opponents.

George Wood pressed forward. On seeing him, Arteta passed the ball over.

Scattered jeers sounded all over Highbury when Wood received the ball. Just as it was said during Inter Milan’s match, George Wood was a person who would be unwelcomed everywhere except Nottingham.

Wood remained unaffected by the animosity of the audience towards him and passed the ball over to Ribéry on the other side. It was not the end yet! Wood did not stay behind to prevent the opponent’s counterattack as he usually would. Instead, he unexpectedly cut forward!

Albertini, who watched the scene from the sidelines, smiled. This boy is finally beginning to show some initiative to participate in the offense.

Lehmann saw Wood moving forward and naturally understood the lad to be joining in the offense. But he shouted to remind his own teammates, “Ignore him! Mark down the others!”

In the German goalie’s heart, this midfield engineer was no threat at all. Perhaps his foray could even generate a ridiculously high shot at the goal and help Arsenal out of their pinch.

Seeing Wood cut in, Ribéry did not hesitate and immediately passed the ball center. Touré was currently engaged by Viduka while Senderos kept an eye on Anelka. They had both seen George Wood move forward from the back, but listened to Lehmann’s instructions.

Only one person ignored his direction and followed Wood, retreating into the penalty area for defense. That was Fàbregas.

Ribéry’s pass was not to Viduka or Anelka. It was to Wood. As he ran, Wood leaped up high.

With a sudden sprint at the last moment, Fàbregas got left behind by Wood. There was no time for him to jump, and he dared not reach out to pull at him. He could only watch helplessly, looking up from behind, as Wood dashed out from among the crowd!

“George Wood!”

In that instant, sudden regret surged from the depths of Lehmann’s heart – why did he have to tell his team to ignore Wood? At this distance, there was not a single defending player. What if he managed to head it in? At the same time, his body tensed. Like a compressed spring, he was ready to leap at any time.

As Wood watched the football, what appeared in his mind was not “I want to score.” Rather, it was, how can I make sure I accurately head the ball, and in a way that wouldn’t make it ridiculously high? The second part of it was the basic of the basics. When he was in the Youth Team, the managers then had already repeatedly drilled him on that, so he could effectively maintain air control during defense. Today, he applied something he had learned for defense in offense. It felt wonderful!

“A header!”

It was very powerful. Wood’s abdominal muscles initiated a strong movement that hurtled the ball towards the goal.

Smack!

Before Lehmann had any time to leap out, the ball had already flown into his arms.

“The header was too straight. Although it was powerful, it didn’t threaten Lehmann in any way! However, I believe Arsenal’s players should really consider this. How did their tight defense allow George Wood to head a ball without any interference at all?”

Wood scratched the curls on his head. His mind was so filled with how he should head the ball that he had forgotten to observe the position of the opponent’s goalkeeper. It slipped his mind that the objective of this header was not to resolve any danger, but to score a goal… He saw someone in front wearing a light-colored jersey and headed the ball over; it was a habit from defending.

Viduka came over and patted his shoulders. “Beautiful one. You gave them a fright.”

“But I didn’t score.” Wood said.

“No need to be anxious. You’ll have your chance.” Viduka pointed to Lehmann.

“Observe his position next time before you shoot. Calm down a little.”

Wood nodded.

Lehmann was currently engaged in a discussion with Fàbregas regarding the ball earlier. From the unnatural expression on his face, it was probably no simple discussion.

“He is certainly not someone we can ignore, Lehmann. I understand him very well. Although his abrupt cut forward also surprised me somewhat…”

Lehmann shrugged. “His shooting is atrocious…”

“Even if he used the tip of his foot to nudge the ball, there is the risk of scoring a goal. He’ll get lucky at some point. What if the ball goes in? Don’t let down your guard.”

“Alright, I got it.” Lehmann patted Fàbregas’s shoulders. “I’m kicking off.”

※※※

On the sidelines, Albertini stood up from the substitutes’ bench as he watched Wood jump high and head the ball in the attack. He had even gotten ready to raise his hands in celebration. Unexpectedly, Wood headed the ball with power but made it much too straight. His hands, already raised midway, suddenly dropped as he cursed quietly to himself.

Tony Twain did something similar, but he did not just curse inwardly. Instead, he loudly swore.

“Dammit! This is the best opportunity we’ve had since the beginning of the match! When we get back, I’m going to set additional shooting drills for him!” He waved his hands unhappily.

Hearing Tang En shout that, Albertini laughed.

Tang En was exactly right. This had been the best opportunity since the start of the match. It was also the best chance in the first half for Forest. George Wood’s abrupt advancement threw Arsenal’s defense into chaos. No one had expected Wood, who very rarely cut forward, to take such an initiative. But also, because it was Wood who hardly went up, the header did not manage to secure a goal. If it was Viduka, Anelka, or Arteta heading it, it might have scored. However, would it still be as astonishing?

When the first half came to its end, the famous red screen showing the scores of the two teams in a corner of Highbury remained at 1:0, with the home team leading.

If it were already the end of the 90-minute match, that would be Wenger’s desired result.

During halftime, Tang En reviewed what had been done in the first half. Conversely, he said little about the goal loss. In fact, there was nothing much to say about it. It was a classic “Arsenal-style” goal. Depending on the intricate positioning of two players through passing and cutting, they tore apart Forest’s defense, forcing them to attend to one thing and lose focus of the other, until finally, a fatal loophole appeared.

“Throughout the whole process, we were being played with like toys. But this is nothing. Football matches are like that. In the second half, let’s return the favor with a “Forest-style” goal!” Tang En winked at the players.

What was a “Forest-style” goal like? It was one from a defensive counterattack that passed through the midfield rapidly and reached the opponent’s goal in two or three passes; it was a goal scored using the simplest and most efficient method.

Everyone believed that was the kind of goal Tang En was talking about.

Tang En turned to say to George, “About that shot… you did pretty well. Continue that way in the second half.”

But Wood shook his head. “Continuing like this means I’ll continue failing to score.”

“Hah!”

Tang En rolled his eyes as someone on the side started snickering. He glared at him, and the laughter immediately ceased.

“I’m referring to your cut forward. It was resolute, decisive, and unexpected. It’s very good, and strong! Do you understand what I mean?” Tang En waved his arms with each sentence he spoke.

Wood nodded. “I got it.”

※※※

In Arsenal’s locker room, everyone did their own things; some listened to music, some lay on the floor dozing. Wenger did not care. He was not only used to it, but he also respected the personal habits of this group of professional footballers. Sitting at the door, he rested quietly, conveniently running through the first half of the match in his mind at the same time.

When time was almost up, the players started becoming quiet. Those listening to music took off their earphones, and the ones napping returned to their seats. Everyone was waiting for the manager to speak.

Wenger raised his head and looked at them. His speech was short as always. “We all know how Forest Team is going to attack. Don’t give them that opportunity.”

※※※

The second half of the match started. Overall, Arsenal could be said to be continuing to hold a defensive stance while Forest Team persisted in their attacks, hoping to equalize the scores. However, Arsenal could somehow always manage to see through Forest’s attack routes. Each attack from Forest was successfully resolved by them. It seemed that Wenger’s analysis of Forest was not a bluff. He truly had gotten them down to a science.

Before Arsenal, Nottingham Forest could practically hide no secrets.

If the match continued progressing in this manner without any incidents, Arsenal would be set to exchange this unimpressive scene for a precious home-field victory.

Wenger did not care about the media commentary after the match. They had gotten to such a crucial point, what was losing a little face compared with the victory of the match? When Arsenal lifts the Champions League Cup in a historic moment, who was going to care about the unseemly scenes in one or two matches? Everyone would be looking at the first ever UEFA Champions League Cup in Arsenal’s history; under lighting, in all its silver shining glory, it would sparkle with starlight. That was the highest goal a club manager could pursue throughout his life.

Wenger was no exception. He looked up at the sky. With all the lights, London’s night sky shone red, so much that he could see nothing.

※※※

“This can’t go on.” Tang En stood up from his seat. “Wenger has analyzed us to the bones. In front of him, there isn’t any secret to speak of. He can’t be any clearer about what I’m good at.”

“Are we admitting defeat?” Kerslake asked.

Tang En glared at him. “Nonsense. I don’t know how to spell defeat. Are you going to teach me?”

“Relax, Tony. I’m just kidding.” Kerslake said, laughing.

“You’re still able to laugh…”

“Wasn’t it you who said that, as managers, we have to give our players confidence no matter what situation we face?”

His words made Tang En speechless.

“Are we making changes?”

Tang en nodded.

“Who are we changing out?”

“We’re not changing out anyone,” Tang En said, shaking his head. It was as if he was mumbling to himself. “For the time being… not changing anyone. Didn’t Wenger research us thoroughly? He must know what we already have. But what we don’t… he may not know!”

Hearing Tang En say that, Kerslake was at a loss to respond. Wasn’t that just crap? How could Wenger possibly know what they did not have? Even they themselves did not know.

Tang En walked to the sidelines and, taking the chance of a ball going out-of-bounds, he stopped Leighton Baines on his side of the flanks and spoke to him. As Baines listened, his eyes grew wider and wider until it looked like they were going to pop out.?He turned to look at the field suspiciously, and then again at Tang En, disbelieving every single word he had just heard.

The Fourth Official noticed that Tang En had spoken to Baines for too long side and intended to interrupt them.

Tang En patted Baines’ shoulders. “Go. Tell him exactly what I told you. Ask him not to doubt anything and do as I say. If it succeeds, it’s his success. If it fails, it’s entirely on me.”

Baines looked into the manager’s eyes, nodding firmly before running back.

Tang En turned his head and saw a UEFA official walking towards him, so he headed back to the manager’s seat. Seeing that there was nothing occurring on this side any longer, the official also walked back.

“What did you say to Baines? His expression was abnormal,” Kerslake said when Tang En returned.

Tang En sat down and turned to him with a grin. “Make a guess.”

Chapter 433 - The Core

Kerslake sat in his seat and looked up at Twain, who had walked back. “What did you say to Baines? I can see something isn’t quite right from his expression.”

Twain sat down and turned his head to smile at him. “Take a guess.”

“How can I guess?” Kerslake opened his hands.

“You’ll find out soon, David.”

Back on the field, Leighton Baines did not have a chance to locate his target. He did not dare to leave his position when there was no dead ball. What if the opponent counterattacked?

Therefore, Kerslake did not see what Twain’s so-called adjustment was. He could only patiently wait.

Finally, when George Wood made Fàbregas fall to the ground, the referee whistled for a foul. Arsenal was awarded a free kick in the center circle. Boos rang out against the offender, but the boos were not as loud as the ones Wood had heard at the Meazza stadium. Arsenal was different from Inter Milan in that they had been entangled with Nottingham Forest for nearly two seasons. The Arsenal fans were familiar with George Wood. They had long known what kind of player he was.

Wood looked at Fàbregas on the ground and did not go to pull him up to show good will. Instead, he turned and ran back.

That was when Leighton Baines came running up.

“George, George.”

Wood stopped his tracks. “What’s up?”

“The boss asked me to pass a message to you.”

Wood turned his head and looked at Twain sitting in the technical area.

“He asked you to shift your position to the front a little.”

Wood turned his head again to look at Twain.

“He said you need to be more active in offense and take the initiative to raise your hand for the ball, and then do as you see fit.”

Wood turned his head back and stared at Baines.

Baines was a little unnerved by Wood’s glare. He nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes. That’s what he said. I haven’t changed a word. He asked me to tell you his exact words so that you wouldn’t doubt anything. He also said… the credit is yours if you succeed, and the responsibility is his if you fail.”

“Okay, got it.” Wood believed Baines’s words, as he had no reason to lie to him.

Leighton Baines breathed a sigh of relief and was going to run back. He had just turned around when he remembered something. He turned back again to ask, “George? You’ve been practicing offense these days, haven’t you?”

Wood nodded.

Baines smiled. “Then I’m sure you can do it. Press ahead! Show Arsenal what you’ve got!”

When he saw his teammate’s smile and heard such encouragement, Wood still said nothing. He just turned and ran off.

Arsenal took advantage of the free kick to launch another series of attacks with the intention to improve the situation. If they were lucky enough to score another goal, they would completely lock in the win. Now, with nineteen minutes to go until the end of the game and with a two-goal advantage, the Forest team basically had no chance for another equalizer. And at that time, when they had to go to the City Ground stadium for another game, they could also relax a little with their 2:0 advantage.

After he saw Baines gave the message to Wood, Twain got out of his seat again and walked towards the sidelines.

※※※

Because it was a defensive counterattack, Arsenal did not have many forces for the attack. A few players could not pose much of a threat to the Forest team’s goal. Nottingham Forest quickly regained control.

The football was handed over to George Wood. Arsenal’s defensive focus was the players such as Arteta, Ribéry, Ashley Young, Anelka, and Viduka. Wood took the ball in the backfield, but none of the Arsenal players went up to scramble for the ball with him. Henry just appeared to do so and ran back.

Wood had possession of the ball at his feet, and he did not hurry to send it out. Leighton Baines’s words echoed in his mind.

“…He said you need to be more active in the offense and take the initiative to raise your hand for the ball, and then do as you see fit… The credit is yours if you succeed, and the responsibility is his if you fail...”

Easier said than done! Do as I see fit. How do I do as I see fit?

Now Wood could only “do as he saw fit”. He saw that there were no Arsenal players pressing on him ahead. Arteta got the brunt of it with Edu stuck to him.

Albertini had once told him that if he did not know who to pass the ball to, he could pass it to the teammate nearest to him. Arteta was currently the nearest player to him. But could he pass the ball to Arteta? It was evident that he could not pass it to him. Under that level of defense, it was easy to lose the ball. Although this had more to do with the receiver, how could he still send the football out irresponsibly, knowing that the ball would be intercepted?

What he was sending out was not just passing a ball; it was also a form of responsibility. That was something Albertini had repeatedly told him during training, and he had kept it in mind. It was irresponsible to simply send the ball out to pass the football to a teammate whose position was not good. This type of behavior might result in a big mistake. George was the defensive midfielder and he knew what that kind of big mistake would entail. He would not allow this type of situation to happen. If his teammates were to lose the football easily, he would be very angry. So, how could he behave that way?

Since it was not possible to pass it to Arteta, who could he pass to?

Wood looked around. Ashley Young was trying his best to plug in ahead and Ashley Cole was not that close to him. This might be an opportunity. The only problem was that he was too far away. Wood was not confident in being able to deliver the football to his teammate’s feet accurately at a distance of more than thirty meters. His level of passing could only guarantee that he was able to accurately pass the football to his teammates within ten meters. As for the long pass of more than thirty meters, it was not part of his job before.

Ribéry was not tightly bound to the flank but drew closer to the middle. Unfortunately, he had the same problem as Arteta. He had hit the big-time last season, and this season, he had continued to rise higher, so he became a closely marked target in this game.

George Wood did not have much time left to consider the situation clearly before he could send the ball out again. He had to do something. There was no suitable target to pass the ball to, so in that case…

Wood chose the simplest way: He dribbled the ball forward himself.

“It’s unbelievable. George Wood, who normally pass the ball as soon as he gets it, is actually dribbling the ball and plugging ahead! Did Albertini wear the wrong jersey?” The commentator mocked Wood, who was somewhat overly cautious with his dribble.

George’s dribble was a little clumsy. It was not that he could not dribble, but that he rarely dribbled the ball ahead in a game.

Henry hesitated for a moment. Just as he thought about whether to go up and defend, George Wood had already run past him. The distance between the football and his feet was so fitting that Henry could not find the right moment for his foot to intercept the ball.

Wood’s basic skills were very good. Even if George Wood was now the stalwart First Team main force, Twain still asked him to persist with practicing the fundamentals. Because Wood started out late, he could ignore the fundamentals and had to continue to practice in order to accomplish greater achievements in the future.

Wood dribbled the ball past Henry. The French striker hesitated for a moment and immediately turned to give chase. He already realized that Wood had become the offense’s real initiator.

“George! Behind you!” Arteta loudly warned him in the front.

Fàbregas turned to look around and charged up towards him too. With one ahead of him and one at his back, it looked like the converging attack was going to stop the ball.

When Wood saw that there were people in front and at the back, his mind suddenly went blank and he did not know what he should do. When Henry extended his foot from behind to poke at the football, Wood was caught off guard. He watched the football roll out and was received by Fàbregas who came up. Arsenal had turned the defense into an offense.

When he saw the football fall at Fàbregas’ foot, the blank space in his mind suddenly cleared and his mind returned to normal. He understood what he should do and did not hesitate. He quickly jabbed Fàbregas’ ball out.

Fàbregas had not expected that Wood, who was just in a daze and seemed at a loss, to move so quickly, as if he had become another person in an instant. He froze in place for about a second, and in that second, George Wood skimmed past him and regained possession of the ball.

Henry, who was behind Wood, could not see the situation between these two players. He knew he had poked the football and that Fàbregas was over there, so he should have received the ball. Therefore, he was about to turn around and run ahead to counterattack. When Wood ran off, he then realized that the football was back at this kid’s foot!

Twain, who saw this scene on the field, rubbed his temples and muttered to himself, “This bastard… Does he only know what to do when he’s at his defensive position?”

Upon hearing this, Kerslake turned his head and stared at Twain. “Tony, did you push him up?”

“It’s not as if you don’t know what we’ve been drilling him on during training these few days, David. Don’t look so surprised.”

“I’m just surprised you put it into practice so soon. Surely you know his current standard.”

“What else can we do? Wenger is familiar with what we have. If we want to break the deadlock on the field right now, we have to do something different, something aggressive....Do you know a catalyst is needed in a chemical reaction, David? This play is the catalyst.”

“If you stake your bet on him, I really don’t know what to say about you. Are you crazy or confident?”

“I’m both.”

“But if we are eliminated because of this, Tony, you know...”

“I take full responsibility.” Twain grinned. Seeing his grin, Kerslake was completely speechless.

“All right, do what you want...”

※※※

Wood regained control of the football. Because he suddenly plugged in, a gap emerged on Arteta’s side. He saw it at a glance. Without hesitation, Wood passed the football.

Arteta used his skills to shake off Edu’s defense and passed the ball to Ashley Young who did not pass. Instead, he cut inside and shot. The football struck Senderos on the leg and was slowed down enough for Lehmann to catch it.

The attack by the Forest team ended just like that.

When he saw Ashley Young’s shot saved by Lehmann, Arteta turned to give George Wood a thumbs up as an encouragement and praise and to tell him how well he had done. But he did not expect to only see Wood’s back. Nottingham Forest number 13 had sprinted back to defend.

Looking at his hasty retreat, Arteta could not help but laugh.

The Arsenal’s attack this time also ended in the hands of the Forest goalkeeper. Edwin van der Sar’s steady save neutralized any threat that Reyes’ shot had posed.

Edwin van der Sar threw the ball to launch another attack. This time he threw the ball straight across to the midfield. Closely marked by Edu, Arteta headed the football directly to George Wood.

This time, Wood did not carry on dribbling the ball. Instead, he passed the football out again after he received it. It targeted Leighton Baines who plugged in from behind.

The Forest team’s offensive firepower on the flank was fully launched. The two fullbacks frequently plugged in to assist.

Naturally, Arsenal had anticipated that. Wenger was well aware that the flanks were the Forest team’s sharpest means of offense, so he had already heavily laid out his forces there. Baines’ breakthrough was contained. In desperation, he could only pass the football back to Wood in search of another way.

Without thinking, everyone treated Wood as a transition point for offense and defense. Arteta was too closely marked by the opponents. Wood was currently the most uninhibited player who could easily receive the ball without disruptions before deciding where it should go.

Wood was forced to become the core of the Forest team in the game’s final moments.

Regardless of whether he was willing to or not, he could not unload his burden until the game was over.

Wood got the ball and Fàbregas pounced on it. The two of them completely swapped their roles. Before, it was Wood defending against Fàbregas. Now it was Fàbregas’ turn to defend against Wood.

When Wood was uncertain what to do in the face of Fàbregas’ defense, he saw Arteta run towards him as he signaled to him to let him pass the football over to him and then run across to the right flank.

Wood did not hesitate to pass the football over. After that, he did as he was told and ran across towards the right flank. Arteta’s back faced Arsenal’s goal. Edu pressed on so fiercely that he could not turn around. But he did not intend to turn around.

After he saw Wood run over, Arteta passed the football back and then turned and ran forward. It appeared that he wanted to combine forces with Wood.

Wood instantly thought the same. He had initially wanted to immediately pass the football to Arteta, only to find that Edu was still pressing on tightly. Wenger knew that Arteta was the Forest team’s offensive core during Albertini’s absence. The Brazilian midfielder thought that the Forest team’s offense would be paralyzed as long as he was able to restrain the Spaniard.

Generally speaking, that was the right idea and arrangement.

However, today’s game was a little different.

George Wood had lifted his leg when he saw that Edu was still stuck on Arteta, so he could not just send the football out because Arteta could not receive it properly.

Wood temporarily changed his mind when Anelka came back. He passed the football to him.

When the Frenchman received the football, it set off another round of loud hissing in Highbury. In fact, the booing had already started from the moment Wood took the ball. It only reached the climax after Anelka received the ball.

Once Anelka received the ball, the Arsenal defensive line immediately tensed up. They knew that the man in front of them could threaten the goal guarded by Lehmann. He was different from George Wood, who could not shoot. Touré followed and intended to stop Anelka from shooting.

Arteta turned and came up to support his teammates. The Forest team’s intention to take the middle by storm was now clear.

Anelka tried to force a breakthrough via Touré, but his ball was intercepted by Touré.

That ended the Forest team’s attack.

“What a pity, Anelka is too independent! It would have been better to pass the ball to Arteta.”

“If he did pass the ball, then he would not be Anelka.”

Touré snatched Anelka’s ball and was ready to pass the ball to fight back. The football was passed forward, but it was not received by an Arsenal player. Instead, it was received by George Wood.

When Wood saw Anelka’s dribbled ball being snatched, he was already on the path of Touré’s pass to Fàbregas. Just as Fàbregas understood him, he was also well aware that Fàbregas was Arsenal’s tactical core. That type of defensive counterattack pass would surely be dealt with by him.

George Wood immediately passed the intercepted ball to Anelka, who examined the situation in front of him. This time, he did not choose to force a breakthrough; instead, he made a breakthrough action and then passed the ball to Arteta, who came up to receive. Then he quickly plugged in ahead to do a wall pass with Arteta.

The Arsenal defensive players were well aware of his intentions. Touré was not fooled and followed Anelka back into the penalty area. As long as he closely marked the man, the Forest team’s offense would be put to a halt again. Arteta turned his head to look at Anelka, which reinforced the idea in the minds of Touré and the others: mark Anelka closely so that the Spanish kid with his back facing our goal will be a threat!

Arteta looked at Anelka but did not pass the ball to him. He chose an unexpected route instead. He drove the football straight back to George Wood.

Then just as he kicked the football, he shouted to Wood, “Just shoot! George! Don’t Stop!”

Wood heard Arteta’s shout because they were very close. He had not known what to do, but Arteta’s shout reminded him: just shoot directly into the goal!

No one followed George Wood around. Arsenal’s defensive attention had just been drawn to Anelka and Arteta. Even this time around, Fàbregas just marked Anelka, who cut inside.

From the sidelines, Twain clenched his fists when he saw Arteta pass the football back to Wood. “Just hold your f**king nerve, you bastard!”

Wood swung his right leg on the spot without having to run up. He aligned with the football and gave it a ferocious kick!

At the same time, Arteta bent over, leaving only the astonished Edu who saw the football fire towards him like a cannon and whizz past him in a gust of wind with a few strands of grass blades.

“George WOOO—”

It was powerful and astonishingly fast. The ball flew towards Lehmann in a flash. The only regret was it was the same as his header: it was too straight on!

However, Lehmann was afraid of receiving when faced with this ball directly slamming into his arms. Why? Because he suddenly gave rise to a fear that he would drop the ball.

The only thing the German goalkeeper finally chose to do was to hit the football out. He punched and struck the football. With a boom, he and the football flew out.

Lehmann fell inside the goal and the football flew back into the middle of the penalty area.

It did not go in! Though embarrassed, Lehmann had managed to save the sudden shot.

But was that the end of the Forest team’s attack?

No!

Anelka, who had cut inside the penalty area just now with the intention to pick up Arteta’s pass, appeared in front of the football like a ghost. He did not have any defenders around him. The Arsenal players’ attention was drawn by Wood’s sudden volley.

“Nicolas Anelka—YES!”

Anelka faced the sprawling sea of middle fingers and lips mouthing the “F” word in the north stands, set his position, and then swung his right leg to sweep the football into the air and into the empty goal.

Judas had incarnated as the devil to strike his former master a fatal blow.

Chapter 434 - Nothing Is Too Deceitful In War

“George Wood is shooting… it’s been stopped!” The radio rang with the commentator’s shriek.

As he watched the red light at the junction in front, cab driver Landy James smacked his steering wheel in a sudden movement, startling the customer sitting at the back.

“Nicolas Anelka!”

Following immediately after, an excited shout from the commentator emerged from the radio. “GOOOOAL! It’s a GOOOOOOOOOAL!!”

This time, Landy smacked his palm onto the horn.

During the long beep of the car horn, the commentator’s voice sounded again.

“Nottingham Forest’s counterattack! They scored a goal! Nicolas Anelka, a former Arsenal player, has given a most powerful stab to his previous club! He’s running hard towards… The manager’s seat! Look at how excited Tony Twain is!”

“Haha! Tony! Beautiful!” Landy shouted hoarsely as he blasted the car horn, in no mood to care about the terrified and trembling customer sitting behind him.

Just as he was continually smacking the horn in excitement, a traffic officer walked over.

“I’m sorry, Sir. The use of car horns in this area is prohibited.”

As he warned him, the traffic officer was preparing to take out a notebook from his shirt pocket to note it down.

Landy was momentarily stunned. The car horn stopped and the sounds from the radio became even clearer.

“… Who could have imagined that George Wood would suddenly appear in that position? It’s incredible, something that was completely out of Arsenal’s expectations!”

“We scored?” The traffic officer asked Landy James, after cocking his ear to listen.

Landy smiled. “That’s right, we scored!”

“Who scored?”

“Anelka.”

“That bastard… beautiful job!” the officer praised him and shook his head.

※※※

Highbury Stadium, filled with the sounds of people, was suddenly assaulted with a wave of jeers. But Anelka heard nothing. In fact, he did not even put a finger to his mouth and make a provocative celebratory move. Opening his arms wide, he ran towards the technical area of the Forest Team. There, Tang En was on one knee on the ground, pounding the ground heartily.

This season and his eruptive return to the UK were thanks to one person.

Tang En had just stood up from his own crazed celebration when he saw Anelka jumping towards him. In fact, he did not even manage to hold out his arms in time to welcome the hug before he was slammed into by the French forward and got squashed beneath him.

Without waiting for Tang En’s struggle, more Forest players leaped on them, pressing them down.

“Ha! Nottingham Forest’s celebratory tradition!” The ESPN English commentator said, laughing happily. “We haven’t seen this in some time. This only happens when the players are extremely excited.”

This time, not even George Wood stayed back as a spectator. He took the initiative to leap up, stacking atop them. He was so thrilled that he only knew to open his mouth wide to shout continuously.

“Nottingham Forest has equalized the score; this is a tremendously valuable goal! They have gotten a precious away field goal. Perhaps, after the next 90-minute match, this goal will become a crucial key in deciding victory or loss! It is little wonder that Forest’s players are so thrilled. Think back on the scene in the Champions League quarter-finals, Forest Team was able to successfully advance precisely thanks to their away field goal!”

※※※

Wenger stood at the sidelines and walked back and forth, his face ashen. He could not muster up a smile.

Originally, the match had fallen into the pace he had planned for. This goal changed everything up. All their previous efforts had disappeared like bubbles.

What a jerk! He had already researched into all aspects of Nottingham Forest Team. That included the personality and habits of their manager. He believed that this team, when faced with him, did not have any secrets left; that he had already found a way to forcefully control Forest. Unexpectedly, at the final moment, he was defeated by Tony’s abrupt change in strategy. No matter what, Wenger had not thought that Tony would push George Wood to the front field and make him the strategic core, to allow him to participate in the offense.

He had calculated innumerable paths, but just not this one.

But, how could this be his fault? The deeper his research on Wood, the firmer his belief became that the boy could do nothing else but defend. Letting him attack? Wouldn’t that be helping the opponents? Even if his shot this time assisted Anelka in a successful rebound shot, everyone would probably assume it was because Wood got lucky and did not send the ball flying too far.

An away goal… even though the situation was not so terrible that Arsenal would be eliminated, there were still 15 minutes in the match. What if Nottingham Forest offered up what they were best in? Buckling down and waiting to counterattack?

Since Forest had already gotten a goal, Wenger believed Tony would surely command his team to return to a tight defense until the end of the match. He understood his opponent. Results were everything. It was nothing to Tony Twain if the situation looked bad or even if they looked sorry. The current score was a result that fit exactly what Tony would hope for.

“Arsène?” Pat Rice walked out and stood next to Wenger. He wanted to ask what strategy he had to deal with this.

“Pat. This time, it’s our turn to be in trouble.” Wenger said, biting his lip and furrowing his brow.

※※※

It was not easy, after the referee interceded, for Tang En to finally be “rescued.” The first thing he did was not to tidy up his suit, but to hold back George Wood.

“Great job, George!”

George grinned at him.

“How did it feel when you were shooting?”

“Very good.”

Tang En winked at him. “Finally, you’re not saying ‘not bad’ anymore.”

Wood tucked away his smile and asked, “Are we going to defend next?”

“Defend?” Tang En asked.

“They’ve lost a goal on their home field, and we’ve equalized the score. They must be thinking…” Wood pointed to the Arsenal players who had already set the football in the center circle, preparing to kick off.

Wood had not expected Tang En to shake his head. “No. We’re not defending.”

Wood was shocked.

“We’re going to continue playing like this. I can’t really explain too much to you now. Anyhow, just remember… play exactly like you’ve been playing. When you have a chance, cut forward and suppress Fàbregas!”

Wood’s face lit up with understanding and he nodded. “I got it.”

“If you understand, then hurry up and get back.” Tang En saw a glimpse of the Fourth Official walking towards him again and hastily pushed Wood back into the field.

※※※

Before restarting play, Wenger’s newest instructions to his players were to give up on their defense and enhance their offense. They were to score as soon as possible. Nottingham Forest had already gotten one away goal. They could not allow them to take another point from them.

But as soon after the match restarted, Wenger had no choice but to change his decision.

Before Arsenal could even threaten Forest’s goal, Anelka shot off a long shot that almost blasted open the gates guarded by Lehmann.

“Arsenal’s players seem to be a little unfocused; perhaps they have yet to recover from that loss earlier. Anelka reminds them that the match isn’t over yet!”

What annoyed Fàbregas was that although he originally wanted to take the chance in the final ten over minutes of the match to help the team lead again, he quickly discovered that he needed to put a stop to George Wood first.

Outside the field, Tang En was shouting and yelling while waving his arms furiously. He was reminding the other team members to work with Wood’s positioning and movements, preventing him from getting trapped in a pincer attack from Arsenal.

Speaking of pincer attacks, Fàbregas successfully managed to again steal the ball from Wood’s average dribbling. However, he discovered that the situation was perhaps better whenever the ball was under Wood’s foot. Once the ball moved to be under Arsenal’s possession, it was as if Wood’s entire being became possessed by God; he was immediately energized, and he transformed into another person during the defense. He stole the ball whenever he could, and when he could not, he would immediately foul without hesitation.

That style of his truly caused Arsenal’s players tremendous suffering. Even if they could steal the ball from him, they had to immediately face his disruption at proximity. Whenever they were on the offense, Arsenal’s players always hoped to be as far as possible from that monster…

With George Wood attracting the majority of the focus of Arsenal’s players, the defensive pressure faced by his other teammates subsequently reduced. Arteta had more energy to put into passing to his teammates. This caused Wenger a headache and he was left without a choice but to make another adjustment. He asked his players not to press forward too fiercely to prevent gaps opening at the back that could be used by Forest. In that manner, Arsenal was unable to fully focus on the attack.

That was equivalent to using another path to resolve the defensive pressure on Forest. Arsenal, who was unable to fully focus on offense, was greatly reduced in their abilities. In fact, by the time the main referee blasted the whistle signaling the end of the match, Forest had yet to carry out any concrete attacks. However, they successfully managed to make Arsenal assume that Forest would make use of the gaps left behind by them when they pressed forward. Tang En utilized Wenger’s understanding of Forest Team and checkmated him instead.

As a result, when the match crept close to its end and Wenger raised his head to look at the huge screen above with the score of 1:1, he abruptly realized he had been played by Tony. Twain had pretended that he had wanted to score another goal in the last minutes, but it was only a front! His true aim was not to attack, but to defend!

In that same moment, even though Wenger already saw through it, he knew that there was no time to do anything about it. There was not much time left in the match; the main referee had already raised his hand thrice to look at the watch. He was going to blow the ending whistle for the match any time now.

Seeing Wenger pace back and forth on the sidelines, Tang En smiled at Kerslake beside him, saying, “China’s Sun Tzu said this in The Art of War: Nothing is too deceitful in war. We’ve won, David.”

Just as he finished speaking, the referee blew the ending whistle of the match.

“The match has ended! Up until the last moment, Arsenal did not manage to score again. They drew with Nottingham Forest with a score of 1:1 on their home ground! For Twain and his team, this result is very satisfying. However, this score does not signify certainty for Forest to acquire a ticket to the finals. Arsenal still has a very good chance. After all, Nottingham Forest only has one away goal. I believe, based on Arsenal’s strong offensive capabilities, that getting an away goal in City Ground should not be a difficult matter. And they are no stranger to that stadium. In fact, two months ago, Arsenal got a victory over Nottingham Forest in that very stadium, with a score of 2:0. This match’s score is not the end of the world for Wenger’s team.”

While it sounded somewhat reasonable, those words, when articulated, only made people feel that it was for comforting the loser.

Wenger would probably dislike hearing that.

At the end of the match, Tang En immediately turned and walked towards the technical area for the home team. He took the initiative to put out his hand when he was still five or six meters away from Wenger. His face was beaming.

“A brilliant match, wasn’t it?”

Wenger also put out his hand, the two clasping hands.

“A brilliant match. Congratulations, Mr. Twain.”

“There’s still 90 minutes. Our victory or loss still remains unknown.”

“You’re right. It is much too early to laugh or cry about it.”

“Let’s meet in City Ground.”

After bidding goodbye to Wenger, Tang En did not walk back to the corridors. Instead, he turned and walked back towards the field. The players of both teams were not exchanging jerseys with a friendly atmosphere after the match; they were each other’s opponents in both the Premier League and the Champions League, there was not much friendliness to speak of.

Arsenal’s players hurriedly departed the field while Nottingham Forest’s players lingered in it as if they were the victors. They raised their hands in thanks to their audience even though most of them had left or were leaving the place.

“Alright, guys. Go back and take a shower, change your clothes. We’re going home!” Tang En called out to them, worried that the players were too excited and might fall ill.

Eastwood, who had been sent into the field in the last stages of the match with the objective of wasting time, came over to him, grinning. He hugged Tang En and continued walking along to the players’ corridors. He was not even sweating.

Hearing the call of their manager, the players all left the field one by one, coming down to give Tang En a hug before returning to the locker room.

Albertini stood together with Tang En on the sidelines. When the players came off of the field to hug Tang En, they also smacked palms with him.

Anelka walked into the stadium with his head high and left in the same way.

When George Wood came down Tang En said nothing; he just hugged him a little tighter. On the other hand, Albertini held him back to say a few words.

Only when everyone had left did Tang En turn and walk back together with Albertini.

“What did you say to Wood?” Tang En asked casually.

“Oh, nothing much… I just complimented his performance.”

Tang En smiled. “That’s right, Demi. I need to thank you. If it wasn’t for you telling me that George had the potential for offense and that you hoped for me to nurture him into a well-rounded midfielder, I might not have been able to win this match.”

“I only provided a suggestion and a possibility, Boss. The one who decided was still you.”

“If you were in my place, you would also make this decision, right?”

Albertini smiled and did not answer.

“You’re right, Demi. George… indeed has some talent in attacking. And it’s been buried deep. Fortunately, it didn’t stay that way.” Tang En reached out to pat Albertini. “I’m looking forward more and more to his future. Let’s go.”

※※※

In the press conference after the match, Wenger admitted that George Wood’s sudden move forward was not a change he had expected. He somewhat regretfully expressed that if not for Wood’s shot, the match may not have ended this way.

Meanwhile, Tang En delightedly praised Wood’s performance and believed he had stepped up exactly when the team needed him most. Of course, faced with the astonishment of the reporters, he insisted that this was an adjustment he had been planning for a long time. It was something that had been repeatedly practiced during the usual training, and certainly not some kind of helpless last resort he had suddenly come up with.

As he said this, Wenger turned to look at him. Tang En finished what he was saying without a blush or uneven breaths. He could even smile at Wenger.

Naturally, Wenger did not believe the bulls**t Tang En sprouted during the press conference. Based on his understanding of Tony, he could not have been practicing this for too long before he burdened Wood with being the offensive core during the match.?If that was truly the case, Arsenal was also unlikely to be its last victim.

Watching Tang En’s smiling face as he bragged unblushingly, Wenger was even more certain that the man before him was a jerk.

Chapter 435 - Three Days Later

Nottingham Forest brought back a goal from the away game. The Forest team already had the psychological upper hand for the second leg of the competition.

Twain obviously still had some remembrances. He recalled that this season, Arsenal had relied on defensive counterattacks to eliminate Villarreal with a total score of 1:0 from the two rounds, and then advanced into the Champions League final. It was the first time in their club history.

But for his own benefit, he had to brutally wipe out the most brilliant Champions League results in the Arsenal club history.

It must be Nottingham Forest that would go to the finals!

But before they could advance into the finals, there was still one thing that Twain needed to worry about.

“Dunn, what kind of work are you mainly responsible for on the youth team now?”

“Foundation training.”

Hearing his answer, Twain snapped his fingers. “That’s fantastic. Can you come over to my side after practice tomorrow?”

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m going to ask you to help me train someone. Starting from scratch and practicing from the basics.”

Dunn guessed who it was. “George Wood.”

“Yes, him.”

“But.…” Dunn recalled Wood’s performance in the youth team, “His basic foundation has always been good.”

“That depends on which areas his basics are. I want you to help me practice his shooting. It’s not about whether he can shoot into the goal. I want him to at least get seven out of ten shots within range of the goal posts.”

“Okay, but that’s not something that can be done in one or two months.”

“It’s all right. Either way, you’re going to transfer to the First Team next season. Just treat it as if you’ve started work early.”

Dunn was somewhat shocked to hear Twain’s remark. Previously, Twain had not told him that he would be transferred to the First Team coaching unit so soon.

“Oh. I forgot to tell you.” Twain remembered when he saw Dunn’s expression. He scratched his head and said, “I’ve decided to transfer you to the First Team coaching unit next season to help me. We don’t have enough manpower. The team lineup is expanding day by day and I need more coaches. What’s the matter?” asked Twain when he saw that Dunn did not say anything.

“I didn’t expect it. That’s all.”

“How come you didn’t expect it? Why did I find you in Chengdu in the first place? Wasn’t it so that you could come here and partner with me? I’ll never find a person who has such a rapport and can work as well with me as you can in the whole world. Only you, Dunn.”

Dunn looked up at Twain. “Do you really think so?”

Twain nodded without hesitation.

“All right.”

Seeing Dunn agree, Twain had a smile on his face.

“You’re really meticulous when it comes to Wood.”

“Fate brought him and me together.”

※※※

The next day, Twain had Wood stay behind after practice.

The players chuckled and walked past Wood in groups of three or more. Some of them even winked at him. Everyone knew that Twain asked Wood to stay back for extra practice, which was an extracurricular activity that everyone disliked.

Wood stood where he was and looked at his teammates walking past him with a placid expression. He considered additional practice to be a recreational activity that he enjoyed.

When everyone was gone, Twain brought Dunn to the field.

“I don’t have to introduce you both, seeing you know each other.”

Wood had not expected for the person training him to not be Twain, but Dunn. He stared blankly for a moment.

“What? You haven’t met for half a month and suddenly you don’t know him?” Twain teased Wood.

“No… What are we practicing?” Wood shook his head.

“Well, you’ll practice shooting.” Twain surprised Wood for a moment.

“George, do you know why you could shoot within the range of the goalpost during the game against Arsenal?” Twain asked.

Wood carefully considered it for a moment. He no longer remembered what it felt like when he had shot at that time. All he knew was that he was very happy, and nothing beyond that.

Twain shrugged and turned to look at Dunn.

“You still don’t know why you can shoot the football within range, George,” Dunn said. “Just give it a shot again.” He kicked a football over and then pointed to the goal in front of him.

Wood stopped the football and took a few steps back so that he could sprint and run up. He lifted his thigh and swung to kick, and volleyed.

Twain and Dunn looked up at the football that flew towards the horizon, and Twain whistled.

“All right, I’m pretty sure that the shot he made in that game was a lucky shot.” Twain patted Dunn on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Dunn stepped forward and got hold of Wood. “George, shooting doesn’t require the strength of the entire body. Besides, why are the tips of your toes sticking up? Do you still remember how you practiced shooting on the youth team?”

Wood shook his head. “I didn’t practice shooting on the youth team.”

Twain explained to Dunn, “When he first came, he said he wanted to be a striker. So, I put him on the front line and the coaches trained him as they would a striker. But it soon became apparent that he was not cut out to be a striker at all. I made him a defensive midfielder, and they never trained him to shoot again.”

After listening to Twain’s explanation, Dunn shook his head helplessly. “And the youth team manager at the time was David Kerslake?”

Twain nodded.

Dunn did not say anything. He turned to look at Wood and said, “Let’s start from scratch. George, this training is going to be long and repetitive. There are no shortcuts. Are you sure you want to practice?”

Wood turned to look at Twain standing at the side, and then said to Dunn, “Demetrio hopes I can be a player like him.”

Without waiting for Dunn to open his mouth, Twain spoke first. “Let’s put aside other people’s expectations first. George, what do you want to be? Do you want to keep playing in the midfield engineer position, or make some changes? I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t like. A simple midfield engineer is also very important to the team. It’s remarkable to play to your best in that regard.”

Wood bowed his head and pondered for a moment. Then he looked up and said, “I think… I like the feeling of shooting and being involved in the offense.”

Twain exhaled. That should to be Wood’s real thinking.

“Good. Starting today, you’ll practice half an hour with Dunn every day after training, and we’ll do other offensive drills for you during your usual training as well.”

Wood nodded.

“Let’s get started, Dunn.” Twain patted Dunn on the shoulder and backed away. He could not meddle with that kind of training. He was not good at running it. The coaching staff were in charge of it in the First Team. However, he could take this opportunity to take a closer look at Dunn’s training and have a more direct understanding before he was transferred to the First Team. In fact, this was the first time he had watched Dunn train a player up close.

Wood was very cooperative with Dunn. He was not as stubborn as he was when he had first come here. Dunn was also very patient, more patient than the average person. No matter how outrageous Wood’s shots were, he did not show any impatience. He repeatedly explained to Wood the main focal points he needed to pay attention to during shooting. He also broke down one of the simplest and most basic shooting moves and demonstrated it bit by bit for Wood to see. He just did it over and over again until the sun had set.

“Okay! We’ve exceeded the time!” Twain raised his hands and pointed at his watch. He’d lost track of the time while watching the training. In reality, the course of the training was rather boring and monotonous; but Twain was riveted.

Soaked in sweat, George Wood simply took off his jacket in the setting sun. With his arms bared, he kept shooting at the goal, again and again, repeating the simplest action. Dunn blew the whistle repeatedly but did not reprimand him.

That was not something Twain would be able to do, as he was not a very patient person. Seeing Wood like this, he probably would have resorted to foul language by now. Why the hell are you so stupid? This is the simplest and most basic, it’s an action that can’t be any simpler or more basic!

However, Dunn did not do that. There were no emotional fluctuations in his speaking tone, no disappointment or joy.

Hearing Twain’s shout, Dunn stopped training and calmly said to the wheezing Wood, “We’ll continue tomorrow, George.”

“Ok… sure.” Wood gasped for air as he replied.

“Go home, George. Send my regards to your mother.” Twain and Dunn said goodbye to Wood at the gate, each walking in a different direction.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Wood gasping to speak after training. I didn’t think there was a lot of training…” Twain said Dunn on their way home.

“Doing the same action over and over again will make people feel tired.”

“Is there really only one move?”

Dunn nodded.

“Not bad; train that boy well and try to drill him every day until he collapses! By the way, do you think he has a gift in that area?”

Dunn shook his head. “So far, not yet.”

“Well…” Twain muttered to himself for a long time. “Take it slow, we still have one more year.”

“A year? Oh, Albertini.”

“I have to make full preparations.”

The two men walked side by side into the distance.

※※※

Wood’s training program went on every day, rain or shine. It was not as if Twain was deliberately trying to make Wood to become King Muscle. It was simply because he did not have much time. It was time for Albertini to retire next season. If Wood could not produce any results at that point and his performance on the field was still as green as it was in the last two games, Twain would give up the idea and focus on finding a replacement for Albertini in the summer transfer market.

However, at that time, it would be another thing to be able to find the right player. Twain did not want to think too much right now. He still had about a year until then.

As the game drew closer, the media that gathered in Nottingham also increased. Some wanted to see if Arsenal could make their first historic entry to the Champions League finals, and others wanted to see if the leading dark horse in this tournament, Nottingham Forest, would be a dark horse to the end.

This was an English civil war, but it attracted the media’s attention in countries outside of England, too. The Catalonian and Spanish media wanted to see which team would become Barcelona’s opponents in the finals, and the Italian and Milan media wanted to immediately know which team AC Milan’s opponents would be.

Would it be Arsenal or Nottingham Forest?

It would be revealed in three days’ time.

※※※

Between those two Champions League matches, the Forest team would welcome Manchester United in a league game at home. To encounter an opposing team which was close at its heels at this juncture was really unfortunate.

“It’s very simple; there’s nothing difficult about it.” Facing the miserable-looking Kerslake, Twain discussed their planning arrangement and schedule with the coaching unit in his office. “We give up the game against Manchester United.”

The members of the coaching unit all looked at him.

“Some of you must think that I’ve given up the Premier League tournament, right?” No one answered. Even if they really thought so, they could not voice it.

Twain smiled a little. “I’m glad we have Manchester United at this point, and not any other team. The reason is simple. In order to win the Champions League, we are incapable of giving our best for that game in between two semi-final matches. It’s almost certain that we have to abandon it. If we are destined to lose, I think losing to Manchester United is better than losing to any other team. Right now, Manchester United is four points behind us. Even if they beat us, we’re still one point ahead of them.” Twain put up his index finger. “This one point is very important. There are still two rounds left in the league. Who are our next opponents?” He looked at Kerslake.

As the assistant manager, he needed to answer. “Middlesbrough and Sunderland, and both are away games.”

Upon hearing that answer, the coaches in the office laughed and the atmosphere relaxed at once.

Middlesbrough was the team that Nottingham Forest worried least about. The Forest team knew how to play Middlesbrough very well, whereas Middlesbrough seemed to have a mental block when it came to Forest. The other opponent, Sunderland, was also not a threat. They had already been relegated with only twelve points for their thirty-five rounds in the league tournament. That was a terrible result, and their players were too dispirited to fight. They only wanted to finish the season early and go their separate ways.

Even though both matches were away games, it was not difficult for the Forest team to obtain six points.

That was why Twain said that. A game would be delayed in their preparations for the Champions League. The game that was delayed just happened to be the game against Manchester United, which was going to be lost. They did not need to worry about being distracted and upsetting their balance due to the intensive schedule and being forced to compete against Manchester United. That would be detrimental to them.

Everyone knew what Twain had in mind and no longer had any doubts about the arrangement.

“We will deploy our substitutes for this league game. The main force can rest and go all out to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.” Twain stood up and pressed his hands on his desk. He looked at his colleagues and clearly said, “We must advance to the finals!”

※※※

Everything went according to Twain’s plan. With the match against Manchester United coming up, Nottingham Forest boldly started to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. They sent almost all of their substitutes so that they could give the vast majority of their main players a chance to rest.

For his part, Ferguson sent all of his main force and was very clear about his intention to win this away game. He must have known that Twain was bound to give up the game. Whether he could overtake the Forest team in the future or not, they must secure these three points in this game.

Ninety minutes later, Ferguson and Twain both got what they wanted.

Manchester United got the three points they wanted in this away game and narrowed their point difference with Nottingham Forest to just one point. That one-point gap could motivate them further.

And Tony Twain got the much-needed break at the expense of a game loss. At that moment, for the highest goal in the hearts of all the football club managers, he could not care too much anymore.

Would he be able to get what he truly wanted three days later?

Chapter 436 - Round Two

25th April, Evening.

Nottingham, Trent Bridge.

A police car with flashing sirens was stopped by the roadside. Policemen in groups of two or three wore yellow reflective vests and walked around, patrolling. The receivers on their shoulders were constantly emitting rustling static sounds.

“Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

A group of Nottingham Forest fans in red jerseys waved the scarfs in their hands as they walked by, loudly chanting their slogan.

The police kept their eyes on the group of football fans who had just walked past, turning their heads to report the latest update of their assigned areas into the receiver.

“The situation here is good, nothing unusual. Over.”

“Northern Gates of stadium… Normal, over…”

The police officers who finished reporting cast their gaze to the group of fans, following them with their eyes as they walked far, crossing the Trent Bridge, before turning left to finally merge into a stream of countless people just like them. They meandered towards the structure standing on the riverbanks, City Ground.

A helicopter flew over their heads, blowing up a gust of wind.

※※※

“For fans of Nottingham Forest, tonight is like the celebration of a major festival. It’s the UEFA Champions League semi-finals! It’s been a long, long time since they’ve experienced this sensation. City Ground has no empty seats. Perhaps Nottingham Forest Club’s chairman, Evan Doughty, feels somewhat dissatisfied by the stadium’s capacity… In truth, on such an important night, even more fans can only sit in the bar to watch the match because City Ground is unable to take them all in. Arsenal will be experiencing a tenacious fight in here while they face tremendous pressure on the away field… Welcome to round two of the 05-06 UEFA Champions League semi-finals!”

The sounds and noise from outside were cacophonous; fans’ singing and a mess of other noises drifted in from the crack in the door.

Tang En walked to the locker room’s doors and shut them. The noise immediately fell in volume; at the very least, everyone would be able to hear him speak now.

“Everyone. In 90 minutes, our fate for this season will be revealed.” Tang En cleared his throat, so his voice would not sound so scratchy, but to little avail. His voice had long been damaged from these few years of constant yelling.

“This is a match that will decide our destiny.” He leaned down and pressed his hands down on the table, looking at the players before him. Everyone’s faces were serious.

“The semi-finals of the Champions League. I don’t want to talk to you about how important it is. I’m sure you all already know it better than I do. Listen to the sounds outside. Our fans have never looked forward so much to a match as they have today. And, we can give them even more…” Tang En raised his hand and suddenly slammed it down. “Victory!”

He looked at his watch. There was still some time before their appearance in the field. But he had nothing else much to say.

“I wanted to say just that. Take a rest and prepare to get on the field.”

He turned and pulled open the door, the noise from the outside finding its way in again in that instant. After he walked out and closed the door, the locker room resumed its quiet state.

Tang En walked directly towards the dedicated washrooms for them. He was very familiar with the path there. Before leading his first match with the Forest Team, he had hidden in the bathroom alone to calm himself down like this. He told himself that it was no big deal. Even if it were not a game, he was still going to carry on playing.

Now that he had carried on, he had gone on to become even better. He had gotten all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League. That feeling of nervousness from back then returned. The second round was not the same as the first. This was the final 90 minutes. If they succeeded, they would be made. But, if they failed, there would be no opportunity to make up for it.

The pressure he had been feeling intensified significantly.

In front of his players, he made it seem as if he cared about nothing, that he was well-planned and had had everything prepared for a long time. He did not mind playing that character, but the pressure deep inside his heart also needed some release. Prior to the match, it was sometimes not a bad idea to curse at his opponents in front of the media. But he could not just casually scold his opponent for this match; Wenger and he still had some personal ties.

As a result, Tang En could only get the pressure off his chest by smoking a cigarette in the dedicated washroom.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, drawing a deep breath. As he breathed deeply, his heart also calmed.

From the left pane of the glass windows, he could see the field outside brightly lit with lights.

A group of children were currently trying to drag an enormous round banner with the UEFA Champions League logo towards the center circle of the field. The fans were already seated, while reporters were gathered on the two sides of the players’ corridor all the way to nearby the midline. Armed with their cameras, all lenses were aimed at the players’ corridor.

Everyone was anticipating this night and this match.

As one of the main leads, how could it be any other way for Tony Twain?

After finishing his cigarette, Tony, whose mood had completely calmed, walked out of the washroom. He walked through the narrow tunnels that led toward the home team’s locker rooms.

When he turned the corner, he saw Wenger, who was also standing outside the doors. Hearing footsteps, Wenger turned and caught sight of Tang En.

“What a coincidence.” Tang En took the initiative to greet him.

“Yes, what a coincidence,” Wenger said blandly.

Wenger was not at all nervous, or at least he appeared that way. Tang En believed it could be because Wenger was a veteran general; he had already seen so much, he did not feel any nerves. However, from another perspective, this was also Arsène Wenger’s first time leading a team into the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Bumping into each other like that was quite awkward. Both men were at a loss for what to say because they were opponents. They knew nothing about the destinies awaiting them.

Tang En walked to the doors of the home team’s locker room. He turned to Wenger, who stood before the away team’s locker room door, and said, “I’ll see you after the match.”

“Goodbye,” Wenger said concisely.

Tang En turned the knob and opened the door. His players all looked up at him.

“Everyone, are you ready?” He asked, leaning on the door frame.

※※※

“They’re coming in!” Someone in the stands shouted. Everyone around him shifted their gaze towards the exit of the players’ corridors. Like casting a pebble onto the calm surface of a lake, the actions created a ripple through the entire spectators’ stand.

The players from both teams walked in two files into the stadium amid cacophonous cheers. The ones leading Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were captains Henry and George Wood respectively.

Albertini continued sitting on the substitutes’ bench for the match. As the season neared its conclusion, his body condition were unable to keep up. More often than not, he could only sit on the substitutes’ bench, fielded only when the team needed him.

The condition he had displayed in the match against Inter Milan could not be sustained for long. As he aged, his body began struggling to keep up. Consciously, he started sitting closer to the technical area. During the match, he could overhear the voices of the managerial team discussing their strategies. From this moment on, he had to begin preparing for his own dream of being a manager in the future.

Each time Henry shook hands with Wood before the match, exchanging pennants and guessing for the coin toss, he would feel extremely intrigued; the captain before him was truly too young. Among the top six teams in the Premier League, Wood was the youngest of the captains. While Wenger had been said to value young people highly, Tony Twain was even more so. On the Forest Team, several players appeared more suitable than Wood to be the captain, such as Edwin van der Sar, who was a starter for every match.

In fact, it would not be so astonishing if it was merely about his youth; what was more surprising was that Wood was doing rather well in his position as a captain despite his youth.

“Tails.” The referee had placed the coin in front of Henry, indicating the side facing up.

Flipping the coin, the referee presented it to Wood. Wood nodded.

The coin was tossed up high before falling back onto the grass. The main referee bent over to look while Henry and Wood exchanged glances.

“Tails!” Picking up the coin, the referee pointed to Henry, indicating he had the first choice.

“Kick-off rights.” Without hesitation, Henry chose the more advantageous choice for them.

What was left was hardly a choice. Wood chose the side of the field where his team warmed up to be their half.

Both captains shook hands with the three referees and parted ways after.

At that point, Tang En acknowledged that he had completely disregarded what he was to do if they successfully advanced from the semi-finals. In his eyes, this was the finals.

He adjusted his sitting posture and waited for the referee to blow the whistle signaling the beginning of the first half of the match.

※※※

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second round of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in the 05-06 season. The two teams opposing are Nottingham Forest and Arsenal! This is a civil war in England. I believe the English would hope even more for these two teams to meet in Stade de France (where the finals of this season’s Champions League were to be held). Let me take this opportunity to introduce you to the starting line-up of both teams…”

Kenny Burns sat in the bar, his head looking up at the huge television screen that hung below the ceiling. The whole bar was filled to the brim with people taking the same posture as him.

The Forest Bar had used to be a place Tang En frequented. Everyone here knew what kind of person Forest’s manager was. They were also his most loyal fans. These people idolized not some football star, but a manager instead. Even though Tang En very rarely came back here to drink and chat now due to his work, his spot continued to be reserved only for Tang En’s use; no one else was allowed it.

Today, within the crowded bar, only that seat was empty.

The introduction of Forest’s list of starting players began on television. Just like fans watching it live, the people in the bar started shouting the names one by one. After they got to the last name, Anelka, everyone added in: “… and Tony Twain!”

After the shout, everyone guffawed and raised their beer mugs, drinking heartily.

Burns raised his cup in a toast to everyone. The charisma that only Brian Clough had had was now reflected in Tony Twain.

The racket gradually eased. Everyone looked up at the television, waiting for the match to begin.

A clear whistle emitted from within the television, sounding in every corner of the city.

The match was beginning!

※※※

“Right off the bat, Arsenal has opted to take the initiative of an attacking stance. It’s a necessary move for them. If they want a ticket to the finals, Arsenal, who have lost a goal on their home field, needs to go on the offensive in this match. They need to score and upset the advantage that Forest has. Only in that way would the match return to Wenger’s control… however, the team they are faced with is the third-best team in defense in the current season of the English Premier League.”

“I don’t really agree with what you’re saying. The Premier League and Champions League are not quite the same things. Being able to defend well in the EPL does not mean they can do the same in the Champions League.”

Arsenal’s Henry dribbled the ball in an attack and quickly got trapped in a two-player encirclement. Tang En had asked the team to use a pincer defense against Henry, taking extra caution protecting their fronts and backs; when defending, they needed to make sure there was depth in their defense. They must not allow him to break through easily. Henry himself was no stranger to such defense against him. After all, they had played against Forest for almost two seasons.

After attracting the attention of two defending Forest players, Henry passed the ball outwards.

Following, Fàbregas received the pass. At the same time, George Wood also came forward to press him. Without killing the ball and observing, the Spaniard champion directly passed the ball to Reyes upon seeing Wood run over.

Reyes then passed center. He kicked a low pass, attempting to create confusion in front of Forest’s goal. But Pepe kicked the ball out of the sidelines first.

Wood waved to his teammates in front of him, indicating for them to return to participate in the defense.

Something that had recently delighted Tang En was George Wood becoming more and more initiative in telling others his thoughts. For example, those actions during a match would be a rare occurrence a season ago.

If he wished for his teammates to return for defense or go on the attack, he would now use his own methods to inform them rather than keeping his silence and not speaking a word.

Donning the Captain’s armband had truly made him grow a lot.

Wood could tell that the initial stages of the match might need defense, so he got everyone to return to help.

His actions were correct. After kicking off, Arsenal had indeed intended to use the time in that period to launch ferocious attacks. They hoped to break the stalemate as early as possible.

Three minutes, five minutes… Arsenal surrounded Forest’s penalty area in a continuous streak of attacks. Forest could only depend on a tight defense to put a halt to their offense.

However, no one on the spectators’ stand felt dissatisfaction about that. Forest’s fans had long gotten used to this style of football from Tang En. To them, it did not matter how they kicked so long as they could win.

Forest’s players were also used to it; first, defend, and then attack. Many times, this was Nottingham Forest’s basic strategy.

Henry forcefully broke through into the penalty area, igniting a storm of turbulence. Amid the mess, his shot landed on Piqué’s body, changing direction. It flew straight towards the corner, the far corner of the goal! But Edwin van der Sar was blocking the corner closer to them instead. Was it already hopeless?

Arsenal’s fans watching this scene before their televisions were all too ready to begin celebrating and cheering in advance. In this instance, a streak of shadow dashed out. With a stretch of his leg, he kicked the football out!

“George Wood resolves the danger; he saved Forest! Arsenal’s attacks are too ferocious, Nottingham Forest is beginning to stumble!”

Piqué patted Wood, still feeling some trepidation in his heart from the shot earlier, thanking him for his save.

Tang En, sitting outside the field, looked towards the away team manager’s seat. Like him, Wenger was seated and seemed impassive.

Arsenal put in a lot of effort for this match; they must score. That was why Wenger discarded the idea of a defensive counterattack, changing to make use of Arsenal’s greatest strength to deal with Forest.

Such an Arsenal was, in fact, the scariest. At first, they had tried changing strategies, playing defensively as Forest did. They were thinking of depending on it to advance to the finals, but they were taking it too lightly. They should just stick with whatever they were meant to be.

On the contrary, Tang En was not afraid of Arsenal attacking. In the previous round, he had to try so hard to force them to attack because Arsenal did not want to. Now that Arsenal took the initiative to go on the offense, Forest could play defensive counterattacking more comfortably.

Faced with Arsenal’s tidal wave of attacks, Tang En decided against making a move, continuing to observe instead.

He had seen many such scenes. It was no big deal.

Chapter 437 - Weigh the Options?

“Nottingham Forest’s defending their home ground, and the situation on the field does not look good, which is a scene we’re not new to at all. Arsenal wants to score as soon as possible, and the Forest team’s current job is to stop them. As the captain of Nottingham Forest for this game, the young twenty-year-old George Wood is also the defensive core of Nottingham Forest. The talent that he has shown is amazing. He was the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s biggest discovery in its youth training program, after Michael Dawson. At the age of twenty, he performed beautifully on the arena of the Champions League semi-finals, exceeding the maturity and steadiness of his age. This is why Manager Tony Twain thinks so highly of him.”

The commentator introduced Wood with so many flattering words, not because he had nothing else better to do, but because Wood had performed terrifically during the recent period. As the youngest captain in the Champions League semi-finals this season, he had also garnered attention from many more teams.

During last season’s Premier League, when Wood became a rookie for whom Manchester United and Chelsea had competed in their offers, his influence was only confined to within England. The Premier League clubs snooped around while secretly nursing their envy: How did Nottingham Forest produce such a monster?

Now, as the Forest team’s performance in the Champions League took hold in people’s minds following the team’s improved performance as they progressed towards the semi-finals, more eyes from the European continent were on George Wood, the team’s first captain for most of the time.

The UEFA Champions League was a perfect stage where good players achieved success and recognition, and poor players were cruelly eliminated.

“George Wood!”

After he took the ball, Fàbregas had wanted to turn around and launch but was tripped by Wood from behind. The referee was unquestionably unrestrained in ruling Wood’s action as a foul. Although Arsenal was awarded a free kick in the front field, the position could not directly threaten the goal, and the Forest team traded a foul for the safety of the goal, which was considered a bargain.

Therefore, when Fàbregas fell to the ground after being tripped by Wood, he looked helpless while he knelt on the ground with open arms. If Wood had not committed a foul, he could have simply broken through and then looked for loopholes in the Forest team’s defense to send another lethal pass. Now all that could only be said in hindsight.

However, Twain frowned as he watched the field.

He used to be happy to see Wood perform actively, but now he would rather see Wood disappear.

“David, have you told George?” He turned to Kerslake.

Kerslake nodded. “I reminded him to pay attention to fouls. But I don’t think those reminders work for him during the game.”

Twain looked at Wood, who was fully engaged in the game, and muttered, “It’s better to have said it than not at all.”

The thing was, the reason for Twain’s nervousness was that Wood now held two yellow cards. According to the UEFA rules, a player who accumulated three yellow cards in the Champions League would automatically be suspended for one game.

In short, if George Wood received another yellow card for any reason in this game, he would be forced to be absent even if the Forest team could reach the final.

That was not at all what Twain wanted.

The consequences for the Forest team that Wood’s absence would bring had been substantiated during the first two games of this season’s Champions League group stage.

※※※

After Arsenal’s free-kick was coordinated, the shot was completed by Robin van Persie, whose header was thrown out of the crossbar by Edwin van der Sar.

Taking advantage that the players were back to defend and being the team’s most experienced player on the field, Edwin van der Sar got hold of Wood and said, “George, don’t forget what the coach said to you before the game. Be careful.”

Wood nodded. “I remember.”

“That’s good. Sometimes it’s okay to let them go. Don’t worry, I’m here!” Edwin van der Sar patted Wood on the head.

Wood looked up at the tall Dutchman. “It would be remiss of me if they passed under my watch.”

Edwin van der Sar had nothing else to say. “Good luck to you.”

After Arsenal’s header was shot, Pepe gained the upper hand as he competed against Senderos for the header and headed the football out. But the football was not headed too far away. Fàbregas was outside and immediately volleyed the ball.

The shot was precise, and George Wood, who rushed into the crowd, did not reflexively dodge. Instead, he used his chest to block the shot.

A muffled thump was heard, and the football slashed across to fly out of the sideline. Wood did not even crease his brows; he just ran over, ready to defend.

“What a monster. He just took it there, and he’s still fine?” Robin van Persie, next to Fàbregas, could not help sighing and rubbing his chest as if the football had struck him.

The young Spanish player turned his head to look at his teammate and thought that Robin van Persie had made a fuss about nothing. He already knew that Wood was a monster. Perhaps he understood him so well because he had treated him as an opponent. His stamina, body, speed, reaction... His inherent conditions were so good that it made people jealous. If he had received professional football training since he was young, what would he have achieved by now? It was unimaginable.

Fàbregas was startled by that crazy idea of his and hurriedly shook his head to place his attention back on the field.

Robin van Persie went up to receive the Arsenal’s throw-in. Under Chimbonda’s tight defense, he passed the football back to Lauren, who did the throw-in.

The Forest team launched a fierce scramble for the ball near the sideline. Lauren spied Fàbregas, the team’s midfield commander, in the between the cracks among the crowd.

He passed the football over.

George Wood sprang up as if he had received the signal.

Fàbregas did not stop the ball. He spread his legs apart and the football slipped between his legs.

“What a nice slip! George Wood was deceived!”

The player behind Fàbregas was Alexander Hleb, who received the ball and swiftly broke through ahead. When the Belarusian played in the Bundesliga, he had relied on his consummate skill. In VfB Stuttgart, he often staged a show with that kind of individual dribble to bypass many players and put the ball into the opposing goal.

This time, Wood hesitated when he saw him dribble the ball. He deliberated whether he should go up to defend or guard Fàbregas.

It was at this point that Arteta suddenly went up to block Hleb’s way forward and neatly cut off the ball.

“George!” He gave a shout.

Wood saw that he was diagonally behind him and looked ahead again. He no longer hesitated and chose to plug in ahead.

Arteta did not dribble the ball. Instead, he passed it to George Wood, who had already run ahead before the Arsenal players had had time to react.

Wood received the ball and continued to dribble forward. Behind him, Arteta assisted him as Fàbregas gave chase.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s counterattack! After being held down for so long, they finally decided to do something! It’s rare to see George Wood dribbling the ball.”

Without turning back, Wood knew that the troublesome Spanish kid must be following him. When he attacked, he also followed him like a shadow. Now that it was his turn to attack, he became his shadow too.

“To your left, short pass.” Arteta’s voice directed Wood, who listened and passed the football. Sure enough, he immediately saw Arteta dribbling the ball and charged up.

Watching Arteta dribble the ball over, Wood slowed down. He completely switched his role in an instant and became Arteta’s “bodyguard” at that moment.

The two players worked in sync and Arteta was not worried about the Arsenal players swarming around him, eyeing the football covetously. He knew that even if he lost the ball, Wood would try to snatch it back.

He passed the football to Viduka. The Australian striker turned and leaned against the fullback, Touré. Then he turned around and hastened to shoot, and Lehmann easily caught the football.

When he saw the scene from off the field, Twain stamped his foot in anger. “What’s his hurry? Stop the ball, hold, and protect it. Anelka, Arteta, and Ribéry were all running towards him. He had countless ways to deal with this ball! He’s really...”

Unsurprisingly, Twain was angry. Suppressed by Arsenal, the Forest team had very few opportunities to attack, so every opportunity was particularly precious. They would suffer divine retribution for wasting this chance so easily...

※※※

The first half came to the end with Arsenal’s barrage and the Forest team’s pathetic defense, as well as the occasional sneak attack.

The score on the electronic scoreboard was still in red with 0:0. This was the final score that Twain wanted to see, and it could become a reality in forty-five minutes.

“At the end of the first half, Nottingham Forest has held their goal. No matter how hard Arsenal attacked, there was no way to break apart their defense. George Wood, the most active player in the first half, used four fouls and eight tackles to safely protect the front of the goal. This twenty-year-old captain has used his actions to demonstrate that he deserves the captain’s armband on his left arm.”

The commentator still gushed about Wood. But outside the home team’s locker room, Twain got hold of him with a grim expression and said, “George, have you forgotten what the assistant manager said to you?”

“Try to not to foul as much as possible.” Wood shook his head, “No, I didn’t forget.”

“Look at your performance stats in the first half.” Twain stabbed at the paper in his hands, “Four fouls! Eight tackles! If this wasn’t our home ground, you would have been given a damn yellow card! Do you not know how important you are to this team?”

Wood did not speak and just looked at Twain.

“If we make it to the finals and you’re absent, what’s the point? You must know how powerful Barcelona’s offense is!”

“How do you know that Barcelona will reach the finals?” Wood suddenly asked, which made Twain break out in a cold sweat. His mind immediately calmed down. He had just let slip something about the future ...

“Uh... that’s just my prediction. They look very much like they’re fully capable of getting into the finals. Well, even if it’s not Barcelona, how can AC Milan’s attacking prowess be underestimated? If we don’t have you, that means we don’t have a barrier in front of the center back. At that point, whether it’s Ronaldinho or Kaka, they can easily penetrate our defense and do whatever they want!” Twain slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. “You’d better behave in the second half.”

Wood nodded. “I know.”

“Go on, then.” Twain waved his hand and Wood ran back to the locker room.

Looking around, Twain swore under his breath and turned around to walk to the locker room.

※※※

George Wood’s yellow card problem was raised by the coaching unit after the first leg of the game. Twain had not given it much consideration before. It was not until someone in the coaching unit reminded him that Wood was in a precarious situation now and that he would automatically be suspended if he received another yellow card, that he realized the gravity of the problem.

The Forest team had always relied on Wood’s aggressive interception and tireless running in the middle to contain the other side’s attacks, which naturally included using fouls.

Since his debut, Wood had not been the type of player who defended civilly and moved efficiently and with ease. His fierce defensive style had made a lot of opponents suffer, but also caused him to be “favored” by a lot of referees. It was unrealistic for Wood not to have a single foul in a game. All Twain could do was to repeatedly remind him to pay attention to his actions, to foul as little as possible, and try not to get a yellow card needlessly.

However, the decisive factor ultimately laid with the player himself. At the very least, George Wood did not look like someone who could keep those words in mind.

What made Twain feel a little relieved was the forty-five minutes in the first half had already passed by safely. As long as he held his nerve for another forty-five minutes, George Wood would safely return to base.

※※※

In the visitors’ locker room, Wenger used the short period of time to lay out a new tactic for the team. This time, it was no longer just a few words that popped out of his mouth.

“Manager Twain is worried about Wood because he now has two yellow cards on him and will automatically be suspended for one game if he gets another. He would surely warn his favorite player to pay attention to his actions in the second half. Wood will be constrained when he defends.”

The eyes of the Arsenal players lit up.

“This is our chance to force an attack in the middle during the second half; the target is George Wood!”

※※※

“Listen to me, guys. In the first half, you did...” Twain stood at the door, with his arms wide open as if to praise his players, and the players expected that. “...terribly!” No one had expected that.

“We have precious few opportunities, so we have to treat every offense well.” When he said that, Twain glanced at Viduka. “We should not be contented with a score of 0:0 for this game. Arsenal is a strong opponent who knows us well. A total score of 1:1 is very dangerous, and I think you all know that. The only way to make sure we can advance is for us to score goals. In the second half, don’t be contented to just hold onto the tie. Guys, we have to win! Strive to score early and snuff out Arsenal’s hope.” He made a pinching gesture.

※※※

The two managers’ arrangements during the halftime interval were brief, based on their mutual understanding.

After the first leg of the competition, Wenger certainly knew that George Wood could be used as an offensive midfielder at a critical moment. He would inevitably make special arrangements to deal with that, so there was no need for Twain to repeatedly exhort Wood to attack during the halftime interval. The Forest team’s offensive routine for this game was not that. Wood was still a defensive midfielder.

The fifteen minutes went by in the blink of an eye. The players had to step foot on their journey again.

Watching the players walk out one by one, Twain once again stopped Wood at the end.

When he saw that he was able to speak, Wood spoke first. “Try not to foul, right?”

Twain nodded.

“Do you want us to advance to the finals at the end of this game?” asked Wood again.

Twain continued to nod.

“I’m important to the team, aren’t I?”

Another nod.

“In that case, if I’m constrained in my playing, the team will definitely be affected. What if we lose this game because of this?”

Twain was dumbfounded by his remark. He had no idea that Wood would say such a thing. “George ... are you, are you possessed by an alien?”

Wood ignored Twain’s words. “You got something wrong, chief. The team’s victory should be placed before me not getting a third yellow card.” With that, he turned and ran out of the locker room.

Twain looked at his back and could not say a word for a long while. He even forgot that he had to return to the technical area.

Chapter 438 - Arsenal’s King

“Now, it’s Nottingham Forest on the attack. Since the beginning of the second half of the match, they’ve been showing incredible initiative. They’re beginning to threaten Arsenal’s goal more frequently!”

Wood did not participate much in the attack. He was placed by Tang En in a position requiring defense. His function was to prevent their opponents from attacking. So, there was nothing requiring him now. He stood at the back as if watching a show.

Arteta crossed the midfield with the ball. Following that, he cooperated with Ribéry in a positional swap. Ribéry moved into the center while Arteta ran into the wings. But whose foot was the ball under?

Neither of theirs.

While Arteta and Ribéry were switching positions, the ball was passed to Ribéry. Then, as they ran into position, Ribéry directly passed the football towards the right wing of the field, Ashley Young’s, domain.

“Ashley Young, he kills the ball beautifully!”

Ashley Cole moved forward to defend against this small champion bearing the same name as him. He did not dare to slight him.

Meanwhile, Chimbonda was moving forward from behind, readying to cross over from behind Young. Ashley Cole saw it, and so did Ashley Young; he dribbled the ball inwards, creating space for Chimbonda to come in from the back. Ashley Cole hesitated briefly, but still followed beside Young. As for Chimbonda, he would leave him to his other teammates to take care of.

Ashley Young continued dribbling the ball as Chimbonda whizzed by him. Young had neither the intention of passing the ball nor of making use of a directional change to breakthrough into the penalty area. He continued dribbling the ball towards the middle. Arsenal’s rear-guards formed a wall in the penalty area; on one hand, they could prevent him from suddenly doing a direct pass; on the other, they could prevent him from taking a shot at the goal.

Ribéry was in proximity to him. The two again exchanged their positions. This time, it was Ashley Young who switched into the middle while Ribéry went into the right wing. While exchanging their positions, the ball got under Ribéry’s foot instead. Then, just as everyone thought Ribéry would continue dribbling into the wings, he suddenly lifted his right foot and passed the ball center!

Viduka jumped up high and attacked the goal with a header! Lehmann performed admirably, managing to hold off such a powerful shot from the goal. It went out and over the crossbars.

Forest Team was awarded the first corner ball in the second half of the match. This was also their second corner kick in the entire match.

Piqué and Pepe had both run up, ready to compete for the header. Meanwhile, George Wood and Leighton Baines stayed at the back, preventing any counterattacks from their opponents.

“Watch them!” Lehmann shouted as he raised both his hands high. It was a scene of chaos in front of the goal.

“Push out!”

Arteta stood at the corner flag, preparing to kick the ball into play.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s corner kick and their opportunity.”

The main referee whistled, indicating his approval for the corner kick.

Arteta ran up, took a swing, and passed center!

The ball took off speedily and flatly. There was only a low arc to it as it flew directly to the front.

While the defenders in Arsenal’s penalty area were focusing their attention on all the taller and bigger players, like Pepe, Piqué, and Viduka, Ribéry suddenly dashed in from the diagonal, rushing forward. Then, he swiped the ball with his head.

“GOOOOOOOAL!!”

City Ground erupted. The home team scored!

“Franck Ribéry! A sudden dash up with nobody guarding him. He executed a powerful header! Nottingham Forest takes the lead on their home ground!”

Tang En shot up from his seat, throwing both his arms into the air. They had scored a goal just as they needed it, right on schedule. What could be more perfect than that?

Corner kicks, free kicks… all set pieces were repeatedly rehearsed during their usual training. Especially before an important match, they would practice it even more. Today, they finally reaped their rewards.

It was as if he was seeing the gates of Paris’ Stade de France already slowly opening, right before his very eyes.

“2:1! Nottingham Forest takes the lead in their overall score. And, they still have an away goal. They are getting closer and closer to the finals!”

Deafening cheers rang through the spectators’ stands. Nottingham Forest fans were enveloped in a great cloud of bliss.

Ribéry sprinted towards the corner flag and launched into a tight hug with Arteta, who had passed the ball to him. Scoring in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League was not something Ribéry had even dared to think about two years ago.

On the other side, Wenger sat on his manager’s seat, waving his hands vigorously when he saw the loss of the ball. He was tremendously upset. However, he did not become anxious. The second half had only been going for five minutes; they still had at least 40 minutes to equalize the score. In Highbury, Nottingham Forest had only scored one goal. That was now considered good news to Arsenal. In this way, so long as Arsenal makes another goal, they would not only equalize the overall score, they could even neutralize the advantage Forest Team got from the away goal they scored. Both parties could again return to a true, level starting line.

But right now, all those things only existed within Wenger’s mind and his predictions.

He needed the players to realize them.

Wenger stood up from his seat. There was no need to shout anything. The Arsenal players on the field already knew what to do. Everything had been arranged during halftime.

It was just a single ball loss. They were not yet at their wits’ end.

Nottingham Forest’s players were heartily celebrating the goal. Ribéry and everyone else were huddled in a circle, and then Ribéry ran back again to hug their manager, Tony Twain.

Tang En smiled and congratulated him. He then got the players to return to the field so the match could resume.

“Well-done, everyone. Go back into the field and defend! Remember, defend! Our next mission is to defend. We must not let Arsenal get any chances. Don’t let them score. Hold on to the final second!”

Even Tang En felt he was getting to be a bit of a nag. But he could not help it. The nearer they got to success, the more nervous he got. If he could, he really wanted to light up a cigarette and relieve some pressure. But the place prohibited smoking.

※※※

The players obediently returned to the field. Arsenal’s players had already set the ball in the center circle, ready to kick off.

“If Arsenal wants to advance to the final match, they need to go all out in their offense and try to equalize the overall score as soon as possible. It is their only option. I believe… Wenger would already have a solution.”

Indeed, he did have a solution. After the match resumed, Arsenal’s players unexpectedly gave up on attacking from the wings. Instead, they switched to trying to forcefully attack through the center. That was a seemingly irrational method. Even the commentator felt incredulous about it. Yet, the one sitting on the manager’s seat of the home team, Tang En, was thoroughly cursing Wenger for being so sly.

Wenger knew of Wood’s current situation and what Tang En was most worried about in his heart.

By forcefully attacking through the middle and making Wood the target, the concentrated firepower would cause Wood to attend to one thing and lose sight of the other. By increasing the defensive pressure on him, it also increased the chances of Wood committing a foul.

Wenger must believe that Wood would be worried about getting a card and start playing more reservedly in his defense, not daring to use all his power. That way, Wenger’s team would gain more opportunities to break through the defensive line and equalize the score.

Perhaps, Tang En would feel the same if the exchange in the final moments of their halftime did not occur.

But… Arsenal’s strategy worried Tang En precisely because he knew Wood would not change his own style of playing in fear of a yellow card.

Wenger hoped that Wood would become their point of breakthrough, where they could score a goal and equalize the score. On the other hand, Tang En was only worried that Wood would end up eating yellow cards from facing the constant stream of attacks.

Arsenal’s players intentionally leaned toward Wood, trying to seek opportunities to break through from his spot. In fact, they even showed some intent in baiting him.

Wood did not retreat. He received all of them, dealing with them as was appropriate.

Off the field, Tang En could only watch this all happen while biting his lip anxiously.

“That bastard…” Tang En gnashed out.

Beside him, David Kerslake was unsure who Tang En was cursing. Was it Wenger, Arsenal’s manager? Or was it George Wood, who did not heed his advice?

※※※

When Wood fouled yet again to stop Arsenal’s attack, Wenger stood at the sidelines gesturing unhappily into the field. He was extremely displeased that the main referee held back so long from giving out a card. Wenger was also using that method to pressure the referee, hoping for him to penalize Wood with a card.

Arsenal’s players were, at the same time, attempting to pressure the referee. However, the referee only verbally warned Wood without any intention of giving him a card.

“George!” Edwin van der Sar called out from the back. “Don’t forget what the coach said…”

Wood ignored Edwin van der Sar. Keeping his back to the goalkeeper, he said nothing.

The next time, when Arsenal’s army pressed in on them, Arteta took to tripping Henry first, without waiting for Wood to move up and defend.

The referee’s whistle blasted again. Recently, his whistle had been blown much too frequently. With Arsenal’s fiery attacks, Forest’s defense in the middle was facing tremendous stress.

Wood looked at Arteta with some surprise.

“Don’t think I can’t defend, George. I’m a defensive midfielder too. Don’t look down on me.” Arteta turned to smile at Wood.

Then, taking the chance while they were assembling the human wall, Arteta turned to shout at his teammates around him. “George needs support, everyone. Defense is not just for him! Those without cards should be more conscious of that!”

Pepe laughed from behind. “George alone has locked down the door. Even if we wanted to perform, we can only head some balls, that’s all.”

“Then, move up a little, Pepe. Arsenal’s goal is obvious. They want to make use of George’s yellow cards to pressure us and create problems in our defense. Don’t give them that opportunity! If they want to play, we’ll play with them!”

George Wood stared at Arteta as he said that.

After instructing them, Arteta suddenly realized Wood was looking at him. He laughed and said, “In the past, it was always you who protected me. For once, it’s my turn to protect you.”

Henry’s free kick landed on the human wall and posed no threat to Edwin van der Sar’s goal.

After that, Arsenal made a clear discovery of Nottingham’s change. Whenever they wanted to break through Wood, they would end up meeting with others like Arteta, Ribéry, or Pepe. In other words, they could not make Wood directly face the opponent’s firepower. Arsenal’s attacks, once again, entered a stalemate. Wenger’s calculations did not turn out to be sound.

Tang En, who watched the scene from outside the field, laughed. This was his team. This time it was his Nottingham Forest.

※※※

The time in the match passed swiftly amid the entanglement of the two teams. While people were still immersed in the possibility of whether Arsenal could equalize the scores, no one noticed that there were only ten minutes left until the end of the match.

George Wood fouled less now. The defensive pressure on him was shared with the rest of his teammates. Faced with Forest, who had already set their hearts on playing defensive counterattacking, Arsenal did not have any good solutions. They could pass around their players in the outer circle and play out beautiful give-and-go combinations, but Nottingham Forest remained unmoved. They simply defended from within their own camp without leaving. They allowed Arsenal to pass around on the outside, occasionally trying long shots.

Wenger chose a forceful attack through the middle to make Wood feel the pressure of the yellow cards. But, in football, such forceful attacks through the center were unwise. It would only cause all the other attack routes to get jammed. If this went on, there was no point in talking about equalizing the score; there was a real possibility of Arsenal losing the match entirely.

Wenger knew that this could not go on. Although he was a little regretful of not being able to use this against Wood and make some news, what was urgent now was to even the score. They needed to change this terrible situation and get the match back on track.

Wenger stood up and made a hand signal towards the field.

※※※

Tang En changed out Viduka, who had performed averagely, and put in Eastwood. In contrast to the first round of the match, that switch was not for wasting match time.

As Arteta needed to help Wood with defending, Forest’s midfield had lost some control. Tang En wanted to regain control over the midfield by sending in Eastwood. By pushing Anelka right to the front, Eastwood’s responsibility was to connect the mid and front fields.

Without having time to regain control over the midfield with Eastwood only just entering, Forest suffered a severe blow.

Henry suddenly burst into action near the center circle, stealing the ball from under Ashley Young’s foot. Going with the momentum, Arsenal immediately counterattacked from the front field. Forest’s defense was taken by surprise and failed to defend. Faced with Henry’s breakthrough, they appeared helpless.

To protect George Wood, Arteta was the first to rush up to stop him. But Arteta was, after all, not a player that specialized in this; Henry easily passed him.

George Wood then tackled Henry from the side. This time, Henry had no intention of trying to bait him into a foul. He simply moved the football gently to the side before jumping up to avoid the side tackle from Wood.

“A beautiful dodge! This is Henry’s level of play!”

Wood did not give up. He scrambled up from the ground and quickly chased after him.

It was as if Henry had suppressed it for nearly an entire match; the despondency within his chest was finally being vented.

Before the match, news of issues concerning his contract renewal with the club was publicized worldwide by the media. Arsenal’s fans even began doubting his loyalty. He, as well, was starting to feel sick of his time in Arsenal. On one hand, they were being suppressed by Manchester United in the EPL. On the other, they were also unable to become champions in the UEFA Champions League… was it the time for him to change a place? However, he was Arsenal’s captain at the same time, Highbury’s King. He was not someone who could leave just because he said so.

He told his agent to continue discussion of the contract renewal after the Champions League ended. The results of the Champions League would decide if he stayed or left.

This was Arsenal’s best result. It’s our first time getting into the semi-finals. We absolutely cannot stop here!

Henry dribbled the ball forward at maximum speed. He hurtled towards Nottingham Forest’s penalty area. George Wood was chasing behind him while Pepe and Piqué formed a two-man defensive line before him.

He lifted his foot, faking a shot. After deceiving Piqué and causing him to go off balance, Henry passed him with a nudge of the ball! At the same time, George Wood, who had caught up, stuck close behind him. They entered the penalty area!

“Alone, Henry has surpassed Nottingham Forest’s entire defensive line! He’s entered the penalty area. George Wood does not dare to foul!”

Pepe dashed out from behind Piqué and blocked Henry’s path forward. Switching up his directions, Henry easily changed the angle of his shot. Under Wood’s disruptions, the French forward lifted his foot to shoot at the goal!

His shot was extremely difficult to defend. Edwin van der Sar used all his might to leap towards the far corner but did not even manage to touch the ball. He could only watch as the ball flew right into the goal behind him.

“Oh, oh, oh! Thierry Henry! An incomparably brilliant breakthrough and goal!!?With Arsenal stuck in that stalemate, he alone managed to pull his team back from the abyss of elimination!”

Regardless of the numerous exaggerated words used by the commentator to compliment the goal, they were not at all an overstatement. This was indeed a goal that had people dumbstruck with admiration.

It was not difficult for Arsenal’s Henry to get past four people in one go. However, this was a scene happening right at the most crucial point of the Champions League semi-finals; in that, it became something of a legend.

“He is Arsenal’s King, he saved the team! He is Thierry Henry!”

Chapter 439 - The Last Option

“He’s the king of Arsenal, and he’s saved the team. Thierry Henry!”

The Arsenal players ran towards their captain. This goal came at the right time and was incredibly important. As the game was six minutes into the injury stoppage time, Arsenal equalized the score of the game and tied the total scores for both teams.

Wenger leaped from his seat and opened his arms to hug Pat Rice.

The two thousand Arsenal fans who followed the team to Nottingham erupted into loud cheers. Amid their cheers, Nottingham Forest fans were caught in a brief silence.

Twain’s heart fell from high in the clouds down to the bottom. It was an unspeakable feeling. He bit his lip hard and stared at the Arsenal players celebrating on the field.

We were just about to win and progress into the final, and Henry scored a goal at the last minute! That f**king...

What were my players thinking at that moment? Did they think they were definitely winning? Their reactions were like a ninety-year-old man in the instant when the offense turned to defense!

The Forest players held their heads low and watched the other side celebrate.

George Wood looked down at his feet.

Just as he was about to tackle Henry from behind, he suddenly recalled Twain’s warning that with two yellow cards on him, he was likely to get a third yellow card for this foul, or even a red card. As a result, he reflexively retracted his foot a little.

And that little distance let Henry evade him.

He should not have retracted his foot. He should have directly tackled the opposing striker to the ground so that he could not break through and make the shot. However, his body did not listen to him.

Dammit, I said it so nicely and in the end, I’m still a coward.

He raised his head again and saw his dejected teammates around him. As his anger over his performance filled him with anger, he blurted out, “What’s the matter with you guys? We haven’t lost yet!”

Arteta looked up at Wood, who clenched his fists and roared loudly. Everyone turned their heads towards him.

“We haven’t lost yet! We still don’t know who’s been eliminated. What are you all doing?!”

Then he went to Arteta. “Don’t protect me, it’s not necessary.”

“But, George-”

“We’ll talk about this once we enter the finals.” He turned and ran towards the goal. He took the football out of the net and then ran all the way to the center circle, holding the football. He then placed the football on it.

“Let’s kick off!”

Twain, who saw the scene on the field, turned to Kerslake and said, “Whether or not we actually make it to the finals… At least we gained a real captain.”

Kerslake smiled but did not know what to say.

※※※

The game started again and Arsenal wanted to seize the last moments to wipe out the Forest team again while Forest wanted to score another goal in the remaining few minutes to get the advantage back. Both sides were at odds with each other and engaged in a fierce scramble in every corner of the field.

As a result, when the referee blew the whistle at the end of the ninety-minute game, the score between the two sides remained at 1:1.

“The total score stands at 2:2. Both sides have an away goal each, and it’s a tie. Now they have a thirty-minute overtime to decide the winner. If that still does not work, then a penalty shootout will be needed. It really is a dramatic game. Just when Nottingham Forest thought they were going to win, Henry tied the score at the last minute.”

Neither team entered the locker room to prepare for overtime. They were either sitting or lying down on the sidelines as the team doctors massaged them and they listened to the manager’s latest instructions.

“We are pressed for time, so I won’t criticize your distraction at the last minute.” The Nottingham Forest players gathered in a circle as Twain crouched in the middle with a grim expression and said, “In overtime, defense remains our primary objective while you look for opportunities to fight back. Luckily, we’ve been training for penalty kicks. If you can’t resolve the fight in thirty minutes, then drag out the game till then.”

On the other side, in Arsenal’s half of the field, Wenger stood in front of his players and paced back and forth as he said to them, “During overtime, just concentrate on attacking half of the field and ignore the other half. Try your best to score. If we can’t force it, we’ll compete against them with penalty kicks.”

※※※

With just a short five-minute break between the ninety-minute game and overtime, many players only had enough time to even out their breathing before they had to get on the field again to play the game.

George Wood stood up from the ground and Twain looked at him. Then he watched him return to the field without saying anything. He did not know what to say. It was pointless to say things like “don’t get another yellow card” when they did not even know if they could make it to the finals. What was the use of reminding him not to get a yellow card?

He just let everything take its natural course.

※※※

Once the first half of the overtime game started, Arsenal took advantage of the momentum from their recent equalizer to launch a siege on the Forest team’s goal, as if to settle the battle within those thirty minutes.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest laid out their best and most familiar defensive array to greet Arsenal’s frenzied attack.

Twain made one last substitution. He replaced Leighton Baines with Gareth Bale. Baines had a muscle cramp from running and Bale’s stamina was good enough to stabilize the defense.

Throughout the first half of overtime, the Forest team’s counterattack was basically nowhere to be seen. Anelka wandered alone in front for a while and found that the football could not be passed over there. He looked at the tense situation in the rear. He hesitated a little before he decided to go back to participate in the defense.

Generally speaking, even though there was no rule that stated that it was necessary, overtime in football matches did present a very interesting phenomenon. During the thirty minutes of overtime, the performances of the two teams would be divided into two extremes in the first and second half of the overtime. Taking this game as an example, Arsenal aggressively attacked now in the first half. Then Arsenal would not have any spare energy to carry out another attack in the second half. It would be Nottingham Forest’s turn to attack.

This might be because when the game was at this point, the stamina of both sides prevented them from carrying out another thirty minutes of offense. They could only choose to rest for one half or attack one half of the field.

Arsenal attacked for fifteen minutes and did not gain anything. The Forest team’s defense was very well organized. The score remained at 1:1. The Forest players knew that their time had come.

There was no break in between the first and second halves of overtime. The teams directly exchanged sides and the players could only buy some time to give themselves a break by slowly crossing the field.

At this juncture, both Arsenal and Nottingham Forest players had reached the limit of their stamina.?The intensive competition schedule and successive challenges left everyone exhausted. They slowly moved their pace across the field. Only one person was the exception.

George Wood ran with his head held high to the other half of the field. As he brushed past Fàbregas, the Spaniard could even feel a gust of air sweep past his cheeks.

※※※

At the start of the second half of the game, the Forest team pressed on to attack according to convention. No one really wanted to drag the game to the penalty shootout, which was a risky way to determine the winner.

Everybody pressed ahead and Gareth Bale was frequently involved in the offense. Only George Wood remained in the back to protect everyone’s rear.

Almost everyone thought that Arsenal would not have any extra energy to pose a threat to the Forest team’s rear defensive line after fifteen minutes of frenzied bombardment. George Wood looked a little silly, watching the other people play from the back. Looking at Nottingham Forest’s offensive momentum, Arsenal would deplete all the physical energy they had left just on defense alone. How could they jeopardize the Forest team’s goal?

Eastwood’s shot was saved by Lehmann. The German goalkeeper did not choose to drive an ineffective long pass ahead. He threw the ball with his hand to launch an attack!

The football came to Fàbregas’ foot in the blink of an eye. Without waiting for the Forest players to react, Fàbregas passed the football to their captain, the most trustworthy striker, Henry.

Then while most of the Forest players, still in the front field, were stunned by this sudden change, Henry had already adjusted the direction of the football and began to dribble the ball towards the Forest team’s goal!

“This is Arsenal’s counterattack! The Forest team’s too aggressive in their attacks. They forget that Arsenal still has Henry, a speedy and extremely dangerous player!”

“Dammit!” Twain jumped up on the sidelines, “I told them to find the time to fight back! Not to press up for a siege!”

“Don’t worry, Tony. George’s at the back,” Kerslake consoled.

“That’s what worries me the most,” Twain muttered.

※※※

Henry glanced back. His teammates could not run anymore and there were very few people who followed. At the same time, even though the Forest team was desperately running back to defend, they were clearly out of energy, just by looking at their running postures. In that case…

Henry turned his head back to look at George Wood up ahead of him.

Just the two of us left?

“Thierry Henry and George Wood! The clash of the captains…”

Wood did not have to look around to know the situation. There was no one else on the rear defensive line other than him and two other center backs. When the Forest team was in the thick of its offense, everyone rushed up without regard, hoping to be the hero who helped bring the team to the finals in the last moments.

He did not go up, not because he could not run anymore or because he was not interested in offense, but because he saw Henry cruising near the center circle. Why was Henry not leading by example as the captain, the only one there when everyone went back to the penalty area to defend?

He could only think of one possibility, and it might soon become a reality: Henry was the ultimate weapon in Arsenal’s counterattack. His return to Arsenal’s side would be tantamount to giving up.

The cunning Wenger wanted to use this opportunity to score the goal that could reverse the score right up until the last minute!

Henry was well aware of George Wood’s capabilities. He would be entangled with him once he got nearer to him. At that time did not know what this attack would become. Therefore, the key to this counterattack was to absolutely make certain not to get close to Wood. He could not give him a chance to entangle with him.

Wood knew Henry was fast and physically strong. When he looked at his current running posture, his running legs were still powerful. He knew he could still speed up, and break through him with speed. He must not let him pull away from him. Once he was allowed to widen the distance, he could use his speed to force a breakthrough. He must get closer to him to tangle with him.

Henry jabbed the football to the left and wanted to slash across for the breakthrough. George Wood moved parallel to meet him.

Henry began to accelerate and Wood began to accelerate too, following Henry close at his heels so that he would not escape from his range of control.

Suddenly Henry made a sudden stop as if he were going to break through in another direction. Wood braked as well and was cautious of the other party’s next move. Henry did not change direction. It was only a change in his pace. He saw Wood slow down and immediately sped up to make use of the opportunity to shake off the other player.

However, Wood’s physical condition was so good that he almost started at the same time as Henry. He did not manage to evade this time.

“Henry’s going to be entangled with Wood! The distance between them is very close. The Nottingham Forest players are on their way. As long as he is able to slow down Henry, Wood’s defense will succeed… Whoa!”

Just when everyone thought Henry had no other way, he suddenly pushed the football diagonally in between Wood’s legs!

Immediately after, he stopped and turned to break through from the other side of Wood’s body!

“He knocked the football past Wood! Terrific!”

Wood was not prepared for Henry’s move. When he finally reacted, the other man had already bypassed him.

What did it mean to let Henry just break through like that?

There were still Pepe and Piqué. Perhaps things were not bad enough for him to have to do that. Wood thought hard as he looked up to see Fàbregas and Robin van Persie, desperately running forward.

Three against two?!

Wood knew what this meant.

He quickly turned and saw Henry’s back. It looked like the other man had not completely thrown him off. This was his last chance. He saw Henry preparing to speed up.

Wood clenched his teeth and rushed up. Without waiting for Henry to speed up, he slammed hard from the side at the back.

Unable to protect himself in time, Henry was completely knocked off balance. As he stumbled, he kicked the football out by ten meters. Then, he could no longer maintain his balance. He staggered and ran a few steps before falling to the ground.

Boos broke out from the Arsenal fans in the stands as they desperately tried to silence the Nottingham Forest fans’ shouts.

When Twain saw Wood knock Henry to the ground, he stood up from the technical area. More agitated than he was, Assistant Manager David Kerslake kept muttering unclear obscenities.

“This was a foul! No doubt about it!” cried the commentator. “When faced with Henry’s sharp breakthrough, George Wood could only stop him with a foul.”

Henry helplessly sat on the ground while Fàbregas ran to the referee and did a gesture of pulling out a card.

The Forest players ran over and surrounded the referee. Arteta even rudely pushed Fàbregas out while the Arsenal players came to Fàbregas’ aid.

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

Wood stood out of the crowd and looked at Henry, who was still on the ground, pulling up his socks. He then looked at his teammates bickering with the opponents in the crowd. He did not go up to defend himself. He did nothing except stand outside and watch as if he had had nothing to do with the incident and was just an indifferent spectator.

The players on both sides finally separated after some difficulty, and Henry also got up from the ground. Wood’s collision had not hurt him.

Kerslake was still swearing under his breath next to Twain, who had calmed down. Like Wood, he was mentally prepared for what was about to happen.

We can’t escape this, no matter how hard we fight against the referee, blame Fàbregas for adding fuel to the fire, or swear. It won’t change a thing.

The referee separated the crowd and saw Wood standing outside. He lowered his head to pull a yellow card out of his trousers pocket and presented it to Wood.

Wood raised his eyes to glance at the yellow card, and then turned to walk away.

The close-up footage of the televised broadcast followed Wood’s back, with the captions at the bottom of the screen: “With the yellow card, George Wood will miss the next game.”

※※※

Kerslake stopped swearing and covered his face. On the other hand, Twain still stood on the sidelines, with his arms across his chest. With a dark expression on his face, he looked as cold as an ice sculpture.

Anything that could go wrong would go wrong—Murphy’s Law.

Twain had had this hunch; he’d always had it, but he had been unwilling to admit it and reluctant to think about it for fear that it might become a reality just from thinking about it. Therefore, he had tried to think about the positive side of things. But this terrible outcome had still happened.

“George Wood had succeeded in stopping Henry from this deadly breakthrough. But… the price that he paid was his absence in the next game. If the Forest team can really beat Arsenal and make it to the finals, he will have nothing to do with it. Look at the expressionless look on his face, doesn’t he know that he’s got a third yellow card?”

How could he not know? But this was his own choice. Since he had done it, why would he regret it and be too worked up to control his emotions? He chose to accept the price calmly.

He certainly wanted to have the opportunity to be in the finals. After all, that was the highest pursuit a professional player could have besides the World Cup. But if he had to choose between losing the Forest team’s ticket to the final or losing his personal ticket to the finals, he would rather choose the latter. If the entire team lost its qualifications for the finals, it would make no sense for him to avoid a yellow card. This was not really a multiple-choice question. It was obvious that this was cause and effect. If the team did not qualify, he did not qualify individually. To give up the team’s interests for his own benefit, the result would be a ridiculous outcome where nothing was left to be gained.

Twain sat down and turned to see Albertini punch the back of his seat.

“Demetrio.” He waved his hands to beckon Albertini over. “Don’t infect others with your mood. See, George is calm. The game isn’t over yet. This isn’t the time to be distracted.”

Albertini sat next to Twain and looked at Wood on the field. “Chief, do you know what the UEFA Champions League finals mean to a professional player?”

“Of course, I know. But you should say that to George instead,” replied Twain without turning his head. His tone did not fluctuate the slightest. “Demetrio, I have to thank you. You’re an excellent team captain and now you have brought out an equally good team captain for the Forest team.”

Albertini was not pleased with Twain’s compliment. He bit down hard on his lips and stared at the field.

Chapter 440 - Penalty Shoot-Out

“George Wood has just eaten his third yellow card. This means he will be automatically barred from the next round of the competition. If the Forest Team… and we’re saying ‘if’ Forest Team truly eliminates Arsenal and gets into the finals, they would lose an outstanding defensive midfielder as well as a captain.”

The commentator’s voice sounded from the television in the luxury box. Evan Doughty turned to look at the person on his right.

There sat George Wood’s mother. She was staring at her son on the field in a daze.

Could she understand what her son was thinking when he had slammed into Henry?

“Ma’am…” Evan said to her, “Your son is outstanding and remarkable. I’m very regretful about his yellow card…”

Sophia turned to look at him and shook her head, politely smiling. She replied, “It’s no matter, Mr. Chairman. This is just his job.”

※※※

George Wood seemingly forgot in a hurry about getting the yellow card.

As Tang En said, the match was still ongoing. It was not yet the time to be depressed or pained about being absent from the next match. They did not even know if there was going to be a next match. If there was to be pain, there first needed to be a reason for it.

Arsenal’s free-kick did not pose any threat to Nottingham Forest’s goal. Henry’s shot was off the mark.

Following that, Nottingham Forest’s players absorbed their lesson and did not press forward on offense blindly. Arsenal, on the other hand, mustering up their last energies along with the earlier gusto, launched into a series of attacks on Forest.

Only this time, Forest’s defensive line performed stably under George Wood’s leadership. There were not many opportunities for Arsenal to directly threaten Forest’s goal. Most of the time, they were forced to take long shots from the outside.

If they wished to get a goal from such attacks, they could only be pinning their hopes on two things: one, that Nottingham Forest’s defensive players would make a mistake on their own; and two, God’s assistance.

The first was unlikely, and the latter even more farfetched.

Both Wenger and Tang En were standing at the sidelines now with their assistants busying themselves behind them. The two teams had started preparing for the penalty shoot-out.

After George Wood headed Ashley Cole’s pass to the center out of the sidelines, the referee finally blew the whistle signaling the end of the match that had already been extended 30 minutes.

“The match has ended. We’re officially headed into the penalty shoot-out segment! Neither party was able to defeat the other in a 120-minute match. So, they will have to undergo this cruel trial to decide the victor.”

The players lay on the grass and grabbed every bit of available time to rest. The team doctors were currently massaging the players who would be fielded for the penalty kicks.

Wood sat on the ground. He was the tallest among them now; everyone else besides him was lying on the ground. He was not on the penalty kicker list, so he did not need to undergo the massage to help with recovery. In front of him was Tang En, busying away. He was counseling each of the players who were preparing to take the kicks, helping to ease some of their pressure and build their confidence.

At the same time, the goalkeeper coach grabbed Edwin van der Sar and explained in detail about the penalty kicking habits of Arsenal’s players. Perhaps feeling that saying it was not enough to help Edwin van der Sar remember, he even shoved a piece of paper into his hands.

“This is…” Edwin van der Sar was confused.

“The Boss’s idea.” The goalkeeper coach pointed to Tang En behind him. “He made us research in detail everyone’s unique habits in penalty kicking and then wrote it down here. If you can’t remember, or can’t match their numbers, just look at this. Anyway, the rules don’t say anything about not being able to look at notes.”

That’s right. This was Tang En’s idea. And the one who inspired him was Arsenal’s main goalkeeper, Lehmann.

Prior to this match, Tang En’s plan had already included a segment called “penalty kicks.” He prepared to go up against Arsenal in a penalty shoot-out and included more penalty kick practice in their training sessions. Later, when he saw Arsenal’s player list, he suddenly remembered that Lehmann had been the main goalkeeper for Germany’s National Team during the 2006 World Cup match. He had taken over Kahn’s core player position. From this, Tang En thought back to the quarter-finals between Germany and Argentina. The victor of that match was decided upon through a penalty shoot-out. And, the secret to Germany’s victory lay in the small piece of paper given to Lehmann by his goalkeeping coach. On it were the quirks of all Argentina’s players when taking a penalty kick. Based on the points written on the note, Lehmann matched them to the players and adjusted accordingly. He successfully blocked out consecutive penalty shots and ushered Germany into the top four in the end.

After that match, the note became a major topic many media groups fought to report and stir up stories about.

That was how Tang En recalled this particular story. Today, he decided to copy it exactly the way it was and use it to deal with Lehmann and Arsenal. For that, he instructed the goalkeeping coach to research Arsenal players’ unique points when taking penalty kicks. After summarizing all the results, he wrote it on a note. If they truly got to the point of a penalty shoot-out, he was to give it to Edwin van der Sar and ask him to use it.

It turned out to be of use.

After hearing his goalkeeping coach explain, Edwin van der Sar opened the note. In it were some simple words describing the penalty kicking tendencies of each Arsenal player.

He thought it was amazing and could not figure out how the Boss had managed to think it up. He did not know if using small notes in a penalty shoot-out was considered cheating; anyhow, he had never tried this method in the past. Everyone used to say that stopping penalty kicks depended on a goal keeper’s experience and reaction speed. But now it was turning out to be a precision test on the backstage work carried out by the managerial team earlier on. He only needed to leap out as it was written on the paper; low left, high right, middle…

He was uncertain if this was good or bad for a goalkeeper, but he could not afford to care so much now. Winning was more important.

Edwin van der Sar carefully placed the note in his sock, not daring to let anyone else catch sight of it; he was not sure if doing this was against the regulations.

※※※

Tang En finally finished mentally prepping every player on the list. As he got up, he saw George Wood sitting on the ground, resting.

He walked over and squatted in front of Wood.

“Hm... George, you know, I was not in the least bit angry watching you foul and get that yellow card.”

Wood looked at Tang En and said nothing.

“Thank you.” Tang En patted Wood’s leg and stood up, walking away.

He had just left when Albertini walked over. He sat down cross-legged in front of Wood.

“George, I’m extremely curious. At that point, what were you thinking… no, don’t tell me.” He stretched out a hand, asking Wood not to speak. “That’s the path you chose… Do you know how many players there are in this world dreaming of being able to participate in the finals of the Champions League? Even when I was playing in AC Milan, when I had numerous remarkable teammates by my side with superior abilities and who were world-class football stars, many of them could not even get through the gates of the Champions League finals.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Demi…” Wood stuttered a little, seeing Albertini with such a stern face.

Seeing him that way, Albertini unexpectedly smiled instead.

“What are you afraid of? You’re a little brat who isn’t afraid of anything… If it were me, in that sort of situation, I would have done the same thing as you. Good job, George.” He ruffled Wood’s hair and smiled at the boy before him. Just like watching a child grow up day by day, his heart was filled with pride and a sense of achievement incomprehensible to outsiders.

※※※

The assistant managers of both teams submitted their list of penalty kickers. After the referee counterchecked each of the names to ensure no mistakes, non-relevant personnel would be removed from the field.

George Wood stood up again from the ground. Together with Henry, he walked toward the main referee. They were going to carry out a coin toss to determine which team would kick first. While Henry and he were coin guessing, his teammates had walked to the center circle. Over there, they had their arms over each other’s shoulders, stuck closely next to one another. They used both their arms to convey their strength and faith in facing an unknown future together.

Wood emerged the victor in the battle against Henry. He chose to take the kicks first.

The first person fielded by Nottingham Forest was Eastwood. Forest had no lack of penalty kickers, and Eastwood was the first candidate in line. So long as he was on the field, the penalty kicks awarded to Forest in matches must be taken by him.

Faced with Lehmann, Eastwood kicked a steady and straight shot down the center. He kicked it in.

Following Eastwood’s fist pumping into the air, City Ground rang with cheers.

Arsenal’s first player was a fullback, Lauren. Although Arsenal’s number one penalty kicker was Henry, he had a habit: he never took a penalty kick that was awarded because of him. So, in the majority of the situations, Arsenal’s first kicker was, in fact, this Cameroonian defender. In penalty shoot-outs, putting Lauren first and Henry last was a double insurance.

Edwin van der Sar saw Lauren walk up. Taking the opportunity when his opponent was lowering his head to set the football, he dug out the slip of paper and speedily scanned it once. Then, he stuffed it back in.

“Lauren is taking the kick… and the ball goes in!”

Two thousand Arsenal fans cheered. Edwin van der Sar furiously slammed his fist on the ground. He had gone according to what the paper said. Though it was the correct direction, it needed just a bit more to bump out the ball…

However, that moment also made him resolute in following what was written on the paper.

The second player representing Nottingham Forest was the forward, Anelka. He shot at the lower left corner of the goal. The ball rolled rapidly across the grass. Lehmann got the direction right but was helpless against the difficult angle. The football hit the goalpost and bounced into the goal.

“The score is currently 2:1! Nottingham Forest takes the lead temporarily…”

After scoring, Anelka waved his fist aggressively at Lehmann before retreating.

Edwin van der Sar took out the slip of paper again. The second person to come forward for Arsenal was the Dutch champion, Robin van Persie. Van der Sar glanced up at Robin Van Persie and looked down at the paper again. It said, “Bottom right.”

The right side for shooters meant the left side for goalies.

Edwin van der Sar stuffed the paper back in again. He knew what to do.

Standing in front of the goal and gazing at his own comrades, Edwin van der Sar stretched out both of his arms slowly. He was like a wall.

Robin van Persie glanced at the referee. Upon the whistle, he took off running, and shot!?The instant his foot contacted the ball, Edwin van der Sar threw himself to the left. As expected, the shot from Robin van Persie flew directly towards him.

“Edwin van der Sar! He takes out Robin van Persie’s penalty shot!! Beautiful!”

On the sidelines, Tang En, who was closely watching the goal, leaped up. Their work was reaping some success. His idea was showing effect! Most importantly, Nottingham Forest had gotten the upper hand both in the score and psychologically. The scales of victory were gradually beginning to tilt towards him.

Robin van Persie looked despondently at Edwin van der Sar, who had successfully defended his penalty kick.?He was different from Henry. His penalty kicks often lacked change. He did not know how to use Panenka kicks or fake movements to deceive the opposing goalie. His shooting was just like his temper – straightforward and direct. This time, it was caught by Edwin van der Sar, or, in actuality, Forest’s managerial team.

Nottingham’s third player was Franck Ribéry. The Frenchman’s performance against Lehmann stayed stable. His direct shot made Lehmann err in judging the direction.

“The ball went in! Now, the pressure is on the side of Arsenal’s players…”

Arsenal’s third representative was Fàbregas.

The Spanish champion calmly kicked the ball in. Although Edwin van der Sar got the direction right, he was a bit too slow. The ball slipped right past his fingers and got in.

This time, however, Edwin van der Sar did not pound the ground in frustration; he was confident.

The fourth player for Forest was the young champion, Gareth Bale. This was his first time participating in such an important match. From how he looked, his expression seemed a little too severe. This child, who could make such a calm breakthrough in the match with Chelsea, appeared to be a little nervous when faced with the Champions League semi-finals penalty shoot-out.

Bale shifted the football twice. Seeing him do this, Tang En could not help but drop his jaw. He could even hear his own heartbeat in such a noisy environment. A forbidding sense slowly crept in.

Bale ran up and drew back his leg. Shoot! Lehmann got the correct direction, but he was too far from getting the ball, much too far…

“Ah– Young Bale has kicked this ball straight towards the spectators’ stands! He misses the penalty kick!”

From the side of Arsenal’s substitutes’ bench came a wave of cheers. Evidently, their joy was built on their opponent’s pain.

Bale raised both his hands, clutching at his hair on the back of his head. His eyes shone with tears. No matter how one looked at him, he was still a young child who had yet to grow up.

Edwin van der Sar came up to him and rubbed his head. “Don’t worry, kid. Go back and wait to celebrate our victory.” As he said that, he saw the fourth penalty kicker walking over. It was the Brazilian, Gilberto Silva.

He was switched in by Wenger at the final moments of the match to take this penalty kick. Before Lauren, Gilberto used to be Arsenal’s number two penalty kicker. His level of penalty kicking could not be underestimated.

But Edwin van der Sar was not afraid. He had a card up his sleeve.

Bale walked back to the team with tears in his eyes. Naturally, it was warm hands that welcomed him back. No one blamed him for missing the kick.

Edwin van der Sar stood before the gates and tightened his gloves.

Gilberto began his run-up as soon as he heard the whistle from the referee. Edwin van der Sar stayed there, unmoving.

The Brazilian raised his foot and shot!

Edwin van der Sar did not leap out. He dropped down at where he was standing. The ball hit his legs and rebounded out!

“Edwin van der Sar! An incredible save! His judgment was right on the money! Right in the center, Gilberto’s shot was saved by the Netherlander door god!”

City Ground rang with loud cheers again. This time, it was almost deafening.

Having missed the shot, Gilberto hung his head. In front of him, Edwin van der Sar put up both his arms, looking as if he was a general returning in victory.

“The situation isn’t looking good for Arsenal.?If Nottingham Forest scores the next one, then Arsenal’s fifth person won’t even need to come forward. They would have been eliminated.”

Henry stood right in front of the team, prepared to step up and take the crucial shot. But he could not move up yet. It still depended on Lehmann’s performance.

The final player sent out by Nottingham Forest was their second-best penalty kicker, Mikel Arteta. If he could send the ball in, then the match would end here with Forest Team attaining the qualification to enter the finals of the UEFA Champions League. If he did not get it in, Arsenal would then have one opportunity to decide their fate — if Henry scored, both teams would end in a draw, and they would need to continue the shoot-out; if Henry missed, Arsenal would be eliminated.

Suddenly, everyone could feel the tension in the air. This atmosphere emanated from the penalty spot and spread through the entire stadium.

Arsenal’s fans quieted. Nottingham Forest’s fans also held their breaths and fell silent. They were terrified they would somehow disrupt Arteta’s performance.

“This could be the ball that decides the future of the two teams. Arteta is currently shouldering a thousand pound burden…”

Tang En stared at Arteta, wishing he could perceive every single tiny action he made. But Arteta did nothing. After setting the ball down in position, he stood up, awaiting the referee’s whistle.

Arsenal’s main manager, Wenger, was as nervous as Tang En. Both stared hard at the front of the goal, their expressions curiously similar.

If it went in, it would be heaven for Forest’s Team.

If it did not, it would be Arsenal’s redemption.

In or not?

Arteta turned to look at the main referee. He was like a car waiting for the signal lights. A crisp whistle sounded. It sounded particularly clear within the silence in City Ground.

“Arteta takes his run-up… and shoots! The ball goes in—It’s a goal!!”

City Ground, which had just been silent, erupted like a volcano following the commentator’s shriek.

Lehmann had predicted the right direction, but it was a pity that Arteta’s shot was much too tricky. It was beyond his abilities.

“Nottingham Forest enters the final of the Champions League! They did it! After their promotion from the EFL Championship, they attained the qualifications to the Champions League. A year later, they managed to fight their way into the UEFA Champions finals! Everything seems just like that summer 26 years ago. From here, Brian Clough’s Red Forest walked towards an era of glory!”

The spectators’ stands started shaking; everyone was jumping and cheering with their arms in the air.

The players from the substitutes’ bench could not help themselves, all of them were already rushing up into the field. Tang En was also grabbed in a sudden hug from Kerslake.

“We did it, Tony!”

“This is unbelievable. The biggest dark horse for this season’s Champions League is going dark all the way. On their journey, they have eliminated countless strong opponents; Benfica, Rangers Football Club, Inter Milan… And now, Arsenal! Tony Twain’s team has achieved what some people would not even think of…”

The Nottingham Forest players on the field had already rushed straight into the penalty area, crushing Arteta and Edwin van der Sar beneath them, celebrating their tremendous victory in a frenzy. As the previous season’s newly promoted team, they became the dark horse in the English Premier League then. This season, they were also the darkest dark horse in the UEFA Champions League. This group of young players were creating a future that no one dared to dream of.

“Congratulations to Nottingham Forest. This familiar name shall once again appear at the finals of the UEFA Champions League… I feel as if time is turning back. The young manager Tony Twain has made history again. He’s the youngest manager ever to lead a team into the finals of the Champions League!”

After ending his hug with Kerslake, Tang En walked into the field. With his arms raised high, he enjoyed the moment of glory that belonged to him. At his ears, the cheers were loud enough to shake heaven and earth. Looking up, the night sky had also seemingly become incomparably brilliant.

No, it’s not just seemingly. It truly was incomparably brilliant… bursts of resplendent fireworks shot up into City Ground’s skies. Crackling loudly, the fireworks lit up exhilarated and smiling faces.

Chapter 441 - Come Have A Drink with Me

“Congratulations to Nottingham Forest, they now qualify for the 05-06 season UEFA Champions League final! This is a remarkable achievement and an inspiring result for a team that was still in the EFL Championship a year and a half ago. Congratulations to them!”

A fireworks display began in the night sky, and even the players celebrating in the stadium could not help but look up and admire the beautiful scene.

The game was over, but the fans did not leave the stadium. They were still in the stands, celebrating the victory of their team.

On the other side, the Arsenal players looked desolate. They stared distractedly at the over-the-moon Forest players.

They had tried their best in this game and managed to equalize the total score in an unfavorable situation. Then they had threatened the Forest team’s goal several times before finally entering the penalty shootout. They had already used all their means and methods. Luck was just not on their side this time.

Wenger walked onto the field to comfort his men one by one. Not far from him was Tony Twain, who celebrated this victory with his arms held high.

That man, who had talked to him in the rain at that time, drenched and pathetic like a drowned rat, was now the victor in this battle against him.

Twain reveled in the joy of victory. He was surrounded by many excited and smiling faces. Eastwood, Anelka, Ribéry, Ashley Young, and the rest. Wait a minute, everybody was laughing and shouting. Twain laughed with them too, until he saw George Wood and the smile on his face froze.

The team had won and gotten a ticket to the final. But one man was turned away at the door, and that man was the one who had worked the hardest and contributed the most to their victory.

Gareth Bale, who had missed the penalty kick, still had shiny tears on his face. But he laughed in the end; he did not become a sinner because the team had managed to advance to the final.

In front of him, George Wood’s smile was somewhat forced. It was apparent that he had tried hard to squeeze one out.

Twain put down his raised arms. Suddenly, he was not in the mood to celebrate.

Just as he was about to go over and comfort Wood, Albertini trotted out from the side. Twain saw Albertini put his arm around Wood’s shoulder and then reach out to stroke his head.

The other teammates were still celebrating, singing, and jumping around the field.

Only that corner had a sense of loss.

Twain turned and walked off the field. When he saw Wenger, he took the initiative to walk over and shake hands.

However, he did not know what to say.

“This was… a great game, wasn’t it?”

Wenger smiled reluctantly. “Yes.”

Twain intended to console the other man. “You could have won if Wood had not fouled.”

“He can’t take part in the final, can he?”

Twain shook his head.

“That’s a shame. Your opponent must be glad to hear that news. Well, I wish you all the best. You all really could use some good luck.”

“Thank you.” Twain smiled.

“I have to go comfort my men.” Wenger pointed to the disappointed Arsenal players.

“Goodbye, then.” Twain waved goodbye to him, then turned to walk towards the tunnel.

※※※

During the post-match press conference, a reporter mentioned the matter about George Wood’s third yellow card and absence in the final. He asked if Wood’s absence would be a heavy blow to the Forest team.

Twain admitted that Wood’s absence would affect the team, but he did not admit that it was a heavy blow. He stated that regardless of who the Forest team’s opponent was, he would not give up the game because of Wood’s absence. Without Wood, they also had Albertini and ten other teammates who had performed well. The Forest team was a whole, not an individual’s team.

Despite the fact that what Twain said was reasonable and Nottingham Forest’s image to the outside world had been of a united team, looking at the expression on his face at that moment, the reporters sitting below thought he was reluctant to admit it and concede.

Whether it was Barcelona or AC Milan, the opponents were strong in offense. If there was no George Wood aggressively sprinting, intercepting, tackling, and fouling in the midfield, it would be difficult for the Forest team to stop the opponent’s attacks.

It was not a heavy blow, but a deadly strike.

The Forest team had advanced to the final but paid a heavy price. The person who was the team’s on-field captain, defensive core, and in a sense, the source of their strength would not be able to compete. Not only was Twain not used to it, but his players would also find it tough.

As the revelers outside gradually calmed down from the excitement and delight, it was believed that many people would feel shivers down their spines at the thought of Wood being unable to play in the finals.

Wood consequently became the focal point of the press conference. Although he was not there, almost all of the questions thrown at Twain were about Wood, and there was little mention of the Forest team’s final call.

Twain felt sorry about Wood. However, if everyone only asked about Wood and did not care about the team’s results or anyone else, including him, then he would be very angry.

“If you want to know anything about Wood, you can ask him on your own, or I can hold a special press conference to be attended by Wood for you to ask questions. However, I cannot guarantee if he will be willing to answer those questions. Right now, it’s about the Forest team going to the final. I will acknowledge that George Wood has contributed a great deal of strength and made a great sacrifice. But don’t tell me that our being able to be able to get to the final has nothing to do with the other ten players. George Wood chose to get a card to send the team to the final, but all you care about is the impact of his absence in the finals. Are you going to criticize George Wood in tomorrow’s articles? That he was hot-headed and only cared about himself and not the team?” Twain asked the noisy reporters with a dark expression, “Are you here to take part in this post-match press conference, or are you specifically here to create trouble? I repeat, I will refuse to answer any more questions about George Wood’s absence in the final!”

Twain played the big shot card once again, which was something he did well. He was not afraid to offend the media because he knew he was not one to beg the media to interview him, but the other way around. He was the most impressive figure now, so he was not afraid to offend anyone.

The press conference became awkward for a while. It was Pierce Brosnan who came to the rescue. He stood up and asked a few questions about the evaluation of this game, and Twain eventually spoke again.

※※※

While Twain lost his temper over the endless questions about Wood at the press conference, the Nottingham Forest players had returned to the locker room from the field.

And this time, after everyone gradually calmed down, they realized the problem.

“George, the yellow card you received during overtime was your third one, right?” Once Ribéry asked, the lively locker room suddenly quieted down. Everyone turned their heads to look at Wood.

“Yes.” Wood nodded.

“Then… the final…”

This question hardly needed a reply. Everyone knew what it meant to get three yellow cards in the Champions League.

Silence quickly spread through the entire locker room.

Albertini gave a clap to break up the embarrassing atmosphere. “Why are you looking so dejected? Didn’t we make it to the final? George paid the price. Do you think he did that just so that he can see you all looking like this? What do we usually look like after we win?”

In the past, after the Forest team won, the locker room would be rowdy, as if there was a small party with nonstop music. Everyone would be naked and play around from the shower to the locker room. They would only stop when they had enough, or when Manager Twain reminded them aloud.

“Today we did not just win an ordinary game. It’s the Champions League semi-final! Do you know how important this is? How amazing this is? We’re going to the Champions League final. Countless people want to go but can’t! And look at you now. You all looked like you don’t want to go. Don’t waste George’s efforts. Don’t let George have gotten a yellow card for nothing!”

Ribéry stood up with his arms held high. He had started this topic, so it was up to him to finish it. “OK, it’s a shame that George can’t compete, but I don’t think that means that we don’t have a chance in the final. I don’t care who our opponent is, Barcelona or AC Milan. I want to show them what I’m capable of! I want to surprise them until they don’t know what hit—”

Ashley Young whistled, “Be careful not to let them surprise you till you don’t know what hit you.”

Ribéry glared. “How can that be? I’m the French national team’s—”

Without waiting for him to finish, Eastwood mimicked Twain’s voice at the side and interrupted, “Substitute player.”

When he heard Twain’s voice, Ribéry was startled, “Chief! You’re back so soon?” With his back facing the door, he could not see clearly. He did not hear Twain’s reply, but loud laughter rang out in the locker room.

“Freddy!” Ribéry flew into a rage out of humiliation and pounced on Eastwood. “I knew it was you. You bastard!”

Once again the atmosphere livened up because of those two men.

Albertini turned his head to look at Wood. The kid was acting cool, with an expressionless face.

Just as those two men were messing around, the locker room door was pushed open and Twain appeared at the door with a grim expression.

“Ribéry, what are you doing?” Twain asked when he saw the Frenchman chasing Eastwood, jumping up and down.

“Don’t you dare try to fool me, Romani!” Ribéry did not turn his head back. There was another burst of laughter in the locker room, and Gareth Bale doubled over with laughter.

“What are you shouting about?” Twain frowned.

At this point, standing in front of Ribéry, Eastwood shrugged at him and made a gesture to shut him up. That was when he realized that it was not Eastwood who had just spoken, but the real Tony Twain.

“Chief...” He stopped and turned his head around to look with an awkward expression at Twain who was standing at the door.

“I thought the one-hundred-and-twenty-minute game was enough to wear you down. I didn’t think you would have any energy left. Would you like to run back to the hotel from here?” Twain sneered.

“Uh, no. No need to.” Ribéry sheepishly went back to his seat. Ribéry only had respect for the manager, who had personally dug him up from a low-level league in France and groomed him into a member of the French national team.

“Guys, we’re in the final, which is amazing, and I want to congratulate you all on your performance. Have fun tonight, but don’t be out too late. We return to training tomorrow afternoon. The season is not over. Now is not the time to celebrate. Remember, we still have two league games and one Champions League final! This is not the time to relax!”

Although what Twain said was very reasonable, in the eyes of the other people in the locker room, they felt that there was something wrong with their boss.

What could be wrong? Perhaps it was because of that yellow card?

“All right let’s get out. I bet you don’t want to spend this meaningful night in the locker room, do you?”

The players left the locker room in succession and walked towards the bus parked outside the stadium. They could still hear the fans singing nearby. To the Forest players and fans, the wonderful evening had just started.

When Wood walked past Twain, Twain stopped him.

“Come have a drink with me.”

Wood was taken aback for a moment. He had not expected Twain to make such a request. “Professional players aren’t allowed to drink...”

“You’ll drink juice, and I’ll have a proper drink. That settles it. After we get back to the hotel, you’ll come with me.”

Wood did not object.

On the bus, on the way back to the hotel, Twain announced a jubilant piece of news to his players. “You have free time tonight to do whatever you want to do. If you want to go back to the hotel, you can. But come tomorrow’s training in the afternoon, I want to see every one of you present in Wilford. Don’t be late!”

※※※

Back at the hotel, the players put their stuff back in their respective rooms and dispersed in groups of three or four. Ribéry wanted Wood to go out with him and relax his mood but was rejected by Wood.

Then, when Ribéry saw Wood and Twain walk out of the hotel together, he whistled.

“I thought you had a date with a pretty girl and I was going to follow you. I didn’t expect your date was with the boss. That’s no fun.”

Wood had thought they were going to just drink in the hotel bar downstairs. He had not expected Twain to pull him straight into a cab.

“Where to, Tony?” Landy James, the driver in the front, asked without turning his head.

“The usual bar.”

“Got it.”

“Can’t we just drink anywhere?” Wood thought it was strange.

“I’m not used to drinking in unfamiliar places.” Twain glanced at him.

※※※

Kenny Burns’ Forest Bar was brightly lit inside and out. The Forest team emblem on the exterior wall was especially striking that night and could be seen from afar. The game was long over, but more and more people had come. The door opened and closed repeatedly, and people came streaming in from outside.

Those people came to the pub to have a drink and chat with their friends after watching the game at home. The game that had just ended was so exciting that if they did not come out for a few drinks and a chat, they might not fall asleep that night.

Burns was busy behind the bar and had to help out because his waiters had their hands full. But he was happily busy. Just now, after he had watched the Forest team eliminate Arsenal with the penalty kicks on the television, he was so excited that he shouted and toasted the others.

Luckily, he did not impulsively say, “Drinks on me tonight!” Or else, he would lose a lot of money.

“It’s so crowded!” Fat John wriggled his body to squeeze to the front of the bar and reached out to Burns for more beer. “Unbelievable!”

“Just came from the stadium?” asked Burns as he poured him the beer.

“Mhm. I rushed back with Bill as soon as the game was over. I didn’t expect it to still be so crowded here. Hey, Kenny, did you hit a new record for the number of people in your bar tonight?”

“Who has time to count?” Burns poured the beer and handed it to John. “But… It’s really bustling. Thanks to Tony, business is good today.”

“In that case, you can let me drink for free!” Twain’s loud voice could be heard close by.

Burns and John were both surprised.

Twain stood in the crowd, and George Wood was behind him. Next to them, the fans patted Twain on the shoulder to congratulate or thanked him. Twain was used to their familiarity. He smiled and greeted the people around him.

“Tony!” John was somewhat surprised. “You haven’t been here in a long time!”

“Been busy, but it finally paid off.” Twain pulled Wood and came over. He did not need to squeeze like John did. The crowd immediately parted to create a path everywhere he went.

“Look, it’s George Wood!”

“Hi, George, nice to see you! What you did tonight was awesome!”

“Welcome, Captain!”

Wood reacted somewhat uncomfortably to the voices of the surrounding fans, who were flushed and whose breaths smelt of alcohol. He looked as if he was hiding from those people as he followed closely behind Twain.

Burns saw the embarrassed-looking kid behind Twain and guffawed, “Guys, why are you doing this? Don’t scare our hero!” Then he smiled at Wood, “Relax a little, George. Would you like a drink?”

Wood shook his head. “Players don’t drink.”

Twain interrupted him. “Give him juice. And give me a glass of whiskey with ice.”

Seeing John next to him, Twain gave him a punch in the stomach. “Did you watch the game in the stadium?”

John rubbed his stomach and chuckled, “Of course, it’s more interesting to watch that kind of game live!”

Twain smiled and said to Burns, “A round of drinks for everyone here, my treat.”

As soon as he said it, everyone in the bar cheered.

Twain twisted around and raised his glass to all of those people.”A toast.”

John raised his glass high, and at the same time he raised his hands and roared, “For the Champions League final, for Tony, for our new captain! For Nottingham Forest! Cheers!!”

“Cheers!!”

Holding his juice, Wood looked at the fervent fans, who were crazier here than they were in the stadium stands.

Chapter 442 - A Favor Owed

Tang En held onto his drink as he and Wood squeezed into his reserved seat and sat down.

Everyone could tell that he had dragged Wood here to have a discussion, so no one approached, not wanting to disrupt them. They drank the beer Tang En had treated them to and chatted leisurely. Of course, the main topic was still the match that had just ended.

“You’ve never come here before?” Tang En asked Wood after sitting.

Wood nodded. “Mum doesn’t let me drink.”

“Your mother is right.” Saying so, Tang En started drinking, ignoring Wood.

Wood felt a bit awkward. As he sat there, he started to pay attention to the people around him. Those who met eyes with him would raise their mugs in a toast.

Tang En raised his eyes to see Wood gazing about. Then he asked, “Why don’t you ask me why I brought you here?”

“Why?” Wood was very obedient, immediately asking the question. “Why should I ask?”

“You’re really… What happened to the wisdom you showed during the match?”

“Are you still thinking about that?” Wood was referring to the yellow card.

Tang En nodded. “I thought about it even more after the match ended. If we had lost, it’d be easy; it wouldn’t matter even if you’d gotten 10 red cards. Now that we have won, our opponents in the finals, whether they’re Barcelona or AC Milan, will be a strong team. When I think about how we’ve lost one of our barriers in the midfield, my head hurts.” Tang En said this while massaging his temple.

Wood looked at his manager continually massaging his temple. His mouth trembled for a while before he finally said, “I didn’t want to. But there was no choice.”

“Even if you didn’t foul then, they might not have scored, right?” Tang En looked up at him.

“I don’t believe in ‘might not have.'” Wood’s reply came resolutely.

Seeing Wood’s determined expression, Tang En sighed. He leaned back on the chair and lifted both his hands, saying, “Alright. I’ll admit that I’m too greedy. Not only do I want the team to advance to the finals, I even want it to be the entire team, with no one having any injuries or cards, so we can use our strongest formation to deal with our opponents.”

Wood quietly listened as he imagined an impossibility.

“George, do you want to play in the finals?” Tang En suddenly asked, abruptly changing the topic.

Wood was momentarily stunned but still nodded.

“Very much?”

Wood continued nodding.

“Why? In the past, I remember you didn’t even know or care about who Riquelme was. You didn’t used to have such a passion for football.”

“It’s because mum hoped to see me playing in the finals.”

The mug Tang En had lifted to his mouth was set down again. He raised his head to look at Wood somewhat disbelievingly.

“She told me today, before the match.”

“You… Damn…” Tang En cursed lowly.

Kenny Burns walked over carrying bottles of beers. He placed them on the table and sat down. “Tony, looks like you’re finishing up your beer.”

“Thanks.” Tang En picked up a bottle and filled his mug. As he was mid-way through it, he suddenly remembered. Pointing at Burns, he said to Wood, “I don’t think I’ve introduced him to you yet. Kenny Burns, Nottingham Forest’s core player during their two championship runs in the UEFA Champions League, and winner of the Matthews Award.”

Burns smiled at Wood.

Wood turned to look at him and nodded. “Hello, Sir.”

“Don’t be so reserved, lad. I heard Tony mention you before when you were still in the Youth Team. He told us he had picked up a boy from the streets who can’t play soccer. That time, we were all making jokes of him. I can’t believe that in the three years since then, that boy who didn’t know how to play soccer became Forest’s captain.”

Wood glanced at Tang En, who was drinking on his own.

“George, I’ve heard you found an agent?” Burns was the one chatting with Wood now.

“Yes.”

“How is he?”

“Good. Very serious…”

“I mean… did he help you to contact other teams?”

Wood shook his head. “No. he’s only managing my business contracts currently.”

Burns took a glimpse at Tang En and laughed, saying, “Tony is very worried about losing you.”

Tang En coughed.

“We’re also worried about losing you. Allow me to say a few words of truth. I’m a little worried about that agent of yours. I heard he didn’t start as a football agent, so his understanding of the field is very limited. In certain aspects, he would only consider matters from a benefit perspective. I just hope you can make your own decisions.”

Wood naturally understood the meaning behind what Burns was saying. “I like it here. Mum likes it too. I don’t intend to go anywhere.”

“That’s reassuring.” Seeing Wood’s serious expression, Burns smiled. But… Who could guarantee future matters? He was someone who had been in the professional football scene for a few decades. Even if he retired, he could still open a bar here and continue paying attention to the big and small matters happening within the circle. But how many of those who speak of “loyalty” now could really walk all the way to the end like that? Some would do it willingly, but some would not. Regardless, the movement of people only abided by one truth: benefits.

Even though his mind was filled with all those messy things, Burns was not about to destroy a young man’s ideals.

The chat between Burns and Wood ended. He patted Wood’s shoulder and stood, walking away. There were still many customers he had to entertain. Forest Bar was packed to the brim tonight.

After Burns went off, Tang En put down his mug.

“George, I don’t care how you see it… but, I owe you one.”

Wood did not understand, and Tang En did not plan on explaining. That’s right. He really owed Wood one. Wood had sacrificed himself for Tang En’s success. On May 17, when he lead the team into Stade de France in Paris, he would become the youngest ever manager since its establishment to appear in the finals of the UEFA Champions League. Regardless of whether Forest would eventually become champions, his name, Tony Twain, would already be carved into history.

And the greatest contributor behind that? At that moment, he could only sit on the spectator’s stands.

“I will give you an opportunity to make up for it.”

Wood shook his head. “The semi-finals have already ended.”

“That’s right. It’s already ended. But what’s ended is only this season. Next season, the season after the next, and ones that come after, we still have those chances. This absolutely…” Tang En shook his index finger in front of Wood, “absolutely will not be our only chance. Look at them…” he pointed at the joyous fans.?“They are treating tonight as one of their best memories. And in the future, we will bring to them even more such nights. George, you know about how Demi will be retiring after the end of the next season, right?”

Wood nodded.

“He originally said he wanted to retire after this season ends.”

Hearing Tang En say that, Wood was a little shocked. Clearly, he did not know what had trespassed between them.

“He didn’t tell you? Oh… I can understand. I persuaded him to stay, but I didn’t have any suitable reason. His condition isn’t very good. You also saw how his appearances in the field became so few in the latter half of the season. Then, I brought you up. I told him that I hoped for him to stay for another year and train you to be a well-rounded talent in the midfield. No matter in offense or defense, to be as outstanding a midfielder as Demi is. He agreed.”

Tang En put out his index finger again. “You only have a year’s time, George. A year from now, I don’t want to have to search all around the world to find a midfield core for Forest. Your mum says she hopes to see you appear in the finals of the Champions League. I hope so too.”

Wood quietly listened but said nothing.

After saying that, Tang En raised his hand to look at his watch. “Go on back.”

Wood stood.

“Not to the hotel. Go home. Go accompany your mum.” Tang En waved his hand. “You can get your stuff tomorrow from the locker room during afternoon training.”

“Alright. Aren’t you heading back too?”

“Me? My nightlife is just beginning!” Tang En winked at him.

Wood picked up his glass of fruit juice and finished it. “Goodbye, Boss.”

“That’s right, George. Did I tell you that your performance in the match was simply too perfect?”

Wood shook his head. “I thought you would criticize me.”

“That was just to scare you.” Tang En made a face at him. “Perfect. I give your performance 10 points. I can’t expect you to do any better. Go back and tell your mum that though you won’t appear in the finals of the Champions League, you’re the hero of the team. She’ll be proud of you.”

“Yes.” Wood nodded. Then, he turned to squeeze his way out of the crowd.

Seeing Wood was about to leave, the fans in the bar all started shouting, “Bye George!”

“I’ll ask you for a signature when I go to the training ground tomorrow… damn. I didn’t know you would be here today…”

“George! Keep going! Keep going!”

The door opened and closed. Wood departed from the noisy bar. The place soon recovered its usual atmosphere; everyone was excitedly discussing the match that just ended or chatting about other unrelated topics.

Burns returned to sit next to Tang En. “I didn’t expect you to bring the team’s captain to the bar. How many main managers would do that?”

“Hmm… it just came to me.”

“Because of George’s yellow card?”

“I’m still brooding about it… but well, after a few shots of alcohol, I won’t have any troubles. So what if we don’t have Wood? Regardless of if our opponents are AC Milan or Barcelona, we must still play. Maybe our opponents even think that Nottingham Forest couldn’t last a blow without Wood. I’d hope for them to think that way.”

“You’ve already done well enough, Tony. Whether or not we’re able to end up as champions, you’ve already done enough.

Tang En pointed at Burns and said, “Are you consoling me?”

“No,” Burns said, shaking his head. “I understood it as a compliment.”

The two exchanged glances with a smile.

“It’s been three years, Tony. You did a good job. You’re still young. If you want to, you can stay on in this field for 30 years. Don’t be in a rush. Take your time.”

Tang En looked at the ceiling. 30 years… That’s a long time. He had never thought so far about the future. To him, the future was tomorrow. Next year was already too far.

“Yes…” he nodded. “You’re right, Kenny. Compared to those old men, the likes of Ferguson and Wenger, I’m still young.”

Yes. In this line of work as managers, the 37-year-old Tony Twain was indeed still very young.

※※※

The next day, all major media groups reported about the match in the limelight. Nottingham Forest appeared on the headlines of all sports media publications. Their experience of having returned to the Champions League’s finals again after 26 years, as well as how quickly they soared and rocketed through each stage year after year, made everyone even more interested. It enveloped the young manager, Tony, even more so with a legendary hue.

When the team resumed their training in the afternoon, the outer grounds of Wilford were surrounded by countless reporters. And they were mostly non-local reporters. The team had already attracted the attention of the whole of Europe.

Naturally, what most of the media paid attention to was George Wood’s yellow card, as well as the impact his absence would have on the team. Any sort of question regarding this was dodged or faced with Tang En’s refusal to discuss it. He did not want to overly play up Wood’s function within the team, even if Wood truly had such a crucial role.

There was also another portion of the media who cleverly set on another path. Since stirring up the topic about Wood’s absence would get them refused during interviews, they decided they might as well shift their focus onto the final penalty shoot-out.

In truth, prior to this, Edwin van der Sar did not make his name as a goalie by being good at stopping penalty kicks. The reasons contributing to his name as a world-class goalkeeper were his height of 1.97m, outstanding reflexes, nimble skills, as well as the ability to go up against solo face-offs against players. All of these were performed in active battles. Conversely, in competitions such as penalty shoot-outs, he had no lack of painful memories:

In the finals of the 95-96 Champions League, Ajax failed to defeat Juventus, scoring 2:4 in the penalty shoot-out. That was his first taste of the penalty shoot-out nightmare. Following that was the 97 European Championship; the Netherlands National Football Team, who had entered the top eight with much difficulty, was eliminated by the French in a penalty shoot-out. Year ’98 World Cup semi-finals, the Netherlands National Team once again stumbled because of a penalty shoot-out; that time, Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel, who excelled at defending against penalty kicks, shone. Of course, his most painful memory came from the 2000 European Championship. In a match that was organized right at their doorstep, Team Netherlands lost to Italy. The reason for their loss still came down to penalty kicks. Toldo shot to fame in that battle while Edwin van der Sar only felt despondence. With those experiences, it was not hard to understand why everyone felt surprised seeing Edwin van der Sar’s successful defense against Gilberto Silva’s penalty kick at such a crucial point.

Based on the photos last taken by press photographers, people noticed that Edwin van der Sar would rustle through his socks each time before defending against the penalty kick. He would take out a small piece of paper and glance through it before stuffing it back in.

Some media outlets pointed out that to be the secret of Forest’s eventual victory. And, their guesses were quickly ascertained. After training ended, Edwin van der Sar accepted the reporters’ interview. At that time, he revealed the contents on the paper. That resulted in much surprise among numerous media outlets; they had not expected Nottingham Forest to put in such comprehensive effort for the semi-finals.

Of course, it was also natural for Wenger, who intended to research on Tang En, to notice that news. Upon seeing Edwin van der Sar say it was Tang En’s idea, what else could Wenger do but shake his head with a bitter smile?

The mysterious slip of paper thereon became famous. Later, in the finals of the World Cup, Germany’s National Team would use the method to deal with Argentinian penalty shooters. After the match, Germany’s main goalkeeper, Lehmann, admitted that he himself had been inspired by this match. Of course, that all only happened after.

The UEFA Champions League finals were set to be on the evening of May 17, while the last round of the English Premier League was on May 7. This way, Forest Team would have 10 days to prepare. They did not need to be distracted by the Premier League or any other domestic league. They would be able to devote all their focus to preparing for it. To Tang En’s team, that was probably good news.

A day after, Forest’s opponents in the final round emerged fresh from the oven: Barcelona, on their home ground, had drawn 0:0 with AC Milan. Based on the goal they had gotten in the first round during their away match, their overall score was 1:0. They eliminated AC Milan and advanced into the finals.

Nothing was different from Tang En’s recollection of it. Barcelona entered the finals. In the current soccer scene, this team, also known as the “Dream Team II,” was the hottest and strongest proponents of offensive-style football. They receive cheers from fans everywhere they went because they represent the most entertaining form of artistic football.

But Tang En cared nothing for artistry or the lack thereof. To him, how entertaining the match was could not compare with becoming the champions. He intended on making the prideful Barcelona suffer in Paris!

Chapter 443 - Go Watch the Game Live

For Nottingham Forest’s final two rounds of the league tournament, Twain used an approach of making the lineup an equal mix of the main force and substitutes to cope. On the one hand, that could keep the players’ conditions in a competitive state; on the other hand, they needed to be careful not to have any injuries. Meanwhile, they also must win the games.

In the game against Middlesbrough, Twain switched to Sun Jihai, Lennon, Commons, and the others for the rotation. George Wood did not have to play in the Champions League final, so he did not need a break. At the same time, due to the Champions League final, Twain let Albertini make an appearance in the final minutes of the game so that he could familiarize himself with the pace of the game and get back the feel of his body.

Twain was very satisfied with the score. The team won 2:1 against Middlesbrough.

Even though Manchester United had also won their game, the two teams were still one point apart. This one point seemed as impenetrable as a moat.

Next, in the final round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest went north to challenge Sunderland.

Everything went as Twain had anticipated. Sunderland did not pose a threat to the high-spirited Forest team. They were taken down by 0:3.

Twain treated the game as a warm-up for the Champions League final to assess the players’ conditions and try out a new lineup. George Wood was not in the starting lineup. Twain sent out the combination of Albertini and Arteta in the midfield. Albertini leaned slightly towards defense and was often positioned in the backfield. He relied only on his long passes and diverting the balls to participate in offense. Arteta, on the other hand, was responsible for the specific organization of offense.

Twain wanted to see the effect of that midfield pairing.

As Sunderland was too weak, they were unable to put any pressure on those two men at all. Led by the two midfielders, the Forest team’s offensive rushed forward, ending Sunderland’s embarrassing Premier League journey with three goals.

In the last fifteen minutes of the game, Twain brought on George Wood to replace Albertini. He also replaced Chimbonda with Sun Jihai and Anelka with Eastwood. That was not a tactical adjustment. It was just another way to keep more players in shape.

At the end of the game, the 05-06 season’s English Premier League also came to an end.

And all the dust settled.

Chelsea defended their league title with their absolute advantage. Mourinho’s team was almost invincible this season. Their condition was excellent in every way, with the exception of one regret from the UEFA Champions League.

Nottingham Forest continued its excellent play from last season and took it to the next level to win second place in the league. After the end of the season, when the various experts reviewed the season, they had to mention them. Even when they recalled this season a few years later, no one could ignore the presence of Nottingham Forest. The re-emergence of the team had broken the inherent structure of the Premier League, with the traditionally top four teams turning into the top five. The topic that people were currently concerned with was, in the Premier League, would Nottingham Forest’s meteoric rise disappear without a trace like a meteor streaking across the sky, or would it continue to shine like a star and influence the future direction of the league?

No one knew the answer, not even Twain himself.

Naturally, few of his competitors would want to see the Forest team perform so well all the time.

The league’s third place was won by Ferguson’s Manchester United, whose condition had fluctuated so much these past two seasons. The team was at a pivotal moment in which the old guard was replaced with the new. The only consolation for Ferguson was the maturity of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. It was believed that as long as they continued to perform, the new Manchester United, represented by them, would return to the top in the future.

The Premier League’s fourth place belonged to Arsenal, who did not do well in the first half of the season and only began to work hard later. Wenger had hoped for a breakthrough in the Champions League, but unfortunately, they had lost to Nottingham Forest in the semi-final penalty shootout. They were eventually left empty-handed in both the Premier League and Champions League.

Liverpool was perhaps the biggest victim as a result of Nottingham Forest’s re-emergence. The original Premier League’s top four teams were Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Chelsea. Those four teams basically monopolized the qualification to compete in the Champions League every season. However, with the Forest team’s emergence, the last Champions League winner, Liverpool, was squeezed out of the top four. They could only participate in the UEFA Europa Cup next season. Benítez’s life was going to be tough.

Coincidentally, it seemed that as the Forest team rose, Liverpool would be certain to suffer for it. In Brian Clough’s era, Nottingham Forest’s most brilliant period, they had beaten Liverpool thrice in a year. In the Premier League, the EFL Cup, and the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, Liverpool became the Forest team’s stepping stone to success. It was the Forest team that interrupted the Reds’ dream to dominate in the domestic leagues and European Champion Clubs’ Cup.

But at the same time, the decline of the Forest team was bound to be linked to Liverpool as well.?The Forest team broke Liverpool’s monopoly on the championships, and then Liverpool also pulled the Forest team down from the pedestal before they had time to sit comfortably. Their forty-two round unbeaten record in the league was ended by Liverpool.

The Liverpool team’s feelings for Nottingham Forest changed from their initial liking to fear and abhorrence later. The earliest Liverpool fans loved the Forest team because both teams had red jerseys and at that time, the Forest team’s playing style was somewhat similar to Liverpool’s. Then, Liverpool’s feelings towards the Forest team changed after the Forest team beat Liverpool and robbed them of their titles in the Premier League and European Champion Clubs’ Cup.

That was how the two teams got entangled together. In many cases, they could not be separated. Even a disaster like the Hillsborough Tragedy took place in a game between Liverpool and Forest.

With the origin of the Forest team and Liverpool temporarily put aside, the focus returned to the upcoming UEFA Champions League.

※※※

As soon as the league tournament was over, the Forest team shifted all of its work to focus on the Champions League final. That was the most important thing for the Forest team this season. Nothing could surpass the Champions League final’s place in people’s minds.

Evan Doughty had been very busy recently because many media outlets wanted to interview him, but he still took time out to get to the training ground and announce the bonus plan. As the Forest team advanced to the Champions League final, they had reaped a lot just from the television broadcast fee alone. Evan decided to take some of it to reward the squad.

As long as the team could win the Champions League, everyone would have a minimum bonus of ten thousand pounds. The main players would have thirty-thousand pounds. In addition, even if they did not get the Champions League title, everyone would still receive a five-to-ten thousand pound reward.

For the Forest team, which was not backed by a Russian oligarch, that award was considered quite generous. After all, the team was not wealthy yet.

After the plan was announced, it brought a big boost to the morale of the team. Who would not want to make more money?

The award certainly could not be compared with football clubs such as Chelsea and Real Madrid. But it was also a token of the club’s goodwill to show the club’s appreciation for the team.

For his part, Twain devoted all his energy to the training of the new tactics. Due to George Wood’s absence, the team must adjust the tactics which they had played for more than a season to allow for the partnership of Albertini and Arteta. In fact, that would allow a more aggressive style of play. In the final round of the league tournament, Twain had already experimented with Sunderland, but Sunderland was too weak to pose a threat to the Forest team’s defensive line. Therefore, Twain had no idea whether the new set of tactics could withstand Barcelona’s offense.

George Wood did not have to play in the final, but he still trained with the team, working just as hard and conscientiously as always. It could be said that he worked harder and more seriously than ever before.

The media thought that this was Wood venting his frustration with not being able to play in the final. Only Twain knew that it must have been what he had said to Wood that night at the pub taking effect.

You’ve only got a year, George.

But for Tony Twain now, he only had ten days.

※※※

Obviously, Twain currently could not put all his energy into preparing the team for battle. He had to busy himself with some other matters. For example, he had to send tickets to some old friends. Des Walker was the first important person in his coaching career to genuinely bring him into this circle and give him plenty of assistance. Once misunderstood by him, Ian Bowyer was an old man who turned out to faithfully support him.

He also could not forget Michael Bernard, who had already gone to America. He was his first friend here and the closest friend as well. Twain did not know how Michael had fared in his life in America, whether he was able to free himself from the grief and bereavement of the loss of his son in his middle-aged years, or whether he had changed his “never watch or get close to football again” vow. But he still had to mail him the ticket. This was his promise to Michael whether he came to watch it or not. He wanted Michael to know that he had never forgotten and had made it happen.

In addition, he went before Gavin’s grave and burned the tickets for him. He burnt two, one for him to go watch and the other one for him to keep as a memento.

There was one more important person: Shania.

“Shania, where are you going to be on May 17th?” Twain asked the young girl during their regular weekly call.

Shania moved her eyes and did not answer immediately. Instead, she asked, “What’s the matter, Uncle Tony?”

“Well, I would like you to go and watch my game.”

“I’ll be in Paris,” Shania said with a smile.

Her answer gave Twain a surprise. “Is that true? That’s fantastic! The final will be held in Paris. This is awesome! You will go, won’t you, Shania?”

Shania deliberately dragged her words, “Well, it depends on my schedule.”

Twain was a little disappointed to hear Shania’s remark.

“I lied! Of course, I will be there. I can push back my work to a later date. Uncle Tony, your Champions League final only happens once!”

Twain cleared his throat, “Hey, there will be more in the future!”

Shania’s giggle came from the other end of the line.

“Well, it’s a date then. We’ll see you in Paris, Shania.”

“See you then, Uncle Tony!”

※※※

Everything was on track. In the final few days, Twain requested for Wilford to be sealed off and not to receive any media. The team needed a quiet environment for their big effort. That decision naturally led to the media’s dissatisfaction, which Twain did not care about. The media was not the boss of him, and he was not obligated to serve them.

The day before the team left for Paris, the training still progressed as usual. Twain received a phone call from the gatekeeper, Ian MacDonald, at the sidelines of the training ground. “Tony, someone’s here to see you.”

“Ian, didn’t I say it before? Wilford is sealed for training. No one can come in. And I won’t receive any visitors!” Twain was a little nervous before the approaching battle, and the tone of his voice was inadvertently a little high.

“But...” The old gatekeeper hesitated a little.

“What’s the matter?” Following that, Twain heard a fuzzy voice coming from the other end of the line. Very soon, a distinct female voice spoke. “Mr. Twain, you’re not going to come see a friend?”

This voice sounded familiar, and Twain froze for a moment. “You?”

He knew who the visitor was.

Five minutes later, Twain hurried to the gate from the training ground and met this friend Clarice Gloria.

This fashionably-dressed and modern-looking lady looked completely different from her professional image when Twain had met her for the first time. She wore an attractive strappy top with a low neckline and a miniskirt with a pair of large sunglasses. She leaned against a red BMW sports car. Standing at the side near the entrance, the old gatekeeper Ian MacDonald looked a little awkward.

“Hello, Mr. Twain.” Gloria waved hello first.

“How are you? Miss Gloria, I didn’t expect to meet you for the third time in such a short period.” Twain walked up. “Are you here again for filming or something?” He looked at Gloria, who was almost unrecognizable, and was a little amazed.

“No, I came alone.” Gloria removed her sunglasses and spread her hands. “And I’m now an independent producer. I don’t work for UEFA.”

“Let’s go in and talk.” He signaled to MacDonald to open the gate.

He had not expected Gloria to shake her head and reject his invitation. “No, I just came by to give you something. I’ll go soon.”

Twain looked surprised.

“Aren’t you supposed to be busy right now? How can you be free to accompany me for tea and chat?” Gloria said, smiling as she looked down to take out a compact disc from her handbag. “The filming of that interview… It’s not the same as what you saw on TV. This is another version that hasn’t been aired. I’m leaving it to you as a memento. I hope you’ll like it.”

Twain took the disc and said politely, “Thank you for the gift, but you don’t have to be in such a hurry. There is always time for a short chat.”

“Can’t bear to let me go?” Gloria grinned and winked at Twain.

Twain did not know how to respond to such an open-minded and bold woman. He said somewhat awkwardly, “What can I say?”

Gloria laughed happily. “Oh, by the way, the trouble that you had the last time… Did you work it out? Did you see her?”

She was referring to that time in Italy.

“Yes, it worked out. She went to the stadium to watch the Forest team’s game against Inter Milan in the end.”

“Do you mind if I ask you who she is?”

Twain hesitated for a moment and nodded. “I don’t know if you know. She’s a model. Judy Shania Jordana.”

When Twain stated the name, Gloria was surprised. “Her!”

“You know her?”

“Don’t most of the media know her? She’s one of the most popular models this year. Everyone’s confident of her future in the runway.” After the brief introduction, Gloria looked at Twain with interest, “And to think you have such a good relationship with her… I really can’t figure you out, Mr. Twain.”

“Well, that’s a long story.” Twain did not feel comfortable enough to tell her that story.

Gloria nodded and smiled to show that she understood. She looked down at her watch and said, “It’s almost time, I’ve got to go. I’m sorry I can’t go to the stadium to watch your game, but I’d like to wish you good luck.”

“Thank you. Where are you going? You look like you’re in a hurry....”

“The United States.”

That answer was a real surprise to Twain.

When she saw Twain looking puzzled, Gloria simply explained. “Los Angeles, Hollywood. I’m heading there to discuss a film collaboration.”

“Aren’t you a television host?”

“I’m actually an independent producer. Hosting a tv show is just my hobby,” Gloria said with a proud smile as she put her sunglasses back on.

“Goodbye, Mr. Twain. Hopefully, the next time we meet, you’ll have become a European champion.” She opened her car door, got in, and then leaned out to wave to Twain.

“Thank you, and goodbye, Miss Gloria.” Twain stood at the gate and watched the red sports car leave.

When he turned around and saw the funny expression on MacDonald’s face, Twain realized that there was a third person there.

“Ian, she and I are not what you think we are.”

The old man had a good laugh. “I know, Tony. She’s just a friend.”

Twain knew the old man would not buy it, but he did not want to explain. It would only make matters worse.

He felt his coat pocket.

“Initially, I wanted to surprise you when the training was over. But now’s as good a time as any. Ian, you’re retiring after the Champions League final, aren’t you?”

Not knowing exactly what Twain was going to say, MacDonald just nodded. “Yes.”

“Look, I don’t have any present for you. Except this.” He took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to MacDonald. “Both Chairman Doughty and I would like to thank you for your loyal service to the club for the last fourteen years.”

MacDonald took the envelope and opened it to discover that there were three round-trip tickets from London to Paris on May 17th, as well as three tickets to the UEFA Champions League final.

“When we get to Paris, the accommodations and food are covered by the club.”

The hand that held the envelope trembled a little, and MacDonald said to Twain with a trembling voice, “You don’t have to do that. I’m happy enough that the team is able to play in the final again.”

Twain smiled, “Since you joined the club, it’s always been dark days for the team... an endless cycle of relegation to promotion and then promotion to relegation. I hope that you can at least see what you have always wanted to see before you leave. Thank you, Ian. Thank you for all that you’ve done for the team and the club for fourteen years.”

MacDonald looked down at tickets with the UEFA logo and said, “It’s me who should thank you, Tony. I’m just a gatekeeper.”

Twain patted him on the shoulder to show that he did not have to say any more. “You haven’t watched a game live at the stadium in a long time, right? Take your family and children with you and go watch the game live.”

Old Ian nodded firmly.

Chapter 444 - Relax

Forest arrived in Paris two days before the Champions League’s finals.

“Paris, the city of fashion. Anelka, how does it feel to come home?” Ribéry asked his comrade.

Anelka looked at the scenery outside the car windows and blandly said, “It’s not too bad.”

Anelka was not born in Paris, but his first professional football club was Paris Saint-Germain; he had stayed long enough in Paris. Even now, he still owned a flat here.

“Hey, hey. Don’t chat in French. We don’t understand what you guys are talking about,” Ashley Young said beside them, feeling gloomy.

“There are a lot of beautiful women in France…” Eastwood whistled at a fashionable beauty walking by on the streets outside with someone.

“Freddy. You’re a father with two kids. You’d better watch your image.” Tang En said jokingly from the front, prompting laughter in the car.

Everyone in the team looked very relaxed, except for one person.

As Tang En turned back to talk to Eastwood, he took the chance to glance at George Wood sitting in the back row. He was looking out of the windows in a daze, staring at the scenery of Paris’ streets and was seemingly unaware of what had just taken place in the car.

Tang En sighed internally.

Originally, as George Wood was unable to participate in the match, he did not have to come along with the team. But, Tang En insisted on bringing him along, hoping to use this to show George that he was still an important member of the team. This might seem like a form of consolation, but some consolation is better than having none. Wood must feel like an outsider; everyone could look forward to the Champions League’s finals, but he alone could not.

And most importantly, Tang En was unable to comfort Wood at this point. He could not, in plain sight of everyone, walk to Wood’s side and pat his shoulders, saying, “It’s okay, George. Even if you can’t be there, you’re still a member of the team.”

In that way, everyone’s focus would be placed on Wood, and that was precisely what Wood did not want.

There was nothing Tang En could do other than look at Wood from afar and sigh.

※※※

When the team coach reached the hotel they were residing at, there were already several media groups waiting there.

The finals had long been regarded by the media as “the finals between artistic football and utilitarian football.” Naturally, Barcelona represented the side of artistic football. Meanwhile, due to Nottingham Forest’s insistence on playing defensive counterattacks and a tendency to play soccer that looked terrible but had beautiful results, they were regarded as the representative of utilitarianism.

Tang En was extremely unhappy with that. He did not deny that his team was somewhat utilitarian. However, what he hated was how simply and brutally the media pitted the two teams against each other; they placed Barcelona on an altar and worshipped them while making Nottingham Forest a target of their condemnation both in speech and writing.

So what if they played in an ugly manner? Playing ugly got them a win. What could they get from playing artistically? Ignore how Barcelona was all glorious now; no one knew who the glorious one would be in a few years.

The first to get off the coach bus was Tang En. The moment his feet landed on the ground, countless microphones extended from both sides of the corridor to his mouth. The questions came at him one after another; there was nothing fresh about them, with the majority related to Wood’s absence from the match. As the match got closer, the topic of Wood’s absence in the finals only became hotter. Everyone wanted to see how Forest, who had depended primarily on defense to get this far, would deal with Barcelona after having lost the most important defensive player on their team.

“How we’re dealing with them? Won’t you know when the match starts?” Tang En curtly answered such questions as he squeezed his way forward.

“Mr. Twain, as everyone well knows, your team has only reached the finals by depending on defense. Wouldn’t Wood’s absence make you more active in going on the offense?” Someone from the crowd asked this at the top of his voice.

Tang En heard the question and paused in his steps, casting his gaze toward the direction of the voice. This question poked at his sore spot and lent an opportunity for him to verbally vent his feelings of annoyance in the recent few days.

“Who asked that question?”

A bald man stood forward. “I’m a reporter from Mundo Deportivo…”

He had intended on introducing himself but was interrupted by Tang En. “Catalonia’s media? No wonder. What, you despise defense? Do you think our reaching the finals by depending on defense is disgraceful? Barcelona is artistic, very offensive. If they’re so good, why don’t you suggest for Rijkaard not to put in any fullbacks or goalkeeper? They could go on the offensive all the way, be artistic all the way, right? How many years have you been reporting about football? Do you understand football? Where are you from?”

Tang En was a breath away from following up with “Who the f**k is your mother?” but managed to suppress his anger in that crucial moment, stopping himself from swearing.

“Do you know what defense actually is? Do you understand the role of defense in modern football? You aren’t happy that we “only” reached the finals because of our defense? Are you saying that because you feel that the team you support will have a hard time facing our defense?”

Tang En was on a streak. He might as well stay put. Placing his luggage on the floor, he pointed a finger at the Barcelona reporter and schooled him. “Look at what the media has been writing: the finals between artistic football and utilitarian football! We’re utilitarian? Let me calculate it for you. Since the beginning of round 16 to the end of the semi-finals, how many goals did Barcelona score? Six! How many did Nottingham Forest score? In just the eighth-final alone, we’ve already scored five!” He opened his palm in the poor reporter’s face. “Up until the end of the semi-finals, we’ve scored nine! Don’t you all like to judge a team’s attacking strength based on their goal count? We’ve scored nine, and Barcelona scored six. Who’s utilitarian? Who’s offensive?”

Someone amid the crowd whistled; the sound of someone gloating over another person’s misfortune while watching the fun. Everyone liked watching Tang En do something like this; it meant they would soon have some sensational news to report.

“My team isn’t a circus to provide entertainment. I don’t have any obligation to fulfill the hobbies you guys have. I only care about the evaluation of our supporters and our board of directors. The Champions League is my aim. Whether it’s entertaining or not, I don’t care. Artistic football? I’m not Picasso. I’m not Vincent van Gogh. Goodbye, sir.”

After venting all his grievances, Tang En lifted his suitcase and turned to leave the bustling hotel entrance.

“Wow. The Boss is cool…” Lennon watched, starry-eyed.

“I can already predict the headlines tomorrow…” Albertini said, somewhat helplessly, beside him.

※※※

The finals had yet to take place, but Nottingham Forest had already become a point of focus for the media. Or, more specifically, it was their main manager, Tony Twain, who had become everyone’s focal point. Due to Tang En’s words the day before at the front of the hotel, the Spanish media retaliated furiously, stating his lack of basic respect, his arrogance, and how he was full of nonsense.

On the other hand, Nottingham’s and even England’s media supported Tang En, putting in an effort to make him out to be a very characteristic manager, spreading the news that he said what he did because of his straightforward personality.

As for other neutral media parties, they maintained a gleeful attitude of watching the fun and fighting to report it. Some of the article titles were tastefully named, The war between Tony Twain and Barcelona.

Readers could read this as Tony alone challenging team Barcelona, or Tony going against the city of Barcelona like Don Quixote, as well as the challenge to Catalonia represented behind it.

Anyhow, due to Tang En’s moment of rashness, the limelight and the firepower of the opponent’s media became entirely concentrated on him.

David Kerslake found this quite incomprehensible. He knew that Tang En could sometimes be extremely short-tempered with the media. He also knew that his recent mood had not been good. Perhaps it was because of the big battle coming his way, that it made him nervous to the point of being a little oversensitive. But at that point, the question from the reporter was not nakedly bashing how reserved Forest’s strategies were. It was, in fact, much politer than the commentary from other media outlets. So, Kerslake did not understand why it had caused Tang En to flare up so badly.

The next day, Tang En especially called up an attendant and tipped him, asking him to buy all available sports publications. Then, he took the papers and flipped them to the page with his photograph and the report on him. He arranged them neatly on the bed.

Sunlight streamed in from the windows and shone on the bed. He understood neither French nor Spanish, but it did not prevent him from admiring his own pictures.

Just like how he would admire an art piece, he stood by the bed with his head cocked, looking at the newspapers emitting the scent of ink.

After David Kerslake knocked on the door and entered, he was completely mystified coming upon this scene.

“Tony, what are you doing?”

“As you can tell, I’m reading the newspaper.” Without moving his head, Tang En continued looking at the newspaper on the bed.

“Reading it like that?” Kerslake walked over and imitated how Tang En had his head cocked. Other than those striking photos, he could not read anything else.

“Can you understand this?” he asked.

“There’s no need to understand it. I can guess what they’re writing. Without a doubt, it’ll be the same old things… Do you want me to regurgitate it to you?”

Kerslake shook his head. “I’m here to ask you about this, Tony. There’s something odd about you losing your temper at the hotel front yesterday. I can’t figure it out. It’s very strange. Or really… I felt that your temper came too suddenly.”

“Venting one’s emotions isn’t like playing a match. There’s no need to warm-up beforehand…” Tang En walked over and pointed at the newspapers on the bed, saying, “Look at this. They’re all pictures of me and my name. They’re all discussing me. Whether they’re supporting me or cursing my mother, all their focus is on me.”

“You’re famous, Tony. But you don’t really need this kind of fame…”

“You think I did it for fame? Then I might as well climb up Eiffel Tower, take off all my clothes, and go bungee-jumping.” Tang En gathered up the newspapers and threw them off of bed before jumping onto it himself. He looked at Kerslake, who still stood by the side, and asked, “How are the players feeling?”

“They’re all pretty good.”

“Are they getting nervous?”

“Some of them are, but not all.”

“Is everything normal?”

Kerslake nodded. “I think so.”

“And those reporters?”

“They’re all thinking up ways to get an interview with you.”

Hearing the assistant manager say that, Tang En chuckled. “Let them try.”

“Hey, Tony. You haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Why did you suddenly lose your temper?”

“No reason really… I only wanted the media to move their focus onto me and give the team some space. Looking at this now, I think I did a pretty good job. At least, there won’t be anyone asking about the damned strategy or Wood’s absence from the match.” Tang En turned over on the bed and sat up. “Let’s go, David. It’s lunchtime.”

※※※

During lunch, the team was discussing among themselves about Tang En’s flare-up with the reporter the day before. Tang En also announced another piece of news. During their free time in the afternoon, the players could go out shopping or do whatever else they chose. In short, they should not be cooping themselves up in the hotel rooms. Then, they had to return to the hotel by five-thirty and gather at Stade de France to conduct training for adapting to the field. Due to broadcasting factors, the finals had to take place at night. To allow the team to get accustomed to playing in the night, Tang En set training at the same time.

That decision was welcomed with cheers from the players.

Coming to the City of Fashion, Paris, where beautiful women were plentiful, no one wanted to coop themselves in their hotel room. All of the young people hoped to go out and enjoy themselves to the fullest.

Only Kerslake quietly reminded Tang En, “Tony, the match is on the day after…”

“I know. It’s exactly because of that we should let them relax. Being all anxious will not be something beneficial for the match. Now, it’s no longer the era of having a bland life with only three stops: hotel, training grounds, stadium. They all have their own ways of entertainment.?We have to respect that.”

After lunch and a short afternoon break, Forest’s players found their respective partners to go out touring with.

Wood accompanied his mother to go shopping. Those with girlfriends or wives naturally went out with their own loved ones while the single bachelors got together in groups to go look for women.

Tang En was busy as well. He went out to meet Shania; they had prearranged it before coming to Paris.

Shania dressed like a normal girl. With her make-up removed, she was entirely apart from the icy beauty who walked on runways. The only thing she used to conceal her face and identity was a huge pair of sunglasses.

The two agreed to meet at the square in front of the Eiffel Tower. Today was a clear and bright day. It was very suitable for an outdoor meeting.

“It’s the Eiffel Tower again… Almost everyone who visits Paris comes here. You’re so basic, Uncle Tony.” Shania sighed as she observed the crowded Champ de Mars. The location was decided on by Tang En. When they were on the phone, he suggested Eiffel Tower without hesitation. It was the most famous structure in France. It had already become a sort of symbol for France and Paris internationally. However, because of the sheer number of people visiting the area, it could not be at all connected with the idea of “French romance”. While it may appear somewhat acceptable from afar, the mass of people, noise, and bustle became obvious once a person got closer.

“What of it? I’m a commoner,” Tang En answered, all the while snapping photos continuously with a digital camera.

Shania glanced at Tang En.

“Do you have to take so many photos of a single tower?”

“Who said I was taking pictures of the tower?”

“Eh?”

“Despite the beauty of the tower, it can’t be as beautiful as a person…”

Shania rolled her eyes. This square was so amassed with tourists, it had no lack of fashionable or rustic beauties walking past them.

“Shania, take off your sunglasses.”

“What for? The sun is glaring…” Although Shania complained, she still took them off. She squinted immediately after removing them, and then suddenly realized Tang En’s camera lenses were pointing towards her.

“Yes, yes. You look better without sunglasses on. Do you know what you look like when you have them on, Shania?”

“What?”

“A toad.”

“Uncle Tony!” Shania glared and tried making an angry face at him. Seeing the shutter in Tang En’s hands click even more quickly, she laughed instead. “Alright. I don’t like wearing sunglasses anyway… But who asked me…”

“Who asked you to become famous? Look at me, I don’t wear sunglasses out.”

“That’s because you wear them on the training grounds,” Shania retorted.

Tang En lowered his camera and shut it off. Then, he asked Shania, “Do you want to get ice-cream?”

There was a store selling ice-cream beneath the Eiffel Tower.

Shania hesitated and pouted as she shook her head. “I think not… I’m afraid I’ll get fat. Models always have to take care of their figures…”

Tang En suddenly shoved the camera into Shania’s hands. “Eating a tub of ice-cream won’t make you fat right away. I don’t want you to be like those models, dieting until they starve to death on the runway. Health is more important than anything. Wait here. I’ll go buy the ice-cream.”

Saying so, Tang En turned and strode wide steps towards the crowded ice-cream store.

Shania lowered her head and switched the digital camera on. Then, she flipped through the pictures just taken by Tang En. Unexpectedly, she did not see pictures of numerous unfamiliar beauties in the memory card. All the pictures had only one main lead: her, Judy Shania Jordana.

Pictures of when she was looking around with sunglasses on, speaking with furrowed brows, or those of small actions, such as when she pouted, tossed her hair, smiled, rolled her eyes, or when she was staring angrily. Where was the Eiffel Tower? She could not find any. There was not a single photograph that had even the shadow of the tall and beautiful “iron lady.”

As Shania looked through them, a smile grew on her face.

And then she lifted the camera and looked in the direction of the ice-cream store. Through the screen, she saw Uncle Tony holding up an ice-cream cone in each hand, struggling to squeeze out from amongst the crowd of people.

He did not look anything like the man who stood on the sidelines of the field to lead his team bravely into battle, or the one who engaged in fearsome verbal battles with the media out of the field; the daring and energetic, Europe’s youngest and hottest manager Mr. Tony Twain.

Shania focused the lenses on Tang En amid the crowd, zoomed in, and then pressed the shutter.

Chapter 445 - Providence

Even though they had met underneath the Eiffel Tower, the two did not pay for the elevator to go up for a bird’s eye view of Paris. They also did not go to the other famous tourist attractions. After they had taken a photograph at Champ de Mars and eaten ice cream, Twain and Shania walked along the banks of the Seine. They chatted as they strolled along, occasionally taking a few photographs. Twain knew nothing about fashion and had little interest in shopping, and since Shania had access to the latest fashion and cosmetics due to her work, she had no need to go shopping. The two people walked around aimlessly and as they wished.

Twain would ask her about her recent developments but would not criticize her for her little mistakes at work or reprimand her with a serious expression like her parents. Shania loved times like this and felt completely stress-free.

Twain loved it too. Being with Shania made him forget for a while about the upcoming Champions League final. He did not have to worry about the tactical arrangements of his opponent or his own team. He need not worry about this or that, consider his players’ tasks, or make an explosive scene with the reporters. He did not have to do anything. He could just be free to stroll along the streets in the lazy sunny afternoon in Paris.

If Shania was the type of girl who would hit the high-end shops the moment they were on the streets and go home with shopping bags, Twain and she might not have the same rapport as they did now.

He was not a person who knew how to deal with women. He would sometimes appear to be to at a loss for what to do in the face of Sophia’s warmth. When faced with Clarice’s direct boldness, he would feel embarrassed; even when he would be alone with Yang Yan, he would be reserved most of the time. Only when he was together with Shania would he not be pretentious, awkward, or formal. He would mentally and physically relaxed.

He could not read minds and did not know what Shania thought about what it was like to be with him. Looking at the smile on Shania’s face right now, he hoped that she would feel the same as him.

Time flew by that afternoon. Even though the sun was still shining, Twain and Shania had to leave. To avoid being harassed by the media, Twain did not send Shania back to her hotel. Shania also did not accompany Twain back. The pair waved goodbye on the streets of Paris.

Twain returned to the hotel after an afternoon of good moods and warm sunshine. His players had already returned in droves. When they had assembled, the team took the bus to the Stade de France to prepare for the final game.

※※※

Until now, Tang En still had an inexplicable feeling; He had watched this Champions League final on television. In the pouring rain, ten Arsenal players had challenged and led against Barcelona for less than twenty minutes before they were defeated in the final moments.

Therefore, now that he was in an historical event and became one of the lead characters, the feeling of his transmigration became more and more obvious.

Arsenal, which was originally supposed to be in the Champions League final, was knocked out by his team; before that, the Spanish team, The Yellow Submarine, Villarreal, which was supposed to be in the Champions League this season, was eliminated by Nottingham Forest, which replaced Villarreal’s position in the Champions League. If things had developed according to the trajectory that Tang En knew, the Forest team should have been knocked out by Arsenal in the semi-finals.

Everything had been turned upside down and what had changed all that was him, the bug which had transmigrated through time and space.

Because he was the bug, Nottingham Forest, which he led, also rightly became a bug. Would this bug of his change the future, or would the established Barcelona, highly-regarded by the UEFA, bring history back to normal?

Twain stood in front of his hotel room’s window.

He remembered the heavy rain in Paris during the Champions League final.

And now… The gurgling sound of the water could be heard clearly even if the window was closed. The silvery lines of rain poured down in torrents from the sky. The Eiffel Tower could still be seen clearly from here yesterday. Today he could only see a dark, blurry shadow.

He gazed outside at the hazy world, lost in thought.

“Tony.” The sound of the door being opened came from behind him, and Kerslake walked in. “It’s time to go.”

※※※

“Such heavy rain…” Eastwood stood at the entrance of the hotel lobby, looking at the bus parked outside. Unlike Twain in the room with closed windows, the rain sounded more pronounced and clearer from here.

The Forest players had already gathered at the lobby and were ready to set off for the stadium. Playing in a game in the rain was familiar to them. After all, the one thing that Britain did not lack was rain all year round.

However, for the UEFA Champions League final, which everyone attached great importance to, it was still very frustrating and disappointing for it not to be carried out in appropriate weather.

“Will the game be postponed because of the heavy rain?” At the side, the young player Aaron Lennon asked curiously.

Albertini shook his head, “No, the underground drainage system at the Stade de France is well developed. There won’t be much water on the ground. And…” He glanced at the reporters, clad in raincoats and filming in the heavy rain, “Such finals are broadcasted live to the world and sponsored by countless advertisers. A postponement will affect the interests of TV broadcasters. They wouldn’t agree to a deferment.”

“But it feels terrible to play football in such a pouring rain. It’s uncomfortable to play dripping wet.” Lennon frowned.

“Don’t worry, maybe the rain will be less when we get to the stadium.”

Lennon nodded as he looked outside, but his knitted brows still did not relax.

George Wood could only watch the game with his mother in the stands. Although he was still with the team at this time, he would go to his mother in the stands’ VIP box when he reached the stadium. Hence, Albertini would put the captain’s armband back on. In Wood’s absence, he was the only person these young players could rely on. In fact, he was the team’s captain first. It was only because of his long absence and disruptions due to his injuries that people remembered Wood as the captain.

In the current Forest team, only three players had playing experience in the Champions League finals. One was the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, who had participated twice the Champions League finals while he was in Ajax. The first time, he had won the championship trophy on behalf of Ajax and the second time, he had lost to Juventus’ Angelo Peruzzi guarding the goal in the penalty shootout.

The second player to have played in the Champions League final was Nicolas Anelka. However, his situation was quite embarrassing. It was reckoned that he would be unwilling to recall his Champions League final experience. It was his goal in the semi-finals that helped Real Madrid eliminate the Bundesliga titan, Bayern Munich, and advance to the final. It was his first time in the final and he made his first goal. But afterward, when people recalled that Champions League season, they would only remember Raúl’s long-range attack that was nearly seventy meters long and Redondo’s stunning pivot bypass in the game against Manchester United. They would remember Morientes, Hierro, and many others. But no one would think of him, Anelka. For Real Madrid fans, to score two goals in nineteen games for one season in Real Madrid, Anelka was considered a loser and still was until now.

The last player who had participated in a Champions League final was the team captain, Albertini. Like Edwin van der Sar, he had the glory of winning a Champions League title in the 93-94 season, which was in the twilight of the AC Milan dynasty. It was the final radiance of its glory. After that, AC Milan fell to its lowest ebb.

Anelka was taciturn. It was too difficult for the young players to count on him to impart his experience. Edwin van der Sar was very helpful, but with Albertini around, he still had to be more low-key. After all, Albertini was the captain, but he did not have any rank.

Twain and Kerslake walked out of the elevator and went to the middle of the assembled players.

“Let’s go, guys.” He clapped his hands and the players got up.

“Chief, the rain is really heavy,” someone complained to Twain.

Twain shrugged. “No use complaining to me. I’m not God. But come to think of it, you should be glad.”

When they heard him say so, the people around him were very surprised. Why should they be glad about such heavy rain? What was there to be glad about?

Seeing the surprised looks of the players around him, Twain smirked. “When you’re playing on the field and you feel something cold falling on your heads, you’ll know it’s just rain, not just a flock of birds that ate something bad.”

Everyone roared with laughter and the gloominess that had arisen due to the bad weather dissipated.

“All right, seriously, the rain is good for us. Those old guys at Barcelona are used to the bright and beautiful beaches, and must not like this weather. So, let’s go!” He beckoned, and the players boarded the bus with smiles.

No matter how worried Twain was about the heavy rain that had followed the history in his memory, he still made casual jokes in front of the players so that no one could perceive the faint unease in his heart.

“It was sunny yesterday, and it’s raining heavily today. This weather change came too quickly and suddenly, didn’t it?” As Ribéry walked past him, he muttered.

“The weather in summer is weird,” Chimbonda explained seriously behind him.

Hearing the conversation between the two men, Twain looked up at the sky. Yes, the weather was very good yesterday and the day before. He and Shania even ate ice cream at Champ de Mars under the brilliant sun. And today’s temperature dropped by a lot.

Could this be providence?

Bah! Twain spat in his heart. If this was really heaven’s will, that’s bulls**t. I’m going to defy it today!?Twain continued to curse and swear in his mind.

※※※

The heavy rain did not dampen the enthusiasm of both teams’ fans. Stade de France, which could accommodate eighty thousand people, was a full house. The UFO-like edge of the stadium’s roof completely sheltered the stands so that the fans did not have to sit in the rain to watch the game and seemed to be one of the reasons that the spectators’ attendance was not affected.

Nottingham Forest fans turned out in full force, which made the tiny city of Nottingham almost empty. Barcelona had a higher population than Nottingham and the number of the Barcelona fans were more than the Nottingham Forest fans. In the stadium stands, their red and blue colors surpassed the Forest team’s dark red, covering more than half of the stadium.

But when it came to singing, the Barcelona fans were no match for the English fans. In terms of the creation of the atmosphere in the stadium, the English fans were well-deserved experts. They did not borrow any modern means, such as a stadium broadcast, but used their voices to create songs to scare their opponents. This was the tradition of English football and something that the English fans were proud of.

The fans’ chorus was always the most electrifying sound in the world.

At that moment, the Forest fans, fewer in numbers, used their singing voices to fight against the Barcelona fans in the stands.

As one of the competitors was an English team, there were bound to be a lot of English fans. Therefore, the Parisian police deployed a lot more police and the entire city was on the edge. No one wanted to recreate the tragic scene in which the German football hooligans beat a member of the National Gendarmerie, Daniel Nivel, into a vegetative state during the World Cup. The good thing thus far was that there had been no reports or records of the Forest fans being involved in drunken fights. Gavin Bernard’s death caused the Forest fans’ rioting to cease all at once, and they became the group of English fans with the cleanest record. However, this price came at a heavy cost.

When the players came out to warm up, the Forest fans loudly sang the songs they had created for the players. These people even had the ability to make up songs on the spot and then used the tune of the latest popular songs to belt it out. By comparison, the methods employed by the Barcelona fans, who were not at the Camp Nou, were more monotonous.

George Wood was not part of the warm-up. He had already left the team to go find his mother in the grandstand box.

As this was the final, the entire team took the game very seriously. Instead of staying in the locker room, Twain went to the sidelines with the team and braved the rain to inspect the field.

He walked up two paces and then frowned.

“The drainage system is quite good, but the field is slippery.” Next to him, Kerslake gave his conclusion.

Twain nodded in agreement.

“Go back and let them ready the boots with the long cleats. It doesn’t affect us too much, but for Barcelona...” He turned his head to look at the opponents who were warming up in the other section of the stadium. Frank Rijkaard also appeared on the sidelines at the same time and seemed to be inspecting the accumulated water and turf conditions on the field. He could not see his expression clearly, but seeing how the Dutchman continued to look down, he could tell what mood the opponent’s manager was in at the moment.

Barcelona was representative of artistic football. They were used to controlling the football at their feet. The football rolled on the ground ninety percent of the time. Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto’o, Deco, Xavi… Those players represented technical football. They were more dependent on the venue and weather than the Forest team. Precise control of the ball, dribbling, and passing required the right conditions on the field. Slippery conditions would greatly limit and affect their play.

Therefore, this bad weather appeared to be better for Twain.

At most, my Nottingham Forest will play traditional English football with all of you. Let the ball fly back and forth endlessly in the air, and then we will rely on our bodies and crude fouls to disrupt the pace of Barcelona’s offense. We’ll drag you into the rhythm which we are most accustomed to.

If this sudden downpour is a godsend, I don’t know who it is for.

Twain did not stay long on the sidelines. He turned back to the locker room after he ascertained the exact conditions of the field. He wiped the rainwater off of his hair and face with a dry towel, hung his damp coat on the hook, and waited quietly for the players to come back.

※※※

The warm-up soon ended and the players continued to return to the locker room. The coaches handed out dry towels to the players and the dry jerseys were already hung on the hangers in locker room cabinets for them to change.

Compared to when they were on the bus, the players were now visibly nervous and quieter. Most chose to be silent.

Twain observed everything.

“Are you nervous, guys?”

No one answered him, but everyone paused for a moment.

“I’m nervous too.” When Twain admitted this, those people who took a pause laughed for a bit and continued to busy themselves.

“Get nervous now and forget the word when you get to the game.” The players carried on changing their clothes and drying their hair. Twain continued speaking to himself. “This rain came at the right time. The Barcelona players are more nervous about this weather than we are. Did anyone see Rijkaard’s face just now?”

He chuckled hoarsely.

When everyone was done with their businesses, they sat down and faced their boss. Twain went on to say, “Play as we usually do.”

Chapter 446 - The Cycle

What was the most commonly used strategy for Nottingham Forest?

Asking ten people, a hundred, or a thousand would still only render one answer.

An unsightly scene, ugly defense, and one or two counterattacks depending on ridiculous luck. The match ends, and Forest wins.

Other than Ribéry’s breakthroughs in the flanks, Forest’s matches had nothing else going for them.

Majority of neutral fans would stand on Barcelona’s side. They hoped to see the representative of artistic football, the team that brought them delight and enjoyment, win. They hoped to use Barcelona’s victory to prove that there was still a place where beautiful football lived on within modern football. Or, in other words, hoped that beautiful football could still be restored.

Originally, Tang En had intended on going head-on with Barcelona here. Due to Wood’s absence, Forest may not win even if they continued playing reservedly. They might even be cursed at for the ugliness. If they clashed head-on with them, they might have a sliver of hope. However, after the media’s stirring up of the “finals between artistic football and utilitarian football,” Tang En suddenly changed his mind. Now, he wanted to use the defense that Forest Team was most proficient in to go up against Barcelona. The heavy rain today made him even more certain of his resolution – the field was not suitable for playing with techniques. With their physical advantage, Forest need not try something they were less familiar with and avoid their own advantages.

Even though not having Wood would impact the team’s defense, Forest did not get to where it was today solely based on Wood’s performance. Pepe and Piqué both revealed their respective talents and abilities. In addition, there was the diligent and honest Leighton Baines, Chimbonda, as well as world-class goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. With a formation like that, they could not be considered weak no matter where they were.

Of course, this did not mean that Tang En would be asking the team to maintain a completely defensive stance throughout the match. He knew that if they only stuck to defending, they would certainly not get the result he hoped for. A true, high-level defense was built upon the foundations of one’s offense. Just as the offense needed to be built upon a sturdy foundation of defense, a stable defense required the side of offense to share the burden and contain the opponent’s forces.

Therefore, right from the beginning from the match, Nottingham Forest, who excelled at defense, unexpectedly launched ferocious attacks on Barcelona, changing the reserved image they had had in the past.

Evidently, Barcelona did not expect Forest to take the initiative to attack. After the match began, they seemed somewhat at a loss. Adding to that was the slippery ground. Everything was making them lose their footing somewhat.

In comparison to Barcelona, who incorporated finer techniques in their play, Forest was more suitable to battle under such weather conditions; their offensive strategy was very simple and quick. There was no complicated permeation through the middle or dazzling give-and-go combinations. Instead, they dribbled the ball individually and, in two or three passes, sent the ball into the danger zone. After that, it was the goal shot. Thanks to Viduka, Forest could utilize more air passes by making use of his height and headers to ferry the ball. Alternatively, they could attack the goal directly. Forest’s play style lowered, to the greatest extent, the impact of a field that had terrible conditions.

If there was any weakness of Barcelona, it was their defense against air balls. Perhaps it was because their footwork was too outstanding, making them disdainful about putting in more effort into high balls.

It happened that their opponent for this match was Nottingham Forest, a team from England.

“Ashley Young! He is so quick!” On the right flank, Ashley Young dribbled the ball forward rapidly. The slippery ground appeared to have almost no effect on him. Faced with the Dutch defender, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, he suddenly launched the ball more than 10 meters ahead and picked up speed. By the time Giovanni van Bronckhorst wanted to turn, it was already too late. His speed was no match against the fifth-quickest wing assaulter in the English Premier League; his 100-meter sprint result was 10.97 seconds. By the time the Dutchman turned, he only saw his back.

After breaking free from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Ashley Young did not cut inward. Instead, he lifted his foot and passed center, a high ball!

This was what Tang En had specifically instructed. Forest’s players were to play more high balls on the field and use their air advantage to pressurize Barcelona.

Viduka leaped up from amongst the crowd. Before Puyol and Márquez could get to it, he managed to head the ball in an attack towards the goal!

“Víctor Valdés! A beautiful save!”

Spain’s number two goalkeeper bumped Viduka’s header out over the crossbar even as it shocked Barcelona’s fans into a cold sweat.

“Since the start of the match, Forest Team did not choose to defend. Instead, they made use of their kick-off to launch wave after wave of attacks against Barcelona. This time, they were close to scoring a head start!”

After the launch of the corner kick, both Pepe and Piqué rushed in. The area in front of Barcelona’s goal became a mess again. The chaotic situation only ended after much difficulty, when Puyol managed to clear the ball from the area.

“Barcelona’s defense against headers is a mess… it looks like manager Twain has found a way to deal with Barcelona.”

The TV broadcast did a close-up on Tang En. He was sitting on the manager’s seat. The short roof was a poor shelter against the rain falling from the sky. Tang En’s pants had already gotten completely wet and his shirt was halfway there. In that moment, his gaze was still glued to the field, entirely in a state of focus.

Next to him, Rijkaard stood up from his seat. He was a little worried about the series of threats in front of the goal earlier. His brows were furrowed as he blew twice on his whistle, reminding his players to take note of defense in the flanks.

※※※

Rijkaard’s reminder had no effect. Five minutes passed. Barcelona, who made its name in the world by their offense, had not shown a single decent shot. They were completely suppressed by Forest’s overbearing attacks and the terrible conditions on the field, failing to perform up to their usual standards.

Tang En’s thoughts were simple. Taking the chance in this duration when Barcelona had yet to adapt to the field, Forest would score a goal and transform their advantage into greater odds of winning. Of course, it was even better if they could score more goals. By letting his team gain the psychological advantage, they could gradually lure Barcelona, step-by-step, into a mire of anxiety and mistakes.

This was the pre-match plan. Everyone was certain about it.

If the match proceeded according to plan, it would be much more relaxed for them.

Tang En was not fond of planning beforehand to solve any and all problems. He also did not believe that the opponents would obediently listen to his arrangements. As a result, he valued snap adjustments during the match more.

Ashley Young’s performance in the right wing was outstanding. Franck Ribéry also did not lose out to him. On the left, he chose to cut inwards when he encountered Oleguer, taking the ball sideways. After widening the angle, he abruptly drew his foot back and took his shot! Víctor Valdés was focused, his body leaping to one side to block it out. It was another corner ball!

Nottingham Forest’s fans on the spectator’s stand, with their disadvantaged numbers, erupted with resounding cheers. Under Forest’s frenzied attacks, Barcelona’s fans were somewhat quiet.

The corner ball launched. While Barcelona’s defenders were focusing on Pepe and Piqué in the penalty area, Forest made a change. Albertini did not directly drive the football into the penalty area, instead passing it to Arteta, who came by to receive it. It was a short corner!

Upon seeing Arteta take over the ball, Barcelona’s fullbacks rushed out together, hoping to create an offside offense. In this instance, the Spaniard passed center. It was not a high ball, just one of medium height.

Everyone started running outside, including Forest’s players who were afraid of becoming offsides. Midway through the sprint, Anelka suddenly turned back and cut forward. Arteta’s pass had arrived exactly then! The French forward lifted his feet and kicked the ball forward, barely scraping past Barcelona’s fullback, Márquez.

The commentator started yelling. The football fans at the live scene also began screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Anelka! A one-on-one!”

Víctor Valdés stepped up courageously. In the situation where the distance was already perilously close, he dropped to the ground to save the ball. After barely grazing past Márquez, Anelka had restricted space to make any moves. He could only use his arch to shoot the ball off. Landing on Víctor Valdés’ thighs, it rolled away from the goal line.

A multitude of sighs sounded simultaneously.

“What a pity! Up to this point, this has been Forest’s best opportunity! Barcelona is being suppressed to the point of breathlessness!”

Anelka hugged his head with his hands, tremendously regretful about his failure to kick the ball in.

Tang En felt just as regretful as Anelka. Upon seeing Anelka break through Márquez, he had stood up from the manager’s seat, prepared to raise his hands in celebration for the goal. He did not expect Víctor Valdés to work miracles as if he were on drugs. The goalkeeper had been on a streak, successfully defending against several goals from Forest which had had high chances of getting in. This time was no exception as he put an end to Anelka’s shot.

“This is godd**n ridiculous. He ought to go for a urine test after the match!” Tang En plopped down onto the seat, venting the annoyance in his heart.

Kerslake, beside him, shook his head. “No hurry, Tony. It’s looking good for us.”

“Before we score any goals, I’m not going to believe anything.” Tang En said with gritted teeth as he stared into the field.

※※※

“We need to go on the attack!” Barcelona’s field captain, Puyol, was trying to drum up their morale. “We can’t let them go on like this. Ronaldinho!”

The Brazilian’s face was grim. “I know.”

“Think of something. We have to push back!”

Ronaldinho looked up at the time on the gigantic screen above. The match had been ongoing for 14 minutes. Barcelona had not executed any decent attacks yet. As the team’s attacking core, he naturally had the duty to change the awkward situation.

Quickly, after dribbling past Arteta in the midfield with his technique, Ronaldinho set up Barcelona’s first effective attack since the beginning of the match. While Forest’s fullbacks were focused on Eto’o, Ronaldinho passed the ball to Giuly in the wings instead.

Giuly used his speed and broke through Leighton Baines. After that, he directly drew back his foot and shot at the gate from a tight angle!

Edwin van der Sar was similarly focused. Blocking at the angle the shot came from, his hands cushioned the overwhelmingly powerful shot before hugging it firmly.

“This is Barcelona’s first shot at the goal since the match’s beginning, in the 15th minute of the match… poor things. The mighty Barcelona is looking rather uncomfortable facing off against a crazed Nottingham Forest.”

“Beyond that, there’s something else they’re unused to: the field and weather. It’s obvious that the field is very slippery. Before his shot, Giuly’s foot slipped a little. In fact, players from both teams all had sudden slips. But there’s greater impact on Barcelona, who plays with more technique and ground combinations. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest is persisting with the strategy of playing high balls, thus reducing to its greatest extent, the impact of the field on them.”

The commentator’s analysis was right on the money. But this could not help Barcelona change the awkward situation on the field. They were not proficient with the English football strategy of playing high balls; ball control on the ground was their tradition. Furthermore, it’s something that had already seeped into their blood. It was impossible to change it in such a short period.

“I’ve suddenly remembered. Prior to the match, there was some media source that thought this match to be the finals between artistic football, represented by Barcelona, and utilitarian football, represented by Nottingham Forest. After watching 15 minutes of this match, I just can’t make the connection between the team suppressing Barcelona with their attacks and ‘utilitarianism.'”

The commentators laughed.

As spectators, their laughter was especially relaxed.

As the teams battled, they could not afford to ease up at all. This was the first time Tang En’s team was going up against Barcelona. Before now, their understanding of the team came only from Piqué, a teammate who had emerged from Barcelona’s Youth Camp.

Just when Forest’s players began feeling that Barcelona was only this capable, Giuly executed a sharp breakthrough and goal shot to warn them that Barcelona was no average team.

George Wood sat in the luxury box along with his mother and the club’s chairman, watching the match together. Up to this point, the impact from his absence could not be seen yet.

What Tang En had said before the match seemed reasonable. Forest was not a one-man team. One missing player was not enough to be fatalistic.

It seemed that way…

※※※

In the 18th minute, as Nottingham Forest continued its suppression of Barcelona, Barcelona suddenly executed a fast break after stealing the ball in the backfield.

The moment after Puyol passed the ball to Edmílson, six players from Barcelona rushed forward. They were so fast that Forest, who had gotten used to slow reactions from their opponents, were completely taken aback.

At this point, if they had had George Wood, he would certainly have, in the first instance, started pressing Ronaldinho. But while Forest’s midfield was at a loss for how to react, Edmílson had already passed the ball to Ronaldinho.

“Ronaldinho takes possession, and there isn’t a single Forest player around him!”

The impact of George Wood’s absence from the team became obvious in an instant.

As Forest did not have a midfield player who specialized in defense, there was an enormous void in front of the center back. The defensive line did not have a choice but to move upwards to the midfield position to defend. In that way, there would naturally be large swathes of space behind them.

Without anyone defending closely against him, Ronaldinho did not choose to pass the ball. Instead, he continued dribbling forward, attracting Albertini and Pepe forward to defend. After pulling the focus of Forest’s entire defensive line onto himself, he abruptly came to a halt and passed.

Eto’o dashed out suddenly from the diagonal. With everyone looking at Ronaldinho, fearing what magic he might be coming up with, no one had noticed Eto’o. This time, Ronaldinho was only the bait.

Eto’o rushed out from behind Pepe. Ronaldinho had just dodged Arteta’s tackle from the back and shot out a direct pass.

“A one-to-one! A direct pass from Ronaldinho pierces through Forest’s defensive line! It’s not offside!”

Watching this scene from the manager’s seat, Tang En’s eyes suddenly widened, his pupils shrinking as his bottom launched off the seat.

It was too familiar.

Dammit!

Eto’o’s beautiful forward cut successfully reversed the offside. When he received the ball, there were no Nottingham Forest defenders by his side.

Allowing Eto’o to go one-on-one against the goalkeeper and at the same time having a large space for acceleration, there could only be one result.

“Edwin van der Sar attacks!” In truth, after seeing Eto’o cut forward from the back, the Netherlandish goalkeeper had already predicted the situation that would follow. So, before Eto’o even received the ball, he had already rushed forward to the edge of the penalty area.

The two met on the boundaries of the penalty area. Edwin van der Sar tried dropping to the ground to block his path, but Eto’o made use of his own speed advantage and bumped the ball to his right. By that time, Edwin van der Sar had already lost his balance. Would he helplessly watch as the opponent passed him and scored?

He stretched his hand out to Eto’o, who had jumped up, catching hold of his opponent’s ankle before quickly releasing it.

But it was too late. Eto’o fell over in the penalty area.

By the side, Giuly watched as the football rolled to his own foot. He kicked the ball into the emptied goal. The spectator’s stands rang with the cheers of Barcelona’s supporters.

But…

“Foul!”

The whistle of the main referee sounded. He ran towards the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, while the other players of Forest ran at him. They surrounded the referee, pleading for mercy.

It was doubtlessly a foul. But, what judgment would the referee pass?

Without realizing, Tang En had already stood up from his seat.

The scene he was so familiar with appeared once more, gradually overlapping with everything now happening on the field before his very eyes; Ronaldinho’s pass and Eto’o’s run into position, even Xavi’s shot after the rebound did not change. And just like Arsenal, Forest wore the yellow away jersey in this match. The only difference was that Edwin van der Sar had replaced Lehmann.

“The goal has been rendered null… it looks like the referee is about to give Edwin van der Sar a card… a red card! Oh lord, it’s just been 18 minutes into the match, and Edwin van der Sar gets a red card! He’s out! Pulling down Eto’o with his hands outside the penalty area… the referee shows no mercy!”

In truth, Edwin van der Sar knew that would be the result. When he stretched his hands out to pull Eto’o, he had already realized the price for that foul. But, in that instant, his mind was only filled with the thought of not wanting to lose a goal.

At that moment, he covered his face with both hands, standing apart from the group of people. Meanwhile, his teammates somewhat furiously surrounded the referee, believing the penalization to be overly severe. There were also Barcelona players surrounding the referee, wanting to demand a reason for the negated goal; they were very unhappy about it. Barcelona’s people felt that the best result was for the goal to be in effect and at the same time have Edwin van der Sar be penalized by the red card.

In a fit of rage, Tang En kicked the side of the shelter beside the manager’s seat, instantly shattering the windshield…

“That bastard referee! Does he even know the art of enforcement?! How are we going to keep playing?”

While he was raging, Kerslake had gone to ask substitute goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard, to warm-up.

No matter how enraged Tang En was, he could not change this result even if he took off the roof of the technical area.

Edwin van der Sar walked down from the field dejectedly. His third Champions League finals had ended just like that.

Forest needed to change in a substitute goalkeeper and, at the same time, switch out a player on the field.

Tang En chose to substitute in Paul Gerrard, changing out forward Anelka.

When the Fourth Official raised the substitution sign, Anelka, who was on the field, was somewhat in disbelief about being changed out. After ascertaining that it was no mistake, his face momentarily darkened to be even more overcast than Paris’ night sky.

Albertini ran up to console him as well as hurry him off the field, but Anelka dragged his feet as he walked down. Without slapping palms with Paul Gerrard, shaking hands with manager Tony, or making any kind of greeting, he just walked directly back to the locker room.

When Anelka brushed past him, Tang En did not have the leisure time to care about Anelka’s bad mood. He was staring hard at the main referee on the field who was directing the human wall to move back.

It was the same as his recollection. Was history going to repeat itself?

Without his realizing, the rain was beginning to let up.

Chapter 447 - Unexpected

Perhaps after the game had ended, Twain would remember to explain to Anelka why he was the one replaced, and not Viduka or anyone else.

As the Forest team insisted on playing high balls on the field, Viduka was needed for his excellent headers. Being a sturdy and powerful center forward, Anelka was not suited for this task. Eighteen minutes into the game, most of Viduka’s job was to support Anelka and wait for his opportunity to assist in the shooting.

Maybe in other competitions, Viduka’s image was that he was there to assist Anelka, just like the relationship between a flower and leaves. Anelka was the flower and Viduka was the leaves. But in this game, when it was necessary to break open the Barcelona goal with high-altitude bombardment, Viduka became the flower and Anelka had inevitably become the green leaves.

Twain certainly would not replace Viduka, the main attack point, nor would he casually substitute any players on the defensive line. The four midfielders were well-balanced and needed to contend against Barcelona’s powerful midfield. One less player would break that balance. After much consideration, he could only switch Anelka.

And the problem lay with that.

It was a paradox.

Only Anelka could be changed.

But Anelka did not want to be brought off. He considered himself to be the core and entirely worthy to be No. 1. Eastwood’s nine-month of absence due to his injury had given him the chance to become the core of the team’s offense. He firmly seized it and proved his worth and strength with one goal after another. The manager trusted him. Even when Eastwood, the manager’s favorite player, returned from his recovery, he could not shake Anelka’s absolute hold on the main position. He, too, used his goals to repay the manager’s trust.

It looked wonderful, working wholeheartedly with the manager and the team throwing itself into competitions. Together, they created a series of legends: Second place in the Premier League and Champions League final…

Anelka was awarded the second place in the Premier League’s top strikers. He also ranked fourth as one of the top strikers in the Champions League. If the Forest team could defeat Barcelona in an “upset” for this game, he would reap his second Champions League trophy. This time, he would no longer be forgotten. He was the core of the team and deserved credit for the victory. He would usher in the revival of his career, which would be another pinnacle for him...

What a wonderful future.

But all of this, the wonderful prospects were shattered by his sudden substitution.

In such an important game, on the home ground of the team he had played for, in front of the Parisians who had once mocked him, after the game had only been going for eighteen minutes, he was replaced by the manager.

This was what he comprehended from Twain’s substitution: he was not an important player in the manager’s heart and could be sacrificed or replaced at any time.

With his eccentric temperament, Anelka would not consider the factors behind the switch. He only knew that he had been replaced and cast aside at an important juncture.

He walked past Twain with a darkened face. He did not shake hands with his manager. He did not communicate or even nod his head in acknowledgment. Just like that, he brushed past the manager whom he had once said he “admired the most” in an interview, walked straight into the player’s tunnel, and disappeared beyond the clamor.

When he returned to the locker room, Anelka took out his phone from his locker and called his agent instead of taking a shower and changing his clothes.

There was no television camera to record what happened at that moment, and after the game, Anelka would not bring it up to anyone, including Twain.

Holding his phone, Anelka turned to his brothers for help. “I want to leave.”

※※※

Ten minutes later, when Anelka changed his clothes and returned to the sidelines, Twain remembered to look at him and then quickly turned his eyes back to the field. He was not in the mood to think about Anelka’s reaction and feelings about this substitution.

The Forest team was short one player and he had to change his strategy. He had to move the shooting position further back and strive to steady the defense. He had to persist with playing defense in this game, to hold until they reached overtime and the penalty shootout.

Nottingham Forest started a stormy offensive in the game as Edwin van der Sar being sent off became a thing of the past. Paul Gerrard, who just came on, was not a reassuring player.

The British commentator gasped in surprise when he was introduced. Beneath the Forest team’s strong exterior hid such a fatal weakness: their substitutes on the bench were too weak.

Paul Gerrard had not played more than four times in one season. Edwin van der Sar’s steady performance which resulted in the Forest team current state also prevented the replacement goalkeeper from developing. At this point, Twain had no choice except to let the competitively inexperienced Paul Gerrard, who had no Champions League experience at all, become the Forest team’s goalkeeper to block Barcelona’s shots.

“Paul Gerrard, this is his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League this season.” Having said that, the British commentator sighed. “I don’t think he can create miracles and become famous in one game. His career has been lackluster. I think no matter what the outcome of this game will be, Manager Twain has to seriously consider the issue of his replacement goalkeeper. As the runner-up in the Premier League, they have the world-class goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, but it’s unacceptable that the replacement goalkeeper is only at the EFL Championship level.”

Barcelona took advantage of that opportunity to launch a fierce offensive against the Forest team’s penalty area. Within ten minutes, the performances and situations of the two teams completely reversed compared to ten minutes ago. Barcelona made seven staggering shots at the goal, while Nottingham Forest did not have a single shot.

The Spanish aggressor showed everyone what a true Barcelona team should look like. And the Catalonian commentator poked fun at the Forest team. “They’re showing us what real English football looks like… Ha!”

Viduka returned to serve as a center back who used headers to help lift a siege. How could they expect the Forest team to have any offense? The ten players huddled in the penalty area to ward off Barcelona’s indiscriminate attacks. The rain drenched their entire bodies and their yellow away jerseys were stained brown and green by the dirt and turf. With those three intermingling colors, they looked pathetic.

“The Barcelona players have gradually adapted to the venue. Their wonderful coordination and dribbling are breathtaking to watch. This is the Barcelona that we’re familiar with!” cried the commentator excitedly.

Just then, Ronaldinho broke through in the front of the penalty area and agitated the Forest team’s defensive line into a complete mess. It was a tough situation. Unfortunately, his shot ricocheted off the goal post at the last minute. Despite that, Barcelona’s performance still won the praise of the vast majority of fans. They were not as fretful as they had been before. After all, they had one more player than the Forest team and the Forest team’s replacement goalkeeper was not strong. The game still had more than fifty minutes left. They had enough time to score, lead, and win.

Therefore, after ten minutes of indiscriminate shooting, they saw that the entire Forest team was forced to fall back. Now their goal area was ironclad and impenetrable. The experienced Barcelona slowed down their pace of attack. Instead of continuing to press on the Forest team, they slightly pulled back in order to draw out the Forest players and look for loopholes again.

The Barcelona players appeared confident. They calmly played with the style of technical football which they were accustomed to. They used constant back-and-forth passing of the football and breathtaking cut-and-pass positioning to lure the Forest team players.

The Forest fans felt pained as they watched Ronaldinho show off his skills in front of Arteta to his heart’s content. Arteta was unable to even touch the ball. At this point, everyone missed the man who sat in the stadium box seat.

If he were there when Ronaldinho dared to flaunt his footwork in front of him, it would have been the gleaming cleats of the boots that greeted the Brazilian.

Unknowingly, everyone was used to George Wood being on the field.

※※※

For Demetrio Albertini, this game was destined to be an unforgettable Champions League final for life.

In fact, before their opponent for the final was known and after the Forest had successfully advanced to the Champions League final, Albertini had wished that the Forest team’s opponent in the final was AC Milan. He had wanted Adriano Galliani and Carlo Ancelotti to see the standard he still could show in a high-level competition.

Perhaps, he had hoped to pay tribute in that way to the team which he had played on for fourteen years and show his best during Wood’s absence in the final.

However, Barcelona had eliminated AC Milan.

Before this game, Albertini had fully anticipated how difficult the final would be. He knew what kind of team Barcelona was. They were in the same powerhouse club as AC Milan. There was no reason to underestimate them. And, with Wood’s absence, he needed to share Wood’s job with Arteta in the midfield. But when Edwin van der Sar was sent off, the difficulty of the game went beyond Albertini’s expectations.

He was used to having George around him and playing with him in a game. When Wood was not on the field, it was already a struggle with him and the Arteta sharing his workload, not to mention that Wood had done this work alone before. What kind of fiend was he? Even Albertini, who normally had the most contact with Wood, was baffled.

But now was not the time to lament those matters. Wood would not appear in this game. No matter for what reason and what difficulty the team was in, he would not be able to drop from the sky to save his teammates. He sat in the brightly lit VIP box seat, watching the game in silence.

This game did not belong to Wood. If his mind was still filled with thoughts about Wood, it would be disrespectful to the other ten teammates.

This is my fight and my game. It belongs to me, Demetrio Albertini.

“Barcelona continues to pass the ball. They are not in a hurry to move forward. Nottingham Forest has a very close defensive formation and they don’t have a lot of chances. Deco takes the ball and makes a feint to break through but passes the football to Ronaldinho instead!”

As the commentator’s voice went an octave higher, so did the cheers in the stadium.

This buck-toothed Brazilian was Barcelona’s new star and leader. Everyone was happy to see the football at his feet and could not take their eyes off him as they looked forward to the brilliant moment that could appear at any time to amaze them.

Ronaldinho leaned sideways against Arteta and used the outside of his foot to step on the football, which was one of Ronaldinho’s signature moves. The advantage was that he could easily make various combinations of movements. Whether it was passing or dribbling, he could move the football far away from his opponent’s legs.

Arteta strove to intercept this ball but was obstructed by Ronaldinho’s pushback.

Just as everyone waited to see Ronaldinho flaunt his superb technical skills again and as Ronaldinho looked up to observe his teammates’ positioning, Albertini suddenly charged out from his blind spot and jabbed the ball from under his foot in a flash.

Ronaldinho jerked his head and saw the back of Nottingham Forest’s number 4.

“Albertini cuts off the ball from Ronaldinho’s foot and the Forest team fights back!...He did not pass the ball, he’s dribbling it and continues to move the ball forward...”

Although Ribéry and Ashley Young had run ahead and Viduka was ready to receive the ball, Albertini did not pass the ball. He chose to dribble the ball forward to break through.

In the face of Edmílson, Albertini simply pushed the football towards the flank. The other man quickly came close and stuck to Albertini so as not to let him easily dribble the football and get past. He had been forced into a dead corner, but he still dribbled the ball forward.

Ashley Young saw his captain run in front of himself, hesitated for a moment, and turned to the middle to support and cover for his captain.

As expected, the Barcelona defenders, who had initially prepared to swarm the flank to intercept Albertini’s ball, saw Ashley Young running up and both Márquez and Puyol chose to stay in the middle, leaving only Edmílson and van Bronckhorst to defend against Albertini.

No matter how the opponent tried to hinder behind his back, Albertini tenaciously dribbled the football alone to the left side of the Barcelona penalty area, guarded by van Bronckhorst. Once he was surrounded by the two men, Albertini slowed down, guarded the football, and waited for others to come up to support him.

Barcelona would not give him such a chance. Van Bronckhorst deftly tackled Albertini to the ground.

The referee naturally blew his whistle for the foul.

Van Bronckhorst shrugged his shoulders and retreated. Albertini got up from the ground and beckoned his teammates to come up. This was an opportunity for the Forest team to attack. They had practiced the set pieces repeatedly before the game which were especially used as one of the most powerful weapons to deal with Barcelona.

“In the 38th minute, a free kick from outside of the penalty area. This is a chance for Nottingham Forest and Albertini, who had dribbled the ball for more than 40 meters. Let’s take a look at how it’s going to unfold.”

The commentator quieted down and the players from both sides gathered inside the penalty area on the field. The Barcelona players were busy defending and the Forest players mingled inside the penalty area, waiting for an opportunity to score a goal.

Arteta had wanted to take this free kick, but Albertini refused. He wanted to grasp this opportunity he personally created.

The Forest players, Viduka, Pepe, and Piqué, who were best at headers, rushed to the front of the goal. Feeling like he suddenly stood out, Barcelona’s tallest player, Márquez, was caught between them like a poor hot dog.

This was a common foul, and the Barcelona players did not think that the battered Forest team, which was short of player, could achieve anything. The defense in the penalty area seemed a bit relaxed, and the two-man wall in front of the goal was not very tight.

Albertini carefully observed the situation inside the penalty area and then moved back to prepare for the free kick.

He did not move backward to do the run-up. Instead, he swung his leg on the spot and the football bypassed the useless two-man wall to fly towards the Barcelona goal.

When the football flew upwards, the Barcelona defensive players did not even run much. They only saw a yellow figure streak across to the front of the Barcelona’s goal!

“Pepe! Ahh—Oh my God! GOOOOAL! GOOOOOAL!! GOOOOOOAL!!”

In the face of the sudden header attack from the tall center back who had charged up from the back, Valdés did not react in time. He just jumped a little and then turned his head to watch the football fly into the goal.

Puyol was deceived by Albertini’s curveball. He had thought the football would fly in, so he rushed in the direction of the goal. He did not expect the football to curve halfway and fly outwards to the defensive area where Puyol was in charge. When he saw Pepe charge up from the back and leap to head the ball towards the goal, he turned and jumped back to block, but it was too late. He was shorter than Pepe by a head!

“Pepe! The Brazilian center back whom Tony Twain used the exceptional talent clause this season to obtain a work permit from the FA for. Twain finally reaped the generous reward for it. Pepe has proved that he’s entirely worthy of being the exceptional talent.”

“With only ten players, Nottingham Forest scored first and took the lead with the first goal! This is unbelievable!”

“Oleguer should be responsible for dropping the ball! He completely didn’t notice Pepe plugging in from behind at all, and it was unwise for Puyol to compete for the header.”

“Aha! This is what Tony Twain’s team is all about. They never give up! When no one has any hope for them, they’re able to explode with shocking energy instead! Our English team is ahead of Barcelona by 1:0! And there are only ten of them!”

The commentators from various countries were all enlivened. They had waited thirty-eight minutes for the first goal in this final. They did not expect it to come from the embattled Nottingham Forest, who was one player short and fully at a disadvantage.

Chapter 448 - After Taking The Lead

“At the 38th minute of the match, the first to take the lead is, unbelievably, Nottingham Forest! This is quite surprising! Look at the faces of Barcelona’s players. They can’t believe it!”

Puyol covered his face with both hands. It was exactly his own misjudgment that had given his opponents the chance for the goal.

As Barcelona’s players were despairing, Forest’s players were hugging each other in the rain. Having gotten the lead in such a disadvantageous situation had greatly boosted the morale of the team. Their original thoughts of losing the match because they were a player down were thrown cleanly out of their minds.

Tony Twain’s football team feared no opponent, whether it was Barcelona or Real Madrid. They also did not care if they had 11 players or 10 battling, what the weather was like, or which side the media was leaning toward prior to the match.

Seeing Pepe head the ball into Barcelona’s goal, Forest’s substitutes’ bench and manager’s seat erupted suddenly with loud cheers. Kerslake took the lead in rushing out.

Tang En also jumped up, throwing his arms out in celebration.

But very quickly, his hands dropped again. The smile on his face gradually stiffened. No matter how excited the people were beside him, it became impossible for him to muster up a smile.

He had watched the finals of the Champions League. Although he could not remember the details of it, he would not forget a moment as significant as a scored goal.

In the 18th minute, Lehmann was penalized with a red card because of Eto’o. Wenger substituted in reserve goalkeeper Almunia and took out Pirès.

In the 38th minute, the 10-man Arsenal got a lead on Barcelona thanks to Campbell’s header.

Then… in the second half…

Tang En did not dare to continue down that train of thought.

Once was a coincidence; twice was also a coincidence... thrice… It was no longer so simple.

He looked up at the sky. He could not help but feel that this was an extremely strange matter. It was as strange as how he had transmigrated here from 2007 to become a football manager.

It was as if there was a pair of unseen hands toying with them.

“Tony! Tony! Have you gone silly? We’re leading!” David Kerslake excitedly smacked Tang En, who was in a daze, waking him up.

“Ah, that’s right. We’re leading… leading!” Tang En nodded in response. “But the match hasn’t ended. It isn’t time to rejoice yet. Barcelona’s offense is very strong. We’ll have to deal with it carefully.”

“Now that we’ve taken the lead, we can return to the strategy we’re best at, and what we’re used to,” Kerslake said with a laugh. “Defending. We have to let those bastards looking down on us see our prowess!”

The assistant manager was in a much better mood than the main manager.

“You’re right, David. We do need to start defending.”

※※※

The singing of Nottingham Forest’s fans drifted in from the spectator’s stands. It became louder and louder. Even the noisy splashes of the rain could not cover it up. The same went for the jeers coming from Barcelona’s fans.

At that moment, happiness belonged to the supporters of Nottingham Forest.

“In England, there has always been this saying. Despite Manager Tony’s lack of admittance to it, he is, in fact, considered to be the successor to the legendary manager, Brian Clough. Just a simple example: Brian Clough led Nottingham Forest to complete a three-grade jump in three years. From League Two to the First Division champions, and again to the champions of the Champions League. And Manager Tony Twain has perfectly replicated that scene with the current Forest Team. Just two seasons before, they were only a participating team of the EFL Championship. At that time, it wasn’t called that, it was called the Football League First Division. A year ago, they were promoted to the English Premier League and attained the qualification to participate in the Champions League. And today, they have fought their way into the finals of the UEFA Champions League! They are leading with a score of 1:0; even the score is the same! Tonight, can his football team successfully defeat Barcelona and replicate that miraculous era in its entirety?”

Wishes were beautiful things, but it was not so easy to realize them.

After all, Clough’s Forest Team had not been penalized with one player less during their finals.

After the match restarted, Forest returned to defending. Only Viduka was left in front. Players in the backfield mostly launched powerful long passes in search of Viduka’s head when they got the ball. Playing in that way made the match extremely unentertaining. But it was very useful at exactly this time and this sort of situation. Tang En did not care how the others would look at it. He only wanted the resulting victory.

Since Forest had retreated to defend, Barcelona, naturally, did not stand on ceremony. They pressed forward heavily in the hopes of equalizing the score as quickly as possible. Getting behind in the score when they had a player more was unbearable for the proud and arrogant Barcelona players.

“Barcelona has begun surrounding Nottingham Forest in the attack. The match has returned to the same situation as before Forest scored the goal. Now, the ball is in Ronaldinho’s possession.”

Albertini dashed in front of the Brazilian. Earlier, when they celebrated the goal, he and Arteta had communicated shortly, changing to have the more experienced Albertini guard against the opponent’s core.

Ronaldinho looked at Albertini in front of him. His positioning was excellent; it made him think twice about attempting a breakthrough.

However, as the midfield core, he was not limited to only knowing how to break through. Other than his incredible skills in dribbling, another reason Ronaldinho was able to become the world’s number one midfielder after Zidane was his ability in passing.

With a twist of his behind, he faked a movement and made Albertini focus on preventing his breakthrough. And then, he instead passed the ball to Eto’o in front of the penalty area.

Eto’o leaned against Piqué, who was defending against him. He did not kill the ball. Rather, he directly nudged the ball towards his own left, swiftly spinning around at the same time.

The explosive power of the African cheetah was shocking; in a blink of an eye, he had left Piqué behind.

Breaking through in a turn, he was faced with Paul Gerrard and shot at the goal.

Piqué’s tackle appeared as a ceremonial sort of interruption; it had no real effect at all. At this point, Paul Gerrard became the savior of the team. He timely intervened, blocking the angle of Eto’o’s shot. And then, at the brink of danger, he stretched out his hand and managed to hit the ball.

The football changed direction and hit the goalpost, bouncing out!

Loud sighs rang through the stadium.

But it was not over!

The ball had bounced back. Eto’o was on the ground and could not get a rebound shot in time. Suddenly, Ronaldinho, who had been outside the penalty area, appeared inside. Faced with the rebounding football, he drew back his leg, intending to do a direct volley.

At that moment, the slippery ground lent a hand to Forest’s fate. Just as Ronaldinho drew his right foot back, his supporting leg slipped and caused him to completely lose his balance. His body fell to the left and the drawn right foot did not manage to contact the soccer ball, brushing right past it!

Albertini, who had been chasing after him, hastily cleared the ball from the area.

Sighs sounded once again.

“Ronaldinho… what a pity! Eto’o’s shot got intervened by Paul Gerrard at the most crucial point, changing its direction. It hit the goalpost, and Ronaldinho’s rebound shot failed to get in contact with the ball.”

“That bastard, he’s too fast…” Piqué was still grumbling as he climbed up from the ground. He had thought boxing out his opponent would give him no opportunity; unexpectedly, Eto’o had used the most direct method to break through. With just a turn, he was able to threaten the goal.

After getting up, Piqué saw the anxiety on Gerrard’s face. His taut face looked like his strung-out nerves. As the regulations dictated that a goalkeeper must be in the list of reserves, his appearance in the team list was quite possibly to make up for the numbers. He himself did not expect any opportunity to be fielded. For such an important match, Edwin van der Sar was surely the starter. And goalkeeping was the most secure position. It was extremely rare for there to be injury or sickness… He knew his own capabilities. It was impossible for him to play in this match, absolutely impossible.

Paul Gerrard’s heart was racing. When he saw the football fly towards him earlier, his heart had leaped into his throat. He only felt his knees weaken, dropping his knees onto the ground. Of course, he knew that he had managed to touch the ball, but touching the ball was not the same as saving it. Those were two entirely different things.

The ball eventually hit the goalpost and did not bounce in. He had managed to save Eto’o’s shot. Even so, his racing heart did not settle.

Of course, Piqué could understand how Paul must be feeling. As a reserve goalkeeper who did not often get the opportunity to be fielded, the pressure he felt having to substitute Edwin van der Sar in guarding their goal for the Champions League’s finals must be no mere trifle. No matter his abilities, fate had made him Forest’s goalkeeper in this match. They must trust him and encourage him, allowing him to perform to his best standards…

“Good job, Paul…” Piqué patted Gerrard’s shoulder and pulled him up. “You saved me.” He was right. If Eto’o had gotten the ball in, Gerrard did not have to be responsible for anything. Rather, Piqué would have to be held responsible for his failed defense.

Albertini ran back as well and patted Paul Gerrard. “Well done.”

The encouragement from his teammates finally managed to ease Gerrard’s anxiety.

“I’m insisting on my opinion. Paul Gerrard is not a player who can create miracles. However, at the very least, he is doing well at this moment. He managed to defend against the most threatening attack from Barcelona in the first half of the match.”

That was indeed the most threatening attack from Barcelona in the first half; not long after, the main referee blew the ending whistle for the first half.

After getting off the field, Albertini found the main referee and inquired about Edwin van der Sar’s penalty for the foul. He felt that the referee’s sentence was overly harsh. While Edwin van der Sar should have received a red card in accordance with the rules, the match had only been going for 18 minutes. Fouling out the primary goalkeeper of Forest Team like that... Albertini felt that the sentence should have been reconsidered.

The main referee politely responded to Albertini with a few sentences but did not wish to continue going back and forth about a past penalty. Albertini, as well, sensibly shook hands with the referee and left.

Only Tang En continued glaring in annoyance at the main referee, who walked off the field with his two assistant referees. Edwin van der Sar’s foul out was certain to be the turning point in this match. If they lost the match, Tang En would be holding a grudge against that referee for life.

“The first half of the match has ended. Barcelona, who has the upper hand, is now behind Nottingham Forest, who has a player less. They tried all means but failed to score an equalizer. Rijkaard should do some adjustments during halftime. As for Nottingham Forest, despite playing such reserved football—the kind we hate watching—I still must applaud the courage of this team. In the disadvantaged situation of having a player down, they instead managed to take the lead against Barcelona. This is rather remarkable for manager Tony Twain’s first time leading a team into the Champions League’s finals.”

The commentator’s evaluation was fair and objective.

Tang En turned furiously and walked towards the corridors. He did not notice that the rain was slowly letting up.

※※※

In the locker room, Forest’s players were all panting for air. After taking off their wet shirts and throwing them on the ground, they immediately plopped down and sat to rest.

Having a man down, playing in the rain, having tremendously strong opponents, and facing continuous frenzied attacks; the psychological stress expended large amounts of their stamina.

Edwin van der Sar was still blaming himself for the foul. Perhaps if he had just let Eto’o pass him at that moment and allowed Barcelona that single goal, they might still have the opportunity to equalize the score or even overtake it with an intact team. He sat in front of his locker in silence.

Tang En pushed the door open and entered. He looked at the audience. Other than panting, there were no other sounds in the locker room. No one said anything. Everyone was quiet.

Their mental state was not too good.

“Hey, what is this? Are we behind?” Tang En asked. “Why do you all look dispirited? Aren’t we leading Barcelona by a goal? It’s Barcelona! The Barcelona who has been praised to the skies before the match, who triumphs in every battle and wins every fight, who is the world’s number one; Barcelona, the epitome of perfection! La Liga champions who beat up Real Madrid until they couldn’t tell where North was, and who swept through Continental Europe and set off the crazed trend for attacking football, who has the world’s best midfielder superstar, Ronaldinho, and who has one player more godd**n than us… We’re leaning against a pretty damn invincible team! What do you all have to be unhappy about? So many media outlets were stirring up the matter of George Wood’s absence before the match as if Nottingham Forest became nothing without George! In the end? Do you know what I want to do most now? I want to slap that group of bastards! You all did very well, every one of you did well. What is there to be silent about?”

At that point, a creak sounded from behind Tang En. George Wood opened the door and walked in.

Tang En turned to look at Wood while the latter stood at the door looking back. The two stared at each other.

Thinking back on what Tang En had just been saying, the locker room went still for about two seconds before suddenly erupting with peals of laughter.

“Weren’t you watching the match from above with your mother?” Tang En asked, feeling odd.

Wood nodded. “I wanted to come down to take a look…”

Looking at the expression on Wood’s face, Tang En laughed. “You aren’t too used to sitting in the luxury box to watch the match, right? Come on in.” He waved Wood in.

Wood entered and sat in a corner.

Albertini stood up. “Boss… I think everyone is so quiet because they’re tired.” After saying so, he turned around and looked at his teammates, hoping they would stand out to agree with him.

So, a group of them immediately nodded furiously. “That’s right, that’s right. We’re too tired… after all, we are down a person, Boss.”

“Alright. I accept that explanation. I only hope for everyone to understand that no matter what terrible situation we are facing, I don’t want to see that despairing look.” He tapped the tactical board. “Let’s talk about what we should do in the second half.”

“Because they are now behind, Barcelona will strengthen their offense in the second half.” Tang En carefully searched his mind for the two goals scored by Barcelona in the second half. “We must watch out for Eto’o. We’re doing very well in the defense for the center. They haven’t got many chances, so in the second half, we have to be wary of attacks coming in from the opponent’s wings.”

“And if Barcelona keeps on failing to make progress in their situation, they may end up substituting in Larsson, a tremendously experienced forward. Be careful of his ability to set up plays.”

The two goals Barcelona scored off Arsenal were all related to Larsson. That was his most glorious moment in that season. Tang En believed that so long as they suppressed Larsson’s performance, they would be able to successfully change the results.

“Everyone, we are already beating Barcelona. Those who didn’t look well upon us before the match can go to hell! I’d tell you, it’s not the most popular team who will become champions! It’s also not the one with the greatest support from the media who will be the strongest!” In the depths of Tang En’s heart, perhaps he was still somewhat worried about the future of a match that was turning out remarkably like the past. However, in front of his players, Tang En did not show his worry at all. He waved his fists around to cheer for the ten-man team that was to set off into battle. Using his own words, he encouraged the players to create miracles in the match.

“A football competition is a competition for results. In the end, whoever wins is the strongest! Now that we are beating Barcelona, we are stronger than them!”

Chapter 449 - Looks Like Victory

When Twain returned to the field, he felt that something was off, but he could not pinpoint why at that moment.

It was not until he saw Rijkaard walking out of the tunnel and looking up at the sky that he finally realized.

He looked up at the night sky too.

The rain had stopped.

He widened his eyes and reached out his hands. There was not a single raindrop on his cheeks or palms.

It was windy over the field and he could even see the dark clouds in the night sky rolling away.

The quagmire that Barcelona was bound by was gone. Luck had changed.

“Dammit… Dammit…” Twain muttered as he looked up.

The weather condition that was most conducive for them had become beneficial to their opponent.

Without the heavy rain and with the drainage capability of the Stade de France, the field would soon not be as slippery as it was in the first half. By that time...

He did not dare to think about it any further.

“Tony, what’s going on?” Walking up from behind him, David Kerslake went past Twain and found him still standing where he was.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go, David.” Twain did not want anyone to know his inner concerns.

※※※

“Ladies and gentlemen. Join us live at the final game of the 05-06 season UEFA Champions League! The contending teams are England’s Nottingham Forest and Spain’s Barcelona. It’s now the second half of the game the score stands at 1:0 with Nottingham Forest in the lead for now.”

After the game began, Rijkaard used “The Pale Knight,” Iniesta, to replace the defensive midfielder Edmílson. This replacement clearly meant that they would continue to strengthen their offense and gain complete control of the midfield. Rijkaard believed that the Forest team would stick to defense in the second half. In that case, it would be a waste to place their defensive midfielder in the midfield. Bringing on the technically skilled Iniesta could continue to create pressure on the Forest team’s defensive line.

Barcelona besieged Nottingham Forest as they had in the first half while the Forest team huddled in the penalty area to defend. Perhaps such a game was entertaining to watch for the viewers who liked Barcelona, as they could watch the performances of star players such as Ronaldinho, see Barcelona press on their opponents, and did not even need to worry about Barcelona’s defensive line. The Forest team simply did not have the capacity to attack within the thirty-meter zone of Barcelona.

Barcelona fully dominated the game. The situation of Nottingham Forest whereby they were so hammered that they could only ward off the attacks but were unable to fight back had made many Forest supporters break out in a cold sweat. But Twain was not worried about that at all.

Although the Forest team was on the defensive, only the experts could see that they held their own very well with their three lines still tight and not ripped apart by Barcelona’s attacks. As long as the Forest team held its ground, Barcelona would not stand a chance. Despite their onslaught, it was actually more bark than bite.

Nottingham Forest had used this tactic to play for two seasons. And now they were in their element in the Champions League final.

“It looks like Manager Twain is determined to hold until the end of the game, which is the situation he’s best at dealing with, even though the second half is only just beginning…” There was a hint of mockery in the commentator’s tone.

Barcelona also did not seem to have a better way to deal with the Forest team’s tight defensive formation. Ronaldinho found it almost an impossible task when he had wanted to break through the Forest team’s three-tier line of defense with his individual technique. Under such tight defense, there was no room for Eto’o to accelerate faster to shake them off.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes went by. Barcelona was getting increasingly irritable.

They had one more player than their opponent. Still, they were behind and unable to break through. It would be peculiar if they did not become impatient when faced with that situation.

Tremendous pressure hung over the heads of the Barcelona players. If they could not win this game in the end, they would be the laughing stock of all of Europe. They were stronger than their opponent, they had more players than their opponent, and they had the upper hand in the game but had let the Forest team’s one sneak attack win them the game.

Being everyone’s favorite to win the title was an honor and validation, but a form of pressure at the same time.

※※※

Twain saw that Barcelona’s players had begun to get impatient, and the tension in his face finally relaxed. This was a good sign.

As the game progressed, as long as the Forest team continued to keep it that way, Barcelona would be on the edge even more. At that time, the hotheaded Eto’o could be counted on to act rashly.

It would be fantastic if he acted rashly! Twain liked his opponents to be reckless, especially the opposing strikers.

He was not the slightest bit afraid of opponents who relied on brute force to play football.

The Forest team intercepted the ball successfully and launched an offensive. Albertini’s long pass sought out Viduka, this lighthouse in the front field. Viduka competed for the header against Márquez and lobbed the football to Arteta who quickly plugged in. The Forest team switched from defense to offense.

They were not blindly focused on defense. They must fight back to continue to harass their opponents so that Barcelona would not dare not to mount full pressure on them. This was already a cliché. Even if Twain did not speak, the Forest players knew what to do.

Arteta did not stop the ball well, allowing Puyol to intercept it, which was immediately followed by a counterattack from Barcelona. At this time, due to the offense switch on the right flank, the Forest team’s defense in the rear was not tight and had a lot of empty space to be exploited.

Puyol did not hesitate to drive the ball directly forward immediately, and the football rolled to Iniesta’s foot.

As the Forest players focused their attention on Eto’o and Ronaldinho, Iniesta charged ahead. After he received the football, he simply turned around and shook off Albertini. Then, when he faced Piqué’s tackle and attempt to snatch, he astutely poked the football out and jumped to evade. Only Pepe and the goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard, were in front of him at this time.

“Barcelona has a chance! Iniesta… Iniesta! He bypasses two players!”

Pepe was situated in an acceptable position and had a lot of confidence with this one-on-one. Iniesta saw that Pepe cautiously followed him at the back to guard against his surprise attack, so he did not choose to force a breakthrough. Instead, he suddenly swung his leg to shoot just outside the penalty area!

The football brushed along the turf and rolled towards the goal. The highly focused Paul Gerrard dropped to the ground and took the ball in his arms.

“Paul Gerrard pounced on Iniesta’s shot! This could have been a great opportunity for Barcelona, but Iniesta’s shot was too delicate!”

Pepe yelled at the back, “Don’t give them that chance again!”

But what was the use? The Forest team could not retreat into the penalty area and stay there for forty-five minutes. They had to fight their way out and press on.

Iniesta’s breakthrough just now should have been terminated by Albertini; If it were George Wood in that position, he would certainly not hesitate to foul.

※※※

“Tony, we need to fight back,” Kerslake cautioned after that gripping scene on the field.

“Of course… If we have the spare energy.” Twain still insisted on solid defense first.

“A single goal lead cannot secure anything.”

“It’s not easy to get even a single goal lead on Barcelona, David.” With that, Twain got up from his seat and headed for the substitutes’ bench. “Freddy, go warm up.”

Eastwood jumped out of his seat, tossed his jacket, and ran out.

After his instruction, Twain returned to his seat in the coaches’ area.

Kerslake smiled. “Ready for a replacement?”

“No, it’s just in case. I don’t expect Viduka to score in front. His job isn’t to score goals. He’s supposed to be a nail fixed in Barcelona’s defensive line so that they don’t act lightly. But if I want to make a change, he’s the only one I can change.”

Kerslake nodded to show that he understood Twain’s thinking.

The Forest team could hardly move in the middle of the backfield because the current defensive system set up was well organized. To simply change players would likely to reveal loopholes for Barcelona to seize.

Therefore, if he wanted to seek change and shift the current passive situation to be more aggressive, the only position he could move was the forward line.

Thinking of it, he turned his head to look at Anelka, sitting on the bench. The French striker had been reticent since he was replaced and did not have any interaction with the others during the halftime interval. He just sat alone in the corner, looking extremely gloomy.

Anelka was actually a good player for counterattacks. If he was not in the starting lineup, then he would be Twain’s first candidate for consideration at this point. It was unfortunate that Edwin van der Sar’s red card had changed the fate of several people.

※※※

Freddy Eastwood was on the sidelines doing his warm-up and staring intently at the field. He focused all of his attention on the game.

When he played at the West Ham United youth team, his biggest dream was to play in a real, professional tournament and become a professional footballer. Later, after his leg was broken by a kick in the game against Nottingham Forest youth team, his only wish was to be able to play again during the half a year after that, which he went to an amateur team for.

He had never thought that all of this would happen.

Twain had come knocking at his door, and he’d become a real professional player. Appearing in a game against Sunderland in the English Football League Championship, he had played in a real professional game. In that game, he had succeeded twice and scored the first two goals of his professional career. Six months later, the team not only managed to be promoted to the English Premier League but also defeated Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup, where he held up the first championship trophy of his career as a main player.

And now he was warming up at the side of Stade de France. Would this high-profile game be another first in his life?

The team was in trouble. Viduka only had one tactical role in the front: to curb the opposing forces. He could not pose a real threat to Barcelona’s goal. Why did the manager ask him to warm up? He would certainly bring him on to play. And why would he bring him onto the field? If he wanted him to still hold back the opposing forces, Eastwood believed the strong Viduka could do a better job.

Obviously, if he were to play, it must be that the manager was unhappy with the situation and demanded more goals. He wanted to bring him on to score goals and really threaten Barcelona’s goal.

What would he do at that point?

While warming up, Eastwood thought about how to change the situation on the field.

※※※

Even though Iniesta’s shot did not score, it brought confidence to the Barcelona players. Soon after, they launched a more violent offensive against the Forest team’s goal.

Deco dribbled the football along the edge of the front of the penalty area, swung his left leg at an angle, and volleyed a shot. Paul Gerrard was barely able to press the football to the ground. Viduka tackled van Bommel after he lost the ball in the midfield and was shown a yellow card by the referee. Twain was equally dissatisfied with that decision. Ever since van der Sar was sent off with a red card, Twain would yell on the sidelines for a while every time the referee made a decision against the Forest team. This time the slow motion showed that Twain’s anger made sense because Viduka shoveled the ball first.

Next, Iniesta made a direct pass in the middle and Ronaldinho was tripped to the ground by Pepe. Barcelona was awarded another free kick at the penalty arc. The free kick by his right foot hit Arteta in the human wall and bounced back. Arteta held his stomach and fell to the ground. Ronaldinho did not mean to kick the football out. He volleyed the shot when he received the ball and this time the football ricocheted off the goal.

Ronaldinho then fooled Chimbonda, who defended against him, with a beautiful feint on the left side of the penalty area. That action won him a loud applause from the stands. After he broke past Chimbonda, he made his shot. This time, the goalkeeper Paul Gerrard made a crucial save again. He unconsciously raised his hands and struck the football, which then deviated from its predetermined trajectory. Eto’o threw himself into nothing in the middle.

“Paul Gerrard—Ahh! Saved by his fingertips!”

Barcelona’s offensive was not over yet. Following that, van Bronckhorst’s cross pass from the sidelines was headed out by Pepe and Deco’s long shot was steadily saved by Paul Gerrard.

The rain had stopped in Paris but the storm in front of Nottingham Forest’s goal became stronger.

“We can’t go on like this,” Twain muttered.

Kerslake knew what Twain was going to do. He ran straight to the area where the players warmed up and called Eastwood back. There was no time for delay.

Twain turned his head and froze when he saw Eastwood already standing by his side.

Until the Romani Gypsy asked him first, “Chief, is it my turn to play?”

“Ah… Well, yes. Freddy. You’ll replace Viduka as the only striker. But your mission is different from Viduka’s. I want you to go up and try your best to score.” Twain pointed with his index finger. “One goal, just one more and Barcelona will collapse.”

Eastwood nodded with a smile. This was exactly as he had anticipated.

“I will, chief.”

“Let’s go out there!” Twain slapped him on the back and pushed him out.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest makes an adjustment. Manager Twain uses Freddy Eastwood to replace Mark Viduka. This is a change in the offense! Looks like Tony Twain is not willing to lead with just one goal. He wants to get more goals and a higher score! This is a bold move, considering how hard-pressed their defense is. They still want to make a change in their offense under these circumstances?”

“This manager has become the focus of attention at home in England with his wildly unpredictable manner. He has shown that side of himself again in the Champions League final.”

Viduka took big gulps of air as he high-fived Eastwood, came off, and shook hands with Twain. For his part, Eastwood ran onto the field and conveyed specific information about the adjustment to the midfielders. Judging by his gestures, it seemed to be about getting the midfielders to do short and direct passes as much as possible.

Eastwood’s advantage was that he was a technical all-rounder and flexible. He was evenly spread out in different areas. He was quick, his shooting was superb, he had remarkable awareness and a menacing long shot. It was employing his talent to the fullest by getting him to shoot as the lone striker.

Eastwood had played for less than two minutes when he snatched a chance right in the front.

This was really a “snatch.”

The Forest team charged forward as Márquez headed the football back to Oleguer at the front of their own penalty area. Oleguer faced Márquez as he went to receive the ball, but the gap between him and the ball was a little wide when he stopped it.

The agile Eastwood ran towards Oleguer when he saw Márquez jump up to prepare for the header. Oleguer’s position was the closest to Márquez and also the most convenient direction for him to head the ball. There was, of course, Puyol on the other side, but Arteta was not far from him and Márquez’s back faced Puyol. It was too risky to head the ball behind.

Eastwood judged correctly. Oleguer received the ball, but because he did not know what was going on behind him, his stopping of the ball was a little sloppy. The ball stopped a little farther from his body.

When Márquez saw Eastwood charge up, it was too late to remind his teammate aloud. Oleguer only felt a hand on his body and then saw a yellow figure running past him.

The ball was intercepted!

“Nottingham Forest intercepted the ball in the front field! Eastwood has just come on and he has already grabbed Oleguer’s ball. His stopping was clumsy!”

“Eastwood! A chance for Nottingham Forest—”

The Barcelona fans booed in the stands. Those noises were interwoven with cheers from the Nottingham Forest fans.

Márquez wanted to extend his leg to block, but Eastwood drove the ball and bypassed him. He had already entered the penalty area! Puyol dashed from behind to press towards Eastwood. Márquez was unwilling to be bypassed just like that. He turned around and gave chase.

The goalkeeper, Valdés, quickly closed in on the corner to block the angle of Eastwood’s shot.

Eastwood was strangely calm, sandwiched between his opponents front and back. He did not give the Barcelona players the chance to completely encircle him. He suddenly swung his leg to shoot at a narrow angle.

“And he shoots!”

The Barcelona goalkeeper, Valdés, quickly reacted. He jumped up and slammed Eastwood’s shot narrowly out of the crossbar with a single palm!

“Valdés saves the team!”

When he saw Eastwood’s shot being thrown out by Valdés, Twain grabbed his head with both hands and nearly struck the coach’s seat. It was a great opportunity which no one had expected to come so easily. But it was a shame not to grab hold of it!

“That’s too bad! Nottingham Forest did not increase their score and Barcelona managed to escape this one. But this gave them a wake-up call; while they tried to press on to equalize the score, Nottingham Forest did not give up the hunt for another goal. They were lying in wait! Tony Twain wanted more goals to lock in the victory.”

Chapter 450 - Five Minutes

Seeing Valdés save the goal from his shot, Eastwood could care less about dodging Puyol’s slide tackle from behind. He went flying out after the opponent slammed into him. When he got up, his head was in his hands. It was a real pity, a true regret.

Tang En and all the rest of the players from Nottingham Forest were feeling the same regret. Almost everyone was doing the same thing: arching backward with their heads in their hands.

An opportunity such as this, to counterattack after directly intercepting a ball in the opponent’s penalty area, was tremendously rare. If they had grasped hold of the chance, they would basically have had a 90 percent chance of scoring a goal. And if it had gone in, it would be the equivalent of giving Nottingham Forest, who had only been passively defending, a shot of reassurance.

But Fate had to toy with Forest at this crucial moment. Valdés’ actions appeared to be a conditioned reflex rather than ones made from his own judgment.

“Valdés’ condition in this match is excellent. As the number two goalkeeper in Spain’s National Team, he is performing at a level that will cause his enemies to despair!”

Tang En knew that the greatest weakness hidden in Barcelona’s defensive line was Oleguer. Through Eastwood’s own observations, he could tell the same thing. So, he chose to press Oleguer for the ball and succeeded. What he did not expect was how outstanding Valdés’ performance today would be.

Eastwood’s shot had frightened Barcelona into a cold sweat. Even up until Forest Team’s coming forward to launch the corner kick, their hearts were still racing frantically.

This time, Barcelona had meticulously prepared their defense against high balls. Forest’s corner kick did not form up to be a threatening attack.

However, if Barcelona was intending to relax, thinking that Forest Team was only lucky, they would certainly be making a mistake.

Immediately after, Forest initiated another attack. In the midfield, Arteta and Albertini executed a wall pass combination and followed up with a direct pass to the front. In the speed contest between Eastwood and Puyol, Eastwood depended on his abundant stamina to win out. At the same time, he let the ball pass him before accelerating suddenly into the penalty area! Seeing Eastwood enter the penalty area, Puyol was left with no choice. His initial turn had been slightly slow and caused him to be stuck behind his opponent. Now, he could only try to disrupt him as much as possible from his back. A sudden tackle at him may only end up awarding them with a penalty kick. That would not be worth it.

“Eastwood! He is full of energy. This is Nottingham Forest’s chance… his one-on-one! Shoot!”

It was a pity. The shot could not be taken from a good angle due to Puyol’s intense harassment and disruption. It was caught by Valdés’ when he dropped to the ground for the save.

“Valdés! His performance allows Barcelona to hold onto some hope!”

※※※

“Ah, f**k! dammit!”

Off the field, Tang En almost jumped as he watched the scene. As the remaining time in the match trickled away, he also began getting agitated.

The only disadvantage about having a single forward was that once that leading figure received the ball, he lacked the support around him and could only depend on his own abilities to dribble and attack the goal. He would not be getting any better opportunities the moment he started to be pressured by his opponent.

Getting to the root of the cause, it was still because Forest was down a player. If it were a full team of 11 players, one of the two opportunities Eastwood had gotten, at the very least, would have scored.

During the last one-on-one, there was hardly anyone on Barcelona’s defensive line thanks to their anxiousness to equalize the score. It allowed Eastwood to easily enter the penalty area. At that time, if there was one more Forest player who could follow up from the middle of the penalty area, Eastwood would have much more room to perform, regardless of whether it was a shot at the goal or a pass to the center. He would not have to make a forced shot after being pressed into a limited angle by Puyol.

Both Arteta and Albertini were already unable to run. At this point, requesting for them to dash forward and follow up would be too unrealistic.

Tang En bit his lip. Edwin van der Sar being called out was the turning point of this match. It created a deep impact on the minutes that came after. With the passing of time, this impact was currently developing towards being more and more advantageous for Barcelona.

Tang En had originally wanted a fair duel with his opponent. He did not expect himself to be forced into a disadvantage from the start.

This was the point that enraged him. He could accept the referee making the call of Giuly’s goal being in effect and giving Edwin van der Sar a yellow card as a warning. This would have a disciplinary effect, and at the same time, guarantee the smooth proceeding of the match and still maintain its entertainment value. Now, Forest Team, with one player less, found it difficult to even save themselves, not to mention play out a beautiful match with Barcelona.

Tang En did not think it was his own goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, who had ruined the match finals. It was that Norwegian main referee, Hauge.

※※※

Having been unable to break the stalemate, Barcelona was also beginning to get anxious.

After a glimpse at the match time on the big screen, Rijkaard decided to take a gamble. In the 71st minute, the Fourth Official signaled for a substitution by Barcelona.

Seeing this, Tang En cast a concerned gaze towards the substitutes’ bench on Barcelona’s side. He saw number two Belletti and number seven Larsson stand up and make their way to the Fourth Official.

Even their choices of substitutions were the same!

Kerslake was also watching. He felt great admiration for Tony for being able to make an accurate guess of the substitutes they would be putting in. However, he was not aware that Tang En was feeling a completely different emotion.

“Barcelona makes a substitution. Rijkaard finishes up all three of his substitutions. He is going all in for this! This is entirely a substitution for the attack. Larsson substitutes defending midfielder Mark van Bommel, while Belletti substitutes in for fullback Oleguer Presas, who has been performing terribly.”

These would perhaps be the final two straws that broke the camel’s back.

Tang En stood up from his seat and hurriedly strode to the sidelines. Taking the chance when Barcelona was proceeding with the substitutions, he blew on his whistle into the field, signaling Forest’s players to look at him.

“Mark down Eto’o and Larsson! Take note of Belletti’s forward cut from behind, and defend in our wings! Don’t give them an opportunity!”

In his recollection, it was precisely the two players that Rijkaard substituted in during the final minutes of the second half that had changed the results of the match. Larsson had assisted Eto’o in scoring the equalizer. And later, a combination from Belletti and Larsson would allow them to cut into the penalty area from the side. Belletti would then receive Larsson’s pass and shoot a tightly angled shot, passing through the crotch of Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Almunia, and scoring the goal that overtook their opponents.

Tang En believed that so long as they marked these three key players down, Barcelona’s attack would end there. Forest would then doubtless attain victory. He would become the youngest and most successful manager. Forest Team and his name would be carved into UEFA Champions League’s history, as well as the history of European football.

Ultimately, ideals are beautiful things.

※※※

As per Tang En’s instructions, Forest very quickly adjusted their defensive strategy. They fortified their control of the two corridors in the wings and the defense against Eto’o and Larsson.

Just as Tang En had predicted, Eto’o took the initiative to switch to the wings after being unable to find a path through the middle. He hoped to make use of his speed to create an opportunity in the flanks.

He was helpless. It was as if Forest knew what he was going to do. He had only just switched to the wings when he saw Forest’s defensive focus following him over. In the middle, he often had to go up against two on his own; and now, it was the same in the flanks.

Five minutes passed. Up until this point, there were no visible effects of Barcelona’s substitution of the two.?Conversely, Forest’s defense was right in position. Larsson had basically been pinned down by Pepe; he could hardly make a turn, not to mention lifting a foot to kick at the goal.

Eto’o was also squeezed out of the penalty area by the compact defense, having no choice but to move around in the wings instead.

Belletti? While he managed to cut forward, he could only pass the ball around in the outer area.

Iniesta passed the ball to Larsson. Larsson, who was back facing the goal, was unable to shoot. The only thing he could do was pass the ball out again. Seeing Larsson in possession, Eto’o begin to cut inwards from the wings, planning on a combination with Larsson. Upon seeing this, Forest’s fullback, Chimbonda, gritted his teeth and followed in a run after Eto’o, pressing close to him and refusing to let him easily receive the ball.

In a moment, everyone’s gaze became focused on Eto’o.

But Larsson did not follow the script in Tang En’s heart, in which he passed the ball to Eto’o who was cutting forward. He made a show of doing so, but instead, passed the ball to Ronaldinho in front of him!

Did anyone take notice of the Brazilian?

No.

Albertini had run off into the wings to assist in defending against Eto’o, while Arteta was keeping an eye on Larsson. Pepe was also in close engagement with Larsson. At the same time, Piqué was guarding Giuly. Not a single person had noticed Ronaldinho, who had quietly retreated.

The Brazilian did not wait to see Forest’s players react. He received the ball and volleyed!

Paul Gerrard tried his best to save the shot, but Ronaldinho had shot all too suddenly. He had no time to prepare at all. Jumping from where he was would not get him close enough to the ball…

“GOOOOAL! GOOOOOOAL!!” The Catalan commentator rose from his seat. They had been waiting much too long for this moment.

“Barcelona equalizes the score! Ronaldinho has become the hero of his team!”

“Nottingham Forest’s hard work has completely gone down the drain!”

The passionate shouts of the various nations at the commentators’ area merged into a wave of noise.

Barcelona’s fans within Stade de France were all effervescent. They loudly cheered on Ronaldinho’s name, their hero.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest’s players were standing on the field in a daze, looking in disbelief at the football sitting within the net.

Nearing 40 minutes of hard work, and it had all just vaporized.

After sprinting on a dead run after Eto’o, even someone like Chimbonda had to lie on the ground, stretching out his legs as much as possible. They were cramping.

Barcelona’s technical area and substitutions’ bench were full of joyous cheers. Nottingham Forest’s side, however, was devoid of spirit.

Tang En leaned back on his chair, not even able to muster up a curse.

Barcelona had equalized the score as “planned.” But the scorer was not Eto’o. It was Ronaldinho instead! A candidate he had not thought of. He had put all his focus on the person in his recollection and ended up neglecting one who was extremely dangerous to begin with.

This was his mistake. He was in no position to curse it.

In the beginning, the situation was oddly similar. It made him think that this match would turn out to follow the script within his recollection. In fact, he had even thought that it might not be a bad idea. His advantage over the others lay in the fact that he had his pre-transmigration memories. He knew what would be happening in the later parts of the match, so he could implement strategies to counter it beforehand. That was why he had made the team defend so tightly against Eto’o and Larsson whilst keeping a close eye on the wings; the two goals from Barcelona were both initiated and completed from the wings.

But his cleverness had turned around and bit him instead.?His success came from transmigrating, and so did his failure… The things he knew beforehand limited his own scope of thinking, and he was unable to surpass it. In the end, he was led by the nose by his own memories.

He leaned back in the chair and looked up at the sky. He suddenly remembered. In his memory, the final match did not start off with rain. In its first half, there was not a single raindrop. The heavy rain only began in the second half…

He felt a headache and reached out to press on his temples.

How did it turn out this way?

※※※

In the 71st minute, Rijkaard had made a final substitution, deciding to take a gamble. Five minutes later, in the 76th minute, Ronaldinho received Larsson’s pass and took a long shot that helped his team equalize the score.

After that, Forest’s momentum disappeared in an instant. In the face of such a severe blow, Forest, formed of mostly young players, was somewhat unable to recover from it.

Albertini had gone through enormous waves and tides in the span of his professional career. But at this point, there was nothing he could do beyond using his words to drum up everyone’s morale; he was too tired and could no longer run. With a player down, Forest Team had already needed the 10 remaining players to run more to compensate for the numerical disadvantage. A sense of responsibility made Albertini run even more than the others. Chimbonda had already fallen to the ground, his legs cramping, while Albertini had also on several occasions skirted close to getting a cramp.

In this kind of situation, loudly shouting for his teammates not to give up was a futile effort. Everyone’s stamina had already reached its limit. Anybody could shout a few slogans, but it would not be able to spur everyone’s fighting spirit.

If George Wood was present, he never would shout any slogan. But he could use his own crazed running to spur the madness hiding within the depths of the hearts of his teammates. Many a time, actions were much more powerful than words; doing”was always better than saying.

It was a pity. At this moment, the person who could make his entire team go on a frenzy with him was sitting within the VIP room high up on the spectators’ stands. He was with his mother and the club’s chairman, a fly on the wall watching.

※※※

Logically, even with Barcelona’s equalizer, the Forest Team was not yet certain to lose. They could still drag the match time until it went into extension and a penalty shoot-out. In that manner, even though there may be more people falling to the ground due to cramps, it was still better than losing the match within 90 minutes. But the loss of the goal was an enormous psychological blow to the young members of Forest.

All their hard work fighting without any regard for their own bodies, going all out… What was it for? Wasn’t it precisely so they could maintain the one-goal lead on Barcelona?

Now that this single advantage was gone, no one noticed that they still had the opportunity of playing into match extension, of entering the penalty shoot-out. They carried on the match, distracted and out of sorts as if they had lost their souls.

Other than mechanically defending, they were at a loss about what else they could do; they had no ability to attack and no stamina left. What else could they do except defend?

Tang En did not hope for Barcelona to drag it out until the match extension. Based on his team’s current physical status, a match extension was only 30 minutes of time before their certain death.

He needed to enhance their attack. Defending at this point was not the least bit helpful.

He called up Bendtner from the substitutes’ bench.

He was going to continue using his final card to adjust the forward line. Tang En intended on going all out. He was not going to care anymore about inane things such as what the match looked like in his recollection, or what it would become. He only knew that if the match went into extension, Forest would be finished.

He needed a goal.

“Nicklas. No need to warm-up. You’re going in now, we’re running out of time. Remember, when you’re up there you must score. Try all means and get a goal! I don’t care what method you use, so long as you can get a goal in! If you want to use your hand to hit the ball in, just don’t let that bastard of a referee catch you! If you want to do a flop to earn a penalty kick, then make it look real!”

Just as Tang En grabbed Nicklas Bendtner to make the final arrangements, Barcelona again launched a successful assault.?Ronaldinho and Deco pulled off a wall pass at the front of the penalty area. Just as everyone thought Ronaldinho would use his own technique to invade the penalty area, he abruptly threw out a diagonal pass. This time, his target was Eto’o, who had cut into the middle from the flanks.

“Eto’o- Eto’o! It’s a goal! It’s a goal—Oh lord, they’ve gotten a streak of two goals within five minutes, overtaking the score!”

The spectators’ stands suddenly exploded with a tsunami of cheers, making Tang En jump on the sidelines.

Assistant manager David Kerslake, who was beside him, furiously threw out the tactical board he held.

Tang En looked back with wide eyes. He saw Barcelona’s players in frenzied celebration of their goal. They piled up one on top of another, squashing Eto’o right at the bottom. Meanwhile, Forest’s players were standing woodenly on the field.

“F**k… This is ridiculous!”

The players behind on the substitutes’ bench covered their faces and held their heads, unwilling to look at their joyful opponents.

Bendtner stood beside Tang En and hesitated, asking, “Boss… do you still… do you still need me to go in?”

Tang En twisted around to look at the field and gritted his teeth. “Yes!”

He then turned back to look at Bendtner. “Do you still remember what I just told you?”

Bendtner nodded.

Chapter 451 - Do as He Likes

“Eto’o——Eto’o! Shot! The ball went in! Unbelievable! They scored two goals within five minutes and equalized the score! They moved like lightning....Nottingham Forest could not respond at all!”

“The game has reversed in an instant! Nottingham Forest’s advantage was completely obliterated! Tony Twain’s team held their ground for fifty minutes and did not manage to hold on to their one-goal lead. They played too conservatively!”

“Had it not been for the send-off by the Norwegian referee, this game shouldn’t have been like this. Nottingham Forest’s performance before this equalizer was strong and they almost became victors. This is really too bad.”

The various commentators from different countries expressed their views on the goal. Those inclined towards Barcelona naturally applauded it, and those leaning towards Nottingham Forest lamented on behalf of Twain.

At the top level of Stade de France in the VIP box seats, when he saw Eto’o score the equalizer, Evan Doughty did not care that there were other people around and just smacked his thigh. Sitting next to him, Allan lightly shook his head. Their favorable situation had just slipped right out of their sight.

Sophia obviously knew what had happened on the field. She turned her head to look at George, sitting next to her.

Her son stared at the field expressionlessly. She did not know what was on his mind.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest has asked for a substitution. The number 9, Nicklas Bendtner will replace Chimbonda, who has muscle cramps. This is Manager Tony Twain’s last substitution, which is still an adjustment on the front line. This situation is ironic, seeing how everyone says that the Forest team is a symbol of conservative play and utilitarianism. But in this game, Manager Twain’s two substitutions have been to use the offensive players to replace the defensive players...If they did not have a player sent off, perhaps the Forest team wouldn’t have fared that much worse than Barcelona.”

Nicklas Bendtner sprinted onto the field. There were still nine minutes before the game entered the injury-stoppage time.

Could he actually be the hero who saved the team at the last minute?

No one knew.

Having equalized the score, Barcelona began to retreat and defend while Nottingham Forest stepped up its offense. Twain’s substitution told his men that they should stop defending and start attacking in the final moments.

Albertini gnashed his teeth to persevere. He could not run any longer, but he still charged up for a long shot. This long shot was quite powerful. It brushed against the crossbar and flew out. Valdés was startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

“Nicholas Bendtner! A header!”

This time, the Danish kid’s close shot was too direct and ended up being embraced by Valdés.

Rijkaard could not sit still. He walked out of his seat, folded his arms across his chest, and stood on the sidelines, staring nervously at the field.

Those two goals were not so much due to the substitutions he had made, but his luck. Before the goal, even though Barcelona appeared to be pressing on the Forest team hard, the number of times their shots threatened the goal was less than that of the Forest team. They had few real opportunities to do so.

Twain could not sit still either. He stood on the sidelines, waving and growling to get the team to press on again and again.

“Stop f**king defending! Attack!”

Arteta dribbled the ball in the middle to force a breakthrough and fell to the ground after he broke into the penalty area. Shouts broke out in the stands.

“Penalty kick!” Twain jumped up.

But the referee whistled and gave Arteta a yellow card to indicate that he had just dived!

“Damn the blind referee to hell!” Twain did not care about the penalty. He just cursed and swore. When he saw his players go up to the referee to reason with him, he yelled at them, “Stop arguing! It’s a waste of time!”

In last few minutes of the game, Barcelona, which represented artistic and beautiful football, was overwhelmed in its own penalty area by Nottingham Forest, which symbolized utilitarianism. They were in an extremely thorny situation.

“This time it’s Eastwood… passing… Why is he still passing?! It’s not enough, he played too timidly!”

“Pepe dribbles the ball forward and bypasses Ronaldinho! Eto’o runs after him… Foul! It looks like the Cameroonian is going to get a yellow card.”

“This is Nottingham Forest’s free kick in the front field....Paul Gerrard rushed up! That’s really insane...”

“Gerrard did not grab the ball. The football is still at the foot of the Forest players. He did not run back to his own goal but continued to stay in the front field. The entire Forest team is going crazy!”

If the rules had allowed, Twain even wanted to rush up himself to shoot.

When the Barcelona players saw Paul Gerrard did not return to defend, they all wanted to grab the ball and directly shoot at the goal from a long distance. If one of them had scored such a goal in the Champions League final, his name would forever be written in history.

Eto’o captured the ball again from the Forest players with his aggressive tackle. When he looked up and saw Paul Gerrard desperately dashing back to defend, he wanted to get ready to shoot.

Just at that time, Albertini rushed out from the side and fiercely tackled him, causing him to fly out with the ball!

“Albertini! A timely foul!”

“He should get a red card for that foul!”

As the game was nearing the end, the commentators from the two different countries also became distinct. The English commentators supported the Forest team, while the Catalonian and Spanish commentators were on the side of Barcelona.

Perhaps because the game was in the final moments, the referee finally softened his stance and showed Albertini a yellow card, which made the Barcelona players a little disgruntled. They surrounded the referee for a reason and actually wanted to take the opportunity to waste the time in the game.

Albertini got up and made a gesture to the referee to alert him of the Barcelona players’ trick.

※※※

The final moments of the game were very chaotic, with one team trying to waste the time in the game and the other going all out to try to equalize the score. Both teams were cantankerous. A conflict was almost certain to happen. Almost every foul would draw a confrontation between the players of both sides.

Twain felt helpless as he looked at the out-of-control situation on the field.

He could already anticipate that outcome.

History had corrected its path at its most critical moment. No matter what method he used, it was still that outcome in the end. It was the same as how people never cared about the process, they only cared about the outcome. No matter how much a “bug” like the Forest team had changed the process, as long as the outcome had not changed, then people would think that history had not changed.

Twain looked up at the sky and could not see anything with the brilliant lights lighting up the entire stadium. The night sky was suffused with light. He just gazed at the sky until he heard the three whistles coming from the field and the cheers that exploded afterward.

※※※

“The game’s over! Barcelona is the new European champion! Congratulations to them! They defeated Nottingham Forest. This was a bitter fight! But no matter, they are now the victors, the king of Europe!”

“Congratulations to Barcelona! This Barcelona team looks like an invincible fleet!”

“The European champion, Barcelona! They proved that the optimistic predictions about them before the game were right. They were superb and deserved to win!”

Cheers rang out through the Parisian night sky.

Twain withdrew his gaze and stood up from his seat. Beside him, the substitutes’ bench and the coaching staff were silent. The Nottingham Forest people seemed unable to accept this defeat.

They had played spectacularly and were unstoppable for a season, with powerful opponents bowing down to them, and now they were finally defeated.

No, have we lost?

At least Twain did not admit it.

“Don’t keep quiet. Come with me to console the players.” Twain said to Kerslake, who sat next to him and covered his face with his hands.

※※※

The young Arteta crouched on the ground, supported by his hands so that he did not fall. He had just cried, and his face was obviously streaked with tears.

Albertini was already doing what Twain and Kerslake were going to do before they came onto the field.

As the captain and weathered veteran of the team, defeats, and victories had dominated equally in his career. He already knew how to face such a loss.

Now he was comforting his teammates one by one on the field. He comforted Arteta, Leighton Baines, Paul Gerrard, Nicklas Bendtner… One by one as he went along. Twain and Kerslake appeared to be superfluous as they walked up.

Twain wanted to say something, but he could not say anything when he opened his mouth as he watched the players lying on the ground.

He could only walk up, pat them on the shoulder one by one, and rub their heads.

It was no use to say any more at this time. He should leave the comforting and encouraging words until they had calmed down.

After the brief comforting of everyone, Twain turned and walked to the tunnel, where the reporters gathered.

“Mr. Twain, please say a few words for the interview!” He was stopped by countless reporters over there.

“There’s nothing to say. We won against Barcelona but lost to the referee. It’s as simple as that.” Twain was a little impatient and wanted to leave, but was held back again.

“With all due respect, Mr. Twain, on the question about the referee. Van der Sar’s foul indeed warranted a red card according to the rules.”

“That’s right. According to the rules, it’s should have been a red card.” Twain nodded. “But if all the penalties have to be so rigid, why do we let people be referees? Why don’t we just use a robot, or put hundreds of cameras around the field and watch the slow-motion replay to enforce a game? I don’t want to criticize the standards of this referee, but unfortunately, the referee enforcing this Champions League final has no idea what the art of enforcement is!

“We were already short one player eighteen minutes into the game and we were still ahead of Barcelona until the seventy-sixth minute under those circumstances. I am proud of and satisfied with the performance of my team. Is Barcelona strong? Perhaps to everyone else. For me, they’re far inferior to my team. I don’t think that a team is strong when they barely win at the last minute with so many world-class star players. I proclaim that the Champions League title belongs to Nottingham Forest. No matter what you all think, we are the real champions.”

Facing countless microphones, recording pens and cell phones, Twain said with his arms held high, “This is Nottingham Forest Football Club’s third championship trophy in history. Thank you!”

With that, he turned away and left the mixed zone, ignoring the shouts and urges to stay from the reporters.

※※※

In the box, Evan Doughty shook hands with the Barcelona club president, Laporta. The latter had a dazzling smile on his face and shook Evan’s hand vigorously.

While Evan Doughty could barely squeeze out a smile, he tried his best to be polite and gracious in front of his opponent. He dealt with his opponent’s consoling words. But his gaze flicked towards Sophia, who stood alone at the door of the box. Her son had already left the box, which was full of hypocritical shows of friendliness and flattery.

※※※

Twain encountered Wood at the entrance of the locker room.

“Why did you not stay with your mother?”

“I wanted to come down and have a look.”

“What do you think of this game?”

“Luck was not on our side.”

Twain snorted, “Luck? Well, maybe.” He pointed behind him. “They’re still crying on the field. Go on.”

Wood nodded and walked past Twain.

Twain pushed open the locker room door and saw Edwin van der Sar, sitting alone inside. Because he was sent off with a red card, he could not even go to the substitutes’ bench. He could only sit in the locker room and watch the game broadcasted on the television.

When he saw Twain walk in, Edwin van der Sar rose from his seat. “I’m so sorry…”

Twain waved to stop his apology.

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for. You’ve done a great job. We probably wouldn’t even have gotten into the final without you. Go out there and be with the team. Don’t just sit here alone.”

Edwin van der Sar went out and only Twain was left in the locker room. He sat down and leaned against the wall. To unload the heavy burdened feeling, he let out a long sigh.

Although he took the opportunity of the interview to give vent to his feelings just now, the sense of loss had not been alleviated at all.

He needed to play a variety of roles in front of people, always wearing different faces. Now that there was no one else in the locker room but him, he could finally reveal a tiny bit of frustration.

He rubbed his hair. His carefully-combed hair before the game was ruffled into a mess.

By all accounts, as a half-baked manager who had led his team to participate in the Champions League for the first time, it was considered a great success to be able to reach the final. Anyone would have been happy with that. Being the runner-ups in the English Premier League and Champions League were really good results for a team like Nottingham Forest.

However, Twain was unwilling to accept it. He did not stand a chance to the league champion because Chelsea was too strong and the point difference between them was too great. He pinned all his hopes on the Champions League and the Forest team overcame all the difficulties to go all the way to the final. They were only one step short of success. No, it was only half a step. One half-step. For a while, he felt like his hand had already grabbed hold of the handle of the Champions League trophy. He just needed less than twenty minutes before he could take the home.

If he was going to fail, would it not be better for him to be eliminated in the Champions League group stage? Why was he played like that?

Godd**n you… Sonofab**ch God...

Twain felt like throwing things, but he did not want the players to come back later and find the locker room in a state, so he just sat in his chair and sulked.

It was a long while before he heard the locker room door being pushed open.

David Kerslake appeared in front of him. “Tony? Tony?”

“Yes?”

“Time to go out and receive the award.”

“Receive the award? What award?” Twain asked in a very unpleasant tone.

“Uh… The silver medal.” Kerslake was alarmed by Twain’s tone.

“I’m not going!”

“Tony…”

“What’s the point of it? To mark the disgrace of a loser? A bulls**t silver medal? There’s only one champion. What’s the point of giving out a silver medal? It’s redundant! Go out and smile like a contrast to the victors? To make their champion look brilliant? I refuse to go! Isn’t Barcelona good? Let them play on their own!” Twain growled at Kerslake inside the empty locker room. His angry voice echoed in Kerslake’s ears.

“Tony, that won’t look good.” Kerslake was startled. He did not know what else to do, except to try and persuade him.

“Why not? It’s good for them! This big and glorious arena belongs to the champion team, how nice it is for them! Why should we butt in as losers?”

Twain sat down and stopped talking. There was only the sound of his heavy breathing in the locker room. Kerslake stood before him, at a loss as to what to do.

It was at this time that Evan Doughty came in.

“What’s wrong?”

Kerslake looked at the chairman as if he had seen the Savior, “Mr. Chairman...Tony, he refused to receive the award....”

Evan looked at Twain, who sat in a chair and sulked. Then he said to Kerslake, “You go out first. He’ll be out soon.”

Kerslake nodded and turned to leave.

When he closed the locker room door, Evan said to Twain, “Tony, it’s inappropriate for you to do this. You’re making it hard for your assistant.”

“I know. I just wanted to vent for a bit, but he came at the wrong time.” Twain’s tone was not as agitated as it had been earlier. “I’m sorry.”

“You should say those words to David yourself. It’s not easy being your assistant. In addition to helping you with your work, he has to put up with your venting...”

Twain scratched his head.

“I can understand your anger. I’m just as upset about this damn game as you are. But… don’t give people a handle to attack you. Don’t antagonize people too much, Tony. Listen to me. Go out and receive the award. The players are looking to you.”

His last remark coaxed Twain. Yes, no matter how upset and angry he was about the game, he could vent his displeasure in this locker room, but he could not let his players, who had fought for ninety minutes, bear his fury. As a manager, it was unseemly to shut himself inside here and leave his men behind.

He got up from his chair and said, “All right, I’ll go. But it’s not because I’m giving the UEFA face. I’m giving—”

Evan patted him on the shoulder and interrupted, “I know. You’re doing this for your team. Let’s go.”

※※※

The UEFA bigwigs waited until Twain finally walked out of the tunnel. When Twain came out, he suddenly became the focus of media attention. It seemed that since he was late, everyone was fully aware of his dissatisfaction with the game.

The Barcelona players and coaches were still celebrating their victory. They did not care about the feelings of a loser or that Twain was late.

Twain glanced at those men without the slightest smile on his face.

He was resolved not to give face to the UEFA.

The Forest players came on stage one by one to accept their silver medals. They were listless and only politely replied in single sentences when the UEFA officials offered words of consolation.

Twain was the last to go up. As the youngest manager previously given special publicity by the UEFA, he did not act appreciative at all. He walked up with a grim expression, as if someone close to him had died, and shook hands with the UEFA president, Lennart Johansson, who was in charge of giving out the awards. Instead of bowing his head and letting the other person put the medal on him, he took it straight and clenched it in his hand as he turned around and walked down.

He could not recall what Johansson had said to him as he basically did not listen at all.

Evan Doughty saw this scene from below and could only shake his head helplessly. He knew Twain’s temperament well. He had relented by being willing to come out and accept the award.

However, the matter was not over yet. Just as everyone was looking forward to the winners coming to the stage, the cameras focused their lens on that idiosyncratic manager.

As Twain walked down, he saw the Barcelona people holding their arms high and cheering, as well as the four on-duty referees standing on the edge of the platform preparing to take the stage to receive their awards. He then made a move that came as a surprise to everyone and was faithfully recorded in the live television footage.

He turned around and saw a ball boy standing on the sidelines, holding a digital camera, a notebook, and a marker. He was waiting there, ready to take a photo with his idol and ask for an autograph. It was nothing out of the ordinary; Twain had seen quite a few such people. He went straight over to the boy and hung the silver medal around his neck. He then turned around and walked away without hesitation under the surprised gaze of the young ball boy.

The television commentator saw this scene on the screen and simply did not know what to say.

The UEFA officials over there had just given him the silver medal, and he just gave it away casually. That was not giving the UEFA face, was it?

After Twain disappeared into the tunnel, the broadcast immediately cut to the award officials, and sure enough, an awkward smile hung on each of their faces.

No one had expected Tony Twain to do that in front of so many people, had they?

Evan Doughty covered his face.

Tony, you bastard.

Chapter 452 - A New Beginning

As the losers, there was nothing else to say about the situation after the match. Evan Doughty took a trip to the hotel the team was residing in after the match. He honored his promise about the prize money at the scene, managing to at least bring some smiles to the disappointed players.

Tang En did not receive his prize money, shutting himself in his room.

To the others, perhaps it seemed as if he was still angry about losing the match and was still furious over the referee issue. In truth, that was only the impression he gave others. He was, in fact, blaming himself for his own mistakes.

Often, he felt he was practically invincible, having knowledge of the future. He thought he could depend on it to make a mark for himself, carving out a fabulous life. It was his little secret, a secret that no one would ever know, no matter how close to him they were. He used his knowledge to unearth future superstar footballers in advance, smoothing the path for his own rise.

He had believed everything would be a bed of roses.

He had not expected himself to become bound by the pre-transmigration memories in the finals of the Champions League, causing him to be filled with misgivings. His whole mind was clouded with what that match was originally like; it was filled with the match that occurred altogether in another dimension, the match that had nothing to do with the one today!

He could see it as having been made a fool of, but who exactly was making a fool of him? Was it Fate? No, it was himself.

So, Tang En shut himself in his room, switching off his cell phone to make sure no one could disturb him. In this sealed-off space, he began to reflect on everything he had done in the past.

He had transmigrated from April 2007. The memories he had ahead of this timeline were going to expire in a year. What was he going to do then?

Would he be unable to move forward without his pre-transmigration memories? If so, did that mean that the results of his two-plus seasons of management were from living off his past gains?

Didn’t he usually also do thorough research on the coaching notes Dunn left behind in the house? Or read countless theory books, analyze match recordings, and secretly learn from the managerial team whenever possible??He had never thought that he would have been able to survive in this cruel world of fame and wealth only depending on his four and a half years of pre-transmigration memories.

This was not a game like Championship Manager or FM, a game published by their club in cooperation with SI. Life would not give him any chances to load a past save if he made a mistake or lost a game. He also could not use shameless methods like adding more managers to gain the results he hoped for.

Losing the Champions League’s finals to Barcelona was a catalyst for Tang En.

He needed to completely leave behind the memories of his past and throw off the ropes that bound him. He wanted to see if he was still able to carry on in this position without his pre-transmigration memories—his cheat code and editing tool.

Back when he was interviewed after making his name in the EFL Championship, he had told Professor Constantine that he himself was a “born manager.” Now, he wanted to prove the accuracy of his statement. Did he really deserve to sit in that position? Did he get to his position because of his luck, when he had transmigrated into an unlucky someone who happened to already be an interim manager??Or did he walk, step-by-step, to where he was today because of genuine talent and ability?

After the finals, he hoped he would be able to find the answer.

※※※

After losing the match, no one felt good. Even though manager Tony did not announce a time for them to be lights-out by, most of Forest’s players returned to their rooms and closed their doors.

After Evan Doughty and Allan Adams finished giving out the prize money, they came to Tang En’s door.

“He’s still inside?” Allan asked Kerslake.

Kerslake nodded. “Yes. Since getting off the bus, he’s been locked in there.”

“Did he say anything to you?” Allan said.

“No, he didn’t say a word. He had a gloomy expression the whole time, so I didn’t dare to ask.”

Allan recalled the scene during the award ceremony.

“This Tony… he’s just like a kid.” He could only shake his head helplessly.

“Do you need me to call an attendant to open the door?” Kerslake asked.

Evan Doughty raised his hand, dismissing the notion. “No, let him have a good rest. Don’t disturb him. The pressure he bears is greater than any of us. It’s not totally unreasonable for him to need to vent a little and throw a tantrum. Let’s go. You should rest earlier too, David.”

“I will. Goodnight.”

The two bid their goodbyes to the team’s assistant manager and walked towards the lift.

“Evan, there are times when I think you indulge him a bit too much.” Evidently, Allan still harbored a grudge over the occurrence at the award ceremony today. Why did he harbor a grudge? Of course, it was because Tang En’s moment of rashness had destroyed Allan’s hard work in building up good relations and a good image with the UEFA… did anyone really think the UEFA would pay so much attention to Forest Team, even getting people to film a documentary, only because of their outstanding results? Without Allan working in the background, how was all that possible?

The two stood, waiting for the elevator. Evan Doughty smiled. “Of course, I know.”

“And you still…”

“As a manager, Allan, I need to apply management styles based on the unique qualities of my subordinates. I know what kind of person Tony is, so I treat him differently than I treat the others. He needs absolute trust and support given to him. He will then reward you very, very richly. He is not the kind where a little investment turns up good profits; a trade in which a tiny investment reaps bountiful rewards.” At that moment, Evan Doughty did not look like how he described himself: someone with good luck who only achieved as much as he had through the help of others.

“You’ve seen the results with him leading the team. I don’t think we can find anyone more suited to be Forest’s main manager. He has brought us many victories and glory… As such, in exchange, we have to bear with his terrible temper and sometimes even clean up after him.”

Evan turned to smile at his old partner. Allan looked back at him. The two stared at each other in that manner until they heard the ringing bell from the elevator.

“I know… I will try to restore our relations with the UEFA,” Allan sighed.

“I knew I could trust you, Allan.”

“You can stop licking my boots!” Allan said, glaring at Evan Doughty.

“Evan, I have to remind you. Tony is a violent-tempered horse; he runs fast, has a lot of potential, and can spur the team to charge into the enemy lines with him and bring us a lot of profit and glory. But you’d best find a tough enough rope to tether him with. If one day, you feel that he has stepped past what you can bear, pull on it.”

As he was making the motion of pulling back, he found Evan Doughty missing from beside him. Evan was already standing in the elevator. He reminded him, “It’s going to close if you don’t come in, Allan.”

Allan was momentarily stunned, but hastily slipped in upon seeing the closing doors.

※※※

Tang En did not know how he fell asleep. He remembered having returned to the hotel and locking himself in his room to reflect after the loss of the match. He did not even take a shower or remove his clothes before laying on his bed to reflect. As he was thinking and thinking, having had such a busy day and with such enormous psychological stress on him, he gradually fell asleep.

By the time he woke up again, it was already the next day. The day had yet to lighten up. Everything was pitch black outside and he could not see a thing.

The team would be leaving Paris on a flight today to return to Nottingham. Then, they would announce the team’s dismissal over there. The new period of vacation was to begin today.

After sleeping, his mood was much better than yesterday. The pressure was gone too. The only thing left was the despair from having lost the match; that had not been reduced in any way. Humans were always pining after things they had lost, filled with yearning for the things they could not get. Tang En still felt disappointment and regret when he thought about how they had been so close to becoming the European champions.

But what was lost was lost. Further regret, regretting until his death, would be useless. What was lost would not come back. He had to look forward instead.

Tang En hopped off the bed. He did not move to wash up, instead directly walking to the window and drawing the curtains. He looked out at the darkened night outside. It was so dark that he could not see any starlight.

Was this the legendary darkness before dawn?

After a brief period of standing in front of the windows in a stupor, Tang En walked back. Remembering that his cell phone was still switched off, he picked it up from his pillow side.

He had only just switched it on when more than 10 messages rapidly came in.

Most of it was comforting words or encouragements.

Of course, there were also some exceptions.

Clarice Gloria was exceptionally interested in Tang En’s shocking actions during the award ceremony. Her message expressed her surprise about it.

Looking at the message, Tang En then recalled what he had done at the scene yesterday. Now that he had calmed down, he realized, on hindsight, how inappropriate his actions were. In front of the 80-thousand strong live audience and countless television audience, he had given away the silver medal just presented to him by the UEFA… Although that medal was already his and he had the right to do anything he wanted with it, his actions in that situation, time, and context would easily be interpreted as a mockery and provocation of UEFA; in fairness, that was exactly what he had meant.

He knew that he had stirred up some trouble for the club again. He did not care about being fined; it was worth it if he lost some money in exchange for venting his frustrations at such a huge event. He was worried that he would be banned from matches by the UEFA. If that happened, it would be extremely disadvantageous to the team’s journey in next season’s Champions League.

Perhaps he should ask Gloria for a favor, and ask her to use her connections and influence in the circle to intercede in his case?

Tang En placed his finger on the reply button but did not press it in the end.

He could not bear to beg.

Dunn’s message was very simple. He did not express any consolation or regret. He just told him that the entire match had been recorded and was waiting for a thorough analysis after he got home.

Why else would he say the two of them were in tandem? While Tang En on this side was still reflecting on his mistakes in the match, Dunn, on the other end, had already recorded the whole match. He was just waiting for Tang En to get home so they could analyze and reflect on it together. Having a helper with such great chemistry with him in the next season gave Tang En even more confidence that he could rebuild and make a comeback.

In truth, the 10 or more messages were not representative of an equal number of people sending them. This cell phone number was private, so there were only a few who knew it.

Other than a handful of people, the rest of the messages were all sent by one person: Shania.

Evidently, Shania was extremely worried about him switching off his cell phone. From the short intermissions between each of her sent messages, Tang En could clearly see the fluctuation in Shania’s emotions; from consolation to encouragement, then doubt, anxiety, and fear…

“It’s no big deal. There are always wins and losses in football, Uncle Tony.”

“You’ll still have opportunities in the future. This is definitely not going to be your only experience in the finals of the Champions League!”

“You’ve switched off your phone? Why?”

“Switch it back on, Uncle Tony!”

“Hey, what are you doing? This is just a match! Is it worth this? Reply to me!”

“Uncle Jerk, I’m not going to care about you anymore if you don’t reply!”

“Alright, I surrender! I’m still going to care about you. Now, you’ll switch your phone back on, right?”

All those messages only expressed one thing: worry.

As Tang En read them, the depressive mood he was in gradually lightened.

He originally intended on directly giving Shania a call to apologize, but upon realizing the time, was afraid he would wake the girl up. He could only type a message and send it over instead.

“I’m alright, I’m good. Everything is OK. Thank you for your concern, and I’m sorry to worry you.”

※※※

When Nottingham Forest’s players awoke one after another and came down for breakfast after washing up, they were surprised to find their boss already sitting in the seat nearest to the windows. He was using the bright sunlight of the early morning to read the paper.

“Boss…” Ribéry greeted.

Hearing someone call out to him, Tang En raised his head.

“Oh, Franck. Perfect timing. Come here and give me a hand with the newspaper. I can’t understand French,” Tang En said, pointing to the newspaper in his hands.

Ribéry was tempted to roll his eyes. To think you looked so focused earlier with the papers… You can’t understand a single word…

He walked over and took over the paper. Glancing through it quickly, his face immediately changed.

“What?” Tang En asked, sitting on the chair and looking up at him.

“Uh… nothing. It’s just about the brief interlude during yesterday’s award ceremony…”

Tang En nodded. “Oh, oh. That I know. I want to hear about their commentary.”

“They… they say you’re arrogant, eccentric, rash, easy to anger, have a bad temper, and have no style… Anyhow, it’s not anything good, Boss.”

Tang En laughed. “What do you think about yesterday?”

“At the time, I thought it was pretty cathartic…”

“Haha, that’s good then. Go eat.” Tang En took back the newspapers, indicating his consent for Ribéry to leave.

The Frenchman did not leave immediately. He stood there and asked, “Boss, this isn’t our final time participating in the Champions League’s finals, is it?”

Tang En shook is head.

At this, Ribéry was satisfied, turning around to head over to the restaurant for breakfast.

The players came down one after another, greeting Tang En and then getting shooed by him to the restaurant. It was only when David Kerslake walked out of the elevator that Tang En took the initiative to greet him.

“Here, David.” He waved his hand to get Kerslake over.

“You’re up, Tony.”

“Yes. I slept very early. About what happened in the locker room yesterday, I have to apologize,” Tang En said sincerely. “I’m really sorry about blowing up at you. You know, I wasn’t really aiming it at you.”

“Of course, I know that. Kerslake raised his hand, asking Tang En not to go on. “The pressure on your shoulders is greater than any one of us. It’s nothing to let you vent some steam. I know how terrible it felt to lose the match. It’s good if you’ve vented it out. It’s not good to bury it.”

Tang En looked at his understanding assistant and lightly nodded. “Thank you, David.”

“We’re partners. We still need to work hard for the next season. Forest’s future depends on you now, Tony! This time, we didn’t manage to become the champions, but we’ll come again the next time!”

The two clasped their hands tightly together.

※※※

The next afternoon, the flight Forest Team was on landed in London’s Heathrow Airport. When the players disembarked from the plane with lowered heads and faces painted with tiredness and dismay, they were surprised to see many people welcoming them.

Among the crowd of people welcoming them was a giant banner that was particularly eye-catching:

You are our hero! Thank you!

Tang En stood on the stairs and waved at the crowd below.

This was a new beginning.

Chapter 453 - A New Future

“In an interview with the media this morning, UEFA news spokesman William Gaillard expressed that Nottingham Forest’s manager Tony Twain’s actions after receiving the award were extremely unsuitable and inappropriate in context. Prior to this, Tony Twain had expressed an understanding of his own actions through the media on the day after the match. He believes that the award is his personal belonging since it was given to him. Consequently, what he decides to do with it is a personal act unrelated to UEFA. Mr. Gaillard expresses regret regarding this as he believes the medal is representative of a kind of glory, and that it was inappropriate to be thoughtlessly given away to someone else. He hopes for manager Twain to be a positive role model for his team’s players…”

“Bulls**t role model!” Tang En cursed angrily as he switched off the television. “I’d rather hope for them to be a positive role model to the entire European soccer scene!”

Evan Doughty, who was sitting behind the boss’ table, waved a piece of paper in his hands. “This is a fax from the UEFA. It’s a fine for your “inappropriate evaluation of the main referee on duty” after the match. 80 thousand pounds. Tony, you might be the most frequently fined manager…”

Tang En paced up and down in the room, appearing somewhat restless. “You can’t blame me… I just spoke the truth. And the truth is usually jarring to hear.”

“What about proof? You didn’t have any proof. Mourinho could say that his men saw the Barcelona official walking into the resting room for referees… but what did you see?” Evan pointed out calmly.

Tony kept quiet. It was true that he did not have any evidence. His words seemed more like a loser’s grievance and unwillingness to concede.

“Tony. I can understand your actions. If I were you, I may have done the same… But only maybe. You can’t just always be thinking about venting for your sake. Your actions put Allan in a very difficult position.” Evan glanced at Allan Adams, sitting on the other side of the chairman’s office.

Tang En stopped pacing and looked at the club’s marketing manager sitting silently on the sofa.

Because of what happened, Tang En knew that Allan must have some opinions about him. After all, Allan’s work had to do with protecting and molding Forest’s new image. Tang En’s actions during the award ceremony of the Champions League’s finals destroyed the image Allan had worked so hard to protect… If something like that had happened to Tang En, he would likely be very unhappy as well.

But this was not the time to be at odds with each other. Furthermore, they were on the same side. There was no need for him to lose his temper with his own people; it was the UEFA he was angry at, not the people at Nottingham Forest.

“Uh… I’m very sorry, Allan. I didn’t think about those things then.” He scratched his head. “You know, I’m a bit impulsive… I’ve been trying very hard to hold back, but there are times that I still can’t control myself. I’m sorry.”

Allan stood up and shook his head with a smile. “Don’t be so nervous, Tony. You did bring me a bit of trouble, but… My job is to deal with these troubles. Without them, I might not even know what to do. I don’t mind it.” He walked over and patted Tang En on his shoulders. “The next time you get into the finals…”

Tang En continued his sentence. “I won’t give away the gold medal that easily.”

Allan was stunned at first, before bursting into loud laughter, realizing what Tang En meant.

“You can give it to me.” He winked at Tang En.

“Dream on.”

“Tony, this bill… It’s the same old rule; the club will pay it on your behalf. Remember, think before you speak rashly next time.” Evan Doughty raised the bill he was holding and pointed at his own brain.

Tang En raised both hands in surrender. “I know… I’ve already reflected deeply on myself.”

“In the hotel room?” Evan asked, looking at Tang En.

“I’ll guarantee you this, Evan.” Tang En gazed past Evan Doughty in front of the window, looking towards the azure blue sky. “We will have a new beginning.”

※※※

The next day after the UEFA announced their punishment for Tony, Nottingham Forest also officially called for a press conference and formally announced their contract renewal with the team’s meritorious manager, Tony Twain.

As a media personality, Tang En’s press conference for his contract renewal was packed to the brim with numerous reporters from various places.

The press conference had some degree of showiness to it; both parties would be present and signing the contract on the scene before the many reporters. It was not merely an announcement of the news with the contract signed prior.

Some media groups perceived Forest’s choice of announcing the contract at this time a sort of protest of UEFA’s punishment of Tony. However, this wronged Nottingham Forest. After all, Tang En’s initial contract with the club was for a period of three years. It would be expiring at the end of the year, so it was very normal for the club to reconsider its renewal at this point. UEFA’s punishment and Nottingham Forest Club’s apparent support? That could only be said to be a coincidence.

The reporters fell quiet when the two main leads, Evan Doughty and Tony Twain, appeared on the scene.

“This is a contract that we’ve had prepared for a long time, with all aspects being greatly satisfactory for manager Twain.” Evan Doughty went straight to the point, directly broaching the main topic. “Before the finals of the Champions League, we had already decided to give manager Tony a new contract, regardless of the match results.” His saying so was equivalent to answering the current doubts of the media regarding the club’s timing to announce their renewal of Tony’s contract; it was unrelated to the punishment imposed by UEFA and was something that had been decided for a long time.

“The club is extremely delighted by manager Tony’s acceptance of this contract. After all, from the normal workers on the field to myself personally, everyone feels that manager Tony Twain is the most suitable candidate to lead this team. He has given new life to this ancient team, allowing them to be restored to glory. He is the pride of this city.”

Tang En sat by the side, quietly listening to Evan shower him with praise. He did not show even a hint of embarrassment on his face.

“Just as I’ve said, there will not be anyone more suitable than him to lead Nottingham Forest. So, the club has provided him with an eight-year-contract.”

His statement incited a wave of commotion on the scene. No one had expected Nottingham Forest to provide a contract on such an extended period. Eight years; by the time it expired it would already be 2014! Even if the position of manager was known to be a profession with a long span—managing the same team for 20 over years was nothing uncommon within the English football scene—there were hastening movements of talent in the current scene. With benefits being prioritized, loyalty had long become a joke. An eight-year-contract. Did Nottingham Forest Club truly have that much confidence in Twain?

Amidst the noise, Tang En stood up. Everyone consciously fell silent and waited for him to say something.

“I want to first thank the club chairman’s trust of me. I love this team and this club. I can’t think of anywhere else I could go to if I left this place. If it’s possible, I hope I can sign on with Mr. Chairman for another eight years in eight years’ time, and eight years after that, another eight years. All the way until I become too old to work. That’s what I hope for.”

In such a press conference, for a renewal of contracts, Tang En also held back from using the usual provocative tone and nonchalant expression. He appeared very stern, wearing a black suit matched with a red tie symbolizing Forest. It was rare that Tang En would dress so formally.

“I am very honored to be able to dedicate the entire span of my managing career to this great football team.”

The reporters present did not usually hear Tang En say such things; faced with the reporters, Tang En normally got uncomfortable if he did not mock them even a little. Seeing him dressed so formally and saying such moving words, the reporters all felt somewhat awkward,

After saying that, Tang En sat down with Evan Doughty under the lights. They flipped open the contract and lowered their heads as they signed it.

Later, famous reporter and biography writer Pierce Brosnan wrote this in his autobiography: “… Back then, I had written in the newspapers that this scene, in the future, would become a moment looked back upon in Forest’s history. When people talked about this historic day, they will say that the day Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain renewed their eight-year-contract was just like Liverpool’s signing with Bill Shankly; it was a great renewal. During that period, I was ridiculed by people who said I showed my lack of common sense by comparing a man of greatness with a clown… Time proved that I was right.”

After signing their names, both men stood up and shook hands with each other before the media.

“A piece of news that has upset many EPL team managers is that Tony Twain has renewed his contract with Nottingham Forest Club for eight years. He will be battling together with his team for another eight years.” This was how the contract renewal was reported by the evening sports news at BBC5 station.

※※※

“England’s National Team manager, Sven-G?ran Eriksson, submitted their team list to FIFA this morning. There is something special on this list, a surprising yet unsurprising candidate who has been selected for the National Team. Nottingham Forest’s captain, George Wood, has been included in the team list by Eriksson and will be brought to Germany. Prior to this, George Wood never had the experience of being selected by the National Team. Although his club performance is good, he has never played a single minute of football representing the National Team.”

“Two players from Nottingham Forest have been selected for England’s National Team. They are right-wing assist, Ashley Young, and defending midfielder, George Wood. Originally, Freddy Eastwood could have also appeared on this list, but he has turned down the summons by the English Football Association. He has chosen to play for Wales because his grandfather was born there.”

There was no longer any news about Tang En on television. Everyone’s focus had shifted to the World Cup. The Three Lions were once again setting off on their journey, carrying the hopes of countless English people. Naturally, the media declared Eriksson’s team to be the strongest English Team in 30 years. Of course, they had said the same thing four years ago during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Korea/Japan.

Wood was watching this news at home when he received a congratulatory call from Tony Twain.

“Kid, congratulations. You’re now officially a member of England’s National Team!”

“Thank you.” Wood’s answer surprised Tang En a little. His tone seemed very calm, without any happiness or excitement.

“You don’t seem elated. Why? This is something you didn’t even think of when you first decided you were going to play football.”

“Should I be happy?” Wood asked in return.

“Uh… logically… yes. Those selected for their first time to be in the National Team would treat this day as the most important day of their lives. At the very least, they say so in their autobiography.”

“Will I be a core player?”

“You’ll have to ask Eriksson.” Tang En shrugged. “What I say won’t matter. He’s the manager of the National Team. But… do you want to hear my suggestion, George?”

“Yes.”

“Regardless of if you’re a core player, this isn’t the problem you should be worrying about. You only need to train hard, that’s all. If you have an opportunity to be fielded, don’t think about anything but performing well. Remember, don’t keep thinking about whether you’re a core player or not. Do you still remember the situation when you first represented Forest’s First Team in an official match?”

“I remember.”

“Just like that.”

Wood fell silent for a while.

Tang En suddenly recalled another reason that could explain Wood’s lack of happiness. “Hey, you wouldn’t still be brooding over the Champions League finals, would you?”

Wood’s silence indicated his soundless agreement.

“Football matches are like that. There isn’t a general who will always win, and there will be times of failure… Do you still remember what I said to you in the locker room when you made a mess of the Youth Team match and wanted to back out?”

Wood thought for a bit and nodded. “I still remember.”

“What you’ve lost here, you can win it back over there. What you’ve lost in this match, you can win it back in the next match. If you don’t want to concede, then work hard in the future to win it back.”

“I know.”

“And a final piece of advice: no matter when it is, remember that you come from Nottingham Forest; don’t embarrass me.”

After ending his call with Tang En, Wood’s mother walked into his room.

“Tony called?”

Wood nodded and placed his cellphone back on the table.

“I never thought…” Sophia stood at the doors, scrutinizing her own son with a cocked head, “that my George would one day become a player on England’s National Team.”

Wood turned his head sideways to look out the windows, somewhat abashed by his mother’s statement.

He felt a pair of hands gently wrapping around his waist, his mother’s forehead resting on his back.

“Your back has gotten so broad… George has grown up and knows how to be shy now.”

“Mum…”

“No matter where you are, George, you have to keep working hard.”

“Yes.”

※※※

“Hey, Dunn. We need to change our travel plans.” After finishing up his call with Wood, Tang En went downstairs to look for Dunn.

“Are we heading back to China first?”

Tang En nodded. “We’ll be getting busy after the World Cup ends. I didn’t think about that before. We can return to China first, and then travel directly to Germany from there.”

“When do we leave?”

“Probably in a few days. Let me finish dealing with matters on my side.”

Dunn nodded in agreement.

Tang En’s “matters on my side” was also related to the World Cup.

Originally, as was the usual practice, he was required to write the football commentary for the Nottingham Evening Post during the World Cup.

However, because he had successfully “predicted” such a major event of the Greek team’s victory in the UEFA European Championship, he got eyed by an even bigger media group for the period of the World Cup.

BBC hoped to sign a short-term contract with Tang En for him to take on the role of a guest commentator on the matches they would be broadcasting during the World Cup. Tang En liked the job very much. In the past, when he was watching football, he often scolded the commentators for being full of bulls**t and illogical nonsense. They knew nothing beyond repeating the crap everyone else already knew or matching players with “inner monologues” on their own accord. If he went up, he believed he could do a better job than the supposed professionals. Now, he finally had a way to experience the kick of being a guest commentator.

Since he was employed, it naturally came with payment. But, Tang En cared little for that bit of money. After his contract renewal with the club, his yearly salary had been increased to 2.7 million pounds. Even though that numerical value could not even be ranked in the top five salaries of EPL managers, it was a considerable amount to him, having transmigrated to England from China. Not to mention the Chinese, many English people would not even earn close to Tang En’s annual salary in their lifetime.

Initially, he intended to take on this job even if the BBC was unwilling to pay a cent. However, he found himself facing Shania’s criticisms after mentioning that to her.

Shania’s views were that he should raise the bar with the BBC instead of just taking the money. Her reasoning was related to Tang En’s current status as a rather well-known manager. While he could say that he did not care about the money, the salary was directly related to his status and position. If the pay was low, it meant that the other party did not value you. The higher the pay, the higher his position. This followed the same reasoning as models working a show. The fee for hiring international supermodels must be much higher than hiring rookie models who had just joined the industry.

Tang En accepted Shania’s views. No matter what, he was now a manager who had led his team into the finals of the Champions League. He was not someone that could be easily dismissed anymore.

As a result, his primary job in these few days would be discussing details of the contract with the BBC’s personnel.

Out of her kindness, Shania offered to let her agent help Tang En with the discussions. However, it was declined with thanks. He did not wish to find himself an agent, not even a temporary one.

Due to the matter with George Wood, he was not too fond of agents. Despite not having any opinions against Shania’s agent, he did not wish to get involved with an agent.

The final negotiations proceeded smoothly. The BBC expressed sufficient sincerity and Tang En did not make things difficult for them. Both parties quickly signed the contract. Following that, the BBC announced the appearance of famed manager Tony Twain on the live commentary during the World Cup as a special guest.

Although Tang En had suffered a setback in the Champions League finals, it looked as if he had gained even more things… A new contract with the club signifying trust and encouragement, a contract with the TV station indicating a significant rise in fame, and George Wood, a boy he had discovered and nurtured, becoming one of the 23 in England’s National Team. From another angle, it proved his eye for judgment and coaching standards.

The pain and despair of failure had become the past past and was gradually drifting further. Now, he must face a whole new future. And he was filled with confidence.

Chapter 454 - Going Home

Twain pulled a face as he stood outside the departure hall at Shuangliu International Airport and looked at the huge billboards outside.

It was currently overcast in Chengdu, but he still took his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on.

There was a special lane for the cabs outside Shuangliu International Airport as they waited for the passengers lined up one after another. With no need to flag down a cab, Twain pulled his suitcase straight to an empty car.

“Hello!” The cab driver greeted Twain enthusiastically.

When he heard the driver speak English with a Sichuan accent, Twain wanted to laugh, but he held a straight face.

Dunn followed suit and pulled his luggage over. The driver eagerly helped them put their luggage in the car.

After they got into the cab, the driver started the car and to asked, “Where to?”

“Uh…” Twain realized he did not know where to go first when he opened his mouth to speak, so he turned to Dunn and asked in the Sichuanese dialect, “Where are we going first?”

The driver, sitting in front, twitched. He was taken aback.

Seeing the driver’s reaction, Twain could not ask Dunn because he was laughing.

Dunn gave him a hopeless glance, turned to the driver and said, “Go to Liangjia Alley.”

“We’re not gonna stay in Chengdu for two days and have some fun?” Twain made up his mind to speak the Sichuan dialect. He spoke English all the time in England. It would be very pretentious of him if he were to speak English when he was back in China.

“No, I called my parents before my return, and they’ve asked me to return right away.”

Twain listened and nodded. Dunn had gone to Nottingham from Sichuan two years ago. He had no connection with his parents other than making regular phone calls. Now, after not seeing their son for two years, his parents naturally were eager to see him.

He understood their longing for their son’s speedy return.

He was actually anxious too.

The two men did not even eat lunch. They just left Chengdu at noon in a long-distance coach ride.

This trip was different from his previous return. Twain did not yearn to go to the city. Without Shania to accompany him on this trip, he also did not have to consider eating, drinking, or being merry.

The purpose of his return this time was clear; that was to visit his parents, whom he had not seen in three years.

※※※

The journey from Chengdu to Dunn’s, or more specifically Tang En’s, hometown, was a three-hour drive. It would take nearly another hour to get home with public transportation and it only took half an hour from the coach station if they were to take a cab.

They screened “Infernal Affairs” on the coach, and the passengers enjoyed watching it. Neither Twain nor Dunn was interested. They both had something on their mind.

Twain did not know if Dunn would feel awkward. His current parents had used to be Twain’s parents, and now he was going to meet them with their real son. Psychologically, would he be able to accept the difference in their identities?

While they were in England, they only needed to care about their own identities, which was easy to resolve as they were both young and open to ideas. They could calmly think and accept this reality. They did not have to think about their relationship with their parents and face this awkward scene.

Twain knew why he had suddenly said he wanted to accompany Dunn on this trip home to visit his parents. Dunn also must know what was on Twain’s mind. After all, they were Tang En’s biological parents who had raised him. This feeling could not be discarded just because of a change in body and identity.

Tang En now looked like a white man, but he would always be Chinese inside. That could never change. Those people and things like China, Sichuan, his parents… They had left an indelible impact during his twenty-six years of life that he could not erase.

Why would he be so excited to run into Yang Yan in Nottingham in the first place? In addition to her being the object of his first secret crush, perhaps there was a kind of familiarity. Yang Yan was a projection of his past, and she made Twain unable to forget his original identity. As soon as he saw her, he would recall his past, whether good or bad. Now that he had lost it, it felt particularly precious to him.

When he and Shania had come here two years ago, he had made an excuse to bring Shania to China for a visit. At that time, he had not known what identity he should use to meet with his parents. So, he just stole a look at them from afar and left. This time, he and Dunn planned to stay at home for a while and would interact with his former parents daily. Would it be awkward?

He glanced sideways at Dunn, who stared out of the window in a daze. What was he thinking?

※※※

For Dunn, this road outside the window had been foreign to him three years ago. This country was also unfamiliar. He’d never thought he would come to China.

But now, this was one of the highways he was most familiar with, more familiar than the M1 highway from Nottingham to London.

There was only one reason for him to feel like he identified with this land: his current parents. A lack of fatherly and motherly love in his life had made the appearance of his current parents like a gift from God. And because they were Chinese, he acknowledged his new identity as Chinese.

He could easily abandon his former identity because of this.

He did not miss his “home” in England at all.

Before he met Twain, he had had no qualms about enjoying this happiness.

When he agreed to go back to England for his career, he knew in his heart that he had to face the other him and his parents’ real son.

He was certainly afraid of losing his present life, but as a person who occupied someone else’s body and family, he felt a little guilty about Twain. Twain would not know about his former life, but he was clear that there was nothing to be nostalgic for in his previous life. If this were a business, it was like he had reaped a huge profit with very little capital. No, it was more like he had had a windfall.

Because of thoughts like these, he always felt that he had taken advantage of it. If he had not met Twain, he could have gone on like this. However, once he met him, that guilt slowly emerged and occupied his thoughts. He felt that perhaps he should go to England to meet him face to face and make everything clear, and then figure it out.

Therefore he went, and found Twain easier to get along with than he had anticipated. He was an outgoing and cheerful man, and had felt a little guilty as well. Why? He felt like he had done Dunn a disservice because he was a manager now who had achieved some success.

Dunn thought it was funny to think of such things. Some people treated their careers as more important than anything else, while others felt no matter how great their careers were, the ultimate goal of having a happy family was better. After his experience in the change of his body, Dunn was the latter kind of person and had found his goal.

Dunn was not an ambitious man. In the past, his greatest wish was to be the head coach of the Forest youth team. It was his ambition to train the young players. He and Twain were essentially different. Twain longed for victory, championship titles, glory, money, fame. He desired things which represented success. Dunn felt that these things did not matter, and Twain needed his help, so he helped him.

Therefore, when Twain said he wanted to come back to see his parents together, he agreed. He knew Twain would not rob him of his present life. He had nothing to worry about.

As for the awkwardness of his parents seeing their real son, he did not feel any discomfiture about being the “third party.” There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

As for Twain’s true identity, who would know as long as he and Twain kept it to themselves? It would be fine if they kept it a secret forever.

He did not know if there was anyone else in the world like him, who had switched bodies with someone else. Even if there were, they would not tell the truth. Compared with society, he was an isolated case in a very small minority.

※※※

Three and a half hours after they set out from Chengdu, Twain and Dunn finally arrived in a small town in Southern Sichuan. Once they got out of the station, they did not take a cab; with a foreigner, it was easy to be ripped off by cheating drivers. Although neither of them cared about that small amount of money, Twain found it intolerable to be treated like a fool.

No matter how many eager drivers outside the station offered them rides and followed them with questions about where they were headed, the two men remained silent and dragged their luggage straight to the bus stop.

“Do you still remember which line to take?” Dunn asked as he watched Twain standing in front of the bus information board and searched carefully.

Twain looked back at him and then pointed to the second row on the bus information board, “Of course, Bus Number 75. Eleven stops.”

“You remember that very well.”

“I can’t help it. Twenty-six years, I couldn’t forget it even if I wanted to.” Twain lightly shook his head. “I went to the high school in the city and had to travel back and forth every week. This bus went near our school,” said Twain, pointing to one of the stops.

After getting on the bus, the two men sat in the crowded compartment in silence. After all, a foreigner speaking the Sichuanese dialect would be too conspicuous. Twain did not want to create unnecessary issues.

After more than an hour of jolting, the two of them stood at the gateway of the town at six o’clock in the afternoon. It was a small town, and the national highway ran through the middle of the town, splitting it in half. The humble bus stop was at the entrance of a grocery store, with a metal sign erected at the side of the dusty gravel road.

Twain stood under the metal sign and viewed the sight in front of him.

The enormous sunset hung at the end of the road, to the west of the town. They were facing right in that direction and had to squint their eyes to see clearly ahead. The bus drove down the road as if it gradually integrated with the red sun, its shadow becoming longer and longer.

The students dismissed for the day from school swarmed past him, escorted by their teacher. The curious children were excited to see the appearance of a foreigner here. They chattered about him, speaking in the familiar local accents.

It was dinner time now and the cooking smells wafted from the nearby shops on the street.

Dunn stood in front and turned to look at Twain, who had not moved, “Are you nervous?”

He was answered by a rumbling noise coming from Twain’s stomach.

“No, I’m hungry.”

Dunn smiled wordlessly and then turned to go, “Then let’s go, I’ve told them we’re going to have dinner at home.”

“Hey, you told mom and dad about me, haven’t you?” Twain pulled his luggage to catch up.

“Yes, over the phone.”

“Oh...what was their reaction?”

“They’re glad that I’m bringing a friend home.”

Twain looked up at the darkening skies in the twilight and said, “Is it because I used to have very few friends coming to my house?”

“I don’t know, that’s your business.”

Twain looked at the people of the town. With the small town and its tiny population, he used to constantly keep his head down and avoid people even if he saw them daily. Since Dunn was back, he did not meet anyone on the road whom he could stop and exchange pleasantries with. His former self really had poor relationships with people.

Walking ahead, Dunn did not hear the sound of footsteps and the friction of the rolling luggage wheels, so he curiously turned back and found that Twain had stopped again.

“Hey, aren’t you hungry?”

“Oh, coming.”

Seeing the somewhat distracted Twain, Dunn said, “I know those stories that happened after you replaced me were not quite like you. After I became you, I worked very hard to follow your lifestyle because I was worried about being discovered. But apart from being aloof, there was nothing else to learn.”

“That’s good. I don’t like to be in the limelight.” Twain muttered as he put his collar up.

※※※

The two people turned a corner from the street to go up a flight of stairs. The zigzag flight of stairs traversed among the low gray-tiled houses. Southern Sichuan was hilly and Tang En’s house in his hometown was built on a hillside. The road was built in the valley of the hills and every household lived on the hillsides on either side.

Twain was familiar with this road. He had often jumped up and down these steps as a child and would not trip and fall even with his eyes closed. On the back of the hillside were the paddy fields, as well as an embankment to thresh the grains, hold town meetings, and screen movies. And of course, it was where he used to play football.

When he and Shania came here two years ago, they had only passed by in a car from the road below. He only hurriedly looked.

Today, standing on these limestone steps and surveying the eaves of the surrounding houses which only reached up to his chest, a complex feeling of both familiarity and strangeness sprang up in him.

He used to think these houses were tall.

“Here we are.” Dunn, who was walking ahead, suddenly quickened his pace, taking two to three steps up the stairs.

Twain stood in the back and looked at the familiar limestone bricks and the black tiles, as well as the two old people standing at the door with their familiar faces. They smiled when they saw Dunn. His father, who was wearing an apron, turned back to the house and kept busy, while his mother held the arm of her son whom she had not seen for two years and enquired solicitously about his well-being.

Twain stood below and stared blankly at the long-awaited scene. Whenever he had come home for the Spring Festival from college, his parents also waited for him at the doorstep, when it was the wintry twelfth lunar month and not a summer day like it was now.

Dunn, who was chatting with his mother, realized that Twain had not followed. So, he turned back and pointed at Twain as he said a few words to his mother. Twain found that the two people were looking at him, so he walked up but did not know what to call the woman in front of him.

Auntie?

Mom?

Dunn knew what was on Twain’s mind, but he should still remind Twain not to blow his cover, so he cried out, “Tony?”

This voice called Twain back from being lost in his thoughts.

“Oh, hello. I’m Dunn’s friend, my name is Tony Twain.”

“Hello, hello. My son has spoken of you, he said you could speak the Sichuanese dialect. At first, I didn’t believe it. Now I do. Come on, please come in!”

Twain carried the luggage into the house and greeted his elderly father, who had taken the time to come out of the kitchen. Then he took out the gift he had brought from England. Even though his parents declined, they finally accepted it.

They came back just in time. Dinner was ready. The soup just needed to be reheated and they could have dinner. Twain was famished. For someone who ate fish and chips in England all the time, he was immensely happy to be able to eat the truly authentic homemade dishes.

Dunn’s parents were alarmed at the amount of food this foreign friend could pack away. They looked inquiringly at their son, while Dunn looked at Twain who was busily stuffing himself, and gave an embarrassed smile at his parents, “He likes Sichuan food very much.”

It suddenly dawned on them, “Oh. take your time to eat, slowly, no rush, there’s plenty still.”

When Twain heard the remark, he quickly stuffed himself with more food.

He dared not look up for fear that his red-rimmed eyes would alarm his parents sitting across him.

Chapter 455 - Finding what was Lost

It was already late at night. At this hour, everyone was asleep in their beds. Other than occasional passing cars on the roads beneath them, there were no sounds.

The fans whirred noisily in the house; there was no air-conditioner. It wasn’t that they could not afford it. It was just that summer here was not too hot, especially when they slept with open windows at night. It was even cooling if there were gentle evening winds blowing.

Despite the soft cooling winds, Tang En, who lay on the sleeping mats, was not asleep yet. He turned over. The mat was placed right beneath the windows and he could clearly see the starry sky outside.

This was his home, or had used to be his home. Right now, however, he lay on the guest bed. It had felt strange the whole day.

“Tony?” Dunn, on the other bed, suddenly called out to him.

“Yeah?”

“I knew you haven’t fallen asleep yet.”

“Can’t sleep.”

Shuffling noises could be heard from his back. Dunn sat up on his bed.

“If you can’t sleep, let’s go out to get some air.”

Tang En took a backward glimpse at Dunn, who stood in front of his bed, and then sat up as well.

The two put on their jackets and left the house quietly.

“Where to?” Tang En asked.

“Anywhere.” Dunn walked in front, leading. The two walked over a small hilltop and saw paddy fields and a dam behind the slopes.

Where they reached was a city still brightly lit in the late of night. There were no neon lights or street lamps. Surrounding them were short houses painting a slab of darkness. A full moon shone above their heads, casting moonlight as pure as snow across the ground, lighting it up brightly. They did not have to worry about tripping on their path.

“I’ve almost forgotten that natural light can be this luminous.” Tang En raised his head to look at the round moon hanging in the sky. “I still remember when I was very young… At that time, we didn’t have our own bathrooms, and everyone had to go to the public ones, the kinds like pit latrines. At night around this time, I had needed to go to the toilet. But I didn’t dare to go to the public toilet on my own. It was pitch dark there, and I was afraid there would be ghosts. So, I peed standing in front of my own house. The sky was clear then. The full moon was shining. I was only semi-conscious, having been asleep. I saw the ground covered in white, shining brightly, and thought it was snowing. In the end, there was nothing at all when I woke up the next day. Before going to college, I had never seen snow with my own eyes. The moonlight made it seem as if the grounds were covered in a layer of snow.”

He pointed to the dam not far away. “When I was younger, it felt like the dam was very, very big. We could even play football and watch movies there. Now it seems… tiny.”

“The water paddy on that side…” he pointed to a point even further, “in primary school, we didn’t have classes on Tuesday afternoons. Our teacher would organize for us to come over here to fish for lobsters. We would place the ones we caught into a small bucket and roast them on the spot after we were finished. There wasn’t any seasoning, but the group of us ate so happily…”

“The mountaintop even further back is rumored to be unmarked graves. People were buried there. On spring outings, we would go there as well. Young children had little courage, but can still be bold sometimes. Playing on top of the grave mounds without any respect for the dead… I still remember a classmate who was very fashionable. He danced something of Michael Jackson’s for us and was popular with the girls then. Now that I think about it, it was just a segment of moonwalking… At such a young age, he already knew how to get girls. Meanwhile, I was just sitting in a daze at a corner. In the memories of the others, I was probably forgotten.”

Dunn stood beside him without saying a word. He quietly listened to Tang En talk about his own past.

“I had thought I can’t possibly remember such little, mundane things, and I did forget them later. But, with the trip back this time, seeing the familiar scenery, it’s all come back. Our memory is such an amazing thing.”

He fell silent. Standing on the small village road, he looked far away towards the dam and water paddy lit under the moonlight. The sounds of crickets gradually became louder.

“I don’t think I’ve said sorry to you?” Dunn suddenly said as he stood next to him.

Tang En looked back at him oddly.

“You’re the real Dunn, who was born and raised here. I know you really want to call them mum and dad. I was the one who robbed you of things that belonged to you.”

Tang En laughed. “We can’t really say it’s a robbery. We just exchanged bodies. If you must say you robbed mine, then I’ve also robbed you.”

“There’s nothing good about what I have. It doesn’t matter even if you rob me of them. You saw it too, in Eastwood’s graveyard… If you’re referring to your current success, that has nothing to do with me.” Dunn shrugged. “So, I’m the one who owes you more… I wished very much to have a warm home. And I’m very sorry I have taken yours.”

Seeing Dunn’s sincere face, Tang En quieted briefly before saying, “To tell the truth… before this, I wasn’t someone who would miss home. ‘Home’ had never been such a strong feeling as I feel now. Maybe it’s because I got it so easily in the past, so I didn’t know how to cherish it. Now that it’s gone, I feel differently. Without this, without you, I might have continued without knowing how to cherish it. Everything has a price. Now that I’ve learned to cherish it, the price is that I no longer have a home. But where on earth would you be able to find something so perfect? A successful career with no financial worries, a lovely wife with obedient kids at home, healthy and happy parents in their late years, a harmonious family. I would be a successful manager, successful son, successful husband, and a successful father… a person admired by the world… How is it possible for us to have anything and everything we want? I can’t possibly monopolize all the good things, can I?”

Tang En said this to Dunn with a smile.

“You’re right. There isn’t anything in the world that’s completely perfect. When you gain something, you’ll necessarily lose something else… but Tony, your problem, in fact, can be easily solved.”

“Hmm?”

“I can’t give you a successful career, or a lovely wife and good children. But I think I can return you a home.”

“Ah?”

“Would you be willing to be my godbrother? To be my parent’s godson?” Tang En was stunned. Dunn continued. “To begin with, they’re your parents. Only, after establishing this relationship, you won’t have to call your own mum auntie. And… we’re so much in sync, don’t you think it feels like we’re brothers? We share each other’s memories. You’ll always be there in my life and I’m always in yours. We don’t have any secrets from each other, just like true brothers who grew up together since youth.”

Dunn finished saying this and looked at Tang En.

Tang En also looked back, staring at him for a long while before he slowly replied. “When I had found myself transmigrating from China suddenly into an Englishman’s body, I cursed God and Fate, believing that they were playing a huge joke on me. I felt I was the world’s unluckiest person. And now, I feel that perhaps we should have been linked together to begin with. This wasn’t some draw in a random lottery. This is something that has long been decided upon… Do you believe there is another pair of hands acting behind Fate? I didn’t used to believe it. But now I do. Why was it you swapping with me and not someone else? Like the world’s richest man, the head of a nation, a movie superstar… Why you, and why me? It appears coincidental, but it’s in fact inevitable. Everything has a cause and effect; an effect must have a cause… Are you feeling dizzy yet?”

Dunn shook his head.

“Anyway, this is what it means: we’re destined to be together. Otherwise, how else would I be able to meet you amongst the throngs of people on a trip back to Chengdu? Chengdu has more than 10 million people. Why did I meet with you of all people? So… hey, is there any ceremony needed to recognize them as my godparents?”

Dunn shook his head with a smile. “We don’t need anything.”

Hearing Dunn say so, Tang En nodded vigorously. “I don’t want to pretend to be strong anymore. I’m not going to put up a front. I’ll do it.”

He yawned as he finished his words. “Let’s go back to sleep, I’m tired.”

“Because the timezone switched over?”

“It’s been switched over for a long time; since Beijing!”

※※※

Tang En only woke up nearing to noon time. By the time he got up from bed, Dunn had already returned from helping his parents.

“You’re up? How did you sleep? Are you comfortable?” His mother asked when she saw him.

Tang En nodded furiously. “Yes, I slept very well. And I feel extremely comfortable!”

Of course, he was comfortable. This was a place he had stayed in for 20 years…

Dunn threw him a look, signaling that he had already made preparations.

Over lunch, Tang En talked about his own life experiences and expressed his wish for them to accept him as their godson. The two elders were not at all surprised. It seemed like Dunn had really mentioned this to them beforehand.

They were very happy to have a foreigner as their son, readily agreeing to it.

Very simply, in that manner, Tang En once again became his parents’ son. Only this time, he had to add a “god” before the title. However, he did not care about those little details in the name. He was overjoyed he could finally call his mother “mother,” and his father “father” without worry.

Initially, he only hoped to have a more reasonable excuse to get closer to his parents when he followed Dunn back here. In that way, he would already be satisfied. He did not expect himself to get more than that; he had gotten back his parents and found what he had lost.

He could wish for nothing else. This had been a perfect vacation.

In the following few days, Tang En was finally able to throw off the burden in his heart and live in his own home in a relaxed and joyful state. He could go out to climb the mountains and search for those times in his youth. He still attracted a lot of curious gazes scrutinizing him wherever he went, but he did not care.

※※※

After staying at home for half a month, when they had to leave, Dunn decided to come clean with his parents. He told them what he was really doing in England.

“A manager?” His father was not someone who knew nothing. Of course, he knew what a professional football manager did. He only asked this because he was so surprised. He did not expect his own son to be working as a manager overseas, in the highest level of the league.

Dunn nodded. “Tony asked me to help him out, so I did.”

His mother sat to one side without saying anything.

“My son…” His father turned to look at Tang En. “Can he really be a manager?”

Tang En nodded firmly to prove he was not lying. “He’s very talented. Within two years, he rose from an ordinary manager in the Youth Team to become their assistant manager. In the latter half of the year, I plan to transfer him to the First Team to be my helper.”

Hearing Tang En’s words, his father turned to look at Dunn again. “I only knew that you liked football very much when you were young… I didn’t think you would be able to find work in it now. Then, your work in Chengdu…”

“I quit before I left… I’m sorry I kept that from you.”

Tang En sat next to them quietly. This was a matter between Dunn and his father. Even with Tang En’s understanding of his own father, he did not know what answer he would give. Would he agree or disagree? What if he disagreed? Should he try to persuade him? After all, Dunn was truly the best candidate to be his assistant manager. Tang En would certainly be unwilling to lose such a capable helper… Should he use the fact that a manager could earn a lot of money annually to persuade his own father?

His father fell silent for a period, and said slowly, “Anyway, work is work, regardless of where you are. There isn’t any difference working as a manager or running sales. Of course, it’s even better if you like the job.”

“Thank you, Dad!”

“Anyway, just keep this in mind. No matter what work you’re doing, you have to do your best.”

“Yes, Dad. I will remember that.”

And then he turned to look at Tang En. “You’re older than him and more familiar with what’s over there. I’ll have to trouble you to take care of him.”

Tang En smiled. “No need to worry, Dad.”

“You have to take care of yourself over there…” Dunn’s mother finally voiced out, having stayed quiet the whole time. A reluctance lingered in her voice.

“Mum. There are vacation periods every year. I will come back to see you both. Or, I can even bring you over to reside in England.”

“It’s fine to enjoy a trip overseas, but staying there? Never mind that, I think…” His father waved his hands. “I still like it here.”

The two elders did not see being a football manager as any great career. They did not even ask questions such as how much money he could earn in a year. In their hearts, there was no difference between being a manager or working a sales job in Chengdu… This relieved Tang En.

He also discovered something. His decision to follow Dunn back to his old home was absolutely the correct choice. It allowed him to notice some things he had unintentionally neglected in the past.

To him, this trip was not a vacation in China. This was coming home.

※※※

After saying goodbye to their parents, Tang En and Dunn began their new journey, leaving the small town filled with countless memories from when he was a child, and which had nourished and birthed him.

A flight from Chengdu to Beijing, and then from there directly to Germany.

That was their plan. They were not going to stay and take a leisure trip in either Chengdu or Beijing. Neither Dunn nor Tang En were interested in such things; they weren’t fond of shopping, and they found it unnecessary to tour around. Only when they were back in their hometown did Tang En go out shopping for local specialty products for Shania and Sophia. It was the only time he shopped since his return to China.

When they had arrived, both Tang En and Dunn only brought a suitcase each. In it were changing clothes, toiletries, and presents for their parents; they could be considered lightly packed. When they left, other than the two suitcases they brought with them, they had another two huge luggage bags filled with local specialty goods from their hometown.

After they got their plane tickets and checked-in their luggage, the two, now lightly packed, casually strolled along the waiting area.

With the World Cup looming, they could see several tour groups in the airport waving the ‘Visit Germany and watch the World Cup’ flag. Even within the Beijing Capital International Airport, there was a thick atmosphere of football in the air.

“The world’s number one sport…” Tang En shrugged. “The fans going to Germany are going there to cheer for another country. This is a situation that happens maybe only in China. Hey, Dunn. You’ve been in China these few years. You know what China’s soccer is like, right?”

Dunn nodded.

“They got eliminated even before entering the top 10… what a pity… having played in Jia-A and Jia-B domestically for several years. They ended up walking out into the world to find that their best skills were still below par in comparison to people in Western Asia… it’s tragic. How pitiful Chinese football is…”

Dunn silently listened to Tang En grouse. In terms of knowledge on China’s football, he certainly could not measure up to Tang En. Their feelings towards it, as well, was not something he could compare with the “foreigner” before him.

“Never mind. Let’s stop talking about something that spoils my appetite. When we get to Germany, we won’t be moving around together anymore. I’ll be working on the commentary for the live match broadcast by BBC. Your main objective is to take note of which players we could bring in during the summer.”

Dunn nodded. “Yes.”

“Let’s go. I think we should be boarding the plane.”

The two walked to the boarding gate to wait.

At this point, Tang En suddenly heard someone calling his name.

“Tony Twain?”

He turned back on reflex, finding himself looking at a rather familiar face.

It was the female reporter who had come to interview him when he had wanted to buy Chinese player Sun Jihai, and even got dissed by him. He had met her a few times after that again in various sorts of interviews. It was Tang Jing.

Chapter 456 - A Chance Encounter in The Air

“Tony Twain?”

Twain seemed to hear someone calling him. He turned his head and saw a somewhat familiar face.

Standing in front of him was a woman. She turned out to be the person who had gone to Wilford to interview him because the Forest team had wanted to buy the Chinese player, Sun Jihai. Having been chided by him once and met several times in various interviews since then, she was the reporter, Tang Jing.

“It’s really Tony Twain.” After she verified the identity of the man in front of her, Tang Jing laughed. “Why am I seeing the Nottingham Forest manager from England at the Beijing Capital International Airport?”

Twain shrugged, “It’s just a holiday. Why would I see you here?”

“This is Beijing, the capital of China, and I’m Chinese. It would be normal for me to appear here, wouldn’t it?” Tang Jing was not to be outdone.

Since their initial meeting—or to be exact, their second time meeting—the two of them had found each other disagreeable. The two had met a few times later in some interviews where Tang Jing had also asked him a few questions, so she was not considered a stranger. However, since that meeting where Twain had started to dislike this ignorant groupie, he had always been uninterested in her even though she could be considered a beautiful woman.

Twain glimpsed at a Bank of China ATM not far away and said, “If Tang suddenly appeared in the Bank of China underground vault, would be that be considered normal too?”

“You really know China well.”

“Wasn’t that already determined in your interview?”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll write down the nasty way you spoke to a reporter in the airport and expose it in the newspaper?”

Twain chortled. “Why should I be afraid? My manager position is not dependent on the preferences of your Chinese media and Chinese readers. Even if you make me out to be Satan in your paper, even if your readers hate me, what does it have to do with me? Miss Tang, don’t you even know how to make a threat?”

His remark confounded Tang Jing’s retort, leaving her at a loss for words.

Dunn had stood at the side wordlessly as he watched Twain and Tang Jing pitted against each other.

When Twain saw that the other party had nothing to say, he turned and walked with Dunn towards the gate. The airport announcement was already reminding the passengers on the flight to be ready to board the plane.

Tang Jing gritted her teeth as she glared at Twain’s back. As the daughter of the company president, she had always been excellent in her studies and had smoothly advanced through her education and employment. No one had ever dared not to give her face. But in front of this man, she had repeatedly lost arguments, which was humiliating for her.

She did not believe that she could not equalize the score.

※※※

“Hey, Tony.”

“Yes?”

“Weren’t you being mean to that reporter?”

“Why? Are you feeling sorry for her?”

“Ahem.”

“Ha! I don’t know why myself. Every time I saw her, I just wanted to say something to provoke and infuriate her....Maybe I don’t like her haughtiness. I dislike pompous people.”

The pair chatted in English while standing in line to board. After they got on the plane, they put their personal belongings in the overhead compartment and continued chatting as they sat down. This time their conversation shifted to the World Cup in Germany, mainly about what they could reap in Germany this summer.

This was a row of three seats with Twain sitting in the middle and Dunn in the window seat. The aisle seat was empty. They did not pay attention to it.

As the pair were engrossed in their discussion about the summer transfers, a person came straight from the cabin and walked towards their seats.

Twain was listening to Dunn, but his eyes fell upon this person. And as she advanced, he gradually shifted all his attention to this uninvited guest.

“Dammit.” He swore under his breath.

Tang Jing was a little surprised to see the man next to her seat. However, when she saw the surprise and annoyance on Twain’s face, she suddenly laughed and smiled brightly. She made no secret of her glee and slowly walked towards Twain with a smile.

“I didn’t think we’d see each other again so soon, Mr. Twain.” Tang Jing put her bag on the overhead compartment and then gracefully sat down to greet him.

“Ah yes, I didn’t expect it either.” Twain was a little dejected. He did not like being with this woman. He had not expected such a coincidence as being on the same flight as this woman, let alone being seated together with her.

“This is quite nice. I won’t be lonely for my journey.”

“This is terrible. My journey is going to be a torment.” Twain mumbled.

“What did you say, Mr. Twain?”

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

“Just speak Mandarin! I can understand.” Twain was displeased when he heard Tang Jing use an English word. You’re Chinese. Why are you peppering your speech with English?

Looking at Twain forgetting his manners, Tang Jing smiled even more happily.

Next to him, Dunn looked at Twain with some pity and was still silent.

Tang Jing noticed him. When she had come over just now, Twain was talking to this man. They were together before boarding, and it was apparent that he was a travel companion.

“Who’s this?”

“My assistant.” Twain tersely introduced Dunn. But he immediately caught himself. Why should I introduce him to her?

“Hello, I’m Tang Jing, a special correspondent for Titan Sports in London.” Tang Jing took the initiative to shoot her hand towards Dunn.

“Hello, I’m Dunn.” Compared with Tang Jing’s self-introduction, Dunn’s version was unpolished. The two just shook hands with Twain in the middle. Twain rolled his eyes and ignored them.

“You’re Manager Twain’s assistant? You’re from China?” Tang Jing was clearly interested in Dunn’s identity. As far as she knew, no Chinese coach had ever held any position on a team in any of the five major leagues in Europe. If Dunn was truly Twain’s assistant coach, it could be sensational news.

Dunn nodded. “Yes.” He did not explain, but simply answered Tang Jing’s question. He just answered Tang Jing accordingly and succinctly. He had used to “chat” to Twain like this before becoming familiar with Twain. It drove Twain up the wall. Now it was Tang Jing’s turn to experience it.

Tang Jing did not expect Dunn’s answer to be so concise. She was a little surprised that he did not take the initiative to continue their conversation.

Twain leaned against the back of the seat with a straight face. But he was laughing inside. You tried to worm your way in and ran into a wall instead, didn’t you?

Tang Jing also realized that Dunn did not seem to good at interaction with outsiders, so she turned to Twain and said, “Manager Twain....”

“What?”

“I understand why you’re here in Beijing and China. But why do you want to find a Chinese man to be your assistant?”

Here comes the interview.

“Why not? French, British, Brazilian, Argentine, German, and Spanish men can be coaches. Why can’t the Chinese? Do you discriminate based on region and despise your own countrymen?” Twain asked in return.

“Mr. Twain… Let’s put aside our personal feud, shall we?” Tang Jing took the lead to show some goodwill. She did not want to waste her chance during a long flight with Twain.

“Do we have a personal feud? I’ve barely spoken more than a hundred words to you before today. I chose Dunn because he is capable; it’s as simple as that. When it comes to a coach or a player, I never look at their nationalities. I only recognize their abilities. Do you understand?”

“But how do you know he’s capable?”

“Interaction, conversation, and observation. He and I met online, and we got along well, that’s it.” Twain found an excuse. Even though it sounded a little unbelievable, it was more plausible than saying “we swapped our bodies and souls.” Extraordinary men did extraordinary things. If Dunn could prove his ability, then “online chats” would become a nice anecdote and conversely, it would become a joke. It had nothing to do with the rationality of the matter. It was only about the outcome.

Tang Jing was really taken aback by Twain’s online chats. She stared at Twain, and at Dunn as well.

“I like Chinese culture, so I wanted to search for some Chinese netizens through the network and practice my Mandarin. Then I met him. Before I met him in person, we were already good friends. That’s the way it is.”

Twain’s reason was still rather realistic. Tang Jing evened out the surprise on her face and cleared her throat, but she did not know how to continue her inquiry.

“Do you have any more questions, Miss Tang?” Twain looked at the Tang Jing.

“Uh… Well…”

“If you don’t, I have a question for you: Why are you on this flight?”

“The World Cup in Germany. I’m a reporter. Isn’t that normal?”

“Ah…” Twain tapped his forehead and said, “I forgot you’re a reporter.”

Tang Jing heard his sarcasm while he beat about the bush. She pouted but did not fiercely fight back as Twain had expected.

Twain puzzled about that. He stole a glance at the quiet Tang Jing.?Her haughtiness was gone. What was left was an ordinary woman.

Tang Jing suddenly went quiet and Twain did not wish to say anything. Dunn was more reticent. The three people fell into a spell of silence. Despite this inexplicable silence, the three of them were happy to accept reality.

The gentle voice of the flight attendant on the announcement reminded the passengers to fasten their seatbelts and switch off all communications on their cellular phones, and that the plane was about to take off.

After they fastened their seatbelts, the fuselage of plane vibrated and the silvery behemoth skated slowly into the runway.

The roar of the engine came from outside and the sweep of the wind became louder. Sitting in the seat, Twain could clearly feel a huge thrust firmly press him to the back of the chair. He knew that the plane was accelerating for take-off. When those noises suddenly became lighter, the tight feeling in his chest and shortness of breath disappeared. The plane soared and rose toward the blue sky.

“Mr. Twain.” At that moment, Tang Jing suddenly spoke up.

“What can I do for you, Miss Tang?”

“Are you going to Germany to assess the players?”

“You can put it that way. But I have another job. I was hired by the BBC 5 Station to be their special guest pundit for their World Cup broadcast.” Twain threw a piece of gum into his mouth and the ringing in his ears was finally relieved.

“I see. Don’t you think we were destined to meet here?”

Twain turned his head to look at her.

“Can I be so bold as to venture a request?”

“Please, speak your mind.”

“There are few foreign coaches who can speak fluent Mandarin and know so much about the situation in China. You are a successful coach from a country that is fully developed in football. Can I ask you to be the football critic to write articles for our newspaper during the World Cup? The fees can be discussed.”

Twain had not expected Tang Jing to make such a request after such a long silence. His eyes widened.

“I know this request is a little abrupt, but I think introducing some advanced materials for our readers is a very good idea.”

Watching this woman put her conceit aside and adopt a humbled stance, Twain really found it hard to refuse. Besides, why would he reject it? He could simply write a few hundred words to express his thoughts and feelings after the games and be paid for it, plus he would also open up his influence in China. So, why not?

Of course, he might think so in his heart, but he still had to put on an act.

“Oh… I have to be the BBC’s guest pundit during the World Cup and I still have to write my review for the Nottingham Evening Post...” When he saw Tang Jing’s worried expression, Twain was tickled inside and decided not to tease anymore. The way the woman became quiet just now made an impression in Twain’s heart. “But it’s no problem writing one more article.”

“Do you agree? That’s great!”

“Are you this happy about that?” Twain was puzzled.

“That doesn’t matter....Let’s talk about the specifics in detail, shall we?”

“There’s nothing to talk about, is there? I’ll just give you a manuscript every match day. How is the fee calculated?”

Tang Jing covered her mouth and laughed when she saw that Twain was so concerned about his income.

“You led your team to advance into the Champions League final. Unfortunately, you lost to the Barcelona manager in the end. And you’re still so concerned about this tiny fee?”

“What’s the difference between that and this? Besides, even though a mosquito is small, it is still protein. Any amount of money I earn from my labor is equally important to me.”

“Sometimes I really don’t think you’re British, Mr. Twain. You’re simply Chinese to the core.” Tang Jing murmured.

Twain broke out in a cold sweat A woman’s instincts are really terrifying.

“Mr. Twain, do you mind if I ask you some things about the Champions League final?”

“Are you asking on behalf of the Chinese readers?”

“Of course.”

“In that case, you may. Your opinions don’t affect me anyway. What do you want to ask?”

“If it’s possible, can we start with that silver medal?

“Isn’t that subject being hyped up by the media?”

“That’s the Western media. What we know was through them. It’s inevitable that we would lose some information during the correspondence.”

“You’re very dedicated to your work.”

During the long journey from Beijing to Munich, the two people slowly chatted. Dunn sat by the window and turned his head to look out at the sky outside. He pulled his eye mask down against the glare of the sun and leaned against the back of his seat to go to sleep.

※※※

After ten hours of flight time, the Lufthansa flight landed at the Munich Airport. The atmosphere of the World Cup was already thick. When Twain and the others got off the plane and walked out of the terminal, the atmosphere fully hit them in the face. There were various football shops selling mascots and souvenirs, large World Cup advertisements, German flags hanging high everywhere and visitors wearing various national team jerseys.

These made Twain fully feel that he had arrived in Germany and reached the venue of the World Cup.

“Modern technology is really advanced. We were still in China this morning and we’re in Munich this evening! Let’s go, Dunn!” Twain gave his back a good stretch.

“Where’s that reporter?” Dunn turned his head and did not find Tang Jing.

“Let’s go. She said goodbye the moment she got off the plane. Her colleague is here at the airport to pick her up.”

“Oh… It looked like you had a very productive conversation. Didn’t you dislike her before?”

“What I detested was that she was arrogant.” Twain thought of Tang Jing, who suddenly became quiet when the plane took off. She was quite charming when viewed from the side.

“Isn’t that what being a successful career woman is like?”

“Why does she have to pretend to be a strong career woman? Gloria is a very successful woman, but she doesn’t make me dislike her at all. Being strong is to have self-confidence. Pompous people in fact often have little confidence. They are just putting up a front. There’s a saying that’s so apt, Dunn. Do not pretend to be strong, or else you will be struck down. All right, forget about her. We have a lot of star players waiting for us to buy them! Although we’re not the champions, we’re still the Champions League runner-up. That title is still rather attractive.” Twain turned to look at Dunn and grinned, revealing his signature smile. “We’re a strong team now, Dunn.”

Chapter 457 - Special Guest Commentator

Half a week after Tang En and Dunn arrived in Germany the German World Cup, watched by tens of thousands of people, finally kicked off.

Other than staying in rooms in the same hotel, the two mostly did things on their own. Whether it was having meals or moving on the outside, they took separate paths. Tang En followed the personnel from BBC television station around, while Dunn proceeded alone. The focus of their work was different.

Due to contractual obligations, Tang En had to tag alongside the personnel from BBC5 to battle in numerous cities. He was mainly required to be a guest commentator for the matches played by England’s National Team. Other than his old acquaintance, commentator John Motson, there was also the former captain of the English team, famed for being the best forward in the English Premier League in the last decade, Alan Shearer.

Of course, Tang En was well-aware of this legendary character in the English football scene. But all he saw then was his cutting figure on the field. Having him sit with Tang En in the broadcast room to commentate together on a match still gave Tang En a special feeling.

Dunn moved independently. He did not follow along with the TV broadcasting plans. He mainly went to the matches that were not receiving much attention in England, especially those of the weaker teams. From there, he hoped to be able to unearth some pearls and raw minerals Tang En might need. He still did not know what Forest’s transfer fee budget would be for the new season, so he could only begin searching from the candidates with the best value.

Tang En had complete trust in Dunn’s eye for ability. After all, based on his own standards, he himself had truly only nurtured George Wood. Meanwhile, those players who had stood above their peers back then, like Michael Dawson and Andy Reid, were all personally nurtured by Dunn.

Tang En believed that the platform that allowed him to show off his own true potential was not being a scout, assistant manager, or Youth Team manager; it was not to discover and nurture new players. Rather, it was to lead a team to battle for the Champions League throne. He and Dunn could complement each other greatly. Dunn’s stringency in nit-picking details would make him a fantastic assistant. When the time came, he would be in charge of the operational specifics during the daily training of the team, while Tang En would only oversee their overall direction and path. The two of them cooperating would allow them to perform at the optimal levels in the areas they are most familiar with.

The reason behind BBC5 station’s inviting of Tang En to be a special commentator in this World Cup period might have been his current level of fame. Due to having been the target of news stirred up by the media, football manager Tony Twain could be said to have shot to stardom this season. His superstar status reached its peak after the Champions League finals. The public criticisms he made of the main referee on match duty as foolish and brainless, as well as his actions during the award ceremony that embarrassed UEFA, put the leading powers of the European football scene on the spot.

Ever since BBC5 announced their invitation of Tang En to be a special guest commentator, they immediately attracted the attention of other major media groups. Tang En had not begun his work yet but had already helped his temporary master grab a fair bit of attention.

Everyone was in anticipation of the kind of sparks that would emerge in the process of Tang En’s first attempt at TV commentaries, between England’s local characteristic manager and John Motson, who was famed for his passionate commentary.

“I didn’t expect us to work together this way.” At the scene of the Germany World Cup, Motson took the initiative to put out his hand after seeing Tang En.

Tang En knew the commentator before him. He also knew that Motson was his supporter. Although there were times when Motson was equally harsh when it came to the commentary on Tang En, Tang En himself was a harsh person as well, so the two felt as if they had common interests.

“I think Eriksson is going to be down on his luck.” Tang En laughed as he returned the gesture.

Motson laughed as well. “I was thinking you would be nervous, and I wanted to give you some guidance. That you should commentate just like you usually deal with the reporters. But it seems like I don’t have to.”

Tang En began chuckling in delight along with him.

Meanwhile, Alan Shearer stuck out somewhat like a sore thumb standing beside them, being the straight-laced person he was.

This was a small interlude in the backstage before the live broadcast of the match. Tang En looked forward to his first time working as a television commentator. He also had seriously done his homework. He especially went to further understand the current situation of Paraguay, England’s opponents for the match; he did his analysis as if he was the main manager of the English Team.

This was a classic and reasonable arrangement from Station BBC5. John Motson was an old hand among England’s sports commentators. His sharp words and passionate commentary style made those who liked him extremely fond of him, and those who hated him immensely hateful of him. He was to be the connecting factor and overseer of the match commentary, something comparable to a host of a variety show. Alan Shearer was an active member of Newcastle, as well as a former core forward and captain on the English team; he would be commentating from the players’ perspectives in the match. Tony Twain, a manager himself, was naturally analyzing the match from the view of strategic adjustments of both managers.

In this way, the audience would be able to understand the match from various angles.

England’s group stage match with Paraguay was the third match of the current World Cup.

Tang En was no longer willing to think about the results of the match progressing concurrently in another dimension; it had no meaning for the match here and now. Would knowing the score for this match in a different dimension be of any help to England’s performance in this one? Could it assure that England would not repeat their same old problems?

Tang En did not at all look favorably upon Team England’s prospects in the World Cup. This had nothing to do with what he knew about England’s performance in the current World Cup. The problem with England’s football was chronic; it had been passed down generation after generation. Even before he had transmigrated, he had never thought well of England’s prospects in the international competition.

This was a team which, after being overly publicized by the advanced media in the nation, ended up fooling others as well as themselves.

Beyond attaining a World Cup trophy on their own doorsteps in 1966 and becoming the earliest ancestors of modern football, what other praiseworthy achievements had England’s National Team accomplished? Nothing.

The prosperity of the English Premier League made people feel as if the abilities of England’s National Team should also be very strong. While Tang En agreed that the league was the foundation of a nation’s football levels, he disagreed with directly equating them. That was a moronic way of doing things. Additionally, a large part of English Premier’s prosperity was merely blown up by the media.

Why were football stars from England usually more expensive than ones at the same level from Continental Europe or other countries? Why were there numerous young geniuses in England, but so few that ended up managing to succeed?

It was all thanks to their advanced media.

With extensive hype and a matured series of publicity systems, it was even easier for England’s footballers to be sculpted as great “football stars” in the hearts of their audience. This has something to do with England’s culture and originated from their previously glorious history as the empire on which the sun never set.

Their own was always the best.

Those were the true thoughts in Tang En’s heart. He believed the dip in England’s football standards—something thought as temporary in the hearts of the English—had nothing to do with the level of the manager, the true abilities of the players, the food cooked by the chefs, or their alcoholic natures. This was purely a cultural issue, something unsolvable. Perhaps they could perform exceedingly well at some point in a big competition. With some luck, they could even become champions. But this would raise their overall standards of play by exactly zero.

Of course, this sounded somewhat like China’s football. However, no matter the low period of the English, it was still better than the true “zero” of China’s football.

But Tang En would not reveal his thoughts during the match commentary. The English would not allow anyone to readily make negative remarks of themselves, especially when it pointed towards a sensitive topic such as something culture-related. Tang En did not wish to become a public enemy in the nation.

Motson hoped for him to commentate on the match from a manager’s perspective, so Tang En aimed his criticisms at Eriksson during the match broadcast.

His criticisms against Eriksson were mainly focused on his use of the “Lampard-Gerrard Duo.”

Lampard and Gerrard were respectively the midfield cores of their own teams, and their club performances were excellent. In theory, using both as core players in the National Team at the same time should be a good idea. However, there were problems appearing. Lampard and Gerrard both performed spectacularly in Chelsea and Liverpool. But when it came to Team England, appearing together on the field would have either of them, or both, performing in a lackluster manner.

Even a fool could tell that the position and style of the two individuals on the field overlapped with each other. Being fielded at the same time was not a simple matter of wastage; rather, it was something along the lines of magnets repelling each other. The two disrupted each other, causing neither to perform well in the end.

Why did Eriksson still insist on letting the two players be starters? Could he not see the problem? Of course, Tang En would not criticize Eriksson as foolish. What he criticized was the Swede’s overindulgence of hot-shot football stars under his command.

This was a direct clash of two management ideals. Tang En belonged to the type in which the whole was greater than anything else. On his football team, there was only one authority and superstar: him, the main manager. All players had to listen to him. He would not sacrifice his own tactical strategy to accommodate certain football stars.

Eriksson, on the other hand, belonged to the type that was more indulgent of football stars, depending on hot-shot players to decide the match; it was somewhat biased to celebrities. This way, he was able to maintain good relations with the players. In their hearts, he was not lowly placed. In the repeated occurrences of the FA’s vote of no confidence in him, the players always stood on his side. From a certain understanding, this could also be considered a type of loving protection. But the price of having a fantastic relationship with his players was the sacrifice of England’s competitiveness in the World Cup.

Same with the match against Paraguay, under the hot sun of Frankfurt’s afternoon, Eriksson’s team played drowsily without a single bright spot.

“… I see no hope for England to win this match. In fact, I don’t even know if Eriksson wants to win. Of course, he wants to. But if he doesn’t prove it, I’ll think he doesn’t want to. Owen has just returned from recovery; he’s not in the best condition, but why make him play as a starter with Rooney? In this kind of match, Crouch is the most suitable candidate. I’ve coached the man himself, so I understand his abilities. Look, aren’t I right? Eriksson is changing players. Crouch in, and Owen out. Simple and brutish, without any technique to speak of… I’m sorry, I think I’ll sleep for a bit. Wake me up when there’s a goal…”

The match went on drowsily; neither Paraguay nor England launched any threatening attacks. Both parties seemed reluctant to take a more active method to score a goal. Under the hot sun, they carried on like that. The audience also watched sleepily with a lack of interest.

So, when Beckham utilized his trademark free-kick to send the ball flying into the goalpost via a transiting header from Paraguay’s captain, Gamarra, Tang En finally awoke amid Motson’s shouting.

“Oh, it’s a goal? And it’s an own goal! Fabulous! Eriksson can breathe a sigh of relief now.”

Through their opponent’s own goal, Team England managed to gain a victory in this match after much difficulty.

After the match, Tang En used up much of his word limit in the after-match commentary articles for Nottingham Evening Post and China’s Titan Sports to describe an interesting matter he had discovered midway through the match. On an occasion when England’s goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, was clearing the ball, he had kicked it towards the gigantic television screen hanging at the top, in the middle of the stadium; the ball was almost unable to come back down…

This matter made Tang En laugh for a long while during his commentary. During the halftime break, he even repeatedly related it to his two partners. When he was commentating, Tang En joked that it was a pity the football dropped back down in the end. He had hoped to see the football stay stuck up there. Perhaps that way, the match would not be as boring.

George Wood, who was participating in the World Cup and was selected to represent Team England for the first time, continually moved back and forth between the substitutes’ bench and the warm-up area in the match. He did not get even a minute of time on the field. This was quite the norm. After all, England’s midfield was currently saturated with too many football stars. Both Gerrard and Lampard had to be on the field at the same time, and added to that were Captain Beckham, Joe Cole, Hargreaves… There was no space left for a new recruit like Wood to enter.

The problem with the match did not lie in midfield defense, but in organizing the attacks. Changing Wood in would not be helpful to the team. Tang En did not attack Eriksson for this decision of his. This showed that he was not a person who would slander someone else without care.

After the end of the live broadcast of the match, BBC5 received many feedback calls from the audience. Most of them were calling in to criticize Tang En’s commentary style. They felt that Tang En was utterly unsuitable to be a guest commentator, as his words were filled with too much aggression and that he evidently harbored personal feelings. There were even those who suspected Tang En was making use of this job opportunity to vent his personal grudges.

Tang En’s response to those was a simple shrug of his shoulders. He did not wish to explain too much. He was a guest commentator, not an interpreter who had to maintain an objective middle ground. Wasn’t he invited here precisely to express his personal viewpoints? Some people may be afraid of offending others, but Tony Twain was not.

Of course, there was also some truth in him using the opportunity to discharge a personal vendetta. He had never quite liked Eriksson. He felt that Eriksson was too weak. This was a clash in personalities; something that could not be easily changed.

BBC stood behind him as well. They knew that however many people hated Tang En’s commentary, their viewership ratings would surely be raised in the next match; those people still wanted to see what kind of fresh comments Tang En would be tossing out this time, for their ease of continuing to call in to nit-pick and complain.

Those who liked him would continue supporting him, staying in front of the television to watch his varied expressions. Those who hated him would also pay attention to him, collecting the proof of his sins in preparation to usurp him.

Regardless, whether it was fondness or hatred, this was a person who could not be ignored.

BBC5 had signed an extremely worthwhile contract.

Chapter 458 - A New Job Possibility

From the start of England’s first game until they were ultimately eliminated by Portugal, Twain had sat on the commentator’s seat and attacked Eriksson nonstop.

And as the World Cup progressed along with the increase in England’s games, more and more people started to feel that Twain’s attacks made a lot of sense. Eriksson’s English team had not played a single convincing and watchable game in this World Cup. It was a fluke if they won any games.

Their 1:0 victory over Paraguay was due to their opponent’s gift of an own goal.

The process of defeating Trinidad And Tobago by 2:0 also was not as smooth and easy as the score.

England played well in the first half of the game with Sweden, which resulted in a 2:2 draw, and even the loss of Owen.

The 1:0 elimination of Ecuador was even more tiresome for the English people. Had it not been for Beckham’s direct free kick and twice helping to defend the goalpost, the English should have gone home after the eighth final.

“This is the most powerful English team in thirty years?” Twain evaluated during the game. “It’s so arduous for them to play against a small South American country. How are they strong? All I see is Beckham playing alone. Lampard? I’m sorry, he’s in a terrible state. If there’s a statistic for the number of shots that missed the goals, his score must be the highest. Of course, I don’t think it’s the player’s problem. They can’t always guarantee they’re at their best condition. Even at their best, they need a manager who knows how to use it to get them to play to their full potential. This is obviously the manager’s issue.”

After all that, Twain had come back to the main point and pointed the finger at Eriksson.

He believed that Eriksson also knew that, regardless of the final outcome of this World Cup, he would certainly be dismissed in the end.

According to the English Football Association’s tradition, they would eventually look for the person in charge for the defeat of the English national team, and then the media would hype it up so that the public would be convinced of it. In short, they were particularly good at giving excuses for their failures.

Like Beckham in 1998, who unfortunately became a leading character in this misfortune. The English always said that if Beckham had not been sent off at that time, they would have been able to beat Argentina. Twain had scoffed at the claim right from the start. If the Argentines were so easy to beat, they could not have been considered a strong team internationally. The English team only said that there was a chance to beat Argentina in ninety minutes, but it was not certain that they would win. Beckham’s red card was a fact, and England’s defeat became a fact too. With these two facts linked together, Beckham had become a sinner in many people’s eyes. They always needed a scapegoat and would not let go once they grabbed hold of one, no matter who they were.

Until 2002, in the game against Greece before the World Cup, Beckham eliminated Greece with a beautiful direct free kick to and sent England to the World Cup finals. Only then was he finally forgiven and respected by the people of all of England and became a god again.

Since there was a precedent, it was unsurprising that Twain ended up getting more support after he slammed Eriksson.

In their last game against Portugal, Eriksson replaced the injured Beckham early and the English captain limped off to the sidelines and returned to the bench, where he sat down beside Wood. Then, Wood saw the popular idol, who was admired by thousands of people, actually cry next to him!

Seeing this, Twain muttered in front of the microphone, “It’s over. Eriksson is starting to bring on new players to allow them to accumulate their competition experience and get the feel of the game.”

Beckham was replaced by the Forest team’s right midfielder, Ashley Young. He played well when he got on the field and did not have stage fright. Twain was deeply gratified. The players who came from Nottingham Forest must be different from everyone else, and that was because their manager was an extraordinary person.

Ashley Young was fortunate that he had played in the World Cup on behalf of England after all, even though he did not play long. As for George Wood, who was also from Nottingham Forest and his team captain, he was not so lucky. He was selected to be in the English national team but did not play even for a minute. Other than playing for twenty-one minutes on behalf of England in the warm-up match before the World Cup, he did not appear in any games.

At this moment, England was engaged in a bitter battle on the field. Wood focused his attention on Beckham next to him. This captain of the national team with thousands of fans and an idol adored or envied by many, cried helplessly. He covered his face with his hands and his tears slipped out of the cracks between his fingers.

The televised footage cut to Beckham several times, and as a teammate sitting next to him, George Wood was caught on film too.

Wood’s attention was focused on Beckham. He had known of this man before he got into the national team. David Beckham was the only star footballer he could name before he had started playing football. He always felt that this man was a symbol of success with his accomplished career, a beautiful wife, and beloved sons. He did not expect that he would have such an awful side.

Watching Beckham cry so heedlessly in front of the public, he suddenly recalled that Champions League final in Paris. He did not cry at that time, but he could understand how Beckham felt at that moment.

He hesitated for a moment before he put his hand on Beckham’s shoulder.

The taste of failure was really hard to bear.

Beckham felt a warm hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at the serious-looking George Wood, sitting behind him.

He wiped away his tears and got up from the ground to sit on the chair. He said nothing as he watched Wood squeeze out a tiny smile.

※※※

In the end, Portugal knocked out England in the game through the penalty shootout. Rooney was even sent off with a red card by the referee because he trampled the crotch area of the Portuguese player, Carvalho. This was the last straw that crushed England. Wayne Rooney’s Manchester United teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, stood up for his Portuguese team at that sensitive moment, which was viewed as a betrayal by the English. It infuriated them. Of course, during the game commentary, Twain unexpectedly did not comment on this sudden incident. He had not spoken for some time.

He actually thought both sides were right. It was understandable for Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently wore the Portuguese jersey, to ask the referee to give Wayne Rooney a red card. But the outraged English did not care about this, and Twain did not want to waste his breath on such a pointless thing.

He just thought both were similarly sent off with a red card except that Beckham was unluckier than Wayne Rooney in that year.

Wayne Rooney would certainly not be heavily censured by the media. The player that Ferguson needed to carefully protect was not this “purest English kid”, but the traitor, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Certainly, if it did not turn out to be what Twain knew, that Ferguson suddenly lost his mind and wanted to give up Cristiano Ronaldo to save Wayne Rooney, then Nottingham Forest would not mind accepting the public enemy of the entire England.

He could treat it as if he was helping to resolve the difficult predicament Sir Alex Ferguson was in.

※※※

No one felt good that the English team was eliminated. The live broadcast studio fell into silence. Motson and Alan Shearer quietly packed up and finished the broadcast of today’s game.

Twain’s stuff was simple to handle. The information he prepared was in his own head.

He took off his headphones, looked around at the silent and busy crew, and looked at John Motson.

“Is my work done here?” His question broke the silence in the workroom.

Motson looked up at him. “No, Tony. The World Cup isn’t over yet.”

“But I don’t think anyone will be interested in the rest of the tournament anymore, will they?”

“Of course, maybe. But we paid for the broadcast rights to those games and sold the ads. The advertisers will eat us alive if we stop the broadcast.”

Twain nodded.

Alan Shearer suddenly injected between the two of them. “Tony, I think it’s odd. How could a man like you remain silent and say nothing when there was a conflict on the field?” He referred to the incident between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Twain shook his head. “Because my opinion was not quite the same as yours, so I think it was better not to speak.”

Motson knew what Twain meant, and said he understood. “Well, with your big mouth, you still know when to speak what and when not to. I really thought you were a fearless fool.”

With a very harsh tone, Motson had decried Cristiano Ronaldo as a “liar,” a “traitor,” and “despicable villain” in his commentary. Twain had no intention of going head to head against that.

“I really don’t want to go up against all of England, John. That doesn’t make me any more money.”

“You’re so crass with all your talk about money.” Motson laughed.

※※※

The English team came home early, and English fans were extremely disappointed. After the game, the attack on Cristiano Ronaldo began to raise a tremendous stink. The English media unanimously denounced the young player who had betrayed his teammates. Looking at their attitudes, they seemed intent on driving Ronaldo out of Manchester United and England. Even the media in other countries joined in. Some of the Chinese media adopted the same tone as England and declared that young Ronaldo had “sold out his friends for glory,””betrayed his club,””displayed a betrayal of sportsmanship,””let down his family name,” and so on.

Twain was reluctant to discuss those things in front of the English media because his identity was that of an English man and some words should not be voiced out loud. But he did not have to worry about such things in the Chinese media. In his own article, he rebuked the Chinese media, which followed suit in their criticism of Ronaldo. He thought that those criticisms were just trumping up the charges.

“Young Ronaldo was a player on the Portuguese national team at that time, so he naturally represented the interests of the Portuguese national team on the field. How would that be betraying his club? How did reminding the referee to issue a card to the offending player violate the sportsmanship? That will mean there are more players in the world who violated this sportsmanship than those who haven’t. In the Champions League final, did the Barcelona players who asked the referee to give Edwin van der Sar a red card violate sportsmanship in the eyes of some people? Even though I’d love to hear them say so, I call bulls**t. As for those people who said he let down the family name of ‘Ronaldo,’ they are even more ridiculous. Are you his parents? Are you not embarrassed when you say such corny things?”

His article directly aimed his attack at the Chinese sports media. It set off a huge controversy in the country, but Twain did not care about the consequences when he sent off the article. Its subsequent impact had nothing to do with him. He did not have the free time to write a blog in the Chinese online portals to have a war of words with those tedious people because those words could not become money. It would be equivalent to him helping do free publicity for others.

The dispute within China was almost preposterous. However, what happened in England was not like a farce. Looking at the intentions of the English media and fans, they really wanted to kick Cristiano Ronaldo out of England altogether.

Especially after the media reported that Wayne Rooney abused his Manchester United teammate as scum in the locker room after the match, the matter was coming to a head.

I can never play with him again. I’m going to f**king sort him out.

I will never play football with that kind of scum again.

Those were Wayne Rooney’s words. The “scum” he referred to definitely was Cristiano Ronaldo. He threw aside his foolish actions and pushed the blame for England’s loss to his Manchester United teammate. The effect was clear. The English media glossed over Wayne Rooney’s mistake and relentlessly battered Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand.

Under such circumstances, when several reporters mentioned this issue to Twain, he finally failed to restrain himself and publicly said that if Manchester United intended to sell the talented player, then Nottingham Forest would be willing to accept him.

“I certainly understand his situation. However, it has nothing to do with my team because Wayne Rooney is not a Forest player. His opinion will not be in my consideration. All I know is that Ronaldo is a talented player and my team definitely needs someone like that. Of course, I’m not trying to poach him. What I mean is if Mr. Ferguson thinks it’s harder for the relationship between Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo to be in the same locker room, I’m willing to be the first to share that pain with him. What? Real Madrid is equally interested in him? Then I want to remind him not to go to Real Madrid. It is not suitable for him there. The best place for him is the English Premier League.”

Twain had not finished speaking and Ferguson had already jumped out to declare that the club had just renewed its contract with Ronaldo before the World Cup and that he would not go anywhere except Manchester United. Sir Alex risked going up against all of England to back Ronaldo. It was like after the 1998 World Cup, he insisted on re-employing Beckham in the face of immense pressure. He always protected the players that he valued at all costs and gave them room to grow up. Just on this point alone, Twain had a lot of respect for this veteran manager. But whenever the two teams crossed each other’s path, this respect would have to be cast aside first.

※※※

With the English team eliminated, the rest of the World Cup held little interest for the English. Only one question was worth it for them to keep an eye on, and that was the titleholder of the World Cup.

Eventually, at the Olympiastadion Berlin, Italy defeated France in the penalty shootout and, for the fourth time, they picked up the World Cup, which symbolized the highest honor in the football world.

That final happened similarly to what Twain knew. Zidane gave France the lead with a Panenka penalty kick. It was followed with a corner kick, headed by Materazzi from the Italian team that equalized the score. During overtime, the grand master of his generation, Zidane bid farewell to the FIFA World Cup and his career as a professional player in a way that no one expected. He head-butted Materazzi and was sent off with a red card. With one player down, the French team was powerless to reverse the situation and was dragged into a penalty shootout by Italy. They ultimately failed.

Twain was relieved by this result. It was not because it happened the same as how he remembered. He no longer cared about those things. He was happy that Italy had used defense to win the title, which was something he liked to see, and it made his Forest team less on their own in this.

Barcelona won the Champions League title, which made people feel that artistic football ruled the world for a time and that defensive football was ugly and impossible to win titles. Now Italy had used their win to slap those people in the face, telling them that defense was still the most important tactic in an important game.

As for Zidane’s fate, Twain could only sigh.

The legendary figure used the most legendary defense method to bid farewell to his legendary career.

Twain had no comment about Materazzi....

And that was how this World Cup ended.

Twain finished his first job as a television pundit perfectly. Afterwards, Motson gave him high praises and thought it was enjoyable to work with him on the game commentary. He even asked him if he was interested in furthering his career in BBC after he quit his position as the manager later. This, of course, was declined by Twain with a smile. He still liked to be a manager. In terms of the sense of accomplishment, how could critiquing others in the stands compare to personally leading the charge to break through enemy lines?

However, Motson’s words did not open a door for Twain, but cracked open a window instead. He was aware that with his talent in this area, he could still be a television commentator when he did step down from his manager position in the future. In other words, he was no longer afraid of losing his job as a manager because he would not starve to death if he lost the game and his job.

Of course, that did not change his quest for victory. Because now the victory that he pursued was not to keep his job, but to declare war and give a slap to the faces of those who looked down on him and gleefully waited to see what would happen to him after he had angered the UEFA.

After the FIFA World Cup had ended, the players took the opportunity to have their vacation since they did not have much time. As one of Europe’s five major leagues to start the earliest, the English Premier League would start the tournament in mid-August. The team’s training time was earlier than the other countries.

This time, in the special topic layout of the British World Soccer magazine’s new season, their review of Nottingham Forest was, this was a strong team.

Chapter 459 - A New Potential Change in the Players

During the duration of the World Cup, Dunn observed numerous players. His sights were mainly focused on players who were of little renown and inexpensive. But he was only in charge of providing such a name list. The final decision maker was still Tang En.

Based on the last two seasons, Tang En clearly understood the weakness of the team and which positions they needed to add more players to or sell some for.

For example, in the fight for the Champions League against Barcelona, he deeply felt a lack of capable substitutes on his own team.

First, an analysis of the team’s starting line-up.

In most situations, Forest’s starting formation would be 442, the two forwards being Viduka and Anelka. Between the two, Anelka was doubtless of a world-class standard. Meanwhile, Viduka was already gradually unable to catch up with the steps of Nottingham Forest’s development. In any mid-tier English Premier Team, the Australian forward was certainly able to play as a core player and the attacking core. However, when they were up against even stronger opponents, he would reveal a lack in his individual capabilities. For the bench line-up, he would be above par compared to the others. However, as a core player in the formation… Tang En felt that it still required consideration.

The majority of the time, Forest’s midfield stood in a flat back four. George Wood and Arteta were in the center, with one leaning towards a defensive focus and the other leaning towards the offensive. Franck Ribéry and Ashley Young were positioned on the two sides, left and right. Their remarkable speed and assists were Forest’s main attacking strategy.

In Germany’s World Cup, Ribéry played as France’s core player. He was a key player in helping the team successfully advance from the group stage. His abilities needed no further elaboration.

While Ashley Young was a substitute, it should be taken into consideration that the right-hand position of the side midfielder was taken by England’s captain, Beckham. So, Young’s abilities should not be doubted either.

The set of players for the core line-up would certainly rank in the top five in the Premier League.

Now, a look at the rear defenders and goalkeeper:

Nottingham Forest’s defensive line was very young. The oldest of them was the 26-year-old Chimbonda. Piqué and Pepe were both young but outstanding players. At times, however, they still lacked experience, often the most crucial aspect of a defensive line.

Leighton Baines and Chimbonda were the left and right fullbacks of the team. Their performances in their respective positions were extremely assiduous.

The goalkeeper was the main goalkeeper in Netherland’s National Team that everyone was familiar with, Edwin van der Sar. As the number one guardian god on the Forest Team, his performance has been spectacular, so much that his substitute goalie, Paul Gerrard, had no opportunity to play in matches to maintain his condition.

This core player line-up was certainly in the top five of the EPL.

So, becoming the runners-up in the League last season was a true reflection of their abilities.

Getting runner-up in the Champions League in itself was already an incredible result, one worthy of pride. But therein lay the question: why were they only the League’s runners-up, but not the League’s champions?

In comparison with the pompously rich Chelsea, or Manchester United and Arsenal with their deep foundations and many years of nurturing, Forest’s performance in these two years make them seem like Nouveau riche. They depended on their opponent’s lack of understanding of them, underestimation, as well as their own drive and enterprising spirit to rush up to their high position in a single breath.

If Tang En was already satisfied, such a line-up would allow him to survive in the EPL. Preventing relegation would not be a problem, and if they played a little better in each season, they could even take part in the European competitions.

But was that what Tang En wanted?

It was not.

He wanted to get number one, to become the champions and become a champion manager. He did not want to only get by in the nation with his familiar face as a famed general.

What was he going to do if he hoped for the team’s results to rise even a level higher? Other than adjusting the formation of the core team, what was more important was to stockpile the bench with substitutes of stronger capabilities.

The experience of the countless people ahead of them proved an indisputable truth – any team which suddenly erupted into success was certain to have an admirable core line-up formation. However, when the Nouveau riche sailed across the sky of the international football scene like a shooting star, what made their rapid success and downfall was their strong core formation, and the tragic reserve line-up buried beneath.

Earlier, it was mentioned that Nottingham Forest’s current core formation was enough to rank in the top five of the EPL. That said, in comparison with such a glorious core formation of immense strength, their reserves were unjustifiable.

Of the three lines, the ability of the reserves for the forward line was likely to be the strongest. Denmark’s youth prodigy Nicklas Bendtner’s talent was without doubt. However, he was still much too tender currently. Meanwhile, due to Eastwood’s severe injury in the season before the last, he had not been fielded very much in the previous season. Even after recovery from his injury, he appeared on the field mostly as a substitute.

The capabilities of the two were without question. They only lacked a method of proof.

The reserves’ abilities for the midfield showed the beginning of a downtrend.

George Wood never had a suitable substitute. The number of times Iceland player, Gunnarsson was fielded in a season could be counted on one hand. Pinning hopes on him to strengthen the team’s capabilities was an impossible task. The two most secure positions in Nottingham Forest were the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, and their defensive midfielder, George Wood.

Regarding the other midfielder, Arteta, he and Albertini’s situation were unique. Originally, Albertini was not supposed to be a substitute. However, it could not be helped that the one injury he sustained before the season triggered a massive activation of all the chronic problems that he had accumulated in his professional career. With his body declining day by day, he was unable to finish an entire season in such a highly challenging and highly compact league. As a result, the Spaniard who had only been in the team for half a season, Mikel Arteta, was pushed up by Tang En at the last minute, becoming Wood’s most frequent midfield partner in the Premier League.

In this manner, even with Albertini’s recovery and return to the team, it was unavoidable for him to play as a substitute because it was impossible for Tang En to split the new midfield partners who were beginning to have a better tacit understanding of each other and who worked well together.

The two, Albertini and Eastwood, were proof of Tang En’s rule about “not personal preferences, but only player conditions and performances” when it came to the deployment.

Albertini was an outstanding and qualified substitute. His experience and technique were immensely helpful to the team. The man, depending on his brain in playing football, was able to comprehensively complete the missions given to him by the manager in a limited time. It was a great loss for Tony Twain that such a brilliant player could only represent Forest in battle for another season. He could always spend more money to get good players, but experience was priceless.

Strictly speaking, Ribéry’s substitute was Kris Commons. However, his abilities, despite his passionate love for Forest Team, were at best mid to bottom tier of the English Premier League. Despite this, Tang En did not intend to get rid of him. The team needed such loyal people. The fans also approved of Commons with his hardworking and uncomplaining attitude, as well as his devoted loyalty to the team. However, letting him be Ribéry’s substitute was not very reassuring.

Other than searching for a substitute for Ribéry on the transfer market to solve this, another simple solution would be to change Gareth Bale into a left midfielder instead of a fullback on the left wing. Bale was still young; it would aid him in gaining experience if he played a few more years as a substitute.

Ashley Young’s substitute was the young champion, Aaron Lennon. In the limited chances he got to be in the field in the last season, Lennon had shown his talent, delighting Tang En. His situation was different from the other midfield substitutes. What Tang En fretted over was not a lack of ability from Lennon. Instead, it was how he could satisfy Lennon’s hopes of getting to play in more matches,k how he could strike a balance in the relationship between two outstanding players. Tang En believed that with Forest going all out in the new season, it would be no problem for Lennon to gain more opportunities to be fielded.

For the substitutes on the defensive line, both the right and left fullbacks were extremely capable. Although Sun Jihai’s appearances on the field in the previous season were not as frequent as Chimbonda’s, he was not someone the team could simply dispense with. His ability to take on diverse roles made him an excellent utility player whenever Tang En was faced with an urgent lack of players.

Gareth Bale, who was earlier mentioned regarding midfield substitutions, could play as a fullback on the left or as a left midfielder. If he was changed into playing as a left midfielder, there would then be no substitution left for the left fullback… Tang En’s initial conceptualization was to make Bale a well-rounded talent on the entire corridor of the left wing; to be able to play both midfield and fullback. In that way, no matter which position it was that needed to be filled, he could do the job. They could use one person as two. This might even gain him more opportunities to be fielded.

The reserves for center back were Matthew Upson and Wes Morgan. Both belonged to the category of players lacking ability. The difference between the two was that Matthew Upson was a purchase after the team’s rush into the English Premier League, whereas Wes Morgan was a player nurtured from the team’s own Youth Training Camp. The latter’s situation was similar to that of Commons. Even if Morgan’s abilities made it certain that he would never be able to play as a core player within the team, and even playing as a substitute might render assaults from critics, Tang En would not consider selling him away unless he himself asked for a transfer. Even then, Tang En would do his best to convince him to stay.

This person was their own. England’s teams strongly valued their own. No matter how their abilities were, so long as they were their own, they would be able to attain preferential treatment and the fans’ favor.

Ending the discussion on the defensive line and moving on to the goalkeepers, the number one reserve was naturally Paul Gerrard, who had substituted in during the finals of the Champions League. Reserve number two for the goalkeeping position was Barry Roche.

This position was both crucial and awkward at the same time.

The position of a goalkeeper was unique. After determining the main goalkeeper, it would not be easily changed unless he got injured or was suspended from matches.

A core goalkeeper only needed to have the ability and maintenance of a stable condition to be able to stand in front of the goal gates for many seasons in a row. It was always the core goalkeepers who people remembered from successful teams. How many people know of Schmeichel’s substitute goalkeeper in Manchester United? About Casillas’ sub in Real Madrid? Or the name of Buffon’s substitute in Juventus?

Choosing a substitute goalkeeper was as difficult as searching for a sub for George Wood. On one hand, they needed to have the ability, so they could not be too weak. On the other, they had to be able to withstand the loneliness and be willing to be a substitute. Where would they find such a player? Who was willing to only be a reserve? Who did not desire to be a core player? If one had the ability to be a core goalkeeper on another team, why would they choose to come here to be a substitute instead?

After the finals of the Champions League, Tang En began considering the candidates for a substitute goalkeeper. In the end, after having taken a trip to China and with the World Cup ended, there was still no suitable candidate that he had in mind.

A name flashed across in his mind once, “Wang Dalei”. But he immediately dismissed it. It was not that he was afraid to buy Chinese players. Furthermore, Wang Dalei at this point was someone with much potential and talent; no matter how, he was evaluated by FIFA to be among the “five most anticipated new stars.” The crucial issue was not Wang Dalei’s abilities, but that he simply did not have the qualifications to play in the English Premier; he had never managed to get a 75% representation for China’s National Team in any senior international matches. Even if Forest really bought him, they would not be able to get a work permit for him. And going to the lengths of especially activating the “Exceptional Talent Clause” was much too wasteful for a substitute goalkeeper.

This was the current situation of Nottingham Forest’s main and reserves formation.

Nottingham Forest’s root in getting a foothold within the English Premier League was based on defense and counterattacking. According to reason, Forest’s defense should already be extremely comprehensive with no need for further improvements. However, Tang En still chose to begin his work from the defense this time; to improve on the abilities of the defense substitutes and raise the internal competitiveness within the team.

He did not want the group of boys to think that their holds over the core positions were stable.

So, in summer, the team would be bringing in support beginning from the defensive line, but he would not comment more on the goalkeeping position. The center back position also required reinforcing. Both Pepe and Piqué were still young, so Tang En was leaning towards finding a capable fullback who was a bit older and more experienced on the transfer market to make up for their lack of experience.

And then he had to figure out a way to get a substitute for Wood. Otherwise, it might become a breaking point in a crucial match when Wood got suspended from matches because of accumulated yellow cards or a red card. Just think about the Champions League’s finals… If George Wood were there, Tang En would not feel that his team had had one player fewer than Barcelona even if Edwin van der Sar were to be fouled out.

If they had had a qualified substitute, Tang En could change them out with Wood during the end stages of the match with Arsenal, minimizing his risks.

Tang En’s plan was commendable, but he had not managed to implement it in time.

Just as he was about to begin adjusting the team, beginning from the defensive line, a fact was set before him, telling him that he needed to change his plans and adjust beginning from the forward line instead.

“Our reporters have gotten pictures of Anelka’s brothers walking out of a hotel with Benítez… This Spanish restaurant is Benítez’s favorite place to eat at in Liverpool. The question is, what were Anelka’s agents doing there?”

If not for Tang En’s decision on a whim to switch on the television to watch the sporting competitions, he might not have seen that news report at all. He would have been left in the dark until the other party revealed their cards.

So, it was not hard to imagine what he had felt when he saw the news.

He felt that he had been deceived.

He still remembered what he had once told Anelka: “When you want to leave, be certain to let me know.”

But now?

If he had not watched the sporting news, he would not have even realized that the two damned brothers of Anelka secretly communicating with Liverpool!

Chapter 460 - An Invitation from Ferguson

“No one knew what it meant for Anelka’s brothers to show up next to Benítez...”

Twain stared intently at the news still playing on the television.

“Tony?” Dunn asked next to him.

“What the hell does that mean? Isn’t it clear enough?” Twain muttered as he turned to walk up the stairs, not hearing Dunn’s words.

Twain went upstairs and searched for Anelka’s phone number. He stood at the window and dialed the number.

He certainly knew what it meant.

What else can it mean? Anelka’s brothers are up to something again. No, maybe the two of them have received Anelka’s instructions this time.

He had replaced Anelka in the Champions League final. At the time, Twain’s mind was full of the game alone, and he did not think too much about it. Later, after the game had ended, he calmly thought about it and supposed that the replacement might have upset Anelka. However, as he was held back by all sorts of matters, he did not look for the Frenchman to explain his reasons for this substitution.

Ah, I didn’t think… I really didn’t think Anelka would make a move so quickly by allowing his brothers contact other clubs.

An unanswered beep came from the phone.

Twain slammed his phone onto the bed.

He could now finally understand how Wenger felt when he had called Anelka.

Are you playing this card again?

※※※

Dunn looked strangely at Twain coming down the stairs.

“He didn’t answer?” he asked.

Twain nodded, went to the couch, and sat down in a huff.

“Is he leaving, then?”

“Do you think I can still make him change his mind?”

“I’d advise against letting him go. We’re short a fast striker.”

“We can go to the transfer market and find…”

“From a tactical point of view, he is best suited to the current team.”

When Twain heard Dunn say so, he shook his head helplessly. “I admit that. He was great, taking a season to get used to the team. Wait a minute.” He suddenly sat up, “I’m not letting him go. It’s not going to be that easy. But this can’t be ignored either. I think that we should continue to strengthen our front line.”

Dunn was a little surprised to hear that, “You still want to buy a striker?”

“Bingo.” Twain nodded firmly.

※※※

The Calciopoli happened as scheduled. That had not changed at all. It was exactly the same implicated clubs and people.

Juventus was stripped of its Serie A title and its relegation to Serie B was almost certain to be on the cards. Now, everyone was focused on what would happen to another powerhouse team; whether AC Milan would be relegated or penalized with point deduction.

Real Madrid was frantically courting AC Milan’s midfield core, Kaka. As long as AC Milan was eventually sentenced to relegation, then Kaka would be almost certain to leave the team.

The slight inconsistency with what Twain knew of the “Phone Gate” incident was the players who ran away after the Juventus supermarket was opened.

Capello took three of his players and hurried to Real Madrid when he took over.

Yes, there were three players.

They were the captain of the Italian national team and this FIFA World Cup’s Golden Ball winner, the center back, Fabio Cannavaro, the Brazilian midfielder, Emerson, and the most important person, the one very much valued by Capello, the French striker, David Trezeguet.

Trezeguet joined Real Madrid and was the best center forward in Capello’s mind.

As a result, the future of another player who should have joined Real Madrid would become unknown.

“The Bundesliga team Bayern Munich has officially asked Manchester United about the price for Ruud van Nistelrooy. The relationship between the Dutch striker and Ferguson was completely damaged before the World Cup. He was also not trusted by Marco van Basten at the World Cup. It looks like the Dutchman needs a different place to start over.”

Twain switched off the satellite television at Evan Doughty’s office and played with the remote control in his hand.

“That’s your target, Tony?” asked Doughty.

Twain nodded, “That’s right. We need a player who can absolutely dominate in the penalty area and I can’t think of anyone better than him.”

Sitting across him, Allan also nodded lightly. “From a commercial standpoint, if van Nistelrooy could come, it will greatly stimulate our jersey sales. He’s a real world-class football star.” The two men were in complete agreement this time.

After he listened to the two men, Evan Doughty was silent for a moment, and then he looked up at Twain, “For such a world-class player, you know what kind of remuneration he would ask for, right?”

“Of course; we might need to come up with a salary that is higher than the team’s current maximum wage to attract him. But we have one advantage that we can make use of.” Twain put up his index finger.

“Oh?” Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were piqued when Twain said the word, “advantage.”

“Van Nistelrooy is turning thirty soon. He did not have a good time at Manchester United last season and did not have an important position at the World Cup. Almost everyone believed that his career has come to an end, that he should consider his retirement, that it’s no longer possible for him to recreate the brilliance of his ‘king of the goal area’ years… Under such circumstances, no one would give him a higher salary than what he receives at Manchester United. It’s impossible for even our rival, Bayern Munich. So, if he’s going to come, it must be the highest salary on the team. But I think it’s within the reach of the club.”

After listening to Twain’s analysis, Evan Doughty glanced at Allan. He wanted to hear the opinions of the marketing manager and financial advisor.

Allan ruminated for a moment and said, “Our performance as the Champions League runner-up has given us a lot of television broadcast fees, plus the winning bonuses after each game. The club has plenty of funds available for Tony to use in the transfer market this summer.”

When he heard that answer, Twain smiled. That was what he had hoped to hear.

“Furthermore, based on van Nistelrooy’s influence and foreseeable returns, it’s worth the investment. I agree with that transfer plan.”

Since Allan had agreed, Evan would not have any objections. “In that case, Tony, just go ahead with what you’ve laid out. We can contact Manchester United now.”

“I’ll get busy.” Twain stood up, intending to leave.

However, Evan stopped him. “Tony, did you hear about Anelka?”

Twain looked back at Allan, sitting on the couch, and nodded. “I’ve heard.”

“Well, is there anything you can do about it?”

“I called, but no one answered.” Twain shook his head. “The players are still on holiday and I can’t get in touch with him. We can only wait until training starts again.”

Evan thought about it and waved his hand. “I see. I’ll let you go and get busy.”

Twain turned and left.

※※※

Carrington. The Manchester United training ground in Manchester.

“What?” Manager Alex Ferguson looked at the fax in his hand and found it a bit inconceivable. “Nottingham Forest wants to buy the Dutchman? Is there something wrong with Twain’s brain?”

Sitting opposite him, his assistant, Queiroz, shrugged.

“Doesn’t he know what Manchester United’s tradition is? We’re not like those idiots in Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool who give our players away to our competitors.”

Ferguson was right. Manchester United rarely sold their players to their main competitors in the league in the transfer market. To give a simple example, there had been no deals in players between them and Liverpool in forty-two years. Both teams were bigwigs in English football.

“Are you saying that Nottingham Forest is our main competitor, Sir?”

“You tell me.” Ferguson looked at Queiroz. “Who squashed us last season?”

Queiroz disagreed. “Unquestionably, they ranked ahead of us last season. But, Sir, I don’t think the Forest team is capable of posing a long-term threat to us. They’ve behaved more like upstarts these past two seasons. They’re just lucky, that’s all. Just look at last season. They put in all their effort only to fall apart at the end. It’s obvious. They don’t possess real power. Our main competitors are still Arsenal and Chelsea.”

After he listened to his assistant’s analysis, Ferguson stared at him for a moment and then said, “Do you know why you didn’t make it after you went to Real Madrid, Queiroz?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve got nothing further to add. Just reject Nottingham Forest’s offer.”

Ferguson waved his hand and closed the matter.

※※※

“F**king hell!” Twain swore. He had just received a response from the Manchester United Football Club. They had rejected the Forest team’s ten million-pound offer for Van Nistelrooy. “They turned us down!”

“That’s expected.” Kerslake sat with his legs crossed on the couch in the office and said, “Everyone knows what Ferguson’s like. He would never sell his players to a major competitor, even if the player himself has to.”

Dunn, a new member of the coaching staff, nodded in agreement.

Twain fretfully paced back and forth in the office. “Is there no other way?”

“What else can be done? I’ve disapproved of you buying van Nistelrooy from the beginning, Tony.” Kerslake shrugged and spread his hands. “There hasn’t been a deal for a player between Manchester United and Liverpool in forty-two years.”

“But we’re not Liverpool.” Twain stopped pacing. “Liverpool and Manchester United are the most influential powerhouses in England and it is normal for them to hate each other. Everyone wants to dominate England. And us? We’re just a small fry.” He extended his pinkie.

He made another turn, returned to his desk, and said, “Help me get in touch with van Nistelrooy’s agent. I need to talk to him and see what he himself thinks. And then… I have to meet with Ferguson.”

When they heard him say that, Dunn and Kerslake nearly got up from their seats. They stared at Twain with widened eyes.

“Are you out of your mind, Tony?” Kerslake cried out.

“Don’t make a fuss.” Twain glared at him. “It’s not as if I haven’t met him before, and we have a friendly relationship. What’s wrong with meeting as friends? I’m just inviting him for drinks.”

“I don’t think Ferguson will accept your invitation.”

“Don’t think of him like he’s an eccentric earl in an ancient magic castle. If Wenger had invited him to get drinks, he might not have accepted it. But everyone else is fine. You help me get in touch with Van Nistelrooy’s agent. As for Ferguson, I’ll deal with him myself.”

※※※

After he had settled the matters, Twain called Pierce Brosnan over. He had promised to accept a short interview from him. When they touched on the recent events around Anelka, Twain claimed he did not know. As for Anelka’s brothers and Benítez appearing in the same restaurant, it could just be a coincidence. If that Spanish restaurant really had delicious food and wonderful technique, then it was normal to attract customers and that it was understandable to meet Benítez there by chance.

In short, he did not criticize Anelka for secretly contacting Liverpool. Instead, he insisted that he trusted his player.

“We all know of Anelka’s past. But he’s currently doing well at Nottingham Forest. He has a rapport with his teammates, and we even broke into the Champions League final together. I don’t think he can have any issues. We can still work together for a long time.”

Twain had just announced his trust in Anelka; on the other end, the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, had also come out to deny the rumors. He claimed he absolutely did not bypass the Nottingham Forest Football Club and privately reach out to the player’s agents. It was as Twain had stated. It was a coincidence that they had shown up at that restaurant at the same time. He also stated that Liverpool was not interested in Anelka. He would not ask his team to bring in Anelka.

Apparently, Benítez had been a lot more cautious since the precedent had been set with the example of Chelsea privately contacting Ashley Cole, which in turn caused Arsenal to kick up a fuss and bring it to FIFA’s attention.

That kind of speech was a common occurrence in football. The public did not seem to care about credibility. They only valued results. Just like how Florentino, the president of the Real Madrid club, had insisted at that time that Real Madrid was not interested in Beckham. And what had happened in the end?

Therefore, no one would believe words like “we’re not going to sell” or “we’re not going to buy.” Those words were not said for the benefit of the general public or fans.

※※※

Contacting van Nistelrooy’s agent and inviting Ferguson did not happen at the same time. Twain first contacted van Nistelrooy’s agent and asked him about his inclination towards leaving Manchester United for the Forest team. The agent said this proposition deserved serious consideration.

After all, the Forest team was the Champions League runner-up. Its stature and influence were completely different from a season ago.

However, the agent did not immediately give an answer to Twain. Instead, he told him that Ruud was currently on vacation and could not be disturbed. He would speak to him in detail when he returned and inform Twain once he had the answer.

Twain expressed his understanding and respect for the decision.

Although he did not receive an exact answer, the other party at least did not directly rebuff him. That meant that there was still room for discussion.

Once he had taken care of matters with the agent, Twain made a phone call to Ferguson.

Ferguson was a little surprised to receive a call from Twain. But he laughed when he heard Twain’s pretext.

“You have quite a bit of free time on your hands, Mr. Twain.”

“We’re rivals on the football field. Surely we can still be friends outside of the field, right?” replied Twain.

“Of course; I’m not as narrow-minded as some.” Ferguson was vaguely sarcastic about Wenger.

Twain had no intention of being involved in the feud between the two veteran managers.

“But I don’t like beer or whiskey.”

“Of course, you like red wine.” Twain had done a bit of homework to get to know Ferguson so that he could suit his fancy and make the conversation go smoother later.

“So, Mr. Twain, have you prepared any good red wine?”

Twain was a little caught off guard by Ferguson’s sudden question. He was going to prepare after he had set things up with Ferguson. Otherwise, he would have wasted his money if he had paid for something and Ferguson had rejected his invitation in the end.

Hearing Twain falter over the phone, Ferguson laughed complacently and said, “Mr. Twain, I’m going to a horse race the day after tomorrow. Why don’t you join me?”

Twain paused for a moment and said, “Didn’t I say it’s my treat?”

“Of course, it’s your treat. I’m asking you to a horse race and you can cover all the expenses.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Chapter 461 - Ferguson’s Decision

This was neither the world’s most famous Epsom Derby nor the world’s most luxurious Royal Ascot. In fact, it was not even any of the five British Classics events in the UK.

Despite being a small-scale horse race, the day of the event still drew nearly 10 thousand spectators. This was enough to see the influence of horse racing within the UK’s society.

Ferguson’s horse was not participating in the horse races this time. He had come purely for leisurely purposes, and to relax. So, he did not choose to book a luxury box. Rather, he watched the races from the stands.

Before its start, he made a small bet on a horse; it was not a lot of money. As he said to Tang En, “Gambling is for relaxation; money is secondary.”

In the end, the horse he bet on became the champion. He earned a small sum of prize money.

“Do you like horse racing, Mr. Twain?” Ferguson led Tang En through the bustling venue to retrieve his prize money.

“I know nothing about it.” Tang En shook his head honestly.

“What a pity. I’ve coached for 32 years, and it’s a tiring job. Horse racing is my only opportunity to relax.” Ferguson shrugged. “What do you do for relaxation?”

“Drink.”

“Drinking is pretty good too.” Ferguson nodded. “But, only if it’s red wine.”

Ferguson looked delighted as he received his earnings from the bet.

With his status and identity, this bit of money should not matter to him. But he still glowed with happiness as he showed his spoils of victory to Tang En.

It is true that Ferguson was nicknamed “the hairdryer” in the confines of the locker room, and that he was cold and merciless in matches as if he was some wild and ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex. But outside the field, he was really a passionate old man with a good affinity with people. While his good relationships in the managerial circle of the English football scene were in part due to the outstanding results of Manchester United, a larger part could be attributed to his personal charm.

When Tang En had first met Ferguson at the reception by the League Managers Association, he was surrounded by a group of people from the same industry, listening to him speak. At that time, Tang En thought they were just people in the field trying to ingratiate themselves with the successful ones; he had felt great disdain for it. But now, he realized it was perhaps due to Ferguson’s passionate character.

“400 pounds. It’s not a lot of money. That horse was a favored winner. I would rarely bet money on an unpopular horse. It’s hard to win unexpectedly,” Ferguson said as he looked at Tang En meaningfully. “Let’s go have a drink.” He pointed to a small bar not far ahead of them.

There were many people in the bar, all of whom were discussing the horse races that had just ended. In the UK, football is the most popular sport among the public, with horse racing being in second.

“How does it feel? Are you seeing a world completely apart from football?” Taking a sip of red wine from his glass, Ferguson’s excited face made him seem as if he was already slightly inebriated.

Tang En scrutinized the people around him and nodded.

“I have a question, Tony. Why did you suddenly think to ask me out for a drink?” Ferguson put down his wine glass and looked at Tang En. “I know you’re not prone to hospitability.”

“It was a whim.” Tang En lied without batting an eyelid.

“Then, why didn’t you invite Wenger? Hasn’t he known you since you were still a manager at the Youth Team?”

Ferguson and Wenger did not get along with each other. Everyone knew that. Tang En was worried that repeatedly mentioning him would make Ferguson’s good mood fade, so he waved his hand and said, “This isn’t the time for English Premier League talk…”

Ferguson laughed. “So, this must be a big coincidence. I just turned down Nottingham Forest’s offer for Ruud van Nistelrooy, and you’ve immediately called me out for a drink… is there really no correlation?”

Since his intentions were already exposed, there was no point in continuing to put on an act. Tang En shrugged helplessly. “You’re not wrong. It is related. And it’s extremely important. I really hope that you can sell van Nistelrooy to Nottingham Forest.”

Ferguson looked at Tang En with a serious expression. “You’re strange, Tony. For a player, you would treat an opposing manager to a drink. You might be the first person ever to do this. Do you know about Manchester United’s tradition?”

“Of course. But I don’t think we have such an adversarial relationship,” Tang En said with a smile.

“That’s just not true, Tony. Last season, whose team was it that caused Manchester United to not get into the top two of the EPL for the second time in 18 years?” Ferguson asked, staring at Tang En. His question sounded like an interrogation.

“But Chelsea was the champion for the previous season.”

“If I sell Ruud van Nistelrooy to you, the champion for the next season might be you,” Ferguson said with a shake of his head. “I insist that Nottingham Forest is gradually becoming a strong competitor that can pose a threat to Manchester United. The Red Devils don’t make a habit of selling players to their main competitors.”

It should have been a good thing for Tang En to receive the acknowledgment and praise of his opponent. But at this moment, he earnestly wished for Ferguson to look down on him instead.

“That’s totally uncertain…” Tang En found this old man to be surprisingly stubborn. He did not have any reason that could use to persuade the man before him to agree to van Nistelrooy’s transfer. Furthermore, he did not wish to make himself look overly weak in front of his opponent.

Since it could not be done, he could only give up on Ruud van Nistelrooy and pursue other forwards.

Berbatov had already been signed on by Tottenham Hotspur in a step ahead of them. At that time, Tang En was still embroiled in the despair of having lost the Champions League’s finals to Barcelona and was in no mood to care about the transfer market. Before the issue with Anelka, Tang En thought that the capabilities of Forest’s forward line were already sufficient and had no need of any new players. However, in order to put pressure on Anelka for him to understand his own situation, Tang En decided to make a bid in the transfer market.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was the most suitable candidate. It was a pity to just give up like this…

But what other way was there?

As Tang En drank mouthful after mouthful of wine from his glass, his brain continuously worked to think up a solution.

It was only when he was wakened by Ferguson that he realized he was pouring an empty glass into his mouth.

“You seem troubled,” Ferguson said knowingly.

Tang En felt somewhat awkward, thinking, it’s because of you!

Seeing Tang En’s expression, Ferguson laughed. He made no effort to cover up his own delight. “Other than the Dutchman, do you have any other choice of forwards?”

Tang En shook his head. “Not at the moment.”

“Does that mean I’ve successfully disrupted the pre-season battle plans of my main competitor?”

“You could say that.” Tang En shrugged. He had already given up on the idea of convincing Ferguson. This stubborn old man was not someone he could easily convince. He would treat this as really having invited him out for a drink.

“Alright, I give up.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I admit we’re your main competitor, a strong foe. We’re very likely to threaten Manchester United’s position in the English Premier League. Not just that, I think that Forest might also pose a threat to the position of several Premier League teams in the European competitions. My aim next season remains the Champions League. I understand your thoughts about wanting to maintain your own dominance. I can understand it very well. But… even if we are opponents on the field, it’s no big deal to have a drink off the field, right?”

“Of course.” Ferguson nodded.

Tang En poured himself more wine and raised his glass. “Then, let’s not talk about Manchester United or Nottingham Forest today. No discussions on football. Tell me about this horse racing you’re so fond of…”

The two really did not have any further discussion of football that day. They did not seem like two managers in opposition with each other in the League, instead looking more like old friends who had not met for years. Ferguson chatted to his heart’s content, while Tang En drank with similar enthusiasm.

Both were even somewhat reluctant when it came time to part ways. They agreed to come out together for a drink and watch horse races whenever they had time in the future.

When the two returned to their respective teams, however, this friendship would immediately be put to the side. They had their own masters to serve.

Dunn was the first person to see Tang En.

“Failure?” Dunn knew when he saw Tang En’s despondent expression.

“Yeah.” Tang En threw himself onto the couch and pinched at his temples, the smell of alcohol dispersing around the room as he did so.

“Are you drunk?”

“No, I’m not drunk.”

Hearing Tang En’s answer, Dunn curled his lips in doubt. He could not even talk clearly, and he wanted to insist on not being drunk?

“Don’t… don’t judge me on how I- I’m slurring, but my- my brain- brain… is still clear!”

No one would believe his mind was still clear.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow… tomorrow, give Manchester United a fax… and raise- raise the offer to 15 million… million…” Tang En’s voice diminished until there were only snores left.

Upon hearing his final words, Dunn turned to look at Tang En, fast asleep on the sofa.

This was being clear-headed?

He sighed and shook his head.

When Tang En woke up the next day, he found himself already in his bedroom. He squinted as he watched the bright sunlight spilling into the room through the windows.

Another hangover…

Washing up and getting dressed, he had breakfast, with Dunn and rushed to the club to start a brand-new day at work.

The first thing Tang En did was indeed make another offer to Manchester United. His target was Ruud van Nistelrooy.

This time, Dunn was truly taken aback. He had thought that Tang En was only spouting nonsense yesterday when he was drunk. He did not expect him to remember it.

Meanwhile, Kerslake thought Tang En had already come to an agreement with Ferguson yesterday, expressing no doubts.

15 million pounds. That was the new price Nottingham Forest was offering to Manchester United. It was raised five million from their first offer. Tang En was truly persistent in getting Ruud van Nistelrooy.

“Again?” Queiroz was rather surprised upon receiving the fax. Ferguson had told him about what had happened yesterday, and it did not seem as if the two had made any deal or come to any tacit agreement.

Ferguson held onto the second offer from Forest, looking at it in a daze.

Hadn’t Tony Twain already given up?

“Turn it down?” Queiroz asked.

Ferguson waved his hands and said nothing. He only continued staring at the item in his hands, as if he could tell Tang En’s true thoughts from this piece of paper.

Back then, when Manchester United had brought in the Dutchman, they had spent 19 million pounds, creating a new record of transfer fees in England.

It had been five years since then. Ruud van Nistelrooy had given the most beautiful and glorious days in his professional career to the Red Devils, Manchester United. Here, he had truly grown into a world-class forward.

Originally, this beautiful cooperation between them could continue… But the relationship between the two had eventually fallen apart.

These sorts of matters have been seen all too often by Ferguson. He had stayed with this rich and powerful club for almost 20 years now. In that time, he had welcomed and sent away countless people, whether they were rookies he had personally nurtured or football stars he advocated to purchase; Whiteside, Paul Ince, Stam, Beckham, Roy Keane, and now Ruud van Nistelrooy.

In the great Red Devils, Manchester United, there was only one superstar, one person they could not do without. That was their main manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Any player who wished to challenge his authority here had only one ending: being driven out of Carrington. He did not feel any sorrow for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s departure. Now, Manchester had a group of outstanding young players; the future belonged to them. Even if van Nistelrooy did not have any differences with him, he would still have been gradually phased out.

Tony Twain…

Ferguson thought of the name again.

Three years ago, no one heard of him. He was completely without any impression of the man. It was like he fell suddenly from the sky, abruptly taking charge of Nottingham Forest and rushing into their field of vision.

Ferguson scoured his memory for everything related to that name.

And he finally recalled it.

At a League Managers Association’s reception one time in the summer three years ago, Nottingham Forest’s main manager, Brian Clough, suddenly agreed to attend the special reception organized for Ferguson’s being named as the Manager of the Decade. Prior to it, Clough’s health conditions were poor. He had had a liver operation done, and it was then a long period since he had appeared in the public eye. He stayed shut in all day at his own home in Derby County.

Bobby Robson tried inviting Clough; after all, Ferguson’s achievements were enough to have the seniors come to give their congratulations. Back then, Ferguson did not think Clough would come down; that characteristic old man showed no restraint commenting on his mistakes in front of the media in the past.

Unexpectedly, Clough not only came, he even brought someone else along. Then, he did not introduce the young man beside him holding his clothes to anyone there. Ferguson also chanced that single meeting with him, only giving him a glimpse before paying no further heed.

He now realized that the young man who looked like Clough’s private doctor was the English general currently in the limelight, Tony Twain.

In a span of three years, he had grown into a famed general who led a team to leap three grades in three years, fight their way into the Champions League’s finals, and force Barcelona into a sorry state; all this from one who used to be unknown.

Ferguson suddenly realized that even if he did not sell van Nistelrooy to Nottingham Forest, Tang En would still threaten his own position. And that boy was right. He was not only threatening Manchester United’s position; he was a threat to the position of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and all the other strong teams in Europe.

The lad was shrouded with a layer of mystery. Even now, no one could clearly explain how Tony had originally found Franck Ribéry in the lower-tiered French Leagues, a player who was now a core player in the French National Team. They also could not understand how he saw the potential for football in George Wood, who was then working as a mover. Nor did they know what gave him his firm belief in the enormous potential in Gareth Bale when he was only an insignificant player who had trained in Southampton for a day. When Pepe was in FC Porto and was unable to play matches, Tang En activated the exceptional talent clause only available once a season to help Pepe get a work permit despite having no proof of his abilities in a high-level League match. Also, Piqué and Bendtner were hot prospects for the future that Ferguson and Wenger had been observing and following for many years. And then, it was as if Tony, who had only just risen to the English Premier League, knew about the two even earlier than them. He had signed on the two as quick as lightning. It had to be known that before this, he was still in the First Division, or was only involved with the Youth Team… Was his foresight truly that far-seeing? At that time, did he already know that he was going to become the main manager of the team, and that he was going to lead them to rush into the English Premier League, into battling in the UEFA Champions League?

Ferguson himself eventually had to retire… At that time, what would Manchester United do? Queiroz was not someone they could pin too much hope on. He could only be an assistant manager. After searching throughout England, he felt that the only man who could take over his legacy was Tony Twain. This was a youth with a tradition of victories who had an unquenchable thirst for championships.

Perhaps, he should sell him a favor.

“Agree to their offer. Allow them to discuss with the Dutchman’s agent. At the same time, also accept Bayern Munich’s price.”

Queiroz was shocked.

“But, Sir, didn’t you say…”

Ferguson knew what Queiroz wanted to say, so he interrupted him and very seriously answered the doubts in his assistant manager’s heart. “Carlos, my eight championships in the EPL, five in the English FA Cup, and one in each of the Champions League, Cup Winners’ Cup, Super Cup, and Intercontinental Cup, were not attained simply by refusing to sell players to our opponents.”

Chapter 462 - The King of the Goal Area

“The latest news tells us that the Dutch veteran Ruud van Nistelrooy has a new pursuer. Manchester United has announced Nottingham Forest Football Club’s interest in the Dutch striker. And they have accepted the Forest team’s offer. Neither Nottingham Forest nor Manchester United have released the specific figure for the offer...”

“The media responded pretty quickly,” muttered Twain as he looked at the situation outside the training ground’s wire mesh wall.

Just after the news was announced, the outside of Nottingham Forest’s training base was surrounded by journalists from across England. In fact, the media knew about Nottingham Forest’s first offer and the outcome of it. The British media and Ferguson’s assistant manager thought the same thing. Nottingham Forest was Manchester United’s archrival in the league. With Ferguson’s temper, he was unlikely to sell a player on his team to a competitor in the same league, even if that person was a player he no longer needed.

Therefore, after the Forest team’s first offer was rejected by Manchester United, it did not attract much attention from the British media as this was an expected outcome. At the same time, the Bundesliga team, Bayern Munich’s bid also attracted the attention of the media. In their view, that was more newsworthy.

They did not expect Manchester United to agree to the Forest team’s bid out of the blue after Nottingham Forest’s second offer. At that instance, all the media’s eyes were turned to Nottingham.

“There must be a lot of questions on their minds that they want to ask,” said David Kerslake as he looked at the fully equipped reporters.

Twain shrugged.

The Forest team had resumed team training yesterday. At this stage, the team did mainly stamina training. The various coaches’ work was not demanding, so Kerslake had time to chat with Twain. But Dunn was very dedicated and watched over the team on the training ground, even though he was not a physical fitness coach.

Kerslake said correctly that those reporters had a lot of questions to ask Twain. For example, what was the exact figure of the second offer, how did Ferguson agree to the Forest team’s offer this time, was there some unknown insider story behind the acceptance of the offer, such as behind-the-scenes deals?

“Tell everyone that until the deal is confirmed and completed, we are not accepting any media related interviews and will not hold any press conferences,” Twain instructed his assistant.

Kerslake nodded to show that he understood and then asked another question. “What’s the news from the Dutchman?”

“Their agent told me that Ruud had already received the news. But because we still have other competitors, he needs to think carefully about which offer to accept.”

“I see.”

“All right, let’s get back.” Twain glanced at the reporters and turned to walk back to the training ground.

As the team’s two assistant managers, Dunn and Kerslake had already assumed the full responsibility for the team’s training. The whistles of the two coaches rang out repeatedly on the training ground. Amidst the bustle, no one noticed that the Tony Twain had snuck out of the side gate and left. He took a detour through the youth team training base, got into Landy James’ cab in front of the gate, and drove away from Wilford.

After training had ended, the reporters standing guard at the gate of the training base did not see Twain. Charged with dealing with the reporters, Kerslake simply answered some things that everyone already knew but declined to speak about the Forest team’s second offer to Manchester United or other related matters. For example, when a reporter asked about the progress of the individual negotiation with van Nistelrooy, he simply pushed the question onto Twain.

This answer was considered a softer “no.” Everyone knew Twain’s temper and Kerslake must have been instructed by Twain to say it. Not to mention that the reporters were unable to locate Twain. Even if they were to locate him, he would not answer any questions. If there was really a fool who found Twain, he would have the door slammed in his face.

It was right to say that the reporters loved and hated Twain. Sometimes his unbridled brash behavior was fodder for the media to hype about. However, there were times when he always was at odds with the media, giving them endless headaches. Twain’s career was currently in an ascent. Even if the media was dissatisfied with his pompous behavior, they could only sigh helplessly and do nothing. They could not be like the media in China where they could shut out at the slightest pretext.

※※※

As the media gathered outside the Nottingham Forest’s Wilford training base, a number of journalists also gathered outside Manchester United’s Carrington training base. But they did not gather there to focus on the conflict between van Nistelrooy and Ferguson. That was not worth paying too much attention to. Before the World Cup, everyone knew that they had clashed with each other and that there was no possibility of reconciliation. Ferguson’s position in Manchester United was indestructible and van Nistelrooy’s was inevitable. What interested the reporters even more was the feud between Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

There, two players seemed to have a deep-seated hatred of each other during the World Cup. The reporters hoped to see a replay of the scene at the Carrington training base, with the teams’ two established star players glaring at each other with obvious mutual dislike showing, openly and covertly retaliating during training, and all that tit-for-tat stuff.

However,...under Ferguson’s guidance, the two men showed up together, laughing and chatting amiably.

It was extremely disappointing for the major media outlets that waited outside the training ground with their cameras and long lenses.

When everyone paid attention to that pair of foes, they had already forgotten that van Nistelrooy was recently at the heart of a transfer rumor.

After training, van Nistelrooy came out of the locker room after a change of his clothes. He put on his sunglasses and headed straight to the parking lot. He did not receive any media interviews. He just drove away.

After training, the media was focused on the two young players and Ferguson. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo stated in the interview that their relationship with each other was not affected. As to whether they had really buried their hatchet, no one knew for certain.

Ferguson was interviewed on the sidelines of the training ground. Most of the questions were directed at the relationship between those two players. His reply was the same as those from the two kids. Nothing had happened between them. He reiterated that Cristiano Ronaldo would stay in Manchester United. Then a Nottingham reporter finally asked the question about van Nistelrooy. Ferguson admitted the player might have already left Old Trafford, although he did not say why he had accepted the second transfer offer rejecting Nottingham Forest’s first offer.

That question was only asked by a news outlet from Nottingham. After the answer, the media’s questions returned to Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Pierce Brosnan, who represented the Nottingham news outlet, shrugged as he looked at the reporters who had squeezed him out of the crowd again.

He was not interested in the feud between Manchester United’s two headline star players. For the people of Nottingham, there was only one thing of interest: whether the world-class striker, van Nistelrooy, would come or not.

※※※

Van Nistelrooy did not drive straight home; he had received a call from his agent when he changed his clothes in the locker room after training. The agent told him over the phone that the Nottingham Forest people had arrived and wanted to talk with him face-to-face.

He did not reject the suggestion.

He parked his car at the entrance of a restaurant he regularly patronized. His own agent and the people from the Nottingham Forest Football Club waited inside.

The Dutchman saw a middle-aged man with curly hair and baby face inside the private room.

“Hello, Ruud. I’m Allan Adams, the marketing manager at Nottingham Forest Football Club. You can call me Allan.” The man, who looked younger than his actual age, held out his hand.

Van Nistelrooy put his backpack on the chair and shook hands with him.

“How are you, Allan.”

When the other party had seated, Allan Adams smiled. “We’re very happy that Manchester United has agreed to our transfer offer so that we can finally sit down and have a face-to-face. Nottingham Forest has been interested in you for a very long time, Ruud.”

Van Nistelrooy nodded.

“But before we get down to the specifics, we still have to wait for one more person to come. He’s more familiar with these things than me; I’m just the marketing manager.”

When he heard Allan say that, van Nistelrooy glanced at his agent, Roger Linse. He nodded to him to indicate that there was indeed another person.

In that case, who was this person?

Van Nistelrooy’s misgivings had not dissipated before the door was opened by the waiter. Then the three men sitting inside saw a man rush in, covered in sweat.

“I’m so sorry. The damn traffic jam!” He grumbled as he wiped the sweat on his bowed head.

“Tony, we have guests.” Allan Adams awkwardly reminded him.

“Oh…” Twain looked up and saw van Nistelrooy and his agent sitting across from him, and was a little embarrassed. “I’m really sorry, it was a slip of the tongue.”

With that, he went over and held out his hand towards van Nistelrooy, “There’s a traffic jam on the road. I should have arrived first. How do you do, Ruud, I’m-”

“Tony Twain. We all know each other, there’s no need for introduction.” Van Nistelrooy smiled and shook Twain’s hand. He was still a little surprised that the Nottingham Forest manager would come all the way here himself. Under such circumstances, he would actually only need to make a phone call.

Twain shook hands with Linse before he sat down.

“Where were we just now?”

“You came in at the right time, Tony. We got up to where you need to come in and explain.” Allan said to Twain.

Upon hearing that, Twain nodded and took a thick stack of papers from his briefcase. He handed them to van Nistelrooy and said, “We’ve been watching you since early on, Ruud. Last season, before and during the World Cup… these are the relevant reports given to me by my scouts and assistant coaches.”

Van Nistelrooy briefly looked through them, and sure enough, it was all about him. Every aspect of him was in there, his condition and performance in games… it was all there. It looked like when the Forest team talked about their interest in him, it was definitely not just words.

“I’m not good at telling those lies, using exaggeration and giving empty talks. Let’s get straight to the subject, Ruud. I believe you’ve also seen the results of the Forest team last season. But my goal and that of the team is not only like last season. To be the runners-up for the English Premier League and Champions League was definitely not a success for me, but a failure. I need to boost the team’s results to the next level in the new season. So, we need to strengthen our team, and our three lines need to be reloaded. First of all, starting from the front line, we need a dominant center forward in the penalty area, especially within the goal area. Ruud, I think you are the best fit for this position in the entire football world. Real Madrid’s new manager, Capello, has said the best center forward he has in mind is Trezeguet. But you are the best center forward in the world in my mind.”

Twain spoke sincerely and locked his eyes with Van Nistelrooy as he spoke, making him believe every word he said.

“We know there are others competing for you. But I think the English Premier League is the best place for you. You’ve been in it for five years, you’re used to the pace of the game here and the way you play. Everything. Is there any reason to start again in a new league? Furthermore...” Twain looked van Nistelrooy in the eye and said, “I think by staying in England, you’ll have a chance to prove to Manchester United that it was a big mistake to give up on you.”

After he listened to Twain’s remarks, Ruud van Nistelrooy turned his head to look at his agent, Roger Linse. The two men exchanged a look. Then, he turned his head to Twain and said with a smile, “You’ve covered everything. What else can I add?”

Thereafter, Roger Linse said to Twain and Allan, “We thank the Forest club for the careful analysis of Ruud. It reflects your sense of responsibility and sincerity. We also did some research of our own on the Forest team. Ruud was touched by the sincerity of Nottingham Forest among the clubs that came knocking at his door. Ruud had intended to return to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. But after listening to Manager Twain’s expectations for the future, he has the renewed idea of staying in the world’s top league again. He has entrusted me to discuss the specific terms of his contract with your club.”

The meaning of his remark could not have been clearer.

When they heard Linse, Twain and Allan looked at each other and saw joy in each other’s eyes.

“Ah, you can discuss the matter of the contract with Allan.” Twain referred to Allan Adams sitting next to him. He had successfully completed his mission.

He stood up to shake hands with Linse, and then shook hands with van Nistelrooy, “I’m glad you’re able to choose Nottingham Forest, Ruud. You will certainly not regret your choice.”

“I remember Mr. Twain saying just now how you wouldn’t say pretty words.”

“Ah… Of course, these are pretty words, but they are also absolutely true. Don’t believe it? After you’ve officially joined, you can ask your new teammates. They will be happy to tell you stories about me.”

“There are a lot of stories about you in the media. Don’t tell me there are other inside stories?”

Twain glanced at Allan and Linse, who were in a discussion over the details of the contract, and then winked at van Nistelrooy with feigned mystery. “Of course, there are lots.”

※※※

A day later, Manchester United’s website announced van Nistelrooy’s official transfer to Nottingham Forest, with a transfer price tag of fifteen million pounds. The article stated that the Manchester United Football Club thanked van Nistelrooy for all his contributions to the team over the past five years and wished him all the best at the new club. Ferguson did not make any statement regarding van Nistelrooy’s departure and transfer.

No one expressed any surprise at the announcement. Van Nistelrooy’s departure was decided before the World Cup, and it was not surprising that Nottingham Forest had beat the other rivals to win the Dutch striker’s trust. After all, it was much better to continue playing in the English Premier League he was familiar with than to go to a brand-new league.

On the same day, the Nottingham Forest Football Club held a press conference to welcome van Nistelrooy’s joining. At the press conference, Tony Twain, van Nistelrooy, and Evan Doughty appeared in front of numerous reporters with a Forest team red jersey emblazoned with van Nistelrooy’s name and number.

The three men were full of smiles on their faces, but each for different reasons.

Evan Doughty was delighted that the team had finally ushered in a truly world-class player in his peak years. Twain was happy because a player he had always appreciated had joined the team and the team had been strengthened. And as for van Nistelrooy? His smile contained many meanings. Perhaps because he had found a new strong owner, or he had received generous terms and remuneration, or perhaps because he still had a chance to prove his ability to Ferguson.

“We are delighted that Nottingham Forest has welcomed such an outstanding player, the world’s top center forward and the former Manchester United striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy.” Twain purposely used the words ‘former Manchester United.'”It’s going to be a four-year contract. The team and Ruud have a lot of confidence in each other. I believe that Ruud’s golden years are just beginning!”

Chapter 463 - New and Old Players

“Nottingham Forest spends 15 million to bring in former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy. This deal has succeeded against all expectations…”

“Tony Twain spends big in one go! Ruud van Nistelrooy has signed a four-year-contract with Forest. This isn’t good news for the teams in the English Premier League…”

“When interviewed, Nottingham Forest’s fans expressed joy at seeing the main manager bring a world-class forward to the team.”

“Even though our forward line is far from weak, who wouldn’t want to see it become even stronger? We welcome Ruud van Nistelrooy’s arrival with open arms.”

“According to a market survey, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s arrival has incited an enormous spike in the jersey sales for the club. 720 jerseys bearing the Dutchman’s name and number were sold in the span of a day! That’s an astonishing number…”

“… I think that Ruud van Nistelrooy’s arrival only marks the first step in Tony Twain’s ambitious plans. Nottingham isn’t willing to concede with their “double runner-up” results from last season. They’re hoping for a breakthrough this season. Just like all the teams who performed well last season, Forest has increased their investments in the new season. The club’s boss would, of course, hope to receive some returns from the money invested, but I’ve seen too many teams swiftly become lost after increasing their stakes in it. I hope Tony and his team won’t be similarly mediocre…”

“This is one of the most noteworthy transfers of this year. Ruud van Nistelrooy did not choose to leave England. He has chosen to stay in the EPL. We believe there will be much to see in the matches between Nottingham and Manchester United in the new season…”

“Following Chelsea’s purchase of Shevchenko and Newcastle’s purchase of Martins, Forest bought Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United. This season’s English Premier League is going to be exciting…”

The news of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s transfer to Nottingham Forest dropped a heavy bomb on the year’s summer transfer market.

The reaction it caused was due to Nottingham Forest’s results in the previous season; it made everyone’s imagination go wild. Such a massive deal was surely because of big dreams. Nottingham Forest was expanding their capabilities. Could their opponents possibly not feel terror and suspicion?

The World Soccer magazine had only just written in their new season’s column proposal that Forest was a strong team when Tang En immediately used concrete actions to prove them right.

In the past two seasons, Forest’s purchases, while all involving people of rather strong ability, were still of those who were slightly lacking in the fame factor. Anelka was likely the most renowned among them, but even he could not be considered at the top level in the football scene. Ruud van Nistelrooy, however, was different. Before he turned 30, he had already attained immeasurable glory both individually and as a group; Eredivisie top goal scorer, Premier League Golden Boot, UEFA Club Forward of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season, Dutch Footballer of the Year… Those individual glories surrounded the Dutchman like a beautiful shroud around him. They were something Anelka could not compare with.

The greatest evaluation Anelka got was how talented he was. While Ruud van Nistelrooy was not seen as a genius player who was brimming with talent, he had a firm and true grasp of those glories in his hands.

Brazil’s famous forward, Romário, had a nickname: “King of the Penalty Zone.” So, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who also excelled at scoring goals, received a similar nickname: “King of the Six-Yard Box.” This nickname painted a clear image of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s specialty. He was the type of pure forward whose threat became greater and greater the closer he got to the goal.

But in comparison, Tang En liked calling him a natural-born goal-scoring machine better.

He liked a killer as cold and merciless as a machine.

Tang En was elated to see the transfer of Ruud van Nistelrooy eliciting such a big reaction from the media. It was not just Nottingham Forest’s media reporting the matter. English, European, and international sporting media were all to some extent reporting about this transfer.

His first aim was achieved. Why did he insist on spending 15 million pounds to bring in Ruud van Nistelrooy instead of finding a younger, less renowned, and less expensive player with more potential? If it was the latter, the transfer would not be able to create the same effect. The media’s reactions were what Tang En valued.

He needed someone to pressure Anelka. If that person did not have enough weight behind his punch, it would not pose any threat to Anelka at all.

Now it was different.

He himself had, on numerous occasions, mentioned that Ruud van Nistelrooy was his favorite and most admired forward. Adding to that his level of fame, it was enough to unsettle Anelka.

It had been three days since the team had resumed their training. Anelka was not late for the initial regathering of the team, and he was also punctual for daily training. However, Tang En did not take the initiative to approach him, and he did not have any intention of approaching Tang En for a discussion either. Every day, there was nothing except quietly training and then returning to his residence.

On the team, Anelka had always been such a quiet person. So, the way he acted was seen as rather normal in everyone else’s view. Tang En, on the other hand, was taking it all into consideration.

The next day after the press conference, Ruud van Nistelrooy appeared on Nottingham Forest’s training grounds, Wilford.

Tang En personally escorted him over, clearly showing how much he valued the new player.

“Let me introduce a new friend to everyone…” Tang En pointed to Ruud van Nistelrooy standing by his side. “Actually, there’s not much to introduce. Everyone’s familiar with him. He’s been our opponent for two seasons.”

Saying so, Tang En coughed twice. “I should say, everyone, take your revenge where it’s due!”

A look of surprise emerged on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s face while the team rang out with raucous laughter.

David Kerslake patted his shoulders. “Don’t mind it. He just can’t act serious for the life of him.”

Realizing that it was just a joke, Ruud van Nistelrooy started laughing too. Using such a method to introduce himself to his new teammates did manage to get rid of any awkwardness. After all, they had been opponents for two seasons. It was inevitably difficult for everyone to step out of their roles from the past. Tang En used the method of cracking a joke to bring that relationship to the surface, managing to relieve everyone’s hearts of that burden.

“Hi, everyone. We’ll be playing together for the next four years.” Ruud van Nistelrooy greeted them naturally, receiving enthusiastic responses from his teammates.

It was the same as what he had heard, but also somewhat different from other rumors.

If a person merely relied on media sources to understand Nottingham Forest, he would surely be very troubled. What kind of team were they exactly?

Some media reports advertised Forest as a team that was united as one both internally and externally, while others made them out to be a pan of scattered sand with numerous conflicts.

Some reported the team’s main manager, Tony Twain, to be a charismatic, young prodigious manager who had the talent of leadership, and others believed Tony Twain to be an arrogant, supercilious manager who was inferior to the point of conceit, had a terrible temper and often hit and scolded his players while intervening with press freedom. A scoundrel who committed many misdeeds.

All of those directly contradicting and extreme evaluations could not help Ruud van Nistelrooy figure out exactly what kind of person Tony Twain was, or what kind of team Nottingham Forest was. For one person and team, the evaluations were too markedly different.

When he was playing in Manchester United, Nottingham Forest was his opponent. As opponents, they were often made out to be hateful-looking demons. Then, he had leaned towards the negative evaluations. However, as he had just witnessed, Tony Twain was not an eccentric manager who was tough to get along with. Neither was Nottingham Forest a team filled with people split into factions plotting against each other.

After being a witness to it, he was in even greater disbelief of the media’s evaluations.

He felt that the team’s atmosphere was great. He would be happy to work for four years here.

Every individual was faced with choices at any given moment of their life. Ruud van Nistelrooy believed that he would not regret today’s choice in four years’ time.

Tang En gave Ruud van Nistelrooy a pat on the back that startled him. “Go on. It’s time to prepare for training.”

He walked towards the team. The person who came forward to welcome him was the team captain, Albertini.

“What I want to say comes from everyone. Welcome, Ruud, our ex-opponent.”

Amid the enthusiastic, welcoming atmosphere, Tang En did not continue gazing at Ruud van Nistelrooy. Instead, he looked towards Anelka.

Anelka was unaware of Tang En watching him. All of his focus was on his new teammate.

He was not a fool. Of course, he knew the intent behind the team buying a world-class forward.

During the period when his brothers were meeting with Benítez, he had kept his cellphone switched off on purpose. He had known that Tang En would surely try to call him, so he had switched it off. He had thought that Tang En would later approach him to discuss the matter when the team’s training started again. Anelka did not expect Tang En to completely ignore him, instead directly buying a strong and capable competitor, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

It seemed like Ruud van Nistelrooy was more easily welcomed by his teammates than when he had first entered the team.

He moved his gaze away from the new player and looked towards Tony Twain. He saw Twain saying something to his two assistant managers in laughter. Were they feeling joy because of the new player?

“Tony, Anelka’s looking at you,” Dunn suddenly said while they were chatting.

Tang En nodded but did not turn his gaze to look at Anelka. “I know.”

“That’s right. I’ve wanted to ask you, Tony.” Kerslake took a glimpse at the French forward, swiftly sweeping his gaze across his face without any pause. “You’ve bought Ruud van Nistelrooy, so how do you plan on dealing with Anelka?”

“Put him on ice for a while. Are there any clubs making offers for Anelka?”

Kerslake shook his head. “No. Liverpool seems really uninterested. I don’t know how his brothers discussed things with Benítez.”

Tang En chuckled. “Anelka and his brothers are infamous. It’s not that easy to find a buyer who isn’t inferior to us.”

If Forest had not gained the sort of results they had in the previous season, then Anelka might have easily found a new master. However, getting runner-up in both the Premier League and Champions League had set a benchmark in Anelka’s heart that was far from low. If he were to transfer again, he certainly would not accept club invitations from those whose results were not on par with Forest’s. But who, among the rich and powerful clubs comparable to Forest in team strength, would want to bring in such an unstable time bomb?

Anelka had once played in Liverpool for a short period, half a season. He was a loaned player. At Liverpool, his performance was commendable. But even though everyone had thought that Houllier would choose to sign a transfer contract with Anelka at the season’s end, he abandoned the untamable forward and instead found another French comrade of his, Cissé.

Why? No one knew what had trespassed behind doors, but Tang En believed it surely had to do with Anelka’s unsociable character and his greedy brothers.

Anelka succeeded in the Forest Team. Suddenly, he became more attractive in the eyes of the other teams. But this was a dual-edged sword. At the same time, this made him significantly increase the demands of his personal treatment. In the past, he could still accept the reality of playing in Man City. Now, other than the top five in the EPL, no other teams were even in his sights.

Regarding the foreign leagues, both teams in the Spanish Leagues and Bundesliga showed little interest in the forward. Perhaps only the France Ligue 1 still had expectations for this world-class shooter coming from France. Of course, Fenerbah?e S.K. Club from the Turkish Leagues must be dying of regret by now. But it was practically an impossible mission to bring Anelka back to Turkey once more.

In Serie A, Inter Milan had benefited the most after Juventus was penalized with a relegation. Not only did they get their hands on the long-absent Coppa Campioni d’Italia, but they also took in numerous players from Juventus, one of which was young prodigy forward, Ibrahimovi?. Adding to that an Argentine forward, Hernán Crespo, who was loaned from Chelsea, and their original forwards Cruz, Adriano, etc., and Inter Milan had no lack of forwards. In fact, to shed weight for their bloated forward line, they sold Martins to Newcastle.

A.S. Roma was keen but could not afford Anelka.

AC Milan, however…

This was still the same as Tang En’s memories. Shevchenko had already transferred to Chelsea. This way, AC Milan had no choice but to look for another forward. In truth, they had already begun searching all over the world. When the time came, would they be looking for Oliveira, who was not in the least suited for Serie A, or Anelka? That remained unknown.

It was just that Tang En had recently heard some news from the grapevine. Someone had told him that Anelka’s brothers had appeared in Milan. As to whether they were there for touring and shopping or to meet with particular people, Tang En could not be certain.

“Alright, lads!” Kerslake shouted as he walked onto the field, blowing on the whistle. “Chatting time is over. Training is starting!”

Under the leadership of the two assistant managers and their managerial team, the players returned to the training grounds to begin a new day of practice.

Tang En alone stood on the sidelines, donning dark sunglasses to block out the somewhat piercing glare from the sunlight. No one knew who he was looking at with his eyes hiding behind those sunglasses.

Chapter 464 - Whatever Can Happen Will Happen

The situation with Anelka progressed quickly.

His brothers really put in a lot of effort this time, busily running around for their younger brother’s future.

Three days later, a transfer offer was placed on Twain’s desk.

“Is Anelka only worth fifteen million pounds? This is a joke!” Twain shook the paper, which made a rattling noise. “Adriano Galliani, that old chap, what does he take us for? A beggar?”

“Do we reject it, Tony?” Kerslake asked superfluously.

“Of course! Wait a minute…” Twain considered for a moment. “Inform the department for the official website to put out the news and make it stand out. Especially put their party’s bid in bold. Immediately followed by the news that we have refused. Put the two releases together.”

Kerslake nodded and got up to deliver the news.

“AC Milan really looks down on others.” Twain gnashed his teeth.

Only he and Dunn were left in the office.

“Everyone wants to pay the least amount of money to buy the best players,” Dunn said evenly.

Twain looked at Dunn, then looked out of the window, and said, “You’re right. But for this kind of insult, I can’t just let it go as if nothing has happened.”

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s official website moved quickly with the updates. Twain had received AC Milan’s offer in the morning and the official website had posted the news that the Forest team had rejected the offer in the afternoon.

Then, after the training ended in the afternoon, Twain made a point to speak to the media on the sidelines of the training ground. When the offer was mentioned, he responded to AC Milan in this way:

“We’re not going to sell Anelka. He ranked second on the striker chart in the Premier League last season. He’s an important part of the team and occupies an important position in our plans for the new season.” Long used to facing the media, Twain was completely able to spin his words without missing a beat or changing his expression. “I don’t want to answer this question repeatedly. Anelka’s not going anywhere.”

The media naturally did not believe his words. If Twain had said that before he bought van Nistelrooy, then a lot of people would have fallen for it. However, now, only a fool would believe him.

“Of course...” Twain knew that no one believed him. What he had said earlier was just for show. To put it bluntly, it was all nonsense. The important part was at the back. “If AC Milan is willing to trade Kaka, then we can just about accept the offer of fifteen million pounds.”

※※※

Twain knew what kind of repercussions his remark would cause. He would almost certainly offend AC Milan.

And that proved to be the case.

AC Milan’s reaction was fierce after they received his response. In addition to Galliani’s claim that AC Milan’s Kaka was not for sale, he also criticized Twain’s disrespectful comments. In his view, AC Milan was a world-renowned powerhouse team, and an insignificant Nottingham Forest was not yet qualified to challenge them.

Twain did not care what Galliani thought of him and his team. His purpose was accomplished. AC Milan immediately gave up their follow-up offer, and the purchase of Anelka was not mentioned again.

After that, AC Milan quickly reached an agreement with the La Liga team, Real Betis, to purchase Ricardo Oliveira with the terms of fifteen million Euros plus the Switzerland national football team captain, Johann Vogel.

This transfer was unexpected to analysts. Previously, AC Milan’s pursuit of Anelka was a normal transfer move. After all, despite Anelka’s peculiar temperament, his power was undeniable. He had proved himself in last season’s English Premier League and Champions League. The analysts previously thought that after being rejected by Nottingham Forest, AC Milan would consider other strikers, such as Ronaldo, who was not happy in Real Madrid, and it would be some time before the true candidate was revealed.

They did not think that AC Milan would unexpectedly sign Oliveira in a flash, leaving their own fans a little stupefied.

Players who had done well in La Liga tended to fare worse in Italy. Therefore, this transfer was even harder to fathom. No one knew why AC Milan wanted to buy Oliveira. There were plenty of strikers at a higher standard than he was. Why did they choose Oliveira, who had been seriously injured?

Twain was not surprised in the least. It happened exactly as what he had known. He could not figure out before why AC Milan would look for Oliveira as a replacement for Andriy Shevchenko. He still did not understand to this day. However, he did not have the time to worry about whether AC Milan’s transfer investment would be wasted.

He had his own troubles to deal with.

※※※

After AC Milan signed Oliveira in a flash, Anelka knew that his likeliest chance of leaving Nottingham Forest had vanished.

The other clubs were just all words and little action. They repeatedly said that they admired Anelka’s ability very much, but there was no real action. For example, Benítez, that old fox, professed a great desire for him and then stood him up.

He realized that he should take the initiative to do something.

Therefore, after today’s training, he did not take a quick shower alone and leave. Instead, he went straight into the manager’s office.

When Anelka pushed open the door and walked in, Twain was discussing plans for tomorrow’s friendly match with Dunn and Kerslake.

The two assistant managers looked at each other when they saw Anelka come in. They found an excuse to leave. Only Twain and Anelka were left in the office.

“Have a seat.” Twain pointed to the couch.

Anelka did not. He stood in front of Twain.

“Anything you want to talk to me about?” Twain asked.

“I want the club to let me transfer.” Anelka got right to the point.

Twain pretended to look surprised, “Why are you saying this? Haven’t we been working well together?”

“That was the case before the Champions League final. But I’ve changed my mind.”

Twain circled around the desk and walked up to Anelka. He looked at the other man in the eye and said, “Is it because I replaced you?”

Anelka did not nod or shake his head, but he silently conceded.

“Alright.” Twain sighed. “I should apologize to you. If I had explained it to you earlier, perhaps you might not have wanted to leave.”

“But I don’t want to hear any explanation right now.” Anelka was adamant.

Faced with that attitude, Twain stuffed back all the things he wanted to say. He froze for a moment with his mouth open and then turned to walk back. With his back facing Anelka, he looked out of the window at the twilight sky without a sound.

The air in the room seemed to solidify, and no one spoke.

After a long while, Twain turned back to Anelka and said, “Very well, I respect everyone’s pursuit of his own future. I won’t force anyone to do anything he doesn’t want to do.” He spread his hands open and said, “If a team can offer over twenty-five million pounds, then you can leave.”

Seeing how Anelka was going to open his mouth to refute that the price was too high, Twain immediately said, “Let’s not talk about the price tag of fifteen million pounds. You think I rejected AC Milan’s offer because I didn’t want to let you go? Or do you think an important player who was the Number Two striker in the English Premier League and helped the team advance to the Champions League final last season is worth only fifteen million? That offer is not an insult to me, but to you!” He suddenly raised his voice and brandished his fist as he said to Anelka, “To you, Anelka! They wanted to take my first striker for fifteen million? Galliani must have been dropped on his head! He thought that Nottingham Forest had never seen money. He thought that I, Tony Twain, was a hillbilly who would forget my name when I got some money? If AC Milan had offered twenty-five million, I would let you go without another word! But do they dare? They don’t dare! They would rather use fifteen million and Vogel to buy a striker like Oliveira than pay another ten million for you. Do you think you can be the core if you went to that kind of team? You can’t even do it at Nottingham Forest, do you think you can at AC Milan?

“Besides Nottingham Forest, what other team is suitable for a player like you? I gave you trust, I indulged you, I gave you everything you wanted. Just because of a tactical adjustment, you’re going to f**king betray me! Where were you when your brothers were secretly meeting Benítez in Liverpool? Why did you turn off your phone? Do you still remember what I said to you in the beginning? ‘If you want to leave, please remember to let me be the first to know.’ You forgot, didn’t you? You’ve forgotten all the things we discussed, haven’t you? Now you tell me you want to leave. Where the hell were you a week ago?”

Twain erupted like a volcano and bellowed at Anelka.

Anelka stood there, expressionless and motionless. He allowed Twain’s spittle to spray on his face. In his impression, this was the first time the manager had blown such a big temper with him.

In fact, when he calmly thought about it, this individualistic manager really indulged him during his time in Nottingham Forest this season. However, things had gotten to this point. Did he have any recourse?

Once the cracks had appeared, things between them would not be as smooth as before.

With a slight sigh, Twain slowed down his speech and continued. “I’m disappointed in you, Nicolas. Very, very damn disappointed. When the club wanted to buy you, I was the first to object, because I knew you wouldn’t have any attachment to this team. We paid good money to buy you, and in the end, you would still leave for some reason, which was not in line with my standards for building the team. I want my players to have feelings for this team and feelings for their teammates. Players who can be like brothers. We are united and worked together for championship titles, bonuses, glory. Whatever it is, we strive together. We’re a single unit, not scattered sand. But you came, and you wore the red jersey from Nottingham Forest, so you became one of us, and I became responsible for you. I accepted you and I let you play as the f**king main force, as the damn core! For you, I even gave up Eastwood, who I like so much. I never hide my fondness for that kid. The entire team knows it. Is this what I get in return? Huh? Well, that’s just great.”

Twain spread his hands and shrugged. His tone was full of sarcasm and disdain.

“If you want to leave, I’m not going to stop you as long as a team can afford that price. That’s not meant to deliberately make things hard for you. That’s just my respect for you. You’re worth that price. I’ll let you go. Of course, if you change your mind and don’t want to leave, I also welcome you to stay. But no matter what you decide, I hope you won’t regret it.” Twain waved his hands. “I have other things to be busy with.”

He was showing him the door and Anelka turned to leave.

Not long after Anelka had left, Kerslake and Dunn dashed in.

“How did it go, Tony?”

“How do you think? If he wants to go, he’ll still go. If he had wanted to stay, I wouldn’t need to make such a great effort to persuade him.” Twain sat behind his desk and rested his chin on both hands.

Dunn said thoughtfully in Mandarin, “Whatever can happen will happen.”

“What did Dunn say?” Kerslake did not comprehend him.

“Same meaning as what I said just now.” Twain translated on his behalf.

“So, you’re just going to let the kid go?”

“Do you think it’s going to be so easy? If no club offers twenty-five million pounds, Anelka is still our man until his contract expires. I don’t care if he’s willing to or not. I just want him to understand one thing: I’m the boss here.” Twain pointed to himself.

Kerslake nodded. “Looks like his brothers are going to be busy again.”

“It’s better than having them buzzing around our ears with nothing better to do all day,” Twain grunted. “We’ll just settle the matter with the Frenchman as it is first. I’ve said everything that needs to be said. Now there’s nothing more we can do about it. Oh, that’s right. Reject Bayern’s offer for Ribéry. Tell them that Ribéry is not for sale.”

Kerslake nodded.

“As for the substitute goalkeeper, I’ll ask Pearce tomorrow to see how much the transfer for Peter Schmeichel might be. Gunnarsson’s transfer application is approved. He can go anywhere he wants. And then there’s… damn it, what were we talking about before Anelka came in?”

“The friendly games.” Dunn reminded him.

“Ah! The Amsterdam Tournament!” Twain recalled. “Yes, we can confirm our participation. As for the Premier League Asia Trophy… Forget about that one, there’s no point. Flying so far out there wastes our time and energy and the opponent is still one from the league. The players will not be motivated to play. You’re in charge of contacting the other friendlies, David.”

Kerslake accepted the task.

Dunn took down Twain’s words in a small notebook. This would be the working arrangement of the team in the future.

“In addition, the site for the summer training… Since we’re taking part in the Amsterdam Tournament, let’s put it in the Netherlands. That’s it for the time being.”

※※※

On their way home, Dunn and Twain discussed Anelka again.

“I’ve said before that I hope you don’t let him go.”

“Yes.” Twain nodded.

“I’ve changed my mind now. I think it’s better for you to sell him sooner.”

“Are you worried that he’ll affect the unity of the team?”

Dunn nodded in acknowledgment.

“He has always been antisocial, so it won’t affect it in any way.” Twain was not worried about that. “Even though I predicted that there would be such a day, I’m still very disappointed. Ah, Dunn. A season of hard work has not been able to stay his heart. This damn Anelka, he’s never going to accomplish anything big! Does a genius overflowing with talent have to have such a terrible character? That’s bulls**t.”

Dunn also knew that whether Anelka left or not, he was no longer in the manager’s plan for the new season. The honeymoon period for the two men had only lasted one season before the end was announced. In fact, it was not surprising at all for this to occur between two highly individualistic people.

After a moment’s silence, Twain sighed and mumbled, “What a pity, it’s really such a shame.”

Chapter 465 - Lofty Aspirations

After Tang En agreed for Anelka to leave, his brothers began busying themselves again. Although the condition of 25 million pounds sounded somewhat high, Anelka’s brothers believed that they would surely find a club willing to pay this sum based on their brother’s outstanding performance in the previous season.

Tang En also stopped caring about their matters and focused on the team’s summer training and other transfers.

First, he gave Man City’s main manager, Stuart Pearce, a call. He asked about the possibility of a transfer for Kasper Schmeichel. Man City Club was indeed keen on giving the favored young goalkeeper a chance to train himself. However, it was not very realistic to let him be the core player in Man City’s First Team or even play as the first goalkeeper substitute. Stuart leaned more towards loaning out Schmeichel Jr. to train for a season. After all, the renowned son of Peter Schmeichel was not even 20 years old; he had a limitless future ahead of him.

No matter how good their relations were, Stuart was unwilling to benefit Tang En for nothing.

Tang En would not want to do something like loan a goalkeeper to be a substitute. Forest was no longer some processing factory helping others to train up football stars.

He still hoped for Stuart to consider it for a while and sell Schmeichel Jr. to Forest. This time, Stuart was resolute. After selling Sun Jihai to Nottingham Forest, he did not want to lose a future core goalkeeper for the team. He was, however, agreeable to loaning out Schmeichel Jr. to Forest for one or two seasons. But Tang En was unwilling.

Just like that, the search for a candidate as the substitute goalkeeper entered a stalemate.

Originally, Tang En was in favor of Kasper Schmeichel. But it was not just him who valued this young goalkeeper. He understood that it was a tactful refusal this time; Stuart was not going to give in.

Just as he was feeling vexed from the unsuccessful deal, Dunn recommended another player to him. He had once been very familiar with his name, but it had since faded from his memory. If not for Dunn’s mention of it, he would probably have been unable to recall it at all.

Igor Akinfeev. The Russian Premier League team CSKA Moscow’s main goalkeeper. He was an important contributor to the team’s championship run in the last season of the League.

Tang En’s mind suddenly turned optimistic. He was indeed a brilliant goalkeeper who could shoulder Forest’s future.

Since they were without any objection from the main manager, Nottingham Forest immediately sent out a purchase request of Akinfeev to Russia’s CSKA Moscow.

As a football team from Russia, they were clear about one fact: the outstanding players they had nurtured were certain to take their leave to head towards a stage that was even more vast.

In truth, Nottingham Forest was not the first European club to become interested in this young goalkeeper. Numerous powerhouses, including Manchester United, Arsenal, and AC Milan, all had rumors of interest in purchasing him. But the first club to make a clear transfer request for the young goalie was Nottingham Forest.

The other teams mostly remained spectators. Ferguson even directly dismissed people’s hopes of Manchester United bringing Akinfeev in; he claimed that the Russian goalkeeper was not included in his plans.

In the FM07 Tang En had used to play, the goalkeeper known as “AK” was a famous special character. But goalkeeping was a position in which age and experience became highly valued. Young goalkeepers often needed to be observed over a greater length of time. No powerhouse would dare to bet it all on a goalkeeper who had just turned 20. They still hoped to keep observing.

Tang En was aiming for that time difference. In the eyes of the others, he had an image of being a bold gambler in his transfer transactions. This was no exception. While the other clubs were still observing or hesitating, Forest had already put in a transfer request to CSKA Moscow. Their offer was five million pounds.

The response came quickly. CSKA Moscow was not surprised to hear about Akinfeev’s departure, but they were unable to accept the price. They raised it to 7.5 million pounds, approximating 10 million euros.

10 million euros to buy a goalkeeper who was only 20 years old!

In the eyes of several people, it was madness. Even though Buffon’s transfer from Parma Calcio 1913 to Juventus was valued at 20 million euros, setting a world record for the value for goalkeepers, Buffon then had already proven his capabilities in the domestic league and the matches representing the national team. Furthermore, another differing point from Akinfeev was that Buffon had come from Italy, a world-renowned strong team. The standards of their league and national team were on an entirely different level compared with Russia.

“If the Russians are trying to use this price to scare us off, they’re barking up the wrong tree. We’re no longer the same Nottingham Forest as two years ago.” Tang En’s reply was to raise the first offer to six million pounds. At the same time, he added another condition of allowing Akinfeev to be loaned back to CSKA Moscow for free for a season.

In other words, Nottingham Forest would be paying Akinfeev a year’s salary, and at the same time gifting him to CSKA Moscow to use for free for a season. CSKA Moscow would also net six million pounds as profit.

That condition was rather good. CSKA Moscow did not turn them down, agreeing to let Forest and Akinfeev proceed with the negotiations of his contract.

A year before, Forest Team might not have had the capability. However, now, Forest could be said to be extremely attractive to Igor Akinfeev. After all, they were the runner-up to both the English Premier League and the Champions League; their capabilities were, without a doubt, being largely acknowledged by the public.

The additional joining of world-class forward Ruud van Nistelrooy boosted the team’s attractiveness even more.

Akinfeev knew that the Russian Premier League was not the stage he wanted to stand on, that Europe’s top-level English Premier League was his future. Although there had been a number of rumors of interest in him from big teams, none of them were realized. Now that the opportunity was here, he did not want to miss out on it.

The negotiations between the two proceeded smoothly.

Akinfeev signed a five-year transfer contract with Nottingham Forest. After taxes, his annual salary was 1.5 million pounds. In his first season, he would be loaned back to CSKA Moscow, the team who had nurtured him.

When both parties separately announced the news, Tang En was beaming to the reporters. He could already see the future of the team becoming clearer and clearer day by day.

Naturally, there were all sorts of interpretations of the transaction by the media. Some praised Forest for buying complete insurance for their future goal doors, while others claimed that recklessly (the transaction period was very short, with everything settled in a total of four days) buying a young goalkeeper who might not be able to adapt to the English Premier League was hardly a wise action. They even suspected there were some unspeakable secret dealings going on behind the transfer.

Tang En could care less about nonsense from the media. First of all, he himself would not deny having any secret dealings; to let the transfer progress more smoothly, Nottingham Forest gave Akinfeev’s agent a small sum of money. However, it was true that Tang En personally did not acquire any gain from it. In terms of economic gain, Tang En was content. He did not miss this small sum of money and was unwilling to use such methods to amass wealth underhandedly. Brian Clough’s prior example was still clear in his mind.

“Alright, the goalkeeper for Forest’s next decade has been dealt with. This is worthy of celebration.” Tang En said to his subordinates in his office after completing the transaction. “But… I’ve realized that we’ve gone a whole round without having resolved the initial problem: where is our substitute goalkeeper?”

Kerslake and Tang En both looked at the goalkeeping coach present, Andy Beasley, hoping for him to answer the question.

“Uh, actually… I think that having Paul as the substitute goalkeeper is sufficient.” That was Beasley’s answer. Tang En frowned. It clearly did not satisfy him.

At this point, someone spoke up for him.

“I believe Paul Gerrard is qualified to be our substitute goalkeeper,” Dunn said. The Chinese assistant manager spoke fluent English.

Tang En looked at him. “Reason?”

“He has a good attitude and doesn’t demand to play as a core player. Additionally, I’ve looked over the recordings for the Champions League’s finals. For suddenly being fielded in that sort of situation, his performance was already extraordinary.” Dunn finished reporting his reasons and lapsed back into silence.

Tang En pinched at his chin as he contemplated it deeply.

He was recalling the match, seriously recalling every little detail from it. That match had left him with a deep impression, and it had only been two months since then; he would not forget it.

“If not for Paul’s excellent performance, our score would have already been equalized by Barcelona in the first half. I know his abilities aren’t qualified to be a core goalkeeper. Paul himself knows that. So, I think he’s the best candidate to be our number-one substitute goalie,” Goalkeeping coach Beasley said from the side in agreement.

Tang En drew himself away from his memories and shrugged. “Andy, you’re the goalkeeping coach. In that area, you’ve got more authority than me. If you think he has the ability to be a qualified substitute, we won’t need to put in the effort to look for another one. To be honest, that position is as difficult to fill as Wood’s substitute.”

Everyone laughed. Tang En was exactly right. Goalkeeping was a particularity among the positions. It demanded stability, so it was not one that would be easily changed and was certain to be excluded from the rotations. The substitute goalkeeper needed to have enough patience and a calm mindset to face with an endless life of being on the bench. Yet at the same time, they had to be prepared for an opportunity to be fielded at any point in time.

Wood’s substitute was another peculiarity; it was not that a defensive midfielder could not be rotated, it was only that Wood was simply too stable. He never got injured and did not fluctuate in his condition. His stamina was even less of a problem. What reason would the manager have to rotate such a player? In that way, his substitute would have even fewer chances to get on the field. Think about poor Gunnarsson last season; Tang En originally retained him, just in case of contingencies. Unexpectedly, the season did not have any such contingencies at all.

Now, Gunnarsson had left the team, transferring to Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.

As the laughter abated, Dunn suddenly said, “I think we needn’t look for Wood’s substitute on purpose. It would be somewhat of a waste if his sub was a specialized defensive midfielder while Sun is a well-rounded backfield player.”

Tang En nodded in understanding.

Rather than especially searching for a defensive midfielder to be a substitute for Wood, they might as well look for a backfield utility player. Not only could he be Wood’s substitute, but he could even sub in for the others, such as the center backs, fullbacks, and defensive midfielders. Anyone. For example, Pepe and Piqué both had experience in playing as a defensive midfielder. Sun Jihai, even more so.?This way, George Wood’s substitute problem could be considered resolved.

They had only changed their angle of consideration, and the issue that had been bugging the team’s managerial team for more than a year was smoothly resolved. The colleagues in the managerial team gained a greater understanding of the Chinese man who was directly promoted from Youth Team assistant manager to First Team assistant manager. He truly had the ability. He did not get the position solely because he had good personal relations with the main manager.

Thanks to the failure of Bayern Munich’s purchase of Ruud van Nistelrooy, they shifted their sights to Franck Ribéry, who had shone brilliantly during the World Cup. But Nottingham Forest labeled Ribéry as “non-saleable.” They did not only turn down Bayern Munich’s offer, but also all other buyers interested in Ribéry.

If Forest wanted to create even more outstanding results, if Tang En hoped for the team to become an important force that could not be ignored within the European soccer scene, now was not the time to sell off players.

Not just Ribéry; Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon, Arteta, George Wood, Piqué, Pepe, Baines, Bale, Chimbonda, and so on; the core line-up for Forest last season had already been almost exhausted by the buyers. Tang En flatly refused them all.

The most crucial thing for a team with lofty aspirations for the future was the stability of their formation. These players had been playing together for one to two seasons, and their tacit understanding of each other were already completely built up. If the group was torn apart just for a bit of money, then Tang En would truly be the greatest fool in the world.

“Nottingham Forest does not survive on selling our football stars for money. We are not such a team. We are not some football star processing factory for any rich or powerful club. Even if someone really took out two trillion pounds, I would not sell any one of my players.”

This was the promise written down by Tang En in his personal column.

After that, Lineker commented on Tang En’s words in his personal column as well: “…He is a manager with lofty aspirations. Note that I’m saying, ‘lofty aspirations.’ They’re not aspiring to anything like preventing relegation or making sure the team gets into next year’s European scene. These aspirations are about becoming champions. With such a main manager, it is not difficult to understand why Nottingham Forest underwent such an earth-shattering transformation under his leadership, jumping three grades in three years, and are still continually broadening their own capabilities. It is because this team is just like their main manager. They both have lofty aspirations.”

Tang En’s rejection of the requested offers that his office table was swimming in was equivalent to stabilizing the team’s morale. Now, Forest’s players understood it well. So long as they follow their Boss forward, they would have a rich future. No one wished to leave this team and choose a new adventure. Tang En’s overtness with those words was also for that intention. By steadying the team’s morale before the match season, the whole team at all levels would be on the same page, ready to put in their all. In this way, the new season would have a good sign going for it.

Following that, he continued taking actions on the transfer market.

As Tang En said to Dunn, “Allan’s job is about how to let the club earn more money, and mine is about how to spend the money Allan earns.”

Despite Mikel Arteta’s commendable performance in the last season, Tang En was still annoyed by the fact that the team had no true offensive midfielder. Furthermore, their grouping in the midfield would surely be thoroughly researched by their opponents. Trying to dominate the scene in the new season by reusing the same strategies would be no different from speaking nonsense.

He needed to bring in more new blood in the midfield. Not only would it bring about more versatility in their strategies, but it would also maintain a sense of crisis among the group of boys and make them realize that there wasn’t a core position in the world they could sit permanently on.

After comparing numerous candidates this time, his eyes looked towards Holland.

He was delighted to see a different development to that of his own memories, because over there was the perfect candidate in his heart.

Chapter 466 - Rafael van der Vaart

Even though the day for the team’s training in the Netherlands was not here yet, Tony Twain had traveled to the nation of tulips first with Dunn.

This was not a vacation. If it was for a vacation, Twain would not go there with Dunn. Over there was a place brimming with all kinds of fancies.

※※※

While Van der Vaart was in bed with his wife, Sylvie, he received a call from his agent, S?ren Lerby.

The ringtone coming from his cell phone was van der Vaart’s favorite music, but sounded especially raucous at this inappropriate time.

Sylvie, who was lying down, rolled her eyes. She could clearly feel the change in her husband’s body. This was probably not what he had hoped would happen.

“Um...” Van der Vaart was a little embarrassed and looked apologetically at his wife. He rolled away from her and took the phone on the bedside table.

“S?ren, do you know what time it is?” He answered the phone harshly and glanced up at the small alarm clock on the bedside table.

It was 11:30 at night.

“I’m really sorry, Rafael. But I think I should tell you this news.” His agent, S?ren Lerby, who understood him well, certainly knew what he had interrupted, but sex was something that he could do every night if he wanted to. Now, what he was going to tell van der Vaart did not happen every day.

After he discovered that it was about his future, van der Vaart did not get angry. He bowed his head to give Sylvie a kiss, and then he got up and left the bed. He walked naked into the living room.

“All right. Tell me, S?ren.”

“I got a call from the Nottingham Forest manager thirty minutes ago.”

“Nottingham Forest?” van der Vaart said aloud this somewhat awkward-sounding name. “The team that was runner-up in the UEFA Champions League?”

“Yes, they asked me some things about you. I could see that they are interested in you, Rafael.”

Van der Vaart fell into a silence.

At this time, his wife had put on some clothes and came out of the bedroom in a robe.

Van der Vaart glanced back at his wife and took hold of her hand.

“Rafael, a season ago, you promised Danny Blind that you would stay in Ajax for another year, and you have fulfilled that promise now. There are a lot of clubs out there that want you to join, and Nottingham Forest is one of them.”

“Yes, I know about all those offers, but I don’t like some of them.”

“I understand that. I was on the phone with the Nottingham Forest manager for thirty minutes before I decided to call you. If it’s those clubs that don’t meet your requirements, we filter them out here.”

“Thirty minutes?” Van der Vaart was suddenly interested in the Nottingham Forest manager.

S?ren Lerby was a well-known Dutch agent and was usually very busy. It was rare for him to be able to talk to a manager whom he was in touch with for the first time for thirty minutes over the phone.

“Yes, we talked about a lot of things, and they were all about you. We asked and replied to each other’s questions. Based on my instincts, I think he’s rather sincere.”

“So, what do you think I should do?”

“He hopes he can meet you in Amsterdam and have a good chat.”

“All right, I’ll do it.”

After he ended the call with his agent, Sylvie moved closer. “Which club is it this time?”

“Nottingham Forest from England. They were the runner-up in the UEFA Champions League last season and lost to Barcelona in the final.” Van der Vaart explained to his wife.

“Are you going to meet their manager?”

“Yes.”

“What will happen?” Sylvie rested her head on van der Vaart’s shoulder.

“I’m not sure.” Van der Vaart turned his face to his wife. “Another round?”

Sylvie leaped away from van der Vaart, “You’re ready again!”

Laughing, van der Vaart picked up his wife and went into the bedroom.

※※※

While van der Vaart was getting cozy with his wife, S?ren Lerby dialed Tony Twain’s number.

“He’s agreed, Mr. Twain. We can meet and have a talk.”

“That’s great news.” Twain laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. At first, he was worried that van der Vaart would not meet with him so easily.

“You know, Mr. Twain, As Rafael’s agent, I hope to safeguard his future. There are still a lot of football clubs wooing him, including big clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.”

“I understand. If he has any doubts, he can call Edwin van der Sar, his teammate from the Netherlands national team, and hear what he says about my team.” Twain was confident on that.

He wanted to buy van der Vaart not because he wanted to act like those titans. He had his own judgment and ideas. Before he came here, he and Dunn had already made a tactical plan for the team for if van der Vaart successfully joined the team.

When he purchased a player, he did not care about the player’s price, nationality, character, private life, or other factors unrelated to the game. The first thing he had his eye on was whether the player was what the team needed. As long as the team needed him, then he would buy him regardless of the price. If the team did not require him, then he would not want him no matter how cheap he was.

This had something to do with his notion of personal consumption. He was that kind of person in life, whether it was before or after his transmigration. A dollar was too expensive for something he did not like. But for his favorite things, he was willing to pay any amount of money.

“I hope it’s as you say, Mr. Twain. We’ll be in touch tomorrow. It’s getting late, and you’ve just arrived in the Netherlands.”

“Aha, isn’t the Dutch nightlife just starting now?” Twain asked.

Lerby laughed on the other end of the line. “The red-light district is not as beautiful as it’s reputed to be. If you want to go, Mr. Twain, be a bit more careful.”

“Oh...I’m just asking casually.” Twain also knew that this was not the time to enjoy a scenic tour.

The red-light district in Amsterdam was the world’s famous gathering ground for the sex trade. But at the same time, a lot of crime flourished behind those “window girls.” It was a grey area secretly controlled by the forces of organized crime syndicates. The drug trade and human trafficking were rampant, and petty thefts and so on were even more commonplace.

After he hung up the phone, Twain clapped his hands and said to Dunn, “Good news, van der Vaart has agreed to meet us.”

“The bad news is you’re not able to go to the red-light district that you’ve admired for such a long time?” Dunn said.

Twain cleared his throat. “I’m not interested in putting on a sex show on the street.”

“Not going to happen, there’s a curtain for shelter.”

“You seemed to know a lot.” Twain glared at Dunn.

He did not expect him to shrug his shoulders. “Google’s a very powerful tool. But seriously, since you have arranged for the training to be here, better watch out for those hot-blooded lads on the team.”

It turned out that he had been considering things from this point of view and had therefore gone online to search for information about Amsterdam’s red-light district. His detail-oriented mind was the main reason why Twain valued him.

Twain pondered for a moment, and then said, “Well, I will introduce the relevant rules for it. But let’s think about the matter regarding van der Vaart. Come, let’s sort out the strategy for persuasion when we meet him.”

※※※

“Would you like me to brief you about the team you’re going to meet soon?” On the way from the training ground to the place where Twain was staying, the agent sat in the front passenger’s seat and spoke to van der Vaart, who drove.

“I know they advanced to the Champions League final this season, which was kind of unexpected. Do they have other stories?”

The Forest team, which once reverberated throughout the European football world, was now unknown to a lot of people. For Van der Vaart, who did not previously care about the course of English football, it was normal for him not to know Nottingham Forest’s history.

“Well, yes, and it’s a brilliant past that will surprise you.” Lerby looked down at the information placed on his lap. “Their pinnacle was when they were the winners of the UEFA Champions League twice in a row.”

Van der Vaart turned his head to look at his agent. This was indeed a bit of a surprise.

“In the two consecutive seasons of 78-79 and 79-80. Other than Arsenal in 2004, they were the record-holder of the longest unbeaten record in England’s domestic top league, which was also created in those two seasons: forty-two games.”

“But I’ve never heard that name…”

“That’s normal. After the start of the English Premier League, they rapidly declined and then were relegated into England’s second-tier league. Until their comeback in the last four years. After that, as a newly promoted team, they were ranked fourth in the 04-05 season of the English Premier League and obtained a spot in the qualifier for the 05-06 season Champions League tournament, and then… As you can see, they advanced into last season’s Champions League final and nearly defeated Barcelona.” Lerby skimmed through the information. “I think it’s no use talking about that. It’s already in the past. No one knows what’s going to happen in the future. I’d better introduce you to this young manager who is almost a clone of the greatest manager in their club’s history, the legendary Brian Clough.”

Van der Vaart quickly searched his mind, and soon an image popped out. “The manager who gave the silver medal he had just received to the ball boy on the sidelines at the trophy ceremony?”

Upon hearing that description, Lerby laughed. “That’s right. It looks like that image of him left a very deep impression.”

“I was deeply impressed that he was the first person I had ever seen do that.”

“What do you think of his actions?”

“It’s hard to say...” Van der Vaart was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know what to make of him.”

“He’s that kind of man.” Lerby continued. “Some people like him and some detest him. It’s quite extreme. He was known in England as a manager who can be on an equal footing with Mourinho. Of course, I mean their tempers.” Speaking of which, Lerby picked up a thick pile of information from his lap and flipped through.

“Listen, it’s so thick that the sound is muffled.”

“What’s this?” Van der Vaart threw a quick glance while he drove the car.

“Just some information regarding this temperamental manager… His character, his comments, his coaching results, his tactical style, his personal preferences, and some interesting gossip and tabloids. Thanks to the established media in the UK, this is just what I collected easily. I think it’s more difficult to describe him to you on the way. I’ll just pick out some of the key points. Firstly, most people believe that this manager is extremely good at regulating the mood in the locker room and good at blending with his own players. Under his management, there are no confirmed scandals coming from Nottingham Forest’s locker room. Secondly, most people think that Tony Twain is a manager who values defense more.”

When he heard that, van der Vaart frowned.

Lerby saw it and said, “I’m just stating what people think. It doesn’t represent me or you. You need to observe for yourself what kind of man and manager he really is. We’re here.” He pointed to the street corner ahead, where there was a small hotel.

※※※

The meeting between the two sides was not held in any restaurant, café or bar, but in the hotel where Twain was staying. Before the matter was settled, Twain wanted to keep a low profile. After all, there were plenty of football clubs across Europe that wanted this midfielder.

Lerby served as a translator during the exchange.

When van der Vaart saw Dunn standing next to Twain, he was a little surprised to see an East Asian face.

Twain obviously knew what the other person was surprised about, so he kindly introduced them to each other, “This is Dunn, my assistant manager from China. He’s a very good coach.”

Regardless of whether Dunn was really as good as Twain said, there would probably not be a second example of a Chinese man being employed as an assistant manager in Europe. They had not yet begun a formal conversation, and van der Vaart had already deeply realized the manager’s unusual areas.

In order not to let the mood of the meeting become heavy, the agent, S?ren Lerby, began with a joke, “Mr. Twain, did you go to the red-light district in the canals yesterday?”

Twain mischievously laughed in his hoarse voice, “I followed your advice, Mr. Lerby. Dunn and I were well-behaved and stayed in the hotel yesterday. And… Rafael is the purpose of our visit to the Netherlands. He’s more important than anything else.” The conversation shifted naturally to the proper topic.

Twain was grateful to this agent, who was the highest rated among the many types of agents he had been in contact with.

Accordingly, everyone looked at van der Vaart.

“I’ve also listened to S?ren’s introduction. He said that you are a very sincere person, so I decided to meet you.”

“Ah, that’s what he said. What do you think of me?”

“Well...you’re very young. You look younger than the one in the Champions League final.”

“That’s all in the past, let’s not mention anything else about it.” Twain winked at van der Vaart and said, “Since you mentioned the Champions League, that’s our goal for the new season.”

“To advance to the final again?” Van der Vaart asked with interest.

“No, we’re going to take the championship trophy this time,” Twain replied with considerable confidence.

Van der Vaart looked into his eyes. His gaze was firm and did not look like he was joking at all.

“It’s an amazing goal.” For a moment, he did not know what to say in the face of such a confident manager.

“Nottingham Forest will not be satisfied with just participating in the Champions League every season. I’m not bragging. I have no doubt about that my players have the ability to do so. Edwin van der Sar and you are teammates of the same national team. Didn’t you hear him talk about us during the World Cup?”

During the World Cup, there were teammates who were interested in Edwin van der Sar being able to play in the Champions League final again, so he was asked some things about that team. However, the people who inquired about them were not van der Vaart. He was not paying attention at that point. He did not think that he would have a connection with this team now.

The discussion fell into a brief silence, and Twain signaled to Dunn. The latter pulled out a stack of papers from the briefcase and handed them to the two men.

“I’ve studied more about your professional experience and style of play, Rafael. This is a tactic I’ve worked out about you in conjunction with the current state of the team. I don’t like to lie, make empty promises or give clichés. Being honest and realistic is what matters fundamentally. I admire your ability, and I very much hope that you can join us. But I believe that I am not the only one who says these things to you. So, I want you to understand our sincerity.” He pointed to the stack of papers.

Van der Vaart picked them up and found that the words were in Dutch. This was a small detail, but it explained some things. He looked up at the smiling Twain and lowered his head to continue reading.

It was indeed a very detailed tactical manual, which was aimed at van der Vaart’s personal characteristics and preferences in combination with the deployment of the Nottingham Forest players. It listed a variety of tactical combinations for him. In Twain’s overall plan, van der Vaart was a player in the midfield, but his position was closer to the penalty area. It was different from his usual position in the 4-4-2 formation. His role here was between the defensive midfielder and the shadow striker.

Twain gave van der Vaart full freedom among the tactics. He could either organize the attack in the midfield or make a long pass to score after his plug-in ahead. And at the same time, it was unlike Ronald Koeman’s, which required van der Vaart to put his energies on the defense.

“Most of my players are multifaceted, so our tactics are nimbler. I’m sure you’ve heard some comments about me, and one of them is bound to mention that I’m a coach that places emphasis on defense.” As van der Vaart looked down, Twain continued. “I admit it. I care a lot about defense because that’s the basis of all victories. However, you’re not required to do the job of defense. We have the best defensive midfielder in Europe. With him around, the offensive players can attack and score without any compunctions.”

Twain was talking about George Wood. He was confident about this. Wood was the best, presently and in the future.

To be honest, there were two points in the detailed tactical manual that touched van der Vaart. The first point was about the shadow striker. Van der Vaart had been a striker when he had first played. Later, depending on the team’s requirements, his position gradually retreated. At one point, he was even put in the position of a defensive midfielder to take charge of the defense by his manager, Koeman. These were not what van der Vaart liked. Even though he was now basically set in the midfield, he still liked the feeling of shooting and scoring. He had very good long shot ability. His place kicks were good too. He did not want to waste such talent.

The other point was that he did not need to think about defense, which allowed him to put his heart and soul into the offense. He liked that point very much. Most talented offensive players did not like their managers making them play defense. They would think that they were being used in an insignificant position, or in other words, completely misused. How could they step forward when the team needed them to attack after having wasted all their strength on defense? If there was someone to play defense full-time, they could attack without the slightest scruple. This was indeed a tempting prospect.

Seeing how van der Vaart was lost in his thought as he stared at the document in his hands, S?ren Lerby asked in Dutch, “Is there a problem, Rafael?”

“Well… This is the first time I’ve seen such a detailed tactical commitment during a face-to-face meeting with me. I kind of don’t believe it.”

When he saw the two men chatting in Dutch, Twain knew they must be discussing this and stopped talking. Dunn got up to take away the two glasses of cold water in front of Lerby and van der Vaart and replaced them with two cups of hot water.

“I didn’t think they were so well prepared. No, I should have anticipated it after him talking to me for thirty minutes. You see, I was right, this manager is very unusual.”

Van der Vaart nodded. “He is indeed unusual. His team has just been promoted to the English Premier League for two seasons and he wants to win the Champions League this season. S?ren, do you think he’s making an empty promise or has delusions of grandeur?”

Lerby shook his head. “I can’t say for sure. At least they advanced to the Champions League final last season. That wasn’t fake.”

“Nottingham Forest…” Van der Vaart murmured this slightly hard-to-pronounce name, “This is the most substantial offer I’ve ever seen. He’s right, it is indeed realistic. However, I feel I still need to think about it.”

“Of course. It’s a decision about your future. I don’t want you to make a hasty decision.”

The two men agreed and told Twain what they had decided. Nottingham Forest was very sincere, and the terms were very tempting. But van der Vaart still needed to seriously consider the matter, so he was unable to give Twain a reply yet.

Twain said he understood. He just had to be patient. He had not thought that van der Vaart would immediately agree. After all, there were other club’s offers waiting for this Ajax captain.

Anyway, he had expressed enough sincerity and issued all the terms. He had done his best; the rest was up to fate. He had done everything he could, and now the only thing he could do was patiently wait for the answer.

The ball was in van der Vaart’s court.

※※※

On the way back, S?ren Lerby told van der Vaart that in July, the Forest team would be in the Netherlands on invitation for the Amsterdam Tournament. Perhaps he could to take a closer look at the team then.

Van der Vaart’s answer was, “If I’m leaving Ajax and going to a new team, it’s a little late to make a decision then.”

※※※

Upstairs in the hotel, van der Vaart’s car could be seen leaving through the room window. Twain tilted his head and said, “We did everything we could. There’s nothing left to do. I hope I didn’t make a trip for nothing.”

“The good news is,” Dunn held the manual in his hand, “Bayern Munich’s offer is bound to be rejected because they once looked down on van der Vaart, which is something the Dutchman kept in mind. Juventus is now going to Serie B, which holds no appeal for van der Vaart. Real Madrid’s real target is Kaka, and their supposed interest in van der Vaart was hyped by the Spanish media. Arsenal already bought Tomá? Rosicky and will not buy van der Vaart again. Another suitor, Hamburger SV, I believe is less competitive than we are.”

After listening to Dunn’s analysis, Twain stood at the window as he looked at the car that had disappeared around the corner and remained quiet.

Chapter 467 - Poor Hamburger…

Dunn’s analysis was on point. The powerhouses rumored to be interested in Rafael van der Vaart were all currently in some sort of difficulty themselves. They were unable to extricate themselves from their situations to care about him. Before Nottingham Forest joined the pursuit, Germany’s Hamburger SV was closest to Rafael van der Vaart.

In truth, Hamburger SV was already very keen on bringing in the Ajax captain who was in a tough situation even before the last season.

At that time, if Koeman had continued to be Ajax’s main manager, van der Vaart would surely have chosen to go to Hamburger SV. However, Blind’s arrival changed all that Tang En was familiar with. He persuaded Ajax’s pillar of support to stay behind and help him for one season. During that time, a large half of Ajax’s youth talents had just left, and the results of the team were unstable. They had needed an experienced veteran to take the lead. Without a doubt, van der Vaart was their best candidate.

As thanks for van der Vaart’s decision to stay behind, the club would not stop him from leaving the team a season later. So long as he came to an agreement with the other team, he would be able to depart from the team at an inexpensive price.

Van der Vaart agreed to this condition and chose to stay behind in exchange for departing a season later. Blind also gave him the captain’s armband.

As a result, van der Vaart had turned down Hamburger SV a season ago.

The German club had had their hearts set on him. A season later, they again extended an invitation to van der Vaart. The man had very good feelings towards the German football team that valued him so highly and which had promised to let him play his favorite position of shadow striker. If not for Tony Twain abruptly intervening, he would have begun contract discussions with Hamburger SV.

Nottingham Forest’s joining changed everything.

A team which had so much ambition and which was constantly striving to strengthen their capabilities was hoping for van der Vaart to join them. Their aim was to become the season’s champions of the Champions League.

Van der Vaart admitted that this attracted him a lot more than simply letting him play as a shadow striker.

As a professional footballer, which player would not want to attain the highest glory in the football scene? The highest glories for the National teams were the UEFA European Championship and World Cup championship, while a club’s highest glory was, of course, becoming champions of the UEFA Champions League.

In the previous season, Nottingham Forest had fought all the way into the finals in one breath. And during the finals, the story of their pitiable loss to Barcelona had left him with a deep impression. Even van der Vaart, who was without any prior understanding of Forest Team, was left with an indelible memory of it.

After a face-to-face discussion with Tang En, he himself had felt the great aspirations of the manager. In truth, the scales in van der Vaart’s heart were shaken when they had met. His manager, S?ren Lerby,?was a person who attended to details. Following the meeting, he especially gave van der Vaart a few DVD recordings of Forest’s matches.

Since waiting to observe at their camp training in the Netherlands would be too late, they might as well begin their observations through the match recordings now.

S?ren Lerby hoped that van der Vaart could understand what kind of team Forest was through the recordings and then consider which club he should go to.

Of course, how could UEFA’s documentary of Nottingham Forest be missing from those DVDs?

Tony Twain and the team was presented clearly before van der Vaart.

This was a youthful team filled with vigor. At the same time, they were not lacking in experience. The feeling they gave was very much like Ajax.

“Days with nothing to do are so boring.” In their hotel room, Dunn was focused on his research of every one of their opponents in the new season, while Tang En was leaning by the windows, watching the pedestrians pass by beneath and playing with the cell phone in his hands.

Two days had passed. Van der Vaart had yet to give them a reply, and even his agent, S?ren Lerby, seemed to have gone missing without any attempt to initiate contact with them.

Tang En believed that his words and tactical strategies had already moved the other party. No, he did not just believe it; he was sure of it. What was strange was that the other party had not replied to him the next day. Being on tenterhooks in this manner was truly discomforting.

“You could go exploring on your own, see the world-famous window prostitution,” Dunn replied without looking up.

Tang En glared at him. “Sometimes, I really miss the old Dunn who wouldn’t even let out a fart in a span of three days.’

“Or, you could start seriously considering how you can make sure the players don’t get into trouble while training here.”

That question was a serious one, causing Tang En to settle into silence. Back then, when he had chosen Amsterdam, he did not consider that aspect. The Netherlands could be considered to be the world’s most open country. Over here, drugs, prostitution, gambling, and euthanasia were all legal. Things that would have severe legal repercussions in other nations were all openly existent under the sun in this low-lying land.

If Tang En was accompanied by a hospitable friend from the Netherlands who was familiar with Amsterdam, he would not at all mind visiting a brothel to have some fun. If he himself was that way, what of the younger players who were full of vigor?

The western world was unlike the Chinese world; it was no big deal to publicly talk about sex. Matters such as visiting prostitutes were up to the freedom of an individual, their private life. Others could not interfere with it.

Tang En was not some kind of moralist. He felt that it was a normal biological need for men to look for women. In a situation where they did not have a girlfriend or wife, they could not possibly always be alone. So, prostitutes naturally became a reasonable option. In his days in the UK, he had had several experiences like that. But to him, those sorts of matters were not anything worthwhile to publicly advertise about.

During summer vacation, Tang En could care less about what the players were doing. It was none of Tang En’s business, small matters like finding women for relaxation.

But what was to come next was the team’s training camp. They needed to begin preparation for the new season. For players, this duration was considered working hours; Was there ever a boss that allowed workers to call for girls during working hours?

Having situated the training in Amsterdam, they naturally had to face this sort of troublesome issue. He could not possibly request that all his players stay in the hotel at night and disallow them from going anywhere. This was pre-season training, not a Nazi concentration camp.

“Yes…” Tang En said as he pondered. “Perhaps, I should adjust the plans for the next camp training.”

“Giving up on the Netherlands?”

“We don’t have to. We’re the number two football team in Europe. Getting scared off by a bunch of call girls… Wouldn’t that be shameful if it got out? But I’ll have to give up on Amsterdam. This city isn’t a suitable place for training.”

“You have a new place in mind?”

Tang En smiled. “I just remembered a place. It might work.”

“Where?”

“A small town north-east of Amsterdam, Volendam.”

Dunn was stunned on hearing the name.

“It’s bright and beautiful, with a network of rivers. The place is a little secluded, but it is quiet. The locals there are simple and honest, so our people won’t be disturbed much. I think that it’s a good location for focusing on training.” Tang En winked. Of course, he was not going to reveal that he himself had found the name from an online web novel about soccer and retained a deep impression of it.

“It is a good place.” Dunn could say nothing else.

At this point, the phone that Tang En had been fiddling with vibrated. It alarmed him so much he almost hurled it out of the window.

The phone jumped between his hands several times before he finally caught hold of it.

“Hello! Mr. Lerby!” Tang En’s voice rose. He stood up from beside the windows.

Seeing him stand, Dunn fell quiet.

After half a minute or so, a smile emerged on Tang En’s face. “That’s great! Thank you, Mr. Lerby. We will contact Ajax immediately. At the same time, I think we can begin our discussion of the personal contract terms tomorrow.”

Putting down the phone, Tang En threw up his arms and jumped. “Great news! Van der Vaart has joined!”

“Don’t celebrate too early. Ajax hasn’t confirmed they will release him.”

“There’s no problem on the club’s side,” Tang En said with a wave of his hand. “This is a good sign. A good sign for the new season. Dunn, I feel like I’ve gotten new epic-level equipment! We’re getting stronger!”

“This isn’t an online game… What did the agent say?”

“‘Rafael is pleased to be able to accept Nottingham Forest’s invitation and has entrusted me all rights in the discussion of his terms and contract,”‘ Tang En said, imitating S?ren Lerby’s way of speaking.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy, van der Vaart… and more. I’m going to throw Europe’s soccer scene into chaos this season!” Tang En’s eyes shone brightly with a wide toothy grin on his face.

The negotiations went smoothly, with all the terms and conditions settled in just one afternoon. Van der Vaart’s salary placement within the team belonged to the first category. Forest, who had earned a lot of money from the television broadcast in the last season, was also generous, writing a large check.

Van der Vaart was extremely satisfied with his personal terms of contract. Other than his salary, there were also additional prizes for scoring goals and assists. Furthermore, the length of four years for the contract was reasonable. There were no problems he could pick on.

Regarding the negotiations between the clubs, it was as expected. As promised, van der Vaart stayed behind to help his team get through a tough season, and now it was the club’s turn to go through on their end of the bargain. Ajax did not make things difficult with van der Vaart’s direction of choice, and the two clubs very quickly came to an agreement.

At last, Nottingham Forest successfully brought in Netherlander midfield football star, Rafael van der Vaart, at a low price of 4.5 million pounds.

When Tang En returned to England, he brought back an outstanding midfield attacker for the team and greater versatility in their strategies.

This time, the history once described by the “Godfather of Barcelona,” Cruyff, as “I don’t know what to say or what van der Vaart would do in Hamburger SV,” had finally been crushed in its infancy. Europe’s golden boy, known as the “new Cruyff” and who had gradually become a fallen player, was now a member of the Red Forest. In this team, he would continue bearing his favorite jersey number, 24. In the press conference to welcome him, Tang En said this to the reporters doubting van der Vaart’s level and conditions:

“… I know about the situation during his last moments in Ajax. We’ve had a very honest conversation. I firmly believe in my choice. Rafael is a player worthy of my trust and is also a player that Forest needs. My players do not need to be responsible for the doubts of the media; he only needs to be responsible to me and my team.”

Tang En’s future, Nottingham Forest’s future, the English Premier League’s future, and the future of various powers within the European soccer scene… They were all greatly anticipated.

After taking down the former number 10 player from the Netherland’s National Team, Tang En’s actions in the transfer market did not halt there.

Three days after, Nottingham Forest’s official site updated the transfer news again, having just updated it three days prior. They placed it in an eye-catching spot.

Since Tang En’s arrival, Nottingham Forest’s official site had developed a habit. Before a final success in transfer negotiations with the players, they would surely not divulge any news on their own website, even if the outside world was already rife with rumors, or if papers like The Sun were talking such a transaction going on. The news they announced was always successful transfers, whether it be the departure of a player or an arrival. So, Forest’s fans and media on the lookout for news on Forest Team understood that they only had to wait on the official website to know and ascertain the success or failure of a certain transfer.

This time, the picture appearing on the homepage of the website was an Eastern European player.

“… We are delighted to announce that the club has reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid from the La Liga, to purchase Bulgaria’s national player, left winger Martin Petrov, at a price of 5 million pounds. The player famed for his speed and assists is happy to join the team. During an interview with him, he claimed it was the main manager’s name, Tony Twain, that had influenced him to make this decision. In this transfer, we defeated North London’s football team, Tottenham Hotspur.”

That last line of the news was also unique to the official website since Tang En’s arrival. The method of publicly announcing having defeated whoever it was gained the ire of opposing clubs. But Forest found a tireless joy in it and did not have the intention of changing their habits.

Such an arrogant show was very true to the impression Tony Twain gave to people.

After bringing in large numbers of offensive players, Tang En finally thought of adding in some competitiveness to the defensive line.

A day later, the homepage of the official site added news of another confirmed transfer.

“Nottingham Forest has reached a consensus regarding the transfer of Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht’s young center back, Vincent Kompany. Manager Twain has called Kompany, valued at four million pounds, the future of the team. He would be competing for the core position of center back with Piqué and Pepe in the new season. Kompany is delighted to join Nottingham Forest, and for that, has turned down Hamburger SV’s invitation.

At the same time, manager Tony Twain has agreed upon Matthew Upson’s transfer to West Ham United. The negotiations of the terms of contract between the two clubs as well as West Ham United and the player have concluded. On manager Tony’s successful purchase of Kompany, he has also finally agreed to release Upson. We are grateful for Upson’s contributions to the team in these two seasons and wish him the best of luck.”

Matthew Upson’s departure brought in an income of 4.2 million pounds for Forest. The successful sale of the team’s reserve center back at this price was attributed not only to English Premier’s usual tendency to hype prices up, but also significantly to the double act performance by Allan Adams and Tony Twain.

On one hand, Allan contended with their opponents on the negotiation tables. On the other, Tang En was dead set on not letting go. His insistent claims about not selling anyone also gave West Ham United no small pressure. In the end, the center back who was never in Tang En’s plans managed to be sold for 4.2 million pounds, canceling out the cost of Kompany’s transfer and even getting two hundred thousand pounds as net profit.

After a series of transfer movements, Forest’s formation for the new season was more or less complete. Now, if there was still a source of worry in both Tang En and Allan’s hearts, it was likely to be the uncertain factor of Anelka.

However, Tang En could care less about Anelka today. It did not matter if he was willing to stay or leave the team. He did not have the energy to care about it. With so many new players on the team, he needed to mesh them all together before the season began and deal with the relations on the team. He also had to guide the new players to adapt to the team and their life in England as soon as possible.

“On my team, there isn’t a difference between core players an reserves. Only a difference between those in good condition and with good attitudes, or those in lousy conditions with lousy attitudes. If you want to play in more matches, work hard to convince me with your performance in training and in matches!” Tang En said to the 25 players on the First Team during their first training session.

It was the official beginning of Nottingham Forest’s all-around battle in the new season.

Chapter 468 - Welcome to Amsterdam

Twain’s work went very well with the coaching staff and Dunn’s efforts. Several of the new players had been hand-picked by Twain himself and persuaded to join, so he had his own plans and arrangements for these players in his mind. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with all the parts put into place save for a few empty areas. Now, he was putting these missing pieces in the right places so a complete picture would appear before everyone’s eyes.

These new players had also become acquainted with the manager whom they were going to work with for the next four years beforehand. They were familiar with each other, so matters were made easier.

The coaching unit’s job was to build the team’s new tactics and train the team to adapt to them.

The addition of Van der Vaart and Van Nistelrooy had provided new changes to the Forest team’s tactics. In the past, Nottingham Forest’s tactics had been dominated by rapid counterattacks. The arrival of the two Dutch players allowed the Forest team to strengthen its shortcomings through its positions.

Van Nistelrooy was a center forward who was very much in line with Twain’s requirements. He not only had excellent scoring ability, but was also good at sprinting and could hold the ball to pass to his teammates. He could also use his sprints to rip apart the opponent’s defense and create offensive opportunities for his teammates from behind. His sense of responsibility even made him willing to pull back for the defense—this was one of his traits that Twain liked the most. This professional player put the interests of the team ahead of his own personal interests.

Van der Vaart was given a lot of freedom in the front part of the midfield. Twain was right that most of the time, he didn’t need to think about defense at all. When he partnered with his new teammate, George Wood, in the midfield, it became apparent. Wood’s fierce tackles and excellent stamina could completely assume the heavy responsibility of defense in the midfield so that Van der Vaart could attack without restraints in the front of the midfield.

Having just joined the team, in order to integrate more quickly, Van der Vaart took on more responsibility to organize the midfield during training and warm-up. Twain was happy to see him take the initiative to do this sort of thing. The team did indeed require an organizer closer to the opponent’s goal. Arteta was still a midfielder, not an attacking midfielder, after all.

Wood’s task remained the same no matter whom he partnered with. His first job was always to protect his partner and make certain that their backs were covered.

Naturally, Albertini asked Wood to participate more actively in offense, both in training and in games. He couldn’t just be a bystander and not care once he intercepted the ball in the back and passed it on to his teammates in front of him. Even if there was no ball to tackle, he had to run up to provide support.

Albertini asked Wood to learn from his midfield partner at all times, as they were his closest “teachers.” Wood had partnered with different types of midfielders—Albertini, Arteta… Now, it was Van der Vaart’s turn. Albertini hoped Wood could learn something useful from these different styles of teammates. He didn’t doubt Wood’s learning ability at all, otherwise he couldn’t have made so much progress.

As for Petrov, his position was set on the left. His speed and acceleration were perfect for the English Premier League. Twain had always felt that this Bulgarian hadn’t been fully played to his true strengths on side offense while he had been in Bundesliga and La Liga. The English Premier League was a fast-paced league with swift offense and quick defense. Speed was the number one essential factor. Petrov also found this was to his liking.

Originally, there had only been Franck Ribéry on the left, struggling to do it on his own. Thankfully, for the past two seasons, he’d had no injuries or fluctuations in his condition. However, Twain couldn’t guarantee that nothing would happen in the future. Petrov’s arrival greatly reduced the pressure on Ribéry while making the Forest team’s left side more terrifying.

After the addition of positional play experts such as Van Nistelrooy and Van der Vaart, the Forest team’s biggest feature—its speed—was not weakened. Instead, it had been enhanced. It was believed that this wasn’t good news for the other Premier League team managers.

Perhaps some might have been worried that the Forest team would lose its speed in its counterattacks after Anelka was left out in the cold, but Twain had already made plans for it a while before.

Without Anelka, despite the overall decline in the frontline’s speed, Nottingham Forest’s counterattacks were known for their speed before the arrival of Anelka. The striker didn’t spearhead the counterattacks. The real weapon were the two sides. Therefore, even though there was no Anelka, the effect on the team’s speed of counterattacking was minimal.

Nottingham Forest’s wingers had outstanding individual abilities. They were fast, good at breaking through, and able to score their own shots. While Ashley Young was “obsessive-compulsive disorder in assists,” everyone else could be the spearhead of the counterattacks.

Hence, Twain placed emphasis on the wingers to practice their shooting during regular training. He wanted them to maintain their feel for shooting so that they wouldn’t disappoint the team and fans when they were required to shoot and score in games.

※※※

While Nottingham Forest held their training in England, they played two friendlies against teams from the EFL Championship. The Forest team won one game and tied the other. As always, Twain didn’t place any importance on the results of such insignificant games. What he cared about was the process.

The team carried out extensive substitutions for both games in the first and second halves, so the outcomes of the games were completely worthless.

For the first friendly, Twain mainly observed and concluded that the players’ stamina and recovery states were mixed after the holiday period. There were some players whose conditions were as stable and excellent as ever, like the monster George Wood, whereas some people fared worse, like Ashley Young. The result of this game was a draw, and the team and the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club tied at 2:2.

After another week of grinding and sharpening, the players’ forms returned in the second game, and the new players’ cooperation with the team gradually took shape. This time, the Forest team defeated Sunderland, the team that was recently relegated to the EFL Championship, with a score of 3:1. Twain was happy to see Van Nistelrooy score a goal in the game.

As the team’s organizational core, Van der Vaart needed to work with the entire team, so his performance was average for these two friendlies.

Petrov showed terrific adaptability. Just as Twain had thought, his style simply complemented the style of the English Premier League. It was only here that he could play well. Even Ribéry had to play second fiddle to his breakthrough on the side, because he and Ribéry were different. Ribéry’s dribbling skill was better. Speed was just one method, and Petrov relied on it. He was so fast that no one could defend against him. Although aggressive and forceful breakthroughs were the simplest, they were the most effective way to deal with the Premier League full backs who just ran along the sides.

In the Bundesliga, the press once assessed Petrov. “If the full backs are half a body’s distance from Martin Petrov, that means they have already been passed by.”

It vividly illustrated this Bulgarian’s characteristic—his incredible speed.

Twain also didn’t ask Petrov to learn from the other players to do such techniques like scissors, Marseille Turns, or flips… What he asked of Petrov was very simple: he must press on once he took control of the ball. If there was an obstacle in front of him, he must rely on his speed to forge ahead!

※※※

Time passed extremely quickly. It was getting closer to the Amsterdam Tournament, and the team had to get ready to leave for the training grounds in Volendam, a small town in the northeastern part of the Netherlands.

Anelka’s transfer prospects were unknown. His two elder brothers were working hard to help him find a club that met his requirements, but the situation was not easy.

There were a lot of teams that wanted Anelka, but Anelka either looked down on the teams like the Bolton Wanderers… or the clubs couldn’t afford thirty million dollars. The clubs that could afford thirty million dollars were unwilling to pay so much for a striker with such a peculiar temperament.

Through these events, Anelka was left hanging in the air with nowhere to go.

His two agent-brothers once thought that Twain had bluffed about the thirty million dollar base. They persuaded a team to offer twenty million to buy Anelka from the Forest team and were directly rebuffed by Twain without another word.

Later, his two older brothers started to let Anelka come in late or leave early during training as a form of passive-aggression and publicized the conflict between the two men in the press. And the result? Twain basically ignored all their petty maneuvers.

Anelka, if you want to come in late or leave early, I’ll just deduct the fine from your salary. Twain wasn’t afraid of the publicity or the press. He knew how to deal with the media, and he was eager for the media to continue to hype up the matter, the bigger, the better. That way, there would be more teams asking for prices. Maybe there would be a fool who could afford to pay for him... He even wanted to encourage Anelka’s two agent-brothers to double their efforts.

The two former golden partners had now become estranged foes.

It was rather sad, but Twain was the boss of the team who kept his word, and he was the only godfather here. Now that Anelka had openly challenged Twain’s authority, Twain wouldn’t give in, given his character. It wasn’t surprising that the two would clash with each other...

Despite their falling-out, Twain firmly believed that as long as someone still had some value to be made use of, then it was necessary to make full use of them. Therefore, on the list of names given in the Netherlands, the press saw Nicolas Anelka’s name.

After a month of disturbance, Anelka also seemed to realize he had hit a wall this time. With the entire club firmly behind Twain, it was too difficult to create any waves on his own. If the manager didn’t let him go, then he couldn’t leave.

The current Anelka was no longer the young and frivolous Anelka from Real Madrid. He knew when to back down. In his view, the fact that Twain didn’t rule him out of the big list was because he had given him a demotion. The smartest thing to do was take the opportunity to ease the tension in his relationship with the manager.

Tony Twain was now in the spotlight, and the odds of successfully opposing him were too slim.

※※※

The Amsterdam Tournament was traditionally a pre-season friendly for European teams that was held in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, in early August every year. Ajax would rally three teams from around the world to compete.

Obviously, even though this competition was a friendly match, not just any team could participate. The teams that were invited by Ajax were bound to be strong teams with a certain influence in the soccer world, such as Manchester United, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and other powerhouse clubs. They all had records of being invited before. From another perspective, for a team to be able to receive an invitation to the Amsterdam Tournament was in itself a recognition of its strength and status.

At the start of the season, Nottingham Forest, as the most prominent team in European soccer the season before, was invited by Ajax. They would compete with the Primeira Liga champion, FC Porto, as well as the Series A champion, Inter Milan and the host, Ajax, for the ultimate title.

Twain didn’t care about the championship trophy. He was interested in the quality of this friendly match up, comprising two league champions and two league runners-up, which was equivalent to a Champions League-level tournament. And the participating teams would attach great importance to this competition. No efforts would be spared. The team and players could get plenty of training from playing against such strong opponents.

※※※

“Amsterdam…” Ashley Young murmured in the bus as he looked out of the window at the city, “Ah, paradise…”

Sitting next to him, Eastwood and Ribéry laughed loudly at the same time.

The other teammates, who heard the laughter, looked at the back row of the bus as one asked curiously, “What’s up? What’s going on?”

Bendtner, sitting in front of Ashley Young, turned back and said seriously to Ashley Young, “Hey, Young, I think it would have worked better if you had trilled the last word.”

Then Eastwood stood up and mimicked Ashley Young’s expression and tone, coupled with a wealth of body movements, then said with vibrato in his voice, “Amsterdam, ah, paradise.…”

The entire bus exploded in laughter.

Ashley Young was a little annoyed by the laughter. He stood up and explained earnestly, “Don’t you guys think so? This is a great city!”

Van der Vaart, who had lived in Amsterdam for more than ten years, asked him with a smile, “The Amsterdam that you referred to, is it just the district from the old train station to the canals?” This area was home to the famous Amsterdam red-light district.

The Dutchmen, who were familiar with the Netherlands and Amsterdam, laughed one by one.

“Ah, so that’s where we are…”

Young’s sudden look of realization made everyone laugh even more happily.

With so much commotion, it was impossible for the coaching staff sitting in the front row not to hear it.

When he heard the conversation between the players, Dunn looked at Twain. Twain shrugged at him. “Since we’re not letting them have fun, we can’t stop them from talking about it. It’s better to let them have fun talking about it than actually do it…”

Ashley Young had started something with this conversation opener. The dull atmosphere in the bus due to everyone’s tiredness from the journey had suddenly switched as the players launched a heated discussion. The topic was, of course, about the city surrounding them and its red-light district.

Van der Vaart, who had only just left the city, became everyone’s guide. He pointed to the blocks that the bus passed and introduced them. Perhaps no one else in the team was more familiar with Amsterdam than he was.

As the bus passed by the canals, he pointed to a row of two-story buildings across the river and said, “That’s Young’s paradise.”

Everyone laughed again.

“But there’s nothing much to see during the day. It only becomes lively at night.” He explained to everyone in English, which he was not good at, mixed with Dutch, “It’s best to go to a place like that with someone, not alone.”

“We even have to look for girls together?” Wes Morgan whistled.

Van der Vaart smiled, “It’s a little bit of a hassle to go there alone.”

Van Nistelrooy suddenly wanted to tease his national teammate, “Hey, Rafael, it sounds like you’re quite familiar with it. Do you go often?”

“Ruud, everyone who lives in Amsterdam is familiar. I don’t need to go there to know.” Van der Vaart shrugged.

Seeing how everyone was talking more directly now, Twain rose from his seat.

The players shut their mouths when they saw the manager suddenly stand up.

“Well, I’m glad to see you guys still have so much energy after your trip,” he said. “Amsterdam is a nice city, ah, paradise…”

There was a burst of laughter on the bus.

Twain smiled at Ashley Young. “However, I would like to remind you that we’re not here for a vacation, but to train and compete, so I don’t want to see you appear in that kind of place in droves at night. And you know what kind of places I’m talking about, don’t you?” Twain said this with a smile on his face, but no one dared to take his remark as a joke.

Everyone on the bus calmed down again, and Twain sat down in his seat.

The bus turned onto a bridge to the north and left the area, which would be buzzing that night. They left “Europe’s capital of sex,” Amsterdam, and headed to Volendam, the town where their training base was.

Chapter 469 - The Darkening Night

“It’s livelier than I had imagined.” This was Tang En’s first statement upon reaching Volendam.

Indeed. He had thought this would be a quiet little fishing village without many people, where barking dogs or crowing chickens could be commonly heard.

He was not wrong about it being a small fishing village. But it was one that had become a tourist spot. Usually, the place was filled with numerous tourists visiting from all around the world. Those touring Amsterdam would also choose to come and look around the small town, which was a mere 30-minute ride from the Netherland’s capital; after all, it was a scenery spot in Europe famed for taking wedding pictures at.

Hearing Tang En’s words, Kerslake thought he was displeased about it, but he followed it up unexpectedly, saying, “This isn’t bad. With a lively little town, the lads needn’t run to Amsterdam for fun at night.”

The players in the coach were curious about the unfamiliar town with many cars parked outside it.

When they were driving around on the outside, they already saw several wedding cars belonging to new couples preparing to shoot wedding photos.

“What a romantic town.” Ribéry whistled.

Of course, Forest was not going to reside in the town of Volendam itself. Their destination was a professional football team here, FC Volendam.

Although FC Volendam was currently still struggling in the Eerste Divisie, they had comprehensive training facilities. Forest would not have problems with training.

By the time the team was able to see the shimmering waters of Ijsselmeer in the distance, they had already gotten close to the gates of FC Volendam’s training grounds.

The coach drove straight, passing by lush rows of trees. Behind the forest were hidden red bungalows where they would be staying.

“We’ve arrived.” Albertini stood up and called for his teammates to prepare to get off the coach.

When the coach stopped, Tang En, Dunn and Kerslake got off first. Outside, there were already officials from FC Volendam waiting for them.

After a simple welcome and exchange of greetings, FC Volendam’s personnel led the team to their residence. Their luggage would be transported by someone else, so they only needed to bring the small bags they carried around with them.

The weather in the Netherlands today was quite pleasant with a bright sun. Following that, Tang En’s mood was good. He joked with the other party, “Has your club ever had two Chinese players playing for you?”

They seemed stumped at the question, not understanding what Tang En referred to.

Tang En was not hoping to get an answer from them. He laughed aloud. “I’m joking. The conditions here… are pretty good.” He scanned his gaze across the training grounds. His words were slightly exaggerated. In truth, it was not at the level of being “pretty good.” They were not a renowned club and their financial status was not at its the best.

The person in charge of discussing the rental of the training grounds was Allan Adams. Using their poor financial situation to their advantage, he helped Forest gain the maximum possible benefit, using minimal funds to accomplish his goals.

In this aspect, Tang En had to admit that he was truly not cut out for business. It was easy for him to be overly emotional about things. For example, Volendam. If it were up to him to negotiate with them, he might have ended up without any bargaining because of the affection developed from reading the name in a certain web novel.

While Tang En was in a jovial conversation with the host, Kerslake was acting out the role of a jerk in front of the players’ dorm.

“Speed it up! You have half an hour to rest and pack before training. The training will end before dinner time!” His loud voice resounded through the air of the unfamiliar training grounds.

Tagging along with Forest, of course, was the media especially charged with writing about Forest, one of Nottingham Evening Post’s reporters, Pierce Brosnan’s follow-up team. There were only two of them. One was in charge of the interviews, and the other took photographs.

The other media groups from England had all settled into town. Unlike Nottingham’s “official external media group,” Nottingham Evening Post, the paparazzi had no right to travel alongside Forest. Following the massive number of reporters arriving to report on Nottingham Forest’s summer training, this small, unknown club in the European football scene for the last decade and more was also about to liven up.

“I’d thought they would be resting today after this, or participating in some kind of socialization… aren’t they tired?” Press photographer Mark Wiser, in charge of taking photographs, groused as he set up his camera.

“How tired can they be, flying from England to the Netherlands?” Brosnan stood beside him with crossed arms, observing everything that was taking place here.

This was one of the reasons for Forest’s abrupt rise within such a short time. He was a witness to Tony Twain’s transformation from a no-name person into a famed manager in Europe; he was already impervious to such oddities.

Half an hour later, the team appeared on the training grounds after changing into their training jerseys in the locker room. The big coach had also departed, along with FC Volendam’s personnel. The ones still left here were all Nottingham Forest’s members.

Tang En stood beneath the afternoon sun with his dark sunglasses on. The whistles and shouting from assistant manager Kerslake could be heard as members of the coaching team proceeded with their individual work. The players ran around on the field, dripping with sweat under the sun. Everything was just like it was in Nottingham’s Wilford Training Grounds; it was no different.

Their time training in the small town was very peaceful. Although the middle of Volendam town was a tremendously lively tourist attraction, the hustle and bustle was unable to affect the training area in the eastern area of the town.

The training grounds, surrounded by lush forests and IJsselmeer,?were like a utopia. Of course, it was not quite accurate to say that; there would not be as many reporters in a utopia.

As the runner-up for the Champions League and the Premier League in the previous season, they encapsulated qualities that were extremely attractive to numerous media groups. This was one reason. Another reason was their main manager, Tony Twain. The consensus of the media was that he was a character with the potential of becoming the prime focus wherever he went.

Everyone knew there was no lack of news so long as they kept following Tony.

But this time, he disappointed them.

Nottingham Forest’s training in Volendam was like that of any other team. Other than their daily training, paying attention to the conditions and sickness of certain footballers, as well as the two warm-up matches with FC Volendam, their Eastern host, there was nothing else to report on. This sort of news was evidently not the kind hoped for by the majority of the media who had followed them here.

Naturally, Tang En understood that clearly.

“There are so many media groups here. You really think they are here to get up close observing Rafael van der Vaart, Edwin van der Sar, Martin Petrov and the conditions of the other newly joined players? Or to report on Forest Team’s preparatory situation at the first instance?” To his assistant manager Dunn, he said in Chinese, “F**king hell. Imperialism’s desire for my death is not yet dead.”

“David!” he shouted. When the man in question looked at him, he waved at the external area of the training grounds. “Tell those reporters their time for filming is up!”

Kerslake nodded his head and put on a face before striding over to the barbed wire wall in huge steps.

“There’s so much attention from the media. It’s just pre-season training…” Lennon looked at the media groups that had the training grounds tightly surrounded. He was familiar with most of them; they were from England.

Gareth Bale nodded in agreement from beside him. In his memories, they would not see this many reporters even in Wilford, Nottingham. Of course, what he was unaware of was that Tang En was a king in Wilford. So, several media groups he did not like were directly blocked outside the gates and had no chance of getting close to the training grounds. Over here, it was not the same. He did not have control over many things.

“We’re a strong team now, a big football star. Naturally, we’ll get more attention from the media.” Ashley Young shrugged with the expression of someone who was more experienced. Having entered the team half a year earlier than Lennon and consistently playing as a core player since his entry, he was qualified to be an old man in front of Lennon.

Ashley Young stretched. “Training, matches, and then going back to the dorms to play games… these days are so boring…”

“But this is what the Boss wants us to do,” Bale retorted.

Ashley Young looked at Bale and his naive face and chuckled. “Kid, you’re still small. There are some things you don’t understand… Do you want to take a look around heaven?”

Lennon patted Bale’s shoulders and said to Ashley Young, “Don’t treat Gareth like a three-year-old. You want to go to the red-light district, don’t you?”

Having his intentions revealed, Ashley Young scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. “Well, since we’re already here, it’s such a pity if we don’t take a look.” He looked at Tony and then wiggled over with a laugh, saying, “Anyway, Boss won’t know about it. Every evening, he analyzes recordings with the assistant manager in their room… It’s so boring!”

“But this…” Bale still wanted to bring Tang En up, but Ashley Young directly covered his mouth up.

“We’re just looking. It’s no big deal. We’ve already been in this godforsaken place for 11 days. In another two days, it’ll be the Amsterdam Tournament. After finishing that, we’ll return to England. In the end, what will we have done in the Netherlands? After you get back, and friends ask, ‘Hey, Aaron, Gareth, is there anything fun to do in Amsterdam?’ Are you guys just going to say, ‘No, we stayed 10 days in a prehistoric Forest’?”

“I went out last night and bought a lot of clogs… ouch!”

This time, Ashley Young, who could not bear the lack of progress from Bale, gave him a knock on his head.

“That’s something everyone buys when they come to the Netherlands. Even England sells them… Though they’re, of course, fakes. Alright. If we want to go, we have to go look at the things that are truly unique. Other than in Amsterdam, Netherland, is there any other place that has that?”

Lennon thought about it. “I don’t think so. Leeds has it too. But it won’t be as overt as it is here…”

“That’s it. This is unique! It’s the culture of a country. Culture, do you guys know it?” Ashley Young said, guiding his two teammates on. “Netherland’s culture of openness is admirable! We aren’t really going there to do anything, only to tour around. It’s just a look. The Amsterdam Tournament is about to begin; would I dare to do anything?

“Relax…” Seeing that Bale was still hesitant and had furrowed brows, he continued saying, “We won’t let the Boss know about this. We promise we’ll be back by 11. It’s so close to Amsterdam from here. It’s only a 30-minute ride by public transport. We’ll just say we’re going to town for some fun and no one will care. How about it? How about it? We’ll go right after dinner!”

Ashley Young had originally wanted to go and do such a thing on his own. But, van der Vaart’s words reminded him. It was hard to know what sort of thing might happen in that place when night came. It was better to take two more people with him; it’s easier to take care of each other when moving together. But they could not divulge this to the others. Who knows if anyone would tattle on them to the Boss?

In truth, Lennon and Bale were filled with curiosity. As young men who were at the same time looking forward to the idea of sex, it would be a lie to say that they were not at all interested in Amsterdam’s red-light district. Now that there was someone taking the lead and encouraging them, they were tempted.

Anyhow, they knew that if they really returned before 11, the Boss would certainly be kept in the dark. He had never asked during the few evenings everyone went visiting the town for fun. Just like Ashley Young had said, they were only going there to look. It wasn’t as if they really wanted to do anything. There shouldn’t be a problem, right?

“Alright, I’ll go!” Lennon decided and then looked at Bale.

Bale and Lennon had become good friends since their time in the Youth Team. Later, when the two had taken turns in getting transferred into the First Team, their friendship had carried over from the Youth Team into the adult team. If Lennon was going, Bale was not going to say no, even if he was still a little afraid of Tang En.

Subject to Lennon and Ashley Young’s focused gaze, Bale finally nodded.

Ashley Young smiled. “Listen, this is a little secret between the three of us. No one can say anything about it. If they ask, just say we’re going to town for fun. Got it?”

“Yes!” the two nodded repeatedly. Even without Ashley Young’s reminders, they knew that such a thing was not to be divulged. It would be the end of them if they did.

While the Boss could usually joke with everyone without caring about age differences, he immediately turned into a terrifying person whenever he got angry.

Kerslake walked out again and blew his whistle. “Rest time is over, lads!”

Ashley Young winked at Lennon and Bale, turning to run back to the training grounds.

After the day’s training ended, Tang En called Dunn and Kerslake out for a walk at Ijsselmeer, also to discuss the numerous plans they had for the new season. Before taking his leave, he did not forget to remind the players, who were ready to go out to play after dinner, not to be out too late.

Once the managers were gone, Ashley Young called on Lennon and Bale, and they left through the gates of the training grounds. In the sunset, they ran towards heaven.

45 minutes later, the three young men in casual wear appeared on the streets of the red-light district.

The sky was darkening, and the sides of the canal glowed brightly. Bodies emerged one after another from the windows under the neon lights, dazzling the eyes of the three young men.

“Handsome, come in and take a look!”

The half-naked prostitutes played with their hair flirtatiously and giggled at the people who walked past their doors, trying to solicit business. There were also no lack of females in the stream of tourists.

“It was cold and quiet when we came during the day. Now it’s so lively,” Ashley Young sighed.

“This… Really…” Bale looked at the prostitutes openly soliciting customers and the policemen patrolling the streets and was truly at a loss for words. He had completely lost his ability to think and speak.

Lennon, on the other hand, said nothing as his eyes raked over the half-naked ladies in the windows.

“One euro for two minutes!” The signboard outside a store attracted the gaze of the three. The people who walked out of the store all had, to some degree, a satisfied look on their faces.

“What is that?” Bale asked, his curiosity piqued.

Lennon shook his head.

“Oh, go on, let’s take a look first! It’s only one Euro, that’s really cheap!” Ashley Young pulled them in.

It was a single level of an average-sized hall. Right in the middle of it was a cylindrical pillar. Around the pillar were many little doors which could contain, at best, someone who was not fat. By the side of the doors were coin slots that all looked the same. It suddenly dawned on Ashley Young. “It’s a fun show; do you want to watch?”

“Yes!” The two young men firmly nodded.

Two minutes later…

Ashley Young looked at his two satisfied teammates and pursed his lips. “What a disappointment. Raising her thighs took more than 10 seconds, and setting a posture took 30. The rotating stage was as slow as a snail too… I was watching her back three-quarters of the time! Let’s go somewhere else!”

He dragged the two from the erotic show shop that still had a never-ending flow of people entering.

“Why are there so many people queuing here?” Bale asked, pointing at one of the shops in front.

There was a long queue there, with men of a variety of ages and looks waiting anxiously.

Ashley Young took a glimpse at the window with drawn curtains.

“Oh. The girl in there is entertaining a customer now. With so many people queueing, it means that she’s beautiful and does the job well. That’s why there’s such good business!”

Lennon and Bale suddenly looked at him with admiring eyes because he knew everything.

Ashley Young looked at the two and then at the stores in front with varying queues. He suddenly held his stomach. “Argh, my stomach hurts. I’ve got to go.” He pointed to the WC sign at the corner of the street. “You guys wait for me here. Don’t move!”

The two boys nodded honestly. “Okay, we’ll wait for you.”

Ashley Young held his stomach as he ran far away, disappearing into the corner of the street.

Bale leaned on Lennon somewhat nervously. He could feel the awkwardness in the latter’s body. He turned and saw Lennon’s gaze fixed on a skimpily dressed girl behind one of the windows ahead of them. He was watching her with relish.

More neon lights began lighting up. Opposite the banks of the canal, it was just as brightly lit. Amsterdam’s night had just started darkening…

Chapter 470 - Did You Do It or Not?

When the sun rose from the east on a new day, Bale opened his eyes and woke from his sleep. After he saw clearly where he was, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the team’s dormitory, not the inside of some cheap brothel in Amsterdam’s red-light district.

He’d had the same dream the entire night that the boss knew he had walked around in Amsterdam’s red-light district. The boss hadn’t lost his temper, but seeing his disappointed expression was nothing short of a nightmare for Bale.

He had dreamt that he had been kicked out of the training base in Volendam. That he had to pack his bags and take a flight alone back to the United Kingdom. Then he was surrounded at the airport by endless media, hostile and gleefully raising a variety of embarrassing questions as they laughed at him.

He was surrounded by mocking laughter, unable to move or breathe… until he woke up.

Bale turned over and sat up, his back drenched with sweat. The sound of the toilet flushing came from the bathroom. Lennon was already up.

He rubbed his face with his hands and tried to clear his head a little more.

Lennon walked out of the bathroom and said, “Go wash your face, little monkey.”

“Aaron.” Bale turned his head and looked at his good friend, “We… Nothing’s going to happen, right?”

Lennon froze for a moment, then smiled and shrugged, “What can happen? Didn’t we get back on time yesterday? No one saw us there. Everything was perfect!” He made a peace sign and said, “Go wash up and then have breakfast. If you’re late, then there’ll be a problem.”

Hearing this, Bale got up from his bed and dashed to the bathroom.

※※※

Twain stretched his back on the bed before he got up. The weather in the Netherlands was much better than in England. It was a wonder to be able to listen to the birds and wake up smelling the scent of flowers.

Sleep was the most important activity in one’s life. Only adequate sleep could guarantee one had enough energy for a day’s work and study.

The manager had the privilege of not having to share a room with anyone, as Twain had stayed alone in a dorm room.

Just as he had finished washing up and came out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang.

“Come in.”

Twain was a little surprised to see the person who opened the door and came in. He had thought it would be Dunn or Kerslake, but he hadn’t expected it to be the reporter, Pierce Brosnan, who was also staying at the training base.

“Good morning, Mr. Reporter. Are you going to start an interview so early? I’m not dressed yet.” Twain spread out his hands. He was only wearing his boxers and was bare-chested.

Brosnan didn’t look well. He shook his head, “Tony, I think there’s something I have to tell you…” Then he handed the several newspapers in his hand to Twain.

“I received a call from my friend this morning telling me what happened last night. Although I’m not surprised by this, the terrible thing is that the rest of the media are…”

Twain looked down at the Dutch and English newspapers in his hand. The common feature was the four photographs placed on the front page of the sports edition. The images featured three familiar faces—Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon, and Gareth Bale.

The shot was not clear, somewhat blurry. The angle wasn’t too good, either. It was obvious that these had been secretly taken. And the background behind these three faces was… the lively streets under the neon lights.

“It’s just a stroll down the street together. What’s the fuss?” He wanted to return the newspapers in bafflement. “I allow them free time every night. Don’t the players go to town and unwind these days?”

Brosnan didn’t answer, but pointed to the image in the newspapers and said, “These photos were not taken in Volendam, but in Amsterdam.”

Twain was a little taken aback to hear this name. He looked down at the picture carefully, trying to discern any clues from it.

“Taken in Amsterdam’s red-light district,” Brosnan continued, “Several English reporters who went there to have fun came across these three on the street…”

Twain looked up at Brosnan, who was still explaining to him, and couldn’t seem to believe what he had just heard.

※※※

The Forest team’s three daily meals were the responsibility of the nutritionist and chef they had brought. The entire team, from the coaches to the players, all ate together without exception.

During breakfast, everyone got together and chatted while eating. Ashley Young, Bale, and Lennon sat together in an inconspicuous corner and discussed the previous night’s thrilling experience in low voices.

Bale seemed distracted and looked around.

“Hey, little monkey, what are you looking at?” Ashley Young reached out and waved in front of Bale’s eyes, but he couldn’t get his attention.

“The boss isn’t here,” Bale said as he looked around. “His assistants, Dunn and Kerslake, aren’t here either…” His voice dropped at the end, sounding a little frightened.

Upon hearing Bale say so, Lennon and Ashley Young hurriedly looked up and searched the crowd. Sure enough, they didn’t see the three coaches.

The manager and assistant coaches were normally there when everyone ate together. Why were they not there this morning?

The three people glanced at each other and saw a hint of panic in each other’s faces.

“Hey, is everything going to be okay?” Lennon looked at Ashley Young.

Ashley Young didn’t know how to answer him. He mumbled instead, as if to reassure Lennon, and convince himself, “Maybe they have something else going on…”

Just as the trio were feeling apprehensive, Twain finally appeared at the cafeteria entrance along with the two assistant coaches.

Twain first stood at the door and swept his gaze across the team before he and the other two men found an empty table to sit down and eat their meal.

He ran his eyes across at the whole room without saying anything, no expression on his face. No one could tell what was on his mind.

Ashley Young and the others put their heads down and quickly finished their meals, hoping to leave this place that was making them uncomfortable.

Just as they had wolfed down their food and were about get up and leave, Twain spoke.

“Young, Lennon, Bale.”

The three people froze with fear.

“Be in my room in thirty minutes. I have something I’d like to discuss with you,” Twain said casually with his head lowered. He moved his ham to and fro on his plate with his fork at the same time, then he cut it with the knife, making a crisp sound as the metal struck the china plate.

When Bale heard the sound, he jerked his neck, as if he could see his dream gradually becoming a reality…

The other players thought it was odd that the boss had suddenly called these three people to his room. They looked on in bewilderment at their three teammates standing in the middle of the cafeteria, wondering what had happened.

“You can go now.” Twain waved his hands with the knife still in his hand. It glinted in the morning sun.

As soon as the three had left, the sounds of discussion quickly broke out in the cafeteria. Everyone was speculating what mistake the three men had made, because the boss’s voice sounded like he wasn’t in a good mood.

Twain ignored the voices of speculation. He wordlessly tackled the ham and fried eggs on the plate. It was only when he chewed that his movements became a little bit bigger…

※※※

Thirty minutes later, the three teammates appeared in Twain’s room with sullen faces.

At the time, Twain was watching television—his eyes were fixed on the switched-on television screen, except Dutch was coming out of the speaker, which he couldn’t understand at all, and an extremely dull paid programming was playing.

When he heard the three men push open the door, Twain stood by the bed for a moment as he waited for them before he turned his head to look at them.

“What’s with the look on your faces? Didn’t you have a terrific time last night?” He played with the remote control in his hands.

When the three of them heard his remark, like a bolt out of the blue, they realized that last night’s incident had been exposed. Before they had come here, they had still intended to lie and hide the past. Now, it looked like the statements they had prepared were completely useless.

“You must be wondering how I knew that, right?” Twain tossed the papers over, “They came knocking at the door when you didn’t pay after you had your fun last night.”

He was, of course, mocking them. The three men looked down and saw pictures of themselves having fun in the red-light district in the newspapers. They immediately understood everything… They must have been secretly caught on camera by the reporters.

They had been caught red-handed. Any refutation was useless.

The three of them were completely silent. Bale was quiet due to fear, and Ashley Young and Lennon were quiet because they didn’t know what to say.

“Why aren’t you talking, guys? Oh, should I congratulate you first on becoming men last night? You’ve transitioned from your adolescence to maturity, from maturity to becoming even more mature… till you’re almost f*cking ripe!” He burst into a string of obscenities without warning and the three bowed their heads and trembled. The calm before the storm had finally passed, and now the storm was crashing down.

“No, I didn’t…” Bale falteringly opened his mouth to defend himself.

“What did you not do? Gareth Bale, you’re amazing, aren’t you? How does a woman’s body feel? And you, Aaron Lennon!” Twain looked at Bale’s roommate, “I hope you’re not as fast with a woman as you are on the field!”

Bale didn’t dare to open his mouth again after being admonished. He could only silently endure it with his head lowered.

The look on Lennon’s face was also uncomfortable.

After he reprimanded the two younger ones, Twain turned his eyes towards Ashley Young, but his tone softened, “Young, I know… Those two young lads, they wouldn’t have thought to go to that place in the first place, right?”

Ashley Young knew what the boss meant when he said this. He nodded his heart, “It was my idea, chief. It has nothing to do with them. I dragged them along.”

Twain composed his face and looked closely at Ashley Young.

“You’re a pretty stand up guy…” He withdrew his gaze and turned to the other two lads. “Don’t think about using this to score any points from me. You three… I’m not against you looking for girls to relieve your boredom, but not now! Do you know why I’m so angry? I’m not angry because those sonab*tch reporters caught you. I’m not f*cking afraid of them. If they want to blow this up or speculate, let them!”

He brandished his hands as if he really didn’t care.

“Do you remember what I said to you guys when we came here? What did I say? I told you not to go there, right? Do you recall? Or did you forget? Did you completely disregard my words as a manager?”

None of the questions were impossible to answer.

“W-We didn’t forget, chief, nor… nor did we disregard…” Ashley Young stammered, “It’s just that…”

“It’s just that your libidos overcame your rationality, right?”

“Right, right…” Ashley Young nodded in a hurry.

“In other words, you guys really did it?”

Ashley Young suddenly realized he had been duped. He hurriedly shook his head. “No! We just went there to take a look. We took a spin and came back! We definitely didn’t do that… No!” It was a joke. If he had really said he did it, he didn’t know how scary the boss’s expression would be. “We were just curious. We’d never seen a place that openly displays the goods… So we wanted to take a look… Look, that was it, chief.”

Twain listened quietly to Ashley Young’s explanation, and then looked at Bale and Lennon. “Did you guys do it?”

The two men shook their heads, “No…”

Twain stared at Bale for half a beat before he turned and walked back to the couch. He sat right down and cocked a leg.

“You guys really didn’t do it?”

This time the three of them replied in unison, “We really didn’t do it!”

After a moment’s silence, Twain sighed, “I’m disappointed in you guys… You’re professional players. You rely on this to make money and earn a living. Your body is the only thing you can rely on and trust, but you don’t know how to cherish it. I don’t want to give you examples of how many talented players in this world have been destroyed by their reckless personal lifestyles since the arrival of modern soccer. You should be more aware of this than I am, because the body is yours! If you lose your condition one day and are crushed by others, it’s no loss for me. I’ll just find another bunch of good players. And you? Move to a lower level league and reminisce your former… f*cking glory years!? I’ll say this—what do you think you’re playing for? Because I asked you to? For the club and the team? For the fans? You’re f*cking playing for yourself, for your future! This is your work, and you have to take it seriously. This is not some damn street game!”

Twain took a breath and looked at the three, who bowed their heads in silence.

“This is no longer a question about whether you’ve done it or not. This is an issue about your attitude towards professional soccer. Professional soccer is fair. It won’t shortchange any player who gives his all to play seriously, nor will it give preferential treatment to any b*stard who seizes every opportunity to cut corners and resort to tricks! I want you to remember this and think about it seriously… What kind of path do you want to take?

“In your professional career, the first few years are limitless and grand, filled with money, glory, and beautiful women. There are no worries about anything, and anything is possible when you’re admired by millions. And then you quickly decline to the point where you have to go to the lower leagues to seek opportunities. Is that the way you want to go?”

The three people shook their heads at the same time.

“You’re still young and have a long way to go. I want you to shape up.” Twain waved to indicate that they could go. “Okay, you can go back to regular training. After training, reflect on yourselves in front of the entire team and admit your mistakes. I won’t fine you, but you can’t take part in the tournament.”

The three of them nodded and left the room. This punishment was considered merciful by the three of them. At least Twain hadn’t sent them away in a rage to the bench to reflect on themselves.

Twain rubbed his temples when he saw that the door was closed.

Dunn’s biggest concern had still become reality. However, Dunn was worried about the overall impact of the incident on the club and team. Twain was worried about the impact of this kind of thing on the future of these three. He didn’t want his players to be the next Norman Whiteside or George Best. After the invasion of full commercialization in soccer, countless talented players were destroyed by their decaying private lives.

Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, and Ashley Young were excellent young players whom he had personally picked. He had hoped that they would be healthy enough to play a high level of soccer for the team for more than ten years, rather than being sold by him prematurely. He had watched these young players grew up step by step. In a way, it was like he had personally raised them with his own hands. Who would want to sell their own children?

Didn’t Ferguson feel heartache when he sold Whiteside and Paul McGrath?

How did Wenger feel when he decided to give up Jermaine Pennant?

“Tony.” Not knowing when, Dunn had opened the door and come in.

“Huh?” Twain snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his assistant manager standing in front of him.

“There are a lot of reporters around the training ground… More than usual.”

Twain grunted, “The sharks smelled the blood and are finally here?”

“What do you…”

“Tell them that after training, the club will hold a special last-minute press conference, and they can ask any questions at that time. For now, no interviews will be accepted!”

Chapter 471 - Tang En’s Mockery

As Tang En had asked the guards to chase off the reporters surrounding the outer grounds of the training area, the players only knew about what had occurred amid the apologies of their three teammates after training had ended. Seeing Tony’s gloomy expression, they did not dare to whistle.

The team was to face their first opponents in the Amsterdam Tournament, FC Porto, the next day. So, with the remaining half of the day left after the end of training and the public apology of the three, Tang En announced the team list for the next day.

As it was a warm-up match, the restrictions on the substitution quota were more relaxed. In the course of a match, both parties could change out five players each. So, the significance of the team list was not big; practically the whole team would be able to go to the match scene.

But today, Tang En took the effort to announce the list to issue a public warning to the three guilty parties, and at the same time warn the others.

On the team list he announced, there was no Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon, or Gareth Bale. The three already knew beforehand, so they did not show much reaction. However, the reactions of the other players on the team satisfied Tang En.

“Even though you’re unable to play in the match, you can still go watch the match live.” Tang En said to the three standing apart from the team after reading out the list. “Sometimes, watching the match from the spectator’s stands is a form of training.”

Handing the notebook to Kerslake, Tang En departed the training grounds with Dunn for the halls where the urgent press conference was held.

Over there, the place was already filled to the brim with impatient reporters.

Tang En had yet to arrive, but the small news conference hall was already packed with enough people to cause a disaster. The media from England, the Netherlands, as well as those from other locations,?flocked to the place because they had attained Tang En’s promise that he would answer all their questions after training.

But what questions were there really? There was only one question everyone wanted answered: the news of the three players from Nottingham Forest getting involved with prostitutes.

Having such a scandal erupt as the new nobility in Europe’s football scene, wasn’t it something worth watching? Furthermore, the ages of the three players were all very young.

Pierce Brosnan was also among the crowd. He had come early and took up an advantageous position right in front, where he even had a seat.

The modestly spaced room was filled with the crowd and their buzz. Everyone was discussing last night’s matter at Amsterdam’s red-light district or guessing how Twain would face this awkward scandal at the press conference.

“I know what Tony Twain is like. He simply likes to oppose us.” An obese middle-aged man was talking unceasingly in a far-fetched manner. “If we say one, he’ll purposefully say two. If we say yes, he must answer no. It’s as if he doesn’t want our work to be easy… but this time, I want to hear what else he has to say. The photos are here, as real as it can get!” He patted a stack of newspapers in his hands. “If I want to, we can publish even more photos!”

Brosnan glanced at him. The typeface of The Sun printed in the newspapers was extremely eye-catching. So, he was a reporter from The Sun.

“Why don’t you publish them?” Tang En’s voice suddenly sounded from the back door. Everyone abruptly stopped their discussions and turned their gaze towards Tony Twain, who had appeared on the scene.

“Mister, your voice is really loud. This place is so raucous, yet I was still able to pinpoint your voice all the way from the outside, from amongst the swarm of voices.” Tang En pointed to the obese man who was standing amid the crowd, sticking out like a sore thumb.

Brosnan stifled his laughter.

But someone failed to, and a burst of laughter erupted from the scene. Amid the laughter, the reporter from The Sun grew red in the face and prepared to sit down.

“Oh, don’t sit down. The topic can start wit you.” Tang En pointed to the reporter who was about to sit. “Didn’t you say you wanted to publish more photos? Very good. I’m looking forward to even more fresh and interesting photographs. I would advise The Sun to release a special issue and put out all the photographs you have on hand. Put them all out so you don’t just leave people hanging. You know, if you consider this issue from a reader’s perspective, reading an ongoing serial will not be as comfortable as reading the complete series.”

Saying so, he looked at his opposition. “Do you have any questions?”

The fat man coughed and composed himself before deciding to retaliate. “Of course, sir. What are your thoughts about your three players appearing last night at that place? It’s match day tomorrow, but your subordinates have run off to visit a brothel.”

“I think it’s very normal.” Tang En answered expressionlessly. “Men naturally have such biological needs. It’s just as normal as the brothel visits your reporters from The Sun indulged in last night. You reporters from The Sun, you’re all married with families, aren’t you?”

Laughter rang out.

This was the unique quality o Tang En’s live press conference. Although there were many reporters in attendance, there were not that many people with questions. More of them came to watch how Tang En exchanged barbs with the media; his expressions, his words, his actions; all of that gave people the feeling that they were watching a marvelous show.

So, not all the media were standing in opposition to Tang En. In fact, some of them harbored an attitude of watching the show and were standing on Tang En’s side.

The fat reporter from The Sun was stumped by Tang En’s retort. He was right. This news was first published by their newspaper. There were even photos. It could be said to be irrefutable proof. Tang En would not be able to deny it even if he wanted to. Unexpectedly, Tang En never had the notion of denying it. After openly admitting to it, he even kicked the ball back to The Sun: my players did go visit a brothel last night, but what were the personnel from The Sun doing there?

“Fine. ‘Three young players from Nottingham Forest engage with prostitutes’ – those were your original words. Now it’s my turn to ask…” Hearing Tang En say that, the reporters perked up. Recorders, microphones, quick notes, handphones; everyone got into work mode.

“You claim that my people engaged with prostitutes. Where’s the proof of that?”

Tang En’s question momentarily stumped the reporter from The Sun.

“Proof? The photos aren’t?” The reporter indicated to the newspaper in his hands.

Tang En laughed with great delight. “To catch a thief, you must find the spoils; To catch an adulterer, you must find the offending couple. You claim that my people engaged with a prostitute, then please publish photos of them having sex with one.”

“That’s…” The Sun’s reporters did not think Tang En would have a comeback like that, denying the allegations from that angle. Who in their right mind would follow them into the brothel and squat by the bedside to take pictures? That sort of place only allowed one person to enter at a time. The rest had to queue up behind him. Even if their reporters were good, they could not possibly barge in.

Seeing that the other party was at a loss for words, Tang En began utilizing his expertise in making a mockery of them.

“Oh, The Sun, with its infinite resources, didn’t install secret cameras in each and every one of the brothels in Amsterdam’s red-light district? How regretful!” He said this while shaking his head and sighing. It was as if he really felt sorry about it. “You’ve truly disappointed me!”

Off the stage, muffled laughter could be heard all around.

Brosnan was no longer worried about the impact of the matter. Now, he was sitting in the best spot with his legs crossed, watching the show with glee. It would be better if only he had cola and popcorn.

Of course, his opponents would not willingly allow Tang En to mock them that way. The reporter very quickly found an angle to retort from. “As a successful football team, Nottingham’s players are all models for society’s youth. Aren’t you, Mr. Twain, worried that this matter would create a negative influence?”

His words sounded very reasonable. Football stars were the idols of many youths, and children loved to imitate their idols’ speech, actions and way of dressing. No matter what their idols did, good or bad, it was all correct to them. Football stars bore the duty of having to watch over the many kinds of influences they had based on their words and actions; this was a societal responsibility.

Unexpectedly, Tang En seemed to care little for that. He waved his hands. “Stop kidding. Would briefly visiting the red-light district cause a negative influence? Then Mr. Reporter, wouldn’t you be enraged by the fact that the country of the Netherlands still exists in this world?”

“That…” The opposing party was again stumped.

“I would like you to know something, sir. Other than training and competitions, the rest of the time belongs to the players themselves. Neither you nor I have the right to interfere with what they want to do. If you say that it’s no good influence for them to visit that sort of place, where is your social responsibility in secretly snapping shots of it and publicizing it so widely? Tang En had never seen eye-to-eye with The Sun. As long as he had the opportunity, he would not let go of the chance to verbally shame them. “No one hopes for such a thing to be made known to the world. This is a matter of personal privacy. The Sun seems to be quite proficient at such an invasion of privacy and is even being gleeful over it. Shouldn’t you seriously reconsider what kind of negative effects your methodology is causing the 10 million readers of The Sun? At the very least, I think the image of my players is healthier than The Sun’s Page 3 girls and brings about the less negative impact to society.”

Everyone could tell that Tang En had his heart hardened on protecting his players in the public eye; he even changed the topic to societal responsibility and moral reflections.

In truth, that was something everyone was already aware of. The three Nottingham Forest players surely weren’t visiting that sort of place simply for a tour, but Tang En would not allow anyone else to make indiscreet remarks about his players and speak nonsense of them.

He had already done the criticizing and scolding behind doors; outsiders had no right to interfere with it.

“You wish to set foot here and criticize my people? Go back and tell your boss, we’ll discuss it when Page 3 is gone.”

Of course, The Sun was not going to seriously take Tang En’s suggestion into consideration and take down their pillar of support, the fine tradition of Page 3 girls. Tang En saying so was only to let The Sun know that they had no right to make an issue out of the matter.

It started out as a rather severe crisis for the team, but it had been forcefully stirred by Tang En into becoming a farce that made people uncertain if they should laugh or cry.

Dunn appeared with Tang En at the scene of the press conference. However, no one noticed him. He had been sitting next to Tang En quietly without a word, or even a sound, like a statue.

What he had worried about turned out to end in this manner; he should be feeling elated. But, seeing Tang En’s method of dealing with it was not something he could easily agree with; the man had shifted the potential negative backlash to the team onto himself.

Now, the media had all their focus on Tony Twain’s verbal battle with The Sun’s reporter. Who was going to care about the scandal regarding the three Forest players engaging with prostitutes?

Berating reporters, going head-on against the media, provoking his match opponents, blaming the referee, and even falling out with the UEFA… Was it all because he wanted to become famous, to become a news personality, or to enjoy the “honor” of being on the newspapers’ headlines? No matter how others perceived it, Dunn did not think so. The man by his side was only shifting the pressure that was rightfully on the players to himself, allowing them to throw off all their burdens and focus only on training and playing matches.

But in doing so, the pressure he felt would only become heavier and heavier.

Which football manager would do something like that? This is only a job. Is this necessary, Tony?

“Alright. Mr. Reporter from The Sun, you can sit down now. There’s nothing else to do with you.” Tang En waved his hands at the man, whose forehead was lined with sweat, indicating for him to sit down. Then, he looked towards Brosnan sitting in the front row and asked, “Are there any other questions?”

The hint was obvious. Brosnan raised his hand and stood up. He began asking about the numerous preparations made by Forest Team for the next day’s match.

With the two working together seamlessly, the topic was successfully changed.

The media was already satisfied enough witnessing the spectacular battle between Tang En and The Sun. Truly, it was not in the least important if the three had engaged prostitutes. This was what they really wanted to see. Before Tang En, which main manager would go toe-to-toe with such a significantly influential media group? Making a mockery of them with his no-holds-barred ridiculing and a way of beratement that was clean of swear words and had daggers hidden in smiles; this was much more newsworthy than just engaging in prostitution.

After finishing his bottle of mineral water, the press conference came to an end. The reporters all dispersed with satisfied expressions on their faces. In the darkening dusk, Volendam’s training grounds gradually became desolate from their earlier lively bustle.

The club’s staff were moving the chairs away from the hall for the urgent press conference. Meanwhile, Tang En and Dunn sat on the stage, immobile. Even though everyone else around them was busy, neither had the intention to leave.

“You must be tired,” Dunn remarked.

Tang En shook his head. “No, how can that be possible? I’m the best and most energized when dealing with paparazzi.” But his posture of leaning back on the chair had already sold him out.

Dunn pursed his lips but did not expose him.

“You don’t believe me?” Tang En turned sideways to look at Dunn. “When I scolded that damn reporter, I felt so achieved. It felt great! Especially when I saw his face when he was lost for words.” He laughed hoarsely.

“Yes. Tomorrow, you’ll be in The Sun newspaper, and be severely criticized. The whole of England will know what you’ve done.” Dunn nodded in approval.

“Who cares? I don’t lose any hair or earn a cent less when they criticize me. I don’t have the obligation to be responsible for the perspectives of the people I don’t care about.” Tang En felt parched and wanted some water, only to reach his hand out to find an empty bottle.

He threw the bottle. It fell accurately into the rubbish bin dragged over by the cleaners.

“Come on. Let’s go eat. I’m starving!” Tang En stood up.

Dunn very much wanted to say to Tang En that although Tang En felt great achievement seeing the stumped faces of the others, that he felt a rush whenever he scolded the others, maybe this was exactly what the others hoped to see. That maybe the other party felt achieved, having gotten him to scold them with such relish. Because in that way, they managed to get a hold of some sensational news.

Seeing Tang En’s back, he kept his thoughts to himself and stood up with him, the two walking out of the place shoulder-to-shoulder.

“I thought you were going to sell Ashley Young off in your fit of rage.”

“Dunn. We need to give our youth the space to make mistakes. We must allow them their mistakes. Who hasn’t been rash before in their youth?”

Chapter 472 - The Invitational Tournament

Things progressed smoothly and according to Twain’s wishes.

The next day, the major media outlets hyped the war of words between Manager Tony Twain and the reporter from The Sun at the news conference. The incident involving the three players’ visit to the prostitutes had been completely cast aside.

Even The Sun itself publicized the matter, and unquestionably, they wouldn’t say anything nice about Twain, whom they described as an unreasonable, annoying troublemaker who used obscenities and was completely uncivilized.

This kind of description lacked creativity, as they had used it on Twain in the past. Therefore, with regards to this assessment, Twain didn’t care at all. Even if the whole world thought that he was Satan incarnate with horns on his head, it didn’t matter to him.

He was happy to see that no one cared about what the three players had done in the red-light district.

Now, the media hype was focused on him and gave the team the calm they needed most.

※※※

The Amsterdam Tournament had a history of more than thirty-one years and had held twenty-six tournaments so far. Because of its long history and the high ranks of the teams invited, it had the honor of being named “Europe’s top invitational tournament.” Even so, the friendly matches were still friendly. Twain didn’t care if the team could perform well in this invitational tournament. He placed more value on the state of the team. This was a great opportunity to test the results of the training they had done during this period of time.

The game between Nottingham Forest and Porto was second. The host, Ajax, tied 1:1 with Inter Milan in the first match. Adriano continued his terrible performance and streak of not being able to score since the World Cup.

This game, Twain didn’t use the 4-4-2 flat four positioning that they had been best at for the last two seasons. Instead, they played the 4-5-1 formation, which was really 4-4-1-1.

As the striker, Van Nistelrooy was the sole player at the front, and behind him, taking the point role was Van der Vaart. He was positioned between the attacking midfield and shadow striker. Twain gave him special instruction to send more long shots.

The four behind him had also been changed from the Forest team’s previous season lineup.

No matter how much Twain had diverted the media attention at the press conference yesterday to clear his men’s name by making a scene, his arrangement today still exposed the scenes behind the matter. Ashley Young didn’t appear in the right side position, and another right midfielder, Aaron Lennon wasn’t there either. Chinese player Sun Jihai was in the starting lineup.

Sun Jihai was a very good utility player. He could play as right back, right midfielder, and defensive midfielder.

Ribéry did not start as the left midfielder. Instead, it was Petrov.

The two side midfielders were a combination from last season—George Wood and Mikel Arteta.

The rear defensive line was the same as the previous season: the center backs were Pepe and Piqué, the left back was Leighton Baines, the right back was Chimbonda, and the goalkeeper was Edwin van der Sar.

In addition to Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon, and Gareth Bale, all the other players sat on the substitutes’ bench.

Twain drew the starting lineup on the tactical board. After he gave instructions on the specific tactics, he made a final exhortation. “Two things.” He extended two fingers and said, “First, don’t get hurt. Second, show what you’re capable of without getting hurt.”

※※※

Sometimes when one thought hard, a lot of things in the world seemed very interesting.

Porto was the third strong Portuguese team that Nottingham Forest had played against in three years. Twain’s team seemed to have a special bond with Portugal.

First it was Benfica, then Sporting Lisbon, and now, it was Porto.

Furthermore, the Forest team’s center back, Pepe, had been bought from Porto, a famous team in Europe, and had also once been coached by Twain’s old nemesis, Mourinho.

After Mourinho’s departure, Porto might have still continued to dominate in Portugal, but it wouldn’t be so easy to maintain its position in the European football.

The current match in the Amsterdam Tournament was a competition between the king of European football three years earlier and today’s upstart.

The strength of both teams was no longer on the same level.

The Forest team scored two goals in the first half and basically locked in their victory.

After Van Nistelrooy received Petrov’s pass, he thrust the ball fifteen feet in front of the goal and continued his good form from training in the friendly. He proved once again that his departure from Manchester United was definitely not due to nonsense like a decline in form or an increase in age.

“Nottingham Forest scores! Van Nistelrooy and Petrov, a terrific performance between the two new players!”

Twain got up from his seat and applauded at the side of the field. He was certainly happy with the goal, but he was even more pleased with the tight coordination that the team had shown before the goal.

Upon taking possession of the ball, Arteta had passed the ball to Van der Vaart, who had received the ball with his back towards the goal. When Van der Vaart hadn’t had a chance to turn around to shoot, he had cleverly passed the ball in time to Petrov, who swiftly plugged in from the side. Then, after Petrov forced a breakthrough with his speed and made a pass, Van Nistelrooy had fully revealed his world-class striker’s instinct at this moment. When he saw that the opposing defenders pressed in more tightly, he first charged forward, made to look like he was going to receive, and ran to the middle before he suddenly braked and retreated. The opposing defender didn’t fall for it, as he also turned back to retreat. At this time, Van Nistelrooy and the other party brushed past each other—he suddenly started and sprinted ahead again! After this short battle of wits, he no longer had a Porto defensive player around him, and he easily breached the goal after he received the ball.

Van der Vaart showed praiseworthy skill in this attack too. That was, in the absence of a chance to shoot, he had passed the ball to a teammate in a better position, rather than forced himself to make a turn and try to shoot.

Twain looked at all this and burned it into his memory. He liked players like Van der Vaart, who was the kind of person who, at the expense of the team, for his own shot, would not hesitate to abandon him, even if he had just spent 4 million on him and promised him a good future.

The second goal came more easily. Without the complicated passing and coordination, Arteta’s sudden dribble and plug-in caught the attention of the Porto players. Just when everyone focused their efforts on the Spanish player, he made a cross pass to Van der Vaart, then the former Ajax player fired a long shot at his ex-home team’s net amidst the cheers of countless Ajax fans!

The ball whizzed past Porto’s defensive line and slammed into the goal!

“Rafael van der Vaart—for him, this is a perfect farewell and rebirth! He used his best shot to bid farewell to Ajax and prove his ability as an all-rounder to his new owner! Ajax’s Number 23 has become Nottingham Forest’s Number 23. All the best, Rafael!” the Dutch commentator hollered at the commentator’s box.

During halftime, Twain analyzed the two goals for the team. He praised the entire team for the first goal, and praised the scorers, Van der Vaart, and Arteta, who had assisted his rival teammate for the second goal.

“Guys, do you still remember what we were rated a month ago? ‘A strong team.’ Now, I’m very pleased that you’ve proven this. Keep up the good performance in the second half!”

Next, Twain changed five players in one go and used all five substitutions during the halftime interval. The team’s formation reverted back to the 4-4-2 formation which they had been best at last season… with just a slight difference.

Van Nistelrooy, who had scored the goal, was replaced, and Twain brought on Bendtner to play as the center forward. Eastwood replaced Arteta, and the team’s midfield changed into a diamond formation. Ribéry replaced Sun Jihai to play as the right midfielder, and Petrov’s position remained unchanged.

For the center back position, Twain called off Piqué and brought on Kompany.

The five substitutions brought about a dramatic change in the team.

In the first half, Twain experimented with more tactical possibilities, while the tactic used in the second half was likely to be used often in the upcoming season. The lineup obviously wouldn’t be the same as it currently was…

After the start of the second half, the Forest team changed their offensive momentum from the first half and switched to defensive mode instead.

Twain still constantly experimented with and adjusted the tactics. He wanted to see what tactics should be used in different situations and how the team performed.

There was one thing that everyone was well aware but didn’t want to say. Who benefitted from Twain’s snub of Anelka? It was Eastwood who had missed the vast majority of last season’s games due to his injury.

His first comeback game had been stunning, but things had quieted down again for nine months. His injury, which had required two surgeries, still continued to affect his condition.

Now that Anelka was no longer in the main position, Twain was perfectly justified to give Eastwood more chances to get his game back.

Twain hadn’t said this to him, but he knew Eastwood must know in his mind that this was his chance. He had to grab ahold of it or he would be eliminated—even if the boss kept him on the team, he wouldn’t have agreed to that kind of life.

Eastwood had to prove that Manager Twain was right to ditch Anelka because he was a striker that was still useful.

And what was the best way to prove that he was still a powerful striker?

“It’s a GOOOOOOAL! Freddy Eastwood! A name that we still long for… and he scores! Nottingham Forest leads Porto with three goals!”

Twain jumped up from the substitutes’ bench. Eastwood had lived up to his expectation.

After he scored the goal, Eastwood ran towards Twain and hugged him tightly.

Naturally, this goal was dedicated to Manager Tony Twain, who had always supported and trusted him while waiting for a chance to give him a new lease on life.

His teammates rushed up to celebrate Eastwood’s goal. Only Anelka sat alone on the bench and didn’t get up.

“For you, I f*cking let my favorite player sit on the bench!” During his outburst of rage at that time, Twain had yelled out this comment that Anelka still clearly remembered.

Now, you finally don’t have to put your favorite player on the bench…

※※※

Porto scored a face-saving goal with a long shot by young player Anderson at the last minute.

Everyone realized the strength of the current Forest team through this game. At the press conference after the game, the Portuguese media no longer grudgingly termed the result of the Forest team’s victory over Porto as “an upset win.” As rivals, they acknowledged the strength and status of the Forest team now—this was indeed a strong team.

Are you kidding? If a team with Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart, Edwin van der Sar, Ribéry, Wood, and other players is still called a dark horse, then what does a real strong team look like?

※※※

A day later, the Forest team was at the stadium, challenging the final opponent of this invitational tournament—the official host, Ajax.

In this game, Twain unexpectedly started the game with his substitute players.

He was well aware that his substitutes were inadequate, so he seized every opportunity to give them the chance to develop in competitions. Even if there was hope of winning the title in the invitational tournament, he also considered how to give his entire team thorough training first, rather than a mere tournament trophy.

Therefore, the starting goalkeeper was Paul Gerrard, and the starting center defense was Kompany and Wes Morgan. The starting defensive midfielder was Sun Jihai. It looked like Twain was determined to fully utilize Sun Jihai. Albertini also appeared in the starting lineup. Kris Commons became the starting right midfielder, and Van der Vaart went to the left side and became the left midfielder. The strikers were Bendtner and Viduka.

Twain’s requirements of Van der Vaart were not to let him be active on the left flank, but to lean towards the middle as much as possible, then to let Leighton Baines come up and actively assist.

He had studied Real Madrid’s tactics during their most glorious moments at the turn of the century and intended to test the suitability of their tactics for the Forest team in this game.

However, because he had punished three players, and these three players had their own important roles in the team’s tactical system, the results of the test had to be discounted.

With such a lineup, plus this tactic, the results of the Forest team were imaginable. They lost to the official host in this game with the score at 1:2.

At the last minute, Twain finally thought to bring in Anelka after he had used four of his allowed substitutions, but he only left him a mere ten minutes. Anelka could do nothing and didn’t score. The Forest team’s only goal was scored by Bendtner.

Nottingham Forest didn’t win the title in the end because of their loss to Ajax.

Ajax’s rules were very special. Other than complying with the general game regulations of three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss, there was a rule created by them that was increasingly being used by more and more invitational tournaments to “encourage offense”. It was that each goal was counted as one point. The scores from each game’s win, loss, or draw plus the number of goals scored would be converted into the team’s total score.

Nottingham Forest had gotten a win and a loss, and their game score was three points. Then they had scored a total of four goals in two games, with one point per goal, counting as four points. The addition of the two sets was the Forest Team’s final score in this invitational tournament, seven.

The tournament’s champion was Mancini’s Inter Milan. They had one win and one draw, which gave them four points, and they had relied on their goal score to overtake the host Ajax.

Nottingham Forest had seven points, the same as Ajax, but placed third due to the outcome of their games. Twain didn’t care about the rankings. The day after the game, he ended the team’s training in the Netherlands and brought the team back to Nottingham.

It was now August, and in ten days, the English Premier League would kick off a new season. That was the tournament that Twain would split hairs over

Chapter 473 - What a Small World

The Forest Team, who returned to Nottingham, did not go back into preparatory mode again. Tang En kindly gave the team two days off. In the span of two days, they did not have to train and the players could do whatever they wanted. Even if someone among them wanted to engage with a prostitute, Tang En couldn’t care less.

Originally, the two days of vacation were not part of their plan. But the matter with Ashley Young and the rest had reminded Tang En of something. 20 days of focused training could allow his players to put their minds completely to prepare for the new season. Other than training every day, it was even more training. While the benefit of doing this was greatly increasing the tacit levels of understanding within the team—something they had already tested in the Amsterdam Tournament—the side effect was that it made the players’ moods terrible. Especially because Tang En enforced a rule of no-contact with their wives and girlfriends during the training period, a lack of a sex life was too difficult to bear for this group of men filled with youthful vigor.

That was why Ashley Young did not care about Tang En’s repeated warnings and took the risk of running out to search for some excitement.

Everything had a cause and effect. From this matter, Tang En remembered that he should allow the players to relax at suitable times.

As such, on the day they returned to Nottingham, Tang En announced the decision to tremendous cheers from the whole team.

“Be careful,” Tang En reminded. “Two days from now, I hope to see a group of energetic players, not pitiful bugs that were wrung dry.”

Loud guffaws erupted inside the coach.

After they sent off all the players at the gates of the club’s training grounds, only Tang En and Dunn were left.

“Two days of vacation… what should we do?” Tang En raised his hand to look at his watch. It was 4:21 in the afternoon.

“Let’s head home,” was Dunn’s answer.

“Oh, god…” Tang En rolled his eyes. “Are we going to watch match and training recordings for two days? Haven’t you watched enough of them in the Netherlands?”

“What else can we do?”

Tang En rolled his eyes again but truly could not think up anything else to do. They were not like the players who had wives, girlfriends, or lovers. In the two days, their schedules would surely be arranged very substantially. What about themselves? Surely, they couldn’t partner up to find prostitutes together, right?

He himself had just criticized his players for visiting prostitutes. If he was caught by the media again, his words would mean nothing to his players.

So, that sort of thing must not be done.

After thinking about it, Tang En sighed in despair. “Let’s go home.”

At that point, his phone started ringing in his pocket.

Upon seeing the identity of the person calling, Tang En appeared extremely happy.

“Shania!”

Dunn glanced at him when he heard Tang En’s voice suddenly rising.

“Yes, I’m back. You… What, you’re in London?! Didn’t you go to Italy and France to develop your career on that side? Why did you return? Oh, a commercial… sure, sure. I’ll definitely go. When is it? Tomorrow? No problem. Funny, I was just fretting over what to do for my two days of leave.”

Although the call had ended, the smile on Tang En’s face was still hanging there.

Dunn took a glimpse at him and said, “Tomorrow, you’ll go to London. I’ll stay at home.”

“Let’s go together!” Tang En invited him enthusiastically.

Dunn knew in his heart that the trip would mean nothing if he went too.

“No. I’ll help you to prepare the information you’ll need in the new season. You have fun.” He turned and walked to the gates.

Behind, Tang En lowered his head to look at his cell phone before hurriedly chasing after him.

“You’re really not going? Shania hasn’t seen you in a long while…”

“It’s not me she wants to see. And, I’m really busy.”

“What a pity…”

The next day, Tang En took Landy’s cab to the hotel in London where Shania was residing.

Meeting up with a famous model in Europe, Tang En naturally took some precautions; he wore a pair of dark sunglasses and dressed casually to avoid attention.

Tang En had only knocked on Shania’s room door, and the girl came leaping out to hug him. “Uncle Tony!”

“Woah!” Tang En jumped. He was sorely afraid that there would be paparazzi outside snapping pictures of the scene. He hastily hugged Shania to him and rushed in before kicking the door shut.

“Alright, alright… You’re still like a kid.” Tang En patted Shania’s back, signaling for her to come down.

“In your eyes, aren’t I one?” Shania asked coyly, not wanting to come down.

“You’re now a famous model in Europe… no, a world-famous model…”

Realizing that Uncle Tony suddenly went quiet, Shania then noticed he had an awkward expression. She smiled secretly to herself and jumped off, finally letting off the tremendously awkward Tang En off the hook.

“Uh… you’re the only one staying in this room?” Tang En looked around the spacious guest room. Other than the bedroom, there was even a living room. It was a suite.

“Should I still be sharing a room with someone else?” Shania sat on the sofa cross-legged.

Tang En nodded his head in sudden realization. The current Shania had already ascended into the ranks of international models. Naturally, the treatment she received correspondingly rose with her status.

“Where’s your agent?”

The doorbell rang from the back.

“He’s here.” Shania pointed at the door.

Tang En went over to open it.

“Mr. Tony, hello!” Agent Fasal was not at all surprised at his appearance here.

“Ah, hello, Mr. Fascal.” His attitude made Tang En a little embarrassed. As the person who stayed most frequently by Shania’s side, Fascal had an in-depth understanding of their relationship. And his understanding may not be the same as their own.

“Shania has been insisting to call you since her return to London. She very much hoped for you to be here.”

“Uh. Coincidentally, my team has given me two days off.” Tang En scratched his head. It was truly a coincidence.

“Hey, you two, stop chatting at the door!” Shania’s voice sounded from inside the suite.

The two laughed and turned to walk in.

“Shania, are you ready?” Fascal asked.

“Yes.” Shania nodded. “There’s nothing much to prepare really, it’s just a print ad…” Then, she smiled at Tang En. “Uncle Tony, you have to come with us, then. I’ll introduce you to someone. I guarantee you’ll be very happy to know him.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

“It’s a secret!”

Shania acted mysteriously, refusing to reveal the answer. Fascal also only smiled at Tang En. It seemed like he had to go there himself to know the answer.

Following that, Fascal explained the write-up to Shania, about what she needed to pay attention to during the shoot, and what she had to do.

This had nothing to do with Tang En. He looked curiously at the stack of documents in Fascal’s hands. There was the same logo on all of them.

Gilette.

The studio they were shooting the advertisement at was very close to Shania’s hotel. Driving over took only 10 minutes.

As they sat in the moving silver car, Shania asked Tang En how he had arrived. He answered that he came by a cab and Shania rolled her eyes at him. “Your annual salary is three million pounds. Can’t you buy yourself a car?”

“It’s 2.75 million.” Tang En corrected the error in the figures.

“Even if it’s 2.75 million, you should still be able to afford a car, right?”

Tang En laughed with a shrug. “My workplace is a 20-minute walk from where I stay. I also hardly go out to other places. If I’m going out for a competition, there’s the team coach and airplane… I really can’t see the necessity of buying a car.”

Shania widened her big eyes and looked at Tang En. “Are you living in the middle ages, Uncle Tony?”

Her words stunned Tang En. When he had first arrived here, he had once groused that the former owner of this body must be someone who lived completely in the middle ages; he knew nothing other than deeply researching football.

He had not thought that he would be regarded that way by someone else… could he really be living a boring life?

Shania continued rebuking him. “No matter what, you’re already a successful manager now. Are you still living in the rental apartment?”

Tang En shrugged. “At least there’s a benefit. It’s harder for reporters to find my residence.”

“If they really want to find it, what can’t they dig up? Look at you, you only buy two sets of clothing through a year and the four seasons. One set is for wearing to matches, and the other for wearing at home.”

“Uh…” Tang En scratched his head. He did not care about the need to dress up. To him, having two sets of clothing was enough for him to deal with numerous situations. One set of formal wear was to be worn when they were playing matches outside, while he dressed more casually at home. “Men are not like women, needing many sets of clothes…”

“That’s for the average person. You’re a public figure now, so you’ve got to be aware of your image.” At this, Shania sighed. “You might as well let my friend design an image for you.”

Tang En hastily shook his head. “Don’t. I’m only a football manager, not some movie star.”

Hearing him say that, Shania pursed her lips but did not continue nagging.

Although Tang En did not care about his clothes, buying a car and moving into a new place did move Tang En. He began seriously considering those two matters in his heart.

As they chatted, they arrived at their destination. Under the instructions of the staff, the car parked in a special carpark and avoided the massive congregation of reporters and fans at the gates.

“So many reporters and… football fans?” Tang En was taken aback. It was normal to have this many reporters around, but why was there a flood of football fans here as well?

Shania beamed. “Yes, yes. It’s very lively.”

Tang En cast a suspicious look at her and then opened the car door, slipping out. Agent Fascal was about to open the doors for Shania when he was stopped by Tang En. He routed over to personally open the doors for her.

“Please, little princess.”

Shania laughed gaily as she stepped out from the car.

She had just gotten out when the staff on the other side came to fetch her. Without any greetings, with work being number one, Shania was directly ushered into the dressing room to get ready for the advertisement shooting.

“In a while, I’ll introduce you…” Shania was dragged off even before she finished her words.

“How busy.” Tang En whistled.

Fascal laughed beside him. “Shania is a very busy person now, Mr. Tony. Why don’t I find you a place to rest?”

“Ah, thank you, but it’s okay.” Tang En waved his hands. “I’ll just look around here. It’s rather interesting watching you all shoot an advertisement.”

He had also done a print ad before. But his was not followed with so much interest by the media as this one was. The shooting location was also not as lively. Tang En liked this sort of lively scenes; it was novel and interesting to him. After all, his own profession was a football manager. He did not usually get to interact with the many other fields. Taking the opportunity now, he wanted to widen his own perspectives. It was good to enrich himself.

As a result, he was led to the studio by Mr. Fascal. All the staff were busy, and no one took notice of an additional stranger popping in. After bringing Tang En into the studio, Fascal went off looking for the person-in-charge for the product and advertisement shooting.

There were no reporters within the studio. All of them had been locked outside. Naturally, there were also no fans around. Everyone was busy with their own matters, and Tang En continued his observations uninterrupted.

He saw the familiar logo again: Gilette.

“Excuse me…” A sharp voice sounded from behind. “Could I get past, please?”

Only then did Tang En notice that he was standing in the middle of the corridor. Everywhere else around was filled with shooting equipment and only where he stood had enough space for someone to pass by. He hurriedly turned sideways to give way as he apologized, “I’m sorry, I… eh?”

The lighting in the studio was dimmer, except for the main stage where all the light was focused. Tang En was stunned when he clearly saw who the man standing before him was.

What made him feel even stranger was a similar reaction from the other man when they saw him.

“David… Beckham?”

“Tony Twain?”

It was not unusual for either of them to know each other. At the end of last year, Tang En was invited to a prize ceremony where the English FA was giving out a variety of annual awards because he won the Domestic Manager of the Year Award. David Beckham was also present there. In fact, it was Beckham who gave the award to Tang En. Later, during the banquet, the two even greeted each other. In a way, they had the fate of meeting at least once.

Unexpectedly, they met each other again in a changed setting, at the scene of an advertisement shooting.

Tang En turned to look at the logo. He suddenly recalled that Beckham was Gillette’s global spokesperson. He also knew who the person Shania so mysteriously wanted to introduce him to was.

“I understand…” Tang En scratched his head as he said to Beckham, “You’re here to shoot an ad.”

“I’m very curious as to why you would be here?” While Tang En already understood the situation, Beckham was still confused.

“Uh... A friend of mine is also here to shoot the ad.” Tang En pointed at the dressing room.

Right on cue, Shania walked out from the dressing room after she finished putting on her make-up. She immediately saw the two men standing together.

Beckham looked over to where Tang En was looking and saw Shania walking out. He laughed. “So, that’s your friend. She previously mentioned introducing a friend to me today.”

“What a coincidence. She said the same thing to me.”

The two exchanged a glance and smiled, understanding.

Shania ran over and pouted, a little disappointed. “You guys are already chatting? I was still thinking of introducing both of you.”

Beckham pointed to Tang En with a smile as he explained to Shania, “Actually, I know Mr. Tony from before.”

“It’s at some award ceremony at the end of last year.” Tang En nodded along.

Shania was even more disappointed now. She rolled her eyes and ran back into the dressing room. “I’m going to freshen my make-up!”

Looking at the girl’s back, Tang En shook his head helplessly.

“I didn’t expect you to be friends with Shania.”

Tang En laughed wryly. “It’s a long story… I’ll tell it to you when I get the chance. I’m just afraid you won’t believe it and think I’m spinning stories.”

Tang En was more than happy to take the opportunity to become friends with Beckham. The Chinese greatly valued networking; this was something Tang En understood. Not only in China; it was the same in any nation. In the football circle, having more friends was always a good thing.

“Why would I?” Beckham shrugged. “Mr. Twain, your success is already the greatest legend. What else won’t I dare to believe?”

This lad knew how to compliment people well. Tang En admitted that his words made him feel very comfortable.

“It’s nothing… call me Tony. Mister this and that, I get the uncomfortable hearing it. I’m only that formal when I’m quarreling with reporters.”

Upon hearing Tang En’s words, Beckham laughed. Everyone knew about the relationship between Tang En and reporters. “Then, feel free to call me David as well.”

Although he was delighted that he could get to know Beckham in this way, Tang En was still curious about Beckham and Shania’s relationship. Of course, Beckham could tell. He pointed to the dressing room. “Shania and my wife are good friends. They got to know each other from a fashion show in Milan.”

Tang En could only continually exclaim in his heart: What a small world. Truly small.

Chapter 474 - A New Friend and An Old Acquaintance

Beckham didn’t talk to Twain for long since he had to go shoot the commercial, but Twain also learned about the ins and outs of this matter from their brief conversation.

As everyone knew, Beckham’s wife, Victoria Beckham, was a well-known fashionista who liked to be seen in fashionable places frequented by celebrities. It was also normal social activity for her to be invited to Milan to see a fashion show.

As the new international top model, Shania naturally became the target of the other party’s intentions to make their acquaintance.

As a result, Shania and Victoria became acquainted with each other, and then through Victoria, Shania had met David Beckham…

Their relationship came full circle.

Twain stood in the corner and watched Beckham and Shania, who were filming under the spotlight.

He had never thought he would make Beckham’s acquaintance like this. Although they had to have heard of each other’s names, they hadn’t had a deep connection before.

Had it not been for Shania, Twain and Beckham would have continued on their respective paths, and nothing would have changed.

Their respective paths…

Twain looked at Beckham, who was posing according to the photographer’s request, and repeated this remark in his head.

What would their respective paths look like?

His future was unknown. He wouldn’t even know what he was doing in a month, let alone further down his path.

As for David Beckham? Twain dared not say what he would do further in his future, but he could still guess for the near future.

The current year was 2006, and the new season, which was about to begin, was 2006-2007. During this season, Fabio Capello would take over the helm at stormy Real Madrid and bring the concept of Italian-style soccer, as well as an iron-fist style of coaching. Real Madrid would get rid of the star footballers of the “Galácticos” era with the unveiling of an official policy to clean up.

Ronaldo would become the first victim. He would be sold by Real Madrid during the winter transfer period to AC Milan. At the same time, Real Madrid would bring in a large number of young players and begin to build their futures. Young Argentinian players like Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuaín, and the Brazilian young player, Marcelo would be signed.

Beckham, who was steadily becoming the main player in Real Madrid, would also be severely challenged.

Capello wouldn’t like him and would want to clear him out.

As a result, the negotiations between the club and Beckham for a contract extension were slow-moving and even interrupted at one stage.

After Beckham was completely disappointed with Real Madrid, he finally announced his transfer during the winter transfer period to the LA Galaxy at the end of the season when his contract expired.

At the time, the news caused a sensation. Some people even thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke. David Beckham, a world-class star player, was far from being old enough to consider retiring and had unlimited commercial value. How was it possible that he would transfer to play in what was considered a second or third tier league in the world?

Did he not care about his career? Was he not concerned about his competitive form? Was he not worried about his reputation? Did he not care about… soccer?

The media then received confirmation that Beckham was indeed leaving the European football center and the heart of the world’s football to go to a “bush league” like Major League Soccer.

No one would think highly of him again… Everyone thought that this might be a sign that Beckham was going to switch his career to entertainment circles…

After this, Beckham suddenly broke out in the league. He returned to the team’s main line-up by regaining the trust of Manager Fabio Capello with his professional attitude, then helped the team catch up to Barcelona step by step, starting a classic reversal in late March. His biggest regret in joining Real Madrid in the previous four years had been failure to win an important championship trophy for the team. This was the main reason why many people had criticized him. He hoped to be able to help the team defeat Barcelona and win back the long-overdue UEFA Champions League trophy before he went, his only wish.

Twain didn’t know his story any further in the future. He had inexplicably transmigrated in the middle of April at that time, so he didn’t know whether Beckham’s wish had materialized, nor did he know what the fate of Real Madrid and Beckham would be after that.

Whether Beckham would really be engulfed in the barren land after he went to Los Angeles, and eventually be forgotten, or whether he would transform from a football star to a movie star… Twain knew none of these things.

However, he vividly recalled his feelings when he had learned of Beckham’s decision—powerless and angry.

The powerless feeling had been about Beckham’s decision, and the anger was directed at Real Madrid.

Letting Beckham go was bound to be the most significant and foolish blunder made during the career of Real Madrid’s president, Calderón.

Yes, that was what Twain had thought before Beckham led the team to fight back.

He wasn’t like most people. He had always thought that Beckham was an underrated player. The aura of a commercialized star was so dazzling that everyone forgot that he was also a brilliant player. When most people mentioned Beckham, they first thought of his image as a product spokesperson, not his hard-working figure on the field and during training. There were even some people who felt that Beckham’s hard-working image was brand packaging in itself…

That was silly.

Twain liked hard-working players. It didn’t matter whether the player was talented or not. If he wasn’t diligent, he absolutely did not want him.

Their respective paths…

Twain had experienced many things since he had appeared in this world. Some things had happened exactly the same as he knew without any changes; some things were completely different from what he knew, and some of these completely different things were due to his direct interference, such as Van der Vaart’s transfer from Ajax to Nottingham Forest instead of Hamburger SV, or Van Nistelrooy’s transfer from Manchester United to Nottingham Forest. Other things were due to indirect changes, such as Capello bringing along one more player when he went to Real Madrid—David Trezeguet.

In that case, would his presence change Beckham’s future trajectory?

In the new season, he had won Capello’s trust and affection, and dedicated every assist and goal to the fans as part of the starting lineup throughout the season. With his good performance, he had won a new contract with the club and stayed at Real Madrid until his retirement.

Or it could be… that nothing had changed. Capello didn’t like him, the club wanted to dump him, the media vilified him, and Hollywood beckoned to his wife and cast a spell on his choice for the future. And then everything would be irrevocable… as he went to America.

Apart from these two endings, would there be a third?

※※※

Lost in his thoughts, Twain did not notice that the two people had finished their shoot and gathered around him to observe his expression curiously.

“Mr. Twain?” Perhaps since he felt it was a little rude to do so, Beckham finally piped up.

“Ah!” Twain was startled to see the two of them suddenly appear in front of him. “You guys… what are you doing here? Don’t you have to continue…” He pointed to the center of the studio and discovered that at this time, the staff were busy dismantling the lights, removing the reflector boards, and getting ready to wrap up for the day.

“Finished your shoot?” He asked, puzzled.

“Oh, yes.” Shania spread her hands and asked, “What were you thinking about, Uncle Tony?”

“The shoot with Shania went well.” Beckham looked at Shania and smiled.

Shania stuck her tongue at him and put her arms around Twain, “Let’s have lunch together. We’ve already made plans with David.”

“Oh… Uh, where’s your wife, David?”

“Victoria is in Spain, looking after the children. She’s not comfortable leaving Cruz.”

Cruz was Beckham and Victoria’s third son, born on February 20th, 2005. He was the Beckhams’ new favorite.

“My flight back to Madrid is in the afternoon. I think I’d like to ask my new friends to have lunch with me before I go.” Beckham extended his hand to invite Twain.

How could there be any possibility of rejecting such a thing?

Twain also held out his hand, “But I think I should be the one treating.”

Beckham laughed, “Don’t forget that I’m British too, Tony.”

Twain felt a little embarrassed by his laugh. He had really treated Beckham as a Spaniard…

“Uh, all right. If you have the opportunity to come to Nottingham in the future, it will be my treat. That’s my home ground.” He winked at Beckham.

※※※

Lunch was at an upscale London restaurant, Beckham’s favorite restaurant. They could tell from the private room that he had reserved for the long term.

Without the paparazzi’s interruption, the three of them could chat about anything they wanted.

Together with Beckham, Shania gave Twain a lesson on fashion. As a fearless and individualistic manager, Twain behaved like a schoolboy in front of this serious young girl.

Beckham was fortunate enough to see the other side of Tony Twain that was unknown to others. He had a good time laughing.

“You mustn’t say anything about this to the others,” Twain specifically told Beckham when Shania went to the bathroom.

“Don’t worry, Tony, but I don’t think you have any need for concern. Even if the media really knew about this matter, they wouldn’t believe it. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it, either… Haha!”

Twain shrugged helplessly as Beckham guffawed.

“Would you mind telling me how you met Shania?” Beckham was curious. Beckham did have good reason to be curious about how a soccer manager had such a good relationship with a world-famous model and such a laissez-faire attitude towards her acting like a spoiled child.

“It sounds a lot like a movie script.” Twain slightly recounted, “It’s like this…”

※※※

After listening to the story, Beckham chewed over it and said, “No wonder she keeps calling you ‘Uncle Tony.'”

“In my eyes, she’s not some world-famous model. She’s just a girl who will never grow up.” Twain sipped his red wine.

“I understand.” Beckham nodded.

“What are you guys talking about?” Shania asked curiously as she heard the last remark when she pushed open the door on her way back from the bathroom.

“Your Uncle Tony told me the story of how you met, which was very interesting.” Beckham said and smiled.

Shania cleared her throat and returned to her seat. She suddenly felt a little shy.

At this point, Twain wanted to talk to Beckham about his career.

He had considered that question for a long time, but he didn’t know where to start. Should he tell him directly that he would be dumped by the club in six months? That would be too shocking. David Beckham certainly wouldn’t believe it.

“Uh, David, you’ve worked with the new manager for some time now. What kind of person do you think he is?”

All in all, soccer was a common subject between the two men. When the conversation turned to this, the relaxed look on Beckham’s face disappeared. Twain made a keen mental note of this.

“Well… He is a very tough coach, different from the team’s previous managers. Everyone has to adapt once again…” Beckham shrugged and shook his head, “I may have to train harder than before to impress him.”

“Real Madrid is a powerful club and haven’t had a championship title for several years in a row. Everyone is under a lot of pressure. Maybe it’s better to be a little tougher…” Twain encouraged, “David, have you ever thought about coming back here to play soccer?” he asked, seemingly by chance, and pointed at his feet at the same time.

“Back to the English Premier League?” Beckham smiled and shook his head, “No.”

“Because of Manchester United?” Twain continued to ask tentatively.

“There’s a reason for that. You know I played for Manchester United for years, and I can’t imagine myself facing Manchester United wearing another team’s jersey...” Beckham shook his head. He really couldn’t imagine it.

He had said this once before in 2006 when he had returned to his country to promote his new autobiography. When asked if he was likely to return to the English Premier League, he had replied to the reporter the same way.

Now on a private occasion, he had stated it again.

When Twain heard this, he could only sigh on the inside.

If there was no change in the next six months, then Twain only hoped that by the time Beckham was at the end of the line, he would be able to give up this idea.

It was with some regret that lunch was over, and Twain and Shania said goodbye to Beckham. He had to rush back to join the team’s training the next day, while Twain would go shopping with Shania in London.

“Good luck, David,” said Twain as he held Beckham’s hand when they said goodbye at the airport,. But he didn’t say the next half of his sentence, “You will need some luck in the future…”

※※※

After they had sent David Beckham off, Twain asked Shania in the car on the way back to London, “Where are we going?”

“To go shopping and buy stuff!” Shania declared excitedly.

“Ok… I got it.” Twain thought that all women were like this.

“Don’t think I’m shopping for myself.” Shania, however, saw through his thoughts. “I’m shopping for you. You need to make some changes in your image, can’t look like this all the time…”

Her agent, Fasal, who was driving in the front continued to say, “Shania is right, Mr. Twain. Even a man should have more than one set of clothes to wear on different occasions.”

Twain somehow thought of George Wood’s agent. The man hadn’t come by to harass him for a while, yet he was very good at dressing him. He had a different look every time he appeared in front of him.

“I always felt that men who have makeovers were sissies…”

“Hey, Uncle Tony!” Shania was a little angry.

“All right, all right, I’ll take your advice. Anyway, I don’t need to worry with a fashion insider like you around.” Twain raised his hands in surrender. It wasn’t easy for them to meet up, so he didn’t want to part on bad terms.

Therefore, guided by Shania, the three of them headed straight to London’s most famous shopping street—Oxford Street. There, Twain was brought in and out of the upscale clothing stores, constantly entering and leaving fitting rooms, showing the new clothes he tried on to Shania and her agent. When the two people nodded, Fasal pulled out his credit card to pay the bill and picked up the shopping bag with the selected clothes packed in it. The three people would then go to the next store.

Twain hadn’t experienced such crazy shopping in his life. Whether it was in China or here, he had never taken great pains to buy clothes.

He always felt that this scene should happen for a woman, and that he would be the one who used his credit card to pay the bill. He didn’t expect a complete reversal of roles at this time.

But…

Twain struck what he thought was a dashing pose in front of the mirror in the fitting room. The man who appeared in the mirror was almost unrecognizable to him.

You don’t say. After being made to suffer by Shania, I do look a bit like a star on a fashion magazine cover.

“Are you all set, Uncle Tony?” Shania cried outside.

“Oh… Ah, okay, okay, I’ll be right out.” Twain looked at himself in the mirror again, then turned to open the door.

Finally, back at the hotel room, Shania looked at her “work” with satisfaction—a brand new Tony Twain.

“What do you think, Mr. Twain?” Shania asked Twain as she took a fashion magazine from the bedside, rolled it up to serve as a microphone, and acted like a reporter.

Twain looked at himself in the mirror and turned around. “Think? Pretty good. Now when I’m out, I’m not afraid of being stalked by the paparazzi. They won’t recognize me at all. It’s very practical.”

“Uncle Tony!” A profound sense of defeat surged from Shania’s heart.

“Hahahaha!” Her agent, Fasal rocked back and forth in laughter.

Chapter 475 - Declaration for the New Season

Despite being forced to dress up by Shania, Tang En greatly enjoyed his two days of vacation. While it was true that he hated being forced to do anything by other people, it depended on who those people were. He would not mind if it was Shania making him do it.

So long as it could make Shania happy, what was this little sacrifice?

At the young age of 17, Shania already had to bear the burden of working and doing something that she did not like very much. Perhaps, the only time she smiled as much was during the period of their interaction.

In front of the others, she needed to be seen as an international model and pay attention to her image. She had to be careful about every word and action. She even needed to maintain her expression at all times to preserve the perfect image in all lighting, from all angles. This was the perfect image they hoped for, but it was not the real Shania.

Only in front of Tang En, in front of the man she called “Uncle Tony,” was she able to put down those masks and live in a carefree and true manner.

While the topic might be a heavy one, it was the truth.

Tang En’s two-day vacation passed in a blink of an eye and Shania also needed to return to Milan to continue her work. In London’s Heathrow Airport, Mr. Fascal thanked Tang En solemnly. He was grateful that he had spent the two days accompanying Shania to play.

“You’re too polite. I wanted to relax too.” Tang En smiled and waved his hand. “I forget all my troubles when I’m with her. I hate agents, but you’re different. You’re a good agent. No matter how famous Shania gets, she’s still a child. Please protect her.”

Fascal nodded. “You can set your heart at ease, Mr. Tony. The new season is beginning. Good luck to you.”

The two men shook hands.

After sending Shania and Fascal off, Tang En sat on the stairs outside the passenger terminal and called Landy, asking him to pick him up.

After putting down the phone, Tang En continued sitting on the steps, looking up at the sky disinterestedly.

Perhaps he should really buy himself a car.

An ear-splitting roar sounded. A silvery-white airplane flew across the stretch of sky above Tang En’s head.

The thought of buying a car lasted only one afternoon in Tang En’s mind. The next morning, he concluded that walking was still better during his walk to the training grounds with Dunn. On one hand, he could train his body, and on the other, he could contemplate his problems as he walked without having to worry about getting into a car accident.

The first matter to attend to after resuming training was dealing with the transfers. Anelka had yet to find a suitable club to be his new employer. Mark Viduka’s agent, however, already informed the club that his client wished to be transferred. The reason was simple, and it was one that Tang En understood. There was already no place for Viduka in the current Forest Team. Viduka himself was also unwilling to play as a substitute, so leaving the team was the best option.

Viduka knew it in his heart. When the club bought in Ruud van Nistelrooy, he knew that there would no longer be a core position for him on the team. He could not accept playing as a substitute. After all, he was still in his prime.

Tang En also knew that Viduka’s space for survival was shrinking with the addition of Nistelrooy and Bendtner. By letting him go, they could still earn a sum of a transfer fee. It was not a bad idea. Middlesbrough hoped to purchase Viduka with an offered price of five million pounds. Tang En turned them down immediately.

No matter what, Viduka was a core forward on the Forest Team for the past two seasons. Forest’s current results were inseparable from Viduka’s hard work. The number-two forward in the English Premier league was only worth five million pounds? Tang En could not accept it.

However, he did not completely shut down the potential transfer. Instead, he gave Middlesbrough a chance to continue bargaining. He hoped that they would continue upping their offer. If they were truly sincere about Viduka, they had to show a sincere offer!

Back then, Nottingham Forest spent six million pounds to buy Viduka. Selling him off, how should it be put, should not be at a price lower than that.

Tang En’s benchmark was to disregard all offers lower than six million pounds.

After a round of bargaining, both parties finally reached an agreement. Middlesbrough would pay four million pounds first. Then, within 12 months, they were to pay another 2.5 million pounds in installments, totaling 6.5 million pounds for the purchase of Mark Viduka, whom they had been very keen on.

Following that, Tang En loaned out Kris Commons to Watford, who had just been promoted into the English Premier League, hoping that Commons would be able to gain sufficient appearances in the field with them. To appease Commons, Tang En even especially gave him a new four-year contract before deciding to loan him out. While his terms were not considered high on the team, it was mainly to express the team’s trust and promise to him – that in the future four years, he was still a member of Nottingham Forest.

It was not only Matthew Upson and Mark Viduka who were sold off. Forest Team’s second reserve goalkeeper, Barry Roche, was also sold for 2.7 million pounds to an EFL Championship team, Leicester. Under the situation where Akinfeev would be returning in a year’s time, Nottingham Forest no longer had a position for Barry Roche.

After clearing the surplus of players, Tang En successfully reached his aim of streamlining the players on the team and at the same time increasing their battle capabilities. The players who remained were all extremely capable. In comparison to the common syndrome of EPL clubs registering more than 30 players, Nottingham Forest’s team list of 23 First Team players could be considered a small team. But Tang En deeply believed that all 23 of them were excellent players. Here, there was no player just scraping the barrel for a meal; everyone who stayed was surely of some use to the team.

After completion of his work on streamlining the team, George Wood’s agent came knocking again.

“I’m not here to inform the club that George is transferring, but I know that the team has sold a few players recently.” Sitting on the sofa in Tang En’s office, Woox crossed his legs as he casually said, “Now that Forest’s momentum is so good, only a fool would consider a transfer.”

That was the truth.

“But, as everyone knows, there are not just a few powerhouses in the European football scene that are keen on Wood. Yet Wood has turned down all of them. So…” Woox put down his legs and straightened his back, somberly saying, “shouldn’t the club show their appreciation for Wood’s act of loyalty?”

Hearing his words, Tang En said impassively, “Sure. Tomorrow I will give him a carton of milk as welfare. How about that?”

“Mr. Twain!” Woox raised his voice.

“Just get to the point if you want to raise his salary. There’s no need to beat around the bush like that.” Tang En snorted in contempt at Woox’s attitude.

Woox went back to crossing his legs. “It’s good that you’re aware of it. If you wish to retain an important member of your team, you need to better your treatment of him and make him feel that his efforts and reciprocation are positively correlated.”

“I think that George is very satisfied with his current income.”

“That’s what you think.” Woox did not back down. “I still think his current conditions are too low. Tony, you wouldn’t be unaware of the salary standards of a national player, would you?”

Generally, once a player was successfully selected for the national team, his value would shoot up under the agent’s management even without playing a single match. The commensuration for taking on advertisements or becoming a spokesperson outside the field, as well as the salary and prize money given by the team internally all had to be raised. Currently, that was exactly what Woox was doing.

“He is the captain of a team that was runner-up in last season’s EPL and UEFA Champions League, a selected member of England’s National Team who participated in the German World Cup, a player who is most indispensable to the team, and the only core who cannot be rotated. Is such a player worth only 15 thousand pounds per week? If that number was made known, people would be laughing until their teeth fell out, Tony.” Woox’s words were razor-sharp. His verbal abilities did not seem to pale in comparison to Tang En’s. “When you were spending truckloads of money in the transfer market buying one football star after another, did you not think about making a new promise to the most hard-working and most important person on the team?”

Tang En stared at Woox and did not immediately respond.

He had to admit it in his heart; Woox’s words were impeccably reasoned. Tang En could barely find any reason to refute them.

“But we’ve just renewed our contract…”

“That’s not important. The value of a player is constantly shifting. A year ago, who among us expected George to have the achievements he’s got today? Clearly, we have underestimated his abilities, and in turn, underestimated his value. Now is the time to correct that mistake.”

Tang En sighed. Although this agent was hateful, he was at least not egging Wood on to consider transferring. No matter what, Wood was the most important person on Forest right now. He was both the future for Tang En and his team. Evan had also mentioned before that if Wood was to become tempted by the outside world, they had to retain him at all costs.

A weekly salary of 15 thousand pounds for Wood was indeed a little too low.

“Alright. State your demand, Professor Woox.”

Hearing such mockery, Billy Woox was not perturbed. Instead, he smiled as he stated, “A weekly salary of 75 thousand pounds.”

Even though he was already prepared in his heart, Tang En still sighed upon hearing the numbers.

“Are you surprised, Tony?” Woox cocked his head and looked at Tang En. “I think that number is very reasonable. Ruud van Nistelrooy currently draws the highest salary in the team, 85 thousand pounds. Shouldn’t the team captain enjoy the same level of treatment?”

“So, I should be grateful that you didn’t ask for a weekly salary of 140 thousand pounds at one go?” Tang En said, laughing coldly.

“I wouldn’t want to destroy the salary balance in the club,” Woox replied with a smile.

“Thanks for your concern for the club’s financial status,” Tang En said with an unhappy face. “But now, negotiations of players’ contracts are no longer under my purview.” He lied. He suddenly thought of someone who was more suitable to deal with this insatiably greedy fellow before him. “Especially contracts for important players.”

“Hm?”

“You can look for Mr. Allan Adams to discuss raising George Wood’s salary. He’s currently in his office. I’m sure he’ll be happy to have you.”

Looking at Tang En’s smothered smile, Woox knew that this must be a strategy of his. However, he could not do anything even if he knew it. Tang En evidently did not wish to discuss this issue with him, but he did not turn him down, only changing someone else for the discussion.

As a football agent and as a successful individual with some achievements in the market, Woox had long heard of Nottingham Forest Club’s current marketing manager and knew he was not a character easily dealt with. It seemed like Forest was unwilling to fork out that sum of money so readily.

While Woox was in a stupor, Tang En picked up his phone and called Allan Adams to inform him about this. Allan agreed to take the matter off his hands.

“Mr. Woox.” Tang En hung up the call, “I’ve already informed Mr. Adams. He hopes for you to go over to his office to discuss the matter now.”

At that point, what else was there to do? Was he going to just turn and leave, refusing to further discuss the salary raise? That would not do. Woox decided he would have to meet this Allan person.

Of course, he did not forget to give Tang En a thumbs up before leaving. “A beautiful pass, Tony.”

Tang En smiled as he waved his hand. “Thanks for the praise. Goodbye, Mr. Woox.”

After passing the ball of raising Wood’s salary over to Allan Adams, Tang En was going to wash his hands of it. All his focus was on leading the team’s training and the final two warm-up matches.

The new season was coming.

Initially, Billy Woox and Allan Adams’ negotiations were progressing slowly. Allan did not seem in a hurry to reach an agreement with Woox. After all, there was still a few years on Wood’s contract. The club’s attitude was, “of course his salary has to be raised, but not that high.” To be honest, Forest was still not some rich and powerful team who could spend money like water. They needed to have strict control over the salary structure of the players.

But Woox felt that the team was not showing their sincerity. If they were already so stingy with their future captain, could they be expected to be generous with the other players?

Both parties were at an impasse until the media suddenly revealed that George Wood was in current negotiations about his contract renewal.

Tang En originally had no interest in such topics; it was like watching dogs fighting each other. He only cared if George Wood’s condition in training was affected. But he soon found himself to be wrong.

Getting media exposure was a move by Woox. He wanted to blow the matter up so that it was not only an issue involving Wood alone but something that the whole team was concerned about; how did Nottingham Forest Club treat the players serving her?

If Woox got his way, there would be an unstable situation at a crucial point when the new season was about to begin. The morale of the team would be negatively influenced. This was not something Tang En wanted to see.

This move was out of Tang En and Allan’s expectations. It was rather beautiful as well.

The media was an expert at stirring things up. With their addition, any issue would become complex. In this way, the club would have no choice but agree to Woox’s demands.

Tang En also hoped to settle discussions of the matter before the season began and not let such messy matters impact the team’s preparations for battle.

Finally, both parties managed to reach an agreement. George Wood and his team would sign a new contract with an increase in his weekly salary from 15 thousand to 70 thousand pounds. This was five thousand pounds lower than his initial demand, but Woox did not care. He was very satisfied with the result. Allan, on the other hand, made a point to remember the guy.

What comforted Tang En greatly, other than reaching a consensus about the new agreement, was that the matter seemed almost unrelated to Wood. The boy was not in the least affected. If some ignorant reporter asked Wood for his thoughts about the salary raise, he would deftly throw all the questions to his own agent; “Please approach my agent for this.” If asked about his feelings regarding training, he would respond, “Feels great. Everything is as usual.” Such answers were clearly unable to satisfy the media but were immensely satisfying for Tang En.

After following Woox for a year, he had indeed learned something. He now knew how to deal with the reporters. Faced with reporters, he was no longer as uneasy as before.

August 13, Cardiff Millennium Stadium.

The English Premier League champions, Chelsea, lost 1:2 to FA Cup winner Liverpool in the Charity Shield. The final warm-up match before the new season of the EPL ended.

In the interview after the match, Mourinho proudly talked about the defeat of this match. “I think this is a good sign. The League championship of the new season still belongs to Chelsea. A third in our streak of the Premier League championship. Furthermore, we also want to attain a breakthrough in the Champions League.”

This was the reigning champion’s declaration for the new season. Thanks to the advancement of live broadcasts, the other 19 managers of the rest of the EPL teams all heard his brave words.

No one would show approval of his words. Mourinho pushed his own team into the teeth of the storm. He wanted to make some waves, but this depended on if his opponents would give him that opportunity.

The next day, in Tang En’s column, he announced his aims for the team in the new season:

“Mourinho said that his team wanted to attain a breakthrough in the new season of the Champions League. I regret to see what a gutless person he is. In the new season, our aim is to become the champions of the UEFA Champions League. I know what you want to say, but you are not reading it wrong. In the new season, our aim is indeed to become the champions of the Champions League. What’s mine is mine. If you’ve taken what’s mine in the last season, it’s time to cough it up.”

Chapter 476 - Absolute Strength

Appendix: Nottingham Forest’s final list in the 2006-07 season (jersey number in brackets).

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (1), Paul Gerrard (25), Igor Akinfeev (12, on loan to CSKA Moscow)

Defenders: Leighton Baines (22), Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Sun Jihai (21), Gerard Piqué (24), Vincent Kompany (33), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (5)

Midfielders: George Wood (13), Demetrio Albertini (4), Martin Petrov (8), Rafael van der Vaart (23), Kris Commons (20, on loan to Watford), Ashley Young (18), Aaron Lennon (17), Franck Ribéry (7), Mikel Arteta (14)

Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nicklas Bendtner (9), Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Nicolas Anelka (39)

※※※

“Guys, don’t you think it’s amazing?” Twain asked his team in the locker room before the first game of the season. “Our first game last season was here too, against the same opponent.”

When he said that, everyone thought about it. He was right, it was exactly the same.

Nottingham Forest had hosted Wigan Athletic in last season’s first game. Everyone still had an impression of this team, because they had been called “the second Nottingham Forest” by the media, both before and after the game. The opposing manager had also named Twain as his idol during the interview and said that Nottingham Forest was a role model for his team to learn from top to bottom.

“It looks like you all remember. So, does anyone remember the course of that game?” Twain continued to ask.

Accordingly, everyone thought again. Other than the newly joined Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart, and Petrov, everyone else remembered what that game was like.

“Chief, we played badly in the first half,” Albertini stood up and answered. Although George Wood spent more time on the field wearing the captain’s armband, the Italian was still the team’s first captain.

“Not bad.” Twain motioned for Albertini to sit down. “I was furious with you all during the halftime interval and then we won in the second half, but I don’t want to a repeat performance. I’m sure you don’t want to see me like that again, do you? I’m actually very good-natured.”

The players laughed.

“At that time, we were still young and naive enough to feel complacent just because our opponent gave us a few words of praise. Now, it’s different. We’ve all been through a lot of important games and have more experience!” Twain and his players met gazes and in the exchange, the players understood what Twain was referring to when he said experience—the UEFA Champions League final. “We’re no longer the same as we were a season ago.?We’ve weathered a lot and will not trip over such a small game. Bring your best form! We have a magnificent goal for the new season. Do you all know that?”

“Yes, Chief!”

“The Champions League title! WOOOW!”

The players shouted in unison, impassioned by this goal.

“Very good. Now, this is our first official game for the new season. So… give me a good start!”

※※※

“This coincidence was wonderful for Nottingham Forest, whose opponents in last season’s first round appeared in the first round of this season. The weaker Wigan Athletic cannot threaten the Forest team’s defense. The Forest team’s big-name stars will show their offensive strength as much as they like in the front field, and poor Wigan Athletic can only choose to defend their goal to the death.”

“Twain shows no mercy to their little brother… Haha!”

It was almost a replica of everything that had happened last season. Even the two commentators for the game were Twain’s old acquaintances—John Motson and Alan Hansen.

The only difference was that the two commentators joked about the two teams in the game in an easy manner and didn’t mock or ridicule Nottingham Forest’s poor performance as they had last year, because Nottingham Forest was gaining the upper hand, both in terms of the game situation and the score.

The game’s latest score was displayed on the electronic scoreboard: Nottingham Forest 1:0 Wigan Athletic.

“This is a more mature team.” Motson critiqued the Forest team as such.

He was right to say that. After that important defeat, the Forest team had matured a lot. It was obvious, judging by how they dealt with Wigan Athletic.

They didn’t give their opponents any chance and took advantage of their overwhelming advantage of their home ground and strength. They controlled the pace of the game firmly. The team’s overall tactics were no different from last season. At the beginning of the new season, Twain placed importance on stability. They had to first strengthen their performance before they considered a change of tactics. During this game, the Forest team’s two flanks repeatedly shuttled up and down. On the left side, Ribéry agitated Wigan Athletic’s defense on the right until they were confused and jittery. Ashley Young, who was back in action after his internal ban had ended, repeatedly used his passes to salvage his image in the manager’s mind.

Other than the major changes on the forward line where Van Nistelrooy replaced Viduka and Eastwood replaced Anelka, the rest of the team was no different from last season.

Van der Vaart, who had been bought for 5.7 million dollars, entered the team’s main list, but didn’t make his debut. The Forest team’s midfield combination in the middle was still the unstoppable George Wood and Arteta. Therefore, the team formation was still the flat four positioning, 4-4-2.

Although they had repeatedly practiced new tactics during the summer training session, Twain was still not reassured. The new tactics were still hasty and not as dependable as the old tactics that the team had practiced for two years. At the start of the new season, he chose to be steady, and at the end of the day, the utilitarian in him was at work.

The team performed well year after year: They ranked fourth in the English Premier League in their first season and were in the top eight in the UEFA Europa League. In the second season, they were the runner-up in the Premier League and the Champions League… What extent would be satisfying for them this season? The Forest team would have to bear more expectations in the future seasons. The Forest team’s rocket-like ascent made everyone feel that this miraculous team’s outstanding performance was to be expected as a matter of fact. Otherwise, the World Soccer magazine wouldn’t have rated Nottingham Forest “a strong team” instead of “a dark horse.”

Just as Twain was flushed with success, the pressure on his shoulders grew heavier… Certainly, this was part of the price he had to pay for success. As the hottest manager of the moment, he had to be aware of this.

※※※

The player who scored a goal for the Forest team was Franck Ribéry. With his excellent performances in the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League, he had become a world-renowned player. Wigan Athletic specially arranged to closely mark him but still failed to block him. With a corner kick, Ribéry shot Nottingham Forest’s first goal of the new season.

The City Ground stadium fell into a frenzy. Even though everyone had become familiar with Tony Twain’s team bringing victory after victory, every goal could still ignite the passion.

After the goal, Ribéry ran to the corner flag, followed closely behind by Van Nistelrooy, the player nearest to him. This newly joined player waved his arms to signal to his teammates to come up and celebrate.

Twain had once told Dunn and Kerslake that he wasn’t worried at all about the question of Van Nistelrooy’s integration with the team. It had now been proven.

Twain knew this. Van Nistelrooy was a very professional player. A new environment for him meant that he had to start over. He needed to adapt to everything in the new team. He knew how to integrate faster and better with this team. It was normally a good idea to take the initiative to be friendly.

He wasn’t peculiar like Anelka, who wasn’t likeable.

Van Nistelrooy’s assimilation into the team was smooth, so it wouldn’t be difficult for Van der Vaart, either. The team had three Dutch players, and the first to join was Edwin van der Sar. Twain didn’t mind the men from same country sticking together. The old players could help the new players become familiar with the team. It was a virtuous cycle when done properly.

As for the wrangling between the factions from various countries, Twain wasn’t worried. The days were long, and there was time for them to recognize who the people were that the team couldn’t do without.

※※※

At the end of the first half of the game, the score was still at 1:0, with Nottingham Forest dominating. The home fans weren’t worried about the outcome of this game. Tony Twain’s team was reassuring. The quality of the team’s determination would not easily lead to failures like a “dark three minutes,” where a foregone conclusion at the last moment could be completely reversed.

During the fifteen minutes interval at halftime, Twain lauded the team’s performance with reservations and specially praised each player after roll call. He didn’t gloss over his words, but truly praised everyone from the bottom of his heart.

No one disliked praise. Twain was also not stingy with his praise, which was a means of management. He was reminded only after Kerslake mentioned Bale at that time that it was easy for a person to pay a compliment, but it might be an important incentive for those who received it.

Of course, he also wasn’t stingy with telling them off.

With regards to this point, Twain was rather inventive with rewards and punishment…

During halftime, Twain didn’t say much tactical stuff other than praising everyone on the team. All the coaches knew that when their team did well and occupied the dominant position in the first half, there was often no need for anything else to be said at halftime. It was the best option for the team to continue playing the way they had in the first half. This was the same principle for the reason not to hastily change tactics and deployment of players when the lineup continued to win games.

Therefore, towards the end halftime, Twain just clapped and said to the players, who were ready, “Play like you did before!”

※※※

The Forest team carried out this remark in the second half and continued playing in the second half as they had in the first half.

Wigan Athletic was definitely not willing to lose this game. After all, they were no longer newly promoted from a season ago with a dream to successfully stay in the English Premier League. Last season’s excellent results had made them more ambitious this season—to qualify for the next season’s UEFA Europa League.

Since they were called “the second Nottingham Forest,” how could the Wigan Athletic manager, Paul Jewell not study the team in front of his eyes?

He admitted that he understood Twain’s team and Twain as a person and was fully confident that he could make a comeback in the second half—conceding one goal in the first half was well within Jewell’s plan.

Much accomplished at a young age, Twain was currently flushed with success. He had chosen to take it lying down in the first half so as to make Twain underestimate his opponent. The second half was a good time for Wigan Athletic to launch a massive counterattack. He still remembered the Forest team’s performance in the first game last season.

It would have been possible for Wigan Athletic to go home with three points had it not been for Twain’s admonishment of his players at halftime.

But right now, Manager Twain, you won’t be scolding them during halftime… Jewell thought, feeling a little smug.

Ten minutes after the start of the second half, Wigan Athletic suddenly powered up and threatened the Forest team’s grounds with three consecutive attacks.

Dunn looked at Jewell, who walked to the sidelines from the technical area and reminded him, “Tony…”

Twain smiled and waved, “I know. It’s not nice to be number two. Take a look, guys. No one is willing to be someone else’s replacement. Jewell thought that he had studied me and the Forest team, so let him continue to think so.”

“Do you want to make any changes?” Kerslake asked.

Twain stared at the field for a moment before answering, “No.”

Kerslake was surprised by his reply. He had thought that Twain was going to adjust his tactics. “But the opponents have seen through our tactics, and they’ve stepped up their defense on the sides…” he said and pointed to the field.

Twain smiled, “You’re right. They’ve seen through our tactics. But… what about it?”

Kerslake was rendered speechless by his rhetorical question.

“Does he know how to deal with it when he sees through our tactics? If he knows how to deal with it, does that mean he’ll be able to do it?” Twain laughed more and more happily. In Dunn’s eyes, he was giving off a feeling that his prank had succeeded.

“David.” Twain decided to give his assistants a good lesson. “In this world, these petty maneuvers do not mean that everything will go smoothly and unhindered. You know that they are still some distance away from us in terms of ability. But do you know how big a gap there is between them and us? Sometimes, an absolute advantage in strength can make all schemes and ploys ineffective. The gap between them and us…” He pointed confidently to the darkened sky and said, “Is like the distance from Earth to Mars.”

Kerslake’s mouth was agape. He had trouble accepting this reference.

“Nothing has to change. This lineup and this set of tactics will remain the same. We’ll let Wigan Athletic understand why they can only be ‘the second Nottingham Forest,’ and not the real one. As you know, it’s dangerous to believe oneself infallible in a fantasy.”

With that, Twain got up, walked from the technical area to the sidelines, then whistled. When his players set their sights on him, he gestured for them to push forward. He was telling the team to continue to press forward, keep attacking, and score more goals.

Wigan Athletic’s three consecutive attacks on the Forest team’s hinterland just then had already provoked his squad of proud and arrogant Forest players. Even without the manager’s reminder, they would also press up to absolutely crush the opponent.

For the rest of the game, Jewell could only look on in astonishment as he watched his team be trampled by the other team.

Twain was right. Jewell had seen through the Forest team’s tactics and studied them thoroughly. He had also come up with a lot of ways to curb the Forest team’s most impressive side attacks, but he hadn’t considered that his team, whether in overall or individual competitive ability, were far from the Forest team. Even if his strategies were on the right track, what was the use if the players who implemented them were not strong enough?

“Arteta… What a beautiful pass! Eastwood isn’t greedy, and he passes the ball to… Van Nistelrooy!! He scored his first league goal for Nottingham Forest!

“This was Van der Vaart’s first contact with the ball in the game. He tries a long shot—and it hits the Wigan Athletic defender on the leg and bounces out… and Ashley Young makes a pass! Antonio Valencia… goal! Poor Valencia, this is his first league game for Wigan Athletic…

“The frontline combination of Heskey and Camara simply doesn’t pose any threat to George Wood’s leading defensive line. Wood actually rushed up to participate in the offense… He makes a long shot! Oh, what a pity, he shot too high!”

After the team was leading the opponent by 3:0, Twain, who was standing on the sidelines, turned to the two assistant managers and shrugged, then walked back.

“The game is over,” he said to his two helpers at the 76th minute.

On the other side, Jewell’s face looked ugly. But what could he do about it? His strategy was completely ineffective against the Forest team. The gap between the strength of the two teams was too wide… even wider than it had been a year before. It wasn’t that Wigan Athletic had weakened. His team had added some players this summer. The only reasonable explanation was that Nottingham Forest had become stronger, and the speed of their strengthening was far greater than he had anticipated.

“Nottingham Forest has fully demonstrated the strength of a great team. Poor Wigan Athletic, it looks like they can only continue to be ‘the second.’ There’s no suspense in this game. Nottingham Forest takes control of every corner of the field and can score as many goals as they want! Tony Twain is having a really good laugh. This is the perfect beginning of a new season!”

Amid Motson’s praise, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game.

Tony Twain took the initiative to go shake the hand of the loser, Jewell, and said, “Welcome back to Earth, Mr. Jewell. There are still thirty-seven games in the league. Please continue to fight on!”

Jewell smiled a little helplessly. “Please continue to do well, Mr. Twain.”

They were right. There were still thirty-seven matches in the league, and the new season was just starting. They all needed to keep fighting.

But in any case, Jewell’s team had been defeated, while Twain had received a boost, signifying a good beginning.

Chapter 477 - The Chinese Man Who Conquered Forest

When Tang En declared Nottingham Forest’s aim for the season as being the UEFA Champions League champions in his own column, no one felt any surprise. But no one expressed their approval of it either. Most people thought it was the arrogant Tang En once again hyping matters up; a poor performance, that was all.

Even Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool did not dare to publicly announce their season’s aim to be the champions of the Champions League, much less speak of the trophy representing the highest level of European Club tournaments like it was their own.

So, even though there was little surprise, there were several people who believed that such an arrogant declaration was not at all trustworthy.

“Tony Twain loves being the focus of attention. Every now and then, if he doesn’t incite a wave, he would get uncomfortable. I completely understand that. However, if you always treat the waves he creates as real, you’ll go crazy; you don’t know what he actually wants.” The Daily Telegraph was firmly “Anti-Tony”. The words in his column were representative of how some people saw Tang En.

However, when the first round of the League match ended, everyone who still saw him that way fell silent. In the face of Nottingham Forest’s overwhelming victory, they did not know what else they could say to make themselves seem less awkward.

Even though those people were unwilling to see the gleeful smiles of Tang En on the television screen, their words paled in comparison to the truth.

China’s media did not care much about Tang En’s relations with the English media. What made them exuberant with joy was the discovery of an Asian face sitting in Nottingham Forest’s technical area in the match.

As numerous Chinese citizens were guessing if the Asian man was Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, Titan Sports, where Tang Jing worked, took the lead in revealing the person’s detailed information as well as the reason behind his appearance in Nottingham Forest’s technical area: they were online friends. Although it sounded like a fantasy, the fact was that it had happened. It was not up to them to disbelieve it.

Wasn’t Nottingham Forest’s victory over Wigan Athletic F.C. to be expected? As a result, everyone became even more attentive to the Chinese man who appeared on the managers’ seats of a strong Premier League team.

Nowadays, the appearance of a Chinese player in a European team was not uncommon. There was not much hype value to the news. However, it was incredible to the Chinese to have a Chinese manager appearing in a foreign football team.

In the hearts of many Chinese football fans, perhaps there were still one or two geniuses among Chinese players who could be nurtured into outstanding players. Chinese managers, on the other hand, were certain to be devoid of any high-quality talents. Becoming a manager in a foreign club? It would be good enough if they did not lead their young ones astray!

Precisely because of such opinions, Dunn’s appearance triggered a sensational reaction in China.

It was like he had suddenly dropped out of the sky, making his mark. No matter how deep their research or understanding of Chinese football was, no one had heard of such a top dog among Chinese managers, not to mention understanding Dunn’s past, coaching experience, or other details.

For a period, Titan Sport’s article written by Tang Jing with information on Dunn became everyone’s only way of understanding this mysterious manager.

Many people were shocked by the information disclosed in the article – the person who had managed to become an assistant manager on Nottingham Forest, a team ranked second in the EPL, was someone who did not have any coaching experience! And he had only gotten to know Nottingham Forest’s main manager, Tony Twain, through chatting online! No matter how it was viewed, it seemed like a scene that only appeared in YA novels.

As a result, many guesses regarding Dunn’s appearance in Nottingham Forest began to surface.

Some people thought Dunn must be the brother-in-law to some big corporate boss in the country whose company forked out money sponsoring Dunn to go over and have some fun. In truth, however, he was without any real ability.

That was the supposition with the greatest support behind it.

Then, there were those who believed that Dunn was a learned man hidden amongst the commoners. Didn’t the report say that Tony had toured China twice? Getting to know Dunn was normal. Furthermore, the Chinese football scene was rubbish. Was having any coaching experience in the field something worthy of being bragged about? Maybe Tony would not have even wanted Dunn if he had done any coaching in China.

Some felt that Tang En, as England’s characteristic manager, was always doing things that puzzled everyone else. So, even if Dunn turned out to be lacking, it was just the norm for Tang En to have chosen him to be an assistant manager; Tang En simply did not do anything normal.

The final viewpoint was angled from a business perspective. The idea was that Nottingham Forest had the intention of breaking into the Chinese market after purchasing Sun Jihai. As such, they found a Chinese manager… This was sheer nonsense. Who would buy Nottingham Forest’s merchandise because of a Chinese manager? What were they going to sell? A customized manager’s suit?

Regardless, no matter how these people were making guesses, Dunn was, as a matter of fact, a member of Nottingham Forest’s managerial team.

To clarify the story behind all of this—the other media groups did not want to always be picking up crumbs dropped by Titan Sports—countless Chinese media flocked towards where Nottingham Forest Club was.

“Tsk, tsk.” Tang En shook his head and clucked his tongue on the training grounds. “Even when Sun came, I didn’t see this many dark-haired, yellow-skinned reporters. Dunn, your charm is quite compelling! I’m a little jealous.”

The other members of the managerial team laughed.

Dunn knew that Tang En was joking, so he only smiled at him and said nothing.

“Letting them wander around outside our training grounds all day won’t do. It affects our training too much. Let’s make time to call for a press conference. Dunn, I’ll go with you to deal with them.”

Dunn nodded this time. He also disliked being treated like a monkey. It was a very visual metaphor; surrounded by barbed wire walls within the training grounds, it was as if they were monkeys in a metal cage while tourists outside scrutinized them with curious gazes. It was an unpleasant feeling.

Tang En could understand the enthusiasm that the Chinese media had for Dunn. After all, he was once a Chinese man too. With the fatigue and weakness of Chinese football today, they needed a hero to boost their morale. Although it was still not known if Dunn was a hero, that could not, in the eyes of the Chinese media, prevent them from declaring him to be?one. As a lone ranger who found his way into England, he had managed to move the famed general, proud and aloof Tony Twain, with his true abilities. Dunn was then called on upon to serve under him. International superstars were amazing, but so what? They had Dunn, who specialized in managing these incredible superstars!

Tang En wiped his eyes. What a touching story…

As a result, each of the Chinese reporters who hoped to interview Dunn had received the following invitation:

Nottingham Forest Club sincerely invites our reporter friends who have come from afar to participate in a press conference held in City Ground at three-thirty in the afternoon tomorrow.

Naturally, Tang Jing was one of the invited parties. She held the invitation in her hand and looked inside the venue. Her gaze was not on Dunn, whom everyone was paying attention to. Rather, it was on Tony Twain.

In comparison to Dunn’s mystical appearance in Nottingham Forest, she felt that manager Tony Twain was likely worthier of further research. He was the one who had decided to recruit Dunn into the team to be a manager after mere conversations over the net and the two discussions they had had when he flew to China. What on earth did the man think about his whole day? Was he thinking of all the ways and means of astounding the world with his decisions? If it were really the case, he had succeeded, going by the current reactions from the outside.

It was not just the Chinese media. Even UK’s media had begun taking notice.

Right now, there were numerous foreigners around her. But Tang Jing firmly believed that those people had not come for Dunn. Instead, they had their sights on Tony Twain, the man who had brought Dunn into the English Premier League. Otherwise, Dunn had already been working as Forest’s Youth Team manager for the past two years. Why wasn’t there any attention from UK’s media then?

No matter how China’s media was in an uproar over this news, the English were not at all interested in a Chinese manager. They were only concerned about their own people and their football. The UK media did not care even for the other strong football nations from Continental Europe. In a corner of Europe, England’s football imagined they were the world’s best in their own illusory world.

Having stayed in England for so many years, Tang Jing had long ago come to understand how the UK’s football was. Her attitude towards it had also gone from being deeply admiring to coldly looking at it from afar.

Their losses in the World Cup and UEFA European Championship were certainly not only due to less-than-optimal conditions of the players or a lack of standards in the management of the team. Many times, they showed similarities with China’s football.

“I say, Dunn. When the time comes, you must dress a bit more formally. Don’t you go there wearing a bloated sports outfit… this one isn’t going to work.” In preparation for the press conference on the next day, Tang En was forcing Dunn to try out clothes at home. The tactics Shania had used to “torment” him back then were now all inflicted on Dunn.

He had to admit. Tormenting a living, grown-up person like that, commanding him to do this and that as he desired, was very satisfying.

“Do I have to put on a tie?” Dunn was holding a dark red tie in his hands.

“I hope you will.”

“It’s not like we’re going to meet the Queen…”

“It almost is!”?Tang En said sternly. “Tomorrow, you’re not going to be facing reporters from all over the world only as Forest’s assistant manager. You’re also facing them as a Chinese man. Every word and action of yours and the way you dress will represent China. If you dress badly, you would be mocked! They’ll look down on China and think ‘do all Chinese people dress that way?’ You must know that many people in the western nations still know nothing about China. They believe the Chinese to be living in the ’50s or ’60s, or even further back in the Qing Dynasty. You have the duty to let everyone see how the Chinese are now!” He adapted and edited the lessons he had received from Shania, feeding them to Dunn.

Shania had said it this way to Tang En: “…You’re Nottingham Forest’s main manager. Wherever you go, everyone will look and think of you in that way. Your dress, words, and actions all represent Nottingham Forest. If you dress badly, people will ridicule the club that stands behind you. They’ll say, ‘Look, Nottingham Forest’s main manager looks like some country bumpkin’. They won’t say, ‘Tony Twain is a country bumpkin.'”

Dunn had the same expression as Tang En had had when he heard this: wide eyes and agape jaws. In the past, they had had never thought about such complicated matters. Now that they were pinched awake by someone, it really seemed to be the case when they thought carefully about it.

Although everyone liked to say, “I am me, I don’t have to live for anyone else”, and sound very independent and strong, people were, in truth, social organisms; they needed to live in various groups. Everyone inevitably represented something.

“You get very serious when it comes to China’s image, huh?” Dunn said after a long stupor.

“No matter what, I’m Chinese.” Tang En crowed. “Protecting the image of one’s own motherland is everyone’s responsibility!”

Dunn snorted as he put on his tie. “I thought of a problem. Now that you’re getting closer and closer to China, would you go if the Chinese Football Association invited you to manage the Chinese National Team?”

“Of course not!”

“You turned that down rather flatly. Weren’t you saying something about protecting your motherland’s image?”

“China’s football is apart from China’s image. If you’re talking about the sports image, ping-pong, badminton, and gymnastics are enough. China’s football is already much too complex. It should be simpler. Plus, I don’t need to sacrifice my career and money to do that sort of thing.” Tang En sat on the sofa and swung his crossed legs leisurely. He was a completely different person from the man who had spoken sternly with a sense of justice.

Tang En’s words rendered Dunn speechless. He had to admit, the man before him with an Englishman’s appearance had a much more in-depth understanding of China’s football and deep opinions of the issues within it.

“How does this look?” Dunn asked after putting on the suit.

Tang En scrutinized him for a moment. In truth, he did not know. He was just putting on a pretense. Experts acted the same way when they showed an unclear attitude. To outsiders, it would be regarded as a show of depth by the experts. They must also speak slowly, which would be interpreted as a careful weighing of their every word. If they spoke quickly or made a clear stand on their opinions, it appeared frivolous and without standards. After all, empty barrels make the most noise.

After a show of intense scrutiny for a long time, Tang En finally nodded. “Okay!”

In fact, in comparison with before, he had only changed into a suit from a sports jacket, a round-neck tee into a white shirt, and added a tie.

“Perform better tomorrow. Don’t be so quiet.” Tang En gave his roommate a thumbs-up.

On this day, everyone’s focus was not on Forest’s preparation for the next League match, but on the press conference to be held after three-thirty in the afternoon.

Everyone wanted to know the story behind the first Chinese assistant manager to set foot in the English Premier League.

When the designated time came, Tang En brought Dunn, dressed in formal wear, before the many reporters.

“You are free to ask any questions, but we’re taking them one at a time. We have limited time, so I’m sure nobody wants to waste precious time on maintaining order. Let’s begin.” After a brief bout of instructions, Tang En announced the commencement of the press conference.

Then, the reporters launched their questions with raised hands before receiving an answer from either Tang En or Dunn. Questions that were aimed at Dunn were sometimes interrupted by Tang En as well.

The main interests of the reporters lay in the following:

First, Tang En and Dunn; one was an Englishman, the other was Chinese. How did the two meet and become familiar with each other?

Of course, Tang En and Dunn could not say that they had swapped bodies, thereby understanding each other so well. So, Tang En brought up how they had become friends via online chatting. Regardless of whether the reporters believed them or not, that was their answer. Even if it seemed unbelievable or like a fantasy, it was the truth of the matter.

Second. Was Dunn truly equipped with the ability and qualifications to be an assistant manager in an English Premier League team?

Naturally, Tang En would not say that Dunn was unqualified. He was also unbothered with whether the media would take his words on Dunn’s abilities at face value. Either way, time would prove everything. In the future, the media themselves would know how to determine Dunn’s abilities.

Third. The world had numerous capable managers and assistant managers. Those from England, Scotland, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and Brazil… why did Tang En specifically choose one from China?

To this, Tang En’s stance was unyielding. Since those from the other nations could become assistant managers, why not one from China? So long as they had the ability, he did not care about whether his assistant was an Earthling or a Martian. In fact, he said something else that stunned everyone: “If there was a woman with enough capability, I wouldn’t mind her as my assistant manager!”

Originally, the target of this press conference was Dunn, but Tang En managed to become the main character again. He was truly proficient in snatching the limelight.

Dunn also answered questions, but he answered very few. Only when the reporters specified for him to answer would he stand up to say a few words. Tang Jing was someone who witnessed his manner of speech. It was precise and to the point. After finishing whatever he wanted to say, he would not further elaborate. Interviewing him? That was practically a form of torture because one had to rack their brains over how to keep the conversation going.

When Dunn’s answer failed to satisfy the reporters, Tang En would jump out to make additional remarks. It was only then that the media discovered that Tony Twain, who liked going against the media, was rather adorable in comparison to the Chinese man, Dunn, who spoke minimally.

The press conference this time answered many questions for everyone but also created more. These could only be answered later.

The next day, The Times especially published a commentary article on the matter. They used a thought-provoking title, ‘The Chinese Man Who Conquered Nottingham Forest’, for the article on the Chinese manager becoming an assistant manager with a renowned English Premier Club.

“He won the trust of his colleagues and convinced the arrogant Tony Twain. Dunn and Tony’s story of how they met sounds like a modern fairy tale. The internet has made everything impossible into a reality. To us, this Chinese man is still full of mystery, like the faraway nation behind him that we do not, in truth, know much about.”

Tang En passed the newspapers to Dunn and said, “From now on, please allow me to call you Man of Mystery, Dunn!”

Dunn took the newspaper and casually put it to the side. “I think they’re exactly right. A real Chinese man has conquered this ancient Forest.” He pointed to the laughing Tang En and said, “The Conqueror, King Tang En.”

Tang En’s laughter intensified. He liked that nickname.

Chapter 478 - A Taste of Celebrity

The layers of dense fog that loomed over Dunn were parted, at least on the face of things. After answering a number of the reporters’ questions at the press conference, everyone learned what Dunn was like, the story behind his arrival at Nottingham Forest, and so on. This material was enough for the Chinese media to report continuously for one week without repeating the same details.

However, there were fewer reporters outside the Wilford training base than before. The British media and other foreign media were gone, leaving only the Chinese media to hold down the fort.

Sun Jihai did not have a main position at Nottingham Forest, so there was no story to write about him. It was the assistant manager, Dunn, who had become the favorite in the eyes of the Chinese media.

The publicity of Chinese players who went abroad was dull. The current popularity of the Chinese players abroad on major websites was also very low, because most of the players didn’t do well overseas. Sun Jihai was probably the most well-off player now, simply because he was in Nottingham Forest, the most impressive team at the moment. But he was not an indispensable force. If they published every little thing about Sun Jihai, they would be suspected of deception.

A Chinese coach abroad was a new point of publicity. No one had ever done this before. A sense of novelty filled the hearts of the Chinese readers and they followed this coach’s words and actions with interest.

Dunn didn’t want to be exposed to the media, in the spotlight. He just wanted to be a coach and study soccer. He didn’t care about anything else, but it was no longer up to him.

For example, three days after the press conference, the Nottingham Forest Football Club received a fax from Beijing, China.

“CCTV5 would like to come to the United Kingdom to shoot a feature on Dunn.’

Looking at Dunn’s miserable face, Twain gleefully agreed to the other party’s request.

He certainly wasn’t trying to embarrass Dunn on purpose. Twain just thought that this was a good opportunity to make Dunn open up more.

Dunn’s character was a little like a tube of toothpaste. He required squeezing to open up. Without pressure from the outside world, he might just go on living the way he did and never change. Just like if they hadn’t transmigrated, Dunn would probably continue living in a hard shell and become a loser at Nottingham Forest. He would be sacked as acting manager and returned to the youth team… and then be one for the rest of his life, until he retired.

If he hadn’t met Twain and hadn’t had the man nag at him and think of ways to make him talk all the time, he would not have become what he was now.

Twain was an external force that changed Dunn. Dunn still required more external forces. This time, the media exposure for Dunn might be a good thing, even if it made him uncomfortable.

Unwilling to? Don’t like it? This is no excuse, you have to face these problems and try to solve them with a mindset you’d never think of. This is not the time to negatively withdraw into your shell and think that the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

Therefore, Twain pushed Dunn to this point, and he accepted CCTV5’s request for an interview.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Dunn. They’re just reporters; they’re not going to swallow you up,” Twain sniggered and comforted Dunn as he looked at him. Dunn had been frowning all day long since he heard this news.

“I know that… I just don’t know what to do…”

“What to do? What do you need to do? It’s written clearly right here, isn’t it?” Twain pointed to a stack of documents in his hand. It was the same as the shoot with Gloria. Tony Twain required CCTV5 to also provide a more detailed and specific shooting plan. He had to agree to this matter before it was considered done. “They’re just going to follow you in your daily life and training work. If it’s possible, they will also film a game.”

With creased brows, Dunn said, “I’m not used to putting my life on display publicly…”

Twain patted him on the shoulder. “Sooner or later, you have to get used to it. Just follow me and you’ll get used to it.”

Dunn looked up at him. “You’re a famous figure…”

“Ah, haha!” Twain finally stopped his sniggering. This time he had a good laugh.

“I’m not used to exposing my life to other people and then letting others judge. I’m not used to it…”

“Dunn. You have to get to the level where you forge your own path and don’t let someone else dictate it. No matter what others say about you, their assessment will not influence your life, nor will it affect you one bit. You’re still you, and you’re not going to change based on what other people think of you. If you’re someone who cares so much about other people’s opinions, would you have lived such an isolated life for more than thirty years?” Twain was referring to the Dunn before his move.

After listening to Twain’s words, Dunn was silent for a moment before he added, “But their intention in coming here is to report on a real Chinese coach. Am I one?”

Twain was also quiet for a moment. Sometimes, they would feel uncomfortable talking about both of their messy identities.

“Uh, this… In fact, this problem is very simple. You’re Chinese through and through. An authentic Chinese man.”

Dunn looked up and asked Twain, “What about you?”

Inside the dim room, Twain’s eyes twinkled, “Me?” He pointed to the sky where the sun was setting outside the window. “Have you ever noticed the clouds that drift in the sky? I’m those.”

Dunn’s gaze followed to where Twain pointed and looked out of the window at the red clouds in the sky.

He understood the idea in Twain’s heart.

He clearly had a home which he could not return to, and his biological parents were still alive, but he could only pretend to be Dunn’s friend and acknowledge them as godparents so he couldn’t openly address them as “Dad” and “Mom.”

A cloud was rootless…

※※※

After Twain agreed to CCTV5’s shooting plan, the other party moved quickly. The crew arrived in Nottingham three days later.

For this kind of topic that society was currently concerned with, they were not willing to let it out so that other media outlets would get all the glory. They had an advantage over those print media in that the other people’s articles were in words or images, but they could produce video coverage. Motion coverage was obviously more appealing to the audience than static images.

After the production crew came, Twain went over to say hello as the team’s manager and give the appearance of being a leader, then he left them alone after. He handed the task of receiving the visitors over to Dunn.

Dunn would introduce the situation to the team and tell them what to watch out for during filming, and so on. On top of that, Dunn’s work remained the same, and he was still in charge of the team’s training.

As for the shoot during his daily life, due to the fact that Twain and Dunn lived together, the two of them felt that it wouldn’t be good for them to be filmed together. They didn’t want to be on the covers of gay magazines in the United Kingdom.

Therefore, taking advantage of this opportunity, Dunn took the initiative to move out, but he did not move too far away. He moved right next door. It would not prevent the two of them from coming together often to study the game videos and tactics. It was only to let the media see that there was no inexplicable relationship between the two of them.

The CCTV5 production crew would certainly follow Dunn to Twain’s house in the evening to film. They would film the two men watching a game video together to discuss the tactical scenes. This was no problem. If Dunn hadn’t moved out, they might have been filmed going upstairs together.

The production crew was excited when they found out that they could go to Tony Twain’s house to shoot, because when they had conducted an investigation, they had discovered that no media outlets had ever been allowed to enter this individualistic manager’s house so far. CCTV5 in China would be the first media outlet to enter Twain’s home.

Twain didn’t mind a Chinese media outlet filming in his own home. Anyway, there was nothing much to shoot. With Dunn moved out, his private life was so impeccable that it was unassailable. Apart from his heavy drinking, he had nothing else that the press could criticize. And heavy drinking was a social phenomenon in Britain, since it was normal for an Englishman to drink heavily, so the media would not make a fuss about it.

Seeing the Chinese journalists’ excited expressions, he felt that the CCTV5 crew would soon be tired of filming Dunn’s life, because this person’s life was so hopelessly simple and dry. Even when he had lived with him, he would study the videotapes on the television screen all day long. The Chinese viewers wouldn’t want to see their hero, who could save Chinese soccer in their minds, with his back to the camera and motionlessly facing the television screen for two hours, would they?

※※※

After settling all these issues, Twain single-mindedly led the team in training to prepare for the next round of the league tournament. While Dunn was having a hard time with his shoot, the second round of the league tournament was completed. Nottingham Forest, named “powerful” by the media, defeated Tottenham Hotspur with a score of 2:0 in the away game.

Nottingham Forest had scored victories in both rounds of the league tournament.

Along with Ferguson’s Manchester United, they were currently the two teams that won all their games, and the Forest team were in second place with fewer goals.

Chelsea, led by Mourinho, another madman manager who claimed that he wanted to defend his league title before the season, had encountered some trouble—the league had already had two rounds, and Chelsea’s results were just one win and one loss. They had won against Manchester City in the first round of the league and unexpectedly lost to Middlesbrough in the away match in the second round.

It was worth mentioning that the player who had reversed the score for Middlesbrough and scored the final deciding goal, was Mark Viduka, who had transferred from Nottingham Forest.

BBC’s comment on this was that “Tony Twain continued his record of victory over José Mourinho on another battleground with a former Forest player.”

This comment certainly displeased Chelsea supporters, and Mourinho also thought that this was nonsense, so he said, “This world will be stupid if the performance of a player playing for a new team can still be counted as the former team’s record.”

Tony Twain also gave his opinion on these comments. He was on Mourinho’s side this time.

“Viduka is a fantastic player, and I was well aware of that when he played at Nottingham Forest. I’m glad to see the success he has accomplished in Middlesbrough. Still, the feud between Manager Mourinho and I needs to be addressed by us in person… What? Did I say the word ‘feud’? Haha, how can it be! You must have misheard me! What I mean is that Manager Mourinho and I are respectively the managers of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, so the competition between us must be between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea. Is this clearer for you to understand?”

Twain said this at a regular press conference after being asked about it.

The media certainly understood. Did it not mean that the matters between him and Mourinho were just between the two of them? Others weren’t allowed to meddle. It was just more tactful to say so.

The CCTV5 reporters were also at the scene and had a close look at the special character of Tony Twain, the individualistic manager. Those people, who had previously commented on the actions and words of this man, had said the truth—it was hard to form a simple conclusion about him.

Everyone had heard him say “feud” just now, but he had denied it in less than ten seconds, and he did it with a calm expression and even breath, as if he had spoken casually.

To put it bluntly, how could a person’s skin be so thick?

To say it nicely, uh, was there a nicer way to put it?

This group of confused Chinese journalists decided to ask Dunn this. Who was Tony Twain, the manager with two extreme sides? After all, Dunn was the one who interacted with him the most.

As a result, Dunn’s answer was a great disappointment to them.

“I don’t know exactly what kind of person he is.”

Under the reporter’s patient and systematic guidance for a long time, he blurted out, “You can’t simply use ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to describe him. Or more precisely, you can’t use a simple ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to judge him.”

※※※

Nottingham Forest wasn’t surprised that the media was shadowing and filming them. When Gloria had first come, everyone had shown some interest because it was a beautiful woman. Now that this production crew consisted mainly of men in suits, who would still care?

Furthermore, the Forest players were no longer ordinary players these days. They could be called star players. They had long been used to training under the spotlight and surrounded by the media——after the start of the new season, more and more reporters came there every day in hopes of an interview. It all boiled down to their last season’s success.

A lot of media would follow, even if they went to an away game. They were like sharks following behind a whaling ship. Some people would enjoy the fame, and some people wouldn’t, like Dunn. Now, wherever he went, a four-person crew would follow behind him. When other people paid attention to the reporters with East Asian faces, they would also check him out. This was not the life he wanted.

However, he was also not someone who complained about things when he encountered difficulties. Therefore, no matter how much he didn’t like it, he still worked very hard to cooperate with the other party’s work. It was part of his job, too. His attitude towards work was based on his personal emotions, and work was work. This was the difference between him and Twain. Twain often put his personal emotions into his work, and it had become his unique style…

Fortunately for Dunn, “The Truman Show” kind of life was coming to an end. Two days before the start of the third match of the league tournament, the CCTV5 crew told Dunn that they were going to leave Nottingham and return home after filming this game. The third round of Nottingham Forest’s game against Fulham would be the last shot.

Dunn heaved a sigh of relief. There was an inexplicable pressure of being stared at, leaving him a little breathless. Although Twain had said to him “It’s nothing much. Just work and live as you usually do,” how could he actually treat these people like the air around him? Of course it was going to affect his work…

Subsequently, the third match of the league tournament was getting closer under such circumstances.

The third round of the league tournament was an away game for Nottingham Forest. This time, the opponent was not strong—Fulham, the eighteenth placed team who had one defeat and one draw. The CCTV5 crew had chosen this game for their filming. This was a carefully selected result. Although it was a bit of a shame not to be able to capture the atmosphere at their home ground, the opponent for this match was not strong, and Twain’s team would easily secure a win. For this shot, it would also be counted as a happy ending.

Chapter 479 - Watch Your Foot

“How often do we visit London in a year?” Tang En asked casually as he sat in the coach heading to Fulham FC’s home grounds, Craven Cottage. He looked out at the street scenery of London.

“Who knows?” Kerslake said, following up leisurely.

“At least six times,” Dunn said.

“There are six English Premier League teams, huh? London may be the city with the greatest number of teams from the top-level league.” Tang En’s gaze drifted afar. They were getting closer to Fulham FC’s home stadium, but the place that caught his attention was not Craven Cottage, but rather the northeast.

Looking over there now, he could not see any sign of the large blue figure under the horizon, only rows upon rows of houses. Tang En could not see it, but his heart was clear. That was the direction of Chelsea’s home grounds, Stamford Bridge.

In the large city of London, there were six EPL clubs of various sizes. However, to Tang En, there were only two clubs which he would consider as his opponents in his heart. One was Arsenal, in North London, and the other was Chelsea, situated in the middle.

Overall, England’s football had always shown signs of strength in the North and weakness in the South. Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, and Newcastle from the North were all old, famous powerhouses. Those who participated in the top leagues in England also often came from the Northern teams. This could be traced back to the earliest period of prosperity and the development of modern football – to the lead up to the Industrial Revolution.

Numerous heavy industries were concentrated in North England, and modern football developed rapidly from within the new working class, leading to an area rich with football culture. It was no surprise for Liverpool or Manchester to have strong, internationally renowned teams emerge from that area. In South England, London had a high concentration of football teams, since, as the capital, many people converged there.

Fulham FC was established earlier than Chelsea. In fact, Stamford Bridge was originally built for Fulham FC’s use (because it was within the Fulham region). However, the suggestion was turned down by Fulham FC. As a result, Chelsea Club was born.

Before Bates took over Chelsea, the two clubs were both unknown. Bates’ arrival brought Chelsea Club their first glory, and thereafter, mogul Abramovich ushered in the second period of glory for the team. Since then, although Fulham also had Mohamed Al-Fayed, another mogul, backing them, the difference between them and Chelsea gradually became bigger. Chelsea was a standard powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with in the European football scenes. And Fulham was merely a normal English Premier League team.

The direction Tang En looked in said a lot about the positions the two teams held in his heart. Even if their opponent for this match was Fulham, Tang En’s heart was still thinking about Chelsea. Who asked for the two clubs to be this close to each other?

When the team arrived at Craven Cottage, CCTV5’s designated team was already ready for them. They had gotten permission to film for five minutes in the locker room. However, they could only film the footballers changing and leaving for their warm-up in that time.

Dunn was caught by them and gave a short interview. Most things could only be left to Kerslake to manage. In the locker room, Kerslake loudly reminded the players to make good use of the time to warm up outside. Tang En had yet to arrive. He was stuck outside the stadium entrance, caught by even more reporters.

“A two victory streak. If they take down Fulham in this match, they will get their third win in a row. Manchester United’s match will take place tomorrow. If they are victorious in this match, Nottingham Forest will temporarily be first in the point accumulation table for the Premier League. To Tony Twain’s team, this is a fabulous temptation. Ever since leading the team back into the English Premier, Tony’s team has yet to taste how it feels like to be the leader of the EPL. Even if it’s only temporary, it is still worth their effort in attaining it.”

On television, an expert was analyzing the match for the audience. If not for his input, no one would have realized that Nottingham Forest had not managed to rank first even once in the League.

When Tang En finally got away from the pestering reporters and returned to the locker room, the team’s warm-up was almost done. Neither Dunn nor the CCTV reporters were around. They had gone to the field to capture the scene of the team warming up as well as Dunn working.

The locker room, which had music playing earlier, was quiet. Tang En alone walked in circles around the room. His mind was not thinking about what might happen in this match, but the future of the team.

A sudden burst of noise from the direction of the field broke his train of thoughts. He looked back to find the locker room door being pushed open. The players and coaches walked in.

Dunn’s interview was still ongoing at the door. The Chinese reporters were making good use of the chance, trying to capture the internal situation in the locker room. Tang En walked over to shut the door.

“Everyone. If we win this match, we can be the boss,” he said, turning to face the players who had just gotten seated.

※※※

“This is our home ground. Don’t give those people outside a chance to make a scene here!” Like Tang En, Fulham’s main manager was a young man—36-year-old Chris Coleman. He was not, however, as famous as Tang En.

Since they were both young, they were naturally unwilling to suffer a defeat. Prior to the match, regardless of whether it was the lottery company or the general media, the favored outcome was for Nottingham Forest to gain the full three points in their away match. They completely disregarded the feelings of the home team, Fulham FC. Coleman did not wish to prove them right. In this match, he did not hold onto the idea of having to win. Rather, he held onto the belief of “absolutely not letting Nottingham Forest win.” He instilled this belief into his players; Fulham FC, in its entirety, was hoping to create trouble for Tang En during this match.

Players from both teams entered the field. The managerial teams also arrived at their respective positions and took their places.

“Tony, I’m a bit worried.” Dunn turned to Tang En immediately after sitting down. He had a thought lingering in his mind. He wanted to speak up earlier but had not had the chance.

“Hmm?”

“Before the match, Fulham’s main manager said that he would be making trouble for us.”

Tang En waved his hands, unbothered. “Any manager that comes up against us will say the same. Even I would say the same to our opponents. It’s no big deal, just pretty words to boost morale.”

“But Fulham has sent out five rear defenders.”

“Let them defend.”

Seeing that Tang En wasn’t worried, Dunn said nothing else. He hoped his feelings were misplaced.

When the match began, Fulham indeed set out a stance of locking down on their defense in their home field. In this match, Coleman arranged a formation of 451. From the first minute of the match, they retreated onto their half of the field to defend.

No matter how Nottingham Forest controlled the ball outside, they refused to come out. They would rather only get one point in their home grounds than take the risk of attacking and allowing their opponents to counterattack. All of England knew how quick Nottingham Forest’s counterattacks were. Any mistake could bring an irreversible consequence.

Coleman told his players to never rush forward and lose their defense, even if they had to watch a scoring opportunity be wasted. Under such a strategic direction, the first half of the match was extremely boring. Faced with a wall in the form of Fulham FC, Nottingham Forest did not have any good solutions. Other than a few long shots from Rafael van der Vaart, Forest could not find a better method of breaking through their opponents. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Eastwood were both tightly marked by their opponents, and the penalty zone was crammed with people. Even van Nistelrooy, playing as a center-forward, was forced to pull to the wings to receive balls.

They were already struggling, especially Eastwood, since after his injury, he was no longer a forward who could depend on playing rough with his opponents. Eventually, he also gradually pulled out of the penalty zone to attempt at long shots.

In the entire first half, Nottingham Forest attained 11 shots at the goal, of which eight were long shots. Rafael van der Vaart had three shots, Eastwood had four, and George Wood took one. Of the 11 shots, seven of them landed within the goal area, but none of them scored. Fulham’s united defense truly gave Forest Team some trouble.

On Fulham’s side, having no goal loss was no small feat. They paid the price of getting four yellow cards. However, the fouls committed by the players were scattered and not entirely shouldered only by the rear defenders; from their forwards to their fullbacks, players from a variety of positions received the cards. Evidently, this was specifically instructed by Fulham’s main manager. For the results of the match, he could be said to have put forth immense effort.

“The first half has ended! Under Fulham’s crazed pressing and lock-down on defense, Nottingham Forest did not manage to get any good opportunities. Their speedy counterattacks had no space to be utilized in the face of Fulham’s defense. Coleman’s strategy is extremely successful. He has managed to curb Forest Team’s offense!”

“I believe Tony Twain’s purchase of Ruud van Nistelrooy was certainly not for the sale of jerseys, but to make up for Forest Team’s weakness in positional play in the last season. However, van Nistelrooy’s condition in this match is not fantastic. Up until now, he did not even get a shot at the goal.”

The commentator was right. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s condition in the current match was bad. Tang En could tell, too. However, he still intended to give van Nistelrooy an opportunity in the second half.

During the halftime break, Tang En adjusted the formation of the team. Ribéry, who had been entirely suppressed in the left wings was swapped out with Petrov, while Eastwood completely retreated from the penalty zone.

In the previous two years of the English Premier, Ribéry had become famous. As a result, everyone had researched him thoroughly. This match rang Tang En’s alarms. Ribéry’s effects in the flanks were becoming more and more limited. He needed to consider other paths.

While Petrov was similarly a wing player and his unique point was even simpler than Ribéry, he had the advantage of being an “unfamiliar face.” The numerous EPL teams did not yet understand him and lacked research. Substituting him in might bring out an effect of a miracle player.

Pulling Eastwood out of the penalty zone was to use his abilities in long shots and assists from the back. His long shots from the penalty arc area were rather threatening. Faced with heavy deployment in the penalty zone from their opponents, set plays and long shots were the best solutions.

Speaking of set plays… During the halftime break, Bale did not follow them in. Dunn made all the reserve players warm-up on the field. Hopefully, it would be helpful for the second half of the match.

In the locker room, Tang En was anxiously arranging the team’s strategy for the second half. The calmness in the beginning of the first half completely gone.

CCTV5’s filming team did not get permission to film in the locker room during halftime. They could only wait on the sidelines, chatting about their thoughts on the first half. They felt rather awkward about the current situation. No one had thought that this match would turn out to be such a tough fight. Nottingham Forest had not been able to make a breakthrough even after such a long time, and the moment of high they were waiting for refused to make an appearance.

“Hey, the happy ending won’t become a bad ending, right?” someone asked.

“Who knows?” The team’s leader, the producer of the program this time, shrugged. “That’s not something we can control. You see the use of having you guys prepare two proposals for this? No matter how they play, our program can still be produced successfully.”

“That’s true, Mr. Zhang. But who wouldn’t wish for their own team to win? Speaking of this, I didn’t expect Nottingham Forest’s relations with China to be this good. They have a Chinese player, a Chinese assistant manager, and a China expert who has a fervent enthusiasm for Chinese culture as their main manager.”

“Yeah. It’s probably something normal even if they suddenly visit China in a few years.”

“If that really happens, we’ll have to invite them to the studio to record a special episode!”

“Stop daydreaming up such beautiful stories. Have you already forgotten about the annoying matter with Real Madrid? Nottingham Forest’s main manager is not someone that can be easily gotten along with. He’s an eccentric character. When the time comes, who knows what kind of things he will do?”

Hearing their head say that, no one else spoke further about the matter. Real Madrid blowing them off had only just happened a year ago, and it still had a deep impression on them. It truly wasn’t a good memory.

As the group of them discussed this, players from both teams entered the field again. The second half of the match was about to begin.

The two teams switched sides before resuming the match. On the field, it was no different to the first half. Fulham FC continued their lock-down on the penalty zone, firmly refusing to leave the area. No matter how Nottingham Forest’s fans jeered or threw insults at them, they continued like cowardly turtles in their shells.

Tony Twain was not sitting calmly in his manager’s seat like the first half. He had already taken his place at the sidelines, closely observing the changes on the field.

Looking at Tony’s mildly anxious face, the television commentator suddenly laughed. “Fulham FC’s performance reminded me of Nottingham Forest from a season ago. Tony’s team also forced their opponents into a dead end like this that time. I didn’t think that Nottingham Forest would also deal with by an opponent in the same manner. Manager Tony Twain, so you’d have such a day too, huh?”

Petrov’s appearance on the field did shine for a few moments. Unfortunately, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s condition in the match was truly terrible, failing to grasp opportunities well. At the 70th minute of the match, Tang En finally decided not to continue waiting for van Nistelrooy’s condition to improve. He substituted Nicklas Bendtner in for the Dutch shooter. Bendtner’s heading ability was better than van Nistelrooy, and his body was stronger. Tang En hoped that he would be able to break through the goal gates and score a goal from the front.

After Bendtner was fielded, Fulham’s retreated even more tightly. Both Petrov and Ashley Young had no opportunities. The penalty area was choked full of Fulham’s players. Any long shot would be easily blocked out. The Fulham players did not look like they were playing a match at all, but rather, they were using their bodies to close any holes.

In the 80th minute, the score was still 0:0. Tang En’s stubbornness surfaced. He knew that Fulham wanted to get a point in their home field. The more his opponent wanted that, the more Tang En refused to let them have their way. You want a draw? You’re taking a draw as a victory? I insist on winning! I’ll make your one point into zero!

In the final moments, he used Gareth Bale, who excelled at set pieces, and changed out Leighton Baines. With Fulham’s crazed fouling, Forest Team had no lack of set pieces in the front field. It was only that Rafael van der Vaart had not kicked well in the previous few times he took the penalty. He either kicked too high or got directly blocked by the player wall.

After Bale entered the field, the right to be the main penalty kicker for the team was automatically transferred to him. Young Bale was not afraid. By now, he held the record of saving the team with his free kicks at numerous critical moments. Tang En hoped that this time would be no exception.

Nottingham Forest very swiftly attained a front field set piece 25 meters away from the opponent’s goal.

“Gareth Bale stands in the front of the ball. There are only eight minutes left from the end of the match. He takes a run, lifts his foot—ah!”

Amid the ear-splitting jeers within Craven Cottage, Bale’s beautiful left-footed curve ball landed on the outside of the intersection between the crossbar and the goalpost. And in the duration of the ball flying towards the goal, Fulham’s goalkeeper was completely immobile—he had already surrendered.

“He’s trying too hard for the angle!”

Tang En’s heart almost stopped because of the excitement. If the ball had gone in, Fulham, who had been on a tight defense for the last 80+, would be finished. The scene he would be all too happy to see would have appeared, with the despicable Coleman looking like a deflated ball. After the end of the match, Tang En would have been able to walk over with a victorious stance and purposefully pretend to be a gentleman, shaking the opponent’s hand. Shedding crocodile tears, he would comfort him. “The Premier League still has 35 more rounds. Please continue to work hard, Mr. Coleman!”

However, the future he looked forward to did not appear.

“Damn it!” he cursed lowly. He was not swearing at Bale. The little monkey had already done well enough. He was cursing their terrible luck.

It was such a precise free kick, but it did not even manage to get in. After the football left Bale’s feet, Fulham’s fans could only use their despairing jeers in an attempt to stop the ball.

“Tony. Getting a point in the away match is not too bad.” Dunn reminded him again.

Tang En, who had been vexed to the point of tearing his hair out, looked up at Coleman who sat next to them. Then he shook his head at Dunn, saying, “No. We can still win. We must win. Fulham is reaching the extent of their strength. Don’t you see that their stamina is already at their limit? If we put on a bit more pressure, and add another piece of straw, just another piece, they are f*cking finished!” Saying so, he did not care to let Dunn continue explaining. He rose from his seat and walked to the sidelines, indicating for the entire team to press forward, fighting to break through and gain a point in the final moments.

Even Pepe had rushed forward to participate in the attacks. The backfield of Nottingham Forest had large, humongous swathes of empty space. They themselves had not noticed it. All of Forest’s players thought that Fulham had to be grateful to God for being even able to hold onto their one point in the end. How could they possibly have any additional strength to retaliate?

But the impossible still happened. At the moment the Fourth Official raised his signage indicating three minutes of injury stoppage time, Fulham intercepted the ball in the backfield and suddenly launched a powerful kick to the front. Their right midfielder Wayne Routledge, who had been loaned from Tottenham Hotspur, sprinted madly once he received the ball. He, being a player depending on his expertise of speed, left behind Forest players trying to return to defend. And then, he came face-to-face with Edwin van der Sar who went on the attack, and intelligently chose to lob the ball!

“Wayne Routledge—GOOOOOOOOAL! Something unbelievable has happened! Fulham, who had been dead set on defending for 90 minutes, have taken the lead! This goal is very likely to be the determining goal for the match! Listen to the cheers in Craven Cottage, it’s deafening!”

Amid the commentator’s excited shouts and the frenzied cheers of the home team fans, Tang En unexpectedly turned and walked slowly back to his seat, sitting down without flying into a rage. He exhaled heavily.

“We’ve been tricked, Dunn. Coleman, that b*st*rd, wanted three points from the beginning, not just one! D*mn it.”

Dunn knew what Tang En meant. That Routledge guy was substituted in by Coleman during the final minutes of the second half. He was used as a forward despite not being one. What they were waiting for was for the opportunity to counterattack when Forest Team became anxious, causing the team to press forward. This had originally been Tony Twain’s most frequently used trick. He did not expect himself to be defeated by the same ploy.

As Nottingham Forest became viewed as a strong team by more and more people, their main manager, Tony Twain, also adopted the style of a “manager of an elite team.” His sights were set far and high, but he was no longer able to see the path immediately ahead of him.

What was truly a strong team? What did it mean to have the attitude of the strong? For young Tony Twain, he still had a very long way to go.

“Bad end.” The man standing beside the camera labeled with the “CCTV” logo watched Tang En as he sat on the manager’s seat conversing lowly with Dunn. “What an unexpected result. That’s one thing England’s media said correctly. This is a manager who defies expectations.”

“Hey, Head Zhang…”

“Yeah?”

“Are we here to film Dunn or Tony Twain?”

“...”

Chapter 480 - What’s Going On?

The away loss to Fulham was seen by Nottingham’s media as an upset. The media elsewhere, especially the media in London, didn’t see it that way. They argued that the gap in strength between Fulham and Nottingham Forest wasn’t big enough to be termed an upset. However, they also admitted that Fulham’s victory over Nottingham Forest had not been expected before the game.

A day after Twain’s team lost the game, Manchester United also beat Watford in the away game 2:1. So far, they were the only team to win all three games of the league tournament. Therefore, they naturally continued to sit firmly in the league’s top spot.

Tony Twain still hadn’t gotten a taste of being the first in the league after all…

After losing this game, the Forest team’s ranking also fell from second to fifth. Even teams like Portsmouth and Aston Villa ranked above them. The only thing Twain felt grateful for was that they were still ahead of Chelsea.

As for Dunn, the only good thing that had happened this week was that the Chinese television station’s production crew was finally gone, and his private life could return to normal. But now that he had already moved out of Twain’s place, there was no reason for him to move back.

In fact, this was also rather nice. Everyone had their own private space. Even when they had lived under the same roof, there was no exception. If Shania were to visit Twain, even if the two of them didn’t think anything was wrong, Dunn wouldn’t be uncomfortable anymore as the third wheel.

※※※

As September came around, Nottingham Forest beat the Blackburn Rovers at home 2:1 in the fourth game of the league. With their three wins and one loss, they ranked fourth with nine points and continued to press Chelsea down.

It looked like everything was normal except for one small setback.

The results of the Champions League group stage draw had been released, and it was time to focus on the Champions League.

Twain also had to go to this draw ceremony. The situation was not the same as a year before.

A year before, Twain had been a nobody on the UEFA Champions League tournament and sat alone in the corner, with only a few English managers coming over to say hello. Neither the press nor the managers of other countries paid attention to this somewhat gloomy young man.

And this time? As soon as he got out of the car, he was caught in a frenzy with the media who had waited a long time. There was a burst of flashes, almost turning the area in front of the hotel entrance from nighttime to daytime.

The AC Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti, closely followed behind Twain and was also startled by this scene, even though he was used to all sorts of big events. The chubby manager thought something big had happened. When it was clear that it was just a disturbance caused by Twain in front of him, he pursed his lips and went around him.

Twain looked sideways at Ancelotti, then waved to the media as he walked in.

After entering the conference room, his hope for a quiet rest was in vain. There was a constant stream of managers coming over to talk to him. Whether he knew them or not, they would come up for a chat. Twain also enjoyed the feeling of being a central figure among managers.

Evidently, most of the people who came over were the managers of non-powerhouse teams. The powerhouse teams also had manners befitting their status. For example, the managers of the two Milanese teams did not intend to maintain friendly ties with Twain, especially the Inter Milan manager, Mancini. As the person who had been eliminated by the Forest team last season, he didn’t have any good thoughts when he saw Twain looking pleased as punch.

Another man who did not find Twain objectionable was the Barcelona manager, Rijkaard. Everyone still recalled the scene after last season’s Champions League final. Although on the face of it, when Twain gave his silver medal to the ball boy it was seen as disrespect to the UEFA, in fact, Barcelona had been implicated as the champion of the victory over the Forest team. Twain had shown attitude to the UEFA and Barcelona at the same time.

During an interview, Rijkaard was unrestrained in his criticism of Twain. He said that he “had never seen such an ungracious manager,””Britain always claims to produce gentlemen. Don’t tell me this is a gentleman’s behavior,” and “if my opponent had won instead, all I would do is say congratulations. I would never have done such a disgraceful thing.” One could see that he was furious.

Rijkaard certainly had reason to be angry. Twain’s behavior had made it seem like Barcelona was unfit to be the champion. It was an insult to Barcelona. Not only Rijkaard was upset, but the top echelon of the Barcelona football club and the ordinary fans, too—who do you think you are? How dare you make us look bad? If you lose, you lose. If you’re going to be a sore loser, then don’t play!

Therefore, at this draw ceremony, Barcelona manager Rijkaard and Nottingham Forest manager Tony Twain did not greet each other.

Initially, these were the highlights of this draw ceremony. Unfortunately, the two men didn’t have an incident at the venue, so the media were somewhat disappointed.

Before the draw, there was another thing to watch. Due to the fact that Tony Twain had given attitude to the UEFA after the Champions League final, would the UEFA secretly retaliate against his team in the new season? Needless to say, the UEFA would never admit that there would be retaliation, but would anyone believe what they said? They had stated that the draw was fair, impartial, and open. In that case, why would Chelsea, led by Mourinho, whom the UEFA saw as dangerous, run into Barcelona repeatedly?

And currently there was another figure seen as dangerous and unruly by the UEFA—Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team.

Johansson would certainly complain. Why had such a troublemaker come from England?

But other than England’s soccer environment, which gave its managers a lot of power, it was really unlikely that this kind of self-centered manager would come from elsewhere.

The media speculated that the UEFA secretly had means to put Nottingham Forest in the “group of death” so that they couldn’t advance past the group stage. After all, even though the Forest team had been the runner-up the season before, they were not a seeded team. They were placed among the third-tier teams so that there was a high probability of being in the “group of death.”

Even the club chairman, Evan Doughty, reminded Twain to be prepared for the worst.

“Didn’t Allan already smooth things over?” Twain was baffled.

“Public relations isn’t that simple. You have to know it’s not easy to deal with those people. It’s quite difficult,” snapped Evan as he looked at the UEFA officials sitting on the table. “So, no matter how well Allan did over there, you still have to prepare for the worst.”

Twain stared at the group of officials who had already been dubbed “politicians” and nodded his head. “I understand.”

The two men didn’t speak again, both with a load on their minds as they quietly looked at those fateful hands fiddling with the small balls in the box.

When the results of the draw were announced, everyone was taken aback, including Twain and Evan.

If Mourinho’s Chelsea and its nemesis, Barcelona being openly grouped together by the UEFA this time, in Group A, and causing a hubbub in the venue was the first good show today, then what happened next was even more astonishing to everyone.

Nottingham Forest had actually been sent to an incredibly weak group!

“Group C: PSV Eindhoven, Girondins de Bordeaux, Nottingham Forest, Galatasaray S.K.”

Not just the media that followed the draw, but even the various team managers there hadn’t expected this result.

Before every draw, each team’s manager was bound to selfishly hope to avoid strong opponents and battle with the weak teams so that they could smoothly advance. There were a number of people who wanted the troublesome Nottingham Forest to be put into the group of death and then clash with a strong team. No matter which one of the last two teams would advance, both sides would suffer.

Unexpectedly… Instead of secretly punishing Nottingham Forest, the UEFA had done Tony Twain a huge favor!

The strength of this group could almost be counted as the weakest out of the eight groups. If there were no other mishaps, Nottingham Forest would not have a problem advancing.

How could this happen? The same man who gave the UEFA a headache and secretly crushed Mourinho had received an advantage instead.

Everyone turned their doubtful gazes towards the UEFA president, Johansson, at the table, but no one could get the answer they wanted from that plump, smiling face.

“Looks like Allan succeeded,” Twain said to Evan next to him with a smile.

Although he felt like something was fishy, Evan responded with a smile, “That’s good. We don’t have to spend too much energy in the group stage.”

“I have to thank him well when we get back.”

“Don’t cause him any more trouble, and he will thank the heavens.” Evan smiled helplessly.

Twain chortled, his laughter was very loud. He didn’t hide his smugness and excitement at all, regardless of how the people around him viewed him.

“The draw ceremony for the Champions League group stage is now over. I don’t think anyone’s going to disagree when I say that the biggest winner in this draw is, without a doubt, the Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain. His team drew a spot that was too good to be true, in the weak Group C. The prospect of Nottingham Forest advancing from the group stage looks bright.” Most of the sports news reported this news this way, with the image of Twain laughing brilliantly at the venue.

Now that you’re riding high, Mr. Twain, please be sure to grab hold of the reins…

※※※

With an overwhelming victory at the Champions League draw, Nottingham Forest seemed to try to prove to the world that they had the ability to compete for the Champions League title this season. In the first game of the Champions League group stage, Nottingham Forest defeated the strongest team in the group, Eindhoven, by 1:0 in the away game.

They didn’t play beautifully in the game, but it fit with Twain’s consistent principle of “only pursue goals, do not seek a good spectacle.”

Eindhoven was depressed after they lost. Looking at the game, they’d had the same number of opportunities as the Forest team, but had just failed to grasp them. And Van Nistelrooy had a total of three shots in the entire game and scored a goal.

Perhaps in connection with Twain’s declaration before the season, the Nottingham Forest players didn’t require Twain to motivate them in the Champions League game. They were particularly driven.

There were no problems with the players’ conditions, the team’s stamina, or coaching tactics. Twain was full of confidence for their prospects in the Champions League.

Having done well in the Champions League and now back at the league tournament, the esteemed Nottingham Forest would host this season’s newly promoted team, Reading.

※※※

Before his reincarnation, Twain had known little about Reading until after a famous game, when Reading’s name had been engraved in his mind and impossible to forget.

Because he had been a Chelsea fan for a time, Twain still had a favorable impression of Chelsea—of course, now that he was a manager, he had already tossed his fan mentality to Timbuktu. Chelsea was now his opponent.

In that famous game, Reading had ousted two Chelsea goalkeepers, one after another. Five minutes after the game started, the main goalkeeper, ?ech, suffered a fractured skull when Reading player Stephen Hunt’s knee collided with him and he was struck unconscious. Even Mourinho worried about whether he would survive. Later, a minute before the end of the game, the substitute goalkeeper, Carlo Cudicini, was also knocked unconscious by the Reading full-back, Ibrahima Sonko. Having no other choice, Mourinho could only use the team captain, John Terry, who put on a goalkeeper jersey, as the stand-in goalkeeper.

This game caused a stir in the international football circles. The violence in England’s soccer stadium was once again known in the world.

Twain, who was still an ordinary Chinese fan at that time, firmly remembered Reading, and their blue-striped jersey that looked similar to a prisoner’s garb.

Twain didn’t know the impact his reincarnation would bring to the game. In any case, after it, his team had played against Reading many times. He had even had a personal feud with the manager. It was almost impossible for tomorrow’s game to be played amiably. He understood Steve Coppell. This man wouldn’t let go of any chance to take revenge against him. It would be perfect for Coppell if he could beat the Forest team at their home ground.

Twain had this worry when he considered this. According to his memory, that game between Reading and Chelsea would happen this season. In that case, would the current risk be passed on to the Forest team now? After all, Reading and Chelsea didn’t have a grudge. Would ?ech and Cudicini escape their fate because of this?

Twain was currently unclear on these matters. There was only one thing he knew: Reading’s rough playing style had not changed as a result of his reincarnation. When they played against each other in the Football League First Division, Twain had already fully understood Reading’s style. Now, after they had been promoted to the Premier League, their style had intensified in order to survive in this brutal league.

Now that the league tournament had already had four games, the newly promoted Reading had given a full picture to everyone of what kind of soccer they played—they had already had a player sent off with a red card in the league’s first four matches.

Twain was very concerned about this. Now that his team was no longer in the Football League First Division, they were no longer that small team who wasn’t afraid of taking their gloves off, rolling up their sleeves, and fighting to the death with any opponent without any regard for the consequences. The rash Reading team could risk it all. They were not afraid of anything, and there was nothing to lose. Nottingham Forest, which needed to compete in a number of tournaments, only had twenty-three players in the First Team. They couldn’t risk it all.

With one player hurt, it would mean less fighting power.

During training a day before the game, Twain kept frowning, which made everyone think he was unhappy with the training situation.

He was actually worried about what Reading would do in this game. Had he not known about Reading’s game against Chelsea ahead of time, he might not have thought about things that had not happened. Now that he knew, it wasn’t the same. There was always a hint of worry in his heart.

However, he couldn’t tell anyone else, even Dunn, who was closest to him. He couldn’t mention that he knew about those things in advance, even in the hopes that everyone would pay attention to their own safety.

Would he make everyone give up their positive attitude for the game due to safety? Twain couldn’t say that, either, because it would make the players and the coaches feel weird—why would Twain, who never gave up, suddenly be afraid of a newly promoted team?

After thinking about it for nearly a day, Twain figured it out. It was not a good habit to worry about that hadn’t happened yet, but it wasn’t right to not do anything and wait for something bad to happen.

Consequently, when he announced the next day’s lineup, Eastwood, who was in good shape, failed to be chosen.

Eastwood had three surgeries on his leg and Twain was reluctant to let him get an operation for the fourth time. It was a form of protection for Eastwood, but would the players appreciate it?

After Eastwood learned that he wouldn’t need to play the next day, he just shrugged his shoulders and looked like everything was fine.

Twain felt relieved in his heart. However, he still had to have a talk with Eastwood, so as to avoid repeating the same mistake as Anelka.

“Freddy, after training is over, you stay back for a bit. As for the others, you’re dismissed!”

The teammates looked at Twain and Eastwood in puzzlement as they left the training ground. When the coaching staff were gone too, there was only Twain and Eastwood left on the field.

“Do you think it was strange that I didn’t put you on the list?” Twain asked with a smile, trying to soften the mood.

“It is strange. But I think, Chief, you must have considered this arrangement.” Twain was moved by Eastwood’s thoughtful answer.

“Well, I did think about it… You know Reading is a team that plays rough and I don’t want you to take that risk.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Eastwood looked at Twain and was quiet for a moment before he said, “If other people knew about this, they would think I’ve run away, wouldn’t they?”

Twain swore in his heart. He forgot that Eastwood was a man with a strong self-esteem.

“It’s not that simple, Freddy.” Twain hurriedly explained, “No one will think you’re a deserter. It’s also a normal tactic to protect important players before an important game.”

“An important game?”

“The sixth round of the league tournament. We’ll be challenging Arsenal in the away game,” said Twain.

This was indeed a compelling reason, and Eastwood was silent for a moment before he nodded. “I understand, Chief.”

Twain’s nervous expression finally relaxed. He laughed and patted Eastwood on the shoulder. “Do you still remember what I said to you? I’m going to be a legendary manager, and you’re going to be a legendary striker. Our legend has just begun. I don’t want you to take any risks in a game like this. An opponent like Reading isn’t worthy for our strongest squad to deal with. Haha!”

Eastwood laughed too, for he was certainly aware of an opponent like Reading, who he had played against in the Football League First Division many times. They hadn’t won against Nottingham Forest once. No matter how arrogantly Mr. Coppell acted, Reading would eventually be the loser.

※※※

Appendix:

The groups for the 2006-07 Champions League season:

Group A: Barcelona, Chelsea, Werder Bremen, PFC Levski Sofia

Group B: Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, FC Spartak Moscow

Group C: PSV Eindhoven, Girondins de Bordeaux, Nottingham Forest, Galatasaray S.K.

Group D: A.S. Roma, Valencia CF, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympiacos F.C.

Group E: Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais, Fotbal Club Steaua Bucure?ti, FC Dynamo Kyiv

Group F: Manchester United, Celtic F.C., Sport Lisboa e Benfica, F.C. Copenhagen

Group G: Arsenal, FC Porto, CSKA Moscow, Hamburger SV

Group H: AC Milan, Lille Olympique Sporting Club, AEK Athens F.C., R.S.C. Anderlecht

Chapter 481 - A Rowdy Style of Play

Since the promotion of his team into the English Premier League, Mr. Steve Coppell had been looking forward to this day.

After two years, he could finally go up against Tang En again.

In the summer of 2004, Tang En’s Nottingham Forest had slashed a bloody path out of the cruel First Division (now EFL Championship) and returned to the English Premier League they had been away from for the longest time. From that moment, they stepped onto a peaceful and smooth path forward; Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest became famous across the world.

What was Coppell doing then? He was enduring tough times as he reformed his football team with the goal of charging into the Premier League. Two seasons passed by. Coppell had reformed Reading F.C. into a tougher team with a rowdy and unyielding style of football. Such a team was more suitable to battle within the EFL Championship. The team united to strive towards their goal. Finally, their dreams came true in the summer of 2006. Reading F.C successfully battled their way into the English Premier League!

The players of Reading F.C. were all big and tall, and Coppell exploited such an advantage of theirs to its greatest. His team’s attitude in facing every match was to play as if they were fighting a war. Perhaps Coppell would not admit it, but his transformation was undeniably influenced by Tony Twain.

While Tang En feared the overly rowdy play of today’s Reading FC, had he ever considered that this might have been his own creation? Based on his actions, the influence he brought to this world after his transfer was like the accumulation of fine strands of threads that eventually end up entangled with each other, becoming more and more firmly entrenched.

※※※

Dunn noticed that Tang En had been frowning since he boarded the coach at the hotel.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

Tang En looked at his partner. He was indeed troubled over something, but it was something he could not tell anyone about. “I’m thinking about the match with Arsenal.” Tang En gave a forced smile.

“Maybe you should think about your current opponents? Reading F.C. is not easy to deal with.”

His words seemingly touched on the matter troubling Tang En, and he momentarily fell quiet.

“Aren’t you taking your opponents a bit too lightly, Tony?”

The starting lineup for the team was not yet made public, but the managers themselves already knew. In this match, Tang En rotated the players in several positions. The main goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, played as a reserve, while Paul Gerrard was a starter. Ribéry was a reserve with Petrov taking his spot. Bendtner took over for Ruud van Nistelrooy. Even Anelka who had few chances to be fielded was being put in as a starter player.

“Rotating players is something very normal to Forest Team now.” Tang En shrugged.

“Then why did you let Paul be a starter when you don’t ever rotate the goalie?”

He’s got sharp eyes. Tang En sighed as he thought this in his head. Outwardly, he said, “Don’t you all always complain about the lack of opportunities to field the reserve goalkeeper? That his conditions were hard to maintain, and that his standards could not be raised? The chance is here now.”

His reply was perfect. Dunn could not find any fault with it, but he still felt a little strange in his heart. He kept silent.

“Don’t worry, Dunn,” Tang En comforted. “I have gone up against Coppell many times in the First Division. I understand him and his football team. This match…”

The image of ?ech and Cudicini in a coma abruptly flashed through Tang En’s mind. His words paused for a beat.

“…won’t be a problem.”

※※※

“I am very delighted we are able to return to this stadium again to face with this opponent. During the EPL Championships, we have fought each other several times, but I have never once won. Today, the situation is different. This is our chance.”

Before his players, Coppell did not try to hide his special interest in their opponents, Nottingham Forest. As a result, everyone in his team knew how much their main manager anticipated the coming of the match.

“Nottingham is now a strong team. Before the season started, that guy Tang En even said that their aim this season was to become the champions of the Champions League. They have lofty ambitions and have become disdainful of mucking around in the mud with teams like us. So, in this match, we want them to relive old dreams! Fulham showed a very good example, but I don’t think they did it thoroughly enough. In this match, we’re sticking to our usual style!”

He did not elaborate any further, but everyone knew what he meant. In Reading FC’s playstyle, they did not care about technical statistics, such as fouling. So long as they could mess with their opponents, it was worth paying any price. Victory was the only law in this world.

※※※

At the same time, Tang En was in the locker room. Again and again, he reminded his team to be wary of rough fouling by their opponents and told them to avoid taking risks if it was not absolutely necessary to fight for the ball.

His words prompted a round of laughter from the locker room.

“Head, did you hit your head?” Ribéry asked with a laugh.

“Ah?” Tang En did not understand.

“Usually you scold us, calling us ‘girls this, girls that.’ Why do I feel that you’re much more of a ‘girl’ today?”

Everyone laughed as Ribéry spoke.

If it had been a usual day, Tang En would have smiled at the joke and let it pass. Today, however, Tang En found it impossible to smile at it. He stared at Ribéry for a long time until everyone stopped laughing. But he did not say anything. He only dropped his head to continue analyzing Reading FC’s strategy for them.

The relaxed atmosphere in the changing room suddenly became awkward.

Dunn, sitting by the side, looked quietly at Tang En. By the end, Tang En stopped reminding everyone to be careful of the opponent’s rough fouling, sneaky actions, or anything of the sort. He seemed to have taken Ribéry’s opinion into consideration.

With the time of the match nearing, Tang En ended the pre-match preparations. Then, without making any speech to drum up their morale, he only waved his hand and let everyone out.

The substitute goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard, seemed extremely excited to be a starter for the match. He made sure to slap the top of the doorframe on his way out.

Tang En watched him from behind and did not know how to feel. He hoped that everything he was worried about was just a false alarm, that everything was only because of his own wild imagination.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest and Reading FC, Tony Twain and Steve Coppell. They’re old acquaintances.” The commentator introduced the situation of both parties to the audience. “This match will have many highlights, surely!”

Tang En sat in the manager’s seat, waiting silently for the match to begin. It was very rare for him to be so quiet.

The match had only been going for five minutes when Tang En sprang up from his seat. He was finally revived. Nottingham Forest had scored.

Just like the media’s analysis before the match, Tang En’s decision of a major rotation in this match was not entirely because he was taking his opponents lightly. Rather, it was that Nottingham Forest and Reading FC’s abilities were that far apart. Before going up against their old opponents, Arsenal, arranging for a rotation was the best method to prevent players from being overly fatigued or getting injured.

“Nicolas Anelka!” The live broadcast loudly announced the scorer of the goal. To Forest’s fans on the home field, it had been quite a while since they heard his name. Since the new season began, Anelka was iced on the bench. He could not even get to play in a game, let alone score a goal. Unexpectedly, his first time as a starter, he had already gotten a goal for the team within the first five minutes.

Tang En jumped up and clapped before sitting down again. He was no longer as excited as before. At this point, however, it was not the rowdy Reading FC he was worried about. He did not want Anelka to get too smug.

“Anelka.” Assistant manager David Kerslake shook his head by the side, sighing. “What a pity.”

Tang En harrumphed, and Kerslake fell silent. He cast his gaze back onto the field. Anelka was still celebrating the goal to his heart’s content. He seemed a little over-excited. It looked like he had vented some of his frustrations by scoring a goal in front of Tang En.

The situation is no longer the same, Anelka. No matter how well you perform in front of me now, don’t dream of getting any more chances.

※※※

Coppell’s face instantly changed when Forest Team scored a goal. He had been looking forward greatly to this match, but he had been given a smack to the head only five minutes into the match.

Before the match, he had told them to mark any of their opponents down. They could foul whenever they need to and did not have to be polite. But they had just lost that ball. After Anelka used his speed to forcibly break through, no one on their side fouled! They only watched with wide eyes as he barged into the penalty zone and scored a goal!

The bunch of b*stards!

He stood up from his seat.

“Sonko!” He yelled the name of the team’s center back. In truth, his words were shouted at every player in Reading FC. “What are you guys doing? Why did you let the opponent get a point so easily? Have you already forgotten what I’ve said before the match? Do you all still want to win?!”

※※※

After Coppell’s yelling, it was as if Reading FC woke up from a dream. Nottingham Forest’s players quickly found it more difficult to gain possession of the ball. Whenever their feet was close to kicking the football, their opponents would rush up ferociously, making use of both their hands and feet to intercept the ball. What made Forest players even more unhappy was that the main referee on duty, Riley, seemed to turn a blind eye to the methods of Reading FC. Even those that involved pushing Forest’s players down from the back and then successfully stealing the ball were all quietly allowed by the main referee.

This especially angered Forest’s members. Jeers aimed at referee Riley also rang out from the spectators’ stand.

Tang En sat in the manager’s seat. The match could still be considered rather normal. After all, kicking at legs was completely different from kicking at heads.

However, his face clearly bore a cold smile specifically directed to the main referee on duty, Riley.

“The UEFA isn’t troubling us, but our own people are setting us up?” He mumbled to himself.

Following this, the match officially entered a “fighting stage.” With the loss of the ball, Reading FC’s temper spiked. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest was also enraged by their rough fouls, and the actions of both parties became bigger and bigger.

They pushed back and forth at each other. In the current match, it all seemed to be considered normal bodily contact.

Riley’s dismissal of the fouls caused Reading FC’s actions to get worse. Suddenly, the Forest team remembered that their Head had warned them to be wary of the opponent’s rough fouling. Thinking a little further ahead, their next League match was the highlight match with Arsenal. No one was willing to lose an opportunity to appear in such an important match. They began to play with more restraint.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Reading FC attacked into the middle of Forest’s backfield, hoping to equalize the scores before the end of the first half.

In Reading FC’s midfield, member of England’s national Under-21 football team, Steve Sidwell decided to take the middle path after receiving a pass from his teammate. After all, this was the route that could threaten the opponent’s goal the most. It was also the most straightforward and effective one.

If Sidwell’s memory had been good, he would not have chosen a forceful breakthrough from the middle.

Sidwell intended to barge his way through the middle but had forgotten about one person. His forgetfulness annoyed that person quite a bit.

Steve Sidwell was certain that the route breaking through the middle had no Forest players on it. However, just as he was about to shoot the ball, a streak of red shadow suddenly flashed before him, swiftly turning and cutting in.

When the red shadow turned their back on him, he finally got a clear sight of it—13, WOOD.

Sidwell who had just accelerated could not pull on the brakes quickly enough, slamming straight into Wood. Wood did not even shake. In this manner, he was separated from the football.

In that instance, Sidwell abruptly recovered his memories. He remembered that there was a lad who had cost him dearly in the match against Forest Team two years ago. But at that time, the boy was still wearing number 33.

Wood. George Wood. Currently England’s hottest defensive midfielder. How could I have forgotten about him?

It was too late for Sidwell’s regret. The ball was already lost.

“George Wood! A beautiful box-out! Forcibly breaking through the middle when facing George Wood? Sidwell’s brain must be muddled…”

The spectators’ stands finally stopped ringing with jeers against the referee. The home team fans dedicated all their enthusiastic applause to their captain.

In a crucial moment, their captain was always the most trustworthy.

※※※

Wood depended on his own performance to resolve a single moment of danger for Forest Team. But he was not the whole team. Forest Team had not gotten out of the difficult situation they had fallen into.

With Forest’s members having greater considerations, Reading F.C. bullied Forest Team, their plays turning rowdier and rowdier even as they became more open with it.

Tang En was not wrong in his worries, and Coppell was also right in his assumptions.

The Nottingham Forest of today no longer dared to go all-out against the stylistically rowdy Reading FC. They needed to consider many more things: their next League round against Arsenal, the Champions League Group Stage matches, the long journey through the entire season, their aim of becoming champions, etc. All these were reasons that made them play in a restrained manner.

With the people in front playing so restrictedly, goalie Paul Gerrard became extraordinarily busy. He was receiving shots high and blocking low, all in the effort of preventing the opponents from breaking through his gates. Of course, he did not dream that he would be able to snatch the main goalkeeping position from Edwin van der Sar. He did not know why the Head suddenly decided to rotate the goalkeeping position for this match, but he was clear about one thing – since the Head had let him on the field, he had to do his best within the 90 minutes.

“Reading FC’s direct pass has… gone wide! But Hunt is chasing it!”

Korean midfielder, Kim Do-heon, sent out a surprising pass down the middle, tearing apart Forest Team’s defensive line. Originally, the fullbacks of Forest Team were not bothered with it. Just as the commentator had mentioned, the pass went much too wide.

But at the moment they relaxed, they noticed that Reading FC’s forward, Hunt, had not given up and was chasing the ball!

Upon looking back, Piqué got momentarily nervous when he saw Hunt’s shadow hurtling forward at high speed. However, he noticed Paul Gerrard already running forward and getting ready to drop to the ground to receive the ball. His heart calmed again.

Although Hunt was still chasing after it, he would surely be unable to get it.

Paul Gerrard slid on the ground towards the ball, grasping both hands around it tightly. Reading’s attack ended.

Hunt was still sprinting forward. At such moments, wouldn’t forwards, in general, jump up to avoid the incoming goal-keeper? Stephen Hunt did not. He directly rushed up, his knee smashing right into Paul Gerrard’s head…

Everyone – regardless of whether it was the audience before the television or the live audience – saw it very clearly. Hugging the ball, Paul Gerrard’s head suddenly whipped back, his body flipping over. He went from crouching on the ground to being on his back, staring at the sky. He was still tightly hugging the football, but the situation seemed abnormal.

Hunt did not notice all this. After running past Paul Gerrard’s head, he ran out of the end line to notice the ball still in the goalkeeper’s hand. He stopped, opened his hands and smiled nonchalantly at the camera.

Just as he finished smiling and turned around, a gigantic fist suddenly appeared before his eyes. Following that, he had no time to react before feeling like he had been slammed into by a heavy-duty truck driven at high speed. He flew backwards and fell onto the advertisement board near the end line.

This time, the whistle of the main referee, Riley, finally sounded.

Chapter 482 - Stadium Violence

“Paul Gerrard got the ball, but Hunt didn’t stop kicking....Oh my God!”

The substitute goalkeeper, Gerrard was supposed to hold the football in his arms and press it under his body, but he was suddenly knocked over by Hunt.

Hunt didn’t think anything of it; it was physical contact. He even smiled for the cameras. But just as he turned around, he saw a huge fist appeared in front of him, and then he was sent flying backwards.

After George Wood punched the man, he lay still, his right leg bent backwards due to the strength Wood had used in the single punch. It was as if this was the evidence, clearly demonstrating to the referee that he had beaten Stephen Hunt in that spark of an altercation.

Wood’s movements were just too fast. From the moment Kim Do-heon passed the football, he gave chase at a high speed, but he was still one step behind and did not manage to put a barrier between the goalkeeper, Gerrard and Hunt.

Because he was closest, he saw Hunt’s dirty trick clearly. He did not care if Hunt’s action was intentional or not, all he knew was that it was an injurious action, especially since it was directed at the head—the most important part of a human body. Even boxing required head protection. A moment of carelessness could be fatal.

There was no time to intercept Hunt, but there was still time to punch him. Therefore, Stephen Hunt, who plotted against Paul Gerrard, was knocked out of the field by George Wood’s single powerful punch.

Hunt’s dirty trick against Gerrard was covert, but George Wood’s punch was a public act of stadium violence.

The referee, Riley’s whistle finally rang. With Wood in the middle, the players from both sides suddenly swarmed around, looking like they were ready for a fight. As the players jostled and pushed each other on the field, Twain grabbed the collar of the fourth official at the sideline and yelled, “Stop the game and call for an ambulance! Did you not see someone is unconscious?”

There were also people shouting on the field, “Stop fighting. Help him!!”

“Didn’t you hear that? Save him!”

“Damn it, ref, blow the whistle and calm them all down!”

The players on both sides were forcibly separated. They all calmed down when they saw Gerrard unconscious on the ground. The football had rolled past the end line. Was it a corner kick or a goal ball? No one cared about that anymore.

The Nottingham Forest team doctors had rushed up to administer emergency rescue while the Riley was busy controlling the agitated players on both sides.

“His condition is very bad. He needs to be sent directly to the hospital.” Fleming shook his head, speaking to the referee who had approached.

The referee waved for the ambulance, which was parked at the exit, to drive over.

As the paramedics carried Gerrard into the ambulance, Riley whistled for Wood to follow him. Wood knew very well what was going to happen. He would not obediently follow him. He looked at Gerrard, who was strapped to a stretcher, took off the captain’s armband and threw it to Piqué, and turned to walk straight into the player’s tunnel by the sidelines.

Behind him, Riley had already raised his hand high with the red card in his hand. Riley did not punish the perpetrator, Stephen Hunt. He did not even give him a verbal warning.

Hunt had fallen on the ground and was also being treated by the team doctor. But he only had a swollen face at the most, which could not be compared to Gerrard’s injury. The Reading team’s medical unit dragged out treatment for five minutes, during which the booing did not stop.

Without Gerrard, Edwin van der Sar had to be put on the field, and since George Wood was sent off with a red card, Twain could only replace one other player. This time he chose to bring off the striker, Bendtner.

Bendtner gnashed his teeth as he walked off the field. He was not upset that he was being brought off. He was angry because his teammate was ambushed, and the perpetrator had gotten away with it.

“Be careful!” Twain warned him as van der Sar walked onto the field.

Edwin van der Sar nodded with a solemn expression.

This time, everyone was surprised by Twain’s deep anxiety. After Edwin van der Sar ran onto the field, the booing stopped and was replaced by the sounds of applause. It would indeed take some courage to play at this time after Gerrard had just been knocked unconscious and sent to the hospital.

As the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper had just come on the field, Hunt stood on the sidelines and raised his hand to request to come back on the field.

As if there was a conductor, the applause for Edwin van der Sar immediately turned into an earth-shattering boo, so loud that it took one’s breath away.

Twain stood in front of the technical area with his eyes fixed intently on Hunt, his chest heaving.

※※※

“Riley approved Hunt’s request to play again, which is a little unbelievable. That petty maneuver was absolutely immoral. Kicking a limb and kicking the head are two completely different things. Seeing Hunt play again, the Forest players’ expressions changed. I think Riley’s going to have his hands full for this game. Moreover, Paul Gerrard’s injury is quite worrying. Hopefully he’s going to be fine.”

The commentator was right. Riley found it difficult to keep control of the game. Originally, the injury stoppage time in the first half was five minutes. But they could only play two minutes, and he hurriedly blew the whistle to end the first half.

The whistle sounded and the players on the field did not make any drastic moves. Instead, Tony Twain rushed to the visiting coach’s technical area and tore into Steve Coppell as he roared, “This is how you f**king play football, Coppell!”

Coppell ignored Twain and walked briskly toward the tunnel. His assistant manager, Dillon, came up to confront Twain. “Please mind your language, Mr. Twain!”

Twain pushed him away. “Get lost, you’re not qualified to talk to me!”

Twain bellowed at Coppell’s back, which the television journalists at the scene could hear, “Why are you keeping quiet, Coppell! Don’t think that silence can clear you of this. Show the guts that you let your players use on us! Where are the d*ck and balls between your legs?!” Coppell still did not answer as he increased his pace. “If anything happens to my player! Stephen Hunt—that bastard will be a murderer, and you son of a bitch will be the mastermind! We’ll see you in court!”

“Mr. Tony Twain, watch your words...” The fourth official warned Twain at the back.

Twain jerked his head around and stared at him. He was so terrified that he swallowed back the words and did not finish his sentence.

“We’ll settle our score separately, Mr. Referee.” Twain threw out this remark before he marched into the tunnel.

The Reading assistant manager, Dillon, who was just pushed aside by, also wanted to come up and demand an answer from Twain, but he was turned back by the stadium security guard.

“I—I can treat this as a threat to the referee!” The fourth official announced loudly.

“Do whatever you want, Mr. Referee.” replied the assistant manager, Kerslake as he walked past him. He was followed by the Nottingham Forest coaches who all looked serious as they walked back.

Only Dunn stayed on to explain to the angry fourth official, “Please forgive them for their reactions, Mr. Referee. Our player was taken to the hospital, and we do not know how serious his injury is…”

The fourth official looked at those people who were rude to him, and then glanced at this Chinese man in front of him. He turned and walked away with a grim expression.

Dunn scratched his head somewhat helplessly and turned to run back into the tunnel to catch up with the rest of the team.

The media were excited. The scene that happened during the halftime interval was so thrilling that tomorrow’s news would be exciting! The fierce conflict during the game and the halftime interval was a three-way melee!

※※※

Back in the locker room, Twain received a call from Fleming, the team doctor who went with Gerrard to the hospital.

“Good news, Tony. The initial examination shows that Paul’s life is not in danger.”

Twain breathed a sigh of relief. “Did he fracture his skull?”

“So far, they haven’t found anything. The bad news is that it’s likely he has to rest for more than six months. They have to consider the after-effects of a concussion. We do not know if he will be able to return to the field to continue as a goalkeeper.”

Twain fell into silence again.

The entire locker room was quiet. Everyone was listening to Twain’s phone conversation. Although they could not hear Fleming on the other end of the line, they could guess some things from Twain’s expression.

After he was quiet for a moment, Twain gave a grunt and hung up the phone. He then looked at a room full of expectant looks.

“Paul’s life is not in danger,” he began to say.

The players gave an audible sigh of relief. The dreary and suffocating atmosphere just now had just been eased.

Twain did not say the bad news because he was afraid to affect the mood of the players.

“George.” He looked towards the captain’s seat and said, “You come with me.” With that, he patted the assistant manager, Kerslake on the shoulder and indicated to him to take charge of going over the tactics.

Wood stood up and followed Twain out of the door.

“All right, guys, calm yourselves. Let’s go over the second half again.”

Kerslake’s voice faded as the door was closed.

There was no one left in the passageway. There was no one to disturb Twain and Wood, except for a few stadium staff hurriedly walked by.

“George, how many times have you been sent off because you acted impulsively?” Twain stared at Wood and asked.

Wood bowed his head and kept quiet.

This was his typical impassive attitude. Twain frowned and slightly raised his volume, “You’re the captain. Can you cool down a little bit? After you’re sent off, our playing becomes passive! There are forty-five minutes left in the game. Who knows what else will happen? What more, do you know the cost of your one punch?!”

An important measure by the English Football Association for the Premier League this season was “severe punishment for any stadium violence.” Just before this game, the Manchester City fullback, Ben Thatcher, bashed the Portsmouth midfielder, Pedro Mendes with his elbow in the game, causing Mendes to faint and was suspended by the English Football Association for an additional eight games.

The Football Association would severely punish this type of stadium violence and foul this season. Manchester United’s Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were suspended for three rounds in the league tournament because they each received a red card in the pre-season friendlies.

The former incidents were just fouls, but George Wood’s deliberate punch was bound to be viewed by the Football Association as a brazen provocation of their authority. There was almost no need to guess what kind of punishment would await Wood. No wonder Twain was furious.

Wood was silent for a moment and could hear the sound of Twain’s heavy breathing across from him getting louder, and he knew that his boss was really angry. Then he opened his mouth and said, “When I met Roy Keane, he told me that he used to beat people up and then think about whether or not he should have taken the shot. Later, he learned to think about whether or not he should hit someone before he punched them.”

Twain listened in bafflement, “what does this have anything to do with what we’re talking about?”

“This time, I thought about it before I hit him,” Wood said as he raised his head.

Twain grabbed his head with both hands. He was stumped.

Roy, you b*stard, of all the things to teach George, you taught him this!

“You stupid b*stard, if the referee was going to punish the foul player, your punch just landed you in it!”

“Was that number 10 punished?” Wood asked in return.

Twain froze for a moment, and then answered indignantly, “No!” He certainly knew what Wood meant. “You are not a vigilante, George. You’re the captain of the team. You have to prioritize the entire team’s interests at all times.”

“I know,” George replied.

“You know, and yet you still...” It was really infuriating for Twain to try to have a conversation with him.

“If I didn’t fight, they’d have done the same.” Wood pointed to the door of the locker room.

Twain could not refute this. He knew his team the best. Wood said one thing right. A lot of players in this Forest team had been playing together for several years and developed a deep emotional bond. They had long regarded each other as their own people. When one of their own people was being bullied, who could stand by and do nothing?

This fight could not have been avoided by any means.

There was a brief silence between the two men.

“All right, George. If you seriously thought about it before you hit that bastard hard, I’m sure you know exactly what the consequences of this punch are.”

Wood nodded.

“So, the next time a similar situation occurs, just hit harder!”

Wood looked up at Twain with somewhat a strange look.

“Since you are going to be sent off with a red card and an additional suspension and if the other side does not follow suit and go to the hospital, it just makes your exit a little meaningless. To put it bluntly, that was you venting your personal spite.” Twain shrugged his shoulders and said, “Your punch has to have a bigger effect. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Wood contemplated, and then nodded.

“Go on and head back.” Twain patted him on the shoulder and opened the locker room door for him.

When Twain and Wood returned to the locker room, Kerslake had already finished all his instructions and waited for Twain to sum up his remarks.

“All of you know our current situation, I’m not going to talk nonsense. We must win this game! We don’t care what means and methods you use. In short, we must stop that bunch of bastards! I don’t care about fouls! Red card, yellow card? Let that d*ck-less referee pull one out of his pants and try it! He’s got no d*ck, where will he f**king get those cards?”

※※※

The outcome of the game was Nottingham Forest thrashed Reading by 1:0.

Despite the win, it was a tragic victory for Twain.

Both teams played with resentment in the second half. Pepe suffered a knee injury in a fierce scramble with the opposing defender and had to be carried off. The team doctor’s initial diagnosis about his condition was not encouraging. Pepe was replaced by Kompany as a result. Sonko was kicked out of the field by Riley, the referee on duty with a red card for that foul—even though it was just an ordinary fierce scramble, and it could not be compared to Hunt’s malicious attack in the first half.

As a result, the commentator ridiculed Riley for trying to seek a balance in the game commentary, and unfortunately that his act of trying to curry favor with the home team attracted even more boos.

Hunt, who got rid of Paul Gerrard, was replaced by Coppell with the South Korean striker, Seol Ki-hyeon, not long after the start of the second half. Hunt had become the “hunting target” of the Forest team on the field. As long as he had the ball, there would be Forest players going up there to “violently collide.” Most of the time, Riley went along with the Forest team’s behavior. Even so, the Forest team still received three yellow cards just on Hunt.

This provoked the anger of the Reading team. The more the two teams played, the more physical they got. Riley completely lost control of the situation. Towards the end of the game, he started issuing cards frequently.

Because he had already accumulated two yellow cards, Ashley Young was sent off with a red card. Seol Ki-hyeon, who only came on in the second half, was also sent off with a red card because he struck Kompany with his elbow during a scramble for a header.

When the game entered the injury stoppage time, the agitated coaching staff from both teams also clashed on the sidelines. Kerslake angrily went up and questioned the Reading team’s rough style as not playing football at all but waging a war. The Reading assistant manager, Dillon, who was already disgruntled with the Forest team, naturally stepped out to fight. Had it not been for both sides’ colleagues desperately holding them back, the two men might have fought directly under the nose of the fourth official.

Twain did not step in to stop his own assistant. He coolly observed this scene on the sidelines with some vengeance. He did not think about how he was going to play against Arsenal in the next round. He just wanted to even the score in this game right in front of him.

The referee will not punish, will he? Then my men will do it!

In the double chaos on the sidelines and on the field, the referee, Riley, who had already lost all control of the situation and the players’ reactions on both sides, hurriedly blew the whistle to end the game. He completely ignored the seven minutes of make-up time on the signboard that the fourth official had just raised up…

His whistle sounded, drowned out by the deafening boos over the City Ground stadium.

What a farce!

Chapter 483 - Good News, Bad News

Was the farce considered over when Riley blew the ending whistle of the match?

No, far from it.

The match had ended, but Riley still ran to the sidelines and gave the two assistant managers who clashed—Kerslake and Dillon—a red card each. Although fouling people after the match was no longer something new, it was uncommon.

Upon seeing such a scene, even the match commentator was at a loss for words. “Riley must be mad.”

“Six red cards! 20 yellow cards! A crazy, card-giving machine!”

After that, the four referees on duty had to leave the field under tight protection of security. Otherwise, it was hard to say if they would be ripped to shreds by the enraged Forest fans.

The reporters waited at the mixed zone for the interviews but quickly discovered that no one would stop to say a few words about the match. Helpless, they could only move to the press conference instead.

Unexpectedly, Tang En and Coppell still appeared. Both were present despite having experienced such a terrible situation. However, the expressions of the two were filled with hostility. Neither of them made a move to shake their hands in a show of friendliness.

Without waiting for the press officer to announce the commencement of the press conference, Tang En snatched the microphone and said, “I feel extremely regretful about this match despite having won the game. I don’t wish to say whose fault this is, because everyone has already seen it. Despite the match devolving into this, I believe there is not a single thing my players can be faulted for. They have already done enough. I am proud of their performance.”

Hearing this, Coppell could not help but interrupt, “Proud of that punch from George Wood?”

Tang En continued looking at the reporters without turning to the side. He lashed out, “Obviously, it isn’t pride for Hunt’s knees! I regret that George Wood didn’t pummel that b*stard into a concussion! Why, Mr. Coppell, do you feel proud of Hunt?”

“Watch your words, Tony Twain!” Coppell and Tang En could never see eye-to-eye to begin with. It was like watching two dogs fight each other whenever they met. “It was only an accident! It’s very normal to have accidents like that on the field!”

“Accident, my f*cking *ss! Tang En abruptly stood and burst out, “That’s malicious harm! It’s on purpose! Otherwise, why didn’t that b*stard jump? Instead, he lowered his own gravity and placed his knees right at the height of Paul Gerrard’s head? Have you ever f*cking seen people use their knees to snatch balls?”

This was turning out like some kind of verbal battle on the streets. The group of reporters did not bother asking questions. They watched the fight quietly and joyfully.

“Save your lambasting at Wood. I’d tell you, Steve Coppell. If it wasn’t for Hunt’s malicious collision, George would have never punched that b*stard. It’s that simple. Since the main referee, Mr. Riley, was blind, my players are only representing him in carrying out the punishments. That fool of a referee didn’t even give any verbal warning for this sort of malicious and absolutely inhumane foul? Were his referee qualifications bought?!” Tang En’s mouth was like a Gatling gun. He questioned, reproached, and blasted them with swear words, not giving Coppell any opportunity to retaliate. “The match becoming like this—20 yellow cards and six red cards! This is the player’s fault? It’s that f*cking useless referee’s fault! FA ought to terminate that r*tard for life! Not daring to give out cards when faced with the opponent’s rowdy fouling, being overly cautious like a sissy without b*lls. And then, waiting until discovering that the situation wasn’t right before madly giving out cards to destabilize the situation even more—is that what a main referee is supposed to do? Even a secondary school sports teacher would do better than him! I finally know why English referees in the German World Cup make so many low-level mistakes!”

After scolding his opponents, Tang En aimed his nozzle at the English FA as well as the main referee. This time, he was going to become a public enemy.

It was not hard to tell how enraged Tang En was in that moment.

“My player is now lying in the hospital, hanging between life and death!” Tang En pointed to the sky. “But the culprit remains free, at large! The one who put the guilty party up to it is still at my side, being unreasonable and refusing to take responsibility for it. The referee on duty is useless and afraid, knowing nothing other than pulling out cards from his *ss without any pause. How about you give me a reason why I shouldn’t be angry!?” he said to the reporters.

Pierce Brosnan originally wanted to wake Tang En up from his violent state of anger, intending to ask questions that could change the topic, such as about next round’s League match. But, realizing that the question might only be adding fuel to the fire, the hand he raised midway was withdrawn again.

After finishing his venting, Tang En no longer wanted to be in the same place as Coppell. Without saying a goodbye, he turned and left.

Seeing Tang En turn to leave the stage, Coppell also left from the other direction with an unhappy face. No matter how the reporters called after him, he paid them no heed.

※※※

After departing from the stadium, Tang En did not follow the team back to the hotel they were staying at. Instead, he directly headed to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University.

He met Professor Constantine at the doors of the building. The professor was exiting the building in a hurry and did not see Tang En.

“Professor!” Tang En shouted.

“Tony?” Constantine was unsurprised to see Tang En here. “You’re here.”

“Yes. How’s the situation?”

“In a coma.”

“Does he need surgery?” Tang En asked.

“No.” Constantine shook his head. “This is good news.”

Tang En sighed in relief, and then thought about the bad news. “Would there be any adverse effects from this?”

“It’s hard to tell now.” Constantine took off his glasses. “We will only know after he wakes up. I can’t give you a guarantee about if he can return to the field. Even normal day-to-day living may need some time for further testing.”

Tang En thought about ?ech. His head sustained a depressed fracture from the hit, but he still made through it in the end. Not only did he survive, he even went back to being Chelsea’s main goalkeeper.

“He’ll be alright,” Tang En said, nodding.

Constantine felt odd about how Tang En was suddenly so confident again.

“It’s my instincts.” Tang En smiled as he pointed to his head. “I believe he’ll be alright.”

Constantine interpreted it as being a way for Tang En comfort himself, so he just smiled along.

“You’ve won the match, right?” To prevent the atmosphere from being awkward, Constantine tried changing topics. He did not expect the topic to make it worse.

“We won.” Tang En’s face darkened.

“Uh. I didn’t watch the match. I was directly called in to handle this. What happened?”

“Watch the news later, Prof. There’s a good show to watch.” He patted Constantine’s shoulder. “I’m heading off. See you. Oh, that’s right. If Paul awakens, call and let me know.”

Constantine nodded doubtfully. He was wondering about the other things that could have occurred during the match.

The answer was swiftly revealed. England’s news media was very advanced. Stories were available for purchase a mere half hour after the end of a match, usually brief introductions to the results and situation of the match. By night time, a variety of detailed articles would be available.

Constantine saw the news from the LCD television in front of the elevators in the hospital’s hall. Tony Twain’s verbal lashing during the news conference, filled with much swearing, appeared before him, taking him aback. He very rarely saw such an enraged Tang En.

After that, the news cut to a scene from the match, as well as the clash between both parties after it ended. Constantine watched with wide eyes, his mouth agape. Was BBC certain that this was the English Premier League and not the Middle-East war?

※※※

Two hours later, the scene of Tang En’s verbal lashing was transmitted to the millions of families in England. Everyone knew what had happened during and after the match.

By the next day, the news had already traveled across the world. The international football scene was shocked by such a rare occurrence of violence on the field.

Nottingham Forest Club took speedy action this time around. On the night of the match, they submitted a report against Reading FC’s lack of sportsmanship as well as the atrocious enforcement carried out by main referee on duty, Riley, to the English Football Association. This was the club’s response made under Tang En’s request. They wanted to take preemptive measures.

The next afternoon, the FA received another complaint that came from Reading FC. In the afternoon, FA’s personnel made an appointment to meet with main referee, Riley, hoping for him to give an explanation regarding his choice of enforcement during the match.

The sights of the media were entirely aimed towards London’s SOHO Square, where the English FA was located.

Hunt’s hurtful act was too vile. Even though George Wood purposely punched someone, sympathy points would be cast towards Nottingham Forest if the cause and reaction of it were taken into consideration. Especially after the publication of the follow-up report, wherein Paul Gerrard was revealed to still be in a coma, the people were moved. The public opinion began tilting against Reading FC.

Everyone in the English football scene knew that Reading FC’s football style in the current season was rowdy. So, when Tang En said that the responsibility fell on Reading FC, no one else showed any objection to it.

Before the FA finalized any result of the discussion of the matter, they first announced a small-scale warning in an attempt to stabilize the sentiments on both sides:

“We have already warned the players, Sonko, Ashley Young, and Seol Ki-hyeon, who were penalized during the match. In addition, we will be closely watching their performance in future matches.”

No one really cared about the fates of the small fish. They cared about the penalizations of Hunt, George Wood, as well as the two assistant managers who clashed verbally and physically after the match.

While the Football Association progressed with their analysis, the main managers of both parties did not idle. They continued the verbal battle over the media. By doing this, Tang En hoped to take the opportunity to pressure the FA. He wanted to see if the FA would still take Riley’s side. On the other hand, Coppell simply could not swallow the resentment of his personal grudge against Tang En, his team having lost the match, and three of his players getting penalized.

During this period, it was practically a festive season for the English media. Every day, they had some news to stir up. In fact, there were even English publishers that were planning to organize the content of what was said, by both parties throughout the issue, into a book.

Three days later, the English FA finally announced the finalized decision in dealing with the matter:

1. Main referee on duty, Riley, was to be banned from 10 matches due to a loss of control and misguidance of the match.

2. Reading FC’s player, Stephen Hunt, was barred from 10 matches and fined 35,000 pounds due to malicious fouling and causing loss of consciousness in the other party. In addition, within two years after the end of his suspension, the player would be under close supervision of the Football Association. Should there be any act of violent fouls in the field, the player would be further banned for 15 matches.

3. Nottingham Forest player, George Wood, was to be barred for eight matches and fined 25,000 pounds due to malicious fouling. Should there be similar acts of violence within a year, the player would be further barred for another 12 matches.

4. Nottingham Forest and Reading FC’s assistant managers, Kerslake and Dillon respectively, were to be each barred from four matches and fined 15,000 pounds due to acts stemming from lack of composure after the match.

5. Nottingham Forest’s main manager, Tony Twain, would be barred from three matches and fined 25,000 pounds due to his unjust accusations of the FA, intentions of interrupting the referee’s duty, as well as personal attacks on the opponents and lack of sportsmanship shown after the match.

6. Reading FC and Nottingham Forest were to be named and criticized for their lack of supervision over their players and fined 50,000 pounds.

7. Reading FC player, Seol Ki-hyeon was to be additionally barred for three matches and fined 15,000 pounds due to malicious fouling in an act of elbowing his opponents.

8. Penalty for players penalized during the match: Reading FC player Sonko and Nottingham Forest player Ashley Young, remain unchanged. Both players were to be barred for one match.

After the announcement of the results, it was declared by the media to be one of English FA’s most severe penalty ruling. Although there had long been the precedent of Eric Cantona’s eight-month match suspension for assaulting a fan with a kung-fu kick, this was a large-scale penalty imposed on several people at one time. It was truly one of the most severe instances.

It seemed like the FA’s intention to clamp down on acts of violence on the field was not just empty talk.

The media was filled with anticipation at the thought of Tang En again expressing his dissatisfaction after the announcement of the results, and then continuing to make a fuss for a period. That way, they would have even more news they could stir up. Unexpectedly, Tang En did not make any comment regarding the matter this time. He neither appealed against the results nor criticized the FA. He kept completely quiet on the issue.

No one knew what he was thinking, other than himself. In his opinion, the two that he hoped to be penalized the most were already punished. His aims were fulfilled, so there was no need to continue entangling in this problem. Both Riley and Hunt were barred for 10 matches. He finally managed to vent his resentment.

Even in the interviews with Forest’s players, everyone felt that Riley was the primary culprit of the whole matter. While Hunt’s foul was something unavoidable, Riley could have stopped the series of matters occurring after it if he had been smart enough. However, his poor performance had just made the situation worse. Forest’s players were all too happy to applaud seeing Riley being severely penalized.

Now, if Tang En was smart, he would avoid continuing the entanglement with the FA and Reading FC. Rather, he needed to pick up the pieces after the disaster. They were going to battle Arsenal in an away field very soon. Based on his currently crippled formation, what was the result going to be?

He did not even dare think about it.

Wenger, the old fox, would not let go of such a fabulous chance. Nottingham Forest’s trip to London boded ill. The only good news was that Tang En received Constantine’s call after the FA announced the final list of penalizations. Paul Gerrard had woken.

※※※

By the time the three—Tang En and the assistant managers Dunn and Kerslake—arrived at the hospital, the entrance to the ward was surrounded by several media groups. They had also rushed over when they received news of Gerrard regaining consciousness.

Tang En was filled with impatience when he got held back for interviews at the door. He only threw out a quick, “Now, Hunt can finally sleep well,” before quickly slipping in.

After the three entered the ward, the hospital staff shut the doors. The media groups who were hoping to continue snooping were chased out by the hospital’s security. The reporters clamored about how the hospital had no right to intervene with press freedom, and that they had the right to know about the truth, and so on. Professor Constantine looked down his nose as he scolded, “I don’t give a rat’s arse about your freedom. This is a hospital! I’m a doctor, so I have the right to ask everyone to get out! If you disrupt the recovery of my patient, I’m going to hold you all responsible!”

“Prof… Professor. You swore.” A young and beautiful nurse said this, covering her mouth in surprise. In her head, Professor Constantine, wearing his golden-framed glasses, was a polite and a well-mannered gentleman. He was the epitome of a good man. Although he was no longer young, he was still rather popular.

Constantine felt a little awkward. Having followed Tang En for so long, he unknowingly was affected by the problematic habit.

“But you are also charming when you act this way.” The nurse’s eyes practically had hearts leaping out of them.

It suddenly dawned on Constantine. Despite Tony Twain being perceived by the media as a demon with a tail and wings, horns on his head, a mouth of fire, and sharp teeth, it was little wonder why he was still considered the most coveted partner for a one-night-stand by female magazines.

※※※

“Head, Manager Kerslake, and Manager Dunn. Why are you here?” Paul Gerrard, in the midst of waiting for his wife to cut an apple for him, was surprised to see the three of them walking in.

“I heard you were awake, so I came to see you. Should we go?” Tang En pulled a chair over to sit by Gerard’s bedside.

“No, I’m just shocked. I didn’t expect…” Paul laughed, shaking his head lightly.

Seeing that Paul was shaking his head very slowly, Tang En pointed to his own head and asked. “How does it feel?”

“It still hurts from time to time,” Gerrard said, frowning but not shaking his head. It seemed like even shaking his head was a burden to him now.

Tang En kept a smile on his face, though his heart was finding it difficult. The situation did not seem as positive as he had imagined.

“How was the match, Head?” Gerrard asked.

“We won.” Tang En beamed. “1:0. We didn’t allow Coppell, the b*stard, to leave our home field with a smile.”

“That’s good. I thought I was going to die,” Gerrard muttered.

“How is that possible? Medicine is so advanced now; there won’t be problems. It’s only one collision. Look, aren’t you lying in bed chatting with us now?”

He fell silent for a while. Paul turned to ask the two assistant managers, “Can I still continue to play?”

Dunn said nothing while Kerslake’s smile looked reluctant. Tang En rescued them. “Of course! You only need to rest well, and you’ll come back! Think about the Romani boy. He was laying here for nine months. Didn’t he still return in the end?”

Eastwood’s experience was certainly a good inspirational story. A true-life example was in the same team as he was. Paul Gerrard had no reason to disbelieve it.

“Rest well and don’t think about anything else. I said to Eastwood before that the whole team was waiting for his return. Today, I’ll say the same thing to you. Paul, we’re waiting for you to come back.”

Seeing Gerrard’s teary eyes, Tang En stood and bowed slightly to Paul’s wife. “Please take good care of him, ma’am. Your husband is a great man.”

“We have to head to London tomorrow, so we’ll head out now.”

The three of them rose and said their goodbyes before pushing the door open to leave. Tang En saw Professor Constantine still standing by the doors and was surprised.

“Are you here as a door guard, Prof?”

The old man did not react to Tang En’s joke. As if he did not hear him speak, he said to Tang En, “I have something to discuss with you.”

Dunn, who was the furthest back, pulled the doors shut. Tang En took a few steps forward before turning to face Constantine.

“Is this good news or bad news? I’ve been asking this a lot recently.”

Constantine did not immediately answer, looking like he was in a bind.

“Alright. There’s no need to tell me anything, Prof.” Tang En waved his hand. “If it’s good news, leave it as a surprise for me. If it’s bad news, I don’t want to hear it.”

His words made Constantine smile again. “Alright, Tony. As you wish.”

“Let’s go. I’ll come by again after my return from London.” Tang En waved goodbye to Constantine. “Please take good care of him.”

“You can rest assured, Tony. And I wish you all good luck.”

Everyone needed some good luck.

Chapter 484 - Suspension

There wasn’t much to say about Nottingham Forest’s away game. Short on players, Nottingham Forest predictably lost to Arsenal by 3:1, which could be counted as a complete failure.

Twain followed the team to London, but he could not direct the game in the technical area due to his ban. He and Assistant Manager Kerslake, who was also sent off with a red card, sat in the stands as they helplessly watched their team besieged by Arsenal. The Forest team did not show its usual drive at all.

Dunn carried out the acting manager’s authority in the game. But just as Twain once thought, Dunn was a brilliant assistant manager, but not a qualified manager. He was able to do the supporting work perfectly, but could not make decisions on his own.

Without a definite view, he would not know what to do. If the manager was that way, the players would be even more so.

Without George Wood, Sun Jihai was placed in the defensive midfielder position. Despite the Chinese player’s best efforts, he was still overwhelmed in the face of Arsenal’s group attack. The position of the defensive midfielder was too important. If the field was compared to a battlefield, the midfield was the ground the soldiers must fight for. A defensive midfielder was equivalent to a stronghold. A good defensive midfielder could defend this area and make it invincible to attack, whereas a terrible one...

Not that Sun Jihai was terrible, but he was still some distance away from his opponent’s level.

If the midfield were to fall, the Forest team’s penalty area would not fare any better.

They easily conceded three goals.

The only thing worth mentioning was that Nottingham Forest had managed to score a goal even under such unfavorable circumstances. Eastwood scored a face-saving goal for the team at the last minute, so they did not suffer a crushing defeat in the hands of Arsenal.

After the end of the game, Wenger glanced at the stands, intentionally or unintentionally, as he shook hands with Dunn. He was unquestionably trying to find Twain in the crowd, but by then Twain had already left with Kerslake.

None of the post-match commentators felt anything was odd about the outcome of the match. Arsenal was a strong team. Furthermore, the Forest team was currently short of players and even missing its key figure, Tony Twain. Even if they had been well-organized, they still might not have stood a chance against Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium.

For their part, the Nottingham media lamented their bad luck for playing against such a strong opponent after a widespread ban. If they had encountered a weak team, they might have still been able to win.

Twain did not see it that way. He was glad to meet Arsenal at this time. There was already a leak in the house, what was a downpour instead? It was best to put all the bad things together and once the bad luck had run out; good luck would naturally take center stage again.

※※※

After his return from London with a loss, Twain did not waste time feeling dejected by the defeat. He was going to lead the team right into the preparations for the Champions League group stage competition.

There was little time. On September 27th, Nottingham Forest would host one of their other rivals, the Turkish Süper Lig team, Galatasaray S.K., in this group stage at home.

Since that earth-shattering war, everyone had been waiting to see it. They wanted to see which direction Tony Twain’s team would go.

Twain knew what the media thought. He was enemies with a lot of English media. They wanted to Tony Twain fall on his face and the Forest team to lose twice in a row. Having just lost to Arsenal in the league tournament, it would have been even nicer if they could continue to lose to Galatasaray.

However, Twain was an antagonistic person and liked to be at odds with everyone.

Therefore, Twain won this group stage game.

The punishment by suspension only took effect for the league tournament. The Forest team could still send its strongest lineup for the Champions League game. And the team did not appear to have been hit by the widespread ban, but rather were spurred by the ban and could vent their frustration with the league tournament on the Champions League group stage competition.

During the game, Twain did not use the Forest team’s defensive tactics that they relied on for their ascent last season. Instead, they audaciously and also unexpectedly employed strong offensive in their home ground. They made light of Galatasaray’s offense.

As a result, the game ended in 3:2, with a total of five goals scored by both teams. Nottingham Forest won by scoring one more goal than their opponent.

The commentator thought for this game, the Forest team, everyone from the coaches to the players, must have needed to vent their frustration. Obviously it would not help them if they were to continue to implement the defensive tactics and play under pressure from the opponent in their own home ground. So, it was reasonable that they would attack aggressively regardless of everything. Tony Twain was unpredictable, so his team would naturally be unpredictable. It was normal for them to suddenly change their tactics.

Twain did not care about the noise from these comments. He had a plan in mind.

After they defeated Galatasaray at home, Nottingham Forest was temporarily ranked first in the group with their two wins.

The scene that those onlookers wanted to see most did not happen. Tony Twain’s team was still alive and well.

“We were so pathetic in the league tournament that I didn’t expect us to do so well in the Champions League,” Dunn said to Twain after the coaching staff on both sides shook hands affably.

“This is quite nice.” Twain nodded, “Our goal this season has always been about the Champions League. It’s fine if we are in the top four for the Premier League.”

Twain did not lie, and he definitely was not being modest. He was not considering the issue of the league title at all this season. Putting aside the fact that they were surrounded by Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and other powerhouse clubs, he based the decision on the Forest team itself.

Since he decided he would reclaim what he had lost in the Champions League, it was natural to put more energy into the Champions League. The league tournament was a competition with a long system, unlike the Champions League with its knockout system. One of the Champions League’s big features was how much one put in would reflect how much one reaped in the end. That was to say as long as one put in the effort, there would be returns with fewer uncertainties.

Whereas, due to the long schedule, the league tournament had more uncertainties, just like the saying “long delays cause complications.” There was a high probability that even after painstakingly putting in all their efforts to lead in the first thirty-seven rounds, they would be overtaken by their opponents in the final round. Twain did not want such a catastrophe to happen to him.

Furthermore, even if he boosted his team with a number of powerful players during the summer, he did not think Nottingham Forest had the power to compete in two tournaments and take both championship titles. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich ... None of these international titans would dare to claim they had the absolute strength to take down a double or a triple, not to mention Nottingham Forest.

Instead of sitting at home to fantasize about their team taking all the championship titles they could win, it was better to be realistic and play well in the Champions League where they were the most confident. Twain was a very pragmatic coach. He was realistic, and he was only interested in things he firmly believed he could grasp.

He currently had no plans for the league title in his mind. But as for the Champions League title, he must have it.

※※※

After the victory over Galatasaray in the Champions League and taking the top spot in the group, Nottingham Forest, seemingly limitless and radiant, was about to experience going from heaven to hell. Nottingham Forest would host Middlesbrough in the seventh round of the league tournament on November 1st.

Having just enjoyed a game with an intact team, Twain had to return to the stands to be a spectator.

Dunn continued to be the acting manager for this game. However, he was just acting as a front. Twain and the coaching staff had arranged all tactics before the game, and the team just had to follow them.

In the face of the Middlesbrough team without Steve McClaren, the Forest team shook hands with their opponents at their home ground. The game was played brilliantly with a total of four goals scored by both teams. The Forest team’s second lineup had no problem dealing with a rival like Middlesbrough. Their eventual failure to win the game was entirely due to the lack of a key figure, Tony Twain. A distinctive character and a fearless manager was the real soul of the team.

The good news for Twain was that there was only one more game to go before the end of his suspension. He could almost stand in front of the coaching staff again and direct the team in competition. He had had enough of the days of being a spectator in the stands. He had been a spectator for more than ten years in his previous life. He did not want to live that life again.

The televised footage was focused on Twain’s behavior during the game. Whether it was the Forest team scoring or conceding a goal, the camera would quickly pan to Twain in the stands to see his reaction.

John Motson, the BBC football commentator who knew Twain well, said with a laugh, “the English Football Association’s only appropriate penalty was to suspend Twain for three games. To Tony Twain, not allowing him to direct the team during games is as good as taking his life!”

Fortunately, such terrible days would be over soon.

On October 14th, as it was the national team competition, there would be a one-week break in the league tournament. Nottingham Forest lost 1:2 to Manchester City in the away game, but Twain could ignore this game’s defeat. He even wanted to sneak to the sidelines after the end of the game to shake the hand of the Manchester City manager, Stuart Pearce on behalf of Dunn, but he was stopped by the sharp-eyed fourth official at the tunnel’s exit.

“Mr. Twain, that’s not going to work. You can’t go over there.”

“I just wanted to go and say hello to my old friend. Isn’t that okay?” Twain asked the fourth official next to him as he pointed to Pearce, who was shaking hands with Dunn.

“You can wait for the next half of the league tournament, Mr. Twain. If you are not suspended again at that time.” Twain had become the referees’ number one enemy since he publicly slammed the entire English refereeing community after that game. In the few games in the league tournament, the Forest team had been subjected to some inexplicable penalties several times. It could not be said that there was no link to this.

After the fourth official spoke harshly, Twain’s good mood disappeared. He looked at Dunn and Pearce, not far ahead, and glanced at the fourth official standing next to him with a fake smile. He knew that if he were to force his way in, he would be suspended again from an unknown number of games.

He grunted and turned to walk away.

※※※

Dunn shook hands with Pearce but did not chat with him. He just walked directly into the tunnel. He was not in a good mood since he lost the game. He did not want to stay any longer in front of people.

As he passed the mixed zone, he was stopped by a voice speaking in Mandarin, “Mr. Dunn, Mr. Dunn!”

Dunn, who initially did not want to pay any attention to the media, could not help but stopped when he heard the familiar-sounding Mandarin.

The person who called him was no stranger. It was Tang Jing, whom he met on the plane. Coincidentally, they both shared the same family name, Tang. They might have been related five hundred years ago.

“Can you say a few words?” Tang Jing huddled in front of the crowd, obvious among the male-dominated sports reporters.

Since it was someone he knew, Dunn could not embarrass her. He went over, intending to say a few words. But before he could speak, he could not think of anything to say.

Tang Jing could obviously tell. She needed to take the initiative for this situation, so she asked, “how do you feel, going from being an assistant manager to becoming an acting manager, Mr. Dunn?”

“They are completely different,” Dunn replied succinctly.

Tang Jing was fully prepared for this. She nodded and jotted down Dunn’s words. As to how she would play on his words when she got back was up to her.

“What a pity, you have not won the past three games.” Her response certainly displeased the other person, so Tang Jing hurriedly changed the topic, “What are your thoughts on the FA’s extensive punishment?”

“It’s been a couple of weeks, and I don’t have any comments about it.”

“Oh.” Even if she was sufficiently prepared for this, Tang Jing was still exasperated by this kind of uncooperative attitude. She had waited for half a day only to be met with such a result? She was a little dejected. Twain’s noncompliance was intentional, whereas Dunn’s noncompliance was entirely inherent – this was what frustrated her the most.

Perhaps he thought that it was not easy for a woman to squeeze in among such a large group of men in search of an interview opportunity. Dunn also felt that it was not nice to treat the other party with this attitude, so he hesitantly opened his mouth to speak, “I’m a little unhappy that I did not win a game.”

Tang Jing immediately looked up when she heard Dunn suddenly take the initiative to speak. She looked at Dunn, filled with anticipation. But she only saw Dunn shake his head, “Sorry, I have to go.”

“Oh, all right. See you around, Mr. Dunn.” Tang Jing waved goodbye first. Although he did not say much, his last remark was enough.

I’m a little unhappy that I did not win a game...

※※※

Dunn ran into Twain on his way back to the locker room.

“Why did you not go straight to the press conference?” Twain asked from where he leaned against the wall.

“It’s still early,” Dunn replied.

“There’s nothing to do here. So why did you come back?”

“There’s nothing to do over there either. I’m used to coming back here first.”

Twain smiled and said, “you really are suited to be an assistant manager for the rest of your life.”

“I met Tang Jing in the mixed zone just now.” Dunn switched the topic.

“Oh? What did she ask?”

“Stuff that the Chinese fans care about.”

Twain nodded to show that he understood. It was nothing more than the news about Dunn suddenly became the acting manager.

“I’m sorry to disappoint them,” said Twain with a shrug. “Or do you want to continue, Dunn?”

Dunn shook his head and waved his hand. “I don’t like it. The manager and assistant manager are entirely two different jobs. Luckily you’ll be back soon, and I can feel relieved, too.”

“Too much pressure, isn’t it?” asked Twain, laughing.

Dunn nodded. “Too much.”

“But I like it.” Twain winked at his partner. “Enormous pressure means there will be a bigger payoff. I have no interest in being an assistant manager at all. I’ve always liked being a manager from the start. We are really different.”

Dunn smiled quietly and pushed the door to enter. Twain remained outside as he watched the players step off the field and walk down. He raised his hand to greet them.

“Hey, guys, good job!”

“Don’t be discouraged, little monkey! You only just lost an insignificant league game. Have you forgotten our aim for this season?”

“It’s no big deal. I’m back.”

That was right. He was the owner of this team.

Chapter 485 - Returned Soul

For a period, the results of Forest Team were very unstable. Ever since their painful victory against Reading FC, the team which had great hopes pinned on them prior to the beginning of the season, had gone through three matches without winning. In the eight rounds of the Premier League, they had had four wins, three losses, and one draw, totaling an accumulation of 13 points. They had already gone down to seventh place in the League rankings.

Only George Wood and Ashley Young were barred from matches. George Wood was barred for eight matches, while Young had been barred for one. The latter had already returned to playing. There was not much of a severe loss to the formation.

The true reason behind the unstable performance of the team was Tang En’s suspension from three matches.

As the main manager of the team, he was also the soul of the team. Forest players were already used to having Tony Twain on the sidelines to direct them during their matches. Suddenly, the manager standing on the sidelines changed, and they were very unused to it.

People were mysterious creatures. When Tang En was at the sidelines, all the players were particularly enthused in matches. The moment Tang En got penalized and sent to the spectators’ stand for a span of three matches, the players seemed unable to muster up any interest.

Everyone had gotten used to hearing Tang En’s thunder-like roar of anger whenever they were dispirited. His scolding would jolt them awake from their muddling state. And today, though Dunn was a very capable manager—he already had convinced everyone to put aside their biases of his nationality with his abilities—there was still something he was lacking as a main manager.

Dunn himself knew it in his heart. He and Tang En were such different characters that it created a sort of contrast. The main manager that everyone acknowledged was someone like Tang En. It was useless for him to try anything else.

The experience of being interim manager for the three matches made him deeply aware of this. Although it could be said that Tang En had robbed him of his body and position, the team today was, through and through, Tang En’s team. The team was in sync with his nature.

Dunn sighed in relief when the three matches came to an end. The Chinese media had high regards for him taking on the position of interim manager of the team. Initially, there were a continuous stream of reports showing immense pride and brimming with exaggerated praises. Dunn himself, however, was very lowkey. He did not seem realise Chinese football was rising to the level of Europe’s top-tier League.

Now that there was not a single victory in the last three matches, the strength of reporting in the domestic media also weakened significantly, the enthusiasm abruptly abating. These people were at a complete loss as to what to tell the domestic readers. The person whom they had had praised to the sky was leading the team with such poor results.

England’s media was not concerned with Dunn. The person they cared about was Tony Twain. After the match with Man City, Nottingham Evening Post very proudly published a huge title of, “Be wary, that man is coming back!”

It was evident how much the Nottinghamians trusted Tang En.

※※※

Though their prospects in the Premier League were not bright, they were raking in victories on their path in the Champions League.

October 18th. The third round of the Champions League Group Stage. Nottingham won the away match against Bordeaux from France with a score of 1:0. Because of this, Nottingham Forest maintained a complete victory against all the other opponents in their group.

Experts were already sure that it would be no problem for Tang En’s football team to advance from the Group Stage. All that was left was for the three teams to fight for the second advancement slot still available.

In fact, there were already people starting to guess about which teams Forest would be meeting after advancing from the Group Stage. Tony Twain had too many enemies in the European football scene. There would be a good show no matter who they met with. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan…

These would be massive wars akin to the level of Mars colliding with Earth.

※※※

But Tang En himself did not have the time to imagine the future alongside those people.

Their progress in the Champions League was smooth. The team was enthused whenever it came to the European battles. In this aspect, he did not need to worry too much. Now, he needed to put his energy into the domestic fights. They had already slipped to 7th in the Premier League, three positions from Tang En’s goal of being in the top four in the Premier League. If this continued, the situation would only be disadvantageous for Nottingham Forest.

October 22nd. 9th round of the Premier League. They were challenging Everton in an away match, and going up against their old friend, Moyes.

The media was immensely interested in Tang En’s return. Numerous reporters waited at the locker room of the away team with their cameras aimed inside. The players were currently changing in the room and preparing to leave for their warm-up. The main lead of the day, Tony Twain, had yet to arrive. He was probably stuck somewhere, held back by reporters.

Dunn walked over. He shook his head at the three layers of reporters surrounding the doors, and walked in.

Just as Dunn was about to enter, an outburst of noise came from the outside. He did not need to stretch his neck for a view to know who arrived.

Tang En saw the reporters surrounding the door and took the initiative to wave and greet them. He beamed. “Everyone, it’s been a while.”

Some of the reporters greeted him back.

“Thank you very much for your concern, but I hope you guys can make way…” He pointed to the door. It had been completely sealed off by the media.

“If you have any questions, you can ask after the match ends. My apologies, but I don’t have much time.” The reporters opened a path for him, and he strode into the locker room, closing the doors.

The reporters who had yet to disperse heard a burst of laughter from within the locker room.

※※※

“Everyone. You’ve all missed me, haven’t you? I’ve missed you too. Do you know why I’m only here now? I’ll tell you. It’s because I nearly walked up to the spectators’ stand.”

The players burst into laughter.

“Fortunately, I was stopped by one of the field’s staff on my way there. He asked me very strangely, ‘Mr. Tony, have you been suspended again?'” Tang En mimicked the expression and tone of the other party remarkably.

The laughter grew even more uproarious.

“I have to thank the staff who boldly spoke up. And I’m sure at the same time, Everton’s people would be hopping mad hearing about it, because they’ve lost a chance to beat us.”

Tang En grinned as he watched everyone laugh.

“I’m back, everyone. It’s no big deal.”

Like a dose of tranquilizers, his words calmed the worry and anxiety in the players’ hearts. It was obvious from how they could still laugh carefreely before the start of the match.

The mainstay of their team was back. There was truly nothing to be afraid of now. So what if it was an away match? No matter what, they had their Head to back them up.

“We’ve already gotten no wins for three straight rounds in the League matches, with two losses and one draw. I think the situation can’t be any much worse, so there’s no need to worry. Just let go and play well. Today, play exactly how you normally would. It’s not at all important who our opponents are.”

Tang En’s confident smile made the team feel as if it were true; it truly did not matter who their opponents were. The low morale from the past few matches rose instantly, returning to the maximum in a blink of an eye.

Dunn quietly watched by the side. With his personality, it was impossible for him to do something like using words to encourage the team.

※※※

Moyes greatly valued this match. Though his opponents were having a rough streak recently, he did not underestimate them. In fact, with Tony Twain’s suspension lifted and his return to the team, Moyes was even more alert.

This match was going to be a tough fight; Nottingham Forest was difficult to deal with. He knew all that. But, of course, knowing it and doing it were two different things. The same went for doing it and achieving the desired effect.

On their home field, Moyes sent out their strongest formation to welcome the battle against a Nottingham Forest without George Wood. Since George Wood’s suspension, Forest’s starting defensive midfielder had consistently been the Chinese, Sun Jihai. It was also the breaking point that gave Arsenal the win. Moyes also hoped to find an opportunity to gain a victory from there; their main offense was set in the middle to launch a strong assault against Sun Jihai.

Naturally, Tang En would not willingly allow the opponents to do that. Albertini donned his armor and entered battle, defending with Sun Jihai. Arteta and Rafael van der Vaart both did not start. Forest had placed two defensive midfielders in the center of their midfield. Their attacks were entirely dependent on the wings and occasional long passes from Albertini.

Pepe had yet to recover from his injury, so Kompany and Piqué partnered up as the center backs.

Tang En showed a defensive stance in the away field. It appeared he was gunning for a draw.

Everton’s lineup was not weak. They were considered to be a level of mid-to-upper tier strength within the English Premier. Their goalkeeper was Tim Howard, loaned from Manchester United; centerbacks were the strong Nigerian, Joseph Yobo, and Lescott, loaned from Wolverhampton Wanderers; rightback was Phil Neville, Gary Neville’s brother, who transferred from Manchester United; leftback was Nuno Valente, Portugal’s national team player; midfield-wise, their core players were Australian national team player Tim Cahill, former Netherlands’ national footballer Andy van der Meyde, Scotland’s national footballer James Mcfadden, as well as Ireland’s national player Lee Carsley; forwards were former South Hampton’s best shooter, “Saint” James Beattie, and Andrew Johnson, whose speed was considered incredible in the English Premier League.

With this lineup, it would be no problem for them to fight for the qualifications of the Champions League. On the League rankings, Tang En’s Nottingham Forest was currently sitting right above Everton—Forest Team was ranked seventh and Everton was ranked eighth. They had the same number of accumulated points. If Everton beat Nottingham Forest in the match, Moyes’ team would surpass Forest. Furthermore, if Arsenal and Aston Villa stumbled in this round, it was very possible for Moyes to shoot up and become the fifth in the League rankings.

Tang En had the same idea.

Wood could not play, so he made the entire team work to make up for the defense of his position. Their offense was entirely dependent on counterattacking. Tang En iced Anelka on the bench, but there was no real loss to Forest’s attacking speed. The speed of the two flanks continued to be terrifying.

Forest’s attacks were still dependent on launches from the two wings for this match. However, Ashley Young was not the starter for the match. The starter for the right wing was Lennon, who was equally quick and also excelled at dribbling and breakthroughs; he had outstanding control over the ball.

Tang En’s intentions were for every offensive player to have the chance of barging into the opponent’s penalty zone with the ball and threatening them, or shooting and scoring, all without the support of the team. Currently, the team did not have that much energy to support them, so the offense could only depend on individual capabilities.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was also on the field. His mission, rather than shooting and scoring, was more about providing support for Ribéry, Lennon, and Eastwood, who would all be cutting forward from behind, by attracting the defensive firepower away from the three.

In the 27th minute of the first half, Everton’s strategy of forcefully attacking through the middle finally reaped some rewards. Andrew Johnson successfully reversed the offside and received a direct pass from Cahill. Getting past Edwin van der Sar, he shot the football into the empty goal.

“Andrew Johnson—in this moment, he is the hero of Goodison Park!”

Huge waves emerged from the sea of blue on the spectators’ stand, as if they were trying to extinguish the red flames squeezed in a corner.

Even faced with a ball loss, Tang En was not mad. He did nothing. He didn’t need to worry about some things with Albertini on the field.

Captain Albertini picked up the ball from the goal net. He smacked their faces and drummed up the team’s morale. “It’s no big deal! Let’s return the favor!”

After placing the football in the center circle, he ran to Ribéry, Lennon, Eastwood, and Ruud van Nistelrooy one by one and directly instructed them, “You guys focus on running forward. Don’t be concerned about if you can receive the ball. Passing is the responsibility of the guys behind. Scoring goals, that’s your job!”

The four nodded. They believed in their captain just as they believed in their teammates.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest kicks off again. Van Nistelrooy kicks the ball out, and he’s now running forward. The ball has been passed to Albertini. He’s looking around to observe the situation. Cahill comes forward! Oh! He’s been passed! Long pass! Albertini suddenly makes a long pass! Lennon has gone all out to chase the ball, beautiful! He stops… and passes center! Van Nistelrooy lets the ball drop forward instead! Freddy…. EASTWOOOOOOOOD!!”

“A brilliant combination! The ball is in! Thirty seconds after kick-off, Nottingham Forest equalizes the score! This is incredible! Look at the faces of Everton’s players; they are still immersed in their joy of taking the lead!”

Seeing Eastwood head the ball into the net from the drop point further back, Tang En jumped up in excitement. His players were really making him proud!

“This is Eastwood’s fifth goal in the current season! After being absent previously for half a season, due to his injury, his condition finally recovered. With Ruud van Nistelrooy protecting him in front, his forward cut from the back made it impossible for his opponent’s defensive line to guard against!

Tang En lifted his eyes to scan the stands. Even though George Wood was currently suspended and training with the reserves, Tang En still requested for him to watch the matches live as much as possible. There was a lot he could learn from them.

Hey, George. Did you see that? Did you see everything that happened before the goal? That is your goal. When Demi retires, you have to be like him, sending out precise passes to your teammates at crucial moments and helping them break through to score.

Wood was sitting on the stands. Assistant manager Kerslake, who was still suspended from matches, was next to him. He was currently talking to Wood about the goal.

“Because the position of a defensive midfielder is closer to the back, their viewpoint is broader than their teammates in other positions,” Kerslake said, clenching his fists. “The more they can see, the more spots they can come up with. Sometimes, you’ll be able to see and think of positions that your teammates can’t. You only need to pass precisely, and you can send the football to any corner of the football field. Did you know that? Any corner! As long as you want to, you can pass it to a spot that is completely beyond the opponent’s imagination. And then, you can deal a fatal blow!”

Wood did not answer him. He was in a daze looking at Albertini in the field, celebrating the goal with his teammates. Out of all that Kerslake said, only one sentence moved him: “You can send the football to any corner of the football field.” He had to admit, the feeling of being able to think about something and achieve exactly that was incredible.

※※※

The speedy equalization of the score boosted the morale of Nottingham Forest tremendously, and at the same time, dealt a massive blow to Everton’s morale.

After that, Forest Team almost managed to overtake the score before the end of the first half. If not for Phil Neville hooking the ball out when it got on the goal line, Nottingham Forest would have brought a score of 2:1 with them into the locker room.

However, what Forest Team did not achieve in the first half, they accomplished in the second.

Seventeen minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest used a beautiful direct free kick to pierce through the ten-fingered gates of US’s national goalkeeper, Tim Howard.?The scorer was the youngest player on the team, Gareth Bale. He played as a starter in this match, and continuously assisted in the offensive efforts from the left wing, so much so that he squeezed Ribéry into the middle. He had finally managed to score a goal. To him, that was the greatest praise and honor he could receive.

The match was not over yet. After scoring, Bale was even more excited. His assists from the left wing became sharper and sharper. Nearing the end of the match, when Everton was trying to equalize the score and pressed forward, Bale took the opportunity to do a combination with Ribéry on the flank. His remarkable breakthrough and pass to the center found Ribéry, who had cut into the middle, a fantastic opportunity to shoot at the goal. It was the third time Forest sent the ball into Howard’s goal.

Originally, Moyes had made very meticulous defense arrangements to ward against Forest’s attacks from the flanks. The arrangements ranged from retreating for defense to using the offense to suppress them. However, he did not expect Bale’s activeness to squeeze Ribéry out into the middle. With that, his strategy, which was highly specialized, lost its target.

Though Ribéry’s movement to the middle was done out of helplessness, it sparked a magical effect. Bale sprung to life, getting one assist and scoring one goal. Ribéry regained his liveliness as well. Without being constrained to the flanks, he became more threatening. Moving from the wings to the middle, he managed to score a goal.

Everyone around cheered for their victory. Tang En however, sat in the manager’s seat, rubbing his chin in contemplation of something he had thought of.

Until the final moments of the match, he sat there in a stupor. No one knew what Tang En was thinking about.

He only refocused when Dunn abruptly made contact with his arm.

“It’s time to shake hands with Moyes.” He pointed to the left. Moyes had already gotten up from his seat in the technical area.

“The match is over?” Tang En was surprised.

“What were you thinking about, Tony?” Dunn was taken aback as well.

Tang En chuckled in delight. “I’ll tell you when we get back. You’ll be interested.”

He stood up and walked towards Moyes with an outstretched hand, ignoring the mystified Dunn.

“I’m really sorry, but we’ve won again, David.” He winked.

“Looking at your face, I really have the urge to punch it,” Moyes, the losing party, said helplessly.

“Haha! There are too many people who want to punch me. You’ll have to get in line, David.”

Chapter 486 - The Storm Chapter 34 Brewing Transformation

Twain kept quiet on his way back from Liverpool. Everyone in the bus was celebrating their first win in four games, but Twain did not say a single word. Some people thought he was angry again, but that was not the case. He was mulling over that inspiration he’d found during the game.

After his breakout performance in the first two seasons, Ribéry’s traits had been thoroughly studied by his opponents. He was no longer a secret weapon in the Premier League team. Everyone knew that Tony Twain needed Ribéry to break through on the flank. Providing that the flank was jammed, the threat of Ribéry would be gone.

Let’s take a look at this season ...

By right, Ribéry should be more capable than that ...

Twain carefully searched his memory. After the World Cup, Ribéry went to Bayern Munich and quickly became a core player. If he was a player who could only serve a purpose on the flank, how could he become the core of a powerhouse team like Bayern Munich?

Twain rarely watched the televised broadcast of the Bundesliga. He also did not care much about the news over there. But he knew that Ribéry could immediately succeed in a different position. It must have had something to do with his ability. If he could be the core at Bayern Munich but was restrained in the Forest team, then surely it must be him who was not doing his job well here.

Twain had thought about this issue before the game against Everton. Why did Ribéry’s performance show an overall downward trend as they entered into their third season in the league tournament? There was definitely something wrong.

In the game against Everton, Twain believed he had found the problem: his position.

A player like Ribéry should never be confined to just be active on the flank. He was not like Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon. He was more of an all-rounder and had remarkable awareness. To only keep him on the flank was like putting shackles on his running legs.

During the game against Everton, as Gareth Bale was unexpectedly in an excellent form, he not only took on the two missions of offense and defense alone, he also squeezed Ribéry into the middle. It was due to lack of a better option, but it allowed the team to reap a third goal.

What did this signify? There must be a reason for anything that happened. The third goal would not materialize for no reason.

All Twain had to do was to connect the dots.

Obviously, the goal was made after Ribéry went to the middle. On the flank, Ribéry did more passes and assists, with fewer direct shots at the goal. He would have the best chance of a shot only if he went to the middle. Gareth Bale had matured and could take on more responsibility on the flank. By handing him the left flank, Ribéry would be freed up.

In other words, by placing Ribéry in the middle, he could maximize the roles of the two players. There was no doubt about it.

All right, here comes the problem.

If everything on the football field is so simple, there won’t be so much unpredictability.

If Ribéry goes to the middle... What about van der Vaart? What about Eastwood? What about the Arteta?

I can’t just sacrifice the interests of the rest of the players in the middle in order to unshackle Ribéry?

Changing his position was not an issue, but the possibility of the actual operation was very low.

This required the manager to deliberate. How could he maximize everyone’s function without sacrificing the interests of the rest of the team?

Twain thought about the tactics often used by Real Madrid during Vicente del Bosque’s time. Even when Real Madrid had midfield superstars like Figo and Zidane, they did not set up an attacking midfielder. The famous Spanish manager, Bosque, used a bizarre approach to solve the problem of too many Real Madrid superstars.

Figo was still active on the right flank which he was most familiar with, while the attacking midfielder, Zidane was not positioned in the middle of the midfield. He went to the left flank and was a left midfielder in the formation. In practice, however, Zidane played as an attacking midfielder in the left midfielder position; he would constantly run to the middle. His left midfielder position was just a front. He did not function as side midfielder. It would have been such a waste for Zidane to play as a side midfielder.

Therefore, he was a left midfielder in the formation but played as an attacking midfielder in the actual game. It did not affect Zidane’s play, and also did not affect the rest of the other players’ performances in the midfield. What about the left flank? As everyone knew, Roberto Carlos’ assists on the left flank were unbeatable. If Zidane was fixed on the left flank, it would render Carlos’s power useless. When Zidane moved to the middle, Carlos was given free rein in the left flank. He could plunge in to attack or withdraw for defense. In any case, the small-statured Brazilian fullback could run fast.

How was this similar to the current situation with the Forest team?

Although Gareth Bale was not as good as Carlos, he was considered outstanding among the younger generation. His ability to assist was really good for a fullback. It would be inefficient to just let him be a fullback.

And Ribéry was known as “the new Zidane.” The two players even played the same role.?What about if he took a leaf out of Real Madrid’s book?

Twain deliberated for a long time and finally rejected this idea. The Real Madrid of that time and the current Nottingham Forest were still different. Zidane went to the middle in order to give full play to Carlos’s ability to assist on the flank. At that time, Real Madrid’s offense in the middle was dependent on Zidane and Figo. Makelele was a defensive midfielder, similar to what Wood was currently.

However, the Forest team also had van der Vaart, an indisputable attacking midfielder. If Ribéry went over, what would the Dutchman do? Originally everyone played their own roles, minded their own positions, and played together in harmony. If Ribéry were to go to the middle, it would break the current balance. The Forest team’s entire midfield would have to be rebuilt.

It would be another transformation.

Transformation implied an uncertain future, which was a risk.

※※※

The bus drove into the Nottingham area, and Twain snapped back from his contemplation.

“Tony?” Dunn quickly asked when he saw Twain stir. He had been observing him as he sat next to him.

“Ah—” Twain did not answer Dunn. He raised his hands and stretched his back. He moved his body, stiff from sitting on the bus.

“Were you asleep, Tony?” David Kerslake asked, concerned. “I saw that your head was turned to the side and you were quiet.”

“I’m not Zhang Fei,” murmured Twain.

“Who’s Zhang Fei?” Kerslake was confused.

Next to him, Dunn explained to him, “He was a very powerful general in ancient China. Legend had it that he slept with his eyes opened.”

“Oh, I see. Then what were you thinking about?”

“I’ll tell you when we’re back.” Twain looked out of the window at the night view, becoming increasingly familiar as they quickly entered the Nottingham district. “Stay back after the team is dismissed.”

The two men nodded.

The bus bypassed the glittering city center and drove straight into the Wilford training base, where the players were dismissed. They went home or somewhere else to have fun. It was already late in the evening. Bars and some red-light venues were lively.

Twain did not ask what the players were going to do. He just reminded them to be on time for tomorrow’s training in the afternoon as they were dismissed.

After everyone left, Twain walked back to his office with his two assistant managers.

Twain turned on the lights and took a videotape of the season’s games from Dunn—the Forest team would record every game, which was different from the televised broadcast footage. They did not take the viewers’ feelings into account. They only recorded for their own use. With the game shot from the coach’s point of view, it was not meant for those ordinary fans to watch.

After putting the videotape into the VCR and waiting briefly, the image of the game appeared on the television screen.

“There’s nothing to watch in the front portion,” Twain said as he pressed the fast forward button on the remote control.

It was not until he saw Ribéry shoot the goal that completely locked in the victory that he released the button and rewound.

“Here, watch closely.”

He repeated the scene of the goal several times and then asked, “What do you think?”

Dunn stared at the television screen wordlessly, and Kerslake opened his mouth several times but did not say anything.

“We didn’t let Ribéry go to the middle before this game, did we?” Twain asked. He did not like to open up a topic as soon as he started a discussion. He liked to slowly steer and let the other party in the conversation to speak out themselves.

Kerslake shook his head. “No. The tactics for this game are no different from what we use normally.”

“Bale’s play stemmed entirely from his remarkable individual form,” Dunn added at the side.

“The little monkey has been in good form during training these days,” Kerslake continued, “because you’re back.”

Twain smiled at the last remark. He was well aware that Bale worshipped him.

“Bale’s play was a nice surprise for me,” said Twain. “His hyperactivity caused Ribéry to lose his flank position, and he was forced to go to the middle.”

The two assistant managers nodded in agreement. They saw it.

“Initially, I thought Ribéry went to the middle because he had no other choice. I didn’t think...” said Twain as he pointed to the frozen television screen. “Bale assisted Ribéry to make that goal. This goal brought up a lot of questions as to how it happened. Why was it from this position? Why did Bale assist Ribéry, rather than assist van Nistelrooy or Eastwood?”

Twain threw these questions at his two partners.

Dunn was in deep contemplation again. Kerslake also stared at the television screen. Although the video was paused, the entire process of that goal was imprinted in their minds. It was clear in their minds without the need to watch the video again.

“Regarding the decline in Ribéry’s state this season, do you have any thoughts?”

When Dunn heard Twain say this, he looked up. “Ribéry and Bale were both unfettered.”

Twain clasped his hands together and laughed. “Dunn is smarter. That’s right, that’s what I’m getting at.” He immediately revealed everything about the issue he had pondered on the bus.

He listed the upsides and downsides of doing it.

Kerslake was excited when he initially heard the upsides and wanted to put this idea into practice. But after he listened to the downsides, he suddenly became quiet.

“This is a double-edged sword,” Twain said. “I think it’s time for the Forest team’s tactics to change. We can’t stick to the previous set. Our strength and goals were different then, and our tactical ideas would obviously have to be different. The two flanks work well together, but if we only rely on our flanks to soar, we cannot go beyond England for the rest of our lives. Why did we lose to Fulham? Because our flanks were restricted and our offense in the middle was still not fully formed. We had no other way when we faced our opponent’s tight defense. Luckily it was just the Fulham team. If we were dealing with a strong European team in a crucial Champions League game and we lost, you and I would have had a hard time.”

The two men nodded repeatedly at his words.

“I used to think too much ball possession was useless. Now I have to make a change. We used to be an underdog team and our opponents were better than us. We had to huddle and defend. We could only score through counterattacks. Under these circumstances, too much ball possession would only slow down the speed of our attacks and was not conducive to our counterattacks. Our situation is reversed now. Look at our game with Fulham.” Twain attached great importance to the first defeat of the new season. He often used that game to illustrate the problem. “Our opponent withdrew and defended. They waited for the opportunity to hit us from behind. And our team was pressing on them and had absolute control of the ball. Isn’t that ironic?”

Having said that, he came to a sudden stop and just stared at the television screen in a daze.

Twain suddenly remembered the time he was in Kenny Burns’ pub talking to Des Walker and Ian Bowyer about his theory on the “futility of ball possession.”

At that time, he had just transferred. He was an unfortunate man facing an unknown fate and could only take one step at a time. He impulsively pushed his new theory to them in the pub. Now that he thought about it, he did not consider what he would do if his suggestion had been rejected at that time. His luck was surprisingly good; everyone accepted it.

Those coaches, Des Walker and Ian Bowyer, were completely jolted by his outstanding speech and did not consider too many details.

What kind of real ability and knowledge did he have at that time? Not a d*mn bit! Besides being able to bullsh*t, he was only a hardcore fan who had nothing better to do than to blindly learn by watching the games. He did not understand anything until he read the notes that Dunn had left behind. He only knew how to put his head down and tackle things head on. And he actually managed to break through.

Should I say I was blessed?

Ah, life...

A dumbass could also become a professional football team manager. A young boy who should have had a bright future ahead of him but lost his life in a fans’ riot... Destiny, if it does exist, must be rotten to the core.

Michael’s answer to his questioning in the pub was now clear in retrospect. He could still clearly recall it. But that man was gone now. He had left this country that brought sadness to him, far away from the sport that he once worshipped but hurt him the deepest.

“What the f**k are you talking about, Mr. Twain? Of course we love winning and we would also love for the team to return to the Premier League after this season. What we would love the most is for the team to be the next season’s f**king champion in the damn league, and to be the king of Europe the season after that!”

Apart from not getting the league title, we almost became the motherf**king king of Europe. Do you see all this, Michael?

※※※

“Tony?” Kerslake called out when he saw Twain suddenly lost in thought.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Where were we?” Twain snapped out of his reverie and met the two men’s concerned gazes.

“You said we should have a lot of ball possession in the game,” Dunn prompted.

“Well, yes. It’s time for us to have more ball possession than our opponents. Although I’m reluctant to, I have to accept this reality. We’ve been treated like a strong team in the league tournament by our opponents. We can’t expect otherwise anymore. So, we have to change some things from the past: ideas, tactics. It’s time to re-emphasize ball possession.”

The team’s status and mentality had changed, so the thinking had to change as well.

The theory that ball possession was ineffective was no longer applicable to Nottingham Forest anymore. Previously under the guidance of Twain’s tactical thinking, Nottingham Forest was used to the fast-paced competition, and even their blunders were fast-paced. But now they had to learn to slow down their pace. They needed to have a solution for when they were dragged into a quagmire by their opponents and could not accelerate. Otherwise, Nottingham Forest would always be a dark horse and disruptor.

They needed to learn how to control the ball and how to rely on their own ball control to mobilize the opponent’s defense so that the opponent would follow their pace, all of which were new subjects to Twain’s Forest team.

When they heard Twain say that, the two assistant managers looked at each other. They knew what this decision meant. The training program that the team had always adhered to would be revised. It was not a simple matter of standing in front of the team to say a few words of encouragement. To play a smooth and beautiful coordinated offense in the game would cost continuously repeated drills on the training ground. This would require the hard work of the entire coaching unit behind the scenes.

The Forest team’s coaching unit had long been used to letting Twain to appoint the policies, and then they would refine and implement the specific work models.

Dunn nodded. “I also think it’s time for the team to make a change.”

Kerslake agreed as well. “Ribéry’s position is just a start. This is a transformation of the entire team.”

“We don’t have to worry too much yet.” Twain waved his hand when he saw that his two partners agreed with his ideas. “Such massive transformation has to be handled slowly, we can’t rush. I don’t want the transformation to be a big shock to the team. The results are certain to fluctuate, and that’s fine. But we have to make sure we don’t lose the Champions League, whether it’s the qualifier for next season or the title of this season!” He clenched his fist.

“Okay, I’m sorry to have delayed you for so long. Come back tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss with our colleagues in the coaching unit to see how we should make the changes. Go home and don’t make your wife wait too long.” He got up and patted Kerslake on the shoulder.

※※※

On the way back into the night, Dunn, who was walking with Twain, suddenly asked, “What were you thinking about just now when you were lost in thought?”

“Just thinking of the days when I first came here.” Twain did not use the poor excuse of “nothing” to avoid the past. There was nothing to be ashamed of during that time.

“Is it unbearable to recollect? Dunn saw that Twain was frowning when he was immersed in his memories.

When he heard Dunn’s question, Twain turned to look at him and then smiled. “No. To me, there may be no better memories than of those days.”

“Even if you win more championships?”

“It can’t match it.” Twain shook his head with determination. “Dunn, a thing like a championship title, if I want to win it, there will be plenty for the take. I can win so many I’m tired of them. But there are some things and some people that once they are lost, you’re never going to get them back.” He looked up at the bright moon in the night sky.

Chapter 487 - The Reserve Team

Before the day’s training began the next morning, Tang En called for a meeting with the other coaches in the team. He wanted to discuss the matter of reforming their strategies. Tang En related to everyone about what he and the two assistant managers had discussed. Everyone felt differently about the matter.

Some felt that Forest Team’s previous strategy was very successful and did not need to be reformed. Losing to Fulham FC was only an accident. The loss of a single match could not be used as a reference. On the other hand, there were also others who felt that a reformation was needed, just not right now. After all, the team had just gone through a period of turmoil; some stability would be important at this point.

Tang En had also considered the various objections himself. He did not use his own position as the Head of the Sports Department to pressure his peers. He answered their doubts one by one and explained his own thoughts.

While a single match loss could be said to be a mere accident, there was always a certainty behind it. Things did not occur without a reason. There had to be a reason for its appearance. After all, “what is reasonable is real, and that which is real is reasonable.” Their loss to Fulham was of course somewhat attributed to manager Tang En’s arrogance in underestimating their opponents. However, when Tang En stopped taking them lightly, he found himself without a different set of strategies to break through the opponents. Perhaps Tang En could have the team be more alert and go all-out the next time they meet such an opponent. That way, they could use the overwhelming difference in their abilities to end the match. But what if they met with a team at about the same level of capabilities as them? What would they do then?

When the time came for them to have to face that, raising their alertness and doing their best might not be enough for a victory. A manager’s wisdom was not solely for the purpose of reminding everyone not to underestimate their opponents.

Regarding the question of changing the strategy now or later, Tang En felt that he did not mind some more unrest since it was already so unsettled currently. He would rather have the terrible things happen all at once than have it come around more frequently. Furthermore, a reformation did not necessarily mean that unrest was inevitable. While there would surely be some ups and downs, there would be no harm to the foundation of the team if they managed it well. This was only a strategic adjustment, not a major cleansing of the lineup.

At last, he managed to convince everyone. They agreed that it was necessary for the team to change.

But how were they going to proceed with the reform?

That was Tang En’s homework for the coaches.

“We have all the time to do this. We can proceed slowly; I’m in no rush,” Tang En said. “This is a massive undertaking, so we can’t rush it. I have a beautiful picture in my mind, but I need everyone’s hard work to help me complete it!”

※※※

The directive for a change in the team became fixed. With a goal, things became much easier. Everyone’s job was to take steps to reach their goal.

Dunn had a strong operational capability. With him around, Tang En did not need to worry about such matters. The team was training every day as usual. After winning a match, everyone’s morale was high. The dreadful situation before had already passed. Even if the next opponent they welcomed was a strong team like Chelsea on their home grounds, they believed that the future held something wonderful.

Although their next opponents were Chelsea, Tang En did not spend his whole day holed up in his office doing research on them. It was simply unnecessary to specifically analyze Mourinho’s Chelsea. This was not because Tang En was underestimating his opponents again, Tang En was simply too familiar with the team. In fact, he believed that it was a team that all the other opponents in the English Premier League were also extremely familiar with. Mourinho’s wild and arrogant personality, while bringing him success in his career, also brought him tremendous attention. Everyone hoped to defeat that arrogant man, just as they all hoped to defeat Tony Twain’s football team. Furthermore, there was an important difference between Chelsea and Forest Team: Chelsea was extremely rich. The mentality of viewing the rich with enmity could be found anywhere. So, every team became particularly enthused when it came to fighting Chelsea. It was not difficult to understand why Reading FC would be so crazed about beating Chelsea back in the world Tang En lived in.

Thanks to Tang En, nothing happened in the match that just happened between Chelsea and Reading FC. ?ech very peacefully guarded the goal until the end of the match. Chelsea took away an easy win with a score of 3:1.

Instead of researching his opponents, Tang En took out time to watch a reserve team match instead.

After George Wood got suspended, Tang En placed him in the reserve team. On the record, he made it sound as if he was punishing Wood for his rashness. In truth, however, it was to prevent Wood’s condition from deteriorating from not having any matches to play in. Usually, Wood would train with the First Team. When it came to the weekends they needed to go for matches, he joined the reserve team instead.

The matches for the reserve team oftentimes took place a day earlier than First Team matches. On the day before their match with Chelsea, the team only trained for half a day. Tang En, who was free in the afternoon, dragged Dunn along with him to City Ground to watch the reserve team’s match.

In the first half, Tang En discovered that Wood was obediently glued to his position as a defensive midfielder, doing the usual job of defending.

In this match, the opponents of Forest’s reserve team were Chelsea’s reserve team.

Forest’s abilities were not as strong as Chelsea’s. However, because of Wood’s presence, the attacks from Chelsea’s reserve team were of little threat. However, Tang En was shaking his head as he watched from the outside.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” he told Dunn, who was standing by his side. “If we let Wood continue to do this, it’ll be no use for him to continue to play on the reserve team.”

“Are you intending to talk to McParland?” Dunn pointed to the reserve team coach sitting at the manager’s seat.

Dunn and Tang En did not inform the reserve team coach of their intent to watch the match, nor did they watch from the manager’s seats. Instead, they chose to watch from the spectators’ stands, which were from a higher viewpoint.

There were not many people watching the reserve team’s match. Most of those who came were hardcore fans. The two stood in a corner of the stands and did not attract much attention.

“I’ll have to say something. If this goes on, it’ll be a waste of a training opportunity for Wood.”

When halftime arrived, Tang En and Dunn walked off the stands and went to the locker room. There, he asked for the reserve team coach, McParland.

“You’re here, Tony?” As Tang En did not greet him prior, McParland was not expecting him to come to watch the match.

“We’ve watched half of it.” Tang En nodded. “Ian, push George slightly forward in the second half. Give him more opportunities to participate in the offense and tell him there’s no need to defend.”

Ian McParland was surprised. “We’re not letting him defend?”

Dunn supplemented from the side, saying, “Tony wants to see George’s performance in the offensive.”

McParland understood what he meant and asked, “Should it also be the same for the next three matches?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I understand. Uh, do you want to go in and say a few words?” The reserve team coach pointed to the locker room.

Tang En shook his head with a smile. “No need. You’re the boss here.”

McParland was elated to hear Tang En say this. He extended another enthusiastic invite. “Why don’t you watch from the manager’s seats instead?”

Dunn shook his head again. “It’s good watching from the angle at the spectators’ stands too. Thank you, Ian.”

“Go ahead with your work, Ian.” Tang En let him return to the locker room. Then he and Dunn went back to the spectators’ stands.

This time, however, they were recognized by some fans on the stands, and everyone surrounded them asking for signatures. Tony Twain was a star. It had nothing to do with Dunn, so he slipped out stealthily.

“I would really like to know the kind of thoughts manager Dunn is having right now.” All of a sudden, a woman’s voice sounded from behind him.

Without turning back, Dunn already knew who it was saying it. A woman speaking in Mandarin? Who else could it be other than the reporter, Tang Jing?

“Why did Ms. Tang come to watch a reserve team match?” Dunn asked with his head cocked.

Tang Jing stood in front of him, smiling as she said, “Because the two of you are here.”

“How did you know we would be here?”

“Because George Wood is here.” She pointed to the field below. “Everyone on earth knows how concerned manager Tony Twain is about his beloved general. It was announced that this was a punishment for George Wood’s rash behavior. But in truth, he’s afraid of Wood’s conditions deteriorating because he couldn’t play for eight straight matches, no?”

“This isn’t the time for an interview, Ms. Tang.”

“Can’t we even chat casually?” Tang Jing showed him her hands. “Look. I didn’t bring anything. No reporter’s ID, recorder pen, camera, or notebook. I even bought a ticket to get in.” She took out a football ticket from her pocket and waved it.

Faced with such persistent people, Dunn would be unable to frighten her into backing down even if he purposely put on a cold face. So, he asked, somewhat helplessly, “Why are you so curious about Tony?”

“Manager Dunn, you’re wrong. I’m not interested in him.”

Dunn looked up at her.

“I am interested in you.” Tang Jing smiled gleefully as she pointed to Dunn, who was surprised.

Dunn decided to respond with silence. That was a difficult topic.

Tang Jing did not back down because of Dunn’s silence. She continued, saying, “although the club specially called for a press conference, because of you, to answer everyone’s questions, why do I still feel that the matter is not as simple as you have said? An average Chinese man became a member of the managerial team so quickly just because he had so fortunately met an English professional manager over the internet? I am very curious.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.” Tang En’s voice abruptly sounded, causing Tang Jing to flinch. It had really startled her.

“Are you threatening me, Mr. Tony Twain?” Tang Jing retorted with furrowed brows. Coming around, she was a little annoyed by her own shakiness.

Tang En laughed as he waved his hands. “No, no. Please don’t misunderstand, Ms. Tang. This is not the mob drama, The Godfather. A woman’s intuition can be a very scary thing, right Dunn?” Tang En said, looking at him. The fans by his side had already dispersed. There were only the three of them now.

Dunn was not sure about what Tang En had up his sleeves, so he kept quiet.

“You’re right, Ms. Tang. This man, Dunn, indeed has a secret. And it is an enormous one,” Tang En said secretively to Tang Jing. “But this thing can’t be publicized. Lean a little closer, I’ll whisper it to you.”

Tang Jing felt strange about having to lean closer when there was practically no one in the area. But her curiosity compelled her to obediently place her head beside Tang En’s mouth.

Taking a deep breath, Tang En said, “So, it’s Head and Shoulders…”

“You!” Tang Jing immediately leaped back when she realized she had been deceived, her shame turning into rage.

Tang En, the rogue, laughed even more delightedly. “I’d said that curiosity killed the cat. If I was really a gangster, it wouldn’t be as simple as getting a whiff. You’re really a naive woman who trusts easily.”

“Mr. Tony Twain, would you pay attention to your own image!” Tang Jing said this sternly with a sense of righteousness.

“Do I still have any image to preserve?” Tang En shrugged with open hands. “Don’t you, the media, report that I am an ungentlemanly b*stard demon with horns on my head, wings and tail on my back, sharp teeth and who spews cruel and poisonous words?”

Upon hearing Tang En say so, Tang Jing was momentarily stunned. “That—that is only the evaluation of the English media, not me.”

“Doesn’t that newspaper office of yours do nothing but reprint overseas media all the time?”

“I’ve never done that! Every word I’ve written was typed by me!” Tang Jing could not stand being doubted of her professionalism. She was constantly in an environment filled with doubt of her; entering the newspaper office and coming to England for the long-term, she was always secretly thought of by the others to have achieved it because of her father. No matter what she did, it always seemed as if she depended on her father while her own efforts and talent went completely unseen.

“Mr. Tony Twain, if you’re angry about my insolence the first time we had met, I can apologize to you! But bearing a grudge like that, are you still acting like a man?” Tang Jing angrily rebuked Tang En and turned to stomp away furiously.

Dunn finally opened his mouth from beside him. “Hey, Tony. That wasn’t very nice? No matter what, she’s a woman…”

Tang En glanced at him. “You should thank me. I saved you.”

“That’s another matter…”

“Oh, oh. You couldn’t watch anymore?” Tang En asked in return. “You were feeling sorry for her? As a man, you wanted to take care of her?”

With his verbal skills beneath his opponent’s, Dunn decided to keep quiet.

“Hey, Dunn. Shouldn’t you consider love?”

Dunn continued to be silent.

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a silent agreement. But it’s nothing really. As the saying goes, which young lady wouldn’t yearn for love, and which young man wouldn’t think of romance. Although you’re already past the age of a youth…”

“I’m going, too.” Dunn made a movement to leave, and Tang En hurriedly grabbed hold of him.

“Alright, alright. I won’t say any more if you’re upset. But I’m not holding a grudge against her. It’s just that every time I see her gleeful face, I want to cut her down and make it impossible for her to throw her arrogance around me. Hey, Dunn. Do you think I’m someone who is especially dark on the inside?”

“It’s no use telling me that. Why don’t you tell it to her…”

Tang En grinned at Dunn.

Dunn also noticed he wasn’t acting like himself. He coughed and went quiet.

“To be honest, if that woman would stop assuming that haughty air, she’d be a real looker…” Tang En said with a rub to his chin.

“The second half is starting,” Dunn reminded him coldly.

The two stopped their unhelpful discussion and put their focus back onto the match.

※※※

As expected, George Wood was pushed to the front in the second half of the match. He was already close to becoming an attacking midfielder.

McParland was not allowing him to defend, but he was still rather uncomfortable with the position he was in. He did not know what he should be doing, or how he should do it. Many times, he could not help himself but retreat to take part in the defense. Very quickly, however, he would be yelled at by McParland to move up.

After over ten minutes of discomfort, George Wood finally realized that he could do nothing but participate in the offense. As a result, Tang En watched happily from the stands as Wood experimented with passing balls to his teammates in front. Although the intentions of his first pass were too obvious and got intercepted midway, it was a good sign.

McParland started hollering at the sidelines again, asking Wood to pass the ball in a more covert manner. The second time, Wood managed to pass the ball accurately to the forward, a direct pass that ripped the defensive line apart.

It was a pity that such a good pass was wasted by his teammates.

Outside the field, Tang En felt as regretful as Wood having missed a goal.

“He has the capability to pass the ball forward,” Dunn said from the side.

Tang En nodded. “You’ve noticed that too? In the last season, both his assists involved this sort of abrupt forward passes in the middle. I think that he would be unsuitable for the wings. Some people are naturally suitable to develop in the wings, while others needed to be put in a broader area, so they have more freedom. George belongs to the latter group. Demi was right. This boy has talent in the aspects of attacking. It’s just buried deeply. Even he himself was not aware of it.”

Following that, Wood’s forward passes increased in frequency. However, due to the crowd of people in the middle and his obvious intentions when passing, his rates of success were not high.

But Tang En did not care about that. What he saw was Wood daring to take the initiative in passing forward. If the lad did not even have the confidence for that, there would be no hope in getting him to perform at his full potential. Having such thoughts was a positive sign.

This was what Tang En was really hoping to see. He was not expecting Wood’s performance today to be like Pirlo or Redondo, directing the team’s match pace with ease and dealing with it all so smoothly.

Tang En and Dunn left before the end of the match. They had seen what they wanted to, and there was still a tough battle awaiting them tomorrow.

“George!” McParland called after Wood. “Good job!” He gave a thumbs up to the First Team captain.

Wood was not as satisfied with his own performance and furrowed his brows. “I don’t think it was any good.”

“It’s progress as long as you’re moving forward, George.” Wood was representative of the team’s Youth Training standards. The coaches at various levels were all especially caring of this genius footballer.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day. Similarly, our future midfield all-rounder isn’t going to be shaped in a single match.” McParland proudly patted Wood’s strong shoulders.

It was no exaggeration to say that these shoulders carried the glorious future of Nottingham Forest.

Just like how AC Milan had Maldini, Real Madrid had Raúl González, Barcelona had Messi, and Liverpool had Gerrard, it was hoped that Nottingham Forest in the future could be proud of George Wood.

You’re our representative, George.

Ian McParland did not say this out loud, but in his heart, he truly believed so.

Chapter 488 - Other than Offense, It’s Still Offense

Tony Twain had forged an indissoluble bond with Chelsea since he became the manager of the Forest team. The Chelsea manager, Mourinho and he were considered the two most idiosyncratic managers still active in the current football world. Although the media exaggerated a bit, it was pretty spot on.

Subsequently, as soon as the two of them appeared together in the Premier League, they would be brought together for comparison. Under such circumstances, it was difficult to avoid any relationship even if they wanted to.

The outside world said Twain and Mourinho were archenemies. They assumed that from the way they both ground their teeth every time they played against each other. But if that was truly the case, how would one explain the fact that Mourinho came forward to help Tony Twain’s player testify in court to solve his work permit issue?

Twain never gave much consideration to his relationship with Mourinho because thinking about it would not help him win a game. It was not as if their relationship was so good that he could call Mourinho to throw a game. And why would he be afraid of Mourinho even if he were an enemy?

Besides, Mourinho was not a beautiful woman. What was the point of him killing his brain cells over worrying about his relationship with him?

He did not care what he and Mourinho really were. He only cared about his team’s record against Chelsea.

Since Nottingham Forest’s return to the English Premier League, it had maintained an unbeaten record against Chelsea, which gave the Forest team a psychological advantage. Last season at this home ground, the Forest team did not lose even under such difficult and risky circumstances. They eventually relied on Bale’s brilliant free kick to break through and score, which turned the tide.

Mourinho’s team rampaged through the English Premier League. No matter what game they played, there were no longer any rivals who had not been beaten by him before. His only sore point was Nottingham Forest under Tony Twain’s command.

This was a good opportunity for him. Since the Forest team’s main defensive midfielder, George Wood, was banned, and thus the midfield barrier was missing, Chelsea’s attacking lineup was unhindered.

Lampard was finally able to play undisturbed. His plug-ins and long shots were quite menacing.

Twain was aware that his team’s weak point was the defensive midfielder. No matter how hard Sun Jihai played, he could not make up for a weakness in ability. If Wenger knew how to make use of that, then Mourinho definitely also knew. Twain decided to give Sun Jihai a break.

However, Twain did not want to his opponent to know. The team had a few days of closed-door training at the last minute. Luckily, the outside world did not think about Twain’s semi-annual “date” with Mourinho.

It was not until an hour before the game, when the media received each team’s list of starters, that everyone was surprised.

John Motson picked up a piece of paper and fluttered it at the camera. “We’ve just received the starting list for both teams. What were we just analyzing just now? Mark?” He looked next to him at the commentator, Mark Lawrenson, who was doing game commentary with him.

Mark Lawrenson touched the newly smooth skin above his lip, having just lost his mustache in a bet against Motson, and said, “I think Twain will stick to his defensive strategy in this game on the home ground. After all, his team is in a bad situation now. Without George Wood, the Forest team’s midfield will struggle to stop Chelsea’s Lampard and others from attacking. Making the young defensive line — made up of Piqué and Kompany — directly confront the Chelsea’s attacking players is just too much pressure.”

Motson nodded. “You’re correct based on the analysis of the pre-match situation, Mark. But if Tony Twain didn’t pull some kind of surprise, he wouldn’t be Tony Twain. We don’t know his specific tactics yet, but from this starting list, we can see that defense is definitely not what he wants.” Motson picked up the list. “The goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, center-backs, Piqué and Kompany, left-back Gareth Bale, right-back, Chimbonda.” He stopped to glance at Mark Lawrenson. “In the midfield, Franck Ribéry, Ashley Young, as well as Albertini and van der Vaart!”

Lawrenson raised an eyebrow.

“The forwards are van Nistelrooy and Eastwood,” Motson continued.

“Gareth Bale is an offensive full-back. His defense is not as good as Leighton Baines’. The defensive midfielder, Sun, was not listed, but rather the Dutchman who is far stronger in offense than defense,” Lawrenson analyzed. “Tony Twain wants to attack Chelsea on his own home ground? Gosh, this game will be a record. This is the first time Manager Twain chose to attack in a game against Chelsea! Furthermore, it’s on his home ground!” Lawrenson mocked.

※※※

“What’s going on here?” Mourinho frowned as he took the other team’s starting list from his assistant. “I thought that coward would be playing defensive tactics again.”

“Evidently Twain wants to play offense with us on his home ground,” His assistant manager, Steve Clarke, said.

Mourinho glanced at him. Any fool could see that Twain was going to attack.

But was the problem that simple?

“Twain is a very cunning man. Something’s not quite right.” Baltemar Brito, another assistant manager, frowned. “Would he deliberately make us think they are going to attack to make us let our guard down?”

This time, Mourinho glanced at the Brazilian. Do they think we’d assume they’re going to attack so we’d let our guard down?

However, Brito was right about one thing: Twain was a very cunning man. Things should not be so simple.

“In any case, we were prepared to use offense to deal with their tight defense. It’s nothing if they decide to press ahead and play. If they want to go head to head with us, they will only have more loopholes.” Mourinho threw the Forest team’s starting list aside and turned to walk into the locker room. It was time to prepare the players for the game.

※※※

On the other side of the field, Twain was already giving his men the day’s task.

“We always retreat to the back of the field, wait for our opponent to attack, and then wait for an opportunity for a sneak attack when we play at home. Does that frustrate you?”

There was a silence as the team processed the boss’s random question. Eventually, Eastwood stood and shook his head. “We’re not frustrated, chief. We enjoy winning.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Twain waved his hand. “I was very displeased whenever I saw our opponents strutting around and pressing on us on our own ground. How could energetic lads like yourselves bear it?”

Someone laughed mischievously.

“We should look and behave like a home team on our home ground. We’re not afraid of Chelsea because they have never won against us. Your job in this game is to score goals and score more goals. Let those Chelsea boys see that we can remain unbeaten by them without relying on defense alone! Attack! And attack! Other than the f**king offense, it’s still offense!”

※※※

While the players of both teams lined up on the sidelines for the media to photograph, Twain and his coaching staff were already seated in the coaches’ seats.

“Tony, do you think depending on offense alone can stop Chelsea?” Kerslake asked..

“Don’t tell me there’s another way we can do it? Defense?” Twain asked.

Beside them, Dunn helped Twain answer, “Attack is the only solution to resolve the crisis. I don’t think Chelsea’s offense is that powerful. We’re not necessarily going to lose by competing in scoring goals.”

Twain smiled at Kerslake. “I’m on the same page too. Assimilating Shevchenko and Ballack with the team did not go well. Mourinho went around a circle before he realized that last season’s lineup could be trusted. Now all of England is saying that without George Wood, our defense is a weak spot for everyone to exploit. I want to show those people why ‘offense is the best defense.’ Hey, David, aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“Looking forward to what?”

“Looking forward to the scene where we press all out and go crazy on offense.”

Kerslake looked up at the sky, as if such a scene was presented in the blue sky.

“It’s really a little hard to imagine. We always seem to be repeatedly on defensive counterattack”

“Then you’d better take a good look at this game today.”

※※※

Just like the analysis from the starting list, Nottingham Forest did not intend to continue with defensive counterattack at its own home ground.

The team captain, Albertini beat out the Chelsea’s captain, Terry in the coin toss. Nottingham Forest made use of their ball possession and began an attack on Chelsea after the kick-off.

Unlike in the past, the Forest team did not launch a quick counterattack. Instead, they kept the football under their feet for a while, looking for a weakness in the opponent’s defensive line.

It was rare for the Forest team to control the ball like this.

After the Forest team moved the ball around for a while, they suddenly launched an offensive. Albertini passed the ball straight to van der Vaart when he had the chance to receive the ball in the middle. However, with his back against the Chelsea player, Essien, van der Vaart found that it was not easy to turn around, so he returned the football to Albertini.

Just as everyone thought Albertini would pass the ball again, he suddenly kicked for a long shot from nearly thirty meters away from the goal.

“Demetrio Albertini!”

Thought the ball was a little far from the goal, ?ech did not ignore it. His intuition told him that the shot was dangerous.

“Petr ?ech! Beautiful save!”

The Czech Republic national goalkeeper flew to the right and used a single punch to strike out the football.

However, it did not go out. The football did not fly toward the sidelines or straight out of the end line. The ball flew towards the flank after ?ech hit it. Ashley Young stepped in front of Ashley Cole and intercepted the ball. Cole was smart enough to choose not to pounce on the ball, but to stay ahead of Young’s way forward, instead.

Everyone knew Ashley Young was king of assists in the English Premier League last season and players like Cole did not dare to be careless. His passing ability was excellent. If there was a slightest bit of inattention, he would pass the football into the penalty area.

Even though Cole was already being careful, Ashley Young still managed to catch a chance. Instead of breaking through with the ball, he directly passed the ball. He kicked quickly and covertly. Before Ashley Cole could even react, the football had flown past his face.

“Head it out!”?ech had not finished speaking and Terry had already jumped up and headed the football away from van Nistelrooy.

When van der Vaart saw the football fly toward him, he did not hesitate to widen his stance, take aim, kick his left leg, and level his body to volley.

It was clever of the Dutchman to choose to shoot directly because the shot was sudden enough to be hidden. The penalty area was filled with players. If the ball accidentally brushed against someone, it was likely to change direction. It could go out of the end line or directly into the goal. Furthermore, with ?ech’s showing off in the crowd, his line of sight was bound to be blocked, which would affect his judgment on the direction of the ball.

As long as it held down, it would be...

There was an eruption of loud cheers at the City Ground stadium, as if they had already seen the football hit the net. But this time, they were wrong. ?ech still made the right call under such difficult circumstances.

Van der Vaart’s shot did not touch anyone and flew straight to the goal. After ?ech stepped slightly to the left, he found that the football had appeared in his field of vision. He immediately leapt out without any hesitation. At a height of 1.97 meters, the goliath stuck his hands out and firmly grasped the flying football from the air.

“He pressed it on the goal line! Nottingham Forest fans were joyous for nothing!”

Van der Vaart held his head in regret when he saw that ?ech had stopped his shot through the cracks in the crowd.

“He’s indeed a world-class goalkeeper, comparable to Buffon!” Motson exclaimed. He did not know what else he could say. ?ech’s performance with this shot was perfection itself.

Twain saw the scene off the field and considered what could have happened to the Czech Republic goalkeeper. But I had sacrificed Paul Gerrard and saved him instead.

He does not have to wear a tank helmet to goalkeep now and he does not have to worry about his form slipping due to injury.

I’m really the living Lei Feng of the new era, a selfless model citizen.

※※※

“Even though they did not score, Nottingham Forest’s offense has made the Chelsea players nervous. They’ve gotten used to the opponent pulling back in the back half of the field and counter-attacking. Now it’s time to change the impression.”

Mourinho turned his head from his seat to look at Twain, who was also seated in the coaches’ bench.

The Forest team had changed a lot this season. He could no longer look at his opponent in the same way as before.

“José, Twain wants to play offense with us.” His assistant coach, Clarke, could see it.

“Then let’s play.” Mourinho shrugged his shoulders. He did not care.

“Do we want to pull back for our defense and play their counterattack?”

Mourinho glanced at him. “What for? Did we ever withdraw to defend when we played against this opponent?”

Clarke shook his head, “Never.”

“That’s right. Our original plan is to attack, and it just so happens that they want to attack us. I know what that bastard Twain has in mind. They can’t defend against our offense, so they want to attack instead. If we pull back due to their offense, then we would have fallen for his ploy. We are not going to withdraw. If they attack, then we will attack. We’ll see whose offense is stronger!” Mourinho absolutely could not stand to be pressed back by Twain and let this sort of thing happen. Tony Twain was not simply an ordinary league opponent to him.

He didn’t just want to win this game. He wanted to win it beautifully. Otherwise, it would give this foul-mouthed guy an excuse.

※※※

Twain was not worried at all by the clash between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. He simply relaxed on the coaching bench.

“Coach Twain doesn’t seem worried about his team’s fragile defense.” Motson lamented, after seeing Twain cross and swing his legs.

“John, you’re right. He does not consider at all whether he can hang on with any of his defenses because it would be useless even if he did. He chose, unexpectedly, to attack in this game and put pressure on Chelsea with offense to make his opponent pull back. This would achieve his purpose for defense.” Mark Lawrenson froze for a moment, suddenly realizing something. “At the end of the day, this man still wants to defend deep down! He’s still a conservative utilitarian coach!”

Lawrenson made no secret of his dislike of this man.

Motson, who also had no intention of improving his perception of Twain, laughed. “But for now, he has succeeded, hasn’t he?”

“Succeeded? Other than an EFL Cup title, has he ever won any of the other tournaments? He did not even win a friendly tournament like the Amsterdam Tournament. John, I don’t know where you get the word ‘success’ from.”

Motson shrugged and did not continue to tangle with this topic.

Bringing a once magnificent team that was close to demotion to England’s third-tier league and plagued by a financial crisis back to the English Premier League, getting to the top in their first season of the UEFA Europa League, and becoming the Champions League runner-up the second season; if these did not count as successes, then countless professional managers in the world would be considered useless.

The BBC’s arrangement was also very interesting. Whenever there was a Nottingham Forest game, and the BBC had the right to broadcast at the same time, the pairing of the commentators would always be “pro-Twain” John Motson and “anti-Twain” Mark Lawrenson. Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen would occasionally come on as guests, but only rarely.

If Twain were to hear Mark Lawrenson’s evaluation of him, he would agree with the evaluation of him by his “enemy.”

He did not think that he was successful now. The reason was simple. He already had experienced four seasons, and all he had gotten was an EFL Cup title, which was of dubious worth. On top of that, he was always one step away from real success. In Twain’s heart, evaluating his success was definitely not based the tactical accomplishments, the discovery of young players, and the affinity with his players. He valued these as results. Only a championship title would prove his success.

Chapter 489 - Reciprocity

The two teams that played more reservedly within the English Premier League, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, chose otherwise when they came across each other. They launched into attacking. Their openness in strategy and play greatly surprised the audience watching the match and had them cheering in excitement.

They discovered that it was spectacular whenever Chelsea and Nottingham Forest went out on the attack against each other. In truth, neither party was lacking good players in their offense. Everyone’s lack of impressions was only caused by the teams’ strategic choices.

What kind of carefreeness did the forwards feel when they no longer had to frequently dash between the two penalty zones?

“Drogba! Long shot! Edwin van der Sar makes another beautiful save! With the two teams clashing head-on, their two goalkeepers are going to be busy.”

“The ball is being passed in front of Chelsea’s penalty zone. Rafael van der Vaart passes it to the side. Gareth Bale comes up and receives the ball. He’s faced with Chelsea’s right-back, Boulahrouz. It’s a new opponent!”

Despite how famous they appeared to be, Bale was not at all afraid of Chelsea. When it came to playing against Chelsea, his psychological advantage was greater than anyone else’s because the battle where he first came to light was also a League match against Chelsea.

He did not care about whoever it was that dashed in front of him. Whether it was Paulo Ferreira, Carvalho, or the new guy, Boulahrouz, he only had one thought in his mind: to break through and then pass to the center.

Boulahrouz had become famous when he successfully marked down Ronaldinho in the match against Barcelona. He was not worried about facing Bale. Would a mere child be as strong as Ronaldinho?

If Bale wanted to break through, he would put himself right in Bale’s path. If Bale kept going forward, they were guaranteed to collide.

“Bale!” Ribéry shouted from the side. He had noticed Boulahrouz’s intentions. He could not let Bale rush into it. “Pass the ball to me!”

It was as if Bale did not hear it. He appeared timid when he was off the field, but he seemed to transform into an old veteran of a hundred battles when he was on it.

Bale pulled the ball towards the outside, running alongside the side lines. Boulahrouz saw his movement and was delighted. Bringing the ball to this sort of dead area, I would like to see how you’re going to break through this!

The Netherlander full-back moved his body to block the inner route and then stretched out his leg to steal the ball. He had it mapped out. Bale would surely avoid nudging the ball inwards because he himself was boxing the position out. If Bale nudged it over, Boulahrouz only needed to swoop in between and Bale would become separated from the ball. Bale certainly knew this, so Boulahrouz predicted that Bale would move from the outer path.

Now that the football was so close to the side lines, it would be all too easy to kick the ball out if Bale took the outer path.

Boulahrouz did not necessarily need to take the ball down himself. So long as he forced Bale to kick the ball out of the side lines, it would be considered a successful defense.

His act of stretching out his leg was only to force Bale into kicking the ball out himself.

Indeed, Bale chose to bump the ball; his right foot nudged the ball outwards to the left, but a second after, his left foot immediately kicked the ball straight forward, and the ball rolled past Boulahrouz along the side lines.

Boulahrouz raised his hand to indicate to the referee that Bale’s ball had gone out-of-bounds but failed to hear the referee’s whistle. Instead, he saw Bale flit past his defense zone; a breakthrough!

“A brilliant breakthrough! Boulahrouz did not expect that!”

After breaking through, Bale lifted his head to look at the penalty zone. Rather than choosing to blindly pass center to the front of the goal — the majority of younger players would do exactly that, an irresponsible and brainless method — Bale passed the ball to Ribéry who had had his hand raised to request for the ball since earlier.

“Shoot!” Bale shouted as he passed the ball out. In the previous League match, it was in precisely this position and with such a combination that Bale assisted Ribéry in scoring a goal. He clearly wanted to go at it again.

But Chelsea did not let him do as he wished. Ribéry already had many Chelsea players surrounding him. It would be more than enough if he could just stop the ball.

Ribéry himself also had no intentions of taking a shot. Before receiving the ball, he had already observed his surroundings. If he tried to take a shot, there was no guarantee as to where the ball would go. He was not so foolish as to waste such a precious opportunity to attack.

From the crowd surrounding him, he suddenly saw a familiar back.

How did he get here?

Ribéry did not care about the details about it, nor did he have the time to. He used the arch of his foot to kick the ball that had just rolled over, and shot it through the space between Essien’s legs.

“Freddy Eastwood!!”

The man who appeared in the gap of Chelsea’s defensive line was the person who had been hiding behind Ruud van Nistelrooy’s back; the low-key shooter, Eastwood!

When Bale broke through, he was still outside the penalty zone. Ruud van Nistelrooy had attracted the attention of both Terry and Carvalho within the penalty area.?As for defending against Eastwood, Mourinho had suggested focusing on guarding his activities whenever he was in the penalty arc area. The Romani had scored quite a few goals in this season, and most of them broke through the goal gates with long shots from this position. His long shots packed a punch.

Everyone took note of his long shots, but no one expected him to be a shadow forward.

What was a shadow forward? It was a character who hid behind the center-back and dealt fatal strikes where there were opportunities.

Eastwood nimbly found a hole he could use within Chelsea’s defensive line. He did not know if Ribéry would pass the ball to him, because he did not tell him that he would appear there. He only resolutely cut forward and believed that Scarface would see him.

True to his prediction, he saw the football rolling between Essien’s legs as he turned back.

Beautiful work, Scarface! Eastwood praised him in his heart. He turned sideways to let the ball pass. Without waiting for Terry and Carvalho to leap at him or giving ?ech a chance to rebalance, he lifted his foot and kicked.

ech did not expect the Romani to take such a decisive shot. He did not drag his foot around it; he immediately kicked without adjusting. ?ech didn’t have the time to move over to block it at the right angle. He could only do his best to leap for the ball, hoping to block the ball out.

The Czech’s national goalie used all his abilities but was unable to stop the ball from flying past his body and into the goal.

“GOOOOAL! A remarkable combination! This is Eastwood’s sixth goal in the season! Romani Rooney is back again!”

“After seeing such a beautiful shot, I’m wondering again: why isn’t he a member of Team England?”

Before Eastwood got injured, he had already been selected for the national team. However, it was not England’s National Football Team. It was Wales’ National Football Team. Back then, he was not yet famous. Naturally, England’s National Team was disdainful of such small-time characters. As Eastwood was born in England, he had the right to represent England. But his grandfather was Welsh, so he had the same right to play for Wales’ National Team. When he had to choose his loyalty to either teams, Eastwood made the choice of being loyal to his grandfather, and therefore Wales.

At the time, England did not think that such a choice had any effect on them. They had so many forwards; Rooney, Owen, Crouch, Walcott, and more. They were not lacking even without the Romani.

Now, however, there were more and more voices who were regretful about Eastwood’s initial choice.

What a marvelous thing it would be for such a consistently scoring forward to serve England!

※※※

Putting aside the matter of which national team Eastwood chose to serve, Nottingham Forest’s fans were surely feeling the greatest bliss at the moment.

“Nottingham Forest takes the lead in their home field against Chelsea. To be honest, I’m not at all surprised about this situation. Tony Twain’s team has a lot of experience beating Chelsea.” The commentator offended all of Chelsea’s fans by saying this.

“What do you mean you’re not surprised! They’re only leading by one goal. What’s the big deal?!” Chelsea’s fans shouted at the television screen, waving their fists. “That d*mned Motson. Now everyone knows he’s a fan of Nottingham Forest!”

※※※

On the sidelines, Tang En’s celebrations after Forest took the lead over Chelsea were always the wildest and most eye-catching. Everyone could still recall an instance in the last season, where Tang En somersaulted to celebrate Bale’s winning goal. This time, everyone watched as Tang En threw punches madly in the air at the side of the technical area, as if he was boxing.

He had absolutely no restraint in front of Mourinho. He was doing this on purpose just to annoy him.

Mourinho’s gaze was attracted to his wild performance, but only for an instant, before shifting away.

“This clown.” he cursed quietly.

The best method to deal with this sort of arrogance from Tang En was not to rush up and scold him for being an idiot, nor was it to ask his subordinates to hurl provocations at the opponent’s technical area. That would only make Tony even more smug. Mourinho understood what kind of character his opponent was.

If he wanted to render Tony speechless, the best way was to score a goal against Forest Team.

Now was a good opportunity to understand Tang En’s true intentions in the match.

Was Nottingham Forest intending to shrink back for defense after scoring a goal, showing no difference than how it had been in the past? Or were they planning to attack all the way to the end and clash head-to-head with Chelsea for the whole 90 minutes?

Mourinho did not become annoyed and anxious because his team had lost a ball. In fact, he did not even stand up from his seat. Five minutes passed. Forest Team did not show any intentions of withdrawing at all. Under Tang En’s strategic direction of “Attack, attack! Other than going on the f*cking attack, keep attacking,” the Forest Team continued to put pressure on Chelsea’s defensive line.

The players earnestly wished to have a hearty fight on their home ground against their old opponents.

It did not feel good being constantly suppressed by their opponents and always going on defensive counter attack.

“Nottingham Forest did not choose to retreat for defense.” Even Clark noticed it.

“That’s good.” Mourinho grinned. “Nothing’s changed. Just keep at our pace.”

Unlike Nottingham Forest’s fiery attacks, Chelsea, who was battling on an away field, was more stable. They did not seem to mind having lost a goal; it did not create any changes in their rhythm. The performance of the players on the field was the same as usual, and Chelsea’s attacks were unhurried and calm. They patiently waited for an opportunity.

Mourinho had already told his own players to be mentally prepared to lose goals when they were playing against Forest. They had to be ready to play an extremely tough match. This was not said on a whim. It came from the experience after having played against Forest Team repeatedly over the past two years. Therefore, it was normal for Chelsea’s players to be able to perform in that manner.

Mourinho firmly believed that the holes in Nottingham Forest’s defensive line would grow as their attacks grew fiercer.

They only had to grasp that one chance, and they would be able to crush Forest Team.

※※※

As the match progressed, both parties fought a spectacular battle against each other. The switch of pace between offense and defense took place rapidly. Throughout the game, the football would be near Chelsea’s goal, causing their rear guards much panic, and 30 seconds later, the ball would have flown to Nottingham Forest’s goal gates, forcing Edwin van der Sar to make another difficult save.

Ff course, the audience was incredibly entertained watching it, but it was not necessarily a good thing for the teams to experience such rapid switching of the match’s rhythm; it also meant a greater number of unforced errors.

When they enjoyed the match, the players would be in a state of excitement. They had more than enough enthusiasm and a lack of coolness. Only Albertini and a few other old veterans were able to keep their heads on straight. Everyone else only thought to attack.

The number of unforced errors committed by Forest Team was gradually increasing. Mourinho looked at the mini laptop his assistant cradled, showing the latest data from the match.

“It’s only the 37th minute of the match, and they’ve already made fourteen unforced mistakes, huh.”

He believed that his players would have noticed this.

After cutting off Lampard’s pass, Chimbonda intended to pass to Ashley Young in front. However, the pass was abruptly stolen by Robben, who dashed up from behind Ashley Young with remarkable speed.

“Chimbonda’s pass was too weak!” Motson exclaimed.

Robben was truly fast. Even Ashley Young could only chase after the Netherland’s “Flying Dutchman,” unable to overtake and intercept the ball.

All he could do now was pray that Chimbonda could stop the fast horse and force him to slow down, giving Ashley Young an opportunity to overtake him.

Chimbonda dashed into Robben’s path.

Robben was running at high speeds and had no intentions of reducing it. Facing Chimbonda, he did not make any excessive movements. He only nudged the ball to the left and at the same time rounded past Chimbonda rapidly on the right side.

He passed separately from the ball.

Chimbonda had already turned towards the ball, but when he realized that Robben was in fact trying to get past separately from the ball, there was already no time for him to turn around again to defend against Robben. He also knew that once he allowed him to break through, it would signify a failure of the defensive line. In his anxiousness, a moment of inspiration struck and he abruptly stuck out his bum.

Robben did not expect Chimbonda to use such an ugly posture to defend under the situation. He had calculated the space needed for Chimbonda to turn, so he used the shortest path and fasted speed to break through. However, he failed to factor in calculations for Chimbonda’s bum.

He slammed directly into it and stumbled for a bit before falling to the ground.

Ashley Young caught up from behind and easily took the ball back. Simultaneously, the whistle of the main referee sounded.

“Foul! Chimbonda, blocking!”

The referee ran over to show a yellow card to Chimbonda. Chelsea’s players, however, were dissatisfied. They felt that Chimbonda should have been fouled out with a red card.

“He’s incredibly fast.” Chimbonda felt remnants of the fright he had felt even after escaping that ordeal.

Ashley Young patted him on his shoulders, giving him a thumbs up. “You already did great. That protruding bum was fabulous!”

Of course, the main referee was not about to change his own judgement call. Chelsea’s players were only trying to vent their grievances and relented very quickly.

As the location of the foul was at the wings, they were not particularly close to the penalty zone. Forest Team’s human wall only consisted of two people while the rest had gone back to defend against the Chelsea players who were prepared to ambush any opponents in the penalty area.

The two full backs, Terry and Carvalho, rushed forward, preparing to head the ball. Naturally, they were prime targets to mark down.

Robben stood in front of the ball. It seemed like he was going to take the penalty himself. Meanwhile, the people who had gone into the penalty zone squeezed against each other and had a minor clash. The main referee went over to mediate, warning the players from both teams not to continue such acts of pulling and pushing. After that, he retreated from the penalty zone and blew his whistle at Robben, signaling for him to take the kick.

Naturally, Forest Team’s players were all focusing on the taller players in Chelsea to prevent them from heading in a goal. But Robben did not follow what they had expected of him — to lob the ball towards the penalty zone — and instead swept the ball twenty meters away horizontally!

This was not a shot at the goal going wide; it was a pass!

His target was Frank Lampard, the player who had been hiding outside without joining the bustle in the midfield from the beginning and could kick outstanding long shots.

“Lampard shoots!”

“There are so many people in the penalty zone. What the heck is he doing, taking a long shot!” Tang En cursed internally. Shooting at the goal under those kinds of circumstances meant there was an 80 to 90% chance of the shot getting blocked out by the crowd who could not tell friend from foe. Chelsea’s player must be muddled from thinking too hard about levelling the score. Choosing to take a direct long shot in such a situation — what could it be but blindness?

Just as Tang En thought that Forest’s crisis was over, he spotted the football changing directions — it was now going completely the opposite direction from Edwin van der Sar’s leap. Furthermore, it seemed like the ball had yet to leave the goal range.

Tang En watched the ball slow down as it rebounded and shakily flitted into the empty goal.

“I- F*ck!” He could not help but explode into a mouthful of Chinese swear words.

“Ah, ah, ah! This is too lucky! Lampard’s shot landed on the body of Forest’s full back, Kompany! It changed directions and did not fly over the end line but found its way into Forest Team’s goal instead! Chelsea equalizes the score!”

“Doggone luck! This is ability! Cheers for Lampard! Chelsea’s got to win!” Chelsea’s fans in the bar raised their beer mugs towards the television screen.

Chapter 490 - The Sun Show

After the first half of the game was over, Twain looked terrible and walked straight back into the locker room with his head lowered. He did not blame the players for their poor performance. He was upset about his bad luck.

Chelsea’s equalizing the score really rendered him speechless. Even though there were so many players in the penalty area, Lampard’s long shot went in.

He thought there was no threat to that reckless shot, but it ended up scoring a goal instead. How could his mood improve?

However, when he saw his players coming back one by one, Twain kept a smile on his face. He could not affect the players with his mood.

“You guys did a good job. We just had a little bad luck, that’s all,” he comforted. “We will still play like that in the second half. Score goals and score more goals. One goal is not enough.” He wagged his index finger.

※※※

On the other side, Mourinho also praised his men, telling them they played well and that he was grateful that they did not panic after they fell behind.

“But I don’t want to get just one point here.” Mourinho shook his index finger and stated, “we have been the league champion for two consecutive seasons. This is the only opponent that we have not won against before. I think this is a disgrace to all of us. In the second half, we’ll still attack. If Nottingham Forest wants to go head to head with us, we’ll show them the consequences!”

“Another thing, Chimbonda already had a yellow card on him. Make use of that in the second half and focus on breaking through him.” Mourinho made a cross in Nottingham Forest’s right back position.

※※※

Both team managers’ layouts during the halftime interval were very simple, as there was nothing wrong with the tactics used in the first half. Any conceding of the goal was within the plan, as was the scoring of the goal. Therefore, no adjustment was required. All the coaches needed to do was continue to boost morale and stick with the tactics and form from first half in the second half. They would only think about making adjustments when a situation arose.

At the start of the second half, the state of the game was the same as the first half. No one could completely suppress anyone, and both sides had a chance. The two teams were evenly matched.

“Two years ago, if we had said that Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were evenly matched, we would have been laughed at, but take a look at this game. What more needs to be said? A year ago, we called Nottingham Forest a dark horse. We would be wrong if we were to call them a dark horse again this season. Tony Twain has succeeded in bringing this team to this point. They should be heading for the championship next, right?”

Mark Lawrenson did not speak. It was a well-known fact; he could not refute it.

Two years ago, everyone would have felt disdainful, unfamiliar, or nostalgic at the mention of Nottingham Forest, but now? One could hate Twain and his team, but no one could ignore what he had accomplished.

※※※

“Chelsea’s offensive is concentrated on our right flank,” Kerslake said to Twain, next to him.

“I can see it.” Twain nodded.

In the first half, Chelsea’s offensive was largely concentrated in the middle, as Albertini and van der Vaart could be exploited. Albertini was older and not as nimble as he used to be. When facing the Chelsea’s ferocious players in the midfield, there was bound to be a moment of inattention. Van der Vaart was solely in offense and not very involved in the defense, so the Forest team’s middle was really a breakthrough point.

Wasn’t Lampard’s goal scored from the middle? If George Wood were around, at least someone would come and cover the position, rather than helplessly watching Lampard kick outside the penalty area and not doing anything.

In the second half, they focused their offensive on the Forest team’s right flank. Obviously, they had discovered a more favorable breakthrough point than Albertini’s — Chimbonda with a yellow card on him.

The entire Forest team was terrified of red cards. Due to the clash with the Reading team, as well as the manager’s accusations of the England’s referee community after the game, the Forest team had become the recipient of the referee’s “special care.” If they were not careful, they could be piled with yellow cards.

Therefore the football club reminded the players to pay more attention to their actions during the tournament and not to be foolish enough to set off the trigger during the crackdown period.

Chimbonda was certainly aware that he had a yellow card on him. If Chelsea took turns bombarding his area, he could not guarantee that he could stop the opponent’s offense and not foul.

He knew his opponent’s intention, and he had to play a corresponding countermeasure.

Twain called Sun Jihai back from the warm-up area and instructed him on the things to take note of after he got on the field. Sun Jihai knew it was time for him to perform.

“I know it’s a bit of a heavy task.” Twain briefed Sun Jihai in English. “Almost all of Chelsea’s offensive has been planted on our right flank. Now that Chimbonda has a yellow card, we can’t keep him on the field. You get it, Sun?”

Twain could speak Mandarin. He and Sun Jihai would have no problem communicating in Mandarin, but they only used it in private. While with the team, Twain insisted on using English when speaking with Sun Jihai. He did not want Sun Jihai to think that since he had a manager who could speak Mandarin, he could give up using English with the others.

Sun Jihai nodded and said, “I understand, boss.”

“Don’t let the referee grab a hold on you, and don’t give Chelsea any chances. Go on then.” Twain patted Sun Jihai on the shoulder and sent him to the sidelines.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest has brought off Chimbonda, who has a yellow card on him, and brought on the Chinese full-back, Sun Jihai. Sun played at Manchester City for many years and was transferred to Nottingham Forest. It is said that Manager Tony Twain can usually communicate with Sun in very fluent Mandarin. Sun had marveled at the standard of Twain’s Mandarin.” Motson provided an anecdote about Twain in passing when he announced the appearance of Sun Jihai.

Sun Jihai played right-back when he came on and was mainly in charge of defense. Chelsea’s offense was currently quick and violent, and Twain was not eager to attack.

Sun was a good utility player. After Wood was suspended, he filled in the position of the defensive midfielder. When Chimbonda needed to avoid the risk of getting a red card, he stepped up to play as the right-back. Twain believed that if a left-back was needed, Sun Jihai could do the job as well.

“So, bringing on Sun Jihai, does this mean he wants to strengthen the defense in the right flank?” Mark Lawrenson finally found an area where he could heavily criticize. “I don’t think the Chinese player is as capable as Chimbonda. Sun is a good substitute, but he’s still a substitute. Whether he’s playing as the defensive midfielder or full-back, he’s not that reassuring. I can understand that he wants to replace Chimbonda because he’s afraid that he would get a second yellow card and be sent off with a red card, but will bringing on a less capable Sun be enough to withstand Chelsea’s offense?”

“He was once Manchester City’s main full-back. If he had not been hurt... his strength isn’t as bad as you think, is it, Mark?”

“But he has suffered serious injuries.”

Motson could not find a way to counter Lawrenson. Indeed, since Sun Jihai suffered that serious injury, not only did he lose his main position at Manchester City, his strength had also been affected.

※※※

Sun Jihai was very much aware of his own capabilities and shortcomings. He did not need Mark Lawrenson to remind him of his previous serious injury.

After the China men’s soccer team failed to charge into the Germany’s World Cup, Chinese football fell to its lowest, whether it was the country’s domestic league teams or its individual national players who played abroad. After all, they were Chinese people and players. Who would not want to do better when they left home to play? On one hand, they wanted to seek out their best interests, and on the other hand, they wanted to strive on behalf of all Chinese people for validation.

Chinese football was in a slump, and as a sport, football was quickly becoming a joke. As a footballer, Sun would inevitably feel the effects. He still wanted to use his performance to give fans in his country a sense of pride and excitement. The appearance of Dunn, a Chinese assistant manager, gave a lot of people hope, but he did not gain a win during a three-game stint as the acting manager, and many cynical voices immediately appeared among the Chinese people.

The Chinese people felt inferior about their football abilities and felt that failure was inevitable.

Sun Jihai acknowledged that the performance of China’s football was underwhelming, but what could one player do?

He alone could not revive Chinese football and change the deep-seated problems in the Chinese football institution. The only thing he could do was to train well in the club and fight for chances to play on the field, so that those who were still not disappointed in Chinese football could heave a sigh of relief.

Robben dribbled the ball and charged towards Sun Jihai. Lampard and Shevchenko cruised near Robben, as well.

Chelsea really valued him, so Sun Jihai dare not neglect him. He anchored down his center of gravity and faced Robben with the ball. He did not rush to put his foot out. As an experienced veteran who had played in England for years, he knew how to deal with Robben even if Twain did not specifically instruct him.

Robben could dribble fast, but he needed to run to do it and space to break out and accelerate. As long as Sun could push his speed down and halt his control of the ball, the threat would be reduced by a third.

Sun Jihai was not foolish enough to extend his leg to intercept the ball when he saw Robben in action. It would be irrevocable once he was bypassed by him.

All he needed to do was to pull back and follow Robben. He would slowly suppress the other party’s speed. If he forced Robben into a dead end, he would cease to be a threat.

His idea was sound, but Robben did not give him such a chance. He made a feint to cut inside, but suddenly knocked the football outwards, and then turned around to break through.

Sun Jihai was caught off guard and staggered when Robben swung past him. He saw that Robben was going to break free, but Albertini suddenly slashed across and kicked the ball that Robben had knocked out of the sidelines.

In order to completely shake off the cautious Chinese full back in front of him, Robben had kicked the ball too hard. The football went a little further away from him. The more experienced Albertini seized the opportunity and successfully lifted the siege.

Robben kicked the air in disappointment at wasting his efforts. When he broke through Sun Jihai, he put all his energy on the opponent ahead of him. He did not notice that Albertini had come up to support and defend.

Sun Jihai got up and prepared to thank Albertini.

He did not expect Albertini to give him a thumbs up first and say, “Well done, Sun. That kid wasn’t going to get through you if he hadn’t kicked so hard.”

Sun Jihai smiled.

Lawrenson had another perspective in the commentator’s seat. He found evidence which could prove his point. “Take a look, John. Sun was powerless when he was up against Robben’s swift breakthrough. If it hadn’t been for Albertini’s desperate rush to help, Robben would have broken through him.”

※※※

Robben stomped on the turf under his feet. The turf in this area was overturned now because of his sudden acceleration. He still wanted to break through this area a lot so if the turf was not good, it could affect his sprint.

As he set the turf, he looked up at the serious-looking Chinese man.

You won’t be so lucky next time.

“Robben has the ball again! Shevchenko raises his hand for the ball next to him, but the Dutchman does not plan to pass the football. He faces Sun Jihai and wants to break through!”

Robben did see Shevchenko next to him, but he was confident about his breakthrough. He relied on his speed to gallop into the English Premier League and seldom came by an adversary. He was absolutely confident that he could break through Sun Jihai, and then threaten the Forest team’s goal.

He intended to break through. Sun Jihai was very cautious and would never rush to put out his feet. Robben was going to repeat his tactic again. However, when he was about to fake an inside cut, Sun Jihai suddenly kicked with his foot instead and intercepted the ball that had just left Robben’s foot.

“OH YES! Terrific defense!” Motson, who remained quiet when Lawrenson criticized Sun Jihai just now, exclaimed. “Beautifully tackled, and no foul! Nottingham Forest takes the opportunity to launch an attack! Robben is still on the ground, demanding for a free kick. The referee is ignoring him!”

This time, it was Lawrenson’s turn to be quiet.

As the game progressed, everyone could see that Twain’s replacement would not fail.

Sun Jihai’s performance was not like his former self since his injury, but his courage and professionalism had not been affected. These good qualities made up for some of the inadequacies in his ability.

Sun Jihai fought boldly without a yellow card on him. Chelsea was somewhat powerless against such a determined and cautious defender.

The situation on the field gradually turned into a situation where Nottingham Forest regained its leading edge after a period when Chelsea prevailed.

As it turned out, Sun Jihai’s play effectively eased the defensive pressure facing the Forest team.

※※※

With Nottingham Forest’s offense on the rise and its formation pressing ahead, Bale frequently stepped forward to assist with the attacks at Twain’s behest. After an attack, he did not hurriedly return. Instead, he wanted for the opportunity to attack again in the front field. He often looked more like a side midfielder rather than a full-back.

Even the center-back, Kompany put up several good shows of dribbling and plugging ahead.

With the team in a good situation, the center-back could not help but get in on the action. Still hard at work, only Sun Jihai stayed back to defend. It was not that he was less aggressive than the others or that he was not fond of being involved in the attack, but just that the manager brought him on to defend and not to let him attack.

While everyone was occupied with the offense, someone should think about defense, right?

Nottingham Forest was awarded a corner kick. Kompany and Piqué rushed up to head the ball to score. The left-back, Gareth Bale, took the free kick. The Forest team’s back field was empty. In addition to the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, only Albertini and Sun Jihai were left behind to defend. Even so, their positions were still pressed up to the midfield line.

Bale’s ball was not headed by Kompany, Piqué, or any of the Forest players. The ball was directly plucked by ?ech, who jumped to catch it. ?ech, who intercepted the Forest team’s corner kick, threw the ball directly to launch another attack. He threw the football to Shevchenko in front.

The Ukrainian was just as fast as Robben. He was frustrated that he could not find his form when he changed to a?new environment this season. Now he had a chance to prove himself again.

Shevchenko already scoped out the Forest team’s situation in front of him before he caught the ball.?There was about sixty yards of wide space between him and the Forest team’s goal, but only two Forest players. One of whom was his former AC Milan’s teammate, the veteran Albertini. It would not be an issue to break through him with his own pace.

The other one was the Chinese player.

The two of them stood in parallel positions... Breaking through one of them would be equivalent to breaking through the two of them. This was truly a great opportunity to score a goal!

“Shevchenko dribbles the ball to break through. The Ukrainian nuclear warhead has taken aim at Nottingham Forest’s goal!”

A huge uproar immediately erupted over the City Ground stadium, with the boos of Nottingham Forest fans intermingled with the cheers of Chelsea fans.

Sun Jihai wanted to come up and be the first line of defense. He did not expect Albertini to shout at him amidst the thunderous noise, “Go back! I got this!”

The captain’s choice was the right one. The slower Albertini could only do the first line of defense. If he followed and withdrew, he would be shaken off immediately. Sun Jihai was faster. He was the most suitable person out of the two of them to take the second line of defense.

Sun Jihai gnashed his teeth to turn and run back.

With tightly pursed lips, Albertini met Shevchenko who dribbled the ball and charged towards him.

I didn’t think we’d have a day like this where we face off each other... Come on, Shev!

When Shevchenko saw who was in front of him, he slowed down a little. This gave Albertini the chance. He suddenly rushed up and swiftly narrowed the gap between him and Shevchenko. After which, he blocked him to intercept the ball.

Just as he thought he had succeeded in doing so, Shevchenko suddenly thrusted the football to the side and sped around the statue-like Albertini.

“Albertini has been bypassed! It’s too easy!”

It was too easy ... That was what Albertini thought too. When Shevchenko suddenly sped up, he was too late to even foul and the other party broke away from his range of control.

I’m really getting old ....

After he saw that Albertini was cracked open, Sun Jihai, who was pulling back, had already run to a distance of just five meters away from the tip of the penalty arc. He heard the visiting team fans in the stands that he was facing. When he saw that they were standing up with their arms in the air, he hurriedly looked back, just in time to see Shevchenko broke through Albertini.

He clenched his teeth and turned around and rushed back.

In order to shake off Albertini, Shevchenko kicked the ball a little too hard. Sun Jihai thought of the scene where Albertini helped him defended against Robben just now, and he decided to repay the captain.

The two players chased the rolling football at a high speed, as if they were two meteors about to collide, with a dazzling flame lingering behind them.

Who would win this competition?

Sun Jihai knew he could not outrun Shevchenko. When he was still some distance away from the football, he took a moment before he immediately slid to the ground to tackle.

Manager Twain’s exhortation was still ringing in his ear. He did not forget. This was not a foul. He completely aimed at the football. Even if he took down Shevchenko in passing, under the circumstances where the two players did not fully control the football, the referee absolutely had no reason to blow the whistle for a foul even if he did not like the Forest team.

However, the world-class striker must have his talents. Shevchenko could perceive Sun Jihai’s intention. Even though he was not fully centered, he suddenly leaned his body forward and stretched out his right foot to stab at the football first!

Sun Jihai did not shovel the ball!

“It’s the second one! Shevchenko’s beautiful breakthrough! He’s going to prove to people that he’s by no means the most underwhelming player in English Premier League history!”

Sun Jihai slid on the ground as he looked up and saw the Ukrainian nuclear warhead glided across above his body, casting a shadow.

Oh no!?What did it mean to have such a striker face the goalkeeper one-on-one? It was harder not to score a goal than to score one ...

Shevchenko did not care to look back at the loser he had just broken through. Because he forcibly poked the ball, his speed and center of gravity had been affected and he had to adjust everything before Edwin van der Sar struck back in his position. He had to swing past the goalkeeper and easily send the football into the empty goal ...

The speed of van der Sar’s strike was a bit unexpected. By the time he managed to adjust the football, Edwin van der Sar had already rushed to the edge of the penalty just as he happened to step in.

That meant that van der Sar could intercept the ball with his hands which was not what happened in last season’s Champions League final.

The television cameras locked in this area. Whether it was the live fans or television viewers, everyone focused their gazes firmly at the two players.

If the shot went in the goal, Chelsea would reverse the score and their morale would be boosted.

If not, Nottingham Forest would have a narrow escape.

Shevchenko could not adjust in time and directly break through. Edwin van der Sar did not fall for it. He waited for the Ukrainian’s next move. As expected, Shevchenko moved the football crosswise to go from the middle, intending to shoot directly.

The 1.97-meter tall Edwin van der Sar opened his arms wide and tried to lengthen himself, with the intention of stopping Shevchenko’s next shot.

The commentator, Motson’s voice unknowingly went up an octave. His butt cheeks almost left his seat as he held the microphone and loudly shouted, “Shevchenko deceived Edwin van der Sar! Shevchenko .... swings wide! He did not center himself! The goal is empty, the goal is empty! Swings his leg and shoots–!!”

Just behind the goal, the Chelsea fans stood up and held their arms high, ready to celebrate the goal. The Forest fans’ earth-shattering boos surged forward as if they were going to hiss the football out of the goal range.

A red figure suddenly stormed into everyone’s sight.

It was not over yet, it was not ... f**king the end!

Sun Jihai sprinted with his eyes staring at the ball that Shevchenko shot -because in order to get past Edwin van der Sar, Shevchenko did not fully anchor himself before he was compelled to make a shot. The shot that he kicked was not a ball rolling close to the ground, but a half-high ball in which it fell towards the goal in a parabola curve.

Sun Jihai, who returned to defend, still had a chance.

The football was getting closer to the goal. If he did not put out his leg now, there would be no chance... Sun Jihai unwaveringly soared. With his right foot forward and eyes firmly on the football in the air, he wanted to confirm whether his leg could stop the ball.

Shevchenko, who fell to the ground, also stared at the ball he had shot out. He too wanted to confirm that the football had entered the goal.

“Bang!” The football and Sun Jihai’s foot met in the air. Once it was kicked, it then changed direction and flew sideways out of the end line!

“Sun Jihai! Sun Jihai Incredible... Unbelievable! It’s amazing! He saved the team!” Motson had already stood up from his seat with the microphone in his hand and his saliva splattering across. “A perfect comeback!”

In the stands behind the Forest team goal, all those people clad in blue who had their arms aloft, dejectedly held their heads instead.

The other three sides of the stands burst into deafening cheers.

“SUN! SUN! SUN!” They chanted Sun Jihai’s last name.

Piqué, who had been sprinting all the way but not yet caught up, did not stop. He simply slid to the ground towards Sun Jihai, who was still lying on the ground, hugged him as he pressed his forehead against his and hollered at him. That scene was exhilarating.

The second player to join in the rumble was the team captain, Albertini, and the third was Edwin van der Sar, who was saved by Sun Jihai. More and more Forest players rushed up to celebrate Sun Jihai, as if this Chinese player had scored a goal.

Twain swung a few punches off the field. Then he turned around and fiercely said to the coaches, “Who the hell will still think that we bought him for the Chinese market!”

Motson was still yelling and Mark Lawrenson was completely silenced.

“This was by no means Sun Jihai’s first such performance. He used to be the final savior at Manchester City! With a different team, he has made a rescue again! This was not a coincidence or luck ... This Chinese player never gives up!

Chapter 491 - Extreme Dissatisfaction and Absolute Regret

“Sun Jihai has saved Nottingham Forest’s goal gates! He seemed to descend from the sky, suddenly appearing in the front of the empty goal and blocked out Shevchenko’s shot! Let us look at the slow replay. After he was passed by Shevchenko, he immediately picked himself up from the floor and chased after him. While we put all our attention on Shevchenko and Edwin van der Sar, no one noticed that he had already found his way back! What terrifying willpower!”

As Motson showered Sun Jihai with all the praises he could. The main character himself was still piled underneath the players.

City Ground was a sea of jubilation. Someone unknowing would surely assume that Nottingham Forest scored a goal.

Shevchenko sat on the ground and helplessly watched as Nottingham Forest’s players celebrated. Such a great opportunity. It was such a great opportunity! Yet, he was still unable to score. It was as if God was pulling a prank on him. It would be impossible for him to perform again as perfectly as he did this time, and yet, he still could not score.

Such an awe-inspiring, world-class forward was hindered from his step forward by a Chinese man.

“Shevchenko must be extremely regretful now. If he hadn’t gone for a chest-high ball and took a ground shot instead, Sun Jihai wouldn’t have been able to stop it even if he’s got wings. But of all… Under that situation, however, he couldn’t have done any better. We still need to come back to praising the tenacity of that Chinese man. No matter the situation, he wouldn’t give up. No, this isn’t just his tenacity, this is Nottingham Forest’s tenacity.”

Outside the field, Mourinho had gotten up from his seat when he saw Shevchenko and Edwin van der Sar going one-on-one against each other. He was already prepared to dash out of the technical area in celebration of the goal. Never did he expect Shevchenko’s shot to fail. Yet, precisely such a situation unfolded.

Seeing Sun Jihai leap up into the air, using a movement that looked like Chinese Kungfu to kick the football out of the end line, Mourinho slammed his fist on the ground.

That damned Tony Twain, damned Nottingham Forest, damned Chinese player! Every single person here was so detestable!

Next to him, Tang En led the members of the managerial team in applauding for Sun Jihai in the field. Sun Jihai was an immensely diligent player. No matter if he played as a starter or a reserve, he always did his best. When Tang En first bought him, it was precisely this point about him that attracted Tang En. In comparison to numerous European players, he was much less volatile. Surely, in a team, it could not all be made up of characteristic people like him, right?

Tang Jing watched this scene from the press box.

Back then, when Forest Team main manager Tony Twain spent four million to buy Sun Jihai from Man City, it sparked excitement in the whole of China for a period; it had been the highest value for a Chinese player. But the good times did not last long. Competing internally within the team, Sun Jihai could not defeat Chimbonda. Most times, he could only appear on the field as a substitute. As such, England’s media believed that Tang En had bought a pig in the poke, that Pierce had cheated him of four million in selling him a Chinese full back who was on the verge of becoming obsolete. Even the domestic media did not look favorably on Sun Jihai’s prospects in Forest Team. The feeling intensified especially after seeing Forest Team’s “magnificent” goals.

Unexpectedly, after Tang En’s “streamlining” earlier during the season, Sun Jihai remained in the team despite many who left because they could no longer keep up. Tang En rarely evaluated the Chinese player in public events, regardless of if it were praises or criticisms. As a result, the media were also unsure of the true thoughts in his heart.

Now that she had seen this, Tang Jing understood it better to some degree.

In the recent few matches, Sun Jihai had been in the starting line-up for almost every match. His all-rounded abilities supplemented the team very well. Instead of having to bring in more players for every position, the team only needed one Sun Jihai.

However, if it was merely for the position of a utility player, Tang Jing believed that Tony had many other better options. Seeing this scene of Sun Jihai saving the ball, her mind suddenly flashed with inspiration – Sun Jihai’s style of not giving up and what Tony had always been advocating fitted very well with each other.

Now it made sense why Tony valued Sun Jihai so greatly.

When it came to choosing players, Tang En did not look so much at the person’s age, nationality, or level of technique. His foremost requirement was if the person was his cup of tea.

And Sun Jihai was right for him.

Every manager had their own preferences. For example, Arsenal’s main manager, Arsène Wenger, favored players who were technically outstanding although their bodies were not strong. Meanwhile, Tony Twain favored players who had strong willpower. It was evident from how he much he valued George Wood. Apparently, George Wood’s mental attributes in the newest game of FM were of the greatest value among all the players.

※※※

Sun Jihai’s flash of brilliance did not only save the team’s goal gates. More importantly, it inspired the team’s morale.

Nottingham Forest did not suffer a blow because of Chelsea’s attack this round. Conversely, the one who suffered the blow was Chelsea.

Just five minutes after Shevchenko’s failed one-on-one, Nottingham Forest scored.

Wasted opportunities would be punished. These words came true for Chelsea.

Taking the chance of Chelsea’s lowered morale, Forest Team initiated a series of fierce attacks. After a series of threatening shots at ?ech’s gates, one by Ruud van Nistelrooy finally managed to blast open the 10-fingered gates of Czech’s national goal keeper.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy! This is his seventh goal for Nottingham Forest! From Manchester United to Nottingham Forest, he shows incredible adaptability and has assimilated into the team most quickly! Today, he is the best shooter on the team!”

Losing the ball, ?ech could only vent his despair with a mighty pound at the floor. He had saved two straight shots from the opponents but failed to save the third one in the end. Van Nistelrooy had leant on Terry as he stretched out his foot with a jab, kicking the ball into the goal gates. At that time, ?ech was still on the floor, yet to get up.

Forest Team’s attacks came at them too fiercely.

Mourinho saw it clearly from outside the field. Now that the team had fallen behind, defending was not going to be of use. The only way was to continue enforcing their attacks and equalizing the scores as quickly as possible.

Ever since Shevchenko entered the team, he had been unable to adapt to the pace of the English Premier and Chelsea’s football. However, as he was a player that had been especially picked out by the boss, Abramovich, Mourinho was forced to use him. On one side of things, Shevchenko’s performed poorly and experienced a low period in his conditions. On the other, Mourinho helped Shevchenko out numerous times before the media, finding reasons to retain him as a starter for every match. Now that Shevchenko lost a one-on-one and was performing poorly, Mourinho finally found an opportunity to change him out.

Swiftly, Mourinho substituted in German national team captain, Ballack, for Shevchenko who was not performing well.

Andriy felt somewhat helpless as he exited the field. He had already done his best, but it was a pity that his luck was poor this time round. If he had scored that goal, everything would be different. Chelsea would not have fallen behind, and he would not have to be taken off…

When he came down, Mourinho even patted his shoulders to comfort him. From the perspective of the outside world, the two appeared to have a very good relationship. But who knew that both Shevchenko and Ballack were not players Mourinho wanted? This characteristic manager did not have a choice when it came to his even more characteristic boss. The Russian tycoon boss of his was fond of super stars and his comrade from the Eastern Europe, Shevchenko. To Mourinho, however, Ballack and Shevchenko were both unplanned recruitments.

If all the transfers were to go according to the Boss’ wishes, Chelsea’s locker room would have turned into a mess long ago, not to mention having any combative ability.

Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka, Casillas, Raúl, Buffon; all these were players Abramovich was interested in. Although it may give off a feeling of being amazing and incredible if one placed all these players into a team, Mourinho only saw it as a disaster.

Everyone said that being the main manager of Chelsea was great because they had money and could buy whoever they wanted. However, only Mourinho knew how tough it was to work under this rich boss. Although he was very rich and could purchase any player he wanted, there were also many times that players he did not want were bought.

Not only did he have to consider his boss’ preferences, he still had to continuously lie in front of the media, making it sound as if Shevchenko and Ballack’s arrival was something he had been anticipating for a long time; a moving transfer. On the surface, he had to maintain Chelsea’s harmonious atmosphere in the locker room and prevent their opponents, who were ferociously eyeing them, from detecting anything out of place. There was nothing more important to a team than being united.

After Shevchenko returned to the substitutes’ bench, he gloomily threw the towel, given by the coach for wiping his sweat, onto the floor. No one knew if he was angry at himself because he failed to score that goal, or because he was changed out.

Mourinho was not in the mood to care about Shevchenko’s feelings.

If they lost this match, everyone’s mood would be bad; no one should expect any good days ahead of them.

While he did not care about Shevchenko, he turned his head towards the manager’s seats of the home team. Tang En was currently sitting down with crossed legs, chatting about something with his assistant manager.

Seeing his carefreeness, Mourinho wanted to gnash his teeth.

There was something that Mourinho would never publicly admit before the media. There were times that he deeply envied this rival of his. In Nottingham Forest, he was the true king. Whatever he said, the club would carry out; whoever he wanted to buy, the club would supply him with funds; whoever he did not want to purchase, the club chairman would also not put pressure on him. In his conflict with players, the club would also surely stand behind the main manger; just look at Anelka’s current situation.

A manager in England having the same absolute authority like a CEO, was gradually becoming a luxury in the face of rapid advancement of modern football and the refinement of division of labor.

Did Mourinho still remember what he said when he first entered Chelsea?

God, other than God, it’s me.

Now, he realized it was wrong. The real situation was:

God, other than God, Abramovich, and then me.

※※※

After Ballack got on the field, Chelsea played with only a single forward, Drogba alone. Mourinho wanted to clash in the midfield with Tang En. He could tell; they would only be able to deal a blow to Nottingham Forest’s arrogance if they controlled the midfield.

Without George Wood’s crazed pressing and sprinting around the midfield, this was Chelsea’s opportunity. They could make use of their own numerical advantage and take back the midfield.

Once they had total control over the midfield, Chelsea could attack in any way they desired.

After Ballack was subbed in, Mourinho further used Joe Cole to change out Makelele, leaving only Essien to defend alone. This substitution gave a clear signal to Chelsea’s players – Mourinho was going to take a gamble.

With the match already at this point with only over 20 minutes before its end, he did not want to wait until the final 10 minutes before taking a gamble and going all out.

Of course, Tang En would not choose to defend because he led by a goal. If Wood was around, he could have been able to do that…

Now, the best solution was to continue going on the attack and clashing directly with Chelsea, using their own offence in substitute of their defense.

※※※

With such an open match, how could a score of 2:1 be enough?

In the 73rd minute of the match, Chelsea returned an eye for an eye, creating chaos in Forest’s penalty zone with a corner kick. Following, Drogba scored a goal that levelled the score.

This goal allowed Mourinho the chance to vent his emotions; he ran outside to the celebrating players and launched into a human pyramid.

Everyone had gotten used to the two managers doing things that were out of line, so the commentator, Motson, did not make a big fuss out of it, only loudly laughing before his microphone.

Chelsea evened the scores with 17 minutes left in the match.

Would the match end in this manner?

Clearly not. Tang En would not agree to it. It began with their lead and a winning situation. Now that it turned into a draw, how was he going to take it lying down?

Mourinho would also be unwilling. When he came here, he did not imagine himself to only leave with a single point. A draw was a failure to him, because he would still have failed to break the awkward record of failing to win Nottingham Forest.

In the final minutes, Tang En swapped out Rafael van der Vaart for Arteta to continue enforcing their attack. Mourinho had not used his final substitution quota yet. Similarly, Tang En still had one more substitution left. This was an ace in case of contingencies and for dragging out time if they took the lead in the last moments.

Time passed as the end of the match drew closer. On the field, the two sides battling did not seem to realize its passing, continuing their attacks on each other in the hopes of scoring a goal again.

This time, Chelsea who had been led by Nottingham Forest twice, finally turned the tables.

“Michael Essien! A beautiful wall-pass and one-two combination in front of the penalty zone! He rushes in and shoots! It’s a goal! This all happened too quickly, Edwin van der Sar and the rear defenders of Forest were unable to react in time!”

Drogba gave Essien a tight pull from his back, dragging him onto the ground. The two black men rolled together on the ground and were quickly drowned by even more Blues.

Mourinho jumped up to clap for this goal. In the 80th minute, a turn of the tables!

Tang En had a gloomy face but did not express any anger at losing a goal in the last minute. However, everyone could tell that he was obviously bottling his emotions.

At the last minute? No, there were still 10 more minutes!

While Chelsea’s people were madly celebrating, Tang En stood up from the manager’s seat.

Surprisingly this time, he did not roar loudly or wave agitatedly with his hands and arms. He only crossed his arms at the side lines with a grim face. Tang En knew that his team did not need his reminders; all his players knew what happened was terrible.

They had taken the lead twice and had the upper hand, but both times had the score equalized by their stubborn opponents. Now that all their thoughts were on taking the third lead of the game, their sly opponents took the chance to launch a sneak attack and took over instead! Could Nottingham Forest accept such a failure on their own grounds? Would they end their record of never losing to Chelsea in this way?

There were still 10 minutes. Other than attacking, they did not have any other choice. Even if this meant they could lose a ball from another sneak attack by their opponents.

Tang En was right. Forest Team’s players were well-aware of their own situation. They had also seen the overcast expression on their Head’s face. Letting their opponents get off easy would only mean being hard on themselves.

“The match is getting close to the end. Nottingham Forest persists in their attacks. Their attacks are extremely crazed. Chelsea have no choice but to retreat for defense. Mourinho has called up Lassana Diarra from the substitutes’ bench. He is getting ready to substitute in the French defending midfielder in the last minutes to strengthen their defense.”

With Mourinho fortifying their defense, Tang En naturally enforced their offense. As Mourinho called upon Diarra, Tang En called up Bendtner.

Both parties substituted their players at the same time. There were still six minutes before injury stoppage time.

“High balls? I don’t think it’s a good idea. The air defense of Chelsea’s defensive line is not weak…” Mark Lawrenson once again expressed his doubts regarding Tang En’s substitution.

“High balls may be the only method at such a point?” Motson said. “The first time these two teams met in the English Premier League, on this very field, wasn’t it Bendtner who scored the goal? Maybe Tony believes this Denmark lad could bring himself some luck.”

“Then I’ll sincerely wish him the best of luck…” From Lawrenson’s tone of voice, there wasn’t at all any hint of his “sincere wishes”.

※※※

True to expectations, Nottingham Forest began playing concise long balls after Bendtner entered the field. Both Albertini and Arteta’s long passes were strong. Added to that the two flanks passing to the center, everyone was searching for the heads of Bendtner and van Nistelrooy.

Although van Nistelrooy was 1.88 meters tall, he was not a center-forward who relied on headers. Most of the time, Bendtner was the key individual in Forest’s final attacks. Whether it was to head the ball in a direct attack at the goal or to ferry it across to teammates, it depended on his height of 1.9 meters and outstanding heading skills.

Upon seeing Bendtner sent out, Chelsea also fortified their range of defense against balls from the air.

Putting in a center-forward who was 1.9 meters, their intentions were much too obvious.

Mourinho stood at the side lines and shouted at the players to watch out for high balls.

In competing for a header with Bendtner, Terry succeeded in heading the ball out. He suddenly felt that Bendtner beside him was only so-so. He could not even box out the position, not to mention competing for the header.

Terry’s attempt to resolve the danger was not a true resolution. He had only kicked the ball out of the danger zone, that was all. The football very quickly landed under Forest Team’s possession. Anyway, the match was about to end soon. The entire area outside of the penalty zone was filled with Forest’s members, so Chelsea’s players had gotten used to it. They just had to refocus and defend again.

Ashley Young received the ball on the right wing. As he held the ball, only one thought surfaced in the minds of Chelsea’s players – it must be another high ball.

Since Bendtner got on the field, Ashley Young had already passed five straight balls, without any change, to the front of their goal via their air space. The boy liked to assist and was a champion in the Premier League when it came to passing center, but did he not know how to change a method? Defending against such balls was not in the least challenging…

Ashley Young glanced at the penalty zone. Ashley Cole came forward to defend against him. He bumped the ball and made a move to pass to the center. Naturally, Ashley Cole jumped up to block his pass route. Even a fool knew he was going to pass high again…

Ashley Young smiled when he saw Cole leap up on conditioned reflex. Only a fool would think I’m trying for a high pass!

Young suddenly pulled the ball back in to him, passing by Cole who had leapt up.

“What an idiotic defense!” Mourinho scolded angrily when he saw this scene from outside the field. “Who taught him that!”

“Ashley Young suddenly broke through Cole’s defense. He enters the penalty zone diagonally. This move of his completely surpassed the expectations of Chelsea’s rear defenders. Carvalho rushes over to make up for the gap…”

Seeing the chaos in front of Chelsea’s goal, Young gleefully waited for Carvalho to rush up to him before he passed the ball out.

Was it a high ball?

No! A ground ball!

Terry was originally holding onto Bendtner, ready to stop him from jumping to head the ball. Because of that, he was pulling downwards. Unexpectedly, Ashley Young passed a ground ball instead. At the same time, Bendtner went along with his pulling force and fell downwards…

Was he trying to get a penalty shot?

Of course not! This was a sliding shot!

A tall individual had the advantage in headers when they jumped; similarly, they had an advantage when their height translated into a greater length of their body when laying on the ground.

Terry understood what Bendtner wanted to do, so he quickly dropped into a slide tackle as well. At that time, he did not have the time to care if it was going to be a foul. Tackling him had the risk of fouling, but if he did not, it would almost certainly be a scored goal if Bendtner’s slide made contact with the ball!

But he was still half a step behind…

“Nicklas Bendtner – YES! IT’s a GOOOOOOOOAL! ?ech tries to make a save, but it’s too far! He’s helpless! The match has just entered injury stoppage time, and Nottingham Forest has equalized the scores again! Indeed, for a match between the two of them, we cannot know the results until the very final minute!”

“The final second.” Mark Lawrenson added in helplessly. Of course, he hoped that they would not know the results until the very final minute. That way, he would still have a few minutes to look forward to.

But things did not go as they had hoped. Nottingham Forest, who had equalized the score, was unable to threaten Chelsea’s goal again with their attacks. Both teams were unwilling, but they could only accept the result of a draw with the score of 3:3.

“The match has ended. Chelsea has fought Nottingham Forest to a draw in City Ground. Looking at the faces of the managers, they are evidently displeased with this result.”

The two main managers walked to each other and carried out the post-match formalities of shaking hands.

“Let me be clear first. I’m extremely dissatisfied with this draw. We could have won.” Tang En said, looking straight at Mourinho.

“I am absolutely regretful that it wasn’t a loss for you.” Mourinho retorted with a dark face.

Saying their pieces, the two departed in different directions.

Chapter 492 - What Had Happened and Was About to Happen

After the game, Mourinho said he was very sorry that Nottingham Forest did not lose, which was somewhat true. Twain said he was unhappy that he had not won the game, but it felt like he was a little reluctant to admit a mistake.

Under such circumstances, it was actually a good result that they could tie the game on their home ground. After all, they had to put more energy into the Champions League.

After the league game with Chelsea, Nottingham Forest ranked sixth in the league with eighteen points. Immediately after which, there was another Champions League group stage game.

At the City Ground stadium, the Forest team would usher in France’s Girondins de Bordeaux.

This was not a strong opponent and furthermore, the game was at the home of the Forest team.

Twain expected that as a visiting team, Bordeaux would retreat and defend at the City Ground stadium and then wait for a chance to counterattack. Therefore, he just took this opportunity to see how the emphasis on ball possession would play out.

Twain used the Champions League group stage as if it was a friendly to train the squad. If the opponent knew of this matter, Bordeaux would certainly felt that they were humiliated ...

Twain guessed the course of the game well. Bordeaux did withdrew at the Forest team’s home ground. It was clear that they were playing defensive counterattack, while the Forest team’s ball possession was up 68%. Their ball possession rate did go up, but the creation of opportunities had not increased. Even when they laid siege to their opponent, they still could not find the opportunity to send the football into the danger zone to turn it into a shot at the goal.

Nottingham Forest players had become accustomed to the previous game pattern of letting others attack and playing defensive counterattack. It was a little difficult for them to change in a short time.

It was rather impossible to make the imagined tactic become a reality right away.

Twain sighed in the technical area. It looked like he and the coaching staff had a long way to go.

In the end, the Forest team only defeated Bordeaux at home by 1:0. The goalscorer was van Nistelrooy. If they had stuck to their previous tactics, they would have at least won by at least two goals.

When they returned to training the next day, Twain assembled the team as usual and watched the video of yesterday’s game together while he and Dunn analyzed every detail of the game for everyone. The Forest team rarely tried playing by using ball control. Now that they had decided to take this route, Twain naturally wanted everyone to see the path they were going to take. Dunn was a tactical expert. With him explaining at the side, everyone stood from the perspective of observers to re-analyze this game. They could clearly see the areas they did well and did poorly, where the issue lied and what the specific problem was, and how they should be avoided.

After every game, there would always be a “training session” to relive the game, analyze and solve the issues by watching the video. Since Dunn transferred to the First Team, he did the specific analytical work, and Twain was only responsible for supplementing it.

A morning was spent watching the video of the game over and over again. No one thought this was a waste of time, because the players often only knew to play according to instinct during the competition. Now with an observer’s perspective, they could review the game they had played. With Dunn’s analysis at the side, anyone who was not an idiot would feel that he benefitted greatly.

Few people used to do this type of training model. They obviously watched the videos of the games. But Twain might be the first to insist on them becoming a separate training model.

Twain’s idea was simple: football was not just a sport to compete fiercely with one’s body, but also with one’s brains.

※※※

After a period of previous setbacks and at their lowest ebb, Nottingham Forest entered a steady phase in the league tournament. Their competition results were average. But the difference was quite clear as compared to the Forest team’s successive victories in the early part of last season’s league tournament.

After the game against Chelsea, the Forest team first beat Newcastle United by 1:0 and then defeated Bolton Wanderers 2:0 at home. Next, at a time when everyone thought the Forest team was going to advance at high speed, they lost 1:2 at home to Manchester United instead.

Although he lost the game, Twain was not unhappy at all.

Because George Wood was back.

Having ended an eight-game ban and like the devil returning from hell, George Wood was back in the top league tournament with his stony expression.

“What have you learned in the reserve team?” At the sidelines of the First Team training ground, Twain smiled and asked George Wood, who had come out of the locker room.

“The coach put me in offense.” Wood replied honestly.

Twain smiled. It seemed that McParland carried out his instruction well.

“How do you feel?”

“Made some progress ... Not too fast though.” He did not expect Wood to frown and shake his head, feeling dissatisfied with his performance.

“Oh? Why?”

“The opponent was too weak ...”

Twain burst into laughter.

“Didn’t take much time for you to look down on the reserves game, did you?” He cocked his head to the side and looked at Wood with a glint of smile in his eyes, “It doesn’t matter anymore now that you’re back to participate in a high-level competition. At that point, show what you’ve learned in front of those powerful opponents. I bet they will be shocked! But... of course, don’t be so impulsive again. You see, while you’ve been suspended, the team’s performance is shaky, and you also have nothing to gain.”

The team’s performance was shaky, but it was not entirely due to Wood’s suspension. Twain said it this way, hoping that Wood would consider the cost and whether the benefits would tally before taking any action in the future.

Wood nodded, “I understand, chief.”

“Go to training.” Twain gestured towards the training ground and Wood ran up.

“Hey, George! How does it feel to be stifled for eight games?!” Ribéry shouted out, setting off the laughter of his teammates around him.

George did not answer. He ran up to Ribéry to give him a slap and patted him on his shoulder. Ribéry also played along with a grimace and hunched his body, “Hey, not so hard!”

Twain was happy to see Wood bonding with the guys even though he still seemed a little reserved. But this was a lot better than when he first came to the First Team.

“How did George do in the reserves, chief?” Albertini spoke up behind him.

Twain looked back at him. He had just changed into his training jersey and came out of the locker room.

“While he was over there, the coach mainly got him involved in the offense. But... he said there was little progress.”

“Because the opponents were not strong enough?” Albertini quickly guessed the heart of the problem.

Twain nodded, “The kid has pretty high standards.”

“A high-level competition is a hotbed of progress for young players.” said Albertini.

Twain looked at the Italian veteran and felt he was really a good helper for him. He was the most trusted among the players and was the connection point between the coaching unit and the locker room. He would reassure the disappointed players and help to guide the new players ... He did all this work. Twain was a little reluctant to let this man go.

“Hello, Demetrio.”

“What’s the matter, chief?”

“You’ve done a great job in the last few games.”

“Thanks for the compliment, chief.”

“Do you want to ... reconsider your decision to retire?” Twain intended to persuade Albertini to give up the idea of retiring at the end of the season. He knew the hope was slim, but he still had to give it a try.

Albertini did not hesitate to shake his head and rejected Twain’s suggestion, “Give me a break, chief. When I first came to the Forest team, I was thirty-two years old. Now I’m thirty-five years old. I’m old and tired too.”

“C’mon, please don’t say that, Demetrio. Think about our original goal ... Have you forgotten? I told you that the Forest team has a vast goal. The UEFA Europa League was just a starting point.” Twain was still making a final effort.

Albertini smiled and shook his head, “Of course I didn’t forget, chief. I’ve never doubted your goal. Look at this team now, it’s completely different from when I first arrived. They’re all very good lads.” He looked at his teammates who were fooling around on the training ground and said, “The Forest team’s goal is to be a champion. But I don’t think I can wait ...”

He spoke halfway and suddenly stopped talking. Maybe he felt that it did not sound nice saying it like that. Would the Forest team take a long time for to win a championship title?

“Are you afraid you won’t be able to wait for that day to arrive?” Twain helped him finished it.

Albertini did not reply, but his silence was equivalent to consent.

“All right, Demetrio. I’ll give up my plan to persuade you to stay any longer.” Twain spread out his hands, “But I have to give you a parting gift.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a secret.” Twain played a child’s game.

Albertini was surprised as he did not think Twain would say that, and then he laughed again, “All right, chief. I’ll wait for your gift.”

※※※

With Wood’s return, the Nottingham Forest squad was no longer crippled. The team’s performance in the league tournament picked up steadily as well.

George Wood also began to actively participate in the offense during the games. Although his main task was still defense, his contribution to the offense was no longer nil.

As for the Champions League group stage competition ... there was no surprise there. The Forest team maintained its unbeaten record and advanced out of the group stage ahead of time after they won 1:0 against Bordeaux at the home game. With two games left in the group stage, Twain did a substantial rotation of the roster and almost replaced the entire lineup. He wanted to give more players a chance to access a high-level competition. After all, the purpose of training them was to play in competitions and win.

That kind of situation last season must not happen again.

In a blink of an eye, it was getting closer to the year end.

A number of things had happened in the international football world during this period. Twain was familiar with some of the matters, which were not that different from what he knew. And there were some things that were not supposed to happen but happened due to Twain’s arrival.

Twain did not care about some of these things but was very concerned about some of them.

Twain was well aware of what kind of manager Fabio Capello was and what kind of team Real Madrid was. When Real Madrid’s rebellious superstars encountered Capello who governed with an iron fist, Twain also knew what kind of situation it would be.

Ronaldo was on Capello’s eradication list and was said to become close with AC Milan. Other people also said Massimo Moratti wanted to let Ronnie back to Inter Milan on the account of old attachments ... Ronaldo, who was cleared out by Real Madrid, was still a popular player in the transfer market even if he was down and out. Even Allan Adams, the Forest team’s marketing manager, once excitedly asked Twain if he wanted to try to get in touch with Real Madrid. Now that they were in a hurry to sell Ronaldo, who was also in a hurry to flee the Bernabéu hell, the transfer fee should not be high.

Twain agreed with Allan’s price analysis of this transfer, but he refused to bring in this Brazilian striker. Quite simply, he did not like a player who could not be managed. Ronaldo was clearly not a good kid who could obediently listened to him. Therefore, Twain told Allan that he did not want Ronaldo regardless of how famous and talented he was and however many goals he could score.

If Ronaldo were to come, am I going to have to fight to be the boss? I’m not so idle that I would need a pain in my ass ...

Twain was very concerned about another player and that was David Beckham. Originally he was just someone he knew in passing. But because of Shania who was a young girl active in the modeling and fashion world, they had become friends. This world was wonderful. With this additional layer in their relationship, Twain became more concerned about this man.

Everything seemed to be developing according to the written script. No matter how hard Beckham worked during training, he did not receive Capello’s favor. Capello had no affection for those star players such as Ronaldo, whose commercial clout was greater than his influence in football. He believed that Beckham was in Real Madrid just because he could help the club sell more football jerseys.

Since Beckham married the Spice Girl, Victoria, there had been more and more people in the world who saw him as such.

Twain did not think there was anything wrong with Beckham and Capello in this matter. The fault did not lie with either side. It laid with a third party.

The Spanish media had always looked down on David Beckham since he came to Madrid. They thought that he was there to drive the sales of the football jerseys. They also said that Beckham alone caused Real Madrid’s situation of not winning a championship title in the past few years... As soon as he heard this ignorant assessment, Twain wanted to laugh, whether in the past or now.

Would Capello’s misunderstanding of Beckham be so deep without the third-party media adding fuel to the fire at the side? In the second half of the league tournament, did Capello not recognize his mistake, place his trust in Beckham again, and then Real Madrid’s results also began to pick up, catching up to Barcelona?

However, Capello was not the only one who fully acknowledged Beckham in the second half of the league. Twain believed that many people was acquainted with Beckham again during that time. Twain suddenly felt that he still had a chance. When they met the last time, he failed to persuade Beckham because David still longed for a future at Real Madrid. Things were different now. He was vexed about his future.

Capello had repeatedly put Beckham on the bench in a number of games. His attitude was already clear. He was waiting for an excuse to purge systematically.

The entire world knew that Beckham would definitely leave Real Madrid. Even the club chairman, Calderón, did not deny this “rumor.” The only suspense was where Beckham would choose to land once he left Real Madrid.

Would he go back to Manchester United? But Ferguson would not want that.

Or Arsenal? It sounded more like a joke.

Chelsea? It was a huge possibility, which could also be just a possibility.

AC Milan? Inter Milan? The Major League Soccer in United States?

There were too many rumors of these transfers swirling around and enticing. Perhaps even Beckham himself did not know where he was headed.

If Twain did not do anything, he believed Beckham would go to America. Victoria, a woman who was around him all day, had a lot of influence over him. Everyone knew that this woman yearned for the colorful world of Hollywood, hoping that her husband would be able to develop his career in the entertainment world after he retired. She should have made arrangements for Beckham’s future a long time ago.

He could not let this happen. Twain decided to make a phone call to Beckham.

When he dialed his number, the line indicated that the user he dialed had turned off his phone.

Is it just my luck?

Twain did not give up. After ten minutes, he dialed again, and it went through this time.

“Hello, Tony!” Beckham’s voice was a little loud, not because he was in high spirits, but because of the noisy surroundings.

Twain could hear the roar of a real motor engine coming from the receiver and could not help frowning. “Hello David. Where are you? Why is it so noisy?”

“I’m at the airport in America. I just got off the plane ...”

“America!” Twain could not help but shouted.

Chapter 493 - David’s Plans

“America!” Tang En exclaimed in shock, making Beckham jump on the other side of the phone. Even with the landing and taking-off of planes at the airport, he could not help but pull the cell phone away from his ears.

“What’s the matter, Tony?”

Tang En who realized his loss of composure hurriedly coughed. “I’m just… just surprised. Aren’t you in Spain? Why did you suddenly go to America?”

“I recently got injured, so I can’t play in matches. Coincidentally, I had to come to America for a contract discussion.” Beckham explained.

Tang En’s heart jumped again.

“A transfer contract?” he jokingly asked.

Beckham laughter drifted over from the other end, “How is that possible? It’s only a normal business contract.”

Tang En breathed a small sigh of relief.

“That’s right. Why are you looking for me, Tony?” Beckham asked.

“Uh, I’m calling to greet you for Christmas…”

“It’s only the 10th now.” Beckham laughed in amusement again.

“I’m calling earl- early to do the greetings. I know you’re very busy. Then, I won’t disturb you anymore. Enjoy your trip in America.”

“Thank you, Tony. Then, I’ll wish you an early merry Christmas too.”

Finishing up the call, Beckham’s brows furrowed. Victoria looked back at him. “What’s the matter, David?”

“It’s Tony. Tony Twain’s call.”

“Shania’s friend?” Victoria recalled.

Beckham nodded.

“Was he looking for you about something?”

Beckham laughed. “What else could it be? He wants me to return to England to play there.”

“To play at Nottingham Forest?”

“Yeah.”

As the two spoke, they walked out to the airport’s corridors. The football fans and reporters waiting outside started a commotion when they saw Beckham and his wife finally appearing.

Beckham stopped the discussion with his wife and lifted his hand to wave at those waiting here. He was beaming with a smile as bright as California’s sunshine in America, prompting a wave of shrieks from the females.

“Then, what are your thoughts about it, David?”

As if he did not hear the question from his wife, Beckham only continued the show in front of the cameras and in public.

※※※

The next day, Tang En took note of news concerning Beckham’s trip to The States. The news of Beckham using his recuperation time to visit America were mentioned on newspapers, television and the internet. However, he only attended a press conference in New York for the publicity of his own brand.

There was no news about him and LA Galaxy, or of any interactions with personnel from the Major League Soccer.

Tang En finally relaxed. It seemed like it was really a normal business meeting.

The adverse effect of this piece of news was that Beckham fell a step further out of favor in Capello’s heart. The tough Italian manager felt that his actions of privately going out to take part in business activities were not a show of professional conduct that a professional footballer should have; that it was a public challenge of his authority. Beckham being iced on the bench became something even more certain…

On the same day, Allan Adams excitedly found his way to Tang En.

“Tony, I’ve heard that you are friends with Beckham?” Allan loudly exclaimed as he stepped into the main manager’s office.

Tang En happened to be reading news on the internet. Hearing Allan’s voice, he immediately closed the webpage and looked up at him. “That’s right. We even had a meal together.”

“This would go well then. You do know that Beckham hasn’t been very happy at Real Madrid lately, don’t you?”

Tang En could guess at Allan’s intentions and shook his head. “It’s no use, Allan. I’ve already asked him earlier in the season if he wanted to return to England to play soccer, but he rejected the idea without any hesitation.”

Allan was not at all deterred. “That’s at the beginning of the season. At that time, Beckham was surely filled with expectations and illusory ideas of his new manager. Now, it’s different. Didn’t you see the recent news? Capello is extremely unhappy about Beckham taking a trip to America on his own.”

“Beckham said he had gotten the agreement of the club’s higher management.”

Allan waved his hands. “It’s hard to know this sort of matter. But that isn’t what we should be concerned about. Now, the whole world knows that he is unhappy at Real Madrid. Many clubs are fighting for him to join them. You must know, he’ll be a free agent after this Christmas. There won’t be a need to spend a penny on the transfer fee.” It was as if Allan had already seen a shiny future of gold.

“Beckham. Do you know what he represents in the commercial market, Tony?” His pitch was a little high with his agitated emotions.

Tang En nodded. “Of course, I know.”

“That’s good. That’s good. What kind of advantage does Forest Team have over the other teams?” Allan pointed to Tang En and said, “You’re his friend. This matter would be a breeze. You can persuade him to join Nottingham Forest, not with your identity as Nottingham Forest’s main manager, but as his friend, like you’re having a heart-to-heart. When he is still lost about his future and in the painful situation he is in, you give him a call and have a soulful discussion with him in the cold winter night…”

Allan was so engrossed he completely ignored Tang En by the side as he described the picture in his mind, gesturing wildly at the same time.

Tang En leaned back on his own chair and watched Allan’s performance with a cocked head.

Thanks to Beckham’s immense commercial value, this person had become slightly disoriented…

Tang En waited for Allan to finish speaking. He propped his hands up to hold his chin as he asked, “Allan, I have to admit that your thoughts are great, but it’s a bit too much of wishful thinking on your part. Do you know how deep the affection David has for Manchester United?”

Allan was stumped hearing Tang En’s question. He had not, indeed, given thought to the issue from the perspective of playing football. All he had said earlier stemmed from thoughts of the number of jerseys Beckham could help Forest Team sell, the help he could lend in Forest Team expanding their international influence, of the many new big-name sponsors he could attract for Forest Team, if he joined them.

Seeing Allan’s face clouded with uncertainty, Tang En hastily waved his hands with a laugh. “I’m not rebuking you, Allan. I think your idea is good although it has only been considered from the perspective of a business operation. But, isn’t that precisely your job? Things about football, that’s my consideration. However, I feel that we should put together everyone’s opinions of this. You’ve spoken your mind earlier. Do you want to hear mine?”

Allan made a gesture of invitation.

So, Tang En related his discussion with Beckham, when they had a meal together the other time, to Allan.

Hearing this, Allan was momentarily stunned. “He really said that?”

Tang En nodded.

Allan fell silent and sat on the sofa scratching his head. Tang En understood all too well Allan’s feelings about this.

For a man who was trying to come up with all means and ways to excavate the gold from the gigantic gold mountain he saw, what kind of feeling would it be to suddenly hear that the gold mountain was only an illusion? That it was something that couldn’t be excavated? It probably wasn’t an exaggeration to describe it as having 10 thousand ants crawling over his heart.

“I don’t want to be enemies with Manchester United, so I won’t return to England.”

Tang En’s ears once again rang with what Beckham had said to himself back then. He casted his gaze out to the blue sky beyond the windows.

Even until now, do you still think the same way, David?

As Tang En was looking at the blue sky outside the windows, out of sorts, Allan Adam stood up from behind him.

“Although he said that, I still think we should try working at it.”

Tang En looked back in surprise at Allan.

“It’s just that I think we might as well try to convince his wife rather than David Beckham himself.” Allan continued, saying, “Victoria is the only person who can influence him.”

“But I have no way of convincing Victoria too…” Tang En said, opening his palms up in a show of helplessness.

“No, you do.” Allan said without hesitation. “Have you forgotten how you got to know Beckham?”

A thought suddenly flashed through Tang En’s mind.

Shania and Victoria were friends; that was how he became friends with Beckham…

“Alright, I’ll try. But I can’t promise anything.” Tang En was also thinking about reaching out to Beckham for a discussion again. Without needing Allan’s additional input, he knew how great his commercial value was. Even from a sporting perspective, Beckham was a player that he very much hoped to get.

A player with outstanding passing ability, he could play both as a side midfielder or defensive midfielder. His energetic running and professionalism were also a good example for the younger players in the team. While he was slightly old, it was just perfect for him to play a few more years before giving a hand to the ones coming in to succeed him, stably transiting to a new era. How nice would that be?

※※※

“… David Beckham is in big trouble, but is it any lesser than the ones he was in when in Spain? Ever since his transfer to Real Madrid, he has been entangled in all sorts of trouble; on the field, off the field, and with his family. Now, his time with this century-old powerhouse is finally coming to an end.”

A huge LCD television was showing the latest sports news. During the press conference regarding the team’s line-up, Capello expressed strong unhappiness about Beckham’s private trip to America when answering related questions from the reporters.

“… He is a professional football player. He should know what it means to abandon his team and to go to such a place at this time…”

With a cut in the scenes, Beckham appeared amid a ring of reporters. “… I have gotten permission from the club’s higher management.” Saying so, he slipped into the car and left.

“Beep-” The screen turned dark; the television had been switched off.

“Don’t watch that anymore.” Beckham stood behind Victoria in his sleepwear with the television remote in his hands.

Victoria turned to look at him with a smile. “It’s time to consider about the future, David. America is a pretty good place, or more precisely, Los Angeles.”

Beckham furrowed his brows and fell silent. Recently, there were fewer and fewer smiles on his face. Unless he was in front of the media or the public eye, he had this expression most of the time.

“I’ve grown weary of Real Madrid’s attitude.” Victoria continued. “It’s obvious that they don’t want to renew the contract with you. Everyone here treats you as some kind of pain. Leaving is the best solution.”

Beckham rounded over and sat down. “Of course, leaving is the best option. But where do we go after leaving?”

“David, have you already forgotten about the development plan I drew out for you?”

Beckham shook his head lightly.

“Los Angeles is very good. Everyone there hopes for you to go. You will be treated much better there than over here. And then we can…”

Victoria had not finished her words before being interrupted by Beckham. “But, it’s a football desert over there.”

“David-” Victoria said, dragging his name out. “You should really consider about your life after retirement. You’re no longer young.”

“I’m old at 31?” Beckham smiled, looking at his wife.

He had to admit. The development plans his wife had designed for him were rather good. Going to Los Angeles in the US to play football symbolically for a few years, and then naturally developing into the entertainment circle; even if he retired from the world of football, he could continue his career in other aspects. There were also other footballers who went into filming after retiring. From England, there was one – Vinnie Jones. He played football in Wimbledon. Later, he retired in Queens Park Ranger and went to Hollywood for further development. Now, he could already be considered as a stable B-List film star.

However, in all honesty, Beckham did not feel that he had the talent to act. When the film crew for the movie “Goal! The Dream Begins” came to Real Madrid for the shooting and needed them to be actors, he felt particularly awkward. It was a world of difference from how he felt on the field…

His wife though was very keen on such things.

At times, he felt that he owed Victoria too much. To take care of himself, who was playing in Madrid, Spain, she sacrificed her career in England and followed him to Madrid, a place that was not included within the fashion entertainment circle.

“Look at your legs.” Victoria pointed to Beckham’s legs. “It’s all battered. I don’t wish to be pushing you in a wheelchair when we go out for a walk in the future, David.”

From her words, Beckham could feel his wife’s concern for him. Beckham stretched out his arm to wrap around her shoulders. “It’s not as scary as that, is it? There are many retired players but only a few in wheelchairs.”

As the atmosphere developed into one suitable for a beautiful night life with his wife, the handphone he placed on the table started ringing.

Beckham felt helpless hearing the ringtone that disrupted the atmosphere. He smiled at his own wife and let go of his arm around Victoria. Standing up, he walked over to pick up the call.

“Hello, Tony?”

It was a call from Tang En.

“Hello, David.”

“Are you wishing me an early Merry Christmas again?” Beckham asked with a laugh.

“Ah. Not this time. Shania would be in Madrid for a fashion show a few days later. She won’t be in England this Christmas, so I’m thinking of going over to accompany her for a day. And then at the same time, I want to treat you and Victoria to a meal. You treated me the last time in London, so I should return the treat this time around.”

Of course, Beckham knew that returning the treat was an excuse. It seemed like the main manager of Forest was “especially fond” of him. Since the other party invited him so warmly, he had no reason to refuse.

“Alright, sure. Let’s set a time and I’ll see you then.”

After hanging up the phone, Victoria looked over to him from her position splayed out over the backrest of the sofa. “Is it just a simple meal?”

Beckham smiled. “Clearly not.”‘

“Hey, David. Do you wish to return to England?” Victoria suddenly asked.

Just like the time at the airport, Beckham was stunned for a moment. However, this time, he was unable to avoid answering by waving and smiling to his fans.

Victoria looked at him, awaiting his answer.

Beckham fell silent for a while and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Back then, he had firmly shaken his head in denial of the possibility of returning to England. Yet, it had now turned into an “I don’t know”…

Chapter 494 - The Meeting

Shania was definitely going to take a modeling assignment in Madrid. This was not a fashion launch. It was a separate event for a brand which she had signed an endorsement deal for.

Victoria also knew about it because Shania frequently messaged Victoria as good friends. She told her about her coming to Madrid for the show and was keen to invite the couple to watch it live.

This was also the only day Twain had been able to squeeze in during the Christmas period. The English Premier League had entered an annual period of intensive schedule since the nineteenth. The team must play more than once a week for the fans to celebrate the Christmas season.

Twain could only make time to give the team a day off before Christmas, and also to give himself a day off.

And it just so happened that Shania was going to Madrid, Spain and did him a big favor. Otherwise he really did not know what reason he could use to invite the Beckhams.

Shania did not care why Twain wanted to invite Beckham and Victoria to discuss a matter. What made her happy was even though she still had to spend Christmas busying herself with walking the runway shows, Uncle Tony would come and accompany her for a day.

The two of them were very busy with work, so to be able to meet for a day was very precious.

※※※

On the December 11th afternoon, after the home game against Aston Villa had ended, he did not go to the hotel bar with the team but went straight to London and took the evening flight to Madrid, Spain.

The next day the team had a day off and Twain would spend it with Shania in Spain.

It was well known that the Spanish lifestyle habits were not the same as those of other countries. Their clocks seemed to be set a few hours later at night than elsewhere. By the time Twain arrived in Madrid at 9:30 P.M., the Spaniards had not even started their dinner time.

It was Shania’s agent who came to the airport to pick up Twain.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Twain. Shania is with Victoria and can’t come.” Fasal said to Twain in the car from the airport to the city.

“It’s okay. I’m the one who is imposing on you all.” Twain was not entirely being polite by saying so.

Twain’s trip was on a tight schedule. After the game, he came straight to Spain to invite the Beckhams to dinner. The next morning, he would attend Shania’s runway show and have fun with her together in Madrid in the afternoon. Then he would fly back to England at night.

Not a minute was wasted.

With such a tight schedule, he naturally had to bother Shania’s agent, Mr. Fasal, to make careful arrangements so that there would be no slip-ups.

Fasal naturally thought of these things too. As he drove the car, he looked back at Twain and smiled, “Mr. Twain is also a busy man now.”

“Is it always like this for Shania? Flying around all the time ...” Twain asked, sitting in the back seat.

“It used to be. Now it’s a little better. Previously, in order to make a name for herself, she would participate in any activities. Now that she has made a name, she can decline some activities.”

Twain nodded to show his understanding. Being famous naturally gave her the power to choose the corporate partnerships. Sometimes being unavailable would also help to increase her worth.

“Shania is still continuing her studies now.” Mr. Fasal added, “After all, she’s only seventeen years old.”

“It’s time to go to college, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Do models ... still need to go college?”

“Shania said she can’t be a model for the rest of her life.” Fasal said with a smile in front of him.

Twain listened but did not answer. Had the young girl already made plans for her future? A model really had to make the most out of her youth in her profession. Many models made use of their youth to earn more money while they were still young, and then they would find rich men to marry, and then play the traditional role of being a wife and mother ... That was how the rest of their lives passed.

Shania actually thought of going to college to continue to recharge herself and plan for the future. But it was also in line with Shania’s independent character. She never liked modeling, so she did not expect to have a lifelong career as a model. Some models formed a modeling agency when they got older or became another young model’s agent. Some even became a modeling coach to groom new models. It was clear that Shania did not intend to do so. She seemed to want nothing to do with her career as a model after she retired.

“Mr. Fasal, you’re her agent. Why does it sounded like you do not stop or oppose her thinking?”

Fasal smiled, “Mr. Twain, I’m just her agent, not a guardian. I have no right to interfere with what she wants to do in the future. Besides... Everyone knows that modeling is mostly a career during youth and is short-lived. I can’t always drag her around to do fashion shows till she’s fifty just so that I can make money, can I?”

Twain immediately laughed. His last remark was really interesting. Walk the runway till she is fifty? An oldie fashion collection?

But... what will Shania look like when she is fifty? Still attractive, or a faded beauty? How old will I be when Shania is fifty years old?

At the thought of this question, Twain shuddered. He always intentionally or unintentionally ignored his age, because his psychological age was twenty-something, but his biological age was ... almost thirty-eight years old ...

Shania is seventeen years old and I’m older than her by almost twenty-one years. I can’t believe that we can still be this close with such a big difference in our ages...

The two men chatted along and arrived at their destination — a restaurant filled with Spanish flair.

Twain looked down at his watch and it was ten past ten o’clock. People were still going in and out of the restaurant door. It was popular. Not only this restaurant, the entire street was brightly lit and bustling. A lot of luxury cars were parked by the street. From this, one would know what kind of clientele would come to this street.

The two men had just entered when the enthusiastic waiters came to take them to the private room.

Twain did not want the paparazzi to recognize himself. So, he wore sunglasses and kept his head down in silence with the waiter leading the way in front.

The waiter stopped in front of a door and opened it. Twain took off his sunglasses at this time and saw a few people seated inside.

Shania was chatting happily with Victoria, Beckham’s wife and former “Spice Girl” with a mixed reputation as well as his old friend, David Beckham. What Twain did not expect was that the Beckhams had brought along their three children: their eldest son Brooklyn, second son, Romeo, and youngest son, Cruz.

It looked more like a family gathering.

However, this atmosphere was very suitable for a heart-to-heart chat.

Twain entered and took off his sunglasses. Everyone’s eyes was on him.

Shania got up from her seat with a smile and opened her arms to Twain, “Uncle Tony.”

Twain went over to give her a hug and a featherlight kiss on her forehead.

Then he let go of Shania and smiled at Beckham and Victoria, “I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting.”

This was not the first time Beckham had met Twain, so he found nothing strange about the behavior between him and Shania. On the other hand, it was Victoria’s first meeting with Twain in person. Although she had heard Beckham mentioned the relationship between Twain and Shania, she was still a little perplexed at seeing such a scene.

Except this was a woman who hid her true thoughts well. She graciously stood up and shook hands with Twain.

After he had dropped Twain off, Shania’s agent, Fasal took his leave. Only the few of them were left to have their dinner and chat together.

※※※

After Twain had taken his seat, the waiter began to serve. Beckham’s three sons were mischievous. Victoria took care of her children most of the time and had little time to really eat. It was clear that Shania also liked children very much, so she was always by Victoria’s side to tease her three lovely sons together.

As a result, only Beckham and Tony Twain were the only ones who really sat and chatted at the table.

“What a happy family.” Twain said to Beckham as he looked at Victoria, who was playing with her sons.

Beckham turned to look at his wife and sons with a soft gaze.

“More than ten years of career, and only a family is the most important thing in the end.” He stated.

Twain knew the position that Victoria occupied in Beckham’s heart. Although there had been some gossip about this man, which man did not have lust? This did not get in the way of Beckham’s love for Victoria.

“Championship title, trophy, money ... all that don’t matter?” Twain probed.

“Those things can never appear every day when I retire, right?” Beckham replied.

When Twain heard Beckham’s reply, he moved closer and lowered his voice, “David, are you planning to go to America to expand?”

Beckham was a little surprised. He did not tell anyone but his agent the plan that Victoria gave himself. How would Twain know?

Twain certainly would not tell Beckham that he knew this in advance because of his transmigration. So, he looked at Victoria and smiled, “Everyone knows Victoria is interested in Hollywood. You love your wife and cherish your family. It’s only a matter of course to follow her to America, right?”

Beckham did not speak. Twain was right. Victoria desired for a Hollywood lifestyle, which was not new news.

The three children were playing around in the large private room. Shouts and laughter rang out from time to time. When Twain saw that Beckham was silent, he glanced at Shania.

This young girl really likes children. Look at her playing so happily with other people’s kids…she does not look like a supermodel at all, more like an ordinary older sister. As he looked at the bright smile on Shania’s face, a hint of smile pulled at the corners of Twain’s mouth: No matter that she’s a supermodel, she’s still a child in the end ...

“Tony?” Beckham saw Twain locked his eyes on Shania and smiled softly. Then he spoke up to rouse him.

Twain hurriedly turned back and looked at Beckham.

“You did not come to Spain this time just to invite us to dinner, or to hang out with Shania, did you?”

Beckham’s eyes reflected the glow of the lights and twinkled as he waited for Twain to show his cards.

“Well ... You’re right, David. I know you’re not doing well in Real Madrid right now. That club doesn’t give you enough trust and respect ...Uh, you see, I knew what the outcome would be before I came out here. But I still want to give it a try again—” Twain paused when he got to this point. He looked at Beckham’s eyes. The sound of the surrounding children playing was still there, and the women did not seem to care about the discussion between the two men at the table. Twain continued to say, “Nottingham Forest is very sincere in extending an invitation to you in hopes that you will return to England.”

Beckham stayed quiet for a moment before he smiled and asked, “Is it to help you sell your jerseys?”

Twain could not figure out what Beckham’s smile meant, but it did not matter. “No, you should know that when I bring in players, I never consider commercial reasons. I admire you because of your football standards and dedication. David, I’m going to say something which you don’t need to take it as a compliment–you’re the most professional player I’ve ever seen.”

When he heard Twain said so, Beckham smiled and did not express any opinion on Twain’s assessment.

This time, he did not reject Twain with “I don’t want to be a direct rival of Manchester United.” He did not bring up that remark.

After a while, Beckham asked, “You just said you knew what the outcome would be before you came out here. In that case, why are you asking me again?”

“I want to at least give it my best shot. Even if I know the result in advance, it is not a reason to give up. My team and I are like that.” Twain boasted. He was qualified to say these words.

Victoria and Shania settled the children down and returned to the table. Twain and Beckham discreetly stopped their discussion of the topic.

Twain casually brought up some interesting topics which amused everyone and did not let the atmosphere turn cold. Beckham laughed too, but his brows were still slightly creased.

After that, they did not touch on the matter of the transfer any more until they took their leave.

At the restaurant doorway, Victoria looked at Twain, standing next to Shania, and smiled, “Mr. Twain, you really surprised me. I thought you were like how the media portrayed.”

“Don’t believe them, madam.” Twain winked and said, “They’re used to describing a stranger based on their imagination. You still have to validate it with your own eyes. I’m a nice guy.” He puffed out his chest.

“Well, goodbye then, Mr. Nice Guy. When we’re back in UK, please accept our invitation to come to our place.” The hostess gave a warm invitation, and Twain had no reason not to say yes.

“I’ll definitely be there, madam.”

“You have to bring Shania with you.” Victoria added.

“Of course.”

With that, Twain waved to Beckham, who stood by the car door and said, “Goodbye, David. I look forward to our next meeting.”

Beckham smiled and said nothing. He just waved his hand.

※※※

As soon as they send off the Beckhams, Fasal also drove his car to pick up Shania.

“Come stay with me tonight, Uncle Tony.”

Twain was startled to hear Shania say this.

“You can sleep in Mr. Fasal’s bedroom.”

Only then Twain breathed a sigh of relief. Shania was staying in a hotel, same as Fasal. His room was next to Shania’s room.

“Ah, I’m sorry to trouble Mr. Fasal.” Twain said courteously.

Fasal was unexpectedly good-natured about it. He chuckled as he drove, “It’s no hassle at all. But if you think it’s a hassle, you can stay with Shania.”

Twain suddenly coughed. Shania chided, “Mr. Fasal!”

“Haha, I’m just kidding! It’s a beautiful night. Where else would you like to go?” Fasal wisely changed the subject as he pointed to the brightly lit city of Madrid outside the car window.

Twain looked at this city which he was familiar with. He led the team here to play a game once and he had been here too when he was on a tour to Spain with Shania. This would count as his third time.

He did not know what was fun to do at night, and he did not really want to go out to have fun.

Shania clearly had the same idea as Twain, so she shook her head and said, No. Uncle Tony must be tired from the day. Let’s head back to have an early night’s rest.”

Twain was indeed tired from his day. He had gotten up in the morning to prepare for the afternoon game and it was a fierce battle against Aston Villa in the afternoon with the home game ending in 2:2. Then he immediately rushed to London and came to Madrid from the London airport. Without stopping to rest, he went to meet the Beckhams and tried to find a way to change the “future” he was familiar with at the dinner table.

Now, he really did not have any energy to go have fun anywhere.

He felt that he could fall asleep at once if he lied down now.

The beautiful night in Madrid had nothing to do with him.

Chapter 495 - Vacation in Madrid

The business event Shania was involved in was held in the morning. Bright and early in the morning, Tang En was already woken up by the noise. The staff and reporters had already found their way into the hotel where the event this time was held at.

Tang En did not want to reveal his own presence and be discovered by the reporters to be hiding in the room right next to Shania. While his relationship with Shania was no longer news, the extent of their closeness would still exceed much of the expectations of the media.

Taking the chance when there were fewer people, Tang En sneaked out of the hotel to stroll the streets of Madrid in the early morning. He did not walk far, only circling the area nearby the hotel. Seeing the many premium sedans and TV stations’ broadcast vehicles parked in the carpark of the hotel, it was not hard to imagine the scale of this promotional event.

And Shania was the only star; the main lead in this event.

Tang En walked around aimlessly nearby. No one here could really recognize a manager that came from England, even if he had once led a team to beat Real Madrid. There would not be anyone to disrupt his period of contemplation – he was still thinking about the issue of Beckham’s future.

Clearly, he did not manage to convince Beckham to change his mind yesterday. Hearing the words that he said, the meaning was more than clear:

He valued family.

Victoria was the person with the most influence over him in his family. Valuing his family was equivalent to valuing Victoria’s attitude.

And was there anything more to say of Victoria’s attitude? She was certainly going to Los Angeles, America.

The only thing that comforted Tang En was that Beckham did not flatly refuse his suggestion to return to England this time around. Evidently, this was a tremendous change from his attitude half a season back.

Last night, Beckham promised that he and his wife would come to support Shania this morning. It would be Tang En’s final opportunity to convince him. If it still had no effect, Tang En could only surrender. Then he had to go back and tell Allan to completely give up on the idea.

As more and more reporters began congregating at the front doors of the hotel, Tang En looked at his wrist watch. It was almost time. He snuck back in from the side doors again.

Unable to find Tang En in the hotel, Shania left to prepare somewhat huffily. Meanwhile, Fascal bumped into Tang En, who had just returned, in his own hotel room.

“Mr. Tony, did you go out?”

“Ah, I went out to take a walk. It was getting a little noisy.”

“Then, please remember to come down in a while. Shania wouldn’t be at ease until she sees you.” Fascal closed the door and left after.

Tang En tidied up slightly, changing into a suit prepared for him by Fascal and combing his somewhat messy hair. When he was done, he went downstairs on his own.

The event was held in one of the conference halls of the hotel. The hall was packed to the brim with people. In it, there was a temporary runway constructed in the center. The two sides of the runway were filled with chairs to seat the guests. Additionally, there was a media zone especially designated for them. Majority of the guests already arrived. Needless to say, all the spots in the media zone had long been taken.

Tang En stretched his head out from the side door and shrunk back hastily again, taken aback by the scene. In any case, he himself was also considered a famous person, but he had never been faced with these many reporters at one time. It seemed like the profession of a fashion model was very popular.

As Tang En looked around outside the doors, he suddenly felt a pat on his back.

He jumped and turned back to find Shania smirking.

“What are you looking at, Uncle Tony?”

Without thinking, Tang En answered, “‘I’m looking for you, girl.”

Hearing Tang En say this, Shania smiled especially beautifully. She grinned from ear to ear but glanced at him from the side with some suspicion. “Really?”

“Of course. I’ve never lied to you.” Tang En pointed to the hall outside behind the doors. “There are a lot of people. Are you nervous?”

Shania shook her head. “No, I’ve gotten used to it.” Saying this, she suddenly recalled something funny. Unable to help herself, she burst into laughter.

“What’s the matter?”

“You know, Uncle Tony. Whether it’s this kind of show, or the ones in groups for a fashion event, do you know what I’ll be thinking in my head after I get on stage?” Shania asked while giggling.

Tang En shook his head. How would he know?

“I imagine every person off the stage as a football. They don’t have faces nor expressions, just one rounded football one after another. Haha!” Saying so, Shania started laughing in a very unladylike manner as she clung onto Tang En’s shoulders.

“Ah. No wonder you aren’t nervous. There’s nothing to be nervous about when you’re facing footballs.” Tang En looked at the girl before him bent over laughing. She was utterly different from the ice beauty on the runway. He still liked this Shania a bit more.

“Shania…” A woman wearing a staff tag at the front of her chest looked as if she was looking for Shania. She was momentarily stunned seeing the scene of Shania’s hands draped over Tang En’s shoulders, her own shoulders shaking from laughing too hard.

Tang En could guess in his heart the reason for her shock. He lightly knocked on Shania’s head. “Someone’s looking for you, girl.”

The female staff widened as she saw Tang En’s actions to the famed model, Shania.

At this, Shania straightened up. When she turned and saw the person, she said to Tang En, “It’s the costume assistant. I’m guessing she’s here to ask me to try on the clothes.”

“Go ahead then.” Tang En waved at her. “I’ll just look around here.”

“Remember to go in in a while.” Shania pointed to the hall which was getting even more crowded. Tang En nodded in agreement.

As the female assistant led Shania away, she did not forget to take a few more glances at Tang En. Clearly, she did not recognize him. She was only surprised by the closeness of the relationship between this famed model and that man.

Tang En paid no heed to it. After seeing Shania off, he turned to look at the people outside and put on the dark sunglasses he kept in his pocket. Lowering his head, he walked in.

Although he promised Shania to support her, he did not wish to be photographed by the ever-pervasive paparazzi. He should still disguise his identity.

※※※

Tang En found a seat near the stage and sat down. There was no one next to him. Just as he sat, a burst of clamor drifted in from the main entrance behind him.

There were females shrieking, clicking of the camera shutters, and hasty footsteps.

Tang En sighed. He knew who it was without having to stand up and look back.

Other than Beckham, who else still had this level of appeal?

As expected, it was Beckham and Victoria squeezing their way out of the crowd and entering the hall under the protection of their bodyguards. Seeing Beckham’s appearance, many guests, even those with some status, could not help but approach him to ask for a signature. Only Tang En stood up where he was without moving. He caught sight of Beckham and Victoria, and the latter two saw him too.

He smiled at them and considered it as having greeted them. He was not keen on getting any attention. Unexpectedly, Beckham and Victoria started walking over directly to him! In an instant, all the attention became focused on Tony Twain.

“You’re kidding…” Tang En watched with googled eyes. If he had known, he would have just pretended not knowing the two. Great. Tang En had an ominous feeling as he watched the camera lenses of the reporters getting directed his way. He would certainly be seeing pictures of Beckham and himself sitting together on Spain and England’s media tomorrow.

What followed unfolded exactly as Tang En had imagined. The media watched as Beckham and Victoria walked to the front of a middle-aged man wearing dark sunglasses and shook his hands. They greeted each other and then sat down together.

Beckham looked at Tang En beside him, the latter with a face of uncertainty, and laughed. “I had thought you’d be ready for this, Tony.”

Indeed. Having agreed to come support Shania and knowing Beckham would be attending at the same time, Tang En should have somewhat known the kind of situation it would turn out to be. He just wasn’t expecting Beckham to take the initiative to approach him.

“Stop thinking so much. Many clubs want to recruit me. It’s no big deal having one more Nottingham Forest.” Beckham said as he sat beside Tang En, his eyes looking at the busy staff on stage.

It appeared that this matter was going to be revealed, no matter what. Tang En stopped worrying. Beckham was right. Everyone knew that that there were some clubs interested in him. It was no big deal for Forest Team to be included among them.

He had already known the consequences of coming here. Since he was here now, he might as well take it in his stride.

This fashion show was organized by an international luxury brand well known across the world. Shania was the brightest and most brilliant star in it; she was already the global spokesperson for the brand. The other models were only here to serve as a foil to her.

Victoria was immensely interested in such activities as she could use the opportunity to make acquaintances with many famous people around the world. She was working hard to pave the way for her husband’s future and broadening his options. Beckham and Tang En who sat beside were casually chatting away meanwhile.

“David…” After chatting about a few mundane topics, Tang En decided he should start on the more serious matters.

“Are you going to convince me again?” Beckham could guess his intentions.

“I know there’s a high chance for you to go to America, but I still feel that it’s really too much of a pity for you to go over.” Tang En said sincerely. This was not a show performed for Beckham. These were his true thoughts. No matter if it was before his transmigration or now, after it, he felt the same way. “You’re only 31 years old. Isn’t it a bit too early for you to go to a place like America?”

“America isn’t bad too. Having nothing over there means there’s potential for me to change things.” Beckham shrugged.

“David. Don’t patronize me with the things you say to deal with the media. You know what it means to go to America. Are you willing to end your professional career in this manner? Your hundredth match in the National Team, your UEFA European Championship; are you already giving up on them?”

Beckham said nothing.

“America isn’t Europe. After you leave the heart of the international football scene, no one would pay any more attention to you. Before the day you announce your retirement, you’re first and foremost, a football athlete. Whatever else you are is secondary. Why did you cry after England was eliminated from the World Cup? Do you feel that you would no longer have the chance to once again stand on the grounds of a World Cup match? Are you already admitting defeat? Even giving up on your career in a club? I admit that you can earn a lot of money going to America, and it would be more convenient for your development in the future. But my heart hurts to see an outstanding player like you muck around that place for a few years and then retiring!”

Beckham opened his mouth, as if about to say something. At the same time, Shania got on stage.

The lighting at the scene lit up brightly and applause rang out. Beckham also closed his mouth again, knowing it was not the right time to speak.

Shania’s appearance interrupted the discussion between the two men. Tang En also could not help turning his gaze to Shania on stage.

This Shania and the one he saw earlier at the backstage were almost two completely different people. Tang En had to admit that he understood nothing about fashion. He simply could not see the beauty in using make-up to transform a young girl filled with unbridled youth into an image of an icy mountain with a cold face, dark-rimmed eyes, and seductive purple lips.

He did not at all like the Shania standing on the runway. Regardless, he still smiled whenever Shania looked at him.

He was completely flummoxed when it came to fashion. Wearing these costumes that could not be worn on the streets and putting on make-up that made one look like some blue enchantress; was this considered fashion? Then he would rather be a boor and an average person. At least he would be normal.

Tang En had no interest in the costumes Shania wore. He turned his attention to Shania’s figure instead.

Her taut, snowy white calves strode past him, presenting a round in front of the audience before walking back again. In this outfit, Shania’s real age could not be told. Her figure was also good; she had curves in exactly the right places.

At this point, Tang En suddenly discovered that Shania was no longer the 13-year-old when they first met. Four years had gone by. She was already a lady, a beautiful flower at 17.

She was already 17. Tang En rubbed his chin as he clucked his tongue. Time had gone by so quickly. Without realizing, it had already been four years.

Shania was the main lead for this event, so she appeared frequently on the scene. Each time she appeared, she wore a different outfit with changed make-up and hair. It was tough on her. Although Tang En was not interested in the event itself, he still brightened his spirits to smile at Shania whenever the girl looked at him during her appearance.

Each time she came out, Shania’s gaze would drift towards Tang En. This time, she was not looking at dozens of footballs. She was only looking at one person, Tony Twain alone.

She suddenly felt a little nervous. It was a good thing that Uncle Tony maintained his encouraging smiles at her the whole time.

※※※

Midway through the event, Beckham had to depart first. He explained to Tang En that it was because he still had training in the afternoon and needed to rush back home to prepare for it. Tang En believed it was the truth. Anyhow, since Shania was still yet to return to the runway, Tang En decided he might as well get up and send Beckham out personally.

One by one, the camera lenses of the media swiveled around from the runway to focus on the two.

Tang En was no longer concerned about how the media was going to report on this.

Squeezing their way out from the crowd, Tang En walked Beckham all the way to the car park. Neither of them spoke on the way there.

Beckham opened the car door, and turned to Tang En standing behind him, saying, “It’s really a pity, Tony.”

Tang En knew what he meant by his words and sighed. “It really is a pity, David.”

Beckham got into the car and shut the doors. He stretched his head out from the window. “Goodbye, Tony.”

“Goodbye, David.” Tang En muttered. He watched the car slowly drive out of the carpark and turning into the main street.

Seeing Beckham’s car vanish into the stream of vehicles, Tang En took out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Allan Adam’s number.

“Hey, Allan. I’m Tony.”

“Tony! How’s the matter progressing?” Hearing Tang En’s voice, Allan was elated and filled with anticipation.

“Stop thinking about David Beckham, Allan. He won’t belong to us. I’ll tell you more about the situation when I return.” Saying so, Tang En hung up the phone. His mood was terrible. Despite having transmigrated, he still did not manage to change that damned “future”. Beckham, at 31, should never go to a subpar League such as the Major League Soccer, and spend his days mucking around there until his retirement.

No matter how many people there were in the world who loathed and felt disgusted by David Beckham, Tang En continued standing by his own viewpoint – that this man was one of the professional footballers that he admired. Other people’s hatred of him was their business; Tang En did not need to be accountable for their feelings.

※※※

After loitering for a while outside, Tang En returned to the event and obediently watched Shania’s show until its end.

His “work” in Spain had already ended. Now, he should be putting all his focus onto “private matters” – accompanying Shania to have fun.

What was fun in Madrid?

In Tang En’s eyes at least, nothing was truly fun. This place was no different from any other city from around the world. The only difference it held today was Shania’s presence in Madrid, and not Paris, Shanghai, or Tokyo.

So, the supposed “fun” was only to accompany Shania wherever the girl wanted to go. He would simply follow and be by her side accompanying her.

Shania’s idea of fun was also not about having to visit places of scenery, tourist attractions, or amusement parks for rollercoaster rides. It was not any of them. She was happy so long as Uncle Tony was by her side accompanying her. After all, it was not a common thing for them to be able to meet like this.

What surprised Tang En was that Shania did not choose to go to luxury brand stores, or anything of that sort. Instead, she directly dragged Tang En to Bernabéu Stadium.

Standing beneath the gigantic white structure, Tang En was still puzzling over why Shania wanted to come here. Didn’t she dislike football?

Shania did not have any intentions of looking around the place. She pulled Tang En to stand at the square outside, and then asked manager cum driver, Mr. Fascal, to help take a photograph of Tang En and herself.

Shania curled her hands around Tang En’s arm and leant her head on his shoulders. A sweet smile blossomed on her face.

Tang En turned to look at Shania. It was then he discovered that the girl was already almost as tall as he was. His height was at 1.84 meters. In his estimation, Shania had to at least be 1.78 meters now. She had truly become a grown-up. Would he no longer be able to continue treating her as a child in the future?

At the instance when Tang En turned his head to look at Shania, Fascal pressed on the shutters. He felt that the effect of the shot was great and did not intend to retake it.

“Woah! You took it just like that?” Tang En was startled by the flash. He was not even the least bit ready.

Fascal waved the digital camera he held in his hands. “I’m no professional photographer, but I’m very satisfied with this shot.”

Shania’s sunny smile and the attention Tang En unwittingly showered on her had both been captured on the LCD screen.

Tang En looked at their picture on the screen and thought it was great too.

“Alright. Give me a copy when you develop the picture.” He said. The two of them, Shania and himself, did not have any formal shots together. He intended to frame this picture up and place it on the bedside table in his bedroom. That way, he would see that vibrant smile every morning when he woke. His day’s mood would also become better.

Fascal looked at Shania with a smile and nodded. “If Mr. Tony wants a copy, I can give it to you right away.”

※※※

After ending their day in Madrid, Tang En sat on his return flight to England, from Madrid to London, with the photo he had taken with Shania in front of Bernabéu tucked closely to him.

Tang En gained his first picture together with Shania, but at the same time, failed to acquire Beckham whom he wanted.

Chapter 496 - If It Had Not Been for Him ...

The day after Twain returned to Nottingham, a number of Spanish and English media outlets showed pictures of him shaking hands with Beckham. The media speculated that the reason for his trip to Spain was not as simple as attending Shania’s show.

His relationship with Shania had been clear to everyone since The Sun had speculated that he had abducted the young girl and gone to Spain. They were just friends. It was understandable for him to attend and support a friend’s runway show.

Victoria and Shania’s friendship was also known to the media, so it was normal for Victoria and her husband to attend Shania’s show.

But was it truly a coincidence that Beckham Tony had run into each other? Who could guarantee that they had not talked about anything during this half a day?

Without Twain and Beckham speaking out, the media came to the conclusion that Twain must have gone to Madrid to lobby for Beckham to join the team. Everyone on the planet knew that Beckham was not happy in Real Madrid. However, given his thirty-one years of age and his wife, Victoria, who hankered for Hollywood in America, there were not many football clubs that had decided to bring him in. At present, based on the summary of news from everywhere, the United States Los Angeles Galaxy was the closest to the truth even though it sounded the most absurd.

If Beckham really went to the United States, he would upset a lot of his fans. Especially those fans who really liked to watch him play football rather than look at his face.

Although Twain was not a fan of Beckham, he also felt that it would be a shame for him to go to the United States. If he could not sign on this heartthrob as he wished with this great opportunity, it would be even more impossible in the future.

※※※

Beckham had already informed his agent to stop the negotiation for a contract extension with Real Madrid. The Real Madrid club did not show enough sincerity in the negotiation and seemed happy for Beckham himself to offer not to renew his contract and leave here. Since that was the case, Beckham would fulfill them.

On the face of it, Real Madrid still said they were in talks with Beckham’s agent about a contract renewal. In fact, both sides had already known for a while what kind of situation it was.

Victoria showed her husband a photo album of Los Angeles. She planned to find a good area to buy a house. Tom Cruise warmly introduced to her the mansion next to his place.

Victoria was delighted with the environment there.

Nonetheless, all of those still required Beckham to give the nod.

Beckham was a little distracted while looking at the scenery surrounding his future home. He had been like this ever since Twain spoke to him. He had been preoccupied.

How could Victoria not know what was going on in Beckham’s mind?

Twain had brought a new option to her husband, and her husband was bothered by it.

Victoria put down the photo album and sat opposite Beckham.

She looked at her husband, “David.”

“I think it’s good,” Beckham replied absentmindedly.

“I didn’t ask you a question,” Victoria sighed.

“Oh...” Beckham smiled apologetically.

“Okay, I’m going ask you now. Do you want to accompany me to America?” asked Victoria.

“Of course, I would, Victoria,” Beckham replied without hesitation.

“You’re lying.” Not only was Victoria not placated, but she also exposed Beckham’s lie with a blank face. “If you really wanted to, why would you be so distracted?”

Victoria revealed Beckham’s heart, and he was speechless.

“You want to go back to England, don’t you?”

After being quiet for a long while, Beckham shook his head and said, “I don’t know.” His gaze drifted to another picture book which was a team publication for the Los Angeles Galaxy team. His agent brought it for him to get to know the team better. But he did not flip through it at the time. Since he was really going to the United States anyway, how much time did he have left to play football? Choosing to negotiate with the Los Angeles Galaxy was not due to the brilliance of the team or how powerful the squad was. It was purely because it was a team in Los Angeles and Hollywood was there.

When Victoria first got the team publication, she also said to Beckham, “This team’s jersey really looks like Real Madrid’s.”

Now, he looked at the white jersey again. It was all sponsored by the same sporting goods company, so it was no surprise that the style was the same.

If the white color was like Real Madrid’s, what about a red color...

It was just like Manchester United.

The red-colored Manchester United and the red-colored Nottingham Forest.

Beckham raised his head. “I’m sorry, Victoria. I know I owe you a lot ... For the sake of my career, you’ve sacrificed yours. I’m willing to go to America because I think that can make up for all the sacrifices you’ve made. To be honest, I’m not interested in going to the United States to play football.” He emphasized “play football.”

Victoria did not look surprised. She just shrugged. “I knew it.”

“This might be somewhat holding fast to something. It’s not fair to you. But I’m...” Beckham stopped in silence at that point.

Victoria also did not speak. She picked up the Los Angeles photo album again and looked at it.

There was a brief but awkward silence in the room. Fortunately, Victoria’s phone rang.

“Hello, Simon?”

Victoria got up and walked towards the balcony. Beckham knew it was Victoria’s manager who called, and he was not in the mood to think about the reason for the call. He was still conflicted inside.

Should he accompany his wife to the United States, or change his mind?

Twain’s words still rang in his ears: your hundreds of national team games, your dream of the UEFA European Championship ... Have you forgotten all about those?

How could he forget? When he was replaced in the last game of the World Cup, he had wept at his heartbreak at the sidelines. That was only six months ago. How could he have forgotten? What was he crying about then?

He had cried for his own passing years and his long-gone youth. But his dream was still a dream. He had attained all the football club honors that were to be taken. However, the national team honor was still a blank.

He wept that he could no longer participate in the next World Cup. He could only bet all he had on the 2008 UEFA European Championship.

Who had thought that so many things would happen in half a season? He was cold-shouldered in Real Madrid. He not only lost the club’s main position, but he did not even have a position in the national team’s list.

Not to mention the European Championship, even if playing for one hundred games for the national team in a Class A tournament had become wishful thinking.

If he really did go to America, would McClaren, who found him disagreeable, still recruit him for the national team? It was inconceivable.

Henceforth, with David Beckham missing from the international football scene, McClaren could prove to the world how wise he was to give up recruiting Beckham for the national team at that time. He could adapt the national team to play without David Beckham’s playing style ahead of time.

Are you willing to do that? David? You said you respect McClaren’s choice in front of the media and are always ready to play for the national team. But are you willing to put up with cold treatment from a national team manager? He completely disregarded your efforts in the national team.

The failure of the World Cup required a person to be responsible. Eriksson was gone, but that was not enough. To show that his new English team was completely different from the former failed England team, it was necessary to banish a player prized by the former manager.

Consequently, as the former captain of the previous team, David Beckham was banished. If it went smoothly, this banishment would be far away: Los Angeles, across the Atlantic Ocean and the American continent.

Victoria came back after her call. She looked like she was in good spirits, with a hint of a smile on her face.

“Looks like you have some good news?” asked Beckham.

Victoria nodded. “Simon called and asked if I was interested in the Spice Girls reunion.”

Beckham raised an eyebrow. He had not expected this news.

“I think it’s funny. Us sisters have children now and performing in that capacity again... It must be exciting.” said Victoria, looking radiant.

“Did you say yes?”

Victoria nodded, “Yes.”

“Good.” Beckham’s eyebrows were unfurrowed. “I also hope you can continue your career.” Then he seemed to have made a big decision. He looked up at his wife.

“Victoria, I ... I don’t want to give up on football so early.” He finally said what was on his mind. Victoria did not answer. Instead, she gazed at Beckham, waiting for him to finish. “This ...” he pointed to the spacious and brightly lit room with the high-end furniture and home electronics, magnificent as a palace, and said, “Everything was given to me by football. I don’t want people to think I’m just a footballer who makes money on appearances. I want to prove to myself and those who underestimate me again... that David Beckham doesn’t just sell jerseys.”

Victoria put down her cell phone and waved her arms as if she wanted to say something, but gave up the idea in the end. She turned her back to her husband, wrapped her arms around herself, and looked out the window at the sunny sky.

※※※

Under the same clear sky, in the middle of England, was Wilford, Nottingham.

“Tony, let’s talk about what happened to you in Madrid.” In the office of Evan Doughty, the club’s three big shots got together.

Although the three of them already knew the result, Evan was still interested in what Beckham had specifically said.

Allan sat on the side in somewhat low spirits.

Twain looked at the two men and shook his head. “There’s nothing much to say. I tried my best to get him to change his mind. But he was already prepared. He used his family as an excuse. What else can I say? I couldn’t tell him to leave his wife, could I? I would have fallen out with him on the first day. I could only take the indirect approach, but he had obviously made up his mind. No matter what I said, it was of no use to him.”

“You didn’t try to convince Victoria?” Allan interjected, seated next to him.

Twain glanced at him, knowing that he must be unwilling to accept it. “I can’t convince her, and neither could Shania. She knows the reasons she does things and what she should do in everything that she does. She thinks independently. If an outsider couls persuade her so easily... then she wouldn’t be Victoria Beckham. What’s more, you think the only person who can get Beckham to change his mind is Victoria. I happen to think the opposite, Allan. I think the only person who can convince Victoria is Beckham.”

Evan cleared his throat and said, “It’s no use saying that now. Either way, Beckham is out of our plan. If he doesn’t belong to us, he doesn’t belong to us. We’re halfway through the season and our performance is not ideal compared to last season. But I believe in you, Tony. What gift are you going to bring us at the end of this season?”

Twain extended a finger and was about to speak when his cell phone rang from his pocket.

He shrugged in apology at the two men and turned to walk out to answer the call.

A few minutes later, he came back again with a smile on his face.

“Evan, you asked me just now what gift I was going to give you. Well, I can give it to you now.” He wagged the phone in his hand. “Guess who just called me?” Then, without waiting for the two men to answer, he announced the answer. “David Beckham.”

Allan sat on the sofa and did not change his position. Evan raised an eyebrow.

“He’s interested in coming back to England. Pity that Manchester United doesn’t have an interest in his return. Given that Nottingham Forest is one of the sincerest clubs in all of England, his agent will be very happy to talk to us about specific terms. If he’s satisfied, he’ll ours after half a season!”

When he finished speaking, Twain was unable to stay calm. Things had taken a new turn for the best. Just as the matter had come to a head, there was another glimmer of hope.

This time, Allan could no longer pretend to be reserved. He suddenly stood up from his seat.

Twain smiled at him. “In terms of the tournaments, my terms can satisfy him. What happens next is up to you, Allan. How high a weekly salary are you going to give your money-making machine?”

This time, it was Allan’s turn to be tested.

Van Nistelrooy was currently the highest-paid player in the team with eighty-five thousand. At the same time, because of Twain’s adjustment to the internal structure of the team, the players who were valued by Twain had re-signed a new contract with the club and their salaries had improved to varying degrees. It was a reflection of the Forest team’s good financial position last season. But it was clear that eighty-five thousand was not going to be enough for Beckham.

Twain did not have to worry about that issue. He passed the ball to Allan and then made an excuse to leave the chairman’s office.

What he should be thinking about now was what kind of adjustments he should make to his squad and tactics if Beckham did come to the Forest team.

※※※

Beckham managed to persuade his wife, but the matter was not over yet. He needed to convince his sponsors. The American side had almost wanted to announce a deal with Beckham but had suddenly been informed by Beckham’s agent that things had changed, and Beckham preferred to stay in Europe to develop his football career.

Beckham’s move to the Los Angeles Galaxy team was not merely a matter between the club and the player. It also involved the strategies that Major League Soccer and Adidas had for America.

The terms that the Americans offered to Beckham were almost impossible to reject: a five-hundred-thousand-pound weekly salary! The contract was for five years. Within those five years, he could reap one hundred and twenty-eight million pounds in income. This was a daunting figure. But in fact, no matter how much money the Los Angeles Galaxy had, it was a challenge for them to raise this amount of money alone. Therefore, Adidas needed to be responsible for part of the annual salary to balance out the club’s cash flow.

Hence, it was a complex matter for Beckham to go to America. Now, if Beckham was to stay in Europe, he also needed to straighten out the disruptions from all sides. He must persuade Adidas to let him go to a Nike sponsored team to play football. It was said to be the player’s personal freedom to play for whichever club he wanted, but in fact, the will of the sponsors often hid behind every decision.

If Beckham were to go to Nottingham Forest, then he might—no, must—sacrifice some of his financial interests in exchange for this freedom in his choice.

As for the Major League Soccer in the United States, that was easy to take care of. Because both sides had not signed any contracts or agreements, Beckham had the right to change his mind. Perhaps this would leave a bad impression on the Americans, but it was reasonable. The Americans could not use “default on a contract” to press David Beckham as there was no agreement at all between the two sides.

The Americans and Adidas could continue to increase the remuneration to entice Beckham. But this time, David Beckham seemed to be enraged by how the outside world viewed him. He was determined to prove to the world that he was not so down and out that he had to go to the football desert to make his fortune.

Since he could not play as the main force in Real Madrid and was banished from the national team’s list, the Spanish media mocked him as the worst deal for a player in Real Madrid with all the major newspapers and tabloids making plans for his retirement. The people who disliked him gleefully declared that David Beckham was not a qualified player and that he might still succeed a little if he went to Hollywood to act in a movie. Those who liked him began to lament that they could no longer witness his waning on the field. Hardly anyone still had the slightest confidence in him.

Except for Twain.

Go to America! Go to America! Go to America!

They could hate him or love him, but everyone thought he was set to go to America. A five-hundred-thousand-pound weekly salary beckoned to him, and the Hollywood celebrities were waiting in line to invite him to dinner parties ... Aren’t you a man who likes to make money and chase fame and fortune? And now that these are in front of you, what reason do you have to reject them, David Beckham?

Except for Twain.

“...Before you announce your retirement someday, you’re still a footballer first before you’re anything else second.”

He was not the first to say that to himself. Ferguson and Capello had said so to him. But when those two people said that, their tone inevitably contained an underlying imperious manner that he did not like. Only Tony Twain was sincere when he said that. He did not rebuke Beckham in the role of a manager but as a friend. He persuaded him as a peer and considered things from his perspective.

How many of the people who said, “we’re looking at David’s football standard, and not his earning power,” were truly sincere? Was Florentino (the former president of the Real Madrid Club) sincere? That would be a joke.

Except for Twain.

If it had not been for him, Beckham would have just left Spain as a loser. After he came to Real Madrid, the club had not won any of the major championship trophies. The media said he was a cancer in the club and seemed justified in their claims. If it had not been for him, it would have become an iron-clad fact after he had gone, and anyone who mentioned the year after David Beckham transferred to Real Madrid would shake his head and say, “it was a failed transfer, whether for Real Madrid or for Beckham himself.”

The emergence of that man made him determined to prove himself again. Even if he wanted to leave this city himself, he did not want to appear to be a loser and get kicked out. Not only did he want to train hard to get back into the main position, but he also wanted to play with a better standard and become a dominant player on a team. He wanted Capello and Calderon to regret not renewing the contract with him until 2009. He wanted to help the team fight for the league trophy that looked like it was already remote. Before he left, he wanted to let everyone, whether they hated or loved him, say:

Letting go of David Beckham was the stupidest decision Calderon and Capello made in their lives!

Chapter 497 - A Bombshell

Beckham’s willingness to enter negotiations about individual salary with Nottingham Forest was kept strictly confidential by Twain’s order. No one else knew except for the Beckham couple, his agent and the three heads at the Forest team, as well as Twain’s close friend, Dunn. Even Real Madrid did not know about it and still used insulting terms to drag their feet on the “tough” negotiations for the contract extension with his agent.

On the one hand, it was not December 31st yet, and Beckham’s contract with Real Madrid was still in effect. The other clubs could not contact the players in private. Otherwise, if Real Madrid found out, it could be taken to FIFA, and then it would create a mess.

In addition, Twain did not want to give other competitors the opportunity to intervene. As far as he knew, there were three clubs in England that had made it clear they were interested in Beckham.

What kind of advantage did Twain have? If he had not become Beckham’s friend by chance, then he would not have had the upper hand in the contest, let alone the opportunity to persuade Beckham to change his mind in person.

Allan quietly set off for Madrid to negotiate the individual terms with Beckham’s agent while Twain and Dunn worked on how to arrange the team’s lineup and tactical play once Beckham arrived.

Beckham could play as the right midfielder and also the defensive midfielder. Taking his increasing age and frequent injuries into account, Twain was not worried about him competing with the other two right midfielders for a position. The Forest team would certainly have to compete in more tournaments next season, so they did not need to worry about not playing. Furthermore, this was England and not Spain. No matter how arrogant the club’s top players were, they could not give orders on Twain’s lineup. If he put Beckham on the bench or even in the stands due to his poor form, Allan would not dare talk back other than muttering a few words in private.

After Albertini had retired, Beckham could occasionally play the defensive midfielder position. Although his defensive ability was average, his long pass could still be counted as the best in the world. A defensive counterattack would be amazing with such a kick from him.

In addition, van Nistelrooy had been close friends with Beckham while he was at Manchester United. There was no need to worry about the rapport between the two of them. With a strong center forward like Bendtner, Beckham’s precise flank, pass, and set pieces would be given more room to play.

At the same time, when he was on the field with Beckham, their free kicks would also be better.

Moreover, Beckham was usually professional. Twain was not worried at all that this “celebrity” would be a bad influence on this bunch of boys. Beckham would only set a better example for the players on the training ground. There were not many people in the world who were as famous as he was and still insisted on practicing every day.

Maybe Beckham’s arrival would make Aaron Lennon a little worried. However, Twain would placate Lennon himself when the time came. After all, no matter how good Beckham was, he could only play for a few more years. The future of the team still belonged to him and Ashley Young.

On Christmas, Twain finally received Allan Adam’s Christmas present from Spain: a copy of the contract in effect signed by both parties.

Under the contract, Beckham would move to Nottingham Forest on a free transfer for a two-year contract after his contract with Real Madrid expired this season. Nottingham Forest would pay Beckham a lower weekly salary of just one hundred and ten thousand pounds, a far cry from the Los Angeles Galaxy’s promise of five hundred thousand pounds. In exchange, the Forest team gave up all the usage rights to Beckham’s images. At the same time, Beckham’s agent also said that it was because of the friendship between Beckham and Tony that he decided to take a voluntary pay cut.

But Allan did not know that the friendship was only one of the reasons. There was a more important reason Beckham did not tell anyone—just like Twain admired Beckham, Beckham also admired Twain. He thought Tony Twain, a manager who repeatedly worked miracles, would be able to change the world’s impression of him. As a 31-year-old old man, he could be revitalized under Twain’s hands. It was a gamble; the remaining few years of his career at stake could be the right amount of time to rise to glory again.

Therefore, he gave up a high salary for it.

Allan did not really care about the income from the usage rights of Beckham’s images. After all, compared to that, the Forest team would be the one earning the big bucks as Beckham was willing to come to the Forest team. At that time, with the rise of their image internationally and influence in the global market, they would grow exponentially. With a “low weekly salary,” they could also finally balance the team’s wage structure and not make Beckham too prominent, avoiding some dissatisfaction. The team’s internal unity would also be ensured.

The details of the contract had not yet been revealed, so Allan tried his best to suppress his ecstasy. They had to wait until January 1st of the following year to announce such important news.

Then it would be like having one bombshell after another landing and exploding among the media.

※※※

Twain took the fax to his office and shut the door before he burst into laughter. He was not able to pretend to be serious and mature at this moment. He was really excited. Since he joined this world, everything that he did seemed to have changed the world, whether intentionally or not. However, Beckham’s transfer was the first time that he had used so much personal belief and motivation to change an ending known to him.

Looking at the future that he had torn to pieces, he’d never felt better. All the stuff about Barcelona being invincible and AC Milan rebuilding its dynasty; they were all nonsense! Now, slowly unfolding in front of him, was not a wonderful picture, but a blank page.

A clean white page with not even a single ink drop on it. He could enjoy writing and painting. He could draw the picture that he wanted to see and write a future that belonged to him.

That feeling was like holding the entire world in his hands. It was like the Nottingham Forest’s theme song—I’ve got the whole world in my hands!

Beckham was just a key to the new world. After Twain unlocked the door, he discovered what had appeared in front of his eyes this time was really a brand-new world. It was completely different from that world when he’d first joined.

Nothing could stop him from creating a new world. Tony Twain, an otherwise unknown nobody, was going to be a nightmare that no one would ever forget in the future!

※※※

After Christmas, Allan Adams, who had returned from Spain, spent almost every day marking the calendar. As the days went by, the day he’d long anticipated—Jan 1st, 2007—was finally here.

After the arrival of the new year, Beckham only had six months left on his contract with Real Madrid. According to the regulations, any club could bypass Real Madrid at this point and talk to Beckham directly about the contract. They also did not need to pay Real Madrid for the transfer fee at all. They could just take Beckham, on whom they had spent 35 million euros by that time.

Real Madrid was supposed to avoid this kind of situation at all costs and complete the contract renewal with the players before the new year. But since Beckham lost his main spot during this half of the season and the new president wanted to erase the footprints left from the Florentino era when he came to power, Real Madrid was not in a hurry to renew the contract with Beckham. Therefore, Twain was able to burrow his way into the gap.

“Happy New Year, boss.” Pierce Brosnan, the reporter from Nottingham Evening Post who did not need to be at work on the first day of the new year, picked up a call from his boss in puzzlement. He was woken from his sleep by the phone call. He glanced groggily at the alarm clock on the bedside table, which read 8:45 AM.

“Enough with the niceties, Pierce!” His boss’s voice rang with urgency over the phone “Where are you now? Home? In a car to your vacation? Or in the bathroom?”

“Uh, I’m still in bed....”

“You’re still in bed?” his boss yelled. “Get up at once!”

“But, sir, I don’t have to go to work today....”

“Stop your damn nonsense. Get out of bed right now, and get dressed and get to the City Ground stadium! You only have 15 minutes!”

“What? What’s going on?” His boss’s loud voice woke him up completely. He sat up from his bed and put on his pants while he was on the phone.

“You’ll know once you get there!” The call ended with a beep. Before they disconnected, Brosnan vaguely heard his boss’s voice coming through. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on.…”

Pierce Brosnan did not dare to waste any time. The news that made the old man so excited, it had to be big.

With a tie in one hand and a briefcase in the other, Brosnan rushed out of the house like a whirlwind with no time to comb his hair.

※※※

When Pierce Brosnan arrived at Nottingham Forest’s home, the City Ground stadium, he found that the parking lot was full of cars from the various media across the country, and even the press from other countries. He had been following the Forest team for nearly four years, and the sight of so much media gathering like this was still rare to come by. Even when Nottingham Forest advanced to the Champions League final, there were not as much media as there were today.

Besides several of Britain’s leading media outlets, he briefly counted Spanish, French, Italian, American, and even Japanese and Chinese media were here. It appeared something big had happened. Baffled, he made his way to the press hall, which was specially reserved for press conferences.

He was still some distance away when he saw the busy crowd going in and out of the entrance. Various equipment for photography and videography had been moved in. The BBC and Sky TV’s broadcast vans were parked at the entrance. Walking in, he was startled by the crowded scene inside. Other than the equipment, the room was filled with the reporters. The sea of bodies pressed against each other made the originally spacious room impenetrable.

Brosnan had even more doubts in his mind as he struggled to squeeze in. His ears were filled with commentaries from his peers. He planned to take this opportunity to discreetly scout out some information first. However, the people around him did not know and were just guessing. A few of the reporters he knew came up to ask when they saw him. They wanted to know if he knew why Tony Twain decided to hold a press conference at the last minute and what kind of tricks he was playing. These people thought that Brosnan was the reporter in the media circle closest to Twain. Perhaps he would have some “insider information.”

But Brosnan’s answer disappointed them. “I was called straight out of bed by my boss. I don’t know what’s going on either.”

The group of disappointed people turned to walk away when a man with the BBC logo on his chest muttered, “It’s not Beckham coming, is it?”

When Brosnan heard this, a thought popped in his mind. There is a good chance.

He turned his gaze toward the table already covered with microphones and recording pens. Everything could only be speculation when the leading man was not there yet.

※※※

While the reporters made full use of their imagination to guess what big news Twain was going to announce, Twain made a call to Beckham in the room upstairs.

As someone who had already experienced it, he knew what Beckham would face in Real Madrid after this press conference. There were things that could change because of him, such as Beckham had changed the team of his choice. But there were things that would never change, even if the Earth died out, like the old guy, Fabio Capello’s character.

“I can almost see the look on Capello’s face once he hears this news.” Twain stood in front of the huge lattice window as he looked at the busy reporters below and said over the phone, “I think I should warn you, David, before you officially announce the news. Your move will definitely aggravate that proud Italian. He will see this as a betrayal.”

“The contract is already signed. Why would I still be afraid that the announcement will infuriate him?” On the other end of the line, Beckham smiled. “I don’t think I have any problems with what I did. Even if Real Madrid becomes angry, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Twain kept quiet for a moment before he said, “Very well. If Capello is really angry about this and wants to eliminate you, even though I know I’m in no position to say this, I still hope you can continue to train hard to return to the main lineup as the goal of your training efforts. That guy has a stubborn temper, but he’s not completely unreasonable. This may be an opportunity for you, David. If you keep training under such circumstances, he may change his mind about you, and in the last half of the season, he may even give you a chance.”

“I intend to do the same as what you just said, Tony. I’m not going to give up trying to get my position in Real Madrid just because I’m going to the Forest team next season. I don’t want to.” Beckham was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to leave Bernabéu as a failure. But, Tony, why are you suddenly so concerned about Real Madrid? It’s not even your team.”

Twain smiled wryly as he thought to himself. Who says that I’m concerned about Real Madrid? You just confirmed that you will do this. He found a lofty excuse. “Because I don’t want my future players to be called ‘a failure that fled Bernabéu.’ You know, my players are very strong.”

Beckham laughed. “Thank you, Tony.”

“Don’t thank me, David. As a welcome, I’ll give you a present at that time.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“It’s a secret. It will not be a surprise if I say it.”

“Haha, okay, I’ll wait for your surprise, Tony.”

At the end of the call, Twain realized that Allan Adams and Evan Doughty stood behind him.

“When did you get here?”

“Right when you said, ‘my players are very strong.'” Evan smiled brightly.

“Let’s go. Those people down there must be waiting anxiously.” Allan could not wait to announce this piece of news.

“I think you’re anxious to do so.” As soon as Twain said those words, all three men laughed at the same time.

The last time all three men appeared at a press conference at the same time was when Tony Twain was announced as the new manager of the Forest team. This time it was to announce that David Beckham was to join the team.

Both times could be counted as milestone events. The first time represented the rapid rise of Nottingham Forest in tournaments. Would this time be the beginning of full economic growth in the Nottingham Forest Football Club?

※※※

When the three heads appeared at the press conference, all the reporters quieted down. There was no other sound on the scene other than the noise of the working equipment.

It was rare to see these three men appearing at a press conference simultaneously. Some people’s guesses had been gradually confirmed.

“I don’t know how many people here have guessed the right answer. But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to announce the answer now.” Twain smiled and looked at the dense mass of reporters under the stage. This was absolutely sensational news. Who could have thought of it before? Not a single person!

“I don’t want to talk rubbish, because everyone is waiting to go back and write the article. So, I’m just going to say one thing.” Twain straightened his right index finger.

When everyone saw this finger, they held their breath, pricked their ears, and widened their eyes.

“We’re happy to have reached an agreement with the Real Madrid player, David Beckham, who will join Nottingham Forest on a free transfer at the end of the season.”

There was a rumble and the venue, which had been so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, suddenly erupted in a clamor.

The three men sitting on the stage watched the group of overwhelmed reporters below, smiles of satisfaction on their faces.

Chapter 498 - Character Determines Fate

On the morning of January 1st, Twain announced at the Nottingham City Ground stadium that the Forest team would bring in David Beckham on a free transfer the next season. The news caused a sensation in both Spain and England. Previously, everyone assumed that when Beckham left Bernabéu, he would definitely go to Los Angeles because his wife liked the colorful world of Hollywood. Unexpectedly, Beckham, who had always listened to Victoria, went against his wife’s wishes for once and insisted on staying in Europe and in the center of the football world.

Just a minute after the press conference had ended, the welcome page of Nottingham Forest’s official website featured news about Beckham’s free transfer.

Meanwhile, at the Nottingham Forest merchandise stores surrounding the City Ground stadium, the jerseys with Beckham’s number 24 printed on them were placed on the merchandise shelves. The Forest fans who caught wind of it snatched them up within half a day.

This had all been prepared long ago. Twain remembered when Beckham went to the LA Galaxy, the LA Galaxy team had sold Beckham’s jerseys like mad. As a result, he suggested to Allan that they could try selling the Forest team jerseys with Beckham’s name in advance. Anyway, half a season later, Beckham was bound to be part of their team. It did not matter whether they sold them earlier or later. If they sold them earlier, they could make money half a season earlier.

Allan thought this was a good idea, so he made arrangements accordingly. The sales volume computed after the first morning made him beam with joy.

On the day van Nistelrooy joined, they sold 720 jerseys.

After the announcement of Beckham’s signing, they sold 1,300 jerseys in half a day.

It was almost as much as the sales for van Nistelrooy. If Allan Adams had not deliberately controlled the number of jerseys, perhaps there would be more sales.

※※※

Twain received two calls in the afternoon. The first call was from Manchester United’s manager, Ferguson.

“Tony, you took my man again.” Even as he said it, Twain did not detect any hint of anger in Ferguson’s tone.

So he laughed happily and replied, “Don’t tell me Manchester United also secretly contacted Beckham’s agent?”

“That’s impossible. We don’t need a 31-year-old Beckham.” Ferguson’s words were a little heartless but in line with his usual style. Any player who was old and could not keep up with the team’s requirements had to be eliminated. He only considered the issue of generational change from the team’s perspective.

Twain whistled into the phone. The answer was really forthright.

“I just have one question. I hope to get your answer. I know Beckham did not want to come back to England because of his feelings for Manchester United. He once said he won’t return because he did not want to be enemies with Manchester United. How did you convince him?” Ferguson admitted his surprise when he found out that Beckham had chosen to return to England to join Nottingham Forest. His interest in Tony Twain grew stronger, so he could not wait to call him.

“Very simple. I told him that he does not have to be on the main list whenever Nottingham Forest plays against Manchester United. This condition can be written in the contract as a guarantee.”

Ferguson just went, “Ah.” The answer was as he had guessed. However, this clause was usually used in La Liga and Real Madrid, whom Beckham currently played for. In fact, it somewhat violated the principle of fair play because it amounted to a covert weakening of the opponent’s strength. Therefore, the Uruguayan defensive midfielder, Pablo Garcia, who was dumped by Real Madrid, said this was a “bullsh*t clause.”

Twain was willing to do this because he really wanted to rope in Beckham by any means necessary.

“But he refused,” Twain said next, taking Ferguson by surprise.

“Refused?”

“He didn’t accept this condition. Do you know what he said to me, Sir?”

Ferguson was silent for a moment before he said, “Let’s hear it.”

“I’m a professional player and since I promised to sign with the Forest team, I’m part of the Forest team. If I refuse to play because of my feelings for Manchester United, then it is unprofessional.’ Those were his exact words.”

This time, Ferguson remained quiet longer, so much so that Twain thought the call was disconnected.

After a while, Twain heard a faint sigh coming from the other end of the line.

“I’m still surprised. How did you convince him to go against that woman, Victoria?”

Everyone knew that Ferguson detested Victoria. Someone once asked Ferguson at a party, “If I were to give you a gun and a bullet, who would you shoot? Wenger or Victoria?” Ferguson only smiled and said, “Can I have two?” It was evident the extent to which he hated Victoria. Therefore, Twain was not surprised by his remark.

“I don’t think I had convinced him to go against Victoria. I didn’t even try to persuade Beckham to do so. I can see that he loves his wife very much.”

On the other end of the line came a snort. “Huh.”

Twain did not mind so he said, “It was David who convinced himself and then persuaded Victoria.”

“He convinced himself?”

When Twain closed his eyes and recalled he was still a fan, he knew everything about what had happened to Real Madrid this season. It was almost like an exciting thriller and a suspenseful movie. His only regret was not being able to watch the end of the film because he transferred before the end of the season. But he saw the turning point that changed the ending and the return of the key figures during this film. It was not difficult to guess the ending.

“Beckham’s career has not been very smooth since he left Manchester United. Even though he’s earning more and more money, he has not gained on the football field any honor.”

Ferguson replied, “I said a long time ago that without that woman Victoria he could have achieved a lot more than he has now. But he didn’t listen, he loves that woman. This bastard had been blinded by love.”

Twain waited quietly for Ferguson to finish venting before he continued, “But he still did okay at Real Madrid for the first few seasons, and his immense commercial value gave him an unshakable place in the team. He was almost never left out of the starting list. But this season, after Capello went to Real Madrid, everything changed. Beckham found himself no longer valued, and even the club, which had always supported him, intended to clear him out. The media outlets said he was the prime culprit for Real Madrid’s three fruitless seasons. The fans vented their frustration on every player because of the team’s poor performance, and even Beckham was no exception. The team is internally divisive, and the locker room atmosphere is a mess. The manager’s distrust, frequent injuries, the World Cup fiasco and being ruled out of the national team’s big list. He was on the verge of being washed-up.”

This time Ferguson did not speak, but waited quietly for Twain to go on.

“He’s only 31 years old and has to go to a broken place like America to spend the last years of his career. I don’t think there’s basically any difference in going to the United States and going to Qatar—they are deserts. In fact, I did not say anything, and I failed to persuade him. He used his family as an excuse, so I did not continue to try. But I’m sure Beckham was unwilling to accept his current situation.”

What was his situation? He was almost abandoned by the entire world—everyone flaunted their strength in front of him and sentenced him to death. Every gloating face stared at him, expecting him to make a mistake, looking forward to him down on his luck, expecting him to be consigned to the eternal damnation of the abyss in hell. That kind of feeling was truly awful.

When he reached an impasse, Beckham saw exactly what he really needed. Money? He had made enough money, and he would continue making it. He did not lack money. Glory? As a professional player, he had obtained almost all the championships he could get in a football club. There was no more hope for the World Cup due to his age. He was not short of glory.

So, what did he lack?

“What he lacks is respect. Not the respect for him as the world’s top entertainment star or heartthrob. It’s the respect as a professional player. Most people who mention him only think of him as a weakling who relies on his looks and wife to make money. They think with his mediocre playing skills; he is still able to be adored by thousands is because he has a pretty face. Didn’t the Spanish media say it all? What does it take to be a successful player? First one needs a pretty face, and then train hard to improve one’s skills. The face is the most important; the legs don’t matter. You see, that’s what everyone thinks, and Beckham will not accept it. He wants to prove again that he is still a qualified professional player and that his legs are more important than his face. But if he had gone to the United States, he would have completely validated what everyone thought of him, and even lost the chance to fight back. So, he cannot go. He wants to stay in Europe and prove to those who doubt and despise him that David Beckham is firstly an excellent player.”

“So, he chose Nottingham Forest, which was willing to give him a chance to prove himself again,” Ferguson added.

Twain chuckled on the other end of the line, “You can say that. I just told David that he is a professional footballer until he announces his retirement someday and nothing else.”

Ferguson had watched Beckham grow up, and Sir Alex believed that Twain’s remark was justified.

“If he had listened to me earlier and stayed away from that woman, he would not have been at this current juncture,” Ferguson said with some indignation.

Twain cheerfully said, “Sir Alex, love is irrational. Who can clearly say otherwise?”

“You know a lot for a bachelor, don’t you?”

“That’s why romance novels are written. Haha!”

Ferguson laughed when he heard Twain said, “Don’t be happy too soon, Tony. When Beckham comes back, that woman, Victoria will make you suffer. When is your birthday? I’ll send you a gun and a bullet as a present.”

“Can you send a few ammunition clips instead?” He did not expect Twain to ask this.

“What do you want so much for?”

“Because I have too many enemies.” Twain shrugged.

※※※

It was understandable that Ferguson would make a call. Twain could not have guessed the call from the second person.

“I have called to congratulate you. Why do you sound so cold, Mr. Twain?” asked Billy Woox with his peculiar accent over the phone. The owner of this voice completely dampened Twain’s mood.

“Why did you to call to congratulate me when Beckham is transferring over here?” Twain replied coldly. He was not gracious about it at all.

“Aren’t we all in the same boat?” Woox’s peculiar accent became weirder which made Twain shudder.

“Who’s in the same boat as you?”

“Ah, it’s all that boy, Wood’s fault. He always tells me about the loyalty to the club, and I’m tired of hearing it. Since Wood is your player and I’m his agent. Aren’t we in the same boat? Nottingham Forest has done well and is famous, so my dear Wood’s future is guaranteed.”

“Your dear Wood?” Twain grunted. He was upset that since Woox appeared, his relationship with Wood had drifted apart. He did not know if it was instigated by Woox.

“Our dear Wood, Mr. Twain.” Woox hurriedly changed his tune.

But Woox’s attitude was quite strange today, which was not as tough as before.

Twain felt there must be something behind it. It was certainly not as simple as a congratulatory call. Suddenly an idea flashed in his mind.

“Mr. Woox, you’re not coming to me again to talk about Wood’s salary, are you?”

Woox laughed on the other end. Goosebumps formed along Twain’s arms. “You’re so clever, Mr. Twain. Ah, but I’m just here to give you a reminder. I don’t really want to negotiate with you. After all, Wood and his mother are against me coming to you to talk about money. I’m just reminding you that if you’re going to reorganize the team’s salary structure in the future, be sure to keep George Wood, who has given so much to the team, in mind.”

“It’s really strange that an insatiable wolf knows how to restrain its appetite,” Twain replied sarcastically.

“Oh, it gets even weirder. Don’t tell me the close-fisted Mr. Twain is going to take the initiative to talk to me about Wood’s salary? To be honest, I think seventy-five thousand is still too low.” He did not expect Woox to turn the table on him, which dumbfounded Twain.

“No, I don’t intend to talk to you,” replied Twain, gnashing his teeth. This person was more shameless than him. Give him an inch and he would take a mile. He did not consider the consequences.

Woox sniggered on the other end as he topped Twain, “But I think Beckham will be a good teacher for Wood, so I’d like to congratulate you, Mr. Twain.”

“Beckham is the right midfielder, and George Wood is a defensive midfielder, Mr. Woox. You really don’t know football.”

“Who says they will have a teacher and student relationship on the football field? Don’t you think Beckham can help open a door for a blockhead like George to the entertainment and fashion world when he comes?”

Twain was really stunned to hear Woox say so. He really did not think about the impact of Beckham’s arrival on other people off the field.

“So, I want to thank you, Mr. Twain. You’ve been a big help to me. I was worried that no one would be able to be an example to George and tell him how wonderful the rest of the world is.” Woox hung up the phone, tittering.

Twain froze in the office with the cell phone in his hand after the call had ended.

For now, George Wood was still a qualified professional player. However, if what Woox said came to pass, he did not know at all what would happen after the arrival of Beckham, this commercial superstar. He could not do anything now except to pray that George Wood was a piece of wood from head to toe like his name and that he would not be interested in or think about anything except football.

※※※

While Twain was on the phone with Ferguson and Woox, Capello responded to this matter at a regular press conference during Real Madrid’s training in Spain. It happened exactly as Twain expected. This old man announced Beckham’s days at Real Madrid had come to an end, because this was a complete betrayal.

“How can you publicly announce that you’re going to play in another team after half a season while you still have a contract with your team? That’s the biggest disrespect to the team you are playing for. Since he doesn’t think of himself as a member of Real Madrid anymore, I’d be happy to oblige. For the next half of the season, he won’t be playing for Real Madrid for even a minute!” After the Italian manager said these words with a grim expression, there was an uproar with the exception of Beckham and Twain.

There had been a lot of discord between coaches and players in the world of football. However, Capello might be the first to do it so extremely and announce so publicly.

What did it mean that he could not play for half a season? He could not maintain his condition. No one would know what kind of player Nottingham Forest had bought Beckham as. Consequently, the English media analyzed that Capello took revenge on Nottingham Forest and made them pay a high salary to support a 31-year-old “senior” player whose condition was completely without guarantee.

On the other hand, the Spanish media argued that this was not really Capello’s decision alone, but more likely an order from the upper echelon of the club, and Capello just carried it out. Because the team needed to do a massive purge now, it was perfect that Beckham did the opposite which could intimidate the players and show Real Madrid’s renewed determination to usher in new blood.

It was a great strategy.

Twain made a phone call to Beckham after he saw the news. He found out that David had not been affected, and that he had anticipated everything. Twain was finally relieved. It seemed that some things might have changed, but other things would never change.

The media was thrilled. They twisted Capello’s declaration into a provocation to Nottingham Forest, and eagerly looked forward to how Tony Twain, this idiosyncratic manager, would hit back at Capello, who was also equally distinctive.

As a result, Wilford was surrounded by a lot of media the next day. At the team’s regular press conference, the reporters completely did not care about the Forest team’s recent competition record and training situation. They just asked Twain his views on Capello’s remarks.

Everyone thought that Twain would smack the table and throw out some abuse, or taunt Real Madrid with the sarcasm he was good at.

Surprisingly, Twain’s response to this disappointed everyone.

Instead of aiming at Real Madrid and Capello, he targeted the media that hyped this matter.

“I find this strange. I’m not the manager of Real Madrid or their club president. Why are you asking me about the decision of that club? What inside story do you think I know? I will tell you this. I know as much as you do, maybe not even as well. From Capello’s perspective, I understand this decision. But I also believe that Mr. Capello will surely see David’s qualities that will impress him, just as David has impressed me in the first place. It won’t take long, ladies and gentlemen, I promise, it will be within the rest of this season.”

Twain did not say this because he foresaw the future. It was because, at that moment, Twain deeply understood the strength of Beckham’s beliefs and determination, so he dared to vouch for him in front of the media.

After all, the future he was familiar with was likely to change, but a person’s character would not. It determined a person’s words and deeds, and these words and deeds determined his fate.

David Beckham’s destiny was to win back the respect, then leave Bernabéu with pride and start a whole new future at Nottingham Forest.

Chapter 499 - Demetrio’s Farewell Game

No matter how Capello decided to punish Beckham, the news from Nottingham Forest Football Club about Beckham was over. Beckham was still a Real Madrid player and Forest had no right to order another club on how to treat Beckham.

Twain decided not to talk any more about Beckham under any circumstance. He did not want everyone to focus too much on a player who had not even joined yet; it was disrespectful to the current players. He did not want Beckham to establish any enemies in the locker room before he even arrived.

Therefore, he tried to play down the impact of Beckham joining next season within the team to allow the players to focus all their attention on the current competition.

During the Christmas period, Nottingham Forest did well despite an intense competition schedule. With the exception of tying with Aston Villa on December 11th and Liverpool on the 16th, they won all their games. During their final game of the year, they beat Arsenal at home 1:0 and avenged the defeat of the away game from the first half of the season.

At present, the Forest team had accumulated forty-seven points. They were ranked third in the league below Ferguson’s Manchester United and Mourinho’s Chelsea, who had fifty-seven points and fifty-one points, respectively. Manchester United’s rise this season had broken Mourinho’s wishful thinking. After three seasons of nothing, Ferguson planned to rule the English Premier League again.

After the baptism of the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo, who previously only knew how to dribble the ball on the flank while showing off his fancy footwork, matured a lot. He and Wayne Rooney formed the backbone of Manchester United and were the core figures in Ferguson’s plans for the future.

The other rival, the Chelsea manager, Mourinho, was reluctant to be robbed of his throne by Manchester United, but he also had to deal with the relationship between the club chairman and the locker room, which exhausted the famous Portuguese manager.

Twain’s strategy for the league went well. He did not want to waste his energy competing with Manchester United or Chelsea for the league title this season. He was clear about his limitations. He was content to be able to get back to the third place in the league now.

※※※

Since George Wood’s return, Albertini was back on the bench. However, even if it were not for Wood, he still would not have been able to get through the intense Christmas schedule. His body was not what it used to be.

Now, He put all his energy into teaching Wood how to master the pace of the game and how to get the team to follow his command. He could tell Wood was very interested. The kid liked to direct everything and hated letting others dominate him.

That kind of inclination showed that he was suitable to be the core of the team.

Twain was busy with matters regarding Beckham during that time. The entire club seemed to be busy with it. Albertini did not care, but not because he disliked Beckham and did not want David to join the team. He just had his own business to take care of.

Just a few days after Christmas, he received a call from Galliani.

Ever since he’d left AC Milan, the general manager of the Milanese club had only called him once. This was the second time. Both calls were about the same thing.

When Albertini had announced his retirement at the end of this season last season, Galliani had called to convey President Berlusconi’s compliments and then stated that before his retirement, AC Milan would hold a grand farewell ceremony for him to let him end his career gloriously.

The mild-mannered Albertini thanked the Milanese club for this care and did not mention the way the team treated him when he was expelled from Milan by Galliani.

Galliani had patted his chest to reassure that Albertini’s farewell game would be a football event and Albertini could rest assured that he would arrange everything.

Half a year had passed, and Galliani had called to fulfill his promise.

“Demetrio, I have promised you it will be a football celebration. Now is the time to deliver on that promise,” The Italian baldy, Galliani said over the phone. “Do you still remember Athens on May 28th, 1994?”

When Galliani mentioned it, Albertini recalled the event. It was the final game of the 93-94 season UEFA Champions League. At the time, he had still been AC Milan’s main player. He and his teammates had taken down Barcelona by 4:0, which named the team the “Dream Team” since they won the brilliant championship title.

“Of course I remember,” Albertini said.

“We’ll recreate that day for you.” Galliani laughed. “Barcelona will be your opponent for the farewell match. How do you feel?”

Albertini was not as excited as Galliani had imagined. He was startled when he heard the name. He had thought AC Milan would invite Nottingham Forest. After all, other than AC Milan, he had played there the longest, and he had had his second glorious phase in his career with the team.

Without waiting for Albertini to answer, Galliani continued, “the first half will be played Barcelona’s senior players versus AC Milan’s senior players. We have invited most of the players who had participated in that final. It will be a night of football gentlemen like Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard. All the star players you can think of will come because of your rally. I sent the invites in your name. Like I said, this will be a celebration.”

“You’re right about that,” Albertini said. “Is the date confirmed?”

“The tenth of January.”

Albertini thought about it. There was no league game that day and he really could go. “I’m fine with the date, but, Mr. Galliani, can I invite another person to attend? As a spectator.”

“No problem, anyone can attend,” Galliani, who was in a good mood, agreed wholeheartedly. However, he soon regretted it, because the person that Albertini wanted to invite was not just anyone, but the petty Tony Twain, who had just lashed out at AC Milan for looking down on people half a season ago

“Is there a problem, Mr. Galliani?” Albertini asked when there was no response on the other end of the line.

“Ah, no. There’s no problem at all. As I said earlier, you can invite anyone you want. After all, this is your farewell game. You’re the host of the day, my dear Demetrio.”

※※※

During the training the next day, Albertini told Twain about the game. He obviously did not say that AC Milan did not even consider the Forest team at first. Twain gladly accepted the invitation. He did not express any doubt about the fact that AC Milan invited Barcelona, but not Nottingham Forest.

On one hand, it was in line with the future that he knew, even though the game was a year late. On the other hand, Twain also wanted to take this opportunity to participate in that celebration. It was not common for so many football greats to come together.

Seeing that Twain was looking forward to it, Albertini did not say anything else.

A few days later, the Italian media began to report on the news related to Albertini’s farewell game and introduced the star players that were going to attend, what kind of event it would be, Albertini’s career as a whole, and took great pains to evaluate Albertini as an important player for AC Milan.

If he were that important, why did he leave early? Why did he not stay at that time? Last season, Albertini flourished in the Forest team and eliminated Inter Milan and a number of strong teams, leading the group of young men to advance to the Champions League final. The Italian media lamented. Was it Demetrio Albertini, the one who was dumped by AC Milan due to his age?

※※※

Time passed quickly. The appointed day arrived in a blink of an eye.

Albertini left Nottingham in the morning and travelled to Milan to prepare for the evening’s farewell game and also to meet his old friends. In addition, the Italian Footballers’ Association and the Italian Football Federation wanted to celebrate him. The former wanted to thank him for his contribution in the Italian Footballers’ Association for many years and throw a send-off party for Albertini. The latter wanted to discuss the direction of his development after his retirement.

Before he went abroad, Albertini had previously been the president of the Italian Footballers’ Association. Even though he resigned from the position after he left the country, it allowed him to retain deep connections in the Italian football circle, make many friends and stay popular.

The Italian Football Federation hoped to have better working relationships with the players by hiring Albertini to hold a position in the Federation. They wanted Albertini to be a bridge between the two sides.

Twain tried to persuade Albertini to stay and work with the Forest team after his retirement, starting as an assistant coach. He could both help Twain and accumulate experience as a coach. However, Albertini rejected the offer because he wanted his children to grow up in Italy. Britain was nothing more than a way station. He was still Italian after all.

Twain was unable to persuade him when it came his family. He could only send Albertini off himself.

Albertini returned to Milan and was greeted with flowers and the laughter of his friends. It did not look like a farewell game. It was more like a gathering of old friends who had not been seen each other for years.

Twain flew to Milan in the afternoon, after training ended for the day. He did not have any other plans there. He was just in San Siro as an honored guest invited by Albertini in the VIP box to watch the farewell game.

Shania was in Paris. Otherwise, Twain would make time to see her.

After dinner, Twain quietly went to San Siro alone. Other than texting Albertini when he arrived in Milan, he did not make other contact. Albertini wanted to bring Twain with him, but he refused. Galliani, that old guy, had said something right. The day belonged to Albertini; he was the host of the night.

Twain did not want to appear in the reporters’ lenses.

Due to the recent matter with Beckham, he had been exposed more than enough.

Twain still wore sunglasses at night and blended with the entering fans, intending to stay hidden in the crowd.

But he miscalculated.

Galliani, whose bald head was very obvious under the glare of the light, saw Twain coming and had already extended his hand with a warm smile. “Mr. Twain, why didn’t you let us know when you arrived? If I hadn’t seen you by chance in the surveillance video, I wouldn’t have known you were already here.”

Due to the matter with Albertini, Twain did not like the bald man, but he was the host today and Twain was the guest. He had to show the necessary etiquette.

“Hello, Mr. Galliani. I didn’t know you spoke such fluent English.” Twain was surprised that Galliani spoke English, but he quickly smoothened his face. “I am sure that your club must have done a lot of preparations for Demetrio’s farewell game, and you will certainly be very busy this evening. Since it’s inconvenient for me to bother you, I came on my own.” Twain reached out and the two men shook hands.

“You are the honored guest invited by Demetrio. If we do not take proper care of you, Demetrio would not be happy. He is the host here tonight.” Galliani gestured to San Siro behind him.

Since the host was determined to serve Twain, Twain did not refuse. He followed Galliani to another tunnel that was completely closed off to the general public.

“This leads directly to the box and you will not be disturbed by the media at all. We all know that Mr. Twain must be tired of being harassed by the media lately, right?” Galliani chatted with Twain while he led the way. “By the way, I forgot to congratulate you for the successfully signing on Beckham. This will certainly increase your club’s influence on a global scale greatly, won’t it?”

Galliani mocked Nottingham Forest as a “small rural team” without batting an eyelid.

As the kind of dark person who liked nothing better than to think of others as imaginary foes, Twain could discern this kind of implied meaning. He chuckled. “Not at all. We are a small team; there is nothing more to it. Even if we buy eleven Beckhams, we still can’t be compared to giants like AC Milan. I can recite the glorious history of AC Milan...”

“Ah, it’s amazing. Don’t tell me Mr. Twain is a fan of AC Milan?” Galliani asked with a fake smile.

“No, I’m just used to learning every detail of each opponent.” Twain stopped and said seriously, “that way, when I meet them on the field, I can easily defeat them.”

The word “easily” provoked Galliani, causing his eyebrows to twitch, and he looked at Twain with an unfriendly expression in his eyes. Twain did not avoid his eyes and met Galliani’s gaze.

The uncomfortable moment lasted only a few short seconds before the two men laughed.

“I understand why the Forest team has been able to achieve such excellent results under your leadership, Mr. Twain. You are a brilliant manager.”

“Haha, thank you for the compliment.”

“But I wonder if Mr. Twain will be interested in changing the environment in the future?”

Galliani’s question put Twain on guard and he smiled. “Who can say what is going to happen in the future? But to be honest, I don’t like being controlled by other people.”

That was as good as a rejection. Everyone knew who AC Milan belonged to. It was not Arrigo Sacchi, not Fabio Capello, and not Carlo Ancelotti. It was not even Galliani’s AC Milan. AC Milan was just Berlusconi’s. The style of English football clubs did not apply to the Italian teams.

If Twain wanted to maximize his power at AC Milan, he was bound to emerge bloody and battered because there was a tougher man above him: Berlusconi.

“What a pity.” Galliani shrugged.

“I don’t think it’s a pity. Not all managers are suited to a powerhouse club with connections like AC Milan. If I came to coach this team, I’ll constantly be abused by the media for ‘losing the dignity of the powerhouse clubs,’ won’t I?” Twain burst into laughter.

During their conversation, the two men reached the entrance of the box. Galliani opened the door for Twain. There was no one in the box.

“Your room, Mr. Twain.”

“Mr. Galliani, thank you for leading the way.” The two men spoke cordially for a while before Galliani left. He had more guests that he needed to look after.

The box was not big, but there were still a few seats left after Twain sat down. Perhaps there would be more people coming. Twain did not think these few seats would remain empty during the game. With the popularity Demetrio had in the Italian football world, there would be a lot of people coming to support him this evening.

Of course, it could not be ruled that other people would take this opportunity to make friends with the big shots, establish contacts, and build networks of connections.

None of these had anything to do with Twain. He just came to watch the game and root for Albertini.

This small box was part of the top floor of San Siro’s grandstand. It was a little far from the central part and naturally further away from the important VIPs.

Twain believed that the most important places were left for the important people, such as Berlusconi, Leonardo Araújo, Galliani and other club executives, as well as AC Milan’s VIP guests. He did not get an invitation to enter that box. Apparently, AC Milan was still a little reluctant that Albertini invited him. After all, the two sides did verbally spar through the media half a season ago.

Twain did not care. Even if he had been allowed to sit with Galliani and Berlusconi, he did not want to.

Twain focused his attention on the football field. He usually preferred to watch the game in the stands like a fan. He felt closer to the feverish atmosphere.

The players had yet to make an appearance, but the fans took their seats in droves. A number of giant flags with Albertini’s face fluttered in the stands, along with the faces of other Milanese star players who had been retired for years. Red fireworks, the symbol of the Italian Football Federation, were even lit in a few corners. Twain could not help laughing as he took in the familiar sight.

Ignoring the story of Albertini being betrayed by his dearest, this was quite like a festival.

The television set in the box was showing a special program broadcasted by the Italian television for Albertini’s farewell game. It was currently showing the part where they looked back on Albertini’s brilliant career.

Twain looked up at the television. He had watched all these scenes before he joined this world, but now he was watching it live and it still felt good.

The only pity was before his transfer, when he watched the show online, the show host spoke Italian and there were no Chinese subtitles. He could not understand anything except the images.

This time, it was still an Italian program, and he still could not understand anything.

The door behind him was pushed open and the sound from the hallway came in. None of these interrupted Twain, who was not interested in the people who entered. He did not have any friends in Italy. It would be the same no matter who came in, so he continued to look up at the television screen.

The door was soon shut again.

There was no other sound in the box except for the Italian language that came out of the television.

At this moment, a nice-sounding female voice suddenly rang in Twain’s ear, “Would you like me to translate for you, sir?”

Twain was startled, and was even more surprised when he looked clearly at the woman who whispered in his ear.

“Clarice!”

Chapter 500 - Drunken Babble

“Sir, would you like me to translate it for you?” A nice-sounding female voice suddenly rang in Twain’s ear.

Twain was startled, and was even more surprised when he looked clearly at the woman who whispered in his ear.

“Clarice!”

The person bent down in front of him with a somewhat intimate posture was indeed Clarice Gloria, whom he had not seen in a long time.

“Hello, Tony, we meet again.” When Gloria saw Twain turn his head, she got up and held out her hand to him. Twain could finally not look at the spectacle in her low-cut blouse.

“Why are you dressed so professionally today?” Twain’s first words were not to say hello, but to ask about Gloria’s outfit.

Gloria laughed. “So it looks like Mr. Twain is gazing here.” She deliberately stuck out her chest.

Twain stood up with some embarrassment. He could not be seated while chatting with a lady who was standing, could he? “Can’t blame me, Clarice. People’s eyes will always unknowingly focus on the most prominent point...”

Clarice sat down with a smile. “Please have a seat, Tony.”

Twain followed suit and sat down. “What are you doing here?”

“The AC Milan football club has invited me to...” Gloria pointed to the stadium below, “discuss the matter of making a commemorative feature for Demetrio Albertini. And also because of you, Tony.”

“Because of me?” Twain was baffled.

“Remember that special feature I did on you? The people at AC Milan became interested in me because they saw it and they thought of this idea when they wanted to send Albertini a retirement gift. But it’s a lot simpler than the film I did for you. My job is to assemble and edit the images provided by the AC Milan club.”

Twain grunted. “What a cheap gift.” There was one more thing he did not say—as compared to the gift I prepared.

“You’re still the same, Tony.” Gloria smiled and said, “you always have that arrogant and superior look. It’s so annoying sometimes...”

Even though she said it, Gloria did not really find it annoying.

“Do you detest me then?”

Gloria looked at Twain. She could not detest this face. She smiled and shook her head. “No, I’ve seen too much hypocrisy. I suddenly feel that an egomaniac like you is kind of adorable.”

Twain smiled and then found another question. “If you’re an invited guest of AC Milan club, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in there?” Twain pointed to the main stand. ” Why did you come here? It feels like you’re being cast out.”

“In that case, Tony, does it mean that you have been banished?”

Twain shrugged and said, “I’m not someone who was welcomed by them right from the start, am I? Last summer, I had a war of words with AC Milan. The reason I can still sit here is because Demetrio and I have a good interpersonal relationship. What about you? You don’t have a spat with AC Milan, do you?”

“No, I told them I needed a quiet place to be able to observe the game peacefully and prepare for the job. So, I’m here. I didn’t think you’d be here, too.”

“It looks like we really were destined to meet,” Twain said with a chuckle.

Only he and Gloria were currently in this small box, so they could talk freely without any concern for how any surrounding people would view the two of them. The atmosphere was subtle, somewhat awkward and, yet, a little exciting.

When they realized that there were only two of them in the room, Twain and Gloria became silent for a moment. This silence seemed to be an ordeal, and Twain broke it first.

“Well, Clarice... How are you doing in America?”

“Fortunately, my career is going well. I have connections in Europe, and Hollywood needs the European market as well.”

“Then I must congratulate you. Are you going to stay in the United States to develop your career for the future?”

“Not really, I’m shuttling between both sides, thanks to well-developed air travel.” Gloria shrugged, and then she glanced at Twain with the corners of her lips curled. “Do you miss me, Tony?”

This flirtatious woman! Twain laughed and scolded internally. “Of course, I certainly miss my friends that I have not seen for a long time.”

“We’re just... friends?”

“If we’re not friends, what else can we be?” Twain shrugged. He could certainly hear Gloria’s overtone, but the implied meaning was risky. He could not work out whether this woman was serious about him or this was just a harmless joke between friends. Gloria was a clever woman, perhaps too clever. Twain did not like a woman who was smarter than him to share his bed long term. He had a tendency to be a bit of a male chauvinist and did not like successful, career driven women, such as Gloria and Tang Jing, that much.

The difference between these two women was that Gloria was smarter than Tang Jing and knew how to mask her cleverness so that she usually looked less imperious, and more capable of gaining men’s favor. Perhaps due to the fact that Tang Jing was younger, she was too sharp and headstrong. While she made herself stand out among the crowd, her brilliance also stung a lot of people who wanted to approach her, so that no one dared to approach her again.

Gloria was really smart enough to see Twain deliberately avoid this topic and did not want to continue. She just pointed to the field and said, “It’s starting.”

Twain’s attention instantly turned to the field. As expected, the middle of the field had been fully prepped. A retractable canopy also extended from the tunnel in the corner of the field. A lot of people surrounded the exit. The live broadcaster had already begun to mobilize the mood of the fans, and then he began to announce the names of those who were famous more than ten years ago and each of them elicited thunderous cheers.

The two people in the box stopped talking and quietly watched as those former heroes returned to the football field.

Albertini was the last to come out, holding his son with a smile and wearing a red and black vertical striped jersey as he set foot on the turf of San Siro once again.

At this moment, Albertini was AC Milan’s number 4 again.

※※※

Nothing much could be said about the farewell game. If someone wanted to see a fierce confrontation here, then they came to the wrong place. Just as the AC Milan Football Club had publicized: this was a gathering of old friends.

Therefore, everyone came to play for fun. The most important thing was to play happily. The outcome of the game was secondary. Albertini first broke through the goal of Barcelona’s senior team with the free kick he was best at. Then Basten also scored, sparking huge cheers at San Siro.

In the second half, it became a contest between the current AC Milan and Barcelona teams. Albertini still appeared on the field wearing the red and black vertical striped jersey.

When he saw this scene, Twain snorted.

Were Galliani and Ancelotti treating Demetrio as a member of the current AC Milan team? This was truly ironic. Demetrio once begged the club to keep him there. He was even willing to stay as a substitute. But no one met his “lowly” entreaty, and he was heartlessly ejected from AC Milan. Had it not been for Twain, he might have had to go to Atalanta B.C. to end his career and spend his final years in a team in the lower level of Serie A.

And now they did this in the farewell game, which made Twain feel that this was more like a handout. Demetrio had once implored, hoping to spend his final years fighting for this team and yet now he was easily in their grasp with an irrelevant farewell game? Was this respect? How much did that AC Milan jersey currently worn by Albertini weigh on him now? How did Albertini feel inside? Was he thankful to the club for fulfilling his dream at the last moment? But what was the use of this? He was already going to retire! After today, he would never have a chance to put on his favorite jersey again! Did he want to play in an exhibition game, where the outcome of the game did not matter, wearing this jersey?

“For a professional player, it’s battle gear, not some fucking ‘fashion!'”

Twain was a little agitated. His lips quivered noiselessly as he muttered when he thought about all this. In the end, he could not help but simply say his thoughts aloud. Next to him, Gloria listened with rapt attention.

Gloria looked at the profile of an angry Twain and felt that this man’s enraged manner was really charismatic. No wonder his players could be stirred up with a few words from him and play to death.

He never hid his emotions. Whether he was happy or angry, he always showed them. This was very different from the hypocritical men that Gloria came in contact with. They always pretended to be refined gentlemen in front of her, but who knew if their eyes were staring at her legs or breasts? They could even be thinking about how wonderful it would be if they had a roll in the sack with her.

Twain would not be like this. He would admit his innermost dirty thoughts. He could be quite nasty. Therefore, most people did not like him, but Gloria was one of the few people that decided otherwise.

The second half was not over yet, and Albertini was more than twenty minutes away from saying goodbye in front of the fans in Twain’s memory. He no longer wanted to watch any further, suddenly feeling upset.

He got up from his seat.

Gloria asked, “Where are you going? Tony.”

“I’m sorry I can’t stay with you, Clarice. I think it’s time for me to go back to Nottingham.”

“The game is not over yet.” Gloria pointed to below.

Twain squeezed out a smile. “It’s not even an important final game where you will not know the outcome ’till the last second. The important thing about this kind of game is not the outcome, but the process.” He glanced below. “Moreover, I’m actually quite a... melancholic person. I’m afraid when I see Demetrio say goodbye later, I will cry in front of you. That’s not going to work. I want to keep my dignity intact.”

Gloria knew Twain was lying about the excuse, but she did not point it out.

“In that case, I’ll walk with you.” She was about to get up when Twain pressed down on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. You’d better get on with your work.”

Twain turned and walked out of the door under Gloria’s watchful eye.

※※※

Once Twain was out of the door, he did not have the slightest bit of reluctance to leave. He put on his sunglasses and hurried out of the glittering San Siro stadium in the dim of the night. He was taking the last flight back to England. Initially, Albertini hoped they would return to Nottingham together the next morning, but now Twain had changed his mind at the last moment.

While waiting for his flight at the airport, he estimated the game should be over based on the time. Twain sent a text message to Albertini, and then turned off his cell phone, ready to board the plane.

Albertini only read the text message late that night after he returned home. Before that, he had been out celebrating with his friends.

It was very late when he got home. His wife and children had gone to bed. Just as he was about to take a shower, he took out his phone to find a text message.

“I’ll head back first, Demetrio. But I’m going to give you a truly exciting farewell game. It’s not time to say goodbye to the football field yet! Tony Twain.”

Looking at this text message in his hand, Albertini tilted his head and lightly chuckled.

He agreed with Twain’s last sentence – it was not time to say goodbye to the football field. I still have half a season left. I bade farewell to AC Milan tonight. I did not say goodbye to football.

Anyway, he was now a Nottingham Forest player and had a contract with the Forest team. He must finish this contract before he said goodbye.

However, he was not going to have a farewell game of his own. Today was enough for him.

He wanted to return the message to thank the boss for his concern, but looking at the time, Twain would be back in Nottingham getting ready to rest. He should just forget about it. He could thank him in person when he returned to the team training tomorrow afternoon.

Albertini put his cell phone on the table and went into the bathroom. His cell phone screen emitted a blue glow in the dim room and gradually faded to dark.

※※※

Albertini guessed incorrectly. At that moment, even though Twain was back in Nottingham, he did not go to rest. He went to Kenny Burns’ Forest bar. Since he moved out of his place with Dunn, he had started going back to this bar more often.

“I’m sorry we’re closed... Tony?” Burns was surprised to see Twain open the door and enter. “Why aren’t you in Milan?”

“I came back early.” Twain patted his thighs with both hands.

“Why? You’re not interested in an event with so many superstars?” Kenny Burns joked with Twain as he wiped the glasses.

“It’s nothing. I just suddenly felt it was unfair to Demetrio. Give me something strong.” Twain sat on the high bar stool in front of the bar and tapped the bar with his fingers.

“You’re still like that... We’re closed for business.” Burns pointed to the empty pub.

“If you don’t take my money, it won’t be business, would it?” Twain grinned.

Burns filled up the glass and pushed it toward Twain. “Sure, you can pay me the next time you’re here.”

Twain took the drink and downed half a glass of whiskey in one shot.

Kenny Burns took the empty glass from Twain and wordlessly filled it up again for him.

Even though it was late, Twain did not go straight home, but instead came over for a drink, so Burns knew that Twain was looking for someone to talk to. All he needed at this point was someone who would listen and not talk nonsense.

Sure enough, after he downed his second glass, Twain told Burns what he had seen at San Siro tonight, and what he had thought at that time.

“Tony... Maybe Demetrio doesn’t think so? Everyone has a different perspective of the same matter. You may hate it but maybe others like it. You think that it was a handout. Maybe Demetrio really appreciates it? While Clough was around, many people thought he was resentful that he had not been knighted by the Queen, but the chief did not care at all. The glory that some people thought was more important than anything else, he felt could not be compared to the joy of winning a game. After passing, the media even speculated that the Queen would award him with a posthumous knighthood. But I have to say,” Burns laughed, “the chief would jump out of his grave to refuse.”

“You can’t change how everyone thinks about something, but you don’t have to change your mind because of others. That’s all there is to it.” Burns took the glass that Twain handed over for the seventh time, but he did not fill it. He set it aside and looked at Twain. “This time I’m really closing up for the night, Tony.”

Twain slid off the bar stool. He felt light on his feet.

“Thank you for the drinks, Kenny. To thank you...” Twain burped. He pointed to Burns behind the bar and said, “I’ve decided to give you a present!”

“I don’t need your gift.” Burns shrugged. “Just don’t forget to pay me for the drinks. This is a small business. It’s not easy to make money.”

As if he did not hear Burns’ words, Twain said to himself, “I will definitely give you a present, a big present!” Standing in the middle of the bar, he spread his arms wide. He stood unsteadily and turned in a circle to keep his balance.

“Hey, you’re drunk. Go home. Do you want me to call you a cab?” Burns smiled and looked at Twain, who was showing off.

“Kenny…” Belch. “Do you think... think... the Champions League trophy is worth the few drinks that you gave me just now?” Twain asked as he stared at Burns.

The smile on Burns’ face froze when he heard Twain say that.

“You’re drunk, Tony.”

“No, my head is clear. Bye, Kenny.” Twain easily made a turn and walked toward the door. As he walked, he muttered, “one plus one equals two, one plus two equals three, two times three is six, three times three is nine... nine times nine...”

Burns watched Twain leave before he shrugged his shoulders and continued to wipe the glasses.

“He’s really drunk...”

Chapter 501 - The Role of a Veteran

During training the next afternoon, the team curiously asked some details about Albertini’s farewell game. Even though they all played football, they were still very interested in those legendary star players.

Albertini answered everyone’s steady stream of questions. Many of the active Forest players considered Baresi, van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Stoichkov, and the rest, legends.

He was happy to tell everyone the stories of these people, but made sure to do so during the breaks so that it did not affect the training.

Twain did not stop them. He felt that the stories of the legendary star players could inspire the young players.

After training, Albertini found Twain to thank him for his attendance the day before, and then he mentioned the text message.

“Thank you, chief, but I think I got a good farewell game. To be able to complete my contract with the Forest team is my biggest wish right now.” Albertini was a realistic and direct person. He put forth his ideas in a straightforward manner.

Twain, who was used to Albertini’s way of doing things, was not angry. He looked at Albertini with a grin. “You’re satisfied? I’m not satisfied yet, Demetrio. How can my captain have such an innocuous farewell game? The best player in the world needs a special stage to take his last curtain call. An exhibition game? I don’t think it suits you.”

“But...”

“Yesterday’s game was just for you to say goodbye to AC Milan. You don’t mind me saying that, do you?”

Albertini shook his head. He felt the same way.

“You see, we are on the same page with this. Yesterday, you said goodbye to AC Milan, but it was not your goodbye to Nottingham Forest and the football field. So, it’s necessary for the Nottingham Forest Football Club to prepare another farewell game for you. This is a ceremony for the Forest team to say goodbye to its captain. You can’t refuse.” Twain pointed to Albertini, who had just opened his mouth. “There has never been a team that does nothing when the captain retires.”

Twain looked at the quiet Albertini and went on to say, “perhaps because you don’t hold any other team in your heart besides AC Milan, Demetrio?”

This time Albertini hurriedly explained, “No, chief. That’s not true. It’s just that I think if it’s only for me...”

“It’s no big deal, Demetrio. Do you think we’re going to search the world for people to come play an exhibition game where the outcome doesn’t matter?”

Albertini agreed tacitly. Twain smiled.

“That kind of farewell game is not what I want to give you. Rest assured that the farewell game for you will never be troublesome or difficult. You don’t worry about that. Just train and play well. As for your farewell game, when that day comes, everything will be ready. It will be the best stage for you.”

Albertini had nothing to say. He looked at Twain’s confident smile and nodded. “All right, I’ll listen to you, chief.”

Twain patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “Go back, Demetrio. Let me worry about these kinds of things. You just enjoy the last half of this season.”

After he walked Albertini out, Twain and Dunn talked about the matter on the way home together. Dunn was also interested in what kind of farewell game Twain was going to give Albertini. He did not expect Twain to be surprised when he asked the question.

“Don’t you know, Dunn? I thought you knew.”

Dunn thought about it and figured it out. “Now I know. But you’re so confident. You have been giving presents everywhere. You’re giving to Albertini, Beckham, Kenny Burns, the club chairman. Aren’t you afraid of screwing up in the end?”

“I have confidence in my team.” Twain stopped smiling and said seriously, “I think it’s time to take the championship title.”

※※※

On January 13th, the league tournament was rekindled after a one-week break. In the twenty-third round, Nottingham Forest ushered in Portsmouth. The opponent was not strong, and the Forest team won easily with a score of 3:0.

Manchester United was still very strong in the league. Because they won this game, the Forest team had a chance to return to the number two spot in the league. They currently only had one point less than Chelsea. Chelsea had fifty-one points; Nottingham Forest had fifty points.

It was fantastic news. A number of people at the club talked about which round they would catch up with Chelsea and pull the old enemy down from its spot.

However, Twain was calm about it. He felt that the good news was a trap for the team if it was not handled well. If the Forest team really aimed to catch up with Chelsea, it was likely to spend too much energy before the Champions League knockout stage. He needed to stabilize the pace of the team.

Therefore, after this round of the league, Twain held a special meeting with the coaching staff to reiterate the team’s goal this season was the Champions League title. The league tournament was not in the plan, so there was no need to go all out for every game in order to surpass Chelsea. What were they supposed to do if a few important players were injured? The First Team currently only had that many players. Losing one player would be a disaster.

With the team’s current strength, it was not possible to move full steam ahead in several competitions at the same time as vying for the title.

Even for a historic tournament like the FA Cup, he had put the reserves and youth team to play.

After he unified the views within the coaching unit, Twain highlighted it again among the players.

As the club had a good partnership with the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University, the team’s injuries were under control and widespread injury seldom occurred. Still, the issue that Twain was worried about appeared in the next round of the league tournament.

Since he was injured from being shoveled in the game against the Reading team, the Brazilian defender — now a Portuguese and a member of the Portugal national team — Pepe started having minor injuries. He had to repeatedly stop playing.

Coincidentally, in the twenty-fourth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest’s opponent happened to be Reading again, but it was an away game for the Forest team this time.

The English Football Association took this game seriously and sent a number of game inspectors to the scene to closely monitor several “dangerous figures”— like George Wood and Stephen Hunt.

Because of the threat of heavy penalties, both teams’ players were a lot more scrupulous. The Football Association was able to manage the players, but they could not control the fans. With the Forest team visiting, they were nearly inundated with Reading’s boos and swearing. No matter which Forest player had the ball, the sprawling boos would greet them. Even Manager Tony Twain was not immune either. Every time he walked out of the technical area to the sidelines, he would be booed and abused by the stands behind the visiting coaches’ seats.

Twain remained unmoved and stood proudly amidst the frenzy of boos. He looked as cool as a cucumber. Even the game commentator had repeatedly mentioned Twain’s good composure.

But only the people in the Forest team’s technical area knew what was going on: Twain carried an iPod with him and wore earbuds to listen to music by Rammstein. He turned the volume all the way up. He could not hear the abuses from the outside at all. Of course, he could not hear anything he himself said, either. He could only shout. However, in this environment, if he did not shout, no one else could hear what he said.

As a result, Kerslake wanted to laugh every time he saw Twain posing with a serious face on the sidelines while he listened to the abuse coming from behind the technical area.

Twain was able to shove the earbuds inside his ears and listen to the noisiest music. The players on the field did not have that. Hence, the Forest players did not play very well under the enormous pressure in the away game.

Pepe had to be replaced early in the second half because he twisted his knee when he turned too fast while facing the opposing striker one-on-one.

Twain did not take it to heart. After all, Pepe had been having minor injuries. He replaced Pepe with Kompany and continued to stand on the sidelines as a target for the Reading fans, to help lessen the pressure on the players.

During the halftime interval, Twain thundered at the team, telling them that if they could not take down Reading in this away game, then they had let down Paul Gerrard, who was still recuperating at home. They would also cause everyone in Nottingham Forest to be ridiculed by the Reading people. Therefore, no matter how much pressure they were under right now, they had to win this game.

Propped up by such thinking, Nottingham Forest eventually defeated Reading by 2:1 amid the endless boos.

But on the way back to Nottingham, Twain received bad news.

The team doctor, Fleming told Twain very clearly that Pepe needed at least three months of rest. If he did not want to it to become an irreparable injury and for it to flare up repeatedly in the future, he required surgery immediately.

Twain’s face, which beamed with joy due to the victory, suddenly darkened.

Pepe was currently an important defender and he was adept in his partnership with Piqué.?Pepe was also especially matured and experienced beyond his actual age. His one-on-one ability had made a number of Premier League forwards suffer. His excellent breakout ability and accurate judgement of ball placement allowed him to take the lead repeatedly in the contest for headers. With his good speed, he was nearly perfect as a center back. Twain had said in front of the media more than once that Pepe was qualified to become a world-class center back in every aspect. All he needed now was to accumulate his competition experience and one or two worthy championship titles.

He did not expect Pepe to become “breakable” after a fight with Reading. This time, it was a complete break.

As the manager, how could Twain not be furious?

“Damn Reading,” He swore under his breath, “Is there no other way other than surgery?” Twain asked Fleming again.

“If he does not have the operation, he may take longer to recover, and will often relapse in the future. He probably won’t be able to play for more than ten games in a season.”

“All right, surgery it is then. I need him back by May.”

“If all goes well — If the operation and post-surgery rehabilitation go smoothly, I think there should be no problem.”

After he ended his discussion with Fleming, Twain sat alone in his seat and thought about how to make use of the winter transfer period to bolster the defender positions in the team.

There were not that many good center backs they could buy at this time. Twain searched his mind carefully for a long while before he eventually identified a candidate: the unhappy Argentinian veteran, Roberto Ayala, who was currently in Valencia.

Although he was almost thirty-four years old, his ability was still beyond a doubt as an experienced center back. During the past season, he had been banished because of a conflict with the Valencia captain, Amedeo Carboni. Ayala had long wanted to leave Valencia for a change in environment.

At this juncture, it would not be an issue whether it was a transfer or a loan.

Twain decided that once he returned to Nottingham, he would let the club get in touch with the Valencia club. If the price was suitable, they could directly buy him. If the price could not be settled, they could loan him for half a season. Ayala basically could not play much over at Valencia anyway.

With the Forest team’s current influence, Ayala would not reject this opportunity.

The only regret was Ayala could not represent the Forest team in the UEFA Champions League because he had already played for Valencia in the Champions League this season.

It looked like the Champions League could only still be shored up by the young men.

Speaking of the Champions League, Twain was about to go to the drawing ceremony. He had been looking forward to this draw very much.

※※※

Back in Nottingham, Twain looked up the information and found that things were not quite the same as he’d imagined, but the problem was small.

The contract between Ayala and Valencia was due by the end of the season. A year ago, Ayala had put forth his desire to the club to renew his contract with Valencia and end his career with the club. But after the World Cup, the announcement he had waited for turned out to be that Valencia did not intend to renew his contract with the thirty-three-year-old, which greatly disappointed him and led to a contradiction with Carboni.

Currently, there were not many teams interested in Ayala. After all, there was the issue with his age. His agent had been in contact with Villarreal last June. Valencia rejected the deal at the time. They did not want Ayala to remain in Spain, but rather wanted him to move abroad to develop. Every Spanish club that coveted Ayala would make Valencia unhappy.

This was not good news for Ayala, but truly great news for Tony Twain.

A foreign football club? Nottingham Forest is one!

Now, after the new year, Valencia was finally unable to continue to obstruct. Ayala’s agent was in contact with Real Zaragoza, hoping to let Ayala join this team on a transfer. If nothing unexpected happened, it was believed that Ayala would belong to that club.

But now, the unexpected was happening.

After he obtained Ayala’s agent, Gustavo Moscardi’s cell phone number, Twain could not wait to dial the number. Firstly, he needed to know the player’s views on moving to an English team. If he had no objections, he would talk to Valencia right away. Of course, it was not about a transfer. It would be a loan. Twain did not want to spend millions of pounds on a transfer fee for a player who was about to be free.

This conversation with Moscardi was confidential and the Valencia Club could not find out about it. Otherwise, matters would become tricky.

Over the phone he fully expressed to Moscardi Nottingham Forest’s need for Ayala and his personal admiration of the former Argentina national team captain, hoping that Moscardi could convey the invitation of a transfer to Ayala.

The matter progressed as expected. Valencia did not want Ayala to stay in Spain, and several major domestic teams also had little interest in the old and frail Ayala. Left without an alternative, the clubs that Moscardi chose were not strong enough. If he had not been compelled by circumstances and run out of options, why would he be willing to go to Real Zaragoza, a lower tier team that could not even reach the UEFA Europa League?

Under such circumstances, there was a team which was not only foreign, but also strong that expressed admiration for Ayala. What was there to hesitate over?

Moscardi flew to Nottingham the next day to start discussions with the Nottingham Forest Football Club about Ayala’s individual contract.

Ayala wanted to end his career at the last football club, so Moscardi gave the Forest team the condition that he had to sign a three-year contract, for which his annual salary requirement could be appropriately lowered.

After three years, Ayala would be thirty-seven years old, and that was the age of retirement. Although Allan Adams did not agree to pay an extra year of salary for a thirty-six-year-old, Twain still said yes right away. Twain was the general manager of the athletics tournament department. Allan could be unhappy, but he could not do anything about it.

The length of the contract was the biggest problem. Once it was taken care of, everything else was simple.

After his individual contract was negotiated, the Forest team began to make a request to Valencia to loan Ayala.

Valencia was happy as long as it was not a domestic club that came for Ayala. The Forest team’s loan request quickly received a positive response. Valencia agreed to loan Ayala to the Forest team, but they were required to pay fifty percent of the salary.

That certainly could not work. Allan negotiated with Valencia and eventually managed to persuade them to lower the contribution to twenty percent.

Twain also knew that the Forest team’s current defensive line was too young, and problems would definitely surface in the long run. After Hierro, he needed an experienced veteran to hold the ground while imparting his valuable experience to the young defenders. Ayala suited his requirements very well: he was older, experienced, still skilled, and unable to play a full English Premier League season because of his age and decline in his stamina — the English Premier League was widely known for its intensive competition — the young players could be given more opportunities to play, and then a few years later when he retired, the young players he once taught would have grown up. It was a perfect transition.

Whether it was Hierro, Albertini, van Nistelrooy, Beckham, or Ayala, Twain took these factors fully into account when he bought them. The Forest team had nothing when he took over. What were those young players to do without those veterans who were qualified and instrumental? He could only rely on his own memory that was ahead of time to buy these veterans in succession and help the young players in the team as if it were a relay race.

When Hierro retired, there was still Albertini. After Albertini, there would be van Nistelrooy, Beckham, and now they had Ayala as well.

Being able to fully “squeeze out” their residual value was the little tail hidden behind Twain.

Three days later, Nottingham Forest’s official website announced that Ayala would be on loan to the Forest Team for half a season. Not a word in the press release mentioned that they were going to buy the Argentinian defender.

Once he settled Ayala on loan plus the free transfer, Twain took Dunn Nyon to Switzerland to take part in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 of the draw.

What opponent would be waiting in the scenic Switzerland?

Chapter 502 - The Best Draw There Is

The headquarters of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association was in Zurich, the capital of Switzerland, while the headquarters of the Union of European Football Associations was in the small Swiss town of Nyon. Gathered there were the best football managers in almost all of Europe.

The draw ceremony for the Champions League round of 16 this season would be held there, with the media flocking in to eagerly report and wait in suspense for each choice to be unveiled.

The draw ceremony was held in the afternoon. Many luxury cars drove to the hotel entrance in succession where the draw ceremony was held. The reporters waiting at the hotel entrance began to get busy, as the people they had waited for had appeared.

It was as if all these managers had settled it in advance. The ones who had already arrived were the managers of the non-powerful teams. None of the real big-name giants had arrived yet.

That group of people arrived at the last minute.

The first person to appear in front of the media was the Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson. He gave a brief interview after he stepped out of the car. His arrival brought the long-waiting journalists back to their feet — everyone still liked to see a big-name manager show up.

While Ferguson was in an interview, a white Audi stopped at the hotel entrance behind him and out stepped his old adversary, Arsène Wenger.

Wenger walked straight past Ferguson as if he had not seen him. When the reporters saw the Arsenal manager appear, half of them immediately diverted to approach Wenger, who strode away. He went a distance away from Ferguson before he stopped for an interview.

Having come to cover the draw ceremony, Tang Jing’s eyes lit up when she saw this scene. The feud between these two managers in the English Premier League was often more interesting than the star players’ gossip. In other countries’ leagues, where the managers might not have this kind of exposure, the decades-long feud between Wenger and Ferguson was unimaginable.

After Ferguson and Wenger, the other big-name managers took to the stage one by one.

The Bayern Munich manager, Ottmar Hitzfeld, the Inter Milan manager, Roberto Mancini, the Real Madrid manager, Fabio Capello...

Each manager’s appearance caused a flurry of activity and commotion with the press.

Twain and Dunn sat in a dark red sedan provided by the UEFA and chatted casually. He noticed that the car had slowed down, so he poked his head out to take a look. He turned his head back to Dunn and said, with a smile, “I think we’re almost there.”

“It’s very crowded,” Dunn said as he looked at the cars parked alongside the road.

“It’s really bustling with noise and excitement.” Twain laughed. When a large group of people with all kinds of hostilities came together, it would be a surprise if it were not lively.

Just when Twain and Dunn could see clearly the reporters around the entrance, the car stopped. The driver turned around and said, “Here we are, gentlemen.”

“Thank you.” Dunn opened the car door to get out, only to be pulled back by Twain.

“Wait a minute.” He pointed outside.

Dunn looked through the car window and saw that the man who had come out of the car parked in front of them was the Chelsea manager, José Mourinho.

Oh, Dunn realized.

Mourinho seemed very popular. From the moment he got out of the car, the flashbulbs outside had not stopped flashing. The reporters swarmed around him, and countless microphones extended toward him. He stood with a smile in the crowd and looked debonair. Some English media outlets stated that Mourinho was the most suave among the managers, and it did not seem to be just flattery.

As Mourinho’s interview was not done and Twain was not in a hurry to get out of the car, he just sat in the car and intently watched Mourinho outside.

The driver found it odd that the two men had not gotten out of the car, so he looked back several times hoping to remind the two, but Twain turned a blind eye to it. Dunn knew what the driver meant, but Twain would not get out, so he had to pretend he did not see it either.

This went on for about two minutes before the reporters became interested in the dark red Mercedes, which had stopped at the entrance without any activity. The glass windows of the car were tinted, so no one could see in from the outside, but it was clear to see the outside from the inside.

Someone ditched Mourinho and turned his attention to this side. Furthermore, another car parked behind this car began to press on the horn impatiently, which attracted almost everyone’s attention. Even Mourinho, who was answering questions in an interview, turned his head.

In the car, Twain took his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on. He turned to Dunn with a sly smile. “It’s time for us to make an entrance, Dunn.”

With that, he took the lead to open the car door and leaned out.

Dunn followed helplessly behind him. He knew what Twain had in mind. If it had been him, he would never have done such a thing to steal the limelight.

As soon as Twain showed his face, no one was surprised by the car’s bizarre conduct.

Maybe the first thought in everyone’s mind was just so, it turned out to be that guy!

Twain wore a bright smile. He waved to many media outlets and said, “hey, good afternoon, everyone.”

The reporters all rolled their eyes

While the reporters were bemused, Tang Jing squeezed in front of Twain. “We meet again, Mr. Twain.” She greeted him in Mandarin, and Twain replied likewise.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Miss Tang.”

The reporters around them listened in bafflement at the conversation in Mandarin. Tang Jing quickly switched back to English and threw out her question. “What do you anticipate from this draw, Mr. Twain?”

This question was exactly what the other reporters wanted to ask. Once they heard someone had asked the question, many microphones, recording pens and call phones were shoved in Twain’s face.

Twain cleared his throat and opened his mouth to answer.

When Twain got out of the car, the Mercedes immediately drove to the carpark. The car lined up behind them immediately pulled over and stopped behind Twain. The car door opened and a man in a dark suit with countless corkscrew curls on his head stepped out.

Someone immediately laughed among the reporters. They were not laughing at the man’s hairstyle, as it was pretty common, but rather at the coincidence.

Mourinho was still speaking to several Portuguese journalists in the front as most of the other reporters swarmed to Tony Twain when he appeared, ready to hear what astonishing words might pop from his mouth. Then just as Twain was about to open his mouth and talk, Rijkaard emerged behind him.

The three enemies...

Twain was momentarily distracted due to Rijkaard’s appearance, but he quickly turned his attention back to the reporter’s question. This time, he raised his voice slightly. “What do I anticipate from this draw? Ah, I’d love to meet an ‘old friend.'” As he spoke, he looked down at Rijkaard walking up the steps and held out his hand toward him with a smile on his face. “Hello, Mr. Rijkaard.”

Rijkaard originally intended to ignore Twain and just walk straight past. However, now that he had extended his hand to him, it would not look good if he did not return the gesture. He had to smile and briefly shake Twain’s hand before he let go.

“Hello, Mr. Twain.”

Rijkaard wanted to go after he had spoken, but he was stopped by Twain. “Mr. Rijkaard, what do you hope for from this draw?”

Rijkaard did not think that Twain would ask such a question. He froze for a moment before he replied, “there is nothing to hope for. The result will be what it is. We just play the game. It does not matter who the opponent is.”

“Well said, Mr. Rijkaard. I think so, too. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.” With that, Twain pushed the reporters aside and walked in with a playful grin. He stopped answering any questions.

As he walked past Mourinho, the Portuguese, who had finished his interview, seemed to have waited for him. “You’re pretty confident,” he said in a low voice.?Aren’t you afraid of what the UEFA secretly have in store? You humiliated the UEFA last season. Think about Chelsea, eh?”

Twain turned to look at Mourinho and laughed. “I’m suddenly keen for the UEFA to do something now.”

Twain laughed as he walked away.

※※※

Twain left confidently, but Dunn was held back by the reporters.

The person who held back Dunn was Tang Jing. She had to make the Chinese assistant manager accept her interview to discuss his thoughts on participating in the UEFA Champions League draw ceremony.

After half a season, the media had also accepted this Chinese assistant manager, who went hand in hand with Twain. Therefore, when the other media saw that he was being held back by Tang Jing to answer questions, they also gathered around. Dunn wanted to ask Twain to take him away, but Twain seemed to have completely forgotten that there was another person who came with him, and had just gone straight in.

“Don’t look, Coach Dunn.” Tang Jing smiled smugly. She had nimbly made this person stay behind. “Can you answer my question?” She felt that the quiet Dunn in front of her was more likeable than the other man, for she had no trouble in prying open his mouth. When she faced Twain, she needed to consider how to discern the veracity of every word that came out of him.

“After last season’s Champions League final, Manager Twain embarrassed the UEFA.” Tang Jing repeated in English so that the reporters around her could understand her question. “As an assistant manager for the team, are you worried about what the UEFA has in mind for this draw ceremony?”

Dunn knew he could not evade today, so he helplessly said, “I don’t know. But we were lucky during the draw for the group stage.”

“But now there’s going to be a new draw.” Tang Jing reminded him what had happened was already in the past and that nothing was definite.

“That is why I don’t know. I don’t know anything about what hasn’t happened yet.”

Tang Jing pursed her lips. The answer suddenly deluded her into thinking that she would rather have Tony Twain standing in front of her.

“In that case, can you make a prediction? Or which team do you want the Forest team to encounter in the round of 16?” She had to ask in a different way.

“Any team will be fine.” Being forced to face this on behalf of Twain, Dunn chose the tactic of passive resistance. He always fobbed people off with the most perfunctory answers when faced with such questions.

“Coach Dunn, don’t tell me you don’t have any team in mind that you particularly want to encounter, or avoid?”

“No,” Dunn replied clearly and succinctly. Tang Jing seethed with anger.

“Is this how Twain teaches you to deal with the media?” She suddenly switched to Mandarin with a frown. The reporters around them were confused again.

Dunn froze for a moment and then shook his head. “No.”

“So, you learned from Twain, is that it? There are so many things to learn, why did you learn from him? Oh, my God. One Twain is enough. I don’t want another one. Please, Mr. Dunn. I can’t write an article when you do this. I can’t write that my interviewee replied ‘I don’t know’ to every question I asked, can I?”

Looking at Tang Jing’s pleading expression, Dunn hesitated and said, “I really don’t have any thoughts on this. Whichever team we draw, we’ll just take out the profile on that team – we have prepared reports for all fifteen teams in advance. That’s why I said that. I’m not trying to mislead you, Miss Tang. It’s the truth.”

Although Dunn spoke sincerely, it did not satisfy Tang Jing. Such an answer would not satiate the readers’ curiosity at all. She looked miserably at Dunn.

Dunn was quiet for a while before he finally sighed. “Okay... Tony did not say anything to me, but I thought... I guess, I think he would love to encounter a team that we had played against before.”

This was the answer that Tang Jing wanted. She immediately perked up and changed the expression on her face. She followed up and asked, “Why did you say that? Is it because you know them well enough and therefore you have the knowledge?”

Dunn shook his head, “No. The teams we have beaten before, he wants to continue to win. The ones we had never won against before, he wants to... get revenge.”

It suddenly dawned on Tang Jing and she smiled sweetly at Dunn. “Thank you very much, Mr. Dunn. Oh, this will be my exclusive.”

They had been conversing in their mother tongue. Next to them, the other reporters did not understand the Mandarin conversation.

“You mustn’t tell anyone else.” Tang Jing turned her back against the others and winked at Dunn.

Dunn nodded obediently and then looked at the Tang Jing. “Can I go now, Miss Tang?”

Hearing this, Tang Jing giggled. “I’m not holding you captive. Why are you asking me?”

“Err...” Dunn also realized that it was out of place of him to say that. “Then... I’m leaving.”

Dunn struggled to squeeze out of the crowd and catch up to Twain. The reporters started throwing all sorts of questions at Dunn, but he just walked away without another word – this was what he was best at.

Behind him, Tang Jing looked his slightly stooped shoulders and suddenly thought of a textbook in her high school: The Man in the Case.

There were media outlets in China that currently stated that Dunn was a grassroots hero and a talented coach in the football circles who managed to go abroad. But did anyone know the events behind it?

She used to research Dunn’s previous experiences, and people around him all said he was not an easy person to get along with. He was withdrawn and not likeable. In middle school, all the boys would play football. But because he did not play well and had few friends, he would be pushed aside to watch the others play football on the sidelines.

Tang Jing did not know the specific circumstances at that time, but she could make an associative connection and imagined how Dunn would be like at that time. He would just seal himself in a black case and use silence to deal with the whole world.

A special feeling suddenly bloomed in her heart.

※※※

There were not many people inside the hall of the draw ceremony when Dunn pushed open the door, so it was easy for him to find Twain, who was chatting to others. He quickly marched over and then stood noiselessly behind Twain.

The man Twain was chatting with was the Arsenal manager, Wenger. He saw Dunn appear behind Twain and seem to have something that he could not say in front of others. Twain did not seem to know someone was behind him, so he was confused when Wenger found an excuse to end the conversation and left.

“Tony...” Dunn opened his mouth when he saw Wenger leave.

“How does it feel?” Twain asked without turning back.

“What?” Dunn did not understand what Twain was asking.

“What did that female reporter ask?”

“She threw me the question she wanted to ask you.” Dunn was a little disgruntled.

Twain smiled. “Sorry, I used you as a shield.”

Dunn did not take up this topic. Instead, he asked, “I’d love to know your thoughts too, Tony. What kind of outcome do you want for this draw?”

“I certainly want a weak opponent... the weaker the better.” Twain snickered.

“I think it will be hard for the UEFA to do what you want.”

Twain turned his head and looked at the platform where the staff was still busy finishing up. The UEFA bigwigs would be there to take the round balls out of the clear glass box and open them in front of everyone to prove the draw results were fair.

Behind the platform was a huge television screen that was repeatedly playing some of the highlights of the Champions League group stage. The UEFA and the eight star logo symbolizing the Champions League appeared around the table.

“Dunn, the draw result is not something we can control. Why are you thinking about what will happen? The team that is drawn will be the team we play. Don’t tell me you’re still worried that we will get a strong team and be eliminated early?”

“I’m not worried.”

“Then what else is there? No matter which team we get, we are not afraid. We will deal with whoever is in our way. If the UEFA wants to mess with us, I’ll meet the challenge!”

※※※

An hour later in Nottingham, England.

Eastwood phoned each of his teammates and said, “Hey, guys, turn on your telly! Watch the TV! They’re about to draw the teams now! What? You’re all watching.. Well, then I don’t have to repeat, watch the telly!”

He threw his phone down and clasped his hands under his chin. He held his breath as he stared at the television screen.

Everyone on the Forest team stayed home to watch the live telecast of the draw ceremony. There were countless Nottingham Forest fans just like them.

Kenny Burns’ pub was packed with people. Everyone held a beer mug as they looked up at the television, looking forward to the results of the draw.

Nottingham Forest had been picked, but their opponent was yet to be determined.

The televised broadcast gave Twain a close-up. He was staring intently at the stage, but there was a hint of smile at the corners of his mouth.

The cab driver, Landy James currently wanted the traffic signal light at the intersection in front of him to break down and remain red. The broadcaster’s voice could be heard on the car radio announcing the latest situation of the draw to his listeners.

“Real Madrid’s opponent is Bayern Munich. This is the fourth time in the last seven years that these old foes of the European football has competed with each other. Inter Milan will play against Valencia. This is the fourth time in six years that both teams have competed...”

Landy stared ahead, but his eyes were unfocused. His fingers gently tapped the steering wheel. Cars behind him were honking, but he did not notice.

※※※

Nearly half of the teams had drawn for the competition, and the suspense was now diminishing. Twain looked at Dunn, who sat next to him, and found that he was not nervous at all. He just looked at the people on the stage with the same concentration. Twain smiled and turned his attention back to the draw ceremony.

“The next to be picked is... Nottingham Forest’s opponent in the round of 16.” The host announced. The UEFA’s number two, Michel Platini, walked to the glass box and slowly put his hand out towards the box with only a few balls left.

Half the people in Nottingham held their breath.

Landy James’s fingers stopped tapping but hung in the mid-air. A policeman knocked on his car window from outside the car, but it was like he had been petrified by the devil. He had turned a deaf ear to the outside world.

Eastwood sat on the couch with his body leaning forward. He looked ready to stand up at any moment as he muttered to himself.

Kenny Burns stopped wiping the glasses and looked up at the television like everyone else. The packed bar was quiet except for the sound coming out of the television.

Platini fumbled around the box for a while and grabbed a ball. He took it out and opened it with his head down. He took out a folded piece of paper, unfolded it to take a look. The television broadcast zoomed in on Platini. The Frenchman’s face was expressionless. The answer could not be predicted from his face.

He smiled suddenly as he flipped the note over to face the many managers under the stage. He faced the camera and viewers in front of the television.

He clearly enunciated the name on this note:

“Barcelona.”

※※※

“Barcelona.”

Landy suddenly smacked the horn.

Eastwood held up his fists and jumped out of the couch. The other Forest team’s players and coaches also jumped. Even the regular training ground workers did.

The quiet Forest bar suddenly burst into huge cheers.

“Well done, Frenchman!”

“Cheers! Cheers to this good f**king draw!”

“Woohoo! This is the best result I’ve ever seen!”

On the television screen, Twain pumped a fist and then held both fist up as he rose from his seat to do a circle on the spot as if he were a victorious general. His ostentatious display once again made him the focus of attention in the venue. There was a clamor in the hall with the intermingled sounds of whistles, applause, laughter, and chatter. All the media pointed their cameras at the man who caused the commotion.

Rijkaard was not far from Twain’s seat, only four seats apart. He put his arms down and marched over, unexpectedly taking Rijkaard’s hand and shaking it.

“Mr. Rijkaard, we meet again!” He had a bright smile on his face which disconcerted Rijkaard.

Even though that the draw ceremony was not over, the scene had become a mess and was as noisy as a country marketplace. The UEFA officials on the stage kept their thoughts to themselves and tried to keep a polite smile on their faces as they looked at the central figure in the commotion.

Meanwhile, half of Nottingham bellowed in madness. “Barcelona, we’re back again! Are you ready?!”

Chapter 503 - Win Back What Was Lost

“After the draw results came out, Nottingham Forest and Barcelona were drawn together, and they will meet in the Round of 16. Due to Manager Tony Twain’s unexpected move at the awards ceremony, there will be a lot to watch for in this pair of competitors from last season’s Champions League final. The two managers from both teams accepted our interviews after the draw. Twain admitted that this is the best draw result that he can think of, and he can’t wait for the Champions League round of 16 game to start right away. Compared to Twain’s aggressiveness, the Barcelona manager, Rijkaard was more low-key. He admitted that he did not expect their Round of 16 opponent would be Nottingham Forest. But Barcelona will not play differently just because the opponent is the Forest team. They will play their own style of football and the key to winning or losing is not the opponent, but how they play.”

The next day, media outlets scrambled over each other to eagerly cover the results of the draw. Naturally the English and Catalan media gave the most coverage and made the most effort.

No one was na?ve enough to think that the draw was a coincidence. The feud between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest was well known, and the UEFA had killed two birds with one stone. On one hand, it could rely on the strong Barcelona to suppress the detestable Nottingham Forest. On the other hand, a fierce competition coupled with the continued enmity from last season could also let the media maximize the hype and keep the fans interested. In terms of commercial interests, this was free publicity.

It was the media’s business for how they liked to hype this, and Twain was not concerned about it at all… even though it was his antics that were the cause.

What delighted him was after his return from Nyon, Switzerland, he was greeted by a high-spirited team at the team’s training the next day. Everyone, especially the players who had experienced the defeat of last season’s final were all quite happy with the draw result. They eagerly looked forward to the reopening of the Champions League tournament.

Things would be all right when he and his team were of one mind.

Ayala had passed the medical examination and joined the team. Although he was only officially on loan, Twain had already included him in his plans for next season. After Pepe’s injury, Ayala’s experience could help the team. Although he could only play in the England’s league tournament, Twain was quite satisfied.

Twain’s current thinking was simple: grab as many points as possible in the league tournament before the game against Barcelona. Whether it was the second or third place, he wanted the team to enter a safe period in the league tournament after the Champions League competition had started again, so that he could have a free hand to go all out in a big fight in another arena.

At the same time, during the points grab, to minimize injuries in the team, the only solution was rotation.

This type of rotation was not about making small adjustments and filling the gaps. It was a major rotation. Everyone in the team would have a chance to play for the team and be the turning point that determined the outcome of a game.

Sun Jihai’s performance against Chelsea was a positive example to the team’s players, showing them that anyone could become a hero. Whether they were in the starting lineup or substitutes, it was possible as long as they never gave up.

The Chinese media found a way to hype up this matter, which eventually became “The Chinese Sun becomes the spiritual leader of Nottingham Forest.” Sun Jihai found the news both funny and extremely embarrassing.

The Champions League draw turned out to be an important motivator for the Forest team to move forward, and the team used this momentum in the domestic league.

On January 30th, during the first league game after the draw, the Forest team easily beat Fulham at home with a score of 2:0.

With the Forest team’s winning streak in January, Tony Twain was named the best manager of January and the Forest team was named the best team. Since their loss at home to Manchester United on November 18th the last year, Nottingham Forest had maintained twelve unbeaten rounds, setting in the league tournament, and continued to press in on Manchester United in first place and Chelsea in second.

However, after he received the best manager spot, the Forest team weirdly lost 1:2 to Blackburn Rovers in the first away game in February.

Twain was not afraid to lose. He thought that occasional loss was good for the entire team. It was like if a person was not sick at times, then it might be fatal once he fell ill.

He did not chase after the meaningless record of consecutive unbeaten rounds or wins in succession. The process was not important. The final results were the important part. If losing a game now allowed him to finally get the title, Twain did not mind losing the game at all.

It would come to an end in one month’s time.

The first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 game against Barcelona was on the night of February 20th. Before that, the Forest team played only two games in February, an away loss to Blackburn Rovers and a home win over Tottenham Hotspur.

But Twain’s players did not get a full break just because they played two games. Due to the national team games, the players had to play the national team competition after they played in the league tournament.

The February results were not ideal, even though the morale of the Forest team was not affected. Everyone placed more importance on the upcoming game than the league tournament.

※※※

After the national team games ended, the players regrouped. By this time the media began to hype the Champions League tournament.

Not only England and Catalonia, but the whole world was watching the Champions League rekindle the competition. But what everyone was most concerned with was Nottingham Forest’s battle with Barcelona.

According to the game schedule, the Forest team would play the first leg in an away game. Therefore, after the players returned from their respective national teams, and despite being five days away from the actual game day, Twain simply brought the team straight to Spain.

At the training session on the outskirts of Barcelona, Twain declined all media interviews and only promised to hold a press conference a day before the game to answer all media questions.

Then he took the team into a rented university stadium and began a four-day closed door training session.

They studied Barcelona to develop a countermeasure that would take into account anything that might happen in the game. All the members of the coaching unit worked like a fully powered electric motor at Twain’s request.

Even if Twain had not asked them to do so, everyone would still have done so. All the people at Nottingham Forest could not wait for the day they could take revenge.

Time passed quickly, and the four days of training reached their last day. Twain would hold a press conference at the hotel where the team was staying to satisfy the reporters’ exuberant curiosity later in the day. Before that, though, he had one more thing to do.

The next day was the game, so there was only half a day of training for the day. They mainly focused on the set-piece practice. In fact, everyone’s mind was not on the training.

After the training was done, the team returned to the hotel where the media had begun to gather. Twain did not intend to go to the press conference right away. He took the team to a meeting room where videos could be played.

The players did not know what Twain wanted to do. It didn’t make sense for it to be a tactical preparation meeting; they had already had the meeting on the sidelines of the training ground.

Only Dunn and Kerslake, the two assistant managers in the coaching unit, knew what Twain had in mind.

Once they entered the meeting room, Twain turned off the lights and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. A video began to play on the white screen in front of everyone and the surround sound speakers around the room began to play a commentary.

“To all viewers out there, welcome to the 2005 to 2006 season UEFA Champions League final! The two competitors are the powerhouse teams, Barcelona from Spain, and the dark horse of England, Nottingham Forest!”

When the voice started, someone looked back at Twain, standing at the back of the room. Their manager was staring at the big screen without any expression on his face.

As the commentator said, it was the Champions League final last season. Twain wanted his players to watch the failed game.

When Edwin van der Sar was sent off, the picture on the big screen was chaotic, with sounds of boos and the commentator’s screaming coming out of the speakers.

When Albertini scored, the British commentator roared, and the young players could not help but stand up and wave their fists in the dark meeting room.

Within five minutes of the second half, Barcelona scored two equalizing goals in a row and completed their mission to overtake. The game ended, and everyone from the Forest team took to the stage to collect their silver medals, and Twain in turn gave the medal he had just won to a ball boy on the sidelines. The image faded and the noises from the game and commentary died out. The meeting room was plunged into a brief silence.

After a while, the lights in the room lit up again.

Twain spoke, “do you know why I want you to review last year’s final game?”

No one made a sound.

“Before I reveal this answer to you, I have a question for you.” Twain walked forward, passing among the players. “How do you feel when you lose a game?”

“Awful, chief.” Albertini led the way with his answer. He had somewhat guessed Twain’s intentions and decided to fully cooperate with the manager.

Twain smiled at Albertini. He also knew what Albertini had in mind.

“And everyone agrees with Demetrio?”

No one disagreed.

“Very good. So now I ask you again, what if we lost a very, very important game that should have never been lost?” Twain looked at Albertini.

After a moment’s silence, Albertini replied, “Then it feels like we’re as good as dead...”

Twain nodded. “Looks like we have that in common, Demetrio. That’s right, it does feel like that to lose an important game, as if the world has collapsed and our souls are gone… Does anyone think I’m joking?”

The players all shook their heads.

“But we’re not dead, and the world is still spinning, right? So the loss of a game feels more like a disgrace to me. Do you feel good when you see our opponent strutting around in front of us?” Twain raised his voice.

“No, Chief!” everyone answered loudly.

“It was a great disgrace for us to lose to Barcelona in the Champions League final in front of the world!” Twain brandished his fist and growled loudly. “They took the trophy that was supposed to belong to us and became the king of Europe. But what about us? We were forgotten by people! No one cared what the loser’s name was and what our future would be like. This world will only remember the champion! Don’t complain. My dear boys, this is the competition for rule of the world. The winner is the king and the loser becomes nothing! You find it intolerable? We clearly gave as much, or maybe even more, effort, but in the end, we did not receive the due return. When I went on stage to receive the silver medal, did anyone feel like I did? Do you feel anger here?!” Twain punched himself hard in the chest.

“Yes!” Someone got up from his seat amidst the roar.

“Runner-up, silver medal… Ha!” Twain scorned, “They thought giving us silver medals would appease us? For me, if that sh*tty thing hangs on my chest, it will only constantly remind me this: ‘You’re a motherf**king loser!’ What bastard would go through all that trouble to advance to the final, just to get the silver medal?! This kind of thing doesn’t deserve to be in our trophy room at all. That sacred place is reserved for the championship trophy!”

Twain paced back and forth agitatedly in the conference room, gesticulating as he imparted to the players the philosophy “except for the championship title, everything else is a piece of dog sh*t.”

“Last season’s UEFA Champions League runner-up… does that sound good? Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Is it worth repeated mentions? No! Only shameless people will feel that getting the runner-up title is a worthwhile thing to show off!”

“Pity… unfortunately, we became such a loser… This is a cruel world. Losing is losing, you can’t turn back the clock and have another go with your opponent. No matter how you lose, the result cannot be changed once it is determined. What to do? Do you acknowledge the result? Are you willing to be a loser?”

“No!” The players hollered.

“Of course not.” Twain shook his finger and pointed to George Wood. “I once said to George, losing is not a reason to give up. You lose this game and you can still win it back in the next game. What you lose in a game due to defeat, you can win it back in the next game! This is what I want to tell all of you, and I want you to remember — I don’t care what you’re going to do or where you will be in the future, you have to remember this — this is the kind of football I want you to play! Even if you are knocked to the ground by a powerful opponent countless times and tumble pathetically through mud puddles, you have to get up the next second! Lose this game and win back in the next game; lose this championship title and win it back the next championship; concede the ball this time and get it back the next time! It’s as simple as that.”

“Now you know why I asked you to watch this video before the game, right?” Twain swept his glance across the entire room. Everyone was quiet but had a look of determination in their eyes.

“I don’t want you kids to forget what it’s like to have an unforgettable failure. You guys — including me — all of us have to keep in mind. Remember how humiliating and painful it was to lose the championship title! Fortunately, thank heavens!” Twain pointed toward the ceiling. “We drew a good lot.”

Everyone laughed.

“We lose this game, we win it back in the next game. What we lose in this game, we’ll win it back the next game! Here’s your chance, guys.” Twain grinned, like a sly devil luring them to the dark side. “So what if this is an away game? Accumulate your humiliation, unwillingness, regret, and anger! This time tomorrow let’s give them hundredfold back to Barcelona!!”

The meeting room suddenly descended into chaos. The players kicked over the chairs and jumped on the table, waving their fists and growling loudly.

Twain looked at the players with satisfaction. He patted Kerslake and motioned for him to sort out the situation. He quietly opened the door and left. He still had to attend the press conference. He was certain that the reporters must be getting a little impatient.

※※※

As expected, when Twain arrived at the press conference, the reporters had waited until they were ready to get up and leave — they thought that they had been fooled by Tony Twain again.

Fortunately, Twain arrived in time. He looked at the disgruntled reporters, and for the first time he did not provoke them. Instead, he smiled and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I was delayed by something. As you all know, tomorrow is the game. I don’t deny that this is an important game for Nottingham Forest and for me personally. So, we have to be more well prepared and meticulous. More time is also required. But to make up for my lateness, I promise you will see a very good game tomorrow and you will have a lot of topics to hype up.”

“Just a one-sided guarantee?” A Spanish journalist asked in English. “Mr. Twain, an exciting game requires two teams to work together, as if...” He wanted to give an example of the second leg of ’04-05 La Liga season where there had been a classic battle between Real Madrid versus Barcelona with a score of 4:2.

Twain interrupted him with a smile on his face. “Is there anything wrong with my promise? This game has already entered my orbit.”

As soon as the words came out, the reporters became animated. Although such a pretentious statement was consistent with Twain’s character, every time he uttered such words, it still stirred people up.

“This is the home of Barcelona, Mr. Twain.” The same Spanish — or rather, Catalonian — reporter frowned as he continued to ask questions.

“Yes, so what if it’s your home ground?” Twain retorted aggressively.

“It’s just that it’s normally more difficult to play an away game...” This reporter’s voice became softer.

“Convention is useless against my team.” Twain waved. “I said it is in my orbit, so it is in my orbit. If you don’t believe me, you’ll see tomorrow!”

Chapter 504 - Come to Collect the Interest

Twain proclaimed that the game had entered his orbit the day before the game. When his remarks were made public, it caused a stir in Barcelona. The Catalan media began to fight back, and they went to the Barcelona players in hopes of getting the team’s support.

The big mouth, Eto’o was the first to jump out in response to Twain’s provocation. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, he said, “I don’t know what Twain’s orbit is. Maybe it leads directly to a precipice? But I’m not surprised he said that, because he’s the only one who would do such an ungracious thing. Isn’t that what he was like during last year’s final?”

His statement was an attack on Twain’s personality and gentlemanly manners.

The Barcelona captain, Puyol, directly stated that Twain’s action was disrespectful to his opponent.

The Brazilian and the team’s core, Ronaldinho was not worried about Twain’s orbit. With a smile on his face, he faced the reporters and said, “we will play at our own pace, no matter who the opponent is.”

Rijkaard declined to comment on it.

Throughout the Catalan region, the people were aggressive on the outcome of the upcoming game. Barcelona was still ahead in La Liga and their centennial rival, Real Madrid, was at an all-time low. Capello’s team had dared to lose to any opponent and the booing at Bernabéu had sounded more than once, with waves of glaring white handkerchiefs. The Italian’s dismissal seemed to have entered a countdown. Real Madrid players and fans were just as at a loss and did not know where they should go.

The more pathetic their opponent was, the more it highlighted the infinite glory of Barcelona.

The Barcelona team was not worried about the La Liga title at all. They thought that their main focus of the season was not defending their La Liga title because it did not require them to painstakingly defend their title. The glory already belonged to them. Instead, Barcelona hoped to make a historic breakthrough in the European arena: defending their Champions League title for the first time.

The entire Barcelona team is in such a good form. What is Nottingham Forest? A team that was crushed by us!

The Barcelona’s hardcore fan groups even had a chant. “Last year, we beat you once; this year, we will beat you again!”.

The media was still analyzing the idea that Barcelona had a psychological advantage over Nottingham Forest after beating them. Why would they think there was a “psychological advantage?” It was only because Barcelona defeated Nottingham Forest in last year’s Champions League final. It was conventional for the winner to maintain some psychological advantage over the loser, but had they all forgetten what Twain said at the press conference?

Convention has no effect on my team.

“Tony Twain is that kind of person. He is just used to being egotistical. If Rijkaard really thinks that he has any foolproof countermeasures, then he will have been mislead by Twain. My friends in England are happy to tell me all sorts of mischief that this man has caused over there. They say it is a pity that this man was not a circus clown. He is up to all kinds of things all day long, making shocking remarks in hopes of attracting the attention of the world. A lot of the time, he’s does even not act like a football manager. He’s more like an entertainment star. When The Sun reports news on him, it’s always in the entertainment section and not the sports edition,” Mundo Deportivo, Catalonia’s representative media described Tony Twain’s character. When they publicized a foreigner in such a manner, their readers would think so, too.

On the day of the game, the media in Barcelona were filled with such reports.

The war of words between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona was already in progress. Barcelona was fully invested whereas the Nottingham Forest players stayed out of it. They did not accept any interviews or discuss their manager’s remarks in front of the media. They kept their minds on preparing for the evening’s game and let Twain be the shield that attracted all the negative attention.

※※※

In the afternoon, as the team was about to board the bus to go to the Camp Nou stadium, Twain was surrounded by numerous reporters at the hotel entrance.

“One last interview before the game,” he said with his index finger extended. “Hurry up and ask your questions. If you don’t, I’m going to leave. You only have...” he looked down at his watch, “five minutes.”

“That’s too short!” A reporter complained.

“My team is going to the stadium soon. Don’t tell me that you want me to hold a forty-five minute long press conference here?” Twain retorted and then added, “there are four minutes left.”

The reporters looked at each other. They had not expected Twain to do that.

Only one person reacted. While the other reporters were still displeased with the way Twain treated them, she tossed out her own question. “Excuse me, Mr. Twain. Your comments yesterday caused a stir in Barcelona. Are you worried that doing so will provoke your opponent and make today’s game difficult?”

Twain was familiar with the person who asked the question. It was the Chinese journalist, Tang Jing, who always showed up wherever they went.

“Hey, I really did not expect to see you here, Tang, the great journalist.” Twain spoke in Mandarin.

“Answer my question quickly. Don’t try to drag it out,” Tang Jing said ungraciously with a cold expression.

Twain shrugged and replied in English, “do you think the Champions League Round of 16 game will be easy? Even if I hadn’t said that, the game wouldn’t have been easier. Not to mention I’m telling the truth, so why should I be worried? Provoke my opponent? What do their feelings have to do with me? If they’re upset, all right, come and beat me. If they beat me, they will be entitled to cut me to the bone and drown me in their saliva. If I win... heheh.” Twain grinned. “They will have to admit they’re wrong!”

While Twain answered Tang Jing’s question, the other reporters finally reacted. They knew that reasoning was not going to work with the man, so they were ready to ask their questions.

Unexpectedly, after Twain answered Tang Jing’s question, he raised his hand to signal for everyone’s silence. “Well, ladies and gentlemen. Time’s up. I should get on the bus and set off. See you after the game!” With that, he turned and jumped onto the bus. Without waiting for the group of reporters to react, the bus door closed.

Everyone saw Tony Twain standing inside the door and smiling at them through the windows. Consequently, these people realized that they had been duped again.

※※※

George Wood, who would wear the captain’s armband in the game for the starting lineup, was quiet all the way from the hotel to the stadium. The others either listened to music to relax or took a nap to adjust their state of mind. Only he sat with a serious face.

Kerslake noticed the kid while they were still on the bus. When he got off the bus, he whispered to Twain, “I always think George is too serious. He has the biggest task in this game... is he nervous about it?”

Twain looked at the team captain, who was walking at the front of the line and shrugged. “Have you ever seen him nervous about a game?”

“Umm...” Kerslake thought carefully. Wood was seldom nervous. Twain used to say that if Stuart Pearce had a heart of oak, then George Wood’s heart must have been made of diamond.

A diamond is the hardest natural matter in the world. Twain’s remark described George Wood’s character as tough and strong with very few big mood swings.

While Twain did not think that George Wood would be nervous about playing in this game, he felt that Kerslake’s concerns were justified. Before an important game, it was better to make sure everything was in order. He decided to speak to Wood alone and figure out his current state of mind.

Therefore, when the team went out to warm up, Twain followed Wood outside.

“George, I feel that there’s something off with you today. You’re quieter than usual today. Do you have anything on your mind?”

“No.”

“Don’t tell me... you’re nervous?” Twain glanced at Wood.

Wood stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Twain. “I’m not nervous. Just don’t want to talk.”

“You don’t want to talk... Can you tell me why?”

“I didn’t take part in last year’s final, so I want to play this game like it is the final. Just now I’ve been trying to think back to what it was like on the day of the final last season.”

When he heard Wood say that, Twain did not know what to say. He still remembered very well the reason why Wood was unable to attend last season’s final.

“George, you... Did you resent me after?” he asked carefully.

Wood looked at him strangely. “Why would I resent you?”

“Because I insisted on getting you on the field, which caused you to accumulate the yellow cards and be suspended. If I had replaced you in advance, you would have been able to play in that final.”

Wood thought about it and then replied, “if the team was eliminated because you had me replaced earlier... then I would have resented you.”

Twain smiled. He slapped Wood hard on the shoulder and said, “don’t take yourself too seriously, son! Us being eliminated after we replaced you? I wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.”

“It’s already in the past, so you can say anything.” Wood was noncommittal about Twain’s big talk.

Twain also knew that that hindsight was 20/20, so he changed the subject and said, “You said that you were replaying that final in your head just now. How did that go?”

“If you had not come to me to talk, I would have finished it.”

Twain grinned. “Very well, it looks like you’re confident. Then I won’t say all this crap. I know you want to say that what I’m saying is crap, right? Well, then I won’t say anything. But you can use action to prove what you have just said is not crap.”

Wood gave a grunt. Twain shoved him a little from behind. “Go out and warm up. Don’t let those players from Barcelona wait.”

After watching Wood run out, Twain turned and walked back to the locker room. The boos outside were getting louder. If he went out again, it probably would become louder. As “the ultimate boss” that Barcelona loathed, he would lose face if he showed up too early.

※※※

As the team warmed up amid the earth-shattering boos, Twain was busy with the final preparations alone in the locker room. His preparation was not to put the tactics on the tactical board, but to sort out the newspapers — English, Spanish, Catalan, there was even a Chinese newspaper — on a table in front of him.

When the players came back from their warm-up, they saw the various colorful and eye-catching newspapers placed on the table. Everyone was baffled and did not know what the boss had in store for them during the precious time before the game.

As soon as everyone was in, the locker room door was closed and Twain sat beside the table, clearing his throat.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Tony reporting the news now. Tony Twain will take you through the latest news anecdotes and gossip from around the world.”

Everyone who looked forward to the boss’ antics laughed.

Twain laughed with them. This was the result he wanted. He wanted them to be full of fighting spirit, but not nervous. When everyone’s laughter subsided, he picked up several newspapers and showed them to everyone.

“Mundo Deportivo analyzed and demonstrated from ten perspectives and finally came to an ‘authoritative’ conclusion that we cannot defeat the invincible Second Dream Team in this away game. Sport stated that the Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain, is bluffing again. It was a ploy to disguise fears and weaknesses.

“There are also some unpronounceable tabloids which claimed that Nottingham Forest’s entry to last season’s Champions League final was just a spark of luck, because no one taking it seriously would go to Paris. Now Barcelona’s home game is a good opportunity for Nottingham Forest to see how the Second Dream Team will crush the pseudo-strong team back to its original form. Let the powerful Barcelona show the ignorant Forest team what a real strong team and what a real ... f**king European champion looks like.”

Twain added the last foul word himself.

“Guys, these are all genuine media reviews. I’m not making these up.” Twain shook the newspapers in his hand, causing a crunching noise. “These newspapers are on sale in every corner of Barcelona, and they represent what this city really thinks of us. It’s really hostile.”

He threw the newspapers on the table, and some of them slid to the ground, but he did not lean over to pick them up. He did not even glance at the miserable papers. He had just tossed them aside after he made use of them.

Twain got up from his chair, looked at everyone in the locker room and very seriously said, “obviously we have been looked down upon and underestimated! It upsets me. We have been completely disrespected. What should we do?” He laughed again, and the expression on his face changed as if it were summer in Nottingham. “It’s actually very simple. Use our victory to force the haughty Barcelona team to bow their heads. They don’t think we can win, so we’ll show them! They think it’s a great opportunity for the Second Dream Team to teach us, then let’s show them who’s going to teach whom!”

Watching the positive change in everyone’s expression, Twain took advantage of the momentum and roared, “who do they think we are?! We’re their creditor, the Nottingham Forest team!”

Yes, we are Barcelona’s creditor of a high-interest loan and we have come to collect the interest today.

※※※

Chapter 505 - George Wood’s Final

When Barcelona appeared, Camp Nou broke out in a deafening song. When the broadcast introduced the Nottingham Forest players, the song turned into boos. Luckily, the players were used to away games being like this.

As Twain stood in front of the technical area, the boos and abuse continuously streamed in from the stands behind him. Kerslake came to hand Twain the iPod in his hand. However, Twain waved his hand and refused, “No need, David.”

“The swearing...” Kerslake pointed to the grandstand behind him.

“It’s nothing. I don’t understand Spanish anyway. That’s the good thing about not learning a foreign language.”

Although he said that, Twain could understand the universally used “fuck,” but he did not want to use his earphones today to avoid the boos. It was not an ordinary league tournament and the opponent was not the superfluous Reading team. This was the Champions League Round of 16 game and their opponent was Barcelona. He had to listen with his own ears to how fierce the boos were at the Camp Nou and feel his opponent’s fear firsthand.

Indeed, Twain took this as Barcelona’s fear. Why were their boos and abuse so fierce? Because fear was hidden in their hearts and they feared that there was a chance their team would lose to Nottingham Forest at home. Hence, they could only use outrageous boos and abuse to disrupt the game with the Forest team.

Twain shrugged at the old trick.

Kerslake took a seat again. He did not want to stand on the sidelines and be a target of abuse for the Barcelona fans alongside Twain. Twain did not care if he was mentally strong enough, he did not train to be at that level.

While Twain and Kerslake talked on the sidelines, the players from both teams had begun to shake hands with each other on the field.

The camera closely followed Ronaldinho. Without a doubt, he was currently the core of Barcelona and the key figure that would determine the outcome of this game.

As he faced this constantly provocative opponent, the normally happy-looking Brazilian did not smile and shook hands with the other party with a serious expression. When he came to George Wood, he deliberately lingered longer on him.

The Forest team had added some new faces since the last time they had played Barcelona, but Ronaldinho knew most of them except George Wood, whom he was unfamiliar with. He only heard from the coaching staff that this player was tough in his defense and for him to be more careful in the game. He did not know anything else.

With his tanned-skin and a head of black curly hair, the rather good-looking lad looked more like an actor than a defensive midfielder with a rough style. In his mind, the English players who played dirty had to look brutal and fierce, with a five-o’clock shadow and a clean-shaven head to fully highlight their characters, and glowered the entire time.

This man in front of him completely upended his previous impression of the English players.

He extended his hand and shook hands with George Wood. His hand was indeed strong...

※※※

“Barcelona hasn’t changed much compared to last year’s Champions League final, while Nottingham Forest has brought in a number of new players. But for this game, Twain has deployed almost all of last season’s old lineup. Both van Nistelrooy and van der Vaart are on the bench. The two men have proved their strength and secured their strong positions after they joined the Forest team half a season ago. What is Manager Twain’s reason for putting them on the bench?”

“This is why: I think the media’s analysis is quite sound. Twain’s boast before the game was nothing more than a diversion of everyone’s attention. This away game will be very hard. He had put the main players on the bench, precisely to protect these important players to prepare for the next round back in Nottingham home ground. After all, he had stirred up this game with his declarations before this game. It would not be worth it if his players were to be injured during the game. Everyone knows that the Forest team has the smallest number of First Team players among the twenty teams in the English Premier League. They can’t afford to sustain any injuries.”

There was some truth in what the La Liga guest commentator said. Taking a look at the Forest team’s current lineup for the defensive line, Ayala was not eligible to represent Nottingham Forest in this game because he already had represented Valencia in the Champions League.

In such an important game, Twain could only send the young center back partners, Piqué and Kompany. This was also the main evidence that made Barcelona’s media think Twain was just boasting. They did not think that these two kids could be relied on to prevent the repeated attacks from Ronaldinho, Eto’o, Messi, and so on.

“Piqué was a good player from Barcelona’s youth training academy, La Masia. We acknowledge his talent, but he is still a bit tender against an opponent like Barcelona in the Champions League. As for Kompany? He has done well in the Forest team for a young man, but he’s not even twenty yet! Tony Twain is really out of players to deploy.” Originally, the special guest only did commentary on La Liga, but because the match was held in Barcelona, he was brought in by the television station to be a commentator. Other than a few game videos, his knowledge of the Forest team was based on media coverage. In terms of real understanding, he did not know more than Tang Jing, who was standing among the press.

“Taking another look at the forward line: in place of the experienced striker, van Nistelrooy, is another young man! The Danish striker, Nicklas Bendtner. He has been selected for the Denmark national team, but what level is the Denmark national team at?” The sardonic tone in this remark was obvious enough. “Eastwood is a good striker, but he has not been in stable condition since he got hurt and he’s only just good. I think in this starting lineup, only Franck Ribéry counts as a real star and the only outstanding player who can decide the direction of this game. Rijkaard also must be able to tell. As long as Ribéry is closely marked, the Forest team’s attack will not be any threat. And in the face of the defensive line manned by the bunch of kids, the Barcelona fans only need to think about how many goals to score and not how to score goals.”

The half-baked commentator completely neglected George Wood who wore the Nottingham Forest captain’s armband. Fortunately, it was an explanation and commentary for the Spanish audience. Otherwise the Nottingham Forest fans would have surely hurled abuse at the man in the television.

Right next door, the English commentators and guest pundits were also apprehensive about Twain’s lineup.

This lineup was almost the same as last year’s final, in which the Forest team did not beat Barcelona. Could this year’s lineup beat Barcelona? The difference between them and their Spanish counterparts was that they did not ignore George Wood. They said, “of course, we have George Wood in this game. But what about it? Wood is a defensive midfielder and his job is to help defend. After all, the Forest team’s two center backs are too young. Speaking of which, Wood is also rather young, but his steady performance on the field always makes us forget that he is only twenty-one years old. Wood’s mission is to defend. But what about the offense? Van der Vaart, the core of offense organization, and van Nistelrooy, the main center forward are not in the starting lineup. This is really a baffling arrangement. Are they depending Ribéry alone? Ribéry’s performance this season has declined slightly from his first two seasons. In short, people are very worried about this game. We certainly don’t want to see England’s representative, Nottingham Forest, lose this away game. No one likes to lose — even if this team is not a likeable team in England’s league.”

While everyone puzzled over the lineup, Twain stood on the sidelines and endured boos from the rival fans.

Only he and the Forest team’s coaching unit knew why he arranged it this way.

Why did he not use the new players who joined the team last summer? Was it because they wanted to preserve their strength for the second leg of the competition, or that they were worried about those players getting hurt? Twain had another consideration. He spent so much effort before the game to stir up his players’ hatred of Barcelona and make them understand how humiliating it was to lose to this team last year, but these methods only worked on the old players, and for the new players who had not experienced the humiliating defeat of the last season, such incitement was somewhat odd, so the effect would not be obvious.

In an away game, determination and drive were most important. Twain let the players who had experienced the defeat start, in order not to waste the drive that he had stirred up. Consequently, van Nistelrooy and van der Vaart who were not injured and whose form did not decline, had to sit on the bench.

Only those who had experienced that unforgettable failure were in this game and would try their hardest to win the game to prove themselves again.

※※※

While the commentators chattered on about the analysis on how the Forest team would fail, the game had already begun. As Nottingham Forest kicked off first, the referee’s whistle had just sounded before it was quickly drowned out the thunderous boos at Camp Nou.

Eastwood passed the ball that Bendtner kicked to Mikel Arteta and ran forward. Camp Nou could accommodate about 100,000 people. The earth-shattering boos raged against the Nottingham Forest players, but no one’s knees would weaken in this situation. With Twain’s tenacity, the Forest team was currently like a spring, the harder the opponent pressed, the more powerful the rebound was.

It might have been better if the Barcelona fans did not boo. The more they hissed, the stronger the entire Forest team’s desire for vengeance became.

After Arteta stopped the football, he did not rush to pass it forward. Even if he was eager for revenge, it was necessary that he must remain calm as the central midfield commander on the field.

He shifted the football crosswise to the captain, George Wood.

The information that Barcelona had learned was that George Wood was an excellent defensive midfielder who formed a solid barrier in front of the center backs. His special features were his ferocious interceptions, excellent headers, amazing speed and explosive force, as well as inexhaustible stamina.

All the information was summed up like this. As for his ability to attack, it was not mentioned in the information in Rijkaard’s hands.

The football rarely stayed at Wood’s feet for more than half a minute. He always quickly passed the ball. He seldom dribbled, crosswise or forward.

The Barcelona coaching staff believed that this man would only cause little trouble with his offense, so they did not need to defend against him. As a result, they put the focus of their defense on dealing with Ribéry.

After Arteta passed the ball, he ran forward, which drew the attention of the Barcelona midfielders. Based on last year’s Champions League final experience, Wood, as a defensive midfielder, should pass the ball to Arteta, who was plugging ahead, and leave it to the Spaniard to organize the attack. And as for Wood, he would stay in the back field to prevent the opponent from intercepting the ball and fight back after he passed the ball.

This set piece had been played in the Forest midfield for almost more than two seasons. The only difference was George Wood’s partner. The earliest partner was Albertini, which later became Arteta and van der Vaart this season. If Wood was suspended due to a red card, his job would be given to Albertini or the Chinese player, Sun Jihai, and Twain’s task for them would be predominately defense. This man was primarily a conservative manager. If he had coached Barcelona, he would have been ousted by the picky fans in less than a month.

Therefore, after they clearly figured out the Forest team’s usual routine, they just needed to cut off George Wood’s link to the other midfielders and the Forest team’s offense would be paralyzed. It did not matter who Wood was going to pass the ball to. It only mattered who would receive the ball.

As this game was a home match, Rijkaard deployed his favorite and best in a 4-3-3 attack formation. None of the three midfielders was specifically in charge of defense. They were all offensive players. This lineup mainly relied on powerful attacks to suppress the opponent’s midfield. When Arteta plugged ahead, the three Barcelona midfielders just let him go to be dealt with by the full-backs. They believed that as long as the football returned to their feet, they would be able to fully control the pace of the game.

Ronaldinho ran towards Wood and he looked like he wanted to intercept ball. Wood looked at his opponent and kicked his leg to pass the ball.

Rijkaard saw this scene off the field and leaned back against his chair. It was exactly as the intelligence had stated. George Wood did not know how to do anything else but defense.

Matters became simpler. It changed into how Barcelona would blow apart the Forest team’s goal as soon as possible by attacking and defending within half of the field and make them have a chain reaction collapse.

When Ronaldinho saw the football being passed, he did not turn to give chase. Defense was not his job. An artist could not be expected to do a bricklayer’s job, could he?

But just as he was about to brush past Wood, he saw Wood running straight ahead.

What...What’s going on?

After he received the football, Arteta did not dribble it. He simply kicked the football back and it landed at the foot of George Wood who continued ahead.

“Barcelona wants to crush Nottingham Forest with offense at home, but Twain’s team does not intend to defend in this away game! George Wood dribbles the ball as he drives it ahead!”

Indeed, it came as a surprise to Barcelona when Arteta suddenly passed the football back to George Wood. But if they were so easily fooled, they would not be Barcelona. They quickly adjusted their defensive goal and this time, it was aimed directly at George Wood, who was “poor at dribbling the ball.”

Their idea was simple. Wood could not dribble the ball well, so it would be easy to intercept his ball. It was even better this way. They could intercept Wood’s ball and directly launch a counterattack to avoid facing the ferocious defensive midfielder.

Just as Puyol rushed up, Wood passed the ball again. Instead of passing it to Arteta or Ribéry, who was closer to his side, he made an unexpected long pass of nearly thirty meters diagonally across to the right flank to Ashley Young.

“That... was truly an accurate pass!” The commentator exclaimed after his mouth had been wide open with surprise for quite a while.

He was not exaggerating. The pass was indeed accurate. Ashley Young extended his leg and hooked the football down during a high-speed run.

Seeing the scene, Twain looked back at the substitutes’ bench from where he stood on the sidelines. He met Albertini’s eyes and the two men laughed. It looked like most of their efforts this season had not been in vain.

Ashley Young caught the attention of the Barcelona players after taking the ball. No one noticed that George Wood did not follow his usual tactic to run back to defend after he passed the ball. Instead, he continue to move forward.

Facing Barcelona’s left-back, the new world champion, the Italian Gianluca Zambrotta, Ashley Young greeted him fearlessly. Then at a very close distance, he suddenly jabbed the ball and cut inside. Zambrotta reacted quickly and immediately turned his body to block Ashley Young’s path from continuing to break through.

Did he lose his chance?

No, Ashley Young basically did not even think to dribble the ball into the penalty area. He swept his gaze across the middle and sent the ball straight out.

It was not a high ball pass in front of the goal. It was a low-lying pass that swept out of the penalty area.

“George Wood — WOW! That was close!”

The man who had rushed to the middle to directly make a long shot without stopping the ball was not Ribéry or Arteta, let alone Eastwood, but the one who was least likely to appear in this position to make such a move. It was George Wood.

His direct shot was slightly above the crossbar, which made Valdés break out in a cold sweat. He jumped up but did not touch the football. He saw that the football was about to fall into the net. Unexpectedly, that did not happened. The ball flew out in a straight line instead.

Although he was in a bit of pain after he fell from midair, Valdés breathed a sigh of relief. He would have been so embarrassed if he had let in the first opening shot.

“Oh my god! That’s too bad! What a shame!” The British commentator wished he were allowed to use foul language to show the intensity of his disappointment. “It is rare to see George Wood take such a terrific shot and see Barcelona so completely defenseless. There was not a single Barcelona player around when Wood shot at the top of the penalty arc!”

Twain walked back, and Kerslake said to him, “it looks like George is in fighting form today.”

Twain grinned as he glanced at the Barcelona technical area next to them and said, “of course, he has waited for this game for almost a year. This is the Champions League final that belongs to him.”

Chapter 506 - Open the First Record

He did not score a goal, but Wood was not annoyed. He turned around and ran back. He even high-fived Arteta who covered him on the way. Ronaldinho attentively watched this man and found his facial expression still as water, without any display of emotions at all.

What was he thinking? Perhaps he did not feel it was a shame that the ball did not go in? Or ... he thought that he still had a chance to threaten Barcelona’s goal again?

If you really think so, that would be a grave mistake!

Valdés drove the ball out. After Eto’o received it, he passed it to Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian was the core of Barcelona. He had just gotten the ball and George Wood immediately got closer.

“It’s no surprise that George Wood is in charge of defending Ronaldinho. If there’s anyone in the Forest team who can cause Ronaldinho some trouble, it is possibly number 13 here. This is the first time Wood has defended against Ronaldinho in a game! In last year’s Champions League final, Wood missed the game because of his suspension from accumulating too many yellow cards!”

Ronaldinho certainly knew that George Wood made a name for himself in defense. When he faced Wood’s direct defense, he dared not underestimate his opponent.

After he tried to make a feint, Ronaldinho found the man opposite him remained unmoved. He frowned and passed the football to Messi at the flank.

Messi was specifically marked by another player, so Wood did not follow to get in on the action. He continued to follow not far from Ronaldinho and carefully watched the Brazilian’s movements at all times.

On the right flank, Messi had a one-on-one grapple with the Forest team’s left-back, Gareth Bale. Eto’o was already in the penalty area, ready to take a shot.

It looked like Barcelona wanted to use an offensive routine where they would make the pass from the flank and take the shot from the middle.

Just as the Nottingham Forest players put their defensive attention at the front of the goal, Messi feinted a shot, but sent the football back to Ronaldinho in the middle.

Ronaldinho had wanted to immediately do a long shot after he stopped the ball, but when he stopped the ball, he saw George Wood appear in front of him like a ghost.

His foot, which had swung up for the shot, became a huge weakness, as Ronaldinho briefly lost control of the ball.

George Wood timed it accurately and suddenly poked the ball away from the Brazilian’s foot.

“Terrific tackle! Looks like Ronaldinho has met a fierce rival!”

Ronaldinho was a little astounded. He initially thought his ruse to break through to the inside to provide support had deceived the person in front of his eyes. He did not expect himself he would be marked by him again after having just pulled out to receive Messi’s pass.

This was the second time this season that he had felt this feeling. The first time was in an away game during the group stage with Chelsea, where he had been marked so closely by the opposing Dutch defender, Boulahrouz, that he had nowhere to put his energy.

In that game, Mourinho had had Boulahrouz closely mark Ronaldinho and make a grab for the ball whenever he had it. He did not even hesitate to use foul play to disrupt Ronaldinho’s pace of his ball control. The tactic was a success, and the soul of Barcelona could not play at all, and had lost last season’s Champions League game to Chelsea.

In this game, it looked like Twain intended to copy Mourinho’s tactics. However, George Wood was more aggressive in defense, had a better strength, and better stamina.

The commentator was right in stating that Ronaldinho had encountered a tough opponent this time. As this was the first encounter between both parties due to George Wood’s suspension, Ronaldinho had been unhindered by Nottingham Forest and played skillfully in the last game. No one could have posed any threat to him at all.

If the Brazilian still played this game with the expectation of the previous game, Twain believed he would suffer for it.

After he intercepted the ball, Wood passed the football to Arteta. He did not participate in the attack again. He simply waited in the rear for the defense.

“George Wood is a rising defensive star player in Nottingham Forest, and his career is filled with legendary experiences. He has been selected for the England national team as a result of his stable and excellent play in the team and has played in Germany as one of the twenty-three players. Unfortunately, Eriksson believed more in big-name players like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. As a young man participating in the World Cup for the first time, Wood did not receive a minute of playing time.” The Spanish commentator introduced the young man who was still unfamiliar to the Spanish spectators. “But looking at his performance, it should only be a matter of time before he becomes a main force of England.”

While the commentator introduced Wood, Nottingham Forest was attacking, and Ronaldinho did not run back to participate in the defense. He and George Wood stayed where they were. He frowned as he appraised the young man not far in front of him.

Through these two direct confrontations, he could already give George Wood a simple evaluation in his mind.

He had excellent stamina, was fast with his footwork, and decisive. He was calm and steady, and could not be easily fooled. Once he had decided, he would never give up midway. It was really hard to deal with such a defensive midfielder.

He brought to mind the the former captain and current manager of the Brazil national team, Dunga.

It looked like he was going to have to change his strategy.

When faced with such a player, in order to have more ball control, dribbling the ball was not feasible. The result would be either the ball would be intercepted, or he would be met with a foul. That obviously would disrupt the team’s offensive pace. What would be the most effective strategy?

It was to pass the ball.

Ronaldinho decided to reduce the frequency with which he dribbled and the amount of time he held the ball. He would pass the football out as much as he could. If possible, he would also pass it as far as possible.

Since Rijkaard had taken charge, Barcelona had gradually formed a set of their own offensive tactics which were currently improving. The lineup of the players was stable and had rapport. Ronaldinho believed it would not be difficult to do it.

Now was a good time for Barcelona to create a new dynasty. How could they be thwarted by an insignificant defensive midfielder?

Nottingham Forest’s offense was taken down by Valdés, who threw the ball to launch a counterattack. Barcelona immediately turned defense into offense. Barcelona may not have put out enough forces for its defense, but when they attacked, they were definitely not short of players.

After the football had been passed three times and bypassed twice, it was back at Ronaldinho’s feet.

Wood still pounced over. Ronaldinho looked at Wood’s right side, which it looked as if he wanted to break through from there. When he saw that Wood’s body’s center of gravity clearly leaned towards that side, he suddenly moved the football to the other side. Wood did not react. He just stayed where he was and watched helplessly as the football flew over his other side.

The diversionary pass was exactly what Ronaldinho was good at.

When he saw this scene, the Catalonian commentator exclaimed, “Ronaldinho’s pass has fooled George Wood! This is what a real football magician is! He’s just getting warmed up ... Beautifully done!”

※※※

Twain just shrugged his shoulders when he saw Ronaldinho’s performance on the sidelines. He was even happy that Ronaldinho did this because the Brazilian, who was afraid and could not dribble the ball, was not a threat anymore. No matter how beautiful that pass was, it still required his teammates to cooperate. Ronaldinho was in a good shape, but he could not guarantee that everyone in Barcelona was in a good shape.

George Wood had brilliantly completed the task given to him.

This kid was growing every day. In the face of the world’s number one midfielder, he did not cower at all and was as calm as he was on the training ground.

Although Twain had turned him from a mover to a professional player, these specific qualities were the result of the constant efforts by Kerslake and Albertini. He was thankful to have these good helpers around him, and a ham-fisted manager get to this point today.

Albertini came over and sat down beside Twain. The pair did not converse. Their gazes met, and they turned their attention to the field again.

※※※

Ronaldinho passed the ball to Messi. Barcelona’s intention for this game was clear: if Ronaldinho met with trouble in the middle, the offensive focus would shift to Messi because Gareth Bale, the player in charge of defense for Nottingham Forest was younger than twenty years old.

Rijkaard and the entire Barcelona coaching unit, who studied Nottingham Forest’s game videos, thought Bale was a typical type of full back who was heavy on offense and light on defense. He liked to go up to assist and would not be back immediately after his assists. In that way, he created a lot of gaps behind him which could be used by Barcelona.

If Rijkaard and his coaching staff were able to study it, why would Twain not do the same?

Twain certainly knew Bale’s special trait – he was stronger in offense than defense. In that case, why did he not deploy Leighton Baines who was stronger in defense over Bale? Quite simply, Twain needed Bale’s offense and set-piece ability. But to make up for his lack of defense, Twain asked Bale not to rush into attack within fifteen minutes after the start of the game, but to concentrate on defense and withstand Barcelona’s repeated offense which made use of their home advantage.

Based on the current situation on the field, Twain’s arrangement was correct. After the start of the game, Barcelona launched a series of strong attacks on Bale’s side. If Bale also pressed on the assist, the Forest team’s defensive line would certainly be scattered by Barcelona.?Usually during a competition, George Wood would come over to cover the gap left by Bale, but it was not possible today. He had a more important task.

Similarly, as a young man, Messi was more famous than Bale. The latter was only famous locally, and the former could be labeled as the successor to Maradona, the king of football – though it was a cheap label in Argentina, since there were a lot of appearances of “the successor to the king of football” in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Messi was currently recognized as the most likely candidate to achieve the level of Maradona.

Bale was very careful in the face of the esteemed Barcelona player. He remembered Twain’s exhortation to him before the game, “... Defense is something you need to concentrate on in the early stages of the game. Watch out for Messi.”

Ronaldinho was temporarily unable to perform so Messi took on the responsibility of Barcelona’s attack. He was very comfortable in the face of the slightly nervous Bale. After all, he was used to big events.

Messi paced himself and deliberately slowed down to lure Bale to come up and defend. Then while Bale leaned up for a moment, he suddenly poked the ball and accelerated to shake him off.

Bale had no idea that Messi would break through so quickly. He was caught off guard. As he turned hastily, he slipped and fell to the ground.

Just as the Catalan commentator prepared to shout that “Messi broke through Nottingham Forest’s defense,” Messi was blocked by a man.

The Catalan commentator stayed quiet for a few seconds when he saw who the man was.

The man in front of Messi was not George Wood, who could run endlessly, but formerly the best player in Barcelona youth academy, the Spain national youth team’s main center back, and the former Barcelona vice president’s grandson, Piqué.

“Piqué, once the pride of the defensive line in La Masia, is now ... our opponent.”

When Messi was not yet a famous superstar footballer in the football world, he and Piqué played in the same youth team. At the time, they were teammates and along with Fàbregas, had a good friendship. They even talked about their future ideal together during the training, which was to play for Barcelona and win all championships for Barcelona. It was almost the dream of almost all the young players at La Masia during that time.

Messi was a very talented player, but many who were able to get into the Barcelona youth team’s main lineup were talented. Was the talent of Arsenal’s new core, Fàbregas, worse than Messi’s?

Ahead of him was Piqué.

Messi was momentarily distracted, but he immediately regained his cool gaze. He seemed to see Piqué smiling at with an expression that seemed to say, “come on, boy. Just like when we played on La Masia’s training ground. I’m going to defend against you!”

Messi slowed down slightly to protect the ball. He was now on the edge of the penalty area and just needed to break through inside. Piqué absolutely did not dare to act lightly.

Piqué aimed at Messi sideways and was ready to turn around at any moment. He knew Messi’s strength and how good the kid, who had had growth hormone deficiency when he was young, was.

Messi made a gambit to pass, hoping to trick Piqué into losing his center of gravity. But Piqué remained unmoved and continued to stay sideways. He anchored his center of gravity and watched the ball at Messi’s feet.

From the corner of his eyes, Messi suddenly glimpsed Bale getting up to give chase after his fall. He realized that ahead of him, Piqué was only bluffing. The real purpose was to delay the time and wait for Bale to converge an attack in the front and back. He decided not to dawdle there with Piqué, but to force a breakthrough.

Messi jabbed the ball and cut cross inside to break through. Piqué followed suit and leaned his body forward, intending to stop Messi from accelerating.

At this moment, Messi suddenly smashed the ball and stopped hurriedly, in order to change to break through from behind Piqué!

Almost at the same time, Piqué also stopped. With his left foot firmly planted on the ground, he quickly turned around and stretched out his right foot to kick the ball.

Messi saw a leg suddenly appear in front of his eyes and could not react in time. Piqué intercepted the football and he fell to the ground in the penalty area due to the sudden stoppage!

Loud boos broke out in the stands of Camp Nou. They wanted the referee to give a penalty kick. But the referee saw the whole process clearly on the penalty line. Piqué defensive action was clean, and he did not foul at all.

After Piqué intercepted the ball, he got up to kick the football to Bale who came back to help. Bale then passed the football to his teammates in front of him and the Forest team re-organized the attack.

And Piqué, who had completed his defensive task, looked back at Messi, lying on the turf. He hesitated for a moment before he walked back and extended his hand to his former teammate.

Messi took Piqué’s hand and got up. He said nothing and ran back. Piqué watched his back. His eyes quickly shifted away and rested on his Forest teammates. At present, the Forest team had launched another attack. This was what he cared about.

※※※

“Piqué’s beautiful tackle managed to stop Messi. Now it’s a great opportunity for the Forest team to fight back. A number of Barcelona players had rushed up to prepare for the attack just now. They might not have thought Messi’s dribbling could be cut off so easily. There are not many players back to defend yet. Good heavens! The player who is dribbling the ball is… George Wood.”

The commentator was startled, but he was not mistaken. At the moment, the player dribbling the ball to participate and organize the offense of the Forest team’s counterattack was not Arteta, but the unexpected George Wood.

After Bale passed the ball to Arteta, George Wood suddenly let go of Ronaldinho and rushed forward at full speed. As if their hearts beat as one, Arteta accurately passed the football to his feet.

Wood’s pace was still a little messy when he first received it, but he quickly adjusted his pace and strode forward to dribble the ball. He had an advantage, which was discovered by Twain at Albertini’s reminder and that was Wood took big steps to dribble the ball. It matched very well with his speed, and he held his head up and rarely looked down at the ball. This kid had not slacked on his practice of basic skills, and it showed.

Xavi wanted to come up and intercept Wood’s ball, but his strength was not on the same level as Wood at all. Wood just turned his body and separated Xavi from the football. Xavi kicked Wood in the leg while he ran. Both staggered, but with different outcomes: Xavi staggered and fell to the ground, whereas Wood quickly rebalanced and continued to dribble the ball.

“Stop him!” Puyol shouted in front of Wood as Márquez rushed up.

Puyol was in the back, protecting Márquez at all times. If the Mexican was breached, he would immediately pounce over to aid. He did not believe that Wood’s footwork skills were good enough to quickly dribble the ball past two people.

Just as Márquez rushed up, Wood suddenly passed the ball. He did not pass it on to Ribéry and Ashley Young who followed at a high speed on the two flanks. It was passed on to Freddy Eastwood, who was received it in the penalty area.

After Eastwood received the ball, he swung his foot as if he wanted to shoot directly. He had scored a number of goals this season from this position. Puyol dared not ignore it and rushed up to block the shot.

However, Eastwood’s shot was fake. The pass was real. He pushed the football to Bendtner who was a little ahead. Zambrotta had been trailing at the back as he knew that Bendtner would be an attack point for the Forest team. He had anticipated correctly. Therefore, the Italian did not hesitate to press toward Bendtner to constrict him so that he could not shoot.

Unexpectedly, Bendtner did not intend to shoot either. He immediately pushed the ball sideways again after receiving Eastwood’s pass.

“It’s a wall pass!” exclaimed the commentator.

It was a wall pass between Eastwood and Bendtner, and it also began as a continuous triangular pass from George Wood.

Eastwood charged out from the heavy siege and received the ball in the penalty area, but was not offside. Now he did not even have a Barcelona defensive player around him!

Márquez could not get back in time from George Wood’s side and Puyol was still at the spot where Eastwood was, but he had come up empty. Zambrotta was entangled with Bendtner, but the football was not there!

Eastwood saw the football roll over and he looked up to glance at Valdés, in a hurry to strike. He swung his leg and made it looked like he was going to volley a shot, but his kick became a poke when it came in contact with the football.

“A lob! Gorgeous — and the ball’s in! Freddy Eastwood!! He opened the first record for Nottingham Forest! They bagged the Barcelona goal at Camp Nou! The first half of the game only just started ten minutes ago, and Nottingham Forest leads Barcelona by 1:0! What an unexpected start. Tony Twain had said before this game that the match was in his orbit. Perhaps this time he isn’t trying to divert the attention, maybe he was... for real!”

Chapter 507 - A Powerful Enemy

“A lob! Beautiful — and the ball’s in!” Along with the excited voice of the commentator on the television, there was an even greater cheer in Kenny Burns’ Forest bar.

“Nice job, Romani Rooney!”

“Let them see what we’re capable of!”

“Woo hoo—”

“A toast to a beautiful goal!”

The fans clamored together, and golden beer sprinkled toward the ceiling while Kenny Burns smiled and watched this group of excited fans.

After he watched them for a while, he turned his eyes back to the television set and the image of Camp Nou through the television screen.

The Forest players were celebrating by stacking up like a human pyramid. This was one of their favorite ways to celebrate. Twain naturally had a strict ban against pressing the manager at the bottom of the stack to celebrate after a goal.

※※※

At the Camp Nou Stadium, the home team fans erupted in loud boos after a brief silence, which dampened the Forest fans’ cheers.

But the Forest players were not affected by the boos of the home team fans. They were unbridled with joy and acted as if no one else was there as they celebrated at their opponent’s home.

It felt good to lead Barcelona by one goal within ten minutes of the game starting and under such unfavorable circumstances!

Twain stood up and kept pumping his fists after his team’s goal to show off to the Barcelona fans.

Don’t you claim to be “the second Dream Team”? Let me tell you today why this is only “a second dream” instead of “the second Dream Team”!

The referee intervened and finally ended the overly excited celebrations of the Forest players. The Barcelona players had already placed the football in the center of the field and were a little impatient.

The televised footage closely followed Eastwood as the goalscorer. The commentator introduced this player with unique experience to the viewers, “Eastwood’s leg was once broken by George Wood, the Nottingham Forest captain currently on the field and was reduced to the point where he could only play in an amateur league. Tony Twain eventually found him and gave him a chance to play in the professional league again. Although he has been injured repeatedly over the past few years, we can see that as long as he plays, he is able to score goals steadily. In Nottingham, he is called ‘The Romani Rooney.’ It is a pity that he does not represent England, he represents Wales.”

When the players rushed up to celebrate Eastwood’s goal by piling on top of each other just now, only the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and George Wood did not move from their original positions. The former did not move because it was too far away, while the latter was due to a well-known reason.

As the celebratory crowd dispersed, George Wood already stood in his position in the back half of the field, waiting for the other team to kick off. Eastwood also ran to the back, but instead of standing on the center circle line like Bendtner, he ran straight to George Wood, who was standing in the back and held out his hand.

The two men said nothing and just high-fived each other. Then Eastwood ran away again. Eastwood’s attitude towards George Wood was much better than before, but the two men’s closest interactions were limited to that. They still did not talk to, joke with, or greet each other when they met. They would never high-five each other off the field.

Twain just smiled when he saw this scene. A high five was always better than a scowl.

※※※

The game started again, and Barcelona kicked off. Rijkaard had not expected to concede a goal so soon. Nottingham Forest was more tenacious than he had anticipated.

There was a marked change in the team compared to Nottingham Forest last year. Not only in their mental outlook, but also in their ability — he had to admit that the Nottingham Forest team before his eyes was indeed stronger.

And George Wood’s actions were really unexpected. All the intelligence before this game stated that this player was “a defense genius but offense idiot.” But looking at the goal just now, the “offense idiot” was able to pinpoint such a passing route during a high-speed run and pass the ball to where he wanted to.

When Rijkaard had been a football player, he had also been a defensive midfielder, and the kind who could defend and attack. He saw some of shades of his former self from the goal just now.

Isn’t Barcelona always short of an outstanding defensive midfielder? Why don’t I consider buying this number 13 in front of me? I can cultivate him well, and he may well be the second Rijkaard…

The Dutch manager made up his mind that when the game was over, regardless of the outcome, he was going to submit an application to the club in the hope that the top echelon could buy George Wood at any costs. With him, Barcelona’s real dominance would not be a problem.

Looking at Nottingham Forest now, Ribery, Ashley Young, Bendtner, Eastwood and the others could boldly attack with George Wood around. And without Wood? Everyone had to bear the dual heavy tasks of offense and defense.

If there was such a player on his team, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Eto’o, Messi and the others could devote all their energy to the offense. Barcelona’s offense was already powerful. If they could go all out, he believed there would be not be a team in the world that would be able to resist.

All of the above could now be said to be “beautiful wishes.” He still had to regain his composure and put his heart into this game.

What if George Wood’s offensive organization this time was not luck, but based on his true strength? How was Barcelona going to respond? Did he have to send someone to keep an eye on him? Barcelona only had three midfielders. Even if the two wingers withdrew and became five midfielders, how many of them could be in charge of defense?

Barcelona’s midfield configuration for this game was Iniesta and Deco, as well as Xavi. The three strikers were Eto’o, Messi and Ronaldinho.

None of these six players specialized in defense.

Rijkaard had intended to crush Nottingham Forest with offense at home. The Forest team’s toughness went far beyond his expectations. Not only they were not crushed, but they rebounded and retaliated.

Now that the team was behind a goal, Rijkaard had to make a choice as the manager. Should he strengthen the defense, or should he keep attacking?

This dilemma played in the Dutchman’s mind for only a few seconds, and the answer was no longer in doubt. The Dutchman esteemed offense and Barcelona was the representative of the art of football; how could he be forced to resort to defense at home because of one player?

This is not my or my team’s style.

Rijkaard got up from his seat, walked to the sidelines and whistled to attract the attention of all his players before he told the Barcelona players on the field with hand gestures — don’t take this conceded goal to heart, keep attacking!

This was also in line with what the Barcelona players thought on the field. They would not know how to play defense even if he wanted them to….with six offensive players, how were they supposed to defend with four defenders plus a goalkeeper?

The best defense was offense. They could overcome their disadvantage with a more powerful offense.

Barcelona relaunched wave after wave of rapid offensive against Nottingham Forest. After they had taken the lead, Nottingham Forest temporarily opted to withdraw and decided to defend for a period before fighting back after Barcelona’s momentum flagged.

There was a saying in the ancient Chinese book The Commentary of Zuo: “in war and courage, the first beating of the drum can drum up the courage, the second beating can lower it and the third beating will exhaust it.”

Twain was well aware that this argument could also be used in the football field. When the opponent was at its peak, they should not directly face it, but take the initiative to avoid. Once the opponent’s momentum flagged, then they should strike to achieve the desired effect.

Not only during this game, but at other times, too. Twain told his players these thing all the time, even during training or when watching the video after the game. Sometimes they would find themselves overtaken after they had just scored a goal. It was because the other team was eager to equalize the score after a goal had been conceded. The opponent’s fighting spirit did not drop immediately. Instead, there was a temporary boost. If the Forest team could not calm down and deal with it, and still think that their opponent was ashamed, the opponent could take this opportunity to score a goal and step up the pressure, and then it would be dangerous.

When would the morale of the opponent be lowered? When the opponent discovered that their countermeasure did not achieve any results and the other side’s defense was so solid and tenacious that they were somewhat despaired, then their morale would decline.

Because Twain continuously instilled this idea in his team, the Forest team was very unified in its thinking and immediately withdrew to the defense after they took the lead over Barcelona. George Wood, who just made a splash in the offense, became the player in the spotlight for defense once again.

※※※

When confronted by George Wood, Ronaldinho chose to pass the ball. However, when he sent the ball out, he realized that his idea was useless. Nottingham Forest, which had gone head to head with Barcelona, suddenly chose to defend to the death — Indeed, they decided to completely defend to the end. The front of the Forest team’s goal was as if it was tightly wound by an iron hoop. It was crowded with players and was piled with people and legs as far as the eye could see. It was difficult for him to send the football to his teammates’ feet accurately.

Sure enough, the ball that was passed was kicked back out by Piqué.

Barcelona had to reorganize the offense.

Ronaldinho was amazed at how a team could make such a huge tactical change in such a short period of time. He was astounded at why the team could decisively give up the offense to defend itself after they took the lead.

He could not understand this tactical change. Could it be that the Nottingham Forest manager was truly a downright conservative as rumored? Did he think that a one-goal lead would let them laugh to the end and be the winner?

Ronaldinho clenched his fists.

The football once again reached the Brazilian’s feet. Due to his first two experiences, George Wood thought Ronaldinho would pass the ball at the first chance, so he did not rush up right away.

But he was wrong this time.

Ronaldinho knew there were too many players in front of him and it was useless to pass the ball. Breaking impenetrable defense generally required a long shot as this method was the simplest. In fact, there was another way and that was to break through individually. Although it was crowded, as long as he was skillful and bold, he could dribble the ball through the crowd to cut a path out of the stronghold.

Ronaldinho had full confidence in his skills. He seized hold of George Wood’s momentary inattention to suddenly accelerate and change direction to rush past one side of Wood.

George Wood rushed forward to defend, but Ronaldinho stealthily jabbed the ball and bypassed him. After he skirted around Wood, the Brazilian football magician was not afraid even if there were more people in front of him.

He swerved his upper body and caused the incoming Arteta to lose his judgment, which caused his balance to be tilted. Ronaldinho immediately drew the football away from Arteta’s side, and then confronted the looming Piqué. Within a very narrow space, he suddenly thrust the ball away and bypassed him.

Piqué completely did not think that Ronaldinho would dare to use the step over move in the crowded penalty area, where it was impossible to sprint. He was rooted to the spot where he had been bypassed and watched helplessly as Ronaldinho sidestepped around his other side.

“Beautiful! Simply fantastic… He’s in the goal area, and Edwin van der Sar strikes! And He shoots—”

Ronaldinho wanted to lob the shot, but Edwin van der Sar was ready. Though his body fell to the ground, his right hand was raised high. Ronaldinho shot the football out and it struck van der Sar in the hand. The ball shot out of the end line off the hand.

“What a pity! He did not score. Edwin van der Sar defused the crisis in front of the Forest goal just in time! Although there was no goal, Ronaldinho presented us with a fine show of a personal breakthrough! Confronted with the Nottingham Forest’s impenetrable defense, what other way can it be cracked besides a long shot? And that would be the Brazilian!”

The live television broadcast showed a shot of Ronaldinho’s back. He had just got up from the ground and looked at the football that had fallen outside the end line.

“One man had crumbled nearly the Forest team’s entire line of defense. And he even dared to attempt the step over in the narrow confines of the penalty box! If it wasn’t him, others would be hard pressed to do it! It’s just a shame Edwin van der Sar’s save was just as wonderful. A beautiful attack and a beautiful defense! For now, just as Tony Twain had said before the game, this is a fantastic game!”

After Edwin van der Sar got up from the ground, he patted his big hands and yelled, “Focus your attention! Don’t let him break through so easily! George!” he yelled Wood’s name.

Wood turned to look at him.

Edwin van der Sar crossed his arms and shouted, “Lock him out!”

Wood nodded. What happened just now was caused by his carelessness. He had nothing to say to that.

After Twain glanced at Albertini, who was off the pitch, he left his seats and walked to the sidelines. He cupped his hands near his mouth and shouted towards the field, “George! Don’t give him more than a meter of space! Stick to him!” He even made a pulling gesture.

Ronaldinho’s sudden spurt of energy made the entire Forest team nervous. They came to their senses. Standing in front of them was the last season’s Champions League champion, the FIFA World Player of the Year and the world’s current number one midfielder. He had the individual ability to change a game. He was not an ordinary football star. He was a real superstar.

Arteta felt it was a little harsh when he saw that everyone seemed to remind Wood to pay attention to his defense, so he ran up to comfort his midfield partner, “Don’t take it to heart, George. That man is not an ordinary player. He is very powerful. It’s nothing to feel bad about if he bypassed you once, as long as we did not concede the goal…”

He realized that Wood did not seem to hear him. He just stared at Ronaldinho, who ran ahead to the corner flag area to prepare for the corner kick.

Just as he thought he had wasted his breath, Wood suddenly turned his head and asked, “Is he very powerful?”

Arteta almost did not respond. He wanted to roll his eyes at Wood, “Are you really a professional player? How can you not even know if Ronaldinho is powerful or not? He’s currently the best player in the world. Even though I’m a little jealous, I have to say that. He’s very powerful; he’s extremely powerful.”

When Wood heard what Arteta said, he nodded. “Then I’m relieved.”

“Huh?”

“It’s meaningless to win if he is not powerful enough.” With that, Wood ran into the penalty area, ready to defend against the corner kick.

Arteta stood on the spot like a fool and looked at Wood’s back until Edwin van der Sar yelled his name in front of the goal. “Are you with us? Mikel! Come back and defend! What are you doing standing out there?”

Running back, Arteta continued to stare at Wood, completely unaware of the situation around him. What Wood said to him just now alarmed him. He wanted his opponent to be stronger, but he was not worried about whether or not he could beat such a powerful enemy. Was he even human?

He saw Wood leap high in the crowd and press down on the Barcelona’s Mexican center back, Márquez, to head the football out. The players around him swarmed out like the tide, and another crisis was eliminated.

Chapter 508 - He Is Indeed Powerful

Defense came easily to George Wood.

“George Wood’s header lifted the siege! Barcelona’s corner kick did not pose any threat to the Forest team goal!”

“I think the reason Tony Twain was so full of confidence for this game must be because George Wood can play now. Wood has demonstrated his ability in the English Premier League, but Barcelona is clearly unfamiliar with him.”

While the commentator praised Wood, Ronaldinho thought about how to get rid of the annoying target in front of him.

It was the time for Barcelona’s counterattack, but George Wood followed the Brazilian like a shadow. Wherever Ronaldinho went, he went. Wood had not left his side since he had gotten rid of him that once time.

Now, Ronaldinho could only organize offense by passing the ball.

He tried to keep the ball as little as possible and send the ball as much as possible. That was Ronaldinho’s current countermeasure.

Was there no other way?

Of course not. What kind of player was Ronaldinho and what kind of team was Barcelona? It would be shocking if they were at their wit’s end because an entanglement with George Wood.

Rijkaard bit his finger as he thought about a countermeasure. Ronaldinho was the core of the team. Almost all offense revolved around him. If he was immobilized by George Wood, how was he going to adjust the team’s offense?

※※※

Twenty-five minutes had passed, and the score was still 1:0. The visiting Nottingham Forest team was temporarily ahead.

Barcelona relentlessly attacked and did not falter in the face of the failures in their successive attacks.

Tony Twain clearly underestimated Barcelona’s energy. They were not demoralized because of their fruitless efforts. Instead, they were in high spirits and continued to threaten Forest’s penalty area. It was a great dishonor in the eyes of the Barcelona people to be behind by one goal at home by the opponent they did not want to lose to the most. How could they be willing to take things lying down?

Ronaldinho realized that George Wood had no intention of leaving his side to go defend against the others, so he suddenly came up with a scheme.

Xavi passed the ball forward and the Brazilian transferred the ball to Deco with his back towards George Wood. He ran towards the side and George Wood followed suit.

Ronaldinho led George Wood away and the center-front area of the Forest team’s penalty area was immediately vacant. Xavi cut in and Deco quickly passed the ball to him. There was less trouble in front of the Forest team’s penalty area without Wood.

Xavi made to look like he was going to pass the ball to the side, but he suddenly swung his leg to shoot instead.

Edwin van der Sar reacted quickly and flew to catch the football.

Even though the attack still had not cracked the Forest team’s defense, the Barcelona players saw hope — Ronaldinho was no longer the heart of the offense, but he could divert the defensive hold on Barcelona. George Wood would be wherever he was. Once George Wood was lured away, the pressure on Barcelona’s attack in the front would reduce significantly. Xavi’s shot just now was the example.

Rijkaard got up from his seat to applaud Xavi’s long shot; the team had done a good job.

George Wood stood beside Ronaldinho and looked back at Edwin van der Sar, who was just getting up off the ground.

He knew he had been led away from his defense area by Ronaldinho, which then initiated the opponent’s long shot at the goal. He was aware. But what could he have done? Should he remain in his spot and wait for the opponent to attempt another long shot the next time he faced this situation? The Barcelona players were not idiots. They would certainly pass the ball to the unmarked Ronaldinho.

Was this a dilemma of choices?

George Wood did not know. The boss told him to restrict Ronaldinho, so he restricted Ronaldinho. As for the rest, he could only leave it to his teammates. He was not an almighty God and could not take on all the responsibilities for defense.

Who was more dangerous, Ronaldinho or the other Barcelona players? George Wood chose the former.

As a result, Barcelona’s offense turned into Ronaldinho taking Wood around a circle and constantly passing in a triangular formation to create opportunities for his teammates. Other than doing quick passes, he had nothing else to do.

Xavi and Iniesta became the team’s real offensive organizers. Eto’o was caught up in the Forest team’s compressed defensive formation, and Messi became the most active striker.

Gareth Bale put all his energy into defense and still struggled a little against Messi, who was too much of a threat on the flank.

“Messi bypassed Bale, terrific... He has breached the penalty box! And he shoots! The shot is blocked by Piqué! That was really close!”

“Messi dribbles the ball to the side, Bale follows him... Foul! Barcelona receives a free kick in the front of the penalty box. This is a good location, and Ronaldinho comes up to do the kick — we finally get to see him again — Ah, what a pity, the ball brushes past the crossbar and flies out of the end line!”

Such things kept happening in the second part of the first half.

Twain could not sit still and do nothing.

He got up from his seat, went out to take a walk around and returned.

“Tony...” Kerslake looked up at Twain, standing in front of the coaches’ seats.

“I don’t know if this was Rijkaard’s idea...” Twain said as he turned his head to look at Barcelona’s technical area next door. “Sacrifice Ronaldinho to drag George out of the fight. They don’t have Ronaldinho, but they still have Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Deco... Damn it! The player who is supposed to freeze the others has been frozen instead.”

When he heard Twain speak, Dunn turned his wrist to look at his watch. There were still fifteen minutes before the end of the first half.

Piqué shouted on the field to get his teammates to put their efforts into defense. George Wood was entangled with Ronaldinho and the team’s defensive line required everyone’s help. After all, Barcelona’s offense was just too strong. Any slight oversight would cause them to lose the ball.

“Or... do we just let Wood give up on marking Ronaldinho for a while?” Kerslake suggested.

Twain vetoed his suggestion on the spot. “No, Ronaldinho is an extremely dangerous figure. We can’t relax the defense against him. I’d rather sacrifice George... no big deal, we will just go 10v10! Our defense doesn’t just rely on George. We won’t be paralyzed without George. Piqué is doing a good job. He’s in good form today.”

“It’s exciting for him to come back to Barcelona to play.” Kerslake said.

“We’ll hold on for fifteen more minutes and consider what adjustments to make during halftime.” With that, Twain turned around and returned to the sidelines. The game was really tough to play.

※※※

Everyone could see that Barcelona’s tidal wave of offensive threatened the Nottingham Forest goal with wave after wave. If their luck was better, they might have breached the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar.

Twain adopted a strategy to withdraw the defense to counteract Eto’o’s speed. However, as a result, it left Barcelona with a lot of room to maneuver in front of the penalty area.

The Barcelona players passed the ball back and forth in this area, mobilizing the Forest team’s defensive line. Then they suddenly passed the ball to the flank while the Forest players focused their energy on one point. Eto’o had already left the middle and repositioned to the flank to play. He and Messi were on the left and right flank, ready to receive the ball and cut inside.

There was a sudden straight pass in front of the penalty area, a move Barcelona was very good at. The Forest team had to raise all their attention to guard against this penetrating pass. Once the football was allowed to pass through, it would almost become a bad situation for the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar to face the opponent one-on-one. Van der Sar could not be expected to be able to strike in time to defuse the crisis at every instance.

Ronaldinho became a center forward and appeared in the middle time and time again, attracting George Wood and the others ‘ attention, and then would suddenly move away to create opportunities for the others.

As the time passed, the score was fixed at 1:0.

Rijkaard also got up from his seat and headed for the sidelines.

He could not allow this score to continue to the halftime interval. It would be a blow to the team’s morale. If they could, they had to try and equalize the score before the end of the first half, which was a good way to tamp down on the Forest team’s morale.

Rijkaard, who stood on the sidelines, constantly used hand gestures to indicate to the players on the field to press on again and again. He wanted them to set off a frenzy of offensive at the last minute.

On the other side, Twain yelled to get the players to watch their defense. He also knew that it was best not to concede any points before the end of the first half.

George Wood could not tolerate Ronaldinho pulling him out of his defense zone again, and watched helplessly as his opponent wreaked havoc in front of the penalty area.

When the football was passed to Ronaldinho again, Wood chose to suddenly go around the side of the rear to defend from the front.

Ronaldinho did not think George Wood would move so fast. He could not send the ball out, but had to figure out how to protect the ball from being intercepted by his opponent and directly fight back.

When he felt Wood bump into him from behind, Ronaldinho was smart enough to choose to fall forward. George Wood knocked into him again and extended his leg out to kick out the football, but he heard the referee blow his whistle. He had fouled!

“George Wood has fouled! Ronaldinho protected the football well and Barcelona now receives a free kick at a distance of... about twenty meters from the goal. It may be an opportunity. Ronaldinho had a free kick before that was just slightly above the crossbar.”

George Wood felt a little aggravated. When he played in the English Premier League, he did a lot of denying the ball. Even if he had squeezed the opponent to the ground, the referee rarely whistled for a foul. But he did not go to try to reason with the referee. He was good at it.

He took a leaf out of Albertini’s book. He stood in front of the football to be on guard against Barcelona from sending the ball out early. But he was overly cautious. The Barcelona players did not intend to take this opportunity to launch a sneak attack. The players ran forward. Ronaldinho and Deco both stood in front of the ball as they quietly looked at the Forest team formed a wall and waited for the referee to blow the whistle.

When Wood saw that they had no intention of kicking off immediately, he returned but did not join the human wall. He stood on the other side and stared at Messi.

Deco stood in front of the ball with his head lowered and discussed with Ronaldinho on how to play this kick.

Xavi huddled in the Forest team’s human wall, intending to use this spot as a breakthrough point. The Forest players tried to push him out and both sides had some physical contact, which the referee ran over to mediate. As a result of the mediation, Xavi successfully took a spot on the leftmost side of Nottingham Forest’s human wall.

Deco retreated as he did not plan to kick this ball. Now everyone’s eyes were on Ronaldinho. This was a direct free kick, so he could choose to shoot directly or pass... But would he choose to pass the ball?

No.

Ronaldinho moved back to open up the distance to run up.

George Wood kept one eye on Ronaldinho and the other eye on Messi beside him to guard against the kid from taking advantage of the opportunity to assist the shot.

Ronaldinho was frozen by George Wood for the entire first half. Other than a wonderful individual breakthrough, he had that nasty fly buzzing around him all the time which was annoying. Now that there was no George Wood around him, he could comfortably put his legs to action.

He looked at the Nottingham Forest’s human wall and took another look at the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, waiting behind the wall. Then he glanced at the referee who had retreated to one side, and finally he turned his sights toward George Wood in the crowd.

There was a slight smile on his face when he saw Wood standing next to Messi.

This time you’re finally not going to stop me.

“Ronaldinho revealed a confident smile! When this happy football magician smiles, it means he must be in his best form! Let us take a moment of silence to admire his performance.”

Nottingham Forest placed lot of importance on the penalty kick and lined up a six-man wall. Clad in the red-and-blue Barcelona jersey, Xavi appeared on the left side of the wall like a gap in the wall. The Forest players pressed towards Xavi, intending to squeeze him out and quickly cover the gap once Ronaldinho kicked.

Otherwise, once Ronaldinho kicked the football, Xavi would run to the side and the Forest team’s wall would immediately break in the middle. They decided that half of them would stay in place to stop the football from easily crossing their heads, and the other half would squeeze to the left to seal the gap created by Xavi’s departure — they thought Ronaldinho would definitely shoot the football to here. If not, why else would Xavi try to squeeze in here?

However, they all miscalculated. The football did not fly toward the left side of the wall, but directly at the middle to penetrate through the split between the two halves of the wall!

Edwin van der Sar’s view was blocked, coupled with the fact that he had no idea that Ronaldinho would shoot the football through there. He could not save it in time and could only watch helplessly as the football bypassed his hands and flew into the net.

“What a terrific goal — Ronaldinho! King of Barcelona!”

Camp Nou instantly erupted in thunderous cheers and applause. Rijkaard held his arms high and jumped.

Whereas, on the other side, Tony Twain brandished his fists in frustration, with only a flash of disappointment on his face. Although he was somewhat disappointed, conceding a goal was well within his expectations.

The Barcelona players heedlessly celebrated on the field. Edwin van der Sar picked up the football from the net and kicked a long shot to the front.

George Wood turned his head to look at Ronaldinho, who was surrounded by the Barcelona players, before he turned around and ran into the center circle.

He is indeed powerful.

Chapter 509 - The Victor Has Yet to Emerge

Ronaldinho’s goal set off a celebratory frenzy at Camp Nou. The Barcelona fans’ bottled-up feelings which had been suppressed for almost half the game, were released. The poor Forest fans were completely drowned out at this moment.

In the stand, Fat John sneered. “What’s the big deal? It’s only an equalizer. Good for nothings!”

That said, even though he and his companions were now shouting out the Forest team’s chant, they could not be heard at all. The Barcelona fans were too loud.

These men waved their arms, stamped their feet, and feverishly yelled out the names of Ronaldinho and Barcelona, like any true-blue English fan.

“Bar?a! Bar?a! Bar—?a!”

Twain turned his head to look at the fanatic Barcelona fans in the stands behind him. It was a rare sight. Perhaps the scene could only be seen in Spain’s El Clásico. Unexpectedly, Nottingham Forest had been fortunate enough to become such a heavyweight opponent.

This feels...quite terrific!

“After unrelenting efforts, Barcelona finally equalized the score! Ronaldinho is undeniably the king of Camp Nou! His performance was thrilling! Edwin van der Sar could not counter the perfect direct free kick!”

Amidst the commentator’s excited commentary, as well as the cheers from the fans in the stands, the first half came to an end.

By the halftime interval, the score was set at 1:1 by Ronaldinho’s free kick.

※※※

During the halftime interval, the players’ tunnel was full of activity. The sound of footsteps and conversations intermixed to create a buzz. But as soon as the door shut, the sound was cut off. Camp Nou was undoubtedly a five-star stadium. The soundproofing was excellent, something that the City Ground stadium could not measure up to.

Twain looked at the players, who were somewhat downcast because of the equalizer, and laughed. He certainly was sorry about the equalizer scored at the last minute, but he was not too disappointed. Not to mention he was the manager, the chief of this group. He could not show too much negative emotion in front of them.

Therefore, when Twain closed the door, he scratched his head and acted like he did not care about the state of the score. He spread his hands towards the players and said, “I didn’t say that we were going to prevent Barcelona from scoring a goal and keep them at zero in this game. The current score is normal, and the game is still in our orbit. You must know what kind of opponent we are dealing with, right??Barcelona is not just an amateur team from the Spanish countryside.”

“Ronaldinho is not a circus clown either. He is an actual FIFA World Player of the Year. Even though he didn’t play very well at the World Cup, he still can’t be ignored. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The players in the locker room nodded to show they understood.

“Our opponent is very strong, very powerful. But look at their reaction after they scored at the last minute in the first half? All their fans and players were so excited, as if they had won the game. What does that mean? They only leveled the score, and yet they’re so excited. That means it’s not that easy for them to beat us!”

“Don’t feel down. Have we lost yet? Or fallen behind? Chin up! There are still forty-five minutes left in the second half. If you’re still in this state of mind, you’ll really lose the game!”

After he boosted their morale, Twain began to specifically lay out the strategy for the second half.

“Ronaldinho is a threat, but we can’t focus all of our defense on him alone. George.”

Wood stood up.

“The goal conceded just now is a lesson for you. Don’t give Barcelona the chance for a direct free kick in that dangerous zone. In addition to Ronaldinho, they also have another free kick expert in Xavi. Also, you’re in charge of the defense and have to take part in the offense. Is it too much for you?”

Wood shook his head and said, “no.”

“Then why are you like a tortoise, shrinking in the back field? When necessary, send the ball forward!” Twain’s tone suddenly became severe. He turned his head to look at the other midfielders. “And you lot, my midfielders. Find a way to send the football forward. I don’t care if you are doing short passes and coordinate to advance, or doing long passes, or dribbling the ball yourself, just send the ball out. Don’t always let the Barcelona players buzz around our goal area like a swarm of flies! Buzzing, buzzing! I’m tired of it even if you’re not!”

“I’m telling you, tactics are inert, but people are alive! The layout set before the game is unlikely to cover all aspects of the situation. You have to adjust accordingly to the actual situation on the field. If the opponent pressed too hard and there’s a large void behind you, reduce the ball holding time in the middle of the back field. Do a long or direct pass in time and strike when your opponent is caught unawares!” He slammed his fist in his palm. “When we need to fight back, you guys must go up at the first instance. I don’t want to see anyone taking a stroll on the field when we play defensive counterattack. It’s tiring to sprint back and forth, but we don’t train for the purpose of enjoying ourselves in the game. This is an important game. In order to win, all the costs must be paid!”

“Franck.” Twain directed his gaze at Ribéry. “Don’t always limit your area of activity to just within the flank. You have to lean towards the middle. When George and Mikel cannot charge ahead, you need to be in charge of organizing the attack. If you are on the flank, our passing route can easily be blocked by our opponent. They are living and breathing players, not just NPCs in a live game.”

Ribéry hesitated a little, “If I go to the middle… what about Mikel?”

“How many times did you see him rush up in the first half? Most of the time he was assisting the defense.” Twain glanced at Arteta. “You seldom show up in the middle during the game and I feel we have to do something unexpected in this game. It may produce something amazing. When you’re in the middle, it’s up to you whether you pass the ball, try to break through, or do a long shot. Take action according to the specific circumstances on the field. You don’t need me to teach you this stuff, do you?”

Ribéry shook his head. “No, chief. I know what to do.”

Twain nodded in satisfaction. He had remembered that Ribéry should not be confined to the flanks. He should still be more capable. It was just that he was not set free. This game was an opportunity. Rijkaard and his coaching staff would not anticipate that Twain would let Ribéry organize offense in the middle for this game. The previous impression of Ribéry was that he would always attack from the flank. Since the away game against Everton, Twain had deliberately allowed Ribéry to move toward the middle to become a more comprehensive and decisive midfielder.

From the start of this game, Twain was going to unveil a brand-new Franck Ribéry to the world. Perhaps he would also become an important asset to the French football.

“Franck will be the heart of our offense in the second half,” Twain stated to the entire team. “The attack will be handed over to him to organize. Everyone will cooperate with him in the positional play. Do you all understand this?”

“No problem, chief.”

“Understood!”

“Franck, if you don’t perform well, don’t blame us for not passing the ball to you!”

There was a burst of laughter in the locker room.

When the laughter subsided, Twain went on to say, “You’re still on the flank as usual.” As he spoke, he traced Ribéry’s line of action on the tactical board, “As soon as we get the ball and are ready to attack, you run diagonally across… like this.” He drew a slanted line pointing to the penalty area.

“And then, Ashley Young, you can move your position left and right during the game. Don’t always stay on the right flank. Disrupt Barcelona’s defenses and don’t let them suss out our intentions too soon. Do you understand?”

Ashley Young nodded, too.

After he covered the offense, Twain moved on to the defense. Even though the defense had a heavy task, it was straightforward. “There’s nothing much to say about the defense. Constrict the area to within a range of thirty meters. Do not create any offside situations and pull back the defense. No matter how they pass the ball, keep to our defensive formation and pay particular attention to the defense in the area between the two flanks. We will do zonal defense except for George.”

With that, Twain looked at his watch. There was not much time left. He decided to rally the team one last time.

“Everyone understands his duty and does his job well.” He extended two fingers, which looked like a “V” for victory. “My requirements of you are as simple as that. Our goal is not just to win this game. You all know what the real goal is, right?”

Everyone replied loudly, “the Champions League CHAMPION!”

“Very good.”

※※※

While Twain was impassionedly mobilizing the players in the visitors’ locker room, Barcelona’s locker room was slightly calmer.

Rijkaard was also not the kind of person who liked to express his ideas with too many words. After he had arranged the tactical tweaks for the second half, he did not speak much. The players in the locker room did their own thing. Everything appeared normal.

Ronaldinho chatted with Messi. They had a good relationship within the team. Even though one was a Brazilian and the other was an Argentinian, they were all currently Barcelona players.

The two people touched on the same topic. Their discussion was about one person: George Wood.

During the halftime interval, Rijkaard wanted the three players, Ronaldinho and Messi, as well as Eto’o, to frequently change positions to rip George Wood apart, disrupt the Forest team’s defense and created more chances for the others to score.

If George Wood was going to run after Ronaldinho, they would pass the ball to everyone else. If he did not follow Ronaldinho’s positional play, then they would pass the ball to the Brazilian.

They were disappointed that they let their opponent get away with a goal, but it was not the time to consider that. Rijkaard asked the team to continue to step up the offensive in the second half. If the opponent returned to England with a 1:1 score, then the second leg would be dangerous for Barcelona. They could only rely on their offense to continuously score goals and use an immense goal difference advantage to offset the Forest team’s away goal so that they could have the upper hand in the next round.

Barcelona’s football would never give up offensive style football, not to mention it was their own home ground.

Messi asked Ronaldinho just how powerful George Wood really was.

Ronaldinho spoke truthfully about how he felt. “Don’t let him get close and everything will be easier. You can try to get rid of him with speed, but to be honest, I’m not at all optimistic about the outcome of doing so. He’s physically strong. When I forced my way through, it was like I had hit a wall. The best way to deal with him is to send the ball out as soon as possible.”

Messi pondered for a while.

Maybe because he saw Messi frown that Ronaldinho added, “going up against him one-on-one is quite difficult, but we are skilled in our coordination, so he will be curbed. After all, he only one player.”

Messi nodded when he heard Ronaldinho speak.

“I actually think he’ll continue to follow me in the second half. He seemed to have marked me. So, you focus on your positional play in the second half. I will assess the situation before I pass the ball to you.” Ronaldinho patted Messi on the head. In the team, Ronaldinho had always regarded Messi as his younger brother that he took care of. He would naturally think of him first whenever there was a benefit to be gained.

Sitting silently by the doorway, Rijkaard raised his hand to look at his table. The time had come, so he stood up and clapped his hands to signal for everyone to pipe down as he had something to say.

“I rarely say anything at this time.” Rijkaard told the truth. He was a man who did not like to say too many things. He and Twain had completely different styles. “But I think it’s necessary to say a few words today. We have been provoked by them. If we still do not do anything about it, we will be mocked out there.” Rijkaard swung his hand and pointed outside the door. “I’m not happy with the 1:1 score. I hope in forty-five minutes, I’ll see the score at 3:1, 4:1, and that we have won!”

※※※

Maybe it was a coincidence that when both teams returned to the field, Tony Twain and Rijkaard bumped into each other at the exit of the tunnel.

At first, the two men seemed to want to be the first to walk out before the other man, only for them to step forward together and cram into the exit. But in the next moment, they both changed their minds. They each stopped and graciously motioned to the other man to go first.

“Please, Mr. Rijkaard, after you.”

“It’s okay, you go first, Mr. Twain.”

After feeling the friendliness of the other party, the two men walked in at the same time.

When their gazes met, Twain smiled. “I think we can fit side by side and pass through this exit.”

Rijkaard pretended to size it up, nodding in agreement. “You’re right. I don’t usually pay much attention.”

The two men were, of course, lying. Both teams could go out side by side at the same time with ample space to spare. How could two men not be able to go out at the same time?

“So, let’s walk together.”

With this, the two men stepped out side-by-side.

The tunnel at the Camp Nou Stadium was not in the corner of the stadium, but below the center of the stadium stands. As soon as they stepped out, the two men immediately parted ways.

Twain warmly took leave of Rijkaard and said, “hopefully the second half will be a fantastic game, Mr. Rijkaard.”

“I hope the course of the game and outcome will be brilliant, Mr. Twain.” Rijkaard smiled, issuing a challenge.

“Ah, with your words, I look forward to the second half even more.” Twain turned and walked toward the visitors’ bench with a smile.

Behind him, Rijkaard studied his back for a little while before he left.

Both teams’ players had stood according to their respective positions in the formations on the field as they waited for the referee to start the second half of the game.

The televised broadcast apparently noticed the brief exchange between the two managers at the exit. When they returned to their seats, the producer on the scene gave the two managers each ten seconds of special footage. The two men wore smiles on their faces. No one knew just what the smiles meant.

After forty-five minutes, who would laugh in the end?

The victor had yet to emerge.

Chapter 510 - The Contest

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome the heavyweight matchup for the UEFA Champions League round of 16 brought to you by ESPN! The competing teams, Barcelona and Nottingham Forest, were rivals in last season’s Champions League final! Due to Manager Tony Twain’s words and actions after that final, both teams have accumulated animosity over this season, and now they can finally resolve this feud on the field!” The China ESPN commentator described the game between the two teams as if it were a showdown in a martial arts novel, but it was suited to describe the current relationship between the two teams.

The Barcelona fans in China would certainly not think of Nottingham Forest as a warrior that could be compared to their own team. A lot of Barcelona fans hated Tony Twain to the core and would clench their teeth at the mention of him.

The inclusion of the Chinese ESPN commentary showed that this round of 16 game had attracted the attention of the entire world. After a long period of media hype, everyone was interested in the sequel to last year’s final.

Not only in England and Barcelona, but also in the rest of the United Kingdom, Spain and other European countries as well as China, Japan, Southeast Asia and South America would be able to watch the live broadcast of the match via satellite.

The score of both teams 1:1 in the first half, but this was far from enough for the spectators.

Up until this moment, the two sides had only scored two goals total. There were no red or yellow cards, no fierce physical confrontations, and no noises of abuse from the stands. There was nothing. It did not do justice to the description given to the game —”The Earthshattering Clash.”

The commentators prepared a wealth of lexicon, ready to illustrate how wonderful and thrilling the game was but had now found them rendered useless.

Tony Twain was certainly not a saint who would sacrifice himself to fulfill others’ wishes. Rijkaard was annoyed by the Forest team’s hardcore defense. Therefore, everyone hoped that there would be changes in the second half of the game. No matter which party would score a goal, or whoever would be sent off, or be seriously injured, as long as there was an accident that could break the current equilibrium, then needless to say the second half would be wonderful!

“The second half of the game had just started and unsurprisingly, Barcelona has launched a fierce offensive against Nottingham Forest’s goal! They want to get in a goal as early as possible. Let’s take a look at Nottingham Forest’s countermeasure ... Ah, it’s disappointing. They are still lifelessly hanging on to defense! Will Tony Twain be satisfied to leave Camp Nou with only one goal?”

The televised broadcast gave a close-up of Twain, who sat in the technical area.

The smile previously on Twain’s face was gone. The expression on his face gradually became serious.

“Well, it looks like he’s not satisfied.”

※※※

George Wood did not forget what Twain said to him during halftime. He had been told not to blindly cling to defense. He had to find a way to get the football moving forward. But now it was not that he did not want to send it forward, but that Barcelona’s offense was so fierce that he had no way of taking things forward.

Barcelona’s offensive routine in the second half became nimbler. Ronaldinho was no longer the only core. If he marked the Brazilians too rigidly, they would pass the ball to Messi or Eto’o, and then Deco, Iniesta and Xavi would swoop in. The Barcelona’s offensive surged like tidal wave which came in wave after wave, higher than the one before.

No matter how good George Wood was, he could not be on the left flank, in the middle, and on the right flank at the same time. Fortunately, the team gave him enough support in the second half.

It was currently a stalemate and the Barcelona offensive looked fierce but was unable to pose a real threat to the Nottingham Forest’s goal. In most cases, Deco and the others could only helplessly choose a long shot. Eto’o and Messi’s movements in the two flanks were even more tightly guarded. The Forest team was good at this kind of compressive defense.

In the previous final, Barcelona had a taste of the Forest team doing the same technique. That type of defense kept them from cracking open the Forest team’s goal until the end. This time, the Forest team lineup was complete. This time, no one was sent off and the goalkeeper was the mainstay, van der Sar. There was also the defensive core, George Wood to hold down fort. Twain was confident in playing the defensive counterattack against Barcelona.

He wanted to his reinforced concrete-styled defense, which he inherited from Italy, to bind the offense that Barcelona was so proud of, and then strike a fatal blow to them with speed!

For now, it looked like the situation with their defense was fine and they were able to fend off Barcelona’s offense. It was now up to their offense.

※※※

While the team was on the defensive, Ribéry and Ashley Young were also on both flanks, occasionally engaged in defense. Ashley Young came back to defend more often, but Ribéry was not able to do it like his teammate. As soon as he came back, Wood would stare at him. Even though he said nothing, Ribéry understood.

Wood worried that there were not enough people ahead so that when a crucial figure was required to attack, he would not be able to go up, so he was not allowed to come back to defend frequently.

He actually wanted very much to tell Wood that he had no problem with his stamina and was fast enough to support the frequent dashes from the back to the front. But looking at Wood covered in sweat, he opened his mouth and immediately gave up the idea.

All right, I’ll just wait in the front for you guys to pass the ball.

When Ronaldinho took the ball, George Wood leaned up. This time, the Brazilian did not dribble the ball to the middle but moved to the right flank. He wanted to coordinate with Messi.

Wood followed Ronaldinho to the left flank and Messi immediately understood what his senior teammate wanted to do. He was ready to receive the ball.

Wood was not a fool. Next to him, he also noticed that Messi was going to run to the middle. Should he follow Ronaldinho or Messi?

“George!” Bale called out behind him. It was clear that the little monkey was also faced with such a choice.

Wood waved his hand behind his back and motioned for Bale to cover the middle and that he would defend this side of the flank. He decided that whether Ronaldinho passed the ball or he himself broke through by dribbling the ball, he would follow him.

After Ronaldinho came to this side of the flank, Messi bypassed him from behind. At this moment, Wood raised his guard and his eyes were fixed on the football. When Ronaldinho rotated the ball, he nearly pounced to intercept the ball. Ronaldinho did not pass the football. Messi did a feint to grab at the ball but fortunately Wood did not move. Otherwise, he would have given Ronaldinho a gap to break through.

Messi ran for nothing and Bale caught up to him. Ronaldinho did not pass in that instance and lost the opportunity to pass again. Even if he tried to pass the football to Messi now, it was not a good choice. It looked like he was going to have a face-off with Wood again on the flank.

In fact, Ronaldinho did intend to pass the ball to Messi the moment he and Messi crossed paths, and then he could break away to receive the ball and position a shot himself. But when he saw Wood closely watching the football, he changed his mind the moment he swung his leg and turn it into a feint.

He won only once during their several face-offs in the first half. He did not want to just forget about it.

He was skilled at doing all kind of feints on the flank, especially the one he was best at: the Gaúcho!

Wood did not know what his opponent had in mind at that moment. He was only focused on the football and did not even look up to see the expression on Ronaldinho’s face at this point.

He fixated on the ball. No matter how Ronaldinho circled his feet around the football to disrupt him, he only was only aware of the football. If the football did not move, he did not move. He was not afraid that the time passed just like that. Anyway, he was not the one who should be anxious. It should be Barcelona, which was eager to win. But at the same time, his body seemed taut as string that was about to shoot the arrow out.

Suddenly, the football moved in front of him and was about to tear past his right!

Wood did not hesitate to shove to that side.

But where was the football?

He clearly saw the football come toward that side, so how did it just move a bit and suddenly do a freakish ninety-degree change in midair and fly to the left side of his body?

Without waiting for him to understand the reason, Ronaldinho had already rushed past the left side of his body!

“The Gaúcho! Thrilling! Just thrilling... what else can we say apart from the brilliance of that move? No, words do not do justice in face of this extraordinary performance! Yes, this is a performance! That skill that made this performance a work of art!”

Along with the commentator’s high acclaim, there were loud cheers in Camp Nou and throughout Barcelona. The sound was a demonstration and warning to Nottingham Forest, who had intended to strut around on their turf.

We have Ronaldinho! He’s a football magician that God gave to the world!

Someone on the Barcelona substitutes’ bench stood up to shake his arms and shout for the bypass and in anticipation for the next goal at the same time.

Ronaldinho dribbling the ball to shoot from a tight angle or passing the ball both had great chances for scoring. Eto’o and Messi, and even Deco, rushed to the front of the Forest team goal at first chance.

And because Bale was broken though, Wood was bypassed. Kompany and Piqué, who were supposed to defend those people in the middle, had to split up. One player had to rush to the flank and stop Ronaldinho.

The situation in front of the Forest team goal was in critical danger!

Piqué looked back at Kompany and did not hesitate to charge toward Ronaldinho. However, he had just started when he heard a roar, as if a bolt from the blue exploded in his ear. “Go back! Protect the middle!”

Immediately after, he saw George, who had just been bypassed by Ronaldinho and had lost his balance, turned and pounced. His face looked ferocious, as if he was a black panther who had seen his prey.

He was frightened by Wood’s expression and swift reaction. He did not withdraw to defend but stood frozen in place.

This was a good opportunity for Ronaldinho. The Forest team’s defense in the middle defense was ripped apart by his breakthrough. There were three Barcelona players in front of the goal and they were covered on all fronts. As long as the pass was effective, the probability of scoring a goal was high!

He stopped hesitating and prepared to kick the ball.

It was then that he saw Messi, who had rushed to the front, suddenly stop in his tracks and look at him in horror, as if he had seen something incredible.

You stupid bastard. Why are you standing in the same spot? You’re right on the same path as Piqué. How can I pass the ball to you?

Ronaldinho scolded Messi internally for dropping the ball at this crucial moment and completely forgot the danger around him.

As Wood sprinted back to defend, he saw Ronaldinho swing his leg high and look as if he was about to pass the ball. His supporting leg was still some distance from the football. This was the best opportunity, and also the only opportunity...

“A ferocious shove by George Wood! Ow!” The commentator yelled as if he had been shoved off of the field by Wood.

Wood shoved the football out the moment Ronaldinho was ready to pass, while the uncontainable excessive power knocked the Brazilian out of the penalty area. The pair knocked to the ground together just in front of the billboard outside the perimeter.

The Camp Nou Stadium gasped and then immediately roared, “penalty kick!!”

The same noises came from Barcelona’s substitutes’ bench. Rijkaard stepped forward and rushed to the sidelines, intending to cheer for the penalty kick.

But what did they see?

The assistant referee and the referee pointed to the corner flag at the same time!

Corner kick?

Corner kick!

Corner kick?!

Rijkaard jerked up. He was furious.

The Barcelona fans gave up and the Barcelona players also gave up. Ronaldinho was still lying on the ground and looking like he was in pain, ready to make Wood take responsibility of the foul. In the end, after he saw the referee’s hand gesture clearly, he jumped straight from the ground and angrily waved his arms at the referee to protest this penalty. His teammates had long rushed to surround the referee to dispute this.

“The referee decided on a corner kick... It’s unbelievable. George Wood’s shove was so fierce and looked lethal. And it was just a corner kick? Let’s take another look at the replay...”

The moment was replayed repeatedly in slow motion. It unmistakably showed that Wood hit the ball first, and then because his energy could not be checked, Ronaldinho was knocked out. The referee’s decision was not a mistake.

“Well, it looks like it was indeed a clean and beautiful kick. That was really close. If he had been a second later, I bet his foot would have hit Ronaldinho’s right foot.”

George Wood was pulled up by Piqué. The Spanish kid also patted him on the thigh. He was still had some trepidation as he said, “I didn’t think you would really get over there to shovel...”

“Was there another way?” Wood asked in puzzlement.

“No, uh... I mean, aren’t you afraid of getting a penalty?”

“I didn’t think too much.” Wood’s answer left Piqué at a loss for words. Should he say that Wood played skillfully and boldly or was he all brawn and no brains?

Bale dashed over in excitement to forcefully embrace Wood and shouted, “You did a beautiful job, George! You knew he was going to leave the football, didn’t you?”

Wood pushed him away. “All right, go and guard against that corner kick.”

Bale obediently left. Only then, Wood noticed that Ronaldinho had been next to him the whole time and was staring at him with anger on his face. He must still be angry that the shovel was a corner kick, not a penalty kick. He did not want to pay him any mind, but he was halted.

“Hey, hey!” Ronaldinho did not speak much English. He could only grill him in Portuguese., “That was clearly a foul! If you had played more honestly, you shouldn’t be celebrating here!”

In fact, it looked more like he was grousing to himself. Ronaldinho also did not expect George Wood to understand his Portuguese.

He did not think that Wood would stop and look back at him when he heard him speak. Apparently, he understood.

Wood just looked at Ronaldinho and did not say anything in the end. He turned around and ran away again.

The Barcelona players were still hounding the referee. Rijkaard drew special attention from the fourth official because he was too worked up just now.

He repeatedly reiterated to the fourth official that he was convinced the tackle had been a foul in the penalty area. A penalty kick should have been awarded. The fourth official replied like he was a robot with ready-made answers and just repeated, “I believe in the referee’s decision on the field. Not to mention that this is a decision made by the referee and the assistant referee at the same time. There is no problem. Please calm down, Mr. Rijkaard.”

But could he calm down?

As if he wanted to specially provoke him, Twain jumped from his seat, shook his arms and cheered. Then he turned around to the angry fans in the stands of the Camp Nou stadium and extended — not his middle finger, of course — his index finger over his lips and pursed his lips. His meaning could not have been more obvious. He wanted the noisy Barcelona fans to quiet down.

Could the Barcelona fans quiet down?

Twain was not so na?ve as to think that. He was needling them. As a result, just as he wanted, the grandstand behind the technical area erupted like a volcano, and a huge outburst of boos and swearing suddenly broke out against Tony Twain.

Rijkaard certainly saw it. He pointed to Twain and yelled at the fourth official next to him, “You make that scumbag calm down first!”

The fourth official turned around and saw the scene of Twain needling the Barcelona fans, so he put Rijkaard aside and quickly ran to Twain. He stood between Twain and the grandstand fans and drove him back to the visitors’ technical area.

“Please mind your words and actions, Mr. Tony Twain!” With a grim expression, the fourth official sent by the UEFA warned Twain who was still setting himself against the fans. “Don’t cause trouble for us, and don’t get yourself into trouble!”

Twain finally pulled his index finger from his lips. He pointed to the excited fans in the stands and said to the fourth official, “Those fans call my players sonsabitches and cheats. Does the UEFA have any provisions to punish or prevent this kind of situations?”

The fourth official froze for a moment and shook his head, “No, we do not...”

Twain whistled. “And that’s fair?” He shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk back. Behind him, the booing and abuse did not stop. The waves of voices seemed to be urged by the wind and came attacking him as if trying to overwhelm his figure completely.

The direction he went back made him face Rijkaard directly. Their gazes met from afar. When Twain saw Rijkaard, he approached and spread open his hands toward his opponent. He tilted his head with a helpless look. The action made Rijkaard hate him. The Dutchman was not a man who liked to quarrel with others. However, in the face of a scumbag like Tony Twain, he was unable to contain his anger.

“This fucking bastard!” He turned around and punched the awning of the technical area.

“Calm down, Frank!” His assistant manager, the famous Dutch, Neeskens, who was older than him, had to shout to remind him. “You are the soul of this team, its leader. You cannot be infuriated by the other team till you lose your cool!”

“I’m sorry... I’m all right now.” Rijkaard covered his head with both hands as he sat down. His fingers fully inserted in his tight curls and rubbed his head.

※※※

Twain saw everything with his own eyes. Even though he could not hear the conversation between Neeskens and Rijkaard, he knew that Rijkaard could not fully calm down within.

His goal had been achieved.

He could put his attention back on the field next. As for the swearing by those Barcelona fans behind him? Well, he could not understand Catalan.

As for the universal word, “f**k,” the easy-to-understand English word, his ears automatically filtered it out.

The Barcelona players who surrounded the referee did not get the results they wanted. The referee and the assistant referee were in agreement this time. The referee did not even have to run over to ask the assistant referee’s opinion. He uncompromisingly issued the corner kick. He waved away the Barcelona players around him and told them to quickly take the corner kick, or he might have to pull out a yellow card to warn some of those who were still ranting.

This decision had a huge impact on Barcelona’s entire team, which struck their mood and morale in varying degrees.

Ronaldinho’s corner kick was not good. The football flew over the goal and was easily plucked out of the air by Edwin van der Sar.

The Nottingham Forest fans, whose voices had just been suppressed by the boos, were finally heard again. They sang the lyrics made up on the spot in tune with a music that was currently popular. “You have Ronaldinho, we have George Wood! Your footwork looks fancy, our shovel is fierce and direct—and yet not a foul! La, la, la, and yet not a foul! You want a penalty kick but no way! No! Way!”

As the singing voices of the Forest fans reverberated, the Nottingham Forest team, wearing their yellow away jerseys, Edwin van der Sar launched an attack by throwing the ball with his hands.

The Dutch goalkeeper’s hand ball was thrown to a far distance. It almost directly went over the midfield. Franck Ribéry appeared in the middle and received the ball.

The defensive players had done their job perfectly. They had stopped several attacks by Barcelona. Now it was the attacking players’ turn to play their part.

“Although it may an exaggeration to say this, I’m still going to say it — long time no see, the attacking players of Nottingham Forest!”

Chapter 511 - The Perilous Forest

It was not an exaggeration at all when the commentator said “long time no see, the attacking players of Nottingham Forest.” In fact, the Forest team’s offensive players had not appeared in the view of the cameras and fans for a long time.

Since they scored the goal in the Barcelona goal, they had played under pressure from Barcelona. The rare few attacks had either gone nowhere or were cut off halfway. Bendtner even had to come back to participate in the defense.

Now, the Forest team launched another attack. Would the result be the same as the previous few times?

It was unknown.

“Ribéry receives the ball and sends it out beautifully! Eastwood prepares to receive...”

Ribéry certainly saw Eastwood. It felt different being in the middle versus on the flank. His job was simple on the flank. All he had to do was to break through the opponent, and then pass the ball. But he had more options in the middle. Eastwood, who came up to receive, was a choice but he could not pass it that way.

Why? Because when he saw Eastwood, the Barcelona players also saw Eastwood pulled back to receive.

Puyol followed Eastwood. If he passed the ball over, it would be hard for Eastwood to receive with his back to the offensive direction. He could barely turn around under Puyol’s watch. It would be an irresponsible pass and a pass that was in line with Barcelona’s wishes.

He could not pass the ball like that. Ribéry bent his head and saw that Ashley Young was just running across from the flank to the middle. This was a way.

Just as the two men were about to cross paths, Ribéry passed the football to Ashley Young, who ran across diagonally. Then he ran across to the right flank without the ball. He and Ashley Young had completed a change of position from left to right.

The Barcelona’s defensive line was fast-retreating except that several players on the front line could not run fast enough. After all, they were the offensive players, and not the defensive players. Asking them to retreat immediately and defend after losing the ball was tough.

The Barcelona players thought Ashley Young would continue to dribble the ball on the left flank after he received the ball. Unexpectedly, he only ran a couple of steps before he turned and passed the football back to Franck Ribéry, who was running past.

Ribéry did not continue to dribble the ball toward the right flank. Instead, he adjusted his direction at the same time as he caught the ball and faced Barcelona’s goal head-on!

Since he and Ashley Young had passed each other and changed positions, which resulted in no one keeping an eye on him, he seized the opportunity and suddenly swung his leg to take a long shot before Márquez rushed up.

“What a fantastic long shot!”

As the football came whizzing by, Valdés dared not try to catch it. He could only jump and punch the ball out with both fists.

“In most cases, Ribéry gives people the impression that he’s a winger who relies on his speed and skills to break through on the flanks, and then passes the ball. This long shot reminds us that he is also a goalscorer who has a personal highest score of nine goals in a single season!”

Indeed, Ribéry’s highest number of goals scored was nine goals in his most successful season in the English Premier League. It was his first season in the Premier League, and it was also that season when his superb speed and sharp breakthroughs, as well as his excellent scoring ability, made him the best foreign player of the season.

He still played well in his second season. However, in his third season, after his opponents had studied his routine, he was no longer as big a threat as he had been. Furthermore, Twain had bought Petrov, who was similar to him, and many people thought that Ribéry’s once secure main position in the Forest team was gradually faltering.

In this game, Petrov sat on the bench to watch the game. The crowd had speculated if Ribéry would be replaced immediately once he did not do well.

It was time to make a change.

The football that Valdés struck out fell to the left flank of the field. Ashley Young received it, and did not hesitate to pass. Unfortunately, he was not used to using his left foot on this side, so his pass was not very good, and it was headed out by Zambrotta, who had returned to defend.

Eastwood lost the contest with Puyol, and the Barcelona captain headed the football forward with force, hoping that the returning Deco or Xavi could get it. The two of them were close in distance. It was good no matter who received the ball. It was like a double insurance.

Deco was even ready to stop the ball with his chest.

“George Wood!” As the commentator exclaimed, Deco, who was ready with his move, saw a dark shadow suddenly appear on his side from behind from thin air

George Wood flew through the air, threw his body back, and exerted all the strength in his back and core to forcefully head the football back.

Deco and Xavi had run for nothing. The football returned to Barcelona’s half of the field.

This time, it was Eastwood, not Puyol, who received the football.

After he caught the ball, Eastwood did not turn around, but directly passed the ball to Mikel Arteta, who plugged in.

Nottingham Forest’s offense was fully rolled out.

Twain’s instruction to the team was they must retreat fast and attack quickly. In short, one word: speed!

This point was well reflected in this game.

The Forest team attacked quickly. After Arteta received the football, he was surrounded with options for a passing route that he could use. Whether he passed it to Ribéry, Ashley Young, Eastwood, Bendtner, or even George Wood who was not far behind as well as Gareth Bale, who was charging up, he could pass the ball.

The biggest difference between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona was that the Forest team did care about how it looked. If there was a direct passing route, it had to be chosen.

Arteta looked around and decisively passed the football to the core of the team’s organization in the second half — Franck Ribéry.

Ribéry had reached the right flank when he caught the ball. Zambrotta thought Ribéry would break through from the flank. The change of positions between him and Ashley Young just looked like an ordinary left and right edge crossover.

Ribéry made a feint of breaking through in a straight line and managed to fool Zambrotta. He did not really directly break through. Instead, while Zambrotta shifted his center of gravity, he took the opportunity to suddenly shift the ball toward the middle and cut inside!

His left foot cut inside from the right flank to the middle. What was the most likely and best thing he would do?

“Watch out for his shot!” Valdés yelled.

He was definitely going to do the long shot which he was good at.

As if to coordinate with Valdés, Ribéry swung his left leg as he ran crosswise. He was going to shoot.

Márquez recklessly threw himself forward to block Ribéry’s long shot and completely forgot the situation behind him.

But Ribéry saw it clearly and did not shoot. It was just a feint to lure the Barcelona defensive line out and pull it apart to create gaps. Márquez rushed up and a small crack appeared in Barcelona’s otherwise consistent defensive line.

The Frenchman pulled his leg back for a push instead. The football quickly rolled past Márquez’s side into the penalty area.

“A beautiful straight pass!”

It was really beautiful. Before Ribéry sent the ball out, Bendtner had already moved to position himself in the gap and arrived as the ball came. Bendtner prepared to shoot at a narrow angle.

Had it not been for Valdés’s quick reaction to move in time to block off Bendtner’s shot angle, the running pass set piece in front of the penalty area might have really scored a goal.

The football struck Valdés’s leg and rebounded out of the end line.

Loud gasps were heard throughout the stands in Camp Nou. The Barcelona fans were horrified.

When Twain saw Bendtner and Ribéry coordinate wonderfully, he stood up with clenched fists, poised for the moment when he would pump his fists to celebrate the goal, but he did not expect Bendtner’s shot to be blocked and sent out of the end line by Valdés.

He almost lost control of his body with the ups and downs of his mood. He suddenly jumped up and then immediately punched the ground. “Such a good opportunity… and the shot didn’t actually go in! It didn’t go in!”

He was still jabbering on as he got up and walked back to his seat in the technical area.

“At least we have some good news. Ribéry’s performance was excellent.” Kerslake pacified him.

Dunn nodded beside him. “He’s better than we anticipated.”

“But that’s not enough,” Twain grumbled. “We need to put more pressure on Barcelona.” With that, he turned around and took a deep breath as he stood on the sidelines. Then he roared, “George! Speed up when you rush in for the attack! If you can’t run, I’ll bring you off!”

※※※

“Nottingham Forest’s offense has picked up. This is really a treat for the eyes of our neutral audience. It’s entertaining to watch, and the both offenses are high caliber. The current question is… who will be the first to break this current thorny stalemate?”

The Forest team’s corner kick was headed out by Lilian Thuram. Lying in wait outside, Arteta tried a direct long shot, but kicked it high, causing Twain to slap his own thigh from his seat off the field. In the face of such situation, he did not want to see his players being hasty. He would have prefered to see Arteta slow the ball down to reorganize the attack, rather than kick the ball toward the grandstand.

Barcelona continued its offensive against the Forest team after the ball was sent out from the goalpost. The situation on the field was in a deadlock and it looked like everyone had a chance, but every opportunity seemed to brush past them. Fate appeared to be playing tricks on the emotions of fans from both teams. Sometimes it made them nervous, and other times, it let them relax. Every so often, it excited and frustrated them.

The first twenty minutes of the second were a stalemate.

Twain did not replace any players. He was waiting for an opportunity. He believed that Rijkaard would not be willing to obtain just one point at Camp Nou. He would definitely start to deploy offensive players at the last minute. That point would be his chance.

In everyone’s view, Twain should have been satisfied with this situation. In fact, he had the same idea as Rijkaard: failure was unacceptable. A draw was equally unacceptable.

The game had gone on for seventy-three minutes and Rijkaard finally could not sit still. He was going to make an adjustment first.

The Brazilian full-back, Belletti replaced Thuram. This was not an adjustment in defense. Belletti had a very good assist ability and Rijkaard brought him on to strengthen Barcelona’s flank attack.

Seeing this change, Twain also got up from his seat and asked Kerslake to call van Nistelrooy back from his warm-up. Bendtner was still not up to scratch. He now needed an experienced world-class center forward with remarkable awareness. Twain needed a terminator.

Bendtner was not as good as van Nistelrooy.

After calling van Nistelrooy to his side, Twain looked up to observe his expression first and found nothing unusual.

“I only have one request.” Twain extended his index finger. “Do everything you can to score goals.”

Van Nistelrooy nodded. He liked this. He was an experienced striker. If a manager prattled in his ear, he would just feel like he was being underestimated and did not have the trust he deserved.

“Go and terminate them!”

Van Nistelrooy was brought on and Bendtner trotted off the field. Twain grabbed hold of him and said, “You did a good job, Nick.”

“Thank you, chief, but I didn’t get that goal…”

Twain interrupted Bendtner’s self-blame with a smile. “Even an excellent striker cannot guarantee a goal every time he shoots. If you’re not willing to accept that, practice more shooting when you’re back in training!”

※※※

“Both sides have made offensive adjustments and it seems that in the final moments of the game, neither team will settle for this 1:1 draw. This is really exciting!”

After Wood was yelled at by Twain, Wood ran faster and was more resolute when he attacked. Naturally, there was more room behind him for Barcelona’s offense to partake.

The balance between offense and defense had always been a big conundrum for every team’s coaches and players. Twain did not expect Wood to perform spectacularly in this area. Strengthening the offense was bound to weaken the defense. The price of a solid defense was the sacrifice of a lot of opportunities to counterattack.

This was the manager’s dilemma to face.

Twain chose to attack twenty minutes before the end of the game; bringing on van Nistelrooy was a clear signal.

The Dutchman was more experienced and he was better than Bendtner at cutting in for the goal. With the assist from Eastwood and Ribéry, it looked like Twain wanted to win this game at all costs.

The consequence of this was that Wood loosened his mark on Ronaldinho and as a result, Barcelona would have plenty of attacking opportunities as well.

Now it was up to the teams to be one step ahead.

※※※

After Ronaldinho shook off George Wood’s defense, he had to pass the football to Eto’o while being hindered. Eto’o played with frustration during this game. His speed was impeded under the Forest team’s intense defense. Whenever he received the football, he could only attempt to shoot, or send the ball out again.

In terms of shooting, because Twain had asked the defensive line to push Eto’o out of the penalty area before this game, the farther away from the goal the better, Eto’o could only rely on long shots instead. Now that he discovered the Forest team’s defense seemed a bit slack, he planned to break directly though.

With a nimble and quick change of direction, Eto’o bypassed Kompany’s defense, intending to squeeze through the cracks in the crowd. Just as he was about to succeed, Piqué rushed up to fill the gap.

He kicked the football out before Eto’o got to it and then knocked into the African cheetah, who could not stop in time. The two men fell to the ground at the same time. Another deafening hiss erupted in the stands. The Barcelona fans obviously thought this should have been another penalty, but the referee did not issue the penalty and signaled for the game to continue.

The ball that Piqué kicked reached Ashley Young’s foot. He did not pass it forward, because Barcelona rushed up to snatch at this point. By the time he adjusted the football, there was no room to send it forward. He could only protect the ball on the flank to either wait for his teammates to come up to support or kick the football on the Barcelona players’ bodies for the ball to bounce toward the sidelines and receive an out of bounds ball.

The second option was a desperate move, because once that happened, it meant that Barcelona’s defense had been successful, and they had stopped a fast attack by the Forest team.

The first option was a little difficult. Chimbonda wanted to come up to help, but he was closely followed by Eto’o. As for Arteta? His position was not very good and he himself could not confirm his location properly.

“Here!” Just as Ashley Young was ready to kick the ball out of bounds, he heard the captain’s voice.

Looking up, George Wood appeared in front of him, and there was no one around him for the time being. The Barcelona players apparently did not think that George Wood would pop up here to take the initiative to get the ball and participate in the attack. Ashley Young didn’t hesitate. He immediately passed the ball. Then he turned and continued to run forward, rounding the outside of the field. He would run over quickly so that Wood could pass the ball to him and they could do a penetrating two-over-one pass! After half a season or so of hands-on practice during training and competition, Ashley Young clearly understood Wood’s ability for long passes. He knew that this was the best way to rip through Barcelona’s defensive line.

Because he accelerated and ran, widening his distance from Barcelona’s Deco, the Barcelona players also thought Wood would choose to pass the ball at first chance, making use of Ashley Young’s fast speed. While everyone was trying to prevent Wood from passing, Wood unexpectedly chose to dribble the ball himself.

Wood did not dribble quickly, but he was steady. Deco followed Ashley Young as he ran for a distance. When he found that Wood had no intention of passing the ball, he turned back to defend against George Wood.

Up against Deco, Wood did not continue to dribble the ball, but passed it on to Mikel Arteta, who had ran up with him. Arteta then passed the football to Gareth Bale, who followed up from his left back position. The Barcelona players’ attention shifted to the flank according to the football. Then Bale suddenly made a cross pass.

The football passed between the players of both teams. No one intercepted it, and it ended up at Wood’s feet!

He had not gone back after he passed the ball. He continued forward to provide support. When Bale saw him, he sent the football over.

By this time, Wood was only ten meters away from the edge of Barcelona’s penalty arc. However, it was not easy to run this length as Barcelona had erected a barrier to block Nottingham Forest’s attack.

Puyol commanded the team’s defensive line to collectively press ahead to create an offside. As long as Wood passed the ball forward, either the Forest team’s two forwards were offside, or no one received the ball.

Meanwhile, Deco continued to move toward Wood, intending to intercept at the first opportunity.

Should he pass the ball or dribble it himself?

Wood looked at the large swathes of emptiness in front of him and suddenly kicked to send the football to the right flank.

It was equally empty over there, but a second later, a figure appeared in front of the camera. It was Ashley Young!

He had been running, but when he realized that Wood had not passed him the ball, he had stopped. Later, when he saw Wood received the ball for the second time and was blocked by Barcelona’s creation of an offside, he keenly spotted the neglected length of the flank. Ashley Young did not know if George Wood would see the empty section or if Wood would have sent the football to his side when he ran up.

However, at worse, he would have run for nothing. But if he did not run, there would not even be a chance. He chose to run ahead.

This was not an offensive routine that had been practiced in training. Wood did not turn his head to see Ashley Young’s exact location, but he accurately sent the football to Ashley Young’s feet.

“How did he see that?” The commentator’s exclamation was also Rijkaard’s question.

Everyone was focused on Wood, who had been dribbling the ball in the middle. The Barcelona defensive line unconsciously followed to concentrate in the middle, intending to completely blockade the defensive midfielder who was poor in offense and dribble.

They did not expect Wood to suddenly pass the ball to a spot that was not in his field of vision. There was a piercing sound and Barcelona’s defensive line was ripped apart.

After Ashley Young received the ball on the flank, he saw empty space in front of him. He tilted to adjust the football, and then dribbled the ball as he rushed into the penalty area.

Zambrotta gave his all to return to defend. It looked like there was still some hope to stop Ashley Young before he entered the danger zone.

Young swung his foot. Whether he was about to pass the ball or shoot, Zambrotta ran over in large strides and extended his leg to block.

This was not a shot, but it was no ordinary pass either. Ashley Young let the football roll close to the ground to his side, near the penalty kick spot.

Eastwood and Ribéry did not receive the ball in front of the goal, but van Nistelrooy’s professional sensitivity made him run towards the goal. He suddenly withdrew and received the ball. He did not hesitate and swing his foot.

Valdés’s quick response was amazing. Although there was usually a lot of criticism about him, his performance at this moment was amazing.

When he ran to seal off the corner, he saw the football being passed back. He quickly turned and ran to the middle of the goal. He ran halfway when he saw van Nistelrooy swing his leg to shoot. Valdés immediately sprang up and pounced on the football.

Van Nistelrooy’s shot did not enter the goal!

The Forest players had intended to raise their hands to cheer for the goal, which was replaced by the cheers from the Barcelona fans in the stands behind the goal.

They were ready to shout Valdés’s name. But just as the first syllable had come out of their mouths, the front of the goal had a sudden change.

Valdés had tried hard to pounce on the football the first time, but he did not have the capacity to strike the football furtheraway . The football landed in front of the goal, and Valdés himself had fallen to the ground. Just as he was struggling to stand up again, he caught a whiff of danger.

The football was right in front of him and near his hand, but the length of his hand away, and unfortunately, the danger also happened to be that far away.

Ribéry had initially intended to rush up to grab the ball but he did not expect Ashley Young to pass the ball to van Nistelrooy behind himself. He thought he had run for nothing, but, unexpectedly, van Nistelrooy’s shot did not go in. Valdés had pounced. And even more surprisingly, the ball that was struck out happened to land not far from his feet!

It was a golden opportunity!

Ribéry, who was ready to shoot, suddenly felt a powerful tug coming from behind him, trying to pull him to the ground. Evidently, Márquez, the Barcelona center back who had leaned in behind him, did it.

Valdés was also trying to get up from the ground, intending to grab the football.

How can I let you get what you want?

Ribéry did not fight with Márquez. He did not have time to compete with him on strength. He took advantage of Márquez’s pulling force and threw his body out, so that he could free his feet and use them to do more important things, such as turning his body around to shoot!

Valdés saw that his hands were approaching the football. It was just half a hand’s distance. But in the next moment, the football was gone, and he looked up to see fragments of grass.

“Franck Ribéry! He has scored a goal! He has fallen in front of the Barcelona goal with Márquez. Is it a foul? No, it’s not a foul! The referee indicated that the goal is valid! Nottingham Forest leads Barcelona for the second time at Camp Nou! Look at Tony Twain’s excitement on the sidelines. Ha, he looks as if he had scored the goal himself! Like a forest shrouded in thick fog and perils, Nottingham Forest has trapped Barcelona inside. Can Rijkaard’s team escape? They don’t have much time. There are only seventeen minutes left!”

In one of the camera footages, Twain swung his fists toward the sky and yelled with his mouth wide open. A little further away, Rijkaard stood on the sidelines, with his arms folded across his chest. He bit down hard on his lower lip with a grim expression.

The background for these two men was the blurry stands of Camp Nou, a roaring sea of red and blue.

Chapter 512 - You’re All Wrong

“Franck Ribéry — he seized the chance to shoot from the crowd! Nottingham Forest leads Barcelona for the second time! The game is still has... seventeen minutes. This situation is really bad news for Rijkaard’s team. If they want to win, they have — including injury stoppage time — just a little more than twenty minutes to score two consecutive goals and make sure their defensive line does not continue to concede any goals. This will be difficult... The Nottingham Forest fans are cheering. This is a really delightful score for them!”

Fat John and Bill hugged each other in the stands. This score not only made them happy, it was also thrilling for them. The hardcore fans were obviously well aware what the win at Camp Nou meant for them. Throughout the ages, there were only a handful of teams that could take this stadium.

“Guys, let’s sing!” John turned towards the back and hollered at the thousands of Forest fans in the stands.

“We’ve got the whole world in our hands! We overcome every attack, we’re invincible! Because we’re the strongest team! Oh, oh, oh—”

After a few seconds of silence, the Barcelona fans booed loudly again to drown out the singing voices of the Forest fans.

The Forest fans saw this situation and raised their volume. They only had seven thousand people, but they did not want to lose to the seventy-thousand Barcelona fans.

At the end, the Barcelona fans struggled with their booing, and the Forest fans tried harder to raise the volume. They were no longer singing but yelling out the song. They yelled at the top of their lungs until their throats were hoarse.

As the Forest fans in the stands frantically battled the Barcelona fans, the Forest players on the field frantically celebrated their goal. They celebrated heedlessly in front of the Barcelona players.

Ribéry led his group of teammates and ran across the vast tract of the field. They rushed toward the stands where the Forest fans were. A group of them waved their arms and conducted the fans’ singing to make them sing louder.

It was really an opportune moment to incite the mood.

Even Tony Twain’s celebration was a bit more excessive than normal. He had no intention of giving his opponent a shred of respect at the stadium. He celebrated as if he were on his home ground. He hugged all the coaches and substitutes, and turned around and brandished his fists at the Barcelona fans in the stands behind him as a show of force.

The move certainly invited more violent abuse at him. If he could have understood Catalan, the words of abuse were vicious enough to bring the dead back to life. It was a pity he could not understand. He just smiled and looked at the angry Barcelona fans. He bowed slightly, and turned around and let them see his back.

“Before the game, we thought that when Tony Twain vowed that the game was within his control, he was either just lying and it was a psychological warfare, or he really had something up his sleeves to deal with Barcelona. Now it looks like it’s the latter. His team does have a way of dealing with Barcelona. The Nottingham Forest players clearly remember last season’s defeat. Now they have finally found the best way to avenge that and vent their feelings. For Twain’s team, Barcelona is really the best opponent for the Round of 16, the best of the best opponents.”

“... An English team is different from the other national league teams. The manager is the soul of a team. A manager’s character often determines the character of the team. By studying Tony Twain, we clearly know what kind of person he is. To put it in not-so-nice words, he is narrow-minded, vindictive and a sore loser. And his team is likely to be the same. Barcelona beat them in last season’s final which made them unhappy. They are more motivated to play this game than any other game. It’s no surprise that they were able to lead Barcelona twice...”

“Tony Twain, even though you’re not my favorite manager in England, you represent England in the Champions League arena, so I’m going to say-well done Forest!”

“Barcelona dominated but ended up being led by the Forest team twice. Nottingham Forest was almost always in a disadvantageous position, and yet they led Barcelona twice. Football is such a marvelous game!”

“The game is not over yet. Barcelona still has a chance! Nottingham Forest has not won the game even though they scored two away goals. I’m sure Barcelona won’t let them leave Camp Nou with three points. The people here will not agree to that!”

The various countries’ commentators expressed their views in response to the situation. There were some who evaluated from an objective and neutral standpoint, there were some who professed their admiration for Tony Twain, and there were also some who encouraged Barcelona not to give up.

Compared to Twain’s flamboyant display, Rijkaard looked pained as he stood in the empty space in front of the coaches’ seats.

The Forest team was obviously good at playing defensive counterattack. After they had lured Barcelona out, they had launched a sudden counterattack. They were very familiar with this set piece.

But now it was not the time to think about why Nottingham Forest was ahead, but to seriously consider how to equalize the score and overtake them to achieve a big reversal in the last twenty-something minutes.

Rijkaard did not want to admit it, but it did present some challenges.

A big push meant that there would be a lot of gaps behind. The gaps behind them meant that there would be more opportunities for Nottingham Forest to carry out the defensive counterattacks they were best at.

Should they go all out to attack and overcome their loss with more goals or should they prudently watch their front and back as they waited for the final whistle to be blown?

Was this still a choice to be made?

Rijkaard walked back to the substitutes’ bench and summoned the French winger, Giuly.

As Rijkaard brought on Giuly, Twain also made a substitution.

He brought off Mikel Arteta and put Petrov on the field. In this way, Ribéry was completely fixed in the middle of the midfield, in a similar capacity as an attacking midfielder. Petrov would assault on the left flank.

“Both sides have made adjustments. What excites us is that the leading Nottingham Forest has not brought on a defensive player but continues to make adjustments on their offense. Tony Twain has replaced Mikel Arteta in the middle with the swift left winger, Petrov, whose speed will be an important weapon for the Forest team’s defensive counterattack. It seems that Manager Tony Twain is here to thoroughly carry out his defensive counterattack.”

The commentator said it well. Twain knew that under such circumstances, Rijkaard would have no other choice. He would never accept conceding here, and that he would definitely deploy his offensive players to stake it all to fight Nottingham Forest.

As for Twain, he would take the opportunity and continue to step up the pace of their counterattack. On one hand, their defensive lineup remained unchanged, which stabilized their defense. On the other hand, they would continue to accelerate the speed of their counterattack and increase their capability for individual combat. He knew that as the game moved to the end, it was no longer realistic to ask the team to send more people during an offensive. They could only count on the players’ individual abilities to fight back. Petrov was fast and his dribbling was excellent. He was good at passing and shooting. He was the best candidate to play the counterattack.

Rijkaard also knew Twain’s intention in doing so. He was not a fool; he could see it. Twain followed closely every time he made a substitution. Why? Because he wanted to make adjustments according to his last change. This cunning and vile fox!

Now the Dutch manager could only curse his opponent in his head. Other than that, he had no other way... he had no choice. Even if he knew that Twain was going to do that, he could only let his team continue to step up the offensive and threaten the Forest team’s goal, hoping to crack open van der Sar’s fingers soon. Barcelona only had one way to go now, which was to use offense instead of defense.

※※※

As the game went on, it entered a state whereby Barcelona frenziedly counterattacked and Nottingham Forest was battered and exhausted but defended tenaciously.

Rijkaard’s thinking was sound. Barcelona’s reckless drive and offense pushed the Forest team, which still wanted to play defensive counterattack, back to the other half of the field. Petrov, who was brought on, could only run back to participate in the defense, and simply had no time to strike back.

Going into the 80th minute, Twain made a substitution before Rijkaard. This was also his last replacement for the game. He replaced Gareth Bale with Leighton Baines to step up the defense in the left flank. When Baines came on, he passed on a message to Wood:

Twain wanted him to drop the offense and devote himself to the defense. He must closely mark Ronaldinho and also assist in defending Messi if possible.

Wood was entirely in his element with this task. He kept close to Ronaldinho and followed him wherever he went. He did not give him any space. He did not simply follow him. He also constantly pressed against Ronaldinho with his superior physique and persistently disrupted Ronaldinho’s control of the ball so that he could not easily execute his moves. He made him so annoyed that he could only pass the ball.

Twain saw this scene on the field and snickered. Turning his head to his two assistant managers, he said, “now Ronaldinho must regret George Wood not playing in the last final. He missed the first-hand and most detailed information. Before this game, I bet his knowledge of Wood was limited to a written profile and game videos. Ah, with this sort of matter, he still has to experience firsthand to know. Haha! An actual physical experience is still more trustworthy than words and video material.”

This was not the first time Ronaldinho had felt agitated. He had experienced it in the away game against Chelsea during the Champions League group stage and the first leg of the El Clásico this season. In both games, he felt this kind of relentless defense shadowing him. He was very skilled, but he needed time and space to operate his techniques. He could not just exhibit his magical skills in any situation. Wood’s defense did not allow him that time and space. He kept feeling the collisions from his opponent. He had to put more energy to keep his body in balance and not to lose the ball.

Ronaldinho was the current core of Barcelona’s offense. If he could not perform, Barcelona’s offense would be messy.

In fact, that appeared to be the case. Barcelona became more impatient in the last few moments. Most of the players did not have the patience to meticulously coordinate with each other in front of the penalty area to shoot inside the box. They attempted long shots continuously, hoping to score in the simplest and most convenient way.

In the face of Barcelona’s long shots, the Forest players used any part of their bodies other than their hands to block. There was not much time left. As long as they held out until the end, they would be the winner and leave Camp Nou with three points and their heads held high. No matter how battered they were now and how ugly the situation looked, the feelings would vanish as long as they won the game.

※※※

“Defend! Hold on!” van der Sar roared on the field. The current situation was critical. Barcelona began to organize precise short passes to penetrate after their frequent long shots were ineffective. They had broken through the penalty area twice and made shots at the goal.

Both Twain and the assistant manager, Kerslake, got up from their seats on the sidelines. They could not remain seated in the face of Barcelona’s frenzied attack.

A thunderous cheer sounded over the Camp Nou stadium, “Bar?a! Bar?a! BAR-?A!!” The fans were cheering for their team. This was a critical moment, and no one wanted to see an arrogant man strut around on their own turf. At that moment, their hatred of Tony Twain exceeded the sum of their hatred toward Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol.

They could lose to anyone, but they absolutely could not lose to the rotten Tony Twain and his team!

Even under such circumstances, the Forest team had not forgotten the task that they had to seize the opportunity to fight back. Petrov finally managed to seize a chance to fight back. But unfortunately, after he raced for more than sixty meters on the flank, he had to take a shot at the goal facing Valdés. The football brushed against the goalpost to roll out of the end line.

At that moment, the hearts of the fans stopped beating en masse.

“Petrov... The ball didn’t go in! It didn’t go in! Brushed against the goal post and rolled out... It was so close! Barcelona desperately wants to equalize the score, but their defenses are teetering in the wind. If the Forest team fights back a few more times like this... I can’t imagine the results. Fortunately, not much time is left. The Forest team may not be able to strike more. It is also unfortunate that there is not much time because Barcelona is still a goal behind.”

The fourth official walked to the sidelines and held up the injury stoppage time sign: three minutes.

From the sidelines, Rijkaard anxiously waved for his players to press on and abandon the defense.

Twain was also on the sidelines, but instead of yelling at the team to defend, he crossed his arms and watched the show.

The coaches basically had nothing else to do. All adjustments had long been made. It was clear in everyone’s mind. What was the point in standing on the sidelines and yelling, other than putting on a show? Twain chose to quietly watch the last three minutes of the game.

No matter how Barcelona bombarded, he believed his team could hold on. Because he knew how fanatical and crazy this group was about defeating Barcelona. They were more unwilling than him to allow the victory in their grasp to slip away.

The Barcelona players were still frantically attacking and doing everything they could to seize the time. However, the three minutes of injury stoppage time passed by relentlessly. Every second took away hopes of more and more Barcelona fans.

Some of the Barcelona fans had already left the stands at Camp Nou, while the Nottingham Forest fans sang loudly in excitement in their stands.

Rijkaard was silent. The image of him biting his lips and furrowing his eyebrows appeared on the television screen. He was powerless against this situation in front of him.

The fight and confidence that Nottingham Forest had shown in this game was completely beyond his expectations.

Generally speaking, the other teams that came to Camp Nou just tried not to lose and treated a draw as a win. He did not expect the aim of the fearless Twain and his team was to win the game.

He looked at the Barcelona players who were desperately running around the field like headless chickens. They wanted to score goals and equalize the score — Barcelona’s goal had gone from a reversal to an equalizer — but the reality was brutal.

Rijkaard lowered his head. He did not want to see the scene when the final whistle sounded.

Twain turned his head and looked at Dunn behind him. Dunn knew what he wanted, so he said, “there’s half a minute left.”

Twain nodded, took his hands out of his pockets, slowly raised them, and clenched them into fists. That action looked as if he was stretching his back, causing the Barcelona fans in the stands behind him to look on with gritted teeth.

※※※

“The game is over!” When Eto’o missed another long shot, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game.?Camp Nou exploded in a deafening hiss, which was obviously meant for Tony Twain and his Forest team.

After they won the game, Twain was not as excited as his aides and players. He stood in one spot with his fists held high. The other coaches and players rushed past him to celebrate the victory with their exhausted teammates.

When he heard the final whistle, Kompany fell straight back and laid on the ground. He was too tired. Not only he was physically exhausted, but, more importantly, he was mentally tired. His nerves had been strained right to the last minute in fear that any mistake would allow the football to enter the goal.

Now it was all right. He could lie on the turf and take a deep breath.

Edwin van der Sar ran past him with open arms and was as excited as if they had won the Champions League title. As a player who had only joined in the summer, he sometimes could not understand why these people valued and clung to the idea of a victory over Barcelona. Was it not commonplace to win or lose? Who could guarantee constant victories and that all the championship titles would be taken?

But now, whatever it was, it felt good to be able to win.

He closed his eyes and listened to the cheers of his teammates around him. Even the boos from the rival fans sounded so melodious.

Twain did not rush up to celebrate this victory with his players. He politely put his hands down, straightened his clothes, and walked toward the dejected Rijkaard with his hand stretched out.

“Mr. Rijkaard, here’s to another round. I’ll be waiting for you and your team in Nottingham.”

Rijkaard took his hand out of courtesy but did not say anything.

The two men were soon separated. The first person to walk to the mixed zone near the tunnel to be interviewed by the reporters was Twain, who was stopped by a number of reporters.

“Mr. Twain, why does it look like you don’t have a smile on your face? Your team has just won at Camp Nou.” asked a reporter in puzzlement.

Twain shrugged. “Do I need to be happy? It’s not as if we got the Champions League title. I expected this outcome. I had said the game was in my orbit. Not one of you believed it before, did you? As it turns out, I was right and you were all wrong.”

With that, he turned around and left the mixed zone. No matter how many times the reporters called his name, he did not stop to look back.

Chapter 513 - The Pretty Tenant

By the time Twain’s team returned to England, the airport newsstands had already put out the latest newspapers. He was on all the front pages. He bought a copy of all the newspapers and enjoyed the media’s praise on the bus back to Nottingham, which greatly satisfied his vanity.

It was truly great news that they could beat Barcelona in an away game, score two away goals and make a good start to advance into the Champions League’s top eight teams.

If they did not have to play a league game this weekend, Twain would have really wanted to give the group of hard-working players a day off and let them have a relaxing break.

The bus arrived at the Nottingham Wilford training base and the players said goodbye to Twain in succession as they left their respective cars.

Unlike the players, most of the coaches did not have cars and choose to head home on public transport instead.

The British gasoline price was high. Even though many people bought cars, they would not often take them out. The coaches’ income was of a completely different bracket than the players’. The coaches could not afford to drive the cars that the professional players could.

But Twain was not the same. He earned the same as the players.

Therefore, van Nistelrooy did not forget to stop and tease Twain as he drove past the gate, “hey, chief, waiting for the cab again? Do you want me to drive you?”

Twain kicked the air and said, “I’m walking home for the exercise!”

Van Nistelrooy chuckled as he drove away.

When van Nistelrooy was gone, Dunn also said to Twain, “I also think it’s good for you to consider buying a car. You’re a public figure. Sometimes you have places to go other than from the training grounds to the stadium.”

Twain did not speak. Shania had mentioned this to him before, but he was only tempted for an afternoon before he abandoned it. Furthermore, he did not know if he had a driver’s license or if he knew how to drive.

“Don’t worry. You have a valid driver’s license.” Reading his mind, Dunn said, “if you don’t know how to drive, you can learn.”

Twain shook his head and said, “we’ll talk about it when the time comes. Let’s go back.”

※※※

The two men returned to their place from the training base and only took about twenty minutes to walk. This was one reason why Twain was reluctant to buy a car. He could use this time to chat with Dunn and think about problems, which did not work well with driving.

When he got home, the two men said goodbye to each other as they opened the doors to their respective homes.

When he got inside, Twain collapsed on the couch without even taking off his clothes. He just wanted to have a good rest now. He was worn out from the last few days. Could it be his thirty-something year old body catching up to him?

“Meow.”

Lying on the couch, rubbing his temples, Twain suddenly heard a cat’s meow. At first he thought he had misheard, but the sound came again, and it was clearly from his room.

He did not remember when he had picked up a cat from outside. How could he have a pet when he could barely take care of himself as a single man?

Could it be a stray cat that snuck into the house while he was away these few days?

Twain remembered that he shut all the doors and windows tight when he left. Burglaries were common in Nottingham, where the legend of Robin Hood was born, and theft was rife. He was afraid to be careless.

Was it a stray cat or a burglar?

Twain got up from the couch and looked around the living room. He did not discover any abnormalities. Before he left, he had hired a part-time cleaner to clean the house, so everything was in place as it should have been. There was no trace of things being rifled through.

After he confirmed that the first floor was the same, Twain began to inspect the second floor. As he heard the cat’s meows, he focused on checking those corners.

He did not find anything out of place when he opened the door to his room.

The big picture still hung on the opposite wall and the bed was well made. There were no traces of any disturbances by a small animal.

Everything was also normal when he opened the bathroom door to check.

After he checked almost all the rooms on the second floor, there was only one room left in front of him — Shania’s guest room.

Although she rarely visited, Twain still left her a bedroom.

Twain did not know why he did it. Shania was now an internationally famous model. She had luxury residences in Milan and Paris and stayed in famous hotels. She was so busy she had no time for herself. How could she still come here to stay? She was no longer the little, homeless thirteen-year-old girl she used to be.

Twain opened the door. He saw the Totoro toy that he had given to Shania sitting quietly on the bed, and everything else was as normal.

Standing at the door and looking at the empty room inside, Twain shook his head and smiled.

How could Shania still come back here to stay? It was not ] easy to even meet up with her nowadays.

At the thought of Shania, Twain thought of her bright smiling face, and the voice that called him “Uncle Tony.” Although he used to be opposed to Shania addressing him like that, he later felt that it was quite nice. It was better than calling him “Mr. Twain.”

Twain leaned against the door frame and looked at the bedroom in front of him. He would come in and clean the room every once in a while. It was usually locked. The part-time cleaner would not be able to get in. Twain did not want outsiders to clean in there. Even when Dunn lived there before, he did not go in.

It was a restricted zone for other people. Twain had stopped short of hanging a “no trespassers allowed” sign.

Seeing that everything was fine, Twain was relieved. He shook his head as he closed the door. Maybe I just misheard.

“Meow.”

Twain was startled. He jerked around. Leaning against the door was a marmalade kitten looking at him strangely.

This cat was being held by someone. A pair of fair arms held the kitten’s two front paws. It was only when Twain snapped back to himself that he saw who was standing in front of him.

“Uncle Tony, you’re so timid.”

Who else could it be?

“Sha— Shania?” Twain was surprised to see the girl in front of him.

Standing in front of him with the cat in her arms and smiling at him was the world-renowned model, Judy Shania Jordana.

Twain’s mouth was wide open for a long time. After a long while, he eventually asked a question that made Shania roll her eyes. “Am I dreaming?” He reached out to gently pinch Shania’s face. “It feels warm… It’s a real person.”

“Uncle Tony!” Shania screamed with annoyance.

“Huh… It looks like the real thing.”

“Hey!”

When he saw Shania’s frown, Twain snickered. “This is to get you back for scaring me just now. You know I’m very petty.”

“Heh heh, Uncle Tony, you’re such a bad guy.”

Twain smiled. “All right, enough of this. Why are you here, and what’s going on with this cat?” He pointed to the kitten in Shania’s arms.

“I’ve decided to come back to England.” Shania replied as she played with the cat in her arms.

Twain did not understand. “What?”

“I have decided to settle in England.”

“Your career...” Twain understood her this time, but he still had a lot of questions.

“It doesn’t affect my job if I live in the UK. I always need to fly around anyway. Anyway, London is an important fashion capital.”

“In that case…” Twain wanted to ask Shania if she would live in London.

“But I don’t want to live in London. I don’t like big, noisy cities. I prefer smaller places. I don’t like Paris, Milan and Madrid. I bought a house in Nottingham’s Lace Market.” Shania casually stated her decision, and Twain shrugged. She was really a famous model that made a lot of money. That was where Nottingham had the most expensive houses. The houses were at least a million pounds, but she said it so casually.

“The Lace Market… That’s not too far from here.” Twain nodded. He thought it would be convenient for him to go to see the little girl.

Shania smiled when she saw Twain nod. “But I don’t want to live there.”

“Eh?”

“Or I should say I’ll just live there once in a while.” Shania put the cat on the floor, walked through the open door, and lay down on her bed and stretched her back. This movement exposed her small waist and belly button. “I will live here,” Shania said, as she sat back up and looked at Twain.

Twain was completely taken aback by this remark.

“I’ve decided to live here, Uncle Tony. That house is too big for me. I’m afraid to live alone.”

“This…” Twain did not know what to say. He waved his hand, opened his mouth and closed it again.

“What? Am I not welcome, Uncle Tony?” Shania asked with a grin.

“No, that’s not what I mean… I mean, uh, if you live with me, aren’t you afraid of the... the reporters?” Twain asked carefully.

“Is Uncle Tony afraid that those people will know I live with you? Don’t they all know about our relationship?”

What’s our relationship? Twain wanted to ask, but he held back.

“I live in my Uncle Tony’s house. What’s wrong with that?” Shania stood up and walked up to Twain. Their faces were close together.

Twain unconsciously leaned back. “Uh, no, no. Nothing’s wrong… What about your aunt in Newcastle?”

“I don’t want to live there, even though my family would love me to stay there. But I don’t like them. Besides, I have decided to live in Nottingham, and my parents agreed too. Do you want me to call them and ask them to tell you?” Shania pulled out her phone, and Twain hurriedly stopped her.

“No, there’s no need. I believe you…” He actually wanted it to be true. “Where’s your luggage?”

“I have already put it away.” Shania flashed the key in her hand. When she had first lived there, Twain had given her the keys to the house. Later when she was dragged away by her parents, she did not have time to return them. And much later, when the two met up again, Twain had forgotten about it.

“What’s going on with this cat?” Twain pointed to the kitten crouched between the two of them looking up curiously at both of them.

“I picked it up on the side of the road outside.” Shania crouched down to pick up the kitten. “It’s still young. Isn’t it cute?”

Twain did not like dogs and had little interest in keeping a pet, but since Shania liked it, he could not object. He nodded. “What’s its name?”

Shania turned and smiled. “I haven’t named it yet, but I’d like to call him Toto.”

Twain cleared his throat. “I think Jor is also a good name.”

“Toto!”

“Jor!”

“Toto!”

“Jor!”

“Toto!”

Twain raised his hand. “Are you being cheeky to your elders again?”

“Hmm, you’re only older than me by twenty-something years.” Shania was not afraid.

“Only?” Twain widened his eyes. Ah, age is his eternal agony. “If your father had married and had a baby early, or your mother had had a child out of wedlock, I could have been be your father!”

“Do you want me to call you daddy?” Shania’s retort almost made Twain choke.

“Ahem, this, this, we can forget about it...”

“So what if you’re older. We’ve known each other for so long. Do we have any barriers because of our age difference?”

Twain shook his head.

“That’s just it. There are a lot of young models in my world looking for white-haired old men to be husbands. Do people find it strange?”

Twain shook his head again.

Shania smiled and looked at Twain. “So, even if I suddenly fall in love with you one day, you shouldn’t be surprised, Uncle Tony.”

Twain admitted that his heart had stopped beating. He thought he was confused and heard wrong. He very much wanted to ask, “What did you say?” But eventually his lips only quivered a little and he did not ask the question.

To cover up the awkward moment, Twain chuckled. “You’re a real jokester, Shania… Have you had dinner yet?”

“It’s not time to eat yet, Uncle Tony.” Shania hugged the kitten, and the kitten nestled comfortably in her soft and warm— Twain stopped himself with a soft groan.

As Twain looked at it, he asked, “Is it a tomcat or a female cat?”

“Toto is a male cat.”

He grimaced.

Although this cat was forcibly named “Toto” in the end, Shania’s return was the most gratifying thing for Twain. He felt it was worth it even if he lost the argument over the cat’s name.

Watching Shania having fun with the cat, Twain gently called her. “Shania.”

“Yes?” Shania was busy playing with the kitten and did not look up.

“Umm… Welcome home.”

The cat tilted its head to look at its female owner, whose face was filled with a bright smile.

※※※

That was how Shania came to live at Twain’s house. Although she claimed she was not afraid of the media finding out that she lived here with ger Uncle Tony, no one wanted the house to be surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi all day long with their camera lenses aimed at the windows. Shania also did not want to her life to be disturbed.

“I can’t be here every day.” Shania laid on the couch, eating cake. She constantly exposed her calves, which were as fair as the cream on the cake.

“Of course, you still have to work...” Twain pointed to the door.

“No, I mean my time outside of work. I don’t want the press to know that I’m here.”

Twain smiled. “Are you afraid of the press finding out that you live with me?”

“Are you willing to let those paparazzi block the door all day long, aim their cameras at your windows and doors, keeping an eye on your every move, with even all your… sleeping postures captured in the papers for strangers to see?” Shania popped the last small piece of cake into her mouth.

Twain hurriedly waved his hands. “I’m not a flasher.”

Shania laughed happily when she saw Twain was flustered. “That’s right. I don’t want to disrupt your quiet life, Uncle Tony.” With that, she jumped off the couch and brushed away the cake crumbs on her hands.

“It’s time for me to go.”

“You’re not going to be here this evening?” Twain felt strange.

“Not today. I’m going to attend a dinner party this evening.” Shania gave Twain a charming smile, and picked up her tiny bag. “Bye, Uncle Tony.” She waved gently to Twain, turned around and opened the door to leave.

By the time Twain said goodbye, Shania had already closed the door and left.

He gave a whistle at the closed door.

Just after that whistle, the door was pushed open again. Twain thought Shania had changed her mind again and came back. He did not expect the person who came to be Dunn, who was holding a videotape.

He rolled his eyes.

“Shania was here?” Dunn asked, “I just saw her leave...”

Twain nodded, “She’s moving in with me.”

When he heard Twain, Dunn was shocked for a long time. He put the videotape on the table and mumbled, “It’s going to get busy…”

Twain nodded. “I think what you said makes a lot of sense.”

The two men glanced at each other.

Chapter 514 - Kill

Twain was woken up by someone, which was a treatment he had not enjoyed for a long time.

While he was having a sweet dream and nestled within a warm bad, his blanket was suddenly lifted up and someone shouted in his ear. “Get up!”

He blinked open sleepy eyes. When he hazily saw the person standing by the bed was Shania, he was suddenly wide awake. He only wore a pair of underwear while he slept.

“Hey!” He sat up and covered his body with the blanket.

Shania had a good laugh next to him. “Uncle Tony is still in good shape. Would you like me to introduce you to modeling?”

Twain glared at her, “Why are you here? You weren’t here last night.”

“I came here this morning to make breakfast for you. Get up!” Shania waved her hand, and Twain saw a wooden spatula in her hand.

“You know how to cook?” Twain honestly had never seen Shania in the kitchen. He was skeptical that this girl who lived in a wealthy household could do housework.

“You’ll find out when you try it.” The curtains were blown opened by a gust of wind, and the sun spilled on Shania’s face.

Twain became even more alarmed.

He reached for his trousers and muttered, “we’d better head out to eat...” When he looked up to see that Shania had no intention of leaving, he pointed to his pants in his hands and asked, “do you intend to watch me get dressed?”

Shania pouted and ran out.

Twain jumped out of bed. Wearing only a pair of underwear, he stood by the window and gazed at the sunny morning outside. He thought everything was wonderful.

Shania had inexplicably become his tenant again and lived with him under one roof. Most of the time, there were only the two of them in the house.

He shook his head with a wry smile and began to get dressed.

After he washed up in the upstairs bathroom, Twain went downstairs and saw that two table settings had been placed on the table in the dining room, along with plates of bacon and fried eggs, glasses of juice, and an apple.

It looked presentable.

But!

Just like a mushroom, the brighter its appearance, the greater its toxicity.

Shania had sat opposite him and looked at him with a grin.

He really wanted to propose that they could just head out for breakfast together and do some shopping. All girls like to shop, right? But seeing the smile on Shania’s face, he swallowed his words.

Twain still hesitated. Shania leaned over to cut the bacon for him and smear some peanut butter on it. She pushed it back towards him with a smile. “Try it, Uncle Twain!”

“Uh, Shania… Actually, you can wait for Uncle Tony to make breakfast for you. You don’t have to go through all that trouble… to make breakfast for me... ” Twain made his final attempt.

“It’s not the same. I’d like to personally make breakfast for Uncle Tony.” Shania propped her chin up with her hands, tilted her head, and looked at Twain.

Twain sighed, speared a piece of bacon with his fork, and put it into his mouth. It just tastes a little awful, that’s all! I just have to try!

He misjudged. It was not a little unpalatable, it tasted terrible. He could clearly tell the kind of home environment that Shania grew up in. She had never touched these kind of household chores.

His first impulse was to spit out what was formerly known as “food,” but when he looked up to see Shania’s look of anticipation and heard her eagerly ask “How is it? Is it okay?”, he changed his mind.

He did not dare to continue to chew and swallowed it with much difficulty. Then Twain said to Shania with a smiling face. “Not bad!”

He forced himself to eat the breakfast and not leave a scrap behind.

It was the first day after the league tournament and the team was on a break. Twain was able to have a good night’s sleep but did not expect to have to eat such a meal. Watching Shania’s back as she hummed a song and put away the tableware, Twain suffered in silence.

While they cleaned up after breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Twain was going to open the door himself, but Shania had already skipped over. Dunn, who stood outside, looked a little surprised to see Shania.

“Good morning, Dunn!” Shania, who was in a good mood, greeted him enthusiastically.

“Ah, good morning, Shania.” Dunn entered and saw Twain, standing in the living room, smiling bitterly at him.

He understood it well.

“I’ve tidied up the video of yesterday’s game against Wigan Athletic.” He held up the videotape in his hand.

“Put it on the table.” It was clear that they could not study the game video.

After Dunn put the tape down, he turned to leaved. Even though Twain was keen to keep him, he was adamant. “It just occurred to me that I have something else to do, so I have to go. Goodbye, Shania.”

Shania waved. “Bye, Dunn.”

After the door was closed behind Dunn, only Twain and Shania were left in the house.

They suddenly quieted down, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.

Twain picked up the tape on the table and fiddled with it. He wondered what to say and do next.

“Uh, Shania, is there anywhere fun you want to go?”

“What’s fun to do in Nottingham?”

“There are the castles, the place where Robin Hood once fought...”

“It doesn’t sound interesting.” Shania pouted.

“Uh.” Twain knew that these things were not that interesting. He and Shania were not the kind of people who liked to travel around and see the sights.

“I don’t want to go anywhere.” Shania shook her head. “I’m not here to tour Nottingham. I’m here to see Uncle Tony. We don’t need to go anywhere.”

Twain was stunned by Shania’s remark.

When someone traveled to an unfamiliar city to visit their old friend whom they had not been seen in many years, the old friend would warmly arrange an itinerary for the guest, such as visiting a certain scenic spot one day, a certain landscape the next and a certain shopping street the day after… But the visitor just shook her head and said, “I came to see you, not to see the sights.”

As he thought of this, Twain smiled. “Oh, my life is very boring...”

“I don’t care.” Shania sat down on the couch, “You can do whatever you want, don’t mind me. I’ll be fine here.” With that, Shania opened a magazine and flipped through it.

Twain looked at the young girl and said nothing.

He knew that there would be more of these days in the future. It was clear that this would be Shania’s long-term base of residence.

All right, all right, just let her be as long as she pleases.

※※※

Twain was still somewhat worried about letting Shania live in his home. Although there were no reporters lying in ambush around his house, who could guarantee that a reporter passing by would not see the world-famous model going in and out of the Nottingham Forest manager’s house?

The good thing was everything was peaceful these days. Shania also made good preparations and did not let the media discover any faults.

Only Dunn looked at Twain with a strange expression in his eyes. Twain couldn’t care less what Dunn thought — It would not be a good thing anyway.

Other than the pretty tenant at home, Twain’s life and work were normal. He led his team in training, prepared for games, and dealt with the media on occasion. Of course now, in the face of the media, he was a little nervous, for fear that the omnipotent paparazzi would suddenly ask him questions about Shania’s appearance in his house.

In fact, Twain was overly concerned.

Shania was usually very busy with work. She did not spend much time in Nottingham during a week, much less at Twain’s house. Most of the time she needed to be in London, Paris, Milan or Madrid. She even worked in the United States.

If she was not in Nottingham, then Twain would receive daily text messages from Shania. Whenever she landed somewhere, she would take a lot of pictures of where she was and send them to Twain.

Thanks to modern technology and methods of communication, even two people thousands of miles apart could still chat face-to-face.

Obviously, these were the small adjustments in life. Work was still most important. Shania was hard at work, and so was Twain.

After the away win over Barcelona and the 2:2 away draw with Wigan Athletic in the 28th round of the league tournament, the Forest team had another away victory over Newcastle United on March 3rd.

A draw and a win were considered good results.

Next was another Champions League round of 16 match. This time it was on Nottingham Forest’s home ground and their opponent was Barcelona.

Having won two away goals and beaten Barcelona at Camp Nou, Nottingham Forest’s morale was strong. Barcelona’s trip to England boded ill.

※※※

Before the game, there was a brief press conference attended by both managers, which was to announce the preparations both teams had done for this game. The media had already plugged the results of the last game, so there was nothing interesting. The real show would be after the game.

During the interview, Twain spoke highly of Barcelona and acknowledged that they were superb and played gorgeously. He stated that they were representative of the art of football in today’s football world, as was tradition at Barcelona. He paid tribute to the Barcelona club, which had always adhered to this tradition. Because in increasingly utilitarian professional football, it was not easy to stick to the art of football. The price was likely to be a few years without a championship title in a row.

These words surprised both the media and Rijkaard.

Was Tony Twain abducted by aliens? How did he suddenly change?

Rijkaard deeply considered this issue. He suspected that this was Twain throwing a smoke bomb. He deliberately praised his opponent to make the opponent relax their guard. He knew Twain was a very cunning man. The more he praised the team, the more cautious he had to be.

Just as Rijkaard decided to be wary of Twain, Twain finished praising Barcelona. He said to the media, “You see, Barcelona is so great, like the aristocrats who have inherited their titles for generations, looking grand and gorgeous, talking about art and literature every day. They are well-dressed and have countless honors that are unimaginable to other people. Is there any objection to my analogy?”

Nobody shook their head and nobody questioned it. Twain’s analogy was quite suitable, and compared to most “civilian” teams, Barcelona was “noble.”

Twain was glad at everyone’s response. He turned his head and looked at Rijkaard, who was still confused, and smiled. “And our Nottingham Forest… compared to Barcelona, is much scruffier. We’re not some kind of aristocrat, we’re just a bunch of Robin Hoods.”

As soon as he said this, the reporters who were quick on the uptake laughed at once. At first, everyone wondered why Twain would deliberately compliment Barcelona. Was it to deliberately show weakness to make the other party relax its vigilance? Now the answer was revealed.

What did Robin Hood do? He was dedicated to stealing from the aristocrats.

Twain was not showing weakness. This was clearly a provocation and a threat.

Rijkaard was not an idiot. He was aware of Robin Hood. Most of the reporters at the press conference were tickled by Twain’s remarks, even if those who did not react at first, also laughed after they listened to the explanation. The Dutchman felt humiliated.

After the disruption from Twain, there was nothing else to do at the press conference. Rijkaard and Twain parted in discord. They would settle the feud on the field.

Twain was not going to let him get what he wanted.

Advancing to the Champions League final this season was his minimum requirement and he would not allow Barcelona to become his stumbling block.

If they are a stumbling block, then I’ll kick them off!

※※※

The next day at the City Ground, the stadium sat the highest number of spectators since it had been remodeled after the 1996 UEFA European Championship. The stadium, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, was full. There were still countless fans lingering outside in the square. They did not want to leave, hoping to wait until there was a cancelled ticket.

When Platini drew this opponent, the Forest fans collectively looked forward to the match. They wanted to give Barcelona one of the grandest “welcomes” at home. They wanted to make the Barcelona players remember the atmosphere of this game for years to come.

Fat John stood in the front row of the grandstand and turned around to holler at the?diehard fans — it actually sounded more like howling — and yelled, “guys, this is our chance! Two weeks ago, these Barcelona scumbags pressed on us on their turf because they had more people. It is time for our revenge! We’ll show them the tradition of our English fans! Let these people see who the real fans are!”

“Sing louder, don’t stop!”

“Shout our chant, don’t let the voices of those Barcelona people drown us!”

The atmosphere at the scene was brought up by the fans in the stands and it became louder and more widespread. From one stand to the entire stadium, all the Nottingham Forest people sang loudly and shouted their chant. The game had not yet begun, and they had already made the Barcelona players fully feel the away game.

They could not hear the cries from their own fans or see them. There was only a sea of red as far as the eye could see, like a bloody sea with furious waves slamming against the railings on the stands. It appeared as if they would break through the obstruction and come pouring down to turn the green field into a red ocean.

Camp Nou was a supersized stadium that could accommodate up to 90,000 people. With 90,000 people shouting in unison, the momentum was admittedly powerful. But the smaller City Ground stadium had its advantages. The narrow space shortened the distance between the players and the fans. Their every abuse and song sounded as if they were in their ears. It not only hit these people’s ears, but also struck their hearts.

They also needed to shout even if they were talking face to face, otherwise they could hear clearly at all. They had never seen this situation even at the home of their nemesis, Real Madrid.

It was said that the atmosphere in a stadium with the English fans was feverish and indeed it was worthy of its reputation...

However, now was not the time to exclaim about this.

Twain stood on the sidelines and was pleased with the home atmosphere. It was said that the fans were the 12th player on the field and the fans who gave this performance truly deserved it. He was grateful that God had given himself such a group of loyal fans that would give him a nudge at such a critical moment.

He suddenly felt like he was a general, commanding a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, destroying a powerful enemy and capturing territory. The men gathered with a wave of his hands.

—Your Majesty, kill, don’t kill!

—Your Majesty, kill, don’t kill! Kill, don’t kill!

—Kill, don’t kill! Kill, don’t kill!! Kill, don’t kill!!!

Twain reached out his right hand and yanked.

“Kill!”

Chapter 515 - Thirty-Two Seconds of Heaven and Hell

This situation in this game was very simple for Rijkaard or Tony Twain.

Without too many calculated and ever-changing complicated tactics, the situation was clear — Barcelona needed to attack and score in the away game and they had to make sure they won the game. Only then could they qualify to advance.

By all accounts, if Nottingham Forest lost to Barcelona 0:1, they would also be guaranteed access to the top eight, but this clearly would not sit well Twain’s character. A team with this kind of mentality would surely perish in the end. He used to be a Chinese football fan. That kind of thing had happened so many times to the China football team that it had become a cliché. Therefore, Nottingham Forest’s mission was simple: win the game at all costs and advance to the top eight.

This was Barcelona’s away game and Rijkaard did not choose to use defensive counterattack. He knew that Twain would play conservatively at his own home ground and use the defensive counterattack which he was best at, to deal with him. They would lure Barcelona out for the offense and then wait for a sneak attack. The problem was clear, but what could the solution be? The option to choose was out of his hands. The home defeat in the first leg had pushed him to the brink. Damned if they attacked and damned if they did not.

Amid the endless boos and abuse in the City Ground stadium, Barcelona tragically launched a frenetic attack on the Forest team’s goal.

Nottingham Forest had the upper hand. Twain kept the team firmly in defense and then took the opportunity to fight back. Over the years, no matter what, he had not given up on establishing the requirement of “defense first” for the team. This instilled requirement had saved his team and him in many critical moments.

He used to like to watch offensive football, with the teams attacking each other and explosive matches, but that was because he was a fan. Now that he was the manager, he needed to take responsibility for his team and for the fans who supported him. He did not have Professor Wenger’s talent to let the footballers play beautiful partnerships and still be able to win. Therefore, he chose the most utilitarian way to win. He did not care what kind of blackened name he had to bear. He had never been the type that cared what other people said.

The defensive counterattack, stabilization of the defense first and defense were the basis of offense, like laying a foundation to build a house. Without defense, there could be no offense. The logic was actually very simple. Why were there so many people in the world who could not understand it? It was understandable that the fans did not comprehend it. But surely, a manager would understand, wouldn’t he?

After Barcelona’s re-emergence due to their offense over the past few years, Rijkaard seemed to forget about defense. Most of the time, there was not a defensive player in Barcelona’s midfield. When they competed, their tactics always relied on their own strong offense to score a few goals and make their opponents quickly lose their fighting spirit. Then the game would fall into their orbit.

Their powerful offense and gorgeous star player lineup could make most teams lose their fighting spirit when they went up against them. However, once Rijkaard’s strategy became familiar and was studied by a growing number of rivals, he found it harder to play as the season progressed. Why was that? Because his tactics lacked change. Once the opponent studied them through, Barcelona would face great danger. Everyone realized that Barcelona was not the incarnation of the invincible battle god. Even though they had many star players, it did not guarantee they would always emerge victorious. They also had their weaknesses that could not be overcome. What was even more lethal was that their defense was not much better than Real Madrid’s. As long as their tactics were on the right track, they could beat Barcelona.

After La Liga had entered the second half of this season’s tournament, Barcelona faced growing resistance, and their previously time-tested offensive tactics had become increasingly useless in the face of their old rivals. However, Rijkaard was unaware of the crisis was slowly approaching him and his team. He believed that Barcelona was currently progressing at a high speed on the right track. He was the only one. The Barcelona players, fans, and out-of-touch directors thought so, too.

The saying “life springs from sorrow and calamity; death comes from ease and pleasure” was a perfect match for the future Barcelona. No — the saying applied to all successful teams in the world.

Twain did not have to worry about this as the Forest team was still not in what was considered an “easy” environment.

As mentioned earlier, Barcelona’s biggest weakness was defense, and Twain intended to make the most of that during this game.

Nottingham Forest’s most powerful ability was defense. Their kind of defense did not depend on one player or a defensive line made up of four defenders. The Forest team’s defense was the entire team. On the contrary, Barcelona’s defense comprised only of four defenders and one goalkeeper. The others were not responsible for any defensive tasks.

Currently on their home ground, Twain’s strategy was to get the team to compact the defense and lure the Barcelona attacking players out, and then take the opportunity to counterattack, which was to pinpoint against Barcelona’s weak defense. Thuram was already old. Even though Zambrotta was an all-rounder, he had not adapted to Barcelona and Spanish football since he went to Barcelona. Valdés’ performance had many ups and downs. Sometimes his inexplicably low-level mistakes would ruin the team’s ninety minutes of effort. Puyol, the only player on the defensive line who could undertake the task, was helplessly alone and found it difficult to achieve anything without support.

Twain took aim at that, and the frontline deployed Anelka, a striker who played rapid counterattacks and worked as van Nistelrooy’s partner. He hoped to use his speed and skills to deal a fatal blow to Barcelona.

For the game, van der Vaart replaced Arteta in the starting lineup. Twain needed his long shots and organizational ability on the offense. Franck Ribéry was still on the left flank while Aaron Lennon replaced Ashley Young on the right flank.

For the defense, the left-back, Gareth Bale, was replaced by Leighton Baines who was better at defense. The players remained the same for the rest of the positions.

Barcelona repeatedly launched fierce offensives against the Forest team’s ground, but Nottingham Forest held fast with the support from its overall defensive tactics.

Barcelona dominated the game most of the time, but it was all bark and no bite. They only had a handful of shots that threatened the goal. Although the Forest team was shown to be at a disadvantage in all the technical statistics except for fouls, a few of their counterattacks were quite threatening, and they made the Barcelona people break out in a cold sweat each time.

Rijkaard certainly knew that it was dangerous for his goal area to be struck like that. But what could he do? Learn to be solid in defense like the Forest team and then strike when the opportunity arose? In that case, Tony Twain would be happy because he could hold the game up with no worries and waste game time. A draw would be considered a failure for Barcelona.

Rijkaard did not have the upper hand. He had no alternative but to attack desperately in hope of scoring a goal soon and breaking the deadlock. Our defense is terrible? Well, if we concede a few goals, the frontline will just score more goals to beat that number!

※※※

Before coming to Nottingham, Rijkaard and the entire Barcelona team did a careful study on how to deal with George Wood’s defense. They envisioned several plans of action in response to someone being completely frozen by George Wood.

But this time, Twain did not ask George Wood to specifically mark a certain player. His mission was… freedom in his movements.

He could go wherever he was needed, and he would provide support wherever the situation was dangerous.

Wood’s stamina was good, and he could run quickly. He could run back and forth in the backfield, and there was no worry that he would suffer physically and collapse because of muscle cramps.

Rijkaard originally wanted the trio of strikers to get rid of George Wood with frequent changes of positions, but he did not expect Twain to let Wood play defense in the backfield with no fixed position, rendering Rijkaard’s strategy completely ineffective.

Barcelona was up against an immovable defense, which would not change due to their frequent switch in positions. The defensive power they faced on the flanks and in the middle were the same, which was frustrating.

To put it bluntly, the purpose of offense was to use one’s positional play to find the holes in the opponent’s defense, and then to take advantage of these holes to create an opportunity for an attack. The current situation was that no matter how Barcelona passed, cut, or positioned, the Forest team’s defense stood as if it were a mountain and could not be moved.

The first half came to an end. The 0:0 score did not satisfy the neutral fans, but it made the Forest fans happy.

During the halftime interval, Twain gave high praise to the team’s defense, but he also asked the team’s offense to be stronger and to not let a single chance for a counterattack to slip. As long as they had another chance, they could eliminate Barcelona!

Meanwhile over on Barcelona’s side, Rijkaard was not satisfied with the team’s offense. There had been many chances within the last forty-five minutes, but they did not score, which was letting down the name of Barcelona. They had to step up their offense in the second half and not slack off on their offense. The reason Forest had not scored until now was because Barcelona’s offense had put a lot of pressure on them and prevented them from taking care of their offense. Once Barcelona could no longer sustain that kind of pressure on its offense, the Forest team would have a chance.

Anyway, it was impossible for Barcelona to stop now.

After the start of the second half, the Forest team still held fast to their ground to challenge Barcelona. Barcelona also did not change its intent to attack.

As time went on, Rijkaard rose from his seat and walked to the sidelines. The players could hardly hear his shouts in the noisy stadium. He tried to remind the players to keep pressing. As a result, he was immediately inundated with boos. He could not even hear himself, let alone the players. He could only wave the players over and brief them close to the technical area whenever there was a dead ball.

※※※

If Barcelona’s bombardment and Forest’s tight defense could be counted as a sort of balance, then in the 68th minute of the game, the balance was finally broken.

Barcelona organized an effective attack, which, through a series of passes, finally ripped the Forest team’s impenetrable defensive line open and exposed a gaping hole.

Ronaldinho once again created a diversion, pretending to break through, but unexpectedly passed the ball through that crack. Eto’o moved quickly and received the ball behind the Forest team’s defensive line. The Forest players thought Eto’o was offside, but the assistant referee did not raise the flag.

“How can that not be an offside, you bastard!” Twain bristled and jumped off the field.

George Wood chased him with all his might, trying to stop this goal.

He was still too late in the end. Eto’o kicked his foot to shoot before Wood could intercept the ball.

At that moment, Twain’s heart almost stopped beating. He was not the only one. The boos in the City Ground stadium seemed to stop as everyone held their breath and stared at the football flying through the air.

Even the Barcelona fans, whether at the stadium or in Barcelona, were afraid to take their eyes off the ball.

The football flew from Eto’o’s foot and evaded George Wood’s feet which came to tackle and tore past van der Sar’s incoming hands to fly straight into the goal behind him.

Was it going to score?

There was a crash and the football hit the goal beam, only to smash towards the ground, bounce up again, and fly back out. Edwin van der Sar’s reacted quickly the second time. He jumped up and plucked the football from the air.

Did the ball go in or not?

The Barcelona players jumped with their arms raised high at the first instance to celebrate the goal. Even Eto’o ran to the corner flag with open arms, Ronaldinho, Messi and the others close behind.

The Catalan commentators also did not wait to roar “GOOOOOOOOOOAL—!”

The televised broadcast also showed captions that Barcelona was at 1:0 against Nottingham Forest. It looked like this ball went in.

But… but!

The ecstatic expression on Eto’o’s face suddenly froze on the television camera. He pushed Ronaldinho aside and looked at the assistant referee standing next to them in puzzlement.

After the goal, the assistant referee was supposed to run to the center line, while the referee would whistle and point to the center circle to show that the goal was valid.

However, this time, the assistant referee did not run. What about the referee? The Barcelona people turned their heads to look at the referee, only to see a heart-stopping scene—

The Nottingham Forest players had already taken the football to the center circle and were clearly playing their customary quick counterattack…

The referee did not stop this act, but ran along with it. What did this mean? It meant that the Forest team did not foul, and Barcelona did not score a goal!

Puyol had wanted to run up to celebrate, but halfway through, he saw Edwin van der Sar throw the football forward and van der Vaart launch a quick counterattack immediately after he received the ball.

The Barcelona captain ran halfway before he hurriedly withdrew and shouted at his teammates to return to defend. Unfortunately, the field was so noisy that his teammates, far away in front of the corner flag, could not hear it at all.

The more responsive Barcelona players began to turn away from the confused Eto’o to return to defend.

Van der Vaart knew he was slow at dribbling and it was bad for times like this, so instead of dribbling more than necessary, he passed the football to Anelka, who could run faster.

“Ah… This is a surprising turn of events. Eto’o’s shot did not result in a goal. Instead, it gave Nottingham Forest a chance to fight back! Because the football wasn’t out of bounds, it is not a dead ball. Barcelona is in big trouble!”

The commentator was right about that Barcelona was now in big trouble.

Because they had been busy celebrating the goal, most of the Barcelona players were not in their positions. The Forest team’s counterattack was also very swift. They completely did not give Barcelona the opportunity to regroup for their attack. With two or three passes, the ball reached Anelka’s feet. Once the French striker got the ball, he immediately sped up and dashed towards Barcelona’s goal.

After he forced a breakthrough by speeding by Puyol, Anelka was in the penalty area. Valdés could only abandon the goal area to strike, which eased the way for what happened next.

Anelka made to look like he was going to pass the ball in order to fool Valdés into leaving the goal. Once he opened up the angle, he did not hesitate to shoot, and the football unsurprisingly flew into the net.

The City Ground stadium finally stopped booing and cheered instead.

This time, the whistle finally rang as the referee confirmed that the goal was valid.

From the moment the Barcelona players thought they had scored to the moment Nottingham Forest really scored a goal, only thirty-two seconds had passed. Everything happened too fast. Many people had not fully reacted yet.

Rijkaard, who had wanted to jump with open arms to celebrate the goal, now looked on disbelievingly at everything that happened on the field with his head in his hands.

Twain would have been upset, but he was now jumping up and down, cheering endlessly.

The “before and after” in the two managers was a clear illustration of the two team’s situations.

“This… is so dramatic. Who would have thought that Barcelona would be so happy with the goal that no one even confirmed if the ball had gone in. Nottingham Forest was also really cunning and did not give Barcelona any chances. Their quick counterattack was so well-played that everyone was left speechless.”

The people of Barcelona snapped back to attention and surrounded the referee to protest. They were convinced that Eto’o’s shot must have been a goal.

In that case, did it really go in? Thanks to modern technology, the audience could watch the replay clearly.

The slow motion of Eto’o’s kick began to play repeatedly on the television screen: The football hit the crossbar and rebounded. The next scene was the key: was the football inside the goal line when it landed?

The slow-motion scene played over and over again, from many different angles, so that everyone could see more clearly. This was not the unresolved case in the 1966 World Cup final; the slow-motion frames were clear. The football landed outside the goal line, so it was not a goal.

No matter how unwilling they were, Barcelona could only accept the result. They were deceived by their own ideas, and they suffered a big loss.

“It only took thirty-two seconds for Barcelona to go from heaven to hell. Judging from the lost look in their eyes, this huge drop was really unacceptable.”

The blow from this goal was not as simple as being behind by a point. They had thought they were in the lead and, instead, it became their opponent taking the lead in a flash. They could have equalized the total score and now they were two goals behind. In order to reverse the game, they had to score at least two goals to equalize the total score so that both teams had the same number of goals going into overtime.

However, with the Barcelona players in their current state of mind, could they really achieve that?

As for Nottingham Forest, Twain “graciously accepted” the advantage that the Forest team had gotten without ceremony. After taking the lead, the Forest team’s tactics remained the same. They still adhered to playing defensive counterattack. The trailing Barcelona’s attack would naturally become more frenetic, and the Forest team’s defensive counterattack could be employed more easily.

※※※

The rest of the game continued as such. Overly eager to equalize the score, the Barcelona offense became unruly. The star players all intended to rely on their personal skills to save the losing battle. As a result nothing was gained except time wasted.

On the contrary, the Forest team’s counterattack was sharp, which kept Valdés busy.

In the 85th minute, the Forest team once again scored a goal via van Nistelrooy through a quick counterattack into Barcelona’s goal, which declared the end of the game.

“The game’s over! After one hundred and eighty minutes of heavy fighting in two games, Barcelona, the winner of the last season’s Champions League, was defeated by the last runner-up, Nottingham Forest. To be honest, the result was not at all surprising after watching the first game. Only the first goal of this game came in a dramatic fashion.”

“Tony Twain completed his vengeance, and Nottingham Forest not only eliminated Barcelona, but also dominated in both games!”

On the television camera, Twain was seen standing on the sidelines, holding up his arms to wave to the Forest fans in the stands, thanking them for their support. A bright smile bloomed on his face like a flower in the sun, and this time he did not rush to shake hands with Rijkaard first. Compared to shaking hands to show respect to his opponent, Twain felt it was more important to thank his supporters.

George Wood walked over and saw Twain, who was thanking the fans. He had intended to directly walk past to go back to the locker room, only to be stopped by Twain who said, “George, how did you feel about the final?”

“Unfortunately, there’s no trophy to be won,” Wood said.

Twain chuckled happily, “We’ll soon have that.” He extended his hands and counted. “There will be two games for the top eight to become top four and another two game for the top four to become the final two. And then, the final. With five more games to play, you will be able to pick up the trophy with your own hands.”

Wood looked at Twain’s outstretched five fingers and said nothing. He just turned to walk into the tunnel. Twain raised his hands to continue to thank the fans who called out the name of Nottingham Forest in the stands.

He clenched his fists and pumped them hard in front of the fans.

Those fans who were unwilling to leave the stadium shouted along with Twain’s gesture.

Looking at the fans’ faces contorted with excitement, Twain smiled contentedly.

Chapter 516 - Almost

As the winner, Twain received more attention than usual at the post-match press conference, while Rijkaard sat next to him and watched expressionlessly as he answered the reporters’ ceaseless questions.

He used to be familiar with the setting, but the person who answered the reporters’ question non-stop was usually Rijkaard himself, while the man sitting next to him in silence was Tony Twain.

That was after last season’s Champions League final.

At that time, Twain had just given away the silver medal. Everyone thought that with his character, he would not attend the final press conference, which had almost been the case. When the press conference began, only Rijkaard was there to answer questions, and Tony Twain’s seat was empty. Halfway through the press conference, however, Twain suddenly entered the venue and sat in his seat with a dark face as he watched the beaming Rijkaard answer questions.

Rijkaard thinking of Twain as ungracious was due to the end of that press conference. Shouldn’t the loser congratulate the winner? Even if it was insincere, someone’s behavior also reflected on their personality and would win everyone’s favorable impression.

Twain had no such intention. He bluntly stated that the championship title should have been given to the team with the best performance, and the best performing team was Nottingham Forest. He also added, “I’m sorry that Barcelona could only beat a Nottingham Forest team of ten players.”

This remark maddened Rijkaard, who still brooded over it to this day. That was why he had been unhappy with Tony Twain. Rijkaard did not like to be confrontational with people and was a very low-key person. If Twain had not repeatedly insulted his team, why would he be bothered?

Unexpectedly, he and Twain actually swapped places in less than a year. Twain became the victor, and he became the reluctant loser.

He suddenly understood Twain’s mood — at the moment, he very much wanted to get away.

Regrettably, he was not Twain and could display that sort of “graceless” behavior.

Since he was unable to do it, he could only continue to be here to accept this disguised form of insult.

Twain certainly knew what it felt like to be a loser. While he enjoyed being in the media’s limelight, he was also laughing internally. “Every dog has its day, Mr. Rijkaard.”

Barcelona may have considered losing this game a disaster, but in the long run, it might be a good thing.

Real Madrid had a few lean and painful years. The current season, they had brought in the top-notch manager, Fabio Capello, and Real Madrid’s revival was around the corner. Barcelona was currently experiencing the pain that Real Madrid had had. The “dynasty of the second Dream Team” was a deformed product. With only a Champions League title and two leagues titles under its belt, how could it be labelled a “dynasty”?

Twain did not see it that way. If a team really wanted to build a dynasty, that was not enough.

If the loss of today’s game could calm Barcelona’s upper levels down and make them rethink the road ahead, then the failure would become a valuable asset. On the other hand, if the people at Barcelona could not see that and just focused on the outcome of the game, then they would suffer a lot of pain in the future.

It was up to Rijkaard and Laporta on whether or not they could realize that they were walking on the same old path as Real Madrid’s “Galácticos.” As for the outcome of that situation, even though Twain had joined the football world before it, he could picture it perfectly in his mind.

Sometimes he thought it was rather strange. Real Madrid’s lessons were right in front of them to be learned. Were Barcelona’s top people fools? They could not see it and were still doing their utmost to go down that path. Or was the lure of commercial interests so powerful that they would pursue it at all costs?

His defeat of Real Madrid at the Bernabéu stadium disheartened Florentino so much that it directly led to his resignation. The “era of the Galácticos” in Real Madrid came to an end. Could this time end Barcelona’s illusory “dynasty of the second Dream Team?”

He looked forward to it.

Finally, a reporter threw a question at Rijkaard, who had nothing to say about their elimination from the Champions League. It was a fact that they lost to Nottingham Forest. What made it worse for him was being destroyed in both home and away games. He very much wanted to be like Twain now and stubbornly refused to concede defeat.

But if he had really done so, wouldn’t he be very ungracious?

All the microphones were placed next to his lips, and everyone’s eyes were on him. Even Tony Twain gave him a sideways glance. He had to say something.

Rijkaard cleared his throat and slowly approached the microphones.

He intended to act more graciously. But when he was about to speak, he heard Twain’s laughter coming from the side. There was a sudden swoosh of anger in his heart.

I lost to you, but it doesn’t mean I have to accept your insults!

“We’ve lost, and there’s nothing more to say. No one is willing to be eliminated. Also, I’m looking forward to next season’s Champions League. I really want Barcelona to be picked with Nottingham Forest again.”

With that, he got up and left. This was the first time he’d ever left a press conference early as a manager.

Twain looked at Rijkaard’s unbending back, shrugged his shoulders, and whistled.

While Rijkaard had not yet left, he said to the astonished media, “look, when it was eleven players against eleven players, Barcelona couldn’t beat Nottingham Forest. I’m not talking big.”

Rijkaard, who was just about to walk out the door, suddenly paused for a moment, and then quickly continued walking.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, I don’t want to do a one-man show.” Twain also stood up, “Goodbye.” He gave a wave and followed behind Rijkaard.

※※※

A few days later, various media reports were still making a fuss about this game.

Twain’s few remarks were quoted prominently. His feud with Rijkaard looked more irreconcilable with the media adding fuel to the fire.

He did not know if it would be possible for them to sit together for a drink when they all retired from their coaching positions one day and said goodbye to the world of football altogether.

He did not hate Rijkaard at all, but they were currently serving for their own respective teams. They would naturally consider things from whichever position they sat in. When he had been a fan, he did not even dare imagine he would be the arch rival with one of the Netherlands Three Musketeers.

Mourinho, Benítez, Ferguson, Wenger, Capello... These people, whom he liked or respected in the first place, had become rivals and enemies. This was truly a wonderful world.

Therefore, Rijkaard was not the first enemy of his coaching career and would not be the last.

With his obnoxious character, it would be surprising if he did not have enemies.

The only thing that pleased the Barcelona people was that on that night after the game, their nemesis, Real Madrid, was also tragically eliminated. This news slightly settled the hearts of the Barcelona people.

However, they did not know that this was the beginning of Barcelona’s nightmare...

※※※

The Forest team scoring a major victory did not mean that they could breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate. Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team would have more opponents to face.

Just after the Champions League game against Barcelona, Tony Twain would lead the team to London and their opponent was not just any team. It was one of Twain’s other enemy—Mourinho-led Chelsea.

Mourinho had been frustrated this season. He wanted to lead the team to defend their league title for the third year in a row but had been strongly crushed by the resurgent Manchester United. They had been suppressed to the second place on the league table. Nottingham Forest had been lying in wait behind them like a tiger watching its prey.?Mourinho certainly would not think that Twain would kindly let him take a breather. If his team was not careful, the others could catch up with them and swallow them, bones and all.

Professional football was brutal. No matter how famous someone was as a manager, once the team’s results were dissatisfactory, they would soon be forgotten.

As the end of the season approached, everyone had to start to power up, whether it was to maintain their position in the league or to compete for the title. Twain was well aware the road ahead was perilous, so he made full preparations in Nottingham.

Every time he went to Stamford Bridge, he and his team faced a flood of deafening boos. He had just let Rijkaard and his team taste this and now it was their turn to taste it.

The tactics that Twain had developed for the team were simple — defend to the end. They had to defend continuously in the away game. If they could hold fast to one point, everything would be okay. He did not demand three points, because as a visiting player, one point was a victory to him. With eight rounds left in the league, Chelsea had six fewer points than Manchester United. They could only keep the pressure on Manchester United and still hope to turn the tables at the last minute by taking down Nottingham Forest.

If Mourinho could not get three points, what kind of state would he be in?

Would he fly into a fury? Would he turn and leave abruptly with a dark face?

Twain looked forward to playing against Chelsea and was particularly looking forward to seeing his “old friend,” Mourinho.

※※※

Stamford Bridge was full, which was the case every time Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played. Due to the feud between the two managers, both teams attracted a lot of media and fan attention.

They wanted to see the two managers oppose each other measure for measure on the field, on the sidelines, and during and after the game. After Ferguson and Wenger, the media were delighted that such a pairing had emerged from the English Premier League again, since they had been worried that when Ferguson retired, there would be no gossip or interesting topics to report about.

Before the game, a reporter unkindly brought up the record that embarrassed Mourinho — the losing record he had maintained against Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest while he helmed Chelsea.

It made Mourinho furious. His face immediately darkened, and he attempted to refuse to answer the question.

The media watched his unhappiness with delight. But if he did not answer the question, the media would also not get any valuable information, so they tried every means in hopes that he would answer it.

Eventually, he was forced into a corner, and Mourinho gloomily said, “I never pay any mind to those records. Arsenal had set a record of forty-nine consecutive unbeaten games. Did they finally win that season’s trophy? I do not deny that my team has not beaten his team. But you also cannot deny that the past two seasons’ league titles belonged to my team and not Nottingham Forest. Of course, you can turn this question around and ask Tony Twain. You can ask him why his team can stay unbeaten against Chelsea and not even win one championship title?”

These remarks were so lethal because he had cleverly turned the reporters’ attention in a different direction.

What was more important: to maintain an unbeaten record or win a championship title? Any fool knew.

As a Nottingham Forest fan and a reporter from Nottingham, Pierce Brosnan felt the need to take the man down a notch, so he stepped forward and said, “but Mr. Mourinho, you can’t deny that Tony Twain has done well these two seasons as a newly promoted team and a team manager who had been underestimated before...”

Mourinho interrupted him and nodded. “That’s right. He almost won the league title, almost won the Championship League. Unfortunately, in my football credo, ‘almost’ is the same as failure.”

His remark left Pierce Brosnan speechless. A championship title was the only measure of success in professional football, and since the Forest team had not won a championship title, they had to admit that they were inferior to Chelsea.

Brosnan was not someone who was eloquent enough to debate with others, so he grudgingly accepted his defeat.

It was not the end of the matter. Mourinho had left the interview area after that, but a few minutes later, Twain got off the bus.

Someone relayed Mourinho’s remarks to Twain in the hope of seeing Twain’s reaction.

Twain listened very carefully to the reporter’s recap and nodded with a laugh instead. “Mourinho’s wording is very interesting. Almost won the league title, almost won the Championship League. This is a good wording for the loser to conceal his failure. I am delighted to play against Chelsea because we will be fortunate to have Mr. Mourinho have a taste of ‘almost’ winning the league title at the end of the season.”

With that, he smiled and waved goodbye to the other reporters and quickly entered the visitors’ locker room.

Brosnan looked at Twain’s back and sighed. It turns out I do not have to take my own shots to defend against an injustice. There’s a more powerful character here.

※※※

When the players returned from their warm up on the field, Twain had already been waiting in the locker room for a long time.

“Defense.” When everyone settled down, he clapped his hands and said, “if we want to fight to the death against Chelsea using offense, believe me, guys, it will be our death instead. I’ll briefly analyze the situation for you. Chelsea is in desperate need of a victory and three points to catch up with Manchester United. With eight rounds left in the league, it’s better for them to win every game. A six-point difference is not a small gap. We just have to force Chelsea to a draw in this game and it will be a big blow to Mourinho. Playing defense in an away game is the safest strategy, anyway, but if you have a chance to score, don’t let it go either.” Twain shook his finger. “A goal can overturn everything. But I want you to keep in mind that under any circumstances, defense comes first. Make sure we don’t concede the ball first, and then think about how to get into their goal!”

Just as Twain said in the locker room, Mourinho had to win the game. He sent the strongest attack lineup to play. Drogba, Shevchenko, Ballack, Lampard and all the other attacking players who could be deployed.

In response to this situation, Twain used the 4-5-1 defensive counterattack lineup to counteract.

He used five midfielders to deal with Chelsea’s world-class midfield.

The effect was quite good. Most of the game, both teams had a closely-fought contest in the midfield. The Forest team’s tight defense and completely shameless roguish play made Chelsea miserable. Both teams’ mistakes kept increasing. The Forest team often lost the ball due to mistakes and Chelsea made errors during passing immediately after they got the ball which sent the football back to their opponent.

The Forest team was not afraid of making mistakes, but Chelsea could not afford to make mistakes. They wasted and squandered their chances to attack.

The game was a mess. There was no high quality offense from either side. The Forest team did not intend to play any high quality attack and use beautiful collaboration to pass the football into the Chelsea goal. Chelsea was keen to lay a high quality offense but were always blocked by the Forest team’s disruptive play at a critical time.

That was how the game passed.

Obviously, there were still a few chances. Chelsea created three of the most threatening opportunities in the game, especially one before the end of the game. After a series of amazing teamwork, Chelsea managed to rip apart the Forest team’s defensive line. But Drogba’s last kick overshot the crossbar because he used too much strength. That nearly caused Mourinho to hurl his suit jacket to the ground, while Twain heaved a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed against his chair when he saw the football fly out. If the opponent managed to get a goal in at the last minute, his team’s ninety minutes of efforts would be all in vain.

Ninety minutes later, Mourinho’s face was as cold as the South Pole when he looked at the 0:0 scoreboard and listened to the final whistle ring.

As if he had been given new life, Twain beamed. He took the initiative to walk towards Mourinho with his hand outstretched as he said, “my friend, you almost beat us.” He deliberately highlighted the word “almost.””It’s a pity that it was only just ‘almost’.”

Mourinho did not want Twain to be too smug. He knew that if he looked frustrated or angry now, it would be what the jerk wanted to see most, so he definitely would not let him get his way.

As a result, he plastered a smile on his face and said, “there are still seven rounds left in the league tournament, Mr. Twain, but one thing is certain.?Do you want to hear it?”

Twain made to look like he was all ears.

“My team still has a chance to compete for the title, and your team won’t even have a chance to ‘almost’ win the league title.”

Twain’s face changed when he heard this, but he quickly returned to normal and said to Mourinho with a laugh, “then I wish your team good luck and strive to ‘almost get the league title’ as soon as possible.”

The two grim-looking man let go of each other’s hands at the same time and turned to leave the field.

Brosnan saw this scene at the side and shook his head. The two of them...

Chapter 517 - A Good Opponent

Forced into a tie, the point difference between Chelsea and Manchester United widened to eight points. With eight rounds left in the league, these eight points were not easy to make up.

The only good news for Mourinho was the competition for the final eight rounds. Manchester United would be hosting Nottingham Forest in the thirty-third round, followed closely by the thirty-fourth round where Manchester United would play against Chelsea in an away game.

These two games had a bearing on the survival of both teams. If Manchester United could score two consecutive wins, then Manchester United’s points advantage would widen to eleven points with four rounds left and Chelsea would almost only have a chance of winning in theory.

But if Manchester United lost to Nottingham Forest and then to Chelsea, then the point difference between the two teams would likely to narrow to two points. An outcome of a game would lead to Chelsea’s turnaround.

The league tournament officially entered the home stretch. Now that the championship title was within sights, no one was going to show any mercy.

Nottingham Forest was not in a secure position either, so it was unlikely that Forest was expected to make a big reversal when they played against Manchester United.

The point difference between Arsenal and the Forest team was only six points. Liverpool and Forest only had a seven points gap. This difference was not wide enough to make Twain rest easy.

Liverpool’s home win over Arsenal in the following thirty-first round had squeezed Arsenal to the fifth spot in the league tournament and the Reds remained at fourth.

Nottingham Forest beat Bolton Wanderers 1:0 after much difficulty in the away game. Manchester United won big at home with 4:1 over Blackburn Rovers while Chelsea defeated Watford by 1:0.

Several teams had won, except for the luckless Arsenal.

The situation had not changed, and Twain had to temporarily pull his attention off the league tournament and cast it towards another battleground.

※※※

The UEFA Champions League quarter finals was about to kick off. Compared to several other teams, the Forest team’s luck was exceptionally good. Their opponent is one of the weakest team, Eindhoven, another one of Twain’s “old acquaintances.”

Eindhoven had loaned the Chinese full back, Sun Xiang, for three months from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua F.C..

Before he transferred, Sun Xiang was on loan to Eindhoven in January. At that time, he was hailed as the first Chinese man in the Champions League because he represented the team in the UEFA Champions League.

The moniker was quite good, but Twain was sad. The Japanese and South Korean players had long appeared in the Champions League. Park Ji-sung had even played as the main force on a powerhouse team like Manchester United. And the Chinese player? So much publicity was created for just one appearance in the Champions League. The gap between Japan and South Korea and Chinese football could no longer be described with a few words.

However, in the world he was now in, the moniker “the first Chinese man in Champions League” had been given to Sun Jihai.

Having been on the Forest team for more than two years, Sun Jihai really benefited from the advanced football environment. He had access to the most advanced training and was suddenly significantly above everyone else when he was back on the China national team. This also caused another kind of trouble. On the national team, Sun Jihai and his other teammates had trouble cooperating. Coach Zhu Guanghu agonized over the matter. It was evident that Sun Jihai’s standard was very good. But his cooperation with the team had always been a problem. The AFC Asian Cup was the upcoming summer. It had become Zhu Guanghu’s secret worry whether to use Sun Jihai or not. The football fans clamored for the use of Sun Jihai, but Zhu Guanghu was a little hesitant.

Putting aside these matters regarding the national team, in Nottingham Forest’s game against Eindhoven, the evil originator of this hype “the China Derby in the Champions League” publicized by the Chinese media was not just anyone but Twain’s “old friend,” Tang Jing.

Twain had always detested that type of meaningless hype. Tang Jing did not even know if Sun Xiang would appear in Eindhoven’s big list when she had eagerly pitched the stunt like the “China Derby.” Furthermore, he had not stated that Sun Jihai would be on the starting list of the game on any occasion. He very much wanted to see what Tang Jing was going to say if Sun Xiang did not even make it to the big list or did not get a minute of playing time.

Even while Eindhoven was the weakest out of the eight teams, Twain did not take it lightly. He and the coaching staff did plenty of research before and it happened to come in handy at this time.

After Dunn joined the coaching unit, Twain began to value the pre-match preparations and Dunn was clearly better than Twain at that side of things. The coaching unit would study every detail about the opponent, and then analyze the opponent’s tactics based on the information and details to develop multiple contingency plans. They would target their tactics according to their opponents.

After everything was ready, Twain took the team to the Netherlands.

The Eindhoven manager, Koeman, decided to use offense at home with the Forest team. He certainly knew how his fellow countryman, Rijkaard, was defeated, but his pride prevented him from playing like Tony Twain. Defend to the end? There would be boos thrown at him in the stadium. Dutch fans were idealists who would rather see their team use gorgeous offense and lose the game rather than get an ugly win by defending to the death.

Twain was delighted to be able to meet such an opponent in the quarter final. He very much wanted the opponent to play offense against him.

What was Nottingham Forest’s favorite kind of team? The powerhouse team that wanted to press hard and defeat them with offense. Their biggest headaches were the weak teams that compacted their defenses and holed up in their areas.

Twain had stumbled in the matchups against the weak teams this season but was not at a disadvantage against the strong teams. After the game against Everton, Twain let the team start their transformation, even though it was a long undertaking. In face of a powerful utilitarian champion during the knockout stages, Twain still restored the team to the defensive counterattack that they were best at.

The away game with Eindhoven began as scheduled, and Eindhoven actively sought to attack the moment they came on the field. As for Nottingham Forest? The commentator, who was familiar with them, could also see their defensive counterattack stance at a glance.

Sun Jihai did not play, and Sun Xiang also sat on the bench. In the press box, Tang Jing looked at Twain, standing on the sidelines, with disappointment.

“You just won’t do what I want!” She muttered to herself viciously.

※※※

Eindhoven’s offense was effective in the first twenty minutes, which also gave the Eindhoven fans hope of a home win over Nottingham Forest.

With two attacks, they almost entered the Forest team’s goal. But as Mourinho put it, “almost” on the field was tantamount to failure.

Eindhoven’s morale declined amid the situation whereby the successive siege of the Forest team goal always resulted in just brushing past the goal.

It was an opportunity for the Forest team. Twain whistled on the sidelines and waved for the team to press forward. No opportunity for a counterattack should be spared.

The Forest team’s counterattack emphasized the word “fast.” They usually withdrew in the back-field to lure their opponent to come forward to attack. Once the ball was intercepted, the Forest players, who were still cruising, immediately became the vanguard.

In the English Premier League, Nottingham Forest’s counterattack was probably the fastest because they had Ribéry, Petrov, Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon, all of whom could be ranked in the top ten of the English Premier League’s fastest players.

Because Twain had such a squad, they could counterattack skillfully, whether it was an individual player or the entire team. Their speed could leave their opponent flabbergasted.

Twain spent two seasons working to get his team to that level. Now that they were facing Eindhoven in this away game, he was confident to make Koeman suffer.

Eindhoven orchestrated an offensive, but their passes were too obvious. Up against such a penetration in the middle, George Wood secured his position in advance and intercepted the pass.

What happened next was simple. Wood passed the football to van der Vaart at first chance and van der Vaart decided the direction to quickly attack. When van der Vaart received the football, the Forest team’s two wingers and the two strikers quickly changed direction.

The left, middle, and right, were all available. Van der Vaart looked at the situation and decided to take the left flank. He passed the football to Ribéry.

After he received the ball, Ribéry did not sprint along the flank. He planned to let the Eindhoven player, who blocked him on the flank, to pounce for nothing first. Ribéry dribbled the ball straight to the middle and van der Vaart ran to the left flank, making a simple switch in positions.

Seeing Ribéry coming to the middle, Phillip Cocu, ran over to defend, and followed Ribéry closely to keep him from having a chance to shoot.

Eastwood saw Ribéry running in the middle and instantly knew what to do. He stopped running forward and turned to assist Ribéry. Ribéry passed the football to Eastwood, and the Eindhoven defender, Alex, followed Eastwood tightly to keep him from turning around.

Eastwood did not plan to turn around. After he passed the ball, Ribéry ran without the ball, and Cocu turned his attention onto Eastwood, who took the ball. He intended to tackle the ball once Alex came up for them to attack from the front and back. He did not expect that once he pressed up, Eastwood would suddenly pass the ball instead.

The football was back at Ribéry’s foot, who was in front of the penalty area with no one to keep an eye on him.

Without hesitation, the Frenchman swung his leg and shot...

“Franck Ribéry — and the ball is in! What a beautiful long shot! Heurelho Gomes could not save it in time; it was almost a dead corner!”

The noisy Philips Stadion suddenly quieted down. The Eindhoven fans did not expect their team to besiege for so long without scoring a goal and the opponent to succeed with one counterattack.

Twain got up from his seat and held up his fists. Ever since Ribéry had been consciously placed in the middle by the coaching unit, he became an even greater threat. He was an all-round midfielder and should not be confined on the flank.

※※※

After the deadlock was broken, things became much easier.

Eindhoven, who had conceded a goal, desperately tried to fight back, which meant the Forest team’s defensive tackle had more room to play.

The first goal came. Surely, the second and third goal would not be far behind?

In the second half, it was easy to compete again. Van Nistelrooy and van der Vaart each scored a goal for the Forest team. By the time van der Vaart scored the Forest team’s third goal, the fans at Philips Stadion had already left the stadium early. Manager Koeman looked at the score on the scoreboard with an ashen face.

What did it imply to have the opponent score three goals in his own home game? The opponent’s one kick had allowed them to enter the semifinals. If it had been just 0:1 or 0:2, then they could still stake it all in the next round. Now that they had conceded three goals, the odds of a turnaround in the away game were too low.

Looking again at the glaring score, Koeman lowered his head.

※※※

Six days later, Eindhoven arrived somewhat wretchedly in Nottingham from the Netherlands. They had to score at least three away goals and keep Nottingham Forest from scoring in the game before they had a chance to play overtime. If they wanted to directly be promoted, they had to score more than four goals. It was just too hard for Eindhoven.

Indeed, it was just too hard.

The Nottingham Forest fans gave Eindhoven a taste of what Barcelona had tasted before. In an almost feverish home atmosphere, the Forest team unexpectedly did not choose to play defensive counterattack. Instead, they held up the banner for offensive football and played offense again Eindhoven, which on its deathbed.

Perhaps it was because Twain felt that his team’s promotion was already a foregone conclusion, so it did not matter if he did not use defensive counterattack. It was better to use offense to please more spectators, but also to put the team’s full attack force to test. The score of 3:0 was really reassuring enough.

The game was entertaining to watch. Both teams sparred measure for measure and the attacks were very lively. The fans enjoyed themselves immensely. Both teams scored goals in succession. With a steady stream of goals, Koeman’s mood oscillated between heaven and hell. When Eindhoven scored, he rallied, feeling that the situation was moving in the direction he wanted. When Nottingham Forest scored, his face immediately darkened as his hope for advancing slipped further away from him.

Eindhoven scored a goal first. After all, with the entire Forest team in attack mode, its defensive line could not be as solid as usual. This goal gave Eindhoven a glimpse of hope, but just five minutes later the Forest equalized the score. As everyone was attacking, both defensive lines had a lot of holes. It all depended on which side could seize as many as possible.

Next, the Forest team persisted and scored another goal. The total score was 5:1 with Eindhoven trailing behind. Basically, it had declared that the game was already over ahead of time.

Eindhoven did not give up. They were still working tirelessly to find a chance to score.

Towards the end of the first half, they took advantage of a passing error in the Forest team’s back field and intercepted the ball to launch a counterattack. They managed to turn the total into 5:2.

During the halftime interval, Twain criticized the performance of the defensive line. In his view, even if the team was focused on offense, it was not an excuse for the defensive line to make errors.

In the second half, the two sides continued to attack, but this time, the Forest team’s defensive line performance was slightly better. They did not give Eindhoven any chances. In the 80th minute, Bendtner, who substituted van Nistelrooy in the second half, scored a third goal for the Forest team with a header and locked in the total scores for both teams at 6:2.

Although there were still ten minutes before the end of the game, Koeman had no other way in the face of such a score.

He knew that he had already failed.

※※※

When the final whistle blew, the City Ground stadium erupted in a huge burst of cheers. The commentator had to raise his volume in this noisy environment, “What an unforgettable game! Nottingham Forest has advanced to the top four for two years in a row! This is a remarkable achievement! Tony Twain seems to be a manager adept at playing in the Champions League. The first trophy he had won was the ELF Cup. Last season, they advanced to the Champions League final and nearly became champions. This season, they have another shot at the final! But first, they have to beat Chelsea, their opponent in the semifinals!”

“Chelsea? That’s a really good opponent to have,” Twain said to Dunn and Kerslake next to him after the game. “We have a psychological advantage playing against them.”

Kerslake chuckled and Dunn also smiled. Everyone knew what this psychological advantage was.

With that, Twain set his sights on the grandstand. He knew Mourinho was watching the game in the stands, even though he did not know whether Mourinho was still there.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Mourinho and his aides were queuing up to leave the stadium. He did not forget to look down.

He saw Twain looking up.

“Nottingham Forest...” He hissed the name under his breath. “That’s truly a good opponent.”

Chapter 518 - Meet New Friends and Encounter Old Enemies

All of a sudden, Twain was a busy man again. Quite a number of local media outlets in Nottingham — such as television, newspapers and online sources— were lining up to interview him. As a manager who had led the team to advance to the top four in the Champions League for two consecutive years, he deserved this treatment.

Last season, Twain had led the team to advance to the Champions League final. They were still seen as a dark horse, and perhaps some people had sneered that they were just “lucky bastards.”

This year, they had advanced to the top four again and eliminated the defending champion, Barcelona. Perhaps the people who thought that Twain was a “lucky bastard” had nothing to say anymore.

One time could be a fluke. Could twice be considered flukes, too?

There were only a handful of good managers in English history, and the excellent managers were more often from Scotland. In the early days of modern football, the Scots were the first to innovate football tactics when there was little tactic to speak of. The offense was to have the striker dribble the ball in the direction of the goal and then kick it in. The playing was no different from the way a current beginner who could not play football. It was the Scots who changed all it. They reformed the senseless tactic into a constant passing to press ahead, which now looked easy to do. But as American astronaut, Armstrong said when he first landed on the moon: “one small step for man; one big step for mankind.” A simple change had widened the horizons of people engaged in football. Passing became an indispensable technique and tactic in football.

As a pioneer in the football tactical reform, Scotland had not produced any of the world’s best players. Instead, it had churned out many world-class managers. The current Manchester United manager, Ferguson, was Scottish.

The achievements of the English were more limited than those of their northern neighbors. While there were also great men like Herbert Chapman, they were behind the Scots in overall numbers.

Moreover, since the 1966 World Cup, there was basically no true world-class manager in England.

For example, the England team’s current manager, McClaren, was the result of picking the best out of a mediocre bunch. Due to the laughable pigheadedness of the English Football Association and general public, they wanted to look for an Englishman, since they believed that only an Englishman would give his all for his country’s team and would have so-called loyalty. It truly worried them to hire a foreigner like Eriksson who only thought of money.

※※※

“Tony Twain is now the hottest manager in England. Since the Nottingham Forest manager took over the team three seasons ago, he has led the team to be promoted to the English Premier League in a season to and even winning the title in the EFL Cup. During his second season, he steered the team to qualify for the Champions League. In his third season, he commandeered his team to advance into the Champions League final and almost win the title with one player short.”

Twain lay on the couch while he watched the television program about himself, which compared him to the four managers Ferguson, Wenger, Benítez and Mourinho. Although he had only won one EFL Cup title, to be able to lead the team to advance into the top four of the Champions League for two consecutive years was not something that any manager could do. The Argentinian manager, Héctor Cúper, who once led Valencia to the Champions League finals for two years in a row, had cemented his place in the football world despite not getting any of the championships titles in the end.

Twain’s goal was certainly not to end up like Cúper and considered it done by just advancing to the final. This time, he was going to win no matter which team waited for him in the final.

“What interests us so much is that Manager Tony Twain is not even forty years old. Although the European football is currently ruled by young managers, he is still quite young compared to van Basten, Rijkaard, Deschamps and Ancelotti. Furthermore, this young manager always seems to be surrounded by a mysterious aura. Peter Shilton once commented that his mentor, Brian Clough, had a mysterious X-gene.?I think Tony Twain may have the same gene. An accident at the sidelines created this young and promising manager...”

A scene on the screen showed Twain standing on the sidelines and directing the game with rich body language, which was entertaining for Twain to watch. He had been just an ordinary fan and now he was a famous person with a television feature on him. Who did not want to be famous?

While Twain was intoxicated with admiring himself on the television, there was a beep and the screen in front of him went dark.

He looked up at Shania, who stood behind him and said, “hey, Shania, give me the remote.”

“Don’t dilly-dally, Uncle Tony. I’ve changed my clothes, and you’re still in your T-shirt and lying on the couch and watching TV?” Shania threw the remote a little further away on the couch, and Toto, the cat, immediately pounced on it.

When Twain saw the scene, he yelped, “is the damn cat in cahoots with you?”

Shania looked on proudly, and then snapped at Twain, “all right, Uncle Tony, you gotta get dressed!”

“It’s easy to change into men’s clothes. Isn’t it just a suit?” Twain muttered as he climbed up from the couch and went upstairs to change.

After Shania, who had already changed into her evening dress, watched him go upstairs, she grabbed Toto to take back the remote control, and secretly turned on the television. The program was still on and she laughed as she watched the high-spirited Uncle Tony on the screen.

Today was a day off after the previous day’s league game. There was a soiree being held by Armani that evening in London. As the model representing Armani, Shania was invited, and she planned to bring Twain along with her. She had spoken to Twain some time ago about improving his image and getting him further from looking like a “country bumpkin.” Shania thought that the soiree was a good opportunity. With the rise of Nottingham Forest’s performance, Uncle Tony’s popularity among the celebrity circles was also growing. When everyone talked about football, they would ask Shania about her “Uncle Tony.” Everyone was aware that there was a young and brash, but handsome and promising manager in Nottingham, England. Furthermore, due to his friendships with Judy Shania Jordana, Clarice Gloria, and the Beckhams, he had a close relationship with the fashion and entertainment circles.

“Shania!” Twain’s voice came from upstairs. “Tie or bowtie?”

“Bowtie!” cried Shania. “I put it on your bed!”

After a while, Twain came down the stairs, dressed in a black suit with a black bow tie around the collar of his white shirt. “I think I look silly. I’ve never tied a bow tie.” He stood on the stairs and opened his arms to show Shania.

Shania got up from the couch. She looked him up and down carefully and said, “you look much better with a little bit of cleaning up.” She nodded her head.

“Like the waiters in an Indian restaurant?” Twain bent slightly. “What would you like to have, beautiful lady? Our chicken curry tastes horrible here. I suggest you try the Kung Pao chicken at the Chinese restaurant across from us.”

Shania covered her mouth and laughed, “A waiter like you will be fired by the boss. We’d better get going, Uncle Tony. Mr. Fasal should be here.”

With that, the sound of a car horn came from outside the door.

“Good timing.” Twain reached out to Shania, “Shall we?”

Shania took Twain’s outstretched hand with a smile, and the two of them opened the door to go out.

Fasal’s car was stopped on the side of the road. When he heard the horn, Dunn opened the door to poke his head out. He saw Twain and Shania, who were about to leave.

“Ah, Dunn, did you record that program just now?” Twain suddenly remembered when he saw him.

Dunn nodded.

“Well done, I knew you’d videotape it. Show it to me when I get back.”

Dunn nodded again.

“In that case, Shania and I will leave first.” He pointed to the car that had stopped at the door.

Dunn continued to nod.

“Do you have something to say?” Twain was peeved with Dunn’s silent manner of just staring at him.

“Goodbye.” With that, Dunn closed the door.

Feeling displeased, Twain was dragged into the car by a smiling Shania.

※※※

“The teeming world of London…” Twain muttered as he looked out at the streets in London. “Compared with this noisy big city, I prefer a small city like Nottingham.”

“The British people do like their countryside.” Fasal, who was driving, said with a smile. “I don’t like big cities either. I have an estate in Scotland. You can come with Shania for a holiday.”

Twain turned his head to look at Shania, and then said to Fasal, “in that case, thank you in advance.”

They arrived at the hotel where the soiree was held during their chat.

The car park was filled with cars and there was a steady stream of cars stopping at the entrance. The invited guests got out, and the cars were driven to the designated parking lots.

Both sides of the entrance were packed with media and eager groupies who rushed over when they heard the news.

“What a spectacle.” Twain whistled.

“An intimate affair is not in line with Armani’s fame.” Shania said.

Someone had already come to the door to open it for them. Twain was the first to get out, and then he stood outside to help Shania out of the car.

When Twain led Shania and appeared in front of the public, the camera flashes started up again after a brief pause, flashing everywhere.

Fortunately, Twain and Shania were both veterans and did not become dizzy because of the sudden light. Shania even smiled to acknowledge the media.

Twain did not smile. He stood beside Shania with a straight face. He did not look like Shania’s companion. If he had worn a pair of sunglasses, he would have looked like her bodyguard.

After waiting for Shania to finish her poses, which took a while, they were ready to go. Then another car came in behind them. Twain was a little interested in who would come next, so he turned to take a look. Unexpectedly, what he saw made him stop in his tracks.

The man who got out of the car was his “old friend,” none other than the Chelsea manager, José Mourinho.

He turned around and saw Mourinho just as Mourinho looked up and saw him.

“Tsk, what a small world...” Twain mumbled softly.

Shania saw this scene, and immediately understood. She said to Twain, “he’s also a signed by Armani, so he’s definitely on the list of invitees.”

“Mr. Armani’s taste is uneven...” Twain said as he reached his hand to walk towards Mourinho.

“Aha, my friend, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he greeted him enthusiastically.

Mourinho appeared unprepared for Twain to appear there. He froze for a moment before reacting. He shook Twain’s hand. In front of the media, both men insincerely greeted each other with smiles as if they were good friends.

While they shook hands, he said in a low voice that was inaudible to the media, “Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Twain.”

“I’m here with Shania. It shouldn’t be a surprise.”

Mourinho looked past Twain and saw Shania behind him. He greeted her with a smile, but this smile was immediately gone when he faced Twain.

“Can you let go of my hand, Mr. Twain?”

“Ah, of course.” Twain loosened his hand and said goodbye to Mourinho with a grin. “We’ll see you later, Mr. Mourinho.”

With that, he turned around and walked towards Shania.

“Your greeting looks fake,” Shania said to him. “Neither of you is a professional actor. I think the media is more than happy to see you guys wrangle here.”

With a grin, Twain held out his arm for her to hold, and then said to her, “Mourinho and I have at least one thing in common, and that is neither of us wanted the media to get what they want.”

※※※

Twain was not interested in things like a soiree. It was Shania who brought him to chat Mr. Armani for a while. As a football fan, Armani was interested in the legendary rocket-like rise of Nottingham Forest, and he certainly was more interested in the manager who created this legend: Tony Twain.

“You’re younger than the Twain I saw on TV, young man,” Armani said with a smile. “You’re also younger than Mourinho.”

“Mr. Armani, the two of them are going to play against each other again soon, in the Champions League.” Next to him, Shania reminded Armani that the two men were competitors.

Armani nodded. “Of course, I know that. I think it is very interesting and I look forward to the matchup between two excellent but idiosyncratic managers. Mourinho is also my friend. I worry about who I should support.”

Twain could only chuckle beside him. He did not know how to answer this question either.

“Just support whoever wins.” Mourinho’s voice sounded from next to him, and Twain turned his head to see his opponent standing beside him with a glass of wine. When he saw Twain looking at him, he raised his glass in acknowledgement.

Was this a challenge? Twain looked at Mourinho and then said, “I also agree with what Mr. Mourinho said. I think whether it’s Chelsea or Nottingham Forest that breaks into the final, there will be a high chance of winning the Champions League. I wonder if Mr. Mourinho agrees?” He picked up his glass and tipped it in return.

“Of course, my team is not in the final to just almost get the Champions League title.”

The air between the two men seemed to crackle with electricity. Any fool could see that the two men did not have a good relationship.

Armani was the one who stepped out and broke the moment. He put his left arm around Mourinho and hugged Tony Twain with his right arm. With a smile, he patted them on the shoulders and said, “no matter who wins or loses, I’m just as supportive. You’re all my friends, aren’t you?” When he said that, the two men could not continue to pit against each other through the air.

Following that, everyone chatted casually for a while before Armani went to greet the other guests, and Mourinho went to look for his friends.

“Men can be so hypocritical. You guys clearly do not like each other, but you still beat around the bush during the conversation.” Shania looked at Twain and smirked.

“What do you know, kid? All gentlemen are like this,” Twain stated as he glanced at Mourinho’s back.

Shania scoffed.

“Getting to know Mr. Armani was the one good thing to come out of today.” Twain retracted his gaze and said to Shania only after Mourinho was completely lost in the crowd.

Shania laughed. “Do you know why I introduced Mr. Armani to you?”

Twain thought for a little bit. “Well, Mr. Armani and AC Milan’s Brazilian star player, Kaka are close friends. Through him, I can get to know Kaka, and in the future if… That’s right! Maybe we can bring Kaka to Nottingham from Milan...” He struck his left fist in his right palm with a look of sudden realization.

“You’re so boring, Uncle Tony.” Shania rolled her eyes.

“Ah, what else can it be?”

“Forget it, I’m not going to tell you. You’ll find out when the time comes!” Shania ignored Twain and turned to say hello to the celebrities she knew.

Twain stood in the middle of the crowd with his glass of wine, looking around. Most of the faces were unfamiliar to him, and Mourinho was surrounded by a group of women in the distance, appearing to be very popular. Twain viciously thought that when they next ran into each other, he would switch to calling Mourinho “the middle-aged and elderly women’s idol.” But he did not know if Mourinho would understand the joke.

Shania were together with a group of girls who looked like models, happily chattering away.

Mr. Armani was greeting his guests, and it looked as if he was friendly and warm towards everyone. This realization disappointed Twain a little, for he thought he was “the special one.”

“A soiree…” Twain picked up his glass and drank the rest of the wine. “…is like a tavern in a fantasy novel. It’s a great place to gather intelligence, meet new people, and encounter old enemies.”

Chapter 519 - Woox’s Secret

“A soiree…” Twain picked up his glass and drank the rest of the wine. “…is like a tavern in a fantasy novel. It’s a great place to gather intelligence, meet new people, and encounter old enemies.”

“It’s also possible to meet an old friend, Mr. Twain.” A voice from behind took Twain by surprise.

He turned around suddenly and saw another familiar face looking at him with a grin.

“Mr. Billy Woox,” he said with gritted teeth. “Can I put you in the category of ‘an old enemy?'”

Billy Woox, George Wood’s agent, laughed. “You’re funny, Mr. Twain. If we’re not friends, what else can we be?”

Twain shrugged. “Who knows.”

Woox obviously did not want to be entangled with this kind of pointless bickering. He knew that bickering with Twain was a waste of his breath. “I didn’t put Mr. Twain as someone who reads fantasy novels. Lord of The Rings or Harry Potter?”

Instead of answering the question, Twain asked Woox, “why are you here?”

“Have you forgotten, Mr. Twain? I was an agent in the entertainment and fashion industries before I became George’s agent. I’m friends with most of the people in this circle.” Woox pointed to the guests in the hall. “Of course, I count Mr. Armani as one of them.”

So, he was another friend of Armani’s. Twain smirked and whispered, “Mr. Armani really has indiscriminate taste...”

“What did you say, Mr. Twain?” Woox did not hear clearly.

“Ah, I said Mr. Armani has good teeth, and with a good set of teeth, his appetite will be good too...” Twain blurted out the first thing that came to his head. He looked at Woox standing in front of him and was reminded of something unpleasant. “You’re not here to talk to me about George’s salary again, are you?”

Woox smiled, “Do I look like such a greedy man?”

“What if I said yes?”

“Then you’re judging me by my cover, Mr. Twain.” Woox suddenly winked at Twain. The action gave Twain shivers. He felt that there was something wrong with the other man, who was fastidious about his clothes like a woman, spoke with a peculiar accent, and was a little obsessive about cleanliness.

“But there is something that I came to you for.” Woox raised his glass and pointed to the empty balcony. “Want to hear a banal story, Mr. Twain?” With that, he did not wait for Twain to agree before he turned around and walked away first.

Twain hesitated for a moment and then looked around. He found that the balcony had two wide doors through which he could easily escape if the situation was not right. So, he followed.

A little further away from the noisy hall, it was quieter in the balcony. Woox went straight to the railing to feel the breeze, and Twain tried to stand closer to the door.

Woox turned his head back to see Twain looking slightly nervous and smiled again. “Is the fearless demon still afraid that I’m going to eat him up? We’re standing so far apart. How are we doing to have a tête-à-tête?”

Twain awkwardly moved forward a few steps and the distance between the two men was finally more normal.

“Well, what banal story do you want to tell me? If it has nothing to do with me, I will turn around and go.” He spoke harshly.

“Ah, well, it has nothing to do with you. But...” When Woox saw that Twain was about to leave, he hurriedly stopped being coy and said directly, “but it’s related to George Wood.” He saw Twain turn back again, and asked with a grin, “are you interested now, Mr. Twain?”

“You know I care a lot about George.”

“Of course, your affection for him probably goes beyond the feelings between a manager and a player... I’d say it’s more like... father and son?”

Twain did not comment on Woox’s remarks.

Woox pulled a note out of his pocket and handed it to Twain.

Twain took it and went to the door to read it with the light in the hall. The edge of the note was fuzzy and looked heavily worn. The note looked old. When he unfolded the note, he discovered that it was a loan note.

It was stated on it that a certain person had borrowed 240,000 pounds from Mr. Billy Woox and promised to pay it off within ten years. Twain did not know the name of that borrower, but he was familiar with his last name, Wood. And the date was...

“1987? This happened twenty years ago?” Twain looked up at Woox in astonishment.

“The cliché simply goes like this: a certain broke man who got a girl pregnant borrowed a large sum of money from a very distant relative, promising to pay it off within ten years. But ten years later, that relative did not receive the money which was supposed to be paid back. And now that another ten years had passed...” Woox spread his hands.

Twain interrupted him, “that penniless good-for-nothing is George Wood’s father, and the very distant relative who lent the money is you, Mr. Billy Woox? You don’t look that old.”

“I keep myself well maintained.” Woox stroked his face and the action caused Twain to have the impulse to run for the door.

“But you know, Mr. Twain. I’m not a philanthropist who will take out a lot of money and give it to society for no return.” Woox removed his hand and waved in the air, “Naturally, I want to collect the money back, with interest added… 400,000.”

“Are you a loan shark?” Twain spoke through gritted teeth. Woox was also considered Wood’s relative. Even though he was not clear how they were related, surely they were still a family? Was he taking things too far by settling the accounts too clearly between relatives?

“Oh, Mr. Twain, you misunderstood me. I adjusted the amount annually according to the bank’s interest rate,” Woox said proudly. “It’s a pity that I can’t locate George’s deadbeat father or ask George’s mother, Miss Sophia, for the money — she did not even have the money for her own treatment — you can see how kind I am being. Luckily, I’d like to thank you here, Mr. Twain. If you hadn’t made George a pro player, how could he have made so much money?”

Twain really did not expect that there was such a story behind Wood. As Woox said, it was really a cliché.

“So, you planned all this by repeatedly trying to get close to George to be his agent?” It was really perplexing when Twain recalled Woox’s unusual enthusiasm for Wood at that time.

“If George was still the young stud who was a hard laborer at the moving company, who would care about him? Thanks to you, he became a star player, and as for me... Because of my years of working, I saw another potential in him. I thought that since I couldn’t find his father and his mother did not have the money, then it was acceptable for a son to repay his father’s debt. Yes, that was what I thought at the time. So, I got close to him with this idea in mind... Wait, are you going to say I’m mean next?” Woox pointed to Twain just as he was about to open his mouth.

Twain shook his head and said, “no, I wanted to harsh on you for being shameless.”

Woox shrugged. He did not care how Twain judged him. He took the loan note from Twain, and scrutinized it in the light that shone from the door. The ink on the note was a little blurry and looked like poor registration in the dim light.

The old man just looked at it wordlessly.

Twain stood on the balcony for a while. Feeling a little bored, he was about to turn to leave when he heard Woox calling him from behind, “Mr. Twain, you know, I never smoke, so... do you have a lighter on you?”

Twain pulled a Zippo out of his pocket and tossed it to Woox.

Woox took the lighter and lit the loan note on fire. Twain raised his eyebrows; he was a little surprised.

“Are you surprised, Mr. Twain?” Woox asked as he stared at the burning note in his hand.

“Do you want me to praise you for suddenly developing the conscience of a philanthropist?”

Woox smiled slyly. ” I just received a check for 2,000,000 pounds a day ago, signed by George’s deadbeat father. It’s amazing. I always thought he lost his life on the rough seas.”

When the flames burned toward Woox’s fingers, he dropped the note. The last piece of paper burnt to ashes in the night sky and was blown away by the light breeze. The brief light on the balcony disappeared.

“It seems that he is doing well,” Twain said with sarcasm in his tone. “But why did he not come back and see his precious son?”

“Would you like him to return and acknowledge his son?” Woox stared at Twain.

Twain was confused by the sudden question. He looked at Woox without answering.

“I think he was ashamed to come back. After all, he abandoned the mother and son and took off. If he thinks money can make up for his regrets...”

Twain thought Woox would say “then he must have thought wrong.”

He did not expect Woox to say, “that would be great. I hope to receive a check for 2,000,000 pounds from him every day.” This time he laughed and even showed his teeth. He looked like a vampire in the dark.

“Well, since you don’t need to George to make money to pay you back, can we have less interaction in the future?” Twain felt this was his biggest concern. George’s mysterious background, the family power behind Woox, and the adventures of George’s deadbeat father had nothing to do with him.

“Oh, I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Twain. Even though I don’t need those 400,000 pounds anymore, you won’t mind if I fight for better living conditions for George and his poor and admirable mother, will you?”

Woox’s dignified words silenced any of Twain’s rebuttals.

“I have no objections on the condition that you don’t go crazy.” He sighed helplessly.

“Crazy?”

“For example, opening your mouth to ask for a weekly salary of more than 100,000...”

“As far as I know, Mr. Twain, you gave George a goal before he became a First Team player on the Forest team — a weekly salary of 120,000 pounds, right?”

Twain was dumbfounded. He had said this to Wood and said it more than once. It used to be just a nice goal for Wood to strive toward, like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, to be his driving force to keep moving forward. He did not expect it to be seized upon by Woox as a reason to demand more.

“120,000... Yes, I did say that. But it also depends on the club’s financial situation. The club is not mine. If I were as rich as Abramovich, forget 120,000, I would give 200,000.” Twain put the responsibility on the club and even gave a vain promise to show his generosity.

“But the team belongs to you, and you’re in charge. Oh? Don’t tell me that’s not the case?” Woox took a step forward and considered Twain. “Doesn’t your word count on the team?”

“Of course, I’m in charge of the team, but Allan Adams is in charge of the finances. We work together to settle my funding for transfers and every season’s budget. Do you know cooperation? The Nottingham Forest Football Club places great importance on the cooperation between various departments.”

That said, Twain sometimes felt that Allan was in the way and that he would refuse to sign players that he had his eye on because the budget was inadequate, while he would use the excuse of huge market potential to push for the signing players he was not keen on. Who the hell is in charge of this team? Does Evan support him more, or does he support me a little more?

As Twain muttered to himself, Woox took his leave. He returned the lighter to Twain and waved as he walked into the hall.

Twain stopped him and said, “I’m a little confused. Why did you come to me and say all those things?”

Woox looked back at him and replied, “because I didn’t want to tell George and his mum.” Then he waved goodbye again.

Twain’s gaze followed him, and saw Shania and her agent, Mr. Fasal.

To his surprise, when Woox ran into the two, Fasal stopped and politely greeted him. Shania also stood to the side nicely, her naughty expression instantly gone.

This scene made Twain frown again. What kind of man is Woox?

The three people chatted briefly before they parted. Woox pointed to the balcony for them before he left. Twain saw Shania and Fasal walk toward him.

“It turns out you’re here, Uncle Tony.” As soon as she entered the vacant balcony, the lively Shania came back.

“Were you chatting with Mr. Woox?” asked Fasal.

Twain nodded. “I saw that you were being... well, very respectful towards him?”

Fasal smiled. “He used to be my boss, Mr. Twain.”

Twain was surprised by his answer.

“The modeling company Shania belongs to is under Mr. Woox’s name. I have been working for Mr. Woox since I became an agent in the industry. It was only later that he renounced his share in the company and went to be George Wood’s agent. And you know the rest, Mr. Twain.”

After he listened to Fasal’s brief introduction, Twain broke out in a cold sweat. Even Shania was a contracted model for the company he owned. It looked like he and the abominable old man would still be entangled for quite some time.

“Mr. Woox is a very good man, and he is polite to everyone,” Shania added. “He is a real gentleman.”

Twain glanced at her. He worried that Shania only saw the outer appearance of the old man. “I’m polite to people too. I’m also a gentleman.”

“‘Fucking son of a bitch.’ Is that something a gentleman would say, Uncle Tony?”

Twain coughed.

“Kids should not use such filthy words!” He could only bully her using his age as an excuse, but the result was conceivable. However, for the grown-up Shania, the effect was getting weaker.

“I’m seventeen years old, not a child anymore!” Shania retorted, hardly showing any weakness.

Fasal discreetly snuck away and left the empty balcony to them as they started to bicker.

“I know some models who are not even seventeen years old and have slept with god knows how many men.”

Twain turned his head and looked at Shania. Did the young girl even blush when she talked about such things? It was a pity that the night was too dark for him to see clearly.

It occurred to him that George’s poor mother, Sophia, was also seventeen when she ran off to England from Jamaica with George’s deadbeat father, got pregnant with George, and was alone wandering in a foreign land as she raised her child. She was also seventeen years old...

“Jor.” Twain suddenly called Shania by her pet name.

“Yes?” Shania, who was leaning against the railing overlooking London’s night view, turned her head and looked at Twain.

“Be sure to find a good man in the future...” Twain murmured as he looked into the distance.

Shania did not immediately answer. She just looked at Twain’s side profile and observed him quietly for a moment. Twain did not seem to know that Shania was looking at him. He was lost in his thoughts as he looked into the distance.

“Well, when I find him, I will definitely introduce him to Uncle Tony. If Uncle Tony is not satisfied with him, I will immediately tell him to take a hike!” She replied with a grin, and then skipped back to the hall.

Twain did react at first, but he soon realized what she meant.

“I’m not your father!” He turned his head and complained to Shania’s back.

Chapter 520 - The Sleeping Beauty

A soiree, for a common man like Twain, was only interesting if he regarded it as a gathering of all kinds of characters in a tavern in a fantasy novel. Therefore, he spent most of the time on the balcony enjoying the breeze. Occasionally, other people would come to have a private moment. After they were surprised to find Twain hidden in the dark corner, they would hope that Twain would tactfully give up the space, but Twain was too lazy to move. So, instead, he leaned against the railing and met their gazes. In the end, the other party could finally not take it and would retreat, leaving the balcony empty again for Twain to enjoy alone.

This evening, he had to compete with a number of people like that. There were strangers who intended to rendezvous hidden away from the others, men in suits who wanted to talk business, as well as chattering women who wanted to gossip behind other peoples’ backs. Twain drove them out of the balcony again and again, just like a lion king on the African plains guarding his territory.

Why did he not want to go to the brightly lit hall and party with the other people and take the initiative to get know the strangers? Twain blamed it on his antisocial and bizarre character. But...

“It’s really strange that I clearly like the stadiums with tens of thousands of roaring people together, but surprisingly I hate this level of hustle and bustle.” He murmured as he looked across the hall.

When it was time to say goodbye, Giorgio Armani personally saw each guest off at the door. As he observed the master of the fashion world, who had no airs at all, Twain thought he somehow understood why this man was so successful.

“Tony, it looks like you did not enjoy yourself.” By the time to say goodbye, Armani had already switched to calling Twain by his name. Their relationship progressed quickly. “I did not take good care of you as a host.”

Twain hurriedly waved his hands and said, “no, no, not at all... It’s just that...” He did not know how to put it. Could he simply tell Armani that he actually hated this kind of event? That would be rude.

“Mr. Twain must be worried about the Champions League semi-final.” Mourinho seemed to be omnipresent. As long as there was a situation that would embarrass Twain, he would immediately appear and stab him in the back.

But at the sight of Mourinho, Twain quickly reacted. “Aha, my friend, Mr. Mourinho, I can’t agree with you on that. There’s nothing to worry about the semi-finals. Either I win or you lose; the result will still be the same anyway.”

Mourinho froze for a moment before he understood the meaning of Twain’s remark. He had brought it upon himself. After saying goodbye to Armani, he reached out to Twain and said, “when we shake hands again the next time, it won’t be in such a relaxed environment, Mr. Twain.”

Twain took Mourinho’s hand and smiled. “Do you mean before or after the game?”

Mourinho did not bother to answer his meaningless question. He politely said goodbye to Shania and turned to walk away.

Once Mourinho left, Armani could continue his conversation with Twain.

“Jor has complained to me more than once about what terrible taste her ‘Uncle Tony’ has in clothes.” Armani grinned at Twain.

Twain was a little uncomfortable under his scrutiny. He fidgeted and said, “a man only need two sets of clothing all year round. One for the summer and the other for the winter.”

Giorgio Armani was very interested in Twain’s “brilliant opinion” and asked, “Where did you hear that, Tony?”

“Well, I came to the conclusion myself.”

The old man smiled brightly and said, “I half agree with you on that view. A man’s wardrobe does not need to be filled with all kinds of seasonal clothing like a lady, but it does not mean that a man can only wear one suit all year long. If that were the case, when you went out on the streets, your eyes would soon get tired of the world, and you would only see dark suits and more dark suits... just like the weather in London. In fact, a man can dress as he wishes, as long as he knows how to coordinate. No matter what he wears, he will look fashionable and unique. Because everyone’s build and appearance is different, the same style of clothes will have very different effect on a stout or skinny wearer.”

Twain wholly agreed with that point. “Unfortunately, I lack the eye and taste to choose clothes.”

“That doesn’t matter. Just wear what you feel good wearing. Do you like the bowtie, Tony?”

Twain shook his head. “If I don’t need to wear a tie, I won’t. This is my first time wearing a bow tie.”

“Very well.” Giorgio Armani suddenly reached out to untie the bow tie and handed it to Shania next to him. He then unbuttoned the two top buttons on Twain’s shirt, leaving the collar open. “Relax, don’t feel so restrained and proper in front of your friends.” Armani clapped his hands and took two steps back as if he was admiring a signed model and cocked his head to the side to re-evaluate Twain.

“Not bad, Tony. You’ve kept your body in good shape. Interested in becoming a spokesperson for my brand?” The eighty-one-year-old man winked at Twain.

Twain was stunned.

The face of Armani?

He’d never thought about modelling — before or now, he had never considered it. In his mind, Armani had always been a representative of the world’s luxury fashion brands. Wouldn’t a popular singer or mega movie star be the face of such a brand? When would it fall to a football manager like himself?

“Is it making things difficult, Tony?”

“Ah, no, no, no. I’m just a little surprised. Mr. Armani, I don’t understand why you would want me to be... a spokesperson.”

“Because I like you very much, Tony. You have an air that fascinates me.”

This old man also spoke like he sung the same tune as Woox... Did people in the fashion world like this kind of thing? Twain shuddered.

“Unlike my other models, you’re irrepressible wild horses. No one can put reins on you and tame you. You’re free and liberated. You say what you think, you show the side you want to show and never care what the public and media say about you. You live freely. It is very much in line with Armani’s brand values. You know, my fashion design only pursues one principle — simple, free, relaxed. You’re a good match, Tony.”

Twain did not expect to receive this type of assessment from Armani. He froze a little and then nodded. “Well, it’s good to make more money.”

Armani laughed. Next them, Shania and Fasal also laughed along. Shania’s efforts finally paid off.

As they were about to leave, Armani gave Twain one last piece of advice. “Tony, you say you lack the taste and eye to pick out clothes. I’ll teach you an all-purpose method.” He mysteriously put his mouth next to Twain’s ear and whispered as if his “secret recipe” had to be kept secret.

He hurried to look like he was listening attentively as a sign of respect.

The silver-haired Giorgio Armani leaned next to Twain’s ear and he looked past towards Shania and Fasal behind Twain. He smiled slyly at the two people and said, “if you really do not know what to wear, just wear Armani and you can’t go wrong!”

Twain, who was being teased, was not angry, and laughed alongside the old man. “That really is a good all-purpose method.”

※※※

It was getting late, and they had to rush back to Nottingham because Twain had to go to Wilford for team training the next morning. Although it was late, Shania was still in high spirits. She sat with Twain in the back of the car, constantly humming along with the car radio.

Twain was a little tired. He leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes. A lot had happened that evening. Mourinho, Giorgio Armani, and the story behind Billy Woox and George Wood.

That loan note, which had been set on fire, and Billy Woox, who smiled behind the flame. Having dealt with the damned agent for two years, Twain felt that for the first time, he did not know him at all.

He actually turned out to be Wood’s relative...

He was not sure if it was George’s and his mother’s luck or misfortune to have a relative like him?

Twain raised his hands to rub his temples, only to find that his right hand could not move. He opened his eyes and found that Shania, who had been humming, was leaning on his side. She had fallen asleep with her head resting on his arm and both her arms wrapped around Twain’s body. Her face had a peaceful smile and was docile like a kitten.

Looking at Shania, who slept so sweetly, Twain carefully freed his right hand and gently stroked her hair. A burst of refreshing fragrance permeated the air in the small car.

It was Shania’s favorite shampoo. Even as a model, where many hair stylists and others would style her hair, Shania only used a specific brand of shampoo with this distinctive fragrance. It had almost become her signature fragrance.

From the first time he met her and carried her to the hospital for treatment, her hair already exuded the now familiar scent.

Twain could not help but take a deep breath.

Fasal looked up at the rearview mirror and the corners of his mouth curled up before he lowered his head to focus on driving.

The music from the stereo had long been turned off by the considerate Fasal and the windows were closed. The cars on the freeway could not be heard, and it was quiet inside the car. Only the sound of Shania’s breathing while she slept could be heard.

It sounded gentle and melodious.

Listening to the sounds next to his ear, feeling the warm breath coming out of Shania’s nose, and then letting the scent fill his nose, Twain leaned back and closed his eyes again.

※※※

It was already past one o’clock in the morning the next day by the time they returned to Nottingham. Twain did not wake Shania up, but gently carried her out of the car. After he said goodbye to Fasal, he turned back to his home.

He carried Shania from the car to her bedroom on the second floor, and then gently put her on the bed. Due to propriety, he did not take off her evening dress; he simply pulled the blanket over her.

After doing all that, Twain was tired and sweaty. He breathed heavily. This was only the second time he had carried Shania. The first time he carried her was when she was thirteen years old and thin like a dandelion that would drift away when the wind blew.

And now...

“Damn...” Twain took a breath and sat down on the floor beside Shania’s bed. “She really has grown up. Sleeping like a pig, you’re killing me. Hoo hoo—”

After taking a break, Twain’s breath gradually became even again. He turned around, knelt on the floor, and leaned over the bed to look at Shania, who slept sweetly. The girl’s beautiful face was covered by a few strands of scattered hair. Twain hesitated for a moment before he reached out to gently sweep her hair aside and then leaned over the bed again to observe her.

Looking at Shania in front of him, Twain suddenly thought of a fairy tale he had read as a child — Sleeping Beauty.

“Sleeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty... Who will be your Prince Charming who rides a white horse, cuts through the brambles on the dangerous path, and finally kisses you to save you?” murmured Twain.

“Be sure to find a good man and be happy...” Twain took Shania’s arm, which had come out from under the blanket, and put it back under. He then got up to dim the lamp on her nightstand and quietly left the room.

※※※

The next day, Twain did not let Shania be his wake-up call. He got out of bed himself and went downstairs after he washed up.

“Good morning! Uncle Tony!” Shania poked her head out of the kitchen and waved a spatula with an egg in her hand.

“Good morning...” Twain gave a feeble hello at the thought of eating the devil’s breakfast provided by Shania.

Toto sprang out of the kitchen. With breadcrumbs still on its mouth, it rubbed its head against Twain’s pants.

“Don’t wipe your mouth on my pants!” Twain very much wanted to kick the stray cat out, but he reckoned he would be kicked out by Shania for doing so, so he just shook his leg hard to try to deter the cat. He did not expect Toto to use its teeth and claws to hook onto Twain’s pants. Twain could not shake off the cat no matter how hard he tried.

When Twain was tired from the shaking, he looked at the wicked cat, who was still rubbing against his pants and said through gritted teeth, “Very well, you’re not getting off, are you? You vile cat!” He began to unbuckle his belt to remove his pants.

Shania came out of the kitchen with the breakfast just at that moment and Twain was also right in front of the kitchen door. He stood up just in time to see Shania, carrying a tray and staring at the area between the bottom of his shirt and above his knees...

Frozen for only a second, Twain quickly bent down again to pull up his pants with Toto still hanging onto them.

Shania saw there was nothing to look at and pulled a face as she took the breakfast to the table, and then said to Twain, “Uncle Tony, are you going to be a spokesperson for Armani’s underwear line? You’re outstanding in that area.” She pointed between Twain’s legs.

That was when Twain realized he had just woken up, and that meant certain things.

This is so embarrassing. No wonder she did not move her eyes when she saw it just now!

Twain reacted and hurriedly pulled his pants, with the cat still attached, up the stairs.

After a few minutes, he came back down again. Although the cat was still on his pants leg, his embarrassing “wake-up” state was gone.

“All good?” Shania asked without lifting her head as she ate her breakfast and read the day’s newspapers, which she had collected from the outside.

“The little brother was disobedient, so I slapped him a few times to keep him in line.” Twain casually sat across from Shania and began to tuck into his breakfast.

Shania sprayed the imported milk that she had just drank all over the newspaper in her hands and began to cough. Twain did not understand why and just stared blankly at Shania who collapsed on the table and laughed very hard.

After a while, Shania slowly composed herself while she looked up at Twain and said very seriously, “come on, Uncle Tony, can you give me a heads up the next time you plan to tell a joke?”

“What? Ah! You twisted it in your head. At such a young age, your mind is already so complicated. The fashion world really corrupts your mind, turning red into yellow, black into white...” Twain did not argue with Shania. He just shook his head to poke fun at Shania, unfolded the napkin and began to eat. Having eaten so many days of Shania’s breakfast, his stomach was completely used to it... Luckily I’m not a foodie, or I’d have starved to death in a place like England.

“Hanging out with an old man all day long, there’s no way to be innocent.” After living with Twain for a long time, Shania had also learned to talk glib. “Ah, poor me, I’m still a seventeen-year-old young girl~~~~~~”

Twain rolled his eyes and ignored Shania acting silly.

After breakfast, Twain went out to knock on Dunn’s door and said goodbye to Shania with him and walked to Wilford to “go to work.”

Shania happily waved goodbye at the two men at the door and did not return into the house to clean up until she could not see Twain and Dunn anymore.

※※※

“She looks like a wife,” Dunn who had been silent, suddenly blurted out, confusing Twain.

“What?”

“I meant Shania. You and her, when she walked you out of the house just now,” Dunn added.

“What do you know? You’re a virgin who has never touched a girl’s hand,” Twain retorted disdainfully. He did not buy into Dunn’s nonsense.

“Are you talking about yourself? This body is yours, virgin boy.” Dunn was another person who was corrupted by Twain.

Twain rolled his eyes and twisted his head around to look at Dunn. “Okay, you tell me the truth, Dunn. This body.” He pointed to him and asked, “was it a virgin before me?”

Dunn hesitated for a moment before he nodded.

“Then we’re even. Then... it’s no longer a virgin, so I’m ahead.” Twain laughed with great pride.

It was too awkward for Dunn to go deeper into this topic. He frowned and interrupted Twain’s laugh. “Don’t discuss this pointless topic so early in the morning. Don’t you want to think about our semi-final opponent, Chelsea?”

Twain stopped laughing but he was still smiling when he said, “speaking of Chelsea, yesterday when I accompanied Shania to Mr. Armani’s private party, guess who I ran into?”

Dunn responded with a straight face, “I’m not interested in playing a guessing game.”

“You’re such a boring man! I ran into Mourinho.”

Dunn’s expression changed at the mention of this name.

“He challenged me in front of so many people.” In reality, there were not as many people as Twain said. There were just three people, Armani, Shania and Fasal. However, he liked to exaggerate.

“Dunn, I don’t have to think about Chelsea at this time. I’ve been studying Chelsea since a long, long time ago. You know that. I haven’t lost to Mourinho before and I won’t lose to him now.” He said the last remark resolutely, with no sign of his previous impish expression.

Chapter 521 - Romance of The Three Heroes

“Before this round of the tournament, Manchester United takes the top spot in the league with seventy-eight points, followed closely by Chelsea with seventy-three points and Nottingham Forest in the third with sixty-seven points, eleven points away from top-ranked Manchester United. Their hopes of winning the title seem very slim…”

“Based on expert analysis, Nottingham Forest, who is fully preparing for the Champions League semi-final, should give up the league tournament. It would be unwise to give it their all to challenge Manchester United in this away game.”

“If Ferguson’s side can beat Nottingham Forest at home, then the Red Devils are close to another English Premier League title. Of course, the situation is not necessarily so forthright. In the last round of the league tournament, Manchester United unexpectedly lost 1:2 to Portsmouth in an away upset, which allowed Chelsea to narrow the points gap between the two teams to just five points. With six rounds left in the league tournament, this difference is not secure enough for Manchester United…”

“Therefore, we think for the Manchester United’s home game against Nottingham Forest, the highlight of this round will likely determine the team that will win the Premier League. Nottingham Forest already has no hope of winning the league, but I think, given Tony Twain’s character, he will certainly join in on the fun.”

Before the 33rd round of the Premier League, all sorts of information, news and rumors about the important highlight circulated. It was the topic of conversation in everywhere.

Who was going to get the title? Manchester United or Chelsea? What role would Nottingham Forest play in all of it?

※※※

33rd round of the tournament was two days away, and Mourinho had just arrived at Chelsea’s training base when he received a call from his immediate superior and the big boss, Abramovich. Over the phone, the Russian oligarch warmly invited him to a dinner party that evening and made it very clear that it was not the kind of big banquet with many social celebrities, but a private dinner between the Chelsea club president and manager.

Mourinho knew that Abramovich had to have a purpose to invite him to dinner. It had to do with this year’s championship title goal. He had long known the kind of ambitions his boss had.

They had taken the titles for the Premier League, the EFL Cup and the FA Cup. However, the current nouveau riche Chelsea still had the label of “upstart” over its head. In order to be recognized and known as a real powerhouse team, and to give the Chelsea club chairman more recognition in the upper echelons of London society, Mourinho needed to bring in a new title for his boss, something that the Chelsea team had never come close to in its 102-year history — the UEFA Champions League title.

How could Mourinho refuse a dinner invitation from Abramovich? He ever even think to do so.

Although he and Abramovich were defiant figures, they also had something in common now. They were both ambitious, knew what they were going to do, which was to be champions.

At the end of the call, Abramovich asked with concern about the team’s preparations for the Champions League. With the 33rd round of the league tournament just around the corner, he did not seem to care. He only had the Champions League in his mind. It looked like the Russian could not wait any longer.

Mourinho naturally replied that everything was going well, and the morale of the team was high because their opponent was Nottingham Forest and did not even need him to rally the troops.

Mourinho tightened his grip on his cell phone at the idea that his semi-final opponent was Tony Twain from Nottingham Forest.

Of course, we’re going to beat Nottingham Forest and advance to the Champions League final. Then no matter who our opponent is in front of us at that time, whether it’s AC Milan or Manchester United, the title will be Chelsea’s. Of course, boss, this trophy isn’t won just for you...

※※※

Meanwhile, at the Carrington training base in Manchester, the atmosphere on the training ground was somber to the point of feeling oppressive. The leader of the Red Devils, Sir Alex Ferguson’s face was as gloomy as the weather above his head at the moment. The usual laughter and chatter during the training was also gone.

Would anyone dare to be all smiles and silly in front of a boss in a bad mood?

Usually lively and fond of showing off, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo simply did their own training programs today and dared not slack off the slightest bit.

After the last round of the league tournament, Ferguson locked all the players in the visitors’ locker room and completely ignored the press conference he needed to deal with. Inside the room, he berated the entire team and even the international star footballers who were worth hundreds of millions of pounds put together dared not take a breath in front of an angry Ferguson. They were afraid that they would become the receiving end of his furious vent.

The media did not cover this part after the game because they did not know what happened either. This was destined to only be revealed as “a confidential story” in the autobiography of a Manchester United player in the future.

Ferguson fully conveyed his anger to the big shot players to make them understand that in the Manchester United kingdom, his command was supreme and inviolable.

Ferguson wore the expression for the entire week.

Like Chelsea, Manchester United was at a critical juncture. After experiencing a low for three seasons, Manchester United rallied under Ferguson and made a comeback. They did not expect to have a chance to win the league title and Championships League title in the first year and be able to achieve the Double. How could they let go of this great opportunity?

However, now Chelsea was catching up quickly in the league tournament and they had to contend with a strong opponent like AC Milan in the Champions League semi-finals. Both teams were tough opponents that they had to deal with.

If Manchester United had easily beaten the underdog Portsmouth in the last away round, why would they be so nervous these days? Chelsea was only five points away from catching up and could overtake at any time.

While watching the players bow their heads on their training on the field, he forcefully roared, “put more energy into it, you bastards! This is to pay back for your carelessness in the last game!”

After two days, he would welcome an old friend in Old Trafford, “the Theatre of Dreams,” but this old friend would not dispatched so easily.

Nowadays, the outside comments and analysis about this game flew over all. He was also keen to know Tony Twain’s thoughts on the game. Would he use all his might or give up the game in order to prepare for the Champions League?

You don’t have a chance to win the league tournament, Tony. Are you going to meddle?

※※※

For almost the entire season, Nottingham Forest had played a supporting role. Now, overnight, they had become a central character. Therefore, at the present moment, what was the man, who was going to decide whom the league title would belong to and might even decide the winner of the Champions League, doing?

He was at the lush training base in Wilford where he had a relaxing chat with Albertini.

“The season is almost over, Demetrio. It’s almost time to say goodbye. If you can’t bear it, do not force yourself. You can still stay continue to play. I can get someone to draw up a new contract in ten minutes.”

When he heard Twain speak, Albertini laughed. “Don’t make fun of me, chief. There’s nothing that I’m reluctant to part with. I’ve already played eighteen years of high-level professional football. It’s time to retire.”

“Is that so? What a shame… Although I knew that this day would arrive, I still can’t treat it like it’s a normal matter.” Twain shrugged and asked, “are you going back to Italy after you retire?”

“If I miss you, I’ll come back to Nottingham to visit you, chief.”

“In that case, when I miss you, I’ll go to Milan. My team is always traveling all over the world anyway. Haha!” Speaking of Milan, Twain soon stopped laughing. “Demetrio, you said you would like to be a coach the most, and your favorite video game is the Championship Manager… So can you tell me now from a coach’s point of view, for the game the day after tomorrow, what choice should we make? You saw all those analysis reviews out there, didn’t you?” he asked.

Albertini was used to Twain asking questions on a whim, so he just nodded and said, “if I were the manager, I think I would choose to give up the game against Manchester United, rotate to let more of the main players rest, let the substitute players get the chance to practice, conserve our strength and avoid injuries. I’d be satisfied with a point.”

As he spoke, Twain nodded. When he had finished, Twain nodded again and said, “You’re right, absolutely right. Generally speaking, that’s what we should do. I’ll ask you this again. Between AC Milan and Manchester United in semi-finals, which team do you think will reach the final?”

Albertini pondered this question for a long time and said hesitantly, “I’m not sure… I think the two teams are evenly matched. Both have a chance to reach the final, and it even makes sense for one of them to take the championship trophy.”

Twain smiled, “Then I’ll ask in a different way. Which team do you wish to see in the final?”

This time, Albertini answered as soon as Twain threw the question out. “AC Milan.”

“You and I think alike, Demetrio.”

Albertini found it strange. “I remember, chief, you’re not an AC Milan fan.”

“Yes, of course I’m not. But I prefer to them to be in the final, and not Manchester United.”

“You and Ferguson have a good personal relationship...”

“This has nothing to do with personal relationships. I think it’s better for us if AC Milan reaches the final. Demetrio, remember when I promised to give you a really wonderful and truly unforgettable farewell game at the end of your career?” Twain turned to look at Albertini, smiling, and the expression he saw on Albertini’s face was what he wanted to see.

“AC Milan must enter the final, they have to go to the final. Demetrio, that’s the farewell game I want to give to you. I hope you like it.” With that, he looked down at his watch and then said to Albertini, “breaktime is over; let’s go back to training.”

Twain patted Albertini, who was still in a daze, on the back and turned around to walk toward his coaching staff.

“Guys, the situation in the league tournament is good for us right now.” Walking up to the coaching staff, he opened his arms and said, “both Chelsea and Manchester United have a chance at winning the league tournament, as well as breaking into the Champions League final. With more effort, they may even be able to win the legendary Double. How many people will refuse such a temptation?”

In the eyes of the coaches, Twain smiled like he was the devil with a pair of black wings extended behind him, blocking out the sunlight before them.

※※※

A day later, the Nottingham Forest team bus arrived at the hotel where they would be staying in Manchester. At the hotel entrance, Twain, who was surrounded by the reporters, reiterated that the Forest team’s goal this season was the European arena. As for their ranking in the league tournament, as long as they were guaranteed a spot in the top four to qualify for next season’s Champions League, he would be very satisfied.

“I won’t be so polite if I meet Mr. Ferguson in the Champions League finals again.”

His last remark made the reporters’ imagination run wild. Firstly, he had implied that he would not do his best in this game; secondly, he had completely disregarded his semi-final opponent, Mourinho’s Chelsea; thirdly, he had a strong confidence in winning the Champions League.

“Should I believe what he said?” Queiroz asked his boss, Ferguson, as he looked at Twain in the photo. “On the whole, it is reasonable and almost certain to give up an insignificant game before a more important game…”

“But that’s just generally speaking…” Ferguson, sitting in his chair, rubbed his chin and murmured.

In fact, he was uncertain. The young chap, Twain, made him feel complicated. Sometimes he would think he was sincere and eager to open up. Sometimes he made people think that he was full of lies and that his words were not credible.

Queiroz wanted to persuade his boss to accept his ideas. “I think no matter what the analysis is, Twain will temporarily discard a tiny slice he has in his hands when there is a bigger pie before him. Because, based on his ability, he will be able to eat the slice and the large pie at the same time.”

“What you said made a lot of sense, Carlos.” Ferguson nodded, “But I have a concern...”

“Sir, you’re worried about AC Milan, right? They are really a tough enemy to deal with, especially this season, since Kaka is in a very good shape.”

What about AC Milan?

At the thought of the team, Ferguson felt that the situation was really complicated. Ferguson did not want to lose the league title, especially to Mourinho. At the same time, he was keen to get his second Champions League trophy in his coaching career, making him incomparable in the history of Manchester United Football Club. No — he could become a significant figure comparable to those legends in the history of English football.

Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Brian Clough, Bob Paisley… all those brilliant names, to be able to be put together with them and to be brought up again and again in the future; Ferguson would have no regrets in his coaching career.

Ferguson snapped out of his contemplation, and looked at Queiroz to say, “of course we can’t lose the league title, and I want the Champions League title, too. Let’s put AC Milan aside and not think about what kind of opponent they are. I think Nottingham Forest is definitely not an opponent we can beat easily, even if they only deploy half of their main force. We’ll make an all-out effort.”

※※※

Inside the Old Trafford home team’s locker room before the game, Ferguson had already changed into his jersey and growled at the Manchester United players who were ready to play as they paced back and forth, making them nervous. “Think of your shitty performance in the last round of the league game against Portsmouth! If any of you are proud of this, you can still do so this in this game. If you feel that losing to Portsmouth is a disgrace, then give it your all in this game to beat this opponent in front of us!”

Half an hour ago, he had already gotten a list of Nottingham Forest appearances. It turned out that his caution was a good call. Tony Twain had sent out his strongest lineup that he could currently send to play the game that he could call “insignificant.”

As expected, this was “an old friend” that was going to be tough to deal with.

“Crush Nottingham Forest and have a good vent before the Champions League semi-final. Otherwise every one of you will suffer! Rip them to pieces and smash them!”

And inside the visitors’ locker room, unlike Ferguson’s vehemence, Twain was grinning and looked relaxed.

“Guys, if any one among you is wondering why I’m asking you to go all out for victory in this game, you can now raise your hand and ask questions.”

Obviously, no one raised their hands. Twain was pleased with this. The players must have had questions in mind, but they chose to trust their manager.

“To be honest, we already had little chance of competing for the league title this season, unlike last season. We’re putting more energy into the Champions League game this season and that’s the price. Now we’re going to watch the other teams fight to the last for the title. For me, I’m used to being the protagonist, so this is just too brutal to watch...”

Looking at their manager’s pretentious manner, some people in the locker room laughed. Of course, those who dared to laugh and were not afraid were Ribéry and Eastwood.

“But are we going to be the stepping stone and corpse that the victors step on before they ascend the throne and put on the crown? The path that they take on their way up, that red carpet was dyed with the blood of their opponents! I don’t want my blood to be on that. Do you want that?”

“No, chief!”

“No one wants that!”

“No f**king way!”

They roared, as if they had been waiting for the manager to ask.

“Very good! We’re not like the losers who have fallen to the ground with their blood drained dry and bodies cold! We still have a goal that we are pursuing that’s bigger than this little throne, and we can’t perish here. We’re the damn Mysterion! Come and go without a trace. We will take down anyone who is in our way from behind!” Twain smacked his palm and said, “a certain someone thinks he’s going to win? Let’s tell them how na?ve that idea is! If we can’t get it, then other people will not get their hands on it easily either!”

※※※

Ninety minutes later, inside the hustle and bustle of the entire game at Old Trafford, “the Theatre of Dreams,” the spectators had not yet left, but the show had ended.

“Ah, the Theatre of Dreams. The Theatre of Dreams is definitely a place to direct a good show.” Twain clapped his hands on the sidelines and said to Dunn, who stood beside him, “It’s said this is the stage for the players, and I think this is the stage for the director.”

A huge electronic screen above the stands clearly displayed the score: 0:2

According to the international practice, the home team’s score was to the left and the visitors’ score was on the right.

“Unbelievable! Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United by 2:0 in this away game! Even though the game didn’t look as easy as the score, in the end, it was Tony Twain who took the last laugh ninety minutes, and not Sir Alex Ferguson! Now, with Chelsea having not played its game yet, the two sides are only five points apart!” The television commentator was giving his thoughts on the game. “Both sides did their best, but Manchester United’s luck was just a little worse. They had a chance to reverse the situation on the field…”

What was the use of saying that now?

The game was over.

After he applauded and lauded the players on the field, Twain turned to walk toward the Manchester United’s technical area.

At the same time, Ferguson was coming toward him and the two men met in the middle.

Ferguson looked terrible, and Twain thought that the poor Manchester United players would suffer for this when they returned. Losing two games in a row at this critical juncture was a big problem. If it was not handled well, Manchester United’s bid for the season’s league title that they had devoted their efforts to the entire season could be gone and end up in Mourinho’s hands.

The two men shook hands. Twain did not want to look too smug and infuriate Ferguson. Twain would not do anything that taunted others and was damaging to himself.

Ferguson spoke first. “I gave you a pistol and a bullet and you thought it was not enough, so I gave you another one. I didn’t expect you to use them all to shoot me.”

Twain smiled a little. “I told my players that their manager is someone who doesn’t give up at any time. It’s the same for this game. I can’t let them see me give up.”

“Give up? Even if you win this game, what have you won? There’s no change in the rankings and there is no guarantee that you will win against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final.”

“In the first half of the season, your team beat my team on my home ground. Now, I won it back. Consider us even.”

Ferguson was a little surprised by this answer. “You’re such a vindictive man, Mr. Twain.”

“The media sometimes gets it right.”

Ferguson wanted to leave, so he let go of Twain’s hand and said, “one last word. If I see you at the Champions League final, I won’t hold back.”

Twain waved and watched Ferguson leave before he whispered, “we’re not going to meet, Sir Alex. A secure championship title, or an uncertain championship title, which one do you want?”

Twain, who returned to the locker room, shouted to the elated players, “You guys did a great job! Now we can go to Athens without a worry!”

※※※

The next night after Manchester United’s loss to Nottingham Forest, Mourinho’s Chelsea team had a big win over West Ham United in their away game with a 4:1 score. As a result, Manchester United remained the same with seventy-eight points and Chelsea rose to seventy-six points. They were now only two points away from the top spot of the league. One game could turn the entire landscape of the Premier League upside down.

It was like a big chunk of meat dripping with oil hanging in front of everyone. Who could resist this temptation?

A League title and Champions League trophy… The Double!

Shaking off the upstart label to become a real powerhouse team could remake Chelsea.

An hour after the game, Mourinho received a congratulatory call from his immediate boss, Mr. Abramovich. He congratulated the team on winning the game and catching up with Manchester United on the league table. At the same time, he invited Mourinho to have lunch on his private yacht at noon the next day and some afternoon tea if there was time left.

Before this call was over, the Russian billionaire casually asked the likelihood of Chelsea winning the Double this season.

Chapter 522 - The Countdown Begins

Chelsea’s close gap in points with Manchester United appeared on various media pages the day after Chelsea’s game. Mourinho smugly told the media that he was going to seize all the championship titles this season. Next to the printed words of what he had said in the interview was a photograph of Ferguson’s livid face while he attended the post-match press conference.

The English media were skilled in dealing with this kind of story. The readers could see the relationship between the two sides and the hidden story behind them at a glance.

Twain, who directed all of it, kept cover at the Forest team’s training base in Wilford at this time in preparation for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final game and to make the home stretch.

For him, the messier the contest between Chelsea and Manchester United got, the easier for him to prevail over his opponents in the melee.

With four days to go until the Champions League semi-finals, Twain announced that the team would held closed-door training and all training would be closed to the media. Even people with good relations with the team, like Pierce Brosnan, were unable to get permission to enter Wilford for an interview.

Naturally, not everyone would abide by Twain’s wishes, otherwise the world would be a lot easier for Twain.

For example, recently, Twain discovered that Tang Jing and Dunn had gotten a little closer, which was something that made him think.

During a break in the training, the players sat on the sidelines to rest and chat about things they were interested in. The coaching staff were the same. Everyone mostly talked about the imminent Champions League semi-final.

Even if they were Nottingham Forest people, to be able to advance to the semi-finals for two consecutive seasons was still a bit unexpected. It looked like there was a mysterious aura around their manager.

Twain ignored how others looked at him. He went straight to Dunn’s side and leaned over to grab a bottle of water. After he twisted it open and gulped down a mouthful, he looked at the players on the field and asked, “what did that woman want from you?” Twain was referring to Tang Jing, and he knew Dunn was clear about it too.

“Nothing. We just talked about stuff in China.” Dunn was acting more and more like a Chinese. Before it was just his appearance, but now he was very Chinese from the inside out. “Like Chinese football.”

Twain almost choked on the water.

“You two are so boring!” He coughed between words.

Looking at Twain’s sorry manner, Dunn remained expressionless.

“Talk about Chinese football ... Hey, it looks like I’m going to have to talk to you about Chinese football too one of these days, and see what your thoughts are as a foreigner ...”

“There’s nothing to it. I didn’t understand it before, and now I understand it.” Dunn also found this topic boring and was unwilling to go any further.

“She didn’t try to pry into our plans for the Champions League semi-finals, or anything like that?” Twain cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at Dunn.

“She did pry.” Dunn nodded.

“Oh? How did you deal with that?”

“I just said no comment to all her questions.”

Twain raised his head and thought about Dunn, with his straight face against Tang Jing at her wit’s end... It did seem appropriate.

“Very good, women will ruin things, especially an overly inquisitive woman.” Twain nodded. “I don’t want things to go awry.”

“Tony, I don’t understand this matter at all. We know Chelsea very well and Chelsea also knows us very well. There doesn’t seem to be a need for closed-door training ...” Dunn raised the question in his mind.

“A closed-door training is not entirely about keeping information confidential.” Twain pointed to the players and said, “it also allows the players to put all their focus into this game and let them understand what kind of game this is from their bodies to their minds. This is... a semi-final game that we can’t afford to lose.”

Dunn looked at Twain from behind and was silent for a moment. He opened his mouth but hesitated before he spoke up again, “Won’t the pressure be too much?”

“What?”

“To give the best farewell game for Demetrio, give George another final and maintain an unbeaten record against Mourinho ... You take on these things even though no one has asked you to do those things. Aren’t you afraid of breaking under too much pressure?”

When he heard Dunn said that, Twain smiled and pointed to his heart, “I did this on purpose. I’m afraid that once I relax here, it will be hard for me to be firm again.”

In the face of Twain’s smiling face, Dunn had nothing to add.

Tossing aside the half-finished water, Twain walked up to Kerslake and patted him on the shoulder. “Blow the whistle. Let’s continue the training.”

With that, he put on his sunglasses again and stood in the shade.

It was four days away from the semi-final on the 26th.

※※※

April 25th was the first day of the Champions League semi-finals and the day Manchester United invited AC Milan for a home game. The next day would be the day when the Forest team played against Chelsea.

This year’s top four of the Champions League had three English teams ranked among them. To the English media, this was a massive happy occasion that required lots of publicity. Once the “the world’s number one league”, Serie A was in decline and La Liga also became weaker after years of strength. It was the world of the English Premier League now!

English media outlets were all so optimistic. The three teams formed a siege around AC Milan, and it was highly likely that the English teams would end up with the champion and runner-up titles.

Bundesliga had already fallen, and France Ligue 1 had long been kicked out of the “five big leagues” circle. Serie A had gradually declined, and La Liga fluctuated. It appeared as if only the English Premier League was able to consistently maintain a high standard for ten years. With this kind of mentality, the English media began to report optimistically on the Champions League semi-finals. They bragged about Manchester United, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, but completely forgot AC Milan.

In the eyes of those proud English media, AC Milan would not be able to stop Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. After all, “they only have one Kaka, and we have a Rooney and a Ronaldo!”

“AC Milan has already flown to Manchester, where they will challenge their host, Manchester United, in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. When Kaka was interviewed at the airport, he talked about the opponents of this game. He thought Ronaldo and Rooney are very good players and that Manchester United is a strong team, but he is confident to advance into the final ...”

The televisions showed the earlier sports news. AC Milan had arrived in Manchester and in two days, they would be in a crucial contest at this stadium.

As the team’s top star player and the core of the midfield, Kaka attracted everyone’s attention. Countless microphones, flashes and cameras surrounded him, making it difficult for him to take even one step forward.

“Kaka...” murmured Twain in front of the television. He had been a Kaka fan before he joined the soccer world. He had focused on the brilliant kid since before he landed in Europe, when he was just a nobody on the Brazil national team’s substitutes team and had a few appearances. He liked this kid’s character, his technical style and his handsome appearance. He liked his press forward breakthrough speed and his powerful long shots. He did not think he’d get a chance to be his opponent one day.

“Hey, Dunn. How good it would be if Kaka could come to the Forest team... That is, we have Kaka to press ahead in the front of our midfield, and George guarding the back, Ashley Young, Beckham and Aaron Lennon on the right flank, Ribéry and Petrov on the left flank... we would be invincible!” He said excitedly as he watched the television.

“Stop dreaming. AC Milan will not let go of him.” Dunn was not at all interested in such unrealistic fantasy, but Twain was imagining that if he had started a few years earlier, then it would not have been a dream...

It was a pity that it still looked like a dream now.

“Oh, that’s right, speaking of Kaka.” Twain pulled out a ticket from his pocket and handed it to Dunn. “The tickets to the 25th match in Old Trafford. You’ll go with me.”

Dunn did not say anything and just took the ticket to put it away.

Twain turned his head back to continue watching the television. The news had shifted to Manchester United and began to report on Manchester United’s preparations.

Ferguson looked somber on screen. The sky was cloudy over the Carrington training base and the team was under pressure.

Semi-finals were only three days away.

※※※

Twain encountered Tang Jing again at the entrance of Wilford training base in the morning just as he and Dunn were about to enter the door. The security guard at the door looked miserably at the woman standing in front of him, which turned out to be Tang Jing.

It was clear that Tang Jing wanted to go in, but the security guard could not let her do what she wanted. As a result, she was held back here by the security guard.

“Good morning, Reporter Tang.” Twain waved to her in greeting.

“Good morning, Manager Twain.” When Tang Jing saw Twain and Dunn approaching, she ditched the poor security guard and made a beeline for the two men.

“It’s illegal to trespass on restricted area, Reporter Tang.” Twain teased the female reporter in front of him while Dunn stood behind him in silence.

“Do you have a warning sign here that says all trespassers will be killed on sight?”

“If it’s okay with Reporter Tang, I can immediately get the security guard to set it up and even write in it in Mandarin.”

Tang Jing fumed at Twain. She glanced at Dunn next to Twain for help.

Dunn hesitated for a moment before he said, “I think it’s better to use both Mandarin and English.”

Tang Jing rolled her eyes.

Twain laughed. “Don’t bother wasting your time with schemes, Reporter Tang. I’m not going to let the media get any information on our preparation for the semi-finals.”

“When did Mr. Twain, who likes to be in the limelight, start to keep a low profile? Currently, all the media reports and news are about the four teams’ preparations for the Champions League except for your Nottingham Forest team.”

“So what? I’m not a clown to satisfy the audience’s whims and tastes.” Twain shrugged. “Anything that has to do with all you reporters will turn out to be bad. I’m sorry I have to proceed with caution before an important big game.”

Seeing that method of attacking his ego and reverse psychology was ineffective, Tang Jing changed her strategy, “You see, Mr. Twain. I’m just a reporter working for the Chinese media from thousands of miles away. Even if I know your training details, it will only be read by the Chinese readers and fans. You don’t have to worry about leaks at all ...”

“Don’t kid with me, Reporter Tang. We’re in the age of internet. The world’s news is all available everywhere. I won’t fall for it. Furthermore there’s nothing good to interview. The training content is the same as what you have seen before. Chelsea and our team are very familiar with each other. Heheh.” Twain smiled slyly.

Tang Jing, who felt played, was a little angry. “So why did you close the training?”

“Just to give my ears some peace and quiet. At such a time, I wish I have more hours in a day. Where will I be able to find the time to deal with the news media?”

As he looked at Tang Jing’s look of reluctance, Twain was initially ready to turn away, but he stopped again and said, “don’t wander around here. It will be bright when the sun comes out later. A beautiful lady’s skin will not be as pretty if her skin becomes too tanned. Just go back. There will be a press conference before the game as usual. You can ask any questions at that time, Reporter Tang.”

He did not expect Tang Jing to shake her head all of a sudden and say, “I do not have any questions. Can I have a word with Mr. Dunn alone?”

Twain looked at her and cocked his head at Dunn. “Why are you asking me? He’s his own person and I am mine. I cannot limit his personal freedom. If he wants to talk to you, then you can have a chat.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Dunn did not expect Twain to simply walk away. He had wanted to refuse Tang Jing — the two of them really had nothing to talk about together — but now that Twain was gone, it was hard for him to do that.

Tang Jing said with a grin next to him, “Mr. Dunn can we talk?”

The helpless Dunn could only turn around to face her and asked, “What do you want to talk about? If it’s about the Forest team... then I can’t tell you anything.”

“Of course, I understand, Mr. Dunn. It’s a headache to work with that eccentric person, isn’t it?”

Dunn shook his head and said, “No, we work well together.”

Tang Jing had a look of disbelief, but Dunn could not be bothered to explain the excellent rapport they had between them. Even if he had explained, Tang Jing would not believe. Would anyone believe if someone had told him about such a thing like swapping body with another person?

“Then let’s talk about something else. Something unrelated to football...” Tang Jing smiled sweetly at Dunn, while she gently swept a strand back of hair that was stuck on her forehead.

Kerslake saw that the players had arrived at the training ground one by one but did not see Dunn. It was time for the coaching staff to come together for do some preparation for a new day of training. When he remembered that Twain always come together with Dunn, he hurried to Twain’s office to find him.

However, he only found Twain in the office.

“Eh? Where’s Dunn?”

Without looking up, Twain said, “He must be in a love haze, right?”

“Love haze? What’s that?”

“Devil knows.”

“Uh...”

“David, today’s training program is focused on set pieces, right?” asked Twain, looking up.

Kerslake nodded.

“Okay, let’s go with that. Just leave Dunn alone for the time being. Let’s go to the training ground. It’s time for the players to assemble.” With that, Twain went to the door to walk out with the confused Kerslake and went straight to the training ground.

At the entrance of the training base, the players who came to train, curiously watched their Chinese assistant coach chatting to a Chinese woman, who looked exuberant and the assistant manager looked a little distracted.

“The weather is really nice today, Mr. Dunn.”

“...”

“How many years have you been in Nottingham? Are you used to living in England? In the beginning, I hated the weather in this country...”

“...”

“Speaking of which, do you miss home since you left home for work on your own at such a young age?”

“...”

“I was going to write a detailed story about your past, but eventually, I found out that you were a lackluster person with very little to write about before you became a coach in Nottingham Forest... Ah, I’m so sorry I used this description. In short, really boring. You actually have not have a relationship between grade school and college... By the way, do you have a girlfriend now? Long distance relationship? Or a foreign affair here? Is she pretty?”

“...”

The semi-finals were two days away.

※※※

The team did not train in the morning, so the players could have a good night’s sleep at home before they gathered in Wilford in the afternoon. Then they would take the club’s red bus to London, where they would stay at the hotel and prepare for the semi-final game the next day.

Twain and Dunn did not go to London with the team. After they said goodbye to the team at the training base, they drove to Manchester by themselves.

There was still some time before that night’s game, and the entrance to the Old Trafford stadium were already full of people. The difference between the fans clad in the red Manchester United jerseys and red and black AC Milan jerseys were distinct and separated by the police. The reputation of both Italian and English fans was not good. With the performances of the players from both teams still unknown, the police in Manchester were on guard for all possible dangers.

Dunn came fully equipped with a digital video, digital camera, mini laptop, traditional handwritten notebooks, binoculars. He was mainly in charge of bringing first-hand intelligence about the enemy to the team.

On the other hand, Twain was like a tourist with his hands in his pockets and wearing his sunglasses.

The two men were caught in the crowd of AC Milan fans, slowly squeezing their way towards the entrance.

The surrounding AC Milan fans kept shouting all kinds of chants, which Twain could not understand. The only word he could catch was “Kaka.” Due to AC Milan’s lackluster performance this season, all hopes for the league title were lost. The Champions League title was the only trophy they could hope for. Kaka’s powerful breakout this season was the guarantee that filled these people with confidence.

With Shevchenko walking away from England, Alberto Gilardino’s state unstable, Filippo Inzaghi’s frequent injuries, and Oliveira showing his true sub-standards, the entire AC Milan front line suffered from a dearth of goals. It was Kaka who stepped forward to take on most of the goal scoring responsibility. It was almost down to him alone that AC Milan was in the Champions League semi-finals.

No matter how close he was to Real Madrid at one point according to the pre-season rumors, he had become AC Milan fans’ ace core in their hearts by this time. He was the hope of all those people.

AC Milan’s flags with Kaka’s portrait on them fluttered in front of Twain’s eyes as he muttered the name.

Old Trafford, the Theater of Dreams to Manchester United, was the best football field. In this stadium during the Champions League this season, Manchester United had annihilated A.S. Roma by 7:1 and shocked the football world. Now, facing another Italian team, what would happen?

Ninety minutes later, it was clear it was indeed a fantastic and exciting game, purely from the standpoint of a neutral fan. Twain enjoyed himself immensely as he watched in the stands. Dunn had a harder time because he was in charge of the recording.

The score happened exactly the same as Twain’s memory, with Manchester United narrowly winning against AC Milan by 3:2 at home and scoring a valuable home win. But the game was not quite the same as what Twain remembered. The course of the game and the score did not satisfy the Manchester United fans. Instead, it was the visiting team, AC Milan, that left perfectly satisfied.

Manchester United quickly scored a two-goal lead and it looked like the situation was in their favor. The Manchester United fans had even begun to envision the final in Athens.

However, at that moment, Kaka, who was thought of as AC Milan’s biggest threat by the media and experts before the game, stepped up with two beautiful attacks which resulted in two beautiful goals. It suddenly cooled down the feverish atmosphere in the Theater of Dreams. After Kaka received the long pass from the backfield, he shook off Fletcher, Evra, Heinze in a row. A single player had bypassed their entire line of defense. And when he shot the football into the goal, Ferguson finally rushed from his seat, unable to suppress the anger inside him.

The performance of the defensive line was terrible. Although Rio Ferdinand and Vidic were sidelined by injuries for a period, there was no excuse for their own defense line to perform so badly.

He suddenly thought of the last round of the league tournament. Rio Ferdinand had suffered a minor injury in that game. To be safe, he replaced him, and it was because of that, the line of defense was thrown into disarray by the Forest team’s offense. In turn, van Nistelrooy and Ribéry each scored a goal. Later on, during the training, it was discovered that Rio Ferdinand’s injury was not looking good and he would sit out the rest of the game.

Damn it! Ferguson cursed internally.

Twain laughed in delight in the stands when he saw Manchester United lose two goals.

During the second half of the game, AC Milan deliberately compacted its defensive line. With two goals, a draw was enough for Ancelotti. However, it was undoubtedly a failure for Manchester United. Hence, Manchester United attacked AC Milan’s goal in a frenzy until the injury stoppage time, when Rooney scored another goal and locked in their victory.

Though AC Milan had lost, they could be said to be winners in such a game. The one who had the last laugh was Ancelotti and Manchester United with its smooth start.

“On this night of the Theater of Dreams, both teams have brought us a terrific game. The score of 3:2 left us with an infinite reverie. The second leg of the game between both sides will have a lot of highlights to watch. Kaka and Rooney both scored twice in this game.?Between these two young and outstanding players, who will be the key to determine the fate of their own teams?”

Twain stretched his back in the stands but did not stand up. He was waiting for the other fans to leave.

“How’s the intelligence gathering?”

Dunn was just transferring the video file from the digital video to the mini laptop. “Kaka is the key player.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“I think there are too many dangerous characters. AC Milan is a thorny opponent. Pirlo, Seedorf, Inzaghi... But their defenses are just as big a problem, just like Manchester United.” As soon as he talked about football, Dunn became chattier. “The repercussions of aging, slower turns and being overly reliant on their veterans, all emerged. Dida’s form is shaky and is a ticking time bomb on the defensive line. As long as we put enough pressure on their defenses, we can find more holes. So...” Dunn looked up at Twain. “I disapprove of playing defensive counterattack against AC Milan.”

Twain did not respond to his suggestion. He mumbled as if he had not heard it, “All the powerhouse clubs in the world are having headaches about their defensive problems... Let’s go, Dunn.”

Once he got up, Twain looked back at the field and said, “what a wonderful opening act game. The lead is going to take the stage.”

Semi-finals were less than a day away.

Chapter 523 - Kill Them

While everyone was still discussing the thrilling game last night with exhilaration, the Nottingham Forest players were already doing their adaptive training at Stamford Bridge.

Twain did not let the team do closed-door training this time. Reporters gathered at Stamford Bridge, hoping to see what the Forest team had been up to these few days behind closed doors.

The result disappointed them. Twain did not carry out any tactical drills in such a public setting. Other than basic shooting drills, he just made the players run laps.

Obviously, the reporters would not completely lose hope. After the training, there was a pre-match press conference to be attended by the two managers at the same time. At the meeting, both Twain and Mourinho would answer questions from the reporters. At that time, they could ask any questions they had and let the two arrogant and standoffish managers answer.

Unlike the last time they came to Chelsea to play in the league tournament, the Forest players looked serious. They all knew what an important game it was for their coaches, the team they played for, and themselves.

George Wood was always the most serious player during training. Even if it was just running laps, he ran at the front, which captured everyone’s attention. At first, there were people who thought he deliberately wanted to steal the limelight. Later, they discovered that he behaved like this in every instance and got used to it.

Even watching him run so hard, no one suggested for him to take a break. The game was the same night, but everyone had a lot of confidence in Wood’s stamina.

The reporters who took the photographs on the sidelines quickly tired of the monotonous drill. They did not come to see people running.

A few bolder reporters came up with the intention to interview Twain on site. This was permitted, but because Twain always gave off an unapproachable vibe, the reporters were unsure whether Twain would accept their interview.

It was only after Twain realized that there were a few more people next to him that he shifted his eyes from the field to his side.

It turned out to be the reporters, which included two of his old acquaintances — Pierce Brosnan and Tang Jing.

Casting an unfriendly glance at them, Twain turned his head back.

“Isn’t it just fifteen minutes of public time?” He muttered.

“There are still five minutes left.” Next to him, Dunn replied with a laugh, as he knew what he meant.

“Hmm...” Twain stroked his chin and said, “let the boys run for another five minutes.”

As the fitness coach led the team to run past in front of the coaching staff and was about to hand over the team to Twain, he saw Dunn gesture to him to continue. He was a little surprised, but did it anyway.

Someone in the team made a sound of lament that they had fallen victim to the confrontation between the boss and the media. Only George Wood looked the same as usual and led the run.

“What did this kid eat while he was growing up...” Ribéry looked at Wood’s back and frowned. “Monster!”

Within the five minutes, a reporter finally asked Twain some questions about the evening’s semi-final game: how the Forest team planned to deal with Chelsea, would the Forest team still insist on playing defensive counterattack, who was on the Forest team’s starting list and so on.

Twain’s answers were perfunctory with regards to this.

“Tonight’s game? You will find out when you get to this evening. Is it necessary to ask that now?”

The answer left the reporters frustrated.

“Mr. Twain, it’s true that we will know when the game comes. But our readers also need some news to keep them excited for tonight’s game...” The BBC reporter took the lead. All the other reporters nodded and agreed.

Twain did not want to fall out with the media. After all, he still had a lot of uses for them in the future. He glanced at the training ground. The players were still running laps, which was unplanned physical training.

“Ah, I see. To be honest, there is nothing to talk about. We are an old opponent of Chelsea. I am as familiar with Mr. Mourinho as I would be with my wife... Of course, that is if I had a wife.” His remark amused the reporters present. “Similarly, I believe Mr. Mourinho knows me as well as he knows his wife. This is a game without any secrets to speak of. Both sides compete with real strength and not some other complicated things... do you understand now that I’ve put it this way?”

The reporters nodded.

“Therefore, you see, our training is no different than usual. Speaking of which, I’d like to switch with Mr. Ferguson. We played Arsenal in the semi-finals last season and this season we play against Chelsea.?We had been going around in circles within the country. It really does not feel like we’re playing in the UEFA Champions League. I would also like to take this opportunity to travel abroad.”

There was another burst of laughter. The atmosphere looked pretty good.

Just as the reporters felt there was more questions to be asked, Twain raised his arm and pointed to the watch on his wrist. “I’m sorry, the open interview time is over, my friends.”

It was as if everyone woke up from a dream. Twain was here beating around the bush only to talk nonsense the entire time just so that he could use up the time.

When the annoying reporters were directed by security guards and had reluctantly left the grounds, Twain stopped the team from running laps and then sat them down to rest as he stood in the middle to speak to everyone.

“Five minutes doesn’t squeeze you dry, is it?” Twain pointed to the panting Ribéry and said, “if you still want to pretend, you’ll be on the bench, Franck.”

Ribéry’s breathing immediately evened out. Next to him, someone laughed.

The starting lineup had been announced, and Ribéry, who was in a good shape, was on it.

“I don’t have to say much. You all know what tonight’s game is. If anyone else thinks it’s just a regular league tournament, you can raise your hand now. We still have time to wake you up. Answer me out loud. What damn game are we’re playing tonight?”

“Championship League!”

Everyone roared in unison.

“Very good! This is a knockout game. We’ve worked hard the entire season. But once we lose, it will be for f**king nothing! No one will sympathize with us. I believe you have fully realized the cruelty in this world. The flowers, applause, and glory belong only to the victors, and the losers get nothing! I do this job not because I want to serve as a background for someone else, and you’re not playing football to be a stepping stone to the winner! Nottingham Forest’s football is the winning kind. The kind of football that you don’t win is nothing! Nothing!” Twain stomped hard at the turf beneath his feet, as if he could trample and sink Stamford Bridge. “We’ve never lost to Chelsea and it should be Chelsea who is feeling scared, not us. Let’s show them our best tonight!”

With the inspiring speech over, Twain asked Dunn to come forward and explain the specific tactics to the players. Dunn, who was more professional in this job, was clearly more suitable than himself.

Dunn stepped forward and held the tactical board to explain to each of the players around him the tactics for this game and their individual tasks, even including the substitutes. This sort of meticulous work was more suitable for people like Dunn to do.

In fact, the explanation of tactics was a thankless job. Before Dunn came along, it was Kerslake who did it. After Dunn came, he could not wait to dump the work on Dunn, the newbie.

Because the players had their own ideas and would want to play those on the field. However, the tactics were unlikely to cover of everyone’s preferences, and someone was bound to resent the arrangements, and that dissatisfaction would be vented at the coach who came forward to set the tactics for them. If Twain needed Anelka to defend and when Dunn went to Anelka, the French striker would certainly give Dunn attitude.

If a bad-tempered coach were to do it, the likelihood of a quarrel between the two sides would be higher. Dunn’s character was slightly softer, so he was the most appropriate person to execute this. He only did this as a job. No matter how the players treated him, those faces simply could get into his eyes and head.

Obviously, the managers could do these tasks themselves. But Twain’s idea was this: since I’ve got an assistant manager I’m paying, I will get them to do everything that I can hand over. Able people do more work…

After Dunn spent half an hour telling all the players the specific tactics and details, the team continued to train. This time, Twain carried out the tactical drill in the absence of media presence. They specifically practiced all the tactics that had just been laid out for them to see how much they had grasped.

After the training, the players showered in the locker room led by the assistant managers, and Twain went straight to the press conference venue, where the reporters and his opponent were waiting for him.

※※※

The two rivals bumped into each other at the entrance to the press conference, and it looked like a chance encounter.

“Are you so scared that you have to have a closed-door training, Mr. Twain?” Mourinho raised the first question. “Are there still any secrets left between us?”

Twain snorted. “A team that has never lost to Chelsea will be never be afraid of Chelsea. Thank you for the joke, Mr. Mourinho, even though it’s a little corny.”

Not being able to beat Twain grated on Mourinho. Twain hoped to anger his opponent, but apparently Mourinho was also an expert in psychological warfare and was unmoved. He just shrugged and said, “it’s not a joke. You’ll know when the game is played.”

“You’re right, since you’ll know too when you play. Why are we talking nonsense here? Let’s just go out for a drink together.” Twain pointed to the exit and turned to leave.

“I don’t think the reporters in there will agree.” Mourinho pointed to the entrance of the press conference instead.

“Well, you have a point, too.” Twain turned spun back around. He made a gesture and said, “after you, Mr. Mourinho.”

Mourinho simply accepted it and pushed the door open to enter. Twain followed close behind.

Because the two leading characters had arrived, the press conference quickly quieted down. After the two men were seated, everyone eagerly raised their hands.

Twain and Mourinho met gazes at the same time. Such animated media made them feel a little confused about what to do.

During a press conference at the sensitive time before a game, Twain always insisted on one principle: Taichi. Whatever he could push away, he would push and whatever he could skirt around, he would. He would ramble incoherently and not touch on the main point. It was only for a while, and things were okay when it was over and done with.

He sat down and leisurely looked at the host gather the forces to assign the tasks.

Overall, the questions were evenly distributed to the two managers. No one would feel that they had been snubbed, and no one would be tired of answering too many questions.

Most of the questions Twain and Mourinho needed to answer were about which star players would appear on the evening’s starting list, how a player’s condition had been recently, or how recent injuries would affect performance, or other normal questions.

Twain was not surprised because he knew that they had not arrived at the real core portion yet. According to usual practice, the media always asked the questions about the information required for the general layout first to ensure that the next day’s newspaper would not be left with a large blank in the pages. They would only ask the few pointed questions at the end to put the managers on the spot.

He was somewhat distracted in dealing with the routine questions that had been thrown at him while he calculated in his head how long it would take before he could leave. Until Tang Jing stood up when she was finally selected after she held her hand up for a long time.

“Hello, I am Tang Jing, a reporter for China’s Titan Sports. I have three questions.” Tang Jing stood up and said in English, “first of all, Nottingham Forest has not lost to Chelsea since Manager Twain started coaching the team. This is the third contest between both sides this season. Is Manager Twain confident in continuing his unbeaten record? Second, if I remember correctly, Manager Twain had said before this season that the Forest team’s goal is the Champions League title this season. I would love to ask Manager Twain where you got your confidence from at that time. Thirdly, there have been rumors that you and Mr. Mourinho are at odds. Do you intend to admit this?”

All of a sudden, all eyes were on the Chinese reporter.

He did not think that Tang Jing would ask these three questions. Twain viewed her with some surprise, while Mourinho directed his gaze at Twain beside him.

“Please answer, Mr. Twain.” When she saw that Twain did not speak, Tang Jing smiled as she reminded him.

“Tsk. Firstly, I don’t think that it’s a good thing to lose to Chelsea. If I could maintain the unbeaten record against this team, it would obviously be good. I think you’re asking an obvious question. No manager would say ‘I think we might lose’ when he answered such a question. Secondly, I can tell you that my confidence was from a dream. Can you believe it, Miss Chinese Reporter? I woke up one day and felt someone whispered in my ear — you are certain to get the UEFA Champions League title this season. Can you believe it or not?”

A reporter could not help but laugh.

Tang Jing turned around and glared at the direction of the laughter.

“You ask me where my confidence comes from, and I’ll tell you it comes from my team. Are you satisfied with this answer? We were supposed to be the European champion last season. My players have that ability. I’m their manager so I’m well aware of this. I’m clearer on this than anyone else here.”

“As for the third question ...” Twain turned his head to look at Mourinho and found Mourinho looking at him as well, so he turned his head back immediately.

“How my personal relationship with Mr. Mourinho has nothing to do with this game. so I refuse to answer.” He stared at Tang Jing as he spoke each word.

“How can it be unrelated? If this game were to be another opponent, how much do you want to win? What are the odds of success?” Tang Jing was not willing to let go so she continued to ask questions.

“You’ve used up your three questions, Miss Tang.” said Twain with a cold expression. He did not intend to continue his entanglement with Tang Jing.

In the end, Mourinho stepped up to mediate between the two of them and said, “I think this lady… missed the point of the issue. The point is not who our opponent is, but what kind of game it is. For Chelsea, no matter who the opponent is, as long as this is a crucial game, we will never be allowed to fail.”

Twain sat next to him without talking, but he agreed tacitly with Mourinho’s assertion in his mind. It was rare for him to find common ground with Mourinho.

Tang Jing glanced at the silent Twain and accepted Mourinho’s answer. She sat back down and did not raise her hand to ask questions again.

She had intended to use the three questions for Mourinho again, but there was no longer a need to.

The host was keenly aware that the atmosphere of the press conference was in an irregular plight, so he wisely ended it.

After he came down from the stage, Twain specifically walked towards Mourinho and said, “I can’t believe we have something in common. I completely agree with your answer for that woman. Well, how about it? Since we have something in common, would you like to go for a drink together?”

He was not sincere about inviting Mourinho to a drink. He just did it to look like he was gracious. At the same time, he was using psychological warfare before the crucial game.

Mourinho also knew Twain’s mind. If he answered “okay,” it would certainly embarrass Twain, but he would not do such a thing. It was not that he did not want to embarrass Twain. He just did not want to drink with Twain at all. It was the same case as anyone not wanting to date someone they disliked.

“Even though I’d love for you to buy me a drink, I think if we do sit down and have a drink together one day... Mr. Twain, can you guess when that will be?” said Mourinho.

“When?” asked Twain.

“After you and I both retire.” Mourinho walked away.

※※※

“After days of waiting... the game is finally about to start!” Kerslake muttered excitedly in the bus.

Through the window on his side was the Stamford Bridge stadium, which had fallen into a frenzy.

The blue colors of the Chelsea fans and the red colors of the Nottingham Forest fans streamed in from all directions and congregated in the stadium. They surged forward and then spread out before they accumulated their strength and rushed towards each other again, their fervor swept across the space as far as the eye could see.

That was the charm of the world’s first movement. No matter the identity of these fans in their daily lives — the head of the company, the vulgar City of Xiao Min, a professor in an institution of higher learning, or a quiet teenager — after stepping into the stadium, they turned into the same creature — fans who were dominated by primitive emotions.

They had lost all rationality. Only by defeating their opponents could they calm down.

Alcohol was the best catalyst for such a mood. Countless people held up their beer cups and shouted their teams’ slogans, wanting to make their opponents retreat at all costs.

“Chelsea! Chelsea! We’re champions! We’re destined to be the European champions!”

“You’ll have to go through us first, you shits!”

“The Double belongs to the blue Chelsea! The reds can go to hell!”

“We’re the strongest team! Nottingham-Forest Forest!”

“You only used to be, Nottingham bumpkins!”

“Sodding upstarts from London, you’ve never been!”

“We’re f**king rich! Richer than you poor bastards!”

These verbal provocations and clashes took place in every corner of the stadium. The police were on guard for every possible danger and made a desperate bid to maintain order on the scene.

“I like this clamor.” Twain, who got out of the bus, looked around at the chaotic square and nodded as he exclaimed, “clear and audible foul language, sweat and spit, and the smell of alcohol... Awesome!” He raised his fists to the Nottingham Forest fans who were waiting. The action drew cheers from the Forest fans. These people liked to see Twain strut around on his opponent’s territory.

Naturally, when he received the approval of his own people, he would also be at the receiving end of his opponent’s vitriol. On the other side, there was a lot of swearing and booing at Twain from the Chelsea fans’ camp.

Nottingham Forest was the most unique out of the twenty teams in the English Premier League. When the other teams went to play on their archrivals’ territories, the players would bear the brunt of being booed and abused by the opposing fans. Only on this team, the players were all right, and the one who received the most ferocious abuse was their manager, Tony Twain.

Some fans had even come up with a number of offensive songs to target at Twain.

Hearing the Chelsea fans’ swearing and hissing, the Nottingham Forest fans immediately reacted. They started shouting loudly at Twain. Even though it appeared as if they were saying it to Twain, they made sure the entire stadium could hear them clearly.

“Hey, Tony! Go ahead and bring us another damn victory!”

“You’re not afraid of that guy, Mourinho, right?!”

“Tony, if you can take down Chelsea, I’ll buy you a drink when we return! You can drink as much as you want!”

Twain walked with the players between both sides of fans and the Nottingham Forest fans kept trying to break through the police blockade to pat Twain on the shoulder as if they wanted to pin their hopes on the man.

On the other side, it was like a forest of middle fingers and gaping mouths ready to emit the word “f**k.”

It was truly a clash of fire and ice.

Twain walked in the middle of the flames and the ocean with a smile on his face, all the way to the visitors’ locker room.

Although he seemed calm in appearance, he in fact felt explosive on the inside. like a volcanic eruption waiting for a suitable moment to spew out fiery red lava to turn the cold sea water into steam.

“The boss is so cool...” Gareth Bale could not help exclaiming as he looked at Twain’s back from the back of the line.

※※※

The players got dressed, warmed up, and returned.

Their preparations were all done and Twain stood before the eleven fully prepped players, with the substitute players, coaches, and team doctors behind him.

“Coach Dunn has given you the detailed arrangement of the specific tactics and we have already decided how we are going to play in this game during training a week ago. Everyone is in good form and all okay with your stamina. There’s also no major injuries. We’ve been preparing for so long that all the preparations have been done.” Twain clapped and continued, “what else is lacking? Just the ninety-minute game, and... a victory.”

Then he motioned to everyone — the starting eleven players in front of him and the substitutes and coaches behind him — to surround him, arms around shoulders and heads bowed. Standing in the middle, he looked at the men and said to them, “remember, do not think about how Chelsea leads us in the league tournament, don’t care about whether they have any hope of winning the league now, and disregard how strong they are. They are definitely not our ultimate rivals. This is the semi-finals, guys. Our goal is not just the insignificant Stamford Bridge. Athens is where we’re going. Don’t you dare stop until you set foot on the Olympic Stadium of Athens! You’re not allowed to stop until you pick up the UEFA Champions League trophy! You’re not permitted to stop until I say ‘okay!’ Any opponent that dares to stand in our way, whether it be Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, or Chelsea — kill them all!” He swung his hand down as if he were holding a sword.

“Kill them!”

A wild roar erupted in the visitors’ locker room.

Chapter 524 - Contrary to Expectations

The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge had been ignited. The red and blue colors formed into two distinctive squares in the stands. Though they were not equal in numbers, they seemed to be on a par in terms of their momentum. The smaller number of Forest fans showed no weakness in the face of the dominant Blues fans. They frenziedly hit back at the opponent’s various provocations. They did everything except jump straight into fights and throw beer glasses.

Twain liked these kind of fans. He had something in common with Roy Keane on this point — they both disliked the so-called fans who sat in luxury boxes, impeccably attired and refined in manner. If fans came to the stadium and did not throw themselves into the crazy atmosphere, it was better to simply stay at home and watch the televised broadcast.

It was because of the support of such a group of fans that he had the confidence to lead Nottingham Forest to head south and annihilate their opponents.

Before he entered the stadium today and saw those Forest fans feverishly cheer his name and clash with the Chelsea fans, the sense of accomplishment in Twain’s heart could no longer be expressed in words.

Besides winning this game and taking the Champions League title, was there anything else he could do to repay these lovely fans?

Therefore, he told his players not to stop until they had reached their goal.

How could they stop when they had been hurtling on the right highway?

“Both teams have had little association with each other for the past one hundred years and were on different paths. The arrival of Tony Twain and José Mourinho changed all that. The two men with their unique temperaments and extreme conceit are unwilling to lose to each other. The two teams had co-existed in peace over the past one hundred years, but it does not mean that they will be able to interact amicably from now on. The classic English clash between red and blue has another pair of enemies... And we all like to watch games like this because it’s thrilling. I didn’t say brilliant because this game may be played a little conservatively due to the importance of the outcome. But there will be a lot of intense footage from this game, even if you want it to be less so.”

The television commentator conjectured on the tactics of both sides based his experience. Because it was a Champions League semi-final, the result was more important than anything else, so the odds of wanting to watch a brilliant and wonderful contest were low, not to mention Mourinho and Tony Twain were both famously conservative managers.

What the spectators could only expect the highest intensity to be red and yellow cards, fouls, loud collisions, flying spittle, glares, and both managers’ passionate performances on the sidelines.

Twain stood on the sidelines and waited for the game to begin. Mourinho was also standing on the edge of the technical area. The two managers could not sit still in the ten or so seconds before the start of the game.

Van Nistelrooy and Eastwood stood in the center circle, waiting for the kickoff.

The referee checked on the time with the fourth official through his headset. The Stamford Bridge stadium, which had been rumbling noisily, gradually calmed down.

The referee looked down at his watch and then gave a thumbs up to the fourth official on the sidelines. Everything was okay so they could kick off.

He blew the whistle.

※※※

The commentator presented what a conservative manager Tony Twain was in his impression and how his style of football was so boring that the spectators simply could not cheer and clap. No one else could support him save for the Nottingham Forest fans. This man had offended a number of people in English football circle. And after he found England to be too small, he became a scourge in continental Europe. Look at what he had done to the poor Frank Rijkaard... If he ended up taking the Champions League title, the entire UEFA would lose its mind.

As he chattered, the Forest team kicked the football out. After a simple return pass, the football came to Wood’s feet.

Instead of continuing to return the pass, Wood kicked the football to van der Vaart, the Dutch midfielder in front of himself to the side. He would hand the ball over to Van der Vaart to specifically organize the attacks.

Van der Vaart also did not dribble the ball. He just passed the football as per Twain’s instruction. Chelsea’s midfield defensive ability was world class. It would be easy for one player to dribble too much and get enmeshed with Essien and Makelele and Ballack’s defense.

Twain wanted to get the team through the midfield quickly without giving the opponent too much time to dentangle them. In a situation like this, passing the ball was clearly a more effective way than dribbling the ball.

He always told his players that no matter how fast a person could run, even if it were the world’s best hundred-meter sprinter, it was impossible to run at the speed of a flying football. Hence, if they wanted a quick attack, passing was their best option.

Van der Vaart passed the football to Ribéry, who immediately moved the football with a long shot to Ashley Young on the right flank after he attracted Chelsea’s defensive attention on the left flank.

The Forest team’s offensive passing was quick and decisive. The overall positional play and assists were deft, fully demonstrating their rapport.

“As if it had been calculated, the Forest team shifted the football from left to right with a few deliveries of kicks.”

“Watch out for his pass!” the Chelsea goalkeeper ?ech roared loudly. As an opponent in the English Premier League, he knew Ashley Young’s techniques well. The assist king of last season’s Premier League had a remarkable talent and passing ability.

The Forest Team’s center forward was van Nistelrooy, known as the “king of the penalty box,” so Ashley Young’s passing came in handy.

ech did not dare to be careless and cautioned everyone be vigilant.

Ashley Young did pass the ball, but he did not pass it on to van Nistelrooy and Eastwood in the middle. He kicked the football back and passed it to Chimbonda, who came up to assist.

“Confine their offense on the flank!” The Chelsea players rushed up intending to hem them in and prevent Chimbonda and Ashley Young from coordinating offense together on the flank.

Chelsea’s left back Ashley Cole closely marked Ashley Young, not giving him a chance to slip past him, while Essien came to guard against Chimbonda and not allow him to easily pass the football to Ashley Young.

“The Forest team’s attack quickly came to an impasse. Chelsea’s defense is very solid.”

More players were needed to support Chimbonda, but van der Vaart did not go. He only looked on from afar in the middle. Could it be that this matter had nothing to do with him?

No, it was just that there was a better candidate.

George Wood ran over from his defensive position and Chimbonda spied him through the cracks among the crowd of players. He immediately passed the football to his captain, who came up to receive.

Wood did not adjust or even observe after he received the football. He directly kicked the football to van der Vaart, who was waiting in the middle.

Ballack had initially wanted to come up and force Wood to pass the ball back while he had it stopped. He did not think that Wood would not even observe before he passed it again, and the pass was quite accurate.

After van der Vaart stopped the football, he could not turn around with Makelele stuck to him so closely, so he moved the football to the left flank where Ribéry plugged in once again and passed.

Van Nistelrooy had a head-on confrontation with Terry in front of the goal, and Terry eventually headed the football out of the end line with his disruptions.

“A beautiful attack, but pity there was no goal. Terry’s defense sets your mind at ease!” The commentator praised the Blue captain, John Terry.

Twain and his coaching staff met gazes and smiled. The men saw what they wanted to see.

Where was the key to this attack, or the transit point? It was not van der Vaart but George Wood plugging in to receive and pass before he pulled the football out of the quagmire and then brought it into the open zone.

This was the ability that Twain had always wanted Wood to have: to help with the team’s offense, to accomplish the seemingly unremarkable, but very critical tasks in seemingly unremarkable areas. Apparently, before he ran up in response to Chimbonda, he had already ascertained van der Vaart’s position and knew what he should do. That was why he could send the football to where it was supposed to go after he received Chimbonda’s pass.

The attacking midfielder was positioned far too forward. His field of vision was limited and easily marked by the opponent’s defensive midfielder. The defensive midfielder could also be the same. His position was more unrestricted and there was no inseparable defensive player around. There was ample space and freedom to move.

The position was a waste if it was just limited to defense.

“Even though there was no goal, we had a good start.” Twain shook hands with the coaches to celebrate. Then he walked up to Albertini.

“He did a good job.”

Albertini nodded and looked proud. “Of course, he’s my student.”

Twain chuckled, “I hope he can be the next Metronome.”

When Albertini played, he had the nickname that meant that when he was on the field, he was like a metronome in control of the team’s pace and in control of the momentum of the game. Twain was not satisfied with him being just a defensive midfielder who could participate in the offense. When Wood could become the double core from the spirit to the tactics, he would develop specialized tactics around the kid, and at that time, the Forest team would become an incredibly powerful with a large number of good players surrounding Wood.

“In that case, he still had a long way to go. He not only requires the training but also the experience.”

“Anyway, he’s still young.” Looking at Wood running on the field, Twain added, “I’m still young, too.”

※※※

After the Forest team’s corner came out, Piqué’s header shot was directly taken down by ?ech and Chelsea immediately launched a swift counterattack.

ech threw the ball, and Ballack passed it to Essien after he received it. Essien then passed it to Lampard.

Similarly, through a fast breakthrough in the midfield, Mourinho also did not want to directly confront Nottingham Forest’s midfielders here. Although the Forest team did not have a world-class lineup like Ballack, Essien and Makelele, one George Wood was enough to give him a headache.

Lampard chose to shoot directly after he took the ball. He swung his leg for a long shot twenty-eight meters away from the goal. He had wanted to catch Edwin van der Sar off guard but did not expect to stray away from the goal.

A brief lament at Stamford Bridge was immediately replaced by an applause.

“Both teams had a beautiful attack each after the start of the game... Maybe this game will present us with a completely different Nottingham Forest and Chelsea?” This was the commentator’s beautiful wish.

His desire was shattered by the ruthless reality that came next next.

The Forest team quickly opted to use defensive tactics, and Chelsea was powerless against the Forest team’s die-hard tactics. The UEFA Champions League semi-final was bogged down five minutes after it started.

“Defense,””errors,” and “interceptions” were the entire range of keywords in the game for more than ten minutes. After each side gave a shot, their attacks were suddenly flummoxed.

Ten minutes later, there was the first yellow card. Makelele shoveled van der Vaart during his defense. Because his action was too big, he was warned by the referee with a yellow card.

Both managers wanted to get the football from their respective sides to break through the midfield quickly, and at the same time did not want to the other side to quickly pass through their midfield quickly as well. Therefore, the midfield became the area with the most intense firestorm and the strategic location where both sides refused to give in an inch.

Most of the time, football was rolling around the midfield. It would appear at the foot of the Forest team for a while, and then in a flash, it would go over to Chelsea’s side.

Because everyone was focused on the midfield, the offense’s low efficiency was pathetic. The number of threatening shots added from both teams could be counted with five fingers.

The situation was something Twain was happy to see, so he turned his head and sat back on in his coach’s seat. On the other side, Mourinho came out of the technical area.

In the away game, Twain’s bottom line was a draw and an away goal, so he could still remain calm in his seat while the game was in a deadlock. Whereas Mourinho, playing as the home team, was under more pressure. He had to win.

Clad in a pale blue shirt, Mourinho rolled his sleeves up past his elbows and waved his arms vigorously to direct the team to continue to press forward while he constantly bellowed toward the field.

The team’s offense was in a deadlock. He could not sit still. He paced back and forth between his coach’s seat and the technical area.

Twain looked askance at him and wondered somewhat unkindly if Mourinho was going to take a shower and get dressed too during the halftime interval. His pale blue shirt had already become dark blue from sweat.

※※※

“The game has been going for twenty minutes and the ball possession rate is out. In terms of statistics, Chelsea has the upper hand, with a huge gap of 69% possession against Nottingham Forest’s 31%. But the Chelsea players are not having an easy time. Chelsea’s biggest problem right now is that they have the ball possession, but it does not result in any goals. As for Nottingham Forest... Supposing, I mean, if the Forest team wins in the end, then this is a classic Tony Twain’s game — gaining the victory for the most important game with the ugliest playing. But that would be a disaster for our fans...”

Twain simply cocked a leg up to deliberately provoke someone.

If that busy person did not see it, it did not matter now. Twain believed that the perceptive televised broadcast was bound to capture it on film. The effect would be the same after the game.

Chaos, the messier the better, so chaotic ’till Chelsea cannot find the offensive route, so messy ’till they are unable to check the holes in their defensive line... That will be great!

※※※

Mourinho paced back and forth along the sidelines for a while before he took a seat. After he saw Twain’s relaxed pose, he suddenly lost his anxiety.

“George Wood is not a god, he can’t cover the entire defense on his own...” He muttered to his aides as he sat in the coaches’ area.

The Forest team continued to disrupt Chelsea’s attacking pace with fouls and fierce defense. If Chelsea still followed the tactics developed before the game, it would become more and more chaotic. A quick pass through the midfield was no longer feasible. It would only actively increase their team’s rate of errors.

“Let them do more horizontal passes. Maneuver the Forest team’s defenses and look for holes,” he instructed his aides around him.

Chelsea quickly made adjustments based on these instructions.

George Wood found himself struggling to defend on his own as Chelsea’s offense evaded him. They always executed horizontal passing to wear him down.

Because of their full trust in Wood’s ability, the Forest team only had him as the dedicated defensive player in the midfield.

Chelsea did this with the intention to bypass him to directly attack the weak areas of the Forest’s defensive line. Without the protection of their defensive midfielder, the Forest team’s defensive line lost valuable strategic depth. One penetrating straight pass or cross from the opponent could easily rip apart the defensive line in front of Edwin van der Sar. The Chelsea midfielders absolutely had that ability.

Essien passed the ball to Robben. When George Wood came up to defend, Robben did not get greedy this time. He passed the ball to Lampard in the middle when he saw Wood came up.

When Lampard received the ball, George Wood was still at the flank. Even if he was any better, he could not immediately rush over to help.

“Lampard takes the ball, and he has no Nottingham Forest defenders around him for the time being. This is an opportunity for Chelsea. Is he going to take another long shot?”

The commentator thought so, and Edwin van der Sar thought so too. His stance clearly showed that he was defending against Lampard’s powerful long shot.

Chelsea’s number 8 player liked long shots, for which he was famous. With no one marking him now, he had no reason not to shoot.

Piqué abandoned his defensive area and rushed up to cover George Wood’s position. Just as he started forward, Lampard swung his leg and passed the ball.

The football rolled past Piqué. He had wanted to extend his leg to block, but he swayed and fell. He completely lost his position.

“What a great opportunity!”

The stands of Stamford Bridge suddenly surged in monstrous waves. The sea of blue pressed from all directions against the red magma.

“Drogba received the ball and there’s no one around him... This opportunity is simply sent from heaven!”

Seeing this, Mourinho left his seat, leaned forward, and got ready to spring out to celebrate.

Drogba simply turned around after he received the ball, and Edwin van der Sar thought he was going in, so he got ready to strike and cut the ball off.

However, as Drogba turned around, he also raised his leg to shoot at the same time. At such a close distance, Edwin van der Sar could not react in time. He watched the football fly past his face in slow motion.

“What a GOOOOAL!”

This was contrary to Twain’s expectations.

The voices that the Chelsea fans wanted to hear the most finally rang over Stamford Bridge.

Chapter 525 - George Wood’s Football Philosophy

When Drogba received the football, there were no Forest defenders around him. Chelsea’s persistent maneuvering of the Forest team finally played a role in helping Drogba shake off the annoying defense at the most critical moment. The highly difficult action of turn and shoot was as natural to him as eating, and “the Beast” Drogba was best at shooting with this unconventional move.

It was too close in distance and Edwin van der Sar could not save it in time. He could only watch as the football entered the net.

At that moment, Stamford Bridge rocked and erupted in tremendous cheers. The blue sea set off an upsurge of waves that temporarily drowned the red rolling lava.

“Chelsea! Chelsea! Chelsea!” the fans dressed in blue jerseys chanted. At this moment, only these voices could be heard.

When he saw Drogba scored the goal, Mourinho rushed out of the coaches’ area and slid to the ground with his arms raised, celebrating with the people around him.

The Chelsea coaches and substitutes cheered thunderously.

“Chelsea’s offense has finally paid off! A beautiful offensive set piece that ripped the Forest team’s defensive line apart! 1:0! They finally made a good start at home!”

As the team that conceded the goal, there was a dead silence on Nottingham Forest’s side.

Twain sat in position, still with his legs crossed. Nothing changed before they conceded the goal, but the look on his face was no longer relaxed.

No one wanted to lose the ball, whether it was within or outside of the plan.

He must admit that Mourinho’s change of strategy was timely and outstanding. He did not keep up with this change, so he conceded the goal.

“Chelsea showed the Forest team, trailing in this away game, who’s fighting at home now!”

Twain got up from his seat and curtly whistled twice toward the field. This was his code to communicate with Wood.

George Wood heard Twain’s whistle and turned around to run over.

“Don’t defend both flanks for now. They want to rip you out of the middle. Can you tell?”

Wood nodded and said, “I saw that.”

“Just stay in the middle. If they want to stay on the flanks, let them get tossed on the flanks. Your job is to defend the middle.”

“All right, I get it.” Wood continued to nod.

“Go back and rearrange the defensive line. Their passes are maneuvering our defensive line to look for holes. Don’t be fooled and stay in formation.”

Wood accepted the commands and left.

※※※

The game started again, and Chelsea’s morale was greatly boosted after they scored a goal. They hoped to score another goal, taking advantage of the favorable situation and then score many goals to directly lock in their victory. Although the Forest team conceded the goal, they did not lose their confidence and fighting spirit. Their defensive organization was very tight and the game fell back into a sticky situation.

Five minutes passed and then another ten minutes passed. Chelsea’s successive offense did not result in a goal and their pace slowed.

Now it was the Forest team’s turn to seek an attack opportunity.

The Forest team’s attack was mainly based on defensive counterattack. They did not pursue quantity but quality. If they did not have the required certainty, then they would rather give up the attack than give Chelsea another chance to score a goal. Twain was cautious when playing an away game.

It could not be said that there was no good opportunities at all. By the end of the first half, the Forest team had been given a couple chances to score.

First, Piqué intercepted Drogba’s dribbling and passed the ball to van der Vaart. Then van der Vaart dribbled the ball to attack. Eastwood picked the ball up when he crossed over positions with van der Vaart. Outside the penalty area, Eastwood did not continue to dribble the ball forward or pass it to the others. Instead, he swung his leg to directly shoot outside the penalty box. This was a tricky shot which bypassed ?ech’s hands in an obvious arc without circumventing the goalpost.

The football hit the goalpost hard and made a clanging sound.

The Chelsea fans were still in panic when Nottingham Forest’s van Nistelrooy grabbed a second point. The King of the Penalty Box had a keen sense in front of the goal. He appeared the ball landed at the first instance and swung his leg to shoot.

ech had already fallen to the ground and struggled to get up, but it looked like he was too late. He reached his hands out, but he was still too far away from the football.

Team Captain Terry raced to cover and threw himself in front ?ech’s body.

“Van Nistelrooy!”

“It struck Terry on the body!”

“Is that a handball? It doesn’t seem to be! The referee did not make any indication and Terry managed to hold on to the goal. The Forest team’s best chance so far in the first half... What a shame!”

Terry fended off van Nistelrooy’s shot with his chest. If the angle was not right, it looked as if Terry had turned his body to block the football with his arm. Eastwood raised his hand to signal to the referee about Terry’s handball. The referee ignored him but whistled for a corner kick to the Forest team.

Van Nistelrooy, who made the shot, did not dwell on the matter with the referee. He scratched his head with some vexation. It was a pity that this ball did not go in. He had monitored first before he made the shot and did not see another Chelsea player other than ?ech lying on the ground.

When van Nistelrooy shot at the goal, Twain also lifted his butt off the seat with his hands reached forward, ready to cheer for the goal. But when he saw that Terry amazingly blocked the football, he slammed his palms on the ground.

“Damn luck! Our luck is so damn bad!” The frustrated Twain kept muttering.

“Chelsea had a narrow escape and Mourinho breathed a sigh of relief in his seat. It is now three minutes before the end of the first half and if all goes well, Chelsea will go into halftime with one goal.”

The Forest team made a little tweak in the corner kick. Before this, the Forest team was awarded three corner kicks which were all directly shot at the goal. The results were not effective. This time they switched to a short corner.

Van der Vaart passed the football to the incoming Ashley Young who did not rush to pass, but instead passed the football again to George Wood. The Forest team intended to make the most of the last three minutes. They patiently passed the ball in search of a defensive loophole in Chelsea.

On the other hand, Chelsea fully retreated to defend and intended to hold until the end of the first half.

The Forest team continuously passed the ball on the outside, from left to right, and from right to left again. Chelsea was not fooled. Their defensive formation remained tight and did not give the Forest team a chance to hit the danger zone with a straight pass.

Van der Vaart was the Forest team’s organization core. The football was passed to his feet several times, but he did not have a chance to send the football where it needed to go. Now he was more like an ordinary ball passer who repeatedly received the ball only to pass it again. The football always moved laterally.

What the Forest team needed now was not a crosswise pass, but a penetrating straight pass. Cross passing was what Chelsea wanted to see the most.

There was little time left in the first half and the Forest team was at a loss in the face of Chelsea’s tough defense.

George Wood was getting anxious in the back. If he could not equalize the score in the first half, it would be a big blow to his team’s morale.

He looked around him. Other than the two center backs, everyone had gone up. But it did not mean that it would be effective for everyone to go up. Now the front field was crowded with players. Our passing back and forth has constricted our routes and space instead.

For George Wood, attacks were meant to move forward. There was no offense without forward movement. If everyone was passing the ball around, then even they controlled the ball throughout the ninety-minute game, it would be impossible to enter the goal.

Could it be said that Wood had a good way to pass the ball? It was not the case either.

Van der Vaart, who was more experienced and skilled at organizing offense than he was, was also out of ideas in face of Chelsea’s tight defensive formation. How could George Wood pass the football in?

But George Wood had his own philosophy and method of playing football.

He ran up and beckoned to van der Vaart whose back was to the goal and facing him, to signal to him to pass the football over.

Meanwhile, the fourth official held up the signboard to indicate a one-minute injury stoppage time on the sidelines for the first half. The game time had reached forty-five minutes.

Van der Vaart hesitated slightly. He also wanted to look for a passing route that could cause a deadly blow and directly penetrated the opposing line.

The closer Wood ran, the more Chelsea players noticed him.

“Watch out for that kid!” Terry yelled loudly in the back. Essien moved forward a little and got ready to tackle Wood.

“Give me the ball!” Wood could not help shouting.

With no other way, van der Vaart passed the football to Wood.

The football rolled towards him and Essien pounced on him along with the football.

George Wood had his own very simple football philosophy — if a complex method was ineffective, then it was time to use the straightforward method.

He did not want to move the football gracefully to a defensive dead corner. He did not think about it at all.

Essien initially thought Wood would pass the ball after he received it, just like the other Forest players involved in the offense had done, but soon he realized that the situation was not right. Wood’s running speed and steps did not look like he planned to stop the ball ... He was obviously sprinting and adjusting his pace. He was going to...

Shoot!

In response, Essien sped up and pounced sideways, intending to block Wood’s shot with his body.

Wood looked past Essien’s body and straight to the goal. He did not see a passing path among the crowd, but he saw a thoroughfare to shoot for the goal.

A moment was all it took.

With his left foot firmly planted on the ground and his arms raised, he twisted his body and swung his right leg to powerfully kick the football rolling toward him upwards!

“Boom!”

“George WOOOOOOOOOOD… GOOOOOOOOAL!! What a great GOAL! A terrific goal!”

The football streaked over Stamford Bridge like a comet and plunged into the net, sparking a magnificent brilliance.

ech had not even changed his position. His line of sight was obscured by the crowd at the front of the penalty box. The ball seemed to rip through the horizon and rushed out of the roiling clouds before it instantly appeared in front of his eyes and by the time he saw the football emerge, it was too late for him to act. The football had already whizzed past his ear,

It was too fast, and power was too great.

This was George Wood’s philosophy and approach to football, simple and straightforward, and also the most effective.

※※※

“George Wood! This is his first goal for the Forest team in the Champions League! As a defensive midfielder, his shooting level is not praiseworthy, but this shot is a shockwave that will ripple through the world!”

All the pubs within the Nottingham city center erupted in cheers at the same time.

“You’re the best, George!”

“Take them down, Captain!”

At the same time at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea fans were temporarily silenced. The Forest fans were ignited with fervor by the goal.

“George!” The fan leader, Fat John roared in the stands.

His comrades followed loudly with, “—WOOOOOOD!”

It was a volcanic-like eruption. As the temperature rose, the sea began to boil. The entire Stamford Bridge stadium was like a pot of boiling water, bubbling incessantly.

“The goal was so beautiful! It’s hard to imagine it came from George Wood... The speed, strength and angle were excellent... If he were to do it again, would he be able to score again? No matter what, Nottingham Forest relied on George Wood’s amazing shot to equalize the score. On the verge of the end of the first half, both sides are right back on the same starting line!”

This time, Twain did not waste his expression and pose on the sidelines. Once the football rushed into the net, he jumped up and turned in the air. He could not wait to hug everyone around him after he landed.

“Terrific job!” he cried. “What a f**king beautiful job!”

“But I’m really surprised that George could shoot like this...” said Kerslake, next to him.

“Even if it’s just luck, it’s okay as long as the ball is in!”

George Wood did not stop on the field to celebrate with his teammates. After he realized that he had scored the goal, he immediately turned to run to the substitutes’ bench first. He ran all the way to give Albertini a fierce hug.

Demetrio was going to leave soon. He had taught him for three seasons, on defense and offense, from how to be a professional player to how to be a captain. He had a bigger impact on himself than those coaches.

This is for you, Captain... Thank you!

Nottingham Forest’s new and old captains hugged each other tightly.

“George Wood dedicated this goal to Demetrio Albertini. In his career, this Italian man is one of the most important influences on him. Albertini will retire at the end of this season. If the Forest team can finally make it to the final, it will be the best parting gift for him! George Wood’s goal for the Forest team brings the hope of advancement. An away goal at the critical moment is often invaluable!”

※※※

Mourinho had nothing to say about the conceded goal. His players performed well enough and did not give the Forest team any chances to pass the football at all. But he did not expect Wood, who had always been terrible at shooting, to manage to penetrate ?ech’s ten fingers with such a remarkable shot.

That... had nothing to do with their performance!

He had a mini notebook computer in his hand with real-time data on the game, allowing him to observe the game and understand the movements in the game. The statistics on George Wood’s shot were typed out and displayed on the screen.

One hundred and forty.

That was the speed of that shot.

Mourinho tossed his laptop to his assistant and shook his head. “What else can we say? That bastard is so lucky. Even a player like George Wood can get that amazing shot.”

The Chelsea coaches were all silent. Just as Mourinho said, they did not know what else to say. The goal was entirely unforeseen.

※※※

Without even giving Chelsea a chance to kick off again, the referee blew the whistle right away to signal the end of the first half. The players from both sides went to the tunnel. Wood was favored by the televised broadcast, and the camera footage followed him the whole time, giving him many close-ups, which were interspersed with the repetitive replay of his shot. It was a thrilling long shot that made people jump up from their seats.

Dunn and Twain stood on the sidelines and watched the players file out.

“Now you can feel better about Demetrio’s retirement, right?”

“An old friend is leaving; how can I feel normal about it?” Twain grimaced. “George is George, Demetrio is Demetrio. But I’m glad to see George’s progress, and Demetrio is happy too.”

As the two men watched, Albertini, who waited at the opening of the tunnel for George to come off the field, pulled him aside and patted him on the head. It felt as if it were a father praising his son for his outstanding performance.

“It was an important decision in my coaching career to travel specifically to Italy and take Demetrio from Atalanta. I wanted Demetrio to help me lead this young team and pass on his experience to the young players. He did such a great job, and now it’s my turn to fulfill my promise.”

Chapter 526 - Halftime Interval

In Nottingham Forest’s locker room, everyone discussed George Wood’s goal during that last moment.

Not only because it was Wood’s goal, but also because of the difficulty and brilliant extent of entering the goal. With a distance of twenty-eight meters from the goal and receiving his teammate’s return pass, he was able to volley the shot without stopping the ball. To be able to press the football under the crossbar was a feat, not to mention to be able to shoot through the crowd.

Nonetheless, Wood did it. Regardless of whether he took a wild shot or showed his skill, the ball went in. He helped the team to equalize the score and struck a blow to Chelsea’s arrogance. This was all that mattered. Such a result in professional football was more valuable than the process itself.

After entering the locker room, Twain also directly praised Wood’s last-minute goal. It was the key that saved the team’s fighting spirit and ensured that they had greater confidence and hope to continue to rise against Chelsea in the second half.

“Well done, George.” Twain nodded to Wood. “It looks like you’re in good form today. I should just let everyone pass the ball to you. Do you want to shoot?”

His teammates burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, Twain turned serious and began to critique the defensive line’s performance. “Don’t let me see George Wood defending on his own again. You guys better step up. There are idiotic media outlets out there that say Nottingham Forest’s defense is George Wood’s one-man defense. As long as he’s not there, there’s nothing to worry about the Forest team’s defense. Are you willing to accept such an assessment?”

The players on the defensive line stopped laughing. The evaluation hurt their self-esteem.

In fact, Twain was a little harsh. Since Pepe’s injury, the Forest team’s defensive line in the Champions League was one of the youngest. Piqué had the experience of playing for the Forest team for a full Champions League season, whereas Kompany had none. The center back was the core position in the defensive line, the crux of the crucial point. As it happened, the Forest team’s two center backs were so young. Their experience and abilities were still not enough, and their condition was not stable enough.

Due to this, the idea of an entire team’s defense was so important. If they only relied on their rear defensive line, it would not work if more powerful defensive players were to play against them. George Wood was only one player, not a god. It was hard enough that he was the only player in the midfield to establish a defensive line, but he also had to support the rear defensive line. A player could only do so much.

“Our defense has always been good, but today we were cracked wide open by the opponent with several passes! I can’t accept conceding a goal just like that. If we concede a goal like the one George scored, I have nothing to say and will console you, but I’m angry about this conceded goal.” Twain’s face changed quickly. The atmosphere in the locker room was suddenly stern. “This is the Champions League semi-final and you know what it means to make mistakes in this kind of game. This is the kind of game where the team that makes fewer mistakes wins! In the second half, I don’t want to see similar mistakes again.”

Twain paused to let the locker room’s atmosphere slowly warm up and not be as quiet.

In fact, on the whole, he was still fairly satisfied with this first half. The main reason was obviously due to the equalizer at the end. If there had been no equalizer, he would have been in a bad mood.

“All right, guys. Don’t look like we’ve lost the game. We got an away goal and that’s important. The last thing Chelsea wants to see, other than our victory, is probably a goal from us. I’m happy to do everything that makes our opponent uncomfortable. Continue playing like that in the second half. There’s nothing to adjust.”

Indeed, Chelsea and the Forest team were very familiar with each other as both sides were old rivals in the same league tournament. This kind of fierce contest was often not a victory with surprise tactics, but simply dependent on the strength of both sides: the teams’ overall strength, and the players’ individual skills.

Tricks would not work on either of the managers.

※※※

Twain criticized the team’s rear defense performance in the locker room and said that if they conceded a goal like George’s, he would not blame the rear defense and would only encourage them.

In the home team locker room, that was exactly what Mourinho did.

His team was frustrated and annoyed at the goal concede in the final moment.

Mourinho paced back and forth among the dejected players. He looked around at his players and did not speak for a long while.

Nobody could grasp what the manager had on his mind. They did not dare to open their mouths, for fear of provoking his anger and fury. After all, they were equalized by the other side at the last minute of the first half and gave away the advantage they had.

“I say...” Mourinho, who had been pacing back and forth for a long time, finally opened his mouth and stopped to look at the players around him. “Why do you look like that? I’m not going to blame you for the goal concede. In fact, that goal concede was not that we made a mistake, but that the other side got lucky. What are you doing with your heads down?”

Mourinho raised his voice slightly and the players hurriedly looked up at their boss.

“Chelsea players are not going to be like this because of one goal concede. Conceding a goal will only motivate us more! If Chelsea is beaten down by this goal, then you will only be carried out of the game in forty-five minutes.”

Gullit and Vialli brought the technique of “sexy football” to the once-unknown Chelsea team, helping them win the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the FA Cup. Even though that Chelsea team played well and was very popular, it had always lost the crucial league tournament title. So much so that at the time, Chelsea was called “the remarkable spoiler” and “the bridesmaid but never the bride” by the media. They were never the “strong contender for the title.” Was it because the players were not strong enough? Or was the team’s overall tactics ineffective?

It was none of those things; it was the lack of a spirit.

An unyielding attitude that never gave up, dared to say “no” to a strong enemy, had the guts to challenge all powerful teams, and despised everything. To put it bluntly, they lacked “the heart of a champion.”

The arrival of the UEFA Champions League manager, Mourinho, changed everything. The new Chelsea team was deeply imprinted with his personal mark — tough, tenacious, unyielding and domineering.

The Blues finally had “the heart of a champion,” so they could win the league title for two years in a row and suddenly become an important force that would not be overlooked in European football.

Chelsea’s “heart” was Mourinho. As long as he was there, that spirit would live in Chelsea.

“You did well in the first half. The Forest team didn’t have a lot of chances. Even when they did have any chances, they were within the normal range. We were still dominant in the game.” Mourinho started to praise the team’s performance, “Continue to put pressure on them and don’t let them have too many chances to consider how to find our defensive holes. If we let them get too comfortable, we will be the ones to suffer in the end.”

“In addition, watch out for George Wood’s performance in the offense. He’s very different from his first season. Although that shot was one hundred percent a wild shot, his series of positional plays and observations were the real deal. Don’t underestimate him. If he’s going to come up... Claude,” Mourinho turned his head to look at Makelele and said, “you are responsible for pinning him down.”

Makelele hesitated a little. The task given to him before the game was van der Vaart. “But boss, what about the Dutchman…”

“Let Essien take care of him.”

The players could not fully understand. When it came to offense, the dedicated offensive player, van der Vaart was more powerful than the half-baked George Wood. Why would he want Makelele, the best in the team’s midfield defense drop van der Vaart to mark George Wood?

Mourinho could see everyone was in doubt, so he had to explain to the players. “Van der Vaart has always been the core of the Forest team’s organization. His ability and features were thoroughly researched by the Forest team’s opponents. Van der Vaart is bound to have faced a lot of defensive pressure during games. This is generally the case.” He extended his index finger and said, “Didn’t we do the same in the first half? Van der Vaart was rendered useless by Claude’s defense. George Wood was active in offense in the first half and the Forest team would consider passing more balls to Wood to let him try... Do you understand what I’m saying?”

It suddenly dawned on everyone.

Twain thought that no one was marking Wood, so he asked the Forest team to shift the focus of the attack to George Wood. He would not think that Mourinho had already instructed Makelele to wait there.

It was tit for tat.

※※※

Seeing that the halftime interval was coming to an end, Twain had been thinking about an issue during this time. Van der Vaart was largely immobilized by the midfield defensive line led by Makelele in the first half. The connection between him and the frontline was largely cut off. Makelele was a world-class defensive midfielder. Along with the help of Essien, it was unlikely that anyone could pass easily through such a midfield iron gate.

The Forest team’s offense in the first-half was largely ineffective. It was only due to George Wood that they managed to equalize the score with a lucky goal. He could not treat this matter as if nothing had happened just because they had equalized the score. The factors behind it were the most important.

It was clear that Chelsea had made careful defensive arrangements against the Forest team’s offensive group to be able to contain the Forest team’s attack so effectively in the first half.

There had to be some change in the second half. Otherwise their offense could not break through situation and it was only a matter of time before they conceded another goal. They would have hope in this game only by threatening the opponent’s rear defensive.

In that case, what should they do?

Twain scanned and searched among the players. He did not want to change players at the start of the second half. He did not consider the substitute players.

Ribéry? No matter what, he was still a shock worker and not an organizer. He could do the work like passing, organization and sorting out the midfield. He might not be better than van der Vaart, not to mention Ashley Young…

Should he let Eastwood pull back?

The Romani Gypsy was a player who used his brains to play. But if he withdrew, the front line would only be left with van Nistelrooy alone. The pressure in the opponent’s rear was smaller, not to mention once they had fewer points to receive the ball in the front of the goal, who could they even pass the ball to if their midfield could pass the ball? Van Nistelrooy, who was closely marked?

Finally, Twain fixed his eyes on George Wood’s poker face.

Although the process of that goal shot had a lot to do with luck, George’s previous performance before that was definitely not luck. He was keenly aware of the team’s situation at the time, and made the right judgment call to decisively plug ahead in and aided his teammates ... Why would he not let him try again?

“George.” Twain opened his mouth, “In the second half, if our offense is unable to break through, you have go up and provide support.”

Wood did not express any doubt. He just nodded.

When everyone heard Twain say that, they turned their heads and looked at Wood.

“Shoot or pass, you choose. Try to send the ball to a place where the opponent’s defensive power is weak.” With that, Twain looked at his watch. Time was up.

“Very well, you have enough rest. Get ready to play!” Kerslake stood up and clapped while he shouted for the players to follow him out of the locker room.

Albertini pulled Wood aside at the back so that they could walk together outside. He wanted to make use of the time to impart him his experience and knowledge in taking control of the midfield.

“If the opposing defensive formation is well organized, don’t rush forward. That will only hasten us to concede the goal and give the opponent a chance to directly fight back.”

“OK.”

“An appropriate return pass is not an escape. It’s just to lure the other side to come out and create holes. Cross passing and return passes are all means of organizing attack, and the ultimate aim is to move forward. You have to be the brain of the team. Don’t let the opponent’s pace lead you by your nose. You have to lead them instead. Once there is an opportunity, find the opportunity. If you don’t have the opportunity, create the opportunity. Observe everyone’s positions on the field while you wait to catch the ball and keep them in mind. The other side won’t give you a chance to stop the ball and look up to observe again ... Maybe you see people doing this a lot, but you must never ask yourself to do that. Got it? You have to do better than all of them.”

“Got it, Demetrio.”

“Finally, if they want to tackle the ball from under your feet, be a little tougher! If you accidentally lose the ball, snatch it back on the spot. If you can’t grab it, then just do a foul! You cannot go soft on the enemy!”

“All right.”

As the two men talked, they were about to reach the exit. Albertini stopped to look at George Wood and said, “George, I have nothing more to add about your defense, but you still have a long way to go for your offense. All I can tell you is you need experience. It doesn’t mean that you have to do it as it is. You are still young and there are many more games to play, but you also have to face all kinds of opponents. Find the most suitable path for you in the games and keep going!”

He gave Wood a hard pat on his shoulder and pushed him out of the tunnel.

Demetrio Albertini’s road has already come to an end, but you, George Wood, your road is just beginning...

※※※

After a fifteen-minute break, Stamford Bridge stadium became noisy once again. The players came out in succession and the vacated seats were filled again. The atmosphere of the game came rushing forth.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second half of the Champions League semi-final game where Chelsea receives Nottingham Forest at home. Both sides had an equal score of 1:1 in the first half. The game was not that exciting, but there was a fantastic goal. George Wood’s equalizer for Nottingham Forest could basically be selected for the ten best goals of the Champions League. Mourinho must be brooding over this goal concede. Tony Twain is not the kind of man who is going to rest of his laurels just because he got one away goal. We still have a game that we can look forward to in the second half.”

As they headed to their respective coaches’ seats, the two managers met briefly, but they did not exchange any words. Twain did not take the initiative to go up to pick a quarrel. The two men each walked away as if they did not see each other.

It was meaningless for both sides to have a war of words at this time. The outcome would be revealed after forty-five minutes.

Once they won against each other, they naturally could abuse their opponent to their heart’s content after the game. If they did not win… to the team that lost the game, their defeat would not only be just about the score. It would also be the unknown future.

Chapter 527 - The Charge of The War Chariot

After the second half began, Chelsea took advantage of their kickoff to launch a fierce offensive against the Forest team. Mourinho’s intention was clear — to not relax the pressure against the Forest team’s rear defensive line, not to give the Forest team a decent chance to counterattack, and to keep the pace of the game firmly in their own hands.

If he had been allowed to do so, the Forest team would have suffered greatly. Twain had never doubted that if they played under pressure from Chelsea, they would concede another goal.

In order not to let Chelsea attack them recklessly, they had to bring some trouble to their rear defensive line as well.

They had to counterattack.

That was the Forest team’s direction and thinking for the second half. No matter how bad the situation was, they had to find a way to fight back.

Their offensive was based on their defense, and their defense was not just about trying not to concede the goal. It also had a bigger role to play.

Piqué won the fight for mid-air contest against Drogba. He headed out the Chelsea pass and the football landed in the open space in front of the penalty box. Chelsea and the Forest team both had a chance to get this ball.

Lampard rushed up, and so did George Wood.

In the end, Lampard got there first and volleyed the football. However, George Wood used his body to block the robust volley that was close at hand.

After a muffled sound, the football bounced high and flew forward.

Ribéry ran from the flank to the middle to stop the football before Makelele got there. He did not turn around to dribble the ball. Instead, he diverted the football to Ashley Young, who was running on the flank.

“Nottingham Forest’s counterattack is indeed fast!”

Ashley Young’s speed was certainly fast, but Ashley Cole was no dawdler. He competed with Young in speed. Without a ball, he was still evenly matched with Young, who had the ball.

The two men’s bodies entangled during the run and neither wanted to give up. Cole gauged the space of the football that was kicked by Young and suddenly shoveled with his foot. He did not expect Young’s footwork was faster than his, and for him to manage to poke the football away before he reached. Cole’s foot stomped squarely on the side of Ashley Young’s leg.

Ashley Young tumbled and fell to the ground like a wild horse that lost its center of gravity.

The referee’s sharp whistle immediately rang out.

“Foul! Oh my god, it was a severe kick!”

The powerful energy from the collision pushed Young out of the field. He rolled and tumbled over to the billboards at the sidelines. Ashley Cole, who had committed the foul, jumped up at the first instance and waved his arms at the referee, running over, to signal that this was an accident.

“Red card!” Twain jumped out of his coach’s seat and brandished his fist toward the referee when he saw that Ashley Young was thrown off the field.

The referee only pulled out a yellow card from his pocket.

“F**K!” Twain swore.

Dunn glanced at him.

The team doctor, Fleming had already run over with the first aid box. Ashley Young fell outside the field, so they did not need to wait for the referee’s permission to go over for the treatment.

When he left, Fleming specifically said to Twain, “you’d better go and get Lennon to warm up now, Tony.”

This remark worsened Twain’s mood.

Fleming was an experienced team doctor. Since he had said so, it had to be that Young’s injury was not light. It was expected since how could he be fine after being kicked in the side of the foot during that kind of high-speed run,?

Dunn had already gone to instruct Aaron Lennon to go warm up.

There was chaos on the field. The Forest players swarmed around the referee and Ashley Cole, seeking redress. The Chelsea players stood between them as both sides shoved.

“The referee showed Cole a yellow card, which led to the Forest players’ anger. Maybe they want Ashley Cole to be sent off with a red card?”

“Just change your question into a definitive sentence. This foul really looked severe judging by the looks of it. If the referee directly sent Cole off with a red card, it would not be a problem... Of course, it was also not an issue to give the yellow card. The judgment lies with the referee. Maybe he doesn’t want to lose too much viewing pleasure from this game?”

The other commentator laughed. “There’s not much viewing pleasure in this game to begin with. Sending a player off to break the balance might be better for this game.”

※※※

“Listen to me, man. I didn’t mean to, hey, I really didn’t mean to... I was heading for the ball...” Ashley Cole explained what had happened to his national team teammate and the Forest team’s captain, George Wood. He pointed to Young, who was lying on the ground, and mimed the shape of a ball.

Wood looked at him with a cold expression and was silent. Cole did not know if he accepted his explanation, so he ran to placate Young, still lying on the ground, to show some goodwill.

To be honest, when he shoved Ashley Young in the first place, he got really nervous for a second because he was afraid that the referee would give him a red card. Since he had gotten off lightly, he naturally had to show some decency.

“This was clearly a foul that could have been given a red card straight away!” Some of the other Forest players who surrounded the referee protested loudly. “We have a man down, but he only just received a yellow card warning?”

It was at that moment that people remembered to check on Ashley Young’s specific injuries and several people surrounded him.

“Fleming, how’s Young?”

Fleming looked up at those anxious players and said nothing. He just shook his head.

When van Nistelrooy saw the scene, he hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd and made a hand signal for a replacement to the technical area.

Ashley Young held his ankle as he laid on the ground in pain. He had been hurt during such a crucial game. Although the results of the checkup had not been announced, Young could miss the next semi-final game against Chelsea if he was unlucky and might even miss the finals — if the Forest team could reach the final.

Everyone could imagine how painful it had be for these professional players to be absent at such important games.

George Wood had missed last season’s final. He had used the energy bottled up from that for an entire season and trained hard. He seemed to vent the regret of not being able to participate in the final on the training ground.

No one had the energy to dispute it with the Chelsea players. Ashley Young was already injured. A fight would not make him jump back up again and continu the game.

Twain saw the gesture made by van Nistelrooy. He swore and then called Lennon back from his warm-up.

“Lennon, when you go up, strike Ashley Cole hard. He’s got a yellow card on him. Don’t be afraid of him. Plow into him. If you step back, you’ll just be giving him what he wants. The harder you rush him, the less he will know what to do. He’s afraid of being sent off...”

Lennon nodded to indicate that he knew.

“Another thing. Tell Chimbonda to also actively participate in the attack, as well as Ribéry. Tell him to run towards your side. The entire team’s offensive focus is transferred to your flank.”

“All right, chief.”

“Go on!”

※※※

Fleming gave Ashley Young a simple treatment on the sidelines before he was supported by the team doctor as he limped back to the bench.

Twain shook his hand and said, “It’s a real shame, Young. You almost broke through that kid. It would be wide open once you broke through.”

Ashley Young forced a smile but said nothing.

“Go back to the locker room and change your clothes.” Twain waved his hand and sent him off.

Calm had been restored on the field. After the fourth official checked the cleats on Lennon’s boots, he allowed him to play. He ran onto the field and told everyone about Twain’s tactical tweaks, allowing the team to focus its offense on Ashley Cole.

“Heheh.” Ribéry snickered, “The chief made a very good decision. Since the referee didn’t take the boy down, we’ll do it ourselves!”

His words were favored by all.

“Wait, what if they shift their defensive focus over there too?” Leighton Baines raised a question.

Van der Vaart glanced at him and thought his question was stupid, “Then we’ll get the ball to the other side. There’s always one side that’s weaker.”

“But if you also go to the right, the who’s on the left...” asked Baines again, who soon realized that everyone was looking at him. “Uh, me?”

“Is there anyone else more appropriate?” Van der Vaart asked in return.

“But didn’t the boss say we have to stabilize our defense first?”

“The boss also said to fight back aggressively.”

Baines still did not relax his knitted brow. “If Chimbonda goes up and I also go up, once the opponent intercepts the ball and counterattacks, we only have two center backs and George... I feel like it is too risky.”

What he said was not unreasonable. If they pressed on too much, the opponent could intercept the ball and counterattack, which would be disastrous.

Wood, who had been silent, stepped forward and said, “I’ll do it.”

Nobody did understand what he meant, so no one reacted for a moment.

“Baines cannot go up. During our offensive, I’ll go to the left flank if there’s a need to. If I lose the ball, I will retreat right away to defend. If necessary, it is okay if the front line fouls.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Does anyone have a problem?” Wood asked when he saw that no one replied.

Ribéry hurriedly shook his head. “No!”

“I don’t either.”

“No, no.”

“Then it’s set. Let’s get ready to kick the ball.”

Everyone dispersed.

The Forest team’s free kick in the front field did not directly enter the penalty box via a crosswise long pass. Ribéry passed the football to van der Vaart and the Forest team intended to organize a positional play.

After they moved the football sideways to the left flank, the Forest team suddenly kicked the football back to the right flank with a long pass. Lennon caught the ball beautifully and faced Ashley Cole.

Cole noticed van der Vaart was right next to him. While he paid attention to Lennon, he was also careful to guard against any coordination between van der Vaart and Lennon.

Lennon raised his right foot and appeared to want to pass the ball.

Was it two-over-one pass?

Just as Cole’s center of gravity shifted, Lennon suddenly pushed the football in a straight line as he accelerated — a breakthrough!

Cole did not expect this kid to forcefully break through and accelerate without hesitation. By the time he reacted, Lennon had flew past him like the wind, he was going to break through...

“What a beautiful breakthrough! Nottingham Forest’s speed on the flanks is perhaps the fastest in the English Premier League. Franck Ribéry, Petrov, Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon, every one of their specialty skills is speed.”

After the breakthrough, Lennon passed the football and van Nistelrooy grabbed the ball to shoot!

Unfortunately, the angle was too straight and was easily caught under the well-positioned ?ech’s body.

After ?ech grabbed the football, he jumped up from the ground and yelled at Ashley Cole to focus. He was unhappy that his full-back was so easily broken through by the other side.

Cole waved away his annoyance. He had underestimated this kid in front of him. Compared to the “EPL king of assist” Ashley Young, Lennon could only be considered as a hopeful star.?English football which was fond of self-promotion; hopeful stars like him were common.

Come on, kid, I’m not going to let you go this time! Ashley Cole thought darkly to himself as he looked at Lennon.

※※※

The Forest team made a comeback, but the player who laid into Ashley Cole wanted to meet with the sharper and more sophisticated Ribéry.

Cole managed to force Ribéry to the flank as he prepared for him to go out of the end line, but he did not expect Ribéry to hook under his feet and poke the soon-to-be out-of-bounds football out from between Cole’s legs!

Before Cole could turn around, Ribéry suddenly picked up his speed to get away from Cole and bypassed him. It was another breakthrough!

After he broke past Cole, Ribéry did not choose to pass. He was still charging inwards, intending to directly launch an offensive.

Carvalho swore and was forced to come up and cover. The void behind him was handed over to his other teammates.

Ribéry still wanted to break through, but there was too little room for him to play in the penalty area. Carvalho calmly acted accordingly and drove the football out of the end line.

The Forest team got a corner kick.

“The Forest team has repeatedly launched attacks from their right flank, and they have managed to break through Ashley Cole twice in a row!”

Mourinho got up from his seat. He certainly saw that Twain wanted to focus his offense on Cole’s side and he had no intention of replacing Cole yet. It was not certain that bringing on another player could help them withstand this continuous battering. His way of making up for this deficiency was to rely on the defensive support of the entire team.

“Terry!” He yelled from the sidelines. When Terry looked over, he pointed at Cole and said, “Go help over there!”

He did not need to state what he wanted any more clearly for the team captain, Terry, to know what to do. He directed the rear defensive line on the field to lean toward the left as a whole. The Forest team wanted to rush Ashley Cole with a yellow card on him. They must not let them succeed.

After Chelsea’s defensive focus centered on Cole’s side, the Forest team’s offensive was thwarted. They were unable to penetrate several times and could only wander outside.

After van der Vaart took the ball again, he still faced Chelsea’s heavily guarded left flank. He scanned the other flank which was empty.

Eh?

The Dutchman frowned. That guy, Leighton Baines was afraid of leaving the rear unguarded, so he stayed behind. But what about George? Did he not say that he would go to the left flank to assist if he needed to attack? Where was he now? There was no one to be seen!

While he distracted, Essien jabbed the football away from van der Vaart’s feet!

Crap!

Van der Vaart wanted to turn around to snatch it back, but he was too late. Even so, he turned around and desperately gave chase.

He had only run two steps before he stopped, because Essien’s ball was intercepted by George Wood. The two men competed with quick moves and the final winner was the physically stronger Wood. Essien pounced but Wood still managed to keep the football.

Van der Vaart came back to assist Wood who passed the ball to him.

“Where were you just now?” Van der Vaart asked him when he received the ball, “I was looking for you when I was cut off...”

“I was getting ready to run over.” Wood replied succinctly. With that, he ran to the left flank.

Watching his back, van der Vaart shrugged helplessly and felt a little ill at ease.

Once again in the face of that crowded right flank, van der Vaart spied the middle, which looked risky. He could only pass it to the left flank, and he transferred the football over with a long pass.

In the moment of passing, there was still no sight of Wood in his line of vision.

Was he really going to show up there? After he sent the football out, van der Vaart thought with some regret.

“A long-range transfer, but there are no Forest players over there ... Ah, wait a second!”

A red figure flashed past the front of the television camera.

It was George Wood

He showed up precisely at the landing point of the football, but it was rather difficult to stop the football during this high-speed run. Not to mention that at that time the football was already close at hand and was still rather high.

Van der Vaart’s shot was a little wide. Should he let it go out of bounds?

There was no “abort” in Wood’s dictionary.

He leaped high during his sprint and stopped the football with his chest on the sidelines.

“He stopped the ball beautifully but...”

Makelele appeared in front of Wood.

A lot of people had not anticipated this encounter, including van der Vaart who passed the ball to Wood. He had thought that there was an open space. As long as Wood stopped the ball, it would not be a problem for him to adjust, pass, or dribble the ball however he liked. Anyway, no one would follow up for a while.

He did not think that Makelele was already waiting.

Mourinho leaned his body against the back of his chair. Twain’s adjustment was as what he anticipated. Now they’d see who was stronger, Makelele, who was an expert in defense or the half-baked offensive player.

※※※

The football was stopped rather high. Makelele waited at the sidelines for it to fall down a little before he robbed the ball. Anyway, in order to stop the ball, Wood’s body had jumped outside, so he was not afraid.

Damn it, why is this football so high... Makelele looked up at the falling football. As van der Vaart kicked the ball too hard and in order not to let the ball go out of bounds, Wood also did not care if he employed the technique of using his chest to stop the ball. The ball was stopped, and it went straight up and down. The height was indeed a little outrageous.

The height was appropriate for...

Makelele was ready to jump up and head the ball out, but someone jumped one step ahead of him. A dark figure blocked out most of the sky above Makelele’s head.

He saw the face clearly ...

George Wood

This bastard, when did this kid come ... Makelele changed his mind at the last minute. He did not compete with Wood on the jump. He would box him out!

A twist of his body and he kept Wood out of bounds. He knew Wood wanted to head the football into the field. As long as he was stuck in the position, once he headed the football in, it would still belong to Chelsea. He was not worried about losing the control of the ball.

Wood jumped in the air and headed the football into the field. Makelele saw the ball fly in and let go of Wood to go after it. If he was still there blocking, then it would be a blocking foul ...

Trying to compete against Wood on speed, Twain smiled when he saw this scene off the field.

Robben would have been a better competitor!

Wood used a lot of power when he headed the ball. He knew Makelele was waiting for him down there. If his header was too light, he just had to take two steps before he would get the ball. Therefore, he headed it far enough but not enough for it to fall at the feet of those Chelsea players at the back and Makelele would not easily get to it too.

After he landed, Makelele had already run three paces away which was about three meters away.

George Wood seemed to be like a cheetah ready to strike behind his prey. With a low roar, his muscles exploded with power and shot out like an arrow.

Without turning his head back, Makelele instinctively felt the danger that was rapidly approaching behind him. He certainly knew that he would not get the upper hand if he competed on speed against Wood, but he could take advantage of his experience to box him out. As long as you’re boxed out, you must slow down no matter how fast you are.

The football was still bouncing in front of the two men, attracting the two men to fight for its ownership.

Makelele moved sideways and blocked Wood’s way forward. But before he could plant his feet, he felt a huge impact on his back, and he staggered after he was struck...

Wood knew from Makelele’s running posture knew that he was going to block his position. If he was really boxed out, he had no other option other than to foul. He relied on his strong physical fitness and forced a change to the left to evade this route. He did not reduce his speed and continued to rush towards the football.

Despite that, his forward drive still approached Makelele.

In the football world, France’s Makelele was different. He was not good in offense and was not strong. He was only 1.7 meters tall, but his ability to defend in the midfield could be ranked in the world’s top three. His vast experience, excellent defensive skills, and accurate judgment were unique skills that made him unparalleled in the football world. With him in the midfield, there was an impenetrable iron gate that made the rear defensive line and goalkeeper feel at ease.

Chelsea being able to win two consecutive seasons in the Premier League had much to do with Makelele’s relentless interceptions in the midfield. His presence greatly minimized the threat to Chelsea’s rear defensive line.

But this time, this iron gate was cracked open.

Makelele’s stumbling footsteps could no longer guarantee his balance. As he watched Wood overtake him, he threw his body to the side, intending to hinder Wood’s forward footsteps.

As a result, everyone saw a strange scene. Makelele desperately held on to Wood’s waist, but Wood did not stop. He dragged Makelele along as he continued to run forward, even though his speed was affected.

The referee put the whistle in his mouth as he hesitated about whether to blow or not. Was this situation considered an advantage?

Wood finally got the ball again and he did not care that he was still dragging Makelele along. He just swung his leg to directly shoot as he ran!

“Here we go again! George Wood — did the ball... did the ball go in?”

From the broadcaster’s seat, the commentator saw the football thunder like an artillery shell toward Chelsea’s goal. ?ech threw his body to save it, but the net behind him still moved. He almost yelled “the ball went in again!” Luckily, his calmness at the critical moment did not make a fool out of him.

ech laid on the ground and looked up at the net that had been set off by the football, which had fallen in front of the billboards. He felt like he had just narrowly escaped death.

The football did not enter the goal. Wood had missed the shot by about forty-five degrees. It startled the Chelsea people into a cold sweat.

When he saw the football hit the side of the net, Wood waved his hands in frustration. He turned to see Makelele lying on the ground, and the other man was also looking at him.

Is this kid a monster? Makelele glared at Wood, as if he was trying to see through him and penetrate his physical structure to see if the creature standing in front of him was human or something else.

Stamford Bridge was shocked by what had just taken place and was plunged into a brief silence. Nobody knew what to make of the attack. Were they supposed to boo or applaud?

Wood looked at Makelele but did not go up to pull the man up. He just turned and ran away.

Had it not been for that nuisance, he would have had an easier choice. Dragging the man caused him to choose to shoot in a hurry. He had wanted to pass the ball to his teammates as he knew his limitations in his shooting skills.

It was a failed attack because he did not score.

But who knew what kind of attack it would have appeared to be to the fans in the stands, on the pitch, and in front of the televisions??

Lost in thought, Dunn was suddenly roused by a pop. Next to him, Twain slapped his thighs and bared his teeth in a grin. “We can win!”

Chapter 528 - We Can Win

Since George Wood started his career in professional football, he had given people the impression that he was excellent in defense and worthless when it came to offense. Before when everyone played against Nottingham Forest, they would not think about defending against George Wood. He almost never went up and crossed to the other half to participate in the offense. There had even been a football pundit who joked that Nottingham Forest “has twelve players in defense and only ten players when it comes to offense” to illustrate how little Wood contributed to the team’s offense.

However, three and a half seasons later, everyone discovered that the other half of the talent that resided within the body of the “genius in defense and rubbish at offense” was slowly awakening. His defensive performance in the game was more average, but the few times he participated in the offensive had been impressive.

How much more potential could be uncovered from this kid.

※※※

“George Wood’s shot! It was a pity that there was no goal, but this attack embarrassed Makelele. We rarely see Makelele like this. He was completely at a disadvantage when he used his body to compete.”

Terry ran over to help, but he did not manage to make it in time. He was only on time to help Makelele up. “Do you need any help?” He had asked out of kindness but only made Makelele feel despised. He shook his head hard and said, “it won’t be like this next time, I promise.”

He had to admit that he underestimated Wood when he defended against him because his previous impression of the man had made him think that Wood would not be much of a threat.

He looked at Wood’s back and clenched his fists.

I’ll make sure to repay this humiliation by double!

※※※

George Wood’s shot from the left flank did not make Chelsea adjust their defensive strategy. They still placed their heavy forces on Ashley Cole’s side. It seem they were deliberately permissive of George Wood.

The commentator tried to make a case for the arrangement, which, of course, were only the reasons he thought of. Some commentators liked to rely on their own understanding to form judgements on the game and use their own brains to replace the two managers. It seemed to be more professional than the managers in command of the games, which was quite able to deceive a part of the audience to support their views. If they guessed right, it was just luck. If they guessed wrong, then they made jokes to divert from the topic.

“Chelsea did not make any defensive adjustments on this side of Wood. That’s actually normal. Although Wood actively performed in the offense during the game, he is not a professional attacking player after all. His offensive is less threatening than Ribéry, Lennon, and the others. Chelsea can’t rush to adjust its defensive focus just because of his brief breakout performance. Ashley Cole’s side is obviously under more pressure...”

In fact, it had nothing to do with which side had the bigger threat. Chelsea did not adjust due to its trust in the veteran player, Makelele.

Makelele had faced a variety of offensive players in his career and many of them were world-class experts. He had a lot of experience and had weathered all sorts of challenges. He could handle George Wood.

Once van der Vaart had an inkling of the idea, he did not hesitate to transfer the football to the left flank this time. Compared with the last time, this time his passing, whether in terms of strength, speed, and accuracy, was just right. George Wood could stop the ball effortlessly.

Wood stopped it, but Makelele also came up.

Everyone expected Wood to make another relentless breakthrough but did not realize that Wood was in a precarious situation on the field.

The football was stopped at his feet, and Makelele stood less than three meters opposite him, standing in wait. He did not rush up to grab the ball, so he did not know what to do.

Similarly, as a defensive player, Wood could feel the oppressive power emitted by Makelele; the kind of oppression that came with the confidence he could stop him no matter which side he decided to break through.

From a professional standpoint, Makelele’s position blocked very well. Furthermore, Wood was not good at thinking of his next move once he stopped the football.

He was better suited to the kind of work that kept the football moving, such as the successful breakthrough just now where he made his next move in an unconventional situation. He did not have to think too much and just followed his body’s instinctive reaction.

Once he let his body stop and gave his brain a chance to think, his mind would jam.

What should he do?

Makelele quietly looked at this man in front of him and the ball at his feet. He did not try to poke the ball. He waited for Wood to make his move. Don’t know what to do? Just as I thought, this boy has too little experience in offense. His stunning performance was just purely instinctive. I just need to box him out and he will not know what to do.

When van der Vaart did not see the appearance of another beautiful attack, he looked over at Wood in puzzlement.

There was clearly a void in the back. As long as he could break through, he could create another threat. Wood decided to force a breakthrough. In the last confrontation, he knew that his physical advantage was very obvious. Since he could do it the last time, he should be able to again this time.

Wood suddenly kicked the football forward and got ready to start. At the same time, Makelele quickly turned around and separated him from the football. Wood had not accelerated yet and just started before he knocked into Makelele’s back. He tried to knock the Frenchman away, but instead of pushing him aside to clear the path, he pushed Makelele toward the football ahead.

Makelele took advantage of the momentum to catch up with the football and intercepted it.

The opposing defense had succeeded.

Wood was stunned for only a moment before he quickly counter-pressed. He pounced on Makelele.

Essien came up to get Makelele out of the bind, otherwise the ball that he just intercepted from Wood was likely to be robbed back by Wood. That would be more humiliating.

After the football was passed to Essien, Wood changed his target and turned around to pounce on Essien.

Makelele looked at his opponent’s back and shook his head gently. Interesting guy, he switches roles so quickly after being tackled. He doesn’t seem to be affected by the loss of the ball at all... Or is he ready to lose the ball at any time? Makelele suddenly wanted to laugh. It did look like the mind of a defensive player.

Although he was the enemy, Makelele liked the taciturn lad. Maybe it was because there were currently fewer players who specialized in defense and met standards.

On the pitch, they did not receive any attention but were indispensable players on every team. It was very paradoxical.

But boy, I know you’re physically strong and fast. Defense is not a job that solely relies on the body to dominate.

※※※

“The contest between Makelele and Wood...” murmured Twain off the field. “It must have been that bastard Mourinho’s idea.” He turned to looked at the Chelsea technical area. Mourinho was staring intently at the field.

Mourinho was actually willing to use Makelele to mark George Wood. Twain did not anticipate that. He thought Makelele would follow van der Vaart all the time.

Now van der Vaart was followed by Essien, and George Wood was entangled with Makelele. The flank where he wanted to attack Ashley Cole was heavily guarded by Chelsea.

The game went into a deadlock again. The Forest team’s offense did not pick up for a long time.

Twain quickly scanned the big screen with the game time on it. It was now the 68th minute of the game.

He decided to make a substitution.

There was no one on the substitutes’ bench. The players were out warming up. Every once in a while, they were summoned by the assistant manager, Kerslake to warm up to make sure that they could play at any time when needed.

“Go get the little monkey,” Twain ordered Dunn.

Soon, Gareth Bale ran back looking excited. When he saw Twain, he asked, “Chief, is it time for me to play?”

Twain nodded and took the tactical board from Dunn’s hand. He pulled Bale to the sidelines.

“You go up there and support the offense. Do you see where Wood is now?” He asked, pointing to the field. Wood just taken the ball on the flank and Makelele had rushed up. This time, Wood did not choose to force a breakthrough but passed the ball to van der Vaart. This move was a bit desperate, as it was van der Vaart who had passed the football on him.

“I see.” Bale nodded.

“Our offense on the right flank is blocked, and now Wood lacks support on the left flank. If you cover and run alongside from behind, Makelele will suffer.”

Leighton Baines was stronger in defense than Bale, but what Twain needed now was offense and not defense. He wanted to take down Chelsea in this away game, and not just to be contented with a draw.

“If you must be firm when you run alongside to the back, you cannot hesitate. Otherwise Makelele won’t be diverted. You just sprint ahead and don’t think too much about defense during the attack. Don’t think about what will happen if you lose the ball. Just remember, when you rush up, there’s George Wood behind you.”

When Twain said that, Bale laughed even more happily.

“All right. Get ready to play. Go and take this vest off.”

※※※

“Nottingham Forest makes a substitution; number 2 Gareth Bale replaces number 22 Leighton Baines.”

The stadium broadcast announced the latest tweak that Nottingham Forest made.

Mourinho looked at Bale running onto the field. The figure evoked unpleasant memories for him. The play that made the kid famous was him scoring a winning free kick in the final moments of that game against his team.

Gareth Bale was a full-back who was stronger in offense than defense. The reason that Twain brought him on was obvious — to step up the offense.

Mourinho was not afraid of Twain stepping up the offense. On the contrary, he was afraid of Twain strengthening his defensive force and hunkering down, but as long as Twain planned to come out attacking, Chelsea would have a chance to score.

With twenty minutes left in the game, let’s see who will score first!

※※※

After Bale came on, the Forest team’s left flank offense was boosted. Makelele immediately felt the pressure of two against one.

When he guarded Wood, Bale always rushed up from behind. Was he supposed to drop Wood or ignore Bale?

It was a dilemma.

When he decided to keep an eye on Wood, Wood passed the ball to Bale who plugged in from behind. Bale easily broke through after the pass. If it were not for Terry, van Nistelrooy would have headed the ball again.

Twain broke the initial balance on the field with this move. And if Chelsea did not adjust their defensive strategy, their right flank would be thrown into disarray.

Mourinho had to give up the idea of a heavy-handed defense on the left flank and restored the defensive line to its normal state. Now the best defense was not to put more efforts in the rear defensive line but to seize the time to launch more attacks. They had to use a strong offensive to push the Forest team formation back so as to play down the threats from the Forest team.

Just as Mourinho had previously thought, it was not about whose defense was more robust but whose offense was sharper in the final moments of the game.

“After Gareth Bale came on, he effectively strengthened the Forest team’s offense on the left flank. But there are disadvantages too. As a result, their defensive power is weaker. Wood needs to juggle between offense and defense and the two full-backs also have to frequently assist. I think the opportunity that Chelsea is waiting for has finally come.”

That was what the Chelsea players thought, too.

They stepped up their offense. Drogba, Shevchenko and Robben all got the chances to shoot. It was different from the first half. There was a lot of empty space in the Forest team’s defensive line that could be exploited. The defense around them was not as tight as it used to be.

Edwin van der Sar threw out the opponent’s threatening shots twice in a row and shouted anxiously to the teammates that pressed ahead. “Pay some attention to the defense! You must come back after you go up. If you can’t come back, then don’t press up!”

Twain certainly saw the situation. Chelsea’s offensive strategy was fierce in response to the Forest team’s adjustment.

He got up from the coaches’ area and walked to the sidelines to yell towards the field. “Chimbonda, go back to defend!” After Bale went up, it was risky to have just two full backs in defense. He wanted Chimbonda, who was stronger in defense, to run back and strengthen the defense to contain Chelsea’s attack.

“Wood! Go back to the middle!”

Now the formation of both sides had returned to normal. It was pointless to let Wood go to the left flank again since it would hinder the movements and areas of activity for Bale and Ribéry. It was a good choice to let him go back to stabilize the defense.

The Forest team’s difficulties were eased after the return of both Wood and Chimbonda to the defensive line. Chelsea was still constantly seeking an attacking opportunity and did not retreat just because the Forest team had stepped up its defensive power.

There was little game time left, and they were more anxious than Nottingham Forest. If they ended up with a score of 1:1 at home, it would be a big blow to their confidence for the second leg of the away game.

They had to win, even if it was just a score of 2:1.

George Wood’s brief performance in the offense was over and he was back in the defense work that he did the best, which was to build a wall in front of the penalty box and in the middle of the field for his teammates in the rear.

The Chelsea offensive intensified, and the Forest formation was slowly pushed back. Soon the situation became like how the game had started: the Forest team playing their most handy defensive counterattack.

Twain did not yell on the sidelines. He just let them defend and counterattack. This was purely the players’ decision which they made according to the situation on the field. It was like second nature. When the other side’s attack was ferocious, they would unconsciously withdraw to lure the other side out. Then they would suddenly hit their opponent’s back and settled the fight decisively.

※※※

Mourinho brought off Ballack and brought on Joe Cole to boost their possession rate in the midfield. He could tell that everyone was currently in a hurry to attack and was playing with agitation. Impatient for results, they were not very effective. The midfield made too many mistakes, which only wasted time and opportunities.

Joe Cole could slow down the pace by taking more balls after he went up and his skills could also help Chelsea ease the way in the midfield again.

Hopefully, that was the case.

Joe Cole’s first pass took the football straight out of the sidelines. The commentator defended him by stating that he had just been brought on, so he had not warmed up yet and was not quite comfortable with the atmosphere of the game. After all, the game had now entered the white-hot stage.

Everyone believed it. A minute later, Joe Cole took the ball but because he held on to it for too long and was tentative, he was knocked to the ground by George Wood. While he earned a free kick in the front field for Chelsea, he squandered a better chance.

“Joe Cole hasn’t quite got into the game yet.” The explanation was feeble.

Chelsea’s free-kick was not good either. The pass was capped by Piqué after it got in. Wood managed to grab a header again in a scramble with Makelele, and he headed the football forward.

As the defensive set piece was at the back, there were not many Forest players in front at this time. There was only one player.

Van Nistelrooy came back to form the human wall because he was tall, and Eastwood received Wood’s header.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s chance to fight back! But Eastwood lacks support without any teammates around him. He’s cutting across as he dribbles... Carvalho is close at his heels.”

Wood saw the situation and only hesitated a little before he ran forward.

After only taking two steps, he was overtaken.

Franck Ribéry and Gareth Bale seemed to be in a hundred-meter race. Both men frantically charged forward, tearing past Wood.

Wood looked at the two men’s backs and slowed down. But it was only for a moment. He changed his mind again and accelerated again to run after the two men.

“Four against three!”

Not counting the goalkeeper, Chelsea’s backfield had only three defenders. Nottingham Forest managed to put four players to attack in the shortest possible time. The situation was very bad for Chelsea.

Mourinho nervously stood up from his seat.

Carvalho did not know what was going on behind him. He just knew that he could not allow Eastwood to dribble. He continued to press on to push him into the corner flag area. This way, his attack would be considered unsuccessful.

“Watch for Wood!” Terry roared loudly.

George Wood’s active performance in the offense for this game had managed to attract a lot of attention to him. The Chelsea players wondered what kind of terrifying shot this monster was going to launch again.

When Eastwood dribbled the ball near the end line, he did a breakthrough feint. He swayed to open up a gap and he did not hesitate to pass!

It was not an easily seen aerial ball. Instead, it was a fast rolling ground ball!

Terry was getting ready to defend against George Wood. Everyone almost focused their attention on this eye-catching guy. Ribéry charged in from the side and scared all the Chelsea people out of their wits.

“Franck Ribéry... did not get it!” Ribéry swung his foot towards the football but did not manage to kick the football during his sprint, and the football escaped through his legs.

The commentator wanted to say that it was an amateur blunder, but he did not have the time to make such a lament before he saw a red figure appear on the path of the football behind the crowd at the back corner of the goal.

ech had already fell to the ground because of Ribéry’s first shot. He had made a move to save, but the football had not come. Instead, the goal behind him was wide open.

It was Gareth Bale’s chance.

Bale kicked and the football hit the inside of his foot. It changed direction and easily flew into the goal in front of him.

This was his first Champions League goal.

“Nottingham Forest’s counterattack has finally paid off! Gareth Bale! Nottingham Forest now leads Chelsea by 2:1 in their away game!”

Twain took the lead and rushed out of the technical area with his arms raised in celebration. This was the crucial goal that could determine which team would make it to the Champions League final.

Chapter 529 - Take Down the First Bout

The paramount state of defensive counterattack was to play for eighty-nine minutes and fifty seconds under pressure from the opponent, to be totally battered during this period, constantly facing danger, looked like the goal would be conceded at any time and completely at an overall disadvantage whether in terms of the situation or technical statistics. But...

The “but” was the essence of the defensive counterattack.

But one would not concede the goal. Then one would fight back in the last ten seconds and launch a sneak attack to set the score at 1:0. Victory was secured.

Therefore, the defensive counterattack was always linked with the “doctrine of 1:0” and “conservative play” and was considered to be the representative of ugly football. It was the main target of the fans’ hatred and critics’ disdain.

But Twain liked it. Because it could bring victory to him.

※※※

“Gareth Bale! This was his first goal in the Champions League! And it came by so easily. He was not marked by anyone. He just had to set it up a little… and he did it!”

The little monkey, Gareth Bale had dreamt of the scenario countless times before he scored the goal: what would it be like for him to score a goal in an important game like the Champions League? He had also conceived his celebratory move after he scored the goal. He tried so many that he could not remember them all.

But after he scored the goal, he forgot the move he had prepared. He just knelt with open arms and looked up at the sky. The brilliant floodlights cast on him, surrounded by the night sky. There was only uproar and applause. At that moment, he was the main character on the stage.

A figure appeared in Bale’s vision while he looked up at the night sky. It was his teammate, Eastwood, who leaped high into the air and crushed him under his body without waiting for Bale to react.

“Wow.”

Soon after, more Forest players swarmed them and piled on top of the pair with them at the bottom. It was their favorite way to celebrate, whether it was to squash their teammates or coaches.

George Wood did not join in the fun. He stood outside the pile of people, clenched and pumped his fists.

The Forest team’s substitutes’ bench became a sea of joy, with everyone hugging each other. This score was indeed uplifting with the score of two away goals and leading Chelsea. The Forest team was in a good situation.

Contrary to the joyous atmosphere on this side of the Forest team, the Chelsea substitutes’ bench and the coaches’ area were silent. Mourinho bit his lower lip and closely watched the big screen, which was replaying the entire process of that goal from the Forest team.

George Wood’s sudden insertion messed up Chelsea’s defensive plans. Terry did not dare to ignore the man who had been active in this game, only to overlook another person.

Gareth Bale!

Mourinho furiously etched the name in his heart. He was truly the bane of his existence. The first goal of his career was scored against his team and his first goal in the Champions League was again entered in his team’s goal... Damn it, Twain must have brought on this guy on purpose!

※※※

“Nottingham Forest’s young players are developing. The talent who were brought from all over to the youth team and then promoted from the youth team to the First Team by Tony Twain are now currently key forces in a game. George Wood, Gareth Bale, Piqué... We can expect even more from them in the future.”

Little time was left for the game, and the commentator began to make concluding remarks. On the field, Chelsea launched a frenzied counterattack. The Forest team stayed parked in their endzone. With eleven players compacted within the thirty-meter area, they closed all the holes to block Chelsea’s long shot.

The Nottingham Forest people off the field all stood and stood shoulder to shoulder on the sidelines to begin the countdown for the game.

Twain was squeezed in between Dunn and Kerslake. He glanced next door at Mourinho, who sat motionless on the bench. He could not see his face clearly, and had no way of knowing what his expression was... it had to be great?

Next to him, Kerslake had already eagerly raised his arms to celebrate their victory. Around him, a few people also acted the same as him.

Although the Forest team looked battered on the field, people were not worried because they had seen many such scenes.

The referee blew the whistle at full-time conclusively after Shevchenko missed his shot.

At this moment, the Stamford Bridge stadium were filled with the cheers of the visitor fans, but soon the cheers were drowned out by the boos from the Chelsea fans, who would not tolerate their opponent celebrating their victory on their territory.

They won and yet wanted to twist the knife? No way!

“Nottingham Forest won the first bout and it was a precious away victory! Although it’s quite normal for either team to win, as both are a similar strength, it is still amazing to see the Forest team take down Chelsea in this away game. Mourinho continues his embarrassing record of being unable to defeat. In the contest between the two managers, Twain wins one round, but whether he can win in the end depends on the second leg at Nottingham’s City Grounds stadium.”

The people around him ran up to celebrate, and Twain turned around to walk toward the Chelsea technical area.

The handshake after a game was custom. And he wanted to get a closer look at Mourinho’s expression.

Mourinho knew that Twain was not being gracious by walking over. He knew exactly what the other party wanted to do, and he would not give Twain this chance.

Twain grinned at Mourinho as he walked towards him. Halfway through, he discovered that Mourinho had turned around to head straight to the players’ tunnel.

The smile froze on his face.

He had once given other people attitude. He did not expect to be treated the same by other people.

His outstretched hand awkwardly scratched his head and Twain shrugged before he turned back to the field.

“Little Monkey, you did a good job!” He said loudly at the incoming Bale with a smile. His mood lightened up again.

Suit yourself if you don’t want to shake hands. By all means, don’t let me see your expression. I’ve won!

Bale heard Twain’s shout and stopped to smile at Twain. He did not know what to say.

Twain noticed that his stomach looked big. “What is this?” He asked as he pointed to Bale’s rounded belly.

“Heheh... the football, chief.” Bale carefully pulled the football out of his jersey and said, “the ball that I shot in. I grabbed it; I want to keep it. This was my first goal in the Champions League. I just saw the referee looking for it... Don’t tell them, chief!”

Twain nodded. “Very well, I won’t say a thing. Just bring it to the locker room and hide it quickly!”

Bale ran past Twain to the tunnel but was surrounded halfway by a swarm of reporters who had to interview him. Looking at Bale’s self-conscious expression, Twain laughed.

※※※

Although he lost the game, Makelele still approached George Wood, hoping to swap jerseys with him.

“I’ve heard some things about you. Heard that you never accept the suggestion of swapping jerseys after you’ve lost the game.” Makelele stood in front of Wood as he spoke in clumsy English.

Wood nodded.

Makelele took off his jersey and handed it to Wood. “You won today and may not necessarily win the next time.”

Wood also took off his jersey and exchanged jerseys with Makelele.

He thought that was the end of it, but when he got ready to turn and go, he was stopped by Makelele, who said something in French to Wood, who did not understand.

Wood blankly watched Makelele turn and leave until Ribéry suddenly appeared beside him.

“He said that defense isn’t just dependent on the body,” Ribéry translated for Wood. When he saw Wood frown, Ribéry patted him on the shoulder to reassure him. “He must be frustrated that he lost to you in the physical confrontation and that’s why he said that, George. Come on, let’s celebrate the victory with everyone!”

Wood was dragged to the middle of the crowd by Ribéry.

Makelele had walked to the mixed zone, with Wood’s number 13 red jersey over his bare shoulders. It stood out in the crowd.

“Well, this is that guy’s jersey.” Makelele nodded when he was asked by a reporter and added, “he’s very good but still inexperienced.”

※※※

Instead of celebrating the victory on the field like everyone else, Twain went straight to the press conference venue. It was empty, and he sat on the platform, waiting for the reporters in the mixed zone to finish the interviews.

Because there was no one, Twain put his feet up on the table and leaned against the back of the chair. He tilted the chair back, the full weight of his body only supported by two thin legs of the chair. There was no one there so he could relax.

A rattle came from the side entrance. He turned his head to look and found that Mourinho pushing the door open.

Mourinho looked up and saw him and the two of them met gazes.

Crash!

The two slender chair legs finally could not support Twain’s full weight. Tilted to a side, the unprepared Twain was thrown out of his chair, and his head hit a sponsor’s sign behind him.

When he saw this comical scene, Mourinho could not help but laugh.

Twain grimaced in pain and climbed up from the ground. He was a little mortified when he saw Mourinho still laughing.

“You’re in a good mood, Mr. Mourinho,” Twain said with some embarrassment as he picked up the fallen chair, only to find that the legs of the chair had buckled. He could not tell if it was completely broken or not.

After trying unsuccessfully to straighten the legs of the chair, Twain stood up and scanned the room. The reporters’ seats were the same as the coaches’ seats. They were identical blue chairs with backs.

Looking at this chair with the crooked legs in his hands, Twain stepped down from the platform and simply pulled out an intact chair from the press gallery and switched them.

He carefully put down the damaged chair in a row of seats and took a few steps to scrutinize it. When he saw that the flaw could not be discerned, he was satisfied and walked back to the platform

When he first saw Twain, Mourinho was going to turn around and leave, but now he stood on the side and watched Twain with interest.

After Twain had finished, he realized that Mourinho was still there. He was a little surprised and asked, “you didn’t leave?”

“Why should I go? Is this your house?” Mourinho came over and sat in his own seat.

The two men sat side by side, waiting for the reporters to arrive.

“Didn’t you run away when you saw me just now? I was going to shake your hand after the game, Mr. Mourinho. Leaving the field without shaking hands after the game was a very ungracious thing to do,” Twain said, looking at the empty seats in front of him.

“It’s more gracious than giving a silver medal to someone else after the final.” Mourinho did back down and spoke as he looked ahead as well.

The two men were clearly engaged in a dialogue, but deliberately chose not to look at each other.

“I’m sorry to beat you at your home ground, Mr. Mourinho.” Twain sprinkled salt in Mourinho’s wound.

Mourinho did not even crease his brow and said, “No need for apologies, Mr. Twain. It will be my turn to beat you at your home ground in the next round.”

“Don’t say it with such confidence, Mr. Mourinho. Otherwise, it will be so hard to watch when it doesn’t happen. You see, I never said we will be able to advance to the final, although it is the case.”

Mourinho grunted. He did not want to talk to the thick-skinned fellow.

While the two men bickered, the reporters arrived at the press conference from the mixed zone in succession. The two men stopped talking and observed which unlucky bastard would end up sitting on the special chair in the middle.

Strangely, many reporters walked past the front of that chair, and someone even hesitated, intending to sit down. But in the end, no one stepped into the trap. It was a bit disappointing for Twain.

When the host saw that most people had arrived, he announced the start of the press conference. That was when the door was pushed open again and a fat reporter barged in, covered in perspiration. Twain glanced at his media pass, which had a striking “The Sun” on it.

He’s from The Sun. That’s awesome.

When they saw him barge in, Mourinho and Twain both turned their eyes toward the empty seat in the middle.

“I’m sorry,” the reporter apologized as he laboriously squeezed through the crowd to the empty seat. Everyone who had been seated had to get up again to make way for him, otherwise he would not be able to squeeze through. He was too fat.

Mourinho raised his eyebrows, and Twain pretended to look serious.

Finally, after some difficulty, the reporter finally squeezed in. He wiped the sweat on his forehead, and then sat down right down.

Mourinho narrowed his eyes, and Twain whistled.

Crash!

The fat man looked up guiltily at everyone. He became everyone’s focus.

※※※

“Hahahaha!”

On the bus back to Nottingham, Twain recounted this scene at the press conference to the players and everyone laughed heartily.

They had good reason to be so relaxed. The away win over their old rival, Chelsea, had convinced this group of people that the team which would eventually advance to the final this season must be them and no one else.

“Have a good rest, guys. Once you alight from the bus, you won’t have time to relax.” Twain stood at the front of the bus. “There are still five rounds left in this season. We have little hope for the league title, but we must make sure that we qualify for the next season’s Champions League. We cannot relax until this is confirmed. Then there is the Champions League. We’re now at the most critical juncture. The away win over Chelsea does not mean that we will definitely go to Athens, but our hopes are greater than theirs. I don’t want to see a conceited Forest team that underestimates its enemy in one week. Do you remember what I said? We don’t have the right to relax until we have won the Champions League title. The closer we get to the end, the more we have to brace ourselves. When we get closest to the victory, the tragedy should happen to our opponent, and definitely not us!”

“Yes!!” Everyone replied loudly in the bus compartment.

※※※

At London’s Heathrow Airport, a slightly plump and gray-haired middle-aged man waited to board the flight in the departure hall. He was on the phone.

“Yes, I just watched the game. I can’t say for sure. This was only the first leg. Just put together the information on both teams. No matter which team it’s going to be, it will us who wins in the end. Istanbul will not happen again.”

Ending the call, this man leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. His mind was occupied with the semi-final game that had just ended.

He had initially been optimistic about Chelsea, who had played at home. However, oddly enough, Nottingham Forest was the most impressive one when he closed his eyes now.

Defensive counterattack?

That would be fantastic. AC Milan had enough experience to deal with a team that defended to the end. Playing defense in front of the Italians? Tony Twain, if you’re lucky enough to make it to the finals, AC Milan will show what real defense is.

Chapter 530 - Pepe’s Worry

After they beat Chelsea, Tony Twain and his team were once again on the front page. They received such treatment after every win, which Twain was already used to.

Reporters gathered outside the Wilford training base in hopes of interviewing a certain player, or Twain himself. This time, Twain did not issue a media blackout for his players but it was not easy for reporters to interview him in person. Except for the regular press conference, he would not speak a word in front of the media.

By all accounts, he should be in a very good mood after he won against Chelsea. However, Twain seemed to give off a feeling of being in a bad mood.

Why?

※※※

“An injury now disrupts our game.” In his office, Twain smacked the report given to him by the team’s medical unit. “It has been confirmed that Ashley Young will need to take a break from playing for at least two weeks and is definitely going to miss the second leg of the game against Chelsea. I had initially thought that Pepe could make it to the most crucial game. Now the team doctor informed me that they can’t guarantee Pepe’s health… The condition of the Brazilian’s injuries is complicated.”

Ashley Young’s injury was confirmed a day after the game and the doctors carried out a detailed checkup of his injured leg. The good news was that his injury was not serious and did not require him completely leave the season. The bad news was that he could not make it to the second round against Chelsea.

On the other hand, Pepe, who was injured in January, had since recovered and returned to training. His operation went well, but he could only do basic strength exercises alone in the gym for now. It was impossible for him to practice with the entire team without permission from the team doctor.

There were a lot of hidden dangers in constant reliance on the two players, Kompany and Piqué to prop up the middle defensive line. The goal concede to Chelsea was due to this reason. Twain did not believe luck would always take care of him. If a fatal error happened in the final, it would be too late for any regrets.

“But didn’t Fleming say that it is fine for him to play...” Kerslake said.

“That’s going to risk him getting hurt again soon. It will become a chronic injury and a ticking time bomb every season. I don’t want to gamble Pepe’s future.” Twain shook his head.

“But we’re in a good shape this season and I also think it’s our best chance to win the title...If it’s caused by a problem in the rear defensive line...” Kerslake did not continue as he realized that it sounded a bit ominous to state it out loud.

Twain kept quiet. He felt conflicted on the inside.

Pepe’s injury tended to be rigid and his physical condition was not at his best. If he was allowed to play in the second leg against Chelsea, no one could guarantee that he would be well enough to be able to play for ninety minutes. If he got hurt again, the Forest team would not just lose a player.

On the other hand, this season was a great opportunity for the Forest team. With the exception of the middling EFL Cup title, Twain had not yet won a heavyweight trophy despite being a manager for four years. Although a successful manager was always in the minority and not every manager could get a championship trophy, Twain did not want to be a failure. He did not want to be part of the masses. He was unique.

If Pepe could play, it would add enough stability to the Forest team’s rear defensive line. Twain was still not very confident in Kompany for a crucial match. He was still too young.

As he lowered his head to look at the report in his hand, Twain knitted his brows.

The joy of the win over Chelsea soon dissipated and worries came.

“Continue to observe and we’ll talk again later.” He sighed.

※※※

The empty gym had only the sound of collisions from the equipment. Pepe was building strength in his leg muscle. He lifted and lowered his legs as he stared out the window at the training ground.

Training appeared to be over, since his teammates were making their way to the locker room one after the other.

He felt that his body had no problems, but the team doctor did not allow him to play and train on the field. He did his tedious rehabilitation training in this gym day after day, instead.

He had not been allowed to touch a football since he had been injured in the game against Reading in January. The surgery and postoperative recovery took almost five months and he still did not know when he could return to the field. He had had enough.

He once went to the team doctor, Fleming, and asked him when he could train and play on the field again, only to have Fleming tell him that Manager Tony Twain had to give his assent before he could be cleared.

All questions were directed to Twain, which made things simple.

After everyone had left the training ground, Pepe finally stopped his mechanical movements. He decided to go look for the boss and have a good talk about his injury.

Everyone worked hard on the idea of a Champions League title, and he did not want to be a spectator at a time like that.

If the team did win the Champions League in the end, would he take the stage in a suit to accept the gold medal? In that case, he might learn from the boss and throw the gold medal directly to the fans.

Pepe had just gotten up when he saw the door of the gym being pushed open.

Wood walked in bare-chested.

Wood was a little surprised to see Pepe.

“Your training time shouldn’t be so long.”

Pepe interrupted him. “You can practice extra. Why can’t I?”

“But you’re hurt...”

“I’ve been fine for a long time!” Pepe got a little agitated. “Look.” He sat down again and continued to repeat the mechanical movements he had been doing. His knees bore a huge weight, driving his calves to move up and down.

Wood watched quietly until Pepe stopped.

When he saw that Pepe was taking big gulps of air in the chair, Wood walked over and sat on the equipment next to him.

“I went to Fleming and he said the boss has the final say in whether I’ll be able to train and compete. There are only a few games left this season. When I was first injured, I agreed to the operation because I heard them say that I could make it to the final showdown. Now, after the operation was successful, they still will not allow me train and play. How can this happen?” Pepe muttered.

Wood set the weight before he began his own strength-building practice.

For a while, the gym only rang with banging sounds from the equipment. Pepe sat there, gasping, and Wood did not speak.

After a while, Wood stopped his exercise and looked at Pepe. “Are you going to find the boss?”

Pepe nodded.

“If you don’t go now, he’ll go home.” Wood reminded.

Pepe hurriedly got up. Just as he was about to run out, Wood stopped him again and asked, “can you catch the finals?”

Pepe stared blankly for a moment and then realized that he meant the Champions League final. He shook his head and said, “it’s up to the boss.”

“Do you want to?”

“No one wants to miss the final.” Pepe said firmly.

Wood nodded. “Go on then. Catch him before it’s too late.”

Pepe ran past Wood and out the door as the sound of a continuous clatter came behind him.

※※※

Wood’s reminder was timely. Twain and Dunn had just exited the office when they saw the breathless Pepe came running.

“Haven’t you gone back yet, Pepe?” Twain was a little surprised.

“Can I have a word with you, boss?” Pepe looked at Twain.

Twain turned his head to look at Dunn.

“I’ll head back first.” Dunn tactfully took leave of them.

When Dunn left, Twain reopened the door of the office and invited Pepe in.

“I think I can guess what you’re here for.” After he asked Pepe to sit down on the couch, Twain sat on the edge of the table. He looked at his player and said, “coincidentally, we had a discussion about your matter this morning too. I know you want to play, and I’d love you to play soon. But the situation is not so simple. The team doctor told me that your body is not quite ready.”

“But I feel completely fine, boss.” Pepe reasoned. “How can I not know about my own body?”

Twain smiled. “That may not be the case, Pepe. The last thing that humans know the best is their own bodies. Please believe that I feel the same way as you do. We all want you to play as soon as possible. After all, this is a critical moment for us. We need your ability to defend and attack.”

Pepe regarded Twain, who also looked back at Pepe. Pepe wanted to see the honesty in Twain’s eyes, which he saw.

Twain told the truth. He indeed wanted Pepe to recover sooner than anyone else. It was just that he could not express the slightest bit of his thinking in public. Otherwise it would make Kompany feel like he was not getting the respect he deserved.

“I went to ask Fleming and he said I need to come to you. And that we have to listen to you whether or not I can train and play, boss.”

Twain nodded in admission to this point. “That’s right. I have the final say here whether a player can play or not. The team doctors can only provide the advice for reference. But I want you to know, Pepe, that I don’t want to ruin your career with haste because we want instant results. You’re at a vital moment now, and we can’t rush.”

“But I don’t want to miss the Champions League finals due to my injury, boss.” Pepe’s attitude was also firm.

“No one wants to, Pepe. I don’t want what happened to Wood to happen to any of you again. So, I can’t make light of the decision to let you play just to be on the safe side. What if you play without careful consideration and get hurt again?”

“But the semi-finals game is also key...”

Twain smiled. “You’re worried. There’s nothing to worry about. It has to be us, Nottingham Forest and not Chelsea, that goes to Athens. Did you watch the first leg of the game?”

Pepe nodded. “I watched it at home.”

“With everyone performing so well, how can it be us that will be eliminated in the end? I told them not to stop until we have the Champions League title. And now I have to add another thing—we’re not going to stop until everyone’s here. Whether it’s you, Ashley Young, or Paul Gerrard, we’re not going to stop until everyone returns to the team. Nottingham Forest is a complete unit and a team. Of course, we have to go to Athens as a complete team to pick up the championship trophy. Everyone in the entire team certainly has to reach their hands out and not one person missing. So, don’t think about this matter and rest assured that your surgery and four months of postoperative recovery treatment will not be in vain.”

What else could Pepe say?

“From tomorrow on, you can train with the team.” Twain added. This was what Pepe wanted to hear the most. He had long been tired of being alone in the gym.

Pepe finally smiled.

“But I want to remind you, don’t hurt yourself during the training.”

Pepe nodded. “I know, boss.”

“Go back. Take care and rest up.”

“Bye, boss.”

With the good news, Pepe left happily. Twain locked up his office and slowly made his way out.

At the gate, he ran into George Wood, who had just walked after he showered and changed.

Twain was used to Wood’s habit of doing extra practice after the training. He used to be worried that Wood’s body would not be able to endure it?and forbade him from the additional practice. Later he found that the kid was a monster from outer space. Extra practice had no adverse effects on his body, so he let him be.

“Hey, George, let’s go home together.” Twain beckoned to Wood as he stood at the gate waiting for him.

Wood came up and asked, “Did he find you?”

“Yes, he wants to play very badly, but I told him he still can’t right now.”

When he heard Twain said that, Wood was silent for a moment, and then asked, “When can he play then?”

“The finals.” Twain smiled.

The two men walked side by side, and Twain suddenly remembered one thing. He turned his head and asked, “George, how many yellow cards do you have on you?”

“Two cards away from automatic suspension.” said Wood.

Twain thought about it. He’s two cards away with one game left. If Wood gets another yellow card in the second leg, it doesn’t affect too much. But if he gets two… then it doesn’t matter how many he had before. It will definitely be a red card.

“Well… Be more careful.” Twain could not help but lament in his heart at how nice it would be if Wood had a qualified replacement.

“I know, I’ll pay attention.”

The two men walked out of Wilford Lane in silence. Wood would walk north and Twain to the south, so they would part ways there.

“George, how’s your mother doing?” Twain asked suddenly.

Wood nodded. “Very good.”

“I haven’t seen her in a while...”

“She knows you’re very busy, so she didn’t ask me to call you.”

Twain rubbed his nose. He was not so busy that he did not even have time to visit. “Once this season ends, I’ll take Shania with me to see her.”

Wood opened his mouth and eventually nodded instead. “I’ll tell her.”

“Goodbye, George. Go rest.”

“Bye, chief.”

After he waved to Wood, Twain stood alone at Wilford Lane in the sunset, looking up towards the west to admire the orange clouds of the setting sun as it turned to dusk. Then he slowly walked home.

Chapter 531 - Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

After a crucial victory in the semi-finals of the Champions League, the entire Nottingham Forest team’s morale was high. Even though there were two games in the next week, everyone’s condition was well-maintained. Twain used rotation in the upcoming league game and replaced more than half of the starting lineup. Wood was given a break. Although he did not need to rest at all, Twain considered that he wanted to give the other players more opportunities, so he asked him to accompany his mum in the stands.

Sun Jihai replaced Wood as the defensive midfielder. The Chinese player had now fully realized his reputation as a “utility player.” In an interview with the Chinese journalists, he had joked that he was “like a tool of revolution, he’ll go wherever he’s needed.”

On the front line, Anelka, who rarely played, also received the chance to start. He formed a partnership with Bendtner. As the season drew to a close, rumors of Anelka’s transfer began to circulate daily, and a number of clubs had expressed a keen interest in Anelka. Reportedly, Juventus, said to be on the verge of returning to Serie A, was currently the front runner. After Trezeguet’s departure, the team lacked a strong and experienced striker.

Everyone believed that the French striker’s days at the City Ground stadium were dated.

As for the midfield, the Spanish midfielder, Arteta, partnered with Sun Jihai in the middle. The left midfielder was changed to Petrov, and Aaron Lennon was the only candidate for the right midfielder’ position for this period due to Ashley Young’s injury. Ribéry could cameo on occasions as well.

Wes Morgan, the center-back, also got the chance to start, while his partner was the veteran, Ayala. It was a little harsh for Ayala to not be able to play in the Champions League on behalf of the Forest team. He could only devote all his energy to the league tournament. Since his loan, he had been stable in the league tournament, using his own experience to help the Forest team stabilize the young defensive line.

Gareth Bale, who scored the winning goal in the semi-finals of the Champions League, replaced Leighton Baines.

Twain only made such a big rotation because the Forest team’s opponent in the league tournament was very weak and Twain did not want anyone to be injured before the crucial game.

The Forest team’s opponent in the thirty-sixth round was Watford, a team that was already relegated ahead of time. Not to mention that the Forest team was playing on their home ground. Twain had no fear that his team would lose the game at home. His tactics for the team in the game were offense and more offense, and to use offense to suppress their opponent.

It turned out that he was right.

Amid the shouts of nearly 30,000 fans at the City Ground stadium, Nottingham Forest crushed Watford by 4:0.

Poor Watford had wanted to show its indomitable fighting spirit. At the start of the game, several attacks created some threats to the distracted Forest team.

But their deathbed struggle infuriated Nottingham Forest. The initially distracted players suddenly seemed to wake up.

At the 27th minute, after Gareth Bale had broken through from the flank, Bendtner rushed to take the ball in the middle. He vigorously shot up to score with a powerful header into Watford’s goal.

The trailing Watford still did not give up. They wanted to make use the void behind the Forest team to counterattack.

Three minutes later, Watford, who had wanted to use defensive counterattack on the Forest team, was counterattacked by the Forest team, instead. While they were attacking, Arteta directly shot a long pass from the back to the front. After Anelka received the ball, he broke through alone. In the face of the attacking Watford goalkeeper, he even leisurely bypassed him before he struck the goal. The football rolled into the empty goal. The score was 2:0.

The goal completely destroyed Watford’s fighting spirit. After conceding two goals in three minutes, the Watford players no longer had the confidence to equalize the score. Now their thinking was to consider conceding fewer goals a win.

During halftime, Twain gave the team high praise, telling them to keep up the good work in the second half. He was not satisfied with score of 2:0. If they could score more goals, they should do so and not think about meaningless things like saving the opponent’s dignity. Anyway, the opponent was a relegated team.

The team carried out his instructions in the second half. They used profligate offensive to destroy Watford’s rear defensive line. Twain was happy to take advantage of the opportunity to get the team to practice all kinds of offensive routines, so his second-half substitutions were all offensive adjustments. Everyone on the defensive line stayed the same. He had no intention to adjust the rear defensive line.

Bendtner and Petrov each scored another goal in the second half for the Forest team, which eventually locked in the score at 4:0.

At the end of the game, the City Ground stadium exploded in loud cheers, hailing their heroes. After each home win, this was all “keeping with the show,” making no difference in terms of the score and the strength of the opponents. In the eyes of the fans, it was worth celebrating as long as it was a victory. They had been bottled up for twenty-four years. That desire for victory was not something that could be released with one or two victories.

The Forest players ran hand-in-hand toward the stands to thank the fans. It was also the team “keeping with the show,” which Twain had set out as a rule for the team and had to be carried out after each home game. When the team had a good rapport with the fans, he had no worries.

The players thanked the fans under the stands, and Twain also held his arms up to applaud the stands. He walked to the tunnel as he clapped. At the entrance, Fat John called out to him.

“Tony, another victory!” John bent over the grandstand railing and leaned out to wave to Twain. “Will there be another victory in four days?”

“You’re talking nonsense, John.” Twain grinned. “We...”

“Will certainly win!!” The fans in the stands continued the sentence in unison.

“That’s right!” Twain pointed to the lovely group of fans with a laugh.

“Bye, folks. We’ll see you in Athens.” Twain waved as he walked toward the mixed zone, with the fans behind him repeatedly shouting “Athens! Athens! Athens!”

Amidst the roar of the fans, Twain went to the mixed zone to give an interview.

“Manager Twain, you hold a really high position in the fans’ hearts.” Tang Jing, who had a press card pinned on her chest, appeared in front of Twain.

With regards to the compliment, Twain was not modest about it. He nodded. “It’s because my team is doing well. There’s no free lunch in this world. There must be a reason for them like me.”

Tang Jing, who was also used to his crowing, laughed. “Everyone says Nottingham Forest is a team that supports the ‘1:0 doctrine.’ They all say Tony Twain is a conservative manager, but we saw a Forest team with its relentless attacks in this game.”

“I don’t care what tactics we use, as long as they let the team win. It doesn’t matter to me whether we use defensive counterattack or all-out offensive.”

“With regards to Anelka, there are currently a lot of rumors about his transfer...”

“Ah... Well, I still say the same, as long as there is a team that is able to offer us a satisfactory price, that is not a problem.”

“In that case, is it convenient to reveal the price you will accept?”

“It depends on my mood.” Twain smiled knowingly. “All right, I have to go. We’ll see each other in Athens, Reporter Tang.”

“There’s another round in the semifinals!” Tang Jing shouted in the back.

Twain looked back at her. “Do you want to bet?”

Tang Jing thought for a moment and shook her head.

Twain walked away with a laugh.

※※※

Soon after the end of the game, the news of the other two arenas came in. Because of the Champions League, Chelsea and Manchester United’s thirty-fifth round of the league tournament was delayed until May 10th. Therefore, the two teams had one fewer game than Forest. In the 36th round, both teams were forced to a draw by their respective rivals.

“A draw?!” When Twain heard the news from Kerslake, he could not believe it.

“That’s right, a draw!” Kerslake nodded excitedly. “Chelsea’s away game was tied 0:0 with Newcastle United and Manchester United’s home game was forced into a draw at 1:1 by Middlesbrough! Neither team had sent all their main players and made major rotations like we did.”

After he got the exact answer, Twain frowned tightly.

Was this good or bad news for him? He could not be certain.

Why Kerslake was so excited?

After they beat Manchester United in the 33rd round with a score of 2:0, Nottingham Forest had seventy points, Chelsea seventy-six points and Manchester United seventy-eight points.

It was precisely that game that made Manchester United feel the precariousness of the league title and also gave Chelsea the hope of defending their league title, which tugged at Abramovich’s heartstrings.

That was the situation that Twain strove to set up to get Chelsea and Manchester United to fight it out for a league title, so they would be too occupied to attend to the Champions League. While the two opponents fought, they would lose out to the third party.

Judging by the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, he had succeeded.

If things were to continue like that, it would not be long before Nottingham Forest, the “third party,” could jst sit back and reap the rewards.

However...

Looking at the results of these two games, Twain murmured, “did Mourinho and Ferguson have an agreement?”

After the 36th round, Chelsea and Manchester United were short of one game, with eighty points and eighty-two points each respectively, while Nottingham Forest had seventy-nine points after their successive victories over Charlton, West Ham United and Watford.

Was The Tale of Two Cities becoming Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

Originally after the victory, the fourth-placed Liverpool and fifth-ranked Arsenal were nine points and eleven points away from the Forest team. Twain was ready to use all substitutes in the final two rounds, giving the main players a break to fully prepare for the Champions League. In that case, even if he wanted to give the team a break, would the club’s top echelon, coaching staff, and the players themselves agree to it?

Next to him, Kerslake excitedly discussed the two games that had just ended with the other coaches sitting next to him. Then the phone in Twain’s pocket rang.

Looking at the caller ID, Twain sighed and answered the call.

“Mr. Chairman.”

“What’s the matter? You don’t sound very happy, Tony. Haha!” Evan Doughty’s excited voice came from the other end. “Do you know the latest result of the matches?”

Twain certainly was aware of which game he was referring to. “Yes, Chelsea and Manchester United both had a tie game.” He tried to keep his voice down as he did not want to attract other people’s attention.

“We are only two points away from the top team in the league. This is an unexpected and wonderful development!”

“But Manchester United and Chelsea still have one game less than us, Mr. Chairman.”

“Of course, I know that, but that game is a mutual fight. Chelsea at home versus Manchester United. This season is finally starting to be interesting at the end. Do you know what my first thought was after I knew about the situation with the points?”

“The League title.” Twain stated calmly.

He heard Evan snap his fingers loudly. “That’s right! Tony, it has been four seasons and we’ve never been this close to the league title as we are today. Don’t you want to do something about it?”

Twain looked at the people around him. Everyone was excitedly discussing the two games. Even the players knew. Every one of them was radiant with delight.

“It’s not convenient to talk now, Mr. Chairman. I will come look for you when I get back to Nottingham.”

“Good, come to my house tomorrow morning, 9:30 sharp. I’ll ask the driver to pick you up.”

After he hung up, Twain discovered that Dunn was seated by his side.

“The chairman wants to get the league title, right?” he asked.

Twain nodded.

“What do you think? I can tell you’re not in a good mood. Don’t you want to win the title?”

“Of course I want to. I dream about it. But it’s just terribly timing now for this come about. I don’t want to be distracted before the crucial Champions League,” Twain said in a low voice.

“I thought you were going to arrogantly promise to take down all the championship titles.” Dunn said.

“Are you praising or insulting me?”

“I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”

“Dunn, you know very well that even if we win the last two rounds, as long as the opponents win all their games, we will still be trailing behind them when they are still short of one game.” Twain did not know which teams would be the opponents in the last two rounds for Manchester United and Chelsea. However, he thought the probability of the two teams losing in the final two rounds were low. After all, this was a crucial moment that Chelsea and Manchester United would take seriously. “For that one game they had to make up, Chelsea versus Manchester United, no matter what the outcome is, we will not get the title in the end. If Chelsea wins, Chelsea gets the title; if Manchester United wins, Manchester United is the champion; If it is a draw for both, Manchester United is the champion and Chelsea is the runner-up. Nothing will change.”

Dunn nodded and did not speak. He felt that Twain had a point. The prospect looked good, but the matter is not as simple as the prospect.

“If that’s the case... it’s such a shame.” Out of the blue, Kerslake piped up. He leaned over the back of the seat and smacked his lips. “The championship title is so close and yet so far.”

Dunn shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing is perfect.”

The players were still excitedly discussing how likely the team was to take the league title, while the coaching staff were silent. Twain’s analysis had poured cold water on them.

If that was truly the case, why would they put all their effort in...

Chapter 532 - 0.1% and 100%

It was almost eleven o’clock at night when they got back to the hotel they were staying in for the night. Twain, who was tired from the busy day, simply took a cool shower and fell asleep on his bed.

In the room next to him, Dunn also took a shower when he returned to his room. He did not immediately fall asleep because he had washed his hair and he had to wait for it to dry before he went to bed. Making use of the time, Dunn turned on his laptop and logged online. There was a problem that had been floating in his mind ever since it came up on the bus, and it was bothering him. He would not be able to sleep tonight if he could not figure it out.

Pulling up the official English Premier League website, he clicked onto the page with the competition schedule.

The situation was not quite the same as Twain predicted.

In the 37th round, Manchester United would challenge Manchester City in an away game and Chelsea would play against Arsenal.

There were two derbies being held.

※※※

Early next morning, Twain was woken up by a knock on the door. He flipped over and picked up his watch from the bedside table. It was only eight o’clock.

He initially wanted to ignore it, but the knocking on the door was insistent.

“I don’t need any room service!” Twain cried.

“Tony.” Dunn’s voice came from outside the door.

Twain paused for a moment before he jumped out of bed, wearing only underwear to open the door.

Dunn was already dressed properly. He looked as if he had been up for some time.

“There’s no training this morning.” Twain yawned and went back towards the bed.

“Aren’t you going to Mr. Chairman’s house?”

“That’s at nine-thirty. It’s only eight o’clock. I can sleep for at least another hour.” Twain flopped back into bed, ready to sleep again.

“I found out an interesting thing last night and I want to tell you. Perhaps it can help you a little in your meeting with the chairman this morning.”

“What? Go ahead...” Twain yawned again.

“Do you know which the opponents for the remaining two rounds of Chelsea and Manchester United are?”

Half-asleep, Twain shook his head and feebly mumbled, “Who remembers other teams’ schedules? It’s already pretty good that I can remember the Forest team’s schedule...”

“In the 37th round, Chelsea challenges Arsenal in an away game and Manchester United is on an away game against Manchester City. In the 38th round, Chelsea will host Everton...”

Without waiting for Dunn to finish, Twain sat up from the bed. He looked at Dunn, who nodded and said, “two derbies.”

Twain was not sleepy any longer. He sat up, squinting and looking dazedly out of the window at the bright sunshine outside.

“How could this be...” He muttered after a long while.

“Is this good news or bad news?”

Twain began to get dressed. Even if he were to lie in bed, he could not sleep anymore. “I don’t know. If we handle it well, it is good news. It will be bad news if we mishandle it.”

He did not expect to be involved in the situation he had set up because of an accident.

Just as he had said to Dunn, the matter would have a happy ending if they handled it well, or they would end up with nothing if they botched it.

“I still want to sit on the sidelines as a spectator and watch our opponents fight to death to reap the rewards after, Dunn. It’s a lot better to watch the show than to see it go down in person.”

“I don’t believe you don’t want to take this title.”

“Of course I want to, but I don’t know if this is going to be a honey trap.” Twain’s muffled voice came from the bathroom. “We once set the same trap for Chelsea and Manchester United, leading them to play poorly in the first leg of the semi-finals. So, I know the danger of this trap.”

Twain came out of the bathroom and wiped his face before he continued to talk to Dunn. “If this is not a trap, I’m not willing to let go of a championship title for nothing. So, I’m currently undecided and conflicted.”

“There are only two rounds left anyway. Just hunker down and persist.”

Twain did not give an opinion. He did not know what to say. The sudden development had upset all his plans. He was unable to calm himself down.

“In short... I’ll meet Evan and see how it goes.” Twain put on his coat and opened the door, “Let’s go and have breakfast together.”

※※※

The players who had finished their breakfast left the hotel in droves to attend to their own matters. They had half a day off before training in the afternoon to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals happening midweek.

Twain’s seat was filled with a pile of newspapers, and Kerslake sat next to them.

“Tony, look at the papers.” He pointed to the newspapers.

“Reading newspapers at mealtimes can be bad for your gut.” Even so, Twain spread out the papers.

Nottingham’s media were full of praises about Forest’s game yesterday, complimenting Twain for letting the fans enjoy the joy of winning once again. That was not what Twain was concerned about. He quickly skimmed through and found the news in the papers about the other two league games yesterday.

Both Manchester United and Chelsea were tied by their rivals, which was an outcome that the media did not anticipate. Before the game, pundits had analyzed that the probability of these two teams having a draw at the same time was extremely low; they did not expect them to really do it.

As these two tied games brought on a chain reaction, it was also naturally within the focus of the media.

Several different newspapers listed the latest league standings. The names of Chelsea, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest were printed in bold. Their points were also in bold to make them more striking.

In an ascending order: 79, 80, 82.

These scores made people’s imagination run wild.

Almost all media outlets thought these two draws had suddenly thrusted Nottingham Forest, which had little hope of winning, into the ranks of a title contender. To verify this interpretation, they even listed these three teams’ competition schedule for the final two rounds. Chelsea and Manchester United faced strong rivals in the 37th round, as Arsenal and Manchester City were not to be trifled with. Furthermore, in the context of a derby, these two games would hard to play. Whereas, Nottingham Forest’s opponent in the 37th round was Aston Villa, who was not a strong team. As long as those two teams lost in this round and Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa, they would have the opportunity to take the top seat and share the same points as Manchester United. However, the requirement of dominance in the goal difference would still put them first in the league.

This would be the first time they would have taken the top spot in the league this season.

“I can say that the 37th round is likely to be the key to determining the eventual champion of the league title.” One expert solemnly vowed.

Twain put the papers aside. He already knew everything that followed without reading it.

“They all seem to forget that Chelsea and Manchester United are still one game short,” he said to the two assistant managers. “Even if they both lose the 37th round, so what? Similarly, if Chelsea wins, Chelsea will be first; if Manchester United wins, Manchester United will be first; if both sides had a draw, Manchester United is still number one. What’s the point of analyzing these? Dunn, you just said there are two rounds left and that we just have to hunker down and persist. But it is because there are only two rounds left that our hope is slim. Two rounds are just too few. There’s no room for us to maneuver.”

“What if both teams lost their last rounds...”

“Wake up, David.” Twain scoffed. “Our opponent in the last round is not weak either. It’s Liverpool. They are in the fourth place, pushing Arsenal down. What’s more, even if we can beat Liverpool at home — no matter the cost — and get the last three points and expect the other two teams to lose at the same time, the odds of Manchester United losing and Chelsea getting a draw are too low. Chelsea’s final round is with Everton, who is rather strong. Manchester United’s last round is at home against West Ham United. I don’t believe that with the strength of Manchester United and Ferguson’s experience, they will upend at home in the final round. That’s only a theoretical possibility. I think it’s too unreliable to pin our hopes on a theory. Do you know how complicated our situation is now?”

Kerslake remained silent for a while before he muttered, “Reality is really harsh...”

※※※

After breakfast, Twain decided to drink coffee at the hotel to admire the beautiful women while waiting for Evan’s driver to pick him up. Dunn, on the other hand, went home alone.

Before he left, Dunn asked him, “have you already made the decision to give up the league tournament?”

Twain shook his head. “No, I didn’t say I was going to give up. I’m still considering it now.”

“Indecision doesn’t quite suit your personality.”

“I can’t be a qualified manager by relying on impulse and passion alone.”

Dunn nodded. “Anyway, the person who has to decide is you. I just execute it.”

After he said goodbye to Dunn, Twain sat alone in the hotel lobby and looked at the passersby outside the window, lost in his thoughts. It was not until the familiar dark red Audi appeared in sight that he snapped back to reality.

※※※

It was the first time Twain had gone to the club chairman’s house. He had previously thought that the Doughty family, who were rather famous and wealthy in Nottingham, must have bought a mansion in the most luxurious part of the city. He did not expect the car to drive him out of the city and head straight to the rural wilderness to the northwest.

The final destination was a farm that looked no different from all farms in England. A three-story conjoined mason building showed that the house had some history. If it were a cloudy day, the grey building would be reminiscent of something eerie like “The Haunted Castle.” Fortunately, the sky was blue and dotted with white clouds. The gray stone building, situated in a green wilderness, looked perfect.

After the car passed through the high walls and iron gates, Twain saw a vast expanse of green fields and low hedges. This scenery was uplifting. He could not help but take a deep breath.

As he got out of the car, Evan Doughty personally met him at the entrance. Or rather, just happened to be there. He was pushing a wheelchair with an old man sitting in it and taking a stroll.

Although he had not seen him for several years, Twain quickly recognized the man, the former club chairman, Mr. Nigel Doughty.

He was taken aback by this discovery.

He remembered what the old chairman had said to him when he patted him on the shoulder after he had just moved there. At the time, the simple words gave him encouragement and comfort, and also strengthened his belief to make something of himself in this field.

When he reacted, Twain greeted Nigel Doughty. “Good morning, Mr. Nigel Doughty.”

Sitting in the wheelchair, Nigel Doughty was expressionless and did not seem to hear Twain’s words as his fingers and head kept shaking.

After a while, an indistinct voice came from the depths of his throat, as if to answer Twain’s greetings. It had to be so...

“Parkinson’s disease,” said Evan, who was pushing the wheelchair.

Looking at the appearance of the former chairman, Twain also did not know what to say. He found it hard to associate the former Nigel Doughty with the sick old man in front of him. He remembered that when Evan came to power, the announcement had stated that Mr. Nigel Doughty was unwell, and he could no longer continue to hold his position as club chairman. He thought it was just a dignified excuse; he did not think it was true.

“If the weather is good, I take him out for a stroll. There are not many such opportunities in the UK. When he went to America, he could not bear to leave England, but the weather here is too inhospitable for an elderly patient.”

When he saw that Twain did not speak, Evan also knew that it was not a nice topic, so he pushed the wheelchair and walked as he spoke. “Tell me about the league tournament, Tony. We seem to be in a good situation.”

His tone had calmed down a lot since the day befpre. Perhaps he had analyzed it too?

Twain guessed so. “It only looks good.”

“Oh? The media say we are currently a strong contender for the title.”

“The media likes to exaggerate. You want to hear my analysis?”

Evan Doughty gestured for Twain to continue.

Twain repeated the speech he had given to Kerslake at breakfast that morning. Evan did not interrupt him and listened attentively.

When Twain finished, he asked, “so how likely do you think we are to win the league?”

“0.1%.”

“You may as well just say there’s no hope, Tony,” Evan said tersely.

“I didn’t want to dash your hopes.” Twain laughed. “We’ve been aiming for the Champions League title for a season, and now with two rounds left in the league tournament, I find it a bit difficult to switch us to the league title instead. If we could be sure that we had a better chance, I would have seriously consider it. But the hope this time is just too small. I don’t want us to put in one hundred percent of our efforts only to end up with nothing in the end. It could jeopardize our Champions League plan. You know how important the Champions League is, Evan.”

Evan Doughty nodded. “Of course I know. It’s the dream of all European clubs.”

“Yes. And the Champions League holds a special meaning for Nottingham Forest. If I have to choose, I think choosing the Champions League will be better for us.”

“I’m not asking you to choose one out of the two. I want both, Tony.”

“Oh, come on, it doesn’t need to be spelled out. If we have any hope of getting aDouble, do you think I don’t want to, Evan? I’m more eager than anyone to get the title and win more championships. But to put it bluntly, this season’s league title doesn’t belong to us. Maybe at the end of the day we have a hope of coming in second in the league, but the chances of a league title are too small.” Looking at Nigel Doughty, the former club chairman in the wheelchair, he added, “maybe we’ll have a chance to get a Double in the future, a Treble, or even five titles like Liverpool... But not this season.”

He did not doubt the feelings the old man had for Nottingham Forest. In the mid 90’s, when the Forest team was at its most difficult, he bought most of the Forest team’s shares and invested heavily in the team, hoping that the team would get back on its feet and advance into the Premier League again. Unfortunately, no one could predict what fate had in store for them. The collapse of the independent television digital platform caused all his efforts to be in vain, and also greatly impacted the old man’s ambition and aspirations. Like Twain’s mentor, Paul Hart, he chose to hand the club over to his son and withdrew.

The first half of the last sentence was meant for him to hear.

Indeed, Nottingham Forest was certain to return to its glory days and restore its brilliance. As long as he was in charge, there would be such a day.

However, Rome was not built in a day. The rebuilding of a team would require time.

After a moment’s silence, Evan sighed. “To look on helplessly while the championship trophy is right in front of us, and yet we can’t take it... It’s really hard to bear.”

“You’ll be fine if you don’t think about it. If you are hung on what you can’t get, then you will feel terrible. At least we have a Champions League title.”

“But we haven’t finished playing the semi-finals yet...”

“It will be us who goes to Athens. Do you doubt that?”

“No, of course not.” Evan shook his head.

“It will be us who win at the end. Whether our opponent is Manchester United or AC Milan, we will certainly win. Unlike a league title with only a 0.1% chance, this championship title is 100% ours.”

Evan stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at Twain. “I’ve always had a question, Tony. Why do you have so much confidence in the Champions League? Whether it’s Manchester United or AC Milan, both of them are tough opponents.”

Tang Jing once asked Twain the same question, but Twain did not have the same answer. He just shook his head. “I do not know.”

Evan did not expect this answer. He stared blankly for a second and then curled his lips. “You disappoint me, Tony.”

“If I said it was intuition, you wouldn’t believe it. But the truth is, it’s intuition. The championship is like a gamble. We’re gambling every minute. We can only continue to advance when we win. We have to beat it if we lose. I believe it is not skill that dominates the outcome of the gamble, but luck. Or rather, seven parts luck and three parts skill. So when you asked me why I believe that my team will win the Champions League, then I can only say intuition, even though it sounds as inconceivable as a god of gambling saying he’s always lucky.”

Evan shrugged and said, “I prefer your reason that it is due to the strength of the team.”

“That’s within the three parts skills.”

As they chatted, the two men reached home, and Evan handed the wheelchair to the private nurse waiting there. She would accompany the old man to continue to bask in the sunshine. Evan and Twain sat on a bench at the side.

“If we can really win the Champions League title, I’m going to plan a big celebration at the City Ground stadiu, to be held in the evening. Allan has been busy with this matter.” Evan said, looking at the wilderness in the distance.

“You’re already making preparations?” Twain was a little surprised.

“Yes.” Evan looked at Twain with a sly smile. “So you must to advance to the Champions League final and be sure to win it.”

“That goes without saying, Evan. Of course, we’re going to win.” Twain chuckled.

“Stay for lunch, and I’ll go to Wilford with you after.”

Twain considered for a moment. Shania was not in the UK, so there was nothing to be concerned about. He nodded.

“I won’t force you for this season’s league title, but I want you to remember what you said. In the future, I want to see that we can win two, three, four, five titles in a row in a season... more championship trophies, Tony.”

Twain nodded and promised.

It was nice to control a club. The chairman had the final say and did not need to go through a raucous board meeting for that. And both individually owned clubs were Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, which Twain could not help but sigh.

I’m luckier than you, Mr. Mourinho. When you work with Abramovich, do you have the feeling of “accompanying one’s sovereign can be like accompanying a tiger”?

Chapter 533 - The Soldiers at The City Walls

No matter how important the 37th round was, it was time to put it aside. The three heroes of the 37th round of the league had a more important battle than this — Manchester United was going to Milan for an away challenge against AC Milan and Nottingham Forest would usher in Chelsea at home.

As three Premier League teams had broken into the top four this year, the English media was far more focused on the Champions League than previous years.

Many media outlets had gone with Manchester United to Milan, and a flood of reporters had also poured into Nottingham city.

War was coming.

Mourinho had placed a lot of importance on the game and had brought all of Chelsea’s healthy players to Nottingham. Since he did not hesitate over a draw in the last round of the league, he still employed rotation and it could be seen that he wanted more to make a breakthrough in the Champions League. After all, he had won two league titles since the two seasons he had been in Chelsea. The league title was less attractive to him than before, whereas he was eager to prove himself in the Champions League. The Chelsea fans were also a little tired of always dominating at home. They would prefer to see their team be able to pick up the Champions League trophy.

The UEFA Champions League was the only championship title Chelsea had not won. Being the king of Europe was a temptation that no human being could stay away from. Many people currently said that even though Chelsea had won two league titles, they were still an upstart team. If they could not win the Champions League title, that label would always follow them.

No one liked to be an upstart.

During and interview the day before the game, Mourinho confidently declared that he had come to beat Nottingham Forest and then to advance to the final. He did not consider anything else beside that.

“My players are in a good shape, my team is in a good condition, and I’m similarly in good form as well. Everything is fine. I’m only waiting for one victory now. Two away goals? This is not important as long as we beat them by more than two goals.”

Mourinho had shown so much confidence that the Nottingham newspapers had even used the phrase “the soldiers at the city walls” to cover Chelsea’s arrival.

Twain did not take Mourinho’s remarks to heart. “Anyone knows how to wage a war of words. It’s so easy to say I want to win. It doesn’t take three seconds to say it,” he said in an interview. He spread his hands to the reporters. “It’s better to wait until after the game to review Mr. Mourinho’s raving. Hopefully he won’t feel embarrassed that he had said these words.”

A reporter asked if Twain still planned to stick to playing defensive counterattack at home, but Twain diverted the topic. He would not say anything about that to the reporters.

Twain was not in the frame of mind to wage a war of words with Mourinho before the game, but Mourinho actively made a number of provoking comments in the newspapers that spurred on Nottingham Forest. Twain knew it was Mourinho’s psychological tactic. If he met him head on, he would have fallen into his trap. Therefore, he evaded repeatedly and let Mourinho do his one-man show.

Once he won the game, he would be able to use words to hit back at Mourinho, but now was not the time.

※※※

Of the two semi-final games, the first one was held in Nottingham, and the next night was Manchester United versus AC Milan. Due to the bad blood between Tony Twain and José Mourinho, the game attracted more attention.

On May 2nd, the afterglow of the sunset could still be seen in the western skies. In the distant darkening sky, there was only a sliver of light on the horizon, proving that the night had not yet descended. Despite this, the streetlights in the Nottingham city center had long been lit, the Trent River reflecting the glittering river bank and the crowded Trent Bridge.

Nottingham Forest fans and Chelsea fans decorated the two different paths towards the City Ground stadium, with police escorts and close surveillance along the way. The police officers had been busy during every match day since Twain took over the team. Last year was the first time in twenty-six years that the City Ground stadium had last hosted a Champions League semi-final game. At that game, Nottingham’s police appeared to be in a flurry. They were much calmer today.

A police car pulled up on the side of the road and a young policeman watched warily as a large group of Nottingham Forest fans walked past them.

His partner, an older policeman with graying hair and a craggy face, came around from behind the car.

“Relax, lad. It’s no big deal. We’re not in an active area for football hooligans here. And since that last incident, it’s rare to see a massive brawl before and after a match.” The older policeman leaned against the car door and chatted with his young colleague. “Loosen up and relax. Will you watch the game later?”

The young policeman turned his head and looked at him with some surprise. “We have to be on duty. How can we watch the game?”

“It’s not as if it only counts if we watch the game live in the stadium.” He leaned into the car and turned on the car radio. A voice immediately came on from inside:

“We have seen both teams arrive at the City Ground stadium in their buses. The first to alight is Nottingham Forest’s manager, Tony Twain. He’s now waving to the fans.”

The young policeman looked at the older policeman in astonishment.

“We’ll just listen to the radio. I didn’t have such a well-developed televised broadcast when I was a kid.” He pointed to a broadcast signal van in the distance. “Back then everyone listened to the radio. When the Forest team won the Champions League for the first time, I listened to the entire game on the radio. I was as young as you and on duty then, too.” The older policeman smiled as he reminisced. “I would listen the car radio in the police car for almost every one of the home games. I was in charge of this area.” He pointed at his feet. “Every home game day, I would be here, looking at the City Ground stadium and listening to the radio. I had to turn the volume up as loud as possible, because from there...” He pointed again in the direction of the City Ground stadium. “It could get really noisy, as if I was watching the game in the stadium.”

“Was it the same when the Forest team was relegated?” asked the young policeman.

“Yes, I was on duty as long as there was a home game. Even though we were relegated, our home attendance was still the highest out of any league team of the same level.” The older policeman was proud to say it. “Of course, it can’t be compared to now.” He sounded even prouder.

Another large group of Nottingham Forest fans walked past the front of the police car. Leading in front was a fat man with a discolored scarf around his neck. Seeing the group of people, the older policeman turned around to pull a Nottingham Forest scarf out of the car and hung it around his neck. The young man noticed that the scarf was old-fashioned in style and color, and it seemed to be old.

This group of fans got excited when they saw the older policeman with the scarf around his neck. They chanted phrases that cheered on Nottingham Forest to pay respects to the older policeman.

“Athens! Athens!”

“0415, report the situation on your side. Over.” The walkie-talkie on the shoulders of the older policeman emitted a staticky voice.

“0415 reporting in. All good on the south exit of Trent Bridge. Over.” The older policeman spoke into the walkie-talkie as he looked at the group of fans.

That group of fans had already gone far as they chanted the words.

The older policeman turned his gaze away from the fans. “I retire in a week. And then, I can finally go watch a real live game and cheer on the Forest team in the stands, even if Athens is a bit far away...”

“But there’s still this round in the semifinals. Who knows what the outcome will be.”

“No, we will win.” The older policeman looked at the young man and said firmly, “of course we will.”

The young man was stunned. For a moment, no one spoke. Only the radio in the car transmitted a rustling voice:

“Both teams have entered the City Ground stadium to warm up. The two managers will definitely deploy their main forces for this game as this is a key battle that will eventually determine which team will go to Athens. Manager Twain will not take this lightly, despite the fact that he had scored two away goals and beat Chelsea. Manager Mourinho will also not give up just because he lost the first bout.”

※※※

The fervor in the City Ground stadium had dropped slightly, as the players of both teams, who had done their warm-ups on the field, had returned to their respective locker rooms.

Twain looked at the players, who had changed into their jerseys, and got ready to motivate them one last time.

“Forget about that 2:1 game a week ago,” he started. “If we can’t win this game, then that 2:1 game will be pointless. It doesn’t help us secure our victory by overthinking a game that was over before the results come out. Some people say that we are already halfway in the Olympic Stadium because we won the first round, but I call bullshit! I want you to completely forget the first round and put all your energy into this game right in front of you!”

“Mourinho’s Chelsea will not let us off easily. For us to go to Athens, we have to step on their bodies. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Ribéry raised his hand and stood up.

“Do you have any questions, Franck?” Twain asked with a serious expression.

“Boss, I think you’re talking nonsense. Is there anyone among us who will show mercy to Chelsea?” Ribéry glanced back at his teammates and everyone nodded in agreement. “Of course we will knock Chelsea down and then step on them on our way to Athens. Otherwise it will be them who step on us. Isn’t that right, guys?”

“Yes!”

Twain grinned. “Franck, I think you’ll soon be able to stand up here and replace me. Why don’t you come up here now?” He pointed at his feet.

Ribéry hurriedly waved his hands. “I can’t do that. It is very hard to be both a player and a coach.” He immediately sat back down.

“So, I want to say...” Twain thought for a while and realized that Ribéry had finished what he had wanted to say. He scratched his head and said with some irritation, “damn it, Franck, you took my lines!”

A huge burst of laughter erupted in the locker room. Ribéry laughed the most gleefully.

“All right, let’s step on Chelsea and go to Athens!” He brandished his fists.

※※※

Mourinho paced back and forth in the locker room. The players had long been ready and waited for him to say something. He was wondering what to say.

The home loss and two goal concedes were like a boulder weighing on the entire team, and he did not want to think about them. If they wanted to go to Athens, it was not enough to beat the Forest team. Even with a 1:0 score, they would be eliminated because they had fewer away goals.

“Nottingham Forest is certain to use defensive counterattack on their home ground.” Walking back and forth for several turns, Mourinho eventually stopped and turned to face his players. “If we rush to press because we are anxious to score, then we will fall into Twain’s trap. So we can’t go all out in our offense, or more accurately, we can’t sacrifice our defense because of the offense. Everyone knows Nottingham Forest is best at defensive counterattack. Therefore, I’m asking you to be on guard and defend in this game.”

When he said that, everyone looked at each other, as they did not expect the boss to lay out such tactics.

“Any difficulties?” asked Mourinho.

Everyone shook their heads. Defense across the board was not an issue.

The Israeli technical advisor, Avram Grant, frowned. He interjected worriedly, “José, so how do we keep our strength secure?”

The Israeli’s concerns were reasonable. At the final stages of the season and after nearly a season of competition, everyone’s stamina was pushed to the brink of exhaustion. Defense across the board required a lot of physical strength. If they could not keep up their physical strength in the second half, would it not make it easier for the Forest team to play defensive counterattack?

Mourinho glanced at him, but did not look him in the eye. Instead, he looked at the players in front of him. “Twain will not have thought of us playing conservatively by going all out in our defense and force interceptions. His team will not be able to react properly. This is our chance. Seize it. The sooner you score, the better it is! Goals will completely disrupt their deployment and plan. Then we will try to lock in the game within seventy-five minutes!”

That was actually in response to Grant. Mourinho had little affection for the Israeli technical advisor that was dropped into his lap.

Who was the technical advisor supposed to advise? Guide the players, what right does he have to guide my players, Maradona or Pelé? Then can it be... he’s here to guide me? What a joke!

“Full-on press and intercept as much as you can. Use any means to destroy their passing routes and attacking pace! But be careful of getting yellow cards. Be a little smarter! We are in an away game and have to take into account the referee. I don’t want to go to Athens at the cost of three or four players.” Mourinho pointed to his players. “I forbid any of you to drop out!”

※※※

“This is the first half of the second leg of the 06-07 Champions League semi-final game of the season. As a civil war in England, this has garnered the attention of the English football fans. Nottingham Forest’s home stadium, City Ground is full, and there are many fans who can’t feel the atmosphere of this semi-final game in person because the City Ground stadium can only hold 30,000 people. For safety reasons, only 28,000 people can enter the stadium to watch the game.”

The televisions in the VIP box broadcasted live commentary, and the commentator introduced some information about the stadium to everyone.

Allan Adams looked up at the television for a while before he turned his gaze to look down at the full grandstand and said to Evan, who was next to him, “even though it has more than 100 years of history, the stadium is just too small. It’s affecting our ticket revenue. The attendance for Nottingham Forest has always been high, but our ticket revenue is reverse. It’s really not a normal phenomenon.”

Evan nodded. “I feel the same way too. Our stadium is too small to match our current results.”

“There are two options now. A, Extend City Ground to increase the number of seats, or B, choose a site to build a new stadium.”

“Which one do you prefer, Allan?”

“B. That way, we have the opportunity to attract more investment. It is considered very good if we can add five thousand seats on the original foundation, but that is still not enough. If it is newly constructed, we can build a luxury stadium that can accommodate up to 60,000 people.” Allan spoke enthusiastically of his plan.

Evan did not agree on anything right away, he just nodded. “Money is a major concern.”

“We can auction the stadium’s naming right to the company that invests in the new stadium, just like Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.”

“This is a good idea, but we’re not Arsenal. Companies may not necessarily give us hundreds of millions of pounds to build the stadium.”

In the stadium, the players from both teams had already filed out of the tunnel, appearing in front of the spectators. A tsunami of cheers rang out in the stadium.

Allan looked at the scene and laughed. “If we can keep winning championships, there will be businesses willing to invest in us.”

When he heard Allan, Evan contemplated. After a while, he said, “let’s wait till the end of the season. If Tony takes the Champions League title as he promised, I’ll consider your proposal. A European champion cannot be housed in a shabby stadium that can only accommodate more than 20,000 people.”

He looked up at the VIP box, which was shabby compared to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Emirates Stadium and Anfield Stadium.

It was time to eliminate such an ancient thing.

Chapter 534 - A Head Start

Mourinho’s analysis was correct. Although the Forest team won 2:1 against Chelsea in the first leg and scored two away goals, Twain, who returned to the City Ground stadium, did not say that he was going to suppress Chelsea with offense at home. Instead he used the defensive counterattack tactics that the Forest team was best at.

It made sense for Twain to do so. He did not need to go on a frenzy to attack the opponent with the team leading in the total score. If he did that, it would create a void in the rear instead and give the opponent a chance to score. Defensive counterattack was the best method to swap his and his opponent’s roles to arrest the trailing party’s idea of hoping to score as early as possible. They would patiently deal with them, and then watch for the timing to launch a deadly counterattack to further widen the gap in their score and completely doused the opponent’s confidence and fighting spirit.

If they wanted to win, this was the most secure way.

Once the game started, the home team, Nottingham Forest assumed the stance of a defensive counterattack. They kicked off but only three players launched the first attack. In the end, van Nistelrooy hastily made a long shot under Terry’s close marking and tackle outside the penalty box. The threat from the king of the penalty box was greatly reduced and the kick turned into a high shot.

After a hasty end to the attack, the Forest team’s offensive retreated quickly as if it had been the tide that rushed to the shore.

They put up a tight defensive formation in their own back half of the field, waiting for Chelsea to come attack.

Twain sat on the coaches’ seat and crossed his legs. Chelsea would eagerly press up. They just needed to wait for them to hand over ball possession. Then they could seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack and everything would be okay.

Chelsea also seemed to be playing exactly as he envisioned.

More than half of the blue players rushed headlong to participate in the attack, but so many of them were powerless the face of Nottingham Forest “parking the bus.” After their passes were cut off, the ball control was lost.

Chimbonda intercepted Robben’s ball and then passed it to van der Vaart.

It was a great opportunity for the Forest team to launch a counterattack. Suddenly, the stands erupted with the excited shouts of the Forest fans.

They had seen such scenes countless times. Few teams could withstand the Forest team’s quick counterattacks!

The football was still in the back half of the field and van der Vaart was not in a hurry to get it out right away. He decided to observe the situation first.

Just as he looked up to confirm his teammate’s positions, suddenly an oppressive force struck him. His intuition told him that it was a tackle from Chelsea, and he tried to get the football out in a hurry but kicked the air.

“Makelele intercepted the ball! Van der Vaart was too careless. Did he think he would be safe in his own half of the field?”

Van der Vaart lost the ball all of a sudden, which caused the Forest team to fall into an extremely passive situation. Because Ribéry, Lennon, Eastwood and van Nistelrooy had just completed by doing turning defense into offense, they were rushing to the opponent’s goal.

The Forest team did not have enough defensive players!

Makelele, who intercepted the ball, did not let the football stay at his feet for another second. He passed the football on to Robben, who had already plugged in.

Up against Chimbonda, who rushed to defend, Robben used his speed to push on and overtake outside the line. He bypassed the Frenchman.

The conditions had been good for the Forest team to fight back, but in a matter of seconds, it became Chelsea’s counterattack. The Forest team did not expect this. Their defense organization was hasty and scattered.

“Go fill the position!” Piqué yelled to Kompany. The Belgian kid was currently the nearest to Robben.

Kompany ran desperately to cover the defense but at which point Robben was already going into the penalty box. He decided to take a risk and shovel the ball. Even if it was a foul, he could not let him into the penalty box. The consequences would be unthinkable once he was in.

Running quickly, Kompany flew towards Robben and shoveled.

Twain, who saw this scene off the field, held his head. This was truly one of the most reckless options.

Unsurprisingly, Robben easily dodged Kompany’s shovel, and then charged into the penalty box.

The cheers from the Chelsea fans became stronger than the Nottingham Forest fans’ as they saw the hope of scoring.

Robben kicked his leg and passed. The football had just left his foot when it was blocked by a leg and bounced out of the end line.

“George Wood!” Wood hurried back that fended Robben’s pass and defused the crisis. Running from the defensive midfielder’s position to the penalty area, he temporarily cameoed as a center back just in time.

Mourinho had already gotten up from his seat. He had wanted to celebrate the goal but ended up seeing only a failed offense. He shook his hands in annoyance and sat back down.

Robben grabbed his head with his hands. He had observed clearly before he broke through Kompany. When there were not many defensive players in front of the Forest team’s goal, as long as he could send the ball in front of the goal, Drogba could shoot it. He did not expect the ever-present Wood to appear in the passing route.

His speed was not that much slower than his own.

“Chelsea receives a corner kick in the opening two minutes and they seem to want to play the role of the home team instead of a visiting team? If that’s the case, this game will be very interesting.”

Van der Vaart regretted losing the ball so easily, but no one blamed him. Who would have thought that Makelele would rush to the thirty-meter zone to grab the ball? Everyone completely overlooked the small-built black man.

Once Chelsea’s corner kick was shot, Kompany, who had just been easily bypassed by Robben, decided to make up for it. He used all his might to jump high in the crowded box and topped the football out.

The Nottingham Forest players did not receive this ball. Instead, Essien, who had lay in wait outside the box, immediately swept his leg and kicked the incoming ball. He wanted to take advantage of the chaotic situation and score.

The football hit Piqué and rebounded. This time Wood received the ball. He was going to turn around to pass it to Ribéry at the flank, but he had just turned around when he was pushed down from behind.

“This time it was Makelele’s foul. He had stopped a quick counterattack by the Forest team!”

The referee’s whistle rang. It was a foul from Chelsea. But like the commentator had said, they used an inconsequential foul to stop the Forest team from fighting back quickly. It was evident that which team had a bigger loss.

Knocked to the ground, Wood smacked the ground with some exasperation. He was completely unprepared for the collision. More importantly, he actually lost his balance from the collision and fell to the ground, and his team’s fast attack was forced to end here.

At this moment, a black hand appeared before his eyes.

He looked up and discovered that it was Makelele, the culprit.

Makelele smiled and extended his hand to him. No one could get angry at that smile. Wood was not furious at Makelele for this foul but did not accept his opponent’s kindness. He turned a blind eye to the hand right in front of him and stood up from the ground himself.

Makelele was not annoyed at Wood’s attitude. He just smiled and ran away.

The Forest team received a free kick in the backfield. Wood got ready to kick. He stood in front of the ball and glanced up at the situation in front of his eyes. With the exception of the strikers, the Chelsea players had all gone back to defend. In the face of that situation, they would not be able to launch a quick attack.

Wood could only kick the ball to Chimbonda in the flank and the Forest team was just passing the ball within the backfield, looking for a way forward. Unfortunately, the opponent had set the defensive formation, which made it hard.

Van der Vaart waited in front for the ball to be passed but found that the football did not come for a long time. So, he had to run back to pick up.

The Forest team’s offense finally found the right person. Wood passed the football to van der Vaart and stayed behind to defend.

After van der Vaart received the ball, he organized an attack. However, because both teams needed to mind the void behind them, they could not press hard enough, and the attack died.

※※※

As the game went on, Twain, who sat in the technical area, discovered something — it was very difficult for his team to push forward quickly when it was time to turn defense into offense.

The reason was because Chelsea forced interceptions without any regard for its physical strength and committed fouls left and right.

Mentally unprepared, the Forest team could not adapt in the face of Chelsea’s crazy pressing across the board. They made mistakes, and could not organize a fast counterattack.

This was completely different from Chelsea’s performance in the first leg. Twain did not expect Mourinho to play this tactic before the game. He turned his head and looked at the visitors’ technical area.

Mourinho sat in the coaches’ area and crossed his legs.

Twain did not immediately get up and go to the sidelines to yell. He did not know what adjustments he should make. He just stared at the field to think about countermeasures.

Kerslake was anxious about this situation in front of him. He got up from his seat and took two steps before he sat down again, agitated.

Twain waved his hands.”David, can you sit down? You’re making me dizzy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Kerslake sat down again. “Tony, we’re in a bad situation right now.”

“Of course, I know that.”

“I think we should make some adjustments soon.”

“Of course, I know that, too.”

“Then you…”

“The problem is I don’t know what adjustments to make right now.” Twain muttered as he watched the field.

Kerslake heard him and was also quiet as they watched the game attentively.

※※※

Mourinho’s tactic was effective. Through a frenzy of tackles on the front field, he not only prevented the Forest team from fighting back, he also grabbed some opportunities to launch a counter-offensive, which threatened the goal, guarded by Edwin van der Sar, several times.

With just one more push, we will be able to blow apart the Nottingham Forest’s goal! Mourinho thought, as he turned his gaze towards Twain and found that Twain had not gone up to stand on the sidelines to direct the game due to the unfavorable situation. He still sat in his chair. The only change was that he had uncrossed his legs.

He did not believe that Twain had not seen such an obvious tactic. Now it was up to the other man to make his move.

※※※

“A, drag it out with Chelsea and defend with all our strength to guarantee not to concede the goal. This kind of full-on pressure is very draining. When they are out of stamina, the winner will naturally be us. B, change our offensive tactics to recapture the midfield and suppress them with our offense.” Twain put up two fingers in front of his assistant managers in the technical area. “Which one would you choose?”

Kerslake thought for a moment before he said, “I think option A is more solid. If the Chelsea players continue to run like this, their strength will be emptied in the latter half of the second half. They will be a mess, whether it is their offense or defense. Then we press up to attack. We can crush them with one goal!”

After he listened to him, Twain turned his head and asked Dunn, “which one do you choose?”

“B,” Dunn replied succinctly.

“The reason?”

“We can’t guarantee that by playing option A, we will be able to hold on. Especially in a situation like this. Chelsea looks like they will score at any moment. Although the effects of option B are unclear, it can effectively reduce the defensive pressure.” Dunn analyzed.

Twain nodded as he listened. He was also more inclined to choose B.

“We definitely have to make adjustments, but we need to take some time to think about exactly how.”

“What we lack now the most is time. Chelsea could score at any moment,” Dunn warned.

※※※

As he spoke, Chelsea finally scored. Their tireless efforts cracked open the Forest team’s assertion of “an indestructible reinforced concrete” defense.

It was a typical forward rush. When Lennon took the ball, he was still looking around in the hope that someone would come up and assist him. He did not expect Chelsea to deploy two players and launch a counterattack immediately after they grabbed the ball amidst the chaos.

Before that, Chelsea had a few such chances, but the last shot or final kick was always close.

This time, Drogba lived up to the expectations of Mourinho and all his teammates, as well as all the Chelsea fans. He decisively lifted his leg after he received the ball and the football flew into the goal past Edwin van der Sar’s armpit.

Only the Chelsea fans’ cheers could be heard in the City Ground stadium in that instance. They saw the hope to advance to the final.

“1:0! Chelsea is the first to score an away goal and Drogba equalized the scores of both teams at 2:2! But that’s not enough! If Mourinho wants to go to Athens, the team must score another goal and keep Nottingham Forest from scoring!”

※※※

Looking at the Chelsea players celebrating wildly on the field, Twain was not too angry. He just rolled his eyes at Dunn. “Jinx.”

Then he got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines. While the opponent celebrated the goal, he shouted several people’s names. “Wood! Van der Vaart! Come here!”

The two players heard their manager’s shout and ran over from the far end.

“We will change our strategy.” Twain pulled the two men to his side “Chelsea did not want us to hit them quickly from behind through the midfield by a full-field rush. So, we could not get through the midfield quickly. The midfield is key in this game. Get it back again.” He clenched his fist.

Van der Vaart asked, “How do we grab it back, chief?”

“You are in charge of all the offensive organizations in the Forest team.” Twain pointed to van der Vaart.”Control the football and don’t rush to pass the football out. Under pressure from our opponent, our players will make mistakes when they receive the ball.”

“But, chief, it’s easier for us to be intercepted in this way. Didn’t you see the goal concede just now?” Van der Vaart raised an objection.

“Of course, I saw it. That was why I called you two over instead of one.” Twain turned to Wood.”George, your only task in this game is to defend. I don’t need you to be involved in offense. Get it?”

Wood nodded.

“Your job is to protect van der Vaart and the ball under his feet. Protect him from being surrounded easily. You must get back the ball if it is lost. Do everything possible to give van der Vaart the opportunity to dribble the ball for as long as it takes to find a void. Let him remain undisturbed to organize attacks.”

“No problem.”

“The midfield is the key. Once you guys are active, the wingers on our flanks will soar.” Twain patted the two men on the shoulder. “Don’t take that goal concede to heart. Since they scored, the best thing to do is send the ball in return — we’ll score one on them, too! Go ahead, their celebration is coming to an end.”

The pair ran back to the field and the rest of the Forest team had placed the football at the center circle, waiting for the Chelsea players to return to their places.

The goal concede did not seem have much effect on them. Maybe it was because even though they trailed behind by 0:1, the score would not cause them to be eliminated. Without that pressure, they would naturally be more relaxed.

Another important reason was that this was only the 17th minute of the game. The Forest team believed they would have a lot of chances to score within the remaining seventy minutes. After all, this was their home ground.

Chapter 535 - Forty-Five Seconds

“Chelsea! Chelsea! Whoa, whoa!” Chelsea fans chanted the name of their team in the stands and in London’s pubs, praising the team for getting the lead so quickly.

“Chelsea took the lead and they tied the total score. With just one more goal, they will be able to completely reverse the situation and cancel out the Forest team’s two away goals. Perhaps even Mourinho didn’t think that the game would get off to such a wonderful start!” The television commentator said as he looked at Mourinho, cheering and celebrating the goal on the sidelines.

“Go to hell Nottingham Forest! We will be the ones going to Athens!”

※※※

“Chelsea’s high-pressure tactics worked. Their frenzied push in the front caused the Forest team able to adapt. In fact, this goal concede was no surprise at all. If Manager Twain does not make any adjustments, the Forest team will continue to concede goals! I’m not being an alarmist.”

The Chelsea players finally finished celebrating the goal. They returned to their respective positions on the field, ready to start the game again.

From the sidelines, Albertini shouted to his teammates on the field, “don’t take it to heart, we still have a lot of time! Show them what we’re capable of!”

Eastwood gave him a thumbs up to show that he did not have to worry. The team was in good shape now.

※※※

The Chelsea fans in the stands were still singing and cheering for the goal. Their voices annoyed the Nottingham Forest fans.

Standing in the front row, Fat John turned around and yelled out to his community of fans, “this is our home ground, guys! Don’t let those f**king Londoners run riot here! We’ll show them who’s the boss. Sing our song!!”

Suddenly, the grandstand broke out in the Forest team song. The singing voices spread and quickly reached the other three stands. The Chelsea fans’ voices could no longer be heard in the City Ground stadium.

“We are the best team in England! We’re invincible and unassailable! We’re fearless! Because we’re the best team — because we’ve got the world in our hands!!”

Amidst the singing, the referee sounded the whistle for the kickoff.

Van Nistelrooy lightly kicked the football out and Eastwood followed up by passing the ball to van der Vaart at the back.

Van der Vaart made a gesture to get both flanks to plug in before he received the ball. Then the football rolled to his feet. Instead of immediately passing the ball, he took control of the ball. While he looked for a more suitable route to get the ball out, he waited for his teammates to align their attacking positions.

This time he was not worried that the ball under his feet would be snatched because he had a shadow behind him.

As soon as the ball was kicked, the Chelsea players pressed on according to Mourinho’s pre-match layout. Makelele directly charged past the center circle from his defensive midfielder position, intending to intercept on the Forest team’s half of the field.

Seeing Makelele ferociously rushed towards him, van der Vaart knocked the football to George Wood behind him with his heel and then ran without the football. He looked up again to find the best passing route.

Makelele froze for a moment when he saw the football abruptly go to Wood and changed his target to pounce on Wood.

Wood once again sent the football back to van der Vaart and ran forward on his own.

The Chelsea players had to remember Wood’s performance in the first leg of the game. His active participation in offense caused Chelsea to suffer. If he were to do the same thing in this game...

Makelele did not hesitate to turn around to keep up with Wood.

Twain told Wood that his task in the game was to defend, to protect van der Vaart, to create time and space for him to control the ball and not to be involved in the offense. Wood, who had been carefully coached by Albertini for a season, had his own ideas.

During the early days, Twain instructed him to protect the others and only allowed him to snatch back the ball that his teammates had lost with his tough defensive ability. Wood’s current scope was different now. He thought that such defense was unconstructive, and it was not always effective in the face of a strong opponent.

To protect, create time and space for his teammates might not necessarily rely solely on defense. Plug-in assists could also work!

Wood used his actions to prove the ideas he had in mind. Makelele was lured away and Essien was also closely watching the sudden insertion of the “dangerous character.” For a moment, there was no Chelsea player around van der Vaart, who had the ball.

Van der Vaart looked up at the situation ahead and knew he did not have much time. Wood’s pretending to plug in would soon be seen through by the seasoned Makelele. If he had not pass the ball, he would be bogged down.

Left or right? Or in the middle?

His eyes quickly scanned around the field. Out of the four points, Lennon, Ribéry, van Nistelrooy and Eastwood, which was the best position to pass the ball to?

This consideration was only a matter of a moment. The situation on the football field was rapidly changing. It was impossible for him to think everything through before passing the ball.

Van der Vaart swung his leg and used a long pass to send the football to Franck Ribéry, who was sprinting on the left flank.

The breakthrough, the pass, the shot... they’re all yours, Franck!

Ribéry looked back with a quick glance and found that the football was flying towards him. He slowed his speed slightly and got ready to receive the ball.

Boulahrouz certainly would not let such an obvious pass get past his defense zone. He jumped in the air and headed the football out to cut off the passing route....

“Boulahrouz’s defense came right on time. The Forest team’s attack this time is... Eastwood!”

The Romani Gypsy got the ball from Boulahrouz’s header and he did not hesitate. He saw Ribéry run behind the Dutch defender and immediately kicked the ball directly towards the penalty box.

Ribéry was disappointed to see Boulahrouz jump in the air and head the football back, but momentum kept him from slowing down. Just when he thought the attack was over, he saw the football appear again diagonally in front of him!

This was a big surprise!

Boulahrouz had circled to the front to defend, leaving behind a large void for Ribéry.

Breaking through with speed was his favorite thing, so he no longer hesitated and immediately accelerated to chase after the ball.

“A gap has appeared in Chelsea’s defense. A chance for Nottingham Forest!”

After Ribéry received the football, he simply charged into the penalty box. Carvalho, who rushed up to defend against him, dared not rush to make a move. He could only follow Ribéry and run together to the end line. He wanted to force him out of bounds.

Dribbling the ball in the penalty area, Ribéry slowed down and made to look like he was going to make a shot. He swung his leg up and put it down again. Carvalho also did a defensive stance, but he was not fooled into losing his balance.

Getting closer to the end line, Carvalho’s defense was succeeding.

A smile slightly surfaced in Carvalho’s heart, and the tempo at his feet slowed down a bit. In case Ribéry realized that he had no hope of a shot and a pass, and deliberately kicked the ball on him to let it bound out of line, he did not want to give the opponent a corner kick at the last minute.

Ribéry could feel that Carvalho was not following as tightly as he had been. He could even see the goal and goalkeeper, ?ech. This was the last chance!

Ribéry swung his leg again, and Carvalho thought he was going to make a corner kick. He deliberately leaned back, and his legs, which were used to defend, did not completely block in front of the ball.

This was not a feint. Ribéry directly shot at the goal!

The football flew past Carvalho and over, close to ?ech’s head. It struck the lower edge of the crossbar behind ?ech and rebounded into the net!

Did the ball go in?

The ball actually went in!

“What a terrific goal! Zero-degree angle! Franck Ribéry’s goal turned Chelsea’s spark of hope into ashes!”

The cheers over the City Ground stadium reached fever pitch.

After the goal, Ribéry shrugged and glanced at the frustrated Carvalho. He almost did not dare believe that his narrow-angle shot had actually scored. His celebratory action was greater humiliation in Carvalho’s eyes.

Indeed, he did not think that Ribéry would think to shoot under such circumstances and be able to score.

※※※

“Damn it!” Mourinho rushed out of his seat and brandished his fists in anger. He was completely unprepared to concede a goal so soon. Who would be prepared for it?

His team was still immersed in the joy of the equalizer and the unexpected happened.

“Forty-five seconds.” Twain, who had just celebrated the goal, looked up at the time on the big screen. Only forty-five seconds had passed between the first goal concede and scoring again. He laughed. “Forty-five seconds to equalize the score. Chelsea is the one to suffer the heavy blow. Not us.”

“We were in the lead for only forty-five seconds! What was Carvalho doing? How could he let Ribéry make that shot and score at that angle!” Mourinho growled angrily. Everyone around him was afraid to breathe and just watched the boss get angry. “This is a disgrace to the Chelsea defense! **! **!”

A string of obscenities burst forth, which showed how furious Mourinho was. He was towering with rage.

A ray of hope for a promotion had just flashed in front of him and disappeared again. It was a terrible blow to people, and few would be able to stay calm in the face of such a situation.

On the other side, in the Forest team’s technical area, everyone was high-fiving in celebration.

“Well done, Franck!”

“I’ll buy you dinner after the game!”

“Let’s have another one!”

※※※

Inside the VIP box, Evan Doughty recalled what Twain had said when he went to his home for a discussion the other day as he took in the scene.

It really was three parts skills and seven parts luck.

Tony’s luck was really good.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest immediately equalized the score after falling behind. It took Chelsea by surprise. Looking at these close-up shots, confusion was revealed in their eyes... It’s really sad that they were only in the lead for forty-five seconds.”

The Chelsea fans in City Ground were completely silenced. The blow came too fast and too hard. Many people could not accept the reality.

On the other hand, the Forest fans went nuts. They chanted the name of the goalscorer, Ribéry, and returned all the frustration over the goal concede to the Chelsea fans.

※※※

Perhaps the most frustrated party in this goal concede was ?ech. He trusted his teammates, but did not expect Carvalho to let the football through. He could not have made the save in time at such a close distance even if he had wanted to. He could only watch the football enter the goal. As a world-class goalkeeper, there was nothing to be said about this goal concede...

He got up and fished the football out of the net. He held it in his hand for a while and then gave it a hard kick back to the center circle. He could only use the action to express his annoyance. He could not yell at Carvalho.

Carvalho himself knew it was his mistake. He bowed his head and said nothing. Everyone had initially thought to redouble their efforts after the equalizer of the overall score. There was a good chance that they could win this game and advance to the final.

He did not think that his negligence had caused all the efforts to come to a naught.

Terry was just as disappointed by this goal concede. However, he was the team captain and needed to consider more things. He came over to pat Carvalho on the shoulder.

“Don’t take this to heart. There’s still time in the game. Who knows what the outcome will be when the game is down to the last minute?”

Carvalho nodded.

“Don’t give them even a little bit of chance. Be especially careful of that group of people.” Terry looked at the Forest players who were still celebrating the goal. “Although I think it’s strange that we have not won a game against them in a few seasons, I have to admit they are strong. Well... when the boss said he wanted to go to Athens, no one would be left behind. But I think if we don’t fight hard in this game, we won’t win.”

Terry smiled at Carvalho.

※※※

The ball was kicked off from the center circle. The atmosphere in the stadium gradually became white-hot. The two goals ignited passions on and off the field.

Chelsea continued to adhere to their high-pressure tactics, which they had to persist with. If they did not, they would be out of the game. On the other hand, the Forest team responded with a coordination of give and go within a narrow range in the midfield.

Both teams fought ferociously in the midfield. The football changed hands many times. No one wanted to hand over the control of the midfield easily.

The first half came to an end under that chaotic standoff.

Chelsea could not accept the score and desperately wanted to score again. The Forest team’s defense was even more vigilant than it was before the goal had been conceded. It was difficult for Chelsea to threaten the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar even if they intercepted the ball in the front field.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest focused more energy on being entangled with Chelsea in the midfield. Their offensive was equally ineffective. Even though George Wood was there to protect and share the responsibilities, the midfield iron gate made up of Makelele and Essien still made it hard for van der Vaart.

Nobody had a chance. The score was still 1:1 by the end of the first half.

However, when they left the field, the Forest players looked more relaxed than the Chelsea players. This score was not bad for them. Even if they maintained the same score, they would still be the ones to advance. The Chelsea players were different. Each of them were frowning, their heads down as they moved quickly into the tunnel.

※※※

In the visitors’ locker room, Mourinho looked at Carvalho with a grim look. The Portuguese defender, who had followed his benefactor from Porto to Chelsea, was afraid to take a breath with his head lowered.

Due to Terry, nobody expressed dissatisfaction with the goal concede, but many people were still unhappy. Mourinho glared at Carvalho, and no one came forward to speak on his behalf.

The boss’s tactic was to trade an overdraft of their physical strength to get a lead advantage on the score. They almost succeeded but did not expect that Carvalho’s lapse in defense after forty-five seconds would give their opponent a chance to equalize the score. The result was a waste of forty-five minutes of physical strength with nothing gained in the end.

No one felt good when faced with such a thing.

The fruits of our hard work was so easily given away by you... What you had given away was not just a goal, but an entry ticket to the UEFA Champions League final! Staring at Carvalho for a while, Mourinho sullenly said, “I don’t want to see any more errors from the rear defensive line in the second half.” Although he spoke to the entire team, he looked at Carvalho and continued, “I want you all to understand that maybe Nottingham Forest’s rear defensive line can have one or two mistakes, but we can’t afford half a mistake ourselves! We have no right to make mistakes. There’s no room for negligence and we cannot afford to think that victory is in sight! Buckle up! You’re not allowed to relax ’till you hear the final whistle!”

After he admonished Carvalho, he turned to looked at the captain, Terry. “John, you’d better focus, too. You got a yellow card in the first half, so you need to watch out in the second half.”

Terry nodded. “I’ll pay attention, boss. But...” He hesitated a little.

“But what?”

“But boss, you know, there are some things in the football game that can’t be certain or predicted. In case I need to commit a foul, I will not hesitate either.” Terry stood up.

Mourinho looked at his captain and did not speak. After a while, he turned around. “Then you’d better pray that it doesn’t happen before the end of the game. Twain advanced to the final, but he did not have Wood at that time. They ended up failing. I don’t want the same thing that to repeat itself on my team.”

Terry sat down in silence.

Carvalho, who had his head down, turned his head to look at him and said nothing.

Chapter 536 - Forty-Five Seconds

“Chelsea! Chelsea! Whoa, whoa!” Chelsea fans chanted the name of their team in the stands and in London’s pubs, praising the team for getting the lead so quickly.

“Chelsea took the lead and they tied the total score. With just one more goal, they will be able to completely reverse the situation and cancel out the Forest team’s two away goals. Perhaps even Mourinho didn’t think that the game would get off to such a wonderful start!” The television commentator said as he looked at Mourinho, cheering and celebrating the goal on the sidelines.

“Go to hell Nottingham Forest! We will be the ones going to Athens!”

※※※

“Chelsea’s high-pressure tactics worked. Their frenzied push in the front caused the Forest team able to adapt. In fact, this goal concede was no surprise at all. If Manager Twain does not make any adjustments, the Forest team will continue to concede goals! I’m not being an alarmist.”

The Chelsea players finally finished celebrating the goal. They returned to their respective positions on the field, ready to start the game again.

From the sidelines, Albertini shouted to his teammates on the field, “don’t take it to heart, we still have a lot of time! Show them what we’re capable of!”

Eastwood gave him a thumbs up to show that he did not have to worry. The team was in good shape now.

※※※

The Chelsea fans in the stands were still singing and cheering for the goal. Their voices annoyed the Nottingham Forest fans.

Standing in the front row, Fat John turned around and yelled out to his community of fans, “this is our home ground, guys! Don’t let those f**king Londoners run riot here! We’ll show them who’s the boss. Sing our song!!”

Suddenly, the grandstand broke out in the Forest team song. The singing voices spread and quickly reached the other three stands. The Chelsea fans’ voices could no longer be heard in the City Ground stadium.

“We are the best team in England! We’re invincible and unassailable! We’re fearless! Because we’re the best team — because we’ve got the world in our hands!!”

Amidst the singing, the referee sounded the whistle for the kickoff.

Van Nistelrooy lightly kicked the football out and Eastwood followed up by passing the ball to van der Vaart at the back.

Van der Vaart made a gesture to get both flanks to plug in before he received the ball. Then the football rolled to his feet. Instead of immediately passing the ball, he took control of the ball. While he looked for a more suitable route to get the ball out, he waited for his teammates to align their attacking positions.

This time he was not worried that the ball under his feet would be snatched because he had a shadow behind him.

As soon as the ball was kicked, the Chelsea players pressed on according to Mourinho’s pre-match layout. Makelele directly charged past the center circle from his defensive midfielder position, intending to intercept on the Forest team’s half of the field.

Seeing Makelele ferociously rushed towards him, van der Vaart knocked the football to George Wood behind him with his heel and then ran without the football. He looked up again to find the best passing route.

Makelele froze for a moment when he saw the football abruptly go to Wood and changed his target to pounce on Wood.

Wood once again sent the football back to van der Vaart and ran forward on his own.

The Chelsea players had to remember Wood’s performance in the first leg of the game. His active participation in offense caused Chelsea to suffer. If he were to do the same thing in this game...

Makelele did not hesitate to turn around to keep up with Wood.

Twain told Wood that his task in the game was to defend, to protect van der Vaart, to create time and space for him to control the ball and not to be involved in the offense. Wood, who had been carefully coached by Albertini for a season, had his own ideas.

During the early days, Twain instructed him to protect the others and only allowed him to snatch back the ball that his teammates had lost with his tough defensive ability. Wood’s current scope was different now. He thought that such defense was unconstructive, and it was not always effective in the face of a strong opponent.

To protect, create time and space for his teammates might not necessarily rely solely on defense. Plug-in assists could also work!

Wood used his actions to prove the ideas he had in mind. Makelele was lured away and Essien was also closely watching the sudden insertion of the “dangerous character.” For a moment, there was no Chelsea player around van der Vaart, who had the ball.

Van der Vaart looked up at the situation ahead and knew he did not have much time. Wood’s pretending to plug in would soon be seen through by the seasoned Makelele. If he had not pass the ball, he would be bogged down.

Left or right? Or in the middle?

His eyes quickly scanned around the field. Out of the four points, Lennon, Ribéry, van Nistelrooy and Eastwood, which was the best position to pass the ball to?

This consideration was only a matter of a moment. The situation on the football field was rapidly changing. It was impossible for him to think everything through before passing the ball.

Van der Vaart swung his leg and used a long pass to send the football to Franck Ribéry, who was sprinting on the left flank.

The breakthrough, the pass, the shot... they’re all yours, Franck!

Ribéry looked back with a quick glance and found that the football was flying towards him. He slowed his speed slightly and got ready to receive the ball.

Boulahrouz certainly would not let such an obvious pass get past his defense zone. He jumped in the air and headed the football out to cut off the passing route....

“Boulahrouz’s defense came right on time. The Forest team’s attack this time is... Eastwood!”

The Romani Gypsy got the ball from Boulahrouz’s header and he did not hesitate. He saw Ribéry run behind the Dutch defender and immediately kicked the ball directly towards the penalty box.

Ribéry was disappointed to see Boulahrouz jump in the air and head the football back, but momentum kept him from slowing down. Just when he thought the attack was over, he saw the football appear again diagonally in front of him!

This was a big surprise!

Boulahrouz had circled to the front to defend, leaving behind a large void for Ribéry.

Breaking through with speed was his favorite thing, so he no longer hesitated and immediately accelerated to chase after the ball.

“A gap has appeared in Chelsea’s defense. A chance for Nottingham Forest!”

After Ribéry received the football, he simply charged into the penalty box. Carvalho, who rushed up to defend against him, dared not rush to make a move. He could only follow Ribéry and run together to the end line. He wanted to force him out of bounds.

Dribbling the ball in the penalty area, Ribéry slowed down and made to look like he was going to make a shot. He swung his leg up and put it down again. Carvalho also did a defensive stance, but he was not fooled into losing his balance.

Getting closer to the end line, Carvalho’s defense was succeeding.

A smile slightly surfaced in Carvalho’s heart, and the tempo at his feet slowed down a bit. In case Ribéry realized that he had no hope of a shot and a pass, and deliberately kicked the ball on him to let it bound out of line, he did not want to give the opponent a corner kick at the last minute.

Ribéry could feel that Carvalho was not following as tightly as he had been. He could even see the goal and goalkeeper, ?ech. This was the last chance!

Ribéry swung his leg again, and Carvalho thought he was going to make a corner kick. He deliberately leaned back, and his legs, which were used to defend, did not completely block in front of the ball.

This was not a feint. Ribéry directly shot at the goal!

The football flew past Carvalho and over, close to ?ech’s head. It struck the lower edge of the crossbar behind ?ech and rebounded into the net!

Did the ball go in?

The ball actually went in!

“What a terrific goal! Zero-degree angle! Franck Ribéry’s goal turned Chelsea’s spark of hope into ashes!”

The cheers over the City Ground stadium reached fever pitch.

After the goal, Ribéry shrugged and glanced at the frustrated Carvalho. He almost did not dare believe that his narrow-angle shot had actually scored. His celebratory action was greater humiliation in Carvalho’s eyes.

Indeed, he did not think that Ribéry would think to shoot under such circumstances and be able to score.

※※※

“Damn it!” Mourinho rushed out of his seat and brandished his fists in anger. He was completely unprepared to concede a goal so soon. Who would be prepared for it?

His team was still immersed in the joy of the equalizer and the unexpected happened.

“Forty-five seconds.” Twain, who had just celebrated the goal, looked up at the time on the big screen. Only forty-five seconds had passed between the first goal concede and scoring again. He laughed. “Forty-five seconds to equalize the score. Chelsea is the one to suffer the heavy blow. Not us.”

“We were in the lead for only forty-five seconds! What was Carvalho doing? How could he let Ribéry make that shot and score at that angle!” Mourinho growled angrily. Everyone around him was afraid to breathe and just watched the boss get angry. “This is a disgrace to the Chelsea defense! **! **!”

A string of obscenities burst forth, which showed how furious Mourinho was. He was towering with rage.

A ray of hope for a promotion had just flashed in front of him and disappeared again. It was a terrible blow to people, and few would be able to stay calm in the face of such a situation.

On the other side, in the Forest team’s technical area, everyone was high-fiving in celebration.

“Well done, Franck!”

“I’ll buy you dinner after the game!”

“Let’s have another one!”

※※※

Inside the VIP box, Evan Doughty recalled what Twain had said when he went to his home for a discussion the other day as he took in the scene.

It really was three parts skills and seven parts luck.

Tony’s luck was really good.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest immediately equalized the score after falling behind. It took Chelsea by surprise. Looking at these close-up shots, confusion was revealed in their eyes... It’s really sad that they were only in the lead for forty-five seconds.”

The Chelsea fans in City Ground were completely silenced. The blow came too fast and too hard. Many people could not accept the reality.

On the other hand, the Forest fans went nuts. They chanted the name of the goalscorer, Ribéry, and returned all the frustration over the goal concede to the Chelsea fans.

※※※

Perhaps the most frustrated party in this goal concede was ?ech. He trusted his teammates, but did not expect Carvalho to let the football through. He could not have made the save in time at such a close distance even if he had wanted to. He could only watch the football enter the goal. As a world-class goalkeeper, there was nothing to be said about this goal concede...

He got up and fished the football out of the net. He held it in his hand for a while and then gave it a hard kick back to the center circle. He could only use the action to express his annoyance. He could not yell at Carvalho.

Carvalho himself knew it was his mistake. He bowed his head and said nothing. Everyone had initially thought to redouble their efforts after the equalizer of the overall score. There was a good chance that they could win this game and advance to the final.

He did not think that his negligence had caused all the efforts to come to a naught.

Terry was just as disappointed by this goal concede. However, he was the team captain and needed to consider more things. He came over to pat Carvalho on the shoulder.

“Don’t take this to heart. There’s still time in the game. Who knows what the outcome will be when the game is down to the last minute?”

Carvalho nodded.

“Don’t give them even a little bit of chance. Be especially careful of that group of people.” Terry looked at the Forest players who were still celebrating the goal. “Although I think it’s strange that we have not won a game against them in a few seasons, I have to admit they are strong. Well... when the boss said he wanted to go to Athens, no one would be left behind. But I think if we don’t fight hard in this game, we won’t win.”

Terry smiled at Carvalho.

※※※

The ball was kicked off from the center circle. The atmosphere in the stadium gradually became white-hot. The two goals ignited passions on and off the field.

Chelsea continued to adhere to their high-pressure tactics, which they had to persist with. If they did not, they would be out of the game. On the other hand, the Forest team responded with a coordination of give and go within a narrow range in the midfield.

Both teams fought ferociously in the midfield. The football changed hands many times. No one wanted to hand over the control of the midfield easily.

The first half came to an end under that chaotic standoff.

Chelsea could not accept the score and desperately wanted to score again. The Forest team’s defense was even more vigilant than it was before the goal had been conceded. It was difficult for Chelsea to threaten the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar even if they intercepted the ball in the front field.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest focused more energy on being entangled with Chelsea in the midfield. Their offensive was equally ineffective. Even though George Wood was there to protect and share the responsibilities, the midfield iron gate made up of Makelele and Essien still made it hard for van der Vaart.

Nobody had a chance. The score was still 1:1 by the end of the first half.

However, when they left the field, the Forest players looked more relaxed than the Chelsea players. This score was not bad for them. Even if they maintained the same score, they would still be the ones to advance. The Chelsea players were different. Each of them were frowning, their heads down as they moved quickly into the tunnel.

※※※

In the visitors’ locker room, Mourinho looked at Carvalho with a grim look. The Portuguese defender, who had followed his benefactor from Porto to Chelsea, was afraid to take a breath with his head lowered.

Due to Terry, nobody expressed dissatisfaction with the goal concede, but many people were still unhappy. Mourinho glared at Carvalho, and no one came forward to speak on his behalf.

The boss’s tactic was to trade an overdraft of their physical strength to get a lead advantage on the score. They almost succeeded but did not expect that Carvalho’s lapse in defense after forty-five seconds would give their opponent a chance to equalize the score. The result was a waste of forty-five minutes of physical strength with nothing gained in the end.

No one felt good when faced with such a thing.

The fruits of our hard work was so easily given away by you... What you had given away was not just a goal, but an entry ticket to the UEFA Champions League final! Staring at Carvalho for a while, Mourinho sullenly said, “I don’t want to see any more errors from the rear defensive line in the second half.” Although he spoke to the entire team, he looked at Carvalho and continued, “I want you all to understand that maybe Nottingham Forest’s rear defensive line can have one or two mistakes, but we can’t afford half a mistake ourselves! We have no right to make mistakes. There’s no room for negligence and we cannot afford to think that victory is in sight! Buckle up! You’re not allowed to relax ’till you hear the final whistle!”

After he admonished Carvalho, he turned to looked at the captain, Terry. “John, you’d better focus, too. You got a yellow card in the first half, so you need to watch out in the second half.”

Terry nodded. “I’ll pay attention, boss. But...” He hesitated a little.

“But what?”

“But boss, you know, there are some things in the football game that can’t be certain or predicted. In case I need to commit a foul, I will not hesitate either.” Terry stood up.

Mourinho looked at his captain and did not speak. After a while, he turned around. “Then you’d better pray that it doesn’t happen before the end of the game. Twain advanced to the final, but he did not have Wood at that time. They ended up failing. I don’t want the same thing that to repeat itself on my team.”

Terry sat down in silence.

Carvalho, who had his head down, turned his head to look at him and said nothing.

Chapter 537 - Fortune’s Fool

In the home team’s locker room, Twain gave Ribéry a fierce hug.

“Oh, Franck, if you were a beautiful woman, I’d kiss you.” Twain said lovingly, which made everyone laugh.

When the laughter subsided, he stretched out his hands, put up four fingers in his left hand, and put up five fingers in his right hand.

“Forty-five seconds. I’m glad we deflated Chelsea’s arrogance in time. I like this kind of game. Just when the opponent has a spark of hope, we make a move to extinguish it without hesitation!” He made a pinching gesture. “Let them go from heaven to hell and find out what is considered hardship in the world, the coldness of humans and the harshness of society!”

Everyone laughed again.

“All right let’s talk about the second half” Twain clapped his hands. The players gradually calmed down. “The situation is currently in our favor, which is the greatest advantage. Mourinho’s team wants to use high-pressured defense to disrupt the pace of our game and undermine our offense and defense. They almost succeeded. Fortunately, Ribéry equalized the score in the forty-five seconds that followed. I expect Chelsea to do the same in the second half and continue with their high-pressure tactics. Because, apart from that path, he has no other way to go.” He spread out his hands to make a helpless gesture.

“This kind of rushing and interception is physically draining. This is our chance. Don’t change anything. Just like in the second part of the first half, deal with them in the midfield and stabilize our defense. Don’t give them a chance to threaten our goal.”

The players nodded at the reasonable advice.

“After halftime, they will regain some strength. So, the first ten minutes at the start of the second half is key. Make sure you hold on and don’t let them score. As long as the score is maintained until 70th minute, the scales of victory will tip towards us. If the score is still 1:1, Chelsea will become impatient. They will press hard and, coupled with their strained physical strength, it will be our chance!” Twain extended his right index finger. “One ball, we just need one more goal and Chelsea will completely collapse!”

“Remember well, we will be the ones who go to Athens!”

“Yes! It will be us!”

※※※

Fifteen minutes later, the second half of the game started, and the two teams changed sides to fight again.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines from the beginning, watching the game with a serious expression and his arms around his chest.

He had told his players that the first ten minutes in the second half were the prime time to score goals and they must seize it, no matter the means used.

He was aware that Twain also knew, so he would surely instruct the team to pay attention to their defense.

Within those ten minutes, the Forest team completely gave up their offensive and everyone was stationed outside the penalty area to guard against Chelsea’s offense.

During those ten minutes, Chelsea made three attempts to score. Each time, it elicited a burst of exclamations from the Forest fans. They were just exclamations of shock, but nothing came to pass. The shots of Drogba, Robben and Lampard were all kept out of the goal line by the Forest team.

Van der Sar alone was not enough. There was still Piqué, Kompany, Chimbonda, Leighton Baines and George Wood.

Other than arms, which the rules prohibited usage of, they used every part of their bodies to block the opponent’s attacks. Chelsea’s forward rush was awesome? Then they would use long passes to send the ball forward. The Forest team’s current tactic was to waste time.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty minutes… They just dragged on until the Chelsea team started to get impatient and show signs of exhaustion. That was the chance for the Forest team to fight back.

Until then, the Nottingham Forest team had needed patience to wait for opportunities to emerge and to guarantee that they would not reveal a fatal flaw.

Just like that, ten minutes passed quickly. Chelsea did not score. It appeared as if they had lost their best chance to score.

However, Chelsea did not give up. They knew that it was very draining, but they still insisted on endlessly running and continued with their high-pressure strategy. They did not give up any chance that could threaten the Forest goal.

Twain looked at the time on the big screen. Ten minutes had already passed, but they could not relax because of that. He walked to the sidelines and cupped his hands. He shouted towards the field, “Don’t let your guard down. Continue to hold!”

Once Twain shouted and walked back, Mourinho came up over on his side and yelled out Shevchenko’s name, hoping that the world-class striker could get in form as soon as possible to break through the Forest team’s defense and for the team to crack the deadlock.

Unfortunately, the striker, whom Abramovich admired very much, was not adapting. In the face of the Forest team’s Italian-styled defense and lack of space, he could only be an assist player or attempt a few long shots.

Chelsea also tried passing from the flanks and used high shots to pass the football into the box, hoping that the comprehensive striker, Shevchenko, could compete for the header, but the Forest team’s defensive line was too tall. Control of the aerial space was their strength. Even if Shevchenko could head the ball, it would be deflected or go higher.

The most important thing was the Forest team’s defense encompassed of the entire team. Starting from the first line of defense built by the striker, all the way to the goalkeeper, everyone had to participate in defense. They compressed the three defensive lines into the narrow range of thirty meters. Because the team formation remained intact, as if it were a thick wall, it was not easy to penetrate.

The Forest team initially used this defensive tactic in the EFL Cup final of the 03-04 season. At the time, the comprehensive defense left McClaren’s Middlesbrough team helpless. It also helped Twain win the first trophy of his coaching career.

At the time, that game was criticized by the media as a flat and tedious match that would leave no trace in the forty-two-year history of the EFL Cup. It was meaningless other than giving Tony Twain a championship trophy.

Later, as the strength of the Forest team increased, Twain rarely used this extremely low-level tactic. Although it was seldom used, it did not mean that he would not practice it. Defense was always on Twain’s lips. He would not change his style due to others’ views. He instructed the team to practice a variety of defensive tactics, even if the “wall defense” was seldom used. He used to say to Des Walker:

I train them so that when the time comes for them to do it, they can do it.

This was his goal, and now it had been achieved.

※※※

What did one compete for during professional football matches? It was not the ball, or illusory things such as victory and glory. In the eyes of the coaches, a football match with its many labels only had two simple words that mattered — time and space.

It took time and space to handle the ball during offense and while defending, time and space needed to be checked to keep the opponent from controlling the ball.

A football game was actually a battle for time and space on the pitch.

Nottingham Forest’s wall-style defense was an extreme case of compressing time and space.

Twain could allow his opponent to pass the ball back and forth in the three zones of the midfield because it was still a big enough distance from the goal, unless everyone was like Beckham or Xabi Alonso, who could shoot the ball from the backfield to the goal. The key area of the defense lay in those three defensive zones, commonly referred to as the thirty-meter zone. It was an area where teams had to lay out their heavy defensive forces.

Why was a “wall defense” referred to as extreme? Because many other teams just positioned a complete rear defensive line there. At best, the two full backs were not allowed to assist in the offense and the defensive midfielder was required to help out in the defense.

However, Twain moved most of the three lines into the thirty-meter zone.

In addition to the center-forward near the center circle, ready to fight back, everyone else would withdraw for the defense. If necessary, the two full-backs could even retreat into the penalty area to act as center backs and let the side-midfielders temporarily retreat to take on the responsibility of the full-back.

Not to mention the two players in the middle of the midfield. Hailed as “born for defense,” George Wood and his other partner, whether it was Albertini, Arteta or van der Vaart, had to go back to defend when the coach needed them to. Van der Vaart was special and did not have to go too deep for defense, because he had to shoulder the task of getting the team to counterattack at the same time.

Under Twain’s guidance of “defense is the basis of victory” tactical concept and defensive tactics borne out of hard work, one could well imagine the power of such a lineup.

This was the second time Twain had sanctioned the team to use a wall-style defense, and it was used on Chelsea. It showed how much he wanted to go to Athens.

In the face of such a game, the commentator wanted to yawn. “We had thought that since the Forest team is back on their home ground and also in the lead, perhaps they would have the confidence to have a spirited fight against Chelsea... Pity, Tony Twain is really worthy of being the ‘most conservative manager.’ Regardless of the circumstances, he cannot forget it’s still defense, defense, defense… Even if he can make it to the finals, this kind of performance won’t give him a place in the hearts of the fans.”

If Twain could hear the live commentary, he would scoff at the commentator’s statements. He was not responsible for most of the neutral fans. He only needed to care about Nottingham Forest’s fans. If they were asked to choose between beautifully-played football and victorious football, nine out of ten people would say victorious football.

Why was that? Because these people had not been champions and away from the once glorious years for far too long. The glory of the past replayed in their minds all the time, reminding them how great Nottingham Forest used to be. Those years of the fluttering red jerseys sweeping across Europe had been so exhilarating that it was difficult to extricate themselves.

※※※

Loud cries suddenly rang in a corner of the stands.

Chelsea intercepted the Forest team’s ball again by relentlessly pressing forward in the front field and turned it into an attack. They used the skills of several star players to play an amazing set piece.

First, Makelele passed the football to Essien, and then Essien kicked the ball away under George Wood’s close marking and tackle.

The Forest team also did the same when Chelsea was in a close push against them.

Shevchenko was ahead of the rolling ball. Meanwhile, Leighton Baines had already taken aim at the striker, known by the English media as a “parallel import.”

Just as he was about to sneak an attack from the other side behind the defense, Shevchenko noticed movement behind him, and he cleverly pivoted away from Baines. He guarded the football and turned around in the opposite direction.

As he turned around, Shevchenko saw Piqué ahead of him. With such a close distance, it was still possible to force a breakthrough, but… he glimpsed Drogba in the middle, with Kompany marking him.

There should also be a better alternative…

He could not see a little further away because there were too many people and his vision was blocked. But from the usual training, he knew whom the area belonged to, and there was no reason why that person would not be there now.

Shevchenko made up his mind and swung his foot to pass the ball.

The shot was very powerful. If Drogba were to pick it up, he would not be able to stop the ball properly due to the strong passing force. It would give the opponent a chance to intercept the ball. Drogba was also aware of the situation. Clearly this ball was not passed to him.

He made to look like he was going to receive the ball to attract Kompany and the other defensive players to come closer, but when the football came, he separated his legs to let the ball roll between his legs.

Just like that, the entire rear defensive line of the Forest team was bypassed.

Robben obviously showed up where he was supposed to show up.

“Robben! He received the pass from Shevchenko! And no one marked him… This is a great opportunity for Chelsea!!”

The commentator shouted hoarsely, eager for Robben’s shot to pierce through the gate of Edwin van der Sar. Once the score became 1:2, it was useless for Twain to play conservatively any more. The circumstances would force this conservative manager to give up his conservative play and go on an all-out press to attack. Then the game would be exciting to watch again.

After he received the football, Robben adjusted it while Chimbonda had already turned around to pounce on him.

As his teammate of the Netherlands national team, Edwin van der Sar was well aware that it was almost impossible for Robben to pass the ball in the situation. He moved quickly to block the angle of Robben’s shot.

Chimbonda and Kompany moved toward Robben. As long as they coordinated well, this offensive crisis could be safely defused.

Just as everyone thought Robben would shoot and the Forest team’s defensive focus quickly shifted to him, Robben passed the ball.

He swept the football to the middle…

“Drogba shoots!”

Although there were people up ahead, The Beast swung his leg for the shot without hesitation.?He knew the chance would be gone if he stopped the football.

Instead of flying into the goal, the football struck Leighton Baines on the arm…

When Baines turned his body to block the ball with his back, his arm was raised, and the football hit him right in the hand. With its momentum broken, the ball was kicked out by George Wood, who had rushed back.

Just as the Forest fans were ready to cheer their team for the narrow escape, the referee’s shrill whistle sounded.

The Chelsea players in the penalty area all held their arms high and motioned to the running referee for a handball foul.

“A handball from Leighton Baines! This is so obvious! We don’t even need a replay in slow motion!” The commentator roared excitedly. Although there was no goal, this situation could not be too far off from a goal, could it? The deadlock was about to be broken, and the balance of the scales had tilted.

The referee pointed to the penalty spot without any qualms. It was undoubtedly a penalty.

The Nottingham Forest players were stunned. Leighton Baines knelt on the ground with his hands on his head. He certainly knew he did a handball, but it was unintentional. The problem was now that the referee would not believe it at all. Otherwise, any player who did a handball foul could say that he did not mean it. It was useless to explain to the referee. He knelt on the ground with regret — why did I raise my hand?

He did not consider that if he had not raised his hand, the ball would have flown straight into the goal. Although it was a penalty, the good thing was there was a chance to decide whether the ball could go in.

The other Forest players surrounded the referee and pleaded with him to show that Baines did not intentionally foul. It was an unintentional handball. It was the ball that struck his hand and not a handball…

It was no use.

When faced with explanations, the referee shook his head. How could the verdict be changed now? Not to mention that I saw his handball with my own eyes. This is not the time for self-doubt and criticism.

Mourinho jumped out of his seat when he saw the referee award the penalty. He could not wait to embrace the people around him in celebration. The forward rush finally got him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The penalty was the perfect way to end Nottingham Forest’s madness this season.

On the other side, Twain stared at the field with widened eyes. He could not believe what he was looking at.

They had worked so hard to hold… He looked up again at the big screen. They had held the ground for sixty-eight minutes, and were two minutes shy of seventy minutes, only to be sentenced with a penalty.

This is just messing with people!

“What the hell is this? What the hell?” He muttered in fury, “What the f**k is this!”

Dunn gently patted Twain on the shoulder. “Maybe things aren’t as bad as what you think.”

Twain turned to glare at him and snapped, “As bad as what?”

Dunn did not answer him, but looked at Edwin van der Sar, who stood in front of the goal and shook his arms repeatedly to warm up.

※※※

There was a smile on Mourinho’s face when he saw Twain enraged in the technical area. He won half the battle once the opponent lost his cool. The psychological warfare in football games was also very important.

He could almost see the goddess of victory waving to him, and the goddess of victory was dressed as an Athenian priestess…

With a wide smile on his face, Mourinho wondered how he would shoot the first round of verbal revenge after he won the game.

Chapter 538 - A Confrontation

No matter how the Nottingham Forest players protested or begged, the referee insisted on the decision he had just made: Leighton Baines had made a handball foul and Chelsea was awarded a penalty.

Not only that, he even pulled a yellow card out of his pocket and gave Baines a warning.

“Damn it, should I thank him for not giving Baines a red card straight off?” Twain asked disgruntledly when he saw the scene outside of the field.

Next to him, Dunn did not answer. He had matters to attend to. While everything was in a disarray, Dunn called back Eastwood, who was the closest to the coaches’ seats. He handed him a note to give to the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar.

Eastwood was a little puzzled but did as he was instructed. He ran back to the field and skirted around the squabbling crowd and came to Edwin van der Sar.

“Assistant Manager Dunn asked me to give this to you.” Eastwood handed the note in his hand to Edwin van der Sar.

“What is this?” Edwin van der Sar was puzzled.

“Why don’t you open it and find out?”

With his task completed, Eastwood stood next to him and watched his teammates plead with the referee. He did not join in because he knew that even if he talked until his mouth went dry, the referee would not change his decision, especially when it was such a severe penalty. He refused to do such a meaningless thing nor was he a captain. He would not force himself to do such a thing knowing perfectly well that it could not be reversed.

Next to him, van der Sar suddenly exclaimed in surprise, which attracted his attention. “What’s the matter?”

“Hee hee, nothing.” Edwin van der Sar smiled as he put the note away in his socks.

Eastwood looked suspiciously at Edwin van der Sar but did not press him.

As he watched his teammates still harrassing the referee, Edwin van der Sar patted Eastwood on the shoulder. “Freddy, you look like you’re not worried about this penalty, are you?”

Eastwood looked at the men. “The verdict is out. No use worrying about it. If you can’t save it, I’ll just go and score another goal. Ribéry equalized the score in forty-five seconds after we conceded the goal. I think I can too.”

Edwin van der Sar smiled. “Then don’t go too far away from me. If I catch the ball, I’ll just throw it to you.”

“It’s a deal.”

※※※

Since the penalty could not be changed, it was pointless to continue the entanglement. The Forest players dispersed one by one and withdrew from the penalty area.

After the Chelsea players had a brief celebration, Lampard came up with the football in his hands. He was the top penalty player in Chelsea.

Edwin van der Sar stood in front of the goal line and slightly lowered his center of gravity as he opened his arms.

Looking at Lampard placing the football, he thought of the note he had just read.

Just like last season’s Champions League semi-final game, that note was filled with intelligence on Chelsea’s penalty kick habits, and Lampard was ranked first.

Edwin van der Sar originally had not been a goalkeeper who was good at taking penalties, but with those details, he was confident that he could throw out Lampard’s ball.

Moreover, since the World Cup, Lampard’s standard of penalty kicks seemed to have suddenly dropped. There had been several penalty kicks that did not enter the goal. This game was a death match and this penalty determined whether Chelsea could eventually advance. Could Lampard withstand such intense pressure? Edwin van der Sar could grab hold and make use of them.

He stood in front of the goal with open arms, trying his best to expand his defensive area while creating a psychological sense of oppression for Lampard.

Lampard put the ball on the penalty spot, and repositioned it three times before he got up and retreated with satisfaction.

The noise in the stands of the stadium faded away. Everyone was watching the small area in front of the Forest team’s goal with a bated breath.

This was the moment that determined their fate.

It was not an exaggeration to say so. If Chelsea could score this goal, the impact on the situation of the game would be far-reaching. Chelsea could take the opportunity to stabilize their defense and contend with the Forest team. It would be difficult for the Forest team to counterattack again because the void in the back that they could exploit would be greatly reduced.

And what if Chelsea did not score? It would a massive blow to not just to the Chelsea fans, but the Chelsea players and the coaching staff as well. They did not manage to grasp a hard-to-come-by opportunity. It would not be a stretch to use “anguish” to describe it. Then there would be time after that the Chelsea players would decline into a state of confusion and be demoralized. It would be normal if anything unfavorable happened to them during this period, and the Forest team would be energized as a result.

There was another point.

It was now the seventieth minute and a lot of Chelsea players who had been running for a long time had actually reached a tipping point in their physical strength. It was their weakest moment. If they wanted to lift their legs, they had to be supported by willpower, and not everyone’s willpower was so remarkable.

Obviously, if they could survive the tipping point, the next twenty or so minutes of the game would be manageable. They could continue to entangle with Nottingham Forest. And if they could not overcome it, the results would be self-evident.

Twain said he was a gambler. And who was to say Mourinho was not one either?

Lampard stood three paces away from the ball, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.

The City Ground stadium, that could accommodate up to 30,000 people, was silent in this moment, whether it was the substitutes’ bench of both teams, the technical area, or the VIP box, everyone stared at the two players in the middle of the stage.

Twain did not speak; he just bit his lips hard. He said he was going to give Albertini a perfect farewell game, he said he wanted George to set foot in the UEFA Champions League finals again, and a year ago, he promised Ribéry that it would not be the only time they had broken into the Champions League final...

How could he watch them disappear when he had made so many promises?

Just as Twain was a mess inside, the referee’s whistle rang out, particularly clearly in the silent stadium.

※※※

Lampard started to run up after he heard the whistle. Three paces was very close. He finished his run in a flash and his body inclined to the left as he swung his right foot...?and volleyed.

At the same time, Edwin van der Sar pounced. He observed Lampard’s run and the swing of his leg. He thought that while Lampard leaned to the left, he did not push football to the left, and that the tilt of his body was just a feint to lure him to pounce in that direction.

Therefore, van der Sar chose to pounce toward the right side of Lampard and the left side of his own body.

He had just pounced, when he realized that Lampard did not push toward any side. The football flew straight in the middle!

This was a totally unexpected situation!

Coming from the middle in addition to its fast speed and powerful force, it looked unstoppable!

Can I stop it?

This idea was tossed out of van der Sar’s mind the moment it came up.

The speed of the ball is fast, it’s half a high ball, and from the middle...

The speed of the ball is fast?!

Thank God!

Edwin van der Sar flew across the air and straightened his legs, which looked a little awkward and comical, but he knew it was the only chance.

If Lampard’s shot was powerful enough and the speed would be fast enough. Then in that case, when Van der Sar’s body had not quite flown out yet, his legs could still run into the football flying into the middle!

Edwin van der Sar would have loved to have Michael Jordan’s ability to remain airborne for a while, which would allow him to hover over this spot and wait for the football to strike.

“Boom!”

There was a pain from the impact on his legs, which made him ecstatic. I blocked it!

“Unbelievable! Lampard’s penalty kick did not go in!” The commentator could not hide his disappointment. Twain is one lucky bastard!

Lampard looked up in a trance to see the football fly over his head.

It was the penalty kick nightmare that had been haunted him since the World Cup and would not let him go.

He seemed to be back at the 2006 World Cup in Germany all of a sudden. The man in the red Nottingham Forest jersey suddenly became a Portuguese player dressed in red...

He was the first to play in a penalty shootout in that painful and wretched night. He was very clear what being the “first player” meant, but he failed everyone’s expectations and sent the penalty shot directly to Ricardo’s arms.

After he missed the penalty shot, the terrible mood spread to his teammates, and the second player, Steven Gerrard, was mentally on the verge of collapse after he saw Lampard miss the shot. He fought back tears in his eyes and walked up to kick the second penalty shot. And the consequences were conceivable.

England’s two most stable players on penalty kicks had both missed their shots. England once again went down in front of the Portuguese and lost again to a penalty nightmare.

Loud cheers pulled him back from his distracted reflections, and he turned around to see his teammates desperately running back to defend. Everyone only had one target — Nottingham Forest number 11, Eastwood who was sprinting with the ball!

Did the ball not become a dead ball?

“Come on, Freddy!” van der Sar roared loudly as he waved his fist behind him. He did not care that he did not have time to appear in a close-up of him celebrating the save of that penalty kick. It was now a great opportunity for the Forest team to fight back.

Chelsea had fought for seventy minutes and got a penalty kick. Nottingham Forest fought desperately for seventy minutes.?Wouldn’t they be also waiting for such an opportunity?

“Charge! Our Romani Rooney!” The Forest fans in the stands rallied with Edwin van der Sar.

※※※

Mourinho saw with his own eyes that his most valued player had missed the penalty shot again but did not have the time to get angry or fly into a rage. He now had to worry about his goal because most of his players had rushed up for the penalty kick. There were only two center backs other than the goalkeeper, ?ech, in the back.

He swore under his breath, but it was not known whether it was to cuss that the penalty shot did not enter or curse the Forest team’s quick counterattack.

※※※

Dunn patted Twain on the shoulder. “I said that things weren’t that bad.”

Twain did not have time to praise his foresight. He murmured excitedly, “come on! Freddy, strike a fatal blow to them!”

※※※

“José, maybe things aren’t not that bad...” The technical advisor, Grant stood next to him. “We still have Terry and Carvalho.”

“That’s what I’m f**king worried about!” Mourinho rebuked.

Grant’s expression changed and did not speak any more.

Terry had a yellow card on him, and he was the first to take on the enemy now.

“Mark him but don’t make a move!” Mourinho rushed to the sidelines and roared loudly.

※※※

There was a clamor in the stadium, and Terry did not hear Mourinho yell from the sidelines. He did not have time to turn his head and look at the manager’s anxious look. There was only one man in his eyes — Eastwood, rushing over and dribbling the ball.

“The situation is like a massive hunt on the African plains. A pride of lions in pursuit of a single zebra while the king lion is up ahead of its prey, eyeing it greedily.” The commentator’s speech was very graphic.

A large number of Chelsea players were trying their best to give chase, and they were now counting on Terry to force Eastwood to slow down. As long as he was forced to slow down, they could besiege him. Then the Forest team’s quick counterattack would die with him.

“There appears to be no way of escape for this zebra...”

Eastwood had intended to change direction and go around in a big circle to bypass Terry while the distance between the two sides was still far apart. Suddenly, he recalled that Terry had gotten a yellow card in the first half.

The incident that had happened to Wood flashed before his eyes.

The Romani changed his mind and accelerated again as he rushed straight toward Terry.

In the Nottingham Forest team, Eastwood was not as fast as the four wingers, but he was definitely not considered slow. He was not be underestimated in short distance sprints.

Running from the backfield to the thirty-meter zone on the other side was nearly forty meters away. Eastwood knew he was at his limit. He could even feel his knee, which had undergone three surgeries, groaning in pain. If this continued, he would soon be caught up by the pursuers behind him, and then the Forest team’s quick counterattack would end. How could van der Sar’s gift be so easily wasted?

If it was destined to end, it would be better to serve as a sacrificial victim!

John Terry saw Eastwood coming straight at him, and he met him without any hesitation.

He certainly knew he already had a yellow card on him.

But as he told Mourinho during the halftime interval, he would not hesitate to do what he had to do if he faced an urgent situation. Stopping the other player was what he needed to do.

The distance between the two men was rapidly shrinking.

Ten meters, eight meters, six meters, five meters...

Eastwood’s upper body swayed, and he made a feint to break through, but Terry was unmoved. He waited for the instance the football left Eastwood’s control, which was the prime time to grab the ball.

And suddenly!

A dark figure charged from the side and knocked Eastwood out in front of Terry’s eyes!

This time it happened so suddenly that Terry was completely unresponsive. He froze in place and watched the football rolled past himself. Then he heard the referee’s shrill whistle ringing again.

There was a deafening booing in the stands. The disgruntled anger of the Forest fans was certainly not directed at Terry. Their target was “the culprit” that had knocked Eastwood out and fell to the ground with Eastwood—Carvalho!

Terry was a little shocked when he saw clearly the player who had fouled.

The referee ran towards the two men who had fallen to the ground. He beckoned Carvalho, who had made the foul, to stand up with a yellow card in his other hand.

※※※

“G*ddamn it!” Twain could not contain the anger in his heart. “Just a yellow card?! That son of a bitch referee!”

The fourth official’s ears pricked and walked toward him. Twain caught a glimpse of the man and immediately shut his mouth.

Kerslake interjected from one side and pointed to the scene on the field to complain to the fourth official. “Sir, how can that be just a yellow card foul? Shouldn’t he just be sent off with a red card? Carvalho ruined one of our quick counterattacks in such a savage way!”

He managed to attract the attention of the fourth official, and Twain managed to dodge a bullet.

※※※

On the other side, Mourinho saw Terry unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been really scared. Off the field, he could tell that Eastwood was going to deliberately find Terry’s trouble. Otherwise, there were so many blank areas in the back, why did he have to take the initiative to look for Terry?

Fortunately, Carvalho stepped forward at a critical moment to help Terry fend off the crisis.

At the cost of Carvalho getting a yellow card, Terry got to stay on the field.

The Forest players rushed in to harass Carvalho, and Terry quickly stepped in to separate the two sides.

“This was a foul, but your teammate seems okay.” He said to the excited Forest players, pointing to Eastwood, who was slowly climbing up.

When everyone heard him, they found that Eastwood had indeed stood up on his own. He moved his body and found that there was no major harm except that his arm was a little sore from being knocked down.

“Hey, Freddy! Are you okay?” The Forest players immediately diverted their attention and Carvalho was able to extricate himself.

Terry looked at his center-back partner. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Carvalho grinned. “This is a game that needs to be fought hard to win and I’m just trying my best.”

Listening to him say so, Terry laughed. “But we both have a yellow card on us now.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? I still don’t have a single card on me,” Makelele said suddenly, next to them.

The other two men stared blankly for a moment, and then all three people smiled.

※※※

The teammates around Eastwood enquired carefully for fear that his fragile knees would suffer from the hard impact again. But Eastwood was upset instead and swore, “Damn it! Damn Carvalho! If it wasn’t for him, Terry would have been sent off with a red card by now!”

Ribéry shrugged. “Well, it looks like Freddy is all right. Let’s disperse, everybody!”

Eastwood’s frontline partner, van Nistelrooy, patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t think about the yellow card. Just try to score another goal. That’s the right thing to do.”

George Wood quietly walked away after he saw that Eastwood was all right outside the crowd.

He looked up at the score on the big screen, which had remained unchanged at 1:1.

Chelsea’s penalty shot did not go in and our counterattack didn’t succeed.

No one had managed to seize on this amazing opportunity...

What a pity.

Chapter 539 - We Wait Till We Reclaim What Is Ours

Chelsea did not score a penalty shot and Nottingham Forest did not seize the ensuing chance to fight back. Both sides called it quits, out of ideas, even though both were reluctant to.

Problems began to emerge in the strength of the experienced Chelsea players, who started to slow down. There was no more high-pressure playing. Instead, they withdrew their defensive line and compressed the space in their backfield so they wouldn’t give the Forest team any chance to fight back quickly. They just moved around and slowly regained their strength.

Nottingham Forest thought Chelsea would have suffered a double whammy on their morale and stamina after seventy minutes. However, they did not expect Carvalho’s foul seemed to galvanize their fighting spirit instead. They did not press on in the entire field. Instead, they organized the retreat of their defensive line in an orderly fashion, so that the Forest team could not find too many ways to invade their hinterland.

Twain did not expect the game to develop like that. The Chelsea players seemed to be completely unaffected by the missed penalty shot. They still had a high fighting spirit and wanted to contend with the Forest team until the end.

Sitting in the technical area, Twain smacked his lips. “So you want to hover and move around? Well, I’ll dilly-dally with you. Let’s see who can afford to drag it out!”

He was not in a hurry since the Forest team was now in the lead. If Chelsea was not in a hurry to attack, they would be eliminated when the time came, and then Nottingham Forest would also effortlessly take down the opponent. If Chelsea planned to go on a frenzy at the last minute, the Forest team would play the quick counterattack behind the opponent in accordance with the predetermined strategy. If they could enter a goal, they could completely smash their opponent. Even if they could not score, they could use repeated sneak attack to harass their opponent so that they could not put their energies fully into their offense.

“Watch your defense!” Twain, who decided to deal with the opponent to the end, stood up and walked to the sidelines to shout toward the field. He reminded the team to pay attention to the defensive formation during defense and not let the opponent sneak attacks when they were doing it themselves. “Steady yourselves and don’t get agitated! Play with them slowly!” He pressed his hands down so that the team on the field knew what he meant.

Nottingham Forest, who were going to play against Chelsea in its thirty-meter zone, also followed suit to slow down its offensive pace. With fewer passes forward, there was a marked increase in passes to the side and back. Everyone was clearly aware that they were currently leading in the total score and they should not be the ones in a hurry to attack.

※※※

Five minutes passed and the score and situation on the field did not change in the slightest. Mourinho could not sit still, and he looked at his watch as he got up from his seat in the technical area.

If they had wanted to rest, they had rested enough. With fifteen minutes left in the game, Chelsea was still not eligible for advancement. How could they relax?

Can’t run anymore? That’s not going to work. Now is the crucial moment. You have to run and tackle as if your life depends on it!

Seeing Jose Mourinho standing on the sidelines with a serious expression, the Chelsea players on the field knew what they needed to do.

It was not the time to take a break. As the trailing team, they had no right to rest, even if it was only for five minutes.

“With fifteen minutes to go till the end of the game, Chelsea is back in full force. Once again, they have launch an all-out grab, which is physically exhausting.”

When Twain saw Chelsea press up again, he laughed.

It looked like Chelsea had no way out. To score goals, they could not take care of their defense. He decided to add one last straw to Chelsea’s back.

In the 76th minute, the Forest team made a substitution. Anelka replaced Eastwood, who was too physically drained to run anymore.

In this way, in addition to van Nistelrooy and van der Vaart, every player in the Forest team’s forward attack unit had outstanding skills and speed. Any one of them was qualified to spearhead in a quick counterattack.

Nottingham Forest was resolved to carry out defensive counterattack to the end.

Anelka was very active when he came on. He certainly did not do it for Twain. He did it for himself. His two agent-brothers had repeatedly reminded him that due to his few appearances this season, the teams that were previously interested in him had indicated they need to re-examine whether they would bring in Anelka. After all, it was too hard to tell how good a player was when he did not even play in a game.

If he wanted to leave Nottingham Forest that summer and find a team that satisfied him, he needed to display his standard of playing in a limited number of appearances and send a message to the hesitant buyers that everything was fine with Anelka, both physically and his form.

Based on this thinking, Anelka was a little independent whenever he handled the ball each time he played. He strove to show his performance, and as a result he slowly pulled away from Nottingham Forest which paid more attention to a holistic approach.

When he first came to Nottingham Forest, no one welcomed him, except for the manager. He and Twain had a very good “honeymoon period,” but the honeymoon was short-lived. Now his and Twain’s brand of football was drifting apart, the good memories of that initial period had long been thrown to Timbuktu.

Perhaps his initial move to Nottingham Forest had always been a “beautiful mistake.”

Anelka strove to prove himself with limited opportunities. When the football reached his feet, it basically was not expected to be passed again. Van Nistelrooy was somewhat dissatisfied with this. He was a center forward, but he could even run back from the opposing penalty area to his own team’s penalty area to shovel off the enemy’s offense when needed. He would not make a face either if he was required to make a wall in the front field for his teammates to make a pass.

In the mind of the Dutch veteran, serving the entire team was a normal thing to do. As long as the team needed him, he could sacrifice his chance for a shot and pull back to create space for the other teammates plugging in from behind. He and Anelka played two completely different kinds of football.

There was no cooperation between the two men at all.

Off the field, Dunn and Kerslake both saw this situation. Dunn remained quiet and did not raise any questions about this, but Kerslake did not hold back. He directly asked Twain, “Tony, you sent Anelka up is to try and launch a quick counterattack against the opponent, right? But he disrupts the attacking pace. Is he the appropriate player to be brought on?”

Twain looked at Anelka’s back and shook his head. “No, it’s a gamble in itself. He’s the only one who meets the requirements for our forward line, so I allow him to play. As for the issue that his presence causes our other offensive routes to be blocked... the merits and drawbacks are divided in half. There are certainly risks. You can’t expect us to take down Chelsea so easily, David. Most of the time, people will always face such a dilemma. I like to use gambling to describe these options.”

Kerslake shook his head. “You are such an avid gambler, Tony!”

Twain guffawed and did not speak any more. He just continued to stare at the game.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest players were in a good frame of mind. Although Anelka deviated from the team’s tactical set up, it did not affect their engrossment in dealing with the increasingly agitated Chelsea players.

Time was poison. As it passed by, the Forest team’s state of mind improved, and Chelsea’s agitation became more and more obvious, which was made clear through their constant mistakes.

Twain sat back in his seat in the technical area. Mourinho already stood on the sidelines and did not move anywhere else.

It was not to say that Twain was stronger than Mourinho. In the final stages of this game, the two managers had very different performances, but the source was still traced back to the results of the first round.

If that game had been Chelsea defeating Nottingham Forest by 2:1 at home, then the one who was anxiously fidgeting would have been Twain and not Mourinho.

Why was Sima Yi able to make Zhuge Liang helpless until he eventually died in a foreign land, Wuzhang Plains, under the falling stars? It was not that Sima Yi’s ability was better than Zhuge Liang’s. It was simply because the two men had different backgrounds and mentalities.

Zhuge Liang had to break Sima Yi’s defensive line to capture Wei. He had to take the initiative to attack first.

On the other hand, Sima Yi only needed to steadily defend and stay put. He ignored the other side’s spate of provocations outside and did not go to war. He did not give Zhuge Liang a fighting opportunity. Even though it was pathetic and humiliating to act like a coward, the actual result was effective — Sima Yi won the game of chess.

Like this game, Mourinho was Zhuge Liang. In order to advance to the final, he had no choice but to attack. Twain was Sima Yi. Due to his victory in the first round, he could choose to remain immutable, follow Mourinho’s adjustments and hinder Chelsea.

The game time on the big screen went into the last ten minutes.

The score next to the time was at 1:1, which had not changed for a long time.

Almost all of the Chelsea team had pressed forward, completely disregarding the blank area of nearly half of the field behind them, which could be used by the Forest team’s fast attacking players.

For the last ten minutes, they would not have a chance if they did not try.

This was a game that had to be fought desperately to win.

Chelsea received a corner kick. Terry and Carvalho stormed into the box. The corner kick was launched, and Carvalho moved forward to compete for a header. But he did not head the ball due to Kompany’s interference. Instead, the football slipped to Terry behind.

Terry and Piqué had an aerial showdown, which culminated in the more experienced Terry pressing Piqué down and heading the football to the goal.

Piqué did not completely fail. In the contest for the header against Terry, he caused Terry to be unable to choose the angle and only be able to toss his head, and the football was thrown directly into Edwin van der Sar’s arms.

Edwin van der Sar swung hard to drive the ball out, but soon the football fell at the feet of the Chelsea players and another frenzied offensive attacked the Forest team’s goal.

This time, Drogba directly made a long shot outside the box to create a booter. Seeing this kick, Twain laughed happily off the field. This kind of shot would be a blow to the morale of his teammates — They tried so hard to pass the ball to you. With little time left, every attack opportunity is particularly valuable. And yet you hastily did a booter!

“If we advance in the end, I’d have to go find that big black guy and give him a hug.” Twain said to his two assistant managers next to him with a grin.

Kerslake was not in the mood like Twain. He had been focused on the situation on the field with a frown. He was worried that in the case they were being besieged by the other side, they would make mistakes that should not have been made which would cause their efforts over the last eighty minutes go be in vain.

He was not a coach that worshipped defense. Every time he watched his team’s goal be besieged by the opponent, he was on tenterhooks even though he had seen the Forest team’s overall defense ability many times during usual training.

No matter how sturdy the defense was, there would come a day when it would be breached. Kerslake had a bad feeling.

※※※

Mourinho had used up all his three substitutions. The players he brought on were offensive players: Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Other than that wonderful pass to Robben, Shevchenko had not adapted in Chelsea from start to finish. In the end, unable to bear it anymore, Mourinho finally replaced the star player, whom his boss valued very much — at the critical moment, he no longer believed in the once-mighty “nuclear warhead.”

In the luxury box, Abramovich saw Shevchenko being brought off. He politely got up and applauded his most admired star player with a smile to send the former Soviet fellow countryman off the field. It was not known whether he thought that Shevchenko’s farewell to the field was also a scene that Chelsea was about to present.

After Shevchenko left the field to sit on the bench and the people in the box could no longer see him, the Russian rich man’s face was livid. It had been four years and his team had never been able to go the next step in the Champions League. Their best result was to break into the semi-finals. Three years ago, because of Ranieri’s foolish performance in the Champions League, he had fired the Italian Tinkerman and brought in Mourinho, the amazing manager who had just won the UEFA Champions League, in the hope that he would bring Chelsea the glory he yearned for.

He looked coldly at Mourinho, who stood on the sidelines waving his arms, directing the game. His face was expressionless as if he were just a blank sheet. No one knew what was on his mind.

It was only five minutes until the end of the game and Chelsea would surely be knocked out unless a miracle happened.

※※※

Twain did not want to give Chelsea a chance to create a miracle. He immediately used the last substitution spot he had.

Unlike Mourinho, who made adjustments in his offensive, Twain made a defensive tweak. He replaced van Nistelrooy with Albertini. As a result, Anelka became a single arrow, while Albertini and George Wood were partners in the middle of the midfield. The pair focused on defense like they were a pair of pliers to cut off Chelsea’s offensive path.

When Albertini was summoned to play, he informed everyone of the manager’s latest tactic.

“We must defend! Don’t give Chelsea any chance!”

※※※

Chelsea turned out in full force and tragically rushed to meet their death. In the cool night in Nottingham, tens of thousands of Chelsea fans bit their lips and could not make a sound.

The Forest team’s defense erected an impressively thick wall in front of them. In the face of this tight defense, what more could the Chelsea fans do except to lament?

Mourinho did not wave his arms because it was useless. He instructed the entire team to press on and forget about the defense. Except for the goalkeeper, ?ech, everyone had pressed past the midline. He had no doubt that ?ech would rush up as well if there was a chance for a corner kick.

The Chelsea radio commentator roared till he was hoarse, “A goal! One more goal! We just need a damn goal to change everything!”

Inside the pubs in London and in the stands of the City Ground stadium, some Chelsea fans had already closed their eyes in pain, unable to watch anymore.

However, before the game was over, the Chelsea fighters were still struggling. How they longed to hear the cheers from the stands. As it happened, there were only Nottingham Forest fans’ tremendous cheers and the early display of the red fireworks in the air.

The fourth official raised the electronic signage on the sidelines, which indicated the game’s injury stoppage time and Chelsea’s last hope of advancement.

Five.

“Five minutes of injury stoppage time. It is not over. Chelsea still has a chance. With five minutes left, as long as they can score another goal, they can equalize the total score and offset the number of away goals from both teams. Then this game will be dragged into overtime... I can see that the Chelsea players are exhausted, but I must say, even if they went into overtime exhausted and have to fight for another thirty minutes, it is better than to fail now!”

While speaking, Chelsea got another corner kick. It was their tenth corner kick in the game. Sure enough, ?ech ran out of the goal area and raced all the way. Lampard, who was in charge of the corner kick, stopped to wait for ?ech after he saw him running to this side.

“The 1.97-meter tall ?ech appears in the Forest team’s box. He’s the tallest in the team right now, maybe...”

Lampard opened the corner kick and it went straight to ?ech’s head. He staked the ball on ?ech, who towered over everyone.

“Petr ?ech! Threw his head to attack — Chimbonda! Standing near the goalpost, Chimbonda blocked ?ech’s header on the goal line! The Forest team dodged a bullet once again...”

ech, who did not score, did not turn around and run back to the goal. Losing 1:2 or 1:3 made no difference. It was better to stay in the front to seek a better opportunity to contribute one last time.

The football was at Chelsea’s feet and the Chelsea players passed it back and forth.

On the Forest team’s side, the substitutes and coaches stood on the sidelines, waiting to rush into the stadium to celebrate.

Kerslake yelled on the sidelines, “Intercept their ball! Their goal is empty! Grab it... Damn it!”

Lampard swung past George Wood’s tackle. Just as Lampard was ready to shoot, Albertini charged from the side and cut across Lampard’s shooting route.

He stabbed the ball under Lampard’s foot first, then kicked it again to passed it on to van der Vaart.

The City Ground stadium exploded in thunderous cheers. The live commentator could barely hear what he was saying even though he wore a pair of soundproof headphones. He could only keep raising his volume and yelled as if he were in a quarrel, “Chelsea lost control of the ball! ?ech hasn’t gone back yet... Nottingham Forest faces an empty goal! Van der Vaart chooses to shoot directly — ”

The football drew an arch in the air and crashed into the Chelsea’s empty goal, seventy-five meters away!

ech ran halfway before he looked up to see the football fly in front of him. He slowed down and stopped running... It was useless to run now. How could anyone catch up with the flying football no matter how fast he was? He could only do one thing now, which was to pray to God that the shot would miss.

All eyes were drawn to the ball, and everyone raised their heads to follow the football flying in the air. The eyes were filled with surprise, excitement, anticipation, or panic.

This football carried these emotions with it, like a comet dragging its tail down from the highest point.

“Van der Vaart! Van der Vaart! Van der Vaart–Oh!”

The commentator cried as he saw the football fall to the ground in the front of the penalty box and then bounce high before it rebounded from the crossbar to land above the net.

“It didn’t go in! What a pity! If the ball went in, it would have been the best goal of the Champions League this season!”

Nottingham Forest was not able to break Chelsea’s goal again in the end.

Van der Vaart hugged his head with frustration. Many Forest Fans did the same.

On the sidelines, Twain was indifferent. The current score and time were enough to guarantee that he would advance to the final.

With half a minute left in the injury stoppage time, Chelsea was unable to save the situation.

He drew his arms back from the shoulders of Kerslake and Dunn, raised them high, and clenched them into fists amidst the thunderous roars of cheers.

He kept the pose until the referee blew the final whistle.

“The game is over! With a total score of 3:2, Nottingham Forest knocked out Chelsea! And break into the Champions League final two years in a row! This is amazing... The Nottingham Forest’s red storm materializes over Europe once again! The air raid alarms are already sounded — Nottingham Forest makes a comeback!!”

Chapter 540 - I’ll Jump into The Sea If We Don’t Win

Thunderous cheers erupted at the City Ground stadium as the referee whistled three times to signal the end of the game. All the Forest fans stood up from their seats with their hands held high as they swayed their hands toward the sky and sang the Forest team song loudly.

Although this was not the first time they had advanced to the Champions League final, they would not be tired of the victory no matter how many times they had it.

“We have another chance to prove ourselves and show the world that last season’s final was just an accident and that the red color of Nottingham Forest is bound to become the mainstream color of European football in the future!”

The Nottingham commentator shouted enthusiastically on the radio in the police car.

The young policeman leaned against the side of the door and listened intently, while the older policeman set his sights on the City Ground stadium not far ahead. Bright lights and joyous cheers filled the skies.

It must feel fantastic to be in the stadium!

The walkie-talkie on his shoulder made a rustling sound: “...0415, the game is over, and the fans are about to leave the stadium. Stay alert and maintain order, over.”

“0415 got it, over.”

He turned around to pat the young man who was engrossed in the broadcast. “Time to get to work, lad.”

“Huh? Okay... ” The young policeman was a little reluctant.

※※※

The heartbroken Chelsea fans had already begun to leave the stadium, but the Forest fans remained in the stands, singing at the top of their lungs to celebrate their victory.

Twain ended his celebration and walked up to Mourinho.

This time, Mourinho did not evade him, but stood in his spot to wait for Twain to come over and shake hands.

Twain was a little surprised about that.

He went up to Mourinho. “I thought you were going to turn around and walk away.”

“If you want that to happen, I don’t mind walking away now.” Mourinho said with a blank expression on his face.

Twain hurriedly reached his hand out and stated, “shake my hand first before you leave.”

Mourinho extended his hand with a straight face, and lightly touched Twain’s palm before he immediately took it away. After the post-match formality, he left the City Ground stadium without turning his head back. The Chelsea players had long since hurried out. Only the raucous Forest fans and players were left on the field now.

Twain sent off Mourinho and dodged the reporters’ pursuit. He walked onto the field to celebrate the victory with his own players.

They ran from one side of the stands to another side and continually waved thanks to the fans.

At first there was only singing in the stands, and then voices gradually rang out repeatedly within the song. Soon, everyone heard that it was a word.

“Athens!”

The song faded away, and the cry became the only sound on the field.

Whether they were the fans, players, or the stadium cleaners, everyone rallied with their arms held high.

“Athens! Athens! Athens! Athens!”

Outside the stadium, the leaving Chelsea fans looked back in surprise at the small stadium, where they could clearly hear the roars of “Athens! Athens!”

The number 0415 police car where the two officers on duty also looked over at that stadium, surrounded by bright lights as if it were a volcano that continued to emit heat from the crater.

The voices grew louder and louder as they rushed out of the City Ground stadium, swept along by the evening breeze blown from the Sherwood Forest to across the Trent Bridge outside the City Ground stadium, and then split in all directions, spreading to every corner of Nottingham.

In pubs, cabs, homes of the ordinary residents, and around large television screens in large shopping malls, the voices stirred the hearts of all Forest fans, so that they could not help but raise their arms to shout loudly.

“Athens! Athens! Athens! Athens!”

※※※

The next day’s sports edition in the Nottingham Evening Post had a massive headline that occupied half of the page, and the outrageous headline had only one word: Athens!

Needless to say, everyone knew that after the fierce contest between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, it was Nottingham Forest going to Athens.

It was Pierce Brosnan’s idea, and it was extremely well-received. Copies of that issue of Nottingham Evening Post were snapped up the moment it hit the various newsstands. Compared to the lengthy articles going on about how the game was last night, this headline hit directly at the core, so that all Nottingham fans could not help but recall the previous night’s excitement.

Athens! Athens! Athens! Athens!

The sound seemed to echo in their ears again, so that they could not help but want to rally again.

The true Forest fans did not need to read the other accounts of how that game went last night. They all watched the entire game. Now all they needed was to fully vent their feelings.

When Twain went out to fetch the newspaper in the morning, the neighbors of the street chanted “Athens!” to him when they saw him raise his latest copy of Nottingham Evening Post.

Twain smiled and waved his thanks.

Once he retrieved the newspaper, Twain turned to the sports section while he ate the simple breakfast that he had made. He smiled when he saw Brosnan’s idea.

His phone rang.

“Hello, ah, it’s Mr. 007 Reporter.” Twain was in a good mood and joked with Pierce Brosnan, who had called.

“Tony, I’d like you to have an exclusive interview with me.”

Twain looked at the chap’s byline in the newspaper, and nodded. “I’m fine to do that. But are you sure this is the best time for an exclusive interview?”

Brosnan did not understand what Twain meant. “Huh? Why not? Your team has just advanced to the Champions League finals for the second year in a row. That’s not something anyone can do...”

“No, I mean, if I give you an exclusive now and you publish it tomorrow, what are you going to hype up in a few weeks?”

“Huh? A few more weeks?”

“That’s right, in a few weeks, after the Champions League final. What are you going to do in the face of the new European champion? Are you going to rehash the same story, Mr. Reporter?” Twain simply put his feet up on the table while he leaned back on the chair and teased Brosnan.

There was a gasp on the other line, and then silence.

Twain was not in a hurry. He held the phone and continued to read his newspaper.

After a while, Brosnan’s voice came on again over the phone, “Tony, are you so certain that your team can win? What if you can’t win? Our newspaper always has to prepare two sets of layouts...”

“Don’t prepare them. Just one layout of our championship title will do.” Twain sounded certain, “If I don’t win the Champions League title, I’m going to jump straight into the Aegean Sea!”

Brosnan froze for a moment before he said, “You’re joking, aren’t you? Tony...”

“No, I’m serious. You can even publish this remark in the papers so that everyone knows that I, Tony Twain promised to jump into the Aegean Sea if I can’t win the Champions League title!” Seeing how Brosnan did not say a word, Twain added, “if you don’t believe me, I can also invite all the media reporting on the Champions League to relocate to the seaside after the game and witness my jump.”

“Tony...” Brosnan lowered his voice and whispered, “are you out of your mind?!”

“You’re out of your mind. As a supporter of the Forest team, you have so little confidence in your team.”

“It’s not that I’m not confident... It’s just that work is work, personal feelings aside. It’s the rule to prepare two sets of layouts to deal with the two outcomes before a major final game...”

Twain glanced at the bold headline “Athens” in the newspaper and shook his head, “All right, here’s an idea. You can say this to your boss: if Nottingham Forest doesn’t get the Champions League title, your plan B is to set aside most of the space in the sports section to print these words in bold — ‘Nottingham Forest has lost again. We have nothing to say!'”

With that remark, he abruptly hung up.

“Bah! Bah! Bah!” He spat three times on the floor and griped, “that’s so unlucky! The game hasn’t been played yet, and he’s already thinking about the losing story first. This is no different from every game in the Chinese football, once the commentator sees that the team is trailing, he will say ‘Even if we lose today, we can also learn from this valuable experience and failure to sum up all of our lessons.’ What a pussy!”

After he abused Chinese football, Twain washed up the used cutlery and got up to go knock on Dunn’s house.

It was time for them to get started. They had to travel to Milan, to watch the semi-final game live and observe their opponent in the finals at close range.

※※※

“It didn’t occur to me... that it would be Nottingham Forest that ended up in the final.”

In Milan, after he had watched the semi-final match of the same day, Ferguson chatted with members of his coaching unit after training. His assistant manager, Queiroz was shocked that the Forest team could eliminate Chelsea. He had always looked down Twain and his team, so it was normal for him to be shocked. Perhaps it was because there were rumors that Twain might be chosen as a successor by Ferguson, making him a bit jealous — he thought he should be the only person to succeed Ferguson to be charge of Manchester United in the future.

“Nothing to be surprised about, Carlos,” Ferguson said. “It’s natural for both of them to be in the final. You’d better not underestimate the Forest team, or you will suffer for it sooner or later.” He did not go easy on Queiroz. Ferguson wielded absolute authority, and no one dared to go against his will.

Queiroz immediately shut his mouth.

He felt humiliated to reprimanded by Ferguson in front of so many people and yet he could not say a word, so he could only suppressed his frustration inside him.

Ferguson had no time to care about Queiroz’s psyche. He was still discussing last night’s game with the coaches, as the opponent for the finals had already been determined. If Manchester United advanced to the finals, they would have a big battle against the Forest team.

At that time, no one would hold back.

“Defensive counterattack... is really a good way to get results in a big game.”

“Maybe we should play defensive counterattack with them at Milan?” Someone proposed.

Ferguson glanced at them.

“Has Manchester United focused on defense as the core of our training for the past three seasons like Nottingham Forest?”

Everyone stared blankly and then shook their heads.

“Tonight’s the game, and now you’re asking to play defensive counterattack? I can see that we will be the ones to break down at the end instead. Manchester United’s football is what it is, there’s no need to learn from others,” Ferguson declared haughtily. He did have the confidence to say that. As the creator and guardian of the Red Devils dynasty, Manchester United had their own style. Wouldn’t they become a clown that followed the herd if they emulated others?

“All right, keep training!” Ferguson stood up and said to the silent Queiroz. “You send the video of yesterday’s game and the first leg of the two teams’ game to me. When tonight’s game is over, we’ll take a good look at them.”

Queiroz nodded.

※※※

“I’m not surprised that Nottingham Forest was able to reach the finals. I think that Tony Twain doesn’t play like an Englishman. He plays more like us, like an Italian.” Surround by a large number of reporters in the hotel, Ancelotti and the reporters quickly got to last night’s game.

“Other than that, I don’t have other views on it.” Carlo Ancelotti acted prudently before the big game. Moreover, he did not want everyone to focus on another team that had nothing to do with them.

“Tonight’s game? I respect Ferguson, but in the end the winner will be AC Milan.”

Ancelotti quickly finished the interview and got up to walk to the elevator. He wanted to go back to his room to rest for a while. It was just after noon. He wanted to take the time to grab a noon break so that he could keep his mind clear for the game tonight.

A “ding” sounded and the elevator door in front of him slowly opened. He was taken aback when he saw a person.

Twain was just chatting with Dunn in the elevator while they waited for the door to open. When the door had just opened a gap, he saw the man standing outside the door.

“Ha.” Twain laughed. “What a coincidence,” he said to Dunn. “It turns out that this is the hotel that AC Milan is staying in. I thought they all stayed in their own places.”

“Any team is the same, Tony,” Dunn reminded him. “Before a game, it’s the training ground, the hotel, and the stadium. Three points in a line.”

Ancelotti saw Twain and his assistant manager talking and laughing, and his face changed for the worse.

He did not feel uncomfortable because he ran into Twain, but because his team was staying there and now the opponent’s manager was also staying there. Could it be he wanted to take a close peek at his team’s latest movements?

Seeing the look on Ancelotti’s face, Twain hurriedly raised his hands and explained in English, regardless of whether the other man could understand them. “Ah, don’t worry, Mr. Ancelotti. Even though I have a good personal relationship with Ferguson, I’m not a free intelligence agent. This is a complete coincidence... A wonderful coincidence... Hey!”

He had just finished and had not even put his hands down when a flash exploded in front of his eyes.

When his eyes returned to normal, he saw a photojournalist clicking away in succession with a digital camera, giving him a thumbs up.

“This is a good pose!” the curly-haired male reporter, with accented English, said.

Twain creased his brows and his face was suddenly uglier than Ancelotti’s.

“FU-” Twain had intended to use the internationally-used word to scold when he saw that the elevator door in front of him was closing — because no one came in or out, the door was about to close automatically.

“...CK!” When the last syllable came out, the door had just tightly shut.

By the time Dunn pressed the door open again, the photojournalist had disappeared, and Ancelotti was no longer waiting for the elevator. Perhaps he switched to another one.

“Damn it!” Twain scolded in Chinese, “That bastard Italian reporter! Better not let me see him again!”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to kill him if you see him again?” asked Dunn.

“No, I’ll make things difficult for him!” Twain gritted his teeth. “Let’s go back. I’m not in the damn mood for shopping!” With that, he turned around to walk back into the elevator and pressed the floor button.

Dunn shook his head and hurried in.

※※※

That night, the second semi-final game was held at San Siro Stadium, where the home team, AC Milan fought in the pouring rain and made full use of their home-field advantage to bombard the Manchester United team.

The final score was 3:1, with the home team first and the visitors second, according to international practice.

Ferguson’s Manchester United suffered a crushing away defeat at the hands of AC Milan. In a good form, Kaka managed to score two goals and assisted Seedorf to score another goal. Whereas Scholes took advantage of AC Milan relaxing its defenses to score a face-saving goal for Manchester United at the last minute with a long shot.

This game was hyped by the media as a direct contest between the two young talents, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo before the game. It was also a clash that was likely to decide the outcome of the selection for the FIFA World Player of the Year at the end of the year.

Eventually, in the heavy rain, Brazil’s Kaka won against Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal. With the exception of a yellow card in the 84th minute, Ronaldo accomplished nothing and was powerless in the face of AC Milan’s momentum.

With a total score 5:4, AC Milan knocked out Manchester United and advanced to the finals.

Twain’s promise to give Albertini the “perfect farewell game” was just around the corner.

※※※

The day after the game, the image La Gazzetta dello Sport published in a prominent placement was not of the game, but a photograph taken in a hotel.

In the photo, the Nottingham Forest manager, who had also advanced into the Champions League final, had his arms raised toward the AC Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti, as if in surrender.

The caption below was: Nottingham Forest bows down to AC Milan!

This photo caused a stir as soon as it came out, with a number of Italian media reprinted and posted it prominently. Italy mocked England’s Nottingham Forest Football Club and Tony Twain became a public laughing stock overnight.

“I’ve never seen a manager who raised his hands before a game in surrender. Thanks to Tony Twain, we have seen it for the first time!”

A day later, as a rebuttal, the Nottingham Evening Post published an article called “An exclusive interview with the Forest manager” which seemed to be a long article judging from the name, but there was only one sentence in the actual content:

“Tony Twain: If I can’t defeat AC Milan and win the Champions League title, then I’ll jump into the Aegean Sea!”

Chapter 541 - Twain’s Revenge

If we don’t win, I’ll jump into the sea!

This phrase became a headline in almost all of England’s media in the sports edition in the days that followed, and even made front page headlines in certain media outlets. Such feverish hype of this topic in the English media was actually a backlash against the Italian media’s previous provocations.

At first when the photograph was published in the Italian media, Dunn did tell the truth in an interview, which was not as the Italians had perceived. However, the Italians opted to turn a deaf ear to it. They chose to make an issue out of this photograph to deliberately make things difficult for Nottingham Forest.

It was a psychological warfare before the big game, but as the parties involved in the warfare, Nottingham Forest and Twain were both very annoyed by this behavior.

The one thing that Twain hated the most in his life was to be insulted by the other people in this way.

As a retaliation, he made a phone call to Pierce Brosnan the day after the photograph was published in the newspapers and told him to print the remark.

As expected, after the one-sentence “interview” came out, it caused an uproar in England and Italy. The other countries joined in to watch a good show and in turn spread this topic around.

The matter was not over yet.

When they first saw the article, some Italians said that it was just the loud-mouthed Twain bragging again. Everyone was used to him making vain promises.

A day later, the BBC television broadcast station announced that they had just signed an agreement with Tony Twain.

According to what Twain had stated before, if his team lost in the Champions League final to AC Milan and the Champions League title, he would jump into the sea. This agreement was based on that situation. The television rights of this exclusive live coverage of his jump was sold to the BBC television station. This agreement would come into effect automatically after the final game and once the Forest team was confirmed as the loser. If the Forest team won, then BBC would receive exclusive rights to broadcast the grand celebration in Nottingham city.

At the same time, exactly the same as the agreement, Twain sold the rights for the live webcast of his jump to the famous online video streaming site, YouTube. The right to report on printed medium was sold to three parties, Nottingham’s local media, Nottingham Evening Post, and the supermarket tabloid, The Sun, which had a wide influence in the UK, across Europe and around the world. The third party was China’s Titan Sports, for which Tang Jing had used tremendous effort to wrangle it from the other Chinese media.

After the news of these various signings was revealed at the same time, it was undoubtedly a series of bombardments thrown at the Italians. The Italians, who had previously mocked Twain’s bragging, were all silent.

As the first football manager to promise to jump into the sea upon his defeat and sell the rights to the entire process of his jump, Tony Twain became famous around the world.

“He [Tony Twain] must be crazy...” After a brief collective loss of voice, Italy’s Corriere dello Sport – Stadio was the first in Italy to speak against this matter.

“We are watching a comedy production from Hollywood, and the Italians did not think that Tony Twain would go to such extremes. After news broke that he sold the broadcast rights of his jump, we saw the entire Italian media collectively lose their voices...” BBC’s Sunday Match of the Day said.

“This is very much in line with Twain’s personality. He is always doing something to shock us. We really do not ever know what he’s thinking. He always comes up with so many strange things to attract attention. It’s a shame he’s not in the entertainment industry. He’s better at showbiz than those entertainment stars.” This passage came from the blog of a famous football pundit on a famous Chinese website.

For a moment, the entire world was talking about it. Not everyone was concerned with football itself, the league tournament, or even the Champions League final. The Times had even published a special commentary on this matter, which was very representative:

“Compared to the suspense around the finals and the winner itself, everyone is more concerned about whether Tony Twain will jump or not and how he will make that jump. I think there’s going to be even a lot of people who want to see Tony Twain leap into the Aegean Sea and will bet on the Forest team’s defeat with the bookmakers. Of course, I’ll admit that I’m one of those people...”

※※※

The man most hated by Twain sat in front of him with his legs crossed and held a glass of red wine as he squinted at him.

Several documents were scattered on the coffee table between the two men, all of which were the contracts with the media outlets.

“I have no problem with the others. Why did you look for The Sun?” Twain stared at Billy Woox, sitting across from him.

“They gave the highest offer and are the best at this kind of thing. Didn’t you say you wanted to maximize the impact? I can’t think of any other print medium that is better suited to this kind of thing than The Sun.” Woox sipped his wine and spoke slowly to Twain.

“Of course I know that. I’m fine with anyone but The Sun.” said Twain with a stiff face.

Woox shrugged. “I don’t think you should take that tone with someone who comes to help, Mr. Twain.”

“I didn’t ask you to help...”

Twain had spoken halfway when he saw Woox pointed behind him. “I certainly can’t refuse the lovely Shania’s request. But are you going to complain that Shania shouldn’t have come to me?”

Shania’s sullen voice came from behind Twain. “You asked me to go to Mr. Fasal, but he’s so busy recently that I went to Mr. Woox. I’m sorry to have found someone you don’t like, Uncle Tony.”

The words were an apology, but he could not hear the apologetic tone. Twain hurriedly got up and waved his hands at Shania, who was making him coffee. “Ah, that’s not what I meant...”

This was a real headache. Why did Woox and Shania have that kind of relationship?

The two of them coordinated with each other, so he could only concede to his bad luck. He softened his tone. “All right, how should I thank you, Mr. Woox?”

Billy Woox put his hand over his heart and acted like he was overwhelmed by the sudden favor, “Ah! It is rare to hear Mr. Twain speak to me in such a gentle manner. Am I dreaming?”

Twain cleared his throat awkwardly before the other man finally gave it a rest.

“Why don’t we talk about George’s contract, Mr. Twain?” Woox said with a giggle.

“I would rather tear up these contracts.” replied Twain, with a straight face.

“Gee, I’m just kidding. Why so serious?” Woox shrugged and was helpless at Twain’s insensitivity. “Just take it that you owe me a favor, Mr. Twain. I’ll find a way for you to repay it in the future when needed.”

“As long as it’s not George’s contract, I’d be happy to.”

Twain did not say the words just for show. When the photograph came out, he was so furious that he tore all the newspapers to shreds in his own home. Then he plotted in his mind how to deal the Italians the most effective counterattack. After much deliberation, he thought of what he said to Pierce Brosnan the day he called — If we don’t win, I’ll jump into the Aegean Sea!

A thought popped in his head and everyone saw what happened next. It was his idea to contact the media, but he had just wanted to tell the media that he would jump into the sea if he lost and to invite them to be the witnesses.

As a result, Shania said it was a good opportunity and that they should make better use of it when she heard. She proposed to take apart the coverage from the various media platforms and sell them separately. They could make money and the publicity would also be more sensational and effective than simply an announcement to the media. It would be a better way to retaliate against the Italian media.

Twain accepted the suggestion. However, he was not good at contacting and negotiating with the media, so Shania volunteered her own agent, Fasal. Who knew Fasal would be busy? Therefore, Shania had to go to Woox. She was aware of the feud between Twain and Woox, but perhaps because she had a lot of respect for Mr. Woox, she had hoped that Uncle Tony could dispel his former enmity against Woox. So, she had asked Woox help.

She had thought that Woox would refuse at first and had prepared a lot of arguments for it. She did not expect Woox to listen intently and nod his assent without hesitation. It went so smoothly that Shania was very surprised.

With Woox’s connections and power, the matter was carried out impeccably. Woox even made a very detailed arrangement for the release timing of the signings. As a result, when the news was released by the media one after another, Twain saw what he most wanted to see — the Italian media was so gobsmacked that they collectively lost their voice.

This relieved his anger, but if he wanted to vent even more, he needed to work harder.

If he could not defeat AC Milan in finals, he would have to jump in the sea. This was not something to be taken lightly. He would be reduced to a laughingstock and would be mentioned for years to come.

And if he could defeated AC Milan, he could return the fury he received a hundredfold. At that time, no one would dare to defy no matter how much he humiliated the Italian media. Because the victor always had the right to speak.

Woox put the glass down and stood up. He was going to leave.

He held out his hand to Twain. “I did everything I could. Mr. Twain, I don’t want the club that my own player plays for to be a joke in whole of Europe. So, it’s up to you now. If you can’t win, everything you’ve asked me to do these last few days will be the grave you dug for yourself.”

Woox rarely spoke to him in such a serious tone. Out of gratitude for his help, Twain reached out to clasp his hand with Woox. “I have to correct you a little, Mr. Woox. I never dig my own grave. I only dig the ones that my enemies order. I don’t do anything in vain.”

※※※

Nottingham Forest got the entry to the Champions League final and was just one step away from Twain’s goal for the season. Everyone was excited, but Twain had to get his men to calm down for a while.

The 37th round of the league tournament was on May 5th.

Three games were scheduled for the same day. Manchester United and Manchester City’s “Manchester derby” was the first to be unveiled. After that was Chelsea’s “London derby” with Arsenal. Then Nottingham Forest’s away challenge against Aston Villa would kick off as that game drew to a close.

Many said that the outcomes of the three games would have a direct impact on the ownership of the league title for the season.

However, Twain did not place much importance to this round of the league tournament. He had already made up his mind to have a big rotation in this away game against Aston Villa — most of the players from the lineup in the Champions League semi-final game would not be in the game’s starting lineup again.

Since he did not intend to compete for the illusory league title, and their third place was in a secure position, Twain would not allow his players to risk injury and play in the game. He would just take the opportunity to let the other players to practice.

With five hours to go until the game, Twain released his starting lineup list, which he rarely did. This time, it looked like he really relaxed for this game.

The goalkeeper of the Forest team remained as Edwin van der Sar, who was the immoveable mainstay. Twain was actually keen to rotate, but Akinfeev, who had been bought before the season, was on loan back to CSKA Moscow and could not be recalled. Paul Gerrard’s recovery after his surgery was far from ideal. The experts had told Twain that Paul was likely to end his career early as a result.

This was not good news, but Twain had not given up yet. As he said, when he went to Athens, no one would be left behind in the Forest team. He was still waiting for Paul to return even though there was not much time.

The center-back was Wes Morgan and Ayala’s partner. The left-back was changed to Gareth Bale and the right-back was Sun Jihai. George Wood would still start in this game. In any case, Twain was still a little cautious. He had allowed rotation, but it was not the same as conceding.

Arteta and van der Vaart did not appear on the starting list. Instead it was Albertini, who had not appeared in the team’s starting lineup in a long time and was only three games away before retiring. Twain wanted the Italian veteran to regain his competition form because he had said he was going to give Albertini the best farewell game, meaning Albertini would definitely play in the Champions League final. If he was being brought off due to bad form, it would not be good for anyone.

In the two flanks, Petrov replaced Ribéry on the left flank and Lennon continued to be in the starting lineup on the right flank due to Ashley Young’s injury. The strikers were Bendtner and Anelka.

In the final stages of the season, Anelka had been given frequent opportunities to play, which some people could not understand. In fact, it was very simple. Because the Forest team wanted to sell him, they needed let him to perform more.This way, the Forest team would have more clout to ask for more money from the other clubs in the transfer market.

※※※

On May 5th, Manchester United challenged its nemesis, Manchester City in same city in a closely watched away game. Twain and Mourinho definitely watched the entire game. Mourinho was keen for Manchester United to lose. Unfortunately, the final result let him down.

Manchester United obtained three points in the away game after much difficulty. The score of 1:0 could clear up a lot of issues, but regardless of how bad the situation was, the three points that were obtained were real. At the press conference after the game, Ferguson laughed until his face was redder than usual.

The recent frustration and pain of being eliminated from the Champions League had been washed away with this game. There was nothing more enjoyable than wiping out a nemesis in the same city within the season. With regard to ‘a derby in the same city”, there was a common and interesting phenomenon in European football which was that the fans could accept losing the heavyweight titles such as the league title and Champions League title and even forgive if they did not accomplish anything in a season, as long as the team they supported could defeat the same city’s nemesis in the same city derby.

It was not just a win over Manchester City that made Ferguson so happy. It was normal for him to defeat Manchester City, so he did not need to be so happy as it would give the wrong impression that it was not easy for Manchester United to beat Manchester City, so Ferguson was so excited.

Another important reason was that he had scored a key victory at a crucial time in his league title battle against Chelsea and continued to maintain a two-point lead over Chelsea. That way, he had put pressure on Chelsea again. If Chelsea was crushed by the pressure in the next game and uncharacteristically lost the game, there was only a fine line between Manchester United and the league title.

Later, in London, Chelsea’s key battle with Arsenal was officially launched.

The game was quite intense and both sides had their own reasons to strive in the fight.

Wenger certainly did not drive the team to go all out for a meaningless reason of helping Manchester United block Chelsea. He was vying with Liverpool for the fourth seat in the league and Liverpool was only one point ahead of Arsenal. Liverpool’s game kicked off an hour earlier than Arsenal’s. When Wenger’s team set foot on the field, the score was still 0:0. If the score remained until halftime, Arsenal would overtake Liverpool to become the fourth in the league as long as they beat Chelsea, thus winning a spot to the Champions League

And not to mention on Chelsea’s side that if they could not win the game, they would trail further behind Manchester United’s home stretch. That was not what Mourinho wanted to see.

It was just ten minutes into the game on this side when news came from Fulham, south west of London — Fulham had scored!

Fulham had led 1:0 at home against Liverpool!

This news gave Arsenal a shot in the arm and they put more pressure on Chelsea.

Thirty-three minutes later, the goal guarded by ?ech was finally lost after they were unable to withstand Arsenal’s waves of attacks. Gilberto Silva scored a goal for Arsenal and Arsenal led 1:0!

While Arsenal was leading, Nottingham Forest warmed up at Aston Villa’s Villa Park stadium. When Twain heard the news in the locker room, the first thing he said when the players came back was —

“I’ve changed my mind, guys. We must win this game!”

He still remembered Mourinho mocking him for not even having a chance to “almost win the league tournament.” Now that they were in a good situation, he did not mind returning the phrase to Mourinho and his Chelsea team.

When all three games were over and the dust had settled, everyone saw that the league table had changed into this:

After winning the same city derby, Manchester United remained at the top of the rankings with a score of eighty-five points.

The second and third places had changed.

Chelsea fiercely fought back in the second half of the game to score an equalizer, but unfortunately they could not change the final score. Chelsea’s equalizer was not considered a good result. Arsenal could be screwed this season if they lost to Chelsea again. Wenger and everyone at Arsenal worked together to desperately fend off Chelsea’s attacks while actively seeking chances to fight back. The game came to a conclusion during such entanglement between both teams, and the end result was 1:1. No one had defeated anyone, but no one had won either — neither teams got the results they’d hoped for.

It could be seen from the expressions of the two managers, Wenger and Mourinho once the game ended. They were in a bad mood. Unaware of the outcome of the Nottingham Forest game, Mourinho’s face was like “cloudy and light drizzle.” But when he found out about the results of the Nottingham Forest match, it became a “thunderstorm accompanied by a spell of strong winds.”

The reason Mourinho was so angry was because he knew that the league table would have a change he did not want to see.

Nottingham Forest won 1:0 against Aston Villa in the away game with a lineup of substitutions and got three points. As a result, Nottingham Forest took the second place in the league with eighty-two points. Whereas, Chelsea, who tied with Arsenal, had a score of eighty-one points and came in third.

Although there was no difference between second and third places since neither would win the league title, and both would be able to play in the Champions League next season, Mourinho could not tolerate someone like Tony Twain pressing down on him — it made him angrier than losing the league title.

Chapter 542 - The League Tournament Ends

May 24th was the final game of the UEFA Champions League. Before that, there was a final round left in the Premier League. Twain no longer thought about the dreary matter of getting a “Double” with the league and Champions League titles. Manchester United was ahead of them by three points and had only a 0.1% likelihood of losing the league tournament at the last minute.

The final round of the league tournament was held on May 13th. With eleven days to go until the Champions league final, this was good news for Twain as it meant that he did not have to make way for the Champions League final by considering a rotation. He could use the strongest lineup to have a showdown with Liverpool in the final round.

Even though losing to Liverpool would not affect the Forest team’s Champions League qualification for the next season, Twain wanted to keep Chelsea down right up to the last minute. He did not want Chelsea to snatch back the second place in the league tournament.

Obviously, this depended one more than the Forest team’s results. Chelsea currently had one fewer game than the Forest team. If they wanted to continue to suppress Chelsea, they had to watch the results of the make-up game, which was Chelsea’s home match against Manchester United.

This match would take place on May 10th.

This make-up game was also the time to uncover the suspense around the owner of the league title.

Eventually, on that day, at the Stamford Bridge Stadium, tens of thousands of Chelsea fans saw the scene they least wanted to see, serving as a background to their opponent’s celebrations at their own stadium.

Manchester United tied Chelsea at 0:0. Chelsea’s points became eighty-two which was the same as the Forest team and temporarily came in second. But they were four points away from Manchester United, the league’s number one. With one last round in the league tournament, Chelsea would not be able to overtake Manchester United to reverse the title.

The result of this match proclaimed that Manchester United had won the 06-07 season’s English Premier League title ahead of time.

The Red Devils, Manchester United, welcomed their ninth Premier League title amidst the boos at Stamford Bridge. This was also the 16th English Premier League title in the club’s history.

Ferguson looked happy and spirited when he shook hands with Mourinho. He had fought with Mourinho for the entire season and finally got the last laugh.

A few days later, the English media were all news about Manchester United’s ninth league title. Ferguson made headlines and were in the limelight for a while.

As for Mourinho and Chelsea’s defeat, most of the media gloated about it. Although four years had passed since Abramovich took ownership of Chelsea, many people still despised the Russian oligarch upstart.

Although the phenomenon was very common, after all, everyone had the mentality to hate the rich, this kind of thinking was not necessarily correct.

Chelsea had fallen heavily into debt before and could have declared bankruptcy at any time. Bates was unable to repay the mounting debts. Abramovich’s arrival not only saved him, but also rescued the Chelsea Football Club, and indirectly rescued the fans who loved Chelsea. However, the fans were ungrateful. At that time, London’s Evening Standard said, half-jokingly and half-sarcastically:

“Besides spending money to purchase the players, Abramovich is also preparing to buy the fashion guru, Armani to design jerseys for Chelsea, acquire the media king, Murdoch to publish Chelsea’s “guide,” hire Campbell, Prime Minister Blair’s think-tank as Chelsea’s public relations consultant, and purchase the F1 ace driver Schumacher as the driver of the Chelsea team bus…”

At the time, there were also media outlets that said that if Abramovich’s assets were all converted into cash and spread under a mattress, then when he accidentally fell out of bed during his sleep, he would not fall to his death, but starved to death.

Chelsea had been hugely successful over the last two years with the money of the Russian oligarch, but was unable to win over the masses. All of English football had refused to acknowledge Chelsea’s achievements, especially when comparing Chelsea and Arsenal. That was one reason why Mourinho hated Wenger so much — no one liked to be the negative archetype of others.

Abramovich was aware that the best way to block people’s mouths was to win titles. The league title was not enough. Only the Champions league title would do.

He brought in the Championship league level manager, Mourinho, who could win the Champions League title even with a team like Porto. Unexpectedly, fortune made fools of people. After Mourinho came, they could not even get into the Champions League finals for three years in a row.

Chelsea had even lost the league title this season.

After a simple handshake between Mourinho and Ferguson, he left the stadium with a grim face and was out of sight. A few days later, the media could not locate him when they wanted to interview him.

Rumors were suddenly rife that Chelsea was going to change their manager next season, and Abramovich could not tolerate the embarrassment of putting in hundreds of millions of pounds for three consecutive seasons and not win the Champions League trophy. There was also another rumour that Abramovich had an irreconcilable difference with Mourinho over his use of Shevchenko, whom Abramovich had insisted that the team put in the starting position. Even if he could not score a goal and that Mourinho believe that the players who did not perform well and were in a bad shape, should go to the bench and leave the opportunity to the others.

Twain did not know if Mourinho would leave Chelsea in the end. At the very least not before he crossed. When he was a fan, he felt that Chelsea and Mourinho were inseparable. When he thought of Chelsea, he would think of Mourinho, and when he thought of Mourinho, he would think of Chelsea.

He could not imagine what Chelsea would be like without Mourinho. Although the two of them were usually arch rivals, he still did not want Mourinho to leave Chelsea. Because then he would have a lot less fun...

He liked to be a manager. In addition to the opportunity to win all kinds of trophies and instruct world-class star players, he was able to compete with famous managers he had only seen on televisions and newspapers before. Professional football was not a game played by one person. Without a good opponent, the fun of the sport would be halved.

With the spread of the rumors becoming more widespread, they also became more outrageous. Soon Abramovich and Mourinho appeared before the media in succession to refute the rumors. Abramovich said he appreciated Mourinho’s work in Chelsea for the last three seasons and promised that Mourinho had a bright future in the team. Mourinho, for his part, said he enjoyed his job at Chelsea and had no intention of going to other teams to pursue other development.

Neither of the men mentioned that they had lost two titles during season, leaving many people still unconvinced of Mourinho’s possible departure of Chelsea next season. More pundits analyzed that they came out at that time to dispel the rumors because they did not want to affect the morale of the team and wanted them to play the last game of the league well in the season. When this season was over, it was then time for the reckoning.

※※※

In the final round of the league, all the competitions started at the same time.

Some people said that for them to come out and dispel the rumors before the final round of the league was to not affect the morale and fighting spirit of the entire Chelsea team. They did not want to affect their last league game. But locking the stable door after the horse had bolted did not contain the horse.

Chelsea’s morale and fighting spirit had already been affected. In the final round of the league tournament, Chelsea was forced to tie with Moyes’ Everton at 1:1 at home.

Manchester United, who had already won the league title, lost distractedly to West Ham United at home, which saved the team from relegation. The score was 0:1.

The game between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool had many twists and turns, with Liverpool taking the lead at the start of the game.

Because Liverpool had lost in the away game to Fulham in the crucial 37th round of the league, while Arsenal tied with Chelsea at home, the two teams, which would have been one point apart at one point, now had the same points. Liverpool and Arsenal both wanted to get the final spot to the Champions League. Although Liverpool had also advanced to the final of the UEFA Europa League this season and their opponent was Sevilla, they still wanted to play in the Champions League.

Therefore, at the start of the opening, Liverpool launched a siege on the Forest team’s goal and was aggressive throughout the away game.

This game was also a nationally broadcasted match for BBC 5.

Liverpool became even more aggressive after the goal, and they continued to besiege Nottingham Forest. Benítez had gone all out for the sake of the Champions League qualification. But he forgot what kind of team Nottingham Forest was and what they were best at.

From the looks of it, the home team, the Forest team was in a mess. Under the stormy attacks, the goal might have been penetrated again at any time. But the Forest fans were not worried or scared. They were familiar with the scene.

In the 27th minute, thirteen minutes after Liverpool had scored, the Forest team equalized the score. They made use of the void when Liverpool pressed forward to launch a quick counterattack and cracked open the goal guarded by the Spanish national goalkeeper, Reyna.

Another ten minutes later, the news came from Portsmouth, where Arsenal scored in the away game.

This was no doubt a bolt from the blue for the Liverpool people. If the scores for both games were maintained till the end, Liverpool would lose their eligibility to enter the Champions League for the second year in a row.

They stepped up their offense and tried to breach Nottingham Forest’s goal again. But the score did not change until the end of the first half of the game.

They switched sides in the second half and fought again. While Nottingham Forest and Liverpool were still in a deadlock, another piece of news came from the other stadium and it was in Liverpool’s favor.

Just five minutes into the second half, Portsmouth scored, and the score was tied at 1:1.

Watching the live game at the City Ground stadium while listening to the radio to keep an eye on their opponent, the half-hearted Liverpool fans erupted in loud cheer and nearly made the other people think that their team had scored.

This news has greatly stimulated the fighting spirit of the Liverpool players, who launched a frenzy of attacks on the Forest team’s goal and further stepped up the pressure. In the first nineteen minutes of the second half, the Forest team conceded its goal again.

Gerrard’s long shot directly pierced through Edwin van der Sar’s ten fingers. The Forest team was not angered by this goal concede because it was so beautiful, just like the long shot that Wood had fired into the Chelsea’s goal. What else could they say about a shot like that?

The Liverpool fans began to burst into loud singing in the stands at the City Ground stadium to celebrate their lead. They angered the Forest team fans, and soon the singing of the Liverpool fans was quickly drowned out by the songs from the Forest team fans.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s renewed lead also aggravated Twain and his team.

Albertini started the game in place of Wood. It was his last warm-up game before the Champions League final. After Liverpool’s lead, the commentator complained ceaselessly about Twain’s rotation decision. In his view, the older Albertini had become unfit to start in a fierce game. His running ability had greatly declined and could not pose any threat to Gerrard defensively. As for the offense... the Forest team was trampled in half of the field and struggled. What offense could there be to speak of?

In short, the commentator raised many questions about Albertini’s ability and argued that there was no justification for Twain’s rotation. George Wood was not injured and in a stable form. He had strong stamina and it was foolish to use Albertini instead of him.

Just as the commentator was jabbering on about how Albertini had been eliminated by the times, Albertini scored a goal.

It was a typical “Albertini-style” banana shot. Reyna could not save in time and could only watch the football fly past his hands to fall into the net.

Nottingham Forest equalized the score at 2:2.

The Liverpool fans were not too frustrated, because there was no further news of a goal from Portsmouth. Even if both games were draws, Liverpool would still rank in the fourth place with its goal difference advantage and suppress Arsenal.

The result was good news for Liverpool, but Twain would not accept a draw, which was dangerous without knowing the outcome of the Chelsea game.

The game went on till the injury stoppage time, and neither side scored again. The same went for Portsmouth, where neither Arsenal nor Portsmouth scored.

It looked like Liverpool was going to qualify for next season’s Champions League as they’d hoped, and Arsenal would only be able to play in the UEFA Europa League.

The Liverpool fans had begun to celebrate ahead of time and some Liverpool fans had even given thumbs up to the Forest fans to thank them. In the eyes of the Liverpool fans, this result was a happy outcome.

The people of the Forest team did not see it that way.

The injury stoppage time was four minutes with the first three minutes uneventful. Liverpool did not plan to score again, and the Forest team did not seem to be in the mind to continue the game. But at the last minute, the situation suddenly changed on the field.

Led by Albertini, Nottingham Forest organized a very effective attack. Four Nottingham Forest players were involved in the attack. After three passes of the football, it flew to the front of Liverpool’s goal. Bendtner jumped high and used a header to shoot the football at a very close distance into the Liverpool goal.

The Liverpool fans in the City Ground stadium became silent. Only the cheers of Nottingham Forest fans could be heard. Obviously they did not appreciate the friendliness shown by the Liverpool fans before. Like the team they support, they thirsted for victory and would not accept any results other than victory.

When the game was over, the results of the other stadium also came. Arsenal and Portsmouth tied and overpowered Liverpool by one point to reach the fourth place in the league tournament. Thus, they won the spot for next season’s Champions League qualifying tournament.

With tears flashing in their eyes, the Liverpool fans stood dejected in the stadium and stared blankly at the Nottingham Forest players celebrating their victory. They thought that for the Forest team, the victory of this game was insignificant because they would not lose their Champions League qualification if they lost this game. They did not understand why the Forest players still wanted to score at the last minute to win.

Benítez shook Twain’s hand with a sullen face and had nothing to say about losing at the last minute — his team had slacked off and had not marked Bendtner.

Twain did not comfort Benítez, nor did he know how to. He could not console with “never mind, at least you can still play in the UEFA Europa League again” which was no consolation. It was like putting salt on the other party’s wound. He had no personal grudge with Benítez, so he did not need to act this way.

After he shook hands with Benítez, Twain turned his head and saw the heartbroken Liverpool fans in the stands. He was aware that he had another enemy in the league. The Liverpool fans would not forget today’s game for quite some time and would remember who pushed them out of the Champions League.

During Brian Clough’s time, the ambitious Liverpool was beaten by Nottingham Forest and lost the league title and Champions League title. At that time, the Liverpool fans had little affection for Nottingham Forest. Later, with the decline of Nottingham Forest, this hatred quickly dissipated in the river of time.

Today, Twain was like a demon making them to relive the nightmare from twenty-eight years ago, which had a profound effect.

“Wenger must thank Twain. How could Arsenal qualify for the Champions League qualifying tournament had it not been for the Forest team so desperate to win in the last insignificant game? I’m afraid only Tony Twain would do such a thing and not care if they wiped out Liverpool at the last minute...” The commentator muttered.

How would he know that Twain was not trying to help Wenger, or being ruthless, but that he just did not want to Chelsea to be ahead of him?

“Tony!” Kerslake’s excited voice came behind him.

Twain looked back at his assistant manager, Kerslake with the headphones in his hand and full of smiles.

“Good news, Chelsea and Everton tied!”

Twain did a fist pump.

“We are second in the league!” Kerslake cried aloud, and everyone heard it.

They were the runner-up in the league for two consecutive years which was a remarkable achievement. The crowd burst into cheers.

Twain looked at their celebration with a smile on his face, when Dunn stood beside him at this time.

“You don’t look very excited, do you?” Twain glanced at him and Dunn looked calm.

“The competition season is not over yet,” Dunn replied simply.

This was a reminder to Twain that there was still another final game. It was not the time to celebrate.

“Ah, thank you, Dunn.” Twain finished clapping and walked toward the coaches who were still celebrating.

“Don’t be too happy too soon, guys. We still have one last game.”

“Athens!” A chorus of shouts from everyone answered him.

“Very good, it looks that you have not forgotten.”

The league tournament had ended, and Twain did not have to worry about how to rotate, keep the players in shape and avoid injuries, and make sure they didn’t lose their sense of the competition. Today was May 13th, eleven days before the final game on May 24th.

Within these eleven days, he still had time to solve some of the problems and then lead the team to Athens without any concerns.

A glittering trophy was waiting for him to pick it up over there. This time, no one would be allowed to meddle!

Chapter 543 - A Supporting Character

The 06-07 season’s English Premier League had ended and every team in England was disbanded for the holidays except two teams. This had been a good year for the European players because without an international competition, they could finally get a complete break after working hard for a season.

Although the players of those two teams could not rest so early, it was believed that many would envy them because they advanced to their respective championship finals.

Liverpool, who had just lost the qualification for the next season’s Champions League, would only be able to continue to fight in the UEFA Europa League next season. The good news was that they ended up in the final against Spain’s Sevilla Football Club for this season’s UEFA Europa League.

The UEFA Europa League final would be held on May 17th, just four days after the end of the league tournament.

The media was covering the UEFA Europa League final, and Liverpool had become the team with the highest coverage. For Benítez, his first season at Liverpool had been stunning, helping the Reds retake the UEFA Champions League title after so many years. But after that, whether it was in the league tournament or the championship, Liverpool seemed to be caught up in some kind of bottleneck and was unable to achieve anything.

After two consecutive seasons of being kept out of next season’s Champions League games, he desperately needed to prove his ability with an important championship. The UEFA Europa League became his last hope. If he still came up empty-handed, it was hard to say whether Benítez would still be there the next season.

While everyone was watching Liverpool, Twain led his team in a closed-door training at the Wilford training base in Nottingham.

Most media in England hated Twain and it had something to do with his closed-door training. Before him, few managers in English football would have such frequent closed-door training. It might have had something to do with him being a Chinese fan before. He was all too familiar with it.

Closed-door training had its pros and cons. Currently for him, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. At the very least, his team could avoid harassment from the nasty media.

It was getting closer to the day of the final game and there was a lot more he needed to deal with...

※※※

Pepe had made a full recovery. Although he did not play, his performance in the team’s internal competitions had convinced everyone that the Pepe that would appear in Athens would be healthy and in top form. The problems that had plagued the Forest team’s defensive line for a long time had been resolved.

Ashley Young also returned to the team once he recovered from his injury and had no problem making the trip with the team to Athens.

Before such an important tournament, the Forest team solved its injury problems. By all accounts, Twain should have been happy. However, his brows were always knitted these days. The players did not understand what was going on and some of them were nervous.

In fact, even a few members of the coaching unit did not know what it was about because, except for Twain, only the two assistant managers, Kerslake and Dunn, and the team doctors knew the whole story.

According to the practice in English football, the team doctor only needed to first update the condition of a player’s injury to the team’s manager and not the injured player himself. Then the manager would decide how to convey to the player. If the team doctor directly bypassed the manager and informed the injured player about his condition, then this team doctor would most likely not be able to continue in the football circle — no club wanted a team doctor who was in close contact with the players behind the manager’s back.

However, Fleming’s current problem was not that he bypassed Tony Twain and told the player about the state of his injury. Instead, the player took the initiative to come to him.

Generally, when the player looked for the team doctor first, it was nothing more than to inquire about his own injury situation. At such a time, the team doctor simply had to be careful with his words and used ambiguous words such as “your recovery is going well” at most to dismiss him. If he honestly disclosed the player’s condition, he might be kicked out by the club.

The current Nottingham Forest club was controlled by an American boss. Those traditions and practices were decreasing, and Twain was not a manager who would split hairs over the bit of authority. But no matter what, Fleming was also an old team doctor who had worked in the club for decades. That tradition had been etched in his bones and had become a professional habit.

Two days ago, the man who took the initiative to look for the team doctor, Fleming was the team’s substitute goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard.

He had already recovered from his operation and started recuperative training a month ago. Initially it was only a simple physical rehabilitation program that did not involve specific goalkeeper training.

Twenty-five days later, he began to start his specific goalkeeper training and the problem came.

Paul Gerrard found that the speed of his reaction and judgment had been affected, as well as his line of sight. He could not properly determine the distance between the position of the football and himself, and occasionally, he would briefly suffer from astigmatism in his eyes. This was a fatal problem for a professional goalkeeper.

Deeply worried, he went to the team doctor, Fleming, hoping he would give him another full physical examination, especially in his brain. He suspected these were the sequelae of that head injury. But he did not tell the truth about himself. He only said he wanted to have a full understanding of his body after recovering from the injury.

This request alerted Fleming. As a team doctor for decades, how could he not have guessed what the players had in mind?

The request had to be approved by the manager before he could proceed. Fleming told Gerrard he had to go speak to the boss before he could answer him.

Fleming went to Twain. Twain, Dunn and Kerslake were present, so they became the only four people who knew about the matter.

Twain frowned and listened to Fleming’s retelling of the incident and had a bad feeling about it.

As far as he knew, in his previous world, after ?ech was struck by the Reading player, he had suffered from a fractured skull and fell unconscious on the spot. At one point, his life was in jeopardy. Unexpectedly in just three months, he was back on the field, wearing a “tank helmet” to protect his head as he guarded the goal for Chelsea and was still in the world’s top three most outstanding goalkeepers.

This matter made Twain maintain a certain degree of optimism about what happened to Paul Gerrard. He believed that since ?ech could recover in three months, then there would not be a problem if they conservatively gave Gerrard eight months to recover?

He was not a professional doctor and did not have any medical knowledge about the head area. He just took the reference of ?ech’s actual experience and thought Gerrard would be all right too.

“I’m not a cranial expert either,” Fleming said to Twain. “But I don’t think a full physical examination is necessary. What we need to check is Paul Gerrard’s head. And it’s not just about a fracture, it’s the nerves in his head, I suspect...”

Twain, who had been silent while he listened to Fleming, interrupted him. He had made up his mind. “You’ll take Paul to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University tomorrow. Professor Constantine and I will be there, waiting for you both.”

Renowned throughout the British medical community, Constantine was a neurological expert. Fleming was also aware of that as a doctor. Since Professor Constantine was personally in charge, he has nothing to worry about.

He nodded.

※※※

The next day, Paul Gerrard went to the hospital with Fleming and met Manager Tony Twain and Professor Constantine there.

When he saw the two men, Gerrard had a bad feeling and felt that things were not simple. Otherwise why would the boss be here? Wasn’t he supposed to be at the training ground leading the team in training? The Champions League final was looming, and he had no reason or time to be there, especially for a substitute goalkeeper’s medical checkup.

When Twain saw Gerrard, he smiled and held out his hand to him, “Good morning, Paul. You look well.” Next he introduced Gerrard to the old man next to him.

“This is Professor Constantine, the most famous neuro expert in the country.”

Constantine smiled at Gerrard and shook his hand, “Hello, Paul. Tony has told me all about you, and I would like to run a few simple tests on you.”

After hearing the introduction, Gerrard’s bad feelings became a reality.

He hesitantly shook hands with Professor Constantine and forced a smile.

Twain did not speak at the side and observed everything.

Constantine also noticed Paul Gerrard’s uneasiness, so he smiled and patted Gerrard on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, lad, it’s just a simple checkup.” He winked at Gerrard and led him to a neuro examination.

Fleming and Twain did not follow. They feared that it placed a greater psychological burden on Gerrard if a group of people tagged along.

Gerrard, who followed Constantine, was like a helpless child, terrified of the unfathomable future.

He looked back at Twain and Fleming. Twain smiled at him until he walked far enough away for him to stop.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have put Akinfeev back on loan... it caused us to rely on van der Sar alone for a season.” Sitting on a bench in the hallway of the hospital, Twain pulled out his cigarette and lighter, intending to light a cigarette for himself.

“Who knew that this would happen?” Fleming pointed to the no smoking sign on the wall.

When Twain looked up and saw it, he put the cigarette and the lighter away.

The empty hallway plunged into a silence, and no one spoke until Constantine led Paul Gerrard back to them.

“Okay, it is done.” Professor Constantine nodded to Twain. Then he turned to Gerrard. “The test results won’t come out till tomorrow. We’ll call the club directly when it does.”

Gerrard did not raise any objections. Twain stood up and patted him on the shoulder, “Go back and have a good rest, Paul. You don’t need to train today.”

After he sent off Paul Gerrard and Fleming from the hospital, Twain turned back.

“I know you have something else to say to me.” Constantine was not surprised by Twain’s sudden prod.

“I want to know the results of the examination.” Twain asked straight to the point.

“When the results come out, I’ll call you tomorrow...”

“Come on, professor, don’t treat me like Gerrard.” Twain walked over and sat down, “I won’t go until you tell me the truth.”

Constantine shook his head with a wry smile. He was powerless against such a rascal.

“In truth, the results of the examination have really not come out.” Constantine got up from his seat and went up to Twain to hand him a glass of water. “But I can talk about my personal thoughts. His area here,” he pointed to his head as he spoke, “is not looking too good.”

“Is the eight-month recovery period still not enough?” Twain muttered.

“No, it has nothing to do with the amount of time, Tony.” Constantine corrected. “I think even if you give him two years of recovery time, it would still not be enough.”

Twain raised his head to look at Constantine, shocked. “You mean...”

“I don’t think he’s fit to be a professional goalkeeper anymore.”

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck Twain. He froze for a moment and then shook his head, “What are you talking about, Professor?”

“He suffered a severe impact in his head. Although he has recovered from his surgery and I think there is no problem for him to live out an ordinary life, he’s no longer suited for fierce professional football.” Constantine explained more in more detail.

“Not everyone can resume their careers after such a serious injury,” Constantine said with an apologetic expression.

Twain suddenly stood up from his seat, which startled him.

He looked at Constantine with an expression that made the professor uncomfortable. However, he soon lowered his head and looked up again without the unnerving expression in his eyes. “But Professor, the test results have not come out yet, have they?”

Stunned for a moment, Constantine nodded. “Yes, the results are not out yet. What I had just said was based on my personal judgment and experience. Perhaps the situation is not so bad?” He shrugged his shoulders and tried to smile with ease.

Twain smiled at him, too. This man was a resounding figure in the country’s medical world and had been engaged in clinical research for many years. His experience was a source of wealth itself. When he said his diagnosis was based on his personal experience, he would be right most of the time.

“In that case, I’ll wait for your call tomorrow, Professor.” Twain waved his hand as he left Constantine’s office.

In the car back to the training base, Twain sat in the back without talking. Driving in the front seat, Landy did not feel right to ask. He knew that Tony must have encountered a problem. This man always looked fearless but in fact, he had a lot of worries inside. The other people would not know, but as someone who could almost be considered as “a private driver” to Twain, he was well aware of it.

Twain was thinking of a football fantasy novel he had read before he transferred. It was a novel that was quite well known on the Internet. After the protagonist suffered from an injury that could potentially destroy his entire career, he had been miraculously cured by an unknown Chinese physician, and his ability went up another level as if he had not had an injury, but had taken a tonic. It was an online fantasy novel, so the appearance of the plotline was normal. But in his view, it was because it happened to the protagonist. If it had been another character, the author might have arranged for the character to be a tragic character — like the example of the protagonist’s poor high school classmate.

At the time, he regarded everything that happened to the protagonist as a fantasy plot of the novel. Now the cruel reality had appeared, blood-drenched, in front of him.

How big a blow would it be to a professional footballer like Paul Gerrard if he could no longer continue his career?

Indeed, Twain admitted that Paul was not capable enough to be the main goalkeeper. His character was ordinary, not very appealing, and the media was not concerned with him. It was as if he was born as a supporting character. But in Twain’s eyes, he was one of his players. In his world, there was no difference between the leading and supporting characters. They were all the same, played for him and received his training.

You’re not the leading character, Paul Gerrard... If you want the lead role, fate will show you the light of miracles and bring you back to your feet from the dark abyss of hell. No matter how preposterous and unthinkable this fate may seem, as long as you are the central character.

He sighed softly.

When Eastwood was injured and wanted to give up, he ran to the hospital and said to him that fate was like a net with different paths entangled and intertwined together. It was up to him to choose. Eastwood, the optimistic Romani, chose to move forward. He could not even say that to Paul Gerrard because fate did not even give him a chance to choose. Maybe for Paul Gerrard, fate was a straight line up and down without a fork in the road like a sheep’s intestines. It never gave him a moment of glory. Having met the right manager after much difficulty and had the hope to touch the championship trophy, he had to face the problem of whether he would face retirement or die on the field one day due to this damned serious injury.

Was this considered a choice?

G*ddamnit!

※※※

The next day, Professor Constantine directly called Twain’s cell phone. He was training the team, and Paul Gerrard was on the training ground doing a separate training with the goalkeeper coach.

“Not good news.” Constantine did not openly say “bad news.” He probably took Twain’s feelings into account. He knew the man cared a lot about his players, looked after them well, and treated them as if they were his own family.

Twain was in a better mood than Constantine thought. Perhaps because he figured some things out on his way back to the training base yesterday. When he heard Constantine, he did not show that his heart had sunk. Instead, he silently waited for the professor to finish speaking.

“As a doctor, I recommend letting him retire.”

His eyes watched Paul Gerrard behind his sunglasses, but the owner of the eyes still did not talk.

Both men were quiet for a moment at both ends of the line.

“Is there no other way?” asked Twain.

“I don’t joke about other people’s lives, Tony.” Constantine’s tone was exceptionally serious. It was only at that point that Twain was able to reconcile him as a doctor who worked on research. “He’s lucky that he did not die from that injury. I’m not trying to frighten you with my alarmist talk. In 1931, the 22-year-old Celtic goalkeeper, John Thomson saved the shot by the Rangers striker, Sam English at the famous Glasgow derby but also sustained a fractured skull from the collision. He lost his life in the hospital five hours later. The good thing is that Paul survived. But if he returns to the field again, his brain injury could lead to life-threatening injuries. He will face what is medically known as ‘second impact syndrome.’ Once the injured area suffers another impact, it could be fatal even if the collision was not fierce. And...”

He paused for a moment before he continued. “I asked him some questions yesterday if there were any other problems besides the vision blurriness, headaches, and slow response. He told me that he has had intermittent amnesia recently. So I want to correct what I said to you yesterday about his daily life not being affected. He has already been affected. His symptoms are mild for now. If treatment is maintained, the symptoms can be managed, but once he takes part in a fierce professional competition... God only knows what’s going to happen. English football, as you know, is an intense league tournament.”

Twain knew this. Injuries were all too common for people who played in the English league, but a collision to the head was definitely not as commonplace.

“So... retirement is the only way?” Twain asked.

“Yes, Tony.”

Constantine answered simply and without hesitation. He announced the death penalty for a professional athlete just like that.

“Thank you, Professor. I owe you another favor.”

“Don’t say that, Tony. I’m also a fan of the Forest team and I don’t want any of the Forest players to leave. But at the same time, I’m a doctor and I have to be responsible for my patients.”

“I know, I understand. Goodbye, Professor. Now I’m going to worry about how to break it to Paul...”

After he hung up the phone, Twain watched the training for a while on the sidelines. He found that Paul Gerrard quickly finished his training and walked off the field.

The goalkeeper coach noticed that Twain had looked that way. He pointed to his temples, and then shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands.

Paul had to stop practice early because of an attack of headaches. It looked like things had gotten worse.

Some players noticed that Gerrard left the training ground early, and they whispered to each other. Everyone was happy when Paul had announced his return, because the boss had said that he did not want anyone to be left behind when they went to Athens. He wanted everyone to be present. With the most serious injury, Paul was able to return to the team, so everyone felt they were ready for the final game, and the championship title had to be theirs.

Now it appeared as if the problem was not as simple as they had thought.

Kerslake whistled loudly to remind everyone that they were still in training and that it was time to take a break.

Twain stood on the sidelines for a while, waiting for Paul’s figure to disappear completely. He was likely to go shower and change in the locker room before he quietly left the training ground.

He wanted to go to the locker room and talk to Paul. Even though it was cruel, he was going to lay the cards out. It was better than risking Paul’s life.

Football was just football after all. It could not and should be more important than life.

He ran into Paul Gerrard outside the locker room entrance. The latter had just taken a shower and changed his clothes.

“Are you going back, Paul?” Twain asked, startling the other man.

“Why are you here, boss?” After he clearly saw who it was, Paul was a little embarrassed.

“Why can’t I be here?” said Twain with a grin, trying not to let the other man guess his intentions from his face. “Are you going home, Paul?” He asked again.

Paul Gerrard did not immediately answer. He kept quiet for a while before he tentatively opened his mouth to speak. “No, I was going to look for you, boss.”

“Look for me?” Twain did not need to fake the surprise on his face.

“Yes.” Gerrard nodded. “I have thought for a long time, and asked my wife for advice... She disapproved of continuing to play football.”

Gerrard said it easily, or deliberately made his tone sound relaxed, but Twain’s heart was not at ease at all. What he had wanted to say to Gerrard was spoken by the other man first...

Should he be relieved, or feel worse?

“What are your thoughts?”

“I think I should listen to my wife.” Gerrard smiled at Twain. “I’m afraid of death, too, and I’m scared that I don’t know when I’m going to die on the field. Although I have always been a substitute goalkeeper and there are not many opportunities to play, there will be times when I have to play.”

Looking at his smile, Twain felt a little sad. He wanted to smile and comfort the other man but could not smile.

“So... I decided to retire at the end of the season.”

Twain had many words inside but did not know where to start. He could only look at Gerrard.

With that, Gerrard breathed a sigh of relief and clapped his hands. “You see, boss. A lot of people say it’s hard to make a retirement decision, but I have said it now. In fact, it’s nothing other than my body just doesn’t want me to keep playing, so I will retire. It’s as simple as that.”

Twain smiled. “Yes, it’s that simple.” He did not know what else to say.

Gerrard looked more at ease after he said what he had to say. He smiled and asked, “boss, do you see any work at the club that I can do? Even turf maintenance will do.”

Twain’s brain fired up. He winked at Gerrard. “Seriously, I want you to stay on the team and be a goalkeeper coach.”

Gerrard froze for a moment. He did not think Twain was joking.

“I need someone to help me and you’re the person for it, Paul. What do you think?”

“I... I have to go back and ask my wife.” Gerrard said hesitatingly.

Twain laughed. “What a henpecked man!”

His mood greatly improved.

Retirement was nothing but the end of a journey, and the beginning of another journey. Even though he could not be a player, he could still be a coach. If he loved football so much, it did not matter what he did. Retirement? That was just a conventional statement.

※※※

After he said goodbye to Gerrard, Twain returned to the training ground and found the players on a break. The coaches also gathered and chatted together during the water break.

When he saw him come back, Dunn quietly walked over.

“All settled?”

Twain nodded.

“What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t say much. He did all the talking... He brought up his hope of a retirement to me and he seemed to have already decided.” Twain’s eyes wandered as he spoke. He looked around, and not many people noticed his conversation with Dunn. He did not want the news to leak out before the Champions League final. “I did not persuade him, nor did I know how to persuade him. But I suggested that he can be the team’s goalkeeper coach after retiring, whether it’s in the youth team or the adults’ team. What do you think?”

Dunn nodded. “It’s a good idea.”

“Poor man...” Twain sighed. “Tell Andy, have him to do simple training these few days. I’m worried about what can go wrong during training.”

“Do you still plan on taking him to Athens?” asked Dunn.

Twain turned to glance at him. “If not, what will happen? He’s the substitute goalkeeper for Edwin van der Sar, and our second goalkeeper. Previously it was because of his injury, and now that he’s back from his recovery, why can’t we take him to Athens?”

“I didn’t mean like that.” Dunn shook his head.

Twain turned around to look at Dunn. “Dunn, I know he’s just a substitute goalkeeper. Even if his retirement does not affect our strength, even though he’s not the leading character, not the core player, not the kind of great man that makes the earth go around, he’s still a Nottingham Forest player and my player. I don’t fancy that everyone follows me wholeheartedly. There are no moments of glory in his career, so I hope to give him one last glory before he retires... At the very least, I want him to hold the trophy wearing his jersey instead of sitting in the stands wearing a suit.”

Chapter 544 - A Friend from Afar

Twain ordered a tight seal on the news about Paul Gerrard’s retirement. Other than him, Dunn, Kerslake, the team doctor, Fleming, and Professor Constantine, it was not to be revealed to anyone else, even the players and the other staff members on the team. Twain also reminded Paul Gerrard not to announce his retirement until after the Champions League final.

Gerrard understood. It was a critical moment for the team and his personal matters should not affect the team’s preparation.

The team would leave for Athens in three days. This time, everyone was present. No one was missing from the entire team of twenty-two players.

The two other players, Kris Commons on loan to Watford and the goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, who returned to CSKA Moscow on a loan, both received a red envelope from the Nottingham Forest Football Club containing a ticket to the UEFA Champions League final after they finished their respective seasons.

Twain did not know if the other clubs would send tickets to the players who had been on loan and had not contributed to the team after they reached the Champions League final or a similar major tournament final. He did not refer to the other teams before. He had just thought he should let those players also feel the glory of the team, which was conducive to developing their cohesiveness as a team and was also a means to win them over.

Sure enough, Kris Commons was very happy when he received the ticket. Akinfeev, who was preparing for his vacation in Russia, also called to inform that he would be going to watch the final.

Distributing tickets everywhere before the final seemed to have become customary for Twain.

In addition to having the club send tickets to the two players overseas, Twain personally had a bunch of tickets waiting to be sent as well.

Clarice Gloria in the United States called Twain to thank him for the ticket to the final game. She even said that she would definitely make it no matter how busy she was, for it was important to support friends.

※※※

Michael Bernard had just returned home after he finished his day’s work when he heard the doorbell ringing before he could change his shoes.

“Michael,” His wife, Fiona shouted from inside the kitchen. “Go and get the door.”

“I’m right at the door,” Michael replied as he turned to open the door.

A young man wearing a cap with a “FedEx” logo on it stood in front of him and asked, “Mr. Michael Bernard?”

“That’s me.” Michael nodded.

“Your package.” The young man took an envelope out of the bag. “Please sign for it.”

Michael took the receipt and pulled out his pen to sign his name before he gave it back. The young man handed the envelope to Michael and left.

Michael opened the outer packaging, and a red envelope appeared before his eyes. It looked familiar because he had gotten the item two years in a row.

Even though it looked familiar, it did not mean that it was not a surprise. Michael was surprised when he opened the envelope and saw a Champions League final ticket fall out. He thought the time had turned back, and today was a year ago.

He bent over to pick up the ticket and checked the date. Indeed, it was for 2007. This means...

That kid has led the team to advance to the Champions League final for two years in a row?

Michael looked up at the ceiling.

The scene that emerged in front of his eyes was the Forest team making it to the Champions League final twenty-seven years ago. Having been away from England for three years, he did not know what the current situation was, nor could he imagine it.

Football...

He had not cared about these things for a long time, and now everything related to football was relegated to his previous memories. He did not watch the games or read news reports about football. He did not even know Nottingham Forest’s current ranking in the Premier League. When his old friends from Nottingham made occasional calls, they never spoke of anything related to football or Nottingham Forest.

He was no longer a fanatical fan, but a white-collar worker who worked at an energy company from nine to five daily and lived a simple life of shuttling between home and work.

It had been three years and he was used to it. He did not feel anything bad. Having lost his son, he now wanted to spend time with his wife and make up for his previous mistakes.

He had no other hopes. This was life and living.

Although he thought this way, he still picked up the ticket and looked at it carefully.

The ticket had the striking Champions League familiar five-star logo. It was the same twenty-seven years ago, and it was still the case twenty-seven years later.

People said that the winning teams engraved their names on the glittering championship trophy. He had carved his youth on it.

Shaking the envelope, he found nothing else but this ticket. There was no written note of greetings nor had there ever been a phone call. The relationship between him and Tony Twain seemed to be only left with this one ticket. If the Forest team did not reach the Champions League final in another season, perhaps they would not even have this ticket.

Friends needed to be sustained with care. Close friendships could slowly fade when there had not been any contact for a long time. Michael had no doubt that if the tickets were not sent to him, he would have completely forgotten the manager he had once knew in Nottingham.

Now, the ticket in hand was the witness and maintenance of their entire friendship. It was really fragile...

Michael did not resent that Twain had never called him and said nothing except to send tickets, because he had betrayed the friendship of two people. What was he supposed to do when he was a father who had lost his son?

“Mike, who is it?” Fiona could not help but ask in the kitchen when she did not hear a peep for a long while.

“Ah, just a boring salesman, chattering away. I managed to get rid of him.” Michael put the ticket back into the red envelope and put it in his briefcase.

A lousy salesman who did not mind taking great pains to sell him a dream.

— Do you have a dream, Michael?

— We certainly like victory. We’d also want the team to return to the Premier League after this season, we also love to be the damn champion of the league next season and be king of Europe next season!

His hand paused for a moment on the briefcase when he put the envelope with the ticket back in.

※※※

It was the last day before they would leave for Athens, Greece. The team only had a simple training. The training time was not long and not as intense. The players, who tensely prepared for the game, were given a rare break. They were put on a half day of leave by Twain and went back to relax with their families and partners.

Twain believed in a traditional Chinese wisdom, which could play a huge role when it came to coaching a European professional football team.

Tension alternating with relaxation.

Besides, without half a day off, he would not be able to deal with his own affairs.

Another year had passed, and he had made some new friends. He did not have to worry about the many tickets in his hands as he did a year ago. Shania, Fasal, Mr. Armani... These people had received tickets for the Champions League final sent to them by Twain the past few days.

After he put Michael Bernard’s ticket in the mail, he only had one left on hand. Thinking back to a year ago, when his Forest team first broke into the Champions League qualifying tournament, he had six tickets in his hand and had no one to give them to, so he took them to Gavin’s grave in the end and burnt them all.

This time, he had wanted to give Gavin a few more tickets to keep as a memento but it was not possible.

With his last ticket, he got on the tram heading for the suburbs. On the afternoon before he left for Athens, he came to deliver the last ticket.

Twain bought a bunch of fresh flowers outside the church and wrote “To Dear Gavin” before he came to the small cemetery behind the church with the flowers.

It was always quiet there. He had been here a few times, and there was no one else but himself. However, this time, he saw a man.

With his back to him, that man stood in front of a tombstone.

Twain only glanced at him in the beginning, thinking that perhaps the stranger had come to mourn a loved one, so he did not pay him any mind. But as he walked closer, he realized that the man was standing right where he was going — in front of Gavin Bernard’s tombstone.

This was strange. Normally, few people would visit Gavin’s rest place. Even if anyone was here, Twain would know that person at a glance. With his head tilted to the side, he scrutinized the man standing there with his back toward him for a long time and was unable to identify him. John was a fat man, and Bill was much thinner than this man. There was also George Wood, but Twain was so familiar with the kid’s build that he would never mistake him. Who was this man?

Twain deliberately made his footsteps louder so that the man would turn his head when he heard the sounds.

Twain was stunned in the moment the two men met gazes.

He seemed to be struck by a thunderbolt as he stood in place without reacting for a long time.

Who did he see? Although he was a little changed, it was indeed that person.

He thought he had hallucinated him.

The man standing opposite him looked a little embarrassed and surprised.

The two old friends who had not seen each other for three years were reunited again in a place like this. It was bound to be awkward.

“I’m… not seeing things, right, Michael?” Twain asked when he regained his composure.

Michael Bernard turned around and walked over. “I’m really surprised to see you here, Tony.”

“I should be the one saying that. I come here every year, but I’m... seeing you here for the first time.” Twain’s tone was a little unfriendly as he still brooded over the matter of Michael dumping them and running away.

Michael certainly discerned the implied meaning in Twain’s tone, and he smiled bitterly, offering no explanation.

Twain looked at his old friend in front of him, whose face was paler than before. His former beard on his chin was shaved smooth and his hair was meticulously combed close to the scalp using hair gel with not a hair out of place. He wore a pair of black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose and a stylish black suit, looking like a gentleman.

Twain snorted. “I could hardly recognize you. Are you Michael Bernard, that foul-mouthed fan who used to drink all day in a bar? Congratulations, it looks like your new life in the United States has been good.”

“Your acrimonious way of speaking has not changed at all, Tony.” Michael smiled wryly again. He seemed to have no other expression other than a wry smile when he saw his old friend.

This remark flummoxed Twain. In truth, he did not want to speak to Michael in this way. But when he saw him like this, he did not know why he could not control himself and spoke meanly the moment he opened his mouth as if he had intended to do so right from the beginning, like he would be very uncomfortable if he did not vent his feelings.

“Consider yourself lucky that I didn’t punch you in the face, Michael.” When Twain finished, he went around Michael Bernard and put the bouquet in his hand in front of Gavin’s tombstone.

Bernard turned and saw him pull out another piece of paper from his pocket — a ticket.

Twain took out the lighter in his other hand and lit the ticket in front of the tombstone.

The two men stayed quiet, staring at the flame, until the flame was about to lick Twain’s fingers and he threw the ticket down. The ticket burnt to ashes before it reached the ground. Then a gust of wind blew from the forest and scattered the ashes into the air.

“Every time you receive a ticket, I’ll come here and send Gavin one. I burn it — that’s how I give it to him.” Twain said with his back toward Michael. “How many times have you received it?”

“Three times.”

“I have burnt it three times. Six tickets the first time, two for the second time, and the third time... was this one ticket. You see, you’ve got a whole new life, and I’ve made a lot of new friends I can send the tickets to. We’ve all changed.” He spread his hands. “But I will certainly leave this one ticket to Gavin.”

“Thank you.”

The tension between the two men gradually eased.

Twain turned to look at Michael and asked, “Why did you come back this time? Just to see your son?”

“Business trip.” Michael replied.

Twain whistled. “What a busy man. Travelling to Nottingham for work?”

“No.” Michael shook his head. “I’m going on a business trip to Athens.”

Twain froze for a moment and saw Michael reach into his pocket and pull out a red envelope. He recognized the envelope because it was the club envelope with the ticket that he had sent to Michael himself.

Michael pulled the ticket out of the envelope.

“I have resigned from work just to watch the game.”

“You’re out of your mind!” Twain cried, “What about your wife? Did she agree to this?”

“Fiona certainly won’t agree, but she’ll agree to my business trip.”

“Did you lie to her?” Twain held his head. “You’re screwed, your new life is over.”

“That’s strange, I thought you’d be happy that I came back to watch the game.” Michael said without an expression on his face.

“Don’t get me wrong, Michael. I want you to come and watch the game but not if you lose your job and deceive your wife. Do you know why I didn’t say anything except to send a ticket? I don’t even call to persuade you to come watch the game? I was afraid something like that would happen.” He pointed to Michael. “It’s just a game.”

“Just a game?” asked Michael. “I think it’s you who got it wrong, Tony. This is the UEFA Champions League final!” He raised his volume, “The last time I saw the Forest team break into the Champions League final was in May 1980. It’s now 2007! It’s a game that’s only come around once in twenty-seven years for me. I can always look for another job. I’m afraid I’ll have to wait another twenty-seven years again if I let such an opportunity go... How many more twenty-seven years will I have, Tony?”

Looking at Michael’s white hair on top of his head, Twain was silent.

“I’ll explain to Fiona. Of course, I’m not giving up on my family, so you don’t have to worry about it. Why are you always concerned about someone’s wife, Tony?”

Twain punched Michael in the chest. “You ungrateful idiot!”

Then he hugged him. “Should I say welcome back, Michael?”

“Up to you. I’m just back to watch the game and I have to go back to America when the game is over.”

“Of course, I don’t expect you to stay here. You have your life, Michael. That’s good, I hope you don’t give up on football, and I don’t want you to give up your life. You know that, right?”

Michael Bernard nodded. “I’m not a fanatical fan anymore. I know this a lot more than you do, Tony.”

“That’s good, that’s good...” murmured Twain.

“By the way, I ran into George when I came here,” Michael Bernard said, pointing to his feet.

“George Wood?”

“Yes, he was giving Gavin flowers.”

As he listened to Michael, Twain noticed that there were three bunches of flowers on Gavin’s tombstone and not two.

“Did you guys talk?” He asked.

“No, I nodded to him, and he nodded to me. After he saw that I came, he just turned and left.”

Twain thought this was quite in line with George’s personality.

“He’s a big star player now,” Twain said simply.

Michael nodded, “I know. When I arrived, I bought some newspapers and magazines, and the local media wrote about him. He became the captain of the Forest team, was selected for the England team, and even played in the World Cup... I can’t believe it.”

The two men glanced back at Gavin’s tombstone at the same time.

He was George’s first fan, and he predicted exactly that George would be a big star player one day but was not able to wait for that day himself.

“I’m grateful that he still remembers Gavin.” Michael spoke in a low voice.

“No one ever forgets Gavin.” Twain patted this old man on the shoulder and asked, “Since you’ve been back, have you gone to the Forest bar?”

“No.”

“Let’s go and have a few drinks together. The old gang will be happy to see you back, even if you’re here to just watch the game and go.”

With that, Twain pulled Michael along and out of the hushed cemetery.

Three bouquets of flowers swayed gently in the breeze. There were some black spots on the petals from the ashes from the burnt ticket.

※※※

Kenny Burns and everyone were taken aback by Michael Bernard’s return. They could hardly recognize Michael, who wore glasses and had changed his outfit. Fat John was the first to rush up and hug him before everyone was convinced that the man standing in front of them was indeed their former leader and brother, Michael Bernard.

“Welcome back, Michael!” Burns handed him a pint.

“Every time Tony sends you a ticket, I say to him ‘Don’t get your hopes up, that guy’s not coming back.’ I guess I was wrong, but I’m glad I’m wrong.” Fat John said movingly as he hugged Michael. “Michael, we can sing together in the stands again!”

“And show those bastards who despise us!” Skinny Bill added.

Twain stood, smiling, as he observed the reunion of friends. He was no longer angry with Michael. Just like he said, football was football and life was life. Everyone had their path and not everyone could live by football alone.

“I’m so sorry, John, Bill. But I can only come back to watch this game,” Michael said apologetically.

“That’s okay, that’s okay.” John shook his head. “One game is fine; it is enough. This is the Champions League final! It’s been twenty-seven years and we can watch the Champions League final again together!”

There were not many people in the pub in the afternoon. Most of them were Michael’s old friends. Everyone gathered together to hold up their glasses and drink to Michael’s return.

When everyone settled down, they then noticed Twain standing next to them.

John turned his head and looked at Twain with a smile on his face, “Hello, Tony. I want you to promise me.”

Twain raised his eyebrows.

“Michael had returned after much difficulty. This is the first time all of us are getting together again after twenty-seven years to watch the Champions League final. Do you have the heart to make him come here for nothing?” John looked around, and everyone shouted in succession.

“That’s right! If we lose again, we won’t let you get away with it, Tony!”

“I don’t care what bullshit reason you can have this time. Just don’t lose!”

“You must win! Tony, you have said before that a manager who can’t lead the team to win the championship title, and secure the victory is f**king rotten! If you lose again, I promise you’ll hear shouts of ‘rotten’ every time you play at home!”

“Champion! We don’t accept any results other than the championship trophy!”

“We’ve f**king waited for twenty-seven years. We’re impatient and don’t want to wait any longer!”

For a moment, there were all sorts of growls in the pub, and no other sound could be heard.

In the face of these fanatical fans, Twain was not in a hurry to speak. He just smiled until everyone calmed down before he spread out his hands. “Is there anyone here who doubts my desire for victory and the championship title? You’ve all watched how I went from a rookie to now.”

Everyone laughed when he said he was a rookie. It was true that when he first entered the pub for a drink, he was ridiculed by Michael and his men. How would everyone know that there would be a day like that?

“Besides, I have made a bet with the whole of Italy that if I lose, I’m going to jump into the sea. Do you think I’m the kind of coward who can tolerate disgracing myself in front of the enemy?”

Michael suddenly interjected loudly, “Hey, Tony! I am conflicted here. Of course, we want Nottingham Forest to win the Champions League, but we also want to see you jump into the sea. What to do?”

The crowd roared and laughed.

“Stop dreaming, Michael! You can only choose one!” Twain brandished his fists at him.

“Without a doubt, it will be the championship title.” Michael shrugged.

“I am like all of you. I do not accept any results other than the championship title. Not before, not now and not later!” Twain waved his fists hard and assumed the stance like how he rallied the players in the locker room. “I’ll tell you this. No one can rob what belongs to us!”

Everyone whistled excitedly.

Twain raised the glass in his hand and cried, “don’t just drink. Come and have a toast, guys.”

Michael raised his glass high, turned to the people in the pub and shouted, “For the championship title—”

John also followed suit to raise his glass and cheered, “For another championship title after twenty-seven years—”

Bill shouted till he was hoarse, “For the king of Europe—”

“Cheers!”

Chapter 545 - The Gatecrashers

Michael came back to watch the game, which improved Twain’s lousy mood caused by Paul Gerrard’s retirement. What could be more delightful than the return of a former friend?

Although Michael was only back to watch the game, it was enough.

A day later, he left Nottingham with the entire team. Sent off happily by the fans, they left the UK and flew to Athens.

With two days until the final game, they would have a simple training in Athens, and then everyone would have a half-day break. It had become Twain’s habit to give the team half a day off to forget the game and relax before each major final game.

On the same day, Serie A powerhouse AC Milan arrived in Athens. They were warmly welcomed at the airport, as a large number of Italian fans had come due to the proximity. The last time in Istanbul, Turkey, the hardcore AC Milan fans had experienced a night of heartbreak. And now AC Milan was facing a team from England again, and they hoped their support would allow the team to beat Nottingham Forest and pick up the championship trophy.

There were more AC Milan fans welcoming the team at the airport than fans welcoming Nottingham Forest. They held up the banners and waved AC Milan’s flags and scarves which made the terminal look like it was filled with their people.

After all, the AC Milan team was the first to arrive according to flight times. It was understandable that they were so active. The Nottingham Forest fans who arrived at the airport early temporarily retreated as they coolly watched their opponents at the side. Only a handful of fans wearing Forest jerseys went up to the AC Milan fans to express their amicability. The scene was soon captured by the media, promoting that fans across the world were a family.

According to the time on the schedule, the flight from Milan would arrive on time at 10:30 A.M.. However, it was eleven o’clock, and there had been no sight of the plane yet. The arrival information of the flight on the monitor had changed to “delayed.”

The lively AC Milan fans gradually quieted down and put down the fluttering flags. Some people sat on the floor so as to preserve their energy for the big push.

Others called to inquire, and soon a message began to spread among them — due to the weather in Milan, the plane took off an hour later than scheduled and was now on its way. If there were no more surprises, they would arrive in Greece at 11:30 A.M..

Someone looked up at the large information monitor, where the flight information for all international flights was being constantly refreshed.

The flight information for the flight from Milan was still delayed.

Just below that line, the flight information for the plane from London was refreshed — 11:30 arrival time.

In the corner, the Forest fans cheered when they saw the news. Some of them also stood up, waved their flags and began to clap and sing.

The numerous media outlets, waiting for the flights at the airport, could not help but laugh when they saw the latest information.

They knew that the flight from Milan would be an hour late and arrive at the airport at 11:30, and the flight from London carrying Nottingham Forest would also arrive at 11:30. This was fantastic. The reporters got excited as the realization that they had a chance to watch a good show.

Everyone knew that Tony Twain was not on good terms with AC Milan. Last summer, both sides had launched a verbal war in the media over the offer price for Anelka. Twain publicly mocked AC Milan for being calculative and not having the bearing of a powerhouse club at all. They acted like they were a landlord shooing away a beggar when they made the offer to purchase Anelka from the Forest team. AC Milan had always attached great importance to the image of their club and did not tolerate Twain undisguised slander. Because of this, both sides had been at loggerheads ever since.

This was well-known throughout the whole of Europe. Now that the two arch rivals were about to arrive at the same time, how could there not be a good show based on Twain’s character?

The reporters, who had planned to take a break due to the delayed flight from Milan, sprang into action. The cameras and recording equipment were pointed at the exit, even though there was still half an hour before 11:30.

※※※

It was not a charter flight. Not all the passengers in the large Boeing plane were players and coaches from Nottingham Forest. There were also the other passengers going to Greece, and a large proportion of the passengers were media people.

The entire team was in the first-class cabin, separated from the back, while the media could only sit in the economy class. Only one reporter sat in first class with the team, and that was Pierce Brosnan, the reporter from Nottingham Evening Post.

There were some people in the sports journalists circle who joked that Nottingham Evening Post was quickly becoming Nottingham Forest Newsletter and Pierce Brosnan was the special correspondent for the Forest team.

But looking at the reporters sitting in the economy class, who could deny that the statement was borne of jealousy?

“This is really unfair. We’re all journalists. Why is it that a certain someone can talk and laugh in the first class with the interviewees, and we can only sit here and do nothing?” a reporter complained.

His companion next to him consoled him. “Come on, it’s already nice that we’re allowed to take the same flight as them. The guy from The Sun did not even have the right to board the same flight.”

“This is not fair. It’s not their charter flight, they don’t have the power to do that.”

“Sure, it’s not their charter. But Twain said that if he were to be on the same flight as The Sun reporter, then he would change to another flight.”

“Such self-important airs...” the first man grumbled.

“What can we do since he’s doing well now?”

“That’s strange. Why haven’t I seen the news reports on this? With The Sun’s usual way of working, it would have been blown wide open, wouldn’t it?”

The man next to him smiled. “The Sun has already filed the entire story on this matter, but now is not the time to push it out. Do you know? They have the exclusive right to cover Twain’s jump into the sea once he loses. They are just waiting to see Nottingham Forest lose, and then they will publish all the dirty details when they cover his jump into the sea, so that it will be sensational. They’ll say?‘look, this is the reason why Tony Twain is always losing!’ And then, there will be a barrage of criticism and bashing... anyway, it will be a good show.”

※※※

Pierce Brosnan did not simply sit in his seat. After the plane stabilized, he unbuckled his seat belt and scuttled back and forth between the seats. Time was precious, and once he reached Athens, he would not be in such close proximity to the Forest players. He wanted to take the opportunity to complete his first interview.

Twain looked back at him. “Mr. Reporter, don’t disturb my guys’ rest.”

“I know, I’m only looking for those people who look more spirited than I am.” Brosnan turned around to reply and changed his target again.

Dunn and Twain turned around at the same time and saw that very few players were resting. Most of them looked more energetic than Brosnan.

“Everyone is very excited,” Dunn said.

“I hope they don’t get too excited.” Twain muttered. He looked at Dunn next to him and suddenly remembered something.

“Oddly, there’s no annoying female Chinese reporter on this flight.”

“You mean Tang Jing?”

“Who else would it be? The list of media that hoped to be on the same flight submitted to us did not have her name, nor did it have the name of the company she represents.” Twain looked at Dunn. “Did she say anything to you about it?”

Dunn smiled. “Why? Got used to seeing her around?”

Twain grunted. “Don’t change the subject.”

“She went to Athens early. It’s as simple as that.”

“So boring. I thought she suddenly grew a conscience and decided not to pester us anymore.” Twain smirked.

“You’re disappointed. Looks like you’re not used to not having her around.” Dunn said.

Twain rolled his eyes and found a hole to poke at. “You even know her itinerary. To what extent has your relationship developed?”

Dunn’s face flushed, and he did not speak. Twain burst into laughter to show he won.

They were not afraid of being overheard as they used Mandarin to chat with each other.

The plane gave a jolt before the flight attendant’s gentle voice heard on the intercom. “Dear passengers, we have arrived over Athens and the plane is starting its descent. All passengers please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts.”

Brosnan quickly returned to his seat. His interview was over.

When Twain heard the flight attendant, he raised his hand to look at his watch. It was 11.20 A.M..

He out the window at the roofs of the buildings.

Athens, here we come.

※※※

The hall of the Airport Terminal 1 building was buzzing. Both AC Milan and Nottingham Forest fans all stood up and flocked toward the arrival point.

The monitor on the side displayed the latest flight arrival information:

The flight from Milan had landed.

The flight from London had landed.

The first song to be heard was Nottingham Forest’s, since the English fans were best at expressing their feelings with songs.

They attracted the attention of the media, and the cameras and recording equipment pointed at them.

Across from them, AC Milan fans were not willing to allow attention to be taken away by the English, so they also burst into song. More than half the media diverted toward AC Milan’s side.

The game had not yet begun, and the fans were already competing.

Well aware that the two teams would arrive on the same day, the airport was prepared with security. After all, the football hooligans from Italy and England were famous far and wide. When they saw fans of both teams excitedly burst into song, the Greek police tensed up as well. They stared intently at the fans like danger lurked in every corner.

“They’re just singing, sir.” The unit responsible for monitoring the Italian and English fans reported to the officer in charge of the security.

“No obscenities or glares at each other. They are only singing toward the pick-up point, sir!”

“They are not drunk. They are not doing anything other than singing. They did not even wave their fists, sir!”

The updates came in succession, which allowed the officer in charge of the security heave a sigh of relief.

The security for the football tournament was the biggest headache for him. With so many people, every aspect had to be taken care of. There could be serious consequences if an area was neglected, especially when both sides of the competition hailed from England and Italy.

The most famous stadium tragedy in European football happened between these teams in both countries — the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which the competition was between Liverpool and Juventus.

Twain was talking and laughing with people around him when he got off the plane, but as they headed for the exit, he suddenly felt something was off.

He could hear that it was noisy outside. In fact, it was extremely noisy. Furthermore, when he pricked his ears to listen carefully, he realized that in addition to English, there was another language he could not understand.

It made him wonder.

※※※

The AC Milan players had already appeared at the pick-up area. Their captain, Maldini, was the first to step out and the AC Milan fans’ singing completely drowned out the voices of Nottingham Forest fans all of a sudden. The media began to get into work, and momentarily, there were flashes everywhere. The pick-up area exploded in a shining bright light.

The emerging star players were used to such spectacles and hardly mind it. They smiled and waved at their supporters.

When they saw that the AC Milan team was the first to come out, the Nottingham Forest fans, not interested in singing for them, consciously shut their mouths one by one.

The AC Milan people were in the spotlight.

The AC Milan star players emerged from the exit aisle one by one and received the cheers and applause from the fans. But when Kaka appeared in front of the crowd, the cheers reached a climax.

“Kaka!!”

Countless female screams, mingled with the song and whistles, could be clearly identified.

※※※

Twain, who was walking along the hallway toward the exit, also heard the screams. He glanced at Dunn. “I think AC Milan has arrived. That’s odd. Weren’t they supposed to be an hour ahead of us?”

“Maybe their flight was late,” Dunn said.

“We really have a connection with AC Milan.” Twain chuckled. “Listen to the voices outside, I can imagine what a grand and warm welcome AC Milan has received.” He looked up at the sign with a right-turn arrow ten meters ahead of them to indicate the exit.

With that, he stopped in his tracks and looked back at the players who were strolling in the back.

“Guys, look alive. Are you soft in the legs from just a couple of hours on the plane?”

Everyone stopped and looked confused.

“It’s a coincidence that AC Milan is out there now, receiving a warm welcome. I don’t want them and their supporters to see us listless and I think we’re scared of them. Are you tired from your journey?”

Everyone immediately straightened their backs to show they were not tired at all.

Twain grinned. It was a special smile reserved for a prank about to be played.

“Very well, let’s go gatecrash now!”

※※※

Kaka received a frenzied welcome from the female fans at the exit. They swarmed around him and blocked the small exit. The people directly behind could not come out for a while.

Kaka turned around to apologize to his teammates, who made fun of him.

“You’re still so popular even though you’re married. I’m jealous, Kaka!”

The crowd laughed.

At the back, Carlo Ancelotti chatted with his assistant. He was used to seeing such scenes. AC Milan was a powerhouse club with all kinds of star players. It was normal to be popular. After he satisfied a few autograph and photo requests from fans, there would be security guards to clear the way for them.

It was at that moment that he heard a concentration of footsteps coming from the passage behind him. His face changed when he glanced behind.

Guess who he saw?

Tony Twain walked over with his large team in high spirits. Seeing Ancelotti, he happily waved. “Why, hello, Mr. Ancelotti! What a coincidence, we seem to bump into each other everywhere we go. There is a Chinese word means “predestined affinity.’ We really have an affinity!”

Not caring whether the other person could understand the English words or not, he prattled on.

Carlo Ancelotti certainly did not understand Twain’s English with his Nottingham country accent, but he knew it was not nice.

He did not plan to respond to Twain. He was aware that the more he reacted, the more outrageous he would be.

He turned his head and pretended not to see Twain.

Twain did not expect Ancelotti to come up and talk to him. They could not communicate at all when one spoke English and the other spoke Italian.

He passed Ancelotti with a smirk and squeezed into a spot with most people.

“Give way!” He raised his hands and shouted, and suddenly attracted everyone’s attention.

The female fans, who were asking Kaka for autographs and photos, discovered a stranger next to Kaka. They looked up, disgruntled, at the gatecrasher.

Most people gradually quieted down on the spot, confused. On the other side, the fans from Nottingham were very excited when they saw Twain. Some people got ready to shout but were stopped by their companions.?They held up the “shh” signal but looked excited.

“Sir, there’s a situation.” A subordinate’s voice came through the headset.

“Have they started fighting?” The police officer sat straight up and was ready to run out to send the car.

“No, both teams have arrived and it’s a little chaotic here. And... the manager of Nottingham Forest is here.”

How could the man who was going to provide the convoy for this game not know who the managers of these two teams were? The police officer was relieved instead when he thought about it. “Just pay attention and be careful, it’s nothing. With him there, the Nottingham Forest fans will not make a fuss.”

He had done some research and knew a little bit about Twain. This manager was said to have a high prestige among the fan base in Nottingham Forest. If he was there on the scene, then the situation was not bad.

“I fully understand your desire to chase the stars!” Twain cleared his throat and spoke loudly, not caring whether people could understand his non-London English.

“But you should not block someone else’s way out, should you? We have been on the plane for a few hours from England to Greece and now we have to rush to the hotel to rest. You can’t just have everyone in the back wait because of one person.” He waved his hand toward the players from both sides behind him.

Ancelotti looked on from the back and a coach who knew English translated for him. He was surprised at Twain’s behavior. He had originally thought he was here to pick a fight. He did not expect him to become the person to maintain order.

Having said that, Twain turned his head and smiled at the Brazilian player, Kaka, to show his friendliness. Kaka looked at him in surprise. The media always described this man as the devil, or said he was neurotic. He did not expect him to appear refined in his manners within such close contact.

Twain finished and waited for the female fans in front of him to step aside, but no one moved.

He frowned and muttered, “don’t blame me for being inappropriate.” He reached out with his hand to open a narrow winding path. He took the lead, and Dunn followed behind with a smile as he apologized to the women who had been suddenly pushed aside. They were closely followed by the Forest players filing out, and the narrow path gradually became a boulevard.

Security guards came up in droves to separate the fanatical star chasers, and the exit finally cleared.

The Forest fans came to life the moment they saw Twain come out, like they had gotten a signal, but they did not sing.

There were about seventy or eighty fans. When they saw Twain walk over, they started shouting, “Hey, Tony!”

“Tony! Tony!”

They were no less vocal than the group of female fans chasing Kaka.

Eastwood watched the whole scene from the back and laughed hard. “The chief is not kindly helping us clear the way. I think he’s jealous of Kaka being more popular than he is. Haha!”

Whether Twain was jealous or not, he did enjoy the shouts of his fans. He smiled and waved to them.

“Oh, oh, oh!” The fans yelled even louder. “Give us a championship title, Tony!”

“You said before. You will jump into the sea if you don’t win the title!”

Initially, it had been AC Milan that had the upper hand in the terminal, but the leading character was immediately changed. Many reportera flocked around Twain and the group of fans opposite him, their flashbulbs going off endlessly.

Amidst the flashes, Twain gestured to make everyone calm down, and the group of fans dutifully quieted down. They looked at the team’s manager with a feverish glint in their eyes.

The policemen next to them could not help but marvel at it. Their officer was right. The English fans were not a problem with the arrival of this man.

During this brief silence, Twain raised his hands. “I guarantee and promise you that the championship title is ours! It’s ours, and no one’s going to take it away!”

He issued his own declaration to win the championship and completely disregarded AC Milan.

Ancelotti’s remaining trace of good opinion for this man vanished.

There was a huge burst of cheers in the Nottingham Forest fan base. They cheered as they sent Twain and his team off from the airport.

A crowd of people strutted out and left the Italians at the airport. Soon, the Forest fans also dispersed to follow their team.

The reporters who followed the Forest team on the flight witnessed the entire proceeding and everyone looked excitedly at each other. They knew that they had something to write for the next day’s articles, and that the news would be interesting.

The reporters who had complained about not being able to interview the players on the plane before, now laughed. The previous “unfair treatment” was nothing since they got to watch a good show!

There would also be meat for their stories as long as they followed Tony Twain.

Chapter 546 - A Confident Answer

Twain’s antics at the airport made him a front-page figure again. The Italian media reproved the man’s lack of basic politeness, showboating, and thirst for fame. What caused them to be so angry was because Twain completely disregarded AC Milan and the Italian media at the airport which irked some people.

On the other hand, the English media excitedly described Twain’s “pluck” at the airport in detail over and over again with pictures of Twain standing in front of the fan groups appearing frequently in the newspapers.

It was not them standing up for Twain; it was a contest between the English and Italian media.

Twain certainly did not do it to provide the media with fodder for a war of words. His peevish antics were actually aimed at the AC Milan team. It was also part of the psychological battle before the game.

As expected, there were people in Milan who had expressed their annoyance at Twain’s arrogant and conceited behavior.

In a subsequent interview, AC Milan’s manager, Ancelotti, said he could not understand Twain’s thinking. He seemed impolite toward everyone. He went on to talk about the final game. “We’ve already got six UEFA Champions League titles and a lot of experience winning this title. I’ve personally led the team to win the Champions League title once, so I’m confident. But I really can’t understand where Mr. Twain’s confidence comes from when he declares that he will win the title.”

Later, the AC Milan players were also interviewed about this incident.

“Nottingham Forest? Didn’t they say the same thing last season? That they would definitely win the championship title? And what happened?” Gattuso did not hold back at all, but it fit with his tough style on the field. He continued, “I think this is meaningless. No matter how loud he shouts, the real champion will always be decided in the game. If he can’t beat us, it’s no use for him to say any more. If the number of times someone said the word champion guaranteed victory, then I’d say it a hundred times a day.” Gattuso laughed, and so did the reporters.

AC Milan was a very image-conscious club and generally did not allow the players to express any views at will, especially for sensitive issues. Only Gattuso said what he thought and expressed his real opinions in front of the reporters. The others were vague in the interview and just glossed over it.

Kaka was asked the most questions because he was also in the limelight at the airport. Although his limelight was overshadowed by Twain, the reporters wanted to hear Kaka’s assessment of the manager.

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know him. I haven’t played under him. You want me to evaluate him, and all I can say is I don’t know.... That incident? He just wanted to leave early. It’s normal. Is there anything wrong?”

Kaka was the same as AC Milan in that he was very image-conscious. He would never said “never,” and he would never offend anyone. Therefore, his reply was a great disappointment to the media.

“So how would you feel about someone like that as your manager?” a bold reporter asked.

The question caught Kaka off guard, and he froze for a moment. No one knew if he was in a daze, or if he was thinking seriously about an answer to the question. Then he shook his head. “I don’t know.” Perhaps seeing the disappointment in the eyes of the reporters, he added, “I’ve never worked with a manager like that, so I don’t know how that would feel like.”

He ended the brief interview with his signature bright smile.

The reporters expressed disappointment as they looked at his departing figure.

“Compared to them, I like to interview the Forest team more...” an English reporter complained. “At least they dare to say anything.”

“Dare to say anything? What if there’s trouble for the team and the club because of they can’t hold their tongues?” An Italian reporter expressed his doubts and disdain for the English reporter’s statement.

A group of Englishmen laughed. “What are you afraid of? Tony Twain will clean up their messes! That’s what all the Nottingham Forest players think.”

※※※

Just like trying to validate the claims of these English reporters, shortly after AC Milan left the Olympic Stadium of Athens, the Nottingham Forest bus with the entire team slowly approached. It was their turn to adapt to the field.

Once the bus came to a complete halt, reporters surrounded the bus door, ready to interview the people who got off.

The first to jump off was not the team’s manager, but the assistant manager, Dunn.

With regard to the Chinese, the English reporters knew he was reticent, so no one went up to interview him. Twain looked up at the reporters around him with a cool gaze. He saw that Tang Jing had waved to him from a distance.

“I won’t disturb you but remember your promise! You must give me an exclusive interview in time!” Tang Jing shouted in Mandarin, and Dunn nodded as he squeezed out among the reporters.

Then the Forest players came out.

In packs of twos and threes with their arms around each other’s shoulders, they looked like they were going to a restaurant instead of coming to adapt to the field.

A reporter stopped them to hear their views on the final.

“Do you have to ask? The Championship title! We will definitely be the champions!” The Romani, Eastwood yelled while he raised his hand to make a “victory” sign. Ribéry stuck his tongue out and made funny faces.

This group of people walked out amidst the sounds of laughter.

The English reporters were not surprised at their behavior. The Italian media just shook their heads, thinking that these nobodies acted recklessly and that the player from the Wales national team dared to come out with such conceited claptrap. They were delighted when they saw van Nistelrooy get down from the bus. This man should be able to answer their questions properly, right?

An Italian journalist asked van Nistelrooy with halting English, “Ruud, what do you think of tomorrow’s final?”

The answer prepared in advance in many people’s minds was “AC Milan is a strong team, and we will go all out for the victory.” It was conventional answer. Most importantly, it did not aggravate either side, fully expressing respect for the opponent, but also reflecting the confidence in their own strength. It was a good answer.

“The championship title, thank you.” The Dutch striker smiled and put up two fingers at the Italian reporters before he left under the other party’s stunned gazes.

Well, the Italian reporters thought. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s football club career was short of a UEFA Champions League title, so it was understandable that he thirsted for the title...

Demetrio Albertini jumped down from the bus and the Italian reporters were all excited when they saw him. Their old acquaintance was here. This man had a good relationship with both the Italian footballers’ circle and the media. He was the best person to ask any questions.

A group of people crowded forward and thrust out microphones, cell phones and recording pens.

“Demetrio! Demetrio!” They shouted in Italian, “Answer a few questions, we won’t take up too much of your time!”

Albertini heard the familiar language of his country and he stopped to stand in front of the reporters.

“Oh, it’s you guys.” There were a few familiar faces among the reporters.

“First of all, congratulations on getting into the Champions League final again! Two years in a row for the final, it’s amazing!” Some of the Italian reporters gave a thumbs up.

“Are you praising our manager? Getting to the final is not due to me alone.” Albertini said with a grin, but it embarrassed the reporters a little. He was right. Getting to the final was definitely not solely dependent on Demetrio’s ability. If credit were to be given, Twain should receive the first-class merit. They had wanted to please Albertini but did not expect that they’d be praising Tony Twain instead. How could they not be embarrassed?

“Let’s talk about the final. You’re retiring when this game is over...” A reporter cleared his throat and asked, breaking the awkwardness.

Albertini nodded. “Yes, I had originally decided to retire at the end of last season, but Twain urged me to stay and play for another year. I was undecided at the time. Now it looks like I was right to stay on so that I can play in the Champions League final again. It’s an experience that not every professional player can enjoy.” While Albertini was in AC Milan, he had helped the team break into the Champions League final three times in five years and picked up two trophies. Everyone knew the story that happened later on. He was mercilessly abandoned by AC Milan and had left for the United Kingdom. Unexpectedly, he ended in Nottingham Forest where his career had a second revival. He had advanced to the Champions League final two years in a row. Including his three times with AC Milan, he had reached the final five times as a player, which was a remarkable achievement. Among active players, only the Dutchman, Seedorf, could be compared with him. And coincidentally, Seedorf was currently on the AC Milan team.

“But the opponent of this final is AC Milan, Demetrio.” One reporter from the La Gazzetta dello Sport asked the question that made everyone uncomfortable. Everyone had tried to avoid mentioning it, but how could one turn a blind eye to such an amusing and newsworthy topic?

Every topic about AC Milan was difficult for Albertini to face. On the one hand, it was his mother team and had groomed him and made him successful. On the other hand, it was also the team that had mercilessly ditched him at the end of his career.

Should he feel love or hate?

In the early days of his abandonment, he always adhered to one belief: no matter what, he was going back to San Siro, back to AC Milan.

As time went by, the belief slowly turned into a bubble. The moment he decided to go to Nottingham Forest, he waved goodbye to that belief. He knew he would retire there, no matter what else he could achieve.

After the leaves turned yellow and fell from the branches to the ground, they slowly rotted and decomposed in the soil to nourish the tree. They sacrificed themselves to repay the tree’s nurturing grace.

A leaf like Demetrio Albertini, who specialized in banana shots, could only be blown to an unfamiliar place by the wind, slowly rotting and gradually forgotten. He did not have a chance to be Baresi or Paulo Maldini, “loyal subjects” that the clubs focused on promoting.

The boss said that everyone had their own unique path. For Albertini, becoming a drifting cloud was his path. So was it his destiny to face his former teammates and the team that groomed him in a very important games in the final moments of his career?

Perhaps if he had decided to retire a year ago, there would not have been such an encounter today.

“Is this game going to be your revenge on AC Milan?” The reporter from La Gazzetta dello Sport added what everyone cared about the most.

Albertini looked up at the other man without a smile on his face.

Twain appeared at the bus door. He saw Albertini surrounded by reporters, and heard the Italian reporter ask a question in Italian, which made Albertini change a little.

He just stood at the door and did not come down. He did not want to be the leading character.

Albertini shook his head and looked serious. “It will be my tribute to AC Milan to win the championship.”

With that, he pushed the crowd aside and walked out with his head bowed.

The reporters had no idea that they were going to hear that answer from Albertini, who had always been cultured and refined. The Italian reporters looked at each other.

Even Albertini was this certain...

“Everyone is adamant that they’re going to win the championship title,” someone murmured. “What magic did Tony Twain perform on them?”

They truly had not anticipated the situation. They had also asked AC Milan those questions during the interview. Other than a small number of people who were convinced that they would win the championship title, most of them did not say insist.

Now they could understand why this English team would be so aggravating and reprimanded as “arrogant.”

Arrogance combined with true strength would make them kings but arrogance without ability would only reduce them to clowns.

Which one was Nottingham Forest?

Twain got down from the bus and his footsteps roused the Italian reporters.

Seeing his relaxed look, everyone seemed to see the answer.

Why were these people so adamant that they would win?

Because there was a person behind them.

“Mr. Twain, can we talk about this final...” There were others who still relentlessly sought answers.

“Didn’t you all hear it? No matter how many times you ask, the answer is the same — we are the champions.” He raised both his hands and made the sign for “victory.”

At the same time, flashbulbs went going off and the English media outside coordinated well with him.

Twain was about to go once the photo taking was done, but some Italian reporters were still reluctant to give up and continued to ask, “confidence is certainly a good thing! But, Mr. Twain, aren’t you afraid of any surprises when you speak so confidently? You must know that a football is round, anything can happen in the game...”

Twain looked back at the reporter and enunciated every word. “Surprise? I won’t allow that to happen. Also, in this game, the football is triangular, my dear Mr. Journalist.”

Chapter 547 - The Night Before

On the last night before the game, Twain met his old friends, the Beckham couple, as well as Shania, whom they brought here, at the hotel the team was staying in.

It was a private meeting, and both sides made a lot of effort to avoid the media. It was only in the end when Shania took the Beckham couple in disguise into Twain’s room that they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Beckham couple were personally invited by the club and Twain to watch the final live. Twain’s thinking was simple. In addition to using this approach to show Beckham friendship, he also wanted Beckham to strengthen some of his anticipation and sense of belonging with this team.

He knew it was not easy for Beckham, who was from Manchester United, to face Manchester United again in the Premier League, even though Beckham himself had said he would play against Manchester United and even go to Old Trafford as a visiting team.

But Twain had considered more fully that if the Forest team could win this European title, the joy of the title would somewhat dilute some of his guilt over Manchester United.

At the same time, it was a great opportunity to show the strength of the team to the new players who were joining the team next season. Beckham was naturally included among the new players.

“First of all, congratulations on getting the league title.” That was the first thing that Twain said in the meeting.

He had transmigrated before the end of the La Liga season and did not know if Real Madrid had won the title in the end. However, at the time he transmigrated, Real Madrid had already launched a massive counterattack against Barcelona. He had seen it again in La Liga this season.

Everything was the same as he had described. Capello first decided to dump Beckham but as the season progressed, he realized that they could not do without him and that Beckham had been diligent in training. He did not complain about being displaced, which had led Capello to change his prejudice against Beckham. He decided to use the former England captain again. In Beckham’s first comeback game, he helped the team beat their opponent with a direct free kick. Following that, he gradually changed the prejudice against him across the Spanish media with his performance in every game and regained the hearts of Real Madrid fans.

Calderon discovered that letting Beckham go was the worst decision he had ever made.

As the end of the season approached, there would be banners asking to keep Beckham at Bernabéu at every Real Madrid home game.

This English star player, who had never been understood by the world, had finally used his actions to exchange for understanding and respect from the world. No one would say that he was a star player who relied on his pretty boy face and commercial worth to play ball. No one would think he came to Real Madrid to help Real Madrid sell jerseys anymore.

Beckham said at a news conference ahead of Real Madrid’s final game that he never regretted his four years at Real Madrid and that he was not thinking of Nottingham Forest, but only wanted to help Real Madrid get their first championship trophy in four years, as well as his first league title trophy since he joined Real Madrid.

After a thrilling and tumultuous ninety-minute game, he got what he wanted.

Countless people were moved by him as he led his three children, all wearing the St. George’s flag of England, to say goodbye to the Real Madrid fans at the victory celebration ceremony at the Bernabéu. He knelt on the field, kissed Bernabéu’s turf affectionately, and thanked those people for their final support.

Twain, who saw the scene on television, did not feel unhappy about it at all. On the contrary, he was gratified. Beckham was a person who understood gratitude. With such a person about to become a member of the Forest team, he would certainly dedicate all his strength wholeheartedly to the Forest team.

“Secondly, welcome to Nottingham Forest.”

The two men embraced each other with open arms.

“It’s a pity that if you had joined a season earlier, you would have won the second UEFA Champions League trophy of your career,” Twain said jokingly.

Everyone in the room laughed.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect Nottingham Forest to make it to the final.” Beckham shook his head with a smile.

“We are the Miraculous Forest,” Twain said proudly. “You’ll know next season when you join.” He winked at Beckham.

Victoria did not support Beckham’s return to England to play. She wanted her husband to listen to her and go to the United States to develop his career. However, in the end Beckham football. This was something that certainly did not make Victoria happy, even though she had agreed to her husband’s choice.

Twain glanced at her and found Victoria was having a pleasant chat with Shania and did not want to participate in the men’s conversation. She would not reveal her inner feelings in front of outsiders. Was it because she wanted to give face to her husband or had they reached some sort of agreement in private?

Twain did not know, but he knew he had to be careful with this woman in the next few years. Perhaps everyone’s relationships currently appeared to be harmonious due to Shania, but once a fundamental conflict of interest emerged, she would turn her back and become hostile.

At present, Shania was the buffer between him and the other party that avoided letting the contradiction come to the surface and intensify.

Sometimes when he thought about it, he really owed the young girl quite a lot. She clearly did not like football, but she introduced him to the Beckham couple. Was it really so simple as to introduce them as friends? If Twain had not been a football manager, why would she have introduced a footballer to him?

She always preferred him to spend more time with her, but his mind was always on football. Even when he accompanied her back to Brazil, he still went to the beach to watch people play football.

Beckham noticed that Twain was lost in thought, and he followed the direction of Twain’s gaze to Shania, who was having a nice chat with his wife. He smiled knowingly.

“Tony?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry.” Twain came to attention.

“Do you have any plans for next season? I heard you announced before this season that the Forest team would aim for the Champions League title this season and now you really did get into the final.”

Twain replied without thinking. “The Premier League.”

“Champion?”

“Of course.” Twain smiled brightly, “We’ve been the runner-up for two years in a row. Now people out there had started calling us ‘the double runner-up’ which is not a nice title. Hey, David, do you like to be a champion?”

The question was abrupt, and Beckham stared blankly for a moment before answering. “Does anyone dislike being a champion?”

Twain smiled again. “Yes, you will be very happy on the Forest team, David. We don’t accept any outcome except victory. Next season, our target is the league title. I’m going to let the people who gossip about us see how outrageously wrong they are.”

※※※

After they left the hotel, Victoria asked her husband what he thought of the new manager.

Beckham thought for a long time before he said, “he’s not the same as any manager I’ve ever been in contact with before, so I can’t be certain about him. Maybe after working with him I will find out exactly how he is? But...” He looked at his wife. “I can more or less tell from the players on the Forest team that he is good at getting along with his players. He’s different from Capello. And he wants to win titles which is something we have in common.”

“Haven’t you won enough?” Victoria sounded somewhat frustrated.

“Winning a title is just one way for me to prove myself,” Beckham explained with a smile.

“You’ve already proven it. Who else do you want to prove to?”

Beckham did not reply.

※※※

After they sent off Beckham couple, Shania did not leave as well. She came back and stayed alone with Twain for a while.

“Where are we going on a trip this summer?” Shania sat on the couch and asked as she leaned on Twain’s shoulder.

“I haven’t thought about it yet...” After Victoria left, Twain opened the window to let some air in, and the fragrant perfume finally disappeared. Now with Shania sat next to him, he could smell the fragrance in her hair again. “Where do you want to go?”

Shania shook her head. “I don’t know, it seems like I’ve been everywhere...” Her job required her to fly around the world, and there were not many places she had not been to.

“Or... we could go to Brazil?” Twain cautiously offered.

Shania perked up. She left Twain’s shoulder and looked up at him to say, “do you want to go to look for a gifted prodigy?”

“That’s not true!” Twain raised his hands . “Have you been back to Brazil these last couple of years?”

Shania nodded. “I’ve been back twice to do shows.”

“Did you go home?”

Shania shook her head. “No, I didn’t... Too busy, I’m always flying around...”

Twain smiled. “So, let’s go home and have a look.”

Shania stared at him for a long while before she nodded in agreement. She noticed Twain’s words. “Let’s go home” instead of “let us go back to your home.”

She smiled.

“Well, I kinda miss my dad and mom, too. Although I used to hate them... now I miss them since I don’t see them for a long time.”

When he heard Shania, Twain remembered that no matter how mature she looked physically, how famous she was and how glamorous she looked on the runway, she was still a child.

“Hey, little girl. Do you feel lonely sometimes?”

“When?” Shania looked up at Twain.

“Anytime, at work, when you’re flying out of town, in any hotel in a city...” Twain spread out his hands and gave examples.

Shania put her fair legs on the couch and curled up her body. “Since you put it that way... then it’s quite a lot of times. But not now!” She said to Twain with a grin.

Twain raised his eyebrows. “Because I’m with you?”

“Yes! I’m not lonely when I’m with you, Uncle Tony!”

“You’re really easily satisfied... Do you have any friends? Any friends in the modeling circle?”

“I have a few.”

“Are they all women?”

Shania glanced at Twain. “Yes, they’re all women. Not too many... Apart from work, I’m basically not in touch with the people in that circle.”

“Why?” Dunn was a little surprised. Was this not the most playful age? A favorite time to make new friends and when friendships still felt novel and beautiful?

“Work is work, my private life is my private life. I don’t want to mix the two.” Shania shrugged her shoulders and answered Twain’s question in a very adult manner.

Twain smiled. “No wonder you feel lonely. It’s nice to make friends.”

Shania wanted to say something, but she just in the end she just curled her lips and said nothing.

Looking at her watch, Shania got up from the couch. “It’s getting late, I have to go back. Uncle Tony, rest early. You’d better not lose tomorrow’s game!”

Twain stood up to send her off. “Rest assured, I’ll not lose tomorrow. That’s not going to happen without my permission.”

“Ahem, the king of big talk.” Shania pulled a face at him. “You’re not God.”

“Hee hee, I’m not God himself, but I have a good relationship with God,” Twain said with a grin. He was not entirely joking. For a thing like transmigration to happen to him, God might really have something to do with it!

After he saw Shania off, Twain returned to the room and realized that while he was alone with Shania, he had not thought about the next day’s final. He did not feel nervous at all or think about pointless thing like they would not become the champion. He even completely forgot about football. When he proposed to go to Brazil for a trip, he also did not consider how many prodigies there were and how he could benefit from the trip.

Simply put, he could forget a lot of work troubles when he was with Shania. Just like what he young girl said: Work is work, my private life is my private life.

When he and Shania were together, that was their private life.

Twain stood in front of the hotel’s twenty-fourth-story window sill, looking at the night view in Greece. What if one day he got tired of his job in professional football, what would happen?

Who could stay with him, let him forget his troubles, and enjoy his own private life?

This question currently was too uninteresting for Twain. He shook his head and stretched his back before he walked back to the room to get ready for bed.

There was still a tough battle tomorrow.

I still haven’t won an important championship title yet I’m thinking about losing interest. It’s really unlucky to think about such things...

How can I lose interest in this job when I haven’t won?

Chapter 548 - Are You Ready?

On the night before the final, Twain did not sleep well, and he had a dream.

Everything in the dream was vague. He only knew that there were a lot of people around him and their faces were mostly blurred. He could not hear the voices clearly as it was noisy all around him. Everyone was talking, but he could not hear specifically what was being said.

The scene was a little chaotic with flickering white lights that flashed intermittently.

Although he could not see the faces of those people nor hear their voices, he knew that they were laughing and looking at him with smiles. They talked and laughed loudly. There were a lot of people looking at him.

In the dream, Twain was a little confused. He wanted to open his mouth to ask but found that he could not make any sound.

— What’s going on here? Who are you people? Where am I?

These were the questions he wanted to ask.

Without waiting for him to figure it out, he found himself flying and then falling into a darkness. His body felt cold and was completely drenched.

He was startled awake.

He got up to find that his back had broken out in a cold sweat. No wonder he felt wet and cold.

The central air conditioner in the room made a buzzing low sound which proved it to be working. Twain grabbed his watch from the bedside table, which read 6:30 A.M.. He wanted to lie down and continue sleeping, but when he thought of the perspiration on his body, he was not sleepy anymore.

His pajamas were damp, and it was uncomfortable to lie down. Twain got up to take a shower.

He was still thinking about the dream in the shower. The dream was indistinct, and he had no deep impression of it after he woke up. He only remembered things like there were a lot of people and the cold and wet feeling.

He suddenly shivered under the hot water.

That scene could not be him getting ready to jump into the sea in front of the media after his defeat, could it?

What an unlucky dream! He opened the bathroom door and spat outside three times.

After the shower, Twain’s body felt dry and refreshed, and he did want to go back to sleep anymore.

He sat on the couch by the window and began to review his tactical notes.

This thick notebook recorded a variety of tactics from the Forest team and the opponents, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of these tactics and the information on how they should be dealt with... and so on. This was what Dunn brought for him, and he learned to use it for his own sake.

The latest page recorded the various tactics that AC Milan had used in the league tournament and in this Champions League. Even though he knew them so well that he could recite them backwards, Twain still took it out to read and pass the time.

He did not read it for long until he had put it down again. He was a little bothered by the dream.

In regards to dreams, Twain heard the saying “what you think about during the day, you will dream of it at night” when he was very young. That was to say a dream was usually a graphic response to something that one cared about during the day. However, he had not dwelled on the matter of jumping into the sea these few days. He almost forgot it and might not have recalled it if it had not been for the dream.

After he grew up, he had also heard that dreams prophesied certain things in the future. Some people often felt certain situations seemed familiar as if they had gone through it before, perhaps they had encountered it in a dream.

Could the dream be a harbinger that he would fail in the final?

Twain put down the notebook and looked up at the brightening sky outside the window.

He believed in fate but did not believe in dream prophecies.

After he figured out what the dream was about, Twain put the matter aside and looked at the tactical notes again.

He had already thought of a solution.

※※※

Because there was no training the morning of the final game, most players started their day later. Twain had already finished his breakfast before he saw them coming out of the elevator.

Someone even yawned as he greeted Twain.

“Good morning... Ah—”

Twain looked refreshed, and Kerslake yelled, “haven’t you guys woken up yet? Look, you guys are not even as energized as the manager! You can’t play in the final like this. Buck up!”

Twain sniggered.

After everyone went in for their breakfast, Twain turned to Kerslake and Dunn. “Looks like they’re all quite relaxed, which is a good thing.”

“Just don’t relax too much,” Kerslake said with a frown.

This was not the first time he had advanced into the Champions League final with the team, but he looked more nervous than Dunn, a first-timer.

Perhaps last season’s defeat was so unforgettable that it had affected his psyche?

No one knew.

Twain chuckled. “I see you’re a little too nervous, David. Relax a little. Do you have any plans for the morning?”

The jump between the two topics was too fast, and Kerslake did not react at first. He stared blankly for a moment before he shook his head. “No plans.”

“How about the three of us go shopping?”

“I’m not a woman. What’s there to shop for?” Kerslake turned down the suggestion.

After breakfast, it was free activity time, and most players chose to stay in the hotel to play billiards and table tennis. They used this form of entertainment to kill time as they waited for the lunch and dinner breaks. After the afternoon break and a simple dinner, they would leave for the final’s venue to prepare for the upcoming showdown.

In order to calm the nervous Kerslake, Twain sat with him in the hotel café and asked for two cups of coffee, while they watched the players played billiards at the side and chatted casually.

Dunn did not show up, and Twain did not know where he went. He did not care about Dunn’s private life.

Twain chatted a lot with Kerslake, starting from the time they worked together in the youth team to the failure of the Forest team’s promotion and their promotion to the English Premier League a year later when they were underestimated by people. Some things felt like good memories when they talked about it.

Twain was thankful for the chat with Kerslake, which helped him sort through the memories of the last few years and made him recall some of the things he had forgotten.

It played a big part in his resolve to win the Champions League title.

For those who had nothing to do, the time before the final game was slow, but for those who wanted to play early, this period could pass by as quickly as running water.

After lunch, the lively café and recreation room quieted down again. There were fewer reporters hovering inside and outside the lobby. It was now the afternoon break, and the Nottingham Forest players all took a nap. Once Kerslake and Twain confirmed that everyone had returned to their rooms, they also returned to their own rooms.

They had to preserve their energy for the evening’s big game.

At the same time, it was the same situation in AC Milan’s hotel. The media could not rest as they had to prepare for the game. They had to prepare two sets of post-match layouts: Plan A was for the victory and Plan B was for the defeat.

Pierce Brosnan frowned as he faced a blank document on his open laptop. It would be easy to write if they won the game because the article would be filled with praise. It would cover everyone in the Forest team, focus on the contributors to the victory and arrange for the live interviews. Then as a Forest fan himself, he would flesh it out with the emotional strokes on the feeling after the victory of the game. Brosnan was best at that sort of article. It would only take him fifteen minutes to write it in one go after the end of the game.

What if they lost?

In fact, he still had things to write about the defeat, such as Tony Twain’s highly-anticipated jump into the sea. But the Nottingham Evening Post did not manage to obtain the rights to cover this event, which made the Evening Post’s boss unhappy — he had thought that with the newspaper’s many years of partnership with Twain, they would not be sidelined in the printed media’s right to the exclusive coverage. He did not expect Twain to hand over this matter to Billy Woox to manage. Woox naturally would choose their business partners based on the highest offer and not friendships. That way, The Sun, which paid the most, became the exclusive print media.

The Evening Post would not be able to cover the sensational event. If they lost, they would fall into an awkward situation — after Twain promised to jump into the sea if they lost, the usual reports about losing would not attract anyone’s attention other than perhaps the Nottingham Forest fans, since people from all of Europe and the world were keen to see the brash, young manager make a fool of himself.

There was nothing better than to see a big talker be dumbfounded.

Brosnan deliberated for a long time but did not know how to prepare the Plan B for the defeat. He leaned back in the chair, looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

Most of the other... No, all the media are furiously getting ready for Plan B, huh?

“The Drowned Rat Tony Twain,” “Will the Gentleman Please Jump into The Sea?” “Lost the Game and Lost at Sea,” “To Jump or Not to Jump? That Is the Question,” “The Sea Is Cold and So Is Twain,” “Look at His Wet Look!”

With a little brainstorming, Brosnan came up with a bunch of headlines. There was a great deal of interest over Twain making a fool of himself. Perhaps hitting someone while they were down was the most common base human behavior?

He was a staunch Nottingham Forest fan, even before he decided to become a sports journalist. He was born and raised in Nottingham. Besides Nottingham Forest, there was no other team he would support.

He certainly did not want to see the Forest team lose. If he was just a fan, he would not even entertain the idea of losing, but he was a reporter.

It was customary to prepare two options before the final, which he had to abide by.

After thinking about it for a long time, Brosnan still did not know how to begin. At last he thought of the idea that Twain had told him over the phone.

It sounded more like Twain’s angry words, but now, after Brosnan carefully chewed over his remarks, Brosnan suddenly realized that for it to become the unique version among the sprawling headlines of “Twain’s jump,” it might be the best.

He typed out a line of words on the document:

Nottingham Forest lost again, and we have nothing to say!!

After he finished typing, he increased the size of the words and then pressed send to the editor-in-chief.

Fifteen minutes later, he got a call from the editor-in-chief.

“F**k you, Brosnan!” The editor-in-chief growled angrily over the phone. Brosnan had to move his phone away from his ear. Even so, his voice was still clear and audible.

“This is what you’ve been agonizing for days? I left the entire section for you because I trust you so much and you’re giving me this damn thing? What is this? What did your teacher at journalism school teach you?!”

Brosnan put the phone on the table and put it on speaker.

When the editor-in-chief finished venting, he picked it up. “Well, I didn’t tell you in detail what I was trying to do. My mistake. But I’m definitely not skimping on my work. It’s the best plan I’ve come up with after much thought.”

“What the hell is this your best plan? A fully blank section, except for this sodding headline!” The editor-in-chief continued to fume.

Brosnan’s phone went back on speaker.

Once again, he waited for the editor-in-chief to finish venting, and Brosnan continued, “remember our headline after the Forest team broke into the final? That was the best selling issue.”

There was no sound on the other end of the line. Apparently the editor-in-chief was also considering the connection between the two matters.

“Sometimes, I think it’s best not to say too much. We can put down everything, but it’s not necessarily what the readers want to see. If... I mean, if the Forest team does lose, I think there are some things we don’t need to tell the readers. If someone jabbers on, it’s only going to annoy them. So, I think it’s best to use that headline and not say anything. They will vent their emotions themselves... And, there will be criticism and outcry everywhere. We won’t get much traction. Being unconventional will get us more readers...”

After his speech, he waited for a while before laughter sounded over the phone.

“I still recall the wet-behind-the-ears, serious kid who had just come here to work and was all about news coverage. I still remember the ‘conscientious editor’ who deleted all obscenities in the article after he got an exclusive from Twain. Heh, I got to say, Pierce, what happened to your former self? And now you know how to spout about attracting readers in front of me?”

Brosnan flushed. It was certainly not his intention, but to survive in this world, he had to do a lot of things that might not be what he wanted.

“But your idea is not bad. I’ll use it! If it doesn’t work, I won’t spare you!”

Brosnan retorted, “do you want the Forest team to lose?”

“Ah... well. We all pray that your damned wonderful idea will never appear on tomorrow’s frontpage.”

After he hung up the phone, Brosnan heaved a sigh of relief and felt a sense of ease at getting the job done. He also hoped that such a great idea would never become a reality, not just about appearing on tomorrow’s frontpage.

But if they really did lose the game, they could be blamed if the headline and content became vicious.

If you really lose the game, even I won’t forgive you, Tony.

※※※

After a light meal in the afternoon, the players were rushed to the bus. They would leave for the stadium to start their warm-up before the game. They had already started their schedule for the game.

On the bus, everyone’s expression gradually became serious as they knew that the time for the final had come. Not many people were in the mood to joke around and laugh.

This was the end of their relaxation.

The team’s hotel was close to the stadium and the road between the two places had regulated traffic control, so they did not encounter any obstacles along the way. They arrived on time at the final venue — the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

Countless fans from both sides had already gathered here. While they waited to enter, they also cheered and applauded the incoming team buses — of course, the AC Milan fans presented boos and their middle fingers to the Forest team bus.

“It’s really buzzing.” Twain commented casually. “Impressive scene...” He thought of the huge advertisement that was set up in Houston when Yao Ming joined the Houston Rockets.

Let’s make a scene!

This advertising phrase was really apt and excited him.

Let’s make a scene indeed!

He saw the sea of people outside, but he did not feel nervous at all. Compared to Kerslake’s manner that morning, even Twain could not say why he remained so calm and why he was able to joke with people in light of such an important game.

Perhaps this was destined. He was born for such impressive spectacles.

He liked to be noticed and in the limelight. The more people the better, the bigger the waves, the better.

He liked to get hyped up in front of an audience.

The bus was about to drive into the designated parking lot, and Twain stood up and turned around to the players sitting in the back. Everyone knew he had something to say again. They took off their headphones, stopped chatting, turned their gazes from their phone screens and looked at their manager.

Twain was pleased with the reactions from the players, and smilingly said with his head cocked to the side, “see what’s out there?”

Everyone nodded.

“This is a big scene. Are you ready?”

Chapter 549 - Don’t Let the Trophy Wait Too Long

Despite closing the locker room door, the singing outside was still a little deafening. The stadium soundproofing was not bad, the fans from both sides were too passionate and enthusiastic for the final game.

Twain listened attentively and heard the Nottingham Forest song. He also heard the once familiar AC Milan song. He had not gone out to take a look at the current stadium stands, but he believed it had to be a sea of red.

Although AC Milan had drew the lot as the visitors’ team and could only wear white jerseys for this game, AC Milan fans only worn the red and black striped jerseys when they came to Greece.

The stadium vibrated slightly from the singing, boos, applause, and stomping feet.

Twain looked at the ceiling and turned his gaze back to the locker room.

The jerseys that the players were going to wear for the game had been hung in their lockers with neatly cleaned boots and shin guards placed on their seats.

Unlike before, these tasks were done by specialized personnel. The players needed to put all their energy into the game.

The manager also did not have to be the only person to take care of everything. He only needed to take care of his own matters, leaving the other things to the assistant managers, coaches, fitness coaches, goalkeeper coaches, team doctors, and staff to complete.

Twain thought that if he had transmigrated to thirty years earlier, he probably would not be able to do the manager position himself.

The tactical board was still blank. There was no need to fill it with too many complex tactics. The things that needed to be accounted for only required verbal instructions.

Twain waited for his men to warm up and return.

※※※

Michael Bernard and his old buddies stood in the stands of the Olympic Stadium and looked down at the grassy pitch where the players from both teams warmed up.

He had not spoken since entering the stadium. He just glanced around. Although it was the first time he had been to the Olympic Stadium of Athens, everything felt familiar. It was not the specific stadium, but the atmosphere of the scene.

The fans from both sides sang, clapped and shouted all sorts of chants to cheer on the players on the field and to demonstrate to the opposing camp of fans. The intoxicating smell of perspiration mingled with alcohol in the air.

He liked the smell. After three years away, he was still enraptured by it.

This is… the Champions League Final!

He did not think he would see it again in his lifetime or appear on the grounds of the Champions League final. When Nottingham Forest was relegated from the Premier League to League One, he used to think it was nothing more than a fluke and that glory was bound to return. But when the team was promoted only to be relegated again a year later and become an “elevator” team a few years later, he no longer held any illusions. He felt it was enough to be a loyal Forest fan and did not care whether the team could still appear in the Champions League finals. His goal was only to see the team to return to the Premier League.

When his son died under the feet of football hooligans because he come to watch the game, he thought he would never return to the stadium stands for the rest of his life because he could not forgive himself for taking his son to the game. If he could choose, he would have preferred he was the one who died and that his son’s life was intact.

But now he was back in the stands to cheer on his favorite team.

Is it because I don’t love Gavin anymore? Is it because I have forgotten the pain of losing my son?

No.

I brought Gavin here to watch the game. Gavin is right next to me. There are so many people here, so I have to hold his hand tight...

From a young age, Gavin was the one I brought to watch every Forest team’s home game before he would become a staunch Forest fan. Now that the Forest team has returned to the pinnacle of its glory, how can I not bring him? He was so keen to see the Forest team get the Champions League title and become the heroic team that his father spoke of again.

If I had had the chance, I could have brought my son to the stadium to watch the Forest team’s game a few decades later. I would point to the players in the red jerseys and proudly tell my son, “look, son! Your daddy had seen the Forest team pick up the Champions League trophy! This is an amazing team! You’re going to love them too!”

Michael bowed his head, fearing that John and Bill would see the tears in his eyes. He had been a tough guy in front of his old buddies. It was impossible for him to shed tears in front of them... even in day his son had died.

After he regained his composure, Michael raised his head and began to follow the people around him to wave his arms and sing. Time had turned back, and he returned to youth madness.

“Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

※※※

The door of the locker room whooshed open and the players returned from their warm-up. They looked flushed and were only panting slightly. It appeared that they were in excellent form.

Dunn was the last to enter. He nodded to Twain after he came in the locker room and closed the door.

The noise was reduced all of a sudden and everyone could hear clearly when Twain spoke.

Twain was not in a hurry to make a speech. He waited for everyone to change their clothes and finish their tasks. Once everyone looked up at him, hoping that he would say something, he just stood up and cleared his throat.

“Everyone knows how to play, so I will not say much about the technical and tactical aspects of things. Just only a few reminders for you.” Twain extended his right index finger. “One, do not let AC Milan play at the pace they are used to. Their rhythm is slower than ours, and we have to find ways to pull them into our rhythm. Use our Premier League rhythm to deal with the Serie A rhythm. As to the exact details, you already know from your training, so I will not state more nonsense.”

“Two, be careful of AC Milan’s set pieces. Try not to give them free kicks near our penalty area. George, fouls should be farther away from the danger zone.”

Wood nodded.

“Three, do not create offside. The rear defensive line will compact the defense and pay attention to Inzaghi’s position.”

“Four, we are playing defensive counterattack, so we must be patient. We have to be more patient than our opponent. Wait patiently for the opportunity to appear and then seize it!” He clenched his fist. “No matter what situation we face, whether they score first or score three goals within a short time, it’s okay... keep your cool, don’t panic, and don’t be discouraged. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. To be honest, I don’t think we’re going to encounter it.”

“Five.” Twain looked at the serious-looking players and clapped his hands with a smile. “There’s no five. After ninety minutes, let’s pick up the championship trophy together!”

Laughter erupted in the locker room.

When everyone’s laughter subsided, Twain continued, “well, we have covered the field. Now let’s talk about things off the field. Can everybody hear? It’s really noisy in the stands outside.”

The players nodded. They had felt the fans’ enthusiasm during their warm-up.

“A lot of people have come this time, even though Greece is a long way from the UK. But every single one of our hardcore fans have all come. They occupy half of the stadium. They did not make the effort to come all the way here to see us fail. Last year, we lost the final in Paris. Do we want to lose again this year?”

“No!” Someone shouted, but no one laughed at him, because everyone wanted to do the same.

“It’s remarkable to be in the Champions League final for two consecutive seasons. But if we can only get the runner-up title for two consecutive seasons, you and I...” He pointed to the players and himself. “will be reduced to the laughing stock of whole of Europe! Wherever we go in the future, they will only gloat and mock, ‘Look! Nottingham Forest, the perennial number two! Can you accept such an insult? I can’t!”

“No one’s going to take it!” A few more people shouted out this time.

Twain smiled. “That’s good. We really are one as a team and think alike. Many people want to see us fail but we won’t give them that chance. Never!” He brandished his fist. “Remember, no one can defeat us except ourselves! Now I want you to close your eyes and think carefully about how we got here over the last two seasons, and the opponents we met along the way...”

Twain closed his eyes as well as he slowly listed the names of their opponents. “Lille, Benfica, Real Madrid, Glasgow Rangers, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Eindhoven, Bordeaux, Galatasaray, Chelsea...” He opened his eyes again and looked at the players.

“Listen to the names of these teams, each one of them has an illustrious reputation. Some of them have won countless trophies and some of them are the traditionally strong teams in their respective national leagues. But no matter how famous or powerful these teams are, they all ended up in the same position when they encountered us — defeat! These brilliant names are the spoils of our ascension, and they hang on our wall one by one...” Twain waved his hand, as if he was really standing in a palace to show his subjects the spoils of his hunting trip, “to become the jewels in our crown. All we lack now is still the biggest, brightest and most dazzling one.”

He pointed to the door. “AC Milan is waiting for us, and I think they are already a little impatient.”

Dunn looked at his watch. They were late due to Twain’s speech. According to the normal circumstances, the two teams should line up in the tunnel waiting to appear. He thought Twain had forgotten the time and did not expect that he was fully aware of it... It appeared he made AC Milan wait on purpose.

The players burst into laughter. They liked to see such a high-spirited boss, because it steadied them on the inside, as if he was mentally suggesting to them constantly: “We will win, we will win, we will never lose!”

To be honest, if Twain suddenly lost his mettle and became dispirited, he would lose half of his control over the team. Because the men’s will would fall apart, and then the team would not be easy to lead...

He had said what needed to be said, and the players were fired up. It was time to sum up his remarks.

Twain raised his hands. “I don’t say words like ‘enjoy playing’ or that I want you to enjoy the bliss of victory after the final. Guys, I’ll be with you no matter what. During the kick-off, forty-five minutes, at the halftime interval, ninety minutes... I’m there with you, and I’m looking forward to having celebratory champagne with you!” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Let’s conquer the whole of Europe — make our opponents feel the terror!”

“Let’s conquer Europe — make our opponents feel the terror!” The players and the members of the coaching unit all yelled with him in the locker room.

The excited lads slammed the locker room door wide open and rushed out.

※※※

The AC Milan players were indeed impatient from waiting.

They walked out of the locker room according to usual timing and lined up in the tunnel.

They waited until the referee and the two assistant referees came over, but their opponent, Nottingham Forest, still did not appear.

Unable to wait any longer, the AC Milan officials discussed with the fourth official to have him go check out what was going on with Nottingham Forest. The fourth official knocked on the door of the Forest team’s locker room, but Twain was giving a passionate speech, so his knock on the door was completely unheeded.

The locker room was a hallowed place. Even the fourth official had no authority to go in. He could only return to appease the somewhat agitated AC Milan team, hoping that they would wait patiently for a little while longer.

A member of the coaching staff next to Ancelotti muttered after they learnt of the news, “Nottingham Forest is so cocky that we have to wait for them...”

The AC Milan manager turned to look at the heated person, but did not speak.

Other than grumbling, AC Milan could only wait.

Just as the patience of the AC Milan people was about to run out, the Nottingham Forest players stormed out looking ferocious. If the referee had not stopped them, they might have rushed straight onto the field...

When the team finished lining up in the tunnel, Twain slowly came from behind. He saw the anger and agitation on the AC Milan players’ faces and was secretly happy.

As if to add fuel to the fire, he acted immensely proud of himself in front of the opponent and swaggered in front of the AC Milan players for a long time before sauntering out of the tunnel and towards the technical area.

As soon as he left the tunnel, he was welcomed by the Nottingham Forest fans gathered in the stands on the right side of the tunnel. Frenzied cries swept through the section of the stands whether they were from Nottingham Forest or AC Milan.

They chanted loudly and extended their arms toward Twain. “Tony, we want the title! We won’t accept anything but the championship title!”

On the opposite side, the AC Milan fans could not do such a blatant thing. They felt it was beneath their dignities and unnecessary to do so. In the past few years, they had taken all kinds of championship trophies and were not as hungry as the Nottingham Forest fans for the championship title.

However, it could not be said that the AC Milan team had no desire to be the champion.

They faced an English team, which gave them more motivation to win the title. Two years ago, there was a night in Istanbul that was painful for the AC Milan players. They lost to Liverpool, even though they had the advantage of a three-goal lead. Now that Liverpool was not in the final, it was replaced by another English team, Nottingham Forest.

No matter which team it was, as long as it was an English team, AC Milan would be very motivated to fight. They wanted revenge. After that final, they had celebrated early in the locker room during the halftime interval and were overtaken by their opponent in the end. They became a worldwide laughingstock and this humiliation had to be repaid doubly. Even if the opponent was not Liverpool, as long as the team was from England and wore red jerseys, they would treat the team as Liverpool.

Looking at the arrogant opponent next to them, all the AC Milan players’ eyes burned with revenge.

※※※

“This is truly an explosive matchup! Nottingham Forest has won everyone’s affirmation with their excellent and steady performance since their return to the Premier League. Their two consecutive advancements to the Champions League finals are the best proof! Let’s hope they are not like Valencia when they reached the final twice in a row and lost twice in a row. The AC Milan team is also a regular in the Champions League finals. Before this, they had reached the finals ten times and won six titles! Impressive results! Compared to them, Nottingham Forest is as insignificant as a young brother... But! If the Forest team had been able to beat Barcelona last season, they would be the only team to reach the final three times and win three championships... What a pity.”

The commentator excitedly introduced the two competing teams to the television audience. Judging from the historical record, AC Milan clearly had the upper hand. Since the establishment of the team, they had occupied the center and highest level of European football most of the time. This kind of powerhouse club experience and manner was an immense wealth and was likely to play a decisive role at the crucial moment of determining the winner and loser.

Compared to AC Milan, Nottingham Forest had no advantage other than being a young team.

However, in such a major final game, almost everyone would rather believe in age and experience. Being young meant having no experience, which implied that the possibility of failure.

A more direct observation could be derived from the bookmakers’ data.

80% of the punters unanimously bet on AC Milan to win. The odds from a number of world-renowned gambling companies also placed Nottingham Forest in a disadvantageous position.

Twain knew this information before the game, and he was delighted that his team’s odds were so unpopular, because he secretly placed a bet of ten pounds before the game on his team to win. He did not care how much money he could win. What he bought was confidence.

“The game is about to begin! Let’s look forward to the final together!”

※※※

Albertini stood on the left side of the center line, next to the three referees. Across the center line, opposite him was his old friend from AC Milan, the team captain, Paulo Maldini.

Maldini still wore the AC Milan jersey and carried the AC Milan flag in his hands, whereas Albertini now wore a red Nottingham Forest jersey and held the Nottingham Forest team flag.

It was awkward to meet like this.

It was not the first time they met in this way as he had competed against AC Milan him when he played for Lazio. But how could an ordinary league tournament compare to an important Champions League final?

Maldini’s blue eyes reflected his old friend’s image.

He did not expect to meet Demetrio like this. He was actually relieved when he found out that Demetrio chose to play in the UK, because the twice a year regular run-ins in the league were just too awkward. He did not think of that even after going around in such a big circle, from Italy to England, and from England to Greece, they would still run into each other.

“Didn’t think we would meet like this again, did we?” Albertini was the first to break the silence, but it did not lessen the awkwardness.

“Demetrio...”

“I didn’t expect it either. If I had decided to retire a year ago, there would not have been today. But I’m now very happy to be able to meet the starting point of my career in the last game of my career, like the circle of life. It’s like Twain said, this really is the best farewell game. It couldn’t be any better...”

Maldini listened quietly to Albertini chattering on. The three referees next to them also saw that the game held a special meaning for the two men in front of them, so they did not make a noise to disturb them.

“I have to thank him. If he hadn’t run to Italy to look for me and persuade me to go to Nottingham Forest, I’m afraid I would have been long retired and sitting at home to watch this game now, wouldn’t I? If that was the case, then I would have unreservedly cheered for AC Milan and hoped you guys picked up the Champions League trophy for the seventh time. Pity.” He tugged at the Nottingham Forest emblem on his chest. “I’m now wearing the Nottingham Forest jersey as I stand across from you, Paulo.”

“Did you know about the interview I gave before the game?”

Maldini nodded. “I saw it. It was all over television and the papers.”

“I wasn’t joking or glossing over that question. I’m serious about it,” Albertini said with a serious expression. “I’m serious about wanting to defeat AC Milan and help the Forest team pick up the third Champions League trophy. I’ll stop you guys from winning the seventh time. I’m serious about going all out to beat you. Do you get it, Paulo?”

Maldini nodded again. “I understand, Demetrio. I’m not going to hold back either.”

Albertini smiled. “You’d better not. This is my farewell game. I do not want to see a nauseating show of hypocrisy. Bring it on, Paulo.”

“It’s like what I said to you before when you first appeared on behalf of AC Milan, Demetrio.” Maldini held out his hand to him. “Enjoy this game...”

“Enjoy the victory.” Albertini held out his hand at the same time.

The two veterans clasped their hands tightly together.

“There’s also a major highlight to watch in this game. Nottingham Forest’s team captain, Demetrio Albertini used to be AC Milan’s vice-captain. He played for AC Milan for twelve years. He undoubtedly still holds feelings for AC Milan. AC Milan also currently has his good friends, including Paulo Maldini, who had fought alongside him for eleven years, Pirlo whom he guided as a junior, and Kaka... How will he face such an opponent in the final? It’s well worth our anticipation.”

How would he face it?

He would use his best form and make every effort to burn up the last of his professional life to win the title, to say goodbye to his career, and to pay homage to his favorite team... and not to leave a hint of regret as he ended his own era.

After the coin toss to determine the side, Albertini turned to walk back to the half of the field that belonged to Nottingham Forest. He wore the golden yellow captain’s armband on his arm. He walked calmly with powerful footsteps and his eyes looked serene and determined. In front of him, waiting for him to return, were the ten teammates in the starting lineup of Nottingham Forest.

This is my path and here lies Demetrio Albertini’s way.

I’m going to walk it ’till the end.

When everyone saw the team captain coming back, he opened his arms and smiled. “Get ready, guys. The championship trophy is waiting for us. Don’t let it wait too long!”

The group hooted.

Chapter 550 - Albertini’s Pass

“This is AC Milan’s first time playing against Nottingham Forest in history and also their first time against Nottingham Forest in the Champions League final. For them, the Forest team is an unfamiliar opponent, even though they come from England like Liverpool. AC Milan wears white jerseys for this game and will attack from the right side of the field toward the left. White jerseys always seem to bring them good luck. AC Milan wore white jerseys when they won the Champions League finals in 1963, 1989, 1990 and 2003. And this stadium also brings good memories for AC Milan and even for the current Forest team captain Albertini. In 1994, AC Milan had a big win of 4:0 over Barcelona here and dealt a heavy blow to the Barcelona dream team that Cruyff coached.” After the start of the game, the commentator took some time to introduce some background knowledge to the television viewers, coming from an angle to analyze which of the two teams was more likely to win the championship.

“The referee for this game is the German, Herbert Fandel. He has not refereed a game played by Nottingham Forest before, but he has refereed AC Milan’s games, and AC Milan won all five of them! Could these circumstances illustrate that AC Milan’s odds of winning are higher for this game?”

“I have a different opinion, Steve. Analyzing from a historical angle, Nottingham Forest has reached the finals three times and won the title twice. Their winning success rate is better than AC Milan. I don’t think the historical data can explain these issues. The winner of this game is not based on historical data, but the level of their play in this game. If AC Milan thinks that they will win for certain, they may suffer a setback... Similar situations have appeared many times in the Champions League tournament. Of course, it did not happen to AC Milan. I think the managers on both sides have a deep understanding of this.”

Maldini won against Albertini during the coin toss, so the Forest team got the right to kick off.

Before the game, everyone thought the Forest team would continue to stick to the defensive counterattack they were best at for such an important game. However, judging from the opening minutes, the Forest team was very proactive — shortly after the kick-off, they launched a siege on AC Milan’s goal.

They made two shots in five minutes, all within the goal post range. It showed countless people that the Forest team was just as capable of playing a threatening offense.

Could it be that the Forest team was going to play offensive football in this game against AC Milan?

It would be a rarity. How could Tony Twain, who enjoyed a reputation of conservative play in the European football circle, give up defense in such an important final game in favor of a risky offense?

Ancelotti decided to bide his time. Just judging by five minutes of the Forest team’s performance, he could not figure out what was on Twain’s mind. Did this five-minute offense indicate that the Forest team really planned to attack, or was it just a normal offensive because the ball was mostly controlled by Forest players?

He needed to continue to observe.

What he had anticipated was that the Forest team would play defensive counterattack in such an important game, just as they had along the way. They had relied on solid defense and excellent counterattacks to beat their opponents. It had caused him to wrack his brains.

AC Milan was not afraid of the teams that pressed in and attacked. They were only powerless against the teams that defended their penalty areas to death.

If the Forest team really wanted to press in and attack, it would be exactly what Ancelotti wanted. The opponents would only accelerate their failure. If the Forest team still insisted on playing defensive counterattack, Ancelotti had also made arrangements. What AC Milan had done for the last week was practice how to break their opponent’s compact defense.

Before the game, Ancelotti warned his men that no matter what tactics their opponents used, they just needed to stick to their football rhythm and patiently play with their opponents to find a chance to strike a fatal blow and the victory would be in their hands.

It was very similar to what Twain said to his team. Was it a case of great minds thinking alike?

Five minutes later, AC Milan had control of the ball. Ancelotti saw that the speed of the Forest team’s withdrawal was not as fast as he thought.

More often than not, Nottingham Forest stayed in the front field and tried to counter-press. If the strikers were unsuccessful at intercepting, they did not just wait there for their teammates to intercept the ball and pass it to them. Instead, they immediately turned and ran back to participate in the defense. In addition to the counter-pressing in the front field, the midfielders were also very aggressive in their tackles. George Wood ran at the expense of his strength, from one end to the other. The number 13 could be seen in almost every corner of the midfield. Albertini provided support at his side.

“High pressing?” Ancelotti frowned He was still unsure.

Judging by the few Forest team games he had studied, the Forest team seemed more accustomed to retreat to the penalty zone. Then they would confine themselves within the thirty-meter zone to allow the opponents to pass the ball back and forth outside. No wonder Twain was criticized by the media for having conservative play and being ugly to watch. Even though such a defense could bring victory, it was disdained by many people.

Ancelotti looked at the back of the Forest team again. Despite the busy front and midfield, the players on the rear defensive line had no intention of coming up to help. They stood in formation at the back, waiting quietly for AC Milan’s potential offensive.

It appears to be a little disjointed? Ancelotti thought. The midfield and front field were inseparably close with the wide distance between the back field and midfield. Were they not afraid the big space would be exploited?

The AC Milan manager carefully recalled the performance of every line of the Forest team within the opening five minutes. The front and midfield were very active in the offense, making people think they were going to play offensive football. But the rear defensive line had never pressed over the midline and the two full backs also did not attack forward... Twain’s choice in the left back position was Leighton Baines who was better at defense and not his preferred, Gareth Bale.

Looks like defense is the main theme?

As Ancelotti observed, AC Milan’s field commander, brain and midfield leader, Pirlo was also watching. He also found that there appeared to be a fault zone between Nottingham Forest’s midfield and rear defensive line, which could be used...

Pirlo readjusted the football under his feet and shot a meaningful glance at Kaka who looked back at him.

Kaka got the message and plugged in.

Meanwhile, the football flew from Pirlo’s feet and rolled quickly on the turf toward Kaka. Ribéry shoveled midway but came up empty.

Kaka turned around and saw the football roll toward him, but at the same time he saw another thing — a man.

The Nottingham Forest red jersey stood out on the field. George Wood rushed toward Kaka along with the football.

The ball was bound to be received, but it seemed difficult to avoid the person. Kaka decided to protect the football and used his body to block.

He received the ball and used his skill to get the football over to protect it in front of his body, and then... Then he was thrown forward by Wood...

“Beep!” The referee’s whistle sounded with the boos of the AC Milan fans.

“George Wood has fouled! Looks like Wood’s closely marking Kaka for this game!”

Kaka helplessly laid on the ground as he waited for his teammate, Inzaghi to pull him up. Although it was not as obvious from the outside, the other man was stronger than he thought.

Pirlo ran over for the free kick. He had no regrets about the interruption of the attack. At the very least, he got a free kick in the front field. He also seemed to understand why the other manager dared to set aside such a gap between the rear defensive line and the midfield...

Because of that strong and tireless runner, number 13.

With him around, the empty section was not a void.

After he figured it out, Pirlo wondered about another question: There was really no need for Tony Twain to give Wood such a big responsibility. He just needed to draw the entire team back and that would do. Why did he arrange for the front field to press in but not let the rear defensive line come up to coordinate with the defense?

Pirlo decided to continue looking for the answer during the game.

He would first do this free kick and then figure it out.

Wood’s foul was timely. If he had waited for Kaka to dribble the ball forward and then fouled, it would be too close to the goal and he might also have had to use his back to tackle the ball to stop the swift Brazilian. It would not have been as simple as a free kick.

Twain told him to foul a little further away from the danger zone, which Wood kept in mind.

The television screen displayed the distance of the free kick — thirty-four meters from the goal.

If he shot the ball directly, the success rate would not be high, so Pirlo decided to pass.

Maldini appeared in the Forest team’s penalty area. When AC Milan encountered Liverpool in the last final, the first goal in the opening game was Maldini’s shot, which was also a set piece.

This was Maldini’s eighth appearance in the Champions League finals and he wanted to make the experience more legendary with one more goal.

Both tall players, Maldini and Nesta were in the crowd in the Forest team’s box, waiting for the chance for a header.

The Forest Team’s center forward, van Nistelrooy also came back to the box to defend and it looked like it was a full-on defense. But while everyone’s focus was elsewhere, Ribéry lay quietly in wait near the center line.

Twain turned his head to smile at Dunn sitting beside him and said nothing. Dunn understood what he meant and said nothing as well.

Led by Albertini, he, Ashley Young, and van der Vaart formed a human wall of three players to block the ball. Everyone else went back to the box to defend, especially George Wood who closely followed Kaka.

Kaka had often encountered such treatment, so he did not take it seriously and led Wood in circles within the box. He was not the end point of the attack. The head area was the key point.

After Pirlo placed the football, he stepped back and found that the Forest team’s human wall was too close, so he waved for the referee.

Fandel saw it, too. He ran over to warn Albertini, asking them to move the wall back by a couple of steps.

Albertini took his time to follow the order, but when Fandel turned and walked away, he and his two teammates slowly shuffled back in tiny steps — this is due to experience... I’m not going to listen properly and give you enough distance. The best thing is to get your free kick to end here with me!

As he had said before the game, when the game began, he would forget that he was once an AC Milan player. He would consider every detail and angle only for the Forest team.

Pirlo had also seen a lot of lip paid to the referee’s demands. Anyway, he did not plan to shoot directly. If the free kick was moved forward, then so be it. He would kick the ball a little higher and it would be fine. It was not worth wasting time arguing over.

The referee signaled with a whistle that Pirlo could start the free kick.

Pirlo was going to twist the football around to bypass the human wall, but he clearly underestimated Albertini’s game acumen. The moment he kicked, Albertini led Ashley Young and van der Vaart in a collective sprint before they jumped and waited for the football to fly out. The ten yard distance had been shortened to eight yards. Pirlo’s shot was still on the upswing and did not reach its highest point. It could not avoid the sudden forward thrust of the human wall, and the football hit van der Vaart’s head before it shot straight up. Originally the football was going to fly into the box, but it had become a straight up and down shot.

Pirlo held up his arm in protest to the referee about the action of the opponent’s human wall.

It was a sticky situation for the referee. Unless the slow motion was replayed on the camera, it was really hard to say whether the wall moved before Pirlo kicked or after he had already kicked... The referee chose to remain silent, as he thought it was after Pirlo had kicked the football...

Pirlo saw that his protest was ineffective, so he wanted to rush up to grab the ball and launch an attack.

This time he was blocked by Albertini. The drop point no longer belonged to him.

Albertini suppressed Pirlo and turned his head to observe the situation. Then he looked up at the football falling down. He could tell from the feel of his body that Pirlo would not let it go. He was trying his best to squeeze in to snatch the drop point. Albertini would not give him such a chance, so he opened his arms to cover his position.

When he was still AC Milan, Pirlo had been seen as his successor because the two of them had a similar role in the midfield and characteristics in their playing were similar. During usual training, Albertini was always happy to pass on his skills to the other man. He was also proud and gratified to be able to groom another midfield commander for the team.

He never thought that his student would become a fierce enemy on the field and that there would be such a violent clash.

He also did not expect to teach another person, who could master the pace of the game, how to be a midfield commander...

When the ball fell, both Albertini and Pirlo jumped at the same time.

Pirlo already knew he was not destined to get the ball, but he could still interfere with Albertini getting the ball and not let him comfortably control the ball before launching another counterattack. Any fool could see that it was the chance for the Forest team to fight back. The team captain, Maldini, Nesta, and his teammates were coming back to defend. He was going to buy them time.

As a former teammate, he certainly knew the strengths of the man in front of him. If he was in a good shape, he definitely could not give him the opportunity to easily possess the football and let him control the football, which meant he would take control of the pace of the game.

Albertini felt the collision from behind and tried to maintain his balance. Otherwise he would lose the landing ball... It was a bit difficult for his current physical condition, so he could only make up for it with his skill.

Pirlo was trying to force Albertini get the football with a header in mid-air. That way, his teammates would have a chance to intercept the ball, and the players heading back to defend would also have time.

However, Albertini chose to use his chest to stop the ball. He still managed to stop the football with his chest under Pirlo’s close marking. His skills and experience played an important role.

But his body was not as good as before. Under Pirlo’s constant impact, he felt that he had to give his best just to protect the ball, not to mention to possess the ball and then to pass it...

He needed someone to help share the burden.

Just as he was about to give way, he saw George Wood.

Without hesitation, he passed the football on to his second student.

Pirlo suddenly felt that the pressure in front of him was gone. Albertini had turned to run away, and the football was not at his feet! So where was the football?

Number 13!

George Wood dribbled the ball and charged up. Pirlo did not even have time to think and just reacted on instinct — and pounced on Wood.

When Wood saw Pirlo rush up, he sent the football out. His target was Albertini, who managed to shake off the defense.

The Forest team had to attack fast. Dribbling and adjusting the ball were not allowed, because it would give the opponent the time needed to return to defend.

After a clean pass, the football was back at Albertini’s feet. Only then was Pirlo free to think about the problem in his head — he realized something was afoot.

No one’s marking Albertini!

“Guard him!” He cried to the back. When he saw Gattuso rush towards the target, he was relieved.

The Forest team has George Wood, we have Gattuso!

Albertini was familiar with everyone in AC Milan, whether it was Pirlo or Gattuso. When he saw Gattuso rush up, he suddenly swung his leg for a long pass!

The football passed over Gattuso’s head and flew toward the flank.

Franck Ribéry, who had been lying in wait, received the football.

It was as if it had been planned long ago. The Forest team only took a short time to turn the defense into an offense with the completion of three passes. It perfectly displayed Twain’s pursuit of highly effective football. The AC Milan defenders had just run past the center circle — neither Maldini or Nesta was a defender with fast speed.

Ribéry received the ball but did not entangle with the opposing full-back, Oddo, on the flank or wait for his teammates to plug in to assist. He immediately sped up to break through the moment he stopped the ball and shook off Oddo.

“What a sharp breakthrough from Franck Ribéry!” There was no need to make a fuss in the announcement that Ribéry had managed to break through Oddo. The Frenchman had long ago proved that he was a world-class player with his last few seasons, as well as his performance at the World Cup.

Breaking through Oddo? Wasn’t that a normal thing to do?

Ribéry did not break through along the flank. After he accelerated, he cut across to the middle. This made it more challenging for Oddo to catch up. If he had broken through on the flank, he could squeeze Ribéry out of bounds, and the space that Ribéry could use would narrow. Now that he was in the middle, it was not up to Oddo to stop Ribéry.

As it was a hasty retreat to defend, there were not many AC Milan players in defensive positions. Hence, there was plenty of running space, and it was wide open in front of Ribéry.

Nesta and Maldini had already returned to in front of the penalty box. They saw that Ribéry was a lone player and were not afraid that the other side would be in the offside. One of them stayed a little behind to defend and the other pressed forward to tackle. It was the most appropriate way to form enough depth in the strategic defense to deal with the striker who relied on speed to break through.

As he entered the thirty-meter zone, an alarm sounded over AC Milan’s defensive zone.

Maldini was delayed at the back, and Nesta pressed ahead.

How could Ribéry not tell what they had in mind? Nottingham Forest itself was an outsider in the Premier League, where the manager took pleasure in studying a wide variety of defensive tactics. So, how could they not understand defense as players?

Ribéry did not give Nesta the time to press up. He suddenly swung his leg to shoot at twenty-five meters away from the goal!

He did not prepare the shot before. The momentum from the high-speed dribble became his running power, and the football flew past Nesta like a bullet.

Whoosh!

The football bypassed Nesta and Maldini, who were building strategic depth in the back. It drew a clearly recognizable arc in the air, then skirted around the fingertips of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Dida, to hit the inside of the inner post, and then...

Everyone saw as the football bounced back into the net.

“Bang!” The Olympic Stadium of Athens was like a volcano filled with TNT dynamites as it exploded in an instant.

“Eight minutes into the game! Just eight minutes! And Nottingham Forest has taken the lead! Who would have thought AC Milan’s defensive line was so fragile? A long shot of twenty-six meters away from the goal actually penetrated Dida’s hands... Oh my God! Nottingham Forest has shown their confidence in winning with their actions! Franck Ribéry is a hero in the minds of Nottingham Forest fans!”

When he saw the football enter the goal, Ancelotti turned to punch the plastic back of his coach’s seat. At the same time, Tony Twain did the same thing on the other side.

The former was because of his fury and frustration over the goal concede, while the latter was because of his excitement and exhilaration.

“1:0! The game has only been eight minutes and we’re ahead!” The commentator from England had become a Nottingham Forest fan. “The great Franck Ribéry is the second Zidane!”

“0:1, just eight minutes and AC Milan is already trailing. Such bad luck… Although Ribéry’s long shot was terrific, I would like to say that Demetrio’s passing was the highlight of this attack!” The Italian commentator sounded annoyed, but still praised the performance of Albertini, who had come from their country. Perhaps this would make him feel a little better?

Maldini did not have the time to be annoyed at conceding the goal. He had experienced many situations like it. He just stared at Demetrio Albertini, who celebrated with the Forest players.

He was equally familiar with Demetrio’s pass to Ribéry. During their time together at AC Milan, he had seen many of such passes every season. Some of them became goals in the end and some of them, unfortunately, did not. Among the men who had received his passes were Basten, Marcelo, Bierhoff, Shevchenko, Roberto Baggio, and so on. Now it was Ribéry.

The player who had once only passed this kind of ball to those wearing the AC Milan and Italy national team jerseys, now passed to what had become an enemy of AC Milan.

— I’m serious about wanting to beat AC Milan and go all out to defeat you to help the Forest team become the champion. That’s the farewell game I want. Do you understand, Paulo?

Of course, I get it, Demetrio...

All right, I’ll give you the farewell game you want!

Paulo Maldini picked up the fallen captain’s armband and turned to walk back toward the goal. He had to prepare for the kick-off in the center circle.

Chapter 551 - Like A Fallen Leaf to The Ground

“I thought with such an important final game, both teams would stabilize and hold. The opening ten minutes or so should have been a phase of mutual probing. After all, this is the first time both teams have played against each other in history. But I was wrong. AC Milan might have wanted to stabilize, but Tony Twain didn’t give them that chance. Nottingham Forest’s offense since the kick-off was not a bluff. They managed to crack open the gates of AC Milan in the first eight minutes! They did not sound them out at all... it looks like they’re extremely familiar with the AC Milan team!” the commentator stated excitedly.

The truth of the matter was that Twain and Albertini were familiar with AC Milan. What would they need to feel out the team first?

When he had been a fan, Twain had not understood why some team managers said “I don’t know this team” when they discussed their opponents. It happened all the time, especially with the managers of big clubs. Was it because the opponent was weak and therefore they felt it beneath them to understand? But when a heavyweight matchup came up, it still happened.

Hence, after he became the official manager of Nottingham Forest, he placed great importance to gather intelligence on his opponents. At first, the club did not have that capability, so he paid for the temporary workers himself to help him gather intelligence. Later, when the team’s performance improved, the club was able to completely fulfill his requirements in this regard. Today’s Nottingham Forest had a complete system of intelligence-gathering. Dunn had once said to Tang Jing that they did not care who the opponent was because they had all the intelligence they needed on the top sixteen teams. They would simply pull the information on the team they drew. It was the result of their work on the intelligence-gathering system.

Twain held a deep belief of the ancient Chinese wisdom of “know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.” No matter how strong his team was, they could not neglect the work of gathering intelligence on their opponents. Even if it was not used in the game, they would not know when it would be needed.

From the first day he assumed the official position as the Nottingham Forest manager, he took on the intelligence gathering of all the European powerhouse clubs as a long-term project. At the time, his team was still in League One — later known as English Football League Championship. He paid for someone to do the job out of his own pocket and did not trouble the club. It was only after the team had successfully been promoted to the Premier League that he took out the information he had collected and asked the club to take on the project.

The intelligence gathering on AC Milan began during that time. He did not know that he would encounter AC Milan in the final game of the 06-07 Champions League. He had just thought that if Nottingham Forest wanted to grow and embark on the road to becoming a powerhouse club, then the big clubs were bound to become his opponents and enemies in the near future. Therefore, he had to gather intelligence as soon as possible and continued systematically. Otherwise, there would be no reference and research value in them at all.

Now, they had cracked open AC Milan’s defense in the opening eight minutes. In addition to the players’ outstanding play, as well as the appropriate tactical formulation, the long-term intelligence-gathering work had to be credited, too.

Twain hugged everyone around him in celebration. The first goal came so quickly that everyone felt that the trophy was getting closer to them.

On the other side, Ancelotti did not rush to the sidelines like some managers to remind the players what to do after he vented his anger on awning of the technical area. He just sat in his seat.

AC Milan was a traditionally strong team and had experienced countless tests like this one. Each one of the players was the elite among the elite. They were experienced and knew how to manage themselves. It was only a goal concede, which was not enough to scare the entire team, especially given that it was only eight minutes into the game. For AC Milan, they still had eighty-two minutes left to equalize and overtake Forest.

Sure enough, Maldini assumed his role as the team captain on the field. He comforted his teammates and loudly encouraged them. The teammates who were slightly shocked by the premature goal concede quickly calmed down and their morale recovered. The impact of the goal concede slowly faded.

Twain took in the scene. He snorted. He did not expect one goal to crush a team like AC Milan, otherwise it would be too easy to take down this world.

It was going to be a tough final that would not be easy for either side...

※※※

The game restarted. After the kick-off, AC Milan gave up their intention to continue sounding out and launched a fierce offensive against the Forest team in their inner area. However, the results were minimal up against the Forest team’s Wall Defense...

Pirlo realized that when the Nottingham Forest team contracted their defense, the gap between the midfield and the backfield disappeared and he could no longer exploit that area to attack. He could only slowly contend with the Forest team on the outside.

The Forest team sent Albertini to mark him and gave Kaka to the tireless George Wood.

The Forest team used relentless running and frequent fouls, as well as rough moves, to stop AC Milan’s attacks. This trick appeared to be effective.

Pirlo could not easily send the football to where it needed to go. Even if he managed to send it out, Kaka might not be able to secure it under Wood’s close marking and tackles. Even if Kaka received it, Inzaghi would not be able to come out and pick up the shot in the crowd. In the end, Kaka or Seedorf could only end the attack with a long shot.

It left them with very little choice.

Nottingham Forest unreasonably used aggressive running and high pressing to disrupt AC Milan’s defense.

The tactic obtained a very good outcome within twenty minutes after the start of the game.

AC Milan had intended to look for opportunities at their own pace, using ball control and passes and cuts. However, they did not obtain the results they wanted during the twenty-minute game time, because their ball possession and passing became a mess under the Forest team’s forced interceptions.

Restricted by Wood, Kaka rarely played. Under Albertini’s defense, the most Pirlo did were straight passes, but not return passes or cross passes.

As time passed, the score still remained at 1:0 with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

Ancelotti stood up from his seat and walked to the sidelines but just quietly observed the situation on the field. Standing up gave him a much better view, and he could clearly see the situation.

Only twenty-five minutes had passed, and he was not worried. Despite a goal concede, he believed that the final victory would belong to his AC Milan team. Why would he be so confident? He had figured out Twain’s tactics, and he knew what Nottingham Forest was going to do.

Running around such a large area was a physically draining job. George Wood was marking Kaka so closely, he was almost his shadow. Kaka found it difficult to even turn around, never mind trying to attack. As for the others, Seedorf, Pirlo, Inzaghi, They were all faced with the “meticulous” close marking from their opponents. The front of the Forest team’s goal was so overcrowded that it could be the city. It was too difficult to launch an attack. Ancelotti was not in a hurry.

He knew that the Forest team could not last ninety minutes with such exhausting runs and defense. There were not many teams in the world that could hold such a high-intensity rhythm for ninety minutes. Perhaps the South Koreans would be able to...

Ancelotti did not believe the Forest team could hold on to such tight defense for ninety minutes. He believed that as game time went on, the Forest team’s seemingly impenetrable defense was bound to reveal holes, and the experienced AC Milan would be certain to seize the opportunity to reverse the game in an instant.

The most important thing now was not to let the opponent’s defense and interceptions disrupt their game rhythm. AC Milan still had to stick to their style of football. Ancelotti was aware that Twain wanted to drag the unhurried AC Milan into a fast pace like in the Premier League and use speed and chaos to win. He could not let the other man get what he wanted.

He observed for a while on the sidelines, and then shouted Pirlo’s name. He made a hand gesture of pressing down to him.

Pirlo nodded to show his understanding.

He had the same idea as his manager. If he were to blindly do a straight pass, he would only fall into the opponent’s trap. Constant mistakes would impact the confidence and morale of his teammates while giving the opponent too many chances to fight back.

The current focus of the game for AC Milan was not to equalize, but to get more control of the football, stabilize the situation, and slowly contend with the opponent.

※※※

“Ancelotti is an old fox. I don’t like him, but I have to admit that he does have skill,” Twain muttered to himself in the coaches’ seat.

Ancelotti had read his intentions, and he had figured out Ancelotti’s ideas as well. This kind of final game was the best stage for the managers’ match of wits. His opponent was not an idiot who could be easily beaten, but a manager who had won the Champions League title once. With that title alone, the other party had a lot more experience than Twain.

The fat Ancelotti wanted to drag the game out until Forest ran out of strength, and then use AC Milan’s experience and methods to determine the outcome.

Twain did not deny that his team could not hold on to their defensive tactics for all ninety minutes, but he was also not going to give Ancelotti the chance to reverse the tables. The only way was to score more goals before his team ran out of stamina and establish the victory early and completely crush AC Milan’s remaining hope of a reversal.

You want to reverse the tables? I’ll score a few more goals and then see how you can overtake!

Don’t say you’re going to turn everything on its head?

Twain did not think his team was like AC Milan in 2005. Likewise, he would also never admit that the current AC Milan was Liverpool in 2005. He was arrogant enough to think that he was the heavens above his head.

“Do we need to step up offense, Tony?” Kerslake asked from next to him.

Twain turned his head to look at the silent Dunn.

Staring at the field, Dunn noticed the glances from the two men beside him and turned his head. He shook his head. “No. I think we’re good for now. Our defense is solid, and we have opportunities for counterattacks. Now it’s up to Ribéry and the others to grab them.”

Twain nodded in agreement. “I’m of the same opinion. To step up our offense requires putting in more players. We are defending now and can’t pull too many people. And David, you need to know AC Milan is very cunning... If we take the risk to press on, it will allow Pirlo and Kaka to seize the opportunity. Our current state is good, so nothing has to change.”

Tony is really conservative Kerslake could not help but think, even though he had made it many times... If it had been him, maybe before the game, he would get the team to fight it out with AC Milan win to their hearts’ content! He did not like to be conservative, but he expressed understanding and respect for Twain’s decision. After all, this was the final game of a major competition. Any manager would be afraid to take risks in a game like this and trifle with their own coaching careers.

Just thinking back to the dreary final at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester in 2003, where two Italian teams tied their civil battle at 0:0 after 120 minutes and finally relied on a penalty shootout to decide the outcome. Kerslake had watched the game in on the television, and his disdain for Italian football originated from it. He thought that the penalty shootout had been planned by both managers before the final, and that little sense of accomplishment could be had from how the championship title was won.

Little did he know that Tony Twain would study that final game countless times. For the vast majority of fans, that game had viewing pleasure, but for the managers, it was a valuable teaching and research material.

※※※

Ancelotti instructed Pirlo on the sidelines to reassure the team and to enter their own rhythm, before he walked back to sit down again in the coaches’ seat and didn’t get up again.

The year after they crushed Barcelona 4:0: that kind of final was memorable, but had only appeared once in all these years. If all the finals were prepared with that kind of final as the standard, the manager would collapse after conceding a goal.

Ancelotti did not think the second UEFA Champions League title of his coaching career would be easy to take. He was prepared for the worst and ready to do his best to fight with his opponent.

※※※

In the 37th minute of the first half, with more than eight minutes from the end of the first half, the score still had not changed. On the big screen, the 1:0 score somewhat quieted the AC Milan fans. For a period, only the Forest fans’ singing could be heard in the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

They sang the old team song, again and again.

The Forest fans’ hearts were as sweet as if they had drunk honey. They were also particularly fired up in singing the old song.

Michael Bernard and his buddies sang and shouted at the top of their lungs despite their hoarse voices. The Forest fans became protagonists in the stands of the stadium, venting the emotions they had accumulated over twenty-seven years and staying unconcerned about how their opponents felt.

“We are the strongest team in the world!”

※※※

In the 40th minute, AC Milan began to change their tempo and retreated slightly after their successive sieges on the Forest team goal were not effective. The first half was almost over, and AC Milan had to maintain their strength.

Nottingham Forest launched an offensive. This time, it was threatening even though it was not a fast attack. The Forest team was not a team that only knew how to launch a swift attack. Twain had lined up a formation with a single striker. He placed five players in the midfield using a 4-4-1-1 formation against AC Milan’s 4-4-1-1. Van Nistelrooy was the single spearhead, and van der Vaart was in charge of organizing the team’s offense behind him. The Dutchman was put in the starting lineup because when Twain considered the need to play the positional play, he wanted him to organize the attack, while he shared the pressure on Albertini. After all, Demetrio still needed to strengthen his defense against Pirlo, and he did not really have many chances to organize attacks.

The football was passed to van Nistelrooy’s feet, but as he was closely marked and could not turn around, he could only pass the football back to van der Vaart coming from the midfield.

As soon as van der Vaart took the ball, Gattuso leaned in.

Ancelotti knew van der Vaart acted as a midfield commander for Nottingham Forest. Twain letting him start was certainly to get him to organize the attacks. Therefore, as long as they restricted van der Vaart, the Forest team’s offense would have no option other than to play defensive counterattacks.

Since George Wood tries to contain Kaka and Albertini tries to entangle with Pirlo, why can’t our Gattuso restrict their van der Vaart? Furthermore, Ancelotti had always believed that Gattuso was the best defensive midfielder in the world.

George Wood? He was just a star player made up by the English media that liked to brag...

Ancelotti had really thought so before the game.

Now, he had to revise his assessment of Wood. A defensive midfielder who could render the world’s best attacking midfielder, Kaka, useless for nearly forty minutes could not be made up.

Kaka went back to participate in the defense, and Wood followed him. He was no longer the rookie that had nothing to do with offense. After three years of training under Albertini, he had learned how to be involved with the team’s offense.

He saw that van der Vaart needed backup as Gattuso’s defense made things extremely hard for the Dutchman. If no one came up to assist, the Forest team’s attack could only have two results — one, van der Vaart hurriedly passed the football and lost it. Two, van der Vaart’s ball would be directly intercepted by Gattuso.

Either way, it was not good for the Forest team.

Albertini was older. This required someone to sprint back and forth, which better suited for the young and strong Wood.

George ran up. He did not shout loudly as he believed van der Vaart knew he was coming up.

Sure enough, van der Vaart passed the football on to Wood under the constant harassment from Gattuso.

Wood did not linger after he received the ball. He immediately diverted the ball to Ribéry, who plugged into the middle.

When he no longer had the ball, the pressure on van der Vaart lessened and he shook off Gattuso to run to the left flank. Twain asked him and Ribéry to regularly switch positions in the game because the two players had the ability to play in the left flank and the middle. The switch of positions could effectively enhance the Forest team’s offensive routine and disrupt the opponent’s defense.

Ambrosini followed Ribéry to the middle and Gattuso decided to follow van der Vaart after some hesitation. Who knew if Ribéry would pass the football back? Van der Vaart’s performance on the left flank could not be ignored.

Ribéry found that cracks did not appear in the opposing defense just because of his change in position with van der Vaart. Ambrosini followed him closely, so he passed the football back to Wood.

Wood’s position was further back, and for the moment, no AC Milan players had come up to tackle.

After a careful study of Nottingham Forest’s two games against Chelsea, Ancelotti acknowledged Wood’s attacking prowess but knew that he did not have fluent command of it. The threat that he posed would decrease as long as he was kept as far away from the goal as possible.

Therefore, in this game, the defensive strategy for Wood was not to let him near the box and for him to pass the ball outside if he had to.

Ribéry passed the football to Woo, wanting to do a wall pass with Wood. In fact, Wood thought the same. He saw Ribéry turn suddenly and rush directly into the box, so he launched a straight pass.

Unfortunately, Ambrosini saw through the Forest team’s simple tactical coordination. Just when Ribéry turned around, he immediately tackled him to the ground to stop the attack.

The referee’s whistle sounded. Ambrosini had fouled. Nottingham Forest was awarded a free kick about thirty meters from the goal.

The exact distance was displayed on the television screen as twenty-eight meters.

Originally in the backfield, Albertini started to run forward when he saw the Forest team got a free kick in the front. The Forest players seemed to be waiting for him. Before he ran up, no one went to place the football. They just let the football rest at the spot of the foul.

“Albertini is running up, and it looks like he’s going to take the free kick!” The English and Italian commentators got excited at the same time.

“Make a human wall with five players!” Maldini shouted in the penalty area after it was determined that Albertini would take the free kick.

He was completely aware of his old friend’s free kick standard.

In the 2000 Champions League game, with AC Milan versus Barcelona and Albertini up against Rivaldo, the face-off between the two world-class free kick masters started with an equal score of 2:2. The final score of the game was 3:3. If Albertini had not been there, it would have been a different result.

Now that he was older, people were bound to think that his set piece skills had degenerated, right? It would appear so. Gareth Bale was the main player for free kicks, and the second was Eastwood. But that was because Albertini did not play very often.

In January of that year, at the farewell match that AC Milan prepared for him, the older man still used a long-distance free kick to blow Barcelona’s goal wide open.

Woe be to anyone who dared to underestimate his free kicks!

Maldini dared not take it lightly. He even went up to direct his teammates to make the wall.

Albertini ran over, picked up the football, and placed it carefully on the turf.

When he raised his head and straightened up, AC Milan’s human wall had not yet been lined up. Dida was directing the human wall as well as Maldini was also in command. The scene looked a little chaotic. He did not know whether AC Milan was deliberately engaging in psychological tactics or not.

Albertini remained unmoved. He retreated and quietly waited for the opponent to form a good wall.

AC Milan’s human wall lined up longer than usual, but the Forest players were not impatient because they had their own things to do.

Ribéry suddenly came up to high-five Albertini standing in front of the ball. “All the vest, Captain!” Then he turned and walked away.

The Frenchman might have done it on a whim, but since he took the lead, the rest of the Forest team felt that this looked so cool that they ran up one by one. The second player to high-five him was van der Vaart, and the third was van Nistelrooy. The Dutch striker asked him with a laugh, “do you want me to do the shot instead?”

A number of Forest players came up to high-five their captain as they stood in line. This had never been seen in previous games.

Both the televised broadcast and the commentators noticed the scene happening on the field. No one paid attention to when AC Milan would be able to line up their human wall.

“Let’s see what’s happening on the field... Ah, all the Forest players have gathered around Albertini to high-five and say something to him...”

In fact, AC Milan’s human wall was already formed, but the Forest team was not done on their side. Now it was their turn to wait.

If the referee had not forcibly intervened, perhaps even the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, would have gone up to high-five Albertini. If AC Milan’s slow-going human wall was really a psychological tactic against Nottingham Forest, in that case they were now being countered by the Forest team...

Kerslake turned to look at Twain. He thought it must have been Twain’s idea. Twain shrugged and spread his hands to protest his innocence. “I did not do this! I never thought there would be such a scene... Don’t blame all their antics on me, okay?”

Kerslake laughed happily. “Who made you this person who’s always getting into all kinds of jigs?”

Wood finally high-fived Albertini. When everyone started high-fiving him in the beginning, Albertini was surprised. Later, he calmly accepted this special treatment with a smile. It was only when he saw Wood that the expression on his face changed.

He had always wanted to teach Wood how to kick a free kick, but this boy’s talent in this area was nil. It was not easy to bring the range of his shots within the goal posts. But to demand that he be able to bypass the wall and the goalkeeper, would it not be near impossible?

After Wood and Albertini high-fived each other, they wanted to open their mouths to say something, but were interrupted by the referee’s whistle.

The two men turned their heads to look at the displeased-looking German referee, Fandel. Albertini smiled as he gently pushed Wood. “Go away, George, don’t get in the way of my goal.”

Wood did not move. “I’m here to cover for you.”

Albertini laughed even more happily. “The whole world knows you don’t know how to kick a free kick.”

“Then I’ll watch at your side.” Wood insisted on staying, and Albertini could not do anything about him.

Regarding this scene after the human wall, Maldini really did not know how he felt. It looked like Demetrio had met a lot of new friends in England and was happy in the final years of his career. He should be happy about that, so why did he feel little jealous and disgruntled about his opponent showing such a close comradery?

“All right, George, up to you. If you want to learn something, go right ahead... I don’t have many chances to teach you anymore.” Albertini turned. “You won’t be able to master the free kicks, but I will teach you... The most important thing is your mind. Right here, you must...” he jabbed himself in the heart, “make sure you’re calm. The more critical the moment is, the more you must remain calm.”

With that, Albertini turned around and looked across at the human wall and AC Milan’s goal. He no longer paid any attention to George Wood and the smile on his face was gone.

The figures of his teammates were no longer on this field. The human wall? The opponent? They all vanished. In Albertini’s eyes, the only things on the field were an empty goal, himself, and the football under his feet.

On the opposite side of him was his former mother team, AC Milan, which he had loved the most in his life. Such thoughts did not appear in Albertini’s mind. He only had one thought right now, and that was to score a goal.

That is my path.

※※※

There was no sound in more than half of the pubs in Nottingham city. If the bright lights could not be seen clearly from the outside, an unwitting person would certainly think that the pubs were closed.

Kenny Burns did not go to watch the game live. He wanted to stay in his pub to help out. That night, his business was exceptionally good. The fans who could not travel to Athens had chosen to come to the most familiar pub to order a large pint of beer and watch the televised broadcast. They would cheer for their favorite team in England.

The Forest fans in the stands sang and so did the fans in the pubs. When their mouths were dry and voices hoarse, they just took big gulps of cold beer, cried out at the chill and then continue to sing with joyous abandonment.

The bar was full of people with flushed faces, but no one made a peep. Everyone had the same pose — glasses in their hands as they stretched their necks to watch the television hanging from the ceiling. Even the waiters and the boss were still.

If a stranger were to charge in, he would think that he was in the world of Harry Potter — had all these people been petrified by magic?

A close-up shot of Albertini appeared on the screen. He looked ahead with a firmness in his eyes and a serious expression on his face.

The commentator did not speak, and there was no other sound from the television speakers other than the noise from the fans in the stadium. For a moment, it gave rise to the illusion that the transmission signal was broken.

“Oh lord...” Someone sighed when they finally could not stand the oppressive silence.

“Beep—” The whistle rang.

※※※

Albertini ran up, raised his leg and kicked.

The football went straight over the human wall and straight into the sky. It looked like it was going to fly out of the field and into the stands where the AC Milan fans gathered.

However, that was just an illusion.

The football spun in the air with its angle adjusted as it began to fall towards the goal.

Dida used all his strength to jump. His height of 1.96 meters, combined with a pair of long arms, were enough to block the area above the goal.

He did not manage to touch the football...

The football skimmed past his fingertips.

Was it going out of bounds?

No, this was a free kick from Demetrio Albertini. It was the free kick known as “Albertini’s banana kick.”

After it skimmed past Dida’s fingertips, the football suddenly changed direction and plummeted!

It happened in an instant, and people only felt the slight change in the trajectory of the football.

The ball brushed against the crossbar as it fell into the net.

Like a fallen leaf to the ground...

※※※

When Albertini first debuted, he already showed an amazing talent for football. Gullit once pointed at his young teammate and said to Sacchi, “he’s a tough one.” To which, Sacchi replied, “yes, he has the playing rhythm in his body.”

The AC Milan manager discovered his talent for long shots and free kicks, so he told him to learn the “banana kick” that only South American players could make. He succeeded and the “banana kick” became his trademark move. He had used the stunt countless times to besiege others’ goals and repeatedly brought results for AC Milan.

Banana kick = Albertini = AC Milan.

For thirteen years, this was a given. The three factors made up an indestructible triangle.

When Albertini still wore the red and black striped jersey to set foot in San Siro stadium, he never thought he would become AC Milan’s enemy one day. He wanted to play there until he retired.

When Galliani decided to inform Albertini that “AC Milan no longer needs you. We have the young players like Pirlo and Kaka,” the manager, known for his shrewdness in the football world, did not think that one day his team would encounter Albertini in the Champions League final, and the player he did not need would give him the hardest stab.

※※※

“Long live!” The Nottingham city, which had been quiet a moment ago, erupted into a huge roar, ringing through the night sky.

“Long Live Demetrio! Long live Nottingham Forest!”

“He scored! He has scored! Demetrio Albertini! Abandoned by AC Milan, with his iconic ‘banana kick.’ Nottingham Forest extended its lead to two goals!” The British commentator was a little incoherent with excitement.

“The player that we didn’t want has given us a fatal blow... This is just too cruel, too dramatic...” the Italian commentator said feebly. Should he cheer that Albertini was old but still vigorous? Perhaps at the end of this game, they could still say in a self-deprecating manner, “at least the outcome was determined by a player groomed by AC Milan...”

In the VIP seats, a polite smile did not even exist on Berlusconi’s face. Sitting next to him, Galliani leaned on the back of the chair, looking very powerless indeed.

Not far away, the chairman of Nottingham Forest Football Club, Evan Doughty and his good friend the club’s marketing manager, Allan Adams jumped and hugged in celebration. After their embrace, Evan waved his fists excitedly at the field.

“Terrific job! Well done!” There was no other sound from his mouth other than that. He did not care about the feelings of the AC Milan Football Club’s top echelon. After being together with Twain for a long time, he was more or less afflicted with some of his bad habits. When it was time to be proud, it should be the time to celebrate wildly and enjoy to the fullest. Why should he pay attention to the others’ mood?

As his role model, Twain was crazier than he was. After Albertini’s goal, he held his arms high and rushed straight onto the field. He was offensively conspicuous and stood out as he dashed all the way in his suit. If it had been usual, he might have been knocked to the ground by the stadium security guard like a naked streaker. However, the field was complete chaos. The ground seemed to be shaking, and the security guards had not reacted as they looked at Twain, allowing him to rush up the field. Twain did not rush onto the field to wave his fists before he finished. He ran straight to Albertini and pushed the veteran to the ground to pile on him.

“F**k! Demetrio, you did it!” These were the last words Albertini heard before he was crushed underneath the bodies of his teammates.

Twain’s passionate celebration also ignited the mood of the Forest fans in the stands. Together, they sang the first team song when the Forest team won their two Champions League titles —”We got the whole world in our hands.”

Michael, John and Bill sang with their hoarse voices... They were not so much singing as they were yelling the song, as if they were going to rip their vocal chords apart, as if the failure to do so would not show how excited they were.

“We got the whole world in our hands! We got the whole world in our hands! This damn world is in our hands! We’re the strongest in the world!”

“The singing voices of the Nottingham Forest fans... and the song of Nottingham Forest fans is once again ringing through the European arena! We seem to be instantly transported back to The Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany in 1979. That was when Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest appeared in the Champions League finals for the first time and shocked Europe as soon as they appeared. No one thought anything of them, but they ended up winning! Twenty-eight years later, Tony Twain has taken over the mantle of the veteran Manager Clough and led a brand-new Nottingham Forest to appear on the Champions League finals. This time, he vowed not to let the championship title to be sidelined! 2:0! The red color is back!”

Yes, baby! We’re back, and ready to take back the lost glory of our yesteryears!

Chapter 552 - A Battle of Wits and Valour

Ancelotti was not a someone that could keep a cool head during a crisis and calmly observe changes from the technical area. Now that they were two goals behind, people would suspect that he was a little abnormal if he could still appear to be calm.

What did it mean to concede two goals first in such an important final? If it were another team, they might think about raising their hands in surrender.

Although Ancelotti stood up from his seat with a grim face, he did not intend to make any adjustments as the first half was soon coming to an end. He wanted to use the method to tell the players that he was angry.

Even if the opponent’s defense is very tight, George Wood has real talent and our offense is under a lot of pressure, it is not an excuse for our rear defensive line to concede two goals in a row.

Defense is defense, offense is offense.

Ancelotti knew that AC Milan had a defensive problem. These days, there were few strong teams that had no problems in their defense. AC Milan’s problem was that the rear defensive line was aging and had frequent injuries. Ancelotti put Maldini as the center back because he knew Paulo was older, so he arranged for Nesta to protect him on the side.

However, he did not expect the Forest team to take advantage of a quick counterattack and set piece to rip AC Milan’s defensive line apart so easily. The Forest team had a total of four offensive opportunities in the first half and scored two goals. This efficiency... everyone in England stated that Tony Twain was a manager who attached great importance in efficient football and his team was an efficient killer team. Ancelotti did not quite believe it at the time, but now he had to believe it even if he did not want to.

Therefore, he just stood on the sidelines and looked at the field with a cold expression. At the same time, his brain rapidly analyzed the current situation to figure out what kind of targeted adjustments should be made during the halftime interval.

※※※

The frenzied celebration was forcibly terminated by the referee. When he pulled up the Forest players stacked on top of each other in a pile, he saw Tony Twain in a suit lying on top of Albertini, between laughter and tears.

“Mr. Twain, you shouldn’t be here,” he said to Twain with a cool expression.

After he was pulled up, Twain tidied his suit before he said with a grin, “I was too excited. Hope you understand, Mr. Referee.”

“If you don’t go back, I’m going to put you in the stands.” Fandel made to look like he was going to pull a card out, and Twain hurriedly waved his hands as he walked out.

“I’m on my way out. I’m leaving now...”

He did not forget to give his players a thumbs up along the way. Then he kept waving his arms to make the Forest fans in the stands sing louder.

Every time he waved, the singing volume in the stands went up a notch. He was like an orchestra conductor conducting the Forest fans at the Olympic Stadium of Athens to follow his signals to cheer the team on.

“This kind of thing is generally done by the players during a dead ball, but in the Forest team, it’s what their manager does. Tony Twain is really an unusual manager. Leading with two goals, his coaching level is just as unusual!”

As Twain walked back to the technical area, the entire stadium was filled with the singing and shouts of the Nottingham Forest fans. The AC Milan fans had thought about countermeasures and were just about open their mouths when they were pushed back by the singing of the English people.

The moment belonged to the Nottingham Forest fans, who did not allow others to disturb their celebratory blowout.

※※※

Albertini finally got out from under his teammates’ impassioned celebration. Because Twain had suddenly charged over, he was still at the front of the opponent’s penalty area.

He stood up and saw Maldini, not far ahead of him.

The joyous smile was wiped from his face as the two men met gazes for a moment, until Maldini averted his eyes and Albertini turned to walk away.

No matter how deep their friendship usually was in private, they now met as enemies. There was nothing much to say as enemies. The result would show for itself on the field.

If the Forest team won, he would hug Maldini at the end of the game. But for now, he could not even spare a smile to the other man.

As the game resumed, Ancelotti did not return to his seat. He stood on the sidelines with a cool expression like an ancient Italian sculpture. He put pressure on his players in this way.

Whereas Tony Twain had already returned to calm and sat down again to observe the game. With nearly fifty minutes more to go, this was not the time to take things lightly.

The rampant singing in the stands finally stopped, and everyone could hear the voices of the AC Milan fans again. But the Nottingham Forest fans did not cease for a second. They were just brewing another way to cheer their team on, which was to strike a blow to their opponents.

Moments later, as the game entered its 43rd minute, a song came from the stands of the Nottingham Forest fans.

This time, the Forest fans used Joe Dolce’s classic pseudo-Italian song Shaddap You Face to provoke Ancelotti standing on the sidelines. They believed that Ancelotti would understand the meaning of the lyrics.

“What’s-a matter you? Why you look-a so sad?”

Tens of thousands of Forest fans sang the chorus together, which was spectacular.

Only the fans from England had such skills in provoking people with endless new means. A battle did not just include the profanities and middle fingers.

This song lasted until the end of the first half before it turned into a spell of laughter. The Forest fans were happy to see their team end the first half with a two-goal lead.

The Forest players continuously waved to rouse the Forest fans in the stands. Throughout the first half, they felt that the fans fought alongside them and that they were never alone. For the Forest players, they had become accustomed to such a game. No matter what, the fans were always firmly behind them to cheer them on and do everything possible to strike the opponent.

“The halftime whistle has rung! The first half of the game belonged entirely to Nottingham Forest! During these forty-five minutes, even though AC Milan had the upper hand in ball control and possession time, it was Nottingham Forest that created opportunities to score and seized them. AC Milan had nothing other than the possession of the ball, and they did not create any attacking opportunities that could threaten Edwin van der Sar. Pirlo and Kaka were frozen by the close marking of Albertini and George Wood, respectively, while the rest were caught up in the Forest team’s impenetrable defense. Tony Twain’s tactics suppressed Ancelotti. Twain is temporarily in the lead in this matchup between the two managers.”

※※※

With a dark expression and a bowed head, Ancelotti walked quickly into the tunnel. Twain deliberately let him walk in front and stayed outside, patting the shoulders of the Forest players as they left the field one by one before he followed his own people. Before going in, he did not forgot to applaud the fans in the stands.

By the time Twain entered the locker room, everyone had gone in before him. Everyone was thrilled about the first half of the game. Who would have thought that they could lead Milan by two goals?

The team they were ahead of was not some average team but the powerhouse team, AC Milan, who had won the Champions League six times!

Twain did not stop these players from their excitement. He could not think of any reason to keep them from getting excited.

After a while, he cleared his throat to indicate that he had something to say, and the locker room was immediately quiet.

“I’m proud of your performance!” Twain’s first words made everyone in the locker room applaud and whistle.

“2:0!” He extended two fingers, which looked like they represented the victory sign. “I can’t find fault with anything at all. I believe that our opponents in front of the televisions and in the stands with their binoculars can’t either! Keep up your performance in the second half. If we end up winning the game, no one will dare to say we won the title by luck. Maybe before this game, people would think that AC Milan deserved to win this game because they had won a total of six championships in history, and we only had two. But you gave them a slap in the face in the first half!”

When the players finished cheering, Twain pressed his hands down and reminded, “But don’t be happy too soon. Our opponent is not an unruly team after all. Be careful. They may bite back in the second half. In the next half, we will still stick to the defensive counterattack and high-pressing tactics. Counter-press if we lose the ball and intercept immediately to stop their attacks. Don’t blindly waste our opportunities. Any team that wastes opportunities is bound to suffer for it. I don’t think a two-goal lead is enough. Don’t let go of any chances to score in the second half and play as if we currently have a tie game. Score a few more goals until our opponent is in total despair!”

Everybody said Tony Twain was a conservative guy whose football was so passive and ugly that it was unenjoyable. But he always told his team that “1:0” was the least secure score in the world. He always wanted his team to score the more goals in every game.

In fact, Twain was not conservative. It was just that everyone misconstrued the meaning of defensive counterattack. Twain believed that the basis of any offense was defense, just like repairing a house and building a high-rise building. The more levels a building had, the more secure the foundation had to be. He did not believe there was such a thing as a castle in the air in the world. He was realistic. An attack without a solid defense could not stand up to a real test, just like a building with an unstable foundation would collapse like a house of cards when blown by a gust of wind, not to mention a disaster such as an earthquake.

The reason Barcelona failed in the league tournament was because their offense was so gorgeous that they forgot they still needed to defend. Barcelona’s midfield often did not have a defensive type of midfielder. Once their attack was blocked in front and unable to break through in a long time, the problems with their defense would gradually be exposed, and finally a blowout would form, which would completely break them down.

Such offensive football was not what Twain wanted.

What he wanted was stability, which overrode everything else. As long as their defense was not fortified, he was determined not to attack. He would fight with all his might unless the situation was critical to the point of necessity.

Now that the Forest team was ahead AC Milan by two goals, he could imagine the kind of pressure his team would face in the second half. AC Milan would go crazy to launch a counterattack. His team’s defensive pressure would further increase. They had to stabilize their defense even more. And then...playing by the same rulebook, they would look for the opportunity for any sneak attack.

As long as they held their ground in the beginning of the second half, their opponents were bound to become more and more agitated as time passed. With the goal difference of two balls weighed down on their heads like a boulder, they would not sit still. When their opponents were busy fighting on the front line, more and more holes would appear behind them and catching the holes was what the Forest team was best at.

“So, the key to the second half of the game is not to concede any goal in the opening fifteen minutes. Even one goal will make them go as crazy, like a frenzy of sharks that smelled blood. In other words, a solid defense...” Twain raised his index finger, “is the most important requirement and our first aim. During that time, we can sacrifice the offense. Once these fifteen minutes are over, we will wait for the opportunity to sneak an attack.”

“Finally, keep in mind!” Twain raised his volume. “Victory must belong to us!”

※※※

Unlike the high-spirited atmosphere in the Forest team locker room, the atmosphere in AC Milan’s locker room was a bit subdued.

Most people chose to spend those precious fifteen minutes in silence.

How many people could have imagined the first half of the Champions League final would turn out like that? They, the illustrious AC Milan, conceded two goals to Nottingham Forest in forty-five minutes. What was even more humiliating than this was they were so stunned that they could not find their way and did not have a single threatening attack. They were as powerless as if they were trapped in a quagmire.

What was going on? Almost all of the AC Milan fans asked in the stands, which was why they had not fought back to the Forest fans.

At the same time, similar questions also hovered in the minds of the AC Milan players.

Something is wrong with our offense and we couldn’t find a specific direction. As soon as Pirlo and Kaka were closely marked, our team’s offense became a ship lost at sea without the guidance of a lighthouse. This wasn’t a one-time thing… But in the face of our opponent’s tight defense, what can we do?

With a sullen face, Ancelotti finally spoke.

“Does anyone think that this current situation is familiar?” When he asked, everyone raised their heads, trying to search their memories. The professional players went through so many games in their lifetimes. How would they know which game situation was similar to the game they were playing?

In the end, Ancelotti gave them the answer. “Our game against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final. Do you remember that? We were three goals ahead of them in the first half and as a result?”

He did not need to finish the rest. Many of the current AC Milan people knew the case. In that game, with an opening goal from Maldini, AC Milan had an amazing first half, similar to Nottingham Forest in the current game. During the halftime interval, with their three-goal lead, the AC Milan players could not wait to start their winning celebration in the locker room. The sound of which could not be blocked out by the brick walls and the AC Milan’s wild celebration was heard by the Liverpool people which inspired their fighting spirit and fury within.

As a result, in the game with the initial victory within their grasp, AC Milan were overtaken by their opponents with three consecutive goals in the second half. Their confidence and morale were hit hard and completely collapsed during the penalty shootout. In the end, they lost to Liverpool and ceded the victory in their hands.

For AC Milan, that game was a huge disgrace and gave Liverpool the reputation for being the first to reverse in the Champions League final in its fifty-year history.

“We’re just two goals behind now. What’s there to worry about? The opponent who trailed three goals behind us could defeat us. So why can’t we?”

When he said that, everyone’s eyes lit up again.

Indeed, if we can be overtaken, why can’t it happen to others?

Do we lack the faith and strength to win? Have we lost interest in the championship title? Don’t we even want to win this trophy in front of us?

No, that’s not it. If that’s the case, why can’t we overtake Nottingham Forest?

Ancelotti was delighted to see his players immediately regain their confidence. He believed in AC Milan’s strength. Whether the immediate opponent was Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Real Madrid or Barcelona, he was confident in defeating them all. The key was whether the players still had the confidence to win. As long as they had the confidence to win, then it would not be a problem.

In the match against Liverpool, it was because the opponent caught up with three consecutive goals in a short period of time that caused the players’ confidence to be hit hard, and following which even their star player could not score… Just imagine Shevchenko, a world-class striker, who never would have believed he could face a situation where he could not score a goal in the face of an almost empty goal? But that was what happened.

It was because of that lesson that Ancelotti was convinced that what was important at halftime was not to tell the players the tactics they would play in the second half. Nine out of ten players would not listen. The most important thing now was to restore the confidence of the players and let them know that even trailing by two goals was not the end of the world.

“We will continue to step up our offense in the second half.” It was only when the players were convinced there was hope in the second half that Ancelotti began to lay out the specific tactics. “We have no other way other than to attack, but we must also watch out behind us. Don’t give the Forest team a chance to counterattack. If you lost the ball in front, counter-press immediately. Foul if you can’t tackle it! Pirlo.”

Pirlo looked up at the manager.

“Albertini is older, and his stamina can’t keep up with yours. You have to keep running and not stay in one place. Accelerate to get rid of him! Also, since the opponent can use set pieces to attack our goal, why can’t we also use set pieces? We were given four free kicks in the first half in the front field and you didn’t even make use of one.”

Pirlo kept quiet in the face of Ancelotti’s criticism.

“We will step up our offense in the second half and increase the pressure on their defense. We will also get more set pieces in the front. Stop wasting them. Seize the chance and score!”

In addition to the high pressing, the Forest team’s pullback was also very fast. In the face of the overloaded thirty-meter zone, Kaka’s breakthrough and speed did not even have the room to play. They could only rely on Pirlo’s dispatches and place kicks.

Ancelotti decided to do this for the time being and make adjustments based on changes in the situation for the second half.

What else could they do since they were the ones trailing and not the front-runner?

However, things were not as bad as some people thought.

In a marathon, the one with the biggest pressure was often the front-runner who took the lead. The experienced long-distance runners would choose to follow the front-runner at all times and only power up to sprint at the last minute. They would ditch the exhausted front-runner, and hold up their arms as they dashed across the finish line.

For a football game, the ninety minutes was no doubt a marathon. Nottingham Forest became the inexperienced and seemingly impressive front-runner. But could they hold on to the end? Who could guarantee that they would not be crushed by the pressure of being in the lead? Ancelotti decided to be the shadow lurking behind the front-runner, waiting for the right opportunity, always biting at the heels of the front-runner, not allowing him the slightest chance of relaxation, so that the pressure in his heart mounted and accumulated until he could no longer bear it any longer...

It would be time for AC Milan to become the champions.

I know Tony Twain always liked to say: a one-goal lead is the least secure.

Mr. Twain, do you still think it’s safe to lead with two goals?

Chapter 553 - The Bodyguard

Ancelotti told his players about his “front-runner theory” so that they did not have to worry about the two-goal gap. As long as we keep putting pressure on them, those two goals will become a burden on our opponent instead. Everyone thought the manager made a lot of sense. Being in the lead was not necessarily a good thing, especially for a rookie team like Nottingham Forest with no experience of winning a major tournament. If they could not secure their two-goal lead, it could incumber them at the last minute.

After the second half began, AC Milan saw that Nottingham Forest did not intend to play offense with them, so they besieged the Forest team’s penalty area and bombarded them.

The Forest players were well acquainted with this sort of situation. They knew how to deal with the enemy’s attacks.

In addition to pulling back the defensive line and not giving Inzaghi any opportunities, they relied on their players in the two lines in the mid and front lines who tirelessly ran to contain AC Milan’s midfield organized offense.

Twain’s defensive counterattack was a proactive type of defensive countermeasure, which was completely different from the defensive counterattack in most people’s minds. Even Ancelotti did not expect the Forest team’s defensive counterattack tactics to be so varied before the game.

Did they just completely use high-pressing tactics? But their rear defensive line held fast to their positions and remained motionless. Did they withdraw their defense? And yet, they counter-pressed so hard in the middle and front that the AC Milan players were in a panicked scramble.

Ancelotti really suspected if Twain had Italian blood in him.

※※※

Twain had instructed his men that the opening fifteen minutes at the start of the second half were the most dangerous. It was easy to be caught by the opponents during that period because they had not entered the competition state yet which their opponents could grab hold of the change to counterattack. He asked his players to focus at the start of the game until the end of the game.

As he had expected, AC Milan launched a fierce offensive against the Forest team goal, which was more intense than in the first half.

The two-goal difference was not a useless display just for show.

Pirlo ran ceaselessly and Albertini followed him close at his heels. Once the right opportunity was spotted, he would tackle without hesitation! From his movements, one could not tell that he was a veteran who was almost thirty-six years old and would retire after playing this game.

There were too few opportunities to get rid of the other party, so Pirlo decided not to organize the offense for the time being. He gave the football more to Seedorf and Kaka, while he took Albertini around in circles himself.

His relationship with Albertini… was somewhat complicated. He was a mentor and a friend, and now he was also a competitor at the same time. Because they held the same position on the field and had similar technical skills, Albertini’s advantage lay in his experience, and Pirlo’s advantage was his youth. Eventually when Pirlo had developed under the careful tutelage of Albertini and was able to fully replace Demetrio, Galliani had told Demetrio that there was no place for him on the team.

It could be said that Pirlo indirectly led to Albertini’s departure.

This was the normal cycle of any team. It just happened to occur in the AC Milan team, which was proud of the value placed in relationships and loyalty. It stunned a lot of people.

Pirlo did not have time to think of his own complicated connection with Albertini. He was the brains of the team and his special feature was that he was calmer than anyone else. These matters were not enough to bother him. Since the start of this game, the only time he was distracted was when Albertini scored a free kick. But that feeling was fleeting. As a player who was once from Inter Milan and now in AC Milan, Pirlo was well aware of the harsh reality of professional football. Today’s professional football no longer believed in loyalty.

Pirlo’s task for the short period of time was to drag Albertini along with him as he ran so as to exhaust him. He acted more like a transit point for the football and was not really responsible for organizing the offense. The football came to his feet and was quickly passed. Albertini obviously knew what Pirlo was doing, but he did not dare not to follow him. If he did not follow, who knew when Pirlo would take advantage of the opportunity to change in an instance and become the commander on the pitch again?

Even though he knew that the other party was draining his energy, Albertini had to grit his teeth and follow.

※※※

Kaka received more passes. Everyone believed in his and Pirlo’s abilities. Pirlo decided to avoid being the spearhead for the time being and the team’s offensive responsibility fell on Kaka’s shoulders.

To be honest, Kaka had a hard time playing in the game. He was the kind of player who needed space to break through and accelerate. He was not a player like Pirlo who could organize the passing. He was not even a playmaker like Zidane. He was more modern than Zidane. He was a typical representative of modern football’s development to this day — with his excellent stamina, fast speed, good dribbling skills, strong ability to score in his plug-ins and also his ability to help with the defense.

Such an attacking midfielder was rarely seen more than a decade ago.

The football was passed to Kaka’s feet. He had to find a way to help the team score, whether it was to assist his teammates or to score on his own.

This time, he chose to do it himself.

Kaka tried his best to guard the football while he let Wood constantly crash into him from behind as he poked the football forward, He made to look like he was about to break through which attracted Piqué to move his body and expose a small gap.

Wood saw Kaka swing his leg and he knew he was going to shoot, so he hurriedly shoveled at his feet, hoping to shovel the football out a step earlier.

He was still too late, as Kaka swung his leg faster than he thought.

“Boom!”

The football drilled through the gap Piqué had made!

Wood only shoveled the scattered grass fragments.

If I can’t break through, I can still make a long shot! A long shot is a good way to break a dense defense.

The football whizzed toward the goal. The riveted Edwin van der Sar leapt and pounced. He slammed the football out with a single palm, which startled the stands and made everyone gasp.

“So close! Kaka’s shot was thrown out by Edwin van der Sar. This was AC Milan’s most threatening attack in the second half!”

Kaka held his head in both hands with frustration.

Wood got up from the ground and stared at his opponent’s back. Kaka seemed like a different person in the second half, with a marked increase in pressure on Wood. As a defensive midfielder, Wood had a lot of interaction with many attacking midfielders, including many of the world-class attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho and Riquelme. However, this opponent was not the same as all the other attacking midfielders that had come before. Kaka had the physical makings of a defensive midfielder. The typical collisions were basically unable to pose a threat to him, unless it was a foul...

However, Twain would not let him give his opponent too many direct free kicks in front of the box. If it could not be a foul, then it would have to be this: letting him shoot the ball.

Having watched the videos of Kaka’s games, Wood had some knowledge of the Brazilian. He knew Kaka was fast and had an outstanding scoring ability using long shots.

He had to tighten his nerves at all times.

A corner kick was precious to AC Milan, who had not been able to break through the situation. But at the same time, they had to guard against the Forest team’s sneak counterattacks.

Maldini and Nesta both went up to compete for the header. The four players, Oddo, Jankulovski, Gattuso, and Ambrosini stayed behind to defend.

Ancelotti had specifically instructed this at halftime interval.

The corner kick was launched but did not pose any threat to Edwin van der Sar’s goal. Neither Maldini and Nesta managed to top the ball. Before they could get to it, Pepe had already used his powerful aerial control ability to send the football out with a header.

As Ancelotti had expected, Nottingham Forest took advantage to launch a quick counterattack.

Fortunately, he had arranged four defenders to stand guard in the backfield, otherwise he might have conceded another goal.

Van der Vaart’s dribble was halted by Gattuso. He wanted to pass it on to Ribéry, but AC Milan saw through the trick. Ambrosini followed Ribéry like a shadow and Ashley Young was marked by Jankulovski on the other side. As he hesitated, van der Vaart lost the ball under his feet.

AC Milan immediately turned from defense to offense.

Gattuso passed the football to Pirlo who decided to make good use of the opportunity by passing it only to Kaka.

He clearly identified the empty section in the middle of the Forest team, and George Wood’s defense zone. He did not believe that Kaka could not deal with the young kid.

Kaka did not believe it either. He initially received the ball with his back toward the attacking direction. Wood firmly blocked his position at the back and did not let Kaka turn. However, he did not expect Kaka to use the arch of his foot to skirt the football past their sides when he received the ball. At the same time, Kaka quickly turned his body around, as if a motorcycle had done a turn, and used his hand to complete the turn in the place within the square.

Wood did not expect Kaka to be able to do this with such a close marking. Amidst his astonishment, Kaka had already finished his turn to go after the ball.

Wood dare not neglect so he also quickly turned around and relied on his speed to catch up with Kaka. Then while the opponent had not fully controlled the football, he rushed to tackle and shoveled the football out of Kaka’s control range. He and Kaka collided together, and the two men awkwardly fell to the ground.

The AC Milan fans exploded in loud hisses. They thought it was a foul, but the referee indicated nothing. Another attack by AC Milan was over.

Wood’s jersey was drenched with perspiration over his chest. The red color there was darker than the red color in the other areas. Kaka’s jersey was no better. Such a high-speed sprint and forced interruption were a great test of his stamina.

They lay on the ground and panted for a while before being pulled up by their respective teammates.

Albertini patted Wood on the shoulder and praised him for his performance.

Pirlo also pulled Kaka up and asked if his pass was fitting or if he should have made it wider to help him get rid of Wood.

Kaka waved his hand to indicate that pass was fine.

Then he took a look at Wood. That confrontation was not good for anyone.

He had heard that the man had a Brazilian lineage. Who was more powerful, him or Gattuso?

※※※

“Kaka is a lot more active now than he was in the first half,” Kerslake said in the technical area.

Dunn nodded in agreement next to him.

“It’s quite normal. For AC Milan to be able to get here, it should have been Kaka’s credit alone. He has ability. The first half was a fluke for him. He didn’t expect our defense to be so tight. Once he adapts, it will be our turn to be nervous,” Twain said. He was not surprised by this. He was well aware of Kaka’s strength. He would be shocked if Kaka did not perform at all in the entire game.

Wood would feel a lot of pressure when he had to defend against Kaka, but this kind of pressure was good for him. In order to continue to grow, pressure was essential.

※※※

“Continue to give the ball to me,” Kaka said yo Pirlo after his breathing evened out. “I think I have a way to deal with that number 13. I kicked the ball a little too far away. He won’t have that chance the next time.”

Pirlo nodde., “I’d pass it to you even if you didn’t ask me to. I was entangled with Demetrio and you were the only one who could break through their defenses.”

The pair quickly separated as Pirlo returned to the back while Kaka stood in the front field.

Soon, the football was sent by Pirlo to Kaka’s feet again.

This time Kaka did not receive the ball with his back turned. He received Pirlo’s straight pass while he ran forward. When he saw the football roll over, Kaka suddenly accelerated. He and Pirlo were on the same page. Pirlo knew what kind of pass he wanted — the speed of the pass had to be as fast as possible and as strong as possible to make it easier for him to kick as he sped up in his sprint.

Once Kaka sped up, there were not many players in the world who could stop him without a foul.

Wood realized that next to him, Kaka suddenly sped up and knew that he was going to catch the ball, so he accelerated as well. He wanted to force Kaka into a dead corner. Piqué was up ahead. With Piqué and himself converging on an attack from the front and back, they did not have to worry that the football could not be intercepted.

Kaka seemed to be forced into a corner. Piqué was near, and Wood was close at his back.

He got the football, but Piqué was close within reach.

Just as everyone thought Piqué and Wood had blocked Kaka, the Brazilian’s left ankle gave a light shake, and the football bored through Piqué’s legs!

At the same time, Kaka stopped and changed directions. He skirted round the still stunned Piqué’s side and beautifully knocked the ball past him!

Wood did not expect Kaka to break through his and Piqué’s encirclement so easily. Although he was surprised, he did not slow down.

Piqué was like a wooden block. Kaka broke through his right side, while Wood dashed past his left side.

Kaka was only five meters away from the penalty area. His speed obviously increased. If he did not foul, he was going to break into the box. Although the boss said he could not give AC Milan a free kick in the danger zone. But was it better to give a free kick, or was it better to let the other person just burst into the box to shoot or divert the ball? Which was more dangerous?

Wood did not hesitate anymore. He twisted his body from the side to shovel toward the football. Although it was a tackle, his leg was raised high, almost to the height of Kaka’s knee. Sure enough, Kaka quickly poked the football away, but knocked right into him.

This time, it was unmistakably a foul. The referee blew his whistle and was almost ignored by the players amid the AC Milan fans’ loud boos.

After Kaka was thrown, he knelt on the ground and helplessly shrugged his shoulders. When the kid slid on the ground for the tackle, he did not plan to tackle the ball. Looking at the height of his raised leg, it was obvious that he went for his legs.

The referee gave Wood a yellow card, but Wood did not mind.

Twain rose from his seat in the technical area. He walked to the sideline, frowning slightly. Wood might not mind the yellow card, but he had to care. As a core defensive player and a trump card to mark the opponent, who could guarantee that he would not get another yellow card when there were thirty minutes left in the game?

“George!” He waved his hand vigorously to make Wood run over, and he wanted to directly give him instructions.

Wood saw Twain waved at him, so he left the referee to run over.

“You did a good job, but the next time you’re going to foul, do it when he’s just about to take a step,” Twain said as he shook his head.

Wood had a different opinion, “I saw Piqué in front and did not want to foul. I didn’t think...”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Twain nodded vigorously. “Now you have a yellow card on you, so you have to be careful. Be smart about the location and timing when you choose to foul. And also, once you’ve made a foul, make a friendly gesture right away so that you can gain some brownie points with the referee… Don’t make a face like the entire world owes you five million. You mustn’t be penalized anymore! Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Wood answered simply, but Twain still did not feel reassured. After all, the situation on the football field changed rapidly. Who could tell what would happen in the next minute?

After Wood returned to the field, Twain did not immediately turn back to the technical area. He stood on the sidelines to watching the free kick from AC Milan.

Pirlo’s free kick bypassed the Forest team’s human wall and flew toward the goal. This time, van der Sar saved the team again. He leapt out and took down the football with both his hands, without even giving the corner kick to AC Milan.

Although the attack was unsuccessful, the AC Milan people saw hope in it because Kaka was buzzing.

As long as Kaka was energetic, AC Milan’s offense was in play.

With such situations happening countless times during this season in the early summer, when the AC Milan striker could not score, Kaka would step forward to act as the top scorer; when AC Milan was not in form and were going to lose, Kaka stepped forward bravely to save a desperate situation.

For AC Milan to have reached the final after they stumbled through the season, it was all thanks to Kaka alone.

Everyone had long relied on the young Brazilian man — as long as Kaka is there, we won’t lose!

※※※

Five minutes later, ten minutes of Twain’s “fifteen-minute of threat theory” had passed, and the score was still 2:0 with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

The Forest fans in the stands sang tirelessly and extolled the Forest team, praising the goalscorer, Ribéry, the team captain, Albertini and the ferocious defender, George Wood. They even sang the praises of Tony Twain.

Twain walked back to the technical area when he felt a little more at ease.

Seventy minutes had passed which left AC Milan with only twenty minutes. They had to score two goals in twenty minutes before they could drag the game into extra time. To settle the fight in ninety minutes, they had to score three goals… Twain did not believe that the rear defensive line that he had painstakingly built would be beaten so easily that three goals could be conceded to his opponent in twenty minutes.

His team had never conceded three consecutive goals in such a short period of time.

When AC Milan saw that their offense was not effective, they began to withdraw to conserve their stamina. The game had reached a tipping point where both sides were close to physical exhaustion.

The Nottingham Forest players remembered what Twain said at halftime: score a few more goals, don’t throw away any chance to score, make the opponents utterly hopeless.

When they saw AC Milan retreat, the Forest team began to press out to try to attack.

In such a frontline battle, van der Vaart displayed his ability to manage and direct. He repeatedly sent out passes that threatened the AC Milan rear defensive line. Twain knew that in the AC Milan’s center back partnership, one player was older and the other had been in a shaky condition of constant injury during the season. The defense that had originally been AC Milan’s proudest was now their biggest hole.

Therefore, Twain instructed the team to make more straight passes during the attack, especially in the flank area between the center-back and full-back, which was the best place for a straight pass.

Van der Vaart once again sent a straight pass there. This time, Maldini saw through it early and intercepted the ball.

After he intercepted the ball, Maldini did not pass the football to Pirlo. He directly kicked the football straight to the front and his target was AC Milan’s number 22, the Brazilian, Kaka!

When the Forest team pressed up for the attack, the players who stayed at the back were George Wood, in addition to the four defenders.

Albertini was there. Most of the time, Wood was not involved in the offensive. Another reason was that Kaka had been hovering near the center line since the beginning which Wood was very concerned about. The entire AC Milan team had basically retreated except Inzaghi and Kaka, who stayed in the front.

His instincts were quickly verified, and it was not useless for Kaka to stay in front. He received a precise long pass from Maldini!

Wood began to move toward Kaka. He intended to intercept the ball before Kaka sped up, or to completely end AC Milan’s attack with a foul.

Kaka jabbed the football out and cut across in front of Wood. Having just sped up, Wood had no choice but to slow down. Now that they were both in the center circle, he still had a chance to intercept the ball.

Twain had said that if he wanted to foul, he’d better do it early. However, Wood did not want to foul. He thought that Kaka was a powerful player, but if he could only rely on foul play to stop him, then it meant that he was not as good as Kaka. He wanted a decent win over Kaka for once using his own defensive skills and without the use of foul play.

Kaka started to dribble the football and he could feel that George Wood had been following at his side, like a leopard running with its prey and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Kaka did not mind the other party running with him because he was not going to give his opponent any chance.

Now the Forest team only had one rear defensive line with four defenders and George Wood. There was a large expanse of empty space for him to sprint. When his speed increased, Kaka had confidence that the rear defensive line would not be able to hold back his breakthrough.

Wood watched Kaka dribble the ball during the high-speed run, and he looked forward to the other side to go a little wider so that he could tackle the football with his precise shovel, or he could forcibly overtake to separate the football from Kaka.

But... Kaka’s dribbling pace was steady. During the high-speed run, the football was always neither close to nor far from his legs, so that Wood could not find the right time to make his move. Every time he wanted to intercept the ball, his speed would slow down, and then Kaka would take the opportunity to pull away from him. Then he would have to pick up his speed to catch up, and then seek another chance to prepare for the next interception, and slow down and pull away again...

During such repetition, the two men got closer to the Forest team’s penalty area.

“Wood is chasing Kaka, but he doesn’t have a chance to intercept the ball. Both men’s speeds are very fast. Kaka is skillful in his dribble! Wood has to run along...and now they’re in the thirty-meter zone!”

This time, Piqué stayed in the back and it became Pepe to come up and defend against Kaka. Pepe’s speed was considered fast among the center backs, and he was the right person to block Kaka.

Kaka always looked up when he dribbled the ball, so he saw Pepe’s intentions early on. He did not give Pepe a chance for a face-off. When they were about to face each other, he suddenly poked the football across. Following which, he sped up and bypassed Pepe.

Pepe’s speed was not slow either, but he was still not as strong as he wished in the face of Kaka’s full-speed running… By the time he turned around, Kaka was already up ahead by two bodies’ length and had burst into the penalty area!

“Kaka! Kaka!” The Italian commentator roared excitedly. The AC Milan fans in the stands were just like him. They were silent for most of the game, and finally found a break in the catharsis. The cheers of the AC Milan fans resounded through the skies and completely crushed the boos from the Forest team fans.

Twain got up from his seat when Kaka sped up. “Put him down! Put him down!” He hoped Wood would be smart enough to choose insignificant tweaks to stop Kaka from breaking through.

However, he did not manage to see that. Instead, he saw Kaka break through Pepe and enter the penalty area. He could not help but utter a curse word.

“Damn it! Doesn’t he know how fast Kaka can be when he dribbles the ball? Did he watch all those videos for nothing? This idiot! What an idiot!”

Once in the box, Wood could not resort to foul play even if he wanted to.

Piqué came up to help with the defense, which was the Forest team’s last line of defense Edwin van der Sar.

Wood had been following Kaka at the side but was unable to find the right opportunity. The only chance now was the moment Kaka kicked the shot. Even if he could not foul, he had to stop Kaka from shooting, even if it was just a distraction.

Kaka did not give Piqué a chance to come up and slow him down. He suddenly swung his leg to shoot.

Wood suddenly used his foot to shovel the football in front of Kaka’s body. It was down to who would be faster!

He would shovel the ball, or the would football hit him in the leg.

Kaka’s shot out football hit Wood’s leg and bounced upward which made Edwin van der Sar’s action to save look comical.

The football bounced up, crossed van der Sar’s head, and then fell into the net amid the AC Milan fans’ deafening cheers...

“2:1! We have recovered a goal! The magnificent Kaka! The invincible Kaka! It’s still up to Kaka! The long-distance raids in the final and a classic goal! He alone beat the entire Nottingham Forest team! Kaka! Kaka!” The Italian commentator yelled until he was hoarse, and almost cried. “Don’t give him any chance, Englishmen, now that you’ve seen it! We still have a chance to flip the tables. Don’t give up, AC Milan!”

Chapter 554 - Trump Card Against Trump Card (Part 1)

Kaka opened his arms with both hands pointed to the sky as he ran toward the corner flag. This was his signature celebratory move. Even in such a fierce final game, he first thanked his God for scoring the goal. He thanked his God, and his teammates thanked him. The AC Milan players cheered as they rushed toward him.

In the stands, the AC Milan fans set off the long-prepared fireworks and started singing “Milan! Milan!” again.

Although it was just a goal, it gave them a glimmer of hope to equalize the score. A fifty-meter-long lone breakthrough greatly boosted their morale!

“Is George Wood really that good? He even can’t stop our Kaka! During that fifty meters wild sprint, he could only follow behind as he ran! He serves the backdrop to Kaka’s brilliance, a little star dimmed by the radiance of the superstar!”

Wood sat on the ground supported by his hands and remained in a tackle position — one leg stretched outward and one leg pressed under his buttocks.

He could not hear the agitated gibberish of the Italian commentator, but he knew he had lost to Kaka. He had completely lost in terms of speed, skills or experience.

The defenders were not like the offense players. They did not have the right to lose because their loss likely meant that the entire team had lost as well.

The Forest players looked a little demoralized and were left speechless by Kaka’s goal. Even if they did not want to concede, they had no other choice — George Wood, the best defensive player on the team, did not manage to tackle the ball after he followed Kaka and ran for fifty meters. Pepe, who could easily rank within the top ten center-backs in the Premier League, was shook off by Kaka’s directional change and did not even get a chance to fight back.

What else was there to say about a goal like this?

It was a heavy blow.

※※※

The players were speechless, but Twain had a lot to say. He did not want to admit how good Kaka’s goal was, because if he were Wood, the attack would have disappeared right at the beginning.

He was furious off the field and brandished his hands as he growled at the field. “George! You bastard, get over here!”

Amidst the AC Milan fans’ thunderous cheers, Wood still heard Twain’s roar.

He got up and immediately ran over.

Twain pulled him toward his side and spoke in a low voice through gritted teeth. “You need to take full responsibility for this goal concede. You hear me?!”

Wood nodded. He was very well behaved.

“I know what you’re thinking, but you have to keep the occasion in mind. This is the Champions League final, not some f**king medieval duel between two knights throwing down the gauntlet! In order to win, you have to do whatever it takes and use whatever means!” Twain growled in Wood’s ear. Wood lowered his head in silence as he accepted the manager’s fury without question.

“What do I usually teach you? Defense is not a sleek job. It’s the most tiring and dirty job. Those fans...” He pointed to the AC Milan fans in the stands. “What they want to see is what you’re going to destroy. Whatever they like, you have to oppose. You have to be against them at all times, confront them! Do you understand?”

“I understand, boss.”

※※※

Albertini sensed a hint of danger. He turned his head and looked at the celebrating AC Milan players and fans in the stands.

This goal was so beautiful that it affected the mood of his teammates. It was too dangerous to ignore. He was the captain of the team, and the captain’s armband was not meant to look good. He had to do something.

He yelled loudly for his teammates to focus on him. He had something to say.

Everyone obediently gathered around except for Wood, who was called to the sidelines by the manager for his rebuke. Looking at the boss’s expression and gestures, and the way his lips seemed to spit out the words, those were definitely not nice words.

Time was precious, so Albertini did not care about the ranks. He ran over to interrupt Twain’s lecture to Wood.

“I’m sorry, chief. Do you mind if I call everyone together and say something?” He asked as he pulled Wood away.

Twain did not mind. In fact, he’d love for Albertini do so. What was the captain’s job? It could be said that the captain was the team’s on-field manager and could help the manager accomplish a lot of things that could not be done from the coaches’ seats on the sidelines.

While the AC Milan players were celebrating, Albertini gathered his teammates together.

“It’s just a goal, guys. You don’t have to be so downcast, we’re still one goal ahead of them.” He glanced at the AC Milan players celebrating and continued, “this is the Champions League final. No championship title can be so easily obtained without experiencing repeated obstruction by the opponent. And, look...” He pointed at the AC Milan players.

“They only scored a goal and haven’t equalized the score and yet they are so excited. They are the AC Milan team, the leading powerhouse club in Italy. But now they’re celebrating as if they won the championship. What does that mean? It shows that they are afraid of us. Only one goal and they’re already behaving like that. They feel secure, but in fact they are still trailing behind us. I used to be an AC Milan player, I know the team. They’re not as strong and invincible as you think they are. They also have a lot of weaknesses. For example, they’re not really good at kicking in the headwinds. Think about that night in Istanbul in 2005 when Liverpool scored three goals in a short period of time and they just panicked.”

Some of Albertini’s words were not true, because to be honest, no team could guarantee to be calm in the face of losing three goals in ten minutes. He had said it only to try and restore the confidence of the Forest players and calm their state of mind.

“So, we still have a chance to maintain our lead over them now. I’m not the boss, but I also play the football manager games. I know about the mindset of some managers. If I were the boss, I would bring on the offense players and step up the offense instead of continuing to hold fast to defense. Do you know why?” Without waiting for the guys to answer, he went on to answer, “because if we don’t widen the gap again, it will always give the opponent the hope of levelling the score or even to overtake. This kind of hope is behind their enthusiastic motivation. They will tirelessly launch waves of offensive against our goal and the pressure on our defense will only increase. It will absolutely not decrease. There’s only one way to solve this situation now and that is to score more goals. If we can score another goal, they will be finished!”

Albertini clenched his fists as he spoke. It was as if he had forgotten that he was once an AC Milan player.

He glanced at his opponent again and discovered that the AC Milan people were done celebrating, so he clapped his hands. “Remember what the boss said before the game? No matter what situation you face, don’t give up. It’s not the worst yet. Chin up. When they think they can beat us, we’ll show them how wrong they are!” Indefinably, Albertini had a trace of Tony Twain’s shadow on him. Working with Twain for three years had affected him.

Everyone clapped their hands and spread out. Albertini stopped Wood again as he had something to say to his midfield partner alone.

“George, are you still thinking about the goal concede?”

Wood first shook his head and nodded.

Albertini smiled. “Don’t think about it. As a defensive midfielder, there will be many moments like that. If you think about every goal, you don’t play the game. You heard that, didn’t you? Although the boss has not made an adjustment, we need to attack now. We can’t win this game on the defense alone.”

Wood continued to nod in agreement.

“But I can’t run.” Albertini spread his hands and smile somewhat helplessly as he said, “Pirlo keeps running non-stop. I exerted too much, led by my nose as he ran. If the offense needs me to rush up, I’m afraid I won’t be able to return.”

Wood noticed that Albertini’s gasps were greater than before the goal was conceded. His jersey was almost soaked in sweat. He would turn thirty-six in August, and high-intensity games like the Champions League final were really not easy for him.

“So, I need you to help me. Let’s adjust our positions a little. You lean forward slightly, and I’ll be behind you. You’ll go up when the team needs to attack, and I’ll be in the back to protect you. You’re young and have good stamina. Since you are fast, you can come back when you go up. I can’t think of a more suitable candidate than you.”

Wood did not nod immediately, nor did he shake his head.

Albertini saw his hesitation and smiled. “I know what you’re thinking. There’s nothing to hesitate about. You’re still doubting your ability to attack? This final is the last game I will play in my career before I retire and return to my home in Italy. You can’t always depend on someone like me to be around. You need to solve problems on your own a lot of times. When you need to move forward, go right ahead and don’t worry. I’ve got your back.” He stopped speaking and nudged Wood away before he ran off.

※※※

Albertini was correct in what he said. After scoring a goal, AC Milan’s morale was boosted, and they were in high spirits. They launched a more ferocious attack on the Forest team’s hinterland than before. With only one goal difference, AC Milan was fired up like a shark that smelled blood in the sea and chased Nottingham Forest relentlessly.

Twain made his first substitution in the game three minutes after the goal concede. He deployed Gareth Bale, the full-back better at offense to replace Leighton Baines.

This signal could not be more obvious — Twain wanted the team to attack.

The Forest players could not help but look at the team captain, Albertini. He was absolutely right. The boss wanted to attack.

Five minutes later, Twain made a second substitution. This time, he brought on the striker, Freddy Eastwood to replace van der Vaart.

Everyone understood the first change, but they were puzzled by the second change — they originally thought Eastwood would replace the physically weaker Albertini. They did not expect van der Vaart, who performed well, to be replaced.

Ancelotti secretly smiled at the substitution. He felt that Twain valued Albertini too much and chose to believe in the veteran’s experience. However, Albertini obviously could no longer run, and his experience was useless. Pirlo had already shaken him off twice in a row and sent out threatening passes. Had it not been for Wood closely marking Kaka, the score would definitely not remain at 1:2.

If Twain was so confident in Albertini’s experience, then Ancelotti did not mind letting Twain fall head first on that trust.

He walked to the sidelines and motioned for Pirlo to be back as the core of the team’s offensive organization and for whoever on the team with the ball to try and hand it over to Pirlo so as to completely topple Albertini.

Van der Vaart thought he did not perform well and did not make any outstanding contribution to the team’s attack when he came off the field. Hence, the boss brought him off. He did not expect Twain to take the initiative to hug him and ask him to wait to go on the field to celebrate the win with a grin.

Eastwood charged up the field. With little time for him to perform, he had to treasure every second.

He did not blame the boss for making him a substitute for two consecutive Champions League finals. The boss had to think like a boss and a player only needed to listen to the commands. If he was not allowed to play, he would watch the game carefully and find something useful for himself. Once he was allowed to play, it would be the moment for these things play a role.

※※※

“There are always people who say Twain is a conservative manager. But while they are in the lead, instead of bringing on more defenders to strengthen the defense, he brings on the attacking players to continue offense. Can this still be considered conservative?” The English commentator of England started to protest on behalf of Twain when he saw these two replacements.

Twain did not care what other people thought of him.

He and Albertini thought alike. Strengthening the defense did not necessarily have to be achieved by increasing the number of defensive players. From another point of view, stepping up the offense could also help to reduce the pressure on the defense instead. He did not believe AC Milan would not retreat to defend in the face of the Forest team’s offensive. Naturally, if AC Milan really wanted to continue to attack, it would be exactly what Twain wanted. In that case, it meant that there would be a lot of empty space behind them. Providing they seized the opportunity, once would be enough to kill them!

※※※

Pirlo could see that Albertini was out of strength. He did not actually have to look at him. He could discern just by listening — every time Albertini defended against him, he felt like he had a large bellow around him.

He suppressed his opponent and passed the football to Kaka.

Kaka had just managed to break through Wood’s defense and crack open the goal to score. His morale was high, and he was in the right shape. There was no reason not to pass the ball to him.

Just as he turned to get ready to break through Wood’s defense, Woods managed to block Kaka outside the goal. At the time of the one-on-one breakout, the football that Kaka kicked out was struck by Wood’s heel and changed direction. The two players pounced in the wrong direction, but the next second, the two players kicked at the football at the same time.

Wood kicked the football out first before Kaka, and Kaka only kicked Wood’s calf.

Kaka was startled as he was afraid that Wood would fall and then the referee would give him a yellow card. It could be seen that the blow was not light from his action...

Wood eventually climbed up from the ground and turned around to throw himself into another bout of defense for the Forest team.

The football reached Kaka’s feet again. This time, Kaka did not choose to break through directly. He sent the football back to Pirlo, who came up.

Pirlo was going to do a two-over-one pass with Kaka. Before he could receive the ball, Albertini had skirted around him and intercepted the football. The Forest team escalated to launch a counterattack.

Pirlo had to turn around and retreat to defend.

Only this time, Albertini’s long pass lost some precision and the drop point was robbed by Gattuso. The Forest team’s fast attack did not happen.

Gattuso gave the football to Pirlo. Having started an attack, Albertini did not immediately enter his defensive position. Pirlo spotted the opportunity for a sharp and straight pass.

Kaka suddenly set in motion, intending to use his speed to break through Wood’s defense.

Wood had already learnt his lesson from that goal concede. The defensive player had no right to make a mistake. One mistake was enough. Wood did not want a second time. This time he waited for Kaka just as he was about to speed up and had not controlled the football to decisively shovel with his foot. He was ahead of Kaka and intercepted the football. Kaka could not stop in time and crashed into him. He fell to the ground, but the referee did not whistle for the foul.

The AC Milan fans naturally booed, while the Forest fans cheered loudly and applauded Wood’s defense.

AC Milan’s offense was not finished. If Kaka could not do it, Pirlo would.

They saw that Albertini was physically weak and handed the football over to Pirlo.

Pirlo once again took the ball and shook off Albertini. He looked up to observe the situation on the field. He was not as desperate as he had been ten minutes ago. The “big bellow” behind him was still far away from him.

Now he could calmly observe the situation on the field and decide how and where to pass the ball.

Out of habit, he first looked to Kaka.

There was no one around Kaka!

Where was the Forest team’s number 13, who was always inseparable from the Brazilian?

A soundless breeze appeared beside him. When Pirlo sensed the danger, he got ready to pass the football to Kaka, but he kicked the air instead...

George Wood had stabbed Pirlo’s ball and handed it to Albertini, who ran back.

Wood did not know how much he could achieve in offense for the future, and he did not know if he could really become good at both defense and offense like the “Metronomo,” Demetrio Albertini. But he had to admit one thing whether he wanted to or not — Albertini was leaving the team when the game was over.

Demetrio had said to him: I can’t run anymore. I am afraid I won’t be able to return once I go up, so you have to go up, George.

Wood had replied: you don’t have to come back. Just go up and wait in front. I’ll intercept the ball for you, and I’ll pass it to you. You’ll just be in charge of organizing the attack. Van der Vaart was already brought off. Our offense can only be organized by you.

The Forest team’s attack was blocked again. Maldini did a long pass to the front. Wood fought for the header against both Kaka and Seedorf and had the upper hand. He pressed the two opponents down and headed the football to Albertini.

When Albertini first came to the Forest team, Twain told Wood that he was his midfield partner and his teacher. He wanted him to learn everything from Albertini.

Wood’s mission on the field was to be Albertini’s bodyguard and to allow the metronome from Italy to attack without worries. Since when was Albertini needed to be a bodyguard for Wood?

Chapter 555 - Trump Card Against Trump Card (Part 2)

The football bounced up in front of Kaka. It was a long pass from the backfield. Kaka got ready to top the football with a header when the ball was at an appropriate height, and then used speed to break through George Wood.

As soon as he was about to poke his head out, he felt a gust of wind sweep past his forehead.

Wood, who ran past from the side, leapt and swung his leg to kick the football into the air.

The two men collided into each other and the referee whistled to signal that Wood had lifted his leg too high, which was considered a threatening action. He awarded AC Milan a free kick in the front field.

Wood felt wronged. It was true that the average person would not lift his leg to that height, but the football was at that height. What could he do? He could not do nothing and watch Kaka use his head to top the football off, right? That way, if he wanted to successfully stop him, he could only tackle the ball.

Besides, he did not hurt Kaka, and Kaka’s head was a long way from his foot.

Wood wanted to go up and argue but was held back by Albertini.

“Don’t mess with the referee. Be careful of the yellow card on you.” The captain kept Wood behind him and stepped forward to negotiate with the referee himself.

He deliberately dragged out the game time and took advantage of all the opportunities available to him, including talking with the referee to dispute each penalty that could be contested.

In the stands, the AC Milan fans booed. They were not fed up with Wood’s foul action, but rather that the referee would not give a yellow card for Wood’s foul.

Everyone was aware that Wood had a yellow card on him. With just one more card, he could be sent off. Everyone was clear what it would mean for the Forest team.

Albertini was out of strength and the Forest team only had one defensive midfielder like Wood. If Wood was sent off, AC Milan’s offense would be able to drive straight in and directly attack.

Therefore, Kaka’s chances of taking the ball had increased significantly.

AC Milan’s free-kick was ineffective because the penalty spot was too far from the Forest team’s goal. After the indirect free kick was sent out, it was topped by Pepe, and Maldini and Nesta rushed back to defend again. The Forest team immediately returned with a quick counterattack to the other side.

Van Nistelrooy’s shot ended up in Dida’s arms.

The game went on for seventy-five minutes. After AC Milan scored a goal, they had wanted to take advantage of the momentum, but they did not expect Nottingham Forest’s defense to be even more tenacious. George Wood completely ignored the fact that he already had a yellow card on him and showed no sign of stopping in his defense against Kaka. He fouled when it was needed, and never hesitated when he dared to tackle. It seemed that number 13 would stick to Kaka’s side unless they could find a way to get him sent off.

However, AC Milan did not give up. The one-goal gap motivated them and told them that as long as they strove to get another goal, the situation on the field could be reversed. This was what propped AC Milan up. No one thought about things like the championship trophy. While they played, the only thing to consider was how to win the game. As to the benefit of winning the game, they would have to wait until they won the game before they would think about it.

The football was passed to Kaka again. This time, the entire AC Milan team pressed ahead and pushed the Forest team’s defense to the vicinity of the penalty area. The downside for Kaka was that he had little room to accelerate and break through. As long as Wood held his position, Kaka’s options were a lot fewer.

He did not think that Kaka was not a threat even if he could not break through. Wood dared not let his guard down. He followed close on Kaka’s heels. The football was being stepped on by his feet.

Pirlo and Seedorf were both plugged into the box. After Kaka stepped on the football and pulled back, Wood thought he was going to pass the ball with his heel to Pirlo and Seedorf, so he leaned his body to the side.

Pirlo ran past Kaka from behind, but the football did not reach his feet.

Kaka pulled the football back again and picked it up with his toes. He jumped on the spot with the football and directly volleyed!

The football drilled through the gap from where Wood had just moved!

“Kaka shoots!”

This was the second time he broke through Wood’s defense, even though it was just the ball.

Just as everyone cheered for Kaka’s shot, a man chose to say no to the wonderful goal.

Edwin van der Sar pounced over. His hands firmly grasped the football in the air, and he quickly curled around it to safeguard the football in front of his chest. In order to get the football to bypass Wood Kaka’s shooting strength and speed were much decreased.

“Where’s our offense?” Edwin van der Sar got up from the ground and held the football as he yelled and waved his fists at his teammates.

In such an important game, he did not want to be a regular in the televised feature.

※※※

Albertini patted Wood on the shoulder. The sound of his breathing sounded like a wind tunnel.

“George, I don’t even have the strength to run now. Don’t pass the ball to me again. Let’s change positions...” He pointed to the front. “You go up during the attack, I’ll pass the ball to you from behind.”

As he looked at the captain, who supported his hands on his knees and leaned over to speak to him, he did not refuse this time. He nodded. “Okay.”

“Just plug ahead when you get the chance. Don’t worry that you won’t get the ball. Even though I can’t run, I still have the strength to pass. Pirlo and Gattuso have been marking me all this time. They won’t be able to adapt once we have a change of position. But it can only be for a short time. With the abilities of the AC Milan players, even if the manager does not instruct them, they will adjust themselves. You’re not an attacking midfielder who can accomplish anything when multiple players mark you. So, you have to seize this vacuum in their defense during this time. Can you do that, George?”

Albertini looked up at Wood.

Wood nodded again. “Yes.”

“Very good.” Albertini smiled.

※※※

As the game went on, AC Milan still did not give up the chance to score goals. They had no other way to win except to try to score goals.

Ancelotti replaced Jankulovski with Kaladze in the 77th minute. AC Milan switched to three defenders and Oddo was pushed into the midfield to take part in the offense.

Two minutes later, Ancelotti brought on Gilardino to replace Inzaghi, who gad run until he was almost in an energetic overdrive.

This game was really frustrating for Inzaghi. Since Nottingham Forest had executed Twain’s requirements to not create offside, their withdrawal was compact. When AC Milan attacked, the Forest team’s penalty area was full of players. Pepe skillfully followed him at every step, and it was extremely difficult for him to seek a chance to shoot. He could only keep running, nonstop, in hopes that he would find a hole in the Forest team’s defense.

As a result, he did not find a decent chance until he was brought off.

When he came off the field, a caption on the television screen display the distance that he had run in the game — 11,134 meters. He had run eleven kilometers and did not score a goal. How could he not be frustrated?

Inzaghi took big gulps of air as he reluctantly left the field. He high-fived Gilardino on the sidelines, and then lowered his head as he walked back to the bench. He sat there with a towel on his head and did not speak.

He knew he only had a few years left in his career. In 2003, he had represented AC Milan and got the Champions League title. In 2005, he broke into the final but got nothing for his efforts. 2007 was supposed to the year he had a great opportunity to make up for it. But now the score was 1:2 and AC Milan was behind. He himself had been brought off due to his lack of contribution and physical exhaustion. He could only be a spectator now. His heart was willing, but his body was weak...

He wanted to win the Champions League again, more than anyone else. As a striker, he could only pray that his teammates worked hard to create a miracle now. This was such a humiliation!

Twain heaved a sigh of relief when Inzaghi was brought off. In his view, Gilardino and Inzaghi were not strikers on the same par at all. Even if Inzaghi did not score, his own rear defensive line dared not move an inch with him running back and forth on the field — he was afraid to give Inzaghi a chance to shoot from a non-offside position. Ferguson once said that Inzaghi was a striker born on the offside line, and Twain agreed.

It used to be said that Brazil’s Ronaldo was the kind of striker who could change the outcome of a game in one second. But in fact, Twain thought this statement was more appropriate for Inzaghi. He truly was a striker who only needed a second and a grab point to change the outcome of a game. He did not need to dribble too much and required no fancy skills. He just had to to be in the most suitable place when needed. Then once he extended his leg to complete the shot, the football would fly into the goal.

Seeing Inzaghi being brought off, Twain got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines. He made a hand gesture there to inform his players that a massive offense could be considered.

He did not want to drag the game into overtime. He never even considered doing that. They had to end the battle in ninety minutes and actual results to tell the world who the worthy king of Europe was. AC Milan wants to defy the natural order of things? No way!

※※※

Wood’s deliberately plugged ahead. He was not as overwhelmed as he was a season ago. Now he was clear about his purpose, how to run, what to do after he went up and how to do it. These were all thanks to Albertini’s careful guidance over the past year.

He received a pass from Albertini, which surprised Gattuso. He did not expect George Wood, and not Albertini, to come up.

Wood eyed the situation up ahead and sent the football to Ashley Young. He did not choose to break through with the ball. He was aware that it was not his specialty. It was better to leave it to the experts to do it...

After he passed the ball, Wood did not run back, but drew Gattuso to run forward with him.

Since AC Milan had changed to three defenders, there was more room for the Forest team’s two flanks. Ashley Young was determined to break through with a cross from the byline after he received the football. His pass was topped by Nesta out of the end line and the Forest team received a corner kick.

Gattuso looked around him and Wood was gone. He did not pay it any mind. During the previous corner kicks, Wood would run back to defend. It would be no different this time.

Albertini did not come up for the corner kick. Instead, the player who ran over was Gareth Bale.

The football was sent out and it was chaos inside the box. The player who leapt high among the crowd to head the ball toward the goal was not van der Vaart, Pepe or Piqué, but...

“George Wood!”

The number 13 on the red back was prominent in the air. He did not jump on the spot. He rushed in from outside the box and took off for the jump. He leapt higher than anyone else. When the football came toward him, he gave a powerful toss of his head!

Dida was unresponsive, but the football hit the crossbar!

“Whoop—” The AC Milan fans exclaimed loudly.

“Why would he be there?!” Off the field, Ancelotti could not help but ask. The Forest team had previously won several corner kicks in the game, and every time Wood was in the back, ready to guard against the other side’s counterattack. Not only this game, but in the previous Forest team’s games as well, the center-back and full-backs would all go up and the player in charge of the defense in the backfield was George Wood.

There was no suggestion in any intelligence about Wood’s involvement in the corner offense. Nobody knew how useful his headers and jumps were in an attack. They saw it this time.

Watching the football smashed into the crossbar and pop out of the end line, Wood did not grab his hair in chagrin in front of the opposing goal. He turned around and sprinted back to the defense zone.

The AC Milan’s goal ball was quickly sent out. Just as the football bounced out, the ball boy threw the spare football in and Dida positioned the football. Once he saw everyone move out of the box, he sent a long ball to the front.

If Wood was still upset about not scoring, the Forest team might have conceded the ball again. He was not a striker. After he missed the opportunity, he could still use the action to try to save face on television.

Dida’s long ball was topped by Albertini and handed to Pepe.

Pepe made a feint for a long pass and swung past Gilardino. Then he chose to dribble the ball for a direct breakthrough.

His intention was to dribble the ball was detected by Kaka, who cut off Pepe’s ball in advance. The center-back losing the ball was the first blow to the Forest team’s defenses, as well as a great opportunity for AC Milan. The AC Milan fans in the stands gave a huge cheer.

This sound had not dissipated before Kaka lost the ball.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Kaka intercepted Pepe’s ball, but his ball was stabbed away by Wood, who returned to defend.

When Kaka got ready to speed up, he found the ball under his feet was gone. His first reaction was to turn around and give chase. After eighty minutes of entanglement, he already knew that if he had lost the ball, it had to have been Wood’s doing.

Kaka turned to pursue Wood, who did not plan to pass the ball out.

On the one hand, his teammates were too far away from him. On the other hand, there were not many defensive players in front of him. Gattuso and Ambrosini did not rush up at the first instance, which gave him a chance to breakthrough.

There was another reason why he wanted to break through —?Kaka was after him.

How did that ball from AC Milan go in? Was it not because Kaka started to dash all the way from the center circle, and he could not even intercept it even if he wanted to?

He found a chance to retaliate.

Come try and intercept my ball, Kaka!

As Kaka chased, he did want to intercept the ball. But when he wanted to extend his leg to tackle the ball, he had to slow down, which gave Wood a chance to pull away.

Kaka suddenly realized how Wood felt.

Wood’s basic dribbling skills were very good. He was very precise and fast his dribbling. This was thanks to the basic training he had stuck to daily since he joined the Forest team training base.

He had known he switched to a job he was not trained for and was not a player who had been professionally trained since he was young. Twain knew that. Therefore, the two were rigid with his basic training.

With Wood’s conscientiousness and Twain’s strict supervision, Wood had practiced until he had the ability to dribble the ball so that Kaka was unable to get to his foot.

Kaka wanted to rely on his speed to overtake and leave plenty of time for the shovel, but he found that Wood was as fast as he was. He had no other way except to run behind.

“George Wood’s dribbling! It’s a rare sight. Wood has personally dribbled the ball to charge toward the front field, and Kaka follows him to intercept the ball...”

Kaka looked ahead. Gattuso and Ambrosini had noticed Wood’s intention and planned to come over to surround him.

It appeared Wood could not escape.

“Watch out for his pass!” Maldini roared in the back, which gave pause to Gattuso and Ambrosini at the same time.

How could they forget? How would Wood have dribble the ball to directly attack? It had to be a pass!

Wood also saw the situation ahead of him. He was close to the two defensive midfielders.

He could not understand what Maldini shouted, but he did not plan to pass the ball. It was not that he had a lot of confidence in his breakthrough, but because he had no energy to think about where his teammates ran to...

When he glimpsed a tiny crack as the two players closed in, Wood did not hesitate to kick the football forward!

The football rolled in between the two men, Gattuso and Ambrosini, while Wood suddenly sped up and rushed over while the encirclement had not yet closed!

“Oh my god! A beautiful breakthrough! One over two! George Wood’s speed is formidable! Is he really just a defensive midfielder?”

Kaka knew the situation was bad when he saw Gattuso and Ambrosini pause. He was not worried that Wood would pass the ball as he had an idea in his head that the boy would break through and would surely break through!

It turned out to be true.

Kaka was not surprised at all that Wood relied on his speed to force his way out of the encirclement by Gattuso and Ambrosini. He bypassed his two teammates and accelerated to give chase.

He followed Wood from the beginning and did not believe he could not find the right chance to cut off the ball. Other than that, If it became really dangerous, he did not mind fouling right away and risk getting a card to stop the Forest team’s attack.

Gattuso and Ambrosini did not expect to be broken through. Maldini and Nesta both froze for a moment.

It seemed they had all underestimated Wood’s speed and determination to break forward...

We can’t let him push ahead anymore!

This was Nesta’s only thought after he reacted, and he rushed up.

※※※

Twain got up from his seat the moment Wood began to dribble the ball forward and break through. When he saw Wood break through Gattuso and Ambrosini with speed, he could not help but follow and run along the sidelines in the direction toward AC Milan’s goal, as if it would help Wood make a smoother breakthrough past AC Milan’s blockade.

While running, he muttered under his breath, “Come on, George...”

His voice grew louder as Wood ran faster, as if it were a drumbeat in response to Wood’s footsteps.

※※※

Nesta was determined not to let Wood break through him. He had to do it!

Because he wanted to break through Gattuso and Ambrosini, Wood kicked the football out and away from his body. Now he had to speed up to give chase since he had not control the ball. In such cases, the rule stipulated that the attacking side and the defending side each have half the opportunity. If a physical collision were to occur, a foul would not be attributed to the defending side.

This was the opportunity that Nesta was going to take advantage of. He acted as a wall to get Wood to bump into him.

Kaka saw that Wood and Nesta were about to meet, and he believed that Nesta’s defense would surely force Wood to slow down, or even stop completely. It would be his chance.

He was already ready to intercept the ball.

However, he found that Wood still had no intention of slowing down!

※※※

“Come on! George!” Twain roared.

Rushing at a full speed, Wood and Nesta unsurprisingly crashed into each other.

“Oh my god,” the commentator wailed.

Kaka wanted to go pick up the intercepted ball. But where was the football? He did not see it. It was not around Nesta and Wood. The football’s gone?

There was a sudden burst of resounding cheers from the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands. If he listened carefully, he would hear that they were shouting a person’s name.

“... Wood... Wood... Eastwood! Eastwood!”

Wood made the reasonable use of the default rule before he collided with Nesta that both sides had an equal chance, and the physical collision would not convict either party of foul play. Before Nesta fell to the ground, he shoveled and sent the football to the front.

It was too late for him to observe his teammates’ situation in that moment. But when he looked up, he saw the Romani, Eastwood. Was he surrounded by AC Milan’s defensive players? Was he offside? Wood did not have time to think about the circumstances. He only cared that he passed the football to the only teammate within his view, which would complete his task.

※※※

While the Forest fans cheered, the AC Milan team captain, Maldini stood on the penalty area line and held up his right hand to motion that Eastwood was offside when he received the football. This would render the attack ineffective!

Just as Wood was about to collide with Nesta, experience told Maldini that he should move forward and let the distant Eastwood fall into the offside trap.

Therefore, he moved forward. When he last glanced at the other party, he saw that Nottingham Forest’s number 11 was still standing in place and did not move. He felt that his tactics had succeeded, so he raised his hand and motioned to the referee.

However, he did not hear any whistle. What about the assistant referee?

When Maldini turned his head to seek the assistant referee, he saw that there was another man before him and the assistant referee. The man wore the AC Milan white jersey and stood in a position that was... further back than Nottingham Forest’s number 11!

There was no offside!

Eastwood received the football that Wood shoveled over, and turned around. He also looked up specifically at the assistant referee and found that the assistant referee had not raised the flag because AC Milan’s third defender, Kaladze was at the back!

Dida had also thought Eastwood was offside and stood in front of the goal line as he raised his hand to signal. In the next second, he realized that something was wrong and struck in a hurry.

Unmarked by anyone, Eastwood swung his right leg and made to look like he was about to do a powerful volley. After he deceived Dida to lose his balance, he nimbly did a lob shot!

“A Panenka!” The Italian commentator exclaimed.

The football flew over the top of Dida’s head and easily fell into the empty goal!

“YES! 3:1! In the 83rd minute, this is the goal that almost locks in the victory!” The English commentator stood up from his seat and waved his fists hard.

“George Wood’s sudden insertion and forced breakthrough messed up AC Milan’s defenses! Kaka could only run along and follow!” The English commentator was separated from the Italian commentator by a wall. He could finally vent. “He was completely helpless, the poor man...”

“Nottingham Forest has once again achieved a two-goal lead! Is this going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?”

Because he had caused the failure of Maldini’s offside by being at the back, Kaladze stood in a daze. He only focused on Wood and Nesta. He had no idea that Wood would be able to send football to Eastwood’s feet under such circumstances.

“You have Kaka, we have Wood!” The Forest fans in the stands sang “Wood’s Praises.””We still have Eastwood! We have a vast Forest, and you’ll get lost when you come in! Do you want to go out? Do you want to go out? Then leave the Championship trophy behind!”

Maldini looked up at the night sky. For a moment, he was at a loss. He had gone through countless games in his career. He had experienced victories, defeats, and all sorts of feelings. A familiar bad feeling emerged from within.

He felt he might lose the title again.

However, the thought only flashed for a second in his mind before he shook his head to toss it aside. No, there’s seven minutes left, and I refuse to admit defeat!

※※※

After the goal, Eastwood turned his head again to the referee to confirm. He saw the assistant referee running towards the center line, and the referee whistled as he pointed into the center circle — the goal was valid.

The goal was valid!

Eastwood turned and sprinted towards the Forest Team technical area.

He opened his arms as he shouted. All the Forest players on the field were behind him. If they caught up to him, it would be another human pyramid.

In front of him were the cheering Forest team substitutes’ bench and the coaches’ seats. His target was Tony Twain.

It was the man who told him that he was going to be a legendary striker in the future, the one who came to him and asked him if he wanted to play in professional football when he could only play amateur football, the man who told him that destiny was a series of choices and his destiny was something he chose while he was in hospital with another serious injury and about to give up.

I listened to him, and I went to play professional football. I listened to him, and I chose not to give up. It’s because I listened to him that I have today’s Freddy Eastwood...

I want to thank you, chief!

Twain waited with open arms to embrace Eastwood but was slammed directly to the ground by the Romani, who did not stop. A group of people seemed to have planned ahead and piled on top of them.

A full human pyramid was indeed spectacular.

“The team rules don’t allow... Ah!”

Twain’s screams were drowned out by the thunderous cheers.

“Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

“Champion! Champion! We’re the champions!”

Chapter 556 - The Arrival of The King

“Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

“Champion! Champion! We’re the champions!”

“Are you trying to overtake us? Come on, you Italian bastards! Come on, try to overtake!”

Amid the sweeping cheers, the Italian commentator still cheered AC Milan on. After all, it was the team that represented Italian football.

“Seven minutes to go, and at least ten minutes when the injury stoppage time is included. Don’t give up, AC Milan! Don’t give up!”

The English commentator had begun to prepare a message for the Forest team’s third win.

“AC Milan wants to overtake. That’s more difficult than turning everything on its head! They’re not dealing with just any team, they’re dealing with Nottingham Forest! It’s Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest! This is a team that will never give up and will never give the opponent a chance to make a comeback!”

※※※

The Forest team’s wild human pyramid celebrations on the sidelines was only stopped with the referee’s intervention.

This time, Fandel pulled up the Forest team’s players one by one and saw Tony Twain being pressed underneath again. His suit was crumpled, his tie was lost somewhere and two of the buttons on his shirt had popped. His hair was disheveled, and his face flushed... He looked as if he had been violated.

The poker-faced Fandel could not help laughing. He had enforced countless games and had never seen a manager be messed with so hard by his players.

“F**k!” Twain spat out a curse word as he got up from the ground. He tidied up his suit and found out that it was still wrinkled no matter how he tried to straighten it, so he ignored it.

The people next to him laughed with an expression that said that they were glad to see Tony like that.

When fans in Nottingham city saw Twain on the television, they had a good laugh.

Sometimes they did not feel like Twain was the manager of a team, but an ordinary person and their friend who would go to the same pub to have a drink and chat with them, make a dirty joke, and laugh crudely.

They liked Twain as if he were a friend.

“Hey Tony! Come back and we’ll buy you a drink! Top shelf stuff!”

※※※

The players had all returned to the field. The AC Milan people waited until they were impatient. They even thought that this was the Forest team’s deliberate tactic to waste game time. Ancelotti unhappily brought it up to the fourth official. The fourth official could only ask the referee to order the crazy Nottingham Forest players to get up from Twain’s body.

This indirectly saved Twain’s life.

Twain gasped to Kerslake, who was still laughing. “Next time, why don’t you try being down there?”

Kerslake hurriedly waved his hands. “That’s not going to work. The players pushing you down means you’re popular, Tony.”

Twain glared at him, looked at the field, and then said to Dunn on his other side, “go and get Arteta back.”

This was his last substitution spot.

“AC Milan has to score two more goals and not allow the Forest team to continue to score within ten minutes in order to be able to drag the game into overtime. This sounds like an impossible task... But they have to try before the outcome is known.”

The game resumed and AC Milan took advantage of their kick-off to launch a bombardment of the Forest goal.

They had no choice at this point. Even if they knew that to press on the attack like that would cause their rear to be empty, which was a very dangerous thing, they could only force themselves to press on.

This was not about conceding a goal or two. This was a matter of life and death.

Not wanting to surrender the title, AC Milan launched the final charge.

※※※

In charge of organizing AC Milan’s offense, Pirlo was keen to get the ball straight to the front of the Forest team. However, Gilardino was not a strong center-forward who was good at headers. He had done little since he came on. Now, from the looks of it, it would have been better to leave Inzaghi on the field, even if he had over-exerted himself physically. He was still more powerful than Gilardino even if he could only stay in the opposing penalty area to wait for an opportunity.

Pirlo suppressed the idea of sending the football directly to the front of the Forest team’s goal and organized the offense as he looked for any loopholes within the Forest team. He was well aware that he needed to remain calm all the more at this juncture. The other side was now excited. Perhaps a flaw would be exposed. If he had missed an opportunity because he did not operate well, he would really become a sinner.

He patiently looked for an opportunity, while his teammates desperately wove to create opportunities for him.

Just when he had found the gap, he was knocked down.

Demetrio Albertini had fouled.

The former AC Milan player did not hold back for old times’ sake. When he saw Pirlo temporarily shift his attention away from the football under his feet, he rushed up and knocked Pirlo down to stop AC Milan’s attack.

Unlike Wood’s foul, the AC Milan fans did not hiss loudly at Albertini’s foul, but remained silent.

The scene made them feel terrible. On one hand, it was their favorite team, but on the other had, it was the vice-captain who was publicly recognized as having received unfair treatment from the club. It did no good to hiss at anyone.

The referee gave Albertini a verbal warning to pay attention to his defensive action. Albertini nodded to accept with a good attitude.

He ran over to pull Pirlo up and pat him on the head as a sign of friendliness.

Seeing this scene, the Italian commentator did not know what to say. When Albertini still played in Italy, he was very popular in Italian football and had good relationships with the players, coaches, commentators, and journalists. Even as the opponent of AC Milan and the one who dashed AC Milan’s hopes of winning the title in this final, the Italian commentator still could not criticize him.

“This is really sad.” He sighed after a long while.

※※※

The atmosphere in the stadium intensified. Nottingham Forest fans sang nonstop and set off a Mexican wave as if the victory had been secured.

The AC Milan fans were unwilling to give up. They sang the team’s song to cheer for AC Milan while they prayed to God for a miracle to appear at the last minute.

“It’s only a difference of two goals! We still have time, and we still have a chance! Keep your cool!” Maldini clapped to encourage his teammates and then rushed up from the rear defensive line himself.

It was now the time for a full offense. Their opponent, Nottingham Forest had withdrawn van Nistelrooy and Eastwood. It appeared that they did not want to fight back. Maldini was not afraid to go up to assist which could lead to gaps in the rear defense. In the face of the surge of offense from Milan, wave after wave of attacks, Nottingham Forest still wants to fight back? We’ll prevent your long balls from crossing the centerline!

Pirlo rushed up from the left side and did a feint before he passed the football to Maldini.

A huge cheer sounded in the stands as AC Milan’s captain caught the ball. Everyone felt their hearts settle down as if they saw hope.

“Paulo Maldini. This is his eighth time in the UEFA Champions League final. He tied the record of the former Real Madrid superstar, Francisco Gento. At thirty-eight years old and 331 days, he is also the oldest player in the Champions League finals other than the goalkeeper in history. This is the third time he has played in the Champions League final as a captain which breaks the 1961 record of the Barcelona goalkeeper, Antoni Ramallets, thirty-six years old, of the oldest captain in Champions League history. He has been awarded countless glories in his career, he is a man who has experienced big spectacles and now… AC Milan’s hope for a miracle is at his feet. He used to be remarkable young fullback in defense and assists, and now he is rarely in the front field...”

The commentator gave a detailed account of Maldini’s honors, in order to set the Italian fans’ minds at ease and tell them: what an amazing figure the AC Milan captain is. Don’t give up, believe in him, and we will surely be given a miracle!

Maldini adjusted the football under his feet and decided to break through by dribbling the ball himself. The Forest team’s rear defensive line prevented his cross pass. Not a single player had rushed up yet. If he did not break through now, then what was he waiting for?

He had just started when a red figure suddenly struck. It was definitely a fierce shove.

“Demetrio Albertini!”

The unprepared Maldini was shoved out of the line along with the ball by Albertini. It was the end of AC Milan’s attack.

The referee’s whistle rang.

For a moment, Maldini felt like he had been hit by a heavy truck. His ribs hurt a little as he lay on the ground. In the instance that the two men collided, he saw the man who had hit him.

That was a face that was once very familiar to him.

When he was his teammate, he always smiled humbly, which made everyone like him at first sight. All the young guys who joined AC Milan would receive all the help he could give. There were times when he was more like the team captain than himself.

It was hard to reconcile this man who always had a nice smile with the defensive midfielder on the football field now. He had changed Italian football and from then on, the Italy national team had its own midfield commander.

I once asked him what his greatest wish was. His answer was not to win the World Cup or The UEFA European Football Championship, but to play for AC Milan until he retired.

I said, “it’s simple, as you will be able to retire here and say goodbye in San Siro. You’re our vice-captain. AC Milan will not treat its loyal players badly.”

The result is that he is now he’s wearing the opponent’s jersey and knocked me to the ground.

Should I get up and grab him by the collar, and angrily question him about this despicable foul?

Maldini lay on the ground and stared blankly at the night sky.

A hand appeared in his sight.

“Don’t give up, Paulo. You’ve got five minutes left.” Albertini said to Maldini in Italian.

Maldini flipped over and sat up. He took the outstretched hand and asked, “why are you suddenly encouraging your enemy?”

Albertini pointed to the sidelines. “I’m going to leave the field. I have finished my journey. So, now I can wish you good luck.”

Maldini looked over to where his hand pointed to. The fourth official stood on the sidelines and held up the electronic signboard that displayed the substitution and not the injury stoppage time.

Number 4 was coming off and number 14 would be brought on.

A man in a red jersey stood next to the fourth official and looked eager to get started.

With a strong tug of his hand, Albertini pulled Maldini up.

“Hey, you knocked me down and robbed me of my championship title. Now you want to leave so easily? Demetrio!” Maldini asked in a low voice.

Albertini opened and closed his mouth. Without saying a word, he turned around and left his former teammate.

“Come back! You said there’s still five minutes left. Stay and play until the end! Do you hear me? Demetrio!” Maldini cried.

But Albertini did not seem to hear him. He quickened his steps without another word and did not look back.

“I was going to retire after the end of this season. I’m almost thirty-nine years old. But I’ve changed my mind now! I still want to take the championship! You’re only thirty-five years old. Why do you want to leave first?! You can still play. Look at your performance in this game!”

Maldini’s urging for him to stay did not shake Albertini’s will. He trotted up to Wood before he reached out to remove the golden yellow captain’s armband from his arm.

“Demetrio...” Wood looked at his partner, his teacher, and his captain.

“I’m done, George.” Albertini smiled and put the captain’s armband on Wood’s arm.

Wood flinched, and Albertini shouted with his head lowered, “don’t move!”

So, he stayed frozen, allowing Albertini to complete the captain’s handover ceremony.

※※※

“Demetrio Albertini... The 35-year-old veteran. This is the last game of his career and he is being brought off at the 86th minute.” The Italian commentator gave a long sigh. “Nottingham Forest, who he now represents, is leading by 3:1 over AC Milan, the team he had played for for twelve years. His love for AC Milan is indisputable, but his professionalism is equally irrefutable. What else can we say? What else can we ask for with an indirect assist and a direct goal in the final? This is your best performance in a final, and you deserve this title! Good luck, Demetrio! Thank you!”

The English commentator was equally emotional. “It is often said that it is unlikely for Italian players to succeed in the English football league. I don’t want to give them Gianfranco Zola’s example. I just want them to look at this man in front of our eyes. The legendary Demetrio Albertini, who came to Nottingham Forest in the final phase of his career, created a legend of his own. Thanks to Tony Twain, as he was the one who asked Demetrio to stay and play this season. The Nottingham Forest fans want to thank you, Demetrio, and I want to thank you, too.”

※※※

Once he finally put the captain’s armband on Wood, Albertini raised his head to bid farewell. “Goodbye, George.

Wood looked at the man in front of him with a smile and turned around to walk to the field.

He suddenly remembered what Roy Keane had said to him in the bathroom at the Wilford training base:

“That Italian, Albertini, is a very good captain, but one day he will age, retire, and leave you and the team...”

Demetrio is really leaving. He’s going and will not come back. Wood had gone from an acting captain on the field to really becoming the actual captain.

He stood in place and stared blankly at Albertini’s back as he watched him leave.

He saw Albertini walk toward the sidelines. Along the sidelines, whether they were the Forest players or AC Milan players, they all came up to shake his hand and hug him.

Albertini lifted his hands high and applauded the grandstand.

Nottingham Forest fans and AC Milan fans all stood up and clapped as they sent their captain off.

Off the field, Twain and all the members of the Forest team’s coaching staff, as well as the players on the bench, stood on the sidelines, clapping with the fans. The same was true of AC Milan’s substitutes’ bench.

During this short period of time, everyone forgot the fierce fight on the field and settled their hearts down to temporarily put aside the feud to send off their mutual friend.

“Thank you...” He could not make any noise with his trembling lips, but everyone saw what he wanted to say. “Goodbye.”

Albertini finally walked off the field and came up to Twain. He wanted to shake hands with the manager who gave him his second youth. He did not expect Twain to hug him.

“I don’t know how to thank you, Demetrio. Let me hold you for a second... You’re leaving...” He was surprised to hear the boss’s voice choked with emotion.

He did not know that when Twain decided to replace him early, his heart was overwhelmed and he had felt terrible.

At that moment, he was not a manager. He was just an ordinary fan. He was an ordinary Chinese fan who had watched Albertini when he appeared on behalf of AC Milan for the first time in Serie A, and then through all his ups and downs. He shared his joy and sorrows numerous times when he suffered the pain of loss over the World Cup title, the UEFA European Football Championship, his beloved AC Milan, being forced to leave and wander, the desolate choice to retire.

He really wanted to say to Albertini, “I grew up watching you play football, Demetrio.”

Albertini thought it was just the boss’s expression as a friend. He patted Twain on the back. “You can still go to Milan to find me if you miss me, boss.”

Twain let go of him and laughed. “You’re right, mate. Go say goodbye to them...” He pointed to the people behind him.

Albertini stepped forward to say goodbye to his teammates and coaches one by one. Then he ran to AC Milan’s technical area to say goodbye to the players.

※※※

The game continued.

AC Milan still did not give up and launched a siege against the Forest team’s goal in the last few minutes.

Maldini hardly returned to defend. He was right in front, waiting to participate in the offense.

Arteta’s task was not to organize the offense, but to assist the defense and help Wood to strengthen the defensive line in front of the full backs and make it impregnable.

Wood stood out, wearing the golden yellow captain’s armband. His figure could be seen almost everywhere. He gave a beautiful shovel, contested his opponent for a header, blocked a vigorous shot from the opponent with his body, and relied on a foul to delay AC Milan’s attack... He worked harder and was more energetic than before, as if it was not the last few minutes of the game, but the first few minutes after the start of the game.

He ran like crazy to defend, sprint, and fight for the header… It was as if AC Milan was not the one trailing but Nottingham Forest.

His thinking was simple: AC Milan would not stand to fail, and they would launch an attack at the last minute. If he took it lightly, the opponent might just succeed. Demetrio gave me the captain’s armband, and this championship title belongs to Nottingham Forest. I can’t let him down.

The Forest team withdrew across the board. The three lines maintained a compact team formation. Everyone gathered in the thirty-meter zone in front of the goal. It was the ultimate defensive formation that they were most proud of — Wall defense.

The AC Milan players launched a desperate offensive against this “wailing wall.”

The fourth official held up the injury-stoppage sign on the sidelines — four minutes.

Maldini’s header was too straight on and the football was confiscated by Edwin van der Sar. The Forest team drove the football forward with a long ball and AC Milan went on the offensive after they intercepted the ball.

There were only three minutes left.

Pepe used his body to block Seedorf’s long shot. The AC Milan players raised their hands to signal that Pepe used a handball. The referee ignored them, and Gattuso angrily questioned the referee which resulted in a yellow card for him. The AC Milan fans in the stands hissed with displeasure.

There were only two minutes left.

Kaka tried to force a breakthrough and was put down on the penalty line by Arteta. The AC Milan people thought it should have been a penalty kick, but the referee awarded a free kick instead. Meanwhile, the players from both sides clashed at the spot of the foul. The Nottingham Forest players wanted to escalate the conflict, but Maldini saw through their trick to waste game time. He struggled to pull his teammates away and reminded them that the most important thing was not to fight with the other side, but to stay calm and seize the time to score goals.

Arteta and Ambrosini each got a yellow card after the conflict.

There was only one last minute left.

The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands had started setting off red fireworks and the AC Milan fans, on the other hand, gradually fell silent. In the television close-up, the AC Milan fans were silent and tearful. They clenched the scarves in their hands as they helplessly stared at the field. In the face of the Forest team’s strict adherence to defend to the end, there was nothing the AC Milan players on the field could do.

Ancelotti kept growling on the sidelines and waving his arms. The probability of entering two goals in the last minute was roughly the same as a person being struck by lightning twice in a row. But he was unwilling to give up, or more likely, he was unwilling to concede defeat, because his opponent was Tony Twain whom he hated the most.

All the substitutes and coaches at Nottingham Forest stood shoulder to shoulder and arm in arm. They cheered as they waited for the moment the referee whistled to end the game to rush up to celebrate.

The English commentator was no longer commenting on the game. He began to talk nonstop about twenty-right years ago, the first time the Forest team won the UEFA Champions League. At that time, he was still young. Now, he was over fifty.

Van der Sar raised his arms again and again, wondering if he was preparing for the save or starting to celebrate early.

Wood was still running to carry out his defensive duties.

Maldini fully became a striker in the final minute and he stayed in the Forest team’s box.

Twain clenched his fists, and he felt a burst of tension in the heart, He did not even dare to gasp for fear that his heart would jump out of his mouth. His legs trembled. It was not nerves. It was due to his excitement and feeling that a huge amount of happiness was about to emerge. It was indescribable.

The game would be the first quality championship title in his coaching career. This was more exhilarating than winning a title like the EFL Cup.

Because this is the European champion and our opponent is AC Milan, the six-time winner of the Champions League.

Is there anything more convincing than winning by 3:1?

Who dares to underestimate us? Who dares to think we’re not qualified to stand here? Who dares to laugh at us now! Who!

Want to see me jump into the sea? Want to see me make a fool of myself? I’m sorry to disappoint you all again!

There were thirty seconds left.

“Almost all of the Italian media had vowed before the final that Twain would definitely jump into the sea and that Twain must do the jump, because Nottingham Forest’s opponent was AC Milan, a powerhouse club with countless wins. No matter how they analyzed it, they couldn’t think of reasons AC Milan would lose. There was even an Italian travel agency that organized a tour route to Athens to watch the game and then watch Twain jump into the sea after the game... Now, I really want to see the expressions of those Italians! It must be wonderful!” The English commentator got up from his seat and held his arms high as he waited for that fateful whistle to blow.

Inside Nottingham city, all the pubs had begun their crazy celebrations early. They did not believe that AC Milan would be able to enter two goals in the last ten or so seconds. Even if God were to arrive, it would not have been possible!

The customers in the Forest bar toasted the pub owner, Kenny Burns in turns, “Kenny, we thought we’d never see this day again!” These people were the old guys who could not go to Athens to watch the game.

“Thank you God, thank you God...”

“Hey, old fellas! You have to thank Tony!” A younger voice cried out.

“Ahem... It’s all the same, it’s all the same...” The old man coughed, “Tony is God, and God is Tony...”

※※※

The Italian commentator no longer made a sound. The AC Milan players also stopped running.

The football was at the foot of a Forest player. Ribéry passed the football to Wood, who in turn passed it to Ashley Young. Then Young transferred the ball to Arteta. The Forest team continued to pass the ball so as not to give the AC Milan players a chance to come close and tackle.

“The game is coming to an end!” the Forest fans in the stands shouted. “We are the champions! We’re the f**king champions!!”

The referee looked at his watch.

The Forest players outside the field all held their arms high, ready to dash.

Ancelotti sat in his chair, surrounded by people blocking his view. He did not care as it made no difference whether he could see the field or not. He had lost.

The great clamor filled every corner of the stadium. But in such a noisy environment, that three whistles were still clear.

Eastwood, who paced the ball back and forth, heard the referee’s first whistle. He eagerly drove the football into the air with a hard kick.

Immediately thereafter, the second and third whistles ensued.

That was the whistle for the end of the game!

The people around Twain disappeared in an instant — they all rushed up and hugged each other with open arms.

“The game is over! The title belongs to Nottingham Forest!”

“Hurray! Hurray!” A unified shout sounded in the stands.

“Tony Twain and his team took four years to go from England’s second-level league to becoming the European champions. It was as if we can see Brian Clough’s shadow behind him... That glorious team once again emerged in our view... This was not an accident. This is a red storm! Nottingham Forest, a team that had once won the UEFA Champions League for two consecutive years, is the king of Europe for the third time!”

Twain found that everyone around him was gone before he reacted and rushed up the field with open arms.

This is my path, paved by the championship trophy and countless glories that extends all the way to the horizon. I can’t see its end, but I know that it will continue.

People have said that winning the championship is the end and success.

Success? I’ve only just begun!

How can one championship be enough!

Chapter 557 - A True Champion

When the three whistles rang out, in large and small pubs across Nottingham city, beer splashed in the air. The cars in the streets honked thunderously. When they stopped, the drivers and passengers leaned out of the car windows to yell.

“Champion! Champion! We’re the champions!”

The celebration in Nottingham joined in the celebration at the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

The Forest players on the field raced, cheered, and gave incoherent interviews. The media seemed to surround the Forest players like flies around a cake, as they stuck out cameras, video cameras, and microphones.

As the team’s manager and the biggest architect in creating this victory miracle, Twain was surrounded the largest number of media.

Twain ignored them. He ran straight onto the field to celebrate with his own players and embrace everyone. He was speechless. He was so excited that he did not mind the media filming and surrounding him, so much so that he forgot the first thing he had to do after the game was to shake hands with the other manager.

When he came to and remembered, Ancelotti had already left.

“Manager Twain! Manager Twain! Can you give a simple interview?”

“How does it feel to win, Mr. Twain?”

“Damn bloody fantastic!” Twain burst out laughing. He felt like the happiest person in the world. The incessant flashes of light made him dizzy.

Is it true? I’m the manager who picks up the UEFA Champions League trophy?

I’m not dreaming, am I? I’m this half-baked manager and I have become the king of Europe?

Are you sure this isn’t FM 2007? I’m not playing a video game? A scene that I used to only see on a TV screen, and now I’ve experienced it firsthand...

My team really became a European champion?!

He ran aimlessly back and forth on the field. Wherever he ran, he was followed by a large group of reporters.

He saw Eastwood kneeling on the ground, sobbing, so he ran over.

“Hey, what are you crying about, kid! You should be happy, we’re the champions!” He laughed loudly.

“I’m just really happy, chief!” Eastwood turned his head and saw the chief standing next to him, and saw the large group of reporters behind the chief, with cameras and video cameras in their hands facing them... The Romani hurriedly wiped his tears and stood up from the ground. “Chief, you’re like a giant turd surrounded by such a large swarm of flies everywhere you go!”

“Hey! Freddy, you’re a legendary striker now. You have to take care of your image in front of the media! You did a terrific job with your goal that locked in the victory in the Champions League final!” When Twain finished, he clasped Eastwood in his arms with a bear hug.

※※※

Maldini looked at the man in front of him, and the other man looked at him as well.

“Hey, are you going to apologize to me?” he asked.

The other man shook his head.

“I want to swap jerseys with you.”

Maldini was a little surprised as he did not expect Demetrio Albertini would make such a request.

“Aren’t you going to give me a retirement present?” Albertini took off his jersey and handed it to Maldini.

“You already took away the championship title and you still asked me for a present...” Maldini muttered as he took off his jersey and gave it to Albertini.

“Did you really decide to retire just like that?” Maldini asked after he swapped the jerseys.

Albertini nodded. “I’m tired and content. I can’t think of any reason to keep playing.”

Looking at his old friend, Maldini could not get angry even if he wanted to.

He himself had already played in AC Milan until he was thirty-eight years old and enjoyed all kinds of accolades. For Demetrio, who was faithful and loyal to AC Milan like himself, but could only wander elsewhere... this championship trophy might perhaps be AC Milan’s best compensation for him, right?

Maldini looked up at the podium. He even wondered if the Forest team could still break into the final and win the game if Demetrio was not in the Forest team?

Unfortunately, there were such things as ifs on the football field.

Albertini turned his head to look behind him. The Forest team members had gathered hand in hand as they got ready to thank the Forest fans in the stands.

He said goodbye to Maldini. “I’ve got to go... Eh...”

“Call me when you’re back in Milan.” Maldini waved.

Albertini nodded. “I’m sorry, Paulo...” He said in a low voice as he turned around to run off.

※※※

The Forest players waited for Albertini to run over before they held their hands together to rush toward the Forest fans in the stands.

As they ran toward the front of the goal, everyone dived en masse to slide on the ground.

Thunderous cheers rang out in the stands.

The players stood up and clapped to show their thanks.

Twain was surrounded by the reporters in the middle of the field for an interview. His mind had calmed down and he was convinced that he was not dreaming, and that he was indeed a champion manager.

Dunn was pulled aside by Tang Jing alone in a secluded corner for an exclusive interview. As an assistant manager who had won the Champions League title for the first time, Dunn had many areas which she could hype up for the coverage. The other Chinese media surrounded Sun Jihai. Although the Chinese player did not play for a minute and only sat on the bench for ninety minutes, it was enough for the Chinese media to be excited for several days.

This was the first Champions League won by a Chinese player!

Twain found the Italian photojournalist who had secretly snapped his hand gesture among the press. He was the culprit who had caused everything to blow up. If he had not snapped that picture and printed it in a deliberate misrepresentation, how could he have promised to jump into the sea if he did not to win?

Meeting his again as a victor, Twain would not give any face to this man.

“Hey, isn’t this that Italian photojournalist? What about it? Are you here today to raise your hands in surrender to me? Alas, it is a shame. If we were in a battle, I would execute you immediately as a prisoner of war, lest I should waste any food on you. Our army takes no prisoners.”

His words caused that Italian photojournalist’s face to turn pale and then red and not know what to do with his hands.

Twain swept his gaze across the crowd in front of him, where he saw a number of Italian reporters. At the thought of the behavior of the Italian media before the game, he could not suppress his disgust within.

“I’d be happy to answer your questions. But I also have my terms before that — I don’t accept questions from any Italian media or Italian reporters. I don’t understand your lousy English.” He shrugged his shoulders and opened his hands.

The Italian reporters initially thought that Twain would be receptive due to his good mood after he had won the championship title. They did not expect him to be so unforgiving. For a moment, they looked at each other and did not know what to do.

“You have no right to do so!” An Italian reporter shouted in proper English.

“I do too!” Twain roared in reply. “I’m the champion now! You’re the ones who begged for an interview, not me! If you don’t like it and don’t want to interview me, I’d be happy to go back to rest!”

With that, Twain departed.

“I’ve never seen a manager as ungracious as you, Mr. Tony Twain!” The Italian reporter cried in annoyance at his back.

Twain stopped in his tracks and turned around to face him, “You’re right, Mr. Reporter. I don’t have manners, and I don’t care what you Italians think of me. I don’t mind you describing me as Mussolini in the papers. You can slam me for refusing to accept your interview in the newspapers published tomorrow, and you can say that I despise the whole of Italy. Do you want to add a photo of me sticking my middle finger up at you as a postscript to capture more readers? See how considerate I am to you. I even provided you with such a great topic to hype. Why do you still want to interview me? You’re not going to get nice words from me. Why don’t you go to comfort the losers instead of hanging around me?”

With that, Twain turned around again and hurried away, and a group of people hurriedly surrounded him.

“Mr. Twain, Mr. Twain, we are not the Italian reporters!”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m Spanish. I have nothing to do with Italy!”

“I’m an English reporter myself...”

Twain answered the media’s questions as he walked along. He fully enjoyed the privilege of being a champion.

The group of Italian reporters who were ditched were mind boggled. They had never seen such an ungracious champion... Who the hell was he? What was he thinking? How could he be so vindictive? What gave him the right? Was he not afraid of the media slamming him? Did not he care about his personal image and reputation?

They thought right. Twain indeed did not care what the Italian media thought of him or would slam him for. He did not care at all about his image and reputation among this group. He only felt responsible to the Nottingham Forest fans. As long as the Nottingham Forest fans liked and loved him, it was enough. He did not give a hoot about the English media in England. The Italian reporters’ English counterparts had a deep awareness of this point.

※※※

The interview on the field did not last long, and all the Forest players returned to the locker room to change into the t-shirts that the club had specially prepared for the victory. They were red with a golden number “3.” There were lines of gold letters above and below the number:

“CHAMPION

NOTTINGHAM FOREST”

The podium was probably being set up outside, so the players did not have to rush out. They continued to celebrate wildly in the locker room.

Armed with bottles of champagne, the players fired corks at each other.

Twain had just finished the interview, pushed the door to enter and was drenched from head to toe by several sprays of champagne. The photojournalists, who followed behind Twain and intended to photograph some footage inside the team’s locker room, were also hit. There were liquid marks on the camera lens.

Everyone burst into laughter when they saw clearly that it was the boss who came in.

“Welcome, our champion manager — Tony Twain!”

Everyone lifted up the bottles in their hands and moved closer to Twain as if they were going to pour down his head. Twain, who was caught off guard, hurriedly asked Kerslake for help. “Help me, David!”

In spirit of brotherhood, Kerslake stepped forward and on the chair, which made him taller than everyone else. He raised his hands to signal for the crowd to first calm down. “Listen up. Listen up, guys!”

Everyone put down the bottles in their hands for the time being and looked at their assistant manager.

“You’ve all listened to the manager’s instructions more than once, haven’t you?” he said to the crowd as he stood on the chair and pointed to Twain.

“That’s right!” The players nodded.

“It was him who had instilled spirit and faith in you!” Kerslake raised his volume and swung his arms wider.

“Yes!” Someone shouted in reply.

“Let’s make a toast to him together. Follow me and say: Damn Tony!”

“Damn Tony!” the players roared loudly.

“We need your damn motivation!”

“We need your damn motivation!”

“We’re a bunch of mad dogs which bravely charge forward, frothing at the mouths as we... utterly defeat our opponents!”

The players roared as if they were really mad dogs.

“Defense is what we live for!”

The defensive players cried in succession, “Wipe out our opponents! Shovel and overturn them!”

“Attack is what we do!” Kerslake waved his arms and shouted rhythmically.

“Score! Score! Score!”

“I say, guys! What do we live and die for!!” Kerslake raised his arms and asked aloud as he looked up.

The players, whose emotions were completely stirred, stood on their chairs and brandished their fists as they looked up and roared, “victory! Champion! Victory! Champion!”

Twain looked on at the side with a grin. When he saw Kerslake suddenly turn his hand and pointed at him as he growled, “Now, let’s thank the man who gave us the championship title!”

With that, he took a bottle from someone else, twisted it open, and poured it over Twain.

More players rushed up and poured the champagne onto Twain.

“Drink to your fill in celebration!”

“F**k!” Twain wiped the champagne from his face before he was finally able to see the people in front of him.

After the players pranked their manager, they went on to prank on each other.

Twain pulled Kerslake and had to wipe his face with his suit. “Damn it, David. Your words were so stirring just now! If I had a bottle in my hand, I’d pour it on your head too!”

“I learnt that from you, Tony!” Kerslake belly laughed.

Watching the group of shirtless players running around in the locker room, Twain remembered something. He clapped his hands and cried loudly, “all right, all right, guys! Change your clothes, go out and receive the prize. We’ve made AC Milan wait twice!”

※※※

Indeed, the podium had been set up a while ago. Since the winners had not arrived, the award ceremony could not be carried out.

The frustrated and dejected AC Milan players had to wait amidst the cheers of the Forest fans until their opponents appeared in the tunnel.

Twain came out with a group of radiant and extremely excited players. When the victors emerged, the atmosphere in the stadium climbed another level.

“Tony! Tony! You did just as you said you would!”

“Champion! We’re the champions! Nottingham Forest is the champion!”

Shouts erupted in the stands as all the Forest players stepped onto the podium in these sounds.

The first of the proceedings was the runner-up award, and the Forest players did not care about this part of the process. They continued their unbridled revelry on the field and indulged in the celebration.

This was when Twain finally found a chance to shake Ancelotti’s hand.

The two men said nothing as there was nothing to be said. Silence was the best policy. They parted after a simple and brief handshake.

Then Twain stood aside and quietly watched as the runners-up came on the stage to accept the silver medals. He knew that the AC Milan players would not be able to accept them in their hearts, just like him last year. He had been so angry that he tossed the silver medal he had just received to a young ball boy. These people obviously would not do anything as shocking as he did, because the AC Milan players were well-behaved and all typical professional players who fit in with their chairman’s standards.

So what if you’re unwilling now that you are the losers? Just like we were last year. There can only be one champion and one winner in the world of football. History is written by the victors, just like football.

Gattuso went up to accept the silver medal with a dark expression. As soon as he came down, he tucked the silver medal into his pants. Only the lanyard swung outside.

You’re in a bad mood, aren’t you?

In fact, the matter is simple. Want to improve your mood? Try to defeat us next year!

The last one to take to the stage to accept the award was Ancelotti. When he accepted the silver medal, he even chatted with the UEFA president, Johansson. It could be seen that he was not in a good mood. Then he went off with the silver medal.

Once AC Milan had accepted their medals, the stadium, which was quieter, suddenly rang out with singing.

It was the Forest team’s turn.

The Forest players, who were still bouncing and singing, calmed down for a while and lined up under the podium as they got ready to go up to accept the gold medals.

Everyone went up one by one, accepted the gold medals from Platini, shook hands, and then stood on one side as they waited for the final moment to arrive.

Twain was the second last person to go up and receive the award. Platini was the one to give him the prize and not Johansson. Twain did not want to have anything to do with these officials. He had just wanted to take the gold medal and stepped aside. After all, everyone was waiting for the highlight at the end.

However, Platini stopped him. “Tony.” He spoke in English. “You embarrassed us last year.”

Twain knew what Platini referred to. He laughed drily. He did not intend to apologize for that.

“But you’ve surprised us all this year. No one, including me, thought that you guys could break into the final, and beat AC Milan to win the championship. None of your opponents were weak...”

“Did you all arrange it?” Twain asked in return

Platini did not say anything. He just smiled.

Twain also knew he could not have said “Yes, these were all arranged by us.” He turned around and walked to his players.

Albertini stepped on the stage. Even the AC Milan fans who stayed behind gave him a standing ovation.

The Forest teammates who waited on the stage also applauded him and whistled.

Albertini walked up to Platini, and the Frenchman patted him on the shoulder and said in Italian, “any compliment to you is unnecessary, Demetrio. You’ve done what a lot of people can only dream of. Congratulations, Demetrio!” He hung the gold medal around Albertini’s neck.

Then he turned around and picked up the glittering silver UEFA Champions League trophy.

“Now, it belongs to you!”

Albertini took the trophy from Platini. He took a deep breath as he lowered the trophy slightly before he held it high.

Countless red ribbons floated down from above the roof of the stadium, while gold ribbons shot out from the rear of the podium. The night sky was lit up in red by fireworks.

“Congratulations to Nottingham Forest! Congratulations, Nottingham Forest! They are the champion of the 06-07 Champions League! A truly worthy champion!”

Meanwhile, the Queen’s classic We Are the Champions broadcasted over the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

As the song played “We are the champions, we are the champions of the world,” the other players swarmed to lift Albertini, still holding the trophy, high up and carry him on their shoulders.

Twain raised his head. Under the red fireworks and colorful ribbons, the glittering silver trophy was beautiful.

This is not a video game. This is reality!

He clenched his fists.

Chapter 558 - A Victorious Return

“I’m sorry that the spectators did not get to see the spectacle of me jumping into the sea. Maybe next time I should say, ‘If I win, I’ll jump into the sea.’ Would it be better?”

LCD televisions everywhere in the airport lounge screened Twain’s interview with the BBC.

The Forest team’s charter plane was about to arrive at London Heathrow.

During the exclusive interview in the morning, Twain promised to hand over the broadcast right to BBC for the Forest team’s party to celebrate the team’s victory this evening, as a compensation.

As for the rest of the media... he did not care.

It was clearly stated in the contract that the agreement would only come into effect on the premise that the Forest team had lost the game, so he did not have to be held liable for it. Twain gave the right to BBC for the live broadcast of the celebration only because he had collaborated with BBC at the World Cup in Germany and the relationship between both sides was good.

“Well, I now have some regrets about selling the rights for the live coverage to the media in England.” Twain was well-dressed, radiant and smiling on the television screen. “Maybe it would have been better if I had sold it to the Italian media? That way, I could have watch them sell all the ads, vowing to broadcast my jump live on air... Ha! I’ll learn for next time.”

There was a burst of laughter among the crowd watching the television.

Almost all of them were fans who had rushed from Nottingham. They came to the airport early to welcome the Forest team and even set up the red banners that read: “Welcome home, our European Champion — Nottingham Forest!”

Not only did they have a banner, all of them held a newspaper in their hands. It was a special issue from Nottingham Evening Post for the Champions League final, which the editorial department and print production rushed out overnight after the game.

The front page was printed in color. Other than their masthead, the entire page was in red with a golden number “3” on it. The top and bottom of it were a row of golden letters “The Champion — Nottingham Forest.” It was the Forest team’s commemorative t-shirt which was worn for the award ceremony after they took the title.

There was no other word on the front page besides that. As the newspapers were only sold in the Nottingham region, their readers were all from Nottingham and did not need much explanation. The Nottingham Forest fans knew what it meant.

Pierce Brosnan sent it to the editorial office as an idea for the front page and was approved immediately.

The Forest fans who came to meet the plane even held the newspapers as a fitting sign and mark of their identities. They raised the newspaper whenever they saw other people, and then everyone would smile at each other — all of them were Forest fans!

There were about twenty odd media outlets surrounding the group as they waited with them for the plane to arrive.

A season ago, when Twain and his team flew back from France only the hardcore fans and a few reporters from Nottingham and The Sun, who waited to ridicule Twain, were there. People lacked interest in a loser. No one wanted to be a loser, and no one cared if the loser wanted to be a loser.

※※※

Through the window, Twain could already see the mouth of the River Thames under the clouds, the shimmering water reflecting the sun’s rays. He turned his head and looked at the Champions League trophy next to him, which also glowed in the dazzling silver light.

“It’s gorgeous...” He murmured as he reached out to touch the curved outline of the trophy as if he were caressing his wife’s naked body —?of course, if he had a wife...

After a night of wild revelry, the players were exhausted and had been sleeping since they boarded the plane. Only a few were still awake.

Twain and Dunn were the few. Dunn did not sit with Twain. He went to the economy class and said to have accepted an exclusive interview with Tang Jing. Twain snorted. What kind of interview continued from the night before to the following afternoon?

There was a jolt, and the voice of the flight attendant came on the intercom. “Dear passengers, we are experiencing a little bumpiness as our plane is starting its descent. Will all passengers please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts.”

Some of the players woke up and looked around blankly before they realized they had reached the British airspace.

Twain, who did not listen to the flight attendant’s instructions, stood up with the trophy and roared out in the loud voice he used to direct games, “get up, lazybones!”

There was a rustling sound in the cabin, and everyone poked their heads out of their respective seats in a few moments. Most of them still looked sleepy and blank.

“Should I really give you guys a mirror each to look at yourselves — is this what the European champions look like?” Twain made a sleepy appearance. His strange appearance made the players laugh and chased away their drowsiness.

“The plane is going to land. Wake up. There are a lot of fans and reporters out there waiting. Don’t let them see your appearances now.” With that, Twain turned around and sat down.

After a while, Dunn also came back from the back, and sat next to Twain.

“The exclusive interview is over?”

“Yes.”

“I’m suddenly looking forward to the exceptionally long interview.” Twain whistled.

Dunn did not speak. He knew he was not as glib as Twain. If they continued the topic, he would soon lose.

A noise came from behind him, and Dunn turned his head to take a look. Then he tapped Twain. “Mr. Chairman.”

When Twain heard this, he stood up hurriedly. Sure enough, he saw Evan Doughty and Allan Adams walk toward him while they greeted the players.

“Looks like they’re here for you.” Dunn said and sat down in the empty seat across the aisle.

“Boys! You have done a great job, and I’m proud of your performance! The championship bonus will be honored when you return to Nottingham!” Evan smiled. He made a monetary promise, which was what the players wanted to hear most. Everyone whistled, applauded, and cheered.

Twain sat by the window in a three-seat row, with the championship trophy in the middle seat, and an empty seat next to the aisle. Dunn was about to move to another seat, but Evan lifted his hand to stop him

He reached out to Twain and asked, “can I hold that?” He pointed to the Champions League trophy.

“Of course.” Twain handed the championship trophy to him.

Evan held it in his hand and caressed it lightly. Then he sat down?in the middle seat with the trophy in his arms.

Allan Adams sat in the aisle seat.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Evan asked as he gazed upon the trophy in his arms.

“Just like a voluptuous beauty,” Twain replied.

Both of them laughed.

“Well done, Tony.” Allan reached his hand across to Twain.

Twain shook his hand. “Allan, thank you. We couldn’t have gotten to this point without your financial support.”

Evan was happy to see his two main men getting along with each other, which suggested that there were no cracks inside the club, and he could still look forward to a better future and many more of such moments.

“Tony. You have brought such a big honor to the team and the club should do something.” Evan put down the trophy and gave it to Allan. “What would you like to have?”

Twain thought. “I want to get the club to invest more in the development of the youth team.”

When Evan heard him, he glanced at Allan next to him, and held out his hand. “Ten pounds.”

“Oh, hell...” Allan complained as he took out ten pounds from his pocket and put it in Evan Doughty’s palm.

“You guys...”

“Allan and I had a bet. He bet that you would ask for a raise or something like that, and I said you’d consider the development of the team building. Thank you, Tony. You helped me win ten pounds from him.” Evan chuckled happily.

“Hey...”

Evan did not let Twain continue. He put his hand on Twain’s shoulder. “Isn’t our youth always at the top of England’s ranking?”

“That was before, and we’re no longer so.” Twain wanted to shrug his shoulders but realized Evan’s hand was on it. He shook his head instead. “Chelsea’s new owner have invested a lot of money in the team’s youth training. They scouted for players everywhere, and we have people being poached. You see, all of the big clubs in the league have a good youth team. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool... except us. Our youth training system is provincial compared to theirs. There’s a reality that frustrates me. After Bale and Wood, I don’t have my eye on anyone in our youth team ever since...”

“Maybe you have a high standard, Tony. Everyone in the adult team is a big star player now. So, it’s normal for you not to keen on anyone from the youth team...” Evan soothed.

Twain shook his head. “Maybe. But in the contest against those teams for those young talents, we are already at a disadvantage. That’s the truth.”

Evan nodded in agreement and continued, “But, Tony... I have something to say to you.”

The cabin gradually became livelier as more and more players woke, so Evan lowered his head and spoke in a low voice. Obviously, he did not want others to hear what he had to say next.

“It may be difficult for us to do what you just asked...”

“What?”

“I meant to say, we may not be able to put too much money into the development of the youth team in the near future. At least I can’t be as generous as Abramovich. Because... Well, Allan and I are planning to build a new high-capacity stadium for the team.”

Twain opened his mouth and looked at Evan with surprise.

He really did not think he would hear such news.

While he played the Football Manager game, a football manager could make various requests to the club’s board as the manager, such as improving the training facilities, upgrading the development of the youth training system, finding the satellite clubs, giving a higher salary cap and transfer fee budget, as well as expanding or even building a new stadium.

The last item was most difficult. When Twain played the game, he had proposed more than once for the club to expand or build a new stadium, and the answer was “no.” He even threatened to resign, and the result was the same — his appointment had led the team to win all the world’s championship titles, and he would be the top-ranking manager with the most achievements in the world and yet he would be dumped during the board meeting when it came to the choice of “a new stadium or a new manager.”

Just because the stadium did not have enough seats, he could be dismissed without hesitation by those damned club board meetings.

Due to his deep impression over this ridiculous matter, Twain did not even think to propose to the team to expand or build a new stadium even though he also felt that the City Ground stadium, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, was ridiculously small and disproportionate to the status of the Forest team...

Evan looked at Twain’s expression and thought he was angry over the club’s plan to build a new stadium construction instead of giving money to improve the development of the youth team. He had wanted to explain. However, he did not want to create a fuss with his manager the day after they won the Champions League.

“Uh, Tony... Actually, what happened was...”

Twain lifted his hand to interrupt him. “Do you really have plans for a new stadium?” He looked at Evan and then at Allan.

In the end, it was Allan who nodded his head and explained, “Yes, Tony. We started planning during the semifinals. Evan and I both felt that the current City Ground stadium can’t hold too many fans, which is incompatible with our team’s current results in Europe and in the domestic league. As you know, a new stadium requires a lot of money. Just look at Arsenal’s predicament over those few years and you’ll get the idea. So once the plan is put into action, we really don’t have much money for your youth team, and I’m afraid there’s not much money for you to operate in the transfer market as well...”

Evan was always reluctant to play the bad guy so it could only be up to Allan to step forward.

Twain was not a fool. He looked at Evan who had his head bowed in silence. He looked at Allan’s expression and laughed, “Wait, you think I’m angry?”

When he heard him, Evan looked up at him.

“I’ve had the same idea as you. I also think that the City Ground stadium is too small... I’m very much in favor of the new stadium plan.”

The other two men were visibly relieved.

Evan did not want to hear any dissonant voices within the club.

“But...” Twain changed his tack. “we can still slowly develop the youth team. I hope to have at least a plan on how much money to invest each year, not much, but to maintain a continued investment. As for the transfer fees... I’m used to saving money for the club in the transfer negotiations over the last few years anyways. It’s okay if there’s less money. We have a strong lineup now and don’t need a massive transfer fee to replace the entire team. We just need to beef up in a few positions.”

Hearing Twain, Evan and Allan looked at each other and felt completely relieved.

“There’s no problem with the development of the youth team. I know that any big club must have a youth training base that matches their status. Besides, Tony, we have more players joining than leaving in our transfer situation in the past few years...”

Twain knew what he meant.

“When the transfer market reopens, there’s one player who will definitely leave.”

Evan and Allan did not have to ask him who that man was, because everyone knew.

“However,” Twain changed the direction in their discussion, “we may not make that much money from that person. He’s not as popular as he was last year.”

“Who told you to keep him out in the cold for a season?” Evan laughed.

“I’m not going to let anyone who opposes me leave the Forest team so easily.” Dunn shrugged. “He needed to suffer a little. Now I’m sure he has suffered enough...”

Allan interrupted him, “What if this championship title suddenly changes his mind and he wants to stay in Nottingham Forest?”

Twain answered Allan’s question without hesitation, as if he had long thought of the answer. “The result will be the same. He will leave. Allan, you know what? This is a great opportunity to let the players know who the boss of this team is so I’m not going to let it go.”

During the discussion, the plane jerked, and they landed.

“I’m on your side, Tony.” Evan nodded along with the jolt. “You have the final say in this team.”

Having said that, Evan and Allan left without waiting for the plane to stop.

Twain got up and called out to Albertini, sitting in the back, “Demetrio, come here!”

“What’s the matter, boss?” Although his retirement had been announced, Albertini still followed the team’s custom to call Twain “boss.”

“In a minute, you’ll come with me and walk in the front.” Twain pointed to the championship trophy in his hand. “The two of us will carry it off the plane.”

Albertini was hesitant, “I’m already retired, boss. You should get George instead...”

“Bollocks!” Twain swore under his breath, “Did I announce that the team was dissolved? This season is not over yet! If George wants to enjoy his share of the glory, he can wait for the next round! This time, it’s just you and me walking at the front. Not only here, but also on the way back to Nottingham, and finally at our celebration party... Until that time, you’re still the captain of this team.”

Albertini smiled haplessly, “OK, I’ll listen to you, boss.”

※※※

After the plane came off the runway and stopped on the tarmac, the reporters and the group of welcoming fans rushed forward, and the police in charge of maintaining the order struggled to hold the people behind the safety line. The situation was messy and noisy.

It was not until they saw the cabin door open that they suddenly calmed down.

The police officers felt the pressure around them suddenly relax and raised their heads as well.

The cabin door opened slowly, and the first one to come out was Tony Twain. He raised his hand to wave to the welcoming crowd below, while his other hand remained inside the plane. As he stepped out, the championship trophy appeared along with Albertini in front of everyone.

Instead of rushing down, the two men stood at the door and raised the trophy high.

The climax had arrived.

The fans below cheered in unison, and a firework of flashbulbs went off.

“Ladies and gentlemen... This is the UEFA Champions League trophy!” The live broadcast gave a big close-up of the trophy in the hands of Twain and Albertini. “The hands that had clasped this trophy used to wear the jerseys of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich... and now it’s Nottingham Forest’s turn!”

A female presenter spoke movingly in front of the camera. Her words were heard by the fans next to her. As they yelled, there was so much pride in their words. “This is not the first time, not the first time! This is the third time we’ve held her! Nottingham Forest is the team that has won the UEFA Champions League three times!”

That female presenter was startled by the sudden shout and did not make a sound for a while.

Twain and Albertini held the trophy up high as they walked down the ramp. The flashbulbs had not yet stopped flashing.

Behind them, the Forest players filed out in a line. They had changed out of their jerseys and dressed in stylishly-cut dark red suits. This was the uniform that the Forest club gave to the players and coaches to attend formal occasions.

It made them looked energized and completely without the confused look of having just woken up. Twain looked back at his players and was pleased with the boys’ performance.

As Twain and Albertini walked down the ramp with the trophy, the police officers on both sides felt the great pressure coming from behind again. People desperately pushed forward as they tried to get close to the trophy that glittered in the sun.

Some of the police officers’ hats were squeezed till they were a skewed. The situation was chaotic.

Twain stopped and motioned for Albertini to join him in holding up the trophy again. Then he raised his hand and signaled to the fans to calm down, for he had something to say.

It was an effective move. The fans who did not listen to the police officers listened to the manager.

A young policeman looked at Twain, who had a smile on his face, and asked his partner next to him while desperately trying to maintain order, “is he helping us to stabilize the fans?”

The older policeman muttered with gritted teeth, “Devil knows... It’s nice that he does not make it worse!” The older policeman was unhappy to be assigned with the task of being in charge of safekeeping and maintaining the order in the airport. On one hand, it was because he was a Chelsea fan and did not like to see his opponent do so well. On the other hand, there was bound to be trouble wherever Twain was.

“Hey guys!” Twain raised his volume and roared like he was directing the game loudly on the sidelines, “Does anyone still remember what she looked like before I took over this team?”

“Yes, we remember.” Hundreds of fans present responded loudly.

“Now Manager Tony Twain is going to give an impromptu speech live...” The female presenter spoke in a ow voice into the microphone for fear of interrupting Twain’s speech.

“Does anyone recall what was the Forest team like at its peak twenty-three years ago?!”

“We remember!!” The answer this time was much louder because it was the most glorious period in the history of the Nottingham Forest Club, when they broke out from Second Division to become the First Division champions, won the Champions League two years in a row and set the longest unbeaten record of forty-two games in England’s top league before Wenger’s Arsenal. Liverpool, who dominated Europe, were beaten twice in a year: in the league tournament and Champions Cup. For a period, the red Nottingham Forest was unrivalled.

The names of Brian Clough and his men were engraved in the annals of the Champions League.

“Excellent!” Twain nodded and took the other handle of the trophy from Albertini. He raised the trophy high and roared loudly, “counting from that year to the present moment... twenty-seven years later! We’re back! Let the whole of Europe tremble! Let our opponents be afraid! Let those who despise us go to hell! There are more championship titles waiting ahead for us to embrace!”

Hundreds of fans followed their manager and roared toward the skies. It was just as the older policeman put it: The situation became messier...

Amid the frenzied shouts, that female presenter also had to raise her voice, “Manager Tony Twain gave an impromptu speech to his supporters at the airport, and he told these people that this is just the beginning! The is BBC, reporting live to you on the scene.”

When the female presenter finished her work, she turned her head to look at Twain, who held the trophy high among the crowd as he walked out. He smiled so brilliantly...

Chapter 559 - An Ending and A Beginning

The open-top double-decker bus, used for the celebration parade, was parked outside the airport terminal. Surrounded by a large number of fans and reporters, the Forest team walked out of the airport terminal and boarded the bus.

Waiting with the bus were the four police cars that had come from Nottingham to escort them. They were the pride of the city of Nottingham, and the mobilization of the police force was not too much to ask.

A convoy of four police cars and an open-top double-decker bus slowly hit the road amid the cheers and they would cruise back to Nottingham from there.

After they turned onto the M1 motorway from the airport, the players soon found that the bus was followed by a special fleet of cars. The fleet did not have a unified type of vehicle. They were made of various large and small vehicles in a variety of brands and models. The Forest team’s red team flags hung on the bodies of all the cars. Although the cars were driven on the motorway, a number of fans still leaned out of the car windows and waved their arms. Because the Forest team bus was not going very fast, the speed of the cars at the back was not fast either, so there was no fear of any traffic accidents... They turned out to be the fans who had just welcomed the team at the airport. They were escorting the team back to Nottingham.

It was not the first time that Twain had experienced this. After he and the team won the EFL Cup in Cardiff, they were also escorted to Nottingham in such a manner.

It was just that there were not so many people. After all, the EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League were not on the same level at all in terms of glory.

The players happily waved hello to the fans below. The fans kept honking their horns.

The convoy slowed down on the motorway and drove slowly on the side so that the other passing vehicles had to overtake.

A steady stream of people went to the upper deck of the bus to catch the breeze, wave to the fans, and receive their accolades and cheers. Likewise, a constant stream of people also came back down after they had their fill.

Twain remained at the lower deck. He had been busy since yesterday and for the better half of today. He would continue to be busy this evening, so he planned to take advantage of this time to have a good rest.

He closed his eyes.

Everything was like a dream. He was a little confused as to whether the dream was a reality, or reality was a dream.

※※※

After the game, from the locker room to the press conference and back to the hotel, the entire Forest team was extremely excited. It was the first time for many of them to win this rare honor — a European championship.

Even those who had won the Champions League before did not expect to be able to pick up the trophy again at the end of their careers.

Edwin van der Sar started in Ajax. He participated in the UEFA Champions League final when he played for Ajax in 1995. Coincidentally, their opponent then was AC Milan, and there was also a former AC Milan player on the Ajax team — Rijkaard. Even more coincidentally, Rijkaard assisted Kluivert, who scored seven minutes before the end of the game to beat the then indomitable AC Milan and unexpectedly picked up the Champions League title.

Edwin van der Sar had never forgotten that day for the most glorious moment of his career belonged to that day. Later, he had not been able to obtain such honor, with Ajax, Juventus or the Netherlands national team.

Edwin van der Sar was thrilled to win the Champions League title for the second time. He was thirty-six years old and only had a few years left in his career. His career had a good start with the Champions League title, and he hoped the end of his career would also draw to a happy conclusion with the Champions League.

He picked up the Champions League trophy and rubbed his face against it. The cool sensation reminded him that everything was real and not a dream.

Edwin van der Sar was just a representative of some people, as it was the case with many veterans. Even a world-class striker like van Nistelrooy had never won a Champions League title in his career. When he was dumped by Manchester United, he chose Nottingham Forest just to retaliate against Manchester United and prove to Ferguson what a big mistake it was for Manchester United to abandon him. He did not think... He never thought that his unfulfilled wish at Manchester United would be fulfilled at Nottingham Forest.

He did not know what to say as he held the trophy. He was the highest goalscorer in the fifty-two-year history of the Champions League (if the figure included the Champions League qualifiers, the player with the highest number of Champions League goals scored would be Real Madrid’s Raúl González), but he had never won a championship trophy, which was somewhat unspeakable.

Now van Nistelrooy could finally get rid of this embarrassment.

Whether they were retiring, just starting, or entering the golden phase of their careers, the Forest players now had a glorious record in their careers — the 06-07 Champions League title.

Just the sound of it was amazing.

But in fact, they were more remarkable than this honor. One had to know that the struggles in the English Football League Championship (which was known as the Football League First Division at the time), a financial crisis, and the danger of being relegated had plagued everyone on the team four years ago.

Nottingham Forest was a team with a tradition of creating miracles, whether it was during Brian Clough era or with Tony Twain currently at the helm, they all did things that no one else could even dare dream of.

Twain did not restrain his men that night. He did not command them to go to their rooms to rest at eleven o’clock and did not forbid them from drinking to their hearts’ content.

Because he himself was made to drink by his colleagues in the hotel bar till he passed out.

The group of English drunks even poured beer into the Champions League trophy before they drank from it in turns. In reality, not much of the alcohol went into their stomachs. More of it was poured down their necks and drenched their bodies instead.

Twain did not know how much he had drunk. There was no way to keep track anyway. His glass was filled up repeatedly. Finally, they drank directly from the bottles. Twain thought that “when hopes are won, drink your fill in high delight. And never leave your wine-cup empty in moonlight!” was the truth for the ages. He could not think of a more appropriate way to celebrate other than to drink. One should drink during happy times and it was the best way to let go of one’s feelings. Alcohol was the greatest invention in the history of human civilization. Without alcohol, his life would be boring. Alcohol was his favorite other than football.

Now he finally had a chance to drink to his fill and booze without constraints. How could he let go of it? He drank and threw up repeatedly. He did not know how much alcohol he had in his system, but he clearly remembered his mood at the time — he was very happy and blissful.

Beer, champagne, whisky, wine, brandy, vodka... they had all the alcohol for sale in the hotel bar.

By the next day, the manager of the hotel received a report from their bar which stated that the people from Nottingham Forest had drank up the entire contents of the bar.

The Greeks finally witnessed the English’s capacity for drinking.

This was also why the team flew to London only in the afternoon and not in the morning — because most of the people were still passed out from the alcohol that morning.

George Wood was not among the crazy crowd. He accompanied his mother to do some shopping and buy souvenirs. He had little interest in the booze and was not interested in the party. He only wished to accompany his mother when he did not play football and would go with her wherever she wanted to go and to pay for whatever she wanted to buy.

Wood had always felt that he owed much to his mother. Now that he made a lot of money, he wanted to make it up to her.

Twain knew this too, so he did not ask Wood to attend the party. He just reminded him and his mother to be careful while out shopping.

Everyone else in the team was aware how much Wood loved his mother, so no one forced him to join in the binge drinking.

※※※

When Twain opened his eyes again, it was because he was woken by a loud noise.

He drowsily opened his sleepy eyes in a daze and turned his head to look out of the window at the familiar buildings. The bus had finally arrived in Nottingham. As he looked further down, he was startled and jerked up in his seat, suddenly wide awake.

All he saw was a sprawling sea of red from one end of the street to the other end.

Clad in the red Forest jerseys and the red Forest team’s commemorative t-shirts for their third championship win, the fans huddled on both sides of the street and waved their arms and flags as they cheered and applauded the players in the bus.

Despite the police cars making way, the bus seemed to crawl up the crowded street.

The players went up to the upper deck to accept the cheers from the fans along the route.

“Wow, the entire city turned up.” Twain whistled.

It was extremely noisy. He could not hear himself at all. The voices of the fans here were the only voices that could be clearly heard.

They were calling the names of every Forest player. Those who were called stood up from their seats, waved in response, and then received louder cheers before they sat back down contentedly.

It was like a military parade. However, it was not the people on the in the bus who inspected the streets. It was the fans on the streets who inspected the “soldiers” on the bus.

Twain turned over and saw Kerslake came thumping down from above. When he saw that Twain was awake, he happily waved to him and shouted, “Come up! Come on up!”

Twain had not yet reacted as the fans’ voices were too loud for him to hear exactly what Kerslake was shouting about.

That was when he heard the fans shouting his name. “Tony! Tony! Tony Twain! Tony! Tony! Tony Twain!!”

He looked at Kerslake’s excited smiling face and understood right away.

Twain appeared on the upper deck. The fans cheered with excitement when they saw him emerge.

Twain leaned over the railing and waved to the crowd below. This position was higher than where he had been. He could see more clearly. Not only was the street covered in red, front and back, even as far as he could see... it was red everywhere.

The ancient city of Nottingham seemed to have been dyed in red overnight.

“Look!” Kerslake excitedly pointed below. “The grandest occasion in twenty-seven years!”

Twain smiled and said, “don’t worry, David, there will be more to come in the future.?You can see it as many times as you want.”

“Heh heh, I know you have the ability, Tony.” Kerslake punched Twain lightly.

Twain stepped forward and took the trophy from Wood before he raised it high up. His action led to more screams from below the bus.

Someone handed Twain a microphone, which was connected to the bus speakers. He could give a speech from the bus. His voice had turned hoarse in the past few days. He had already strained himself giving that speech at the airport... He had to use the microphone connected to the speakers if he wanted to speak.

He coughed into the microphone. This sound was amplified by the speakers in front of the bus and could be heard from afar. The fans in this section became quiet when they saw that Twain had something to say.

“I, Tony Twain, am very grateful to all of you for your support. To be honest, I’m really touched to see this scene. It looks endless.” He waved his hand. “Did half of Nottingham turn up?”

He continued after a pause, “When I was the acting manager of Nottingham Forest, I used to say to a couple of good friends in the pub that I don’t care if the game is entertaining to watch, I don’t care if I win with offense or defense, I don’t care how the Forest team used to play, my goal is simple. And that is to win. I said a team that can’t win is worthless, the manager who can’t lead the team to win is f**king terrible!” He raised his voice with every word.

His speech was soon received enthusiastically by the people below.

“I had also told my players and said... What kind of football is considered Nottingham Forest’s football? It’s the kind that keeps winning! I’m very happy that I can use such a trophy today to prove everything that I had said before was not bragging.” He raised the trophy with one hand and looked fondly at the it. “It has been twenty-seven years and she’s back in our hands. But here and now, in the presence of so many people, I promise you — this won’t be the last celebration!”

He handed the trophy back to Wood. He raised both of his hands and shook his head.

“As long as I’m still in this position, we will keep repeating it. Now, let’s go to the City Ground Stadium tonight and celebrate!”

With that, he put the microphone down, waved his fists again, and went down.

His throat was sore, and he was afraid to continue talking.

His throat could not bear it any longer with these few days of incessant roaring, non-stop talking, plus the smoking and drinking.

※※※

The bus progressed slowly, but finally arrived at the city square at five o’clock in the afternoon. The entire team waited to enter the municipal building opposite the square, to celebrate with the gathered fans. This scene brought tears to many of the old Nottingham Forest fans’ eyes because when the Forest team won the Champions League for the second time twenty-seven years ago, they had also celebrated with the fans here.

Later, on the day to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the UEFA Champions League, the Forest team organized a replication of the original parade. Although there had been a lot of people, the Forest team’s future in the Football League First Division had been uncertain. There was not much excitement for the people who had come to commemorate.

Because whenever people thought of the past glory, they would find that the current reality was too cruel — once the European champion who had won twice in a row, could now only play in the second level league.

This time it was not the same. The people who came here might remember the past, but more often than not, they just cheered for the Forest team in front of them.

The silver trophy they held in their hands now was not a replica, but the real championship trophy, the real McCoy.

From the terrace of the municipal building, the entire Forest team had changed into suits again this time. They were going to have a formal dinner with the mayor. The players all put away their mischievous smiles and seriously sat down to dinner with the mayor and other senior government officials.

Evan Doughty was at ease with this kind of setting. But Twain and the players were uncomfortable. Such a solemn affair was a torment for them.

The city mayor praised the team’s outstanding contribution to the city of Nottingham. When he made the toast, he said with emotion, “it used to be Robin Hood who let the whole world know our Nottingham city. And now you, all the players of Nottingham Forest have made the world reacquainted with us again!”

Everyone raised their glasses and thanked the mayor for his praise. The atmosphere was harmonious.

The dinner did not take long because the Forest team had to go to the City Ground stadium to prepare for the evening’s celebration party.

Twain led the team away and Evan Doughty stayed behind with Allan Adams. They wanted to talk to the mayor in private about the location of the new stadium. If the government’s support and some preferential policies could be obtained with regards to the purchase of the land, then the club could save a large sum of money in the construction plan for the new stadium.

Now that the Forest team had just won the Champions League and became the king of Europe, it was clearly the best time to make this request. Another reason that was particularly beneficial to the Forest team was that the current mayor was a big fan of Nottingham Forest, and that four generations of his family had grew up watching the Forest team play football. From an emotional standpoint, he should also support the Forest team’s plans to build a new stadium.

※※※

The news of the Forest team’s evening celebration party was known to all in Nottingham, and at the same time, everyone knew it was an opportunity to say goodbye to a few people.

Albertini was going to retire, and Paul Gerrard had also announced his retirement. It was the best time to go to the City Ground stadium to see them off.

The City Ground stadium was brightly lit as the night came on. Just like during a home game, the crowd swarmed towards the stadium. The Trent River reflected the dazzling lights on the main entrance of the City Ground stadium. With the undulating ripples, the City Ground stadium in the water looked like an illusory palace. The 109-year-old stadium that exuded a modern glow in the night.

The police officers kept order around the stadium, but the police force was less than in a regular game. Because this time there were no visiting fans who could cause riots. Other than the real Forest fans, no one could buy tickets.

A police car parked at the head of the Trent Bridge. A young officer stood alone outside the car and smiled at the Forest fans who walked past him.

The car radio in the police car was covering the ongoing celebration at the City Ground stadium for its listeners. It was said that it was soon to be full house.

The young policeman looked at the fans who had walked past him and thought — would his former partner be in it now as well?

※※※

The Forest team invited some celebrities and stars to attend the celebration party, but none of them were the highlight. They were just Forest fans whose identities were a little more unique.

Tonight’s leading characters were still the team, players and coaches.

After everyone had entered the stadium, the outside of the stadium slowly calmed down, and the lights inside the City Ground stadium were all switched off, leaving only a few lights to create an arena atmosphere.

After a simple theatrical performance, the live presenter — John Motson began to introduce to the guests the Forest players about to make their appearances.

The Forest players had changed into their commemorative t-shirts and stood at the mouth of the tunnel. The guys looked at each other and saw the excited smiles on each other’s faces.

These two days had really been unforgettable for them.

The first name to be called was George Wood. As the excellent player who graduated from the Forest youth team, and the next team captain, he was the first to came on.

He ran out and received loud applause and cheers from the Forest fans.

The spotlight from the roof shone down, and the beam of light enveloped Wood, accompanying him all the way from the tunnel to the center circle in the field.

The Forest players were called out one by one, and everyone received a warm welcome as they ran out. This was not the same as the celebration in Athens. This night entirely belonged to Nottingham Forest. No one would consider their opponent, and no one would worry about how their unbridled celebrations would let the opponent feel that they were not sportsmanlike enough.

This was Nottingham Forest people’s show and they could use all the ways they could think to celebrate this championship title. They could celebrate without any restraints and brashly without fear of gossip.

Twain and the members of the coaching unit waited in the tunnel. There were fewer people around him. Everyone gave Twain a hug before they ran out after their names were called.

The sounds of the live broadcast and the fans’ thunderous roars could be clearly heard in the tunnel.

Twain was full of smiles on his face and did not even show a moment of tiredness.

When Anelka’s name was called, the fans’ cheers remained enthusiastic but Anelka’s smile was a little awkward. He did not hug or even shake hands with Twain and just ran straight out.

Twain did not care either. He did not even pay it any mind. He was just chatting with Dunn. It was Dunn who alerted him to it. He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Anelka’s back. “It’s best that he acted like this.”

And then Paul Gerrard was called.

The fans were a little louder this time than before. Although Paul was only a substitute goalkeeper, everyone remembered how he almost lost his life in the Champions League final last season. He was not blamed for the two conceded goals. He had done a good enough job.

Paul Gerrard turned around to embrace Twain. “Thank you, chief. To be able to win a championship title in my career... I’d never thought there would be such a wonderful thing!”

Twain smiled and said nothing. He just patted him on the shoulder. He did not know what to say as well.

Gerrard turned and ran onto the field.

Now, the only player left next to him was Albertini.

Twain turned his head and looked at the Italian player.

He was someone who had seen Demetrio retired once, but he still had an indescribable feeling.

He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but he heard the announcement crying out his name outside.

“Next... Let’s welcome —” Motson dragged his voice out and seemed to deliberately keep everyone in suspense. In fact, he was just giving the fans in the stadium time to get ready.

Sure enough, the fans in the stands began to chant the last two names that had not yet appeared:

“Tony! Tony!”

“Demetrio! Demetrio!”

“Demetrio, it’s time for us to take the field.” Twain lifted the trophy on the ground and handed the other handle to Albertini.

Albertini took it and nodded.

Afterward together with the trophy, the two men stepped onto the field amid a flood of cries.

“Tony and Demetrio!”

Motson had used the full names without exception when he called on those players before. However, this time he used the first names of those two delegates. He knew as well as the Forest fans that Nottingham Forest only had one “Tony” and “Demetrio.”

As the cheers grew louder, they ultimately synthesized with the applause to form a powerful current which engulfed them. As Twain and Albertini walked, they held up the trophy in their hands, and it dazzled under the lights.

As they walked toward the rest of the team, the players waiting on the sidelines swarmed around and lifted the two men up high together with the trophy. The atmosphere in the stadium reached fever pitch.

“Let’s cheer for our champions!” Motson hollered at the microphone.

He was not the commentator at the Champions League final. He was the BBC commentator and was not qualified to provide the commentary at the Champions League game. But this also gave him the benefit of being able to watch the television at home and drink beer while he cheered for the Forest team without having to consider the issue of a commentator’s inclination.

After a while, the players finally put the two men down. Twain placed the trophy on the table and then took the microphone.

“I need to thank a lot of people. However, today, I would like to thank one person.” His voice could be clearly heard throughout the stadium.

He walked up to Albertini.

“Do you know? When I decided to put Demetrio in the starting lineup before the final, people had asked me: ‘Are you crazy? That old guy can no longer play. How can you let him start in such an important final?!’ And other people had said to me: ‘We understand your sentiments for Demetrio, but this is the final and you can’t joke about the fate of the entire team because of personal feelings!’ And the result?” Twain shrugged and pointed to the championship trophy behind him. “I want to say that if we didn’t have Demetrio, we wouldn’t have been able to get this trophy back!”

“About six months ago, I said to Demetrio: ‘I’ll give you a real farewell game.’ The Champions League final... was not my handout to Demetrio, it never was. I think Demetrio’s form and level were enough to cope with that final, so I let him start. I’m very happy because it was an important decision in my coaching career, and it brought us the silver Champions League trophy!”

The people in the stands used their applause to show their agreement.

“I always thought that Demetrio retired too early at the age of thirty-five. You could play for at least two more years. But I can’t dissuade you. I’m able to leave the reporters dumbfounded at the press conference, but I can’t convince you.” Twain looked at Albertini and Albertini just smiled. “There’s not a single person here who wants you to go.” He gestured at the players around him. “But we respect your decision. The only thing that makes me happy is that I can finally give you a Champions League trophy as a commemorative gift.”

With that, he gave the microphone to Albertini. He knew he had to have some things to say.

Albertini took over the microphone, and said to his teammates, “Thank you.”

Then he turned to look up at the stands around the stadium.

“I would also like to thank you all, the Forest fans. I don’t want to lie. Other than the AC Milan fans, you are the most adorable group of fans I’ve ever met. When the boss went to Italy three years ago to find me, I never thought I would lift another Champions League trophy in the last game of my career... I’m no longer a child who likes to dream for a long time. But, I really had a beautiful dream — I’ll never forget my three years here. In the last three years of my career, I’ve met a fantastic manager, a bunch of terrific teammates, a remarkable team, and you...” He pointed to the stands and added, “a large group of brilliant fans.”

A huge round of applause came from the stands and poured in from all directions, as if a pair of invisible arms had tightly embraced their captain, Demetrio Albertini.

The applause made Albertini unable to continue. In truth, his voice sounded a little choked up toward the end. His teammates around him came up and hugged him one by one, and the younger ones, like Bale, even cried.

When George Wood and Albertini hugged, he felt that Demetrio had used more strength. “I’m leaving, George. It’s up to you.” Albertini whispered into his ear.

Wood nodded.

He still did not know how to say the parting words. Eastwood’s glib tongue made Albertini laugh, which was something he did not know how to do.

For the last three years, Albertini had been with him, teaching him how to be a qualified professional player, a good defensive midfielder and a competent team captain. He was used to having Albertini around in training and life. That feeling and emotion were inexplicable. If he had to describe it, it was like a good friend who had been with him for many years suddenly had to travel far away, he wanted to his friend to stay, but he could not deny his friend of his freedom.

Or should I say, “Demetrio, I wish you all the best?” But I don’t even want to say that at all...

He let go of Albertini and retreated to one side. He kept his head bowed and did not make a sound as he made way for his other teammates.

Not only the players, but also the coaches all went up to embrace the Italian player to thank him for all his contributions to the team and extended their deepest respects with regards to his retirement.

The last person to go up and embrace Albertini was Twain.

“I would like to give you a parting phrase, Demetrio.” Then Twain read a poem in Mandarin, “Do not think that you are without friends in the road ahead for you are known in the world.”

“What does it mean?” Albertini did not understand Mandarin.

“It means...Uh...” Twain wanted to translate this sentence into poetic English, but he found that he was unable to. “In short, it means... that you are the best player in the world. Maybe some people may disagree with me but we can ignore them for I think you are so you have to be! Forget the words of those ignorant people. I am the champion now, so I have the final say!”

It was clear that Twain could not explain this meaning and wanted to use this way bluff through it.

Albertini, who had long been accustomed to Twain’s ruse, saw through it instantly. He then smiled at the embarrassed Twain.

His smile rescued Twain. The two men looked at each other and laughed. They laughed until tears came.

After their laughter subsided, Twain wiped the corners of his eyes, and saw that Albertini’s eyes were red.

“Demetrio.”

“Yes?”

“It’s time to say goodbye...”

“Yes.”

Meanwhile, music was played over the stadium’s broadcast. It was the song Time to Say Goodbye sung by the famous soprano, Sarah Brightman and Italy’s famous blind male singer, Andrea Bocelli.

The Italian song sung was melodious but carried the moving sadness of a farewell. An indescribable emotion welled up in everyone’s chest in the stadium and began to spread. It was truly a perfect song to give the Italian veteran, Demetrio Albertini his farewell. Twain marveled at Motson for picking the song.

Albertini also did not expect that he would actually hear an Italian song, particularly this one. He froze for a moment, listened attentively and then pressed his lips together as his eyes welled with tears.

In the song, he seemed to replay his career again. He had a wonderful start... he had wanted to go on like and play for AC Milan until he retired. He did not expect to guess the beginning right but not anticipate the ending. When he was kicked out later in his career, he went to Atlético Madrid, Lazio, and then Nottingham Forest... These teams were just relay stations for him to stay for a while. If he had not attained the second spring of his career in Nottingham Forest and unexpectedly won the Champions League title, how many people would have remembered him if he had chosen to retire then?

Vowed to be loyal to AC Milan and yet he was kicked out, what could be crueler than that? If he had a choice, he would rather trade this Champions League trophy for a chance to be a loyal player again.

Was that possible? Of course not.

Having been noisy the entire night, the City Ground stadium was quiet the moment the song played. Everyone set their sights on the man in the spotlight.

In the poignant song, Albertini slowly raised his hands. With reddened eyes, he pressed his lips together as he said goodbye to his eighteen years of drifting in his career.

Along with everyone, Twain clapped and paid tribute to him as they watched. When he did all these, he hid among the players and did not draw attention to himself so that no one could see the tears glistening in his eyes.

Goodbye, Demetrio.

Your story has ended, and my story is just beginning...

Chapter 560 - Michael’s Farewell

Twain stood on his doorstep after being away for ten days. It was drizzling, but he did not open an umbrella, not because he pretended to look cool, but because he did not have an umbrella — Who would take an umbrella along when one went to Brazil?

He had spent ten days in Brazil and only just returned.

Ten days flew by. Good times always felt short. He and Shania had a pleasant holiday in Brazil, during which they met Shania’s parents again. Shania’s mother was happy and satisfied with her daughter’s current achievements. Even though she still treated her as a child, she was no longer as strict with discipline as she was before. Shania’s father was still mostly quiet but would chat with Twain in private to thank him for taking care of Shania and asked him to continue to do so — As her parents, they knew that Shania had moved out of her aunt’s house in Newcastle and into Twain’s place.

However, they did not raise any objections.

When Twain went to meet them, he felt a little uneasy, for fear that they would suspect that he had behaved inappropriately towards their daughter. From the looks of it, he did not know if Brazilians were open-minded about life, or whether they were very reassured by Twain...

Later when the two of them sunbathed by the sea, Twain jokingly asked Shania, “do I look so harmless to everyone?”

Shania smiled innocently. “Because my dad and mom know that Uncle Tony is a good man.”

Twain felt frustrated. But soon he was relieved.

Brazil’s scenery was beautiful, and its people were even more beautiful. His eyes were busy wandering around. The beach was full of Brazilian beauties in bikinis. He believed Shania’s parents were so reassured that it had to have been because Brazilians were open-minded in nature.

Other than hanging out with Shania in Brazil for the last ten days, Twain also took the time to get to know the talented players in Brazilian football, and he found a genius — Pato. Unfortunately, when he tried to get in touch with Pato’s agent, the other party had told him that Pato had been booked by several big European powerhouse clubs. Although Nottingham Forest had just won the UEFA Champions League, it was not easy for them to be involved.

Furthermore, the agent also told Twain that among the several big clubs, AC Milan’s pursuit of Pato was the strongest, and Pato himself also wanted to play in Milan.

Twain could only helplessly watch his Champions League final opponent regained one goal in the transfer market.

Twain took care of this matter regarding Pato behind Shania’s back. He previously promised Shania that he absolutely would not look for players when they came to Brazil. However, he was not able to hold back when he got here, so he had to hide it from Shania and took action in secret.

Since no results had been achieved, Twain stopped thinking about this and just spend time with Shania in peace.

※※※

Ten days had passed in a blink of an eye. Shania stayed in Brazil to spend time with her parents, while Twain returned to England to prepare various plans for the new season.

The house next door was shut tight. Dunn was not in England either, as he was visiting his parents in China.

Twain found that Dunn’s love for that home came from his heart. If it were not for his particular job, he would go home every day in a heartbeat. How could Dunn be back early when it was not easy for him to have a vacation once a year?

The players also relaxed and went on holidays in various well-known holiday locations. Twain was the only one who came back early on his own. As a manager, he had to take on as many responsibilities as the praise and glory he had received in front of people. He could not rest when the others could.

Once he put the luggage back in the house, Twain took out an umbrella. He was going to head to Burns’ pub to pick up the kitten which was placed in care there.

He did not like the small animal, but Shania loved it to death, so he could only do as she wished.

※※※

Burns was chatting with the customers in the pub. He had just opened for business, and there were not many people.

The glass door was pushed open and Twain stood at the door to close the umbrella.

“Hi, Tony, how’s Brazil?” Burns saw him and lifted his hand to greet him. His voice also made the other customers in the pub looked over at the entrance.

“The weather was much better than here.” Twain shook off the beads of water on his umbrella.

“Who asked you about the weather? I mean, did the beautiful women there dazzle your eyes?” As soon as Burns spoke, the group of people in the pub to laugh.

Twain smiled, too. “You’ve got kids and you’re still thinking about the gorgeous babes, Kenny?”

“I’m concerned for your love life.” Not to be outdone, Burns said, “You’re almost forty. Don’t keep turning to hookers to take care of your physical needs.”

The two men’s bickering filled the pub with joyous laughter.

Twain went straight to the bar and waved to Burns. “It will come naturally when it’s time. Give me a whiskey on the rocks.”

When Burns went to pour the liquor, Twain turned around to the drunks who had just laughed at him and retorted, “I think you all have lots of free time on your hands.”

One of the drunks stood up with a grin. “You’re right, Tony. The league tournament has not started yet and we are feeling really antsy. Other than drinking, I can’t think of anything else to interest me.”

Twain nodded, as he quite agreed with this remark. He had been a fan before and knew how hard it was every summer, when the European League was over and there was no World Cup.

“But you can watch Copa América...or AFC Asian Cup?”

Everyone cracked up, “Stop kidding, Tony! The last season was so damn wonderful, and now I’m not interested in any other game other than to wait for the Forest team to start its new season!”

“Ah, how does it feel like to be the champion?” Twain asked happily.

“It feels so damn great!” Someone mimicked Twain’s emphasized words in an interview after the game.

Burns smiled at the back and watched them mess around. He put the glass in Twain’s hand, along with an envelope.

“Michael sent this to you,” He said.

When he heard him, Twain stopped messing with the drunks, and turned around to open the envelope.

It was a short letter.

In the letter, Michael Bernard thanked Twain for realizing his dream of twenty-seven years, leaving him without any regrets.

“I was thankful that I had decided to go to Greece to watch the game and I put it into action, even if I had gotten into trouble with my wife for it. Because I saw the game and the scene I most wanted to see, my son and my beloved team became the European champion. Was there anything more perfect than this?

My twenty-seven years of unfulfilled wishes have been fulfilled, and I have nothing more to ask for… I’m no longer that easily excitable and hot-blooded young man. Tony, I know you still have a long way to go, and no manager will quit after only four years. But this is the end of my story, which is perfect. The beginning and the end were perfect, and of course, with some twists and turns in the middle… But what story is not winding?

I love my wife very much. Perhaps you do not believe me when I say this because I have made her sad again and again, but I speak from the heart. After the loss of my son and fulfillment of my last wish in football, Fiona is now my only concern. The next goal of my life is to give her a good life and make her happy.

Forgive me for not being able to drink and watch the games with you guys again. I hope you understand, Tony.

There are some things in life that are more important than football.

Finally, I wish you and the Forest team good luck, and I will continue to watch out for you guys. John and Bill are crazier hardcore fans than I am. Don’t let them down.

Your dearest friend, Michael Bernard

June 1, 2007.”

Twain folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. He took a sip of his drink, and then asked, “did you read the letter, Kenny?”

Burns shook his head. “It’s addressed to you, Tony.”

“Yes...”

“But I can roughly guess what’s written on it.”

“Well?”

“After the final, Michael did not go straight back to the United States. He followed John, Bill and the others back to Nottingham and watched the live broadcast of the celebration here at my place. He left the next day. We talked about a lot of things… I’ve known him longer than you and I’ve known you for a long time, Tony.”

Twain nodded.

“He must have said to you that there are more important things in life than football, right?”

“Yes, he did.”

“That was what he said to me.”

Twain did not say anything, and Burns did not go on.

Twain downed his drink and took the cat from Burns’ hands. He held it under his arm as if it were a book. He waved to the regulars and reopened his umbrella to walk out into the rain.

He understood Michael even if he did not write the letter.

Truthfully, after he read the letter, he thought, if Gavin had not passed away, Michael would not say “there are some things more important in life than football.” Because he would not know what was more important. To Michael, his son was more important than football, and so was his wife.

People always had to wait until they lost something to understand that it was the most important.

Twain hoped that Michael would not understand “what was more important than football” for the rest of his life, because that meant he did not lose the most important thing. If Gavin had not died, he would not be forced to go to the faraway United States, let alone talked silly things like give up football...

But… Twain moved his umbrella away and let the rain fall on his face.

I can travel through time and space, but I cannot change time itself. The past can only be the past.

Concentrating on these questions, Twain did not realize that he had used too much strength to hold the cat under his arm. The cat under his arm screeched in pain.

This sound interrupted Twain’s thoughts. “Don’t shriek!”

A cat could not understand a human, so it continued to cry out.

“Stop it! Stop it or I’ll eat you!” Twain tightened his grip to hold it.

This cat screeched even louder...

※※※

Days without Shania, Dunn, game videos, tactical research, daily training, home games were boring for Twain. He had become accustomed to keeping himself busy. He was not used to not having anything to do.

Only the horrid cat was scurrying and jumping around the house. It would appear at the top of the refrigerator for a while, jump behind the television in the next instance and sneak onto the bed to curl up for a nap next.

Twain kicked the lazy cat off his bed before he sat down naked.

It was dawn outside.

It was a new day and the team had not yet returned to its normal schedule. Most people were still on vacation. He took time yesterday afternoon to go to the training base and found that there was no one else except the security guard at the gate. Twain took a bunch of videotapes and research folders from his office and went home.

After he washed up, he ate a simple breakfast. Twain returned to the room, threw down the cat that had been lying on the keyboard and turned on the computer. He was going to look online for the latest news on the summer transfer.

The information in the newspaper was limited. Online information was the fastest and most comprehensive.

He did not know how the other managers handled it. As a fan who spent a lot of time online, he still relied heavily on the internet for his various inquiries even if his identity had changed.

Twain had a rough estimate in his mind on the Forest team’s adjustments for the next season. During the period when the team had just won the Champions League title, there was no need for him to make any massive adjustments to the team. Such a thing would only happen to a team facing a difficult situation, such as Real Madrid a year ago.

Therefore, the Forest team would not make any major moves this year in the transfer market. Beckham’s joining was enough to get media hype for a while. Twain did not want to make it easy for the media and give them any topic to speculate about.

Anelka was certain to leave. There was no doubt about that, even if there had been no team that bid for Anelka. No matter how much money was involved, Twain had to get rid of the striker who dared to go against him. Feelings and sensibilities? I only take that into account with the players I like.

Once Anelka was gone, there would be a need for a quick and skillful striker on the front line. With regard to that position, Twain already had the right person in mind.

Although Albertini had said goodbye, Twain also did not intend to make any big adjustments. He might go back to the youth team to see if there were any good seedlings he could transfer over to cultivate and train. Perhaps he could also find some cheap and suitable replacements from the middle and lower level teams. Wood’s already in charge of a section and not to mention we still have our utility player, Sun Jihai.

Both flanks were fortified with many strong players and completely did not need to supplement any new players. What he needed to consider was not buying a new player, but how to reasonably arrange their chances for appearances.

Beckham’s arrival was bound to exacerbate the competition on the right flank and midfield.

The rear defensive line and right-back position required strengthening. Chimbonda was no longer able to cope with the entire season on his own. The center-back lineup was perfect and did not require any tweaks. As for the left-back position… he would watch and observe in the transfer market.

Twain contemplated as he browsed the news online.

The news online was that the Argentinian left-back, Heinze had a falling out with Manchester United and would leave Manchester United for Liverpool even if the case was brought to FIFA. But Ferguson firmly refused. Twain could guess the reason with his eyes closed. “We don’t have a tradition of selling players to our arch rivals.”

He had wanted to call Ferguson and ask him how much he would sell Heinze for. But he picked up his phone and put it down again, because he remembered that the Forest team was now considered a direct competitor to Manchester United. Although they had not won the league tournament this past season, who could believe that Tony Don, a man eager for victory and championship titles, would not shatter Manchester United’s dream of defending its title next season?

He’d better not try… Twain put the phone down. Having sold van Nistelrooy to him, it was probable that Sir Alex now regretted it. If he still went to him for a player, would Manchester United not become a logistics base for the Forest team?

Honestly, Twain thought that Leighton Baines could not keep up with the challenges the team now faced. He could still play in the domestic league but was still a little tender to the European arena. Twain wanted to add an experienced veteran for the left back position. He still highly valued Gareth Bale, but his lack of experience was not something that could be resolved overnight.

A man’s name suddenly popped up in his mind as he browsed the British and Chinese sports websites aimlessly on the internet.

Why don’t I buy him?

“The great Italian left back,” Fabio Grosso.

He heard that he was not doing well in Inter Milan. Twain’s memory of Grosso’s performance at the World Cup remained fresh. Putting aside Huang Jianxiang’s demented commentary, the left-back did have skills. Twain decided to contact the Inter Milan club.

He wrote down all the players he planned to buy on paper, jotted them down and then typed them on the computer to send an email to Dunn in China, He told him his planned list of candidates and asked for his advice. They kept in touch using this quickest and cheapest way. Twain had wanted to directly use QQ to leave a message, but Dunn said it was too informal to discuss the work on it. “Have you seen any managers that use QQ chat as a tool to work with?” Twain pursed his lips. Just because no one used it, he could not use it? What kind of logic was that?

Although he said that, Twain still respected Dunn’s request and emailed him instead.

Having done all this, Twain leaned back against the chair and stretched his back.

A mournful cry from the cat greeted him from behind. He felt a furry thing between his waist and the back of the chair, struggling desperately.

Twain used force again and scolded, “Serves you right! A lazy cat that just falls asleep everywhere!”

Chapter 561 - The Young Men of Wilford

Dunn had not yet replied to him, and Twain knew that waiting for him was not the way to do it. The First Team coaching staff was currently still on their vacation and he could not do anything on his own.

He thought of the Forest youth team. He had not been there for a long time. Although a report on the youth team was sent to his desk every once in a while, reviewing the data in the reports was not the same as going to the training ground to observe in person.

If Allan and Evan’s new stadium plan was to be implemented, he would not be able to obtain much funding for transfers in the new season. If he wanted to compete with the other strong teams in the transfer market for the star players, he would appear to have a lack of confidence without a strong financial backing. Twain recalled when Wenger, the “Professor” who had to tighten his belt in order to build a new Emirates Stadium. If Arsenal could supplement the squad with the players developed by their powerful youth training system, why could Nottingham Forest not do the same? Nottingham Forest’s youth training level could be considered top notch across England as well.

They might not be able to produce a second Bale or Wood, but they could at least produce a few qualified rotating players, right?

With such an idea, Twain went straight to the youth training base to the north of Wilford.

Unlike the First Team, the youth team had resumed training. In addition, the football camps opened for schools were in full swing. Before he entered, Twain already heard the laughter and the whistles.

He wore sunglasses and hid silently in the shade of a tree alone to observe quietly. He did not want to go straight to the youth team manager, Ian Greenwood yet. He decided to observe on his own to determine first.

There were a number of people around the five regular fields at the youth training base. Most were parents of the children playing on the field, while the others were scouts from other clubs.

Just like how Southampton could not stop Twain from poaching Bale, Nottingham Forest could not stop the scouts from the other teams from coming to nose around.

The youth training base was very lively, which could not be seen during the season because more children were scattered in various schools or the training camps in the other areas. Those training camps were not big. Each training camp only had fifty or so children with eight coaches. The training camps were not part of the Forest team’s regular youth team. Children who were interested in football could receive basic training. Then, for four days at the end of each month, They would bring these children together to gather at Wilford for the intensive training and competitions. They would select the gifted children from among them and sign traineeship contracts with them. They would officially join the Forest team.

It was summer, and the children of each training camp, led by their coaches, returned to Wilford to participate in the football camp. They would play together to test the results of their year of training. If their performances were outstanding, they could possibly be seen by the professional scouts, or be promoted to the regular Forest youth team, or... be lured by the other teams’ scouts and their silver tongues.

The youngest of these children was six years old and the oldest was eighteen years old. They would play in groups according to ages. Although it was noisy, everything was in order. This was credited to Nottingham Forest’s decades-old operating system.

Once upon a time, Jenas, Michael Dawson and Andy Reid were these children’s idols. Now their goal was to become George Wood, Gareth Bale, and Wes Morgan, who had won the Champions League title.

Twain watched each age group play, one after another.

For the time being, his eyes had not lit up on any child yet.

He was a little disappointed. He did not know if it was because the Forest team’s youth training level was really not as good as Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, or because he was used to watching the world-class star players and could not see the potential in these not yet matured children?

After all, not everyone had the dazzling talents of George Wood and Gareth Bale and could be easily discovered in a large group of people.

After a turn, Twain decided to go look for Ian Greenwood and see if he could recommend any good seedlings.

※※※

Ian Greenwood was leading the Forest Under-18 team in their daily training. These people were closest to professional football. Some of them could be promoted to the First Team in the Forest team if they were lucky. Those less fortunate ones could only go somewhere else to find another way out or mixed in the reserves.

Professional football was not as wonderful as people thought, with opportunities were everywhere, and one could be a big star player just by playing.

In addition to talent, luck was needed to succeed.

George Wood and Gareth Bale were the best products of the Forest youth training system so far. Their success had caught the attention of powerhouse clubs. George Wood had been linked with a few transfer rumors and Gareth Bale also had rumors about many clubs wanting to get him.

Their success had increased Ian Greenwood’s pressure.

Both players were discovered and groomed by Tony Twain in the position of the youth team manager. Greenwood might have had a hand in Bale, but the more impressive George Wood was completely developed by Twain.

Following these two players, the expectations for the Forest youth team were very high. The continuous anticipation for a blowout and output of talent and excellent players in the youth team were not easy.

Everyone wanted to have “Busby’s kids” in their hands, as well as “Ferguson’s class of 92,” but a combination of many factors was required for a large number of geniuses to be concentrated within an age group.

The U18 group Greenwood was currently leading had a few good seedlings. If it had been four years ago, they would have been directly promoted to the First Team and play as the main force, but now...

Truthfully, the level of training in the Forest youth team had not kept pace with the progress of the Forest First Team. It was not that the standard of the youth team had declined, but the First Team had shot up quickly...

Twain asked the club to increase the funding for the youth training base, which was definitely not on a whim. He was also very aware of the inconsistency between this. It was impossible for the First Team to slow down and wait for the youth team to catch up. The only way was to rely on the youth team to raise their standards to a very high level. Just like Abramovich’s Chelsea, he threw money to build the most modern youth camp, buy the best equipment, use high salaries to go around and poach the best youth team coaches, and then hire the best youth team and attract the most outstanding young geniuses from everywhere. A combination of these factors made Chelsea’s youth team jump into the top four and keep pace with veteran youth teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool.

Ian Greenwood did not know that the club was not planning to invest more funds in the youth team right away. What kind of mood would he be in if he did?

There were some players who saw Tony Twain walk into the training ground and they happily greeted the legendary manager who had been promoted from the youth team.

The sound alerted Greenwood, who turned his head to see Twain. He tossed the whistle to his assistant and trotted over.

“Tony, fancy seeing you here,” he said jokingly.

When Twain was the head of the training base, he had been one of Twain’s men. After Twain left, and Twain’s assistant manager, Kerslake, was promoted to the manager of the youth team, he became Kerslake’s assistant coach. Then when Dunn became the manager with his excellent professional knowledge and coaching skills, he became Dunn’s assistant again. Dunn only stayed for one season before he was transferred to the First Team by Twain to work directly as his assistant manager. After many years of moving up the ranks, Ian Greenwood finally became the manager of the youth team.

“I’m here to take a look at the results of your work.” As the superior, Twain did not have to beat about the bush.

“I thought the First Team only purchased players from the outside.” Since it was an old relationship, Greenwood did not have to be so polite when he spoke.

Twain smiled wryly. “How can it be that easy? The player may not come even if we have the money and the player who is willing to come, we may not want him.”

Greenwood looked at Twain’s face and suddenly thought of a possibility. He asked tentatively, “um, Tony. Is it because you don’t have any money, so you’re here for a bargain?”

“Hey!” Twain glared at him. “Listen to what you just said. What do you mean by a bargain?! They are the future hope of our team!” Twain claimed as he pointed to the hardworking and serious young men in training. “But... I’m a little tight recently.”

Greenwood laughed.

“So much is happening out there. Did you see anything good?” He pointed to where the U18 training was being held in the northernmost end of the base and the innermost section. It was a lot quieter than outside.

Twain shook his head. “There are too many people. I can’t find what I want in a short time. But aren’t your people there too? They did not tell you anything interesting?”

“It will be a few days before we know.”

“Well... All right, let’s be direct then. Is there anyone you can recommend to the First Team here?” asked Twain.

Greenwood glanced at Twain, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised. “You’ve got to find him yourself, Tony.”

Here we go again!

Paul Hart’s traditional little game had been preserved among the Forest coaches.

Twain glared at Greenwood and then stood on the sidelines to observe carefully.

His attention was first attracted by a tall kid. It was not because how well the kid played. People always put their attention on those with outstanding statures at first glance, both men and women... For example, the young man was so tall that it was impossible to avoid looking at him.

He whistled and said to Greenwood, “this kid has got to be six foot three, right?”

Greenwood shook his head. “No, six feet and seven inches.”

Twain was startled.

Six foot three was about 1.94 meters, and six foot seven was more than two meters.

He sized up the big guy again. He was taller than everyone else on the field. Two meters was not an exaggeration.

“How old is he?”

“Seventeen years old.”

“Hmm...” Twain continued to observe.

The giant played as the center back on the field. He was doing the drill for headers as his height gave him an aerial advantage. Generally speaking, players with such height usually did not jump very well, because their body structure determined that they could not jump too high. However, this person jumped very well.

After he finished the header drill, he followed his teammates to do a backwards run.

His speed was not slow either.

Twain had some interest in this aerial giant, who was not slow and jumped well. “What’s his name?”

“Aaron Mitchell. He’s currently the core of the team’s rear defense. His physical quality is excellent, but his shortcomings are also obvious — his tackling skills are terrible. His headers are not considered good for his height.”

Twain nodded. “Let him train for two years and take a look at the results. If it is possible, he can go out on a loan to train. His body is his gift, as for his skill... Let’s take it slow.”

The two men let go of this tall giant and searched for the next target.

The assistant coach of the youth team knew what Twain was there to do.

He did not consult with the youth team manager, Ian Greenwood, before he made the decision on his own to change the training plan to get the players to split into teams to play on the field.

Ever since he became the head of the youth training, Twain had set a principle for the Forest team’s youth training base which was “everything is to be based on an actual game as the standard.” Each team had unique features and traditions. The current Forest team’s tradition was “results and competition first.” Therefore, the young players in the youth team training also played in accordance with the standards of a game. If a young man’s fancy header could win acclaims, Twain would be dismissive of it. No one would give any player a chance to play like that in a game. He demanded that the training had to include elements of a game. A training which did not have elements of a game was worthless in his view. Which meant that even if they ran laps, everyone had to dribble the ball as they ran. From the youth team to the adult team, such training principles were adhered to which focused training with the ball, competition, and confrontation.

Twain was pleased with the timely change. He could directly observe and understand the comprehensive abilities of the players — their techniques, psychological qualities, stamina, and competitive state. Be it advantages or disadvantages, they would be exposed in the contest.

After the start of the game, a player quickly caught Twain’s attention. His line of sight followed him.

He wore the Forest youth team’s number 10 jersey.

He dribbled and broke through with the ball on the right flank of the field and no one could block him. Sometimes he would switch to the middle to get in a long shot, but apparently he preferred to move on the flanks because there were too many defensive forces in the middle which made it hard for him to break through. It was a different story on the flanks.

His skills were excellent. He liked to bypass the others and he was fast.

The defensive side often needed to converge on him with two or three players. If it was a one-on, he would get past that player without mercy.

※※※

“Hey, Addy! You’re sly!” the full-back who was defending this number 10 complained as he approached. “Even though the First Team manager is on the sidelines, you don’t have to be so ruthless, do you?”

That number 10 smiled. “James, if you can stop me, won’t you make a deeper impression on the manager?”

The other party froze for a moment. “You’re quite right... Ah!”

While he was distracted, number 10 slipped past him like a fish, and he knocked the ball past him beautifully.

“You sly bastard, Adriano!”

※※※

“That number 10, what’s his name?” Twain pointed to the player on the field with his pursed lips.

“Moke, Adriano Moke. He has the best skills in the team. Although he still looks a bit immature, he’s making rapid progress.”

Twain nodded. This kid was really brilliant and courageous. He knew he was watching it on the sidelines, so he put in a particularly active performance.

However, it was a pity that the position he was used to playing in was the right midfield. And for now, the First Team had Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon in this position. Come July, there would also be Beckham which would make it overcrowded. There might not be a position for this kid in the next few years.

Twain thought about it. “Can he play any other position?”

“He’s okay in the middle of the midfield too, but... he prefers to play on the right flank, and his left foot can be appalling to watch as compared to his right foot technique. Other than the right midfielder and the center-forward positions, he can’t adapt to the other positions.”

Twain shook his head lightly. He would not make it. He could groom him to sell him. On the one hand, he could make some money for the club, and on the other hand... he could avoid delaying this kid’s progress.

Twain and Greenwood watched on the sidelines for a long time. He observed some of the players and then looked for Greenwood to inquire about the specific circumstances of those players before he made any judgment.

The end result: he did not find a player who could be transferred directly into the First Team, but he saw some good potential among them. If they were nurtured well, with some luck, these players could have the ability to become the rotating players in the future for the Forest First Team, and perhaps become the main force in other mid-tiered teams in the Premier League.

He figured this was the reality. How would he be able to find so many geniuses in the world who could shock the world? Firstly, he had no money and secondly, he had no power. What could he use to fight with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea for the gifted young players?

Wenger’s Arsenal youth training was famous, and many young geniuses would rather go to Arsenal to be trained under the Professor than to go to the other teams. But little did they know that Arsenal’s youth team brought together the geniuses from all over the world, and if they were not exceptional, when would it be their turn? Everyone wanted to be the next Francesc Fàbregas. But was it that easy? When Theo Walcott first joined Arsenal, he was a sensation in England and Europe. And now? Fàbregas was the core of Arsenal’s midfield and Walcott was only a substitute. In Twain’s view, the kid was nothing other than fast and would not play with his head at all. He only knew to play recklessly with his speed.

He decided to look further afield to let the scouts move around and go to the other clubs’ youth team to unearth those who had not yet become famous talents. Perhaps they might have some unexpected gains.

Twain left empty-handed. After he watched the matchup, he chatted with the youth team coaches and departed. The children of North Wilford were very disappointed that he did not ask anyone for a private conversation. Everyone knew that the First Team manager rarely visited. They had a chance to perform in front of him and yet the result was no one made the mark.

This was so frustrating.

Twain clapped as he left. Greenwood was going to have a headache. He was responsible for soothing the wounded hearts of these children. He had to let them re-establish their goals and continued to train hard.

※※※

What the group of children did not know was Twain had a few very promising players in mind, but they were too young and unable to solve his immediate problems.

In the afternoon, Twain went around to inspect the reserves team, and this time he picked a substitute goalkeeper.

Paul Gerrard had retired. Edwin van der Sar was old, but he was still in shape. If everything went well, he could play another year of high-quality games. But who would be able to predict the future? Just in case he was injured, or his form was in a state of continuous slump, Akinfeev had to take over. It was better for a First Team to be guaranteed with three goalkeepers, so that there would not be an embarrassment if there was nobody to guard the goal.

Twain often encountered this when he played the video game. He used to think that finding a substitute goalkeeper was troublesome: a player with strong ability was not willing to be a substitute and as a manager, he did not want those with little ability. The result was always he only had two goalkeepers for the game. If both the main goalkeeper and the substitute goalkeeper were injured, he eventually had to use any player to be the goalkeeper... Fortunately, it was a video game. If it had been real life, he would have been utterly humiliated.

Last season he had worried about where to purchase a substitute goalkeeper. In the end, it was Dunn who resolved the issue and said Paul Gerrard was a good substitute. The good substitute had to miss the entire season since he had a fractured skull after being struck in the match against Reading in October.

Then the Forest team had played the remaining games with two goalkeepers. One was the main goalkeeper and the other was the young goalkeeper who was going back to the First Team from the reserves this time — the barely twenty-years-old Dale Roberts.

A year ago, he was still in the U19 youth team as the inexperienced goalkeeper, but Paul Gerrard’s injury gave him the chance to come to the First Team to experience real professional football. He grew up fast during the year, and his several appearances in the cup games made the coaching staff acknowledge his ability. Therefore, he would replace the retired Paul Gerrard in the new season to be the team’s third goalkeeper.

He was the first new member of the Forest team in the new season and strictly speaking, he could not be considered “new”... He was temporarily transferred to the First Team last season and he was returning now.

The Forest team’s signings had not yet officially begun, but Twain was already on the move.

The list was basically confirmed. They just had to contact the players’ agents.

The new season was about to begin, and the vacations of the players and coaches was coming to an end. His idle and boring days were finally over.

Chapter 562 - The Tsar’s Arrival

The issue of a striker needed to be urgently addressed. Anelka was certain to leave even though no club had publicly made an offer for the French striker yet. Twain was aware that Anelka’s two brothers had to be working with a number of clubs in private to dissolve his contract. Twain did not care. They would have to sort it out. There was only one possibly result — the departure of Anelka. He did not care how much money they would make. When he first competed against AC Milan, he already had an awareness. He wanted to teach the rebellious striker a lesson on who was the boss and teach the two gluttonous agents a lesson, as well.

The person who had pushed for the signing of Anelka was Allan. Twain would not consider going easy on the matter of Anelka’s transfer just to save Allan’s dignity.

Putting Anelka’s affairs aside for the time being, Twain went to meet Evan and Allan to have them take a look at his transfer list for the season.

The two men were a little surprised to see only a few names on the list.

“Didn’t you say the funds were tight? I’ll bring in fewer players. Plus, I put down the players we can sell.” Twain motioned for them to turn the list over. There were a few names of the players who could be sold.

Allan reviewed it more carefully. Over the past few years, due to Twain’s fiercely protective ways, the team had more signings than departures in the transfer market, which seriously affected the balance of the ledgers.

After reading the list, Evan and Allan both nodded to Twain to express their full support.

Evan told Twain the news that the land for the new stadium had been obtained, which was in Clifton.

Twain knew of the place, which was just southwest of Wilford and also on the southwest side of Nottingham city. He was a little concerned because it was far from the city center.

The current City Ground stadium was in the heart of the city. It was convenient for the fans to watch every home game, since the public transport system was good. But if they put the new stadium in the southwestern town of Clifton, he was worried about the impact on its popularity.

Allan smiled at his concern.

“Tony, it currently looks like it’s a long way off, but once the stadium is built, you won’t feel that it’s far away. With the new stadium as the center, there will be a large residential area, and there won’t be traffic to make it difficult for the fans to travel there.”

Evan smiled and explained to Twain why Clifton was chosen. “Truthfully, we also wanted to choose the city center. But Tony, that takes a lot more money, and the cost of construction is too high. Besides there is no open land in the city center for us to build a large stadium. That land in Clifton was sold to us at a low price by the city government on one condition. The city government wants us to collaborate with the construction and development plan of that area — They decided to take the construction of the new stadium as an opportunity to engage in commercial and residential projects. Allan is in discussion with several construction companies for the bidding in the hope of finding the most suitable one. I think the city government’s plan is quite good. We had worried that we might not find the right company to just build one stadium. If it is a new stadium plus a large commercial and residential area, many developers will be interested.”

Allan nodded in agreement.

“As for the transportation, I think it will be much better than it is now. At the moment, the City Ground stadium is overcrowded for every home game and there are not enough parking spaces. Many people need to park their cars a mile away, and then walk over. Since it’s just by the river, there’s no way to let more fans enter at the same time. That would require squeezing people into the river. At the same time, because it is in the city center, it is not convenient to build more modern transportation infrastructure... The City Ground stadium was built more than one hundred years ago. It’s just so old that it is difficult to even expand on it. The new stadium’s accompanying transport facilities include a direct tram line to the square in front of the stadium, so the fans can take the trams from various locations directly to the gate of the stadium, as well as when they leave.”

Twain was persuaded since he was not specialized in business like these two men. He would go along with what they had planned. If the new stadium included a residential area, perhaps he would go there and buy a house in the future.

“Sounds like an exciting plan.” Twain complimented Allan for his work. “I kind of can’t wait to go to the new stadium to lead the games.”

The other two men laughed.

The transfer plan was approved, and Twain left the chairman’s office. He had to go get busy with bringing in the players on the list and find a way to sell the players on the back of the list.

※※※

The player who fill in the gap on the front line after Anelka left would be the current star striker from Zenit Saint Petersburg, Andrey Arshavin.

This player, who had been hailed in Russia as “the new Tsar,” was not a rookie. He was a late bloomer and already twenty-six years old. He had only been known in European football in the most recent season.

And Twain knew of him because of Akinfeev.

After he decided to return Akinfeev on a loan to CSKA Moscow, Twain hired a Russian scout familiar with the Eastern European football scene, who was responsible for the tracking and observation of Akinfeev’s performance in the Russian Premier League. He would fax him a weekly report so that Twain could keep track of Akinfeev’s status and circumstances.

Twain did not just hire the scout for Akinfeev, he also did it in order to find some cheap football geniuses from Russia.

If the player was young, they could purchase and train him, whether he could play in the Forest team or not. Even if they were to sell him, they could still make a profit. The club was actually doing it before Twain joined the Forest team. The German young player, Eugen Bopp, was the rising star of the Forest team and had been brought in from Germany. They had failed his development in the end, but it had not affected the confidence of the Forest club to continue. It was the way to survive for many small English clubs; like when the Forest team did not know that they would usher in a group of talented players.

Allan was very supportive of his plan. As long as it was a plan that would make money for the team, Allan, the American, was supportive.

In addition to his reports on Akinfeev’s performance, the scout, Dmitri Mendeleev, who shared the same name as a famous Russian chemist, would regularly share his own finds of players who were well-known in Russian football but were still nobodies in Western Europe.

Andrey Arshavin was one of them.

After he watched a video of Arshavin’s play from Mendeleev, Twain instantly liked the young player. He was fast and skillful. He could play in almost all the front positions, and at the same time, he was very smart. He knew how to pass the ball and was willing to assist. He could create opportunities for his teammates and was not a self-centered idiot that did not understand team spirit or how to cooperate.

Such a player would be very suitable for the Forest team.

Therefore, Mendeleev had an additional task: in addition to tracking Akinfeev, he also had to keep track of Arshavin.

This was challenging for him, as he often had to travel between the two places. Fortunately, his tickets were reimbursed by the Forest club. Otherwise he might have had to wash his hands of it and quit.

As the reports on Arshavin continued to be sent to Twain’s desk, he was becoming more familiar with the young player from the faraway Russia. He was familiar with what he liked and disliked even though he had not been in touch with him in person.

Twain steeled himself to put Anelka on the back burner because he had already found the best replacement for the Frenchman. If Anelka wanted to leave, let him leave!

Hence before the last season was even over, the Forest club had already established contact with Arshavin’s agent, Dennis Lachter.

But Lachter was not interested in such a “small club.” They were not interested in a club that was not as rich as Abramovich’s Chelsea or dazzling like Manchester United and Arsenal in today’s football world. More importantly, they had just defeated Arshavin’s favorite team, Barcelona in the Champions League knockout. Furthermore, a number of disrespectful words about Barcelona that Twain had said had been exposed by the media.

Twain did not mind Arshavin and his agent’s cold treatment. It was nothing for him to suffer a little for a player that he liked. He knew that Arshavin would be his in the end, because he had a way of getting the other person to look at him and his team differently.

The solution was to win one of the most important championships of the season.

After the Champions League final, the entire club was caught up in the immense joy of it, but some people did not rest. Twain instructed the club to reach out to Arshavin and his agent right away and to propose a plan for a transfer again. He planned to listen to the player’s personal wishes first before getting in touch with the club to get in touch.

When he used to play the video game, the rules stipulated that he could only go to the club to make an offer first, and then talk to the players. If the player himself did not want to, all the bargaining with the club would be completely in vain. How could it be so regulated in reality? The dominant move that Twain made for every transfer had been to look for the players first and then the club thereafter.

This time, Arshavin’s agent’s lips loosened. He had no other choice. Although Arshavin had become Zenit’s team captain, the captain of the Russia national team, and known in European football, the big European clubs only spoke of their interest in Andrey Arshavin. No actions were actually taken. His agent, Lachter had no way to bargain with the Forest team with offers from the other clubs.

Moreover, he knew that the Zenit team would not be able to keep Arshavin as Arshavin had said to him, and the Zenit manager, Dick Advocaat, that he wanted to leave Zenit and Russia to play in Europe’s highest-level league.

It was the dream of any high-level player, and Arshavin was one.

Nottingham Forest’s timely Champions League title also made Arshavin view the team that had once beat his favorite team, Barcelona, in a new light.

He watched the live broadcast of the final, where the Forest team almost completely suppressed the Italian powerhouse AC Milan. Kaka’s goal was the embodiment of Kaka’s own ability, and had nothing to do with the performance of the AC Milan team. As a team that had just been promoted to the Premier League for only three seasons, Arshavin truly did not expect before the game that the Forest team could completely shut out AC Milan with a 3:1 score.

It was that game that piqued his interest in the team that had been pursuing him.

When he first heard the name, it was through a teammate of the national team. The main goalkeeper, Akinfeev, had announced that he had joined a team in the English Premier League, but was returned to CSKA Moscow on loan for a season. He knew the name of that team to be “Nottingham Forest.”

After that, he kept hearing the name “Nottingham Forest” and their idiosyncratic manager, “Tony Twain,” but he did not take note. After all, England and Russia were too far apart. Until he received a call from his agent, Lachter who told him that Nottingham Forest was interested in him.

※※※

After the final, the Forest Club people contacted Arshavin’s agent, Lachter, but the other party did not give them a clear answer. He just stated that his player needed to seriously consider the matter of playing abroad.

When he heard the reply, Twain knew that there was potential. Although there was no immediate answer, it was also understandable. Who could immediately nod or shake his head for such an important decision? If that had happened, he had to be stupid, which was not what the Forest team or Twain wanted.

Therefore, he happily went on a holiday with Shania to Brazil. He inquired about the progress of the transfer again when he returned and heard that Lachter had not been in touch with the club. He knew this was Lachter buying time to see if any other teams in the transfer market would make an offer. If there was one, he could at least have some bargaining chips to negotiate with the Forest club.

Twain did some specialized study of the current European transfer market. There were teams which were interested in Arshavin. However, any with enough clout to compete with the club, and had clearly demonstrated the desire to sign Arshavin... there were none.

This completely settled Twain’s mind. He knew that this “new Tsar” would not be able to escape from his hands.

After he clearly understood everything, Twain decided not to give Lachter a chance to make waves. He personally called Arshavin’s agent, Lachter, to show him his sincerity and his knowledge of Arshavin about his interests. Then once again he asked about Arshavin’s intention to move to the Forest team.

Lachter could not refuse a call from the Forest manager. He knew what Twain was like, and he told Twain that Arshavin did have the intention to play abroad, but that if the Forest team’s conditions did not satisfy Arshavin, then they would rather remain in Zenit. “After all, Andrey has a lot of regard for the team he has played for most of his youth.”

All agents liked to use this method. Twain was not a rookie when it came to dealing with agents. The next day, he sent a fax to the Zenit team in the name of the Nottingham Forest Club to make an offer to buy their number 10 core player, Andrey Arshavin.

The Forest team offered ten million pounds.

Nottingham Forest was the first club to make an offer for Arshavin, and Zenit was not surprised by it. They had been mentally prepared to sell their core player. After all, a lot of small and medium-sized clubs and the teams in the second or third tier European league had to face it.

The star players who were talented and performed well were unlikely to be willing to spend their careers in a league that was not at the highest level. If there were clubs in the top European leagues that invited them, the players would not be in the mood to train and play. Their heads would be filled with thoughts of being in the top leagues.

Arshavin was one of them.

Ten million pounds was nothing to be sneezed at. Zenit pretended to reject it once, and the Forest team offered another million pounds. Allan told Zenit’s boss that if they did not accept, this would be their final offer. As the new European champion, they had plenty of better options for the striker position.

The Zenit owner knew that there was no shortage of strikers in the football world. If he let go of this opportunity, who knew if there would be another? The big European clubs had stated that they were interested in Arshavin, but did not make any offers. It appeared as if they had just said it casually. Perhaps they were not interested in Russian players after all.

The Zenit boss hesitated for a moment and accepted the offer after making a show of resistance.

The club had agreed which made it easier to deal with the player himself. Twain was aware that Arshavin liked Barcelona and wanted to play in Barcelona the most. But Barcelona was not interested in the Russian player. The La Liga powerhouse club had too many world-class options in Arshavin’s position, and did not need to spend so much money and energy on a Russian league player — Arshavin was not a world-class player in the Catalans’ view.

Eventually, after four days of negotiations, Arshavin signed his name on a personal contract.

The next day, on June 23rd, the official websites of Nottingham Forest and Zenit, as well as Arshavin’s personal official website, announced this news at the same time.

“Nottingham Forest had signed on Andrey Arshavin, the midfield core and number 10/team captain from the Zenit team in the Russian Premier League for eleven million pounds. The transfer will take effect on July 1st.

This was the first transfer of the new season announced by the Forest team, which attracted a lot of media attention. Arshavin’s name and his baby face were splashed across many sports media outlets in Europe for the first time. England’s Daily Mirror followed closely on this transfer move by the new European champion. After the deal was sealed, they used this headline on the sports edition to brief their readers on the Forest team’s first signing of the season:

“The Tsar’s arrival!”

There had also been innumerable reports about him.

The twenty-six-year-old Russian captain finally tasted the sweet taste of joining a top team in a top league.

Following the announcement of this news, Anelka knew that his days at Nottingham Forest had come to an end.

Even though he had picked up the UEFA Champions League trophy for the second time as a player, it was sardonic that he did not have much to do with this second trophy.

Chapter 563 - A Strong Base with A Steady Stream of Players

The transfer market would only be opened on July 1st. Before that, even if Arshavin signed a contract with the Forest team, he would not be able to report to Forest. He would remain in Russia.

Twain’s heart felt more settled after Arshavin’s signing.

The arrival of the Russian let Anelka know that his days at the Forest team had come to an end. Twain did not call his agents/brothers to say, “your brother is not in my plans for next season.” He did not want to have any contact with Anelka anymore. The past season, Twain did not speak a word with Anelka, whether in training or in a game. When tactics needed to be instructed, he let Dunn speak with Anelka as he stood on the sidelines and treated the French striker as invisible.

He was that kind of man. When a relationship was good, he would laugh and joke. However, once the relationship broke down, he would just as easily be heartless.

He knew that with Arshavin’s arrival, it was time for Anelka’s two brothers to show some results.

As expected, the next day, the sports news reported that several clubs were interested in Anelka. But among them, the vast majority were mid to lower tier teams, such as Fulham and Bolton Wanderers Wanderers in the Premier League, as well as Villarreal in the La Liga.

Twain was happy to throw Anelka into these teams that would only play in the UEFA Europa League at the most, so that he could experience the capriciousness of people and harshness of society, but Anelka probably would not want to go there. Maybe Villarreal would not be bad?

When the reporters interviewed Twain, he stated, “as long as the price is right, we are happy to sell Anelka.”

On the same day, the Nottingham Forest Football Club received offers from both Fulham and the Bolton Wanderers. Twain refused the Bolton Wanderers’ offer of eight million pounds without hesitation. He had used eight million to buy Anelka in the first place. Twain thought that a striker who had been on the team for three years and won a UEFA Champions League title should increase in value.

Fulham was a little more generous with ten million pounds. Twain agreed to the offer, and then the Forest club informed Anelka’s agents that they could make a deal with Fulham.

Anelka knew what Twain had in mind. He wanted to get him in the middle and lower tiered teams. He could not let him get what he wanted, so Anelka refused without hesitation. During an interview, he said he loved Nottingham Forest, his teammates and the fans both. He enjoyed his life there. In order to prove it, he even brought up that he had bought a house as proof that he was there to play for keeps. Moreover, he said he and Manager Tony Twain did not have any contradictions at all, and that he was happy to continue to play under him.

Anyone who was aware of the story between the two men scoffed at the answer. So did Twain, but he had no way of dealing with Anelka.

If Anelka did not want to leave, he could not force him to go. He knew that Anelka was waiting for the stronger teams to make their moves. The French striker did not want to stay on the Forest team just to sit on the bench. He was not the kind of person who would be willing to stay on the bench and get paid.

After another day of waiting, it was presumed that Anelka’s agents and Villarreal had settled on their discussion, and that the Spanish club had made a formal offer to the Forest team — eight million pounds.

The offer infuriated Twain. He figured that Anelka’s agent-brothers had colluded with the club, which had contacted them in private to sound out Anelka’s intentions, and then teamed up to put pressure on the Forest team so that they could buy Anelka at the cheapest price.

Twain once again rebuffed Villarreal. In the refusal fax, he bluntly told the Spaniards, “please do not approach us again if the offer is less than ten million pounds.”

Anelka knew how to make use of the media to put pressure on him. Surely, Twain knew how to use the media to put pressure on the other side?

He took advantage of Anelka’s previous comments to counter the other side.

“Yes, I have a very good relationship with Nicolas Anelka and there is no contradiction between us. I want him to stay in the Forest team and play. As we all know, we are short of a fast striker.” Poor Arshavin was “forgotten” by Twain. “But, as Nicolas’ good friend, I will not stand in the way of his intention to pursue new challenges. If he wants to seek new thrilling horizons, I’ll let him go. However, he’s a Nottingham Forest player and a goalscorer who has just taken the UEFA Champions League title. He has to have an offer that fits his status. I don’t think the inadequate price of eight million pounds is respectful to my player and my team. If you really want Anelka, please show enough sincerity.”

This was just pretty talk. What was considered enough sincerity? It was just to offer enough sterling pounds.

Twain tweaked the words that Anelka had used to block him in the media, which made Anelka and his agent-brothers bitter, but they could only suffer in silence. They could not publicly announce: “We have reached an agreement with Villarreal in private and we promised to let the player help them put pressure on the Forest team to buy Anelka at the lowest price, and then we will receive rebates from this.”

In that case, Twain would be happy to charge Villarreal and Anelka’s two brothers to FIFA.

He knew that what they had done was something that could not be exposed, so Anelka’s brothers were freaked out. They had wanted to use Anelka’s comments to put pressure on the Forest club to demonstrate to Twain; they did not expect to be played by Twain.

Villarreal had thought that it would be enough to give eight million pounds to Forest for a player who had been on the bench for a year. They did not think the other manager would so ungrateful as to think that eight million pounds was patronizing! He did not consider what Anelka had become and how he was of no interest to any team in the transfer market! He was not part of the team’s main force. How could he spout nonsense as “please do not approach us again if the offer is less than ten million pounds!”

Villarreal was so annoyed that they did not offer again.

As a result, Anelka and his two older brothers were caught in the middle. They could not leave or stay.

Twain just let them suffer. He was busy with the signings for the other positions.

※※※

Anelka was in a hurry to sell himself to the big clubs, but his few appearances in the last season made a number of teams that had been interested in him hesitant.

The rest of the Forest team was not like him. The values of the players who proved their abilities went up when the Forest team won the Champions League. A number of clubs expressed interest in Forest players.

A few years ago, when the Forest team was not famous yet, no teams were interested in the players. Now the various transfer requests to the Nottingham Forest club had left Twain a little hard pressed.

The list of offers from these teams could empty almost the entire Forest team lineup.

Ribéry and George Wood were the two most popular players in the transfer market. A number of big clubs were interested in the both of them. The most substantial price so far was Real Madrid’s offer for Wood — twenty million pounds.

Real Madrid’s pursuit of Wood was not a matter of a day or two. Although the news had not yet been made public, the media already caught whiff of it.

George Wood was the captain, flag-bearer for the future, and core of the Forest team. Even if Real Madrid had made a bid for two hundred million pounds, Twain would not sell.

Ribéry’s situation was about the same as Wood’s. Ribéry was dug out of the French lower league by Twain himself and brought to England to be given a chance to become a world-class player. A lot of teams were also interested in him, but Twain did not plan to talk to those clubs.

Nottingham Forest was not a small team that had to sell its own star players to survive, nor would fall apart now that it had the title.

Furthermore, it was only one championship title. If he was content with it, then Twain would not be Twain.

Although Twain did not want to sell any players who were useful to the team, it seemed to be wishful thinking on his part in the grander scheme of things.

The morning of June 27th, Twain received a phone call from Mikel Arteta’s agent.

Over the phone, the agent told Twain that Premier League team, Everton, was very interested in Arteta. Moyes wanted to bring in the midfielder, who could not play as the main force in the Forest team. The agent wanted to hear the club’s thoughts on it.

Although conditioned to answer “no way,” Twain calmed down in an instant.

He was aware of Arteta’s situation in the team. Due to the arrival of van der Vaart, George Wood’s development, as well as the unearthing of Ribéry’s talent in the middle, the Spaniard had been unable to find a place in the Forest team’s midfield. He had a slight lack in playing as the main strength and it seemed to be a waste of his talent to put him as a substitute.

Twain had a headache over this player’s chances of playing, but he was reluctant to sell because Arteta could form an effective complement to the team’s lineup. This was from Twain’s point of view as the manager, though. He did not look at it from Arteta’s point of view as a player.

“My thoughts? I want to hear what Mikel thinks first.” He was unwilling to give a direct answer to the other party.

The agent told Twain that Arteta also wanted to leave the Forest team for Everton, where he was promised the main position.

“Mikel likes you very much, Mr. Twain. He thinks you’re the best manager he’s ever seen, but...” the agent changed tack. “He doesn’t have a steady chance to play in the Forest team. Mikel is only twenty-five years old and still has room for development, If he cannot play in games, all this talk is pointless. He wants to stay with the Forest team. After all, he’s been here for three years and is used to life here. But Mr. Twain, can you guarantee him a steady position to play?”

Twain was dumbstruck by the question.

He did not want Arteta to leave, but he had never thought to give Arteta a main position. He had been using the Spaniard as a substitute. And in that regard, he had a different view from Arteta.

After a moment’s silence, Twain shook his head and replied, “no, I can’t make that commitment. I pick out players based on the circumstances and not their names...”

His excuse was interrupted before he even finished.

“That’s right, you see, Mr. Twain, that’s just it. Consequently, Mikel will have to leave his favorite team and go to a team that can guarantee him the main position, such as... Everton.”

Twain kept quiet for a moment and decided to accept reality. A strong base would always have a steady stream of soldiers. A team would always have players coming and leaving. Whether it was Anelka or Arteta, their departures were normal in this circle.

“Very well, just like a breakup between a couple after a love affair, it’s better if we make this amicable. As long as Everton’s offer is not too low, I’ll allow him to transfer,” Twain said with a sigh. “I’ll say the same thing. My player must leave Wilford at a decent price.”

“Thank you, Mr. Twain. I’m sure Everton’s offer won’t disappoint you.”

The agent was right. As Twain’s old friend, Moyes gave the Forest team plenty of face. Unlike Manchester United with Liverpool, Nottingham Forest did not refuse to sell its players to its competitors in the same league. As long as Twain’s reputation and the interests of the club were taken into account, Twain was happy to do business.

Moyes knew his friend well, and in Twain’s words, the price offered by Everton this time was “very sincere.”

Ten million pounds were used to buy the Spanish midfielder, Mikel Arteta.

Twain did not hinder anything and nodded in agreement to the deal. Ten million pounds was not considered a small amount to put up for a substitute player. Not everyone’s current economic situation was good. The Forest team had bought Arteta from Real Sociedad at the cost of only three million euros, which was approximately two million pounds. Two and a half years had passed, and they had made nearly eight million pounds. Once Allan was informed of the news, he would be very happy that Twain completed the deal and did not reject Everton like he did AC Milan.

There was another reason why Twain had readily agreed. Everton had groomed Wayne Rooney. Who knew whether there would be any other geniuses in their youth training? The Forest team’s youth camp was about to replenish their new seedlings. For now, the Forest team had expanded their search for brilliant potential across the United Kingdom.

With things settled between the clubs, the contract negotiation between the player and the club was no longer Twain’s concern. From his conversation, he knew that Arteta’s agent must have been in contact with the Everton people early on. They might have even signed an informal agreement in private and just waited for the Forest manager to assent so that they could complete the deal.

There were plenty of cases whereby the clubs got in contact with the players first in the current football world these days. Did Twain not often do that too? It was just that everyone’s quiet mutual understanding.

The pace of the progress in negotiations between Arteta and Everton confirmed Twain’s speculation. The next day, Everton did not wait to announce their first deal this summer on their official website — ten million pounds to buy the midfielder, Mikel Arteta from Nottingham Forest.

Moyes excitedly announced at the press conference that he would make Arteta the core of Everton’s midfield. He finally got the player he had dreamed of, albeit two and a half years later.

Arteta’s departure had become the Forest team’s most significant transfer out in the past few years. It seemed to have broken the claim that Twain previously stressed, which was that “the Forest team does not sell players.”

Numerous football clubs that had been interested in Forest players appeared to have been encouraged to step up their quests for the players.

On June 29th, two days before the summer transfer market opened, two different clubs put in their transfer applications for two different players on Tony Twain’s desk.

The one on the left was from Italy. Juventus, which was ordered to enter Serie B due to the “Calciopoli” incident, and then had been promoted in advance, had offered the Forest team twelve million pounds to buy Anelka.

The one on the right was from England. Thailand’s former prime minister, Thaksin, had made a strong bid for Manchester City. Just like Abramovich, he wanted to be powerful in the Premier League. To this end, he had to raise his team’s competitiveness. In addition to hiring Eriksson to coach the team, he also shopped around for talent. This time his target was the newly minted European champion’s main right winger, Ashley Young.

Chapter 564 - The Loaded Thai

Twain did not expect Juventus’ sudden campaign for Anelka. He recalled that there had been no previous information about Juventus’ interest in Anelka, and that Anelka’s agent-brothers did not appear to be in touch with Juventus.

Naturally, if Juventus really intended to pay that much money to purchase Anelka, Twain was delighted to accept it. On one hand, their purchase price of Anelka was higher than his previous sale. On the other hand, it was Juventus. Anelka would not have any excuse not to go, would he?

He immediately approved this transfer deal, allowing Juventus to speak to Anelka’s agents about the details of their personal contract.

As for the other transfer request...

Twain wondered why Manchester City was at their doorstep. Did they think that they had a chance because he had three players on the left flank now? Twain was not surprised that Thaksin Shinawatra took ownership of Manchester City, because all kinds of rumors like that circled every day. The Thai’s interest in the English Premier League was long-standing. The English Premier League had a huge following in Southeast Asia. It was not shocking news that the rich and powerful former Thai prime minister bought a Premier League club.

The foreign invasion of the English Premier League had become a common phenomenon.

Thaksin became the owner of Manchester City, and another Premier League football club, Birmingham City, also changed hands. Its owner was a Chinese — Carson Yeung, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman.

At the same time, the powerhouse club, Arsenal was divided into two factions, fighting all day on whether to accept the funds of a rich American businessman and even caused the club’s internal seismic change in personnel — the vice chairman David Dein had resigned in anger because of his disagreement with the chairman. Dein had enjoyed a high prestige in Arsenal. The current manager, Wenger, was brought back from Japan by Dein, and was also the chairman of Europe’s G-14. His departure was a major blow to the Arsenal club.

The full invasion of foreign capital had left many English clubs in an atmosphere of anxiety and excitement. The coexistence was in a state of flux.

In March, the Liverpool F.C. issued a statement, which confirmed the long-awaited speculation that two Americans, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, had completed the purchase of shares in Liverpool. The two men, who had obtained 98.6% percent of Liverpool’s shares, had become the indisputable major shareholder in Liverpool. Following that, the two American bosses then re-registered Liverpool as a club and made Liverpool a private limited company.

This move was exactly the same as when Evan Doughty became the owner of Nottingham Forest.

Fewer clubs in the current English football still maintained a pure pedigree. Most teams in the Premier League were tied with foreign investments.

Manchester United’s big boss was the American, Glazer, the Chelsea boss was the Russian oligarch, Abramovich, the Liverpool boss were the Americans Hicks and Gillett, the Nottingham Forest boss was the British with an American passport, Evan Doughty, the Manchester City boss was the Thai, Thaksin, the Birmingham City boss was the Chinese, Carson Yeung, the West Ham United boss was the Icelandic, Eggert Magnússon, the Portsmouth owner was the French-Israeli, Alexandre Gaydamak, the Aston Villa owner was the American, Randy Lerner. The forerunner of foreign investment in the Premier League was Fulham’s current boss, the Egyptian Mohamed Al-Fayed, who first became the owner of the Fulham club in 1997. At the time, Fulham was an unknown Football League Second Division team. Four years later in 2001, they rose to the English Premier League and had stayed there ever since.

At the present, Arsenal was divided as to whether they would accept the foreign investment or not. If Arsenal decided to accept the American capital, there would no longer be a pure English club in the Premier League’s top five clubs. If truth be told, Arsenal was no longer viewed as an English club because they had too many foreign players. The Gunners were often hated in their country because of the overwhelming French influence.

The present circumstances were truly a great irony in a country steeped in traditions that paid particular attention to pedigree and origins.

Moreover, the summer of 2007 was the busiest summer in the Premier League for foreign investment. It was understood that this summer would not be peaceful.

In order to win favor with the Manchester City fans, Thaksin was quite liberal with money and purchased players everywhere. He pledged to be another Abramovich.

The Brazilian, Elano, and the Italian, Rolando Bianchi, had both joined Manchester City. Now, they had their eye on the brilliant right midfielder, Ashley Young, who had been with the Forest team in the Premier League and European arena for two seasons.

During the two seasons, Ashley Young had always firmly occupied the Premier League’s “king of assists” throne. Even though it had something to do with the Forest team carrying out tactics and coordination which emphasized and valued the offense on the flanks, it was inseparable from Ashley Young’s own ability.

There was no doubt that Lennon was a very talented player, but he could not easily squeeze Ashley Young onto the bench. It showed Young’s ability. He was different from Ribéry. Although both of them were fast and good at breakthroughs, Ribéry preferred to cut inside to shoot, and Young preferred to pass, which was one of the reasons why he had more assists than Ribéry.

In the first half of the year, a famous sports brand and a famous sports analytics company, Opta Sports, collaborated to release a statistical report with a very imposing name: “Premier League’s top ten speedsters.” As the name suggested, it was the ten fastest players.

Once this list was published, Nottingham Forest become the most conspicuous club. In the column after the speedsters’ names, Nottingham Forest’s name was the most frequently named team — four times in total.

The fifth to eighth places were occupied by the Forest players. Fifth place belonged to Ashley Young. His speed without the ball was 11.2 seconds but when he pursued the ball, he ran even faster — 10.97 seconds.

The rest of the four players were the sixth-place Aaron Lennon and George Wood, as well as Franck Ribéry.

The list also indirectly helped Ashley Young increased his value.

Thaksin’s initial offer was already fifteen million pounds. How much did Nottingham Forest spend to purchase the talented right winger from Watford in the first place?

700,000 pounds!

Three years later, the price had shot up to fifteen million pounds.

Was Twain satisfied?

No. Twain thought it was too low.

How was it possible that the main player who won the UEFA Champions League, chosen in the best lineup of last season’s Champions League, nominated as the king of assists for two consecutive Premier League seasons be worth a mere fifteen million pounds?

The Nottingham Forest Football Club swiftly responded to Manchester City. The official line was: “Ashley Young is not for sale. His impact on the team’s right flank is great and he is an important contributing factor to the Forest team winning the Champions League title. Manager Tony Twain will not sell a player who contributed so much.”

If it had been said a week ago, it might have been convincing. However, people were going to read between the lines.

Arteta had left. Was there any important player on the Forest team that could not be sold?

That was how Manchester City understood it. Forest felt that the money was too little. Why else would they emphasize how important Ashley Young was to the Forest team? These things did not require them to repeat, everyone on Earth knew.

Twain wanted them to understand that, too.

He had wanted to keep Arteta, but he was not concerned about Ashley Young at all.

Out of his preference for Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, Twain had little affection for Ashley Young, who had taken them both to visit a prostitute.

While Ashley Young was the first pick for the right midfielder position in the team, it was just “work is work” to Twain. Outside of work, Twain had little interaction with the young man he had unearthed from Watford. He could chat amiably with Bale’s father, talk to Lennon about the ideals of life or something similar, joke around with Eastwood, who did his warm-ups on horseback, teach his most valued George Wood with a straight face, and even talk to van Nistelrooy about Ferguson as a man. He just did not have any contact with Ashley Young outside of the work.

Truthfully, it was not like this before. It was only after that incident that his relationship with Ashley Young had cooled rapidly. Twain still brooded about that incident.

Ashley Young brought Bale and Lennon to a brothel. He was certain that Bale and Lennon slept with the prostitutes, but when he asked Young, he did not hesitate to answer that they did not.

From that moment on, Twain lost interest in the young man. He knew that Young had lied and he was so comfortable and calm that Twain was convinced that it was not the first he had lied.

Compared to the old man, Ferguson, Twain was not a manager who interfered with his players’ private lives. He did not mind young people taking detours in their private lives, nor did he mind that they spent money on women to meet their physical needs. As long as it did not affect their condition on the field, they were free to do what they wanted.

But he could not allow his players to deceive him and treat him like an ignorant three-year-old.

Why did he not turn hostile and argue right away? Because Twain thought Lennon was still too young and needed to continue to be honed. It would have been hasty of him to let him play as the main force. Lennon was like Bale; Twain had a complete plan for their development, and he did not want to spoil things by being too eager. So many young geniuses had been blown out in the world. Twain did not want such a situation to happen to his men. Another reason was that Ashley Young’s performance in the games was still very stable. He was still useful to the team. Therefore, Twain suppressed the matter within. He only expressed his displeasure to Dunn at home and did not mention it to anyone else. It was as if he had forgotten this incident.

When Twain announced that the Forest team had signed Beckham, everyone was worried about the Forest’s overcrowded right flank for the next season. Only Dunn knew that the man was not really concerned at all. Even without the generous owner, Thaksin, Twain would have tried to put Ashley Young on sale. Many people were interested in the king of assists.

However, since Thaksin was resolved to play a foolishly rich man, Twain did not mind benefitting from it in the process.

You want to buy the European champion, Nottingham Forest’s main force in the right flank, the new right winger of England national team and the two-consecutive king of assists for the Premier League for fifteen million pounds? Are you just trying to beat off a beggar, Prime minister Thaksin?

Twain and Allan carefully analyzed the background behind the player’s takeover and thought that there was room for negotiation.

They were not afraid to force a buyer away because Ashley Young was not short of buyers at all. It was just a question of price.

Although it was now a general trend for foreign investment to be in the Premier League clubs, the vast majority of English fans still had strong resistance and were conflicted about the development. The resistance was even stronger against Thaksin, who was from a small Southeast Asian nation.

Thaksin was well aware of it, so he could not wait to announce the team’s signing of the former England manager, Eriksson, just to pacify popular sentiments. At the same time, he promised that he would put out at least fifty million pounds to buy strong players and increase the strength of the team.

So far, the transfers to fill in the areas lacking in the team already included the Brazilian midfielder, Elano, and the Italian striker, Bianchi.

The two players had no influence at all in the minds of the English fans. Thaksin would suffer greatly if he intended to appease the hearts and minds of the people by relying on those two players. Thaksin knew it, too. Consequently, after he took care of the two deals, Manchester City immediately launched the chase in the transfer market.

This time, after his discussion with Eriksson, he set the goal of an important breakthrough on Ashley Young, the right winger for the Forest team and England national team. Eriksson was once the England manager and Ashley Young had played in the World Cup in Germany, so Eriksson was aware of Ashley Young’s ability.

Another reason was that Ashley Young was a local player whose fame and appeal at home in England was much higher than that of Elano and Bianchi. To increase his standing in the hearts of the Manchester City fans, it was not enough to rely on the two foreign aids or even to pay off Manchester City’s sixty million pounds of debt. The fans just wanted to see star players of enough weight join the team.

Accordingly, having just taken the Champions League title and won the king of assists for two consecutive years in England, Ashley Young had become an important piece in his campaign to win over the hearts of the people.

With this analysis, both Twain and Allan were determined to get the most out of this loaded man.

Fifteen million is not enough; show more money!

※※※

Manchester City made a second offer, with the price increased to eighteen million pounds.

This time, Nottingham Forest seemed to hesitate for a bit before they refused again. The reason was still the same: “Ashley Young is an important part of the team. Tony Twain has no intention of selling a player who has contributed so much to the team...”

In the meantime, Twain went to Ashley Young for a discussion. He would not state that the team was trying to sell him. He just asked if the rampant rumors in the media about his transfer were true.

During this time, the media had reported that Eriksson had made contact with Ashley Young’s agent. After Manchester City was taken over by Thailand’s former prime minister, Manchester City also had the clout to give the players they were interested in packages to touch their hearts.

Therefore, Twain came to Ashley Young with a grim expression and looked ready to send punitive forces against him.

Young denied that his agent and Manchester City had made contact in private, and even said that he enjoyed playing in Nottingham Forest. He had just received an honor. How could he possibly leave? Even if the other party offered an extremely attractive package, he would not waver in his determination to be loyal.

After much had been said, both sides had a “satisfied” farewell.

The next day, Ashley Young’s agent sought out the Forest club in the hope of giving his player a raise. The agent’s reason was simple: You can see that my player is so red-hot recently. Countless clubs are keen on him. Since you said he is an important contributor to the team, then isn’t it unreasonable if you do not give him a higher salary? Furthermore, my player is utterly loyal to the team. That definitely goes without saying! He has remained unmoved even with so many clubs’ and even Manchester City’s pursuits. So, shouldn’t the team give Ashley Young a higher salary package to reward his loyalty?

The man who received the agent was Twain. He grinned and affirmed Ashley Young’s contribution to the team and thanked him for staying loyal to the team in the face of such rampant “rumors.” When the conversation came to this point, everyone had smiles on their faces. The atmosphere of the discussion was very friendly and harmonious.

But as soon as the subject of money came up, Twain’s smile remained unchanged, but his words were not what the agent wanted to hear.

“Salary? As you know, the club recently planned to build a new stadium. There is not ample funding... ”

His remark was euphemistic. After the agent repeatedly asked for his player to receive a salary equal to his contribution, Twain told him bluntly that the club would not talk to him about Ashley Young’s salary.

“Young still has a three-year contract with the club. We can talk about it when we have one more year left.”

This was equivalent to turning the guest out. When the agent heard Twain say so, he got up and said goodbye.

Although everyone was still smiling, both sides knew that all pretense of cordiality was shed.

One day after the agent left, Manchester City’s third offer came. This time they looked set to win, because the Manchester City club told the Forest club that if it disagreed, it would be the final offer, and City would not raise the offer on Ashley Young.

Ever since Stuart Pearce stepped down from the Manchester City manager’s position, the good relationship between the two clubs was over. Otherwise Manchester City would never have conducted business with such a harsh tone. When Pearce was there, only a phone call from both managers was needed, and the problem was solved.

This time, Thaksin seemed to harden his resolve — twenty-five million pounds!

Twain took the fax to Allan. The two men glanced at each other and laughed.

That afternoon, Manchester City received the Forest team’s response: They had agreed to the offer. Manchester City could carry out the negotiation with Ashley Young on his personal contract.

※※※

In truth, Ashley Young did not really want to leave the Forest team at first. What he said to Twain was true, but he wanted to use the recent media hype to fight for a higher salary for himself in the team. The foolish Manchester City was very much in line with the requirements of a supporting actor.

However, Ashley Young and his agent did not expect that Manager Tony Twain, who had always valued him on the football field, to have plans to sell him from a season ago...

Twain took advantage of the situation and let Ashley Young walk away on his own.

Ashley Young was not foolishly loyal. Since he could not command a higher salary in the Forest team, he took advantage of the Champions League win and the big jump in his worth to transfer to a club that could offer a higher salary. There was nothing bad about it. Why did professional players train hard to prove themselves in the games to win the championship titles and suffer injuries? Was it really about taking the gold medal home and putting it in the cabinet for show? Was it really for the glory? If not for the money, who would choose to play football as a lifelong career?

Twain understood this, so he did not obstruct Ashley Young in his pursuit of the happiness that he wanted.

The Forest team’s second heavyweight transfer out of the new season was finalized, and at the same time, the most attention-grabbing transfer out so far.

Arteta’s departure could be explained away as just a substitute who could not play in games and wanted to go after a team that would put him in the main position, then Ashley Young’s departure made it hard for a lot of people to understand. Judging from the field, Ashley Young’s importance to the Forest team was self-evident. For the Forest team to be able to win the Champions League title, Ashley Young played an important part.

Perhaps this was to give Beckham a position, some media outlets guessed? Was it because Beckham’s sponsors put a lot of pressure on the Forest team? If that was the case, would it not indirectly cause Beckham to create a lot of enemies in the Forest team’s locker room? Twain had always said that he did not take fame into account when he picked the main players. He only saw their abilities and forms. If it was really to give Beckham a main position that he sold Ashley Young, then... the media reported in succession that they were not optimistic on David Beckham’s prospects in the Forest team locker room.

The case that they had built seemed to be strong: Beckham had been a famous star player for a long time, but he was, after all, an outsider on the Forest team. How was he going to get along with the people in the Forest team locker room? Moreover, there was no doubt that people would be jealous of what Beckham had gained and were thus biased... There were many people like that in the football world. How could there not be people like that on the Forest team? Would Ashley Young’s departure make the rest of the Forest team side with the ones in similar circumstances and feel themselves to be in danger? And then it would be followed by a solidarity in opposition to the same adversary?

In that case, would the arrival of the world-class superstar create any waves in the Forest team locker room, which had always been harmonious without any emergence of negative news?

Those readers who like such gossip have much to look forward! We, in the name of the tabloids and paparazzi in England, promise to dig deep into the inside story, to uncover the truth, and to cause pandemonium in the mysterious virgin land of Nottingham Forest’s locker room henceforth!

Chapter 565 - The Merry Men

On July 1st, the players and coaches returned from their vacation.

Dunn had returned to Nottingham with Tang Jing the day before. He said he ran into Tang Jing at the Beijing airport, but Twain did not believe him and mocked Dunn with his sharp tongue. He only stopped teasing when Dunn blushed like a baboon’s bottom.

The English Premier League started earlier than the other leagues and would be fully opened in mid-August. Therefore, Premier League teams started training earlier than other countries’ league teams.

Only a stamina recovery program was arranged for the first day of training, given that everyone had just had a month of vacation. As they were a little rusty skill wise, the training was not intense. Dunn was not in charge of fitness training as there was a special fitness coach in charge, so he did not have to worry much about anything.

However, he still had to be present because there was a matter he needed to attend to in addition to leading the team the training.

※※※

After one month of vacation, the players behaved as if they had just woken up from a dream. They were heavy-eyed and yawning. Their energy levels and bodies were not in best condition.

To Twain’s satisfaction, no one was absent after a wonderful vacation. Other than Arteta and Ashley Young, who had already announced their departures, even Anelka, who was at odds with Twain, drove there to train. He was still in discussion with Juventus about his personal contract as both sides were in dispute over some issues.

Still in vacation mode, the players were startled awake by the media lying in wait when they drove themselves to the Wilford training base mental.

Perhaps the word “startled” was an understatement. The Nottingham Forest players had never seen so many reporters at the training base on the first day of training before the start of the season.

Not only were the media there, but countless people who appeared to be the fans were also waiting. They were on both sides of the narrow alley, holding banners and shouting out chants energetically.

If they just looked at the media, they probably would not know why it was so lively. But when they looked at the enthusiastic fans, it became clear.

Some of them wore the red Manchester United jerseys and some wore the white Real Madrid jerseys. All of them were holding up posters of a man.

After Ribéry parked his darling car in the parking lot within the training base, he whistled at several of his teammates who arrived at the same time. “How was your vacation?”

“Luckily, I went to Hawaii.” Eastwood, who was tanned, pointed to his floral shirt. He had also arrived by car. Now that he was famous and successful, he no longer lived in the caravan at the training base compound. He had bought a small farm and lived there with his wife and children. Of course, he was still doing his warm ups by riding a horse on the morning of every home game. No one would think that he was obstructing the traffic by riding in his own farm.

Ribéry pointed to the gate of the training base, where hordes of media and fans could be seen.

“It’s really lively, isn’t it? Looks like a big shot is coming today.”

“Don’t you know who’s coming?” Eastwood was a little surprised.

“Tut, it’s not fun if I just say the name out loud.” Ribéry rolled his eyes at Eastwood.

The pair were not in a hurry to go to the locker room. They chatted as they looked in the direction of the gate. Soon, more cars stopped beside them, and more people stood alongside them to chat. This formed a strange sight. None of the Forest players first went to the locker room to change and head to the training ground. Instead, they greeted each other and chatted in the parking lot.

It looked like the feeling of the vacation was not over yet.

Wood did not drive. His house was very close to the training base. He usually ran here for the training, which he could do the most basic warm-up running here. No one thought it was strange for the eccentric person.

Albertini had already retired and now he was the team’s official captain. He had decided to get into the role as soon as possible. When Albertini was there, Wood just had to be a field captain, and did not have to take of things off the field. The real captain, Albertini took care of those trivial things. It was now a completely different and new experience.

Wood stood outside the crowd, hesitated for a moment, and coughed a few times to clear his throat.

His unusual move attracted some people’s attention.

“Hey, George, have you caught a cold?” Van Nistelrooy asked in concern. As he spoke, several of the Dutch men who had been chatting with him, turned their heads. The others followed suit and turned their attention to Wood.

“Ah, uh… No, I don’t have a cold,” Wood said awkwardly. “What are you all talking about?”

Ribéry pointed at the gate with a grin. “Talking about the big shot who’s coming today.”

Wood knew who they were talking about, but he was not interested in taking part in the topic. If it were before he had become captain, he would have turned around and left to change and start his warm-up on the training ground. But now, he was the captain, on and off the field. How could he be such an unsociable captain?

Wood remembered what Albertini said when he embraced him before he left, “it’s up to you next.”

This could be considered a kind of trust. Wood was not stupid. He understood.

He moved a few steps but did not retreat. Instead, he squeezed into the crowd.

“Do you guys…. want him to come?” After thinking, he asked a question that made everyone laugh.

“George, if you were a reporter, I’ll bet asking a question like that would get you a lot of closed doors.” Van Nistelrooy laughed. “We would take it as you trying to drive a wedge in the relationships within the locker room.”

“I can’t say if I like it or not. My previous understanding of him is through the media, but I basically do not believe what the media says, whether it’s good or bad. I don’t believe a word of it. Now I have the opportunity to personally interact with him. I’ll know whether I like or do not like after we have interacted.” Pepe’s words received nods of approval from most people.

This was probably the entire Forest team’s attitude towards this new teammate. If the media caught wind of it, how would they feel?

Everyone chatted in groups of two or three. Some people talked about the players who were about to join. The others chatted to their friends about their vacations. A few people discussed Arteta and Ashley Young, the two teammates who had left.

They thought about how they had fought together to win the title just over a month ago and now they were about to become each other’s opponents. Other than that, no one expressed any outrage at the departure of the two players. They were professional players and had seen many comings and goings. It was not a big deal. If they were friends, they would still be friends no matter where they were. They could just set a date to hang out and have a meal together.

Anelka was the last to arrive. Instead of joining his teammates, he went straight to the locker room. No one tried to keep him. Everyone knew that the French striker was bound to leave. Since his heart was not there, they did not need to retain him.

※※※

Twain and Dunn walked to the training base, so they arrived a little later than the players.

Twain and Dunn were also a little surprised to see the media and enthusiastic fan groups along the way.

“Look, look. Things are definitely different for the king of popularity. Since when has it been this packed on the first day of pre-season training for Nottingham Forest?” Twain said to Dunn, pointing to the fans on both sides. He also waved to the crazed fans in greeting.

If those gathered were the diehard Nottingham Forest fans, Twain’s waving would have received a surge of responses, which would have greatly stroked Twain’s ego. But his waving did not get any reaction.

The people just held up posters and turned their gazes to the end of the alley, the direction the players drove in from. Twain and Dunn were completely invisible to them.

“Well… ” Under Dunn’s silent gaze, Twain was a little embarrassed. “At least it proves one thing. They’re not Nottingham Forest fans… But it’s okay!” He grinned and spoke louder. “They’ll soon be.”

When Twain and Dunn walked to the gate of the training base, they found that the iron gate, which used to be open, were closed.

The security guard inside the guard house hurried out to open the gate when he saw the manager and assistant manager.

“What’s going on?” Twain asked in puzzlement.

“Umm… ” The young security guard hesitated a moment before he pointed to the noisy crowd outside the gate and replied, “The reporters and fans were so enthusiastic that I was afraid they would rush in, so I closed the gate.”

Twain turned to look at them. He knew a few of the sports reporters. There were also completely unfamiliar faces. The reporters Twain knew turned around and waved to him when they saw him.

But Twain kept a straight face and did not respond. They were all snubbed.

The young security guard thought the serious-looking manager would admonish him and was so worried that he did not know whether to walk away or stay.

He did not expect that Twain turned to smile at him and pat him on the shoulder and say, “you did a good job.”

After the two men walked in, the quiet Dunn suddenly piped up, “it looks like he has perceived your principle of closed-door training.”

Twain crouched on the ground and unbecomingly burst into laughter in front of the media.

“Please… Come on, Dunn. Can you give a heads up the next time you tell a joke?”

※※※

When Twain managed to get up after a while, the pair continued to walk in, and saw the players gathered in the parking lot.

Twain and Dunn looked at each other and saw the doubtful expression in each other’s eyes.

This was a sight they had never seen before.

Could it be there was a fight?

Twain quickly marched over before he realized it was a false alarm. Ribéry waved and greeted him from afar. “Boss, long time no see!” How could there be a fight with such a bright smile?

“Hey, you guys are not changing in the locker room. What are you standing here for?” Twain asked as he stood in front of the crowd. Everyone stopped chatting.

“We all want to see with our own eyes the exciting sight outside when he arrives.” Ribéry pointed to the crowd behind him, and then pointed to the gate.

Turning to the side, Twain found George Wood standing in the crowd. He smiled inside.

“In that case, you might as well go to the gate to watch. What you can see here?”

“We can’t do that. If we go there, it make the media very happy. No, not going to happen.” Ribéry’s head shook like a rattle-drum.

“The media can also see you all standing here. You don’t think the reporters can’t see? All right, all right, there’s nothing to look at. Go and change. I don’t want this to be like a Queen’s inspection when he comes.” Twain shooed the group back to the locker room like a mother hen.

Watching Wood leave with the crowd, Twain turned his head and smiled at Dunn, “What a bunch of amusing boys. It’s not like they haven’t never seen a big star. They are all star players.”

“They probably gathered here for fun.” Dunn nodded.

With that group gone, it was now Twain’s and Dunn’s turn to stand outside the parking lot and wait.

The assistant manager, Kerslake, waited a long time on the training ground before he saw only Anelka. He found it strange because Anelka usually was not so proactive. He looked at his watch and discovered that it was not that Anelka had arrived early, but that no one else had come at all!

Leaving Anelka alone, Kerslake walked to the locker room. The locker room was empty. When he came back out, he saw a large crowd of players trotting in from.

“Did you all take the same bus? Why are you all coming in together?” Kerslake did not say it as nicely as Twain. He asked with knitted brows.

“So sorry, sorry, sir. We were outside talking for a while…” Since it was initially Ribéry’s idea to wait outside, it was now up to him to bear the coach’s wrath. It was fair and square.

“Stop the crap, hurry up and get dressed. Go to the training ground and wait for me, you all know the punishment of being late!” Kerslake waved impatiently.

Once they heard “the punishment of being late,” the large crowd rushed towards the locker room. This was not a joke. Even if they were the European champions, it was still a special tradition of the Forest team to run laps as the punishment for lateness.

Ribéry ran at the front, but was stopped by Kerslake. “Where are Tony and Dunn?”

“They’re outside… ” Ribéry hurriedly pointed to the exit and nimbly leapt away from Kerslake like he was a skipping mud fish.

Kerslake did not have time to take care of this lad. He went against the current and walked towards the exit.

Kerslake continued to walk until he came to the parking lot and finally found Twain and Dunn, leaning together to chat leisurely.

“What are you doing here?” Kerslake’s loud voice startled a flock of birds in the tree.

“Ah, David, you’re here.” Twain turned his head to see him and beckoned to him.

“What are you doing here? Did you just get here? Why didn’t you go to the training ground? All the other coaches have arrived.”

Twain patted his forehead. It appeared not only the players had not entered a working state yet. He nudged Dunn. “I forgot. It’s enough for me to be here alone to welcome the new players. You go ahead, Dunn.”

Dunn dutifully left with Kerslake. Twain no longer waited in the parking lot. He walked to his office and began to prepare.

Arshavin and Akinfeev did not come to the team today because they did not have to. The Forest team was travelling to Russia for the pre-season training in four days. They would join the team in Moscow.

As for why Russia was chosen for training, when asked, Twain said something all his opponents felt was arrogant. “We are there to adapt to and do our warm-up in the field in advance for this season’s Champions League final.” The 07-08 season’s UEFA Champions League final would be held at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.

In reality, the reason was that the Forest team had been invited to participate in the Russian Railways Cup. As the newly minted European champion, the invitations for various pre-season friendlies piled up on Twain’s desk. Twain eventually picked this friendly. The reason was simple. Twain was particular about the quality of the friendly rather than focus on where to play. Even if the friendly was in Moscow in the distant Russia. The participating teams for the Russian Railways Cup were strong. Other than the host team, FC Lokomotiv Moscow, which was weaker in terms of strength, the two other participating teams in the Railways Cup that were invited were the gold medaled Real Madrid, who had raised its spirits to take the pragmatic route, as well as AC Milan, who had just lost to Nottingham Forest in the final.

What a coincidence!

※※※

Twain did not wait too long in his office. He received a call from the guard at the gate about ten minutes later.

“Sir, he’s here!” The young security guard sounded a little excited. Twain could even hear the clamor outside through the telephone line, which was filled with female screams.

He was still young after all and was unable to remain calm.

Twain grunted in reply and hung up the phone. He did not get up to go the gate to meet him. He did not want everyone to think this man was special, so he even requested that Evan and Allan not to leave their offices to join in the crowd.

Twain turned his chair around and looked at the training ground outside the massive floor-to-ceiling window. The players were running laps in training, or rather, punishment. They were penalized with running because the entire team was late.

However, since the training program these days was to recover their stamina, it was not wrong to say it was training.

Twain had long had a plan in mind on how to introduce this new striking teammate to the team.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door behind him.

Twain stood up and turned to look at the door. “Come in.”

That man, who was much adored by many, came in with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I’m not familiar with Nottingham’s roads and I almost got lost…” Next to him was his agent, Simon Fuller, a well-dressed and seemingly shrewd middle-aged man.

“You just had to drive your own car. It’s all right if you call the club to pick you up, David,” Twain said to Beckham in front of him, and then he briefly shook hands with Fuller, the agent. They did not engage in a conversation as he only knew the agent because they discussed a series of things during the contract negotiation six months ago. They did not need friendly greetings or chat about the weather. The agent was not the protagonist in his office.

“Ha, having lived in Spain for four years, I thought the UK was the same… How should I address you from now on?

“In private, Tony. In front of your teammates, better call me boss. It’s more familiar.” Twain walked around the desk and stepped forward. “Come on, I’ll take you to meet them.” He pointed to the window behind him.

Beckham glanced over and nodded. He followed Twain out. Fuller followed the pair in silence and deliberately kept a distance to allow Beckham to freely communicate with Twain and not to worry about the awkwardness of a presence of a third party.

※※※

“We’re no match for Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training complex, but the facilities are complete and everything we need.” Along the way, Twain introduced the situation at the Wilford training base to Beckham.

Naturally, Beckham graciously paid a few compliments such as Manager Twain had to be amazing and so on to have created a European champion team at such a training base.

When the Forest team finally finished running laps, the players were tired and out of breath. While they took a break on the sidelines, a few sharp-eyed people saw the three men walk in from the outside, one was the boss they were all familiar with, Tony Twain, and the other middle-aged man was unfamiliar to them, so they automatically ignored him. Everyone’s attention was quickly focused on the one person who walked beside Twain as they talked and laughed — David Beckham.

He was no longer dressed in his casual attire. Twain had taken him to the locker room in the training base and assigned him a locker. He changed into his training attire and came straight there.

Resting on the sidelines, the players did not stand up in a line. They took their break as they were, seated or lying down. Those who stood and chatted just turned around and stopped chatting as they looked at their new teammate.

Twain was pleased with the conduct of the players. It looked like his men were not ignorant groupies.

Only Wood purposefully walked out of the crowd and stood at the front, which was an indication of his identity. He learned from Albertini, who used to receive the Forest team’s new teammates after Twain brought them over.

Beckham knew Wood. He remembered the lovely boy who comforted him when he was brought off the field and wept on the sidelines in the World Cup against Portugal. He smiled kindly at Wood.

When Twain saw that everyone’s attention was focused on them, he pointed to Beckham next to him.

“Your new teammate and the professional footballer, David Beckham.” He purposely stressed the words “professional footballer.”

This was the introduction he came up with. He did not say this was the famous star player or the apple of advertisers’ eyes. He did not care about the players’ status and accomplishments outside of the field. Once they entered Wilford, they were on his turf, which meant that they were all his men and professional players.

With that, he turned his head to observe Beckham’s reaction. Beckham did not show the slightest displeasure. He smiled and greeted the crowd, “Hi, guys, I’m glad we can play together in the future.”

He was grateful that Twain had introduced him like that. Why had he come to the Forest team? It was to prove to the world that his real identity was a player first and not an endorsement model or an actor or anything else.

Everyone, including the players and coaches on the training ground gathered on this spot around Beckham.

Kerslake introduced the Forest team coaches to Beckham one by one to help him get to know the team and know who to look for regarding specific questions.

Following that…

“George.” Twain prompted a somewhat hesitant Wood standing next to him.

Wood finally stepped forward. He tried his best to speak to Beckham with his usual tone. “Let me introduce you… to your teammates.” It came out a little stiff in the end.

Fortunately, Beckham and Wood spent a summer with the England national team, so he knew his character and temperament. He did not mind letting Wood take him around to get to know the Forest players.

Everyone was friendly and did not show any displeasure.

After the mutual familiarizing was over, Twain spoke. “The break is over, guys. Back to the training ground.”

The players got up one by one and made their way to the training ground.

Beckham also had to follow, but he was stopped by Twain. “Wait, David.”

“Yes? What’s the matter, boss?” Beckham quickly got into the role as one of Twain’s men.

“Well… ” Twain scratched his head. He had been mulling over the next thing he had to say while Beckham was introduced to the coaches. He was a little worried, but he had to say it, because it was part of the team’s discipline. Discipline was important to Twain. He could not ignore it just because the offender was Beckham. If not, he would have no respect and authority on the team.

He looked up and saw most of the players had not gone far. Apparently these people knew too and were waiting to watch the show. These cunning bastards!

“That’s the thing, David. The Forest team has a tradition that has been established since I became the manager of this team. That is, any player who’s late for training has to be disciplined with running laps.” Twain looked at Beckham in the eye to make the expression in his eyes looked sincere. “Did you see that they were tired and breathless?” He pointed to the players. “They just completed their laps after their punishment and were resting here. They were collectively late because they waited for you in the parking lot.”

He spoke the truth. Anelka was the only person who escaped since he was indifferent to Beckham and was determined to leave.

Beckham turned his head to look at the players and then he turned back to Twain.

“You’re late too, so… you have to run laps. Eight laps.” When Twain finished, he quietly looked at Beckham.

The agent, Fuller, was a little displeased with the remark. His player was the famous David Beckham. Besides, he was not late on purpose. They had no prior knowledge. He thought Twain had gone a little too far. What’s this about? Giving my player an initial show of strength?

As soon as he took a step forward, he saw Beckham give him a meaningful look.

“No problem, boss.” Beckham shrugged. “I had this rule as well when I played at Real Madrid, but we did not run laps.”

“What’s the penalty?” Kerslake, who was interested in the behind the scenes at the powerhouse club, asked first.

“By doing free kicks.” Beckham winked and smiled slyly.

Everyone roared with laughter, and the somewhat awkward atmosphere dissipated.

In the sounds of laughter, Beckham turned to run the laps. His agent waited for Beckham to run far before he walked up to Twain to question him.

Twain spoke first. “I know what you’re going to ask me, Mr. Fuller. But I hope you can understand that David is still a professional footballer and he wants people to think so too. I’m just doing what a manager is supposed to do to a professional player. Do you want the negative news that ‘David Beckham plays the big shot and receives special treatment’ to appear in the media tomorrow?”

“Er… ”

“Of course, I’m not going to blab to the press, but you can’t guarantee that no one among these people will be okay with everything David Beckham has got… ” He pursed his lips. “You need to know, Mr. Fuller, that I’m helping David Beckham. If David were smart, he’d understand… And obviously he’s a smart guy. He did well by not letting people pick faults and winning the support and trust of his teammates as well. What else do you need to worry about, Mr. Fuller?”

His speech made Simon Fuller speechless. He had to admit that it made sense for Twain to do so.

※※※

Beckham ran around the perimeter of the training ground. Eastwood followed, pretending to run with him and then approached him.

“David?”

“Ah, you are… Freddy Eastwood?” Beckham’s memory was quite good. Wood only ran through everyone’s name once and he could remember the names and faces by heart.

“Just call me Freddy.” Eastwood winked. “They still call me the Romani kid, but I’m never angry!”

Beckham smiled.

“Are you free tonight, David?”

“Yes… I am.” Beckham thought about it. Indeed, there was really nothing else he needed to do, and even if he were busy, he would have rescheduled. He was smart and knew what this implied.

“That’s good.” Eastwood snapped his fingers. “The guys prepared a welcome party for you. We’ll have drinks, hang out, and have a good time.”

“For me?”

“Just like running laps as a penalty, it is our tradition.” Eastwood laughed happily. “Any new player who joins will have one. Of course, that new player has to be recognized by all of us.”

This was the truth. Such a welcome party had to have been prepared earlier. But the Forest team normally would not bring in any new players before the closing of the summer transfer market during the training ahead of the season. After a period of time of interaction and familiarization with each other, they would then consider holding a welcome party. If the new arrivals were not welcomed, they would not be invited to participate. Fortunately, for the last several years, only Anelka was not invited. He really was not well-like when he first arrived.

“Would boss and the others go?” Beckham glanced at Twain, who was talking to his agent on the other side.

“No, neither the manager nor the staff will go. If we don’t invite them, they won’t be allowed to attend. This is this a party for players only. Why would we ask the heads to dampen the mood?”

Beckham nodded. “Very well! I’m happy to be invited to attend. Does that mean I’m… accepted? Like in the Merry Men?”

“Yes! We’re a gang now!”

Both of them laughed.

Kerslake’s loud voice boomed in the distance. “Freddy Eastwood! What are you doing? Training’s over here, come over here!” He waved his arms hard and looked aggressive.

Eastwood was not afraid of him, and responded with a shrill voice, “Ah! I just remembered that I got lazy and ran one less circle during the penalty run just now! I’m making it up now! David is not the only one. I’m also a professional player!”

Everyone on and off the training ground laughed. Even the fierce-looking Kerslake was unable to restrain a smile as he muttered, “this little bastard!”

Watching the laughing players, Beckham remembered that on his way to the Forest team training base, his agent Simon Fuller had asked him if he knew the situation inside the Forest team. He could only say he did not know. Truthfully, he did not know a lot about the inside of this team. His impression of the team came from his good friend Tony Twain. And before he officially became a member of the Forest team, Twain never told him. He could only imagine his life in Nottingham for the next two years using his four years of experience in Real Madrid, which was, after all, the most recent portion of his life.

Now he thought this interaction definitely felt completely different as compared to Real Madrid.

※※※

Twain was still talking to Fuller. He wanted the agent to understand his thinking and made certain that there was no misunderstanding. After all, the agent could influence not just David Beckham, but also Beckham’s wife and the unstable factor, Victoria Beckham. He had a good personal relationship with Victoria Because he used to be an agent for the Spice Girls.

“Mr. Fuller, I know you’ve all just come back from Spain. But this is not Real Madrid, full of noble air. This is Nottingham, the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood and the Merry Men.” Twain gave the agent a wide toothed grin. “When you’re capable and plain dealing with people, you will get true support. Strength and generosity go a long way.”

Chapter 566 - Mendes’ Gift

The team had returned to the normal training. In the four days before going to Russia, the team only did physical fitness training to reduce the small bellies that a lot of players developed over the holidays and to restore their physical skills so that their bodies could keep up with the intense training and pace of games.

The team was currently incomplete, so there was no need for a joint practice.

There was one matter that had to be done before the departure for Russia and that was the transfer issue of Anelka.

Juventus had made a 12 million pound offer to Nottingham Forest. After consulting with Allan, Twain decided to agree to this price. Although it was three million pounds lower than AC Milan’s offer last season, it suited Twain’s whims. Twain just treated it as if he had bought Anelka for three million pounds for a victory in the season. Obviously, when this transfer offer was made public, AC Milan would make some veiled criticisms, but Twain did not care. He had already snatched the Champions League title from them, why would he be afraid of them chewing him out?

Anelka’s agent-brothers received a phone call from Twain, telling them they could go ahead with their negotiations with Juventus. The two men immediately flew to Italy. They and their younger brother could not wait to escape Nottingham.

As long as there was no hindrance from the club, individual contract negotiations would go smoothly.

Two days later, both sides had hammered out all the details. On the third day, the day before the Forest team’s trip to Russia, Anelka was no longer seen inside the Wilford training base, and the label with his name on his locker was torn off in the locker room.

Anelka had already flown to Turin, Italy, with his brothers for a medical examination.

The Forest players did not have much reaction to his departure. Some thoughtless people even discussed the places to go have fun in Moscow.

Due to his eccentric and aloof character, Anelka was not very popular in the Forest team. No one would reminisce after his departure.

The next morning, as the Forest team prepared to board the plane at London Heathrow, a press conference was being held in Turin, the northern Italian city. It was Juventus’ first successful transfer deal of the season. Juventus’ new manager, Ranieri smiled as he promoted Anelka to the Italian media at the press conference.

“He is a world-class striker, but he was underrated. I think he will be able to play to his real strength here.”

Anelka also gave a speech along the lines of “I’m here to prove to you that this deal is right,” which made the local reporters and fans happy.

In front of the large number of reporters, the two held up a black and white striped Juventus jersey with Anelka’s name and number on the back — 39.

His relationship with Nottingham Forest for the last two years ended there, and the feud between him and Twain was over, too.

If they had a chance to meet in the Champions League later, who knew what the mood would be like for either party?

※※※

When the Forest team arrived in Moscow, they met up with their two new teammates and had a mutual introduction.

In the days that followed, the team trained in a quiet country sports club on the outskirts of Moscow while they struck in the transfer market everywhere.

For the left-back position, Twain took a fancy to Grosso, the Italy national team’s main defender, who did not do well at Inter Milan. His injuries caused him to lose the main position. If there was a bid, Inter Milan would be happy to trade him.

So far, Lyon had expressed their intention to buy to Inter Milan, but Twain did not know the exact bidding amount.

Nottingham Forest’s offer to Inter Milan was 5.5 million pounds, or roughly 7 million euros. Inter Milan agreed to the offer, and Twain knew that Inter Milan had also agreed to Lyon’s offer.

The next thing was simple. It would depend on the conditions of Nottingham Forest and Lyon and which was more tempting. Lyon’s advantage laid in the pay package, and Nottingham Forest’s advantage laid in the accolades they had just achieved and the bright prospects of more championship titles in the future. The salary was not much lower.

Lyon offered an annual salary of 2 million euros for Grosso. The Forest team offered 1.9 million euros, only 100,000 less. However, it was completely different to join a team that was the UEFA Champions League winner as opposed to the France Ligue 1 champion, and a team that played in the English Premier League rather than the France Ligue 1.

Grosso hesitated over whether or not an Italian player could succeed in the English Premier league, so Twain used Albertini as an example to ease his hesitation.

Finally, Grosso signed the contract with Nottingham Forest because he felt that it was possible to achieve higher accolades in this team. While Lyon dominated in France Ligue 1, it performed feebly in the European arena. Twain hoped with the arrival of Grosso, a member in the World Cup champion team, he would increase the capabilities of the Forest team’s defense on the left flank. This was good news for the Forest team, who would be competing in multiple tournaments the next season.

Once Grosso signed the contract, he went straight to Moscow. After he underwent a full physical examination, he entered training with the new team.

※※※

The Forest team’s signings were not over. Twain had been wanting to add another player in the right-back position. Even though the utility player, Sun Jihai, could also play as a right-back, he could not play as well as before due to Twain’s prolonged usage of him as a utility player, so it was not very safe.

With this in mind, Twain competed with the Arsenal’s Professor Wenger in the transfer market over Bacary Sagna from AJ Auxerre, a team in France Ligue 1. With a good performance in the France Ligue 1 and chosen for the best lineup for the season, there were plenty of teams going after the black right-back, though it looked like he was closer to Arsenal.

Twain held the honor of “the newly minted European champion” and strong-armed into the deal. He was keen to get the right-back who was hailed as “the second Thuram” to strengthen their right flank. It was definitely insufficient to depend on Chimbonda alone, not to mention Chimbonda’s slowing progress over the past two years made Twain worry.

Arsenal offered 7 million pounds, while Nottingham Forest offered 7.5 million pounds. Both sides had to have him.

In the end, the will of the player played a key role.

Sagna thanked the Forest team for their generosity and expressed thanks to Twain for his compliments, but — the “but” cooled Twain’s heart at once — Sagna himself would prefer to play under Wenger because they were both French. He had always loved Manager Wenger, and it was his dream to play under him.

This was considered the end of this matter. In the contest for Sagna, the Forest team lost to Arsenal just because their manager was not as attractive as Wenger.

Twain was a highly competitive man. This reality frustrated him. It looked like he was not popular everywhere.

Soon after, Arsenal announced that Sagna had officially joined the Gunners and the Forest team had to search for another right-back.

Fortunately, Twain and Dunn had several candidates for every position, and they could replace if a player did not work out.

He initially had several candidates in mind, of which Sagna was the most suitable. His price was not high, and he had outstanding abilities. He was also not too famous yet. Now that the plan for Sagna had gone down the drain, he had to look to a few other players.

After repeated screening, only two players on the list were workable.

FC Schalke 04’s right-back, Rafinha from Brazil, as well as the Croatia national footballer and the FC Shakhtar Donetsk’s right-back, Darijo Srna. The two players were wonderkids, famous for playing well in the FM video game series. Twain had used them when he played the game. They were indeed effective.

He could use every means possible to purchase the players in the game, but it was not so easy in reality.

Rafinha was the absolute mainstay in FC Schalke 04 and his price was high due to his status in Schalke and Bundesliga, which was the only reason Twain gave up on Rafinha in the first place.

As for Srna, the price was not a problem. According to the reports sent back by the scout tracking him and Twain’s own observations, Srna’s performance was not particularly stable. Sometimes his standards would decline as a result of his agitated emotions stemming from his own errors during the games, which was not very reassuring to Twain.

Since things hadn’t worked out with Sagna, these players were the most likely.

Twain believed that as long as he issued a summon, it would be impossible for FC Shakhtar Donetsk to compete with the European champion, and Srna would come. But he wanted to try to work on Rafinha first.

The Forest team began to reach out to FC Schalke 04 and received a “not for sale” answer.

FC Schalke 04 thought this would send a tactful message to the Forest team, but they did not realise that the thick-skinned Twain did not know how to be “discreet.” A day later, FC Schalke 04 received an official offer of five million pounds from Nottingham Forest. Based on the exchange rate, it was equivalent to seven and a half million euros.

Twain was determined to enhance the strength of the right flank and decided to spend more money.

Fortunately, after they lured the wealthy Thai and sold Young, the sale brought 25 million pounds of transfer money to the team. Otherwise the Forest team, which had plans to build a new stadium and was financially stretched, was unlikely to provide any financial support to Twain.

The sale of Young earned 25 million pounds, and there were 12 million pounds from the sale of Anelka, as well as 10 million pounds from Arteta’s sale. When Twain looked at the money he had spent when he brought in these players, he definitely made a steady profit. With 47 million pounds on hand, minus the 11 million pounds spent on the purchase of Arshavin and 5.5 million pounds it took to buy Grosso, 35.5 million pounds were left. Even if the club’s finances could not provide any support, Twain was confident in building a team with a powerful fighting force.

In the face of an offer of five million pounds, FC Schalke 04 remained unmoved. Their answer remained as “not for sale.”

The Forest team’s second offer came the same afternoon — seven million pounds.

This figure might have been commonplace in terms of sterling pounds, but it was not low when converted to euros. It was approximately 10.5 million.

FC Schalke 04’s answer was still a cold “not for sale,” and Twain did not intend to increase the price any more. One had to know that in the summer of 2005 when Schalke 04 brought Rafinha from Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in Brazil to VELTINS-Arena, it only cost them 4.5 million euros. Now, in just two short years, they could change hands for six million euros. Twain did not know what the Germans were dissatisfied with. Anyway, Srna was another option. At most, he would approach FC Shakhtar Donetsk to discuss. He believed that it would not cost much money.

Just as he decided to give up, someone called his cell phone. The person who made the call could be considered a “friend”— the Portuguese agent, Jorge Mendes who put in a lot of effort in signing Pepe.

Twain wondered why Mendes was looking for him this time. They had not been in touch for a while. Consequently, Twain was astonished by what Mendes had to say. He was Rafinha’s agent.

“He just changed agents, and the new agent is me. Haha, you didn’t expect that, did you, Tony?”

Twain did not expect it, but he soon figured it out. Rafinha was the main player in Brazil’s under-20 team. After he played for two seasons in the Bundesliga and became famous, how could a man with Mendes’ bloodhound-like sense of smell not know his future? Therefore, he looked for ways to make the promising player his “product,” which was also normal. Mendes’ reputation as a big shot European football agent was not arbitrary.

“I know you’re having a bit of difficulty with the right-back position, so I’m here to help you solve your problem. Rafinha is happy to go to a team that won the UEFA Champions League title. To be honest, he has told me more than once that Bundesliga is just his springboard, and he hopes to play in a higher-level league and team one day. FC Schalke 04 has been aiming for the league title and the UEFA Champions League every year, but they have not achieved it once at all. They can’t compare with your team at all, Tony. I’m bullish on you and your Forest team, so I agreed to sell Pepe to you cheap. I’m delighted to see his performance on your team.” Of course he was happy. Pepe was still his player. Obviously the better Pepe performed and the more honors he received, the higher his price would rise. His original small investment would generate extremely generous returns in the future. But for now, he made it sound dignified and flattering so that he could make the listener feel nice. “Now I’m going to help you again.”

These words made Twain rekindle his desire to pursue Rafinha.

“But... this time things are not the same as Pepe. It’s a bit tricky. I thought you might need to raise your offer to impress Schalke 04, and then I’ll put some more pressure on them on my side to try to secure a price that is satisfactory to both sides. What do you think, Tony?”

Twain knew Mendes’s thinking. An agent could draw a 10% commission on a transfer. If the transfer fizzled out, Mendes’ fee would also come to nothing. Why would he help Twain? It was clearly to make money for himself. Why would he raise the price? It was just to increase the amount of that ten percent.

Twain very much wanted to refuse, but at the thought of Rafinha’s ability, he felt as if he had an itch in his heart. He could not bear to let him go. All managers had the idea to have good players performe for themselves. Rafinha was indeed capable and young. Due to his youth, he had more room for development and infinite potential.

To put it bluntly, Chimbonda and Rafinha were right-backs on two different levels. If Rafinha were to join, it would be the best but...

Twain went through the transfer list in his mind and calculated how much of the transfer fund were left. “How much more do we have to raise?” he asked.

On the other end of the line, Mendes smiled as he held a wine glass. “Ten million in sterling pounds. Ten million pounds will be enough. Believe me, my friend, I still have some influence.”

The total price of ten million pounds was not outrageous, only fifteen million euros. The Forest team could afford it.

Twain thought for a moment and agreed with Mendes’ suggestion. If it was successful, it would not be considered a win-win but a triple win, or even a quadruple win — the Forest team, FC Schalke 04, Mendes, and Rafinha.

All players wanted to go to teams that could bring more honor and money to them. The clubs would always consider the overall interest before the players’ personal interests, and the agent would always pursue the interests.

The key word here was interests.

※※※

After Twain and Allan discussed it, the Forest team once again made an offer of 10 million pounds, which was equivalent to about 15 million euros.

When Real Madrid spent 27 million euros to buy Sergio Ramos from Sevilla Football Club, it was the world’s top price for a right-back position. The current offer would not be considered low for a young man who was only twenty-one years old in any case.

England’s The Sun had a vivid metaphor with regards to this offer:

“We all know that in the contest for Bacary Sagna, Twain lost to Wenger. He was said to be very disappointed with the result because Sagna’s reason for rejecting him was not that the pay was low or that the team lacked honor and fame. It was just that he preferred Wenger as a manager and not him. Consequently, Manager Twain was angry. How did he vent after his anger? As we all know, the best way women vent their anger is to go shopping and go crazy with their credit cards. Our dear Mr. Twain has wonderfully inherited this fine tradition. He launched a massive campaign in the transfer market, waving bills in his hands as if they’re a sharp sword and defeated the Schalke Dragon who hijacked Princess Rafinha.”

To be honest, the metaphor was quite apt, but Twain did not like it because it made him feel like a shrew throwing a tantrum.

His ill-will toward The Sun went up a notch.

Truth be told, when Twain used to play the video games, he had once been someone else’s rich fool because of Rafinha. He had the prestigious Real Madrid spend forty million euros in order to buy Rafinha.

There was an element of Twain acting in a fit of annoyance: he had offered five times and each were rejected by Schalke 04. They were not even willing to discuss. Therefore, in a fit of anger, he made an offer of 40 million euros. That time, Schalke finally agreed, and he managed to close it.

The Forest team’s finances would not allow 40 million to be offered for a player. Twain was also not playing a video game and could not throw around money like it was paper.

Twain felt 15 million euros was a fair price that would make FC Schalke 04 loosen its tight grip and was also within the range that the Forest team could bear.

FC Schalke 04 had been in a financial crisis a season ago. If an offer had been made then, Rafinha absolutely would not have cost that much money. Other factors included that Rafinha had only played in the league for a year and was too young. It was different now. Gazprom had had a large injection of funds into FC Schalke 04. At least they did not have to rely on selling players to pay off their debts.

Twain thought that a 15 million euro offer for a young right-back was a price that would make both sides sit down and have a discussion. Besides, there was also Mendes’ promise. He believed that FC Schalke 04’s answer would not be a cold “not for sale” again.

As expected, the Forest club received Schalke 04’s reply to talk about the offer in more detail.

“Not for sale” really did not exist in this world. “Not for sale” just meant the other party’s price was not high enough. It was like George Wood. If there was a club that offered 200 million pounds to buy him, even if Twain did not want to, Evan would rather fire this stubborn manager and agree to the deal — even if the offer amount was not 200 million but 90 million euros, he could still be sold.

Schalke thought this was a good price for the young right-back, Rafinha. They could sell Rafinha and then buy other good, young players. Even if they did not buy young players, they could buy a few more currently strong players, which could greatly enhance the strength of the team. FC Schalke 04’s goal for the new season was to fight for the league title. Every penny was important.

FC Schalke 04 no longer held the pointless idea of “not for sale” and sat at the negotiating table with the Forest club. They started off the “intense but friendly” negotiations with the issue of Rafinha’s price.

Allan was in charge of the negotiations. When he left, Twain told him to find a way to bring in the Brazilian within the total price of 20 million euros.

He knew that Mendes would help things go a little more smoothly, but it would be too risky to put their hope and chips in someone else’s hands. Now that he was resolved to buy Rafinha, he did not mind paying a little more. After much thought, Twain told Allan that he could accept a bid of up to 20 million euros and to walk away if it was any higher. He did not wish to be someone else’s rich fool.

With the order given to Allan, Twain secretly went to Germany to meet Rafinha in private under Mendes’ arrangement. During the talks, the two sides increased their understanding and concluded a collaborative give and take and mutually beneficial pact. Twain wanted Rafinha to continue to pressure FC Schalke 04 to accept the Forest team’s offer. Twain was worried that there would be other clubs sniffing around and competing for the same player.

Mendes patted his chest to ensure that Rafinha belonged only to Nottingham Forest, and that they could also initialize an informal agreement if they did not believe it. At the same time, Rafinha also expressed his admiration for Twain as a manager and his yearning for Nottingham Forest. This greatly gratified Twain, who had lost in the “contest for Sagna.” He promised Rafinha that when he joined the team, he would be able to take the position of the main right-back — he never had the plans to buy a substitute for Chimbonda, so this favor was done deftly and at little cost.

Everyone was happy. Later in the day, Twain flew back to Moscow to continue the team training. It was only at a regular press conference that he expressed his appreciation of Rafinha, which was a response to the media on news about the transfer.

On the other side, Rafinha announced publicly in an interview that he would like to play in England and his sincere manner was just shy of stating that his biggest dream since he started playing from young was to join Nottingham Forest...

For his part, Allan managed to obtain the best interest he could get for the Forest team at the negotiating table — 18 million euros to be paid in installments with a down payment of ten million and the balance of eight million to be paid monthly within a twelve-month period.

Once FC Schalke 04 agreed, Mendes and Allan flew to Moscow together. The two men launched a new round of negotiations on the plane regarding the pay package for Rafinha. Both of them were businessmen, so they were straightforward enough. On top of the relationship between Twain and Mendes, as well as Mendes’ contribution to the deal, the negotiations went well.

When the plane landed at the Moscow airport, all the details of Rafinha’s contract had been settled. All Rafinha had to do was to deal with trivial matters such as his property in Germany, then fly to Moscow for a medical examination, and sign the contract. Since Rafinha was a main player for Brazil’s U20 national team, his work permit was not an issue.

Three days later, on July 11th, the club officials from Nottingham Forest and FC Schalke 04 also issued an announcement at the same time, announcing that the Brazilian defender Rafinha officially transferred from FC Schalke 04 to Nottingham Forest, with a transfer fee of 18 million euros and a contract of twelve million pounds.

This was the new season and the Forest team’s most expensive transfer deal. The Forest team continued to strengthen their fearsome flanks that made their opponents terror-stricken.

Rafinha soon went to Moscow to report to the team. The scene of Twain’s cordial handshake with Rafinha at the sidelines of the training ground was captured by the media. What was lost with Sagna had been claimed back with Rafinha, which put him in a good mood.

Chapter 567 - Wood’s Substitute

The purchase of Rafinha boosted morale. While the fans paid little attention to Bundesliga, both Twain and people within football circles knew that there were a lot of geniuses in Bundesliga, and Rafinha was one of them. His arrival strengthened the team’s strength on the right flank. Rafinha was able to cope with both offense and defense.

Since coming to Russia, Rafinha had quickly thrown himself in the team’s daily training. Twain was not worried about how the Brazilian would fit in with the team. It should not be a problem with a fellow Brazilian like Pepe around.

So far, most of the players on the Twain’s list had basically been signed. The front line, midfield and rear defensive line had the considerably strong players, whether they were the main or substitute players. There was only one problem left that had been bothering Twain all this time that needed to be resolved — the issue of George Wood’s substitute.

Last season, Twain deployed Sun Jihai as Wood’s substitute. His performance was adequate, but it was also average. Sun Jihai tried very hard, but it could not be helped that there was a huge gap in their abilities. When up against stronger teams, his performance was not very reassuring. Moreover, as he grew older, Sun Jihai’s stamina and physical functionalities were declining, and Sun Jihai was plagued by injuries last season. They were not major injuries, but enough to alarm Twain.

He did not sell Sun Jihai because he recognized Sun Jihai’s sportsmanship and his ability to play multiple positions as a utility player. If he sold Sun Jihai, he might need to bring in a substitute with similar skills in multiple positions such as the right-back, defensive midfielder, left-back, right midfielder and many more.

After all, Sun Jihai was not specialized as a defensive midfielder. Twain decided to bring in a proper midfielder to strengthen the team. This midfielder had to meet several requirements:

To be able to accept being a substitute player and not get angry with the manager because he sat on the bench for a few games.

Although he was to play as a substitute, he had to have strong abilities and be strong enough. To be a substitute on the Forest team, he had to at least be the main force in mid-tiered teams in the English Premier League.

His salary requirements and transfer fee could not be high so that it would not add onto the team’s financial burden. Once Twain decided to let him go, he would not be criticized for losing too much money.

He would preferably be English to facilitate the team’s eligibility to register for the Champions League. It would also be an indication that he passed the English Premier League level test and could adapt to the league.

Twain was very strict with these four requirements and would not yield at all. After all, this player’s substitute position was the team’s backbone and the most important part of the team. It was more important than both the striker and the goalkeeper. He would prefer to go without than to accept a shoddy option.

As a result, the team had not been unable to find the right person.

Until after the end of last season.

If anyone could recall the time when George Wood represented the Nottingham Forest First Team and who his opponent was, this candidate would not be unfamiliar.

During the 03-04 season, the second half of the Football League First Division (later known as the English Football League Championship), George Wood was transferred to the First Team by Twain and made his debut in the game against Reading. At the time, he wore the number 33 jersey.

Reading was the team that made a deep impression in Twain’s coaching career, not to mention that they had played against the Forest team in the Football League First Division many times, or the personal feud between their manager Steve Coppell and Twain. For example, last season’s shocking “football violence scandal” that rocked the world in September caused a deep hatred to be forged between the two teams. When the two teams met in the Premier League for the second time, the police force in charge of maintaining order in the stadium was on high alert. Six?members of the Referees’ Association were sent to oversee the enforcement of the game, despite the fact that it was usually only two people per game.

Even with such a background, the substitute player that Twain was interested in was a Reading player.

A former product of Arsenal youth academy, Steve Sidwell, had not been put in an important position by the Arsenal manager, Wenger, and was always on loan to lower league teams. In January 2003, Wenger formally decided to give up the England Under-21 national footballer and sold him to Reading at a low price. No one expected that playing in the Football League First Division would make Sidwell progress quickly and soon he had firmly won over the Reading manager, Steve Coppell, to become the absolute mainstay of the team’s midfield.

During Wood’s wonderful defensive performance in his debut, it was Steve Sidwell who was knocked to the ground by him.

Due to his position on the field, whenever the Forest team encountered the Reading team in a game, the poor Sidwell would meet with “the monster” George Wood again and again. The best case scenario would be to lose control of the ball, whereas a worse case would be being knocked over and then helping his team to get a free kick. The worst was he would be knocked to the ground and the referee would also turn a blind eye to it. Because Wood did not foul at all!

Naturally, Sidwell’s abilities could not be judged based on the criterion of comparing the two men one-on-one. In fact, to be able to secure the main position at Reading, appear in thirty-five games in Reading’s first Premier League season, be in the starting lineup for all of them, and score dead balls were considered remarkable results.

At the same time, he had attracted the attention of English teams because of his performance. Nottingham Forest was one of them.

Although the first game and this season’s game against the Forest team produced terrible consequences, Sidwell was not directly involved in the entire conflict and Twain was not afraid that Sidwell would be isolated within the locker room after he was bought.

It was common to purchase players from the enemy ranks in professional football.

When Luís Figo played in Barcelona, he was Barcelona’s captain and a leader in the fight against Real Madrid. He breached Real Madrid’s goal several times and was a hero in the minds of the Barcelona fans.

And remember what happened after Barcelona won the league title a few years later under the leadership of Rijkaard? At Barcelona’s championship celebrations, the striker, Eto’o, who graduated from Real Madrid’s youth camp, shouted in front of tens of thousands of people, “Real Madrid’s scumbags and cowards, come and pay homage to the champion!”

This remark infuriated a number of Real Madrid people, but in fact it was Luís Figo who first shouted it out. While Eto’o imitated his seniors, Luís Figo had already turned into the embrace of Real Madrid, Barcelona’s nemesis in 2001.

Even earlier than Figo to turn to the nemesis’ arms was the former Real Madrid midfielder, Luis Enrique. He later became a banner character in Barcelona.

Twain was not worried about Sidwell’s Reading background, and because he was a Reading player, he had to find a way to snatch him up.

Why did he want to snatch him up?

Because Sidwell’s contract with Reading was up after the end of the 06-07 season. His agent did not renew his contract with Reading. He wanted to find a team with more prospects than Reading for Sidwell.

Chelsea was the first to express their appreciation of Sidwell. Due to the continued deterioration in Mourinho’s relationship with Abramovich, Abramovich did not want to continue to invest in the transfer market, forcing the Portuguese manager to search for only free players. Sidwell was one of them.

Once he heard that Chelsea was going to snatch up Sidwell, Twain immediately contacted Sidwell’s agent to express to him Nottingham Forest’s attention on the twenty-five-year-old midfielder.

Arteta had not left yet and the Forest team did not go all out to work on the signing of Sidwell.

Things were different now. Arteta’s departure had left the team short of a good player who could be a substitute in the defensive midfielder position. Sidwell was the perfect fit for Twain’s series of requirements. The Forest team had also accelerated the pace of contact with the other party’s agent.

Chelsea and Sidwell might have signed a personal contract if the Forest team had not gotten involved. But the addition of the European champion allow Sidwell’s agent to have a good discussion with the clubs in pursuit of his player.

Sidwell was a clear-headed, professional player who knew what he wanted. Initially, when he heard that Chelsea was interested in him, he excitedly told his agent that he was going to Stamford Bridge no matter what it took because it was a powerhouse club with the best group of star players on the planet.

However, when he learned that the Forest team, which had just won the Champions League title, was also interested in him, he immediately changed his tune. Going to Nottingham Forest was also a good option.

Nottingham Forest, which had just won the Champions League, was no longer the provincial team that was despised a few years ago. It was now about to become a powerhouse club.

Franck Ribéry, Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham, Edwin van der Sar, George Wood... Which of these players were not one of the best players in their respective positions?

Coupled with what this team had just achieved, it was hard not to have interest in this team.

The agent did not immediately give an answer to the several teams pursuing Sidwell. He only said that the answer would be given after vacation was over. It was clear that the other competing clubs were not attractive enough in front of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. Now it was just a matter of choosing between Chelsea or Nottingham Forest.

The Forest team left early for their training in Moscow, and someone in the club continued to be in charge of contacting Sidwell’s agent to discuss with him a contract that was satisfactory to both sides.

Chelsea agreed to a re-negotiation, but they did not know the terms given by the other team. Whether they could satisfy Sidwell or not, they could only wait for him to respond.

On July 13th, Sidwell’s agent officially announced that his client, the former Reading team’s main midfielder, Steve Sidwell, had accepted a 60,000 pound weekly salary contract from Nottingham Forest and would become a member of Nottingham Forest in the new season. He had now flown to Moscow for a physical examination before joining the team for the training.

The Forest team’s final weekly salary for Sidwell was sixty thousand pounds whereas Chelsea had offered fifty thousand. This amount of ten thousand pounds became the deciding factor. Sidwell wanted to make more money while undergoing high-level football training and Nottingham Forest met his wishes. Therefore, he chose the Forest team and turned down Chelsea.

Twain was delighted to learn that Sidwell had become his man. This signing was like using a stone to hit three birds. Not only did he not spend a penny to strengthen the team, increase the abilities in the midfield bench as well as to poach Coppell’s most valued player from the Reading team, he also struck Coppell’s arrogance. Finally, Twain had beaten his old rival, Mourinho’s Chelsea, in in the transfer market.

There was no better result than this.

※※※

Sidwell came to the Forest team’s training base outside Moscow with some trepidation, because the whole world knew about the feud between the two teams last season. He did not know what his new teammates would think of him as the man who just came out of the Reading team.

Since George Wood was always touted by the media as an overbearing fiend who was simple-minded, all brawns and no brains, short-tempered, only knew how to frequently foul and be sent off, Sidwell did not know if he would be shunned by the captain, Wood, in the locker room.

He eventually arrived at the training ground. After Twain routinely introduced Sidwell to the team, Wood took over and introduced Sidwell to his new teammates in a tone that he had used to try to appear calm, but came off as cold and detached.

No one spoke of the feud between the two teams last season. Sidwell was relieved when Ribéry and Eastwood joked with Sidwell as soon as they met. Sidwell admired the team that had won the UEFA Champions League, and he did not want to be shunned here because of some things connected with his former club.

As the biggest star in the team, Beckham was also approachable and had no airs in front of Sidwell. Looking at the interaction between him and the others, they all got along very well. Sidwell was completely reassured.

The only person who looked unhappy was Pepe, who was injured twice in the games against Reading. The second injury nearly prevented him from playing in the Champions League final. How could he have forgotten such a painful experience? He merely shook hands with Sidwell and said nothing else.

Sidwell did not care. It was impossible to get along with everyone on a team. There was bound to teammates who were always going to be particularly good and those who were not that great. He was mentally prepared for this.

※※※

Sidwell’s signing did not cost the team a penny, but the Forest team, who still had large sums of money left, decided not to continue their search for new players. Twain told Evan and Allan that the Forest team’s current lineup was enough, not to mention that they worked well together and did not require any major adjustments. In Twain’s words, “this is the championship-class team.”

Then Twain set out to renew the contracts with the players in the team. After they won the Champions League title, the Forest team was in the position to raise the players’ salaries. Since Sidwell, a substitute player for the Forest team, had a weekly salary of 60,000 pounds, the main players of the Forest team would not be likely to live with their previous salary standards.

Franck Ribéry, Eastwood, Pepe, Piqué, Bale, Baines, Chimbonda and the others were given new contracts, and the salary packages on them were satisfactory to everyone, so they signed them.

Having won the Champions League title, the Forest team was not a poor and lowly team anymore. Twain was also aware that these players had to be offered new contracts that would satisfy them. Otherwise, no matter how loyal the players were, they could still be poached by their opponents’ high salaries.

The broad contract extension was actually Twain’s response to the swirl of rumors about the transfers.

With the success of the Forest team in the Champions League, the players in the team had also become high-profile targets in the transfer market. Twain did not want his team to be divided by those powerhouse clubs’ covetous eyes on them. To the outside world, the way he treated all kinds of transfer rumors was simple and crude?—”not for sale.”

Just as he said there was nothing in the world that was “not for sale”, he had made his entire team “not for sale.”

There was really no good way to deal with such a shameless scoundrel. He insisted on not selling and the club was behind him on this. The players’ current relationship with the manager was like that of a newlywed, stuck together like glue. How could there be a turncoat? In any case, the Forest team was now at its best. They had a chance to create new achievements that were more brilliant than last season’s.

That was what Twain said to his players, and his players believed it.

One Champions League title was not enough. After all, they had not yet won the league title, and had not dipped a finger in the Football Association Challenge Cup championship.

Continuing to motivate them with honor was a means used by Twain internally. Another means was the extensive renewal that had just been mentioned.

Glory would quickly disappear in the future. Contracts were the most effective way.

After all the First Team players were confirmed for the new season, the Forest team officially started to train as a team. Once all the new players got to experience the legendary ” madmen originator” Brian Clough’s successor, Tony Twain’s manner firsthand, they were put into the training for the Forest team’s overall tactics. Defense was still a top priority, which was is the Forest team’s “pièce de résistance.” However, the team also paid more attention to the team’s offense tactics in the event of positional play.

As the defending champion of the Champions League, the Forest team might face opponents that could choose to use defensive counterattack against them whether in Europe or in the league tournament.

At that time, the issues on how to break the compact defense and how to deal with the other side’s quick counterattack after a solid defense were what Twain and his coaching staff needed to address.

But Twain did not worry, as he had confidence in his squad and the entire team behind him. This team was currently so imposing and powerful that there was nothing to stop the Forest team from charging ahead.

AC Milan could not, and neither could Real Madrid.

Chapter 568 - New and Former Owners

Despite the fact that it was only July, Nottingham Forest slowly closed its doors on the transfer market. Twain decided to keep his team away from the distracting rumors in the transfer market and single-mindedly prepare for the new season. Last season’s Champions League title was not the end point for them. In the face of the achievement, there were higher achievements waiting for them to pursue.

While the Forest team was still training in Moscow, Allan had flown back to Nottingham to assist Evan in dealing with various aspects in the construction of the new stadium.

The Nottingham municipal government and the Nottingham Forest Club had unveiled a real estate development program in Clifton. A large residential and business districts were to be built in the small town of Clifton, southwest of Nottingham, as well as a modernized new stadium that could accommodate up to 60,000 people.

This was followed by a tentitive exercise opened for the whole of Europe.

Just as the Russian Railways Cup was about to begin, the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s official website announced the tentative results for the construction of the new stadium.

In the end, Wilson Bowden, the fifth-largest housing developer in the United Kingdom, won the bid and would be responsible for the construction and development of the new stadium and residential areas. One of the most attractive factors in their bidding proposal was to save money. By adopting new technologies and working with the city government on the development of a new transport infrastructure, they could reduce the costs by about eight percent. In addition, the residential areas and a football theme park around the stadium could also yield substantial returns to the club after the completion — according to the plans. When the time came, the new Nottingham Forest Stadium would be more than just a football stadium. It would also be a theme park and a satellite city collective of dining, entertainment, residential and leisure.

The early stage funding for the new stadium came from a bank loan and new televised broadcast revenue, as well as the Champions League bonus and the funds provided by sponsors used to maintain the team’s daily operations. Therefore, Allan also sought wealthier investors for the huge plan to ease the club’s financial constraints over the next few years. Twain, who had always been more hands-off with the club’s operations, was also particularly concerned this time. How many hard years did Wenger have to tighten his belt while Arsenal repaired the Emirates stadium? Twain did not want to be a second Wenger. His savings in the transfer market this time made Allan happy, but Twain could not make himself save so much every year. If he had no money to buy good players after he had seen them, Twain would be boiling mad.

※※※

Before the Russian Railways Cup, Twain’s team played two friendlies in eastern Germany. One of which was a friendly held in Cottbus against the local Bundesliga team, FC Energie Cottbus. Twain deployed all his reserves, First Team substitutes and young players in the starting lineup.

There was one player in Energie Cottbus that Twain somewhat cared about, and that was the Chinese player, Shao Jiayi, Sun Jihai’s national team teammate. Since they were all Chinese, he naturally showed more consideration during the selection of their friendlies’ opponents. Therefore, the Forest team chose the Energie Cottbus team, who had kept its status in the Bundesliga every year.

Energie Cottbus used the entire main force, but Shao Jiayi was not in the starting lineup. He was on the bench.

Energie Cottbus, who used all its main players in the first half, led the European champion, Nottingham Forest’s “Second Team” by two goals.

The Energie Cottbus team was greatly boosted by this result. It also stirred up the Energie Cottbus fans who came to watch the game live, and the stadium atmosphere heated up. It did not look like a friendly match. It was more like a knockout game in the Champions League group stage game.

During the halftime interval, Twain made several adjustments and changed five players to van Nistelrooy, Arshavin, Petrov, Lennon and Kompany in one go.

After the main force was brought on, the situation changed immediately. The Energie Cottbus players planned to continue to expand on their gains in the second half during the halftime interval. Their success made them forget who their opponents were. The cheers of the Energie Cottbus fans also made them think they were omnipotent at their home ground.

Just thirty-eight seconds into the second half, van Nistelrooy breached the goal after he received a header pass from Arshavin’s side on the flank and narrowed the score to 1:2.

Twain did not stand up and wave his fists in celebration. It was just too easy to him to get a goal into a team like Energie Cottbus.

Energie Cottbus wanted to continue to fight. Ten minutes later, the Forest team scored another goal by Petrov which equalized the score.

This goal thoroughly sobered Energie Cottbus up — this was a friendly. There was no need to strive to win this game, and there was no need to be upset about the defeat of this game. They started to change players.

Energie Cottbus changed more players than the Forest team. They switched a total of nine players in one breath and Shao Jiayi was one of them.

Then it was the Forest team’s turn to change. Twain also did not care about winning or losing. He mainly chose the games to assess if the new players had integrated into the team after so many days of training.

In the end, both sides changed eleven players each, which switched all the starting players. Nottingham Forest defeated Energie Cottbus by 4:2 which proved that their European champion’s strength was genuine.

Next, the team found a local amateur team to hold a friendly. It was a fully closed-door warm-up match. In fact, calling it an internal team match might have been more appropriate. It was played in the training ground with no spectators or media present. Under Twain’s constant adjustments, the Forest team eventually crushed its opponent by 9:1. Twain was not quite satisfied because his team had conceded a goal. At the end of the game, he roundly criticized the defensive players on the bus back to the hotel.

After the two friendlies, the Forest team flew back to Moscow and began to prepare for the Russian Railways Cup.

※※※

The draw ceremony was simple because it was just an ordinary pre-season invitation tournament. Everyone knew the purpose of such games. Other than the media from the countries where the four teams were located, it did not attract much attention.

The final outcome was quite interesting.

The managers of the four teams sat side by side on the stage. Twain sat together with Real Madrid’s new manager, the German “madman” Bernd Schuster, AC Milan’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, and FC Lokomotiv Moscow’s manager, Yuri Pavlovich Semin.

After the host drew lots, the results were released to the media and the managers on stage.

Everyone who watched the Forest team and Real Madrid drawn together laughed knowingly. It was not the first time these two teams had played together. The Forest team’s first encounter with Real Madrid in the Champions League led to the dismissal of the former Real Madrid coach, Luxemburgo and the resignation of the former club chairman, Florentino Perez.

In the last few years, there had been talk of Real Madrid’s interest in George Wood. Just that summer, Twain had turned down Real Madrid’s 20 million euro offer for Ribéry.

At the same time, David Beckham chose to join Nottingham Forest on a free transfer after ending a four-year contract with Real Madrid. No one anticipated that he would meet his former team so soon on the field.

Twain was also a little surprised by the result. He even thought that it was a stunt arranged by the organizers to capture the attention of the media and public and to attract interest.

He glanced at Schuster seated next to him. Everyone knew that the media wanted to watch a good show, but they were not going to give the people below what they wanted.

At the press conference of the draw ceremony, Twain was asked about his opponent in the first round. He did not directly answer the question. Instead, he praised Real Madrid and congratulated them for winning La Liga. The perfunctory answers did not satisfy the media. They asked Schuster, too. As the manager of a powerhouse club, Schuster appeared to be circumspect as well. His answer was the same as Twain’s: he congratulated the Forest team for winning the Champions League title and stated that the Forest team was a worthy opponent.

The media was disappointed. Perhaps there might have been more to talk about if the Forest team and AC Milan had been put together.

If the Forest team could advance into the final, then such a scenario would not be too far fetched — no one thought that AC Milan would lose to FC Lokomotiv Moscow, except for their manager, Yuri Pavlovich Semin.

In the face of the three powerful teams, the host was more like a supporting character and of little interest to anyone.

※※※

On July 26th and 27th, the first round of the two Railways Cup games officially launched. The first game was the much talked about highlight?— Nottingham Forest versus Real Madrid.

One team was the upstart who had just become the Champions League winner, and the other was the traditional powerhouse club who had won the most Champions League trophies in the fifty-two-year history of the Champions League. Both sides were filled with dazzling star players. Furthermore, with a player like Beckham on the tip of everyone’s tongues, the game attracted all the attention. Although the organizing committee scheduled the second game in tomorrow, compared to this, the match between AC Milan and FC Lokomotiv Moscow was doomed be relegated to the background.

It was supposed to be an ordinary invitation tournament. However, due to Beckham’s presence, the situation became different. Beckham was shockingly not on the starting lineup list when both teams publicly announced them before the game, which made the media and many fans unhappy.

Therefore, the media took great pains to ask both managers questions about Beckham. They asked the Real Madrid manager, Schuster, “was it a mistake to sell Beckham?”, “did Beckham not contribute to the team at all?”, “what do you think of Beckham as a player? Is he good?”, and “was he treated fairly last season?” The question for Twain was simpler: “why is David Beckham not on the starting list?”

It bothered Schuster because he had nothing to do with the matter regarding Beckham.?He had never coached the Englishman. This newly appointed manager had nothing to do with bringing him to Real Madrid or clearing him out. He was a little upset that just because he was now the Real Madrid manager, he had to accept such harassment.

Twain was like Schuster. He did not want the media to focus only on Beckham, which would arouse some people’s adverse reactions in the locker room. Consequently, he refused to answer any questions about Beckham after he replied that the reason Beckham was not on the starting list was due to injuries. If a reporter mentioned Beckham, Twain would turn away and pretend not to hear the question until someone asked “how is Nottingham Forest...” Then, he would smile and answer the question.

Because of Beckham, both the managers and the media were a little unhappy before the game.

Many of the people who came to watch the game live came for the star players. Most were female fans who came specifically for David Beckham. As Beckham was not on the starting list, hisses greeted Nottingham Forest when they came out.

A large number of female fans even held large posters of Beckham and screamed Beckham’s name to demonstrate to Twain. Although the Forest team did not lack superstar players, it appeared David Beckham was the only player with that influence.

Twain did not pay attention to those fans. He was not here to serve those people.

This was not a typical friendly match. This was a competition with an award for the champion. He could not deal with Real Madrid like he did against Energie Cottbus. Twain basically sent out the main squad from the last season in the starting lineup except for the striker’s position. As Eastwood had a minor injury, Twain let Arshavin take Eastwood’s place out of caution. At the same time, he had Bendtner and Arshavin start.

Van Nistelrooy sat on the bench with his good friend Beckham.

Real Madrid did not deploy its main squad that won the title. The new manager had a new lineup. Their captain, Raúl González, was not on the starting list and was replaced by his young teammate, Soldado.

The game entered a fierce pace right from the start. Compared to Real Madrid, who had just finished their physical training, the Forest team’s offensive was more ferocious since they had trained together for nearly half a month. Arshavin was particularly motivated because he was playing in front of Russian fans.

Just three minutes into the opening, the Forest team used a corner kick to break through the goal guarded by Jerzy Dudek.

Arshavin’s corner shot accurately landed on Pepe’s head, and all the center-back, with his outstanding header skills and jumps, had to do was to jump and move his head. The football continued into the net.

Once they led over Real Madrid, the Nottingham Forest fans who had traveled all the way there were very excited. They were few in numbers, but their voices were loud. They were the group of extremely hardcore fans who would follow and cheer for them live at the scene, no matter where the Forest team played. Their leader used to Michael Bernard. Now John and Bill, a fat guy and a skinny man, were their leaders.

After the lead, the Forest team did not give up the attack. Instead of switching to defense, the momentum of their offense became fiercer. The Forest team known for its conservative play in Europe did not appear. Their offense made it feel like Real Madrid was the team that wore the red jerseys instead.

Real Madrid did not enter the pace of the game throughout the first half and trailed behind the Forest team. They could not adjust to the Forest team’s quick offensive pace and pressing in the front field. Just as the first half was about to draw to a close, Nottingham Forest’s forward push finally paid off. Their pressing caused Real Madrid’s rear defensive line to make a passing error. Petrov suddenly swung into action and quickly plugged into Real Madrid’s rear defensive line. He intercepted the pass, and then tricked Dudek and successfully shot from the far corner.

With a score of 2:0, Nottingham Forest was in the lead with two goals!

The goal and the first half made the live television commentator exclaim that Nottingham Forest could no longer be labeled as “a dark horse” or “a shooting star.” The power chart of the Continental European football had to be redrawn due to the emergence of this strong team.

The two teams switched sides in the second half. Schuster made some adjustments in an attempt to save the situation. He brought on the Argentine striker, “El Conejo – The Rabbit” Javier Saviola, who joined on a free transfer from Barcelona. After the Real Madrid players had warmed up and adapted for forty-five minutes, they got into the zone and their offense began to pick up.

Within twenty minutes, Guti scored two goals in a row to help Real Madrid equalize the score.

Twain began to change players. He sent out van Nistelrooy and David Beckham to play at the same time.

Once Beckham was spotted on the sidelines, the countless neutral fans in the stands directed their cheers at Nottingham Forest. The piercing boos from before turned into enthusiastic cheers and applause. There was even a round of applause from the Real Madrid fans — they had a deep respect for the English player who had helped their team regain the league title. The scene where he had knelt down and affectionately kissed the turf at the Bernabéu stadium during the farewell ceremony remained fresh in their memories.

Beckham became the only one in the spotlight for this game as he stood on the sidelines.

“David Beckham is making his appearance! When he announced his departure from Bernabéu to join Nottingham Forest, no one expected that we would see him make an appearance so soon in a game against his former owner.”

Perhaps the neutral fans cheered for him because he was a world-renowned star player, a well-loved idol in the women’s hearts, a handsome man, an English gentleman... and because of his fame. But the cheers and applause from the Real Madrid fans were the best affirmation of Beckham’s performance last season. They appreciated Beckham for his dedicated work ethic even when he was abandoned by both the club’s board of directors and manager. They were grateful to Beckham for being able to disregard any enmity and strive to turn the tide at the last minute to help the team overtake Barcelona to successfully ascend to the top. They were moved by Beckham’s professionalism. In their eyes, David Beckham was not the “entertainment star” on advertising posters and front pages of tabloids, but a real professional footballer.

Twain smiled as he watched the scene. He was pleased with what his friend had achieved.

The happiest person to see Beckham play was not a fan in the stands, nor Tony Twain, but van Nistelrooy standing beside him.

It was the first time in four years that the two men would play alongside in a game wearing the same team’s jersey — excluding the friendly game with Energie Cottbus that changed all eleven players.

Since Beckham left Manchester United, the “King of the Six-Yard Box” van Nistelrooy’s number of goals scored plummeted. The limelight he received for being in the Premier League’s list of top strikers was also snatched by Arsenal’s Henry. It could not simply be attributed to van Nistelrooy’s increasing age, declining form, and rise of injuries. One reason that could not be ignored was that van Nistelrooy was?accustomed to Beckham’s passing and at a loss after the departure of his good friend.

Now, it was all good. David was back, and the terrifying “King of the Six-Yard Box” was going to be resurrected.

Twain was well aware of the friendship between the two men and how the friendship could help the team. Therefore, when the rooms were allocated during the team training, he made a point to put van Nistelrooy and Beckham in the same room to let them have a good catch up. Then they would have rapport on the field to help him to besiege the opponents’ strongholds.

Beckham replaced Lennon, while van Nistelrooy replaced Arshavin.

Schuster was a little surprised by the second change. He had thought Twain would replace Bendtner, who was also a center forward, with van Nistelrooy. He did not think he would bring Arshavin off... A pair of center forwards? That was really rare...

Beckham’s first contact with the ball was when he made a cross pass at a 45° angle into the box that nearly assisted van Nistelrooy. If van Nistelrooy’s header had not shot slightly to the side, the score would have been 3:2 with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

Schuster had a sudden realization when he saw this attack. Twain was trying to use Beckham’s precise flank pass capability to carry out the tactic of aerial bombardments.

Everyone knew that Real Madrid’s rear defensive line was mediocre in aerial defense. Even 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, Fabio Cannavaro had no way of dealing when faced with a strong center forward with an outstanding header ability. The club was currently still searching for a center-back with excellent headers in the transfer market. However, progress had been slow. For this game, Schuster relied on the partnership of Cannavaro and Sergio Ramos to play the center-back position and handed the right flank to the young player, Miguel Torres Gómez.

It looked like Twain was also well aware of Real Madrid’s weakness, so he used the most direct tactic to win. He did not seem to have the intention to use the game to train the team. He did not want anything except victory.

The female fans holding large posters of Beckham in the stands screamed and shouted Beckham’s name and cheered for his performance in this attack. Among these people were the local Russian, as well as Beckham’s diehard fans who had come from Germany, England and Spain.

Amidst the female fans’ ardent cheers, Beckham shepherded his first free kick in the game since he joined the Forest team — the friendly game that allowed eleven players to be changed was still excluded.

Beckham’s free-kick did not score but brushed against the crossbar and flew out. The Forest team’s previous two goals did not move Twain, but he actually crouched down in frustration on the sidelines because the ball did not go in.

Real Madrid also won a free kick. Beckham and Roberto Carlos had left the team that summer, in addition to the previous departures of Figo and Zidane. Originally filled with players with a talent for free kicks, they were left with none. Guti would take charge of Real Madrid’s free kick. As the “Gold Wolf” pursued accuracy in his shot, it lacked speed and curve. It was easily plucked up by the well-positioned Edwin van der Sar.

Next, van Nistelrooy took the ball toward the right of the front of the box. He should have diverted to the side but chose to force a breakthrough. Eventually he was stopped by his opponent with a foul and once again got a free kick for the Forest team. Or rather, another free kick for Beckham.

He personally tucked the ball into Beckham’s hands. “Warm up and get the feel.”

Beckham shrugged and smiled helplessly. “If you had diverted the ball just now, I would have been able to pass on the right flank. Bendtner was waiting in front of the goal.”

“Ah!” Van Nistelrooy scratched his head in surprise. “I only thought of a free kick. We have not played together for four years, I’m still a little rusty. Heh heh.”

Beckham gave him a nudge. “Go and wait to make up another shot.”

“Don’t need to,” van Nistelrooy muttered as he walked in the box.

Beckham put the football on the ground and quietly waited for his opponents to line up the human wall.

In front of him was a white wall, and the clothes they wore were familiar. Because just two months ago, he wore that jersey to celebrate the 30th league title in the team’s history at the Bernabéu stadium. He was still familiar with some of the faces on the opposite side, as they had played football together for several years.

He really did not think that they would meet again so soon, and as opponents too.

He had never experienced such a situation. After he transferred to Real Madrid, he had not encountered Manchester United in the Champions League, so he did not know what it was like to face a former owner. Now he understood.

He had mentally prepared himself for this when he chose to join Nottingham Forest. Joining the Forest team was not the same as joining Real Madrid. Being in the English Premier League, the Forest team had a chance to play against Manchester United at least twice a season.

Out of consideration for his feelings, Twain put “David Beckham does not need to play in any games against Manchester United” in the contract, but Beckham himself rejected the condition. He said that he was a professional player and professional players should have a professional work ethic.

It was just like what van Nistelrooy said as he tucked the football into his hands, “Warm up and get the feel.”

Beckham stepped back and prepared to take the direct free kick, which was only twenty meters from the goal.

Casillas, who was brought on in the second half, hunkered over the front of the goal line, dropped down his center of gravity, and stayed alert. As a former teammate who had trained and competed with Beckham in Real Madrid for four years, he was familiar with his free-kick prowess and did not dare take it lightly at all.

With up to six people in the human wall, the area in front of Beckham was completely blocked. He stepped back and glanced at the human wall and the goal behind. Then he began to run.

David Beckham’s run for the free kick was not long. He took only two or three steps to get to the front of the ball. He leaned to the left, swung his right leg, opened his arms to maintain his balance, and used his core muscles to turn his body. When his right foot kicked the ball, Beckham’s body tilted until it was almost parallel to the ground, and his left ankle that propped up his entire body looked as if it was going to break... his swinging right leg, as accurate as a whip, drove into the lower part of the football and exploded into a huge ball of energy.

The football soared in the air and bypassed Real Madrid’s jumping human wall to draw an obvious arc in the air and fall to the closest corner of the goal.

Casillas fought to pounce on the football. Unfortunately, when he saw that the football suddenly emerge from behind the human wall, it was too late for him to take action. Furthermore, the slight disadvantage in his height made his outstretched hands not long enough when he leapt and reached out with his hands.

The football wiped the inside of the goal post and touched Casillas’s fingertips before it flew into the goal.

Thunderous cheers erupted in the stands of the stadium, louder than the cheers for any of the previous four goals. There was no doubt that it was the goal that satisfied the audience and was worth the price of the return ticket — the highly-anticipated Beckham had scored a goal and moreover, it was against a former owner.

“David Beckham! Although this is just an invitational tournament, it’s a thrilling goal! He penetrated the goal of his former owner, Real Madrid! Decisive and clean!”

“His excellent form continues from the final stages of last season, but it’s not Real Madrid that benefits now, it’s Nottingham Forest! Tony Twain did not have to pay a single cent to sign a world-class player. This deal was a real bargain!”

Beckham did not celebrate his goal in front of the Real Madrid fans and players. He just opened his arms, clenched his fists and was embraced by van Nistelrooy who rushed up.

“David! David! Ha ha... David!” The Dutchman could only shout.

Looking at the man surrounded by the Forest players celebrating the goal, Schuster thought it was a stupid move on Calderon’s part to let the man go. Everyone else could leave but the departure of this man was a real shame.

※※※

The ninety-minute game was over. The La Liga champion, Real Madrid grudgingly lost 3:4 to the UEFA Champions League winner, Nottingham Forest, and was disqualified from advancing to the final.

Although in the final moments of the game, the Forest team’s van Nistelrooy and Real Madrid’s Saviola each scored a goal, making the game a terrific battle of goals. But in the hearts of everyone who watched this game, David Beckham’s iconic free kick break was the most striking. The fans who bought the tickets to watch the game live left the Lokomotiv Stadium with content expressions. With a total of seven goals and the return of a world-class player, it was truly an exciting night.

Chapter 569 - The Business of The English Premier League

Real Madrid’s loss to Nottingham Forest was not considered an “upset.” It was normal for the two teams win or lose in a game with each other. After all, everyone could see the Forest team’s strength.

The next night, Twain brought the entire team to watch the game between AC Milan and FC Lokomotiv Moscow to study their opponents in the final. Twain decided to take it seriously, even if it was just an invitation tournament.

The popularity of the game was assured because of the host team’s participation. The stands were full of spectators, the vast majority fans of the FC Lokomotiv Moscow from Russia. The AC Milan fans were few and far between.

Despite the small number of people, they were generally optimistic that it was not a problem for their team to defeat FC Lokomotiv Moscow. Truthfully, the host team was not as strong as compared to the other three teams.

However, to state that elimination was certain?

The football was round. No one would know the outcome of the game until it was over.

Eighty-five minutes later, Twain stood up in the stands and stretched his back while he said, “go back and rest, guys. There’s nothing more to watch in this game.”

The score on the big screen was “2:0.”

The home team was listed first and the visiting team was second.

AC Milan was behind.

Ancelotti did not deploy all of their main players, while FC Lokomotiv Moscow sent in its strongest lineup. One team wanted to train its players and the other team wanted the honor. The result was conceivable.

AC Milan lost to FC Lokomotiv Moscow, and FC Lokomotiv Moscow would compete with Nottingham Forest for the Russian Railways Cup trophy a week later. AC Milan would play against Real Madrid in a game to determine the third-place team.

This result was a disappointment to many people. Originally, they wanted to see the replay of the Champions League final in Moscow. No one would anticipated that AC Milan would lose in the first round.

A week later, Nottingham Forest took down the opponent with a score of 3:1 at the Lokomotiv Stadium and picked up the first trophy of the season.

Although it was only the title of an invitational tournament, their morale was boosted. Even after having just picked up the Champions League trophy, the Forest players still looked excited at the awards ceremony.

Beckham, who assisted his teammates twice to score the goals in the final, was chosen as the best player in the final.

David Beckham did not have to worry about fitting in with the team. After having played in both games, he was completely one of their own.

Furthermore, Beckham’s performance at the invitation tournament had shut some people’s mouths.

Previously, there had been talk that Beckham was no longer likely to achieve any more success. His career had entered its final phase early due to his frequent commercial activities. Real Madrid’s decision to dump him was absolutely correct, because his final season as a champion was only a dying back. Having only won one title in his four years for a league like Spain, it had to be almost impossible for Beckham to accomplish much if he went to a faster-paced and more competitive Premier League on top of his frequent injuries.

Beckham had been surrounded by controversies since his debut. He had a deep awareness of it. Therefore, no matter what the outside world said about him, he just concentrated on training every day and played at his own level in the games.

Twain did not buy him to help sell the jerseys. He valued Beckham’s right flank pass and precise long passes from the middle and back of the field. These were skills that complemented the Forest team’s counterattacks well. With Albertini gone, the Forest team midfield lacked a player with the ability for precise long passes. Van der Vaart’s short passes were inventive, but his long passes were far off. In that regard, Beckham’s ability was unparalleled. When he was at Real Madrid, he had used countless long passes from the backfield ranging more than fifty meters to accurately send the football to his teammates’ feet.

Previously, the Forest team’s two flanks depended on speed to prevail. However, once the opponents compressed the defensive space, the Forest team’s flank attacks would be blockaded. Now with Beckham, the Forest team’s flank attack routines would be more diverse, leaving the opponents unable to defend effectively.

In addition, thanks to his four years at Real Madrid, Twain could also allow Beckham to make the occasional appearances as the defensive midfielder and use his long passes to launch attacks, which was much faster than dribbling the ball.

※※※

Nottingham Forest, who had won their first title of the new season, ended their training in Russia and left for the United Kingdom to prepare for the impending English Premier League.

They could not participate in the FA Community Shield since the Premier League champion was Manchester United. The English FA Cup final was a game between Manchester United and Chelsea. Both teams tied at 0:0 in the 120-minute civil competition, which Chelsea eventually won in the penalty shootout. Consequently, the FA Community Shield in the new season would repeat last season’s FA Cup final — Manchester United versus Chelsea.

The Forest team had nothing to do with the game. They were just spectators. Their first major championship title game for the new season was on August 31st, to vie for the UEFA Super Cup against the UEFA Europa League winner, Liverpool.

Twain had scant interest in this opponent. It was clearly the UEFA Super Cup, and yet, because the opponent was a team from the league, it felt more like the “Football League Super Cup,” nothing novel about it.

He preferred to play against Sevilla.

However, it was a pity that the team, selected by FIFA last year as the best football club, had wanted to defend its title, but was beaten by a goal from Liverpool in the final instead and lost the title.

Nothing could be done about it. If the team did not win a credible title again, Benítez might be dismissed. Other than helping the team magically win the UEFA Champions League in his first season since his arrival at Liverpool, Benítez accomplished little else these few years. Benítez was not good at competing in the league tournament. Following the sudden rise of the Forest team, they further lost their eligibility to enter the Champions League for two years in a row, which made the club’s board of directors and fans extremely unhappy.

If he lost the game in the UEFA Europa League as well, the only thing Benítez could do was to admit his responsibility and resign.

Fortunately, the title saved his coaching career at Liverpool.

Liverpool recruited new players in the new season and vowed to return to fight for the title again.

After the signing of the new Premier League televised broadcast contract, more money was given to the Premier League teams. Under the new broadcast contract, the Premier League champion could receive a 50-million-pound bonus, while even the bottom-ranked team could get 30 million pounds, catching up to the Premier League champion bonus a few seasons ago. No matter what level the England national team was at, the English Premier League remained the most lucrative league in the world.

Against that backdrop, with the exception of Nottingham Forest, who was building a new stadium, the other clubs had only two options: either spend money or be left behind.

No one would choose the latter.

Liverpool spent 11.5 million pounds to buy Ryan Babel, 5 million pounds to purchase Yossi Benayoun from West Ham United, and signed Andriy Voronin on a free transfer from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Their largest sum was the purchase of Fernando Torres from Atlético Madrid, which took 21.5 million pounds.

The amount of money spent on transfers was an indication of Liverpool’s ambition. Twain had reason to believe that with so much money spent, if Liverpool still could not break into next season’s Champions League, then a dismissal was the only way to go.

Life was full of all kinds of surprises.

The Liverpool people would not be quick to forget the humiliation that Nottingham Forest gave them in the final moments of last season — kicking them to fifth place in the league tournament and taking their Champions League qualification for two years in a row.

Now their chance for revenge had come.

Benítez’s team could rob Nottingham Forest of its first credible title for the new season at Monaco’s Stade Louis II. Did Twain not always say that “he is a manager who seeks only the championship title”? Taking away his trophy was the best revenge against him.

Even though the English Premier League had not started yet, the Liverpool media began to hype up the game on the last day of August. For many Merseyside people, they had never longed for the victory in a game like that — to defeat Nottingham Forest.

※※※

According to the competition schedule for the new season, the first round would be fully rolled out on August 11th. In the final friendly match before the start of the season, Manchester United and Chelsea tied again in the FA community shield. They relied on a penalty shootout to determine the winner.

This time, it was not Mourinho who got the last laugh but Ferguson.

The two teams had a Premier League history of playing against each other for thirty games. Out of which, Manchester United was at a slight disadvantage with eight wins, thirteen draws and nine defeats. They were neck in neck with four wins, seven draws and four losses at home. Mourinho had a lot to do with this. When he came to Chelsea, he made the team perform well in their encounters with the Premier League’s strong teams, except for Liverpool.

The FA community shield loss to Manchester United was just a small part of the feud between the two men.

Mourinho congratulated Manchester United on getting the FA community shield because that implied that they would lose the league title and Chelsea would win again.

Conversely, Ferguson mocked Mourinho for bringing up an old wives’ tale. The curse of the FA community shield was a thing of the past. He added that Chelsea would not have won the league title even if Manchester United had not win the league.

The much-anticipated war of words between the two sides had begun even before the start of the league tournament, which gave the best publicity to the English Premier League in the new season.

This was a brand-new Premier League season with new ways to sell its televised broadcast rights, new televised broadcast contracts, new players, new teams, as well as... a new champion.

※※※

On August 11th, Nottingham Forest would travel to Liverpool, but their opponent was not the “infuriating” Liverpool. Instead, it was Liverpool’s nemesis in the same city, Everton.

Moyes and Twain had been friends for years and the game would not be too explosive. The special thing was that it was the first league game the former Forest player, Arteta played for Everton and he would encounter his former owner, Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, the game was chosen by Sky TV as a live broadcast. There were two reasons. One was because it was the European champion’s first game in the new season; the other was because Beckham was back. It was the first game for Beckham since his return to the English Premier League after four years, which would be in the spotlight. The live broadcast of the game would also bring more advertising revenue to Sky TV.

When Beckham left Manchester United, there were the economic experts who said that it was not just a loss for the Manchester United Football Club, it was also a loss for the English Premier League. There was even an exaggerated suggestion that Beckham’s departure meant the decline of the most lucrative Premier League and that the world’s top league was going to become La Liga.

Before this season, the Premier League re-auctioned the Premier League’s television rights for the next three years, with the broadcast rights divided into six parts. Each part contained twenty-three games, four of which were sold to Sky TV for 1.31 billion pounds! Furthermore, the Premier League’s coverage rights of all tournaments over the next five years were shared by Sky TV and Ireland’s Setanta Sports, with a total value of 1.7 billion pounds! That did not include the cost of broadcasting rights sold by the Premier League to the foreign television broadcasting corporations — with the television channels in more than two hundred countries paying 1.23 billion dollars to the Premier League for the next three years to broadcast the Premier League, which was about 617 million pounds. The figure put the NBA to shame. Their annual overseas broadcast revenue was only 130 million dollars, which was slightly more than 50 million pounds, equivalent to the bonus for the new Premier League champion team in the new season.

It could not be said that there was no relationship with Beckham’s return at all. Beckham’s return to the Premier League had given many big corporations the confidence to continue to invest in the Premier League and good for the Premier League’s promotion to the world. It was believed that in the next five years, based on the previous results, the Premier League broadcast rights would be offered at higher prices.

Tony Twain was the one to bring him back, but the benefits were shared among the twenty clubs.

It had only taken 191 million pounds for Murdoch to first buy the five-year broadcasting rights for the Premier League games. Five years later in 1997, the amount became 670 million pounds. And in 2004 after the Serie A economic bubble burst and the collapse of KirchGruppe in Germany, the Premier League’s broadcast rights still sold at a sky-high price of 1.02 billion pounds. The English Premier League remained the most lucrative league in the world.

Allan and Evan were in a hurry to launch the new stadium development plan this season. In addition to the Forest team’s historic Champions League victory after twenty-seven years, it was also due to the new televised broadcast contract was signed before this season. The twenty clubs had a lot of money at their disposal. The Premier League almost allocated all of the 1.7 billion-pound money alliance to the Premier League teams. With that funding, all the clubs could plan and build their futures, including Nottingham Forest.

Twain and Allan might have had a lot of small frictions in their daily work, but they were still responsible for their own areas and did not interfere with the other person’s job. However, when it came to the matter of signing Beckham, Allan was so delighted that he could have kissed Twain.

The television broadcast fee in the Premier League was unlike NFL (National Football League), wherein the thirty-two teams received an even distribution. Instead, it was set according to the number of times a team’s games was broadcasted and the team’s eventual ranking in the season. Teams with good results and more star players would get more live broadcast opportunities, which meant more bonuses when the time came.

As the European champion, they would secure more televised broadcast opportunities. On that basis, because the team had a world-class star player and a popular idol like Beckham, their number of broadcasts would only increase, especially given the vast audience in Asia and the Americas.

Sky TV’s decision to broadcast all of Nottingham Forest’s live games in the new season was proof that his commercial appeal was impossible to resist

In the 2007-08 season, Nottingham Forest would become the star team that would hold the focus of the world. If they could obtain the results that matched that focus, the goal that Evan had been looking forward to would be achieved ahead of time.

Chapter 570 - A Fiery New Beginning

Although Beckham had properties in London and Manchester, he still bought a luxury mansion in the outskirts of Nottingham after he signed a contract with the Forest team. It was left empty for half a year, and now it was finally filled with people.

His wife, children, and helpers came to live in it, which made the initially cold and cheerless mansion feel alive.

It was August 10th. Victoria was already busy in the sunny kitchen before Beckham got up.

When Beckham awoke, he did not get out of bed immediately to wash up. He was lost in thought for a while.

He had been on the Forest team for a month and a half. He had moved to and lived in the city for more than ten days. But he was still a little disoriented and felt as if he was still in Real Madrid when he got up every morning.

Tomorrow was the first round of competition in the Premier League for the new season. He was back after four years, and he really did not know how to describe the feeling.

Beckham rubbed his face with both hands when he heard Victoria’s shout from downstairs. He jumped out of his large bed and went to wash up.

He was no longer a Real Madrid player, nor a Manchester United player, but a Nottingham Forest player.

There had been a lot of changes in the English Premier League arena in the time he had been gone. Who would have thought that Nottingham Forest would suddenly rise in 2003? The Forest team was still struggling in the Football League First Division – now known as the English Football League Championship – and no one had heard of Tony Twain. At Manchester United, things had remained the same, but the people had changed. Van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville had all left. Only Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville from the original class of 92 were still in Manchester United. What about the others? They were scattered among the teams in the Premier League. He would inevitably have to compete against his former good friends in the new season. It was also inevitable that he had to compete against Manchester United.

If the game was held at the City Ground stadium, it was fine. If he had to go back to Old Trafford, how would the fans there treat him?

Perhaps he should ask Ruud, who had already returned to Old Trafford and played on behalf of the Forest team. He had to have the relevant experience.

※※※

Twain was woken up by Shania’s scream next to his ear. He patted Shania’s head, as if to swat at an alarm clock and Shania immediately stopped screaming.

“This alarm clock is pretty smart...” Twain muttered as he sat up in bed. He had the habit of sleeping only in his underwear and not pajamas. Since he had lived with Shania for a long time, both of them were used to it. Shania did not feel awkward when Twain sat on the bed with his torso bared.

“Get up quickly. I made you a Brazilian-style breakfast!” She bounced off and ran out.

Twain washed in the upstairs bathroom in his underwear and then got dressed before he went downstairs. The newspaper was placed on the couch instead of on the table.

Shania disliked Twain reading the papers during mealtimes. Her father did the same, which caused her to always complain that it was a common problem for men. As long as she was in Nottingham, she would take the opportunity to get up early and make breakfast for Twain, put the paper on the couch, and then supervise while eating.

Shania’s cooking skills had not improved at all. Twain had said before that her cooking was not good, and she replied that it was because the British food did not taste good. Today’s Brazilian breakfast also had a unique taste. What had improved was the tolerance of Twain’s stomach. He did not feel that her food tasted bad. It just tasted a little weird at most.

Ever since Shania volunteered to make breakfast for Twain, he had another reason to read the newspapers at the dining table — as a diversion.

The trick did not work because Shania was very strict. Moreover, Twain knew that reading while eating was not a good habit. It was something his parents repeatedly taught him when he was a child. It was as common washing hands before and after meals.

“Do you not have any assignments?” Since he was not allowed to divert the attention by reading the newspapers, he would just chat with Shania.

Shania shook her head in reply. “I have declined them if there were.”

“Hey, you have started to learn how to act like a big shot at a young age.” Twain laughed.

“Even if I do not walk the runway shows now, I have enough money to not worry about my expenses for a year.” Shania tapped the coffee cup in front of her with a spoon. “After signing endorsement deals with big businesses, I stopped working a lot of the small and irrelevant runway shows.”

“I’m going to Liverpool in the morning and don’t have time to spend with you. What are you going to do?”

“I’ll go to Liverpool too!” Shania raised her hands and startled Twain.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going with you and your team. I’ll have Mr. Fasal accompany me to go do some shopping... I’ll also watch the game! I have decided that as long as I do not have an assignment, I will watch all your away games live!”

Twain was even more alarmed.

Shania was not an ordinary young girl. She was a red-hot supermodel throughout Europe and her print advertisements frequently appeared in the most bustling commercial areas of the big cities. Her television advertisements ran one after another on major television stations. Even ordinary people who did not know about the fashion industry had seen her face. With such a person tagging along with his team... wouldn’t the media be happy? England’s most advanced development was not their Premier League, but the pervasive paparazzi

He very much wanted to put on a stern face and say “no,” but on second thought, Shania was still a child. She had given up almost all the hobbies that a child should have for her modelling job. Her childhood was spent in a variety of training rooms. Now that she had money and status, she no longer needed to constantly be on the move and exhaust herself for her livelihood. What was wrong with having fun? It was making up for a lost childhood.

“Uh... then you need to watch out for the paparazzi,” Twain cautioned. “The English media is not like the other countries.”

Shania rolled her eyes, then bit the teaspoon and smiled happily as she nodded. “Don’t worry, Uncle Tony. I have a lot of experience.”

Twain felt reassured and continued to eat. He took a few bites, and suddenly raised his head to look at Shania. “Be careful.”

Shania froze, then smiled and nodded.

※※※

“George, what time is the team meeting?” Sophia put away the cutlery that had just been used in the kitchen.

Wood packed his backpack in his room and poked his head out to answer when he heard his mother’s voice. “Ten-thirty.”

The bright sunlight shone through the windows at angle and spread over George’s hands and backpack, which made it a little warm.

When he came out of the bedroom with his backpack, his mother came out of the kitche. “Are you leaving now, George?”

Wood looked at the fine beads of perspiration on her mother’s forehead and then put his backpack on the floor. “No, I’m not in a hurry, mom.”

He walked past Sophia and went straight into the kitchen. He began to take over his mother’s unfinished chore.

“Hey, put it down. I’ll do it.” Sophia quickly turned around to grab the plate from Wood’s hand.

Wood did not listen to his mother’s words. He kept Sophia behind him with his wide back and guarded the plates in his hands and in the kitchen sink in front of him just like he boxed out to guard the ball on the field.

Sophia knew she could not persuade the stubborn Wood. She was also glad to see her son help her with the housework.

She stood at the side to watch.

“George.”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me the truth, do you have a girlfriend? A big star player like you must be very popular, right?” Sophia said with a laugh.

However, Wood firmly shook his head. “No, mom.”

“Find a nice girl, George. It’s a good time to fall in love when you’re young.”

She did not expect Wood to shake his head again. “I don’t want to find...”

“Why?” Sophia was a little surprised.

“It’s just nice to have you, mom.”

Sophia could not help but laugh. “Silly boy, a girlfriend will become your wife in the future and accompany you for the rest of your life. How can I do that?”

Wood kept silent for a moment, then lowered his head and mumbled, “before... that, I will just stay with you, mom.”

When she heard the answer, what could Sophia do besides to smile? She did not know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for a mother and son to be so close, but she could not accompany Wood for the rest of their lifetime. He had to find a girlfriend. Even if he did not get married, he needed to understand what romance was like.

She had a word kept away in her heart that she dared not utter. Every time she mentioned death, George would fly into a rage, glare at his mother, and forbid her from saying the word.

However, his mother’s poor health was a fact. Even if the Forest club paid for her surgery, a broken body was still broken, unlike changing a part in a machine. How would George cope on his own once his mother died?

She hugged Wood gently from behind and rested her face against Wood’s broad and sturdy back.

“George, George, my silly boy.” She murmured in a low voice.

※※※

“Gareth, why are you still dawdling?!”

Outside the door of an ordinary house with red roof tiles, a stout and short middle-aged man stood in the glaring sunlight. He had just raised his head and shouted toward the upper floor. He repeatedly glanced at his watch with impatience.

“You started packing your backpack half an hour ago, and you’re still not downstairs! What do you have in there? An atomic bomb? A carbine? Or a bunch of Oasis CDs?”

“Coming! Coming!”

The sounds of footsteps came from the stairs inside the house.

“Goodbye, Mom.”

“Goodbye, son.”

There was a sound of a kiss.

The door in front of the man opened. A tall young man poked his head out. The man standing by the door grabbed his backpack to pull him out and zipped his backpack open without an explanation.

“Oh, damn it...” He groaned. “Sunscreen, hair gel, mirror, comb... Why don’t you just bring a bag of sanitary napkins? You are...” The stout man looked up at his son’s appearance and froze for a moment. Then he angrily grabbed the sunglasses off his son’s face.

“You’re a professional footballer, not a pretty boy! Look at your hair, as hard as steel needles. Are you going to murder the opposing players on the field? How much hair gel did you use?” He had to reach out to smoothen his son’s hair, but his son nimbly dodged him.

“Hey, Dad. It’s taken me a long time to get this hairstyle!” The little monkey, Gareth Bale argued disgruntledly.

“Have you been doing this for the last hour?” The man sounded angry.

“You just said it was half an hour,” Bale protested cautiously.

“Shut up!” The man gave his son a hard look. “Don’t think that now that you’ve got a European title, you can talk back! I’m telling you, even if you get the World Cup, you’re still my son!”

“Yes, yes, yes...” Bale obediently nodded his head.

“How many times have I told you? You are a professional footballer and should concentrate your energy on how to train hard to improve your ability, rather than on your personal grooming... Looking at your appearance, everyone would think you’re some kind of groupie who worships a pretty boy star. Who’s going to treat you as a footballer? People’s time and energy are limited. When you put too much energy on your outer appearance, you will not have enough energy left for training and competition. You’re still young and have a long way to go. Did you not look up to George the most? Look at him, when did he ever care so much about his image? He is always the hardest working player, you have to learn from him...” Bale’s father began his lengthy lectures again. His lips fired nonstop as if they were a Gatling machine gun. The spit flying in front of Bale made him look up in worry that his father’s saliva would land on his hair.

The action drew more intense “firing” from his father. “What are you doing? Are you rolling your eyes at me? Are you dissatisfied with my words! Why do you think we gave up our house in Cardiff and moved to Nottingham? It’s all for you, Bale! Why is your head lowered? Look me in the eyes!”

Bale raised his head in resignation. “Dad, if you keep talking, we’re going to have to drive to Liverpool ourselves.”

Meanwhile, his mother’s voice rang out from inside. “Honey, haven’t you left yet?”

“Ah...” The stout man raised his wrist to look at his watch. They had indeed delayed long enough. But whose fault was it that they were delayed? He glared at his son and made his way to the car parked by the side of the road. “You spent an hour to fix your hair which will only take thirty seconds on the field to mess up.”

“It was only half an hour, dad...”

“Shut up and get in!” The stout man slapped the car door hard. “If you are replaced mid-game because of a bad performance, watch out because I’ll sort you out when you return!”

“Dad, the starting list hasn’t been released yet...” Bale opened the car door and got in before he reminded his father.

“Shut your mouth! My son must be in the starting lineup! Gareth Bale is a genius! I guarantee you that that Italian will not be able to adapt to the pace of the game and weather here, plus the food. He will be heading home after a season!”

“But there’s still Leighton...”

“Well, he’s a nice kid, but as far as talent is concerned... he’s not as good as you!” His father turned around and grinned at Bale. Then he twisted back to start the car.

“Fasten your seat belt, son. We’re in a hurry!”

The silver-gray Ford charged out like a wild horse, accompanied by the roar of the engine.

※※※

Twain stood next to the red bus with his hands behind his back and sunglasses on his face. The glare of the sun let him wear his sunglasses with confidence as no one would secretly judge him for pretending to look cool.

Sweating profusely, Kerslake outside bus door, checking the attendance. Dunn was already on the bus and enjoying the air conditioning without any regard for the matters outside.

Since Dunn was promoted to the assistant manager of the First Team, Kerslake was in charge of dealing with trivial matters and was responsible for matters to do with the players. He had to collect data on the performance of each player in the games; report on the number yellow cards on each player and if they could be suspended in the next game; supervise the team’s situation during training... It was also his responsibility to check the attendance of the team during assembly.

Dunn’s work was simpler. He was responsible for instructing players, one-on-one, about the tactics and tasks for the games.

“Only George Wood and Gareth Bale are not here yet.” Kerslake checked twice and then turned to update Twain.

Twain nodded. The two men continued to wait in the sun.

Soon, Wood appeared in front of him. He came running with his bag on his back. Once he saw the bus and the two men standing outside the bus door, he quickened his pace, as if it was his final sprint in a 10,000-meter run. It was his special way of warming up.

Wood rushed toward the two coaches like the wind and stopped. Twain looked at him and the soaking wet t-shirt on his body. “Do you still have any clean clothes in your bag?”

Wood nodded. There was another change of clothes for after the game.

“Take this off and get changed.” Twain pointed at the wet t-shirt.

Wood obeyed and took off his shirt, revealing his hard muscles. He took out his clean t-shirt from his backpack as if there was no one else around, and then got changed.

“Very good. Be careful not to catch a cold. Now get up there.” Twain pointed to the bus door.

After Wood got on the bus, he greeted his teammates and sat in his seat.

Twain and Kerslake continued to wait for the last man — Gareth Bale.

The sun was boiling hot in the morning during mid-August, which could irritate people baking in the sun. However, the two coaches stood by the bus under the hot sun without any impatience on their faces.

A piercing sound of brakes and motor roar came from the road ahead, and then a silver Ford sparkled in the sun as it rushed into everyone’s view with a terrific drift. Kerslake, who was not wearing sunglasses, squinted as the car flashed past.

Twain whistled. “A father that likes to show off.”

Bale did not have his own car, so he was always driven by his father when he came to the training base for training. Everyone was no stranger to the silver Ford.

The small car drifted again in front of the bus to make a beautiful stop. The car door had not yet opened, and the voice of Bale’s father could be heard. “Look, we are not late! I told you to believe in Dad’s skills, your dad was a former kart racer. I only didn’t become a F1 driver because I was chasing after your mom. That was really a loss for the F1 world, as well as Michael Schumacher’s good fortune!”

Twain and Kerslake could not help laughing. They all remembered the time when the stout man came to Nottingham Forest with his son to sign the contract, and how he was so fond of showing off and had so much self confidence that they were used to it. That was the case four years ago, and it was still the same four years later.?It was likely that he would remain so for the next four years and many more.

Bale tumbled out of the car as his legs went soft, hardly able to stand properly.

“Dad, if I don’t play well, it’s because I sat in your rollercoaster ride... I’m going to throw up...”

With their attention drawn by the speeding car, the players gathered near the bus door and burst into laughter.

That was when Bale noticed that everyone was there and hurriedly staggered as he ran over.

“Boss...” He gave a wary greeting for fear that the boss would punish him. It looked like he was late.

Twain nodded and did not intend to punish him. “Get on the bus.”

Bale breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he stepped on the first step, Twain’s devilish voice rang again. “Your starting spot is gone, little monkey.”

Those teammates, who stood at the side to watch the show, laughed when they saw the shock on Bale’s face.

In the midst of his teammates’ hoots of laughter, Bale got onto the bus looking miserable.

Kerslake followed and jumped onto the bus, but Twain was stopped by the zealous senior Bale. “Hey, Tony.”

“What’s the matter, Mr. Bale?” Twain turned and looked at him.

The short and stout man moved up to Twain and then whispered in his ear, “give him a chance, Tony. He did not mean to be late either. It was my outburst to him that caused the delay. It’s my fault...”

Twain interrupted him with a smile. “If he plays well, he will have a chance, Mr. Bale.”

This answer did not satisfy the senior Bale. But he did not dare to express his dissatisfaction, so he only muttered, “you’re not going to let him play. How can he perform?”

Twain patted him on the shoulder and laughed. “Just wait at home and watch the TV, Mr. Bale.” Then he turned around and jumped onto the bus. The bus door closed slowly behind him.

“Guys.” Looking at the players, who had returned to their seats, Twain raised his arms. “This is the first game of the new season and we are going to Liverpool with our European champion title.” He swept his gaze across and waved his hands down. “Do not screw it up for me!”

Mid-July to mid-August was the hottest period of the year, and the middle of August was the last couple days of it. It was sunny in England. The sun blazed across thousands of miles. The road ahead appeared hazy under the blazing hot sun.

It was in this weather that Nottingham Forest’s red bus slowly pulled out of the gate of the Wilford training base and headed north.

The blazing summer was not over yet, but the fiery new season had already begun.

※※※

Note:

The Nottingham Forest team’s big list for the new season (26 players):

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (1), Igor Akinfeev (12), Dale Roberts (25).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (22), Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Sun Jihai (21), Gerard Piqué (5), Vincent Kompany (33), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (30), Roberto Ayala (4), Rafinha (14), Fabio Grosso (28).

Midfielders: George Wood (13), Martin Petrov (8), Rafael van der Vaart (23), Kris Commons (20), Aaron Lennon (17), Franck Ribéry (7), Steve Sidwell (26), David Beckham (24).

Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nicklas Bendtner (9), Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Andrey Arshavin (18).

Chapter 571 - A New Record

Although both teams were located in the city of Liverpool, Liverpool Football Club was more well-known and had won more championships than their fellow city rival, Everton. But in fact, the glorious Liverpool originally split from Everton. It was a little like the mighty pair of AC Milan and Inter Milan in Milan. However, the split between Everton and Liverpool was due to the issue of whether to continue the rental of the Anfield stadium.

In terms of history, Everton was much older than Liverpool. Everton was one of the seven founding teams of the English Football League, rather like “the seven elders.” In 1891, Everton won their first English Football League Championship title in the club’s history and was split into two factions the following year for over the issue of whether to continue renting the Anfield stadium. The majority moved out to be stationed at Goodison Park stadium.

Even though Everton was not as famous as Liverpool now and their overseas supporters could not be compared to those of their arch enemy, they were indeed a traditional powerhouse in English football: nine English Football League Championship (the top English league tournament of that period) titles, five-time English FA Cup champions, and one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup title.

Currently led by Manager Moyes, Everton was stable in the middle tier every year and played in the UEFA Europa League. Their biggest target would be to enter the UEFA Champions League.

Unlike Nottingham Forest, Everton’s results had largely been the same for more than one hundred years, with little ups and downs. They neither had particularly brilliant moments nor dark years. They were stable and calm, just like the color of their jerseys.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest was one of the most famous meteorites in the history of English football. Established more than one hundred years ago, the team suddenly had a dazzling breakout in the late 70s to early 80s. They won the Champions League two years in a row, had an unbeaten record of forty-two top league games, and defeated the then European giant, Liverpool, twice in a year. Aston Villa, who had also won the Champions League, was no match for the shock that Nottingham Forest brought to the English football and European football world. They were the only team to have only taken a domestic league title once, but picked up the Champions League trophy three times.

In the early 90s, the once dazzling meteor that streaked across the sky faded into the darkness. Until Twain’s appearance...

Nottingham Forest seemed to be a team that was either particularly poor or particularly good. The present-day Forest team was clearly in a “particularly good” phase in history. They were the visiting team at Goodison Park stadium. Although it was an away game, everyone was optimistic about them before the game.

That the media had given them many titles:?the “European Champion,””a strong contender for the new season’s league title,””one of the top five teams in the Premier League,” and “a terrifying red storm.”

Only Moyes refused to acknowledge the titles would help the Forest team beat his own team when he was interviewed before the game. “The Forest team’s Champions League title has nothing to do with the first game of the league tournament. The honor only belongs to the past. The winner or loser of today’s game will depend on which team performs better,” he said.

Twain wholly agreed. “I think Moyes is right. We’re the European champion, but if we lose the game at Goodison Park, we will be ridiculed, too. The titles will only take effect if we win. If we don’t win, then bye-bye to them.”

It appeared both managers were clearheaded and the media’s intention to sow discord was not effective. They moved onto Arteta.

Apart from this being Beckham’s first game back in the English Premier League, there was a lack of other highlights to watch in the game. Therefore, the current Everton player, Mikel Arteta who had played in the Forest team when they picked up the Champions League title, became another focus of media attention.

Even though he had left Nottingham Forest, Arteta did not say anything bad about the Forest team. He did not deny that he had transferred to Everton to get more game appearances, but he did not regret the two and a half years he spent at Nottingham Forest. “If I were to choose again, I would still choose to join the Forest team. It was there that I trained and played with the best group of players in the world. I benefited a lot and it was very helpful to my career. Also, Manager Twain is not how the media portray him. We all think he’s a good guy.”

Afterward, the reporters scoffed. “I’m afraid that Anelka and Ashley Young do not think so...”

However, the most striking focal point of the game remained as David Beckham.

An hour before the start of the game, the Forest team’s starting list was sent to various media reporters. David Beckham’s name was in the list.

Among the new players who joined, only Beckham and Arshavin were on the starting lineup for this game. Sidwell, Rafinha and Akinfeev were all on the substitutes’ bench, while Grosso was not qualified to be on the main list and followed the team to Goodison Park stadium.

Eastwood felt sore during training the day before, so Twain put him on the bench out of caution.

Beckham’s appearance on the starting list satisfied the wishes of the spectators, but raised a new round of suspicion among the media. They suspected that the veteran Beckham’s appearance in the starting lineup was because Twain was pressured by the club’s top brass.

When the team went to Goodison Park for the warm-up before the game, Twain was asked the question when he got out of the car to speak to the reporters. He replied impatiently, “Rubbish! I call the shots on the players’ appearances. What pressure from the club’s top brass? Even the Queen and the Prime minister had no right to dictate the team’s lineup!”

He was unhappy that the many media outlets still focused on Beckham’s commercial value, rather than his competitive value. But the behavior of these media personnel had also made it clear to him that Beckham still had an extremely difficult path to walk to re-establish his image. His long-developed image was not something that could be changed overnight or with a league title. If after Beckham joined the team and the team was surrounded by all kinds of media and rumors all the time, and then they did not win a championship title in the end, there would be countless people jumping out to criticize Tony Twain for his choice to sign Beckham on in the first place. David Beckham and Twain would be guilty of the team’s failure.

That was not what Twain wished to see.

He also wanted Beckham to work hard on the field and use good performances to prove that his vision was right and to relieve him of the pressure.

The first game had to be played well. The game was highly anticipated by everyone and countless pairs of eyes were focused on his team. Some people even held a magnifying glass to pick out faults in the team during the game which they would then enlarge in the media multifold and attack without restraint.

Others would not think that he was amazing just because he won the UEFA Champions League title. Those who liked him liked him even more, and those who hated him hated him even more. All sorts of denouncement in speech and writing would not be curbed based on the number of championship titles he had won.

※※※

It was hot on August 10th, as was August 11th. This game was kicked off with a whistle from the referee at three o’clock in the afternoon in the scorching sun.

The Goodison Park stadium was full. The Everton fans occupied half of the stadium and the Nottingham Forest fans gathered in the visitors’ stands to cheer for their own team. Before the game, people sitting in the stands complained that the weather was too hot, nearly causing them heatstroke.

But when the game started, no one sweated over the small matter anymore.

The singing in the stands reverberated throughout the stadium. Everyone vigorously waved their arms and yelled loudly. So, what if it’s hot? Our passion as fans is hotter than the weather! What of the intense sunshine? Running under such an intense sunshine, with sweat dripping, is the sport of men!

“Van Nistelrooy partners with Arshavin for this game. This is his first partnership with Arshavin in the front line in an official game. This is also the Russian striker’s debut in the English Premier League...”

The commentator began the opening remarks he had prepared.

The Forest team had already kicked off the ball.

Arshavin gently kicked the football out, and van Nistelrooy gave him a wink. He stopped focusing on the ball and rushed forward.

Van Nistelrooy passed the football back to van der Vaart on the center circle line. Meanwhile, Ribéry, on the left flank, rushed forward at full speed.

Up until now, everything was normal. It was a typical kickoff.

Arshavin was still focused on charging ahead, and the Everton players paid him no mind since he would be in an offside position soon as he continued to rush forward.

The important point laid with who had the ball.

Van der Vaart did not let the football stay at his feet for more than a second. He diverted the ball to the right side once the ball rolled over.

Unlike Ribéry, who had rushed up, Beckham, the starting midfielder on the right flank, was still standing behind the center-line, with no intention of going up.

Ribéry and Arshavin continued to run forward. They looked like they were running a hundred-meter race.

Beckham stopped the ball and looked up.

The stadium’s right side was on the side of the technical area. Beckham’s current position was in close proximity to Moyes, who suddenly felt that the scene looked familiar. It was immediately followed by an inexplicable wild beating of his heart.

“Don’t let him...” Before he could finish, he saw Beckham in front of him swing his leg and whip toward the football. It was a long pass!

When Beckham received the football, the Forest fans began to cheer, and now they were getting louder, which completely drowned out the boos from the Everton fans.

As the football soared in the air, Arshavin shot behind Everton’s entire rear defensive line, like a bomber jet piercing through the clouds to emerge within sight.

A few of the Everton players raised their arms to signal to the assistant referee that Arshavin was offside. But the assistant referee ignored them and followed Arshavin as he continued to run ahead.

Everton’s American goalkeeper, Tim Howard, reacted faster than his defensive teammates. Once he saw Arshavin shoot out from the rear defensive line, he decided to abandon the goal to strike. A goalkeeper coach would never tell a goalkeeper to give up when the opponent was suspected of being offside. The goalkeeper had to do his job well, whether it was offside or not.

However, Beckham’s long pass was directed at Arshavin, and not to Howard.

Arshavin took a look at the situation behind him. He saw that the football had come as promised. Howard was some distance away. Should he do a lob shot?

Howard discerned Arshavin’s intention. He leapt suddenly, fully stretched out his body in the air, and opened his arms to pounce on Arshavin. The advantage of the move was it successfully sealed off the opponent’s space for a lob shot. As for the bottom... Generally speaking, when the football bounced, it was difficult for a striker to do a rolling pass. The goalkeeper was not a god either, he could only choose one possibility to block.

A dark projection shrouded the top of Arshavin’s head. Due to the glare of the sun, he could not see the other person’s expression when he looked up, but a lob shot was out of the question now.

Arshavin raised his right leg high and his body almost soared in the air. He swept the football across in midair. Just because he could not shoot for the goal, it did not mean he could not pass the ball.

Howard struck and Everton’s goal was unguarded. Who was on the other side?

“Franck Ribéry!” The commentator cried aloud.

Ribéry, who sprinted with Arshavin, finally appeared at the moment when he was most needed.

With a height of 2.44 meters and width of 7.32 meters, the goal looked tiny from fifty meters away, but within the goal area, it was boundless and wide.

With such a wide goal in front of Ribéry, even though Arshavin’s pass leaned to the front, it could not stump Ribéry. He powered on with his left foot and flew forward.

“A diving header — WHAT A GOOOAL!!!!”

“Oh, yes! Yes! Nottingham Forest leads Everton by 1:0!”

Howard, who pounced on Arshavin, turned around to see the football had hit the net.

“Ten seconds! This is the new season appearance of the European Champion, Nottingham Forest! Beautiful! Wonderful!” said the commentator, laughing, “David Beckham’s precise long pass, Arshavin’s cool head, and the entire team’s swift positional play! Speed, that’s Nottingham Forest’s trait! They are fast!”

Twain led a group of coaches and substitute players to rush out excitedly. He did tell the players before the game that scoring as fast as possible in an away game could completely disrupt each other’s deployment and give them an edge in future games. But he did not expect this group of players to do so well.

How many seconds was the fastest goal in the Premier League’s previous record?

“The electronic results are out. This whole process only took ten seconds to complete. Ribéry broke the previous Premier League’s fastest goalscoring record shared by Alan Shearer and Ledley King which was ten and a half seconds!” the commentator excitedly announced the latest data.

A new season and a new record. What could be a more perfect start than this?

Chapter 572 - An Identity Transformation

Moyes and the Everton fans did not expect that. Even the Nottingham Forest fans did not anticipate that the first goal of the Premier League opening match would come so quickly.

“This is the first goal of the 07-08 English Premier League game, ten seconds! If you haven’t turned on the TV yet, then you missed a wonderful goal! This is not one player’s breakout, this is a breakout from the entire team! It undoubtedly embodies Tony Twain’s overall football strategy!”

The commentator was quite excited. Breaking a record was always noteworthy. By the end of the game, there would be articles about the goal in the newspapers, on TV, on the radio, and online.

On the field, the Forest players hugged each other. They were the directors of the goal. Van Nistelrooy knew the accuracy of Beckham’s long pass and how fast Arshavin and Ribéry were, hence why he had suggested to everyone during the warm-up to gain the upper hand by a show of strength that way. Ribéry was a double insurance. If Arshavin was blocked, it would be up to Ribéry to complete the shot.

This plan was faithfully implemented and executed.

Beckham’s long pass combined with Ribéry and Arshavin’s speed scored the goal.

Ribéry was the contributing goalscorer. When he scored, van Nistelrooy was in the center circle. He saw the ball enter but did not rush to Ribéry. Instead, he turned and ran toward David Beckham on the right flank.

Together with van der Vaart, they hugged Beckham, and the three of them ran forward together to join the others.

“David Beckham! This is his first game back in England, and he made himself known again in the opening ten seconds. His iconic long pass brought to mind the player he was at Manchester United... Now, though he is wearing a red jersey, he is a member of the Nottingham Forest team. Nevertheless, welcome back, David!”

Beckham raised his arms and smiled radiantly. He looked especially dazzling surrounded by his teammates.

Perhaps some uninformed people would think that Beckham could assimilate into the Forest team so quickly because he was a world-class player and people had to respect him. It was not true. The Forest team valued strength, just like Twain had told Beckham’s agent, Simon Fuller, “as long as you have the strength and treat others sincerely, you will be treated as one of our own. We will not treat you unfairly.”

※※※

Moyes sat dazedly in the chair for a long while. He was familiar with Twain and this team. He had meticulously prepared for the opening match in order to curb the Forest team’s flank attacks on both sides. He also asked the team to actively plug in on the flanks and use offense to suppress the opponent.

He really did not think that the Forest team was so swift on the right flank. Even without Ashley Young, who was good at breakthroughs, their strength did not decline. They had Beckham, who could rip apart the opponent’s defenses with a single pass.

Which was faster, a player or the ball? Without a doubt, it was the ball. With Beckham on the right flank, the opponent’s defense would be that much more difficult.

It was easier to defend against Ashley Young. Whether it was to use offense to suppress, station more players to guard him, or compress space so as to not give Ashley Young a chance to break through. How would they prevent Beckham? Would they use offense to suppress him? After the Forest team intercepted the ball in the back field, the Forest team would not need to press ahead. They just had to hand the football to Beckham, which would allow him to use his precise long pass. It was in line with the Forest team’s defensive counterattack tactics.

From that point of view, even though they did not have a fast winger, the Forest team’s flank attack had now become more difficult to defend against because there were more variations.

Moyes finally reacted. He scratched his head. What could he do when his team trailed in the opening ten seconds on their home ground? It was too early to adjust. He did not have a plan and could only calmly observe before he took any action.

※※※

Everton was definitely not a weak team that could be intimidated easily. Once the Forest team was in the lead, the players adjusted themselves on the field.

Nottingham Forest was a European champion and currently considered a strong team in the Premier League. Everton did not think that it would be easy to beat their opponent, even if it was a home game. The goal concede was within their plan. It just came so early that it was a shock to the team. Despite their careful preparations before the game and full anticipation of the difficulties of this game, the rise in the Forest team’s strength was unexpected.

After Everton completed the adjustment in midst of the home fans’ cheers, they began to try to fight back.

Everton’s midfield had two players to watch out for. One was the Australian, Tim Cahill, and the other was Mikel Arteta, who had just transferred from Nottingham Forest. Cahill had played in Everton for years, while Arteta was the new core of the midfield Moyes intended to develop in the new season.

Whenever Everton attacked, the football would be handed over to Arteta to be directed by him.

Cahill was not a midfielder who was good at organizing offense. He was more like an attacking midfielder with an outstanding scoring ability. Arteta was a typical “number four” from Barcelona’s training camp, equivalent to “the quarterback” in American football — responsible for passing the ball to launch the attack and to control the team’s pace.

Twain was extremely familiar with Arteta. After all, he had played on his team for two and a half years. He knew Moyes bought Arteta to build Everton’s organizational core. Arteta was bound to be entrusted with that responsibility for the game. Therefore, he instructed Wood that his target for this game was Arteta.

The other players’ tasks were laid out by Dunn. Only Wood’s task was arranged by Twain himself. Twain was used to the job and his way of talking with Wood, and Wood might not listen if it were from a different person.

It was simple for Wood to freeze Arteta. Twain did not need to tell Wood what kind of player Arteta was, what his skills and habits were, and how he liked to play. Surely he had this knowledge since the two people had trained and played on the team together?

Twain only told him to “freeze Arteta completely.”

Mikel Arteta received a pass from his teammate. It felt strange to be playing in the game. Even though the players clad in the blue jerseys were his teammates, sometimes he had the illusion of treating the players clad in the red jerseys as his teammates. He was with the Forest team for two and a half years and had only been with Everton for one and a half months. His opponents were familiar faces, and he knew their playing habits and interests in life. But he did not know enough about his Everton teammates...

He wanted to find a target to pass the ball to. When he looked up, red jerseys filled his view, which was what he was accustomed to... Arteta shook his head and tried to shake off the thought.

The Spanish midfielder hesitated slightly, and his ball was intercepted by Wood.

The intense pain coming from his body brought him back to reality at once. He was a member of Everton. Usually he could only play against Wood one on one during the team’s internal matches, but now he would truly compete against him at least twice a season.

Wood had intercepted the ball and was about to look for someone to pass the ball but was pushed to the ground by Arteta, who was back in reality.

The referee’s whistle rang and ruled that Arteta had fouled, which gave Nottingham Forest a free kick near the center circle.

Despite the foul, Arteta won thunderous applause at Goodison Park Stadium. He declared his break from the Forest team with his actions and won the favor of his new owner’s fans.

Wood had just gotten up when a hand shot out in front of him. He looked up to find that it was from Arteta.

Wood did not take his hand, but said with a straight face, “we’ll shake hands after the game is over.”

Arteta was not annoyed. He knew the guy’s character. There were only two kinds of players left in the world while the game was played: their own people and their opponents.

He used to be Wood’s own people, and now he was the enemy. He used to be protected by Wood, and now he...

Hey, what’s the point of thinking so much? Let’s rumble!

※※※

Everton and the Forest team were in a deadlock in the midfield. Both sides were heavily engaged, and there was a fierce contest there. Wood closely marked Arteta and van der Vaart was surrounded by Lee Carsley and Thomas Gravesen.

Tony Twain was not displeased with the standoff. He was glad to see it. The Forest team was the least afraid of such deadlocks, especially when they were already ahead.

They would slowly drag it out with the opponent to wear down the other side’s patience and fighting spirit to make them impatient. Then they would take the opportunity to fight back and take the lead with two goals. The situation would become more favorable.

As a result, the Forest team’s game was not nice to watch. How could it be entertaining to watch with such a deadlock?

However, did they want to keep the game in such a gridlock?

If they were the former Forest team, they would wait for the opponent to get impatient when encountered with such an impasse. Otherwise the flank could not be cracked open and the effectiveness of the attack would be greatly reduced. If the score was not 1:0 with the Forest team in the lead, Twain really did not have a more suitable method if they were to meet with a sophisticated and cunning opponent.

That was not the case anymore. The Forest team’s flank did not need space to let loose.

Wedged between a double team, van der Vaart passed the ball to Beckham on the right flank. Compressing the space was useless to David when he did not break through. Preventing him from passing was the way to go... But how should they prevent his passes? Should they pounce on him and entangle with him?

What about the void behind them when they rushed up? Beckham could choose not to do a long pass and divert it to his teammates who came plugging in to receive. Then he could be off the ball and shake off the defense. As long as the football was out, there were dozens of ways to press forward for professional players.

In other words, the player who would only break through was not scary, and the player who could pass the ball was the scariest.

With Beckham’s signature long passes present, Moyes only had two strategies. One was to compress the space behind and not let the Forest team’s strikers receive the ball easily. That was easier said than done. The form of the game was ever-changing, and it was important for the rear defensive line to maintain the formation, rather than follow the two strikers running around. The second was to set an offside trap. This was the simplest and most commonly used method. Beckham’s long passes were penetrating. The penetration force sometimes meant offside.

Everton created the offside trap in the game and the rear defensive line pressed closely. Arshavin and van Nistelrooy were offside twice in a row.

Twain got up and walked to the sidelines. He whistled to draw the attention of the players, and made a gesture that instructed the players to continue to stick to the straight passes and increase the wall passes at the same time.

Let Moyes set the offside trap if he wanted to. The Forest team continued with straight passes. Even if they were offside nine times out of ten, as long as they eventually succeeded, it would be a kill!

Moyes knew that it was risky to set an offside trap. Twain showed every possible consideration in sending the risk their way.

Van der Vaart took advantage of a dead ball and turned to a few of his teammates around him in the midfield. “We’ll coordinate right in front of their rear defensive line. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. We have George at the back if we lose the ball! We just need to succeed once... ” He clenched his fist, and everyone understood what he meant.

Nottingham Forest had never been overtaken by an opponent with a two-goal lead!

The remainder of the game was repeatedly interrupted and restarted amidst the referee’s constant whistle. The fouls and offside continued to deadlock the game.

By halftime, the score was still 1:0 with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

※※※

During halftime, Twain praised the team for their performance. While the goal was a credit to a handful of players, this score was the result of the entire team’s effort.

In particular, Arteta was apparently established as the core of Everton’s midfield by Moyes after one and a half months, but Wood finished the task successfully.

At the end of the first half, Arteta’s blue jersey was scuffed until it was almost into a blue-green color and he also had some grass on his face. He looked like a mess, but Arteta was familiar with it, because the majority of Wood’s opponents ended up like this.

Wood did not look much better.

He sat in his place to rest while he listened to Twain about what to do in the second half. Bale came over and touched his arm lightly. “George,” he called in a low voice.

Wood glanced at him.

“How did it feel to go one-on-one against Mikel in an official match?”

“You can experience it for yourself.”

“You know I’m not playing.” Bale said with a miserable expression. He had meticulously styled his hair, but was not able to appear in front of the national television viewers, which was very demoralizing.

Looking at the little monkey’s troubled look, Wood couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s all my dad’s fault. He gave me a dressing down for a long time when we were about to leave. That’s why I was late. It turned out that I was supposed to start...”

Bale was still chattering in a low voice when he suddenly heard someone call his name.

“Bale, Gareth Bale.”

He sprang to his feet, “Huh?”

It elicited a burst of laughter in the locker room.

Twain did not know whether to laugh or cry at the “uncommonly tall” Bale. “Have you just been daydreaming?”

“Ah, uh... ” Bale scratched his head and apologized, “I... I’m sorry, boss. I was distracted.”

“I said, if we’re still at 1:0 twenty minutes into the second half, I’ll consider bringing you on, so you’d better get ready.” Twain had to repeat what he had said.

“That’s great!” Bale could not help but shout like a child who had gotten his most treasured toy. His behavior prompted another burst of laughter from everyone.

Bale happily sat down amidst the sounds of laughter and winked at Wood.

Twain went on to say, “if we can hold on to the score until twenty minutes into the second half, Everton will inevitably become agitated. It will be impossible for the offside trap they created to still be so organized and unified like the first half. Holes will emerge. Bale, if you play, your main task is not defense. Instead it will be offense and assist the team’s offense on the left flank.”

Bale nodded repeatedly. Although he was presently a left-back, he was far stronger in offense than defense, because he was originally a left attacking midfielder. When defense was needed, Twain would rely more on Leighton Baines. When the offense was required to be unleashed, Bale was undoubtedly the most suitable.

Going over the tactics did not take much time. The situation was good for the Forest team, so Twain did not waste time talking nonsense. He let the players have a little free time and relax for the rest of the halftime period.

Beckham was very popular because he never put on airs in the locker room. After they got to know each other, everyone liked to chat with him. There were quite a few people around him, and Bale also squeezed over. It was his goal to become a world-class star player like Beckham. Of course, he could not improve his fame and strength at present. Improving his image was the most convenient and fastest.

He applied a lot of hair gel into his hair and meticulously combed it into a Mohawk which reflected the lights in the locker room, making it very striking.

“Hey, little monkey, are you going out on a date with your girlfriend?” Van Nistelrooy noticed Bale standing beside him and wanted to touch his head with a grin, but the other party managed to evade.

“Hey, don’t touch it, Ruud. It took me a long time to get it like this!” Bale jumped to avoid van Nistelrooy’s hand.

“It will be messed up when you play.” Wood suddenly piped up at the back.

It was the same thing that his father said, and Bale glanced at Wood. Wood had a head of black hair. It almost touched his shoulders. His hairstyle was... not a style at all. A simple center part split his hair down the middle and over both cheeks. When his hair got messy during the games, he just used his hands to swipe his hair in order. It was effortless.

Furthermore, it was said to be an image specifically designed for Wood by his agent, Billy Woox — Wood’s image was his distinctive character. Woox thought that the world was full of all kinds of pretentious and affected stars with their every action and word calculated thousands of times before they acted and spoke. A man who was clearly outspoken and brash had to act tactful and reserved in public. Moreover, everyone liked the erroneous perception.

Therefore, he asked Wood not to pretend and be his usual self in public. He believed that a man with true nature would win more acclamation.

“There’s hair gel.” Bale retorted.

Wood did not continue the topic. He moved out of sight wordlessly.

The locker room door was pushed open and Kerslake appeared at the door. He clapped his hands and announced, “All right, guys! It’s time for us to play!”

Wood was the first to walk towards the door, and the rest followed him out of the locker room.

As Beckham passed by Bale, he patted him on the shoulder and winked at him.

Was that an encouragement? Bale clenched his fist with joy.

Chapter 573 - Good Beginning

The two teams switched sides to play again in the second half. Beckham was closely marked by Everton. Moyes saw that Twain wanted to use Beckham to launch a direct and rapid precision strike. Setting an offside trap was feasible, but the risk was too great. There had to be another layer of precaution.

Therefore, they stepped up their defense against Beckham.

Fortunately, Twain also made adjustments during the halftime interval. Beckham’s passes were no longer the only means of attack by the Forest team. Since the opponent wanted to set an offside trap, then the team would strengthen the coordination of the straight passes in front of the opponent’s rear defensive line. They were made up of short passes which van der Vaart could complete. However, Twain was happy that Moyes put his defensive focus on Beckham.

After van der Vaart and Ribéry coordinated on the flank, Ribéry doggedly plugged ahead and lured Everton to put its focus on him. Van der Vaart suddenly passed the ball to the middle and van Nistelrooy was unexpectedly onside, charging ahead. He received the ball from van der Vaart in an onside position!

The Dutch striker dribbled the ball and rushed straight into the opponent’s box.

Another shocked hiss erupted at the Goodison Park Stadium. If he scored a goal, Everton would be out of commission.

Fortunately, Howard’s strike defused the danger. He blocked the angle of van Nistelrooy’s shot. The Dutchman’s shot hit his left foot on the ground and changed direction, which caused it to fly out of the end line.

Nottingham Forest’s pass was offside nine times, and it finally worked the tenth time. However, they did not score. Twain, who was watching off field, was a little annoyed.

What annoyed him even more was Van Nistelrooy on the field. He shot that kind of sure shot only for it to inexplicably strike Howard’s leg.

There would not be many opportunities like that.

Moyes quickly discovered Twain’s objective. He began to recall the defensive line so as not to give the Forest strikers such chances to easily face off with the goalkeeper one-on-one.

The Forest team played at an even speed since they were in the lead. They just needed to waste time.

Twain shifted to a more comfortable position. Everton’s biggest threat to the Forest team was Arteta. As for the players such Tim Cahill, Andrew Johnson, Yakubu... it would have been much easier for the Forest team to defend against them without Arteta’s support from the back of the field.

George Wood was as steady as ever, which saddened the opponent.

Wood made Arteta suffer in the first half and Moyes asked Arteta to avoid Wood in the second half.

However, was such a matter up to him to decide? Now that he was targeted by Wood, it was not going to be easy to outrun him.

Arteta was not good at breaking through. His stamina was not good enough to the point of being able to confront George Wood head-on. To avoid Wood, he could only try to dispatch from the back without going up in person. In this way, Wood would worry about the gap behind him and not dare to come closer to press and grab.

But as a result, Arteta, who was far away from the Forest goal, had no means of organizing an attack other than a dull long pass, and the Forest team’s defense also had an easier time.

What was the purpose of defense? It was not to intercept the opponent’s ball on a one-on-one defensive basis, but to stop the opposing team’s offense and cause their offense to lose its threat. From that point of view, Wood’s defense was a success. As long as the opponent was afraid to confront him head-on and had to bypass him in a roundabout way, he was considered to have done his job.

“Half the battle is won when Mikel is afraid to come up.” Twain grinned at his assistant managers, and the two men nodded in agreement.

Moyes picked the wrong opponent to build his core. Nottingham Forest was too familiar with Arteta. Arteta could not play to his standards in this game.

Just fifteen minutes into the second half, Arteta, who had failed in his normal performance, was brought off. Although he had largely failed to contribute to the team’s offense in these sixty minutes, the Everton fans applauded to thank him for his merciless foul on George Wood. It was a move that found favor with the home team fans. The English fans’ opinions did not solely depend on the player’s ability. In their view, there were many heartfelt ways to express allegiance and goal scoring was just one of them.

Just like the Chinese player, Li Tie, who had joined Everton. During his first appearance for the team, he fiercely shoved the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Redknapp, to the ground in less than five minutes. Because of this move, it earned him great acclaim from the Everton fans. However, it was unintentional on Li Tie’s part. He did not plan to curry favor with the home team fans with this tackle. He just did what a defensive midfielder was supposed to do in a game. But the Everton fans would never forget that Redknapp was once the captain of their fellow city’s nemesis, the Liverpool team.

Arteta walked off the field amidst the applause and adoration from the Everton fans. He was unhappy with his performance. Moyes went up and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him. It was just his luck to run into George Wood. This man’s defensive ability had been proven in the UEFA Champions League. Countless of midfielders more powerful than Arteta had taken a fall at Wood’s feet.

“You did a great job, Mikel. But it will take some time to integrate into the team.”

The lack of rapport with the team was also an important reason why Arteta did not play well.

Arteta nodded and returned to the substitutes’ bench to sit down. Then he turned his head to look at the Forest team’s technical area. He saw Twain sat in the chair at the technical area with his legs crossed, looking pleased.

He was no stranger to this action. When the Forest team’s situation in the game was good, he would use this way to relax himself. He used to see the boss sat like this from the team’s substitutes’ bench. When he was still a Forest player at the time, he would feel at ease to see the boss adopt this posture because that meant the game was in the bag.

However, as an adversary now, it made him wary. The posture seemed to imply contempt.

In an interview before the game, the questions he was asked the most were about his thoughts on Twain as a player who transferred from the Forest team to Everton. He had said, “I think the boss is a very nice guy,” which was not a lie. When he was on the Forest team, he did think so, even if he could only be a substitute player.

But it was different now. As an opponent, he felt the boss was a little too arrogant. Everton was not a weak team in the Premier League either. Why did his action give off the feeling of belittling other people?

Manager Tony Twain was indeed a very strange man. While standing with him on the same team, he would staunchly follow him. But once he was on the other side, he realized that the guy was detestable. He used to think that his extreme, brash, and arrogant ways were endearing, but now he felt like it was insulting to his opponents.

Perhaps he found it intolerable, but looking at the score, the Forest team was in the lead.

To be fair, the man had the right to be arrogant.

Arteta averted his gaze away from Twain and decided not to care what happened in the Forest team. He would cheer for Everton wholeheartedly from now on and stand with Everton because he was now an Everton player — at least for the next four years.

※※※

Moyes’s replacement for Arteta was an old acquaintance of Beckham and van Nistelrooy — Phil Neville, who transferred from Manchester United to join Everton.

It was not a transfer deal that was done that summer. Phil Neville had transferred to Everton from Manchester United two years ago. He was twenty-eight years old and chose to join Everton, which guaranteed his appearances, in order to play for the World Cup on behalf of England.

He had been a versatile player when he was at Manchester United and could play as a full back or midfielder when the team needed. Now at Everton, he was largely fixed in the defensive midfielder position by Moyes and used his experience to help the team move forward.

Beckham’s attention was caught when he saw Neville came on. His gaze followed his former friend. The fans in the stands rose to applaud his former Manchester United teammate. Phil had long won the love of the Everton fans. This love was different from the love shown to Arteta. It was deeper.

This was Beckham’s first return to the English Premier League since he left Manchester United. Many of the former Manchester United players were now playing for the other teams. There would be more instances in the future where he would reunite with a former old friend who played for a different team on the field.

When he saw Neville come on the field, Tim Cahill, who wore the captain’s armband, ran up and removed the armband from his arm to hand it to Everton’s number 18.

Neville did not refuse. He took the armband and bowed his head to put it on.

He was the Everton captain.

Beckham sighed. How many players from the Red Devils team of 1999 were still at Old Trafford?

Neville’s short passes were impressive, and he was far more familiar with the team than Arteta. He understood the characteristics of every teammate and knew the most effective way to pass the ball to them.

And most importantly, he was not afraid of a head-on confrontation with George Wood. He might lose, but he would never run away.

After he came on, Everton’s offense began to perk up.

The entire team was like a completely different team from when Arteta was on the field. Playing for two seasons was indeed different from playing for about ten days.

Arteta acknowledged it, but he was not discouraged. He knew that Phil Neville was already going to be a thing of the past at Everton, while he belonged to the future at Everton.

Although Everton was less powerful than the Forest team and had little chance of competing for the UEFA Champions League, even sitting on the substitutes’ bench made him feel hopeful whereas in Nottingham Forest, a team with ambitious goals, he was on the bench from the beginning and could have still been on the bench in the future, because the boss would always tirelessly chase after the popular players in the transfer market. This was a trait of the powerhouse football clubs.

Led by Neville, Everton launched a counterattack on the Forest team. The Forest team did not have time to seek any gaps behind their rear defensive line. Their full defense was the top priority during this time.

George Wood’s target became Neville, but he found that the target in question was not one player, but an entire team — When Neville took the ball, the Everton players around him would move to assist him.

One-on-one defensive breakout was easy, but it could be difficult to prevent the opponent from passing the ball.

Everton did a short pass play led by Neville, which was different from Arteta’s frequent long passes. Neville was more patient and spun around the Forest team in search of opportunities. They also gradually regained control of the game amid the deafening shouts of the fans.

“The Forest team’s defense was bowled over. I think it’s time for Twain to consider a replacement to strengthen his defense. After all, they are now leading with one goal.”

This commentator did not know the real Twain. During training and explanation of the tactics to the team, he always said to the Forest players, “the riskiest score in the world is 1:0.”

As a former Chinese fan, he had suffered enough of defending to the death with a one goal lead. For some people, the defense was about defending, but for Twain, the defense was for the offense.

He turned and asked Kerslake to summon Bale.

During his warm-up, Bale heard Kerslake call his name and happily dashed back.

“Boss!” He looked at Twain with a smiling face.

Twain liked Bale’s childlike character. He could play at his normal standard because he was not nervous. Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers and all that.

He nodded approvingly. “You know why I called you, so I’m not going to waste my breath. After you get on the field, actively plug ahead and don’t worry behind you. George’s there to help you fill in your position. You go tell Ribéry to lean toward the middle and give way in the left flank. You know what to do next, don’t you?”

Bale nodded vigorously. “I know, boss!”

“Go on.” Twain said and Bale ran toward the fourth official. After a series of safety checks, he was allowed on the field.

The Forest team was awarded an out-of-bounds ball and took the opportunity to bring on Bale to replace Leighton Baines.

“A change to a side midfielder who is more proficient in offense... Looks like Twain isn’t contented with a one-goal lead!”

That was nonsense. Of course, he would not be satisfied. Twain was going to make Everton, who intended to counterattack, completely give up any hope of a reversal. Was there any better way other than to score another goal?

※※※

After Bale came on, he actively assisted on the left flank and Ribéry moved to the middle. Van der Vaart stayed behind to organize the attack. The Forest team’s formation looked somewhat strange. On the right flank, Beckham and Chimbonda were not very far up. Not only Beckham did not go up much, he was also very dedicated in helping Chimbonda with the defense. Everton’s offense on this side met with a huge amount of resistance. They intended to focus their offense on the Forest team’s left flank, which made it their right flank.

However, when Twain changed the player, the Forest team decided to focus on this side. Bale and Ribéry took turns to strike this side. Everton was too overwhelmed to attack. Could they rely on offense to push them back? Everton’s strength on the flanks was less powerful than that of Nottingham Forest, which depended on the flanks for its success.

Ribéry leaned toward the middle and let go of the left flank. As long as the Forest team had possession of the ball, Bale did not hesitate to rush forward.

He did not think about losing the ball because he trusted Wood.

Van der Vaart sent the football to Ribéry, who crossed toward the middle to break through. When he saw that there were two opposing players in front, he diverted the football to the flank. Bale followed up in time and received the ball.

Instead of stopping the ball, he poked the football forward. Then he accelerated and rushed forward. He shook off the Everton right-back, Tony Hibbert, who had reacted quickly. Hibbert immediately turned around to give chase and the distance was not widened by Bale.

As he was about to force Bale toward the sidelines, Bale rushed in front of him and cut inside. He blocked Hibbert’s running route with his body and forced him to slow down.

Taking the opportunity, Bale knocked the football into the middle with the intention of dribbling the ball across to disrupt Everton’s defense. But he did not succeed, as his breakthrough was terminated by Everton’s center-back, Joseph Yobo, who obviously used a foul. He stretched his leg from the side behind to trip Bale. Bale, who lost his center of gravity, fell. A free kick was given on the left side of the goal, about thirty meters away.

“Looking at the referee’s gesture... it’s a direct free kick!” The television commentator exclaimed excitedly. He was not the only one. The Forest fans at the stadium and countless fans of Beckham in front of the television were excited as well. What had everyone been waiting for a long time? “Maybe we’ll see Beckham’s first goal back in the English Premier League?”

Bale was pulled up from the ground by Beckham. He saw Beckham holding the football. Apparently he was determined to take the kick. He used to be the first person in the Forest team to set the place kick as long as he was on the field. When Beckham came, the boss did not state exactly who was first and who was second.

Beckham bent over to place the football at the penalty spot. Bale did not leave. He stood to the side, ready to cover Beckham. His free kick was also known in the Premier League for its accuracy. One of them was good with his left foot and the other was good with his right. With the two of them standing in front of the football, it would confound the opponents.

Although the shot would be kicked by Beckham, his standing here could also play a role in confusing the opponent — After all, the opponent did not know the Forest team’s arrangement, even though there was no arrangement at all.

After Beckham placed the football, he got up and saw Bale standing next to him, so he walked over.

“Gareth, you’re going to kick this ball.” He smiled.

Gareth Bale was a little surprised. His eyes widened and his cheeks bulged.

“Why? You can’t kick it in?”

“Ah... No, it’s not like that. It’s just that...” Bale stammered for a while before he finally managed to explain, “... Doesn’t everyone want to see you play?”

Beckham wanted to laugh at what he said, but it would attract too much attention. He held back a laugh. “This is a formal game, not a commercial event. How can we go along with what the spectators want to see? Besides, because the opponent also thinks that I’m taking this shot, we should change it to you, so that they are unable to prevent.”

“But...” Bale wanted to add but was stopped by Beckham with a wave.

“Who was the number one place kick player for the Forest team before I came?”

Bale pointed to himself. “Me.”

“In that case, you do it.”

“But the boss did not say...”

“Then it will still be you. Whether I take this shot or not, let the boss decide the next time.” Beckham smiled at him. “I’ll be right next to you to help cover you.”

Beckham was adamant. Bale had also wanted to show his skills in front of him, so he stopped pushing back and accepted the task.

Gareth Bale stood on the right side of the football to facilitate his left foot, while Beckham stood on the left side of the football, which was a habitual position for the right-footed players.

Watching the two players standing in front of the football, the Everton goalkeeper, Tim Howard barely hesitated while he prepared to pounce at the right-footed curveball. With David Beckham around, how could it be up to the Welsh boy to kick the ball? Even if he wanted to, would the Forest manager agree?

※※※

Twain, who saw this off the field, turned to his two assistant managers. “Want to make a bet? The person who loses the bet will buy drinks. I bet the little monkey will kick the ball.”

Kerslake almost reflexively blurted out, “I bet on David!”

Twain chuckled. “Because he and you have the same name? Dunn?”

Dunn thought about it and answered, “Bale.”

※※※

Bale did not know that his boss had placed a bet on him and Beckham. He stood in his customary position with his head slightly down. He stared intently at the human wall and goal ahead.

David Beckham stood to the side. He observed his young teammate. He looked different from the kid who liked to laugh. The young monkey’s expression was very serious and there was a sharp and experienced look in his eyes. He was definitely not an inexperienced rookie.

When he came to the Forest team, he knew that there was a young player with excellent free kick skills on the team. He was so outstanding that a number of Premier League teams had fallen at his left foot. It would cost anyone dearly if they treated him like a young kid on the field.

After he came to the Forest team and practiced their free kicks together, Beckham knew Bale was good. Therefore, he generously gave his chance to the other party without any worry that it might affect the final course of the game.

Everton’s human wall was lined up. Standing in the human wall, Phil Neville reminded his teammates around him to pay attention to Beckham’s free kick.

The eyes of every Everton player — no, everyone in the stands, all the television viewers watching the opening match in front of the television — were focused on David Beckham. The commentator held his breath in suspense as he prepared to cheer for Beckham’s first goal back in the English Premier League.

The young Gareth Bale stood beside David Beckham like a neglected prop in the background.

The referee’s whistle sounded, and Beckham did not move as he watched Bale run.

The young monkey’s left foot swung, and his toes touched the ground twice behind him. Then he strode toward the football.

Everton’s human wall did not move as they knew Bale had to be Beckham’s cover. They waited for Beckham to start before they would jump. It was just that... the cover looked too real... Damn it!

It was true!

Bale kicked the football. The football arc was very low. If the human wall had jumped, the football would have been blocked by them, but no one jumped as they were waiting for Beckham!

Beckham put his hands on his hip and cocked his head with his signature smile on his face as he watched the show.

Howard could not react in time. Bale’s shot was low with a narrow arc. It was fast and brushed over the human wall. It quickly drilled into the top left corner of the goal!

Howard had no other option except to turn his head and watch the football enter the goal. His feet never even left the ground.

“David Bec...” When the commentator saw Bale started running, he got ready to shout Beckham’s name. He did not think that Bale was going to kick this ball. When he saw the football fly into the goal, he changed his words to “Bale!”

“Bale! Bale! Gareth Bale!” In order to cover up his previous mistake, he even shouted Bale’s name a few times, which made people think thecommentator was really excited.

“It’s not Beckham, but the young Bale! A beautiful direct free kick! The Everton players only thought of Beckham and ignored Bale! It cost them big time!”

※※※

Bale scored the goal and Twain did not rush out of the technical area excitedly holding his arms high, even though he was surrounded by people like that. He only reached his left hand out to Kerslake. “You can buy me two drinks tonight and I’ll drink Dunn’s share.”

Kerslake was not annoyed either. He patted Twain’s hand hard. “As long as we win, never mind two drinks. I’ll buy you twenty!”

※※※

After the goal, Bale screamed and turned to embrace Beckham. He needed to thank Beckham. How could his low-altitude ball break into the goal so smoothly without David’s presence next to him to interfere the judgement of the opponent’s human wall?

His teammates swarmed in and surrounded the two men. A pair of enthusiastic hands patted Bale on the head. The players liked to express their affection for each other like that.

“Nice job! Little Monkey!”

“Whoa, haha! You took them by surprise!”

“Hey, let me give you a pat...”

Bale enjoyed this moment. This was his first goal of the season, and his father was watching the live telecast at home. He had to have seen it and was sure to be proud of his son.

Getting out of his enthusiastic teammates’ embraces, Bale wanted to fix his hair out of habit. As soon as his hand touched his hair, he realized that the mohawk he had spent an hour on had turned into a mess.

Wood looked at the morose-looking Bale next to him and said in his usual detached voice, “It lasted more than thirty seconds, but it’s still a mess.”

“You guys!” Bale felt homicidal toward the bastards.

“Whoa!” They ran away laughing.

“Remember to put more hair gel next time, little monkey!” Ribéry also made a face at him.

David Beckham saw it all next to them and could not help laughing along with them. This team was interesting, much more interesting than a team that just got a goal in after much difficulty only for the teammates to make sport of on the bench. He understood how this team could rise from the League Two in just four years to pick up the UEFA Champions League title.

How? It was simple. They were a team.

※※※

The final score of the opening match was 2:0. Nottingham Forest obtained the first three points of the new season with a win over the well-prepared Everton team at the Goodison Park stadium.

After the game, at the press conference, when Twain was asked if he was happy with Beckham’s performance, he laughed. “I’m very happy with everyone on the team, yes, everyone, including myself.”

David Beckham did not become the star of the game because he was already part of the team. There was only one star in this game and that was the victorious Nottingham Forest.

Chapter 574 - Four Consecutive Wins and A War of Words

The Nottingham Forest team returned to their home ground after their victory over Everton. Five days later, they would face their opponent, Middlesbrough, in the second round of the league tournament at the City Ground stadium.

They were not a very strong opponent. The Forest team was in good form, so they did not take Middlesbrough seriously.

The Middlesbrough manager was no longer McClaren, who Twain had a bad relationship with. He had gone to be the manager of the England national team. The feud between the two men did not show any signs of reduction since McClaren’s departure, and Twain would attack McClaren’s work in his special column in the newspapers. He was very good at finding flaws in the small details that others, including McClaren himself, did not pay much attention to, and then made a splash, and used it as an “ironclad evidence” to attack McClaren.

Sometimes during the interviews, McClaren would go through BBC or The Sun in a roundabout manner to hit back at Twain. However, the clash between the two men did not intensify. It was only limited to verbal bickering.

For example, Twain criticized McClaren for his poor results in leading the team. In order to clear his predecessor’s influence, he would rather let the team do poorly in the UEFA European Championship Qualifying, than recruit David Beckham to join the squad, which was his way of avenging his personal vendetta. As to what kind of vendetta existed between Beckham and McClaren, Twain did not say, nor did he need to. The media would naturally marshal all the forces that could be mobilized to investigate, and create an uproar. Even if nothing had transpired, they would infer the opposite. Twain was more well-acquainted with the concept of “playing a game of cat and mouse” than anyone.

McClaren would not take it lying down. He would not write an opinion piece to hit back at Twain. If he did, he would feel that he took Twain too seriously which would delight Twain even more. Therefore, he could only pretend to “occasionally” let slip when he spoke to the press: “If Manager Twain is so interested in the position of England’s manager, why doesn’t he give it a try in person?”

Twain would scornfully say, “do you know which are the two jobs in the world that will shorten lives? The British Prime Minister and the England national football team manager. I’m not going to be the manager who works non-stop twenty-four-seven without any rest and privacy. As for Mr. McClaren’s displeasure, I understand it deeply, but not everybody is a chef. If I thought a certain dish tasted terrible and the chef came to question me and said ‘You make it then,’ I’d definitely flip the table on the spot and let him know what hospitality is.”

Tony Twain’s sharp and unkind words as well as his gift of the gab were well known. And the constant target of Twain’s insults, Mr. McClaren, had learned a valuable lesson from being bullied repeatedly. When Twain stirred something up, he just needed to respond with his standpoint and views, which were not for Twain’s ears. They were stated for those spectators to listen to, lest Twain mislead the public with misrepresentation and deliberate fabrication. Then, when Twain continued to blow it up further, he had to stay silent and pretend not to hear it. “Silence is golden.”

The English media once ridiculed the relationship between Twain and McClaren, stating that it did not look like a personal feud between enemies, but rather a married couple who quarreled every few days. This type of quarrel caused little damage to the love between them; it was just one of those things in life. It was like watching a reality television show. They were not interested in shows filled with romantic content, but they loved to watch real-life squabbles. Because they were real and full of anecdotes, they could make people roar with laughter or at least smile.

The Middlesbrough manager changed when McClaren was transferred to the England national team. Twain was no stranger to this man — Gareth Southgate, the former main center back of the England national team and one of the influential figures during the Premier League’s first decade. He had participated in the 1996 and 2000 UEFA European Championship, and the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup. Without Twain’s transmigration and subsequent rise of the Forest team, he would have led Middlesbrough into the 05-06 season’s UEFA Europa League final a year ago and achieved the club’s most glorious moment in history. Unfortunately, the last glory of his personal career became a future that would never happen because of Twain’s arrival.

In 2004, he announced his withdrawal from the national team because he was not selected for England’s main list for the UEFA European Championship. As the then Middlesbrough manager, McClaren was elected England’s manager last season, Southgate, the team’s captain and McClaren’s aide, took over as the Middlesbrough manager after a few twists and turns.

It was said that he had a bit of trouble because Southgate did not have a coaching certificate from the UEFA at the time. According to the rules, anyone who did not have the certification could not coach the First Team. However, there were some differences between England and Continental Europe. The UEFA rules were less widely accepted in England and the English football world had its own rules. Before the incident, Newcastle United’s manager Glen Roeder was also an “uncertified induction.” This precedent that gave the Middlesbrough chairman, Steve Gibson, confidence. He petitioned all the club owners in the Premier League. After he obtained approval from two-thirds, Southgate became Middlesbrough’s manager. This was the so-called rule of the game in English football. They did not need to follow the UEFA arrangements. As long as their own people felt that it was not an issue, it was not a problem.

The League Managers Association’s response was stronger compared to the generosity of the club owners. They were almost unanimous in their opposition. They were worried that that kind of rule-breaking was going to start a bad tradition. There was Glenn Roeder before and this time, it was Gareth Southgate. How were they supposed to know if any Tom, Dick, or Harry would seek to assume a post without certification in the future? If so, what kind of authority would a manager have? In England, many football fans were almost all football experts. Perhaps they would feel they could become impressive Premier League managers.

Twain was a different voice among the opposition. He publicly supported Southgate as the Middlesbrough manager. There was a sense of empathy since he also thought of himself as an “uncertified induction.” He was a complete rookie four years ago, but he had become the manager of the European Champion team. Therefore, he did not think that a coaching qualification was a necessary thing. As long as he had the talent and was smart enough, he could become a qualified and excellent manager after practice. As for a manager’s authority... Twain scoffed at such nonsense. The authority of a manager was not dependent on a piece of paper, but won through the results of the team he led. If he could not win the games, even if UEFA were to give him a gold certificate, he would not have any prestige to speak of.

Based on this idea, Twain was adamant in his support for Southgate. After Southgate eventually became the official manager of Middlesbrough, Twain texted to congratulate him. This gave the two complete strangers a friendship. At some point in the future, this friendship would show its results.

Twain was no longer a nobody in the League Managers Association reception. He would deserve a mention at the association because he had achieved the brilliant results. But perhaps due to his unfavorable first impression of the association, he never thought of himself as a member of the association. He couldn’t care less about the boring stuff such as the preservation of the managers’ prestige and the reputation of the League Managers Association. Are they worried that anyone can become a manager? I actually look forward to it! If there’s no upheaval, how else can I watch a good show?

Once Twain publicly spoke out in support, a few more people in the association came out to congratulate Southgate, and the matter was settled indefinitely.

The explosive atmosphere of the encounters between the Forest team and Middlesbrough of the McClaren era also vanished due to this relationship.

The atmosphere of the game was normal and no different from any ordinary league match.

The Forest team made use of their home advantage to beat Middlesbrough with one goal.

Southgate worked hard, but he was still a bit inexperienced. He used to be a good player, and perhaps a good assistant manager. However, the things that a manager needed to take into consideration were different from that of an assistant manager. The way of looking at problems was also not the same, which determined why there were managers and assistant managers. In Twain’s view, Southgate’s ability to instruct the players, especially the defenders, was great, but his grasp of the team’s overall tactics and his responsiveness according to changes in the games were lacking.

After Southgate became the Middlesbrough manager from being a former defender, he was staunch about defense. The abandoned Real Madrid player, Jonathan Woodgate, had a second spring and flourished under his command. Middlesbrough’s defense also greatly improved. They came to the City Ground stadium with the idea of clinging onto one point. Their parking the bus defense did cause a lot of trouble for the Forest team’s offense during the game.

Arshavin, who was active in the first game, started again. However, overwhelmed by the tall English defenders, he could not get into the groove at all. Twain replaced him with Eastwood in the second half and the Forest team’s offense picked up.

Southgate almost left the City Ground stadium with one point as he planned, but he was not as cunning as Tony Twain.

Before the last fifteen minutes, the score was still 0:0. In the 75th minute, Twain replaced the young Bendtner with the more experienced van Nistelrooy. This was his second replacement spot. He then instructed van der Vaart and Wood to move the midfielder’s position in the middle forward and improved the long shots. In the last ten minutes, he brought on Rafinha to replace Chimbonda and instructed Beckham to lean to the middle so as to set aside enough space for Rafinha to break through. He used the full-back as a side midfielder.

Following Twain’s swift consecutive adjustments, Southgate reacted too slowly to keep up with the pace. In the 84th minute, the Middlesbrough goal was finally lost.

Rafinha’s breakthrough caused chaos in Middlesbrough’s defense on the left flank. The football was diverted to the flank, where van der Vaart immediately shot the ball. The force was too great and the Australian goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, pounced on the ball and saved it. Lying in wait the box, the experienced “King of the Six-Yard Box” van Nistelrooy grabbed the shot and easily pushed the football into the empty goal.

The Middlesbrough defenders thought van Nistelrooy was offside and raised their hands without even trying to defend. In the end, it was proven that they had misjudged. Van Nistelrooy was indeed behind the entire rear defensive line when he shot. But at the moment when van der Vaart did the long shot, he was parallel to the rear defensive line...

With the ball, the Forest team defeated Middlesbrough at home and won twice in a row in the new season.

After the game, Twain praised Southgate highly, believing he had the talent to be a good manager. As to whether he really was, he did not know. Anyone could nice things since flattery did not require any responsibility afterwards.

The real him had watched Southgate play throughout his youth, but now in the coaching world, he was qualified to be Southgate’s senior.

Southgate was very gracious. Although he had lost, he complimented Twain, who was supportive of him becoming a manager. He said he was sincerely convinced and accepted the defeat. He wished the Forest team could achieve better results in the new season.

The Forest team had already taken the Champions League title last season. To achieve better results? What would be considered a better result?

※※※

The home win against Middlesbrough was just the second step in a series of victories for the Forest team.

Just two days later, on August 19th, the Forest team took down West Ham United, who had planned to hold fast at home in London, with another 1:0.

The Forest team played hard in the game because Twain did not expect that the other team would hold fast to their ground at home and their highest aim was to obtain one point.

“Holy shit! To just take one point at home! No wonder West Ham United is dying every year, so unambitious!” Twain could only vent his frustration.

All his pre-match arrangements fell through. He originally thought that West Ham United would use its home-field advantage to compete against him for the control of the midfield. Unexpectedly, the West Ham United team withdrew to within the thirty-meter zone in one go and adopted the stance of parking the bus to defend to the end. The Forest team’s quick counterattack hit an iron panel and was unable to gain anything except being battered and bruised.

They relied on Twain’s ability to adapt and command accordingly to conditions on the field to solve the problem.

Fortunately, the current Forest team was no longer that team that only knew how to play a quick counterattack and would be at their wits’ end when they faced an opponent who clung fast to defense. He brought on Beckham, who was better at set piece and positional play, and Gareth Bale, who was equally good at free kicks. He used the last substitution spot on Bendtner. The young Danish player replaced van Nistelrooy. For the next twenty-five minutes, the West Ham United players watched the football fly over the front of their goal.

Bale and Beckham frequently played high balls and lob shots in front of the goal from the left and right flanks. They relied on Bendtner’s outstanding height and header skills to create chaos in front of the opponent’s goal.

The move obtained a fantastic effect. When Beckham’s precise-to-the-centimeter pass appeared at the back point, Bendtner jumped high and surpassed all the West Ham United defenders. Now all he had to do was hit the football right in front of his eyes into the goal.

Just like a fadeaway jump shot, Bendtner leaned slightly backward in midair to power up. While in the air, he was disturbed by the West Ham United defender. He was tugged at from below and nearly lost his balance. He leaned too far back and could not get his strength up. He had initially wanted to fling his head back to shoot. Instead, he brushed the football, which went up high in an arc and fell through a narrow crack. It was a lucky strike.

The football brushed the crossbar and fell into the goal. In order to pounce on the ball, the West Ham United goalkeeper, Robert Green, nearly hit the goalpost, but failed to stop the football from getting into the goal.

The Forest team’s goal in the final ten minutes helped them take down West Ham United in the away game.

After the game, the West Ham United manager, Alan Curbishley, defiantly said that their loss was just due to a little bad luck, and that his tactics were perfect and had limited the Forest team’s attacks. Twain was kind enough to remind him that luck was also part of a team’s strength.

※※※

Nottingham Forest traveled north to Newcastle on August 25th to challenge the city’s only professional team. After a bitter battle, the Forest team took their fourth consecutive win since the start of the new season with a score of 2:1.

Moreover, the best result that their opponent, Chelsea, obtained was three wins and one draw in four games and ranked second with ten points. The Manchester City team, which had a new manager, performed outstandingly with three wins and one loss in four games and came in third with nine points. With one game short, Liverpool had two wins and a draw with an accumulation of seven points to rank fourth. Next was Everton with seven points from two wins, one draw, and a loss, as well as Arsenal with seven points from two wins and one draw. Among the teams that had the ability to compete for the league title this season, the worst-faring was Manchester United, who only scored just one win, two draws, and one loss in four games and ranked tenth with five points.

With four wins and twelve points, Forest ranked at the top of the list. This was the best start in the Premier League in the club’s history. This was also the first time the team had taken the top spot on the league table since Tony Twain became the manager of the Forest team. Although it was not the final ranking of the season, the Forest team celebrated it in the hotel they stayed that evening. They made their manager, Tony Twain, drink until he was too drunk to stand.

Their revelry was captured on film by the paparazzi from The Sun and published in the newspaper, causing a number of fierce verbal attacks.

Among those who slammed the Forest team were ordinary fans, as well as prominent journalists and football celebrities.

Some people thought that the Forest team celebrating like that after they achieved the small result implied that they were arrogant and despised their opponents. “Manager Tony Twain is so smug and conceited after he only won a Champions League title... one could understand with such a young manager. They always have to take more detours in order to get back on the right track. But I think it’s still necessary to remind Manager Tony Twain... ”

Some people also said the Forest team’s discipline had declined to a huge degree — the manager drinking with the players! Although it was not unusual for the players to drink, it was still of interest when it was exposed.

Kerslake was held by reporters. When he was asked about this matter, he patiently explained the coaches were the only ones who drank. The players actually drank juice, soda, and other non-alcoholic drinks. Why were all the players so lively after the party? Because they did not have a drop of alcohol at all.

Twain did not speak so nicely. He answered the reporters’ questions with a nasty tone. “This is not a big deal. I understand why you guys want to hype up this matter since you guys haven’t been around the block.” He spoke as if the people interviewing him were the ones who had little experience. “These days, there would be no readers if the media do not create waves. It’s not easy for everyone to earn a living.” His words were accompanied by an pretend understanding expression that made the media hover between laughter and tears. “But I want to make it clear that I do not mean to belittle my opponents. It was our internal celebratory party. This celebration was only held to celebrate our current achievement. I swear to God that we did not mention any of our opponents during our celebration, nor did we insult them in any way. You have put the mark of ‘despised their opponents’ wrongly on us.”

They did not mention any of their opponents? Was that a clarification or a provocation? It was really hard to judge.

“We never despise any opponent because it does not help us defeat them.” The words were decent, but with Twain’s character, he was bound to turn around. Sure enough... “Some people say it’s too early to celebrate? It’s not really that early. We’re rehearsing for our upcoming UEFA Super Cup victory celebration.”

These words fully reflected Twain style. The Liverpool people immediately seethed with anger.

The Liverpool Echo acted as the vanguard and freely attacked Tony Twain in the newspapers.

Twain brazenly responded in his column. “If the people of Liverpool feel they can depend on their media’s attacks to win the championship, then I invite them to attack all day long.”

His response further angered the Liverpool people, and even Liverpool players came forward to be interviewed to express their displeasure at Twain. They thought that a manager should focus on managing the players and leading by example, rather than fighting verbal wars all the time. This was clearly meant to ridicule the Forest team’s frenzied celebration.

Twain unceremoniously hit back. “I agree that a manager should put his mind on managing the players, so it is clear that Mr. Benítez’s work is not in place yet.” This time, he pulled in Rafael Benítez, the opposing manager, a Spaniard who had been very low-key. He mocked Benítez for not being in charge of his players, which made the people at Liverpool even angrier.

Who could stay out of the fray? No one could, since Twain quickly and easily stirred everyone up.

The UEFA Super Cup had not yet begun, and the war of words between the two teams was already full blown.

Twain cleverly made use of this media hype over their drinking party to launch psychological warfare while the other side was unaware. Twain did not expect the drinking party to be hyped up by the media, but, as an excellent master in psychological warfare, he had to use all the factors available to him to provoke the opponent.

Twain firmly believed that his tactics were effective. Whether the opponent was angry or contemptuous, they would not maintain their previous emotions. Perhaps they would not notice it, but the changes would faithfully emerge during the game.

In order to win, he would take advantage of all available factors. How could becoming a scoundrel who quarreled with people in the media in the eyes of the Liverpool fans be compared with a UEFA Super Cup?

Twain never cared about his reputation and image in the minds of the rival supporters. Otherwise, he would have been too distressed to sleep every night because there were just too many people who hated him. No one would like to the enemy that beat the team they supported, would they?

Tony Twain did not like any enemies that beat them, so he had a deep understanding of those people’s feelings..

Chapter 575 - Benítez

The UEFA Super Cup began in 1972.

Previously, it had been said that Nottingham Forest was the European champion because they were the Champions League winner. But at Liverpool, the Liverpool fans also thought of themselves as the European champion because their team had just won the UEFA Europa League.

In that way, there were two European champions, but there could only be one champion. What could they do about it? The winners of the two tournaments would have a match to determine the final winner. This method implied there would be a “king of all kings.” Everyone was a king, but which king was more powerful? It was believed that many fans would be interested in the answer to this question.

Initially Europe had three major cup tournaments, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and the UEFA Europa League.

As the name implied, the UEFA Champions League was a cup tournament that only the champions from the various countries could compete in. It was the championship with the highest bearing and the coveted honor countless powerhouse teams yearned for.

The UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup was played by the winners of the various countries’ domestic cup competitions, second to the Champions League.

The UEFA Europa League had the shortest history. Its predecessor was the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The participating teams were neither league champions nor cup winners, but the few teams other than the cup and league title winners. The spots allocated to each country’s league at the end were different.

The UEFA Super Cup was originally a contest for victory by the Champions League winner and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup champion. Later, going into the 21st century, UEFA thought that as the weaker teams from the various countries’ leagues were able to squeeze into the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, it led to the decline in standards for the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, which in turn caused it to be less attractive and unable to attract wealthier sponsors. Therefore, UEFA decided to reform the cup tournament and merged the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup with the UEFA Europa League. They canceled the cup tournament with its thirty-eight years of history and replaced it with the UEFA Europa League.

Today’s two competing teams in the UEFA Super Cup had become the Champions League winner and the UEFA Europa League champion. The UEFA Super Cup competition had also gone from the previous two rounds of home and away matches to a single match to determine the winner. Since 1998, the venue had been fixed in the famous tourist destination of Monaco.

Monaco was a beautiful country, with azure sea and blue sky. All kinds of luxury yachts were always moored in its port. Only the real wealthy people had the means to enjoy it. To a man like Twain, he did not have the money to keep up a yacht. Even Shania did not have enough. Among the people he knew, perhaps only Wood’s agent, Billy Woox was most likely to own a private yacht.

Monaco was best known for racing sport, and Monte Carlo was famous for its F1 track. Before he became a manager, Twain’s knowledge of Monaco came from two areas. One was racing and the other was football.

Monaco also had its own professional football club, which participated in the France Ligue 1. The French football world was also a force to be reckoned with. One of Twain’s deepest impressions of them was the former Real Madrid striker, Morientes, was on loan to AS Monaco and took his revenge against Real Madrid for abandoning him with a goal during the knockout round in the Champions League. His goal helped AS Monaco eliminated Real Madrid.

The footage of Morientes comforting his good friend, Raúl, after the game was unforgettable to Twain.

That was a legendary Champions League game as the two teams that ended up in the final were not the most famous and powerful teams in Europe. That match brought two young managers success — AS Monaco’s manager, Didier Deschamps, and Portugal’s Porto manager, José Mourinho. In the end, Mourinho got the last laugh and won the Champions League trophy. He completed a three-level jump from the Primeira Liga to the UEFA Europa League, and then to the UEFA Champions League. He became the hottest manager in Europe in one jump. Everyone knew the story that followed.

The same thing just happened last season to Twain, who led the team from League One to the Premier League, and then to the Champions League title. Twain also completed no less than Mourinho’s three-level jump. Given that he was in the more competitive and stronger Premier League, it might have been more difficult than what Mourinho went through. Tony Twain also leapt into becoming Europe’s hottest young manager. There was nothing unusual about a manager with great accomplishments since this line of work was based on experience and wisdom, which came with time and age. The older managers, such as Ferguson, Wenger, Capello, Scolari, Bosque, Aragoné, were all at least fifty years old. A head full of white hair made them appear wiser and more talented.

Forty-something years old managers were considered young in the coaching circle. If they were players, they would be considered old. Mourinho was already forty years old when he won the Champions League, while Twain was not yet forty. It was difficult to achieve such accomplishments at such an age and not to be noticed by others. The young managers’ successes showed that they still had more glorious years to look forward to than the older men. The old men would only grow older and at that time, the football world would be in the hands of the young people. Twain had no qualms about using his age as an advantage and rule for the next thirty or forty years.

After Nottingham Forest won the Champions League title, some Forest fans feared their “boss” would be poached by a billionaire like Abramovich. Mourinho relied on Porto’s Champions League victory to jump to a higher-level Premier League.

In response to this, Twain promised in front of more than 30,000 fans live and countless television viewers that he would not leave the Forest team. He did not say he would not leave during his contract, nor did he state he will not leave for the next few years. He meant “I’m never going to leave.”

He had received coaching invitations from several clubs in the hope of inviting him to coach those teams. The most famous was Real Madrid.

Both President Calderón and Real Madrid fans thought that Capello’s Real Madrid was too rigid and had no artistic football flair, so they swept Capello out the door after they won the league title. Therefore, when Twain received the invitation, he felt that it was ironic. Could it be that his style of football was better to watch than Capello’s? Nottingham Forest was slammed by the European media all the time as a representative of ugly and passive football, and that it was a step backwards in modern football for a team like Nottingham Forest to win the Champions League title and so on. Why was Calderón interested in him?

Consequently, Twain treated the invitation as a joke and did not reply. Shortly after, he heard that Real Madrid had hired Schuster, and paid a penalty fee to Getafe CF, who agreed to release the manager.

That made more sense. Schuster’s style of football looked pretty good when he coached a small team. He used to be a Real Madrid player, so he was the best manager for Real Madrid right now. Twain did not have nothing better to do than to get in on the action...

※※※

Monaco was a beautiful seaside city, but the Forest team was not there on holiday. They arrived in Monaco two days earlier for their training and to adapt to the venue. Their time was split between two points: the hotel and the stadium.

The hotel that the Liverpool team was staying at was not far from the Forest team’s hotel, only twenty minutes by food. Monaco was a small country, with the narrowest section between the North and South only two hundred meters wide.

With them staying so close, they may have encountered each other if they went out for a walk. Both teams were at each other’s throats due to the media hype. Therefore, it was better for them not to meet.

The man who was cursed by countless Liverpool people many times over, sat in the hotel lobby and drank coffee as he was interviewed by a Chinese media collective. He appeared to be at ease.

Why was it “a media collective”? The reporters were from more than one media company. The ten reporters around Twain were all from China. Ever since the World Cup in Germany, Twain had been writing articles for the newspaper that Tang Jing worked for, so he and a lot of Chinese media outlets knew each other. During the AFC Asian Cup, as a foreigner, he had rebuked everyone from the China team, to the Chinese Football Association, to the players, which caused a stir in China. But after all, the repercussions were only in China, so Twain did not take it to heart and just left those media and fans to brood over it.

This interview was agreed upon during the Asian Cup, and he just kept his promise.

The reporters asked a wide range of questions, from the Super Cup, which would begin the next day, to the previous Asian Cup. Some even asked about Twain’s personal interests. For example, why did he like Chinese culture so much?

Twain freely answered their questions in Mandarin and immensely enjoyed using his mother tongue.

A Chinese reporter was kind enough to remind him, “Aren’t you worried about tomorrow’s game, Manager Twain?”

Twain found it funny and somewhat awkward. “What does my worrying have to do with me being here for the interview?”

“As far as I know, Manager Benítez is busy studying your profile.”

“That’s just because you don’t know when we study our opponents.” Twain stopped smiling. He wondered if the ignorant reporter was there to deliberately muck things up.

Tang Jing hurriedly stepped in to the rescue to smooth things over.

“Manager Twain, can you care to elaborate on your outlook for tomorrow’s game?”

Twain stood up, as it was the last question. He did not have that much time to spend playing word games with the reporters. “Outlook? What’s there to elaborate? Of course we’re going to win.” With that, he grinned and made the hand gesture of victory, and the photographers obligingly took pictures.

At the end of the interview, Twain shook hands with the reporters to say goodbye. He was going back to his room to prepare for that evening’s tactical meeting.

“Can you say more nice things about me to your Chinese readers? I know I don’t seem to have a good reputation in China right now,” he said jokingly, which made the reporters laugh. “Maybe I’ll have a chance to develop in China later, and I’ll need everyone’s support at that time!”

He cupped his fists and shook them, which was a very Chinese gesture.

With that, he turned around and walked away.

Was he joking? Some people felt he was, and some thought he was not. Tang Jing was one of them.

Nottingham Forest had a Chinese player, a Chinese assistant manager, and a manager who loved Chinese culture and had chosen to spend his vacation in China twice. How could such a team with close links to China, turn a blind eye to a “virgin land” like China?

Real Madrid had gone to China and so had Barcelona. There was also Manchester United and Chelsea. The English Premier League was even more devoted to the development of the Asian market. Those teams had already gone. In that case, the newly minted European champion would not be too far off?

She looked forward to it.

※※※

Twain did not return to his room. He went straight into Dunn’s room, where the coaches were discussing issues related to the tactical meeting that evening. Everyone just looked up and went back to what they were doing when Twain walked in. No one minded.

Dunn got up and greeted him.

“How was the interview?”

“It’s a lot easier to deal with than the British media.” Twain swept his eyes over the room. “Still in discussion?”

“It’s basically done, just a few side discussions, that’s all.”

The side discussion was not specific to the game, but to the issues that arose from it.?The coaching unit thought that Benítez would choose a more moderate tactic in the game. He would not emphasize too much on defense or offense, but patiently contend with the Forest team. Even if that meant they would drag to a penalty shootout. They went off on a tangent about Benítez as a person. They talked about his likes, habits, and how being a Spaniard influenced his choices in football tactics. After all, the concepts of Spanish football and English football were completely different.

They continued to the Liverpool team’s traditions and the conversation quickly changed again. This time, Twain became the subject, and everyone discussed the war of words between Twain and half of Liverpool City.

This time when they saw Twain sitting to the side, everyone smiled at Twain.

Kerslake cracked a joke about Twain and told him not to travel to Liverpool on vacation for the rest of his life. Otherwise, he could be in danger.

Twain did not join in on their tangent. His mind went back to the source of the men’s discussion and then stopped at the subject of Benítez.

As a manager, studying a team would naturally start with his peers. He knew Benítez and understood him extremely well. Thanks to the well-developed information dissemination technology, he could easily know a lot of things he wanted to find out.

Like him, Benítez was a tactical master and good at on-field command. In the 2004-05 season’s UEFA Champions League final, the first season Benítez took the helm at Liverpool, he created the miraculous night at Istanbul.

Twain was aware that he had been promoted directly from a rookie to a manager and did not receive an orthodox training. Besides relying on his own talent, he constantly learned from the experience and knowledge of others. Therefore, he read up on tactical notes and studied the methods of other managers. He also studied many classic battles in the history of football and the essential points in those battles.

The average fan watched the games only for star players. Twain already liked to study game tactics before his transmigration. He only played video games such as CM and FM. He was a complete rookie when it came to the Pro Evolution Soccer game and could not win against a five-star computer, let alone against other gamers. Playing the Football Manager Game was different. He played against other people online and would always win. He benefited greatly. There was always something worth learning and drawing on in those classic battle.

In the Champions League final against AC Milan, he instructed George Wood to closely follow Kaka, which could be said to have been influenced by Benítez. And that Champions League final during that? When the Liverpool defender, Finnan, was injured, Benítez replaced Finnan with Hamann and Liverpool changed to the 3-5-2 formation. Hamann’s appearance gave the Reds a player to specifically mark Kaka. As a result, the Brazilian, who was unusually active in the first half, had since disappeared.

Sometimes, a manager’s substitution did not have to be momentous. A seemingly unremarkable change was more threatening. Benítez was an underrated manager. Most of his tactical masterpieces appeared unremarkable. During that same season, Liverpool went to Turin with a home score of 2:1 to challenge Juventus in an away game. With the public opinion overwhelmingly bullish on the Italians, Liverpool eliminated the Old Lady with a boring 0:0. In that game, the fans shouted in frustration, drowsy from watching a boring game at 2:45 AM. Twain watched the entire game from start to finish in full spirit. He saw Benítez’s tactical wisdom. The transformation of the three center backs produced a fantastic effect. Juventus, who was best at defense and tedious warfare had been smothered by Liverpool’s sudden turnaround. Capello could only nurse his grievance.

Twain remembered the season he had first led his team to advance to the Premier League. He forced Arsenal into a draw of 1:1 at home and won a 2:1 home game against Chelsea. He felt like he was flying high. However, he ended up losing to Benítez’s Liverpool team in the away game by 1:4. That game remained his biggest loss since coaching the Nottingham Forest team.

He still remembered every detail of the game because the score of 1:4 was just too offensive. All his tactical arrangements in that game were seen clearly by the other side, and his on-field command skills, which he was so proud of, were suppressed by Benítez. No matter how he adjusted through substitutions, he was unable to adjust out of the circle that Benítez had drawn for him. He was like the Monkey King that was too powerless to escape from the Buddha’s palm.

Twain was not a man whose wisdom would be blinded by the anger of his failure. He was willing to gamble and accept the consequences. Now that he had lost, the only thing he could do was to study the game carefully, find his shortcomings, and then improve in future games. Failure was the mother of success. Although the phrase was cliché, it was indeed a saying for all ages. He had learned far more from that game than winning.

Twain was no longer a novice. Nottingham Forest often won against Liverpool. The relationship between both sides was no longer that of a powerhouse team and a newly promoted team.

The best thing about Twain was that he was never contaminated with Chinese football’s bad habit of phobia, so he did not have any psychological shadow because he once lost to an opponent and would always stumble over the same stone. He believed more in the philosophy of “if someone slaps me, I’m going to return the favor with a hundred slaps.” To put it mildly, it would be “he who crosses me will be punished,” or in a harsher tone, “seek revenge for the smallest grievance.”

Benítez was a composed manager. Therefore, before the game, Twain did everything he could to provoke Liverpool and drag the Spaniard through the mud. But would Benítez be affected by it?

He did not respond to Twain’s provocations and insults against him in the media. He only talked about the game and nothing else.

It looked like Twain’s psychological tactics did not work on him, but whether it was effective or not would only be known during the game.

Twain snapped out of his contemplation. His coaches had already changed the topic from Earth to Mars. A group of people were discussing the recent popular star in the United Kingdom, Paul Potts, who sang opera and amazed everyone on Britain’s Got Talent.

“All right, guys. If there’s nothing else, it’s time for you to go back. Don’t you think it’s too crowded in here?” Twain stood up and clapped his hands to interrupt their discussion. “After dinner, inform the players of the meeting,” he said to Kerslake.

Kerslake nodded, but he did not leave. “Anything else?” he asked.

“Remind them to rest early tonight.”

Kerslake and the other coaches left. Dunn stood in front of the couch and asked as he watched Twain sit down. “You’re not going back to your room?”

Twain paused at the question before he looked up and grunted. “Oh this is your room.”

Dunn did not know whether to laugh or cry. He pushed him out. “I’ll call you at dinner. You’d better take a break now. I think you’re tired and confused.”

Twain muttered something like “I’m used to living with you” as he walked back to his room.

Lying on the bed in his room, before he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he was still thinking “what is Benítez doing?”

Chapter 576 - Face to Face with The Enemy

Perhaps some teams would use the UEFA Super Cup as the last important friendly match before the season, but Twain would not do that. This was different from participation in friendlies like the Russian Railways Cup and the Amsterdam Tournament. Twain took the championship title seriously. Otherwise, he would not have fought that big war of words against Liverpool before the game.

Moreover, Liverpool’s Benítez would not think that it was nothing more than a slightly important friendly. He made the most detailed arrangements for this game.

The UEFA had stated that it was “the opening battle of the new season’s UEFA Europa League.”

However, it turned into an English civil war, which was kind of boring. Sevilla failed through a lack of a final effort in the UEFA Europa League final and was reversed by Steven Gerrard’s score of a crucial goal at the final moment.

Benítez’s team seemed to be particularly good at reversals.

In the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, Liverpool overtook AC Milan, who was three goals ahead of them to pick up the championship title. They created the most classic reversal battle in the fifty-year history of the Champions League finals. During the final moments of the 2006 English FA Cup, Steven Gerrard used an astonishing long shot and penetrated the West Ham United’s goal to tie the score, which dragged the game into a penalty shootout. They eventually defeated their opponent with the penalty shots and once again staged a shocking reversal to hold the FA Cup title for the seventh time in history. In the 2007 UEFA Europa League final, Liverpool similarly reversed and defeated defending champion, Sevilla, after not having any advantage in the entire game.

Once or twice could be considered a coincidence. By the third time, it was no longer a coincidence.

Twain studied the games and Liverpool seemed particularly good at playing against the wind. The more the situation was against them, the more energy they had. That was a point that he had to pay attention to. He did not want his team to be the opponent’s target of a miraculous reversal in the game. It would be a great disgrace to him.

The game was to be held at Stade Louis II Stadium, which could accommodate up to 18,500 people. It would witness who would become the new season’s king of kings in European football.

※※※

The stands were already completely filled with the fans from England. Because Liverpool’s traditional color was red and Nottingham Forest’s representative color was red as well, the stands in the stadium became a sea of red. One could not differentiate the Forest fans and the Liverpool fans at first glance. They could only be told apart from the singing which teams they supported.

If they were singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” they had to be Liverpool fans, but if they were singing “We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands,” they were unquestionably Nottingham Forest fans.

Stade Louis II Stadium was turned into Vienna’s Wiener Musikverein by the English fans.

Both teams had already finished their warm-up and entered the locker rooms for the final preparation before the game. The stadium was dominated by the fans from the two teams.

※※※

The players sat in the locker room and listened to their managers make final arrangements. It was the same sight in both the Forest team locker room and the Liverpool locker room.

This was the first title of the new season and neither wanted to yield to the other. Especially when the feud between the two teams was involved as well.

Which team made it so that Liverpool could only play in the UEFA Europa League this season? Which team caused Liverpool to play in the UEFA Europa League for three consecutive seasons? In order to compete for the second place in the league tournament, they ruthlessly kicked Liverpool into the abyss. What was the difference between the second and third places in the league? Would it kill you to let Liverpool take the fourth spot in the league tournament and be allowed to play in the Champions League? There’s no excuse that is more pointless in this world than “Because we want to get the second place in the league tournament, so we are sorry about that.” You might as well just say “we did it for the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play.”

All right, let’s go further and trace it back to thirty years ago. Which team took the league title that belonged to Liverpool? And which team knocked them out in the first round when Liverpool had the ambition to pick up the Champions League title for the third time in a row? Or which team took the EFL Cup away from the Liverpool people and twice defeated the indomitable “Red army” Liverpool in a year?

Nottingham Forest! That’s the team which we have a beef with!

In order to crush you, even if we would only participate in the UEFA Europa League this season, it will be worth it! We want the whole world to know that the only reason you could have the Champions League title was because we were not there!

※※※

Twain had contemplated for a long time and finally decided to stick to the defensive counterattack tactic that the Forest team was good at. If the Liverpool team was successfully enraged by his psychological warfare, they would bombard at all costs, hoping to hit back at their humiliation with more goals. Under such circumstances, defensive counterattack was undoubtedly the best weapon against them.

However, if the old fox, Benítez, was not fooled and continued to wear down the Forest team in an even pace, then there would be no fatal loopholes within the defensive counterattack that could lead to the loss of the ball. No matter what the circumstances were, a solid defense was always right.

Twain decided to stay constant to counter the changes when he could not deduce the other person’s intentions. You want to set a trap that I can’t get out of? I will not fall for it and play along with you!

The Arsenal manager, Wenger’s coaching philosophy was that no matter who the opponent was, strong or weak and regardless of the current situation, Arsenal would only play its own football and would never be led by the opponents. Therefore, even if there were times when Arsenal’s failures were much like “Arsenal”— when they could have had the upper hand in the game, but not win — they remained a powerful force in the English football.

Twain decided to deal with Benítez like that. Whether or not the other side was affected by his own psychological warfare, he would instruct the Forest team to stick to the play they were best at.

“Stabilize the defense first, and then take the opportunity to sneak attack.” Twain’s words were all memorized by the Forest team. When they saw him raise his index finger, they knew what he was going to say.

However, no one expressed any impatience or showed any mischievous expressions. Twain had absolute authority in this locker room. Beckham was the biggest star player on the team. On his first day in the team, Twain had punished him for being late, which went to show that there was no one in the world Twain was afraid of.

Anelka was there for everyone to see. If anyone dared to go against Twain, it would not be as easy as a sale. You’ll be sitting on the bench for a season, first, until there is a sharp decline in your popularity, with no guarantee of staying in competitive form and maintaining your level, and you will be sold at a low price when forgotten by others.

“If Liverpool comes on strong to attack, that’s the situation we want to see the most. But I don’t think it’s likely that Benítez will choose to take such a risky approach. He will slowly contend with us in the midfield. If that’s the case, let him be. Set pieces are the key and I hope you will be able to seize every place kick to threaten the opponent.” Twain stood in front of the players and gave his analysis of what might happen during the game. The tactical board was blank. What he said did not need to be drawn on that whiteboard. That kind of work was done during the previous night’s tactical meeting.

“Also, the rear defensive line and midfield do not have to withdraw too much to the back. There shouldn’t be a gap in the middle. Do not give the opponent too many opportunities for long shots.”

Everyone nodded.

Liverpool skilled at long shots and their captain, Steven Gerrard, was particularly skilled. In the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League finals, his long shots produced excellent results for the team. Another expert at long shots was the Liverpool full-back, John Arne Riise. During the last season’s FA Community Shield, Chelsea lost to Liverpool thanks to Riise’s long shot after a long-range raid.

If he arranged for a defensive formation, Benítez would let his players step up on the long shots. Perhaps they had already increased their practice in the last few days of training for the game.

Therefore, he could not give the other side the space to kick any.

※※※

On the other side, Benítez had already laid out the specific tactics for this game. He looked at the players on his team and suddenly had something else to say.

He had been in Liverpool for three seasons and had not been doing well, except for the magical win of the Champions League in his first season. When they did not do well in the league tournament, they turned to focus on the cup tournament. They had won one FA Cup and one Europa League. Although they won a title every year, it was far from enough for the Liverpool fans. “The Red army” was England’s first powerhouse, and their goal was not to have a FA Cup, Europa League title or something like that every year.

To be either the league champion or the Champions League winner, they would at least need to qualify for next season’s Champions League, wouldn’t they?

This season, their new American bosses had stepped up their investment and bought players from everywhere. Benítez used the advantage of being a Spanish manager to attract Spanish players to join and continued to revamp Liverpool. His proudest move was to persuade Fernando Torres to join the team.

It would have been difficult for Liverpool, who did not even qualify for the Champions League, to buy Torres, but Benítez’s identity as a Spanish manager played a key role. He personally flew to Madrid to look for Torres and held close discussions with him. He told him his grand plans and let him know that it was still promising to join Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Torres was deeply disappointed with Atlético Madrid this season. He had wanted to leave the unpromising team. Atlético Madrid was willing to throw a home game and suffer a crushing defeat by Barcelona in order to stop Real Madrid from taking the title. The player who worked the hardest in that game was Torres, but it was difficult for him to achieve anything without support. It was that game that made him realize that he had no future if he were to remain in a team like Atlético Madrid.

Benítez’s appearance made him decided to take a gamble. A number of Spanish players had not done well after they went abroad. The most famous example was the former Valencia midfielder, Gaizka Mendieta. Spanish players sometimes struggled to adapt to the style of the other countries’ leagues.

Liverpool was different. First of all, the team’s manager was Spanish, so there were a lot of Spanish players in the team. If Torres went, he would be able to save the trouble of adapting to the team and language. Playing under a manager who understood Spanish players was obviously better than going to a team he was completely unfamiliar with, from the manager to the teammates.

Therefore, Torres chose Liverpool, rather than the Serie A giants like AC Milan and Juventus.

With Torres on board, Benítez was confident of raising a revolutionary storm in the Premier League this season to bring Liverpool back to the top of English football.

Benítez had not heard of the Chinese proverb, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” but he had to know how important it was for Liverpool to have a good start now.

He came back from his contemplation and saw that the players were preparing for the game. The locker room was not full of music and laughter like usual. It seemed that the players were aware what the game meant.

He was not good at motivation like Tony Twain. Every manager had things they were good and not good at. He had heard that Twain was very not good at training, which was taken care of by his assistant managers. But Twain’s mobilization through emotions was absolutely top-notch.

Benítez looked at his players. Fortunately, the game did not require him to make any passionate speeches.

“Remember last season’s final game?” Benítez asked with a calm expression. “For me, that was a disgrace.”

He did not want to speak for the Liverpool team because he had no right to. No one had the right to. But he knew that the Liverpool players felt the same as him. In the last minute of last season’s final, they lost their Champions League qualification. Would their enemy, Nottingham Forest be able to understand that kind of plunge in their mood?

No, they can’t. So it’s up to us to give them a good understanding of that sense of loss in today’s game.

Didn’t that egomaniac, Tony Twain, claim before the game that Nottingham Forest would win? Since he made such a boast, we’ll make him lose his face in front of all the Europeans.

“I won’t accept any results other than victory.” He unintentionally uttered the famous saying that often appeared in the newspapers.

※※※

“Apart from winning, I don’t f**king accept any other results!” Twain waved his arms and spoke his version of the remark.

“I’m sure you all remember the final game of last season, right? We disqualified Liverpool from participating in the Champions League this season in order to win. They are very disappointed and angry. Of course, I understand their anger and disappointment, as well as the idea of wanting to take revenge in this game. I’m willing to bet that the Liverpool players’ minds are now filled with ideas to beat us in this UEFA Super Cup and fulfill the vengeance. Anyone will be happy with this. If we lost our Champions League qualification, I would also teach our opponent a good lesson given such an opportunity.” Twain slashed his hand in front of his neck, which caused the players to laugh.

“This is something that could not be avoided. We’re a professional team, not a philanthropist. If we want to win, the opponent can only accept defeat. No one wants to be a loser. I don’t want to, and you certainly don’t want to. Liverpool want us to be the losers in this game, but we can’t let them. I know there are players on the team who have just joined the team this summer, so you have to understand and accept my philosophy in football. Nottingham Forest has many enemies in English football and European football. These enemies have emerged after I became manager. Since you have chosen to join the Forest team, you must be aware we are not popular in many places. Just listen to the hissing outside. It is louder at Anfield. George can fully attest to that.” Twain pointed to Wood, and everyone laughed. Indeed, every time Wood went for an away game, he would be booed by the opposing fans from start to finish. If he was not mentally strong enough, his legs could go soft and he would not be able to play.

“I said so much because I just wanted you to understand. Liverpool has reason to seek revenge, but we can’t let them get what they want. It is not up to them to decide. There are countless teams that want to take revenge on us, but they’ve never succeeded, and it’s no exception this time.”

Twain spoke confidently. He did not deliberately say all these to reassure the players. Today’s Twain was not that greenhorn. Today’s Nottingham Forest was no longer the team that could be swept by Liverpool with 4:1.

No one knew which team would emerge the winner.

Chapter 577 - Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain

Both sides entered straight into their game form right from the first second.

There was no warm-up, no trying out and no pretense to feint an attack. From the first second, the two sides completely entered their game form. Every attack was directed at the goal to score.

Gerrard attempted a long shot and nearly breached the goal. Fortunately, Edwin van der Sar was so focused that he struck the football out. In the face of Gerrard’s long shot, he dared not hold the ball in his hands for fear that he would drop it.

This powerful long shot instantly ignited the atmosphere in Stade Louis II.

Twain sat in the technical area and behind him was the Red Army Liverpool fans. Thunderous cheers filled every inch of space around him, piercing his eardrums. He did not even move his head as he was used to it for a long time. He just considered his own issues.

It appeared Liverpool was eager to beat them. The only question now was if it was that Benítez’s plan, or was the Liverpool players’ own idea.

He turned his head to look at Liverpool’s technical area. Benítez sat in his seat, surrounded by aides. Twain could not see his expression or hear what they said.

The Forest team had never been afraid to encounter a team eager to win. The Forest team liked to run into teams that would launch a fierce attack right from the start, besieging and bombarding the Forest team’s goal, like they could not wait to breach the goal with two or three shots so to get the lead.

In that case, defensive counterattack would come in handy.

Twain decided to wait quietly for a few minutes to observe Liverpool’s true intentions before making a decision.

Five minutes into the start of the game, Liverpool took advantage of their kickoff to launch a siege on the Forest team’s goal. Nottingham Forest correspondingly withdrew its defensive line to let the opponent press up to attack.

Judging from the situation alone, anyone would have come to the conclusion that Nottingham Forest was passively coming under attack and was in a sorry mess due to Liverpool’s powerful offense, but the real experts did not see it that way.

For those familiar with the Forest team, that was the most dangerous time for the Forest team’s opponents.

Just like a spring, before it could rebound with force, it had to be compressed by an external force. The strength of its rebound related to the degree to which it was compressed. If a sharp knife was installed at the top of this spring, then when it rebounded...

The Forest team’s three defensive lines contracted so tightly that everyone came back to take part in the defense except Eastwood. No matter how ferocious Liverpool’s offensive was, all three lines remained intact.

It was like a spring that was compressed to the extreme.

“Liverpool’s offense is fierce, but let’s take a look at Manager Tony Twain. He doesn’t seem worried. Of course, the Forest team’s style of play is always to solidify its defense first, and then seek the opportunity to attack. This is not the first time that they are playing under such pressure from opponents.” There was a hint of sarcasm in the commentator’s tone. No one liked a team that took defense more seriously than offense. Twain was right. The Forest team was unpopular.

※※※

Twain no longer required to stand on the sidelines and use hand gestures to alert the players to such a matter like to seek an opportunity to attack while they secured the defense. Most of the Forest players knew what to do. Those who did not know had to be the newcomers who only joined the team this summer. In the Forest team’s starting list today, only Beckham was the only who had just joined the team.

Whether at Manchester United or Real Madrid, Beckham’s every contact with the football was geared toward the offensive and upholding the offense. Other than his final season in Real Madrid, he rarely thought about focusing on the defense in the game.

Since he came to the Forest team, the defensive part of training accounted for a large proportion, which he needed to adapt to in the beginning.

Fortunately, he played as the defensive midfielder in Real Madrid. Even if he played as the right midfielder, he would also actively participate in the defense. Although his level of defense was average, his attitude was right and that was enough.

Twain let Beckham start. In addition to his high regard for his tireless running and professionalism, he also needed to rely heavily on his place kicks and passes from the flank.

Edwin van der Sar pounced on Torres’s near shot and put the football firmly under his body. He did not give the other opposing players the opportunity to make up the shot. Although Akinfeev had returned to the team from Russia, it was thought that Russia’s number one national goalkeeper would need to sit on the bench for some time to adapt to the Premier League.

Edwin van der Sar got up and threw the football back to Beckham who came back to receive. The Forest team’s attacking players also rushed ahead. Ribéry, van Nistelrooy, van der Vaart, and Eastwood were all in the front field. Only Beckham ran back to the front of the box to receive the ball.

This was the Forest team’s new offense tactic: to make use of Beckham’s precise long pass to help the team shake off of the opponent’s crazy blockade in the midfield and strike behind the opposing defensive line. Other than the risk of possibly putting their forwards in the opponent’s offside trap, everything was fine.

Beckham turned around after he received the football to prepare for a long pass. However, he was pushed down by Gerrard.

The referee’s whistle sounded to signal that Liverpool had fouled. Such a foul would neither give Gerrard a yellow card nor a verbal warning, but it would nip the Forest team’s counterattack in the bud.

The Forest team sent a free kick from the backfield and Pepe’s long pass was headed back by Liverpool’s Danish center back, Daniel Agger. The Forest team had no chance to fight back. At the moment, Liverpool’s thirty-meter zone was full of players. The Forest team had no method to break through Liverpool’s defense other than to pass the ball back and forth while they looked for opportunities.

Twain frowned. He thought he knew what Benítez had planned.

It looked like the Liverpool players were not carried away by anger yet...

They pressed up when it was time to attack and quickly retreated when it was time to defend. If the Forest team wanted to attack fast, they had to find ways to delay, even if it meant a foul.

Their tactics were clear, and the players were decisive in their execution.

It looked like this was going to be a tough game.

※※※

If the spring was compressed further, the force of the rebound would cause a greater attacking power. That was how defensive counterattack worked in principle.

But what if the force exerted on the spring was suddenly greater than the force the spring could withstand? What if the power exerted was not exerted from above? What would be the consequence?

A “kapow” could be heard.

“Fernando Torres!” the commentator shouted. Liverpool’s number 9 opened his arms wide to accept the congratulations from his teammates.

In the opening eleven minutes, as Twain racked his brains about how to deal with Liverpool’s tactics, the Forest team’s goal was conceded.

It was a beautiful coordination in the front field. Gerrard caught Wood’s attention after he took the ball, and then he managed to lure Wood out of his own defense zone by making to look like he was about to do a long shot. All the Forest players put their focus on him, he pushed the football straight out from under his feet. Torres plugged in from the front of the rear defensive line and did a small loop to be onside. He received the ball behind the Forest defenders, and the next thing was simple. He kicked the ball to the far corner while Edwin van der Sar had not yet blocked the angle of his shot. Then the football rolled easily into the goal.

Liverpool led by 1:0 at the 11th minute. The Reds fans were jubilant, while the Forest fans were temporarily silent.

Twain sat in the technical area and scratched his head. This was his only move after he saw the goal concede. He did not jump out of his seat angrily and hurl his water bottle. The opponent’s tactical cooperation was brilliant. A lapse occurred in their own defense. In that moment, the defensive players only cared about who had the ball. There was really no need for him to be too angry about this goal concede.

Besides, the game had only been going for eleven minutes. The Forest team still had plenty of time. He was not in a hurry.

With that thought in mind, Twain adjusted his sitting posture, and he cocked one leg up over the other.

When a spring was pressed too hard, it might be crushed and bent out of shape. But for Twain, it just meant that the spring had shattered.

※※※

The leading Liverpool continued to step up their offensive against the Forest team in the first half. They were not satisfied with one goal, and Benítez was aware that they were not secure with one goal at all.

Nottingham Forest was at a disadvantage in face of a strong Liverpool team, from an outside perspective. Twain did not think that it was a disadvantageous position. He remembered the wuxia novels he had been obsessed with in high school. In Jin Yong’s The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, there was a paragraph that fit the present situation, and was appropriate to sum up the Forest team’s football tactical style:

If he is strong, let him be strong;.The cool breeze brushes away the small hill; If he is fierce,?let him be fierce. The bright moon shines on the great river.

Regardless of how powerful and ferocious the enemy is, to me it is nothing more than a cool breeze brushing away the hill or a bright moon illuminating a river. Although I can feel the cool breeze and see the bright moon, it will not damage me. But what should I do so that I will not come into any harm?

Let him be fierce, let him be ruthless, a breath of “true qi” is enough for me.

When applied to the world of football, as long as they were truly strong, the opponent would not lead them by the nose. No matter how fierce their attacks were, their defensive formation would remain intact, resolute and unified. The opponent’s attacks would be like a breeze blowing past the mountains and the reflection of the moon in the river. They would pose no threat at all.

That was the temperament and a sign of confidence of a strong team.

Perhaps in the eyes of the outsiders, the besieged Forest team was surrounded by perils and could concede the goal again at any time, but the Forest players themselves knew how secured they were now.

That goal concede was just a fluke, and it would show up just once.

The Liverpool players on the field were now deeply experiencing the Nottingham Forest team’s “immoveable” style of football. It appeared as if they had besieged the opponent more than the opponents had to them. However, they could threaten the opposing goal only a handful of times.

Furthermore, as everyone knew, the Forest team was good at playing defensive counterattack, which led the Liverpool players to inadvertently forget the space behind them when they rushed up to attack — although Benítez did lay out the tactics in response to this point, people’s psychological inertia was terrible. Nottingham Forest had repeatedly staged quick sneak attacks in various competitions to end their opponents’ play. How could they prevent them from doing it again?

The result in the long run was that the Liverpool players clearly felt tired before they had even finished the first half. Besides the goal earlier, they could no longer crack open the goal. In addition, their opponent could sneak an attack behind them at any time, how could they not be tired?

As everyone knew, Twain was actually Chinese through and through. He had a very strong Chinese background. It was not just reflected in his ability to speak Mandarin and his preference for the Chinese cuisine.

After he became the manager of the Forest team, he slowly contemplated how to integrate the Eastern wisdom with modern football.

The Forest team’s tactics were incorporated with the wisdom from The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Due to the influence of Japanese anime and video games, many people thought that “Fūrinkazan” originated from Japan. In reality, it was developed in China.

On the bookshelf in Twain’s house, a number of books related to China were placed on it in order to fool Yang Yan. Twain seldom pulled “XX journey” out to read, so they were placed high on the shelf. However, The Art of War was the one book that Twain often took out to study.

In The Art of War: Military Maneuvers chapter, there was a saying: be as swift as the wind, as gentle as the forest, as fierce as the fire, as unshakable as the mountain; be as elusive as the shadow and move like lightning.

The phrase summarized the Forest team’s tactics:

Be swift like the wind when you attack. Quietly lie in wait for an opportunity like a disciplined forest. Be ruthless and rapid like a raging inferno during the attack. Be steady and calm like a mountain during defense. This is so that the enemy cannot decipher your intention.You will be unstoppable and roll like thunder once you strike. Keep firm during defense and only make a move during offense. Stability is the basis for movement and movement serves stability.

Offense was built on the foundation of defense. During a game, both teams confronted each other with defense most of the time. The problem-solving attack was often a momentary thing. It was as if the Forest team clung fast to defense for eighty-nine minutes and resolved the battle with a lightning-quick sneak attack unexpected by the opponent.

Twain did not instruct his players to study The Art of War. Although there was a translated copy by the British Museum, he did not have to worry that his translation was not good. He just felt that it would be a testament of a low-level leadership if he were to relay those words in its original translation to his men, because they did not comprehend it on their own and could only imitate from books. He incorporated the wisdom from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War into his daily training and command of the games.

The learnings from Chinese ancestors had been tested for more than two thousand years and were not abolished. Furthermore, they were still being developed and promoted, which proved that they were indeed irreplaceable and worthy of acclaim by modern people. Although the level of Chinese football was extremely low, Twain never thought that everything in China was low. At least he felt that with the ancient wisdom of the East, he could also command the team to achieve victory.

I love Chinese culture. It’s not just to a lame excuse for me to speak Mandarin in the future. I truly love the culture of that country because they are not out of fashion. In fact, it surpasses this era.

※※※

As immovable as a mountain and calm as a forest, the Nottingham Forest team finally found a golden opportunity in the final minutes of the first half. Three Forest players completed three passes at the front of the Liverpool box, and the football flew into Liverpool’s goal.

After George Wood cut off Liverpool’s counterattack, he counter-pressed against the attack. He passed the ball to Ribéry, who passed it to van Nistelrooy. In turn, van Nistelrooy rushed to shoot.

Reyna’s view was blocked by his own teammates and reacted half a beat late. He could only watch the ball go into the net.

It was a sneak attack, swift like the wind and fierce like fire.

Benítez knew that Nottingham Forest had been so tight with defense because they wanted to fight back. But he did not know when the Forest team would counterattack. It would not be called a sneak attack if he knew.

He did not expect that Nottingham Forest would choose to fight back in the final moments of the first half after forty-five minutes of intense competition when the Liverpool players were exhausted.

It was not the most embarrassing thing to be besieged during a game, and it was not the easiest to besiege the opponent.

Be as swift as the wind, as gentle as the forest, as fierce as the fire, as unshakable as the mountain; be as elusive as the shadow and move like lightning.

The ancestors truly did not deceive me.

Chapter 578 - Stop Defending

Nottingham Forest equalized the score in the final moments of the first half, which caused a huge mental blow to Liverpool. Fortunately, the first half had ended, giving them a chance to adjust their mood during halftime. If the game had go on, Nottingham Forest may have scored another goal.

It was not a joke. Countless instances had proven that the moment after the first concede was the most dangerous, it was easy for the opponent to pull off another goal. The morale and confidence of the team that just conceded a goal would be hit hard and was likely to collapse.

Liverpool would not just collapse. They had staged numerous big turnarounds in many key games. Twain was aware of that. Benítez would be sure to sum up the first half at halftime to appease and boost morale to prevent any hits in the second half.

All Twain had to do was make Benítez’s efforts during halftime to go down the drain.

Instead of instructing his own players to step up their offense in the second half, he told them to continue like they did in the first half.

They had to remain immutable to deal with the changing situation. It was the wisdom of the ancestors again.

“Whether we’re ahead or behind, defense is very important. I’m sure Liverpool will play with us slowly at the start of the second half. Benítez emphasizes stability. He won’t let his team take risks easily. All of Europe knows that in addition to defense, what we do best is fighting back with sneak attacks. The last goal in the first half strengthened this image of us. This is good.” Twain nodded vigorously. “Benítez won’t let his team bombard at the start of the second half because he’s afraid of our sneak attacks. So, we will play it safe. As long as you hold onto the draw, the Liverpool players will become agitated as the game goes on, even if Benítez does not instruct. They will not accept the equalized score and will not wait to beat us in ninety minutes. That’s our chance. Remember.”

Twain held up his right index finger. “Wait patiently for the other team to show impatience and start a massive attack. We will counterattack then. Otherwise, a solid defense is the most important thing.”

“Then, it’s a set piece. Increase the quality of the set pieces. Even if you do not score, you must also pose a threat to the opponent. Let them know how strong our set pieces are. That way, they will not use fouls carelessly in the dangerous zone, and that’s our chance.”

The threat of the set pieces was not limited to just scoring a goal. If the opponent was afraid to cause too many set pieces and acted timorously in key positions as they dared not foul, it would similarly pose a great threat to the opponent’s goal.

※※※

Unlike what happened on Nottingham Forest’s side, Benítez did not lay out the tactics for the team first. Just as Twain thought, he reassured and boosted the team’s morale. The blow from the goal concede in the final moments of the first half was big. After fighting hard for forty-five minutes, they were going to bring their lead into the locker room, and everyone was happy. At the last minute, they were equalized by the other team.

The Liverpool players could finally understand how their opponent felt when they were reversed by them repeatedly in the first place.

After he reassured the players, Benítez began to lay out the second half tactic for the team. Contrary to what Twain thought, the first thing he said to the players was, “storm the moment the second half starts.”

The Liverpool players’ spirits jolted upon hearing that.

“Twain will think that we are afraid to step up our offense because we are worried about their sneak attacks, that we will be afraid to increase our attacking force and press up strongly. Their defensive strategy will be on track as planned and nothing would change. So, once the second half starts, intensify the attacks, press on to storm them. Disrupt their defensive pace and score again in the chaos. They definitely will not anticipate this. Definitely.”

Benítez used two “definitely”s and sounded certain. He understood that Twain was conceited, and once he had judged and decided, he would be bent on finishing. If he thought that he was a steady man and would not take risks easily, he would be firm in his belief, and then use it as a basis to specify the Forest team’s counter strategy.

It was a point that could be exploited.

The Forest team thought the Liverpool team would be afraid to attack in full force in the second half and they would have to retain the strength to fight back. In that case, what if we storm right away from the start in the second half?

“In addition to strengthening the long shots from the middle, both flanks are to actively press in and suppress the Forest team’s flank offense. The key to victory or defeat is within the first portion of the second half. I don’t care what you do, just make sure you score!”

※※※

The second half of the game began and the teams switched sides. The fans also revived after the fifteen-minute break and were active again.

Contrary to what Twain expected, Liverpool broke the Forest team’s attack after the kick-off and did not mess around in the midfield at all. They kicked the football to the front. If Kuyt had been better with his shot and had not deviated from the goal...

Two minutes later, the Forest team’s attack was fruitless, and Liverpool regrouped and made a comeback. Riise firmly plugged in from the back half of the field and did a long-range raid. He coordinated with his teammates on the flank to make two versus one pass. Kuyt headed the ball, but due to Pepe’s close interference, his header was too high.

Liverpool’s offense was in line with what Twain said during halftime. The Forest players stayed on track to defend. They had experienced these situations a lot so there was nothing to make a fuss about.

Not to mention Kuyt was anything but a striker, since his shooting ability was so poor.

Next, it was Liverpool’s offense and the Forest team’s turn to stay steady.

The Forest team organized several counterattacks but did not pose any substantive threat because the number of players invested was not sufficient. Liverpool was still attacking constantly.

From the fiery atmosphere of Stade Louis II, Twain gradually got the hint that something was wrong.

Liverpool’s offensive was too strong, far stronger than he had expected. In particular, Benítez had allowed two full backs to frequently press on to assist, as if they did not care about the Forest team’s counterattack at all.

It was not like the first half. No matter how Liverpool attacked in the first half, their two full backs rarely assisted in the front field. They would occasionally go up and quickly go back and rush back and forth.

It was different now. A couple of times he saw that Riise had gone up and did not go back at all. He continued to wait for an opportunity in the front.

This was “a high pressing” situation!

Was Benítez not afraid that the Forest team would sneakily attack the gaps in his rear space?

He turned his head and looked over. The Spaniard sat in the technical area, surrounded by his aides, so he could not see anything.

He thought something was not right but could not tell for a moment what was wrong, what kind of effect it would have on himself and on the Liverpool team. He needed time to observe and analyze.

Twain left his seat and walked to the sidelines. With his arms across his chest, he knitted his brows and observed the situation on the field.

※※※

Gerrard had the ball, and George Wood, a teammate from the England national team was opposite him.

The failure of the World Cup had become a thing of the past. Gerrard’s position in the national team had not been shaken one bit. McClaren trusted him very much. Beckham, who was on the Forest team, was not so lucky and failed to be chosen again after being selected for the England team last season at the last minute only to play for only two games due to his injury.

George Wood was recruited into the national team every year but had not received a chance to start once. At the World Cup, George did not play even a minute of game time. After Eriksson left and McClaren took over, George Wood still could not get the trust of the manager. Although he was the unshakable mainstay in Nottingham Forest, England’s best rookie, one of the best local players in the English Premier League last season, the team captain of the UEFA Champions League winning team and in one of the Champions League’s top eleven-player squads, he still had not been given a chance to prove himself on the England national team. Eriksson did not give it to him, and McClaren did not give it to him either.

Some people said it boiled down to the personal feud between McClaren and Tony Twain that led to Wood being implicated. What was the truth? No one knew.

Since he was a teammate from the national team, Gerrard was naturally aware of Wood’s strength. During national team training, his defense was so tight that many players could not outstrip him.

Gerrard did not dribble the ball. He did not even consider dribbling to bypass Wood.

His task was simple. Lure Wood over and pass the football out. He was to get rid of George Wood’s marking by passing the ball. No player in the world could guard against an entire team’s passes. Even George Wood, who was dubbed a monster by the media, could not either.

When Gerrard saw Wood rush toward him, he passed the football out. Wood did not follow the ball and continued to follow Gerrard. The other Forest players would deal with the rest of the Liverpool team. Gerrard was Wood’s target in this game.

Gerrard was not worried about being frozen because Alonso could organize the attacks in the team. He was closely marked which meant one less offensive point, but did not mean that Liverpool’s offense would be paralyzed.

His mission was to lure Wood out of the defensive zone and give his teammates a chance to take advantage of it.

Alonso saw Wood follow Gerrard in positional play, and he took the opportunity to give the ball to Torres.

Torres did not break through outside the box but swung his leg for a long shot. The football was slammed out of bounds by Edwin van der Sar, and Liverpool got a corner kick.

Gerrard ran to fire the corner kick. Wood went back to the front of the goal to take part in the defense. Although they were teammates on the national team, they had never fought alongside together. In Wood’s few games for the national team, he was brought on to replace Gerrard.

Gerrard drove the football out, and looked for Agger, but George Wood rushed in front of the Danish defender and headed the ball out.

Although he was not as tall as Agger, his jump was better and he managed to box him out, so Agger had no chance.

Liverpool’s offense was not over yet. Wood headed the football and Mascherano made to look like he was going to do a long shot after he received the ball. The Forest players were repeatedly exhorted by Twain that they had to be on guard. When they saw Mascherano swing his leg, Pepe rushed out immediately and was ready to use his body to block the opponent’s shot.

However, Mascherano did not shoot directly and took the opportunity to twist the football up when Pepe turned his back on him. The football bypassed the crowd in the box and flew toward the right.

That was where Gerrard was!

Gerrard, who had just kicked the corner shot, saw Mascherano pass the football before he could run back into the middle. Before he received the ball, he glanced back at the assistant referee behind him and he was not offside!

After he stopped the football with his chest, no one in the Forest team was able to rush up in time to defend. The penalty area was filled with players, and Gerrard chose to volley the football into the goal so that if no one blocked, it would go straight in. If someone got in the way, the shot would still most likely get into the goal...

The football flew all the way to the goal. No one stopped it from coming, but Edwin van der Sar appeared in the correct spot and made a timely save. Gerrard’s long shot was so powerful and astounding that Edwin van der Sar did not intend to hold the football in his hands. He wanted to hit the ball out of the end line. But because this shot was too fast and powerful, Edwin van der Sar had not completed his action before the football whizzed into him.

The result of not being to fully stop the ball was that Edwin van der Sar leaned and fell back into the goal, while the football flew straight up into the air.

Everyone, including the television viewers, followed this football up and down.

The Liverpool players responded by desperately squeezing into front of the goal in the hope that they could head the ball into the goal when the football fell, while the Forest players naturally tried to keep the opponent out and keep them from getting close.

Wood looked up among the crowd. The football had already risen to its peak and was about to descend. Edwin van der Sar was still inside the goal, struggling to climb back up.

It was dangerous to use a header to break the siege because he faced the goal. When he jumped, the opposing players were bound to interfere below. What could have been a header to lift them out of the siege would likely turn into an own goal.

However, they had to lift the siege. Once the football fell, the goal would descend into chaos. Whoever touched the football might just plunk the football into the goal within such a close proximity.

How would he lift the siege? Wood looked up at the falling football while his body tilted back. The posture...

George Wood suddenly leaped high from the crowd with his body leaned toward back. He was not going to use a header to lift the siege but a bicycle kick!

The football was kicked by his right leg and flew straight out of the sidelines!

“George Wood! A bicycle kick to lift the siege! It’s beautiful!”

This action won Wood a lot of applause. The Nottingham Forest fans collectively chanted their captain’s name and cheered at him for lifting this siege.

But Twain, who stood on the sidelines, was not happy at all, and his frown became deeper.

He glanced sideways at next door, as the Liverpool manager, Benítez, came out of the technical area. It was clear he was sorry that the ball did not enter the goal or... was he a little disgruntled?

Benítez did not wave his arms or shout from the sidelines. He just stood with his arms crossed, as if he was not interested in anything in front of him. But if he was truly as calm as he looked on the outside, why would he come out of the technical area?

This was the first time he had left the technical area in the game to appear on the sidelines.

Twain thought about it with his head cocked to the side and laughed. He turned around and walked back to the technical area. He said to his assistant manager, Kerslake, “go tell them to step up the offense. Stop defending.”

Chapter 579 - The UEFA Super Cup

Kerslake used his loud voice to relay Twain’s latest instructions to the players on the field to stop defending to death and start attempting more attacks. Since Liverpool was attacking strongly without any regard, the Forest team should reciprocate.

They had to give as good as they got. The Forest team began to fight back.

Liverpool pressed closely, which gave the Forest team a chance to attack. Nottingham Forest ripped off its defensive cover to reveal the sharp dagger hidden underneath, and the blade glinted with the light of cold steel.

Like an iron gate in the midfield, Mascherano was responsible for cutting ties between the Forest team’s backfield and front field and blocking the opponent’s counterattack. He was the weapon Benítez had arranged to deal with the Forest team’s counterattack.

Twain had long admired the Argentinian defensive midfielder before his transmigration and becoming a manager. He was an outstanding defensive midfielder with excellent stamina, first-class awareness, and fine skills. Liverpool only had him on a loan at the moment, but Benítez had already considered fully purchasing him at the end of the season. He gave up Sissoko, who was similarly good at defense, but overall not as good as Mascherano and put the Malian on the bench.

If the Forest team did not have George Wood, Twain would surely have taken advantage of his knowledge to acquire Mascherano two years ago.

Since he liked Mascherano, he understood him and knew how to deal with him.

Benítez put the Argentinian defensive midfielder in the midfield in order to disrupt the Forest team’s counterattack. His relentless running and fierce shovels, as well as his perfect fouls, did cause some trouble to the Forest team’s offense in the previous games.

However, that was because the Forest team did not go all out to attack and only had two or three players rush up. They only shot when the opportunity struck and would retreat at once when there was none. They did not give the opponent the opportunity to seize any gaps behind.

That was no longer the case.

Mascherano discovered that it was impossible for him alone to stop the Forest team’s surge in counterattacks. Beckham, van der Vaart, Ribéry, Pepe — who was a center back — and the defensive midfielder, George Wood could all be the Forest team’s offensive starting point.

He went to pounce on Beckham only to find out that the football had reached Wood. Gerrard went to defend against Wood, who in turn passed the football to Pepe, who had plugged in from behind.

The Brazilian-born center-back had the attacking nature of the Brazilians. He dribbled the ball from the middle and charged to break forward into Liverpool’s thirty-meter zone while the Liverpool midfielders were still busy defending the Forest team’s attacking players. Although his breakthrough was eventually stopped by Hyypi?, Pepe’s breakthrough earned him cheers from the Forest fans. It also lifted the team’s morale.

Offense was not just a job for the players in the front field. A center-back could equally be the sharpest knife.

Other than its abdomen, a hedgehog was covered with spikes. Nottingham Forest was a hedgehog that was not to be trifled with.

Hedgehogs had a weakness; its soft abdomen was its Achilles heel. But with the Forest team sticking to its defensive tactics, it was similar to a hedgehog curling up to protect its soft abdomen. Their multi-point attack strategy was like extending spikes on their back one by one, so that the enemy could not take a bite out of them.

The Forest team’s sudden offensive activity surprised Benítez. He looked at his watch. The second half was not even halfway through. Why did they suddenly decide not to retreat to the back and hold fast?

He turned his head to look at the Forest team’s technical area. He could not see anything except for a pair of crossed legs.

The Forest team’s sudden counterattack overwhelmed the Liverpool players. Amidst the panic, Ribéry, whom they prevented from breaking through, tripped, which gave the Forest team a free kick in the front field.

As a Premier League rival, Benítez had to remember how the Forest team’s victory in the first game of the season was won.

When he saw that the Forest team was awarded a free kick in front of the penalty area, he got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines for the second time. He watched the field intently with some nervousness.

Fortunately, Beckham’s free kick did not enter the goal. It was slightly inclined, but also enough to make the Liverpool supporters break out in a cold sweat.

Benítez made a disgruntled gesture. He had instructed the team to not easily give the opponent a set piece. This foul was really unnecessary. We have put the defensive formation in place and the Forest team can only move the football across at best which poses little threat to our goal. As soon as you foul, you give the opponent a chance to attack straight on without any interference. What’s more, there are now a number of set-piece masters in the Forest team. Bale has proved the power of his left foot free kick in the Premier League. As for David Beckham, do you still need proof?

After Liverpool kicked the ball from the goalmouth, Benítez gestured for the team to press up for the attack. They had to score as soon as possible.

He was aware of Twain’s series of provocations before the game. Even if he could hold back, would his men be able to? They were a very talented group of warm-blooded young players. They did not need any reason to be impulsive.

If after a while, the score was still 1:1, it would be difficult for their men to stay cool-headed. At the time, he might not be able to control the situation even if he was the manager. Therefore, he had said at the halftime interval that they should try to take the lead again in the first part of the second half. He knew that his players were already provoked by Twain’s arrogant needling, and that he could use this fire to boost Liverpool’s fighting spirit within a short period but could not control it for a long time. To be enraged by the opponent was a double-edged sword. It could improve a team’s fighting strength, but it also could make the players lose their cool.

The pre-match provocations, plus a tight defensive counterattack during the game, as well as the current score…

As time went on, Benítez believed his grip on the team’s anger was slowly weakening.

If they did not destroy their opponent before then, they would probably end up self-destructing.

The Forest team’s offense had strengthened but their defensive control had not relaxed. After the Forest team started to step up their attacks, Liverpool still did not have the opportunity to fight back against the Forest team. Twain’s players were not be stupid enough to give their opponent a chance to fight back.

Still playing defensive counterattack, the Forest team dared to put in the force and both flanks dared to press up when there was a chance to fight back. Even though the tactics had not changed, the effect was different.

The offense was stronger and more solid with more variation and dimensions.

The tactic was still defensive counterattack, but more threatening than before. Every attack caused the Liverpool people to break out in a cold sweat.

Having attack for a long time without success and focus on guarding against the opponent’s quick counterattacks, the Liverpool players slowly became agitated.

The Forest team just needed to wait patiently for the opportunity to appear, and then seize it.

Benítez made a very bold substitution after a long attack. He did not adjust the rear defense. He altered the striker.

He used the tall Crouch to replace Kuyt, who was normal height and had average skills.

It was a gamble. Benítez was to be commended for his courage for this substitution in order to pursue an attack when he knew the Forest team would countermeasure. But it was definitely not a random adjustment made on the spur of the moment.

Crouch and Kuyt were not the same. Kuyt was comprehensive, but the flipside was his “overall mediocrity.” Crouch stood out in a certain point, which made him a good choice to break the deadlock. Although Crouch now gradually lost his position as the starting striker at Liverpool, he was still quite useful on certain occasions.

The Forest team’s impenetrable defense of combined with the precautionary tactics taken against long shots had prevented Liverpool from finding a better way to score goals. Torres was not a strong striker who could hold his ground, Kuyt even less so.

Under such circumstances, was there any player more suited to play than Crouch? His height and ability to head the ball acted like a lighthouse in front of the Forest team’ goal, guiding the way forward for Liverpool’s offense. When Crouch came on, the Liverpool players all understood — next up was time for aerial combat.

Whether it was a direct header to the goal or to use a header pass to create opportunities for his teammates, Crouch could do them better than Kuyt.

Liverpool made the adjustment, but Nottingham Forest did nothing in response. Twain did not seem worried.

Pepe and Piqué did not stand in front of the goal for decorative purposes.

The ball that Liverpool sent to Crouch’s head was caught by Edwin van der Sar, while Crouch could not jump under the converged attack of the two tall center backs.

Twain did not let Ayala start in this game to guard against Benítez’s hand. There were several ways to break a compact defense. The most commonly used method was long shots and set pieces. A strong center forward who could hold his ground was also one of the means to break the compact defense. Although Crouch did not look as strong as Vieri, he was not as thin and weak as he seemed. That point was clear to Twain as Crouch had played for him before. Crouch was not the tender kid anymore. He had accumulated more experience on the football field and knew how to make rational use of his body.

How should they deal with this adjustment by Liverpool? It would be enough for a tall center-back and the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, to expand the defensive area.

The key to solving this problem was not how to freeze Crouch, but to score another goal.

Crouch was quiet again after a couple of headers on the field. The Forest team’s offensive gradually became more ferocious and pushed Liverpool’s momentum back. After the lack of support in the middle and wings, Crouch’s function diminished.

Van der Vaart took the ball in front of Liverpool’s penalty area and made to look like he was going to do a long shot. Instead, he diverted the football away. After Beckham received the ball, Rafinha plugged in from the back at a high speed. Liverpool’s left back, Riise, saw Rafinha dash from Beckham’s side at high speed and go straight behind the defensive line. He dared not take it lightly and so he followed him to defend.

Rafinha had just made a feint to run. His role was not to receive the pass, but to create the illusion that he was going to receive and attract the attention of the opponent’s defense. The reason for this time-tested move was not that the receiver looked like he really wanted to get the ball but that as long as the full back ran up to assist, it would give the front field players waiting for the ball an additional choice. The defense had to follow to run. If they did not run, the opponent would penetrate the entire defensive line with one pass.

Riise ran back with Rafinha, and Beckham took the opportunity to pass the ball.

The football drew a wonderful arc and went straight behind the rear point!

Van Nistelrooy showed up there. He jumped high and prepared to head the ball. Van Nistelrooy was not known for his header, even though he was 1.87 meters tall. But Beckham’s pass was terrific. Even if a player did not know how to head the ball, he just had to jump and be in the ball’s trajectory, and he could use his head to propel the football into the goal.

The Danish center back, Agger jumped with him as well. In the heat of the scramble, van Nistelrooy fell into the penalty area.

No one could tell clearly if Agger pushed van Nistelrooy, or if van Nistelrooy fell to the ground. All they heard was the referee’s whistle.

Was it a dive or a penalty kick?

The referee pointed his hand at the penalty spot.

“A penalty kick! This is really a major blow to Liverpool!”

Benítez, who had always been calm and cool, jumped out of his seat and rushed angrily to the sidelines. He waved his fists toward the field in protest.

His team had not yet been defeated by the Forest team’s counterattack, nor by their own anger, but had fallen victim to the referee! He did not accept such an outcome, absolutely not!

Equally as agitated as he was, Twain’s fist-waving was not a protest, but a celebration.

He did not care if it was a dive or a real foul. He could not see clearly from his seat. Anyway, he now had a chance to lead and take down this game. It was a godsend delivered right to his doorstep; there was no reason to refuse!

Liverpool’s goal was in disarray and the Liverpool players demonstrated against this penalty, while the Forest team celebrated.

In the slow-motion replay, it was clear that Agger and van Nistelrooy did have physical contact in the air. But it was not to clear whether it was enough to cause van Nistelrooy to lose balance and fall.

The referee’s decision was unlikely to change, and both the referee and the assistant referee agreed it was a foul, and so it was a foul.

The Liverpool players’ protest was ineffective. The referee stood on the penalty spot and pointed firmly at his feet. He let the Forest team come over for the penalty kick.

If the Liverpool players wanted to continue to entangle with him, very well. The yellow card in his pocket awaited.

Gerrard moved the rest of his teammates out as he knew that the penalty could not be changed. It was not the time to quarrel with the referee. They should vent their anger on the Forest team. Moreover, the goalkeeper, Reyna, was very good at dealing with penalty shots. The Forest team’s shot might not be able to enter the goal.

The Liverpool fans’ section was behind Liverpool’s goal in the second half. The moment the referee’s hand pointed to the penalty spot, a shrill hissing rang, and reached its climax when van Nistelrooy walked to the penalty spot with the football in his arms.

The deafening noises were disturbing, and inherently caused psychological pressure on the penalty kick. Including a goalkeeper good at saving the penalty shots, the situation was not as bad as one imagined.

After van Nistelrooy placed the football, he stepped back and prepared to run to kick.

With the exception of him and the goalkeeper, Reyna, all the players on both sides were asked to leave the box.

The boos overhead did not stop. In the midst of the noise, the referee blew the whistle, which was instantly drowned out by the boos from the Reds fans.

Van Nistelrooy ran up and swung his leg to shoot.

The Dutch striker pushed the shot to the middle and Reyna pounced on the left side, which was unsurprising. However, Reyna hesitated a little the moment he pounced, so his power was not strong nor was his speed fast. When the football flew over, it just struck his leg and bounced out!

“Reyna!”

The boos immediately turned to cheers, then came to a spontaneous end in the next moment.

Reyna did pounce on van Nistelrooy’s shot, but Nottingham Forest did not just have van Nistelrooy. No one expected that a skinny figure would bore in the moment van Nistelrooy kicked. His timing was just right, and the referee could not determine that he had entered early.

The football was blocked by Reyna’s feet, but it did not fly to the end line or the side. It flew back to the middle.

Van Nistelrooy hurried to make up the shot but could not pull his body back in time to kick the football.

Behind him, a man appeared in front of the football’s landing point.

Without hesitation or any fancy footwork, he kicked the football in the air into the empty goal in front of him with one kick.

“Freddy Eastwood! He has appeared in the deadliest position, and Reyna can’t do anything about it!”

Gerrard reacted the fastest. He immediately rushed into the box after van Nistelrooy’s shot, but he was on the left side, while Eastwood was in the middle. The two players were five meters apart. He could not do anything but watch.

Thunderous cheers erupted behind the Forest team’s goal, while the Liverpool fans were silent.

Life was really full of ups and downs… with this upheaval of joy and sorrow!

Eastwood was thrilled. He extended his index finger toward the Liverpool fans in the opposite stands and put it on his lips to make a gesture of silence. It brought him a wave of swearing, but he did not care. He turned around and hugged his teammates.

Benítez slapped angrily at the sight of the goal concede. What did it mean for Nottingham Forest to be in the lead? Any fool would know it by looking at Twain’s expression.

Twain held up his arms and jumped around on the sidelines. His face was full of smiles. His team was happy, but his enemy hated him.

What was he going to do after the lead? This was a stupid question to ask.

They would attack again! Again! And attack again! They had to seize all opportunities available and put off fair play! Put it off!

Twain clenched his fists and slammed down.

We have to take this championship title!

After falling behind, Liverpool had intended to organize a frenzied countermeasure, but five minutes later they realized that Nottingham Forest’s counterattack was even crazier.

All Nottingham Forest players knew that “It is dangerous to lead with one goal and that it is more dangerous to think that they can win with a goal ahead.”

Even if Liverpool wanted to equalize the score, they had to face a cruel choice: do they fight back regardless of the consequences and gamble with their lives or refrain from shooting again in fear of giving the opponent a chance to counterattack and wait until the game was over?

The Liverpool players chose the first one. A coward’s death was never the Red Army’s tradition.

At the final moment of the game, the television viewers who were bored to death by the dreary situation earlier finally saw an exciting confrontation of more than ten minutes.

The tenacious Liverpool players scored a goal in the 88th minute by their captain. The most trusted Gerrard forcibly cracked Edwin van der Sar’s goal with a long shot.

Unfortunately, in the four minutes before that, the Forest team seized on Liverpool’s aggressive counterattack to launch another sneak attack. Van der Vaart scored the Forest’s third goal at close range. The goal locked in the results, so Liverpool’s last goal appeared to be solemn and stirring. The goalscorer, Gerrard, rushed into the goal to pick up the ball, and Edwin van der Sar did not stop him. The other Liverpool players also looked a little dejected.

They had reversed one opponent after another but were powerless in the face of this opponent. When they got a goal, this opponent would seize on a loophole in the rear defensive line to widen their gains. Nottingham Forest was not a soft-hearted team based on how they were after their second goal as compared to Liverpool’s frantic counterattack. Each attack by their opponents was their chance to score.

The injury stoppage time was three minutes, and within these three minutes, Benítez did not stand up from his seat in the technical area again.

Liverpool was still the traditional strong team, but today’s Nottingham Forest was no longer the upstart Nottingham Forest team of that time.

“The game is over! Congratulations to Nottingham Forest! They’re the new UEFA Super Cup winner! This is the second time in the history of their club that they have picked up this trophy!”

Amid the collective cheers of the Forest fans, Twain emerged from the technical area, holding his hands high to greet his supporters.

“Tony Twain, the 38-year-old young manager has won three honors in the EFL Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup. He is doing the same things as the legendary manager, Brian Clough, but he’s younger, so the Nottingham Forest fans have many more joyous moments to look forward to.”

“Let’s thank Liverpool, the other team in this game. The clash between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool continues.”

Chapter 580 - A Talent Show? No, Thank You

“Three months ago, Tony Twain and his team brought a joyous celebration to Nottingham’s fans. Now, three months later, Nottingham Forest returned with an honor again, and their fans waited at the City Ground stadium to throw a small welcome party for the team returning with the cup title. Tony Twain and his Forest team had a mythical rise. They took only four years to go from the lowest ebb to a peak. Today’s Nottingham Forest has become a strong contender for the Premier League title in the new season. A lot of people hate Tony Twain, but they cannot deny his presence, which is a reason to hate him even more. On this weekend night of Match of the Day, we will focus on the reasons for this team’s success.”

Nottingham Forest has become red-hot across Europe after they won the Champions League, the Railways Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup in a row.

The BBC television station made a small feature on the Forest team’s Super Cup win and they invited three famous football personalities to analyze the reasons for the Forest team’s rapid rise for the viewers. Of course, one person could not be avoided — Tony Twain.

Even now, four years later, there were some things about him that remained a mystery. For example, why did he have a major transformation in his temperament after being knocked by one of his own players? Soon after, it was as if he had a eureka moment, and he started to show amazing talent and ability to lead the Nottingham Forest team to complete its great ascent.

The famous personalities did not say it was due to Twain’s transmigration and that he knew about the next three and a half years. They analyzed Twain’s talent and ability at best. No one would have thought that something such as transmigration and soul possession could really happen in the world.

※※※

While the BBC station analyzed Twain’s secret of success, Twain was on a “date” with Tang Jing. It was actually a three-person date; Dunn was there as well. Tang Jing had invited the two men to dinner after the team played in a game against Fulham.

Twain felt it was odd when he first got the invitation. There was no interaction between him and Tang Jing other than work-related matters. If Tang Jing were to invite Dunn to a candlelit dinner, Twain would not be surprised. The two of them had a lot of excuses to have dinner together, being Chinese was just one of them. But Tang Jing specifically asked for Twain.

Twain did not forgot to tease the pretty reporter. “What’s the matter? Reporter Tang is interested in me and wants to join me in the river of love after our date?”

Having known Twain for a long time, Tang Jing was resistant to his glib tongue. “Does Manager Twain go to bed with every lady you have dinner with?” the pretty lady retorted.

Twain invited the snub, but he did eventually agree to Tang Jing’s invitation. He wanted to see what the woman had in store for him. Previously, when he teased Tang Jing, She would turn and walk off in a huff. But this time, she looked so determined that Twain was curious.

Now during dinner, Twain somewhat regretted coming to dinner after he heard the reason for Tang Jing’s invitation.

“Miss Tang Jing, I don’t think I can agree to your request.”

“Why? I think it’s a good thing for the Forest team, and it doesn’t require you to do anything that is too challenging… ” Tang Jing widened her eyes. She was mentally prepared to encounter any pushback.

Dunn, seated between the two, concentrated on eating, as the topic had nothing to do with him.

Here was what happened.

The three went to the restaurant for dinner as per their arrangement. Tang Jing congratulated Twain on winning his second major trophy in a row, as well as the five-game winning streak since the start of the Premier League and their top ranking. Twain happily accepted Tang Jing’s compliments and did not embarrass her by being glib.

For a moment, the host and guests talked amiably, and the mood was harmonious.

Then, Tang Jing revealed her real reason of extending the invitation to Twain. The more Twain listened, the smaller the smile on his face became until he eventually rebuffed her with a straight face and cold voice.

Tang Jing’s invitation to Twain for dinner was funded by another in hopes that she could discuss a collaboration with the Forest team.

The newspapers she worked for and a television station in Hunan, China, had planned a large-scale talent show. It was not a “beauty talent” show like Super Girl Super Boy, but a show about a trial competition in mainland China to find a legendary “Soccer Genius.” However, due to the easterly influence of the various talent shows that were currently popular in China, the trial competition was labelled as a talent show, with a more vulgar noun: “Audition.”

As soon as Twain heard the beginning of this plan, he had little interest in it. Tang Jing did not know why Twain had such a strong reaction.

Dunn had some knowledge but chose to stay silent and not be involved in the feud.

Twain had transmigrated, so he was previously a Chinese man. Since he was Chinese, he was well aware of the various trendy talent shows that were all over China the last few years, and his impression was not necessarily a good one. Even if the talent show was a good thing in itself, since Chinese television stations blindly followed the trend to produce a variety of senseless talent activities, they came with a bad reputation. In particular, in order to publicize their own talent programs, some media companies did not hesitate to let their judges quarrel with each other during filming, followed by personal attacks and verbal abuse, make the contestants pretend to be unreasonable, na?ve, in love, or pretend to have all kinds of feelings and create all kinds of “stunts” to attract the attention of the audience.

With these shambolic incidents, as well as the sub-par abilities of the selected candidates, it was really difficult for the public to have any favorable impressions. When Twain was in China, he was an average person who had little affection for the talent shows and shunned them assiduously.

Now that he had come to hear about this unpleasant talent show, he did not even listen carefully to Tang Jing’s introduction before he started shaking his head.

“Miss Tang Jing, I never thought that a talent show programmed to be a performance would be able to produce a real genius.”

“I think you’re too prejudiced, Mr. Twain. With so many young footballers in China, surely there are one or two geniuses with the ability to gain a foothold in the European league, right? Our talent show is just a cover that caters to the masses. There’s nothing wrong with the core content. Football is still the heart of the show.”

Twain shrugged. “That’s why I’m against it. I don’t think that football has a future in China.”

“This is a talent show for the people, and nothing to do with the Chinese Football Association!”

“Is it? Look at this set of materials you gave me. What does it say? ‘Chinese Football Association in collaboration with the Youth Department,’ and it has nothing to do with the Football Association?” Twain scoffed at Tang Jing’s claims.

“They’re just putting their name on it, you know, Mr. Twain. China’s national conditions are that these activities have to flatter the government officials. You do understand that, don’t you?”

“Of course, I understand, Miss Tang Jing. I’m an expert on China. I think a talent show itself is good. But having it in China, the show will change at the hands of the media. There are similar talent shows in the UK, and the Nottingham Forest Football Club regularly hosts a variety of drafts to discover the young talent. But to be honest, I’m not optimistic at all about your talent show. You’re going to hire an ugly woman, put a big red flower on her head and have her wear tight, revealing clothes to pick the players? ‘This won’t do, you’re too ugly! No stage presence!’” Twain mimicked the way Yang Erche Namu spoke.

“Mr. Twain. This is a football draft, not an audition for singers. We’re not inviting any showbiz people. The people we invite to be the judges are all football professionals. If you agree to participate in this program, then we will issue an official invitation to the Forest team to send a coach to be part of the judging panel from the beginning to the end.” Speaking of which, Tang Jing glanced at Dunn, who was still focused on his meal. “Most of the judges are from the British clubs, with only one Chinese coach acting as the coordinator. It definitely cannot be compared with other talent shows in terms of professionalism, authority, and impartiality.”

Twain glanced at her. His face still held a cold expression.

“I still don’t agree.” There was no room for negotiation within his tone. “To be honest, I hate that you all create this messy talent show, so I’m not going to let myself join in the mess and do something that I already detest.”

Tang Jing was helpless if this matter could not work out due to Twain’s personal preferences. But if it was a matter of profit, then they could still sit down and discuss since it was a negotiation over money. But if it were an idealistic problem borne out of a personal preference, then it was impossible to discuss any further since it was difficult to change a person’s fixation, especially with this person who was famously paranoid.

Despite this, Tang Jing still had to make one last ditch of effort.

“You said you hate the talent shows, Mr. Twain. Isn’t there a similar talent show in the UK? Isn’t ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ very popular in the UK? As far as I know, there are quite a few people in your club who watch that show. Didn’t that show produce Paul Pottsm who is now famous all over the world and touches countless people?”

Twain paused for a moment. He watched that talent show too, and he was indeed moved by Paul Potts’ story. However, that was a British talent show. Its production was much more sophisticated, and it was much better than the swarm of talent shows currently in China. It was a living example of what was considered both a critical and commercial success. Chinese talent shows still had a long way to go. Unfortunately, due to the rapid popularity of the second installment of “Super Girl”, countless talent shows popped up in China. When media companies made their decisions on the programs, how many of them went through a careful process to differentiate the target audiences in the different markets, meticulously arrange the direction of the program, painstakingly select suitable judges, and strictly control the quality of the program? Hardly any of them did. In the words of the paranoid Twain, it was “not one of them.”

Whether it was “America’s Got Talent” or “Britain’s Got Talent,” the purpose of talent shows should have been a stage where nobodies and ordinary people achieve their dreams. But in China, it was more like a farce, scene after scene that made people not know whether to cry or laugh. Was it “a stage where nobodies and ordinary people achieve their dreams” or was it “a vanity fair of the has-been stars’ final struggle”?

All these factors caused Twain to dislike all talent shows in China. Now Tang Jing wanted his team to work with a Chinese television station on such a meaningless show. How could he possibly agree? Even if it was a football draft and completely different from the other shows, it was all the same in Twain’s paranoid view. To the Chinese public, there were two industries that could be considered notorious: show business and Chinese football.

“Miss Tang Jing, the key point here is not whether or not this is a talent show, but that it is a football draft held in China. Honestly, I have no interest in this kind of thing, and my team will not take part in this plan. You said before that there are other Premier League clubs that have received your invitations. You can go and talk to their people. I believe there are quite a few Premier League clubs interested in the development of the Asian market. But I really have little interest.” Twain made a final decision on this matter. “I’m sorry to disappoint you. I fully understand your idea of approaching Nottingham Forest with this. We have a player from China, an assistant manager from China, and a manager who has a lot of admiration for Chinese culture.” Twain pointed to Dunn, and then pointed to himself. “However, a talent show really has nothing to do with the Chinese culture.”

The dinner ended on a sour note. When they parted, Tang Jing still politely said to Twain that if he changed his mind, he could still call her. Twain declined to comment.

※※※

Dunn was a little surprised that Twain had so plainly refused. “I thought you would be vague in your refusal, and that would not clearly refuse or agree.”

“Why should I be vague about it?” Twain asked brusquely in response.

“Well… truthfully, I don’t think this draft is as bad as you think.” Dunn finally gave his opinion.

Twain smiled. There was a slight disdain in his smile. “Dunn, you don’t understand. You haven’t spent as much time in China as I do. I know very well what kind of talent shows those Chinese media companies produced.”

Dunn did not retort, and calmly accepted Twain’s assessment of him, “Yes, I did not spend as much time as you had in China, and I don’t know what the talent shows are like in China. But I think, because of that, I’m not as prejudiced.”

Twain froze for a moment and then asked, “Are you scolding me for viewing this issue with preconceived notions?”

Dunn did not make a sound, but his attitude showed. “That’s what I meant.”

After a moment’s silence, Twain sighed. “All right, Dunn. I can feel you’re moving away from me. You’ve been spending too much time with Tang Jing. But it’s your freedom, and I can’t stop you.”

“You overthink too much, Tony. I just think sometimes you should set aside your paranoia for a while. Not every problem is as what you imagine.”

In truth, Twain secretly admitted that Dunn was right. He was paranoid and extreme. He was also aware that his views on certain issues were not really right and affected by too many subjective emotions. It could not be helped that geniuses were always paranoid. But because of his pride, he would not admit that he was wrong.

“Forget it, you’ve decided anyway. I’m just giving my opinion. Don’t take it to heart, Tony.”

“Since you don’t agree with my view, why didn’t you say it at dinner?” Twain did not want to let go of the subject.

“You would have felt humiliated, Tony.”

Twain was dumbfounded again. Dunn was right. He cared a lot about his pride, and Dunn chose to remain silent because he knew it.

“Well, thank you, Dunn.” Twain mumbled after a while.

※※※

Now that Twain had made the final decision on the matter, he would not approach Tang Jing again. It was a matter of pride. He later learned from Dunn that Tang Jing had gone to several other Premier League clubs. There were two clubs which were interested in the Chinese market and eventually agreed to the collaboration. One was Everton and the other was Bolton Wanderers, both of which were not very strong teams. It looked like the big clubs were not interested.

Everton was to be expected as the club had a close relationship with China. They once brought in two Chinese players, and their jersey sponsor was formerly the Chinese company “Kejian.” It was the first time Chinese characters had appeared on the chest of a European team jersey.

How much did the two clubs really value the possibility of choosing a football genius? Perhaps it was more about targeting the market. But what kind of football market did China have? Twain thought with disdain in his heart. He used to buy fake replicas of the jerseys and memorabilia when he was in China. Ninety-nine percent of people around him were like that, too. Before he transmigrated, Manchester United had opened a “Manchester United Restaurant” in Chengdu. When it first opened, Manchester United’s celebrity, Bobby Charlton, came to support. He did not know what happened to it after. The level of consumption was just too high for most football fans to enjoy.

Tang Jing was so busy that she did not show up in front of Twain. From the few bits and pieces that Dunn had revealed, Twain learned that Tang Jing had been confident that the Forest team would work with them, and that once they were secured, Nottingham Forest’s fame and the recent prestige of winning two heavyweight titles would ensure the popularity of this show.

She did not expect that Twain would leave no room for discussion and reject it right away.

It frustrated her.

Originally, Everton and Bolton Wanderers were supposed to serve as props to the Forest team, and now they are the leading stars instead. Tang Jing felt helpless.

However, Twain did not take the matter to heart and did not care about what Tang Jing thought.

He was also busy with a lot of things, such as the game against Reading and the Champions League group draw.

It was then when Allan Adams came to him.

Chapter 581 - Behind the Scenes of the Talent Show

While when he and Evan Doughty were going to the Champions League group draw, Allan went looking for Twain. He was surprised to find an extra person in the car.

In the past, only both the manager and the club chairman attended the draw. Some of the teams’ chairmen did not attend, but Evan insisted on going. He had to have had some business. He did not think that Allan would go as well.

“I’m not heading there for the draw, Tony.” In the car to London’s Heathrow airport, Allan smiled and said to Twain. “I have something I want to discuss with you.”

“With me?” Twain was a little puzzled.

“Yes.” Allan nodded.

Sitting in the front seat, Evan had not made a peep since the conversation began.

It suddenly dawned on Twain. He knew roughly what it was about.

“Is it because of that Chinese football talent show?”

Allan smiled. “You’re very smart, Tony. Yes, it’s because of that. I heard a Chinese reporter went to see you and wanted to talk to you about a collaboration with that talent show, but you refused?”

Twain turned his head to look outside, and turned back to Allan to say, “she went to see you?” He did not answer, but it was as good as admitting it.

“No, I heard it from someone else, not from the Chinese reporter,” Allan added. “Someone from Kickworldwide told me. They said that their planning department has a television talent show that no one in the world has ever done...”

Twain was a little stunned and asked, “isn’t it an idea organized by the Chinese media?”

“It is co-organized by the two countries. In addition to the two Premier League clubs, FremantleMedia and GroupM are participating as well.”

Twain was new to the names. He had never studied any economic matters. Perhaps some names were so well-known in the economic world, but they were unknown to Twain.

Allan apparently saw the bewildered look on Twain’s face, so he explained further. “You know of Kickworldwide, don’t you? A famous sports agency in England.”

Twain nodded to show that he knew. He knew anything to do with sports.

“FremantleMedia is a media company in Australia, but they are a well-known and influential in the English-speaking world. They are experts in reality television shows and control talent shows like America’s Got Talent types of shows in Australia. As for GroupM; they are a major player in the British communications industry and one of the subsidiaries belonging to the world’s second largest advertising group, WPP.”

Twain nodded. “Are you trying to say that I rudely turned down a seemingly tempting piece of business with a large number of distinguished companies?”

Allan smiled and shook his head. “I did not say that, Tony.”

Evan decided to speak up. “Allan just feels that it’s a shame, Tony. This is a great opportunity to break into the Chinese market and to further expand and consolidate our status in the minds of the Chinese fans.”

“The Chinese market?” Twain habitually scorned. “You don’t understand the market. Ninety-nine percent of the fans won’t buy your official apparel and memorabilia.” Twain thought to himself that he was the same in the first place. A genuine jersey sold for more than 700 yuan. How many fans could afford to spend that much? Football was not a rich man’s sport. There were all kinds of ordinary people, students, and kids who liked football. How many of these people would be willing to pay 1,000 yuan to buy the jerseys?

“All right, Allan. Although I don’t know much about economics, I can give you an example that I know, and it happened recently. Did the English Premier League not sign a new broadcasting rights contract before the new season? They had signed for both domestically and overseas. The company that won the bid for the Chinese side was called...Tiansheng Media bought the broadcasting rights in mainland China for three seasons of the Premier League, as well as some of Serie A events. Then they decided to introduce a paid-subscription service. Pay TV… It’s normal, isn’t it? It is for the UK. But in China, Tiansheng was unanimously boycotted. Do you know why?”

Allan and Evan shook their heads. In Europe and the United States, pay TV was been a tradition and routine. But in China, everyone is still used to watching free games. But that’s not the crux of the problem.

“The crux of the problem is that Tiansheng had set the fee too high. The monthly fee was 188 yuan! This was undoubtedly a big financial burden for most ordinary Chinese fans. Although the Premier League is exciting, many Chinese fans chose to quit watching, or watch the live broadcast for free online in order to protest the unreasonable practice of Tiansheng… I have no doubt that Tiansheng’s eventual failure was due to China’s national conditions. The fee was too high, and football is a civilian sport. But some companies in China tried to manage it like it’s a rich man’s sport. A fake jersey only costs thirty-five yuan. Allan, you studied economics, so you should know the exchange rate between Renminbi and Sterling Pounds.”

Allan nodded. “That’s about two and a half pounds.”

Evan gasped, as it was indeed cheap.

“But how much is the genuine licensed product? More than 1,000 yuan. This price is already higher than the ticket price for two-thirds of the Premier League teams’ home games,” Twain said. “How much does one of our jerseys sell for locally?”

“Forty to forty-five pounds,” Allan replied.

“This price is expensive in the UK, not to mention China.” Twain’s lips curled at the corners. “Once it reaches China, it’s even higher when the import duties are included.Many authentic jerseys are made in China. Nike, Adidas, Umbro and Puma all have factories in mainland China.”

Hearing Twain, Allan muttered to himself. “Our jerseys cost only seven to ten pounds apiece...” He suddenly looked up and held Twain’s hand. “Thank you, Tony!”

Twain was baffled by Allan’s move. “Huh?”

“Thank you for illustrating it so well for me and letting me understand what the Chinese market is like.”

Twain began to think that something was wrong. He had wanted to persuade Allan to give up his unrealistic fantasies about the Chinese market, but it now appeared to have stirred the other man’s interest instead.

“Like what you have said, Tony, the key to the problem lies with the price. We can’t copy everything from England and use them in China. Compared to the United Kingdom, China is still a developing country, where the spending power is not that high. If we convert the local price to there, it will make the people over there feel that our products are too expensive and they would not want to buy them.” Allan relayed his sorted ideas to the other two men in the car.

“If we look around for factories in China to produce our jerseys and other memorabilia, then sell them at prices that are in line with the local spending power... I think it can work. The materials and labor are all in China and we only have to offer a brand — the Nottingham Forest’s brand...”

Twain interrupted him. “I’m sorry, Allan. But there were other clubs that have done this before, like Manchester United...”

Allan smiled gently and was not displeased in the slightest at Twain’s interruption. “That’s because they couldn’t let go of the airs they had as powerhouse clubs. They did not really enter the market at all. They thought that by opening several restaurants, retail outlets, or setting up an official Chinese web page, that meant they had entered the Chinese market. That’s not it. That’s just superficial entry. They did not understand the country and its people, economic standards and traditional culture. They just copied what they did in other countries and regions, but this does not work for China. And we are fortunate to have an assistant manager from China and a manager who is so proficient in the Chinese culture.”

Allan looked at Twain and smiled. “What you said just made me think you are a Chinese man.”

Twain went on guard. He had shown that he was too proficient in the Chinese culture, so he scratched his head. “Well, Dunn explained most of it to me and also… that Chinese female reporter. We sometimes chat about this kind of topic.”

“It doesn’t matter who told you, Tony. In short, I don’t think there will be another club in the world that is more suited to enter the Chinese market than our Forest.” Allan counted on his fingers, “A Chinese player well-known in China, a newly emerging Chinese assistant manager, a manager keenly interested in the Chinese culture and who is ‘an old Chinese hand.’ We have an approachability advantage over the rest of the other teams.”

Twain recalled those teams also enjoyed great prestige in China, which he had defeated, and how he humiliated their coaches and fans. Would those Chinese fans find him approachable? Goodness knows.

“So, Tony.” Evan turned his head around. “We still want to talk to the people from that talent show and see if we can work with them. I think this is a key. A key to help us open the door to China.”

“Moreover, I’m sure they’d be delighted for us to work with them.” Allan added, “Neither of the two clubs they have have much influence. It will be different if we join.”

Twain agreed. The information he heard from Dunn was that Tang Jing was somewhat unhappy that she only managed to get Everton and Bolton Wanderers to work with them.

He was not really an idiot. He knew that profits were involved, it was best to put aside personal emotional tendencies, such as his dislike of talent shows. However, if the talent show could bring benefits to the team and club, he had to agree to it. Furthermore, if the club could make more money, he would benefit as well, wouldn’t he? After the construction of the new stadium had been fully funded, did it mean he would not strapped for cash in the transfer market in the future?

Evan and Allan glanced at him without a word. They just looked at him, but their meaning was apparent.

Twain raised his hands in surrender. “All right, I’ll concede. I will not object to a collaboration with them on the talent show. Anyway, I am only responsible for the team’s training and competition. Allan is in charge of the commercial development or opening up the Chinese market. We’ll do what you say.”

The other two men met gazes and smiled. “Then it’s a deal. Allan will take care of this matter.” Evan Doughty issued the final order in his capacity as the club chairman.

When they arrived at the London Heathrow Airport, Allan did not board the plane with the two men. He refunded his ticket. Twain asked in puzzlement, “Aren’t you going with us to Zurich?”

Allan smiled and shook his head. “I was going to follow you to Switzerland and persuade you if I couldn’t convince you in the car. But it’s not necessary now.”

Twain drew back the corners of his mouth.

Then the three men parted ways at the airport. Twain and Evan flew to Switzerland together for the Champions League group draw, while Allan returned to Nottingham to find the person in charge to explore the possibility of a collaboration now.

※※※

Nottingham Forest received widespread media attention as the defending champion. The media followed from the beginning of the draw until his departure from Switzerland back to England. He was no longer the unattended nobody who sat in the corner in the first time he took part in the draw.

The camera flashes would follow closely wherever he went.

In the end, Nottingham Forest, the defending champion, drew a pretty good lot. They were grouped together in Group A with Porto from Portugal, Olympique de Marseille from France and Be?ikta? from Turkey.

The first game would be held on the night of September 18th, with Nottingham Forest challenging the 2004 UEFA Champions League champion, Porto, in an away game.

This was a clash of the champions and promised to be a good show.

※※※

A matter awaited Twain and Evan when they returned to Nottingham, which would take the three to decide together.

Allan was someone who, once decided on a matter, would act immediately. He made use of the day of the Champions League group draw and took care of all the organizers and co-sponsors of this talent show.

The other party had agreed that Nottingham Forest would join the show. But now there was a problem. The show organizers had agreed with the two clubs, Everton and Bolton Wanderers, that the older group’s draft winner would join the Everton Football Club for a year-long trial, while the runner-up would join the Bolton Wanderers Football Club for a year of trial. As for the final’s third placeholder, he could only accept the harsh reality — he was luckier than those who had been eliminated and had the power to look forward to being in the top two but had to leave empty-handed in the end.

Initially, the top three contestants could have been rewarded, and the ending would have been a happy one, but due to Nottingham Forest’s refusal, they had to modify the outcome of the final. Of course, all parties in China and Britain thought that it was also a good outcome. It was cruel and suspenseful enough with a good amount of excitement. They could inflame emotions at the end as well.

Therefore, the plan was already communicated to the two clubs, Everton and Bolton Wanderers.

Then, Nottingham Forest suddenly decided to join in again.The original plan was for the champion to go to Nottingham Forest. Could they ask Everton to give up that seat? They obviously could not do that as it would be disrespectful to the Everton club.

Therefore, if the Forest team decided to join now, it could only accept the condition of receiving the second runner up for the training trial.

Allan did not agree. He thought that the European champion should have the status of a European champion.

Twain smiled after he heard what had happened. “It’s okay, Allan. We’ll take the second runner up. Anyway, what you want is the Chinese market, not a talented Chinese player. Besides, according to… Dunn, in the Chinese talent shows, the winner is generally not the most powerful.”

Evan also felt it was pointless to compete with Everton on that false title. It did not matter which team took the top three winners.

And that was how this matter was settled.

The organizers finally came up with the idea of not announcing the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s participation at all. They would only state that the Nottingham Forest Football Club officially supported this show. As for the rewards of the top three winners in the older group, it would remain in accordance with the previous announcement — After a brutal and fierce final, only two lucky winners would be awarded with a one-year trial at an English club.

Then at the last moment of the final, when the second runner up wept with tears flowing in public, the “mystery guest”, a representative from Nottingham Forest would show up at the live show to announce the decision that the second runner up had won a year of trial at the European Champion, Nottingham Forest Football Club. It would make the live audience, television audience and the second runner up feel the joy and sorrow of life, which would produce a dramatic effect.

Everyone thought this was a good idea. Just thinking about it was enough to make everyone excited. This was truly a “reality show” and a reveal of a real-life situation without any hint of scripted performance.

Twain silently cursed the group. Isn’t that messing with people? If anyone dares to do this to me, I’ll guarantee to mess him up!

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s last-minute decision to join in was definitely a good thing for Tang Jing, who was determined to produce good results. Therefore, the next day, Twain saw her among the crowd of reporters outside the Wilford training base.

“Mr. Twain!” She waved happily to Twain and then squeezed her way over with a bright smile on her face.

“What are you so happy about? Are you getting married?” Twain poked fun at her.

“Nah!” Tang Jing smiled. She did not set herself up against Twain for the first time.

“You want to interview me? I’m sorry, it’s during working hours now, so I can’t be interviewed.” Twain had just entered the training base gate. The players had not arrived for work yet. Where did “working hours” come from?

Surprisingly, Tang Jing’s face was still full of smiles no matter how tough Twain’s words were.

Twain felt that the woman was not right in her head and did not want to pay attention to her anymore. He wanted to quickly walk away. As he turned away, he heard Tang Jing speak in Mandarin. “Thank you, Mr. Twain!”

Twain did not turn back, but there was a hint of smile on his straight face. This young girl is really quite interesting.

He pretended not to hear and just walked away.

Tang Jing looked at his back, feeling foolishly happy. Dunn, who had been silent next to Tang Jing the whole time, looked at her strangely and asked, “are you really this happy?”

Tang Jing looked at him and smiled. “Thank you, too, Dunn.”

Dunn finally muttered as he walked away. Like Twain, he also felt that there was something wrong with this woman in front of him today.

The sun shone brightly this morning in Wilford. As a Chinese female journalist from China who worked alone in Nottingham, Tang Jing’s mood was like the weather. She felt great. She did not even care if she acted like a childish little girl in front of Twain, whom she hated most.

Chapter 582 - An Old Friend Is Coming

After the Forest team decided to participate in the plans for the talent show, a coach from the youth department was selected to go to China. He was not assigned to the older group as Nottingham Forest did not send a coach for the entire recording and broadcast of the older group,. This coach was mainly assigned for the younger age group, which would not be involved with the television broadcast and commercial show. The group was purely for the selection of good young players to be brought to the United Kingdom for training. There would be four lucky candidates at the end, who would be assigned to the three clubs for two years of training. Everton would receive two and Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest each got one.

In China, advertising was in full swing. Auditions had already started in six major cities: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Changsha, Chengdu. Fourteen divisional winners would be selected in late September to head to Changsha to participate in the final general training camp and get ready for the grand finale. Then next January, during the Chinese Lunar New Year, the final would be broadcasted live on television. Two professional football coaches from the United Kingdom and one from China would elect the final two lucky winners.

The difference between this talent show and any previous talent shows held by Hunan Television was that there was no audience vote. This was a request from the British side, because it was necessary to ensure the professionalism and authority of the show. If they had done it like the previous shows where voting was done through text, who would know if someone would purchase SMS at a high price in order to support and push a candidate he liked but whose ability was really not enough. This kind of incident had to be nipped in the bud. Besides joining in the excitement, the audience had no other participation rights. The final selection of the title holder and runners-up was absolutely based on the football coaches’ judgement and evaluation.

There were no behind-the-scenes dealings, because the contestants were ordinary youth who were passionate about football and had no special background and status. Football was “a sport for the masses” and “a civilian sport.” These fourteen to nineteen year olds came to sign up just to fulfill their own professional football dreams.

This was not the same as the dream for acting stardom. Being a professional footballer required more professionalism. If someone was an acting star, they could be terrible at singing and dancing, but if they looked beautiful, that person could be a star. A variety of advanced studio equipment and selection of unique songs could be used to solve singing out of tune. They could do away with dancing if their dancing was terrible. If the person could not act, then they could just put on a performance as themself. As long as the person was good-looking, they could still succeed as “a pretty face.” How else would there be the two categories “the idols” and “the thespians” in the show business.

A professional player could not do that. Even with Beckham’s looks, they would be of no use if he could not play. The football circle was also a vanity fair, but to be able to enter professional football, he had to first become a qualified professional player before he was qualified to pursue or envision the teeming world of fame and fortune.

For Beckham, if he did not have the ability for precise free kicks and long passes, passing ability, dedicated spirit, and tireless stamina, without his seventy-yard long-range lob into the goal, even if he was handsome, would Victoria have taken a fancy to him? Would advertisers be interested in him? Would the England national team give him a place? Would he still be the captain of the Three Lions? Would he be a main player in the world’s top teams like Manchester United and Real Madrid? Would an arrogant manager like Capello change his mind and put him back in the main lineup from the substitutes’ bench? No, none of it would have happened, and he might have been discovered on the street by an entertainment agent after a few years of quietly playing football, and then switched to the acting industry. From then on, he might have be a second-rate star in the show business world, while the world of football remained the same. The people who chose to enter and leave every day were innumerable, and there were no shortage of star talents who fell prematurely.

As Twain said, professional football was a practical and utilitarian place where only strength was valued. Only one’s own strength could be depended upon and nothing else. So what if a player had the backing of a big corporate sponsorship? Without any real ability, he would only be put to play a little during garbage time and be uploaded onto the official website to show his face to fool sponsors. When Hidetoshi Nakata originally landed in Serie A, he had the support of the Japanese corporations. But he was really capable, so he managed to gain a foothold in Italy and won the Serie A title. How about a player who was the son of a certain country leader and a princeling? Without strength, he could only join the team to have his face in the papers and then sit alone in the stands to cheer for his teammates during the game, like the son of Libyan leader, Gaddafi, Gaddafi Junior when he played for Perugia.

In other words, the world was cruel and harsh. Only strength could be relied on and nothing else. Tears? Stirring emotions? To gain sympathy points by having one’s parents and friends tell the stories of family poverty and the dream to change? To kneel down and kowtow in gratitude to God? To involve the audience in text voting to determine the winner? Not even a chance. During a game, the opponent would not let a player break through to score a goal just because he cried and wailed. Nor would FIFA agree to a vote by SMS from the football fans to determine the winner of any future competition. FIFA would never do that.

Twain was well aware of that. Therefore, whether or not the talent show could pick a truly brilliant genius, at least there would be no a “Mr. Nanguo” player who was there to make up the numbers. Because even if he could get through the talent show, when he arrived in Britain, he would immediately be unmasked and if his strength was not enough, he would return to where he came from a year later. What about the sponsors? Nothing they could do about it. This was a professional football club, not a dream factory.

※※※

“All right, let’s toss aside this Football Kid talent show to Timbuktu! It’s not for me to worry about. Business is business; football is football. I don’t care if a genius or good-for-nothing is picked in the end. I’m not going to give him any special care just because he’s a Chinese kid. I’m just going to send him to the youth team when he arrives.” Twain jabbered on in front of Dunn.

Dunn looked at him and said nothing.

However, Twain could see what he wanted to say in his eyes. “Don’t you worry. I will not give him special treatment. I’ll treat him normally. I never thought it would be possible to pick a real professional player on a draft like this. Those boring fantasy fiction on the Chinese websites like Do you care if I play football or We’re not the runner-up simply can’t happen. The past top player in the Philips-sponsored China University Football League went to the Netherlands for a trial. Who was that and where was he now? Singapore Premier League!” Twain scoffed.

“You really care so much about and constantly talk about it. How can you say that you will treat it normally?” Dunn expressed a different opinion. “If you are truly indifferent to it, you will not talk about it at all.”

Twain froze for a moment. He thought Dunn made a reasonable point, so he mimed throwing it away. “All right, let us completely forget about it. And discuss our opponent for next round of the league tournament, Reading...”

※※※

Nottingham Forest already had a five-game winning streak in the league. This was their best start in history, and everyone expected Twain to continue to break the winning record. Nottingham Forest had been in good form recently. It was a good time to make a new record.

However, the Forest team disappointed once again. In the away game, the Forest team tied with Reading with a score of 2:2.

As the incident with Gerrard became a thing of the past, as well as Sidwell’s transfer, the main reason was that with the passing of time, the hatred between the two teams was clearly not as serious as it was last season.

Although Coppell and Twain still had a personal feud, this game itself was close to normal.

The Reading team had a fierce battle with the Forest team at home. Coppell was quite capable. Even though he had allowed the Forest team to score two goals, Reading also scored two goals against the Forest team.

In the end, the six-game winning streak that everyone anticipated came to a halt. Nottingham Forest was still at the top with six games of five wins, one draw and sixteen points. The second-ranked team the league had quietly changed. With one game short, Arsenal came in second with four wins, one draw, and thirteen points, while the third place was occupied by Manchester City with four wins, two defeats, and twelve points.They were followed by Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. Each of the three teams had eleven points.

Chelsea was the unluckiest team. They went from being in the second place at the start of the league tournament to sixth. Their results declined quickly. The rumors of a rift between Mourinho and Abramovich swirled everywhere. It looked like the team’s performance had also been affected by the discord.

Twain did not think it was a rumor. He believed it was the truth. Given Mourinho’s character, it would have been surprising for him to be able to work with Abramovich for the past few years without the slightest contradiction. The basis of their cooperation was previously based on results. Their relationship was good when results were good. After a decline in the results, any hidden contradictions would be exposed. Was it not the case now? Abramovich forcefully bought Shevchenko a season ago despite Mourinho’s opposition. This summer, he blamed Mourinho for ending up empty-handed after last season. They did not win the league title or the English FA Cup. The Champions League title which was promised to him had ended in the semi-finals. They only won the EFL Cup which was of little value.

Could such an achievement satisfy Abramovich?

No.

Consequently, Mourinho did not even have a single cent for transfer fees this summer. It was rumored that Abramovich had a showdown with Mourinho — Because you did not lead the team well, we have to tighten the money this season to maintain our cash flow balance.

To the outside world, Mourinho said, “some people thought that Chelsea’s league titles in the previous seasons were bought with money and were unconvincing. So, before the start of the season, I was happy to see Arsenal and Manchester United plundered the transfer market.”

Twain did not know when Mourinho would leave Chelsea. Although it looked like the temperamental manager’s position was stable and that he enjoyed unparallel prestige in the Chelsea team, that was because everyone imperceptibly ignored the real emperor of this team — Abramovich. Based on Twain’s knowledge of the Russian oligarch, he was a very stubborn character and advocated “strong-arm” tactics. Once he had decided on a matter, he could not be held back by even ten horses. He would swift and decisive in his execution. He would never give others the opportunity to turn the tables. Shevchenko was an example. Before the Ukrainian nuclear warhead came to London, several people believed that Chelsea really wanted to buy Shevchenko. Even if Mourinho opposed it, he was not able to change Abramovich’s resolve. As a result, Shevchenko announced that he would join Chelsea ahead of the World Cup, and Abramovich got his coveted striker.

It was also around this time that the rift between Mourinho and Abramovich grew wider and deeper. It would be irreconcilable one day.

※※※

The tie with Reading did not put Twain in a bad mood, and he could not spare the energy to compete with Reading. For Nottingham Forest, Reading was just an ant under its feet. Had anyone ever seen a man setting himself against an ant for a long time? The reason for the tied game was due to Twain holding back a portion of the main players. He had already set his goal on the Champions League group away game against Porto.

Porto was where Mourinho started. A former European champion, it was not doing as well as before, but they still had some prestige left. Nottingham Forest had played against both Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and Benfica. It was Porto’s turn.

Twain would not underestimate the opponent, and the facts proved that his careful preparation was useful.

Nottingham Forest, which sent its strongest lineup to Portugal, was met with a tenacious resistance at Estádio do Drag?o in Porto. After ninety minutes of intense competition, neither team scored and the game was tied at 0:0. By all accounts, getting one point in an away game was considered a good result. However, Twain once again carried out his annoying “tradition.” At a post-match press conference, he said, “we should have left with three points and I’m very unhappy with the result.”

This was not the first time Twain acted arrogantly on another team’s turf. The Portuguese media were well aware of the English manager’s lack of shame and did not make a fuss about his behavior. Now the media knew that the best way to deal with Twain was not to quarrel with him, but to ignore him.

Nottingham Forest returned to Nottingham with one point, and Twain had to start preparing for the league tournament again without a break.

He also carefully prepared for it but this time it was to welcome an old friend.

Nottingham Forest would host the newly promoted team, Sunderland, in the seventh round of the Premier League on September 22nd.

Chapter 583 - Manager Roy

Twain recalled the interaction between him and Roy Keane one and a half seasons ago. He thought that matter would go well and have a perfect ending. Like the happily ever after ending of a fairytale, Roy Keane would announce his free transfer to join Nottingham Forest and become one of the men under Twain’s command.

Unfortunately, not all stories were like the fairytales. Roy Keane’s obstinacy and loyalty exceeded his imagination. In the end, the two men met and parted again in the boundless sea of people, and the story did not happen.

Twain’s only gain from this was he had the friendship of the Irish guy. They got along well, and Keane had consulted Twain on some things about coaching during his recovery training with the Forest team. The proud Keane just raised questions about some issues which Twain answered. Other than that, Keane was not overly enthusiastic and curious about a manager’s career and performance. Keane had not decided to retire, and becoming a coach was just a dream.

However, Keane did say to Twain more than once that he wanted to be an outstanding manager like Ferguson and Clough after his retirement and be able to influence a new generation of players to go on the right career path.

He later joined the Celtic FC and left England. When he left, he published a heartwarming open letter to thank everyone, including the old Ferguson who kicked him out of the team. The only person he did not mention was Tony Twain. He said he would not make someone feel too good, and he was true to his word.

And now, after one and a half years later, he was back, bringing with him his dream to the stage that once belonged to him.

He was no longer “the Red Devils” Manchester United’s captain, nor the down and out player who had been kicked out the Manchester United Football Club, who had nowhere to go and was already in the late stage of his career. He wore a stylish suit, shiny leather shoes, and a dark red tie with a tie clip that had the Sunderland emblem.

He was now the manager of Sunderland, the newly promoted team in the new English Premier League season.

“Would you like me to address you as Mr. Keane? Or Manager Keane?” Twain asked when he met his old friend whom he had seen at a regular press conference the day before the game.

“You can address me with whichever you prefer. Both will do.”

In front of the reporters’ cameras, these two managers shook hands with smiles on their faces. But it was not a show in front of the public. Twain did not have many friends in the coaching world. Some people might not be Twain’s enemies, but certainly not friends. Luckily, Roy Keane was one of them.

“Then I’ll just call you Roy. It’s easier. I’ve heard about your results in the EFL Championship, and I have to say you have done beautifully!” As the pair shook hands and hugged, Twain spoke in a low voice next to Keane’s ear.

“Any better, it will only be ‘the second miraculous Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest.” Roy Keane shrugged his shoulders and curled his lips as he spoke.

Roy Keane decided to retire after half a season at Celtic and took a break for some time. At the end of December, Sunderland came looking for him in the hope of hiring him as the manager of the “Black Cats.” Sunderland was at the bottom of the English Football League Championship at the time. Their aim for the season was to stay in the league and nothing else.

Before Roy Keane, Sunderland had looked for a number of other well-known or unknown managers, but no one was willing to take over the terrible mess. Some people discussed this issue at the League Managers Association. Many felt it would be a disaster to go to Sunderland to coach, or to put it nicely “a very risky gamble,” as the manager might go down with Sunderland to descend into League One, which was England’s third-tier league, the equivalent of the previous Football League Second Division.

Was there a manager willing to do something like this?

The matter was interesting to Twain. He obviously did not want to go there to coach, but he had a suitable candidate to recommend to Sunderland.

His advanced knowledge went until the first half of 2007 and was now completely ineffective. Even so, he faintly remembered that Roy Keane did coach Sunderland. He did not know when he started coaching the team, and whether he eventually succeeded in leading the team to stay in the league or be promoted. He also did not know the story behind Sunderland’s search for Roy to coach the team.

However, he had a chance to make this a reality.

Would Roy Keane become a brilliant manager and threaten Tony Twain’s results? Would he become a major character who would become Twain’s rival in the league tournament and the European arena in the future?

Twain did not know, and he did not want to. That was something for the future, and it was Keane’s own business. For the moment, he only thought that Roy had told him about his dream to become a manager more than once. Now that the opportunity was there, he could use the little prestige he had in the football world to help Roy. After all, they were friends.

He looked for Niall Quinn, the chairman of the Sunderland Club and recommended his former Republic of Ireland national football teammate to him.

Speaking of the young chairman of the Sunderland Club, there was also a well-known “feud” between him and Keane.

Quinn was the main center forward for the Republic of Ireland national team and also a loyal supporter of the Irish manager, McCarthy. In the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, when Keane and McCarthy fell out with each other, Quinn stood firmly behind the manager. Then during that season, when Manchester United challenged Sunderland in an away game, Keane elbowed a fellow Irish countryman, McAteer on the field and had an altercation with Quinn. Their relationship was not good, so Quinn did not choose Keane, who was idle at home, when the club could not find a manager.

At first, Quinn, who was also the club chairman, wanted to be the part-time team manager, but his first five games while in charge had no winning record, which brought the Irishman to his senses. He could rely on the strength of his hometown consortium to take over Sunderland, which was in the midst of a financial crisis, and then sat in the top position of a chairman, but he was not necessarily capable of leading a team to victory. So he looked for McCarthy, his mentor in the Republic of Ireland national team.

The man who was one of Keane’s most hated managers, did not succeed at Sunderland. He had a large role in Sunderland’s bottom rank. Unable to bear it any longer, the Sunderland board of directors decided to fire McCarthy two months later. As a consequence, until just before Christmas, Sunderland was temporarily helmed by their youth team manager. The team was demoralized and lost every game they played until they eventually slipped to the 20th place in the English Football League Championship — very last place.

The situation sounded familiar, like the Forest team’s situation when Twain first took over. The only way Sunderland was better than the Forest team was that they did not have a financial crisis. But if the team continued to lose and ended up in the third-tier league, no one dared to say that there would be no financial crisis.

Twain recommended Roy Keane to Quinn.

The reason for Twain’s recommendation was simple. “I think what your esteemed team needs is not money or a star player, but to get the players out of the dark place of continuous losses. In that regard, I believe Roy can be that leader who brings the victory back to the locker room and the stadium.”

Later, during the press conference for the announcement of the new manager, Quinn was asked why Roy Keane had been chosen and he repeated Twain’s remark verbatim to the media.

After Quinn listened to Twain’s recommendation, he weighed in on the pros and cons. He thought that with the current circumstances, his personal enmity was not worth a mention when compared to the club’s current status. Therefore, he took the initiative to find Keane and sincerely hoped that Keane would come on board as the Sunderland manager. At the same time, Twain made a phone call to Keane, suggesting he should take the opportunity. “If you’re worried about being inexperienced and leading the team to a poor performance, just take a look at Sunderland now. What do they have to lose? You’re just a rookie manager anyway, so no one’s going to have any unrealistic expectations of you. I think Sunderland is the best team to start your coaching career at the moment.”

That was how Roy Keane became the manager of the “Black Cats” Sunderland after Christmas.

The story that followed after was a replica of Twain’s first complete season. Keane injected a powerful drive into the team. As Twain said, Sunderland, who got rid of their despair, exploded with powerful fighting spirit. Supplemented by the financial support from the club’s board of directors and the loan of young players from Keane’s former club, Manchester United, Sunderland shot to the top from being at the bottom after half a season. They not only succeeded in staying in the league, but also won the right to participate in the qualifier for the next season’s Premier League.

Manager Roy Keane’s debut was absolutely stunning. No wonder the media linked the equally young manager who created the miracle with Tony Twain, arguing that Keane had the potential to become “Tony Twain 2.0.”

However, to the proud Keane, it was probably not a good thing to say, even if the comparison was with one of his good friends.

Twain understood that when Keane said. “Any better, it will only be ‘the second miraculous Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest.” there was a bit of reluctance and dissatisfaction within those words. He just smiled, patted Keane on the shoulder, and he said nothing.

After the two managers sat down, they began to answer questions from reporters, which were mainly around the game to be played the next day. Some people asked the two men whether their friendship would affect the outcome of tomorrow’s game.

Twain fully expressed his imposing manner as the host. He stared at the reporter. “Are you suggesting that there could be unfairness in the game between our two teams?”

In fact, the reporter did not speak without thinking.

Because of Sunderland’s promotion and buying of players from everywhere to enhance their strength, Keane did his job through two means. One was to rely on the strong financial resources of the club’s board to buy players he was interested in from the transfer market. The second was to borrow talented young players from teams he had a better relationship with, thereby increasing the strength of the team’s bench. For example, he borrowed the center-backs Jonny Evans and Danny Simpson from Manchester United. Nottingham Forest was naturally the target of his loans. Twain happily allowed some of the best players in the youth team to go to see the world and accumulate competition experience to improve their own levels. Consequently, at the beginning of the new season, he took Adriano Moke from the youth team and sent him to Sunderland on loan. He also recommended the center-back Aaron Mitchell and several other young players to Keane, but Keane was not interested in them.

It was inevitable to arouse speculation when the two teams had this level of relationship.

Keane clarified with a firm look, “a personal friendship remains personal. A game is a game. I’ll have a drink with Twain after the game, but before then, we’ll be rivals.”

Twain looked at Keane and nodded. “When you all leave, he and I will start our fight right away. These are inside details that you won’t know.”

His earnest expression elicited a burst of laughter from the reporters, and the question that made the two managers feel awkward was glossed over.

After that, everyone asked several regular questions such as “what do you look forward to for the game?”, “Mr. Twain/Mr. Keane, what do you think of the Sunderland team/Nottingham Forest team?” The two managers gave answers and did not let the impressionable media get hold of any information that could be used against them.

After the press conference, Keane went to the stadium to watch the team’s adaptive training, and Twain went home to prepare for the next day’s game. As Keane said at the press conference, the two men need to put their personal friendship aside and concentrate on playing the role of the “rival” well. Therefore, Twain did not enthusiastically invite Keane to dinner, and Keane did not take the initiative to chat with Twain.

After the pair shook hands and said goodbye at the press conference, they parted ways.

※※※

When he got home, Dunn, who had waited for a long while, asked him, “how do you feel?”

“How does what feel?” Twain was confused by the question.

“Meeting an old friend again.” Dunn’s words were brief as usual.

Twain knew he was asking how he felt after meeting Keane. The routine press conference was boring, and he was certain the reporters felt the same way. There was no story going on at all. But he remembered his whispered conversation with Keane and a small detail came to mind.

“Ah, you mean Roy. Fortunately, I’m somewhat unfamiliar with Keane wearing a suit and tie. I’m more used to seeing him frenziedly block his opponent’s knee on the field in a Manchester United jersey.” Twain shrugged. “His results in the English Football League Championship last season were amazing. To be honest, when I recommended him to Quinn, I had no idea he would do so well.”

Dunn smiled. “Do you feel a threated by him now?”

Twain, who was pouring his own tea, looked back at Dunn, sitting on the couch and shook his head. “No. Far from it.”

“The cup is going to overflow.” Dunn pointed to the teapot in Twain’s hand.

Twain put the teapot down and lifted the teacups. He walked over with a cup for Dunn and a cup for himself to enjoy.

“For Roy…” He took a big sip of the tea before continuing. “To have such a stunning beginning may not necessarily be a good thing. Fate is a really wonderful thing. I think about it once in a while…” He glanced up at the bright red sky and the glowing clouds at dusk. It would be a fine day tomorrow.

“If Gavin did not have an accident, the team’s morale was high, I was in a good form, being able to lead the team to the Premier League at the end of the first season, then not being dismissed to return to the youth team, and Michael did not leave for the United States… now four years later, could I still be able to appear in public as a manager who won the Champions League and the Super Cup?” Twain murmured as he looked out of the window. “I do not know… I really don’t know.”

“Some things appeared to be abrupt and accidental at the time. But after a long time, I have to admit… they are connected with the present. ‘When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it will first fill his spirit with suffering, toil his muscles and bones, expose his body to hunger, subject him to extreme poverty, confound his journey with setbacks and troubles, so as to stimulate his alertness and toughen his nature, to eventually bridge his incompetence gap and prepare him for the task.”’ Twain recited a passage from Mencius. Anyone who had received nine years of compulsory education in China would know it. “This was passed down from the Chinese ancestors. Honestly, I hate the allegory. Why must we accept failure in order to succeed? Why must failure be the mother of success? But… unfortunately, whether I like it or not, it does make sense. It has been handed down for more than two thousand years, which shows that it is a wise saying and that there is a reason for its existence and staying power. This is the law of nature which man cannot contend against. Do you understand, Dunn?”

Dunn nodded. Although he was not an authentic Chinese, he understood the meaning of these remarks as well.

“I… I’ve been through a lot of things, good and bad… That’s why I achieved what I’ve achieved today. It’s cause and effect. As for Roy, success that comes too fast is not very good for his future coaching career.” Twain took his eyes off the sky outside the window, turned to look at Dunn, and laughed. “If Heaven wants a man to achieve great things, he must first polish him and let him experience failure, frustration, and hardship. But Roy has not experienced these yet and he came to the English Premier League, wearing the ‘genius coach’ hat. It’s not right, it’s not reasonable, there’s something wrong with Heaven.” He pointed to the sky outside.

“So, I’ve decided… it’s up to me to enforce justice on behalf of Heaven.”

If you want to win, just come right out and say it… Dunn thought to himself.

Chapter 584 - The Disparity in Strength

While Twain had said he wanted to win, football games were not won by words. Without careful preparation and meticulous arrangement, coupled with the right tactics, saying that one wanted to win was nothing but empty talk.

Sunderland was not a strong team. The newly promoted team played like a newly promoted team — the team’s results fluctuated. During the first round of the league tournament, they hosted Tottenham Hotspur. The two teams played a dull game, but Sunderland continued last season’s performance in the English Football League Championship. Based on their tenacious defense, they launched counterattacks. They finally cracked open Tottenham Hotspur’s goal and got off to a great start.

Keane’s debut in the new season appeared to be successful and stunning.

There was even an expert who could not wait to announce that this season, Sunderland was likely to be like the Wigan Athletic of two seasons ago.

However, Keane could not carry through. In the second round of the league tournament, Sunderland tied 2:2 with Birmingham City FC, lost 0:3 to Middlesbrough in the third round during an away game and also lost to Liverpool in the fourth round at home by 0:2.

On September 2nd, Keane returned to Old Trafford, where he bade goodbye to his former Manchester United teammate, the “legendary” Ole Gunnar Solskj?r before the game. Solskj?r, who previously suffered from injuries, had announced his official retirement. The Manchester United fans gave a standing ovation to Roy Keane, who had returned to Old Trafford with the team he led. Keane also hugged Ferguson in front of a host of media outlets with no hint of any explosiveness in the impending contest.

But after the game began, none of the warm feelings could be seen. The final score was 1:0. Sunderland played tenaciously, but its goal was pierced by the new Manchester United Portuguese young player, Nani, with a world class long shot. On the surface, it looked like Sunderland had some bad luck and Manchester United had scored in the most improbable way to score. In fact, Manchester United would have had plenty of chances during a game, but Rooney was injured, and Manchester United’s frontline could not find their offensive direction immediately.

After Carlos Tevez came on, his coordination with his teammates was not silent enough to form an effective offensive match.

As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he sat in the spectators’ stand with Rooney recovering from his injury.

“King Dong” Dong Fangzhuo, whom the Chinese fans were very concerned about, was put on the main list and sat on the bench. But no matter how much Manchester United’s offense was blocked, he did not get a chance to play. He sat on the substitutes’ bench for ninety minutes.

At the end of that game, Manchester United relied on Nani’s goal to win against Sunderland.

With three consecutive defeats, Sunderland abruptly silenced the experts who were optimistic about them before. Although Wigan Athletic lost to Nottingham Forest in the first game of the new season, they did quite well later. Otherwise, they would not have been seen as a major dark horse. Sunderland’s performance was still far from the image of “black horse.” Just like their nickname, “the Black Cats” were still a cat after all.

In the sixth round of the league tournament, Sunderland finally had their second league win of the season. They beat Fulham at home by 2:1.

The Sunderland fans thought that the previous three defeats were nothing more than a fluke. The team’s losses were because their luck was not as good as their opponents. Besides the team was still slowly adapting to the pace of the Premier League, which could be seen from the changes in their losing scores. At first they conceded three goals to Middlesbrough, next they conceded two goals to Liverpool and then they only conceded just one goal when they came to Manchester United. And now, Sunderland had won in the game against Fulham! What did that show? It showed that the team’s condition was getting better with every game. We have won with one goal against Fulham, so does that mean we will win Nottingham Forest in the next round... with two goals?

The words were laughable. It was almost impossible, given the disparity in strength between Sunderland and the Forest team. But who’s Sunderland’s manager? It’s the fearless Roy Keane. With him around, there will be a miracle. Think about the miserable predicament we were in the EFL Championship last season. Who could have believed that we would finally be promoted? Even we didn’t believe it ourselves, When Roy Keane came, he said at his inaugural press conference, “I’m not here to lead the team to stay in the league.” As a result, he did what he said he would.

It was not impossible to defeat Nottingham Forest in the away game. No team in the world was unbeatable.

But unfortunately, Twain was not going to let the Sunderland fans get what they wanted.

Twain sent the strongest lineup possible against Sunderland. The goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, the center-backs, Ayala and Pepe, the left-back, Gareth Bale, the right-back, Rafinha, the defensive midfielders, George Wood and van der Vaart, the left midfielder, Ribéry, the right midfielder, Beckham, and the strikers, van Nistelrooy and Arshavin.

Eastwood had a minor injury and continuously playing in matches were not good for his injury, so he was rotated out of the main list by Twain and ordered to recuperate after the Champions League group stage match against Porto.

The lineup was not quite the same as it was against Porto four days ago. Twain made a few rotations in several positions: Gareth Bale replaced Grosso, Ayala took the place of Piqué and Arshavin replaced Eastwood. Nonetheless, the lineup was still considered a superb strength in England.

Twain did not want people to think he deliberately went easier on his good friend, Roy Keane. That would be the biggest insult to his work ethic.

Roy Keane would not throw a game for his opponent either. He sent his strongest lineup in the hope of obtaining three points.

Sunderland used a steady defensive counterattack tactic against the Forest team. Twain was familiar with and not surprised by the tactics because as the Forest team became increasingly famous, more and more teams used defensive counterattacks to deal with them. Sunderland was just one of them.

Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten record of five wins and one draw in the six rounds of the league tournament was not just luck. Many teams wanted to use defensive counterattack against the Forest team, but what was the end result? They still ended up losing.

The current Nottingham Forest team was not at a loss in the face of the opponent parking the bus. Set pieces, long shots, short passes from the middle to penetrate, both flanks in full force... They had many ways to crack open the opponent’s tight defense. Van der Vaart’s ability to organize attacks at the front of the opponent’s box was much better than Albertini and Arteta. The Forest team’s front field organization had him as the mainstay. Coupled with van Nistelrooy and Bendtner, who were clever center forwards and not afraid of physical confrontation, Twain was not worried even if the opponent laid out a heavy force.

Besides preserving with the defensive counterattack drill during training, the Forest team also focused on how to break the opponent’s parking the bus formation and how to contend with the opponent in positional play. The one advantage they had was that they were experts at playing defensive counterattack. They understood the weakness and psychology and had a clear method of dealing with it.

During the attack, van Nistelrooy was the first to rush up to attract the opponent’s defensive attention and push back the opponent’s defensive line.

But more often than not, the center forward was not the one to deal the fatal blow, but Eastwood, Arshavin, or even van der Vaart who plugged in from behind.

Often, the center forward’s role was not to breach the goal to score, but to carry out tactical tasks. As long as the center forward was up, the opponent’s defensive line would have to retreat to defend. No matter what tactics were used, the center forward was the opposing player closest to the goal and most capable of spearheading an attack on the goal. As to whether there would be the other opposing attacking players plugged in from behind, it was up to the midfield defense and the defenders to coordinate.

Plugging in from behind to attack was one of the mainstream tactics in the football world. The time-tested reason laid in its diversity and uncertainty. No one knew when the opponent or which player would plug in from behind, let alone whether the opponent would actually want to plug in, which gave the attacker the foundation to carry out the tactic. All warfare was based on deception. To put it bluntly, the football tactics were also the same. It was all deception and counter-deception.

The Sunderland defenders tightened their defense when they saw van Nistelrooy aggressively squeeze into the box. They focused the defensive strength in the box, so the defensive in front of the box weakened. Van der Vaart took the ball at the front of the box, and for a moment, Sunderland’s defensive players did not rush to intercept. Instead, they worried that they would leave a void behind them that the opponent could seize to do a straight pass.

The Dutchman seized the opportunity for a powerful long shot.

The football was shot within the goalpost range but knocked out by Sunderland’s main goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, and flew out of the end line. Gordon was the main Scotland goalkeeper that Keane spent nine million pounds to purchase before the season. In his first game, Sunderland scored a small victory of one goal against Tottenham Hotspur who was blocked from scoring. His performance was unanimously acclaimed. After that, his performance became uneven. He conceded six goals in a three-game losing streak. He only received positive reviews in the previous game against Manchester United. The pundits’ opinion was “if it wasn’t for Gordon, Sunderland would have conceded five goals.”

Twain had never thought highly of Gordon because the goalkeeper lacked one of the most essential factors — stability. He was sometimes able to perform in a game like he was divinely gifted, but more often than not, he would concede three goals during a game, which was of no use to the team as a whole.

Would Gordon play as if he had the help of God? Or would he concede three goals?

Bale took the corner kick for the Forest Team. He was a left-footed player and he was about to take the corner kick on the right side. The ball had to spin to the front of the goal. Suddenly the defending and attacking players all squeezed to the front of the goal, ready to fight for the header. Beckham suddenly ran over from the far end. Was he coming to kick?

No, Bale had kicked the football out and Beckham did not stop the ball. He kicked to pass!

Usually a curveball whirled toward the inside, but the football spun outward. Sunderland’s initial defensive layout failed. Pepe and van Nistelrooy also proved to be just a cover. Their role was to attract the opponent’s defensive attention and create opportunities for their teammates to plug in from the back.

Ayala, who had wandered on the outside, suddenly charged out, and got in front of everyone to hit a header.

“The ball’s in!! No one saw it coming! Ayala was the recipient of the header... Just look at Beckham’s corner ball, it was just aimed at the Argentine defender! 1:0! Nottingham Forest is in the lead at home!”

A set piece was the best way to break the opponent’s compact defense.

When he saw the goal concede, Keane unhappily rushed from the technical area to the sidelines to express his anger at the defender’s leak.

Twain sat in the technical area and annoyingly crossed his legs, looking complacent.

With the two key set piece experts, Bale and Beckham, around, the Forest team placed tactical drills for set pieces in a very important category. The sudden change from a long corner shot to a short corner kick was just one of them.

※※※

The leading Forest team quickly adopted the stance of a strong team and gave up the method of positional play to besiege the opponent. Instead, they withdrew symmetrically and contended with Sunderland in the midfield. Twain knew that, given Keane’s character, he would surely instruct the team to press up to score since they were one goal behind and to turn the tables. The Forest team did not withdraw to the back field and just waited in the midfield for Sunderland to come up. In terms of the midfield strength, Sunderland could not compare to Nottingham Forest.

George Wood was currently the best defensive midfielder in the English Premier League and even in European football. It was not known how Keane felt as he saw the kid he gave pointers to now vigorously intercepting his players on the field.

Sunderland’s offense appeared too monotonous up against the Forest team and was at a complete disadvantage when it came to personal skills. The current Sunderland team played a typical English-style football — it referred to “a long ball” tactics. They valued the body and will, but lacked the technical characteristics. Transformed by Twain and the foreign players, the Forest team was already considered outstanding in the Premier League. They rarely had instances where the ball was more than five meters away when stopped, which was important. The Sunderland players frequently executed low-level stops under the Forest team’s tackles. If they could not stop the ball well, how could they organize the offense?

Twain was not worried about Sunderland’s countermeasures because he had studied Keane’s team carefully for a long time. Keane had not been in charge of the team for long. No matter how many grand plans he had in mind, there was no time for him to achieve them one by one. The current Sunderland team also retained the style of playing in the English Football League Championship, placing the body and willpower first and skills second. This worked very well for the English Football League Championship, but it did not work well in the higher-level Premier League. If a team wanted to develop well, it was essential to focus on skills. Whether it was a team like Arsenal which focused on the art of football, or the comprehensive Manchester United, or the other Premier League teams'”pseudo-skills,” the technical aspects had to be taken seriously.

The differences in the individual players’ skills accumulated to become a disparity between the two teams. This disparity let the Forest team’s frontline to take control of the pace of the game, and Sunderland could only think about wanting to equalize the score but could not do anything about it, which made them feel powerless.

The teams switched sides and played again in the second half. Keane unhappily tweaked his offense, trying to rip apart the Forest team’s entire defense by stepping up the offense. Whether it was due to helplessness, or because the accumulation of the individual gaps to form the disparity between the team as a whole, he lacked the strength to reverse the situation.

After the Forest team firmly took control of the pace of the game and unhurriedly contended with Sunderland while they looked for a chance to deal a fatal blow.

In the 17th and 39th minutes of the second half, the Forest team scored two more goals.

In the end, the score was 3:0, and Nottingham Forest won. The poor Craig Gordon conceded three goals again. The goalkeeper, who was favored by Keane, was dejected after the game.

Twain went to Roy Keane first after the final whistle and shook his hand. “I want to say it’s a shame, Roy.”

Keane’s lips curled. “Come on, Tony. Put away your hypocritical smile. We have lost and you have won. There’s nothing else to say.”

Twain spread his hands, looking innocent. “But we always have to keep up with appearances in front of the press, don’t we?”

Keane was in a bad mood but could not help laughing when he saw Twain like that. “Let’s have a drink together tonight.” He extended his hand and the two men shook hands.

Chapter 585 - Everyone Must Respect the Opponent

Nottingham Forest ushered in the eighth round of the league tournament after their victory over Sunderland. Twain rotated the team again when he considered the Champions League group stage match on October 1st and that the opponent was not strong. He even changed the starting goalkeeper.

Akinfeev had been on the team for quite some time, but apart from pre-season friendlies and the EFL Cup, he had not been allowed to play in important Premier League and Champions League group stage games. This was clearly not the treatment the Russia top goalkeeper wanted to have, and he had been a bit sullen recently. Kerslake told Twain about the situation he had observed and asked him to pay more attention to Akinfeev’s mood so as not to affect the stability within the team’s locker room.

A number of newcomers had joined this season, and the interaction between them and the rest of their teammates within the locker room was a problem that needed to be handled with caution. For the Forest team to be able to achieve such miraculously good results, they had to have a unified locker room which they always had. Twain did not want the tradition to be destroyed.

He also knew that some players would have issues if they did not play in the game for a long time. Therefore, a rotation sometimes required more than just a simple tactical consideration. It had to also consider the factors outside the game.

The eighth round of the league with Portsmouth was an opportunity. Twain decided to give the fringe players a chance to perform. Before setting off for Portsmouth Harbor the day before the game, Twain posted the starting list for the next day’s game. Akinfeev became the starting goalkeeper, Leighton Baines was the starting left-back and the starting center-backs were Kompany and Wes Morgan. Piqué was put on the bench. The starting right back was not Chimbonda, but Sun Jihai. The defensive midfielder’s position was not the unfailing George Wood but Sidwell, who joined the team in the new season. Like Akinfeev, he only had a chance to play in the EFL games, which Twain basically did not value at all. It was a sad thing to be a substitute for George Wood. The left midfielder was Petrov, and the right midfielder was Lennon. The attacking midfielder was still van der Vaart. The starting strikers were Arshavin and Bendtner.

The lineup changed every possible position that could be changed, making people wonder if Twain still wanted to win in the away game. Portsmouth was still a midtier team in tenth place in the Premier League, not to mention that this was a home game for them. Their strength was not to be taken lightly.

Subsequently when the Forest team’s starting lineup was revealed by the media, it displeased the Portsmouth team, who thought they were being underestimated. If their league opponent exhausted their main force with a newly promoted team, even if they were to rotate, it would only be a regular rotation of a few positions. However, when it was a game with their team, they actually changed all the eleven starting players. What else could it be if it was not a belittlement of their team? Did they need to rotate to such extent?

Harry Redknapp, the manager of Portsmouth and a renowned veteran of English football, was upset that Twain had done so. He was an old chap who was respected wherever he went. Therefore, in an interview, he surreptitiously expressed his displeasure with Twain. “I’m glad to see the Forest team execute such a rotation. We won’t be playing too hard tomorrow.” Any fool could discern the meaning behind his words.

Twain did not respond or explain. There was nothing to explain. Could he say, “I don’t despise you”? No, Twain was actually disdainful of Portsmouth. He believed that with the Forest team’s current strength, even if it were an away game, it was possible to defeat to Portsmouth. In the fifth round of the league tournament, Arsenal beat Portsmouth by 3:1 even though they played with ten players, as one player was sent off.

Nottingham Forest could be said to be at the same level as Arsenal. Taking down Portsmouth was a victory well within Twain’s plan.

The Forest team, which went to Portsmouth Harbor with a rotated lineup, was met with extremely tenacious resistance at Fratton Park.

Indeed, no one could imagine such tenacity.

Redknapp took full advantage of Twain’s disdain and told his players before the game to show the arrogant Nottingham players what they were made of and make Twain regret that he had only sent that lineup to compete against the “Pompey team.”

At the start of the game, the Forest team showed their strength to their opponent. With Bendtner receiving Petrov’s pass from the flank, his header smashed open the goal guarded by David James. The goal gave Twain a reason to cross his legs in the technical area.

But what happened next...

“Oh, oh, oh! It’s unbelievable! Incredible!” the commentator roared excitedly. “The massive gap in the score before the end of the first half almost declares that the game is already over ahead of time!”

The massive gap in the score was 4:1. However, the leading team was not Nottingham Forest, who was the first to score. Instead, it was the highly motivated home team, Portsmouth.

“In the 43rd minute, Kanu scored his second goal of the game! It was also Portsmouth’s fourth goal! It’s absolutely amazing. The Pompey team acted like a real championship team in the first half of the game, with everyone playing in their best form. Every Portsmouth player’s active performance on the field left the Nottingham Forest players completely helpless!”

That was right. The Nottingham Forest players stared blankly, unable to believe the score in front of their eyes. They had only ever lost to Liverpool with a score of 1:4, which was their worst defeat since Twain led the team.

Twain had long since uncrossed his legs. He stood on the sidelines, with his hands in his pockets and looking grimly at the field. He maintained this pose and expression for twenty minutes, during the sudden changes on the field. Portsmouth scored four goals in twenty minutes and completely stunned Nottingham Forest.

The whistle, which signaled the end of the first half, finally rang. Twain took the lead to walk back to the tunnel with a black look. The television cameras followed him all the way. Everyone could see how ugly the expression on his face was.

“I think Manager Twain should consider adjusting the lineup in the second half... that is if he does not want to return to Nottingham with that score.” The commentator quipped.

Looking dejected, the Forest players returned to the locker room. They thought a stormy rant awaited them.

But there was none. The dark, stormy expression on Twain’s face was gone.

“I knew there was some talk about our lineup before the game. They all said that by rotating the starting eleven players, it was showing contempt to Portsmouth, that we despised Portsmouth and underestimated our opponent. So the Portsmouth players went crazy in the first half trying to beat us. I do not agree with that view. I don’t think this was us showing disdain for Portsmouth. On the contrary, I think those nonsensical remarks showed contempt toward you.” Twain spread his hands. “Why would the outside world unanimously agree that when I rotated the starting lineup, I was looking down on the opponent. That’s because they think you’re all weak and that you’re Nottingham Forest’s Second Team, so they feel insulted that the Second Team would play against their First Team. If that’s not underestimation, then what is? But...”

Twain emphasized each word. “Who the hell said you were the weak Second Team? I’ve said long ago that only the outstanding players can stay in Nottingham Forest. Otherwise don’t even think about getting through the front doors of the Forest club. I don’t have any bullshit difference between the First Team and Second Team here. Only the best players in the world can play for Forest! The best of the best, not one of the f**king many! Those sh*ts think just because you’re the starting lineup means you pull the Forest team’s strength down by two notches. Who are the f**king ones showing contempt here?”

After he vented, Twain took a slight breath to stabilize his mood and softened his tone. “If you just going to let the score of the first half be the final score of the game, then it’s a real shame. Even if I do not agree with the view, your “weak” label will become real. After that, whenever I let you play, the ignorant media and certain idiotic pundits will say, ‘Look, Nottingham Forest’s rotation system is a joke. These players will only bring the strength of the Forest team down by two notches. Even Portsmouth can overwhelm them with four goals!’ This is an insult to us!” Twain imitated the pundit’s tone to perfection, and he saw the look in the eyes of the dejected players change. He knew that the time was ripe, so he asked, “are you willing to let such a thing happen? Are you fine to be considered as the weaker Second Team? If anyone accepts such an insult, raise your hand!”

No one raised their hands, and they did not yell “no” at Twain either. They just gnashed their teeth and clenched their fists until their knuckles turned white.

Their emotions ran high, and they bottled up their anger within so that they could vent it at their opponent in the second half.

Twain nailed the last nail in Portsmouth’s coffin. “In the second half, I’m telling you the truth, I’m not going to make a damned substitution unless you’re injured or physically exhausted. You have to prove it with your own actions. Even if I, Tony Twain, replace the starting eleven players in one go, the lineup is still at the top level of the Premier League! If any idiot feels insulted, then humiliate him!”

Twain sneered internally as he walked out of the locker room with the excited players.

Mr. Redknapp, you know how to make use of the media analysis to motivate your players and obtain a 4:1 score. Well, well, don’t think I don’t know how to make use of the same stuff you used? You Portsmouth scumbags, wait to accept my fury.

Who do you think I am? I’m Tony Twain. Liverpool was the only team in the world which could make me concede three goals. The team that can make me concede more than four goals has not been f**king born yet!

※※※

“4:1!” Once the second half started, the commentator repeated the score, which made Twain extremely upset. If he was watching television, he would have probably thrown it out of the window. The score was of special significance to Twain and always reminded him of his former weakness and powerlessness. He hated that feeling.

“I don’t think there’s much hope for Nottingham Forest... With a Second Team lineup up against the furious Portsmouth team and three goals behind — everyone in the Portsmouth team played in top form, and looking at Nottingham Forest, the Premier League debut of Akinfeev, who cost Twain six million pounds, was nothing short of a disaster. Russia’s number one goalkeeper swallowed four bullets in forty-five minutes. I wonder if he has ever been hit so hard in his career? Also, looking at Sun Jihai, who is no longer the ‘Chinese Sun’ from Manchester City, his right flank was frequently broken through by his opponents. And Sidwell... poor Sidwell will always be compared to George Wood, the ‘monster’, but why would Twain make him the substitute for George Wood?”

This Sky TV commentator jabbered on about the Forest players’ poor performances in the first half.

Before he could finish, he had to suddenly correct them.

“Ah... a goal!” He was not emotionally prepared and the “a goal” sounded flat. Perhaps there was another reason why his voice did not sound that excited — the goal was scored by Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest pulled the score to 2:4 two minutes into the second half.

Three minutes later, Nottingham Forest scored another goal, which Arshavin helped his fellow Russian score, and the Forest team successfully turned the score to 3:4.

The Portsmouth players panicked.

The commentator was also speechless. The contrast between before and after was too great; it felt like a slap to the face.?He did not know what to say about the crazy Nottingham Forest team he had just ridiculed.

As soon as a Forest player took the ball, Fratton Park stadium broke out in deafening hisses. The Portsmouth fans wanted to create trouble for the Forest team’s frenzied counterattack, but to no avail.

The commentator quickly modified his emotions and got back to work.

“What a terrific goal! Nicklas Bendtner’s breakthrough shot! Nottingham Forest successfully evened the score to 4:4! It’s a miracle! Nottingham Forest actually turned the tables on the situation where they were three goals behind! Manager Tony Twain must have said some things to his players during the halftime interval. These players have a different look in their eyes. Will the Forest team be satisfied with the equalizer? No... I don’t think that’s the case. Portsmouth is going to be out of luck soon.”

“Rafael van der Vaart!! A beautiful long shot! 5:4! Nottingham Forest reversed the score!”

“Petrov’s taking this free kick. His run up distance is long... and the football struck the human wall! On the outer edge... and the ball’s in!! Portsmouth is completely out of luck! Just take this free kick from thirty-four meters away from the goal. It actually entered the goal because it struck the outer edge of the human wall... Poor James could only go ‘what can I do?'”

It was already Nottingham Forest’s sixth goal. The Forest team took twenty-seven minutes to go from 1:4 to 6:4. During that period, Portsmouth had no chance to fight back and could only watch the Forest team score one goal after another. They could only helplessly watch the Forest players gather to celebrate, and then gather again to celebrate soon after...

Was this the end of it?

“Number! Seven! Goal!” The commentator gritted his teeth as he announced. He felt that he could not stand idly by and watch. Was Nottingham Forest not afraid that they would not be able to return home after the game since they overwhelmed the home team with seven goals on the other team’s home ground in front of so many home team fans?

Obviously, the problem he was worried about did not worry Tony Twain and his men. They only wanted to celebrate without restraint.

Bendtner waved his fists vigorously and celebrated his hat-trick amidst the earth-shattering boos. As a substitute for van Nistelrooy, there were not many opportunities for him to show off with such brilliant performances.

Redknapp sat in the technical area, looking particularly old with his gray-haired appearance. The Portsmouth players were like the Forest players in the first half. They looked lost and had no idea what had just happened.

What caused the situation to come to this point? If they could not win this game with a 4:1 score and a three-goal lead, this football game was too unstable, wasn’t it?

Some people cast inquiring glances at the visiting team’s technical area. They could not see Twain’s expression because he leaned against the back of the chair and the left and right sides were blocked. All everyone could see was the annoying way he put his ankle over his knee and shook his crossed legs.

Twain fulfilled his promise at the halftime interval. He did not substitute any player nor make any tactical adjustments. He did not even supervise or direct the game on the sidelines. He sat in his seat in the technical area at the start of the second half and waited until Lennon pulled the score to 2:4 before he put one leg the other. Even if his legs went numb, he did not put them down. He just wanted to convey to everyone that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about.

※※※

The seventh goal was the Forest team’s last goal for the game. After the massacre of Portsmouth, the Forest team contentedly put down the dagger soaked in blood, and then began to enjoy the fruits of their success.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, it was nothing short of relief for the Portsmouth players because they were finally freed from Asura hell, without having to face the glaring 4:7 score on the field and accept the ordeal.

At the post-match press conference, a reporter puzzled over the huge disparity in the Forest team’s performance in the second half, and he raised his hand to ask, “excuse me, Mr. Twain, we are interested in what you had said to your players during the halftime interval to cause their performances to appear so remarkably different?”

In front of the many media outlets, especially Portsmouth’s local media, Twain smiled and replied, “what can I say? I just told them that they had to respect their opponent.”

There was an uproar below the stage.

Then, without waiting for anyone else to ask questions, Twain explained himself. “Before the game, you all said that my lineup was insulting and contemptuous of Portsmouth. I did not explain anything at the time because I thought there was no better way to pay tribute to my esteemed Mr. Harry Redknapp than with an actual game.” Having said that, he turned his head to look at the Portsmouth manager, Redknapp, who sat next to him.

The old Redknapp’s face flushed and paled and was extremely humiliated.

“Now, I’m very, very happy and satisfied with this score. It’s not because we beat Portsmouth with such a significant score. Instead, we finally shed light on the media’s rumors in our way — we did not have the slightest intention to disrespect, despise and insult our opponent. Instead, we respect Portsmouth more than any other team and value Portsmouth more. You see, the 7:4 score is a testament to that.”

The Portsmouth local media collectively lost their voices. They could only look at Twain smiling smugly on the stage and curse him silently. They finally got a taste of their own medicine.

That night’s BBC Match of the Day talked about the game. Lineker smiled. “The Portsmouth media tried to provoke Tony Twain, and as a result they lost badly.”

Pubs of all sizes in Nottingham filled with joyous laughter that night.

Chapter 586 - It’s Getting Explosive

After eight rounds of league tournament, the Forest team had seven victories and a draw. They occupied the top spot with twenty points and an unbeaten record. The second place Arsenal had one less game than the Forest team. They had six wins and a draw with nineteen points, as well as an unbeaten record.

Ranking number one in the league tournament was worth celebrating. Their prospects appeared to boundlessly bright. However, they also had to take on the pressure of being the front-runner. To be able to enjoy the scenery at the top naturally required them to pay the price.

Nottingham Forest was now a team that the entire English football world wanted to stop. Twain felt as if every game was as challenging as playing in the Champions League final because his opponents were always inexplicably high-spirited.

In the ninth round of the league tournament, the Forest team fought hard for ninety minutes to beat Birmingham City by 3:2. However, the price they paid was Pepe would be out of commission for a month due to an injury, and Grosso was sent off with a red card.

After the game, Twain still denounced his opponent, Birmingham City for playing rough football with a stormy face despite their victory.

“I think there’s a bad habit in the Premier League right now. That is, any team will be particularly active when they play against us. I am not just referring to how good they are, but to say that these teams are very rough in their movements. I feel like it’s not a Premier League game, but a death match. Will it kill anyone when they lose the game? All opponents are used to dealing with my players with rough moves. But look at what the referee did? My player was sent off with a red card because he went to aid a teammate and all the opposing player got was a yellow card. I wonder if all these were done the behest of the Football Association...”

After Twain’s remarks were further embellished by the media, it set off a storm in the English football world. It also brought him a ticket for a fine of 15,000 pounds. The Football Association issued an official warning to him, hoping that he would mind his words and actions so as not to mislead the general public.

It could no longer be determined how many feuds there were between Twain and the Football Association. Twain did not care about the fines. It was actually worth it if he forked out some money to criticize the things he did not like.

Looking at the game schedule, it was easy to see why Twain suddenly flipped out and denounced his opponent and the Football Association after the game against Birmingham City. Having lost his main defenders, Pepe and Grosso, Tony Twain was about to face a strong opponent: Manchester United. The Red Devils were currently in the third place in the league tournament. They inadvertently rose in a series of games and now eyed the top two teams.

To be fair, Grosso’s send off was somewhat his fault for inviting trouble. Before he was sent off, he played averagely, even having been on Nottingham Forest for three months. He could not fully adapt to the pace of the Premier League games. It greatly disappointed Twain. The “great Italian left-back” he had in mind seemed to have lost his magical aura.

That was not to say that Grosso was not capable enough. His assists were sharp, but could not keep up with the pace of the Premier League wingers when it came to defense. He was repeatedly broken through. The Forest team’s defense on the left flank had become a key attack position for other teams.

The second yellow card was because he came to Pepe’s aid, only to be shown a yellow card by the referee due to his excessively agitated words. The first yellow card was because after being broken through by the opponent, when it was too late for him to intercept, he could only turn around and pull the other player down. He was penalized for the foul.

If Twain wanted a good attacking full-back, he would use Gareth Bale. The issue was that Twain needed a full-back, well balanced in defense and offense. His impression of Grosso should have been such a player. His performance was so dazzling on the Italy national team... Even if he had missed multiple games with an injury at Inter Milan, he was still awe-inspiring.

Now Twain had to admit that when he bought Grosso, he did not carefully consider the difference in the football styles. Grosso seemed unable to adapt to the high-speed competition of the Premier League.

Taking advantage of his red card suspension, Twain planned to put him on the substitutes’ bench to rest.

※※※

Next, it was the 11th round, a focal campaign. The Forest team could not defeat Manchester United on their own home ground and lost the game by 1:2.

“Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten record of eighteen rounds and thirteen-game winning streak since the Premier League began on March 17th has been put to an end. From the March 17th away game and forcing a 0:0 draw upon Chelsea onwards, Nottingham Forest never lost in the league tournament. Fifteen consecutive victories were achieved before they were being forced into a draw by Reading on September 15th. This remarkable result was broken by Manchester United last night.” The post-match analysis summarized the game with a few simple remarks.

The actual circumstances were much more fantastic than the few sentences. Twain did not want to lose to Manchester United at home and did his best. Ferguson also did not want to lose and he also gave his best shot. To everyone’s great regret, Beckham, who was of close interest before the game, felt sore two days before the game. Out of caution, Twain did not put him on the main list, so David Beckham missed the chance to play head-on against his favorite team.

Although Beckham was not there, the game was still a thrilling match. There were only three goals, but the fans of both teams would relish every minute for a long time. The two managers exerted all their strength and gave it their all and pitted tactical arrangements against each other measure for measure.

In the end, Twain lost because he was not as shrewd and ruthless as Ferguson.

Twain was in a bad mood from the loss. During the media interview, he did not speak if he could avoid it. When he was asked about “the winning streak” and “unbeaten record,” he responded in surprise, “is that so? We actually had eighteen rounds unbeaten and fifteen consecutive victories... What a shame; it’s really a pity...” He did not mention anything else, which made the media think that the interview was dull.

However, everyone knew Twain was in a bad mood. No one liked to fail, and Twain did not like it even more.

There was another reason for Twain’s bad mood. Piqué and Ribéry were injured in the game against Manchester United. Piqué was brought off on the spot, while Ribéry insisted that he would finish playing the game. However, the result of the post-match medical examination did not look good.

In the first few seasons, thanks to divine protection, Nottingham Forest rarely experienced widespread injuries. With them taking the Champions League and Super Cup titles, their good luck seemed to have run out.

Was it due to their poor stamina or that they did not do their movements well which led to the injuries? That was not the case. Some of the injuries were due to their opponents’ rough actions and some injuries happened inexplicably. For example, in the case of Ribéry, when he did a feint, his foot did not kick the football, but kicked the ground. It was unbelievable that the core player of the France national team made such an amateur move. But it happened.

When Ribéry was injured, he fell to the ground, holding his right foot in his hands. But after a simple treatment, he returned to the field and continued to play. He seemed fine. However, from the checkup after the game, it was revealed that he had fractured his toe bone and required at least one month to recuperate before he could resume training.

By comparison, even though Piqué’s injury looked serious at first, his actual condition was much better. He only needed to take ten days off to rest before he could get back on the field.

※※※

During this period, Nottingham Forest was exceptionally unlucky. They had lost players during the league tournament and also lost the game. They had not tasted victory in the Champions League group stage so far. In the first round, they tied with Porto in the away game, and in the second round, they lost to Olympique de Marseille with one goal on their home ground.

Many people were shocked by this result. When the draw results first came out, majority of the media were bullish on Nottingham Forest taking the first place in the group. Instead, they were currently third in the group with one draw, one defeat, and one point after the two rounds. With two rounds already played in the Champions League group stage, the defending champion still had not won a game. There had already been talk that the Forest team intended to take the UEFA Europa League title after they had won the Champions League title.

According to the rules, the third placeholder in the Champions League group stage was eligible to play in the UEFA Europa League. If Nottingham Forest could not get the top two spots in the group and obtain the third place, they could only play in the UEFA Europa League.

The team doctor said that Pepe’s injury was the residual effects from last season’s injury. If he did not take care of it, he could have a relapse. If he were to return to the field too soon, it was possible that he would go back and forth between injuries and playing for the entire season.

Pepe was the absolute mainstay of the Forest team’s rear defensive line and a core figure. His absence was a heavy blow to the Forest team’s defense. But Twain dared not let Pepe return prematurely. After all, in case he really became so fragile that he was constantly injured, Pepe would basically be destroyed.

With Piqué put on rest for ten days, Kompany and Ayala would have to assume great responsibility for the next few days. As Grosso was temporarily put on the bench, Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale rotated the job. Rafinha’s performance was stable on the right flank, but Chimbonda’s mood was a bit low due to the rotation in the Forest team’s annihilation of Portsmouth. Twain chose Sun Jihai for the right back position and not him. Furthermore, during the halftime interval, even with Twain’s blood boiling, he said he would not substitute a player. In the end, he did not even get a minute of appearance, even though his name was on the substitutes list. He was greatly disappointed.

Before they achieved an important championship title, everyone was united for the sake of the goal and fought hard together. No matter how much they suffered or how exhausted they were, they did not complain. However, once the honor was in their hands, there was no guarantee that they would not start to look out for their own interests.

They would fight for a higher weekly salary and demand more opportunities to play.

Twain was starting to get a headache.

Including the Champions League tournament, the team had now lost two games in a row. Losing two consecutive games only happened twice in the first season of the team’s ascent to the Premier League. Twain and the Forest team were inexperienced and a newly promoted rookie team.

Twain ruled this team with the foundation of “victory and constant victory.” Victory could cover and fix everything. But what happened when the team could not win?

He did not know, but it was not a good thing.

※※※

During this period, everyone could tell that their manager, Tony Twain, was in a bad mood. There were too many reasons: the injuries of Pepe and Ribéry, the undercurrents within the team bubbling up, the decline in their results, and the disturbances from the media.

Twain no longer joked with his coaches and players during daily training. He just wore his sunglasses with a straight face. People did not dare laugh loudly, for fear of provoking the temperamental boss and have a grudge be held against them.

It was not a normal atmosphere that the Forest team should have had. The Forest team’s training had always been a blend of strictness and ease. The three coaches, Twain and Kerslake, as well as Dunn, placed great importance on the quality of training and absolutely did not allow the players to fool around and laze about during training time. But while they were seriously training, Twain would often make harmless jokes with the players and tell corny jokes to liven up the atmosphere. Coupled with the pleasant atmosphere of consecutive victories, everyone would complete their high intensity training amidst the laughter and jokes, and not feel how tired they were.

It was not the same now. Twain pretended to look cool with a straight face and did not tell jokes to lighten the atmosphere. Coupled with the continuous loss of two games, everyone looked preoccupied. This oppressive atmosphere was unbearable.

Eastwood and Ribéry had always been the two jokesters in the team. The two also had an appreciation of the other’s talent, so they usually put on a show to amuse the others together. The atmosphere was always lively with them around. Due to Ribéry’s injury, Eastwood did not have the mood to put on a show for amusement alone, and he constantly suffered from minor injuries as well.

The situation was maintained until Ribéry returned to the team.

Before regular training, Twain was little surprised when he ran into the “Blade Warrior” Ribéry on crutches on the sidelines of the training ground.

“Isn’t it another month before you resume the training? Are you able to get out of bed and walk around so soon?”

Ribéry held onto the fence next to him with one hand while his other hand raised the crutch as he smiled at Twain. “With these, I can go anywhere.”

Twain gave a dry laugh. “But you can’t train yet.”

“I came to see everybody. I just happened to use this opportunity as a pretext to take a break.”

The other people continued to arrive in succession and Ribéry greeted them one by one. Twain turned around and went inside first. Ribéry glanced at him a few times as he left.

After the team started training, Ribéry was not in a hurry to leave. He watched alone on the sidelines.

Although everyone’s face was filled with warm smiles when they said hello to each other, the atmosphere completely changed once the training started.

The people, who were smiling, now looked ferocious and glowered at each other like they were each other’s sworn enemies. Ribéry gently shook his head. The situation was not looking good.

After the training, there would normally be a few internal matches. One goal would determine the outcome of the match. There was no reward for the winner, but the losing side would be penalized with running a lap.

The purpose of the game was to develop the players’ competitiveness and also a way of entertainment and relaxation. Compared with tedious training drills, most players liked to have the ball at their feet and play freely in a game. Although the competitive atmosphere was usually quite strong, everyone still talked and laughed. Mistakes were naturally greeted with relentless heckling, but their faces would always wear relaxed smiles.

What Ribéry saw today was different.

It was explosive the moment it started.

As a result, not even five minutes into the game, Chimbonda fiercely shoved the tall Bendtner from behind during defense and caused him to overturn and roll several times. The tension that had been building before finally got the chance to explode and suddenly burst to the surface.

Pepe, Piqué, Eastwood, Beckham, Ribéry had all been injured successively. Against such a background, whether it was during a game or training, they would pay extra attention to that aspect. All of them were afraid that they would be injured and become the next person to sit in the stands. Their hard-won positions might disappear with an injury.

Bendtner, who had been suppressed by van Nistelrooy, finally had a chance to perform and put on a hat-trick in the game against Portsmouth to become the best lineup for that round of Premier League games. He saw it as an opportunity to enter the main lineup. Being shoved to ground by Chimbonda during the training infuriated him, not to mention whether or not he was injured. He should count his lucky stars if he was not injured, but what if he was?

Consequently, after Bendtner rolled a few times on the ground and found that he seemed unhurt, he immediately jumped up from the ground, rushed to Chimbonda, and punched him.

Having just gotten up, Chimbonda did not expect Bendtner to react so quickly. Bendtner’s punch struck its target accurately. Chimbonda had just gotten up and had not yet stood properly before he fell to the ground from the straight punch.

However, the French defender, Chimbonda was not be underestimated. He was black and his physical fitness was different from the ordinary people.?His ability to withstand a blow was also good. He had just sat down before he turned and leaped up to kick at Bendtner. Even though the kick did not hit its target, it stopped Bendtner from closing in on him and caused him to temporarily retreat and defend himself.

It also gave their teammates time to come and try to stop the fight.

A group of people instantly rushed over to separate the two men. It was not known whether any more physical contact had occurred in the chaos.

Kerslake, who was in charge as the referee, put the whistle in his mouth and blew as a warning. The shrill whistle made the chaotic scene even messier. Everyone was getting hot-blooded. Chimbonda struggled to break free of his teammates’ intervention and wanted to go up to beat up Bendtner. The Danish tall man brandished his fists at him as well. “Come get me!” he hooted at him.

The coaches all stormed onto the field to separate the two furious parties.

Twain stood on the sidelines with his sunglasses on and coolly observed everything that was happening, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Ribéry’s instinctively turned his head to look outside the training ground. Fortunately, it was the end of the training and there was no media on the scene. Otherwise once such a scandal was revealed, it was going to cause a stir. What made Nottingham Forest proud was that they had never had a scandal involving internal conflicts. Therefore, the impression that the team gave its opponents was that it was united and daunting. But if the opponents found out that the fortress was not as indestructible as it looked, what would happen?

Ribéry heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no media around. Then he turned back to look at his teammates, who were still causing a racket, and they suddenly felt unfamiliar. This situation was f**king terrible!

He shook his head.

Chapter 587 - Why Is That?

The conflict within the team soon came to an end. The players struggled to pull the two men apart and then separated them far apart. The coaches were also involved. George Wood shouldered his responsibility as the team captain and clung fast to Chimbonda, who was struggling fiercely. He yelled at him in a low voice. As to what he had yelled, no one knew. The scene was so chaotic that no one else could hear him.

The two men who were pulled apart glared at each other. Neither of them wanted to let the matter go. The teammates who pulled them apart were also afraid to loosen their grip, for fear that once they let go, the two men would pounce on each other and get into a scuffle again.

The clamor gradually subsided, and there was a moment where the training ground was exceptionally quiet. Only a few men could be heard gasping for breath. Perhaps it was due to the situation that made everyone feel embarrassed that they did not know what to say.

Previously, when the atmosphere within the Forest team was good, there was almost no quarrels, not to mention an exchange of blows. They made jokes when it was time to have fun, but this time, there was real anger.

Tony Twain, who had been coldly watching the show from the side, finally stepped forward.

He appeared in front of the crowd, still wearing his sunglasses.

When they saw him come forward, the scene became so quiet that even the gasps for breath could not be heard. Any fool would be aware that the boss was angry.

If Twain had waved his arms exaggeratedly and spewed ugly-sounding obscenities, it would not actually mean that he was angry. It was mostly because he needed to act the part. When he was really angry, he generally appeared to be very calm. He would not have a red face, with spittle flying, and would not make a variety of entertaining and exaggerated movements.

Twain stood in front of everyone with no expression. He still wore his sunglasses, so no one could see the look in his eyes.

Twain stood in front of the crowd and did not speak immediately. He looked at Bendtner, who was held back by someone, and then at Chimbonda, whom George Wood had pulled into a tight grip. Next, he looked the other people who were at a loss.

“Looks like you’re not hurt, Nick.” Twain finally spoke, and no one could detect even a slightest hint of anger in his tone. That was precisely what made everyone afraid: the calm before the storm. “I thought you broke your leg when I saw you roll so painfully on the ground. If it had been on the field during a game, the bastard who shoved you over would surely get a red card. It looks like I worry too much. You’re angry enough to hit someone, and you still packed quite a punch.”

Bendtner’s breath began to level. After his impulsive move, his reason returned to his mind. He felt that he overdid it a little, but in order not to show weakness in front of the enemy, his expression remained fierce.

Then Twain turned to look at Chimbonda. “I said before that this kind of matchup was cultivate your competitiveness, but there’s a caveat. This is a match within the team and your opponents are not some sinister enemy, but your own teammates. I would appreciate it if you could seriously consider this before you make a move with your feet, Pascal.”

As if he had not heard what Twain had said, Chimbonda still glared daggers at Bendtner, who had fought him and gotten away with it.

Twain nodded to Fleming, the leader of the team doctors next to him. “Take Nick away for a checkup.” Fleming nodded and pulled Bendtner away.

The Danish boy wanted to take the opportunity to give himself a way out, so he did not resist and obediently followed.

“I’ve noticed the abnormal mood on the team recently, and I know the cause of it. So I’ve been mulling over the problem these days.” Twain took off his sunglasses and looked at the men in front of him. “We only lost two games, tied one game, and did not win two rounds so far. Such small ups and downs are nothing at all for a mature professional team. There is no team in the world that will win every game and never lose. Arsenal is a very good team with forty-nine unbeaten games. But were they not defeated in their fiftieth game as well? So, I wonder why are we so vulnerable when faced with failure? Like a top student, who has never failed an exam, weeps after getting eighty percent on an exam. This is so embarrassing.” He spread his hands.

Twain did not scold with the word “f**king”, nor did he bellow to vent his anger like a storm. He reasoned with his players, but it made him looked even more frightening.

“Perhaps should I deliberately let our team lose ten games so that you can learn from the lessons and experience on how to face failure? And the occasional unhappiness in life?”

Twain paused.

“Think about the season when we had just returned to the English Premier League and think again about the season when we lost the Champions League final... Was there a more painful failure in life than that? We did not break from that kind of failure, and we made a comeback after a season to win the Champions League title. But why can’t you withstand failure after you got the title? So, I’ve been thinking about what is causing everyone’s mental tolerance to become so fragile and what has caused this incident to happen today. I’ve been thinking about it for days and I think it’s a mindset shift. Winning the championship title has made us proud and arrogant. I think pride is a good thing and that young people should be proud and arrogant. Otherwise we can’t be arrogant in our old age even if we want to. The crux of the matter is you can’t become arrogant just because you won the championship title, but you should naturally be arrogant. Even if I lose the game, I’m still arrogant. I do not want to shake hands with people who want to give me sympathy.” Twain smiled, but no one smiled along with his banal joke.

“Some people out there have said that Nottingham Forest is a team that ‘can’t afford to lose.’ What does this ‘can’t afford to lose’ mean, guys? It was not that we would be dejected and thrown to disarray just because we lost the game. It means that we don’t accept losing the game and want to win it back! It means what we lose in one game, we are going to win it back in the next! I like this label. I’m a person who just can’t afford to lose! Failure will only make me crazier, like a mad dog which wants to bite every man it sees and not to become a stupid pig that has been neutered!” At last his voice got louder, and his emotions exploded. “What’s the point of venting your anger at your teammates and causing internal strife? That’s what a man without balls would do. You’re upset, you want to prove your ability, you want to strive for a better treatment, so don’t mistake the target of your performance. Cast this fire in your heart to your opponents and enemies! Not to one of your own!” Twain roared.

“I do not want to see anything like this happen again in the future. A man who dares to cause internal strife is a coward. Pascal, you go to the reserves team and calm down for a week. In a moment, Nick will also go report to the reserves team. I hope the two of you will learn how to get along with people in the reserves.” Twain finally unveiled his decision for the punishment from the conflict. It was not a surprise to have the two players go to the reserves.

Chimbonda silently accepted the punishment. In fact, it did not matter if he did not accept because his own will was insignificant in Wilford, where the only master, the king, and the one true God was Tony Twain alone. His word was the managerial law that ruled every code of conduct. If he said one plus one equaled one, then it would be one plus one equaled one. No one was allowed to raise his hand to say, “Boss, you’re wrong. It’s equal to two.”

“Finally, the last thing I want to see in the newspapers tomorrow is any word about this incident. There wasn’t a single media outlet around at the scene, so if any media outlet discloses the news, you’d know what that means.” Twain made his threat with a cold face. He did not just issue a verbal warning. Recalling what happened with Anelka, who was against him, and Ashley Young who had provoked him with a lie... Unless they wanted to leave the Forest team, they had to listen to him as long as they played for him.

“Today’s training...” He looked around at the surrounding coaches and Kerslake shook his head at him, “ends here. You’re dismissed. Just go home! Go back and think about what I said today, and I hope it will help you in your life for the future.”

※※※

On his way home, Dunn spoke to Twain. “I thought you were going to fly into a terrible rage when you walked up there.”

“I was going to, but I forced myself to calm down first and reason with them. Managing people is a specialized skill. Simple and rough methods are not appropriate, and I’m managing a group of self-acknowledged big-name stars.” Twain snorted.

“Well, I have a question. Were you really thinking about that question these few days? Rather than worrying about the successive losses and widespread injuries?”

Twain glanced at Dunn. “You are spending too much time together with Tang Jing and have learned some of her bad habits. Of course I’ve been thinking about this profound philosophy of life. What do you think I was doing?”

Dunn knew that Twain would not tell the truth, but he did not probe further. Twain was an eccentric character. He might turn around and forget his previous words. If he seriously went head to head with him on this, he would be out of luck and be the one to suffer for it.

After a spell, Twain broke the silence. “Come over to my place and have dinner this evening. Shania has prepared a delicious meal...”

Dunn’s face changed and replied, “No, I have something else going on...”

Twain suddenly pulled him back. “Come on, come on! Shania has been very busy. She finally managed to come back and was very excited to cook a meal for us. Do you want to disappoint her?”

Dunn thought. It’s clear that she specially prepared the meal for you to eat. When was there ever an “us”??You just do not want to suffer alone, so you’re just dragging me along to share your fate, right? But as a person who was not good at rejecting people, he just nodded. “All right...”

Twain smiled happily. “That’s my good brother! We stick together through thick and thin and share each other’s good fortune!”

Actually, you didn’t have to complete the second half of your sentence... Dunn thought again.

In the evening, the two men, Dunn and Twain smiled mirthlessly as they finished their dinner under Shania’s smiling gaze. Twain saw Shania’s face fill with bright smiles and could not help but praise her. “It was delicious, like I haven’t had enough...”

Before he could finish speaking, he knew something was wrong. But it was too late to change his tune.

“That’s great!” Shania clapped. “Uncle Tony, since you like it so much... now that I’m not so busy during this time and have a lot of time to stay in Nottingham, I’ll cook for you every day!”

Twain really had the urge to slap himself. I shouldn’t have said it, look what happened... now I have to pay for it.

Dunn hurriedly got up when he heard Shania. “I... I have something else, so I’ll go back first... Thank you, Shania, for your hospitality...” When he finished, he quickly slipped away.

Twain stood up and wanted to chase after him, but when he turned his head to see Shania looking at himself with a smile, he pointed to the dining table. “I’ll help you... Uh, clear these away.”

“No need for that.” Shania smiled and shook her head, “I’ll do it myself. You will get indigestion if you exert yourself after dinner.”

Twain thought that whether or not he exerted himself, he would not be able to digest the meal. “That’s for strenuous exercise. There is an old Chinese saying: Walk a hundred paces after a meal and you’ll live to ninety-nine. Moving around more after dinner will aid digestion instead.”

Shania widened her eyes in apparent disbelief. Twain did not wait for her to agree and took the plates from the young girl’s hands. He carried them into the kitchen, put them in the sink, and began to wash the dishes.

After Shania had wiped the table, she stood beside him to give him a hand. In reality, there was nothing to help out with. Twain handled it alone. She stood here just to watch.

“There’s nothing to be busy with here, Shania. You can go to watch TV,” Twain said to the young girl standing behind him as he worked.

“What’s good to watch on TV?” Shania giggled and did not move, “When I’m out there and free at night, I just watch TV in the hotel. I’m sick of watching it.”

Twain found it strange that a well-known model like Shania could possibly stay in the hotel to watch the television at night. “Don’t you have parties to go to?”

“Yes, quite a few. But I don’t like them.”

Twain glanced back at her. “So what do you like?”

“This is pretty nice.”

The two met gazes, and Twain turned back to wash the dishes.

He realized something.

He lied when Dunn asked him if he was really thinking about those issues. He was not really thinking about the complicated philosophy of life. He was in a bad mood and feeling anxious. But now all those negative feelings had suddenly vanished. He felt that he was in a pretty good mood, and he even wanted to whistle and sing.

Why was that?

Shania stood behind him and gently hummed a song.

Yes, why is that?

Chapter 588 - It’s Just A Joke

The Forest players were very surprised to see Franck Ribéry in the locker room.

“Hey, Franck, are you able to get changed for training?” Eastwood asked in puzzlement.

Ribéry lifted up the crutches in his hands. “Of course not.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“Just feeling bored, so I came to see everybody.”

Everyone made an “oh” sound and went on their business. Only Eastwood stayed with Ribéry and occasionally said a few words. After yesterday’s clash, nobody’s mood was too good, and the atmosphere in the locker room was even heavier.

Was Twain’s lecture was not effective?

The players gradually came together, but the locker room did not become livelier due to the arrival of more people. On the contrary, the more people came, the quieter everyone became. It appeared as if everyone did not want to let the others see their thoughts.

Ribéry frowned. He did not want the atmosphere to continue. He loved the team because it had given him a new chance at life. He did not want the happy team to sink further. He had to do something about it.

He coughed twice and tapped the ground with his crutches to make a noise to catch the others’ attention.

“Guys, do you want to have some fun?” he asked with a laugh.

※※※

Dunn stood at the door of his residence and waited for Twain to come out before going to the training base.

The door was closed, and he knew that Shania and Twain had to be inside, saying their goodbyes. Perhaps Shania was still putting a coat on Twain, just like a real wife would. He had always found the relationship between the two quite interesting, extremely interesting...

“I’m off.” The door was opened, and Twain’s voice rang out.

“Well, goodbye, Uncle Tony.” The voice of the young girl, Shania, followed. “Come back for lunch at noon!”

Twain’s figure appeared at the door.

When Twain walked up to him, Dunn asked, “how does it feel to have someone waiting for you to go home for a meal?”

Twain raised his eyebrows. “Do you really want to come join in for the meal?”

Dunn hurriedly waved his hands. “I’ll eat my lunch in the club cafeteria...”

The pair walked together to the Wilford training base. Twain frowned again as he thought about the team’s current situation. He knew that a fight within the team showed that there was a crack in of the team, and that there was no healing such a crack. It would always be there. Nottingham Forest was no longer an impenetrable fortress, inside or out. What made Twain worried was how to deal with all sorts of matters after a fight.

The people that were not involved in the fight would inevitably have the same ideas as Chimbonda and Bendtner, but they lacked a reasonable excuse to vent. Then they were reprimanded together by him. Would that make the team’s oppressive atmosphere become more depressing? There would be a lot of reporters for the first fifteen minutes at the start of the morning’s training to shoot footage and interview people. Would the media make a fuss if they saw some bad signs? Would the team’s performance be affected as a result?

The questions hovered in Twain’s mind, completely obliterating his happy mood.

They soon finished the twenty-minute walk and Twain saw a lot of media outlets at the training base. They came, like yesterday, to interview and film, hoping to obtain some “inside material.” Fortunately, yesterday’s conflict took place at the end of the training when all the reporters had left. Otherwise, there would be more reporters coming than in the past. That would cause a bigger headache...

It was still all right.

“Good morning, Mr. Twain!” Pierce Brosnan waved hello to Twain, but Twain walked right past as if he had not seen him.

Dunn helped cover his ass. “Good morning, Mr. Brosnan.”

“Mr. Twain... doesn’t seem like he’s in a good mood?” Ever the careful observer, Brosnan asked.

Dunn smiled. “He’s not fully awake yet.”

This excuse was terrible. It was 9:30 A.M. and he was not awake yet. Twain rarely slept in.

Brosnan was keenly aware that something was going on, but he looked at the reporters from the other media outlets around him and said nothing.

There were other well-acquainted reporters who greeted Twain. He similarly ignored them and just walked in. Everyone was used to seeing that kind of recalcitrant character from Twain, so they did not find it strange. After all, the Forest team had suffered consecutive losses, so he would be under a lot of pressure as a manager. It was understandable that his mood was worse.

Dunn followed behind him and the two men approached the manager’s office, where they saw Kerslake already waiting.

“Tony, any adjustments required for today’s training plan?”

Twain shook his head and leaned over to turn on the computer. “The plan was set a few days ago and does not need to be adjusted. Why would you ask such a stupid question, David?”

“Uh... I just think, with the mood inside the team not being very good these days...” Kerslake stammered.

“That’s a psychological problem. You just take care of the training, I’ll resolve the psychological problems of the players.”

Kerslake nodded. “You’re right, Tony. But I think you have to normalize your own mental state, first.” With that, he handed a mirror over.

The reflection of Twain in the mirror had a straight face, which was the same as yesterday and the day before. Twain stared at himself in the mirror.

“Tony, we all think you’re a well-deserved core of this team. So if you can’t be normal, then the team won’t be able to get back to normal,” Kerslake said.

Twain took the mirror from his hand. “Thank you for the mirror, David.”

“In that case, I’ll go get busy with my tasks then.” Kerslake took his leave.

Dunn looked at Twain, looked at the door, and then got up. “I’ll also go get busy.”

Twain did not ask him to stay and nodded.

After he turned on the computer, he pulled up the documents for the day’s training program. Twain quickly scanned through to get a general overview. Then, he browsed through the sports news and did not find any reports about yesterday’s fighting. It seemed that no one had leaked the news, which he was relieved about.

Having done that, he got up to go to the training ground and start the morning’s work.

※※※

The reporters, who had gathered around the gate, flocked in to set up their camera equipment outside the training ground. Then a sharp-eyed reporter discovered a problem—the Nottingham Forest team had already started training, so why were Chimbonda and Bendtner nowhere to be seen?

Someone relayed this discovery to the people around them and the group of reporters soon discussed the topic. Tony Twain had always been strict. If they were late... they would have been very late, wouldn’t they? Chimbonda and Bendtner were not the main core players of the team right now. If they dared to be this late for training, could it be they did not want to continue to play under Twain?

Furthermore, what was even more bizarre was that Twain, who had strict requirements of the team’s discipline, did not appear to be unhappy about this. It was as if he did not care that the two players were late. There were only a few players in the Forest First Team. Those few faces were very familiar, so he had no reason to overlook the two players.

This is too weird. Perhaps something happened that we didn’t know about?

That was when Kerslake came over to inform the media that their filming time was over.

The group of reporters packed up their equipment and dispersed. No matter how many questions they had, it was not the time to ask now. Anyway, there would be a regular press conference after the afternoon training. The team’s manager, Tony Twain would attend along with a player. The player might be the team captain, George Wood, possibly the vice-captain, Edwin van der Sar, perhaps the most popular Beckham, or it could be any ordinary player. They would answer the questions raised by the reporters about some of the things that had happened to the team recently. According to the different personalities of the players, some would satisfy the reporters once they opened their mouths, the others would be more careful and unwilling to talk more, and others would have an attitude and refuse to cooperate, which greatly dissatisfied the reporters.

Now the reporters had their own plans in mind. They would take advantage of the half-days’ time to figure out where the missing Chimbonda and Bendtner went, and then wait until the afternoon press conference to launch a bombardment on Tony Twain.

※※※

After the reporters left, the training ground got a lot quieter. There was no other sound apart from the players’ own shouts and the coaches’ whistle.

Twain still wore his sunglasses and watched at the side. Specific coaches were in charge of the specific training subjects and the two assistant managers were responsible for the coordination. He basically had nothing much to do.

The team’s training was no different than usual, and Twain’s focus was on the players’ moods. He wanted to see how deeply yesterday’s incident had affected the team. The players did not have much expression on their faces. They all seemed to be focused on the training. It was not time for a break yet, so he could not see how everyone’s mood was.

He looked down at his watch. They had been training for half an hour.

“David!” he shouted.

Kerslake looked back at him.

“Let them rest and take a break.” Twain said, and pointed to the players on the field.

Kerslake nodded, and blew his whistle before he announced, “let’s break for fifteen minutes!”

The players were panting as they walked off the field. They slowly gathered to rest in a corner, which was no different than usual. The players always got together, and so did the coaches. They did not bother each other. The players had their own topics of interest, and the coaches chatted about matters concerning the coaches.

Twain observed for a moment and felt it was exactly the same as usual. As a manager, it was not convenient for him to walk over and listen in on what they were talking about. As a result, he gave up the idea to continue to observe and planned to chat with everyone to soften the mood. David Kerslake was right. He should not always keep a straight face and look distant.

He had to be likeable in order to have harmony.

※※※

“Hey, he turned around... This is our chance!” Eastwood said to the people around him as he looked at Twain, turning around.

“Is... this going to be okay? Are we really going to do this?” Van Nistelrooy frowned. “The boss has been in a bad mood lately. What if he is going to be angry?”

“What are you afraid of? Usually the boss always berates us. Don’t you want to take this opportunity to get back at him!” Eastwood needled his other teammates. “If the boss gets angry, just blame Franck. He said it himself. Anyway, he came up with the idea. The boss will not bicker with a guy who has a broken leg, will he?”

Everyone stroked their chins and looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

Finally, someone punched the palm of his hand. “F**k it!” It was Petrov who spoke. “Shall we put in more ice?” Not only did he agree to do it, he added to it.

The suggestion got a lot of people excited. Eastwood, however, shivered, “Hey... Wouldn’t it be too much...”

The group turned around and glared at him. “Don’t you want to take the opportunity to have a bit of revenge!”

Eastwood raised both hands as he gave in.

Everyone looked at George Wood, who had been sitting quietly on the side, and said nothing, but every pair of eyes made their intentions clear.

Wood looked at the crowd. “I’m in charge of carrying him up.”

Everyone laughed.

“It’s a deal. But we have to find someone the boss trusts the most and least likely to set him up to lure him out.” Eastwood bobbed his head. When he finished speaking, everyone unknowingly set their sights on Beckham at the same time.

Beckham raised his hands. “Okay, I know what I have to do. But I still think it’s very risky to pick now to play a trick on the boss...”

However, Eastwood looked excited. “We don’t do anything without risk. How boring would that be. Isn’t it, guys!”

Everyone was in favor of what he said. Therefore, Beckham, carrying everyone’s expectations on his back, got up and patted his butt before he walked towards Twain.

※※※

He had just turned to get ready to walk towards the coaches when he heard someone call him. “Boss, boss!”

It was Beckham.

“Ah, David... even though I said to address me this way, it still sounds awkward every time I hear you call me that...” Twain turned to him and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Well... Uh.” Beckham glanced back at his teammates, but everyone seemed to not see him and were just focused on taking their break.

Twain followed the direction of his gaze but did not see anything strange.

“What’s the matter, David?”

“Uh... Someone’s looking for you.” Beckham made up a random excuse.

“Who?” Twain thought it was strange that the person did not come straight to him.

“Franck.” Ribéry’s name flashed through Beckham’s mind, and it popped out of his mouth. Anyway, it was his scheme, so he would use him as an excuse. “It’s not easy for him to walk around so he wants you to go out and see him. He’s in the parking lot.”

This reason seemed sufficient.

Twain nodded. “All right, I’ll go now.”

Beckham got the job done and he watched Twain walk out of the training ground before he returned to the other players. He found that George Wood and Eastwood were gone.

“David, Freddy said that when you got back, we’d all go and watch the show together.”

The group shot glances at the coaches who were resting.

※※※

Twain walked out of the training ground. The huge training base did not have many people in it and most of the training ground was empty. The reporters were not there, which made it looked desolate. He went through the training ground and the office building alone to the parking lot close to the indoor training hall.

The parking lot was also quiet and filled with the cars of the players and employees. Twain saw Ribéry’s red Citroen and smiled. The kid was injured, and he still did not want to stay put at home. He was always messing around the training base. He might be in the most normal among everyone.

But...

Doesn’t he have something for me? Where is he?

Twain stood in front of Ribéry’s car. He leaned over to look inside and did not find anyone in the car. He stood up and looked around. There was still no one around. The whole parking lot was full of cars. It was not an empty lot but there was no one around.

If Ribéry wanted to play hide-and-seek with him, the place was quite appropriate. But why would he play such a childish game with him?

The parking lot was right next to the indoor training hall, and Ribéry’s car was parked by the wall. Twain stood next to the red Citroen and raised his eyes to look around. “Franck!” he yelled, hoping that Ribéry would be able to hear.

“I’m here, boss!” His hope came true, and the sound came from above his head... above his head?

Twain looked up in astonishment.

The indoor gymnasium had a terrace the second floor, which was used to stack some junk. Twain looked up and saw the familiar scarred face, which was laughing happily.

“Whoosh.”

A bucket of cold water fell from the sky, and completely drenched Twain while he was caught off guard.

“Crash.”

Twain dumbly stood still on the spot for several seconds before he reacted. Then he looked up to see a particularly exaggerated smile on Ribéry’s scarred face. He was about to get angry, and suddenly he saw George Wood, who poked his head out to look down...

Chapter 589 - Normal Atmosphere

Three players stood side by side in Twain’s office as if they were students who had done something wrong and readied themselves to accept the anger of the man across from them.

On the training ground not far from here, the rest of the team in training appeared to be distracted. They were there physically but their minds were somewhere else. Their thoughts were perhaps in the small manager’s office.

Twain ignored the three men standing in front of him. He looked down as he fiddled with the digital video camera in his hands. This equipment came with a small display screen which showed the video of him being doused with water by Ribéry. The sound of laughter could also be heard in the recording. He even recognized several people from their familiar voices.

He turned his head and looked out the window at the training ground outside.

“It was really lively with everyone out in full force.” He made one remark.

No one could challenge Tony Twain’s authority in Wilford. Even the club chairman, Evan Doughty could not. Now the boss could very well interpret this matter as a provocation to his authority.

Ribéry looked at Twain, who glanced down at the digital video camera he was fiddling with. He did not care what punishment he would receive next. He did not act on a whim, trying to play a prank on the manager. He had his own deeper reason. But would the boss understand?

As always, George Wood had a wooden expression. It was not clear whether he was afraid or unconcerned. By comparison, Eastwood looked the most worried among the three men.

The Romani peeped at Wood and shot glances at Ribéry and found that everyone appeared to be calm, so he did not glance around again. Anyway, he was aware of what the consequences might be. Moreover, there were two other people accompanying him, so he did not have to be afraid of anything. Even if he was assigned to the reserves team, it would be the three of them together. Along with Chimbonda and Bendtner, who were already there, it would actually be quite lively.

Twain had been fiddling with the digital video camera for so long that it made people wonder if he was examining how to delete the video on it.

“Ah, I have scrutinized it for so long and found a problem...” Twain said to the three people standing in front of him as he lifted the digital video camera in his hand. “From the spectator’s point of view, it was really funny.”

Eastwood was surprised, and his expression quickly showed it. Ribéry was all smiles as always. As for George Wood... he still had no expression on his face.

Twain looked at the three men as his eyes scanned across the three faces in succession, and finally stopped at the grinning Ribéry.

“Franck, you came up with this idea, didn’t you?”

Ribéry did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked, “What made you think it was me, boss?”

“A blockhead like George would not come up with such a crazy idea. As for Freddy...” Twain looked sideways at Eastwood and continued, “his expression makes him look like an unwitting accessory. You, Franck, you’re acting too confident.”

Ribéry smiled. “You truly proved yourself to be the boss. It was my idea.” He confidently admitted it.

※※※

Ribéry had no intention of hiding at all. Otherwise, he would not have shown his face when he was up there spilling the water from above. He could have taken advantage of the confusion to evacuate. But not only did he do it, he even poked his head out to let Twain see him before he spilled more water. After the water was spilled, he continued to stick his head out, along with Wood, to look around to let Twain catch them in the act.

Eastwood was responsible for handling the video camera. He was only caught because the onlookers behind him gave a huge cheer and exposed him.

In other words, the Forest First Team, other than the two players who were assigned to the reserves and the seriously injured Pepe who was in recovery, all twenty-three other players were caught in one fell swoop. Twain only called the three ringleaders to the office, and the others were put back on the training ground to continue the training, but everyone felt uneasy. When they were told to come watch the show, there was no mention that they would be caught by the boss. Now they had to face the boss’s wrath at the end of the training. What kind of terrible penalty would the boss issue when the time came?

※※※

After he confirmed that Ribéry was the mastermind, Twain did not continue to lecture. He looked down again at the recording footage on the video camera.

The sounds of laughter came from the speaker. The sound quality was not good, but it was enough to hear clearly.

He could not see the expressions of the people behind Eastwood, but he could imagine from the sounds of laughter.

Such unrestrained wild laughter had not been heard in Wilford for quite some time. Twain thought he could understood Ribéry’s intention in doing it.

He waved the digital video camera in his hand. “I’m going to hang on to this for the time being.”

This decision was not unexpected, and none of the three men was surprised.

“Well, you can go back.” He waved his hand, which baffled the men.

Eastwood could not wait to ask, “You... Uh, you’re not punishing us, chief?”

Twain smiled. “Since you like to be punished so much... of course, I will. But it will be after the next game. We play against Be?ikta? in the next away game for the Champions League group stage. If we lose, the entire team has to be punished.”

“So, how about now...”

“Now?” Twain pointed to the training ground behind him. “You go back and continue your training. As for Franck, with regards to your punishment... we’ll talk about it when you recover from your injury and return.”

Ribéry smiled at Twain and said nothing.

The three men took their leave of Twain and turned to walk away.

Twain continued studying the video. He had to admit that the moment the cold water drenched him, he was instantly furious. His anger was still boiling when he caught the entire team in the act. He had wanted to chew out the mastermind and the two main accomplices in the office when he grabbed them on the way to the office. However, on the way there, he gradually calmed down from his agitated state, and reason led him to think about why the players suddenly did this.

People knew that Tony Twain was the king who stood by his word at Wilford. No one dared to challenge his authority. He did not think there would be a new player on the team who would be so idiotic to believe they could casually challenge him. Not to mention that the senior players were involved in this incident, so he thought it was rather strange and began to contemplate why.

As he watched the video over and over again, he nearly smiled with amusement at his own comical appearance in front of the three players. A “drowned rat” perfectly described his appearance. Consequently, while he was in the mood of wanting to laugh, he suddenly comprehended the true meaning behind the incident.

He further recalled that morning when he came in and how Kerslake put a mirror in front of him to let him first relax his mood. Then it dawned on him.

Franck Ribéry was just trying to make the atmosphere in the team normal again, so he used a slightly more extreme approach. The previous atmosphere of the team was very relaxed and there was constantly cheerful talk and laughter around. It had been too oppressive the past couple days days, which was not normal. Problems emerged in a lot of places, but the actual heart of it was Tony Twain. If he was always looking gloomy, then the atmosphere of the team would be no better.

He felt that he was a little too severe during that period. Although troubled times required a heavy hand, they were not at the extent of troubled times. They only had some ups and downs. There was no need to create such a tense environment. They should go about their usual ways. If he was worried about the media spreading any unpleasant news, then let them spread. Since the re-emergence of Nottingham Forest, they had their fair share of unpleasant news.

Therefore, he did not give the team any punishment. Even though he was pranked by the group, he did not mind and even thought it was a good thing. Because from the laughter of these players, he could hear that everyone’s mood was getting better.

Once the atmosphere of the team became normal again and the team was united, they would be able to overcome enemies in the outside world. In his view, no matter how powerful the enemy was, it was not as terrible as internal strife. That was the most profound way of thinking that Twain had experienced, growing up in China’s socialist system — just like Chairman Mao had said, the fortress was most likely to be breached from the inside. The stability of an empire and a dynasty had to be built on a foundation of internal unity.

In that case, if it could normalize the team’s atmosphere again, then he did not mind being a clown for once at all.

※※※

The players waited in fear until the end of the morning training, but Twain did not announce any punishment, as if nothing had happened.

The three players who returned told everyone that there would be no punishment at the moment. They only said that if they did not defeat Be?ikta? in Champions League group stage game, the boss said he would punish the entire team.

Everyone was relieved.

The players could be carefree without any worries and be a little thoughtless, on the other hand Tony Twain could not be as the manager. The internal conflict had been defused, but the external provocations were still waiting for him.

In the afternoon’s regular press conference, Twain took Eastwood with him to attend. Right from the start, he felt the atmosphere was not right. The reporters all wore faintly discernible smiles on their faces, as if they had discovered something.

After Twain gave a simple outlook for the impending Champions League group stage game, it was the reporters’ turn to ask questions and everyone eagerly raised their hands.

Twain frowned and was even more perplexed. When did this group of reporters behave so enthusiastically?

He casually pointed to a reporter who looked more pleasing to the eye to stand up and ask.

As soon as this reporter opened his mouth, Twain suddenly realized.

“Excuse me, Mr. Twain, we did not see the two players, Chimbonda and Bendtner during this morning’s training. What happened to them?”

Twain was not in a hurry to answer. He carefully observed the others and found that the question that this guy asked should be the same question as the rest of them. Apparently, these reporters had also discovered that the First Team numbers did not add up, so...

Twain did not casually make any excuses to gloss over it and fob them off, because he knew that since the reporters decided to ask this question, they clearly already knew some things.

“Ah, they’re in the reserves. What’s the problem?” Twain still pretended to be clueless.

That reporter continued, “isn’t there a problem? Two First Team players suddenly went to the reserves...”

“They played better than the third team, so I sent them to the second team. Is there a problem?” Twain played the fool and refused to answer the question directly.

This answer moved many people between laughter and tears, but it was clear that the reporters came prepared and would not be easily scared off by Twain playing the fool. Someone else raised their hand and asked, “Mr. Twain, don’t you think this is a strange matter? The two of them are regular players in the First Team. Why are they playing in the reserves without any particular reason? What’s more, Bendtner just had a hat-trick performance...”

Twain knew he could not escape. This bunch of f**king reporters!

He interrupted the question and pretended to have a sudden realization. He said, “Oh, you mean the reason? The reason was that they had some conflict during training, so I asked them to go to the reserves to cool their heads. Is there a problem with that?”

The people below finally heard the answer they most wanted to hear, and there was an excited buzz in the press gallery.

“Since all of you don’t have other questions, we’ll end today’s press conference...” Twain got up and was about to leave. Eastwood was just a prop in the background...

Seeing that he was really going to leave, several reporters ignored the procedure to raise their hands and stand up.

“Mr. Twain, can this conflict be seen as caused... by the impact of the recent results? Also, do you think this kind of conflict will have any adverse effect on the team?” The reporterasked two of his questions in one breath and did not give Twain a chance to interrupt him midway.

Twain shrugged after he heard the question. “How can it be? I don’t think it’s going to cause any adverse impact on the team. My knowledgeable reporter friend, do you dare to say that the other teams do not even have a little friction during their daily training? You’re making a fuss over a normal incident... Hey, gentlemen, aren’t you all college graduates?”

Next to him, Eastwood wanted to laugh as he listened to the chief mocking the media. However, he could not laugh in front of so many reporters and had to stifle it.

“The key issue is that Nottingham Forest flaunts its internal unity...”

Twain once again politely interrupted this reporter’s question to say, “there are no key issues. I’m glad to see the players show their manly side during training, which goes to show that our training content is of quality and competitive. Don’t you reporters have nothing else better to do than like to speculate on the story behind the miraculous rise of Nottingham Forest all day long? That’s the story behind it. Our players treat the daily training like it’s a final game, so we’ll always do better than the rest of the other teams in a real game.”

Eastwood thought of what Twain had told them while he lectured them and listened to what Twain said to the reporters now. He could actually talk about two exact opposite meanings without blushing, and even sounded vindicated. He continued to stifle his laughter.

“Of course, the rules of the team do not allow that to happen, so even though they behaved very manly, they still had to go to the reserves and accept their punishment due to the violation of the team rules. A clear reward and punishment system is one of the reasons a team can move forward. You see, this is a normal thing to do. So, I have no idea what you’re all making a fuss about.”

Some of the reporters did not give up, and raised their hands as they stood up to ask, “so the Forest team currently has a good atmosphere internally?”

Twain glanced at them and did not answer with a long speech. He just used only a word. “Rubbish.”

The reporter did not expect to receive such an answer and stared blankly without knowing what to do. Twain clearly did not intend to continue to explain to the disgruntled reporters. There was a sudden chill in the air.

Fortunately, Eastwood stepped forward to smooth things over. “The atmosphere in the team is normal. We even played a joke on the boss this morning. I do not feel anything out of the ordinary. Oh...” He thought about it and added, “You guys are the ones being abnormal, always thinking about finding some news coverage of the Forest team’s internal conflicts...”

The reporters did not expect Eastwood would make such sharp and unkind remarks and were surprised by it.

The scene became chaotic and Twain hurriedly made the closing statement. “I don’t care what you write in the newspapers tomorrow, that’s your freedom. But if you want to report the facts... Nottingham Forest is a united team and will continue to win. That’s the truth. That’s all for today, thank you. Goodbye.”

He and Eastwood walked out of the hall one after the other.

“Chief, the Turkish team is tough to deal with, not to mention we’re playing at their home ground.” Eastwood spoke his concerns on the way back. “You spoke so confidently. Aren’t you afraid just in case we lose?”

Twain glanced at him. “You’re out of luck if you lose the game.”

“As for the media...”

Twain drew back the corners of his mouth. “I’ll deal with the press. You just think about the game, Freddy. Although I’m very grateful to you for helping me out at the press conference, I hope you will not do that the next time. I’ll do this kind of thing, you’re only responsible for training seriously and playing. Got it?”

Eastwood knew that Twain did it for his own good, which was considered a kind of protection. While Nottingham Forest was always at the heart of the struggle, the players were rarely harassed by the media. That was because of Tony Twain.

He nodded. “All right, chief. We’ll win the game so that you can be justified in your lecture.”

Twain laughed and patted Eastwood on the shoulder. “That’s right, just like that.”

Chapter 590 - The Night in Istanbul

The media still made various connections about the clash between Chimbonda and Bendtner during training. They hoped to obtain a live recording because everyone was aware that the Forest team had the habit of recording during training.

Sometimes, they could acquire some training videos through insiders they had a close relationship with. However, this time, they all hit a wall. Those who had a close relationship with the media told them that after the fight happened, Twain got his hands on the tape and would not hand it over to anyone, and no one knew where he kept the tape.

Twain did not want the media to continue to hype up a past incident. The team’s mood had returned to normal after much difficulty, so the situation had to be maintained. Subsequently, he ignored the voices of speculation among the English media and left Britain with the team to travel to Turkey.

Nottingham Forest was about to face a very important game. This game would determine if his team could take the first step out of the group stage and if they could shut the mouths of the reporters. If the results were not excellent, any conflicts, however deep, would be dug up by the paparazzi. But as long as they won the game, any problem would become a non-issue.

That was the only truth in competitive sports — victory concealed everything.

After having said so many nice things, the game was not easy to play. In fact, it was fairly hard to play.

Be?ikta? was not a weak team that could be easily dealt with. The crazy atmosphere of Turkey’s home ground was world famous. Britain and Turkey already had a feud in football. A few years ago, a couple of the Leeds United fans were stabbed to death in Istanbul by Turkish football fans. When the England national team and the Turkey national team played against each other, David Beckham missed his penalty shot due to a taunt by the Turkish player Alpay ?zalan. After the game, it led to a brawl between the two teams in the locker room tunnel. Alpay, who started the incident, even lost his job for it. He was kicked out of Aston Villa, who he played for.

The media wrote out an old account of the Forest team’s successive lack of victories, as well as the news of the recent fight between Chimbonda and Bendtner, to prove that the Forest team was filled with internal contradictions, everyone was in a panic, and how the trip to Turkey pointed to disaster.

Twain did not care. It did not matter what the outside world said as long as it did not affect his team. And from another perspective, he was eager for the English media to hype like that because it would confuse their opponents for the game, the Turks.

※※※

Be?ikta? was an elite team in Süper Lig and a team that regularly participated in the UEFA Europa League. In Turkey, they were one of the strong teams that stood alongside Galatasaray S.K. and Fenerbah?e S.K. to represent the strength of Turkish football. Their home stadium, BJK ?n?nü Stadium, was often used by the Turkey national team and was renowned in the European football world as the “devil’s home ground.”

Istanbul spanned two continents and used to be l called “Constantinople.” It had been the capital of the Turkish Ottoman empire. The country once brought blood and war to the European continent, and at its height, it used to treat the Mediterranean Sea as its own lake.

The country’s predecessors planted the seeds of fear in the hearts of the Westerners, and football atmosphere did so as well. In England, football hooligans sometimes changed when they had too much to drink, but in Turkey, the fans were fanatical enough without any drink. Within football circles, the “devil’s home ground” was generally used to describe the atmosphere of a feverish stadium.?But for the stadiums in Turkey, “Hell’s home ground” was be more accurate.

From the moment Nottingham Forest landed, they felt the enthusiasm of the Turkish fans.

“Cry and go home, you English bastards!”

That was a banner that appeared every few miles alongside the freeway from the airport to the hotel. There was no worry that the Forest players would not see them. The radical fans in Turkey firmly believed that doing that could put the English team under a lot of psychological pressure, which would cause them to play erratically against their team.

The Forest team players did see the banners, but it was unknown whether they thought the way the Turkish fans had hoped.

Before they set off, the British television station, BBC, specifically produced a feature to introduce the style of the Turkish fans and issue a serious warning to the Nottingham Forest fans who wanted to follow the Forest team to Istanbul. They were advised not go out alone at night or even in groups. It was best to avoid crowded places during usual times, as well as stay away from the bars. Finally, they should follow the group organized by the Forest Club and travel together.

The Nottingham Forest Football Club’s schedule for the fans went like this:

They would fly from London to Istanbul on the morning of the day of the game. They would have their meals together and travel as a group. They would watch the game in the evening, and immediately fly back to London after.

It did not give the fans time to stay overnight in Turkey, which greatly improved their safety. However, it made a lot of fans, who liked to have free time between activities and travel abroad to watch a game as part of a vacation, felt that it was a restriction of personal freedom. They could not do anything other than watch the game.

The Nottingham Forest Football Club was not the only club that did it. All the other football clubs in England did it, too. There were cost-saving considerations, and it was for the safety of the football fans. English fans had become a target abroad. Repeated conflicts and riots between the fans caused many football clubs to consider the lives of their supporters.

It was a common contradiction. The fans wanted more freedom, and no one wanted to spend their time on the planes and buses when they had the chance to go abroad. But the football clubs were not willing to bring any trouble to themselves due to any negative events. In addition, such arrangements could really save the clubs a lot of money.

Given the peculiarities of countries like Turkey, Twain published an open letter to the fans on the club’s official website before they set off, advising the fans who wanted to travel to Turkey on their own to dismiss the idea and follow the club’s cheering group on the trip.

“I fully understand your feelings, but your life is obviously more important than a football game or a holiday. Neither I, nor the players, want to hear any bad news about a fan’s accident after we have won the game. Gavin Bernard’s incident should not be repeated with a Nottingham Forest fan. Therefore, I sincerely hope that fans will be able to travel with the cheering group organized by the club to Turkey. You do not have to worry about the team arriving in Istanbul without support of our own people. I would like to tell everyone that our players are completely unaffected by nonsense... So please pay attention to your safety when you arrive at Istanbul!”

His words were quite sincere, so many people eventually gave up their plans to travel to Turkey on their own and chose to follow the club’s cheering group to go to Istanbul only on the day of the game. After all, Gavin Bernard’s incident was a well-known tragedy in Nottingham. No one wanted their children or themselves to be the next tragedy.

As a result, the Nottingham Forest team did not see any Britons other than the reporters who came to cover the game and a handful of Forest fans after their arrival in Istanbul a day and a half ago.

Nonetheless, they fully appreciated the “host’s passion.”

The hotel they had planned to stay in was in the downtown district of Istanbul, where Turkish fans could be heard partying through the night. It was clearly done to provoke the Forest team and disturb their rest. Everything was done to ensure that the team they supported would be able to win the next day’s game.

Kerslake sought out the person in charge of the hotel, but they just spread his hands. “Our hotel would like to help, but we cannot control the personal conduct of the fans. They are outside the hotel. We can’t do anything about it even if we wanted to.”

The team wrote up a police report about the men causing a ruckus. As a result, the gang ran off before the police arrived. When the police came, they pretended to make their rounds and then said to the Forest team, “I don’t see the people you’re talking about.” After that, they left. It did not take long for the group to return and sing Turkish songs at the top of their lungs. It sounded like a fan song cheering on Be?ikta?. Of course, it was naturally interspersed with abuse of the Forest team and middle fingers.

Twain laid in bed, unable to sleep due to the singing. He got up and walked to the window. He pulled back the curtains and looked down.

The glass windows were completely closed, but they still could not stop the noise deliberately made by the lunatics.

The group lit fireworks, waved the black and white striped flag representing Be?ikta?, and sang loudly. They yelled when they got tired of singing and continuously pointed their middle fingers toward the hotel. Whenever they saw a light come on in any of the windows, the fans would cry a victory cheer, followed by a more energetic ruckus. Under the light of the streetlights and the fireworks in their hands, Twain clearly saw the beer bottles scattered all over the place.

This truly is Turkey.

He turned his head sideways, but could not see the situation in the next room. He knew that level of noise would have some impact on the team. Some people, by nature, were able to sleep through thunder, whereas some would be awoken from their sleep by a little rattle.

The Forest team had both kinds of people.

Twain felt that there was really nothing he could do. It would be of no use even if he knocked on every room one by one to ask the players to ignore the noise and sleep in peace. Those who could not sleep would still remain awake. Those who were initially asleep might be awakened by him. What if he gave them sleeping pills? That would not do, in case a urine check came back drug positive. Would people listen if he were to tell them that they had to take some kind of tranquilizer due to lack of sleep?

Not only was the Turkish fans’ trick was really obnoxious, but also rendered the opponents powerless.

Twain stood in front of the window for a while. He remained expressionless throughout the entire process. No one could tell if he was angry or helpless based on his expression alone.

The Turkish fans were still tormenting them when Twain decided not to play with them. Their aim was to keep the Forest team awake. He would have fallen for the evil scheme if he were to stand there and waste time.

Twain returned to bed and stuck iPod earphones into his ears to listen to the music as he fell asleep.

He was somewhere between being apathetic and nervous.

※※※

The next day at breakfast, Twain observed the players’ mental condition. Incessant yawns did not mean that they did not rest. Perhaps they had just gotten up and were not fully awake yet. The people who did not sleep well looked more haggard and had dark circles under their eyes. Twain noticed several people and wondered if he was going to let those people start in the game.

Gareth Bale was clearly one of those people. He had his head down while eating his breakfast. He looked listless and appeared to have no appetite. He mechanically pushed the fruit salad around the plate with a fork.

There were several the others like him, including the team’s assistant manager, David Kerslake.

“Good morning, Tony...” David Kerslake carried a plate as he dispiritedly sat down at the coaching staff table.

“You didn’t sleep well at night either.” Twain glanced at his plate, which held very little food. It appeared Kerslake had no appetite.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I slept all right.” Twain shrugged. “I listened to music and fell asleep.”

When he heard Twain, Kerslake sighed. “You can still sleep with sound in your ear. I can’t have other noise, otherwise I’m like this.” He pried open his eyelids and let Twain look at his bloodshot eye.

“You poor thing.” Twain smacked his lips. “What are our plans for the morning?”

“Go to the stadium and do one last adaptive training to get used to the venue.” Dunn answered from next to him.

“Cancel it.” Twain waved the fork in his hand. “Let the entire team go to bed. That bunch of idiots isn’t going to come and make noise during the day, are they?”

“It’s pretty noisy during daytime, since this is the downtown area.” Dunn reminded him.

“But our players must get plenty of sleep. Otherwise, they will have no energy for the game tonight. Besides, I think it sounded noisy because those idiots made a lot of noise on purpose. The voices were clear, but during the day... Everyone is used to this level of noise and may not feel how noisy it is now. People who did not sleep well do not have enough energy. I think they will fall asleep as soon as they fall into bed and will not care about how noisy it was outside. Those who feel like they cannot fall asleep must be people like me, who had a good night’s sleep.” Twain winked at Kerslake as if to show off his ability to fall asleep in such a noisy environment. “You’re going to bed too.”

“But… we’ve arranged with Be?ikta? club people to open the stadium in the morning for us to have our adaptive training...”

Twain waved his hand. “Then let them open the stadium and wait. My team is the important thing. As for them... Well, I don’t care.”

He made the decision rashly. It would have been wrong to say that he was not annoyed after being tormented all night. Twain was naturally annoyed, and it was not mild. He did not want to act too agitatedly in front of his own people, or he would throw his team in a disarray. He did not care when they had a chance to retaliate against the Turks. Although last night’s events might not have anything to do with the Be?ikta? club and even less so with the poor stadium attendant, Twain viewed all the Turks the same.

Therefore, when the reporters gathered at ?n?nü Stadium, ready to film the Forest team carrying out their adaptive training on the field, the Forest players slept soundly in their hotel rooms. The poor reporters waited for half an hour in vain for Nottingham Forest to arrive.

Dozens of reporters were left hanging by Twain. The sun shone brightly that surprisingly warm day in late October.

Chapter 591 - Welcome to Hell

There was supposed to be a press conference when the Forest team went to ?n?nü Stadium to warm up. It was the last press conference attended by both managers before the game where the reporters could ask some questions about the two teams and the evening’s game.

All of the British and Turkish media outlets had prepared a host of questions, waiting to bombard the two managers.

In the end, they waited in vain for the Forest team to come to the stadium to warm up. The press conference had to be held as scheduled with only the Be?ikta? manager, Ertu?rul Sa?lam, in attendance.

At thirty-seven years old, Sa?lam was a year younger than Twain. He was brought in by the Be?ikta? football club to replace the famous French star player and former Fulham manager Jean Tigana after his excellent performance in leading Kayserispor. Sa?lam was now an outstanding representation of Turkey’s young managers and a possible successor to the Turkish national team manager, Fatih Terim.

Twain did not know much about the man other than the most basic intelligence. He did not know them like the Premier League managers.

When Sa?lam spoke to the numerous reporters at the stadium, Twain was making the final tactical decisions with Dunn in his own room. He completely forgot that there was a press conference.

Therefore, when he received Pierce Brosnan’s call, his surprise was not feigned.

“What? A press conference?” Twain glanced at Dunn and found Dunn looking at him, too. The two men had forgotten.

“Ah... as to why the team didn’t go warm up... I let them all go to bed. Those who can’t sleep are free to do their stuff... Hey, are you questioning me on behalf of the Turks, Mr. Reporter? No? It’s fine if you’re not. Just don’t ask such a boring question. We didn’t go and didn’t plan to train. I think it’s more important to rest now than to get used to the field... Hey, are you planning to have a press conference over the phone?”

On the other end of the line, Brosnan laughed. “Mr. Twain, I think that’s a good idea. A press conference on my own.”

“Don’t you have any questions you want to ask the other manager?”

“Everyone else asked what I wanted to ask. The reporters from England were not in high spirits. There were not many people raising their hands to ask questions. It was mainly the Turkish reporters who asked.”

“Hey, why is that? Don’t they always think that the press conferences are too short?”

“If you had come today, they would have been very enthusiastic, Mr. Twain.” Brosnan continued to laugh.

“Oh, oh, I’m really sorry. I’m too busy to come for an interview.” Twain glanced at Dunn and found that he had gone back to the tactics. He wanted to finish the call early. “Do you have any more questions, Mr. Reporter?”

“Ah... Well, I think...” Brosnan hesitated. “Forget it, any question of substance will an incisive question, and I can’t ask an incisive question now. I may have questions after the game is over... Until then, I won’t bother you, Mr. Twain.”

“Heh heh, thank you very much. Goodbye.” Twain could not help laughing when he heard Brosnan.

Brosnan was right. A question capable of getting the reporters excited had to be an incisive question for the manager. Most managers would not like to answer, but Twain was slightly different from them. He would use it as an opportunity to dally with the reporters, which ended with both parties satisfied.

When he saw Twain hang up, Dunn said, without raising his head, “I forgot there was still a press conference this morning...”

“It’s all right.” Twain waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter if I don’t go to that kind of press conference.”

“What are you going to say when you are asked by the reporters before the game tonight?”

Twain spread both hands. “How am I going to explain? I’ll just say I forgot. It’s not a big deal. I simply forgot. Don’t tell me they can keep us from playing? Come on, let’s continue...”

※※※

“I don’t know why the Forest team did not come to adapt to the field or why their manager did not attend this press conference.” Sa?lam was angry at the reporters’ idiotic questions. “I’m not the Nottingham Forest manager. These issues have nothing to do with me, and there’s nothing I can do to satisfy you.”

At the beginning, the press conference proceeded as normal. Due to Twain’s absence, the reporters asked a few questions related to Be?ikta?, such as their formation for tonight’s game, which players were making the appearances, his confidence in winning the game, and so on.

It should have been attended by the managers of both teams, so the length of the press conference was set according to two managers. Now that there was only one manager, everyone soon finished asking the questions they had prepared, and the press conference began to move in a direction that Sa?lam did not want. Everyone started asking him questions about the Forest team and its manager, Tony Twain.

The kinds of questions like “Do you understand Tony Twain?”, “What do you think the Forest team’s abilities?”, and “How does it feel to challenge the defending champion?” were acceptable. Even though Sa?lam was displeased with how the reporters began to ask him questions about the Forest team in swarm, he still remained polite and graciously answered.

Then, a British reporter stood up and asked, “do you think that it is an insult to your team that the Forest team was not here to adapt to the field, and that Tony Twain did not attend the press conference?” That was when he finally exploded.

“Insult? What is an insult? Do you think not attending a press conference is an insult to me and my team? I think this question is incomprehensible. How is another person’s actions any concern of mine? I’m the Be?ikta? manager and I’d be happy to answer any questions about Be?ikta?. But any questions to do with Nottingham Forest should be answered by their manager. I refuse to answer.” He spoke with a grim face, and the atmosphere became awkward all of sudden.

Later, the British reporters were silent, and only a few Turkish reporters thought of some timely questions to smooth things over. The British media was not interested in the Turkish team. They were only there for Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest. Since they did not come, there was no need for them to ask questions.

The press conference hurriedly concluded in the chilly atmosphere. The Be?ikta? manager, Sa?lam, was originally a little nervous before the big game, and his mood worsened due to the British media’s antics. He was not in a good mood and needed to vent, and there was a good place to shift the anger.

The British reporters were British, and Nottingham Forest was a British team. In that case, he could take out the anger in his heart on Nottingham Forest, who was not doing well recently, in that evening’s game! Further, even though he vehemently refuted the British reporter’s use of “insult” at the press conference, he did actually think that the absence of Twain and the Forest team was a sign of self-importance and a lack of basic respect for the opponent.

The British are always so insolent and pompous. Do they still think that they are in the age of the indomitable empire that colonized all over the world with the Union Jack flag forever fluttering in the sun?

This is ridiculous. This time, you’re on our home ground. What qualifications do you have to play a big shot in front of the home team, you Brits!

※※※

During lunchtime, Twain ate slowly in the restaurant while he observed the spirits and appearances of the players entering and leaving. The result was much more satisfying to him than in the morning. After a nap, everyone’s fitness and spirits had been restored. Kerslake chatting loudly with his fellow coaches at the table was proof of it.

After lunch and a simple noon break, Twain instructed the team go to the hotel gym to exercise their bodies to prevent their bodies from resting too much and be unable to fire up later.

As the team warmed up in the gym, Twain saw a number of reporters in the hotel lobby. He knew that they were not happy with the press conference that morning and had come specifically to interview him. However, he was currently in no mind to bicker with reporters, so he waved his hands at the incoming reporters to signal that he would not accept any interviews.

“Just one question!” cried a reporter. “Mr. Twain, just one question!”

Twain twitched his mouth. “No way. You have one question, he has another question. Everyone has a question and soon it will be time for the game. If you have any questions, you can ask again during the brief interview before the game. Of course, I won’t be absent from the post-match press conference.”

The British reporters laughed.

“My players need some quiet space, so I don’t want to be disturbed by the media. I hope everyone will cooperate and also not disturb the other guests staying at this hotel.” He left and went upstairs alone.

As to if the hotel would get their security guards to come out and drive away the uninvited guests or uphold the requirements of the hotel guests, he did not care.

※※※

They ate a light and simple dinner, since they could not eat more because they would have strenuous activity shortly. A heavy meal would impact their form and play.

After a simple dinner, the team boarded the bus and set off for ?n?nü Stadium.

Gareth Bale still felt lethargic and sat in the last row of the bus. He kept his head down and was quiet. He did not listen to music or chat with the people next to him. It appeared he had fallen asleep again.

Eastwood nudged him. “Don’t sleep, little monkey. Come on! If you let the chief see you like this, your starting spot will be gone!” Twainhad released the starting list for the evening game before they set off. Gareth Bale’s name was among the eleven players — he was in the Forest team’s starting lineup in this game.

“Ah... I feel jetlagged...” Bale replied listlessly and slightly straightened his back.

“Don’t sleep. The more you sleep, the more you want to sleep. You need a little stimulation...” Eastwood reached out to tickle Bale’s underarms. As a result, Bale began to laugh before Eastwood even reached over, which caused the entire bus of people to look back at the two of them.

“Er...” Eastwood raised his hands with a look of innocence next to Bale, who was laughing heartily. “I did not do anything...”

“All right... Stop laughing!” When everyone turned their heads back, Eastwood shoved Bale to calm him down.

Bale laughed until his eyes teared up. He rubbed his eyes, and then said in surprise, “Hey, I’m not sleepy anymore!”

“Thank you for tickling me, Freddy,” he sincerely thanked Eastwood.

“I did not touch you!” the Romani said gruffly.

“Hee hee.” Bale scratched his head in embarrassment. “I’m quite ticklish, so...”

Eastwood smirked and suddenly reached his hand toward Bale. He had not touched him yet before Bale laughed loudly. Once again, it caused everyone to collectively turn back.

Eastwood hurriedly raised both hands. “I really did not do anything...”

“It looks like the players are in good spirits.” Kerslake turned back and said to Twain, who sat next to him.

Twain nodded and grinned. “Of course. But I hope they stay like this mentally after seeing the enthusiasm of the Turkish fans. Otherwise, it will not be easy for us to win.”

He glanced ahead at the roof of Be?ikta?’ home ground, ?n?nü Stadium, which loomed behind the layers of buildings.

※※※
n?nü Stadium was the home stadium of the Turkish national team and was similar in status like Wembley for the England team and Bernabéu to Spain.

Istanbul had three stadiums known for their terrifying atmosphere that struck fear in the hearts of their opponents: Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Fenerbah?e’s ?ükrü Saraco?lu Stadium and Be?ikta?’ home ground, ?n?nü Stadium.

For Turkey’s enemies, it was a place they would never want to step into for a second time. The feverish atmosphere and suffocating air left deep impressions on all the visiting players.

Beckham had unpleasant memories in that stadium. When he was the captain of the England national team, he once missed a penalty shot amidst the thunderous boos and distractions from the home team fans. Shortly after, the players on both sides clashed on the field. The clash continued until the end of the game, and players from both teams got into a brawl inside the locker room tunnel. Coaches on both sides and stadium security were also embroiled in it.

Would the past repeat itself for this game?

It was the first time Nottingham Forest had come to Turkey to play and Twain’s first time directing a game in Turkey as well. Twain had no idea how much trouble the home fans would cause the team.

Escorted by the police cars, the bus finally arrived at the tournament venue, ?n?nü Stadium. In the square outside, the Forest team already saw the enthusiasm of the Turkish fans. Once they saw the Forest team bus approaching, they put up their middle fingers up against the window to “greeting” to the Forest players, and shouted a word everyone could understand?—”F**k.”

The Forest fans were surrounded by the Turkish police officers and kept far away while they waited for admission. The glorified description of “to protect the personal safety of the visiting fans” was not to let the Forest fans cheer for their team but to let the Forest fans feel the pressure exerted by the home team fans.

Some players’ attentions were caught by the Turkish fans outside and turned their heads to look. When the Turkish fans saw them turn, they yelled even more happily. Even in the closed compartment, they could still hear the swearing outside.

The square was full of people. Even though the police cars had opened and isolated the path, the short distance of 200 meters still required ten minutes to reach the parking area.

It was a little quieter there. There were not many unrelated personnel except reporters. But once they got off the bus, the noise of the Turkish fans in the distance and in the stadium was still clear. The atmosphere was thick and explosive.

The coaches urged the players to hurry to the locker room to get changed and warm up. Outside, Twain answered a few questions and hurried off.

The players were still discussing the “enthusiastic performance” of the Turkish fans in the locker room as they changed their clothes. Apparently some of them had a lot of experience on a battlefield and were not bothered by this kind of thing. However, some people took it to heart.

Twain did not stop them from discussing the topic. However, at the side, Kerslake kept urging them to quickly change their clothes and head out to warm up.

Soon, the men were gone, and there was only Twain in the locker room. Unlike the other managers, he did not go out with the team to warm up. He stayed inside the locker room. No one knew what he did in there. Perhaps he wanted to vent his nervous mood, maybe he just shut his eyes to rest, or did nothing. Some of the reporters guessed that if a hidden camera was installed in the locker room, they might capture interesting stuff.

But Twain was not in the spotlight today.

The players came out of the tunnel in a group. However, once they were through the tunnel door, that deafening boos and feverish hostility in the air assaulted their senses. Those people with weaker psychological quality stopped at the door.

n?nü Stadium could only accommodate 20,000 spectators, but the sounds made by the Turkish fans had made the Forest players think that they were dealing with 200,000 spectators. Everyone’s heartbeat sped up.

In the stand directly in front of the tunnel opening, there was a huge banner positioned under the grandstand. There were red English words on the white fabric. As the banner was hung up, the wet paint dripped from top to bottom to leave red marks on the cloth as if it was dripping blood. It produced a shocking effect coupled with the words.

On top of the white banner, the phrase was written in the red paint:

Welcome to Hell.

Chapter 592 - Welcome to Hell Part 2

“Maybe... you will not walk alone forever, but remember... Eagles always fly solo... What’s this rubbish?” Twain walked out of the tunnel with the team and glanced at a banner hanging from the stands. It had a black background and white writing. “Are we Liverpool?” he turned back and asked Dunn.

“We and the Liverpool team both wear the red jerseys. Liverpool’s nickname is ‘the Reds’ and we are ‘red.’ Be?ikta?’ nickname is ‘Black Eagles,’ so there will be signs like this. Perhaps to the Turks, all English teams use ‘You’ll never Walk Alone’ as a slogan...” Dunn explained.

“Really incorrigible.” Twain shook his head and sighed as he headed toward the technical area.

At the tactical meeting the day before, the Forest team established that they would still use defensive counterattack tactics, which they were best at, in the game. The Turkish team would surely use their home-field advantage to launch an aggressive attack on the Forest team’s goal. The Forest team’s defense had to do well in the first ten minutes of the game. Otherwise, it would be dangerous.

Twain did not lay out his usual 4-4-2 formation. Instead, he changed the formation to 4-1-4-1, which was the Forest team’s new formation. George Wood, alone, would serve as the defensive midfielder. The rear defensive line would have Leighton Baines, Kompany, Ayala, and Rafinha. Gareth Bale, Martin Petrov, Rafael van der Vaart, and Aaron Lennon covered the midfield line. The lone striker was van Nistelrooy.

Twain did not put Beckham on the starting list because he had a minor injury. The same went for Eastwood, who was also sidelined by his injury.

Before the game, Turkey’s local media reported the Forest team’s recent predicament: frequent injuries, absence of the main players, the players’ brawl during training, the talk of internal discord, their hotel was located in the downtown area and how they did not get a good night’s rest, the team’s continual lack of victory, that they had not won a game in the group stage so far, their low morale, and so on.

The reports attested that their team would win.

Twain could not read Turkish, but he was aware of what the media had said. He had a habit of finding out what was said in the local media when he played in an away game so he could locate what he needed from it. It was easy to find a translator.

After he had read the reports from Turkey, he was happy instead of angry. He saw his chance of winning from the contents. It was best that the entire Be?ikta? team was optimistic about the game. Their optimism could cause them to underestimate their opponents. Underestimating the opponent could lead to changes in the final results.

After he sat down in the technical area, he glanced at the giant banner on the opposite grandstand.

Welcome to Hell.

Hey, you didn’t say whose hell it is!

During the last preparation before the game, Twain did not stir up any emotions. This kind of game did not require him to motivate the team. If they really wanted to win and were mentally strong, they would have a strong fighting spirit?to overturn the home team on their home ground and deny what they most wanted to have. Tony Twain was not the only one to take personal vicious delight and also Nottingham Forest team’s vicious delight.

He just told the players that if they could not win this game again, they would play in the UEFA Europa League. He said that Tony Twain could not do something so humiliating. Whoever wanted to play the UEFA Europa League could go, and he would not go anyway.

“Either you’re in the top two to come out of the group stage or be right at the bottom and be eliminated. Which outcome will you accept?” He asked the entire team.

Does that even require a response?

Nottingham Forest never accepts defeat!

※※※

The game began amid deafening cheers. As expected, Be?ikta? took advantage of their home advantage and launched a fierce attack on the Forest team’s goal after the kick-off, hoping to score as early as possible to establish a lead, so that they could play better for the rest of the game. With the frenzied support of 20,000 fans and the intimidating atmosphere of Hell’s home ground, how could they be afraid of not winning the home game?

Twain sat in the technical area for a while before he got up to stand on the sidelines. The Turkish players attacked ferociously. They did not care that the defense stepped up the pressure again and again. However, they really did have a reason to do so. The fierce offensive completely beat back any ideas of a counterattack that the Forest team might have had. Five minutes passed, and they could only withdraw within the range of the three defensive zones. They did not even have a chance to attack the opponent’s thirty meters zone.

When they saw that the defending champion could only ward off the attacks in front of their own goal and had no way to counterattack, the Turkish fans at ?n?nü Stadium got excited and roared their hisses even louder.

In the past, Be?ikta? had been mostly dominated by young players in Turkey. Ever since Sa?lam took over the team, the Turkish manager had a surprising preference for foreign players. Be?ikta? changed its previous tradition and spend a lot of money to bring in foreign players. However, there was no way for these foreign players to compare with Fenerbah?e and Galatasaray, in terms of fame or strength.

The Senegalese national footballer, Lamine Diatta, who just joined the team, was still a substitute and had problems playing with the team. He was only on the substitution list for the game.

The Brazilian striker, Bob?, was once selected for the Brazilian under 21 national team, but there were too many players of his level in Brazil, so his results remained the same. He appeared on the starting list for the game and was the spearhead of the Be?ikta? team.

There was the Argentinian attacking midfielder, Matías Emilio Delgado. A lot of people had the name “Delgado” in Argentina, and there were several famous players with the name. He had nothing to do with those players. He had never been selected for any level of the Argentina national team. Matías Emilio Delgado had the exquisite footwork and dribbling ability that South American players usually had and was Be?ikta?’ main attacking midfielder.

Rodrigo Tello, a Chilean national footballer, was the left midfielder. He had excellent skills and was one of the key players that the Forest team needed to pay attention to. He was also on the starting lineup and assisted with a number of Be?ikta?’ attacks on the left flank in the first five minutes. His passes and long shots posed a great threat.

The Be?ikta? defensive midfielder, édouard Cissé, had no relations to the French striker Cissé. He was possibly the player that Twain was most familiar with among all of Be?ikta?’s foreign players. The first game that Twain officially coached the Nottingham Forest team was the English FA Cup, where Nottingham Forest hosted the Premier League team, West Ham United. West Ham United’s starting defensive midfielder at the time was édouard Cissé. After West Ham United was relegated, he returned to France and had unexpectedly wandered into the Süper Lig. Twain had the feeling of “it’s a small world.” The man was Be?ikta?’ main defensive midfielder and the backbone of the defensive line. He had thirty-four appearances in the France Ligue 1 in the last season, scored two goals, and assisted one goal. He appeared seven times in the Champions League, scored one goal, and assisted a goal. Those statistics were considered pretty good for a defensive midfielder.

In addition, due to his arrival, Be?ikta?’ original main defensive midfielder, Burak Y?lmaz, became a substitute striker.

Other than Diatta, those players were the foreign players for the game’s starting lineup. Combined with the Turkish players, the lineup was eclipsed by a lot when compared to Nottingham Forest, but they had the home advantage, which made up for the gap in strength.

The Be?ikta? team captain was the 33-year-old veteran ?brahim üzülmez, who had been selected thirty-two times for the national team. He was a full-back who could only assist and was not very good at defense. He performed as well as Tello in the first five minutes of the game. The two of them took turns plugging in, making Be?ikta?’s left flank the most threatening flank corridor and putting Rafinha and Lennon under intense pressure.

As Chimbonda was still in the reserves to reflect on his fight, he did not come to Istanbul with the team. Therefore, for the game, the Forest team’s right flank was stronger in offense than defense. Rafinha and Lennon were both good at attacking. Rafinha was a Brazilian full-back, and was known for being stronger in his offense than defense. Sa?lam, Be?ikta?’ young manager, also realized that and instructed the team to focus their offense on the Forest team’s right flank.

Twain turned his head to look next door where Sa?lam was standing on the sidelines to direct the game.

That manager was close to his own age. He had originally thought that managers under 40 years old were rare. He did not expect so many managers in Europe to be under forty. He could still be proud of the fact that he, Tony Twain, was the only one who succeeded.

He was the youngest manager to lead a team to victory in the Champions League history!

The title was so dazzling.

※※※

Be?ikta? had won against Porto in the last game, so they had three points and temporarily ranked second in the group. Olympique de Marseille, who took down Be?ikta? and Nottingham Forest in a row, ranked first in the group with six points. That night, Olympique de Marseille would usher in Porto, who was at the bottom of the group, while Be?ikta? hosted Nottingham Forest at home. The leading team wanted to expand their lead advantage, while the trailing team wanted to reverse it and pull the competitor down. Group A would be shrouded in intense smoke from the explosive atmosphere that night.

Sa?lam’s style of command was a bit “rock ‘n roll,” which meant that his body language was quite varied, and his range of movements was exaggerated. He seemed to move nonstop on the sidelines. If he had an electric guitar in his hand, he would look like a rockstar.

Compared with the rock star, Twain was a country folk singer. He just sat in the technical area and crossed his legs with no other movement. But every time he got up, there had to have been something. His players just had to see their manager get up and knew what was going to change.

Twain sat in the technical area with his legs crossed with no intention of getting up. Be?ikta?’ ferocious attacks were well within his expectations. He had laid out the appropriate tactical response, so there was nothing to worry about.

The Forest team had lost count of how many times they had experienced such fierce offensive like the ones from Be?ikta?. The only thing that slightly worried Twain was the fanatical atmosphere. After a few seasons, Nottingham Forest’s home ground was also known as the “devil’s home ground” in the Premier League. Any team going there to compete would be mercilessly booed and abused by the Nottingham Forest fans. That clamor would go from the beginning until the end of the game, with no pause in the middle. Playing in that environment was torture for a lot of players with poor mental strength.

Therefore, Twain understood very well how terrifying it as for a visiting player to play in a favorable home game. Could his own players stand up to the two massive pressures posed by the Be?ikta? team’s fierce offensive and the sonic offensive by the Be?ikta? fans?

He did not want anyone to discern his inner worries through some subtle movements, so he remained seated in the technical area with one leg over the other knee. He looked like he had an ace up his sleeve.

※※※

Ten minutes passed. Although Be?ikta?’ offensive was fierce, the Forest team’s goal was still standing, and the score was still 0:0.

The home fans hissed at the visiting team after the opposing players got the ball, but the booing from the stands would ring as long as the Be?ikta? fans saw that the Forest players had signs of contact with the ball. If a Be?ikta? player intercepted the ball midway, the boos instantly turned into cheers. One had to wonder whether the sound was made by people or a recording that was being controlled by a computer program.

Ten minutes was the time that Twain said that they needed to focus on. When he saw that the score was still 0:0, he breathed a little easier. He turned and was about to speak to Dunn to talk about some of the things that had been revealed during the ten-minute period.

Just as he turned his head, George Wood poked the football out from Bob?’s feet with a shovel that seemed to be a foul and the player who received the ball was not a Be?ikta? player, but a Nottingham Forest player!

The mere 200 Nottingham Forest fans finally broke out in cheers for the first time in the game even though they were quickly crushed by their opponents.

Dunn prodded Twain, who was about to speak to him, and motioned for him to look at the field.

Twain turned back just in time to see the Forest team take the ball to organize the attack.

The player who received Wood’s ball was Martin Petrov, one of the two midfielders. If Ribéry had not been hurt, it would have been his position. Unfortunately, he was injured, so he had to use Petrov as the temporarily replacement. He could see that he was still not comfortable playing in the middle. He was used to running toward the flank. As a result, he compressed Bale’s space. It was one of the reasons why the Forest team was unable to go on the offense.

Fortunately, Petrov did not go to the flank and compete with Bale for territory that time. He did not hurry to move forward after he took the ball in the middle. Although he was suppressed by the opponent for ten minutes, he did not lose his cool. He feinted to look like he was about to break through, which lured the Be?ikta?’ defensive midfielder, Cissé, to quickly run two paces back to block him. However, Petrov pulled the football back and did not break through, nor did he pass the ball. Instead, he looked up to observe and waited for his teammates to plug in. Otherwise, there was no one to receive the pass.

Van der Vaart ran up from one side, while Lennon and Gareth Bale swiftly rushed up. It appeared as if the Forest team was eager to attack after being suppressed for ten minutes.

Petrov passed the ball to van der Vaart and turned to beckon to George Wood to come up, too.

Wood shook his head to reject the suggestion. Even though the Forest team looked like they had five midfielders for this game, George Wood was in charge of the defense when the team attacked. During the game, he was a defensive midfielder and would not press up no matter what. That was what Twain asked of him in order to ensure the stability of the rear defensive line so that the Forest team’s counterattack could be a threat.

Petrov shrugged, turned around, and ran up to participate in the attack.

Van der Vaart diverted the football to Lennon on the flank and then ran forward to pick it up.

But Lennon did not plan to pass the ball. He took the ball and looked at the opposing captain, üzülmez. During those ten minutes, he got tired of defending all thanks to that person. After much difficulty, he managed to have an attacking opportunity, so he wanted to make sure to turn it around.

Lennon did not see his surrounding teammates raise their hands to request the ball. All he could think of was “duelling it out” with his opponent.

üzülmez was good at assists, but his defense was not very good. Furthermore, the 33-year-old player was slow. Lennon decided to take advantage of that and rely on his speed to force a breakthrough against his opponent. He was too lazy to even do a zigzag feint.

Lennon, who was confident in his speed, sank at the waist and suddenly shifted gear during a slow dribble. He pushed the ball toward the sidelines while he accelerated.

üzülmez was indeed good at assists and poor in defense. As he grew older, he could not keep up in speed. But Lennon had missed out on one thing. He did not consider that the other player was more experienced that he was...

When he saw Lennon’s pace, üzülmez knew what the kid wanted to do. The pre-match intelligence told him that Aaron Lennon was very fast and good at using his speed and feints to change direction and break through.

Therefore, the moment Lennon knocked the ball out, the seasoned üzülmez suddenly turned around and cut across in front of him. Without waiting for the two to collide, he chased after the football one step ahead. Lennon’s reaction was also fast. When he saw üzülmez cut across to box him out, he intended to crash into him to cause him to be charged with a blocking foul. However, he did not expect the experienced üzülmez to also expect that and not give him the opportunity to cause any physical contact. The veteran’s body exploded with shocking energy and suddenly shook off Lennon to catch up with the football.

Lennon, who wanted to make the other party foul, slowed down, only to find that the other party was not fooled. It was too late for him to speed up. He could only watch üzülmez get the football. He himself stumbled and nearly fell.

That was the end of the Forest team’s first offensive, and Be?ikta?’ attack followed immediately, without giving the Forest team a chance to catch their breath.

üzülmez sent the football to Tello, who had come back to help with the defense. After the Chilean side midfielder received the ball, he did not hesitate and turned around to break forward. Again, Lennon wanted to give chase but could only watch the opponent get farther ahead.

After the Forest team had been held back for so long and prepared for a massive attack, they did not expect the football, which had been just passed, to be intercepted. Moreover, the opponent’s counterattack was also sharp and determined. It countered their defensive counterattack. The Forest team did not react at once, allowing Tello to break through within the thirty-meter zone.

Tello looked at the two players, Rafinha and Ayala who came up to grab the ball. Without any hesitation, he swung his leg and sent the football across.

George Wood closely marked the attacking midfielder, Delgado, who ran toward the football. If the other side stopped the ball, he would stick to him to force him away from the goal. If the other side intended to shoot directly, then he would shovel and snatch the football on the spot.

Delgado clearly felt the pressure from having the player around him. He was like a hungry beast, close on his heels, and made heavy panting sounds. He could even feel the hot air coming from his mouth, sticking wetly to him. Was he the captain of the UEFA Champions League winner? Although he had not played football for long, he was already a famous defensive midfielder throughout Europe. Countless strong players had fallen at his feet. Could he overcome this?

The hesitation made Delgado lose the best opportunity to handle the ball. By the time he noticed the football, the ball was extremely close to him. It was too close for him to stop it, and there was no time or space for him to position his leg to shoot. George Wood followed closely behind. If he forcibly stopped the ball, it would likely end with him being tackled.

In a moment of desperation, Delgado chose to miss the ball. His legs acted as if he was going to shoot for the goal to trick Wood into falling to the ground to block, but he cleverly missed the ball.

The football rolled in between his legs and remained untouched by anyone.

Serdar ?zkan, in the middle, received the ball to shoot straight at the goal!

Kompany dashed to block, but the football refracted off his toes. Although it was in the same direction as Edwin van der Sar’s pounce, it was trickier. The football drew an arc to bypass Edwin van der Sar’s fingertips and brush past the post... to fly into the net!

Did the ball go in?

The ball was in!

A huge cheer erupted at ?n?nü Stadium, as if the Turkic cavalry, which had swept through the ancient Roman Empire, had crossed time and space to return, the sound of the hoofbeats coming wave after wave, getting closer and louder, jolting the eardrums of everyone present until they throbbed with pain. Everyone could only see each other’s lips moving but could not hear any voices.

It was unbelievable. Was it a stadium that could only accommodate 20,000 people?

The Nottingham Forest players stood on the field and in front of the substitutes’ bench, looking up blankly at the surrounding stands.

Twain sat motionless in the technical area. He only gazed at the banner in the stands opposite with the bloody big letters reminding them that they were in hell.

Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 593 - A Messenger from Hell

The home fans’ crazed celebration was not over until the game resumed. Twain tried to speak to Dunn, but he found that he could not even hear his own voice when he opened his mouth to speak. A deafening clamor came from the stands behind him, flooding every corner of the stadium. The Be?ikta? players played more skillfully and easily in the noise, while the Nottingham Forest players were tense, affected by the hapless goal concede and feverish atmosphere of the stadium. They could not even perform at half of their usual standards.

Things were far from good.

It would be nothing to Twain if they had just conceded a goal. He had experienced many games in which they trailed behind in the beginning, not to mention it had only been twelve minutes. There was still a lot of time to recover.

But if the team’s overall performance was out of character, he would have a headache for a while.

Hell’s home ground truly lived up to its name.

He decided to stand up and be on the sidelines to give the players confidence and encouragement to calm them down. If he were to still sit in the technical area with his legs crossed, then it would not be the opponent who felt off, but his own players.

He leaned forward and moved outside.

Having just left the shelter of the technical area, Twain caught a glimpse of a dark shadow from the corner of his eye that flew from behind him and fell to the ground. He instinctively looked down and found a lighter.

Before he could look up, a second piece and a third object fell. This time, it was a coin and… a cell phone!

Twain was in shock. Not because the fans threw junk down, but there were actually fans crazy enough to throw their phones away! I used to think that throwing a pig’s head was appalling enough. What these fellows threw… Twain took a look and discovered that it was an Apple iPhone and with a red case… Maybe it was flung down by a pretty fan.

Twain leaned over to pick up the phone. He wanted to remove the case and take out the SIM card from the phone, but he obviously could not lower his head to study the object. It would be noticed if he took any longer. Therefore, he just threw the phone back to the technical area. He made a gesture to keep the phone to a confused-looking Dunn. Then, he just disregarded the dense rain of objects that fell from behind him.

Did he need to make adjustments?

No, there was no need to adjust anything. Any psychological problems could not be adjusted on such a noisy sideline.

Twain stood there, hoping to bring confidence and calm to the players on the field to settle them. He wanted to let them see him as soon as they turned their heads, knowing that he, as the manager, was always with his team.

There was more and more junk landing at his feet. They were mainly coins of various denomination and a variety of lighters, in addition to mineral water bottles and bottle caps.

Nonetheless, Twain continued to stand on the sidelines. He neither looked back at the Turkish fans who threw the things nor complained to the fourth official. He hoped that his action would make it clear to his players that complaining about the other team’s fanaticism might be a good excuse for them to use after they lost the game, but it should not affect them.

※※※

Be?ikta? took advantage of the situation, hoping to score another goal to completely crush the Forest team.

In the roars of the Turkish fans, the Forest team played in a sorry state, exhausted from running around. Even when they put their full force in defense, holes still appeared. They could not organize any attacks.

Be?ikta?’s offensive features were playing short passes, concentrating their forces in the middle and front field. Their defenders liked to rush forward, and their striker’s range of play was wide enough to rip apart his opponent’s defenses and create scoring opportunities for his teammates who plugged in from behind. As a result, Be?ikta? was not a team that depended on the striker to score but relied on the entire team. They tended to put in five to six players in front of the box to create scoring opportunities.

Because they dared to put their players on the attack and press in boldly, coupled with the atmosphere, there was a feeling that Be?ikta?’ attacks were endless, had more developments, imposing momentum, and energy. They believed the Forest team players also thought so. They were overwhelmed by Be?ikta?’ multi-point offensive strategy, and were being led from left to right, and then to the middle. Nothing could be done except to run back and forth to lift the siege. What about their offense? They should pray that they would not continue to concede goals!

After he watched for about five minutes, Twain’s brows had tightened until he could not knit his brows any more and he turned all the energy into an angry roar. “George! What are you running around for? Organize the defense for me! Don’t run with the ball! Are you all dizzy from the f**king boos?!”

No wonder Twain was so angry. Nottingham Forest was most proud of their defense, especially the overall defense. Once the Forest team’s overall defense had entered the zone, it was like a dangerous jungle shrouded in layers of fog. Any opponent that came in would lose all sense of direction, and fall into a quagmire that they could not extricate themselves from. When the overall team formation was well-maintained and able to advance and retreat orderly, the Forest team’s defensive formation would not become a mess, no matter how the opponent dispatched, thereby minimizing the flaws.

Looking at the current situation, the Forest team’s defensive formation was completely messed up by the opponent’s multi-point attack strategy. George Wood had a good stamina. He ran from left to right and sprinted up and down. But defense was not a one-man job. The Forest team’s defense had always been an integral defense. He alone could not replace the other nine players no matter how good he was.

The Be?ikta? manager was also inspired by that goal. He instructed Delgado to make Wood run without playing as the actual offense core. He just feinted a few times to make space for his teammates to attack.

Therefore, Twain wanted to get his players to pull together the defensive line again.

However, he had just raised the volume of his voice before he was drowned out by the home fans’ deafening boos.

Relying on his perverse stamina, George Wood stubbornly gave chase to a ball that did not belong to the Forest team. Although he did not stop and rushed out of the sidelines, he managed to use the sole of his foot to kick the football back in that instant.

Following that, the Forest team launched a fast attack. They finally struck Be?ikta?’ box. Van Nistelrooy’s shot deviated under the close marking of the opposing defender, G?khan Zan.

When the football brushed the post to fly out, the hissing at ?n?nü stadium lessened slightly. A number of Be?ikta? fans held their breath due to this shocking moment and forgot to boo the opponent.

It was the quietest moment in the stadium since the start of the game.

“Twenty-seven minutes have passed since the game started and Nottingham Forest picked up their first shot… That’s pathetic. Any team who is visiting Turkey will feel the pain and I believe Tony Twain has felt it. His team has no chance in face of the strong home team and fans. This was the second time they reached the opposing thirty-meter zone in the entire game and their first shot on the goal, compared to Be?ikta?’ seven shots and four proper aims.” The commentator smacked his lips. Such a wide disparity in the statistics did not fully reflect the extent of Be?ikta?’ advantage in the game.

Twain found that his shouted words had no effect in such a noisy environment because the players on the field could not hear them at all. It would be useless even if he shouted until his voice became hoarse, nor could he go find a megaphone to shout through.

“This motherf**king home ground!” Twain swore, but he soon returned to calm. He could only take advantage of when the football went out of bounds, both sides had a foul or when the game was paused to pull aside the Forest players nearest to him and quickly give instructions so that they could relay to their other teammates.

The method was a bit laborious, but it was also considered a normal means. While watching a football game, one could often see managers pulling their players on the sidelines for a quick talk, while the players nodded and drank water. They would head back to the field after a few mouthfuls of water. Sometimes it was an adjustment for a single player, and at other times it was for the entire team, such as now.

By getting the players nearer to the sidelines to act as messengers, Twain finally told his thoughts to everyone on the field.

After Nottingham Forest managed to withstand Be?ikta?’ frantic offensive at the goal, the situation gradually stabilized. As the score had not changed any further, it showed that they did not play as poorly and pathetically as everyone thought.

They trailed by one goal. There was still a chance to turn things around.

The Forest team’s defensive system was re-established under the combined efforts of Edwin van der Sar and George Wood, as well as Ayala.

The rest of the game became boring.

Nottingham Forest solidified their defense. If they did not have a very good chance to fight back, they would not press on. They would defend to the death. Their target was to not concede another goal.

Be?ikta? single-mindedly wanted to score again. The defenders and midfielders took turns plugging in. Their frequent attacks made the action livelier, but if someone were to calm down and look closely, they would find that most of their offense ended in front of the box, either ended, or ruined by the Forest team’s defense. There was little chance of penetrating the Forest team’s penalty area and threatening Edwin van der Sar.

What did that imply?

It suggested that Be?ikta?’ strength was not as obvious as the statistics predicted. The feverish home advantage overstated it. So, in that case, there were still plenty of opportunities in this game.

Twain calmed down and returned to the technical area. The raining lighters and coins gradually stopped.

Twain did not forget to pick up a few Turkish coins and lighters from the ground. He fiddled with them in his hands.

Kerslake thought it was strange and asked, “what did you pick up these things for, Tony?”

“I thought I might as well pick up some free souvenirs from the Turkey trip.” Twain showed the few Lira of coins in his hands. “And this is an official souvenir of the Be?ikta? club…” He picked up another metal lighter with the Be?ikta? emblem on its surface.

Kerslake could not help smiling wryly when saw. “We are behind and you’re still in the mood to collect souvenirs…” His voice trailed off, because he saw Dunn hand a red iPhone to Twain. “Is this a souvenir as well?”

Twain took it and nodded at Kerslake. “Sort of.”

Kerslake looked back at grandstand behind him. “Why didn’t anyone throw a gold watch and a diamond ring?”

“Don’t even dream of it, David.” Twain smiled and punched Kerslake. Then he pointed to the field. “We’re behind, but I’m not worried at all right now. Because Be?ikta? is just a paper tiger. All reactionaries are just paper tigers. There is nothing to be afraid of. But now it’s too noisy here, a lot of things can’t be said. I’ll tell them all about my plans in the locker room at halftime.”

※※※

Amid the deafening cheers from the Turkish fans, the referee’s halftime whistle was almost drowned out. Everyone knew the first half of the game was over based on his hand signal. With their one-goal advantage, the home team contentedly walked off the field with puffed-up chests as they accepted the cheers of their supporters.

The Nottingham Forest players ran quickly to the tunnels with their heads down to avoid the debris that could be thrown from the stands at any time while they thought about going back early to get farther away from the hell. Twain was the last to enter the tunnel. He stood on the sidelines, subjected to the drizzle of debris. He watched everyone return to the locker room before he got up to leave. At the mouth of the tunnel, he ran into the opposing manager, Sa?lam.

Twain did not understand a word of the stream of Turkish that the other man babbled to him, but he remained polite with a smile on his face. Sa?lam turned around and walked into the tunnel. Twain followed. He did not really have to understand Turkish to roughly comprehend what he said.

He was familiar with it from the expression of his face as he often had that expression on his face.

It was understandable that he strutted on his own home ground with so many people shouting and cheering that his team was on a roll.

However, there was an old Chinese saying, “he who laughs last, laughs the best.” The gentleman clearly did not know.

With forty-five minutes to go, it was still undetermined who would win or lose.

Twain’s guess was pretty close. After he bumped into Twain, Sa?lam suddenly thought of the insult he received at the press conference the day before the game. Furthermore, with his team in the lead, he decided to mock Twain. He did not expect Twain to understand Turkish. He purely wanted to vent.

Didn’t you play the big shot and put on airs, Englishman? Who’s ahead now? Our Be?ikta?!

※※※

The door of the locker room opened. The noise outside rushed in and immediately disappeared after as the door was closed.

The players were startled by the change in the sound. They looked up at the man standing at the door. It was their pillar and the true spiritual leader of this team, Tony Twain.

The expression on this man’s face was not friendly.

“You greatly disappoint me. The atmosphere of the City Ground stadium is famous for being crazy in England. Don’t tell me that Nottingham Forest, who has toughened in this kind of atmosphere, can be so vulnerable?” Twain’s opening remarks were simple and straightforward, jumping directly to the subject. “Look at your performances in the first half, it’s not much different from dog sh*t. The only difference is dog sh*t doesn’t run around.”

Twain could be merciless when he wanted to scold people, whether he was scolding reporters, opponents, or his own men. He was so sharp and unkind that it caused people to feel a dull pain in the bones. Therefore, the only way to not be scolded was to always be on his good side.

“Your performance slightly improved in the last ten minutes. But that’s not enough. If you want to get out of this damn place with three points, your little bit of performance is far from enough.” Twain wagged his right index finger and suddenly raised his voice. “You have to play better! I stood on the sidelines and look what those Turkish bastards threw at me.” He pulled out the coins and lighters from his pockets and showed them to the players. If he had let it hit the back of his head, he would have surely been bruised and bleeding. “But I stood there, completely ignoring such provocations and demonstrations! What’s the big deal! If you can win the game, even if those idiots take the stadium stands and hurl them down, I’m not going to f**king hide! You must show such courage! The enemy wants us to be afraid and raise our hands in surrender so that they can overcome us effortlessly and humiliate us. But it exposes their weaknesses at the same time. The Be?ikta? players are not as good as their performance. You find them difficult to deal with because of the illusion the cheers of the fans brought!”

“They can’t even get in our box. Other than their long shot, their attacks were destroyed by us because such an attack is too weak! What’s there to be afraid of! Why are they so rampant? It’s not because our defense isn’t doing well enough. In fact, it can’t actually be any better. It’s because our offense is weaker than theirs!” Twain began to draw the formations of both teams on the tactical board. He drew straight lines from the circles representing the Be?ikta? defenders to the front. “Their defenders are very fond of pressing in to get involved in the offense, whether they’re the full-back or center-back. And they don’t have wingers. Once the two side midfielders get inside our three defensive zones, they break through into the box by cutting inside from the flanks or passing the ball to the middle. That way, it pushes our defense back into the middle and creates enough space for their two full-backs to plug in and assist.”

“But, at the same time?” Twain used a marker to circle around Be?ikta?’ half of the field and then dotted it with force. “Their space here… is empty! Large swathes of no-man’s land with countless defensive holes. As long as our offense can get over there, that’s our damn golden opportunity! But it was such a shame that I barely saw any decent offensive in the first half that could take advantage of this empty area.” Twain threw the marker and clapped his hands. “You only thought about how to defend against the opponent’s offense, but you did not think about how to make use of their offense to help our defense. The best defense is a good offense. You’re getting tired of hearing that, aren’t you? It’s something that regular fans keep saying, but do you know the true meaning? As long as we fire up our offense and launch one or two threatening attacks, we can make them back off and greatly reduce pressure on the back field. Our offense will press ahead and have the guts to put in the force. That’s ‘the best defense is a good offense!’”

“If you want to shut up the 20,000 idiots out there, step up your offense in the second half. You must be firm and do everything you can to get the football to the front, whether it’s a pass or a personal breakthrough. In addition, in the face of such enormous pressure, I want everyone to keep their heads clear. I do not want to see unnecessary mistakes.” Twain glanced at Lennon. If the kid had not been a hothead in the first half, how would the Forest team have been caught off guard by their opponents?

If it were a score of 0:0, it would have been Be?ikta? trotting off the field dejectedly, not Nottingham Forest.

Lennon knew that Twain had to have been talking about him, so he bowed his head.

“Why did we use the 4-1-4-1 formation? Why did I line up two attacking midfielders in the middle, instead of two defensive midfielders to play 4-2-3-1? While this is a defensive counterattack, the real key is not ‘defense’ but ‘counterattack.’ We were suppressed in the first half so we could only play defense. We must counterattack in the second half! I can’t believe you guys are not infuriated after being crushed like that. Do you want to see the Turks say ‘The European champion is crushed under our feet’?after the game? I don’t f**king want to!”

Twain brandished his hands and then looked at the watch. “There are still a few minutes. Take a break. You can listen to soothing light music, think of your warm home, your beautiful wives and girlfriends to ease your hearts.” He waved his arm and drew a circle in the air, as if the players’ emotions could be soothed with it. “Hey… Are you really scared? Do you need any psychological intervention?” He asked and glared. “Oh… can’t be? We’re not playing football in Iraq!”

His exaggerated expression and the great contrast in his words before and after triggered a burst of laughter from the people in the locker room.

“No one’s scared, boss!”

Twain nodded and continued, “Good that you’re not scared… Anyway, if you feel a little soft in your legs when you get back on the field and hear the deafening boos, you just think about how if we lose this game, there will countless people waiting to tear our corpses apart and no one will sympathize with us. They will only laugh and ridicule us with gusto. And we won’t even have the right to refute it! Because we’re the losers! Losers have no rights!”

※※※

When the Forest players returned to the field, the banner that read “Welcome to Hell” was still there, but no one looked at it anymore.

The Nottingham Forest players suddenly remembered one thing, which they had forgotten in the first half because the game was too intense.

If this was really hell, then their boss was a the devil.

Chapter 594 - Welcome to Your Hell

The second half started and the Be?ikta? fans thought about how to create more noise and pressure on the Forest team when Nottingham Forest gave them a welcome gift.

Be?ikta? kicked off in the first half, so it was the Forest team’s turn in the second half. The Nottingham Forest players seized the opportunity to launch an attack. This time, they showed the strength of the defending champion, so that the home fans could see the big difference in both teams’ strength.

The football was at the feet of the Forest players from start to finish. No matter how hard the Be?ikta? players defended, they had no way to intercept the Forest team’s ball. They dribbled and passed the ball until they were at the front of Be?ikta?’ goal. Then Petrov, who plugged in from the back, finished the shot. It hit in the goalpost range. It was a little too straight on, so it was pounced on by the Be?ikta? goalkeeper, Rü?tü Re?ber.

Although it did not result in a goal, Twain happily said to those around him, “that’s right, this is more like it. This is our true standard!”

It did not matter whether they scored a goal or not in the end for this offensive. The key was to let everyone see the Forest team’s real power. Otherwise, the Be?ikta? fans thought that Nottingham Forest was a weak team that could easily be bullied. Just like how Be?ikta?’ strength was overstated due to their fans, Nottingham Forest’s strength appeared to be underestimated due to the fans.

The attack would serve as a wake-up call for Be?ikta? to tell them that Nottingham Forest was not so easy to deal with. But Sa?lam, who was blinded by the feverish home atmosphere, did not take it seriously. The Forest team had such an attack in the first half and the ball brushed the goalpost and flew out. Didn’t they also play under immense pressure from us as well?

It was no big deal. With such feverish home support, any opponent could forget about playing well there. “Hell’s home ground” was not a gimmick.

He brandished his arms on the sidelines and used exaggerated body language to instruct his players to continue to press ahead with the offense. One goal was not enough. They had to lead with two goals in order to be safe.

Be?ikta? pressed up like a tide rushing forward.

Just like Twain said during the halftime interval, their offensive, though seemingly imposing, was pathetically ineffective. A large crowd swarmed but could only spin outside and not break into the box.

In the end, Be?ikta?’ attack was stopped by Ayala. The fans booed as loud as they did in the first half, but the Forest players who were distracted were getting fewer. Once they saw through the appearance to uncover their true nature, they realized that Be?ikta? was really weak!

Nottingham Forest organized another offensive. Ayala gave the football to van der Vaart.

The Dutchman did not dribble the ball, nor did he stop the ball to observe. He swung his leg for a long pass and kicked the football to the front field.

The Be?ikta? players returned to defend and the Forest team wanted to attack, so they could not give them a chance to return.

In the front field, van Nistelrooy scrambled with the opposing center back, G?khan Zan, for the drop point. The two players jumped at the same time and the result was no one headed the ball!

Zan interfered with van Nistelrooy and van Nistelrooy also did not let go of Zan. The two men tangled together which gave the opportunity to Petrov, who plugged in at a high speed.?He swiftly bypassed the two men and stretched his leg to firmly take down the falling football.

The stopping of the ball won the commentator’s acclaim. His training in technique could clearly be seen in being able to stop a high ball so beautifully during a high-speed run.

Petrov, who stopped the ball, slowed down slightly. The other Turkish center back, ?brahim Toraman, had appeared in front of him. He was the only defensive force other than the goalkeeper, Rü?tü. Be?ikta?’ preferred tactic of letting the defenders press up to attack finally made them suffer.

Having shaken off the entanglement with van Nistelrooy, Zan climbed up from the ground and pounced toward Petrov, intending to double team him to intercept the football.

Petrov jabbed the football through the gap between the two men before they could completely encircle him.

“Van Nistelrooy! No one is marking him!”

Be?ikta?’ only two defenders went to corner Petrov, while, at the same time, van Nistelrooy, who had just got up from the ground, had no one to mark him. Van Nistelrooy was not in Petrov’s line of sight, but when he discovered that Zan had come up to defend against him, he knew it was van Nistelrooy’s chance, so he chose to pass the ball.

Sure enough, while he was surrounded by the two players, he saw van Nistelrooy appear behind the two Turkish defenders and receive his pass. As he had plugged in from behind, he was not offside!

Now there was only Rü?tü in front of the Dutch striker.

Twain was familiar with the Be?ikta? goalkeeper, a veteran player who became famous five years ago in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. His performance in that World Cup was considered perfect. He was instrumental in Turkey being able to make it to a historic third place. When he eventually competed with Marcos for the best goalkeeper for the World Cup, he only lost due to the team’s honor: second runner-up was not as dazzling as the champion, after all.

After that, he transferred to Barcelona. Barcelona had been plagued by a perennial problem of goalkeepers having erratic performances. They hoped that Rü?tü would change that situation and give Barcelona a goalkeeper comparable to the Real Madrid goalkeeper, Casillas.

Unexpectedly, Rü?tü’s performance in Barcelona was disastrous. He was seeing out the rest of his time in Turkey and was not the main goalkeeper even for Be?ikta?. At the age of 34, he was no longer the valiant player. He was able to get to be in the starting lineup in the game because the main goalkeeper, Hakan Ar?kan, was injured.

Rü?tü faced one of the biggest tests since the start of the game. Could he successfully block van Nistelrooy’s shot?

A thunderous hissing erupted the scene. They put pressure on van Nistelrooy, who was going head to head alone against the goalkeeper.

Facing the attacking Rü?tü, van Nistelrooy chose a direct push shot. He pushed the football to the left and Rü?tü misjudged the direction, but after he fell to the ground, his foot fended off the football.

The football and Rü?tü’s foot collided, and it flew to the left.

The hissing from the stands transformed into cheers.

“He threw it out!” The Turkish commentator exclaimed.

Before the Turks had time to be happy, the Forest team’s third offensive wave surged forth.

While G?khan Zan pursued van Nistelrooy, Toraman and Petrov collided together. With Rü?tü on the ground and üzülmez still desperately on his way back to defend, they were relieved when they saw that the football had not flown into the goal. Unknowingly, their footsteps slowed down.

Gareth Bale appeared in Be?ikta?’ penalty area, where the football was flying towards him.

As if under command, the Be?ikta? fans instantly turned their cheers into boos, directed at the young Bale.

Still lying on the ground, Rü?tü turned his head to see Bale move to the side and swing his left foot. He hurriedly got up from the ground and dived back to the goal to block the other player’s shot angle.

Why would Bale be willing to give him another chance to be a hero? The loud boos from the fans did not bother him at all. He might have been young, but Bale would not lose to anyone in terms of mental strength.

He set his position and adjusted his stance. He zoomed in on the incoming football and slightly adjusted his center of gravity. He began to power up and the force spread to his waist and exploded from his abdomen to turn his body as he kicked his left leg to accurately contact the football.

A bang could be heard, and the football was in the air, where it changed direction and flew toward the goal!

Rü?tü struggled to throw his body out, and it was hard for him to do such a difficult move at 34. He straightened his hands as far as he could to expand his defensive area to try to fend off the football.

However, he was still not high enough, and the football flew over him to hit the underside of the crossbar. It bounced straight down and smashed inside the goal line!

“What a great GOOOOAL!!” The British commentator was finally able to roar after he held back for most of the game, “Nottingham Forest equalizes the score and it’s 1:1! A terrific volley from Gareth Bale!”

After he scored the goal, Bale did not run around excitedly. Instead, he put his index finger on his lips and ran toward the grandstand where the Turkish fans were most concentrated.

No matter how his teammates hugged him, he kept the pose. He did not care what objects were being thrown from the stands. He was just going to use this moment to vent his anger.

The Be?ikta? fans in the stands did not do as they were told. Their boos got louder and mixed with all sorts of insults. Bale ignored it and turned around to hug his teammates.

※※※

“Zan and Toraman surrounded Petrov and thought that the Forest team’s attack was over. They didn’t expect Petrov to poke the football out in between them to van Nistelrooy. Rü?tü blocked van Nistelrooy’s potential shot. Everyone all thought that the Forest team’s attack was finally over and it was the end of the matter... But Gareth Bale appeared in front of everyone and he scored the equalizing goal! It was a beautiful goal, a boost to the morale!” The commentator gushed about the process of the goal.

Twain high-fived the people in the technical area in celebration. What was it like to attack at multiple points, advance layer by layer, and at the same time roll in like the tide? Watch and learn, you Be?ikta? brats, this is it!

Sa?lam was furious at the goal concede, as his players had slackened at the last minute and lost their target, which led to Bale’s appearance in the danger zone without any defense at all.

He kicked a water bottle angrily on the sidelines. As a former Be?ikta? striker, he still had his footwork skills. The bottle landed at the feet of the fourth official.

The fourth official looked down at the water bottle that rolled and stopped at his feet. Then he looked up at Sa?lam. The furious Be?ikta? manager apparently did not have the time to care about the little details. He brandished his arms on the sidelines and yelled angrily at his players.

The fourth official picked up the water bottle and thought about it before he put it aside. He was not going to look for trouble with Sa?lam.

※※※

The game continued.

Nottingham Forest was in high spirits after the equalizer. Even if the Be?ikta? fans in the stands created all kinds of noises, they had no way of interfering the Forest players, because through this goal, they realized that Be?ikta? just used the fans’ powerful momentum to intimidate their opponent.

Once the mask was revealed, Nottingham Forest turned back to the Champions League winner that swept through Europe and eventually reached the top.

Be?ikta?’ oppressive style of play had no effect on the Forest team, but allowed the Forest team to seize the opportunity of their empty rear defense area to fight back frequently, causing a pandemonium in Be?ikta?’ rear defensive line.

Sa?lam paced back and forth in the technical area. He woefully discovered that the atmosphere gradually lost its hold on Nottingham Forest. The goal seemed to have woken them all up.

The Forest team gradually took the control of the game. They used their more outstanding skills to lead Be?ikta? around in circles.

No matter how loud the home fans booed, they could not help the Be?ikta? players grab the ball. No matter how horrifying the fans might have been, they could not go up and grab the ball in person.

When George Wood once again grabbed the ball from Delgado’s feet with a fierce shovel and the referee made no move, the home fans’ disgruntled hisses rang out in the stands. The Be?ikta? manager, Sa?lam was furious and angrily scolded the referee.

He spoke in Turkish, which Twain did not understand, but he saw the referee suddenly halt the game with a whistle, but not because he wanted to give Wood a yellow card. Instead, he ran straight to the Turkish technical area and then in front of the fans in the stadium, he weathered the thunderous boos and he flashed a card at Sa?lam, who was still in swearing… and it was red!

The Be?ikta? substitutes’ bench and the people in the technical area were stunned and stared blankly at the referee’s hand gesture, which pointed to the tunnel. It took several seconds for someone to come and defend their manager.

Twain added fuel to the fire. When he saw Sa?lam was sent off, he did the move used to celebrate a goal — he clenched his fist and fist pumped a few times.

His provocative action triggered more clutter from the stands behind him. Twain returned to the technical area, clapping and not caring about the rain of clutter outside.

Regardless of how the Be?ikta? team explained or protested, the agitated Sa?lam’s verbal abuse of the presiding referee was a fact. According to the rules, the referee had the right to banish him to the grandstand. The referee stood in front of the group of upset Turkish coaches and players with his arm pointing to the exit. He did not put it down and his face was taut which obviously meant: Please get out of here!

Twain was still clapping in his seat, which caused the Turkish fans to gnash their teeth.

Finally, still swearing, Sa?lam walked toward the grandstand and left the technical area. Twain stepped forward just in time to see his opponent off the field with a smile on his face.

The poor Sa?lam saw Twain, who deliberately wanted him to see it. He turned his head to glare at Twain as he muttered. His words were probably not pleasant. but Twain could not understand it anyway. He only sent him away with a smile, as if the two men had just met at halftime.

He was sent off, so there was no chance for him to laugh to the end.

※※※

The manager’s send off was an extremely heavy blow to Be?ikta?. The cheers of the fans at the scene turned into a more irritating noise in their ears.

Then in a spurt of energy, the Forest team scored another two goals consecutively in the remaining twenty minutes and defeated the Turkish powerhouse team with a score of 3:1 to obtain their first win in this season’s Champions League.

After the game, all the members of the Forest team safely left the field under the protection of the riot police who lifted up protective shields. They celebrated in the locker room for an hour and waited for the fanatical Turkish fans to disperse before they left the stadium in the bus and returned to the hotel where they stayed.

The Forest team picked up a win. What about Twain? In addition to the victory, he also reaped a bunch of souvenirs.

Chapter 595 - The Cell Phone

Nottingham Forest left Istanbul. However, the war of words between the English and Turkish media had just begun. Twain leaked the incident of the Be?ikta? fans’ all-night party outside the hotel the Forest team had stayed in to the English media after the game. The off-field antics had always been very popular with the media.

The English media accused the Turkish fans of being uncouth and that disturbing the opposing players’ rest was despicable. Some English press said Be?ikta?’ discipline on home ground was so poor that there was always clutter being thrown from the stands during the game, but no substantive action was taken by the police force to stop the lack of sportsmanship.

They were well-documented matters, captured by photographs provided by the Forest team, which showed the Be?ikta? fans under the hotel and creating noise to disturb the Forest team.

It looked like the Turkish media could only shoulder the blackened name.

But they soon found a weapon to fight back.

There were photographs that captured Twain pick up a red cell phone from the ground as he walked out of the technical area to command the game. Furthermore, it showed that he tossed the phone back into the technical area, which suggested that he was going to take what should have rightfully belonged to others.

It paralleled the controversial red card that banished Sa?lam to the stands, and the Turkish media accused Tony Twain of being a thief. It was a double entendre that pointed out that Twain not only stole a cell phone, but he also stole the victory that was supposed to belong to Be?ikta?.

As the media hyped up the matter, the cell phone Twain picked up became a focus of public attention.

After the media magnified the photographs and discovered that it was a red Apple iPhone, Apple took the opportunity to get free advertising out of it.

A reporter went to interview Twain and asked if he had actually “stolen” the cell phone. Twain shook his head. “No, I’m just taking care of it for the time being. I’ve been on the phone with the owner and promised to give it back to her when she comes to the away game in England.”

The reporter noticed that Twain had used “she” and not “he.” He followed up with a question. “A beautiful woman?”

Twain was flummoxed by the question. He immediately looked at the reporter like he was an alien. “Mr. Reporter, you may be able to know what another person looks like by their voice, but I can’t.”

The reporter also realized his idiotic question, but Twain did not say that it did not matter if it was a beautiful woman or not. He sensed that it was a gimmick that could be hyped.

The story behind the cell phone was a little more interesting than a football game.

The night of the match, Nottingham Forest did not spend the night at the hotel. Instead, they opted to fly back to the United Kingdom on an evening flight. As Twain turned the cell phone off in the stadium and then could not turn the cell phone on when he boarded the plane, he only remembered to turn it on when he arrived in London.

As a result, he received a call the moment he turned on the cell phone.

Twain hesitated on whether or not to answer the call, as it was not his cell phone, after all. He was busy celebrating their victory after the game and forgot. He did not expect to bring it to England.

While Twain hesitated, the phone ringing stopped. It seemed that the caller got impatient and hung up on their own. However, Twain did not have time to catch his breath before the ringing started again.

This time, the somewhat annoyed Twain picked up the phone, “Hello...”

“Quickly give me back my phone!” A female voice rang out in broken English from the other end of the line.

Struck by the rush of words, Twain was delighted. “Dear madam, shouldn’t you be more polite and speak respectfully when you have something to ask of people?”

“You see anyone speak nicely to a thief, sir!” the female voice fiercely retorted. Although her English was not fluent, she expressed her anger clearly.

“Hello, dear lady, if this was your cell phone, then you threw it to me yourself. How can you say that I stole it?”

“I...” The female voice was momentarily tongue-tied.

She did hurl it. She had wanted to strike Twain but did not expect to miss him. Furthermore, she did not expect that Twain would lean over to pick up her cell phone and throw it into to the technical area for himself!

When she threw her cell phone, she was caught up with the atmosphere of the stadium and wanted to teach the opposing manager a little lesson. The people around her threw coins and lighters. But she was not a smoker, so she had no lighter on her. She also did not carry any coins with her. The only thing she had that she could throw was the iPhone that she had just bought not long ago. Consequently, in a moment of excitement...

When she calmed down, she regretted her actions. She would not have regretted throwing other things, but she had managed to buy the cell phone after much difficulty. The iPhone had not been officially launched in Turkey. Trying to buy one and be one of the first users took a lot of effort.

She had thought to call her own phone and negotiate to get her cell phone back. She did not expect to call countless times only to find that the phone was turned off. The more she called the angrier she got. When Twain finally managed to pick up the phone, she naturally would not talk nicely.

“Even if I threw it down, I did not want to abandon it! It’s just that... I was caught up in a moment of excitement... So, since you took it without my consent, that’s stealing!” The female voice paused for a moment before she finally came up with an argument.

However, Twain laughed happily. He found that the person on the other end of the line was not combative at all. If he were to be serious about this, the one to lose would not be him. Therefore, he said in a joking tone, “hey, madam, you tried to smash me in the head with this thing. Do you know what happens when you get hit in the head by such a big object?”

There was silence on the other end. The silence went on a little longer this time, so long that it made Twain think the cell phone signal was faulty.

“Well...” the female voice said with some reluctance, “I apologize for my impulsive and reckless behavior Mr. Twain... Now you can give back my phone!”

“Ah, even though your apology is not very sincere, I can accept it. It’s just that, madam, I don’t think I can return the phone to you right now,” Twain said with a grin.

“Why? I’ve already apologized. What else do you want?!” The deferential voice from her apology was driven away by a scream.

Twain moved the cell phone a little further away from his ear. The boos and roars of the 20,000 crazy Turkish fans at ?n?nü Stadium did not shock his ears, but the voice was lethal.

“Well... Because I’m in England, madam.”

Once he said it, there was another silence. After a while, the woman said, “you can mail it back to me.”

Twain shook his head like a rattle-drum. “No way. Your apology lacked sincerity. I could return your cell phone, but I do not like to be fooled. I appreciate sincerity, and your apology was not sincere enough.”

“You just said you could accept it...” The woman protested.

“I’ve changed my mind.” Twain behaved like a rascal. “I need an apology that is sincere enough for me to consider returning your cell phone back.”

Seeing that it was silence on the other end, Twain said, “well, doesn’t Be?ikta? have an away game on November 6th? Since you’re a Be?ikta? fan, you’re coming to watch the away game, right?”

Twain paused. There was still no sound. It was unclear if the other person was still on the call.

“Come to Nottingham, call this cell phone, we meet before the game, you apologize in person, and I’ll give you the cell phone. I promise there won’t be any media. What do you think?” Twain did not choose after the game because of any variables there could be after Be?ikta? lost that would make it inappropriate for the two of them to meet. So he arranged to meet before the game. Even if the Forest team beat Be?ikta? by eight goals, he only needed to care about cheering and celebrating his team’s victory and not worry about the issue if it would be awkward for him and a Be?ikta? fan to meet.

“Well... all right.” At last, the voice came from the other end of the line, albeit with some reluctance. “I’m definitely going to come and cheer for the team anyway... But I hope you can keep your word, Mr. Twain.”

Twain nodded. “I’m a man of my word. If I don’t keep my promise, then I’m not a man.”

The woman was so weak that Twain could force himself to continue to fight with her. If it were a different person who insisted that Twain mail it to Turkey, he would also be at his wit’s end. He would have been illegally holding other people’s belongings if he did not return it.

After he settled the matter of the cell phone, Twain put it aside. Once she called, he would go return the phone. With two more weeks to go before the second cycle of the Champions League group stage, Twain was worried that the phone would run out of power, so he turned off the phone and left it at home.

※※※

Due to the unexpected appearance of the cell phone, everyone’s attention shifted from the game itself to the gossip outside the field. Few people cared about the outcome of the game except for the Forest fans.

Only Pierce Brosnan from Nottingham Evening Post wrote a review and hailed Twain’s team smoothly getting through the crisis of their lack of victory, the players’ fighting, and how they responded to the irksome people who had waited to see the Forest team with an away victory. Taking into account the feverish state of the opponent’s home atmosphere, the three points were a challenge to obtain, which proved another aspect of the Forest team’s strength.

However, Twain’s team did not help Brosnan and lost again in the league tournament.

Back in England, the Forest team undertook a full player rotation for the league tournament. The continuous playing had left many people tired and in unstable form. In the end, the Forest team lost 0:1 to the unbeatable Liverpool in a clash of the titans. Liverpool finally vented the rancor in their hearts. Twain was a little upset, too, but he had no other option. The team had competed continuously, and the opponent was a strong team. Without any respite at all, he had to use rotation to sacrifice immediate interests to secure the long-term benefits. He was mentally prepared for the result before he went to Liverpool.

The English media did not hit him while he was down. It was not that they had suddenly become merciful, but that there were far more important matters than Twain’s misfortune. Most of England’s mainstream media outlets were hyping up the annoying matter of England team’s UEFA European Championship qualifier.

The English football world was very lively, with the exception of Nottingham Forest’s “scandal” of fighting among the players. In the qualifier for the UEFA European Championship on October 17th, England lost 1:2 to Russia in an away game.?McClaren’s team was pushed to the brink. Their fate was no longer in their own hands, but at the mercy of others. Before the game, a scandal also broke out about Ashley Young’s explicit messages, which caused an uproar that added to the away loss. His team was facing a life-and-death war and he was chatting with naked women before the game. People found it unacceptable.

Luckily, Ashley Young was no longer on the Forest team. Otherwise, the Wilford training base would be overcrowded again.

But compared to a scuffle between teammates and an online chat, the England team’s predicament of not being to advance was the biggest scandal.

McClaren came under fire, and perhaps Ashley Young bore a little of the anger from the English people, but tracing back to the cause, it was McClaren’s incompetence as a manager.

When the team was in critical condition during the first half of the year, he finally remembered Beckham, who had done well in Real Madrid, and called him back to the team. Beckham was abandoned again after he helped the England team through three assists in two games.

In the game against Russia, even though McClaren recalled Beckham and took him to Moscow with him, he was not given enough time. He only played in the last eight minutes, when England was behind and the team was a mess. Beckham could not serve any function when he went. He was not a god. He could only watch the team lose the battle of life and death. And when he returned to the club, he was injured during training, and could only be reduced to a guest of honor for a couple of games.

That was what made Twain angry. I had no problem when you used my player to play for the country because my player also wanted to play for the country. But you f**king took my player to Moscow, thousands of miles away, only to give him eight minutes to save the entire team. I won’t mention how that was overly demanding, but my player had to fly for more than ten hours back and forth between the two locations for eight minutes of play. The journey exhausted him. When he was back at training, he was injured, which was obviously caused by fatigue. Who can I look to when I encounter a situation like this? If you don’t trust my people and don’t want to use them, then don’t take them. You could have given Beckham a break. Instead, you squandered the few days, just to let him on for eight minutes. What do you take my player for?

Twain criticized McClaren in the press at the time, but McClaren was smart enough to remain silent. He had just lost a crucial game, so it was inappropriate to say anything. He could only allow time to deal with everything. He just stated that he was focused on preparing for the last real fight and did not want to be disturbed by the media.

Twain replied: Get ready, my ass! It’s more important for the Football Association to start preparing to choose a successor.

In fact, Twain’s fierce words could not be taken at face value. The emotional outburst was about how McClaren buried England. Truthfully, he was secretly delighted because McClaren’s poor performance proved that his previous tireless crusade was correct, prophetic, and definitely not just a personal feud. No one was going to say that Twain was an annoying man, relentlessly going after a man. The entire country was denouncing McClaren by words and writing.

Twain was not interested in if England had really been buried. He had no feelings for the country at all, and his feelings for football in this country were no better. If England was ruined, let her be ruined. Anyway, if McClaren had led the team into the finals though pure luck, they would only have had a bigger loss.

Twain was not able to care about the fate of the England team, but the English players in his team were bound to be affected.

George Wood was also taken to Moscow, but he was more pitiful than Beckham. The?midfield meat grinder, who was always taciturn and unpopular in the national team, did not even get a second of playing. Gerrard and Lampard were packed in the middle of England’s midfield, leaving no opportunities for George Wood to play at all.

The reason why George Wood had no chance on the England team was because he was seen as being not as well-rounded as Lampard and Gerrard. Other than defense, Wood had no skills and was not as competitive.

Twain was dismissive of that view, but since he was not the England team’s manager, he could not do anything except to scold McClaren in the press.

If England could not even get past the qualifying round, Twain was only sorry that Beckham was unable to play in the last international competition of his career, and George Wood would not be known to more people in the world.

He had little to do with the national team. His abuse of McClaren was only a pastime in the end. The club’s results were his lifeblood. If England could not advance, the English players on his team would be able to have a nice relaxing vacation the next summer.

The two-game losing streak in the league tournament and the subsequent “devil’s competition schedule” was what gave Twain the real headache and pulled his effort and attention.

Chapter 596 - Someone’s Waiting at Home

The Forest team suffered two consecutive defeats in the league tournament. The most immediate effect was that their ranking fell.

When Twain used to play the Football Manager video game, there had been times when he had led the team to win in a row before. He thought since the team had a winning streak and ranked first, he would be many points ahead of the second place team. However, he checked the league table and found that the difference between him and the second place team was only three or five points. He was quite surprised and thought that the computer had an unfair system.

Twain was now deeply aware that it was not a trick by the computer, but a fact of the football tournament.

When his team had the best opening in history with a five-game winning streak plus nine rounds of being undefeated after the start of the new season, he thought that there would be a wide gap between first and second place. He did not expect to lose two consecutive games and have the Forest team fall from first to third.

Arsenal, who had been close on their heels, took the opportunity to take the top spot in the league, while Manchester United, who also had twenty-six points, came in second because their number of goals scored was fewer than Arsenal’s. Manchester City and Forest had the same number of points with twenty-five points. Manchester City was in fourth place because they had fewer scored goals than the Forest team.

Liverpool was fifth with twenty-one points after eleven rounds of games.

Chelsea, in sixth place, was led by Mourinho. The team that had been impressive and boundless for several years, had encountered a lot of trouble. The contradiction between Abramovich and Mourinho, the contradiction between Mourinho and the technical advisor, Avram Grant, and the contradiction within the locker room. In short, there were many contradictions. If Chelsea had not won big against Manchester City with 6:0 in the 11th round, the media speculated that Mourinho’s days at Stamford Bridge would have come to an end.

Chelsea’s situation made everyone think that Mourinho would be dismissed in the next round of the league tournament, but every time the next round came, people found that the person sitting in the Chelsea manager’s seat was still him.

Manchester City’s surprising breakout at the start of the season squeezed them into the top four, but Twain did not take this team seriously. An upstart team like Manchester City lacked adequate inner substance and stability. Their lack in this area was bound to lead to ups and downs within the team over the long season. One of the most important things a team needed was stability. An unstable team would be knocked out midway through the season. In Twain’s view, Manchester City was bound to fall behind in the later part of the league tournament. Their crushing 0:6 defeat by Chelsea was a sign.

The traditional strong teams in the Premier League — Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea — were what Twain cared about. Only these four teams could pose a huge threat to the Forest team’s goals this season.

Incidentally, before this season, Twain wrote in his column that the team’s focus for the season was the league tournament. He did not state he was going to win the league tournament, but everyone knew that was what he meant. After he achieved the Champions League title, it was typical to want to take the league title.

Based on last season, no one would say that it was Twain’s pipe dream. Instead, they paid more attention, so the resistance that the Forest team faced in the league became stronger.

You said that you want take the league title, but you’re so arrogant and take us lightly, so we will show you how good we are in the league!

With two consecutive defeats in the league tournament, the Forest team gave their opponents hope. They all wanted to take advantage of the situation to widen the gap. Because it was the time for the Forest team’s devil’s calendar. The “devil’s calendar” did not mean that the Forest team needed to play two or three games a week, but that the Forest team’s recent opponents were not weak. In the 10th round, they played against Manchester United at home and Liverpool in an away game. They lost both games. They would play against Tottenham Hotspur in the 12th round in an away challenge, a home game against Chelsea in the 13th round, an away game against Arsenal in the 14th round and a home ground challenge against Manchester City in the 15th round.

Many people looked from October 20th to December 1st when the calendar came out. It was back to back games between the strong Premier League teams. The fans looked forward to such a period so that they would have wonderful games to watch. The Premier League broadcast understood the feelings of the fans. So, when they arranged the competition calendar and broadcast schedule, the game times of these strong teams were staggered. That way, the fans could watch all the wonderful games without missing one.

The fans were delighted but the Forest team was miserable.

There was also a Champions League group match to play. And because they did not win the first two games, they had to play well in the next three games if they wanted to prevent the awkward situation of “the defending champion team not being able to advance” from really happening. Winning was the only way out. It was hard to say what would happen when they were under the pressure of competing in two tournaments at the same time.

※※※

In the 12th round of the league tournament, the Forest team went away to challenge Tottenham Hotspur. Compared with several other opponents in the devil’s calendar, Tottenham Hotspur was considered a weaker team. They were the Forest team’s only chance to receive a respite in the devil’s calendar — if they could beat Tottenham, they could stop the team from slipping further and find a spot to survive in the squeeze among the powerful teams.

But if they were to lose to Tottenham Hotspur, their situation would become very dangerous. Mourinho’s Chelsea would definitely not let go of the chance to beat them while they were down, not to mention his urgent need to use a victory to strengthen his position. Although given Abramovich’s character, Twain wondered even if Mourinho had brought back the Champions League trophy, he might still have been fired due to their conflicts.

Arsenal had no reason to let the Forest team off on their own home ground. The prospects of the rising Nottingham Forest team were limitless the past two seasons, shrouding the prospects of the traditional strong teams. Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea had all lost to Twain. Although their personal relationship was not bad, Wenger would not have any qualms during the game. No, Manager Wenger’s care would be to beat his “arrogant and conceited” friend on his own home ground.

With the pressure to score a victory, the Forest team went to North London. Eventually, they beautifully defeated Tottenham Hotspur with a score of 3:1 at White Hart Lane stadium.

This was a crucial win, so Twain was pretty excited when he celebrated the victory at White Hart Lane stadium in front of many home fans. It drew some criticism after the game, with some people arguing that his brash action was disrespectful to his opponent. Twain did not care. Such criticism was as commonplace for him as eating. He would hurl all the critical voices behind him, like excrement.

Some media outlets wanted to become famous by rebuking him, so he would not give them that chance.

Twain used a rotation in this game, but not all eleven players were rotated. He relied on half of his main players and half on substitutes to win against Tottenham Hotspur in the away game and warm up for the midweek Champions League game.

On November 6th, Nottingham Forest would host Be?ikta?, the team that proved to be the weakest in the group, at home. If they wanted to determine their spot in the advancement out of the group and lay a solid foundation for a smooth ride through the league’s “devil’s calendar,” they had to win the game. Therefore, despite the fact that it was a home match and the opponent’s strength was not powerful, Twain decided to deploy the main force and use the strongest lineup to welcome the opponent. After all, they were guests who traveled a long way.

※※※

Twain had not forgotten that there was one more thing to finish before this game.

After he ate a lunch meticulously prepared by Shania, the pair watched the sports news on the television: Turkey’s Be?ikta? team had arrived in Nottingham.

While the two of them watched the news, the red iPhone, placed on the coffee table after Twain turned it back on, rang out with a melodious musical sound, which was a popular pop song “God Is A Girl” from the German band Groove Coverage.

Both of their eyes were suddenly attracted by the cell phone. Twain did not immediately get up to pick up the call. Shania bit a spoon with a smirk on her face. “The beautiful creditor comes knocking at the door.”

Twain glared at her before he got up to answer the phone.

Instead of taking the cell phone upstairs, he sat on the couch. “Hello? Ah... yes. Have you arrived at Nottingham? Well... This evening? Right now?” Twain glanced at the dining table somewhat awkwardly. “But I haven’t eaten yet, madam. You want to buy me lunch? Uh...” This time Twain glanced at Shania.

To his disappointment, Shania was eating with her head down and did not notice his meaningful glance.

“Er...” He hesitated again.

Shania finally spoke. “It’s all right, Uncle Tony. You go ahead.” Then she raised her head and smiled at Twain. “But you have to leave and come back early. Watch out for the reporters.”

Twain nodded and agreed to the offer over the phone. He also confirmed the location of the meeting. Then he put on his coat, put the cell phone in his pocket, and used his own phone to call to Landy James to pick him up.

While waiting for the cab, Twain sat down again at the dining table and ate his meal.

Shania felt a little surprised. “Didn’t someone invite you to lunch? Why are you still eating? You’re not going to be able lunch later.”

“I have a big appetite. People gave me the nickname “King of Appetites.” Twain patted his stomach. Compared to when he had just transmigrated here, this body now had a small belly. So he was not lying when he said he could eat.

Shania did not smile at Twain. She reached for the remote control and switched the television channel to the news station.

“Since when do you care about the international events?” Twain asked with a laugh.

Shania rolled her eyes at him. “Since now.”

The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Just then a car horn sounded outside the house. He was saved by the bell.

Twain hurriedly took his leave.

※※※

In the car, Twain remembered that he had forgotten to ask the cell phone owner’s name and about her appearance. How would he recognize her later?

He found that he worried for nothing. He had just gotten out of the car when a fashionably dressed young woman came up to him and asked, “excuse me, are you... Mr. Tony Twain?”

Twain thought it was strange that a stranger would know him, and he nodded. “Yes, I am. You are...”

“I’m the owner of that.” After she confirmed his identity, the woman’s tone of speech was not as careful. She introduced herself by pointing to the red phone in Twain’s hand.

“Ah...” Twain quickly looked at the woman in front of him. He wanted to see what a crazy fan who dared to smash him with her own phone looked like. Under the neon lights on the street, Twain found that the woman had a head of glossy, black, curly hair and regular features. Although she could not be considered an exceptional beauty, she was dignified.

He looked at her clothing as she stood on the side of the road, holding a small purse. She could be from a wealthy family.

Could anyone imagine her face covered with face paint and middle finger extended as she pouted to rain curses of “F**k you” and do something like throwing a cell phone to smash someone in the back of the head?”

It was impolite of Twain to stare for a long time, except he was shocked at the great contrast between the two images and did not realize. The other’s face had darkened, but she could not easily flare up because her beloved cell phone was still in the hands of the other man. She cleared her throat, “Mr. Twain!”

“Ah... Oh! I’m sorry.” Twain averted his gaze. Why should I apologize? Isn’t the shen going to apologize to me in person this evening? “Well, I just did not think that... a beautiful lady like yourself, who wanted to hit my head with a cell phone, is actually a fanatical fan. For a moment, I could not accept this cruel reality and was lost in my thoughts. But this... damn it.” he swore under his breath. “You know I’m Tony Twain, but I don’t know who you are. That’s not fair, is it?”

“It’s rude to rush to ask a lady’s name, swear in front of a lady, and stare at a lady without turning your eyes away, Mr. Twain,” she responded in a cold tone.

“Hey.” Twain turned around and walked toward Landy’s can parked by the road.

She did not think that Tony Twain would quickly turn hostile, and hurriedly gave chase. “Aren’t you going to return my cell phone?”

“I’m sorry, madam. I said if you apologize in good faith, I’ll return it. But you don’t even want to tell me your name, and I can’t be too bothered with you. This cell phone...” Twain raised the phone in his hands. “I’m keeping it.” With that, he opened the car door and was about to step in.

The woman reacted swiftly and tucked her hands between the door and the car. If Twain were to close it, she would surely hurt her hand.

“All right, all right, I apologize, I sincerely apologize to you, and in order to fully express my sincerity, I’ll also invite you to lunch.” She pointed to the Turkish restaurant not far behind her. “I’ve already made a reservation.”

Twain turned his head and looked at her. “Can you tell me your name now, madam?”

The woman said with some reluctance, “Shila Amzah.”

Twain put his feet out of the car and then said to Landy, who sat in front to watch the show, “sorry, Landy, it looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer.”

Landy laughed. “It’s okay. Just do what you have to do, Tony!”

Twain closed the car door and turned to look at the woman. “Madam Amzah...”

“I’m not married, yet, and I’m quite young.”

“Very well, Miss Amzah. Your appearance really made it impossible for me to reconcile you as a football hooligan...”

“I’m not a football hooligan! Only the British Empire produced and exported such things,” she mocked.

She did not expect that Twain would not mind to her ridicule of his native land and did not counter with any sarcastic comment. He merely nodded. “Well, you were just an ordinary fan who were caught up in the heat of the moment. I’m grateful that you kept your promise, so...” Twain took the cell phone from his hand and placed it into her hand. “I’m also a man of my words as well. It’s yours again, Miss Amzah.”

He opened the car door and intended to get in. This time, instead of putting her hand between the car door, she looked at him oddly and asked, “did I not make myself clear? I said I would invite you to lunch as a sign of my sincerity. The reservation had been made. Don’t you believe me? Mr. Tony Twain.”

Twain closed the car door, poked his head out, and said to the astonished-looking Shila Amzah, “I am sorry, thank you for your sincerity. Of course, I believe you, Miss Amzah, and I do not doubt at all the sincerity of such a beautiful young lady.” Twain smiled at her, which was the first time he had smiled since they met.

“Oh, I know, it’s because I’m a fan of the Be?ikta? team, and you’re Nottingham Forest’s... manager, so it’s not convenient for us to eat together, is it?” While she said that, Shila Amzah suddenly realized that he was the manager of her team’s opponent.

Twain shook his head. “No, it has nothing to do with who I am and whom I’m going to eat with.” He thought and added. “I can’t have lunch now because, um, because... someone’s waiting for me to eat at home. We were having lunch when you called.”

Amzah nodded, with a look of dawning realization. Twain knew she was going to get it wrong, and as expected... “I see, it turned out that Mr. Twain’s wife is waiting for you. I understand this very well.” Shila Amzah clapped. “Well then, I’ll... well, is it convenient to leave your cell phone number, Mr. Twain?”

“Why do you want my phone number? You’re not interested in me, are you, Miss Amzah?” Twain quipped with a grin. Since she could misunderstand him, he did not mind taking the opportunity to fight back.

“Who would like a man with a wife?” Amzah rolled her eyes at Twain. “I’m just... well, I just don’t think that Mr. Twain is like what you’re rumored to be, um...”

Twain smiled. “Hey, what’s the rumor about me?”

“You’re a demon with long horns, wings, a tail, fiery eyes, fangs for teeth, and a tongue longer than a woman’s braids.” When Amzah tilted her head to the side, her girlish expression looked somewhat lovely.

“Did the Turkish media say that, too? The media all over the world are the same, unimaginative...” Twain sighed. “If I’m a real demon, then the Forest team wouldn’t have had to play so hard in ?n?nü Stadium.”

“But you guys won in the end, and our disturbances did not affect you at all! I know your British media labeled the Turkish stadium as ‘Hell’s stadium.’ But you made it back alive. If you’re not a demon, then what are you?”

Sitting at the front and secretly listening in on the conversation, Landy, the driver, could not help but laugh. Twain glanced at him and turned around to say goodbye to Amzah. “It’s a pity you’re not a Forest fan, Miss Amzah. I think I kind of like you... Ah, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that kind of like. It’s just that my opinion of you has changed, just like you’ve changed your view of me. Very nice to meet you, my phone number is...” He gave her his cell phone number.

“Well, goodbye, beautiful Miss Turkey.” Twain waved to Shila Amzah, standing by the side of the road, and motioned for Landy to drive.

“Goodbye, Mr. Demon.” Amzah held her red iPhone as she waved to Twain. Will there be a chance to meet again in the future? Probably not... No, it’s actually easy to see him, if I watch sports news and read sports newspapers, I will always see him.

※※※

Sitting inside the car, Landy suddenly asked, “Tony, when she misunderstood you and Shania, why didn’t you explain?” Landy was one of the few people who knew that Shania was living in Twain’s place. He was aware of Shania’s identity and knew the relationship between the two of them, so he found it strange.

Twain leaned against the back seat, turned his head to look out of the window at the night view and muttered, “how do you explain that? It’s really hard to explain this sort of thing. It’s not something that can be explained in one or two sentences. If she’s going to misunderstand, then let her misunderstand. I don’t care what people think of me.”

Twain twisted back to see Landy open his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but did not say it.

“What do you want to say?” he asked.

“No, nothing... It’s just that I think that lady was very cute.”

“Focus on your driving. You’re going to run a red light if you keep thinking about women.”

Landy chuckled. “Believe me, Tony, I’m an experienced driver. You’re a big shot, and you’re always in my cab when you need to go somewhere. It’s not very nice for your image.”

“What’s wrong with that? I’m too lazy to find my own parking space, and can’t be bothered to worry about washing and maintaining a car. When I want to go out, I just give you a call and you’re here. How nice is that?” Twain said as he looked at Landy in the rearview mirror. “I’m quite a lazy man and you’re aware of that, Landy.”

But Landy knew that Twain could not be lazy. He was taking care of his own business.

“Thank you, Tony.”

“Huh?”

“Thank you for letting me see the Forest team pick up the Champions League trophy again.”

“Ha! The championship trophy? If you want, I’ll get it again! As many as you want!” Twain and Landy both laughed.

※※※

When the door to the house was opened, Shania was surprised to see Tony Twain. She turned her head and looked at the quartz clock hanging on the wall. “It’s only been half an hour... You guys ate so fast?”

Twain did not answer. Instead, he took off his coat, walked in and looked at the empty table. Then he turned around and asked, “where’s lunch?”

“I’m done eating, the rest...” Shania watched Twain walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. “There’s no need to look. I threw the rest away.”

“Ah...” Twain whined plaintively. “It’s not right to waste food, Shania.”

Shania stopped watching television and got up from the couch. She tilted her head and followed him into the kitchen. “Haven’t you had your fill?”

“I did not eat lunch.” Twain stubbornly rummaged through the fridge, but he could not find anything except a few bottles of beer.

When Shania did not speak, he crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side.

Twain noticed Shania’s expression. He turned to look at her. “What are you looking at?”

Shania suddenly smiled brightly and replied, “nothing. Are you hungry? I’ll make something for you! What would you like to eat? Fried eggs on toast, pasta with tomato sauce? Baked potatoes?”

Then, without waiting for Twain to answer, she busied herself with her apron, and hummed a tune that Twain did not know.

This time, it was Twain’s turn to stand beside her and look foolish.

— I got it! It turns out that Mr. Twain’s wife is waiting for you at home.

— Actually, it’s not my wife. It’s just… just a tenant who lives with me...

※※※

During the next night’s game, although a number of Turkish fans had arrived in Nottingham to cheer for Be?ikta?, Nottingham Forest, with its favorable conditions and timing, wildly flounced the leaderless Be?ikta? with a score of 8:0. They had no mercy.

The Forest team rained all their frustration from the league tournament down on Be?ikta? and set a new record of the Champions League’s widest margin with a score of 8:0. The previous record was held by Juventus in the 2003 season and Arsenal this season. They tied with AS Monaco’s record of eight goals for a single game set in 2003.

The cheers in the City Ground stadium went up a notch with every goal scored. By the end of the game, it was so loud that even the television commentator was unable to work properly. The atmosphere was not inferior to Istanbul’s ?n?nü stadium in any way.

The fanatical Forest fans declared to the Turkish fans with their actions that they could turn the City Ground stadium into a hell with their singing without having to throw litter onto the field or set off fireworks.

The day after the game, numerous media outlets reported on the huge score difference from the game.

The Turkish media lamented that one of the top three domestic powerhouses, Be?ikta?, was unexpectedly so vulnerable in Britain and was wiped out by the other team by eight goals. “Fresh blood flowed through the English Channel and dyed the Bosporus Strait and the Black Sea red. This is a disgraceful day for Be?ikta?!”

Pierce Brosnan, a columnist for the Nottingham Evening Post wrote an article to praise the great victory: “With the Demon Twain watching over the hell’s home ground, a bloodbath ensued.”

Amid a chorus of exclamations, only the Sun announced that they had a piece of news that was more astounding than the score of 8:0: “Twain’s second rumored girlfriend mysteriously shows up before the game!”

They had expected Twain to come to a press conference like the previous time to attack or clarify. However, Twain basically ignored them, giving them nothing. Other than a few media outlets reprinting the news, everyone was still more interested in the 8:0 game.

※※※

On a sunny morning, Shania waved a copy of The Sun, which had just been retrieved from the outside, and smiled at Twain. “Your rumored girlfriend, Uncle Tony! And it’s still the second one!”

Twain rolled his eyes at her. “When did we get a subscription of The Sun?”

Shania wrinkled her nose and snorted. “How could I possibly have known Uncle Tony’s latest exploits had it not been for the dedication of The Sun’s reporters?” She looked down again at the picture in the newspapers. “There are no pictures of you talking and laughing in the restaurant.”

“That’s because we didn’t have lunch together at all.” Twain spread both hands.

“Why not? She’s beautiful.”

“I returned her phone, said there was someone waiting for me at home to have lunch together, and came home. Only to find that you had threw away all the food!” Twain pretended to look angry.

However, Shania did not refute him, and just looked at her Uncle Tony with a grin.

※※※

Twain received a text message the night after the game ended. The caller’s ID was not displayed, and the number was unfamiliar.

“Mr. Demon, next time you have a chance to come to ?n?nü Stadium, be sure to have your helmet ready. The host will be very enthusiastic.”

Chapter 597 - This Is an Important Game

José Mourinho. A Portuguese.

He was once an interpreter for Robson, when he coached Barcelona, as well as for van Gaal. His coaching career officially began with the Portuguese domestic powerhouse club, Benfica. But after nine games, he resigned due to a disagreement with the board. Following that, he coached Portugal’s underdog, Uni?o de Leiria, which he managed to advance to the fifth place in the league within half a season and set the best results in the club’s history.

In January 2002, he became the manager of Porto, Portugal’s other powerhouse club and helped the team get out of the bad state from the first half of the season to eventually obtaining the third place in the league.

Mourinho completed his first full season in 2003. He led the team to win the triple Primeira Liga, Ta?a de Portugal, and UEFA Cup titles in one shot and obtained a Treble.

2004 was a glorious year in Mourinho’s coaching career. Not only did he help the team to defend its league title, but he also won the UEFA Champions League title with three goals over Monaco and led the team to the top of Europe.

After he joined Chelsea in 2005, he helped the team take its first league title in half a century in his first season.

Chelsea defended its league title in 2006.

However, the impressive and unbounded manager was now in big trouble.

Chelsea had a poor record in the league tournament and encountered the same problems as the Forest team in the Champions League group stage — the first two games in the group stage were a draw and a loss. Similarly, they won in the third game to save a “match point.” The English media compared the two men, stating that both were very young, individualistic, and brilliant. However, the two young managers had both met a serious challenge in their coaching careers.

On the surface, that was how it was. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea had had erratic results recently, sometimes good and sometimes bad. However, if someone dug deeper, they would find that Twain was much happier than Mourinho. The owner of the Forest team trusted and supported Twain. The Forest team’s problem lay in its competitive level, which was easy to solve. On the other hand, Chelsea’s problems had nothing to do with its competitiveness and were related to Mourinho and Abramovich, both of whom were unyielding in nature. Since it had to do with character, the problem could not be resolved.

Since September 18th, when Chelsea was forced to a 1:1 draw by the underdog, Rosenborg BK in the first game of the Champions League group stage, rumors of Mourinho’s dismissal were endless. There was a lot of news out there about the bad relationships between Mourinho and Abramovich, Mourinho and Ballack, as well as Shevchenko, Mourinho and Grant, and so on.

There were so much negative news, but Mourinho continued to lead the team.

Twain usually did not care much about how Mourinho was since the media covered him anyway. He was able to get a rough idea when he occasionally skimmed the news. This time, he had to pay attention even if he did not want to, because Mourinho was at their doorstep.

On November 11th, Singles Day, Nottingham Forest would host Chelsea on its home ground.

※※※

As soon as the Champions League game was played, the media began to build up the league game between Chelsea and the Forest team while they hyped the Forest team’s eight-goal massacre of Be?ikta?. The game would not be the most attention-grabbing if it had been just been between two teams, but there was also a matchup between Arsenal and Manchester United at the same time.

The competition schedule made the media feel that there was a lot of value to build up.

Before Mourinho came to England and while Tony Twain still worked for the Forest youth team, the Arsenal manager, Wenger, and Manchester United manager, Ferguson, were a special sight in the Premier League. The feud between them could be written into ten books, made into five films, and then become a video game. In China, the media once described the relationship between the two men as “codependently insulting,” which was a good description to capture the complex relationship between the two. Even though they were sworn rivals, they understood each other the best. It was complicated, as it could not come down to a friend or enemy, and at the same, it was a case of “mutual appreciation of heroes.” The inexplicable relationship was due to the two men’s different positions and characters.

The two were the most famous and classic enemies in the football world.

Their war of words accompanied the Premier League through almost ten years until Mourinho’s arrival in 2004 broke the delicate relationship between the two people. After Mourinho came to Chelsea, he frequently launched psychological warfare on both Wenger and Ferguson, so the power struggle between the two heroes became tripartite division of the Three Kingdoms.

Good things would not last forever. A year later, Nottingham Forest, led by Tony Twain, returned to the Premier League. The English Premier League’s technical area was suddenly enlivened.

Tony Twain had an eccentric temper and character. His sharp wit and words were not inferior to those of his seniors, and his presence thrilled the British tabloids. Some people likened him to a mad dog. He would bite whenever he saw someone, and as long as that someone was an opponent, that person could not escape.

“The Three Kingdoms” became the “Four Heavenly Kings.” Other people preferred to separate the four men into two pairs. Ferguson and Wenger represented the last decade of the Premier League, while Mourinho and Twain represented the next decade of the Premier League. The readers and fans in England would never have to worry about loneliness after Ferguson retired, and the tabloid reporters did not have to worry about the lack of interesting sidelights off the field to report.

In the past, the encounters of Wenger and Ferguson would attract the most attention, but this time, their limelight was overshadowed by the two young men.

There were many reasons for the game to receive such attention.

“Madman Versus Madman”

“Mourinho’s embarrassing record — the record of never beating Tony Twain”

“Mourinho and Tony Twain’s ultimate showdown?” The last headline, used by a London media outlet, was not an exaggeration. There were plenty of signs that the game was likely to be the last encounter between Mourinho and Tony Twain in the Premier League.

※※※

Mourinho’s hair had gotten a lot grayer, and his beard had unknowingly grown fuller. His eyes were still sharp and formidable. When he pursed his lips, his expression looked like a Greek marble sculpture, angular and sharp. It gave off a sense of “a hero strove to make a strong stand at the end of the road.”

The man who had initially taken over the helm at Stamford Bridge with the honor and aura of a “Champions League champion” was now in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. The team’s locker room was divided into two factions with him at the heart of one group and the other dominated by Abramovich. Before, he used to worry about how to deal with his opponents on the pitch, but now he had to worry about how to win in a game of tug of war with the club chairman, even if it were to happen in stages.

In early November, London was covered by hazy drizzle. The nickname “London Fog” was born out of the industrial emissions from factory chimneys in the inner city of London in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Now, London no longer had chimneys standing in great numbers or industrial waste covering the entire sky, but London was currently still the “London Fog”— hazy from the misty rain.

Stamford Bridge was empty, as it was a game day. There was no one there except for some tourists and staff.

There was a black spot in the blue grandstand. He was the only person in the stadium.

José Mourinho sat alone right in the middle of Stamford Bridge’s “Matthew Harding” stand. It was the North Stand of Stamford Bridge and currently the home fans’ stand. Opposite him was the famous South Stand, once the “Shed End stand,” the hardcore Blues fans’ favorite place.

The Portuguese, clad in his famous Armani windbreaker, sat motionless in the stands amidst the drizzle. His interlocked fingers supported his chin, as if he were “The Thinker” statue.

He had been sitting there for ten minutes.

An hour ago, he had a private discussion with the club’s owner, Abramovich. No one knew about it and he had no intention of telling anyone.

Abramovich’s face looked terrible, apparently due to the team’s poor record. Generally speaking, when a team did not perform well, the first person responsible was the manager. No matter how many brilliant results the manager had obtained before, those honors could only represent the past. That was an unwavering truth in professional football.

Unfortunately, Mourinho had now experienced that cruel truth firsthand.

Abramovich was dissatisfied that he did not fulfill his promise of the Champions League title, since he had led the team for four years. In the fourth game of the Champions League group stage that had just concluded, Chelsea was unable to breach Schalke 04’s goal in the away game, and Abramovich’s favorite Shevchenko sat on the bench for ninety minutes.

During the discussion, Abramovich asked Mourinho why he did not consider sending Shevchenko up to play when the team could not break open the goal.

Mourinho replied in a hard tone, “the Ukrainian felt some muscle soreness when he warmed up before the game, Mr. Chairman.” Any fool would know that it was an excuse, and Abramovich was angry was that Mourinho took him for a fool. However, he controlled his fury and asked about the league tournament, especially since they were about to face an opponent that caused embarrassment for Chelsea. The only team that Chelsea had not won against when they swept through England was Nottingham Forest.

The record made all Chelsea people uncomfortable, Mourinho as well. He was a haughty man who could not accept the reality that he had been unable to beat a man like Twain for three years.

“I promise to win this game, Mr. Chairman.” His answer this time was what Abramovich liked to hear.

It did not matter even if he did not guarantee. If he lost to Twain again, there would be hard times ahead.

However, the discussion caused Mourinho’s recent bad mood to get gloomier, just like the weather in London. He knew what kind of person his immediate superior was, because he was that kind of person himself. The fatal problem was that people of that sort of character simply could not work together for too long. Otherwise, there would be a lot of contradictions, big and small, accumulating until it finally became the beginning of a meltdown.

Furthermore, he had already heard the sound of rubble falling down the bedrock.

Splitting and cracking, splitting and cracking...

Mourinho looked up at the roof of the stadium above his eyes. The rain hit it with a dense sound. Only then did he notice that the rain had gotten heavier.

A man in a yellow raincoat appeared under the stands, and he realized that there was another person in the originally empty stand. He stared for a bit before he discovered that it was the team’s manager. He hurriedly waved and shouted, “sir! Mr. Mourinho! Why are you here?”

Mourinho got up from his seat and walked to the railing, covered in rain. “Ah, I suddenly wanted to take a walk, so I came here. Am I interrupting your work?”

The other man waved his hand. “No, not at all. I’m just here to check things out too.” He saw the rain drenched Mourinho’s hair and jacket, and pointed to the sky. “It’s raining, sir.”

Mourinho looked up at the sky and the cold rain hit his face, but he did not avoid it. He just squinted.

“Thank you, the rain is not very heavy... In that case, I’m leaving. Goodbye...” He glanced at the face of the other man shaded under his raincoat. “...Mr. Scott Lawrence.”

The other man obviously did not expect that as an ordinary turf maintenance worker, the famous manager, José Mourinho, would know his name. He stood rooted to the ground in excitement. By the time he reacted, Mourinho was long gone.

Scott Lawrence looked around the stands and did not see Mourinho’s black figure anywhere. The sounds of their conversation was gone, and Stamford Bridge became quiet again, with no other sounds except for the rain.

The ordinary stadium turf maintenance worker was a member of the entire club, but he was also one of the most common and ordinary members. The work they did was the most important, but no one mentioned their names anywhere. He did not expect José Mourinho, a manager he had never been in contact with before, to be able to address him by his name.

He recalled what Mourinho looked like when he saw him. Wrapped in the black Armani windbreaker, he sat alone in the vast stands. The black spot looked tiny in the middle of the vast expanse of blue.

Lawrence remembered all the recent rumors.

This man’s days at Stamford Bridge seemed to be numbered. Abramovich was his boss and paid his salary, but he was a Chelsea fan. If he had to choose, he would rather Abramovich left.

But what could he do? He was just an ordinary stadium turf maintenance worker. He had no say in the club’s decision, nor could he play football to help the team win to get the manager out of the crisis of confidence.

He could only hope. Good luck, Mr. Mourinho.

※※※

When Mourinho led Chelsea to Nottingham the next day, the media flocked around him and many questions about what everyone was concerned about were thrown at him.

“Is it true, Mr. Mourinho, about the news of your impending dismissal?”

“I don’t want to answer questions about the future. Right now, I’m the manager of this team.”

“Mr. Mourinho, rumor has it that you and Abramovich have deep contradictions...”

“We work happily together, there’s no contradiction at all. Of course, he is the chairman of the club and he has the right to express his thoughts about his team.”

“About Grant...”

“You can ask him the questions to do with him.”

“Let’s talk about the game against the Forest team, Mr. Mourinho. Will Shevchenko play? And you haven’t beaten Tony Twain yet...”

Mourinho stopped in his tracks as he made his way through the crowd. He looked at the reporter who asked the question. He had a faint impression of him. He appeared to be a sports reporter for a local newspaper in Nottingham.

“He may or may not play. As to I’ve never won Tony Twain? That’s all going to become history,” he added. “Tomorrow night.”

With that, he stopped answering any questions and broke through the reporters’ siege as he entered the hotel with the team.

The reporters were still not willing to let go. They raised their cameras and frenziedly took pictures of Mourinho’s back.

The back of the black Armani windbreaker was the only focus under the clicking flashlights. Whenever a flashbulb lit up, he was the most dazzling character. But when the light went out, he blended in with the dark background.

In the end, the creator of the Chelsea’s miraculous empire walked into the darkness where the flashbulbs could no longer shine upon.

Chapter 598 - A Cold and Rainy Night

“Abramovich arrives in Nottingham and will be watching the game live”

That was the latest report from the Nottingham Evening Post about the game between Forest and Chelsea. Like the arrival of Mourinho’s team in Nottingham, this piece of news was placed in the sports section. The other half of the section belonged to Tony Twain, and the pair stood together to occupy half of the edition.

The editor’s intention was obvious. Readers did not have to look at the text to know the meaning behind the news. These three men were the real focus of this game.

“This game is very important for Mourinho. Moreover, now that Abramovich has suddenly come to Nottingham to watch the game, we have to wonder if the outcome of this game will affect Mourinho’s position? There are so many rumors about Mourinho’s impending dismissal. Even though Mourinho always refuted it, everyone seemed to have agreed on this fact — if Mourinho loses this game...”

Twain threw the newspaper away.

He saw Mourinho push the door open and hurriedly walk in. He still had his thick coat on. Apparently, he just walked off the training ground.

His team was on the field, doing their adaptive training in the stadium, and he came for the pre-match press conference.

Twain got up and held out his hand to Mourinho. It was just for show. He did not remember if the two of them had really shaken hands before a press conference.

He did not expect Mourinho to extend his hand, but he kept a straight face and did not make any polite conversation. Knowing that he had been in trouble lately, Twain did not make any sarcastic remarks. The two managers just had to do their part — to lead their respective teams to win the game. As for the fate of the others, they just had to wait until the game was over.

The two men did not have any conversation and went straight to the press conference.

When the reporters gathered in the press hall saw the two protagonists enter, they raised the cameras in their hands at them and pressed the shutters.

The two men sat on the stage and waited for the reporters to capture enough pictures before they began to answer questions.

Although it was the Forest team’s home ground, Mourinho received a lot of attention because there were many rumors about him. For more than three seasons at Chelsea, Mourinho had branded Chelsea with his personal mark. Almost everyone was used to the connection of “Mourinho is Chelsea, and Chelsea is Mourinho.” It was hard to imagine what Chelsea would look like without him.

His predecessors — Gullit, Vialli, Ranieri and others — did not give people such deep impressions. Besides the better media, perhaps the most important reason was that Mourinho’s personality was really extremely strong and unique.

No one cared about the game against Nottingham Forest. Everyone was concerned about the conflict between Mourinho and Abramovich, the conflict with certain players, and the conflict with Grant.

“Mr. Mourinho, may I ask what it means for Abramovich to come to Nottingham to watch the game.”

“Chelsea is his team. Isn’t it normal for Mr. Chairman to want to watch the game live?”

“There are rumors that...”

“I’m not interested in responding to rumors.”

“So Chelsea has not done very well this season. Is this...”

“Every team has its ups and downs. Even Arsenal, with its forty-nine unbeaten streak, has lost. AC Milan, with its fifty-eight unbeaten games, has lost, too. Why is Chelsea not allowed to lose?” Mourinho replied with an unpleasant expression on his face.

“About the recent news that you’re leaving...”

“I said I have no interest in answering the rumors.”

The press conference came to an impasse. Twain made an exception not to hit him while he was down and coolly watched Mourinho’s duel of words with the pack of reporters. After a moment, he suddenly stood up and got hold of a microphone. “I’m sorry, I think I’m in the wrong place. Gentlemen, please continue.”

With that, he turned to step off the stage and walked right out the door.

Nobody expected Twain, who had been silent, to explode and were all stunned. Only Mourinho glanced at Twain and got up. “With this reminder from Mr. Twain, I also realized that I’m in the wrong place. Sorry to disturb you. Goodbye.”

With that, he followed Twain. The reporters were still stunned.

Twain heard footsteps coming from behind and looked back to see Mourinho. He suddenly laughed.

“You’re alone on your own stage. How can you leave just like that?”

“If you want it, I don’t mind giving it to you.” Mourinho pointed at the open door behind him with a straight face.

The mood between the two men returned to normal.

“Forget it, I’m afraid the reporters were left speechless and will leave.” Twain smirked.

Mourinho did not comment. Instead, he said, “goodbye, Mr. Twain.” He had to go to the stadium to oversee the team’s training. There was no time to gossip with Twain.

Seeing Mourinho was about to turn and leave, Twain suddenly cried, “hey, Mr. Mourinho.”

“What’s the matter, Mr. Twain?” Mourinho turned around to look at him.

“Can we grab a drink together after the game?”

Mourinho did not expect Twain to say such a thing. He froze, and then smiled, “I must be hearing things. But no, I’m not going to drink with the enemy, even after the game... If I win, I might say yes.”

Twain shook his head. “That’s not going to work. If you win, I’ll refuse. But you’re not going to win.”

Mourinho did not say anything else and turned to walk away.

Twain stood at the door and watched for a moment. As he was about to walk away, he heard the sound of footsteps and looked back to see the reporters from the press conference run out and he hurriedly waved. “I said I walked in the wrong place, so I do not accept any interviews!”

A group of people stopped three meters from of him.

“We have the right to ask questions!” someone in the crowd shouted.

“I also have the right to refuse to answer.” Twain shrugged. “Goodbye, folks.”

Twain walked after Mourinho.

※※※

Twain and Mourinho’s refusals to cooperate at the press conference upset many media outlets, because they had no news to attract attention the day before the game.

Instead, they pushed a story on how the two men left the venue and slammed both for being ungracious. However, that kind of news was common for Twain and Mourinho, so their supporters would not take it seriously. They would take it even less seriously.

Shania studied the newspapers for a long time before she looked up at Twain. “So does it mean if he can’t win this game, there’s a ninety-nine percent chance of him being fired?”

Twain shrugged. “Possibly. That’s another team’s matter, so nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. It’s no use no matter how many rumors there are.”

“In other words, will he be able to stay at Chelsea if he wins?”

This time Twain shook his head firmly. “Impossible. I’m not saying he can’t win. It’s just that even if Chelsea wins against Nottingham Forest, he won’t be at Chelsea for long.”

“You just said the rumors outside aren’t credible.”

“It’s not about the rumors. I’m just analyzing it based on his and Abramovich’s personalities... Those two are unlikely to work together for a long time.”

“Because they’re both temperamental?”

Twain nodded. “Both are very strong and want to succeed. No one will give in, refuse to suffer, refuse to lose... That’s how things will develop. Shania, have you ever heard of the Chinese idiom ‘two tigers cannot live on the same mountain?'”

“Never heard of it. What does it mean?”

“A mountain cannot have two tigers. The tiger is the king of beasts, the leader. There can’t be two leaders at the same time, or else no one will listen to anyone. There would be chaos. That’s the situation with Chelsea right now. Abramovich and Mourinho are two tigers and both want to be the boss. Mourinho believes that he is not getting enough power and trust, while Abramovich believes that Mourinho’s presence has threatened his authority in the club. That’s the way it turned out.” He spread his hands.

She turned her eyes and suddenly smiled. “But in my opinion, Uncle Tony is also a big old tiger! Whoo-hoo, it’s a terrible sight when you flare up!”

“Hey!” Twain curled his fingers to look like claws, and roared. “How am I scary?”

“Just like that!” Shania pointed at Twain. She huddled on the couch and curled up as she shook and looked at Twain with wide eyes.

As he looked at her lovable appearance, knowing that she was pretending, Twain’s heart suddenly beat faster. He stood stock-still with his hands on his hip.

Shania found Twain suddenly in a daze, and she reached out to wave her hand in front of Twain’s eyes. “Uncle Tony?”

“Ah? Ah...” Twain snapped back to reality, feeling a little strange. He sat down on the couch and did not look at Shania. He just stared at the television.

“What’s the matter with you, Uncle Tony?” Shania leaned on Twain’s shoulder.

Twain could feel her body heat penetrating through his clothes and he could smell her fragrance. He suddenly felt distracted and agitated. He stood up. “Er, I feel a little dizzy. Maybe I’m too tired, so I’m going to rest. There’s still a game tomorrow...”

He walked toward the stairs. Halfway there, he stopped to look back at Shania, who was still gazing at him from the couch.

“You should rest early as well. Don’t stay up too late to watch TV.”

Shania looked at him and did not say yes.

“Good night, Shania.” Twain waved to her.

“Good night, Uncle Tony...” Shania waved the Totoro pillow in her hands.

When Twain went upstairs, followed by the sound of the closing door, Shania looked at the Totoro pillow in her hands and sighed.

“Good night, Totoro.” She waved the Totoro’s arm and imitated the Totoro. “Good night, Jor.”

She put down her pillow, got up to switch off the television, and walked up the stairs.

※※※

Just like London, the pitter patter of the rain came down on the usually sunny Nottingham on the day of the game with no sign of stopping. The temperature plummeted three degrees from early morning to the afternoon.

A football match was dependent on the weather. However, a sharp drop in temperature could increase the chance of the players getting hurt. Consequently, in the last warm-up before the game, Mourinho asked the team to increase the intensity of the warm-up to thoroughly fire up the bodies.

Chelsea’s assistant manager and Mourinho’s most trusted, Steve Clarke, directed and oversaw the team’s warm-up from the sidelines. Their manager stayed in the locker room; not out of habit, but because someone had looked for him.

“José, I need a beautiful victory, especially when it comes to facing this opponent.” Mr. Abramovich, the owner of the club and its chairman, appeared in his casual clothes in a place he should not have been.

“Yes, as you wish, Mr. Chairman.” Mourinho replied a little too politely.

“I don’t think what I’m saying is clear. I want a beautiful victory, José.”

“But this is an away game on the home ground of Nottingham Forest. It’s not going to be easy for us to play well, Mr. Chairman.” Mourinho retorted unceremoniously.

Abramovich’s face was a ugly to look at.?“This is my team and I hope it can win beautifully!”

Mourinho made a “please” gesture. “The players will be back in a moment. Why don’t you come explain tactics to them and sit in the technical area to direct the game, Mr. Chairman?”

That was greatly disrespectful to the club chairman and unacceptable to the one in a high position. His authority had been met with a very serious provocation.

Abramovich did not get angry there. He left with a dark face. After he walked out of the locker room, he dialed Mourinho’s close friend and agent, Mendes.

Mourinho, who sat in the locker room, frowned but was not angry. He was just thinking hard about his future prospects.

※※※

Fifteen minutes later, as the starting players of the two teams stepped out of the tunnel and set foot on the field, thunderous cheers erupted in the stands of the City Ground stadium, which jolted the rain.

The two men, Mourinho and Twain appeared at the exit at the same time. The television footage immediately cut to a shot of both of them, giving up the broadcast of the players’ entrance. Mourinho pursed his mouth slightly, without the slightest smile. With a smile on his face, Twain looked very confident. Although Mourinho was a world-renowned manager, and Chelsea had many world-renowned star players, Twain and the Forest team had a psychological advantage against the team.

“Tony Twain and José Mourinho!” the television commentator exclaimed. “This is the seventh encounter in the league tournament for these two most idiosyncratic young managers in the English Premier League. Previously, Mourinho had never defeated Tony Twain. For the proud Portuguese, this is undoubtedly an embarrassment. Not just in the league tournament, but in last season’s Champions League semi-final as well. Nottingham Forest, led by Tony Twain, kept Chelsea out of Athens. Mourinho has every reason to settle the score with Tony Twain, not to mention his recent bad situation...”

Mourinho and Twain did not shake hands or talk before the game. They immediately parted ways once they were out of the tunnel, one to the left and the other to the right.

The misty drizzle was still falling.

Nottingham’s cold and rainy night was likely to be José Mourinho’s last ninety minutes at Chelsea.

Chapter 599 - Desire to Win

Mourinho stood on the sidelines in the cold rain with the collar of his black windbreaker turned up. The rain drenched his coat gradually. Twain sat in the technical area while Mourinho stood in the rain like a statue, not caring of the cold rain from above.

The score was 0:0.

By virtue of its home advantage, Nottingham Forest launched a quick attack and raid as soon as they got on the field, but they were met with tenacious resistance by Chelsea’s defense. Terry, the captain of the England national team, led the line of defense that was by no means lacking in drive. Just because Be?ikta? could be slaughtered eight goals did not imply that any opponent would concede eight goals.

After six or seven minutes of offense, the Forest team still could not crack open Chelsea’s defense. They gradually slowed down and systematically withdrew their defense to lure Chelsea to attack, so as to give the Forest team the space to fight back.

That was the Forest team’s style. Their defensive counterattack was famous in the European football world. If Nottingham Forest were to be studied, then defensive counterattack was a subject that could not be ignored.

How could Mourinho not study this opponent as someone who has dealt with Twain for more than three years and not won? He knew that the Forest team’s retreat was nothing more than a ruse. Their real killer move was hidden in the show of weakness. If they rashly pressed on, they would be countered by the other team. But if they did not press up, the score would not change, and they would lose their chance to attack...

It was a challenge that bothered a lot of managers who played against the Forest team. Most people would choose to attack and seek a chance for a breakthrough, even though they knew that this might give the Forest team the space to fight back.

Mourinho was different. He did not let his team press ahead, but dawdled in the midfield. No matter how the Nottingham Forest team tried to lure them, their own rear defensive line did not press on. Ashley Cole would immediately return even when he assisted in an attack and never stayed in front for too long.

“Oh, God... Not again!” The television commentator groaned helplessly. Mourinho had never been famous for pleasing spectators with offensive football. He was a “champion manager” who acquired his international renown by taking down one championship after another. Accordingly, his Chelsea team always put results first. Defensive football and “1:0 doctrine” were Mourinho’s trademarks, and Capello was his idol.

That was also part of the contradiction between Abramovich and Mourinho. As a football fan, Abramovich hoped to see beautiful offense and offensive football. But Mourinho, as a “results greater than everything” manager, valued results more and defense was undoubtedly the safest way to bring victory.

It was a clash of two football ideals, and the most irreconcilable conflict.

Abramovich believed Chelsea should be like the world-renowned football clubs such as Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Arsenal. He wanted children around the world to play in the blue Chelsea jerseys instead of white Real Madrid jerseys or red and black AC Milan jerseys. He thought it was not enough to win titles; Chelsea lacked a superstar player with international appeal, and a lack of beautiful football was the root cause of that. Mourinho was not interested in Abramovich’s kind of football. He did not like superstar players, because the arrival of a superstar player would threaten his authority and position within the team. He did not even like Abramovich to dictate the affairs of the team, because he sensed that his power was under threat.

Mourinho thought the team should play according to his will. He was the chief manager responsible and even the club chairman could not put his hand in the team. He did not dislike Abramovich’s “Chelsea Empire Plan,” but he believed that Chelsea had a long way to go before they could become a world-renowned football club. They needed to have real results to build the foundation. That type of foundation would not be beautiful. It would be rough, but solid. Once the foundation was laid well, the rest could be built beautifully.

Abramovich could not wait for that day. Therefore, he bought Shevchenko and Ballack in spite of Mourinho’s objections, and talked about Ronaldinho and Kaka all day long. He found it intolerable when he found the waiters at a hotel he stayed at talking about the Manchester United player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just stayed there. And what about himself? Only a few people humored him all day long.

He could not bear the situation and desperately wanted to change all of it, but Mourinho would never cooperate.

Shevchenko was still on the bench, and Ballack was not on the main list at all. Mourinho’s claim before the game was that Ballack had been injured was fake. Just over ten days ago, Ballack played on behalf of the Germany national team in the UEFA European Championship qualifier. He performed actively and vigorously and did not appear to be injured at all.

Why had Shevchenko not started? Mourinho was tired of the question and refused to answer. It was rumored that Shevchenko was also injured, but no one bought it.

Now, watching Mourinho’s team tarrying with the opponent in the midfield and slowly going back and forth, any actual substantive offense was woefully little. Sitting in the VIP box, Abramovich’s face gradually turned ugly.

※※※

Twain did not expect Mourinho to be so tough. He made it clear that he was slogging it out in the midfield with himself. The midfield of both teams was not weak. No one could completely suppress each other, and each had its own strengths and weaknesses. The consequence was that no one could rule the game, and every second of the game was consumed in a standoff.

Such a game lacked a quick and intense attack. No star player performed any of their amazing skills. The speed advantage that the Forest team was good at could not play out and Chelsea’s Drogba did not have ample scope to unleash his power. A game without highlights was worthless to the spectators.

“The game is so dull. Both sides want to win, but are unable to let go of their movements... They are repeatedly entangled in the midfield and lacked penetrating passes. The defensive organizations of both teams are excellent, and too many straight passes will only invite mistakes. As a result, both Nottingham Forest and Chelsea seem to be very cautious. The constant cross passes and back passes have cost the game its watchability. Let’s compare it with the game between Arsenal and Manchester United that just ended. That kind of intensity cannot be compared with this game at all. Looks like the showdown between the old enemies is still better than the new competition.”

The commentator was right, except for the psychological analysis of the managers of the two teams.

Arsenal’s game against Manchester United was a clash that left both sides shattered.

Before the end of the first half, the Arsenal captain and French center-back, William Gallas, accidentally touched the football into his own goal. Manchester United relied on the own goal in the away game to lead for the time being. Two minutes in the second half, Arsenal’s midfield core, Fàbregas used a long shot to equalize the score.

The two teams launched a fierce attack on each other. The conversion between offense and defense was swift and star players showed off their skills one after another, and the spectators shouted in satisfaction. The second climax of the game came in the last ten minutes. In the 81st minute, the Manchester United winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, now more mature and in good form this season, scored a goal for the team to help Manchester United lead by 2:1.

Just as everyone thought Manchester United would return from the Emirates Stadium with three points to annoy Wenger, in the 90th minute, the Arsenal captain, William Gallas, who had scored the own goal just forty-five minutes ago and got the team into trouble, redeemed himself. He received a corner kick from Arsenal and headed the ball to score the equalizer for the team. When he rallied, the Emirates Stadium roared with cheers. The curtains for the game were drawn to a close at its climax, and the score was fixed at 2:2.

There were four goals in the game, an own goal, a sin and the self-redemption of the sinner, and the drama of never giving up until an equalizer at the last minute. It was difficult for anyone to forget such a game. By comparison, this game, which was also played in the rain, was inferior.

The dark sky seemed to be the portrayal of the game so far: the dark and gloomy performance, the uninteresting attacks, and the frequent passing errors. If anyone liked to watch big star players fall and roll in the dirty mud, they would be satisfied. But unfortunately, there were not many people who had that kind of mentality.

If it were a Barcelona or Real Madrid game, hisses would certainly ring out from the stands for playing like that, no matter which home ground it was. However, the fans of both teams worshipped their managers, so even if the game was dull, the sound of their cheers was undiminished.

As long as they could beat the other team, they did not care about the course of the game. Of course, if it was relied on the other team’s own goal to beat each other, it would be more exciting!

※※※

“I don’t think we need to go on being tangled with them in the midfield.” Dunn said to Twain. “Maybe you can try using a direct long pass to the back?”

Twain stroked his chin and watched for a moment before he said, “there may be a way for what you said.” He got up and walk to the sidelines to convey the message to the team.

Chelsea was clearly trying to mess up the Forest’s plan to fight back through a melee in the midfield with the Forest team. It was a reasonable idea to get around the midfield. If they put too much effort into the midfield, there was little benefit to the Forest team.

He signaled with his hand to the team for a long pass.

It was an adjustment that Twain was uncertain would work. He did it anyway but did not get the results he wanted.

While the Forest team wanted to bypass the midfield to hit the opponent directly, it resulted in more errors on the team instead. Van Nistelrooy lacked support in the front on his own and the strength of the midfield weakened when his teammates came up to support.

Chelsea seized the opportunity to intercept the ball and launch a quick attack. Lampard took George Wood away, Drogba attracted the attention of Ayala and Kompany, and the Forest team defended against all the Chelsea players they thought of as dangerous. However, they did not pay attention to one of them, because that player was really of no threat when it came to offense.

However, it was that player who received a long pass from Essien, and suddenly swung his leg to do a long shot in the midfield! A long shot that was thirty meters away from the goal, and bypassed the crowd, to penetrate the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar!

The commentator screamed, “a brilliant goal! Makelele beat Edwin van der Sar!”

Yes, the man who scored was Makelele, the most unlikely defensive midfielder to score.

Twain was startled by the scene. He asked the players to pay close attention to several of Chelsea’s offensive points before the game and completely freeze these dangerous elements at all costs. He mentioned the names of many players, even Shevchenko, who did not play. But he did not name Makelele as he believed that Makelele would not be the player to deal the final blow in the attack to solve the problem.

But he was wrong.

“A world-class ball!” The commentator was still excited. Other than the strong contrast it brought about as compared to the dullness of the game before, it was because this goal entered beautifully. It was really worthy to be rated as a “world-class ball.”

The football flew from the midfield, thirty meters away, to the goal. When the 1.97-meter van der Sar leapt and stretched his arms as far as possible, he still could not protect the goal behind him. The football brushed his fingertips and flew into the goal.

The whole process left people speechless... Of course, only one person was the exception.

“Damn it! Let him do it again... a hundred more times, and he still can’t shoot a goal in like that!” Twain growled angrily on the sidelines, though his voice was quickly drowned out amid the Chelsea fans’ roars.

Twain did not admit that his tactical arrangements were wrong. He just thought he had lost to luck. Makelele was divinely possessed and shot what might have been the most beautiful goal of his career.

“Just like how George Wood scored the goal against Chelsea in the semi-final of the Champions League! This goal is a classic! Both goals came from usually the most unlikely defensive midfielder to score a goal, both were beautiful! Because of George Wood’s outstanding performance, Chelsea was eliminated in the semi-final of the Champions League! Now, the Chelsea players are back for revenge!”

Mourinho excitedly waved his fists from the sidelines. Every move he took made his coat flutter up, and rain droplets splattered everywhere. If anyone could see his expression, the ywould be surprised that he was not laughing, but gnashing his teeth.

The television live broadcast suitably cut to a shot of the VIP box. In the City Ground stadium’s humble box, the Chelsea club chairman, Abramovich danced and gesticulated joyfully to celebrate the goal. In the face of such a beautiful goal, a smile appeared on his cold-as-Siberia face.

What if this shot was not a “world-class ball?” He probably would not even get up.

Judging from that camera shot alone, there might not be a contradiction between Mourinho and Abramovich... But after he celebrated the goal, Abramovich clapped and sat down again. His face transformed back into “Siberia” again.

The celebration of the goal did not change his view of Mourinho in any way.

Besides, even if Mourinho could lead the team to play such a beautiful offensive football as Arsenal, it would not be able to change his and Abramovich’s characters. With the inevitable clash of personalities, one out of the two was bound to leave.

Mourinho was well aware of this. After his frantic celebration of the goal, he resumed his “black obsidian sculpture” posture and stuck his hands in his pants’ pockets as he stood in the rain and watched the game with a cold expression.

Even if he won this game, it was irrelevant as to whether he would stay at Chelsea. Since it was irrelevant, then it was completely unnecessary to linger on the questions in his mind. His desire to win this game had nothing to do with the hope of staying at Chelsea, but because his opponent was Tony Twain, whom he had never defeated. He wanted to win, and it was as simple as that.

Chapter 600 - A Little Bad Luck

Chelsea used Makelele’s sudden divine shot to break the deadlock, and Nottingham Forest trailed behind at home. Some of the Forest players found it unacceptable, and quickly launched a counterattack after the goal concede, but the counterattack was an impulsive move and had not been carefully planned. Chelsea was too flustered to ward off the attack at first because of the Forest team’s fierce offensive, but once they managed to hold their ground for a few minutes, they easily handled the Forest team’s disorderly attack.

What made the Forest team unable to accept the goal was not that they lagged behind Chelsea at home, as such a situation was common. The real reason for their upset was that the goal was scored by Makelele!

They were in exactly the same mood as Twain. We had the best defensive layout, and everyone worked hard to make sure the opponent’s offensive points were in the palms of our hands and that their offensive players did not get any decent chances. It showed that our defense had done a very, very good job. But...

But! Who would have thought Makelele would hit such a wonderful long shot? Who would have thought of that? No one! The most unlikely player had scored the most beautiful goal... How can we keep from losing our cool?

When faced with the Forest team, Chelsea played defensive counterattack to make them come out to attack and press on. Then they would fight back through the midfield with a quick and concise pass.

After Edwin van der Sar, George Wood, and the others were busy for a while, in addition to Twain yelling from the sidelines, the Forest team finally regained its cool. They began to gradually recall the formation that had pressed ahead too much, and slowly wound around the midfield with Chelsea.

The game returned to the state of dissatisfaction for the commentator.

A moment ago, the Forest team suddenly flipped out to press ahead and besiege the Chelsea’s penalty area to begin bombardment. Chelsea easily managed a quick counterattack to cause the Forest team’s rear defensive line to panic for a while. The commentator got excited as he waited a long time to see such a game and comment on such a confrontation.

Therefore, it could be said that Twain was not popular in the commentators’ circle. Most commentators, except for John Motson, did not like to do commentary for the Forest team’s games because it was nothing short of torture looking at them from a neutral and objective perspective — the victory-only theory made the games dull most of the time.

Twain finally stopped after he saw that the team’s defense was organized again. He was no longer on the sidelines like a jabbering and gesticulating monkey.

He went back to the technical area and shook his head at Dunn. “Dunn, it still did not work to ignore the midfield and do the direct long pass, especially in the face of an opponent who intends to defend with a goal ahead.”

Dunn nodded, but did not speak.

For every game, he would be here to carefully observe the situation on the field as an assistant manager. Then he would carry out a “simulation exercise” in his mind — if it were him, what he should do, what the consequences would be in doing so, the pros and cons... Then he would compare notes with the adjustments made by Twain in the end.

It was just that he had voiced it this time, and it turned out that his estimation was wrong.

※※※

By halftime, the score on the field had not changed. It was still 0:1, with the home team, Nottingham Forest, temporarily behind.

The players returned to the locker room and had gradually calmed down. They had experienced many similar situations, and it would not leave them dejected. Twain was also in the mood to joke with them. “Well, I have to admit. After Makelele scored the goal, I finally got a taste of how Mourinho felt after George Wood scored in the first leg of last year’s Champions League semi-final...”

He spread his hands and there was a burst of laughter in the locker room.

Someone even winked at George Wood sitting in the corner.

“We should actually see that they didn’t have a good chance other than that goal. But as a result of the goal concede, the advantage is no longer on our side. When the second half begins, we will start to fight back. On the condition that our defense must be solid... we will counterattack! But this time... we don’t go on the flanks.”

Not many people would dispute that Nottingham Forest’s strength in the flanks was number one in the English Premier League. Although the king of assists, Ashley Young, was gone, Franck Ribéry, Martin Petrov, David Beckham, and Aaron Lennon were still efficient attacking players on the flanks that intimidated their opponents, and they had different characteristics and excellent skills.

Twain was also focused on the role of the flanks in the offense, with a lot of the Forest team’s offense launched from the flanks. When their opponents studied the Forest team, they also focused on their flanks, whether it was offensive or defensive.

Now the Forest team already experienced their opponents’ research giving them trouble during the games.

“We don’t go on the flanks this time. We’ll go in the middle.” Twain smiled as he looked at George sitting in the corner. “George!”

Wood stood up obediently and looked at Twain wordlessly.

“You remember what Demetrio said to you before he left?”

Wood nodded.

“I’ll hand this over to you.”

Twain drew an arrow that went straight from their own back half of the field to the opponent’s penalty area on the site plan of the football field on the tactical board. He turned to Wood. “When we attack, I want you to... go forward like this. Van der Vaart is in charge of organizing the offense and he will choose the right time to pass the ball to you — if you run into a void. If you’re marked, you’ll help him to rip apart the other team’s Makelele and Essien, as well as all the other defensive players. And you guys.” Twain threw away the pen and pointed to the others. “Don’t think you won’t run if you don’t have a chance. Nottingham Forest’s opportunities for a shot are created by running. Form a big gap within their organized defensive lines! Now that we’re behind and they’re ahead, I bet that guy Mourinho is going to make the team resolutely play defensive counterattack in the second half and deal with us like we did against other teams. Hence, we can’t wait for the opportunity to appear as usual, we have to create our own opportunities. So, run... keep running for me. The two side midfielders will switch positions, the strikers will cross and switch, the strikers and attacking midfielders will exchange positions. In short, we cannot let the opponent guess our actions and intentions. The two full backs should plug in more firmly too.”

Bale and Rafinha nodded. They started in this game, and these two full backs who liked to attack wanted to hear that phrase.

“Nicklas.” Twain looked at Bendtner.

Bendtner and Chimbonda were recalled from the reserves by Twain before the second game against Be?ikta?, a game in which he needed Bendtner’s height and header shots, as well as strength. The tactic he arranged to deal with the Turks was high aerial shots, as the opponent’s main center back was injured in the league game, so Be?ikta? lacked aerial defense. Twain seized on this point and arranged for Bendtner to start, putting van Nistelrooy on the bench. Bendtner, who had bottled up an unimaginable amount of energy, did not disappoint Twain, and the final score of that game was 8:0. Bendtner alone scored four goals, did three headers, a slide shot, and completely routed Be?ikta?’ defenses. Not only that, he even used his height and headers to create shots for his teammates, directly assist with a goal and indirectly assist two goals. When he was brought off in the 83rd minute, all the fans in the stadium rose to applaud him.

Twain was well aware of the clever use of “the carrot and the stick”, so he praised Bendtner at the post-match press conference and let him start in this league game. As for Chimbonda, he played against Be?ikta? in the second half as a substitute and sat on the bench for this game.

“Nicklas, your job is not to score goals. If we attack, you’ll run forward and press up. The opponent’s defensive line is bound to follow you and retreat. You just push their defensive lines back and create opportunities to score for our players plugging in from the back.” Twain drew on the tactical board to help Bendtner understand what his mission was in this game.

Bendtner did not make a sound and did not nod his head to indicate that he heard it clearly. The expression on his face seemed to show a little reluctance. He had yet to recover from the state of scoring four goals in the Champions League game. He found it hard to accept his role as a cover. Twain could see it, but he did not have the time and effort to take care of it. Winning now was the most important thing. He did not want to lose to Mourinho.

He just added another sentence. “You’re a tactical center forward. Do you understand?”

This time, Bendtner nodded.

Ribéry was still absent due to his injury for this game. Petrov started on the left flank and Lennon was on the right flank. The two players were fast and good at breakthroughs. However, Twain did not ask them to cross from the byline, but to cut inside the penalty area when appropriate. If there was a chance to even dribble the ball to break through, they should disrupt the opponent’s defense.

With this arrangement, Bendtner, as the tall center forward, could only act as a cover in front of the goal. The Forest team’s offensive point was not with him at all, but laid with the midfielder plugging in from the back, as well the shadow striker, winger, and attacking midfielder like the Russian, Arshavin.

After he finished setting up the specific tactics, Twain gave the players a break to get ready to play. He himself walked out of the locker room.

There was an intersection outside the home team’s locker room. When someone turned right, they would walk into a corridor, and then after a right turn, they would be at the door of the visiting team’s locker room. When it was time to make their appearances, players from both teams would come out of the doors of their respective locker rooms, walk through the corridor and into a spacious hall, where they gathered and waited for the referee. Then they would walk forward, with the referee, through the tunnel to the field.

That was when the entrance ceremony began.

Twain walked to the hall, which was empty except for some stadium staff. The noise outside the stadium was still clear, but it was unorganized and chaotic. Most fans choose that time to go buy some drinks and food or use the restrooms, plus it was raining, so there were not many fans in the stands.

Twain wanted to smoke, but he did not smoke in the stadium. He did not want to send any negative signals to the players and others. He turned and walked towards the restroom reserved for coaches.

※※※

Mourinho stood in front of the big mirror above the sink in the restroom and gazed at himself in the mirror. He had just washed his face with cold water, and beads of water still hung from the tip of his nose and eyebrows.

The atmosphere in the locker room made him uncomfortable. The team that was originally united in their fight for the championship title was falling apart and divided at heart.

Although they were ahead, the atmosphere in the locker room was not lively during halftime. The rumors apparently affected the people inside Chelsea. The pro-Mourinho players, like Drogba, had long been averse toward Abramovich, so he could not see eye to eye with Shevchenko, who had been bought due to Abramovich’s single-mindedness.

He was also proud. When Shevchenko first came to Chelsea, bringing with him the aura of the world’s top striker, there was speculation that Mourinho would let Shevchenko be the mainstay and sacrifice Drogba. Therefore, when someone asked Drogba what he thought of the competition with Shevchenko, Drogba haughtily said, “Shevchenko is a great striker, but I’m not afraid to compete with him. I’ll prove what I’m capable of.”

Shevchenko’s performance was unsatisfactory in his first season at Chelsea and was dubbed a “subpar import” by the English media, and even made a list of the top fifty subpar imports in the Premier League. Whereas Drogba, the center forward who was underestimated and thought of as having rough technique, still maintained his high goal rate and saved the team in many critical moments. His form remained as stable as ever.

The speculation that Shevchenko would squeeze out Drogba before the season did not materialize. Then, people were worried about whether Shevchenko would return to the embrace of AC Milan after a dark and gloomy season in England.

Drogba was brought to Chelsea by Mourinho from the France Ligue 1 and groomed into a world-renowned center forward. His most brilliant achievements so far had been with Chelsea, and acquired under Mourinho’s leadership, so his feelings for Mourinho might be comparable to Ribéry’s for Twain.

Basically, most of the players who were bought by Chelsea after Mourinho took office stood behind the manager, while Ballack and Shevchenko were unlikely to have any good feelings toward Mourinho because they were not liked by Mourinho and were not used in important positions. Then there was Grant, the one man who always stood behind Mourinho, as if he had been placed by Abramovich to keep a close watch over him. The hidden relationships in the locker room were so complicated.

Mourinho was not a na?ve kid that thought a teammates should be friends. He liked the feeling of having a monopoly in power. Now there were people in the locker room who did not listen to him, and that made him angry and helpless.

He was furious because he was deprived of his power, whereas he was helpless because he could only accept this outcome.

After he laid out the tactics of the second half, he came out to get some air. He washed his face in the restroom to clear his head.

He had already lost control of the locker room. Some people appeared to listen to him, and he did not care what they thought behind his back.

A paper towel appeared in front of Mourinho’s eyes. He snapped out of his thoughts and saw another man in the mirror.

“Why are you crying when you’re ahead, Mr. Mourinho?” Twain’s sharp and unkind voice rang out.

“Have you ever seen tears run above your eyebrows?” Mourinho retorted. “Maybe your physiology is not quite the same as ours, Mr. Twain?”

Twain did not fight back, but instead laughed happily.

“Are you still so happy to be behind?” Mourinho continued to scoff.

“No, it has nothing to do with the score and the game.” Twain smiled, then pulled out a cigarette and handed Mourinho one.

“No, thank you, I don’t smoke,” Mourinho refused with a stiff face.

Twain shrugged his shoulders and lit one for himself.

Mourinho looked in the mirror, wiped the water off his face with the paper towel, and dried his hands before throwing the used paper towel into the bin.

“Thank you for the paper towel. Bye.”

Mourinho did not want to be in the same room as Twain, so he said goodbye to Twain and turned to leave.

“Mr. Mourinho...”

“Yes?” Mourinho stopped in his tracks and looked back at Twain.

“...Goodbye,” Twain waved. “See you on the field.”

※※※

The second half resumed, and the rain did not stop. Mourinho still stood on the sidelines, despite the downpour and wind. Twain also went from pacing back and forth in the first half to stand on the sidelines in the rain.

The Forest team began to fight back. With the cheers of the home fans, the momentum of their counterattack caused Chelsea to temporarily give up their intention to fight back and defend with all their might.

Based on their understanding and analysis of the Forest team, Chelsea focused the defense on the two flanks. When they saw Bale and Rafinha, who did not assist much in the first half, frequently pressed on after the start of the second half, they strengthened their resolve to defend the flanks.

The Forest team concentrated on their dominant force on the right, intending to attack in one moment and in the next moment, they would do long passes to the left to seek empty gaps. It appeared to be the same as usual.

Just when everyone thought the Forest team’s flank offense would be smashed to smithereens up against Chelsea’s impenetrable defense, George Wood inserted himself.

He was unmarked!

“Pass the ball to George!” Someone in the stands eagerly screamed.

Van der Vaart did not look up to find his teammates. It would be too obvious that he intended to pass, so he just scanned from the corner of his eye and found that Wood had plugged in from behind. Moreover, there was not a Chelsea player around.

He passed out the football without hesitation. Then he ran forward on his own, intending to execute a beautiful two over one pass with Wood, if he could comprehend it.

The football rolled towards Wood. Just as Wood lifted his leg, intending to receive it, he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a loud bang.

The referee’s whistle rang, but the sprawling boos from the home fans in the stands sounded even faster.

“Foul!” the commentator barked.

George Wood was tackled to the ground from behind before he could receive the ball. He flipped over and discovered that the man who had put him down was the small-built Makelele. He was not actually hurt, so he was going to get up from the ground. But before he could do so, he was pressed to the ground by van der Vaart, who dashed over and looked anxiously at his legs.

“I’m not...” He wanted to reassure his worried teammate.

“Shut up!” Van der Vaart urged in a low voice with his head down. “Lie on the ground and pretend to look like you’re in pain! Quickly!”

Not waiting for Wood to say anything, more teammates came running from all directions and surrounded him. Someone even made a gesture to signal for a stretcher to come over. The others were responsible for protesting to the referee and yelling at the Chelsea players that their men acted too boorishly.

“It’s such a powerful tackle... George Wood fell to the ground in pain. He looks hurt, and not lightly... Since his debut, George Wood has never missed a game in the Forest team due to injury or illness. Can this be his unforgettable first time?” The commentator gushed, and the television broadcast cooperatively showed the replay of Makelele’s foul in slow motion. It looked really rough, and George Wood’s entire person was overturned.

The perpetrator, Makelele, stood outside and acted nonchalant with a relaxed face. He shouted in French across the crowd.

“What’s that bastard yelling about?” Gareth Bale did not care if Makelele was a senior on the field. He was not in the mood to respect the old when his comrade was hurt.

Ribéry and Chimbonda were not on the field, so the Forest team now had no Frenchmen. However, Kompany was still able to understand French as a Belgian. Both he and Bale were the people who “protected” Wood. He translated, “It sounds like... ‘Get up, kid. I did not hurt you. You know it... yourself.’ Huh?”

The two men looked down at Wood, who was lying on the ground and Wood looked at them.

“I’m really not hurt,” he said. “He shoveled the ball first and then overturned me...”

Van der Vaart interrupted him again. “If you don’t lie on the ground a little longer, how are we going to get a card on him?”

A small commotion broke out on the field. Such commotions almost always appeared in games between the Forest team and Chelsea, often more than once. The fans in the stands booed agitatedly, which was followed by rowdy jeers.

The referee eventually showed Makelele a yellow card. The Forest players next to them were still pretending to protest angrily. “It should be a red card for such a foul!”

The team doctor, Fleming, brought his people over with a stretcher and squeezed into the crowd. He knelt down and tweaked Wood’s ankle. “It’s not broken.”

“I’m not hurt...” Wood said helplessly.

“Shut up!” Fleming took a medicinal spray out of his bag and sprayed Wood’s legs. “Carry him down,” he said to the two people behind him.

Wood did not want to comply. He was not hurt, but he was going to be carried off the field. In his mind, being carried out could only be the treatment for his opponents. If he were to be treated this way, it would be a disgrace. He vehemently objected. “I said I’m not hurt!”

Fleming was aware that Wood was unhurt, and he knew Wood’s temper, so he waved away his staff members. “Well, we won’t carry you off. Come with me, but remember to walk a little lame, not too obvious... Don’t go too fast. All right...” He held out his hand and took Wood’s hand as he acted like he had to use a lot of strength. “...Get up!”

Wood stood up.

“Remember what I said, walk slowly!” Fleming whispered beside Wood, which looked like concern about his injury to everyone’s eyes.

Loud applause erupted in the stands at the City Ground stadium when they saw their team captain get back on his feet.

“George Wood walks off the field and does not seem to be seriously hurt...”

Wood stood on the sidelines and made a gesture to the referee to request for admission to the field. The referee waved. He stepped on the ground and jumped back. There was no a hint of injury.

Twain was a little nervous when he saw Wood lie on the ground for a long time. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Wood could come off on his own. Then the corners of his mouth curled up when he saw Wood rush back to the field.

He did not expect Wood to run back in such a healthy way. Fleming was a little surprised and annoyed. He gave Wood’s back a hard stare and walked back.

Twain reached out to him and asked, “Is the kid all right?”

“Healthier than a bull in rut,” Fleming said bluntly as he high-fived Twain, and then walked back to his seat.

Twain looked back at Chelsea’s Makelele and smacked his lips. “Unfortunately, it’s just a yellow card...”

※※※

In addition to the yellow card, Nottingham Forest gained a direct free kick at the front of the penalty area, which would be taken by Bale.

Bale set up the football and asked Wood, “He really didn’t shovel and hurt you?”

“No,” Wood answered the question with a straight face.

“Well...” Bale turned his head to look at Chelsea’s goal. ?ech nervously directed his teammates to line up for the human wall, to block the area in front of the corner nearest to the goal. Everyone was aware of Bale’s free kick skills and that was the left-footed player’s favorite position, but there was some emptiness with the anger gone.

The referee whistled and Wood, who looked like he was covering Bale, did not move. Bale started his shot.

The football drew an arc and beautifully glided past the human wall to fly toward to nearest corner of the goal.

ech did his best to pounce from the far corner but he did not touch the football.

Gareth Bale’s free kick was low and skimmed the top of the human wall to fly over, so its speed was faster than the average free kick. Coupled with the unfathomable curvature, it was difficult for the goalkeeper to judge.

The football seemed to be about to plunge into the net, but instead, it slammed into the crossbar and bounced out of the end line.

There was a loud sigh across the City Ground stadium. Everyone could not help but hang their heads. They wrung their hands and sighed for the beautiful free kick.

Twain was just like them. He held his head in his hands as he crouched on the ground. “What a damn shame!” he shouted.

Compared to Twain’s hyperactivity, Mourinho still had that same pose, and was not too surprised by Bale’s free kick hitting the crossbar.

“The score is still 0:1! Chelsea had a narrow escape! Maybe Mourinho can really beat Tony Twain in this game. Luck is on Chelsea’s side in this away challenge...”

Chapter 601 - Undefeated Yet

Bale’s free-kick did not go in, which prompted a loud sigh from more than 20,000 Forest fans in the stadium. They had lost a good chance to equalize the score.

Three minutes later, van der Vaart’s long shot was slammed into the post by ?ech. Terry kicked it out of bounds when the ball bounced back.

Nottingham Forest really seemed to lack a bit of luck. Both shots were unable to enter the goal even though they hit the goalpost twice.

Twain also found out that his offensive tactics in the middle seemed to have been seen through by Mourinho. Makelele’s foul against Wood was definitely not an accident or coincidence.

As long as Wood plugged in, Makelele would rush up to defend against him. It did not happen once or twice, but every single time. If Wood did not come up, Makelele would guard the defensive line next to Essien. As long as Wood came up to participate in the offense, Makelele would mark him closely whether he had the ball or not.

There were rumors before the season that Makelele would leave Chelsea because he was old, and Chelsea did not need him. In the end, due to Abramovich’s clash with Mourinho on the transfer fee, Mourinho, who had little money to buy new players, kept Makelele.

Truthfully, even though Makelele was old, there was a big difference between having him and not having him on the field. With the defensive midfielder, who tirelessly ran and intercepted balls in the midfield, Chelsea’s attacking players would be able to have the energy to focus on offense. The change was difficult to clarify in a few words. It affected a lot of areas and was complex in many ways. Chelsea’s offense was a lot sharper and its defense was more robust with him around.

Wood came up a few times and had no way to receive the ball. He was reduced to creating gaps for van der Vaart. Since he only had one function, Chelsea’s defense became easier.

The Forest team’s attacks did not have a way out. When they besieged Chelsea, it caused Chelsea’s defense to be become more compact instead, so there was no room to attack at all.

It looked like it would not work. They had to retreat and play defensive counterattack.

With that, the problem came. The other team was currently leading with one goal. They did not have a reason to press forward and play according to the Forest team’s expectations. If Chelsea had shrunk their defense and seized the opportunity to sneak attack, Twain had no good ideas. He had used the method to deal with other teams in the past, so he was well aware of the great thing about the move: if there were no other surprises, the team that won would often be the team that scored a goal first before playing defensive counterattack.

A football game was always full of all sorts of surprises, and the surprises were precisely the charm of football.

Twain still instructed the team start to retreat gradually. He did not believe that a gap would not appear in Chelsea.

※※※

Nottingham Forest retreated in hopes to lure Chelsea out, and Chelsea refused to come out, as they were one goal ahead.

The two teams appeared to be playing a game of chicken, where there was a lot of “come out if you dare!” and “come in if you dare!” posturing.

Chelsea’s attitude of clinging on with a one goal lead made the home fans extremely unhappy. Although the team they supported often did the same in the games, they did not like it when the other teams used it on them!

Organized hissing erupted in the stands. They did not boo the Forest team for trailing behind. Instead, they booed the Chelsea players for being cowards who did not dare to come out and fight the Forest team.

Therefore, when the Forest team attacked or held the ball, there was no hissing. It was all singing. And when the football fell to Chelsea’s feet, once they clearly intended to move forward, the boos would rang out instantly. No one directed it but the stopping and starting came naturally.

Up against such a clearly intended boos, Abramovich looked livid in the VIP box. Since Mourinho became a manager, his team had never been commended for “beautiful football.” When the media evaluated Mourinho’s Chelsea team, they always used words like “utilitarian,””conservative,””passive,””ugly,” and so on. Abramovich did not that kind of football game.

How could he not be upset when it happened so openly in front of him?

Mourinho was unmoved in the face of the hail of boos raining down from the home fans. He stood on the sidelines with no intention of making any adjustments, his hands tucked inside his pants’ pockets, and looked at what was happening inside the field.

He knew that the game was ugly to watch and would give a sense of “passive play”, and the boss, who was watching the game in the stands, would not be pleased. But he did not care about the noises or the perception of others. He was willing to do anything to win the game, and the game being ugly was an insignificant sacrifice.

He did not want the joke that he would not beat his opponent once in his coaching career at Chelsea to become a reality.

No matter how successful he was later, people would always recall his coaching experience. “Do you know who was the bane of Mourinho? Tony Twain! He never beat Nottingham Forest when he coached Chelsea!”

That would be a tragedy...

He was not going to let that happen.

※※※

Someone once said that the turf at Chelsea’s home ground, Stamford Bridge stadium, was like a “vegetable plot” to describe how terrible the turf was. But the turf at the City Ground stadium was a veritable “vegetable plot.” The originally green field had turned brown in a lot of place, the color of upturned soil.

The rain made the field slippery. The players’ jerseys often changed color after they rolled on the ground. The dirt and pieces of grass, brought up by cleats, were scattered on the field. No one had the mind to return and fill them in again.

The field became full of potholes. The football made irregular movements on it, which caused the path of the ball to become more elusive and mistakes from the players on both sides start to increase.

Now it was up to whoever could take advantage of the other team’s mistakes as much as possible, so long as they had fewer mistakes.

Twain brought off Lennon, as the pitch conditions became so damaging to break through that Lennon had made mistakes and missed the ball three times in a row when he tried to break through. Lennon was clearly annoyed by the increasingly terrible field. He was getting increasingly agitated due the fact that the team was behind by a goal and the pitch conditions interfered with his play.

Twain decisively replaced him with Beckham, who was constantly on the bench due to minor injuries.

David Beckham’s appearance made the boos in the City Ground stadium disappear. Everyone stood up to applaud the big star player. His arrival had raised the international profile of the Forest team by a lot.

The team, which once defended the Champions League title, was well known in the late seventies and early eighties. However, more than twenty years later, it gradually became unknown around the world. Even as Twain led the team to its third European Champions League title, many people were still surprised — where did this unknown team come from?

The Forest fans, who were proud of their glorious past, were unhappy about the situation. Beckham’s arrival helped them solve this issue. Since the media and football fans paid attention to Beckham, they could not ignore the football club he played for. The media had to take great pains to introduce the past honors of the team which was somewhat unfamiliar to people. When the list of championship titles came out, many people gasped. The obscure team actually won the Champions League twice before Twain!

This was what Evan Doughty and Allan Adams wanted to see: to bring in an internationally known football superstar to promote and publicize the new image of the Nottingham Forest Football Club.

David Beckham returned his thanks to the Forest fans who cheered for him before he got on the field. Admittedly, he was very focused on his personal image, knew how to maintain that image, and how to satisfy the wishes of the audience, but it was also undeniable that he was also a good professional footballer.

Twain did not bring him on to satisfy the sponsors and television viewers.

Beckham’s play weakened the Forest team’s ability to raid on the right flank, but the precise long passes to transfer the ball and flank passes had been strengthened.

Now that both sides made mistakes, Twain thought it would be better to take advantage of simpler and faster passes rather than rely on breakthroughs to seek and seize the opponent’s mistakes. He believed Beckham had that ability to spot holes and then rely on his passes to combat the root of the problem.

If the pitch was in a bad condition, which was not conducive to the movement of the football on the ground, they would take advantage of the aerial space!

The change invigorated Bendtner, as his height and header shots were a beacon for the Forest team’s offense, guiding the direction of each kick and pass.

Beckham assisted Bendtner in nearly scoring a goal with a flank pass less than three minutes after he came on.

Positional play required a strong center forward, and Bendtner fit the bill.

With Beckham’s appearance, the Forest team adjusted the tactics. Their offense was no longer concentrated on the attacks in the middle or breakthroughs from the flank. Instead, it revolved around passes from the flanks and long shots from the middle. They hoped that the opponent would make some fatal mistakes on such a muddy field during the game.

Chelsea remained unmoved and continued to defend to the death in the front of the goal. As the game went on, their counterattacks declined, and the number of players deployed for the counterattacks dwindled.

It was clear that Mourinho was satisfied with a one-goal lead and happy with the luck Chelsea had had so far. He believed that using the 1:0 score to suppress Tony Twain was the best revenge.

To complete this wonderful revenge, he could completely ignore the chairman’s murderous glare from the VIP box and the thunderous boos of the home fans, as well as the mutters from some of the players behind him. He just wanted to defeat Tony Twain by winning with the method that the man excelled in!

※※※

The game time decreased and the number of shots from the Forest team increased, but the success rate was not high. A single pass routine from the flank could easily be prevented by the opponent, and Twain had run out of tricks and was at his wit’s end in the face of the “roguish tactic.”

He could only step up the offensive to crush Chelsea’s defenses and hope that the luck that he could not find in the entire game would be on his side at the most critical moment.

He did not believe in God, Gautama Buddha, or any other gods like Allah, the Greek Titans, the Sun God, the Jade Emperor, Taishang Laojun. He did not believe in any gods from the galaxy, extragalactic star system, parallel universes, and other dimensions, but in that moment, he asked for support from the gods.

I don’t care who you are. I just ask this favor from any one of you!

If there were truly a God in the world, then the gods would surely think that this human being was shameless for asking for help when he did not believe in them.

They thought right. Tony Twain was a shameless person.

As shameless as he might be, there could be a certain God who was extremely bored that heard Twain’s plea.

As the game entered the final ten minutes, Beckham began to try more long shots in addition to his passes from the flank. The Forest midfielders could change positions, so Beckham sometimes appeared in the middle. His long shot was of a high standard, and due to the addition of spin, it resulted in an arc that made it harder for the goalkeeper to guard against.

This was a more terrifying place for Beckham’s long shot than his average powerful shot.

In the 84th minute, when it was only six minutes from the end of the ninety-minute game, the commentator began to repeat, “Mourinho had beaten countless opponents since he started coaching Chelsea. He also has a record. His team has never lost to Barcelona in any eleven against eleven game. But he also has another record that causes him endless embarrassment. He has encountered Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest teams numerous times in the league tournament and in the Champions League, but not once has he won... But those things are in the past. In this game so far, Chelsea is likely to take the three away points. The three points are of not much help to Chelsea’s current situation, but it is an end to one of Mourinho’s worries.”

The televised broadcast gave a close-up of Jose Mourinho’s profile. He still looked serious with his straight face and pursed lips. No trace of joy could not be seen on his face... Of course, it had something to do with the game not being done yet.

Twain also stood on the sidelines, still frowning. But his expression was a real reflection of his heart, completely different from Mourinho’s cool exterior.

※※※

Beckham appeared again in the middle and he received a pass from van der Vaart. George Wood plugged in at high speed. The game was almost over, and yet the kid’s stamina and speed was still in good form. Makelele followed him as he retreated and created a brief void in front of Beckham.

Beckham seized on this fleeting opportunity to shoot straight ahead, barely running. He played like he had a free kick with his body leaning back and his right leg kicked an arc directly to the top corner of the goal!

ech’s view was blocked by the wall-like crowd in front of the penalty area. When he found that Beckham’s kick was not a pass, but a shot to the goal, it was too late for him to jump and block. Beckham’s ball speed was rapid, so he did not even have time to jump. He just turned his head to look at the direction of the football.

The ball smacked into the net and made a plop!

It was not the side of the net, it was... a goal!

“David Beckham!” The commentator could not help laugh. “A goal in the 85th minute! Nottingham Forest equalized the score at the last minute! This is his second goal back in the Premier League! He has spoiled it for Mourinho!”

Standing on the sidelines like a sculpture, Mourinho finally moved when he saw Beckham score the goal. He waved his arms angrily, turned around and walked to the technical area. He walked around in front of the group of people, jabbering as he complained. He personally overturned the “cold” image he had just built up.

On the other hand, Twain calmed down. He did not celebrate wildly. He just turned around and high-fived Dunn and Kerslake in celebration.

Beckham ran to the corner flag area with open arms to greet the tsunami of cheers from the fans. Despite his repeated minor injuries and having to miss the last few games, he still proved his ability to the fans. There was a deep meaning in scoring. He sent a signal to McClaren: that there is nothing wrong with my form, bring me on and I will never run away when England needs me!

“I really hope that McClaren is watching this game,” the commentator shouted as the stadium erupted in thunderous cheers. “With Ashley Young busy chatting with naked women, did he forget that we still have David Beckham? McClaren only let him play during the garbage time! Someone once said that Beckham gave up going to the United States and chose to return to England just so that the manager of the national team could observe his form from nearby. Why not put our trust in this man again when we are facing the scenario where we may not be able to advance? He once saved us once — the previous 2002 World Cup qualifier against Greece —?why can’t he do it again?! Hello, Mr. McClaren, are you watching this game? If you’re still agonizing over not having a hero to step forward at a critical moment, just look here, here’s one! He just saved Tony Twain’s unbeaten record against Mourinho! He can also continue to save England!”

※※※

The television commentator was right. Beckham’s goal just saved Tony Twain’s unbeaten record. The Forest team basically had no plan during the entire game. Every attack was countered by the opponent. Just when Twain thought the game would end like that and was feeling frustrated, a deity finally heard his repeated whine and could no longer bear the endless nagging. He sparked a flash of inspiration upon Beckham.

The score was finally fixed at 1:1.

When the ninety-minute game was over, Twain turned and walked toward Mourinho. He took the initiative to extend his hand and shouted Mourinho across the way, fearing that the other man would ignore him and walk away.

“What a pity, Mr. Mourinho!”

Mourinho heard his voice, turned his head to look at the smiling Twain, and said with a straight face, “it’s really strange that this is the first time I’ve met a manager who is so happy after he tied with the visiting team at home.”

With that, he did not shake Twain’s hand and turned around to walk off.

Twain stopped in surprise. He was also aware that there was something wrong with his conduct. He took back his outstretched hand and awkwardly scratched his head. He just thought about shaming Mourinho and did not expect to humiliate himself.

He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his team. It was really not a good result to tie with Chelsea at home, but that was how football games could be. He could accept a draw. By comparison, Mourinho was a lot unluckier. He still had not won!

Chapter 602 - The Kiss

After he had the breakfast made by Shania, Tony Twain sat on the couch and read the major newspapers that had just been published. In addition to giving some attention to the terrible stuff that his dear news media friends said about him, he also wanted to see if there was any amusing gossip he could also learn about every aspect of this society. After all, he was a Chinese man in his previous life and was still quite unfamiliar to capitalist society.

Besides, deep down, he wanted to see if there was any news about that man. He skimmed through the society edition and flipped to the sports section.

The draw between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea did not cause the Forest team to pull away from the first two teams, which was one reason that Twain could still laugh after the game. Since Manchester United and Arsenal had tied game with 2:2, Twain’s point gap was still one point away from the two teams — Arsenal and Manchester United both had thirty points. With the rankings temporarily based on the number of goals scored, Arsenal was in the top spot and Manchester United was in the second. Nottingham Forest temporarily ranked third with twenty-nine points. At twenty-six points each, Manchester City and Liverpool were in fourth and fifth, respectively, while Mourinho’s Chelsea — poor Chelsea, who were forced to a tie with the Forest team in the last moments of the game — now had twenty-five points and ranked sixth.

Seeing the newly announced league points table in the papers, Twain knew Mourinho’s days would be even harder, but perhaps Mourinho still had time to adjust and save his coaching career at Chelsea. Twain did not care if he could not save it.

It was the first day after the game and the team had a vacation, so they did not have to do any training. The players and coaches had a whole day to rest. After that, the players assigned to national teams would fly to various places and join their national team teammates. For those without any national team assignments, they would return to the Wilford training base for their daily training. As the Forest team would be missing a large number of its main players, the team would not carry out any combined tactical practice and would mainly do physical recovery training.

During that time, Twain’s job was usually simple, as most of the things were the responsibility of the assistant managers, but Twain would look busier because Dunn was going back to his country for two days.

Nottingham Forest and the television station in Hunan, China, as well as a number of media and sports finance companies were working together on the football youth talent show, which had entered the final training stage. According to the cooperation agreement signed between the two sides, Nottingham Forest needed to send a coach to China for a short inspection and guidance. It was not for a long time, only four days, but Twain might have forgotten the matter if Dunn had not brought it up.

After the agreement was signed, he threw that cooperation or something aside. He basically did not remember any of it in the meantime. Therefore, when he heard Dunn said he was going home, Twain stared as if Dunn was joking with him.

Dunn spent a lot of energy to make Twain understand that he was not joking. He was really following the requirements of the contract to return home to fulfill the contract. Twain muttered again about why it had to be him and not any other coach. Dunn said, “because I am Chinese, and the event is held in China,” which shut Twain up.

It was true that there was no better candidate than Dunn. Evan and Allan wanted to fully demonstrate Nottingham Forest’s sincerity in its participation in the cooperation, so the club’s top executives demanded that they send someone with adequate coaching standards and qualifications to China. Being Chinese, Dunn was naturally the best candidate. There was no one with a better understanding of the current state of Chinese football and understood the Chinese football youth. At least, that was how it looked to outsiders.

Twain was reading the newspapers when the doorbell rang. He was about to get up and open the door when he heard the sound of hasty footsteps. Shania trotted out of the kitchen, wearing an apron, and did not even had time to dry her hands. She opened the door and cried, “Brother Dunn!”

“Good morning, Shania. Is Tony...” Outside the door, Dunn saw Twain, who appeared behind Shania.

Twain noticed a suitcase by Dunn’s feet.

“Getting ready to leave?”

Dunn nodded. “This flight is this afternoon.”

“The flight is in the afternoon and it’s only morning, you don’t have to be so...” Twain moved his head to the side and saw a black cab parked on the side of the road behind Dunn, with a familiar face in the back window. He snorted. “I was going to say I’d send you off, but it appears there’s no need to.”

Dunn knew who Twain saw and nodded. “She’s coming back with me.”

Twain nodded to show that he understood.

“I will not say much, just take care of yourself and come back early.” Twain smiled. “Maybe you’ll bring a Chinese talent back with you?” Twain smiled more. “A table tennis genius?”

Dunn did not respond to his sarcastic remark. He picked up his suitcase and bade goodbye to the two people standing at the door, before he turned to walk toward the cab. Inside the cab, Tang Jing smiled and waved goodbye to Twain, but Twain pretended not to see it.

Closing the door, Shania asked Twain, “you don’t want Dunn to go, Uncle Tony?”

“Of course. With him away, I’m going to have to do a lot of trivial things. And those things are the ones I hate the most.” Twain shrugged and went back to the living room to continue reading his newspapers.

Shania looked at his back and smiled. “Good, you can get some exercise!”

Sitting on the couch, Twain did not look back and just asked, “you have been very free lately. Don’t you have any jobs?”

“My jobs are concentrated during the Christmas period. There’s plenty of time to rest now.”

Twain laid on the couch and stretched his back. “Never have I ever seen such a laid back professional model like you.”

Shania, who was not in a hurry to return to the kitchen, smiled slightly as she sat down and replied, “this time next year, I won’t have so much free time.”

“Why is that?”

“Mr. Fasal has arranged some jobs for me which have nothing to do with the runway shows.”

“Are you going to be in some television commercials?”

“No, a movie.” There was no trace of joy in Shania’s voice.

Twain sat up on the couch and looked at Shania, who sat in a chair and asked, “Why do I feel like you don’t sound very happy? I should congratulate you on...”

“It’s just a background character that doesn’t even have a line. What’s there to congratulate?”

Twain smiled. “So you’re unhappy because you’re not the lead character. There are no natural-born leading characters in the world. All those big movie stars started out in minor roles without any lines. I remember you enjoy watching movies very much.”

Shania nodded. “Yes, I like movies, so I want to try acting. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have promised to do that kind of work...”

Twain cleared his throat. “You keep rejecting the work that Mr. Fasal arranges for you, which makes things difficult for Mr. Faisal, Shania.”

Shania shrugged her shoulders and pouted without saying anything.

Twain looked at Shania’s unhappy face with her head bowed. He thought for a moment and suddenly recalled a person. The last time he saw that person, she had said she went to Hollywood to be a producer. Perhaps she could help?

Since it was something Shania liked, he should help her. Although the showbusiness was messy all over the world, if anyone dared to bully Shania, he would make whoever it was pay for it.

Moreover, if that person did do well in Hollywood, it would not be difficult for her to take care of Shania, would it?

Twain heard a faint sound of water splattering from the kitchen, and he pointed to it. Shania also reacted. She had come out in a hurry to open the door and forgot to turn off the water. With a scream, Shania jumped up and ran back to the kitchen.

Twain went upstairs. He was going to call this friend and ask her for a favor.

※※※

“Tony?” Clarice Gloria was surprised to hear Twain’s voice. “You haven’t called me for so long; I thought you’d forgotten about me!”

Twain could clearly feel the enthusiasm in this voice, even across the phone and the entire Atlantic Ocean. He just mumbled in reply. He was really busy with his work and was negligent in contacting her. But perhaps there was another reason: he was a little afraid of facing Gloria’s enthusiasm.

“I’ve been really busy with work... I’m so sorry, Clarice. How are you doing in America? I haven’t heard from you much either.”

Clarice smiled. “I read your latest gossip, Tony. You’ll always be a popular man with the sports media. What about that Turkish beauty?”

Twain coughed twice. “There are all kinds of scenarios one faces in life...”

Clarice laughed on the other end of the line, and when her laughter subsided, she said, “you must have called me about something, right?”

Twain liked to interact with this smart person. There were some things he did not have, and the other person would understand, which saved a lot of hassle.

“Well... It’s like this...” Twain told Clarice about Shania and conveyed what he had thought. Then he waited quietly for her reply.

It was silent on the other end for a while before Gloria suddenly asked, “Tony, tell me, what’s your relationship with Shania?”

Twain was stumped by the question, and then he said, “how do I put it? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say I’m her guardian in the UK?” When Shania moved here, her parents did communicate with Twain. Their words revealed the hope that Twain would take good care of Shania, make her happy, and supervise her.

“That’s it...” There was another silence and it was slightly longer this time, which made Twain think that the call was interrupted.

“Well, if she were to come here to develop her career, I’d do everything I can to take care of her.” Gloria said what Twain most wanted to hear, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Twain was not a person who liked to ask another person for a favor. He felt that it was not good to owe others and for others to owe him. He was used to solving his own problems. That was true both before and after his transmigration. It was just that as a football manager, he really could not help with Shania’s matter.

“Thank you so much, Clarice. I... Well, how can I thank you...” Twain really did not know how to repay her.

Gloria laughed again. “I think that to be able to hear the incorrigible Tony Twain thank me so carefully with such a gentle tone, is a good reward in itself. That is something that not everyone can encounter.”

Twain scratched his head and chuckled.

“You’re my friend, and what concerns my friend is naturally my business.” Gloria showed her capable and experienced side and was forthright, rather like the chivalrous heroes in Chinese martial arts novels. “You don’t need to thank me, Tony. Besides, I just made some inquiries and received some news that may be of some help to you and Shania.”

Did she make some inquiries during the previous two periods of silence? Twain admired the woman’s style of doing things. He seldom admired women because he was a little chauvinistic, but Clarice Gloria really impressed him.

“The film Shania had her debut role in was by the studio... United Artists.” To anyone who was in the film industry, they would be familiar with the name and they would be amazed. However, Twain was a shut-in who did not know anything but football, so he was completely unresponsive as he waited for Gloria to continue.

Gloria thought of Twain’s personality and smiled. “It is a very influential production company in Hollywood. It was first founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith and other famous Hollywood figures in 1919 in conjunction with the MGM film company.” After she listed the names of so many famous people in the film industry, Twain finally understood the status of this company, but what did that have to do with Shania? Those people were ancient history.

Gloria knew Twain would not know the marvel behind it, and she patiently continued, “A year ago, the company changed hands, and their new executive is Tom Cruise. Do you recall anything, Tony?”

When the familiar name was mentioned, Twain immediately reacted. “Tom Cruise? Isn’t he best friends with David Beckham?”

Gloria’s voice came from the other end of the line. “Correct. You can use that relationship to formally introduce Shania to Tom Cruise. It will be of great help not only in the film, but for her future development in Hollywood.”

That information was really useful to both Twain and Shania. Twain once again sincerely thanked Gloria, and warmly invited her to England. After the two said goodbye, he hung up the phone and walked downstairs.

Shania had finished tidying up in the kitchen and was curled up on the couch. She held the Totoro pillow as she watched a movie. Twain recalled that Shania had indeed been watching more movies than usual recently. Perhaps she was pondering on how to act?

Although it was only a background character, she took it very seriously...

With that in mind, Twain felt that he did the right thing to ask Gloria for help.

Shania did not like modeling, but she liked movies. If she could be an accomplished actress, it would be also very good!

Twain sat next to Shania with a smile and looked at her.

Shania thought that Uncle Tony was a little strange. She took her eyes off the television screen and moved her gaze to Twain’s face. “What are you so happy about, Uncle Tony?”

“Well...” Twain thought about it and decided to be direct. “I’m going to introduce someone to you. Since you like movies so much, I think you’ll be interested.”

“Who?”

“The Hollywood superstar, Tom Cruise!” Twain gestured for a moment, and announced in an excited tone, “he’s David Beckham’s best friend. I can go to David and ask him to introduce you. So, when you’re growing your career over at Hollywood, you’ll have one more friend. Isn’t it nice?”

After Twain finished saying excitedly, he found that Shania looked at him with a somewhat strange expression. She was not as happy as he had imagined. “What’s the matter, Shania?”

“Uncle Tony...” Shania cleared her throat, “Your meeting with David and his wife, was I not the one who introduced you to them?”

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

“They knew me before they met you. Victoria and I have a good relationship, so... I met Tom before I introduced you to them. The acting that role I got this time was obtained with Tom’s help...”

Twain’s mouth was agape as if he had just heard a marvelous story. Then he reacted and muttered with some chagrin, “so that means what I did just now was useless?”

Looking at Twain’s dejected look, Shania smiled. She got up from the couch, knelt behind Twain, and put her arms around his neck. Twain could feel two soft mounds against his back, and he was suddenly a little nervous.

“This is to thank Uncle Tony,” Shania said softly and kissed Twain on the cheek.

After the kiss, Shania let go of Twain, jumped off the couch, and stretched her back. “You reminded me, Uncle Tony. When there’s a chance, I have to introduce my friend to you. Do you like watching the Mission: Impossible movies?”

Twain answered in a daze. He was still reliving the kiss. It was warm, wet, and sweet... Even though the kiss was only on his cheek, it was still wonderful.

In the moment when Shania’s lips were on him, he could feel his heart stopping beating. His heart suddenly contracted.

That was the closest contact he had with Shania since they started living together. He seemed to hear something deep in his heart break and make a “crack” sound. He did not know whether the sound was a good thing or a bad thing.

By the time he came back to himself, Shania had gone upstairs. Twain sat alone on the couch in the living room. He slowly reached up with his hand to place it on the side of his cheek, which had just been kissed by Shania, and gently rubbed it.

Shania was no longer that child who laid in his arms, soft and defenseless as she was tormented by a high fever and covered in sweat.

He lifted his other hand and buried his face deep in them.

Chapter 603 - A Little Lonely

Twain recovered from the trance and realized that Shania had not come downstairs yet. Feeling a little odd, he walked up the stairs, and the two of them bumped into each other at the stairwell.

“Ah! Uncle Tony...” Shania was startled by Twain, who suddenly came up.

Twain glanced at her. It turned out that she went to change her clothes.

“Are you going out?” He asked.

Shania nodded, then pulled Twain’s arm. “I want to go shopping with you. It’s not nice to always stay at home.”

Twain thought this was a good suggestion. It was a shame to coop up at home and not make use of the one day of vacation.

If the two of them were to go out, they both needed to “dress up” a little to hide their identities. It was mainly to cover up Shania’s identity. If Twain went shopping alone, he did not need to conceal himself. Even if he were to be recognized on the streets, it was no big deal. At best, he just had to chat a little, sign a photograph or something.

A manager was also a person. No matter how famous a manager was, he also had his own life. If paparazzi wanted to come sniffing around, track him, and take photographs of ordinary things such as shopping to publish in newspapers, wouldn’t the readers tear them up?

Therefore, there was not much gossip about the managers in the various English media because managers were mostly older men with families and their lives were more regular and low-key. The reporters from The Sun could squat and keep watch over some big star player’s mansion, go through their trash cans to find sex tapes, but the paparazzi would not creep around the doorsteps of a certain manager’s house.

Shania was different. Currently the hottest supermodel in the world, her each and every move would be of great interest to those entertainment media. Most importantly, if the media were to find out any gossip that Shania, who had been scandal-free, was holding hands and shopping with an old man, and that older man was not her father or grandfather, who knew what kind of rumors were going to come out?

From that point of view, it was necessary for them to disguise their identities. Even if they were not in London and Manchester, which was concentrated with the paparazzi prowling the streets.

Shania put on a pair of large-framed sunglasses that covered almost half her face and wore an elaborate hat. That way, unless someone stared carefully, they could hardly recognize her. Twain was dressed more casually. He just wore a pair of sunglasses. The two went out the door hand in hand.

While waiting for Landy’s car at the door, Twain glanced at Shania, who held his hand as she stood beside him. He thought about the way he and Shania appeared now. If outsiders were to see them, what would they think?

— They are a father and daughter, aren’t they? How nice!

Although he was only thirty-eight years old, it was reasonable that people would mistake him for Shania’s father from his appearance. Caucasian faces looked older.

Twain did not want to look older in other people’s eyes, but now he really wanted people to view the relationship between the two of them in that way. It was better than being seen as a sugar daddy, who bought trendy gifts for young girls to coax them into bed, wasn’t it?

Landy came very quickly and drove to the front of Twain’s house. He waved to the two from the car and laughed. “What a nice father and daughter!”

Twain smiled with relief. Landy did not say he was a sugar daddy, but Shania’s reaction next gave him a headache.

Shania happily said, “yes, yes! Then I’ll call you Daddy today, Uncle Tony! I was still worrying about what to call you when we are outside. This is settled! Thank you, Landy!”

Twain’s mouth pulled back at the corners and he looked embarrassed. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Shania opened the car door and pointed inside. “Let’s get in the car, Daddy!”

Twain glared at her and got into the car helplessly. Shania followed suit. After she closed the car door, she asked, “where are we going, Daddy?”

The driver, Landy, saw Twain’s awkward expression in the rearview mirror and laughed happily.

“Shania... we’re not in a public place yet...” Twain coughed.

“This is a warm-up! I’m afraid I won’t get into the role and give the game away!” Shania answered justifiably.

Twain’s eyes bulged, and he raised his right hand. “If you’re mischievous again, Daddy will give you a spanking!”

“Wow. Daddy’s so fierce! You’d agreed!” Shania shouted exaggeratedly. She pointed to Twain and smiled smugly. “Daddy, I want new clothes! Daddy, I want a new toy! Daddy, I want some pocket money! Will you, Daddy... Daddy!” She held Twain’s hand and acted like a spoiled child.

Landy laughed until he bent over the steering wheel and could not get up.

Twain was afraid to get mad at Shania, so he said gruffy to Landy, “drive your car, Landy! Hold the steering wheel steady!”

Shania got away with her scheme and leaned smugly against Twain’s shoulder.

Landy glanced at the rearview mirror. No matter how he looked at them, they looked like father and daughter... But it was a shame that it was only a father and daughter...

※※※

Twain and Shania returned home with many bags of stuff in their arms when the sky darkened.

While they were out, Shania had fully showcased her acting skills. She played a spoilt daughter who liked to whine to her father very well. She would hang on if she saw something she liked and not let go and insist that “her Daddy Twain” buy it for her. Luckily, all the things she liked were small toys, and nothing too expensive.

“Your daughter is so beautiful, sir!” An oblivious salesperson would often smile while Twain paid, or they would say to Shania, “your father treats you very well, Miss!”

It often made Twain roll his eyes, and Shania buried her face in the plush toys and giggled.

When they got home, Twain piled the things in his arms on the table, fell on the couch, too tired to get up again.?“It’s tiring to go shopping with women!”

Shania pouted. “Every man says that. Daddy, you’re such a cliché! Ah...”

As she finished, she suddenly realized that they were no longer in a public place, so she did not need to address him like that.

Twain turned his head and looked helplessly at her. She stuck out her tongue and giggled. “I got used to calling you that after doing that the entire day... I didn’t mean to, Dad... Uncle Tony!” She saw Twain raised his palm, so she hurriedly straightened and corrected herself.

“I’m going to be angry, Shania!” Twain warned with an evil grin.

Shania did not give him a chance. She made a face and ran up the stairs, carrying a bunch of soft toys.

Twain was so tired that he laid down again. He felt a hard object press against his waist. He got up again to touch it and found that it was his cell phone.

The screen lit up and he was surprised to find that there was a text message.

Both before or after his transmigration, Twain did not like texting people. He thought it was too slow to type on his cell phone’s keyboard with one finger. If he had anything to convey, he would call. People who were familiar with him called him if they had anything to discuss. Few people would text him — unless the phone call could not get through or no one picked up the phone. Shania was the only exception. She would text Twain to chat when she was bored while she was out doing runway shows. Twain could only patiently reply with text messages.

He opened the Inbox and found the text message came from an unfamiliar number.

“Goodbye, Mr. Twain. Hopefully we’ll have another chance to play against each other in the future.”

Not able to make heads or tails out of it, Twain was confused. The text message was sent three hours ago, while he and Shania were on a shopping spree and playing the role of a “loving father of a daughter.”

He stared at the string of numbers for a long while and could not think of whose phone number it was. He wanted to call them to find out, but when he saw that the person’s text message did not even give an introduction to their identity, he could not be bothered to meddle. Whoever it was and whatever the matter was, he was just going to let it be.

His lips pulled at the corners and he put his finger on the “Delete text message” button.?But he thought again, and finally moved his finger away.

“Shania, are you hungry?” Twain yelled as he looked upstairs.

“A little!” Shania shouted back.

“I’ll make you delicious Chinese food today!” With that, Twain got up and went to busy himself in the kitchen.

Shortly, Shania changed her clothes and came down to help. She was curious and wanted to learn how to cook Chinese food from Twain.

The two were so busy that it was a flurry in the kitchen, but they were very happy.

Twain also forgot about that bizarre text message amid the laughter and cheerful talk.

※※※

The next day, Twain got up early. He was going to get back to work today. With Dunn not around, he needed to get busy with more things.

At the dining table, he picked up a newspaper and habitually flipped to the sports section.

“Hey, Uncle Tony!” Shania found him reading the newspaper again while he was eating. She frowned.

This time, Twain did not listen to her and put the newspaper down, but held the newspaper as if he were possessed.

“Uncle Tony, Uncle Tony...” Shania grabbed the newspaper from Twain’s hand. Twain did not reproach her. She was surprised to see Twain pull out his cell phone.

She glanced at the newspaper that enraptured Twain, and a large headline on it stood out:

“Goodbye, José— José Mourinho leaves Chelsea”

The subheading below was:

“Abramovich: This was an amiable breakup.”

She knew who Mourinho and Abramovich were, and she understood why Uncle Tony behaved that way.

Twain flipped to the text he had received yesterday, and dialed the number.

When Mourinho’s voice sounded on the other end of the line, Twain was stunned and did not know what to say. He had called on the spur of the moment and did not think about what to say if he got through.

“Hello? Mr. Twain, if you’re going to call early in the morning to wake me up just to waste your phone bill, then I don’t mind putting the phone aside and continue my sleep.”

“Ah, ah...” It was only when he heard Mourinho’s sarcasm that Twain returned to normal. “Well... damn, I just read the news and suddenly wanted to call you. But I don’t know what to say... How did you know my phone number yesterday?”

“Jorge gave it to me.” Jorge Mendes was Pepe and Rafinha’s agent and also considered Twain’s “old acquaintance.”

“Oh...” Twain’s tone implied “that’s it” but he had not thought through what he was going to say next.

It was Mourinho who rescued him. “Is the news of my departure so shocking that even Mr. Twain, who has always been quick-witted and sharp, does not know what to say?”

Twain’s brain became clearer a little to reply, “No, I knew early on that you would leave Chelsea.”

Mourinho became very interested in his words. “Oh? Since when?”

“Since the day you became the Chelsea manager.”

Mourinho laughed in a low voice.

“I’m not joking. You and Abramovich have a mismatch of personalities. One of you was bound to leave sooner or later. The club chairman was much less likely to walk away than the manager, so it was bound to be you who would leave.”

Mourinho listened with interest to Twain’s analysis and then asked, “you... are also considered kind of a tough guy. So why are you still doing well as the Nottingham Forest manager?”

“My boss is smarter than your boss. He knows when to give in, to delegate to his men, and to sacrifice his personality to satisfy others...”

On the other end, Mourinho grunted. “Yes, you’re right about that.” He seemed to be nodding his head and spoke with the beat.

After a brief silence, Twain asked, “may I ask what you intend to do next, Mr. Mourinho?”

“I have a deal with Chelsea and cannot coach any Premier League teams in the next year. That way, I can get more “breakup fees.” I want to have a good rest for a while, anyway.” It could be the first time that Mourinho and Twain were in atmosphere without any daggers drawn and no of the explosive communication.

This feeling was so fresh and wonderful that Twain forgot to eat breakfast. Shania also did not urge him. She just waited quietly beside him.

“Then may I buy you a drink?” Twain raised the old topic again.

Mourinho found it strange and asked, “why are you so obsessed with asking me for a drink, Mr. Twain?”

“Uh, um... One of my reasons to be a coach: to take advantage of my position and have a drink with all the world’s leading managers after a game.”

Hearing Twain’s strange reason, Mourinho laughed. “Only in England. There’s this quirky tradition to have a drink after the game, Mr. Twain. But I’m still going to turn you down.”

“Why?” asked Twain.

“Because we are still enemies. I did not say I was going to give up football and retire. You’re continuing to coach Nottingham Forest and it looks like the team is unlikely to be relegated in the next few years. It will often be in Europe’s top tournaments... So, Mr. Twain, we’ll always have a chance to play against each other again. As long as there’s that possibility, you’re still my enemy. I never drink and make merry with the enemy.”

“All right.” Twain gave up the idea. “Are you going back to Portugal?”

“Yes, go home and rest.”

“You’re not coming back to England?”

“No, I did not sell the house in London. The agreement just states that I can’t coach a Premier League team for a year, but it did not state that I can’t a year from now. Who can tell clearly what’s going to happen in the future?”

“Very well. I wish you good luck.”

“I wish you good luck, too, Mr. Twain.”

After he hung up the phone, Twain looked at Shania, and Shania looked back at him.

“You don’t look very happy, Uncle Tony,” Shania said as she tilted her head to look at Twain.

“Why do you say that?” Twain did not deny it. He just asked.

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. You’re not happy.”

Twain smiled. “I should be happy.”

“Why?”

“Because I would have one fewer powerful enemy.” Twain pointed to the newspapers. “But my real thought is: ‘God, there’s one less interesting opponent!’ I can’t be happy at the thought of it. You’re right, Shania. I’m not happy. I feel a little empty inside. It’s like... it’s like, losing a very important friend...”

Twain laughed again self-deprecatingly.

“Have you ever heard anything like that, Shania? ‘In fact, the person who knows you best and cares about you the most is often your greatest enemy.’ Look at what these papers are saying...” He picked up the newspaper and pointed at the photograph of Mourinho waving with a small caption below, and he read, “Goodbye, José. Without you, the English Premier League will feel lonely.”

“I agree with The Sun for the first time. I feel a little lonely.”

Shania looked at Twain, who was staring at the newspaper, without saying a word.

※※※

When Twain arrived at the gate of the Wilford training base, he found that a number of reporters had gathered here. He was a little surprised. Should the center of the world’s attention not be at Stamford Bridge in London? The dismissal of José Mourinho, the fanatic manager, could be counted as a piece of sensational news in the world.

“Why are you all here?” Twain looked at the reporters. “Aren’t you going to London? Big things are happening there.”

One of the reporters came forward. “It turns out you know, too, Mr. Twain.”

“Thanks to you reporters, I got wind of it during breakfast.” In fact, he knew yesterday afternoon.

The reporter continued, “According to some of Abramovich’s trusted aides, the Russian admires your coaching results and wants you to go to Stamford Bridge. We’re here to seek confirmation...”

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Twain’s laughter. Twain laughed happily. He was really very happy and definitely did not fake it.

“Thank you for letting me hear the funniest joke of the day. Thank you, Mr. Reporter.” Twain said to the confused reporters when his laughter subsided.

“No, it’s not a joke. It’s true, I have a reliable insider source...” That journalist felt that his integrity was insulted, and he stressed the veracity of his source very seriously.

Since he was being serious, Twain looked somber.

“Well, if what you’re saying is true, that you do have an insider source who is Abramovich’s trusted aide and he tells you that Abramovich is interested in me, then I would like to trouble you to return a message to that trusted aide and Mr. Abramovich himself.”

A group of reporters stood at attention and turned on their phones and recording pens in succession, ready to record Twain’s response to the rumor. The television reporters extended their microphones to Twain, and the camera lens faced the man.

“Dear Mr. Roman Abramovich...” “Twain cleared his throat and looked directly at the cameras.

“F**k you.”

Chapter 604 - A Public Apology

“The former Chelsea manager, José Mourinho’s departure has caused a huge reaction in the football world. The inside details of his dismissal and candidates for his replacement have been the subject of the media hype these past two days. A group of Chelsea fans staged a small demonstration at the entrance of the Stamford Bridge stadium yesterday to protest the Chelsea club chairman, Abramovich’s dismissal of José Mourinho. Other teams’ managers have commented one by one, saying that Abramovich’s dismissal of José Mourinho is a step backward for football.”

Tony Twain’s face appeared on the television screen. He was standing at the gate of the Wilford training base and facing numerous reporters while he looked at the camera. “Dear Mr. Roman Abramovich, bleep-bleep”

When Sky TV broadcasted this video footage, they censored Twain’s crude language. However, everyone could guess what was silenced based on his lips —”F**k you.”

“Yesterday morning, Manager Twain’s comments caused some trouble for himself. The Nottingham Forest Football Club has already received an official letter of protest from Chelsea FC. They expressed a strong objection to the personal attack toward their club chairman by the Forest manager, Tony Twain, and stated that no one at Chelsea had reached out to Twain through any channels to send him an invitation to coach the team.”

The news that played on the television took place a day ago.

Twain’s big mouth got him into trouble again. Amid the news about José Mourinho, his crude language had secured valuable pages for himself. After he “cordially greeted” Abramovich in front of several media outlets, his remark and photographs of him were published in several major national newspapers, and television stations also reported the news in the sports news.

Twain did not just abuse Abramovich in front of the press. He vehemently slammed the Chelsea Football Club’s top echelon in his column, calling the cruel attitude a murder of the Chelsea fans — “They murdered the Chelsea fans’ joy in the pursuit of victory.”

Twain’s tough attitude and reaction came as a surprise to many people, so the incident with his foul language was newsworthy. Everyone had thought that since Twain and Mourinho were famously enemies in the league, almost to the extent of sending bullets to each other as death threats, Mourinho’s dismissal would delight Twain.

No one would have thought that Twain stood on Mourinho’s side and would abuse the Chelsea club.

Out of the nineteen managers in the English Premier League, no one anticipated that Twain’s reaction would be so intense. Ferguson and Wenger expressed regret and disappointment at Mourinho’s dismissal and praised Mourinho’s achievements at Chelsea. Only Tony Twain abused them and almost lost control.

No one could have guessed what Twain was thinking, why he did it, and what good it would do for him to do so.

Even Evan Doughty convened with Twain and made it clear to him that the club would not come forward to defend him because it was clearly a private matter for Twain and had nothing to do with the Nottingham Forest Club. The Forest club was only involved due to Twain.

Twain agreed with Evan’s handling of the matter because it was really due to his personal emotional outburst. The other reason he did not want to get the club involved was if he had to deal with it on his own, he would have more freedom and would not have to consider the club’s image.

※※※

“Did they really look for you?” During dinner back home, Shania asked about whether the Chelsea Football Club had ever looked for Twain to be its manager.

Twain shook his head. “They have not looked for me. And even if they meant to find me, they wouldn’t be able to come to me now.”

“Hmm…” Shania bit the spoon and looked up at the ceiling. “What if they did come to you?”

“I would refuse,” Twain answered. “But I’ll play them before I refuse.”

He smiled. Shania glared at him. “Are you going to get yourself into trouble again?”

“This is not a hassle. It’s just a little adjustment in life. Don’t you think it will hurt their feelings if I look grim as I reject them? So I used a different way, which also entertained the public. Don’t you like pranks the best, Shania?”

Shania’s eyes rolled. “What nasty idea have you got?”

Twain smiled. “I’ll gather the reporters and call for a personal press conference tomorrow or the day after to issue a public apology to Abramovich and the Chelsea club.”

Shania widened her eyes and looked at him unbelievably. “You’re going to concede, Uncle Tony?”

Twain smiled. “How is that possible? Since you don’t have to work during this period and dare not go out to the streets most of the time, you must be depressed at home. I will give you some fun. Anyway, you’ll know when you watch the news.”

He was being mysterious, and Shania did not continue to ask. She believed that her Uncle Tony was not going to be that easy guy. Just when someone thought that he was going to be like that, he would do just the opposite.

※※※

The next day, Pierce Brosnan got a call from Twain. He wanted Brosnan to help him contact his media friends to hold a press conference at the Wilford training base.

Twain made it a point to state that it was a personal press conference and had nothing to do with the Nottingham Forest Football Club. He also told him that it was held to apologize to Mr. Abramovich.

Without mentioning the specifics of the press conference, that piece of news was enough to get Twain’s picture in the morning newspapers on television, and online. Twain had abused the man two days ago and would actually apologize today. Swearing at people was common for Twain, but apologies were uncommon, especially if he had to issue a public apology with huge fanfare just one day after cursing the person out. It had never happened before.

Brosnan thought that the matter was probably not as simple as Twain said, so he asked, “Mr. Twain, you… Are you really going to apologize to him?”

On the other end of the line, Twain chuckled hoarsely. “Of course, it’s an apology, an open apology to fully demonstrate my sincerity. You just help me get in touch with your media friends. As you know, I have more enemies than friends in your industry. There are some words I can’t say. You’ll be more effective than me.”

Brosnan, who had agreed, was a little gloomy after he hung up the phone. Just yesterday, he only wrote his own article to rally for Twain. He did not expect the protagonist’s attitude to reverse completely today. It made it awkward for him to stop halfway.

He told his boss the news that Twain was going to apologize, and his boss was very happy. He did not care that his newspaper had always been steadfast in their support for Twain. That matter was no less sensational than Twain’s abuse of Abramovich and might be even better than Mourinho’s dismissal if it were to be handled properly. As long as it was good for the newspaper sales, the boss was willing to do everything.

After he gave his approval to contact influential media across the country to attend tomorrow’s press conference at the Wilford training base, he set aside two pages for Twain in his own newspaper so they could report and analyze the press conference in detail and from various angles. He even thought of a headline for Brosnan to use in the news article.

“‘The madman bows his head!’ What do you think of the headline, Pierce?” He asked Brosnan excitedly.

Brosnan nodded and complimented his boss, but he had another idea in mind.

He always felt that things were not so simple. He understood Twain and knew Twain’s temperament. Although Abramovich was wealthy and Chelsea could be considered a powerhouse club, Twain had no reason to apologize just because of a letter of protest or to apologize so publicly. The Tony Twain he knew was a man who might not give in even in the face of the Queen of England. He always seemed to be fearless. And the greater the pressure exerted by others, the greater his backlash was…

Backlash?

Brosnan suddenly figured something out.

He decided to rush to the scene the next day to watch a good show.

※※※

“Manager Tony Twain decided to make a public apology for his malicious talk toward the Chelsea Football Club’s chairman, Abramovich, for which he specifically invited a large number of media outlets to attend tomorrow’s press conference at the Wilford training base.” Sky TV’s evening sports news reported the latest developments.

Twain was going to give in and apologize, which was not a small story according to the media. Many media outlets had to follow up on the report.

Those who liked him were surprised, and those who hated him waited to watch his disgrace.

Some of the reporters rushed to the Chelsea club to interview them about their reaction to the incident. The Chelsea Football Club had already been bothered by the recent Mourinho’s dismissal, and they did not make any comment on the matter of Twain’s apology, but everyone believed that Chelsea would be watching the matter closely. That was almost certain. With a man like Tony Twain, one could like or dislike him very much, but no one could just ignore him.

Since the phone conversation that morning, Twain and Mourinho did not make any further contact. From the sprawling news offensive, Twain knew Mourinho had returned to Portugal.

He did not do this as a show of goodwill toward Mourinho. He did not need to show anything good at all. His sudden outburst was driven only by a sense of dismay.

He knew he and Mourinho were in the same boat. Both strong and unyielding fanatical managers, they appeared to be very different in a traditional country like England. Their predecessor, Brian Clough, was equally praised and reviled. People like them still felt a little out of place in society, even if the times changed.

Mourinho was Twain’s reference in the industry. The treatment he had received might well be his own treatment one day. Since Abramovich was also a strong character, the conflict between the two men became apparent quickly. What about himself?

Although Evan Doughty knew how to be a good leader and was tolerant in the face of Twain’s temper, he was the boss. No matter what the press said, no matter what the fans in the world thought, or how famous Tony Twain was, Evan was the real owner of the club. When the status of the Forest club changed with the rise of their performance, it was uncertain as to whether the real boss would still willing to be behind the scenes and tolerant of everything.

Twain was aware of it, but a strong personality was not something that Twain could change. It had = been branded into his life and soul and was unlikely to change. While he was aware that it might result in = bad consequences, he remained indifferent. It was his character, and a person’s character determined his fate.

Therefore, when he saw that a famous figure like Mourinho could not escape the fate of a dismissal in the end, Twain felt a kind of empathetic loneliness inside.

He had a good personal relationship with Wenger, but Wenger did not understand him. He had gone to a horse race and drank with Ferguson before, but Ferguson did not understand him either. He had not had a drink with Mourinho because Mourinho always refused to drink with the enemy, and he had not had a pleasant exchange with him. They had never said a nice word to each other and always wished each other dead when they encountered the other, but they understood each other because they were one of a kind.

When his wife exclaimed, “oh God, your feet are so cold,” Brian Clough said, “Honey, just call me ‘Brian.’”

José Mourinho said, “in addition to God, there’s me.”

Twain did not believe in God, but he thought he was the center of the world.

They were more arrogant and confident than anyone else. They were also more vulnerable than anyone else. If it had been in the Middle Ages, they might have been denounced as heretics and burned at the stake. They were undaunted by authority in a world where authority dominated everything. A lack of fear of authority was heresy, and heresy meant death. Thankfully, heretics did not have to be tied to burning stakes anymore, but they could lose their jobs, or even their reputations.

Equally the kings of the football, Pelé did better than Maradona after their retirements because he sought authority whereas Maradona did not fear authority. It was the same principle.

Never mind that Twain was doing well now, Mourinho fared just as well as Twain, if not better. He was the winner of the UEFA Europa League, the Primeira Liga, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Treble, and the Premier League twice in a row. Now, he was fired. No matter how reluctant the fans were, he could not rely on the support of the fans to stop it from happening because he was not the real boss. He did not have authority.

The past few days made Twain lament the loss of a worthy opponent and left him with a bit of concern — would Mourinho’s present become Tony Twain’s future?

So he scolded Abramovich and Chelsea. Was he helping José Mourinho? Wrong, he was defending himself.

Madmen were different from ordinary people in the way they defended themselves.

※※※

Shania could very clearly feel that her Uncle Tony’s spirits were low the past few days and she was not in a good mood either, but he still had a smile on his face and would joke with her during dinner.

On the surface, Twain was no different than before, but she and Twain had known each other for several years and spent time together, and Shania knew that Twain was not in a good mood and she was a little vexed as a result. It was hard to explain why she had the feeling. It could only be attributed to a more mysterious reason. She and Twain had a tacit understanding and telepathy. She understood Uncle Tony’s heart and could feel his mood swings every time.

She wished she could do something to help. But what could she do to help in a man’s world?

Her friends were in the fashion industry and show business. They could not come forward and say, “We all support Tony Twain.” It would only make people laugh.

Unfortunately, Dunn was in China and could not help Twain with his problems, which only made Twain feel lonelier.

During dinner, Shania tried to find a joke to tell Twain, hoping that he would be in a better mood after he heard it. Shania really had a gift for telling corny jokes…

Twain felt a little strange. Shania’s jokes were outdated and not funny. Why did she keep talking?

“Are you worrying about something, Shania?” he finally could not help asking.

Shania shook her head hard. “No.”

“But you’re behaving abnormally today.”

“Am I?” Shania curled the corners of her lips to form a slight smile.

Twain stared at her for a moment, and Shania kept that smile the whole time.

“Well, if you don’t want to tell me, I’m not going to force you either.”

Shania was a little flustered when she heard that Twain’s tone was a little rough. She did not want to screw things up. “It’s not like that!” she said hurriedly. “I… I just think that Uncle Tony, you haven’t been in your usual mood lately. You seemed to be anxious and I just wanted to make you happy.”

Twain was a little surprised to hear that. He looked at Shania again, and this time Shania frowned and pursed her lips.

Seeing her like that, Twain suddenly smiled, and he reached out across the table to touch Shania’s head.

“Silly girl.”

Shania did not dodge him. She just let Twain touch her.

“How could I be anxious? You can rest assured that there is nothing. By the end of tomorrow’s press conference, the matter will have nothing to do with me. Why would I be so obsessed with other people’s affairs? It’s just that I scolded someone, so I should explain to that person, right? After this, however the media want to hype will all have nothing to do with me.”

Twain pulled his hand back and pointed to the dining plate in front of him to say. “Let’s eat.”

Shania did not start, but carefully asked, “Are you really OK?”

“I’m really fine. You just wait to watch a good show tomorrow.” Twain chuckled.

※※※

The next day, Twain went to Wilford early to attend his personal press conference before the team began its training.

Reporters from across the country flocked there and squeezed into the small press hall until it was a hubbub. They were waiting for the main protagonist to appear. Before Twain appeared, the reporters were talking about the official announcement from the Chelsea club that morning — Mourinho’s successor was Grant, the Israeli who served as Chelsea’s technical advisor. It came as a bit of a surprise to the media, because generally when the manager was gone, the assistant manager or the youth team manager would be asked to be the acting manager, which was an unwritten practice in the English clubs. But Grant had no previous experience in coaching a top European league team, nor was he an assistant manager. It was incomprehensible that Abramovich would allow him to coach Chelsea… Furthermore, Chelsea’s chief executive, Peter Kenyon, said that Grant was not the transitional manager. He was the official new manager.

When he became Chelsea’s technical advisor, Mourinho was furious and openly questioned, “How is this man qualified to guide me and my team?”

Now he had gone a step further and become Chelsea’s head manager. Many reporters shook their heads at the mention of the change, believing that Chelsea was finished for thw season. The league was nearly halfway over, and it ranked in sixth place. With the sudden change of managers and low morale, they would have to start from scratch.

The buzzing chatter suddenly stopped. Impeccably dressed in a suit, Twain appeared in front of everyone. As he put it: a formal press conference and a formal public apology to convey his formal sincerity…

There was nothing wrong with that in itself, but it felt like nonsense coming out of Twain’s mouth.

Nothing was rational about Tony Twain, even though he always said he was a reasonable man. Tony Twain’s standard of “reason” was not the same as the “reason” known to the general public.

Everyone noted that Twain had a piece of paper in his hand. Was it a letter of apology?

Twain walked toward the microphone and cleared his throat. “To everyone below, I’m going to read a letter of apology to Mr. Abramovich.”

There was a slight commotion. It was indeed formal. He even prepared a script. Usually, when Twain was in a press conference, he just spoke directly.

“I apologize for the crude comments I directed at Mr. Roman Abramovich two days ago.” Twain did not say any nonsense. He bowed his head to read the script and appeared to be very sincere, without the slightest sarcastic or impatient expression on his face. “The media asked me what I thought of Chelsea wanting me to be their new manager. To be honest, I felt at the time that the man was joking, and the facts proved that he was really joking. But at the time this friend insisted that what he said was true and hoped that I would answer it seriously. I was annoyed by this meaningless question because I thought it was an insult to my loyalty to Nottingham Forest. Therefore, in the heat of the moment…” He coughed once and lifted his head to look at the media below. He found that everyone was focused on listening to him.

“…In the heat of the moment, I burst out with an obscenity. After I calmed down, I was fully aware of my mistake and was deeply repentant and disturbed by the harm done to Mr. Abramovich. I hope Mr. Abramovich understands how much I respect him, that his arrival has changed the sport of football and injected a lot of life into it. It was he who changed the conditions at Chelsea FC. I have always admired such a generous person who is passionate about football. I do not doubt his passion for football and his love for the Chelsea club.”

When Brosnan heard that, he had sensed a hint of conspiracy. Twain’s attitude was too nice. It was so nice that it made people feel that it was a little fake…

“Not only have I not had any dissatisfaction against Mr. Abramovich, I would also like to thank Mr. Abramovich and the think-tank around him. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to you.”

A low rumble of discussion voices came from below. More and more people felt this was odd. He just had to apologize. What was up with this thank you?

“Thank you for helping my team drive away a strong contender and an extremely threatening enemy in the competition for the league title.” Speaking of which, Twain suddenly looked up and smiled. His smile was radiant, and to all the reporters present, the smile could not be more familiar. They were all fooled!

They were called by Twain from all over the country just to act in his play and continue to humiliate Chelsea and Abramovich.

“Mr. Mourinho’s Chelsea would have been an important opponent in my plan, but now I am delighted to see that this opponent no longer exists, so that I will have more energy to focus on the other major competitors. Therefore, I must take this opportunity to give particular thanks to the top echelon of the Chelsea Football Club, especially Mr. Abramovich, who has made a great contribution to this matter. If my team ends up winning as expected, I will send you a bouquet and greeting card as a token of my gratitude. It is for this that I recognize how foolish my previous crude words and the slander of Mr. Abramovich were. Mr. Abramovich is a friend of Nottingham Forest and a friend of mine. Thank you very much!”

Twain’s tone was sincere, and he almost bowed.

“I thank Mr. Abramovich and I’m deeply impressed that you have made the sport of football full of competitiveness and vitality. Although… it may have sacrificed a little bit of Chelsea’s interest…” Twain smiled. “Your friend always, Tony Twain.”

After he read this baffling “letter of apology”— was there anyone who still saw it as a letter of apology??— Twain folded the paper in his hand, put it back in his pocket, and got ready to leave.

A group of reporters stood up one by one and raised their hands as they shouted at Twain. “Mr. Tony Twain!”

“Mr. Twain, please stay!”

“Do you really think this is an apology to Abramovich, and not a further provocation?” The scene was chaotic, and someone shouted loudly.

Twain kept walking. “This is really an apology and the sincerest apology and thanks. Not the slightest bit of insult was intended. If you think it’s insulting and provocative, it’s your problem, Mr. Reporter.”

“But anyone with a normal IQ will not think that those remarks were nice words…”

“Are you insulting Mr. Abramovich’s IQ? Watch out for the Chelsea club’s official letter of protest.”

“Mr. Twain! Mr. Twain… We still have questions!”

“I’m sorry. I did not say you were free to ask questions after the press conference.” Twain was almost out the door.

Someone shouted, “Mr. Twain! What do you think of Chelsea letting Avram Grant be the replacement for José Mourinho as the new manager?”

Twain stopped in his tracks. He turned back and swept his gaze across the chaotic press hall. He could not find out who had called out the question. But it did not matter.

“Who is that?” he asked.

Chapter 605 - Outside the Squad List

Twain’s “public apology” and last remark of “who is that?” made him the man of the moment in the media once again. No one had ever played a club for a fool in front of so many reporters, but Twain did.

What happened next was exactly like he had said to Shania. He stopped paying attention to the Chelsea club’s protests and the various voices of the media. He concentrated on his work and did not make any more responses. Are Chelsea and Abramovich unhappy? What’s it got to do with me?

His incident became water cooler conversation for many people, increasing the sales of England’s major newspapers and tabloids each day.

The hype about Mourinho’s dismissal came to an end. After all, no matter how temperamental Mourinho was, he was nothing more than a Portuguese. Twain’s swearing incident would also slowly lose public interest because of his refusal to speak.

During this time and for some time to come, the focus of the English media was on the England national team.

The battle between life and death was imminent.

There were two rounds left in the UEFA European Championship qualifier held in Switzerland and Austria. As Group E had seven teams, there was going to be a team that would come up empty at some point during the competitive schedule and it was England’s turn in the penultimate round. The scoreboard indicated that the England national team was temporarily in the second place with eleven games played and twenty-three points.

According to the rules of the UEFA European Championship qualifying round, fourteen teams would advance from the European Championship qualifiers, the first two teams from each of the seven groups, followed by teams from the two hosts, which would make up sixteen teams.

The first-ranked Croatia, with its twenty-six points, and the third-placed Russia, with its twenty-one points, had one less game than England. If England wanted to advance, they needed to hope that Russia would lose to Israel in the away game in the group stage match held on November 17th. Then England had to defeat Croatia at home on the 21st.

Only then would the team would be able to compete in the next UEFA European Championship.

The condition seemed harsh but was not impossible.

The English media beautifully surmised that Israel was not a weak team, not to mention they were competing at home. And in the final round, the group’s current top ranked Croatia was likely to obtain the right to advance ahead of time. In that case, when they advanced, they did not need to use all their main force and energy to fight with England.

Therefore, anything was possible.

England concentrated on training before the 17th, while the English media cheered for the Israeli team in the hope that they would be able to beat Russia at home and retain the hope for England to advance.

※※※

Starting from the end of the league game against Chelsea until November 24th, the English Premier League would not have a game. The other European leagues were mostly the same. Those two weeks were reserved for games of the top-level national teams. In Europe, it was 2008 UEFA European Championship qualifying matches. In South America, it was the world’s longest competition schedule, the CONMEBOL qualifier. The official competition time was 2010 but due to the special circumstances of South American football, the qualifier had been in full swing in October, the longest World Cup qualifier of the time.

The Asian Football Confederation qualifiers would not begin until February the next year. The Chinese national football team did not need to play any qualifiers because they were hosting the Olympics. After they lost in the AFC Asian Cup, the Chinese Football Association basically dissolved the national team to concentrate on its strategy for the Olympics and dragged the Olympic team to tour all over the world on public expense to play friendlies. The travel, accommodations, venue rentals, opponents’ appearances, as well as miscellaneous subsidies took a lot of money. As for how it would turn out... Twain could only wish the Chinese football team good luck with a sneer.

Sun Jihai, the only Chinese player on the Forest team, was not in the “Olympic strategy” program because he was over twenty-three years old. According to the information revealed by Tang Jing, he would not be on the list of the three over-age players. Therefore, Sun Jihai had nothing to do with the national match and did not have to fly all the way to the United States to waste time and play friendlies with a few major league teams, especially since overage players were generally not involved in such an Olympic friendly.

Nottingham Forest was already a Premier League team and a force to be reckoned with in Europe. It was inevitable that there be a lot of national footballers in the squad and that they would be drafted. It was no longer strange for Twain to encounter such a thing. Apart from complaining that his team played for their countries and then had to recover while they played for the club, he had no way to stop it from happening. After all, he was just a football manager, not the FIFA president.

David Beckham, who scored a goal at the end of the game against Chelsea and helped Nottingham Forest equalize, was popular with the English media. Many media outlets had publicly called for the veteran to be re-appointed. They did not demand him wear the captain’s armband again, but they did not want him play for a couple of paces during the garbage time and then be brought off. Although it was no longer up to the England team to advance, as long as there was a possibility of advancement, it was necessary to give their all in the fight.

McClaren declined to talk about whether or not Beckham would appear on the squad list against Croatia. He also refused to answer the “boring question” of betting on Beckham. His reasons were sufficient: “for the sake of secrecy.”

The media began to build up Beckham’s number of national team appearances. Although there was not much to flaunt, the last eight minutes of the away game against Moscow was the 98th time he had played on behalf of England. It was two games short of one hundred games. If England could beat Croatia on November 21st, then they still had a glimmer of hope of breaking into the finals. In that case, Beckham’s hope of one hundred games remained. Otherwise, it was hard to say what was going to happen.

Watching Britain’s media excitedly discuss Beckham’s record of appearances and how much they looked forward to the prospect of one hundred games, it was as if they had advanced out of the UEFA European Championship qualifier.

The country was so strange. When someone succeeded, they were used to calling them “God,” but once they failed, they scrambled to hang them in the gallows with their own hands. It was rare to be utilitarian to such a point. If Beckham had not scored a crucial goal in the final minutes of the game against Greece in 2001, instantly making him a god, he might not have been able to change his fortune in the United Kingdom.

Twain suddenly thought of Li Ning, the Chinese gymnast. He used to be the darling of the entire country, and then he was the outcast, spurned by hundreds of millions of people. Beckham was more fortunate than Li Ning in that he was still able to save and prove himself. When Li Ning failed, he was old enough to retire and lost the chance to prove those who admonished him wrong with his own efforts.

Sports were cruel. The Olympics and the World Cup were not difference. No matter how beautiful it was, the one who lost was the loser. Only the winner could enjoy the applause and glory. It was not determined by the sport. It was decided by the people, the spectators, the participants involved in the game, the game operators... all human beings.

Beckham, at least, had the entire British media to build momentum for him and plead on his behalf, in hopes that he would appear in the starting list against Croatia and become the hero that saved the country.

However, amidst the conflicting views of the excitement and concern of the English media and fans, one man became a sacrificial victim behind the aura of Beckham’s star power. He was forgotten.

George Wood’s name did not appear on the squad list in the final showdown announced by McClaren.

※※※

Dunn had not returned yet, but Twain was not particularly busy. The team’s training was only one day of practice. It was not much time, but it was high intensity. The relentless Christmas schedule was looming, and the team needed to be fit to cope with the multiple upcoming tournaments and twice or thrice weekly games.

Training was scheduled for the afternoon. Twain had an afternoon nap after his lunch. When he woke up, he would go to Wilford and start his day of training.

Every time he came to the training base, George Wood had already started to warm up.

McClaren had unveiled the full squad list of the last game against Croatia the day before. Out of twenty-five players, Nottingham Forest accounted for two spots — David Beckham and Aaron Lennon.

George Wood’s name was not there.

Although George Wood was not a regular national team member, any fool would know what it implied to take his name off the list before such an important game. Under both Eriksson and McClaren, George Wood had not been placed in an important position except for being in the starting lineup in some unimportant friendlies and appearing as a substitute during garbage time.

He sat on the bench in the World Cup in Germany for all five games and did not get a minute of playing time.

England played twelve games in the UEFA European Championship qualifiers and George Wood received a total of 180 minutes of playing time, averaging fifteen minutes per game. He had never been put in an important position like in Nottingham Forest. The manager did not trust him and there was no spot for him in the tactical system.

However, George Wood did not make any public complaints. Maybe he had not learned how to fight for greater benefits for himself in the national team?

In the end, it was Nottingham local media that looked into it and publicly questioned whether the manager, McClaren, was biased against the players coming out of Nottingham Forest. McClaren’s response was “the England team is concentrated with the best players from England, each of whom may be a core player at their respective clubs. But you can’t ask that these core players continue to be the core once they come to the England team.”

Initially, it made sense, but after a more careful consideration, McClaren had given a perfunctory answer to the reporters. No one asked for George Wood to have a core role in the England team, but he did not even have the minimum playing time. Every time he was brought on to play, it was to waste the time if they were certain to win or lose. It was just using up the time. If the game was very intense and brutal, and the outcome was in doubt until the last second, George Wood was bound to sit on the bench. The diligent Nottingham media collected information on those games and came to a conclusion — McClaren had to have a grudge against George Wood!

Truthfully, it was uncertain if there was a vendetta against Wood, but distrust and the lack of an important position were certain.

McClaren did trust the players that Twain had trained and would not place them in important positions if he could avoid it.

“George.” Twain saw Wood, who was warming up alone on the training ground, and he did not approve of it because of the senseless depletion of stamina. It would affect the effectiveness of training after that. But for a living robot such as George Wood, it was not too much of a problem.

He stepped forward and stood next to Wood to watch him finish a set of warm-ups.

“It’s the game day for the national team, but I see you warming up here. It’s actually quite a rare sight...” Twain said with a laugh.

It was a rare sight. Even though he had very little playing time on the England team, he would still make the squad list. After all, he was the captain of a European Championship team and favored by many as the defensive midfielder. If he were to be placed in other countries, he might have been the main force. It was just somewhat helpless in England because the “double virtue issue” was enough of a headache for every manager. If Wood was in the picture, the “double virtue” became “triple virtue.”

“This is rather good. Anyway, I won’t get to play if I go,” Wood mumbled. He put on his jumper and stood in front of Twain.

He was not in a good mood and appeared to have been affected by the squad list. It was a crucial game that countless professional players loved to encounter because it was possible to prove one’s ability, try their best to save the desperate situation and to become a hero to the entire country. This was especially true for Wood, who liked to keep challenging the limits. The stronger the opponent, the harder it was to play the game, the more vigorous he would be. It was McClaren who deprived him of the right to look forward to the game ten days before the match.

Twain was happy to hear him say that instead. “I thought you didn’t care about this kind of thing at all.”

Wood glanced at him.

Twain was still smiling. “Because you’ve never expressed your displeasure anywhere. Everyone thinks you’re compliant and easy to bully, that you are used to sitting on the bench.?George, if I were you, I would accuse McClaren of not knowing how to use his players, and then announce that I won’t be there if he’s still there, it’s either him or me, if he’s not dismissed, I will not go to the England team...”

“I’m not you.” Wood glanced at him. “But I’m really not happy. I’m not having a good time... on the England team, and I thought about simply not going.”

Twain was a little taken aback, not expecting that Wood would actually say such a thing. He was really having a hard time at the national team.

“I hate being a substitute. If McClaren had said that I was going to be a substitute, I would have turned him down. But he didn’t say... When the Jamaica Football Federation people first approached me and wanted me to play for Jamaica, I refused... Now come to think of it, maybe it would have been better for me to go to Jamaica.”

Twain was silent.

He had heard countless similar stories: a star player had no choice but to change nationality and play for a weaker countries due to the strong domestic competition, just to be able to participate in the World Cup or any other intercontinental cup competition. The situation most commonly occurred in Brazil.

George Wood had his Brazilian nationality, but when he became famous, the Brazilian Football Confederation did not even glance at him because Brazil had too many geniuses. They did not care about George Wood, who was far away in England.

Twain was silent for a moment. “Your choice is right. It’s better not to go to a place like Jamaica, where it would have been impossible to win. Don’t worry... If England can’t advance this time, McClaren won’t stay in that position for long. Maybe a change of manager will do the trick.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Wood looked up.

Twain did not know how to answer. It was not as if there was no such possibility. Some players had to announce their exit from the national team early because they were not used in important positions and had lost the chance to show themselves off on the larger international arena.

He could not say “it’s also good to focus on playing for the club and keep your form going longer” because he also wanted to see Wood play on that wider arena and amaze the entire world.

“Things are always going to get better.” Twain did not know what the future held, but he could only console in that way.

It gradually livened up outside. Players and coaches hurried to the base for training.

Twain had planned to head to his office to deal with trivial matters. As he was about to turn around, he heard Wood say, “if... McClaren’s gone, would you go?”

Twain understood Wood’s meaning. He looked at Wood in puzzlement. “Then I would have to give up my present job. Would you like that?”

Wood thought about it and shook his head. “Forget it. If you don’t go to the England team, at most I won’t go. If you’re not here... I don’t have a job.”

Twain laughed. “When did you learn to joke, George?”

Wood did not say anything. He turned around and walked toward the locker room.

He stood there watching Wood’s back, and then turned to walk toward his office.

His ability to predict had expired, so he could not know whether England would be able to break through Croatia this time. He did not know if McClaren would be out of a job, who his successor would be if he were dismissed, or if that person would like Wood’s style of football... There were too many questions.

However, now he was particularly keen for England to lose that key game and lose its ticket to the UEFA European Championship final.

Someone had to be responsible for the “tragedy.” That person would not be an English Football Association official, nor would he be a star player. It would be the manager, McClaren.

Chapter 606 - McClaren’s good luck

There was no England game on November 17th, but a broadcast by English television stations would be watched by countless people. Russia had an away challenge against Israel. The outcome of the game would determine England’s eventual fate in its advancement.

If Russia won, then the two teams would have played the same number of games and Russia would lead by one point. England would face Croatia in last round of the group while Russia would face the weakest team, Andorra. From the looks of it, it was certain that Russia would win. In that case, even if England won against Croatia, it would not be able to avoid the misfortune of being knocked out.

Therefore, Russia’s away game against Israel would be the focus of all of England.

Twain sat in front of the television to watch the game. He was not concerned about whether England could advance or not. He had no interest in the fate of the England team. It was just that he had two players from his team in Russia’s starting lineup. Since English television stations were going to broadcast it, he might as well inspect the two players’ performances.

Even though Akinfeev was a substitute for Edwin van der Sar on Nottingham Forest for the time being and had only played in the EFL Cup, that had not affected his position as the main goalkeeper in the Russia team in any way. Hiddink had once expressed his displeasure at Twain putting Russia’s number one goalkeeper on the bench, but Twain pretended not to hear it and did what he wanted. He had originally wanted to promote Akinfeev. Who could have thought that Edwin van der Sar’s form would be so good that not only he did not lose his fighting spirit, but he was also fired up by last season’s Champions League victory? He continued to be in top form this season. Since a goalkeeper’s position valued experience and Edwin van der Sar was in a good shape, Twain naturally put him in the starting position.

Arshavin, another member of the Forest team, was currently the captain of the Russian national team. He wore the number 10 jersey and was the core of the team’s offensive organization on the field. In the game England had an away loss to Russia, Arshavin scored one goal and even assisted his teammates with a goal. He played actively in the entire game, giving England’s rear defensive line of star players a headache.

In Nottingham Forest, he was luckier than his fellow Russian because he received numerous appearances, as well as goals and assists because Eastwood was always injured. The English fans were also gradually more familiar with him. During his rookie season in the English Premier League, his performance could be scored seventy points. It proved, once again, that Tony Twain had a good eye for players. In fact, Arshavin’s skills were very much in line with Twain’s tactics — his speed, flank attacks, and plug ins from the back. Moreover, Arshavin’s style of play fit well with the pace of the English Premier League and was not as unadaptable as Grosso.

With the two Russian players playing in the Premier League, the English commentator was familiar with them. However, he did not say anything nice about Russia. He wanted Israel to win from the start of the game.

Although the game was between Israel and Russia, the leading figures seemed to be England and Russia.

Before the game, the Chelsea chairman, Abramovich, promised to reward everyone with 100,000 pounds as long as Russia could defeat Israel! And during Russia’s home win over England, Abramovich walked into Russia’s locker room after the game and gave out a 500,000 reward to each national footballer on the spot!

As a result, due to the Mourinho incident, as well as Twain’s swearing incident, the English media was almost entirely against the Chelsea boss because of their national honor.

The Russian was in action, and so were the English people. Before the game, the entire English team had launched a multi-faceted PR campaign: the national team players lobbied and campaigned their Israeli teammates at their respective clubs in the hope that they would not throw the game for the sake of their friendships. Crouch’s and Gerrard’s Liverpool teammate, Benayoun, could not be in the game due to injuries, which was a blow to the English people. Chelsea’s center-back, the Israeli, Ben Haim, was also “tempted” by Joe Cole. He revealed, “These days, my English teammates have been putting pressure on me. Cole said that as long as I beat Russia, I can choose where to go for a holiday and he will foot the bill. I don’t know if he’s joking, but I’d like to try it. Hopefully Israel will get a good result because I also want to help Mr. Abramovich save money.” The Israeli midfielder, Tamir Cohen, also had an English complex. He said, “My father, Avi used to play for Liverpool and he loved Liverpool and England.”

The English media continued to publish articles urging UEFA to closely monitor the game; UEFA’s official partners, which were some of Britain’s biggest companies, were also busy, hoping to help Israel defeat Russia.

However Israel and Russia were the teams that were actually going to be playing.

“I don’t care what the English or the Russians say.” The Israeli manager, Kashtan, said in an interview before the game, “I just want my team to perform well.”

Obviously, he was a little disgruntled that the real protagonist had become a supporting actor, but his remark reassured England.

As expected, ten minutes into the game, the Israelis took the lead on their own home ground. The British commentator was thrilled, as if England had scored the ball, constantly chanting the name of the goalscorer.

For his part, Twain just shrugged.

In the 60th minute, Russia finally equalized the score. The television broadcast immediately quieted down. After a while, the commentator’s voice piped up again, sounding extremely frustrated.

What would happen if Russia and Israel drew? England had to beat Croatia to secure its advancement. England would be better off if Russia lost to Israel. Then they just needed to draw with Croatia to advance.

A draw would ensure that they could advance.

Twain took his eyes off the television screen as he recalled past events…

※※※

On the television, the game continued thousands of miles away in the Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel. Russia equalized the score after they stepped up the offensive. They also could not put the hope of advancement in the final round on Croatia, who had advanced ahead of time, to carry forward the spirit sportsmanship. Only an away victory over Israel would put the fate of their advancement in their own hands.

On the other hand, the Israelis seemed to be content with the result of a draw with Russia. Their attack was not fierce and even gradually withdrew with the intention to hang on to the one point. The English commentator impatiently shouted, “they definitely won’t be able to hold if they start defending so early! Conservative play usually doesn’t end well!”

Unfortunately, the Israelis could not hear his shouts and withdrew into the penalty area to contend with the Russians, as if they did not want to win the game. Twain started to imagine that there had to be a lot of drunk English fans who were currently admonishing the Israelis.

Unexpectedly, there was a sudden change in the game at the last minute. In the 92nd minute, the score was still at 1:1. The English commentator had given up. He listlessly started the formality of introducing to the audience what England would face under such circumstances —”We must have a home win over Croatia in the last game so that even if Russia and Andorra have a lot of goals, it won’t affect our advancement… Yes, that’s the case…”

He had not finished speaking when he saw the Israelis suddenly rally.

“What? This is… Omer Golan!” the commentator, who saw the replay shot, screamed with excitement. “Omer Golan! Golan, I love you! He created a miracle! This is a last-minute goal! A fatal shot from the Israeli! So deadly that the Russians are screwed!! The Israelis beat the Russians at home! They have lived up to the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play! They are the pride of professional football!”

This commentator almost yelled “they are possessed by Divinity.”

Seeing the commentator this excited, Twain felt acid surge in his stomach. He did not want to see such a comedic scene again, so he lifted his hand to turn off the television.

Shania, who heard the loud roar from the television upstairs, got curious and came down, only to see a dark screen.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing.” Twain shrugged. “I was watching a film that was said to rival One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. But after I watched a little, I was disappointed. There was no flying at all. It was completely “a cuckoo’s nest,” so I turned it off.”

Shania was even more baffled. “Weren’t you watching a football game?” she asked.

“Yes, the game is over.”

“What’s the result?”

“The English have won.” Twain said unkindly.

Shania thought for a moment and laughed. “In other words, Israel beat Russia? England’s hope of advancement looks promising. But why do I think that you’re not happy at all?”

Twain stood in the living room and looked up at Shania on the stairs. He spread out his hands and waved. “The FA is not paying me. Why should I be happy for their victory?”

Shania took it that Twain and the Football Association had a very deep contradiction, so she did not ask further. Little did she know that Twain was unhappy because he had never been an England fan or an Englishman, so he did not need to get mixed up with others’ domestic affairs.

※※※

The next day, almost all the newspapers that Twain was able to see on the market used the front-page space to cover the game that took place the day before. Omer Golan seemed to become a hero for all of England overnight, and some people even seriously suggested that the bosses and managers of the English Premier League clubs purchase the player. Twain would find it amusing to see such similar comments every time — in fact, most of the time, he did treat a lot of the English media’s comments as jokes.

However, it was understandable that the English people were so excited, because the Israelis had an upset win against Russia. Although Croatia lost to Macedonia, it had been announced that Croatia had advanced early because Croatia still had a three-point gap with the second-placed England, coupled with the outcome of the two teams’ game was in Croatia’s favor.

England only needed to tie with Croatia at the new Wembley Stadium to be able to advance to the UEFA European Championship finals as the group’s second ranked team. That way, even if Russia defeated Andorra, the two teams shared the same points but according to the competition results of the two teams, England ranked ahead of Russia.

Now it was the Russians’ turn to panic.

Twain coolly watched the play. He was an outsider. England’s inability to play in the UEFA European Championship was no loss to him. The English national footballers in his team could even get a pleasant vacation next summer.

Before the game, England organized a friendly with Austria and the media sourly stated, “if Russia defeats Israel, then this friendly is likely to be the closest England will get to the UEFA European Championship.” Indeed, it would be geographically closest.

The friendly match was on the 16th. After the friendly, the England team flew back to the United Kingdom and was dismissed, with all the players watching the game at home.

McClaren’s luck was unbelievable. He had one foot out the door. After the game, both of his feet were firmly planted on the ground and he was safe for the time being.

Now the pressure was on the Russian side and the English team only needed a draw. The English media was jubilant, as if they had already advanced.

When Twain saw the scene, he really wanted to remind them that a draw to advance was the world’s most terrible curse and the sweetest trap. He could even give them examples from Chinese football, which, of course, the conceited Britons would not listen to, because the difference between the levels of Chinese and English football was like night and day. But in Twain’s view, English football had a lot of things in common with the Chinese football, such as the media and the Football Association.

Of course, Twain currently could not be bothered to do such a thankless thing.

There were also reportera coming to interview Twain. These days, many people in the English football circle had come out for interviews, to talk about how wonderful the England team’s prospects were, to get a tied game and advance was almost equal to their advancement now, Croatia would not do its best, or enthusiastically promote the friendship between the two countries.

Even the Frenchman, Wenger, came out to say he was bullish on England’s victory. In order to prove that he was not saying it just for show, he analyzed the reasons for England’s victory from a tactical standpoint in detail. That strengthened the confidence that many English fans and the media had for the looming better future.

When Twain was asked, he said, “if I were to express a different view, would I become everyone’s enemy?” Then without waiting for the dumbfounded reporter’s response, he put up two fingers and claimed, “England can score at least two goals!”

He did not say the second part. The reporters could use their own imagination. What did it mean to score two goals in one’s own home ground? The game was basically won! The crowd left Wilford with a wonderful wish.

On the last day before the game on the 20th, Twain could not help but express his concerns in his column, tactfully saying how terrible the idea of “a draw to advance” was. It was similar to what Wenger had said except that Wenger had followed up saying that he had faith in the English team. On the other hand, Twain stated the English people were so optimistic that it might fail miserably in a very easy task, not to mention that Croatia was not an “easy task.”

If he had only said that, the comment could still be acceptable. But following it, he said it was still fine to get a draw, but England’s midfield lacked a good defensive midfielder. If McClaren really wanted to defend, it would not work to depend on the big-name players. Hargreaves was injured during training before the game and was unable to play in the important game. England was basically without a defensive midfielder. Did they hope to tie the game with such a lineup? Did they really think that Croatia’s forward line, which had scored twenty-five goals, was for show?

Therefore, he thought that since McClaren was not going to recall George Wood, then it would be the road to disaster if he still wanted to hold the ground. As for the good luck, “when the Israelis beat the Russians, McClaren had used up all his good fortune.”

By saying so, he gave people the idea that he seized the opportunity to achieve his personal vendetta and promote his players. It naturally gained no favors. There were already voices saying that it was inappropriate for Twain to pour cold water on everyone and cause the players to lose heart. Twain could not be bothered to wage a war of words with the ignorant people. He had expressed his opinions and would shut up and wait quietly for the fate of England and McClaren to arrive.

He could not predict the future, but there were some future events that he could still guess, such as the break between Mourinho and Abramovich, and the fate of the English team, which had been spoiled by the media and the public and lwas ed by the mediocre man, McClaren.

Chapter 607 - The Destined Result

On November 21st, the day of the match, the English fans waited at home or in pubs to watch the game.

According to news released before the game, McClaren did place David Beckham on the starting lineup list. It looked like he was finally going to believe in the veteran’s experience for such an important game.

Twain waited in front of the television to watch the game, but he was not cheering for England or McClaren. He purely wanted to examine Beckham’s form and performance.

In the Croatian squad, the striker, Eduardo da Silva, who currently played for Arsenal, was the most watched. The fawning English media heaped praises on his ability and reviewed his half-season at Arsenal before the game, calling him “flawless.” In fact, it was not flawless, but was successful. He scored five goals in less than half a season, and given that it was his first season, that was pretty good. He would be the most threatening player for England in the game.

There was another change in the squad list. Robinson, who had previously served as England’s main goalkeeper, was ditched for the game, while Carson, who did well in the friendly game against Austria, was the starter. It appeared McClaren was distrustful of Robinson, otherwise it was too risky to replace the main goalkeeper in such an important game.

With Owen and Rooney injured, the starting striker was only Crouch, exactly the same as Wenger’s analysis — Wenger thought McClaren would play 4-5-1 because England was short of strikers.

The five players in the midfield were Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Joe Cole, and Barry. In the rear defensive line, due to Rio Ferdinand’s suspension and Terry’s injuries, the arranged combination was Richards from Manchester City as the right-back, Campbell and Lescott as the center-backs, and Wayne Bridge as the left-back.

Before the game, the English media praised Croatia hard in hopes that Croatia would let England off easy since Croatia had already advanced and there was no need to struggle with the team.

Croatia’s manager did not make any comments on the question when a reporter asked. No one knew if he was going to let the team go all out or if he was really just pretending and would throw the game when England powered up.

European football was not cleaner than Chinese football.?Match fixing, football betting, match manipulation, throwing games, corrupt officiating were the many dark sides of football in Europe. The Europeans just did it with more sophistication than the Chinese. The average person would not be able to discern it unless they took a closer look. Even if they could discern it, there was no evidence.

For example, the English people wanted Croatia to throw the game. Although this would harm Russia’s interests and contrary to the spirit of fair play, which option would the English people pick, harm Russia’s interests or harm England’s? Any fool would not choose to satisfy Russia. Because not everyone was a saint who could placing oneself above the common populace and without feelings and emotions. At a time when the nation was at stake, fanaticism would prevail.

However, the English people were smart. They did not directly state it and just gave Croatia seemingly dignified reason to throw the game —”Since they have already advanced, they do not need to fight hard for a game that doesn’t matter to them, just in case one of their main players is injured or takes a red card and be suspended. It is not worth it.”

The reason was adequate, reasonable, and legitimate. If Croatia sent the reserves squad and did not exert themselves and to let the England team win, the Russians might resentfully appeal. If there was no definite evidence, the matter would be settled inconclusively.

But, the problem was... Would the Croatians follow the script written by the English?

※※※

In the opening eight minutes, a boulder landed on the English people.

Srna, a full-back that Twain had hesitated whether or not to bring in that summer, made a pass from the flank after he broke through. Kranj?ar followed up with a vigorous shot twenty-five yards away from the left flank. The starting goalkeeper, Carson, made a major blunder when he was up against the shot — he pounced on the ball and missed!

The football slowly rolled from under him toward the goal while Carson was still on the ground, somewhat still in a daze.

“Oh my god...” the commentator, John Motson, groaned painfully. “Either he was too nervous, or it was... a stupid mistake!”

The Croatians celebrated the goal, but Wembley Stadium was dead silent. No one anticipated that they would concede a goal within eight minutes of starting.

Everyone was generally optimistic that England would use the home-field advantage to defeat Croatia before the game, so majority of the fans were pretty bullish.

Twain straightened up on the couch. Due to Croatia’s energetic performance, he suddenly looked forward to the game again. It seemed that the Croatians did not intend to follow the script written for them.

The nightmare was not over. Just six minutes after the goal in the fourteenth minute, Eduardo da Silva broke through the edge of the penalty area. He lured England’s two center-backs, Campbell and Lescott, to follow. He passed the ball straight to Oli?.

Campbell raised his hand to signal the other team was offside and did not give chase, but the assistant referee gave no indication that he’d seen and Campbell realized that Bridge was still delayed in the back.

Oli? was successfully onside. He easily bypassed Carson, who came out to attack, and then shot into the empty goal.

In just six short minutes, Croatia had entered two goals in a row.

2:0!!

Croatia had no intention of throwing the game. Their performance felt like a bucket of cold water and put out the fire of hope among the English fans.

The Wembley Stadium was silent and the commentator, Motson, was quiet as well. The camera turned to McClaren, who was standing on the sidelines to direct the game. The poor man looked at the field in a slight daze, seemingly wondering what had happened. He held a bottle of water in his hand. From the first moment Croatia scored a goal, he had been drinking water nonstop. Every time the camera panned toward him, he was drinking water. Sweat covered his ruddy complexion, not because he was in good spirits, but because he was tormented by nerves.

After a while, Motson’s voice rang out again. “Not even twenty minutes since starting, and we have conceded two goals in a row... Is Campbell old? Is Lescott too young? That’s not a reason. Where is our midfield defense? Who is the most important barrier in front of the rear defensive line? Gareth Barry works very hard as an all-around midfielder — Gerrard and Lampard are all-around midfielders too — but what we need is a dedicated defensive midfielder! Barry can’t stop Croatia’s pervasive offense alone. They have too many attacking points!”

Motson vaguely reminded to the television audience that there was a player who could be extremely helpful in the situation sitting in front of the television at home.

Twain did not see it that way. As he watched the game, he explained everything to Shania, acting as a guest commentator and showing off the skills he picked up as BBC’s guest pundit during the World Cup.

“Motson is wrong, and what he said can only be used before the goal concede. Now that England is two goals behind, it doesn’t make sense to talk about the midfield barrier. McClaren is in a lot of trouble now. Does he desperately press up at all costs and bombard, or does he strengthen the defense in order to stop conceding more goals? It’s a hard choice to make, Shania. And something is bound to go wrong in this kind of situation if he does not choose well. So he has to make a decision as soon as possible.”

Twain grinned. He was well aware of McClaren’s feelings because he had experienced them. What should he do when he desperately needed to score a goal, and his opponent scored instead? Should he steady the defense to prevent the continuation of goal concede, or step out and fight it out with the other team?

McClaren did not seem to have chosen his answer. England was in complete disarray. The players seemed to want to score on their own. There was no cooperation. Even if they had coordinated, it was rushed, and they always ended up losing the ball.

The loyal English fans in the stands were still singing but had not been able to conceal the hissing against McClaren.

Motson shook his head hard. “Can we still expect miracles with this kind of offensive standard?”

The positions and functions of Gerrard and Lampard on the field completely overlapped and they played for themselves. Beckham was confined to the right flank and lacked adequate support. Other than his header passes, he played no role once he was marked by the opponent. What about Joe Cole on the left flank? His skills were brilliant, but his lack of speed made his breakthroughs fancy but contain no substance. He lost the ball as soon as he was surrounded by the Croatians. Where was Barry? He was placed behind the Lampard-Gerrard duo to balance the defense and offense.

One of his best performances on the national team was in the game against Israel. Lampard and Hargreaves were absent due to injuries, Carrick was dumped by McClaren, and Gerrard grit his teeth and was left to play as a barrier. In that situation, Barry played like he did at Aston Villa. The layout of the team’s midfielders at the time was just right for him to play.

With one half of the Lampard-Gerrard duo missing due to Gerrard’s injury, Barry was able to be the core after he moved to the middle, where his passes created five offensive chances for England and resulted in a goal. In that game, he was used as the core of the midfield organization, which fully played to his characteristics an all-around player.

But now, Gerrard and Lampard were not hurt and McClaren let them be the core. Barry could only serve as the foil. The position was very awkward for Barry. He was at a loss on what to do and could not pinpoint his position. He did not know how to play to his best.

The entire lineup was strange, stuffed with powerful star players, and yet could not fully play their parts when put together. One plus one plus one plus one plus one did not equal to five, but less than five.

The first half passed by in Croatia’s counterattacks and England’s blind blunders.

“If I were McClaren, I would instruct all the players to attack and not to think about defense, and to try to score a goal in the opening ten minutes, so that there’s hope of winning in the second half,” Twain told Shania. “Otherwise... they can just wait to be eliminated.”

Shania pouted. “Why don’t you coach the England team?”

Twain smiled. “I’m not going to. I wrote a newspaper column to admonish the national team manager and criticize his tactics. It does not mean that I want to be in that position and be scolded by others. That position is not meant for humans to do.”

※※※

After the start of the second half, just as Twain had said, England stepped up their offensive. It was a sudden surge of offense and they ferociously pressed up against the Croatian team. It was like they had no defense at all. McClaren replaced Barry with the striker, Defoe, to strengthen the frontline and increase support for Crouch.

Croatia had expected England to fight back in the second half. They quickly made their own defensive response to counter the situation.

Their defense against England was simple. They retreated to the middle to let England pass on the sidelines. Once they came in, they would have to go out after the siege was lifted. It was not easy to compete for a header shot in the compacted penalty area. Even a man like Crouch, who was more than two meters tall, had little chance when squeezed between the two defenders.

Changing the course of the game was often not an unexpected adjustment of players or a clever tactical arrangement, but purely an accident.

Joe Cole passed into the penalty area and Defoe fell in the penalty area, which the referee believed was a foul by the Croatian player, ?imuni?, and he awarded a penalty kick. Despite protests from the Croatian players, the referee had no intention of changing it. The penalty invigorated the atmosphere in the stadium, and the Wembley fans sung loudly to cheer the players on.

When the broadcast gave the poor McClaren another shot, the water bottle in his hand was finally gone. Twain maliciously thought about if he spent more time in the restroom or in the locker room explaining the tactics to the players during halftime.

Lampard came forward to take the penalty kick. His low shot deceived the goalkeeper and the football flew into the bottom left corner of the goal. England reversed with a goal! It was the fifty-sixth minute, just one minute after the ten minute mark stated by Twain.

The reversal of a goal greatly boosted the morale of England and the Croatian team appeared to be a little listless. Things moved toward what the English people had hoped for — the Croatians would score two goals to shut the Russians’ mouths and then England would strenuously counterattack and take advantage of the situation to return the favor, culminating in England and Croatia tying at 2:2. Everyone would shake hands and advance together.

However, Bridge, who had made the offside blunder in the first half, knocked the bar on the crossbar while lifting a siege and nearly caused an own goal, making the hearts of all English people leap into their throats. Then Srna sent a straight pass, and Bridge made another error while trying to lift the siege and helped the opponent stop the ball. Fortunately, Oli? was not mentally prepared for the frequent gift-giving. His hasty shot on the edge of the penalty area was caught by Carson.

“Leighton Baines is stronger than Bridge but it’s pity that you don’t appreciate it, McClaren. You just can’t see it.” Twain murmured and shook his head.

In the 65th minute, David Beckham, whom everyone had high hopes for and expected to stage a miracle before the game, finally shined. He made a precise pass from the flank and sent the football to Crouch’s side. The tall man stopped the ball with his chest and volleyed the ball to equalize the score for England!

The Wembley Stadium burst into energy, and the cheers of the fans were deafening to Twain, who sat in front of the television.

“Crouch! Beckham! David Beckham, he saved England again! This pass was so accurate that Crouch only had to jump a little and stop the ball. He didn’t need to get rid of the defenders at all because David’s pass made it impossible for the opposing defenders to rob it!” Motson cried excitedly. “A draw! The situation is in our favor!”

News had come that Russia and Andorra had not scored yet, so Motson could say that. If Russia tied with Andorra, England would be in the clear —?they would advance even if they lost.

Beckham, who assisted his teammate to break open the goal, acted more thrilled than the goalscorer, Crouch. He stood back after he embraced his teammates in celebration. He held up his fist and pounded the Three Lions emblem on his chest, the badge of the English Football Association.

Now that he was on the England national team again, the number he wore was no longer that glorious number 7. The number 7 was now Barry’s. He could only wear the number 17. Even in Nottingham Forest, he could not wear number 7 and 23. There was a time when everyone thought that he had sunk and could not return to the past. But every time people thought like that, Beckham proved how wrong they were.

In the 1998 World Cup, he was sent off for his retaliation against Simeone and became the “the nation’s public enemy” crusaded by the entire Britain. Everyone thought his career was over, but Beckham announced his return with a goal in in the first game of the 98-99 season. That season, he helped Manchester United take the great Treble. In the 2000 UEFA European Championship, England was knocked out during the group stage, and he was as depressed as England. However, in the 2001 World Cup qualifiers, he scored against Greece with a free kick, instantly turning him from a man to a god. In 2004 UEFA European Championship, he lost a penalty shot, causing the team to be eliminated by Portugal. For a moment, people mocked him. That kind of tone continued to the World Cup in Germany. In the eyes of the people, England’s linchpins were Lampard, Gerrard, and Rooney. But in Germany, who was the one that almost brought England into the top 16 on his own, and relied on his free kicks to help the team break into the top eight? It was David Beckham. Who wore the captain’s armband and ran tirelessly in the hot sun at the age of thirty until he vomited? David Beckham. After the World Cup, he was ruled out of the national team and had a hard time at Real Madrid, where he could not even get on the substitutes’ list. Everyone thought he would be finished this time. He could only go to the United States to make his fortune and waste time. But no. Beckham used his amazing professional performance and stable state, as well as his fighting spirit, to impress Capello to return to Real Madrid’s main lineup. He helped the team get its first league title in four years. He also announced a return to the English Premier League to join the newly minted European champion, Nottingham Forest and to make a comeback.

Twain saw the familiar, hideous, twisted face the television. He was going to gloat that England was going to be eliminated, but now he could not feel happy.

He was conflicted because he did not want McClaren to stay in the manager position, but he also did not want to see Beckham’s national team career end so tragically. Without the UEFA European Football Championship qualification, would Beckham still have the condition to look forward to the World Cup in three years?

Without his return in the first half, McClaren’s team would not even have a chance to face Croatia and compete against Russia for the last spot at Wembley.

But was it more brutal in this way? Which would make people feel better: to be eliminated before the finish line or before the game?

For the rest of the game, Twain remained silent and did not explain the game to Shania, who felt it was a little strange, but she glanced at the serious-looking Twain and did not ask.

Beckham played harder, or rather, the English players tried their best because the Croatian team fought back. It looked like the Croatians did not accept the English people’s wishful thinking. They did not want to shake hands and play along with their opponents.

Beckham began to frequently pull back and move to the middle to help with the defense. The threat of his attacks weakened. After all, he was older and was unable to run like when he was young. Sometimes, he would go up and not return. At other times, he would return and not press up. In the 74th minute, McClaren made a substitution that was highly controversial after the game. He called on Wright-Phillips to replace Beckham.

When Beckham came off, the entire crowd stood up and applauded him, thanking him for everything he had done for the team.

It was clear that McClaren did not want to just defend to the end of the game and brought on Wright-Phillips, who had outstanding stamina and dribbling skills, to break through. He wanted to continue to put pressure on Croatia and slightly weaken their counterattacks.

He had a good idea, but he ignored one point. Suppressing defense through offense was a double-edged sword.

Wright-Phillips might have been more active in offense than Beckham, but he definitely contributed less than David Beckham in defense.

The Wembley Stadium was plunged into a minute-long silence after a twenty-five-yard shot from the left flank by Croatian substitute Petri? in the 81st minute, which gave Croatia the lead.

This time, Twain did not clench both his fists to cheer for Croatia’s goal. He just sat on the couch and sighed.

The result was destined. It was just too cruel for David.

At the same time, the Russian team scored. The score of the Russian and Andorran game was displayed at the bottom of the screen — 0:1, with Andorra trailing at home.

The news made the bad situation worse, causing the English to continue their silence.

Just after Croatia scored, McClaren used Darren Bent to replace Joe Cole and continued to step up the offense. He ran out of substitutions and had to stake it all.

The England team turned out in full force, wanting to equalize the score at the end to create a miracle. But Croatia did not retreat, even after their lead, and allow England to besiege them. On the contrary, they still insisted on fighting back and attacking. As long as there was an opportunity to firmly press forward, they would cause trouble for England’s rear defensive line to and force England to defend.

It was very similar to Twain’s approach. No matter how many goals he was ahead, he did not give up the opportunity to fight back to prevent the opponent from doing their best to press the attack and create miracles.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, the score was fixed at 2:3.

Beckham, who had not changed out of his jersey, stood on the field. The television footage focused on his back, with a noisy grandstand in the background, as well as the eye-catching screen over his head.

Beckham wore the number 17 jersey and looked up at the score on the screen:

England 2:3 Croatia.

No one could see the look on his face, and he stood there alone for a long while in a daze. Behind him were his dejected teammates and the Croatians who cheered and celebrated. An empty pitch and an empty goal was in front of them.

Motson sighed. “England is out. In the summer of 2008, it has been announced in advance... that this is end.”

Twain turned off the television. He did not want to see Beckham’s back or listen to McClaren’s speech at the post-match press conference.

Shania looked at him strangely.

“I’m going to bed.” He turned around to walk up the stairs. “Good night, Shania.”

“Good night, Uncle Tony.” Shania watched his back disappear up the stairwell and then turned her head to look at the quartz clock on the wall.

It was not even ten o’clock.

She turned around to turn on the television, which happened to be the post-match interview. Beckham stood in front of the cameras. His jersey was soaked in sweat and stuck to his chest.

He wearily said, “Being eliminated from the UEFA European Championship qualifier is not the end of the world. England has so many outstanding young players. I believe we will have a better future in the World Cup in South Africa...”

“Now that you’re out of the UEFA European Championship qualifier, will it give you a peace of mind to play for Nottingham Forest?” A reporter asked vaguely.

Beckham shook his head. “I’m not going to announce my withdrawal from the England team. I have said before that I am always ready to play for England until England no longer needs me.”

Having said that, Beckham refused to answer any more questions and bowed his head as he walked out of the interview zone.

Shania saw McClaren on the screen. She turned off the television and went upstairs to get ready to sleep.

Tonight is a downer...

Chapter 608 - The League Tournament Resumed

England’s elimination caused the British media to become a sea of wailing and despair.

Some said that McClaren had ruined the best England team in history. In the eyes of the English, their team was the strongest in history at all times. Some people lamented that the end of the world had arrived. Others stated sourly that without the England team, the UEFA European Championship was incomplete, as Britain was the birthplace of modern football.

Another group of people calmly analyzed the reasons for the loss. They continued to analyze until they finally came to a conclusion. The players were not the problem. The issue laid with McClaren, so they asked the Football Association to start preparing for the selection of the new manager.

Twain did not get in on the action. He had said what he wanted to say before the game. If he were to speak up, it would just be copy and paste. McClaren had many problems with his player selection and tactical arrangements. He was born to be an assistant coach, not a manager. Twain had repeated that point countless times since McClaren came to power, but no one listened. Now that the people of England had finally received their just desserts, Twain could not be bothered to add insult to injury.

Two weeks without a league game did not bore Twain because a lot happened in between. Mourinho was gone and he had abused Abramovich and offended the Chelsea club. He wondered if he would feel that “this is a new season” when the league tournament resumed.

Dunn had returned, two days later than his expected date of return. Dunn said it was because of Tang Jing. He went to have dinner with her father, and toured the countryside for a day, which delayed him. When he heard this, Twain wanted to tease Dunn that he had met the parents, ut he did not say it in the end.

Dunn returned with a brocade handkerchief from Sichuan for Shania and a box of compact discs for Twain.

Twain thought it was strange.

“They are the videos of the talent show, including the ones shown on TV and not broadcasted,” Dunn explained.

Twain was even more baffled. “I didn’t ask you to bring these things back. I have little interest in the talent show.”

Dunn interrupted him. “Just have a look when you’re bored and see what a football talent show looks like.”

How could Twain be bored? With Shania at his side, he always had something to do.

Not even two days later, Shania packed her bags to say goodbye.

Shania left Nottingham the two days after England lost their chance for the next summer. Christmas was coming and her busiest part of the year began.

It was not the first time that Twain and Shania had parted like this. They had not spent Christmas together since Shania became a top model. Every Christmas without fail, Twain would mail a large Totoro toy to Shania as a Christmas present. The two of them would chat on the phone to count as they had spent it together.

This time, though, when Shania packed her bags, Twain stood at the door and watched her.

“Is it going to be busy next year? Runway shows, commercials, endorsement deals… and making movies.”

“Well, the fun times are over.” Shania stretched her back and suddenly turned around to look at Twain. “Can’t bear to see me go, Uncle Tony?”

Twain was a little bewildered by the question. He fumbled for a while before he said, “when you’re gone, no one’s going to cook for me.”

Shania smiled. “That’s a lousy excuse. The meals I cook were not delicious.”

“Actually… they’re okay once I got used to eating them.” Twain scratched his head.

Shania did not speak again. She smiled and continued to pack.

There was not much to pack. She just needed to bring some clothes and small toys, which could be fit in a small suitcase. However, Shania always thought that the clothes were not folded neatly and there would be creases. As a result, she took them out to spread them out and re-fold them as soon as she packed them, so it took some time.

They heard the sound of a car horn coming from outside.

“It’s Mr. Fasal.” Shania went to the side of the bed, pulled back the curtains, and looked out.

“Come on, don’t miss your flight.” Twain stepped out of the way of the door.

Shania took her suitcase and walked up to Twain, who took it from her hands. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

Shania did not refuse and followed Twain down the stairs.

“When will you be back?” Twain asked Shania as she put on her coat at the door.

“Next March,” Shania said. According to the work schedule given to her by her agent, Fasal, she only had a ten-day break in March, and then she would go to Los Angeles to get ready for filming. Although she only had a few scenes and no lines, it was necessary for her to stay longer because her desire to develop there. She needed to get closer to thee industry, then Tom Cruise and Clarice Gloria would introduce her to more people. More friends equaled to more opportunities in Hollywood.

Once she put on her coat, Shania stood at the door, and instead of opening the door, she turned and looked at Twain.

“Can you give me a hug, Uncle Tony? As if we are saying goodbye.” She opened her arms, and Twain hugged her before she finished speaking.

“Goodbye, Shania.”

“Goodbye, Uncle Tony.”

The two separated. Twain opened the door and carried the suitcase out. Fasal came forward to take the suitcase and put it in the trunk of the car. Shania opened the car door to get in.

“See you later, Uncle Tony.” She sat in the car and waved to Twain.

Twain waved back at her. He turned to Fasal and said in a low voice, “please take care of her, Mr. Fasal.”

Fasal smiled in reply. “Please rest assured, Mr. Twain.”

The two men shook hands and said goodbye. Twain stood by the street and watched the car disappear around the corner before he returned inside.

As soon as he was about to enter the door, he heard the door of the house beside make a sound, and Dunn opened the door.

“Shania left?”

“You’ve been… Why didn’t you come out and say goodbye?”

Dunn shook his head. “Never mind. It’s not so nice… if I came out.”

Twain gave him a stare. The present Dunn and the Dunn he knew from his memory when he first transmigrated were so different.

Wow, his personality is a lot more open now…

He decided to retaliate. “You and Tang Jing…”

“Oh right, I have something to do.” Dunn did not wait for Twain to finish speaking before he went back inside and closed the door.

“Hey!” Twain rolled his eyes.

※※※

With Shania gone, Twain sometimes felt a little lonely. But the feeling only happened when he went home. He was not used to returning home with Dunn from the training base and opening the door to an empty room and no one jumping out, saying with a smile that there was a delicious meal this evening.

It was no wonder since it was longest period that Shania and Twain had been alone together. He was used to having someone to come home to every day. He could not return to his former single life right away.

On several occasions, when he and Dunn opened the doors to their respective homes, Dunn went in, but Twain stood at the door in a daze. It was dark with no one inside; he thought he had opened the wrong door.

In the first few days, those reactions were frequent and pronounced. Later, with the passage of time, he gradually got better. Sometimes he would go to Kenny Burns’ pub with Dunn to eat dinner and have a drink and chat.?Dunn still only drank water. Sometimes they would go to a fast food restaurant on their way home and buy take-out. Other times, when he was in a good mood and had plenty of time, he would choose to go home.

He was used to be a bachelor, so it was still easy to get used to it again.

※※※

Just two days after Shania’s departure, the Forest team ushered in a new round of league games. Nottingham Forest had an away challenge against Arsenal on November 24th.

As they had just played in the national team competition, there were a large number of players on both teams who were exhausted and kept off the starting list, or even the squad list. For example, Beckham did not appear in the starting lineup.

The England team was knocked out, so he was not in high spirits and his form was affected. Twain feared Beckham’s foot injury would flare up again and did not let him start.

Replacing Beckham in the starting lineup was Lennon, who was also selected for England but sat on the bench for ninety minutes. Ribéry also did not appear in the starting lineup. Out of consideration of a more intensive schedule later, Twain had to let some of the more important players take a break, even if doing so would affect the team’s current results.

George Wood made the starting lineup and van der Vaart formed the middle. Bendtner made the starting lineup again on the forward line and partnered with Eastwood. There was no change in any other positions.

Arsenal deployed the strongest squad they could get in their home ground, other than the players with injuries.

Wenger did not want to lose to the Forest team at home. Arsenal was currently in first place, but Manchester United had the same number of points as them. If they lost to the Forest team, they would be temporarily defeated in the contest for the league title.

Twain did not want to lose to Arsenal. His squad was still the best at the Forest team’s defensive counterattack. With just a solid defense and seizing the opportunity to score with a sneak attack, they could drag the game into their most familiar rhythm.

But it was impossible that everything would always go so smoothly and his luck would always be so good.

Arsenal was the first to score in the starting fourteen minutes, and Fàbregas’ long shot pierced through the goal guarded by Edwin van der Sar.

At the start of the season, the performances of a few young players astounded people.

Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo was no longer the “Lone Ranger” who only knew dribbling and fancy footwork. Ferguson used him as Manchester United’s offensive core, even at the expense of Rooney, just to let him burst out with more energy. Sure enough… the number one player in the league’s strikers list was not a proper striker, but the midfielder.

Liverpool’s new “Golden Player” Torres completely adapted to the Premier League. Upon his arrival, he was able to score, and even scored consecutively. He now ranked second in the league’ striker rankings.

As for Arsenal, Henry’s departure to Barcelona before the season shocked many people and made them pessimistic about Arsenal’s prospects for the new season. They did not expect their midfield core, Fàbregas to come forward at a time when people questioned Arsenal’s forward line capabilities. This young player, who was closely marked and tormented by Wood in the English FA Cup, had fully matured. He could not only rely on his passing to create opportunities for the team to attack but could also rely on his own plug-ins to besiege and attack when the strikers could not score.

It happened in this game. While Twain’s defenders guarded against Adebayor, George Wood’s single blunder allowed Fàbregas to find a chance to plug in with a shot. The football flew straight into the corner of the goal, and Edwin van der Sar did his best but could not stop Arsenal’s lead.

It forced Twain to press up and attack Arsenal because Arsenal was different from other opponents. It would be arduous and thankless for the Forest team to allow Arsenal to take advantage of the goal and continue to stick to their defensive counterattack. Arsenal might not score again, but in order to cope with their attack, the Forest team had to attack. The end result could likely be that the Forest team would lose the game unwillingly.

Twain chose to attack Arsenal. He knew what the decision meant, but Twain did not think he was going to lose to Arsenal if they went head to head with his team’s attacking prowess.

Consequently, the rest of the game was a godsend for the fans.

Both teams fought it out in the Emirates Stadium, with many countermeasures and lively attacks.

Arsenal was good at offense. Their offensive routine was rich and varied. Offense was like second nature for them and the rapport between the players was delightful to watch. It could be named “artistic football.”

Nottingham Forest’s offense was not as artistic as Arsenal’s, as they did not pay much attention to subtle cooperation between players. They emphasized speed and straightforwardness. They were more aggressive, and speed and strength were important elements that ignited the passion of the spectators. The aggressive breakthroughs from the flanks by Petrov and Lennon drew surges of shouts from the stands each time. It sounded pretty lively, whether it was cheering or booing.

Arsenal’s offense was beautiful and uplifting, and the Forest team’s offense lacked finesse but was quite impressive. It had a lot to do with the styles of both managers.

“Professor” Wenger was cultured and refined most of the time. Even when he got angry, he kept to himself behind closed doors. Twain was not the same. With his brash and extroverted personality, the team that he trained would naturally be just as brazen.

In the 37th minute, Nottingham Forest’s relentless attacks finally cracked open Arsenal’s goal.

Bendtner’s header shot was fast and fierce and Almunia could not react in time. He could only use his chest to block the football, not having time to catch it. It was chaotic in front of Arsenal’s goal and he could not see clearly, so the football that bounced out was snatched and nudged by Eastwood. The football rolled in amid the chaos.

The tied score continued into halftime.

Twain made minor adjustments during halftime. He allowed van der Vaart more freedom in his position.

Once the second half of the game began, neither teams made any player adjustments. Even their tactical arrangements did not change. It appeared Wenger was also determined to use the offensive tactics that Arsenal was best to defeat Nottingham Forest.

Tony Twain had the same intention. He grinned at Wenger.

Arsenal took the lead again in the 59th minute of the game. Their captain, William Gallas, scored by making use of a corner header.

Five minutes later, Arsenal scored their third goal. The man who scored the goal was Eduardo da Silva, who had just helped his team beat England in the final game of the UEFA European Championship qualifier. Wenger brought him on and three minutes later, he scored.

The Emirates Stadium broke out in cries of joy. Two consecutive goals in five minutes was a huge blow to the morale of any opponent.

Twain put everything on the line and brought off Leighton Baines to bring on Gareth Bale, who had played two games for the Welsh team, and used Ribéry to replace van der Vaart. He made the plug-in offense from the team’s two flanks more determined and sharper. He instructed George Wood to actively participate in offense and not care too much about the defense.

In the 81st minute, Nottingham Forest’s frenzied bombardment finally paid off.

George Wood’s aggressive scramble in the front field grabbed a chance for the Forest team. After he passed the football to Ribéry, the Forest team switched to counter-offensive.

Arsenal was unprepared for the loss of the ball in the backfield. Wood had intercepted the ball from Hleb, who was known for his dribbling skills. However, it was that dribbling genius who did not accept Fàbregas’ suggestion that he should pass the ball when he was up against Wood. Instead, he decided to face him alone. He wanted to depend on his good form to get through the guy who was claimed to be a “defensive monster.”

Wood successfully intercepted the ball from Hleb’s feet with his judgement and strong body. The Forest team launched a counterattack. Although Fàbregas had anticipated that Hleb might drop the ball, he did not expect the Forest team to attack so quickly. Even if he went to defend against Ribéry, he was still a step behind and allowed the Frenchman to pass the football. Petrov’s cut to the inside attracted Arsenal’s defensive attention, and Bale quickly plugged in to receive Ribéry’s overhead pass. Then he passed not a high ball but a low-flying ball. In the chaotic penalty area, whoever kicked it could score a goal. The pass made Arsenal’s defenders restrain themselves for fear of scoring an own goal. There were certainly people who were not afraid, such as William Gallas. He stretched his legs to shovel, but the football quickly passed his toes. Bendtner, who came to distract, did touch the football. The players who got bypassed included the goalkeeper Almunia and Eastwood.

Just as everyone thought the football would bypass the goal without any danger of scoring, a figure wearing the yellow Forest team away jersey flashed past. He slid to the ground and made a slide shot. The football hit on his toes and changed direction to crash into the net…

“Aaron Lennon!!”

Lennon scored the Forest team’s second goal, but this only narrowed the gap between the two teams from two goals to one goal difference. If Twain did not want the team to lose the game, they had to keep attacking for the remaining ten minutes and try to equalize.

Wenger chose to defend. He directed the team to retreat and adopt a defensive stance.

Twain did not expect the move. He thought Wenger would fight it out to the end.

The Forest team launched a frenzied counterattack in the last ten minutes and gained a number of good opportunities. Unfortunately, the opportunities did not translate to scores. The frenzied bombardment for ten minutes did not result in any goals.

In the end, Tony Twain could only accept that result: he bravely went up against Arsenal for ten minutes and satisfied the television commentators and the media, as well as a wide range of football fans and viewer. The only ones left unsatisfied was themselves.

Subsequently, when he was blocked by a group of excited reporters after the game, and was asked about why to attack, he helplessly shrugged and replied, “is everyone happy now?”

Then he turned around and walked away.

Chapter 609 - Just A Regular League Game

The away loss to Arsenal caused the Forest team to have two consecutive losses again. Within the hellish calendar, Twain had lost all the games against his three strong opponents with the exception of Chelsea. The media lost faith in the goal of “vying for the league title” that Twain stated before the season. Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool were all his direct competitors for the title. Now that he had lost to them and the point difference had widened, would Nottingham Forest still be qualified to compete for the league title?

Although Twain was unhappy about losing to Arsenal, he was not so pessimistic to think that his team had no future. The media always liked to kick up a fuss and write sensational headlines to attract readers’ attention.

Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest and moved to first place in the league with thirty-three points and one game short, while Manchester United lost 0:1 to the Bolton Wanderers in an upset in the current round of the league games. Liverpool defeated Newcastle United by 3:0 at home and Manchester City had a 2:1 home win over Reading. The two teams currently held twenty-nine points, same as the Forest team, but ranked above Forest due to goal differences.

As for Chelsea, who had recently undergone a major change of personnel, no one held any hope for their results in the games. Not just because the club had just gone through something, but also because majority of the media did not approve of Chelsea’s new manager, Grant’s ability at all. They did not believe Chelsea could come back to life in the hands of the Israeli. Chelsea was no longer in the running for the league title in the current season’s tournament.

As if to prove the media correct, Chelsea lost 0:2 to the newly promoted team, Derby County, in an away game in the latest round of the league tournament.

Everyone waited to see Grant fall, and he did. Having lost Mourinho, Chelsea seemed to have been drained of their spirit. They did not show any fighting spirit on the field. The players were out of form and tactically chaotic. Everyone was preoccupied thinking about their future.

Twain understood it deeply. The Nottingham Forest team was pretty much like that when he first took over. Mourinho had laid the foundation for the team in his three years at Chelsea, but his sudden departure caused irreparable damage to that foundation. Therefore, he had left Grant with a mess, low spirits, and panic, feeling like they were without their pillar. During that period of over three years, the Chelsea players had become used to following Mourinho blindly. He had injected a strong mental strength into the team, and he had filled them with the desire for titles to keep them going.

Now, those things all vanished, like magic. Poof! The dove disappeared from the magician’s hand.

No one knew exactly what the team that Grant took over thought or what he could do with this team, but none of it mattered. All anyone cared about was how much longer he could stay in the hot seat. Abramovich was said to be in touch with Henk ten Cate, who once worked as the assistant manager for Rijkaard in Barcelona, to come to Chelsea to be the manager. There were also rumors that Abramovich had looked for Hiddink, who currently worked for the Russian national team, as well as van Basten, who was the manager of the Netherlands national team. The names of these three men were given confirmation. With Tony Twain, who caused the “swearing incident” a while ago, Chelsea did not admit that they had looked for the troublesome man. It looked like Twain had overreacted.

It was rare for everyone to start a countdown for a manager’s death sentence the day he officially came to power. Should Avram Grant feel honored or sad?

Thanks to Grant, most of the media hype was targeted on Chelsea after Chelsea’s loss and the losses of Nottingham Forest were not worth mentioning against this background.

The devil’s calendar was coming to an end, and then after three rounds of buffer, the intense schedule over the Christmas period would hit again.

This was a special feature of the English Premier League. While the other leagues had a winter break after Christmas, the English Premier League did not have one. Because the public had a holiday on Christmas Day, people who had been busy all year would have time to choose whether to travel or stay at home and watch TV. Similarly, fans would have plenty of time to watch the game live. Considering maximizing profits, it was fitting to schedule an intense calendar during that period. But the problem was that the players were not robots. They needed to rest as much as the ordinary people, and perhaps required more rest. There were twenty teams in the English Premier League and with all kinds of tournaments in a season, a major team might play more than sixty games. The English Premier League also had the fastest pace and the most intense competition. The players had more physical requirements than in La Liga and other leagues and were more likely to show symptoms of fatigue. The cup tournaments in the other countries were usually scheduled midweek. To maximize the benefits of the television broadcast, the English Football Association tried to schedule both the English FA Cup and the EFL Cup on Saturdays and Sundays, to crowd out the league’s schedule. The other leagues could only be packed into the midweek schedule. That was one of the major reasons why the English Premier League had a particularly busy two game per week schedule.

During Christmastime, the temperature plummeted. Britain’s climate was mainly wet and cold, extremely unsuitable for outdoor sports. The probability of injuries greatly increased in the cold and wet. It was no coincidence that the injuries at each club surfaced collectively, like a volcanic eruption.

Like most managers, Twain was unhappy about the arrangement, but countless managers more prestigious than Twain had also opposed it to no avail. At the end of the day, the English Premier League was still a corporation, and naturally put making profit as its top goal. The English Football Association had to take its profits into account. As for the health of the players, since they made so much money, the hardships and risks that they endured were worth it.

Any sport was a gamble for the future with youth as the stake. Some people won the bet, some people lost. It was a reality that made Twain feel very helpless.

※※※

In the 15th round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest was back on its home ground. The opponent’s ranking was not much lower than the previous opponent, although its ranking was somewhat inflated.

It was Manchester City.

Taken for a ride by Twain at the start of the season, Twain did not mind having Manchester City be the fool again when the Forest team desperately needed a win.

Ashley Young went to Manchester City and had done well. If he had not had a scandal, his current reputation would not be bad. Manchester City became the fool with more money than sense. In terms of Ashley Young’s ability, 25 million pounds was overpriced.

The game was Ashley Young’s first return to the City Ground Stadium. He would be back many times in the future, but they were no match for the first time. It was an argument that virgins were more precious than those who were not.

Some media outlets thought it was a publicity stunt to be hyped. The inside story of the transfer was more or less revealed and everyone felt that Ashley Young was deliberately driven away by Twain because Ashley Young did not want to leave Nottingham Forest. The matter was already publicized by some “anti-Twain” media, which cast Ashley Young as a loyal subject of the Forest team and painted Twain as a ruthless dictator — anyone who went against his will, even if they contributed and were loyal to the team, could be made to leave Wilford in misery.

There was traction for this kind of talk, because the people who hated Tony Twain were the majority. Twain had no intention of quarrelling with people in the media. He never cared what other people thought of him. If he quarreled with someone in the newspapers, it was not due to personal factors, but to to help the team reduce pressure, divert the media’s attention, or purely to mess with certain people. None of which was to make a name for himself — the media said that Twain was a devil with long horns on his head, wings on his back, a tail, and fangs for teeth. He was happy to proclaim this everywhere for fear that others would not know his revolting conduct.

In short, the media wanted to hype Ashley Young’s battle for revenge, but Twain refused to take up the challenge.

“Ashley Young? Oh, he’s a brilliant midfielder and I’m grateful for the contribution he brought to the Forest team over the seasons. Hopefully he’ll be able to play better on the new team. This is just a regular league game. I have quite a few old friends in Manchester City... If you really can’t find the right stunt to publicize, I suggest you publish an edition filled with advertisements, and you can make more money...”

He did have friends in Manchester City, but that was in the past. Stuart Pearce had been recalled to the English Football Association to become the manager of England’s U21 national team last season. As a result, Manchester City contacted Eriksson to return to the United Kingdom because they needed a manager.

Perhaps elsewhere, a football club’s manager could also be the manager of the national team. The most typical example was the Dutchman, Hiddink, who could be the manager of the Australian national team while he was Eindhoven’s manager. However, this was decidedly impossible in England. Not to mention that the fans’ skepticism about the manager’s loyalty, which was a matter of fairness and could not be ignored. What if a Premier League team manager became the England team’s manager? In order to keep his club’s players more physically in shape for the league, he chose all the players from the other teams for the national team and flew them out thousands of miles away to play important friendly matches only for them to drag their tired bodies back to their respective clubs. Then when they were up against the team of that particular manager, perhaps they would not have strength to compete?

As a result, the English Football Association would never allow England’s manager to serve as another football club manager at the same time.

Even as the U21 manager, Pearce had to choose between the football club and the country. He chose to give up his place as the Manchester City manager and go to the England national youth team.

The Manchester City team that Twain faced this time could not really be considered a friend.

When Eriksson was the England team’s manager, Twain already did not like him. Twain did not have any interactions with the Thai, Thaksin. As for the players, they would definitely not be friends.

The game was as Twain said: a regular league game. If the media wanted to hype the feud between him and Ashley Young, they picked the wrong occasion.

Twain used the rotation in the game. Beckham was in the starting lineup and Ribéry appeared on the left flank. The midfield and middle were still a combination of George Wood and van der Vaart. Twain wanted to focus on the rapport of the combination. If there were no surprises, the Forest team could rely on the two in the middle. Although Ribéry could also play in the middle, Twain wanted him to stay on the left flank.

On the forward line, van Nistelrooy and Eastwood partnered in the starting lineup with Arshavin on the bench, while Bendtner was not even on the squad list.

On the rear defensive line, Gareth Bale became the starter, with Ayala and Kompany as center-backs. Rafinha was on the right while Chimbonda was still on the bench.

The recent results on home ground had been pretty bad. Twain fired up the Forest team until they were ready to burst out with energy and saw Manchester City was a fat lamb waiting to be slaughtered. They were chumps — there was only one thing in everyone’s minds: three points!

“Oh, oh, oh!” the commentator screamed excitedly. “Van Nistelrooy—”

The Forest team took the lead in the opening three minutes. It was too effortless, too easy. Manchester City’s magical aura at the start of the season was fading, and now they were just waiting for a strong enough opponent to send them packing to where they came from.

The Dutch striker ran on the sidelines with open arms, like a flying bird. Twain forgot where he had first heard the phrase “the Flying Dutchman,” but at that moment, he connected to it. Van Nistelrooy was as good as ever. He had made the right choice in purchasing him. Not only was his form stable, but he was also conscientious, and he never formed a Dutch clique with his fellow Dutch countrymen. He had a good relationship with Beckham and could also unite the others. A real professional player. Sir Alex, how could you let go of such a man?

Manchester City launched a strong counterattack before the end of the first half but did not achieve any results. Ayala was old, but he had experience. Coupled with George Wood’s diligent efforts, Manchester City’s offensive was all bark and no bite.

During halftime, Eriksson encouraged the players to work harder. Being one goal behind was nothing. Anything could happen on the football field.

Three minutes again into the second half, the Forest team scored a second goal.

Twain also told his players that anything could happen on the football field. A one goal lead was nothing at all, and they had to sneak in an attack on their opponent when they fought back aggressively.

He succeeded again.

Manchester City pressed on heavily and the Forest team seized ahold of the empty backfield to score another goal.

The look on Eriksson’s face was ugly when they trailed by two goals.

The goal was scored by van der Vaart, whose long shot pierced through Joe Hart’s hands.

For the rest of the game, the Forest team persisted and scored another two goals.

Ribéry and Eastwood each scored a goal, and the Forest team eventually beat Manchester City with a 4:0 win.

What about Ashley Young, who was used as a stunt by the media before the game? He was crushed by the offensive from both Gareth Bale and Ribéry during the game and did not play as well as he should have. After seventy minutes of mediocrity, he was replaced. He walked off with his head down and ended his “Journey of Vengeance.”

The Forest team’s victory stopped their possible decline, and Twain was in a good mood.

He and Eriksson hugged and the fact that he had fiercely criticized the Swede on television and in the newspapers was nowhere to be seen.

At the press conference, a reporter asked about the goal that Twain had set for the team before the season. Now that the team had lost three games to their most direct competitors, would it have any adverse impact on the goal he set for the team before the season?

“It certainly makes things a little more difficult for us, but I think it’s more valuable to get the title like that,” Twain replied with a laugh. He was in a good mood and did not bicker with the reporter. “The goal has not change. It is still the championship title!”

Chapter 610 - Back to Top Three

Before the game against Manchester City, the Forest team played another game in the UEFA Champions League group stage. For Nottingham Forest, the question was their advancement, and which rank to advance from.

Twain hoped his team would win the remaining two games and get the top spot in the group.

Consequently, the Forest team beat Porto 4:1 in their own home ground challenge. Although Porto was glorious a few years ago, they could not compete with Nottingham Forest these days.

Some people did not want to believe it, but Nottingham Forest was currently one of the top teams in Europe. The strength of their players and the coaching standard of the manager were both top notch.

Before, no one in European football would have expected a day when Nottingham Forest, who had struggled in the lower leagues, would return to glory. The obscure Forest team seemed to appear out of thin air.

What would have happened without Twain’s transmigration? Perhaps Nottingham Forest would have been relegated to League One or Second Division due to its frequent changes of managers, economic crisis and other factors. No one would ever mention the once brilliant name, and Nottingham Forest, like countless other football clubs in modern English football history, would have a brilliant past but could only drown in the tide of time and money and be quickly forgotten.

Those events might not have happened. They could have changed to an equally good manager and with a little bit of good luck, they could have charged back to the English top flight league after a few years. As for whether they could reproduce the brilliance or not, it could not be determined.

But none of it happened.

They might occur in another parallel universe, but in the world Twain currently resided in, it could only be a hypothetical.

The problem that lay ahead of Twain was that as the tight Christmas schedule and the recommencement of the Champions League in the second half of the season approached, he had to distribute the team’s fitness to ensure they did not fall behind in the final sprint. The rotation system was particularly important.

Rotation and the players’ wishes contradicted. No one liked to be replaced when they were in good form because it meant their main positions were not solid enough.

But Twain had to do it. His First Team squad was not as bloated as Chelsea and other teams. He had implemented a “streamline” policy to reduce the number of First Team players and raised the level of their competitiveness. The advantage of the approach was that they could save unnecessary expenses, but the downside was that they were slightly overstretched when changes were required. In particular, when injury situations struck.

Twain asked the team’s doctor unit to list the current health statuses of everyone on the team and give him a figure of possible injuries.

Eastwood and Beckham were both plagued by old injuries and were affected by occasional minor injuries. Van Nistelrooy’s fitness was severely challenged by the previous series of games on the devil’s calendar, and his current physical condition was not good; he needed to be included in the rotation system. Ribéry had recovered. After playing a few games, he found that there were no hidden illnesses. Pepe’s problem was a bit complicated. He seemed to be able to cope with the games, but after he played two games, the team doctor thought he should be put under careful observation. So in the game against Manchester City, Twain did not let him play and did not even put him on the squad list. He sat in the stands to watch the game. Ayala was older and could not always be used; it was necessary to rotate him. His experience and ability to help the team was not just seen on the playing field, but could also help defenders during normal training. Just as Hierro had done for Pepe, Piqué, and the others when the Forest team first rose to the English Premier League, Ayala passed on his own understanding of defense to his teammates.

George Wood was ruled out of the report. Fleming had told Twain that Wood was an unknown creature that did not belong to Earth. He would be caught and put in a laboratory to be dissected if he did not play football. His physical condition was so good that he was unlike people on Earth.

Twain understood and agreed, because he himself thought Wood was an android from the future. On the other hand, the English media made a big fuss and created a tacky nickname for Wood —”Monster.”

Every time he thought of Wood’s physical qualities, Twain’s thoughts would drift to his mother, Sophia. Compared to most people, Sophia did not have the ability to buy supplements for her son, and there was no way to give him a well-balanced nutrition for his development. She could only save the best food she could afford for her son. In that way, the sickly, weak mother, who was almost on her deathbed, single-handedly raised the “Monster” that amazed everyone in the English football world. It didn’t fit any scientific explanation, but Twain believed it, because behind everything was the love that Sophia had and gave George Wood every reason to be strong.

When Wood became famous, Sophia was also inevitably exposed to the limelight, but after everyone found out about Wood’s childhood, they were surprised that Wood was able to be so strong. Twain would exclaimed, “This is love…”

But…

If he had not considered Sidwell’s feelings, Twain would not have rotated Wood, but in the end, Wood was on the rotation list. However, his rotation was not the same as everyone else’s; he only rotated once in a while. Sidwell’s appearances depended on the Forest team to go further in the English FA Cup, as they had been eliminated in the EFL Cup.

Twain did not change his idea of using a domestic cup to train his players. Whoever the opponent was, he would manage with the combination of “youth team, reserves as well as some of the First Team players.”

Twain did not care for the EFL Cup. Since he had already won it once, he would not have any regrets if he did not win it again. The title for that kind of competition was only seriously considered by teams that had been utterly defeated in other tournaments, as well as teams that had no chance of winning the other championships. Obviously, Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest was not that kind of team.

The FA Cup occupied a noble position, even in the early years of the Premier League. Although the status of the FA Cup was not low, it was not as good as before. With more than 136 years of history, it was the world’s oldest modern football cup and older than the majority of the football clubs in the world. In England, the team that won the FA Cup was respectable and the team would treat the FA Cup as a prestigious honor. Even many years after the establishment of the Champions League, the English people thought the best cup tournament in the world was the English FA Cup and not the UEFA Champions League.

The Emperor of the Nottingham Forest Dynasty, Brian Clough’s only regret was that he did not lead the team to win even one FA Cup. Twain did not want such a thing to become a regret for him. But the problem was that while the strength of the Forest team was strong enough to win the Champions League, they could not accomplish competing in all three tournaments at the same time. Twain did not want to lose out in the league tournament and Champions League for the sake of the FA Cup. It was not twenty years ago, and the FA Cup was far from satisfying the ambitions of a professional team.

The FA Cup official tournament began in January every year and continued until May, which overlapped with the Premier league tournament and the European tournaments. The intense games would have many distractions and eventually likely cause deficiencies everywhere. As a result, Twain did not want to focus on the FA Cup right now.

Strong teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid also failed to resolve the problem of competing simultaneously in multiple tournaments and succeeding. When playing the FM and CM video games, it might feel that getting multiple titles was an easy thing to do, but, in fact, there were not many teams that could achieve the Treble. It was not hard to explain Manchester United’s prestigious reputation when they acquired the Treble, a magnificent achievement. Even though Liverpool’s “five crowns” were not as prestigious, Liverpool fans similarly relished it for a long time. It was all the same principle: to be able to win championship titles at the same time in multiple tournaments not only required a strong team, but also extremely good luck. It could not be achieved easily and, oftentimes, could not be governed by human power.

※※※

Nottingham Forest had a strong rebound in December, and Twain hoped the team would seize the opportunity of a less intensive competition schedule to narrow the points gap with the top-ranked teams.

After they swept Manchester City with a 4:0 score, they beat Bolton Wanderers 4:1 in an away game.

Grant from Chelsea finally achieved a winning streak in this round of the league tournament with their home win of 2:0 over Sunderland. Manchester United also had a massive home win of 4:1 against Derby County. But two of Twain’s other rivals, Arsenal and Liverpool, both lost in their away games: Arsenal lost 1:2 against Middlesbrough, and Liverpool lost 1:3 to Reading. Manchester City, one of the top six teams, also lost in an away game to Tottenham Hotspur with a score of 1:2.

Next up was the seventeenth round. Arsenal would host Chelsea at home and Manchester United would go to Anfield to challenge Liverpool. Manchester City and Nottingham Forest were best off in the top six teams — Manchester City would play against Bolton Wanderers at home and Nottingham Forest would play against Blackburn Rovers at home.

The two games between the powerhouses caught everyone’s attention. Even Twain was focused on the two games. Fortunately, they were not at the same time as Nottingham Forest’s game. Otherwise, he would have missed the two exciting games. The process might be not necessarily wonderful, but the result had to be.

After an arduous ninety minutes, Arsenal narrowly edged Chelsea out at home with 1:0.

In an equally tough ninety minutes, Manchester United relied on a breakthrough from the almost omnipotent Cristiano Ronaldo, who assisted Tevez to score 1:0 to beat Liverpool.

The next day, Manchester City defeated Bolton Wanderers 4:2 at home, while Nottingham Forest won 5:3 against Blackburn Rovers.

The points and rankings became interesting.

At the end of the 16th round of the league tournament, due to Arsenal’s defeat and Manchester United’s win, the two teams both had 36 points and ranked first and second, respectively, in the league rankings. And both Liverpool and Manchester City, who had previously shared the same 32 points as Nottingham Forest, had lost their games, Nottingham Forest jumped to third place with 35 points. Since Chelsea had won twice consecutively, its points went from 25 to 31. Therefore, Arsenal was still in first place with Manchester United in the second. Third place went to Nottingham Forest while Liverpool and Manchester City occupied fourth and fifth places. And Chelsea was in sixth.

The order was the same as the 11th round, but by the 17th round, there had been another change.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester City all won. As a result, Arsenal and Manchester United shared the same 39 points and were still in first and second places. Nottingham Forest was still in the third with 38 points but the fourth and fifth places had changed. Initially, Liverpool ranked fourth, ahead of Manchester City, who had the same number of points, due to goal difference. However, now that they had lost a game, they had to give up their fourth place to Manchester City, who had 35 points. Liverpool, with its 32 points, and Chelsea, with its 31 points, took the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

The difference between fourth and the fifth place was more than just the rankings on the scoreboard. Fourth place could ascend to Heaven — play in the Champions League qualifying tournament, with a great chance to play in the UEFA Champions League — whereas fifth place could only play in the UEFA Europa League with its much-reduced gains. Although it was not hell, for Liverpool, who had been playing the UEFA Europa League for three consecutive years, it was a result that was even more hated than Hell itself.

The pressure on Benítez’s shoulders was not light. In addition to the turmoil in Liverpool’s upper echelons, there were rumors that Benítez could be dismissed, partly because of his poor relationship with the club chairman. On the other hand, it was also the club board’s explanation for the team’s failure to advance into the UEFA Champions League for three years in a row.

Though the position of a manager normally appeared impressive, since they could order big-name star players around, the pressure they faced was more than the players could imagine. Twain was very sympathetic to Benítez’s rumored situation. He did not want Benítez to leave as well. If all the good managers in the league tournament were gone, he was not interested in playing anymore. There had to be challenges in life for it to be interesting. If all the good opponents were gone, what was the use of getting championship titles if they were easy to achieve?

Why did the trophy look so radiant and fascinate so many people? In Twain’s view, it was because there were good enough opponents on the way to the championship title. The sense of accomplishment was stronger after stepping over strong opponents on the way to the throne rather than stepping on ants.

Fortunately, the Liverpool FC board issued a statement stating that they had full confidence in Rafael Benítez and considered Benítez’s years at Liverpool “remarkable.”

Twain did not have to worry about losing another good opponent.

※※※

In the Champions League group stage, Twain did not fulfill the wishes of the people who had always wanted to see the Forest team fall. The Forest team did not have to play in the UEFA Europa League. Nottingham Forest won 4:0 against Marseille in the final away game. With four wins, one draw, and one loss, they had a score of thirteen points to rank first in the group and advance. Porto also advanced, as they were second with eleven points.

In recent games, whether they were in the domestic arena or the European arena, the Forest team had suddenly become a “cottage industry for goalscoring.”

After the league tournament’s away loss of 0:1 to Liverpool, they scored in every game. They had an 8:0 win against Be?ikta? and 3:1 win against Tottenham Hotspur. The 1:1 draw with Chelsea was the game in which they scored the fewest. They even had two goals in the 2:3 loss to Arsenal, which was followed by a frenzy of goalscoring. In the Champions League group stage, they swept Porto 4:1. They defeated Manchester City 4:0 and Bolton Wanderers 4:1 in league games. In the last game in the Champions League group stage, they had a 4:0 victory over Marseille and beat Blackburn Rovers with 5:3 in the 17th round of the league tournament.

Someone exclaimed that the Forest team was no longer conservative and played offensive football, so offense ruled and so on. Twain was dismissive. His style had not really changed, but the Forest team made a lot more progress than before in controlling the ball and the pace of the game. No matter what tactics they faced Twain had the means to deal with them, and would not be at a loss when he encountered a team that clung fast to defense.

Twain had always thought that in the competition for the league title, the important thing was not to win the games against the strong teams, but to win the games against the weaker teams and firmly grab onto the three points which should have been in their hands. Not losing points senselessly was the key to deciding who would be the league champion in the end. Otherwise, they would be like the Chelsea team in the hands of Vialli and Gullit. They had a group of talented players and advanced tactical play, but because the overall performance of the team was not stable, they could repeatedly beat the strong teams, but would always inexplicably lose points to the underdogs, which eventually led people to give them the nickname “the Disruptor.”

Since Twain took the top spot and advanced of the Champions League group stage, he could put all his energy into the league tournament because Christmas was coming…

Chapter 611 - A Perfect Year

“Just like how turkey makes Christmas dinner, I think the best Christmas gift for the Nottingham Forest fans is a victory,” Twain said before the away game against Fulham.

He infuriated Fulham with his nonchalant and self-assured attitude.

Simon Davies, the home team’s midfielder, spoke freely, “We must make this arrogant man pay. Nottingham Forest won’t win!”

The enraged Fulham team launched an offensive at home against Nottingham Forest. The result was that they “attacked beautifully and perished gloriously.”

Although Nottingham Forest was no longer at its wits’ end when up against the opponent’s retreat to defense, Twain still liked it when the opponent pressed out. It gave the Forest team opportunities for sneak attacks. Fulham was successfully provoked and wanted to get rid the Forest team with home-field advantage and momentum. But they counted their chickens before they hatched.

Fulham recklessly pressed up and almost scored a goal at the start of the game, which inspired their determination to attack.

But when they calmed down, they would realize that it was a honey trap.

The Forest team was repeatedly compacted by Fulham, and then suddenly rebounded. They scored two goals in ten minutes and completely stunned Fulham.

In the end, Nottingham Forest took down Fulham, the home team, by 3:1. They really delivered a nice Christmas present for their fans.

When Twain left London, he was roundly berated by Fulham people because he continued to be arrogant at the post-match press conference.

Some might not have understood that he just wanted to provoke the other side into losing their calm. He had already won the game and there was no need to press on. A little graciousness was good. But Twain thought that “psychological warfare” was a normal state. Otherwise, it would be easily detected by the other side. Ferguson was an example of a normal state.

Ferguson was a rather nice old man in private, which Twain was aware of because they had had drinks together before and attended a horse race. However, that was in private and other places, not a football field. Once the two met in a challenge, Ferguson would never let go of the opportunity to needle and provoke Twain by any means. When he mocked Twain, no one could see that he and Twain had drank together in private.

That was the norm. Everyone knew that Ferguson was good at psychological warfare, but not everyone could ignore his sarcasm and provocation, because it had become his character at work. There were times when people did not know if he deliberately provoked them, or if that was how he saw them. The poor Keegan came to mind. Some people liked to play psychological warfare with Ferguson, such as Arsène Wenger, who had exchanged insults with him for ten years.

Twain would do anything in order to win. What was a little of loss of reputation to him? Other people’s affection for him would not allow him to score three points. Therefore, he had to broadcast himself as a fierce character who was arrogant, not afraid to provoke people, and fearless. Of course, he had hints of the traits in his own character, but they were not as obvious as what he displayed. He added some “artistic touches” to himself. When he planned to provoke an opponent, the deceit would be more convincing and others would not know whether he was his true self or if it was just a strategy.

Therefore, he was delighted that everyone thought he was an arrogant and powerless egomaniac. The image and rumors would help create some errors in his opponents’ judgment.

※※※

With three points and Christmas cheer, Nottingham Forest’s Merry Men were back in their lair… No, turf. On the bus on the way back, Twain announced the holiday arrangements.

“As customary in the new year, we will have a party, but that is for next year. We will prepare small gifts for everyone during Christmas as per normal, which will be placed under the Christmas tree in Wilford. You can go collect it tomorrow. We will have a half day training on Christmas Eve, so that everyone can have time with family and friends or just relax. You can do whatever you want, but don’t go too crazy. We have a home game on 26th and regular training on the 25th. All right, enjoy this moment of leisure during this busy holiday season!”

At first, the club only set up a small Christmas tree in the lobby of the training base. Underneath the tree was filled with presents, with the names of the players labeled on the boxes. It was Allan’s minor change for the club to win over the hearts of its people, which Twain thought was a good thing to do. He proposed to hold it annually and make it a tradition, and they moved the Christmas tree outdoors and made it bigger. Although the gifts were still inexpensive, small items, it was the thought that counted. Not only the players, but all the club’s non-playing employees would receive a gift carefully prepared by the club on the morning of the 25th. Loyal fans who bought season tickets would receive a greeting card in the mailbox.

Evan made a lot of changes after he took control of the Forest club. He and Allan learned from NBA clubs in America to promote and improve the image of Nottingham Forest. In his view, no one would listen if they always brought up the long history of the Forest club. Who was interested in what had happened over the past hundred years? Even if the team was one of the first teams in the world, what was the point? Today’s football fans only loved the teams that could now make them like it, such as Chelsea with Mourinho, Barcelona with Ronaldinho, Real Madrid with Beckham, and so on.

Allan made the century-old club put down its airs and took the initiative to be closer with the people. Coupled with Twain’s constant victories, the Forest team’s new image was promoted smoothly. Today, flurries of letters gushing with affection flew to the clubs from around the world. The Forest team had added a number of new fans around the world. These football fans were not fond of the Forest team because of the Forest team’s glorious past or long history. They liked Nottingham Forest because the team was strong, had won the UEFA Champions League title, had an idol-like manager, and had a group of famous star players. Then, they discovered the history and were surprised to find that the team’s forefathers were also illustrious. They became more determined to love the team. Most foreign fans basically went through such a process, whether it was with major teams that had long been world-renowned and had always been the top-level powerhouse teams, or a has-been team like Nottingham Forest.

Teams like Real Madrid had to make films and play commercialized games everywhere to promote their brands, not to mention Nottingham Forest.

※※※

On the 22nd, they played a game. Training on the 23rd was only half a day, and not very intense. It was mainly focused on the recovery of stamina. After all, the schedule was intensive, there was no need to increase the intensity of the training.

After training had ended, Twain wandered around the training base. He was not taking a stroll, but greeting his colleagues, wishing them a Merry Christmas. He distributed the cards he had bought. This gift was not the gift provided by the club. The club’s gifts were a means of buying people’s hearts. The greeting cards that Twain held in his hands were his own way of showing appreciation. He knew he was lacking in some ways, and without the help of these colleagues, he would not have been able to lead the team to that day. Perhaps he would have been fired by Evan partway. Therefore, on Christmas Eve, it was necessary for him to thank the colleagues who had helped him.

Nottingham Forest was a united team. This unity was not only reflected in the players’ locker room, but also among the coaching staff and the other workers.

The team doctors, physiotherapists, youth team coaches, reserves coaches, goalkeeper coaches, fitness coaches, tactical coaches, assistant managers… Even the turf maintenance workers at the training ground and the security guards who looked after the gate received a greeting card from Twain, as well as a thank-you note thanking them for their work and efforts over the year and for their help to him.

The outside world said that Tony Twain was a demon who did all kinds of terrible things and would betray his own conscience to win. To be honest, the people inside Wilford were initially surprised by these claims, and then they were derisive. The Tony Twain in their eyes was not a uncultured bastard at all.

After he gave out all the greeting cards, he walked back to his office with Dunn and packed up to get ready to go home.

At the door, he saw George Wood, who had been waiting for a long while.

Twain and Dunn were not at all surprised by Wood’s presence. They both knew why Wood was there.

“You only have to make a phone call, George…” Walking up to him, Twain opened the door

“I think it’s more formal to say it in person.”

Dunn had already heard the question and answer for two years. And he thought that as long as he worked at the club, and that George Wood and Tony Twain were still in this team, he would continue to hear it.

“Well, up to you then.” Twain shrugged and pushed the door open.

Wood followed the two men in and stood straight as he said, “my mother invites you both to have dinner tomorrow night.”

Twain turned and went around to behind his desk. He nodded to Wood. “Okay, Dunn and I will be there.”

Just like the club’s distribution of Christmas presents was a tradition that the club intended to maintain for a very long time, Twain and Dunn would pick one night before Christmas to go to Wood’s house for dinner. There was also hope that it would become a tradition — everyone intentionally overlooked the reality of Wood’s mother’s poor health.

Wood, who had finished his task, turned around to leave but Twain stopped him again. “Merry Christmas, George.”

Wood heard him speak and froze for a moment. Then he said, “It’s only the 23rd.”

Twain glared. “Surely I can say it in advance!”

“Sure, Merry Christmas, boss.”

Seeing the two of them like that, the corners of Dunn’s lips slightly curled upwards from where he stood quietly in a corner.

※※※

The atmosphere of training on the 24th was very relaxed. They only carried out some simple tactical drills. Everyone was in a good mood. Twain joked with the people around him. There were sounds of laughter and cheery talk everywhere. It was almost Christmas.

During the holiday, everyone thought only of happy things and left the troubles until next year. Besides, there were not many people in the Forest team who felt vexed.

They were off after training in the morning. Twain and Dunn went to the bustling commercial district to buy a present for Sophia. Twain also wanted to buy Shania a large Totoro doll.

That evening, the two of them stood on the doorstep of George Wood’s place and rang the doorbell.

It was not George Wood or Sophia who opened the door, but… Billy Woox.

“Hi, Mr. Twain, Merry Christmas!” Woox smiled brightly when he saw the expression on Twain’s face. He turned to Dunn, and the smile on his face waned to become normal politeness. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Dunn.”

Twain did not go in. He frowned and asked, “why are you here?”

The smile on Woox’s face changed again as he replied, “why can’t I be here? I’ve been busy as George’s agent this year. Isn’t normal for him to invite me to have dinner?”

But there was another reason — George Wood and Billy Woox were related by blood.

This old man!

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Woox. Hopefully you won’t be giving me any trouble next year.” Twain walked in with a straight face.

“I can’t guarantee you that, Mr. Twain. You know, I have to consider George’s interests. You have your opinion and I have mine.” Woox spread his hands.

Over the course of the year, Woox had only signed three contracts for George Wood, but unlike stars who signed endorsement deals with a dozen businesses in one breath, the three companies that Wood for which was the spokesperson were not insignificant: Gillette razors, Armani’s menswear, and Pepsi. Including Nike, for which he had signed the previous year, George Wood only had four commercial contracts. It was obviously not what Woox had said to Twain before he became Wood’s agent. Twain thought Woox was going to drown George with commercial contracts.

Now, he could see that Woox had built a very detailed plan for George Wood. With his taste and status, he would not casually sign any brands. The conditions under which he selected sponsors were harsh. That was why Wood only had four commercial contracts so far.

That was what Twain liked to see. Wood did not have to frequently attend commercial activities and ignore his job on the football field.

Walking in, Twain saw Sophia, who had come out.

She looked a little paler than the last time he saw her. When was the last time he came to see her? It was the end of last season.

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Twain. Merry Christmas, Mr. Dunn!” Sophia greeted with great enthusiasm.

Twain handed her the gift that he and Dunn had chosen for her. “Merry Christmas, madame.” He did not give Woox a gift, firstly because he did not expect Woox to be there, and secondly, even if he did, he probably would not buy one.

Woox did not mind. He went in to help Wood set the table.

Dunn immediately followed him.

Only Twain and Sophia, who had not opened the gift, were still in the living room.

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Twain.” Sophia greeted once again. She looked at the man in front of her with a smile.

Twain rubbed his head, feeling slightly awkward, but he responded with a smile. “Merry Christmas, madame.”

“Are you feeling well?” he added.

“I’m fine. I just can’t overexert myself.” Sophia nodded. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Twain.”

None of them could find a topic to continue. Although three people were busy in the dining room, the two suddenly quieted down in the living room.

Sophia was the first to stir. She turned her gaze away from the gift in her hand and asked, “How’s Shania?”

Twain nodded. “Ah, she’s good… She’s just busy with work lately.”

Sophia smiled. “She’s a world-famous model. Of course, she’s going to be busy. But… she has to spend Christmas by herself, even though she’s a world-renowned model. I think Shania will not feel too good, will she?”

“Yeah, she kept saying she was unhappy that she couldn’t have turkey with everyone.”

Just as they were about to become silent again, Wood came out from inside.

“Mom.” He stood beside Sophia and looked at Twain.

“Ah, it’s time for dinner. Mr. Twain, please come in.” Sophia made a gesture of invitation.

Twain breathed a sigh of relief. Sophia went first, but George Wood stopped to wait for Twain.

“What’s the matter, George?” Twain noticed.

Wood shook his head. He just looked at his manager but did not say anything.

“I forgot… Merry Christmas, George.” Twain said it to Wood.

“You said it yesterday,” Wood replied expressionlessly.

“Well, happy Christmas Eve then.” Twain shrugged. He did not care how Wood looked at him and went straight into the dining room.

Putting aside the brief interlude, the dinner was a pleasure to have. It was the first time Twain had had dinner with Woox. Even though they bickered, everyone knew it was done in jest.

It was a fantastic experience for both sides.

Twain and Woox had to stand on opposing sides. If they were an office, they were bound to do everything they could to embarrass the other, but it was Christmas Eve and everyone had to be genial. When they clinked their glasses together, Woox winked at Twain, sending shivers down his back.

※※※

After dinner, Twain was in a hurry to leave. “I don’t want to be with Woox for too long.” That was the reason he gave Dunn.

But in reality, it was another person who made him feel awkward.

On his way home, Twain received a call from Shania. “I’m in America now, but I worked out the time. You’re not sleeping yet, are you, Uncle Tony?”

“Of course not.” Twain glanced at Dunn and smiled. “How is it going in America?”

“I’m doing fine… Met some people, got to know some people, and that’s about it.”

Twain could almost see Shania shrugging her shoulders beside him. “What a boring life…”

“I’m going to be busy after the new year.” Shania was not in very good mood. “Ah, there’s something I need to do now. Happy Christmas Eve, Uncle Tony!”

“Happy Christmas Eve, Shania.”

Twain hung up the phone and looked at Dunn.

“It’s been a perfect year…”

Chapter 612 - A Good Football Foundation Started from Young

Nottingham Forest beat the Boca Juniors 4:3 in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan and picked up the Club World Cup to become the number one team of the Club World Cup that year.

※※※

When the competition schedule was intense, time went by quickly. Time had unknowingly crossed over the end of the year. Twain’s Nottingham Forest Football Club’s memorial calendar had changed from 2007 to 2008.

The Premier League tournament and the English FA Cup arrived in succession. Thanks to the arrangement of the training program, the Forest team did not have problems with fitness and the team’s condition remained stable.

Starting with the game on December 1st to January 3rd, Nottingham Forest achieved a seven-game winning streak. Their league ranking went from third to first place. The brilliant six-game winning streak in December allowed Twain to receive the honor of the best manager of the Premier League for that month, while Nottingham Forest was crowned the best team of the month. The best player of the month was given to Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

And the year-end extravaganza — the worldwide and European-wide selection results was announced.

The World Cup was not taking place in 2007. Although there were the AFC Asian Cup and Copa América, they were not significant for the Eurocentric football world.

As an important reference for the awards, the performance of the UEFA Champions League team and players was the most important.

Nottingham Forest was favored as the European champion.

Nottingham Forest had been honored as the year’s best football club in the world. The team’s core player, Franck Ribéry, was named the recipient of the Ballon d’Or by France’s L’équipe. Although Kaka did just as well and AC Milan being able to break into the final was almost due to Kaka alone, he lost in terms of collective honor.

Franck Ribéry was also awarded “Player of the Year” by England’s World Soccer.

The competition for “FIFA World Player of the Year” was fierce.

Because the selection mechanism was different from the more professional Ballon d’Or, FIFA’s best candidates were selected through votes from managers of FIFA’s various national and regional teams. However, a country’s manager was not the most professional candidate. China came to mind as an example. Many managers did not really look at a person’s performance over the past year to cast their votes, but just gave their vote to the most familiar name.

Kaka had the upper hand in that area. He had more worldwide prestige than Ribéry. The same went for Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, who were also more well-known.

Kaka’s performance in the Champions League and Serie A spoke for itself. AC Milan was a very different team without him.

Cristiano Ronaldo helped Manchester United pick up the Premier League trophy last season after two years, and in the second half of the new season, he was in better form and was now the top scorer in the Premier League.

As for Messi, he benefited from the setting of Barcelona’s grandeur as well as the identity of “Maradona’s successor.” In fact, he could not be compared to the three in terms of performance.

The end result was that Kaka edged out Franck Ribéry by a narrow margin and was crowned FIFA World Player of the Year. Ribéry came in second and was awarded the Silver Ball, while Portugal’s Ronaldo won the Bronze Ball award.

The result was enough for Franck Ribéry to be happy for a long time. A few years ago, when he looked out at the sea by the dock and did not know where his future lay, he did not even dare to think about a scene like today. But now, the dream had become a reality. He became one of the hottest young players in the world. He was a Ballon d’Or recipient and a well-deserved new core player for the French national team. His career had reached its peak.

George Wood entered the list of twenty candidates, though he did not receive any of the honors. It was related to him being a full-time defensive player. Defense was not popular and being a defensive player meant not having a chance for major individual awards. Cannavaro’s FIFA World Player of the Year award was not so much a personal award as a reward for Italy’s entire rear defensive line. He was Italy’s captain and just a representative of the brilliant collective.

The FIFA World Player of the Year was the most important award. After it was awarded, there were some miscellaneous minor awards. Perhaps others disagreed, but in Twain’s view, they were the unimportant awards. Even when he was named the FIFA World Coach of the Year for leading Nottingham Forest to UEFA Champions League victory, he was not wild with joy.

He felt it was a matter of course, and he could not think of anyone else qualified to stand on stage and accept the award. The second reason was that he was still protesting for Ribéry. He did not resent that Kaka received the award. He just thought that Ribéry was more qualified to pick up the Golden Ball.

Therefore, his speech on the stage to receive the award seemed a little arrogant and angry.

“I’m happy to receive this award,” he said. “It shows that the path I have chosen is right: victory and constant victories; a championship title and more titles. As long as the team can win more championships, honor will not be a surprise at all… But there will also be some surprises… I would like to thank FIFA for presenting this award to me. Thank you!”

Nottingham Forest’s offensive core player, Ribéry, did not complete the grand slam and take the Ballon d’Or, Player of the Year, and FIFA World Player of the Year awards, which was the only blemish. Other than that, the Forest team’s year was almost flawless.

A year full of honors had passed, and the new year with its endless challenges had arrived. All glory would soon pass, and they would not help the Forest team in the new year.

In the first round of the league tournament in the new year, the Forest team achieved a victory and raised their winning streak to seven games. In the English FA Cup, Twain deployed the Second Team to play and they encountered Roy Keane’s Sunderland team.

Due to the different situations of the two teams, the amount of importance placed on the game was different. Twain set out to train the players while Keane hoped to break through the FA Cup so that they could get out of the team’s current predicament — 21 rounds had passed and his Sunderland team only accumulated seventeen points. They ranked third from the bottom of the league and were in the relegation zone.

To stay in the league was important, but Keane would prefer a win to boost the team’s morale, even if it were just a FA Cup. As long as they could beat the powerful Nottingham Forest team, he had a way of leading the team out of the woods again.

Twain would not throw a game just because the opponent was Roy Keane. While all the players he sent were from the Second Team, the Second Team players were scarier to Keane. For the Nottingham Forest’s main players, the FA Cup could not lift their fighting spirit, but it was the Second Team players’ great opportunity to perform in front of Twain. No one wanted the chance to be the only one, and nobody wanted to cause the team to lose because of their own performance. As a result, the game was very dangerous for Sunderland. The only thing Keane could rely on was to send the strongest squad and fight it out with the opponent at home.

He won.

After ninety minutes of extremely intense competition, Sunderland edged out Nottingham Forest with a score of 3:2 and smoothly advanced to the next round of the FA Cup.

Since he lost the last chance to train his young players, Twain began to seriously consider putting some of the promising players, who were fated not to have a chance to play in the current Forest team, out on loan on his return to Nottingham from Sunderland.

The youth team’s Adriano Moke, who had been on loan at Sunderland since the start of the season, was now Sunderland’s First Team regular player. While he was not yet guaranteed to play as the main force, he was not a fringe player sitting on the bench. He was in the starting lineup and played the entire game in the FA Cup match against the Forest team. He performed pretty well and Twain watched Moke’s performance at all times during the game. He was a little independent, but young players still had time to correct their faults. Cristiano Ronaldo was nothing like when he first arrived at Manchester United.

He wanted to loan out some of the youth team players, even to teams in the English Football League Championship. They would not improve much if they just trained at Wilford and played in the Youth FA Cup. If they wanted to move to the next level, they would have to go out to compete and play in real matches.

He had to settle the matter when he returned to Nottingham. In addition, with the window opening for the winter transfer, did Nottingham Forest have any players that needed to be bought or sold?

At present, Nottingham Forest’s rotation system was more mature. Every position was filled by a capable player. Ribéry returned to the team after recovering from his injury and Pepe’s injury also progressed in a better direction. He thought about it and it seemed like there was no particular urgency to bring in new players.

He decided to focus on the type of young player who could be purchased and loaned out for development.

There were many conditions to be met, so it was not easy to locate player. First of all, they had to be young enough to have time to wait for opportunities. Secondly, they had to have enough talent to move Twain. Average players were not worth cultivating and waiting for a few years. Next, they had to still be unknown and not aim too high. Twain did not want a player who wanted to be the leader right away. Lastly, it would be best if their price was cheap. The Forest team’s new stadium had broken ground and started construction. The club’s available funds were woefully low. Twain would not and could not bid tens of millions of euros for a young genius.

Restricted by those conditions, most well-known young geniuses would be struck off the list. For example, Giovani dos Santos and Bojan Krki? from Barcelona’s La Masia training academy, Carlos Vela, who was out on loan from Arsenal, Jack Wilshere, who recently found big success on Arsenal’s youth team, the young French talents, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, Italy national youth team’s most precious asset, Giuseppe Rossi, Alexandre Pato, who had been snapped up by AC Milan, and so on. Twain would not be able to grab these players, as he did not have the financial resources.

He did not have to worry too much about finding good talent. Nottingham Forest could afford to hire soccer scouts all over the world. In addition, they had a collaboration with SI. The company had a host of amateur and professional scouts. In addition to their FM production, they followed the original agreement to create another version of the player database which was slightly different from the more game-oriented FM database. The database was more rigorous and had more reference value.

With the start of the winter transfer period, Twain needed to speed up his efforts.

※※※

Twain informed his scout team that he needed a list of potential players between the ages of fourteen and sixteen from around the world, and an organized report appeared on his desk two days later.

Instead of studying the report during training time, he took it home to study it with Dunn.

Twain first set his sights within the United Kingdom. He could benefit from the geographical proximity, and it could play a role in weakening his opponents. Following that, he looked at the European Union region, the Americas, Africa, and finally Asia.

After he read all the reports with Dunn, it was already past midnight. Although he was tired to the point of dizziness and his eyesight was blurry, they identified a number of candidates, their names circled in red pencil. The next day, they would hand the list over to the youth team manager. Then, after confirmation, the Forest club would apply to purchase from the clubs the players were located at, or go to the players to sign contracts to become a member of the Forest team. There was no need for observation as some of these players were under observation by the Forest Team scouting system for a long time.

Two days later, the Forest team launched a worldwide initiative for the foreign acquisitions. How many of the names would eventually come to Nottingham as Twain wished? He did not know. It was like casting out a wide net. No one knew how the harvest would go until it was fished up.

In London, Crystal Palace’s genius, John Bostock, who had just turned sixteen, faced the first choice in his life: sign up with his own Crystal Palace team and become a full member of the club’s youth team, or sign up with Nottingham Forest and join the European champion team?

In Glasgow, Scotland, sixteen-year-old John Fleck met a man who identified himself as a Nottingham Forest scout. He brought a contract from Nottingham Forest to the main player of the Scottish national team U16.

In Mexico City, the father of Cruz Azul’s fifteen-year-old midfielder, Martín Galván, received a call from the UK. The man, who identified himself over the phone as a scout from Nottingham Forest, was very interested in his son.

In southern Brazil, in the port city of Porto Alegre, the famous Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense received a fax from Nottingham, England, hoping to have a serious discussion about the future of the sixteen-year-old center back, Gerson Vieira, from the Grêmio youth team.

The same fax was placed on the desk of the Colo-Colo manager in Santiago, Chile. But the player’s name on the fax was Nicolás Millán, who was Colo-Colo U16’s number 10.

Many more young players around the world received similar notices.

How many of these players would end up like Fàbregas, George Wood, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Kaka?

Twain did not know. Even if they currently had impressive talent, the path to becoming a superstar player was still long. Just talent and strength did not guarantee success. Sometimes a little luck was needed, but more importantly, the effort that they gave on the journey from now to becoming a superstar player was required.

That was why Twain wanted to cast the net worldwide. He could not guarantee that every kid in the scouts’ reports described as “the second Maradona,””the second Zidane,””the second Ronaldinho,” or “the second Ronaldo” could really get what they wanted. The scope of the search was large and the numbers were many. Even if the elimination rate was eventually high, it could still guarantee to produce one or two stars.

Arsène Wenger’s keen eye for talent was not anything new in the international football circle, but he could not guarantee that all the players at Arsenal’s youth camp would become superstar players. The ones who ultimately succeeded were not many compared to the young players that Wenger gave up part way.

Twain once thought about if he had transmigrated a few years earlier, whether or not he would have used the advantage of the knowledge to sign on Messi, who still had no money to treat pituitary dwarfism in Argentina, Kaka who almost gave up football when he hurt his spine during a diving accident in Brazil, or an extremely tender Wayne Rooney at Everton, Cristiano Ronaldo, Francesc Fàbregas, Jack Wilshere, Carlos Vela, Bojan Krki?, or other wonderkids, geniuses, bosses, and prodigies in one fell swoop.

That was something almost all of the FM-ers dreamt of: to be able to gather all the star players to be their men and play for them. Even just the thought of it was exciting.

But it was only a thought.

The current situation was also good, because there were more possibilities in the future. A future that had gradually become unfamiliar to him would give birth to the geniuses he had not yet heard of. It was just like a treasure hunt. He would excavate the treasure once he knew its location. If he did not know where the treasure was, he would search all over the world.

Twain believed that the latter had a greater sense of accomplishment.

George Wood was the first gem he had dug up under unknown circumstances. The first and nth times held completely different meanings, so he did not intend to let go of George Wood.

※※※

These excavations would not come to fruition so quickly. The team had other work that needed to proceed as usual, in addition to waiting for further feedback.

The youth team’s center-back, Aaron Mitchell, who was more than two meters tall, was on loan to the English Football League Championship team, West Bromwich Albion. The eighteen-year-old right back, Gavin Kavanagh was on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, who was also in the English Football League Championship. Another eighteen-year-old midfielder, Lewis McGugan, was on loan to Stoke City. Mark Byrne went to Watford.

A few of the most promising players in Nottingham Forest’s youth team had been out on loan. It was their own business to learn what they could in those teams. Twain did not look at the process, he only looked at the results. Those who made something of themselves could stay, and those who did not would be sold.

The young players who left Wilford were equally clear headed. From then on, they were no longer rookies waiting for opportunities in the youth team. They were full fledglings that needed to fly out and make their chances. Their feet determined what the future would hold. As for how many players could eventually come back and stay, that was still a mystery.

The league tournament was still in progress.

The Forest team that lost the English FA Cup seemed to be ensnared by bad luck. They first faced Derby County in an away game and had the upper hand during the entire game. They pressed on the opponent and bombarded their goal, only to accept the result of a 2:2 draw with the opponent. It annoyed Twain that they could not get three points from the underdog team, but what made him even more annoyed was the performance of the opposing home fans after the game.

Due to the historical feud between the two teams, Nottingham Forest and Derby County, the Derby County fans were joyous when they saw Nottingham Forest eventually be forced to a draw by the newly promoted Derby County. So in contrast, Twain’s face looked grim.

Before this game, the Forest team returned to the top of the league with seven straight wins and fifty points, and surpassed Arsenal with its forty-nine points and Manchester United with its forty-eight points in one shot.

But with the draw, it was immediately overtaken by Manchester United, which won a game. Both teams had fifty-one points, but Manchester United was number one because they had scored more goals.

In the next round, the Forest team lost to Everton at home again and was overtaken by Manchester United and Arsenal, who both had victories. They were back in third place in the league.

There were some ups and downs in the team’s form and Twain found the problem — the rotation system.

The rotation system was designed to give the team plenty of stamina while it competed in multiple tournaments, while it also ensured that most players had games to play and stayed in shape. But if the rotation was too frequent, it would leave the players at a bit at a loss. The lineup in the previous game played well, but the manager changed the lineup and tactics in the next game. How could they guarantee the overall continuity and stability of the team?

After Christmas, the team’s schedule was not intense. They had already been eliminated in the English FA Cup and the Champions League knockout stage had not yet begun. They only had the league games once a week, and thus, did not really have to use the rotation system.

Therefore, after they lost the game to Everton, Twain temporarily gave up the rotation system, or at least, the large-scale rotation.

Things got better. Nottingham Forest defeated Middlesbrough by 2:0 in the final game of January.

In the meantime, there was also a steady stream of good news with regards to the plans to invest in the future.

※※※

John Bostock accepted the Forest team’s contract and chose to go to Nottingham Forest, where he could receive a better deal once he reached the age of sixteen. The Forest team’s recent string of honors was the reason for his decision.

While Martín Galván was in Mexico’s famously strong team, Cruz Azul, Nottingham Forest and Europe’s top football standards were clearly more attractive. He agreed to join Nottingham Forest. But there was some trouble: Mexico ruled that players under the age of eighteen were not be allowed to play abroad. Martín was only fifteen years old, so he would have to wait at least three years. Was Nottingham Forest willing to wait? Twain agreed to wait.

The Forest team and Cruz Azul reached an agreement that Martín’s permanent ownership belonged to Nottingham Forest, but before he reached the age of eighteen, he would play for, train in and compete for Cruz Azul. Not only was his salary paid for the Forest team, but the Forest team would also pay an additional amount each year to Cruz Azul as a “training fee.”

Chile did not have such a rule, so Nottingham Forest spent 500,000 pounds to bring?Nicolás Millán to England and place him in Nottingham Forest U16 youth team for specific observation.

Even having cast such a wide net, only those three players were signed at the end. However, Twain was satisfied. The development of the youth team and the excavation and purchase of young talents were normal. It required long term persistence, so the result of the three players that time was very good. Rome was not built in a day. A youth training academy that enjoyed prestige in Europe and internationally would not be able to rise up in a day.

Nicolás Millán and John Bostock came to Nottingham Forest. Twain went to pick them up, met them, and introduced himself. Then, he handed them over to the youth-development manager. But everyone knew he would pay close attention to the performance of the new young players.

It had to be done. In the next few years, as long as the Forest team’s new stadium was not complete, Twain had to tighten his belt. It was much more cost-effective to search for young geniuses and cultivate them than to spend large amounts to buy the famous stars.

Chapter 613 - 9527

“One, two, three, start.”

“Hello everyone, I am the thirteenth contestant and my name is Chen Jian. I’m nineteen years old and from Chengdu, Sichuan province.” A dark-skinned teenager, standing in front of the camera, introduced himself with a grin that revealed his striking white teeth. He turned his head to look to the side, and there was a man gesturing to him.

“Shout out a slogan and strike a POSE!” the man mouthed to him.

The teenager, who called himself “Chen Jian” turned back and thought about it. The camera’s monitor entered a brief silence.

“I want to play professional football and hopefully everyone will… like me.” He laughed nervously. He wanted to say, “I hope everyone will support and vote for me,” but he remembered that the talent show did not have an audience vote, so it was useless even if the audience supported him. He had to change his words. Therefore, when he thought about it, he laughed.

“Good!” The cameraman put down the camera and muttered, “luckily it wasn’t live…”

“Next!” The man waved to another teenager waiting at the side, and motioned for him to go up for his introduction. Chen Jian returned to a group of teenagers of similar ages.

It was the training camp for the finals of The Football Kid talent show held by the Hunan Television and a number of local and foreign media and companies.

The audition for the country’s six competition districts had already ended, with fourteen lucky winners selected from the six areas. Now they were gathered in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province to participate in three and a half months of training. A variety of assessments and competitions would be conducted with the contestants to gradually eliminate them and three contestants would advance to the finals. After that, three judges on live television would rate the three contestants based on their performances over the past three and a half months. The top two contestants would be rewarded with a one-year trial in England’s top teams. For these Chinese teenagers who liked football and desired a future in professional football, it was a good dream and more exciting than one million dollars.

Chen Jian was one of them. Watching him stand in front of the camera and introduce himself with a smile, how many future television viewers would know the story behind the smile?

※※※

The nineteen-year-old youth, who spoke Mandarin with a slight Sichuanese accent, initially auditioned for the Beijing division where he attended the Justice Jingguan School in Tianjin, close to Beijing. However, he was eliminated. The reason for his elimination was simple — he was not strong enough.

Out of the ten thousand people who auditioned in the Beijing division, his strength was not enough to even enter the top one hundred.

The majority of the youth who came to audition were able to enter the final one hundred and then face the British coach’s personal assessment. Most of them were professionally trained, from a sports school or from a third team of a professional football club. Chen Jian had not received even a day of professional training. He got played football as a hobby. He was one of the best in terms of amateur playing and as a hobby. Since he was young, he was the main player in the school teams, including in Tianjin Justice Jingguan School, where he was also a main player who represented the university in the China University Football League. That was also what gave him the confidence and motivation to participate in this talent show.

But compared with people of similar ages who had received professional training, he was not strong enough as an amateur player who adopted football later in life. He barely made it into the top one hundred before he was eliminated by the British coach.

When an average person was eliminated, they would be depressed and return home dejected. Chen Jian was not the average person. He was only frustrated for one night. Once he heard that the people who were eliminated in that division were also free to participate in the other division selections. He rekindled his hope. He felt that he had a turn of bad luck. In the next division, he would be able to play to his strongest level and impress the coaches.

The next day, he called his instructor to apply for a leave of absence, packed his bags, and left from Beijing for Wuhan.

This time, he stopped at the top fifty. The first time, he did not make it to the top fifty, but what was the point? He was still eliminated.

Chen Jian refused to admit defeat. He continued to apply for leave and went to Changsha to participate in the auditions in the Changsha division. He got into the top thirty.

As Changsha was the location of the organizers, there was some preferential policies. The other divisions only had two candidates who could enter the final training camp, whereas Changsha was allowed to have four spots. The extra places might let some people achieve what they wanted, but if one could not get in that division, the remaining Chengdu division was basically pointless.

Chen Jian still did not pass the assessment. Did he give up?

No. Chen Jian did not even apply for a leave and skipped class to take the train to Chengdu.

It was his last chance to try. He would give up if he failed again. He would set his mind at rest and study to become a policeman, work to support his family, and find a decent girl to start a family with. As for my love of football, I can at least play football in my spare time and watch the games.

The road to happiness was paved with hardships. Chen Jian did not manage to buy a train ticket for the right day. The train ticket he bought to Chengdu was on the afternoon of the audition. He even did not have time to rest before the selection.

To make matters worse, he was burning up with a fever from the mental stress and being constantly on the move. He also had the runs from eating contaminated food on the train.

When the train arrived in Chengdu, he felt weak as he dizzily walked out of the compartment. He did not know how he rushed to the selection venue, Sichuan Gymnasium.

When he arrived outside the stadium and saw the sea of people at the scene of the audition, he felt faint.

After he obtained a number, he found a shady spot to sit down and rest. It was 2:30 in the afternoon. He had not had breakfast or lunch. Although he was hungry, he did not have an appetite to eat. His fever had not receded and his limbs were sore and weak. He felt dizzy and cold.

There was no contestant more wretched than him.

Most people would have gone to the hospital for an IV drip and headed home after they recovered. It’s not my wish to meet with such an awful situation and it looks like God does not want me to pass. So why should I still bother to do it?

A lot of people would think that. But Chen Jian was not the average person. He was tough and obstinate. He refused to concede. He would take that last chance to finish.

He leaned against the concrete border of the flower bed. Around him, competitors were either eating a simple lunch to replenish their strength or doing warm-up exercises and drills. He leaned there lethargically and did nothing. It was not that he did not want to warm up. He did not have the strength to warm up. He could only save his strength at the most critical moment.

He sat like that until he heard the speakers in the square blaring the contestants’ numbers from 9500 to 9550 and pushed himself against the platform to stand up. He staggered into the crowd.

He did not know how he had held on, nor did he know how he passed each of the assessments. All he knew was that the sky had dimmed, and the bustling crowd outside had dispersed with only the trash littering the ground. He could not hear the buzzing noises. He stood in the grassy stadium. With the exception of five coaches, three television camera men and reporters, only ten of his peers wearing training vests were left.

And he, Chen Jian, stood among these ten men.

He was in the top ten of Chengdu division, which was his best result after his participation in the four competitions.

Among the five coaches, there was also the chief judge whose face was familiar to Chen Jian. He was the British coach who had eliminated him in the Beijing division. He saw the man twice again in the Wuhan division and Changsha division. Chen Jian could not remember this person’s name until now. It was useless for him to know. He had to rely on his own strength to pass the assessment rather than claim connections with the chief judge to climb higher.

He glanced a few more times and averted his gaze to stand in line to wait for the next assessment. As he had not eaten for a day and could barely stand, but he clenched his teeth to persevere. He smiled on the outside and looked confident while he gritted his teeth behind his closed lips.

The chief judge, Kenny Sansom swept his gaze across the ten lucky contestants standing in front of him and discovered a familiar face — Number 9527 with his smiling face, tanned skin and strong body. If he had only seen the face once in the Beijing division, Sansom would not have remembered the youth at all. But he saw the smiling, tanned face four times: Beijing, Wuhan, Changsha and Chengdu.

He had a deep impression of the smile because he could see that this kid was trying his hardest to hold on.

The Chinese coach at his side looked at him, and he nodded to his colleagues who worked on this with him.

The local Chengdu coach stepped forward and faced the ten lucky contestants. “Your strength to be able to break into the Chengdu division’s top ten. I know a lot of the contestants who came here are not Chengdu or Sichuan natives. Some people were even unwilling to give up and come here for the last fight because they were eliminated in the other competitions. So, I can say without exaggeration that the Chengdu Division is the strongest, most competitive, and most brutal division among the country’s six divisions!”

He raised his voice, and the ten youths in front of him applauded in response.

“So, to be able to get into the top ten is enough to show how strong you are. However, according to the rules, only the last two contestants in this division can advance to the finals’ training camp, so that means eight of you will be eliminated. But don’t give up on your love of football even if you don’t win.” The coach’s words stirred everyone up.

“Now…” He looked back at the British coach and other colleagues behind him and turned around to continue, “there’s no final assessment.”

The ten contestants had a look of surprise on their faces. They thought that there had to be the most brutal and severe assessment waiting for them at the end and they would have to push past their limits to pass.

“This is the end. There is no more assessment or test. The final two places will be awarded based on the performances the ten of you gave throughout the selection process. The two people who score the highest will be given tickets to Changsha.” He raised his hand and somehow two envelopes appeared in his hand.

Everyone knew what was in there. It was not a ticket to Changsha but a ticket to their dream.

With that, he stopped talking and just stood aside. The Englishman, Kenny Sansom, stepped forward. His job was simple but was the one with the most attention. He just had to read the two winners’ numbers. He was the one to announce their fate.

Sansom looked at the ten Chinese teenagers in front of him. Over the months in China, he followed the entire process of the selection in the various competitions and interacted with a wide variety of people from the top — the Chinese Football Association officials and people from the media — down to the ordinary fans and these young players. He recognized that football in China was different from in the United Kingdom. But there was one thing in common: the passion and love for football.

In an earlier interview with BBC Television, he said that given the poor results of the Chinese national men’s soccer team in the AFC Asian Cup, their early elimination in the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, the continued slump in Chinese football, and other factors, he had thought the event might not get as good a response as expected. He did not think that the auditions would be a sea of people each time, not to mention how much attention the media paid. It was not known how high the show ratings would be. When he saw so many adolescent faces hopeful with dreams appear in front of his own eyes, he felt… How could he put it? It was incredible. It was hard to understand why there were so many football-loving teenagers in this country when the football standards were so low.

“Boys, among you… there can only be two people to advance, so good luck to you all.” He spoke in English before he announced the two numbers. “3084.”

The teenager, who stood on the right side of Chen Jian, screamed with his arms held high. Everyone turned their heads to look at him. The number on his chest was “3084.”

Someone congratulated him, but more people were worried and anticipating the last spot. Who would get it?

For the nine remaining boys, the cruelest moment had arrived. This was the last chance. Unlike the previous five divisions where they could move on to the next division and continue to try to win after being eliminated, if they were eliminated there, there would be no a “next time” again.

Although Hunan Television had publicized that there might be a second season, it depended on the impact and earnings for the first season in China. Who could predict it?

Chen Jian was still smiling. He did not want anyone to see his nervousness.

Sansom looked at the teenager, who was still cheering, with a smile on his face. He beckoned the lucky kid to come forward and stand to the side. His excitement was too out of step with the nervousness of the other nine people.

“And…9527.”

The lucky “9527” contestant answered and fainted. It was not due to excitement, but exhausted. After Chen Jian heard the results, he could no longer hold on and fainted because he had not eaten the entire day, his fever still ran high, his head was dizzy, and his legs trembled.

※※※

Chen Jian had a dream, which was short but wonderful. He dreamed of the beautiful Qiuxiang Sister embracing him in deep concern and anxiously calling his number —

“9527? How are you feeling?”

“9527? Wake Up!”

“Someone fainted, someone fainted! Quickly!”

“9527… Chen Jian, Chen Jian… Wake up, wake up!”

Someone shook him awake. After some haziness, he looked clearly at the people in front of him. Where was the appearance of the beautiful Qiuxiang Sister? There was only a Caucasian man’s face. Then he turned his head and saw more concerned faces.

“You’re awake.” The Caucasian man had a reassuring smile on his face.

Chen Jian did not understand. He turned his head and looked at the people around him in confusion.

“You fainted when we announced the result,” the Chengdu coach said as he crouched down. Chen Jian realized that he was lying on the ground. There were nine other peers next to him who were also concerned about him.

“You’re running very hot. Do you have a fever?” The Englishman asked quickly, but Chen Jian looked confused. He immediately remembered and asked the man next to him to translate for him.

After he understood the translation, Chen Jian bobbed his head. “I had a fever on the train ride here and I also had food poisoning. I didn’t eat for a day because I was worried about what would happen during today’s assessment.”

Sansom was moved when he heard the translated answer.

Even the Chinese coaches and his competitors who were familiar with the situation were very surprised. It turned out that he competed with them in such a condition and still emerged the winner.

“Hey, buddy.” A teenager with a Beijing accent who had also rushed there from other divisions stepped forward. “I’m impressed.” He patted Chen Jian on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. “You’re awesome!”

Chen Jian remembered him because he was also eliminated and came from the Beijing division, but he was in the top ten in the Beijing division before he was finally eliminated. He once trained in the youth team of the Beijing Sinobo Guoan Football Club and could be considered a professional. He always thought highly of himself and felt that his elimination was only a matter of luck, not strength, so he went to Chengdu to prove himself again. He did not expect to lose to Chen Jian.

Initially, he was unwilling to accept the outcome: how could someone like him with a professional background lose to an amateur player? Now he was sincerely convinced and ready to concede because he thought he could not even get through the primaries with his physical condition.

The majority of people would probably not even participate in the selection and give up because they were not feeling well.

Sansom laughed. “OK, kid. Now you can go have a good meal, take a hot bath, and then get some sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, whatever discomfort will be gone. Of course, don’t forget to take medicine.” He reached his hand out and congratulated Chen Jian.

“Congratulations, 9527, Chen Jian.”

Chapter 614 - The Dark Horse Prince

After he tore off the January page in the calendar, Twain learned a new update. The news made him very angry, but he could not express it in person.

Evan Doughty approached him and informed him that on February 4th and 5th, he would lose his most trusted assistant manager for two days.

“Is that The Football Kid talent show again, isn’t it?” He grunted. He actually wanted to swear the moment Evan told him about it, but when he planned to do so, he thought of Mourinho, and quickly calmed down.

He was not as arrogant as Mourinho. He was very much aware of who the club belonged to. He did not want to be considered “insubordinate” by Evan, which would not benefit him at all. He did not want to own the entire club; it would not do him any good. It would give him a headache instead.

Therefore, he just grunted to express his displeasure.

Evan smiled. “No one is more suited to be there for the finals of the show than Dunn. Because he’s…”

Twain nodded. “Yes, I know. He’s from China and also an assistant manager of this team. He’s popular in China and the audience will be delighted to see a familiar face appear in such an occasion. It is a way to woo the Chinese audience and market.”

“I’ve always said that Tony Twain is a very smart man,” Evan said with a grin. He did not mind that Twain interrupted him.

This was what Twain liked about Evan more than Abramovich. He was not as wealthy as the Russian, but because of this, he was a little smarter.

Twain knew that with a temperament like his, he was more amenable to coaxing and not coercion. Mourinho was the same. He could not get angry at Evan’s grinning face, but if he encountered such a hardline boss like Abramovich, Twain would push back hard against the other man to the end. At the most, they would separate. In this day and age, who would be afraid anymore?

“Flattery is useless on me, Evan…” Twain waved feebly. He was upset about it, but not to the point where he would turn his back on the club owner for it. “I think Allan is a little too shortsighted with this. Some things are too rushed… I’m afraid he’ll suffer later.”

“I’ll convey your worry to him, Tony. Let’s talk about this matter. In fact, that talent show can be counted as a success so far. The ratings are very high, and the social impact is also good.” Evan brought up the data from China, but Twain doubted how much weight there was to it. He cautiously agreed. “Also, you don’t have to worry about this taking too much time. Allan will go to China with Dunn. Dunn’s job is very simple, and he will return once it’s finished. Allan will be in charge of the other things. It’s just two days of events that won’t delay too much.” He patted Twain on the shoulder.

Twain shrugged and helplessly said, “all right. It would still happen even if I didn’t agree.”

“Thank you for your understanding and support, Tony. Finally, I would like to congratulate you for becoming the best coach in the world.” Evan held out his hand.

Twain patted him on the hand. “You said it last year.”

“It doesn’t hurt to say it one more time.”

Evan went back with satisfaction, and Twain sighed helplessly. He had no choice since he worked for other people. But Twain still insisted on the idea of not being a boss. He knew he was not cut out for it.

※※※

On February 2nd, Nottingham Forest had a minor victory of 1:0 over West Ham United at home. Since Manchester United was forced into an away draw by Tottenham Hotspur, the gap between the Forest team and Manchester United narrowed while Arsenal, who won its game, took the opportunity to overtake and return to the top of the league.

Halfway through the league tournament, the battle for the league title was becoming hotter.

Dunn packed light and set off again on a flight back to China. The initial climax of the show had intended Allan to be the hidden boss. However, Allan decided to let Dunn, whom the Chinese people found more acceptable and familiar, to complete the glorious task.

Setting aside Twain as a factor, the choice that he made was really good.

Although he was an assistant manager, Dunn already had a group of fans in China. They liked and chased after Dunn. They paid attention to him and gathered all the news about him. It might be the result of the warped environment in Chinese football — it did not make sense to worship the players, so they might as well worship the coaches.

Anyway, Dunn was someone who could give mental comfort to the vast number of Chinese fans abroad. With so many players in a slump overseas, only Dunn was still strong enough to appear in the technical area at the sidelines of the Premier League games every week.Therefore, from the standpoint of wooing the Chinese audience and market, Dunn was indeed the perfect candidate for the trip to China.

His job was really simple. On the day of the recording of the grand finale, he only needed to appear at the last minute of the show and announce a result that was unexpected to everyone, and that would be the end.

When Twain sent Dunn off, he repeatedly urged him, “come back when you’re done. Don’t be late by two days like the last time and not come back. You should know that punishment for being late does not just apply only to the players…”

Dunn nodded. “Tang Jing will not be going this time.”

“That’s good.” Twain snorted and added, “come back early.”

※※※

“9527” Chen Jian had a farewell dinner party with the friends he had been together with for over three months.

Because the fainting incident made him famous on the show, many viewers were very fond of the resilient lad, but it also made the number his new nickname. His mates often said it to make fun of him. It was only one of his nicknames. The Englishman, Kenny Sansom liked to call him the “Smiler” because his smile left a deep impression on Sansom. Not only that, the teenager always had a smile on his face, which was also very popular among the television audience.

He sat with his fellow contestants for drinks and dinner. It was the last dinner they would have together.

Of course, there were already fewer than thirteen people sitting next to Chen Jian.

The finals training camp was very cruel. Because the British directed the training camp, the selection criteria was only based on football and not who was more handsome or who could do hip hop or other boring stunts.

The British coaching staff had developed a number of training subjects for the Chinese teenagers. Their assessment was to complete the sporting events. Each sporting event was scored separately, and a comprehensive evaluation would be taken.

It ensured the intensity of the competition, so that the program had more suspense, making it more attractive to the audience.

For example, some people could obtain high marks on the skill segment, but lost points in their stamina. Some people were in top form physically, but less skilled. Some people were good at scoring goals while the others liked to assist their teammates or defend. Everyone had things they were good and not good at. If the coaches did not announce their results, no one would know if they had won the final game.

In three months, they had sent away seven people, and today they were going to “send away” four more.

The eliminated people would not leave immediately. The seven contestants who were previously eliminated would be invited back to the final episode of the recording.

Kenny Sansom announced the names of the three lucky contestants who reached the finals on the training ground before the meal.

They were Wang Yang and Song Hui, as well as Chen Jian.

Once again, he made it to the end.

In fact, after the start of the training camp, Chen Jian was “the hot ticket” slated to be eliminated. He was the only one with no professional training among the fourteen contestants. He was purely an amateur. The most brilliant part of his resume was that he had won the Sichuan Guangyuan All High School Football Cup title in his high school football team.

But the amateur player was able to go all the way to the grand finale and become one of the top three, as well as have the chance to get one of the two tickets to the United Kingdom.

What was his secret? It was very simple and comprised of just three words. “Practice makes perfect.”

He practiced hard on the areas he was not as good at and doubled the time the others practiced. He wracked his brains on how to improve his results in the events he was inferior in and maintain his own advantage in the events he was good at. For example, his skills and awareness were not as good as the professionally trained contestants, but his stamina and physical fitness were good, and he was fast. He was always in first place every time the training camp organized fitness and speed tests. The score of that event greatly contributed in his achievement in the final top three.

At the same time, his achievements in the areas he was not good at were steadily improving. Everyone at the training camp saw his progress. Kenny Sansom particularly liked the kid, who was focused and worked hard.

On top of that, Chen Jian started practicing his English. The people around him did not understand. His answer was “I have to be tested on English in university anyway. If I’m not selected, I will have to worry about English papers.”

His mentality was optimistic and good.

He was underestimated every time, but every time he became one of the contestants who stayed in Changsha. Until then, he had the worst result out of the three people, but he continued to stay. This was a victory.

Wang Yang and Song Hui were the two contestants with the highest odds. Their selection was not a surprise from the beginning. Chen Jian was really a dark horse. With his tanned skin, he also had the nickname “the Dark Horse Prince.”

A tall man stood across the table with a beer mug in his hand. “No matter who among the three of you can go to England, I have nothing to say. We’ve all been brothers these three months.” The person, the seventh contestant from Dalian, spoke Mandarin with a Northeastern accent. He was Zhao Rui. “Since we’re all brothers, I, Zhao Rui, will be happy to see any of you go to England. Whoever goes goes on behalf of our Chinese people. But I have add one more thing…” He looked at the smiling Chen Jian in the crowd.

“9527.” That was the most widely accepted of Chen Jian’s nicknames. “I’m impressed!” Zhao Rui gave a thumbs up. “I may not necessarily lose in terms of skills and standards.” Zhao Rui was qualified to say that. He came from Dalian Shide youth team, which was a very good team. He was almost on par with Song Hui and Wang Yang.?His elimination was really just a little bad luck. On the day of the most critical assessment, he caught a cold and ran a high fever, so his performance was a mess. He hid in the bathroom to cry after. After that, he came out with reddened eyes and said, “it’s just an elimination. What’s the big deal?”

“But I’m blown away! 9527! I really admire you! You’re the man! Truly!” Zhao Rui had a little bit to drink, so he was in an exuberant mood. “Damn it… just because I had a cold and fever, I was eliminated whereas you could still pass the audition assessment. Ten thousand people! And they can’t hold a candle to your fever and diarrhea… Just on this, I really admire you!”

Chen Jian smiled from start to finish. He did not know how to cope with such an enthusiastic friend. Furthermore, that kind of open praise embarrassed him a little. He was aware of the extent of his own abilities.

“Forget it! I’ll stop talking nonsense. Come have a toast…cheers!”

Chen Jian stood up. He clinked his glass against Zhao Rui’s and drained the full mug of beer. He won another round of praise from Zhao Rui, who exclaimed, “good! Honest! And straight! I like!” He also knocked back his drink.

Some of the other people congratulated and toasted the three finalists in turn. Chen Jian drank a lot and was a little dazed. Even if he had not been forced to drink so much, he would still be stunned.

I actually got into the final three and have a chance to compete for one of those two spots. Am I dreaming? My standard… My standard has not even reached such a strong level. Although I do work harder than others, to be able to… go to England… Can I really do that? Will I embarrass the Chinese people if I go?

The draft was still a talent show, after all. The commercial nature could not be discounted. Even if he could finally go to England, the English football clubs did not expect to pick a genius out of it. Therefore, the biggest possibility was that they finished the contracts and let the two lucky Chinese winners train there for a year before they returned to where they came from. At best, they could experience what real professional football was, broaden their horizons, and enrich their life experiences. Could they really expect to play professional football based on it? Hey, buddies, wake up. Stop dreaming.

Everyone sitting there hoped to become famous and fulfill their dream of playing professional football. Even an amateur contestant like Chen Jian had the idea, not to mention those who came from professional teams.

But when such an opportunity was in front of them, they were a little afraid. They were afraid that their standards could not keep up with other people’s demands and return a year later with their tails between their legs.

“Hey, what are you daydreaming about? 9527! Let’s have a toast! You lucky son of a gun, so lucky…” Someone came up to clink his glass again.

That was also a way of putting it. Some people speculated why the obviously weak Chen Jian could stay every time and hold on to the end to get the ticket to the finals. Perhaps there was an inside story?

It was a pity that there was no inside story. Luck did have quite a part in it. The audience who supported the other contestants thought Chen Jian’s luck was too good. The last competition to decide who would be in the top three relied a lot on luck: a penalty shootout!

The vast majority of people would agree that the winner determined by the penalty shootout, relied not on their skills and awareness or anything else, but merely on luck. The viewers thought so, and naturally some of the fellow contestants also thought so.

Chen Jian did not care aboutthe prattle. He raised his glass and clinked the other person’s glass.

Everyone drank to their hearts’ content. Song Hui, Wang Yang, and Chen Jian drank because they broke into the finals. While a few other people might have been trying to drown their sorrows, or perhaps they were truly happy for them, or maybe… there were other options, and they did not matter.

When the show aired the next day, there would be no more assessment. They did not have to worry if they had a hangover.

It was a farewell party. After today, and when the recording of the program was over tomorrow, all the answers and surprises would be revealed.

Life should be enjoyed to the fullest when times are good, let’s get drunk!

Chapter 615 - Ah, Life Is Full of Ups and Downs

Twain was watching the DVD discs Dunn brought back from China for him.

Unlike the box of discs brought back by Dunn last time, this version was edited to be more like a reality television show with protagonists and supporting actors. There were voice-overs and scripted lines.

Therefore, he watched it with relish, and did not feel impatient, even though he had been watching it for an hour and a half.

If the three months of the training camp leading up to the grand finale was more professional and suitable for the vast number of fans to watch, then the grand finale program was more entertaining, which could be discerned from the number of live female audience members.

Football was full of male charisma, so there was no reason for it not to be favored by women. With neutrality flooding the current entertainment circles, The Football Kid presented another kind of beauty to the general audience — the beauty of male strength, speed, power, passion, victory, and failure.

Therefore, the final stage of this television program would be entertaining.

During the live show, a few singers were invited to sing liven up the atmosphere, and all the fourteen contestants presented their own choreography and skill performances to the audience.

Twain had little interest in the cultural program, so he fast-forwarded to watch later segments.

※※※

Even with the artistic segment, the show producers had not forgotten the real purpose of the show.

The contestants’ videos began to play on the big screen at the live show, from childhood video footage to audition highlights, as well as clips of the general training camp. Coupled with their evaluation from both the Chinese and British coaches, they re-introduced the two lucky contestants.

Why was it only two contestants?

Twain turned his head and looked at Dunn, who sat next to him without a word.

“Why are there only two people? What about Chen Jian’s introduction?”

Dunn shrugged his shoulders. “There wasn’t one.”

“None? What does that mean? There were three finalists, but they only introduced two people in the video. The other person had nothing except a simple image.” Twain glared and looked a little angry. “What the hell are these idiots doing?”

“I don’t know either.” Dunn answered. He really did not know.

※※※

Indeed, the introduction videos of Wang Yang and Song Hui appeared on the big screen, but Chen Jian did not have one. When the contestants appeared in turn from the background, the presenters grandly promoted Wang Yang and Song Hui.

“This is China’s future Fàbregas — Wang Yang!!”

“Song Hui! He could become the future Rio Ferdinand of China!!”

Then it was Chen Jian’s turn.

“Let’s welcome Chen Jian from the Chengdu division in Sichuan!”

And it was over and done with. The introduction was finished.

Amid the joyous atmosphere of the scene, no one noticed the episode. Everyone followed the presenter, and no one had time to consider if the introduction held any deeper meaning. The results came out before this final, but no one knew.

Chen Jian did not take it to heart. In fact, before he appeared, he waited in back stage and watched his two fellow contestants run out. When he heard that the formerly famous commentator-turned-presenter speak to the audience with his usual enthusiastic tone, he actually looked forward to it.?What would the presenter shout when his turn came? Which future player would he be from China?

He was no one or anyone.

He was pushed onto the stage.

Wang Yang was the most handsome among the three finalists and the most popular contestant online. Song Hui had been the team leader of the training camp. They could be better than Chen Jian in every way, so even if they finally got the tickets to the English Premier League, it was well-deserved and to be expected.

But Chen Jian still had hope in his heart. There were people who said that hisadvance to the finals was due to good luck. Only he knew that that was not the reason.

Earlier today, the three finalists were asked to record their introductions for release before they appeared on stage to introduce themselves.

As a midfield playmaker, Wang Yang’s manifesto fit his position. He declared, “I believe football is a game to be played using brains and I will play with wisdom like Fàbregas!”

Song Hui also introduced what he was best at. “Speed, coordination, and stability are my specialities. I’m fit for the English Premier League.”

During Chen Jian’s turn, the first sentence he came up with seemed frustrated, which made people feel that he had given up before the fight. “I may not have the best football skills…” He paused before he continued, “but I’m definitely the most persistent. My name is Chen Jian, my family name is Chen, which means East, and Jian as in strength. My father gave me this name because he wanted me to persevere and be strong. I firmly believe that attitude determines everything.” That was how he was able to get to the final top three — definitely not luck.

But when he said that, many people still thought they were just beautiful words for the occasion.

Chen Jian stood in the middle after his appearance, with Wang Yang to his left and Song Hui to his right. The two presenters stood on the left and right. They briefly interviewed Wang Yang and Song Hui. One of them asked Song Hui how he left. The other presenter praised Wang Yang for his good looks and how he was so popular that he snatched away many fans of the handsome presenter, which drew laughter from below the stage.

No one interviewed Chen Jian. The two presenters turned to introduce the two coaches at the live show. They were a former China national footballer and the former Arsenal team captain, Kenny Sansom.

Chen Jian stood in the middle, his tanned skin and dark sports jacket almost blending in with the dark stage. He was quiet and still had a smile on his face.

After the introduction of the coaches, it was time to introduce the work units that participated and supported to the talent show — the Chinese Football Association Youth Department, the Everton Football Club, and the Bolton Wanderers Football Club. There was no mention of Nottingham Forest, which was still a secret.

Allan Adams sat in a corner in the auditorium, looking at the scene with interest. The audience had been brought into the pre-arranged setting by the presenters. When they came out at the last minute, it would be sensational and impress everyone.

Things were going according to plan…

※※※

Dunn waited backstage. He only needed to make his appearance at the last minute, and he had nothing to do until then. There was a television in the lounge, so he sat down to watch the live broadcast on the television.

Perhaps other viewers focused their attention on Wang Yang and Song Hui, who the presenters had formally introduced. But Dunn kept his eyes on Chen Jian.

He had little interest in that type of entertainment shows. He only cared about what was relevant to his mission. He already knew the result. Except with the gift that he was going to bring back, would Twain like it?

There were four breaks during this fifty-minute live broadcast. When the presenter said, “We’ll come back live after the commercial break.” Then the lights were dimmed, and everyone had a five-minute break for a restroom break or to do whatever. Most people stayed in the auditorium for the sake of convenience.

Dunn finally had the opportunity to look away from the television and went to the restroom to relieve himself. The program had reached its final segment. Once they returned after the ad break, the final mystery would be revealed.

※※※

Chen Jian looked around at the noisy crowd and decided to go to the restroom. He did not have to relieve himself.

He was just nervous.

The show had been going on for forty minutes. What needed to be said had been said and what needed to be performed had been done. What was left? It was obviously the announcement of which two lucky contestants would be the ones to go to the English Premier League, which was the main theme of the episode.

No matter how happy the beginning was, the hidden blow was inevitable.

Consequently, Chen Jian was nervous. No matter how calm and tenacious he was in the tests, he could not help being nervous in the face of an elusive fate.

He went to the restroom and bumped into a person at the entrance.

That person apologized to him and hurried off. Chen Jian thought it was a little strange, because the person he bumped into looked somewhat familiar. He could not recall where he had seen him or what his name was, however.

While he was trying to figure out who the familiar face was, his train of thought was interrupted.

“Hey, 9527!” Wang Yang’s voice came behind him. “You have come to the restroom, too. I can’t believe you would be nervous as well.”

Chen Jian turned around and smiled at his competitor. “Sure, this is the final.”

“Just like a penalty shootout! Haha!” Wang Yang laughed. Everyone who could enter the top three had confidence in their abilities. Wang Yang felt that he was bound to be one of the two ultimate lucky ones. His skills and awareness were among the most outstanding out of the fourteen contestants, and his popularity was high. He did not feel that he would be eliminated.

When he did not see Song Hui, Chen Jian asked, “where’s Song Hui?”

“Ah, he’s…” Wang Yang’s mouth twitched. “Chatting with his parents. He doesn’t look nervous at all.”

“Well, he’s the team leader after all.” Chen Jian continued to smile.

Wang Yang looked at Chen Jian’s face with a strange look. “Say, 9… Chen Jian, when do you ever stop smiling?”

Chen Jian found it a strange question and asked in return, “why wouldn’t I smile?”

“Let me say something honest… Out of the three of us, you have the lowest chance, right?”

Chen Jian froze for a moment and nodded. He had some self-awareness.

“So, how are you still able to smile? It’s like you have a card up your sleeve.” Wang Yang was a little frustrated. Even when he was stumped, his smile quickly returned to Chen Jian face.

“Wouldn’t I feel less confident if I did not smile because I feel uncertain?” Chen Jian asked. “At least I feel more confident when I smile.”

“You are deceiving yourself!”

“It’s just a psychological cue…”

“Well, whatever.” Wang Yang shrugged. “Anyway, the spirit is not omnipotent. This is.” He pointed to his temple.

Chen Jian did not refute his words and continued to smile, so Wang Yang could not fathom what was going on in his mind. Wang Yang mumbled with frustration and turned into the restroom.

Wisdom and experience on the field required and relied on time and continuous competition to accumulate. Until then, the only weapon Chen Jian could rely on was spirit.

With the spoiler from Wang Yang, he did not want to go to the restroom. He did not need to relieve himself, so he turned back and quietly waited for the judgement from fate.

※※※

After the five-minute commercial break, the footage cut back to the broadcasting studio site.

The three contestants sat in chairs on the left side with the coaches’ table opposite them. One of the two seats was empty. Other than the two presenters standing in the middle, there was also Kenny Sansom. When the audience saw the setup, everyone knew that the final results would soon be announced.

Even the contestants who had been eliminated felt an inexplicable tension and… excitement, not to mention the three finalists sitting in the chairs.

Song Hui, whom Wang Yang considered “not looking nervous at all,” had a serious expression, while Wang Yang himself was so nervous that he did not know where to set his gaze. Chen Jian still had a smile on his face, but the smile seemed a little stiff to other people.

“The most exciting moment has arrived!” the presenter shouted. He already knew the result, but he had to act excited to stir up the audience’s mood.

“Yes, it’s finally here!” His partner, that young handsome presenter who he used to poke fun at Wang Yang echoed.

A drumroll began, and the heavy drumbeat sounded like the heartbeats of the three finalists. The televised broadcast gave the three finalists a close-up of about ten seconds each, which seemed to convey: Who will be the last two lucky contestants to go to the English Premier League? Is it him? Him? Or him?

“I believe that everyone already knows that only two of the three finalists will eventually be able to go to the English Premier League clubs and receive the highest level of professional football training in the world.” The presenter repeated the cruel rule and intensified the already tense atmosphere. “Who can finally go to Everton and Bolton Wanderers?”

He smiled briefly. For a person who already knew the results, it was wonderful to see the nervous expressions of the three finalists in front of him.

“The following will be announced by our British Head Coach Kenny…” He handed the command over to Kenny Sansom.

Kenny Sansom also did not waste any time. He pointed to Wang Yang. “Wang Yang, go to the box on the left.”

There were three boxes on the stage, lined up in a row. The three boxes were covered, and no one knew what was in them — a jersey from Everton or Bolton Wanderers, or nothing.

Therefore, being called to stand up did not count as winning. Wang Yang stood up and headed for the box on the left and stopped in front of it.

The presenter’s voice rang out. “Open it up! And take a look at what’s in it.”

Wang Yang obediently opened the lid. A brief smile flashed across his face, but soon disappeared. He pulled out a white jersey.

He thought he could go to the stronger Everton team.

Cheers erupted on the scene, mostly Wang Yang’s fans.

“Bolton Wanderers! Congratulations to Wang Yang!” the presenter screamed excitedly. His tone made it feel like he had just found out the result as well. “Come, show to everyone what’s in your hands!”

Wang Yang raised the Bolton Wanderers jersey in his hands. His happiness made his movements a little clumsy. He went around to the coaches’ table to hug the Chinese coach in gratitude and then returned to the stage to hug Kenny.

The presenter invited Wang Yang’s parents to stand up and give a thank you speech.

There was only one chance left.

“Now there are two finalists left. They each still have a fifty percent chance of going to the UK. Who will it be?” The presenter paused for a moment.

“Song Hui.” Kenny wanted to call Song Hui to stand in front of the box.

The presenter came up with a better idea instead, one that would keep the suspense to the end. “Chen Jian, you go too. Both of you go stand at the same time. Song Hui, you go to the middle box and Chen Jian, you go to the right.”

Chen Jian also got up from his seat. He tidied up a corner of his clothes and steadied his emotions. He was trying to calm himself down, lest he made a fool of himself.

“Walk slowly, then stop in front of the boxes. Stop for a moment…” The presenter was still stirring up emotions. “You can close your eyes and think carefully about the road you’ve taken over the last three months. Think about everything you’ve given… Now that dream is in the box in front of you, covered with a lid. Once it is lifted… your dream will break out and be revealed!”

Song Hui closed his eyes, but Chen Jian did not.

“All right… Open them up! Take a look at what’s…”

The presenter was still talking when the two teenagers had already opened the lids in front of them at the same time. Within the same camera frame, Song Hui froze, and Chen Jian only lifted the lid halfway and covered it back up again.

“… Inside!”

Chen Jian closed his eyes this time and lifted his head. He did not want to let others see his expression.

Next to him, Song Hui reached in with his hands and pulled out a blue jersey from the box. It was the second ticket to the English Premier League!

The entire auditorium was jubilant.

※※※

“I have to say the scene that this bastard set up is quite effective.” Twain turned and said to Dunn.

Dunn just smiled and motioned him to keep watching.

※※※

“Everton! Congratulations to Song Hui! He has received the last dream ticket!” The presenter continued to be rousing.

Amid the cheers, Chen Jian looked a little lonely. He turned to walk back.

The camera shot swept across the contestants’ seats. Zhao Rui looked disappointed as he shook his head repeatedly.

Song Hui came up and hugged?Chen Jian. Everyone’s gaze immediately focused on him. Not many people were optimistic that he would be able to achieve the final victory… Did not he say it himself? “My football skills are not the best.”

The presenter would have liked to say stirring words like “the ‘Smiler’ has finally shed tears…” But he carefully observed and did not see a trace of tears on Chen Jian’s face.

The kid did not cry even though the curled-up corners of his mouth were replaced by tight pursed lips. His brows were knitted, but he did not cry.

The discovery disappointed the presenter, who could not use the stirring lines that he had thought of.

The organizers created the stunt in hopes that they would dissolve into tears and move people to propel the program’s atmosphere to its climax. Then, when the last surprise came, it would be so impressive that everyone would exclaim “ah, life is really full of ups and downs.”

Without the down, would the shift of events have any dramatic effects?

He was eager to make Chen Jian cry, so he said, “Chen Jian fell outside the threshold of the dream. This is really such a shame! But sports is this cruel, there will always be winners and losers…”

Chen Jian and Song Hui had walked back to the stage. Wang Yang also came over to hug Chen Jian. The presenter still did not see tears on Chen Jian’s face, not even a hint of tears to come.

He sighed silently at his failure. The kid was more tenacious than he thought.

The program had to go on. He could only shift the target to the victorious Song Hui and heap praises on him, while Song Hui’s father was invited to come forward to say a few words to his son.

It was a heart-warming scene.

No one noticed Chen Jian, who was not on the television camera shot. His parents were there too, but they did not get a chance to stand up and say something big to show a heart-warming scene of their family.

Allan Adams looked on with interest at Chen Jian on the stage. He was clearly disappointed, dejected, and in pain. The best way to vent was to cry, but the Chinese teenager chose one of the most uncomfortable ways. He made himself hold back the tears in front of everyone so as not to let others see his weak side.

Surrounded by the joyous atmosphere, Chen Jian suddenly thought of the Northeasterner, Zhao Rui, who stood up first to give him a toast last night. He thought of how he hid in the restroom and cried after he was eliminated in the last test due to his poor condition from a cold and fever that he did not even get to do the penalty shootout.

How was it possible not to vent? His chest felt like it was crushed underneath a boulder. He was so uncomfortable that he could suffocate. He could only hope now that the program ended early so that he could find a quiet place to have a good cry. Then he would dry his tears and report back to school. He would write a deep self-review because he had skipped his classes. He would also reassure his parents that he would study hard and complete his studies. He would just treat the half-year period as if it had never happened.

He had a wonderful dream, and now he had woken from it.

While Song Hui father’s said a few words to his son, the presenter kept shooting side glances at Chen Jian. He wanted to see him while no one paid any attention to him. He was disappointed. This teenager still had a taut face and did not shed a tear, but the sadness on his face could not be concealed in any way.

Silly boy, you don’t even know how lucky you are. If the other two contestants knew about your results, I guarantee they will be crazy with jealousy.

Song Hui’s father finally finished his speech. The presenter took over the command again. He congratulated Song Hui and Wang Yang once again and then looked at Chen Jian.

“For the first time, the smile has disappeared from our “Smiler’s” face.” He said, and everyone followed suit to look at the morose-looking Chen Jian.

“This is probably the time when I should comfort Chen Jian and tell him not to feel sad. But it’s no use, because the results have been revealed, and they’re impossible to change… All of us have seen Chen Jian’s diligent efforts during this selection. He was one of the most hardworking out of the fourteen contestants!” The treatment that had not been given him before was returned to him. It was only then that the presenter gave him a grand introduction to the audience. “What everyone saw on TV was just a small part of his efforts, and there were a lot of things we did not see, when there were no cameras and outside the show… Just like what he said when he introduced himself, attitude determines everything, and his attitude… made the pickiest Kenny Sansom speechless!”

Sansom’s image appeared on the large television screen and he said to the camera, “This kid is the hardest working player I’ve ever seen.” Subtitles were not needed to indicate who “this kid” was, because everyone knew who he was talking about.

“He was aware of his shortcomings, so he stepped up his training in those areas and he’s very smart. He made up for his weaknesses with diligence, and that’s the truth. He did not make it to the end by luck.”

Chen Jian turned his head to look at what the two coaches said about him on the big screen, a little surprised. He had never heard the words from the two men. He always thought that he was not well-liked by the coaches due to his poor football skills.

The reaction of the live audience also changed, and a buzzing chatter below the stage sounded in the auditorium.

The presenter smiled. The final ace had come out after all and the live atmosphere finally developed to where he wanted.

He cleared his throat to attract everyone’s attention again. “In that case, let me announce the last result.”

Everything quieted down.

One last result?

Chen Jian looked confused.

“But before I announce it, I’m going to show everyone a short clip!”

The big screen went dark. After the sound of a whistle, an excited voice rang out. It was the presenter’s own voice.

“The game is over! Congratulations to the Nottingham Forest team from England, they’ve won the 2006-2007 season of UEFA Champions League!!”

The screen lit up again and it was the Nottingham Forest players in red jerseys who were running around the stadium to cheer and celebrate their victory. Through the big screen and sound equipment, the hustle and bustle from Greece’s Olympic Stadium battered on the eardrums and minds of all the people present.

Albertini ran at the front with the Champions League trophy, followed by faces the contestants could not be more familiar with — George Wood, Franck Ribéry, Rafael van der Vaart, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Edwin van der Sar, Pepe, and so on.

Naturally, Tony Twain, who was highly popular among the fans because of his character, was there.

He was lifted high up by the players and thrown into the sky.

Loud cheers and gasps of surprise rang out at the live show. This was the condition that Allan Adams accepted for the fact that his club could only pick the third-place winner. At the end, the organizers had to give Nottingham Forest a grand promotion. Such treatment was not enjoyed by the Everton and Bolton Wanderers football clubs or anyone.

Sitting in the audience, Allan Adams was very pleased.

Song Hui and Wang Yang looked at Chen Jian.

What’s Bolton Wanderers? What the hell is Everton? How can they compare with the newly minted UEFA Champions League winner, Nottingham Forest?

As everyone was amazed, Dunn appeared on the stage. He stood beside Chen Jian. Chen Jian turned his head and looked at him, only to finally react: the person he had bumped into in the restroom and thought looked familiar was the Nottingham Forest assistant manager Dunn!

Dunn smiled kindly at the shocked Chen Jian but said nothing.

Chen Jian noticed what Dunn held in his hands: a bundle of a fire-red colored… jersey.

The former commentator turned presenter announced in an excited tone, “and now, let us congratulate Chen Jian. His reward is — a year of training at Nottingham Forest!!”

“Awesome!” Zhao Rui was the first to stand up among the contestants and held up his arms to cheer for Chen Jian. “Chen Jian, that’s fantastic!!”

Dazed for a moment, the smile returned to Chen Jian’s face. This is indeed… fantastic.

Although he was in the third place, the reward for third was better than the first and second places combined. It was so much better!

“Now, the Nottingham Forest’s assistant manager, Dunn, will award the jersey to Chen Jian!”

Dunn handed over the Nottingham Forest jersey to Chen Jian amid the cheers. “Nottingham Forest welcomes you, Chen Jian.” He spoke in Mandarin.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you” Chen Jian could only repeat his thanks.

The ups and downs between joy and sorrow caused him to be momentarily speechless. His mind was completely blank, and he had temporarily lost the ability to think.?Ah, life is really full of ups and downs…

The presenter handed the microphone to Dunn to let him say a few words to Chen Jian, which was actually also for the television viewers.

“We’ve been watching this show. Manager Tony Twain had high expectations it.”

※※※

Twain glanced at Dunn. “Did they tell you to say that?”

Dunn smiled and shook his head. “No, it’s in the original script. I added it at the last minute.”

“Hey!” Twain rolled his eyes and turned back to press the play button to continue watching.

※※※

“We’re happy to see the kids’ performances.” Dunn turned around and spoke to Chen Jian. “You did an outstanding job. You have a very prominent trait in you that we have observed from the initial audition to the grand finale. You put your heart and soul into this. So we decided to join the show and give you a chance for a one-year trial training in the UK. Hopefully you can be a part of us in the future. Welcome to Nottingham Forest, Chen Jian,” he repeated.

Another burst of loud cheers and applause rang out at the live show. Everyone liked a happy ending.

※※※

Twain turned off the video and turned back to look at Dunn.

“It’s really a great story with Chen Jian as the protagonist. It’s inspirational enough with sufficient twists and turns.”

Dunn smiled.

Twain was reluctant to admit that the football talent show was produced better than he thought, so he used the roundabout approach.

Dunn made him keep up on the talent show. He discovered that the standards were higher than he thought. No one impressive-looking but useless was selected. The fourteen contestants were all capable of entering the general training camp and the three finalists each had prominent strengths.?For example, Wang Yang had the ability to command the game on the field, and Song Hui’s speed and composure were good. As for Chen Jian, his physical fitness was enviable, and his tenacity bore sweet results for him.

It was a fair outcome.

Dunn’s smile made Twain feel a little embarrassed.

“All right, all right… I admit that there has been some deviation in my previous judgment on this event. But we don’t have to harp on this small matter. I’m asking you a professional question now.” His face became serious as he asked, “what do you think of that guy’s ability?”

“There’s value in training him for one year,” Dunn answered seriously.

“His ball skills are the worst among the three finalists…”

“But I think his foundation is better than Wood’s.”

“Now that you say that, I remember when I first saw his performance in auditions, I thought of a person…”

“George Wood, right?”

Twain nodded.

“Their personalities and characteristics are somewhat similar in some ways. That’s also why I’m interested in him.”

“But we already have a George Wood. And I don’t think he can reach Wood’s current height,” Twain interrupted.

“I agree that his talent may not be as good as George Wood’s, but no one knows what will happen in the future, so I’m just saying there’s value in training him for a year.” Dunn’s tone was cool and detached, as if he were not discussing the future of his fellow countryman.

Twain was silent for a moment before he said, “what you said is reasonable. Anyway, even if it’s just fulfilling the original agreement, we’re going to train him for a year, so we may as well make use of it. The other two clubs may deal with it as a commercial event. We’ll give this kid the most formal youth training. Isn’t he the best at perseverance? I’m going to see how long he can hold on at Wilford.” Twain spoke with a smirk, the a devil’s smile.

“‘The Smiler’? Don’t think your life will be perfect after experiencing such a thrilling grand finale. To achieve your dream, experiencing such a little difficulty doesn’t even come close…”

“Are you going to play the ultimate boss again?” Dunn asked.

“Who else but me?”

Chapter 616 - Return to The Team

While The Football Kid talent show’s grand finale was in full swing in China, Tony Twain had not been idle either.

In January, he went to the draw ceremony for the UEFA Champions League’s second knockout stage, which once again reaffirmed his thinking that the UEFA draw was manipulated — his team was drawn together in the round of 16 with AC Milan.

The Italian media excitedly clamored to make Nottingham Forest pay ten times over.

But what kind of payback did they want?

The media eagerly imitated Twain when he led his team to defeat Barcelona last season, saying, “In May last year, we lost but we’re going to win it back this time from Nottingham Forest!”

Indeed, Nottingham Forest crushed their previous opponent in the Champions League final and were unstoppable throughout the competition to win last season’s title. It was also possible for AC Milan to repeat the scene and beat their opponent in the final to charge all the way to the final and pick up the UEFA Champions League trophy.

After the draw, Twain was surrounded by reporters who insisted on asking him to discuss his views on the opponent.

Everyone wanted to see Twain give an arrogant speech to stir up a war of words, which the media liked. However, Twain was naturally a disagreeable person, and he would not let people get what they wanted.

“There’s nothing to talk about. AC Milan is a strong team. It’s normal for teams to win and lose. Of course, I don’t want my team to lose, and I’m sure Mr. Ancelotti thinks the same. So that’s it… a defending champion? The label is meaningless. What benefit can a defending champion get besides making us a target?” Twain shrugged, “From the looks of the draw, apparently it does not.”

In the end, he did not hold back and aired his grievances against at the UEFA.

Yes, to encounter such a strong opponent in the round of 16 would make games?in the future more difficult. And the matches were held at home first and then away. The last two years were away games first and then home games. The advantage of away game first and then home game was that he did not have to use all his aces at once and could leave a hand to beat the opponent at home. For a manager who liked to play defense, it was the most appropriate game schedule: achieve the results he wanted in the first leg in away games by relying on defensive counterattack. It did not matter if it was a draw. If he could win, it was even better. Even if he lost, it would not be a major loss. He could wait until the second leg and make use of the home-field advantage and determine specific countermeasures based on the results of the first leg.

When it was first a home game and then an away game, it was tantamount to giving power to the opponent. If something unexpected happened in the first leg, they might not have the strength to reverse the situation in the second leg.

Twain did not like the feeling of losing control.

Furthermore, AC Milan was indeed a powerful team. Despite Twain’s apparent arrogance, he never underestimated an opponent.

His coaching unit was going to take a hard look at AC Milan’s current strengths and weaknesses and come up with countermeasures.

Fortunately, Dunn was back.

※※※

Twain was relieved that Dunn came back on time. The Champions League was about to start, and several teams in the league tournament were close on their heels. If something unexpected happened, their efforts over more than half a season might be wiped out.

People placed high hopes on the current Nottingham Forest, and victories and championships seemed to be a matter of course for them. Twain had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

With Dunn by his side, the pressure was shared. The coaching staff shared the load, but Dunn took on more because he and Twain were the closest.

Everyone knew that Tony liked the young Chinese man, and he did not offer any explanation. He just let Dunn go work for the youth team, and everyone slowly saw his capabilities. After that, no one questioned why Twain had so much trust in the Chinese man and if he was capable or not.

Dunn showed a level of capability that did not match the country he was from. He was very young, but also very talented — he had the talent to be a coach.

Twain hung out with Dunn all the time, and made some people wonder if they were gay — they had not openly acknowledged a girlfriend or lover yet — but the people on the Forest team understood that Twain and Dunn were together just for work reasons, and that Twain was an Englishman who loved Chinese culture, and Dunn happened to be Chinese.

How many of the strategies used by the Forest team were devised by Dunn? No one knew, but it did not matter. They knew Dunn’s place in this club: he was the person that Tony Twain trusted the most.

Dunn and Twain went back to their usual work after Twain finished watching the story about Chen Jian.

The young players selected from the talent show would not come until March. Before then, there was nothing Twain had to worry about . In fact, even when the kids arrived, he still had nothing to be busy with. At most, he would go and meet the lucky contestants to say a few nice words of encouragement. He might not have to see their faces more than once every few months. According to the agreement, the young Chinese players would be sent to Nottingham Forest’s youth team and be assigned to the different age groups for their training.

※※※

In addition to Dunn’s return, the return of another person put Twain in a good mood.

Pepe was given permission to play by the medical team. He could proudly return to Twain and rightfully ask to play in the next league game.

As he did last season, when he returned to the field after his injury, he was like a football being kicked back and forth by the manager, Tony Twain, and the team doctor, Fleming.

Twain insisted that he would only consider putting Pepe back in the squad list if the team doctor issued a written certificate. Fleming told Pepe that his written approval depended on Twain.

Finally, Twain and Fleming studied Pepe’s physical examination report together. After they ran various tests on him, they thought Pepe’s physical condition had returned to his previous level. Only then did Fleming wrote a written certificate for Pepe.

Looking at Pepe’s smiling face, Twain was happy, too. For more than three seasons, Pepe had been the Forest team’s well-deserved core defender. He was the mainstay of the rear defensive line. His talent and skills were maximized to the fullest under a manager like Twain, who placed great emphasis on defense.

His excellent physical fitness, striker-like speed and explosive power, ability to make judgement calls in advance, steady self-confidence in one-on-one face-offs, the surety in his kicks, and the various honors the Forest team earned had made him one of the best center-backs in the world.

At the moment, Nottingham Forest’s rear defensive line was in need of Pepe’s return. Therefore, as he watched Pepe return triumphantly, Twain did not hold back the smile on his face. The fierce and stern expression he previously wore vanished.

“All right.” When he saw Pepe run over, he pointed to the training ground.

“Do you see over there, Pepe?”

Although he did not know why Twain wanted him to look at the training ground, Pepe turned his head to look and nodde., “I see it, boss.”

“The weeds over there are growing to be taller than a man.”

The smile on Pepe’s face widened when he heard Twain’s words. He understood the boss’s answer and did not need to ask any more.

After he arrived in England from Portugal, the media was skeptical of the unknown kid for using the club’s “exceptional talent clause” spot, which was only used once a season. They thought Twain made a poor judgement call and it was a waste to use it for such a boy.

But Pepe soon convinced the picky English media with his performance.

No one criticized him as a subpar foreign import any more. The Sun even gave him a nickname: the “Grass Mower.”

Twain had heard the nickname before his transmigration, but the meaning was not quite the same as this one. In the world before his transmigration, Pepe got the nickname when he played in Portugal because the team was used to playing with three center-backs, he needed to take on more and faster “mowing” jobs.

Now the place where he became famous was changed to England, the nickname that the Sun gave him was a metaphor. Pepe’s performance on the field was like an unfaltering grass mower, cleaning up the Forest team’s rear defensive area, completely free of weeds.

Therefore, when Twain said it, Pepe knew he had agreed to let him return to the tournament.

“Don’t you have something else to add, boss?”

“What else do I want to say?” Twain chuckled. “Just go to your training. Be careful not to hurt your feet because you are excited. Other than that, I’m glad you’re back.”

Pepe made a sound in response and turned to run onto the training ground.

For Twain, Pepe’s return was the best news he had heard lately. The Forest team needed Pepe. The reason Twain was so obsessive about making sure that Pepe was healed before letting him back in the game was because Twain was terrified by Pepe’s injury during the winter of the last two seasons. He did not want to let the defensive genius that he had discovered become “injury-prone” because of frequent injuries. A defensive player with technical awareness was the world’s best, but if his body could not keep up, then having the world’s top skills and awareness would be of little use.

Twain was afraid of Pepe becoming a second Nesta, so he acted cautiously.

During the period when Pepe was frequently injured, Twain would worry for Pepe’s knees whenever he saw Pepe ran and made sudden stops at the training ground. The good thing was that those days of fear and being on the edge were over.

The center-backs with the best physical fitness in FM 2007 were not fabricated by Sports Interactive’s game development unit. As the Forest team’s collaborative partner, they had the advantage of benefitting from intimacy with the team. The Nottingham Forest player data was the closest to the truth.

In the English Premier League, with intense physically contact, Pepe was rarely at a disadvantage in a number of direct matchups with his opponents.

With such a good defender like Pepe and a defensive monster like George Wood, the Forest team was able to achieve such brilliant results in three years. Twain proved to the world that in today’s football, defense was really the primary factor to win championships. No matter how sharp the offense was or how strong the midfield was, they were nothing if there was no solid defense. Defense was the foundation of a team and the basis of the offense and midfield. Without the foundation, it did not matter how beautiful or artistic the attack was, it would be building like trying castles in midair.

Barcelona was a good example. During the mid-season of the league tournament, the more pragmatic Real Madrid team was in front of them by seven points and they also lost their most critical national derby at home. The artistic and offensive football that Rijkaard was most proud of was yesterday’s news.

As a fan, Twain liked to watch beautiful football, but as a manager, he would never sacrifice results to pursue the illusory “art of football.” He was well aware of the difference between work and personal interest.

※※※

With Dunn and Pepe’s impending return, Nottingham Forest went away to challenge Sunderland on February 9th in the 26th round of the league tournament.

With the same opponent in another away game but otherwise completely different from January’s FA Cup, Twain would no longer use the Second Team to make up the numbers. He also would not be playing against Sunderland with the idea to use the game to train the team. Similarly, the Sunderland manager, Roy Keane, would not assume that the current Nottingham Forest team would allow his players to “find confidence.”

He laid out a tight defensive formation on his home ground and intended to hold fast to defense in exchange for at least one point.

If it had been a season earlier, his tactic might have been a real success, but not this time.

Nottingham Forest’s offense no longer relied on counterattacking to quickly break through the two flanks and attack the opponent’s back. Now that they were equipped with many positional play experts, they were not afraid that their opponents would cling to defense.

Sunderland lost 1:2.

Nottingham Forest scored three points, as expected. With the win, they overtook Manchester United, who lost the “Manchester Derby” that round. The game between Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers would be played on the 12th, so Nottingham Forest was at the top of the rankings with sixty points, for the time being.

Pepe took the stage as a substitute in the second half of the game, replacing Ayala. Sunderland’s only goal happened after that. Having been away from the competition for long, he lacked some rapport with his teammates, which allowed the opponent to score a goal. The goal gave Sunderland a glimpse of hope. Luckily, Pepe quickly adapted to the pace and guarded the middle with Wood and Piqué. Together with Twain’s adjustment, they managed to hold on to the three points.

Because of his performance, Twain believed Pepe’s form was not yet stable and needed to be adjusted through further training.

The good news was they still had plenty of time. The next round of the league tournament would not be until February 23rd, and the first leg of the round of 16 games would not be until February 19th. That period was the international games for the national teams.

Pepe’s injury was fine, and Twain did not feel that there was anything wrong with him playing for his country, not to mention Pepe did not need a break, but needed to play more games to find his competitive pace and his feel of the game as soon as possible. It was better to use the national team games as a “testing ground” than risk Nottingham Forest’s results in the league tournament and the Champions League.

Defense remained crucial in the home game against AC Milan, while the comeback core player, Pepe, was the crux of the crucial point. His play had a direct impact on the results of the Forest team’s game.

Twain hoped to be able to gain a good enough “Grass Mower” in the game against AC Milan.

He wanted to cut off AC Milan’s legs with his well-fortified defense and fierce counterattacks.

Chapter 617 - The Visiting Team: AC Milan

The phrase “enemies and lovers are predestined to meet” could was apt to describe Twain’s coaching career over the past few years.

Nottingham Forest against Barcelona and Nottingham Forest against Chelsea] had been played in the Champions League. Whichever team that had become rivals with the Forest team could not avoid a crucial game with the Forest team.

Now, the “honor” had fallen to AC Milan.

Italian media outlets, especially the local Milanian media, were glad to see it happen. They finally found a chance for revenge. The Italians could not forget Twain’s attitude toward them after Forest team won last year, which caused them to gnash their teeth.

Because the Forest team was the champion and Twain was the victor, they could only accept the insult no matter how furious they were. Twain was right about what he said. He was an Englishman and did not ask the Italian media to interview him. The Italian reporters who needed the news asked him.

Things were different now; it was reversal of the wheel of fortune. As long as AC Milan could eliminate Nottingham Forest, Twain would suffer the frenzied retaliation from the Italian media. The Italians would be delighted to see Twain being attacked at the press conference. No, no, we’re not going to ask Mr. Twain any questions at all. Get ready to accept a cold shoulder from the Italian reporters!

※※※

The AC Milan manager, Ancelotti, frowned as he watched the players training. They were heading to England tomorrow and he was in a lousy mood. Nesta still had not recovered from his injury and AC Milan’s rear defensive line was too old, which worried him.

Since Shevchenko’s departure from the offensive line, AC Milan’s forwards found it hard to score goals. The scoring of goals required more help from the midfielders.

Inzaghi was older and constantly injured, Gilardino had not shown a level according to expectations at all, Ronaldo was seriously injured and had to completely say goodbye to the season, and the Brazilian player was likely to have to bid farewell to his career. It was Pato, who had just joined the team, who gave them hope.

Since he was under 18, Pato was only able to train with the team and could not officially play on behalf of AC Milan, according to the Brazilian Football Association. His birthday was September 2nd, but because of the Serie A and Champions League registration date, he could only play some youth competitions.?It was not until January, when he was promoted to the AC Milan first-team squad, that he entered the qualifying list for the Champions League.

After he officially became a member of AC Milan, Pato showed his amazing talent, and he had become the most trustworthy striker since his other teammates were weak and tired. He would also be entrusted with the heavy responsibility in this trip to Nottingham.

Kaka’s performance was as good as ever. But at the thought of that George Wood... Ancelotti’s heart sank again.

Tony Twain clearly did a thorough study of AC Milan and researched their core figures even more thoroughly...

The media out there, as annoying as flies, advocated a war of vengeance. They understood nothing! Was it that easy to get revenge in a game like this? With them fanning the flames between the two teams, he could not keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

Since they lost to Nottingham Forest in the Champions League final, Ancelotti had come to a realization — Twain’s comments only had one purpose: to provoke him into losing his cool and judgment.

Therefore, the most important thing was to stay calm when playing against the Forest team. He had to treat whatever the big-mouthed manager said as bullshit.

Ancelotti shook his head gently. Now that the media had hyped up the situation between the two teams, how many people would be able to remain calm?

※※※

“I think AC Milan will choose a slightly conservative tactic in their away game. Obtaining an away point is the most practical thing to do.”

Dunn explained the tactics for the next day’s game in the tactical session before the game while Twain sat next to him and listened quietly.

“Italian teams are good at defense and if they really want to defend, we’re going to be in trouble. We will focus our offense in the flanks to rip their dense defense apart and then we’ll pass...”

The Forest team decided to use the flank offense they were best at to rip apart AC Milan’s defense. Ribéry and Beckham would be in the starting lineup; their breakouts and passes would help create lethal shots in the penalty area for the tall center forward, van Nistelrooy. Eastwood would cruise behind van Nistelrooy in search of opportunities.

George Wood was responsible for keeping a close eye on Kaka. He only had to deal with Kaka. He did not need to worry about other areas of defense. Pepe, Piqué, and other defenders would be there. The Forest team’s defense had always been covered by the entire team. George Wood only looked impressive because he was the team captain and always went head-to-head with world-class players. He was well aware that there was a group of defensive teammates who silently had his back.

Dunn took some time to finish the tactics. After everyone understood what they had to do, he handed the session over to Twain.

He stood up and cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking about a problem. Before the season, I said that our goal this season is the league title. So I want to ask you guys, do you think we should give up the Champions League title, or... does it matter what results you achieve in the Champions League?”

“Of course. The more championship titles the better, chief!” someone responded.

Twain looked over and found that it was Eastwood.

“What about the rest of you?”

“We agree with him, boss!” everyone said in unison.

Twain nodded heavily. “Ah, then I’m relieved. I thought you lost your fighting spirit in the Champions League...”

There was a flurry of boos in the room.

“Should we stop training in protest for being underestimated?” Eastwood stood up and waved his arms with exaggeration.

“Are you doing this for your own benefit, Freddy?” Twain asked with a sneer. “I can promise you won’t need to train anymore in the future.”

Eastwood hurriedly sat down and ducked his head.

The boos turned into laughter.

As the laughter subsided, Twain said, “I’m sorry about the baseless assumption, so I apologize to you.”

It was not a baseless assumption. He was distracted when Dunn explained the tactics. He was distracted because he could recite what Dunn had said backwards. As he was also one of the tactical creators, Twain decided to take advantage of the time to think about other things. Later he unknowingly started worrying about the team’s competitiveness.

Before the season, he announced that the team’s goal this season was the league title because he had not yet won it. For countless professional football clubs, the Champions League title was important, but the league tournament was fundamental. He hoped he could pick up the trophy.

However, that was not to say that he was going to give up the Champions League game — the media did think so. Therefore, he was worried that the team would think that, too. There was no knowing what was in a man’s heart. No matter how familiar a person might be, he could still change his mind.

So he was worried that the players would have psychological problems when they needed to compete in two tournaments in the future and when their bodies were severely challenged. He had to nip it in the bud.

He was relieved to hear the players’ responses. Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest’s instinct for survival was still there. There was nothing to worry about as the source of power to continue winning still existed.

As a result, his apology to the players was a sincere and joyous apology.

“In that case, we show AC Milan what we’ve got in tomorrow’s game.”

The crowd laughed again.

※※※

AC Milan had arrived in Nottingham. The “War of Vengeance” hyped by the Italian media had reached a climax. If more fuel was added to the fire, the Italians would probably collapse on the ground.

But Twain did not respond to the attack. No matter how the “special significance” of the game was hyped up, Twain was not going to fight back.

He wanted to agitate the Italian reporters and leave them hanging.

To tell the truth, Twain did not want his team to be embroiled in the opponent’s psychological warfare. It might not have been initiated by AC Milan, but it was a result they would be happy to see — if he and his team both lost their cool.

He liked to start a psychological war with his opponent, so how could he allow himself to fall into the same trap?

He did not respond to the fight because he just did not want the players to feel like it was some kind of great game. It was actually just a normal round of 16 match that had kicked up a fuss just because the opponent was AC Milan, who was their final opponent in last season’s Champions League.

Was it not normal to meet with an opponent of that rank in the Champions League?

In last season’s game against Barcelona, he valued the significance of the war of vengeance so much because the “revenge” stunt could help him inspire the players to defeat their powerful opponent. As the victor this season, he had no reason to use the same stunt. The best way to deal with it was calmly and not let himself be led by the nose by the media.

At the press conference before the game, some Italian media finally could not help but ask, “there has been talk about AC Milan’s war of vengeance. Manager Twain, what are your views on this problem?”

“No comment.” Twain kept a straight face off and replied diplomatically to evade the question.

The Italian reporters were reluctant to let Twain go like that. It was the last chance. By the time the game was finished, no one would know the outcome. If Nottingham Forest achieved a home win, there was really no excuse for them to hype up the war for revenge.

“Manager Ancelotti said that they want to win this game, so...”

“Don’t tell me you wish to hear Manager Ancelotti say they want to lose this game? Well, that would be a good story, it’s shocking enough...” Twain said seriously as he rubbed his chin.

There was a burst of laughter, and most of the people laughing were from the English media.

Unfortunately, the two managers did not appear at the press conference together. Ancelotti’s expression would probably be quite interesting.

The expressions of the Italian reporters sitting together started to look awkward.

Twain glanced at the reluctant reporters and yawned. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to leave. Thank you all for attending this press conference, we’ll see each other the next time.” He mimicked the tone of a television presenter, waved, stood up, and patted his butt before he left leisurely.

He had already answered the questions from the English media, so the English reporters had not spoken out to stop him from leaving, but the Italian reporters were very upset.

How many managers would dare to embarrass the “uncrowned kings” of Italy, where the managers’ personalities were not as prominent as their English counterparts?

In May last year, Twain taunted the Italian media just by the virtue of being the new champion. What reason could he have today?

The Italians were furious.

Someone muttered curses that Twain should immediately go to hell. He used Italian. If he had spoken in English, his well-meaning British counterparts would have reminded him that:

Hell is Tony Twain’s home ground.

※※※

The evening wind from the Sherwood Forest brought a bitter chill with it. It was still February, but in the City Ground stadium on the banks of River Trent, the heat could melt the snow and ice.

The hustle and bustle near the City Ground stadium was distinct a mile away. It was not a weekend, but the stadium was crowded, as it was a Champions League game.

AC Milan was the visiting team in Nottingham Forest’s home ground, the City Ground stadium. Not everyone could stay calm with the intense hype for the “War of Vengeance,” so many Forest fans wanted to give their guests the warmest welcome.

The police force on duty around the stadium increased by two and a half times. Historically, Italian and English fans were troublesome, and Nottingham’s chief of police had to not want another brawl and fatality during his tenure.

AC Milan’s bus was tightly protected and the AC Milan players sitting in the bus were not interested in the outside world. They had seen many feverish atmospheres in away games. England was not the only place to have a devil’s home ground.

Only Kaka looked outside at the sinister face and was lost in thought. He was not afraid of the seemingly vicious fans. He was recalling the game last May.

Last season, AC Milan had a bad year. Due to the “Calciopoli” scandal, they almost had to go to the Serie B to start from scratch. The team’s performance in the league had its ups and downs. They were very unstable. Andriy’s departure to London seemed to take away the strikers’ ability to score. The strikers would have soon forgetten the feeling of shooting for goals. He came forward and saved the team, especially in the Champions League. How many times had he saved the team? He could not remember it himself, but the fans always discussed their all-powerful Kaka enthusiastically.

He thought so, too, and was proud of his performance. He believed he just had to stay in his current form, and the Champions League title would belong to AC Milan. Since he joined AC Milan in 2004, he had only ever rubbed shoulders with the honor.

In the end...

Everyone knew what happened — he passed the Champions League title by once again. At one point in the final, he had a chance to save the team again and become the all-powerful hero. But that number 13...

The bus stopped and Kaka came back to reality. He saw the player’s entrance to the stadium not far ahead.

The door automatically opened and thunderous noise instantly poured in. Kaka got up from his seat and walked towards the bus door along with his teammates. He was completely unaffected by this feverish atmosphere.

This time, he must not brush by the opportunity again!

Chapter 618 - Helpless

No matter where George Wood was on the field, his eyes were fixed on his opponent, Kaka.

The day before the game, as well as the last preparation before the game, Twain stressed that Kaka was his target for this game. In fact, there was no need to stress repeatedly. He was well aware in his own mind who the most threatening player was in a team. He was a defensive midfielder and it was one of his jobs to study the opponents’ ace players. He had no special hobbies. So, outside his training and competition and unless there was a commercial job, he would always quietly watched the video during other times at home.

He studied all the Forest team’s opponents in the league and in the European arena. Albertini had told him a long time ago that it was not sustaining to defend by physical instinct alone, because as he grew older, the body he was now so proud of would always decline. What would he do then when that happened? Would he slowly be forgotten on the bench?

There was currently a readily available example — Chelsea’s Makelele.

The thing preventing Wood from becoming the world’s top defensive midfielder was not the well-known star players nor his physical fitness. It was his awareness. He still had a wide room for improvement in that area.

Playing more games was a good idea, but the game had a time limit. A good player could only play around seventy games a year, at most. As for the rest of his development and experience? He had to depend on watching videos.

Wood knew he was different from the people who had received professional football training when they were young. He had less than ten years of experience and accumulated awareness. Although he had a gratifying innate gift that allowed him to catch up, Wood’s goal was not just to catch up.

He wanted to become the best player in England.

※※※

In addition to following his teammates’ positions closely, Kaka often threw glances at his opponent, Nottingham Forest’s number 13, George Wood, who eyed him not far away.

AC Milan adopted a defensive stance in the game. Ancelotti did not want to take any risks and he would be content as long as he obtained an away point. Therefore, Kaka’s position was also further back. He hung around the front of his own penalty area, waiting for the chance to fight back. Because of his speed, if AC Milan wanted to fight back, it would be initiated by him and Pirlo. Pirlo relied on passes, while Kaka relied on his invincible dribble and acceleration.

Nottingham Forest’s defense was to press up and attack, so George Wood’s position was moved forward. The two players were not far from each other. Consciously or not, they always appeared within each other’s line of sight.

As Kaka expected, he was still one-on-one with George Wood.

It was time for AC Milan to defend and for Nottingham Forest to attack.

George Wood was involved in the offense, but did not have a major role to play. It was van der Vaart’s job to organize the offense.

Wood was responsible for protecting and restricting the opponent. That was why he had time to observe Kaka.

Kaka ignored Wood and ran back to defend.

AC Milan’s defensive formation remained fairly intact. No matter how the Forest team maneuvered and interrupted, they never messed up. It was a headache for the Forest players. Just as Ancelotti had shown, they were an Italian team and he was an Italian manager. Defense was deep within their bones. If they decided to defend, Nottingham Forest was hard-pressed to have a good chance.

The game was deadlocked, but Twain knew AC Milan was hiding great danger.

What kind of opponents was AC Milan most afraid of?

A team like Nottingham Forest, but not the current Nottingham Forest team, because now, Nottingham Forest was attacking at full capacity.

AC Milan’s headache was the type of opponent that clung fast to defense and refused to be lured out. Like Nottingham Forest in the past, no matter how the opponent sieged, they would refuse to come out and give the opponent the space to attack, which AC Milan found tricky.

But now? Even though the scene on the field looked a little ugly, perhaps the advantage was shifting a little to AC Milan.

Twain came out of the technical area and stood on the sidelines. He gestured to instruct the team to press on and shouted at George Wood to go up a little further.

How could Ancelotti turn a blind eye with his loud voice and exaggerated body language?

A smile emerged on the face of the former AC Milan player when he saw Twain’s anxious signal to the team to press on the attack, but the smile quickly hid in the wrinkles of his face.

After he yelled from the sidelines, Twain tooted in a low voice as he walked back. It looked like he was very unhappy with the situation on the field.

This made sense, since it was his home ground, and the team had not been able to break through. If they did not get three points, it would be a failure for the home team. A draw or loss meant that they were dragged halfway out of the Champions League.

Even if they had scored a goal, they still had to try to not let the opponent score. A one goal lead to win was very dangerous. Playing first on his home ground made things difficult for Twain.

Twain had 100 reasons to show his anger here. Even the commentator thought it was reasonable for him to be angry. “Tony Twain can’t sit still. The game is in its twenty-seventh minute and the score is still 0:0. This is not something he wants to see, especially when his own offense does not make any headway on the field.”

※※※

Ancelotti looked at his watch. There was not much time before the end of the first half. He believed that it was time for AC Milan to fight back. Who wanted to tie? Our goal is to win!

Tony Twain was a hot-tempered manager. Would his team be as prone to impatience as their manager? Would they would become impatient and use a simpler, more direct attack, increasing their mistakes, the entire team pressing ahead and leaving the rear defense empty?

These were areas AC Milan could use.

Nottingham Forest still wants to press on? All right, go right ahead and keep pressing on. I was worried that you wouldn’t come up, Tony Twain…

※※※

Ribéry lost the ball when he forced a breakthrough. Pirlo received it from a teammate and transferred it to Kaka. Kaka glimpsed Wood’s possible approach in corner of his eye and hurriedly sent the football back. He was not afraid of Wood without a ball.

Kaka or Pirlo? Wood hesitated for a moment when he saw the two players appear in front of him.

Pirlo had the ball. Should he break Pirlo’s ball or turn around and run with Kaka? He was in a dilemma. The distance between Kaka and Pirlo was so small that George Wood had the impulse to intercept, but it was a little far away. Wood could not guarantee that he would be in time.

Pirlo passed the ball again.

An overhead pass! The football crossed over Wood’s head and fell behind him. Kaka was there to turn around and catch the ball.

“AC Milan’s counterattack!” The Italian television commentator roared until he was hoarse. After being crushed for almost half the game, they finally got a good opportunity.

Because Twain had motioned to the team to press on, the rear defense was empty. As long as Kaka caught the ball, with the speed of his dribbling, he could shake off the Forest players who were desperately returning to defend. He would have wide open space. The first person he needed to shake off was George Wood.

Wood turned faster than people thought he would be able to. Before Kaka received the football, he turned around and pounced on the Brazilian.

Kaka stretched his foot to kick the football forward and used his body to block Wood behind him. The guarding of the football was beautiful, but…

Kaka sighed inwardly. He did not manage to immediately get rid of this trouble.

The brief play between him and Pirlo caused Wood to hesitate, but it was a pity that his physical fitness was just out of this world.

He took control of the football and began to dribble forward. Things were not so bad that he could not progress. He just needed to defend his position and dribble the ball so that George Wood could not easily make a move. Shovel the ball? That would be at least a yellow card. It could even be a red card if he encountered a tough referee. Use his speed to suppress him? It was hard to even take a step, let alone to sprint full speed ahead. If he had to do that, he would stumble on Kaka’s leg, and when Kaka suffered a little and fell to the ground, it would at least be a yellow card.

Kaka leaned back and bumped Wood to rush forward. Wood was startled by his bump, and Kaka had run off by the time he reacted.

Pato and Seedorf helped him rip apart the Forest team’s defenses so that he had a chance to plug straight into the opponent’s heart. AC Milan’s two flanks quickly followed up. They sent in many players in hope of being able to get a hit.

Twain got up from the technical area, seemingly nervous.

Kaka felt Wood chasing him. He looked around for his teammates to see if they had kept up, wanting to get the football out as soon as he had the right chance. He did not want to entangle with Wood even though he did want to beat George Wood one-on-one. The team’s victory was more important.

Pirlo plugged in and he decided to pass the ball. But when his leg swung out, he found himself kicking air.

Kaka was fast, but George Wood was faster. He took advantage of the moment to shovel the football from Kaka’s feet!

The football landed at the feet of Nottingham Forest.

Kaka stumbled and fell. The visiting fans booed, but the referee just waved his hands to signal Kaka to stand up. Wood did not foul.

Nottingham Forest launched a quick counterattack after taking the ball. They did not seek for a hole in AC Milan. As they were good at playing defensive counterattack, finding a defensive hole in the opponent was something done every minute.

Pepe ran up to receive the ball. The AC Milan players thought he was going to pass it to van der Vaart, so they stepped up the guarding of van der Vaart.

They did not expect that after Pepe feinted, he would decide to dribble the ball forward.

AC Milan’s midfield defense was immediately in disarray. Up against the young Pepe, Gattuso, only thirty years old, could not keep up with his pace. He used a foul to stop Pepe, but he only slightly slowed the Brazilian’s dribbling.

The Nottingham Forest players, who had just “hastily retreated,” went into an attack mode in an instant. Van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, Ribéry and Beckham, who were too late to defend before, became nails fastened to AC Milan’s defensive line.

It took Ancelotti almost a second to react, and when he finally realized, he had already fallen into the trap.

If the opponent clung fast to defense and seize the opportunity to sneak attack, what would he do?

He would find a way to lure them out.

Fortunately, not his entire line of defense had moved. Only the offensive players were up there.

It was not good news for Nottingham Forest.

Although Pepe escaped from Gattuso, he was surrounded. Since the situation ahead was not ideal, he could only pass the ball, and van der Vaart was keen to hit it straight from behind and make a straight line. He looked up, only to find that the opponent’s defensive formation did not disperse at all. Although Maldini was old, his experience let him block in the direction van der Vaart wanted to pass the ball.

If he forced the pass, it would either be intercepted, as Maldini had seen through his intentions, or the force of the pass would be too great for his teammates to receive the ball.

The Dutchman sighed and poked the football sideways.

Twain jumped up and turned around to slap his palm on the awning of the technical area.

The chance that they had waited so long for was gone.

“AC Milan is really an old hand.” He said angrily.?He did not blame van der Vaart because the opponent was cunning.

Before the game, he told his players that they had to lure the opponent out to get a chance to score. He did not realize that AC Milan was much more experienced than he thought. Even if they seized the opportunity to hit the Forest team’s counterattack, their rear defense line did not move. If the defensive line did not move, the Forest team couldn’t play offense. He had wanted to rip apart the opponent’s defense.

He turned to glance at Ancelotti. The man looked harmless, but he was full of tricks.

※※※

Ancelotti thought the same about Twain. At first, he did not think that Nottingham Forest’s mistake was a trap. He still had some lingering fear, now that he thought about it. Tony Twain was crazy.

While he worked out his opponent, his opponent also analyzed him.

To be able to get a point in the game was the biggest victory.

※※※

AC Milan did not dare to put in more players for a counterattack. Nottingham Forest ran out of ideas up against the Italian-style defense. Sometimes, in the face of such an opponent, they had to count on some luck. Unfortunately, that evening, luck was not on Nottingham Forest’s side.

The Italians clenched their fists and cheered when the whistle finally rang out at the end of the game. They got the results they wanted — 0:0.

Ancelotti’s taut face finally burst into a smile when he shook Twain’s hand.

Twain looked grim and was silent. He shook hands as a formality and turned around to leave the field. He did not want to see the Italians cheer and celebrate on his turf.

The Italian reporters, who waited for the post-match press conference with anticipation, planned to embarrass Twain. However, their wishful thinking came to nothing.

Twain did not go at all. The only person who came to the press conference was the assistant manager, Kerslake. His excuse made the Italians not know whether to laugh or cry. He said, “Tony is sorry that he is not able to join the post-match press conference. He did not mean to be absent. He suddenly felt ill. He entrusted me to attend and apologize to everyone.”

“May I ask what’s wrong with Manager Twain’s health?” an Italian reporter asked with fake concern.

Kerslake spread his hands. “If I knew, I would not be here to answer your questions. I would have become a doctor.”

The Italians had every reason to believe that the words were relayed by Tony Twain. The tone sounded like Tony Twain.

※※※

The Italian media was wrong about Twain this time. Although the words that came out of Kerslake’s mouth were relayed to him by Twain, Twain did feel a little unwell.

His chest felt tight, but it disappeared shortly.

He was already in a bad mood, so he used the excuse to not attend the press conference. He did not care what the world made of his actions. If the matter was blown up, he could go to Dr. Constantine to get a examination and issue a hospital certificate to prove that he was unwell. As to whether the physical problem was big enough for him not to attend the press conference, it did not matter.

Twain faced the dejected players in the locker room. “Hey, have you forgotten what I said? Nottingham Forest’s style of football is the kind of play that never concedes. It’s just a draw. Is there a need to be so dejected? If you are unhappy, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate them on their home turf the next round?”

He spread his hands and shrugged.

“Don’t think about it. Shower and get changed. Go home and rest. Tomorrow is a new day!”

Twain clenched his teeth as he spoke. He was even less accepting of the result than any of the people present.

Chapter 619 - Guests from The Far East

Tony Twain did not attend the post-match press conference, but it did not prevent the Italian reporters from mocking him. From the way they gloated, it was as if Nottingham Forest had been knocked out. But the attacks did not work on Twain because he never cared about what was said every day in the Italian media, and he could not read Italian either.

Still, he was not in a good mood. If there were a swarm of flies always clamoring in his ears, he would be irritated. Although he never understood what the flies were buzzing about, they had an away challenge against AC Milan in the second round. Twain already imagined once he set foot on the Italian soil, he would face bombardment from the Italian media.

Some things could not be avoided. He had used physical discomfort as an excuse to dodge them. What about next time?

There was only one way to stop this tragedy from happening: beat AC Milan and dump the tragedy on the Italians.

Although they did not achieve the desired result in the Champions League, Nottingham Forest had a winning streak in the domestic league. On February 23rd, they won against Derby County at home with a score of 3:0. They also had a small victory of 1:0 over Manchester City in the away game on March 1st and put Eriksson’s team back to where it belonged.

Manchester City’s boss, the former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin, was currently tied up in a domestic lawsuit. He could not focus on his team’s competition record.

※※※

It was under such circumstances that the Nottingham Forest Football Club welcomed several visitors from the Far East.

The winners of the Football Kid talent show had arrived in Nottingham Forest to begin their year-long training career.

The younger age group had two kids and the older age group had one. Allan Adams brought all three with him.

They were accompanied by several staff members from Hunan Television. They wanted to do a series of reports on the daily lives and training of the teenagers in the UK, which would be shown in China as a way to continue interest in the talent show.

Twain had no objection to it. Anyway, the three would train on the youth team, so the youth team would be the one harassed by the media. It was too quiet over there; some popularity was a good thing as long as they did not come to the First Team and get in the way of his work. The only displeasure was that Dunn would be pulled in to do several interviews.

“They’ll be at Wilford at about two forty-five P.M., and then you’ll meet with them and say a few words.” With a notebook in hand, Dunn gave Twain a rundown of the list of work arrangements Twain had.

It was not usually what happened, but today was special. The club was afraid that Twain would have a hiccup, so they specifically set a timetable for him. Dunn was familiar with it because it was how he used to live.

“What am I supposed to say?” Twain turned his gaze away from the computer screen and looked up at Dunn, who sat on the couch across from him. He was playing Minesweeper as a way to pass the time. The latest Football Manager game was also downloaded on the computer, but he would be engrossed in the game if he started playing and would not hear what other people said.

The training ground outside the window behind him was empty. It was not time to train yet.

“Up to you,” Dunn replied.

“It’s not written down?” Twain replied sarcastically. He disliked this type of scheduling, which made him feel like a prisoner.

“No, you’re free to say what you want, even if you want to badmouth the club, or scare the kids. But…” Dunn looked at him. “You’ll have to bear the consequences.”

“I’m not that stupid,” Twain mumbled to himself. “I know I’m supposed to say something nice like ‘welcome to the glorious Nottingham Forest.’”

Dunn nodded and continued to read.

“The Chinese media will film the meeting, and then there will be a short interview for about five minutes… with you,” He added.

Twain found it strange. “Isn’t it an interview with you?”

“You are the person in charge here.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“That’s it.” Dunn closed the notebook and handed it to Twain. “Do you want to read it again?”

Twain took it and put it on the table. “There’s no need. I’m only meeting a few talent show winners. It’s not like I’m meeting the Queen. Everything is so formal.”

Dunn smiled. “So have you thought of what you want to say when you see them?”

“There’s no need. I’ll just say a few casual things like… It’s a nice day today, great weather…” Twain spread his arms.

“Aren’t you looking forward to meet Chen Jian? He’s thrilled to meet you. He’s a fan of yours.”

“Ah, he’s…” Twain leaned against the back of the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t want him to have any unrealistic fantasies.”

While the two men chatted, Miss Barbara Lucy knocked on the door and came in.

“Mr. Dunn.” She greeted Dunn first, and Dunn returned her greeting.

Then she looked at Twain. “Mr. Twain, they’re here.”

Twain cocked his head. He did vaguely hear some noise coming from the direction of the gate. He frowned and asked, “are there many people?”

“Fifteen reporters from China, four local Nottingham reporters, as well as a BBC television interview team, and the three contestants.” Barbara Lucy reported.

“Thank you, Miss Lucy.” Twain nodded his thanks and stood up. “Let’s go, Dunn.”

※※※

When the three kids came to the gate of the Wilford training base, there were already many people milling around. Other than several reporters, most of the people came to watch the team train and look for star players to ask for autographs. It was rare to encounter such a occasion, so they wanted to come and take a look.

“They have not achieved anything, and they have become stars.” Twain shrugged, slightly displeased.

Dunn laughed but did not comment.

Miss Barbara Lucy commented from her own perspective. “Isn’t that exactly what Mr. Adams would like to see? Do you want to go up there?” she asked.

Twain shook his head and stood still. “No, we’ll just watch from here. No one has discovered us yet.”

The three of them observed quietly from an inconspicuous corner.

Allan Adams was being interviewed by the BBC television station and the person interviewing him was a young female reporter. With a gentle smile on his baby face, he looked affable, his usual expression. Any rivals who dealt with him for the first time would underestimate him due to his appearance and expression and only realized that they lost at the end.

Allan said that he liked to smile, not so that he could make himself happy, but because when he smiled, he could squint to hide the shrewdness that was incongruent with his baby face. It was cunning.

Other people scrambled to show their shrewdness and display great anger at others for belittling them, but Allan Adams had already comprehended the idea that “great intelligence may appear to be stupidity.”

Twain removed his gaze from Allan. The man’s mind was filled with various currency symbols was nothing to look at. He noticed the three young Chinese teenagers standing beside Allan. They stood side by side at the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s engraved team emblem outside the gate of the training base and made a peace sign, letting the excited reporters take pictures.

Seeing the scene, he pursed his lips. They were not here for a vacation. Did they need to take a group photo? Were they going to turn around and write “a certain someone was here”?

“Mr. Twain, are you ready?” Miss Barbara Lucy urged.

Twain nodded. “Well, let’s go up.” He shook his head a little and walked out himself first.

The appearance of Tony Twain and the assistant manager, Dunn, led to a minor commotion at the scene — not from the media, but from the three young players. Their excited faces showed that they were all thrilled to be able to see the legendary manager.

The smile, which Allan Adams liked to see, appeared on Twain’s face. He greeted the three kids with enthusiasm and kindness. “Hello. How do you do? Our guests from the Far East.” He spoke in Mandarin.

Although everyone knew that Twain could speak fluent Mandarin, it was enough to make the three kids happy for a while to hear him personally speak to them.

Seeing the looks on the kids’ faces, how could Twain not know what they were happy about?

Do you think that since there is a manager who can speak Mandarin, the communication should be easier, and you can take advantage of it? If you really think so, it would be a big mistake, boys! This is the UK, where the official language is not Mandarin.

If there were not so many reporters around, Twain would surely blurt out his thoughts. But if he really did say it, the brightening expression on Allan Adams’ face would definitely darken in an instant…

He did not want to put Allan in a spot in front of so many people.

Therefore, the kind smile on his face deepened. He continued in English, with Dunn responsible for translating his words into Mandarin.

“I’m glad you’re here, boys. Dunn and I have waited a long time.” Indeed, he had waited until he was bored enough to play Minesweeper on the office computer. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” He opened his arms and made a welcoming gesture.

“There’s no practice in China that entertains guests outside the door, so please come in.” The line of people was allowed into the training base. The next step was to take them to the training ground. Here, Twain would convey his well wishes to the three kids and accept another interview. His task would be done. There would be someone in charge of taking the kids to visit the training facilities. The First Team manager did not need to do it himself.

With regards to the future prospects, the two contestants in the younger age group deserved everyone’s attention. After all, they were young and had room for development. Moreover, their selection process was more professional. There was none of the stunts designed to satisfy television viewers. But since the younger age group did not engage in any live television broadcast, they were less popular than the older group. Consequently, the third runner up in the older age group, Chen Jian, was still the focus of media attention.

He stood in front of Twain and looked nervously at the manager with a reputation for bad temper.

“Don’t be nervous, I won’t do anything to you.” Twain discerned the mood of the teenager, and he smiled. Yes, you are not my soldier, so I will not do anything to you. If you want me to be fierce with you, I have to see that you’re qualified.

Without waiting for Dunn’s translation, Chen Jian nodded. Apparently he understood.

Twain was a little interested in that. “Can you understand what I’m saying?”

“A little, just a little.” Chen Jian was not very proficient and replied with a strong Chinese accent. For Chen Jian, it was considered good to understand a little. Because of his English education, his reading and writing abilities were strong, but listening and speaking abilities were weak. Chen Jian’s English tutoring during the general training camp helped with Twain’s Nottingham country accent.

Twain recalled that he was a college student and nodded with sudden realization. He glanced at the reporters. What are they expecting? Do you want to hear me say something nice to satisfy the audience? Ah, so sorry. I’m just going to talk about something practical.

“Well, listen, lad. I’m going to say a few nice words just for show. You didn’t come all the way here to England just to listen to some white lies, right?”

Chen Jian nodded. “No… Sir.”

“Very well, then let’s talk about something practical. You’re going to be here… No, there,” he pointed to the north, “for a year-long training. It’s not a show-business training. It’s a real English football club youth team training, and there are millions of kids in England doing exactly the same training as you. If you can pass this training, that means you have the ability to play professional football. If you can’t get through, then…” Twain clapped, and Dunn’s translation was “that’s it, the end.”

Chen Jian nodded hard. He came with the dream of having a chance to play professional football. If the training was just for show, he might as well not go. Now that he was there, he wanted to receive the most formal training.

“I hope you are mentally prepared for this because the training will be very difficult. There’s still time to change your mind.”

Chen Jian shook his head. “I won’t give up, sir.”

“Good, once you decide to join in, you’re not allowed to give up voluntarily unless you’re eliminated by us. You have to stick to this path. Do you understand me, Chen Jian?” Twain said seriously.

“I understand, sir.” Chen Jian answered equally seriously.

Dunn thought it was a little strange when he translated the words. Why did Twain repeatedly stress that the training was tough? As far as he knew, the youth team training was not as tough as the First Team. Was he bluffing?

“Well, good luck to you.” You do need some good luck… Twain completed the remark in his mind. Then he turned to speak to the other two kids. The expression on his face softened a lot.

After completing his task, Twain was pulled by the reporters for an interview. Everyone’s concerns were consistent — would the Chinese teenagers really have a chance to become full members of the Forest team after a year. Because one of the publicity stunts for The Football Kid was that if the young players performed extremely well during the one-year training period, there was a chance to become a full member.

Twain began to shake his head before he finished hearing to the question. He immediately poured cold water on everyone. “If it were so simple to become a professional footballer, then the clubs across the UK should give up their youth training plans and change to organizing drafts with the media. I just hope they can learn something during this year and gain some experience. These lessons should help them in their future life path. Maybe…” Seeing the clear disappointment on these people’s faces, Twain thought about it and added, “I mean, maybe, after a year of training here, they can be professional footballers in other parts of the world. I know China has a professional league too. But here it is…”

He shook his head again.

“Well, thank you very much for your attention, but I have to head back and prepare for the team’s afternoon training now. I’m sorry.” He waved his hand at the reporters and refused to answer any more questions. He squeezed his way out and left everything here to Dunn.

Was there anyone here who was better suited to be a tour guide to this group of “curious babies” from China than Dunn, a Chinese assistant manager?

※※※

Accompanied by the media, Dunn took them on a tour of the Forest team’s various training facilities. And then Miss Barbara Lucy came forward to tell those reporters that it was the end of the filming because the First Team training was about to start. Manager Twain did not want so many media outlets roaming around the base while the team was in training — Barbara Lucy changed the story so as not to upset the media. She just wanted everyone to be supportive and cooperative. Today’s interview would end there.

After the reporters reluctantly dispersed, they also captured some images of the First Team star players who drove to the training base to get ready to start training along the way.

Dunn took the three kids to the youth team training base in the north side. There were no more noisy and annoying reporters around, and there was no Allan Adams or Barbara Lucy. It was just the four of them. Even the translator was not there because Dunn could translate.

When the boys went through the training base to head to the north side, they inevitably encountered some First Team players, whose names and faces they were familiar with. Whenever they saw one, they were surprised. Only Chen Jian’s behavior was a little more mature because he was the oldest among the three boys.

“Wow! It’s van Nistelrooy!”

“Ribéry! Ribéry!”

“Pepe! That’s awesome!”

Fortunately, they did not see Beckham, otherwise they would have rushed over to ask for his autograph.

Chen Jian did not speak this whole time and also did not look around. He just kept his head down and followed Dunn towards the youth training base.

As they walked out of the First Team training base, the two young boys were still hotly discussing the star players they had just seen. Chen Jian looked up at Dunn, who was walking in front of him.

“Dunn… Coach.”

“What’s the matter, Chen Jian?” Dunn turned his head around but did not stop his footsteps.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Well, does Manager Twain not… not like me?”

Dunn was momentarily stumped by the question. Apparently this kid was frightened by Twain’s serious attitude and straight face. He remembered what Twain thought of that talent show and his obstinate character, so he just smiled. “No, he’s just like that with everyone. He’s a strict manager.”

“But I’ve read some reports that he treats his players well…”

“Are you his player now?” Dunn asked.

This time it was Chen Jian’s turn to be stunned.

He was a clever person and figured it out. The smile came back to his face. “I see, Coach Dunn.”

Dunn patted him gently on the shoulder. “Train well and don’t think about anything else.”

Chapter 620 - About Dreams

As he brought the three kids through Wilford Lane, Dunn returned to the youth base where he had not been for some time. New buds sprouted on branches bare from winter, and the greenery flooded the deserted training base. He used to be familiar with everything after working there for ten years.

After he briefly introduced the training base, Dunn took them to the office of the youth-development manager, Ian Greenwood.

Greenwood had waited there for a while. He was really waiting, unlike Twain who had played Minesweeper.

“Aha, nice to meet you, boys!” Greenwood looked happy to see the three kids. The smile on his face was from the bottom of his heart, which felt much warmer than Twain’s pretense. “I’m Ian Greenwood, the head of youth training at Nottingham Forest.”

“Hello, Mr. Greenwood!”?The three people politely replied.

“Thank you for your help, Dunn.” Greenwood nodded and turned to Dunn.

Dunn bobbed his head. “From now on, they’ll be with you, and you’re in charge of their training schedule, Ian.”

“Not a problem.”

“Tell them some things they need to be aware of.” Dunn referred to the three Chinese kids behind him.

The three kids stood in front of Greenwood. The two young ones became nervous, but Chen Jian was relaxed.

“Welcome, boys. You will receive the most systematic and formal training here. I don’t care if you can be a professional player in a year’s time, or in the future. Our training is to lead you toward that goal. You are not a talent show star here. You are just a regular member of the youth team.” Greenwood went straight into explaining the rules.

“First of all, the club does not provide dormitories. You are like the other ordinary kids, practicing in the training system. The club has picked three homes from the pool of club fans as your accommodation. In addition to training, you’ll live with them in their homes, just like an ordinary child.”

The three boys nodded. They knew about the rule. They all had a crash course in English before they came, but they couldn’t really communicate with their landlords. They could take it slow, as no one would expect them to speak fluent English.

“In addition, Chen.” Greenwood turned his head and looked at Chen Jian. “Your transfer application has also been approved. You will continue your studies at the University of Nottingham. Did they tell you?”

Chen Jian nodded. “Yes, they had notified me, sir.”

“Good. In a moment, I’ll take you to your teams so you can get to know your teammates. You’re going to get along together in the future. I want you to have a good time here.” Greenwood looked at Chen Jian again.

“As for you, Chen. Your training plan is a little different. In addition to the group training, you also have a specialized personal training program.”

Chen Jian and Dunn, who was translating, were surprised.

“This plan came about since you had not received professional training. So it was specifically developed for you. You have to do more basic training after you complete the team’s daily training.”

Dunn suddenly thought of something and he whispered in English before he translated, “Tony gave it to you?”

Greenwood nodded, somewhat surprised. “What? Didn’t you know, Dunn?”

Dunn shook his head at the confirmation.

“That’s strange. I thought he told you everything first.” murmured Greenwood.

Chen Jian looked strangely at the two coaches. Although he did not know what they were talking about, he guessed that it had to have something to do with him.

“That training program…”

“Oh, George Wood used it, and we made some minor changes.” Greenwood explained briefly, but Dunn was stunned. He finally understood why Twain had said that the training was tough, and that he still had time to give up now.

If Twain had been in this position, he might have made a crude remark, but Dunn was not like that, so he was just speechless.

He looked at Chen Jian and could not believe that the tanned Sichuanese in front of him would able to stick to that kind of training for a year. Was it too brutal? Would the talent show organizer protest?

“Coach Dunn?” Seeing that Dunn was lost in his thoughts, Chen Jian spoke up to remind him when the translation did not come after a long while.

“Ah… I’m sorry. Coach Greenwood said you have to do an extra training session on basic drills after you complete your team’s daily training,” Dunn translated.

Chen Jian did not object. He just nodded and smiled, feeling that it was par for course. “Ah, my foundation is not very good. It’s great for this kind of training to be arranged.” It looked like the Forest team was a really responsible and worthy European Championship team. They proved to be an English professional football club.

Dunn did not know what to say.

Greenwood spoke up again, “Well in that case, I wish you all the best, boys!”

You guys really do need some good luck… Dunn added in his heart.

※※※

Dunn acted as a translator as he followed the three kids to their locker room and to meet their teammates. Having done that, he returned to the southside of Wilford, where the First Team training had begun. He walked straight to Twain’s side.

“What’s the matter, Dunn?” Twain took off his sunglasses and looked at his assistant.

“What’s up with that training plan, Tony?”

Oh, I’m sorry I did not tell you in advance… We were busy studying AC Milan at the time and I was afraid to distract you…” Twain thought he was unhappy that he was kept in the dark.

Dunn interrupted him. “Not that. I mean, do you really think that training program is suitable for Chen Jian?”

“That was why I made some changes.” Twain looked at Dunn and understood, but he was still a little surprised because he thought Dunn would not mind. “Do you think it’s too harsh?”

“George Wood is a monster, but Chen Jian is not.” Dunn’s face was serious. “I think you should reconsider that training plan. I’m not against strengthening the basic training but…”

“Do you like Chen Jian very much, Dunn?” Twain stopped watching the training. He put his energy into his conversation with Dunn.

“This has nothing to do with personal feelings. This is a job. I think your training plan is too harsh for a kid who’s fast approaching nineteen years old and not in line with the purpose of training. Whether he can become a professional player in the future or not, training is for torture…” Dunn felt that he was being courageous. Could this be considered as going head-to-head against the manager? He rarely lost his temper with Twain — with the exception of an argument over strategies, but this clearly had nothing to do with strategies — he had always felt that Twain’s way of thinking was abnormal and that he could understand the disdain and contempt he felt for Chinese football and the talent show as a former Chinese fan who had been completely let down by Chinese football. But Chen Jian was innocent. He was not a professional player and secondly, he was not a Football Association official. He was not even a relative of a professional player or assistant coach. He was not the originator of China’s rampant talent shows. He was just an ordinary youth with a dream. No one was entitled to vent his resentment of the system on an ordinary youth.

“Do you have a dream, Dunn?”

He thought Twain would be furious, but Twain just calmly asked a question.

Dunn was taken aback from surprise for a moment and did not answer.

“Have you ever had the impulsive idea of wanting to do something?” Twain asked calmly again.

※※※

In the eyes of outsiders, Tony Twain circa January 1st, 2003 — which was Dunn now — had no interest in life.

His life was literally as boring as an iceberg.

He had never argued with people, had never gotten angry, did not talk nonsense, or do anything unrelated to work. He was not impulsive nor passionate. He might have even appeared a little cowardly and meek. Therefore, when the club announced that he had taken over from Paul Hart to become Forest’s First Team’s acting manager, a number of fans expressed disappointment at the decision and mercilessly abused and mocked him at the training ground and on the field. In the minds of the typical English person, football was a man’s sport. You could be a gentleman but not weak.

In their eyes, Dunn was a weak man.

He never thought about changing the way other people thought of him because he did not care. He lived in his own world, which was black and white. He only cared about things related to football.

He did not care if people scolded, ridiculed, or despised him. He did not care if they said his mother was a whore, that he was not a man but a clown. But when it came to football, he couldn’t not care.?He cared more than anyone.

He could not contain his excitement at the thought of coaching the first official First Team game alone.

He wanted to win, and for that he made extremely detailed preparations before he was convinced that he had considered every area well. He firmly believed that he would be able to achieve the results he wanted in the game. But…

※※※

“I used to want to win a game,” he said.

Twain remembered the red note that had been on the refrigerator door. He could clearly picture the words on it and the three exclamation points.

“Sorry…” Twain said softly. “But since you’ve had that experience, I think maybe I can explain this to you…”

Dunn did not speak and waited for Twain’s explanation.

“Have you ever heard of this phrase, Dunn? ‘A man must have something he wants to accomplish in life.’”

Dunn froze for a moment. Twain did not see his expression; he was watching the players run on the field.

“It was a line in an show I watched as a child. I’ve forgotten its name and the content of the story. All I remember is that sentence. I was still young. When I thought about it later, I still felt a little fired up… As long as you’re alive, that sentence is bound to resonate with you. Because everyone has some things — maybe not one thing — that they have to complete on no matter what.”

Dunn listened silently, without approval or opposition.

“Maybe it is to protect your loved ones or to make money. Perhaps it’s about fulfilling a promise… Maybe it’s just to play football. Whether it is remarkable or insignificant to others, that thing is all they have. They must complete it. No matter how difficult or incomprehensible it is, whether they have the ability to do it or not. They have to do it and give it their all to finish it. Can you understand that feeling, Dunn?”

Twain turned his gaze back and looked at Dunn. He did not wait for Dunn to answer. “After Chen Jian learned about the extra training, did he express any dissatisfaction or hesitation?”

Dunn shook his head. “He was glad to say yes.”

Twain smiled briefly. “In China, there are thousands and thousands of people who like football. A lot of people have playing in a higher level of professional football their dream. Some people just think about it, and some people strive and aim for it. The difference between Chen Jian and them lies in the fact that he has the opportunity to make the dream come true. It is an opportunity whether he succeeds or not. After you saw Chen Jian’s performance over the course of the talent show, do you think he will easily give up this opportunity?”

Dunn shook his head. “No.”

“Yes, when I asked him if now is the time to give up, he said, ‘I can’t give up, sir.’ Of course, he can’t give up, because this is his dream, the thing he had to complete in his life regardless of what happens. The training plan is a bit harsh, but given his age and foundation, if he only uses the general approach, no matter how hard he works, he will not be able to make it happen within a year. So I asked him to follow George Wood’s original training plan. If he can make it, I’m sure his performance won’t be much worse anyway. He would have proven he did not give up. Then I’ll consider giving him another chance.” Twain made a hand gesture. “If he really can’t go on, for physical or psychological reasons, I absolutely will not force him. I will immediately stop the training and tell him that for him to walk all the way here to pursue his dream is enough…”

“If his body can’t persist, but his heart is willing?” Dunn asked. He believed that with a character like Chen Jian, the situation was likely to appear. His body could clearly be at its limits, but he would still insist, and the outcome was likely that he might injure himself from over-practice.

Twain waved his hand. “Then I’ll have to be the bad guy again, drag him off the training ground, and kick him back to China. I’ll tell him, ‘what professional football? It’s just a bullshit dream, you can still go to college and be down to earth.’ What do you think, Dunn?”

Dunn was silent for a moment. That was right. The training program might be a little harsh for Chen Jian. But before anything had happened, who was to say he “couldn’t”?

“All right, I’ll keep an eye on the training program. If I find something is wrong…”

Twain interrupted him. “Dunn, have you noticed that you are glowing more and more with maternal instinct?”

Dunn was forced to a stop mid-sentence, and he coughed.

Looking at his embarrassment, Twain did not bother with the ongoing training and roared with laughter.

The two men caught the attention of everyone present.

“The boss is so happy… Is there anything good going on?”

“Who knows, he’s been whispering with Coach Dunn.”

“Don’t tell me he has thought of more torturous ideas?”

“…”

※※※

Fat John, a hardcore Nottingham Forest fan, and his equally plump wife stood at the doorstep of their house, waiting for the young Chinese player that the club had informed them of.

“Hi, hello…” Without a translator, Chen Jian used English to greet his two landlords. He could not speak proficiently, and he stuttered a little. “My name is Chen Jian. I’m from Sichuan, China. From today onwards, I will live here and trouble you for a year. Please pardon…”

Fat John laughed and patted Chen Jian with force. “No need to say so much. Come inside the house!” With that, he went to pick up Chen Jian’s luggage, but Chen Jian was even faster in picking it up.

“I, I can do it, thank you, thank you!” Unused to speaking in English, he stuttered and became a nervous wreck.

“Very well, relax, kid.” John opened his arms. “Welcome to the home of Nottingham’s most… No, England’s most diehard Forest fan. I promise you’ll love it here!”

Chen Jian thought he said he liked Nottingham Forest, and he hurriedly said, “I like Nottingham Forest too. I’m even Manager Tony Twain’s supporter!”

“Ah, yes, yes, we all are. I have a good relationship with that damn guy. We often drink together. Speaking of which, it was his idea to put you up in my house…” Because he realized that he had just used a curse word, John was a little vague after.

Chen Jian did not understand the English that was skimmed over.

He did not bother to comprehend what the landlord meant. He looked curiously at his “home” in England.

He never thought he would win the talent show. To be able to qualify to come to Nottingham Forest for a year of training was already a dream fulfilled.

When Wang Yang realized that he was the unluckiest among the three finalists — because he was assigned to the weakest team, Bolton Wanderers — he was somewhat discouraged and said he did not want to be a professional footballer in the United Kingdom. He just wanted to go and experience the atmosphere of the world’s top professional football and that was all.

Chen Jian did not think there was anything wrong or bad with what Wang Yang said because it was Wang Yang’s business. His goal had not changed since he decided to participate in the division auditions for this talent show — I just want to play professional football. Perhaps in the current Chinese football environment, to want to play in professional football is a very humiliating thing, but I just want to.

For me, Chen Jian, coming to the United Kingdom was not a dream come true, but a final sprint.

Just one year, I’ll never give up!

Chapter 621 - One Step Closer

Chen Jian and his two young friends began a year-long training career at the Nottingham Forest Club’s youth camp. The interesting things they would be able to learn from that kind of training would only be revealed after a year.

North Wilford suddenly came alive. Hunan Television had set up a team to follow and film. They would produce five weeks of the program, to show the domestic audience the daily life and training of the three lucky contestants in Britain and Nottingham. Reality shows were popular in foreign countries.

They would leave after one month of filming. In a few days, no one would pay attention to them because five weeks were enough see the repetition of their lives. To watch for a year would be unbearable...

The media at North Wilford would soon be reduced to what it was before. Except for the Nottingham local media, there would no one who would go to focus on the Chinese boys. Twain’s real intention was the same. He could not stop the Chinese reporters from swarming around the three to do their enthusiastic reporting. but he could use other indifferent tactics to pour cold water on them to cool their enthusiasm quickly and exchange for a quiet environment for the teenagers.

Twain rather looked forward to how Chen Jian would become after a year of training.

※※※

The three Chinese visitors kept the Nottingham Forest Football Club busy for a while. As Twain had to lead the team to train and compete everywhere, Allan Adams already had some cooperation with the Chinese side, so he had the most interaction with the Chinese media. The Nottingham Forest Football Club took the opportunity to expand their influence in China. Allan and Evan began to seriously consider the plan to visit China the next summer.

After all, Beckham only had a two-year contract. They had to speed up the development of the new market while he was still on the Forest team to make the most of his commercial appeal. Otherwise, as soon as the contract expired, it would be for naught if he went away to the United States.

Twain signed Beckham out of consideration for his competitive value, while Allan considered his commercial value, which could really be counted as governing in his position.

※※※

When the three Chinese teenagers began the difficult adjustment in Nottingham, Twain took the team to Milan.

He thought his team would be subjected to a bombarding welcome from the Italian media.

He did not expect the media that came to greet them at the airport would be all British. The Italian media were pathetically few. Other than La Gazzetta dello Sport, there were no Italian press to be found and obviously no television station.

Twain thought about it and finally understood. He smiled.

This is nice. I was worried about the lack of peace before the game. It’s all good now. Ah, the Italian hosts are really understanding.

The English media rushed forward, and Twain waved his hands, “Not too many interviews before the game. Ask your questions at the press conference.”

The reporter from La Gazzetta dello Sport did not care. He shouted in English, “Sir, how confident are you in winning the game against AC Milan?”

Twain pretended not to hear it and walked away. Some of the Forest players were stopped by the media for brief interviews. The Italian reporter joined in as well.

He located Grosso, who was also Italian.

Grosso had gradually lost his main position on the Forest team. Twain was unhappy that he could not adapt to the pace of the English league, but his experience could still help the team in the Champions League, especially when they played against an Italian team like AC Milan — he had played at Inter Milan for a season and was no stranger to the same-city nemesis —?and thus he was brought to AC Milan.

The Italian reporters went up to worm their way in with Grosso and asked trivial questions like if he would be playing in the game.

Grosso shook his head. “The manager hasn’t released the starting lineup list yet. I don’t know if I will be able to start.”

“Life in England doesn’t seem to be too good, does it?” The reporter asked as if he were making small talk.

Grosso was still a star player and was experienced in dealing with the media. He immediately became wary when he heard the question.

In any case, he was now a Nottingham Forest player and would have to speak from the perspective of Nottingham Forest. His position in the Forest team was not very stable. He had not adapted to the pace of the English Premier League and was unable to continue with the competition due to minor injuries and illnesses. To adapt to a new league tournament was naturally out of the question.

However, he could not honestly nod his head and admit “yes.” In that case, his “yes” would become “a major player in the team is unhappy with Tony Twain and complains in hopes of getting the main position” the next day.

Grosso was not stupid. He did want to obtain a stable position, but he did not want to be a weapon used by the media.

“It’s going okay; everything’s fine.” Grosso put off the question.

The Italian reporter was apparently reluctant to let it go. “Does okay mean that there are areas which are not so good?”

“It means it’s going well and everything’s fine.”

After spending a period of time with Twain, a smart person would have learned his way of speaking and used it against the media.

Grosso refused to give them a chance to poke holes. After he said what he had to say, he found a very suitable reason to say goodbye to the reporter.

“It’s time to board the bus.” He pointed to the exit ahead where the assistant manager David Kerslake stood with a red bus parked behind him.

The Italian reporter nodded helplessly. He did not manage to pry something of value out of Grosso. If he could not get anything out of his fellow countryman, then forget Tony Twain.

He scratched his head. It looked like this was a better treatment than having his question ignored.

※※※

At the pre-match press conference, Twain finally met the Italian reporters, who would have nothing to report if they did not come. The media bosses would not have let them act arbitrarily.

Twain also did not speak or act excessively at the press conference. His speech appeared to be normal: a brief assessment of their opponent and an admission that it was not a good thing to draw the home game, but he did not think the Forest team would say goodbye to the Champions League tournament this season.

There was nothing explosive and the smile on his face even made it feel like the feud between him and the Italian media had long since been written off with one stroke.

The atmosphere of the press conference was harmonious and friendly. He and Ancelotti even shook hands when they met. The media wanted to hype up the feud between the two teams and even thought of the headline “Life and Death Battle,” but there was no use for it. The managers on both sides did not seem to care much about the media’s disruption to the game.

“They tried to annoy me so that I would lose my cool, but I did not fall for it.” Twain said to Dunn after he came down.

Indeed, he could not lose his cool. Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff had already laid out their tactics to deal with AC Milan.

Analyzing from the current situation, AC Milan, who tied the away game at 0:0 would certainly choose to attack at home, but it would not be a full-on attack. Ancelotti would not be so foolish as to stake it all, but it was certain that he was going to attack. That was what Nottingham Forest needed to take advantage of.

Everyone knew what Nottingham Forest was best at — defensive counterattack.

In the away game at the famous San Siro stadium, would Nottingham Forest dare to bombard the penalty area of AC Milan as if they were at home?

Based on Tony Twain’s conservative style, he would insist the team play defensive counterattack and sneak in the attacks on the basis of a solid defense.

Anyone who had studied the Forest team over the last few years would agree.

Consequently, Twain definitely would not do that.

He instructed the team to continue attack wildly in the away game and fight to score goals first. What followed after was within his control.

“Adding up all the ages of their rear defensive line players and it will be almost more than two hundred years old. Ancelotti likes to believe in experience, so we will let him know how unreliable a veteran’s body is. We’ll use speed and force to break through. We’ll bully the fact that they turn slowly! Intercept in the front field, as long as the ball is at their feet! We’re physically better than them! And we’re younger than them!”

Twain slammed the tactical board with his palm.

For that reason, his starting lineup was full of young players. The strikers were Nicklas Bendtner and Arshavin. The midfielders were Ribéry, Lennon, van der Vaart, and George Wood. In the rear defensive line, there was Pepe, Piqué, Gareth Bale, and Rafinha. The oldest in this starting lineup was the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar.

Twain’s tactics were simple, and there were no shocking magical tricks. He just used players who were younger than the AC Milan players, had good stamina and physical fitness advantages to topple AC Milan, and to catch the opponent off guard at the beginning of the game.

The tactic was a bit risky, but it was better than clinging fast to defense to obtain a tied away game. A football game was supposed to be a gamble. No matter how well prepared a tactic was, the plan could not always keep up with the changes.

Twain decided to start the offense from an entirely new entry point, starting from everyone’s usual knowledge of the Forest team’s habits.

※※※

The AC Milan players did not think that Nottingham Forest would choose such a crazy tactic in the away game — offense, and not just simply offense. In addition to offense, more offense!

“If our offense does not work within fifteen minutes, then...” Twain did not go on. He just shook his head. Taking a gamble required a little bit of excitement to be fun.

Nottingham Forest’s offense was fierce, but it had yet to break the old rear defensive line of AC Milan. Ancelotti was not an idiot. Just like how Twain managed to successfully plot against the man last time in the City Ground stadium, AC Milan managed to ward off his offense this time in the San Siro stadium.

Being old also had its benefits, such as invaluable battle-worn experience and Maldini’s impeccable command.

After fifteen minutes, the score was still 0:0.

“Tony, what’s going to happen next...” asked Kerslake.

“Keep fighting like this.” Twain answered without turning his head as he watched the field.

At the end of the first half, the score was still 0:0.

During halftime, Twain did not criticize his players for not scoring in the first half. Instead he encouraged the players’ performance and told to continue playing in the second half like they did in the first half. There were no special changes.

The two teams changed sides to compete again in the second half. AC Milan significantly stepped up the offensive to try to score a goal.

Ancelotti admitted that his team was stunned by Nottingham Forest’s surprise offensive in the first half and was a little unresponsive. He ruminated during the second part of the first half, and realized that the Forest team’s offensive was fierce, but without merit. It looked ferocious, but there was no firm defense within the attack. It was a product from a spurt of energy. It would be promising if they could hold on to their attack.

Once he understood that, the first half was over. During halftime, Ancelotti instructed his team to be a little more proactive in the second half and to boldly attack if there was a chance for offense. They did not need to be afraid that there would be gaps in their rear defensive line because they might lose out in one area but gain in another. As long as AC Milan dared to press up, Nottingham Forest’s offensive would have to pull back and be recalled. The defensive pressure on their side would naturally ease.

That was what happened. AC Milan stepped up their offensive in the second half and suppressed the opponent’s offense with their own offensive. The game was entertaining.

The two teams fought fiercely. Kaka had a wonderful performance and Ribéry, the new Ballon d’Or recipient, also did his best. There had been media reports that the game between the two teams was actually a continuation of the feud between the Ballon d’Or recipient and FIFA World Player of the Year. There were still some people who cried foul that Ribéry only received the Silver Ball for the FIFA World Player of the Year.

It was like a duel between two superb masters. They played brilliantly and marvelously, and the spectators cheered with gratification. But in fact, no one really hit their target.

Twain did not stand up. He did not cross his legs. Instead, he cupped his chin in the palm of his left hand with his left elbow rested on his lap as he fixed his eyes on the field. The television broadcast frequently panned to him but could not capture his expression.

Ancelotti got up frequently and paced back and forth between the field and the technical area.

He could already tell what Twain wanted to do, but unlike at the City Ground stadium, he could not change anything this time. He had used up the two substitution spots on offense, and he could not make Maldini and the others on the rear defensive line ten years younger.

In the first eighty minutes, the pace of the game was set by the Forest team, and it was very fast. Neutral football fans in front of the TV whooped with relish as they watched. The AC Milan fans who understood football frowned silently.

The AC Milan players could not run anymore.

The Nottingham Forest players — from the fastest-paced league, the English Premier League — were still alive and well. Furthermore, even more frightening was that Twain finally got up from the technical area and decided to change players. He replaced van der Vaart, who was not feeling well, with Petrov and moved Ribéry to the middle.

Ancelotti raised his eyebrows.

In the 87th minute, AC Milan’s Italian style of defense collapsed.

Maldini could no longer withstand the repeated shocks from Nottingham Forest — Lennon passed the ball from the flank, and Bendtner pressed in on the former world’s best left-back to shoot a powerful header.

Dida pounced on the ball and let go, and Ribéry followed up with a volley.

The people in the Nottingham Forest technical area and on substitutes’ bench rushed out of their seats with their arms raised.

Twain and Kerslake embraced excitedly. They finally scored! The dark clouds that hung above their heads were swept away. Even better, it was a last-minute goal. If AC Milan did not want to be eliminated, they had to score two consecutive goals within the remaining six minutes! But it would not be easy for the AC Milan players, who had been led by the Forest team in a fast-paced high-speed sports competition the entire game.

Why did Twain insist on offense? It was to drag the aging AC Milan players into a fast-paced battle and consume their strength. If the experienced players had not helped, AC Milan’s goal should have been breached long ago. But it was good, because there was not much time left for AC Milan.

After the game resumed, AC Milan desperately pressed on the attack, and the Forest team played defensive counterattack, keeping AC Milan at a loss.

Eventually, at the San Siro stadium, the home of AC Milan, Nottingham Forest beat its rival by 1:0. They also knocked out the team that used to have high hopes placed on them with a total score of 1:0.

The San Siro stadium was filled with a sense of loss. The AC Milan fans in the stands even had tears on their faces. They were unable to accept that the powerful AC Milan was stopped at the round of 16, knowing that their goal would have been to break into the finals again. And then whoever the opponent was, they were going to finally win the Champions League title. How could they stop there?

Tony Twain celebrated the victory wildly, completely different from his calm during the game. Some of the AC Milan fans thought it was a provocation, and there were fragments of boos from the stands near the Forest team’s technical area.

But not many AC Milan people were interested in booing Twain and his team. Their failure could not be changed. They could only hope that the team’s performance in the domestic arena would satisfy them. Most of the fans left the stadium in frustration.

At the post-match press conference, Twain, who won the game, did not continue with his sarcasm. Compared to his previous performance on the sidelines, he now was very calm and mild.

The words used to describe Twain were a little odd to people, but he was currently acting that way. He smiled and answered all the questions, without the slightest hint of provocation in his tone, which those who were familiar with him found strang. Was Tony Twain possessed by an alien?

Ancelotti did not expect Twain’s attitude to be so nice. He even took the initiative to embrace him a couple of times at the press conference. The first time was before the start of the press conference. They walked up and hugged briefly. The second time was at the end. Twain again took the initiative to hug him and patted him on the shoulder, as if to comfort him.

It surprised Ancelotti so much that he thought the man had taken the wrong medicine.

Then Twain smiled and left the venue under everyone’s astonished gazes.

No one knew why Twain was so happy, so they discussed and speculated it. It was quite simple. Nottingham Forest beat AC Milan and took another step toward the Champions League final. For the defending champion, it had been extremely tough to defend this season. Every step forward was joyful.

Twain was just happy because he won the game. Who did not like to win? Hhe was someone who regarded victory as life.

Chapter 622 - The Troubles of The Forest Merry Men

In the eyes of the media, Twain not being sarcastic when he opened his mouth was

“loss of control” and forgetting himself. In fact, his recent good mood was a form of
expression.

Having eliminated AC Milan in the Champions League game and advanced to the
top eight, they also had endless success in the domestic league tournament. In the

27th round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest already had the same
number of points as the top-ranked Arsenal. They only ranked second because they
had fewer scored goals than Arsenal.

After the 28th round of the league tournament, Twain&#39;s team jumped to number one.

Arsenal currently had 64 points after they tied for two consecutive games and

Manchester United caught up to them. While the Forest team topped the table with

66 points.

Nottingham Forest rushed to first place in the league this season. Even though they
had not managed to keep the spot from start to finish, it was enough for the Forest
fans to be filled with hope. Because Nottingham Forest did not rush into the number
one spot at all for the first two seasons, it was a boost to their confidence. The UEFA

Champions League title had allowed the Forest team to discover the confidence of a
winner.

As a result, their performance this season also seemed reasonable. One had to
know that it took Twain four years of preparation to get to this day.

There were ten rounds left in the league tournament. As long as the Forest team was
able to maintain this result, they would be able to achieve the goal he set at the
beginning of the season with ten more rounds to go.

How could he not be happy in the face of such a wonderful situation?

Of course, this happiness would not last long. Twain was still clear about this. He
was aware that to be a manager, there were far more troubles than happy
occasions…

※※※

With the recommencement of the Champions League games and the national team
competition included during this period, the Forest team would need to face many
games in the final phase. He would need to carefully manage during that period. One
careless move and the entire game could be lost. Rotation was the best way to make
use of different lineup combinations to let the players rest, stay in shape, and avoid
injury.

Fortunately, the Forest team gave up the English FA Cup in early January.

Otherwise there would be an additional FA Cup for them to play. Toward the end, the
stronger the opponents and the more determination to fight, the more intense the
games would be and the less regard for injury. It was unnecessary for use up their
energy for this kind of competition.

The Twain that transmigrated from China was not a true Englishman. He was far
less interested in the English FA Cup than the Premier League and Champions

League. Perhaps the FA Cup still had its important status, but in Twain&#39;s heart, the

FA Cup and the EFL Cup belonged to the same category: used to train and cultivate
new players.

The Forest team’s current rotation was different from the rotation in the first half of
the season. The earlier half of the season allowed more players to play and maintain
their form while placating the hearts of his players. Twain often employed large-scale
rotations, but that situation changed after February.

The current rotation was not about satisfying the substitutes’ desire to play, but for
the main players to get better rest and avoid injury. Therefore, the rotation was small
scale. Twain was determined not to rotate some key positions, such as the defensive
midfielder.

Poor Sidwell discovered that the future was not as wonderful as he first imagined
when he came to the Forest team — no human could be George Wood&#39;s
replacement. Perhaps the only thing in the world that could probably do it was the
chair in the substitutes’ bench.

Unless Twain did not want Wood to play, Sidwell did not have a chance to play. They
were eliminated in both the FA Cup and the EFL Cup a while ago, so his chances
plummeted. Now as the competition schedule entered an intense period, he thought
his chances of playing would increase. He did not expect Twain to rotate the strikers,
midfielders, full-backs, and even the attacking midfielders, but not the defensive
midfielder.

George Wood was young and strong and in a stable form. He was the mainstay core
force. What did he have to compete with that monster? When he was on the

Reading team, he was occasionally selected to appear for the England team. Since
coming to Nottingham Forest, the door to the national team had been largely closed
to him. No coach would recruit a substitute player with a handful of appearances to
play in a club, not to mention England’s midfield was bloated. Even George Wood
had been abandoned by McClaren.

Among the young players, Lennon and Bendtner had the best treatment. Since van

Nistelrooy and Beckham were veterans, Twain paid more consideration to their
protection during the rotation. As their substitutes, Bendtner and Lennon were able
to have plenty of time to play.

Similarly, the rotation system was good news for the Chinese player, Sun Jihai.

Since he could play multiple positions, he still had a place in the team even though
his form had declined due to age. Twain liked Sun Jihai&#39;s professional attitude, so he
did not really have to worry about the future. He could stay on the Forest team until
his contract expired before considering other places.

Sidwell&#39;s agent was already considering a change of club for his player next season.

Nottingham Forest paid a good salary, but for a professional player, still in his prime
competition years, sitting on the bench and counting money were not ideal pursuits.

After nearly a season of sitting on the bench with the Forest team, Sidwell also
repositioned himself. He was not the kind of player who was suited to play for a
powerhouse team. Maybe he could be in the future, but not now. The best fit for him
to play to his full ability was a mid to lower stream team like Reading. He might not
be paid as well as being a substitute on the Forest team, but he would be able to get
constant opportunities for appearances and even become the core of the team, as
he did in Reading in the previous two seasons.

While he could still play, he did not want to spend his career on the bench of a
powerhouse team and slowly be forgotten.

Perhaps he could win a lot of championship trophies if he stayed on the Forest team,
but what did those shiny silver trophies have to do with him as a substitute? He could
do without such an honor.

He decided to have a showdown with Manager Tony Twain at the end of the season.

His agent would help him reach out privately to teams interested in him. They were
not as famous as Nottingham Forest, but they would give him a stable position.

※※※

Chimbonda had the same troubles as Sidwell.

He had realized a fact that made him feel hopeless. The Forest team&#39;s manager, Mr.

Tony Twain had some things in common with the Arsenal manager, Mr. Wenger: if
two players were compared, and Player B was more capable than Player A, but

Player A was younger than Player B, then they would not hesitate to choose Player

A, and not Player B.

The reality upset him a little. Chimbonda was no longer young. He just had his 29th
birthday on the 21st last month. His contract would expire next summer, when he
would be 30 years old.

For manages who valued youth, thirty years old was enough for them to find a better
replacement. For example, the Brazilian mainstay, Rafinha who sat firmly on the
team.

In Chimbonda’s view, Rafinha, the full back from Brazil, was terrible. If the team
needed to defend, he still frequently needed the right midfielder and defensive
midfielder to come over and help fill in the gaps.

But in Tony Twain’s eyes, Rafinha was young and had good physical strength. He
could run back when he went up to assist, an ability that had declined for the older

Chimbonda.

He was once selected for the French national team during the most brilliant two
years of the Forest team, but he soon became a transient player. Sagna, from

Arsenal, had become the main player in the French national team, and he was also
younger than Chimbonda.

Youth… youth, I hate youth!

That fight with Bendtner during training caused his position in the team to plummet
further and he was ranked below Sun Jihai. He knew Manager Twain did not like
him. He was getting older, and he was the first person to fight in the First Team since

Twain took over.

Twain was very concerned about the unity and stability within the team, the area he
was most proud of. He mentioned it countless times in front of the media and was
slightly smug when he said that it was the reason that the Forest team could
continue to improve and win. That was why he joked with the players and carefully
maintained the atmosphere inside the locker room, which no one was allowed to
destroy.

Chimbonda was well aware of it because he was the second batch of players to
follow the man. The first group of Forest players, such as George Wood and

Leighton Baines, had followed Twain since League One. He had also followed Tony

Twain for a long time, so he knew the manager&#39;s character and likes. He also knew
what he hated.

He hated everything that undermined unity within the team. He had forgotten. Did his
future in the Forest team expire with the punch that he had thrown?

Was he going to find a different way out at the end of the season, or was he going to
stay until his contract expired and see how the team&#39;s attitude towards him changed
before he decided on his future?

Chimbonda had a heavy load on his mind.

On the whole, looking back on the Forest team over the past few years, it was rather
good. The mood within the team was harmonious and there was none of the fights
like certain powerhouse clubs. The team results were also good. Everyone&#39;s salaries
and bonuses were satisfactory. No matter where they went, they enjoyed the various
benefits that glory brought.

He did not want to leave this club. To be a European champion was something he
did not even think of when he played in France. It was Nottingham Forest that gave
him everything and he hoped to continue to play there for a few more years. It would
be the best if he could play until he retired. Anyway, I have nothing to hope for. Join
the French national team to win the World Cup? Stop kidding. To be able to play in a
club that can still achieve honors and to play until retirement is the highest ideal for a
professional player.

Chimbonda was a realistic man. He had no illusions.

That was the difference between the troubles that he and Sidwell faced.

He was 29 years old and getting older. A full-back’s physical fitness requirements
were higher than a center back. Stamina and speed were inversely correlated to the
increase in age. Ambitious people would still be unyielding in the hope of achieving
bigger challenges while more realistic people would start to consider life after
retirement and make money the priority in the final period of their career. A stable
and good income was what they wanted most. It made no difference whether they
sat on the bench or were the main force.

Sidwell was now 25 years old. He would only be 26 years old at the end of the year.

His physical fitness and competitive level could be maintained at a relatively high
level for the next few years. He was in his “golden age” or “prime playing years.” The
bench was not the career that he wanted.

※※※

A team that brought players from all over the world with different personalities and
diverse ideas together was bound to have a current of tension underneath the
seemingly calm surface. In fact, everyone would have a set of different troubles
exclusive to them.

Tony Twain’s control over this team could not be denied. He was the well-deserved
king of this team and the highest leader of the team, and everyone listened to him.

However, even a powerful manager could not control the hearts of everyone in his
hands.

Chimbonda and Sidwell each had their own troubles, but others within the team
might also have their own troubles.

For example, another new worry struck recently. The target was Ribéry, and Tony

Twain also met with trouble.

“According to our Spanish counterparts, the La Liga powerhouse club, Real Madrid
is brewing a plan to poach Nottingham Forest’s core player, Franck Ribéry. It is
rumored that the Real Madrid president, Calderón, is very interested in Franck

Ribéry, who recently won the Ballon d&#39;Or. Of course, the Real Madrid Football Club
has formally clarified this rumor, denying that the club’s sporting director, Mijatovi?,
was in private contact with Ribéry agent…”

The latest transfer rumor that popped up on sports news was reprinted by major print
media within two days. Because he won the Ballon d&#39;Or and the “Player of the Year”

award from World Soccer, Franck Ribéry had become a hot commodity in the
football world. Any news about him was enough for the sports media to hype up, not
to mention that that piece of news was linked with Real Madrid, the best football club
of the twentieth century, the forever restive club, the club that liked to poach all kinds
of “players of the year,” the club that had just received a huge amount of television
broadcast funds and commercial sponsorship funds.

At the same time, they were Nottingham Forest&#39;s rivals in the quarterfinals of the

Champions League.

It was enough to let people’s imagination roam.

Chapter 623 - Not Going Anywhere

After he ended a day of training, the Forest team manager, Tony Twain was
surrounded by reporters on the sidelines of the training ground. He told them that the
day after tomorrow was the team's regular press conference and they could ask their
questions then, but the reporters did not intend to let him go just like that. "Have you
heard the news, Manager Twain? Real Madrid is interested in Ribéry..."

"I have not heard it. I've never heard of this..." Twain held up his hands as if he were
surrendering to the annoying flies.

"What do you think of this rumor? If it is something to do with Real Madrid, so is it
basically true?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything. Don't ask me, I have no idea, I have no idea at
all." Twain squeezed his way out. "The day after tomorrow is the regular press
conference, and besides I don't know anything now. I have not even spoken to

Ribéry about this. You won't be able to find out anything from me." Twain was eager
to get out of his current predicament. "You have to let me find out what happened
and why, before I can answer your questions and satisfy your desires, you bunch of
curious babies... All right! Now let me out of here! Damnit!"

He pulled the two reporters in front of him aside and rushed out of the encirclement.

"It's going through a battle trying to leave work... Damnit!" Twain muttered as he ran
out.

He had not spoken to Ribéry yet, but it did not mean that he knew nothing. As a
manager, he had his own ways of getting the information.

After he learned of the rumor from the media, his first thought was not to scold Real

Madrid for poaching his player, but to prove the truth of the news.

Because of the unfortunate timing of this rumor — just before the Forest team and

Real Madrid was supposed to play a game — the news that Real Madrid was
interested in the Forest team's Franck blew up in the media.

From the point of view of a conspiracy theorist like Twain, how could he not think of
other scenarios?

Was it fake news deliberately fabricated by Real Madrid to distract Nottingham

Forest? It was not as if nobody had used that method before. Similar small tricks
were the norm in professional football.

Other than arson and murder, any means could be used for victory.

If even giving opponents drugged water could happen, then what was so strange
about this?

Thus Twain decided to check the truth first.

He looked for European football's big shot agent, Mendes, hoping to get some
information about it from him.

Mendes was a big player in the agency world and well-informed. He would know if it
was real news or false rumor. Twain got what he wanted from him.

But now he did not want to tell the reporters because he had not spoken to Ribéry
yet. He felt it was necessary for him to hear what Ribéry had to say.

Having shaken off the annoying reporters, Twain walked back to his office.

During training, he had given Ribéry a heads up and asked him to head to his office
after training was over.

Because Twain was delayed by the reporters, Ribéry was already waiting inside by
the time he returned to the office.

Ribéry knew why Twain wanted to talk to him alone. He stood up from the couch
when he saw Twain enter the room. He greeted him with a grin on his face. "Boss!"

Twain nodded and walked behind his desk to sit down.

There was no need to beat about the bush. "I've noticed the recent news..." He
paused and hoped that Ribéry would take the initiative to continue, but Ribéry just
looked at him with a smile on his face. He curled his lips. "Has your agent been in
contact with Real Madrid?"

Ribéry nodded. "Mijatovi? looked for my agent."

Twain grunted. That was what Mendes told him. Ribéry did not lie to his face. He felt
slightly relieved.

He hated it the most when his players lied to him, like Ashley Young. No matter how
good the relationship was before, there would always be an ill feeling in the heart. A
broken mirror was impossible to repair. Once the relationship had a rift, it would
always be there, reminiscent of uncomfortable things.

If Ribéry had lied to him, what would he do? Twain was not willing to think about
such a thing. He was very fond of Ribéry and did not want to let a small matter spoil
their relationship.

"Do you want to go to Real Madrid?" Twain asked.

"Not yet, boss." Ribéry shook his head.

"Does that mean it's possible in the future?"

"Who can certain about the things in the future?" Ribéry replied with a smile.

Twain had to admit that Ribéry was right. No one knew what would happen in the
future. He would like to continue working on the Forest team, but what if the Forest
team went bankrupt due to the newly built stadium, the owner changed, and the new
owner did not like Twain's bad temper. What was he going to do if he were fired?

It was just a small possibility, but who could guarantee it would not happen?

Ribéry's remark was very honest. If he had patted his chest and said he would not go
anywhere, Twain would probably have been suspicious.

Twain was lost in his thoughts, and Ribéry realized it. "Are you worried that I'm going
to be distracted by this, boss?" he asked.

"Ah, uh... Well." He was not worried about it. He was worried that he would really
lose Ribéry. When Scarface was not yet well known, the Nottingham Forest team
was everything to him. But as his fame grew, the honors such as the Ballon d'Or
award, the Player of the Year award, and the Silver Ball in FIFA World Player of the

Year poured in. One day, would Ribéry think that a pond like Nottingham Forest was
too small?

There were others who were the same as Ribéry.

While Twain pursued constant victories and championship titles, he also elevated the
value and expectations of his players on the team. If one day they felt that the Forest
team could no longer meet their expectations, would they leave? There was no
denying that there were loyal players who would rather stay with the team as it was
relegated, but most people would chase after better interests.

"A man will do anything in his means to become rich" might be a little serious, but

"water flows downhill, and people climb higher" was a very normal thing.

Twain did not mind turnover on the team. New blood was always needed to stay
vitalized. But he did not want the few valued players to leave. After all, as an ordinary
person, he still had a sense of "loyalists" complex and hoped that his team would
produce a few loyalists to accompany him through thick and thin to rule the football
world. They would rise together from there and bid farewell there as well... How
wonderful and romantic it would be!

The most romantic thing I can think of is to accompany you as we slowly grow old.

"Don't worry, boss." Ribéry laughed again. He had not had any plastic surgery done
yet, and the scar on his face pulled as he laughed, which made him looked a little
strange, but he liked to laugh and did not care how he looked.

"This level of harassment is not going to bother me. I will play like how I usually play.

Besides, these kinds of things are handled by my agent. He will not look for me
unless it is really time to leave."

"That's pathetic of your agent, Franck." Twain cracked a joke and ended the
conversation.

What Ribéry said was the same as what Twain had learned. Ribéry did not deceive
him, which was the purpose in finding Ribéry to talk alone. Now he could go and
calmly face the media, because he did not want to say in front of them that "my
player is loyal and Real Madrid will hit a wall if they try to poach him" and be stabbed
in the back by that player.

※※※

In Madrid, the sunny Valdebebas training complex for the Real Madrid Football Club
was the largest football training base in the world, so it was called "a sports city."

As a senior staff member of the Real Madrid Club board, Mijatovi? had an office in

Valdebebas, but he was rarely there. He flew around the world, looking for the
extraordinary star players for Real Madrid.

But he showed up today. President Calderón was there and he was there to report to
the president on his trip to the United Kingdom.

The main focus was about the result of his meeting with Franck Ribéry's agent.

When he got out of the car, he was stopped by the manager, Schuster, who also
guided the team's training.

"Mr. Mijatovi?, I've heard some rumors about our team recently..."

It was a little awkward for Mijatovi? to be stopped by Schuster, so he chuckled. "Are
you referring to Franck Ribéry, Mr. Schuster?"

"Obviously. I just have one question: why do I have to find out the news about a new
player joining my team from the press?" Schuster looked upset. He was also known
as a fanatic coach in Spain. After he joined Real Madrid, he was slightly more
disciplined in a powerhouse club. It was superficial; he had not changed his
character.

"Ah, about that. Mr. Schuster, you are the manager of this team and only responsible
for the training and competition. I'm in charge of the jobs like the players' transfers.

This is the division of labor. We are assigned different jobs..."

Schuster interrupted him. "Of course I know the division of labor is different. I also
know that this is not England and a coach here is not really a manager. I'm not
asking for much. I just hope you give me a heads up when you decide who you want
to buy. Just a little discussion?" He looked upset as he continued. "I don't want to
find out from the media who my team intends to sign."

It was about the dignity of a manager, and Schuster had reason to be upset. Once
he was in a powerhouse club, he realized that it was not easy to be its manager. His
title was "manager," but it was more like a puppet. Even Mr. President had a say in
the team's layout, but he had no right to be heard at all in the transfer market.

Looking at Mijatovi? anxious look, Schuster smiled. "Is Mr. President waiting for
you?"

See, even a meeting like this doesn't involve me. I can't buy the players I want but
they keep pushing for the players I don't want.

Mijatovi? did not respond to the question with an obvious answer.

"Well, good luck, Mr. Mijatovi?. Also, I want to give you a tiny reminder that we can't
even fit an ant on the left flank."

Mijatovi? heard the remark and walked away with a sullen face. He even forgot to
say goodbye.

Looking at his back, Schuster had a disgusted expression.

He looked up at the blue sky and his thoughts meandered from the subject of Ribéry
to Nottingham Forest, their opponent in the quarterfinal games of the Champions

League.

They were a tricky opponent, the type that Real Madrid disliked the most to
encounter. They disliked them from their manager to their players.

※※※

"The Real Madrid club has denied this matter, and I don't think it's necessary to
continue the hype." Twain and George Wood attended the regular press conference
together. He did not bring Ribéry because he did not want to give the group of
reporters the chance to continue the hype. Now that the league tournament and the

Champions League games intertwined as they progressed, the pressure on the team
as the front-runner in the league tournament was already immense. He did not want
the media to continue to put pressure on the team because of the matter.

He told the media, "Nothing of this sort, completely baseless rumors, that's all."

"But Manager Twain, in the summer of 2003, Real Madrid also said they had no
contact with Beckham at all..."

"Then you have to ask the president of Real Madrid, and not come here to ask me."

Twain was not happy. "You can ask them, 'have you ever lied to the public? We
have the right to know.'" He mimicked the sharp tone of the reporter.

Someone laughed.

"Franck Ribéry is currently a player at Nottingham Forest and will be in the future. It's
so simple, and you guys have to make it complicated. I don't think there is any need
to continue the discussion on this topic. From now on, if you ask about the league
tournament and the Champions League, I'd be happy to answer you. But if it's still
about Franck Ribéry, I won't answer."

"We have the right to ask questions..."

"I also have the right to refuse to answer," Twain retorted.

The reporters looked at the two sitting at the table — Tony Twain and George Wood,
the most difficult combination to deal with — so he gave up.

"Well, can you talk about the latest situation on the training?"

The press conference was back on track to what Twain wanted.

George Wood sat to one side and did not say a word. He looked more like a
background fixture than a living person. The reporters knew there was nothing
valuable to ask Wood, so no one bothered him.

As they were on their way out at the end of the press conference, Wood, who had
been silent, asked Twain, "will Ribéry really leave?"

Twain froze for a moment and then smiled. "You should ask Ribéry."

"I already asked, and he said he would certainly not go."

"That's all there is to it. Why did you still ask me?" Twain spread his hands.

"But didn't Real Madrid also say that they had not been in private contact with

Ribéry's agent?"

"Hey, you kid... All right... I don't want him to leave, and I'm sure he won't. I don't
think there will be any other place for him other than Nottingham Forest. Are you
satisfied with this answer, George?"

Wood did not answer but did not continue to ask any questions.

Because he also did not think there was a better team in the world than Nottingham

Forest.

※※※

The rumors about Real Madrid's pursuit of Franck Ribéry came to an end the next
day.

Pierce Brosnan published an interview with Ribéry in the Nottingham Evening Post,
in which he expressed his love and loyalty toward the Forest team.

"I love this team and have a lot of fun living in Nottingham. I don't think there's a
team better suited to how I play than this team. I want to thank Real Madrid for their
interest in me, even though it was just a rumor... After all, for a club like Real Madrid
to be interested means that my ability is recognized, but I would like to reiterate that I
will not leave. I like this team. I like my teammates and coaches here. We are like a
big family. Of course, the fans here are the best I've ever seen. I'm enjoying it all,
and I don't see any need to leave."

With this newspaper in his hand, Twain had a good laugh.

He was really very happy, from the bottom of his heart.

He and Ribéry were on the same page. It's truly wonderful that Ribéry likes it here!

Chapter 624 - You’re Under Pressure, I’m Under Pressure

The Forest team played an important league game when the rumors about Ribéry’s transfer swirled around. Their opponent was Arsenal, their direct competitor for the league title. Twain would not allow the team to make any mistakes, but the result was not what he wanted.

The game ended up with a 0:0 draw. They were forced to a tie with Arsenal at home, and Twain was a little upset. However, there was no other way. He could not win the game just because he wanted to win. The game was not always won by the strongest team; sometimes luck was the most important factor. The Forest team was as powerful as Arsenal and comparable in terms of luck. So they could only tie.

The draw was not a good result for either team. Twain wanted to win, and so did Wenger. As the season drew to a close, the top three teams had hopes of winning the league title. Which team would give up?

The draw was great news for Ferguson’s Manchester United team.

Taking advantage of the Forest team’s draw, Manchester United, who won their league game for the round, rose to the first in the league’s rankings. They had the same number of points as Forest, but were dominant in terms of goals scored.

In March, after the Champions League tournament was completed, the most important thing was the domestic league. There were now nine rounds left out of 38, and the top three teams were still in a tight race.

At present, Manchester United was in first place with 67 points, Nottingham Forest was in second with 67 points, followed by Arsenal with 65 points. No one knew which team would become the league champion.

It was the delight of football for the spectators, but not an easy job for the three teams’ managers.

Furthermore, all the three teams had advanced to the quarterfinals in the Champions League. Another English team in the quarterfinals was Chelsea, led by Grant.

Faced with the hope of both the league title and the Champions League title again, Twain did not want to give up the league tournament like he did a year ago. After communicating with the coaching staff and team doctors, he believed the team’s condition could cope with the two competition. They currently ranked second in the league and had the same points as Manchester United. Even though they would challenge Real Madrid in the Champions League, the Forest team might not lose. It would be a pity to give up either side.

Therefore, the Monday morning after they played the league game against Arsenal, Twain announced the team’s real goal this season at the regular coaches’ meeting.

“I want to win both championships.”

The coaching staff was not surprised, as if they had taken it into account.

With Twain’s propensity to pursue victory and championship titles, plus the strength of the team was now a level higher, he really had no reason to give up any of these championships.

The players had the ability and the manager had the idea, so that was how it would be.

※※※

On March 16th, the 30th round of the league, at their home ground, Nottingham Forest deployed a lineup made of half main players and half substitutes to defeat Bolton Wanderers by 1:0. They continued to keep pace with Manchester United in the rankings while the hapless Arsenal, on the other hand, was behind the two teams by four points after a tie with Middlesbrough.

Just as the media began to speculate on whether Nottingham Forest or Manchester United would be the final champion of the league, the Forest team unexpectedly lost in the 31st round of the league.

On March 22nd, Nottingham Forest had an away challenge against Blackburn Rovers. Although the opponent currently ranked mid-stream, and Blackburn Rovers was crushed 5:3 by the Forest team in the first half of last year’s league tournament, Twain still dared not take them lightly. He sent the strongest squad he could.

However, while he took it seriously, his players did not have the same regard. Nottingham Forest underestimated the opponent during the game and was slow in getting into the game state.

The result was a goal by the opponent in the opening thirteen minutes.

Following that, the Forest team launched a counterattack and tied the score shortly after the start of the second half. The Forest fans thought it was time for the Forest star players to perform next, but they did not expect Blackburn’s breakout.

They scored two consecutive goals in the final ten minutes of the game, destroying the Forest team’s dream of a reversal to achieve victory.

“To be fair… Nottingham Forest has no reason to win this game at all.” After the game, the television commentator said, “I couldn’t find the slightest positive point other than that equalizer goal. The players of the Forest team played as if they were asleep. John said the Forest team was slow to enter the state, but I thought they did not get in at all… It could that they underestimated their opponent. Who knows? They lost anyway. Manchester United comes out ahead in fight for the league title.”

Twain’s face turned ugly when he heard the whistle at the end of the game. They had lost to the most undeserving opponent at a crucial moment in the race for the league title. After his team tied with Arsenal, Twain just comforted his players that it was just bad luck and he was not furious, but now he was keen to rush into the locker room and berate everyone.

In his plan, a game against a strong team was an effort to win, and a draw was the minimum requirement, but when up against a midstream team that was not as strong as they were, especially an unambitious midstream team, the Forest team’s goal was victory and nothing else. The name “Blackburn Rovers” was included in Twain’s “victory list” and the three points were planned.

Who would have guessed they would end up losing the game!

With those three points gone, their same-point advantage with Manchester United was gone. The Forest team fell to the second place, and the points gap with Manchester United turned into a three-point difference.

The three-point gap could not be underestimated. In the final sprint of the league tournament, even a one-point gap could cause irreparable failure, so no one wanted to make a mistake at a time like that. Making a mistake meant a season of hard work would be for naught.

Unfortunately…

The atmosphere seemed a bit subdued in the visitors’ locker room at Ewood Park stadium because of the loss. Tony Twain was outside for the post-match press conference, and Kerslake was comforting some of the dejected players.

Everyone knew what it meant to lose the game: they had ceded the initiative to compete for the league title to Manchester United.

The locker room door opened with a “whoosh” sound and everyone raised their heads to see Twain with a dark expression.

Someone even heard a swallow.

“In the press conference, all the reporters’ questions for me were just about one thing: ‘whether this loss will have any adverse effect on the team’s bid for the title.’” Twain said to his players as he shut the door with the back of his hand. His voice was low, but the Forest players knew it was nothing more than a low dark cloud in the sky before the storm.

“Guess how I answered? ‘You ask the question when you already know the answer.” Twain shrugged. “I wanted to say something that was more unpleasant, but I did not want to cause any more trouble. At this critical juncture, I f**king sent in the strongest squad, just for you to go up and underestimate the enemy!” He did not hold back from the use of foul language. “I’m so disappointed by your performance! No fighting spirit at all! I thought you guys were going to play a little better after that equalizer. I did not think you’d become incompetent right away! What were you thinking? We don’t have a Champions League game, and we don’t have to play in the FA Cup. It’s just this damn league tournament! Blackburn Rovers! You couldn’t even defeat such an opponent! How else do you expect to compete for the title against Manchester United and Arsenal?! You actually lost to the Blackburn Rovers!”

Twain scolded everyone, including the team captain, George Wood. The reason Twain scolded him was that Wood had too little support for the team’s offense. He didn’t appear firm enough when it was time to go up and seemed too concerned about defense.

No one could escape the misfortune of Twain’s spittle, except for those who failed to come to the away game.

“Think about it! You bunch of bastards!”

After he scolded everyone, Twain slammed the door and left, leaving a room full of people staring blankly at each other. The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

The people on the current Forest team were not used to being scolded by their own manager so mercilessly. The team had done well the last two years, so Twain rarely criticized them. He wanted to maintain a good atmosphere, and the players’ performance gave him no cause for any rebuke. So the older players had forgotten that Twain’s mouth could sometimes aim at them and the newcomers had no chance to encounter that kind of thing.

No one liked to be scolded, whether they was a nobody or a star player. Twain’s unapologetic rant had left some feeling embarrassed. But Tony Twain was the manager of the team, so they could only be silent and bury the dissatisfaction deep in their hearts.

Bendtner kicked his boots off in frustration. The brittle sound of cleats hitting the ground broke the silence in the locker room.

Kerslake clapped and forced a smile onto his face. “Well, guys, don’t take it to heart. Whether it’s this failure or… whatever else, pack up your things and get ready to board the bus.”

The group began to quietly pack their backpacks.

Kerslake whispered a few words to Dunn and turned to leave the locker room. He was going to look for Tony Twain. Some things could not be bottled up inside.

※※※

Kerslake found Twain sitting inside the bus.

“Tony.”

Twain looked up at him. The anger on his face had not dissipated.

“I think we need to talk.”

“What about?”

“About the mess you left behind after your venting.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t criticize them?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Kerslake saw Twain’s face darkening and knew he was still angry. “I just think… the players already know the problem lies with them and I’m sure they’ll kill their opponent in the next game. But your admonishment screwed things up… Well, I mean, you did not stir up their competitiveness, but you might have scolded them into…”

“How so?” Twain gave a quick glance sideway at Kerslake.

“Tony, once a crack appears, it’s impossible to heal again. I don’t want any discordance to appear in the locker room…”

“Are you worried that I’ve caused some players to become our enemies with my scolding?”

Kerslake did not answer, but his manner unmistakably told him the answer.

Twain did not refute him. He frowned and remained silent for a moment. “Well, I’ll apologize to them, but I’ll wait until tomorrow. I can’t back down now.”

Kerslake smiled. “I knew you are a smart man, Tony.”

“No need for flattery. I’m in a bad mood right now,” Twain said gruffly.

“Take a moment to relax.” As the season drew to a close and the goal of a Double was officially put on the table, Kerslake knew that the pressure on Twain’s head was growing. When they won the game, they were afraid of losing the next. Or they regretted not winning after a draw. As for losing a game… they did not even want to talk about it. That pressure would be with him all the time until the season ended.

“Take care of yourself, Tony.” He recalled how Twain came to him with a miserable expression and said he did not feel well after they had tied the home game with AC Milan and had asked him to attend the press conference. Kerslake was taken aback. Being a manager was a stressful career, and in the long run, the position was quite damaging to people’s health.

He still remembered the sudden fainting incident of Liverpool’s former manager, Houllier, in 2001, while he directed the game against Leeds United. When he was rushed to hospital, he was diagnosed with a heart attack and only managed to survive due to an eleven-hour surgery. Houllier spent five months recuperating before he returned to the Liverpool manager’s post.

The English Premier League managers might be under the most pressure in the world, whether they were at the top or bottom of the rankings. Everyone was under pressure and no one was much more relaxed than another.

Kerslake worried that the recent events would add to Twain’s psychological stress and cause damage to his health, so he had to remind Twain to stay calm at such times.

“You’re the manager of the team. If something happens to you, we will not only lose the game. It will be easy to lose the entire season.”

Twain was not an unreasonable man. He could not be angry in the face of Kerslake’s kindness.

“Thank you, David.” He could only express his gratitude. His body felt fine. Only the psychological pressure was great. However, what manager was not under a little psychological pressure? If the could not withstand this pressure, the should just quit.

“In that case… I will head back. Those boys are taking their time to get changed…” Kerslake got off the bus and went back to the locker room to urge the players to come out.

Twain sat alone in the empty bus, recalling every word he had just said in the locker room. Now that he was a little calmer, he admitted that some of his words were vicious. It looked like an apology was in order, but he had to wait until the next day.

He wanted to let the boys feel his anger to the fullest. Otherwise, if he joked and had fun with them all the time, would they really think that they could do whatever they want and he would condone it? You can joke with me, but you can’t lose a game. Losing a game that shouldn’t have been lost is even worse.

I’m the boss of this team. Ace player? Superstar footballer? You all have to listen to me.

The sound of footsteps came from outside the bus, and the Nottingham Forest players boarded one by one. He kept a straight face and did not acknowledge them. The players were also quiet as they got on the bus.

In this uncomfortable atmosphere, Nottingham Forest returned to Nottingham overnight to prepare for the next round of the league tournament — a home game against Portsmouth, who humiliated them with a score of 7:4. But this time, no one would dare to look down on their opponent again, because like Blackburn Rovers, who once scored three goals against the Forest in the first leg and was even better than them, Portsmouth had once scored four goals against Nottingham Forest, who claimed to start out with defense.

Chapter 625 - Likes and Dislikes

The atmosphere on the training ground today was slightly heavy due to Twain’ sudden outburst in the locker room the day before. Kerslake initially thought that Twain would apologize on the spot once the players came arrived. He did not expect Twain to just wave for the team to start the training as normal and then stand silently on the side, wearing his sunglasses so that no one could see his eyes.

It made him a little disgruntled. How could he renege on what they had agreed upon?

But now he had to be in charge of the team training, and he knew that he had to protect Twain’s image in front of everyone. We will discuss the matter in private.

Twain did not give him the opportunity. As soon as the training was over, he gathered the team and made a formal apology.

“I have to apologize to you.” He said. Some of the players looked surprised.

“I know I blew my top a little yesterday. When I thought about it later, I felt some of my words were harsh. I can’t treat you like that because you’re all my players and we’re a team for better or worse. I shouldn’t have given you a dressing down for losing the game.” Twain said as the looks of astonishment on the men’s faces deepened.

Dunn stood behind Twain without any expression on his face. He was very familiar with the speech. Twain recited to him at least ten times yesterday before he was finally able to deliver it so smoothly.

“I know I’ve caused myself a lot of trouble with this mouth, but it’s definitely not my intention to give you trouble.”

Kerslake did not anticipate Twain to adopt such a humble stance. He thought at best that it would be “I am sorry for what happened yesterday.” He did not expect him to say so much.

“So, I’m here to offer a formal apology to you. Let bygones be bygones. Although it was not right for me to rebuke you all, losing a game was not a good thing either. I do not want to lose another game in the next round of the league tournament.” The last remark fully indicated that Twain was still a little unhappy.

The small crisis passed as a result of his voluntary apology. The team returned to normal and there was more laughter during the training. Twain still joked with the people around him, looking no different from before.

Twain did not say he was angry because he was stressed. Although he was really angry due to it, he could not say it to the players. He did not want to admit that he lost control due to stress. What would the players think of him? Would some think that their manager was actually a coward who was strong in appearance but weak in reality? Would they be disappointed, lose their trust in him, and no longer listen to everything he said?

Twain dared not gamble with people’s hearts, so he still had to act as if he were fearless to placate their hearts.

※※※

On March 29th, the final league game before the Champions League quarterfinals, Nottingham Forest easily beat Portsmouth, which came for revenge, by 2:0 at home.

Perhaps encouraged by Blackburn Rovers’ win over Nottingham Forest in the previous round, Portsmouth wanted to achieve three points from the away game, too, but they overlooked the factor that made the Forest team value the game.

The Forest team that attached importance to strong opponents, so it was not a surprise that they lost. The entire game was under the control of the Forest team, and Portsmouth lost without the slightest chance.

After the game, the old Redknapp helplessly said, “There’s nothing to say. The two teams are not on the same level at all.”

Wasn’t that the case? All of the Forest team’s targets were championship titles, and Portsmouth’s highest goal might be to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.

The two teams were not of the same category opponents at all.

※※※

The win over Portsmouth did not increase the pressure on Twain’s head. Nottingham Forest was second in the league, only three points behind the league’s number one team, Manchester United. The next thing the Forest team could do was to make certain they did not make a mistake and wait patiently for Manchester United to slip up, twice in a row.

The probability of it was low.

Twain sighed and temporarily put the troubles of the league tournament aside to prepare for the Champions League game.

The opponent was Real Madrid. It was an away game first and then a home game, which was Twain’s favorite schedule.

※※※

After Nottingham Forest played the league, they flew straight to Madrid for the pre-match preparation.

Tony Twain was no stranger to Bernabéu. The European powerhouse clubs were so few that they would encounter them repeatedly, but he and La Liga’s Real Madrid were brought together by fate.

The first time he had met Shania and taken her on a trip to Spain, they came to the Bernabéu stadium. He later led the team to play against Real Madrid in the Champions League and other tournaments on a number of occasions. He also got David Beckham for free from Real Madrid last summer.

Indeed, Beckham overshadowed Tony Twain this time in Madrid and became the media’s focus.

While doing their adaptive training at the Bernabéu stadium, countless media outlets huddled on the sidelines, waiting to interview Beckham. When Twain announced the end of practice and free time for interviews, a group surged forward to surround David Beckham.

There were quite a few fans in the stands wearing Real Madrid jerseys and holding Beckham’s posters and jerseys to welcome the Englishman.

“I am grateful to the Real Madrid fans for still remembering me even now. My four years at Real Madrid were fantastic and I am proud to have played for this great team.” The interview took place on the sidelines of the training ground. Beckham, who had just finished training, had fine beads of sweat on his forehead, and his training suit was soaked in perspiration. He gasped slightly for breath as he spoke because of the intensity of the training, but he still showed a charming smile and patience. The sun shone on his face, and the smile seemed warm enough to melt hearts. Suddenly, screams could be heard.

Twain was educating Wood on the side, “George, take a look at David Beckham. This is what makes a star player. He speaks measuredly, pleases everyone, and does not offend anyone. Your image gives others a sense of keeping people at a distance. I don’t think it’s good.”

George retorted, “You have offended all the people you can offend. Aren’t you still a star?”

“Err…” Twain was momentarily tongue-tied. He watched Beckham, who was surrounded with a smile on his face, and asked Wood, “do you wish to be liked or hated by people?”

“I don’t know.” Wood answered quickly.

“You don’t know?” Twain was a little staggered.

“Is it good to be liked or hated by people?” Wood asked.

Twain blurted out, “Of course it’s to be liked by people.”

“Then why do you seem so happy to be hated by people?”

Twain was dumbfounded again. He suddenly realized that George Wood’s tongue was getting sharper.

“Ah, uh, this… That… In fact…” Twain hemmed and hawed for a while before he eventually came up with an excuse. “When I dislike people, I hope they hate me. When I like people, I hope that they also like me. It sounds like it’s a mouthful, but that’s what I mean anyway.”

“Then don’t you think it’s just a delusion?”

“Hey, George!” Twain was a little annoyed. I know that it’s deluded but you really shouldn’t put it so bluntly.

Wood did not seem to hear the displeasure in Twain’s tone. He looked at Beckham and said to himself, “Woox says he wants me to stay true to myself, but I don’t know what my true qualities are. Sometimes I want everyone to hate me, and sometimes I want everyone to like me. Mom said I should try to make everyone like me, but I think it is difficult, because sometimes to let others like you, you have to do something that you do not like.”

“Hey, George.”

“Yes?”

“You are even more deluded than I am.”

“Maybe. Anyway, I think if a star player is going to do a lot of things he does not like, I’d rather not be a star player. In fact, I do not want to be a star. I just want to earn money, that’s all.”

“If you don’t want to be a star, how are you going to make money?”

“It’s pretty good now.”

“Aren’t you a star now? Everywhere you go, someone asks you for an autograph. Woox has signed you a few commercial contracts. Do you know the influence of those businesses? They are leading in their respective industries. Do you like it when you attend those commercial events?”

Wood did not answer but looked distractedly at Beckham.

After a while, he said, “maybe I’ll hate it down the road.”

Twain nodded. That much was true. People wanted to be famous and looked forward to becoming a big star when they were still unknown. Once they became the focus of attention and even their farts interested the media, they would feel special and amazing. But when they were really famous, they would slowly realize that fame was actually a painful thing. They had no privacy at all, and everything was exposed to the public. Even being secretly captured on camera picking their nose at home would invite ridicule and criticism. Furthermore, the people who laughed at and criticized would think it was acceptable because “you are a public figure.”

Twain went through this kind of mentality change. Just after he had transmigrated, he had hoped to become famous. Now, he began to feel that fame was not a good thing. When he went out to return a Turkish female fan’s cell phone, it was treated by the media as a “rendezvous with a rumored girlfriend.” Fortunately, Shania knew the whole story behind the matter, or he would not know how worried he would be.

He was quite careful about his private life. But if anyone else commented on his life and used the reason “because you are a public figure,” he reckoned he would say “to hell with public figures” to the person’s face.

Wait a minute… Why would I think that if Shania did not know what was going on, I’d be in a lot of trouble.

※※※

Beckham finally got rid of the reporters. The smile on his face had not disappeared from beginning to end. He appeared patient, kind, and gentle, which won a lot of people’s affection. The media finished their interview with Beckham and turned around to interview Twain. They suddenly felt themselves going from a sunny spring day to a cold and howling winter day.

“Don’t ask me about the lineup or tactics for the game. And don’t ask me how confident I am in winning,” Twain said with a straight face.

“Then what else can we ask?” Some of the reporters were displeased.

“Ah, we can talk about today’s weather.” A smile re-emerged on Twain’s face. “There’s plenty of sunshine in Madrid and I like the sun. Madrid is a very nice city. What do you think?”

George Wood started to pack up and leave. Not everyone would be interviewed by the reporters. Although he was the team captain, he was too low-key. Moreover, if someone came to interview him, he just dealt a few words. He was not David Beckham nor Tony Twain.

Beckham came over and seemed to be leaving as well.

The two men walked out side by side. When they walked to the exit, Beckham was stopped by a group of fans who leaned against the railing of the stands, reached down with their hands, and scrambled to get Beckham’s autograph.

Beckham did not show any impatience. He stopped in his tracks and smiled as he took the pens handed by the fans and signed the places they asked for.

Because George Wood was with Beckham, he was stopped as well and could not leave. He had to stand to the side and wait for Beckham to sign autographs.

If the security guards had not come over, perhaps the autograph signing would have been endless.

As they walked into the tunnel after they left the enthusiastic fans behind, Beckham smiled apologetically to George Wood. “Sorry that you had to wait there.”

Wood shook his head to show that he did not mind. He did not feel impatient while he waited, for he was lost in contemplation.

He thought of the first person to ask for his autograph and the first to acknowledge him, even earlier than Tony Twain.

If that had not happened, what would it be like now?

George Wood never thought of such an uninteresting question before, because people could not come back from the dead. But when he saw Beckham surrounded by a group of fans asking for autographs, he naturally thought about it.

— Give him an autograph. George, he’s your first fan. You can’t treat him so coldly. Squat down and sign!

— Here lies the beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard, Nottingham Forest’s most loyal fan, and George Wood’s eternal supporter — Gavin Bernard.

— George, you must become a big star player!

Would there be a little red in all that white?

“It’s good to sign autographs for the fans. I won’t feel impatient.”

Beckham smiled. “Other people said you’re ferocious and kind of a traditional English tough guy. They compare you with Vinnie Jones and Robbie Savage. Why don’t you try to refute it? We both know you’re not.”

Wood shook his head. “I hope the people I dislike hate me.”

“George…”

“What’s the matter?”

“You and Tony… Ah, no, boss are very much alike.”

Wood concurred wordlessly.

Chapter 626 - Ribéry Again

Loud booing erupted in the Bernabéu stadium stands, surging forth from the towering stands to the field, which put a huge strain on the fans of the visiting team.

The Bernabéu fans were gentle compared to the Camp Nou fans. Hissing at visitors did not happen much, except for a few of Real Madrid’s arch-rivals. Though not an archrival, Nottingham Forest received loud booing, mainly due to George Wood.

He had just pushed down Robinho dribbling the ball in a high-speed dash.

The Brazilian BMX Boy was nimble and dribbled the ball past Wood’s side. Stuck behind him, Wood wanted to stop the opponent’s attack but could not achieve it through conventional means. Between a shovel to the ball from behind or a push, he chose the latter.

Robinho rolled several times, which looked pretty scary, but he did not actually get hurt at all. The home fans were extremely unhappy with the seemingly scary foul and were even more disgruntled that the referee only gave a verbal warning and did not pull out a card.

The Brazilian, Robinho, was much stronger than he had been when he first joined Real Madrid and had the upper hand in most physical confrontations. It was not easy for the average defensive player to push him down easily, but he lost his balance with a push from George Wood. The gap in the physical strength between the two men was apparent.

Defending against Robinho was to momentarily fill in a gap. George Wood’s target for the game was not the Brazilian kid, but Guti.

After Zidane retired, Real Madrid’s offense descended into a chaos, completely without a routine or goal. They were completely reliant on a few players’ abilities and performances to be able to win. If they played badly, they would lose to any team. The situation only gradually improved after one season because last season’s newly appointed manager, Schuster, trusted Guti enough and promoted him to become Real Madrid’s midfield engine.

For more than a season, almost all of Real Madrid’s attacks had been launched and organized by Guti, who was in a good shape. Real Madrid was not only winning, but also winning beautifully. But if Guti did not play nimbly, then Real Madrid would be crushed terribly.

Even though Wesley Sneijder was in good form and highly praised at the start of the season, Robinho, wearing Real Madrid number 10, was known as “Pelé’s successor,” and Real Madrid’s front line was filled with brilliant star players and appeared to be good and powerful, if Guti was not at the back to launch the attacks and control the rhythm, the team was no different than a handful of loose sand.

Therefore, Twain laid out a strategy to contain Guti.

George Wood was the key figure, but the other teammates would help as well — not to help defend, but to assist in fouls.

Guti was a talented, but bad-tempered, player with a reckless character. He was never placed in important positions in the early days of his career, which had a lot to do with his character. It was not until Zidane’s departure that he slowly made his mark and became the core of Real Madrid’s midfield. However, he was still short-tempered and could easily lose control of his mood. Once his mood was out of control, his level of play would greatly decline, he would increasingly make mistakes, and become more irritable, and the quality of Real Madrid’s offense would plummet.

As a result, the Forest team’s tactics for the game were very simple: defensive counterattack for the offense and mainly anger and bar Guti in terms of defense. To be able to infuriate him would be the best. If they could not provoke him, then they would use the advantages of their overall defense to trap him, so that he could not easily take the ball and organize attacks.

Guti’s strength was finding holes in his opponents’ defenses and making unexpected straight passes. His penetrating straight passes repeatedly assisted his team in breaking through and scoring goals. But his weaknesses were also clear — his body was thin and weak. His ability to fight was not good. Once the opponent closed in and pressed hard, and then added some physical impact to interfere, he would have a greater chance of dropping the ball under his feet.

The incident with Robinho was purely accidental. Wood was originally going to defend against Guti, but Guti poked the football to Robinho. Wood had to change the target to the BMX Boy. He did not have the time to use footwork to fight with Robinho. After he was squeezed to the side, he immediately pushed Robinho to the ground and ended the attack from Real Madrid.

He carried on with his usual detestable style. He did not go up and reach out with his hand to pull up Robinho as a sign of friendliness. Instead, he turned and walked away.

Robinho lay on the ground in a daze for a moment. The referee came up to ask him if he was fine or if he needed a stretcher or something. He dilly-dallied to stand up but was not really hurt. The tumble looked scary, but the impact lessened during the tumble.

The boos in the Bernabéu stands continued until Real Madrid was ready to start with a free kick in the front field.

Real Madrid’s number 23, Sneijder, drove the free kick into the penalty area and Pepe responded with a header. The football fell in the front of the penalty area and caused a sudden bout of looting.

Eventually van der Vaart brought the football out amidst the chaos and handed it to David Beckham who received it diagonally in front.

There was a round of applause in the stands when Beckham received the football. The applause did not come from the visiting team, Nottingham Forest’s fan stands, but from the home fans.

The fans thanked him for his efforts to retake the league title for Real Madrid in the final season.

The scene really touched the bystanders. But for Beckham, it had nothing to do with him. He wanted to appreciate the love that the Real Madrid fans had shown him, but he had to wait until after the game. He was wearing a Nottingham Forest jersey with the ball at his feet. His teammates were actively running forward, ready to fight back. It was not the time to show mercy!

He did a long pass!

Van Nistelrooy went to the flank to receive the ball. Ribéry plugged in at a high speed. His sudden assault attracted the attention of the Real Madrid defenders. Diarra followed him to retreat and Cannavaro also focused on him. Van Nistelrooy passed the ball to his frontline partner, Eastwood.

Eastwood was outside the penalty area and close to the middle while he was temporarily unmarked. Because the defensive forces were curbed by Ribéry. He kicked a long shot without hesitation!

The quality of the shot was quite high! Fully preoccupied with defense, Casillas sprang up and caught the football with a single palm. Although the shot did not go in, it made the Bernabéu stadium gasp.

Eastwood launched the shot on the spot. He did not run up to it, relying entirely on leaning back and using his abdominal strength to drive the shot. The shot was sudden. If not for Casillas’ excellent form, perhaps he would have gotten the shot in.

Real Madrid’s defense was pathetic compared to its glittering offensive lineup. In the game, Schuster used Cannavaro and Heinze as center-back partners. The left-back was Marcelo and the right-back was Ramos. Of the four players, the two full-backs liked to attack. The center back-partners lacked height and it was strenuous trying to defend against high-altitude balls. Heinze was not a genuine center-back. He only occasionally played as one. He was best at playing in the left-back position. Consequently, it was not hard to imagine the level he played at in the position.

Real Madrid’s defensive problems were still not better, and they basically relied on Cannavaro alone. When the former FIFA World Player of the Year was in a good shape, Real Madrid’s defensive line looked decent. If his condition was not good, no matter how remarkable Casillas was, he could only accept the humiliation of picking up the ball from the inside of the net.

Real Madrid employed offensive tactics at home for the game. Their defensive line pressed forward and left many gaps behind. The Forest team’s offensive tactic was very simple: find a way to hit the opponent’s back. They would make use of Beckham’s long passes, or van der Vaart to divert the ball, as well as the high-speed insertions from the two flanks to create and seek a void. It was not impossible to overcome Bernabéu as long as they were able to take advantage of their chances.

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s corner kick was fired, and it was a mess in front of the goal, but no one got to the ball which allowed Casillas to come out and confiscate it. Casillas threw it to launch a quick attack, wanting to counterattack against Nottingham Forest.

He threw the ball to Higuaín in front of him. Higuaín had intended to catch the ball and turn around, but the football was kicked out by George Wood, who circled to the front to defend.

Higuaín turned away and managed to shake off Wood, but there was no ball at his feet. Nottingham Forest took advantage of the momentum to start another attack. Meanwhile, Pepe and Piqué ran back to the rear defensive line. Real Madrid’s quick attack did not happen but it pressed the Forest team within its half.

Real Madrid’s defense was relatively passive, but passivity did not mean that they did not need to exert themselves. But while they were defending, they were used to retreating to the penalty area and setting up a defensive array. As a result, their defense lacked depth and could be easily penetrated. It was a common problem in most La Liga teams. The style of playing and national characteristics determined that they advocated offense more and ignored defense.

The result of their defense was that Nottingham Forest could pass the ball and position themselves as they wished outside of the thirty-meter zone to look for opportunities without pressure. If Real Madrid was unable to withstand and press out to make a grab for the ball, they would pass the ball back to gradually pull the compressed formation backward. After they pulled it off, Real Madrid would be lured out. As long as their formation was cracked open, there would be plenty of gaps to seize hold of in the eyes of the Forest team. It just depended on whether they could grasp it.

Given the height and aerial defense capabilities of the Real Madrid rear defensive line, Twain instructed the Forest team to focus their offense mainly on high balls and scramble for the second point of fall.

Through his research on Real Madrid, he believed that the Real Madrid players were not too concerned with the second point of fall in defense. Van Nistelrooy did not have to be the spearhead in the attack. He mainly acted as the bridgehead stronghold and tactical center forward.

Van Nistelrooy had an ability that was quite valuable, an ability that was slowly decreasing for many strikers.

To be a true center forward, van Nistelrooy not only could score his own shots, his body and skills guaranteed that he could control the football within an encirclement to wait for his teammates to come support. Then he would pass the football to his teammates who had the chance. When needed, he could head up to suppress the opponent’s entire line of defense, or pull out to rip apart the opponent’s defense to create opportunities for his teammates. A center forward like van Nistelrooy would turn around to take the ball, and currently many strikers could do little once they turned their backs on the offensive.

It was the difference between a striker and a center forward. Eastwood was a striker, and van Nistelrooy was a center forward.

Beckham once again passed the football into the penalty area. Ramos, who played the role of a center-back, jumped up to head the football out.

The second point of fall was taken by the Forest team.

Van der Vaart passed the football to Ribéry, and Ribéry caught the opponent’s attention on the flank. Gareth Bale dashed to plug in. Diarra, who ran to the flank to fill in the position, hesitated and opted to follow Bale to retreat. He let go of his defense against Ribéry. Ribéry took the opportunity to dribbled across. He looked like he was going to shoot.

Cannavaro immediately cut across to block him.

But Ribéry did a feint and sent the football van der Vaart in the middle.

Van der Vaart also made to look like he was about to do a long shot, leading Heinze, the particularly easily excited defender, to slide to the ground and shovel.

The football had already rolled to Beckham’s right foot.

The ball went around and came back again.

Beckham caught the attention of two Real Madrid players as soon as he took the ball. Marcelo immediately stood in front of him to block, while Sneijder was in charge of protecting the middle.

Rafinha saw the ball on the right flank and did not hesitate to plug in. He attracted Marcelo’s attention which resulted in Marcelo following him to retreat. Sneijder silently came over to fill the position.

Beckham passed the ball just as Sneijder came up to intercept the ball. He did not send a high ball at an angle into the penalty area but kicked a straight pass.

It was not passed to Rafinha on the right wing but to the player behind Sneijder — George Wood!

George Wood decisively inserted into the void and received a pass from Beckham.

“George Wood! He showed up in the flanks of the Real Madrid defense!”

Wood did not pass the ball after he received it. He did not continue to dribble forward. He swung his leg for a vigorous shot!

The football flew out like a cannonball and headed straight for the nearest corner of the goal.

George Wood rarely shot with certainty like that. Casillas could only slam the football out in a hurry and could not pounce on the end line. Because the ball that Wood shot out spun slightly outward, maybe he was going to pass, but it turned into a shot.

The football was pounced on by Casillas, but it bounced toward the goal.

This scene startled and made countless people in the Bernabéu stands gasp.

Van Nistelrooy charged out from the crowd and did a header shot!

The football flew toward the goal but was kicked out in front of the goal line by Ramos, who rushed back. The football flew outside the box and the second point of fall still belonged to Nottingham Forest. Van der Vaart shot straight away but missed. The football brushed along the turf and turned to the left. If no one blocked it, the ball would have rolled out of the end line, and it would have been a false alarm.

A leg suddenly extended from within the crowd and firmly cut off the incoming ball!

“Franck Ribéry! He stopped the ball!” The commentator exclaimed.

Casillas’ reaction was so fast that he had just landed on the ground when he pushed up pounce toward the back corner, intending to block the Forest team’s attack.

Ribéry, who intercepted the ball, did not hesitate to turn around and swing his leg to volley the football into the goal on the spot.

Casillas was too slow by half a beat.

The football flew over before his hands got there and smacked into the net.

“The ball went in — ”

Accompanied by the commentator’s yells, Bernabéu suddenly quieted down.

It was only nine minutes and eighteen seconds after the start, and the gates of Real Madrid were lost.

The haughty Real Madrid people were unable to accept this for a moment.

“That’s terrible defense!” Schuster, who sat in the technical area, slapped his leg angrily and complained to the assistant manager next to him. “I need a center-back and they’ve brought me Robben who can’t get on the field.”

Ribéry celebrated the goal wildly. Schuster’s brows wrinkled more and more tightly. He thought of the recent rumors. By the end of this season, when he still needed a defender, would Mijatovi? bring him another Ribéry?

The people around Tony Twain celebrated their lead. He did too, but he quickly put down his raised arms. He turned around and saw the president’s podium above the grandstand. Like Schuster, he also thought of the recent rumors. Would Ribéry’s excellent performance in front of the Real Madrid president further motivate their poaching?

After the end of this season, perhaps he would not have a holiday to speak of.

Chapter 627 - Guti

“With his nimble positioning, Franck Ribéry exploded with amazing energy. Compared to his performance in the previous two seasons, he is now at the level of the FIFA World Player of the Year!” The commentator was still gushing about Ribéry when the game had already resumed.

“He was fixed on the left flank when he started his career. His first season in the English Premier League was stunning and successful. He was, at best, considered a rather good shock worker on the flank. Then Tony Twain asked him to lean more to the middle, and the fine-tuning of the position gave us a more comprehensive Franck Ribéry. Whether it’s breaking through and passing on the flank, scoring goals from the middle, or even organizing the offense, he’s doing a pretty fine job!”

Just then, Ribéry took the ball and the commentator immediately got excited. “Now Franck Ribéry has the ball!”

Ribéry felt he was in a great shape and wanted to have a face-off with Ramos. However, he was blocked by Ramos and could not cut inside. His speed was suppressed, and he could not accelerate. The ball was sent out of the sidelines by Ramos with a slide tackle.

Seeing the ball shoveled out of bounds, van der Vaart, who was waiting to support, was a bit disgruntled. He waved his hands. He was next to Ribéry and unmarked. If Ribéry had passed the football to him, there was a chance to move the football and reorganize the attack, but Ribéry chose to go alone and ignored his teammates coming up to support.

Ribéry saw the gesture and hurriedly raised his hands to express his apology. He ignored his teammates, beside himself with joy from the goal.

Although the Forest team obtained an out of bounds ball, they did not pose a threat to Real Madrid. Bale’s pass was intercepted, and Real Madrid took the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Nottingham Forest quickly retreated to defend — except for George Wood.

The football reached Guti’s feet again, and George Wood went up to face him.

Guti was still in the center circle. The Forest team’s flanks quickly retreated to defend. George Wood intended to build the first line of defense in the center circle.

Guti was going to pass the ball as he saw Wood come up. However, when he looked up to find someone, he found that there was no suitable route for the ball to go. While he was distracted, George Wood rushed in front of his eyes.

Guti jabbed the football to the left and then quickly pulled it back to get rid of him.

But George Wood was not fooled. He leaned his body forward and forced Guti to turn around. As long as Guti had his back facing the attacking direction, the Forest players would have plenty of time to run back to defend.

Guti had to turn around to protect the ball. He would not be able to send the football to the most dangerous place at first chance.

That was what annoyed Guti the most. What upset him were Wood’s incessant knocks to his back. The little moves were bothersome. The leg kept wanting to reach in front of him and grab the ball, but he could not reach it. Consequently, he could only kick at Guti’s ankles.

Guti did not want to be entangled with the opponent there. He was not a fool. He knew it was tantamount to delaying his team’s attacking speed. So he passed the football to Diarra and then turned around to give Wood a hard glare.

Wood met his glare. The look in his eyes was not friendly. It was cold, as if he was looking at prey and not a human being. Guti hated the look, and he felt insulted.

He ran forward and Wood retreated with him.

He knew he was the kid’s target in this game, so he decided to humiliate the other team.

※※※

The Forest team played defensive counterattack, different from Real Madrid’s rear defensive line, which was full of holes. Real Madrid’s attacking players had to wrack their brains when they were up against the Nottingham Forest team’s dense and comprehensive defense.

After a string of passes, the football reached Higuaín’s feet. He planned to turn around and break through, but he was blocked by Pepe. He turned around and the football was left behind.

However, the Forest team’s ball could not be easily passed out either. Pepe’s forward pass was poked out from behind by Raúl.

Real Madrid continued to launch an offensive, and Raúl held onto the football despite Pepe’s close marking and grabs.

The current Raúl was very different from a younger Raúl. He was no longer purely the striker who only needed to be responsible for scoring goals. On the current Real Madrid team, his job was often not to score, but to defend and set his teammates up with opportunities to score.

Pepe’s desire to intercept Raúl’s ball was not easy. The position was very sensitive. He did not dare to foul and thus could only interfere from behind. As long as Raúl did not turn around to breakthrough, he could only do that.

Raúl found that Pepe’s defense was quite tight. He was not certain that he could turn around and break through into the box, so he sent the football out.

Once again, the football landed at Guti’s feet.

Guti did not even have to look up to know who the dark shadow that appeared in front of him was.

He was now in front of the box and lifted his leg to as if he were going to shoot. Wood did not hesitate to pounce and block, but Guti’s ankle shook and the shot turned into a straight pass.

Instead of passing it to Raúl in front of him, he passed it to the other side, which was a visual dead corner for him. He found a passing path. The football bypassed the crowd in front of the box and was sent to Robinho’s feet.

Huge cheers erupted in the stands at the Bernabéu stadium. The popular Brazilian BMX Boy always evoked some kind of anticipation every time he got the ball. The Real Madrid fans liked this kind of player who was good at performing fancy techniques because it pleased them.

Piqué filled in and Robinho came kick the ball.

The cheers from the stands were even louder when Robinho was seen to start performing.

Piqué’s reaction was fast. He expected Robinho’s next step to be cutting inside after he swung past him, so he quickly turned to cut across the route of Robinho’s advance.

But he anticipated wrong. Robinho did not move after he pulled in the ball. Piqué threw himself into the empty space and fell to the ground.

The Brazilian kid easily flashed past the fallen Piqué, and did not wait for the other Forest players to rush over. He cut inside and lifted his leg to shoot.

Edwin van der Sar put all his attention on Robinho after he received the ball. He saw him shoot, and quickly pounced and sent the football out of the end line.

Although he did not score a goal, Guti shot a smug glance at George Wood. The attack was initiated by him from there, when he deceived George Wood with the ball direction and line of sight. When he looked at Raúl and Higuaín on the left, who would have thought he was actually going to pass the football to the empty space on the right?

But when Guti glanced at Wood, what he saw made him feel more frustrated.

He only saw George Wood’s back. Wood was busy returning to the box to defend the corner.

※※※

Real Madrid significantly stepped up their offensive. A corner kick was not done. The football was topped by the Forest defender and Real Madrid midfielders continued to intercept the ball to continue the attack. Unwilling to trail behind at home, Real Madrid had to quickly equalize the score and the longer they dragged, the worse it was for them.

However, the Forest team’s defense was tested by many major games, and until the end of the first half, Real Madrid did not get any good chances. In addition to Robinho’s shot, Sneijder also had a long shot that bypassed Edwin van der Sar’s hands, but flew out as it brushed against the goal post. Raúl got another close shot, but it was deflected out of the end line by Pepe.

The three attacks were concentrated within ten minutes after they dropped the ball, but when they did not succeed with their attacks, the Forest team’s quick counterattack forced Real Madrid to stop their frenzied offense. They were worried that a quick counterattack by the Forest team would widen the gap in the score.

Twain had a happy smile on his face on the sidelines. So far, the game was well within his plan. Real Madrid was not afraid of other teams going head to head with them, or they liked the other teams to challenge them because they did not care about conceding a few goals. They just needed to have one more goal. What they hated most were opponents that shrank, stationed their players near the box, compacted their defense, and used quick sneak attacks to take care of everything.

Nottingham Forest was one of those teams.

As a result, the Real Madrid players played hard in the first half. They had to strengthen their offense and strive to equalize the score, and they had to be aware of the opponent’s sudden launch of quick attacks. With a long pass expert like Beckham, the Forest team’s quick counterattacks were a notch faster than before.

Nottingham Forest’s offense was like that most of the time. The football would be handed over to Beckham, and van der Vaart and Ribéry would plug ahead. Van Nistelrooy would pull to the flanks, and Eastwood would retreat to provide support. Beckham would do a long pass and send the football to the feet of a Forest player. Perhaps it would be Ribéry, van der Vaart, van Nistelrooy, or Eastwood. His long passes had a hit rate of eight out of ten kicks.

The situation gave Real Madrid’s defense a headache. Unless someone could stick close to Beckham, they could not stop him. The cost for that type of counterattack was so low that it would only take Beckham lifting his foot.

Schuster was silent throughout the first half except during that goal concede. He was looking for a way to break the tactic. He knew that if he could not break it, he could only count on luck.

It would humiliating for any manager to admit he had to rely on luck to win.

At the end of the first half, Schuster’s face did not look good. He already heard the sounds of boos traveling from the stands. Some complained that they were behind on the score, and some complained that the game was ugly to watch. What should he complain about as a manager?

I need defenders. I don’t need Ribéry and Cristiano Ronaldo!

※※※

Twain was happy and made no secret of it. He praised everyone. The attacking players played a good game while the defensive players were credited for the team staying in the lead.

“You guys did a great job. We have to play like that in the second half. We’re not going to lose unless all the luck runs to the other side,” Twain said firmly, enhancing the players’ confidence. The words were superfluous. It was not the first time the current Nottingham Forest team had played in Bernabéu. They were no longer the Nottingham Forest players who pulled out their cameras when they saw the stadium.

Some bobbed their heads. Twain was not saying nice things to boost their morale. It was the truth. As long as the Forest team was in the lead, victory was in the bag.

“Guti is at the heart of their offense.” When Twain finished saying the things that everyone knew, he began to lay out a more detailed strategy. “I think the only problem we had in the first half was… Guti was not provoked enough.” The smile on Twain’s face looked sinister.

“Don’t count on George alone. We will change our strategy a little in the second half. Find ways to irritate Guti and make him lose his cool.” Judging by the first half of the game, Guti’s temper had shown a lot more restraint than before. Whenever Wood pushed someone and refused to show friendliness, anyone would be dissatisfied. If it had been Guti two seasons ago, he might have gotten up and grabbed his neck, or when the Forest team’s attack had not even crossed half the field, he would commit an unnecessary, vicious foul and punished with a yellow card, or even a red card, and then be sent off.

During the game, Guti unexpectedly endured his anger when faced with Wood’s intentional and unintentional provocations, which made Twain view him in a new light. Was it Schuster’s request, or had he matured?

※※※

In the home team’s locker room, Schuster pulled Guti aside to talk about an important matter. “Obviously, you’re the first person that every opponent wants to eliminate.”

Guti sipped his water and did not comment.

“You did well in the first half, but I’m still worried. I wonder if Tony Twain would ask more Forest players to surround you?”

Guti stopped drinking and looked at his manager.

“I’m sure he will do that.” After his previous remark surprised Guti, Schuster seemed to be more convinced of the idea. “He will do whatever he can to win. Everyone knows you’re the core of Real Madrid’s offense.”

“Are you saying he wants his people to irritate me, make me play erratically, or cause me to play rough and be sent off?” Guti asked.

Schuster nodded.

Guti recalled George Wood’s behavior in the first half. It did look like they had the idea. “I’m not going to let them get what they want.” He cursed.

“You have to stay calm, no matter how they provoke you,” Schuster cautioned.

Guti put down the water bottle and nodded. “I know what to do, sir.”

Schuster patted him on the shoulder, ending the conversation.

As long as Guti did not lose his cool, Real Madrid would have hopes of equalizing the score in the second half, or even take the lead.

The key was still Guti, whose form and play was now a barometer of Real Madrid’s results.

But would Twain easily let go of Guti?

Schuster had second thoughts. If Guti can really stay calm, Nottingham Forest will be out of luck. Just wait and see which team has the upper hand in the second half.

Chapter 628 - Real Madrid’s Core

During halftime, the situation that Guti had to face in the second half was still in his imagination. He might be able to reference previous games to get a sense in advance, but none of those teams were Nottingham Forest, and the managers of those teams were not Tony Twain.

After the second half began, he quickly understood the situation. George Wood was still there to keep an eye on him, but the players who disrupted him were replaced by other people, such as van der Vaart.

Guti had decided that he would not be angry no matter how much Wood provoked him. On the contrary, he wanted to find ways to send Wood off the field. However, the situation was completely different from what he had envisioned. The Forest team instructed them to take turns to provoke him, foul, make rough moves that fell between a foul and not, and pull little stunts the referees could not see to.

He could hardly stand it several times. He wanted to hit back hard and then turn to leave abruptly, but he knew his retaliation would result in a red card, so after he thought about it, he did not put it into practice.

He had made a lot of progress in controlling his temper.

※※※

The game continued with Real Madrid’s offense still largely organized by Guti. When Guti was assailed by the Nottingham Forest players, the rest of the Real Madrid players took over Guti’s job. Diarra participated in the offense. While his offensive level was the weakest out of Real Madrid’s four midfielders, he was the most active one because he was the defensive midfielder and had more chances to get the ball.

It was kind of amazing. Diarra should have been defense-oriented, but he rushed to the front of the Forest team’s penalty area and did not go back. Sometimes he could also be seen on the right flank. Everything he did had to do with the offense, and when the Forest team counterattacked, Diarra still slowly ran back from the front field. His speed could not be considered fast, and coupled with his running posture, he looked like he was unable to run fast, which made people anxious.

Sneijder was a very comprehensive midfielder, but it was not feasible to get him to take on the responsibility of organizing the offense in Twain’s view.

Not knowing why, Twain always worried about Sneijder when he watched him play football. He was concerned about his uncalled-for mistakes. He always seemed to have no way of firmly controlling the football. His actions were big and looked brash. His main task as the midfielder on Real Madrid’s left flank was to assist in the offense and provide support for the defense. He was there to assist. He was slightly browbeaten when Nottingham Forest had a free hand to press in closely.

On the other side, Robinho’s position was more flexible. He could suddenly go left or right, which made him a headache for Twain, because his personal skills were outstanding. He could become an important factor to break the balance in a deadlock.

Overall, Real Madrid had the upper hand in the game, and Nottingham Forest was still dominated by defense.

※※※

Twain observed Guti and found that he was indeed very angry, but he would not explode, which frustrated him. If Guti could really keep his temper under control, then he would be the unlucky one in the end.

Because the number of fouls increased, the odds of getting a card became higher. It was not good for them to get more cards.

However, Twain could not change his decision yet because even though he said to provoke Guti more, Nottingham Forest also had to be on guard against Guti in terms of formal tactics. They could not give him too much space to move, or his straight passes could rip apart the Forest team’s defenses.

Twelve minutes after the second half, van der Vaart finally got a yellow card. He was given yellow card by the referee because he had pushed Guti down from behind. There was a flurry of disgruntled boos in the Bernabéu stands. The fans thought the referee was too late in issuing the yellow card. According to their standards, George Wood should have been sent off in the first half and ten minutes into the second half, and the Forest team should have only been left with one goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar.

Guti still did not explode and even had a smile on his face. He was either mocking van der Vaart or ridiculing Tony Twain, who came up with the idea.

Twain sat in the technical area, frowning.

The location of van der Vaart’s foul was not ideal: twenty-five meters from the goal and to the left side of the front of the penalty area.

After having been closely marked by the Nottingham Forest players for close to sixty minutes, Sneijder, who had been constantly making mistakes, stood in front of the football. He wore the number 23 jersey. The original owner of the jersey number stood among the human wall in front of him, with his hands across his chest, nervously gazing at the new Real Madrid number 23 in front of him.

Ever since Beckham and Roberto Carlos left, Real Madrid’s first pick for free kicks had become the Dutch kid.

For Sneijder, the first period of the season was perfect. With the frenzy of goals, victories, long shots, and free kicks that he accomplished for Real Madrid, especially after he cracked open Villarreal’s goal with a free kick, he was hailed as “the New Beckham.”

Sneijder did not like the label because it sounded as if he was just a replacement for Beckham. He was Sneijder, and not anyone’s number two.

Sneijder stood in front of the ball, staring intently in front of him. Guti stood next to him, and everyone knew he was covering for Sneijder.

The human wall was built under the command of Edwin van der Sar to block the nearest corner. Then Edwin van der Sar moved back to the furthest corner.

“Sneijder is ready for the shot…”

The referee’s whistle rang, and before the commentator was done, he saw Guti run to the football. The Forest team’s human wall remained unmoved because they knew it was a feint, and the Dutchman behind was the real McCoy.

Guti did not run straight through the football. He paused in front of the ball and then swung his left leg…

Twain jerked up from his seat, and shouted, “F**k…”

Sneijder stood behind Guti and did not move an inch. He watched Guti kick the football to send it flying over the stupefied human wall and fall into the nearest corner of the goal!

Edwin van der Sar did not expect to Guti to be the one to shoot the free kick, so he did not respond. He just turned his head to watch the football fly into the goal.

When he turned to see the football enter the goal, Guti clenched his fist and cheered. Sneijder wanted to come up and hug him in celebration, but almost got elbowed instead. The resentment from being continuously harassed that had been bottled up was finally given the opportunity to vent. He was like the center of a volcanic eruption; it was dangerous to get close to him.

Raúl was the first to rush up and embrace him, containing the hot magma that spewed out of Guti.

This goal was too important for Real Madrid.

“Guti! Guti! Guti!” Thunderous cheers erupted in the Bernabéu stands. They shouted the name of their vice-captain and jumped out of their seats.

Like them, Schuster and the others rushed out of Real Madrid’s technical area with their arms raised high. With the score equalized, a huge weight was finally lifted off him.

The goal was eventually conceded, but Twain was not furious. He just stood on the sidelines and shook his head.

It looked like the current Guti was tenacious beyond his imagination and remained unshakeable in the face of those provocations. Twain felt he had to give up the arrangements he had instructed during halftime. Wood could deal with Guti alone. More players on him would only mess up their own pace.

Taking advantage of the time while the opponent was celebrating the goal, Twain called Wood to his side.

“George, go up and tell them that Guti is yours and yours only.” He pointed to Wood as he spoke to him.

Wood nodded.

“If you need to foul, it’s best to foul near the center circle. If he’s in front of the box, try not to let him turn around as the main defensive strategy. You know what to do.”

Wood continued to nod.

“Don’t give them a free kick in that dangerous zone. A place kick is a very important method to break the dense defense. Tell them to put more efforts into the counterattack. We have to score another goal when we get the chance.”

“Okay.” Wood turned around and ran back, but Twain stopped him again.

“Be careful not to get a card, George.”

Wood grunted and then turned around again to run back to the field.

Twain walked back to the technical area and sat down. He shrugged at Dunn with a helpless look.

Dunn reassured him, “It’s nothing. We already have an away goal and it’s still just a draw. On the whole, we are the ones who have the upper hand.”

Twain shook his head. “I wanted to leave Bernabéu with a victory…”

“The game is not over yet.” Dunn could only continue to encourage.

Twain was silent. He turned his head to re-focus on the game.

※※※

Wood returned to the field with Twain’s latest order. Guti found that the men who had mobbed him were gone. Only George Wood alone was left in front of him. He turned his head to glance at the Nottingham Forest technical area. He knew it had to have been the manager’s intention.

Did he realize it was useless to let so many people deal with me? Guti smiled.

Yes, for a time, he was forced to the point that he could not even make a successful straight pass. Other than being able to do cross and return passes, the rest were just mistakes. But you cannot prevent me from getting a free kick, can you? Don’t think that just because Real Madrid used to have Figo, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Zidane and now there’s Sneijder, no one else can do a free kick. It’s exactly my intention for you to besiege me. With so many fouls, I will definitely get a suitable free kick even just one time.

But Guti could not laugh. When fewer players mobbed him, his chances did not increase. George Wood no longer set provoking him as the number one goal. Instead, he defended against him.

As a famous defensive genius, Guti suffered unspeakably by Wood’s marking. If they were further away from the goal, Wood would intercept the ball as much as he could. When he could not intercept the ball, he would not hesitate to use a covert foul to resolve the battle. When they were close to the penalty area, he mainly used interference and did not make moves lightly. It forced Guti to give the football to his teammates. If Guti had to fight it out alone with Wood, it would be as he wanted, but Guti would not win many times.

When Real Madrid wanted to attack and pass the football to Guti from the backfield, Guti was used to turning his head before he received the ball to observe the positions of his teammates and opponents, so that he could decide what to do when he received the ball. But Wood would take advantage of the opportunity suddenly snatch it away. He managed to intercept the ball that should have belonged to Guti several times using that method.

He caused Guti to only consider protecting the football when he received the ball, and then to think about how to organize the attack. As a result, Real Madrid’s offense was greatly diminished.

Robinho was a good player, but he had not yet been able to become the organizer of the team’s offense. He fought hard against the Forest team’s two full backs on the flank. Unfortunately, he was of little assistance to Real Madrid’s offensive. Some people liked to watch him perform fancy skills in the face of the opposing defenders, but in Twain’s view, performance was useless. Unless he could break through in a straight line, he was just making crosswise movements outside. No matter how fancy his actions were, they were no different from a circus clown.

Robinho’s movements were a lot more practical than when he first went to Real Madrid, but the Brazilian’s flashy side remained ingrained in nature. Sometimes, when he clung to his footwork, the team had already lost the opportunity to attack. Besides, his movements were cumbersome, not simple and practical like Messi’s. Messi could be characterized by one word: fast. Fast movement and fast pace were the most practical skill in modern football arena.

Twain laughed every time he saw Robinho start to do scissors when up against Bale or other defensive players. If my defenders are deceived by a few moves that they knew were fake, then Nottingham Forest would not call itself “a European champion through defense.” Instead of putting all your efforts on the step over, wouldn’t it be better to dodge, grab, and pass the ball?

When Robinho first started playing, people exclaimed that he was “Pelé’s successor, “but in Twain’s eyes, Robinho’s progress over the last few years had been limited, a few light-years away from what people expected of him.

At least Robinho was nothing to be afraid of in the game.

※※※

After Guti scored, he received George Wood’s meticulous care, Robinho was stuck in a quagmire of fighting alone, Sneijder’s form was flat and he was up to his ears between offense and defense, and Higuaín was at a loss and made frequent mistakes in the face of the Forest team’s fierce marking and tackles.

Only Raúl was as diligent as ever, but he could not get the ball because of the lack of effective midfield support. During the defense, his sense of responsibility drove him to even go back to their penalty area. It was doubtful how much energy he could use to participate in the attack. Of course, no one doubted that he did not exert himself but working too hard in defense might affect his play in the offense.

As for Marcelo and Ramos, Schuster was apparently afraid of the Forest team’s flank offense, so he did not ask them for frequent assists.

Real Madrid was out of ideas when up against Nottingham Forest entrenched in defense.

And what about Nottingham Forest? There were several chances to counterattack, but they did not manage to seize them. With Real Madrid’s frenzied attack, they did not even have a chance to fight back.

By the time the game ended, the score was 1:1.

The score had to have upset Schuster, but he did not show it. He just stood on the sidelines for a while, then turned and shook hands with Twain. He walked into the tunnel with his head lowered.

Having gotten an away goal and a tied game, Twain also did not show a happy side. He felt a little reluctant — he had hoped to win, but unfortunately he only almost won.

With regret, Nottingham Forest left the Spanish capital and flew back to England to prepare for the next leg of the match. Even on their own home ground, Twain was not confident that they would be able to defeat Real Madrid. It looked like they still have work to do on Guti…

Chapter 629 - Anger

Having tied with Real Madrid in the away game, the Forest team already had the upper hand in the duel for the top four spots between the two teams. However, this advantage was not secure. Twain dared not say his team would be able to reach the semi-finals. His team was competing in two tournaments, so he had to be careful. This season was not the same as last season, when he decided on the approach to give up the league tournament to guarantee the Champions League, so that the team could prepare to compete in just one tournament. At present, Twain’s team needed to put its energy in both the league tournament and Champions League. The team had to close the gap in score with Manchester United in the Premier League and strive to reach the Champions League finals for the third time in a row.

Back in Nottingham for the challenge against the underdog team, Birmingham City, in the league tournament, Twain would make a rotation.

With a line-up made up of an equal number of main players and substitute players, the Forest team easily beat Birmingham City at home by 2:0. George Wood did not play in the game, and the substitute player, Sidwell, did well in the starting lineup.

Twain apparently noticed that the players yearned for more chances to play. He would let everyone have a game to play whenever the conditions allowed.

Bendtner replaced van Nistelrooy to start and scored the two goals. He was selected as the best player of the game after the match and received a bottle of champagne. He looked very happy when he spoke to the reporters. When Twain first brought him from Denmark to England, he said he was the future of the team, the core player and main striker of the Forest team in the future, but there had been Viduka and Anelka, and after that, van Nistelrooy. Bendtner’s position had always been awkward. All he could do now was to seize the rare opportunities to try to show himself and strive to score more goals.

He had done very well this season, with eleven goals recorded while he played as a substitute — eight goals in the league tournament and three goals in various cup tournaments.

He also sat firmly in the position of the main striker for the Denmark national team.

In Twain’s mind, he nurtured Bendtner as the Forest team’s future main center forward. Van Nistelrooy would grow old. His physical condition and competitive state would decline, and frequent injuries would follow, normal, predictable conditions. Bendtner would have to take over. With the guarantee of a strong center forward, other players on the forward line would be easy to find. He could head to the transfer market and look for another one to join Eastwood and Arshavin. He did not have to worry too much about Nottingham Forest’s forward line over the next ten years.

When he first bought Bendtner, he changed the fate of the Danish lad, but in order to avoid the tragedy of spoiling things to seek instant benefits, Twain intended to allow Bendtner to develop slowly in accordance with the experience he knew and not suddenly push him onto the main forward line. He hoped that Bendtner could slowly learn, gradually grow, and finally become Nottingham Forest’s reigning striker in a few years.

That was his plan. Twain thought he considered well and that he had taken every aspect into account. Nothing should have been overlooked.

When he saw Bendtner was awarded as the best player in the game, he gave high praises to the Danish kid in the locker room. While he complimented him, Twain seemed to see Bendtner become the Premier League’s future king of strikers and the glory years of Nottingham Forest dominating Europe…

Another piece of good news that made Twain happy was that in the round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest’s other rivals were either tied or defeated in their games — Manchester United tied 2:2 with Middlesbrough in their away game, Arsenal tied 1:1 with Liverpool at home, and Chelsea lost 0:2 to Manchester City in their away game.

The Forest team still ranked second, but only had a one-point gap with the first placed, Manchester United and six points difference with the third placed Arsenal. As long as they did not make any big mistakes, they could basically secure their second place.

Twain’s goal for the season was not to be second in the league. He had already been in the second place for two consecutive seasons. The media had taken to calling him “always second best” which was unfair to him because he was the manager of a Champions League and EFL Cup winning team. But the media’s dictionary did not have the word “fairness.” As long as there was something to be hyped, they would do so.

Even if the media had not given Twain such a nasty nickname, Twain did not want to be second in the league tournament anymore. His aim for the season was the league title. To settle for second place in the league did not make him happy. He was delighted with Manchester United’s mistake now that the teams were only one point apart. More importantly, the Forest team had not yet played against Manchester United in the second half of the league tournament.

As long as they did not make any more mistakes themselves, there would be an opportunity to compete against Manchester United. According to the competition schedule, Nottingham Forest would challenge Manchester United in an away game in the final round of the league tournament this season. If the point difference between the two teams was still one point, then it would be time for the league champion to be fresh.

It was good for the English Premier League and fans for the competition to be so intense.

※※※

After they played the 33rd round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest ranked second, with 76 points. Immediately thereafter, they would face their powerful rival, Real Madrid, at home.

It was not the first time Real Madrid had been the visiting team at the City Ground stadium. Although they were meeting for the first time in the knockout stage, Twain’s first opponent of the group stage in his first Champions League season was Real Madrid, which was also the first game at the City Ground stadium since its return to the Champions League after many years.

Numerous Spanish media outlets came to England with Real Madrid. They were rather concerned about this game because Real Madrid had stopped at the Champions League round of 16 for three consecutive seasons. To be able to advance to the quarterfinals this season had led to expectations that they could win the tenth Champions League trophy in their club’s history. If this did happen, Real Madrid could be considered the most well-deserved top team among the football clubs.

With such strong expectations, there was no reason to stop at the quarterfinals.

Despite the home draw of 1:1 with Nottingham Forest, the media and fans were still more bullish on Real Madrid. The Forest team only had one away goal and it was a draw for both teams. They believed that Real Madrid might concede a few goals, but it was impossible for them not to score. As long as there was a goal, an away goal, one goal would offset Nottingham Forest’s away goal. The additional goals would all be Real Madrid’s earned advantage.

Even if the two teams eventually tied at 3:3 at the City Ground stadium, it would be Real Madrid that would advance.

Therefore, the Real Madrid people came to the optimistic conclusion of their inevitable promotion.

※※※

The Real Madrid team had yet to leave for Nottingham, but Tony Twain had already started the fight.

In an interview with the British paper, The Guardian, he spoke about the first leg of the match between the two teams. He admitted that his tactics were to deal with Guti, and then praised Guti as the core of Real Madrid. The remarks all appeared to be normal and was a very common interview when published.

However, following that, Twain changed tack.

“In fact, I think Guti should be happy about being harassed by the crowd and hobbling off the field after the game, because it showed one thing. He gets the attention of the enemy. Looking back at a few years ago, while he was still on the bench…” Twain laughed and did not go on.

The content of the interview was marked in bold by the newspaper editor, and its meaning was self-evident.

Sure enough, after the Spanish media printed the interview, it caused many reactions.

No elaboration on the reactions of Real Madrid fans were required. On The Guardian’s website alone, almost all of the comments below the interview rebuked Tony Twain. Some of the comments were in English, some were in Spanish, and there was even Japanese and Chinese.

With the exception of Real Madrid supporters, the majority of the people thought that Tony Twain lacked respect for his opponent.

“I can’t believe those words were said by a famous manager…” a famous commentator in the Spanish press Diario AS critiqued Tony Twain’s remarks.

“We are a gentleman’s country and pay attention to the spirit of sportsmanship. I think Tony Twain’s remarks are a serious violation of what we are proud of…” Even British government officials felt that Twain’s remarks embarrassed them. The sports secretary, Tessa Jowell criticized Twain. After all, the Real Madrid Club and the Spanish royal family had a very good relationship. They represented the Spanish sports image abroad and that image was disparaged by a Premier League manager.

The Sun’s “Tony Twain’s brain has a loose screw again” headline was striking. They even made a special feature to uncover all the incredible comments that Twain had said since he took office and captioned “Tony Twain’s Crazy Talk.”

There was a sea of punitive voices in the Spanish media, and the English media almost one-sidedly stood against Twain. They slammed him for never using his brain before speaking and indirectly demanded Twain to come forward and explain his remarks, which were clearly insulting to his opponent.

Subsequently, Twain came out and explained in his own column.

“I’m very surprised at the reactions that my remarks had elicited. I merely made an assessment of my opponent and did not use any insulting words. That was the complete truth. In some people’s view, it had become disrespectful toward the opponent. You can go ask Guti yourself. Did he not play as a substitute in a great team like Real Madrid a few years ago? I’m not saying he’s not good enough, but the main position belonged the greater players such as Beckham, Zidane, and Figo. Compared to them, Guti was not up to scratch. Was I wrong to say that? I really don’t understand how holding up a magnifying glass all day to find fault in my words can be a fun job.”

How was this an explanation? Even though it was meant to be an explanation, Twain’s unpleasant tone appeared to be more like adding fuel to the fire.

“In the spirit of the sport? Excuse me, when my goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard had to retire after he was struck by the Reading player, Hunt, and had a concussion, why did the respected sports secretary, Ms. Tessa Jowell, not come out and give her enlightening remarks about ‘sportsmanship’? She should just focus on the Beijing Olympics and be ready for the London Olympics, rather than dictate what I should or should not say.

“Since I’m attacked for airing my opinions about the opposing players, then let us not talk any more in the future, okay? Everyone should just shut up and the world will be peaceful.

“If you really can’t find anything to report in the media, I suggest you take out all the pages and publish public service advertisements to promote the spirit of sports.”

He stated that it was an explanation, but in reality, it was Twain’s backlash.

It was not known if Tony Twain was first man to launch such an unapologetic attack on Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, in English football. He was completely red-hot to the point of being burnt to black. His number of enemies increased.

Jowell was a sports minister, but she had no right to dictate Twain’s conduct. The only thing she did wrong was that she should not have gotten involved in the matter and made the remarks to stir up Twain’s hornet’s nest. After Twain fought back, she did not say anything more. It was most appropriate for a senior government official to remain silent in a war of words with an ordinary civilian. She should have done so long ago.

The Spanish media was unwilling to forgive, but the voices of the English media became much weaker as the game approached. It was meaningless to hype that kind of thing, and ultimately it was time to return to the game itself.

The hype with great fanfare was not at all for the “dignity of Spanish football,””for the sake of sports ethics,” or “to respect the opponent.” They just did it to attract readers and greater interest.

Reporting was the type of career that was best at “doing bad things while retaining a good reputation.” Twain was aware of what they were up to, so he did not let them off easily.

The biggest impact of his words was on Real Madrid. Guti was even more furious. When he arrived in Nottingham, he looked enraged as he accepted an interview. “I do not care for people who judge others maliciously, and I have no interest in responding to such a meaningless topic.” He rudely rejected the reporter’s question about Twain’s remarks. But even if he did not answer the question, would the media have nothing to add?

“Guti expressed strong dissatisfaction to Tony Twain’s comments!”

“Guti thinks that Tony Twain is not worth a mention!”

And so on.

With the media adding fuel to the fire, the two sides made an all-out effort.

※※※

Dunn found it somewhat incomprehensible that Twain would suddenly bring up Guti. He felt that Twain did not need to cause himself trouble.

Twain just shrugged, indicating that the idle sports secretary was an unexpected “surprise.” It used to be a normal thing for everyone to insult each other in the football circles. It was a highlight in football, and a stunt that the media was happy to see. Mourinho once scolded Wenger as a “voyeur,” and Ferguson said he wanted two bullets to kill Wenger and Victoria. At the times, why did the British government officials not come out and say something?

Therefore, Jowell’s appearance was really unexpected. It enraged him further. There was a tyrannical sense of “outsiders should not interfere with what we insiders say or do within our circle” and it did not matter if it was a government official, but also a woman at the same time.

Leaving aside the impulsive sports secretary, Twain’s plan went well. He paid the price of being sworn at a lot and being hated, but he succeeded in angering Real Madrid’s midfielder, Guti.

Perhaps he was not as famous as Raúl and the others, but in Twain’s eyes, he was the real core of the current Real Madrid team. With him around, Real Madrid’s offense had a direction and strategy. Without him around, Real Madrid’s attack would become a mess.

Once Guti was enraged, he would lose the calm that an organizer had to have. What Real Madrid’s offense would be like then? He could already imagine.

※※※

Everything was as Twain had expected. During the two team’s second leg of the match, Guti’s performance was completely different from the first leg. Anyone could see his restless motions, and Real Madrid’s offense became disorganized for the first time. They relied on Guti, but he made frequent mistakes. He repeatedly lost the ball. There had even been a few times when he sent the ball to the Forest players’ feet.

Amidst the sprawling boos of the City Ground stadium, his temper grew worse, and he even received a yellow card before the end of the first half for an unnecessary ferocious shovel to put down George Wood. The Forest players relentlessly demanded that the referee give him a red card to send him straight off the field.

The game was explosives, and verbal conflicts between players on both sides were common.

In the 70th minute of the game, Schuster could not stand it any longer and replaced Guti with Gago. Within those seventy minutes, Guti passed the ball 76 times but only succeeded 30 times. His frequent mistakes did not help the team’s offense at all. Instead, he caused the entire team to become hotheaded like him.

With less conflict, Real Madrid’s offense lost its way altogether. They relied more on the star players’ individual skills to fight alone. Their occasional cooperation was overwhelmed by the Forest team’s overall defense. The indomitable Real Madrid was at its wits’ end in the face of Nottingham Forest’s impenetrable defense at home.

In the end, the two sides had a 0:0 draw.

This result left Real Madrid’s fans with ashen faces and caused the Real Madrid players to stare blankly at the loss. They suffered the disadvantage of fewer away goals and were eliminated by Nottingham Forest…

“Nottingham Forest broke into the top four again! For the third year in a row! It’s amazing, incredible…” the commentator repeated, not knowing what to say.

The game had been ugly to watch, without any highlights to speak of. If neutral fans were to watch the game, they would have turned off their TVs or changed the channel. Such a game gave the commentator nothing of interest or special to mention. However, to be able to break into the Champions League top four spots three years in a row was a remarkable achievement. Very few teams were able to do this… No, it was even possible to say, “almost none.”

The game was so ugly that it disgusted people but also had a remarkable great achievement, which was a wondrous contradiction integrated within Tony Twain’s team. For the first time, the commentator sensed the deficiency in his vocabulary and could not express this feeling appropriately.

He could only say…

“I wish Tony Twain and his team all the best.”

Chapter 630 - Still Undefeated

Advancing into the Champions League’s top four, and for three years in a row, was was a remarkable achievement. Even if they did not win the Champions League cup at the end of the season, Tony Twain’s name would be engraved in the history of the Champions League. His prestige in Nottingham Forest flourished. When people mentioned “Nottingham Forest” outside of England, they only knew of Tony Twain’s team and did not know real owner of the club. He became the face and spokesperson of Nottingham Forest. When Tony Twain was brought up, it was natural to associate him with Nottingham Forest. When Nottingham Forest was mentioned, the first person that came to mind was Tony Twain.

Flushed with success on the field, Twain was also a winner outside the field. Just after the Champions League game, Armani made an announcement that Tony Twain had become their brand ambassador in the United Kingdom. Large photographs of Tony Twain wearing an Armani windbreaker appeared in major shopping malls.

It had been decided a while back, but it was never made public. Armani had been looking for the right opportunity to make the announcement. The current progress to the Champions League semi finals was the best opportunity. Twain took time to have several sets of photographs taken, which could be used for the ads. Twain felt ashamed to say that he had desired it a year ago, but it was only recently facilitated by Shania, who had pulled strings and build the bridges from far away in the United States. It was his business, but Shania was more meticulous than him.

Speaking of Shania, the young girl was doing well in America. Because she had some friends in the show business world, she was not a newbie in Hollywood. She had people looking after her wherever she went, so Twain did not have to worry. There was nothing he could worry about since showbusiness was not his field.

Shania was very fond of movies. She liked that she was now able to work in the production of films, and not just runways with their busy schedules and conflicts. Other than sometimes flying around the world to promote the fashion products she was the brand ambassador for, she lived in Hollywood and interacted with famous movie stars. Another important job of hers was to attend class — her agent, Mr. Fasal, arranged acting classes for her. Since she had decided to attempt a film career, the lessons were indispensable.

Shania was very enthusiastic and in high spirits during her phone conversation with Twain. That was the most reassuring thing for Twain. He was afraid that the young girl would throw tantrums and make things difficult for Fasal.

The only pity was that to smoothly pave the way for her career, Shania had to reside in the United States for some time and was unable to return to the United Kingdom.

After Shania settled in the United States, the most delighted was Beckham’s wife, Victoria. Although her husband went against her will and chose to return to Britain instead of going to the United States, she temporarily compromised. She never gave up her desire to move to America. It was not news that she wanted to go to the teeming world of Hollywood, and Beckham did not think there was anything wrong with it. After all, he had a career, and so did his wife.

Victoria sometimes flew to the United States to visit Shania and met with the other Hollywood stars.

Beckham was alone and in the same boat as Twain.

※※※

Having advanced into the Champions League semi finals, the next game would be at the end of April. Tony Twain had nearly one month to carry out the strategies for the tournament. The battle for the league title had already entered a white-hot stage:

After the 33rd round of the league tournament on April 5th, Nottingham Forest came in second with 76 points. Manchester United occupied the top of the rankings with 77 points and Arsenal was in third place with 70 points. The team most likely to win the league title was among those three teams.

Although Chelsea had changed their manager, their results in the league tournament had not improved. Currently pushed out of the top four by Liverpool, their league goal was no longer to win the league title, but to achieve the qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

It was a sorry sight for a Champions League winner to have fallen to such a point. However, professional football was like that. There was no victorious general in the world forever. There was always an ebb and flow.

Compared with the results in the league tournament, Chelsea was surprisingly resilient in the Champions League.

After Mourinho’s dismissal, everyone thought that Chelsea would face a full collapse and be routed in both league tournament and Champions League. Even if they had advanced from the group stage, they would not have gone far in the knockout stage.

That was what Tony Twain thought. He was not optimistic on Grant’s coaching ability. It was confirmed by their erratic performance in the league tournament, which was overturned by their strength in the Champions League.

There were three teams from the Premier League in the top four of the Champions League, of which one was Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest. The other was Ferguson’s Manchester United, and the third was Chelsea led by Grant.

Both leading their teams into the Champions League semifinals, Tony Twain received acclaim whereas the voices surrounding Grant remained skeptical. The Forest team’s opponent in the quarterfinals was the powerful Real Madrid, while Chelsea’s opponent was Fenerbah?e. Putting aside the home ground factor, the team was at bottom out of the eight teams.

As a result, Chelsea’s victory was not convincing. Furthermore, popular opinion among the media and fans stated that Grant’s current achievements were built upon Mourinho’s foundation, so there was nothing to praise. Because the lineup that Grant used was basically Mourinho’s. Shevchenko still sat on the bench. Looking at the games, a strong Mourinho style was still present and the team’s training might be in accordance with the routine used during Mourinho’s time in office.

How could any achievements made against such a context be convincing?

Therefore, Grant had a bad relationship with the English media. Although Mourinho also had numerous disputes with the media, the media was fond of the existence of such a subject like Mourinho as a whole. Grant could not create any topic for the media as he was always taciturn, did not cause a war of words with other managers, was not attractive, and was not an idol of middle-aged and elderly women. He was an ordinary team manager. Compared to Mourinho, Grant was a real disappointment.

On the other hand, there was Tony Twain. To the English media, every day was like a holiday with Tony Twain around. After they sent away Real Madrid, which triggered the war of words between the two countries, they were now welcoming Chelsea, which they had an old grudge with.

Remember the series of storms triggered by Mourinho’s dismissal? Tony Twain, who had nothing to do with it, became the protagonist, but the media liked it. They openly criticized Tony Twain for shooting his mouth off without using his brain, but also counted on the great Tony Twain to have a few more gaffes so that they could increase their circulation.

Nottingham Forest challenged Chelsea in an away game in the 34th round of the league tournament. The media was as excited as a pack of wild dogs in heat.

Grant did not want to talk more about his feud with Twain. In truth, they did not used to have a grudge. It was Twain’s remark of “who is that?” that made one.

However, the media was relentless and insisted that Grant expressed his views on it. They surrounded him with questions that had nothing to do with the team. It was all variations of “how’s Tony Twain?”.

Grant could not take it anymore and roared, “when I first took over the helm, you always talked about Mourinho. Now you’re talking about Tony Twain. Are you here to interview me, or to interview those two people? I know you’re comparing me with Mourinho, but I think I’ve done a great job, leading the team into the Champions League semi finals! What does it have to do with me when our league ranking is not ideal?”

His sudden outburst left the reporters in an uproar.

Grant finished by saying, “why aren’t we in a good position in the rankings? What other explanation can I give? I can do my job well, but when I accepted to lead the team, we were already too many points behind the leading teams. We have been playing catch up with those teams, which is not easy. What else do you want? You think I’m inferior to Mourinho. So why is it me, not him, who is sitting here for an interview now?”

There was a strong sense of attacking Mourinho within these remarks.

Previously when the media had been critical that Grant was inferior to Mourinho, he did not come out to refute. They did not expect his first counterattack to be so bold. Was he not afraid to offend the power in the locker room with his remarks? Everyone knew that his ability to run the locker room was poor and that he could not hold down the big names at all. Now his words would no doubt add fuel to the fire. Could it be that leading the team into the Champions League semi finals had hardened his backbone?

Having said that, Grant got up and turned to leave abruptly.

As soon as he left, Twain came in and watched Grant leave with a smirk on his face. He had heard the entirety of Grant’s rage outside the door. He felt that Grant’s remarks were laughable and that the way in which he offed the blame to his predecessor was crude.

He decided to further irritate the other man.

“When I took over Nottingham Forest in the second half of the EFL Championship season, the team ranked fourth from the bottom. After half a season, we returned to the English Premier League,” he said with a grin. “I hope to use this story to encourage Manager Grant. Saying that ‘when I took over this team, this team is at a certain ranking on the list’ is an excuse that only incompetent people use. Ah, I’m not saying that Mr. Grant is incompetent. Please stop distorting my words. You know, to be able to lead the team to the Champions League semifinals is a remarkable result. If I were Grant, I would give up the league tournament and concentrate on preparing for the Champions League, since Chelsea will definitely not be able to win the league title this season anyway.”

Although he told the truth and his advice also made a lot of sense, the Chelsea fans would be able to accept it from anyone besides Tony Twain. It had to be a provocation when he said it.

※※※

Twain did not know if Grant was further enraged before the game because he did not accept any more interviews, so no one knew his thoughts.

Twain got the answer at the game — Grant was furious and wanted to settle the scores with Twain.

Chelsea did their best at home with the intention of defeating Nottingham Forest. I did not matter whether he angered their manager or not, Chelsea would not let Nottingham Forest off at home.

The two teams had accumulated a deep enough feud over the past few years. All Twain did was to add firewood to an already burning fire.

If Chelsea wanted to attack, Nottingham Forest would defend. Playing defensive counterattack in an away game was what the Forest team was best at. Twain was worried that Chelsea would not attack, but it was all good now.

No matter how fierce the Chelsea offense was, Nottingham Forest was accustomed to such scenarios and patiently contended with Chelsea amid the sprawling boos. Defense came first in defensive counterattack. The Chelsea fans in the stands tried to insult and provoke Nottingham Forest, but Twain’s team was unmoved.

Chelsea besieged the Forest team’s half of the field. The score remained at 0:0.

With ten minutes left to play before the end of the game, Grant suddenly figured it out. For Nottingham Forest, the only acceptable result was to win because they were in a tight race with Manchester United. They would lose all hope of winning the title if they did not win the game. Then even if it was a draw, it might still be a failure for Twain. I can accept a draw, so in that case…

He decided to let the team stop its attack and contend with the Forest team. Getting one point was enough to make Twain furious. For someone who did not respect his opponent, preventing him from getting the result he wanted was the best revenge.

Playing for the sake of retaliation against his opponent, Grant was already at a disadvantage in terms of standards.

Twain brought on two attacking players, Arshavin and Petrov, in one go and replaced the exhausted full-backs, Rafinha and Leighton Baines. He pulled George Wood back to play center-back with Pepe and Kompany. The Forest team was passively beaten and looked pathetic before the changes. Now, they began to take the initiative to attack and also dared to put in the forces — everyone but the three center-backs went up. They no longer looked pathetic with only two or three players involved in the counterattacks.

The pressure on their defense was eased and Nottingham Forest’s offense began to display its prowess.

Chelsea was surprised by the sudden turn of events and the Forest team instantly strengthened their offensive, which overwhelmed them.

In the 87th minute, Chelsea, who had been attacking for the last eighty minutes, became the trailing team.

1:0!

Arshavin shook his arms and shouted.

Nottingham Forest eventually won the game. Twain left Stamford Bridge with a smile. Although Mourinho was gone, his unbeaten record against Chelsea continued. The feud between him and Chelsea would also continue…

Chapter 631 - Mr. Ten Percent

After they took down Chelsea in the away game, the Forest team continued to follow closely Manchester United’s heels. The Nottingham Forest team returned to Nottingham in a lighthearted mood, but as soon as they returned to Nottingham, Tony Twain’s good mood vanished.

Ribéry’s agent, Bruno Heiderscheid came knocking. Without waiting for him to speak, Twain knew what he wanted.

At the end of last year, after Franck Ribéry had just won the Ballon d’Or, Heiderscheid had come to Twain in the hope of improving terms for Ribéry. Since Ribéry joined the team, he had signed a total of two contracts. One was signed when Ribéry first joined and was not famous yet. He did not even have a decent agent at the time, so the terms of the contract were average, but Ribéry was satisfied. Later, as the team’s results climbed and Ribéry’s personal performance stood out, he was no longer satisfied with this amount of salary. He found an agent: Bruno Heiderscheid. The first thing that Heiderscheid did as his agent was talk to the club about improving the contract terms.

At the time, the Forest team was on the rise, so Ribéry’s salary requirements were fully satisfied. As a result, everything was to everyone’s satisfaction and Ribéry continued to stay in the Forest team.

The timing of the third pay rise was not too long ago. It was just before the start of the season. Despite financial constraints, the Forest team gave most of the First Team players higher salaries. Twain thought the contract extension would allow the team’s squad to be stabilized for at least another three years.

He did not expect this. He did not expect that just half a season later, Ribéry’s agent would show his face again, taking advantage of the fact that Ribéry had just won the Ballon d’Or to ask for another pay rise.

Twain had not spoken to Heiderscheid, but in his mind, the agent’s insatiable greed had surpassed Billy Woox and Anelka’s two stupid brothers. How could he pop up to ask for a change in the contract after it had just been renewed six months ago? If he agreed to it, he was afraid that agents of other players would follow suit. The Forest team would recreate the economic crisis by trying to satisfy the insatiable group of “Mr. Ten Percent.”

Bruno Heiderscheid had thought that since Ribéry had just won the Ballon d’Or, he was on a roll. Therefore, he went to Twain, thinking that he would not dare not to comply. Twain was tougher than he anticipated. The first few dealings between the two sides had been cordial and negotiations had been smooth. The outcomes satisfied him. He thought Twain would always be like that.

The club refused to talk to Heiderscheid again, and the matter was shelved just like that.

Why did Twain care so much about the rumors of Ribéry’s transfer to Real Madrid? Because he was well aware of what kind of character Ribéry’s agent was. Billy Woox was nice compared to him.

That was why he insisted on talking to Ribéry before he was willing to face the media’s questions. He was reassured by Ribéry, because Ribéry did not want to leave, and did not take the opportunity to bring up a pay raise. That was the end of the matter.

But was Twain stupid enough to think that Heiderscheid would let this rest? He had been waiting for this day to come.

Ribéry would not mention a salary increase. There were few players in the world who would step out to talk about it. Otherwise, there would be no jobs for the agents. After Twain closed the door on him the last time, Heiderscheid learned. He did not rush to approach the Nottingham Forest Football Club for a new contract as soon as the transfer rumors came out. He studied Tony Twain and found that he was amenable to coaxing but not coercion.?He might have met with a rebuff again if he had approached him at that sensitive moment.

After half a month, he felt the time was ripe to look for Twain again.

“Mr. Heiderscheid, I remember clearly the last time I said that we had just signed a new contract, didn’t I?” Twain smiled insincerely at Ribéry’s agent.

The Frenchman, Bruno Heiderscheid, sat opposite him on the couch with a smile on his face, as if he had not discerned the unwelcome meaning of Twain’s remark at all.

All agents needed to be thick-skinned like Heiderscheid. The same was true of Billy Woox. But why did Billy Woox’s impudence make Twain furious, but Heiderscheid only made Twain feel disdain?

“I’m doing this for the good of the club.” Heiderscheid laughed. “There are a lot of rumors about Franck’s transfer, and I’m worried about what you will think, Mr. Twain. So I took the initiative to come here first, lest Mr. Twain think I’m pulling some tricks.”

As expected, he used Real Madrid as a bargaining chip.

Twain smirked for a moment. “Did Franck not say himself that he wouldn’t leave Nottingham Forest?”

Heiderscheid spread his hands. “Yes, I also believe he will not leave the Forest team. But you know, Mr. Twain, there will always be flies in this world, and they like to bother their targets. If Franck doesn’t have something that can firmly reject, my player will be pestered endlessly, and that will affect his form. Also, I think if Nottingham Forest wants Franck to be loyal, shouldn’t the club do something about it?”

What he said was true. It was unreasonable for the club to ask the players to pledge loyalty to the club, and for the club to be unwilling to pay. It was no longer the outrageous period when the players would be paid twenty pounds a week.

There was a clear threat within Heiderscheid’s words. Twain admitted that he was threatened, but could not do anything about it. Neither he nor the club actually wanted Ribéry, a Ballon d’Or recipient, to leave Wilford. The unwillingness was multifaceted. In terms of popularity, Ribéry was the Ballon d’Or winner developed by the Forest team. He was the team’s top star player and was easily comparable to Beckham. From a tactical point of view, Ribéry’s presence enriched the team’s offensive routine, and he was an important part of the Forest team’s victory.

Ribéry could not leave.

He nodded. “Well, Mr. Heiderscheid, I admit there’s some truth to what you’re saying. Ribéry’s current 8,000 pound weekly salary is indeed low as compared to his level and reputation, but we need to carefully consider it. How about I give you an answer in three days’ time?”

Heiderscheid did not expect to take care of everything on the first day, so he nodded. “After three days, when you have carefully considered, please give me a ring, Mr. Twain.”

He left after he shook hands with Twain. Twain stood in his office, momentarily lost in thought. Then he went out to look for the chairman, Evan Doughty, and Allan Adams.

While he was lost in contemplation, he thought about what Allan Adams would think of the matter. When it came to money, Allan would immediately become “the devil,” which gave everyone a headache.

※※※

Evan Doughty was in a work discussion with Miss Barbara Lucy when Twain pushed open the door to walk in. The two smiled at each other warmly, somewhat surprised to see Twain appear at the door. Their smiles froze, but only for a moment, immediately returning to normal. Their faces that were close together, slightly parted.

Twain was sorry when he saw that Barbara Lucy was there after he opened the door.He should have knocked on the door first, but his relationship with Evan was more familiar, so he normally just opened the door and walked straight in. His voice would have traveled into Evan’s ear before he had gone in. This time he did not say hello in advance because he was thinking about the problem.

If Twain had closed the door and left, he would look even sillier. So he froze and pretended he did not know anything. He watched as Barbara Lucy calmly packed up the folders in front of Evan as she got up to slowly come up to him. “I’ll go and make you coffee.” She smiled at Twain when she walked past Twain’s side.

Twain smiled back. “Thank you, Miss Lucy.”

He went in, and Evan looked at him with a smile on his face, as if nothing had happened. “What’s the matter, Tony?”

“Ah, um...” Twain scratched his head. “Right, Franck Ribéry’s agent, Heiderscheid, came to me again, hoping to get Ribéry a pay raise.”

“Aren’t you in charge of the team?” Evan’s words meant that “you can make your own decisions.”

“Well, I think for any issues regarding money, isn’t it better to listen to Allan?”

Evan smiled. “You think it’s important to listen to Allan’s opinion too, don’t you, Tony? If I had told Allan about it, he would have been very happy.”

Twain chuckled.

“But it’s a pity that you can’t hear his opinion now.”

“Huh?” Twain was a little surprised.

“He’s in China now.”

“Oh!” Twain was even more surprised. “Did that talent show make him fall in love with China?”

“He fell in love with the Chinese market.”

Miss Barbara Lucy walked in with a coffee tray and put two steaming cups in front of the two men. They thanked Lucy, and she left, closing the door behind her. The three behaved calmly, without the slightest bit of embarrassment.

Evan sipped the coffee and continued, “the club plans to go to China this summer for a tour of competition. Partners over there have been found. Allan is there to confirm some details.”

Twain knew the club had a plan to make a fortune in China — no, it was a plan to make a fortune in East Asia — but he did not expect it to be so fast. Then again, it was normal. With the new stadium in construction, the club needed money in every aspect, so going to East Asia where there was lots of money to be made was a good way to ease the financial pressure on the club’s capital.

He nodded to indicate that he knew.

“So, the matter about Ribéry’s salary, you can deal with it yourself, Tony. You should know what the club’s bottom line is.”

Twain nodded again. “I’m aware, Evan.”

Though he appeared to be leisurely sitting there and drinking coffee, he was actually a little restless. After he spoke to Evan, he was not in the mind to discuss the plan to go to China for money, so he took his leave.

It was embarrassing to encounter that incident. Even a blind person could see what his boss was doing with Miss Lucy. What kind of work discussion required their faces to be so close? Evan’s wife, who hated Britain’s climate and diet, had insisted on staying with their children in the United States. She only occasionally visited her husband in the United Kingdom. A normal, middle-aged man was a young and vigorous age. With his wife not around for a long time, it was possible to imagine what would happen...

Miss Barbara Lucy was attractive, fair-haired, and blue-eyed, but her most attractive feature to men was her figure. When Twain first saw her, his eyes were caught by her breasts, and he forgot his manners. Evan Doughty spent long periods alone with Miss Barbara Lucy. Although Miss Lucy was the head of the Forest club’s outreach department, she was also Evan Doughty’s secretary.

Lucy was brought over from the United States by Evan. Maybe the two of them already had had an affair while they were in America.

Twain’s guesses were confirmed today, but Twain did not want to the person who confirmed it.

Would Evan develop a barrier against him in his mind? Would this incident affect the good relationship between the two of them?

Twain muttered to himself as he walked away, “I have to make sure I knock first the next time.”

※※※

Three days later, Bruno Heiderscheid received Tony Twain’s call, asking him to go to the club to discuss Ribéry’s new contract.

Twain’s terms for the new contract was a weekly salary of 90,000 pounds for a period of five years. The signing bonus, goal awards, assists awards and the others would be counted separately.

Heiderscheid believed the conditions were still a little low and wanted to continue negotiations with the Forest team.

A day later, Twain drew up a new contract, with a 100,000-pound weekly salary for five years, as well as the signing bonus, goal awards, assists awards, and others counted separately.

Heiderscheid was still not satisfied and even thought the club’s weekly salary was not enough to reflect the club’s sincerity. He brought up Real Madrid’s pursuit of Ribéry once again, which only caused Twain to smack the table.

“Mr. Bruno Heiderscheid, I think it is enough to reflect our sincerity to offer a one hundred thousand pound weekly salary contract in light of the club’s current tight financial situation. I am willing to revise the contract, but that does not mean you can ask for sky-high prices! Nottingham Forest is not a bank, and I’m not some idiotic ATM where you can take out as much as you want. A player’s loyalty requires the club to pay the price, so we pay the price that we think is appropriate. Shouldn’t you show the sincerity that the player really wants to stay here as well?”

Accordingly, Heiderscheid put forward his own “sincerity.”

A weekly salary of 130,000 pounds, the number of years in the contract reduced to four years, as well as a signing bonus, goal awards, and assist awards significantly improved from the figures given by Twain, and finally the salary had to be increased by fifteen percent every year.

In Twain’s view, it was robbery. “You might as well rob the bank, Mr. Bruno Heiderscheid. The money might come a little faster that way.” He sneered.

He would rather burst into obscene language, but he was Ribéry’s agent and falling out with him might affect the relationship with Ribéry, so he had to hold back.

The negotiations once again parted on bad terms.

Twain announced that Ribéry’s contract with the team was three years away. Before it expired, the revision of the contract had to be shelved.

Although he had won a temporary reprieve in the struggle with Ribéry’s agent, the matter greatly affected Twain’s mood. He smiled less and was a little short-tempered.

With his age just reaching thirty years, it was a difficult exercise to stay normal under pressure.

Chapter 632 - Change in Dominion

“The Champions League semifinal games are about to begin. England once again has three teams breaking into the top four this season. This is a great revival of English football. Although our national team was knocked out of the UEFA European Championship qualifier, the English Premier League teams are still strong, which shows that our league tournament is still the world’s top league.” The Sun did a Champions League outlook and was back on track after some pointless compliments. “Manchester United and Chelsea will stage an English derby in the semifinal game of the Champions League, and Nottingham Forest is not having it easy either. Their opponent is Barcelona!

“Chelsea’s league title dream for this season is hopeless. They can put all their energies into the Champions League, which is bad news for Manchester United. In the league tournament, Nottingham Forest is close at their heels, and the two teams are only one point apart, with Manchester United temporarily in the lead.

“Nottingham Forest is challenging another powerhouse team from La Liga after they eliminated Real Madrid. Barcelona is suppressed by Real Madrid in their domestic league, and Rijkaard’s only chance to save himself is the Champions League title. Not to mention, Nottingham Forest and Barcelona still have their old grudge?”

In the end, the Sun did not let go of Tony Twain’s team.

Even though there were still a few days before the Champions League semifinal opener, it was apparent that the focus of the three English teams that had advanced into the top four had moved to the Champions League. Although the competition was fierce in the league tournament, there were still four rounds. The Champions League was based on the home and away matches elimination system. Making a mistake in any one of the games was likely to be fatal.

It was against that background that the 35th round of the Premier League went into an all-out battle.

※※※

In the already-finished game, despite the impending Champions League, Chelsea won 1:0 against Moyes’s Everton team in the away game by rotating the lineup.

Immediately after Arsenal’s game against Reading, Arsenal got a home win of 2:0.

Before Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, and Manchester United played, the league table showed this:

Manchester United remained in the top spot with 80 points. Nottingham Forest was still number two with 79 points. Arsenal was in third place with 73 points. Liverpool remained in fourth with 72 points. Chelsea was in fifth place with 67 points, thanks to their win against Everton, and widened the point difference with the league’s sixth placed Everton.

There had not been any changes in the rankings. Apart from Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, the point differences between the other teams were just one or two points. Although Arsenal won their game, there was still a gap of at least six points between the top two teams. Their hopes of winning were slim.

It had not been easy to be able achieve that result because of Henry’s departure, changes in the club’s top echelon, and the first season of generational change in the players.

The Forest players watched the first half of Arsenal’s game against Reading on the bus and the second half in the City Ground stadium locker room.

The victory over Reading was not a surprise at all, and the players did not exclaim at anything. After they watched the game, Kerslake urged them to go warm up and get ready for their game.

Tottenham Hotspur was not considered a weak team. One of the more favorable things for the Forest team was that they were on their home ground this time.

It was April 19th. Nottingham Forest’s away challenge against Barcelona was on the night of April 23rd. By all accounts, Twain should have used rotation like Chelsea, but he did not.

He did not know how Ferguson arranged his team. Manchester United’s game would be held later than Nottingham Forest. Just as Forest’s game ended, the kickoff would start over there. He had not yet gotten the starting list for Manchester United, but the Forest team had already sent someone to the scene. When there was any news, he would inform Kerslake via his phone, and then Kerslake would update him.

The intelligence gathering on the enemies was becoming more and more important in the league tournament.

Back to this game at the City Ground stadium, Tony Twain deployed the main force lineup on his home ground. If everything went according to plan, the squad would be the starting lineup that would go to Camp Nou stadium.

The goalkeeper was Edwin van der Sar. The center-back partners were Pepe and Piqué. The left-back was Gareth Bale, who was stronger in offense, and the right-back was Rafinha, who was equally strong in offense. The midfield parallel positions were occupied by George Wood and van der Vaart in the middle. One was focused on defense and the other one emphasized offense. The left midfielder was Ribéry, and the right midfielder was Beckham. The strikers were van Nistelrooy and Eastwood.

Rotation was used to give the players a better rest, but it did not mean they could put it all at stake when it was time. It was time because Twain did not want to lose the league tournament and the Champions League.

He believed the same was true of his players. Who would not want honor and money?

The Tottenham Hotspur manager, Jol, did not expect Tony Twain to send the entire main force to play in a home game in the face of a impending Champions League semifinal. He was caught off guard.

Nottingham Forest scored two goals in the opening twenty-five minutes. The Forest players were in a high fighting spirit. Making use of their advantage, they pursued and attacked amid the surge of thunderous cheers from the home fans. By the end of the first half, they were 3:0.

It was the second time that Jol had been surprised. After seeing Twain deploy his main lineup, he froze for a while, but he soon smiled again. He thought that if Twain had sent a rotated lineup, it was actually worse for him. At least that group of players would play to two hundred percent of their strength in front of the manager. If it was the main force, there would be players worried about getting hurt ahead of the Champions League semifinal and play at their minimum level. In that case, he would have a chance.

But how would he know what Tony Twain had said to his players before the game?

“Ah, I know you’re going to worry about getting hurt before an important game, and I’m worried, too, but I don’t want to lose the league title. So, what can we do? It is very simple. As soon as you go out, actively look for opportunities, and strive to end the game in the first half, so that the opponent does not have the idea of a deathbed struggle. We will be safe. The longer the game time drags on, the more we can’t score to establish an advantage, the more the opponent will become threatening, and the greater their resistance will be, which is bad for us. So what would be the safest thing for us to do? We will not hide or evade, but as soon as you go out, use your mightiest force to crush them completely! The only ones in the world who won’t pose a threat to us are the dead.”

Therefore, the poor Tottenham Hotspur team was beaten without the strength to retaliate in the first half. After a storm of raids, they realized with a shock that they were three goals behind.

Martin Jol was livid on the sidelines. Tottenham Hotspur was considered a traditional powerhouse team but played like a newly promoted, inexperienced team at the City Ground stadium. The club’s top executives had invested a lot of money this season, but his results in leading the team was inversely proportional to the investment — thirty-four rounds of the league tournament had passed, and they ranked twelfth with more than twenty-one points from their UEFA Europa League goal. They were doomed to a dismal end this season — a fact that left the club’s top brass very unhappy. He knew the upper echelon meant to fire him, and they were actively reaching out to Juande Ramos, the head coach of the La Liga elite team, Sevilla Football Club, with the intention to replace him at the end of the season. But he refused to quit, and still wanted to prove himself. How would he prove himself? He should at least win a few rounds so that he could leave on a high note, right?

During halftime, he chewed everyone out in the locker room. He wanted to emulate Ferguson’s or Twain’s bellowing to stir up the players’ fighting spirit and sense of shame, but he was an amateur. He was not that type of manager at all. Instead of motivating the players’ fighting spirit, he made the locker room atmosphere even more awkward. Some people knew Jol’s time at Tottenham Hotspur was not long, so they did not listen to the manager at all.

After the start of the second half of the game, Tottenham Hotspur still did not show any morale, skills, or tactics that could turn the game around. There was nothing at all. Besides Jol repeatedly getting up from the technical area and growling on the sidelines, he had no hope because he knew that he had lost control of the team. It was sad, and even more sad that he could only accept this fact.

Twain began to replace his players according to his plan to allow the important players to rest and avoid injuries. He brought on the keener rotating players to continue to destroy Tottenham Hotspur.

The players were full of fighting spirit, but because Twain changed the core players, the offense seemed a little chaotic and lacked coordination. George Wood took over the task of organizing the attack after van der Vaart left the field. He shone a few times, but it was just a blip. For a long-time defensive midfielder, he still lacked his own tactical ideas. His offensive organization was very casual and undisciplined.

The Forest team did not score again in the second half, but the Tottenham Hotspur managed to score a face-saving goal in the final minutes. Without any impact on the outcome of the game, the Forest team easily won a home win.

In another game held at the same time, Liverpool won 2:0 against Fulham and accumulated 72 points to catch up with Arsenal and shake off Chelsea. Although they had no hope of winning the title, given the predicament that Liverpool was only able to play in the UEFA Europa League in previous seasons, the current fourth place in the league was enough to solidify Benítez’s position.

Benítez was known as the “King of Cups” as Liverpool’s recent nearly twenty years of performance had proved they were better at playing the cup competitions. The rapport between the team and the manager was quite high. No wonder Benítez helped Liverpool regain the Champions League the first season he arrived at Liverpool to establish his place at Anfield in one fell swoop.

※※※

At the end of the game, Twain gave plenty of compliments to the team. Like his previous admonishment due to a loss, he was equally exuberant when he praised people. His forte was making his actions, words, and tone extremely exaggerated, making everyone who listened very happy. The only difference was the degree of strength in their pleasure.

After he said goodbye to the players, Twain and Dunn, as well as Kerslake, remained in the locker room of the stadium. They were going to watch the live broadcast of the game that was about to start — Manchester United in an away challenge against Blackburn Rovers.

Rushing back to the hotel or their own homes to watch would cause them to miss part of it, so they watched it in the locker room. There was a television set in the locker room and moreover, it was their club’s stadium. It proper that they, as the team manager and assistant managers, were there to watch the TV.

When the game began, the crowd at the City Ground stadium gradually dispersed and the lights went out one by one, the hustle and bustle disappeared as the fans left, calm was restored in the stadium. The victory already belonged to other people’s topic of idle conversation. For the three in the locker room, it was the past, and now they were more concerned about another team’s win or lose.

One hundred and fifteen minutes later, the locker room door was knocked open.

Before anyone came out, Twain’s excited voice could be heard. “I’ll buy you guys drinks! Haha, that was so awesome!”

The sound from the television mingled with his laughter. “… The game is over… Ferguson’s face looks so ugly that his players are going to suffer again… to be forced into a draw in the away game by what was seen as the non-threatening Blackburn Rovers. Manchester United moved to the second place just as Nottingham Forest had already defeated Tottenham Hotspur!… Eighty-two and eighty-one, it’s still a one-point difference, but the order of the first and second places has changed… At this moment, I’m afraid the happiest person in the world is Tony Twain…”

The song sung by the home fans at the Ewood Park stadium from the television set was the best contrast to the commentary.

Kerslake smiled from ear to ear. Although he was not as blunt as Twain, he was just as happy. No one actually expected Manchester United to suffer a setback at the hands of Blackburn Rovers. The draw was an unexpected gift for the Forest team. The coaching unit had thought that as long as they kept winning, the final outcome should be in the final round of the league, when Nottingham Forest challenged Manchester United in an away game.

Unexpectedly, Manchester United could not carry the pressure of being the front-runner and ran into a big problem with Blackburn Rovers, which was least likely to go wrong. A draw was enough to make Ferguson furious.

When the three watched the live game on the television, the television station repeatedly showed a close-up of Ferguson growling on the sidelines. Twain laughed every time.

Though not as exaggerated as the two men, Dunn still had a smile on his face.

After working hard for a season and biting hard at Manchester United, no matter what kind of opponent and situation they faced at the final stages, their efforts were not given in vain. Finally, the bellwether, Manchester United, has stumbled and our team will complete our reversal! As long as we win the remaining three rounds, the league title will be in our hands!

The opponents for the next two rounds of league tournament, Reading and Aston Villa, were not strong teams. Provided that the Forest team worked in unison and carefully dealt with them, the six points would not be an issue. Then it was going to be a tough away challenge in the final round against Manchester United. It would be explosive, but Dunn was confident of winning. Nottingham Forest was born for victory and championship. The stronger the opponent, the more dangerous situation was, the more amazing the energy they exploded with.

It really was a game worth celebrating.

※※※

Half an hour later, in Kenny Burns’ Forest Bar, plenty of excited fans who found it hard to sleep gathered after they watched the game between Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers. Tony Twain and his two aides were among them.

Twain climbed up the table with a full glass and stood where everyone’s eyes looked upward. A group of fans below him also raised their glasses in anticipation.

Kerslake also held up a glass, and Dunn had a glass of soda in his hand — he still did not drink, and Twain did not try to persuade him.

Smiling from ear to ear, Twain lifted his glass, and whooped as the people below looked up at him.

“Guys, this toast is… for Blackburn Rovers! Cheers!”

“To Blackburn Rovers, cheers!” The people, whose faces were filled with smiles like him, cried in unison. These were the same people who cursed at Blackburn Rovers, who defeated Nottingham Forest, a month ago.

The clinking of the glasses could be heard and and golden beer showered the entire room.

In the last Premier League game of the day, the Manchester United team was unexpectedly forced into an away draw by “the end of season’s giant killer” Blackburn Rovers and handed over their top spot, which they had held since the league’s 29th round on March 9th, to Nottingham Forest, led by Tony Twain.

With just three rounds left before the end of the league tournament, the throne of the English Premier League changed owners.

Nottingham Forest was three rounds away from the second top-flight trophy title in their club’s history.

Chapter 633 - Fierce Competition

With the excitement and joy of sitting on the throne of the league, the Nottingham Forest team flew to Barcelona for the game against the La Liga powerhouse team, Barcelona.

The Barcelona fans had yet to forget Tony Twain’s arrogant performance against Barcelona in the Champions League final, and they did not put behind the hatred of Nottingham Forest for eliminating them. Now they had a chance to return all the resentment that had accumulated over two years to Nottingham Forest.

It was fantasized by the Barcelona fans, but the Barcelona players might not think so.

It was Rijkaard’s last chance to save himself. He had been empty-handed for two seasons, firmly suppressed by their archrival, Real Madrid, and had lost the first leg of the battle of the century at the Camp Nou this season. There was basically no hope of a league title, and the reason for not expecting it was not that Real Madrid was too strong, but that they failed to live up to expectations. Having been eliminated from Copa del Rey and only advancing into the Champions League semifinals, all their failures of the season would be nothing if they could pick up the “Big Ears” trophy. The shame of being defeated by Real Madrid at the Camp Nou would be drowned in the sea of joy from the victory.

However, in the face of Nottingham Forest, Rijkaard was at his wits’ end because he did not have a good solution.

Under normal circumstances, when a strong opponent approached, the team should band in opposition to the adversary and unite to overcome the opponent.

But today’s Barcelona was not. Catalonia’s media constantly speculated about Ronaldinho’s enemies in the locker room, Eto’o’s big mouth, the weak Rijkaard losing control of the locker room, the core Barcelona really needed between Messi and Ronaldinho, if Henry was worth his purchase value, Rijkaard’s successor, Mourinho, and so on. It looked raucous, and the readers saw new stunts every day, except more news about the game — no, there was still news. In the battle for the core position on whether Messi or Ronaldinho should be the one that Barcelona trusted, it was mentioned that Messi was injured and that he would miss the first leg of the Champions League semi finals against Nottingham Forest.

It was a great irony.

Twain and his coaching staff, as well as the team, had made careful preparations and were afraid to take it lightly. But after they arrived, they realized that their opponent’s mind was on the internal discord and completely did not take them seriously.

Consequently, he was not afraid of Barcelona.

By the day before the game, Puyol came forward and declared that they had to beat Nottingham Forest at home because it was the Champions League semi finals. After he read this story in his hotel room, Twain slightly sarcastically said to Dunn, “did they only just realize that this is the Champions League semi finals?”

Twain attached great importance on the unity of the team and the atmosphere and harmony within the locker room. Deeply educated by Chairman Mao, he was aware that “the easiest way to capture a fortress is from within.” In addition to the hard work by the entire team, Nottingham Forest’s results were based on unity. Real Madrid’s failures in previous years and the fall of Barcelona stemmed from their internal divisions.

Therefore, he never allowed the farce that was happening in Barcelona to happen to him in the future.

He would guard against it with the history as a guide.

※※※

Puyol came forward to speak as the team captain, but to little avail. Barcelona was divided internally. Even thought he was the captain, not everyone would listen to him.

This game at the Camp Nou was moving very, very drearily.

Defensive counterattack was naturally Twain’s first choice in key games, while Barcelona did not show a high quality of offense. Messi’s absence due to injury had a very big impact on the team. Ronaldinho was once again on the bench — he rarely sat on the substitutes’ bench in his four seasons in Barcelona, but the number of times he sat on the bench this season far exceeded the number of times for those first four seasons.

Although Rijkaard had never publicly criticized Ronaldinho and always said he trusted the Brazilian, he put him on the substitutes’ bench every time. The attitude was worth people’s examination. In addition, on a tactical level, Ronaldinho had gone from being the “phenomenon” of Barcelona to a “cancer.” His attacking results on the field depended entirely on his personal form. He had been in a very bad form this season and too much ball taking led to too many mistakes. His attacking speed was not as fast as Messi. If he and Messi appeared in a game at the same time, they would interfere with each other. As a result, in games with Ronaldinho confirmed, Barcelona’s results were very good. Once he appeared, Barcelona did not lose or draw.

At first, some people even called out in the Catalan media. “Why don’t you let Ronaldinho play? You always say he has an injury, but has no problem at all.” Eventually, the voices faded.

In the game, Ronaldinho sat in the back row of the substitutes’ bench. People surrounded him, filling the space in front and to the left and right, but he looked very lonely. His only good friend, Messi, was recovering at home to prepare for the second leg of the game. What about him? He might not even be brought to England for the second leg.

Barcelona’s offense was messy. Even so, Nottingham Forest held fast to defense, and the number of players invested in the counterattack was low, as if they were afraid of being caught off guard after being tackled.

Could a game like that be satisfying? Boos rang out at the Camp Nou stadium. The hissing was not aimed at a particular team, but at both sides. They were deeply dissatisfied with Barcelona’s inability to attack and did not forget that Nottingham Forest was its own enemy as well.

The two sides did not enter a goal for ninety minutes and the game was utterly dull. Many television viewers who were originally excited in anticipation of “an explosive game” lamented that they had wasted a night. As for the fans who stayed up to watch the game in the Far East, the posts campaigning against Barcelona’s “inability to forge ahead” and Nottingham Forest’s “habitual passive defense” were rife online.

Twain did not care about them. He left Camp Nou and the beautiful city of Barcelona because he got the result he wanted before the game: a draw without any goal concede to spend Barcelona’s home-field advantage.

It would be a bonus if they could score a goal, but it was not bad if they did not earn it.

※※※

Returning to the top seat of the league tournament and getting away from the first leg of the Champions League semi finals put Twain in a good mood. As the end of the competition approached, his emotions oscillated between highs and lows. He was frustrated when they were forced into a draw at home by AC Milan. He had roundly abused the Blackburn Rovers when they lost to them and had needed to apologize to the team the next day because he had to rely on them to strive for the top, after all. When they won the game against Tottenham Hotspur, he praised the entire team generously. After Blackburn Rovers tied with Manchester United, he excitedly bought drinks the entire pub in celebration.

For him, every minute of his life was spent in great joy or sorrow. When there was neither exultation nor great sorrow, he was always on the edge and afraid to relax for a moment.

No other season had made him as nervous as this season. They had a shot in the two championships, but both were uncertain. They could eventually win the Double or end up empty-handed and watch other teams celebrate.

Back in Nottingham, the team did not even have a half-day break before they had to set out to prepare for the 36th round of the league tournament against Reading at home.

The timing was very close, just two days later. Tony Twain and his team had to win the game at all costs. A draw would be a failure.

Manchester United had been pushed to the brink. They were forced into a 1:1 draw with Chelsea at home in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. Ferguson’s roars continued. In the 36th round of the league tournament, it was unfortunate and coincidental that their opponent was still Chelsea. In the game, no matter what method was used, Ferguson would not allow his team to lose to Chelsea again, even if it was an away game for them and that it would be the second leg of the Champions League semi finals against Chelsea when the league game was completed.

Manchester United was certain to fight to the death against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was the perfect opportunity for Nottingham Forest to continue their lead advantage. Nottingham Forest would benefit, whether Manchester United or Chelsea won or lost. If Chelsea won, Nottingham Forest gained in the league competition. If Manchester United won, Nottingham Forest would benefit on the Champions League battlefield.

It was a golden opportunity..

“So, we must win!” Twain set the tone for the game at the end of the tactical layout meeting on the day before the game.

※※※

A day later, the seats in the City Ground stadium were filled. The stands, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, were full of fluttering flags. The Forest fans were aware of the situation for each team in the league tournament and that it was most advantageous for the Forest team. Their enemy was weak and their competitors were fighting each other to the death. As long as they won the game, they could scoop up the handle of the championship trophy with one hand.

Everyone wanted to come and watch the historic moment — the Nottingham Forest Football Club had only won a single top-flight tournament in its history, the English Football League Championship title during Brian Clough’s time. They took advantage of the championship title to win the two Champions League titles. They were the only team in the Champions League history to have won only one domestic top-flight championship but won the Champions League title twice. So if the Forest team could finally pick up the league title this season, they made history again.

When the Forest players came out, they were greeted by a tsunami of cheers in the stands. It was the city Stadium’s function as a home, but it was just a bit more exciting today. The Forest team’s supporters hoped to put extra pressure on Reading, leaving them at a loss and raising their hands to surrender.

Tony Twain was like the head of state and commander in chief of triple armed forces, standing high in the city tower, smugly inspecting his troops marching in front of him, and enjoying the deafening cheers and praise from his subjects in the stands. The pinnacle of his coaching career was coming soon.

Unquestionably, there was one more person who felt the same as him: Evan Doughty, the club owner standing in the VIP box above. He was the one who should really enjoy the sense of regency because he was the real owner of this club. As for Tony Twain? He was just a wage earner, albeit of a slightly higher standing.

The great excitement of the impending glory struck the senior wage earner’s mind, causing a wide smile to form on his face. In the eyes of other people, he did not stand on the sidelines before the game but stood on the sidelines after the game. As a result, his team won big.

With their tactics on the right track and the opponent’s weaker strength, there was no reason for the game to go wrong.

Having just concluded an important game, Manchester United put on a strong attack in the away game and beat Chelsea 2:1 at the cost of a red card. They temporarily overtook Nottingham Forest in the rankings, leading by two points, but Twain believed that after their game was over, the lead was bound to be them with only a one-point difference.

When the players from both sides stood in their formation in their respective halves, the referee stood outside the center circle and put the whistle in his mouth. The noisy City Ground stadium quieted down. The silence made it seem like everyone was gone, and Twain looked back at the grandstand behind him and was relieved that everyone was still there.

“Beep—”

※※※

One hundred and twenty minutes later, nearly half an hour had passed since the end of the game.

Tony Twain sat alone in the empty technical area. The stands of the City Ground stadium and the green field in front of him were equally empty.

He sat there quietly, with no ecstatic or dejected expression on his face.

Sounds of footsteps came, but he did not pay them any mind.

“Tony.” The sound of footsteps disappeared, and Dunn’s voice could be heard.

“Yes?” Twain did not even lift his gaze.

“Want to go back?”

“I’ll sit here a little longer.”

“You’ve been sitting here for fifteen minutes.”

Twain finally took his eyes off the field to look at Dunn. He did not speak, but the expression in his eyes sent shivers down Dunn’s spine.

Tony Twain looked like an angry beast that had just lost its child, as if he might jump up and pounce on him to devour him at any moment.

He was really, really angry.

“You…” Dunn paused for a moment, “did not say anything. Everyone thought you were…”

“Not angry?” he asked with a cold voice.

In the past, it was Kerslake who was unlucky enough to come near Twain. But Kerslake was the one who led the team away today. Only Dunn, who lived next door, was there with Twain.

“How can I not be angry?” he asked again. This time, no hint of explosiveness could not be heard at all. “But who am I supposed to vent this anger on? Just after the game, when I was pressed by a group of reporters at the press conference, I really wanted to rush straight into the locker room and give everyone a dressing down, but when I thought about what happened after that loss to Blackburn Rovers, I put up with it. But I did not want to look at them again, so I sent them away early. I came here myself to sit down for a while. I did not think I could vent my anger at them… No, I can’t vent at them. You know why?”

Twain looked at Dunn, who looked back at him but did not answer.

“Because I think if I trace the source of the reproach, it is me who should be reprimanded the most. But I cannot scold myself, even more so especially in front of other people.” Twain got up from his seat. “It was the Champions League semi finals three days after the league game, and it was the league tournament again three days after the semi finals of the Champions League. And three days later after the league game, it will be the Champions League semi finals again. The players’ forms fluctuate because they are too tired.

“If I had been a little bolder in this game, it might not have been this outcome. I did not rotate when I should have rotated. I wanted to tear up Reading with the strongest squad, but I did not think it wasn’t the strongest squad that determined the outcome of the game…

“Then I sat here thinking… the people all left and not a single person was here. Not even a fly-like reporter was here to annoy me. I could have a good think and did not have to pretend in front of others. I wasn’t thinking why I stumbled. I was just thinking a thing like fate was amazing. One moment I was in heaven, and the next, I was in hell…

“As I thought, I stopped being angry.” The look in Twain’s eyes changed, and a smile emerged on his face. He opened his arms. “I’ll admit that my eyes and mind were blinded by the performance in front of me. Some people may find this outcome is a cruel joke played on me by fate. But in fact, I think it is good, the best result!”

“I’m not mad! What was our original plan? Whether we’re ahead of Manchester United or not, the end result won’t change. We always had to contend with them in the final round to decide who the champion is. Right? So what does it matter who’s first or second? It’s also good to throw the pressure of being the front-runner to the other side.”

“Besides.” He winked at Dunn. “I even thought of how to get Barcelona to capitulate at home. We’re going to advance to the Champions League finals for the third time.”

He stretched his back. “Come on, Dunn, let’s go home. It’s nice to have someone listen to me.” He took the lead to walk over to the tunnel. Then he stopped and looked back at Dunn. “You know what? I suddenly feel like it was great to contemplate things, sitting in an empty stadium. The office and my house are too small and restrict my thinking. It’s just nice here.” He pointed to the stadium.

“It’s big enough, but it’s not boundless, otherwise I’d be distracted.” Then he muttered again, “compared to a noisy pitch, I suddenly quite like such a quiet pitch… That’s strange.”

※※※

On April 2008, three days before the second leg of the Champions League semifinals, in the 36th round of the 07-08 English Premier League season, Nottingham Forest unexpectedly tied with Reading at home. Neither team scored.

Manchester United took the opportunity to complete the reversal. With a one-point advantage, they temporarily returned to the top spot.

For Tony Twain and Alex Ferguson, there were still two rounds to go before the league title trophy. There was one more round of league games before the final showdown at Old Trafford. What would happen?

Only the devil knew.

Chapter 634 - Messi’s Confusion

On the night of the game, the pubs in Nottingham city center were dismal. A number of pubs stocked up on beer to celebrate the victory, but almost did not sell any after the end of the game. Sales were slow moving — a tied game caused the team’s ranking to go from the first to the second, and nobody was in the mood to drink. Once the game ended, the fans who went to watch the game live went home, washed up, and went to bed.

Fortunately, the Nottingham Forest fans had not yet learned to shout “heroes” after a victory, so they also did not yell out “cowards” and accepted the outcome of a draw.

There were concerns on the team that Twain’s unexpected calm behavior after the game was a precursor to a storm. They were apprehensive at training the next day, but Twain behaved as usual and joked with everyone, without any signs of taking his anger out on the team.

By the end of the training session, during the analysis of last night’s game on the video, Twain reassured the entire team.

“You think I’m going to get mad? But why should I get mad? It’s common to win and lose, it’s even more normal to tie a game. I know this is a critical moment, but the more critical the moment is, the more we should stay normal, shouldn’t we? So let bygones be bygones. We should consider how to play the last few games. The strong opponents are here. It would not do us any favors to keep thinking about Reading, would it?”

Laughter burst out in the video screening room, and the matter blew over.

Of course they could not ignore the game against Reading. They had to review the game, so they still had to study the video of the game.

※※※

The strong opponents had indeed arrived.

Barcelona sent the strongest squad they could to Nottingham with the intention of eliminating Nottingham Forest in the away game.

Messi returned to the team after he recovered from his injury, and Ronaldinho was left in Barcelona, as expected. The Brazilian’s days in Barcelona were numbered.

Even on his own home ground, Twain did not intend to rely on momentum to attack and play a rip-roaring offensive against Barcelona. He would be a fool if he did that. Therefore, even though he had the home-field advantage, he intended to use the usual tactics of defensive counterattack.

That day in the empty City Ground stadium, Tony Twain told Dunn that he thought of a way to deal with Barcelona. It was actually very simple: rotation.

Generally speaking, no matter how powerful a team was, it would often deploy the strongest squad in the Champions League finals and use rotation for the league tournament. The difference between a powerhouse team and a wannabe powerful team was that the powerhouse team’s two sets of rotating lineups were similar in strength, while the two lineups of the wannabe team might have a large gap. Nottingham Forest was not yet considered a powerhouse team, but it was not a wannabe top-ranking team either. They were a top-rated powerful team. Therefore, the strength of their two sets of lineups were not comparable, but the gap was not very big. Even in rotation, they could still fight against Barcelona.

Twain was a bit helpless to consider a rotation in the Champions League. He saw the exhaustion and shaky state of the first lineup against Reading, so he was afraid to use the same squad in the second leg of the knockout Champions League semi final. Because the game against Reading was just three days before this game. He was not confident that the team’s first lineup could have a dramatic transformation in just three days. Fatigue and instability were the entire team’s biggest enemies.

The draw against Reading made Twain determined to rotate in the Champions League, and he was confident that the lineup would surprise Rijkaard.

As the first lineup was famous in Europe, everyone believed that with Twain’s conservative style, he would rely on the lineup in such a crucial game. Besides, what normal person would use rotation just because of a draw in a league game?

But Tony Twain’s mind was not normal.

He decided to rotate. The only question was how to explain to the players why they did not appear in the starting lineup against Barcelona. He valued the locker room atmosphere. A thing that could trigger divisive forces within the locker room had to be avoided.

Van Nistelrooy suffered a minor injury in the game against Reading, so that was a compelling reason to rotate him. The league tournament was equally important now that they were forced into a draw by Reading.

Eastwood would also be rotated. He was easy for Twain. Twain would tell him that it was okay for him to rest in the game due to the tactical requirements.

Van der Vaart also had to be replaced. He was limited in his help with the team’s defense when he was not in a good offensive form. Twain decided to take a gamble in this game. He was going to push George Wood to the position of the offensive core.

His partner in the midfield was Sidwell.

As for the Dutchman, he should know that his recent form was not very good.

There would not be any adjustments in the center-back positions. Neither Pepe nor Piqué had any issues with their physical condition. Otherwise, the Forest team would have conceded a goal in the last two games.

The full-back, Gareth Bale, was replaced by Grosso. After he gradually adapted to the Premier League, Grosso’s performance picked up slightly. Although there was still a gap between his form in the Italian national team, he could just about meet Twain’s expectations.

It was easy to tell “little monkey” Bale as they were familiar. He could say “tactical need.” Leighton Baines had a slight issue with his stamina, so it was normal to not bring him on.

On the right side, Twain decided to deploy Chimbonda, who had not played recently and was better at defense than Rafinha.

The goalkeeper remained the experienced Edwin van der Sar. Twain had originally planned for Akinfeev to gradually replace van der Sar, who was getting older, but he did not expect Edwin van der Sar to be tougher as he grew older and stay in an exceptional state. Faced with Edwin van der Sar, who was in a good and stable condition, experienced, and more familiar with the team’s defensive system, Twain naturally would not risk using Akinfeev. As a result, poor Akinfeev had a better time playing in Russia than after he was back there.

The midfielders were still Ribéry and Beckham. The two players had different characteristics, so the Forest team’s offensive tactics were richer and more diverse, an advantage during the game.

There was a slight physical advantage to rotating, but the main thing was the substitutes’ hunger for competition and eagerness to show their desire to win.

Due to the lack of appearances in games, they were like a bunch of crazy wolves that ogled every opponent with a glint in their eyes, as if hunting a fat piece of meat,, their white teeth bared as if they were grinning. It was a warning to their opponent:

This is our territory. It’s up to us whether we gobble you up or not. If we are not in a good mood, we will eat you, and we are not in a good mood most of the time!

※※※

“Compared to the first leg of the competition between the two teams, Tony Twain has replaced nearly half of his starting lineup, which is a little hard to comprehend. Van Nistelrooy may not be able to appear because of some minor injuries, but why did he replace van der Vaart? Can it be that Twain is not thinking about the offense at all in this game? If that’s the case, is it too conservative to cling obstinately onto defense at home?”

The guest pundit next to him chuckled. “He’s that kind of manager. As long as he can make it to the finals, an ugly game is nothing.”

“I think… it doesn’t work to blindly defend against Barcelona. I’m afraid that he may not manage to advance to the finals, and will also be criticized for the conservative play at home. Few people can accept losing the game with such a passive stance.”

“I have a slightly different view. Maybe his team can? He allowed Barcelona to attack for ninety minutes without a goal scored at Camp Nou…”

“That’s because Barcelona did not have Messi at the time.”

“Ah, Messi…”

Messi just took the ball.

The practice of finding a successor for Maradona had not stopped since his retirement. There had been a number of Maradona successors in Argentina, some of whom were picked by the king of football himself, and some of whom were dubbed as such by the media or fans. Riquelme, D’Alessandro, Aimar, Saviola, Ortega, Tevez, and Agüero had been “the Second Maradona.” As for the result, nobody could be certain.

For now, the most promising possibility to reach Maradona’s height was the diminutive man in front of him. He was no longer the eye-catching rookie. Now, he was Barcelona’s and Argentina’s “phenomenon.” He was also a “phenomenon” in international football world.

Rijkaard thought Tony Twain would make George Wood, the best in Nottingham Forest’s defense, defend against Messi, thereby saving the other defensive forces to contain Barcelona’s overall offense. However, the player who appeared in front of Messi surprised him. Even Messi was a little shocked.

The current Nottingham Forest team was no longer the dark horse that advanced into the Champions League finals two seasons ago. As their opponent, Barcelona had to have studied everyone on the team. There were two players they focused on: Franck Ribéry and George Wood, the core of the offense and the defensive core.

Before the game, Rijkaard told Messi that the man who would mark him was bound to be George Wood, because only George Wood was likely to stand up to Messi in a one-on-one face-off. It was just a possibility…

He instructed Messi to use his nimble positional play to get rid of Wood, while he lured Wood to foul with his quick footwork to at least to get him a yellow card. In that way, Wood would be afraid to get another yellow card that would cause him to miss the Champions League final and become timid for the rest of the game. That would be a good thing for both Messi and Barcelona.

Barcelona won that final match against the Forest team because George Wood was suspended, which led the Forest team to be utterly defeated. Leaving aside George Wood’s importance to the team, George Wood himself was reluctant to lose the qualification for the final again.

Rijkaard felt that his move was a stroke of mastery, until this moment.

The man in front of Messi was not the number 13 wearing the captain’s armband, but Sidwell.

The man defending against Messi was not George Wood!

Messi turned his head to look and found that Wood’s position was in the middle. He did not intend to come up and defend, except to throw glances to the side.

What’s… What’s going on?

Hey, do you underestimate me, Messi? How can you find such a player to defend against me?

He looked at George Wood again. The two men had a staring contest. George Wood was tall and sturdy. He stared down at the short but plucky Messi.

Wood still had no intention of coming up to help.

Messi decided to break through on his own. He did not know what Nottingham Forest meant by that. But since you will not use the strongest defensive player to mark me, don’t regret it when I break through your defensive line and let Barcelona score a goal!

As it turned out, Iniesta outflanked from behind and Sidwell’s attention was distracted by Iniesta’s positional play. Messi grabbed ahold the empty gap and made to look like he was going to pass, which deceived Sidwell into shifting his center of gravity, and then he suddenly launched a breakthrough in the opposite direction!

It was too late for Sidwell to stop him. The two men were too close, and he could not react in time.

Nottingham Forest’s defensive formation contracted tightly, and the distance between the midfielders and the rear defenders was very close. The defensive formation could fully compress the space in front of the penalty area when dealing with most teams and not give the opposing forwards the chance to take the ball easily. Additionally, due to the contraction of the formation, the distance between the three defensive lines was not far. When there was the need to fight back, they could quickly and accurately send the football to their teammates and not have the predicament of blindly kicking. Just like a spring, the tighter the compression, the stronger the recoil. It was one of the hallmarks of Nottingham Forest’s defense.

But now, it had become the best stage for Messi’s showdown.

Because the defensive players were so close, once someone broke through and entered, then the defensive players in the back often had to tackle the ball or block instantly. A moment of hesitation might let the opponent penetrate. That was to the benefit of Messi, who was very swift. He could rely entirely on his own reactions to maneuver and duck out of the opponent’s encirclement to forge a bloody path ahead.

After he brushed past Sidwell and faced Grosso, who came up to tackle the ball, his right foot gently clipped the ball and his body moved crosswise to dribble the football away from Grosso’s feet. He made an emergency stop to lock down his position to block Sidwell, who gave chase behind him. Piqué came up to block and defend but made the incredible choice to knock the ball past him within the narrow space. The football shifted to the right, and he moved to the left and cut around in the narrowest radius to flash past Piqué, who just locked in his position and could not adjust his balance in time. Since the back of Nottingham Forest’s entire line of defense received the football he had just kicked, he did not hesitate to shoot vigorously!

Fortunately, Edwin van der Sar’s blocking angle was timely, knocking Messi’s narrow angle shot out of the end line. Otherwise Nottingham Forest would have conceded a goal in the first three minutes of its home game.

Sound of gasps could be heard in the City Ground stadium. They were alarmed by the magical performance of the diminutive player. A single player went up against three Nottingham Forest defensive players. Furthermore, the distance from his starting point to the shooting location was not more than ten meters. The technique shown in the small space was fantastic!

Even the commentator repeatedly marveled that Messi, who returned after his recovery from an injury, was without a doubt Barcelona’s number one player.

At the same time, the doubt in everyone’s mind loomed larger. What was Tony Twain thinking? Why did he not let George Wood come up to prevent him?

Although the shot was blocked, Messi did not show how annoyed he was. He did not even look at Edwin van der Sar. Instead, he turned his head to look at George Wood.

Just like before he broke through, George Wood looked at him. After a stare down, George Wood averted his gaze and ran back to get ready to defend against the corner kick. His face did not show the expression that Messi wished to see. He neither looked surprised nor annoyed and then afraid. His face was calm.

※※※

Twain laughed after he noticed the two staredowns between the two men on the field. He did not let George Wood defend against Messi because he obviously had his arrangement. Messi, you can guess all you want. If you are enraged by it, then it is an unexpected bonus.

Anyway, Rijkaard, don’t even think that George Wood will mark Messi this time because he has a more important task to fulfill. It’s just that these few minutes are for Barcelona’s offense. He hasn’t had a chance to flaunt his mission yet…

Defend to the death? Which bastard said I was going to defend to the death at home?

Chapter 635 - The New Playmaker

Barcelona’s corner kick was launched but did not pose any threat to Nottingham Forest’s goal. Up against tall players like George Wood, Pepe, Piqué, and Bendtner, Barcelona, who was not good at headers, could not take advantage of it.

Barcelona knew it as well, so their corner kick was low and fast, but George Wood still bumped it out as he rushed forward to the front.

It was the first time he had appeared on a television close-up. He successfully defended but did not defended against Messi. It was the poor Mexican center-back, Márquez, who was kept behind by him.

Messi was outside the box and did not go in to join in on the action. He knew Barcelona was not good at the header shot in the set-piece. The shot was likely to be hit out by the Forest team, with the worst case being the ball being confiscated by Edwin van der Sar. But if it came out, he could grab the second point of fall and form the second attack to continue the pressure on the Forest goal.

The football did bounce to his side, but a faster man bumped it out with his head.

Franck Ribéry was on a roll. He snatched Messi’s ball and made the City Ground stadium cheer for the first time. Messi’s wonderful performance had caused the Forest fans to feel oppressed. Things had turned for the better now that they also had a player to be proud of!

Ribéry used his head to bump the football and then accelerated to pursue the ball himself. He instantly shook off Messi. By the time Messi reacted and turned to give chase, it was too late.

Ribéry successfully tackled the ball and the Forest team instantly turned from defense to attack. Rijkaard and Messi clearly saw George Wood, who had headed the ball in the box, shoot out like an arrow from the bow to run to the front field!

Ribéry had not dribbled the ball for a few steps before he faced Barcelona’s black defensive midfielder, Yaya Touré’s defensive block. He did not entangle with Touré. Instead, he diverted the football to the side and continued to plug ahead on his own.

The person who received his pass was Arshavin, who came back. Although he received the ball, his back was against the direction of the attack. Under Abidal’s close marking, it was not easy for him to turn around.

He did not want to turn around. Yaya Touré was taken away from the area by Ribéry, who was waiting for a man.

Like Ribéry, after the football was sent out, he turned around and ran forward. As it was a counterattack after the corner kick, the Barcelona players had not had time to run back to form a defensive line, so Abidal did not go after the ball. He followed Arshavin as he retreated. Suddenly, the gap in the midfield was ripped wide open.

So who was the target that Arshavin and the others had passed the ball to?

“Wow, George Wood!” the commentator exclaimed.

He did not expect that George Wood would rush so far forward during the counterattack. His current position was no different from an attacking midfielder. After he received Arshavin’s pass, he did not pause. Instead, he rushed forward and dribbled the ball in a straight line.

“Van der Vaart used to take this job… during which, George Wood was in the back, protecting him, and now…” The commentator suddenly understood. “It turns out that Tony Twain wants George Wood to be the midfield playmaker for this game!”

“This is kind of crazy…” the guest pundit exclaimed.

It was indeed somewhat insane to use a player who was best at defense to attack the powerful Barcelona.

Yaya Touré saw that Ribéry had almost entered the area where the defenders were in charge and abandoned the Frenchman without hesitation. He turned around to face the sprinting George Wood and pounced.

He knew that the man was the defensive midfielder, in charge of defense like himself, and that organizing the offense was not his specialty. As long as he put some pressure on him, he would be flustered…

He had just pounced when George Wood passed the ball. He stabbed his toes and passed the football on to Ribéry in front of him.

When the three people transferred and coordinated, neither the Barcelona players nor the Nottingham Forest players had time to run to their positions. Arshavin stayed at the forefront when the Forest team defended the corner kick, and only Yaya Touré, Abidal, and Gabriel Milito were near Barcelona’s box.

After Ribéry received the ball, he pretended that he wanted to pass the ball and waited for Milito, who was in front of him, to sidestep a little before he immediately lifted his leg to shoot.

The football quickly rolled on the turf toward the goal. Fortunately, Valdés had been wary of Ribéry and was not surprised at his direct shot. He fell to the ground and pressed the ball firmly under his body.

Seeing that the attack did not succeed and that the football had been confiscated by the opposing goalkeeper, George Wood, who had just rushed to the front of the penalty area, turned and rushed back without hesitation. He had to get ready to defend. Though he was not defending against Messi, he had to defend against the rest of Barcelona.

He was not van der Vaart or any other midfielders he had ever partnered with. He could not rest and stay in the front field to wait for another attack opportunity after the previous attack. Sidwell could not have helped him intercept the football before handing it to him to launch the offense. All his energy was to be used to defend against Messi. Hence he had to rely on himself for offense and defense.

Valdés saw George Wood galloping and realized that Nottingham Forest’s key figure for the game had to be him, not Ribéry. Now that Wood had not had time to get back to his defensive position, he threw the ball to launch a quick attack.

Yaya Touré received the ball and next to him, Ribéry did a defensive stance and gave up. He did not want to waste his strength there. Touré passed the football on to Xavi, who had just run back, and his task was considered done. George Wood had run past the center circle.

Xavi also clearly knew Wood was the key. He would not give the other side a chance to return to his area to organize the defense. While Wood was still running back, he quickly sent the football out.

Messi received the ball again, and the few Barcelona fans in the stands cheered. They wanted to see Messi put on another good show, where he consecutively bypassed a few players.

Messi did not satisfy their wish. Such performances could only be achieved under extreme conditions. Most of the time, the offense still relied on the give and go positional play to threaten.

He passed the football to Iniesta. There was an unspoken reason he did not choose to break through on his own —?he really could not lift the interest in a breakthrough through Sidwell…

Iniesta’s straight pass was intercepted by Pepe. George Wood had just run back, and the ball that Pepe blocked out rolled to his feet. He twisted and turned his attention on the offensive.

Without any time for rest, George Wood ran back and forth between both ends of the field. Such a midfielder playmaker like him was a rare sight.

“The pace between attack and defense from both sides is very fast! This game becomes thrilling to watch!” When the commentator discovered that Tony Twain’s team did not intend to cling fast to defense on home ground, he got really excited.

Judging by the past few minutes of the game, the Champions League semifinal game did appear to be exciting. But as for their expectations of Tony Twain, the commentators should have reserved some cautious optimism.

※※※

After five minutes of Nottingham Forest attacking Barcelona, they withdrew, and Barcelona gained the upper hand in the game. The ball possession time became 67% once again. Nottingham Forest brought out their defensive counterattack magic weapon.

The commentator wanted to slap himself. The game might have looked good for the Barcelona fans, but for the vast number of neutral fans, a one-sided game would not have held much interest for them.

Tony Twain sat in the technical area and stroked his chin as he spoke to his two assistant managers. “George Wood still needs to accumulate more experience as a playmaker in the game… At first, he played pretty well. When the team withdrew to defend as a whole, he did not know what to do. If Demetrio were to watch George’s performance now, that guy would hate me, wouldn’t he?”

Kerslake grinned.

Dunn said, “with van der Vaart and Ribéry around, he did not have more access to this kind of task. I don’t think the cultivation of him can be rushed.”

Twain nodded. “This is just the beginning, not the end.”

※※※

While the three Forest coaches were exploring George Wood’s future, Rijkaard frowned, and knitted his brows tighter still.

Tony Twain’s tactics were no secret. Everyone knew he would defend and use defensive counterattack. Therefore, he let the team do targeted training on how to break the compacted defense before they came to Nottingham.

He did not expect Tony Twain to make special use of George Wood. In terms of defense, he was no different from how he usually played, other than not defending against Messi, which meant that Nottingham Forest’s midfield defense still depended on him. But when it came to the attack, he repeatedly and actively decided to plug in to participate, which gave Rijkaard a headache.

When Barcelona did their defensive exercises, the imaginary opponent was either van der Vaart or Ribéry, and at most, Arshavin. Who would have thought George Wood would be pushed by Twain to be the midfield playmaker in this game?

Wood’s basic skills were very solid after a long period of practice. The results of his training were reflected in the games, which caused great headaches for the opponents because his technique was good. Opponents could not easily intercept his balls. His dribbling and passes were simple but effective in actual combat because he would not waste fleeting opportunities to flaunt fancy skills. As long as he saw an opportunity, he would send the football out of without delay. It was easier said than done; skillful players tended to naturally want to show off their skills.

Originally, George Wood’s set of skills would be average at times. If an opponent were to closely mark him for a change, he could be contained. However, the present situation was very suitable for Wood’s play. Because Nottingham Forest was all about defensive counterattack and their offense only paid attention to one word: fast!

If it had been ingenious midfielders with outstanding skill, they might hesitate when they took the ball to counterattack or show off a beautiful technique to obtain loud cheers from the spectators. As for the opponent? They would have quickly returned to their defensive positions and then a quick attack would turn into a siege of positional play.

George Wood did not give the coaches that kind of worry. When the Forest team counterattacked and he had the ball, his first choice was always a pass. He would always use his fastest speed to pass the ball through the midfield and hit the opponent’s hinterland whenever there was a chance. If there was no way to pass, he would dribble the ball forward on his own while he observed his surroundings to seek a passing point.

Unlike some midfielders, he did not wait in place for his teammates to plug in if he did not have a suitable place to send the football. When his teammates came up, the opponent would also be in position. Moreover, he might also drop the ball because he was robbed by the opponent for holding onto the ball for too long.

His way of dribbling the ball messed up the opponent’s defensive plan. An opportunity would naturally present itself.

That was the reason Twain used George Wood as a playmaker in the game. There was not a more suitable candidate than George Wood for such a defensive tactic, opponent, and game.

How did such a player that was every manager’s dream, who was faithful to the manager’s tactics, had excellent physical fitness, calm psychological quality, and stable play appear in Nottingham Forest?

As soon as Rijkaard thought about it, he clenched his fists. His own locker room was factious in great numbers. The talented players always had problems. Ronaldinho loitered around red-light districts and Deco had a greater demand. Why did he not have a George Wood?

※※※

Barcelona was powerful, and their offense crushed Nottingham Forest, so they could only defend without the power to attack. Nottingham Forest’s overall defense was not fragile, which caused Barcelona’s offensive to be largely ineffective.

Messi was strong, but he was only one person. In the Copa del Rey against Getafe CF, he bypassed five consecutive people to repeat Maradona’s classic goal. But it was also because Getafe’s defensive line took too long to form, which allowed Messi to calmly bypass them one after the other. Nottingham Forest was not stupid enough to widen the front and rear defensive lines to create an opportunity to the point where Messi bypassed several people.

They tried to compress the defensive lines to the greatest extent possible. Sidwell followed Messi around closely, with one or two people around at any time in the flank to protect. If Messi planned to single handedly face Nottingham Forest’s entire line of defense, then let him smash to pieces against the thick “Western Wall.”

If he was smart and did not have the delusion to beat the entire opposing team on his own, Nottingham Forest’s overall defense was not just about Messi alone either.

The first half returned to calm after a fierce bout of attacks from both sides. The game was back on track to what Tony Twain was most familiar with and best at.

Both sides were in a deadlock and the score was 0:0. The referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half.

As soon as the whistle rang, Twain got up to leave the technical area. He had no expression on his face in front of the television cameras, making it hard to discern his thoughts at the moment.

“There was no goal in the first half, and it is 0:0 for the home game. Is Tony Twain satisfied or dissatisfied?”

Chapter 636 - The Amazing Forest Team

At first, Nottingham Forest’s locker room was raucous, and everyone was busy resting or listening to music to relax. When Twain got up from the corner, the room calmed down again.

“In the first half… I’m not going to talk nonsense. The issue we have to solve now is not how to prevent Barcelona’s offense, but how to score a goal.”

When he said this, he turned to look at George Wood. Some people followed his eyes and turned to the back.

“George, you have to attack and defend as well. Is it too difficult for you?” Twain smiled.

George Wood shook his head. “It’s okay.”

“Okay?” Twain glared at him and asked, “What does it mean ‘it’s okay’? It’s barely okay or easy enough?”

“Um…” George Wood thought about it. “When I return back to defend, I might have missed some chances because I was at the back. As for the other areas, it’s nothing.”

“Use more passes, you idiot.” Twain pointed at him. “You ran back and forth like a shuttle in the first half. I wondered if you had any extra energy and time to look up at the surrounding situation. A midfield playmaker does not rely on endless stamina. You have to observe the situation on the field, watch the positions of your teammates and opponents, and then decide how to manage the offensive. The midfield playmaker does not depend on physical strength. He uses his brains.” The tone of Twain’s criticism was not harsh, but he let everyone know that he was criticizing George Wood and not joking.

Wood nodded. He felt that he was up to his ears from running in the first part of the first half. How was he supposed to organize an attack? The question did not stay in his mind. He waited to get the ball before he looked up to find a passing route. If there was a chance to pass, he would. If there was no chance, he dribbled the ball himself. He rarely deliberated like van der Vaart. Therefore, up until now, most of his passes were sent directly to his teammates, rather than the empty spaces in front of them. It was not easy to make mistakes with that kind of pass, but it also did not create good opportunities. Such penetrating passes made for threatening attacks during an offensive. If the passes always reached fixed spots at the feet, they would force the attacking momentum to a stop. It would be easy for the opponent to stop an attack as long as their rear defensive line stood in a good position.

In the second half, he did not have to run back and forth between the front and back of the field, but he needed to put more energy into the defense because Nottingham Forest was carrying out the defensive counterattack tactic. If they did not defend, how could they counterattack? Wood was at the heart of the midfield defense. He was really not used the kind of play where when the other side attacked, he watched while he waited for his teammates to tackle the ball to pass it to him to organize the attack.

“In addition, while we’re playing defensive counterattack, defense is extremely important, but if it’s just defense without the counterattack, then we will just be clinging to defense to the death.” Twain did not intend to let Wood go yet. He pointedly raised his criticism of Wood’s problems with the defense. “You’ve been a defensive midfielder for too long, George. Actively defending is a good thing but consider your mission first. What’s your purpose here?” He forcefully asked as he looked at Wood.

“To organize the offense,” Wood replied.

“It looks like you’re not confused from all the running. If you always keep defending, defending, and defending, how do you organize the offense? You’re just one player, not a monster that can split up your body at any time.”

“So what should I do?” George Wood asked in return.

Twain looked at the others in the locker room. Some listened attentively to his conversation with George, some shut their eyes to rest, and some listened to music.

He cleared his throat and then said, “it’s very simple. Trust your teammates.”

George Wood turned and looked around. He found a number of his teammates looking back at him.

“All right, guys!” Twain left Wood alone and clapped so hard that everyone looked up at him. “In the second half, we must score. This is not an away game where a draw is acceptable. We can’t relax in our defense and must be bolder in our offense. If we lose the ball, I don’t want to see you turn around and run back. You counter-press, intercept the ball, and attack. If you can’t tackle the ball, interfere with the speed of their advance. You know what to do.

“The first part of the first half was fine, but we put too little pressure on Barcelona in the latter part. That’s not going to work. In the second half, show them all you’ve got!” He slammed his fist in the palm of his hand.

※※※

On the other side, Rijkaard was writing and drawing on the tactical board. He was instructing his players on how to break through Nottingham Forest’s impenetrable defense.

“George Wood clearly needs to organize an attack. If I were Tony Twain, I wouldn’t let him continue to focus on defense in the second half. In that case, there will be gaps within Nottingham Forest’s defense for us to penetrate. Their overall defensive formation is kept well and there was no way to rip it apart by passing the ball. Sidwell’s not a threat to you, Messi.” He looked at Messi, who sat on one side.

“Increase the breakthroughs in the second half and charge forward to find opportunities to mess up their defensive formation. What that type of overall defense fears the most is that there is one or several individual breakouts that are excellent.” He indirectly criticized Messi for not being motivated enough in the first half.

With the exception of the one moment where he bypassed three players, Messi’s performance tended to be bland. There might be speculation that he had just returned from his recovery and that his form had not adjusted to his best. But in fact, Messi only lost some interest because of the big contrast between his expectations and the reality.

After all, how could the sense of accomplishment in overcoming George Wood be compared to Sidwell?

Messi knew what the problem was. He had to take it seriously in the second half. Whatever the reason, George Wood was not defending against him, which was a good thing for him.

Recently, the media criticized Barcelona for developing “a dependency on Messi” after having just cast off “the dependency on Ronaldinho.” They were saying that Rijkaard was incompetent and praised Messi for being too strong.

When Barcelona attacked, everyone would try to give the ball to the diminutive man, hoping he could do wonders.

So since Nottingham Forest doesn’t respect me, I’ll make you regret it! He clenched his hands.

※※※

After the second half of the game resumed, Barcelona wanted to score, and Nottingham Forest also wanted to score like the first part of the first half. The two sides attacked each other, and the game changed.

Nottingham Forest obtained three opportunities to breach the goal, and Barcelona had two chances to invade the Forest team’s hinterland. It was a pity that no one grasped them, even though they startled the two managers. No matter which team got a shot at the goal, the two managers would rise from their seats. Rijkaard just got up slightly, while Twain jumped straight out of the technical area.

After fifteen minutes of thrilling attacks, Nottingham Forest and Barcelona realized at the same time that the attacks put their goals at risk, as evidenced by both teams’ five chances to threaten the goals.

Subsequently, both teams chose to play conservatively at the same time.

It was not surprising, since stabilizing the defense was Nottingham Forest’s usual style. However, it was perplexing that Barcelona also steadied their defense to counterattack.

“Barcelona wants to play Nottingham Forest’s defensive counterattack?” the commentator exclaimed.

Twain laughed. He knew why Rijkaard suddenly became conservative. Due to an attack, he had realized Nottingham Forest’s offensive prowess, and being conservative would help with victory. The manager, renown in the football world for his artistic and offensive style of football, had to succumb to reality and choose a more secure game defense when his position was shaky.

What delighted him more was not actually Barcelona’s performance, but George Wood’s transformation.

One of his favorite things about Wood was that he listened most of the time. Wood’s performance had a specific change after he criticized Wood’s performance in the first half during halftime.

He no longer let himself get terribly busy between offense and defense. He had learnt to “stand and kick.” Twain always emphasized running to play football, but there were exceptions. As the conductor for the midfield, he hoped that his playmaker would act as the general and show some steadiness. Moreover, for a defensive midfielder, there was no need to charge and break through enemy lines every time. More often than not, they needed to launch the attack from the backfield. Learning how to judge the situation on the field was something George Wood had to do.

The Forest team attacked and threatened Barcelona’s goal three times. One was directly started by Wood, and the other two were indirectly initiated by him. One of his straight passes from the flank gave Ribéry the chance to break into the penalty area for a shot. Although Valdés fended it off, Wood’s 30-meter straight pass left everyone with a deep impression. He was still in the middle and the Forest team had switched from defense to offense. If he had continued to dribble, Barcelona’s rear defensive line would have been organized soon, and then there would have been no way for him other than a cross pass. He glanced ahead. He found that Barcelona’s rear defensive line was still in retreat and had not had time to organize the defensive formation while Ribéry skimmed along the side. There was enough space in front of him and with his speed…

With a decisive straight pass, he sent the football directly from the center circle to the flank between Barcelona’s center-backs, Milito and Puyol.

Like a hot knife cutting through the butter, he passed the football through Barcelona’s two defenders. It was empty in the penalty area. Just when people thought it was a missed shot, Ribéry appeared behind the entire rear defensive line and received the ball!

He immediately shot at the goal, but he emphasized strength too much, and his angle was too straight, so the shot was blocked out by Valdés.

The City Ground stadium still burst into a round of applause for Ribéry and George Wood.

Even Twain, who was off the field, could not help but stand and clap for George Wood when he saw the scalpel-like penetrating pass.

If George had just sent the ball straight to Ribéry, Barcelona’s Puyol would have been happy to single-handedly face off with Ribéry, and the Forest team’s attack would have been pushed to a dead end. The ball that reached ahead of the attacking player seemed to dig a diversion channel downstream for a pool of dead water, and the entire attack was alive in an instant.

“That’s what Demetrio said about the talent he saw in him!” Twain boastfully said to the people around him.

“Unfortunately, it’s still too little.” Kerslake shook his head.

“It’s okay” Dunn said, “He was occasionally brilliant at first, and now the occasions have become many. Eventually…”

Twain continued, “Eventually, he will be brilliant, always!”

※※※

Wood was slightly annoyed to see that Ribéry had wasted the opportunity, but he was more excited inside. When he saw the football roll from his feet, to accurately penetrate through Barcelona’s two defenders, and Ribéry intuitively plug in to receive, the feeling was completely different from when he shoveled and overturned his opponent as a defensive midfielder. One was destructive, and the other was constructive.

But there was one thing in common — whether it was destructive, or constructive, he was excited once he succeeded.

※※※

Because of Wood’s sudden enlightenment and activity, Rijkaard discovered that although there was no van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, or van der Vaart, Nottingham Forest’s attack was still powerful. He feared that the Forest team would sneak attack against him if he continued to attack. Not conceding a goal was the most important thing. Hence he ran to the sidelines to instruct the team to slow down its pace a little and take it slower.

As he retreated, the Forest team followed because Barcelona rarely counterattacked, but it would be a big mistake if anyone thought they did not have the ability to fight back. Twain did not want to such a folly like bombarding his opponent for eighty-nine minutes and be defeated with a sneak attack in the ninetieth minute” to happen to him.

Messi did well in the first part and got a shot at the goal, but while his shot bypassed Edwin van der Sar, it was fended off by the undaunted Pepe who used his body to block on the goal line. It was one of the best scoring opportunities that Barcelona had in the game so far.

As Barcelona withdrew, the man who was really liberated was George Wood. He did not have to focus on the backfield to defend. He started trying to shift his position forward again. Sometimes he looked more like an attacking midfielder than a defensive midfielder.

The game gradually came to a conclusion in a standoff. If no one could score a goal, then Barcelona and Nottingham Forest would have to play into overtime to determine which team would advance to the finals. If the outcome was still undetermined after the overtime, there was only one last move — the penalty shootout!

No one wanted the game to get to that point. Even overtime would be a huge test for both teams’ stamina.

Consequently, the two teams powered up again and launched attacks in the last ten minutes of the game.

Messi was active again. George Wood received more balls from his teammates, already feeling like a “midfield command tower.”

Messi broke through Sidwell’s side of the penalty area and directly passed to Eto’o, who inserted crosswise into the penalty area, but Eto’o’s shot was thrown out by Edwin van der Sar.

On the other side, George Wood suddenly forced a breakthrough with his speed on the flank and attracted the attention of two people, Abidal and Yaya Touré, but passed the football back to Beckham. When Beckham instantly passed the ball, Bendtner pressed on Barcelona’s tallest defender, Márquez, to do a header shot to the goal but it smashed and rebounded on the crossbar by Valdés, who pounced on it.

Toward the end, when George Wood found that Barcelona was especially guarding against his passes, he decisively made a long shot from thirty meters. Although it flew straight toward the grandstand, Twain and the others could tell what was in George Wood’s heart — he did not reject being an offensive player.

As time passed, the score was still 0:0.

Rijkaard had long been standing on the sidelines to direct the game, and Twain could not sit still and got up from his seat.

He turned to look at the big screen. The time was 84 minutes and 58 seconds; the score was nil-nil for Nottingham Forest and Barcelona.

Beckham was a little tired, so he decided to bring him off. Lennon’s force of impact might work wonders at the last minute…

Sidwell could also be replaced to bring van der Vaart on for a final sprint, but then George Wood would have to go back to the position of a defensive midfielder. Moreover, he did not know what van der Vaart’s form would be like. There was not much time left for them, unless they were going to play overtime.

He was very satisfied with George’s performance. He had not yet been able to bring a victory to the team, and it was not his fault. He still had a long way to go as a midfield playmaker.

He summoned van der Vaart and Lennon from the warm-up area and got ready to instruct them on how to attack.

※※※

George Wood glanced at the two teammates who were listening to Twain on the sidelines. One was the team’s original playmaker: van der Vaart. It took him only a second to understand what Tony Twain thought.

He did not want to play overtime. He wanted to resolve the battle in the last few minutes, and his own offensive performance obviously did not satisfy him. Otherwise he would not have brought on van der Vaart to replace his task.

What did that mean?

It meant that he did not complete his mission.

※※※

Messi faced Sidwell again, intending to break through after he lured Pepe to assist with the defense, and passed the football behind Pepe to let Eto’o insert.

When he easily bypassed Sidwell and looked up to find someone, the ball under his feet was shoveled away by George Wood.

For nearly ninety minutes, George Wood had not dealt with Messi once, no matter how Messi stirred up havoc near the Forest team’s penalty area. Messi almost forgot who he once considered the most dangerous opponent.

As a result, after he bypassed Sidwell, he only thought of Pepe and did not notice that the danger was around him.

George Wood saw at the precise moment when he looked up and neglected to guard his feet. He suddenly charged out from the side and shoveled the ball from under Messi’s feet!

Nottingham Forest did not give Barcelona time to react. Pepe, who had initially come up to prevent Messi, received the ball that Wood had shoveled just in time. He intended to pass it to the others, but as soon as he saw Wood, who had just gotten up, he beckoned to him. His action was hidden, but he saw him motion for him to pass it over.

Pepe faced Messi and faked a stance to dribble the ball forward to break through. He deceived Messi to sway his center of gravity, and immediately followed by passing the football to George Wood, who ran in front.

“He’s the playmaker, stop him!” Puyol yelled in the backfield. Wood basically organized the offense for the entire game. Any fool would know who the most dangerous character was and the one who should be prioritized the most during the Forest team’s counterattack.

Without waiting for Yaya Touré, Xavi instantly pounced. He intended to wait for George Wood to pass him and intercept the ball or force Wood to slow down and turn so that the Forest team’s quick attack would fail.

George Wood did not plan to bypass Xavi and did not intend to turn around either. He watched Xavi but passed the football to Beckham on the right.

Then he bypassed Xavi and continued to run forward.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest began their quick counterattack. Gareth Bale, who was brought on at the 25th minute of the second half, plugged forward from the left flank with Ribéry.

Xavi turned his head to look at George Wood’s back, and, at the same time, glanced at the other Forest players who ran forward. Then he looked at Beckham and decided to tangle with the Englishman, who had average ball possession skills, and left George Wood to his teammates.

Beckham saw Xavi rush up and knew his intention: to intercept his ball or trap him in place so that the football could not be passed out.

He did not give Xavi a chance. He immediately passed the football. The man who received his pass was George, who had just passed him the ball!

He had already moved from the middle to the flank. Wood had not dribbled a few steps before Yaya Touré rushed over. All the Barcelona defensive players had the same idea: intercept the ball and break the offense or thwart the offense.

George Wood did not give Touré a chance to take advantage of it. He directly sent the ball to Ribéry’s feet in the middle.

Ribéry went from the left to the middle because he wanted to receive Wood’s pass. Barcelona’s defensive line grew nervous when they saw him take the ball. As the Ballon d’Or recipient, he could not be ignored. Whether he sent a threatening pass or took a shot of his own, Ribéry was a good player.

Iniesta, who was not good at defense, came up in the wing to prepare to outflank him, and the man in front of Ribéry was the Argentinian center-back, Milito.

If Ribéry wanted to shoot directly, Milito would block it. If Ribéry wanted to break through, then Iniesta could give him pause.

Ribéry neither shot nor broke through. He passed the ball.

The figure that was familiar to all Barcelona players, George Wood, who received the ball.

George Wood, who was near the sidelines and had moved quickly to the flank, received the ball. Abidal unceremoniously came up to mark him. Now that he was basically in front of Barcelona’s penalty area, how would there be a space that he was not pressed harder?

Abidal rushed up and leant against Wood on one side while he extended his leg to poke Wood’s ball to force Wood to turn around.

Wood turned around but knocked the football with his heel toward the gap behind Abidal.

“David!”

Beckham ran up with all his might and appeared behind Abidal just in time. He was not offside! Because Gareth Bale plugged ahead and suppressed Puyol, Beckham was alone in front of Puyol, even though he appeared behind the other people.

Abidal was so focused on tackling Wood’s ball that he did not noticed, but Márquez saw everything clearly. Beckham had run just before George Wood got the ball. He suddenly sped up when Wood received the ball.

At first, Márquez thought Beckham wanted to receive George Wood’s return pass, but he quickly realized he was wrong. Beckham did not rush toward Wood but went around the two men. He moved forward, trying to put Beckham in an offside position. He did not see the situation at the far end as he felt reassured with Puyol.

Puyol was clearly aware of the point too. He wanted to move forward to create an offside, but he was late.

He was only half a step away when Beckham received the ball while unmarked!

Having just interfered with Márquez up ahead, Bendtner and Arshavin did not care about Márquez, who raised his hands and looked at the assistant referee, and uniformly rushed to the goal!

“Watch out for his pass…” Before Valdés finished, he saw Beckham swing his right leg.

Abidal turned to Beckham in a panic and sprung over, and George Wood stood where he was waiting to watch the show.

Márquez and Milito went back to chase after Bendtner and Arshavin.

Valdés looked at Beckham, but he glimpsed the two strikers from the corner of his eye and focused on them.

Beckham kicked. It was not a curveball pass from the inside of his foot, but a volley on the outer instep!

At the same time, Valdés pounced to the side, ready to stop the pass. He had just flew out when he saw the football fly past his other side. The speed was so fast that he was too late to turn his head around to see what happened behind him. But it was not necessary; he heard the impassioned cheers from the whole stadium.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The ball’s in!”

Five passes ended the fight.

David Beckham pointed both hands at George Wood and bounded at him with an excited smile on his face.

George Wood’s excellent performance throughout the game, as well as acting as the passing relay point to continuously pass and organize the offense for the attack, made him a key target for marking by the Barcelona rear defensive line. Franck Ribéry was also famous for the fact that whenever he took the ball, Barcelona also had to guard against him. No one took notice of the veteran, Beckham, who could not run and only pass, at best. Our defensive lines are so well organized that even if his passes get through, Bendtner would only have a few chances…

As a result, Beckham came with a plug-in and shot!

“Some people say that Nottingham Forest is a nursing home. After Hierro’s departure, there were old guys like Albertini, van Nistelrooy, and Edwin van der Sar. David Beckham came along once Albertini retired. But who did they rely on for last year’s Champions League title? Albertini, the old bastard! What about this year? The Nottingham Forest fans can look forward to David Beckham!” the commentator cried excitedly. That was equivalent to him announcing that Nottingham Forest had won the entry to the Champions League final.

However, the game still had three minutes before they entered the injury stoppage time.

Twain did not to celebrate the goal with those around him. He pulled over the excited van der Vaart and Lennon to seize the moment to hand over the tactics. He had waited for a dead ball to change players, but now he definitely had to change the tactics.

The trailing Barcelona was like a wounded beast. They could erupt with amazing energy at the last minute. If they lowered their guard, they would be eaten. Barcelona only needed one goal to equalize the score and the team going to Moscow in Russia would go from Nottingham Forest to Barcelona.

※※※

After they celebrated the victory, Twain brought on van der Vaart and Lennon to replace Sidwell and the goalscorer, Beckham. When Beckham came off, the fans stood up and applauded.

Tony Twain hugged Beckham and gave George Wood a thumbs up, which affirmed his contribution to the goal.

He was afraid that Wood would think otherwise, because van der Vaart did indeed take over Wood’s offensive command. He needed to do the job he was best at, defending.

Messi’s finally came face to face with George Wood towards the end of the game, but he was already worn down by the Forest team’s overall defense earlier in the game — he had just returned from his recovery. How could his fitness be good?

In the face of the physically perverse George Wood, his spirit was willing, but his body was weak.

A speedy striker like Eto’o had a limited role to play without more space to play. What about Henry? How much of a threat could he be when he was stuck near the sidelines and could not get in?

Although the injury stoppage time was up to five minutes, there was a flurry of disgruntled boos at the City Ground stadium. Nottingham Forest’s Western Wall showed no sign of collapsing. The physical advantage guaranteed by the rotation was evident.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, the entire City Ground stadium, and half of Nottingham, was inundated with cheers.

Tony Twain walked to the sidelines, intending to rally and celebrate the victory, but caught unawares and lifted up by the players around him. He was lifted above their heads!

“They broke into the UEFA Champions League final three times in a row! Tony Twain etched his team’s name in the history of the Champions League, to be mentioned on equal terms as Real Madrid, Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Benfica, and the best managers in history! They are the first to achieve this in the new century… This is truly crazy!”

“This is incredible! Truly unbelievable! They really did it!”

Tony Twain was carried above the players’ heads and held out his hands to receive the cheers from the crowd. Although they had yet to win the Champions League title, he had done enough for now to accept the courtesy. To be able to lead a small team that had been unknown for nearly thirty years back to the top was not something the average person could do easily.

“I have to say… even though Tony Twain is not likeable, his results make everyone green with envy. For those who criticize him, don’t they want the team that they support to have such a magical manager? Most of the players he dug up from around the world were all unheard of. And now, they have grown into the pillars of Nottingham Forest. The young saplings have grown into towering trees!”

“Wood! Wood! Grow into a big tree! Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!!” None of the Forest fans left the City Ground stadium stands and sang another song they came up with for George Wood.

“Yes, Franck Ribéry, who played in the French lower league in the beginning, became a Ballon d’Or winner. Pepe, who faced the predicament of not being able to play in Portugal, is now at the heart of the Forest team’s rear defense. Gareth Bale, who was nearly turned away by Southampton, is now the youngest national footballer and goalscorer in Welsh history. Eastwood, who played amateur football because of his injury and almost gave up, has become the main player of the Forest team. Of course, we cannot forget George Wood. Who would have thought of him, a layman who only started to come into contact with professional football at the age of seventeen? His performance in this game today deserved nine points!”

“Why not ten points?” his partner asked.

“Ah, he is still young. There’s plenty of room for growth, and we look forward to his future. I don’t want to give him a shocking eleven points when the time comes.”

The players gathered around Tony Twain to celebrate their victory with him. Who cared about the mood of the Barcelona people?

Twain did not even have a chance to shake hands with Rijkaard. He saw Rijkaard walk away alone. He knew that Rijkaard’s position was shaky, but did not feel the slightest sadness on his behalf. He only watched Rijkaard’s back gradually disappear into the crowd and warned himself countless times.

If I had lost the game, I would be him.

Chapter 637 - About Professional Ethics

When Nottingham Forest broke into the Champions League final for the second time in a row, Nottingham Evening Post printed “Athens” on their extra to show their excitement. This time, Nottingham Evening Post did not make a move like this. The merriment had already taken place on the night of the game. They had to face the league tournament at the start of the next day, which was really not the time for unbridled celebration.

The beer in the pubs where the Forest fans gathered was sold out, with large numbers of policemen waiting in the streets and near the pubs to watch out for the fans who drank too much and made trouble. Fortunately, with the exception of a few small-scale brawls, more people were persuaded with words.

Because they were all supporters of the team, their verbal conflicts were nothing more than who deserved the most credit for the game. Some said it was George Wood, while some said it was Beckham who scored the goal, while still others said it was Tony Twain. But no matter how much they argued, the more sober people helped smooth things over, and everyone laughed together and put their arms around each other and drank.

“What’s there to fight about? Aren’t they all part of our Nottingham Forest?”

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s match against Barcelona took place on the night of April 29th. Early the next morning, Twain took Dunn to London, while Kerslake stayed behind to oversee the team’s training. The two of them went to Stamford Bridge to observe their opponent in the finals. The Champions League semifinal battle of death between Manchester United and Chelsea would unfold.

Chelsea had a slight advantage ahead of the game, as they scored an away goal against Manchester United in the first leg and tied 1:1 with Manchester United.

Grant’s team was able to force Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford, which was completely unexpected. Even Twain had to admit that he did not expect Chelsea’s result when Grant came to power.

It was somewhat unfair to say that Grant made it to the semifinals on what Mourinho left. After the game, Twain re-acquainted himself with the man he had despised.

Chelsea tied 1:1 at home with Manchester United. The two sides played into overtime but could not determine an outcome. In the end, they had to go with a penalty shootout. Terry missed the ball in the penalty shootout, but Cristiano Ronaldo, who had done well all season, also missed his shot. The penalty shootout moved into sudden death. Kalou succeeded, and the stadium erupted with deafening cheers. When Nani came up with the ball, the cheers at Stamford Bridge immediately turned into boos, which brought a huge pressure on the Manchester United player. he, who was brought on during overtime to replace Rooney, emphasized too much on the angle and missed his shot.

Chelsea knocked out Manchester United to successfully advance!

Tony Twain and Dunn were surrounded by cheering Chelsea fans, their arms raised high in celebration. The stands trembled slightly. Twain had no intention of participating in the celebration of his future enemies, so he and Dunn put on their sunglasses and crept away.

He was a little disappointed with the result.

He had hoped that Manchester United would beat Chelsea and advance to the Champions League finals. He would not have to prepare an additional opponent’s profile and targeted tactics, and Manchester United would inevitably be distracted. Anyway, I am already distracted, so you have no reason not to be affected. This makes everyone even.

Now the results were out. Manchester United was eliminated. With only the league title available to them now, they would not let Nottingham Forest go at Old Trafford. Although they would not have spared the Forest team anyway, they would be more desperate now. When the time came, Chelsea had the most to gain when his team was in tatters in the competition against Manchester United for the league title?

“I did not like Grant from the start, and sure enough, there was a reason…” On the way back to Nottingham, Twain complained endlessly to Dunn.

※※※

Despite the disappointment and complaints, the game still had to be played. In the 37th round of the league tournament, the final battle before “the Duel.” There were many possible outcomes in the round, but only one would have a decisive impact — Nottingham Forest’s away loss to Aston Villa and Manchester United win in its game. In that case, Ferguson would win the title a round ahead.

Ferguson hoped to appease people with a league title, as the team had just been knocked out of the Champions League. However, he could not decide. It depended on how Forest and Aston Villa played. What Manchester United could look forward to was that it was an away game for Nottingham Forest. Having just played in a couple of intense games, their form could not be guaranteed. Furthermore, Aston Villa was not weak.

Manchester United’s home game against West Ham United was the first game in the round of the league tournament. Their defeat in the Champions League made all of the Manchester United players become hungry wolves and the poor West Ham United team was in the wrong place at the wrong time. For the pack of Manchester United wolves, the right opponent came at the right time and place.

Powerless to fight back, West Ham United lost 4:0 to the Manchester United star players.

The Manchester United fans began to keep a close eye on the Forest team’s game against Aston Villa.

Unlike Manchester United fans, the Nottingham Forest fans were not at all concerned about the outcome on Manchester United’s side. Whether Manchester United won or lost, the result was the same provided they won — the final battle would be at the summit of Old Trafford at the 38th round.

Twain did not arrange for anyone to report to Nottingham Forest from Old Trafford. It was unnecessary.

Twain continued to use the lineup he deployed against Barcelona in the second leg of the game.

At Aston Villa’s home ground, Villa Park stadium, Nottingham Forest efficiently took down the home team with 2:0. Bendtner scored two goals and became the best in the game.

※※※

“The Champions League final is May 21st. The final round of the league tournament is May 11th.” Twain looked at the schedule and then circled the days in red on the calendar. He tossed the pen aside, put his hands together, and turned to Dunn. “The last two games of this season will determine whether we will be heroes or cowards.”

“Don’t exaggerate, what cowards…”

“That’s the case. There is nothing more disgraceful in the world than a first runner up twice over… No, there is.” He discarded his own claim. “And that is first runner up three times, four times, five times, six times over.” He extended three, four, five and six fingers in turn.

Dunn grimaced. Sometimes his and Twain’s football philosophies were really different, but he was always able to cooperate with Twain’s work and suppress his opinions.

He thought that being the first runner up was not bad. It was better than failing in first place. Twain’s thinking was the opposite. They had to win the championship since they were in the final. If they were doomed to fail, it would have been better to be done for in the beginning. Allan Adams would not approve of his crazy thinking, because even if they were the first runner-up, the post-season dividends would still be more than the lower-ranked teams, whether it was the Champions League or the Premier League. There was also an extra bonus for every game they played in the Champions League.

“It’s not too bad. There are ten days between the Champions League final and the final round in the league tournament. We have plenty of time to prepare for each match,” Twain said as he turned on the television to study Manchester United’s game video with Dunn. Although they were old rivals and the mutual understanding was there, targeted observation was still imperative.

“Brosnan called and wanted you to give some comments on the Champions League opponent,” Dunn reminded.

“Him?” Twain shook his head. “Either there’s something wrong with his brain or his boss came up with the idea. With so many days to go before the Champions League final, what can I talk about?”

“Maybe it’s because of some personal feud between you and Grant…”

“In that case, I can’t talk about it even more. Not now, not later.” Twain shook his head resolutely. “Chelsea did not do well in the league tournament and their qualification in the Champions League final was called into question. With their morale currently strong, no one dares think about and mention their loss of not being able to compete in the Champions League next season. I cannot provoke them with my words and add fuel to the fire. I won’t provide support in another team’s hour of need and make the matter any bigger, just in case I stir them up into PowerMAX mode, and then we would be stupefied. So…” He looked at Dunn. “We don’t mention them. No matter the hype out there, we’ll ignore it. Doing our own thing is the top priority.”

He finished speaking, only to find Dunn looked at him with a smile.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“No.” Dunn shook his head and smiled. “It’s rare to hear that you have decided not to take part in a war of words. I’m surprised, that’s all.”

“Hey, don’t actually believe I’m a mad dog that bites whenever I see someone.” Twain rolled his eyes at him.

※※※

Twain called Pierce Brosnan back the next day. He told him that he was not going to weigh in on Chelsea’s entry to the Champions League final. He did not repeat to Brosnan what he had said to Dunn. He only said that the team’s focus had been the league tournament, putting aside their Champions League final opponent for now. By the time they were finished with the league game, the question would become a non-issue. Once they won the league tournament, the whole city would be busy celebrating. Who would care about what was going with Chelsea? If they did not get the league title, Twain would be in a bad mood. Who would dare to ask about the matter? Of course, Twain did not want the second result to come true.

Like Twain said, the other media outlets’ top headlines were the fierce battle for the Premier League title, since the Champions League had not yet begun.

Both BBC Five and Sky Sports were working on a special feature on the final game in the hope of attracting television audience.

The other media outlets kept watch at the training bases of the two teams all day long, wracking their brains on how to trigger a war of words between the two teams.

Everyone knew that Ferguson was a veteran of psychological warfare, while Tony Twain was a rising star in the aspect. If the two men could have a brilliant verbal war before the game, it would be a big selling point.

However, the biggest selling point this time was not the two managers, but a player named “David Beckham.”

The last time Nottingham Forest took on Manchester United in the league tournament at home, Beckham was absent due to his injury. Therefore, it was the first time he would face his previous club in the English Premier League and his first return to Old Trafford as an opponent.

He had just scored a key goal in the Champions League semifinals and helped Nottingham Forest break into the Champions League final. Manchester United was eliminated by Chelsea, so it was a matter of course that some Manchester United fans were displeased.

The game was far off, but all kinds of voices about him were rampant.

Some people said they wanted to give Beckham a warm welcome back to Old Trafford, while others said they wanted to show Beckham who’s boss. Some fondly remembered his loyalty to Manchester United, whereas others thought he was more repugnant than Judas due to his empty words. He stated how loyal he was to Manchester United, but joined Nottingham Forest!

Even when Ferguson was interviewed at a regular press conference, he was surrounded by numerous reporters asking questions about Beckham.

Everyone knew for whom Beckham left Manchester United in the first place. What kind of sparks would fly now that the two enemies were going to meet again?

Ferguson had no expression on his face. “I wish him good luck.”

“Sir Alex Ferguson, Beckham helped the Forest team break into the Champions League final while Manchester United was knocked out by Chelsea. Do you regret not recalling David?” a reporter asked bluntly.

“Why should I regret it? Manchester United currently has many outstanding and more promising players. As for the people who left Manchester United, they are gone. I will not hang onto the past. Otherwise Manchester United will not win many championships.” Ferguson’s expression changed for the worse.

What he said was true, and made a lot of sense, but in the ears of Beckham’s supporters, it did not sound good. No wonder there were still people who thought Ferguson and Beckham were enemies.

So what about Beckham?

※※※

“Mr. Twain. The press hopes that Beckham will be able to attend today’s press conference,” Miss Barbara Lucy reminded Twain that as head of public relations, she agreed that it would be good to have Beckham present, but Twain had given her George Wood’s name and himself.

“Why?” Twain pretended to be amazed.

“Mr. Twain, you know the reason…” Miss Lucy smiled. She did not buy Twain’s antics.

“Yes. But no way.” Twain rejected the request. “To let David be pulled in for the questioning? I don’t want those flies to affect the state of my main players before an important game.”

The matter was up to Twain, and Barbara Lucy had no power except to make suggestions. Since Twain disagreed, there was nothing to be done. She nodded and left.

Back on the training ground, Twain took a moment to observe Beckham. Nothing odd could be seen, but was that really the case? Twain did not think so. Beckham’s heart had to be in turmoil.

He had been at Real Madrid for four years and never returned to Old Trafford as an opponent to rival Manchester United. Therefore, today’s experience would be his first.

Beckham had some injuries before the home game against Manchester United in the first half of the season, so Twain took him off the squad list to avoid that kind of awkwardness. Now Beckham was in good shape. He had no reason to rule him out.

Although the two men had taken the situation into account when they signed the contract, it had not been imminent. Twain suggested the clause that Beckham did not need to compete against Manchester United to be written in the contract, which Beckham refused. It went against his professional ethics, but it did not mean that he would be happy to return to Old Trafford as an enemy.

In between breaks during training, the players gathered around to chat and joke, but Beckham walked up to Twain alone.

“Can I have a quick word with you?” he said.

Twain nodded, not at all surprised that Beckham had come to him.

The two men found a slightly quieter corner. Everyone else stole glances from the corner of their eyes because they all knew who the real person of interest was in this game.

“Can you take me with you to this afternoon’s press conference?” Beckham got right to the point. His request surprised Twain.

“You know what? I just turned down Miss Barbara Lucy’s request to arrange for you to appear at the press conference.”

Beckham nodded, not surprised that Twain had done so. However, he insisted on his decision. “I know what you think, Tony. But I still want to go.”

“Being repeatedly asked stupid questions by a swarm of flies like: ‘what do you think of the return to Old Trafford and becoming an enemy of your old club?’”

“If I don’t answer, I’m afraid there will be more rumors.”

“Do you really want to go?” Twain looked at Beckham.

“I really want to go.” Beckham met Twain’s gaze.

“Fine, you’ll go with me and George.” Since Beckham wanted to, there was no need for him to stop him, but he added, “if the situation gets out of hand later, I’m going to step in.”

Beckham smiled at him.

※※※

The media at the press conference had learned that Beckham would not attend the press conference and had planned to leave once Twain arrived to embarrass him. But they saw Twain with George Wood and… David Beckham appear in front of everyone.

“I know the leading character today is not me.” Tony Twain said as he viewed the excited faces below. He sat down and stopped talking. The media was allowed to aim at Beckham.

Most of the questions were nothing new. It was just as Twain said to Beckham in the morning. No one cared about how the questions were asked, they only cared about how the man was going to answer the questions.

But so far, Beckham had answers that took into consideration both the Forest fans’ feelings and majority of the Manchester United fans. He was not as hard pressed as Twain had imagined. He was a big star player and had faced all sorts of tricky questions before.

Someone threw out the question “will you take the initiative to apply to shun the game?” to which Beckham smiled. “I don’t have any physical problems. If the manager needs me, then I’ll go on. If he doesn’t need me, I can accept being a substitute.”

He shifted the anger of the diehard Manchester United fans, at Twain’s behest. Before he came, Twain repeatedly cautioned Beckham that he could push anything to him as a manager when he ran into any tricky problems.

As a result, Twain came forward. “Any questions about the squad list and the starting lineup cannot be made public before the game.” His remark silenced all the reporters who had just turned to ask him.

If they were allowed, the reporters would have loved to hiss at Tony Twain in return. Instead of continuing to entangle with Twain, they turned back to ask Beckham all sorts of questions about facing his old club.

“Have you thought about what kind of treatment you will get for returning to Old Trafford, David?”

“I don’t know.” Beckham shook his head. “I’m just a little apprehensive.”

“Do you still bear any grudge towards Ferguson now?”

“He’s a manager I have a lot of respect for.” Beckham did not want to dwell on the topic.

“How does he compare with Tony Twain?” The reporters did not want to let him go.

Beckham wanted to open his mouth, but Twain took over the question. “This question is obviously for me. We each have our strengths.”

Evaluating old and new managers was a dangerous thing for players, who would become sinners no matter what they said. Consequently, Twain did not let Beckham speak.

As if it were a signal, the media’s questions became increasingly specific and demanding.

“If you score a goal against Manchester United, will you celebrate?”

“I don’t know… I’m not trying to avoid the question. It’s complicated, and I do not know how I’ll be until it happens, so I can only say ‘I don’t know.’”

“If you help Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United and snatch the league title from Manchester United, will you celebrate it? Do you think the Manchester United fans will accept it?”

“I don’t know…”

Twain stood up. “All right. Remember your professions, you are reporters, not police officers from Scotland Yard. This is the end of today’s press conference!”

“We haven’t finished asking…”

“By the time you’re done asking questions, the lands of Great Britain and the continental Europe will have been connected as one.” Twain ridiculed. He just did not like to see a reporters lay siege to and ceaselessly interrogate his players like they were prisoners. He turned around to take his men away.

The reporters stood up from their seats one after another, ignoring the rule to only ask questions when pointed to. They raised their hands in a scramble to ask the questions that they had not had time to ask.

“David! I still have a question…”

“David, David… Rumor has it that returning to Old Trafford can affect your form. If you do play, will it shake the hearts of the Forest team? Will it lead to a more serious… Uh.”

The question stopped the three people in their tracks, and they turned around to look at the person who asked the question.

Tony Twain said, “David Beckham is now wearing the Nottingham Forest red jersey.”

George Wood said, “Shake the hearts of our team? We’re not idiots.”

David Beckham replied, “I’m a professional player.”

The trio turned to leave the venue and allowed the reporters to shout behind them, without a backwards glance.

Chapter 638 - The Target for The Double

Although Beckham was specifically present for the press conference, and he, Tony Twain, and George Wood had pledged to Beckham’s professionalism, the media had the ability to “change something rotten into something magical.” They selectively ignored some things or distorted words to completely change their meaning.

The feud between Beckham and Manchester United had to continue because the masses liked it. The media would dig deep into what the masses loved to hear and see.

Twain smiled at Beckham, a variety of newspapers published the next day in his hands. “It’s totally useless.”

“Anyway, I said what I wanted to say. It’s up to them how they want to interpret it.” Beckham was unruffled. “Focusing my energies on being entangled with them may really affect my state.”

Twain smiled and wondered if Beckham was really unaffected at all, but he could not ask. He was afraid of being perceived by David as distrustful of him.

“It’s just a… typical league game.”

※※※

At the start of the season, Roy Keane led the newly promoted Sunderland back to Old Trafford and was warmly welcomed by the fans across the stadium. Apart from his position in the minds of and popularity among the Manchester United fans, it also had something to do with Sunderland not being a real threat to Manchester United. People always had the habit of showing grace to opponents that were not as strong.

But if the opponent was a team that competed with them for the league title and could likely beat them, it was believed that the treatment they received would be different. Besides, David Beckham’s departure had always been controversial. The landing point for his return to the Premier League had sparked even greater controversy.

Why was Keane so popular? Was it because he turned down Nottingham Forest’s invitation and would rather choose the Scottish Premiership further afield in order not to fight Manchester United? Why did Beckham not do that?

The number of reporters crowding the gate of Wilford did not decrease. They still wanted to interview Beckham, but Beckham no longer accepted any interviews, wanting to keep a calm frame of mind before the impending crucial game.

Accordingly, he arrived in a hurry and hurriedly left again every day. Under the reporters’ writing, he suddenly became conflicted, ill at ease, and showed signs of fluctuations in his form.

Fortunately, the Nottingham Forest team was on Beckham’s side. When the other players were interviewed by the reporters and asked about Beckham, they said, “everything is normal with David. He was just joking with us at the training ground, and I don’t think anything is different.”

“He’s normal. You came up with the abnormal stuff yourself.”

“I don’t think there’s anything unusual. We’re the ones who have the most interaction with David. If you don’t believe us, who do you believe in?”

“A rather normal league game is hyped into this big deal by you. We are calm about this.”

Even Dunn was pulled back to talk about his view. Dunn did not want to speak but the media would not let him go, so he used Mandarin to quickly make a remark. “The eunuch is more anxious than the emperor.”

“What do you mean?” The British reporters did not understand.

“Excuse me, could you translate that?”

Tony Twain smirked. “What he meant was: the Queen of England is not in a hurry, but you ball-less guys are more anxious.”

Some of the reporters who did not like Tony Twain thought he was taking the opportunity to insult them, so they peevishly complained to Twain for the attacks. Twain laughed when he heard them.

At first, he just threw his head back to laugh. Then he used Dunn’s shoulder for support and slowly squatted down to continue to laugh when he held his stomach.

He laughed until everyone around him was confused.

“You guys wanted the translation. I translated it for you, but you did not believe it.” Twain stood up.

Tang Jing, who was among the press, came forward. “Mr. Tony Twain’s translation was right. That was what Coach Dunn said.” She explained it carefully again, and of course, her tone sounded less acrimonious than Twain’s.

“‘Emperor’ can be translated as the Queen. A eunuch was a kind of servant in ancient China that specialized in serving the emperor and his queen… Before that, they had to cut off the thing… that is, to be castrated.” She made a cutting gesture.

The male Britons could not help but look down between their legs.

Twain laughed again. “The Chinese proverb means that the parties involved are not in a hurry, but the bystanders are. Beckham stated he doesn’t have any problems, yet you’re still unwilling to let go, which I find it very boring. Also, it will be Nottingham Forest, not David Beckham, that plays against Manchester United. My team will refuse to answer all questions about this topic in the future.”

Twain once again showed off his unreasonable side and rebuffed all the reporters’ questions.

He was fed up from entangling with the flies. They clearly had a lot of important things to do, but how could his mood improved when he had to face such a group of people every day during the start and finish of work?

※※※

Ferguson would be happy to offer conversational topics to the news media if the frequent hype about Beckham’s return to Old Trafford could cause Nottingham Forest’s entire team to lose its cool and get caught up in the fuss, but he did not know if it would work, because Tony Twain was clearly a coach who was very focused on the players’ mental state. He had just announced that he would no longer accept any interviews about Beckham. Apparently, he recognized the downside of being so entangled with the media.

As the day of the game approached, he did not want to talk about Beckham anymore. He approved of one thing in Twain’s remarks. The game was between the two teams and did not have much to do with a certain player. It was no use for everyone just put their focus on one player.

Consequently, he ignored the media and dedicated himself to the preparation work for the decisive battle.

When Tony Twain led Nottingham Forest back into the Premier League, he already robbed a young player from him — Piqué, who was now a defensive mainstay at the Forest team. Was robbing him of Piqué a one-time off chance or would it develop into robbing him of more things in the future?

Now, the answer was undoubtedly clear.

Nottingham Forest had changed from robbing Manchester United’s players to robbing the title.

Although Manchester United was on its home ground this time, Ferguson did not state that they would be certain of winning. He was aware of what type of team Nottingham Forest was — the stronger the opponent and the tougher the conditions, the greater the energy they exploded with. If they let their guard down, the advantage that originally belonged to them would become an incumbrance instead.

The game in which the Forest team eliminated Barcelona was a good point of reference. George Wood was no longer a negligible player when it came to the Forest team’s offense.

※※※

Time passed very quickly, and the Nottingham Forest team set off to Manchester on May 10th. A day later, the final round of the English Premier League would start together at the same time. Whether it was for the league title or to avoid relegation, it would attract countless eye.

It was rare in recent seasons to have no idea who would emerge the winner in the final round like this year. Nottingham Forest’s away challenge against Manchester United was naturally set for a live broadcast across the country.

The broadcasting station hoped that the two teams would end up with another war of words before the game to heat up the game even more.

Ferguson only talked about Manchester United’s title goal. Twain said, “I think this game is hot enough and doesn’t need to be hyped up.”

Neither side wanted to be used by the media as a weapon.

When Beckham arrived at the hotel where the team was staying in Manchester, he was received two very different types of treatments. A group of Manchester United fans chanted his name as they held up posters. They cheered and applauded him, and even made a “Welcome Back, David” banner. It touched him, but when he turned around, another group of Manchester United fans ruined his posters and shouted abusive chants to brand Beckham as a traitor.

The situation made him feel awkward, but he was an experienced star player and accustomed to these upheavals. Whether they were there to welcome him, or to call him a traitor, he waved and acknowledged them with a warm smile on his face.

When he transferred to Real Madrid, no one knew if he would still have a main position due the brilliant Figo on the right of Real Madrid’s midfield. His wife, Victoria, warned him, “there will be cameras everywhere around you. So when you get to Madrid, keep smiling, whether you’re playing on the field or sitting on the bench. Don’t let anyone see your real inner thoughts.”

At Real Madrid, a place that was followed by the international media twenty hours a day, he did incorporate that into his life. No matter what, he would not let the people know what he really thought.

He had to learn this skill to be a star, otherwise it was not so easy to make it in this line of work.

Beckham looked like his normal self. He smiled and waved to the crowd, leaving nothing that would make the media stir up trouble. Twain had to admire the professional star player from him, a person who was untrained. It maintained his image in front of the general public and would not affect making money or big fortune. People had to be able to endure hardship to achieve great success. Those who made the big bucks also needed to be able to endure hardship.

Twain could not withstand it, so he had few commercial contracts, and the biggest source of his income was his salary from the club.

But he was not going to change his temper. He had transmigrated after much difficulty. How could he let down the Heavens that sent him there by not living life to its fullest?

To have enough money to spend was enough. Money could not buy his happiness. That was the most important.

Countless reporters flocked toward Beckham, just shy of putting the microphones in his mouth as they scrambled to ask, “how does it feel to be back in Manchester, David?”

“All right.” Beckham replied with a smile, showing no impatience.

“What’s the outlook for tomorrow’s game?”

“That can only be known after the game starts. I don’t want to predict such things before the game.”

“Are you surprised by the Manchester United fans’ attitudes towards you?”

“I am very grateful to the Manchester United Football Club. I have wonderful memories from here and have a lot of good friends here too…” He said a lot of nice words, but didn’t answer the reporter’s questions.

As the group of reporters continued to ask, Beckham entered the hotel. When they saw Tony Twain’s grim expression, they wisely shut up.

※※※

Tony Twain and Ferguson met at the last press conference before the game, and there was no fireworks from a war of words like other days. The two only talked about their own teams’ preparation. There was only a little spark when the championship title was mentioned.

“I believe Manchester United will be the league champion this season.” Ferguson looked confident, a flush of color and a smile in his face.

It was obviously not possible to avoid the topic. Twain did not want to appear weak, so he also said with a grin, “Nottingham Forest is aiming for the Double this season.”

As the words came out, Ferguson turned to look at him. The expressions on the reporters’ faces changed.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Twain. Did I hear you correctly? Are you saying that Nottingham Forest is going to take the Double this season?” A reporter raised his hand and stood up.

Twain nodded and spoke in a confident tone, “yes, you heard correctly. At the beginning of the season, I said the Forest team wanted the league title, but now my plan has been revised. Since we have a shot at the league title and the Champions League title, why don’t I take both?”

He did not consider Ferguson, because his tone seemed as if he had already secured the two championships.

Ferguson glanced at Tony Twain, and his expression — a smile yet not a smile made — his thoughts unfathomable. When Twain finished speaking, he smiled at Ferguson, and there was not a hint of disdain.

“It’s good for young people to have drive. If my team had beaten Chelsea, I would also want to get the Double.” Ferguson did not respond in a confrontational manner as the media had hoped for. He just nodded and continued, “however.”

As soon as the topic shifted, everyone got excited.

“A championship title is not won with words.”

Interesting. Twain thought, is this a different way to issue a challenge? I accept!

“I had said last season that Nottingham Forest would win the Champions League title, and at first no one believed it. What was the result?” He spread his hands. “Some said I had spoken without thinking and some thought it was personal hype. But the results showed everything clearly. Don’t tell me that Nottingham Forest’s UEFA Champions League title last season was hot air? I declared today that the Forest team’s goal is the Double. If there’s anyone who thinks I’m bragging or joking, it will be revealed tomorrow after the game!”

With that, he nodded to Ferguson and got up to leave first. He left the room of startled men and the old Sir Alex Ferguson, who looked at his back thoughtfully.

Chapter 639 - The Final Showdown at The Top of The Theatre of Dreams

“We’re going to take the Double.”

A large photograph of Tony Twain was below the caption, his head slightly tilted up, mouth open, and one hand aloft, arrogance undisguised on his face.

The photograph was not taken of Twain at the press conference the day before. The reporters selected it from photographs previously taken of Twain to complement the caption. The effect was just right.

Many football fans stood in line for admission outside the noisy Old Trafford, and almost all of the Forest fans had a copy of the newspaper.

They loved to see Tony Twain’s arrogance. Especially in the face of the well-known team, Manchester United, he was so arrogant. It made them feel steady before the game.

It was unknown if the Nottingham Forest players had the same idea.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest players were warming up on the field as the steady stream of fans entering the stadium made Old Trafford more raucous.

Tony Twain did not wait in the locker room this time. He stood on the sidelines and watched the Manchester United team warm up with interest. The other coaches led the Forest players in their warm-up.

Twain rarely came out when the team warmed up. He generally prepared himself in the locker room and would choose to rest there even if there was nothing to do. But he wanted to see Old Trafford before the game and observe Manchester United and Ferguson in passing.

Ferguson was in front of the home team’s technical area. Like Twain, he had his hands in his pockets as he watched the players warm up on the field.

Intuition told him that someone was watching him. He turned his head to find Tony Twain looking at him.

The two men’s line of sight collided, and neither wanted to be the first to avert their eyes. They eventually looked away at the same time because it felt weird to look face to face continuously…

Kerslake came off from the field and walked up to get a drink of water beside Twain.

“There are so many people.” He found that Twain was looking at the grandstand.

“With a capacity of sixty thousand people, it’s really much larger than the City Ground stadium…” Twain offhandedly added. It was not the first time they had come to Old Trafford to play, so there was no need to be so surprised.

Kerslake turned to return to the field.

Twain turned to walk back to the locker room. Judging from his observation, Cristiano Ronaldo’s form was as good as ever. It was going to be a big problem in the game.

Portugal’s Ronaldo had already scored thirty goals in the league tournament this season. With only the final round left in the league tournament, he was mostly set to win the Premier League’s top goalscorer of the season.

This season, Ferguson transformed Cristiano Ronaldo’s success to become the core of the team’s offense. Even Wayne Rooney had to make sacrifices for it. But Rooney had learned how to assist his teammates and was not as solitary as he used to be.

Manchester United had been incredibly strong and could have created better results than they did. Pity…

Twain had just returned to the locker room when he heard footsteps sound from outside. The players had finished their warm-up.

He straightened his back.

The door was pushed open. George Wood was the first to walk in, and the others streamed in behind him.

The last one to come in was Dunn, who closed the door.

As soon as the players came in, they began to change their jerseys. Everyone was focused on taking care of their own matters, and Twain was not in a hurry to speak.

When he saw that everyone was close to done taking care of their things, he got up and pressed his hands downwards. “Quiet, guys. I have something to say to you.”

The locker room gradually quieted down. Everyone looked at their boss standing by the door.

“In ninety minutes, this season’s league tournament will be over. We have worked hard for a season. These ninety minutes will show us what we will gain. Our team, regrettably, has yet to win the league title. Now is our opportunity.” Twain pointed to the door.

“Yesterday I said the Forest team’s goal this season was the Double, which shocked a lot of people. They thought I was bragging again, because our opponents in league’s final round and Champions League’s finals are strong teams. But I think this is nothing. If the opponents are not strong enough, maybe I’m not up to it.”

The players burst into laughter.

“When the opponents are strong enough, there’s more meaning to winning the titles… I mean, does the Double target scare you?” He looked at his players.

“What’s so scary about it?” Eastwood stood up. “We’ll all be laughed at when it gets out that we are intimidated by the number of championship titles.”

“Yes, yes, the Double is exactly what we have been fighting for. How can we be frightened?” The others echoed along.

Hearing the answers, Twain laughed. “We are truly a team! When I said I wanted to take the Double, people out there said ‘Tony Twain is crazy. If not crazy, then he’s stupid.’ They don’t believe it… No, it’s not that they don’t believe, they’re scared…” Twain pulled his lips back.

“What are they afraid of? Afraid that if we really take the two championships, it makes them look bad. It must be the end of the world for them to have such an arrogant man like me to take the Double.”

The players laughed upon hearing his remarks.

Tony Twain never hid his arrogance, whether he faced the press or his players. The players smiled knowingly when he said he was an arrogant man. The boss was really arrogant, but if they stood by his side in battle, then they felt that his arrogance was a massive dose of stimulant.

“Whether you can take the two championships titles, today’s game is the key. If we take the Double, it’s going to scare some people… Let them be afraid!”

“That’s right, boss!” They became excited, like a pack of wolves. The league title was their only regret. They were so close to the target and could not let go.

“I don’t know what the future holds! Maybe we’ll win a lot of championships together in the future, but that’s for the future. Now, since the league title is only ninety minutes away from us, we have no reason to let it go. Grab it tightly. If other people want to come and snatch it away? Let them pay the price!”

※※※

“I definitely won’t accept a home defeat.” In Manchester United’s locker room, Ferguson mobilized his players for the last time before the game. “It is not up for discussion. We lost too many important games during the final stages of the league tournament. Otherwise, we could have considered the Double. What’s lost is lost, but we must not lose this game! You know what it means for us to lose this game?”

Most of the players were silent. Ferguson’s moniker as “locker room hairdryer” was not without merit. Everyone was aware that they would have been the first in line in the league to win the title and the most promising team to reach the Champions League finals. In the end, they were reduced to competing for the league title with Nottingham Forest. Sir Alex Ferguson was in a bad mood, so no one wanted to try their luck.

“Do your best to take down Nottingham Forest! This is our home ground, so there’s nothing to worry about. I don’t want anyone to think they can take the title with a draw. We’ve played against them more than once. What kind of opponent is Nottingham Forest? I think it should be very clear — remember, you can’t give them the slightest chance!”

Ferguson clenched his fists. At sixty-six years old, he did not look old. His face shone, his eyes sparkled, and his movements were wide and powerful.

Speaking to a French radio station late last year, he stated that he might continue for another three years before retiring. Later, it was not known why he denied that he had said such a thing. Recently, after Manchester United was eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea, he once again mentioned his retirement in an interview. He did not state the exact time. He just said it was possible — could be four years later, could be the next day. He wanted to find the right time to leave, such as for health reasons, or finding a qualified successor, or winning the UEFA Champions League again.

The last condition was most likely due to his disgruntled venting over the recent elimination by Chelsea. No one thought he was going to leave because he won the Champions League title once. When Keane was still at Manchester United, it was rumored that he wanted to retire to abdicate to Keane. What was the result? When it came to the year he stated, he suddenly announced that he had renewed his contract with Manchester United to stay on again.

He was reluctant to leave the Manchester United team, so he said he was looking for a qualified successor. Otherwise, he would only consider leaving his position if he was physically unable.

It was normal for a manager to have the idea after more than twenty years in a team.

It was just that he was old. Seeing how worked up he was today, it was enough for people to break out into a cold sweat over the state of his heart.

※※※

The stands in “the Theatre of Dreams” Old Trafford set off a thunderous clamor. The starting lineups on both sides were still waiting inside the tunnel. Only the substitutes and coaches came out.

Ferguson came out impeccably dressed in a suit. When he came out, chewing gum with a flushed face, his appearance drew cheers from tens of thousands of Manchester United fans in the stadium.

Countless world-renowned players performed in “the Theatre of Dreams.” Even famous players like Beckham had to eventually bow down in front of this man. He got rid of Paul Ince, Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Roy Keane… None of those things affected his place in the minds of the “Theatre of Dreams” spectators. Because the English fans knew one thing better than other fans — a good manager was more valuable than a good player.

Not to mention Ferguson had worked there for twenty-one years.

For twenty-one years, Manchester United had gone from an inebriated club during the Atkinson era to one of the most famous football clubs in the world. In 1986, when Ferguson had just come to power, the once brilliant Red Devils lacked spirit. The management was in chaos, and even their bus driver was a fan of their same city’s nemesis, Manchester City. Now, the Manchester United Football Club had become an operations model of European professional football clubs. Manchester United footprints were seen from the Far East to the Caribbean and around the world. Even when Evan and Allan talked to Twain about the future of Nottingham Forest, their point of reference was the current Manchester United team. To be studied by their opponent was an amazing thing. For the last twenty-one years, the “Red Devils”, Manchester United had changed bosses, faced crisis, had star players come and go, but one person’s name remained throughout.

The man stood on the sidelines, listening to the cheers for him.

Tony Twain came out slightly behind Ferguson. He had not heard what the cheers were, but he knew they were not for him. No fan would cheer for the enemy who was about to compete against his own team for the league title.

Ferguson raised his hands and waved to the surrounding grandstand. He did not make any more stops and headed straight for his own technical area.

Twain did not follow to his own technical area. He stood where he was and turned his head to look at the man’s back.

That man had won eighteen trophies of all kinds as the manager of Manchester United, but he would not be soft today because he had won too many times. His Nottingham Forest team wanted to pick up the league title trophy for the first time, and it would not be possible to get through the game without working hard. As for the Champions League final in ten days? No one was going to think about that!

After a few years of arduous training and hard work in the circle of professional coaches in England, Twain suddenly discovered that he had set himself the goal of “constant victories and championship titles.” The target that he should have set was not Brian Clough, who was mentioned all the time, or Arsène Wenger, who had a good relationship with him in private. It was not even Mourinho, his cherished rival, but the old man in front of him, who was not very striking and even had somewhat of a Scottish country bumpkin air to him.

He had won the most championships. His team started a ten-year dynasty in English football. He changed the Manchester United Football Club and English football. He was the worthy godfather of Manchester United.

Could he be such a figure one day?

To win more trophies that he could even count, turn Nottingham Forest from a fallen team to a famous powerhouse, and sweep across the football world everywhere…

At the thought, Twain suddenly felt hot-blooded and impassioned.

He seemed to see the huge stadium in front of him where the people got up from their seats, stretched out their arms and shouted at his name, “Twain! Twain! Twain! Twain… Don!”

Twain could not help but raise his hands to greet the crowd in the stands.

A shrill boo broke through the illusion and pulled him back to reality.

Looking at the hostile Manchester United fans around him, his interest waned. He pouted as he put his hands down and walked to his seat.

Well, wait until I defeat you in ninety minutes, then we’ll see the expressions on your faces. Even if you break your voices from hissing, the trophy will not go back to your side!

Chapter 640 - The Older the Ginger, the Spicier the Ginger

According to the principle of defensive positions, George Wood’s defensive target was supposed to be the Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes. The player opposite him was exactly the “Ginger Prince.”

But Wood eyed Cristiano Ronaldo.

Twain did not ask Wood to mark and defend against Ronaldo. He just placed Wood towards the right side. Once Ronaldo took the ball, Wood could go over to support the defense. After he studied Ronaldo’s performance this season, he found it impractical to have the only defensive midfielder dedicated to defending against Ronaldo, since he was not fixed on any side. Ronaldo’s position was flexible. To be able to score so many goals was not based on playing on a certain side.

He was in the wing when they lined up in the formation before the game. His position was much more flexible as soon as the game was started. He could be on the left, on the right, or even properly become the center forward!

Ronaldo did score a lot of goals this season, but he scored as a midfielder. He had not played as a center forward yet. Not only that, Wayne Rooney, who was supposed to be Manchester United’s official center forward in the game, appeared on the wing.

Scholes had no choice but to fight to the death with George Wood. When Wood entered the England national team, he had announced his withdrawal from it. However, he was well aware of the ability of the younger player. He passed the football to Wayne Rooney on the side.

Usually the striker for Manchester United, Rooney played as side midfielder for the game, which nobody could comprehend.

Even the commentator animatedly questioned, “what is Ferguson thinking? He pulled Rooney, who is suited to be a center forward, out of the box, far away from the Nottingham Forest goal. Then he put Ronaldo, who is normally the winger, to play as the center forward, which would cause him to be caught in the middle among the Forest team’s tall defenders. He can’t play to his strengths.”

Manchester United had never had such a change of formation. Maybe they did during training, but it had never appeared in a game.

Seeing Rooney take the ball, Twain moved his eyes off the field to Ferguson. Sir Alex was directing the game on the sidelines. There was no need to command, so he just put his hands in his pockets as he stood on the sidelines to watch.

What did he have in mind with these player adjustments?

Twain mulled it over.

※※※

Nottingham Forest used the 4-2-2 formation they were best at for the game. The goalkeeper was Edwin van der Sar. Gareth Bale, Pepe, Piqué, and Rafinha were on the rear defensive line, from left to right, while Ribéry, van der Vaart, George Wood and Beckham were in the midfield, from left to right. On the front line were van Nistelrooy and Arshavin as partners.

It could almost be considered the strongest squad.

On the other side, Manchester United used a 4-5-1 formation.

The goalkeeper was the young Ben Foster. Evra, Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, and Brown were the rear defensive line. There was something different about the midfield formation.

The left side of the midfield, which should have belonged to Giggs or Park Ji-sung, was occupied by Wayne Rooney. Giggs and Park Ji-sung did not receive the opportunity to start. Park Ji-sung did not even make it on the squad list.

Carrick and Scholes were in parallel positions, but O’Shea, the extra defensive midfielder, was behind them. O’Shea was supposed to play as a full-back, but he was stronger in defensive than Carrick and Scholes. For Ferguson to place him behind the pair and in front of the center-back, his meaning could not have been more obvious — he was to help defend and block the Forest team’s offense.

Hargreaves appeared on the right flank. He was strong in every area and capable of any positions in the midfield. The most important thing was he had a certain defensive ability, and his offensive ability was not weak either.

The striker was the well-deserved Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was a strange formation for the spectators. The person who was supposed to play as the center forward was not playing as the center forward, while the player who was supposed to play as the side midfielder was not playing as the side midfielder. And the defender who was supposed to play as a full-back was not playing as a full-back… Was Ferguson’s brains muddled by the stress?

Twain obviously did not think so.

Who was Alex Ferguson? He shouldered through the thrilling scene of the 1999 Champions League final. How could he be befuddled by a league tournament final showdown?

Therefore, Ferguson had to have his reasons for the arrangement.

It made sense for a center-back like O’Shea to play as the defensive midfielder, as Ferguson hoped to increase the defensive strength in the midfield to prevent the Forest team’s counterattacks. Ever since Roy Keane’s departure, Ferguson could no longer find a world-class midfielder who was good in defense and offense like the Irishman. Carrick originally joined the team as “Keane’s successor,” but he was better at controlling the pace and managing the dispatch in the midfield. His defense was far worse as compared to it.

In that case, what was exactly going on with the exchange of positions between Rooney and Ronaldo?

※※※

While Twain was pondering to himself, Rooney had begun to dribble and break through with the ball in the wing.

Rafinha’s defense was not as good as his offense, so he struggled to face up to Rooney. Beckham ran back from the front and tackled Rooney down from behind.

There was a flurry of boos in the stands. The only gratifying thing was that it had not yet reached an earthshattering point. It showed that although there were people who hated Beckham, not everyone did. It was the one time that Beckham had ruined Manchester United’s attack. Even the Manchester United fans who did not hate him could not stand and applaud the player who ruined their attack.

The boos reached Beckham’s ears, and he heard them, but he did not even cast his eyes at the stands.

The referee ruled that Nottingham Forest had fouled, and Rafinha returned to form the human wall. Beckham stood in front of the ball and Rooney, blocking him from sending out a swift free kick. He also took time to turn around and signal to his teammates to speed up the formation of the defense within the box.

Rooney got up from the ground and looked at Beckham, who was standing in front of him. When Beckham left Manchester United, Rooney was still making his mark at Everton. He transferred to Manchester United after the 2004 UEFA European Championship in Portugal and had never been teammates with Beckham. He had experience playing football with him on the England national team, and he had a small contradiction with Beckham during the competition.

He had a variety of impressions of the man. He was England’s captain, the star player of Real Madrid, the superstar spanning across the world of commercial football, and so on. The impressions did not include him wearing a Manchester United jersey.

Ronaldo ran over to replace Wayne Rooney for the free kick. Beckham still did not step aside, so Manchester United’s No. 7 motioned to the referee. Was Beckham’s action a violation?

The referee came up and made Beckham move away. Only then did Beckham slowly move back to Rafinha to form a double human wall with him.

When Ronaldo ran up to pass the ball, the football quickly streaked across the front of goal. No one touched the ball.

The football sailed over the penalty area where most people were and landed on the other side.

Hargreaves appeared at the football’s point of fall and stopped the ball. The Forest defenders, who had wanted to press out collectively, saw Hargreaves get the ball and could only stay in front of the goal to defend against Manchester United’s second attack.

They could not let Hargreaves get the ball so easily. Someone had to rush up. The left-back, Gareth Bale rushed out and threw himself straight at Hargreaves.

Hargreaves did not get entangled with Bale. He passed the ball to Scholes, who pulled out to assist him. After Scholes dribbled across, he shot decisively toward the goal, and Edwin van der Sar did not have time to confiscate the football, but it was blocked out in the crowded penalty area.

Unfortunately, the man who fended off the shot was Manchester United’s own player, Carrick.

The Manchester United fans could only hold their heads in their hands and lament the bad luck of the attack.

The football popped out and was grabbed by Forest players. Nottingham Forest took the opportunity to launch a counter-offensive, but their ball was stopped by O’Shea just after it went half of the field. Meanwhile, both Rio Ferdinand and Vidic retreated to defend at a high speed. Ferguson did not have to worry about the Forest team’s quick counterattack because O’Shea’s performance was a testament to his ingenuity in arranging such a figure in the midfield.

Nottingham Forest’s quick counterattack did not happen, and they could only helplessly continue to withdraw to defend.

The more the game progressed, the more difficult the Nottingham Forest players felt the game was.

The tactic arranged before the game was that Ronaldo was a dangerous player and needed to be heavily marked. As a result, the Forest team’s two sides became heavily guarded places. Rooney was the second most dangerous player. Moreover, because as a center forward, Rooney liked to retreat to get the ball, George Wood and the center-backs also needed to take care of the middle.

But now that Rooney and Ronaldo had switched positions, they were a little at a loss.

Furthermore, the pressure did not just come from the two dangerous players. Ferguson’s team adopted a full-attack stance at home! Even O’Shea had to press past half the field. Manchester United was not a nobody team. If they went on full offensive, it would put a lot of pressure on the defense.

Twain did not expect the second point.

He thought that in such a crucial game, Ferguson would be steadier and more cautious. He would first firmly stabilize the defense and then contend with the Forest team.

He did not expect that the old man had no intention of doing so. He boldly instructed the team to go an all-out attack to crush Nottingham Forest at home.

As to guard against the Forest team’s counterattack, O’Shea was the brake, but it was more important to suppress the Forest team’s attack with their offense.

Twain thought to let the Forest team use defensive counterattack in the away game first to test the ground. He did not think they would face with such tremendous pressure the moment the game started.

He could not sit still.

※※※

Although Ronaldo was the center forward, he did not stay in front of the goal. His position was flexible. He was just closer to the goal than when he played in the midfield. In his current form where he continued to score goals, being closer to the goal meant he was closer to scoring a goal.

Ronaldo had outstanding footwork skills and, at 1.89 meters tall, his header skills were not bad either.

Twain knew that, so he decided to pay no attention to Rooney at first, and squeeze Cristiano Ronaldo out of the penalty area instead.

He walked to the sidelines and indicated aloud to the defenders not to let Ronaldo enter the penalty area.

Ronaldo did not enter. After he received a pass outside the box, he kicked a direct long shot, which brushed the post to fly out. The close call made everyone on the Nottingham Forest team break out in a cold sweat.

Twain realized that his attempt was futile. Ronaldo did not have to be fixed in the box either. Ferguson arranged that because he liked his form and feel for his successive goals and thought that he might score in the game. Therefore, he put him in the forward position, which led him to be a little closer to the goal. A good player had a lot of methods to score goals. He could not be stopped by just keeping him out of the box. Moreover, Ronaldo used to be a midfielder, and a lot of those thirty odd goals were scored outside the box. In any case, he definitely had a way to score a goal.

Twain scowled. How could he prevent Ronaldo? Let Wood deal with him one-on-one? It was not in the wings but in the middle, in front of the box. It was impossible for Wood to check Ronaldo and not foul once for ninety minutes.

Ronaldo had scored six free kicks in various competitions this season. Almost every goal was brilliant and beautiful. Twain was deeply impressed by the free kick he scored in the game against Portsmouth.

Even if they relied on fouls to stop Ronaldo’s breakthrough in the middle, he could still make use of a free kick to breach the goal to score. If it had been two seasons ago, no one would be concerned about his free kicks. Now, he could not disregard him. If not, they would concede the goal…

Twain bit his lip in silence.

※※※

Impacted by Manchester United, the Forest players’ performance on the field was unsatisfactory. Pressed under Manchester United’s powerful offensive, they could only stay in full defensive stance, too occupied to fight back.

On the other hand, Manchester United launched a tidal wave of attack on the Forest team’s hinterland amid the cheers from the home fans, wave after wave and each wave higher than the last.

Ferguson’s objective was clear — use the home-field advantage to try to lock in the win in the first half with a tactic that Twain did not expect, while bringing the game io the pace that Manchester United was best at. Providing that enough leading advantage was established, and the players were in form again, how could Manchester United not be in charge of the game? Coupled with the deafening cheers in the Old Trafford stadium, the home-field advantage was not to be trifled with.

Ferguson watched on the sidelines for a while and found that the game was still within his control, so he turned and walked back.

As he turned around, he discovered that Tony Twain looked vexed as he stood at the other end. An indiscernible smile emerged on his face.

Chapter 641 - Ronaldo In Full Swing

The game was deadlocked for fifteen minutes. Manchester United dominated with an absolute advantage on the field but did not score any goals due to their luck being a little down.

Twain did not think that his team would be in such a sorry predicament in Old Trafford, and he was a little annoyed.

It was no use clinging to defense when they were up against Manchester United’s offensive. If the Forest team could not counterattack, it would slowly be eaten by Manchester United one bite at a time.

But how would he defend against Ronaldo in such good form...

※※※

Cristiano Ronaldo almost withdrew to the midfield to get the ball. The Nottingham Forest players forced him to move outside, so he took advantage of the situation for his own benefit and came back to receive the pass. After he took the ball, he used his superb footwork to break through the Forest team’s defensive line.

George Wood found Ronaldo harder to defend against than in previous seasons. It was not how fancy Ronaldo’s footwork was. On the contrary, the Portuguese’s footwork became more practical. He not only immersed himself in his dribbling, he also knew when to pass the ball and when to shoot. The diversity of his offense made it harder to guard against him.

When George Wood saw him rush up with the ball, he looked left and right to check the positions of his own team and opposing players before he went up to face him. Although Twain did not instruct him to specifically mark Ronaldo, he was now in their defensive zone, so how could he shy away from defending against him?

He went up to intercept Ronaldo head-on, but Ronaldo passed the ball, not wanting to entangle with George Wood.

Ronaldo ran and skirted around Wood without the football. Once he received the ball from his teammate, he had managed to wedge Wood behind him. Now that he was now in the dangerous zone, he did not think that Wood would dare to foul lightly.

Wood indeed did not dare to foul. He wanted to stab the ball from behind, but Ronaldo did a good job of protecting the ball in the course of dribbling it, so he could not find the right time to make his move. After a slight hesitation, Ronaldo found a gap to slip into the penalty.

This time, he did not dare foul even if he wanted to.

Pepe intended to cut Ronaldo’s ball when he broke into the box and had not established himself on firm ground. He did not think that Ronaldo could still control the football in such a confined area. No matter how many people wanted to intercept his ball, they just could not tackle it! And because they were in the box, the defensive players had to be careful. The force of the interception was not strong enough, so it was not that easy to tackle the ball successfully.

Ronaldo zoomed in on a gap and suddenly lifted his leg to shoot. Although the power was not strong, the angle was artful enough.

Edwin van der Sar’s line of sight was blocked by the crowd. He had to dive to get the football out using his fingertips!

“Wooooow! Cristiano Ronaldo’s form looks very good today! He, alone in the box, has attracted all of Nottingham Forest’s defensive strength, but he can still kick the shot, and a quality shot at that. If not for Edwin van der Sar’s valiant performance, Manchester United would be leading with 1:0!”

Ronaldo raised his head as he squeezed among the crowd, ready to grab the corner kick for another shot. With his height of 1.89 meters, he was not inferior to the center-backs. In addition with his outstanding leap, he was a real threat to the Forest team in front of the goal.

Pepe grabbed hold of George Wood and pointed to Ronaldo to motion for him to go defend against Manchester United’s number 7.

Wood did not refuse, and stood in front of Ronaldo.

The Portuguese looked at Wood, but did not use his hands to jostle him. The two just looked at each other. A “friendly” defense of a corner kick was incomprehensible to others.

Once the ball was kicked, Wood and Ronaldo made their moves almost at the same time. Wood tried to stall Ronaldo, while Ronaldo tried to push Wood away.

The two players entangled and jumped up to find that they had done it for nothing. Manchester United’s corner kick was not done well enough and went straight out of the end line in the air...

※※※

Ronaldo in full swing caused the entire Forest team to be quite nervous. Whenever he took the ball, there would be at least three people around him to prevent him from easily breaking through. The Forest team’s middle was already crowded. Having three players besiege him was normal. As one of the strong attacking players, he deserved this handling.

The Forest players guarded against Ronaldo more, but gradually forgot another person.

When Ronaldo was again hit by the Forest team’s blockade, he did not choose to break through individually or raise his leg for a shot, but diverted the football to the left.

Wayne Rooney received the pass from him.

Only Rafinha was in front of Rooney.

As a result of Ronaldo’s active performance, Nottingham Forest unwittingly shifted the defensive focus from the wing to the middle and then to him alone. There were even times when Beckham needed to step back into the middle to help with the defense.

After Rooney took the ball, no one was there to defend against him.

In the face of the offensively strong and defensively weak Rafinha, Rooney did not go easy. After a feint shook his center of gravity, he accelerated to break through. Rafinha also reacted fast. When he saw Rooney bypass him, he immediately turned around to shovel. Even a foul was better than letting him easily break through.

The English boy seemed to have eyes on his back. Once Rafinha came close, he soared. Rafinha did not shovel the ball, but slightly hooked Rooney.

Rooney stumbled, but soon adjusted, thanks to his outstanding physical fitness, and staggered toward the football. Pepe had already rushed over from the box. Meanwhile, Beckham had also rushed over from the middle to support the defense.

He was about to push Rooney to the brink, but instead he suddenly swept the football into the middle.

Ronaldo, Scholes, and Hargreaves were all inside the box. Piqué, Bale, Wood, and Rafinha had just run back on that side of Nottingham Forest.

Rooney’s pass became a mess in front of the goal.

Ronaldo was going to rush up and grab the ball when he suddenly felt someone’s hand grip his shoulder and push him forward. He suddenly had an idea and fell headfirst.

Ronaldo, who fell down, knocked over Piqué in front of him.

It instantly became a mess in the box. The football flew past the goal amidst the chaos, and no one touched it!

The Manchester United fans got excited as they saw Ronaldo fall to the ground and heard the referee’s whistle.

The referee on duty ran into the box and pointed to... a spot for a penalty shot!

※※※

“Damn it!” Twain saw the scene and was furious. “It’s clearly a dive! That referee is doggone blind!”

In next technical area, Ferguson stood on the sidelines, smiling and clapping. He did not care if it was a dive, as long as the referee awarded Nottingham Forest with a penalty, then it was Nottingham Forest who fouled.

Loud cheers rang out in the stands at the Old Trafford Stadium, drowning out the boos from the Nottingham Forest fans. The home field advantage was unmistakable.

On the field, the Nottingham Forest players were arguing with the referee amid the overwhelming cheers from the Manchester United fans. Incessantly clapping his hands together, Bale kept explaining to the referee that he had not pushed anyone, and that it was just a normal physical contact. His strength was not enough to push Ronaldo down.

But the referee just shook his head and stood on the penalty spot. He would not change his decision.

Tony Twain, who was enraged, pointed to the group of Manchester United players hugging each other in celebration on the sidelines and roared, “Liar! Ronaldo, you’re a brazen liar!”

Ronaldo had a bad reputation due to his many dive. Twain did not really care as he openly abused him on the opponent’s turf.

Ferguson frowned slightly when heard. The fourth official was drawn to his shouts.

“Mr. Tony Twain, please calm down. I’m warning you, don’t be banished to the stands because of this.”

Twain knew what the other person said was not a joke. He grimaced and stopped yelling. He just turned around in the technical area with his back toward the field. He did not want to watch the Manchester United players’ celebration.

※※※

Cristiano Ronaldo was surrounded by his teammates. There was a roar of excitement all around him, and he had no idea what Twain shouted on the sidelines, but it did not matter. Once the game was over, someone would tell him what happened on the sidelines. Then the media could watch in safety and reap the rewards again whilst both sides fought.

The Nottingham Forest players’ protest was ineffective, and the decided penalty was unlikely to change. They could only accept the result powerlessly, but when several people pulled out of the box, they threw resentful looks at Ronaldo, who took the football as he prepared for the penalty shot.

Among them, Gareth Bale, the “offender,” almost nailed his stare at the other party.

Ronaldo did not have time to care whether other people’s glances were friendly or not. He carried the football to the penalty spot, and placed the football firmly on it.

“Ronaldo has scored thirty goals in the league tournament and is currently at the top of the strikers’ ranking. But apparently he doesn’t want to end his goalscoring spree yet. There is no doubt that he will be the best player of the season if he can help Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest to eventually pick up the league title trophy. As a midfielder, he has reached a total of forty goals in a single season. This is a remarkable result! Does Ferguson think that he poses a greater threat to his opponent by putting him on the front line as a striker in this game?”

The raucous Old Trafford stadium gradually quieted down. Ronaldo got up and moved backwards, ready to take the penalty shot. He stood with his legs apart and put his hands on his hips as he stared at the goal. He continuously inhaled and exhaled. It was one of his usual poses before executing a penalty set-piece.

Edwin van der Sar stared at the football as he stood in the middle of the goal with open arms. His height and arm length allowed him to cover almost half the goal.

His ability to pounce on the penalty shots had improved significantly since he beat Arsenal on the penalty shot in the Champions League semifinal game of the 05-06 season which helped the team break into the Champions League finals.

And...

“It looks like Ronaldo is going to execute the penalty shot he created. He missed a penalty shot in the Champions League semifinal penalty shootout against Chelsea. I wonder if he has a chance to wash away the shame this time?”

Cristiano Ronaldo had just missed a penalty shot in an important game and the team was tragically eliminated. His emotions had to still be fluctuating. He was taking on the penalty shot in hopes to get rid of the shadow of the missed penalty shot. But with more haste and less speed, the more he wanted it, the less he could succeed.

So although the Forest team was sentenced with a supreme penalty in the game, the situation might not be that dire.

When Edwin van der Sar opened his arms in front of the goal, Twain’s raging heart settled a little.

With the exception of Edwin van der Sar and Ronaldo, everyone else pulled out of the box.

The referee whistled to signal that Ronaldo could kick.

He took a deep breath and then began to run, while Edwin van der Sar quickly judged the direction.

The running Ronaldo stopped and raised his leg to shoot! Edwin van der Sar leapt sideways!

The football hit van der Sar on the arm and bounced back, but the commentator and Nottingham Forest fans had yet to cheer, because the danger was not eliminated.

Edwin van der Sar’s thrown ball happened to bounce back in front of Ronaldo, who was still upset...

Can it be that I miss a penalty shot again?

Ronaldo was put out when he saw that the football had bounced back.

He froze for less than a second, looked up and saw Edwin van der Sar still in the air, looking at him with a desperate expression on his face.

He smiled.

He lifted his leg for a shot...

“Gooooal!! Manchester United is in the lead! Manchester United takes the lead on their home ground in the opening twenty-one minutes! Ah, ah, ah... But we’re not surprised by this score at all. It’s a matter of course for Manchester United to take the lead based on the first twenty-minutes of this game! Nottingham Forest doesn’t even have a chance. They can only be beaten passively! Maybe Tony Twain still have something to say about this penalty shot, but he can’t deny the score!”

Thunderous cheers rang out in the stands at the Old Trafford stadium. The commentator’s words infuriated Twain again, but when he calmed down, he had to admit that the man was right. Nottingham Forest had not had any advantage at all in the first twenty minutes, not to mention that they could not play with the style they were good at. How could they expect to beat Manchester United in the away game?

He turned his back toward the field and heard the cheers coming from all directions,?knowing that Manchester United was ahead. Instead of turning around, he continued to face the technical area. Dunn and Kerslake could see that the expression on his face was getting darker.

He pressed his hands on the railing of the technical area, clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. His expression was ugly as he gnashed his teeth and emitted a low growl, rumbling like waves of thunder from a distance.

Chapter 642 - Decisive Battle in The Second Half

Tony Twain stomped with fury on the sidelines. He did not fly into a rage for Ronaldo’s penalty shot. It was the second time.

After Ronaldo scored, Manchester United scored again in just four minutes.

After Nottingham Forest kicked off, the defensive line made a mistake and passed the ball with too much force at a very close distance. When van der Vaart stopped the ball, the football bounced high. He wanted to control the ball again, but it was seized by Scholes, who came from behind. Van der Vaart wanted to foul and was a step too late.

Scholes passed the ball behind him. Rooney plugged in from behind and broke into the box. He passed the ball and Ronaldo, following close behind, easily hit the ball into the goal.

Old Trafford was like a pot of boiling water in the few minutes. No sound other than the cheers and shouts of the Manchester United fans could be heard.

How could Twain not fly into a rage?

Conceding two goals so quickly was a huge blow to the team’s morale. Furthermore, the second goal was their mistake. He could blame the first goal on the referee for being blind. However, the second goal? He had nothing to say and could only choke down his anger, which caused him to breathe heavily.

He was not mentally prepared for the game to be played like that at all. He was aware that the game would be tough to play, and he knew it was not easy to deal with Ferguson. He was even more aware of how good Ronaldo’s form was this season, but he did not expect his team to play so terribly!

He was extremely angry, and the consequences were serious.

※※※

Nottingham Forest was dumbfounded by the two goal concedes within four minutes. After the kick-off, the players were a bit listless and seemed erratic in both defensive and the occasional counterattack.

Perhaps the pressure of the league title distracted them. Twain, who watched the game off the field, sometimes could not fathom what his players were doing.

When Gareth Bale received George Wood’s pass, the most appropriate thing to do as a full-back was to get the ball out from his feet as quickly as possible under Manchester United’s forward pressing. However, Bale did not. He took the ball and raised his head to look for someone. When he found that there was no suitable passing route, he feinted to bypass Hargreaves, who came up to tackle him. It would be time to pass it on now, wouldn’t it? No, he knocked the ball again, then turned around and tried to protect the ball. His teammates were not far away, waiting to receive. He lifted his leg up and pretended like he was going to pass but did not. After a few repetitions, his ball was intercepted.

Twain took his anger out on a water bottle.

※※※

George Wood was also anxious. He was the captain. When the team was on a roll, it might not reflect the importance of a captain, but now the team was faced with difficulties, he had to step up as the captain.

How would he step up? George Wood did not know what to do.

As he continued to play, he searched his mind for how Demetrio would deal with a similar situation. As a result, he was distracted.

Ronaldo successfully broke through him twice in a row. George Wood appeared to be completely vulnerable.

The cheers of the Manchester United fans became even louder. George Wood was a well-known defensive midfielder in the English Premier League. It was amazing to be able to bypass him so easily, but their Cristiano Ronaldo managed to do it.

Even with such a performance from Wood, Twain did not take it out on the water bottle. He sat in his chair and sulked.

Looking at him like this, Ferguson had a smile on his face on the other side. His already glowing face “flushed red with success.”

It made people suspect if he had ever secretly drank in the technical area.

※※※

The first half came to an end while Manchester United mobbed Nottingham Forest, while Nottingham Forest, powerless to fight back, looked extremely pathetic.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the Nottingham Forest players thought it was a good sound for the first time, but when they saw the hasty departure of the back view on the sidelines, they felt that a greater ordeal probably awaited them back in the locker room.

The first person to walk into the locker room was Ribéry. He saw Twain sitting in a chair with a grim expression and did not dare to speak. He walked to his own locker with his head down and sat down to rest.

The players, who followed behind, were mostly the same. No one spoke, listened to music, or laughed. The 0:2 score and the manager’s gloomy face caused everyone’s heart to be crushed by a boulder.

Dunn was the last one to enter. He closed the door, and the noise outside faded.

Twain got up from his chair. He had choked back the words in his heart for the whole first half.

“I’m so glad we did not concede two more goals after losing two goals in a row,” Twain said with a grim face, so that no one would believe that he was actually glad — perhaps it should be sorry.

“Some people may think I’m saying this in anger.” Twain spread his hands. “Don’t joke, looking at your performance in the second part of the first half… Not only I’m thankful, all of you should be thankful too! To only concede two goals under those circumstances, how lucky are we! How lucky!”

He suddenly raised his voice, causing a few of the timid players to almost jump out of their seats, like Gareth Bale.

“Gareth Bale!” Twain looked at the frightened young man. “Do you know the basic duty of a defender? Look at how you perform after taking the ball in the backfield… If you really could not find a person to pass the ball to, you could have driven the ball out with a long pass. Why were you showing off your footwork?”

“I…” Bale wanted to explain himself, but he could not find a proper reason because his mind was a complete blank when he made that mistake. He did not know what he was doing. After Hargreaves intercepted the ball, he was so afraid that he wanted to end the opponent’s offense with a shovel from behind. Fortunately, he did not do it. Otherwise, the anger he had to face now would have been several times greater.

After he rebuked the poor little monkey, Twain turned his eyes on the team’s captain, George Wood.

“Wood!” He did not use “George” which meant that he was in a rage. “At first you did well, and I always thought your mental quality was top notch! But your performance was completely different after the two goal concede. Were you also frightened by the two goal concede in just four minutes? You let that Portuguese lad easily break through in front of you without any resistance. A scarecrow is stronger than you!”

Wood did not intend to defend himself, but he did not want to admit he was scared, so he stood up. “I wasn’t scared, I was just thinking… Trying to figure out how to get the team out of trouble.”

When he heard him, Twain smiled, “At least you still tried to be the captain. But you thought for too long — you did not come up with anything until the end of the first half, did you?”

This time Wood could only silently agree.

Twain faced the entire team. “We were crushed by Manchester United in our own half of field throughout the first half and couldn’t get out. Our occasional counterattacks ended quickly and achieved nothing. That situation is still considered normal. The part that was abnormal was we conceded two goals, and within four minutes… We conceded two goals in a row! How do we fix it? We must lead with a few threatening attacks to let Manchester United know that Nottingham Forest is not a coward who can only be beaten and not fight back!”

Twain took a deep breath and paused. The action looked like he was trying to control his anger.

“I don’t want to dwell too much about what happened in the first half. It’s no use talking any more about the first half of the game. I can reprimand you many times and the score won’t change!” He pointed to outside. “So we have to talk about what to do in the second half. We will attack in the second half. We must attack. Pay attention to what I said. It’s not defensive counterattack, it’s offense! Full attack!”

“We thought Manchester United would be a bit more cautious at home and did not expect them to attack with all their strength in the first half, which caught us off guard. After this half of the game, Manchester United will think that we have been beaten down by them and the pace of the game has fallen into their control. If they still play like this in the second half, then we’ll show them what we’ve got!”

Twain clenched his fists and motivated the players who had been stunned by the two goal concede.

He was now keen for Manchester United to continue the full attack in the second half, fearing that Ferguson would not do as he wished. After all, Manchester United had a two-goal lead. Generally, everyone would choose to be more conservative. A two-goal lead on their home ground was enough to obtain a desired outcome.

If Manchester United were to withdraw and play with a conservative mindset in the second half, it would be hard for Twain to say that his team could beat Manchester United. After all, it was an away game, and the opponent was not weak. No one dared to predict which team would be able to win the game.

If Manchester United still pressed on the Forest team in their half of the field, then things would be different. If Nottingham Forest went all out to fight Manchester United, it might be able to catch the other team off guard and cause them to lose the advantage of leading with two balls. The game would be pulled back to the pace that the Forest team was most accustomed to.

In that case, what would Ferguson think?

※※※

Compared with the atmosphere in the Forest team locker room, it was a lot lighter inside the Manchester United locker room. Most people are doing things they were interested in. Some listened to music, some chatted to each other, and some closed their eyes for a rest. Even Ferguson was chatting with his aides.

Manchester United were well prepared before the game, and Ferguson managed to convince the players that the game against Nottingham Forest was the most important final of their lives. Therefore, everyone thought the game would not be easy. After all, they had known what kind of team Nottingham Forest was.

They were heavily armed and focused in the game, only to find that the opponent was vulnerable, and they could easily lead by two goals. It was truly unexpected for them.

There was also talk about Nottingham Forest’s poor first-half performance during halftime, which erupted into bursts of laughter.

It was extremely gratifying to be able to easily break through George Wood, who had always been annoying, like he was a block of wood.

The main factor that put the group in a good mood was that after a busy season, it was finally possible to reap one championship title. Although it was a shame to be knocked out of the Champions League, professional players always had to face one failure or another. If they were to brood over a failure, they would never win a championship title.

When Ferguson saw that everyone had rested enough and halftime was ending, he decided to say something.

“Everyone did well in the first half. Such a result… honestly speaking, even I did not expect it. We efficiently lead by two goals, which is very good! Very good indeed! We’ll continue to play like that in the second half and maintain the pressure on Nottingham Forest’s goal! Don’t give them the slightest chance to counter. We’ll just press on them to play!”

※※※

“Remember, if they continue to press us like they did in the first half, that’s the best result! If they dare to press up, we will dare to attack! Don’t worry about the defense behind you. If we don’t do something to change the situation, even if you withdraw, the defense will concede the goal!” Twain seized the final moments to instruct the players on how to play in the second half.

The Nottingham Forest players were not as relaxed as the Manchester United players. As the trailing team, they had no right to listen to music or joke around in the locker room. Other than reprimanding the team, Twain laid out the strategies for the second half during the entire halftime. His mouth was going non-stop, like a machine gun. He did not even stop for a drink of water.

Glancing at his watch, it was close to the time to make their appearance at the field. He decided to end the tactical meeting and dropped his pen. He said seriously, “remember, there are forty-five minutes left. After forty-five minutes, it will be clear whether we are heroes or losers. Does anyone think we have too many championship titles? Does anyone not want to win the Double? Anybody want to be a loser? I don’t care how difficult it is, grit your teeth and fight for these forty-five minutes! If anyone can’t stand this kind of pressure and signal to me to substitute a player, I will not hesitate to bring you off!”

※※※

“You know how angry I was to be eliminated from the Champions League and how disappointed the Manchester United fans were, but you’re lucky that there’s another chance to save this terrible season. We have no reason to throw away the league trophy at our doorstep, not to mention that we are two goals ahead! Don’t let your guard down in the second half and score another goal so that Nottingham Forest is screwed! The league title is ours, and this is your only chance to redeem yourselves!” Ferguson was also doing a final bid to motivate his players.

The two managers were well aware of the final harvest of a season. Whether they would become kings or losers, it all depended on the last forty-five minutes.

No one wanted to be a loser; everyone wanted to be a king. Therefore, the second half was destined to be very, very intense. Perhaps it might be bitter?

Chapter 643 - Before the Storm

“Welcome back to Old Trafford for the second half of the game. This is the final round of the 07-08 English Premier League season and the winner will emerge on this field. For now, the home team, Manchester United dominates and lead by two goals. Tony Twain’s team didn’t get any decent chances in the first half. Provided that Manchester United plays normally, this two-goal lead will be unshakeable...”

Manchester United could also be counted as “playing normally.” They continued their first-half performance and used an all-out attack to maintain constant pressure in front of the Forest team’s goal.

Nottingham Forest tried to fight back at first. They planned to use offense to suppress the opponent’s offensive and put the initiative back in their hands, as Twain said at halftime.

Instead, Manchester United nearly breached the goal again with two attacks, and the Forest team immediately became ineffectual once again. Due to the pressure of two goal concedes over their heads, the Forest team worried that the difference between the scores was going to be widened further. They could counter a two goal gap, but what about three goals or four goals? That would be a real loss of their fighting spirit.

That was what they thought, and it was not wrong, but due to the fear of conceding a goal again, they acted timidly and dared not move forward, which was no different from a loss of fighting spirit.

When Twain saw that his players were forced to retreat onto their half of the field to defend as they did in the first half, he jerked up from his seat, which startled Kerslake.

“These bastards!” When Kerslake heard Twain stand up, he even swore hard.

Every technical area had a square outlined in white in front, which was the command area where the manager directed the game. Neither manager could not step out of this area, or he would be warned by the referee. The incorrigible repeat offender would be sent to the stands.

Twain stepped on the white line and looked toward the field. Since the two teams switched sides for the second half, the Forest team was in front of his technical area. He could easily roar to direct the game.

Gareth Bale took the ball again and passed it to Ribéry. Ribéry wanted to dribble forward but was disrupted by the opponent and went out of the sidelines. To the annoyance of Twain, the ball was not out of bounds due to contact with the Manchester United player. Instead, he was the one who took it out.

Twain frowned, not angry yet. He was going to keep observing.

※※※

Ronaldo received a throw-in from his teammate and did a one-two combination with Scholes. Then he dribbled the ball to charge forward. Bale tried to stop him, but he swung past his position with dazzling footwork, and Ronaldo once again rushed into the box. This time, George Wood unceremoniously came up to shovel Ronaldo’s ball and knocked over Ronaldo as well.

Loud boos exploded in the stands, accusing George Wood of having a free hand in the “rough foul.”

The referee did not meet the wishes of the people and whistle for another penalty shot. He just signaled for a corner kick.

Both the referee and assistant referee were judicious. Even though it looked fierce, George just shoveled the ball. He could not retract the force of his rush in time and hit Ronaldo, who also could not stop in time — or Ronaldo did not want to.

Although only a corner kick was awarded, Twain was unhappy. Because the Manchester United offensive exposed the Forest team’s rear defensive line problems. If Manchester United continued to attack, even an impenetrable defense could collapse.

The corner kick was sent out and Vidic’s header grabbed the ball but was misdirected under Pepe’s disruption.

While van der Sar lowered his head to place the ball, Twain opened fire off the field.

He ripped off his tie and took a deep breath before he yelled at the field, “Gareth Bale! If you’re not in form, I can bring you off right now!”

As the Forest team got ready to send the ball out in front of the goal, the Old Trafford stadium was a little quieter. Twain’s roar was heard by the players on the field. All the Forest players, including Bale, turned their heads and looked at Twain brandishing his arms and growling on the sidelines.

“Have you forgotten what I said during halftime so quickly? Why are you shrinking in the backfield like tortoises?! Don’t you want to be a champion? You want a season with regrets? Press the hell up! I don’t care what methods you use. I don’t want to see us be pushed back and play in front of our goal again! Aren’t you ashamed!?”

The only thing that Twain did not do was rush onto the field to pull at the players’ collars and shake them. He wanted to roar in their ears with his mouth wide open to spit out obscene words and spittle.

“The two flanks better think up of a way to plug forward; don’t shrink in the backfield! George! Be more ferocious in the midfield, harden up, don’t let Manchester United control the midfield so easily. What’s your task? Whose territory does the midfield belong to?! What are you doing? You’re George Wood! Not a damn soft Wood! You’d better harden up, harden the f**k up! You’re the midfield core! A man’s core is the most important!”

Amid the bellows and abuse, Twain frantically waved his arm on the sidelines, urging the players to move forward and not care about Manchester United’s scary offensive. If they were afraid that the offensive would score goals, then they would shrink in the back until the game was over. Manchester United was delighted to see the situation. They were two goals ahead, but Nottingham Forest could not accept it and had to find a way to change the situation. Risks had to be taken. They could not always worry about conceding the goal and be afraid to act. It was impossible to expect to reap the results they wanted without paying any price.

※※※

Twain’s rant on the sidelines caught everyone’s eye. His “radiant image” spread across England and around the world instantly through live television.

Ferguson’s attention was also attracted by Twain’s sudden outburst. He looked over, and Twain was still growling relentlessly. It looked like he was pushed to the brink.

If he lost his composure, it would be Manchester United’s chance. When Manchester United seized hold of another gap in the Forest team and entered another goal, the game could be declared completely over. No matter how much Twain raged, there would be no other way.

※※※

Tony Twain’s outburst had some effect. Nottingham Forest was back on the offensive and was no longer afraid of Manchester United’s full-on attack. They also seemed to have thrown away the fear of conceding a goal again.

The counterattack started in the midfield. George Wood intercepted the ball from Scholes’ feet. Carrick wanted to come up and tackle but hit an impenetrable wall. George Wood leaned behind him to prevent him from touching the ball and then passed the football on to van der Vaart.

While van der Vaart dribbled the ball, O’Shea wanted to come up and snatch it. Manchester United’s idea was to not let the Forest team pass through the midfield easily. If the Forest team was forced to organize an attack with long passes, Manchester United’s defensive pressure would be much lighter.

Van der Vaart did not want to be entangled with O’Shea. He turned around and passed the ball to Beckham. After Beckham took the ball, he immediately launched a long crosswise pass to send the football to Ribéry on the left side of the field.

Whether it was van der Vaart, George Wood, Rafinha, or Gareth Bale, they were all very determined to plug in into Manchester United’s half of the field.

Compared to the Nottingham Forest team that was fearful of continuing to concede the goal, this was a different team.

Facing multiple attack points at once, Manchester United suddenly did not know how to deal with it. Nottingham Forest had been crushed by them for most of the game, so much so that they had forgotten how fierce Nottingham Forest could be.

Ribéry dribbled the ball on the flank and suddenly cut inside. He passed the ball to van der Vaart, who had been following, after the Manchester United defenders rushed up.

Van Nistelrooy and Arshavin lay in wait in the opponent’s penalty area, ready to receive van der Vaart’s straight pass.

However, van der Vaart chose to do a long shot. He flashed into a gap and suddenly swung his leg for a long shot. The football rolled along the turf toward the Manchester United goal. Ben Foster tried his best to pounce over but did not manage to touch the football. Unfortunately, the football did not roll within the goal range. It brushed past the goal post to roll out of the end line.

The attack caused the hearts of the Manchester United fans to leap to their throats.

Fortunately for them, Nottingham Forest did not score the goal, which gave them a chance to push the Forest team back, but if they really thought that, it would be a big mistake.

Manchester United attacked and was cut off in the midfield. The Forest team’s midfield suddenly hardened, leaving Manchester United bewildered.

It was not that the Forest team was not tough before, but when they were pushed back by Manchester United to the front of the box, there was no way to send the ball out even if the ball was intercepted. They were up against wave after wave of offense from Manchester United.

It was different now. The Forest team’s midfield launched a fierce raid near the center circle. Pushing the scope of the raid by twenty meters should not be underestimated. The small change suddenly let the Forest team’s situation change dramatically. The spot where the ball was intercepted was closer to Manchester United’s thirty-meter zone and the success rate of the offensive improved. Manchester United immediately felt the pressure that the change put on them.

After van der Vaart’s long shot, Ribéry followed up with a long shot. This time it struck within the range of the goal post and created a corner kick.

As Twain watched the team’s offense pick up, he did not turn around with peace of mind to sit in the technical area. He continued to gesture from the sidelines to direct the game. That period of time was the most critical. The Forest team took advantage of a spurt in energy to attack. If Manchester United held on and slowly clawed back from the disadvantageous situation, then the two-goal gap would become a moat in front of the Nottingham Forest team. If Tony Twain wanted to defy the natural order of things, he could only hope to be possessed by a higher spirit.

Therefore, they had to score no matter what. He did not care what the players did on the field, whether they dove to get a penalty shot or scored a goal without tricks, the result he wanted was to score!

He roared on the sidelines like crazy, “score! I want a goal!” He completely disregarded his status. He was even more on edge than the most loyal Nottingham Forest fans in the stands.

He had long thrown his necktie to the ground. His collar was wide open, and the sweat on his chest gleamed in the afternoon sunshine. His black hair was messy from him scratching on his head. With his extremely exaggerated body language, how was it befitting a manager? He looked more like a gambler, eager to make a comeback.

※※※

Ronaldo tried to take the ball using his own personal strength so that Manchester United had possession of the ball again. He raised his hand to ask for the ball. When Hargreaves passed the ball to him, it was intercepted by George Wood, who came around from behind. He did not expect George Wood to be so fast!

The more Wood used the move to deny the ball, the simpler it got. There was no secret. He relied on his extremely-strong-until-it-was-perverted physical quality and brought out the characteristics of the move to its limit — fast speed!

Wood was not in a hurry to pass the ball after he intercepted it. Although van der Vaart was the team’s current playmaker, he had the obligation to share van der Vaart’s work.

He decided to do it on his own.

Ronaldo constantly harassed him behind his back in an attempt to countersnatch. As a defensive player, Wood’s ball protection level was world-class. If Ronaldo wanted to tackle the ball from behind without fouling, he would be out of commission, especially when Wood was bent on protecting the ball.

Wood quickly observed the situation as he protected the ball and suddenly sped forward.

His dribble came out of the blue. He saw the gap between two Manchester United players who had not coordinated yet and threaded his way through. He was only stopped by O’Shea with a foul 28 meters from the goal. George Wood won a free kick for the Forest team.

Gareth Bale wanted to go up and execute the kick because he was the team’s number one free kick player for most cases.

Bale looked at the surrounding red stands in Old Trafford. How would David face the opponent? So far, Beckham had been silent, with no smile on his face.

He thought it was better not to bother Beckham with such an awkward thing.

He picked up the football and walked to the spot where O’Shea had fouled. He had just put the ball down when there was a hand on the ball.

“I’ll do it.” Beckham said with a slight smile to a surprised Bale. “I know you’re the first choice, but... I thought for today, can you let me take all the free kicks in the front field? Is that okay?”

He spoke so sincerely and without any airs at all. How could Bale refuse?

He handed the football to Beckham and backed away.

When the television commentator saw the scene from above, he got excited. “This is an exciting scene! We waited for most of the game and finally Nottingham Forest’s first free kick in the front field is here. It looks like the player who is going to execute this kick is... David Beckham!”

For the first time at Old Trafford, the stands were split into two factions. One frantically attacked this Judas, while the other group hesitated whether to be silent or applaud Beckham, who had returned to Old Trafford.

“I did not arrange for him to take this kick.” Twain finally got rid of his manic form as he explained to the people around him.

Ferguson sat in his chair, looking grimly at the man on the field, who was once a proud disciple of his.

Beckham set up the football. The Manchester United’s human wall was lined up and dared not let their guard down. There were five people across of him, ready to deal with his shot.

The referee whistled. Without any extra action, Beckham ran and lifted his leg to shoot.

The football hit the human wall, with cheers and sighs simultaneously ringing out in the stands at the stadium.

The referee’s whistle rang.

“The human wall moved early and the free kick has to be taken again!”

Beckham set up the football again and ran to kick.

This time, the football bypassed the human wall. However, when it flew past the human wall, Ronaldo jumped up and headed the football, which ended up above the goal and did not fly into the goal guarded by Ben Foster as expected.

The boos from the stands became louder. They were probably gloating over Beckham’s two consecutive missed corner kicks.

“It looks like David can’t let go in the face of his old team’s goal.”

Van Nistelrooy ran up and pressed his hand against Beckham’s head. “David, are you all right?”

“Is there something the matter with me?” Beckham asked in reply.

“Then your two kicks...”

Beckham smiled. “Who can guarantee that they will be able to shoot inside the goal every time they get a free kick?”

Van Nistelrooy thought what Beckham said was right, and that was the truth. “Uh... I thought facing... Manchester United, you have some...” He could not go on.

“This is a really wonderful feeling...” Beckham continued. “I did not get a chance to play against Manchester United when I played at Real Madrid. I did not expect that when I transferred here, I would get to encounter Manchester United and Real Madrid. Are you worried that I can’t let go?”

Van Nistelrooy did not nod or shake his head, but he silently concurred.

“I love Manchester United. I love it very much. Maybe some will not believe it when I say it, but I really love Manchester United. They developed me and made me a star player,” Beckham said earnestly. “But that has nothing to do with today’s game. When there’s a free kick the next time, I think... I’ll try my best to seize the chance.”

He patted van Nistelrooy on the head and turned to run back.

Van Nistelrooy looked at his back thoughtfully.

Chapter 644 - Sudden Change of Situation

While the attack did not result in a goal, it allowed the Nottingham Forest players to regain their confidence. Manchester United’s fierce offensive was broken, and it would be difficult to trap them again.

Nottingham Forest was a ferocious tiger. It could be held down for a while, but not for a lifetime. Ferguson was aware of that. So when he saw Nottingham Forest fiercely attack, he was a little worried and wondered if it was an occasional counterattack or a sustained attack... He decided to continue observing.

※※※

Van Nistelrooy took the ball with his back against Rio Ferdinand, who stuck close. He was not confident that he would keep the ball if he turned around, but it was probably not easy for Ferdinand to effortlessly tackle the ball under his feet.

Van Nistelrooy controlled the football under his feet for a while and decided to forcibly turn around to break through. As a result, he was unsurprisingly knocked down by Ferdinand outside the box.

It was the best outcome. After van Nistelrooy got the ball, it was not easy to tackle the ball under his feet. The center forward had a superb ability to control the ball. Even though he was 1.88 meters tall, his footwork skills were delicate and practical.

Ferdinand fouled, and Nottingham Forest was awarded another free kick in the front field.

It was only 22 meters from the goal this time, which was very close. A free kick was not better as it got closer to the goal. For most players who took the free kicks, a range of 25 to 30 meters was the best. If it was too close, the football might not be able to bypass the human wall. If a player wanted the ball to bypass the human wall, it might fly straight out of the end line.

Beckham walked up again with the football in his hands. He still wanted to take it on himself. Bale also stepped forward, but he was not going to take the kick. He wanted to cover Beckham.

“David Beckham took the initiative to take on the ball again. He didn’t score with either of his previous free kicks. Manchester United’s human wall knows his free kick very well — five of the players block the goal.”

When Beckham bent over to place the football, he became the focus of everyone’s attention. There were still boos and applause in the stands. The Manchester United fans loved and hated the man. Their emotions were complicated.

He left in the summer of 2003 to go to Madrid and was far away thereafter. Every time he was unhappy at Real Madrid, there would be a rumor that he would return to Manchester United, but both he and Ferguson would always deny it. It was not that Beckham did not want to go back to Manchester United. He knew very well that as long as his wife, Victoria, was still with him, and as long as Ferguson coached at Manchester United, it was impossible for him to go back. Ferguson would not be interested in a player over 30 years old. Unfortunately, he was 33 years old.

He felt he would not have another chance to wear Manchester United’s red jersey in his career. After his contract with Nottingham Forest ended, if he could still play football, he was likely to go to the United States and play for another two years before he finally announced his retirement. Ferguson had said that Beckham might have achieved more if he was not with Victoria, but Beckham did not know what a higher achievement would be. Other than the national team honors, he had obtained all the honors a club player could get.

But he had never been recognized and respected by more people. When everyone mentioned David Beckham’s name, they always thought of the flashy star player who only knew how to be on a commercial catwalk. That was why he chose to join Nottingham Forest.

In a blink of an eye, the season was about to finish. He had a good time at Nottingham Forest, where he had plenty of appearances except for when he was injured. What people talked about the most was not the business events he had attended, but his performance at Nottingham Forest.

It was nice to conclude the season with the game against Manchester United.

I love Manchester United, but now I play for Nottingham Forest.

Setting up the football, Beckham got up and moved back.

The Manchester United team in front of him was unfamiliar. There was only one old friend, Scholes, among the five players in the human wall. Giggs was on the substitutes’ bench, and Gary Neville was on the bench.

It might have eased a little bit of Beckham’s psychological burden.

He stood in front of the football and waited for the referee to blow the whistle.

The referee felt that the human wall was too forward and asked it to retreat to the position he designated. Manchester United’s human wall dilly-dallied in moving back, and Ronaldo moved the slowest. He acted in a slippery way, and when the referee turned around, he moved half a step forward. He scooched forward in small, quick steps, moving forward a lot. The Nottingham Forest players reported their displeasure to the referee. The referee turned to signal Ronaldo to retreat, or else he would give a yellow card as a warning.

Ronaldo once again dawdled in returning to the human wall.

It was a kind of psychological warfare. The use of the repeated behavior put pressure on player who was going to take the free kick, leading them to play abnormally, but his ploy seemed to be ineffective on Beckham.

Beckham used to be Manchester United’s number 7, and Ronaldo took over Beckham’s mantle. Ronaldo quickly conquered the Manchester United fans with his skill after he came to Old Trafford. They printed the “one and only Ronaldo” slogan, which could still be found in the stands at Old Trafford.

It was a matchup between Manchester United’s new and old number 7s.

The referee withdrew backwards this time, and Ronaldo made no unusual moves under his watch.

After the whistle, Gareth Bale started running. He did not kick the football. He just crossed over the football. Everyone knew he was a cover and Manchester United’s human wall did not move at all.

Immediately thereafter, Beckham started running and lifted his leg!

The recognizable posture reappeared at the Old Trafford stadium once again: his left-leaning body parallel to the ground and both his arms stretched out, his supporting left foot twisted in a way that it could nearly break. His right foot quickly whipped out and struck the mid-lower part of the football.

The football soared through the air and brought up grass fragments. The human wall leaped upward at the same time. Ronaldo was tall but did not brush the football. The football bypassed the human wall!

The football did not fly high. After it bypassed the human wall, it drilled toward the top left corner of the goal at a very fast speed. Ben Foster struggled to pounce. Although the palm of his hand hit the football, the strength of Beckham’s ball was stronger than he imagined. He did not manage to whack the football out. The football just slightly changed direction and slammed into the net.

The Old Trafford stadium was quiet for about a second before it suddenly sounded with the clamor of mingled cheers and boos.

“The ball went in!! David Beckham! We haven’t watched his performance at Old Trafford for five years. Now he’s back, but as an opponent of Manchester United. He shot a bullet of revenge into the heart of Manchester United! By driving him out of Manchester United that year, Ferguson should have guessed that one day... one day, he will see this scene!”

The commentator roared wildly, and the Nottingham Forest players excitedly jumped on Beckham.

However, Beckham did not have a smile on his face. He did not celebrate the goal and did not even raise his hands. After he saw the football enter the goal, he turned around and walked back. Although he was a Nottingham Forest player and had to give his all for this goal for the sake of Nottingham Forest’s ambition to win the league title, it did not mean he would be ecstatic in front of tens of thousands of Manchester United fans. He scored the goal because he was a Nottingham Forest player. He chose not to celebrate after the goal because he loved Manchester United and did not want to let the people have any misunderstanding.

His Nottingham Forest teammates did not care what Beckham thought. They bounced over to surround him and celebrate loudly.

Even Twain waved his fists, cheering this key goal from Beckham.

Surrounded by the crowd, Beckham still did not celebrate. His face remained calm. After the celebrating crowd dispersed, van Nistelrooy hooked his arm around his neck and whispered in his ear.

No one knew what they talked about, but Beckham’s face showed a slight smile.

The two men ran back together, and the Manchester United players put the football in the center circle, ready to kick off.

“It was exciting to see David Beckham come back to Old Trafford for the first time and penetrate his former clubs goal with an iconic free kick! Manchester United’s new number 7 scored two goals and his predecessor did not lose either! Nottingham Forest trails Manchester United by 1:2 because of this goal, which gives them hope of equalizing the score. Judging by the overall trend of the game, the significance of Beckham’s goal is by no means just to help the team reverse a goal...”

The extreme Manchester United fans were still hissing at Beckham, while the less extreme Manchester United fans were in a very complicated mood. Should they clap for him? He scored a goal against Manchester United, and the goal helped the Forest team get out of its predicament. The importance was self-evident. Should they hiss at him? They could not open their mouths to do it. After all, he had given them plenty of delightful time when he was at Manchester United. Just like Keane had put in his open letter when he left Manchester United: he made the world fall in love with Manchester United.

It was poignant to watch the back view of him run alongside van Nistelrooy — they were once part of the Manchester United team and currently the number one enemy of Manchester United in its bid for the title.

Van Nistelrooy raised his hands to wave to the grandstand where the Forest fans gathered. Beckham hesitated and put his hands up to wave.

Ferguson sat in the technical area. When Beckham scored, he did not even lift his butt. Perhaps he was already mentally prepared for it. Or was it indifference? No one knew what the stubborn old man thought. He would not admit that it was wrong to let Beckham and van Nistelrooy go. When he coached Manchester United, he had personally driven away countless players. Some of those people managed to do well and some did not do well. Manchester United was still Manchester United. Its eighteen trophies were quietly displayed in the trophy room, representing this club’s unshakeable status.

※※※

The game continued, and Beckham saved the team’s future with a goal when the team needed it the most. Now the morale of the Nottingham Forest players had been boosted, it was impossible for Manchester United to use full offense to crush the Forest team again.

Ferguson was well aware of that, so he instructed the team to withdraw and no longer give the Forest team access to the easy gaps. Both sides were entangled in the midfield and engaged in attack and defense. It appeared Nottingham Forest had regained the pace of the game. In fact, the control still laid with Manchester United. To Nottingham Forest, no matter how many advantages they regained in the game, the lag in the score remained an undeniable reality. As soon as Manchester United withdrew, the attacking opportunities available to the Forest team plummeted. As long as they contended with Nottingham Forest like that and drag the game to the end, a 2:1 win would guarantee Manchester United the league title this season.

Twain observed closely for a moment, and he realized Ferguson’s intentions.

Manchester United’s withdrawal was not due to fear of attack or how much the Nottingham Forest offense had picked up, but because Ferguson was trying to cut off the Forest team’s offensive route. He wanted to force Nottingham Forest and Manchester United to confront each other head-on and compete with positional play to wear them down. When the two teams pushed and pulled against each other, time would go by quietly.

It was not going to work. If the game was dragged to that point, Nottingham Forest would be in a dangerous position. There were nearly twenty minutes until the end of the game. If the score was still the same in ten minutes, the Nottingham Forest players would become agitated. The game would be out of the manager’s control and progress toward an unpredictable abyss.

What should he do? He could only continue to urge the players to step up their attacks while he prepared for backup at the same time. He summoned Lennon and Bendtner from the substitutes’ bench to warm up.

If it could not work, he had to force the attack and stake it all.

To win the title, Nottingham Forest had to not concede its goal in the final moments and then score two goals. It was an impossible task.

The atmosphere on Manchester United’s bench was a little more relaxed than the tense Nottingham Forest substitutes’ bench. After all, even if the game was tied, the title would belong to Manchester United. The conditions that Nottingham Forest had to meet to win the title were too harsh. The Manchester United players themselves had confidence in their team. For a team like Manchester United, an absurd thing like conceding two consecutive goals was definitely not going to happen to them!

※※※

Beckham bumped into Carrick as he defended against him. It looked like a slight collision, but Carrick immediately fell to the ground as he held his ankle with a pained expression. Manchester United’s team doctor ran up to diagnose Carrick after he received the referee’s signal.

Beckham patted Carrick as a sign of goodwill and explained to the referee that he had not meant it.

Everyone knew that the Manchester United players often fell to the ground and used all factors available to waste game time. The visiting team, Nottingham Forest, players had nothing to do but remind the referee of that. Manchester United would not get overwhelmingly booed for doing so because it was their home ground. 50,000 out of 60,000 people supported Manchester United’s bid for the title.

Taking advantage of the incident, George Wood gathered the guys.

“We have to find a way to score a goal.” He cut straight to the point. “How about more straight passes?”

Van der Vaart glanced at him. “The number of errors will increase.”

“It won’t work if we keep passing the ball back and forth outside.” Gareth Bale was on Wood’s side.

“Frequent mistakes can also affect our morale.” Ribéry agreed with van der Vaart.

They were quickly divided into two factions, which was not what Wood wanted to see. Just as he was about to speak up, Beckham spoke. “You guys can plug in more straight passes to draw their defensive attention to guard against the straight balls. Then you can create more gaps in the right wing for me and pass the ball to me. I’ll find a way to send the ball into the box.”

“A cross pass?”

“Yes, a cross pass.”

“But their two center-backs are very...”

“So we need them to focus on the straight balls.”

Wood thought about it and figured they could give it a try. He nodded. “I think we can try it.”

The simple tactical meeting ended quickly, as Carrick had left the field with the team doctor and the game was back on.

Manchester United’s free kick eventually landed at the foot of a Forest player.

Pepe took advantage of the gap when Manchester United put the defensive focus on van der Vaart, Ribéry, George Wood, and the others to suddenly dribble the ball to plug ahead. He was tripped by Scholes after he forced a breakthrough. He managed to move forward fifteen meters and was awarded a free kick.

In the impasse between the two sides, Nottingham Forest increased the straight balls, which any fool could see. They single-mindedly sought out gaps behind the Manchester United rear defensive line. Even if it was intercepted midway, the Forest players persisted on trying with straight passes.

It was not completely ineffective.

Arshavin received a straight ball from van der Vaart and nearly breached the goal. Fortunately, Ben Foster was focused and blocked it in time. It startled a group of Manchester United fans to jump out of their seats.

Manchester United quickly pinpointed and responded to the Forest team’s tactical tweaks. They stepped up their defense against van der Vaart and Ribéry, as well as George Wood’s passes in front of their own box.

Beckham was free on the right wing.

Whenever van der Vaart took the ball, O’Shea would recklessly rush up and stick to him. He would interfere with him and not give him a chance to observe any gaps in the Manchester United defensive line to then send a threatening straight ball.

But this time, van der Vaart did not do a straight pass. He feinted and suddenly diverted the ball to the side.

Beckham received the ball. Rafinha quickly plugged in and passed by Beckham, attracting the attention of the Manchester United defender, who thought he was going to pass the ball onto Rafinha for him to shoot or cut inside. As Evra followed in retreat, Beckham made a cross pass.

Without giving the Manchester United rear defensive line any chance to adjust, Beckham’s cross pass flew over the defenders like a precision guided missile and appeared above van Nistelrooy’s head!

Van Nistelrooy knew what his old friend wanted to do before he passed the ball. When he saw that he had received the ball, he paid attention to keeping parallel with the defenders around him, ready to rush out to grab the ball at the critical juncture.

That was the moment that he was waiting for.

Rio Ferdinand was outside helping with the obstruction of van der Vaart and Ribéry on the penalty area line. Only Vidic was defending against him.

Moreover, Beckham’s pass was too good. Whether Vidic alone or Vidic and Ferdinand were around him, the ball was precisely delivered. Its timing was exactly at the moment van Nistelrooy jumped!

Van Nistelrooy jumped in the air and was able to feel Vidic hindering him behind, but the ball was in front of him. Even if he were to obstruct him, it was useless!

Shaking off Vidic’s tugging, van Nistelrooy suddenly lobbed a header shot!

Swish!

It was so easy...

“What a gooooal!! Van Nistelrooy — David Beckham’s precise pass allowed him to just jump up and move his head! A while ago, Nottingham Forest’s offense seemed to be forcing an attack from the middle, which looked stupid! But this time, Beckham’s pass and van Nistelrooy’s cooperation changed everything! Nottingham Forest forced a 2:2 tie with Manchester United in this away game! The second half is so dramatic!”

Van Nistelrooy did not keep a straight face and not celebrate his goal like Beckham did. He ran to Beckham with open arms. Beckham also had a happy smile on his face. The two friends hugged each other and were quickly inundated by the other teammates.

Twain was so excited that he did a somersault. Who would have thought that Nottingham Forest could catch up with Manchester United while they had a two-goal lead? Were the Manchester United fans going to start celebrating early? I’m not going to let you do that now!

“Nottingham Forest tied the score. With thirteen minutes left in the game, it’s still full of suspense! It looks like Tony Twain’s team doesn’t want to easily cede the league trophy to anyone else. It’s not that easy for Manchester United to defend the title!”

Chapter 645 - Create History

Manchester United established their two-goal lead within five minutes in the first half, while Nottingham Forest smashed Manchester United’s advantage with two goals in ten minutes in the second half. Now the two sides were tied.

The result of the draw was also good for Manchester United, because even if they both tied, each team would still take one point and Manchester United would still win by one-point difference. But a football game was not a simple mathematics problem. To have an equalizer during this time, any fool would know that Nottingham Forest’s morale was running high and could score again if they were not careful.

Ferguson had to make some adjustments.

To attack? Of course not, he was going to defend. He had to play it safe at the last minute.

He replaced Rooney with Park Ji-sung who was more physically energetic and balanced between offense and defense to strengthen the midfield defense.

After Park Ji-sung came on, he relied on his abundant physical strength and the style of relentless running to launch a fierce interception against Beckham. Having run out of energy, Beckham was battered in the face of this defense. When the football was on his side, he basically could not organize any offense.

Twain also decided to change players. He replaced Beckham with Lennon.

When Beckham left the field, most of the people in the stands got up from their seats and stood up as they applauded the hero they once had. Beckham waved to the stands, not only to greet the Forest fans, but also to thank the Manchester United fans.

“David Beckham is replaced by Lennon. He received cheers from most of the fans in the stadium. No matter which team he had played for before, he deserves this reception now.” The commentator spoke affectionately, “This was the first time he has returned to Old Trafford as an opponent. No matter what the outcome of the game, his goal and assist will make people remember him forever …”

After he high-fived Lennon as he came off, Beckham stood on the sidelines and continued to wave to the fans before he turned around to walk toward the Forest team’s substitutes’ bench.

Standing on the sidelines, Twain reached out to him and said, “I can only describe your performance as perfection, David.”

Beckham smiled, but did not speak. After he shook hands with Twain, he went around to the substitutes’ bench and sat down.

Twain understood that he was here in a complicated mood because he scored a goal and helped with an assist against his former club. He did not take it to heart that he did not know what to say. So, he turned around and continued to watch the game.

This was the league tournament, not the Champions League. If the game was tied, then it would be a draw. There would be no overtime or penalty shootout to determine a winner and loser. Once this game was tied, the Forest team would still lose the league title. This was not what Tony Twain wanted to see in the end. He carefully prepared for so long and spared no efforts to inspire their fighting spirit. For the team to equalize the score at the most difficult time, it was not to get a draw.

He turned his head to look at the big screen with the game time on it at the Old Trafford stadium. It was less than ten minutes away from the ninety minutes.

How could they get another goal when Manchester United were carrying out measures?

To lure a snake out of its hole was certainly not going to work. Ferguson’s team was not stupid enough to be so gullible. It was better to show clearly that they were clinging onto defense. If they were to attack strongly… Manchester United’s rear defensive line had stepped up its defense against van Nistelrooy and the other attacking players. As the center forward of the Forest team, van Nistelrooy currently struggled to even turn around, not to mention making a shot. Arshavin was forced to the side which squeezed Ribéry’s position to the middle and the two players imperceptibly changed positions.

In that case… could they strengthen their long shots?

This was a method, but its effect was unknown. Moreover, to place their hope of a goal on this when every attack ended up abruptly, it would inevitably affect the morale of the team.

With one hand pinching his chin and frowning, Twain stood on the sidelines as he pondered.

On the field, the Nottingham Forest team was carrying out indiscriminate bombardment around Manchester United’s half of the field: A cross pass from the flank, a grab in the middle, a sudden long shot for the goal, a personal breakthrough, a straight pass the middle to attack … any methods were used.

For a moment, the situation on the field reversed. That scene from the first half reappeared on Manchester United at the last minute.

But for the sake of the championship title, Manchester United also accepted this bit of humiliation. Ferguson stood on the sidelines, looking grim as he worried that his team would not be able to withstand Nottingham Forest’s fierce offensive on and a loophole would emerge.

O’Shea had already returned to the rear defensive line and became a third center back. As the midfield line was so close to the rear defensive line, there was no need to set up a separate defensive midfielder.

But Ferguson was still a little uneasy. By all accounts, the Manchester United players on the field currently had strong abilities whether individually or cooperatively,. He did not know what he was worried about …

Perhaps part of Nottingham Forest’s reputation interfered with his mood?

Tony Twain’s team was one that did not concede even in the face of death. As an opponent, he did not dare to let his guard down even for a second, especially when they started to go crazy.

※※※

Time passed and the score was still 2:2. Manchester United was less than five minutes away from their tenth Premier League title trophy.

Even an attacking player like Cristiano Ronaldo had withdrew to the backfield to participate in the defense. Manchester United were almost completely without a counterattack. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest fully pressed on and turned out in full force. It could be said that except for Edwin van der Sar, almost everyone had pushed past the midfield and these players were well aware of what the draw would mean for them.

As Manchester United kept it tight defensively, Nottingham Forest’s offense was somewhat “all bark and no bite.” Although the scene looked menacing, nothing had been achieved.

Until later, George Wood could not stand it any longer and did a long shot from outside which missed straight away.

“It looks like Nottingham Forest is getting anxious. Such a hasty offensive blunder is unnecessary. It will only give Manchester United more confidence in holding the draw and agitate the rest of the Forest team more. George Wood is the captain and he shouldn’t show any agitation.” The commentator criticized George Wood harshly.

Off the field, Twain had the opposite view from the commentator. He rushed to the sidelines and shouted loudly, “Try to shoot more!”

Maybe a shot would be a waste of opportunity, but they would not have a chance if they did not shoot. Now that Manchester United was fully on the defensive, there was no way to threaten Nottingham Forest’s back. Their ball could even get past the midfield under the Forest team’s high press.

In that case, they just needed to shoot more and have a chance to break the goal as long as they hit within the goalpost range. As to whether they could score a goal or not, it was up to fate …

After Wood missed his shot, van der Vaart also tried to kick. His shot was within the goalpost range, but it was too straight on and Ben Foster easily confiscated it. The Forest team then stepped up the long shots, which looked a little like a desperate deathbed struggle.

The fourth official reappeared on the sidelines. He held up the electronic signboard in his hands. This time it was one of the teams that was going to change a player, but a reminder of the injury stoppage time which was four minutes!

“The time left for Nottingham Forest is only four minutes, and Manchester United is only four minutes away from their tenth Premier League title. Now every attack by Nottingham Forest will put the Manchester United fans on edge and hopefully Ferguson’s heart will still be able to withstand …”

Twain decided to change a player. He replaced the center back, Piqué with Bendtner. This substitution was a gamble with fate. He had to succeed or die trying. Bendtner could increase the strength of the Forest team in the box and cause some trouble for Manchester United’s rear defensive line. At the same time, his power and physical strength might also decide where the scales would tip in favor of the team to win or lose at the most critical juncture.

Bendtner ran onto the field, at which point the game had just entered the injury stoppage time, with four minutes to go.

※※※

Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly had an idea in his mind when he saw the Forest team replaced the center back. He pulled Scholes aside and said, “Paul, I think we can try to fight back.”

Scholes glanced at the Forest players and then nodded, “They’re almost undefended now …”

“Give me the ball.” Ronaldo felt like he’s in the right shape today. If the entire Manchester United team could not press out, then let him take the ball alone to charge ahead. “One more goal and this game is over. Even if there’s no goal, we can warn the Forest team to prevent them from attacking too hard.”

Scholes agreed with his idea. After the Forest team had finished another attack, Scholes asked Foster not to kicking a long ball, but to pass it to him. He got the football and passed it on to Ronaldo.

Following which, it was up Ronaldo’s individual performance.

Ronaldo caught the ball and used outstanding footwork skills to bypass Bale who rushed up. Then he suddenly sped up and started to dribble the ball to charge to the Forest team’s backfield.

At this moment, the Forest team’s latter half only strictly had Pepe and Edwin van der Sar. With large swathes of emptiness, the Portuguese could fully play to his fast speed, characteristics of his excellent skills and dribbled the football to stride toward the goal of the Forest team!

Seeing him like this, the Forest team rushed back to defend. Bale, Rafinha, Lennon and the others rushed back to catch up with Ronaldo. But the man who took the lead was George Wood. He began to pull back and prepare for defense after Ronaldo got the football. After he saw Ronaldo shook off Bale, he slashed across from the central area and plugged toward Ronaldo’s dribbling route.

Pepe also rushed over at the same time. At the final juncture, everyone was driven by a bloodlust. Who would take care to slowly retreat and procrastinate at this time? Pepe just wanted to intercept the ball from his Portugal national teammate and then took the opportunity to fight back. As a result,…..

“Ah! Ronaldo easily bypassed Pepe. He’s really fast!”

After he skirted around Pepe, only van der Sar was left in front of Ronaldo. He had a lot of options, but whichever he chose, he would be very, very close to the goal.

The fans in the Old Trafford stands began to cheer loudly as if they could see the glittering golden trophy in front of their eyes. Everyone stretched out their hands as if they were stroking the cool trophy …

Ronaldo looked up at Edwin van der Sar, and the other man seemed hesitant to strike. He smiled. Whether he struck or not, the result was the same, and that was …

“Pop!”

He suddenly lost his balance. Ronaldo saw the turf rushing toward his eyes. When he landed on the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his knee, and then a violent shock, which caused him to tumble continuously on the ground and almost rolled out of bounds before he stopped.

He could not even take a look at who the culprit was, for he was rolling back and forth on the ground, holding his knee in pain. The stands which were filled out cheers just now were replaced with deafening boos at this moment. The clamor was so loud that it could suffocate people!

George Wood sat on the ground, and not far ahead of him was Ronaldo in pain. Amid the sprawling hissing, he heard a piercing whistle.

Indeed, he did not hesitate to come up with a shovel behind Ronaldo who was about to cut inside. He did not think too much before he shoveled first and brought him down. He just wanted to shovel the player along with the ball. He was already aware of the consequences. He did not have to wait for the referee to come up and drive him away. He rose from the ground and walked slowly out of the field amid the boos,. The referee ran over and presented a red card behind him!

“This was an appalling foul and it was not too much to show the red card directly! Nottingham Forest had finally paid the price for their reckless offensive!”

Seeing that his treasured player was shoveled and made to fall, Ferguson was furious off the field, urging the team doctor to quickly get on the field to check the injury.

Twain looked at George Wood expressionlessly as he walked toward him.

The score was a draw with one-point difference. There were only a few minutes from the end of the game. And now George Wood was sent off with a red card. Was this the end of it?

Wood came off and said in a low voice as he passed Twain’s side, “I’m sorry.”

Twain gazed fixedly at the pitch but said to him, “Don’t go yet. Just stand at the mouth of the tunnel to wait for the game to end.”

Wood obeyed and moved back to stand at the mouth of the tunnel. He leaned against the wall, looking up at the game inside the pitch.

※※※

Ronaldo was carried down on a stretcher, and it looked as if he was badly hurt. Fortunately, Ferguson still had a replacement spot. He called Tevez from the substitutes’ bench behind him, intending to use this switch of player to waste the game time again.

The rest of Manchester United players prepared to execute this free kick in the front field. Thirty-four meters away from the goal toward the right, it would equally pose a big threat to the Forest team’s goal if handled well.

Vidic stayed in the backfield and Ferdinand ran up. As long as this attack succeeded, the game would be over. Nottingham Forest was absolutely incapable of consecutively scoring two goals in the last one and a half minute.

Edwin van der Sar nervously directed his teammates to defend against their opponents in the box. The human wall only had Bale alone.

“Don’t give them any chance!!” He cried aloud, “Push them out, push them out!”

Ferguson stood on the sidelines. Next to him was Tevez. Instead of changing a player now, he decided to wait for this free kick to start. It was certainly a good thing if they scored. If there was no goal but the ball went out of bounds, then he would decisively change the player and make use of this replacement to consume a little more time.

The free kick was carried out by Hargreaves. None of the Manchester United players grabbed it. Instead, Pepe snatched first and headed the ball.

The football did not go out of bounds. It landed at the foot of van der Vaart, who directly passed the football to Lennon on the side

Seeing Lennon take the ball, O’Shea wanted to come up and tackle it, but Lennon who was faster with his feet, stabbed the football between O’Shea his legs to bypass him and speed up to give chase to the ball. He got the football back just when it was about to go out of bounds!

“Fight back, fight back!” Twain waved his arms and chanted off the field.

This was the only chance …

Thanks to George Wood’s foul, Nottingham Forest had this last chance to fight back quickly!

Lennon dribbled the ball at high speed in the wing. He saw that Evra wanted to rush close and did not give him the chance. He suddenly kicked the football out ten meters away, and then sped up to chase the ball again. He easily got rid of Evra in this way!

His breakthrough was not hurried, and he mobilized his whole body. Manchester United’s entire line of defense followed suit to move to this side, so as to prevent him from cutting inside. Vidic cut across in front of him, Brown pounced to the middle, Ferdinand and O’Shea desperately gave chase.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s chance, but if they can’t grasp it, this game is over!”

Lennon glanced at the situation in front and he found that it was more difficult if he wanted to break through on his own. So, … he took a look at the front. Van Nistelrooy was preparing to run across in the front…

An opportunity!

Lennon pushed the football straight out from his feet and behind Vidic who rolled on the ground, van Nistelrooy had just diagonally plugged in and received the ball!

Vidic raised his hands to signal that van Nistelrooy was offside. But the assistant referee ignored it and ran forward along with van Nistelrooy.

“A beautiful set piece and it was not offside!”

After van Nistelrooy received the ball and cut into the box, Wes Brown rushed over to stop him from shooting.

“Don’t wait, just shoot!!” Twain anxiously roared off the field and wished he could go up himself to shoot for the goal.

Van Nistelrooy felt the threat from the oblique rear. Ben Foster blocked in front of him, trying to seal off the angle of his shot. At this moment, there was only van Nistelrooy alone in Manchester United’s box. He could not fool the opposing defensive players by passing the ball. The acumen of a natural striker played an important role here.

After van Nistelrooy saw Ben Foster’s position, he firmly lifted his leg to shoot the football out and gave a decisive kick before Brown could shovel and intercept the ball!

The football jumped on the ground and went past Ben Foster’s hands to then fly straight toward the back corner of the goal.

At the moment, whether the Nottingham Forest fans, Manchester United fans, the people at the Old Trafford stadium or watching the game live in front of the televisions, all held their breath with their hearts leapt to their throats.

The next second determined all their fate.

As soon as the football was kicked, Brown’s leg arrived. Van Nistelrooy also did not bother to maintain balance and fell to the ground. But his eyes stared at the football he shot out.

The heart of the “King of the Six-Yard Box” beat wildly in an irrepressible frenzy at this moment. If it passed over the goal, then the team’s hard work for a season would be in vain.

He did not close his eyes like some people who did not dare to look. He kept his eyes on the football.

He saw the football hit the inside of the goalpost and then bounced through the goal line to fall into the net.

“Ah ah ah ah—this is just incredible! The ball’s in! The ball really went in! Van Nistelrooy’s absolutely killed it in the last minute! His shot kicked his former club to hell! Nottingham Forest reversed the score at the last minute and this one counterattack determined the owner of the title!” The commentator was almost deranged, but he was not really a Nottingham Forest fan …

Tony Twain did not rise up in one bound after he saw the football enter the goal. Instead, he went soft in his knees and knelt on the ground. It was too exciting. He almost thought it was over. It was not just the team would lose the title. He would also lose face big time in front of the entire English media. For someone like him who valued face, it was no different from killing him.

Thank God… for van Nistelrooy …

Kerslake suddenly embraced Twain who was kneeling on the ground and looking up at the sky from behind, and roared in his ear, “Tony! Tony! We’re the f**king champions, aren’t we? Manchester United doesn’t have a hope, right?!”

Twain let him hug himself. He had no strength at all. He could not stand up if he wanted to.

George Wood watched the game at the mouth of the tunnel and was the first to see the commotion coming from the Forest team’s substitutes’ bench. His teammates held their arms up in celebration at this moment and he knew that van Nistelrooy’s shot went in.

He leaned against the door with a sigh of relief in his heart. If the ball did not go in, he would have been a sinner who lost the title for the team …

※※※

After van Nistelrooy saw the ball enter, he staggered up from the ground and ran toward the technical area with his arms held high in celebration. He had just run to the sidelines when he was crushed to the ground by a group of players clad in Nottingham Forest jerseys.

The jubilant players on the bench also ran up to join in the fun. A group of people celebrated wildly on the sidelines.

Rio Ferdinand who ran back to give chase, saw the ball enter the goal and immediately knelt on the ground. He held his head in his hands as he laid on the ground.

Ferguson looked up at the sky. He could not even utter a curse word.

This ending was really something… They could even reverse a two-goal lead. What else could they not do in the world? How on earth could they completely crush this team to death?

He could only seek the answers the next season.

※※※

“The referee blew the whistle for the end of the entire game! The Nottingham Forest players are still celebrating. There’s no need for the game to continue … Congratulations to Nottingham Forest! They have won the title for the 07-08 season English Premier League! This is the second top-flight trophy in their club’s history! Thirty years ago, Brian Clough and his men picked up the first top-flight trophy in the club’s history! Exactly thirty years later, Tony Twain has once again created history for the club!”

Twain finally had the strength to break free from Kerslake’s embrace. Instead of running onto the field to celebrate with the rest of the players, he went to the tunnel and pulled George Wood out to ask him to go up and enjoy this championship moment with his other teammates.

Then he reached his hand out as he walked toward Ferguson.

Despite losing the title, Ferguson still showed plenty of grace in front of his opponent. He took Twain’s hand and said, “Congratulations, you guys are … the champion.”

Twain smiled politely, “Thank you.”

Without any more words, Ferguson turned and headed for the tunnel. The dejected members of the Manchester United coaching unit followed behind him.

After he watched Ferguson leave, Twain had just turned his head around when he saw a large group of players running towards him. He thought that the players were going to have fun with the “horrible game” of human pyramid. He planned to run away but was blocked by a group of reporters.

“Mr. Tony Twain, let’s talk about some of your thoughts with regards to the victory!”

“This was a really thrilling game. Were you confident that your team would win at the last minute?”

“Manager Twain, you won the Champions League title last season and won the league title this season. Nottingham Forest has risen so quickly. Do you have any secrets you can share with us?”

Before Twain could answer these people’s questions, he was lifted up and thrown into the air by a group of excited players.

“Oh, oh, oh! We’re the champions!”

The reporters followed the players’ movements and pointed both the cameras and the microphones in the air.

“Manager Twain, how do you feel at this moment? Let our readers and audience share your joy!” The reporters cried aloud below.

“How do I feel?” Twain turned his head and said as he was going up and down, “Right now I’m … right now… I feel, I feel like I’m … flying! In the clouds! In the clouds! Ah hahaha—we’re the champions!” He raised his arms and shouted.

Chapter 646 - Start Dating?

By the time Tony Twain and his team rushed back to Nottingham overnight with the league title trophy, this ancient city was once again revitalized with all the Nottingham Forest fans partying all night on the streets, in bars and even in their own homes. The whole city was drunk.

Twain naturally drank till he was as drunk as a lord and did not keep track of how much alcohol. There was no need and intention to. Anyway, it was one glass after another, one bottle after another bottle.?What was considered to fully enjoy drinking without restraint? It was to drink to one’s heart’s content!

Twain was finally carried home by Dunn. He had no idea what happened after he was drunk. When he got up the next day, he found that he had blanks in his memory. He could not remember what happened last night for the life of him.

The headache from the hangover made him lie in bed for a long time before he could sit up.

This was the day after the league tournament had ended and sixteen hours had passed since that thrilling game yesterday. At the thought of the game, Twain felt as if he was still dreaming and that this was not real. Although he talked tough and said, “Our goal this season is to win The Double”, he was not prepared for what to do after he really won the championship title.

The team was on holiday today and did not have to train. When he thought of it, Twain laid down again on the bed. A hangover was really unbearable … Clattering sounds came from outside. He jumped out of bed and pulled back the curtains. The sky was gray with the pitter patter of rain coming down. It turned out that it was raining. It was cloudy yesterday …

When he saw the rain, he felt his mouth go dry. Twain went downstairs to find water to drink.

He had just filled a large glass with water and drenched his parched throat and lips when the phone rang.

“Uncle Tony!!” Shania’s excited voice came from the phone and startled Twain.

“You’re too loud!” Twain moved the phone away and said to the receiver.

“I’m happy! Congratulations on another championship win!”

“Yo, the news travels pretty fast.” Twain filled up another glass of water and sat on the sofa to chat with Shania.

“There’s the internet, hee hee.” Shania was in a really good mood from her voice.

“Is there anything you’re so happy about, Shania?” Twain asked.

“Isn’t it a happy thing for you to win the title?”

“Well, I meant to say if there’s anything that made you so happy?”

“Isn’t Uncle Tony’s happy occasion my pleasure too?”

Twain also smiled and said, “Little girl, how are you doing in America?”

“It’s all right. I’ve met some new friends. That movie will begin shooting in July. I don’t have many scenes, so I’m not particularly busy. It’s just that I still have to go other places for runway shows …” Shania gushed to Twain about her life and work these days. Twain also did not interrupt. He held his water glass and leaned back on the couch to quietly listen.

When she spoke to the end, Shania was suddenly quiet and then said in a low voice, “Uncle Tony?”

“Ah, you can continue to speak, I’m listening.” Twain thought that because he had not answered for a long time, Shania misunderstood that he was not listening to her, so he hurriedly explained.

“I miss you so much …”

Twain froze for a moment and thought he misheard.

“Do you miss me, Uncle Tony?”

“Of course, I miss you. How can I not miss you?”

“You’re lying!” Shania suddenly raised her voice again, “Aren’t you concerned that I’m alone here in a teeming world like Hollywood? Aren’t you worried that I might have a sex scandal? Does it not bother you that I might be bullied by some playboy?”

Twain was dumbfounded by the series of questions asked. It was not that he had not thought about them. He actually thought it was normal for Shania to find a boyfriend. It was not normal for Shania to remain single in the entertainment world like this. He used to wonder if it was Shania’s agency that asked her to do it … But Twain found it embarrassing to ask questions that invaded the privacy of others.

So, he never knew why Shania did not develop a relationship or anything like that. By all accounts, she was not young. She was seventeen years old. In today’s China, it was no longer considered puppy love to be dating at this age, not to mention the more open-minded foreign countries.

But how would he talk to Shania about that? Could he say, “I want you to starting dating?” Twain wanted to open his mouth and say so, only to find that he could not voice it. Was he hoping that she would or not?

The thought of such a beautiful and lovely clever girl getting cozy in the arms of a strange man, who could even be a grey-haired old man, Twain’s heart felt uncomfortable. This feeling was just like … as if someone had taken away his beloved toy.

Twain shivered as he was taken aback by his own thought.

That’s terrible … Why would I have such a thought? How could Shania be my toy? I’m just her temporary guardian in England, that’s all …

“Uncle Tony?” Shania thought it was a little strange when she did not hear Twain speak for a long while.

“Ah, uh, um … In fact, Shania … Well, you’re already seventeen years old. There’s nothing wrong with dating and falling in love …”

It was Shania’s turn to be silent this time. She opened her mouth and asked after a long beat, “Is that what you think, Uncle Tony?”

“Ah, I’m worried about you being lonely in the United States. It’s nice to have a relationship, providing that the other person is sincere toward you …”

“Fine.” Shania interrupted Twain’s words and said, “I’ll listen to Uncle Tony.”

After a simple farewell, she hung up the phone.

Twain sat alone stunned on the couch, holding his mobile phone and water glass. From the sound of it, Shania seems to be angry. That’s odd. Why would she be angry? Does she not want to have a relationship at this time? Then she could have simply said it. We are such close friends and can directly say anything to each other. If she’s afraid that it will affect her career or objections from her fans, she can speak up directly. I’m a flexible person. When she said fine, it felt like she was peeved … Did I say the wrong thing? Ahem, trying to figure out a woman’s heart is like looking for a needle in the haystack.

Twain remain perplexed despite much thought. He shook his head and drained the water from the glass before he stood up to go upstairs and get dressed.

※※※

Shania hung up the phone and sat angrily on the couch. Uncle Tony had cotton in his head instead of brains. She punched the Totoro soft toy in front of her with force.

Her agent, Fasal, happened to see this scene when he pushed the door open. But he did not ask anything and just said, “Mr. Colin Farrell has invited you to a party tonight …”

“I’ll go.” Shania raised her eyebrows.

※※※

Hollywood was brightly lit at night and monstrous and multicolored world under the glittering neon lights. This was home to the vast majority of the world’s stars. A paradise dreamt of and yearned by countless young men and women. Many relishing “stories” had been played out here.

Today, Shania would be the leading character in this story.

Sunset Boulevard was busy with traffic. With many high-end hotels congregated on this street, it was a good place for many stars to party and have fun once the night came. But it was also the preferred tourist destination for foreign visitors, because many tourists would always specially come here to encounter the stars they could only see on the television and movies.

Fasal parked the car in front of the hotel and the surrounding reporters suddenly swarmed up. The car door had not opened yet and the flashes were already popping endlessly. The doorman opened the door for Shania, as the long-haired Colin Farrell strode up to welcome.

“Oh, darling, I thought you weren’t coming!” Seeing Shania step out of the car in an evening dress, this sexy Irishman smiled and gave his hand.

Shania also smiled as she took his hand. Then she turned around and waved to the reporters’ cameras. The flashes became a swathe of blinding light, imprinting her and Farrell’s intimate pose in the cameras.

The evening breeze caress the people’s leaping hearts. This was bound to be a pleasant night.

※※※

Twain sat in the café in the training base and had a coffee break. After a day off, the team resumed training. Carrying out the overlapping method of two practices a day and one practice a day, the players who had just experienced the fierce game and then quickly relaxed, to gradually become tense again. After all, there was an important game waiting for them. This was not the time to be completely relaxed.

This cafe was actually a restaurant within the club. Some of the players and staff would choose to dine here rather than go home for meals. If Shania was not staying in Nottingham and when there were two practices a day, Twain and Dunn would have lunch here before heading to the office for a nap.

Kerslake had the dining plate in one hand, and a gossip tabloid in the other hand.

Twain smirked to Dunn next to him, “His son is already ten and he still likes to keep up with the stars all day long.”

Dunn did not say anything.?He just laughed.

Kerslake heard Twain’s words and stopped at the table where they sat.

“I only have this little hobby, so don’t laugh at me. Besides, Tony, I saw the news of Shania here. She and …”

When he heard “Shania”, Twain’s ears pricked up. He grabbed the newspaper in Kerslake’s hand and flipped.

Sure enough, he saw a photograph in page five.

In the photograph, Shania hugged a long-haired man and smiled sweetly as she faced the camera.

“Who’s this man?” He asked.

“Isn’t that written on it? ‘The Hollywood playboy, Colin Farrell.’” Kerslake pointed to the papers and said, “They stayed out till late and then Farrell drove Shania home.”

“That’s a detailed introduction. He’s quite good-looking … he does have the makings of a playboy.” Twain looked at the picture.

“He used to have a bad reputation but he’s better now. He used to drink, use drugs, chase after women and was foul-mouthed… Now that he has a son, he quit drinking and taking drugs. But as for picking up women…” He noticed that Twain did not look very good. “Are you worried about Shania?”

Almost everyone in the club knew that Shania and Twain had a good relationship. But as to what extent, not everyone knew …

“No, she’s not a three-year-old kid who doesn’t know anything. I have nothing to be worried about.” Twain gave the newspaper back to Kerslake and went on to drink his coffee.

Sitting across from him, Dunn did not say anything. He just briefly looked up at Twain.

※※※

The players suddenly found that the boss who was supervising the afternoon training to be much harsher than in the morning. A little distraction and they would be shouted at and criticized by him outside the field.

“It’s really strange. We have just won the league title, but the boss looks like someone in his family had just died …”

“Guess he doesn’t want us to be too smug. After all, there’s still the Champions League final.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve played a Champions League final. Surely he doesn’t have to treat us all like kids, does he?”

“Then he must have been in a sudden bad mood!”

“Is he having his period?”

“Ah hahaha–!!”

※※※

Shania was studying the acting materials at home with glasses on when she received a call. When she heard her cell phone rang, she was so excited that she jumped out of the couch and pounced on her cell phone. When she saw clearly who called, she was turned her mouth down in annoyance. But when she picked up the phone, no irritation could be detected in her voice.

“Ah, Mr. Farrell, hello. What’s the matter? Dinner? Hmm …” Shania thought for a moment and nodded. “Great, you can pick me up at my place at six o’clock in the evening!”

Fasal walked in when he heard Shania’s voice on the phone and asked, “Are you not having dinner at home?”

Shania nodded and said, “That guy, Farrell has invited me to dinner.”

“He’s trying to woo you, Shania.” Fasal said with a smile.

“I know. Isn’t that good? Uncle Tony wants me to start dating.” Shania pursed her lips.

“He’s not your father. You don’t have to listen to anything he says.” Fasal said tactfully.

Shania rolled her eyes and said, “He’s just being nice. Anyway, Mr. Fasal, don’t you think I’m a little lonely by myself?”

Seeing the strange look of her pulling faces, Fasal just smiled and did not answer this question. In fact, she was certainly lonely. If she did not have invitations from friends and celebrities, Shania would coop up in the house to watch DVDs, read or go online. Not to mention that she was a celebrity, even if she were to be an ordinary person, the entertainment activities were too few.

Besides, it was odd for a seventeen-year-old girl not to go on dates …

Fasal just asked her what time she would leave the house and then he left.

Following which, Shania was not in the mood to read. She kept staring at her cell phone from time to time, but until Farrell rang the doorbell of her house, her cell phone did not ring again.

As she scolded Uncle Tony in her mind, Shania dressed up to go out.

※※※

“Ah, Shania has been so active lately. She went out to dinner with Farrell again …” During a break in the training, the players gathered in twos and threes to chat. The coaches would also gather to talk about topics of mutual interest. Because there had been news of Shania in the newspapers lately, Kerslake would always mentioned everyone’s acquaintance, Shania, at such times.

But Twain was not in a good mood. He wanted to tell off this star-chaser, but as soon as his mouth opened, he swallowed the words back. He had no reason to chide Kerslake, and he had no reason to be in a bad mood. He did not even know why he was like this.

Gee, the big game is coming. How can you be distracted by something like this at this time?

Twain shook his head and tossed aside these messy thoughts for the time being.

Chapter 647 - Preparation for Battle

“Just forget about the league title. Don’t think it’s going to be enough to get that.” On the training ground, Twain lectured the team.

After winning the league title, he sensed that there had been some laxity on the team. It had to do with the league title, which had made people feel that their mission had been completed and that however they played from then on, they had one championship title in hand and could have a good holiday.

Twain did not think so. Even though winning the league title was worthy of celebration, it was no reason to relax in preparing for the Champions League.

“The league title was delightful, but there are more lovely treats waiting for us: the Champions League title. Don’t you want to have a taste of defending the title?” Twain waved his arms as he painted a wonderful picture of the future for everyone. “Don’t relax! It’s hard to stir yourselves up after you relax. Now there are people out there who say that since Nottingham Forest has the league title, the best result is for Chelsea to win the Champions League title. It’s all bullshit! Why is it the best result to cede a championship title to another team? Are we here to fulfill another team’s wishes after we made it to the finals after much difficulty? Since we have advanced into the final, we must win the championship. Getting the first runner-up title would be a failure!”

At the end of the lecture, Twain handed over the command of training to Dunn and Kerslake, and went back to his office. Allan Adams was already waiting. They were going to discuss plans to go to the Far East to make money in the summer.

Twain was aware of the impact on the team of using valuable training time to fly halfway around the world to play commercial competitions. He had seen a number of precedents, but he had to obey the club’s arrangements.

In the first few seasons when he needed to buy players, the club’s finances always tried to satisfy him as much as possible. Now the team had achieved results, he naturally had to repay the club’s finances. Furthermore, the club was financially tight after the construction of the new stadium and needed to obtain money from somewhere to temporarily ease the situation. Going to Asia to play commercial competitions was the quickest way to see results.

Consequently, he could not refuse.

“We have been in touch with them and launched the campaign in four countries: China, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia.” Allan did not even say hello when he saw Twain. He got straight to the point.

“Four countries?”

Allan nodded. “Five regions in four countries, including Hong Kong. Just treat the five games as the pre-season friendlies. He smiled at Twain, knowing that he and Twain were at odds.

Twain thought about it. There were five games before the season. The players would perhaps be physically unable to play more games after the long flight.

“What other activities are there besides the games?” Twain knew that for the team to travel all the way to Asia, it was impossible to return with just five games. Allan would not be that considerate.

“Well, there are three commercial events and a charity dinner, which requires everyone to attend. Beckham also has a number of specific activities arranged… You know, he’s the most popular person.”

“Sounds like a hectic summer.” Twain shrugged.

After they finished discussing Allan’s work, Allan casually asked Twain, “Tony, the Champions League game on the twenty-first…”

“You want to ask how confident the team is of winning?” Twain guessed.

Allan nodded.

“It’s more effective to promote with the Double title, isn’t it?”

Allan smiled. “You’re a smart man, Tony.”

“Ha, even if it’s not for publicity, I must get this championship title in my hands!” Twain clenched his fists. “So you can rest assured that when I said I want the Double, it means the Double.”

Allan glanced at the team training outside. He got up and held out his hand out to Twain. “Then Evan and I wait for your good news, Tony.”

After they shook hands, Allan said goodbye, and Twain went out to the training ground to continue supervising.

※※※

After the league tournament ended, the English media could focus hype on the Champions League final. Unlike the year before, this year was an English “civil war” which gave the English press a lot more to speculate on.

For the two managers, the media were determined to start a pre-match battle.

The Sun posted large photographs of the two men with a caption between the two photographs:

Grant? Who’s that?

When Grant had just taken over as the Chelsea manager, Tony Twain had said that to show his contempt. His remark held some sway because everyone thought that Grant was incapable of leading Chelsea, especially since his predecessor was so idiosyncratic that it left a lasting mark on the team.

Even Twain did not expect Grant to manage to lead Chelsea and stagger all the way into the Champions League final. It was the first time in Chelsea’s history that they had reached the Champions League final, knowing that even a powerful manager like Mourinho did not finish the initiative. The final had not been played yet, but Grant had already made history for the club.

With that contrast in performance, the Sun’s intention in bringing the remark to the surface again was clear — to provoke a new round of war of words between the managers and to mock and anger Twain, so that he would come out and publish another shocking article.

A headline was not enough. The Sun also listed the feuds and game record between the two teams in recent years. Tony Twain’s team had the upper hand, but it further stirred the Chelsea fans’ hatred of Nottingham Forest. After the media’s exaggeration of Tony Twain’s smugness and arrogant manner of despising everyone, it became more deeply rooted. The media were keen for the Chelsea fans to think that Twain felt that they did not need to play in the final because his team would win.

Supporters of both teams had not been idle, showing up one by one to give their views on the game.

John Motson wrote in his column on the BBC, claiming to be bullish on Nottingham Forest defending its title. Although it was difficult to defend the title, Tony Twain and his team were used to creating miracles. Furthermore, the match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United had shown the team’s resilience, so he believed the final victory belonged to Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest.

Far away in Portugal, Mourinho remained concerned about the team he once coached. He was still dismissive of Grant, but, emotionally, he supported Chelsea’s bid to win. His reasons were quite his style — this is the team I left behind, I laid the foundation for the team for three years, and now Grant doesn’t have to do anything. He just needed to follow my routine and reap the rewards. But I’m still proud of the performance of the Chelsea lads. What? Ever since Tony Twain came to power, Chelsea had not been able to win against Nottingham Forest? That’s not a problem. This embarrassing record will officially be gone in Moscow on the night of May 21st…

In such intense battle atmosphere, Grant also eventually did not hold back. In an interview with Sky TV, he spoke about his personal feud with Twain. In fact, it could be considered an outpouring of grievances plus a counter-offensive. First he complained that he had never been acknowledged. Even if he had led the team to the Champions League final, the media still talked about whether he would leave again after the end of the season.

“Mr. Abramovich has just signed a new three-year contract with me. We are now hopeful of winning the Champions League title, which Mourinho’s Chelsea had never even made it to the Champions League final. I do not admit that the failure of the league tournament was due to me. There were too many liabilities from the first half of the season.?I have been compensating for this ever since I took over this team. I think it is very good to be able to get to this point. I don’t understand why you’re still talking about my successor…”

Then he talked about that famous “who is that” incident. “Tony Twain is an extremely peculiar manager. He’s always so casual in judging others. I think we are long used to it. But I’m glad I now have the opportunity to prove ‘who I am’ in front of him.” These words held a great grievance. Apparently, the anger provoked by Twain had been increasingly accumulated in Grant’s heart, waiting for the right moment to explode.

This right timing was the Champions League final. What better revenge was there for Grant to feel great than to defeat the insufferably arrogant Tony Twain and his team in the Champions League final and then to pick up the trophy?

After Grant spoke, Tony Twain also jumped out to take on the challenge. He wrote in his column:

“I am glad that Mr. Grant finally understood his situation. He said he was happy to have the opportunity now to prove ‘who he is’ in front of me, stating that he himself understood that he needed to prove to me and that he did not know who he was until he had received my acknowledgement.”

These remarks caused the supporters of Nottingham Forest to burst into laughter, but almost made Grant fly into a rage. Obviously, he just thought about how to beat Twain, but unwittingly fell into Twain’s trap with words.

So, he fought back in the media again, but Twain did not take up a challenge this time. He said, “I loathe this behavior of attracting attention using one’s words before the game, so I’m not going to quarrel with Mr. Grant in the press. The title trophy does not belong to who can spit more saliva. I will not be involved in this kind of meaningless hype. I am sorry.”

These words choked Grant until he was dumbfounded. He had never seen such a shameless person… He had been happy to engage in a war of words with him before and now that he had gotten what he wanted, he immediately did an about-turn and back-pedaled. This excuse he used was high-sounding, but it was incongruent with his image!

※※※

Although Twain was full of contempt and disdain for Grant in the war of words, he was not stupid enough to believe that Grant was such a vulnerable opponent. Mourinho’s words were not reliable enough. To be able to bring a team that had undergone major personnel changes in the middle of the season into the Champions League final, they had to not have just relied on the team left behind by the predecessor to do so.

Twain fully inherited the glorious tradition of the older generation of revolutionaries. The way he would treat the enemy first was to strategically despise him, and then do not underestimate him tactically. He had said disdainfully, “Who is Grant?” In fact, since discovering that Grant’s team improving in the Champions League, he had been paying attention to this opponent. He did not know if Grant’s team would be able to reach the Champions League final, so he just treated him as an opponent they might encounter in the future. It had come in handy now.

Nottingham Forest’s coaching unit had been gathering all the latest information about Chelsea, such as Ashley Cole was hurt in training, Lampard’s mother had passed away and so on. As long as there was information that could affect the game, it would be sorted out and put on Twain’s desk.

Although he had dealt with Chelsea many times and both teams were no stranger to each other, Twain believed the game on the evening of 21st had to not be the same as any previous game. Chelsea, which broke into the Champions League final for the first time, was bound to be hungry like a pack of wolves. Without their Manager Grant’s motivation, they would also be full of fighting spirit.

This time it was a tough opponent and it was not going to be an easy game. The psychological warfare had been played. Ultimately, it depended on how the two teams performed on the field to see which team the title belonged to.

Trading insults with each other really would not determine which team would take the title.

During training, Nottingham Forest focused on stepping up the tactical drills for penetration in the middle. Nottingham Forest established itself from the two flanks. While the wings were still strong, this had been thoroughly studied by their rivals and Chelsea would be on guard. Therefore, when they focused on defending against the two flanks, the Forest team would unexpectedly strike in the middle. He believed that it would produce a wonderful effect.

In addition, a set piece was always a wonderful move to break a deadlock and had to be practiced. At the same time, Twain decided to let the team practice the penalty shots, taking into account the various situations that might arise. Although he did not want the game to develop to that far, it was always good to be well prepared. In case the game was really dragged into a penalty shootout, it was better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.

As the day of the game approached, the various wars of words outside became increasingly fierce. The surroundings of the two teams’ training bases were filled with reporters from all over the world. But the two managers had ceased fire… The two men stopped all direct war of words and also avoided discussing this personal feud during the interviews with the reporters. They just talked about the team’s current training situation, players’ conditions, the prospects for the final… and these conventional subjects of no real value.

Compared to the previous fiery matchup between the managers, the players were much calmer when they talked about this game. It was just a final match.

In an interview with the reporters, Beckham admitted that he did not expect his first season with the Forest team to be so wonderful. Not to mention that they had won the league title, now there was a hope to win the Champions League title. He thought it was fantastic as he had never thought he would have a chance to stand on top of Europe again when he decided to transfer to Nottingham Forest. This also showed that his decision was correct and wise.

The media naturally lauded his accomplishments again.

In preparation for the Champions League final, Twain found that he suddenly developed a habit in a short period of time — he began to pay attention to the celebrity tabloids like Kerslake. From those papers, he could always find news about Shania. Compared to Shania when she first went to live in Los Angeles, Shania was currently much more active and frequently attended parties as well as commercial events.

Most of the time, that Hollywood playboy, Colin Farrell would definitely follow her around. They seemed to have a close relationship.

Whenever he saw news about Shania, Twain sensed that there was something was brewing deep in his heart that worried him. He was afraid that one day it would suddenly break out of his control and he could not tell what the consequences would be when that happened.

This sentiment had a growing impact on Twain as the Champions League final approached, so much so that when things were quiet for him, he would inevitably think about it. Twain felt that something was wrong with him, something extremely wrong. Going on like this was detrimental for while he prepared the team for battle and even for the final match. He had to think of a way to fix it…

He looked at the phone in his hand.

Chapter 648 - A Thing Like Love

Twain still decided to give Shania a call to have a good talk with her. He should not have been responsible for this sort of matter as her parents were still alive and well. But looking at the current development, her parents were clearly not in charge. In that case... Twain felt that since he was really like one of Shania’s elders most of the time, so it was a matter of course that he stepped forward to say a few words.

Listening to the ringing tone coming from inside the cell phone while he waited for his call to be answered, Twain let his imagination run wild. While he was busy preparing for the Champions League final against Chelsea during this time, he had not made another call to Shania. But was it really because he was preparing for the Champions League final?

Maybe he did not want to make that call.

This was good. She had made a new friend over there, and it was a man. He did not have to worry about whether she was lonely over there. Shania had to grow up sooner or later. He could not always take his first memory of when he first met her as the permanent impression. She was only thirteen years old at that time, and now fast forward five years later, she was almost eighteen years old. In China, one would be considered an adult at the age of eighteen ... So, she should live her own life and have her own social circles. These things had nothing to do with him.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily not in service. Please try again later ...”

“Strange.” Twain mumbled to himself as he looked at the phone screen.

He had wanted to put the phone down like this and get busy with other things. But looking at the name behind that string of numbers on the screen—“Little Girl”, he stubbornly pressed the call button again.

In fact, ... I’m aware of all the reasons above, but why do I just feel awful? Is it due to that Colin Farrell? Ah, yes! It must be because of that guy with the bad reputation. Ah, I’m still so worried about this little girl in the United States. Why she can find young handsome guy with a nice character? Hollywood is full of young handsome people. Why does she take a fancy to an old guy who is about to be thirty-two years old! With a kid in tow! Oh my God... This world is too crazy!

Alcoholism, drug use, playboy ... My little girl cannot be companion to that kind of man. I feel scared just thinking about it!

I absolutely forbid this kind of thing! Right! This is a major life decision; she cannot be hasty! She’s only a young girl with no experience and that shameful old man is an old hand at the affairs of the heart. He must have used charming words to deceive Shania. I have to make it clear to her that love is not like this ... Definitely not!

Love should be ... Love should be ... Love should be ...

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily not in service. Please try again later ...”

“Bastard!” Twain cursed and pressed the green button on his cell phone again.

How should love be like ... Ah, this is really a profound philosophical question. Anyway, it will not be a young girl who’s not even eighteen in embrace with an old man who already had a child and appeared intimately in front of everyone! It’s not in line with ... common sense!

Twain gnashed his teeth at the thought.

What if she gets mad at me? But she’s never been an obedient girl who listens to me... Then I can only be a little fiercer. I must act angry and not back down! Yes, I can’t let her do whatever she pleases! Can’t let her have her way according to her temper. I hate spoiling kids this sort of thing the most hate! You’re going to get it from me this time, Shania ...

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily not in service. Please ...”

“FUCK!”

※※※

Shania sat cross-legged on the couch, looking very seriously at the cell phone on the coffee table. The tiny pink cell phone rang out with melodious music and vibrated on several times as it slowly moved to the edge.

She wanted to see if the cell phone would jolt itself off the edge.

Half the body of the phone was suspended in the air. One more jolt and it would lose its balance. It was at this time that the sound of the music and vibration stopped at once.

Shania pursed her lips.

Just as she was about to pick up her cell phone, the music came on again! This startled her as her fingers touched the cell phone. The small phone did a somersault in the air and then fell straight to the floor.

“Ah!” Shania exclaimed.

Fortunately, the floor was carpeted, and the cell phone avoided the fate of smashing into smithereens. Shania hurriedly picked it up from the floor and accidentally touched the answer call button.

“Sha-ni-a–!!” Full of anger, Uncle Tony’s voice, crossed the Atlantic and American continents, ignoring the barriers of time and space and broke out.

He was furious.

“Why didn’t you answer my call!!”

Shania took her cell phone in front of her and did not put it to her ear. Even so, it did not prevent her from hearing Tony Twain’s clear voice.

“Uh ... Uh ...”

Shania was a little frightened when she heard Uncle Tony’s angry voice. She thought she had to find an excuse for herself this time, or she would have been scolded by Uncle Tony ...

Shania anxiously scrambled on the couch and unwittingly hit the power switch on the television remote control.

A “beep” sound came on and the television in front of her was turned on. It was the Fox Sports channel, which was just showing the F1 race. Shania’s eyes lit up and turned the volume up.

“Ah! I’m sorry, Uncle Tony! I’m out shopping. It’s so noisy here, so I did not hear the phone ringing ...”

The television speakers transmitted the “buzz buzz buzz buzz—-” noise of the F1 race cars zooming past the cameras at a high speed. It totally corroborated ...

※※※

Twain did hear the roar of the engine, but he was a little puzzled because the noise sounded so strange. There were no cars with such horsepower on an ordinary street ...

Just as he was wondering, a faint voice loomed in his ear, “... Alonso overtook Button and now he’s in the pole position ...”

“Click—” Twain’s hand gave a hard press, and the cell phone in his hand gave a whine.

※※※

Shania covered her mouth and stared wide-eyed as she was betrayed by her television so quickly.

“Shania ...” He did not yell, but this low voice made Shania even more frightened. “You even dare to fool me ...”

“Er, hehe—” Shania could only giggle.

“Turn off the TV and don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.” Twain said coolly.

Shania had to obediently turn off the television, and the room was restored to peace again. Now the voice on the phone was clearer.

“How ... have you been lately?”

※※※

Twain wanted to properly criticize Shania, but when he spoke, his words turned into “How ... have you been lately?” type of greeting. It was a disgrace, and the momentum he had gathered deflated as soon as he made this remark.

He could only sigh with frustration.

※※※

She originally wanted to keep a cold face to deal with Uncle Tony’s rant, but did not expect to be faced with a greeting and sigh.

That sigh crumbled Shania’s psychological defenses instantly—she was supposed to be angry with Uncle Tony, but now she could not even work up her anger.

“I’m good. I’ve got a boyfriend.” Although she was no longer angry inside, she did not intend to let go of the nasty Uncle Tony in words.

“Ah ...” Twain froze. He’s really her boyfriend .... Son of a bitch!

“That won’t do.” He startled Shania with a sudden roar.

“Why not?”

“I said that boyfriend of yours won’t do!”

“Why not? He is good to me, a very gentle man and very romantic too ... He’s so nice! Why ever not?” Shania asked with pursed lips.

“Tut! Is that kind of playboy considered good too? Gentle? Romantic? That are just moves an old hand at love uses to pick up girls!”

Shania covered her mouth and giggled, “It looks like Uncle Tony is also an old hand at love. Where’s your girlfriend, Uncle Tony?”

“Don’t divert from the subject!” Twain cried, “I’m now educating you and not you giving me a lesson! I’m telling you, Shania, Hollywood is one big corrupted place. If you’re not careful, you can just ...” He could not continue as the words that followed were not very nice sounding to a girl.

“What’s the matter, Uncle Tony?” Shania was unwilling to let go.

“Ahem, ahem.” Twain coughed a couple of times before he changed the subject, “Anyway, Shania. I think, you’ve just arrived there, so you’d better seriously learn first and focus on your career first. As for dating and relationship, you can take it slowly ... And to be honest, I don’t feel at ease about that Colin Farrell. I don’t think he has the best of intentions...” Twain was justifying his actions. After all, interfering in the private lives of others was a bad thing in the Westerners’ views. Instead, he heard laughter which sounded like silver bells coming from the other end of the line.

“I still remember what I said to you at Armani’s dinner party—if I was going to find a boyfriend in the future, I would definitely come to you first and ask for your advice. If you’re not satisfied with him, I’ll let him go. What did you say at that time, Uncle Tony?”

“What did I say at the time?” He did not recall clearly what happened a year ago. Twain was confused and did not know what Shania meant by suddenly mentioning the past.

“You yelled at me and said, ‘I’m not your father!'” Shania rather accurately captured Twain’s flustered and exasperated tone and said, “You see, now that I have not asked for your advice, you came calling on your own, Uncle Tony.”

“Are you blaming me?” Twain asked with a frown.

“No.” The corners of her lips curled up as she spoke into the phone, “You don’t like Colin Farrell?”

This time Twain replied without hesitation, “I dislike him very much!”

Shania leaned against the couch while a soundless laugh played on her pair of slightly parted and alluring soft red lips.

“I tell you, Shania ... You must be inexperience in this area. Your Uncle Tony is an old hand! You have to listen to me this time. Just from the looks of that Colin Farrell, you know he’s not a good guy!” Twain did not whether Colin Farrell was really a good person or not. Anyway, this was for the sake of Shania’s “lifelong happiness.” What did it matter if he had to discredit a person who had nothing to do with him? He was best at blurting things out without thinking.

“Ah, for a thing like love, you have to find a man... who has a sense of security which is the most important thing. He must be able to make you feel safe! Do you know that? Ah, Shania, the so-called sense of security is when you are with him, you will not be nervous and afraid. You won’t worry about getting hurt and be inexplicably upset ... In short, you will feel safe and at ease as if you’re leaning against a wall ... No, a mountain!” Twain clenched his fist and raised his voice as if he made an impromptu speech to his players in the locker room. “He can accommodate your everything. No matter what difficulties, setbacks and grievances you encounter outside, you can at least rely on him and sleep in peace! It cannot be replaced by some pretty words and sending nine hundred and ninety-nine bouquets of roses! He may not speak beautifully, do very romantic things, but he loves you, is willing to take care of you, dependable, willing to help you weather the ups and downs in life ...”

Shania listened in a daze.

Twain was totally unaware that he had gushed out bits and pieces from his mind of how a man should be, observed from various places in his past. As he spoke, he even felt he should work towards the goal, because ...

“This kind of man is too perfect ...” Shania exclaimed.

“Listen, Shania. Love is for a lifetime. You can’t rush it, so you naturally have to have high standards and strict requirements.” Twain deliberately ignored the difference between “love” and “marriage.” In fact, marriage was probably a major lifetime decision...

“In a nutshell, I hope you will be happy all your life, Shania.” Twain meant these words from the bottom of his heart. He added, “But Colin Farrell cannot give you a lifetime of happiness. I do not approve of you with him, absolutely ... absolutely not in favor!”

After she listened to Twain’s remarks, Shania was silent for a moment.

Just as Twain thought Shania was still unwilling to accept his opinions, he heard her gentle voice said, “Thank you, Uncle Tony.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh’?”

“There’s no ‘but’?”

“Why should there be a ‘but’?”

“General, isn’t ‘thank you’ followed by a ‘but’? Such as:

—-Thank you, Twain. You’re a good man. But we can’t be together. I only think of you as my brother (uncle)!

“There’s not a ‘but’!” Shania did not know whether to laugh or dry, “Thank you, Uncle Tony, thank you!”

Twain finally breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared as if Shania was going to accept his advice. He had just sighed when he thought of another question: am I being too thoughtless when I so roughly interfere in Shania’s private life? I should still apologize to her, right? Is it right for me to do this? Is it my place to do this? Do I have the right to say these things?

“Are you angry, Shania?”

“Angry? Why?”

“Because ... Well, I interfered with your ... private life …”

“Why would I be angry?” Shania happily said with a laugh, “You are my Uncle Tony. I can be angry with everyone, but I will not be angry with Uncle Tony! Besides ...”

I’m actually very happy.

Shania did not say this. Instead, she replaced it with another reason.

“... Besides, you’re showing me concern. You’re being kind, Uncle Tony.”

Twain was really relieved now. He said, “If you feel lonely and alone, just call me and don’t mind the time difference. Even if it is in the middle of the night in London, you can still call me. Or... when you’re not busy, come back once in a while for a break.”

Shania did not respond to this invitation. She just asked, “Do you miss Me, Uncle Tony?”

This time, Twain did not repeatedly stress how much he missed her. He just uttered once, “Yes.”

“That’s good. Whenever I’m lonely, I will think that Uncle Tony misses me, so I won’t be lonely!” Shania said happily.

“Silly girl ...” Twain smiled.

※※※

It was lunchtime on another training with two sessions of practice.

Dunn sat across from Twain and lowered his head to eat his seafood risotto, while Twain only drank coffee and ate sandwiches.

Kerslake came up to Twain with the papers and said, “It’s really strange that Shania dumped that Irish playboy overnight. It’s too soon for the rumored couple to break up, isn’t it? The papers stated that guy, Fasal, couldn’t figure out why Shania rejected him. I couldn’t figure it out too. Didn’t they seem to be getting on quite well before, did they?”

Twain did not grab the newspapers this time. He just drank his coffee and said leisurely, “Who knows? Who can tell with a thing like love? Maybe Shania thinks Farrell’s hair is too long?”

“What kind of reason is that?” Kerslake did not know whether to laugh or cry at Twain’s response.

Dunn, who was busy eating, glanced at Twain. The demon tail behind this man seemed to be swinging complacently.

Chapter 649 - Modesty Is Not A Virtue

Twain’s mood suddenly turned for the better. Using “everything becomes clear at once” to describe might not be appropriate, but it more or less meant that. He was no longer bothered by things outside the competition and dedicated himself in the research of the opponent and training. The people around him could feel the change. The Tony Twain of the two days again made them feel insecure because if the team’s leading general himself was distraught, the hearts of the troops would naturally be affected. Now all was well. His unknowing restless heart had settled down, and so the people around him settled their hearts as well.

As the final match was held in faraway Russia, the team had to travel there two days in advance to adapt to the venue.

Before he left, Twain took the tickets to Gavin’s grave. This was his routine as long as his team made it to the finals, he would do so. As with this habit, previously he would mail Michael Bernard a ticket. But this time, he clipped a piece of paper with it in the envelope. These words were written on it: “You don’t have to come, Michael. Just keep this as a memento.”

In front of Gavin’s tomb, Twain ran into George Wood, which surprised him a little. He said, “Is this a coincidence? We never ran into each other here.”

Wood looked back at his manager who held a bunch of flowers and said, “I don’t know. I don’t know when you’ll be here too.”

“Then why do we always pick the same day?”

“Because this is the only day the team ends training early.” The day they were referring to was today which was the day before the team traveled to the finals’ venue.

“What you said makes a lot of sense.” Twain crouched in front of Gavin’s tomb and put the flowers next to George Wood’s bouquet. He then pulled out a lighter and lit the ticket in his hand.

“Is that how you send him the tickets?” Wood saw this for the first time.

“Yes. I don’t know Gavin’s address in heaven, so I can only burn it for him.” Twain patted his hands after he burnt the ticket. He got up and looked at Wood.

“Gavin …. Will his father come back to watch the game this year?” Wood asked.

Twain shook his head and said, “No. He has his own life and football games are just a pick-me-up in life.”

“A pick-me-up?”

“They’re not professional players or career coaches. They’re just regular fans. Maybe football is life for us but it’s not like this for them.” Twain looked at Wood and explained. Then he asked, “How’s your mother?”

“Her health … has always been that way.”

Twain nodded to show his understanding. Sophia’s illness was the after-effects from a lot of hard work and running around over many years, the mental and physical stress of not taking good care of herself, not resting well and not eating well. Such an illness basically had no hope of recovery. It could only be controlled gradually. Until now, she still often needed to go to the hospital for treatment.

“George.”

“Yes?”

“Take good care of your mother.”

“I know.”

“So … will she go to watch the final on the 21st?”

“She wants to go but I won’t let her.”

“Oh?” Twain was a little puzzled when he heard George Wood said so.

“She’s not well enough to be able to be in a flight for a long time. I asked her to watch the live broadcast on TV at home.”

“Then you’d better play well!” Twain patted Wood on the shoulder with a smile.

“I’ve always play well…” Wood suddenly thought of the red card in that last game of the league tournament when he wondered how Ronaldo whom he shoveled to the ground and ended up having to be carried off on a stretcher was. He paid little attention to the reports in the media. “What happened to the Portuguese?”

“Portuguese?” Twain froze for a moment, and soon reacted, “Oh, you mean Cristiano Ronaldo? He… Well, he’s okay. He was well after he just took a few days off. Now he’s alive and full of vigor in the Portuguese national team’s training camp. You don’t have to worry.”

Twain exaggerated a little. Ronaldo did appear in the training camp of the Portuguese national team in preparation for the UEFA European Championship, but he was not vigorous and lively at all. Until now Scolari had not allowed Ronaldo to train with the ball. His mission was to regain his physical health and rest fully. Out of caution, the team doctors of the Portuguese national team advised Scolari to only bring Ronaldo on in the second game of the group stage.

As there would be UEFA European Championship and the Olympic Games this year, all the European leagues came to an end in succession. The players of the various club teams had gone to report at their respective national teams. Only Nottingham Forest and Chelsea had delayed their dismissal of the teams because they had to prepare for the Champions League final. Between the Champions League, European Championship, commercial games and Olympics … this summer would be very busy for the Nottingham Forest players.

Wood had no expression on his face, but he was slightly relieved in his heart.

This was not the same as the last time when he broke Rochemback’s leg with a kick. He tried to avenge Eastwood the last time. Whereas it was about their tactical needs this time. The needs of a game was completely different from “I just felt like doing it.”

“Oh right. About that foul, you did a beautiful job.” He had been busy with the celebration and the preparations for the Champions League final after the game. He was also busy worrying about Shania’s “major life event” and did not talk to Wood about that game. He was afraid Wood would worry that his red card had gotten the team into trouble. It was actually not like that …

“Without that decisive foul from you, we might have conceded the goal and wouldn’t have gotten that valuable chance to fight back. It was you who changed the course and outcome of the game.” Twain gave high praise to Wood. “You had been instrumental in us being able to win this league title.”

Wood did not smile with delight because Twain had praised him. He was always like this, and nothing seemed to betray his happiness or anger across his face

Twain was used to it and did not find it strange either.

“Let’s head back?” He said.

“Okay.” Wood nodded.

Before they left, Twain turned to look at Gavin’s tombstone and said, “We’re heading off to Moscow to play in the final, Gavin. If we can defend the title, I promise I will come back to see you with the trophy. Also, remember to go watch the game live.”

With these words, Twain and Wood walked out of the quiet cemetery side by side. The flowers swayed gently in the breeze, as if they were nodding.

※※※

For Twain, the city of Moscow was no longer an unfamiliar place that could only be appreciated sporadically in a variety of films and television works. Nottingham Forest spent last summer here in the friendly matches before this season. This trip was down the memory lane.

“Luckily, Chelsea didn’t take the same flight as us.” On the way from the Moscow airport to the hotel, Kerslake said of their flight from the London airport. London Heathrow Airport was filled with the press, which at one point made one thought it had become the second “Fleet Street.” (note: It was once the street that was most concentrated with the British press and a symbol of the advancement in the British media. Now the various media outlets had moved out in succession and “Fleet Street” had become a symbolic label used to refer to the British media headquarters). Because Chelsea and Nottingham Forest coincidentally left the United Kingdom and headed for Moscow on the same day, so everything was thrown together.

“The media don’t think so. They must be very disappointed not to see the buzz.” Twain was always merciless in mocking the British media. “It’s like you dangle the bone in front of them but they are not allowed to take a bite.”

These two teams did not encounter each other before the game as the media had wanted. The airport made meticulous arrangements that prevented them from running into each other. Both teams also cared a lot about this matter and requested for the players not to wander around before boarding their flights. The current hostility between the two teams was so high that no one wanted any chaos to happen …

The bus stopped at the entrance of the hotel where the team was staying. A number of reporters had gathered there. After the players alighted the bus, they accepted a short interview before they entered the hotel. They went to their rooms according to the long-allocated room combinations to rest.

Twain took a little longer and was delayed at the hotel entrance. As the team’s leader and famous big mouth, he was more “favored” by the press.

“There’s nothing to say. There’s been a lot of news about us lately, and it’s talking about the same old things. You don’t want me to put you off with something that’s out of date, do you?” Twain said aloud in the crowd.

“You can talk about the outlook for the final. What kind of results do you want to get?”

“No one wants his own team to lose, mate. Your question lacks standard.” Twain amused the other reporters.

Tang Jing was naturally in there. While everyone was laughing, she squeezed in and asked, “Since the restructuring of the Champions League, no team has ever successfully defended its title. Now that Nottingham Forest has a high chance, excuse me … Mr. Twain, have you fully assessed the difficulty of defending the title?”

If she had asked “Do you have faith in defending your title?”, Twain was bound to retort, “You’re talking nonsense.” She also learned to be smart in the process of constantly bickering with Twain.

Hearing this question, Twain nodded, “Any final game has a certain degree of difficulty. I actually think the Champions League final is the same as the final round of the just-concluded league tournament. But my and my players’ job is to face one difficulty or another, and then we’ll … kick them off! Are you satisfied with my answer, Miss Tang?” Twain winked at Tang Jing.

“Thank you.” Tang Jing did not pay him any mind and continued to ask, “Can you talk about your trip to China this summer…”

“Sorry, that has nothing to do with the game the day after tomorrow. I don’t want to talk about that now.” Twain put on a matter-of-fact expression.

Tang Jing nodded to show her understanding and stopped any mention of other issues.

After responding to some of the other reporters’ questions, Twain squeezed out of the crowd and walked into the hotel. He was not hurrying to rest, but to hold a meeting attended by the entire coaching unit.

The preparation were in its final stages, so they could not be sloppy. He must take control of the team’s current form at all times. After all, it was not as if they did not have any problems on their side.

※※※

Just when Tony Twain returned to his room to hold the meeting with the coaches, Chelsea, which had arrived in Moscow a little later than they did, also reached the hotel where they were staying. The two teams were respectively in the north and south of Luzhniki Stadium, not far from the finals’ venue. If the weather was fine and the visibility in the air was good, Twain could also see the spire of the hotel building where Chelsea was staying through the windows of his room.

The Blues’ star player, Lampard, had just experienced the pain of the passing of his mother. After he alighted the bus, he expressed his wish to pay tribute to his mother’s spirit with the first Champions League trophy in the Chelsea club history when he spoke to the reporters. Terry and Drogba also said they hoped Lampard would score the winning goal in the game.

Although there was always leaked news of discord within the Chelsea locker room during the tournament, those who supported or did not support Mourinho, and those who supported Grant or questioned Grant, this team was more united than ever at this moment. All differences did not matter. They just wanted one thing in Moscow and that was to help the team win the final game, beat Nottingham Forest and win the Champions League title!

The players’ conduct made Grant, who then got out of the bus, very happy. A united Chelsea team increased his confidence of winning against Tony Twain.

Although Nottingham Forest had just won the league title and their morale was high, the final round of the league tournament drained a lot of their energy and it was said that Beckham’s old injury had relapsed. It was not known whether he could play in the final and news also broke about van Nistelrooy’s seemingly minor injuries during training.

Compared to them, Ashley Cole, who was previously injured in training, had returned from the firing line and had no problem playing in the final. Moreover, Chelsea had an easy game in its final round of the league tournament and their strength was assured.

And there was the most important point.

“Some press mention that Chelsea lacks the experience of playing in a Champions League final, but I think that happens to be our advantage. Compared to Nottingham Forest, which has already won the Champions League title, our players are hungrier for the honor, and their fighting spirit is more exuberant. This is something that Nottingham Forest cannot compare.” Grant spoke frankly with assurance to the reporters who surrounded him. After he came to Moscow, he was bursting with confidence, believing that this was the stage prepared for him, and that the protagonist must be himself.

“I believe in my players. At this point, I don’t want to talk about myself or my predecessor because it’s disrespectful to my players. To be able to reach the final, that credit belongs to the entire team.”

“… Of course, this is going to be a difficult game. Nottingham Forest is not a weak team. But we have the confidence to win. I know Chelsea has never won this honor in its history and I look forward to the prospect of returning to Stamford Bridge with the championship trophy.” Grant diminished his confrontation with Twain and repeatedly emphasized the team while at the same time, the confidence in his words had made the reporters sit up and take notice of this manager, who had been subjected to their doubts.

His performance was like that of a veteran manager who was neither nervous nor excited. He calmly knew what he should do.

After seeing the conduct of the entire Chelsea team, the BBC television pundits exclaimed, “This is really going to be a tough game because both sides must have the title. No one will concede in advance. In this instance, modesty is not a virtue.”

Chapter 650 - The Tactical Meeting

“Mr. Fasal.” Shania found her agent who was reading alone in the living room.

“Ah, Shania, what’s the matter?” Fasal took off his glasses and looked back at her.

“Can I take two days off?”

“It will soon be the filming of your scenes, Shania …” Fasal had somewhat of a headache when he heard this request. He stood up and explained to Shania.

“When exactly?”

“The crew’s plan is to film your scenes on the 22nd.”

When she heard Fasal say so, Shania wrinkled her eyebrows and the tip of her nose turned up. She looked lovely even when she fretted.

Fasal guessed her intention to take a leave of absence, but he did not reveal, “Where are you thinking of visiting?”

“Moscow, Russia.”

Fasal smiled, “If it’s just to watch a game, one day is enough.”

Shania wanted to look for Twain after the game. Now it looked like time did not permit her to do so. She sighed, “Yeah, if it’s just to watch a game, there’s plenty of time. Help me book two tickets to Moscow, Mr. Fasal.”

“Two? I’m not going …” Fasal thought Shania was going to drag him to the game, but he actually had a lot of work to do himself. With Shania away, someone must be in charge of contacting the various parties here, must he not?

He did not expect Shania to roll her eyes and said, “They are for Clarice and myself.”

“Did she received a ticket too?” Fasal suddenly realized that it was Clarice Gloria, Twain’s friend. It was due to this relationship that Shania was also familiar with her.

“Yes.” Shania nodded.

“Sure, not a problem. As for Tony…”

Shania waved her hands and said, “You mustn’t tell him.”

“You want to give him a surprise?”

“No.” Shania smiled, “I just don’t want him to be distracted.”

※※※

A day before the game, Nottingham Forest held its last tactical meeting in the meeting room at the hotel where they were staying.

They would analyze the tactics and player combinations Chelsea might use in the final during this meeting, and what Nottingham Forest’s countermeasures would be. In addition to the manager’s on-field command, whether they could win in the game, would depend on the outcomes of this meeting. This was the concentrated embodiment of the entire coaching unit’s wisdom.

At this time, Dunn usually took centerstage, and Twain was only responsible for sitting on one side to listen.

Dunn spoke fluently in English with a Nottingham accent. He was very familiar with the English football and extremely proficient in the technical jargon. As for his performance in the usual work, there was simply no need for much nonsense. The English guys at the Nottingham Forest Football Club could not figure out how Tony Twain could encounter such a talent while he learnt conversational Mandarin through MSN online. Could it be that China was filled with such football geniuses in the country? It obviously did not make sense. Otherwise why was the level of Chinese football declining every year?

It could only be said that Tony Twain’s luck was surprisingly good!

“… Based on the intelligence gathered over the past few days, we speculate that Chelsea will send such a starting lineup in the final—” Dunn pointed to the tactical board as he said and drew Chelsea’s possible squad list to the players, “It’s ?ech as the goalkeeper. The center backs are Terry and Carvalho, and the left-back is Ashley Cole, who returns from his injury. The right back is …”

The right back had always been a weak spot for Chelsea. Even though Mourinho had worked considerably on it during his time, the players whom he bought had always been less than satisfactory.

“We think it’s going to be Essien.” This was the result of a discussion by the coaching staff. The players would not know how this result came about and it was useless to tell them. They just needed to know an answer. At the time of the discussion, there was disagreement within the coaching unit about the pick for the right back.

Kerslake believed what Grant lacked was experience in the team, so he should send the former Barcelona player Belletti, who had experience in the UEFA Champions League final, as the starting right back. His view had been endorsed by half of the coaches. After all, what Chelsea lacked the most now was really experience.

But Dunn had a different opinion. He believed that Belletti’s state was unstable and he was too old. In such a fierce final, his presence would become a weak spot for Chelsea instead. On the contrary, Essien, who was used by Mourinho as a utility player, was more likely to appear in this position, not to mention that he had played as the left and right as well center backs when he first started playing. There was no question about his unsuitability.

Twain eventually came forward to make a decisive opinion. He said, “If Chelsea send Belletti, then their right wing will be the area we focus on attacking. Grant must have known how sharp Nottingham Forest’s flank offense is. While Belletti’s defense is completely of a different level as compared to Essien, forget about how big that guy talked before the game. When the final is being played, he is bound to be steady, at least in defense. So Essien, who is good at defense and has outstanding stamina, is more likely to be in the position of the starting right back.”

“Lampard, Makelele, Ballack, and Joe Cole will be starting in the midfield. The forwards are Malouda and Drogba. It looks like the 4-4-2 formation, but it can turn into 4-3-3 once the game starts. Joe Cole’s position moved forward into a winger and Drogba is in the middle. He and Malouda are each on the left and right. Three players stand parallel in the midfield.”

Having finished with Chelsea, it was the time to release Nottingham Forest’s starting lineup. That was what the Forest players were most concerned about. It was an honor to play in the Champions League final.

The Champions League final was not the same as the league tournament. The rotation system could not be easily utilized. The strongest squad must naturally be deployed.

“The goalkeeper is Edwin van der Sar.” This was without a doubt. As long as the experienced Edwin van der Sar had no injuries and in a stable form, he must be the main force. No matter how talented Akinfeev was, he could only be a substitute.

“Pepe and Piqué, you’re the center backs and both of your main tasks are to clamp down on Drogba. Don’t let him get active and use your physical advantage to squeeze him out of the box. Don’t give him a chance to shoot. Tony does not want to see him on the field in the final.”

The two people nodded to show that they understood their mission.

“The full backs are Gareth Bale on the left and Rafinha on the right.” This was a lineup of full backs full of attacking force. It should be completely clear from this area what Twain had in mind—he wanted to suppress Chelsea’s two flanks in the final with his offense on the sides.

“In the midfield, we have George Wood, van der Vaart, Ribéry and …” Speaking up to here, Dunn paused a little. He looked up at Twain sat next to him, and then continued, “Lennon.”

This decision was a little surprising. Beckham was hurt, but after all, it was only a minor injury. It had not reached the point of him not being to go on the field. However, under the long-standing strict disciplinary requirements, there was no hubbub in the meeting room over this. Other than Lennon himself was somewhat startled, the others looked as per normal.

Dunn was still reading the starting list while Twain secretly observed everyone’s expression, hoping to learn about their inner thoughts through the subtle changes in their expressions. In the moment the name “Lennon” came out, a look of disappointment instantly flashed across David Beckham’s face. This tiny change did not escape Twain’s eyes.

“The forwards are van Nistelrooy and Eastwood.”

The Danish kid Bendtner waited patiently until the end but did not hear his name. Unlike Beckham, his disappointment was displayed in his speech.

It was an admirable achievement that Nottingham Forest had advanced into the Champions League final for three consecutive seasons since the 05-06 season when he joined the Forest team four seasons ago. But for Bendtner himself, it was not worth mentioning, because not once was he in the starting lineup … As a star of tomorrow with high hopes pinned onto him, this treatment was a little humiliating … He was the main striker in the Denmark national team and yet he had no chance of being in the starting lineup at Nottingham Forest.

When Viduka left, he once thought his future at Nottingham Forest was bright. He did not think that Tony Twain would change hands and bought van Nistelrooy whom Manchester United did not want! In this way, as a powerful center forward too, he was again forced to accept the reality that he could only be a substitute for van Nistelrooy. At first he thought with the increasing age of van Nistelrooy, his state would certainly decline. Then it would be his chance to rise. He did not expect …this old gun, van Nistelrooy progressively played better in Nottingham Forest, and only injuries could beat him down. For nearly two years, he only had minor injuries that were not enough to affect his form and playing time.

At this thought, Bendtner suddenly felt that his future at Nottingham Forest was gloomy …

Twain was still observing when Dunn had begun to explain the Forest team’s specific tactics in the game.

“… We will hold fast to defense in the starting fifteen minutes of the game. Then the two full backs will actively plugged in. George Wood will move back in the midfield while van der Vaart will move up to the attacking midfielder position. Ribéry’s and Lennon’s position will slightly shift inward. Dunn drew the team’s formation on the tactical board as he spoke. The shape of a rhombus was in the midfield. But unlike the general classic 4-4-2 diamond formation, this diamond layout was not too elongated in that the distance between the attacking and defensive midfielders were widened. In fact, it appeared to erect the elongated diamond formation.

With Ribéry and Lennon retreated inward, they became the relay stations connecting the defensive and attacking midfielders on the midline while also giving way to the forward plug of the two full backs. In the actual game, if they plugged in straight ahead, it would directed in front of Chelsea’s flanks. If they moved obliquely, they could go to the sides and also go to the middle. In short, they could decide according to the situation on the field and become very flexible. And van der Vaart would be very close to the frontline position, so his task was not to be a playmaker, but only be responsible for the final pass, or direct long shot. In that case, who was responsible to be the playmaker?

“George.” Twain stood up and took over from Dunn to say, “The positions in the game have to be much more flexible than what they are now on the tactical board. You are the starting point for defense to turn into offense, so you’re the playmaker.”

George Wood was a little surprised. To let him organize the offense in such an important game, was Tony Twain all right in his mind?

But Twain did not explain further. After this, he just sat down again and gave the lead back to Dunn.

The tactical meeting went on, but some people had become distracted …

※※※

After the meeting, the players left the meeting room in succession. Twain stopped David Beckham to speak to him in private.

Everyone knew why Twain has asked Beckham to stay behind. It must be due to that starting list. He might have to explain. Bendtner turned his head and looked at Twain and Beckham, who remained in the meeting room. He was somewhat jealous. Why was it that he too was not on the starting list, but Beckham alone was asked to stay behind to listen to the manager’s explanation and not himself? This really a reality that was unacceptable to him …

Everyone left, and Bendtner stood at the door of the meeting room to watch it being closed. At which point, he reluctantly turned and walked away.

In the empty meeting room, Beckham sat across from Tony Twain each other. He looked at Twain opposite and said, “You asked to see him because of the starting list, boss?”

“You don’t have to call me ‘boss’ when it’s just the two of us here. Just call me ‘Tony.’” Twain scratched his head and wondered in his mind how to better broach the subject. “Well, I know you may be a little disappointed with that.”

“To be honest, I am a little. Although I’m old, I’m still eager to play in the Champions League final again. But I know you must have your reasons for this arrangement. You’re the manager. Although we are good friends, I and you have the same attitude when it comes to the games.”

What kind of attitude? It was to put the team’s requirements as the priority. Beckham was a world-class star player, but there had never been a scandal in his career that had him contradicted the team’s manager because he wanted to get a chance to play. On the one hand, he always had a steady stream of appearances, and on the other hand, it had to do with his work ethics.

Twain was grateful to Beckham for understanding him in this way. Everyone knew he had a good personal relationship with Beckham. If Beckham used this relationship to coerce Twain to give him a steady starting position, then Twain would not be able to manage the team, because the team would be divided into two factions like “the manager’s cronies” and “general relationship with the manager.” At that time, a division would be inevitable.

Fortunately, Beckham had never done anything like this to make the manager lose every scrap of his reputation.

“Yes, the only reason is a tactical need. Lennon has the ability to plug forward. He and Ribéry can fully disrupt Chelsea’s defense on both sides …”

Beckham did not speak. He did not plan to make a case for himself to play. Anyway, he had to abide by what the manager decided. In his final season at Real Madrid, Capello did not like him, so he put him on the bench. He could only silently accepted it. He only chose to leave at the end.

Twain was also aware how cruel it was to do this to a veteran eager prove himself again. This could probably be the last chance of his career to stand on the field of the Champions League finals, but he could only be a spectator.

“But you’re on the substitutes’ list.” This might be a comfort as he said, “It’s also a tactical need, so I may bring you on. After all, your long shots and passes can still cause Chelsea a lot of trouble.”

Beckham smiled.

Twain felt something was wrong, and he asked Beckham, “Is there a problem?”

“Don’t you think it’s not good for you to do this, Tony?” Beckham said.

“Not good? Which area do you mean that is not so good?”

“You specifically ask me to stay behind to tell me not to worry about not being on the field, that I’m on the list of substitutes and that I have a chance.”

“Er …” Twain still did not quite understand what Beckham meant.

“Tony, what would those players who did not get on the starting list think?”

“Oh!” Twain finally realized.

“Don’t do this next time. I’m not a kid who doesn’t know anything. Although you always say to treat everyone equally, sometimes I think you don’t treat me like an ordinary player.”

Twain looked at Beckham and laughed foolishly. Ah of course, as a fan watching you grow up, you have been with me for more than ten years of my youth. Although I try my best not to, I also can’t completely think of you as a regular player …

Like Albertini, some people have long left an indelible mark on my short twenty-six years of life. I watched them appear for the first time in professional football as a tender teenager, and watched them victorious, win championships and gorgeous women in their arms. Then I watched their experiences of failure and frustration and eventually slowly fade out of people’s minds in the face of the pain and injuries…

You say, David, how can I think of you as an ordinary player? I express that in words because I do not want to let my feelings completely overwhelm my rationale.

Your signed contract with me is only for two years. You said that if you can still play two years later, you have to go to the United States to accompany your wife. Because Victoria gave up her two years to satisfy your selfishness and you have to give back to her in double. Now, there’s only one year left. I sent off Albertini a year ago. What gift should I give you as a send-off a year later?

I can’t say what will happen in the future. So, just for this year, it will be the game tomorrow.

“If there’s nothing else, can I go back?” Beckham asked.

Twain snapped back to reality and nodded, “Get a good night’s sleep, David so that you have energy tomorrow.”

“You think of me as a rookie again.” Beckham helplessly gave a wry smile.

“Ah … I’m sorry.” Twain tapped his forehead. “Bye, David.”

“Bye … boss.” That was what Beckham said when he went out and closed the door.

※※※

Only when Twain was alone in the meeting room, did he sit down and lean on the back of the chair, breathing a long breath.

Another final showdown was impending. How many such showdowns had he experienced since he somehow transmigrated here and became the manager of this team? He could not keep count for a long time. At first he would think of them as his first, second, third match. Later, it became—which number is this? Who cares about that! All I have to do is win!

Yes, quantity is meaningless. Only the results are valuable. In the next ten, twenty years, I will also experience more such showdowns. It’s really stupid to rue over such a thing.

This is just a small step in my coaching career.

Twain got up from his chair, turned off the lights and walked out the door.

Chapter 651 - Win to Show Them

At the dawn of May 21st, after Twain was awakened by the trickling sound of rain outside the window. The rain hit the glass window and emitted a continuous sound. Only then he noticed that it really rained today. The weather forecast yesterday just stated that there might be rain, so the tactical meeting gave the team two sets of preparations. Different preparatory work was required for competing in the rainy and sunny environments.

Opening the window, the early morning cold wind poured in the eleventh-floor window and sent shivers down Twain’s naked spine. The temperature in the room’s air conditioning was not that different from the outside. If it had not been raining, this weather would have been perfect for playing in the final.

In the misty rain, the spire of the hotel where Chelsea were staying in the distance was no longer visible. The enormous building of the Luzhniki Stadium was faintly discernible. Twain stretched his back, turned off the air conditioner, got dressed and washed up.

※※※

In the afternoon, the outside of the Luzhniki Stadium gradually became lively.

Coming from the United Kingdom, the fans from both sides poured into the stadium, while a number of television media vehicles also arrived. The construction cranes were still busily hanging the team flags of both teams in the final above the main entrance wall of the stadium, in order to separate the fans of the two teams and let the excited crowds of people respectively enter the two tunnels in accordance with their own supported teams to prevent chaos—everyone knew what the English fans would do after drinking too much.

The sponsors’ flags were hung all over the square around the stadium, fluttering in the wind amid the patter of rain.

Some people just thought of this as a holiday, while the others poured all their enthusiasm into it.

“Third time! For the third time in a row!” Skinny Bill shouted excitedly as he stood right in front of the Luzhniki Stadium, looking up at the giant Nottingham Forest emblem hanging directly above the gate.

“It’s a shame that Michael is not here with us …” Someone behind him sighed.

Fat John patted him, “He has his own life now. We also have our own lives. Our lives are here again to witness the team pick up another championship trophy! At that time, Bill should shout ‘The fourth time, the fourth time!’”

“Ah haha—”

“Nottingham Forest—Champion! Nottingham Forest—Champion Champion!”

※※※

Built half a century ago, the stadium was now home to two Russian Premier League teams—FC Spartak Moscow and FC Torpedo Moscow. Today, it temporarily belonged to the two teams from England—Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.

Pierce Brosnan followed his fellow reporters and walked into the stadium. The fans had already begun to go through the tickets check for the admission. Everything was orderly at the scene with a large number of policemen on patrol duties and the meticulous security measures. But Brosnan knew that the real test was actually at the start of the game and after the end of the game. The losing side must have people who would do something bad because he could not accept the cruel reality and was emotional. If alcohol and the opposing fans’ verbal provocation were involved… then it would a disaster.

Some reporters from England had gathered to eat the free fast food offered by the stadium while they discussed with interest whether the Premier League was already the world’s number one football league. Then the conversation quickly turned into whether English football was number one in Europe.

Brosnan had no interest in such a topic. He did not eat the free dinner provided by the stadium but took a packet of milk to drink. He was not hungry, but a little thirsty. At the same time, he glanced around and looked at the stadium stands, which were gradually filled up. This was a comprehensive stadium. Once the main venue for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, there was also a synthetic running track outside the field, which made the stands a little far from the field. The English spectators might be a bit unaccustomed to this. But Pierce has no such trouble. As a reporter, he had seen all kinds of stadiums, following the team around the world. This summer, he would also follow the team to China to visit that mysterious country.

Some people in the crowd recognized Pierce Brosnan. With the rise of Nottingham Forest in the European football world, the <Nottingham Evening Post>, which had always followed and reported on Nottingham Forest, had gained fame and a reputation in the press circles. He was no longer a former unknown intern.

They enthusiastically invited Brosnan to join in the discussion of this topic—just how strong was the English football?

Brosnan felt that the group had eaten their fill and at the bursting point—they still had the rest of their unfinished food in the food packaging held their hands— what was there to discuss about this topic?

As a result, he mercilessly poured cold water on this.

“Two teams from England have reached the UEFA Champions League final, but ironically our England national team didn’t even get into the final stages of the UEFA European Championship.”

Once he said this, everyone was silent. They did not relish being spectators and watch the other teams’ actions this summer.

“Hey, Pierce. You’re sounding more and more like that bastard, Tony.” Someone expressed dissatisfaction. After all, it was a little annoying to disturb the mood of the other people’s conversation.

“Too acrimonious for your taste?” Brosnan was delighted instead of being angry. He thought of Dunn, who was brought to Wilford by Twain three years ago, when he was taciturn like an autistic person, which caused the Britons who knew nothing about China at one point to think that people all over China were like that.

We are all influenced by that man …

※※※

That man was sitting in the team’s bus at this moment, waiting at the gate of the stadium for the police car to open up a path and lead them into the designated parking area. The others were busy with their own affairs. Some people listened to music, some people shut their eyes and the others waved at the fans below. On the other hand, he looked at the Lenin statue in the square.

As someone who was born after 1980, it still felt a little different to see a statue of Lenin.

Ah, dear Lenin in Heaven, though your communist flag has not yet been planted around the world, my red color of my Nottingham Forest team is on the verge of becoming the main hue of European football of this era. Come, let the whole of Europe and the entire world tremble before our “Red Terror!” Whoa, haha …

Sitting next to Twain, Dunn found suddenly him laughing. He strangely turned his head and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“No, nothing.” Twain looked at Lenin outside and smiled, “I just had a daydream that overnight, the whole world became red.”

Dunn thought, “That would increase a lot of people with high blood pressure …”

“Idiot!” Twain scolded, but Dunn had pulled him out of his beautiful vision. He found the sky outside had darkened and the streetlights around the stadium were all lit up. Through the exterior walls of the tall stadium, the lights in the stadium flooded and lit up the skies.

It was still raining, but Twain did not worry about the bad weather for the entire night, like he did the first time he advanced into the Champions League final. Rain all you want; my team combats in all kinds of weather!

“Go do your warmups! It’s a little cold this evening, don’t let your joints get rusty by the rain! Warm up your bodies!” Kerslake’s loud voice rang at the door of the locker room. This had become a routine before every game.

At his urging, the players were afraid to stay any longer in the locker room. They changed into their clothes and ran out. Then they passed through passageway and went into the curtain of rain.

“Tony.” Kerslake called out when he saw everyone gone, and it was only Twain left in the locker room.

“Yes?” Twain’s did not open his eyes. He sat in his chair to rest himself.

“The rain is getting heavier out there.”

“I see. Thank you, David.”

Kerslake nodded and turned to run out.

※※※

When Kerslake came out of the locker room to enter the field, Dunn was already overseeing the players with the other coaches during the warm-up training. He walked over to Dunn’s side and watched the warm-up for a while. Then he shook his head and said, “This turf condition is terrible.”

Dunn nodded in reply, “They hastily replaced the turf only to meet with such a rain.”

“Even if they don’t change the turf, it still sucks.” Kerslake lowered his neck and grimaced, “Artificial turf … is terrible.”

Due to special weather reasons in Russia, it was a great expense to maintain natural turf in the various club stadiums. And because it was difficult for the natural turf to survive in winter and in the cold weather, most teams played in the dirt. In this way, the possibility of injuries to the players was greatly increased. Given these circumstances, the UEFA approved the use of artificial turf for the game at Luzhniki Stadium a few years ago. Since then, the stadium had become a “devil’s home ground” in a different sense.

Because of the particularity of artificial turf, the football’s movement on this was very different from being on the natural turf. Therefore, a lot of teams who were used to playing on the natural turf were likely to suffer. In addition to the players more likely to be hurt on the artificial turf than natural turf, another biggest difference was that the football’s rolling speed on the artificial turf was faster. The rebound law was not the same and was more slippery than natural turf. If there was water, it was no different from an ice-skating rink. During McClaren’s England team’s away loss to Russia in the UEFA European Championship qualifier, the Russians were helped a lot by the artificial turf in addition to the English team’s own physical problems.

Therefore, before this game, the two competing clubs negotiated with the UEFA for the turf at Luzhniki Stadium, arguing that a Champions League final on artificial turf would be bad for both sides’ playing. The beauty of the game and the quality of the final would be greatly diminished.

The artificial turf at Luzhniki Stadium was eventually replaced with natural turf before the game, following the negotiations between UEFA and Moscow. Just how long and effective this turf, hastily laid, could last in the heavy rain, was really a big question mark.

“We can only hope that the drainage system at this stadium will be fully utilized …” Dunn murmured.

※※※

When the players ended their warm-up and returned to the locker room from the field, everyone looked like a drowned rat. Each of them had a stack of neat dry towels and jerseys in their chairs.

“Don’t catch a cold. Quickly dry yourselves and change into dry clothes.” Kerslake also walked into the locker room, looking drenched all over. He did not care to wipe the water beads off his face and yelled first. He was really a dedicated assistant manager.

“What’s the situation of the field?” Twain asked Dunn.

“It’s going to have some adverse effects on the game.” He did not say “it’s going to have an adverse effect on us” because he knew this adverse effect was against both teams in this game.

“There’s nothing to worry about. We have a headache and so does next door.” Twain shook his head and did not take the weather seriously. He was in a more relaxed mood now than he used to be when he faced such a situation.

The locker room was messy and noisy, as everyone was busy changing into his clothes. Some people even turned on the music to relax. Twain and Dunn as well as Kerslake also chatted casually. Where was the slightest tension before the final? If a Nottingham Forest fan were to suddenly break in and see this scene, he was bound to be disappointed with the team’s behavior.

But when Twain ended his chat with the people around him and got up from his seat, this was all over.

The players consciously calmed down, and the noisy rock music came to a halt.

“All right, all right, guys.” Twain waved his hands and motioned for everyone to sit down. He did not want anyone to stand taller than him.

“This is another final. Huh, why would I say ‘another?’” Twain amused everyone with an opening. They certainly did not laugh because he imitated Stephen Chow’s lines, but because their actual situation was such—they had always faced all sorts of finals since they followed Tony Twain and always brought together with a championship final.

“We always have a destiny with the championship titles. Since we returned to the Premier League four seasons ago, we have advanced into three Champions League finals. We even picked up the EFL Cup while we were still in the Football League First Division. And we won the Premier League title again this season. There aren’t many teams in international football that are so crazy about taking the championship titles like us. But I don’t want you to have any fatigue after you get these championships, because …”

Twain paused a little. He had to keep this group in suspense.

“Ever since the restructuring of the UEFA Champions League, there has not been a team in the football world that can succeed in the great undertaking of winning the title two years in a row. When I said, ‘a great undertaking’, it was absolutely no exaggeration. There’s a big difference between winning for the first time and defending the title. I personally think it’s harder to defend the title than to win for the first time. Why? Because we’ve become targeted. We have become targets! Those people crouch with shotguns in hidden corners which you can’t see and will try to take shots at you when you let your guard down! Fortunately, we didn’t get knocked down by them and went all the way to the final … Without any controversy, we broke into the final for three years in a row! It’s a remarkable achievement, guys! But it will be even more remarkable if we could break into the final three times in a row and pick up the trophy two times in a row!” He brandished his arms hard, and Twain’s “showtime” had come.

“Why not? No team has ever done it. So why don’t we be the ‘first men’ to do so?! Think about it, a long time after this game, people will say this about Nottingham Forest: ‘They are the first defending champion to succeed after the restructuring of the Champions League!’ Also, a championship title, but we’ll win the best and most distinctive championship title! There are a lot of teams in the world that can win championships, but they’re not like us because we’re Nottingham Forest! Even if we win the championship title, we will win more beautifully than those teams! What’s so great about winning a championship title? Not only do we want to win the championship, we also have to win our place in the history!”

There was already a whining sound from the mouths of the players below, but it was not to hiss at Twain. It was because of their excitement and uncontrollable desire to scream.

“The UEFA Champions League has been around for fifty-three years and there are countless teams and players who have won the titles. But today, you have the opportunity to carve your names forever on that trophy, engraved in the history of the Champions League, and etched in the history of European football! As long as you win the championship title.”

Twain looked at the people around him. He was satisfied with the emotions of these men.

“Do you hate being a champion?” He asked aloud.

“No!” The players also replied loudly.

“Are you afraid to be a champion?”

“No!”

“Will you feel sorry for your opponents for winning too many championships titles?!”

“Impossible!”

“Then go out there and win! Win to show them!”

Chapter 652 - Tough Guys

A large-scale cultural performance was underway on the field in Luzhniki Stadium, but Shania, who sat in the VIP box, paid no attention to it. She came here just to watch the game and did not even go shopping.

She just wanted the game to start early now, because if the game did not start, Uncle Tony would stay in that mysterious locker room and not come out.

Fortunately, the cultural performance soon came to an end. As the fans at the stadium took the cheers up another notch, the players of the two teams’ starting lineups finally filed out of the tunnel.

The glittering silver trophy was placed directly opposite the exit, separating the two teams. The Chelsea players could not help but turn their heads as they passed by the trophy. This was the first time for a lot of people in the team to be at close contact with the honor. Would they pick up the trophy with their own hands after ninety, one hundred and twenty minutes, or more?

The Nottingham Forest players also looked at the trophy, with a feverish glow in their eyes. The boss is right. No team has been able to defend its title since the restructuring of the Champions League. So why can’t we make history and create a miracle again? Nottingham Forest is a miraculous team. We are here on this stage to create history and miracles. Why else are we here for?

As the players from both teams entered, Twain came out from the side with the rest of the coaching staff, as well as the substitutes. The group of Nottingham Forest fans close to the Forest team’s technical area, all cried out excitedly when they saw Twain came out, “Tony!! Hey—-Tony!”

Twain heard their shouts, turned and waved, with a serious expression on his face.

“You know what we want! Champion! Champion Champion—”

This group of fans howled as they watched Twain arrived at the technical area.

Then Twain stood there. The rain was slightly lighter, but it still gradually dampened his clothes and hair. He did not intend to sit back in the technical area to shelter from the rain. His players were lined up on the pitch to take pictures and perform some of the necessary ceremony before the game.

※※※

“He’s so cool.” Sitting next to Shania, Gloria whistled.

Shania looked warily at this Hollywood successful career woman who had come with her to Moscow to watch the game.

Noticing Shania’s small gesture, Gloria smiled, “Don’t you think so?”

“He’s a fool, so not cool at all.” Shania pursed her lips.

Gloria went from a smile to a guffaw.

“You’re both fools, haha!”

Shania pouted. It was not that she did not want to make a retort, but it looked like she was unable to refute …

“Do you need my help, Shania?” Gloria winked at Shania.

Shania knew what she was talking about, but she shook her head and said, “No, thank you, Clarice. I want to work it out on my own …”

Gloria saw this young girl’s insistence and said no more.

※※※

George Wood, the captain of Nottingham Forest, lost when he did the coin toss with Chelsea’s captain, Terry. As a result, Chelsea were given the right to pick the side, while Nottingham Forest was given the right to kick off.

The groups of cultural performers had long since dispersed. The players on both sides had finished their photo-taking, and both teams stood in accordance with their formations on the field. A big battle was on the verge.

It was not until the kickoff whistle sounded that Twain turned back to his seat. The suit he wore had long been drenched by the rain. Dunn handed over a dry towel to let him to wipe the water off his face.

“It’s exactly as we predicted.” Twain smiled and said to Dunn after he observed Chelsea’s starting eleven players. He mentioned “we.” But in fact, Dunn guessed right for all the contested positions. The standard of a genuine football coach was indeed different.

“I’m afraid to blindly select to ‘surprise’ in this kind of final, it will not yield good results.”?Dunn had his own reasons and considerations. “Grant is not a gambler, or more accurately not a pure gambler. At this time, he still cares more about ‘stability.’”

Twain nodded in agreement.

※※※

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final game of the 07-08 season Champions League! The two teams are Nottingham Forest and Chelsea from England. This is the first time the latter team has advance to reach the Champions League final in the club’s history while the former is the defending champion. This is an ‘English civil war.’?Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have a lot of feuds in their domestic league, such as the most famous being since the return of Nottingham Forest to the Premier League, led by Tony Twain, Chelsea has never beaten them in the league or the Champions League. Perhaps this could be a small curse? In this sense, Chelsea may have a certain psychological disadvantage up against Nottingham Forest in this game.”

However, during the pre-match press conference, Grant had already flatly denied such a bullshit psychological disadvantage. He did not want to talk about this embarrassing record at all. The reason was simple. He did not feel disgraced that he had not defeated Nottingham Forest before, but that this rotten record was left to him by his predecessor, Mourinho. So, he felt he had no obligation to make up for this for the dismissed Mourinho.

He also made no mention about such topics as how many games Chelsea had not beaten Nottingham Forest in the locker room before the game. Perhaps this might provoke a strong fighting spirit in the players, but Grant was afraid that it might backfire instead and cause the players to slip into a real psychological disadvantage. After all, he was not an expert who was eloquent enough to mobilize the emotions of his players in the locker room.

He told his players that Nottingham Forest’s most threatening offensive means were their two flanks. Consequently, Tony Twain was certain to consciously strengthen the team’s offense on the sides in this final. Chelsea had to focus on the wings during defense, and they had to pit against them—if Nottingham Forest goes the wings, we will go through the wings too.

As Grant had expected, Nottingham Forest took advantage of the expediency of their kickoff at the start of the game, and resolutely launched an attack through two wings from the start.

At fifth minute, after Gareth Bale actively plugged ahead he passed the ball from the back of the wing. The football hit Essien, who was the guest player for the right back position, on the leg and changed direction to drilled straight toward the nearest corner of the goalmouth. Fortunately, ?ech had not moved his position and immediately fell to the ground to stop the football. There was no loss except that it startled the Chelsea fans and made them gasped.

“Argh!” Bale looked frustrated. He held his head in his hands. If the ball had unexpectedly gone in, the final might have been easier to compete in.

He was still upset but George Wood had already called his name from a distance, “Go back, Bale!” He asked Bale to return to defend because this ball did not get out of the end line but was caught directly by ?ech. Van Nistelrooy interfered with ?ech in front of him to keep him from launching a quick counterattack. But he could not overdo it for fear that it would attract the referee’s “special attention” for himself.

ech bypassed van Nistelrooy and indeed threw the football to Essien, who was going to counterattack from that side.

Grant had instructed the entire team to pit against Nottingham Forest’s flank offensive and fight measure for measure before the game. What did he mean by measure for measure? That was, if Nottingham Forest started the attack from the left, then once they intercepted the ball, they would immediately counterattack on their right which was the Forest team’s left to take advantage of the void after the Forest full back had plugged in. Success would be a chance to directly threaten the opponent’s goal. Even if it was not successful, it could also make the Forest team’s two full backs sprint back and forth and exhausted themselves from running. They simply could not withstand for ninety minutes in such a high-intensity game. It would be Chelsea’s chance once their strength dropped, their movements collapsed, and their attention lacked focus.

Once he saw Essien got the ball, Ribéry rushed up to the front field to intercept and interfere while Gareth Bale did not dare to delay further at the front. He turned and darted back to defend.

Twain certainly anticipated that Grant would do that. It was not a remarkable tactic. The whole world dealt against teams that liked to use the full backs to assist in offense with this move. Nottingham Forest’s flank offense was known all over the world, and these two offensive full backs were known to the world. Only a fool would not take advantage of the gaps behind them while they plugged ahead to assist. But they could not restrict the two full backs for this reason and instruct them not to assist. That would be equaled to cutting themselves off at the legs. Therefore, Twain’s strategy was layer upon layer of defense. From the forward line in the front field to the midfield and then to the rear defensive line, they would carry out counter-pressing and interference, to give the full backs who came up to assist, enough time to return to defend.

As for their stamina, he was not very worried since both Gareth Bale and Rafinha were young players with their fitness and speed in ascendancy. They would not be particularly tired as long as the team took control of the situation on the field.

※※※

This was just a tentative attack for Bale. Following which, Chelsea also attempted to attack, and then the two teams began to tacitly focus on defense. No one wanted to concede a goal at the start of the game. This was the final. A goal concede implied too many possibilities. Neither Twain nor Grant wanted the game to possibly develop beyond his expectations.

Although they were focused mainly on defense, the game was not dull. No one scored yet but the two sides scrambled quite fiercely.

Nottingham Forest’s slight adjustment in its formation made Chelsea unable to adapt and played somewhat awkwardly. Van der Vaart positioned himself more to the front and could almost be counted as a “shadow striker.” In this way, he was clearly a bigger threat to the Chelsea goal than if he remained with George Wood at the back. In addition, Ribéry and Lennon withdrew inside to the flanks of Chelsea’s entire formation. This position caused Chelsea to feel very uncomfortable defensively—between the center back and the full back, it was a little like the undetermined merging of the urban and rural area.

As a result, the initiative on the field was firmly in the hands of Nottingham Forest during this time. Fifteen minutes later, Nottingham Forest began to use this initiative to increase the intensity of the attacks.

In the sixteenth minute, Ribéry’s shot was thrown out by ?ech after he forced a breakthrough from the flank after he received a pass from Wood.

In the next two minutes, Bale plugged in to assist again. He lifted his leg to pass after he received the diverted ball from Ribéry. Unfortunately, no one could get into position in the penalty area and the football overshot above the penalty area to fly directly to the other side. Chelsea intercepted the ball and simply counterattacked.

Ashley Cole orchestrated a counterattack after he received the football.

He first did a feint to bypass Lennon who rushed up, and then decisively passed the football on to Ballack after he saw the Forest player’s intention to counter-press.

Ballack leaned back to block van der Vaart after he got the football and glanced at the situation on the field.

Chelsea had to admit they were caught off guard by the Forest team’s turnaround. But Twain also had to admit that it was a little risky in doing so—they were too dependent on George Wood. With van der Vaart, Ribéry and Lennon all moved forward in their positions, the latter half of the midfield was basically defended by Wood alone. As long as the other side used the passes to divert him, the opponent could pass through the midfield without resistance and directly face Nottingham Forest’s rear defensive line. For Chelsea, which had many long-shot masters, facing the rear defensive line also meant going within the firing range.

Makelele and Lampard were running forward, and George Wood chose to defend against Lampard. After all, Lampard was a lot more threatening than Makelele when it came to offense.

Ballack saw this scene and immediately twisted the ball up from under his feet to pass a high ball to directly fly toward … Makelele!

Wood ran halfway when he saw this situation. He hurriedly braked and turned around to pounce toward Makelele.

“Chelsea’s counterattack! As long as Makelele can pass the ball to Lampard, he will have room to play!” The commentator cried aloud.

The football was still in the air when Makelele saw George Wood came charging up. He knew Wood was strong and that this offensive could never be stopped here. Otherwise Nottingham Forest would surely take advantage of the opportunity while they were all plugged ahead to directly attack their goal from the middle.

Fight on!

The two men jumped at the same time during the high-speed run and rushed towards the football.

It looked like Makelele would get to the ball first. His wealth of experience had helped him. The charging Wood was less nimble in the air than on the ground. If the other person was destined to get to the ball, the only way to stop it was—he bumped Makelele on the forehead!

A muffled noise sounded, and the football bounced out as the two people tumbled to the ground. No one stood up.

Referee ?ubo? Miche?’s whistle rang out. Judging by his hand gesture, it was George Wood’s foul. This penalty sparked displeasure among the Nottingham Forest players. They thought that with the collision of two players in this 50-50 ball, how could he have decided that it was the Forest team’s foul?

The Chelsea players were also equally mad. Such a ferocious impact was a simply murderous attempt on Makelele! What were the Forest players protesting about?

The two teams quickly swarmed together and looked like they were going to break out in a big fight. The tense atmosphere brought about by the final match spread from the first second of the game and was now close to a boiling point.

“Bastard! What are you doing?!” Chelsea’s Malouda pushed away the approaching Ribéry and yelled, “Do you want to fight!?”

“You f**king hit our men!” Ribéry wanted to rush up and punch this black guy, but he was tightly gripped by Lampard.

“Push them away for me!”

“Bale, what are you going up there for?”

“Damn it, calm down!”

“Take a look at our player. Who was the one who fouled?” Van Nistelrooy protested loudly to the referee as he pointed to George Wood, who was slowly turning over and sitting up.

The referee followed his gaze and looked down. He then hurriedly signaled for the stretcher to be brought onto the field.

This “Ironman”, “Tough Guy”, “Alien”, “The Terminator” and “Shrek”, who hardly ever suffered any harm during the games, now covered his eyes with his right hand as red blood seeped through his fingers. While Makelele weakly curled and sat up as his hands covered his head with a painful expression.

It looked like the two people were badly hurt.

※※※

“Damn it, damn it, damn it—damn it!” Twain agitatedly paced up and down in front of the technical area. The team doctor, Fleming ran up with his men, followed by a stretcher. “Tell them to calm down! The game has only started for twenty minutes! Damn it, it’s not the first time they’ve played in a final. How is it that each of them is like a barrel of gunpowder, ready to explode at the first spark?”

“Maybe it’s because George actually got hurt …” Dunn said in a low voice.

There was such a “legend” in Nottingham Forest that was not known to outsiders: George Wood was a monster that would never get hurt. No one in the world could break him at all on the football field and on the training ground. While it might be exaggerated to say so, there was a sense of security as his teammate to watch Wood never completely at a disadvantage no matter which opponent he was up against.

Could it be that this monster’s weakness was his head?

“You look at how he and Makelele are doing. Who seems to be hurt more seriously?” Twain pointed to the field and asked aloud.

George Wood sat on the ground with his head down as his hands held his bleeding wound. Other than that, there was no other strange area. Makelele, for his part, curled up with his hands on his head and seemed to be shaking—was he twitching from the shock?

Oh my god!

The team doctors of both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest had already stormed into the crowd. Their arrival helped the hard-pressed managers to separate the players and temporarily calmed their moods—they had all focused their attentions on their injured teammates. George Wood shed blood for the first time, while Makelele had a concussion.

“This was a very, very intense impact. Both sides did not seem to care about themselves and others. They only had the football in their sights …” The commentator’s tone was not as excited as before. The two people’s current condition was unknown. It would be terrible if something bad were to happen.

※※※

Fleming knelt in front of Wood, pried open his hands, and the blood dripped down his cheek onto his clothes.

“The knocked opened a gash …. Does your head hurt?” He asked.

“No.” Wood said in a deep voice like he was gnashing his teeth.

Right next to him, Chelsea’s team doctor laid in front of Makelele and extended three fingers as he shouted, “Claude, how many fingers am I holding up? How many?”

“Three …” Makelele’s faint voice reached George Wood’s ears too. He did not care that Fleming was examining himself as he turned his head to look over. Chelsea’s team doctor was slowly turning his body over to let him lie flat. In the process of turning over, Makelele saw George Wood, and the two men met gazes. Makelele murmured something and closed his eyes to rest. George Wood did not hear clearly.

“He said: ‘Man, your head is so hard.’” Ribéry crouched down and peered closely at the bleeding corner of George Wood’s eye. He asked, “How are you feeling, George?”

“No feeling.”

“Your head is really hard!” Ribéry curled his lips.

“All right, Franck, don’t get in the way of our work here!” Fleming pushed Ribéry away.

“I’m just showing a bit of concern to our superman captain.” Ribéry gave a shrug and opened his arms as he shouted to the other teammates, “Well, he’s okay. Our captain is a total monster!”

“Whoo-hoo—”

The little monkey Bale smiled.

Things were simpler with Makelele’s side. After lying flat on the ground for a while, Makelele recovered from the dizziness after the impact. He no longer spoke nor acted feebly. He sat up slowly and stood up again. He won a standing ovation and cheers from the Chelsea fans in the stands.

“Makelele! Our tough guy!!”

“Claude, you’re the best!”

※※※

When he saw the cheers that Makelele received once he got up, George Wood also suddenly stood up from the ground which startled Fleming, who was examining him.

“Hey, George! What are you doing?!”

“I’m fine.”

“It’s not up to you to say whether you’re ok or now. I’m in charge.”

The two men looked at each other.

“Does your head really not hurt?” Fleming asked.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Any dizziness?”

“No.”

Fleming extended a finger and checked, “How many fingers are there?”

“One.”

“One plus one equals to how many?”

“Two.”

“Two times two equals to?”

“Four.”

“Where are you now?”

“In the Champions League finals.”

“Well, Ribéry is right. Your head is really hard. But you still have to be brought off the field to stop the bleeding, change your jersey, and … stitch up the wound.”

Eight volunteers, who were supposed to carry the stretcher, resentfully ran back with the stretcher.

Makelele continued to stay on the pitch after a detailed examination by the team doctor, whereas George Wood came off the field to receive further treatment in the company of Fleming.

Behind him, the referee had not forgotten to show him a yellow card for the foul. His move had “won” him the boos from tens of thousands of Nottingham Forest fans. Following which, he “won” the boos of the other half of the people—for he showed a yellow card to Malouda, who had pushed Ribéry during the conflict.

After inflicting punishment on each side, this conflict was over. Chelsea drove a free kick at the penalty spot. George Wood walked to the sidelines and was treated on the spot by the team doctors.

“I won’t give you any anesthetic as it will affect your performance later. The sutured wound will hurt a little, so you just bear with it.” After he cleaned up the blood around the wound, Fleming was ready to stitch up the wound. He added, “Also, don’t blink. If not, I can’t stitch it well.”

Wood obeyed and stood in front of Fleming, with his eyes wide open, as if he was glowering at the gods. He let Fleming’s hands flutter above his own eyes with the needles moving in and out of the corner of his eyes. His rugged and angular face had no expression. He neither slightly frowned due to the pain nor did his eyes flashed with fear. The rain droplets gathered in his brow. The formation of the water droplets appeared as if it was going to drop into his eyes. But he still had to widen his eyes and not blink. He faced the field and looked at the two teams playing now without looking away.

This scene was transmitted onto the large display screen at the stadium and television screens via the television cameras. The Nottingham Forest fans got excited, even though it was Chelsea who was pressing on their team.

They cheered loudly, “Wood Wood! You’re the Forest!”

“Captain, you’re awesome—-!”

“With such a captain, we’re not afraid of anyone!!”

※※※

As the team doctor, Fleming was familiar with this kind of emergency treatment on the spot. He had done countless such simple suture surgeries, but he suddenly felt a little trembling in his hands with George Wood standing in front of him. Completely unaware of the cause, he just felt that his right hand pinching the needle was not as steady as before.

After he held his breath with rapt attention to finish the suture and then wiped the remaining blood stains off his face with a towel, Fleming breathed a sigh of relief.

“I almost passed out from holding my breath. George, I can’t even feel your breathing. Was I just stitching the wound on a dead man?” He complained.

“Can I go back on the field to play?” Wood did not heed his complaint and counter asked.

“No, you still have to change your clothes.” A clean set of jersey had been delivered next to him.

Wood did not say any more nonsense and swiftly took off the blood-stained jersey—the originally red jersey had dark red patches where there was blood.

“Take off your shorts as well.” Fleming pointed to his shorts, which also had blood stains dropped on it when Wood sat down before.

Wood bent over to take off his trousers. In an instant, his whole body was left naked except for a pair of white briefs.

As his brawny muscles was drenched in rain, he gave off a shiny silver brilliance under the stadium lights. His healthy and beautiful physique was like a renaissance sculpture of David. Even the simple act of bending over to wear his shorts became exceptionally sexy.

This scene probably caused countless of female fans to scream excitedly in front of the television.

“George Wood got changed on the sidelines, which is certain to be an attention-grabbing gossip the day after the game.” Once he saw that the two players were going to be all right, the commentator was in the mood to joke again. “This serious player was so cool just now!”

George Wood, who changed into the new jersey, raised his hand on the sidelines. As soon as the referee beckoned, he rushed back to the field.

On the other hand, Fleming returned to the technical area with his medical bag.

“It’s not easy for such a young kid to have such a steady mental strength.” He looked back at Wood and exclaimed, “His poise actually made me feel a little nervous … It’s embarrassing.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Gary. Only such a person would be eligible to lead my Nottingham Forest team on the field.” Twain answered with a smile next to him.

“He is a lion who never gives up, never fears, and is the king of the Forest.”

Amid the rain, George Wood ran back to the field with his head held up and Ribéry extended his hand along his way. Wood high-fived him as he ran past to return to his position.

In the stands of the Luzhniki stadium, loud applause and cheers erupted. In this tsunami of voices, the sound of the rain was simply insignificant.

Chapter 653 - A Dramatic Scene

The stitched area at the corner of his eye was affixed with a piece of tape. It stood out under illumination from the night lights and the scouring of the rain. This made George Wood easily distinguishable on the field.

Even though Wood was injured, it did not affect his play on the field. Instead, it made him fiercer, like the lion king, guarding his pride of lions and turf, which only became more brutal after being hurt and not run away with its tail in between its legs.

He clearly saw the circumstances in which his team was being crushed by Chelsea on the field when he came off for his treatment. Without his tireless running in the midfield and his fierce and precise defense, Nottingham Forest was suppressed by Chelsea’s ferocious offensive.

Now he needed to reverse this incorrect situation.

Consequently, he strove harder than he did before he got hurt.

When he came on, the situation changed immediately. Chelsea could not pass through the midfield without any qualms. Their offense was met by the tenacious obstruction by George Wood and the others which made it difficult to advance even by a fraction.

With George Wood’s participation, Nottingham Forest slowly took back the initiative in the game.

Makelele still looked like he had not recovered. More often than not, he stayed behind and did auxiliary work, during which the defense in the midfield was shared by several other people.

See the contrast of this scene, some people could not help but exclaimed at George Wood’s otherworldly physical quality.

“He is a treasure that any manager has always dreamed of. An outstanding body, strict adherence to the tactical discipline, good psychological quality, stable state, utter loyalty… and he does not get hurt! The mover whom that Tony Twain picked up from the streets made all managers in the world green with envy. With him around, Nottingham Forest’s good results are not surprising at all!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest, which recaptured the initiative in the game, began to spur on more threatening attacks. The game had been played for twenty-five minutes now and there were few threatening attacks from both sides. The number of threatening shots were even fewer. Chelsea took advantage of when George Wood was treated off the field and launched an attack. While Nottingham Forest did not even have one yet—if Bale’s pass which went crooked was not counted that one time.

Both sides vied with each other in the midfield most of the time.

In one go, Chelsea’s lineup deployed four players who could be the defensive midfielder—Lampard, Ballack, Makelele and Essien. Although Essien was the guest right back, sometimes he could rush to the midfield to defend. Makelele’s ability was never in doubt and Ballack and Lampard were tough midfielders. They could seriously execute the tactics when they were needed to defend.

And on this side of Nottingham Forest, George Wood alone covered almost the latter half of the midfield, with the addition of the actively running players like Ribéry and Lennon. Both sides were equally matched in the midfield and inextricably locked in battle.

In the twenty-seventh minute, Lennon forcibly broke through Ashley Cole in the wing but the football under his feet was shoveled out of the sidelines by Cole. Nottingham Forest was awarded an out-of-bounds ball.

As an out-of-bounds ball could not be offside, Lennon almost moved to the end line to catch the ball, while Ashley Cole also had to follow him to move near the end line to prevent the Forest team from hitting directly behind him again. Joe Cole blocked in front of Rafinha, who was in charge of throwing the ball, to interfere with him and not allow him to easily throw the football to his target.

Rafinha was not stupid enough to throw the football at whomever Chelsea kept an eye on. He threw the football directly into van der Vaart in the middle.

After van der Vaart stopped the ball with his chest, Makelele leaned forward. The effects from the collision had gradually dissipated, and his ferocity did not diminish at all.

Van der Vaart, who tried his best to protect the football, gave up his intention to pass a threatening shot after he quickly observed the situation on the field. He passed the football to George Wood, who plugged in from the back. The boss had said that the offense in the game was organized by the captain, so he would hand it over for him to organize.

Wood did not stop the ball but brushed the ball to pass it on. The football drew an arc in the air and turned to the left side of the field.

Gareth Bale had already appeared in that position. As a full back, his assists were frequent and firm.

Once he beautifully took down Wood’s pass, Bale started to pass the ball. Van Nistelrooy attracted the attention of both Terry and Carvalho in the front, but the unguarded Eastwood quickly rushed up and did a powerful diving header!

Fortunately, ?ech reacted quickly. Coupled with his well-position stance, he struck out the football the moment he fell to the ground.

The football bounced up and out. It flew toward the right side of the goalmouth, which happened to be where van Nistelrooy was with Terry and Carvalho.

The three men huddled together and wanted to head the football. In the end, no one headed the ball.

The football bounced high on the ground as if to laugh at these three entangled fools.

At this time Ribéry appeared out of nowhere like a phantom.

He took down the football and quickly flashed past Terry to immediately start shooting!

The football came out of the cracks between the people, and suddenly appeared in front of ?ech, who could not do anything even if he was a god—he was too close, almost within easy reach.

ech did not even have time to wave before the football swooped down to bypass his side and flew into the goal behind him!

“The ball went in—”

A sound of “bang” was heard and the red squares in the stands of Luzhniki Stadium erupted with huge cheers.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s second shot in this game, and it pierced through the gate guarded by ?ech!”

It must be said that ?ech here was not the ?ech with the tank helmet in Twain’s impression. Today’s ?ech had not suffered that serious injury, and his state was not badly affected. He remained as one of the top three goalkeepers in the world.

“The defending champion leads with one goal in the Champions League final!”

※※※

The Nottingham Forest players wildly embraced together and celebrated the goal on the field.

Off the field, Tony Twain brandished his fists hard and gnashed his teeth as he celebrated the goal.

Not far next to him, Grant slammed hard at the top of awning in the technical area behind him. The problem still laid with the wings.

※※※

“This is Franck Ribéry’s sixth goal in the Champions League, only one goal away from Cristiano Ronaldo’s seven goals! Last year’s European Footballer of the Year had maintained a very high level of competitive state this year. If he could help the team win the UEFA Champions League again, then this year’s FIFA World Player of the Year may not be in any dispute!”

Ribéry finally broke free from his teammates’ hugs. He waved his fists hard and faced the Forest fans in the stands. Like a band conductor, every time he waved, the fans in the stands followed suit and turned up the volume to loudly call out his name.

“Ribéry! Ribéry! Ribé–ry!!”

After rousing the fans’ passions, Ribéry turned and ran back. When he passed by George Wood, he reached out to wood, and the two men high-fived each other again.

Twain, who celebrated the goal off the field, stood on the sidelines, cupped his hands up around his mouth and shouted toward the field, “Keep up the pressure, don’t relax! Continue to press and attack!”

Using offense to suppress the opponent, Nottingham Forest did not plan to be too conservative in this final.

Nottingham Forest’s style of playing football was previously criticized as conservative and passive during last year’s Champions League final. Even when they took the title, they were thought to have won by depending on defensive counterattack. This year, Twain wanted to take a title that would leave all the critics dumbfounded—to be the first defending champion since the restructuring of the Champions League, and that no one could find fault with the way they picked up the trophy!

Chelsea looked frustrated by this goal concede because the opponent breached the goal guarded by ?ech’s with only two shots. Any goal concede in a game like the Champions League final could cause upheavals in the players’ mind.

Grant stood in silence on the sidelines like a statue. Who knew what was going on in his mind?

At this time, it was his assistant manager, Clarke, who walked up to the sidelines and loudly reminded the players on the field to focus and not let the Forest team take advantage to attack again.

A minute later, Drogba did a return pass after he caught the ball in the box. Ballack followed up with an angry shot, showing Chelsea’s determination not to accept this result. Unfortunately, the corner shot flew straight toward the grandstand.

Grant finally came back from his contemplation. He whistled and gestured, demanding that the team stepped up the offense and temporarily pressed back on the opponent’s offense, while they dialed up the scramble in the midfield and not let George Wood easily pass the ball out when their defense turned into offense.

After thirty minutes, various wonderful scenes emerged in succession.

Lampard sent a long pass to Drogba. Drogba ferried to the back, while Piqué almost did an own goal under Ballack’s tight interference. The football hit the goalpost and fell outside of the end line which startled all the Nottingham Forest people who broke out in a cold sweat.

Chelsea seized this corner shot and tried to break Nottingham Forest’s goal. Terry and Carvalho rushed to the front of the Forest team’s goal.

But after the corner kick was sent out, Eastwood, who had to return to defend, was cut off. While Chelsea’s defenders were not back yet, he dribbled the ball to the midfield and sent a long pass across. He passed the football to Ribéry, who followed closely on the wing.

After Ribéry took down the football, he lifted his leg to pass.

The football drew an arc in the air and bypassed Essien on the passing route. Van Nistelrooy got the upper hand in the contest against Makelele and jumped high to send a powerful header shot!

This time ?ech did not let the football get past his fingertips. He strove to pounce the ball out.

The football was hastily sent out by Ashley Cole who rushed back. But he did not kick it far. The ball only flew to the top of the arc before it was intercepted by another Nottingham Forest player.

“Aaron Lennon!”

Lennon had observed that ?ech had just gotten up and his center of gravity had not stabilized yet, so he did not hesitate to directly kick a long shot!

The football flew straight toward the right side of the goalpost.??ech had just gotten up, but he still managed to make a high-quality save. He threw himself out and leaped to use his fingertips to swipe the football out of the end line!

“A fantastic save from ?ech!! What an incredible save! He proved his strength to safeguard the goal!”

At this time, Terry, who ran back, hugged ?ech, who had just climbed up from the ground. He patted him hard the back and thanked him for those two crucial saves.

“If Nottingham Forest were to score another goal, this final would be hard for Chelsea to play on. The morale of Nottingham Forest during this time has been quite strong, and the situation has been very favorable to them. The trailing Chelsea team has to press out to figure out how to score. Nottingham Forest, which is good at defensive counterattack, has more room to play at this point in time. Look at this counterattack, it could almost be written into a textbook!”

This counterattack was almost the epitome of the entire first half. Chelsea tried its hardest to equalize, but Nottingham Forest’s solid defense and sharp counterattack constrained them. They were unable to do their best, and their offensive effect was greatly diminished.

Instead, Nottingham Forest was completely in control of the pace on the field, leading Chelsea by the nose to run.

The neutral commentators certainly did not want to watch a one-sided game, but they must also admit that this was Nottingham Forest embodying the spirit of a defending champion. “They are steady and not flustered, as if everything is in their control. By comparison, Chelsea, which lacks the experience of playing in the Champions League finals, is more tender. Tony Twain has injected his own spirit into this team, giving this team a unique soul, and this soul is—they desire any title, any victory.”

※※※

It looked like the first half of the game would end with Nottingham Forest dominating, and Chelsea’s offense was of no threat to the Forest team.

At the forty-second minute, Ribéry broke into the penalty area from the flank and then passed a low ball. Van Nistelrooy apparently did not expect Ribéry to choose to pass after his breakthrough, rather than directly shoot. His follow-up was a little slow. Even though he used a technique of shoveling, he still did not touch the football. The football crossed past the goalmouth amid the Chelsea fans’ exclamations.

Twain was annoyed that this goal was not scored. He jumped off the field as he held his head in his hands. If we can score two goals, then Chelsea will be out of the game. That was what he thought.

Judging from the first half, Nottingham Forest fully deserved to win the title. Chelsea simply could not pose any threat to Edwin van der Sar’s goal. If Chelsea won instead, then it would be a real injustice.

A minute later, Lampard dribbled the ball and charged into Nottingham Forest’s thirty-meter zone where he was put to the ground by George Wood. Referee Miche? awarded Chelsea a direct free kick that elicited a small protest from the Nottingham Forest players and boos from the Forest fans. As this position was too dangerous and about twenty-five meters from the goal, it was a very suitable range. Lampard and Ballack both had a free kick foundation.

The entire Chelsea team got excited. This was a great opportunity for them to equalize. As the first half was coming to an end, they definitely could not go into the locker room while they trailed behind in the score!

Ballack stood in front of the football. He was going to take this free kick.

The Nottingham Forest players lined up in a human wall of five people under the command of the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, while everyone got ready to face the opponent.

After a whistle, Ballack kicked the ball high.

“Judging from the first half, Ballack’s form is really underwhelming …” The commentator sighed.

Twain clapped his hands and laughed off the field.

After they had gotten a hard to come by chance, the whole team’s hopes were pinned on one person, only for that person to kick the opportunity away. This was really an essential recipe to strike a blow to the morale…

※※※

Twain got up from his seat and saw that the first half of the game was coming to an end. He began to think about what he was going to do at the halftime interval in his head. Did the tactic need to be adjusted? And how should their mentality be maintained?

At the side, the fourth official came forward with an electronic display board and raised it high. There were four minutes of injury stoppage time in the first half!

Due to the collision between George Wood and Makelele as well as the clash between the players on both sides, the injury stoppage time in the first half was more than three minutes. This somewhat caused resentment among the Nottingham Forest fans. Most people had chosen to use boos to express their views on the incident.

The Chelsea people were overjoyed. This was their last chance in the first half. If they were to go to the locker room with a trailing score, it would be a heavy blow to the morale of the team.

In the forty-sixth minute, Essien, who had been active as the full back, embodied his comprehensive side. After he received Makelele’s pass, he suddenly dribbled the ball to plug in ahead and sped through the midfield to directly press on toward George Wood’s defensive line.

George Wood certainly could not tolerate the opponent to be rash under his watch. He pounced to try to stop Essien’s continued breakthrough.

It was at this time that Essien directly did a long shot!

A long shot was almost the only way Chelsea could threaten the Nottingham Forest goal in the first half. Drogba was firmly clamped down by Piqué and Pepe in the first half, with no room for play at all. He even disappeared at one point. So, whenever Chelsea attacked, the players who most often appeared in the television close-up were Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Joe Cole… and other good long shot players, whereas Drogba could only be a tactical center forward responsible for attracting Nottingham Forest’s defensive firepower.

Seeing Essien’s long shot, Piqué threw aside Drogba and threw his body to block the long-shot route, hoping for a bit of luck that the football could be blocked out by him.

But this time, things were a little different …

Essien’s shot did hit Piqué’s body, but the ball was not directly blocked out. Instead, it changed direction and rebounded in the opposite direction where Edwin van der Sar had pounced to. When he saw that the shot was going to fly into the goal just like this, Pepe extended his legs to block. The football hit him on the knee and deflected again. It did not bounce to Edwin van der Sar’s side, but fell directly in an unattended area!

The penalty area was only so big but after the football refracted twice, was it a coincidence that the football had found a drop point that had no one at all?

What was more coincidentally …

“Frank Lampard—–” The commentator roared with excitement.

Along with his roar, the Chelsea fans as well as the Chelsea manager, Grant, also sprang from their seats.

Without anyone to mark him at all and the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar also lost his balance to fall to the ground, such an opportunity … such an opportunity …

Lampard stared at the football leaping in front of his eyes as if there was a blazing flame burning in his eyes.

How can I let go of such an opportunity!!

“Lampard draws his leg back for a vigorous shot–!”

“What a powerful shot—-GOOOOAL!!”

“Frank Lampard!!” All the Chelsea fans at the stadium roared loudly.

“He did it! This is the first goal that Chelsea has scored in a Champions League final in its club history! From their steely midfielder, Frank Lampard! He had just lost his mother not long ago… With such a goal, surely he can comfort his mother in the heaven?”

Lampard’s face did not have the expression of excitement in creating history after the goal. He pointed his hands to the sky, lifted his head, and let the cold rain hit his face. The water droplets slid down his cheeks from the corners of his eyes. Was it rain or tears?

The rain was cold, but the tears were hot.

Did you create such an opportunity for me, mom?

His Blues teammates rushed up to hold the tearful Lampard and pointed to the sky with him. All the Chelsea players had black armbands fastened to their left arms. As teammates of a team, they mourned Lampard’s mother together with him in this way.

※※※

In the face of such a goal concede, everyone at Nottingham Forest could not even get angry. On the one hand, this goal was really bizarre. Who could have thought that after the two refractions, the ball would fall into a dead corner completely without the Forest team defenders? What was even more bizarre was that Lampard appeared in this dead corner! Did anyone see where he was before?

Twain stood dumbly in front of the technical area. All the adjustments he had just thought about just now were all invalidated in that second. The rain was getting heavier.?What did it mean to have “his plans rained on?” This was what “being rained on” meant!

Turning his head, he looked at Kerslake and Dunn with their equally surprised faces and helplessly shook his head, “This is football. Lampard is really good, we …” He wriggled his lips, but he did not burst out with a string of obscenities. He just said, “…. are just damn unlucky.”

Chapter 654 - I Won’t Agree

In the locker room during the halftime interval, the Nottingham Forest players were a bit dejected. No one could accept the result of their opponent’s equalizer towards the end of the first half.

“All right, don’t think about that goal concede. That’s can’t be helped anymore ...” Twain was comforting them, “Instead of feeling frustrated here about the first half that’s already over, think about how we still hit back in the second half!” He clenched and waved his fist in front of everyone.

“We basically took control of the initiative in the first half and the pace of the game was in our hands. That goal of Lampard ... It was a real accident. There will always be accidents like this on the football field. But I want you to minimize the probability of this kind of accident happening in the second half. If you look at the source of that goal concede, it wasn’t an accident. Essien’s sudden plug-in prevented us from reacting and let him run all the way to the front of our box for a long shot—you all thought he would cross, or divert the football to someone else, right?”

“For ten minutes after the second half starts, you can slow down the pace a little and adjust. Focus on defense during this period and save your physical strength. Wait until the last twenty minutes to start powering up again.”

Twain was aware that it was tiring to keep the same pace in a major game like this, because the mental stress draining the players’ energies was also not to be underestimated, on top of their physical exertion using up their energies. Nottingham Forest had the upper hand in the first half and repeatedly launched a threatening offensive. They had more ball possession than Chelsea, at the cost of a lot of physical exertion, especially on the two sides. If they continued to play like this in the second half, their stamina could collapse before the ninety minutes game was over.

They needed to adjust the tempo when necessary, slow down the pace of the offensive, and properly let the opponent move out to attack. Besides being able to restore their fitness, it would also create chances for them to counterattack. When it came to counterattacks, Twain did not think there was a team in the world which could do it better than Nottingham Forest.

“The morale of Chelsea after the equalizer must have been strong and they will launch a fierce offensive against our goal at the start of the second half. At that time, don’t rush to press out and deal with them. Pepe and Piqué, continue to make sure that you suppress Drogba ... You guys did a great job in the first half, so much so that I even thought Drogba was not playing in this game.” He spread his hands and made a joke.

This remark amused everyone, and the atmosphere lightened slightly.

“So, that’s it, defense.” Twain once again threw out his own “theory of defense above all else.””Prevent the opponent’s attack can enhance our morale on the one hand while on the other hand, it can hit the opponent’s morale hard. Football games are the process of long elimination. If you can withstand their ferocious attack at the beginning of the second half, then the victory of this game basically belongs to us!” He clenched his fist as if he had grabbed hold of the championship trophy.

“Then we will attack. You can’t forget to fight back while you’re defending, and you can’t forget to defend when you attack. That’s what I’m asking of you in our usual training. I want you to be able to show me this in this game. After you withstand the onslaught from Chelsea, they are bound to feel discouraged by it and will be at a low ebb in terms of stamina. At that time ... you know what to do, don’t you?”

The players laughed and replied, “Of course!”

“Lastly, I hope you don’t lose your desire for the title and your confidence in winning no matter what happens. This is more important than any tactic. Chelsea is sure to counter, so let them come! We’re not afraid! The crazier they counter, the closer we are to the championship title!!”

※※※

Meanwhile, in Chelsea’s locker room. Grant was giving the players the tactical rundown for the second half with a calm expression. He did not act in a manner like how Tony Twain inspired his players in the locker room with exaggerated body movements and sonorous powerful words. He was really not good at that kind of work ...

“... The offensive has to be stepped up in the second half. Our offense was terrible in the first half!” In the past in the locker room, Grant would always deliberate his remarks to avoid provoking those big-name star players and creating antagonism between the players and coaches in the locker room. But he could not care about that this time. The rumors that he would be dismissed even if he won the Champions League title were already swirling all over. His days at Stamford Bridge had already entered a countdown, and he also did not want to stay at Chelsea to coach. His current greatest wish was to beautifully win the trophy in Moscow and give a hard slap back to the faces of the media and busybodies. Then he would take the penalty fees for the breach of the contract given by Abramovich and turned to walk away.

“Drogba, you’re completely restricted by the opponent’s two tall center backs. Do you have a way to get rid of them?”

Drogba still gasped for his breath and did not want to deal with this replacement manager who robbed his mentor’s job. He just lowered his head and answered with a “um” to indicate that he was fine.

Grant looked at this player who gave him a headache. Everyone knew that in the previous media reports circulated about him, this black player was among the people in the locker room who opposed and questioned him. But he was Chelsea’s striker best at scoring goals...

“... If you can’t, I’ll bring you off.” Grant had a grim expression as he said those harsh words.

Drogba drew back the corners of his mouth and did not say anything about it.

But the other players in the locker room looked differently at Grant. They were astonished. When did the manager, who had always acted a little cowardly in the face of the big-name star players, started to be tough? In fact, Grant’s position in the players’ mind was not high. Even if he had led the team to the Champions League final, there were still many people who thought that he was a coward. They could not be blamed because after all, Grant’s predecessor was so brilliant ... Anyone who came could only live in the shadow of that arrogant madman manager.

Grant found himself in trouble. His players seemed a little distracted. It was strange that their morale was still strong after the equalizer. So why did they behaved less than enthusiastically during the halftime interval? Was it because the pressure was too high? Or could it be some other reason?

He knew there had been some factional fighting in the locker room. There had been contradictions between the players, conflicts between the players and the coaches, and even disagreements between the coaches themselves ... With so many contradictions, Chelsea still broke into the final in the end. He felt he was quite remarkable as a manager.

But to fall short through lack of a final effort, it definitely was not something Grant could accept.

He stopped his rundown of the tactics. Since they were not listening, there was no point in continuing.

“What are you all thinking about?” He asked aloud, “We equalized the score. But why do I feel you’re not happy at all now?”

No one answered his question. He was nominally the manager of this team, but in the locker room, his authority might not be as strong as that of the native England star player like Lampard.

“Where do you think you are at this moment?!” Grant was somewhat angry and could not help but raise his voice, “It is now the halftime in the Champions League final! There’s still forty-five minutes left before the game will be over! And you’re still here getting distracted? Whether we can get the title, it’s all down to these last forty-five minutes. I’m explaining the tactics, but why doesn’t anyone listen?!”

He slammed the tactical board. His actions and tone which completely went against his normal behavior made everyone look up.

“You don’t want to win this title, do you? The club has never played in a Champions League final in its history. Now that you’ve done it, you want to stop here, is that it?” His volume was still rising, “Are you guys satisfied to score just one goal in the Champions League final? Are you happy with the equalizer? But I won’t agree!! Those fans out there won’t agree either!!” The furious Grant shook off his suit jacket as he growled and pointed at the door. It shocked everyone.

Lampard finally came forward. He was more supportive of Grant. “I’m sorry, boss. None of us here wants to give up the game.” He turned and indicated his teammates behind him. Some people followed up with their nods.

“Yes, we all want to beat Nottingham Forest and win the championship.” The captain, Terry also declared the team’s position. Well, now the problem was solved.

“Then listen carefully!” When he saw Lampard stand up and recalled what he had just gone through, Grant’s tone eased a little. He picked up his suit jacket and tossed it aside. He began to explain to the players the tactics to be used in the second half.

At the same time, he was shocked in his mind that he had lost himself in that moment just now. He became like that huckster, Tony Twain and used words to criticize and provoke the players.

But... it felt pretty good just now.

※※※

“Chelsea is certain to make some adjustments, not necessarily among the players. The biggest possibility is tactical. But... I wouldn’t be surprised if Grant, that old man, replaces Drogba. The only one who is surprised should be Drogba.” Sitting in the technical area, Twain said to the people around him with a smile. The second half of the game was about to begin, and he was still relaxed enough to joke with his assistant managers.

It was strange that he did not have such a mentality when they played against AC Milan. Even when he played against Mourinho’s Chelsea, he did not dare to relax much. However, when he played against Grant, he always had the feeling that “everything is in the palm of my hands.”

He had never regarded this old Israeli man as a true opponent in his mind ...

The two sides changed sides to compete again in the second half. Neither team made any changes in the players. They only fine-tuned their tactics. Nottingham Forest placed more emphasis on defense, while Chelsea used the advantage of their kickoff in the second half to launch a series of offensives against the Forest team’s goal.

In the fifty-fifth minute, Essien once again charged into Nottingham Forest’s hinterland from his full back position. After he swung past Ribéry, he raised his leg to shoot and the shot went slightly above the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Drogba received a corner shot from the left. He jumped high to attack with a header shot, but unfortunately, it hit high again.

Shortly ten seconds later, Ballack suddenly dribbled the ball to break out from the midfield and kicked a long shot. The football deflected out from the right column.

During this time, Chelsea’s offense completely suppressed Nottingham Forest. The Forest team gradually declined in the confrontation in the midfield. It was not to say that Chelsea’s midfield was stronger, but Grant had instructed the midfielders to increase the intensity of the confrontation and strengthened the whole midfield because George Wood was also a tough midfielder. If they still remained soft as an opponent, then it would be no surprise to lose the midfield.

The basis to decide the victory in the game was in the midfield. By gaining the midfield, Chelsea had the hope of completing the reversal.

Once the three men, Ballack, Lampard and Makelele toughened up, Chelsea’s situation on the field immediately changed. No matter how strong George Wood was, he could not confront three people alone.

Pepe, Piqué and the others made many crucial rescues in the face of Chelsea’s waves of offensive. In addition, due to the pressure from Chelsea which caused the Nottingham Forest formation to be compressed backward, George Wood was more like a center back than a defensive midfielder at this time. Even van Nistelrooy came back to take part in the defense, leaving only Eastwood alone in front—he was placed there to be ready to fight back. But for now, the Forest team had no chance of fighting back at all.

Grant understood Tony Twain’s team. They were the kind of team which he could not take lightly and needed to keep an eye and defend, even when they were besieging them. Therefore, when he instructed his team to besiege Nottingham Forest and launch a counter press in the midfield and in front, they must never give them a chance to fight back.

In the sixty-sixth minute, Chelsea once again forcibly obtained a corner kick through a series bombardment. Lampard launched the corner shot. The successive attacks put a mental strain on Edwin van der Sar. Instead of waiting for the defenders to lift a siege, he intended to strike on his own and take the ball to completely end this round of Chelsea’s offensive.

But–

“He missed the target!!” The commentator exclaimed.

Edwin van der Sar chose to strike which was really a little risky. There were three players in the middle. When he struck, he could not even directly get the football. At best, he could only get the ball out. That was what van der Sar realized in mid-air, so he tried to quickly change his strategy which immediately resulted in him missing his target...

The football skirted past the front of his fists!

At this point, the Nottingham Forest people was so startled that theirs heart leapt to their throats, because Chelsea’s captain, John Terry was next to Edwin van der Sar.

This center back was brilliant at header shots ...

Perhaps he was dazzled by Edwin van der Sar’s attack. When the shining white football suddenly flew in front of him, Terry had not reacted yet. He hurriedly swung his head but ended up the same as Edwin van der Sar—he missed!

“Gasp—-” This time, whether it was a Nottingham Forest fan or a Chelsea fan, everyone gasped.

The football was not rubbed against by anyone. It glided through the penalty area of Nottingham Forest at a high speed and then flew straight out of the sidelines on the other side.

“Nottingham Forest narrowly escaped! And John Terry will surely be annoyed at why he did not get to that ball! They had a chance to lead ahead of Nottingham Forest!”

This ball startled Twain till he jumped from his seat and almost covered his head in his hands with chagrin. Fortunately, Terry was addled at the last minute, and did not head the ball under freakish circumstances.

On the other side, Grant jumped out of his seat too. But he was excited and annoyed—-at first it was because he was excited, and then he jumped again due to chagrin this time.

“Chelsea missed a good opportunity. Maybe they’ll regret it after the game. But now that Chelsea has the upper hand on the field, they can still create more opportunities. Surely Chelsea’s powerful offensive group will be able to seize a chance at some point, won’t they?”

Without waiting for Chelsea to seize the opportunity, Nottingham Forest’s own defensive line first collapsed in a corner.

Piqué fell to the ground and did not get up after a fierce scramble. He rolled on the ground as he held his calf in his hands. He had a muscle cramp.

The team doctor, Fleming was summoned once again and ran up. George Wood had already pressed Piqué’s leg down as an emergency treatment.

“Chelsea has put a lot of pressure on us ...” Kerslake muttered.

The pressure was really very high during this time. The defenders was busy till dizzy in the heads with the constant siege. As a center back, Piqué not only had to fill in Bale’s position, but also had to return to the middle and defend against Drogba. He also had to scramble for Chelsea’s passes in the wing, and block Chelsea’s frenzied long shots with his body ...

“Is it time to make adjustments?” Dunn saw Twain get up and asked.

Twain nodded.

“It’s a little earlier than expected. But the plan would not have kept pace with the change. What’s important is the command on the scene.” Twain walked to the sidelines. He called George Wood and van der Vaart.

“Press out, don’t shrink in the back. George, you’re the defensive midfielder, not the center back. What are you doing running into the box? Rafael, we need to rely on your personal skills here to get the football out. You can rest assured that George will protect you in the back. If you encounter interception, pass the ball, quickly pass and go to cut ahead!” Twain made a gesture and continued, “Don’t tangle ceaselessly with them in the midfield and be deceived by Chelsea. Use the fastest speed to pass through the midfield. Directly threaten their goal and show them what you’ve got. That will keep them in check! When there’s a chance for a long shot, take the long shot. It’s not necessarily to pursue the success rate of the attack. Under such circumstances, one or two threatening shots will be enough to turn things around!”

As he spoke hurriedly, the two men nodded simultaneously.

“Well, go up and tell the others what I said, and let them carry it out.”

Once he patted the pair on the shoulders and sent them back to the field, Twain did not walk back to the technical area. He continued to stand on the sidelines and watched the pitch. The situation was becoming critical, and he was unable to stay calm.

He turned his head and glanced sideways at Grant, who was also standing on the sidelines.

Chelsea’s play during this time made him feel stressed and sense danger. He could no longer joke to deal with this game and such an opponent like he did at the start of the second half.

Did it look like he was going to have to change his view of Grant?

Could there be some minor waves of changes in this game?

How big a wave do you want to set off, Mr. Grant?

Want to get the title? I won’t agree.

Chapter 655 - A Stalemate

“Eastwood shot directly from the tip of the arc in the box! Ah, but the Chelsea defender, Carvalho used his body to block it out of the end line. This was Nottingham Forest’s first shot in the second half! They were previously pushed back by Chelsea in their own half and basically couldn’t get out.”

That sounded a little miserable, but the actual situation was really like that.

After Twain adjusted the tactics in the midfield, Nottingham Forest’s offense finally picked up and Eastwood’s shot was an opportunity found through a quick pass in the midfield.

Chelsea made tough arrangements in the midfield, but Twain did not meet them force with force. He used faster passes and positional play to shake off Chelsea’s defense.

Next, the game entered an impasse. Both sides had opportunities, but neither could directly threaten each other’s goal.

In the seventy-fourth minute, Ribéry again relied on his personal skills to force a breakthrough past the Chelsea’s defensive line in the flank. Then he launched a shot at a narrow angle, but it hit the side of the net. This annoyed Ribéry. Although he had already scored a goal, his pursuit of the goal was never going to stop.

Following which Chelsea launched an attack and Malouda stopped the ball with his chest after he received Lampard’s pass. But during a scramble with George Wood, he fell to the ground which happened to be inside the box. The Chelsea players held their hands high and the Chelsea fans booed in the hope that the referee would see this scene in order to blow his whistle for a penalty to Nottingham Forest.

The referee’s whistle rang, but he did not blow it because George Wood had fouled. Instead, he blew it for Malouda had fouled with a handball first!

This penalty caused Malouda who had just fallen to the ground and raised his hands to signal his innocence, to jump up right away. He waved his arms angrily and complained endlessly. It would not be an overstatement to describe that he flew into a rage.

Seeing this, Grant also jumped up from his seat and angrily objected off the field. At first it was because the referee did not rule that George Wood had fouled, and then he was angry with Malouda—you bloody idiot, did you forget that you already have a yellow card on you? To go up against the referee time, do you want to apply for a red card and be sent off?!

It was Lampard who kept a cool head. He went up and pulled Malouda away, repeatedly reminding him of his yellow card.

Malouda then stopped and ran back with Lampard. The referee did not plan to pull out the cards, which let the other Chelsea players secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

※※※

The game went on for seventy-six minutes and Drogba basically did not get a decent chance. His physical fitness in the Premier League football was famous, but he met a difficult opponent today—the two players, Pepe and Piqué were by his side at all times and firmly wedged him, so that he did not have the opportunity to take the ball. Even if he got the ball, he could not turn around and even if he managed to turn around, he also did not have a chance to shoot.

As Chelsea’s center forward, how could he not be enraged inside when his performance for the first time in the Champions League final was so lame?

Plus, the harsh words that Grant threw down during the halftime interval made him desperately want to prove himself with a goal.

I must find a way to change this situation!

He pulled out and no longer blindly remained in the innermost area, which made it more convenient for him to take the ball.

Pepe and Piqué saw Drogba take the initiative to pull out of the box but did not follow. They did not need to take care of Drogba, who did not have the ball. It was only when the football reached Drogba’s feet that the two players would pounce over.

When Drogba pulled out, he raised his arm to signal to his teammates to pass the ball to him. He wanted to properly vent the frustration of being frozen during this time.

Joe Cole’s personal skills on the left wing attracted the two players, Lennon and Rafinha. He took the opportunity to horizontally pass the ball to the front of the box.

Drogba caught the ball.

He did not stop the football very well and it bounced a little. But this also gave Drogba a chance to shoot. He did not have to think about how to get rid of the difficult defense. Now he only needed to ... just swing his leg!

“The Beast” Drogba swung his stout thigh and relied on his lower back and core to rotate his body to volley on the spot!

No one would underestimate the strength of this center forward. He was already famous when he was still in Marseille. But it was in Chelsea that Mourinho made him a true world-class striker. Everyone could still remember when he caught the ball outside the box at that time and immediately turned his body to volley a world-class ball that broke through Barcelona’s goal. For such a player, he could not be underestimated even if he was away from the goal!

Pepe took the lead to rush up in hopes to fend off the football with his body. But the football whizzed past him.

The football went through the box and flew straight to the right of the goal.

Edwin van der Sar tried his best to pounce out. His whole body flew out sideways and his outstretched arms tried to throw out the football. He did not get what he wanted as well.

The football skimmed in front of his fingertips.

At this moment, it was believed that the hearts of all Nottingham Forest players and fans turned cold. At the same time, the Chelsea fans were already eagerly holding their arms high and ready to announce their lead.

“Clang!”

With a loud sound, the Nottingham Forest fans’ wits returned while the Chelsea fans lost their wits.

The football struck the outside of the goalpost and flew straight out of the end line!

“Ah—” The commentator cried loudly, as if he was sorrier than Drogba himself. “It actually hit the post! Chelsea had no such luck! Drogba’s luck is so terrible!”

This kick startled Twain till he jumped from his seat. In that moment, he acted like there was a fire on his buttocks.

“F**k!” He swore.

The Chelsea players played as if they literally took medicine as a team in the second half and were so energized. Their every shot was threatening. How else could the Forest team play this game? If this continued on, even if they counterattacked, the Forest team would collapse sooner or later.

This kind of shot which hit the post, was simply a mental torment to the Nottingham Forest players. Did they feel a little soft in their legs after they had survived that shot?

The game against AC Milan for the title had not been this tense. It was really more difficult as the defending champion...

You’re attacked on all sides like you are a gigantic moving target. Everyone wants to overthrow you, and then step on the corpse of the defending champion to pick up that supreme honor. If you can’t hold on, you’ll fall from the throne and be eaten by a group of hungry wolves waiting down there.

“Go and call Beckham back.” Twain said to Kerslake, who was behind him.

He was going to make adjustments.

Lennon did not perform as actively as he did in the first half under the opponent’s continued high pressure. The Forest team’s few attacks in the second half came from Ribéry and Bale, and Lennon only worn himself out in defense. Coupled with his sole means of attack, which was to break through by speed, Chelsea quickly saw through him. Ashley Cole was no slowcoach either. When the pair of them went head to head, Lennon was basically forsook.

David Beckham ran back from the warm-up area. The two men looked at each other, and Twain pulled him to the sidelines. He said, “You go up and replace Lennon. I need your long pass to send the football out, in addition to contributing in defense.”

Beckham nodded.

“After the team presses up, you can go up and try the long shot. Tell Bale that the corner kicks are all yours.” Other than the routine business, Twain lowered his voice to Beckham and said, “David.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve built the stage for you to prove yourself.”

Beckham glanced at Twain in surprise.

Twain did not say anything else. He patted Beckham on the back and let him to follow the fourth official to the sidelines.

※※※

In the seventy-seventh minute, Nottingham Forest made its first substitution in the game. Number 24, David Beckham replaced number 17, Aaron Lennon.

This substitution did not produce an immediate effect. It was Chelsea which continued to be powerful in the second half and maintain its siege on the Nottingham Forest’s goal. In the seventy-ninth minute, Malouda passed the ball after he broke out in the flank. Drogba got ahead of Pepe and Piqué and shot, but he hit it high.

It looked like he did not bring his striker boots today.

In the eightieth minute, Beckham finally gave Eastwood a good shot. Eastwood, who played tolerably in this game, adjusted slightly outside the box and swung his leg to shoot. But this shot was too high and was not within the range of the goalmouth.

Chelsea stepped up their defensive strength in the second half and Eastwood, who was not dominant in strength, largely disappeared. His two shots did not threaten the opponent’s goal.

The commentator was unable to put up with it any longer and said, “If I were to give marks in this game so far, both sides have players with the lowest marks. The recipient on Chelsea’s side is Drogba, and there is no doubt that on this side of Nottingham Forest, it is Eastwood. The Welsh striker was completely at a disadvantage in the physical confrontation with the Chelsea defenders, as if he was afraid of this kind of physical confrontation. He pulled his position outside the box, avoided the opposing defenders and moved away from the goal, while he also hindered van der Vaart’s play here. Manager Twain had just replaced Lennon. Although Lennon’s second-half performance was not brilliant, he was still very active in the first half. And what about Eastwood? Maybe Twain is going to think about a substitution again.”

Twain was indeed considering whether to replace Eastwood or not. Multiple injuries had greatly diminished his strength, while at the same time he had a shadow in his mind about physical confrontation. Chelsea’s change of defensive strategy and reliance on toughness were certainly not specifically aimed at Eastwood, but it had created an objective phenomenon that had made Eastwood disappear.

Should I bring him off?

“Tony?” Dunn also noticed that Eastwood’s performance was getting worse. Perhaps it was due to his stamina close to exhaustion that he did not run as actively as he did in the first half.

“Yes?”

“Do you want another substitution?”

Twain nodded and said, “You go and call Bendtner back.”

This decision surprised Dunn a little. Nottingham Forest’s substitute players were all warming up in the warm-up area at this time and ready to play. Dunn did not expect Twain to bring on Turner instead of Arshavin.

“You’re going to play a double center forward?” Next to him, Kerslake also asked puzzledly.

“No, van Nistelrooy’s physical strength is not enough to confront Terry and Carvalho. I’m going to change him.” Twain made the decision to keep Eastwood on the field, believing that the Romani was a smart player and knew to use his brains to play. Not running actively? That’s just him prolonging his stamina as he is mulling over a fatal blow. You look at his running position. He can run to a key position every time. Otherwise why were the Forest team’s two shots in the second half completed by him?

Dunn did not refute, nor did he raise objections. He obeyed the instructions and went. On the other hand, Kerslake could not figure out what Twain had in mind. He said, “Ruud has experience. With him around, Chelsea’s two center backs are restrained to a certain extent. And Freddy, he already can’t run anymore ...”

Twain glanced at him and said, “Don’t tell me it will be easy for the other two center backs when we bring on Bendtner? Bendtner’s body is stronger than van Nistelrooy’s. His stamina is better. With him there, he can continue to suppress Terry and Carvalho. Eastwood remains on the field because he’s our second point during the counterattacks.”

Kerslake need not say anything else as Bendtner had already run back with excitement. Twain left him aside and went up.

“Your chance is here, kid.” Twain said with a smile. Twain pinned on his hopes and Nottingham Forest’s future on this kid. Van Nistelrooy will leave sooner or later. Then, the main center forward here is you, Nick!

Bendtner nodded as this was certainly his chance. Any fool would know that the team had met with some difficulty and needed someone to step up and be the hero to save the team and retake the title.

And at this time, the boss chose him!

“Once you go up, get to the front, push Terry and Carvalho back into the box and create chances for the others in the back to plug in.” Twain’s first instruction doused cold water on Bendtner.

A tactical center forward again! Bendtner hated this phrase. As the front most center forward, he would not be the first choice to attack and besiege the goal, but to act as a foil for the others! This was simply...

But still he nodded his head. In the team, the absolute authority belonged to Tony Twain and no one dared to express his displeasure to him in person. No, someone dared to, but that man was later driven away.

“Of course, if there’s a better chance, then you can choose to do your own shot.” Twain said with a smile, “Don’t always think about creating opportunities for your teammates.” He had no idea what kind of upheavals Bendtner was experiencing on the inside now.

“Go on!” He gave Bendtner a push, and Twain continued to stand on the sidelines.

Bendtner replaced a somewhat exhausted van Nistelrooy. Twain completely did not intend to maintain a draw to play overtime or even a penalty shootout. Although the team practiced the penalty kicks before the game, that was just routine practice for just in case. He did not want to play the penalty shootout himself. He might like to watch this brutal way of winning when he was a fan, but he hated it since he became a manager. Why? Because using this way to decide did not to rely on which team is stronger, nor did it rely on which team’s tactics were more reasonable. It relied on the team’s psychological quality and luck, with the component of luck being greater ... As a manager, he should take every situation into account so that when things happened, they were always within his control. And a penalty shootout was thoroughly a matter which he could not control, so he hated it.

※※※

After Bendtner came on, he maintained the Forest team’s pressure on Chelsea’s rear defensive line. While Eastwood was still hanging near the box, where his main area of activity was at the top of the arc outside the penalty area.

Nottingham Forest had fully used its substitutions and Chelsea began to adjust. Grant an brought on an injured Kalou to replace Malouda who had a yellow card and was becoming increasingly agitated. This at least removed a hidden danger. Grant was already getting ready for overtime play. What if Malouda lost his head in the final minutes of the game and took another yellow card?

Grant even prepared for the penalty shootout while he got ready for overtime. However, the players on the field lost all their strength and were ready for a last-ditch fight. With less than ten minutes before the end of the game, the time to fight was now. This was a common idea that the players on both sides had. They were just players. Regardless of how many ideas the managers had in mind, and for whatever reasons, they only had one idea as players which was to beat their immediate opponents, win the game, end this damn final and pick up the trophy!

We can’t beat Nottingham Forest? This is ridiculous. On this evening, we’ll show the world what a big a joke that is. We’ll beat Nottingham Forest, this bunch of bastards and put Chelsea on top of the world! Take down the first Champions League title in the club’s history!

Don’t be deluded, you Stamford Bridge bastards. The championship trophy is ours, belongs to Nottingham Forest. We’ll show you what happens if you dare try to touch without our permission!

Chapter 656 - Mightiness Revealed Again

“It’s now eight minutes away from the end of the game. If there are no surprises, the injury stoppage time should be three minutes—the second half went smoothly. That means there are eleven minutes left. If the winner still is still undetermined, then both sides will be dragged into a thirty-minute overtime. For now, Grant had changed only one player, while Tony Twain had changed two players in one breath. The intentions of the two managers could be seen clearly in these substitutions.”

“Grant wants to play overtime and even a penalty shootout. It was reported that Chelsea had also specially practiced the penalty kicks the day before the match. But Tony Twain doesn’t want to give him the chance. He prefers to settle the fight in ninety minutes compared to overtime and penalty shootout.”

※※※

Rafinha now took the ball. He hesitated a little before he did a wall pass with Beckham, and then continued to dribble the ball to plug ahead. At this time, everyone’s physical strength was not good and Rafinha must clench his teeth to persist. The idea of supporting him was “the other side is much better than himself” so Rafinha gnashed his teeth and rushed up.

Ashley Cole felt his job was a lot easier after Lennon left, because Beckham did not have the ability to break through. As a defender, all he had was to hold his position and there would be no problem. To prevent a cross pass? That was a matter for the center back.

Ashley Cole, who saw the Nottingham Forest number 14 charged up with the ball, went up to take him on after a short break. He was not afraid of going head to head alone with Rafinha.

Even the flourishing Cristiano Ronaldo had to think twice about whether to break through in the face of himself.

What more a mere full back from the Brazilian Olympic team?

He was ready to take on the enemy, but Rafinha did not give him a chance to have a face-off with him. He sent the football across to Beckham as he ran.

Ashley Cole froze a little and chose to continue to follow Rafinha to retreat. He feared that Beckham would sent the ball behind him with a straight pass. But Beckham did not plan to pass the ball at all. He did not hesitate to shoot for the goal when he got the ball!

“David Beckham’s long shot—”

ech once again made a high level save. He flew out and knocked out the football with a single palm!

Nottingham Forest’s offensive was not over yet.

Eastwood appeared at the drop point of the football. As long as he shot it out, the football would fly into the empty goal!

ech fell to the ground and completely lost his balance. There was nothing he could do about Nottingham Forest’s subsequent attack.

Terry stood forward.

Eastwood’s shot hit Terry on the head, and it flew out of the crossbar!

“Ah—what a pity! If this ball had gone in, Nottingham Forest would almost lock in the win!”

Everyone groaned in the Nottingham Forest’s technical area and substitutes’ bench.

“Freddy used too much force!” Kerslake complained with frustrated, “If he hadn’t volley that shot, but just kicked, Terry wouldn’t have time to react at all.”

He was right. Eastwood seemed to lose the cool of a striker at that moment and chose the most inopportune way to shoot.

In this regard, Twain could only gently shake his head. The continuous serious injuries caused Eastwood to no longer be the way he first was … Good things always belonged to the past.

※※※
ech climbed up from the ground and clapped his hands with Terry to thank him for his last-minute lift of the siege. Then he started directing the defense in the box. A corner kick was just as dangerous. But maybe it could be a chance too?

Pepe and Piqué saw that Nottingham Forest had received a corner kick and ran into Chelsea’s box at the same time to get ready to compete for the header.

Chelsea prepared to meet the enemy. Even Drogba was back in the box to defend. However, Joe Cole chose to stand near the center circle, waiting for a chance to fight back without knowing if it would come.

George Wood initially wanted to go up and participate in the attack. But after he saw Joe Cole, he changed his mind at the last minute and went over to stand quietly beside Joe Cole.

When Beckham placed the football, the Chelsea fans was behind him and those fanatical fans kept using language and gestures to provoke and insult him as they tried to distract him. But he seemed to turn a deaf ear to it. After he placed the football, he moved back to wait for the referee’s whistle.

This was a corner kick positioned on the left side of the goal. With a right-footed player like Beckham to execute, the football would spin inwards. The area close to the front and back points of the goalpost were generally the most dangerous place.?It would also be the place where most of the Chelsea and Nottingham Forest players gathered.

Beckham’s shot after he ran up to is did not cross the top of any person’s head. It flew high, bypassed the front goalpost and descended midway to directly spurt toward a point in the back of the goal!

It was actually …

“He directly shot at the goal!”

ech was going to strike directly to take the ball, but he had just stepped out to find something was wrong. The football was very high, fast and the direction of its trajectory was behind him—the goal!

He immediately hurried to jump, looked up at the football in the air, and then struggled to reach his hands out to touch the football. He no longer expected to directly get the ball. It would be all right providing he could poke out the football.

He failed to touch the football and only caught a gust of the wind.

“Clang!”

A few minutes ago, this noise annoyed the Chelsea fans, but now they thought it was music to their ears!

Beckham’s surprise choice fell short and the football hit above the crossbar to directly bounce out of the end line.

The swearing voices behind him all disappeared with the brittle sound that popped out of this impact. Those extreme Chelsea fans had yet to snap out of their horror when David Beckham had already run far.

※※※

Kerslake was still holding his head in vexation. Grant was still worried about his heart. A new wave of offense from the Forest team was here again. Nottingham Forest was even crazier in the final stages of the game. They could not wait to pick up the trophy for a second time. Who would be willing to wait another thirty minutes and wait for another penalty shootout?

In just a few minutes, Chelsea had to withdraw entirely. A player like Joe Cole, who was still fantasizing about fighting back, also had to go back to defend under Terry’s loud hailing. As the captain, Terry knew exactly what kind of situation this was—if they could not withstand, then they would lose …

When he saw the team entirely retreated in the last few minutes according to his instructions, Grant felt less worried even though his heart had to continue to suffer.

Because Nottingham Forest did not intend to let Chelsea go just like that.

Van der Vaart took a long shot outside the box which was stopped by ?ech. The Czech Republic national goalkeeper wanted to throw the ball and launch a counterattack, but Drogba’s ball was intercepted by George Wood who went round to the front to defend. Wood diverted the intercepted football to Ribéry who was in excellent form in this game. Ribéry passed the ball after he forced a breakthrough into the box from the flank. A melee broke out in front of the goal. As a result, no one touched the football. The ball brushed against the goalpost to roll out the end line.

Chelsea drove out another goal ball which was intercepted again. George Wood did a feint. After he created the illusion of passing the ball, he dribbled the ball and plugged in, which stirred the Chelsea rear defensive line into a mess. However, he suddenly diverted the ball.

The target of his pass this time was Bendtner.

Bendtner had his back to the direction of the attack and wanted to turn around to strike the goal.

It did not look like he was going to hand over this offensive opportunity easily, whether it was to Chelsea or his own teammates …

His persistence in the box attracted three Chelsea players, Terry, Carvalho and Makelele.

The three men encircled him. It was almost impossible for him to turn around, never mind shooting at the goal.

“Get the ball out!” Van der Vaart shouted in a hurry outside.

Bendtner gnashed his teeth—F**king Chelsea! There goes my chance!

He saw a red figure in the cracks between the crowd. He could not see the number on the back of the jersey nor the face and did not know who it was. But it was enough to know that it was his teammate.

Bendtner leaned back hard against Terry’s body and acted as if he wanted to forcibly turn around to shoot, so as to attract the Chelsea players to put their focus behind him. He then quickly gave a kick and passed the football out through a crack in the crowd!

“What a beautiful pass!”

Unfortunately, it was a little too late as Eastwood ran and overshot.

The Romani thought Bendtner would make a cross pass so that he could shoot directly. After all, there were a lot of people in the penalty area. A slight delay could cost him the chance to score.

He did not expect Bendtner to do a return pass. He ran over only to discover this point and hurriedly braked. His right foot dragged in the back and barely hooked the football. It was not directly taken away by the Chelsea players.

But he had lost the immediacy and covert opportunity to shoot at the first instance in this way. The best chance to score was gone. So, what could he do next? Should he protect the ball and wait for his teammates’ support? That meant that he had to turn his back to the goal …

Eastwood was not willing to do that.

Bendtner acted independently because he was a striker and the striker’s job was to score goals. Therefore, Eastwood would act independently too. He played averagely in this game, and he wanted to prove his contribution to the team with a goal.

When I was still a cripple helping my father sell used cars at home and a down-and-out player who occasionally played in an amateur league, did I ever had such a dream? To play in the final of the European clubs’ top level tournament? But now this is not a dream. I scored a goal in last year’s Champions League final, which was the goal that locked in the victory. I can do it again this year!

After Eastwood made up his mind to act alone, he completely ignore his teammates’ positions. At this juncture, he only had eyes and attention for the opposing defensive players. With his back to the goal, he felt the pressure from behind which should be from Ashley Cole.

Terry had already given up on Bendtner and turned around to pounce on him.

There was no time to hesitate here. In case he was surrounded, a pass would become the only option.

The idea of a dive in the box was not something that crossed Eastwood’s mind. Some strikers would choose to do so in times of crisis, in hopes that the referee would award a penalty shot to them. But this foolish thought only flashed across his mind before it was immediately tossed out. He was not that kind of person, and he knew the chief would not allow him to do that.

To throw away the opportunity grasped in hand, and then to count on the subjective judgment of the unreliable referee, this practice was no different from being a fool. As long as the opportunity was in his own hands, he could not discard it even if there was only 0.001 percent!

Stepping the football under his feet, Eastwood felt the pressure coming from behind him. He judged the distance between him and the other person, while he observed Terry’s extended feet.

These men clearly do not want to act too bold outside the box and rush to make a move. Unless I shoot, they will continue to encircle me while they wait for backup. Once one more player comes to defend, I will be out of luck. Their chance to make a move to intercept will only show up once I shoot …

Once he made up his mind, Eastwood slightly adjusted his stance to let himself face Ashley Cole and Terry sideways and not with his back toward Ashley Cole and face Terry like he did just now. Following which, he made to look like he was going to swing his leg to shoot, prompting Terry to make a move to intercept on the right side.

But in fact, Eastwood did not swing his leg. He just moved a little. Upon seeing Terry move, he immediately jabbed the football behind himself with his foot. Even though he could only turn around at a narrow angle, this was the only gap and the only chance to shoot …

The Chelsea defenders wanted to push Eastwood close to the end line so that even if he was allowed to shoot, it would not be threat.

After he jabbed the football behind him, Eastwood leaned against Ashley Cole to turn around on the spot. He had just turned around and saw the football under his feet. Although he was now very close to the end line, he still did not hesitate to poke the football toward the end line while half of his body made use of the momentum to zip out from the encirclement!

A Cruyff Turn!

Although his body had not completely shook off the Chelsea defenders’ entanglement, Eastwood could not wait for that to happen. He did not adjust the football at all and directly swung his left leg in a very narrow angle to vigorously blast the goal!

Like an artillery shell, the football flew past Ashley Cole.

ech was convinced he had sealed off all the shot angles and he anchored himself as he waited for Eastwood to shoot. He had just saw the football rolled out of the crowd when he saw a leg whipped out and the football swooped over!

So fast!

That was ?ech’s only thought. Before he could see the striker, he saw the football fly over. In the circumstances where the distance was very close, the other party made use of the strength and footwork of a long shot. The football instantly glided over the top of his head, which this ball would fly straight out of the end line nine out of ten times…

Eastwood had no idea where ?ech was or whether the goal had a small gap at all before he shot. He completed this difficult shot with the instinct of a striker. What did he need to do next?

Pray?

No!

The opportunity is still in my hands. Who do I pray to?

“Clang!” It was the sound of the football striking the goalpost again. Only this time it did not popped out of the end line.

ech lifted his head, and his sight followed the football from start to finish. Even if his body could not keep up, he could still follow with his eyes. He saw the football struck the edge of the crossbar and slammed upward. When it bounced up on the net, it hit the net…

When he raised his head too far behind, ?ech lost his balance and fell on his back to the ground. His eyes were still staring at the football fallen inside the goal!

“Eastwooooooooooo—gooooooooal!!! Freddy Eastwood! Freddy Eastwood!! This is the fatal shot! A fatal shot! Absolutely beautiful!!”

When Eastwood, who lost his balance and fell straight out of the end line after the shot, saw the football enter the goal, he tried to jump up but found that he was long exhausted. He could only lie on the ground. He raised his hands high and clenched into fists, pointing to the raining night sky. His face had a fierce expression due to excessive excitement.

“Eight-nine minutes!! This is a goal that almost locked in the victory! Does Chelsea still have a chance? Is there still a chance?”

“Even if they want to equalize again, this time Nottingham Forest will never say yes!”

The excited Nottingham Forest players collectively raced to outside Chelsea’s goal. Instead of pressing up, they laid on ground with Eastwood and pointed their fists at the sky.

※※※

“I did not f**king replace him, wow haha … That’s so f**king brilliant!” Twain laughed heartily and yelled on the sidelines, completely without the reserve that a manager generally had.

“Freddy, you’re my lucky treasure! You’re the champion striker! As long as you score, the title is ours!”

Kerslake was excited at the time and completely forgot that he had suggested earlier to Twain that he should replace Eastwood, who was physically tired and did not perform well.

※※※

“Eastwood is really a striker with the ability to decide the outcome of the game! In last year’s Champions League final, it was his last-minute goal that helped the team lock in the victory to wipe out AC Milan’s confidence to fight back. And now, once again, his single shot sealed the fate as they are about to enter the injury stoppage time!”

“Who could have imagined that such a striker was playing in an amateur competition four years ago and helping his father sell used cars for a living?”

“Nottingham Forest is really a miraculous team! With players like that and such a team, they always amaze us!”

“The first defending champion since the restructuring of the UEFA Champions League … is about to be born!!”

“They will go down in history, and they will continue to create legends. In these two seasons since the start of the 07-08 season, European football has only one color and only one name. It’s red and it belongs to Nottingham Forest!”

The commentators for the live broadcast of game were going insane. They banged on the tables and stomped their feet as they tried their best to raise their volume and spoke fast to show their passion.

The last-minute fatal shot literally impassioned all the people watching this game instantly!

※※※

Did anyone else still care about the Chelsea team?

The Chelsea players on the field stood rooted to the ground when the football bounced into the goal. They were unable to accept such an outcome at all. How could… How could we let the opponent score at the last minute? Is it our defense that’s not doing well enough? No! No…

Grant sat in the technical area, or it was more appropriate to say that he was “slumped” in his seat in the technical area. He felt as if he had no bones in his entire body at this moment. His face was ashen as if he had lost his life.

To spoil the ship for a ha’penny worth of tar…

※※※

“During Brian Clough’s most brilliant period, he led Nottingham Forest to win a domestic league title and two Champions League titles. Similarly, a defending champion, Tony Twain still has the opportunity and time to surpass his predecessor because he has now caught up with his legendary predecessor. Now he can start shaping a new hero and a new legend in the history of Nottingham Forest Football Club!”

“Don’t be happy too soon, the game is not over yet! There are still at least three minutes left … A football is round!”

“Remember what that guy Tony Twain said before in last year’s Champions League final? His football is triangular! Ha ha!”

※※※

“We got the whole world in our hands; we are Nottingham Forest! We’re the f**king greatest team in the world! Oh, oh, oh–We’re the champions! Nottingham Forest is the champion!”

The Nottingham Forest fans did not care such crap about “the football is round.” They could not wait to start declaring their claim on the title.

For a moment, the loud song rippled across the stands in the Luzhniki stadium, piercing the layers of fog, straight beyond the clouds!

Chapter 657 - All Hail The Double Winner!

“Freddy Eastwood is in trouble. He’s caught in between two Chelsea players, front and back. The football is at his feet, but there’s no way he can turn and shoot. If one more player comes up, the ball is bound to be intercepted … He turns around … and shoots—the ball goes in! The ball went in! The ball is in–!!! The—fatal—shot—that—ends—the game!!”

The commentator’s excited roar came from the television set.

Even more excited than him were that the Nottingham Forest fans in front of the televisions. Those people who could not watch the live at the stadium, had to choose to watch it in crowded pubs. They were really lucky to see such a thrilling scene towards the end of the game.

“Champion! We’re the champions!”

The Double Winner!”

“Tony, I love you so damn much. I bloody love you—”

“Whoa, whoa—are you going to propose to him, Joel?”

“If I were a woman, I would marry him!”

“Ahaha haha …”

Such scenes appeared in pubs where the Nottingham Forest fans gathered, including Kenny Burns’ Forest bar.

“Beer! More beer! How can we not have a drink at a time like this?”

“Cheers! To the Champion!”

“Cheers! For The Double Winner!”

People had stopped watching the television or listened to the commentator for quite a while. Everyone was focused on downing the drinks and loudly declared the victory and excitement.

Someone raised his glass high to toast Burns behind the bar and Burns also raised his glass to clink the glass. That man drained his drink while Burns just took a sip. He needed to stay sober as the owner of the pub.

That did not mean he was not happy with the Forest team’s results. He might actually be happier and more excited than everyone here. A defending champion and a Premier League champion … Twenty-eight years had passed, and that scene seemed to emerge in front of Burns’ eyes. It was also this same group of people, but at that time they were still young and could follow the team around. They witnessed Nottingham Forest’s first glory in its history at the Bernabéu stadium— it was “the most brilliant” before Tony Twain—Now these people were older and most of them had graying temples.

Time flew by really quickly.

※※※

In the heavy rain in Moscow, the frenzied celebration in the Luzhniki Stadium was finally suspended by the referee’s forced intervention. The game was not over, and Chelsea still had a chance to attack and equalize the score. If he allowed the Nottingham Forest players to celebrate so recklessly, he was bound to encounter angry complain from the Chelsea players, stating that they took the opportunity to waste the game time.

Just as the Nottingham Forest players returned to the pitch, the fourth official also stood on the sidelines. He held up the electronic display board and the number displayed was the last injury stoppage time for this game—three minutes!

Chelsea still had the last three minutes left to equalize the score. If they were unable to score, they would regret that they had narrowly missed the championship trophy.

Twain also recovered from the excitement. He stood on the sidelines with his arms across his chest and stared nervously at the field. Anything could happen in the last three minutes. The Manchester United ‘s Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999 came to mind…

You all must not relax by all means! He stared at the Nottingham Forest players on the field as he said in his mind with gritted teeth.

“Three more minutes, we must hold our ground!” Van Nistelrooy, who had been brought off, patted his sports jacket as he stood on the sidelines and cupped his hands near his mouth to shouted toward the field.

Grant had completed a substitution during Nottingham Forest’s frenzied celebration. This time he replaced two players in one go and did not leave a backup to play overtime with Nottingham Forest.

Shevchenko replaced Joe Cole, who had been feckless under Nottingham Forest’s ferocious tackles. Belletti replaced the physically exhausted Makelele.

It was clear that he wanted to step up the attack and intended to stake all on one throw in the last three minutes.

The game resumed and Chelsea kept the football at their feet. They pushed into Nottingham Forest penalty area. The Chelsea players were also smart enough not to rush and send the football straight to the front of the Forest team’s goal with a long pass, as that could lead to a quicker loss of ball possession.

As long as the football was on their side, they could launch an attack at any time. There was not much time. At this important time, it was not the number of attacks that counted but the quality that mattered.

Ashley Cole also rushed up and threw himself into the offense. Lampard passed the football over when he saw him.

At the final moments, Ashley Cole relied on his speed to drive forward. He finally broke through Rafinha and ripped a gash in Nottingham Forest’s defensive line on the right!

The cheers of the Chelsea fans at the scene rang out.

The Forest players though Ashley Cole was bound to cross from the byline. Pepe rushed up to block to keep him out of the box, while Drogba in the middle was handed over to Piqué.

Ashley Cole did not pass the football to Drogba and did not even send it to the front of the goal. He did a direct pass from the side of the rear and the football flew outside the box!

Ballack received the ball and he made to look like he was going to shoot at the goal to throw George Wood off his balance and make him block with his body. Instead, it turned out to be a pass. The target was Lampard on the other side!

This corner pass was wonderful. Lampard was almost unmarked when he caught the ball. He turned around and shot directly after he got the football!

Everyone got up from their seats. If it went in, the Nottingham Forest fans would have gotten happy for nothing. If it did not go in… Chelsea would be screwed.

“Clang!”

How many times had this sound been heard in this game?

“The crossbar stopped Lampard’s shot! The crossbar stopped Chelsea!”

The football hit the crossbar and bounced back, so the offensive was not done yet.

Although Lampard did not shoot the ball into the goal, it also bypassed the entire Forest team rear defensive line. Shevchenko appeared at the ball’s drop point and he had a chance to kick the football into the goal …

“And he shoots—”

The football flew straight out of the crossbar …

He did not kick in the correct position and shot high.

Tony Twain felt his legs go soft. This was too much for his heart to take… He pressed his left chest with his hand and could clearly feel his heart beating wildly.

“Damn it …” He muttered feebly.

Next to him, Kerslake groaned, “You know what, I almost thought I had a heart attack just now…”

※※※

“This could even be arguably the best attacking opportunity for Chelsea in the second half. But the crossbar rejected Lampard and Shevchenko’s follow up shot was directly sent to the sky! Chelsea has terrible luck! Or we should say Nottingham Forest’s luck has been so good …”

Shevchenko held his head in his hands. He had a chance to be a hero … However, with such a short playing time, he had not even warm up from running. His feet were still cool. How could be any feel for a shot? If he had five more minutes … Damn it! Son of a bitch!

Lampard stood in front of the goal, looking weakly at the shocked opposing goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar. He had gotten a lucky shot in the first half. It looked like the luck had run over to the other side in the second half.

He had used too much force. If he had been a little lighter and the football moved down a little bit, it could have flown directly into the goal and Edwin van der Sar would have to put his hands down in surrender …

Gareth Bale wildly hugged and kissed the goalpost. He could no longer used words to describe his mood at this moment.

This missed goal hit Chelsea’s morale hard. Although there was still over a minute left in the game, the Chelsea players appeared no longer able to lift up their spirits to attack. Furthermore, Nottingham Forest kept the football firmly under their feet and was in no hurry to attack. They only kept passing the ball back and forth in the back and midfield. The Nottingham Forest players were unmoved, even if they were collectively booed by the Chelsea fans.

In this way the game was getting closer to the end.

Even the commentator announced, “The game is basically over. Chelsea’s morale was hit by the crossbar just now. They seem to have lost all the courage and fighting spirit all of a sudden. They completely do not know how to play in the remaining minute of the game. The football is now under Nottingham Forest’s control and the Chelsea players are played by them to run around in circles …”

In the stands, a man who hid himself in a windbreaker saw this scene and shook his head silently.

※※※

The football was still at the feet of the Nottingham Forest players. With the exception of Lampard, the Chelsea players had no intention of coming up to grab the ball at all. They could tell that Nottingham Forest wanted to waste the time until the end of the game. No one wanted to go up and be the monkey that had been fooled …

Outside of Nottingham Forest’s substitutes’ bench and technical area, the players and coaches gathered on the sidelines, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle three times so that they could rush in to celebrate.

Caught in the crowd, Twain tried to hide the joy on his face as the game was not over yet. He did not want the people on the field to think they could relax.

The Chelsea fans became still and quiet in the stands at Luzhniki Stadium. The Nottingham Forest fans had been singing nonstop since Eastwood’s goal. Other than Lampard’s shot and Shevchenko’s follow up shot which gave them a slight pause, their singing voices were now mixed with growing cheers. Every one of them—no, all the Nottingham Forest fans—were waiting for that moment to arrive.

The referee looked at the watch. He already had the whistle in his mouth. Perhaps they would hear the sweet-sounding whistle the next second.

There were ten seconds left in the injury stoppage time.

Lampard kept running and finally intercepted the ball! This might be Chelsea’s last chance!

There were seven seconds left in the injury stoppage time.

George Wood charged out from the side and pressed on Lampard till he could not dribble the ball to go out nor pass it. Lampard went crazy trying to get rid of Wood. He was betting that the ball was on the offensive side now. Unless this attack completely failed, the referee would not blow the whistle to end the game. But… first he needed to show that he was attacking and not hopelessly tangled with George Wood in the midfield.

Wood gazed coolly at the Chelsea number 8, who was once his teammate in the England national team. He could relate to his thirst for victory and desire for the title. But unfortunately, we are rivals. I’m going to disappoint you this time.

Lampard was waiting for his teammates’ support. He was afraid to do a return pass, fearing that the referee would blow the whistle as soon as he passed the ball.

Wood discovered that Lampard did not seem to focus all his attention on the football under his feet. This was an opportunity!

Without hesitation, he extended his foot out in the back to poke at the ball. Lampard staggered and lost the ball!

After he realized that the football had been intercepted, Lampard’s heart suddenly turned cold like an ice cave.

Then he heard the last sound he wanted to hear:

“Beep! Beep! Beep—”

※※※

“The game is over—” The commentator’s voice was immediately drowned out by the louder cheers.

The Nottingham Forest players and coaches, waiting on the sidelines, stormed onto the field in a swarm.

Twain did not act so excited. He had not forgotten that he had to shake hands with the other manager. Although he still did not like Grant, he did not refuse to shake hands with the loser as the victor.

Hence he walked smilingly to Grant.

Grant came up with an ashen face.

The two men did not speak. It was not appropriate to say that they shook hands. The tips of their fingers touched, and they immediately parted.

Grant turned around to comfort his players, while Twain was surrounded by the reporters.

“Congratulations on your team’s creation of a new history, Mr. Twain!”

“Thank you.”

Would you like to say a few words?”

“Before the final I thought we should take the title, and that we should be the best team in the whole of Europe … No, the entire world. I’m very happy that this result proves my idea.” Taking the title made the already arrogant Twain even more arrogant, He certainly was qualified to arrogant…

The reporters liked to see him arrogant. Whenever, he was arrogant, he would spout a lot of remarks that made the media feel very happy. The readers would be thrilled by the media’s titillation and then everyone would reach a high.

“Care to give us your evaluation of your opponent? Chelsea caused you a bit of trouble in the second half …”

“It’s just some trouble.” Twain wagged his right index finger, which strikingly resembled Bruce Lee’s gesture, made him a favorite of the photographers. His extremely arrogant picture could appear on all the media’s front pages tomorrow.

“They did a good job in the second half. However well they did, they did not score. Instead they let us score and take the title. This meant we did better than they did!”

“How does it feel to be The Double Winner and the defending champion of the Champions League title?”

“It’s f**king awesome! Ha ha!” Twain guffawed. He could not help but burst out with foul language. It was the pinnacle of his life now and he stood high in the clouds with happiness. He fully enjoyed the compliments, praise and touts of those reporters, the joy of winning the championship, the thrill he had never experienced in his previous life …

※※※

In the VIP box, Shania got up from her seat and looked at Tony Twain, who was surrounded by the reporters. She observed wordlessly for a moment and then said to Gloria next to her, “We should go, Clarice.” ”

Gloria pointed to below and asked her, “You’re really not going to say hello, or goodbye?”

“With so many media around, what am I going to do there?” Shania said with a frown, “I can say goodbye on the phone.”

“Don’t you want to at least let him know you came to watch his game?”

Shania laughed, “This is his moment. I’d better not disturb.”

※※※

David Beckham was with the other players, giving thanks to the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands. He was not as excited as his teammates around him. He had experienced big occasions, but he was still very happy.

He did not expect that when he transferred to Nottingham Forest, he could actually win the Premier League and Champions League titles in one breath within a season. It was almost comparable to his 1998-1999 season at Manchester United.

Who would not like championships titles and who would not like to win?

Suddenly he was hugged by someone from behind. Bale’s excited voice sounded in his ear, “David! We’re the champions! Haha, we’re the champions again!”

Beckham glanced back at the happy little monkey and said, “Ah, yes, we are the champions again.” He emphasized on “again.”

This was his second UEFA Champions League title.

The reporters rushed toward David Beckham and wanted to interview him about what he thought of the championship title as the “newcomer” of Nottingham Forest.

This was definitely not special treatment. The other Nottingham Forest players were being interviewed individually. Everyone simply said a few words and it could become a vivid and lively newspaper report the next day

However, George Wood turned down such an interview. He hid in a slightly quieter spot to call his mum.

The two players, Bendtner and Chimbonda, who was once kicked out of the First Team for fighting during training, also hugged together to celebrate the title. Because of the championship title, all the contradictions did not exist…Of course, it was for the time being.

※※※

Just as this group of people was feverishly celebrating or being interviewed, another group of people had put up a billboard in the center to announce the champion. Against the background of the UEFA Champions League logo, the words were in bold red letters:

The UEFA Champions League Winner of the 2007-2008 Season

Nottingham Forest!

Due to the poor weather conditions, it was still raining, and the award ceremony was not held in the middle of the stadium, but on the president’s podium. The red carpet had been laid out from the bottom of the steps to the top. This was the path to the championship and the road of glory.

Chelsea went up first to receive the first runner prize. Each of them was awarded with a silver medal. It was believed that these people must be unhappy when they received the awards. No one wanted to get a silver medal after he advanced to the final. Like how Twain complained in the locker room three years ago, why should he take the silver medal only to serve as a prop to the champion?

The Chelsea players came to the stage with sullen faces to receive the awards. Without saying much, they did not even have smiles on their faces. Most people took the silver medals off their necks and clutched them in their hands after they came down. When everyone received the award on the stage, they would look at the glittering trophy with reluctance. It was so close and yet so far …

The last person to take the stage to accept the silver medal was the Chelsea manager, Grant, who looked ashen and did not let Platini, who was in charge of presenting the awards, hang the medal around his neck. He received it directly in his hand.

Then he stepped off the podium. Unlike everyone else, he did not look at the trophy the entire time.

The podium was in the middle of the grandstand. On the right-hand side, it was the area where the Nottingham Forest fans gathered and on the left was the Chelsea fans’ area. The right side was bustling and lively while the left side was in a dead silence.

Grant walked down and halfway through, he looked at the silver medal in his hand and then at the silent and heartbroken Chelsea fans. Following which, he made a move that caused an uproar in the stadium.

He threw the silver medal in his hand into the grandstand! As if it were a stone thrown into a calm lake, it set off a ripple effect, and people raised their hands to scramble for the silver medal. The quiet grandstand became boisterous again.

Tony Twain whistled when he saw this scene .. He could understand Grant’s idea of doing so. He probably felt angry, frustrated but powerless. What more could he do except to express his displeasure in this way?

Did Twain not do the same thing at that time? It even caused a stir after the game. But now he did not need to resort to such extreme measures because he was not resentful at all. He was the victor for two years in a row!

“Grant finally grew a pair at the last minute.” Twain said to Dunn next to him in Mandarin.

Dunn nodded and agreed.

If Grant had come to the stage with a smile on his face, politely received the silver medal and then thanked the senior UEFA officials such as Platini, Twain’s disdain for him would only deepen.

Grant throwing the silver medal was just an interlude. Soon, it was the Nottingham Forest players’ turn to come to the stage to receive the awards. The players came on the stage excitedly to receive the awards, which was no different from winning the title the first time. This was joy from the bottom of their hearts.

George Wood was at the end of the line. He was in charge of picking up the trophy in a while, and Twain was in front of him.

“Did you call your mother?” The two men took the time to chat for a while.

“Yes.”

“Is she happy?”

“Very happy.”

Twain smiled, “Ah, that’s good. If she’s happy, her health will improved faster … So, George, for your mother’s sake, you’ve got to keep leading this team to win, you know?”

Wood thought these words were strange to listen to, but he still nodded because he also liked to win.

As Twain walked up the steps, the Nottingham Forest fans in the grandstand on the right side reached out to welcome him, as they were the guards of honor with the pikes. They chanted Tony Twain’s name and praised him for winning another title trophy for the team. The others simply had eyes brimming with tears of excitement, too moved for words. In this grandstand, the chill of the rainy night had long been scattered by the fiery red without a trace.

Amid the cheers of the fans, that was how Twain walked up to the podium step by step. Taking over the gold medal that symbolized the championship title from Platini, his expression was not as happy as it was when he walked up.

“Congratulations, Mr. Tony Twain.” Platini held out his hand.

“Thank you.” Twain simply shook his hand and left. He did not quite like these UEFA officials, even the star player, Platini, whom he had worshipped for a while.

Platini was a little disappointed by his reaction. He wanted to say a few more words …

George Wood was already standing in front of him. He snapped back to the present and hung the gold medal around Wood’s neck. Then he put his hand on the championship trophy.

The key moment had arrived.

When George Wood took over the trophy from Platini’s hand, the cheers from the fans at the stadium had already reached the climax. But he did not just lift it up. He handed the trophy to Tony Twain who was right next to him.

“You take the other side.”

Twain looked at the serious-looking George Wood and laughed. This mover whom he picked up from the streets, this ignorant teenager who claimed he was England’s best player …

—–I can give you a chance, but it depends on you whether you can become the best player in England, George.

It was as if he had spoken those words yesterday.

Taking the other handle of the trophy, Twain and George Wood hoisted it together.

At this moment, the continuous tide of cheers lapped on the shore, stirring up thousands of ripples and the deafening roar drowned out everything.

“Long live Nottingham Forest! All hail The Double Winner!”

Chapter 658 - His Majesty the King

When Nottingham Forest landed at Birmingham Airport with the championship trophy, the people that welcomed the team stretched from Birmingham to Nottingham. The motorway turned into a red ribbon, passing on the message that Nottingham Forest had returned home with honor all the way to Nottingham. London’s Heathrow Airport was not chosen because the police did not want the Chelsea fans there to meet the Chelsea team, to clash with the Nottingham Forest fans who would come to meet Nottingham Forest in order to avoid a tragedy from happening.

On this occasion, the BBC television station did a live broadcast. This was the first time since the restructuring of the Champions League that a defending champion had successfully been crowned a champion. This team from England was the pride of all England. They were naturally going to publicize it.

To that end, BBC also planned to produce a two-hour long DVD called <Red Europe>, detailing Nottingham Forest’s glorious course this season. The DVD had the invited famous BBC football commentator, John Motson, responsible for the background commentary. After the production was completed, it would be released for sale in which the earnings would be split with the Nottingham Forest Football Club.

This was a small sum of money; which Allan Adams had fought. In addition, the live broadcast of their return this time as well as the celebration party held at the City Ground stadium this evening were also sold. For today’s Nottingham Forest Football Club, even a penny which could be earned would be made.

Tony Twain led the team to win the Champions League and Premier League titles. The broadcasting fees and winning bonuses this season were quite a lot. However, this money was still a drop in the bucket for the massive new stadium construction plan. Allan Adams must continue to look for opportunities to make money.

Everyone was happy on the flight back to Birmingham from Moscow. Allan Adams also did not talk to Twain about the commercial games in the summer. He knew Twain was a bit resistant to the commercialization and did not want to ruin his mood now.

On the way back to Nottingham, everyone was happy, but their vacation time for this summer could be said to be almost zero. That might be the price that must be paid to win the championship.

On May 23rd, the team was dismissed for the season and the players with duties to report for the national teams would travel to their national training camps to take on the UEFA European Championship which would begin in June. By the end of the European Championship at the end of June, they only had a one-week break and would assemble again to travel as far afield as China to start the summer commercial tour in that distant country. And then from China, they would travel to Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia. By the time they returned to England, the FA Community Shield would not be far from them. Following which, it would be the new season of the Premier League and the UEFA Super Cup. The players in the team who had to compete in the Olympic teams also had to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

Looking at this competition schedule, it could said that the Nottingham Forest players would not have any more breaks from the start of last season until the end of next season.

In fact, one could disregard the fact that Twain had been very happy and excited on the way home. But in actual fact, whenever he had a chance to calm down alone, he would start to think about what Nottingham Forest would do next season.

In truth, he did not quite agree with the commercial tour this summer. If he had a choice, he would have preferred it to be last summer, so that at least the team’s schedule would not have been so tight, and the players would have had plenty of time to rest.

However, Allan told him it was impossible. If it had been last summer, it was the period for the AFC Asian Cup, and East Asia would be focused on the Asian Cup held in four countries in Southeast Asia. It would not have been effective to make their fortune in Asia when there was a lack of attention during that period. And as for next summer? By then, Beckham would end his two-year contract with Nottingham Forest, and they would lose the cash cow. Allan would not have mobilized the team to go to Asia for little profit. Even if he wanted to, perhaps he would not have made much… As a result, after much consideration, only this summer was the most appropriate.

Consequently, Twain asked him. With the UEFA European Championship and the Olympics this summer, would it not be more distracting? Allan said the Olympics were wide-ranging sports games which had little to do with football and there would be no direct conflict. And the timing of the UEFA European Championship was even better. The Asians, whose passion for football were stirred once again by the UEFA European Championship, would increase their desire for football. For Nottingham Forest to go to Asia as The Double Winner during this time, it would simply be … “sending help in the hour of need” as the Chinese saying went.

Therefore, there was no more appropriate time than this year.

Twain was convinced by Allan—what else could he do if he was not persuaded? He was not the owner of the club. The owner had agreed to the matter, so he could only to follow the instructions. But he made a request to Allan that since they would not get a break in the summer and would also face multiple tournaments next season, the team’s First Team had to be strengthened. Several players of sufficient strength needed to be brought in. He was in charge of these candidates.

Allan agreed right away. He said that he could go observe the UEFA European Championship on his own, and he could make his move when he saw good players.

※※※

Speaking of the UEFA European Championship, Twain and Dunn were equally busy this summer. After the team was dismissed, they would have a little break before Twain would go to Austria and Switzerland with the BBC television station to be a guest pundit for the BBC’s live broadcast. Since the World Cup, many spectators liked Tony Twain’s style of commentary for the games. He was sharp as nails and quick to draw blood but did not lack a sense of humor. BBC was also in line with the public opinion and once again invited Twain to be a guest commentator. There was no England team this time, so he could speak freely and not be afraid of hurting the national pride. People wanted to hear how he was going to bury those European powerhouses. On the other hand, Dunn would be active in multiple arenas to observe players with potential worth buying by the Forest team. Similarly, busy like Dunn, the Forest team’s ten over full-time football scouts would also be present in the stadium stands for each game.

Having won the Champions League in a row and become The Double Winner, Twain’s pursuit of honor and victory did not stop there. His goal was to create a new dynasty and era in European football like the consecutive five-times UEFA Champions League champion, Real Madrid, the golden era of Inter Milan, the Dutch Trio of AC Milan …

To make Nottingham Forest a representative and symbol of European football during this period.

This goal was quite ambitious, so the efforts must continue. They had to invite the best players to join and continuously achieve victories. To make people feel the desperate oppressive force, maintain ten thousand years of constant stability and show the dominance and arrogance in vying for supremacy. He wanted to engrave this period of Nottingham Forest in history even after one hundred years!

With only a few championships titles under his belt, it was too little to want to stop and live it up …

As for the people who left the team this summer, Twain had largely thought about it. Because the team was in a good shape at the moment, and the results were stable and excellent, so there was no need for a big infusion of players to adjust the team. Nor did he have to deal with his players at low prices in a hurry to get rid of excess baggage. Twain insisted that since they were members of the European champion team, their prices could not be too low. He had to be satisfied before he would nod and agree.

If Chimbonda could be sold at a good price, then Twain would sell him and not do anything to retain him. On the one hand, he was older and did not quite fit with the team’s demands; On the other hand, he and Bendtner made a very bad impression on Twain with the internal brawl.

As for Nicklas Bendtner, the other party involved in the brawl, Twain showed a high degree of tolerance. Did this look a little unfair to Chimbonda? But Bendtner was younger than him and had more potential for development. After van Nistelrooy became too old, the position of the team’s main center forward must belong to Bendtner.

As for Sidwell … Twain did not want him to go. But if the other side had to go, Twain was not in any position to force him to stay. After all, he came to Nottingham Forest for a season, and did not get a chance to play in an important game other than to play in some of the insignificant games. To a player who was only twenty-six years old, the reality was too brutal.

As for Ribéry? He had just been elected the best player in the Champions League final and was even likely to win the UEFA’s Player of the Year. He was already red-hot, but Twain was definitely not going to let him go. No matter what sky-high transfer fees the big clubs offered for Ribéry, he was unmoved. Franck Ribéry was his own men, the core of this team and the main framework. To move him would be equivalent to the demolition of this team. Twain was not going to let this happen in front of his eyes.

There was also Grosso. Twain sincerely intended to sell this Italian “great left back.” The season was over, and Twain must admit that he had made the wrong judgment call in the first place. This man’s most brilliant moment was at the World Cup in Germany. Following which, his career progressively declined. With his traits and style, he was fated not to be the left back that Twain needed. He might as well use Leighton Baines than him.

Grosso certainly did not like British food and weather either. He made slow progress in his English and had some problems communicating with his teammates. In short, this was a loner who was outside the team’s system. While Twain was still a fan, he was misled by Huang Jianxiang whose proclamation of his ability made him famous overseas at that time.

Now was a good time to correct this mistake—Donadoni actually recruited Grosso who did not have more than twenty appearances in Nottingham Forest in a season, to the national team. If he had a chance to play in the UEFA European Championship—Twain believed he would still be better suited to play in the national team—maybe he could find a buyer for him.

As for the others, thanks to the success of Twain’s rotation system this season, most players had been given plenty of appearances. There were no incidents of anyone wanting to leave the team due to conflicts arising from the lack of opportunities for appearances. Twain could lead a complete Nottingham Forest team and continue his campaign for next season.

※※※

When the convoy arrived in Nottingham, Twain saw another spectacular sight of “the turn out of the whole town.” They received everyone’s cheers in the city square and the glittery Champions League trophy was placed in front of the crowd. A variety of banners unfurled below, and everyone was cheering. It was as exciting as winning the Champions League for the first time.

A reporter exclaimed as he watched this scene, “If Brian Clough could live to the present and see this scene, I wonder how he would feel?”

At the City Ground stadium, in front of tens of thousands of spectators, the players filled the Champions League trophy with champagne and then took a gulp each. It was really drinking to one’s fill to celebrate a heroic deed with good wine.

After they completed their public appearance in the city square, the team had dinner with the mayor at the mayor’s residence before going to the City Ground stadium for a final grand celebration.

At the dinner party, Mr. Mayor, who was a Nottingham Forest fan, tightly clasped Tony Twain’s hand and was beside himself with excitement.

“This is a remarkable achievement, Tony! A defending champion had not been born since the restructuring of the Champions League! And now this honor belongs to Nottingham and Nottingham Forest! You did a fantastic job! Now that the whole world knows the city of Nottingham again. I have to consider whether to confer you an honorary citizen, Tony.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. But I already am a city resident of Nottingham.” Twain was still more sober headed, as the most exciting period had passed for him.

“Then I’ll erect a statue for you, haha!”

Twain smiled and did not answer. In his view, the mayor was thoroughly drunk. A statue? He did not want it. To erect it only for the birds to poop on top of it? Facing Dunn already gives me a feeling of looking in the mirror every day. Don’t tell me I need another mirror? Wait till I’m dead, Mr. Mayor …

“Cheers, Mr. Mayor!” He changed the subject and raised the glass of champagne in his hand.

“Cheers, Tony! Are there any plans for next season that you can reveal to me in advance?” At the dinner party, Mr. Mayor looked more like a regular Nottingham Forest fan.

“Of course, it will still be more championship titles. Until you’re bored of them, Mr. Mayor.” Twain winked.

“That’s very good! But I’m not going to get bored! There can never be too many titles! Ha ha!”

※※※

That night, the City Ground stadium once again became the focus of attention for all Nottingham Forest fans.

In addition to some theatrical performances, the most anticipated highlight was the appearance of the championship team players carrying the two Champions League trophies and Premier League trophy, as well as the EFL Cup trophy.

After a careful planning of this celebration party by the club, they chose to have these trophies appear together. It was also to state clearly an attitude—a full affirmation and commendation of Tony Twain’s results, as well as to publicize these results. They wanted to portray him as the second “Brian Clough” in the club’s history.

The lights of the stadium dimmed, with only a few spotlights coming together to form a circular spot. All the Forest players were enveloped in the beams of light as they ran out of the tunnel, individually receiving the cheers from the fans.

One by one they ran out, and the cheers at the stadium went on and on.

When it was Wes Morgan’s turn as the team’s third captain, he stepped onto the field, taking the EFL Cup, the first trophy won by Twain’s Forest team from the staff’s hands.

The cheers of the fans went up to the next level when they saw the appearance of the first trophy.

Then it was Eastwood and Beckham. The two of them carried the Premier League title trophy and emerged in everyone’s view.

“Thirty years later, we won the topflight championship title again! The English Premier League championship trophy appears at the City Ground for the first time!” John Motson, who was invited to host the entire celebration party, shouted excitedly.

“And what’s next?” He asked.

Nearly thirty thousand fans responded in unison, “UEFA Champions League!!”

Indeed, Franck Ribéry came out with a replica of the Champions League trophy they won last season and waved to the stands. As an important player who helped the team win the UEFA Champions League titles these two seasons, he was awarded the honor of appearing alone with the championship trophy even though he was not the captain.

After Ribéry, it was George Wood’s turn. As the team’s current captain, he made a grand appearance with the other Champions League trophy.

The cheers outside were deafening. Twain stood in the tunnel, waiting to call him to go out.

It was at this time that Kerslake and Dunn ran up from behind, holding a pile of red stuff in their hands.

“Take off your suit.” He shouted as he ran up to Twain.

“Why?” Twain thought it odd.

“Never mind that, just take it off!” If Kerslake was not holding the things in both hands, he wished he could do it himself.

Twain did as he was told and took off his suit. To be honest, he also felt very warm …

But then something that made him feel even warmer came up.

Kerslake shook out the pile of red stuff he had in his hands—apparently it was a king’s red cloak to be draped over the shoulders!

He was dumbfounded when he saw this thing in Kerslake hands.

Next Kerslake did not wait for him to react, and just put the cloak over Twain’s shoulder. It was red edged with white fur and gold pattern. Twain did not know if this was the real deal, but it has a nice feel to it.

“How does it feel?” Kerslake asked with a grin. Before Twain could answer, he tapped his forehead and turned around to take a crown from Dunn’s hands!

Under the white light of the tunnel, the jewel in the crown also shone brightly.

“This isn’t real, is it?” Twain whistled.

“Imitation.” Dunn replied.

Kerslake put the crown upright on Twain’s head before he walked back in satisfaction and appraised him with a tilt of his head as if to admire a piece of art. “Good, it’s got the feel.” He smiled.

“This …” Twain was still puzzled by this.

“How can a king who goes out to receive the adoration from the people, be dressed so shabbily? Kerslake clapped his hands and laughed, “Now you look the part!”

Twain laughed along too, “This is a good idea, I like it.” He accepted the address “king” without any reservations.

“The people in the stands don’t know yet.” Kerslake pointed outside, with a mysterious excitement on his face.

The hem of the long cloak dragged at the back and Twain pulled up the two sides in front of his chest with his hands to prevent this heavy king’s cloak from slipping down. And then he walked out of the tunnel in this way.

John Motson was still also stoking the mood of fans as he announced, “Next, the final person …”

Before he could finish, there were already eager fans who loudly disclosed the answer, “Tony Twain—-”

“YES! Let’s welcome …”

Dressed up like a king, Tony Twain slowly walked out, and the entire stadium exploded with excitement when they saw his getup.

All the men, women and children screamed like crazy and one of the players whistled, “The boss is so cool!”

Twain stood on the sidelines once he walked out of the tunnel. He gripped the collar of the cloak in one hand, grabbed the crown on his head with the other hand and raised them high toward the night sky.

Whether it was the fans in the stands or the players standing in the middle of the field, they all bowed down and raised their arms like they were kowtowing and there were whoops of excitement coming from their mouths.

“… Welcome, Your Majesty!!”

Morton finally shouted out his prepared lines.

Twain calmly accepted this special treatment with his head held high. He was not embarrassed at all. He fully deserved the honor, and thought he was the king of the team.

The four trophies were like the four bright gems in the crown, dazzling and eye-catching, revealing the king’s brilliant feats to the world.

“He really looks like a king …” Kerslake exclaimed as he stood in the tunnel.

“No.” Dunn shook his head and corrected him, “He is a king.”

Twain stood on the field and held the crown high, surrounded by darkness, as if the light beam pierced through the night sky and shone from above to envelope him. Under the light, the crown in his hand emitted dazzling rays, making it hard for people to look directly. He stood in this light, with his head proudly held high and chest puffed out. He looked somewhat dazzling and indomitable.

I have brought glory to my subjects, and I am your king.

Chapter 659 - Cat

That crazy night had already become a thing of the past, but the fervor set off by Tony Twain was far from over. As a result of the live broadcast, the footage of Tony Twain dressed as a king was seen by everyone in the country. Whether they liked or disliked him, they were shocked by his action.

Even an arrogant manager like Mourinho would not accept tens of thousands of people bowing down to him in public so naturally. Donning the king’s cloak and a crown on his head, all he lacked was a scepter… Looking at his expression, it was as if all these were things he should enjoy.

England was still a traditional country at the end of the day. Some people in the football circles still could not abide those who departed from established practices. However, this time Tony Twain’s antic was even more exaggerated.

He called himself the king?! Who does he think he is!

Some of the press started bombarding such an arrogant display and subsequently more people joined the ranks of the critics.

“Tony Twain might as well declare independence.”

“With only two UEFA Champions League titles and he wants to ascend the throne? He’s too immature.”

“If a clown like him can be considered a king, then what should Ferguson, Paisley, Shankly, Busby be titled as? God?”

“Nottingham Forest is collectively infected with ‘Tony Twain’s virus’. Granted that he’s crazy himself, but now the entire club and all the Nottingham Forest fans are crazy like him as well, it’s incomprehensible.”

“Look at his revolting face. Does he really think he’s the king? It’s ridiculous. He’s only a clown in our eyes!”

“Dear God, who’s going to save this addled-brain wretch?!”

“There must be something wrong with the world…”

※※※

“It’s really lively.” In the BBC’s office building, John Motson held a bunch of newspapers and magazines as a meet-and-greet gift for Tony Twain. He pointed to the headlines that censured Twain to the other man with a smile on his face that clearly showed “glee over his misfortune.”

Twain grimaced, “A bunch of poor ignorant bastards…”

“You’ve been quiet in your column, Tony. I don’t think it suits your style very well.” Motson tossed the newspapers aside and chatted with Twain.

BBC 5 was currently preparing to go to Switzerland and Austria to cover the UEFA European Championship this year and the floor was hectic. Motson happened to have a little free time, so he made a joke at Twain’s expense about the recent “King’s Gate” that everyone had hotly hyped.

“What can I say? It was just an exaggerated way of expressing my feelings at that time, but this bunch of idiots took it seriously.”

“You just have to explain clearly, and it’ll be fine…”

“No way.” Twain shook his head and said, “I’m not going to compromise with that bunch of idiotic media. They want to hear my sorry words, but I refuse. I want to make them anxious!”

Motson saw Twain’s lively expression and laughed with his head thrown back.

After his laughter subsided, he wiped away his tears and said, “You’re really a newsmaker. News follow you everywhere… No, you’re the ‘news!’”

“John, can I take this as a compliment to me?” Twain blinked.

“You’re really thick-skinned, Tony.”

“I have to face the disparagement from these media all day long. I can’t survive by being thin-skinned.” Twain was happy to hear John Motson’s comment. He was indeed thick skinned…

Motson nodded and agreed with Twain’s explanation. “But to be honest… I was a little surprised when I saw this king’s spectacle. I thought to myself, if I was pushed to the stage, dressed like that and had to face the barrage of comments, it’s really tough to deal with …”

“I didn’t think so much. Everyone was happy at the time. It’s too dampening to think about it.”

“Hey, your character… is so complicated.” Motson smiled as he shook his head.

Twain felt it was meaningless to talk to Motson about the topic that had been hyped up by the media, so he asked, “Is there anything here for me to do?”

“Here? No. We fly to Basel, Switzerland tomorrow to get ready to report on the opening ceremony in four days.” Motson informed Twain of the plan.

Twain nodded and said, “In that case, I’ll go back to the hotel first.”

“Okay.” It was only when Motson walked Twain to the elevator that he suddenly thought of a matter, “Oh, yes. There’s one thing I want to tell you. It’s rather interesting.”

Twain gave him his full attention.

“Carl Spicer, a reporter for the Daily Telegraph.”

Twain was familiar with this name. He appeared to be a veteran journalist whom he often saw his name in the newspapers. But what did this man have to do with himself?

“He decided to do a rigorous social investigation the form of a questionnaire plus street interviews. He will also interview a lot of famous and unknown media people, commentators, footballers, coaches and club chairmen. It’s a large-scaled plan. The subject of the investigation is—” Looking at Twain, Motson laughed, “<What are your thoughts on this man, Tony Twain?>…. Ha ha!”

At this point he could not contain his laughter and chortled.

Twain did not laugh. He just gave a shrug and said, “Spending taxpayers’ money just to find out if I’m popular or not?”

“Spicer thinks this is an interesting social phenomenon—-a successful football manager who has a bad reputation in the public media and does not receive the recognition that commensurate with his accomplishments at all.”

“He’s lamenting the unfairness on my behalf?”

“No, he just wonders why it is so.”

With a “ding” sound, the elevator door opened in front of the two men.

“Curiosity can kill the cat…” Twain muttered as he walked into the elevator, while Motson waved to him outside, “Don’t forget tomorrow’s flight. You can go directly to the airport.”

“I won’t forget, that is if I’m not killed by all this curiosity tonight….”

“Hahahaha—”

※※※

When he returned to the hotel he was staying in, he was held up by two media outlets at the entrance.

“You’ve been waiting here all afternoon because you heard I’m staying here?” Twain looked at the two men in front of him and asked.

He came to London with little fanfare. There was no need to go around publicizing where he stayed as he could be approached by the reporters, which was really… annoying.

A man and a woman from two different media outlets had waited here for an afternoon according to their self-introduction. They want to ask Tony Twain a few questions because they wanted to hear Twain’s response to what the media had said recently.

The devil knows how things have been developing between you two the entire afternoon… The two people looked intimate. They were not from the same media company but acted very close which caused Twain’s imagination to run wild.

“Yes, we have a lot of questions, Mr. Tony Twain…” The male reporter could not wait to ask, but Twain stopped him with a gesture.

“I admire you for being so dedicated to your job, but my time is also my time, so I can’t answer all your questions one by one, Mr. Reporter.” He stood in front of the hotel elevator and pressed the button, waiting for the elevator which was currently on the 18th floor to come down. “See that? I only have time before it gets to the first floor.” He said with a smile as he pointed to the display above the elevator.

The man and the woman met gazes and found it a little difficult. They had managed to get hold of Twain after much difficulty. How could they not ask as many questions as possible to get more sound bites?

“Pick the important questions.” Twain thought of a way for them. Some people in the lobby had already glanced over here and Twain did not want to stand here to viewed like a monkey.

This time the female reporter stepped forward and cleared her throat, “What do you think of Grant throwing the silver medal at the awards ceremony, Mr. Twain?”

“That’s his freedom which is none of my business. The medal was given to him, so he could do whatever he wanted. No one has the right to say anything to him.” This time, Twain stood on Grant’s side.

“As to…” Twain’s tone had been very unfriendly toward the reporters, so they had to weigh their words, “that ‘King’s Gate’ incident…”

This was the media’s abbreviated term for the incident whereby Twain dressed as a king in his appearance. Like his original “rape-gate” incident, Twain felt that these reporters had not grown these few years, and still quite sub-standard when it came to giving names. He knew what these reporters wanted to ask, so he replied first, “I have nothing to say. It’s my freedom to wear whatever I want to the celebration party. It’s nobody’s business. I don’t need to hold a press conference to explain it just because I wore something that few people would wear. Would you go around explaining it to other people just because you’re wearing a ‘Hello Kitty’ underpants today?” Twain stared at the male reporter and asked. That man reflexively glanced down…

“The Queen’s lead singer, Mercury, did the same thing after their London concert. And I don’t see it causing a ruckus? And yet you kicked up a big fuss to ask me what happened… How do I know what’s going on?” Speaking of this, Twain became angry.

It’s really not easy to be a public figure. Even getting dressed up would invite criticism … Everyone should just f**k off!

“Ah!” The female reporter caught a glimpse of the number above that had jumped to level four. She gave a yelp and threw out another question, “Carl Spicer plans to do a survey on your popularity and intends publish the study after its conclusion. He said that if it were to be published successfully, he would send you an autographed copy. What do you think?”

With a “ding” sound, the elevator door opened next to Twain, and the passengers inside were somewhat surprised to see two reporters holding tape recorders and small notebooks. But when they saw who the interviewee was, they all understood.

There was no business of concern to them here. Close proximity with this guy, Tony Twain meant trouble, so it was better to stay further away… One by one, they quickly walked away from the side.

With one foot into the elevator, Twain turned to the two reporters and said with a straight face, “I feel this is quite meaningless.”

With that, he dashed into the elevator and the door closed between him and the reporters.

In the empty elevator, Twain took a slight breath. But he still dare not completely relax. He knew that the elevator also had a surveillance camera. Now he was known nationwide, he could not rule out that someone would sell the private recording in the elevator to make money. Real celebrities did not have the slightest space of their own and were under the media’s watch at all times and everywhere. This kind of life was really tiring…

He weakly leaned against the wall and wanted a rest. But he caught himself only a second later and left the wall to stand straight in the elevator again. He did not want anyone to see his feeble side, not even for a second’s respite.

Looking up at the camera on the ceiling of the elevator and surrounded by icy steel panels, Twain felt like a cat in a sealed cage. The air felt thinner. Perhaps he would first die of suffocation one day before he could die of old age.

That’s too ridiculous… The king of Nottingham Forest is in fact a cat that was suffocated?! Twain grinned at the camera.

※※※

When Twain flew to Switzerland the next day with the BBC 5 crew, including Motson, his partner, Dunn, had already been there for almost a week.

This time for the UEFA European Championship, Nottingham Forest sent out all the scouts, half of whom were responsible for tracking the performances of the Forest team’s existing players in their national teams and ensuring their conditions in order to prepare for the new season. The other half were to observe the non-Forest players who had the potential to perform well. The young and older were all under consideration.

The people in charge of all this work were Dunn and Kerslake. Dunn led the group of scouts who observed the new players, while Kerslake led the unit that tracked the Forest players. The two men had a clear division of labor and would eventually put together all the information to hand it over to Tony Twain after. It was up to him to decide who they should buy and who to continue to investigate…

After the UEFA European Championship, the scouts still could not take a break. They would be going to China to continue their tour of the Olympics to find younger and more promising talented players. This time, their focus was mainly on countries outside Europe.

Once all the players’ profile came out, they would then deposited in the world’s player library specially produced by Sports Interactive for the Forest team, which could be easily transferred when needed. Twain’s ambition was so great that from now on, he would slowly gather young talent from all over the world. In this way five, ten, fifteen, twenty years later, Nottingham Forest would have the resources to establish itself in this cruel world: an excellent and loyal to the team unit under his personal command. The glory of Nottingham Forest would never be just a two-season meteor, nor a comet that only showed its brilliance once every few decades, but a star like the sun—its eternal presence, forever glowing and radiating warm, lasting five billion years.

For everyone at Nottingham Forest, being busy would be the only theme this summer. Everyone was occupied.

This would be the first time since he met Shania that Twain and Shania would not spent their holidays together. Shania was busy filming, studying and doing runway shows. Whereas Twain was busy as a pundit for BBC during the UEFA European Championship and taking the team on its Asian tour. It could already be next year when they had a chance to catch their breath and miss each other…

Chapter 659.1 - The Busy Summer Begins

After this UEFA European Championship, Twain reaffirmed one thing yet again — in addition to being suited to be a manager, there was another job that fit him: a guest pundit for a football match.

When Twain was just an ordinary football fan, every time he watched televised games and listened to the incongruous, rubbish, unintelligible, amateurish, and insouciant commentaries from guest commentators and pundits from other industries, he felt that he could do better. However, he could do nothing curse silently. Whenever he watched the games, he had to endure substandard commentary time and time again unless he turned the sound off, but then he would not be able to hear the shouts coming from the stadium. What would be the point of watching the games live then?

All was well now. He did not have to put up with that noise anymore, because he could make his own noise!

During the period when the UEFA European Championship was in progress, an audience member called in to protest Tony Twain's style of commentary, arguing that his caustic style and language was a noise to him.

As a fan, Twain did not think that once he became a guest pundit, there would be people who thought that his commentary was garbage.

But he did not have to worry about the opinions of the audience. John Motson divulged to him that the top brass at the BBC was happy to see "a famous popular TV host" like Twain unleashed on live television every game, because it attracted viewers, generated ample topics, and brought in abundant advertising dollars.

Twain's commentary was always so biting that Motson found it unacceptable at times. He could relentlessly criticize star players and managers during the live games and be totally vicious with his words. If the target of his criticism were to hear his commentary, they would not hesitate to pounce on him and beat him to the ground.

While there were people who hated it, there were some people who liked it. Some people were extremely fond of listening to Twain's commentary. They even left comments on the BBC's website that if the BBC dared change to another commentator, they would call every day to harass them until they brought him back.

It was not that Twain's comments were more profound or original than other experts. The key was that his gift of gab allowed him to bring the game to life, and he was very good at grasping the interesting highlights in games, which entertained the audience. Twain turned a football game into a live talk show.

The BBC also seized the opportunity to sign a long-term contract with Twain during the UEFA European Championship. In the contract, BBC 5 hired Tony Twain as a special commentator for the television station. Whenever the England national team played, he would temporarily put aside his position as the Nottingham Forest manager and switch to be a television commentator. The contractual relationship would continue until the end of the 2010 World Cup, which could then be renewed depending on the circumstances.

Besides being a brand ambassador for Armani, it was another source of income for Twain. Even though it could not be compared to Armani's endorsement fees, even a small mosquito could be considered meat. Not only could he do a job he liked, he could also earn money. Such a good thing was hard to come by.

Back at the UEFA European Championship, the tournament caused Twain to repeatedly exclaim that a football was round and that anything was possible on the field.

The strong start of Italy and the Netherlands had brought them an early exit instead. Russian football had signs that it would repeat its glory period. After beating the Netherlands, it lost to Spain immediately. The German tank had been as stable as ever, but lost due to the passionless Ballack who followed up his post-2002 period to become a three-time runner-up. Chelsea lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup final and finished runner-up. In the end, it was unsurprising that the well-deserved Spain won because throughout the tournament, it was the only team that had not made any mistakes and been consistent, both defensively and offensively. It would have been an injustice if it did not win the championship. Casillas continued his excellent form from Real Madrid, while Villa vented all his frustration at the UEFA European Championship due to his unhappy time at Valencia. After winning all six games, Spain was back on top in Europe after forty-four years.

Although Italy was eliminated early, Twain was pleased that Grosso's performance on the national team was much better than his performance on the Forest team. What looked to be a fall in his price could now be bullish due to the UEFA European Championship. During his time as a commentator at the UEFA European Championship, the French and Italian clubs inquired if Grosso could be sold.

Grosso was just a little surprise. The biggest surprise came from the Russian core player, Arshavin. Having been shown a red card in the last game of the UEFA European Championship qualifying round, he did not play in the first two games during the group stage and Russia's results had not been good. Especially from their crushing 0:4 defeat to Spain, there seemed to be no hope for the team. Twain, who was in charge of commentary for the game, watched Akinfeev pick up the ball from the net repeatedly and shook his head. The game caused Nottingham Forest's second goalkeeper to almost lose his reputation. The responsibility for the rapid concede of the goal did not lie with him, but people would only focus on the hapless position of the goalkeeper.

Following that, Russia narrowly beat Greece 1:0 in the second round of the group stage and finally retained the hope of making the cut from the group stage. It also planted the seed for Arshavin's comeback.

Arshavin made a comeback in the third round of the group stage and led Russia to a clean 2:0 defeat of Sweden. The Russian team's performance for the game turned everything on its head. The lineup was almost the same. Just because of Arshavin, Russia's attack was more threatening and stronger in its push forward.

After qualifying for the knockout stage, their 3:1 defeat of the Netherlands was almost down to a one-man performance by Arshavin. The superior Dutch team, which was indomitable in the group stage, was ineffective up against the diminutive Arshavin. Their defenders could not defend against Arshavin's strike on both wings. Unless the Dutchmen fouled, his speed and technique forced to them to let him pass.

The game made Twain feel proud and vindicated. With such a performance from his player, it showed his foresight for bringing Arshavin in a year ago.

The match was dubbed the "Nottingham Forest Derby" by the Nottingham media, with two Russian players and three Dutch players in the starting lineup. In addition to the excellent Arshavin and Akinfeev, van Nistelrooy also received van der Vaart's assist in the game to score the equalizer in the final minute, dragging the game into overtime. Only the poor van der Sar became a sacrificial victim. He had to pick up the ball from the net three times, especially two goal concedes in overtime, which completely crushed the Dutchman's spirit.

No matter which team was the ultimate winner, the game delighted Twain, as it proved to the world that Nottingham Forest's players were the best and that the Double was definitely not based on dumb luck.

Our players have ability!

※※※

While Twain passed judgement on the games at BBC 5, Dunn and Kerslake had results in their work. Dunn and his scouting team finally compiled a huge list of up to thirty players with not only names but the most detailed information on each player and even a video of their games in the European Championship.

Twain did not have to do anything. He just had to read the report and understand the information about the players and their performances.

Benzema was perhaps the most famous player among these players. Dunn thought highly of the French center forward's ability, but he was the first to be ruled out of Twain's selection list. It was not that Twain did not appreciate his ability, but he was a Lyon player. Lyon's boss was a notorious miser in European football, best known for selling his players at high prices. Now that all of Europe's big clubs were watching Benzema, Aulas would not accept offers less than fifty million euros, and what Nottingham Forest lacked the most was money.

Twain would also not consider Huntelaar for similar reasons. Moreover, Twain felt that the team's current four forwards configuration was reasonable. He did not think that there was a need to add a new striker. If one needed to be introduced, it was better to introduce very young strikers and put them on the youth team to be trained or on loan to train. The First Team did not need to bring in any strikers at the moment.

Nottingham Forest needed to bring in new players in the rear half of the field for the new season. If the right candidate could be found for the defensive midfielder position, Twain would consider it. Sidwell's agent had called Twain during the European Championship, hoping that the club would agree to Sidwell's search for a new owner. After Twain made a pretense of trying to urge him to stay, he agreed in principle to Sidwell's switch of allegiance, but he had to be satisfied with the price.

If Sidwell left, the issue of finding a substitute for George Wood would be put back on the agenda.

Sun Jihai was a utility player, but he was too old, and his form was declining. He was barely able to play as a full-back. Twain would not feel assured to hand an important position such as defensive midfielder to him.

For some well-known reasons, George Wood's substitute was very difficult to find, but Twain was thinking about a solution. The team's goal for the next season was still multiple tournaments. Twain intended to strive for the English FA Cup, which he had never won. That meant that Nottingham Forest would face tough competition in three tournaments starting in January. A rotation system was a must, and Twain planned to put Wood on rotation as well. After all, it was dangerous to place such an important position solely on Wood's shoulders. What if Wood was suspended? If there was a good defensive midfielder who could share the pressure, Twain could deploy with more ease in the face of multiple tournaments.

If it was possible, Twain hoped to have the team try to manipulate the transfer of the Spanish youngster, Rubén de la Red. He was keen on de la Red's ability to control the pace of attack, which could be a useful supplement to George Wood. At the UEFA European Championship, de la Red cleverly seized his chance and scored a crucial goal in his first game for the Spanish national team. He played remarkably. Of course, de la Red was only an option. If he wanted to focus more on the defense, there was another defensive midfielder who graduated from the same school — Javi García.

One of the two discarded Real Madrid players could transfer to Nottingham Forest in the summer — it was to be noted as a possibility. Twain was not confident in Real Madrid and Getafe being willing to let go of the players. The people at Real Madrid were not blind either, plus the performances of the two young players last season were well known.

There was also a defensive midfielder who played outstandingly at the UEFA European Championship that could be considered: the Swiss national footballer and the twenty-four-year-old, G?khan Inler, who played in Udinese Calcio. He had a strong view of the big picture, exquisite technical skills, and was strong in defense. He was an excellent defensive midfielder from every angle who could replace George Wood's position in some games. Furthermore, he did not become famous by relying on the UEFA European Championship. Twain did not have to worry that he was just a shooting star. Italy's venerated media La Gazzetta dello Sport once named Inler "the best deal in Serie A of the summer."

Cannavaro's injury during a tackle became Giorgio Chiellini's opportunity to make his mark. His performance in the European Championships was the biggest discovery of the Italy national team. But with his lesson from Grosso, Twain no longer approved of the Italian players and would not consider bringing in Chiellini, even though the Italian youngster could play as a center-back and left-back.

The right-back, Chimbonda, was certain to leave. Even if he did not want to, Twain would make it clear that the black Frenchman was not in his plans. So to rely solely on Rafinha and Sun Jihai, whose form had declined sharply, was not enough to meet the team's requirements for a right-back competing in the multiple tournaments. Looking for a good right back was crucial.

Twain already had a goal. The Portugal national team's and Porto's main right back, José Bosingwa. Nottingham Forest would face its arch-rivals Chelsea and Manchester United in the battle for Bosingwa. Twain was willing to stake the entire transfer budget to take Bosingwa. If he did not bolster the right-back position, then Nottingham Forest's right side would be buried with a ticking bomb that would implode at an indefinite time in the new season.

On the left-back side, due to Grosso's poor performance, Twain was reacquainted with Leighton Baines. He believed that he was still very useful in a purely defensive assignment and did not have to clear him out of the team so quickly. Therefore, the club intended to offer Baines a contract extension until 2011.

Nottingham Forest's center-back area was filled with talent and did not need any new players.

Pepe's performance with the Portugal national team had been solid. His goal after a long-distance run in the first game was amazing. Twain was not going to let him go.

Piqué was selected for the Spain national team but did not get a chance to play. He only witnessed the major tournament and won a championship title, which only benefitted his growth without any harm. The only trouble was that it was rumored that after two seasons of pain, Barcelona intended to focus on reshaping their defense and learning from its arch-rival, Real Madrid. Their target was Gerard Piqué, who had a Bar?a pedigree. Twain would not agree to Piqué's departure, but Twain was a little worried about Piqué's thoughts. After all, he was from La Masia. It was not clear whether he still felt that playing for Bar?a was the only goal of his career.

Kompany was a substitute for Pepe or Piqué on the Forest team, but he had improved significantly and had the talent to occasionally play as a defensive midfielder. Twain regarded the youngster as important. If Piqué was determined to respond to Barcelona's call, Twain did not have to worry too much because he still had Kompany.

As for Ayala, his experience was still most needed by the team. Obviously, if there was a team interested in him and wanted to pay to buy him, Twain would not force him to stay. After all, Ayala did not have many chances to contribute to the Forest team.

As for Wes Morgan, he did not need to give him too many chances to play. The occasional appearance was enough. His main task was not to help the team win on the pitch, but to maintain the balance in the locker room, ensure the integrity of the Nottingham Forest lineup, and help the team successfully pass the pre-season registration to qualify for the Champions League.

Basically, that was Twain's plan of action for new players. Transfers in and out would be based on the plan. He would keep the team's main frame and repair or adjust some small details, which would not only ensure the degree of rapport in the team, but also add fresh blood to strengthen their abilities.

Nottingham Forest would be highly anticipated in the new season.

Chapter 660 - Poach and Be Poached From

While Twain was racking his brains to poach from other teams, his players were also being poached by others at the same time.

Just days after the Champions League final, news came from the Spanish side that Real Madrid had targeted Nottingham Forest star player, Franck Ribéry. And unlike the rumors in the first half of the year, the Real Madrid club was for real this time.

※※※

This summer, Real Madrid had two key targets whom they wanted to bring in, one of whom was the Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had scored forty-one goals in a season at Manchester United and had become the Premier League’s top scorer this season. While the other was this year’s Champions League’s Player of the Year, Franck Ribéry.

Both men were currently the star players with the most appeal in the football world. The nature of Real Madrid was to pursue the best players in the world and then have them all play for the best club in the world.

Whether it was first Di Stefano or later on Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham, the century-old Real Madrid was never an ordinary team.

They could develop the superstars themselves, or they could make a move to poach from the other teams. This move was detested by people—who could be willing to part with the star players that one painstakingly groomed and were eventually stolen away by Real Madrid with money?

Real Madrid’s current president, Calderón, was able to successfully come into power by relying on “three promises”: he promised to the fans that he would bring in the Brazilian Kaka, the Portuguese Ronaldo and the Dutchman Robben if he were elected as the new president.

Now he had made good on that promise of Robben, but he had been strongly rebuffed by AC Milan in the pursuit of Kaka. The relationship of both clubs had even broken down at one point.

After a summer of attempts, Calderón realized that now was not the best time to bring in Kaka. Therefore, they shifted their target this summer. Cristiano Ronaldo’s breakout this season had made him a hot favorite, but the only club who really dared to take him on was Real Madrid.

Real Madrid was already in the touch with Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent, Mendes long before the season was even over to suss out the player’s own wishes. This was Real Madrid’s usual style of poaching players—using the players to threaten the clubs they played for.

Ronaldo’s response had been positive. He wanted to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid. On the one hand, this transfer would provide him with a better package. On the other hand, he would have the opportunity to continue his dream of impacting the Champions League. He had been in such excellent form this season but Manchester United failed in both tournaments which left him disappointed.

After learning of Ronaldo’s idea, Real Madrid blatantly make an offer to Manchester United for fifty million euros.

However, Real Madrid encountered a strong rival—Sir Alex Ferguson.

“No matter how much money you offer, I won’t sell Cristiano. He is a Manchester United player and under contract with Manchester United. He is very happy at Manchester United and completely has no reason to go to Real Madrid. I’m not going to let him go.”

In fact, the Manchester United Football Club hoped to sell Ronaldo. After all, the American boss wanted to make money. But at Manchester United, Ferguson’s position was almost unshakable, and his voice represented the Manchester United’s voice. At the same time, in order to convince everyone on the surface that there were no differences and contradictions within Manchester United, the club must also adopt a unified stance as Ferguson.

Real Madrid assumed that Manchester United thought the offer was inadequate and began to progressively increase the amount, but Ferguson was still adamant. Feeling bothered, the Manchester United club angrily stated, “You want to take the Portuguese? One hundred million euros!”

Did that scare Real Madrid away?

Real Madrid really started to raise a transfer fee of one hundred and forty million euros and prepared to get the world-class star player they desired.

Manchester United might have underestimated Real Madrid’s finances, but Real Madrid also underestimated the obstinacy of Ferguson, this old man. He publicly stated, “Even if they (Real Madrid) does come up with one hundred million euros, Ronaldo is still not for sale!”

Real Madrid, who had previously been successful in every deal in the transfer market, really hit a snag. Ronaldo’s transfer was temporarily suspended as the UEFA European Championship was imminent. Ronaldo had publicly stated that he did not want to talk about his future next season at this time.

In this way, Real Madrid set its sights on another player comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo— Franck Ribéry of Nottingham Forest.

In terms of technical skills, Ribéry’s technique was not as good or crowd-pleasing as Ronaldo’s. But he was more practical and powerful at breakthroughs. He had excellent scoring ability and was an all-rounder player who could play in the flanks and middle. Such a player was what Schuster really wanted. Cristiano Ronaldo was just what the club’s top echelon wanted the team to bring in, while Schuster wanted Ribéry who was more suited to the team’s tactics and comprehensive than C. Ronaldo. In Schuster’s view, Ribéry was better than C. Ronaldo on one point and that was, his ability to organize attacks in the front field. Even though van der Vaart was at Nottingham Forest, Ribéry’s ability to organize attacks displayed during the offense was still impressive.

As a result, when he saw that the development with Ronaldo was slow to progress, Schuster immediately strongly recommended the acquisition of Ribéry to the top. This candidate was also considered good in Calderón’s mind. When Nottingham Forest knocked Real Madrid out of the top four in two rounds, this high-flying club chairman was impressed with Ribéry’s performance.

In this way, Ribéry once again became Real Madrid’s main target, in concurrent with Ronaldo’s offer.

These two men’s transfer deals were not to be underestimated. There was more to it than meets the eye behind them. Calderón demanded results on both sides. Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer was handed over to the club’s director of football, Mijatovi? to be in charge while the finance director, Jose Angel Sanchez had the authority to preside over Ribéry’s transfer deal.

To look further in-depth into this, it became clear when one looked at the relationship between these two men.?Sanchez and Mijatovi? were sworn enemies. When Calderón once again put Sanchez from Florentino’s era in an important position, it originated from his distrust of Mijatovi?. How could Mijatovi? have any good opinions of Sanchez, a man who came to separate his power?

This arrangement could also be said to be the result of Calderón’s checks and balances on both sides. He separately arranged very important tasks to the two men and see who could complete the job well in the end. Whoever did well would naturally obtain the president’s trust further. If they did not complete well… it would be tough time at the top echelon of Real Madrid. Consequently, the two men were bound to strive and give it all to sign these two players for Real Madrid. Once Ronaldo and Ribéry transferred to Real Madrid, it would be the most sensational transfer in the world this summer.

※※※

Against such a backdrop, the Nottingham Forest Football Club received a fax for an official offer from Real Madrid.

Twain was in Switzerland as a guest pundit for the competition and was busy working every day. Because a commentator could not just go up and open his mouth to speak. He also had to collect a lot of information and intelligence before the games in order to be able to speak with ease during the games.

Evan called him and told him that Real Madrid wanted to buy Ribéry. He almost rejected the offer reflexively.

“No way!”

“Don’t you want to hear how much they offer?” Evan asked with a smile.

“I don’t care how much they offered. I’m not selling!” Discussing the possibility of Ribéry’s transfer actually offended Twain. “Real Madrid thinks they have the money to collect the best players in the world to play for them? Well, let me tell them that money is not everything!”

“Fifty million euros is not a small amount, Tony.”

“Manchester United declared that they can’t take Ronaldo away for less than one hundred million. We can also announce that they can’t have Ribéry for less than one hundred and fifty million euros.”

“Don’t tell me we can sell him if they do make that offer?”

Twain was silent for a moment. He knew what Evan was after, and he knew Evan was his boss, so he gave Evan face and said, “If they do come up with one hundred and fifty million euros just to buy Ribéry, I’ll promise to let him go!”

At the same time, he thought in his mind, “There’s no way Real Madrid will bear to offer one hundred and fifty million!”

Evan was certainly aware that Twain was giving a tactfully rejection with these words. No club in the world was crazy enough to offer a player a price of one hundred and fifty million euros. He smiled and said, “Well, we’ll just refuse in the name of the club.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Evan. After all, we’re not at the point yet to make money by selling players, are we? Selling the core players will greatly affect the team’s performance…”

Evan interrupted Twain, “Of course I know, Tony.”

This call worried Twain a little. It was certainly not about his relationship with Evan, but about Ribéry. It looked like Real Madrid was really going to make a move on Ribéry…

There were few players in the world who could resist the temptation of a powerhouse club. Once Real Madrid really reached out to Ribéry, what should Nottingham Forest use to resist?

※※※

It was at this point that Twain “coincidentally” received a call from Ribéry’s agent, Bruno Heiderscheid.

“What a coincidence that you call at this time, Mr. Heiderscheid.” Twain’s tone revealed the sarcasm that any fool could sense.

“Ha, Mr. Twain, since you know why I called, I’ll get right to the point. To be honest, I want the club to reconsider the contract with Ribéry.”

To be frank, it was about getting a raise. Twain understood this. For Ribéry’s current position, a weekly salary of eighty thousand was indeed low. If he had a rich boss like Abramovich, he could pay Ribéry two hundred thousand a week in one breath. But did he have that much? He did not so he was unable to.

“The club has been thinking about this matter and we are very sincere. But the last time we offered a pay of a hundred thousand a week which you wouldn’t agree, Mr. Heiderscheid.” So, you see, the problem did not lie with our side.

Laughter came from the other end of the line, “Mr. Twain, don’t you think that one hundred thousand is too little for Ribéry’s contribution and fame?”

This time Twain did not get angry. He knew that anger would not help solve the problem.

He asked calmly, “So how much do you think is appropriate, Mr. Heiderscheid?”

“One hundred and fifty.”

Even if Twain had better decorum, he would not be able to contain his anger when he heard this, not to mention that he was not a refined and courteous gentleman.

“I think, Mr. Heiderscheid. You shouldn’t be an agent. It’s a waste of your talent. It’d better if you directly rob a bank.” He gnashed his teeth as he spoke.

The last time the two men were in a deadlock with their negotiations. Heiderscheid’s condition was a weekly salary of one hundred thousand, which Twain did not accept, not to mention one hundred and fifty thousand.

“Please remain calm, Mr. Twain. I think this condition is very reasonable. Given the situation, it makes perfect sense to stay a world-class player with one hundred and fifty thousand.” Heiderscheid was not angry with Twain’s sarcastic remarks. But his calm tone offended Twain’s ears, making him extremely annoyed, and his anger was escalating…

“Ha, reasonable?” Twain laughed angrily, “You’re telling me that one hundred and fifty thousand weekly salary is very reasonable?! You go and ask around. What’s Ronaldo’s weekly salary in Manchester United? One hundred and twenty thousand! What right do you have to talk about reasonability in front of me? The owner of Nottingham Forest Football Club is not a Russian oligarch with money and nowhere else to spend, nor is he a powerful American backer! Do you think it’s reasonable to ask for a one hundred and fifty thousand weekly salary in the current financial situation, Mr. Bruno Heiderscheid?”

“Cool down, Mr. Twain.”

“I’m motherf**king cooler than an iceberg.” Twain still could not hold back the foul language.

“I understand the club wants Ribéry to stay, but don’t you think you should show some sincerity in return?”

It was the same schtick again. Twain smirked, “You singularly emphasized the obligations of the club, but ignored the loyalty of the player. You wanted one hundred and fifty thousand weekly salary the moment you opened your mouth. Is this supposed to be a scare tactic? Is this the way to start a favorable negotiation? To put it bluntly, you want Ribéry to transfer to Real Madrid so that you have your cut, right? Mr. Ten Percent.”

This time Twain did not even bother using his name. He just used this sarcastic code name.

“I just thought we analyze this calmly and that is the truth, Mr. Twain. Either the club increases Ribéry’s salary to his satisfaction to keep him, or he will have to leave the Forest team to a team that can meet his small demand.” Heiderscheid’s tone was getting colder and colder.

When Twain heard this man utter this sentence without any emotion, he really wanted to shout into the receiver, “F**K YOU! You scumbag!”

But what he opened his mouth, he just took a deep breath to calm his agitation.

He did not know what Allan would think of this matter, but he decided to grit his teeth and make some concessions. He must make Ribéry stay. He was one of the team’s core offensive players. The team’s tactical routine was much richer with him around.

“One hundred and twenty thousand and that’s the maximum we can accept. With the current situation at the club, I think it is enough to show our fullest sincerity.”

“No, one hundred and fifty thousand…”

Twain swung his hand and smashed his phone. The sturdy-looking Nokia cell phone crashed into the opposite wall with a bang and smashed into smithereens across the carpet.

Chapter 661 - The Mallorca Holiday

There had not been any further developments with the matter of Ribéry’s new contract since Twain’s brutal rejection of Heiderscheid’s bid that day. Twain’s suppressed his anger and anxiety in rushing back to Nottingham to deal with this mess, so that he could complete his commentary job for BBC 5. Feeling furious, his words became more vicious. As a result, the poor Germans were severely ridiculed by Twain in the commentator’s box due to their poor performance in the final.

During this time, there had been more and more news in the media about Real Madrid’s pursuit of Ribéry and Cristiano Ronaldo. Like Ronaldo, Real Madrid was very good at using all the factors available to pave the way for their transfer campaign, and public opinion was a very important tool.

Twain saw Heiderscheid again, but it was only in the newspapers and television news.

Wearing sunglasses under the bright sunshine of Madrid, Spain, he enigmatically told the reporters that he had only come to Spain for a holiday.

Only a fool would believe that he was really here on holiday.

Sure enough, a few days later, he came forward to voluntarily accept an interview from <Marca> and talked about Real Madrid’s pursuit of Ribéry.

“… Yes, I know Real Madrid is interested in Franck. To be honest, although Franck and I both want to continue to stay at Nottingham Forest since he became famous in that team, there is no player in the world who can remained unmoved when faced with an invitation from Real Madrid… You know what I mean? That’s what I mean. Real Madrid is the best club in the twentieth century. It is the dream of many professional players to play in a team like that…”

The meaning of his remarks could not be clearer. He admitted that he had been in contact with Real Madrid, and also implied that Ribéry wanted to join Real Madrid.

Seeing this news, Twain could not sit still any longer. Before flying back to the United Kingdom from Austria, he hastened to call Ribéry at the airport.

“Franck, I think we should talk alone.”

Ribéry was on holiday to soothe his “injured heart” from the UEFA European Championship. His French team returned home during the group stage. The UEFA Champions League’s Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year ended his bid for the national team honor early, which was a blow to him.

“But, boss… I’m on vacation now…” Ribéry’s voice wavered. Yes, it “wavered” like a signal lamp in the wind and rain. Sometimes it was clear and sometimes it was indistinct.

“I can go to you. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you money for the air ticket. Ha ha!” Twain tried his best to make his voice sound normal and even deliberately make a joke. He asked, “Where are you currently on vacation?”

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, and Ribéry’s voice came again, “Mallorca.”

This name stumped Twain a little. He was not keen on travel and someone who was familiar with all the tourist attractions in the world. But even he knew which country the name of this place belonged to. Mallorca, which translated to “Mǎ luò kǎ” in China, was also the name of a La Liga team.

So that means Ribéry is in Spain?

At this time, under such a context and this place … Twain could not help thinking there was more to this.

“Then I’ll go look for you.” Twain made the decision that some things could only be made clear in person and face-to-face communication also helped Twain know what Ribéry really thought. If he wanted to convince someone, it was more effective to communicate in person than to talk over the phone.

This time, Ribéry was silent for a long while and then he said, “Boss, you have been busy for more than a month. It’s better for you to take a break first …”

Twain smiled, “I’m not busy at all. Admonishing people on TV is not considered busy. Besides, Mallorca is a well-known tourist spot. It’s just nice that I can take a break where you are.”

This time Ribéry no longer had any reason to refuse.

“Well, boss, since you’re coming, I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

※※※

When the UEFA European Championship came to an end, Twain did not go straight back to England with Motson and the others. Instead, he booked a direct flight from Austria to Mallorca, Spain. Then he bought a few brightly colored print short-sleeved shirts as well as shorts and a straw hat from a local shop. After he wore the ensemble head-to-toe, he looked like a tourist on vacation.

When he appeared at the airport in this outfit, the British reporters who had planned to follow BBC television back were surprised.

“Isn’t the team going to re-group, Mr. Twain? Where are you heading off to?”

“Going on a holiday to rest and relax!” Twain said with a smile.

“Can I ask you where you’re going?”

“Spain!” Twain winked at the reporter who asked the question.

※※※

“Franck!” Heiderscheid’s voice sounded a little flustered and exasperated on the phone. “How can you agree to meet with Twain?”

“Bruno, you’re making this hard for me to do this. He insisted on coming. What can I do?” Ribéry was in a bad mood too. He had been hard pressed recently by the transfer matter. Though he was here on a holiday, he had a frown on every day. He had turned a blind eye to the beautiful scenery and people in front of him. How could he be in the mood? It was actually Bruno’s idea to hide him here from Twain and leave everything to him to handle. All he had do to was wait.

“Simply refuse him!”

“Impossible!” The two men’s voices were raised, “I know the boss’s character well. The more you refuse, the more he wants to come. He will definitely do what he believes.”

“Then just shed all pretense of cordiality…”

“Haven’t you figured the situation out, Bruno? I’m his player, and I’m to go head to head against him? Don’t you know how he treats the people with whom he has fallen out with?”

“Franck, you’re the one who hasn’t figured out the situation. You must be a little tougher. You’re going to wear the white jersey next season, and you still care how he treats the traitors?”

The last remark roused Ribéry, who dazedly held the phone for a moment. “Bruno, I trust you to deal with Real Madrid. But I still think I have to the boss no matter what. I have no reason to turn him down, and I don’t want to fall out with him. After all, who gave me the chance to become the Franck Ribéry that I am now when I was in dire straits?”

Ribéry resolutely finished this sentence and hung up.

Over there, Heiderscheid looked at the phone in his hand and indignantly scolded, Idiot! All my efforts will be in vain when he meets him! Who do you think Tony Twain is, Franck?”

※※※

In the bright sunshine of the Iberian Peninsula, Ribéry smiled and took the small suitcase from Twain.

“Spain is a really nice place, much better weather than the damn British weather.” Dunn looked up at the clear blue sky. He wore sunglasses and was not afraid of the bright sunshine piercing his eyes. “You’re really know how to pick a place, Franck.”

He made a seemingly innocent remark which sounded intentional to the listener. In fact, the remark was made intentionally, and he wanted the listener to catch his meaning too.

As expected, Ribéry just smiled and did not continue this subject.

Seeing his own trusted player, Twain’s previously agitated heart finally calmed down a little. He knew that if Ribéry was determined not to see him, then this matter would be dangerous. As long as Ribéry was willing to meet him, there was room to turn things around.

In the hired car to the hotel where he was staying, Twain and Ribéry sat side by side in the back. A Spanish pop song was playing on the radio in the car, but neither of them spoke first.

The atmosphere was really uncomfortable.

It was Twain who spoke up first. After all, he was here to solve the problem, and not really to roam free with Ribéry in Mallorca.

“Should I console you first, Franck?”

“Huh?”

“The France team at this UEFA European Championship…” In the final match of the group stage between France and Italy, Twain was the guest pundit. At that time, he berated the French team and only let go of two people. One is Benzema and the other was Ribéry.

Ribéry’s performance spoke for itself. When almost everyone gave up, only he still ran ceaselessly, broke through, passed the balls, and shot… for the chance to breach the goal. In his four years at Nottingham Forest, Twain’s style had long been etched in his bones. He would not give up right till the end of the game. The “Nottingham Forest style” of never conceding in the face of adversity had also become Ribéry style.

Unfortunately, however powerful a player was, he was still only one person. Football was played by a team. His efforts appeared to be even more striking and heart-wrenching against the contrast of ten other cowardly and incompetent players. In the end, Ribéry did not bring victory to the national team and the France national team, the highly anticipated favorite to win the title, return home from the group stage.

The game ended and the Italians caroused. They survive by the skin of their teeth and advanced from the group. The French players were dejected. But who had noticed the anger in Ribéry’s eyes?

Hearing Twain mention this incident, Ribéry smiled, “Hey, the game is over. I don’t want to think about it anymore. How can such a good thing happen in the world? I can’t win all the championship titles alone. I’m already very satisfied…. with this season. As a professional footballer, I have won all the club honors I can get.”

Twain glanced at Ribéry ahead.

After that, the two men did not speak again until the car arrived at the destination.

※※※

In the room, Twain watched the attendant leave and close the door before he was finally able to speak the words bottled in his heart.

“Franck, you don’t really think I’m here for a holiday, do you?”

Ribéry smiled and said, “You’re very much dressed the part.”

“I just don’t want the following conversation to be too serious … I know what you’re doing here, and I also know what your agent is doing.” Twain’s expression still unknowingly became serious. “I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

“My? I…” Silent for a while and as if he had made a big decision, Ribéry continued, “Boss, do you want to hear the truth or the lie?”

“Who wants to hear a lie?” Tell the truth.” Twain waved his hands.

“Honestly, I’ve always the pay package was a little low…”

“If it’s about a pay rise, you can just bring it up. The club is not unreasonable….”

“But, boss… um, let me be honest. I think with the current financial situation of the club; it may not meet my requirements.”

Twain did not speak and Ribéry did not continued at this point. The two men looked at each other in this way.

“Well, let’s put this mess aside and take me out to eat. I’m hungry.” Twain rubbed his stomach and smiled at Ribéry, “It’s your treat.”

Ribéry also smiled, “No problem.”

※※※

Twain did not really intend to have a holiday in this picturesque tourist destination. Where was he going to find the luxury of time? He decided to fly back to England the next day. He still had a lot of matters waiting for him.

“It’s really a short vacation.” In the room with his packed bag—there was actually nothing much to pack. There was only a few sets of clothes in a small suitcase and nothing else. Twain did not even buy any travel souvenirs—Ribéry looked at the suitcase on the bed and commented.

Twain stood on the terrace outside the door, looking out over the clear blue sky.

“The sky is really blue here. Spain is really attractive as compared to Britain…”

“Boss, if you like it, you can buy a villa here and come here every summer.” Ribéry pretended not to catch Twain’s meaning in his remarks.

“It’s not going to work if I really live here long term, Franck.” Twain snapped out of his reverie and replied with a smile, “When it’s stormy, the currently calm sea will not be fun. Beautiful things are short-lived. I’m still going to advise you to stay in Nottingham.”

“I didn’t say I was going, boss…”

“But in the eyes of the media outside, you’re infinitely close to Real Madrid, aren’t you?” On this day, Twain paid attention to the local Spanish newspapers. Although he could not read Spanish, Ribéry’s picture and name were recognizable. After Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer rapidly progressed in the direction of a “farce”, Franck Ribéry’s emergence rekindled the Real Madrid fans and Spaniards.

“As long as the club can meet my salary requirements, I will immediately renew my contract with the club.”

Twain smiled. The words sounded more like a blank check. “Can you tell me how much will be appropriate?”

This time, Ribéry hesitated and passed the buck to his agent, “You need to talk to Bruno about this, Boss. He’s fully in charge of this.”

Hearing this remark, Twain nodded hard.

“You should know what your agent had contacted me about, right? Then, you must already know how that went, don’t you?”

Ribéry nodded wordlessly.

“One hundred and fifty thousand.” Twain sighed, “I thought it was just an excuse and a cover created by Heiderscheid for your successful transfer to force us to accept the reality that you have to transfer. But…it seems to be true now.” He shrugged and continued, “You should know the current financial situation of the club. We really can’t offer such a high price to renew the contract. In order to build that… the new stadium, I have to tighten the purse strings to get by, pick up bargains on the transfer market, negotiate with the other parties several times for a euro… I really, really, hope you understand the club’s situation.

He said it very sincerely, and he could not doubt that he had his ulterior motives for saying so. Ribéry continued to remain silent.

“I hate to say this, but I hope you can think about it. A team like Real Madrid is not where you want to be. Only Nottingham Forest is your home. Do you hate your teammates, coaches, and the fans?”

“No, boss. I don’t hate anyone.” Ribéry shook his head and said, “I think my four seasons at Nottingham Forest have been the most enjoyable since I became a professional footballer. Until now, I still can’t believe sometimes that Franck Ribéry, who was on the verge of losing his job in Boulogne, would one day lift up the Champions League trophy. What’s more, twice in a row.”

“Then why do you have to leave?”

“Boss, I didn’t say I had to leave. But I hope to get paid in a way that is proportional to what I give.”

“We offered you a new contract, but your agent threw it in the trash without even looking at it. Then he pointed it back at me and told me: ‘The club is not sincere!’” Twain raised his voice, “I admit that it is simply not possible for the club to renew your contract at a rate of one hundred and fifty thousand a week. But can you consider the difficulties of the club and make a few concessions? Your agent is dead set on one hundred and fifty thousand. There’s no such negotiation in the world, and I even think he’s deliberately threatening me…”

Ribéry hurriedly waved his hands and said, “Boss, please believe me. Between Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest, I definitely choose the latter… Of course, as long as the conditions are right.”

Twain glanced at him and said, “You’re telling the truth. There are some things I’ve always wanted to say to you, but I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say that. The Nottingham Forest fans adore you; your teammates love you and you’re very popular in the team. We have just won the Champions League title for two seasons in a row and the Premier League title last season. In every aspect, the team and you are on the rise. We stay together and can win a lot more championship titles. You can get more out of this in the future by sacrificing a little financial benefit now. I really don’t understand what’s the use of a transfer to Real Madrid, or a weekly salary of one hundred and fifty thousand? There’s only a difference of thirty thousand between one hundred and twenty thousand and one hundred and fifty thousand. You’re not really short of thirty thousand… What’s the point of getting more for your weekly salary? Without honor, you will soon be forgotten. Unless you can keep winning and obtaining victories, it’s no use sitting on the bench for two hundred thousand a week. Do you get what I mean, Franck? Often times, honor is far more important than money.”

Ribéry was quiet.

Twain raised his wrist to look at his watch, “I’ve got to go, there’s still a bunch of things waiting for me in Nottingham. You continue your vacation here…”

“No, boss. In fact, I can actually follow…”

He waved his hands and said, “I said I’d give an extra week off for the players who participated in the UEFA European Championship, so you should take the full week off. If you don’t rest well and your body has any condition, then you’re going to suffer when the season starts. The body is more important than anything else. You have a good time here and relax. The sea and sky in Spain are really blue!” He patted Ribéry on the shoulder and lifted the small suitcase from the bed. Then he put on his straw hat and left the vacation spot, Mallorca, Spain, under the blue sky.

Chapter 662 - That’s It

Twain had just stepped foot in Nottingham when Real Madrid’s second offer came.

It was sixty-five million euros!

One must know that Real Madrid was also only willing to offer a maximum of seventy-five million euros for Cristiano Ronaldo. At first, there were media in Nottingham that ridiculed Real Madrid as completely using Ribéry to substitute for Ronaldo. Since they were so disrespectful to the Forest team’s player, Ribéry was not expected to receive good treatment when he went there. Now that Real Madrid had shown with its actions that they were not looking for Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement, but another star player of the same class as Ronaldo.

If Twain nodded his assent, this would be a transfer with the highest monetary value he had ever made since he took office. But would he agree?

He would not.

Sixty-five million euros was very attractive. But Twain was more obstinate than Real Madrid thought. He thought Real Madrid was showing off its wealth and telling Twain at the same time that there was no one in the world that Real Madrid could not buy!

Consequently, Twain thought he was insulted and threatened, and determined not to yield!

You think there’s no one you can’t buy? Well, well, I’ll show you the first person this time!

Allan flew to China to sign some letters of intent to cooperate with the relevant institutions, so now all matters regarding the club’s transfers of players were all up to Twain. He could rightly reject Real Madrid’s offer.

“I’ll only let Ribéry go when you show me one hundred and fifty million euros. Also, we don’t accept installments and only cash in on the player.”

Twain’s words were resounding and powerful. Accordingly, Ribéry had a new nickname “Mr. 150 million euros.”

Real Madrid certainly would not pay that much unless the intelligence quotient of the top brass had collectively reversed to when they were just born.

However, Real Madrid had their own ways. They have contacted Ribéry’s agent, Heiderscheid, in the hope that he would put pressure on Nottingham Forest internally.

※※※

The team had already started to resume training and all the players who did not have any Olympic or UEFA European Championship assignments, had returned. Whether or not they would remain in the team in the coming month or so, they were still Tony Twain’s men for now.

Because not everyone was here yet, the training plan Dunn had arranged for the team was focused on the recovery of stamina, and he did not carry out any tactical training. The club’s focus was still on the transfer market during this time.

Ribéry had become one of Nottingham Forest’s most high-profile transfers in the summer and everyone was watching the latest developments. Some people did not want Ribéry to go, and some people also thought if his departure could bring a large sum of money for the club, then he should be allowed to leave. There were also some people who angrily accused Ribéry of being too greedy—the news of the one hundred and fifty thousand weekly salary had long been exposed by the media. The other people also felt that a traitor like Ribéry should not stay at Nottingham Forest even if he begged to.

The rumors swirled around. At the heart of the vortex of rumors, Ribéry had remained silent and refused interviews this whole time. He did not make any statement and continued his vacation in Mallorca, waiting for his time to return to the team.

After the half-day training had ended, Twain received a phone call from Bruno Heiderscheid in his office. He smiled when he saw the name.

“Hello, Mr. Heiderscheid. To what do I owe this pleasure this time?” He deliberately made his voice sound happy.

“Mr. Tony Twain. I think we should sit down and have a proper discussion…” Heiderscheid’s voice was less relaxed, and even lost the calm at their last meeting.

“What’s there to talk about? A weekly salary of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds? Oh, I’m sorry, we are a small club and really could not offer you satisfactory conditions. However, we may be small, but we are always developing. Let’s do it like this, when Ribéry’s contract expires in six months, we’ll talk again. Maybe the club can meet your one hundred and fifty weekly salary requirements at that time.” Twain’s tone was odd. He deliberately provoked Heiderscheid to pay back double the previous insult suffered.

Twain initially wanted to go home. But now, he sat in the chair, put his feet up on his desk, adopted an amusing stance, and was ready to waste this agent’s precious time here.

“Mr. Twain, you do not have the mentality you should have in a negotiation…”

“Ha!” Twain could not help laugh, “These words sound familiar. You plagiarized my lines. Do I have to sue you for infringement?”

Heiderscheid did not know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. He thoroughly experienced the level of cutting nature this man had. But he came to facilitate Ribéry’s transfer and not to quarrel with Twain, so he suppressed his anger and tried to sound calm.

“Of course, I want Ribéry to stay at the Forest team. But shouldn’t the Forest team show any indication? So far, I haven’t seen any real action from Nottingham Forest to show my player and the outside world that you want to keep Franck Ribéry.”

“How would you know about our business? Rest assured that a new contract will soon be faxed to you and Ribéry… Of course, it’s definitely not a one hundred and fifty thousand weekly salary. We really can’t offer this sum, Mr. Heiderscheid… Nottingham Forest is so poor that I, as a manager, almost buy someone out of my own pocket.” Twain talked as if he was miserable himself but Heiderscheid was unmoved. Only a fool would believe his words.

“But your conditions will not satisfy my player…”

“It’s more like we can’t satisfy you, Mr. Greedy?” Twain smirked, “To be honest, Franck told me he doesn’t want to leave Nottingham Forest, and I think he sincerely thought so. But you tell me you also don’t want Franck to leave Nottingham Forest and that’s a lie. I’m very clear about what an agent does. And I’m even more f**king aware of what you, as his agent, does!”

Next, without waiting for Heiderscheid to refute, Twain had an outburst and vented, “You have to draw ten percent commission from Ribéry’s weekly salary and also draw commission every time he signed those advertising endorsement deals and the signing fee with each renewal of a new contract. If he doesn’t get a high salary at Nottingham Forest, your income will be reduced, and you won’t be able to get the signing fee if there’s no transfer. Only a transfer to a big club like Real Madrid can give Ribéry a higher profile, fame and better commercial contracts. A higher weekly salary means more commission for you. You think of Ribéry as a cash cow, but don’t think about the lifespan of his playing! I’m afraid one day when you realize that Ribéry can’t bring you a higher income, you’ll leave to find the next fool, right? Mr. Bruno Heiderscheid aka Mr. Ten Percent?”

“I…”

“Shut up! I don’t want him to leave, and I can’t meet the higher salary requirements. But I know this better than you fool, what is the most important and fundamental thing for a professional footballer! Without honor, a moron will give you a weekly salary of one hundred and fifty thousand. Once he leaves Nottingham Forest, Ribéry would never receive a higher honor more than here. In this circle, those who quickly become famous and then transfer to the powerhouse teams, quickly lose themselves. Then their prices eventually fall instead of rising. There are plenty of examples whereby the players’ form decline, and no team will ask for a price any longer. If you’re really looking out for Franck as you say, you keep him away from Real Madrid! There’s no paradise for him there at all. It’s just a hotbed of a parasite like you!”

“Mr. Twain, I think…”

“What do you think? I’ll tell you; my stance is that of the Nottingham Forest Football Club. Ribéry is not for sale in the team. Even if Real Madrid offered one hundred and fifty million euros like a fool, I won’t sell! His contract is still three years away. If you want to him to leave, you can directly refuse to negotiate a new contract with us two and a half years later!”

“Then you won’t get a single euro at that time…”

“I’m fine with that!” Twain’s rough tone rendered Heiderscheid speechless.

“Mr. Twain, I understand that you are personally biased against me. But business is business and we are now negotiating for Ribéry’s future. Your attitude is not what a businessman should have…”

“I’m the f**king manager of the team. Which idiot told you I was a businessman?” Twain had never seen such a shameless and despicable person like Heiderscheid. Billy Woox was a model citizen as compared to him.

“Besides, I know why you were thick skinned enough to call me. It must be Real Madrid’s idiot president who asked you to put pressure on us, right? I know more about Real Madrid’s moves than you do. Just tell them, I, Tony Twain is not to be trifled with. You want to buy my man? No way! In addition, I will tell you, Ribéry’s contract expires only in three years. There is no more discussion before it expires!”

Twain laughed after he hung up. He had vented the resentment bottled up in his chest at last. He believed that Heiderscheid must be shaking on the other end.

※※※

In fact, the crux of Ribéry’s transfer incident was whether Ribéry was willing to come out in person, as a player to put pressure on the club, so that Real Madrid’s next steps could be carried out.

Just as Ronaldo had recently publicly declared that he wanted to go to Real Madrid and said he felt like a slave. Although these words would cause him a lot of trouble, it would also help him with his transfer. After a showdown between the player and the club, it proved that his heart was no longer with the team. Then Real Madrid could aim at this point to begin attack. The opposing club would most likely be under pressure from the many parties and agree to the player’s transfer.

There would always be the exceptions. Real Madrid’s “universal formula” did not mean that it would work with any opponent at any time. This time they hit a wall with the steely Ferguson. The old man was furious after he heard Ronaldo’s remarks. He claimed that he would rather put Ronaldo on the bench first than to sell him to the shameless Real Madrid.

This remark caused Ferguson a lot of trouble, but he sent a very clear message to Real Madrid in this way—my attitude is unyielding, Manchester United’s attitude is tough, and we are determined not to sell Ronaldo to you!

In this way, Real Madrid was out of moves. Unless they accepted Manchester United’s offer and raise their bid to the point where Manchester United is satisfied, only then it would be possible to negotiate a personal contract with Ronaldo. Otherwise, no matter how Ronaldo stirred things up, they must first get past the Manchester United Football Club, which was also Ferguson.

Real Madrid fared even worse with Ribéry’s case. They did not even manage to get Ribéry to come forward and make a stance.

Real Madrid wanted Heiderscheid to put pressure on Ribéry and then for Ribéry to put pressure on Twain. For example, he should have a direct showdown—“I want to go to Real Madrid, and I don’t want to stay with Nottingham Forest.”

But…

※※※

“Franck!” Heiderscheid’s voice sounded a little pathetic on the phone. It was not accurate to say he was flustered and exasperated. “I need you to come out and make a stance.”

“What stance?” Ribéry sat on a white beach chair and wore his sunglasses while he sunbathed. The picturesque seaside did really relax him, and sometimes he did forget the swirling rumors of a tumultuous transfer outside and enjoy his time with ease.

His wife, Wahiba Belhami took his children back to her hometown in Algeria. The reason he did not take his whole family on vacation was because Ribéry thought it was not a real vacation at all, but to avoid the limelight. He did not want to involve his beautiful wife and lovely children. But this rare opportunity had allowed him to openly admire the sexy and open Spanish beauties.

“What do you think? The whole world is now waiting for you to come forward and make a statement so that all the noise will be gone. Then you and I can have a nice summer!”

“I saw the new contract that boss had faxed, Bruno.” Ribéry changed the subject.

“Oh?”

“I don’t think a one hundred and twenty thousand weekly salary is too low.” Ribéry continued to admire the naked bodies wandering back and forth before his eyes.

“Hey…”

“Bruno, I don’t think it’s a good time to transfer to Real Madrid…”

“Franck, when do you think it’s a good time? After three seasons? I don’t know if Real Madrid wants you or not at that time! You’ve got enough honors now, so the current transfer is when you’re at your highest value, and I can get the best of anything for you. I know what that guy, Twain, said to you, but he’s lying to you! You can’t be a professional player your entire life, Franck. Can honors not let you worry about your living for a lifetime and give your children the best life possible? Those are just the false words that the managers use to stir up your sentiments and excuses to make you sacrifice for them! Only money is real. But there aren’t many clubs in the world willing to recompense the players commensurate with their contributions. Instead they’re always making excuses to squeeze your income. Businessmen are all the same in the pursuit of interests. Even if he’s your chief, he’s still a manager. Don’t forget which side he’s on. He represents the club! He talks of loyalty, honor and so on. Those are all lies for you to listen to! When he says that to you, you just ask him this, ‘Can honor make you live a good life?’ I’d bet you he will be speechless!” Sensing that Ribéry was wavering, Heiderscheid became anxious. The plan he had made all summer would not absolutely fail at this time… “Franck, you should know more about this than I do. You had experienced poverty. You know how important money is, right?”

“I… Bruno, I think you have a good point. Honor and loyalty really can’t make me any more money, and it doesn’t let me live a better life. A professional player has to go after the money… But.”

Bruno’s chest tightened.

“But now I’m pretty happy with the level of one hundred and twenty thousand weekly salary.”

“Only a fool would be unhappy with more money!”

“Of course, I’m not a fool, but I know my team’s current situation. If the price is too high, the boss really can’t get the money…”

“Then transfer.”

“Do you want me to be a traitor, Bruno?” Ribéry gave a laugh, “But I’m not ready for betrayal yet. That’s it, I’m going to sign that contract. Tomorrow I’ll end this… hiding on vacation and fly back to Nottingham.”

“Hey, Franck!”

“What’s the matter?”

“As for Real Madrid…”

“Nottingham Forest’s attitude is so tough and they’re still fantasizing about me going to Bernabéu with a transfer deal? So, what if I make a public statement? I’m telling you, Bruno, I understand my boss. I know what it would be like if I really did this. You think the boss will let me go because I want to go? Don’t be naive, Bruno! Real Madrid’s approach is to put themselves out of the way and use the players as guns. For me to step out as a target while they trade behind the scenes. What if the deal doesn’t go through? How am I going to stay at Nottingham Forest after falling out with my boss? Remember Anelka? Do you want me to sit on the bench for a season and then my value slowly slips? You can tell Real Madrid clearly that I don’t want to gamble with myself. Either they make an offer until the Nottingham Forest Football Club is satisfied, or I will renew my contract with the Forest team and stay in Nottingham. The move that they are used to do, it won’t work in my case!”

Hanging up the phone, Ribéry stared at the distant horizon in the sea and was lost in contemplation. He completely lost the mood to continue to his appreciation of the beautiful women.

To be able to play for a world-famous powerhouse club like Real Madrid was exactly what he wanted. Spain had beautiful sunshine and a variety of delicious cuisines, thousand times better than the United Kingdom. There would also be more attention at the Bernabéu, and the salary would certainly be more than Nottingham Forest’s. The star-studded teammates, weekly events, glitzy lifestyle…

However, he also knew from his heart that it was almost impossible for Real Madrid to buy him with the boss around. To let him come forward for himself? That would be disastrous. He did not want to be the gun in someone else’s hand. Cristiano Ronaldo was so stupid. What if Real Madrid failed to deliver on their promise to bring him to Bernabéu, then who would the real victim? The players themselves!

I can’t do such a risky thing. As long as I don’t leave Nottingham Forest, the boss is our king.

Those who contradict the king all end up with terrible deaths…

Chapter 663 - Twain’s Many Troubles

Real Madrid’s finance director, Sanchez, was still waiting for Ribéry to come forward and switch sides to give his battle for him a crucial turning point. However, the result he had gotten instead was for Heiderscheid’s request for them to continue to raise their bid until they satisfied Nottingham Forest.

This news shocked him and made him a little angry.

“Sixty-five million is still not enough? Does Nottingham Forest really want us to make an offer of one hundred and fifty million euros?”

“I’m afraid so, Mr. Sanchez…” said Mr. Heiderscheid weakly.

“That’s not possible!” Sanchez raised his voice and almost slammed the table. He had never met such a shameless, despicable, avaricious and insatiable team. “Ribéry is not worth one hundred and fifty million euros at all. We won’t even offer seventy million, not to mention one hundred and fifty million. Sixty-five million is our final offer!”

Tony Twain’s shamelessness angered Sanchez. He was the finance director of the world’s best club of the twentieth century. In terms of status, Tony Twain would not be catch up even if he tried. How could he act so arrogant in front of him?

“Mr. Sanchez, Nottingham Forest had already offered Frank a new contract. If Real Madrid does not give any indication, he will have to accept this offer to renew the contract.”

“We don’t plan to buy Ribéry with our entire transfer fund. The board won’t agree with me to do so. If he really wants to renew his contract with Nottingham Forest, I can only express my regrets.”

Sanchez’s words were cold, which sank Heiderscheid’s heart to the bottom of the ocean. He worked hard on this plan for half a year, and now it was wasted efforts…

“Wait, Mr. Sanchez. Maybe there’s still a way to turn things around…”

“Turn things around? If you have a way to convince Tony Twain, then this matter can be redeemed. But Mr. Heiderscheid, do you have a way to convince him?”

This was in fact a denial of Heiderscheid’s ability. Heiderscheid wanted to retort, but he immediately realized sadly that he really had no retort…

※※※

Ribéry flew back to England and then signed a new contract with the Nottingham Forest Football Club. This contract is for 2008 to 2013, with a weekly salary of up to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds. This contract made Ribéry the player with the highest-paid weekly salary.

This news was immediately posted on Nottingham Forest’s official website that day. Real Madrid knew their plans for Ribéry had completely failed… Sanchez lost to Mijatovi?, who could now have enough energy to pursue the indecisive Cristiano Ronaldo. To that end, Real Madrid even offered to use Robinho to make good as part of the signing fee for the transfer, which provoked strong opposition and resistance from Robinho. It led to the breakdown of his relationship with Real Madrid and he claimed that he wanted to transfer to Chelsea. But these were Real Madrid’s team matters, which Twain did not care. He had no interest in Robinho and did not want to profit from another team’s misfortune.

“I know there’s been a lot of talk about me this summer, but I’d say they were all rumors. I’ve never admitted to any of them. I became famous at Nottingham Forest and my heart belongs to Nottingham Forest. I love the fans here and I want to continue to win honors for you.” He told local media with a smile on his face at the press conference.

Twain also smiled and said, “I’m delighted that Ribéry has renewed his contract with us. Nottingham Forest’s brilliance is definitely more than just these two seasons.”

Ribéry’s agent did not attend the press conference for the signing of the contract. At this time, he cursed Tony Twain, berated Ribéry for failing to live up to expectations…

※※※

Having solved the matter with Ribéry, the biggest worry in Twain’s mind finally landed. The good news this busy summer was being able to hold on to the team’s main frame. Many Nottingham Forest fans were happy about it too. They believed that loyalty had made Ribéry overcome the lure of money. But was it true?

The average fan would never know the story behind every transfer deal. How many secrets were unknown to people behind those confusing transfers? Who was really right and who was really wrong among those who left or stayed?

Dunn and Kerslake were in charge of the team’s training. Twain’s current main focus was still on the transfer market.

Several clubs, such as Tottenham Hotspur and Keane’s Sunderland, had expressed interest in Chimbonda. However, they were both mid-to-lower level teams. Twain did not mind selling to sell Chimbonda there, but none of these clubs’ offers would satisfy his demands.

He put Chimbonda’s price tag at a minimum of eight million pounds, while Tottenham Hotspur only offered six million dollars, and not a penny more. Sunderland could only make a bid of up to five million.

Moreover, Chimbonda himself did not want to leave Nottingham Forest, where he still had a year left on his contract. He wanted to stay with the team and leave after completing the year’s contract. Twain certainly did not want to do so. If he waited a year before Chimbonda could leave on a free transfer, Nottingham Forest would not get a dime.

After much contemplation, Twain decided to renege on his words and accept Tottenham Hotspur’s six million-pound offer.

Chimbonda simply turned down Tottenham Hotspur’s contract. With a lower weekly salary than at the Forest team, this team had no ability to compete for the championship titles. He would not achieve anything there. He still wanted to win a few more championship trophies for himself— he believed it was possible to do so if he followed Tony Twain—and then leave.

The negotiations were at an impasse.

Twain did not have time to watch Chimbonda. There were the other players whom he needed to worry about.

※※※

Sidwell’s situation was quite the opposite of Chimbonda’s. There were a number of teams who wanted to bring him in, and he insisted that he must leave the Forest team. But Twain did not want him to go. Twain did not strong-armed Sidwell this time.

On the face of it, it sounded nice to say “I will never forget my year at Nottingham Forest” —of course it was unforgettable. As the midfield core of the Reading team and England’s star of hope, he ended up sitting on the bench for a year at Nottingham Forest till his buttocks were almost covered with sores. He could not forget even if he wanted to. “I’m grateful for my time at Nottingham Forest, where I’ve learned a lot of things” —He learnt how cruel professional football was. He learnt how to be patient and that being the core of a small team counted for nothing in a big team. “I have no complaints against Nottingham Forest” —This was for certain. Who would dare to go against Tony Twain?

In short, Sidwell was determined to leave no matter what and no one could pull him back.

In the end, Twain sold his substitute for the defensive midfielder position whom he brought in on a free transfer year ago to Aston Villa for a price of five million pound. Both Tony Twain and the Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill admitted they were optimistic about his ability. But the biggest obstacle to his rise to become a good midfielder at Nottingham Forest was not his ability, but George Wood, this steady monster.

After he sent off Sidwell, the task of finding a replacement for Wood was imminent. But Twain did not fully put his hopes in the transfer market. Kompany was a good candidate. He could play both as the center back and as the defensive midfielder on occasion. Twain intended to focus on his development in both positions.

After all, for the current rear defensive line, Kompany must be able to play multiple positions if he wanted more opportunities to play.

He had no problems in terms of his physical quality. He just needed to re-distinguish the difference between the defensive midfielder and the center back.

※※※

Twain did not stop when it came to the pursuit of players. Bosingwa was his biggest target this season. However, he encountered Chelsea and Manchester United. He could still manage Manchester United, but Chelsea was almost a rival that Tony Twain could not defeat.

It had a wealthy owner, a growing number of Portuguese players in the atmosphere, as well as one of the most important factors—Scolari had officially become the Chelsea manager after The UEFA European Football Championship.

Bosingwa was the Portugal national team’s main right back and Scolari was very familiar with him. He was also very familiar with this manager. It was obviously better to join Chelsea than to go to Nottingham Forest. Because of going to Nottingham Forest, Bosingwa did not know the team’s tactical style and if the manager’s personal style was suitable for him. But there was no such trouble if he joined Chelsea.

Nottingham Forest could still afford to offer the transfer fee of twenty million pounds. But the player’s personal will played an important role at this time. He wanted to join a team where he knew the manager well. Chelsea eventually took Bosingwa for just sixteen and a half million pounds, causing Twain to do a month of useless work.

Twain did not even dare to consider a right back like Dani Alves who was too expensive…

The failure in Bosingwa’s transfer was certainly bad news to Twain, but perhaps it was good news for the other guy.

Twain had to suspend talks with Tottenham Hotspur about Chimbonda’s transfer due to the difficulty in the current transfer market to find a right back candidate that would meet his requirements. He must now consider the possibility that he might not have a way to bring in a high-level right back this summer. If he let go of Chimbonda at that time, then the right-hand side would be empty at the start of the league tournament.

For Chimbonda, this change was a good thing. As long as Twain had no intention of selling him this summer, he would certainly be getting a new contract. Because Twain definitely would not allow his players to be sent away for free after a year, even if he did not like the player himself anymore…

Sure enough, two days later, his agent received a call from the Forest Club inviting him to discuss a new contract for Chimbonda.

The new contract was signed for a three-year period and the weekly pay was the same as it was now.

Breaking his original plan to renew the contract with Chimbonda did not mean that Twain had changed his mind about Chimbonda. He planned to use this cushion of time to continue to look for a trusted right back. Once he found the right person, Chimbonda still could not escape the fate of being sold.

Did Chimbonda know this? He must be aware, but he hoped to regain the boss’s trust and acknowledgement during this period.

In fact, he had no other way. He liked his life in Nottingham and was completely used everything here. He really did not want to leave Nottingham. He bought a house here and his family lived in Nottingham. His children also went to school here. Being selected for the France national team was not something he could consider anymore. He wanted to play in a stable environment till he retired and earned enough money to support his family.

In the end, Chimbonda stayed at Nottingham Forest as he wished. While Twain felt very unhappy for having wasted a month, only to come back around in the end without achieving anything.

However, there was a news which was of comfort to him.

※※※

Grosso’s transfer talks had a breakthrough development.

Before this, the France Ligue 1 champion, Lyon and the Serie A team, ACF Fiorentina both hope to bring in Grosso. Grosso himself wanted to return to Italy because he realized that he was not suited to play abroad. But the prices offered by Fiorentina and Lyon had a big difference.

Lyon offered Grosso nine million euros, while Fiorentina only offered seven million. When Nottingham Forest brought Grosso to England, it cost seven million euros. After the UEFA European Championship where Grosso’s outstanding performance spoke for itself, there was no reason to sell at the same price.

As a result, Twain did not have to think about it. He agreed to Lyon’s offer and turned down Fiorentina.

But Grosso himself wanted to return to Italy, so the negotiations stalled.

Fortunately, Lyon’s sincerity impressed Grosso. Another important reason was that Grosso realized that he was absolutely unable to defy Tony Twain’s will at Nottingham Forest. If Fiorentina did not raise prices, Twain would not agree to his return to Italy. Then he only had one option—to negotiate a contract with Lyon.

In the end, Lyon signed Grosso for nine million euros. It was two million euros more than the price that they wanted to bring in the left back from Inter Milan a year ago. But they felt it was worth it because Lyon was already in a tight spot with the left back position. Abidal went to Barcelona last season and Jérémy Berthod was also on his way to Monaco, so it was imperative to bring in a high-quality left back.

Grosso could not adapt to the English Premier League, but it did not imply that he could not adapt to the France Ligue 1. Lyon was still confident of this player for a world champion.

※※※

The renewal of Ribéry’s contract was good news while Sidwell’s departure was considered tolerable news. The failure to bring in Bosingwa was bad news, and Grosso’s transfer success had brought good news to Twain at this time. The recurring theme of Tony Twain’s summer was the constant stream of alternating good and bad news in front of him, tormenting him from side to side till he felt overwrought.

Now Arshavin had brought a swarm of flies to Nottingham Forest thanks to his stunning performance at the UEFA European Championship. In addition, Barcelona’s newly appointed manager, Guardiola had also made the announcement that the team was going to focus on defense, causing the Catalan media to make eyes at Piqué which troubled Twain.

There was also the constant bad news with regards to replenishing the midfield. Javi García and Rubén de la Red, whom Twain was keen on before the UEFA European Championship, were already taken by Real Madrid which used the buyback clause to recall Javi García and Rubén de la Red. Now they appeared at the Austrian training camp, dressed in Real Madrid’s white jerseys.

Twain had no choice but to turn his attention to the Spain national team’s other outstanding defensive midfielder at the European Championship— Marcos Senna.

In the European Championship, it was Senna’s tireless running and shoveling defense in the midfield that led Spain all the way to the final and eventually picked up the Henri Delaunay Trophy. In the quarter-final against Italy, it was due to his presence that Italy was almost out of play. He threatened Buffon’s goal with a long shot again and again—in this respect, his attack was better than Wood’s, so much so that Spain’s manager, Aragonés thought about whether it was better to place Fàbregas or Xavi next to Senna. Whereas Xabi Alonso, who had excelled in the English Premier League, was glued to the bench because of Senna’s presence.

This was a guy who was good enough to replace Wood on most games. But… the problem was still very big.

In terms of the player’s personal will, Senna was rather vague and did not say he wanted to leave or mention his loyalty. But it was his ambiguous attitude that made it difficult for Nottingham Forest—because they did not know how much effort should be put into this player and whether it would be worth it after putting in the effort. If he continued to stay in Villarreal, he had little hope of winning any honor and it was believed that Senna was well aware of this point. But Villarreal had given him everything he had now. It was not something that he could quickly make up his mind to throw everything away and transfer.

The biggest obstacle came from the Villarreal club. The Yellow Submarine made it clear that Senna was not for sale when Twain first asked for the price, asking Nottingham Forest not to get any ideas on this captain.

This tough attitude was exactly the same as Twain’s rejection of Real Madrid’s pursuit of Ribéry. After he had the same pleasure of doing this to the others, Twain now experienced the taste of being rejected by the others… It was really the reversal of fortunes.

In short, as long as the transfer window did not end, Twain would still have all sorts of troubles like these. And now he had to pack up these troubles and take them with him.

It was already time to go to China and Asia to make money.

Chapter 664 - The China Trip

Twain was not from Ningbo or Zhejiang. Before his transmigration, he had only been to three places in a big country like China—his hometown in a small town in the south of Sichuan;?the capital of China, Beijing where he went to university; and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, where he worked after he graduated from college.

Although Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou belonged to China, it was like another world for him, where he completely could not understand the spoken language there and the cuisine was not to his taste. The social customs and culture were a world of difference. Nor did he think that he would one day work up to the idea of traveling there.

But now, thanks to his soul attaching to this body, he got the opportunity to use “public money for the tour” and came to the place which was previously only a name symbol for him—the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.

He certainly did not come here on vacation. In fact, during this trip to China, the quirky and charming Shania was not here to accompany him. Instead, he was accompanied by a large group of men.

Indeed, they were all the members of the Nottingham Forest Football Club.

A year ago, the Nottingham Forest Football Club secured a large piece of land in Clifton, south-west of Nottingham, to build a new stadium. The city government strongly supported it and allowed them to buy the land at a lower price. Needless to say, there was no such thing as a free lunch. In return, they had to do something for the city of Nottingham.

Now was the time to give back to the government.

Essentially, Nottingham Forest’s trip was purely a gold rush, the actions of businessmen seeking profit. But the publicity aspect of it was loftier.

In fact, this was the first cultural exchange between England’s city of Nottingham and China’s city of Ningbo. With full fanfare, the Nottingham Cultural Promotion Week would be held here in full swing along with the visit of the UEFA Champions League winner, Nottingham Forest. The Chinese people in Ningbo did not have to travel to the other side of the mainland to England and they could enjoy the most authentic English culture and atmosphere.

The relationship between Nottingham and Ningbo dated back to 2005, when the two cities signed a contract to formally cement as friendly sister cities. As a gift, the prestigious University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom collaborated with the Ningbo Municipal Government to replicate the university in its entirety and brought it to Ningbo. A completely independent University of Nottingham was established in Ningbo and used the University of Nottingham configuration from the qualified teachers to the teaching materials. The students who successfully graduated could receive the University of Nottingham diploma issued by the University of Nottingham.

With these relationships, it was not surprising that Nottingham Forest’s visit to China was set in Ningbo.

This was the result of the partnership between the club and the city government. Without this relationship, Allan Adams would not care about any relationship of the sister cities. He would prefer to visit and set the competition venue at Beijing or Shanghai in China. But since they bought the land cheaply, they naturally would have to pay the price. The good news was the loss here could be made up elsewhere—the Japanese’s feverish enthusiasm for Beckham was enough to make Allan dream and wake up laughing while Southeast Asia and Hong Kong had long been the English Premier League’s biggest audience in Asia. The Premier League’s status was simply unmatched by any other leagues.

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s opponent had already been announced before coming to Ningbo. On the day of the announcement, the name of the opponent surprised Twain. It was China Olympic team.

This was also Allan’s stroke of genius.

Considering that the impact of this game held in Ningbo was too small, he decided to find a sufficiently influential opponent for Nottingham Forest. Now that the whole of China was crazy about the Beijing Olympic Games to be held in August, what was more convenient than to use the currently trending Olympic Games to promote themselves?

Accordingly, he got in touch with China’s Aide Group and the Chinese Football Association, hoping to arrange a friendly match—to the industry insiders, this was called a “friendly.” To the average fans, this was a “commercial game.” The opponent was the China Olympic football team.

Since the national Olympic team was intensely preparing for the Olympics, they needed a high-level opponent to do their warm-up. What team could be more suitable other than the Champions League champion?

This was an attractive plan for the Chinese Football Association. Firstly, they did not have to pay for the high-level teams from abroad to come play the friendlies; secondly, Nottingham Forest’s was indeed high and the whole world knew of this team now. It was beneficial for the China Olympic team to play against them; thirdly, it was also helpful for the UEFA Champions League winner, Nottingham Forest and the Olympic host’s Olympic team to have a friendly to promote the Olympic Games around the world. Since the torch relay, the opposition of some western countries to the Olympic Games had not stopped and was increasingly critical. This friendly should be able to convey another completely opposite voice, as long as it was in the premise of the Olympic Games, everything could be done.

The Chinese Football Association agreed in principle to the proposal, but they also had their own requirements…

The Chinese Football Association wanted to partake in the sharing of the revenue from the competition.

Allan and the head of Aide Group looked at each other when they heard this proposal. Allan did not quite understand this approach, but Adidas was a professional company that often operated foreign teams to play commercial games in China. They told Allan that if they wanted to deal with the Chinese Football Association, they would often come across this kind of incidents which would make the foreigners feel outrageous. And to be honest, this request was not really too demanding…

It was only then that Allan recalled what Twain said about “China’s national conditions.” He had been traveling back and forth from England to China for half a year and thought he should have similar understanding of China as Twain. He realized now that he was still far behind that guy Tony Twain….

Allan Adams agreed to the Chinese Football Association’s proposal. After agreeing on the specific splits, the Chinese Football Association, Aide Group and Nottingham Forest jointly announced that Nottingham Forest’s opponent in the friendly match in China was the China Olympic team.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately garnered the attention of the Chinese media and fans. The press covered the upcoming game extensively. They introduced, promoted and covered Nottingham Forest. The fans also showed a lot of interest in this game. There were also Chinese state-level television stations that had bought the rights to broadcast the game live.

These were what Allan wanted to see most. The China Olympic team’s competition plan had been very successful.

Twain had no objection to this opponent. Not only that, he felt that playing against China Olympic team might be the best choice. If they played against a local team in Zhejiang, Twain would find it boring. Playing those temporarily cobbled together league team would not be able to train the team. Whereas there was some competitive value to compete against a national Olympic team which had trained together for a long time.

Yes, Allan only thought about the economic effects, while Twain cared about the competitive value. These two words were spelled the same in Chinese Pinyin, but they were completely unrelated. In professional football clubs, it was almost the opposite.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest star players received a very warm welcome when they disembarked. The drizzle also did not prevent the fans from coming to the airport. The beautiful young ladies lined up below the airport escalators to offer flowers. The warm and bright Ningbo girls delighted the Nottingham Forest players. Other than a few big star players who were a little reserved and had to maintain their personal images, the younger players were stopped short of hugging the girls for a group photo.

Twain did not mind them as it showed that his team was in good shape in his view.

Picking up the floral wreaths from the young ladies, the team walked to the airport bus parked outside the terminal. There was no shortage of warm welcome along the way from the fans who had hurried here after they saw the news., it could be directly observed from the posters which the fans had held up and see who the most popular player on the team was.

Before coming to China, the Nottingham Forest players were bored and decided to make a bet—who was the most popular player in China? Of course, this bet excluded Beckham from the start…

Now the answer was revealed. Besides Beckham, the most popular person was George Wood. Van der Vaart was the runner-up by a narrow margin.

“Wood! Wood!” The enthusiastic Chinese fans held up George Wood’s posters and caricature , shouting his Chinese nickname.

In front of a crowd that welcomed him so warmly, George Wood remained calm and barely smiled. But what he did only prompted a higher decibel of cries and more people’s pursuit.

“Look! That’s a star player! So suave!”

“Wood is so cool!”

“I think he’s cute – ah, Wood! I love you!”

…

“Incredible, the zombie face can be so popular…” Ribéry said with gritted teeth as he took in the scene.

Fortunately, some people soon comforted by his “injured heart.””Ribéry! Ribéry! Look this way, look this way!” Someone shouted in English.

He happily turned his head in a hurry and only to see an awkward scene:

A Chinese fan held up a sign and next to him, two fans pointed their fingers at the sign, which read in French: “How much money for you to stay in Nottingham?!”

It was clearly meant to mock the news that he had delayed signing the renewal contract with the club for a reported price of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds and wanted go to Real Madrid.

He could only pretend that he had not seen and gazed at the grey sky.

※※※

“This is China!” On the way from the airport to CITIC Ningbo International Hotel where they were staying, the Nottingham Forest teammates looked out of the bus window with great wonder.

“Sun! Sun!” The teammates warmly beckoned Sun Jihai and wanted him to be their tour guide, introducing the scenery along the way which full of China’s Jiangnan flair. “What’s that? And that… Ah, this is beautiful!”

This put Sun Jihai in a very difficult spot. Because although he was Chinese, he was not from Ningbo and not even Jiangnan. He knew nothing about Ningbo and Jiangnan.

If he really wanted to explain to his teammates, he would have to start with China was a very big country. It was so big that it was beyond the imagination of these foreign teammates. In this way, the topic would expand and could not be clarified with two or three sentences.

“Ha… In fact, I do not know anything about Ningbo, I rarely come here…” He could only smile and state his predicament.

His teammates were very disappointed. Since they had a Chinese teammate, they thought they could pull him along to go out and have fun after they reached the hotel. A free local guide would be great!

Dunn looked at Twain, who hurriedly widened his eyes and said, “Don’t look at me. Although I am … I don’t know anything about Ningbo.” He almost let slipped, but luckily Kerslake, sitting in front, was busy taking the digital video to film the scenery along the way.

No one was quiet in the bus compartment. Everyone was holding digital cameras or digital video camera and facing the window. Twain did not do so. He was not interested in what was going on outside, and he was not here for a holiday anyway.

However, he turned his head and a tall billboard erected on the side along the airport road. The background was red and the dark words were Nottingham Forest and the national Olympic team players. The languages on the advertisement were a bit interesting, written in both English and Chinese—A warm welcome to the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League champions, Nottingham Forest Football Club visiting our city!

He smiled. There was really some “Chinese characteristics” which gave off a cordial feeling to people when they saw this…

There were several billboards on the side of the road. In addition to those which directly promoted the Forest team, there was the Nottingham Forest-related brand sponsors, as well as Aide Group’s advertising. It looked like Allan did a lot of work. Although the game had not yet started to play, the publicity campaign was executed beautifully. Seeing such billboards, he also felt a sense of accomplishment as the Forest team’s manager. He was very proud of his achievements.

It was drizzling in the world outside the window, but this did not affect Ningbo’s image in the hearts of these foreign guests. Because this dynamic Jiangnan-style painting in the hazy rain appeared to be more poetic, adding to the foreigner’s impression of a mysterious country like China. It was surreal like a dream.

※※※

After they arrived at the CITIC Ningbo International Hotel, a press conference was held in the hotel, where all the members of the team changed their clothes in the room and attended. This was considered a formal introduction of the team to the Chinese community.

Tony Twain became the main character at the press conference because his love of the Chinese culture was not new, even the football fans in China knew.

Throughout the press conference, he communicated with the media and fan representatives in fluent Mandarin, earning the applause of everyone present each time. Everyone applauded his fluency in Mandarin and his familiarity with China.

Twain was a little sorry about this. If he had gone to Chengdu, Sichuan, he could also use fluent Sichuanese to say hello to everyone…

“… I love China. I love its culture and the friendly people here. I am honored and proud to bring the team to Ningbo. I also hope to show the best of China to my players. I believe this trip to Ningbo must be a wonderful experience for my players!”

His last remarks won him a lot of applause.

Sitting behind, Evan Doughty smiled and clapped while he turned to Allan Adams sitting next to him and said, “And you were worried that he could get you in trouble. Look at his performance. He acted perfectly!”

Allan nodded too, “Yes, I must admit that he did better than I thought. He’s a natural public speaker…”

After the press conference ended, the players returned to their rooms for a rest, and then would gather as a group to ride to the banquet—the Ningbo municipal government held a welcoming dinner for them.

While some reporters and hardcore fans were still staying outside of the hotel lobby and not wanting to leave, Allan had found Twain, “Tony, are you free now?”

Twain knew that Allan had something to discuss with him. But he did not know what it was about. Could it be the matter about Ribéry that happened a while ago?

He nodded and said, “I have some time. What’s the matter, Allan?”

“Come to my room. I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Twain looked at Evan Doughty standing behind Allan and nodded in agreement.

Chapter 665 - So Tired

In the room on the twentieth floor of the hotel, Twain and Allan were looking at each other. There was no one else in the standard room except them. They could talk in private. Indeed, Allan Adams did not look for Tony Twain to talk about old times, but to discuss business—there was almost no possibility of them discussing any private matters.

“Are you telling the truth?” Twain’s voice was full of doubts.

“You know I never kid, Tony.” Allan shook his head and looked serious. He did not look like he was joking.

Hearing him say so, Twain raised his eyebrows.

He had never heard of such a thing, but the truth was really in front of him.

Allan told Twain that the Chinese Football Association wanted to re-establish its image with this game due to the recent football environment in China. When Twain heard this point just now, he almost blurted out, “They have an image?!” Hence, he did not take Allan’s words seriously. As a matter of fact, everything about the Chinese Football Association was basically a joke. There was slapstick style, black humor, and of course, corny jokes as well.

However, what Allan said next stopped Twain from laughing, “… They hope we can tie with the national team in this game.”

This remark immediately caused Twain to knit his brows.

To pre-determine the outcome of the match?

But it was not difficult technically. “A large-scale rotation will do. I can deploy every player on the reserve team. Surely the China Olympic team can manage to tie, right? I can also train the team as well…”

“No, Tony. If you deploy the reserve team our plan for the commercial games will be met with heavy losses. Aide Group hoped that we can deploy the main force as much as possible.”

“Huh?” Twain stood up from the couch and said, “Deploy the entire main force to draw with the China Olympic team? Are you insulting our team’s ability?”

Allan waved for him to sit down and said, “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I know your character, but I hope you can cooperate this once. This is very important for us to open up the Chinese market. You know, in China, no matter who you work with, you always can’t bypass the government…”

Twain sat down again and looked at The Ellen opposite. Adams: “You know China a lot better than before. . . I understand you. “I’s going

Seeing that Twain was not angry, Allan continued, “You can do this with a little flair and make the game thrilling with a lot of goals. And then… in the second half, you can start to change players, replace the main players, try a new lineup and observe the new players. Didn’t you bring in a few players from the youth team? You can take this opportunity to observe their abilities… With regards to these matters, you’re more of an expert than I am as the manager. You should know what to do. In other words, … there was actually no adverse impact on our image. After all, it is the reserve team which was forced to a draw …”

Twain interrupted his words, “Does the China Olympic team know this?”

Allan shook his head in reply, “They won’t know. The Chinese Football Association’s request to them is to strive hard and play to the best…”

“Play to the best of their abilities, fully display their style, study hard, accumulate experience…” Twain helped him finish. He could recite these entreaties.

At this point, he suddenly recalled a long-forgotten memory that had been from at least a decade ago.

In the early days of the professionalization of Chinese football, in addition to the emerging professional leagues which awakened the enthusiasm of Chinese fans for football, there was one thing that was an important evidence to that era… It could even be said to be a sign of the times.

That was the commercialization of the football games all over China.

From Sampdoria’s visit to China in 1994 until 1997, when Maradona led Boca Juniors to China on a “Heroes’ Tour of the Great Wall.” The Chinese football had experienced a dream-like era. “The Undefeated Workers’ Stadium” was the famous catchphrase of that era. Sampdoria, AC Milan, Arsenal, Club Atlético Pe?arol and Grêmio all lost to the Chinese team at the Workers’ Stadium. The success against the foreign teams greatly boosted the confidence and enthusiasm of the Chinese fans, thus directly triggering the 1994 and 1995 red-hot Chinese Jia-A League.

Many people were immersed in the joy of beating the world-class strong teams, and even believed that the level of Chinese football had reached such a high level. But when Grêmio lost to China’s Guoan in 1996, the competitive Scolari made an angry attack at a press conference due to the many controversial penalties which were favorable to Guoan during the game and shattered the Chinese fans’ beautiful vision of the commercial games. He said, “I finally understand why so many strong teams lost here. If you only rely on the referee to win, then I believe you will never have a chance to reach the World Cup finals, never!”

Immediately following which, in order to prove that Scolari was definitely not recklessly venting due to the loss, the England national team came to China with its entire main lineup and defeated the Chinese national team with a three-goal victory in the Workers’ Stadium. It thoroughly informed the Chinese fans to take a look at the nature of the commercial game.

When all was said and done, the world’s top teams visited China to make money. Who would really fight it out for real and compete with a country’s team which was backward in football? Furthermore, the players playing on the field were worried that they might be injured by their opponent’s intense actions, so their strength was naturally diminished.

As to whether the Chinese Football Association had any private deals with the teams that came to China, a poor citizen like Twain would not know. But now he had a firsthand experience.

Twain was not surprised by the kind of things that happened under the guise of the Olympics. After all, there had been scandals erupting from the national Olympic team and the national team in succession some time ago. The image of the Chinese football plummeted. Just as the Olympic Games were about to start, if they could tie with the world’s strong team, it would spur the fans, and also gather some confidence for the upcoming national Olympic team.

In this respect, it was entirely understandable that the Chinese Football Association wanted the game to be a draw. After all, these people had never regarded football as football. The laws of the football world were naturally nonsensical in their eyes. The football game in their mind should be subjected to their arrangements. Whether it was the outcome or the process, whether it was the environment or the players, coaches and referees… All had to obey them.

See Twain’s sudden silence, Allan did not continue. He waited for Twain to answer.

Twain came out of his thoughts. He lifted his eyes to look at Allan sitting opposite.

“Okay, Allan. I’ll be sure to extend this courtesy to them.” Twain winked at Allan and said with a smile.

Allan relaxed his shoulders and finally had a smile on his face.

※※※

Nottingham Forest would only stay in China for five days, but there was a lot of things lined up for them and time was very tight. Aide Group and Allan arranged a very intensive trip for the Forest team. If an ordinary person were to see them, he would unconsciously think that these people would split their bodies into two.

On the evening of their arrival in Ningbo, the team would attend a welcome dinner reception hosted by the city government and then returned to the hotel to rest.

The next morning, the team would go to Ningbo Fubang Stadium for raining to adapt to the venue. This training session was open to the public, but bought tickets were required to go in and watch. The fares ranged from fifty to three hundred yuan, and the scalpers might sell them for even higher. Because there were Beckham, van Nistelrooy, van der Vaart, George Wood, Franck Ribéry… and so many other star players. Their appeal to the fans was a tool for the businessmen to make money.

After the team got changed when the morning’s training ended, the team would attend a luncheon hosted by a Chinese sponsor for this event. During the luncheon, Twain and Allan would sign a three-year brand endorsement deal on behalf of Nottingham Forest. Over the next three years, this company would be allowed to use the image of the Nottingham Forest team to do publicity in China.

After an afternoon of basic training, some people could go back to the hotel to rest, while the others were busy. Beckham was going to attend a promotional event for one of the brands he endorsed. Dunn was invited by China’s state television to record a program about his working life at the English Premier League champion, Nottingham Forest. Both George Wood and Tony Twain would attend together the signing ceremony for the construction of the Armani store on Heyi Avenue in Haishu District, Ningbo, because both men were Armani’s brand ambassadors. Today was only to sign the agreement. This store would only be completed for the consumers next April.

The players did not have to attend any events that night, and they could have a night of free activities. It was believed that by then most people would choose to go out and do some shopping together. But even so, they could not relax too much. It was also because many media would tag along the way and reports on how they spent their time and shopping would appear the next day on television, newspapers, on the Internet and other media platforms.

On the other hand, Twain would follow the club’s top two executives, Evan and Allan to attend a celebrity gathering. Twain was the worst at this kind of activity, but he was unable to decline.

With no training on the third morning, all the players would have to dress up to visit the University of Nottingham’s Ningbo campus in Ningbo High Education Park. In the school’s stadium, the players played a little game with the local college students. For example, Beckham would teach the free kick and choose five players to have a simple one on one duel with the college students…

After a simple lunch at noon, the team would return to Fubang Stadium in the afternoon to continue the training open to public. The fans who bought tickets for the previous day’s training could enter directly with the tickets, and those who had lost or not bought them would have to purchase tickets again.

After the training, the players must immediately rush to Ningbo City Enmei Orphanage and to interact, give presents and care to the orphans there.

In the evening, after a quick dinner on the bus, the team would then rush to the television station and record a program with the lucky fans who had been selected, for about three and a half hours to four hours. By that time, it would already be late at night when these people headed back to the hotel exhausted.

They continued training on the fourth morning at Fubang Stadium, but this training was not open to the public. Because Twain would arrange detailed tactics for the evening’s game during this training session. By convention, such trainings were never public. Therefore, Aide Group did not sell tickets to this training session.

After lunch in the afternoon, the players would take a lunch break in the hotel to prepare for the evening game while Tony Twain had to attend a press conference. This was to launch the announcement of a partnership between Nottingham Forest and Zhejiang Greentown F.C., a local professional football club in Zhejiang Province.

In fact, to be frank, Greentown was the Forest team’s satellite club in China.

This was a big event involving football in Zhejiang Province, and Twain must attend.

After a simple dinner in the evening, the team would ride to Fubang Stadium, where the grand finale for their China trip was here—playing a friendly match with China’s National Olympic team, which had been training together for months, at Fubang Stadium in Ningbo City.

With Nottingham Forest winning the Champions League for the second year in a row as well as their Premier League title this year, they were The Double Winner and was unrivaled for a time. Their popularity in China also soared. Coupled with the game’s other team was the high-profile and highly anticipated by the locals, the China Olympic team, the tickets to the game sold like hot cakes. Originally, the Fubang Stadium could only accommodate thirty thousand spectators, so the organizers erected a special stand on the tracks. Thirty-five thousand out of forty thousand tickets sold, a result that should be considered good at a time when commercial football was getting less popular.

Aide Group suffered great losses on Real Madrid’s second visit to China a few years ago. This time at least they made it back with Nottingham Forest.

Early in the morning of the fifth day, Nottingham Forest would pack up and fly directly from Ningbo Lishe International Airport to Tokyo, Japan. They would start their four days and four nights of frenetic money-making in Japan.

※※※

Based on the schedule seen above, these few days would be a tough test for the players— wrong, Beckham had such an experience, so he could cope easily—it was miserable for the others who were tired as a dog.

In front of people, under the limelight, under the glare of the camera lens, in front of the media’s pervasive attention, they smiled as they faced the various occasions and tirelessly signed autographs for the fans, satisfied their requests for a photo. They carefully protected their public image.

When they were doing charity at the orphanage, everyone was very serious, and no one was too tired to shirk their jobs. This was what made Twain the proudest. Beckham, in particular, was simply the best example to the other teammates. No matter how many people surrounded him and what kind of requests the fans had, he always smiled and tried his best to fulfill. He never showed the slightest sign of impatience while being observed by others due to fatigue.

In the orphanage, being the most famous, he was also the most popular with the children. In front of the children with mental challenges and physical disabilities, he treated them like he would with his own children.

George Wood was a little awkward, but he tried hard.

The players only had time to eat on their way to the television station. But many people simply did not have the appetite to eat. After getting on the bus, they waved to the children, fans and reporters outside the window. Till the bus was finally out of sight, these dedicated “actors” only then leaned back on their seats and slept one by one.

If these star players were to replay their trip to China in their minds in the summer of 2008, what would be the only thing that stayed in their minds?

Tired?

So tired…

Chapter 666 - Enough Face Has Been Given

A few days of commercial activities exhausted the players, but soon they would be free. They just needed to finish today’s game.

The China Olympic team’s challenge against Nottingham Forest had long been publicized to the point of being known to the world. Although Chinese football continued to be at a low ebb, the Chinese fans highly looked forward to this game.

Some people might just come to watch the Nottingham Forest star players perform, while some people came to watch the China Olympic team play. China would never lack these people. No matter how many people cursed, sneered and showed contempt towards Chinese football, there would always be a group of people who would consistently pay attention to Chinese football. The standards of the Chinese Super League was low, and the attendance rate was low but there was still attendance in the seats, which meant that people did watch. Went without saying, the national team’s games were almost full—there was certainly a patriotic element involved. It was not entirely due to football.

As the world’s number one sport, football had an extensive base of masses in China, but no organization could integrate and effectively manage these masses. Then the base would always only be the foundation, and there would never be a superstructure built on this basis.

The Chinese Football Association hoped to use this game to rekindle the people’s enthusiasm for football and ride on the wave of the Olympics to take Chinese football up a level. Twain understood the idea of such a covert operation, because the Chinese Football Association leaders were such single-celled organisms with such wishful thinking. But he himself was very dismissive of such a practice.

This put the cart before the horse. The fans’ enthusiasm for football would never ignite because of a commercial game. The level of Chinese football would never change because of what the China Olympic team could achieve in the Olympic Games. These should have been the logical and natural results of continuous developments in football, but the heads of the Chinese Football Association treated them as part of the process.

When Twain was younger, he had the dream that many fans dreamt of—a group of talented players who rose up and a talented manager who led them to the World Cup. Later, as he grew older and had experience, he thought that this would always remain only as a dream. The system would not reform, and Chinese football would never be the first.

FIFA’s regulation clearly stipulated that all the countries’ national football federations could not be government bodies and must be private organizations. The various countries’ governments could not interfere in the affairs of the Football Association, or they would be severely punished. But look at China, the Chinese Football Association came out to state that “We are a private organization.” Would anyone buy that? The General Administration of Sport of China above them was the first to say no. Every Chinese was clear about the nature of the General Administration of Sport as an institution. How could FIFA not know? But they could not help it either.

the only consolation for the Chinese fans was that occasionally one or two good players would play abroad and represent China on another stadium. If they did well at the clubs, it would also excite the Chinese fans.

The Chinese fans’ demands were that simple.

But even with such simple requirements, it was difficult to implement in reality.

So now most of the Chinese fans could only vent their frustrations through ridicule and admonishment. Now Twain was luckier than them because he had the opportunity to express his emotions in person and show enormous face to the Chinese Football Association leaders who specially came to watch the “command of the war” …

※※※

It rained every day for the four days in Ningbo. Yesterday’s weather forecast stated that there would be light rain today, and as expected, it rained continuously from last night until this afternoon.

“Fortunately, we are a team from England.” Twain looked at the drenched world outside the window and said to the coaches next to him. “This is a normal weather for us. How’s the turf?”

“A little slippery.” Dunn replied.

Twain slightly frowned. When the field was slippery, it was not easy to control the technical movements and some unexpected circumstances might arise when the bodies collided, greatly increasing the possibility of an injury.

Even though when he was a fan, Twain was displeased with those European powerhouse clubs who came to China to play and did not put in much effort on top of their players acting lethargically due to the fear of injury, this time he would arrange it as such. Even if Allan did not come to him, he would also keep his team’s strength. He would be the world’s biggest fool if he let his main players be injured in a commercial game in the faraway China.

The bus that the Forest team was on slowly drove on the road. The section of the road near the stadium was somewhat blocked due to the game. Ningbo mobilized a large number of traffic police to maintain order and the speed of vehicles was limited.

Fortunately, the CITIC Ningbo International Hotel where they stayed was very close to Fubang Stadium. They did not have to worry about being late even if the drive was slow as long as there was no traffic jam.

The experience of personally bringing the players to a game on the subway while they were still in League One was considered rare for Twain.

The fans could be seen either taking the taxis, the cars, or on foot to the stadium along the way. When they saw the Nottingham Forest bus, the fans inside the cars would excitedly lean out to wave and shout. China’s five-star red flag and the posters of the Nottingham Forest star players crisscrossed together, which complemented well—all the colors were red.

“If I hadn’t… I would probably be one of them now.” Twain said to Dunn in Mandarin.

“Specially travel from Sichuan to Ningbo?”

“That’s not impossible… I had quit my job once before just to stay up late to watch the UEFA European Championship.” Twain said this with a very proud expression. He was not afraid of Dunn finding out about when he transmigrated from. He only said that it was the “UEFA European Championship.” There was the UEFA European Championship in 2000. As for his true age, he was still in school in 2002, but he never told Dunn, who also never asked about these very personal things. “Never underestimate the enthusiasm of the fans … Of course, never underestimate their anger.”

At the time of the game, the Forest players regained their professional player status and acted like they were going to play in an away league game. Only a handful of the young ones who were brought from the youth team curiously took out their digital video cameras to capture the spectacular “yellow tide” outside the window.

In fact, the team’s coaching unit for this game did not make any arrangements at all. These days the training was mainly based on physical recovery and simple tactical exercises. There was no special training held to deal with the China Olympic team. The team’s overall training plan was to prepare for the new season of the league tournament and European competition. Twain did not even gather the players for a tactical meeting before the game. There was enough to speak in the locker room.

Due to the proximity, Nottingham Forest set out right on time. By the time they arrived at Fubang Stadium, the players of the China Olympic team had already left the locker room one by one to warm up on the field.

“They’re in high fighting spirits.” Twain looked at those men and whistled.

“Because we are the strongest out of all their friendlies’ opponents.” Dunn said, “For them, this game is more valuable than their previous friendlies.”

“It will be even more valuable to them if they defeat us by accident.” Twain winked at Dunn.

“Impossible.” Dunn, the Chinese man, poured cold water on Twain in all seriousness.

“Allan will be very angry if he hears you say that… Ha ha!” Twain laughed. It looked like he was in a good mood. “But you’re right. Even if we don’t work hard, it’s not hard to win them. Fourteen years ago, Chinese football might have defeated those opponents which underestimated them. But now this team certainly won’t be able to. Everything develops, but it’s strange that this rule doesn’t apply at all in Chinese football.” He shook his head.

“Don’t let them dawdle. Better hurry and go warm up.” He turned his head and said to Kerslake, so the assistant manager’s loud voice rang out in the locker room.

“Don’t think you can relax just because it’s a friendly match! You will equally suffer from lack of warm-up! Does anyone want the new season to be over before it has started?”

His bark was effective. The players who took their own sweet time just now to while away the time, immediately dashed out.

Twain did not stay in the locker room to prepare as there was not much to prepare. There was no need to study the China Olympic team to play against their opponent.?As long as they played according to their tackles and usual habits, this game would be in their hands.

He felt like he had “returned in glory.” Deep down, he wanted to go out and show off. Although no one would recognized him as a Chinese man and the Chinese people would not be envious of his achievements, this did not stop him from fantasizing in his mind for self-entertainment. To think that I was just an ordinary young fan at that time. Now I have brought a two-time Champions League Double Winner team back to China!

As it rained for several days, the organizers were worried for a while that the fans who had bought tickets would not come to the game. But what Twain saw should give the organizers a sigh of relief. Half of the forty thousand seats had occupied by now, and it was forty minutes away from the start of the game.

The drizzle did not dampen the enthusiasm of the fans at all. Even when the players from both sides came out to warm up, they were happily shouting in the stands.

Looking at them, he thought about the all kinds of fans he had met in England. Suddenly, Twain lost the interest to “show off” outside. He turned back to the locker room.

Just as he walked into the tunnel entrance, he was stopped by a group of Chinese reporters. They wanted to interview this legendary manager, who was full of personality. The person who came out to ask the question was Tang Jing, an old acquaintance of Twain.

“I really can meet you anywhere, Miss Tang.” Twain greeted her in Mandarin.

“I’m the reporter, specially put in charge to cover you and your team. It would be strange if you don’t see me.” Tang Jing shook her head and then threw out her question. “Before the game, the fans were worried that such a commercial game would greatly discount the value of the competition. In terms of the viewing pleasure or the competitive nature, it is not as good as the usual game. What do you think?” ”

“This game is definitely not the same as the league cups. But I don’t agree with the remarks that it would be unexciting. Because excitement can be divided into several kinds. A massive victory of 7:0 against the opponent can also be wonderful to watch.” Twain winked at Tang Jing.

“Oh? Are you saying your team will score a lot of goals in the game?”

“I didn’t say that. It’s just an analogy. Don’t try to manipulate my meaning to that direction.” Twain was well aware of the reporter’s antics. “I don’t know how the game is going to be played out. I can only promise that we will try our best to let the Chinese fans enjoy a wonderful game. We are different from those European teams which come here just to make money. Don’t forget that we are also the cultural ambassador for Nottingham. This game is a great opportunity to showcase the English football culture. And, you know, Miss Tang, I never put my hands up in surrender before a game.”

Hearing Twain said so, Tang Jing smiled. Having said so much useless officialese mumbo jumbo earlier, this last sentence held the real truth. It was really hard to get Twain to give up before the game even started.

“So, this means the Chinese fans and television viewers can enjoy a great game with confidence?”

“That’s the way it looks.”

Twain and Tang Jing had a happy exchange and the other Chinese reporters were not willing to be left out, so they stepped forward to ask their own questions. The biggest advantage of interviewing Twain was that both parties could communicate directly in Mandarin without any translation, which made is less troublesome.

“What do you think of the strength of the China Olympic team, Mr. Twain?”

“I don’t know much about this team…” In fact, I know a lot, but I won’t tell you!

“There are rumors that you guys are interested in Zheng Zhi. Can you please confirm if that’s true?”

“If Zheng Zhi can accept to be George Wood’s substitute, I don’t mind.” Twain grinned. They just needed to understand George Wood to know that this was equal to a denial of the rumor.

“Do you have any expectations for the Beijing Olympics?”

“I’m sorry I can’t come to Beijing to watch the Olympics in person because the English Premier League will have already started at that time. But I believe the Beijing Olympic Games will be an unforgettable Olympic Games.” Twain answered the question with a smile. He was polite, gracious, humorous and gave off a good impression. It was hard for the Chinese reporters who first came into contact with him to believe that this man had a bad reputation in Europe.

Only Tang Jing knew that the outer appearance of this man was completely untrustworthy.

The group of Chinese reporters soon saw Tony Twain’s other side.

An attractive television female reporter squeezed in and asked, “Beckham is in the starting lineup. I would like to know if he will be playing in the entire game?”

“It depends on the situation. Generally, we will make to make a large-scale adjustment.” As this was not a regular game, the substitutions was discussed and agreed between the two sides. Because the China Olympic team wanted to train its players, so everyone decided that they could replace eleven players.

“In other words, it mean Beckham will be replaced midway?”

Twain began to find this female reporter very annoying for asking questions that lacked standards and rudimentary. His warm tone quickly cooled. “I can’t answer you now.”

The female reporter did not sense any dissatisfaction in Twain’s tone and continued to throw out her prepared questions, “Do you think David Beckham’s role in the team is very important?”

Twain finally could not help himself. He asked the reporter in a stern tone, “Lady, I’m not happy with the way you give your interviewees presupposed questions and answers. I can only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Or do you want me to give you answers that you want to hear? I’m sorry, but I refuse to answer this question. Besides, you’re an entertainment reporter, aren’t you?”

Twain’s sudden outburst left the reporters in the room stunned, including the female reporter. She had covered many events in China and always asked such questions. No one had ever said that she asked the wrong questions and badly.

For example: “Do you feel glorious and proud to win the gold medal? Do the coach and the team help you a lot? Are you so excited that you want to cry?”

“Do you feel sorry that you only won a silver medal? Do you feel you have let down the country for your training over the years?”

“Congratulations on running your best time for this year. Liu Xiang won the championship title. Do you feel very happy? What do you think of Liu Xiang’s performance today?”

…

But today, this man was actually merciless in refuting her. She could not wrap her head around this for a moment.

“I’m… I’m not an entertainment reporter.” It took her a long while to answer this inexplicable question.

“You should be an entertainment reporter. You are very talented in that area.” Having said that, Twain walked away and left behind an awkward silence for all the Chinese reporters present in his wake.

Tang Jing saw this scene in the back of the crowd and shrugged her shoulders. She knew things would develop this way …

The displeased Twain quickly walked through the tunnel. When he passed by the home team, the China Olympic team’s locker room door, this door just closed. The action caught his eye and he turned his head over. In that instant, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure through the door—the Chinese Football Association President, Xie Guanlong.

It was said that Dujkovi? was just an overall head coach by name only for a long time. The Chinese coaching team was just a puppet, only responsible for conveying the instructions and spirit from above. Now it seemed like the rumor was not false.

A glimpse of this scene made Twain laugh. Chinese football was full of jokes. With a track and field background, Xie Guanlong put on an act to arrange the tactics and command the team’s game Then a group of professional coaches bowed their heads and listened, while continuously nodded in agreement. On top of that, they would fawn on and flatter that “the president is really an expert”, “President Xie’s words are correct” … He felt it was very funny just thinking about it.

Fortunately, he did not have to suffer in such an environment.

This interlude suddenly improved his mood.

※※※

The players returned to the locker room after the warm-up. They dried their perspiration and changed into clean clothes.

Twain saw that they had all done this before he spoke up, “With regards to this game … there’s nothing much to say. We will play as we usually play.”

Eastwood stood up and asked, “Chief, is it still defensive counterattack?”

“We don’t just know how to play defensive counterattack!” Twain glared at him, “We are going to practice and train with the offense from the middle routine today. We’re not going from the wings, only in the middle. If the Chinese team comes out punching, we will need to defend more fiercely. Take this opportunity to score a goal against them and start practicing the offense again.”

The players nodded. The middle was an area where all the teams paid more attention to. Whether offensively or defensively there must be more players here. The Forest team had little chance to practice specifically during normal games because they had to win, and it was obviously more effective to play in the wings. Now in the face of such an opponent like the China Olympic team, it would be a waste of opportunity not to use it as a practice of the tactics, but to play the flank attack which they were best at.

“But I want to remind you.” Twain held out his left index finger and said, “Everyone must be aware of the weather and the field conditions with the warm-up just now. The Chinese team will fight fiercely. You have to be careful not to let yourselves get hurt. Don’t go and intercept the more difficult balls from the opponent. When they have bigger movements, just avoid them. Protect yourselves.”

Everyone on the starting list bobbed their heads. Twain gave face to everyone with the starting list for today’s game—almost all of the main force were in the lineup.

The goalkeeper was van der Sar. The center backs were the partners, Piqué and Ayala. The left back was Gareth Bale and the right back was Rafinha. The defensive midfielder was Sun Jihai and the attacking midfielder was van der Vaart. The left midfielder was Ribéry and the right midfielder was David Beckham. The strikers were van Nistelrooy and Eastwood.

The center back, Pepe has been sidelined due to a minor injury because Twain wanted to be careful. Even though George Wood did not have any injuries, Twain put him on the bench. In fact, Twain had his own plans for this arrangement …

※※※

At the same time, in the China Olympic team’s locker room, Xie Guanlong had just guest performed as a manager and arranged the tactics for the China Olympic players. Truthfully, his tactics were very simple, nothing but some terms which a fake fan would know—“Must have a solid defense and quick counterattack. The front field will then begin to force an interception, attack from the both sides. The ball is heavier on a rainy day, so strengthen the long shots …”

After he gave these seemingly professional instructions which in fact amounted to perfunctory nonsense, he began his favorite ideological mobilization which was the motivation of the players before a game.

“Players! It’s a rare opportunity to be able to play against the UEFA Champions League champion. The Chinese Football Association has worked hard to obtain this opportunity for everyone, so I hope you all will cherish it.” He put one hand on the hip and the other hand with his five fingers slightly spread as he brandished his hand, looking every inch like a leader. He said, “We’re definitely not as good as our opponents in this game, but I hope you don’t give up. You’re going to play your own style! Firstly, we must have momentum! Our strength is weaker than the opponent, but if our momentum is worse than the opponent, then we cannot play this game! We have to scare them! We must show a tenacious fighting spirit, ferociously tackle and have bigger movements. As long as the opponent is afraid, the situation of the game will be to our advantage!”

He spoke energetically here while the manager, Dujkovi? sat in the corner, looking indifferent. It was as if everything that happened here had nothing to do with him. In effect, it did not really matter. He was just a figurehead and could not do anything since he had no power. To put it nicely, he was just a spectator who was able to sit in the technical area.

“Secondly, we must not give up! Don’t give up the game under any circumstances! The style of Chinese football is we never give up till the last second!” Xie Guanlong was high-spirited, as if his team had won the game. However, did he not blush when he said those words? … “If the other side scores a goal, we will try our best to grab and mess up their rhythm! Then we strive to equalize the score sooner. You must be fierce during the defense. We use our fighting spirit and tenacity as well as proactivity to make up for our technical disadvantage!”

“Finally, I hope you can give the fans in the entire country a wonderful game and let the fans see the spirit shown in you! The Party and the people are watching you and hope you can deliver a satisfactory result!”

After he irresponsibly threw the heavy burden of 1.3 billion people’s expectations on the shoulders of these regular players, Xie Guanlong left the locker room accompanied by the other officials with ease and confidence. He felt extremely good just thinking about that result and the impassioned speech he gave before the game.

Back on the podium, after he shook hands with the Nottingham Forest’s chairman, Evan Doughty and Marketing Manager, Allan Adams, he sat next to the two men and got ready to watch the game.

In the stands opposite the podium, there were fans who displayed a banner “Xie * Long should be fired!” Give Dujkovi? back!”. However, he swept his gaze across and pretended not to see it.

※※※

The players from both sides came out in a file and the atmosphere at the stadium began to heat up. The live broadcast announced the players from both sides one by one. All the China Olympic team and the Nottingham Forest star players received the most enthusiastic applause and cheers from the spectators. Beckham was certainly the most popular.

Because George Wood was not here, it should have been the second captain, van der Sar who came up to pick for the coin toss. Since it was not an official game, but a commercial one, Twain gave Beckham the captain’s armband from a commercial point of view. This move proved to be welcomed. When Beckham with the captain’s armband was spotted in the center circle doing the coin toss with the China Olympic team captain, Li Weifeng, the fans in the stadium broke out with loud cheers.

Beckham lost to Li Weifeng during the coin toss and won the right to kick off.

After a group photo of the starting lineup, the players on both sides returned to their respective positions. The main referee from China whistled and the game officially began!

Once the game started, the fans in the stands really gave their energy to rally. The majority of them cheered on the China Olympic team. Because Twain heard clearly what they shouted, “China team, come on! China team, keep fighting!”

Any fan who often watched the Chinese team play live on the television would be familiar with this sound, and Twain was no exception. It looked like no matter how popular Nottingham Forest was in China, no matter how big Beckham’s appeal was, as long as the opponent was the China Olympic team, then it would be almost impossible for the fans to cheer for the Forest team.

It was Twain had stated when the game started. The morale of the China Olympic team was very strong. Although they did not control the ball, they were aggressive with the tackles. Any successful defense would gain cheers from the stands. However, in Twain’s view, this performance was bold but not very astute. The “head coach” who made such an arrangement was very incompetent.

The China Olympic team would inevitably consume a lot of physical strength with such fierce interception. Moreover, they could not take care of every corner of the field, especially in the rear defensive line where a lot of gaps could be taken advantage of. The Nottingham Forest team was just waiting for a suitable opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

Nottingham Forest did not have to wait long for this opportunity. Nottingham Forest, with most of its main force deployed, easily controlled the pace of the game. The China Olympic team began to follow the pace of the Forest team. They ran vigorously but also energetically used up a lot of physical strength, which actively opened up gaps for the Forest team.

In the sixth minute, Beckham spotted the right timing to suddenly kick off a cross pass to the penalty area. Van Nistelrooy and Eastwood attracted the attention of all the China Olympic team defenders. Van der Vaart, who was left unmarked, plugged into the penalty area from the back and volleyed a shot in the air without stopping the ball!

If it was a more important game, he might steady and stop the ball before he made a move.?But in such a game, the China Olympic team did not give him any pressure, so he had the mind to execute a move with a high degree of difficulty which was not commonly used. And it worked very well…

“The ball’s in! Alas, a gap that shouldn’t have been there appeared in the defense of the China Olympic team…” The commentator of China’s national television station appeared frustrated.?It was known that the strength of the two teams was not on the same level, but the China Olympic team represented China. It was really embarrassing for them to concede a goal so soon.

When they saw that the goal was in, the Forest players celebrated minimally. Twain and the others in the technical area did not even get up and clapped. For these people, it was normal to score a goal against the Chinese team. It was not worth celebrating at all.

※※※

After taking the lead, Nottingham Forest deliberately slowed down the pace and began to follow the guidelines that Twain had set up before the game. When there were opportunities to attack, they would attack in the middle without exception, even if the China Olympic team put all the defensive forces in the middle. Even if this led to a sharp decline in the success rate of the offense, they did not intend to try the flanks.

While the trailing China Olympic team strengthened its tackles amid the fans’ cheers. As they were over-excited, their movements got bigger and bigger, forcing the Nottingham Forest players to give up the ball several times to avoid the other side’s ferocious shovels.

This made the Forest players a little disgruntled. The commercial game was increasingly becoming explosive.

Finally, in the twenty-first minute, the China Olympic team’s striker, Gao Lin, received Zheng Zhi’s pass in the penalty area when he suddenly fell to the ground. The referee decided to award a penalty! The Nottingham Forest players felt very wronged.?Even though Piqué and Gao Lin had physical contact, it was an exaggeration to rule it as a foul. He could not always whistled for a penalty as long as the opposing striker had physical contact with the defender in the penalty area and fell to the ground, could he?

The referee ignored the protests of the Forest players and insisted on the verdict.

Twain smiled when he saw this scene off the field. Did the Chinese Football Association also double up on the insurance?

Unsurprisingly, Zheng Zhi scored with this penalty shot. The score became a tie at 1:1.

The gongs and drums thundered in the stands and the fans were extremely happy to be able to equalize the scores. The players of the China Olympic team were also affected by this, becoming more excited and aggressive with their actions.

The Forest players soon found a problem. The two teams fought hard and when the Chinese team players fell after any physical contact, the referee would penalize the Forest team for fouls most of the time. The China Olympic team led by a wide margin with the number of free kicks in the first half.

When Ayala skirted around from the back to defend and took the ball off the feet of Zheng Zhi who was glancing around, Zheng Zhi fell to the ground and the referee whistled that he fouled again. The Argentine veteran shook his head helplessly as he stood on the spot with his hands on his hips.

As a result, the Nottingham Forest players played more and more passively. When they attacked in the face of the Chinese team’s defense which bordered on fouling, they played nervously. During their defense, they dared not to make a move lightly because they were afraid of being penalized for a foul. In this way, the Chinese team regained the initiative on the field.

When the Forest team controlled the ball, they preferred to pass the ball back and forth in the center and back field, rather than pass the ball forward. Such a move upset the fans who came to watch the game. They wanted to see both sides pit themselves against each other in the attacks and not a passive game. As a result, the boos against Nottingham Forest began to emerge in the stands. As soon as they started passing the ball to each other laterally, the hissing would immediately erupt.

And the China Olympic team, who strove to compete, naturally got the one-sided enthusiastic support.

Everyone’s thinking was this—since Nottingham Forest is not willing to give their best and doesn’t want to play seriously with a team like us, then we will defeat and embarrass you!

In the second part of the first half, the China Olympic team began to gain the upper hand. There was even a siege on the Forest goal, leading to a dangerous situation in the goal guarded by van der Sar. Seeing such a scene, the grandstand naturally broke out in thunderous cheers. In the podium, Xie Guanlong was also full of smiles.

In the technical area, Kerslake could not sit still. It was strange that Twain, who was a fussy person, stayed calm in the tense situation, crossed his legs, and did not seem worried about the team’s plight.

Nottingham Forest paid the price for their passive play before the end of the first half. Zheng Zhi unexpectedly did a long shot. The football hit Sun Jihai on the thigh, which deflected the shot and caused it to fly into the net. Van der Sar could only sigh as he watched the ball.

In this instant, the decibel at the Fubang Stadium reached the highest level since it was built.

Xie Guanlong even stood up and clapped. The players of the China Olympic team hugged excitedly. They completely suppressed Nottingham Forest in the second part of the first half. And now they were ahead of the European champions! It would be hard to tell these young people not to get excited.

As for Twain? He just turned his head to the restless Kerslake next to him and said, “You should be happy. The first half is about to end, and we don’t have anyone hurt.”

※※※

During the halftime interval, the China Olympic team players ran off the field with their heads held high and their chests puffed up as they received cheers from the fans along the way. While the Nottingham Forest players went off the field a little helplessly with their heads bowed. They would hear the boos from the stands occasionally.

It was no wonder the attitude of these fans who were still pursuing the Forest players before the game had turned one hundred and eighty degrees. People had high hopes for Nottingham Forest, which had the titles of the Champions League champion and Double Winner, in the first half, but did not play at the level which everyone wanted to see. How could this not be disappointing? Since they were disappointed, they naturally had to fully express for the English team to see.

The director of the television broadcast was clearly aware of Twain’s position. When the players came off the field, the camera turned to Twain, but was surprised to find that Twain was not dissatisfied with this result and the team’s performance at all, which was really puzzling. Was it not a rumor that he could accept a loss, but could not accept a loss that was cowardly and had no fighting spirit?

What about now…

How would these people know how Twain’s mind worked?

On the podium, Xie Guanlong left his seat with a smile on his face as he went to the locker room to inspect the team again. He was delighted by the team’s performance in the first half and the reaction of the fans in the stadium made him even happier.

※※※

Everyone was already in the locker room when Twain came in and closed the door.

He did not criticize the players at all. Instead, he smiled and said, “You’ve done a good job, and no one was hurt. I’m relieved.”

But his players disagreed with his view. Eastwood stood up in frustration, “Chief, I can’t accept this result at all.”

His comments were quickly echoed and concurred by most of his teammates.

“Oh? Why?” Twain pretended to be surprised, “Not getting hurt in a friendly match is the most important. I think there is no reason to fight for such a game.”

“You’re right, Chief. But I just can’t accept this result and the awkward situation. Every time I heard the boos in the stands, I don’t feel good.” Eastwood, who was usually smiling, now looked serious. “We’re the European champions, aren’t we? We’re the Double Winner, right? If we played a little more seriously, the first half would be 3-0. To be honest…”

Eastwood hesitated slightly and decided to speak his mind, “… I don’t like this kind of competition. It’s like being on a show and giving the results the spectators want to see. I prefer the real Champions League final to this kind of commercial game!”

Having said that, he looked up and waited for the chief’s criticism. But Twain smiled and did not intend to scold him at all.

“But I think the outcome and situation of a commercial game is insignificant. As compared to that little bit of dignity, I value your health more. We can’t choose whether to play in this kind of competition. As our reputation grows, there will be more of such similar games. But we can choose the way we play…”

Eastwood was set to vent his frustrations suffered from the first half today. He knew the chief liked him, so he was a little unchecked. “I remember, Chief, that you said to us before that the way to finish the game early was to completely wipe out the opponent at the start of the game. Why can’t we be like that in this game? Anyway, I think this kind of game is an insult to my work ethic.”

He was a little heavy handed with his remarks, but Twain was still not angry. He looked at the players with a smile.

“I think, chief… I can guess what these Chinese newspapers will say about us the next day, and it will not be good, that’s for sure.” A second man stood up and it was Pepe, who did not play because of his injury. He shrugged his shoulders and grimaced, “I don’t want other people to look down on us.”

“Boss, we know what a commercial game is. But there is no rule in the commercial game that we have to lose to the hosts.”

“The referee of this game kept blowing the whistle and every situation was against us. I want to teach them a lesson!”

“It was hard to play in the first half. Football is not meant to be played like this!”

More and more people bravely stood up against their king, but the smile on Twain’s face widened.

“So, you don’t want to lose this game?”

“Who was the one who told us that Nottingham Forest’s football is to never say die and admit defeat. Chief?” Eastwood looked directly at Twain and asked.

Twain finally laughed, “I knew you people won’t take it lying down. Actually, I think… Of course, I don’t want to lose, but I don’t really want you to get hurt. You all saw the opponent’s actions. I do not want to wait for someone to get hurt before I start regretting. You must also think about your own bodies.”

“At the start of the second half, I’ll make big adjustments in the players. I will replace all eleven players. But!” He raised his voice, “You’re right, Nottingham Forest’s football is to never say die and admit defeat. I will never accept failure, let alone this kind of failure! We are clearly able to beat them, so let’s beat them!”

Among the crowd of excited people, Sun Jihai began to pray for his fellow countrymen.

Twain bared his lips and grinned happily as he looked at the confidence and fighting spirit that everyone had to win the game.

The only regret was that he could not see the change of expression on the faces of those Chinese Football Association heads in the second half. You must have had a good laugh in the first half, didn’t you?

Allan, I have given you enough face. In the first half, they were one goal ahead of the main lineup. Such a good thing is not easy even for Manchester United, Real Madrid and other big teams to encounter.

Chapter 667 - Stupid and Awesome

As the players from both teams stood near the center circle waiting for the second half to begin, Twain changed four players in one go. Four players clad in Nottingham Forest’s yellow away jerseys stood on the sidelines, waiting in line to get on the field.

Kompany replaced the older Ayala, Akinfeev substituted van der Sar, Lennon swapped out David Beckham, and George Wood replaced Sun Jihai.

Beckham’s exit made the fans unhappy with Twain and they booed him constantly.

“They’re not booing at you, David.” When Beckham walked off to shake Twain’s hand, Twain laughed, “The boos are for me. They are complaining that I’ve brought you off too early.”

“I understand, boss.”

“Well, dry yourself.” He personally handed over a towel himself.

Wood took over the captain’s armband from Beckham. He tied it himself, and then ran onto the field. He did not give his opinion on how they should play in the first half during the halftime interval. But Twain knew this kid must have bottled up a lot of energy inside.

During the halftime interval, Twain instructed the team to step up their long shots and still play offense in the middle. Apart from the players’ fear of injury and the referee’s whistle, they were unable to break the goal in the first half partly due to Twain’s instruction to the team to attack from the middle. But he did not change that in the second half. In addition to this being a hard-to-get opportunity to train the players, Twain did not think that they could not breach the goal by attacking from the middle with Nottingham Forest’s ability.

In fact, even if the main players did not make noise during the halftime interval, Twain also had a way to reverse the situation in the second half. Hence, he specially kept the substitutes for the second half. These players usually played less, and very eager to prove themselves, which in some cases were more powerful than the main players. Twain had planned from the start to let them play in the second half to teach the heads of the Chinese Football Association a lesson.

That was right. He did not plan to listen to Allan in the first place and to give face to the Chinese Football Association. The Chinese Football Association’s reputation had nothing to do with him. At that time, he did not directly refuse Allan only because he did not want to quarrel with him. His hot-headedness and outspoken personality did not mean that he would not resort to petty tricks.

※※※

While the China Olympic team’s players and most of the fans were still oblivious from the dream of the first half, van der Vaart’s long shot that struck the goal post had sounded the alarm.

In the fifth minute of the second half, less than a minute after van der Vaart’s long shot hit the post, Ribéry suddenly cut inside after he dribbled the ball in the wing. He kicked the ball in a straight line just before the China Olympic team thought he was going to do a long shot. Plugging in from the side, Eastwood turned to shoot at the goal after he received the ball, which rolled past the goalkeeper who was unable to react in time and hit the net.

Nottingham Forest reversed the score.

So far, it was still in line with the result that Xie Yalong and Allan knew.

However, a bad feeling about this emerged in Allan’s mind.

In the eleventh minute, Li Weifeng whose defensive action was still rough, pushed down Lennon who had intended to break through in front of the penalty area, the referee blew the whistle and ruled that it was his foul, which gave the Forest team a free kick twenty-seven meters from the goal.

Gareth Bale stepped forward to execute this free kick and the football drew a beautiful arc to fly straight toward a dead corner!

Nottingham Forest completed the reversal of the game in six minutes.

After this goal, Twain substituted the players again. Bale, who scored the goal was replaced by Baines, van der Vaart was replaced by Petrov and Ribéry moved to the middle to be the playmaker in the midfield.

Following which, Petrov who just came on the field, brutally broke through the wing. After he relied on his speed to break past the China Olympic team’s defenders marking him, he sent out the ball. Van Nistelrooy suppressed Li Weifeng to head the football into the goal.

In the blink of an eye, the score had changed from 1:2 to 4:2.

While sitting on the podium, Xie Yalong’s smile on his face was long gone. His face was now infinitely close to Ningbo’s weather today.

Allan sat in next to Evan Doughty and was one person down from Xie Yalong. He could feel the emotional upheaval that took place in the Chinese Football Association President’s mind at this moment. Because he was also a little annoyed.

Tony Twain made a fool out of him!

※※※

Generally speaking, it was acceptable for the hosts for this score to be kept until the end of the game. After all, they had scored two goals against the European Champion and the other party only scored four goals. But Twain had no intention of giving up. He continued to bring on the driven players to attack the already battered and disheartened China Olympic team.

Bendtner came onto replace van Nistelrooy and Arshavin replaced Eastwood. Rafinha was replaced by Chimbonda and Wes Morgan replaced Piqué. The China Olympic team simply could not threaten Nottingham Forest’s defense now. Most of their faltering attacks were stopped by George Wood, who defended against them with ease.

Nottingham Forest scored two more goals in the final minutes of the game. Bendtner grabbed the ball in the penalty area to score a goal. Then he used his strong physique and followed up with a header shot to the goal.

By the time the Forest team scored their fifth goal, half of the fans had already started cheering and applauding the Forest players for each performance.

In contrast to this situation, Xie Yalong’s face was gloomy with tightly pursed lips, looking as ugly as could be.

The players of the China Olympic team still strove at the beginning. But toward the end, they realized that the difference in the strength between the two sides was just too big, so they just gave up trying. Their attacks were completely disorganized, and they struggled with the defense.

Seeing this scene, Twain shook his head and said, “This is all they’ve got, and the FA actually gave them the goal to reach the final four of the Olympic men’s soccer…”

“Are they crazy?” Dunn asked.

“Not crazy, this is their usual stance. If you were to hear the FA say we have to keep our feet on the ground and do something practical for Chinese football one day, you can call the mental hospital and ask them to send a car to the FA to get those people.”

Dunn was amused by Twain’s words.

But Twain glanced at him and said, “Is that funny? Don’t you think it’s sad and indignant to have encountered such a thing? But the Chinese fans have lost their energy for anger and swearing. They can only express their emotions in a sarcastic manner. You see…” He pointed to the stands and muttered, “how almost all of them are starting to boo the China Olympic team now. That’s how they express their emotions. They are forced to the extent that they see no hope at all. Who would want to use this extreme way to vent? To boo the team that wears their own country flag on the chest… It’s sad and pathetic.”

Dunn stopped laughing and was silent. His understanding and feelings about Chinese football were lagged behind this “British man” next to him. But he could imagine what Twain’s former attitude towards Chinese football was. Perhaps he cried, laughed, cursed and hoped too. But now, he coolly recounted other people’s own affairs here.

It was so sad and pathetic.

And so lamentable!

※※※

The commercial match ended with Nottingham Forest’s 6:2 victory over the China Olympic team. After the game, all the Forest players walked hand in hand toward the stands to thank the fans, which was their tradition and what Twain asked them to do.

Initially, these players thought that since they had slaughtered the home team without giving any face, those who booed them in the first half would boo at them even louder. But to their surprise and what touched them was the Chinese fans stood up in the stands to applaud the Nottingham Forest players who had played to their best during the match.

“To be honest, they understand the game very well…” Sun Jihai muttered when he thanked the fans with his teammates.

The people on the other team felt bad. Xie Yalong stood on the podium and clapped out of courtesy. Some eager fans already rushed out a new placard and raised it up in the stands below the podium to show to the officials on the podium.

“Xie Yalong is a stupid c**t! The FA is a stupid c**t!”

This slogan captured what all the fans in the stadium wanted to say.

※※※

The post-match press conference was lively. Because Nottingham Forest was the first team to beat the host team to a pulp since China had commercial football matches, this game set the records for the highest score for a single game and net goal difference for a foreign team over a Chinese team.

In accordance with the traditional thinking of the Chinese people, guests who came to visit the host, must pay mind to the host’s face. It was okay to win but it looked better for everyone to score less goals…

But Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team did not believe in this.

Twain’s first remark astonished the Chinese reporters present, “I was not satisfied with the team’s performance in the first half. We should have scored a few more goals. But I’m fairly satisfied with the current overall score. We showed the strength of a European champion in the second half.”

Twain knew some of the Chinese media would feel displeased, but he had his own way to shut them up.

“Before the game, there were some media which were concerned that the Forest team would not give its best to play in the commercial game, making the game less thrilling to watch. But now I think everyone can put their minds at ease. We’re a professional team and we upheld our work ethic. I’m very happy to give the Chinese fans such a wonderful game!” He smiled and opened his arms, looking very proud. “After the game, the Chinese fans gave my team a standing ovation and I was deeply moved by that. It also showed that we have won the recognition and appreciation of the fans with practical actions! The Chinese fans are…” He gave a thumbs-up and spoke in authentic Mandarin, “Awesome!”

His words and conduct rendered the media which were ready to make trouble, completely speechless.

Only Tang Jing was laughing below. That’s Tony Twain for you. You don’t know if you should love him or hate him… But whether you like him or not, he’s true to himself in front of you. Those whose hearts can’t take it; he may just be the death of you.

I would have fought him before when I was younger. But now when I see him, I can only smile when I see him. I really don’t get worked up by him anymore because he’s not directing it at me at all… Maybe he’s directing it at the world?

The puppet, Mr. Dujkovi? had nothing to say as this match had nothing to do with him. But he had to stepped out after the game to accept everyone’s rebuke. The salary given by the Chinese Football Association was really not easy to earn. . . . . .?“They played very well, and we tried our best. But the difference in the strength is too wide and we are powerless…” He rubbed his temples as he feebly answered the reporters’ questions, as if he was muttering to himself.

Twain glanced at him and did not think that this old man was pathetic.

If I were him, how could I endure such humiliation? I would have yelled at the Football Association long ago, and then got up to walk away. You can go find whoever is willing to play along. I’m not going to do as you say!

※※※

At the end of their last assignment in China, the players were given a break that night. They were free to go out and do what they like before 11:30 P.M..

While Tony Twain was invited by Allan to his room once again. There were some things that they had to make clear.

Unlike the last time, the club chairman, Evan Doughty was present in the room this time.

“The atmosphere doesn’t feel quite right.” He did not rush in. Instead, he clung to the door frame, looked inside at the two men and asked tentatively.

“Ah, Tony, Tony. What should I say about you?” Allan shook his head and sighed. There were times when he really could not get angry with this manager. During the game, he was so angry that he could not wait to look for Twain to question him in person what he was doing. But seeing him like this now, all the yelling he was prepared to do had vanished.

Twain quickly laughed, “It’s ok. I know why you’re looking for me. Actually, Allan, don’t blame me for lying to you. If I had refused in the first place, then the itinerary and various activities you had arranged these days would be affected. Isn’t that the case when you calmly think about it?”

Allan did not need to think calmly to know for sure that it would be like this. When the team’s most important two departments had a conflict face-to-face, it was inevitable that it would affect things. If everyone was fighting, perhaps many of the scheduled activities would have to be cancelled.

In order to come to China, he studied the many examples of European teams which came to China to make money these last few years. For example, in the summer of 2005, Real Madrid visited China for the second time. Originally, all the players were scheduled to go on China’s national television to record a program with the Real Madrid fans selected from all over the country. But due to a direct clash between Real Madrid’s commercial and athletics departments, this trip was forced to be canceled because the athletics department strongly objected to the exhausted team participating in the television show. The end result was Real Madrid missed the live recording of the show, leaving a very bad image in the minds of the fans across China.

With Real Madrid’s deep-rooted position in football and vast wealth, they did not take this little effect to heart. But Nottingham Forest, which had just stepped into the Chinese market, could not be careless.

“I’m not an impulsive person. I had thought about it. So, I promised you at that time because I did not want to influence your other plans. But I really couldn’t promise this matter. It offended my bottom line. I don’t know what your thoughts are, Allan. But for someone like me who cares about honor, a matter like this is like asking me to sell out the team. I couldn’t do that, and my players could not agree. You weren’t in the locker room at halftime. Everyone thought we played badly in the first half and they did not want to end the game like that…” He gave a shrug and did not continue to speak.

Allan stood there and did not know what to say.

When he saw that he did not speak, Twain continued, “Allan, you know this team. The whole world probably knows what kind of team Nottingham Forest is. I don’t blame you at all and I did not mean to deliberately go against you. But the Chinese Football Association’s request was too much. I could not accept. It’s their fault. None of us did anything wrong. They didn’t follow the rules of football. So, they had to pay the price and lie in the bed they made. I know better than you do about an organization like the Chinese Football Association. They have become accustomed to manipulating the games and leagues domestically. And now they think they can manipulate us?”

“But Tony. We are going to open a football school in China. This definitely can’t get around the Chinese Football Association. You’re now…” Allan finally had the ability to think, and he spoke harshly.

Twain smiled very happily, “Are you worried that by doing this, I have angered the FA? No, it won’t. Allan. You don’t know enough about this organization. The only person who was enraged by me was the president. Rest assured, his term is ending soon. By the end of this year… it’s not yet known what will happen when the next one comes along. It’s too early to say what’s going to happen.” He winked and added, “The presidents of the Chinese Football Association are transferred from the other institutions to dredge up enough achievements for a few years before they are promoted. They don’t care about how Chinese football is.”

Evan clicked his tongue in astonishment at the side. This kind of thing was really new to him.

Hearing Twain say so, Allan slightly softened his tone. “This is unbelievable.”

“Ha, if you dig deeper into this organization, you’ll find more incredible things. Some things will make you feel like it shouldn’t happen on Earth at all.”

But Allan soon discovered a new problem, “Wait a minute. If they change another leader, does it mean that all my previous efforts have gone to waste?”

“The bigger picture of the agreement negotiated with the organization should not be affected. As long as the relationship is not at an impasse, it will not block the other minor areas for us.” Twain thought about it before saying.

Evan, who had been watching, put his hands together and smiled, “Okay, Allan, this matter has been settled. I did say that Tony must have his thoughts. To tell you the truth, I think the suggestion put forth by the Chinese Football Association is silly, but fortunately Tony did not follow suit.”

Allan feigned anger, “So after all this and it’s my own issue?”

“Ahem…” Evan hurriedly coughed to cover, “This trip to China was perfect, Allan. There were some people who thought the Chinese commercial football games were over, but we have hyped it up this time. I’ve heard that Chelsea is already considering a formal visit to China… These are the best affirmations for you.”

Twain chimed in next to him, “Yes, that’s right. You’re the best I’ve ever seen with this area.”

“You only deal with the managers, Tony.” Allan was not angry. He said to Twain, “Anyway, what you did today made me lose ‘mianzi.’ Yes, ‘mianzi.’”

After spending some time in China, he could understand what “face” meant.

Twain pretended not to understand even though he could, “What’s that?” Noodles?”

“Don’t act silly, Tony.”

“Well, ok, to make up for your ‘mianzi’, I’ve decided to treat you to noodles.” Twain raised his hands in surrender.

“Spaghetti? I’m so sick of it…”

“No, Japanese ramen!”

The second stop of the Nottingham Forest’s East Asia gold rush project was Tokyo, Japan.

Chapter 668 - Money Versus No Money

In fact, after the Nottingham Forest team had Beckham, the best money-making place to go was not China, a vast country with a large number of people and seemingly limitless market, but rather a small and narrow country like Japan.

The Japanese’s love and worship of Beckham had already reached the point of no reason. They would crazily pursued anything related to Beckham, and their pursuits were measured by real money. Although China’s market was vast, not many people would really pay for authentic goods due to the impact from the developed piracy industry. There was no such problem in Japan. If they liked Beckham, they would go to a regular store to buy authentic goods. In this way, the economic benefits that Nottingham Forest wanted to see were generated.

Saying this might the Chinese people uncomfortable, but it was indeed like this—Japan was an important money-making destination that many European clubs valued. There was so much money to be made that many people rushed to get there.

Nottingham Forest’s trip to Japan was no different from that in China, with the players as tired as ever. They were only a little more relaxed when they went shopping in Ginza, Tokyo, at night. But to Twain’s delight, there was no such silly organization like the Chinese Football Association here. He did not have to worry about how to play the game.

From their arrival in Tokyo till their departure from Tokyo, Nottingham Forest set off a red Forest craze in Japan for four days. The fans could be seen wearing the red Nottingham Forest jerseys on the streets everywhere.

Evan saw this scene and had to exclaim, “I’m afraid even if Chelsea were here, it would not be able to have that effect.”

“It’s all to David Beckham’s credit.” Allan was aware who the key figure was. He said, “His influence in Japan can only be described as ‘frightening.’”

Allan was right. In Tokyo, Japan, wherever Beckham appeared, the traffic would be jammed.?Giant billboards with his head shots were erected at the top of tall buildings, and the goods associated with him were certain to be popular. Businesses did not need to advertise at all. The name “Beckham” was the best publicity.

In China, George Wood’s popularity could still match Beckham’s. However, even if the entire Nottingham Forest team combined, they were still not as popular as Beckham in Japan. Allan was well aware of this, so it was Beckham’s one-man show most of the time in Japan, while Nottingham Forest served as his background.

Here, Tony Twain had become a completely unknown staff member.

Twain would take this situation and joked with George Wood, “Go back and complain to your agent. He has made too little effort in Japan. Look at David!”

George Wood declined to comment on Twain’s joke.

On the last night, Nottingham Forest played against the local J1 League team, FC Tokyo at the Tokyo National Stadium. With two sets of lineups deployed, Nottingham Forest scored two goals in the first and second halves respectively to win 4:1 against FC Tokyo, which was currently ranked eighth in the J1 League.

After the game, the players did not get a good night’s sleep back at the hotel. They had to rush to Narita International Airport to fly directly to Hong Kong that night. Time was so tight that even an extra night of rest could not be squeezed out. They could only nap on the flight to make up for it.

Nottingham Forest was also warmly welcomed upon arrival in Hong Kong. As it was once a British colony, the English Premier League had a very solid base of masses in Hong Kong. Influenced by Hong Kong, the whole of Guangdong was also a loyal fan base of the Premier League. So, when Nottingham Forest was in Ningbo, the Guangdong fans who could not get there due to the distance, flocked to Hong Kong this time to catch a glimpse of the Double Winner.

For three days, not only did they play, Nottingham Forest also had a party with the stars of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry. The stars whom Twain could only previously see on the television were now Beckham’s or Forest fans. This sense of accomplishment made him feel very good.

At that party, he even played a prank on Andy Lau as he held his hand and said, “I like to listen to your songs. I can even sing Forget Love Potion!”

Then he laughed happily inside as he looked at Andy Lau’s intermingled stunned look and happy expression.

At the end of the party, the Hong Kong stars wore Nottingham Forest’s red jerseys and posed for photos with the players. This event not only appeared in the sports media but was also widely watched by the entertainment media. Allan Adams’ global outreach program was perfectly executed here in Hong Kong.

The Nottingham Forest team was known to anyone who loved football or did not care about it at all overnight in Hong Kong.

A game was certainly not forgotten. Nottingham Forest and Hong Kong Football Club played a friendly match in Hong Kong. Two sets of lineups were deployed to satisfy the audience and also to allow as many players as possible to get the opportunity to exercise. The only regret was that the Forest team’s performance in this game was clearly not as good as the first two games. The main lineup looked a little tired and out of form. The two sides ended up with a 3:3 draw, which the media promoted as a happy result.

But was that true?

On the flight to Thailand, Twain’s eyebrows were knitted. The adverse effects of commercial competitions and frequent commercial activities finally emerged. The fitness of the players had reached its limits. Whatever the parties on the Thailand and Malaysia sides had in mind, he had made up his mind to play the next two games with the reserves team and substitutes. His own players must be fully rested. Originally this year, the team’s training time was reduced due to UEFA European Championship. However, they had to travel to East Asia to make money now and the whole team together did not have a systematic physical training. Their performance simply maintained from last season, which was just a continued state. At the end of the day, the Nottingham Forest team’s condition continued from last season and were not in the new season yet.

This worried him a little.

The history and lessons of the predecessors told himself that such commercial games would inevitably affect the team’s performance in the new season. How could he minimize this effect? Twain had a severe headache.

Nottingham Forest was still warmly sought after in Southeast Asia, but there was less commercial activity here and the team could finally train systematically. But the whole summer had been disrupted by the European Championship, commercial games and Olympic Games. What was the use of this small amount of systematic training?

After their narrow victories against the local teams in Thailand and Malaysia, the team finally got on a flight back to the United Kingdom, ending a busy and arduous trip to Asia.

It was busy and hard for the team. But for Allan Adams, it was a very productive summer. Just from five games alone, the Forest team’s income was five million euros, an average of one million euros per game. One must know that when Real Madrid started a new wave of commercial competition spree in Asia since 2003, the appearance fee per game was two million euros. In addition to the “hidden income” from those direct income plus the free accommodation and food transportation provided by the organizers, Nottingham Forest made thirteen million euros in one summer. These thirteen million euros did not include a package of commercial partnerships that, if successful, were expected to generate at least thirty million euros for the Nottingham Forest Football Club over the next six years.

There were also some very long-term investments, such as the proposed construction of a Nottingham Forest football training base in Ningbo, dedicated to recruiting young players from China and nearby countries. The school would use the training materials, standards and programs of the English Professional Football Club to discover and nurture Asian talent. Like the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, the school was completely independent of the Chinese football environment and was closely linked to Nottingham Forest, sharing all the resources of Nottingham Forest. The outstanding young players would have the opportunity to go straight to England for more advanced training and were likely to sign with the Forest team. Then they would be on loan to train in the Forest team’s satellite clubs which certainly included the Chinese clubs.

Ningbo was chosen because of the strong support from the Ningbo municipal government. The city government’s leadership wanted to get rid of the long-standing image of Ningbo as an “economically strong but a weak football city”, so they hit it off with Allan Adams. Building a school here, Nottingham Forest could enjoy a number of preferential policies.

In addition to the new football school, Nottingham Forest planned to try to enter the property sector through building a new stadium in Nottingham. Allan saw China’s vast real estate market and decided to invest in China by starting a real estate company which was sole responsible for investing in the real estate business here.

Nottingham Forest’s licensing rights was also signed after a consultation with Nike. The Wenzhou-based factory had started producing a variety of souvenirs, jerseys, backpacks, scarves, water glasses, lighters, key chains, cup holders, cutlery, tents… Covering almost every aspect of life. The first specialty store would open for business in Shanghai and the second branch would open in Beijing after April. The goods sold here would be much cheaper than the other teams’ souvenir franchises. The Chinese fans did not need to spend half a month’s salary to buy an authentic jersey. Those small items were cheaper and well-made. Even those people who were not Forest fans, could also purchase and used them at home as they were also very practical and looked good. They could also be used as gifts for friends who were fans.

Not only that, Allan Adams was ambitious. The plan he gave Evan Doughty was not as simple as selling a few commemorative items. He wanted to sell more than just the Nottingham Forest brand. He wanted to sell a way of life and culture. From the most authentic English pub, the most quintessential English style, the most laid-back English country atmosphere, to the noble and elegant authentic English afternoon tea, he wanted the name of Nottingham Forest to appear in the lives of any ordinary Chinese.

This was all that he planned, and it sounded incredible. But maybe this was one of the factors of Allan Adams’s success. He always dared to come up with things that ordinary people dared not think of. No European professional football club had ever wanted to develop the Chinese and Asian markets like this…

“The Nottingham Forest team is not the sum of my business plan. It’s just a knock on the door and a key. After opening the door to this market, we can develop in whichever way we want. The team will not need to play in such an important role. In my view, this market is simply a virgin land without any trace of development. There are countless possibilities. It’s simply fantastic…”

※※※

If anyone thought that in two and a half weeks in Asia, besides training the team, Twain’s days were spent participating in commercial activities everywhere and allowing people to take photos with him like a lifelike wax figurine, he would be wrong.

Even in as far afield as Asia, Twain was still keeping an eye on every move in the transfer market. Two players had left the Forest team so far in the new season, but no one had been signed yet. This was clearly not in line with Twain’s plans at the end of last season.

Although Kompany was training to a part-time defensive midfielder, Twain could not guarantee the result since he switched to a position he was not trained for. Therefore, there was still a need to keep looking for George Wood’s replacement—not as a substitute, but the replacement. After he met with several rebuffs in a row, he was interested in Tiago Mendes who was unhappy at Juventus.

Tiago moved to Chelsea from the Portuguese team, Benfica in 2004 and became part of Mourinho’s “Portuguese gang.” He won the Premier League title as a Chelsea player in the 04-05 season. But after only one season, he had to clear his position for Essien’s arrival. He transferred to Lyon in the summer of 2005 for a fee of 6.5 million pounds and helped Lyon win two France Ligue 1 titles in the following two seasons. He then transferred to Serie A’s Juventus.

Judging from this achievement, his career had been brilliant. But his experience at Juventus was a failure. Juventus spent and brought in Tiago for thirteen million euros, making him the chief transfer target for Juventus that summer. But just four months later, the Italian media gave him the title of “the top failed transfer of the season.” Ranieri who was originally bullish on him, also gave him a death sentence.

It was not that Tiago’s strength was not good. It was that he could not adapt to the pace of the Serie A competition and Ranieri’s tactics.

Tiago was an excellent defensive midfielder, but he was better suited to play his part in the triangular pass in the 4-3-3 formation, which meant he should play as a defensive midfielder alone rather than as a center forward parallel in the 4-4-2 formation, as Ranieri did. This could only make him lose his way and lose his position.

Tiago himself said that he always tried to intercept the ball during the games and then handed the football to his teammates. A defensive midfielder’s position leaning to the back was more suitable for him.

Ranieri certainly would not change his overall tactics and formation for Tiago alone. But Tiago’s characteristic was well suited to Twain’s requirements.

In January, there was news of Tiago’s desire for a transfer, but it never came to fruition. Tiago was reluctant to move to a second-tier league. The only option before him now seemed to be to return to Portugal, to Benfica or Porto, so he would be at the heart of European football…and Nottingham Forest came forward in time to save his career.

While Tony Twain’s team was still having a good time in Hong Kong, the people from the Forest team was already in contact with Tiago’s agent. Would Tiago have any objections to joining the UEFA Champions League and Premier League champions? The only problem was that Tiago knew George Wood. He was afraid that he would only sit on the bench with George Wood around. Twain immediately called to personally assure him that in the new season, the Forest team would carry out a large-scale rotation. George Wood was definitely not the immoveable main force in this position. As the Forest team would play more games and the summer preparations were not finished yet, the players’ fitness would certainly not be as vigorous as they were in the previous two seasons.

The manager’s personal assurance dispelled the one last doubt in Tiago’s mind, and he agreed to join Nottingham Forest.

Juventus could not wait to get rid of this useless baggage. With this link, Nottingham Forest could beat down the transfer price. After several rounds of negotiations, Tiago, whom Juventus had originally spent thirteen million euros on, eventually joined Nottingham Forest for six million euros and became the first player to join the Forest team this summer.

In this regard, the player who could jointly serve as the defensive midfielder as George Wood, had been finalized. Kompany certainly would not suspend his training as a defensive midfielder. Every player must know that it was ideal to be able to adapt to multiple positions at the same time to have enough opportunities to play at Nottingham Forest.

This season, Evan had given Twain a transfer budget of thirty million euros and asked him to save as much as possible, with the best result being there would be money left from the twenty-five million euros. A portion of the revenue from the sale of the players would be added to the transfer budget, while the other portion would go directly into the club’s accounts.

Nottingham Forest had now sold Grosso and Sidwell for 15.2 million euros. Adding five million to the transfer budget, six million had been used out of the thirty-five million, and twenty-nine million euros were left. Twain also needed to go after at least one attacking midfielder and two defenders in the transfer market. This amount of money would not accomplish much, so he had to give up the talented players who had been snapped up by the powerhouse teams or the long-time star players and instead poached those “low-profile players” who appeared unknown but had good abilities.

It was tough to be poor. When could Tony Twain realize his dream of snapping up players all over the world by brandishing a checkbook?

When we have the money, we will buy four Kakas! One for the game, one on the bench, one in the stands, one in the stands, and one on loan to a Premier League team to exercise!

Chapter 669 - A Former Genius’s New Life

For a mid to lower level team or a team that simply aimed to make it to the European arena next season, the transfer budget of twenty-nine million euros was not considered low. But for a team that aspired to defend multiple titles and aimed to make a historic breakthrough in the English FA Cup, twenty-nine million might just be enough to buy one player.

Twain must plan meticulously and calculate carefully. The day when he could sign a check as long as he liked it was destined to be a dream.

Perhaps this had to do with Twain being a Chinese man. He was not particularly extravagant when it came to the transfer fees. It was evidenced by the fact that the transfer budget given by the team last summer had not run out and the club made money from the sale of Anelka and Ashley Young.

As long as he carefully planned and determined his targets, with some good luck, it was not impossible to buy good and cheap players with twenty-nine million.

In fact, most positions in the Forest team had at least one dedicated substitute player. Only one position had always been one player supporting it. This position was not the defensive midfielder which people thought, but the defensive midfielder’s partner, the attacking midfielder.

Van der Vaart was the absolute playmaker of the team. He was better at organizing the offense than Ribéry, and he was also capable in long shots and positional play to score goals. But van der Vaart was not an iron man like George Wood after all. Although he did not suffer any major injuries after he transferred to Nottingham Forest, he still occasionally had minor injuries, which was a worry. Generally, if he could not play, Twain would let Ribéry guest played as the attacking midfielder. But this was not a long-term solution. In the previous world that Twain knew, van der Vaart frequently had injuries. It could be said that Twain was lucky that he did not have any major injuries here. The other reason as that George Wood helped share some of the pressure with him.

In any case, a dedicated midfielder in the middle was needed to rotate with van der Vaart. Even without injury, van der Vaart’s fitness did not guarantee that he would be able to play a full season.

After George Wood’s rotation partner was settled, Twain started to fret about van der Vaart’s replacement.

There was no shortage of good and well-known attacking midfielders in the world, such as Brazil’s Kaka, who was currently the world’s number one attacking midfielder, and Ronaldinho, who was eliminated by Barcelona. Kaka was the type of player Twain longed for. However, Nottingham Forest was not likely to get the Brazilian crown jewel, either in terms of the team’s appeal or financial ability. As for Ronaldinho… Twain did not like this kind of disorganized and undisciplined player. He did not want him even if he had the talent.

Basically, Twain could set his target on those players who were marginally famous, but not a world-class star player yet with a relatively simple life off-field and would not require high salaries… And there was another important point in that if the player’s owner did not want this guy, it was even better.

But where could he find such a good deal?

During the UEFA European Championship, Twain became interested in the Croatian midfielder, Luka Modri?. But Dinamo Zagreb Lions demanded an exorbitant price and wanted at least twenty million euros to let him go. While Modri? himself was keen to join the UEFA Champions League winner, Nottingham Forest, Twain was not willing to come up with two-thirds of his transfer budget to rotate the attacking midfielder position. The Forest Team could only abandon plans to bring in Modri? and find a new target.

Modri? himself eventually achieved his goal of landing in the top league in Europe—he joined Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer fee of up to 16.6 million pounds, or 20.88 million euros.

The real billionaires in the Premier League this summer were not Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, but the mid-stream team, Tottenham Hotspur.

While he could only envy the other people for having the money to spend, Twain continued to search for the targets he admired in the transfer market.

Deco, who had the strength and reputation, was cheap due to Barcelona’s initiative to clean house. But he did not want to come to the Forest team. He chose Chelsea, coached by his national team manager. As a result of this relationship, Chelsea only spent eight million pounds.

Nasri was also a young attacking midfielder whom Twain was interested in. He was known in the French media as “the second Zidane.” But his price was not cheap, and Nasri himself wanted to join Arsenal, coached by the French professor, Arsène Wenger. In the end, Arsenal paid twelve million pounds to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.

Dos Santos was also good, showing enough ability in the Barcelona First Team but he lacked the opportunity and experience. Nottingham Forest began an intense contest against Tottenham Hotspur for him. Eventually, dos Santos’s personal will played a key role. He believed that life at Nottingham Forest would be no different from life at Barcelona, while Tottenham Hotspur promised him the main position. In this way, Tottenham Hotspur bought dos Santos, known as the “Mexican Ronaldinho” for seven million pounds.

Twain was left angry with the series of setbacks suffered in the transfer market. Time was running out every day. As August was drawing closer and closer, the new season was about to begin, and the team had not made any progress in the transfer market. Some media had already taunted that even though Nottingham Forest had won the UEFA Champions League and Premier League titles, its appeal had declined instead. Such a comical thing could only happen with Tony Twain’s team.

Therefore, he prayed to God every day before going to bed at night, hoping to wake up the next day to find an attacking midfielder in an intoxicated state sleeping next to him.

Although such a nonsensical event was unlikely to happen, Twain finally found a candidate for the attacking midfielder position, who met the current constraints and had the ability and potential recognized by Twain.

※※※

In the 04-05 season, a young talent with dual German and Turkish citizenship made his mark in the Bundesliga. It might be an exaggeration to use a bolt from the blue, but he was indeed a talented teenager from Turkish football.

He made his debut in Dortmund’s game against VfL Wolfsburg at the time and played the entire time. This Turkish teenager who was not even seventeen at that time, became the youngest player to make an appearance in Bundesliga history. Following which, it did not take him long to become the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history and also became one of the world’s top hundred hopeful stars.

But his fame at a young age left him prematurely burdened. On top of that, Dortmund was in deep financial trouble and there were chaos within the team. Consequently, he also sunk into obscurity.

Just last season, Dortmund, which had too many midfielders, loaned him out to the Eredivisie strong team, Feyenoord in the hope that he would get plenty of practice. Coincidentally, Feyenoord’s manager was his mentor, van Marwijk at Dortmund in the first place.

Initially, he could have received a very good training in the Netherlands in this way, which was the only way for a rising midfield star. Van Marwijk was very bullish on the future of the disciple whom he was proud of originally.

His debut in the Netherlands was a great success. He scored a goal in his first game and had an assist.

But bad luck soon descended. In the third game which he played for Feyenoord; he was viciously attacked by his opponent. He fell to the ground and could not get up. He was taken away by an ambulance from the stadium at that time. His face was covered with tears when he left the field, because only he knew how serious the injury was. At the time, he felt he had completely lost the use of his left leg and had no sensation in it at all.

The results from the hospital check-up made everyone gasped.

His left knee cartilage was crushed and suffered a fracture. His meniscus was torn, and cruciate ligament was lacerated.

Any one of those injuries alone was a major enemy of a footballer’s career. And now what did it mean to have all three concentrated on the player’s left knee?

Feyenoord later announced that he would miss all the remaining games of the season, and the chief surgeon for the operation said in an interview after the surgery that he was not sure if this Turkish talent would be able to return to the field because…even normal walking might be affected.

At the time, in addition to condemning the culprits, the Dutch, Turkish and German media, bemoaned that “the premature fall of a very talented player!”

Did this statement sound sensational? But it was a true reflection of his situation.

Fortunately, this strong Turkish youngster did not give up his football dream and actively cooperated with the rehabilitation to successfully returned to the field at the end of the season. At the time, the Dutch media exclaimed that he had created a sports medicine miracle.

But when he returned to the field, his performance could not be compared to before his injury. The shadow of the serious injury lingered in his heart and he simply dared not do some movements. He appeared to be afraid of the slightest thing on the field. The media’s assessment of him was that it was “as if he had lost his original spirit overnight.”

It was a fitting metaphor. That player who had set a number of records, led Turkey to win the 2005 UEFA European Under-17 Championship title and was the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Turkey national team, had now become completely ordinary.

This was a fact that made Dortmund and Turkey extremely sad, but they had to accept the reality. Having been badly wounded, he was far from how he was in many ways.

Van Marwijk was also sorry. He had initially hoped to develop him into a world-famous star player, and now it was all over.

At the end of the season, he returned to Dortmund. If he had not been injured, his future would have been bright. He was only nineteen years old and had plenty of time to create a future that belonged to him. But now, Dortmund did not have a place for him. He had lost his talent and physique. He did not know where his future laid.

This once-talented teenager’s family was poor. His father was a Turkish laborer in Germany and his mother was a housewife. The family of three lived in a small village in Dortmund with more than thirty relatives. If he had not been injured and become the core of Dortmund’s squad as he wished, then the family’s financial difficulties were nothing. He could get a lucrative contract, buy a house in Dortmund, have a car and live like a rich man.

But now, it was all over.

Dortmund intended to offer him a contract, but it was a far cry from the original one they had promised. After all, the treatment for a substitute player could not be the same as it was for the core of the main force and the hopeful star player.

Just as he was about to bow to his fate and sign this contract with Dortmund, someone knocked on his house door.

“We want Nuri ?ahin. Let’s give a price.” The man from Nottingham Forest said to Dortmund.

※※※

“You must be crazy, Tony. This Turkish boy is not worth buying at all. You can’t just give vent like that just because you are unable to buy your targets in the transfer market, can you?” Kerslake was shocked to learn that Twain was going to bring in the Turkish kid, who had just been forced to retire. His mouth was opened so wide that a hard-boiled egg could be stuffed directly into it.

“You’re like a woman who has lost her head from anger!”

“It hurts me so much that you would say that, David.” Twain covered his heart and explained, “I know he was badly hurt. But I think the fact that he’s not doing as well as he used to be, is not due to his body, but because of his psychological state. Unfortunately, neither Feyenoord nor Dortmund care about this. They habitually believe that the biggest cause of this situation and the most fundamental reason is the regression of his physical function.”

“Psychological state?”

“In reality, his mental qualities are still very good. Otherwise he would have to announce his retirement right after the injury. Because that kind of serious injury was not something a nineteen-year-old kid can take on alone. It is only at such times that he needs others’ guidance more. By saying so, it may not be fair to ?ahin. But I do think his injury is a good opportunity for us. When Arsenal bought Rosicky two years ago, they planned to bid three million euros to take ?ahin away. But Dortmund was adamant not to let go. They wanted to develop ?ahin as the new core of Westfalenstadion. If he had not been injured, we would not even have a chance to sit down with Dortmund and talk about the price. Now the other side has happily agree to our offer…”

“Of course, they can’t wait to get rid of a burden.”

“Actually, this matter with ?ahin reminds me of another thing … I think our club should hire a few psychologists to come on board.”

“Huh?” Kerslake seemed like he was listening to a fantasy story.

“Frequent injuries and sitting on the bench long-term can lead to depression, ups and downs in the form, the strikers missing goals, the goalkeepers dropping goals in succession, the minutiae in life affecting the performance on the field … None of these can be solved by training. Our players need psychologists to comfort them, guide them and keep them happy and healthy mentally.” Twain stroked his chin and nodded, “I think it’s necessary and pressing. I’m going to talk to Mr. Chairman now.”

With that, he got up.

“Hey, Tony. About that Turkish kid…” Kerslake stopped him.

“Any other issues? Dortmund has agreed to our two million euro offer. All that’s left is to sign the individual contract with him.” Twain looked back at his assistant manager and said, “Ah, I forgot to say just now another reason why his injury was good for us. We can take the opportunity to lower his package… Of course, it will be more than what he would get at Dortmund, but it can only be ranked in the lower tier within the team. He himself can’t get a better deal than with us and now he’s been given a chance to play for the European champion. He should thank us. Buying someone like that is better than buying someone like Ronaldinho to balance our weekly salary budget.”

Having said that, Twain went out to talk to Evan in detail about his suggestion to hire a psychologist.

Kerslake and Dunn were left in the office. Kerslake turned to look at Dunn and said, “Dunn, you’re neighbors with him. What do you think?”

“In terms of the players and team, this is the best solution.” Dunn replied expressionlessly.

※※※

Two days later, Nottingham Forest and Dortmund announced at the same time that the nineteen-year-old Turkish young player had moved from Westfalenstadion to the City Ground stadium for a fee of two million euros.

As soon as this news came out, the English media blew it up. The introduction of ?ahin by the Forest team two years ago would have been widely praised, but now endless taunts and sneers were directed at Tony Twain.

Everyone knew what happened to this Turkish kid last season. To be honest, his once-bright future needed not be mentioned but now very few people in the world would believe that he could get back to his pre-injury level. Maybe the Turkish national coach Terim was one and Tony Twain was the second.

<Two million euros to buy a child who’s almost retired?>

<Tony Twain always amuses us>

<Only a fool believes that ?ahin can recover>

“I don’t understand at all Tony Twain’s move in the transfer market … First, Tiago, the sub-par import whom Juventus doesn’t want, then ?ahin, who broke his leg in the Netherlands. A Double Winner of the Champions League and Premier League acts as if it’s picking up the scraps…”

“I can personally guarantee that Nuri ?ahin will be the most disastrous acquisition in Tony Twain’s tenure!”

“Tony Twain had used his actions to tell us that this world is full of extraordinary things.”

For the English media, which liked to nitpick and make cutting remarks the most, it was delightful for them to be able to find an opportunity to mock Twain. Certainly, their suspicions about ?ahin’s ability were not related to Twain. The sarcasm might have been motivated by a private grievance, but ?ahin’s ability was indeed not recognized by these people at all.

“…He had suffered such a serious injury in the Eredivisie. Don’t tell me that the defenders in the English leagues would be nice gentlemen? I really don’t know what Tony Twain is thinking. Maybe his brain structure is different from us ordinary people?”

Words like these flew everywhere. Everyone criticized and questioned Twain’s transfer decision. Some people even questioned whether he received any kickbacks. Twain could not be bothered to quarrel with them, and he thought these flies actually gave him a big help.

When ?ahin came to Nottingham, Twain welcomed the unhappy Turkish “former” genius with a pile of newspapers that admonished the two of them.

“Do you understand English?” Twain asked through the interpreter.

“Just a little…”?ahin spoke softly as he was first new to the environment and the confusion about the future made his mood very low.

Seeing him like this, Twain was more convinced that ?ahin’s problem was psychological. He smiled and handed the newspapers to ?ahin. Then he informed him through the interpreter, “All the newspapers are scolding me and saying that I spent two million dollars on someone who couldn’t play football at all. Ah, they also questioned your ability by the way.”

The interpreter stared at Twain, wondering why he made these remarks. Twain just glanced at him and let him translate as it was.

By this time, ?ahin had already turned his attention to the brightly colored newspapers. His photographs appeared in the sports headlines. They were mostly photographs from during his injury in the Netherlands. Without knowing much English, he knew nothing good was written just by looking at these pictures. Consequently, he was even more depressed.

After hearing the translation, he looked up strangely at Twain.

This man laughed instead and completely ignored the media’s rebuke. “You may not understand now, but when you stay in this team a little longer and when your English level has improved, you’ll know—me.” He said, pointing to himself and then the newspapers. “My reputation here is not good. It’s better to use ‘infamous’ to describe. Now that I insist on bringing you to Nottingham Forest, this gives them a reason to attack me. But I don’t care. They can scold all they want. I’ll just do my bit. And I’m not like those idiots. I believe you have a bright future ahead of you!”

Since his injury, all ?ahin had heard had been laments and everyone bemoaned the injustice of fate, which led to the death of a genius who could have become a star but was now a shooting star. He no longer wanted to listen to such morale-busting words. He did not expect that the manager of this team would say to him “I believe you have a bright future ahead of you!” when he got to Nottingham.

Looking up at this man’s smile, he suddenly felt that he might have been lucky to leave Dortmund.

“Now all of England is not optimistic about your new life. Do you want to give them a good show in the near future? Let them know how outrageously wrong they are?” Twain winked at ?ahin. His hoarse voice seemed to contain a magical power, and ?ahin could not help but nod after listening.

Twain laughed and patted him hard on the back, “Then drum up your fighting spirit! Don’t look so sad. I promise you that when you give them a good slap, you’ll feel damn good. Haha!”

The next day, at a press conference, ?ahin showed off his skills in front of hundreds of Forest fans and dozens of media reporters. Twain watched him perform with a smile on his face, just as he did before he was injured. He showed his creative flair and skill as a midfield playmaker in the seldom seen bright sunshine.

Then he raised the red Nottingham Forest jersey with his name and number on it along with Twain.

Number 16 was his number in the new team.

A whole new life began just like the new number.

Chapter 670 - Goodbye, Gerard
ahin displayed his skills in a meeting with the fans and media, showing that his injuries did not really defeat his body. But the voices of doubt about him still lingered. Fortunately, he came to England and did not understand English. There were less worries since he could not read or hear how the media evaluate him. Furthermore, Twain told him that, as a professional player, the best way to counter doubts was not to argue with the other parties in the media, but to use his performance on the field to give them a slap on the face.

At the same time, Twain’s suggestion to Evan about the psychiatrists was also in place. Four female physicians, from young to old, had a wealth of clinical experience in mental therapy at the football clubs. Their first “patient” was the former Turkish genius, Nuri ?ahin.

Dunn teased Twain, “You don’t really need to hire them. You are the best psychiatrist for these players.”

Twain made a face and said, “I’m not the key to everything. I can’t do every job.”

※※※

Barcelona’s newly appointed manager, Guardiola, stood on the sidelines of the grassy training ground and was being interviewed on a television station. He talked a lot about the outlook for the new season and was now talking about the transformation of the rear defensive line. He said, “Gabriel is adapting and doing a good job. I don’t think it’s a good idea for Carles (Puyol) to always play as the center back... I know where Barcelona’s weakness in the rear is and we need a center back who is outstanding at headers, tall, strong, great at jumping to make up for this weak spot...”

“It is rumored that Barcelona has contacted with Nottingham Forest’s Piqué. Is this true?”

“I don’t want to deceive you. The truth is that our people have made an offer to Nottingham Forest. But so far we have not received a response.” Guardiola shook his head.

They certainly had not received a response from Nottingham Forest because Nottingham Forest is struggling internally with this offer.

Barcelona had made a bid of ten million pounds for Piqué. This price was not low for a center back. The crux was Twain did not want to let Piqué go. For three seasons, his partnership with Pepe had long been the main stay at Nottingham Forest. Both of them were tall, excellent at aerial defense and physically strong. They played expertly in the Premier League which paid particular attention to physical strength. With his outstanding performance at the Forest team, Piqué was also selected for the Spain national team and also won the UEFA European Championship with the team this summer. As a player, he had already won the Premier League, the Champions League and the UEFA European Championship titles at the age of twenty-one.

What Twain was afraid of now was that he did not have any extravagant demands. Because that meant the reason he was best at using to appeal to people now lacked persuasion.

He held the Barcelona’s offer for two days, and Piqué finally found him today.

“Boss, can I talk to you after the training?” In between practices, he walked up to Twain on the sidelines of the training ground and said in a low voice.

Twain, who was discussing plans for the new season with the other coaches, glanced at everyone. Then he turned to Piqué and said with a smile, “That’s strange. You never ask to speak to me on your own.”

Piqué was a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, “It’s good to have the first time, then there will be a second time...”

Twain laughed when he heard him say so. But he said nothing, and just nodded his head.

※※※

At the same time, in another crowd of people.

“I bet that guy, Gerard wants to leave.” The man who said this was the other center back, Pepe.

Everyone was surprised. What surprised them was not the fact that Piqué wanted to leave, but that this remark was uttered by his center back partner. They should have a good relationship with each other. Should he not express some unwillingness in his partner’s departure?

Pepe found everyone looking at him and knew what these people thought. His straightforward face smiled, “What? I’m not the one who’s going to let him go.”

“I don’t think there’s any reason to go. It’s good here. Why does he have to go?” As a member of the rear defensive line, Bale naturally hoped that everyone would still be together next season. Stability was the first requirement of the rear defensive line.

“Little monkey, he came from Barcelona, and now Barcelona beckons him. Do you think he can resist?” Pepe was very clear-eyed about this.

“I still can’t understand...” Bale muttered.

“Some people are crazy about money...” At this, Pepe glanced at Ribéry, sitting outside the crowd, “Some people care more about fame; some people are loyal; and some people dream of playing for their hometown teams…It’s all quite normal.” With these words everyone regarded Pepe differently, as if he were a profound philosopher.

“If he must leave, no one can stop him. I think the boss knows this too...”

Pepe stopped talking because Piqué had ended his conversation with Twain and was walking this way.

Sitting outside, Ribéry looked at Piqué walking over and fell into a contemplation.

※※※

Seeing Piqué go, the coaches came over again.

“It must be because of Barcelona, right?” Someone asked.

“Absolutely.” Twain shrugged. “We beat them twice on the field and now they’ve got a chance to get one back at us...”

Everyone looked at Piqué’s back and did not know what to say for a while.

※※※

After the training, everyone showered in the locker room and went home. Piqué knocked on the door of Twain’s office.

Twain sat alone in front of the computer and played Minesweeper out of boredom. When he saw Piqué opened the door and walked in, he stood up and shut down the Minesweeper game.

“I know what you’re here to talk to me about.” Although he stood up, he did not step out to greet him. He just pointed to the couch next to him and motioned for Piqué to sit with him.

“The matter with Barcelona is probably...” He meant to say, “troubling you.” But he felt it sounded wrong when the words were about to come out of his mouth. The matter was not so simple because Twain had no idea whether this “troubled” Piqué. So, he coughed, “What do you think?”

“I...” Piqué was quiet for a moment and finally made up his mind. He lifted his head and said, “I don’t want to lie to you, boss. Bar?a’s invitation is very attractive for me.”

“Bigger than staying at Nottingham Forest to continue winning the championship titles?” Twain asked in return.

Piqué was silent again. He knew what the temperament of the manager of this team. It was not okay to lie. If he were to tell the truth... he did not know if the boss would be angrier?

In the end, he decided to tell the truth. After all, the boss might get angry if he told the truth but if he lied to him, the boss would definitely be angry—as to why he knew Piqué was telling a lie, it was because the media had already disclosed the truth... Damn the media!

“Honestly, boss. It’s hard for me to turn down Barcelona’s invitation.”

Twain nodded. That was what the media said. Piqué still had a lot of affection for Barcelona. After he made his name at the Forest team in the first place, Real Madrid spread the news that they wanted to buy him. At that time, he expressed his loyalty to the team. He said, “I’m not leaving Nottingham Forest. I’m doing well here.” Finally, when the media relentlessly asked him hypothetical questions, he said, “If I have to go, I will only go back to Barcelona.”

Those words came true today.

“Go on.” When Piqué became quiet after he said this, Twain could only indicate for him to go on. He said, “Tell me all your thoughts, I’m not an unreasonable person.”

Therefore, Piqué spoke his mind. The general idea was that he was cultivated by La Masia even though Barcelona did not give him a chance at that time. Hence he was forced to leave for England. But his heart would always belong to Catalonia. As long as Barcelona needed him, he would toss everything aside to step across all trials and tribulations and not be afraid of any difficulty to risk everything to help out—well, though he did not say that, Twain felt that this was what he meant—Moreover, he had already obtained his personal honors. He was still young and wanted to meet new challenges in Barcelona. In addition, the familial pressure was also great. His relatives were loyal Barcelona fans. His maternal grandfather was once the vice-president of the Barcelona Football Club. How could they not be loyal? His entire family wanted Piqué back in his hometown.

“So, in other words... Your dream is to play for Barcelona and play there until you retire?” Twain asked.

“If possible, yes, it looks that way.”

Twain sighed, “So, that means I have helped Barcelona develop a good center back and solve the problems in their defensive line at a critical moment?”

Piqué did not know what to say. He felt that the boss was angry.

Twain was certainly angry. This was a player whom he developed after much efforts. With one sentence of “need to strengthen our defense” from his former owner, this hopeful star player immediately “answered their summon” ... He would not be normal if he was not a little angry. He was not so generous that he could wave and said, “Piqué, my brother, please feel free to go pursue your dream.”

“I don’t want you to go, Gerard. You’re very important in our team. You play well with Pepe in your partnership. Do you know what defense means to me?”

“Championship title, boss.” Piqué’s reaction was quick.

“So, I hope you can stay here.” Twain sat in the boss’s chair with both hands covering his lower abdomen as he crossed his legs.

Piqué was silent for a moment and then shook his head, “Boss, this is hard.”

Twain did not rail at him. Instead, Twain just looked at him wordlessly.

In fact, Twain knew in his heart that he could not make Piqué stay. Piqué and Ribéry were completely different. Ribéry was purely about the money. It was easy to achieve this goal. While what Piqué pursued was ten million times more illusory than money—loyalty. It was not loyalty to Nottingham Forest, but loyalty to Barcelona.

He graduated from La Masia, trained in La Masia from an early age, and his family members were Barcelona’s most loyal fans for generations. He had received this education since he was aware: Barcelona was the best club in the world. Barcelona was the only team he loved and followed. It was a great honor to play for such a great team. Even if he did not win a championship title, there would be no complaints. Even if Barcelona was relegated one day and on the verge of bankruptcy, he would not change his love for this team...

This was what gave Twain the biggest headache. He could still use the carrot and stick to deal with Ribéry, increased his salary, and inspired him with a sense of honor and loyalty. These were totally useless to deal with Piqué. His loyalty was dedicated to Barcelona, for which he could even accept a reduction in his annual salary. If this was a different situation, people might say he was doing something demeaning despite knowing so. But in the football world, this was loyalty and rallying to a worthy cause!

Twain frowned. He did not want to let Piqué go—not because the team must have Piqué. The La Masia kid’s position was different from Ribéry’s position—the reason was this: which manager would not want to have more and more capable players under their command and not fewer and fewer?

To be honest, there was one player in the team who could replace Piqué now. It was Belgium’s hopeful star, Vincent Kompany. But Twain felt sore to just let Piqué go in vain.

After considering it for a long time, Twain chose to resign to fate. He had urged him to stay and did all he could. He could only surrender to fate. Some things could not be settled with hard work. In Piqué’s case, “destiny” obviously surpassed the “facts of life” with overwhelming advantage.

Twain finally nodded his head slowly and imperceptibly. “Well, I understand what you’re thinking. I don’t think it’s appropriate to force you to stay, and I don’t want to destroy my relationship with you. So... that’s it.” He spread his hands a little helplessly.

Piqué did not smile. He straightened his back and said to Twain as he sat on the soft couch, “Boss, I like you and my teammates. I also love this team and the fans. Although I’m a player who graduated from La Masia, I’m equally aware that without you and Nottingham Forest, there would be the Gerard Piqué of today.”

Twain was stunned by his inexplicable words. He froze where he was and did not know what had happened. Could it be that Piqué suddenly had “a prickling of his conscience” and changed his mind about leaving? What was going on?

“I know the club’s financial situation is not good at the moment ... In fact, I like to play here under you, boss. I do not know why, but I feel very relaxed. I want to give you a farewell gift. You won’t refuse, right?”

Twain opened his mouth as he became more and more confused.

“With my cooperation, Barcelona may need to raise the offer again.” At this point, Piqué finally smiled. But he smiled deviously and somewhat embarrassed too.

Twain did not smiled. He looked straight in the eyes at this center back who would soon no longer be his player and could no longer call him “boss.”

※※※

A day later, Nottingham Forest officially responded to Barcelona’s ten million offer–they refused!

“With two Champions Leagues titles, one Premier League victory, the absolute main stay and core defender in my team, how can he be only worth ten million?” Twain said angrily in an interview, “I don’t believe Barcelona can’t show enough good faith.” Everyone in the industry knew that Twain was used to refer to “money” as “good faith.””You know, they’ve spent almost one hundred million euros this summer.” In fact, it was not quite one hundred million. Barcelona had spent seventy-three million euros so far.

Then it was not known how Piqué asked his agent to talk Barcelona. In fact, the general meaning could be guessed—it was certain that Piqué wanted to go back to Barcelona! But! Nottingham Forest would never let go of their main center back so easily. Furthermore, everyone knew what kind of man Tony Twain was in European football. All the negative words created by all mankind were not enough to be used to describe him... And analyzing this rationally, this was not about his reluctance to let go of the main center back. It was clear that Nottingham Forest thought the money was too little. Did they not heard that they were building a new stadium now? The supposedly sixty thousand-seater stadium must cost a lot of money...

Barcelona’s second offer soon came, which was sixteen million pounds! About twenty million euros!

To offer such a bid for a center back, one of the important reasons was because Piqué was a Catalan in addition to the fact that he was a defender who had proven himself. Guardiola was an authentic product of Barcelona. He cared more about keeping the purity of the pedigree more than his predecessor, Rijkaard. As a result, he cleaned up a large number of players from the former dynasty. One of the reasons was because he believed that as long as the player was not a real Catalan and Barcelona person, he could not really give one hundred percent of his effort and loyalty to this team. This group of people could not be relied upon. Look at what Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto’o had done in the past two seasons...

Nottingham Forest did not care what Guardiola thought since they felt good about this price anyway and nodded their agreement.

And so, the young Gerard Piqué who was made off with by Tony Twain from La Masia, went through the trials and finally made his mark. When he was tired, he wanted to go back to his roots, so he returned to his original hometown of Barcelona. It was a touching development.

A cheesy inspirational story of adventure...

There was no ceremony during the farewell. The Nottingham Forest team were in training at Wilford. For these professional players, it was simply a person leaving. Such a scene would be repeated every summer. At first there would be people who felt sad, and now after their experience in professional football, they were used to it.

Piqué packed up his things he had put in his locker in the locker room and carried his bags to the training ground to say goodbye to Twain.

“I did not think you’d come specifically...” Twain was a little surprised.

“I just wanted to take another look, boss.” Piqué stood by his side and looked at the grassy training ground. His former teammates were training hard on it. The assistant manager, David Kerslake’s ever-vibrant voice rang out constantly to remindi these people not to be lazy.

“When I came here from La Masia, I never thought there would be today. I thought I wouldn’t have that kind of feeling about another training ground except for La Masia and Barcelona. Thank you, boss.”

“I’m not your coach anymore. We will be enemies the next time we meet and these people here are...” Twain pointed to the training ground and said, “You know, how Nottingham Forest has always been to the enemies...”

“No mercy.” Piqué helped him finish the sentence.

“It’s good that you know.”

“So, I’m leaving, boss.”

Only then Twain turned to look at him. He opened his mouth, “I mean in the event that, if, just in case, if, perhaps ... if it turns out that you might not be able to stay in Barcelona, you can come here.”

“Then I must be too old to play football at that time.”

“Did not you hear what was said outside? ‘Nottingham Forest is a nursing home!'” Twain laughed.

“I’m a Catalan.”

“This fact really annoys me.”

“If I wasn’t a Catalan, I’d be in the Forest team playing out my remaining years, boss.”

“There is no such thing as ‘if’ in reality...” This fact made him feel helpless. Demetrio had also said a similar thing to him in the same tone.

“Goodbye, Gerard. I wish you all the best.” He turned his face back and continued to look at the field.

“Goodbye, boss.” Piqué turned and strode away from the sunny Wilford. His agent was already waiting for him in the parking lot, from which they would go straight to Heathrow and then fly back home.

The wandering son had finally returned home, like a falling leaf returning to its roots. In this dense Nottingham Forest, after more than a hundred years of precipitation and accumulation where the soil below had long been covered, the ground was covered with layers of thick leaves, but not one leaf was called “Gerard Piqué.

Chapter 671 - Double "Wood" Is "Woods", And Triple "Wood" Can Be Counted As

Piqué’s departure gave Twain a clear look at the current situation—he thought the team was weak in the areas of the left and right backs, but now he suddenly discovered that his center back area was already a bit stretched. The team’s original main partnership was Pepe and Piqué, with Kompany and Ayala for the second set. Now, Piqué was gone, and Ayala was old. The real players who could play were Pepe and Piqué, while Morgan could only get a chance to play in the tournaments such as EFL Cup and English FA Cup. He could not be expected to play in the important tournaments.

In that case, he had to put aside the search for a full back and prioritize to solve the center back issue. The full back could be a little weak, but the center back could not be weak.

It was already August, less than half a month before the start of the new season. It was less than ten days from the FA Community Shield.

This summer, the team’s signing of new players had been slow. This was due to a number of reasons. First of all, because of their successes these two seasons, Twain believed that the structure of the team was very sound and did not want to adjust too much. So, he had decided not to buy a large number of new players. Secondly, most of the players whom Twain was interested were “already taken” and they were reluctant to leave their new clubs. Thirdly, the Nottingham Forest Football Club could not afford to take out too much to support Twain’s moves in the transfer market. Not only that, they also needed Twain to cough up with the money he earned from the sale of the players to “make up for the household expenses.”

For a UEFA Champions League winner to live like this, Nottingham Forest could be alone in that.

As for the full back position, Twain had drooled with desire for a player four years ago. He thought it would be a good time to make his move this summer, only to have another door shut in his face.

It was Manchester City’s Micah Richards. The tall player could play both center back and right back, which was very much in line with Twain’s desire for the players to be versatile.

When he had approached Stuart Pearce with an offer to buy him a few years ago, he was flatly turned down. Helplessly, he had to buy Sun Jihai. Now that Pearce had left Manchester City, the Manchester City club was in another different crisis. Twain thought this was a good time to buy Richards. With Nottingham Forest’s reputation as a Double Winner, would it not be easy to beckon Richards?

He was wrong.

The Manchester City club did have some difficulties at the moment. The Thai government had issued a notice to freeze Mr. Thaksin’s assets. It would be difficult for Thaksin, who had lost most of his fortune, to try to keep the Manchester City club running. With so much trouble around, who could care about a small football club? There were many rumors that a certain consortium was interested in Manchester City and wanted to buy it. But Mr. Thaksin himself denied it. He admitted that things were not going well, but the Manchester City club was still in his name and everything was under control.

Twain did not believe this Thai man’s words. The Manchester City club must be in trouble. He might be able to pry the players, such as Richards who usually could not be moved, at this time.

He jubilantly made an offer, but the Manchester City club directly rejected it without even hearing it—“Richards is not for sale.”

He raised the offer again only to hear that same answer—“Micah . . .Richards is not for sale.”

He tried again for the third time and this time it was slightly different. “We don’t want to sell Richards to a direct competitor.”

That infuriated Twain. How dare Manchester City label my team as “a direct competitor?” That’s an overestimation of themselves?! My team is a Double Winner which had won the UEFA Champions League title for two years in a row. Where does your Manchester City team rank? I’m the only tough one here who reject other people’s offers. How dare that Mark Hughes act so arrogantly in front of me! (He had long since forgotten the fact that Hughes was older and more experienced than him...))

He did not make a fourth offer, as it would have made Nottingham Forest lowly in front of the pompous Manchester City. Twain did not want to bow to anyone. Sell to whomever you want to sell to! Even if it rots in your own mouth, it’s none of my business!

In this way, a seed of hatred against Manchester City was planted Twain’s heart. The friendly relationship between the two clubs during Pearce’s time remained in name but was lost in reality due to Richards.

As a result, the saying among the media that Twain was a narrow-minded person, was right...

With the deal and relationship gone, Twain could only continue to look for other candidates.

He wanted to buy Carvalho but Scolari would not let him go. His reason was the same as Manchester City—“We don’t sell our important players to our direct competitors.” Twain was not angry that Chelsea said that, because Chelsea was indeed Nottingham Forest’s rival.

The Argentine, Garay was signed by Real Madrid; A. S. Roma would not let Juan go; Ronaldo was unwilling to leave Werder Bremen...

In the end, Twain could only cast his search back to England.

This time, Twain was not going to buy a young center back anymore. What mattered in the rear defensive line was experience, which was often proportional to age. Therefore, Twain plan to have a slightly younger center back.

He set his sights on Jonathan Woodgate who was still at Middlesbrough.

He played only nine games in the two years for Real Madrid due to frequent injuries and was called an “English patient” by the Spanish media. He even became an example of an injury-prone player in the football world. But he had done well at Middlesbrough in recent years, with his injuries seemingly long gone. Under the instruction of Southgate, the former well-known England defender, he had improved considerably and become the captain of Middlesbrough. With at least two chances to play against each other each season, Twain naturally paid attention to this former Real Madrid player. After he observed him for a few seasons, Twain discovered that Woodgate was the man the team needed. He decided to make a move.

Originally, Ramos was due to take this former England center back to White Hart Lane in January, but Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough had not agreed on a transfer fee. Both parties officially announced the collapse of this transfer deal before the winter transfer window closed. Hence, Woodgate stayed at Middlesbrough.

The “English patient” who emerged from Real Madrid’s shadow regained his confidence at Middlesbrough and now was the time to look forward to a new future. The failure to join Tottenham Hotspur, which was eligible for the Champions League, frustrated Woodgate a little. However, it did not matter. He would soon know what the meaning of the Chinese idiom “to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset.”

Nottingham Forest made an eight million pounds offer to Middlesbrough in the hope of taking Woodgate away. Anyway, the money not spent also had to be returned to the club. Twain did not care about one or two million less at this point—Tottenham Hotspur’s offer to Middlesbrough was 6.5 million, which they finally increased to seven million and refused to increase further.

Eight million was the price that Middlesbrough wanted. And Southgate was already clear on one thing and that was—Woodgate’s heart was no longer at the Riverside Stadium. He was so happy when Tottenham Hotspur wanted to buy him. How could the twenty-eight-year-old center back not be tempted now that it was the higher-level Nottingham Forest?

Soon the Middlesbrough manager saw Woodgate’s statement in an interview with the local media in Nottingham in the newspapers: “I think it’s time to go to a bigger stage to pursue my dreams...”

Even though he hated to let him go, Southgate knew the limits of the club, and Middlesbrough would never be able to keep the players whom the big clubs were interested in.

In the end, Woodgate joined Nottingham Forest for eight million pounds and signed a three-year contract. The details were not disclosed to public, but it was said to be definitely higher than when he was at Middlesbrough.

His signing was dubbed by the English media as “Nottingham Forest has become a veritable forest, with a pile of wood in the team.” It referred to George Wood, Freddy Eastwood and the just joined Jonathan Woodgate. Moreover, it was a coincidence that these three “woods” formed the team’s central axis in terms of their positions—striker, midfielder and center back.

The Chinese media used their style to explain this interesting coincidence: “The two Woods make up the (Sher)wood and the three Woods now make up the Forest. They have the Woods and Forest. Nottingham Forest finally proves itself to be “The Forest.”

The Chinese media used their style to explain this interesting coincidence: “The double Woods make up ‘林’ and the three Woods now make up ‘森’. They have the ‘森’ and ‘林’. Nottingham Forest finally proves itself to be the ‘森林.'”

Twain was in a good mood after he solved the center back problem. At the press conference for the signing and to welcome Woodgate, he joked with the reporters, “If a player has ‘Wood’ in his name, congratulations to that guy. He’ll have a good chance of joining us at Nottingham Forest!”

Woodgate also said, “I am very happy to join Nottingham Forest. I don’t mind people making fun of my name. This means I have a connection with Nottingham Forest. Coming here, I want to help the team win more championships. Injuries? That’s a thing of the past...”

These words were still ringing in everyone’s ears when Woodgate left training with an injury the next day...

It was a good thing that it was only a minor injury in a check-up after the game and would not affect the new season. It was just that a lot of injuries made Woodgate a little sensitive.

Twain could breathe sigh of relief, “Luckily it was nothing. Otherwise I’m going to be the laughingstock of the whole of England.”

“This was supposed to be a gamble. Woodgate was never a strong center back.” Dunn said, “Since you decide to buy him, you have to be able to withstand the psychological pressure he will bring you since his injury.”

“We rotate anyway.” Twain shrugged.

※※※

Four days after Woodgate arrived at Nottingham Forest, the team had their first game of the new season—the FA Community Shield held at the new Wembley Stadium against the English FA Cup winner, Portsmouth.

Although this was the first time that Twain and his team had played in the FA Community Shield, they displayed the strength of the Double Winner of Premier League and Champions League. Portsmouth simply could not withstand.

And the rotation for the new season had been put in place since the start of this game.

The newly joined Tiago replaced George Wood and appeared in the team’s starting lineup. Woodgate and ?ahin sat in the stands and were not in the squad list.

ahin was still undergoing psychological treatment, while Woodgate was injured the following day he joined the team.

Petrov replaced Ribéry’s position in the starting lineup. Van der Vaart was still the attacking midfielder while young Lennon was on the right. The strikers were Bendtner and Arshavin. Starting this season, Twain would continue to increase Bendtner’s chances for appearances, gradually making him the team’s leading striker.

The center back was a partnership between Ayala and Kompany, with Pepe on the bench after losing his regular partner. The left back was Bale and the right back was Sun Jihai. The goalkeeper was changed to Akinfeev.

Since the start of this season, the EFL Cup had made a major change. For many years, the EFL Cup’s substitutes’ bench was limited to five players, leaving many players without the chance to make it to the squad list. To some extent, this rule was not suitable for the development of English football, because the absence of two positions was equivalent to the lack of two opportunities to train players. Ferguson’s suggestion to the Football Association last season to add the substitutes’ positions to the international standard of seven players was echoed by seven clubs immediately. And Tony Twain was the first manager to come forward to show his approval and support. Even Ferguson’s nemesis, Arsène Wenger, was on the same side as Ferguson this time.

Therefore, the English Football Association readily accepted the suggestion and increased the number of bench places from five to seven at the start of the new season.

Now on the substitutes’ bench for Nottingham Forest were van der Sar, Pepe, Baines, George Wood, Ribéry, van Nistelrooy and Beckham. This was the absolute mainstay of the team last season.

More than half a season ago, when Twain challenged Portsmouth with a lineup that was similar to the current starting lineup, the Portsmouth people thought they had been insulted and that Nottingham Forest was too arrogant. Now, they would never thought so again because they had learned a very deep lesson...

Consequently, in this game, Portsmouth’s new manager, Tony Adams adopted the stance to cling fast to defense in an attempt to pull Nottingham Forest into a bitter fight.

This summer, Tony Twain had instructed the team to practice how to deal with the enemy’s intense defensive attack, especially the attacks from the middle. He was not surprised by Portsmouth’s approach. Today’s Nottingham Forest was attacked on all sides. Any team which played against them would not be foolish enough to rush up to attack. That would only cause their own demise faster.

Steady counterattack was the way. Just like how Nottingham Forest won...

However, they picked the wrong opponent.

Twain asked the team to strengthen the long shot and coordination in the middle to continue to attack in the middle. They might not be able to score immediately, but it could give the opponent a huge psychological pressure, while messing up their play at the same time. His arrangement paid off in the 21st minute when Nottingham Forest’s high pressing tactic left Portsmouth dizzy. The French defender, Distin did an own goal and Nottingham Forest took the lead with 1-0.

For Nottingham Forest, the game was easier to play after the lead. The other side must press out to play so that the Forest could retreat to hit the opponent’s counterattack. That was the biggest headache for their opponent...

Trailing behind, Portsmouth was at its wit’s end as it faced Nottingham Forest which retreated to defend as it waited to strike their counterattack—they certainly could not put too much forces into the attack because they had to be wary of Forest’s counterattacks. But if they did not increase their attack, it would be a bit difficult to break through the Forest team’s iron wall with Portsmouth’s current strength... This became a paradox. If they did not attack, they could not score and equalize the score. If they could not equalize the score, they would lose the game; But if they attacked, they could continue to lose the ball which would still cause them to lose. If they dared not invest more players in the attack for fear of continuing to concede the goal, then they would still lose when they put in the forces for the offense ...

Unlike the paradoxical Portsmouth, it was much easier for Nottingham Forest to pull the game into their familiar orbit after they got ahead. Portsmouth did not come out of this paradox until the end of the first half. Therefore, Nottingham Forest ended the first half with a 1-0 lead.

During the halftime interval, Manager Adams asked the team to show courage in the locker room and not to worry about this or that. They should equalize the score first. Furthermore, Tiago had just joined the Forest team not for long, so the team’s cooperation still had problems. Ayala was getting old and his reaction was not as good as before. His physical quality had also declined... As long as the Portsmouth players were willing to rush, they could certainly find a breakthrough from these two people!

With their fighting spirit and confidence restored, Portsmouth returned to the field with a spirited attempt to equalize the score. This time they found that the people standing in front of them had changed. Tiago, who still did not have a rapport with the team, was replaced by the captain, George Wood. The older Ayala who could not keep up with the pace, was replaced by the strong Pepe...

When George Wood stared at the Portsmouth players with a cold expression in his eyes, it sent shivers down the Pompey’s backs.

In the final stage of the game, Portsmouth launched a suicide attack. It was heroic and sad at the same time. Nottingham Forest, which had waited for the entire game, finally got their best chance to fight back. George Wood did a long pass from the backfield, and Bendtner leaned his body against the only center back to stop the ball and broke into the penalty area to volley a shot. After it was pounced on by the goalkeeper, Arshavin followed up with a shot. 2:0! Nottingham Forest locked in the victory to win their first title of the new season.

“It looks like Nottingham Forest continued the good form from last season. Nottingham Forest controlled the pace of the game the entire time. Poor Portsmouth, the gap in their strength and experience caused them to lose the game...”

The television commentator summed up the game in this way.

※※※

This championship title had another meaning in addition to another new trophy that Twain had won. He had let the new players got the first taste of Nottingham Forest’s style and tradition—defensive counterattacks and the championship trophies.

This would help them integrate quickly into the team and play their parts earlier.

In fact, the FA Community Shield Cup was not a big deal. In the early years, it was considered a terrible “curse” —whichever team that won this season’s FA Community Shield Cup, would surely lose the Premier League title. Now that the spell was broken, no one took this championship too seriously.

It was like how Tony Twain acted in this game—he rotated half of the main force and half of the substitutes which hinted strongly that he was training the players, as if it was still a summer friendly match. Only Portsmouth, lacking in honors, would take it seriously and really treat this game as a final to play. Unfortunately, they were somewhat inferior in strength and could only nurse their grievance as they returned.

For the Nottingham Forest fans who had experience the victories of major titles in two years, the FA Community Shield was only a minor victory. But it gave them a good reason to get together for a celebration.

No matter how lowly the title was, they still lifted their glasses and roared:

“To the endless championship titles! To the insufferable Tony! To our dearest Nottingham Forest... Cheers!!”

Chapter 672 - New Capital, New Season

After they won the FA Community Shield and with only five days to go until the start of the new season, something shocking happened in the English football world.

When this shocking incident first occurred, it was only a minor shock, and not many people took it seriously. But its impact gradually spread over time, and everyone suddenly woke up overnight—this could perhaps be a shock that would change the Premier League structure!

On August 11th, United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment announced that it had formally acquired Thaksin’s Manchester City Football Club under his name. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former club chairman would become the honorary president and did not have any real power. Like Abramovich’s acquisition of Chelsea, Bates continued to act as the chairman of the club for some time before his departure.

This piece of news came so suddenly that many people had not yet reacted.

While everyone knew that the Manchester City boss, Thaksin Shinawatra had a difficult time in the recent months and that his fortune had plummeted as a result of the investigations in Thailand, no one thought he would really just sell the club he held for a year!

Just over a year ago, when he took ownership of the Manchester City Football Club, the Manchester City fans did not express much dissatisfaction because they were eager for championship titles—Chelsea’s success had made many other English teams’ fans aware that a huge influx of foreign assets was the new impetus for a team’s redevelopment. Thaksin had injected more than half a billion pounds into his new team. Manchester City was even at the top of the league table at one point in the first part of the season. Therefore, the local media exclaimed: Manchester City is about to usher in “Thaksin’s Era!”

While these words still rang in one’s ears, the Manchester City boss had changed.

The Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment was headquartered in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, which was a city made up of more than a dozen islands. It was now the richest place in the United Arab Emirates and the world, with a per capita wealth of up to seventeen million US dollars. Their investments abroad reached almost one trillion US dollars!

The secret to their success laid with the fact that a quarter of the world’s oil was at their feet, and the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment dealt in oil explorations and investments. On top of that, Abu Dhabi’s behind the scenes supporter was the United Arab Emirates’ royal family.

The British tabloids immediately dug up the news behind the club’s change of hands. They claimed that after their investigations, the Abu Dhabi consortium, led by the oil trader, Al-Fahim, had ten times as much wealth as Abramovich. This news shocked the whole of England.

Abramovich was scary enough when he first came to England. Over the past two years Abramovich’s investments gradually leaned toward rational, but everyone still remembered the storm he set off when he first arrived in 2003 and the impact could still be felt till now... Now that there was the richer Abu Dhabi consortium, all the clubs had to be careful that the core players of their teams being poached.

The statement did not indicate how much money was involved in the deal, with the number coming out of the tabloids listing it at two hundred million pounds. Thaksin made a small profit, and it could be seen from this that the reason he fled Manchester City was simply he was disappointed that Manchester City did not win the title, or because he now had no money and needed to sell the club to cash in.

Some media said that August 11th, 2008 would be the most memorable day for this 130-year-old club since its birth. It was enough to be compared to the birth of the team. The subtext was that the Manchester City Football Club could take advantage of this opportunity to be reborn. Chelsea’s yesterday was their present and Chelsea’s today would be their tomorrow. The todays of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan and other powerhouse clubs would be their tomorrow. However, in fact, their nearest goal that should be the goal most likely to achieve would be to become the next Nottingham Forest ...

As the team’s manager, Mark Hughes indicated his welcome of the arrival of the new boss on behalf of his team.

“... I know that money is not everything, but this is still something we can look forward to—we now have enough money to be used in the transfer market to find the players we need... You know, what that’s like. I mean, I feel good now that we have the prerequisites to be a successful team. Maybe I should set a target for my team to enter next season’s Champions League?”

Look, Mark Hughes, who had never been so rich, was so happy that he talked without rhyme or reason...

※※※

Twain only learned the news when he read the newspaper at breakfast. Although it was not new news that foreign investment had been flowing into the English Premier League since a few years ago, perhaps the combined assets of those foreign bosses together could not be compared to the Abu Dhabi consortium...

He held the fork in his mouth as he stared in a daze at the picture of Al-Fahim in the newspaper.

He wondered what kind of impact the arrival of the new boss would have on Nottingham Forest.

He first thought of Ribéry. He was never at ease with the player with a rotten agent. With the transfer deal to Real Madrid fallen through, would this agent, who was unwilling to be left out of the action, pull another stunt again and flirt with the wealthy Manchester City club? And encouraged Ribéry to move to Manchester City?

Thinking about it, Twain rejected this hypothesis. Even if Manchester City were able to offer a salary of five million pounds a week, Ribéry would not have gone to a team which could not even win an honor. He wanted to go to Real Madrid because on the one hand, Real Madrid could meet his salary requirements while on the other hand, Real Madrid itself was a world-renowned powerhouse club, where it was very likely for him to obtain the honors and received the world’s attention. But what would he accomplish if he went to Manchester City? No matter how rich this team was, could it become the champion of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League overnight?

Twain gave a derisive snort.

He did not make this judgment because he had a bad impression of Manchester City from the incident with Richards a while ago. It was because he really despised the strength of the Manchester City team. Mark Hughes was not a successful manager. Twain did not think he could lead Manchester City to achieve any accomplishments.

You think you can be arrogant just because you have money? Can you buy all the world’s heroes with money?

Dream on, Mark Hughes.

You may be able to afford the money, but it doesn’t mean my players will want to go!

※※※

In the days that followed, while nervously preparing for the new season and watching the oil daddy-backed Manchester City club made waves in the transfer market, and constantly hit the wall, all these became Twain’s life.

The whole world knew that Manchester United was in pursuit of Berbatov, and the world knew that Berbatov had long “given his heart” to Ferguson. And now the world was waiting for the Tottenham Hotspur boss Levy to nod his assent after he raised the price high enough.

If it was not for Twain’s satisfaction with his forward deployment, perhaps he would have gotten involved in Berbatov’s transfer.

Now his secret idea had been realized by Manchester City. The new owner announced the bid for Berbatov on the first day of his arrival.

As a pair of mortal enemies in the same city, Manchester City was happy to do whatever it took to make Manchester United uncomfortable. They might not really need Berbatov, but they definitely wanted to oppose Manchester United.

This infuriated Ferguson. He was just about to succeed when Manchester City’s bid raised Berbatov’s worth to twenty-nine million pounds. Levy, the sly and greedy fox, thought about it and rejected Manchester United’s offer. He pretended to hesitate whether to accept Manchester City’s offer.

Meanwhile, just as AC Milan and Barcelona were chasing after Adebayor, Manchester City made its move.

Despite knowing that Wenger would not agree to Adebayor’s departure, Manchester City still offered a high price of twenty-eight million pounds. Wenger took this opportunity to reject offers from AC Milan and Barcelona, while he offered Adebayor a new contract for a weekly fee of eighty thousand pounds which waited for his signature to take effect.

Mourinho finally ended his reclusive life at home and returned to his post. This time he landed at the Serie A powerhouse club, Inter Milan. Having just arrived at Inter Milan, there was news that he wanted to take Lampard and Drogba. On the other hand, Real Madrid also wanted to bring in a good center forward and was also keen on Drogba. This time it was Manchester City again who disrupted things and turned a transfer deal into a mess.

It was only the first day that Manchester City had given the whole of European football a glimpse of their style... which was annoying.

Twain did not know what Manchester City’s purpose was in doing so. Was it fun to antagonize everyone? Could it be they were putting on a performance art? Or was Abu Dhabi really an idiot who knew nothing about football and thought that anyone could be bought with money?

The results of these three transfer deals showed them.

When Berbatov saw that the despicable Levy wanted to go back on his word, he immediately came forward for an interview and publicly stated that “he must have Manchester United and no other team.” Manchester City wanted to buy him? Let them wait for the next life!

Manchester City’s offer scared away AC Milan and Barcelona. Adebayor was annoyed, and he would never condescend to go to a small place like Manchester City, even if he had to stay at Arsenal! Consequently, he signed a new contract with Wenger.

As for Drogba? He did not even glance at Manchester City. Inter Milan and Real Madrid had an ambiguous attitude and eventually he stayed at Chelsea.

This bitter fact proved Twain’s previous assumption that having money did not guarantee that a desired player could be bought. The world of football was not a world that money was invincible. A second-tier team like Manchester City had a long way to go to become a god.

Out of a mentality that hated the rich, Twain took delight in Manchester City’s encounter. He liked to see the rich people deflated because he was not rich...

※※※

Unable to purchase the players he was keen on in the transfer market for a while, Twain intended to take his energy back and focus on the league tournament which was about to start. Anyway, it was still half a month away from the close of the summer transfer window. He would play while he searched.

Nottingham Forest took on West Ham United in the first round of the new season. The opening game was Arsenal’s home game against West Bromwich Albion.

West Ham United was not a powerful opponent, but Twain attached importance to it because this was the first game of the new season after all.

The Chinese people paid particular attention to “The first step is always the hardest.” If the opening game was not good, Twain would think that it would bring negative impact to the whole season. From a superstitious point of view, a bad beginning was really a little unlucky ...

Accordingly, the entire main force was deployed to play.

Van der Sar, Pepe, Kompany, Gareth Bale, Rafinha, George Wood, Van der Vaart, Ribéry, Beckham, van Nistelrooy and Eastwood played.

Such a lineup was at the championship level. Twain believed that this should fine for the away game.

As a result, the word “unlucky” came to his mind at the beginning of the game.

Van der Vaart was brutally shoveled to the ground by the West Ham United midfielder, Lee Bowyer after he took the ball in the midfield. When Bowyer shoveled van der Vaart down, he also made a “scissor legs” move and knocked van der Vaart’s left foot away. At the time, van der Vaart even made a gesture to request for a replacement as he laid on the ground. Only ten minutes had passed since the start of the game...

“Damn it!” Twain jumped out of his seat and swore. It was not only van der Vaart’s injury that angered him, but more so because Bowyer, the culprit, only received a verbal warning from the referee and did not even get a yellow card. He simply patted his buttocks and got up from the ground, pretending to come forward to comfort van der Vaart, but was pushed away by George Wood.

Bowyer covered his face and fell, sparking a clash between the players on both sides.

In the end, the referee gave George Wood a yellow card and also gave a yellow card to Behrami, who was active in the conflict, punishing both players before the two teams were separated.

“This asshole...” Twain certainly was not cursing George Wood. In actual fact, he was supportive of George Wood’s action. He was scolding Bowyer. After all these years, this scumbag still showed no sign of improvement. It did not look like this game at the JJB Stadium would be easy.

Van der Vaart was carried off on a stretcher and the team doctor, Fleming told Twain that he was absolutely not be able to play again in this game and had to be replaced. ?ahin, who was still undergoing psychotherapy, did not come to London with the team. Twain had to bring on Petrov and let Ribéry go to the middle.

Van der Vaart’s injury disrupted the tactics and rhythm of Nottingham Forest. For some time, West Ham United dominated with its home advantage and bombarded Nottingham Forest’s penalty area.

Fortunately, George Wood was as consistent as ever and organized the defenders to put up two defensive areas in front of the goal. The West Ham United team had no better way to break through the Forest’s goal for a while.

But a good defense could still collapse in the face of an endless attack. At the end of the first half, the Welsh bad boy Bellamy forced his way through Rafinha using his speed and plugged into the penalty area from the side. He lifted his leg for a shot at a very narrow angle!

The football was pounced on by van der Sar for a bit before it hit the inside of the goalpost and bounced into the net...

“The defending champions entered a bitter fight in the away game! The West Ham United team informs the defending champion that the new season is definitely not going to be easy!”

Twain replaced Beckham with Lennon in the second half. With his excellent speed and breakthrough ability, Lennon did cause West Ham United a lot of trouble. His attack on the right flank was more penetrating than Beckham’s.

With this substitution adjustment, Nottingham Forest swept away the first-half slump. The score was equalized seventeen minutes into the second half. The goalscorer was van Nistelrooy. Lennon’s breakthrough resulted in a weak defense in the middle of the penalty area. The keen senses of the King of the Six-Yard Box helped him locate West Ham United’s fatal spot at the most crucial time.

Following which towards the end of the game, Nottingham Forest, which had not given up on the offense, scored another goal, which was scored by Ribéry. With a breakthrough from the middle and a long shot from top of the arc, the football shot into the West Ham United team’s goal like a shell. The commentator shouted “world-class ball” continuously.

Twain also excitedly jumped from his seat. The last-minute reversal killed West Ham United!

Despite winning the game, Twain did not mean to let go of anyone in the post-match press conference. He lashed out at Lee Bowyer for his lack of sportsmanship and then “questioned” the referee’s decision on the foul. His doubts were certainly more bluntly put than what was generally said.

“I can’t figure out why Bowyer did not even get a yellow card with this foul. It was only a verbal warning for such a bad foul. Could it be that someone did not want us to win? I’m sorry, but we still won in the end.”

Chapter 673 - Wealth of An Entire Nation

“Gabriel Agbonlahor! Agbonlahor! This is his third goal in this game! Agbonlahor scored a hat trick in less than eight minutes! Oh, ho ho—poor Manchester City!” “The cheers at Villa Park stadium were thunderous cheers as if there had been an earthquake here. The vigor stunned the visiting Manchester City fans, who sat dazedly in their seats as they watched that kid darted along the sidelines.

His name was Gabriel Agbonlahor and had been Aston Villa’s rising new star for the last two seasons. Now he was the absolute leading player in this game.

The Manchester City manager, Mark Hughes stood on the sidelines with his arms across his chest as he looked on helplessly at the celebratory crowd around him.

Just eight minutes earlier, his own team had just turned the score to 1:1 thanks to Elano’s penalty shot. He was still plotting how to take three points from this away game to give the new boss a perfect gift for their first meeting when over here, Aston Villa’s number 11 had already scored three goals in a row and completed a hat trick...

After the game, the away Manchester City team lost 1:4 and became the laughingstock of the media. Having just became a billionaire, they were crushed on the field which made people gleeful. It looked like there were a lot of people who hated the rich in England...

Once they returned to Manchester from Birmingham, the first thing that Mark Hughes did was to go to the club’s owner and tell him that the summer would be over soon if he still did not make a move—Manchester City were slow to make a move in the transfer market due to Thaksin’s problems earlier. Except to buy back Shaun Wright-Phillips, there was no other move to be commended about.

Before he could leave to look for his boss, an Arab man in a white headscarf found him.

“Good morning, Mr. Mark Hughes.” That man was very polite.

Hughes did not know him, but he was not surprised. Since the club changed its owner overnight, the number of unfamiliar faces had increased.

“I’m Mr. Fahim’s assistant, Osamu.”

“Ah, Mr. Osamu, good morning. What can I do for you?”

In fact, it could probably be estimated that Osamu looking for him was equivalent to Fahim looking for him.

“Mr. Fahim thinks the team should make some big changes. He wants Mr. Hughes to come up with a list and give it to him.”

In the face of such a good thing, Hughes shook his head and said, “Mr. Osamu, I have no doubt that Mr. Fahim wants the team to be stronger. But now that the new season has already begun, implementing big changes in the lineup will only bring about worse results. Of course, we need to adjust the current squad, but not now.”

“In that case, can you tell me which areas the team needs players the most at the moment?”

This time Hughes immediately blurted out, “Strikers.”

Indeed, Manchester City’s forward line was terrible.

The game against Aston Villa looked like something was wrong with the rear defensive line, but in fact the root cause was in the forward line. When the striker could not pose a threat to the enemy’s goal, the other side’s offensive would be unbridled.

After Thaksin took ownership of the team last season, he brought in a lot of new people to the team, but the quality was really underwhelming ...

The first thing that Mark Hughes did since he took over this summer, was to clean up the players he did not need in the team. He drove away five strikers in one go on the forward line.

Corradi was sold to Reggina Calcio, Bianchi was sold to Turin, Samaras sold to Celtic, while the contracts of Dickov and Mpenza were terminated by the club.

The only strikers left in the team that could be used were Vassell, Benjamin Mwaruwari, Bojinov and Sturridge. Sturridge was the team’s future star, but he was still a little young.

Looking at this lineup, there was hardly a goalscorer among them. Moreover, looking at the top five teams in the Premier League, every single one of them had a leading goalscorer. Manchester United had Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez, Liverpool had Torres, Arsenal had Adebayor and Eduardo da Silva, Chelsea had Drogba, and Nottingham Forest had van Nistelrooy.

The Manchester City new boss’s bold and visionary words held a prominent position in the media. As a team that had always wanted to win all the championship titles and reach the Champions League, it was wretched not to have a striker who was of a good enough level....

The position suggested by Mark Hughes also received Osamu’s approval. He nodded and said, “It won’t be long before you, Mr. Mark Hughes, can have a lot of world-class strikers.”

Mark Hughes was alarmed instead. He feared the club would waste time on the players who would not come at all. He hurriedly said, “I hope it’s as soon as possible. We don’t have much time, Mr. Osamu. The summer transfer window only had half a month left. If we can’t find anyone, we have to wait until January...”

“Please rest assured on this, Mr. Hughes. We have a big plan, but it will take time. Don’t worry. The striker position will be fulfilled at the first instance.”

With that, Osamu turned and left. He was now a busy man. Although the Manchester City club had a general manager, this personal assistant was better to employ in front of Fahim...

Mark Hughes shook his head as he looked at this Arab man’s back. It had only been a week from the initial excitement over a huge influx of capital pouring into the club to the current calmness. Because he had seen first-hand how the star players simply rejected Manchester City.

Manchester City was not Chelsea in those years. For most of the players, it lacked appeal. Some things could not be achieved simply by having money.

Abramovich’s money was only one reason Chelsea was so attractive during that time. The most important reason was that, with the foreshadowing of Hoddle, Gullit, Vialli and Ranieri, Chelsea was already an emerging power outside the Premier League’s traditional top three at the time. In addition to being in the top four in the league for a long time, they were basically considered certain to be a powerhouse for winning the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Under such circumstances, they could immediately take on a new lease of life with the capital injection.

Manchester City was different. Although they represented Manchester longer than Manchester United which was an outsider, their results were really a tragic sight. Their best results were four FA Cups and one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup which happened a long time ago, which held no appeal to the players today. More people just thought of them as a traditional Premier League mid-stream team.

How many world-class players would condescend to join this team that might not even be able to play in next season’s UEFA Europa League just for the money?

According to Hughes’ train of thought, Manchester City’s rebuilding required at least three to four years, through small victories and trophies to re-establish their foundation and change Manchester City’s image as a low-level team in everyone’s mind. Then it would be the road to becoming a powerhouse...

However, his new boss was impatient and obviously could not wait that long. Furthermore, he had a lot of inestimable pounds. He admitted himself that he was buying time with money. He wanted Manchester City to become the world’s number one team that all the world-class star players scrambled to join overnight. He was serious about the team becoming the new Manchester United and new Real Madrid.

Mark Hughes now felt that sitting in the Manchester City manager’s position was not an enviable job. With such an ambitious club owner who knew nothing about football and a second-rate team... the harsh reality made him feel like he was sitting on the edge of a volcanic crater. If he did not produce the results, the boss would dismiss him and not reflect on what went wrong with his strategy. The most commonly seen and simplest way was usually to change the managers. Therefore, the poor manager became a scapegoat. He not only lost his job, but also had a stain on his coaching career.

※※※

After the first round of the league tournament ended, Tony Twain once again made the headlines in the sports pages of various media outlets. His words in his post-match press conference that “someone doesn’t want us to win” offended the English Football Association and the Referees’ Association, and for which he received a fine of fifteen thousand pounds as well as a one-match ban from the Football Association.

<The Sun> mocked that Tony Twain was probably the manager with the greatest number of bans in modern football history. They unceremoniously pointed out that Twain was a “moron who speaks from his ass instead of using his head.”

This time Twain did not fight back because he was “muffled” by the club. Evan Doughty barred Twain from shooting his mouth off and cause trouble for himself and the club again. Thanks to Twain’s big mouth, Nottingham Forest had become the most difficult “thorn on the side” in the eyes of the English Football Association, the Referees’ Association and the Englsih Premier League committee. No matter the occasion, they would always receive some “special treatment” that no one else enjoyed.

As a result, Twain was very quiet. He sullenly looked on as the media taunted and sneered.

At this point, another incident happened which distracted the media’s attention. No one laughed at him anymore, but this situation made him even more annoyed.

Manchester City had announced that they had already issued a blank cheque to Nottingham Forest for their leading striker, van Nistelrooy!

If it were successful, it could be the significant transfer in the world. Never before had a club been so contemptuous of the rules of the world like Manchester City. The other clubs would plan and calculate meticulously with the sale or purchase of players and try to maximize the benefits. There would be a lot of behind-the-scene stories every year at the negotiating table during the transfer window. The team managers, professional agents, players and managers together were scenes right out of a movie.

But Manchester City’s emergence broke the traditional transfer rules. First, it provoked Manchester United, Real Madrid and the other big clubs. Then it tried to seduce the star players of other teams. Now they made an even more amazing move—they threw money which the other teams saw as a lifeline, around like it was dirt. That way, they acted as if they looked on high over all living things, and then used a cold and conceited voice to inform the others, “How much is your player worth? Name your price, there is no one in the world that we can’t buy. Don’t think small and drag your feet. Give a number and write however much you want. If you write too low, I may say you are not sincere.”

Twain was furious.

He found Evan and Allan and said, “Did the Manchester City club really issue a blank cheque?”

Evan pulled a check out of a folder and handed it to Twain. He said, “They really give it.” His smile was a little odd, maybe he felt awkward. Allan sat on the side and was silent.

Twain saw that it was really blank on the check. Not a number was on it. It was just waiting for him to play the numbers game. “Are these idiots putting on a show? Are they sincerely coming to us to buy or to show off to us that they have the wealth of an entire nation?”

In fact, Manchester City’s owners did have the wealth of an entire nation—because they were basically the country, the United Arab Emirates.

Despite this fact, Twain would never allow them to show off on purpose, especially in front of him.

Damn, I have to count my pennies this summer while you’re living large. With a flick of your hand, here comes a blank check. Are you mocking me?

Hearing Twain’s complaint, the odd smile on Evan’s face deepened. Twain could be sure his smiled was an awkward one while Allan continued to remain silent.

“What do you think?” Twain had not lost his head to anger yet. He knew the both of them needed to be consulted.

“Tony, we’ve got to listen to you with regards to any deals with the players.” Evan said.

Twain looked at Allan again.

Allan spread his hands and said, “Evan is right. The team is your area of command, Tony.”

“That is to say, I am full responsible for this matter, and you won’t get involved?” Feeling uneasy, Twain asked again.

Evan just laughed and did not reply. Allan raised both his hands and replied, “If you’re worried, we can sign an agreement in black and white...”

Twain interrupted his words and said, “I didn’t mean that, Allan.”

“I mean we really won’t interfere with your work. We all respect every decision you make. After all, you led the team to where it is today.”

“Thank you.” Twain gravely nodded his thanks and said to Allan, “Please help me call the media to Wilford. I’m going to have a press conference... All the media.”

Allan nodded and didn’t ask him what he was going to do at the press conference—any fool would know what he was going to do.

“You can’t let a seemingly thirsty person wait too long. We’ll give them an answer this afternoon.” Twain snickered.

※※※

There was one more thing Twain must do before the press conference. Out of respect for the player’s personal will, he must go and talk to van Nistelrooy to hear his thoughts on the matter.

Van Nistelrooy knew of the matter before Twain, who did not believe for a second that Manchester City did not contact him and his agent in private.

The Dutchman’s answer was rather straightforward, which touched Twain. He said, “I did not want to leave here, boss. I hope to retire here if possible.”

“But the Arab’s offer is very tempting, isn’t it?” Twain was not entirely convinced. He was afraid that these were just pretty words for show.

Van Nistelrooy laughed, “Actually they also gave me a blank check and said to my agent to fill out whatever amount I want.”

Twain cursed the Arabs for being ruthless in his mind. Imagine how many players could withstand such temptation of any amount of pay package...

F**k you Arab show-offs! So, what if you have oil? Excavate all you want. In a few decades the oil will be finished. I want to see what you can use to act so arrogantly at that time!

Tony Twain from a poor family abused roundly inside. He felt extreme and unbalanced.

“Then you...” Bracing himself, Twain was really worried about van Nistelrooy’s defection.

“I gave it back.” The Dutch striker shrugged.

Twain almost went straight up for a hug.

“I don’t play football to make a lot of money. I’ve made enough money. Right now, ... I just want to enjoy football. I like playing here.”

“You’re a good brother and really loyal!” Twain blurted this sentence in Mandarin. Not caring that van Nistelrooy did not understand, he patted the other man hard on the shoulder.

Van Nistelrooy did not know what the boss had said. He just looked at him laugh and let him pat him on the shoulder.

※※※

Now that he knew van Nistelrooy’s thoughts on this, Twain had no qualms about what he was about to do—he was not worried about what would happen with Manchester City, but about this affecting his relationship with his player.

After the afternoon training, all the reporters did not go outside the training ground to stop the star players. Instead, they all rushed to the press conference hall of the Wilford training base.

While the leading character had not yet come, there were reporters who speculated as to the purpose behind Twain suddenly taking the initiative to gather everyone to hold a press conference.

There were actually two incidents involving him recently. One matter was his provocation of the Football Association and made them fly into a rage. The other was the “blank check gate” that only recently occurred.

Majority of the reporters chose that it had something to do with the “blank check” because they felt that Twain was not one who would step out for a press conference to do with a ban and a fifteen thousand pounds. Otherwise he would have done so once every few days.

When Twain and Allan Adams appeared at the press conference together, the room gradually quieted down.

Allan sat next to Twain, who stood in front of a pile of microphones. He made a “stop” gesture and said, “I’m not going to take any questions about the situation and will not take too much of everyone’s time.”

He then took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it to show the reporters below the stage.

“This is the blank check that the Manchester City Football Club gave us.” He said, pointing to the piece of paper.

The reporters with good eyesight could see that Twain did not lie to them.

Sure enough, it had something to do with Manchester City, who had been in the limelight lately.

Manchester City used its wealth and offended a number of clubs recently. There were also many people in the media industry who did not like them. Now Manchester City had finally came to Nottingham Forest. One team became arrogant because it suddenly became rich while the other was naturally arrogant... This group decided to watch the show.

“They asked us for van Nistelrooy this morning and gave a completely blank check for us to fill in the numbers. I would like to thank them for their generosity, and I decided to give them an answer in front of all the media as a mark of respect. My reporter friends are my witnesses.”

With that, he took a pen out of his pocket and swept the pile of microphones, cell phones, and recording pens on the table. He leaned down and started to fill in the numbers on the check.

After he lifted the pen and put it down, the whole room suddenly became quiet. The reporters who sat closer, craned their necks to see the numbers Twain had put down.

They only saw Twain’s wrists going in a circle, another circle and yet another circle...

After about thirty seconds, his hand still had not stopped and the room remained silent.

In fact, before coming, Allan did not know what kind of answer Twain would give Manchester City. He was as curious as the reporters below. So, he glanced from the side...

That was when Twain screwed on the pen cap and picked up the check—he was finished.

Following which, he waved to the cameramen at the back and said, “You can come up and shoot. You can’t shoot anything from there, can you?”

A group of reporters carried their equipment and rushed up. They aimed the cameras in their hands and the camera lens at Twain.

Seeing that everyone had come, Twain was satisfied and unveiled the check again to show it to the camera.

“That’s my answer.” He had a brilliant smile on his face.

It was not just the photojournalists who rushed. The other reporters also came up with their notebooks. They were all shocked when they saw the numbers on that check...

9999999999999999999999999999999.

No one could immediately figure out how much this was. To be honest, they might perhaps not be able to calculate how much money this was even if they were give more time. The densely packed Arabic numeral “9” completely filled the blank part and was dizzy to look at, not to mention counting.

“Mr. Twain, how ... how much is this?” A reporter stammered and asked.

“I don’t know.” Twain smiled.

“Huh?”

“I simply filled it out.” Twain’s smile remained unchanged on his face. “I only stopped when it was all filled up.”

In this way, Twain held his casually filled-in check as he stood in front of the reporters. The flashes were going off like crazy and the room momentarily went bright white. Twain’s eyes could see nothing but white light. However, he kept smiling and held the check.

Sitting next to him, Allan Adams rubbed his temples. He thought he was going crazy, looking at this scene in front of him.

Mark Hughes was in desperate need of a world-class striker to help his new boss achieve his goals. Al Fahim also showed the generosity of being a boss. With the wealth of an entire nation, the rich and overbearing Manchester City Football Club tried to bring in Nottingham Forest’s leading striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy and gave him a blank check. The transfer deal would be a success as long as the Forest team filled in van Nistelrooy’s value on top. Whereas Nottingham Forest had filled in the offer as they had wished but...

If truth be told, the Manchester City Football Club, with its wealth of an entire nation, probably could not afford this sum of money.

Chapter 674 - Chaos

That evening, the photograph of Twain smiling with the check in his hand appeared on the various major television stations’ sports news and football programs. Even the entertainment talk shows, which had nothing to do with football, excitedly discussed this affair—because this matter was really hilarious.

Most of England was on Twain’s side in this rare instance.

The influx of foreign capital had caused a lot of panic among those who feared the erosion of English football. At this time, it was a coincidence that Tony Twain came out with “Tony Twain’s style” of rejecting Manchester City’s monetary offensive. Although he himself only wanted to protect his players, he could almost be equated as a “national hero” in the eyes of many outsiders...

“... To be honest, I think they (the Arabs) should know what kind of opponent they’ve encountered. It’s not easy to poach a player from Tony Twain.” In the Sky TV’s football news, the news anchor smiled as he critiqued after he reported the news.

※※※

The BBC television station conducted street interviews. A bald man clenched his fists and shouted excitedly, “Although I’m not a Nottingham Forest fan, this time I support Tony Twain and his team! Can’t allow the Arabs to think that they can act without the slightest scruple because they have money! Keep fighting, Forest! Oh yeah!”

After the excited fan left, the reporter spoke to the microphone and said to the camera, “Obviously, he is not a Manchester City fan.”

“Well, thank you, Vincent. Maybe he’s a Manchester United fan.” The host said after the footage cut back live to the studio.

※※※

On a late-night talk show, the invited female star thrusted up her generous bosom and said to the host with a laugh, “Ah, I think I’m a little obsessed with the lovely Tony. He’s so manly! I don’t mind having a one-night stand with him... I hear he doesn’t have a girlfriend?”

The host pretended to make a face and said, “Aren’t you afraid that he’s gay?”

The female star’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled happily, “I don’t mind at all! And I think it’s going to be more thrilling!”

※※※

The BBC 5’s correspondent and the reporter, Spicer from The Daily Telegraph was producing a book called <The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is>. He said through the telephone on the live show to everyone who followed this incident closely, “This is not just a football event. I’d rather call it a social phenomenon! My <The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is> is about to be finished! At that time, I believe you can learn some of the reasons. Frankly speaking he is such a person!”

※※※

The Sky TV’s website message board was even livelier. There was less constraint here than on the television media, so it seemed a little confusing. Those people who supported Tony Twain were in the majority, and the opposition party was almost all Manchester City fans.

“Let him die! Who does he think he is? This clown, Tony Twain is the bastard resulting from me screwing around with his mother. Wah haha haha—”

“Poor man, another idiot driven mad by Tony...”

“You damn moron, why did your father not flush you down the toilet when you were born?”

“Don’t mind him. Leave him be.”

“Tony Twain keep fighting! We are all your supporters!”

“Why should we support an upstart like Nottingham Forest? A hooligan has become your idol. I really feel sad for the British people!”

“You’re not qualified to say that, you Manchester City upstart asshole!”

“You Manchester City idiot, who are you calling an upstart? Come to Stamford Bridge if you dare. I’ll show you a thing or two!”

“We, Manchester United fans have announced that there is only one team in Manchester, and that is Manchester United! Oh yeah, oh yeah—Oh yeah!”

“Get out of the way, you red devils! Don’t you know who the first owner in Manchester was! Blue is the main color of English football!”

“F**K! Are you completely ignoring the existence of Liverpool? I tell you; we’ve won the most championship titles in England! Blue is shit!”

“Anfield bastards, don’t think that just because we Everton fans are away, you can be full of shit!”

“Manchester City are stupid c**ts, can’t even be compared to Arsenal...”

“White Hart Lane bastards don’t lump the Gunners together with idiots like Manchester City. We’re better than them!”

“Damn it, we’ll show you Gunners in the next North London derby!”

...

It was really chaotic and indeed the first mess in history.

※※※

And the main character who caused this chaos was at home, with his legs crossed and holding a cup of tea, talking to Shania on the phone.

“Uncle Tony, you’re making headlines again!”

“How so? Does the American side cares about the Premier League too? They all don’t watch soccer, do they?”

“I checked online!”

“The Internet is so annoying. Can’t even pretend to be a good guy...” Twain did not even watch his mouth and teased Shania who could not see him. He found that during this time, as long as it was a phone call with Shania, he could not act serious. He initially wanted to seriously ask her about her study and career, but all he could say became jokes. Perhaps it was because they had not seen each other for too long. He really miss her...

Sure enough, Shania giggled and said, “But I like to see you pretend to be a good guy, Uncle Tony.”

“Why?” Twain did not understand. There was nothing to like about pretending to be a good guy.

“Because it’s cute!”

A huge bead of sweat dripped from Twain’s forehead. Was an uncle who was close to fort years old in biological age, still cute? He thought about it and felt a chill down his spine.

“Hey, Shania. Don’t use the word ‘cute’ to describe an old man in the future. I’m covered in goosebumps.”

Shania chuckled even more happily.

But he really felt good to be able to cheer up Shania who was alone in the United States. Not to mention that he would be a cute middle-aged uncle, even if he were to be a clown, Twain would do so too.

There was a strange feeling growing in Twain’s heart. He liked to hear Shania silvery bell-like laughter. He felt that if he could make Shania happy every day, it would be a great achievement. He would never forgive whoever made Shania unhappy. And whoever get any ideas about this lovely fairy, he would also never ... he did not seem to have any right. She was not even his own daughter... But I can keep her safe. Those guys whom I don’t think are good enough for her cannot approach Shania within five square miles!

After laughing happily, the two people then fell in a silence.

Twain could even clearly hear her gasps coming from the other end of the phone. Perhaps she had laughed too long. He could even imagine that Shania must be red in her face with a fine bead of sweat on her forehead. The gasps continued, and it became clearer, as if Shania herself had put her lips next to Twain’s ear.

Twain felt a little itchy in his ear...

“Is your work difficult, Shania?” In order to get out of this awkward situation, he spoked first and asked.

“Of course, it’s hard. Sometimes I feel like I’m too busy.” Shania pursed her lips and said. “I feel like giving myself a year off!” She stretched her back and said loudly.

As she grew more famous and had made more new friends in Hollywood, her career gradually expanded. It was normal to be busy.

Twain smiled and thought that even though Shania was eighteen years old, she was still like a child psychologically. “If you want to take a year off, would Mr. Fasal cry?”

“Hee-hee. I can only tell you this. Mr. Fasal is getting stricter.” Shania stuck out her tongue.

Twain suddenly thought of something. “How about your parents? Did you stay in contact?” When he found that they were together, Shania rarely took the initiative to mention her family. Even if her concept of family was indifferent, she should not be like this. Not to mention he heard that Brazilians were not like the British, their sense of family was actually very strong.

“Yes, they came to L.A. some time ago to spend a few days with me. But they’re all busy. I’m been used to it since as long as I can remember. By the way, they asked about you.”

“Asked about me?”

“Yeah, they heard you went to China and Japan, and asked by the way, seeing that you are also busy ...”

Twain scratched his head and said, “If I can, I really want to put myself on leave for a year too...”

He finished his sentence only to find that he and Shania had said the same thing and heard Shani’s delighted laughter in amazement.

“If you take a year off, it would not be one person who would be crying, would it? Well, Uncle Tony?”

“Well, can’t always fulfill beautiful wishes. Ah, the reality is so cruel, and society is so harsh...”

After he chatted with Shania for a while more, he eventually hung up. Both of them were a little tired from working every day. They were tense from being public figures all day long and could only be themselves for so little time at night at home.

Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, his eyes gradually adapted to the darkness in the bedroom. He was not thinking about how to deal with more reporters coming in tomorrow, or what would happen after his fight to death with Manchester City. He suddenly recalled Shania’s gasps over the phone.

In addition to the clear gasps in his mind, there was only the slightly open and moist red lips. The small and lovely tongue hidden behind the pearl white teeth gently poked its tip out, as if a budding lotus had just exposed its sharp tips.

Uncle Tony....

Twain suddenly sat up from the bed. He got off the bed, bent his waist and ran into the bathroom. He remembered that he had cared about talking to Shania over the phone just now and forgot to empty his bladder for his survival... Soon, the sound of peeing into the toilet could be heard.

Once he came out of the bathroom, he passed by Shania’s room, stood at the door and looked inside for a moment. The décor was exactly the same as when Shania was there. The family of Totoro soft toys sat on Shania’s bed and became temporary tenants.

Looking at these charmingly na?ve and furry soft toys with their different expressions, Twain laughed as he leaned against the door frame.

The eighteen-year-old supermodel and Hollywood’s new star with countless fans around the world, Judy Shania Jordana was considered the star with a boundless future but she was still a little girl who could not sleep at night without holding anything.

※※※

The next day, outside the gates of Wilford, Twain and Dunn came together. They could see the crowd of people swarming around there. They knew who those people were and why they were here.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised at all.” Twain raised his head and said off-handedly.

“Truthfully, I will be shocked if you’re surprised.” Dunn deadpanned and make sarcastic remark next to him.

“Hanging out with the beautiful female reporter has made you more eloquent, Dunn...” Twain gave his partner a sideways glance.

An occasional glib repartee was good for the physical and mental health.

“Hi, good morning...Yo, Mr. 007, how early did you come here? There’s dew on your hair...” Twain skillfully greeted the reporters and did not forget to make a joke or two with the people he had a better relationship with.

“That’s perspiration, Tony...” Pierce Brosnan smiled awkwardly, and reached up to wipe the sweat on his forehead.

Twain signaled for Dunn to enter first. Then he stood at the gate and turned to ask, “What can I do for you?”

He did not want to bring this mess to the training ground. He wanted to settle it here, and not let a single reporter enter.

“Do you know the the Manchester City club’s latest response?” Someone asked aloud among the reporters.

“What?”

“Manchester City’s chief operating officer, Paul Aldridge has made a statement to hit back at your performance at yesterday’s press conference. He thinks you’re a circus clown, putting on a show.”

“He’s not the first person to say that about me. Doesn’t matter. They wanted to buy our player and we sincerely gave a price. If they can’t afford to pay, just come out and say they can’t afford to pay. We can also announce the end of the transfer deal. I don’t know how this personal attack came about.” Twain spread his hands with an innocent face. But the reporters knew that if he were really innocent, there would be no bad guys in the world.

If they were aware of such a Chinese saying— lead the life of a whore and expect a monument built for one’s chastity, and understood what it meant, they would have given it to Tony Twain. Because in their view, Twain was the kind of person who was like a whore that wanted a chastity monument...

“But, Mr. Twain. You don’t think this offer is a little like...”

“Do you think it’s not enough?” Twain asked which shocked the reporter to quickly wave his hands. Who would dare to think it was not enough with so many “9s”? They could not even count the figure!

“I mean to say...a little like daylight robbery.”

“I don’t think so.” The expression on Twain’s face looked even more innocent. “The Manchester City owner told us very sincerely to fill in the check as we like. He didn’t state the amount that we couldn’t fill in, nor did he set a limit for the lowest or highest. Hence I sincerely met the other party’s sincere request. I don’t think we’ve done anything wrong on both sides. So, I don’t understand what the chief operating officer is angry about... Don’t tell me the money is coming out of his own pocket? Oh, then he’s such a poor thing in that case...” Twain raised his eyebrows and sighed.

Some of the reporters laughed.

This time, most of the media stood on the side of Tony Twain. Many of the actions of the Manchester City club since the change of ownership had angered many in this circle, but they had not had the opportunity or excuse to express their dissatisfaction. If they deliberately picked fault with them, it might give the other party information that could be used against them. Now that Manchester City had provoked Nottingham Forest, there would be a good show.

“If the Manchester City club makes a public statement that they have never sent us a blank check and have never said those words ‘fill in the figure you want’, then everything was hyped up by me using the name of the new Manchester City boss. In that case, I can hold another press conference and publicly apologize to the Manchester City Football club as a whole. The sincerest apology and no objections from me!”

※※※

Manchester City certainly could not lick back its sprayed spittle. That would be too disgusting...

The real reason was that the pervasive news media had already brought to live the description they wrote about their image as obscenely wealthy and squandering money around—furthermore, it was what they wanted to see most initially. They hoped to attract the world’s top players to play for them in this way.

As a result, now that they were checkmated by Twain, they had no way to refute.

Twain won in another clash between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. He finally got his dignity back that he had lost on Richards.

Manchester City suffered a loss and had to suffer in silence. But did that mean they had no way of dealing with Tony Twain?

No, they had many ways.

Today’s Nottingham Forest might be a delicious cheesecake, 82 Lafite, scrumptious French banquet, scantily clad beautiful woman in the eyes of these big shots ... The more resistance they put up, the more it aroused the desire of the strong party to conquer.

Chapter 675 - The Imposing Manner of The Strong

Van Nistelrooy was also harassed. As he was surrounded by many reporters running after him, he repeatedly voiced his stance. “I’m not leaving Nottingham Forest. I’m very happy with everything here, and I want to play here until I retire if possible.”

The owner refused to sell and the player refused to come. What else was there to talk about?

The Manchester City club subsequently announced that they were no longer interested in van Nistelrooy.

Twain was able to take delight in fighting Manchester City after clarifying another matter — van der Vaart was fine.

In the first round of the league tournament, van der Vaart left the game with an injury in the opening ten minutes. Twain was very worried. After the game ended, the results of the hospital examination allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. He would recover after a two-week rest since he did not injure any muscles or bones. Twain originally thought he needed at least four months to recover.

If that had not happened, Twain might not be in the mood to play with Manchester City. He would have rejected the offer.

The media and spectators in England would not have enjoyed such a good show the past two days.

※※※

A lot of interesting things happened. The English fans found that as long as Tony Twain was around, they would never feel that time was slow. Everyone relished watching him shooting off his big mouth at the post-match press conference, and the head-on clash with Manchester City and the United Arab Emirates consortium behind it.

Just before the dust settled on those stories, the second round of the Premier League began.

In the second round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest continued their away trip and headed to Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire, where they would meet a new rival, Hull City.

The 104-year-old team was competing in England’s top tier football League for the first time. Before, they were more famous for their rugby. The team’s home stadium, KCOM Stadium, was both a football pitch and an international rugby stadium.

Since Twain was banned by the English Football Association for one match, he was only allowed to watch the game from the stands, the command handed over to his two assistant managers, who would be in charge of the on-field adjustments. The Football Association was also aware that Tony Twain was not someone who would just sit quietly, so they sent security to flank Twain. They would sit beside him during the game to prevent him from using advanced communication tools to contact the coaches.

When Twain gave the team the specific tactics in the locker room, he was delighted to see the two black-clad men waiting at the door. “It’s been a long time, you two.”

The two people had overseen him during the time he was banned from the English Football League Championship.

They were familiar as well. The two smiled. “We often see you, Mr. Twain.”

Although they were no strangers, they were not friends who would chat together, so Twain did not talk nonsense and just pointed to the grandstand to say, “let’s go.”

※※※

In the stands, Twain was a lot more honest than their first encounter. He did not get any devious ideas and did not ask to change seats. He did not have any intention of contacting below. He was like an ordinary fan as he held a cup of beer and sat in the stands to watch the game. If the Forest team did well, he would clap and cheer like any other Forest fans. If Hull City had the upper hand, he would scold and boo as well.

As the two men watched his behavior, they did not know whether to cry or laugh.

Were there any managers who were like him?

Twain’s thinking was very simple. Since he obviously could not direct the game in the stands, he would watch the game like a fan. The experience was invaluable to him.

Hull City was a newly promoted team and they were considered to be the top promoted favorite of the season. It took only five years for the team to move from the lowest level in the English professional league to the top. They ranked third in England. They could not be underestimated.

In the first round of the league tournament, Hull City won 2:1 against Fulham, and the entire city was jubilant. They were equally in high spirits for this game. If they did not handle them carefully, the UEFA Champions League winner and last season’s Double Winner would suffer a defeat.

Hull City’s manager was Phil Brown. Twain was a little unfamiliar with Hull City, but he was not unfamiliar with Brown. The man, who was once Allardyce’s assistant manager, had spent seven years at Bolton Wanderers, from which his tactical preferences were evident.

The Bolton Wanderers achieved success in the Premier League by relying on strength to compete, which Brown was well-versed in. According to the team’s new player George Boateng, the team began a lot of physical training before the season and would be pitting strength against the Premier League strong teams. And Boateng happened to be such a player. The team captain, Ashbee was even more loved by the fans for being aggressive on the pitch. In addition, the game’s starting center-back, Turner was more than 1.90 meters tall, and Gardner, on loan, was equally strong.

Judging from the lineup, it was clear what tactics Hull City would use in this game:high balls and aerial shots in English traditional football and physical confrontational style of competition.

The natural enemy of a technical team was such a team. Remember the “Crazy Gang” Wimbledon that was brilliant for a while in the 1980s? The European champion, Liverpool had to bow before them at home.

Sadly for them, Nottingham Forest was not Liverpool, and they had never based their pride on their skills. In terms of strength, fighting spirit, and drive, Nottingham Forest would not lose to this newly promoted team.

Before the game, to counter the characteristics of the opponent, Twain’s arranged tactics in the midfield to meet force with force, and then rely on incisive attacks from the sides to gain the key.

And, like most newly promoted teams, Hull City’s focus in the summer transfer window had been on their offense rather than defense. Not because their defense was strong enough, but because their offense was worse. Consequently, most of the people brought in during the transfer window were attacking players. As for their defense, they still played the old set of coordination from the English Football League Championship.

Generally speaking, in the manager’s opinion, offense could be adjusted at will, but the defense had to be steady. Unless they had to, they would rather trust old players who already understand than new players who might be capable.

Twain seized on that and gave up the defensive counterattack routine. Nottingham Forest launched a full-scale attack at the start of the away game, putting a lot of pressure on Hull City both on the sides and in the middle.

He did not believe that an English Football League Championship level of defense could withstand the attacking line of a Champions League level team.

The facts were as he thought. Hull City wanted to compete against the Forest team at home, using physical strength but lost four minutes later. Van Nistelrooy, who was in the spotlight because of the clash between Manchester City and Forest, was onside and successfully scored the opening goal. The KCOM Stadium was silent. The physically strong defenders were still a little tender when they came up against the experienced striker.

The goal that was scored so early in the game completely interrupted Phil Brown’s deployment and upset the mood of Hull City players.

They beat Fulham in the first round and thought they could make a good start in the Premier League, so they arrogantly wanted to defeat Nottingham Forest at home — Manager Brown’s reason was that the strong Nottingham Forest team would underestimate a newly promoted team.

But he did not know that Twain paid more attention to a newly promoted team. It was related to his own experience, and he never let go of a great opportunity to earn points and gain on the goal difference from a newly promoted team.

The poor Hull City rushed to organize a counterattack, but when they faced the two defensive lines led by George Wood, they could not gain an upper hand physically and they lacked skills and experience. Their circumstances immediately declined.

Eight minutes after the last goal, Nottingham Forest scored another goal. The goal was scored by Eastwood, whose sudden long shot at the top of the penalty area arc was perfectly aligned with his style. The football ball arced straight into the far corner of the goal. And it was 2:0!

The Forest team slowed down its pace a little after the two-goal lead. Hull City gradually strengthened and began to try to fight back.

The two sides were entangled on the pitch. Hull City had two excellent chances, but one was timely pounced on by van der Sar while Pepe lifted the siege for the other when he went head to head with the opposing striker.

Nottingham Forest also had a sure-shot chance. Ribéry’s shot bounced off the post and Lennon, who followed up, tried to make up for it but it was kicked away by the opposing captain, Ashbee.

As van der Vaart could not play due to his injury, Twain put Beckham in the middle to partner with George Wood. The focus is on the sides with the middle as support. Because Beckham had some defensive ability, George Wood was instructed to plug in and actively participate in the offense to try to put more pressure on the opponent.

After scoring two goals in the first half, neither side scored again. The score was 2:0, with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

During halftime, Twain got up and smiled at the two men. “Did the FA say not to let me go into the locker room at halftime?”

The two men looked at each other, and one of them said alertly, “you can’t go into the home team’s locker room.”

Twain laughed happily. “I’m not that stupid.”

Then he turned his head around and walked down.

※※※

At halftime, Twain instructed the team not to be satisfied with the two-goal lead. He found the Forest team a little too relaxed in the second part of the first half and Hull City’s threatening shots against the goal happened during that period. If he were on the sidelines to direct the game, he would have roared to call them to attention using his loud voice.

“It’s right to adjust your rhythm, but you can’t relax all the way. If we face Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, or Liverpool, I can’t say if we will still have the two-goal advantage. In the second half, if there’s a chance to score, don’t let it go. Remember you’ll be judged if you waste an opportunity!”

“What is the judgement?” someone on the team asked.

“It’s punishment.” Twain answered his question with a grim expression.

※※※

The Forest team picked up its pace in the second half. Hull City, who had wanted to use the time to counterattack, was pressed within its own half of the pitch. They were so pathetic that they could not even make a shot.

In the 62nd and 67th minutes, van Nistelrooy completed his first hat-trick of the season. Nottingham Forest’s top scorer scored two goals within five minutes to turn the score into 4:0.

Hull City, nicknamed the “Tigers,” completely lost their fighting spirit.

Facing the Nottingham Forest team, whose strength surpassed theirs in more ways than one and treated the game more seriously, Phil Brown could only stand helplessly on the sidelines, unable to turn around a hopeless situation — he did not think that Tony Twain’s hunger for victory was so ravenous that he would not even let go of a newly promoted team... That was incorrect. No one wanted to lose. But the competitive attitude, which still relentlessly pursued goals despite the two-goal lead, gave Brown the chills on the sidelines. Nottingham Forest was now four goals ahead, but Brown saw that they had no intention of giving up and still relentlessly sought every chance to score a goal.

Brown felt as if a boulder was pressing down on him, making him breathless.

Was this the true face of Nottingham Forest, the miraculous team that swept through Europe in the last three seasons...

The obsessive pursuit of goals, victories, championship titles had created this invincible steely force.

He routinely glanced at the away team’s technical area, wanting to get a closer look at the manager, who had a great deal of rumors around him. However, looking at the empty seat in the technical area, he froze momentarily before reacting — Tony Twain was banned again.

What an elusive opponent...

※※※

In the 88th minute, everyone thought the game would end with this score, but Nottingham Forest scored again as Hull City struggled in the final moments to score a goal to save face.

It was Beckham with his iconic free kick. Hull City’s contributor to its promotion and last season’s English Football League Championship’s top goalkeeper, Boaz Myhill, stood in place and did not move when the football spun into the goal.

Nottingham Forest swept Hull City by 5:0 to win two games in a row in the new season!

Nottingham Forest decisively won 5-0 in the away game.

After the last round of the league tournament ended, some columnists still criticized Nottingham Forest’s performance and thought the start of their league tournament would be very difficult. Twain’s team gave them a hard slap in the face with their actions in this round of the league tournament.

After the game, Phil Brown lamented that it was the gap in ability — “We did our best, but unfortunately Nottingham Forest did its best.”

※※※

Two rounds later, Nottingham Forest was at the top of the league with two straight wins. They relied on their advantage in the goal difference to surpass Chelsea and Liverpool, which had also had two straight wins.

What interested Twain was Chelsea’s performance after the arrival of its new manager, Scolari. It looked like despite Mourinho’s departure, Chelsea would continue to be his best rival.

The day after they returned to Nottingham Forest, Twain received a fax. As the Double Winner last season, it was normal for the players on the team to receive interest from the other teams. He had received countless similar faxes this summer.

But it was different.

This fax was from the Manchester City Football Club.

They were not going to keep pestering van Nistelrooy.

This time, they changed their target.

That player was... Nicklas Bendtner.

Chapter 676 - Bendtner’s Ambition

The outside news media heard about Manchester City’s desire to acquire Nottingham Forest’s number two center forward, Nicklas Bendtner, almost exactly at the same time Twain saw the piece of news on his desk. It was clear that the Manchester City club deliberately revealed it to the outside world.

Just like how Tony Twain was close to <Nottingham Evening Post>, the Manchester City club must have been on close terms with one or two media, which could speak up on their behalf during key moments. Their reward would be to know “the insider story” earlier than any other media.

Twain was in a daze as he held the Manchester City club’s offer.

There had been news of some clubs interested in Bendtner in previous seasons, but none had come true. On the one hand, Twain would not sell his team’s future number one center forward; on the other, Bendtner’s father, who was also his spokesman, had announced more than once that his son would not leave the Forest team.

In that case, would it still be the same result this time?

He decided to wait a day and see.

One day should be enough for Thomas Bendtner to response?

Hence he stuffed the fax from Manchester City under a pile of folders.

※※※

A day later, there was more and more news in the media about Manchester City’s desire to bring in Bendtner, which was reprinted by the local media in Nottingham.

Bendtner’s father, Thomas Bendtner, was still unresponsive.

That was when Twain sensed danger in the air.

The reporters flocked to the Wilford training base, wanting to hear what Bendtner himself thought of the “rumors.”

But Bendtner remained silent and did not answer any questions from any reporter.

Bendtner was a slightly uncommunicative young man in the team, unlike Eastwood and Ribéry. Even so, his popularity was good. His silence was different from that of Anelka’s. Anelka was a loner, while the Danish handsome guy was just a little introverted.

But not saying a word was a problem.

Twain felt he should call Bendtner’s agent. He did not believe the Manchester City club would follow the rules, which were to approach the club first before they made contact with the player. The other side must have contacted the player’s agent before they made an offer to the Forest team. They learned their lesson from their experience with van Nistelrooy. At that time, Manchester City failed because they did not made clear inquiries about van Nistelrooy’s wishes.

Bendtner had two agents. One was his father, Thomas Bendtner, who was more like a spokesman. Bendtner conveyed any ideas he had through his father. He was not involved in the contract negotiations with the team and other work. But he was indeed the most important figure who could not be ignored, because his son depended on him to make decisions.

The other agent was Nicola Juric. He was a regular broker with a FIFA issued license. He carried out all the contact with the team.

Twain decided to call Juric first because the two of them dealt with each other more often than he did with Bendtner’s father.

“Mr. Twain, I know you called me for.” Juric spoke right to the point as he was a smart man. He did not waste time with Twain. He did not even wait for Twain to ask him. He revealed everything, “The Manchester City people came to me, hoping to know the possibility of Bendtner’s transfer. I told them it was very difficult, because Mr. Twain certainly wouldn’t let him go. But they said it didn’t matter. They just wanted to know what Bendtner himself thought. As long as he wants to, then...”

“Very good.” Twain nodded. The problem was simple. “What does Bendtner think?”

Juric smiled over the phone, “You can’t ask me this, Mr. Twain.”

Twain paused for a second before he reacted—if he wanted to know what Bendtner thought, he had to ask his father. Bendtner’s thoughts were conveyed through his father’s mouth to others.

Hanging up, Twain did not hurry to call Thomas. He wanted to straighten things out first.

It was clear that Manchester City lacked strikers. They were short since the start of last season to this season. Last season, Manchester City had so many strikers but not one of them score double-digit goals during the season! It could even be said to be an extraordinary shame and humiliation for a team’s forwards. In other words, after the new boss came to power, they tried to plunder strikers worldwide and messed up other teams’ transfer deals was not because they wanted to make enemies everywhere and definitely not to put on a show. It was because they were compelled by circumstances... As a result, Berbatov, Adebayor, Drogba and van Nistelrooy did not take up Manchester City’s offers at all and did not even consider this upstart at all.

Since the world’s top strikers were unwilling to “condescend”, then it made sense for Manchester City to have no choice but to...

The problem is, this is the second time they are at my, Tony Twain’s door again!

Nicklas Bendtner is my anointed future number one center forward. Manchester City, you have a big appetite...

After thinking things through, Twain then realized that he had been at loggerheads with Manchester City this summer.

First, they parted on bad terms due to Richards. Following which, because of van Nistelrooy, Twain aggravated the situation and caused a din, which put Manchester City in an awkward situation. Now the other side specifically came for Bendtner. What did that mean? Did they want to get back at me?

No way!

Twain picked up his cell phone to find the number for Bendtner’s father, Thomas, and dialed it.

※※※

The Forest players came to the training base in succession to get ready for the day’s training.

Every summer, the “transfer rumors” would be discussed in the locker room. Outside, the reporters and fans racked their brains to find out the story behind every transfer rumor and the related inside story. But in here, these could be used as jokes in discussion.

Van Nistelrooy was the focus of much debate and butt of jokes some time ago. The boss’s actions at the press conference also made everyone happy for a long time. Now it was Bendtner’s turn.

“Hey, do you want to guess how the boss will reject Manchester City again?” Wes Morgan, who was naked, bounced around in the locker room while changing his clothes.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Burn the check?” Bale said.

“I heard there was no blank check this time.” It was Baines who answered him.

“Well...” Eastwood knitted his brows and said, “A direct rejection is not fun...”

Bendtner listened to people talking about things related to him, but he quietly changed clothes at the side. When Wes Morgan was still swinging his dick around in the locker room, he began to sit down and tie his shoelaces.

At last someone remembered that the person involved was by his side. Lennon’s locker was on Bendtner’s right, and the two were next to each other. He patted the back of Bendtner who bent over to tie his shoelaces and asked, “Nick, did they look for you?

Bendtner did not look up and continued to tie his shoelaces as he said, “No.”

※※※

“Mr. Tony Twain, I don’t want to lie to you. Actually, they did look for me.” Thomas Bendtner answered Twain’s question on the phone.

It was not unexpected at all. Twain’s expression did not even change. He continued to ask, “I’m not going to ask you exactly what you discussed about. I just want to know what Bendtner’s thoughts are on this.”

To fight back against Manchester City, he naturally had to know what Bendtner himself thought. In this way, he would have his targeted countermeasure to deal with the situation like how he dealt with van Nistelrooy.

Twain thought he’d hear things like “He doesn’t want to leave”, like what his father had said in response to the previous rumors. He did not expect this time he would hear Thomas said clearly, “He wants to leave.”

“That’s good...” Twain’s brain had not register for a while and just reflexively spoke before he realized something was amiss. He hurriedly corrected himself, “No, I mean ... What? Leave?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Twain. I don’t want to lie to you, so I have to tell the truth. My son, Nicklas Bendtner, wants to leave Nottingham Forest.”

Twain froze for a while and found that his brain was a little out of order. “What do you mean?”

“My son often complains that he cannot obtain an important position in the team, Mr. Twain. He wants to go to a team that can give him a main core position. As luck would have it, Manchester City have agreed to all his terms.”

Twain felt cold all over. He never thought it would be like this. The future main center forward whom he always regarded highly, placed unlimited hopes on, spent several years of hard work on, actually felt he was not put in an important position in the team, and wanted to leave!

I’m hearing things, right?

Or I haven’t woken up yet?

Or has Thomas the old man not woken up yet, and his mind was confused from a fever yesterday?

※※※

The locker room was very lively since the boss had not appeared on the training ground anyway. There was still time before the training would start. Everyone did not mind staying here to talk about private topics. For example, they continued to guess what their boss would do to Manchester City.

Lennon was still chatting with Bendtner. This time, he half-jokingly asked, “You’re not leaving, are you Nick? I heard that Manchester City is very rich and can give you a very high salary.”

Bendtner shook his head and said, “I don’t care how high the salary is.”

Lennon smiled.

“I just want to play the main position.” Having said that, he got up and went straight out of the noisy locker room.

Lennon watched his back disappear behind the door in puzzlement.

※※※

“How can he not be put in an important position? He played twenty-seven games last season! Almost half the number of games. He’s my second center forward. Doesn’t that clarify the issue?” Twain was a little agitated because he felt that Thomas’s reason was bullshit and insufficient. He had a lot of data to overturn this “not been put in an important position” excuse. “He scored ten goals and had eight assists! With such excellent data, if he were to be at Arsenal, perhaps he might not get it at all!”

“Mr. Twain, that’s the problem. You say he is the second center forward. My son, he wants to be the number one center forward. And I too think he has the ability.”

It turned out that he was not willing to be van Nistelrooy’s substitute. “Van Nistelrooy has more experience than he has. Moreover, according to my plan, he will officially replace the Dutchman as the number one center forward, come one more season!” That being the case, Twain was confident of making Bendtner stay.

“No. My son is too impatient to wait. Mr. Twain, do you still remember what you said to him when you first met Nicklas?”

That remark stopped Twain. How could he remember so clearly what happened four years ago?

Seeing that Twain did not answer, Thomas chuckled. This sound made Twain frown, and he suddenly felt incensed.

“You see, you don’t remember, Mr. Twain. In order to have my son refused to go to Arsenal at that time and come to your team, you promised that he would be the main player and the core of the forward line. Am I wrong in saying that? Or maybe you were just casually saying it. I can understand. After all, in order to attract players to play for the team now, you managers always have to write blank checks and make promises that are impossible to fulfill. But my son always remembers these words. He came to the Forest team and trained hard to compete, working towards that goal...”

“Mr. Thomas Bendtner...”

“It’s a shame that four years on, after Viduka had gone, came van Nistelrooy. You said next season belongs to Nicklas? To be honest, I’m doubtful. My son is a nice young man who always trusts others easily. But I’m not a twenty-year-old kid. I’m older than you, Mr. Twain. I know this is just an excuse for you to buy time. When the Dutchman can’t play, you’re going to find another center forward from the transfer market, right? With so many good center forwards now, I don’t want my son to be a lifelong substitute. I never doubted my son’s ability, but I doubt you can give him the chance to play to his full potential. Nicklas can be the best striker in the world, provided he doesn’t play as a substitute for someone else at Forest. You want to keep him; I would never agree.”

With the other man said so much in one breath, Twain’s brain gradually calmed down. He asked, “Have you finished? Mr. Thomas Bendtner?”

“I have said all there are to say, Mr. Twain. I know you like people to be honest with you, so I’m being frank.”

Twain took a deep breath, and then slowly spoke the words, “Thank you for your honesty. I think I need to consider everything you said.”

“When you’ve thought about it, you’re welcome to give me a call.”

This time Twain did not throw the phone. He hung up and sat alone on the chair in a daze.

He knew that he sometimes deliberately suppressed Bendtner’s desire, but that was due to his worry that he would become too proud. He was aware of what kind of person Bendtner was. This talented young man was proud and arrogant. Sometimes he had his eyes above his head. He did not want a genius with talent and a great future to end up average due to some psychological and character issues. So, he tried to create a less-than-smooth environment for Bendtner and never told him what he really thought. He wanted Bendtner to be able to experience it for himself.

The Chinese’s reservation and the English’s reservation were all embodied within the fake Caucasian body of Tony Twain.

He did not want to lay it all bare because he felt that would lose the meaning of experience and growth. Now it seemed that he was wrong.

Bendtner was not the kind of patient person who was willing to experience growth. His thinking was typically Western—since I have such a great foundation, environment and conditions, why do I have to go through some shitty growth? Why can’t I be the main core right away? I have the ability, so I want it!

Twain felt like it was all wishful thinking on his part before...

I’ve spent so much efforts and hard work to focus on the development of this striker only to have him think that he has not been put to an important use.

It was a great irony for Twain, who liked to control everything with his own hands.

He leaned back on the back of his chair and looked out of the window at the sunny training ground, where Bendtner and his teammates appeared on the field one by one.

He really wanted to know what Bendtner was feeling at the moment.

You think you’ve been deceived?

I feel cheated instead!

Chapter 677 - To Part on Bad Terms

Twain felt that he had been deceived, not that he had been deceived by others, but by his own wishful thinking. He had actually thought that all his players were obedient and well-behaved kids like the data in the FM game, which had no meaning other than a name.

It seemed that the impact of the transmigration had not completely disappeared...

Sometimes he really took this as a Football Manager game and play.

But Bendtner gave him a hard slap, which told him that this was the real world, so realistic that anyone in the team could break away from his control and pursue the future he wanted. Ribéry was a wake-up call, and Bendtner was soon to be a reality.

But Twain did not plan to let Bendtner go like that.

Furthermore, it was to sell to Manchester City.

The day after that phone call with Bendtner’s father, Twain turned down Manchester City’s offer of eighteen million pounds during an interview.

“Bendtner is the future of our team and we won’t be foolish enough to give him to other clubs.” His tone was tough as if there was no room for discussion.

※※※

The car park in Wilford was getting crowded, with the various latest models of cars filling up the lots—the Nottingham Forest star players came for training in succession.

Bendtner sat in his black Volkswagen and was not in a hurry to get out of the car. Empty cars parked around him as their owners were already in the locker room.

With the car windows closed up, Bendtner called his father.

Although he had been in England for four years, his family was still in Denmark and he lived alone in Nottingham. He first lived in a hostel provided by the team and then moved out to rent a house. Unlike his other teammates, he had not bought a house in the city till now.

“Dad, he refused.”

“I know. It’s all over the media.”

“How did you talk to him yesterday?”

Thomas heard some concern in his son’s voice, and he smiled to comfort his son, “Don’t worry. I put all my responsibility on myself, and it has nothing to do with you. We’re going to prepare for the worst. Even if you don’t end up leaving, he won’t make things difficult for you.”

Bendtner was slightly relieved to hear his father say so. He was only “slightly.” These days, Bendtner was under immense psychological pressure as he trained every day. As soon as he saw the boss wearing sunglasses on the sidelines, he would feel a pair of eyes staring at himself.

As a determined “traitor” who wanted to escape the kingdom, while meticulously plotting the escape plan, he needed to be wary of the king. If the plan fell through and was exposed, a very harsh and cruel punishment would be waiting for him... This was no exaggeration. Bendtner and Anelka were not the same.

The Frenchman wanted to go, and Twain also wanted to drive him away. He only wanted to punish him before he left

On the other hand, Bendtner wanted to go, but Twain did not want him to go. Then the matter was not so simple as to discipline him before letting him go. This was a “revolt” to oppose the king’s will.

How could there not be any psychological pressure in doing such a thing?

“Train with a peace of mind and don’t think about anything else. I’ll take care of everything.” The father comforted his son, “If any reporter asks the question, just maintain silent and don’t accept any interviews...”

“But Dad, how can I put pressure on him if I don’t take a stand?”

“You don’t need to deal with this. I’ll put the pressure on him. I don’t want you to get involved. I’ll be the bad guy...”

Just then, Bendtner was startled by a knocking sound on the glass next to his ear, which startled him.

He turned his head around to find that it was Lennon who had just arrived. He leaned forward to the window and gestured to him, asking him why he did not go to the locker room.

“I’m sorry, Dad, my teammate came to look for me...”

“Ah... All right, you go on. Oh! Remember, if Twain comes to you, find an excuse to put it off...”

Bendtner quickly hung up the phone and got out of the car.

Lennon smiled at him, “Who you calling for so long? A girlfriend?”

Bendtner was worried about not knowing how to answer when Lennon gave him a reason. He smiled a little stiffly, “Yes.”

“Oh—how long have you known each other? Even we don’t know. Wow, you’re very secretive. Must be a beauty!”

“He he, I’ll call her out to meet everyone when there’s a chance the next time.”

Bendtner absentmindedly answered Lennon’s question on how beautiful his girlfriend was and left the parking lot side by side with him.

※※※

During a break in the training, Twain did look for Bendtner, wanting to speak to him alone. Mindful of his father’s instructions, Bendtner declined the suggestion on the pretext that he had a date with his girlfriend. To prove that he must show up for the date, he even said it was his girlfriend’s birthday.

Twain cocked his head and looked at Bendtner for a while. His direct gaze scared him, and he almost came forth to confess. That was when Twain nodded and agreed. But before he left, he said, “I hope we both can have a good talk tomorrow.”

As soon as Twain turned around, Bendtner’s eyebrows drooped down—what reason he could find for tomorrow...

The training resumed. Twain stood on the side to watch when the cell phone in his pocket rang.

He knew there was only one person who would call him at this time because he had just rejected Manchester City’s offer earlier.

He pulled out his cell phone and stood by the training ground as he pressed the answer button.

“Hello, Mr. Thomas Bendtner.” He said in a cold voice.

“Hello, Mr. Tony Twain.” The voice over there carried a hint of smile.

“You must be annoyed that I turned down Manchester City’s offer, right?”

“No, how can I be? I understand that because their offer is too low. My son shouldn’t be worth only eighteen million pounds.”

“This is not a matter of price, Mr. Bendtner. Your son is not for sale by the club. He is the future of Nottingham Forest, and for the next ten years, he will be the team’s leading striker and the number one center forward!” Twain put weight to his tone in the hope that the old man would understand how important his son’s status was.

“As far as I know, a lot of clubs claim that certain players are not for sale, but they still change hands and sell them to the highest bidder.” Perhaps he sensed that Twain would be angry with this remark, so he hurriedly added, “I agree with your first remark, Mr. Twain. It’s really not about the price. It’s about the player’s will. As I said, it’s unsuitable for my son to continue to stay here because you simply can’t keep the promises you made to him... No, don’t talk about the future. I hope you respect the individual will of the player. Did not you just agree to let Piqué go back to Barcelona? Why can’t you respect my son’s idea the same way?”

“This is completely different!” Twain growled.

This was certainly different. He definitely did not spent as much efforts on Piqué like he did on Bendtner.

“I think it makes no difference. You have van Nistelrooy who can play as the center forward anyway.”

Twain felt that he had nothing to talk about with this stubborn old man who adamantly refused to believe him. He brusquely hung up the phone and stood there as he seethed.

※※※

Manchester City raised their offer again, which saw them made a twenty-million bid to purchase Bendtner.

After some secret warfare, the Manchester United Football Club bought Berbatov for 30.75 million pounds. The transfer market had fewer and fewer good center forwards. If Manchester City did not hurry up, the transfer window would be closed soon. Then even if Bendtner really wanted to go, he must wait until January. Half a year’s time was not long and not short either. Who knew what would happen between now and then?

Meanwhile, Manchester City finally managed to sign the deal with the Brazilian star, Robinho who was at odds with the top brass at Real Madrid, costing them a fee of forty million pounds after much hard work. Schuster was extremely unhappy with this deal, but what could he do? He was not a manager at an English club. In the Spanish clubs, the club’s sporting director had more authority than the head coach. He did not dare to do anything but complain about a summer wasted, the winger, Ronaldo that he had planned did come, the original winger, Robinho was gone, and now the team only one winger, which had a negative impact on the team’s tactics.

At this point, the transfer drama was basically coming to an end, with the entire world following closely the news that Manchester City was chasing Bendtner because it could perhaps be the last bombshell before the summer transfer window closed.

Bendtner rose to fame along with Nottingham Forest’s three seasons in the Premier League and European football arena. He was no longer the young rising star of the future, but a star player calling the shots. He was the main center forward in the Denmark team and also had a stable goal-scoring rate in the Forest team. Many teams’ managers thought that Bendtner had a bright future. If Twain had not held onto him tightly, people would have stand in line to buy him long ago.

However, this time, Twain finally met an opponent who was good at hounding and had thick skin. Most importantly, this opponent was very, very rich.

They could not buy van Nistelrooy because the Dutchman did not want to leave the Forest team for Manchester City, so Twain and the club were able to reject confidently. After all, no matter how much money was offered, the player himself did not want to leave, which was out of their hands. Bendtner’s situation was completely different. Now the player himself wanted to leave...

Twain patiently waited for Bendtner to finish celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday, and then looked for him again. This time he was going to have to talk to the Danish kid in person no matter what.

“Can we have a chat after the training ends? It’s about the recent transfer rumors.”

“This...” Bendtner felt a little awkward.

“Your father won’t let you talk to me, would he?”

Bendtner looked up in amazement at his boss.

“He did not tell me, but any fool could guess the connection.” Twain said with a smile. “I think It’s necessary for me to talk to you. I want to know what you think. You know, the day before yesterday I realized one thing: I thought I knew the person I see all the time very well but in fact, I do not know him at all.”

Having said that, Twain tilted his head slightly and looked at Bendtner in front of him.

Bendtner was hesitant. Should he listen to his father, or the boss?

In the end, he chose the latter. He knew what his father was afraid in not letting him talk to his boss. Ribéry was taken to Mallorca by his agent to hide from the boss at that time. In the end, Ribéry’s attitude changed immediately after the boss made a trip to Mallorca.

The boss was an expert at words and best at using words to stir up people’s sentiments. He knew this very well. But he was also confident in his resolve. This time, no matter how well the boss spoke, he would not stay.

It was not that he was hard-hearted. It was because he knew that things had come to a head. If all that he had achieved went down the gutter and he would have chosen to stay in the end, he was not sure that the boss would not look for an opportunity to make life difficult for him. He appeared broad-minded, but in fact he was narrow-minded. He would always remember that he let him down.

Once the relationship between two people had the slightest crack, it was impossible to be perfect as before. It was inevitable that it would be awkward in the two people’s interaction.

In this respect, he had no way out this time.

He nodded.

Twain smiled, “After the training ends at noon, I would like to invite you to lunch. What do you like?”

“The cafeteria will do.” After Bendtner made his decision, his mood was a lot more relaxed. “I’m not particular about what I eat.”

※※※

During the noon break, most of the players chose to go home. Only a small number of people would stay in the training base’s cafeteria for lunch.

Twain and Bendtner found a small corner and started their lunch with “things on their minds other than food.”

The two people ate their meal in silence at first. Once the meal was almost done, Twain wiped his mouth with a napkin. He wanted to talk. Bendtner saw his look and stopped what he was doing.

“Your father told me that you plan to leave?”

Bendtner was already mentally prepared. He nodded without hesitation.

“Can you tell me why?” Twain said amiably. There was no hint of anger.

“I don’t think I’m being put to important use here.”

Accordingly, Twain began to give him a list of figures, proving that his number of appearances for the Forest team had gradually increased over the past few seasons. His rate of goals scored was also steady. He even cited his performance in a few important games to prove that he was really an important member of the team.

Bendtner just shook his head and said, “Honestly, boss... I don’t like the position you give me. I’m a center forward and my job is to score. But more often than not, I have to pass the ball to my teammates on the pitch...”

Twain suddenly saw the light. Was this what he meant when he said he was not being put to important use?

However, this complicated the issue. In Twain’s tactical system, the center forward would not simply be used to score goals. Most of the time, they needed to contribute to the team’s overall offense. An assist was a very important indicator. Van Nistelrooy’s ability had not actually diminished when he came to Nottingham Forest, but he had not won the Premier League’s top striker again because most of the time he needed to sacrifice his place in the penalty area, pull to the middle of the backfield, even support his teammates at the sides and act as a bridgehead to protect the ball. As a result, he scored fewer goals than he did at Manchester United. But van Nistelrooy did not complain, nor had he ever publicly or privately revealed his displeasure with the arrangement. That was one of the reasons Twain specially liked van Nistelrooy.

Now Bendtner was completely at odds with Twain’s tactical habits, which made him a little uncomfortable.

“Why do you think so? Nicklas, the center forward is also a member of the team. You help the team by doing so, which is also not bad for you.”

“Boss, I don’t want to be a center forward with more assists than the number of goals scored.” Bendtner said resolutely as he already had a plan in his mind. “I’m only interested in scoring goals.”

Twain grinned, “I thought everyone was used to my tactics at Nottingham Forest. I did not think someone would oppose it here. If the team can’t win the game, is it useful for the striker to score more goals?”

“I don’t think the team can win if the striker can’t score.”

Twain listened to him say so and sighed, “I am now more determined in my idea that you should continue to develop and grow ... You had it backwards, Nicklas. Teams that don’t know how to defend can’t win games. Defense is the foundation of everything.”

Bendtner spread his hands and said, “This is where we differ, boss. I revere offense, and you’re more conservative.”

“Ha, I’m conservative?” There was a lot of media out that used this word to describe him, but Twain did not expect to hear this word from one of his players’ mouth. “Well, I’m fine with people saying I’m conservative as long as I can win the championship titles. Don’t you like championship titles?” Twain stared at the reckless kid in front of him and asked in return.

“I like. But I want to win the championship titles my own way.”

Bendtner looked directly at Twain and did not flinch.

“Very well, very well.” Twain pushed away the cutlery placed in front of him and stood to get up. “Then you use your way to win the championship titles!”

Having said that, he left without turning his head back.

He did not expect things to end up like this...

※※※

Thomas Bendtner was pleased to hear his son’s retelling and said, “It looks like he’s agreed to let you go, son!”

As a result, Twain once again rejected Manchester City’s twenty million-pound transfer offer the next day. The reason was no different from before. He stated, “Bendtner is not for sale. He’s the future of the team. I will not be a fool and give him to others. I won’t do it for money!”

It was hard to guess what he was thinking. It was obvious that he parted on bad terms with Bendtner yesterday after their talk. Why did he immediately act like a private deal had been brokered with Bendtner?

Just after he turned down Manchester City for the second time, another man at the club finally could not sit still and came to Twain in person, hoping to talk to him frankly.

Chapter 679: Aerial Overlord

Maybe Allan realised that Nottingham Forest only had 3 official strikers, and that was why he allowed Twain to use the remaining transfer budget to buy a center forward from the market.

But the problem was not money, but that he could not find a player to recruit.

This type of situation was too depressing. It was like a penniless beggar drooling while watching someone else feast. Suddenly, he stumbled upon a big sum of money and happily made his way to the feast, only to be disappointed when he saw that the restaurant had closed for the day.

It was already August 31, which meant there was less than a day before the transfer window closed. At this point in time, many transfers had already been completed, and even the incomplete ones would have already been in the contract signing phase. Even if Twain could find a suitable target, the player might already have been owned. Half a day was not enough time for finding a new target from other clubs.

In his deepest thoughts, Twain determined that Man City did this intentionally. They held off the transfer till the last minute for the past few days to deny Nottingham Forest the time to find a replacement. However, Twain had only been concerned with arguing with Man City over the past few days that he forgotten this scenario.

Great, he dug his own grave.

On one hand, Twain was unwilling to give up and continued to search for a suitable candidate in the transfer market. On the other hand, he had also prepared himself to be content with a negative outcome. He decided to approach the youth team and the reserve team to see if there were any suitable forwards to use. Of course, this had to wait till the end of the Super Cup.

※※※

When Tony Twain brought the Nottingham Forest team to Monaco to prepare for the UEFA Super Cup, the club members worked their hardest and put their all into the global region.

The Brazillian striker who was not bought by Man City was an option, but his complicated background and the pressing deadline made Nottingham Forest hesitate to take this player. Mario Gomez was the best scorer in the previous Bundesliga league and a powerful center forward, but his performance in the UEFA European Championships was so bad that the scouts in Nottingham Forest did not see much in him.

Nottingham Forest searched for so long that they even approached the Spanish Valencia FC, using all their assets to get the opposing striker David Villa. They did not even care if this person’s personality was suited for the tactics in Nottingham Forest or if he was who Twain wanted.

Mario Balotelli, also known as “Super Mario” , a genius player from Milan, might have been suitable for the team. However, once Mourinho heard that it was Nottingham Forest who asked for him, he rejected the offer without hesitation.

The newly risen Egyptian center forward Zaki met Twain’s various requirements, but he had already been bought by Portsmouth. For a player who just transferred clubs in less than a month, it was impossible for Twain to make him transfer again.

At the most critical moment, the scouting team finally found the player that fulfilled all Twain’s demands.

※※※

Nikola Zigic, Serbian, 2 metres tall, and the second tallest center forwarding UEFA Champions League.

In the UEFA Champions League, there had been a strange phenomenon in the past years where the taller the center forwards, the weaker their header skills. A classic example was Zlatan Ibrahimović, whose footwork was exponentially better than his heading.

However, Zigic was different. He met Twain’s expectations of a good center forward with great header skills. As a center forward, his header skills were as impressive as his build. Standing at 2.02 metres tall and weighing 100 kilograms, he was a real “Aerial Overlord” in the penalty area. During the match against Team Real Madrid, even the world-renowned Fabio Cannavaro did not know what to do against Zigic’s height and weight; not even fouling could bring this big kid down.

Also, impressive header skills did not mean his footwork was clumsy. Zigic’s shooting skills were equally good, indicating he truly was a well-rounded center forward.

What set him apart from Bendtner was that he had the potential to become a second passer who could create opportunities and selflessly set up plays for his team mates. The Siberian had better tactical discipline than Bendtner.

Most importantly, Zigic was not happy in Valencia.

In the previous season, Valencia spent a total of €107 million to bring him from Santander in Valencia, but he did not get to go on the field. Because he had missed a few matches in the early season due to injury, he had always been benched… More accurately, he was part of the audience.

Valencia’s main strikers were “Gourd Doll” David Villa and Fernando Morientes, and behind them were Angulo and Arizmendi. Whether it was Sánchez Flores or Koeman, neither wanted to risk anything with this tall center forward. Valencia spent 107 million on a fifth striker, so it was no wonder they had a debt crisis last season. No matter how rich they were, they should not have splurged.

This summer, Real Madrid wanted to snatch Zigic, but he personally rejected this suggestion because he wanted to prove himself in Valencia.

Following the opening of La Liga’s new season, Zigic found out the cruel truth — in the roster the new head coach Emery was planning to use, there was not a position for him as a center. David Villa decided to remain on the team at the last minute, which was as good as announcing that Zigic would not have the chance at fighting to be the starting center forward.

Nottingham Forest, which had a lack of center forwards, appeared at this moment. Initially, the people from Nottingham Forest came to buy David Villa, but were disdainfully rejected by Valencia. They expressed that David Villa was not for sale. They did not even let go of him to Real Madrid, let alone Nottingham Forest which was far in England. Desperate, Nottingham Forest then incidentally did a quick scan on the strikers in Valencia and surprisingly discovered an unhappy and unsatisfied one.

Valencia was not willing to sell David Villa but they were indeed short of funds, so they were very open to selling other players. Zigic also realised he had no future if he stayed in Valencia, but Nottingham Forest was a team that recently won two championships, whose roster was filled with many players of high standards, and they were gunning for the championship. This aligned perfectly with Zigic’s wishes — he was hungry for reputation and results.

Both parties agreed without hesitation and signed the contract on the morning of September 1. Later that afternoon, Zigic flew to Nottingham and proceeded with his medical examination. At night, when Twain was at Monaco finishing his preparations and roster deployment for the match the next day, both Nottingham Forest and Valencia concurrently announced the transfer of Nikola Zugic into Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee of 10 million Euros. If not for the lack of time, Allen would have bargained for a lower price. Now that Valencia was lacking money, it was the perfect time to underpay them.

In the new season, Zigic would wear the number 9 jersey that Bentner passed down, becoming the new east striker in the contest.

※※※

Twain was very content with the transfer for Zigic; he felt that the last of his emotional burden had been removed. He spent too much time and effort on matters unrelated to him, and being able to obtain an “Aerial Overlord” at the final moments more or less made up for those regrets. Now he could concentrate on defeating their UEFA Super Cup opponents — the Glasgow Rangers from Scotland.

In last season’s finals, Glasgow Rangers defeated the veteran Bayern Munich in a close fight, winning the Europa Cup. Naturally, they would hope to be as lucky in the Super Cup. And Twain, without his strong center forward, had no choice but to deploy a defensive formation, relying on occasional surprise attacks to threaten a goal, but most of the time Nottingham Forest players were exhausted from running while defending.

Generally speaking, Nottingham Forest did not have a ” UEFA Champions” stance. The Glasgow Rangers, with their high morale, seemed more like the winners of the UEFA Champions league.

But what happened in the end?

Nottingham Forest successfully defended till the penalty kick at the end. At this time, Glasgow Rangers, who were wildly attacking for one hundred and twenty minutes were both frustrated and exhausted — they never thought a Super Cup match would delay till the penalty kick. In contrast, the Nottingham Forest players, who were constantly being dominated in the main match were all super confident and calm, as if the penalty kick was something they had predicted from the start. The final psychological test of penalty kick had not even started but there was already a clear winner between the mentalities of both parties.

During the penalty, the first player on the field from the Glasgow Rangers was Kevin Thompson who, under large pressure, sent the ball into the stands, giving Nottingham Forest a great start. Following that, Nottingham Forest scored all 4 goals while Glasgow Rangers only scored two. They had already lost before even taking the fifth shot.

After Nottingham Forest followed up against Serie A giants AC Milan, they became the second team to successfully defend the European Super cup. Winning the second champion trophy in the new season brought some happiness to the team that recently sold their future superstar.

Though it was a messy situation, they still won. Once again, they proved to people a truth that they were unwilling to admit but they had to, which was “defending will forever be the basis of winning the championship.”

And so the experts started to predict boldly —”This season, Nottingham Forest’s brilliance will continue!”

These experts, after assessing three league seasons, concluded with a piece of advice: Do not be afraid to talk big about Nottingham Forest. This is because Twain will talk big every year, but always ends up the victor. Questioning him only will result in being lightly slapped by him at the end, so why not just talk big? If you somehow are right, you can claim to be far-sighted, and even if you are wrong, you can push the blame to Twain and his team for not being capable enough.

※※※

Despite winning the Super Cup and purchasing the tall center forward Zigic, Twain did not have any signs of relaxing one bit. This reason was simple — someone got injured again. Van der Vaart and van Nistelrooy, who were still among those injured, gained a new buddy after the Super Cup match.

Pepe sprained his ankle during extra time, and at that time Twain had no reserves under his name, so he could only sit and wait. After the match and the check-ups, it was decided that Pepe needed to rest for 15 days. Now Twain could only celebrate that it was not a major injury, or else this start to the new league season was really unfavourable for the year.

After returning to Nottingham, Twain introduced Zigic before making time to speak to him individually, with the help of translation. He told Zigic about the type of team Nottingham Forest was, the style of football the main coach specialised in, the effects he hoped for the center forward to have on the plays, and the position he held in this team. At the same time, he showed some concern for Zigic’s life in England, telling the latter to approach him if ever he felt uncomfortable. Twain was the perfect portrait of a benevolent, gentle and kind middle-aged man.

After the Super Cup, Nottingham Forest temporarily disbanded. Some players, as part of their national duty, had to return to play for their respective countries in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Famous Italian gold medallist Fabio Capello had already taken over as England’s new head coach, and because of this iron coach, George Wood was reselected for England’s representative team. His steady display, faithful execution of tactics and calm personality corresponded to the wants of Capello.

The media predicted that, during this match where England would challenge Andorra on their home ground, Wood would be welcomed into the starting lineup. The young Nottingham Forest team leader still had to prove his value to the England team. Previously, he was deemed to be undervalued by the previous two head coaches.

Wood needed to work hard for his future in the England team but Twain was not slacking off either. Taking advantage of this, he took a trip to the reserve teams and the youth teams. He might have bought Zigic, but Nistelrooy was getting older, and no matter how good his condition was, there was no guarantee that he could maintain this in the next season… Realistically, it was difficult to even guarantee he could maintain his game for this season. Twain felt it was better to scout for his reserves.

Although the first team was on a break, the reserve teams still had to prepare for the Premier Reserve League match this weekend. Twain’s arrival made the players on the reserve team extremely happy because they knew what the rare trips of the head coach meant. If they performed well, they had a chance to be promoted to the first team.

Turkish genius Sahin was following the first team to training, but joining the reserve team for competition. Twain hoped that, through this match, he could start coming in contact and familiarising with England’s soccer style, and at the same time gradually improve his confidence and afflatus. He was also here to also watch how Sahin was performing.

Upon seeing Twain, the head coach of the reserve team, Colin Clarkwood, thought he was coming specifically to inspect Sahin. The moment they met, he prattled on about Sahin’s performance. “Tony, this guy is indeed a genius. His performance in the reserve team competition was very outstanding. I think he already possesses the capability to fight in the first team. His passing was very creative, and his ball handling is extraordinary…”

Twain listened patiently to his introduction and nodded. “Let him stay under your guidance for a while, Colin.”

“What? Isn’t Rafael injured?” asked Colin Clarkwood, seemingly very puzzled.

“There are so many people on the first team, I have to try to make sure they all go on the field.” Twain smiled helplessly.

Colin Clarkwood realised everything, and shook his head with a laugh. “No one wants to play as a substitute.Also, I heard the suggestions of the psychologists. Miss Taretha, the one who has been treating Sahin, felt that now is not a great time for him to return to the first team. I trust the professionals, so let’s just let him wait for now… Is he unhappy with anything?” What Twain cared about was that final question. Bendtner’s departure was a wake up call; he had to stop thinking that people were just obedient NPCs without any personal desires.

Colin Clarkwood shook his head. “That he does not have. In fact… I feel that he really enjoys these type of matches without pressure.”

Twain replied with an “oh” and stopped talking. He continued watching the internal friendly match of the reserve team on the training field. This friendly match would determine the roster for the reserve team competition tomorrow, so everyone was doing their best. They all wanted to show off their best selves in front of the head coach of the first team.

The few players who had the best prospects were all on loan, such as wing players like Adriano Moke. Players from the first team who had no national duty appeared in the reserve team as well; if they played well, they would participate in the preliminary match tomorrow. In reality, the reserve team was always a platform to calibrate the first team players’ states and to observe their standards. Twain rarely came and that was not because he was not concerned but because he had eyes here — Dunn. Dunn was always present for every reserve team match. Those guaranteed to be out of the roster of the first team in the league season would also come to prepare for the reserve team match to maintain their condition, and players who recently recovered would also rediscover their competitive tempo from the reserve team match. Another type would be a young man full of prospects like Colin, who would use the reserve team match to convince the head coach of the first team, and use the reserve team as a jumping block to rise to the first team and onto a greater stage.

However, these people were just passers-by in the reserve team. Those who stayed in the reserve team were mostly the less outstanding players who drew a low pay and were unable to compete in the first team, so being able to compete in the reserve team was sufficient for them. Every summer, the club would terminate their contract with such players or sell them off to lower grade teams at a low price, then pick another batch from the youth team to inspect at a closer distance. Those with potential would then stay or be loaned out to train and those without prospects would be fired after a few years, so on and so forth.

Twain quickly noticed the center back on the yellow team because he was simply too tall. Twain gauged him to be at least 1.9 meters tall, since he was taller than the goalkeeper. He felt that this person looked familiar, maybe it was because he was unusually tall. He turned his head to ask Colin Clarkwood. “Who is this number 5?”

“Aaron Mitchell, center back. However, his performance in this position is horrible.” Colin Clarkwood is a dedicated reserve team head coach, remembering the players that Twain could not recognise.

“How horrible is he?” Twain then recalled this name. He remembered that he noticed this big guy last summer when he went to the youth team to look for possible future stars.

“Lacks defensive knowledge.” Colin Clarkwood shakes his head. “Header has improved, body build is excellent. However, when he is defending he has no idea what he is doing. Watch.”

While speaking, Mitchell was juked by Hoyt, another striker in the reserve team, which led to a successful goal.

“Besides, his sliding tackle is lousy, and because of this, I had no choice but to prevent him from slide-tackling his opponent in the penalty area. In three matches he has already given his opponents 2 penalty kicks. He is always so easily juked which leads to him losing his center of gravity.”

The side without vests was celebrating the goal while the culprit who lost the ball was looking on the ground at the same spot being upset. Twain snuck a few more looks, then lowered his head. This kid was really tall, almost as tall as Zigic? Twain suddenly realised something.

“Perhaps he doesn’t suit this position, Colin. Try placing him onto the front line?” Twain told Colin.

The head coach of the reserve team was shocked by Twain’s ridiculous thought. “Forward? This…”

Seeing how he looked troubled, Twain smiled. “Fine, call him out, let me talk to him.”

Colin Clarkwood blew his whistle to stop the match, then signalled that silly big guy from the field to come over. His teammates looked shocked; they could not understand why Twain would fancy Mitchell when he had just made a mistake.

“Head coach, b-boss.” He greeted Colin Clarkwood first, stuttering a little when he faced a smiling Twain.

“Little guy, how tall are you?” Twain nodded as an acknowledgement, then asked.

“Uh…1.9 meters.”

Twain chuckled, “no wonder you look so tall, you are even taller than him…” Twain pointed at the other goalkeeper, Mitchell’s opponent who was wearing number 3. Dale Roberts,1.91 meters tall.

“Honestly speaking, your performance is terrible.”

Hearing what Twain said, he fell completely silent instantly, lowering his head like a student facing his punishment.

“Now, I am giving you a chance. Go play striker.”

Hearing what Twain said, Mitchell became stunned. He raised his head in confusion to look towards the other who was shorter than him.

“Me, but I have never, never ever…”

“I am telling to play that role, so go do it, what is with all the nonsense!” Twain furrowed his eyebrows and Mitchell turned silent.

“Run along.” Colin Clarkson patted his shoulder and pushed him back into the field. Then, he pulled back the defensive midfielder to temporarily become the center back, changing the formation into a 4-3-3.

“Let them cross the ball more from the sides and pass high balls.”

Colin Clarkwood understood Twain’s intentions. “You want to see the kid’s header skills?”

“I want to see him score with a header.” Twain smiled while correcting his colleague’s mistake.

Until the end of the first half, Mitchell did not score once in his first time at the striker line. Initially, he was super nervous, not understanding why the head coach wanted him to be striker left him at a loss for words. However, when he discovered his teammates were always trying to cross high balls into the penalty area, he tried to do a header. He realised that, once he jumped, the opposing defenders could not do anything to him, so completely calmed down and focused on how to head the ball into the goal.

Although he did not score, he did hit the goal post twice, and there was one time where he forced the first team goalkeeper Dale Roberts to make a desperate dive — in order to save his left bottom corner header, Roberts almost hit the goal post.

Once his teammates discovered that Mitchell, who had nothing to offer but his height, had such a good function, they proactively passed high balls to him, immediately sounding the violent aerial alarm in front of the goal post of Roberts. Whether or not he could head the ball, such a huge figure such as Mitchell standing in front of the goal would put huge psychological pressure for the opposing defenders. His presence also aided in distracting the opposition for his teams, allowing the yellow team to even the score before the end of the first half. When Sahin appeared in front of the goal to score, he had no defenders near him at all — everyone was near Mitchell.

Witnessing such a scene, Twain beamed while applauding, on one hand approving Sahin’s goal, on the other hand telling the stunned Colin Clarkwood, “Looks like we both got his position wrong. He should have been a center forward. From now on, train him as a center forward.”

Hence, Aaron Mitchell, who started soccer when he was 10, who was a goalkeeper for a year and a center back for 7, officially changed his role to become an alternate center forward. Chelsea’s “Monster” center forward Drogba also switched from a center back to a center forward. Maybe Mitchell could not become the first Drogba but at least he could start working towards this goal.

※※※

Remarks:

2008-2009 season Nottingham Forest First Team Roster (26 pax) :

Goalkeeper: van der Sar (1), Igor Akinfeev (12), Dale Roberts (25)

Defenders: Leighton Baines (22) , Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Sun Jihai (21), Johnathan Woodgate (5), Vincent Kompany (33), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (30), Roberto Ayala (4), Rafinha (14)

Midfielders: George Wood (13), Martin Petrov (8), Rafael van der Vaart (23), Kris Commons (20), Aaron Lennon (17), Franck Ribéry (7), David Beckham (24), Tiago Mendes (31), Nuri Şahin (15)

Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11) , Nikola Zigic (9) , Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Arshavin(18)

Chapter 677.1: A High Asking Price

Without having to guess or even think about it, the person who looked for Twain and wanted to talk to him must be Allan Adams.

His nose was even more sensitive than a hound when it came to money.

Twain also knew that sooner or later he would seek him out. He had ruined two of what he had considered as good deals this summer. One deal involved Ribéry, and the other was the just-concluded van Nistelrooy's "blank check-gate." The club's financial situation would be greatly improved if one of these two deals was clinched.

This time if Allan did not come looking for him, he would no longer be the club's marketing manager.

"I know you would come looking for me. Look." Twain pointed to the table with two cups of steaming coffee on it. "I've been preparing two cups these few days."

Allan felt helpless and had very few ways of dealing with a hooligan like Twain.

"Well, Tony. Since you know I would come look for you, you obviously know why. I'm not going to talk nonsense. Can you listen to my opinion?"

Twain gestured for him to go ahead and sat in his chair.

"Honestly I don't know much about what's going on within the team, so I don't know what you think of Bendtner. But I think selling him will be the best option now."

Twain nodded to indicate to him to continue.

"On the one hand, Bendtner completely does not want to stay in the team now. It would be unwise to force such a player to stay. It can also cause unrest in the locker room." At this point, Allan glanced at Twain and found that he had his head down, as if he was in deep thought. After all, this touched on Twain's domain and he was afraid that Twain would react badly. Now, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief from the looks of it. So, he continued, "On the other hand, I'm not going to hide from you, Tony. The club is in great need of money now. After you promised to increase Ribéry's pay, the rest of the team also had the same idea. We have to meet their demands. In addition, the actual cost of building a new stadium is more than we have budgeted. Some of the expenditure is completely out of control..."

In this regard, Allan must admit that his inexperience caused it. After all, he had not undertaken any engineering projects before, and did not know a lot of inside knacks. He only discovered that a lot of things had not been fully considered before until the new stadium started construction. Consequently, he could only use money to fill in...

"Thirdly ... the global economic environment is not very good."

Twain did not understand what Allan said. He was an idiot when it came to economics. The term "global economic environment" sounded alien to him.

"We need money to deal with some emergencies." After that, Allan spread his hands. He had already said everything he could say to Twain. After working with Twain for several years, he became familiar with this man's character. Twain's character was very tough and could sometimes be a little outrageous, but he was not made of stone. There were only two ways to get him to accept what he was unwilling to do: the first was to persuade him with kind words and discuss the stakes clearly. He was a smart man and naturally knew which was the best choice; the second was to bypass Twain directly and keep him out of the loop which was simple and rough. He would only be informed once the matter was decided and began to be implemented, which was the so-called "the rice is cooked."

The second approach would certainly permanently damage the relationship between the two people. Allan would not choose to do so unless it was his last resort. As for the first approach... the only risk was not knowing if Twain would be persuaded each time.

Such as this time.

After quietly listening to Allan's speech, Twain was silent for a moment before he looked up at the other side. "That's right, Allan. I have to apologize to you."

"Huh?" Allan Adams was baffled.

"About the matter with van Nistelrooy. I did not have any discussion with you about what I was going to do. You must be angry, aren't you?" Twain said to Allan seriously.

Allan hurriedly waved and said, "I knew what you wanted to do, but I really didn't know how you were going to do. Besides, don't think of me as weak. Although I am a businessman, I am also a man of temper. That kind of nearly insulting behavior from Manchester City was unacceptable to me. A businessman values equal relationship when doing business. Everyone is equal, no one is more precious than the other."

Seeing Allan's earnest explanation, Twain smiled first.

"Can you give me some time to think about the matter with Bendtner?"

Allan knew he could not ask Twain to make a decision now. He was already giving him face by being willing to consider it, rather than rebuffing him right away. So, he stood up and nodded, "Remember you don't have much time, Tony."

※※※

Indeed, time was running out. It was August 27th now, less than four days before the transfer window closed.

Twain did not speak to Bendtner again and Bendtner's father did not call Twain again. Manchester City did not make another new offer. Did they perhaps give up? Was this matter going to be quietly resolved just like that?

It was obviously impossible.

Twain was trying to calm his heart, and then sort things out. Despite parting on bad terms with Bendtner during that face to face talk, Twain was still reluctant to let the Dane go. It was mainly... he did not want to sell him to Manchester City. The thought of those Arabs' faces made him feel sick.

As Twain stood alone on the sidelines of the training ground, he heard a sudden commotion coming from the training ground.

A fight?

Since the incident with Chimbonda and Bendtner, Twain had been very sensitive to this. He hurriedly came out of his reverie and stared over.

A group of people ran towards a point. Through the seams of the crowd, he saw the team's number one center forward, van Nistelrooy, kneading his thighs as he sat helplessly on the ground.

Was he hurt?

He ran over to see what happened.

The team members consciously cleared a path when they saw the boss came. He went straight to van Nistelrooy's side and asked Fleming, who was busy, "What's going on?"

"He pulled his thigh muscle." Fleming heard Twain's voice and glanced up at him. Perhaps he comprehended something else in the other man's frown, so he added, "It's not a big deal, but he certainly can't appear in this weekend's game."

Hearing him say so, van Nistelrooy smiled and comforted Twain, "I'm all right, boss."

Twain nodded and then withdrew. Dunn saw what happened on the side and rushed up to say, "The starting list needs to be adjusted. Bendtner..."

Twain shook his head and said, "We're playing 4-5-1 for the game the day after."

"And who's going to be the '1?'"

"Eastwood."

Dunn looked strangely at Twain.

Twain did not respond to his doubts and just turned to walk away.

As a result, Dunn looked back at Bendtner in the crowd. He stood on the side and drank water while his teammates chatted about van Nistelrooy's unexpected injury. Lennon seemed to be talking to him about something, but it was clear that Bendtner was distracted.

Did he hope to play in this game or not?

※※※

In the third round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest definitely faced a tough rival---it was Chelsea, their long-time rival which they had been entangled with for these few seasons.

It was just that Chelsea's manager was not Mourinho or Grant, but "Big Phil" Scolari.

Although only two rounds had been started for the new season, this was also a focal match. The media started to hype the game, and they came up to ask Scolari on how Chelsea had not beaten Tony Twain's Forest team.

The Brazilian was very clever. He did not fall for it. He simply said it was another person's results which had nothing to do with him. Then he refused to answer such questions again.

Twain had been busy fighting with Manchester City during the period and did not have the energy to act in concert with the media and start a war of words with Scolari. Looking at how he was currently so busy, it was real worrying whether he was ready for the game against Chelsea...

The day before the game, Twain announced the squad list of the next day's match in Wilford. Nicklas Bendtner's name was not on it.

No one was shocked by this now. The players were not blind or deaf, much less fools. They all knew of the news that Bendtner and Twain had a falling out and were aware that this player was already determined to leave the team. Some people understood the reasons for his leaving, while the others scoffed at it.

Therefore, when Bendtner did not appear on the squad list, everyone knew the boss intentionally did this. It is punishment, isn't it? Yes, it must be a punishment and warning to a traitor.

Bendtner looked terrible standing among the team. When Twain gave the word "dismissed", he was the first to turn around and walk away.

He knew he must leave, but he could not accept being treated like this before his departure. There was no longer the slightest bit of yearning for this team in his heart. He had decided that if the team did not let him go, he would return to Denmark and boycott the training!

"Tony, can you explain to me a little, your purpose in doing what you did?" Dunn asked on the way home. He had noticed Bendtner's behavior just now and was somewhat worried.

"A certain someone pointed the finger at me and questioned my tactical thinking. I want to let him know who's the boss on the team." Twain's voice was frosty.

Dunn sighed. He knew that Twain was truly furious.

"But ... have you decided what you are going to do about the matter?" He was referring to the matter about Bendtner's transfer.

Twain shook his head this time and sounded somewhat lost from his tone, "I don't know..."

He really did not know. On the one hand, he was angry at Bendtner's betrayal. On the other hand, it was not easy to put aside four years of time and the efforts that he once poured into him. Should he admit defeat and let him go? Or should he force him to stay in the team and neither side would win?

While Twain felt helpless, the cell phone in his pocket rang.

He fished out his cell phone to take a look. Twain smiled and said, "Bendtner's father is calling. He must have known that his son is not on the squad list for tomorrow's game. I didn't think that Bendtner is still such a good boy. He tells his father everything at the first instance. Tsk tsk..."

He shook his head as he answered the call.

"Hello, Mr. Thomas Bendtner. I'm glad you still remembered to call me. I waited all day for your call yesterday to no avail. I thought you gave up."

Twain spoke politely and full of warmth. But Thomas Bendtner did not smile at all on the other end of the line. His biggest fear was that his son would become a target of Tony Twain's retaliation. Now it appeared as if his fears came true.

"I think it's time for us lay our cards on the table, Mr. Twain."

"What's that?" Twain pretended to be surprised. "Did we not already lay our cards long ago?"

"..."

"Your son insists on leaving but I won't let him go. Isn't that the case?"

Twain held up the phone to deal with Thomas Bendtner as he walked.

"I think I need to remind you, Mr. Twain. My son's contract with the Forest Club expires in July next year. Furthermore, we have already discussed and settled with my son's agent, Mr. Juric, that we will not negotiate any renewal with the Forest team. I'm suggesting this based on kind intentions. Let my son go now, and you'll still have money to earn. If you wait a year..."

Twain suddenly clutched the phone and then threw it out. The quality of the new phone was better than the previous one. It just bounced once on the ground and chipped a corner.

Next to him, Dunn watched in astonishment at the scene happening in front of him. He did not know what Bendtner's father said to Twain over the phone to actually make him so angry. He twisted his head to look over to find Twain looking furious.

"Son of a bitch, you dare threaten me!"

Dunn ran to the front to pick up the cell phone and discovered the chipped corner before he handed it to Twain. He said, "You have to change your bad habit of throwing the phone every time you get angry."

"I only have this thing on my hand to throw ... Give me the phone, yours... Don't worry, I won't throw it." Twain did not take his cell phone, but asked Dunn for his.

Dunn gave his phone to Twain, who dialed Allan Adams' cell phone number.

"Allan, give Manchester City a response and just say that don't think about buying Nicklas Bendtner for less than thirty million pounds!"

"Tony..." When he heard him say so, Dunn was a little worried and asked, "Isn't this price too high?"

Twain hung up and returned the phone to Dunn. He said to him at the same time, "Doesn't Manchester City like to be a rich sucker? I'll let them be one!"

He looked so fierce that it frightened Dunn even more... "What did Thomas Bendtner say to you?"

"He told me that Bendtner's contract is one year away and they do not plan to talk to the club about renewing his contract." Twain looked at Dunn and said, "I've forgotten about this matter before."

Dunn went, "..."

※※※

On the morning of the match against Chelsea, the Nottingham media were still waging a war of words with the Manchester City Football Club. The asking price of thirty million pounds caused Mark Hughes to lash out at Tony Twain for being insatiable. Pierce Brosnan helped Twain to hit back in the Evening Post, saying that Nottingham Forest's future star and the number one goalscorer for the next decade, had a promising bright future, and was tagged as van Nistelrooy's successor. Moreover, it was only fair that the handsome Nicklas Bendtner was only selling for thirty million...

Allan Adams stuck to his guns and refused to budge from the asking price of thirty million pounds. He was not afraid of Manchester City. Because now all of England knew that Manchester City's problems with their strikers had reached a point where it must be resolved.

Manchester City had previously contacted J?, a young Brazilian striker who had scored thirty goals in fifty-three games for CSKA Moscow. Although J? would like to play in the Premier League, the transfer would be extremely complicated. J?'s ownership was not in the hands of CSKA Moscow, but in the hands of Media Sport Investment Limited (MSI), just like Mascherano and Tevez did at the time. MSI did not agree to release him this time due to unhappiness over Tevez's transfer to Manchester United that year. The English Football Association had also stated they wanted to block the transfer. In addition to the current owners not wanting to let go of the player, there was another factor that plagued Manchester City---he was not eligible for a work permit.

J?'s matter dragged on like this. MSI did not intend to relent even though the transfer window was about to close. With no other choice, Manchester City had to go all out for Bendtner.

It was against this background that Allan dared to drag his heels and demand an exorbitant amount from Manchester City.

Over here, Allan demanded a high asking price from the Manchester City club. Over there, Twain's team met with a hard battle.

There was no gain without a loss. On the verge of a major victory in the transfer market, Nottingham Forest could likely face the end of a minor record...

Chapter 678 - End of an Affinity

Twain was indeed in a state of crisis.

The first half was ending and his team was behind 0 : 1 on home ground.That old man Scolari was different from his previous two predecessors, but perhaps it was due to owner Abramovich’s personal aspiration which took effect that Scolari, after being in charge, emphasised more on ball control or the so-called “beautiful football”. As the new main coach, appeasing the club president was mandatory.

But for Twain, all his knowledge on Chelsea was overthrown.

From the start of the competition, Chelsea on away was already extremely aggressive on offense and that aggression completely exceeded the expectations of the players of the Nottingham Forest.

No matter how many times Chelsea changes its head coach, their rivalry with Nottingham Forest will not dissipate if the players are the same. It had barely been 3 months since the end of the UEFA Champions League finals, not long enough for them to forget who they lost to in the championships.

The aggressive attack gave them a goal. And in just thirteen minutes, the away team Chelsea was leading. However, at this moment, Nottingham Forest did not make a single shot after each round of aggressive attack from their opponents.

“Exactly who owns this home ground?” John Motson asked skeptically.

That also was Twain’s question.

The first meeting with Chelsea with their recently changed coach actually made him felt quite unfamiliar. Scolari was just as arrogant as his predecessors yet he seemed humble before this match. Twain felt like he was holding back from devising evil intentions.

It was only the first half, but the psychological advantage they accumulated from previous encounters with Chelsea was slowly diminishing. Twain felt that he should reevaluate the opponent, because this Chelsea was no longer Mourinho’s Chelsea but “Big Phil’s”. The Chelsea from Grant’s time still carried Mourinho’s personality, but that had been disappearing bit by bit since Scolari was in charge.

For example, such positive sportsmanship, plays leadings to goals was nicer to watch as compared to Mourinho’s.

Abramovich wanted to watch beautiful soccer so he dismissed Mourinho and Grant who brought the team to the finals of the UEFA Champions league to hire the Brazillian Scolari. But, from what Grant knew of Scolari, just how long could this scene last?

※※※

Twain was faced with a dilemma. When he was coaching Nottingham Forest, their odds of winning could reach 87% if they scored the first goal. This checks out perfectly with Nottingham Forest’s niche — make the first goal and then defend against the counter-attack. Scoring the goal greatly increased their lead, while not being able to score also meant they would not lose it. 1:0 was still an acceptable good result.

In this situation, their opponents would only have 2 options — either they become increasingly impatient or they do nothing and lose.

Currently, Twain was in the same scenario his opponents were in. Which path should he choose?

During the half-time break he gave his team a series of pep-talks, telling them they definitely could not lose to Chelsea on home ground and asking them to preserve in attacking the flanks. Other than that, he asked Eastwood to not constantly run out of the penalty area to receive the ball. There were five midfielders so the ball would definitely be passed to him, but if he was always too far from the goalmouth, how could he immediately challenge Chelsea’s goal?

Regarding this point, Eastwood also had his troubles. In the past, he was always partnered with strong second-strikers like Van Nistelrooy, Bendtner or Vidukar. The second-striker is responsible for drawing the opponent’s defensive firepower to himself, which meant Eastwood could attack freely near the penalty area. Naturally, this increased Eastwood’s threat level.

But now? He became the center forward, the main character and the main defending target of the opposing center back. Under the constant close pressure from strong center-backs like Terry, being able to ensure the ball reach him without having it stolen already expunged almost all of his energy, how could he even score afterwards? Besides, his stature was not one of a strong center forward. He would frequently lose his ball to his opponents’ tackles.

How could Twain not know of his troubles? Obviously Twain knew, but he had no choice. Who told him to place the Danish kid outside the roster for the sake of punishing Bendtner?

Even without his rivalry with Chelsea, he would not allow the team to lose to Chelsea, because that was telling Bentner that Twain’s team was unable to play without him.

“I know you have your difficulties, Freddy. We won’t let you be the attacking point, you just need to hold the ball, leave the remaining work to…” he pointed at Ribery and van der Vaart. “Both of you readily attack, shoot the ball more.”

Basically this was to allow Eastwood to create opportunities for his side attacking teammates.

The Romani nodded, but he did not know if he could fulfil the “center forward role.” Honestly speaking, he had no confidence…

“Be patient, we will definitely find a hole in their defense line. I feel that Scolari will continue attacking in the second half, there will definitely be issues surfacing in their defensive line.”

※※※

During the second half, Chelsea was indeed continuing their attack, and there was a gap in their defensive line. But similarly, Nottingham Forest, impatiently trying to even out the score, also had issues in their defensive line.

During this competition, Twain was not successful with his dual defensive midfielder tactic. George Wood’s active range of offense was large as always, but his style of running limited Tiago’s abilities, and with Wood’s habit of doing everything by himself, Tiago was unable to adapt. This was the first time they were playing together, so it was understandable that they had no chemistry.

Thus, this display of dual defensive midfielders was no better than a single defensive midfielder. Subsequently, Wood noticed his coached rapport with Tiago, but the bigger issue surfaced — some possessions would appear to be in the middle of the two players and both, in sync, will give up the ball for the other! Thinking that this ball was for the other player, they gave it up to the Chelsea’s player instead.

Chelsea then helped themselves.

Drogba took advantage of that one misunderstanding between the two defensive midfielders, cut straight through the middle, easily broke through the thin defensive line, and then successfully made a shot. At the sixty-fifth minute of the whole competition, away team Chelsea was ahead by two goals!

The Chelsea players were celebrating on the field. Off the court, even Scolari was jumping wildly with both his hands up, akin to an energetic monkey. However, Twain was only showing a stern face.

Not long after losing the goal, he substituted Arshavin for Tiago, changing back to solo defensive midfielder, dual strikers in a 4-4-2 formation. After returning to the familiar formation, team Nottingham Forest regained their competitive tempo.

First, it was Eastwood passing the ball back to van der Vaart. The Dutch immediately took a long shot against ?ech, who saved the ball with a dive. Following the corner kick, Pepe’s header hit the arm of Ashley Cole, who was standing on the penalty line. Nottingham Forest’s players raised their hands to signal the handball foul, but the head referee did not notice, and did not regard the protests of the players of the Nottingham Forest team.

Off the court, Twain was pointing his own eyes as a protest towards the fourth official, but it was futile. It was impossible for the head referee to call for a pause in the middle of a play to give Nottingham Forest a penalty. Even if the television screens repeatedly proved that Nottingham Forest was treated unfairly, referees would not follow the television screens to change their own judgement. This was prohibited by the rules of FIFA.

Without their tall center forward, Twain made the team do fewer high balls, play more ground possessions and do more through passes, hence maximising the speed superiorities of some players in the formation.

Scolari saw through Twain. At this moment, he signaled for the team to recover its formation — shrinking back to its defense and not giving Nottingham Forest any chances to use its through passes and speed.

Nottingham Forest did not regard its defense. It was almost a full-out attack, trying to even out the score. But up until the eighty-two minute, Nottingham Forest used a free kick to even the score after eighty-two minutes. The scorer was Gareth Bale.

After that, the counterattack of Nottingham Forest was even crazier. Scolari had no choice but to make some substitutions, changing his striker and defender, in hopes of securing this one goal advantage.

At this moment, he did not care for the aesthetics of the scene; getting the three points was of utmost importance. At this moment, Scolari was definitely not the type to listen to his boss and diligently play “beautiful soccer”.

Twain then sent out Patrov to replace Ribery who was unable to run anymore. This substitution was of no choice… he initially wanted to switch out a defender to leave only three and continue to strengthen his offense. However, Ribery was simply too tired to run anymore — he fell directly to the ground with his left calf cramping. In the early seasons, this phenomenon has never occurred; it looked like the negative effects from that hectic summer was showing.

That substitution did little for the team’s offense. Ultimately, Nottingham Forest lost its first home game this league, losing to Chelsea 1:2. Their undefeated record against Chelsea ever since they were promoted into the Premier League had become a thing of the past.

When it comes to records, Twain did not take them too seriously. Conversely, he felt that breaking it was a blessing, otherwise his players would have to bear a ridiculous amount of pressure every season when they face Chelsea.

However, losing a match was not a great thing. Losing their first game in the league ruined the home game opener; more importantly, they lost face in front of Bendtner. Losing this match was as good as telling Bendtner that the team was unable to win without him…

This was what infuriated Twain the most.

During the post-game conference, a reporter who wanted to be a troublemaker intentionally asked why Bendtner did not appear on the roster of this match, because to his knowledge the Danish center forward was neither injured nor in a bad state.

Twain angrily glanced at this female reporter, “He has hemorrhoids, could you have understood this?”

Having had her jibe backfire on her, she glared balefully at Twain and sat back down.

After leaving the city’s soccer field, Twain gave Allan W. Adams a call, waiting to see if there was news regarding the transfers for Bendtner.

Actually, had Nottingham Forest won this match, Twain might have changed his plans to forcefully keep Bendtner, displaying a winner’s attitude in front of him. However, now that he lost the competition, Bendtner had to leave. He could not tolerate having a player who mocked his personality and his soccer knowledge near him, when they have to seem nice to each other everyday.

※※※

Bendtner did not appear to watch the match, it was as if he already was not a member of the Nottingham Forest.

He was packing his luggage in his condominium while waiting restlessly for the call. Like a girl plotting to elope, the fear could not mask his excitement and yearning for a beautiful future. The television was on, showing Nottingham Forest welcoming Chelsea for the match. He snuck a few looks, but was not in the mood to keep up with the match.

After Chelsea scored the second ball, Juric gave him a call. “They promised to take you away, Nicklas.”

After hearing that from his manager, Bendtner sat on the sofa, finally in the mood to pay attention to the match. After all, he did wear the red jersey for four years.

Watching his own teammates on field attacking furiously while some ran like headless chickens, he really did not know how he should feel about this. It was rare to see Nottingham Forest being so helpless, as if there was no way to score a goal other than long shots. Ribery and Lennon were attacking forcefully, but there was little they could do in the face of Chelsea progressively pulling back their defensive line. They had no choice but to yield possession to them after breaking through..

If he were on the field, the midfielders could send the ball to either his head or his feet. Whether he scored or assisted his team mates, he would liven up the offence in Nottingham Forest.

The camera cut to the side of the field where Twain was orchestrating the match. He was signalling for the team to do more long shots, but he looked menacing, and it made him look like he was descending into madness.

The media once gave Twain the nickname “clown”, but it was different from Aimar. This “clown” had an obvious connotation of humiliation. But as Bendtner watched him on television today, he realised that this nickname was actually perfect for him. He really was a clown…

At the end of the match, Nottingham Forest scored a goal, but it did not change the result of the game. With a dark look on his face, Twain quickly left the court. Bendtner turned off the television and continued packing his things.

Now, it was none of his concern what happened to Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain.

※※※

“Allan, what are the intentions of Man City?” Twain did not know the latest transfer progresses.

“There’s still no reply from them.”

” I think… Allan, do you think they think the price was too high?”

“No, Tony. Just like what your reporter friend said, thirty million is a fair price to pay for the next 10 years of Nottingham Forest’s main center forward. Don’t worry about the things here, leave everything to me. It’s a pity, losing the match.”

Twain pouted. Was Allan hinting at him to put more energy into the team’s training and matches instead of the transfer market and other clubs, managers, some star’s father’s intrigue?

“Both us and Chelsea are first-grade soccer teams, no matter who won or lost is normal. As long as the final championship is ours, that’s all that matters.”

Allan laughed, “Ha ha! Sure, we will wait for the final champions, Tony.”

After putting down the phone, Twain left the empty changing room and boarded the bus.

“Go back and rest, my buddies. This match gave everyone here a reminder — this is a new season, the Double Winners from last season means nothing.” In the cabin, Twain spread out his hands and said, “Forget about the Double Winners, now we have to restart from square one!”

※※※

On the second day after the match, Man City and Nottingham Forest released the news at the same time.

Nottingham Forest’s young center forward Nikolas Bendtner will officially be transferred to Man City, tied by a four-year contract with a weekly salary of ￡120,000, involving a transfer fee of ￡30 million.

This soap drama finally came to an end. Some people gained, some people lost. People who gained lost some things at the same time, and people people who lost… did not gain anything.

Tony Twain declined to comment on this trade, staying silent throughout some media columns. Bystanders of the inner drama would not know how Twain was feeling after losing the successor to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Should he be celebrating that a disobedient BAD_BOY has left, or should he be sad that four years of blood, sweat and tears are going down the drain?

Some guessed that this type of silence was proof of his sadness. After being betrayed by one of the players he valued the most, how could he not be sad?

Actually they were all wrong. Twain was currently worried about two important things that were making him frown constantly, how could he have the energy to be concerned about how the Danish kid was doing? So what if Bendtner left? Would the Earth stop rotating? Would Nottingham Forest would not win another championship? Would Tony Twain will stop drinking or smoking?

The midweek Super Cup, and the ￡30 million transfer fee that came with a priceless awkwardness — D*mn it, the transfer window will close very soon!

But to be honest, in the occasional lulls, he did think that the summer felt like a dream. Someone who was on his team listening to his teachings is now wearing a different club’s jersey, and the next time they meet, they meet as opponents.

Piqué, Bendtner… and those who left early. Anelka, Ashley Young, Arteta. What would they think of their years in Nottingham Forest? How would they evaluate him as a head coach?

Most of them probably would not have nice things to say right…

Chapter 679 - Aerial Overlord

Maybe Allan realised that Nottingham Forest only had 3 official strikers, and that was why he allowed Twain to use the remaining transfer budget to buy a center forward from the market.

But the problem was not money, but that he could not find a player to recruit.

This type of situation was too depressing. It was like a penniless beggar drooling while watching someone else feast. Suddenly, he stumbled upon a big sum of money and happily made his way to the feast, only to be disappointed when he saw that the restaurant had closed for the day.

It was already August 31, which meant there was less than a day before the transfer window closed. At this point in time, many transfers had already been completed, and even the incomplete ones would have already been in the contract signing phase. Even if Twain could find a suitable target, the player might already have been owned. Half a day was not enough time for finding a new target from other clubs.

In his deepest thoughts, Twain determined that Man City did this intentionally. They held off the transfer till the last minute for the past few days to deny Nottingham Forest the time to find a replacement. However, Twain had only been concerned with arguing with Man City over the past few days that he forgotten this scenario.

Great, he dug his own grave.

On one hand, Twain was unwilling to give up and continued to search for a suitable candidate in the transfer market. On the other hand, he had also prepared himself to be content with a negative outcome. He decided to approach the youth team and the reserve team to see if there were any suitable forwards to use. Of course, this had to wait till the end of the Super Cup.

※※※

When Tony Twain brought the Nottingham Forest team to Monaco to prepare for the UEFA Super Cup, the club members worked their hardest and put their all into the global region.

The Brazillian striker who was not bought by Man City was an option, but his complicated background and the pressing deadline made Nottingham Forest hesitate to take this player. Mario Gomez was the best scorer in the previous Bundesliga league and a powerful center forward, but his performance in the UEFA European Championships was so bad that the scouts in Nottingham Forest did not see much in him.

Nottingham Forest searched for so long that they even approached the Spanish Valencia FC, using all their assets to get the opposing striker David Villa. They did not even care if this person’s personality was suited for the tactics in Nottingham Forest or if he was who Twain wanted.

Mario Balotelli, also known as “Super Mario” , a genius player from Milan, might have been suitable for the team. However, once Mourinho heard that it was Nottingham Forest who asked for him, he rejected the offer without hesitation.

The newly risen Egyptian center forward Zaki met Twain’s various requirements, but he had already been bought by Portsmouth. For a player who just transferred clubs in less than a month, it was impossible for Twain to make him transfer again.

At the most critical moment, the scouting team finally found the player that fulfilled all Twain’s demands.

※※※

Nikola Zigic, Serbian, 2 metres tall, and the second tallest center forwarding UEFA Champions League.

In the UEFA Champions League, there had been a strange phenomenon in the past years where the taller the center forwards, the weaker their header skills. A classic example was Zlatan Ibrahimović, whose footwork was exponentially better than his heading.

However, Zigic was different. He met Twain’s expectations of a good center forward with great header skills. As a center forward, his header skills were as impressive as his build. Standing at 2.02 metres tall and weighing 100 kilograms, he was a real “Aerial Overlord” in the penalty area. During the match against Team Real Madrid, even the world-renowned Fabio Cannavaro did not know what to do against Zigic’s height and weight; not even fouling could bring this big kid down.

Also, impressive header skills did not mean his footwork was clumsy. Zigic’s shooting skills were equally good, indicating he truly was a well-rounded center forward.

What set him apart from Bendtner was that he had the potential to become a second passer who could create opportunities and selflessly set up plays for his team mates. The Siberian had better tactical discipline than Bendtner.

Most importantly, Zigic was not happy in Valencia.

In the previous season, Valencia spent a total of €107 million to bring him from Santander in Valencia, but he did not get to go on the field. Because he had missed a few matches in the early season due to injury, he had always been benched… More accurately, he was part of the audience.

Valencia’s main strikers were “Gourd Doll” David Villa and Fernando Morientes, and behind them were Angulo and Arizmendi. Whether it was Sánchez Flores or Koeman, neither wanted to risk anything with this tall center forward. Valencia spent 107 million on a fifth striker, so it was no wonder they had a debt crisis last season. No matter how rich they were, they should not have splurged.

This summer, Real Madrid wanted to snatch Zigic, but he personally rejected this suggestion because he wanted to prove himself in Valencia.

Following the opening of La Liga’s new season, Zigic found out the cruel truth — in the roster the new head coach Emery was planning to use, there was not a position for him as a center. David Villa decided to remain on the team at the last minute, which was as good as announcing that Zigic would not have the chance at fighting to be the starting center forward.

Nottingham Forest, which had a lack of center forwards, appeared at this moment. Initially, the people from Nottingham Forest came to buy David Villa, but were disdainfully rejected by Valencia. They expressed that David Villa was not for sale. They did not even let go of him to Real Madrid, let alone Nottingham Forest which was far in England. Desperate, Nottingham Forest then incidentally did a quick scan on the strikers in Valencia and surprisingly discovered an unhappy and unsatisfied one.

Valencia was not willing to sell David Villa but they were indeed short of funds, so they were very open to selling other players. Zigic also realised he had no future if he stayed in Valencia, but Nottingham Forest was a team that recently won two championships, whose roster was filled with many players of high standards, and they were gunning for the championship. This aligned perfectly with Zigic’s wishes — he was hungry for reputation and results.

Both parties agreed without hesitation and signed the contract on the morning of September 1. Later that afternoon, Zigic flew to Nottingham and proceeded with his medical examination. At night, when Twain was at Monaco finishing his preparations and roster deployment for the match the next day, both Nottingham Forest and Valencia concurrently announced the transfer of Nikola Zugic into Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee of 10 million Euros. If not for the lack of time, Allen would have bargained for a lower price. Now that Valencia was lacking money, it was the perfect time to underpay them.

In the new season, Zigic would wear the number 9 jersey that Bentner passed down, becoming the new east striker in the contest.

※※※

Twain was very content with the transfer for Zigic; he felt that the last of his emotional burden had been removed. He spent too much time and effort on matters unrelated to him, and being able to obtain an “Aerial Overlord” at the final moments more or less made up for those regrets. Now he could concentrate on defeating their UEFA Super Cup opponents — the Glasgow Rangers from Scotland.

In last season’s finals, Glasgow Rangers defeated the veteran Bayern Munich in a close fight, winning the Europa Cup. Naturally, they would hope to be as lucky in the Super Cup. And Twain, without his strong center forward, had no choice but to deploy a defensive formation, relying on occasional surprise attacks to threaten a goal, but most of the time Nottingham Forest players were exhausted from running while defending.

Generally speaking, Nottingham Forest did not have a ” UEFA Champions” stance. The Glasgow Rangers, with their high morale, seemed more like the winners of the UEFA Champions league.

But what happened in the end?

Nottingham Forest successfully defended till the penalty kick at the end. At this time, Glasgow Rangers, who were wildly attacking for one hundred and twenty minutes were both frustrated and exhausted — they never thought a Super Cup match would delay till the penalty kick. In contrast, the Nottingham Forest players, who were constantly being dominated in the main match were all super confident and calm, as if the penalty kick was something they had predicted from the start. The final psychological test of penalty kick had not even started but there was already a clear winner between the mentalities of both parties.

During the penalty, the first player on the field from the Glasgow Rangers was Kevin Thompson who, under large pressure, sent the ball into the stands, giving Nottingham Forest a great start. Following that, Nottingham Forest scored all 4 goals while Glasgow Rangers only scored two. They had already lost before even taking the fifth shot.

After Nottingham Forest followed up against Serie A giants AC Milan, they became the second team to successfully defend the European Super cup. Winning the second champion trophy in the new season brought some happiness to the team that recently sold their future superstar.

Though it was a messy situation, they still won. Once again, they proved to people a truth that they were unwilling to admit but they had to, which was “defending will forever be the basis of winning the championship.”

And so the experts started to predict boldly —”This season, Nottingham Forest’s brilliance will continue!”

These experts, after assessing three league seasons, concluded with a piece of advice: Do not be afraid to talk big about Nottingham Forest. This is because Twain will talk big every year, but always ends up the victor. Questioning him only will result in being lightly slapped by him at the end, so why not just talk big? If you somehow are right, you can claim to be far-sighted, and even if you are wrong, you can push the blame to Twain and his team for not being capable enough.

※※※

Despite winning the Super Cup and purchasing the tall center forward Zigic, Twain did not have any signs of relaxing one bit. This reason was simple — someone got injured again. Van der Vaart and van Nistelrooy, who were still among those injured, gained a new buddy after the Super Cup match.

Pepe sprained his ankle during extra time, and at that time Twain had no reserves under his name, so he could only sit and wait. After the match and the check-ups, it was decided that Pepe needed to rest for 15 days. Now Twain could only celebrate that it was not a major injury, or else this start to the new league season was really unfavourable for the year.

After returning to Nottingham, Twain introduced Zigic before making time to speak to him individually, with the help of translation. He told Zigic about the type of team Nottingham Forest was, the style of football the main coach specialised in, the effects he hoped for the center forward to have on the plays, and the position he held in this team. At the same time, he showed some concern for Zigic’s life in England, telling the latter to approach him if ever he felt uncomfortable. Twain was the perfect portrait of a benevolent, gentle and kind middle-aged man.

After the Super Cup, Nottingham Forest temporarily disbanded. Some players, as part of their national duty, had to return to play for their respective countries in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Famous Italian gold medallist Fabio Capello had already taken over as England’s new head coach, and because of this iron coach, George Wood was reselected for England’s representative team. His steady display, faithful execution of tactics and calm personality corresponded to the wants of Capello.

The media predicted that, during this match where England would challenge Andorra on their home ground, Wood would be welcomed into the starting lineup. The young Nottingham Forest team leader still had to prove his value to the England team. Previously, he was deemed to be undervalued by the previous two head coaches.

Wood needed to work hard for his future in the England team but Twain was not slacking off either. Taking advantage of this, he took a trip to the reserve teams and the youth teams. He might have bought Zigic, but Nistelrooy was getting older, and no matter how good his condition was, there was no guarantee that he could maintain this in the next season… Realistically, it was difficult to even guarantee he could maintain his game for this season. Twain felt it was better to scout for his reserves.

Although the first team was on a break, the reserve teams still had to prepare for the Premier Reserve League match this weekend. Twain’s arrival made the players on the reserve team extremely happy because they knew what the rare trips of the head coach meant. If they performed well, they had a chance to be promoted to the first team.

Turkish genius Sahin was following the first team to training, but joining the reserve team for competition. Twain hoped that, through this match, he could start coming in contact and familiarising with England’s soccer style, and at the same time gradually improve his confidence and afflatus. He was also here to also watch how Sahin was performing.

Upon seeing Twain, the head coach of the reserve team, Colin Clarkwood, thought he was coming specifically to inspect Sahin. The moment they met, he prattled on about Sahin’s performance. “Tony, this guy is indeed a genius. His performance in the reserve team competition was very outstanding. I think he already possesses the capability to fight in the first team. His passing was very creative, and his ball handling is extraordinary…”

Twain listened patiently to his introduction and nodded. “Let him stay under your guidance for a while, Colin.”

“What? Isn’t Rafael injured?” asked Colin Clarkwood, seemingly very puzzled.

“There are so many people on the first team, I have to try to make sure they all go on the field.” Twain smiled helplessly.

Colin Clarkwood realised everything, and shook his head with a laugh. “No one wants to play as a substitute.Also, I heard the suggestions of the psychologists. Miss Taretha, the one who has been treating Sahin, felt that now is not a great time for him to return to the first team. I trust the professionals, so let’s just let him wait for now… Is he unhappy with anything?” What Twain cared about was that final question. Bendtner’s departure was a wake up call; he had to stop thinking that people were just obedient NPCs without any personal desires.

Colin Clarkwood shook his head. “That he does not have. In fact… I feel that he really enjoys these type of matches without pressure.”

Twain replied with an “oh” and stopped talking. He continued watching the internal friendly match of the reserve team on the training field. This friendly match would determine the roster for the reserve team competition tomorrow, so everyone was doing their best. They all wanted to show off their best selves in front of the head coach of the first team.

The few players who had the best prospects were all on loan, such as wing players like Adriano Moke. Players from the first team who had no national duty appeared in the reserve team as well; if they played well, they would participate in the preliminary match tomorrow. In reality, the reserve team was always a platform to calibrate the first team players’ states and to observe their standards. Twain rarely came and that was not because he was not concerned but because he had eyes here — Dunn. Dunn was always present for every reserve team match. Those guaranteed to be out of the roster of the first team in the league season would also come to prepare for the reserve team match to maintain their condition, and players who recently recovered would also rediscover their competitive tempo from the reserve team match. Another type would be a young man full of prospects like Colin, who would use the reserve team match to convince the head coach of the first team, and use the reserve team as a jumping block to rise to the first team and onto a greater stage.

However, these people were just passers-by in the reserve team. Those who stayed in the reserve team were mostly the less outstanding players who drew a low pay and were unable to compete in the first team, so being able to compete in the reserve team was sufficient for them. Every summer, the club would terminate their contract with such players or sell them off to lower grade teams at a low price, then pick another batch from the youth team to inspect at a closer distance. Those with potential would then stay or be loaned out to train and those without prospects would be fired after a few years, so on and so forth.

Twain quickly noticed the center back on the yellow team because he was simply too tall. Twain gauged him to be at least 1.9 meters tall, since he was taller than the goalkeeper. He felt that this person looked familiar, maybe it was because he was unusually tall. He turned his head to ask Colin Clarkwood. “Who is this number 5?”

“Aaron Mitchell, center back. However, his performance in this position is horrible.” Colin Clarkwood is a dedicated reserve team head coach, remembering the players that Twain could not recognise.

“How horrible is he?” Twain then recalled this name. He remembered that he noticed this big guy last summer when he went to the youth team to look for possible future stars.

“Lacks defensive knowledge.” Colin Clarkwood shakes his head. “Header has improved, body build is excellent. However, when he is defending he has no idea what he is doing. Watch.”

While speaking, Mitchell was juked by Hoyt, another striker in the reserve team, which led to a successful goal.

“Besides, his sliding tackle is lousy, and because of this, I had no choice but to prevent him from slide-tackling his opponent in the penalty area. In three matches he has already given his opponents 2 penalty kicks. He is always so easily juked which leads to him losing his center of gravity.”

The side without vests was celebrating the goal while the culprit who lost the ball was looking on the ground at the same spot being upset. Twain snuck a few more looks, then lowered his head. This kid was really tall, almost as tall as Zigic? Twain suddenly realised something.

“Perhaps he doesn’t suit this position, Colin. Try placing him onto the front line?” Twain told Colin.

The head coach of the reserve team was shocked by Twain’s ridiculous thought. “Forward? This…”

Seeing how he looked troubled, Twain smiled. “Fine, call him out, let me talk to him.”

Colin Clarkwood blew his whistle to stop the match, then signalled that silly big guy from the field to come over. His teammates looked shocked; they could not understand why Twain would fancy Mitchell when he had just made a mistake.

“Head coach, b-boss.” He greeted Colin Clarkwood first, stuttering a little when he faced a smiling Twain.

“Little guy, how tall are you?” Twain nodded as an acknowledgement, then asked.

“Uh…1.9 meters.”

Twain chuckled, “no wonder you look so tall, you are even taller than him…” Twain pointed at the other goalkeeper, Mitchell’s opponent who was wearing number 3. Dale Roberts,1.91 meters tall.

“Honestly speaking, your performance is terrible.”

Hearing what Twain said, he fell completely silent instantly, lowering his head like a student facing his punishment.

“Now, I am giving you a chance. Go play striker.”

Hearing what Twain said, Mitchell became stunned. He raised his head in confusion to look towards the other who was shorter than him.

“Me, but I have never, never ever…”

“I am telling to play that role, so go do it, what is with all the nonsense!” Twain furrowed his eyebrows and Mitchell turned silent.

“Run along.” Colin Clarkson patted his shoulder and pushed him back into the field. Then, he pulled back the defensive midfielder to temporarily become the center back, changing the formation into a 4-3-3.

“Let them cross the ball more from the sides and pass high balls.”

Colin Clarkwood understood Twain’s intentions. “You want to see the kid’s header skills?”

“I want to see him score with a header.” Twain smiled while correcting his colleague’s mistake.

Until the end of the first half, Mitchell did not score once in his first time at the striker line. Initially, he was super nervous, not understanding why the head coach wanted him to be striker left him at a loss for words. However, when he discovered his teammates were always trying to cross high balls into the penalty area, he tried to do a header. He realised that, once he jumped, the opposing defenders could not do anything to him, so completely calmed down and focused on how to head the ball into the goal.

Although he did not score, he did hit the goal post twice, and there was one time where he forced the first team goalkeeper Dale Roberts to make a desperate dive — in order to save his left bottom corner header, Roberts almost hit the goal post.

Once his teammates discovered that Mitchell, who had nothing to offer but his height, had such a good function, they proactively passed high balls to him, immediately sounding the violent aerial alarm in front of the goal post of Roberts. Whether or not he could head the ball, such a huge figure such as Mitchell standing in front of the goal would put huge psychological pressure for the opposing defenders. His presence also aided in distracting the opposition for his teams, allowing the yellow team to even the score before the end of the first half. When Sahin appeared in front of the goal to score, he had no defenders near him at all — everyone was near Mitchell.

Witnessing such a scene, Twain beamed while applauding, on one hand approving Sahin’s goal, on the other hand telling the stunned Colin Clarkwood, “Looks like we both got his position wrong. He should have been a center forward. From now on, train him as a center forward.”

Hence, Aaron Mitchell, who started soccer when he was 10, who was a goalkeeper for a year and a center back for 7, officially changed his role to become an alternate center forward. Chelsea’s “Monster” center forward Drogba also switched from a center back to a center forward. Maybe Mitchell could not become the first Drogba but at least he could start working towards this goal.

※※※

Remarks:

2008-2009 season Nottingham Forest First Team Roster (26 pax) :

Goalkeeper: van der Sar (1), Igor Akinfeev (12), Dale Roberts (25)

Defenders: Leighton Baines (22) , Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Sun Jihai (21), Johnathan Woodgate (5), Vincent Kompany (33), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (30), Roberto Ayala (4), Rafinha (14)

Midfielders: George Wood (13), Martin Petrov (8), Rafael van der Vaart (23), Kris Commons (20), Aaron Lennon (17), Franck Ribéry (7), David Beckham (24), Tiago Mendes (31), Nuri Şahin (15)

Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11) , Nikola Zigic (9) , Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Arshavin(18)

Chapter 680 - Forty and Confused

George Wood made the starting lineup in the England against FC Andorra game and performed remarkably. When he was brought off the field in the 80th minute, it was no longer a problem for England to win the game with a two-goal lead. So Capello felt assured to bring him off—with him on the pitch, England’s rear defensive line was indeed more solid. It was not just the defense that benefitted. England’s offense was more threatening because of him. After all, all the attacks started from the midfield. Capello had Wood alone in charge of the defense in this game and everyone else attacked. As for the “three midfielders”, Capello did not use England’s most accustomed 4-4-2 formation in this game, but instead they played 4-3-3. George Wood alone was pulled to the back to defend, with Gerrard and Lampard both at the front, between the attacking midfielder and the shadow striker. This maximized their offensive abilities without distracting them with the defense.

However, the problem of the offensive core remained unresolved. Gerrard and Lampard were very capable attacking players and also took on the roles of playmakers in their respective clubs. But who would be at England’s playmaker?

Although in the computer domain, dual-core CPUs were more powerful than a single-core, they could not be comprehended so easily on the football field. After all, people were not computers. One more core playmaker might lead to interference with each other, and eventually no one could play well. Like the current Brazil national team today, Dunga was having a headache over how Kaka and Ronaldinho could coexist on the pitch.

If Gerrard was the playmaker, then Lampard’s play would be limited; If Lampard was the playmaker, then Gerrard could not play to his best level.

England’s 2-0 win over Andorra was not directly related to Gerrard’s or Lampard’s excellent play. Both goals were scored from set pieces. George Wood’s appearance only strengthened England’s defense and had not made much of a direct contribution to the offense.

After this match, the England players would remain in the national team to prepare for the September 11th qualifiers. Capello still had time to adjust his lineup tactics.

※※※

The First Team had no competition. Twain had been immersed in the reserve team during this period, overseeing the training and competition of the players who had no national team responsibilities for the Premier Reserve League.

Aaron Mitchell was training hard and adapting to the new position as a center forward. He progressed very slowly in the beginning. After all, he played as a full back for seven years and some habits were not that easy to change. The difference between a full back and a striker was also very large. Changing positions was not simply as easy as changing the name. A lot of knowledge was involved. Mitchell could only slowly explore and experience on his own.

ahin’s progress had also pleased Twain. With the help of the psychiatrists and coaches, he was trying not to shy away from the physical confrontations on the pitch. At first he was a little nervous and scared, but he did it in the end. Twain decided to let ?ahin play in the EFL Cup for the Forest team next month. If ?ahin could successfully return to his pre-injury level, the Turkish Football Federation should really send a pennant to Twain and Nottingham Forest.

At the end of the training session, Twain would sometimes invite Kerslake and Dunn to hang out and have a drink together at Burns’ bar—Dunn certainly only drank non-alcoholic beverages. He would chat with Fat John, Skinny Bill and the gang, and then head home with Dunn.

Life was simple.

However, if he did not keep busy or not have drinks and be with friends, Twain would still feel a little lonely. The house was not considered small and there was no one else most of the time. Every night before he went to bed or head to the bathroom to take a leak, he would have to pass by Shania’s room. Sometimes he would suddenly stop to look inside.

※※※

“Hey, Tony. Would you like to go have a drink tonight?” After the training, Kerslake hailed Twain warmly. Dunn looked at him too.

Twain unexpectedly shook his head and declined this time. “I’ve got something on. I can’t go. You guys go ahead.”

Kerslake looked at Dunn and was about to open his mouth when Dunn spoke first, “Since that’s the case, I will go straight home.” He had no interest in bars. He only used to go because Twain wanted to go, and they could have a chat together. Since Twain did not want to go today, there was no need for him to go to places he did not like very much.

Kerslake sighed helplessly, “All right. Since you’re not going, what am I going to do there by myself?”

Twain chuckled, “You’d better go home and spend time with your wife, David! A family man shouldn’t go to the bar all the time.”

Kerslake gave a shrug and left. Twain looked at Dunn, “You should head back too.”

Dunn nodded and turned to walk away without asking Twain about his plans.

What was Twain’s plans? Actually, he was still going to have a drink, but in another environment. He did not want to go to Burns’ bar today, where there were too many acquaintances. Someone would always come talk to him with a drink. He would not be idle for a minute.

Why did he suddenly decide to drink in a different bar? Because he suddenly remembered that tomorrow was his birthday, Tony Twain’s birthday.

He had been in England for almost five years, and he had never celebrated a birthday. The first year was because he did not remember the birthday of the body’s owner. His memory breaks for that year was rather serious and he could not remember many things. Now he remembered some and still could not recall the other stuff. However, those were very long-term memories and did not affect him much if he did not recall. In the latter three years, he knew Tony Twain’s birthday was on September 9th, but he did not bother. On the one hand, it was someone else’s birthday. On the other hand, he was always very busy. When he did remember the birthday, the timing often would have already passed. Over time, he was too lazy to think about such meaning things like birthdays.

Not everyone took birthdays seriously. Twain remembered that he previously was not concerned with such matters. His parents would take care of it when he was still living at home. While he was alone in other cities for his studies and work, he never celebrated his birthday—he had few friends and it was too silly to buy a cake and blow candles on his own. He just have to remember the date and year of his own birth date. There was no need to do so many fancy things.

He guessed that Dunn and he were the kind of people who did not care about birthdays, because he did not see Dunn celebrate his birthday once since he came to Nottingham. By the way, Dunn’s birthday was on August 8th, which was already over. It coincided with the Olympic Games opening. Twain had even joked at the time that his birthday party was even directed by the director Zhang Yimou. Dunn did not respond to this, which made Twain felt that he had told a corny joke again.

But this year, Twain, who did not care about his birthday, suddenly thought of his birthday.

Because he suddenly remembered that come tomorrow, this body of his would be forty years old…

※※※

Forty years old!

It was a scary age.

Twain was still thinking about the problem when he sat and drank alone in a bar in downtown Nottingham city, which he had never been to.

He had never cared about his age before. It could even be said that he had always felt that after he had transmigrated here, his age should start from the age of twenty-six years old. In that case, he was only thirty-one years old this year. There were still a lot of young people who had not married at this age in China.

The reality was cruel. He could feel his body slowly aging now, which was a natural pattern and could not be stopped. He also could not turn a blind eye to it. Although in the football world, the media and others still addressed him as “a young manager” and said he was “young and promising”, football was a special world. Here, a 30-year-old player was termed as “a veteran.”

Forty years old was really old.

As the Chinese saying went: At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts.

A thirty-year-old person should have settled down and established his career. He was now forty years old and still alone—from now on he must see himself as a person who had truly been lived for forty years.

He felt he should seriously think about “a family.”

The messy bachelor’s room needed to be cleaned up. He could not always get a quick meal at Burns’ bar after work. Masturbation and call girls could not accompany a person for life … Most importantly, he was not a celibate, a homosexual, frigid, never been hurt by a woman when he was young, psychopath, a hardcore member of the “anti-society and romance squad”, felt animosity toward society, women and family. Then he had nowhere to settle this lonesome heart of his. In the still of the night, he would also feel unbearable.

Recently while they were having drinks, Kerslake would always looked at his watch when it was time. Then he would jabbered on and complained about how his wide would nag if he went home late. While he talked about how “he can’t drink to his heart’s content because there will be trouble with a woman at home”, he would obediently bid farewell to Twain and rushed home to accompany his wife.

Twain asked Dunn before. Did Kerslake want to stay and have a few more drinks, or did he really want to go back to spend time with his wife?

Dunn thought about it and shook his head to say he did not know.

He reckoned that he was unable to understand the feeling without a family.

At the thought of a family, Twain felt even more troubled. He downed mouthfuls of golden-colored alcohol into his mouth.

Because he realized that his social circle was pathetically small. Apart from football, it was more football. He used to think there was nothing wrong with it. It was the life he wanted. Now when he wanted to find a woman in his social circle whom he could have an affinity and to spend his life with, he could not find her—99.9% percent of people in his life were men.

In fact, Dunn was like him, but Dunn was still young and had just turned twenty-seven years old. His future was long. He had plenty of time to plan his life and meet the person he liked. For the first time, Twain felt his time was tight. Ten years’ time would fly by and he would be fifty years old then, half a century old… Previously he had no concept of this age. Now that he thought about it, he would feel the chill down his spine.

How could there be a woman who would like a forty-year-old middle-aged man with an eccentric character and unlikable temperament?

It was a lively bar here, not because there was a lot of people chatting loudly, but because of the loud music and young men and women having a crazy time together. It was not a traditional pub but a younger and more stylish version, similar to a club.

Twain came here randomly. He did not like this kind of noisy music, which did not sound as moving as the songs in the City Ground stadium’s grandstand to his ears. But he could bring himself to a state whereby he could be completely deaf to the music and noise. He just sat alone in the corner, downing one drink after another. He was bothered by some things and when he was troubled, he would drink until he was drunk, and the trouble would naturally be gone.

In his state, he still managed to attract someone’s attention in another corner.

“May I sit here?” A female voice rang out beside Twain’s ear.

Twain looked at the other person. It was a woman with brown hair and fair skin, holding a wine glass and smiling as she sat in front of him. He could not make out her features clearly, because he was intoxicated and blurry-eyed.

He was no stranger to such an opening line, which he often encountered on some occasions. The other parties would be prettily and sexily dressed women. They would sit down with a smile as one invited them to a drink, and then one could do whatever he wanted…

Twain was not in the mood now. He did not come to this unfamiliar bar to take care of his physical needs. But when he saw the other party’s brown hair, he hesitated and changed his mind.

“Aren’t you already seated here, miss?”

The woman smiled.

“You’re so beautiful, miss.” It was a false compliment, and an instinctive reflex of sorts. Twain would say this when he met a woman who made the first move. Now he simply could not make out the other person’s appearance as he had too much to drink and also because of the dim lighting. What caught his eye was a sea of dazzling white—the other person wore little clothes.

“Is anything the matter, beautiful lady?”

“I’m curious about you. Is that ok?” The woman laughed.

“It counts as a reason too.” Twain nodded, then squinted his eyes as he stared at the other person and asked, “But do you know who I am?”

The woman looked around. Men and women were still partying to the explosive music.

“What does your identity have to do with the two of us on a night like this?”

The two people looked at each other and smiled. Ah, there was mutual understanding…

※※※

The sound of a car engine stalling came from the street outside the house. After a while, the sound of an open lock rang in the dark house and the front door was opened. The light from the streetlights outside shone in, and two long figures appeared at the door.

“This is my place. It’s a little messy… hope you don’t mind, ha.” Twain slurred as he pointed inside the door to the woman he was hugging. “You know, this is true of a single middle-aged man…”

Twain threw off the leather shoes on his feet and began to feel around in the dark to turn on the lights.

When he had just turned on the lights, another familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.

“You have such a colorful nightlife, Uncle Tony.”

Twain turned his head around in amazement, and found his Shania standing on the stairs, coldly overlooking him, as well as the beautifully and fashionably dressed woman he met at the bar in his arms…

This was a strange scene. Twain thought he had drunk too much and was seeing and hearing things. He looked at Shania and turned to look at the woman from the bar next to him who was confused about what had suddenly happened.

He felt that his brain which had been anaesthetized by alcohol was a little slow.

“Oh…. what’s … going on…?” After a while, he blurted out this sentence.

“It looks like you’re doing well by yourself. I’m relieved by this. Goodbye, Uncle Tony. Also, it’s just after midnight, happy birthday.” Shania took a backpack from the room and walked down. She waved her hand at the two people with a cool expression and went straight out of the door. Soon the sound of a car starting was heard, and then a white Mercedes Jeep drove past Twain’s door.

“She, she is…” The woman pointed to Shania who walked away, somewhat surprised and puzzled.

The cold wind outside the door blew in, and there was a layer of sweat on Twain’s forehead—He had sobered up.

Shania specially came back from overseas. It was just that…how did it happen like this?

This time, the woman looked at Twain with an even more surprised and puzzled expression. Twain realized that he was still hugging the other person till now. He hurriedly let go and said, “I’m sorry, so sorry… I don’t know what happened. But I can’t tonight…” As he spoke, he pulled out a few bills in his wallet and handed them to her.

The woman saw Twain’s action and her face turned cold. She looked at Twain and spoke in a completely different tone from the one she used to chat at the bar, “I think you’re mistaken. I’m not a prostitute, Mr. Tony Twain.”

Having said that, the woman turned around and left Twain’s house. Like Shania, she drove off.

At this time, Dunn, who heard the movements next door, came over. When he entered the house, he found that it was empty except for Twain standing alone at the door, in a daze as if he were a pillar.

“What happened? Where’s Shania?”

Twain turned to look at him, “You knew? Did you see her?”

“As soon as I came back, I saw the lights up at your place. I came over to take a look out of curiosity. I did not expect Shania to come back. I had wanted to call you and ask you to come home. But she said she wanted to surprise you, and did not let me call… She specially came back for your birthday and said she wanted to give you a birthday present… By the way, where’s she?” As he spoke, Dunn looked around to find Shania.

“Stop looking. She left.” Twain sat on the couch with his hands covering his face as he rubbed vigorously. He tried to sober himself up.

“What happened?” Dunn also felt that the mood was wrong at this time.

“I don’t know.” Twain spread his hands and said, “Simply put, I went out for a drink and brought back a woman. Then I saw Shania. Following which, Shania left, and the woman left soon after when I tried to give her money.”

Dunn looked oddly at Twain and asked, “How much did you have to drink, Tony?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t count.”

Dunn sighed and sat down next to Twain, muttering, “This is why I hate drinking…”

The two men sat silently on the couch. The door was still opened and the wind outside was blowing in, making them feel a little cold.

Chapter 681 - Jealous

In the middle of the night the day after, Twain called Shania for almost the entire night. At first no one answered, and then it was simply—“Sorry the number you have dialed is not in service.”

Twain was sure he had made Shania angry, but Twain was a little confused as to how he made her angry.

Was it because I brought a woman home? But Uncle Tony also wants to have his own life…

Well, if she hates the way I bring prostitutes home… I really should apologize.

Twain waited apprehensively with bloodshot eyes until the next morning.

in accordance with his bad habit, which had been criticized many times by Shania and remained unchanged, Twain read the latest newspapers while he ate breakfast.

He flipped open a tabloid focused on gossip of the stars. He sprayed the coffee that he had just drank all onto the papers. Not only did he choke and cough forcefully, he also coughed till he perspired. His shirt was drenched.

He looked too unseemly. If called Shania were to see, she definitely would have more reason to prohibit Twain from reading the newspapers during mealtimes.

The reason for Twain’s unseemly appearance was a front-page story.

<The Staggering Secret Girlfriend of the Famous Premier League Manager Tony Twain!!>

Then a large image under the headline almost took up half of the first page of the edition. It was pieced together by two photographs. On the left, it was a photograph of Tony Twain in an interview, and on the right, it was…Shania dressed as a model on the runway!

How could Twain not spray the coffee?

He immediately went to find out who was the bastard who wrote the damn news. Underneath the “our newspaper’s reporters”, he saw a photograph and a name.

Lisa Aria.

In the photo next to the name was her frameless headshot: curly brown hair, fair complexion, and freckles on her face. Twain felt somewhat familiar with the face.

He suddenly remembered that yesterday while he was getting drunk in the bar, a woman came on to him. He eventually brought her home, only to anger Shania and caused her to leave. It was this woman!

He swore a foul word. Ah, you’re the culprit, the one who caused all this trouble. I’m already giving you face by not looking for you to settle the accounts. I did not expect you start a rumor about me!

Recalling how she left her telephone number yesterday while they chatted happily, Twain pulled out his cell phone and found the new name “Lisa” in the contacts. He was certain that this was the number left yesterday, so he dialed the number.

The call was picked up quickly, and a female voice came on. Except for a slightly different tone, it was the voice that Twain had heard last night.

“Mr. Tony Twain, I knew you’d call me.” There was none of the flirtatiousness from last night, but with an added chilliness.

“Just my luck to have gone out to relieve boredom only to encounter a reporter.” Twain said with gritted teeth.

“I said I’m not a prostitute.”

“That’s why I said ‘reporter.’ I’m so glad now that we didn’t sleep together in the end. Otherwise I don’t know what other shocking things you’re going to write about.”

“I think you misunderstood one thing. I’m not the kind of reporter who uses her body to hook up with celebrities for sensational news. Mr. Tony Twain.” Despite Twain’s uncivil tone, Lisa Aria kept calm and did not get angry.

“Well, I don’t care what you do. I need you to take this piece of news down right away and then issue a public apology to me and Miss Judy Shania Jordana in the same placement!”

“Apology? Why?”

“Why? Because you violated my and her reputation rights!”

“I don’t understand, Mr. Twain. Is it a shameful thing to admit that you’re both in love?”

“Miss Lisa Aria…” Twain was about to explode.

At this time, the other party said, “I think a lot of words can’t be clarified over the phone. The best is for us to meet face to face.”

“That won’t do. I still need to work.”

“When do you start work?”

“Nine o’clock…”

“Perfect, it’s half past seven now. I promise I won’t take up too much of your time. I know where you live. I’ll drive over. See you in twenty-five minutes, Mr. Twain.” After saying that, she hung up the phone before Twain could refuse, and individually confirmed the meeting.

“Hey…” Twain was helpless.

At this time, he had time to calm down and see what was written on the news.

In fact, the article was very difficult to write. Because the reporter was one of the parties involved. She had gone home with Twain. The readers were adults, and no one was stupid enough to think that a single man and a single woman would go home together to discuss about life and ideals. A Premier League manager and an entertainment gossip female reporter got together for a one-night stand? The news itself was explosive enough.

As a result, Lisa Aria basically did not mention the seduction in the bar. She only mentioned that she met Twain in the bar and followed him home. From there, she discovered the “a golden house to keep one’s mistress” fact—in Tony Twain’s house was the international supermodel who was currently building her film and television career in Hollywood, Judy Shania Jordana!

Although everyone knew that Jordana and Twain had a personal relationship, some people thought it was due to the Beckhams’, or that they were just ordinary friends. No one thought in the direction of the “romance department.” After all, the age gap between them was too wide. Furthermore, there was a rumor that Tony Twain was actually “gay” and only interested in men. For example, he was very close with his Chinese assistant manager, so close that it was enough for people to generate plenty of associations. Several gay magazines in the United Kingdom had fantasized about Tony Twain.

Who would have thought that Twain and Shania are having an affair!

The news was really shocking. Unfortunately, because the reporter herself was just on a night out to have fun, she did not carry a camera and could not provide any photographic evidence in kind to prove her words. But she was willing to use her integrity to assure her that she did see Shania show up at Twain’s home, and that the two people seemed to have a fight, in which Shania then angrily slammed the door and left.

Twain simply did not know whether to laugh or cry seeing such an article. On more than one occasion, he had gotten a taste of the English tabloids’ ability to distort the truth deliberately, invert right and wrong, and make up stories. But each time it would make him think that these people were too powerful. A single mouthpiece could create so many disturbances.

※※※

The second meeting with Lisa Aria came twenty-five minutes later as she had said.

Seeing the woman again, she had taken off her stylish and sexy revealing outfit and put on a plain professional attire. She even wore a pair of black-framed glasses on her nose, appearing to be very capable.

When he saw Lisa Aria coming out of her car at the door, Twain shook his head, “Women are such chameleons.”

“It could have been a beautiful chance encounter last night, Mr. Twain.” Aria laughed. Only her smile was the same as yesterday.

“Sure, a Premier League manager and a female reporter, two people sleeping together. The news would be so hot.” Although he did not welcome her, Twain still let the lady into the house out of politeness.

“You’re deeply prejudiced about the news media, Mr. Twain. I’m not the kind of reporter who likes to be the main story of the news. Have you read the news? I lied.” She was referring to the chance encounter with Twain.

“You told more than one lie. Let’s talk properly, Miss Aria. I think your article is pure fabrication.” Twain threw the newspaper in front of the other person. But he was a little embarrassed by the coffee stains on it.

Aria was a smart woman. She looked at the newspaper and glanced at the slightly uncomfortable Twain. Then she laughed, “Looks like Mr. Twain’s breakfast was on this?”

Twain cleared his throat and said, “Let’s get back to the point. I think you fabricated a horrible rumor…”

Aria took off her black-framed glasses and slightly narrowed her eyes, “Mr. Twain, there are only two of us here, so don’t pretend.”

“Pretend? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t think everything I saw in this room last night was an illusion. You might have drunk too much, but I definitely did not.”

Twain stared at the woman for a moment and said, “Okay. I’m telling the truth, too. There’s nothing going on with Shania and me. We’re just friends…”

“Liar.” Aria smiled and said, “The excuse is too clumsy.”

“Why should I lie to you?” Twain raised his voice.

“How would I know?” Aria shrugged and said, “Maybe you just don’t want the swarming media to disturb your sweet life together… Anyhow, you’re pretty good to have covered this up so tightly, Mr. Twain.”

“I take you very seriously, Miss Lisa Aria. Shania and I are just good friends, despite our age difference. You know? Our relationship is definitely not what you think!”

Aria did not answer immediately this time but looked strangely at Twain for a moment. “The media all say Tony Twain is a mystery, and it is true. I’m also serious about discussing it with you. If you’re still worried, I can swear that anything we talk about today won’t appear in any media.” She raised her hand and swore solemnly. “Are you still going to lie to me?”

Twain completely could not get angry now because he felt that this was not an issue that could be solved by being angry—he was utterly unable to communicate with the other person. “Why should I deceive you? Like you said, is it a shame to admit that we love each other? But the problem is that there’s really nothing going between her and me…”

“Why is she at your house?”

“Today is my birthday, so she came to wish me a happy birthday. It’s normal for friends to do this, isn’t it?”

“If you’re friends, why did she get angry when she saw us together? She can’t control your life, can she?”

“Not everyone can accept that their own friends bring prostitutes home to do those things….”

Aria went red in the face and interrupted Twain’s words, “Mr. Twain…”

Twain also interrupted her, “It’s just that she thought you were a prostitute. I’m not saying you’re a prostitute.”

Aria felt frustrated for a moment and found that she could not rebut Twain’s words, because what Twain said was reasonable. So, she habitually went to push up her glasses, but her fingers found an empty space instead. She went redder in the face. “Well, just… suppose I’m a prostitute… She has no right to interfere with your freedom as a friend.”

“She should still have the right to be angry.”

“Was she angry?” Aria suddenly was not red in the face anymore. She laughed this time.

Twain was puzzled by her laughter.

“Wasn’t she?”

“Do you understand women, Mr. Twain?” Instead of answering Twain, Aria asked such a question instead.

Twain stared blankly. He did not know what the question meant. “I don’t know if I understand women, but I’m sure I understand Shania more than you do.”

“Not necessarily, Mr. Twain. Don’t assume that just because you know her for a long time means that you understand her. Are you sure that you understand everyone around you?”

Aria’s words struck Twain’s Achilles’ heel. Because he thought of Bendtner who was leaving. He thought he knew Bendtner well and understood everyone on the team, that he knew what they liked, hated and wanted… But in actual fact? He overlooked the most important things and still felt regret till now.

Seeing that Twain did not say a word, Aria sensed that she had pinpointed Twain’s worry— indeed she had spoken accurately, but the “worry” was not “a matter of the heart.”

She smugly declared her victory, “Please forgive my bluntness, Mr. Twain. Last night, your very good friend was not angry, but … jealous.”

Like being struck by a thunderbolt, Twain sat dazedly in his chair and did not react even until Lisa Aria said goodbye.

※※※

Feeling preoccupied, Twain rushed to Wilford and then greeted Kerslake, “Good morning, Dunn.”

“…” Kerslake looked at Dunn standing next to Twain.

Dunn spread his hands at him.

“Anything the matter with you, Tony?” Kerslake patted Twain hard on the back which snapped him out of it.

“Ah… It’s David, good morning!”

“What’s the matter with you?”

“Nothing. I just suddenly feel that there are so many wonderful things in the world that I don’t even exist…”

Kerslake was even more certain that something was wrong with Twain. He said, “If you know all of them, then you’re not Tony Twain. You would be God.”?Then he knew it was futile to ask Twain, so he turned to ask Dunn, who had been with Him. “What’s wrong with him, Dunn?”

“A boulder was suddenly thrown into an otherwise normally calm lake. That’s what happened, David.” Dunn answered with a smile.

Kerslake was even more confused by the remark. He glanced at Dunn and muttered, “Is this East Asian people’s mysticism?” You’re both crazy…” Kerslake decided not to care about what happened to them. It was all good as long as Twain still remembered how to train and lead the team. He turned and walked away from the inexplicable duo.

Dunn took a look at Twain and followed Kerslake to walk away.

“Aren’t you playing a guessing game with Tony?” Kerslake asked.

“My lake has always been very calm.” Dunn replied with a smile.

※※※

The abandoned Twain stood alone outside his office when his cell phone rang.

He was not so distracted that he did not answer his phone, not to mention that it was Shania who called.

Shania did not exchange pleasantries with him. She kept the call short and when the phone was connected:

“Are you free at noon, Uncle Tony? Let’s have a meal together.” After she gave the name and address of the restaurant, he only heard the “beep, beep, beep” sound.

Twain wanted to say something, but the call was already disconnected.

Chapter 682 - Goodbye Kiss

As the time in university approached its end after four years, the class monitor and the secretary of the Communist Youth League Branch Committee [1] would begin organizing a ‘farewell meal’ that all students – even students who were not usually close to one another, had to attend. Needless to say, students in tight-knit cliques would not only attend this farewell meal, but they would already have had countless of such meals days before that as well.

Twain did not have a lot of friends during his time in school. In spite of that, there were quite a few students who went up to him for a toast during the farewell meal, saying a bunch of inappropriate things before lifting their necks and swigging down their glasses.

There was even a classmate who brought along a camcorder and recorded a video of the farewell meal. The footage was subsequently burned into a CD and distributed to every student as a memento.

Twain did not dispose of the CD that he was given, though he does not remember where he placed it or if he brought it along with him when he moved to Nottingham.

However, that meal left a lasting impression on him, so much so that he does not need to watch the video in the CD again to know what happened. That night, the students all gathered in twos and threes and began talking about things that they did not have the courage to previously under the influence of alcohol. Some were amusing and some were melancholic. There were students who zealously talked about how they will write a brand new chapter of their lives in the society, students who were busy confessing to their crushes, students who pretended to be tipsy and went around asking for hugs from girls, and students who would grab onto their best buds in university and drink gulp after gulp and glass after glass…

In a nutshell, there was only one recurring theme associated with the farewell meal: break up, goodbye or disband.

Even though Twain was aware that Shania was neither a transmigrator nor a university student in China before, he could not stop his restless mind from thinking about the possibility of a ‘farewell meal’.

“Uncle Tony. Thank you for all the care that you have given me for these past few years, but I think it is better for me to leave so that I won’t interfere with your life. Goodbye!”

If such words were to come out of Shania’s mouth, Twain really had no idea what he would feel.

It turned out that he has already grown used to life with Shania around.

He had never felt that the girl was truly away from him and his life, even though she worked in the United States, and they were separated by half a globe.

It is just that we can’t meet that often…

Lisa Aria’s words from this morning sent shockwaves through Twain.

The word ‘jealous’ had never surfaced in his mind before, but now he was forced to confront this issue at hand. Even though he has never had a girlfriend before in his life, does not have any plans to start a family, and did not have any successful experiences with love relationships in his past life, he still understood what ‘jealous’ means, and was also aware of the kind of people who will get jealous.

The issue… Appears to have gotten complicated.

※※※

Twain’s head was in the clouds for the entire morning. He was never able to focus his attention on the reserve team’s training. Trainings of such a level had nothing to do with him either way, so he simply put on a pair of sunglasses and mulled over the issue by the side of the field.

There was no training session in the afternoon, so everyone decided to head back home when the morning training session finished around noon. Dunn had intended to go home with Twain, but was rejected.

“I have something on…” Twain noticed that Dunn was looking at him without a hint of surprise, and immediately went on to explain, “I’m definitely not headed to some bar looking for a one night stand this time.”

“I know. It’s Shania, right?”

Twain nodded his head. “She called earlier and wants me to have lunch with her. Oh yes, Dunn, what do you think she will say to me?”

“Happy birthday.”

“She has already said that to me at my house late last night.”

“That was from me to you. It’s your birthday today. As for what she wants to say to you, how would I know?”

Twain thought about it and realized what he said made sense. Dunn was no love expert and was certainly not Shania. How would he know about such things? He was becoming a little too muddled this morning.

“Should I head back home and change into a new set of clothes?” Twain stretches out his hands and does a spin for Dunn.

“There’s no need for that. What I mean is, it’s the same no matter what you change into. Just head on over.” Dunn said with a smile.

With that, Twain headed straight off without changing. Of course, he did not forget to buy a bouquet of flowers along the way, intending to use that to apologize to Shania.

What does he have to apologize about?

Uncle Tony should not bring prostitutes back home…

Ah, Miss Lisa Aria, please sacrifice yourself one more time!

※※※

Twain got into Landy’s car and travelled to Beeston, which is located south-west of Nottingham. This was the first time Twain has ever visited this place, as Beeston is situated very far away from the city area of Nottingham. A river separates this small town from Clifton, which is where construction works are underway for Nottingham Forest’s new stadium.

Twain surveyed the sceneries of the streets beyond the window curiously and noticed that the cab came to a stop before a narrow alleyway.

“Tony, the Chinese restaurant that you told me about should be here… But I don’t see any shops around…”

Landy, the cab driver, turned his head around as he sat on his driver’s seat and pointed outside the window. There was a light box at the alleyway with the words ‘NOSH Sichuan Restaurant’ written on it in a combination of English and Chinese characters.

“There’s a sign but no shop. Chinese restaurants sure are mysterious.”

Twain smiled as he patted Landy on the shoulder. “In China, there’s a saying that has been circulating around that the tastiest, most authentic restaurants will always be opened in obscure places. The most run down shops have the most delicious cuisines. Thank you, Landy.”

Twain pushed the door open and got off. He followed the arrow as displayed on the light box and walked straight into the alleyway. As he came out of the alleyway, he saw that pitifully small NOSH Sichuan Restaurant.

A foreigner approached him. The staff from the restaurant came up to him enthusiastically, adopting a Chinese style of greeting for their customers. It was completely different from the ‘gentlemanly’ etiquette that was adopted in other foreign restaurants, which made people feel as though they were separated by a piece of glass. The staff’s greeting made Twain feel at home, which was something he has not felt in a while. This was likely a feeling that only the Chinese are able to understand…

“Sir, table for…?”

“Uh…” Twain was stumped by the question. He peered into the restaurant. It was lunch time and the small shop was full of customers, most of whom were Chinese students who were studying abroad. They had yellow skin, black hair and black eyes, and were speaking in either Chinese or its dialects, which made finding the person he was after much easier.

“I’m with her.” Twain told the staff as he pointed to Shania, who was reading newspapers in the shop.

He was brought before Shania. The beautiful girl glanced up at Tony, then lowered the newspapers and pointed at the seat across of her.

“Have a seat, Uncle Tony.” Her voice was a little cold.

Twain sat down and inhaled deeply, trying hard to start a conversation. “Smells of chili.”

“This must mean that this place is as authentic as it gets?”

“Huh?”

“I asked around and they said that this is the most authentic Chinese restaurant in Nottingham. They also told me to order this if I ever visited…” Shania pointed at the plate of food that was already on the table.

Twain took a look at it and exclaimed, “Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce?”

“Try it. I don’t know how authentic it is, but perhaps you will know once you try.”

Twain did not move his chopsticks. He stared at the table full of familiar or unfamiliar Chinese cuisines. It was quite the feast, but he could not grasp Shania’s intention behind ordering a table full of food.

“Do you not have an appetite? Not hungry?”

“Uh… No.” Twain still did not dare to move his chopsticks. He was afraid that it will really turn out to be a ‘farewell meal’ once he ate.

Shania clearly interpreted his actions differently. She held up the glass of beer beside her and said, “That’s right, I forgot to say this. Happy birthday, Uncle Tony.”

It was surely rude to let a girl hold up a glass and wait. Twain did not figure out her intentions, but still raised the glass nonetheless. Before their glasses clinked with each other, he cautiously asked, “Your next sentence isn’t going to be ‘goodbye’, right?”

Shania, who had pulled a long face up till then, burst out into a short laugh, but quickly regained a straight face once more.

“Uh, I think I should apologize to you, Shania. About yesterday night…” He handed her the bouquet of flowers.

Shania put down her glass and received the bouquet with both hands. She brought it before her nostrils and sniffed. It was fragrant.

“Thank you, Uncle Tony… But I wasn’t mad. I think you are thinking too much. I have no right to be telling you how to live your life.”

“You are lying,” Twain uncourteously called her out on her lie, “The way you have been speaking up till now sounds very unnatural.”

Twain felt a little relieved after seeing Shania accept his flowers. He wanted to explain the previous night’s events to Shania, but he did not know where to start, or how to say it.

Shania rolled her eyes. “What do I need to do to sound natural? Actually, I did not treat you to this meal just so I can listen to you apologize or anything. This was a meal that I had arranged for a while back.”

“Huh?” Her words made Twain feel as though he had just plunged into a sea of cloud and mist.

“This was a meal that I ordered three days ago to celebrate your birthday. It’d be a waste if we don’t eat it. Also, your birthday present is in the parking lot. It’s the jeep that I drove away in yesterday.”

Twain had been completely turned to stone. He understood the gravity of Shania’s words even though she had only mentioned them casually.

He was no fool. He was well aware of what was going on. She gave him a car as his birthday present just like that!

Still, it was just a car, and it was something that was easy to put a price on, but, in contrast, the meal… Was something that one could not determine the value of.

Even he has not visited this tiny restaurant that was located in a remote area and was supposedly the most authentic restaurant in Nottingham before. He had no idea who Shania had to ask to get information about such a restaurant.

“I know you like Chinese cuisines… To be honest, British food is horrible.” Shania shrugged. “Going to Burns’ bar to eat all the time is just going to take a toll on your body one day.”

Twain picked up a piece of meat off the ‘Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce’ dish and stuffed it into his mouth wordlessly. He chewed slowly.

Hmm… It tastes a little more sour and sweet than the authentic ones in China. It’s also not spicy enough. But…

He raised his head and smiled at Shania. “This is really authentic.”

A small smile emerges on Shania’s face.

“Can you stop pulling such a long face, Shania?” begged Twain, who could not get used to the Shania who wore a cold expression on her face, just like the one she would wear as a model strutting down a runway during a fashion show.

“But I don’t feel like smiling now.”

“So you are angry with me… Honestly, that was all just a misunderstanding. That… That woman was just a… Uh… Prostitute that I met while I was out drowning my sorrows. You know how I need them sometimes…”

“Is that so?” Shania asked. She picked up the newspapers that she had set aside earlier and raised it before Twain’s eyes for him to see the headline that was printed on it.

“Shocking! Famous Premier League Coach Tony Twain’s Secret Girlfriend!!”

“Was it a prostitute masquerading as a beautiful journalist, or a journalist masquerading as a seductive prostitute?”

Seeing that article made Twain want to bury his head in the plate of ‘Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce’ before him.

“That journalist was crazy for a shot to fame. It’s a load of crap!” Twain quickly explained.

“Load of crap?” Shania shifted her gaze from Twain’s face and towards the narrow sky that could be seen outside of the shop.

Twain suddenly recalled Lisa Aria’s remark about being ‘jealous’ as he saw Shania in that state.

“Does Uncle Tony wish for that article to be a load of crap?” Shania reverted her gaze back on him.

Twain did not know how he should answer that question. He felt that the Shania today was odd. She kept on saying baffling things, and kept on displaying enigmatic and inscrutable expressions on her face.

“Do you wish for that?” Shania asked again after seeing that Twain was not responding to her.

Twain had no choice but to confront the issue. He carefully recalled every single moment that he spent with Shania and went silent for quite a while. This time, Shania did not urge him for a response.

After a long time, Twain finally raised his head. He looked at Shania and said, “I don’t know.”

Shania smiled and did not probe further. To her, the fact that Uncle Tony did not nod and say, ‘yes’ at once made her very happy.

The two of them were caught up in their own thoughts and they finished the meal in silence. The atmosphere was strange throughout the meal. Thereafter, Shania led Twain to the parking lot to take a look at his birthday gift.

“A Mercedes-Benz jeep. Hope you like it, Uncle Tony,” said Shania, who pointed towards the white jeep as they were in the parking lot.

Twain caresses the cool exterior of the car, unsure of what to say. At last, all he could do was laugh and say, “Shania, this gift of yours is too expensive. All I ever gave you for your birthday were cheap Totoro soft toys…”

“If you liked Totoro soft toys, I would have bought them for you too. If it’s a gift for someone you are keen to give to, nothing is too expensive or too cheap.” Shania did not want to hear those words from Twain. She shook her head and continued on, without waiting for Twain’s response, “Send me over to Heathrow Airport!”

“Airport?” Twain was taken aback.

“I had secretly snuck away to come here. I don’t have time to be playing around here. I have to rush back at once.”

“You flew back from America just to celebrate my birthday?” Twain looked at her incredulously.

“Yes, what of it?”

“Don’t you think… Don’t you think… It is too far and too troublesome?”

“I don’t think so,” Shania shook her head, “This is the first time I’m celebrating your birthday for you. I don’t want to just say a superficial ‘Happy Birthday’ to you over the phone.”

“Actually, I’d have been happy if you just called to tell me that, Shania.”

“I wouldn’t be happy! Like I’ve said, no matter how far it is, I won’t think it is far, and no matter how troublesome it is, I won’t think that it is troublesome if it is for someone I am keen to give to! Send me to the airport now!”

Without waiting for Twain’s response, Shania had pulled open the door to the front passenger seat and got into the car.

Twain could only shake his head as he pulled open the car door. He realized that the day had been strange. Ever since the moment he confronted Shania, he has never once gained the upper hand in their interactions. That was not how it had been in the past…

“All right, I’m saying this first. My driving skills… are terrible.”

“My life is already in your hands. Do what you can, Uncle Tony.” Shania began to fasten her seatbelt as she settled into the front passenger seat.

Twain admitted defeat.

※※※

“Do you have a lot on your mind recently, Uncle Tony?” Shania asked Twain, who was completely focused on driving, as they were travelling on the M1 highway en route to London.

“It’s nothing worth mentioning.” Twain wanted to make himself sound more authoritative, but it came out sounding weak instead.

“I’ve asked Dunn before, and he said that you’ve been smoking and drinking much more than you did in the past. Is it due to the transfers?”

“It’s normal for the manager to dwell over things like that.”

“How can that be counted as normal? You don’t need to rely on alcohol and cigarettes to relief your stress. Frankly speaking, Uncle Tony, I’m very worried about your health condition. Have you gone for a health check-up before?

“What good can come from doing that?”

“It’s better for you to go for it.” Shania began to count Twain’s ‘misdeeds’ on her fingers. “Irregular daily routine. Poor sleeping habits. A lot of stress from work. Alcoholic. Smokes a lot. Lacks exercise… Do you perhaps think that your life is too long for you, Uncle Tony?”

If not for the fact that he was currently driving, Twain would have held up both hands and surrendered. Today, he was truly scared of this girl.

“All right, all right. I will listen to you. I will go and do a check-up tomorrow, and quit drinking and smoking after that. I will make sure my life follows a set routine… But I don’t quite care about stress from work. There’s no such thing as a manager without stress in this world.”

“It’d be great if you really can do all that.” Shania clearly knows all about Twain’s trustworthiness. She sighed in exasperation.

※※※

The two had to bid farewell once Twain sent Shania to the check-in counter at the airport.

“Next time, don’t secretly sneak out anymore. You are just making things difficult for Mr. Fasal.” Twain handed a bag that he had been carrying to Shania, who had now donned a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a sun hat.

“If I don’t sneak out, it’s going to be very difficult to see you, Uncle Tony.” There was finally a hint of reluctance in Shania as she turned around to look at the counter.

“Are you that busy?” Twain asked.

“Very busy.”

“Uh… Once this season is over, I’d definitely go over to America and play with you for a while.” Twain did not know how else to console Shania and that was all he could say.

“I have to wait 10 months for that.” Shania pouted.

“To be exact, it’s 9 months. The league ends in May.” Twain corrected her.

“That is way too long…”

The two of them sank into a period of awkward silence.

Twain looked at the human traffic around them and reminded Shania, “It should be time to check-in, right?”

Shania nodded her head.

“Then… Goodbye, Shania.” Twain waved his hand to bid farewell.

However, Shania did not respond in the same way and say, “Goodbye, Uncle Tony.”

She stood very close to Twain. Shania had kept her head down and displayed reluctance initially, but she suddenly raised her head to look at Twain. Her fiery gaze enchanted Twain and sent him into a trance. He did not know what Shania wanted to do.

An announcement urging passengers flying to Los Angeles to finish their check-in processes began to play in the airport, yet Shania did not turn around to leave. She took a small step forward, almost nestling herself into Twain’s arms, then lifted her head and planted her tender red lips onto Twain’s.

The soft and moist sensation of her lips was like a knife that had stabbed and embedded itself in Twain’s mind. Shania’s every breath was fragrant. Twain felt intoxicated just from the scent alone, almost like there was a glass of fine wine that had just been placed right by his lips. Both his brain and body failed to respond, as if he had just consumed a lot of wine. His whole body was stiff and did not know how to react.

In between consciousness, he heard Shania murmur by his ear, “Maybe you’d think this is all too sudden, Uncle Tony. But I can’t wait any longer… I love you, Uncle Tony. I… Love… You.”

It was all too much to process for Twain’s brain. Too many outrageous things had happened in the span of one day and he could barely keep track of them all.

Shania’s brazen kiss from before had lessened the impact brought about by her confession.

As he continued to stand there in a daze, Shania had already leapt away from his arms, giggling.

“This is a goodbye kiss. Goodbye, Uncle Tony!”

Chapter 683 - I Love You, Do You Love Me?

A scene that he had never dared to think about and had never thought about before had just happened on this very day, and it impacted Twain deeply.

His heart that had been beating furiously came to a stop when Shania whispered the words ‘I love you’ by his ear.

He stood rooted at the spot like a statue, and did not even react when Shania waved him goodbye.

He was not a moron. He understood what ‘love’ is, and what ‘I love you’ meant. He could not lie to himself and say that those were just words of admiration that Shania had said to someone older than her. She might be able to say the words ‘I love you’ to her parents, but to say ‘I love you’ to a man without any blood relations with her could only mean one thing.

She had truly fallen for him.

Twain felt as though his head was about to explode.

Something like this… Something like this… How could it happen to him?

It felt like a story without build up or sex without foreplay. Everything happened too quickly and Twain’s heart really could not handle it all.

※※※

As he sat in the car that was given to him by Shania, Twain was still reminiscing about everything that had happened these two days. He wanted to connect the dots and find the clues hidden within. He then realized that what the journalist, Lisa Aria, said had been completely right. Shania was not angry as he had assumed she was. She was just being jealous.

A girl who was in love with him wanted to give him a surprise, only to find that he had brought a seductive woman home. What was she feeling when she saw that?

Twain had never been in love before, but he had watched soap operas so he knew.

The problem is, why would Shania harbor such feelings for him? He had deliberately avoided using the word ‘love’, because he felt that the word ‘love’ was heavy and embodied a sense of responsibility. It was a word that he was not fully prepared to accept just yet.

Is it because they are always together?

There is a Chinese saying that states that ‘familiarity breeds fondness’.

However, Twain did not think that there was anything about him that would make a girl fall in love with him after a long period of interaction. He liked to drink, smoke, was temperamental, never cared about trifles or hygiene, not good at sweet-talking, would never give expensive gifts, was a male chauvinist, was full of himself, selfish, possessive, rude, unreasonable, was someone who would rather betray the whole world than to let the whole world betray him… And, at times, he was also a little superficial.

Frankly, what the media had been reporting about me so far was not wrong. There is nothing positive that can be found on me. Twain mocked himself in his thoughts.

Twain fished out his hand phone and dialled for his cab driver Landy. “Is this Landy? Are you free right now? Yes? That’s good. Can you come over to Heathrow Airport to pick me up and send me home? No… No, you don’t need to drive your cab over. You just need to bring yourself over here and help me drive my car back. Yes. Thank you!”

After finishing the call, Twain continued to sit in his car’s interior to rack his brains over the problem that had already given him a terrible headache.

Could it be possible that the little girl simply mistook ‘like’ and ‘admiration’ for ‘love’ because she had been spending a lot of time with me?

Twain immediately shook his head and threw that thought out of the window. Shania was not a 13 year-old. Moreover, she was a Brazilian girl. Not knowing what ‘love’ was when she was already 18 was impossible.

Twain decided to stop thinking about things that he could not make sense of for now. He raised his head and looked at the blue sky beyond the car’s window, and watched as plane after plane took off and landed. This was a busy airport.

What was Shania feeling after saying those words?

※※※

Shania made use of the few minutes before take-off to call and notify her manager that she was on her way back.

“Has everything been sorted out, Shania?” Fasal asked over the phone with a laugh.

“Yes, all done.”

“What was his reply?”

“I left before hearing it. I think he might still be standing like a log there. Uncle Tony is not mentally tough…” said Shania as she pursed her lips.

“You are one to talk. You are just like him. What do you plan to do from here on out if you don’t even know his answer?”

“What else can I do? I can only wait. Maybe he’d call me, maybe he won’t… Mr. Fasal, am I being a little too stubborn?”

“A little stubborn, yes, but you can’t deal with people like Tony without being stubborn. I can only wish you good luck, Shania. It beats me what Tony will think about it all.”

Shania ended the phone call and followed the stewardess’s instructions to fasten her seatbelt as she sat on her seat. She began to recall the conversation that she had with Mr. Fasal when she decided to take time off to fly to Nottingham.

She came to the decision to tell everything that was on her mind to her manager. She told Fasal about how she has always liked Uncle Tony, and how those feelings slowly developed into love. She did not know how to explain what brought about the change in feelings, and how those feelings came about. All she could say was that she was truly in love with Uncle Tony.

She was already 18, and Uncle Tony was about to turn 40. She did not want to wait any longer and so she definitely had to fly back to Nottingham and make use of the birthday celebration to confess her feelings to him.

Fasal was not surprised in the slightest at everything Shania had said to him. He only asked Shania if she was confident in getting Twain to accept her feelings.

Shania’s response was that she was very confident that she would be able to do it. After years of spending time with Uncle Tony, she felt that he was someone who truly treated her well, and his kindness was not something that a stranger would be able to give. After all, Twain was not her father, and not a relative of hers. She believed in that kindness that she was shown.

However, her confidence wavered once she arrived in Nottingham and witnessed Twain bringing an unknown woman back home. It was only until the end of the trip that she was able to muster all her courage and tell him everything that she had kept within her heart. She did not dare to hear his reply, so she made use of her boarding the airplane as an excuse and fled from the scene.

Right now, she has no idea what will happen in the future.

However, she had thought it through. The words have already been said, and whatever was going to happen from now on was out of her control. There was no use thinking about it. All she could do was wait.

※※※

As Shania’s plane was flying through the skies above the Atlantic Ocean, Landy, who was here to drive Twain home, saw him standing in front of a jeep, with his brows furrowed and lost in thoughts.

“What a great car.” Landy patted the bonnet of the car gently and whistled. “How much did it cost?”

It was only then that Twain realized that he did not ask Shania about how much the car had cost. He shook his head in exasperation and said, “I don’t know. It was a birthday gift.”

Landy looked at Twain and asked, “Shania?”

Twain nodded.

“She’s so good to you, Tony.” As he made sense of everything, Landy went on to say with a smile, “Good for you, too.”

How could Twain possibly not understand what he was getting at?

He forced a smile as he pulled the car door open. “Get in the car. I need to trouble you to be my chauffeur, Landy.”

“But, I do recall that you can drive?”

“Not now, I’m afraid I’d get into an accident and die on the way home.”

“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Did something happen between the two of you?”

They may have met by chance, but Landy has always treated Twain as a very good friend. Hence, Shania, who would always sit in his car when the two of them went out together, was also naturally his friend. He was familiar with both of them and so he asked Twain out of concern.

“Did the two of you fight?”

“It’s more complicated than that… Forget it. It’s nothing. Just drive.”

Instead of driving, Landy pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Am I someone you can’t trust, Tony? I won’t go around telling tales. I’m just concerned about you.” Landy looked at Twain and said in a serious tone.

“All right, I’d talk. Just drive.” Twain shrugged and said, “Shania just told me she loves me.”

Landy missed as he tried to insert the keys into the ignition.

Twain watched him and Landy immediately explained himself, “I’m not surprised! I’m not surprised at all! I had already guessed that this was the case long ago. I just never thought she’d tell you today. Happy birthday, Tony! You just received the best birthday gift.”

Twain looked at Landy, who was starting to gesture around excitedly. “Why do you look so excited about this?”

“How did you think I’d act, Tony? Did you think I will cry and pull a long face? This is clearly great news!”

“Why?” Twain threw out his hands before him. “There is a huge age gap between us. I’m older than her by 22 years! People won’t find it odd if I was her dad, right?”

“Then how did you perceive her all these years? Did you see her as your daughter?”

Twain went quiet for moment before replying, “Sometimes… I do feel that way. She’s just like my own daughter. I want her to be happy, to have things go her way in life and be safe. I want to take of care of her, just like how I would take care of my own daughter. Did you know, her parents hardly care about what goes on with her. I am in charge of everything that has to do with her. I had to call and ask a friend to take care of her now that she’s in Hollywood. I don’t think of this as love at all… How can I possibly not feel like a dad taking care of a daughter?”

“Sometimes it’s hard for people to see things clearly when they stand too close.” Landy revved up the engine, and slowly drove out of the parking lot.

“You didn’t sleep yesterday right, Tony?”

“Hmm?”

Landy pointed at Landy’s eyes. “I noticed it earlier in the afternoon. They are terribly red. Go ahead and rest, I will wake you up when we reach your house.”

Twain felt a wave of exhaustion assault him right as Landy said that. It was true that he did not sleep. The events that had happened were so horrifying that he became overstimulated. Now that it has all come to an end, it was time to take a rest.

“All right, I’m tired… Wake me up when we reach my house, Landy.” His body slid down as he reclined against the front passenger seat. He cocked his head to a side and closed his eyes.

※※※

“I love you, Uncle Tony…”

Shania snuggled into Twain’s arms. They had just been engaged in a wet kiss. She looked up at Twain with eyes full of passion, her cheeks flushed and her lips looking breathtakingly beautiful.

“I object!” A man appeared before the two of them.

Color drained from Shania’s face as she pressed herself against Twain’s chest. “Dad!”

“Jordie, you have utterly broken my heart…” A grief-stricken woman appeared beside the man and gazed at Shania.

“Mum…”

“Mr. Twain! I may have left my daughter in your care, but it was not to make it easier for you to trick her into bed!” Shania’s father was extremely agitated. “Is this how you repay my trust?”

Shania’s mother reached out a hand and looked as though she wanted to pull Shania. Her face was streaked with tears that glistened under the light.

“Jordie. I don’t understand. Why would you fall in love with a man old enough to be your father… I’m so disappointed with you… So disappointed with you…”

“Mr. Twain, you are worse than an animal!”

“Jordie, come with me. Come with your mother…”

“Don’t say anything more!” Shania shrieked, and hugged Twain even more tightly. Her hug was so tight that Twain felt as though he could barely gasp for air. “I won’t accept anyone else other than Uncle Tony! I want to be with him. I want to be with him for the rest of my life!”

“Mr. Twain, what have you done to my daughter?”

“Jordie, please stop throwing a tantrum…”

“I’m not throwing a tantrum, Dad, Mum.” Shania glanced at Twain shyly and lowered her head a little. “Actually, I’m pregnant with…”

※※※

Twain was scared awake. However, that uncomfortable feeling that made him feel as though he could not breathe was still there, and it misled him into thinking that whatever just happened was not a dream in his daze.

“You are already awake?” Landy’s voice called out from the side. In this moment, Twain found his voice to be the most melodious voice in the whole world. He wanted to hug Landy and kiss his wrinkled face.

He realized that he was immobilized. He looked down and found that the seatbelt was still fastened. This was what made it difficult for him to breathe.

“We have yet to reach. You can sleep for a while longer.”

“No thanks, I can’t sleep…” Twain wiped beads of perspiration off his forehead.

“What’s wrong?”

“Had a dream about a boring, cheesy and obscene soap opera.”

“Look at how scared you are… What kind of soap opera can make you this scared?”

“A very horrifying soap opera. The kind that airs at 3am in the morning…” Twain rolled down the window, intending to let some fresh air in, only to find himself gasping for air as a gale of wind blew against him. He clumsily rolled the windows back up. It was then that he remembered that they were travelling at a speed of over 120km/h on the highway.

“This car is really great!” Landy patted the steering wheel and praised the car once again.

“If you like it I can…” Twain noticed that Landy was staring at him, and raised both hands. “… Not give it to you.”

Landy laughed.

※※※

Dunn did not probe about what happened between Twain and Shania during lunch when Twain returned home. Twain said nothing to him as well. His head was in a complete mess and he really was not in the mood to be sharing about his own personal life with others.

There was only one thing that would help him forget about his troubles momentarily.

Work.

The international games were about to end, and the players who had been scattered all over the globe will begin returning to their teams one after another. The Premier League that had been suspended for two weeks will begin once again. The UEFA Champions League would kick off soon as well. Things were going to get very busy.

Before things got busy, he typed an e-mail to Shania, who was far away in America.

“… Thank you for your birthday gift, Shania. Thank you for your goodbye kiss… I really like Shania as well, but I don’t know whether my feelings are ‘love’ or not. It’s very difficult for me to explain to you the kind of feelings that I have.

… As you know, I’m actually someone who’s really dumb. This problem is too complicated and I can’t come up with an answer in a short period of time. So please allow me to owe you for now. Remember that I owe you an answer…”

“Is this an indirect rejection, Mr. Fasal?” Shania showed the e-mail to the person beside her whom she felt the closest to.

Fasal shook his head and smiled. “No, Tony is swayed. The good thing is, he’s not averse to the fact that you love him. Keep at it, Shania. Let him see your heart clearly.”

Shania pouted. “I love him. Does he love me?”

“Why? Did you just lose confidence in yourself?”

“I don’t know, I just… Think about it occasionally. Maybe it’s possible that he does.”

Fasal smiled. “The British are different from you Brazilians. Most of them are conservative, reserved, reticent and shy. They are not too willing to show what they feel directly, and they always make people feel like they are hard to approach. But the truth is, once you make your way into their hearts, you will receive the warmest reciprocation you can ever get. The warmth will be beyond your imagination and tolerance. Isn’t it ironic? The French say that the British are naked pirates once they shed off their outer layers. I think this saying makes a lot of sense. Tony is actually quite different from most of the traditional British. But this part of his here…” Fasal pointed at his heart, “Is still as sturdy as a castle. In Britain we have a proverbial saying which goes, ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’. What it means is that the British care a lot about their privacy, and you can interpret it as saying that the British guard their most private things as though they were a sturdy castle, and they will not let anyone snoop around easily.”

“Mr. Fasal, you know a lot about the British…”

“That’s because I’m a British myself.” Fasal lifted the teacup and took a sip. It was time for afternoon tea.

“Uh… I’ve been with Uncle Tony for too long. I almost think that every British acts like him. I forgot that there’s people like you.” Shania scratched her head in embarrassment.

“What he represents is the British after they’ve shed their outer layers.”

“What about you?

“As for me,” Fasal lowered his teacup elegantly, “I’m a gentleman.”

Seeing that Shania was still a little down on spirits, Fasal continued his attempt at enlightening her, “Don’t worry. Even if his heart is a sturdy castle, you have already made your way into it. It’s just that pirates tend to be a little careless, so they don’t really pay attention to the people and things around them. But once they notice them…” Fasal smiled. “I need to start racking my brains over what is the best thing to get the two of you for your marriage.”

Shania blushed.

Chapter 684 - Remnant

Up till the end, Twain did not find Lisa Aria to ask for them to withdraw that news article and to release a public apology. This was not because he had forgotten about it, but his current self did not know what to expect. No matter if he agreed or not, Shania had indeed became his rumoured girlfriend, solely based on the fact she confessed her feelings to him. Thus, this article would not count as one that is fabricated.

Besides, he did not want to find those publishers again for a chance for the media to use this opportunity to blow up the issue. He was not sure of his inner feelings and he did not want to find trouble — he was never afraid of the complications from soccer, but he hopes to have less, if not none of those troubles that includes feelings and other women.

The reality was not too far off from what Twain hoped, the news publishers Lisa Aria supported had limited reputation. Adding on the fact the amount of rumours related to Twain’s rumoured girlfriends were plenty, it was initially Clarice Gloria who attracted some attention, but after that came news of some turkish beauty which became dull and no one cared. The two “rumoured girlfriends” mentioned above even had photographs as proof. However, the publishers could not even produce pictures proving the rumours between Tony Twain and Shania, how can they claim this to be “shocking news”? Is it only because discovering that both of them are friends gave them the right to freely fabricate such ridiculous news? They “were even able to guarantee the truth on their honor”. At today’s age who would not know that these entertainment producers sell their honour for a living. Definitely not many would believe Shania was Twain’s rumored girlfriend.

At this moment, if Twain’s rumoured boyfriend was not a chinese Tang but was actually David Kerslake or David Beckham, this news might have been more sensational.

※※※

Since that incident, other than writing that email, Twain has never contacted Shania. His current self did not know how to face that little fairy, he would feel a little uncomfortable until being simply did not want to think about it.

Luckily, he still had work to distract himself.

The new league champion group match schedule had already been arranged. Nottingham Forest, who successfully won the league champions, has gotten unprecedented attention. The experts were also optimistic about the performance of the seeded team. There was even such a voice speaking. “No matter which group Nottingham Forest is allocated, or what the other three teams in the group were, Tony Twain’s team would always win the group, and eight, nine of tens times topping the group. The other teams’ only option was to get the second spot of the group.”

The final outcome was Nottingham Forest being allocated into the last group.

The H group, other than the seeded team Nottingham Forest, had the old-school team Juventus who only returned to Seria A last season to win the championship in this current season. The Ukrainian traditional team FC Kyiv Dynamo and Belarus’ team Borisov were in the group too.

Only Kyiv Dynamo could create some upsets, Borisov was already been determined to be the minnow for the other three teams to win matches from. If everything goes as expected, the two teams leaving the aforementioned group should be Nottingham Forest and Juventus.

※※※

The international team competition had reached a pause and players concurrently returned to their respective teams. George Wood had finished his happiest fortnight in the national team as their first team starter. In the two matches on the 6th and the 10th, he gave his best in his debut and used actual results to repay Capello’s trust in him. In the matches where away team England won Andorra with two goals, 4 : 1 to defeat Croatia on away to take revenge for their elimination during the UEFA European Championship finals, George Wood’s midfield defense had a decisive impact.

Capello, who rarely personally praises a single player, told the media after their match with Croatia, “with George Wood, our offensive efficiency is a lot higher.”

Why was it higher? It was because they did not worry about frantically returning to defense after losing the possession.

George Wood used his unwavering sprinting and fierce defending to stop Croatia on their every attack. Croatia could not penetratrate the center path in midfield at all, their only plan was to take the side flanks. Croatia’s new star in the midfield, Tottenham Hotspurs’ Modri? was successfully subdued by George Wood where he only played for 65 minutes.

Twain was proud of Wood’s performance, he heavily complimented Capello on his own column. He said Capello was genuine talent in being a gold medallist coach, and under his guidance, England would definitely go far.

Of course, he did not forget to praise Wood’s performance. After all, his own proud discipline did not made him lose face. “… I said this earlier, George is England’s most outstanding defensive midfielder. It is a pity in the past where there were various reasons he could not be placed in an important position. But now I am glad he met a head coach who could truly appreciate his talents. I can even say, England would welcome the new “George Wood’s era” in the near future.

Twain was not even slightly afraid that exaggerating about George Wood will “kill” him. Because he was well clear that George Wood was not one who would be complacent because of his own pride, his past life experiences enabled him to be more calm than most people, and to be able to experience high honour and disgrace.

George Wood’s outstanding performance display was one of Twain’s few positive results from the international matches. The rest were injury reports.

Ribery, in France’s 2 : 1 victory over Serbia, left the match due to injury at the 77th minute, needing therapy for a week.

Martin Petrov in Bulgaria’s away draw 2:2 with Montenegro, was injured, and needed rest for 15 days.

Eastwood, after representing Wales’ match against Russia, was over exhausted and his fitness coach recommends him to miss the league game that was 3 days later.

Adding those who was still under the injury list, Van Nistelrooy with Van der Vaart who recently recovered and returned to the team whose condition was not guaranteed. Twain felt like it was a pitiful few number of players that he could use.

Although it was home field, and the opponent was Sunderland, Twain did not feel comfortable at all.

The negative scenes from the past summer were frequently reappearing, thus it would be weird if he could feel easy.

※※※

“As the following week we still have the champions league match, we need to use some rotations… Eastwood is recommended to not play for this match, Bale should be rotated out as well and Beckham should rest, Fleming suggests Van der Vaart should not play in the match against Sunderland because he was worried the rough Sunderland will cause him to be injured again…” says Kerslake, as he reads the report.

Twain waves his hand to interrupt him. “You should just say who is able to be allowed on field uh? Left flank totally has no people, center road only has two defensive midfielder, and there is not even a reserve for a striker.”

The group became silent, this situation was truly too tricky.

In the end, Twain arranged a roster where Akinfeev replaces van der Sar as the main goalkeeper, left defender being Leighton Baines, middle defender being Woodgate and Ayala, right defender being Rafinha.

Middle midfield being Tiago and George Wood — This time having clear role allocation, Tiago being in charge of defense and George Wood prioritizing attacking, which meant George Wood was pushed into an offensive position.

Left side midfielder being Kris Commons, right being Lennon.

There was no options for the strikers at all, Twain let Zigic partner up with Arshavin.

After this arrangement, Twain discovered the seven in the reserves did not need to decide on their positions,?they just needed to be there.

Van der Sar, Chimbonda, Kompany, van der Vaart, Sun Jihai, Bale, Beckham.

The rest of the people were either injured or have no avouchment on their physical fitness, hence being unable to go on field.

※※※

Keane obviously knew about the plight of Nottingham Forest. Although his relationship with Twain was not bad, he could not vouch on that friendship. To defeat this half-beaten up Nottingham Forest, Sunderland picked up 120% of their efforts and bringing out their full main roster, striving to fight for an outcome which Keane desired.

Suffering from the drag from the international competitions, Nottingham Forest players were in their low states whilst having poor physical fitness. The whole of Sunderland team were actively fighting for the ball without holding back. Fleming’s worries were definitely with reason, Sunderland had exaggerated actions liken to a brute. As long as they could take back the possession, they did not care about the overwhelming booing from the audience stands. Luckily van de Vaart did not risk coming on field, or else who knows how long he had to rest after this match.

Nottingham Forest started scoring at the start of the second half, but Sunderland, with their tenacious force snatching, gotten an opportunity in the opposing half and evened the score after five minutes. This goal impacted Nottingham Forest’s morale, facing the malicious Sunderland, the mentality of being afraid of being injured made the players over-cautious in their performance, causing them to not being able to display even half of their usual standards.

In the end, Nottingham Forest drew against Sunderland in their home field. Their rank in the league fell to the 5th place, placing them in the same position as Aston Villa and Hull City, whom they triumphed with a five goal lead.

※※※

Zigic’s debut was definitely not considered a success. Being the tallest player on the field, he was not able to adapt to the tactics played by Nottingham Forest. Plus, after losing van der Vaart and Ribéry, the support the midfield could give him was pitiful, he was not the type of striker who, after getting the possession by himself, could penetrate the defense, dribble past the guards, solo defeat the everyone on the defensive line and score. Even though his performance was average, Twain still left him on the field to play the full 90 minutes. On one hand it was simply because there was no one else to subsubtitute in, but on another he was hoping Zigic would adapt to the team’s playbook as fast as possible. After all, Twain did not buy him to sit on the stool to watch and learn the game but to push him to join the rotation immediately.

After the end of the match, everyone in the changing room was busy changing in order to quickly leave the stadium. Drawing to a team like Sunderland on home field did not make anyone happy, but there was no choice, this is soccer, no one could guarantee winning all their matches. Besides, everyone was clear that the team had more injuries than usual. So Twain also did not criticise the team’s performance, he only hoped that the team would perform with a different standard in the next week’s champions league match.

On the day after the game, Twain, with the help of translation, notified Zigic to talk to him personally.

The Serbian thought Twain was going to criticise his performance yesterday, but the first sentence that came out from Twain on their meeting was. “Have you experienced the difference between the Spanish League and English Football League?”

Zigic nodded. The match yesterday was totally different from the Spanish League match which he was used to.

“Could you tell me the difference?” Twain asked.

“Speed and tempo.” Zigic blurt out. Both teams, in yesterday’s match, had quick tempo changes between offense and defense, errors made this speed even faster. There were times Zigic was preparing to run back to defense, but Nottingham Forest had already intercepted the possession in their defensive half, preparing for yet another counter attack. In this endless running back and forth, Zigic expended tons of physical stamina, being another reason for him to be unable to display his best.

Twain nods with approval. “Absolutely, although there were also other differences, speed and tempo decides everything. English Football League, compared to other leagues, are a lot faster in terms of speed and tempo, so the demands to one’s physical form is higher, and you need to be smart enough. Yesterday, you expended a lot of physical strength… hasn’t Coach Tang told you before? What does our center forwards need to do? ”

“Make space, attract the opposing defense’s attention, make plays for teammates and shoot for the goal.”

“I feel like yesterday you… Ok, how do i say this, were a little too modest. You are a center forward, you should put “shooting for the goal” as your priority. If there is a scoring opportunity and you would give it up for others, in what situations will you choose to pass the ball? When you are pressurized by the defenders and are unable to turn the body, where your position is not optimal, when your teammates have a higher chance in scoring … then passing is your best choice. Yesterday you prioritized in passing the ball instead of scoring for yourself. Is this trying to win everyone’s hearts over?”

Zigic, after being told off by Twain, became embarrassed, he nodded to admit this original intention.

Twain smiled. “There is no use in this. I found you to become a center forward and not to play as a side midfielder. I indeed did value your abilities to make plays, but you are the center forward. If you want to let them accept you, like you, recognise you, it is actually very simple — score, repeatedly score. That way, everyone will like you.”

Twain had decided to focus on cultivating and supporting Zigic, if he was not adapted to the Premier League, then he would work hard to make Zigic to be comfortable, if he is unable to score, then he would work hard to create opportunities for him to score. He wanted to reestablish a tall center forward, he wanted to let those who are waiting to make fun of him to know, losing Bendtner did not cause huge losses to him, because he had Zigic!

Bendtner was able to pursue the type of soccer he truly wanted, he could enjoy the superiority of being the main core in Man City. But his team, Tony Twain’s team, would continue to win matches and championships.

Chapter 685 - Only a Matter of Time

The team suffered two losses in the Premier League following a series of injuries that prevented them from playing their best team. They also only managed to scrape a narrow 2-1 win over the Belarusian team FC BATE Borisov at home in the Champions League.

To Twain, the only good news was that the team’s injuries had mostly recovered after that match. There were no players suffering from major injuries, and the players who were suffering from minor injuries have all recovered as well and could be employed in their next match.

The Premier League had gone on for over a month by then, and Twain was finally able to play a match with a more complete team.

In the fifth match of the Premier League, Twain played his strongest team against Tottenham Hotspur in an away game.

Van der Sar, Pepe, Kompany, Gareth Bale, Rafinha, George Wood, Van der Vaart, Ribéry, David Beckham, Arshavin and Van Nisterooy.

Spurs came in second in the Premier League in terms of money spent during the summer to buy players, but they are currently last in the table after losing three of their past four matches and drawing one.

Juande Ramos was having a very hard time at Spurs. It was said that he would be sacked if he did not clinch a victory over Nottingham Forest at home.

Twain was certainly not in a position to feel sympathy for another person. If he were to sympathize with Ramos, then who would sympathize with him? Nottingham Forest’s team morale was low and he desperately needed a gratifying win to boost their morale. This made Tottenham, who looked to be down on their luck, the best team to help him achieve his cause.

Twain and his team of coaches were meticulous with their preparations for the match. He told his players that there was nothing that would make them and everyone else happier than being the undisputed winners of a match. They did not only need to win, they needed to win thoroughly!

The final score was 3-0. Nottingham Forest had a resounding victory over Spurs whose team morale and predicament were much worse than them.

Following the loss, Juande Ramos was sacked by Levy over the poor results, and he became the first manager in the new season of the Premier League to be shown the door.

The days of having to play two matches a week were yet to be over, however. Nottingham Forest had to keep their spirits up and face their next challenge.

On 25th September, Nottingham Forest had an away game against Ipswich in the EFL Cup. Twain employed a team that was mainly comprised of reserve players and they achieved a 4-1 win at the end of the match.

The two victories helped to reinvigorate the team and dispel the negativity that had imbued them following a rough start to the season.

Before the team travelled back home, Twain commended everyone in the dressing room for the performance.

“Oh.” On the bus back to Nottingham, Kerslake suddenly led out a low shout while examining the fixture list. He then passed the fixture list in his hand over to Twain who was seated behind him.

“Take a look at our next opponent.”

Twain brought the paper before his eyes and scanned for their sixth opponent.

Manchester City.

Dunn broke into a laugh beside him.

“The press must be ecstatic,” said Kerslake.

Twain shrugged and made no further comment.

※※※

Bendtner was already feeling the pressure from external parties. His time at Manchester City following his transfer was not that much better than his time at Nottingham Forest.

During his time at Nottingham Forest, his pressure came from his authoritarian manager Tony Twain. At Manchester City, his pressure comes from the media and the fans’ scrutiny of him.

His debut appearance for Manchester City came during the very first match of the season at home to Chelsea. Bendtner was put on the bench and was only substituted onto the pitch when the game was all but lost. Robinho scored a free kick in that match, but Manchester City went on to lose 1-3 to Chelsea.

Bendtner only played for five minutes in that match, so naturally, he was not blamed for the loss, and no one pointed the finger at him for not scoring a goal either. However, things were different in the second match.

In the fifth match of the league, Manchester City faced Portsmouth at home. That match was akin to a festival to the Manchester City fans, because the team won by six goals over Pompey. Bendtner started in that match, but the six goals had nothing to do with him at all.

He had no assists and no goals. It was as though he was alienated from Manchester City’s tactics and set-up.

Robinho scored a hat-trick in that match. He had quickly become a fan favorite by finding the back of the net repeatedly since joining Manchester City.

After the match, a reporter cornered Bendtner in the mixed zone and asked him why he acted as though he was sleepwalking on the pitch. Bendtner pushed the blame onto the fact that he had only just joined the club and had yet to develop a chemistry with his new team mates.

The reporter then pressed him to explain why Robinho was able to perform so well despite also being a new addition to the team just like him.

Bendtner could only explain to the reporter that Robinho was a midfielder and so he was able to receive the ball a lot more than he did, which provided him with more opportunities at goal as a result. Since he was a center-forward, he needed support from the midfield.

What he meant with those words was that a difference in positions would lead to a difference in results. However, the words were twisted by the reporter, and they came out as ‘Danish forward complains about the lack of support from his team mates’ instead.

The fans who did not know the truth were enraged by the report. For the past two days at training, the fans would stay outside of the training grounds and boo Bendtner whenever he received the ball. He was met with antagonistic gazes within the dressing room as well.

This was a situation that he had never encountered in Nottingham Forest before. While he was still at Forest, he had Tony Twain, who would attract the attention of the reporters who enjoyed making things difficult for people. The atmosphere within the dressing room was also always amicable. He did not need to worry about how to deal with reporters either. With Tony Twain around, no one was interested to ask him any questions.

But now…

It has been half a month since he joined Manchester City, but he had not made a single true friend other than Ashley Young, who was also an ex-player of Forest just like him. He had no interactions with his new team mates beyond greeting each other when they met and when they parted ways.

Unlike the Brazilian Robinho who was lively and cheerful, Bendtner seemed a little reclusive.

Even though he has left Nottingham Forest, he still has the habit of finding news related to Nottingham Forest whenever he browses sports news. It is a habit which he feels conflicted and annoyed over. Habits are fearsome things…

As a result, he was generally kept abreast of the current situation that Forest is in. He might be carrying an immense pressure on him, but the pressure on Twain’s shoulders was not any lighter than his.

He sat alone in the dressing room of Manchester City’s Carrington training ground. All the other players had left, but he chose to stay and practise his shooting. He had only just gone back to the dressing room and was preparing to shower and change into a new set of clothes.

This was also a habit that he picked up during him time at Forest. Tony Twain was not personally involved in the team’s training, but he was very particular about players’ attitudes towards training. A player would receive a harsh dressing down from Twain if they were caught slacking during practice.

Additional practice also became a way for young players to catch the eye of the manager and fight for a chance to play in matches following the success of George Wood.

Mark Hughes never said that additional practice would lead to a guaranteed spot in the starting team now that he is a player for Manchester City, but Bendtner continued to do as he had always done in Forest nonetheless.

Bendtner walked out of the shower room naked and was about to put on his clothes when the door to the dressing room swung open.

“Ah…” The person who just came in was a little surprised. It was the manager Mark Hughes.

“Nicklas, you have not left? Did you just do extra practice for your shooting again?”

Nicklas nodded his head. “Yes, boss.”

“Good timing. There’s something I want to speak to you about. Go on…” He gestured for Bendtner to continue wearing his clothes. The sight of his pants hanging down his thighs was certainly not very pleasant.

“It’s about that interview…”

“The reporter twisted my words, boss. All I wanted to say was that the same standards should not be applied to players playing different positions…”

Mark Hughes nodded his head as a gesture to tell him that he understood. “From what I have observed so far, you are not the kind of person to say things like that. However, the atmosphere in the dressing room right now is not beneficial for you. I think you should take the initiative and explain the situation to them instead of not saying a thing. It’s fine if you don’t care what the press says about you, but you can’t not care about how your team mates perceive you. There’s one thing that you said that is very true. You are a center-forward, and you need support from the midfield. If they don’t view you in a favorable light, then you won’t be able to get a lot of support from them… Do you get what I’m saying?”

“I get it, boss. I will apologize to them before practice tomorrow.”

Mark Hughes smiled. “Not scoring in one match isn’t the end of the world. Don’t be bothered by what the press says about you. If they don’t exaggerate their words they can’t attract readers to read their stuff. Just play as you always have and don’t let others influence you.”

Hughes’s words could be seen as his promise to Bendtner. Bendtner had been worried that he would be criticized by the manager over what he said, but Hughes’s words had made him relieved. Hughes still thought highly of him…

Frankly, it was impossible for Hughes to not think of Bendtner highly. He was the only center-forward that Manchester City brought in over the summer. He had no one else to rely on other than Bendtner. Hughes had placed his stakes on Bendtner. He believed in Bendtner’s abilities. It was just that he has yet to get used to Manchester City’s style of football, and does not have a rapport with his team mates. These two things have affected his performance on the pitch. He believed that as long as the Danish Boy regained the kind of performances he made for Nottingham Forest last season, all his critics would shut up.

“By the way. What do you think of… Tony Twain as a manager?” asked Hughes, who had originally intended to leave, but had changed his mind.

His question stumped Bendtner.

What kind of manager was Tony Twain exactly?

Good? Bad? Neither good nor bad?

Bendtner shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe him…”

Hughes nodded his head. That was something that perplexed him as well.

“You are starting in the next match as well.” Having said that, Hughes turned around and left the dressing room.

Bendtner did not get excited over the words that he was going to continue being a starting player. He had said it before he came to Manchester City, that he would become a valuable player for them. He definitely had to start in games.

He turned his head to look at the fixtures list that was pasted on the wall, and found a familiar name written behind ‘Match Day Six’.

Nottingham Forest!

※※※

“Bendtner finally gets a chance at revenge. But I think Tony Twain would also not give up on a chance to humiliate both Manchester City and Bendtner… I think we can already imagine how this match would lead to the creation of numerous exciting stories.”

Sky Television’s show ’90 Minutes of Football’ was doing a pre-match analysis for every match in the new season of Premier League. Nottingham Forest faced Manchester City at home. The match was the last to kick off amongst the other fixtures for Match Day Six, and was also the fixture that would be broadcasted live throughout the country.

“Our reporter had interviewed Tony Twain over at Wilford regarding the upcoming match earlier today.”

The screen switched to a shot outside Forest’s training ground, where Twain was surrounded by a horde of reporters who all had their microphones held out towards him.

“What you all have said was right. He told me that his style of football was different from mine. This was what he said to me personally. I’m very glad to be able to see for myself what is that style of football that he seeks…” Twain said as he tried to squeeze his way out.

The screen switched again, this time to Bendtner, who was pulling a long face as he spoke to the camera, “This is just a match like any other.”

Ashley Young nodded his head beside him. “Yes, a match like any other. I think you guys are just blowing it out of proportion.”

Twain pointed at the television and said to Dunn beside him, “Do you believe what these two are saying?”

“I believe in Young, but I don’t believe in Bendtner.”

“I don’t even believe in Young. I won’t believe he’s not out to use the match as a chance to take revenge against me. He didn’t succeed in our last two encounters. Now that he has Bendtner on the same team as him, I’m sure he’d be even more fired up than before. Every single player that I have chased out of the team harbors a hatred towards me. I know that much.” Twain said with a smile.

“But Bendtner was not chased out by you. He was the one who…”

“That’s what makes him all the more detestable. I won’t allow the team to lose this match!” Twain clenched his fist.

※※※

Ever since he cleared up the misunderstanding with his team mates regarding the interview in the dressing room, Bendtner had become accepted by his team mates once again. During the last training session before the team headed out to Nottingham for the match, Robinho even patted Bendtner on the back and told him that he will pass the ball to him during the match and help him score against Forest.

“Brother, we are all on the same path!” He told Bendtner in his non-native language of English.

He was right. They were both players who shared the same fate and were both not sufficiently valued at their previous clubs.

Hughes released the list of players who would be brought along for the match after the conclusion of the training session. Both Ashley Young and Bendtner made the list. If everything went as they expected, then both of them should be given a position in the starting 11. Hughes would definitely make use of the two players who were familiar with Forest to create trouble for Twain.

Ashley Young’s ability to attack the flanks and pass the ball into the middle coupled with Bendtner who was a powerful center-forward…

Surely Tony Twain would regret the decisions he made?

After returning to the dressing room, Ashley Young sat beside Bendtner and jabbed him with his arm. “You didn’t think you’d go against Forest so fast, right? You are not used to it, right? It’s okay. You’d feel good about it very soon! Actually, it’s good that we have become their rivals. I just love to see their faces when they lose the match. Humans are so ironic. In the past, it felt good to see him mock reporters and our opponents when we won matches. Now that we are his rivals, seeing him act that way makes me pissed…”

Bendtner had to cut Ashley Young off after seeing that he had more to say. “I can’t wait to face off with Forest, Young. I’m also going to make a bet with you. I’m going to score in the match!”

Ashley Young glanced at him, looking a little surprised. Then, he got to his feet and yelled excitedly, “Everyone quieten down. Everyone quieten down!”

Every single person stopped what they were doing after hearing his shouts and turned to look at him.

“You must be up to something again, Ashley.” Someone grinned as he looked at Young.

“Nicklas just bet that he would score a goal against Forest in tomorrow’s match!” Young pointed at Bendtner and announced loudly. “If he really does score tomorrow, how about we get him to treat us to beer?”

“How can someone be expected to pay if they win the bet, Ashley?” Someone objected.

“Then let’s add a number to it…” Ashley Young grinned as he looked at Bendtner who was sitting on the bench. The whole thing felt like an encouragement, but also felt like a taunt a time at the same time.

Bendtner realized that everyone in the dressing room was looking at him. Some were grinning and some looked confused. A surge of zeal shot up within him. He held out two fingers.

“At least two goals. I will definitely score at least two goals in the match against Forest! If I were to only score a goal I’d treat everyone to beer!”

A group of people started to clap for him and then started making more noise by whistling.

Bendtner felt that he had been completely accepted by his team mates after seeing their reactions. He had nothing to worry about for the match against Nottingham Forest.

I can’t wait for the match against Tony Twain…

Chapter 686 - We Dare You

The media from all over the world flocked to Nottingham. There were a lot of highlights to watch for the game to them. If they did not go to the live game, they would miss out on a lot of exciting stories.

The most important part of the day for the league tournament was Everton’s home game against Liverpool in the “Merseyside derby”, which Liverpool eventually won the derby with two goals from Torres.

Nottingham Forest and Manchester City did not have ties to a derby, and there was no deep hatred and feud between the two teams in their history. The attention that the game garnered was all due to this summer. Perhaps Twain had made history again—a new history whereby Nottingham Forest and Manchester City found each other objectionable.

“I don’t have to tell everyone what these two teams have been through this summer. You just have to look at what the players of both teams are currently saying in interviews to know how hot the game is.” The television host introduced the game to the audience at the television station.

The footage turned to the scene of the interview with the players of both teams.

“I’m certain I’ll score in this game!” Bendtner said to the camera very seriously.

“Can you give us your thoughts on your manager?”

“Manager Hughes is an outstanding manager. I believe Manchester City will forge ahead with brilliance under him.”

“Let’s talk about Tony Twain…”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

Bendtner turned and walked away. Ashley Young immediately appeared on the screen.

“Your teammate said just now he’s going to score against the Forest team…”

Ashley Young nodded with a grin and extended two fingers, “We made a bet with him that not only he will score, but also score at least two goals. If he doesn’t do it, he’ll treat us to dinner! But I’m happy to help him win the bet.”

“Do you think he can do it?”

“I believe in his strength. We are all together at Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. I believe in him.” Ashley Young raised his fist and waved it in front of the cameras.

Next up was an interview with the Nottingham Forest players.

Van Nistelrooy was grabbed by the reporters who insisted on hearing a few words about Bendtner’s departure, “Why did he leave? I don’t know. I think you should ask the boss. I wish him good luck.”

With that, he was going to leave but the reporter pulled him back, “Bendtner said he will score at least two goals against the Forest team…”

“I’ve never heard of this matter.” Van Nistelrooy found a reason to dodge them and no longer cared about the reporters’ questions. He just turned and walked away.

The cameras wandered about and the reporters found George Wood walking over in front of them.

“Wood, can you talk about Bendtner’s talk of scoring at least two goals against the Forest team?”

Wood said with a cold expression, “I welcome him to come try.”

Then he cut straight through the reporters’ encirclement without turning his head to look back.

The image cut back into the studio and the host spread out his hands, “You see, that’s the way it is.”

※※※

Twain did not know what kind of mentality Bendtner had for suddenly announcing that he was going to score at least two goals against the Forest team.

Revenge?

Or to show off his abilities?

Or was it just that someone else had manipulated him?

Because during the four years at Nottingham Forest, the side that he showed did not give Twain the impression of a brash character.

In an interview, he was asked about this matter and he even showed magnanimity.

“I believe that it was possible to do so with his strength. I think highly of him and he’s very talented. It’s not hard for him to score goals…”

The media were surprised by these remarks. They initially wanted to get Twain’s abusive response.

Twain was naturally angry on the inside, but he could not show it. He could not afford for the media to be given the opportunity to hype up this matter. He must consider the Forest players’ feelings at this time as well.

They were not computer-generated virtual data, with no thought and temper. What would the players who stayed in the Forest team think of him if he had been critical of a player who had just left the team? They certainly would not be starry-eyed and worshiped him collectively to say, “Wow, the boss is so cool!”

What happened to Bendtner gave him a clear look at the group of players. No matter how well-behaved they were in front of the manager, they would have their own little schemes, which they carefully concealed from him. If any of them were unhappy with Bendtner’s remarks, it was their own business, and they had the right. But the manager’s actions to force the players to accept the discontent was another matter.

For a former teammate who had just left the team, the influence he had left in the team had not dissipated. There were still people here who had a good relationship with him. If he publicly rebuked Bendtner, it would only disillusioned them.

At this critical moment, Twain had to be careful in all aspects. The team could not withstand another turmoil.

Of course, if someone in the team misunderstood his words and felt hurt, Twain could immediately apologize to the other side in the sincerest tone.

For example, Pepe protested with some displeasure at a tactical meeting on the day before the game.

“Boss, I think what you said to the reporters yesterday made me and the other defenders feel hurt.”

Twain knew that someone would be unhappy by this because he could not satisfy the values of everyone in the world. However, it was never too late to improve once he knew the fault.?He apologized at once.

“Ah, I’m so sorry, Pepe. You know, sometimes when we face the media, we have to say things that may not be consistent with our will… Saying those remarks absolutely did not mean that I underestimated you guys. I actually didn’t add another thing—I’m sure he has that ability, but not against Nottingham Forest!” Twain chuckled.

The defenders laughed, and they were satisfied.

“Okay, guys.” Twain motioned for them to stop laughing. “When I expressed humility, it did not mean we admitted defeat. In fact, for this game, I ask—not hope, it’s a demand—-you have to win. I don’t need to spell the reason out since you should all be clear. Truthfully, if you need me to say it, I can list a lot of different reasons. But I don’t think that’s going to help. They are only reasons and I can find plenty more reasons. But losing is not an option, absolutely not! If we still want to win the league tournament, then we absolutely cannot lose to a team like Manchester City! Not only Manchester City, but other opponents too!”

Next, Twain beckoned for Dunn to come up and explain the specific tactics.

“The formation for this game is 4-5-1. Wood and Tiago, you’re starting. You need to assist the defense on the sides when you’re defending in the middle. Manchester City has Ashley Young and Robinho, so their sides need extra attention. With Wood and Tiago in charge of assisting the sides, Ribéry and Lennon must pull to the middle when necessary, giving Bale and Rafinha space to plug in from the back row… Simply put, we’re attacking and defending the sides.”

※※※

Meanwhile, Manchester City held a tactical meeting at the Hotel where they stayed. Unlike Twain, who left everything to his men to execute, Mark Hughes was hands-on. He wanted to take advantage of the momentum of their victory against Portsmouth to defeat Nottingham Forest.

The players sitting around the conference table listened carefully as he spoke in the front. Some of them were absent-minded. Bendtner was chatting with Ashley Young in a low voice.

“Nicklas, have you thought about how to deal with their defenders? You know Pepe, he’s fierce one-on-one…..” Young asked softly.

“It’s not that I had not score against him during a contest. I often scored goals in the team matches.” Bendtner was not wrong at all. Pepe always represented the main force side during the contests within the team, and Bendtner often represented the substitutes. Although they had not played against each other in an official competition, he was familiar with such contests.

Ashley Young knew he told the truth, so he stopped asking questions about it. Instead, he changed his tack, “Have you thought about how to celebrate after the goal?”

Bendtner smiled, “I haven’t thought about it. I’ll see how it goes when the time comes. If I overthink it now, it will be too silly when I do nothing at the time.”

“… Nottingham Forest is characterized by flank attacks. From the full backs to the wingers, they all have the ability to plug in and attack. We need to be extra vigilant on this point.” Mark Hughes continued, “I ask that you do not back down in the confrontation with them and step up the offensive on the side. Especially when it comes seizing hold of the gaps behind the two full backs who plug in to assist! No matter how powerful George Wood is alone, he can’t take care of both left and right sides. There is bound to be gaps. Grab hold of them! We’ll attack from the flanks and not play in the middle for tomorrow’s game. Use the sides to break down their defenses!”

“The boss has put a lot of effort into it…” Ashley Young muttered. He liked this kind of arrangement because he would be one of the leading players on the pitch. He wanted to use his speed and passing to help Manchester City tear up Nottingham Forest’s defense and take the victory away in front of Twain’s eyes.

“Nicklas.” Hughes called the Danish striker.

Bendtner looked up at his manager.

“Your task is simple.” Hughes laughed, “It is to score goals.”

※※※

The Forest bar on the eve of the game was buzzing with the most hardcore Forest fans gathered here. They were talking about how best to cheer the team on in tomorrow’s game and put pressure on the away team.

The owner of the bar, Kenny Burns leaned on the side next to the few tables where the crowd of fans gathered holding a beer to hear their heated discussion.

Their leader, Fat John, crouched over a cleared space on the floor and wrote something with a brush on a large piece of white cloth.

“We have to teach that Danish bastard a lesson!” Someone among the fans made a loud declaration, “As soon as he gets the ball, we’ll hiss at him! Until he passes the ball out, we’ll not going to give him any breathing space!”

“Yes! Hiss at him!”

“Curse at him! Give him the middle finger!”

“Make him go crying home after the game is done, so that he no longer dares to step into the City Ground stadium!”

“Mommy, I want some milk, I’m so scared… Wow ha hahahaha—-”

The discussion became increasingly heated and the words became more irrational…

Someone finally offered an opposing view, “We don’t have to be so mean, do we? He had no choice but to leave. To be honest, I don’t think Tony really gave him enough playing time and attention… Why can’t we applaud him, just like Pearce, who also came back, representing Manchester City…”

He heard a crashing sound before he could even finish speaking. Skinny Bill suddenly stood up and knocked over a pile of beer glasses in front of him. The amber liquor flowed down the table and spattered his T-shirt hem and trousers. But he did not care. He just glared directly at the man who said those words with fire in his eyes.

“Boy, I’ll give you another chance to take back the last remark you just made! Otherwise I don’t care where you’re from, I’ll beat you to a pulp now!” The thin man now looked as if he was full of strength and force. “I want you to know one thing—the Danish boy will never be eligible to be compared to ‘Crazy’ Pearce! And he’ll never receive the treatment Pearce gets! Never!”

At the same, someone else stood up and shouted at the man who had said the wrong thing, “Do you know what Pearce means here? You dare compare that little asshole with the greatest captain in Nottingham Forest’s history?! Mate, are you drunk or deliberately looking for trouble?”

“If you don’t understand how Stuart Pearce’s position is, I don’t mind using my fist to let you know.” A burly chap raised his hairy arms.

Seeing that it was about to turn into a bloodbath, Burns, who had not spoken, cleared his throat at the side. Everyone turned to look at him.

“I do not allow fights here.” Burns held up his glass to signal for everyone to drink.

Everyone calmed down. Skinny Bill and the others sat down to continue drinking, and the man who said the wrong thing stood in fear, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

At this time, Fat John, who turned a deaf ear to the conflict just now as he continued to keep busy with his own task, finally stood up. He smiled apologetically to the frightened person and said, “I’m sorry. Did that scared you? I haven’t seen you here before. Your first time here? They are like that. Don’t mind them. To think that Tony was fooled by us when he first came…Ha.”

The others laughed as well. Someone shouted, “That was not the same, John! Tony is not like this scaredy cat!”

Indeed, he was not the same, because he spilled alcohol on the football hooligan, Michael, and mocked John, who was also a football hooligan, as a fat pig.?He even had a scuffle with Michael and gained the upper hand…

Because he was different, he was now the manager of Nottingham Forest, and this poor thing was just a wretch who was frightened and weak in the legs.

It was a memorable time and they recalled it as if it were yesterday.

The poor hapless guy saw the fat man across from him and felt calmer as he took in his smiling and kind appearance and felt sure that he would not be beaten.

After he apologized to him, the fat man shook open what he had just written and showed it to everyone, “Guys, it’s done! Take a look at the end result!”

“The words are really big…” The fans who gathered around to look, offered a variety of comments.

“It’s going to be hung behind our goal during the game. If the words are too small, the Manchester City bastards can’t see them! They’re all short-sighted—” John squinted his eyes to mimic the appearance of a short-sighted person not wearing glasses.

“Hahahaha—-” His look amused the others, who laughed in unison.

Although he was just startled just now, similarly as a Forest fan, the snubbed friend still came forward to see what was written on the white cloth. There were a lot of people like him. Everyone crowded around, trying to see what was written on it.

John saw everyone pushed forward, and it was a little chaotic. So, he simply said “sorry” to Burns, and then gave Bill the eye. Bill jumped on the bar first and John followed suit. The two men stood left and right respectively at both ends of the bar. John tossed one end of the white cloth in his hand to the thin man. Next, the two men loosened the cloth in their hands to unfurl it.

A moment of rustling, the white cloth was shook open, as if it was a flag in the hands of the flag-bearers.

There was nothing extra on it except for only two sentences. A self-assured and arrogant provocation was written in red paint:

Wanna score at least two goals? We dare you!!

Chapter 687 - Before the Kickoff Whistle

The final game of the sixth round of the 2008-2009 English Premier League season kicked off at 3 P.M. local time.

By lunchtime, the fans from all over the country consecutively flocked to the City Ground stadium on the banks of the Trent River.

The people who came early did not need to worry there would be nothing to do when they came. On the day of the match outside the stadium was simply like a huge football theme park. There were all kinds of people eating, drinking, playing soccer together by the river, peddling small merchandise, sightseeing… There was no worry about keeping entertained here.

The City Ground stadium on the day of a home game was as bustling as the “Cattle Market” more than a hundred years ago. Although the “Cattle Market” was still around, only the kind of bustling created by people flocking from all over the country here more than a hundred years ago was comparable to the football fans feverishly following the team.

Manchester City’s fans were among the first to arrive and were mostly in groups, wearing light blue jerseys and carrying light blue Manchester City flags. They waved pale blue scarves and looked impressive gathered together.

But compared to these visitors, the hosts appeared slightly less consolidated. Because the true hardcore fan base had not appeared yet. They were the main force which created clamor in the stadium stands.

Although the two teams had been somewhat hostile to each other in recent times, that did not stop most fans from chatting together. Of course, they each supported their own teams. The Manchester City fans excitedly declared that Manchester City would win the game by two goals, while the Nottingham Forest fans shook their heads to deny the claim and that Nottingham Forest would win by two goals.

Then the two groups got together for drinks and continued to chat about their own teams.

After two o’clock, there were more and more media on the pitch, and the fans who had gathered there became the focus of their attention before the teams showed up. The reporters who had not started work watched the lively scene, while the others were busy interviewing the fans and preparing the first-hand source material.

At 2.15 P.M., Fat John, Skinny Bill and the others carried a bundled white banner and appeared outside the stadium, suddenly attracting the attention of many people. Everyone was a Forest fan, and the teams of fans in this city knew each other well. Moreover, when John and Bill previously followed Michael to mix in a football hooligan firm, they had a reputation. At this time, there would naturally be a lot of old qualified fans who came forward to say hello and those who sat a little farther also raised their glasses in greeting.

The roll of white cloth they carried caught everyone’s attention.

“Hey, fat man. What’s this that you’re struggling to carry?” A middle-aged man came up to say hello.

“Good stuff.” John grinned with his neck askew from carrying the thing.

The banner was very long. He and Bill had dangled it in a space on the ground when they showed it in the bar last night. Now that it was completely pulled open, rolled up, and then folded in the middle before it was tied up with a rope, it was even a little hard for four strong men to carry on their shoulders.

“Don’t be so secretive. Just say it, what’s in there?”

“You’ll know it during the game. It gives the fun away if I say it now. And…..” John pointed to the reporters and television press that lingered around nearby. “We’re going to give Manchester City a big surprise!”

The men stopped following and just watched John’s party enter the stadium from the admission gate. Carrying such a big item, they were asked to open it for inspection. John stepped forward to ask the other side to come over, and then opened a corner, mysteriously letting the other side have a look.

The man was seen laughing happily and waving his hand to let them through.

So, it looked like there would be scene to watch at the stands in a while…

※※※

At half past two, right on time, the buses of the two teams drove into the dedicated parking area outside the City Ground stadium. They were warmly welcomed as they passed the fans.

Ashley Young had a year’s experience and had no special feelings about returning to Nottingham Forest’s home round for games. Bendtner was different. At first, he took those fans outside in red jerseys as his supporters. As soon as he raised his hand and wanted to wave his hellow, he saw a few fans putting their lips together to hiss at him. Then he realized that blue was now his color.

What would the fans, who once cheered excitedly for his goals, use to greet him now?

Bendtner was not frustrated by the attitude of those fans. Instead, he looked forward to the upcoming game. Even if the entire stadium booed him continuously, he was going to prove with real actions what a serious mistake Tony Twain had made when he did not value him!

In the words of Julius Caesar, that was—-

I came, I saw, I conquered, I left, and you regretted!

Well… Did Caesar say the last phrase? It did not matter. The important thing is that I conquer you.

Ashley Young saw Bendtner deep in his contemplation and nudged him to say, “Penny for your thoughts? Are you worried about what they’re going to do to you?” He pointed to the window outside. “Don’t be afraid, it’s just booing. It was the same when I first came here. When I thought about it later, it was the same everywhere… When we played for the Forest team, were we booed less by the fans of the other teams?”

Bendtner shook his head and said, “No, I’m not worried about them booing me.”

“Then you are..”

“I’m envisaging my performance in the game later.”

“You’re such a weirdo!”

“The boss… didn’t Twain always have a phrase hanging on his lips? The enemy’s hisses and abuse are the best compliment and recognition for you. I think I understand the meaning of his words now.” Bendtner pointed to the people clad in red jerseys outside and said, “They’re all my enemies.”

Ashley Young gaped. When he first came to the City Ground stadium as part of a visiting team, he was so alarmed by the hissing that he basically could not play at his usual level and was brought off early. He really could not adapt to the sudden shift in the role. He did not expect Bendtner to have completed this role swap long ago, and behaved as if he had played for Manchester City for twenty years as a loyal veteran… He wanted to click his tongue in wonder.

Ah, there are truly all kinds of people in this big old world…

※※※

The Manchester City bus arrived first. When they had all entered the locker room, Nottingham Forest’s bus came speedily as if it had been planned.

In the parking lot, Twain was the first to jump out of the bus. With a stern expression, he faced the crowds of cheers and the microphones held by the reporters who thronged around.

“I don’t have anything to say. It’s just a regular league game.”

Someone among the reporters booed him in a low voice. Only a fool would believe the man’s words.?

The players who then got off the bus did not plan to be interviewed by the reporters. They dashed into the dedicated passageway with their heads down.

The surrounding Forest fans gathered around to loudly chant slogans such as “Nottingham Forest will win.” The atmosphere was so explosive that it did not seem like a “normal league” at all.

After all the players had gone, Twain waved to the waiting reporters and said, “See you after the game, everyone. If I’m in a good mood, I can answer any questions you may have.”

※※※

Fat John and the others already stood in their own stands and were getting ready for the game which was about to start. The bundled-up banner was thrown at their feet and left unattended for the time being.

The players on both sides were warming up on the pitch. Sporadic boos could already be heard, and the target was certainly Bendtner, who wore a vest with the Manchester City emblem.

He behaved as if he did not care and just did his own warm-up.

After four years of being under Twain and his rich experience of competing against other teams had told him that in the face of those people who hiss at him, he would lose if he really fly into a rage.

Consequently, he was calm at heart at this moment.

When could he break out and fully vent the anger? When he scored in person during the game, he would have taught the people who booed him a lesson.

You’re all going to… pay the price!

※※※

“Just look at that kid, it irks me to see him!” Bill pointed to Bendtner in the stands.

John glanced at him and guffawed, “When he was still in our team, you cheered the happiest when he scored a goal. You even said, ‘the future of Nottingham Forest depends on him.’”

Bill looked ill at ease and retorted, “That’s because I once had high hopes for him, so I cannot tolerate his betrayal!”

John stretched his back lazily and said, “I don’t feel much for his departure from the Forest team. Anyway, there are always people coming and going every summer. I’m tired of seeing it these past decades. So, what if they were talented players? No one can guarantee that they will be chained here for life. If they leave, they leave. Anyway, I think as long as that bastard, Tony Twain is around, Nottingham Forest will survive no matter how many people leave.” Then he pressed his hands on the railing and looked down at the pitch below. “All I’m upset about is that he shouldn’t have said ‘at least two goals against the Forest’. Who does he think he is? What does he make of Nottingham Forest’s defense?”

“Actually, I think Tony’s must have blown his top now.”

“I think so too. How can he tolerate another person who considers everyone else beneath him?”

“No, it’s more like considering ‘him’ beneath.”

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

“There’s a good show waiting for us in this game.”

※※※

In the locker room, Dunn repeated yesterday’s tactics before Twain came on.

“Pepe.” He called the main center back’s name.

Pepe stood up, not knowing the reason.

“I forgot to say one more thing yesterday.” Twain put up his left index finger. He was referring to his explanation over his response on the matter of Bendtner to Pepe and the other defenders.

“I really, really believe in my team’s defensive ability. You are the best defensive line in Europe. But…” He pointed to the team captain and said, “George.”

Wood stood up too.

“If you all let Manchester City score two goals in this game, all the players in charge of the defense will run back to Wilford from here!”

Someone’s face paled, but Wood calmly nodded and replied, “Okay.”

Pepe shrugged with a grin, “What if we do not let them score even one goal?”

“You’ll have an extra half-day holiday tomorrow.”

Pepe looked at the other defenders and snapped his fingers, “No problem!”

“If there’s no problem, then get out there and show them what you’re made of!”

※※※

“Welcome to the last game of the sixth round of the 2008 to 2009 English Premier League! The competing teams are the home team, Nottingham Forest and the visiting team, Manchester City. Before the game, the most closely watched person is naturally Tony Twain. For almost the entire month of August, Twain was entangled with Manchester City. Because of this, he lost the much-regarded young center forward, Bendtner in the final moments before the transfer window closed. As for this game, it is also Bendtner’s first time as an opponent back in the City Ground Stadium. What will be waiting for him? I hope it will not be pig’s heads and lighters… Perhaps Hughes can take advantage of the opportunity to take a good look at Bendtner’s psychological quality.”

“The Dane vowed to score at least two goals before the game and made the game even more highly anticipated. As we all know, Nottingham Forest’s defense is famous in the Premier League. For the past two seasons, Tony Twain’s team relied on an impregnable defense to win two UEFA Champions League titles and last season’s Premier League title. They rarely had a game in which their opponent would score two goals against them, let alone two consecutive goals from one player. Although Tony Twain said he believes Bendtner can do it, I’m sure of one thing and that’s Twain must be angry.”

“The game can also be considered as the revenge by two young men who was respectively driven out of Wilford by Tony Twain. Ashley Young and Bendtner are both in the starting lineup for the game. Hughes clearly also wants to the ex-Forest players who are familiar with Tony Twain’s tactical ideas to become the sharp edges to wipe out Twain. But we can’t say how the effect will be. I remember last season Ashley Young’s poor performance when Manchester City played at the City Ground stadium. I wonder if he has made any progress after a year?”

“Mark Hughes had lashed out at Tony Twain, his junior for being a clown and an insatiable disgusting person during the transfer incidents of van Nistelrooy and Bendtner. Tony Twain will also be keen to use the victory of this game to refute Hughes.”

“Will Manchester City, who lost a lot of face during the blank check-gate affair, use the game to win back what they had lost?”

“It’s hard to say… No matter who wins or loses in this game, there will always be people who feel angry and disappointed. So, our dear media have a lot to do. Martin, based on before the game, this match has all the makings of a classic campaign. As for the game itself, we’ll find out right away.”

Sky TV’s old partners appeared live on the commentators’ box again at the City Ground stadium.

They were Martin Taylor and Andy Gray.

One was wise and steady and the other was passionate and humorous. These two men were Sky TV’s headlining sports commentary partners.

Martin Taylor was seen as a voice that represented Britain. It could be seen how much importance Sky TV placed on the game for the two of them to come broadcast the game.

As the two men said, with so many exciting stories and highlights to watch, how could this game not be entertaining?

※※※

The players on both sides had made their appearances and observed all the pre-match formalities. Nottingham Forest was given the right to pick the side and the ball was given to Manchester City to kick off.

Bendtner stood in the center circle in the middle of the field, next to Robinho. He stepped on the football, waiting for the referee to whistle.

The game had not started yet, but the loud hissing had already started, all directed at Bendtner alone. Just because… he touched the ball.

Robinho was a little puzzled by the sudden booing, and he glanced at Bendtner.

Not caring if Robinho could understand him, Bendtner laughed and said, “The fans here… make a clear difference between what they like and hate.”

After hearing the hissing, even Martin Taylor, who was in charge of the game commentary, laughed, “Bendtner has received the warmest greetings from the Nottingham Forest fans. I hope he’s used to it.”

“He’ll get used to it. If he wants to score at least two goals alone.”

Bendtner also did not take his foot off the football amid the boos. He raised his head and looked toward the goal, where his former teammate van der Sar stood. From here to where van der Sar was, there were plenty of former teammates in red jerseys who were now the enemies he must bring down.

Just like what his former boss said, he must step on their bodies to accomplish himself.

At the thought of it, he set his sights on the Forest team’s technical area on the sidelines.

With his arms across his chest, Tony Twain crossed his legs as he sat in his seat in the technical area while he seemed to be looking at himself too.

—Then you use your style to win the championship!

As you wish, we’ll start with this game.

The referee put his hand in front of his body and blew the opening whistle of the match amid the loud boos.

Chapter 688 - Aerial Overlord

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Chapter 691 - Goodbye Kiss

As the time in university approached its end after four years, the class monitor and the secretary of the Communist Youth League Branch Committee [1] would begin organizing a ‘farewell meal’ that all students – even students who were not usually close to one another, had to attend. Needless to say, students in tight-knit cliques would not only attend this farewell meal, but they would already have had countless of such meals days before that as well.

Twain did not have a lot of friends during his time in school. In spite of that, there were quite a few students who went up to him for a toast during the farewell meal, saying a bunch of inappropriate things before lifting their necks and swigging down their glasses.

There was even a classmate who brought along a camcorder and recorded a video of the farewell meal. The footage was subsequently burned into a CD and distributed to every student as a memento.

Twain did not dispose of the CD that he was given, though he does not remember where he placed it or if he brought it along with him when he moved to Nottingham.

However, that meal left a lasting impression on him, so much so that he does not need to watch the video in the CD again to know what happened. That night, the students all gathered in twos and threes and began talking about things that they did not have the courage to previously under the influence of alcohol. Some were amusing and some were melancholic. There were students who zealously talked about how they will write a brand new chapter of their lives in the society, students who were busy confessing to their crushes, students who pretended to be tipsy and went around asking for hugs from girls, and students who would grab onto their best buds in university and drink gulp after gulp and glass after glass…

In a nutshell, there was only one recurring theme associated with the farewell meal: break up, goodbye or disband.

Even though Twain was aware that Shania was neither a transmigrator nor a university student in China before, he could not stop his restless mind from thinking about the possibility of a ‘farewell meal’.

“Uncle Tony. Thank you for all the care that you have given me for these past few years, but I think it is better for me to leave so that I won’t interfere with your life. Goodbye!”

If such words were to come out of Shania’s mouth, Twain really had no idea what he would feel.

It turned out that he has already grown used to life with Shania around.

He had never felt that the girl was truly away from him and his life, even though she worked in the United States, and they were separated by half a globe.

It is just that we can’t meet that often…

Lisa Aria’s words from this morning sent shockwaves through Twain.

The word ‘jealous’ had never surfaced in his mind before, but now he was forced to confront this issue at hand. Even though he has never had a girlfriend before in his life, does not have any plans to start a family, and did not have any successful experiences with love relationships in his past life, he still understood what ‘jealous’ means, and was also aware of the kind of people who will get jealous.

The issue… Appears to have gotten complicated.

※※※

Twain’s head was in the clouds for the entire morning. He was never able to focus his attention on the reserve team’s training. Trainings of such a level had nothing to do with him either way, so he simply put on a pair of sunglasses and mulled over the issue by the side of the field.

There was no training session in the afternoon, so everyone decided to head back home when the morning training session finished around noon. Dunn had intended to go home with Twain, but was rejected.

“I have something on…” Twain noticed that Dunn was looking at him without a hint of surprise, and immediately went on to explain, “I’m definitely not headed to some bar looking for a one night stand this time.”

“I know. It’s Shania, right?”

Twain nodded his head. “She called earlier and wants me to have lunch with her. Oh yes, Dunn, what do you think she will say to me?”

“Happy birthday.”

“She has already said that to me at my house late last night.”

“That was from me to you. It’s your birthday today. As for what she wants to say to you, how would I know?”

Twain thought about it and realized what he said made sense. Dunn was no love expert and was certainly not Shania. How would he know about such things? He was becoming a little too muddled this morning.

“Should I head back home and change into a new set of clothes?” Twain stretches out his hands and does a spin for Dunn.

“There’s no need for that. What I mean is, it’s the same no matter what you change into. Just head on over.” Dunn said with a smile.

With that, Twain headed straight off without changing. Of course, he did not forget to buy a bouquet of flowers along the way, intending to use that to apologize to Shania.

What does he have to apologize about?

Uncle Tony should not bring prostitutes back home…

Ah, Miss Lisa Aria, please sacrifice yourself one more time!

※※※

Twain got into Landy’s car and travelled to Beeston, which is located south-west of Nottingham. This was the first time Twain has ever visited this place, as Beeston is situated very far away from the city area of Nottingham. A river separates this small town from Clifton, which is where construction works are underway for Nottingham Forest’s new stadium.

Twain surveyed the sceneries of the streets beyond the window curiously and noticed that the cab came to a stop before a narrow alleyway.

“Tony, the Chinese restaurant that you told me about should be here… But I don’t see any shops around…”

Landy, the cab driver, turned his head around as he sat on his driver’s seat and pointed outside the window. There was a light box at the alleyway with the words ‘NOSH Sichuan Restaurant’ written on it in a combination of English and Chinese characters.

“There’s a sign but no shop. Chinese restaurants sure are mysterious.”

Twain smiled as he patted Landy on the shoulder. “In China, there’s a saying that has been circulating around that the tastiest, most authentic restaurants will always be opened in obscure places. The most run down shops have the most delicious cuisines. Thank you, Landy.”

Twain pushed the door open and got off. He followed the arrow as displayed on the light box and walked straight into the alleyway. As he came out of the alleyway, he saw that pitifully small NOSH Sichuan Restaurant.

A foreigner approached him. The staff from the restaurant came up to him enthusiastically, adopting a Chinese style of greeting for their customers. It was completely different from the ‘gentlemanly’ etiquette that was adopted in other foreign restaurants, which made people feel as though they were separated by a piece of glass. The staff’s greeting made Twain feel at home, which was something he has not felt in a while. This was likely a feeling that only the Chinese are able to understand…

“Sir, table for…?”

“Uh…” Twain was stumped by the question. He peered into the restaurant. It was lunch time and the small shop was full of customers, most of whom were Chinese students who were studying abroad. They had yellow skin, black hair and black eyes, and were speaking in either Chinese or its dialects, which made finding the person he was after much easier.

“I’m with her.” Twain told the staff as he pointed to Shania, who was reading newspapers in the shop.

He was brought before Shania. The beautiful girl glanced up at Tony, then lowered the newspapers and pointed at the seat across of her.

“Have a seat, Uncle Tony.” Her voice was a little cold.

Twain sat down and inhaled deeply, trying hard to start a conversation. “Smells of chili.”

“This must mean that this place is as authentic as it gets?”

“Huh?”

“I asked around and they said that this is the most authentic Chinese restaurant in Nottingham. They also told me to order this if I ever visited…” Shania pointed at the plate of food that was already on the table.

Twain took a look at it and exclaimed, “Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce?”

“Try it. I don’t know how authentic it is, but perhaps you will know once you try.”

Twain did not move his chopsticks. He stared at the table full of familiar or unfamiliar Chinese cuisines. It was quite the feast, but he could not grasp Shania’s intention behind ordering a table full of food.

“Do you not have an appetite? Not hungry?”

“Uh… No.” Twain still did not dare to move his chopsticks. He was afraid that it will really turn out to be a ‘farewell meal’ once he ate.

Shania clearly interpreted his actions differently. She held up the glass of beer beside her and said, “That’s right, I forgot to say this. Happy birthday, Uncle Tony.”

It was surely rude to let a girl hold up a glass and wait. Twain did not figure out her intentions, but still raised the glass nonetheless. Before their glasses clinked with each other, he cautiously asked, “Your next sentence isn’t going to be ‘goodbye’, right?”

Shania, who had pulled a long face up till then, burst out into a short laugh, but quickly regained a straight face once more.

“Uh, I think I should apologize to you, Shania. About yesterday night…” He handed her the bouquet of flowers.

Shania put down her glass and received the bouquet with both hands. She brought it before her nostrils and sniffed. It was fragrant.

“Thank you, Uncle Tony… But I wasn’t mad. I think you are thinking too much. I have no right to be telling you how to live your life.”

“You are lying,” Twain uncourteously called her out on her lie, “The way you have been speaking up till now sounds very unnatural.”

Twain felt a little relieved after seeing Shania accept his flowers. He wanted to explain the previous night’s events to Shania, but he did not know where to start, or how to say it.

Shania rolled her eyes. “What do I need to do to sound natural? Actually, I did not treat you to this meal just so I can listen to you apologize or anything. This was a meal that I had arranged for a while back.”

“Huh?” Her words made Twain feel as though he had just plunged into a sea of cloud and mist.

“This was a meal that I ordered three days ago to celebrate your birthday. It’d be a waste if we don’t eat it. Also, your birthday present is in the parking lot. It’s the jeep that I drove away in yesterday.”

Twain had been completely turned to stone. He understood the gravity of Shania’s words even though she had only mentioned them casually.

He was no fool. He was well aware of what was going on. She gave him a car as his birthday present just like that!

Still, it was just a car, and it was something that was easy to put a price on, but, in contrast, the meal… Was something that one could not determine the value of.

Even he has not visited this tiny restaurant that was located in a remote area and was supposedly the most authentic restaurant in Nottingham before. He had no idea who Shania had to ask to get information about such a restaurant.

“I know you like Chinese cuisines… To be honest, British food is horrible.” Shania shrugged. “Going to Burns’ bar to eat all the time is just going to take a toll on your body one day.”

Twain picked up a piece of meat off the ‘Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce’ dish and stuffed it into his mouth wordlessly. He chewed slowly.

Hmm… It tastes a little more sour and sweet than the authentic ones in China. It’s also not spicy enough. But…

He raised his head and smiled at Shania. “This is really authentic.”

A small smile emerges on Shania’s face.

“Can you stop pulling such a long face, Shania?” begged Twain, who could not get used to the Shania who wore a cold expression on her face, just like the one she would wear as a model strutting down a runway during a fashion show.

“But I don’t feel like smiling now.”

“So you are angry with me… Honestly, that was all just a misunderstanding. That… That woman was just a… Uh… Prostitute that I met while I was out drowning my sorrows. You know how I need them sometimes…”

“Is that so?” Shania asked. She picked up the newspapers that she had set aside earlier and raised it before Twain’s eyes for him to see the headline that was printed on it.

“Shocking! Famous Premier League Coach Tony Twain’s Secret Girlfriend!!”

“Was it a prostitute masquerading as a beautiful journalist, or a journalist masquerading as a seductive prostitute?”

Seeing that article made Twain want to bury his head in the plate of ‘Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce’ before him.

“That journalist was crazy for a shot to fame. It’s a load of crap!” Twain quickly explained.

“Load of crap?” Shania shifted her gaze from Twain’s face and towards the narrow sky that could be seen outside of the shop.

Twain suddenly recalled Lisa Aria’s remark about being ‘jealous’ as he saw Shania in that state.

“Does Uncle Tony wish for that article to be a load of crap?” Shania reverted her gaze back on him.

Twain did not know how he should answer that question. He felt that the Shania today was odd. She kept on saying baffling things, and kept on displaying enigmatic and inscrutable expressions on her face.

“Do you wish for that?” Shania asked again after seeing that Twain was not responding to her.

Twain had no choice but to confront the issue. He carefully recalled every single moment that he spent with Shania and went silent for quite a while. This time, Shania did not urge him for a response.

After a long time, Twain finally raised his head. He looked at Shania and said, “I don’t know.”

Shania smiled and did not probe further. To her, the fact that Uncle Tony did not nod and say, ‘yes’ at once made her very happy.

The two of them were caught up in their own thoughts and they finished the meal in silence. The atmosphere was strange throughout the meal. Thereafter, Shania led Twain to the parking lot to take a look at his birthday gift.

“A Mercedes-Benz jeep. Hope you like it, Uncle Tony,” said Shania, who pointed towards the white jeep as they were in the parking lot.

Twain caresses the cool exterior of the car, unsure of what to say. At last, all he could do was laugh and say, “Shania, this gift of yours is too expensive. All I ever gave you for your birthday were cheap Totoro soft toys…”

“If you liked Totoro soft toys, I would have bought them for you too. If it’s a gift for someone you are keen to give to, nothing is too expensive or too cheap.” Shania did not want to hear those words from Twain. She shook her head and continued on, without waiting for Twain’s response, “Send me over to Heathrow Airport!”

“Airport?” Twain was taken aback.

“I had secretly snuck away to come here. I don’t have time to be playing around here. I have to rush back at once.”

“You flew back from America just to celebrate my birthday?” Twain looked at her incredulously.

“Yes, what of it?”

“Don’t you think… Don’t you think… It is too far and too troublesome?”

“I don’t think so,” Shania shook her head, “This is the first time I’m celebrating your birthday for you. I don’t want to just say a superficial ‘Happy Birthday’ to you over the phone.”

“Actually, I’d have been happy if you just called to tell me that, Shania.”

“I wouldn’t be happy! Like I’ve said, no matter how far it is, I won’t think it is far, and no matter how troublesome it is, I won’t think that it is troublesome if it is for someone I am keen to give to! Send me to the airport now!”

Without waiting for Twain’s response, Shania had pulled open the door to the front passenger seat and got into the car.

Twain could only shake his head as he pulled open the car door. He realized that the day had been strange. Ever since the moment he confronted Shania, he has never once gained the upper hand in their interactions. That was not how it had been in the past…

“All right, I’m saying this first. My driving skills… are terrible.”

“My life is already in your hands. Do what you can, Uncle Tony.” Shania began to fasten her seatbelt as she settled into the front passenger seat.

Twain admitted defeat.

※※※

“Do you have a lot on your mind recently, Uncle Tony?” Shania asked Twain, who was completely focused on driving, as they were travelling on the M1 highway en route to London.

“It’s nothing worth mentioning.” Twain wanted to make himself sound more authoritative, but it came out sounding weak instead.

“I’ve asked Dunn before, and he said that you’ve been smoking and drinking much more than you did in the past. Is it due to the transfers?”

“It’s normal for the manager to dwell over things like that.”

“How can that be counted as normal? You don’t need to rely on alcohol and cigarettes to relief your stress. Frankly speaking, Uncle Tony, I’m very worried about your health condition. Have you gone for a health check-up before?

“What good can come from doing that?”

“It’s better for you to go for it.” Shania began to count Twain’s ‘misdeeds’ on her fingers. “Irregular daily routine. Poor sleeping habits. A lot of stress from work. Alcoholic. Smokes a lot. Lacks exercise… Do you perhaps think that your life is too long for you, Uncle Tony?”

If not for the fact that he was currently driving, Twain would have held up both hands and surrendered. Today, he was truly scared of this girl.

“All right, all right. I will listen to you. I will go and do a check-up tomorrow, and quit drinking and smoking after that. I will make sure my life follows a set routine… But I don’t quite care about stress from work. There’s no such thing as a manager without stress in this world.”

“It’d be great if you really can do all that.” Shania clearly knows all about Twain’s trustworthiness. She sighed in exasperation.

※※※

The two had to bid farewell once Twain sent Shania to the check-in counter at the airport.

“Next time, don’t secretly sneak out anymore. You are just making things difficult for Mr. Fasal.” Twain handed a bag that he had been carrying to Shania, who had now donned a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a sun hat.

“If I don’t sneak out, it’s going to be very difficult to see you, Uncle Tony.” There was finally a hint of reluctance in Shania as she turned around to look at the counter.

“Are you that busy?” Twain asked.

“Very busy.”

“Uh… Once this season is over, I’d definitely go over to America and play with you for a while.” Twain did not know how else to console Shania and that was all he could say.

“I have to wait 10 months for that.” Shania pouted.

“To be exact, it’s 9 months. The league ends in May.” Twain corrected her.

“That is way too long…”

The two of them sank into a period of awkward silence.

Twain looked at the human traffic around them and reminded Shania, “It should be time to check-in, right?”

Shania nodded her head.

“Then… Goodbye, Shania.” Twain waved his hand to bid farewell.

However, Shania did not respond in the same way and say, “Goodbye, Uncle Tony.”

She stood very close to Twain. Shania had kept her head down and displayed reluctance initially, but she suddenly raised her head to look at Twain. Her fiery gaze enchanted Twain and sent him into a trance. He did not know what Shania wanted to do.

An announcement urging passengers flying to Los Angeles to finish their check-in processes began to play in the airport, yet Shania did not turn around to leave. She took a small step forward, almost nestling herself into Twain’s arms, then lifted her head and planted her tender red lips onto Twain’s.

The soft and moist sensation of her lips was like a knife that had stabbed and embedded itself in Twain’s mind. Shania’s every breath was fragrant. Twain felt intoxicated just from the scent alone, almost like there was a glass of fine wine that had just been placed right by his lips. Both his brain and body failed to respond, as if he had just consumed a lot of wine. His whole body was stiff and did not know how to react.

In between consciousness, he heard Shania murmur by his ear, “Maybe you’d think this is all too sudden, Uncle Tony. But I can’t wait any longer… I love you, Uncle Tony. I… Love… You.”

It was all too much to process for Twain’s brain. Too many outrageous things had happened in the span of one day and he could barely keep track of them all.

Shania’s brazen kiss from before had lessened the impact brought about by her confession.

As he continued to stand there in a daze, Shania had already leapt away from his arms, giggling.

“This is a goodbye kiss. Goodbye, Uncle Tony!”

Chapter 692 - I Love You, Do You Love Me?

A scene that he had never dared to think about and had never thought about before had just happened on this very day, and it impacted Twain deeply.

His heart that had been beating furiously came to a stop when Shania whispered the words ‘I love you’ by his ear.

He stood rooted at the spot like a statue, and did not even react when Shania waved him goodbye.

He was not a moron. He understood what ‘love’ is, and what ‘I love you’ meant. He could not lie to himself and say that those were just words of admiration that Shania had said to someone older than her. She might be able to say the words ‘I love you’ to her parents, but to say ‘I love you’ to a man without any blood relations with her could only mean one thing.

She had truly fallen for him.

Twain felt as though his head was about to explode.

Something like this… Something like this… How could it happen to him?

It felt like a story without build up or sex without foreplay. Everything happened too quickly and Twain’s heart really could not handle it all.

※※※

As he sat in the car that was given to him by Shania, Twain was still reminiscing about everything that had happened these two days. He wanted to connect the dots and find the clues hidden within. He then realized that what the journalist, Lisa Aria, said had been completely right. Shania was not angry as he had assumed she was. She was just being jealous.

A girl who was in love with him wanted to give him a surprise, only to find that he had brought a seductive woman home. What was she feeling when she saw that?

Twain had never been in love before, but he had watched soap operas so he knew.

The problem is, why would Shania harbor such feelings for him? He had deliberately avoided using the word ‘love’, because he felt that the word ‘love’ was heavy and embodied a sense of responsibility. It was a word that he was not fully prepared to accept just yet.

Is it because they are always together?

There is a Chinese saying that states that ‘familiarity breeds fondness’.

However, Twain did not think that there was anything about him that would make a girl fall in love with him after a long period of interaction. He liked to drink, smoke, was temperamental, never cared about trifles or hygiene, not good at sweet-talking, would never give expensive gifts, was a male chauvinist, was full of himself, selfish, possessive, rude, unreasonable, was someone who would rather betray the whole world than to let the whole world betray him… And, at times, he was also a little superficial.

Frankly, what the media had been reporting about me so far was not wrong. There is nothing positive that can be found on me. Twain mocked himself in his thoughts.

Twain fished out his hand phone and dialled for his cab driver Landy. “Is this Landy? Are you free right now? Yes? That’s good. Can you come over to Heathrow Airport to pick me up and send me home? No… No, you don’t need to drive your cab over. You just need to bring yourself over here and help me drive my car back. Yes. Thank you!”

After finishing the call, Twain continued to sit in his car’s interior to rack his brains over the problem that had already given him a terrible headache.

Could it be possible that the little girl simply mistook ‘like’ and ‘admiration’ for ‘love’ because she had been spending a lot of time with me?

Twain immediately shook his head and threw that thought out of the window. Shania was not a 13 year-old. Moreover, she was a Brazilian girl. Not knowing what ‘love’ was when she was already 18 was impossible.

Twain decided to stop thinking about things that he could not make sense of for now. He raised his head and looked at the blue sky beyond the car’s window, and watched as plane after plane took off and landed. This was a busy airport.

What was Shania feeling after saying those words?

※※※

Shania made use of the few minutes before take-off to call and notify her manager that she was on her way back.

“Has everything been sorted out, Shania?” Fasal asked over the phone with a laugh.

“Yes, all done.”

“What was his reply?”

“I left before hearing it. I think he might still be standing like a log there. Uncle Tony is not mentally tough…” said Shania as she pursed her lips.

“You are one to talk. You are just like him. What do you plan to do from here on out if you don’t even know his answer?”

“What else can I do? I can only wait. Maybe he’d call me, maybe he won’t… Mr. Fasal, am I being a little too stubborn?”

“A little stubborn, yes, but you can’t deal with people like Tony without being stubborn. I can only wish you good luck, Shania. It beats me what Tony will think about it all.”

Shania ended the phone call and followed the stewardess’s instructions to fasten her seatbelt as she sat on her seat. She began to recall the conversation that she had with Mr. Fasal when she decided to take time off to fly to Nottingham.

She came to the decision to tell everything that was on her mind to her manager. She told Fasal about how she has always liked Uncle Tony, and how those feelings slowly developed into love. She did not know how to explain what brought about the change in feelings, and how those feelings came about. All she could say was that she was truly in love with Uncle Tony.

She was already 18, and Uncle Tony was about to turn 40. She did not want to wait any longer and so she definitely had to fly back to Nottingham and make use of the birthday celebration to confess her feelings to him.

Fasal was not surprised in the slightest at everything Shania had said to him. He only asked Shania if she was confident in getting Twain to accept her feelings.

Shania’s response was that she was very confident that she would be able to do it. After years of spending time with Uncle Tony, she felt that he was someone who truly treated her well, and his kindness was not something that a stranger would be able to give. After all, Twain was not her father, and not a relative of hers. She believed in that kindness that she was shown.

However, her confidence wavered once she arrived in Nottingham and witnessed Twain bringing an unknown woman back home. It was only until the end of the trip that she was able to muster all her courage and tell him everything that she had kept within her heart. She did not dare to hear his reply, so she made use of her boarding the airplane as an excuse and fled from the scene.

Right now, she has no idea what will happen in the future.

However, she had thought it through. The words have already been said, and whatever was going to happen from now on was out of her control. There was no use thinking about it. All she could do was wait.

※※※

As Shania’s plane was flying through the skies above the Atlantic Ocean, Landy, who was here to drive Twain home, saw him standing in front of a jeep, with his brows furrowed and lost in thoughts.

“What a great car.” Landy patted the bonnet of the car gently and whistled. “How much did it cost?”

It was only then that Twain realized that he did not ask Shania about how much the car had cost. He shook his head in exasperation and said, “I don’t know. It was a birthday gift.”

Landy looked at Twain and asked, “Shania?”

Twain nodded.

“She’s so good to you, Tony.” As he made sense of everything, Landy went on to say with a smile, “Good for you, too.”

How could Twain possibly not understand what he was getting at?

He forced a smile as he pulled the car door open. “Get in the car. I need to trouble you to be my chauffeur, Landy.”

“But, I do recall that you can drive?”

“Not now, I’m afraid I’d get into an accident and die on the way home.”

“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Did something happen between the two of you?”

They may have met by chance, but Landy has always treated Twain as a very good friend. Hence, Shania, who would always sit in his car when the two of them went out together, was also naturally his friend. He was familiar with both of them and so he asked Twain out of concern.

“Did the two of you fight?”

“It’s more complicated than that… Forget it. It’s nothing. Just drive.”

Instead of driving, Landy pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Am I someone you can’t trust, Tony? I won’t go around telling tales. I’m just concerned about you.” Landy looked at Twain and said in a serious tone.

“All right, I’d talk. Just drive.” Twain shrugged and said, “Shania just told me she loves me.”

Landy missed as he tried to insert the keys into the ignition.

Twain watched him and Landy immediately explained himself, “I’m not surprised! I’m not surprised at all! I had already guessed that this was the case long ago. I just never thought she’d tell you today. Happy birthday, Tony! You just received the best birthday gift.”

Twain looked at Landy, who was starting to gesture around excitedly. “Why do you look so excited about this?”

“How did you think I’d act, Tony? Did you think I will cry and pull a long face? This is clearly great news!”

“Why?” Twain threw out his hands before him. “There is a huge age gap between us. I’m older than her by 22 years! People won’t find it odd if I was her dad, right?”

“Then how did you perceive her all these years? Did you see her as your daughter?”

Twain went quiet for moment before replying, “Sometimes… I do feel that way. She’s just like my own daughter. I want her to be happy, to have things go her way in life and be safe. I want to take of care of her, just like how I would take care of my own daughter. Did you know, her parents hardly care about what goes on with her. I am in charge of everything that has to do with her. I had to call and ask a friend to take care of her now that she’s in Hollywood. I don’t think of this as love at all… How can I possibly not feel like a dad taking care of a daughter?”

“Sometimes it’s hard for people to see things clearly when they stand too close.” Landy revved up the engine, and slowly drove out of the parking lot.

“You didn’t sleep yesterday right, Tony?”

“Hmm?”

Landy pointed at Landy’s eyes. “I noticed it earlier in the afternoon. They are terribly red. Go ahead and rest, I will wake you up when we reach your house.”

Twain felt a wave of exhaustion assault him right as Landy said that. It was true that he did not sleep. The events that had happened were so horrifying that he became overstimulated. Now that it has all come to an end, it was time to take a rest.

“All right, I’m tired… Wake me up when we reach my house, Landy.” His body slid down as he reclined against the front passenger seat. He cocked his head to a side and closed his eyes.

※※※

“I love you, Uncle Tony…”

Shania snuggled into Twain’s arms. They had just been engaged in a wet kiss. She looked up at Twain with eyes full of passion, her cheeks flushed and her lips looking breathtakingly beautiful.

“I object!” A man appeared before the two of them.

Color drained from Shania’s face as she pressed herself against Twain’s chest. “Dad!”

“Jordie, you have utterly broken my heart…” A grief-stricken woman appeared beside the man and gazed at Shania.

“Mum…”

“Mr. Twain! I may have left my daughter in your care, but it was not to make it easier for you to trick her into bed!” Shania’s father was extremely agitated. “Is this how you repay my trust?”

Shania’s mother reached out a hand and looked as though she wanted to pull Shania. Her face was streaked with tears that glistened under the light.

“Jordie. I don’t understand. Why would you fall in love with a man old enough to be your father… I’m so disappointed with you… So disappointed with you…”

“Mr. Twain, you are worse than an animal!”

“Jordie, come with me. Come with your mother…”

“Don’t say anything more!” Shania shrieked, and hugged Twain even more tightly. Her hug was so tight that Twain felt as though he could barely gasp for air. “I won’t accept anyone else other than Uncle Tony! I want to be with him. I want to be with him for the rest of my life!”

“Mr. Twain, what have you done to my daughter?”

“Jordie, please stop throwing a tantrum…”

“I’m not throwing a tantrum, Dad, Mum.” Shania glanced at Twain shyly and lowered her head a little. “Actually, I’m pregnant with…”

※※※

Twain was scared awake. However, that uncomfortable feeling that made him feel as though he could not breathe was still there, and it misled him into thinking that whatever just happened was not a dream in his daze.

“You are already awake?” Landy’s voice called out from the side. In this moment, Twain found his voice to be the most melodious voice in the whole world. He wanted to hug Landy and kiss his wrinkled face.

He realized that he was immobilized. He looked down and found that the seatbelt was still fastened. This was what made it difficult for him to breathe.

“We have yet to reach. You can sleep for a while longer.”

“No thanks, I can’t sleep…” Twain wiped beads of perspiration off his forehead.

“What’s wrong?”

“Had a dream about a boring, cheesy and obscene soap opera.”

“Look at how scared you are… What kind of soap opera can make you this scared?”

“A very horrifying soap opera. The kind that airs at 3am in the morning…” Twain rolled down the window, intending to let some fresh air in, only to find himself gasping for air as a gale of wind blew against him. He clumsily rolled the windows back up. It was then that he remembered that they were travelling at a speed of over 120km/h on the highway.

“This car is really great!” Landy patted the steering wheel and praised the car once again.

“If you like it I can…” Twain noticed that Landy was staring at him, and raised both hands. “… Not give it to you.”

Landy laughed.

※※※

Dunn did not probe about what happened between Twain and Shania during lunch when Twain returned home. Twain said nothing to him as well. His head was in a complete mess and he really was not in the mood to be sharing about his own personal life with others.

There was only one thing that would help him forget about his troubles momentarily.

Work.

The international games were about to end, and the players who had been scattered all over the globe will begin returning to their teams one after another. The Premier League that had been suspended for two weeks will begin once again. The UEFA Champions League would kick off soon as well. Things were going to get very busy.

Before things got busy, he typed an e-mail to Shania, who was far away in America.

“… Thank you for your birthday gift, Shania. Thank you for your goodbye kiss… I really like Shania as well, but I don’t know whether my feelings are ‘love’ or not. It’s very difficult for me to explain to you the kind of feelings that I have.

… As you know, I’m actually someone who’s really dumb. This problem is too complicated and I can’t come up with an answer in a short period of time. So please allow me to owe you for now. Remember that I owe you an answer…”

“Is this an indirect rejection, Mr. Fasal?” Shania showed the e-mail to the person beside her whom she felt the closest to.

Fasal shook his head and smiled. “No, Tony is swayed. The good thing is, he’s not averse to the fact that you love him. Keep at it, Shania. Let him see your heart clearly.”

Shania pouted. “I love him. Does he love me?”

“Why? Did you just lose confidence in yourself?”

“I don’t know, I just… Think about it occasionally. Maybe it’s possible that he does.”

Fasal smiled. “The British are different from you Brazilians. Most of them are conservative, reserved, reticent and shy. They are not too willing to show what they feel directly, and they always make people feel like they are hard to approach. But the truth is, once you make your way into their hearts, you will receive the warmest reciprocation you can ever get. The warmth will be beyond your imagination and tolerance. Isn’t it ironic? The French say that the British are naked pirates once they shed off their outer layers. I think this saying makes a lot of sense. Tony is actually quite different from most of the traditional British. But this part of his here…” Fasal pointed at his heart, “Is still as sturdy as a castle. In Britain we have a proverbial saying which goes, ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’. What it means is that the British care a lot about their privacy, and you can interpret it as saying that the British guard their most private things as though they were a sturdy castle, and they will not let anyone snoop around easily.”

“Mr. Fasal, you know a lot about the British…”

“That’s because I’m a British myself.” Fasal lifted the teacup and took a sip. It was time for afternoon tea.

“Uh… I’ve been with Uncle Tony for too long. I almost think that every British acts like him. I forgot that there’s people like you.” Shania scratched her head in embarrassment.

“What he represents is the British after they’ve shed their outer layers.”

“What about you?

“As for me,” Fasal lowered his teacup elegantly, “I’m a gentleman.”

Seeing that Shania was still a little down on spirits, Fasal continued his attempt at enlightening her, “Don’t worry. Even if his heart is a sturdy castle, you have already made your way into it. It’s just that pirates tend to be a little careless, so they don’t really pay attention to the people and things around them. But once they notice them…” Fasal smiled. “I need to start racking my brains over what is the best thing to get the two of you for your marriage.”

Shania blushed.

Chapter 693 - Remnant

Up till the end, Twain did not find Lisa Aria to ask for them to withdraw that news article and to release a public apology. This was not because he had forgotten about it, but his current self did not know what to expect. No matter if he agreed or not, Shania had indeed became his rumoured girlfriend, solely based on the fact she confessed her feelings to him. Thus, this article would not count as one that is fabricated.

Besides, he did not want to find those publishers again for a chance for the media to use this opportunity to blow up the issue. He was not sure of his inner feelings and he did not want to find trouble — he was never afraid of the complications from soccer, but he hopes to have less, if not none of those troubles that includes feelings and other women.

The reality was not too far off from what Twain hoped, the news publishers Lisa Aria supported had limited reputation. Adding on the fact the amount of rumours related to Twain’s rumoured girlfriends were plenty, it was initially Clarice Gloria who attracted some attention, but after that came news of some turkish beauty which became dull and no one cared. The two “rumoured girlfriends” mentioned above even had photographs as proof. However, the publishers could not even produce pictures proving the rumours between Tony Twain and Shania, how can they claim this to be “shocking news”? Is it only because discovering that both of them are friends gave them the right to freely fabricate such ridiculous news? They “were even able to guarantee the truth on their honor”. At today’s age who would not know that these entertainment producers sell their honour for a living. Definitely not many would believe Shania was Twain’s rumored girlfriend.

At this moment, if Twain’s rumoured boyfriend was not a chinese Tang but was actually David Kerslake or David Beckham, this news might have been more sensational.

※※※

Since that incident, other than writing that email, Twain has never contacted Shania. His current self did not know how to face that little fairy, he would feel a little uncomfortable until being simply did not want to think about it.

Luckily, he still had work to distract himself.

The new league champion group match schedule had already been arranged. Nottingham Forest, who successfully won the league champions, has gotten unprecedented attention. The experts were also optimistic about the performance of the seeded team. There was even such a voice speaking. “No matter which group Nottingham Forest is allocated, or what the other three teams in the group were, Tony Twain’s team would always win the group, and eight, nine of tens times topping the group. The other teams’ only option was to get the second spot of the group.”

The final outcome was Nottingham Forest being allocated into the last group.

The H group, other than the seeded team Nottingham Forest, had the old-school team Juventus who only returned to Seria A last season to win the championship in this current season. The Ukrainian traditional team FC Kyiv Dynamo and Belarus’ team Borisov were in the group too.

Only Kyiv Dynamo could create some upsets, Borisov was already been determined to be the minnow for the other three teams to win matches from. If everything goes as expected, the two teams leaving the aforementioned group should be Nottingham Forest and Juventus.

※※※

The international team competition had reached a pause and players concurrently returned to their respective teams. George Wood had finished his happiest fortnight in the national team as their first team starter. In the two matches on the 6th and the 10th, he gave his best in his debut and used actual results to repay Capello’s trust in him. In the matches where away team England won Andorra with two goals, 4 : 1 to defeat Croatia on away to take revenge for their elimination during the UEFA European Championship finals, George Wood’s midfield defense had a decisive impact.

Capello, who rarely personally praises a single player, told the media after their match with Croatia, “with George Wood, our offensive efficiency is a lot higher.”

Why was it higher? It was because they did not worry about frantically returning to defense after losing the possession.

George Wood used his unwavering sprinting and fierce defending to stop Croatia on their every attack. Croatia could not penetratrate the center path in midfield at all, their only plan was to take the side flanks. Croatia’s new star in the midfield, Tottenham Hotspurs’ Modri? was successfully subdued by George Wood where he only played for 65 minutes.

Twain was proud of Wood’s performance, he heavily complimented Capello on his own column. He said Capello was genuine talent in being a gold medallist coach, and under his guidance, England would definitely go far.

Of course, he did not forget to praise Wood’s performance. After all, his own proud discipline did not made him lose face. “... I said this earlier, George is England’s most outstanding defensive midfielder. It is a pity in the past where there were various reasons he could not be placed in an important position. But now I am glad he met a head coach who could truly appreciate his talents. I can even say, England would welcome the new “George Wood’s era” in the near future.

Twain was not even slightly afraid that exaggerating about George Wood will “kill” him. Because he was well clear that George Wood was not one who would be complacent because of his own pride, his past life experiences enabled him to be more calm than most people, and to be able to experience high honour and disgrace.

George Wood’s outstanding performance display was one of Twain’s few positive results from the international matches. The rest were injury reports.

Ribery, in France’s 2 : 1 victory over Serbia, left the match due to injury at the 77th minute, needing therapy for a week.

Martin Petrov in Bulgaria’s away draw 2:2 with Montenegro, was injured, and needed rest for 15 days.

Eastwood, after representing Wales’ match against Russia, was over exhausted and his fitness coach recommends him to miss the league game that was 3 days later.

Adding those who was still under the injury list, Van Nistelrooy with Van der Vaart who recently recovered and returned to the team whose condition was not guaranteed. Twain felt like it was a pitiful few number of players that he could use.

Although it was home field, and the opponent was Sunderland, Twain did not feel comfortable at all.

The negative scenes from the past summer were frequently reappearing, thus it would be weird if he could feel easy.

※※※

“As the following week we still have the champions league match, we need to use some rotations… Eastwood is recommended to not play for this match, Bale should be rotated out as well and Beckham should rest, Fleming suggests Van der Vaart should not play in the match against Sunderland because he was worried the rough Sunderland will cause him to be injured again…” says Kerslake, as he reads the report.

Twain waves his hand to interrupt him. “You should just say who is able to be allowed on field uh? Left flank totally has no people, center road only has two defensive midfielder, and there is not even a reserve for a striker.”

The group became silent, this situation was truly too tricky.

In the end, Twain arranged a roster where Akinfeev replaces van der Sar as the main goalkeeper, left defender being Leighton Baines, middle defender being Woodgate and Ayala, right defender being Rafinha.

Middle midfield being Tiago and George Wood — This time having clear role allocation, Tiago being in charge of defense and George Wood prioritizing attacking, which meant George Wood was pushed into an offensive position.

Left side midfielder being Kris Commons, right being Lennon.

There was no options for the strikers at all, Twain let Zigic partner up with Arshavin.

After this arrangement, Twain discovered the seven in the reserves did not need to decide on their positions,?they just needed to be there.

Van der Sar, Chimbonda, Kompany, van der Vaart, Sun Jihai, Bale, Beckham.

The rest of the people were either injured or have no avouchment on their physical fitness, hence being unable to go on field.

※※※

Keane obviously knew about the plight of Nottingham Forest. Although his relationship with Twain was not bad, he could not vouch on that friendship. To defeat this half-beaten up Nottingham Forest, Sunderland picked up 120% of their efforts and bringing out their full main roster, striving to fight for an outcome which Keane desired.

Suffering from the drag from the international competitions, Nottingham Forest players were in their low states whilst having poor physical fitness. The whole of Sunderland team were actively fighting for the ball without holding back. Fleming’s worries were definitely with reason, Sunderland had exaggerated actions liken to a brute. As long as they could take back the possession, they did not care about the overwhelming booing from the audience stands. Luckily van de Vaart did not risk coming on field, or else who knows how long he had to rest after this match.

Nottingham Forest started scoring at the start of the second half, but Sunderland, with their tenacious force snatching, gotten an opportunity in the opposing half and evened the score after five minutes. This goal impacted Nottingham Forest’s morale, facing the malicious Sunderland, the mentality of being afraid of being injured made the players over-cautious in their performance, causing them to not being able to display even half of their usual standards.

In the end, Nottingham Forest drew against Sunderland in their home field. Their rank in the league fell to the 5th place, placing them in the same position as Aston Villa and Hull City, whom they triumphed with a five goal lead.

※※※

Zigic’s debut was definitely not considered a success. Being the tallest player on the field, he was not able to adapt to the tactics played by Nottingham Forest. Plus, after losing van der Vaart and Ribéry, the support the midfield could give him was pitiful, he was not the type of striker who, after getting the possession by himself, could penetrate the defense, dribble past the guards, solo defeat the everyone on the defensive line and score. Even though his performance was average, Twain still left him on the field to play the full 90 minutes. On one hand it was simply because there was no one else to subsubtitute in, but on another he was hoping Zigic would adapt to the team’s playbook as fast as possible. After all, Twain did not buy him to sit on the stool to watch and learn the game but to push him to join the rotation immediately.

After the end of the match, everyone in the changing room was busy changing in order to quickly leave the stadium. Drawing to a team like Sunderland on home field did not make anyone happy, but there was no choice, this is soccer, no one could guarantee winning all their matches. Besides, everyone was clear that the team had more injuries than usual. So Twain also did not criticise the team’s performance, he only hoped that the team would perform with a different standard in the next week’s champions league match.

On the day after the game, Twain, with the help of translation, notified Zigic to talk to him personally.

The Serbian thought Twain was going to criticise his performance yesterday, but the first sentence that came out from Twain on their meeting was. “Have you experienced the difference between the Spanish League and English Football League?”

Zigic nodded. The match yesterday was totally different from the Spanish League match which he was used to.

“Could you tell me the difference?” Twain asked.

“Speed and tempo.” Zigic blurt out. Both teams, in yesterday’s match, had quick tempo changes between offense and defense, errors made this speed even faster. There were times Zigic was preparing to run back to defense, but Nottingham Forest had already intercepted the possession in their defensive half, preparing for yet another counter attack. In this endless running back and forth, Zigic expended tons of physical stamina, being another reason for him to be unable to display his best.

Twain nods with approval. “Absolutely, although there were also other differences, speed and tempo decides everything. English Football League, compared to other leagues, are a lot faster in terms of speed and tempo, so the demands to one’s physical form is higher, and you need to be smart enough. Yesterday, you expended a lot of physical strength… hasn’t Coach Tang told you before? What does our center forwards need to do? ”

“Make space, attract the opposing defense’s attention, make plays for teammates and shoot for the goal.”

“I feel like yesterday you… Ok, how do i say this, were a little too modest. You are a center forward, you should put “shooting for the goal” as your priority. If there is a scoring opportunity and you would give it up for others, in what situations will you choose to pass the ball? When you are pressurized by the defenders and are unable to turn the body, where your position is not optimal, when your teammates have a higher chance in scoring … then passing is your best choice. Yesterday you prioritized in passing the ball instead of scoring for yourself. Is this trying to win everyone’s hearts over?”

Zigic, after being told off by Twain, became embarrassed, he nodded to admit this original intention.

Twain smiled. “There is no use in this. I found you to become a center forward and not to play as a side midfielder. I indeed did value your abilities to make plays, but you are the center forward. If you want to let them accept you, like you, recognise you, it is actually very simple — score, repeatedly score. That way, everyone will like you.”

Twain had decided to focus on cultivating and supporting Zigic, if he was not adapted to the Premier League, then he would work hard to make Zigic to be comfortable, if he is unable to score, then he would work hard to create opportunities for him to score. He wanted to reestablish a tall center forward, he wanted to let those who are waiting to make fun of him to know, losing Bendtner did not cause huge losses to him, because he had Zigic!

Bendtner was able to pursue the type of soccer he truly wanted, he could enjoy the superiority of being the main core in Man City. But his team, Tony Twain’s team, would continue to win matches and championships.

Chapter 694 - Only a Matter of Time

The team suffered two losses in the Premier League following a series of injuries that prevented them from playing their best team. They also only managed to scrape a narrow 2-1 win over the Belarusian team FC BATE Borisov at home in the Champions League.

To Twain, the only good news was that the team’s injuries had mostly recovered after that match. There were no players suffering from major injuries, and the players who were suffering from minor injuries have all recovered as well and could be employed in their next match.

The Premier League had gone on for over a month by then, and Twain was finally able to play a match with a more complete team.

In the fifth match of the Premier League, Twain played his strongest team against Tottenham Hotspur in an away game.

Van der Sar, Pepe, Kompany, Gareth Bale, Rafinha, George Wood, Van der Vaart, Ribéry, David Beckham, Arshavin and Van Nisterooy.

Spurs came in second in the Premier League in terms of money spent during the summer to buy players, but they are currently last in the table after losing three of their past four matches and drawing one.

Juande Ramos was having a very hard time at Spurs. It was said that he would be sacked if he did not clinch a victory over Nottingham Forest at home.

Twain was certainly not in a position to feel sympathy for another person. If he were to sympathize with Ramos, then who would sympathize with him? Nottingham Forest’s team morale was low and he desperately needed a gratifying win to boost their morale. This made Tottenham, who looked to be down on their luck, the best team to help him achieve his cause.

Twain and his team of coaches were meticulous with their preparations for the match. He told his players that there was nothing that would make them and everyone else happier than being the undisputed winners of a match. They did not only need to win, they needed to win thoroughly!

The final score was 3-0. Nottingham Forest had a resounding victory over Spurs whose team morale and predicament were much worse than them.

Following the loss, Juande Ramos was sacked by Levy over the poor results, and he became the first manager in the new season of the Premier League to be shown the door.

The days of having to play two matches a week were yet to be over, however. Nottingham Forest had to keep their spirits up and face their next challenge.

On 25th September, Nottingham Forest had an away game against Ipswich in the EFL Cup. Twain employed a team that was mainly comprised of reserve players and they achieved a 4-1 win at the end of the match.

The two victories helped to reinvigorate the team and dispel the negativity that had imbued them following a rough start to the season.

Before the team travelled back home, Twain commended everyone in the dressing room for the performance.

“Oh.” On the bus back to Nottingham, Kerslake suddenly led out a low shout while examining the fixture list. He then passed the fixture list in his hand over to Twain who was seated behind him.

“Take a look at our next opponent.”

Twain brought the paper before his eyes and scanned for their sixth opponent.

Manchester City.

Dunn broke into a laugh beside him.

“The press must be ecstatic,” said Kerslake.

Twain shrugged and made no further comment.

※※※

Bendtner was already feeling the pressure from external parties. His time at Manchester City following his transfer was not that much better than his time at Nottingham Forest.

During his time at Nottingham Forest, his pressure came from his authoritarian manager Tony Twain. At Manchester City, his pressure comes from the media and the fans’ scrutiny of him.

His debut appearance for Manchester City came during the very first match of the season at home to Chelsea. Bendtner was put on the bench and was only substituted onto the pitch when the game was all but lost. Robinho scored a free kick in that match, but Manchester City went on to lose 1-3 to Chelsea.

Bendtner only played for five minutes in that match, so naturally, he was not blamed for the loss, and no one pointed the finger at him for not scoring a goal either. However, things were different in the second match.

In the fifth match of the league, Manchester City faced Portsmouth at home. That match was akin to a festival to the Manchester City fans, because the team won by six goals over Pompey. Bendtner started in that match, but the six goals had nothing to do with him at all.

He had no assists and no goals. It was as though he was alienated from Manchester City’s tactics and set-up.

Robinho scored a hat-trick in that match. He had quickly become a fan favorite by finding the back of the net repeatedly since joining Manchester City.

After the match, a reporter cornered Bendtner in the mixed zone and asked him why he acted as though he was sleepwalking on the pitch. Bendtner pushed the blame onto the fact that he had only just joined the club and had yet to develop a chemistry with his new team mates.

The reporter then pressed him to explain why Robinho was able to perform so well despite also being a new addition to the team just like him.

Bendtner could only explain to the reporter that Robinho was a midfielder and so he was able to receive the ball a lot more than he did, which provided him with more opportunities at goal as a result. Since he was a center-forward, he needed support from the midfield.

What he meant with those words was that a difference in positions would lead to a difference in results. However, the words were twisted by the reporter, and they came out as ‘Danish forward complains about the lack of support from his team mates’ instead.

The fans who did not know the truth were enraged by the report. For the past two days at training, the fans would stay outside of the training grounds and boo Bendtner whenever he received the ball. He was met with antagonistic gazes within the dressing room as well.

This was a situation that he had never encountered in Nottingham Forest before. While he was still at Forest, he had Tony Twain, who would attract the attention of the reporters who enjoyed making things difficult for people. The atmosphere within the dressing room was also always amicable. He did not need to worry about how to deal with reporters either. With Tony Twain around, no one was interested to ask him any questions.

But now…

It has been half a month since he joined Manchester City, but he had not made a single true friend other than Ashley Young, who was also an ex-player of Forest just like him. He had no interactions with his new team mates beyond greeting each other when they met and when they parted ways.

Unlike the Brazilian Robinho who was lively and cheerful, Bendtner seemed a little reclusive.

Even though he has left Nottingham Forest, he still has the habit of finding news related to Nottingham Forest whenever he browses sports news. It is a habit which he feels conflicted and annoyed over. Habits are fearsome things…

As a result, he was generally kept abreast of the current situation that Forest is in. He might be carrying an immense pressure on him, but the pressure on Twain’s shoulders was not any lighter than his.

He sat alone in the dressing room of Manchester City’s Carrington training ground. All the other players had left, but he chose to stay and practise his shooting. He had only just gone back to the dressing room and was preparing to shower and change into a new set of clothes.

This was also a habit that he picked up during him time at Forest. Tony Twain was not personally involved in the team’s training, but he was very particular about players’ attitudes towards training. A player would receive a harsh dressing down from Twain if they were caught slacking during practice.

Additional practice also became a way for young players to catch the eye of the manager and fight for a chance to play in matches following the success of George Wood.

Mark Hughes never said that additional practice would lead to a guaranteed spot in the starting team now that he is a player for Manchester City, but Bendtner continued to do as he had always done in Forest nonetheless.

Bendtner walked out of the shower room naked and was about to put on his clothes when the door to the dressing room swung open.

“Ah…” The person who just came in was a little surprised. It was the manager Mark Hughes.

“Nicklas, you have not left? Did you just do extra practice for your shooting again?”

Nicklas nodded his head. “Yes, boss.”

“Good timing. There’s something I want to speak to you about. Go on…” He gestured for Bendtner to continue wearing his clothes. The sight of his pants hanging down his thighs was certainly not very pleasant.

“It’s about that interview…”

“The reporter twisted my words, boss. All I wanted to say was that the same standards should not be applied to players playing different positions…”

Mark Hughes nodded his head as a gesture to tell him that he understood. “From what I have observed so far, you are not the kind of person to say things like that. However, the atmosphere in the dressing room right now is not beneficial for you. I think you should take the initiative and explain the situation to them instead of not saying a thing. It’s fine if you don’t care what the press says about you, but you can’t not care about how your team mates perceive you. There’s one thing that you said that is very true. You are a center-forward, and you need support from the midfield. If they don’t view you in a favorable light, then you won’t be able to get a lot of support from them… Do you get what I’m saying?”

“I get it, boss. I will apologize to them before practice tomorrow.”

Mark Hughes smiled. “Not scoring in one match isn’t the end of the world. Don’t be bothered by what the press says about you. If they don’t exaggerate their words they can’t attract readers to read their stuff. Just play as you always have and don’t let others influence you.”

Hughes’s words could be seen as his promise to Bendtner. Bendtner had been worried that he would be criticized by the manager over what he said, but Hughes’s words had made him relieved. Hughes still thought highly of him…

Frankly, it was impossible for Hughes to not think of Bendtner highly. He was the only center-forward that Manchester City brought in over the summer. He had no one else to rely on other than Bendtner. Hughes had placed his stakes on Bendtner. He believed in Bendtner’s abilities. It was just that he has yet to get used to Manchester City’s style of football, and does not have a rapport with his team mates. These two things have affected his performance on the pitch. He believed that as long as the Danish Boy regained the kind of performances he made for Nottingham Forest last season, all his critics would shut up.

“By the way. What do you think of… Tony Twain as a manager?” asked Hughes, who had originally intended to leave, but had changed his mind.

His question stumped Bendtner.

What kind of manager was Tony Twain exactly?

Good? Bad? Neither good nor bad?

Bendtner shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe him…”

Hughes nodded his head. That was something that perplexed him as well.

“You are starting in the next match as well.” Having said that, Hughes turned around and left the dressing room.

Bendtner did not get excited over the words that he was going to continue being a starting player. He had said it before he came to Manchester City, that he would become a valuable player for them. He definitely had to start in games.

He turned his head to look at the fixtures list that was pasted on the wall, and found a familiar name written behind ‘Match Day Six’.

Nottingham Forest!

※※※

“Bendtner finally gets a chance at revenge. But I think Tony Twain would also not give up on a chance to humiliate both Manchester City and Bendtner… I think we can already imagine how this match would lead to the creation of numerous exciting stories.”

Sky Television’s show ’90 Minutes of Football’ was doing a pre-match analysis for every match in the new season of Premier League. Nottingham Forest faced Manchester City at home. The match was the last to kick off amongst the other fixtures for Match Day Six, and was also the fixture that would be broadcasted live throughout the country.

“Our reporter had interviewed Tony Twain over at Wilford regarding the upcoming match earlier today.”

The screen switched to a shot outside Forest’s training ground, where Twain was surrounded by a horde of reporters who all had their microphones held out towards him.

“What you all have said was right. He told me that his style of football was different from mine. This was what he said to me personally. I’m very glad to be able to see for myself what is that style of football that he seeks…” Twain said as he tried to squeeze his way out.

The screen switched again, this time to Bendtner, who was pulling a long face as he spoke to the camera, “This is just a match like any other.”

Ashley Young nodded his head beside him. “Yes, a match like any other. I think you guys are just blowing it out of proportion.”

Twain pointed at the television and said to Dunn beside him, “Do you believe what these two are saying?”

“I believe in Young, but I don’t believe in Bendtner.”

“I don’t even believe in Young. I won’t believe he’s not out to use the match as a chance to take revenge against me. He didn’t succeed in our last two encounters. Now that he has Bendtner on the same team as him, I’m sure he’d be even more fired up than before. Every single player that I have chased out of the team harbors a hatred towards me. I know that much.” Twain said with a smile.

“But Bendtner was not chased out by you. He was the one who…”

“That’s what makes him all the more detestable. I won’t allow the team to lose this match!” Twain clenched his fist.

※※※

Ever since he cleared up the misunderstanding with his team mates regarding the interview in the dressing room, Bendtner had become accepted by his team mates once again. During the last training session before the team headed out to Nottingham for the match, Robinho even patted Bendtner on the back and told him that he will pass the ball to him during the match and help him score against Forest.

“Brother, we are all on the same path!” He told Bendtner in his non-native language of English.

He was right. They were both players who shared the same fate and were both not sufficiently valued at their previous clubs.

Hughes released the list of players who would be brought along for the match after the conclusion of the training session. Both Ashley Young and Bendtner made the list. If everything went as they expected, then both of them should be given a position in the starting 11. Hughes would definitely make use of the two players who were familiar with Forest to create trouble for Twain.

Ashley Young’s ability to attack the flanks and pass the ball into the middle coupled with Bendtner who was a powerful center-forward…

Surely Tony Twain would regret the decisions he made?

After returning to the dressing room, Ashley Young sat beside Bendtner and jabbed him with his arm. “You didn’t think you’d go against Forest so fast, right? You are not used to it, right? It’s okay. You’d feel good about it very soon! Actually, it’s good that we have become their rivals. I just love to see their faces when they lose the match. Humans are so ironic. In the past, it felt good to see him mock reporters and our opponents when we won matches. Now that we are his rivals, seeing him act that way makes me pissed…”

Bendtner had to cut Ashley Young off after seeing that he had more to say. “I can’t wait to face off with Forest, Young. I’m also going to make a bet with you. I’m going to score in the match!”

Ashley Young glanced at him, looking a little surprised. Then, he got to his feet and yelled excitedly, “Everyone quieten down. Everyone quieten down!”

Every single person stopped what they were doing after hearing his shouts and turned to look at him.

“You must be up to something again, Ashley.” Someone grinned as he looked at Young.

“Nicklas just bet that he would score a goal against Forest in tomorrow’s match!” Young pointed at Bendtner and announced loudly. “If he really does score tomorrow, how about we get him to treat us to beer?”

“How can someone be expected to pay if they win the bet, Ashley?” Someone objected.

“Then let’s add a number to it…” Ashley Young grinned as he looked at Bendtner who was sitting on the bench. The whole thing felt like an encouragement, but also felt like a taunt a time at the same time.

Bendtner realized that everyone in the dressing room was looking at him. Some were grinning and some looked confused. A surge of zeal shot up within him. He held out two fingers.

“At least two goals. I will definitely score at least two goals in the match against Forest! If I were to only score a goal I’d treat everyone to beer!”

A group of people started to clap for him and then started making more noise by whistling.

Bendtner felt that he had been completely accepted by his team mates after seeing their reactions. He had nothing to worry about for the match against Nottingham Forest.

I can’t wait for the match against Tony Twain…

Chapter 695 - We Dare You

The media from all over the world flocked to Nottingham. There were a lot of highlights to watch for the game to them. If they did not go to the live game, they would miss out on a lot of exciting stories.

The most important part of the day for the league tournament was Everton’s home game against Liverpool in the “Merseyside derby”, which Liverpool eventually won the derby with two goals from Torres.

Nottingham Forest and Manchester City did not have ties to a derby, and there was no deep hatred and feud between the two teams in their history. The attention that the game garnered was all due to this summer. Perhaps Twain had made history again—a new history whereby Nottingham Forest and Manchester City found each other objectionable.

“I don’t have to tell everyone what these two teams have been through this summer. You just have to look at what the players of both teams are currently saying in interviews to know how hot the game is.” The television host introduced the game to the audience at the television station.

The footage turned to the scene of the interview with the players of both teams.

“I’m certain I’ll score in this game!” Bendtner said to the camera very seriously.

“Can you give us your thoughts on your manager?”

“Manager Hughes is an outstanding manager. I believe Manchester City will forge ahead with brilliance under him.”

“Let’s talk about Tony Twain...”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

Bendtner turned and walked away. Ashley Young immediately appeared on the screen.

“Your teammate said just now he’s going to score against the Forest team...”

Ashley Young nodded with a grin and extended two fingers, “We made a bet with him that not only he will score, but also score at least two goals. If he doesn’t do it, he’ll treat us to dinner! But I’m happy to help him win the bet.”

“Do you think he can do it?”

“I believe in his strength. We are all together at Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. I believe in him.” Ashley Young raised his fist and waved it in front of the cameras.

Next up was an interview with the Nottingham Forest players.

Van Nistelrooy was grabbed by the reporters who insisted on hearing a few words about Bendtner’s departure, “Why did he leave? I don’t know. I think you should ask the boss. I wish him good luck.”

With that, he was going to leave but the reporter pulled him back, “Bendtner said he will score at least two goals against the Forest team...”

“I’ve never heard of this matter.” Van Nistelrooy found a reason to dodge them and no longer cared about the reporters’ questions. He just turned and walked away.

The cameras wandered about and the reporters found George Wood walking over in front of them.

“Wood, can you talk about Bendtner’s talk of scoring at least two goals against the Forest team?”

Wood said with a cold expression, “I welcome him to come try.”

Then he cut straight through the reporters’ encirclement without turning his head to look back.

The image cut back into the studio and the host spread out his hands, “You see, that’s the way it is.”

※※※

Twain did not know what kind of mentality Bendtner had for suddenly announcing that he was going to score at least two goals against the Forest team.

Revenge?

Or to show off his abilities?

Or was it just that someone else had manipulated him?

Because during the four years at Nottingham Forest, the side that he showed did not give Twain the impression of a brash character.

In an interview, he was asked about this matter and he even showed magnanimity.

“I believe that it was possible to do so with his strength. I think highly of him and he’s very talented. It’s not hard for him to score goals...”

The media were surprised by these remarks. They initially wanted to get Twain’s abusive response.

Twain was naturally angry on the inside, but he could not show it. He could not afford for the media to be given the opportunity to hype up this matter. He must consider the Forest players’ feelings at this time as well.

They were not computer-generated virtual data, with no thought and temper. What would the players who stayed in the Forest team think of him if he had been critical of a player who had just left the team? They certainly would not be starry-eyed and worshiped him collectively to say, “Wow, the boss is so cool!”

What happened to Bendtner gave him a clear look at the group of players. No matter how well-behaved they were in front of the manager, they would have their own little schemes, which they carefully concealed from him. If any of them were unhappy with Bendtner’s remarks, it was their own business, and they had the right. But the manager’s actions to force the players to accept the discontent was another matter.

For a former teammate who had just left the team, the influence he had left in the team had not dissipated. There were still people here who had a good relationship with him. If he publicly rebuked Bendtner, it would only disillusioned them.

At this critical moment, Twain had to be careful in all aspects. The team could not withstand another turmoil.

Of course, if someone in the team misunderstood his words and felt hurt, Twain could immediately apologize to the other side in the sincerest tone.

For example, Pepe protested with some displeasure at a tactical meeting on the day before the game.

“Boss, I think what you said to the reporters yesterday made me and the other defenders feel hurt.”

Twain knew that someone would be unhappy by this because he could not satisfy the values of everyone in the world. However, it was never too late to improve once he knew the fault.?He apologized at once.

“Ah, I’m so sorry, Pepe. You know, sometimes when we face the media, we have to say things that may not be consistent with our will... Saying those remarks absolutely did not mean that I underestimated you guys. I actually didn’t add another thing—I’m sure he has that ability, but not against Nottingham Forest!” Twain chuckled.

The defenders laughed, and they were satisfied.

“Okay, guys.” Twain motioned for them to stop laughing. “When I expressed humility, it did not mean we admitted defeat. In fact, for this game, I ask—not hope, it’s a demand—-you have to win. I don’t need to spell the reason out since you should all be clear. Truthfully, if you need me to say it, I can list a lot of different reasons. But I don’t think that’s going to help. They are only reasons and I can find plenty more reasons. But losing is not an option, absolutely not! If we still want to win the league tournament, then we absolutely cannot lose to a team like Manchester City! Not only Manchester City, but other opponents too!”

Next, Twain beckoned for Dunn to come up and explain the specific tactics.

“The formation for this game is 4-5-1. Wood and Tiago, you’re starting. You need to assist the defense on the sides when you’re defending in the middle. Manchester City has Ashley Young and Robinho, so their sides need extra attention. With Wood and Tiago in charge of assisting the sides, Ribéry and Lennon must pull to the middle when necessary, giving Bale and Rafinha space to plug in from the back row... Simply put, we’re attacking and defending the sides.”

※※※

Meanwhile, Manchester City held a tactical meeting at the Hotel where they stayed. Unlike Twain, who left everything to his men to execute, Mark Hughes was hands-on. He wanted to take advantage of the momentum of their victory against Portsmouth to defeat Nottingham Forest.

The players sitting around the conference table listened carefully as he spoke in the front. Some of them were absent-minded. Bendtner was chatting with Ashley Young in a low voice.

“Nicklas, have you thought about how to deal with their defenders? You know Pepe, he’s fierce one-on-one…..” Young asked softly.

“It’s not that I had not score against him during a contest. I often scored goals in the team matches.” Bendtner was not wrong at all. Pepe always represented the main force side during the contests within the team, and Bendtner often represented the substitutes. Although they had not played against each other in an official competition, he was familiar with such contests.

Ashley Young knew he told the truth, so he stopped asking questions about it. Instead, he changed his tack, “Have you thought about how to celebrate after the goal?”

Bendtner smiled, “I haven’t thought about it. I’ll see how it goes when the time comes. If I overthink it now, it will be too silly when I do nothing at the time.”

“... Nottingham Forest is characterized by flank attacks. From the full backs to the wingers, they all have the ability to plug in and attack. We need to be extra vigilant on this point.” Mark Hughes continued, “I ask that you do not back down in the confrontation with them and step up the offensive on the side. Especially when it comes seizing hold of the gaps behind the two full backs who plug in to assist! No matter how powerful George Wood is alone, he can’t take care of both left and right sides. There is bound to be gaps. Grab hold of them! We’ll attack from the flanks and not play in the middle for tomorrow’s game. Use the sides to break down their defenses!”

“The boss has put a lot of effort into it...” Ashley Young muttered. He liked this kind of arrangement because he would be one of the leading players on the pitch. He wanted to use his speed and passing to help Manchester City tear up Nottingham Forest’s defense and take the victory away in front of Twain’s eyes.

“Nicklas.” Hughes called the Danish striker.

Bendtner looked up at his manager.

“Your task is simple.” Hughes laughed, “It is to score goals.”

※※※

The Forest bar on the eve of the game was buzzing with the most hardcore Forest fans gathered here. They were talking about how best to cheer the team on in tomorrow’s game and put pressure on the away team.

The owner of the bar, Kenny Burns leaned on the side next to the few tables where the crowd of fans gathered holding a beer to hear their heated discussion.

Their leader, Fat John, crouched over a cleared space on the floor and wrote something with a brush on a large piece of white cloth.

“We have to teach that Danish bastard a lesson!” Someone among the fans made a loud declaration, “As soon as he gets the ball, we’ll hiss at him! Until he passes the ball out, we’ll not going to give him any breathing space!”

“Yes! Hiss at him!”

“Curse at him! Give him the middle finger!”

“Make him go crying home after the game is done, so that he no longer dares to step into the City Ground stadium!”

“Mommy, I want some milk, I’m so scared... Wow ha hahahaha—-”

The discussion became increasingly heated and the words became more irrational...

Someone finally offered an opposing view, “We don’t have to be so mean, do we? He had no choice but to leave. To be honest, I don’t think Tony really gave him enough playing time and attention... Why can’t we applaud him, just like Pearce, who also came back, representing Manchester City...”

He heard a crashing sound before he could even finish speaking. Skinny Bill suddenly stood up and knocked over a pile of beer glasses in front of him. The amber liquor flowed down the table and spattered his T-shirt hem and trousers. But he did not care. He just glared directly at the man who said those words with fire in his eyes.

“Boy, I’ll give you another chance to take back the last remark you just made! Otherwise I don’t care where you’re from, I’ll beat you to a pulp now!” The thin man now looked as if he was full of strength and force. “I want you to know one thing—the Danish boy will never be eligible to be compared to ‘Crazy’ Pearce! And he’ll never receive the treatment Pearce gets! Never!”

At the same, someone else stood up and shouted at the man who had said the wrong thing, “Do you know what Pearce means here? You dare compare that little asshole with the greatest captain in Nottingham Forest’s history?! Mate, are you drunk or deliberately looking for trouble?”

“If you don’t understand how Stuart Pearce’s position is, I don’t mind using my fist to let you know.” A burly chap raised his hairy arms.

Seeing that it was about to turn into a bloodbath, Burns, who had not spoken, cleared his throat at the side. Everyone turned to look at him.

“I do not allow fights here.” Burns held up his glass to signal for everyone to drink.

Everyone calmed down. Skinny Bill and the others sat down to continue drinking, and the man who said the wrong thing stood in fear, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

At this time, Fat John, who turned a deaf ear to the conflict just now as he continued to keep busy with his own task, finally stood up. He smiled apologetically to the frightened person and said, “I’m sorry. Did that scared you? I haven’t seen you here before. Your first time here? They are like that. Don’t mind them. To think that Tony was fooled by us when he first came...Ha.”

The others laughed as well. Someone shouted, “That was not the same, John! Tony is not like this scaredy cat!”

Indeed, he was not the same, because he spilled alcohol on the football hooligan, Michael, and mocked John, who was also a football hooligan, as a fat pig.?He even had a scuffle with Michael and gained the upper hand...

Because he was different, he was now the manager of Nottingham Forest, and this poor thing was just a wretch who was frightened and weak in the legs.

It was a memorable time and they recalled it as if it were yesterday.

The poor hapless guy saw the fat man across from him and felt calmer as he took in his smiling and kind appearance and felt sure that he would not be beaten.

After he apologized to him, the fat man shook open what he had just written and showed it to everyone, “Guys, it’s done! Take a look at the end result!”

“The words are really big...” The fans who gathered around to look, offered a variety of comments.

“It’s going to be hung behind our goal during the game. If the words are too small, the Manchester City bastards can’t see them! They’re all short-sighted—” John squinted his eyes to mimic the appearance of a short-sighted person not wearing glasses.

“Hahahaha—-” His look amused the others, who laughed in unison.

Although he was just startled just now, similarly as a Forest fan, the snubbed friend still came forward to see what was written on the white cloth. There were a lot of people like him. Everyone crowded around, trying to see what was written on it.

John saw everyone pushed forward, and it was a little chaotic. So, he simply said “sorry” to Burns, and then gave Bill the eye. Bill jumped on the bar first and John followed suit. The two men stood left and right respectively at both ends of the bar. John tossed one end of the white cloth in his hand to the thin man. Next, the two men loosened the cloth in their hands to unfurl it.

A moment of rustling, the white cloth was shook open, as if it was a flag in the hands of the flag-bearers.

There was nothing extra on it except for only two sentences. A self-assured and arrogant provocation was written in red paint:

Wanna score at least two goals? We dare you!!

Chapter 696 - Before the Kickoff Whistle

The final game of the sixth round of the 2008-2009 English Premier League season kicked off at 3 P.M. local time.

By lunchtime, the fans from all over the country consecutively flocked to the City Ground stadium on the banks of the Trent River.

The people who came early did not need to worry there would be nothing to do when they came. On the day of the match outside the stadium was simply like a huge football theme park. There were all kinds of people eating, drinking, playing soccer together by the river, peddling small merchandise, sightseeing... There was no worry about keeping entertained here.

The City Ground stadium on the day of a home game was as bustling as the “Cattle Market” more than a hundred years ago. Although the “Cattle Market” was still around, only the kind of bustling created by people flocking from all over the country here more than a hundred years ago was comparable to the football fans feverishly following the team.

Manchester City’s fans were among the first to arrive and were mostly in groups, wearing light blue jerseys and carrying light blue Manchester City flags. They waved pale blue scarves and looked impressive gathered together.

But compared to these visitors, the hosts appeared slightly less consolidated. Because the true hardcore fan base had not appeared yet. They were the main force which created clamor in the stadium stands.

Although the two teams had been somewhat hostile to each other in recent times, that did not stop most fans from chatting together. Of course, they each supported their own teams. The Manchester City fans excitedly declared that Manchester City would win the game by two goals, while the Nottingham Forest fans shook their heads to deny the claim and that Nottingham Forest would win by two goals.

Then the two groups got together for drinks and continued to chat about their own teams.

After two o’clock, there were more and more media on the pitch, and the fans who had gathered there became the focus of their attention before the teams showed up. The reporters who had not started work watched the lively scene, while the others were busy interviewing the fans and preparing the first-hand source material.

At 2.15 P.M., Fat John, Skinny Bill and the others carried a bundled white banner and appeared outside the stadium, suddenly attracting the attention of many people. Everyone was a Forest fan, and the teams of fans in this city knew each other well. Moreover, when John and Bill previously followed Michael to mix in a football hooligan firm, they had a reputation. At this time, there would naturally be a lot of old qualified fans who came forward to say hello and those who sat a little farther also raised their glasses in greeting.

The roll of white cloth they carried caught everyone’s attention.

“Hey, fat man. What’s this that you’re struggling to carry?” A middle-aged man came up to say hello.

“Good stuff.” John grinned with his neck askew from carrying the thing.

The banner was very long. He and Bill had dangled it in a space on the ground when they showed it in the bar last night. Now that it was completely pulled open, rolled up, and then folded in the middle before it was tied up with a rope, it was even a little hard for four strong men to carry on their shoulders.

“Don’t be so secretive. Just say it, what’s in there?”

“You’ll know it during the game. It gives the fun away if I say it now. And…..” John pointed to the reporters and television press that lingered around nearby. “We’re going to give Manchester City a big surprise!”

The men stopped following and just watched John’s party enter the stadium from the admission gate. Carrying such a big item, they were asked to open it for inspection. John stepped forward to ask the other side to come over, and then opened a corner, mysteriously letting the other side have a look.

The man was seen laughing happily and waving his hand to let them through.

So, it looked like there would be scene to watch at the stands in a while...

※※※

At half past two, right on time, the buses of the two teams drove into the dedicated parking area outside the City Ground stadium. They were warmly welcomed as they passed the fans.

Ashley Young had a year’s experience and had no special feelings about returning to Nottingham Forest’s home round for games. Bendtner was different. At first, he took those fans outside in red jerseys as his supporters. As soon as he raised his hand and wanted to wave his hellow, he saw a few fans putting their lips together to hiss at him. Then he realized that blue was now his color.

What would the fans, who once cheered excitedly for his goals, use to greet him now?

Bendtner was not frustrated by the attitude of those fans. Instead, he looked forward to the upcoming game. Even if the entire stadium booed him continuously, he was going to prove with real actions what a serious mistake Tony Twain had made when he did not value him!

In the words of Julius Caesar, that was—-

I came, I saw, I conquered, I left, and you regretted!

Well... Did Caesar say the last phrase? It did not matter. The important thing is that I conquer you.

Ashley Young saw Bendtner deep in his contemplation and nudged him to say, “Penny for your thoughts? Are you worried about what they’re going to do to you?” He pointed to the window outside. “Don’t be afraid, it’s just booing. It was the same when I first came here. When I thought about it later, it was the same everywhere... When we played for the Forest team, were we booed less by the fans of the other teams?”

Bendtner shook his head and said, “No, I’m not worried about them booing me.”

“Then you are..”

“I’m envisaging my performance in the game later.”

“You’re such a weirdo!”

“The boss... didn’t Twain always have a phrase hanging on his lips? The enemy’s hisses and abuse are the best compliment and recognition for you. I think I understand the meaning of his words now.” Bendtner pointed to the people clad in red jerseys outside and said, “They’re all my enemies.”

Ashley Young gaped. When he first came to the City Ground stadium as part of a visiting team, he was so alarmed by the hissing that he basically could not play at his usual level and was brought off early. He really could not adapt to the sudden shift in the role. He did not expect Bendtner to have completed this role swap long ago, and behaved as if he had played for Manchester City for twenty years as a loyal veteran... He wanted to click his tongue in wonder.

Ah, there are truly all kinds of people in this big old world...

※※※

The Manchester City bus arrived first. When they had all entered the locker room, Nottingham Forest’s bus came speedily as if it had been planned.

In the parking lot, Twain was the first to jump out of the bus. With a stern expression, he faced the crowds of cheers and the microphones held by the reporters who thronged around.

“I don’t have anything to say. It’s just a regular league game.”

Someone among the reporters booed him in a low voice. Only a fool would believe the man’s words.

The players who then got off the bus did not plan to be interviewed by the reporters. They dashed into the dedicated passageway with their heads down.

The surrounding Forest fans gathered around to loudly chant slogans such as “Nottingham Forest will win.” The atmosphere was so explosive that it did not seem like a “normal league” at all.

After all the players had gone, Twain waved to the waiting reporters and said, “See you after the game, everyone. If I’m in a good mood, I can answer any questions you may have.”

※※※

Fat John and the others already stood in their own stands and were getting ready for the game which was about to start. The bundled-up banner was thrown at their feet and left unattended for the time being.

The players on both sides were warming up on the pitch. Sporadic boos could already be heard, and the target was certainly Bendtner, who wore a vest with the Manchester City emblem.

He behaved as if he did not care and just did his own warm-up.

After four years of being under Twain and his rich experience of competing against other teams had told him that in the face of those people who hiss at him, he would lose if he really fly into a rage.

Consequently, he was calm at heart at this moment.

When could he break out and fully vent the anger? When he scored in person during the game, he would have taught the people who booed him a lesson.

You’re all going to... pay the price!

※※※

“Just look at that kid, it irks me to see him!” Bill pointed to Bendtner in the stands.

John glanced at him and guffawed, “When he was still in our team, you cheered the happiest when he scored a goal. You even said, ‘the future of Nottingham Forest depends on him.'”

Bill looked ill at ease and retorted, “That’s because I once had high hopes for him, so I cannot tolerate his betrayal!”

John stretched his back lazily and said, “I don’t feel much for his departure from the Forest team. Anyway, there are always people coming and going every summer. I’m tired of seeing it these past decades. So, what if they were talented players? No one can guarantee that they will be chained here for life. If they leave, they leave. Anyway, I think as long as that bastard, Tony Twain is around, Nottingham Forest will survive no matter how many people leave.” Then he pressed his hands on the railing and looked down at the pitch below. “All I’m upset about is that he shouldn’t have said ‘at least two goals against the Forest’. Who does he think he is? What does he make of Nottingham Forest’s defense?”

“Actually, I think Tony’s must have blown his top now.”

“I think so too. How can he tolerate another person who considers everyone else beneath him?”

“No, it’s more like considering ‘him’ beneath.”

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

“There’s a good show waiting for us in this game.”

※※※

In the locker room, Dunn repeated yesterday’s tactics before Twain came on.

“Pepe.” He called the main center back’s name.

Pepe stood up, not knowing the reason.

“I forgot to say one more thing yesterday.” Twain put up his left index finger. He was referring to his explanation over his response on the matter of Bendtner to Pepe and the other defenders.

“I really, really believe in my team’s defensive ability. You are the best defensive line in Europe. But...” He pointed to the team captain and said, “George.”

Wood stood up too.

“If you all let Manchester City score two goals in this game, all the players in charge of the defense will run back to Wilford from here!”

Someone’s face paled, but Wood calmly nodded and replied, “Okay.”

Pepe shrugged with a grin, “What if we do not let them score even one goal?”

“You’ll have an extra half-day holiday tomorrow.”

Pepe looked at the other defenders and snapped his fingers, “No problem!”

“If there’s no problem, then get out there and show them what you’re made of!”

※※※

“Welcome to the last game of the sixth round of the 2008 to 2009 English Premier League! The competing teams are the home team, Nottingham Forest and the visiting team, Manchester City. Before the game, the most closely watched person is naturally Tony Twain. For almost the entire month of August, Twain was entangled with Manchester City. Because of this, he lost the much-regarded young center forward, Bendtner in the final moments before the transfer window closed. As for this game, it is also Bendtner’s first time as an opponent back in the City Ground Stadium. What will be waiting for him? I hope it will not be pig’s heads and lighters... Perhaps Hughes can take advantage of the opportunity to take a good look at Bendtner’s psychological quality.”

“The Dane vowed to score at least two goals before the game and made the game even more highly anticipated. As we all know, Nottingham Forest’s defense is famous in the Premier League. For the past two seasons, Tony Twain’s team relied on an impregnable defense to win two UEFA Champions League titles and last season’s Premier League title. They rarely had a game in which their opponent would score two goals against them, let alone two consecutive goals from one player. Although Tony Twain said he believes Bendtner can do it, I’m sure of one thing and that’s Twain must be angry.”

“The game can also be considered as the revenge by two young men who was respectively driven out of Wilford by Tony Twain. Ashley Young and Bendtner are both in the starting lineup for the game. Hughes clearly also wants to the ex-Forest players who are familiar with Tony Twain’s tactical ideas to become the sharp edges to wipe out Twain. But we can’t say how the effect will be. I remember last season Ashley Young’s poor performance when Manchester City played at the City Ground stadium. I wonder if he has made any progress after a year?”

“Mark Hughes had lashed out at Tony Twain, his junior for being a clown and an insatiable disgusting person during the transfer incidents of van Nistelrooy and Bendtner. Tony Twain will also be keen to use the victory of this game to refute Hughes.”

“Will Manchester City, who lost a lot of face during the blank check-gate affair, use the game to win back what they had lost?”

“It’s hard to say... No matter who wins or loses in this game, there will always be people who feel angry and disappointed. So, our dear media have a lot to do. Martin, based on before the game, this match has all the makings of a classic campaign. As for the game itself, we’ll find out right away.”

Sky TV’s old partners appeared live on the commentators’ box again at the City Ground stadium.

They were Martin Taylor and Andy Gray.

One was wise and steady and the other was passionate and humorous. These two men were Sky TV’s headlining sports commentary partners.

Martin Taylor was seen as a voice that represented Britain. It could be seen how much importance Sky TV placed on the game for the two of them to come broadcast the game.

As the two men said, with so many exciting stories and highlights to watch, how could this game not be entertaining?

※※※

The players on both sides had made their appearances and observed all the pre-match formalities. Nottingham Forest was given the right to pick the side and the ball was given to Manchester City to kick off.

Bendtner stood in the center circle in the middle of the field, next to Robinho. He stepped on the football, waiting for the referee to whistle.

The game had not started yet, but the loud hissing had already started, all directed at Bendtner alone. Just because... he touched the ball.

Robinho was a little puzzled by the sudden booing, and he glanced at Bendtner.

Not caring if Robinho could understand him, Bendtner laughed and said, “The fans here... make a clear difference between what they like and hate.”

After hearing the hissing, even Martin Taylor, who was in charge of the game commentary, laughed, “Bendtner has received the warmest greetings from the Nottingham Forest fans. I hope he’s used to it.”

“He’ll get used to it. If he wants to score at least two goals alone.”

Bendtner also did not take his foot off the football amid the boos. He raised his head and looked toward the goal, where his former teammate van der Sar stood. From here to where van der Sar was, there were plenty of former teammates in red jerseys who were now the enemies he must bring down.

Just like what his former boss said, he must step on their bodies to accomplish himself.

At the thought of it, he set his sights on the Forest team’s technical area on the sidelines.

With his arms across his chest, Tony Twain crossed his legs as he sat in his seat in the technical area while he seemed to be looking at himself too.

—Then you use your style to win the championship!

As you wish, we’ll start with this game.

The referee put his hand in front of his body and blew the opening whistle of the match amid the loud boos.

Chapter 697 - The One Who Has Left Me, Disturbs Me

As the whistle that signalled the start of the match blew, an eye-catching banner appeared at the stand behind Nottingham Forest’s goalpost.

It was the item that John and Bill had been creating in secret. Now everyone knew what it was.

There was a line of big alphabets written in red paint over the white cloth:

‘Score at least two goals? Try it if you dare!!’

As soon as the banner made its appearance, it attracted the attention of everyone in the stadium. Some fans applauded after seeing the words on the banner, and there were even fans who changed their insults against Bendtner into ‘try it if you dare!’.

For a moment, everyone’s attention was diverted onto the banner.

Twain looked at it and could not help but laugh. “Must be the doing of Fat John and Skinny Bill.”

Martin Taylor laughed as the cameras focused on the words on the banner and said, “That banner speaks of Nottingham Forest’s personality perfectly. The fans are just like the team… All right, let us see whether Bendtner has the guts to try.”

The only way to determine whether Bendtner had the guts or not was to see if he could score goals in the match. Bendtner himself had noticed the words on the banner, but he remained expressionless after glancing at it, choosing instead to focus all his attention on the match.

The moment the match began, Manchester City made use of the kick-off to control the ball beneath their feet before launching a fearsome attack into Nottingham Forest’s half of the pitch.

They may be the away team, but they certainly did not act like they were guests. Having already faced each other in the Premier League for numerous years, there was no need to ‘test the waters’.

Manchester City charged straight into Nottingham Forest’s half!

The atmosphere in the stadium remained completely normal when the ball was being brought forward by the other Manchester City players. The sporadic sounds of booing was still something that was acceptable for most people. There were more people who were cheering Nottingham Forest on instead.

However, the moment a Manchester City player passed the ball to Nicklas Bendtner, the entire stadium erupted into a series of sudden, deafening boos that were more than enough to incapacitate someone with a weak heart.

It was rare for Nottingham Forest’s fans to boo an individual collectively. Most of their boos in the past were directed at the entire team instead. It was truly arduous to try and continue to play as one usually does under such a harsh environment.

This prompted Taylor to make the comment that Mark Hughes must have already seen how mentally tough Bendtner was for himself.

Amidst the ear-splitting sounds of booing, Bendtner did not pass the ball straight away, but instead continued to control the ball at his feet while waiting for his team mates to run up and support him.

Bendtner managed to hold onto the ball for 10 seconds before passing even with all the booing sounds around him. He displayed complete composure with the ball at his feet, and his expression was unfazed and calm.

Manchester City’s offense was just as Dunn had analysed during yesterday’s tactical meeting. They primarily focused on attacking down the flanks. One reason for that was to suppress Nottingham Forest’s flanks. The other was to try and make use of the empty space that will be created when the Nottingham Forest’s full backs joined in the offense so that they could move in for a counterattack.

The problem was that the match had only just begun, and Nottingham Forest’s full backs still did not have the chance to move forward and join in the offense. All Manchester City’s players could do was to be patient and try to find an opportunity to attack.

Normally, if Nottingham Forest did not get to kick the ball off at the start, Twain would ask the team to tighten their defense for the first 5 minutes after the match started before trying anything else.

This match was no different.

Manchester City made full use of that period of time to attack Nottingham Forest’s goal furiously.

Even though Hughes’s tactic was to mainly attack both of Forest’s flanks and to counterattack, they did not need to rely solely on counterattack to threaten Forest’s goal.

Because they now had a powerful center-forward before goal…

※※※

“Nicklas Bendtner!” Andy Gray yelled. “Oh! What a miss! The ball had gone a little too high…”

Ashley Young did not choose to go one-on-one with Bale after receiving the ball on the right wing. Instead, he passed the ball to the center. Pepe did not react to the change in tempo in time. Bendtner ran up behind him, then jumped high and shot towards goal with no defenders around him.

All van der Sar did was to raise his hands as a gesture. There was nothing he could do with such a close range shot. Luckily the ball went above the bar and flew towards the banner.

There was no goal, but it was still enough to startle the crowd and make them go quiet with their booing for a moment.

“It’s exactly as they had promised before the transfer was completed. Mark Hughes is employing Bendtner as their key attacking option. Players like Robinho would be slightly disadvantaged against Nottingham Forest’s tight defense, but Bendtner would be a perfect fit,” said Taylor, “I think Hughes is taking a gamble, but from the attacks that we have seen since the start of the match, I think it is a good gamble for him.”

Bendtner gave a thumbs up to Ashley Young, who had passed the ball to him. The two of them were beyond familiar with the Forest’s defense. Ashley Young knew that Bale would wait in front and try to stop him from breaking through, which was why he chose to not carry the ball forward and to pass instead.

Bendtner also knew that once Bale had gone to the flank, Pepe would position himself closer to Bale to prevent Young from going into the penalty area, and leave Kompany to guard the space behind him. This was why Bendtner did not get into position at once. Instead, he waited behind for a moment, and only made a run forward when he saw that Ashley Young had the ball. The two of them had read each other minds. He had only started running forward, and Ashely Young had already passed the ball to him. The timing was perfect, and it was how Bendtner was able to shoot at goal for the first time in the match without anyone defending him.

“Just as Tony Twain had said before the match, Bendtner does possess the capability to score at least two goals. I wonder if Twain is regretting his decision to let such a talented striker leave the club right this moment?”

※※※

Did Twain regret?

No.

If he had felt reluctant right after letting Bendtner leave, then those feelings have already been diminished after half a month had passed.

Now, even if Bendtner were to go on and become the best striker in the Premier League, he would not feel any regret. He was not the kind of person who would dwell on the past.

The problem he had on his hands right now was that both Bendtner and Ashley Young were too familiar with his team’s defense. The members in his defense have never changed up till now, and both his tactic and setup remained the same as before. This made it easy for the two ex-players to figure out where were the areas they could exploit.

On the other hand, he was not as worried about the midfield’s defense. George Wood and Tiago used the midfield line as the boundary, and was each responsible for one half of the field. The reason why Ashley Young failed to break through the defense and passed the ball straight away earlier was not only because he knew about the habits of Forest’s full backs, but also because George Wood was near him, waiting to pounce. If he wanted to break through, he had to be prepared to face being swarmed by both Wood and Bale.

Manchester City’s Elano’s role in midfield was more like a playmaker. His key mission was to create chances down both flanks. Now that they had Bendtner on the pitch, this style of attacking the flanks clearly suited Manchester City more.

After mulling over it repeatedly, Twain came to the conclusion that they had to start restricting Manchester City’s flanks if they wanted to limit Bendtner’s productivity on the pitch. Thus, he stood up, walked to the side of the pitch, and hollered while waving his hands, to gesture for Wood and Tiago to move closer to the flanks and assist both full backs in defending the flanks, so as to freeze both Ashley Young and Robinho in their tracks.

As for the defense for the middle of the pitch? He did not think much about it. All Elano could do was to shoot from afar or pass the ball to Bendtner. Even if Bendtner got the ball he had to face the defenders as well. All would be good as long as they did not give Bendtner the chance to turn around…

※※※

Nottingham Forest began its counterattack. During the attack, George Wood and Tiago continued to stay at the two flanks, devoid of any intention of leaving their positions to run down the middle and join in the attack. Ribéry and Lennon both started running down the middle, and they were later joined by Gareth Bale and Rafinha who ran up from the back.

Van der Vaart passed the ball to Lennon, who ingeniously let the ball pass by him, and the ball ended up at Rafinha’s feet.

Rafinha carried the ball towards the penalty area before kicking it forward and attempting to run past the defenders. Manchester City’s starting left back Michael Barr lost to Rafinha in a battle of footwork, and could only watch as Rafinha skilfully got past him with his techniques and cut into the penalty area behind.

Thunderous cheers broke out in the City Ground Stadium.

Manchester City’s captain Dunne swiftly ran up to Rafinha to stop him from gaining any more ground.

The Brazilian passed the ball over to van der Vaart who had been waiting on the other side of Manchester City’s penalty area. Van der Vaart did not stop the ball at his feet, because he saw that Manchester City’s midfielder Stephen Ireland was closing in on him. He chose to shoot for goal at once!

The powerful shot was blocked by Joe Hart with much effort.

Van Nistelrooy tried to follow up on the rebound, but Richards made use of his stature to block his way before kicking the ball out of bounds.

“Ohh! Nottingham Forest’s offense is also equally good. This whole series of link up play is a feast for the eyes. The full back’s bold attack has added immense pressure on Manchester City’s defense.”

The atmosphere within City Ground Stadium livened up following the team’s attempt at goal. The fans started chanting the players’ names at the top of their lungs, and also further created a din by clapping and stomping their feet at the stands.

Van der Vaart’s shot almost made Twain jump, but the eventual miss left him feeling a little disgruntled.

“We still have a chance.” Kerslake comforted Twain as the latter returned to his seat in the technical area.

“If we had bought Richards in the summer, that would have been a goal.”

Kerslake laughed.

※※※

Elano found that his view before him had become wider all of a sudden. George Wood and Tiago were about 10 meters away from him. He could see Pepe and Kompany from where he was in the midfield, and he could also see Bendtner, who was positioned all the way at the front.

More importantly, he realized that if they were to go along with manager Mark Hughes’s plan, then Manchester City would certainly hit a piece of robust iron plate during their offense.

What Hughes had intended to do was to attack Forest when their full backs had moved ahead to join in the offense. However, there had been a change in the situation at hand. Twain did not act according to Hughes’s script. He made their two defensive midfielders stay behind to defend the flanks while the full backs moved forward.

If Manchester City were to insist on attacking the flanks, the outcome was clear as day…

However, Elano was not the manager, so he decided to continue following the manager’s orders for the time being. He also wanted to test Forest’s defense for himself and see if they are really as robust as an iron plate…

Forest’s throw-ins were usually done by a full back who was positioned on the other side of the pitch, even if they were throw-ins that were very close to the opposition’s end line. Bale stepped up to do the throw-in. Rafinha did not return to his defense position and stayed slightly towards the back, near the midfield line. The distance made it easier for him to charge forward for an attack.

Bale did not go back to defend after he had tossed the ball over to Ribéry either. Instead, he waited for Ribéry to pass him the ball, and the two of them tried to link up at the flank.

Sadly, they were standing too close to each other. Ribéry kicked the ball too hard and Bale failed to stop it at his feet. The ball was then intercepted by Manchester City’s right back Richards, who then passed the ball over to Elano. Manchester City was on the counter attack!

Elano tried to pass the ball over to Ashley Young on the right wing. Bale rushed back to defend, but it turned out that he was not needed, for Ashley Young lost out completely to George Wood one-on-one. Bale had only run halfway back when Wood passed the ball back to him again. He turned around and went on the attack…

Seeing this, Elano shook his head. He was sure that an attempt down the other flank would also bring about similar results. Robinho’s abilities were a notch better than Ashley Young’s and Tiago was also less defensively impressive than Wood. However, almost as if those points had already been taken into consideration, Rafinha was positioned not too far away from Tiago. If he were to pass the ball to Robinho, all Tiago needed to do was to try and slow him down as much as he could, and Rafinha would be able to join in the defense speedily and keep Robinho in check. That made the defense on that side of the pitch air tight as well…

Elano realized that the problem rested on the presence of two defensive midfielders. Before the match, Manager Hughes had expected Forest to continue employing a single defensive midfielder, and this would give them the opportunity to attack the space behind the two full backs, because one defensive midfielder would be unable to deal with both flanks by himself. It was not that Manchester City had never considered the possibility that the opposition would use two defensive midfielders for defense, but it was just a consideration that was quickly shoved aside because the set-up had been unfavourable for Forest based on previous matches where it had been employed.

They did not expect Twain to use two defensive midfielders in such a manner…

Nonetheless, there was no such thing as a flawless tactic in this world. Elano still managed to find something that he could exploit.

※※※

Manchester City intercepted the ball in their own half and went on the counterattack once again. This time, the ball was passed to Ireland, and Elano raised his hand to ask for the ball. Ireland had initially intended to pass straight to the wingers, but seeing how insistent Elano was with his request, he changed his mind at the last minute and passed the ball to Elano who was in the center of the pitch.

Both Wood and Tiago were positioned at the flanks to defend the empty spaces left behind by the full backs during attack when Elano received the ball. They saw Elano, but did not try to pounce on him to intercept the ball at once, choosing instead to stand slightly closer to the center of the pitch, clearly with the intention of observing his actions.

Elano did not give them time to observe his actions. He accelerated out of the blue, and started attacking Forest down the middle!

“Down the middle! Forest is down on luck, there’s no one player there right now!”

It was only then that Wood ditched his position at the flanks and bolted straight for Elano. He did not have the time to notice that Bale had yet to return to his defensive position, and that Ashley Young had already run up to assist Elano.

As a defensive player, it was always more important to defend the center of the pitch than the flanks, because that was where the opposition could directly threaten the goalpost. All the opposition could do was to try and angle a shot for goal from the flanks.

Pepe stood closer towards the flank, preparing to prevent Elano from passing the ball over to Ashley Young now that he has gotten Wood’s attention.

However, Wood was still a considerable distance away from Elano, so it was Kompany who rushed out towards Elano first. Since the defensive midfielders were not in their positions, it was up to the center back to fill in the role.

That was exactly what Elano had been waiting for. Seeing that Kompany had rushed out and that Pepe’s attention was on Ashley Young at the flank, he kicked the ball forward.

Bendtner turned his head around to see the ball rolling towards him. This was the perfect chance!

He turned to look at the assistant referee as he turned to the side and performed a feint at the same time.

“Cra…” Pepe was aghast when he noticed what was going on from the corner of his eyes. He wanted to turn around, but it was impossible by then. He was not superman. He could not defy the laws of physics. All he could do was to turn and watch with a stiff body as Bendtner received the ball and ran into the penalty area.

Pepe’s posture was hilarious, but none of the Nottingham Forest’s fans laughed.

The moment Elano passed the ball over to Bendtner, all Bendtner could hear were deafening boos coming at him from all directions.

A fire was burning inside of him. The sounds of booing were like gasoline poured over that fire of his, and they made it burn right through the roof.

Twain’s words rang by his ear:

“Remember this, don’t be fazed by all the noise that the opposition fans would make against you. The reason why they are booing you is because they are scared of you! They fear you! That’s why they will try so hard to make so much noise so as to throw you off. It’s nothing to be scared of. The louder they boo you, the more excited you should become. What you all need to do is… Turn what they do not wish to see into reality! Make them cower in fear. We are their worst nightmares!”

Thank you for your teachings, boss…

The sight before Bendtner whizzed by in a flash. He saw an empty spot to the left of van der Sar. That was it!

He raised his leg and gave the ball a hard kick!

The ball flew past van der Sar before crashing against the goalpost with a thud that resonated through the sounds of booing. It then deflected off the post and created an arc as it went into the net.

Van der Sar had one knee on the ground as he turned around to look at the ball in the goalpost. Both his hands were still outstretched and poised to block the ball.

Pepe laid on the ground, his eyes fixed on the skies as he rued, “Damn, there goes my additional holiday…”

※※※

“Nicklas Bendtner! Nicklas Bendtner! Nicklassss Bendtner! He scored! He has really scored!” Gray screamed.

The booing ceased temporarily with the goal.

Bendtner ran straight to the back of the goalpost after confirming that the ball was indeed in the back of the net. He stood below the stand where the banner was hung, and began to strip away at his jersey from his chest madly. His face was contorted and he opened his mouth to shout at the top of his voice. The sight was a little frightening… The Forest fans at the stand went quiet.

The Manchester City players swarmed up to him from behind, all wanting to give him a hug. However, the Bendtner at that moment was like a beast who just hurt his head. He waved his hands about vigorously and no one dared to get close to him out of fear that they might get elbowed in the face by him.

Did you all see that? Why have you all stopped booing? Boo me! Boo this traitor that is me! I scored against you. That defense that you are so proud of was nothing to me! I am your enemy right now! Aren’t you guys the ones who draw a clear line between love and hate? Aren’t you guys the ones who will never go easy on an opponent?

Why have you all gone f*cking quiet before me, your greatest enemy? Didn’t you tell me to try it if I dared? I tried! Why have you all stopped booing me? This is great, let me score another one. I will do exactly what I said I will and score two goals!

He was roaring hysterically in his mind, but no one could hear the voices that were surging up inside of him.

The booing started once again amidst his wild celebrations. There were more and more spectators at the stand where John stood who stuck their fingers into their mouths.

John did not follow suit, and only looked on coldly at Bendtner who was flailing around wildly below. He realized that he could not come to hate this guy, but would probably never come to like him again after this either.

“F*ck! So pathetic! All he did was score one, what’s he so f*cking proud about? Try and score another one if you dare!” Bill, who stood next to him, threw vicious words of insults at Bendtner.

※※※

Kerslake punched the seat in anger following Bendtner’s goal. He turned to look at Twain, who wore a placid expression on his face.

“Do you think he’s trying this hard so that he can prove himself before us?”

“So what if he manages to prove himself?” Twain asked with a cool voice. “Do you expect us to buy him back?”

“But to see such a talented center-forward become our enemy… It’s such a shame.”

“On the contrary, I do hope that every single person who walks out of this club is talented,” Twain said, “He is someone that I brought back personally from Denmark after all. If he performed terribly, it’d make me look bad. Did you think that I said that I thought he had the capacity to score simply for the sake of saying what the journalists wanted to hear? Don’t forget, he is someone who walked out of Nottingham Forest!” Twain could not suppress the emotions that were boiling up within him as he spoke. His voice became grave, and he smiled coldly as the edge of his lips tugged up.

Dunn led out a sigh beside him suddenly and recited, in Chinese, “The day of yesterday has left me and cannot be retained. The day of today disturbs and worries me.” [1]

Twain turned his head to look at Dunn. “Don’t use Tang poems inappropriately.”

※※※

Bendtner continued to celebrate wildly under the banner that was about as long as the goalpost. His team mates congregated behind him and raised their hands towards the Nottingham Forest fans as a display of strength.

Behind all of them were van der Sar and Pepe who had just climbed back onto their feet, as well as a bunch of dispirited Nottingham Forest players with their heads hung low.

Bendtner had henceforth made a clean break with his past.

Chapter 699 - Possessed

Mark Hughes was still racking his brains over his next course of action after his tactic of utilizing the flanks was kept in check by Twain’s countermeasure, but the goal had allowed him to find the inspiration he needed.

He made use of the opportunity as the players were wildly celebrating the goal to call Elano off the pitch and tell him to rely on his own observations to decide if they should attack the flanks or down the middle for the remainder of the match.

Now, the one who had some thinking to do was Tony Twain.

Bendtner became even more lively after his goal. His team mates also started to pass the ball to him deliberately so that he could take the last shot at goal. It seemed like every Manchester City player wished for Bendtner to win the bet that they had made with him.

The sounds of booing from the Nottingham Forest fans got even crazier with Bendtner’s liveliness on the pitch. It was safe to say that nobody could hear anything else but booing in the entire stadium when Bendtner got the ball. Even the people on the other side of the Trent River would have picked up on the deafening booing noises clearly.

“I have never seen the Nottingham Forest fans treat a person as crazily as this…” mumbled Andy Gray, who was intimidated by all the booing that was going on.

“Perhaps they were triggered by both that throw-in earlier and his celebrations after scoring that goal. Which is why I said that this will be an exciting match! Haha! It has only been four minutes since the match started, and Nottingham Forest has already fallen behind!”

※※※

Twain did indeed have some thinking to do. The problem he had on his hands was that Elano was positioned centrally on the pitch, and he could decide if they should attack down the flank or down the middle. If he were to persist on having the full backs move forward to attack, it will give both George Wood and Tiago a very hard time as they would have to defend both the flanks and the center of the pitch. It was only a matter of time that Forest would give up another goal.

Twain thought about it, and decided to temporarily give up having the full backs move forward to attack. It was more important to tighten the defence for the time being.

He walked to the side of the pitch, whistled with his hands, and gestured to the two full backs who were still ‘happily’ standing higher up the pitch to retreat back to their defence positions.

Bale and Rafinha looked at the empty spaces behind them and retreated backwards reluctantly.

George Wood and Tiago went back to their positions in the center of the pitch, thereby sealing off Elano’s passing routes completely.

Now that the full backs could not move forward to assist in the attack, Nottingham Forest’s attack on the flanks was solely reliant on their two side midfielders.

However, Twain felt that the tweaks he made were still far from ideal. After all, without the support from the full backs, the team’s offense lacked depth and creativity, and could easily be defended against by the opposition.

Hence, he followed up by gesturing for the two defensive midfielders to take their turns in supporting the offence.

George Wood began to get more lively on the pitch after the changes were made.

The formation that Nottingham Forest had put in place for this match was a 4-5-1. There were 5 players in the midfield. The distance between their attacking midfielder, van der Vaart, and their defensive midfielders was a little far, and their forward van Nisterooy was all the way up front. How do they connect the back of the field to the front?

One way was to rely on the side midfielders, namely Ribéry and Lennon, but those two players were mainly active on the flanks, so it was up to the defensive midfielders to bring the ball forward in the center of the pitch.

George Wood had gotten very familiar with bringing the ball forward. He was no longer that player who would run to the front and just stand around not knowing what to do.

Wood asked for the ball from Tiago and started to bring the ball forward. Elano ran up to him to try and get in his way, so he passed the ball over to Ribéry before running forward. The two performed a one-two combination, before the ball was sent to van der Vaart. Wood did not retreat and continued running forward, looking poised to make his way into the penalty area.

This forced Manchester City to scatter their forces in an attempt to defend Wood. The number of defenders marking van der Vaart lessened as a result, and it allowed him to try for a long shot, though the ball went over the goalpost by a little.

At that moment, Wood had turned around and was running back to his defending position.

※※※

Bendtner noticed that he was getting significantly fewer chances at the ball at the front of the pitch after Forest’s change in tactics, so he began to retreat backwards to receive the ball.

Kompany wanted to follow after him, but was stopped by Wood with a hand gesture.

That was because Bendtner had already stepped foot into his territory.

Bendtner raised his hand to ask for the ball while he was in the midfield. Robinho passed the ball over to him after getting it past Lennon. The ball had only just reached Bendtner’s feet when he felt an immense pressure coming his way from behind.

He immediately leaned his body backwards to protect the ball from being taken from him. However, doing so also caused him to lose the chance to turn around.

He knew the identity of the pressure that came his way.

The edges of his lips went up. Such a confrontation was really rare…

He understood then that he could not turn his body around, and also knew that Ribéry was on his way back to defend rapidly. It would be bad to be sandwiched between both of them. All he could do was to pass the ball to Robinho who had run up to assist him.

Tiago was marking Robinho fiercely while Wood assessed the situation and tried to find the timing to go in and defend by the side. Bendtner ran up with Robinho and continued to raise his hand and ask for the ball.

As Robinho battled it out with Tiago, he used his heel to kick the ball over Tiago and towards Bendtner who was charging ahead.

Bendtner leant his body sideways to try and receive the ball, but all he received was the tip of George Wood’s outstretched boot. Wood had already cleared the ball while it was in the air.

“It’s not that easy to break free from Wood!” Gray shouted. It was unclear if he felt bad for Bendtner, or if he was praising George Wood for his quick-wittedness and courage.

※※※

George Wood did not even let Bendtner have the chance to maintain possession of the ball when Bendtner retreated back to the midfield to pick up the ball again. He shoved Bendtner from behind, and Bendtner fell to the ground with the ball at his feet.

Bendtner jumped up off the ground and gestured to the referee that a card should be shown to Wood for his actions. This was a foul. A push from behind!

The booing sounds in the stadium intensified after seeing the gestures from Bendtner.

Pepe could not stand to watch any longer and went up to confront Bendtner. Fortunately, he was stopped by Tiago before he made his way to Bendtner, or else both of them would have clashed with each other over the incident.

Van der Vaart was standing near Bendtner, but he did not confront him directly and only clapped his hands. His gesture was one of complete sarcasm and displeasure.

Bendtner could not care less about how the fans and his former team mates perceived him. He was still hot on the referee’s heels, eager to help Wood earn a card. It would be best if he could get a red card!

Wood did not go forward to protest. All he did was to get up off the ground and did a wave to dismiss all the onlookers around. There was nothing interesting for them to see here.

He stood quietly at the spot, waiting for the final call from the referee.

The referee eventually walked over and showed Wood a yellow card.

The booing sounds got even louder.

Twain remained seated, but Kerslake could not restrain his emotions. He rushed to the side of the pitch and started cursing at Bendtner, calling him a ‘traitor’. He also told him ‘to remember who groomed him, bastard!’.

Twain watched the back of his agitated colleague. He shrugged and said to Dunn beside him, “If we look at this from another perspective… At least Bendtner has professional ethics…”

※※※

“Bendtner got his wish. George Wood has gotten a yellow card under his name. Now Wood will be unable play the game as he likes for the remainder of the match.”

“Not exactly. From George Wood’s perspective, as long as he is not sent off the pitch, he should still play the game however he likes.”

Martin Taylor was right. George Wood’s defense remained as aggressive as before after the match restarted, as if he did not care about the yellow card that he was carrying.

George Wood might not care, but Twain did. He gestured for Tiago to participate in the defense more and for Wood to participate more in the offense and draw upon his experience to level the score.

Yes, to level the score. Nottingham Forest has to tie the score before the first half was over, or they would walk into the dressing room feeling depressed or agitated, and that was not a team that Twain wanted to see. It would also leave Manchester City high on spirits and make them think that Forest is unable to do anything to them.

Twain looked at the watch on his wrist. 27 minutes had passed in the first half.

The match had reached a stalemate then. Manchester City’s offense met Forest’s impenetrable wall and was forced to a stop. Forest’s attack met fierce retaliation from Manchester City. Everyone had chances here and there, but nobody really capitalized on those chances.

※※※

Van Nisterooy was all alone at the front of the pitch. He looked a little isolated and helpless in the opposition’s penalty box. The truth was that he was not the point-getter in this match since they had only employed a single forward. His role was more about creating chances for his team mates behind him. It was a pity that both full backs could not move forward and join in the attack.

The ways in which Forest carried out their offense were simple. Ribéry and Lennon would either pass the ball from the byline or they would cut into the penalty area. If they saw van der Vaart near the penalty box and saw that he wishes to attempt a long-range shot, they would pass the ball to him. If not, they would pass the ball to Van Nisterooy straight away. George Wood’s role at the front was more to pass the balls around.

Manchester City’s defense formation remained relatively compact and their defense never faltered regardless of how Forest changed their attacks. It was clear that Mark Hughes was well-prepared to deal with Forest’s offense. The primary objective of the tight defense was to deal with Forest’s sneak attacks, but it also served the purpose of making it difficult for Forest to carry out their positional play at the same time.

Hughes’ tactics for this match were very simple. Defense-wise, the team would tighten the defence at the back and make use of this tight defense to restrict the space and time that Forest can get for their counterattacks. Offense-wise, the team would make use of the powerful Bendtner up front and the impressive prowess of their attacks down the flanks to score goals.

He did not expect that their attacks down the flanks would get sealed off, and that they would get attacked down the middle.

Twain might have been quick to rearrange his setup, but it was of little effect. Manchester City was leading by a goal, and as long as they continued to fortify their defences, it was not impossible for them to take all 3 points from this away game.

As the manager of Manchester City, he knew all about the bet that the players had made amongst themselves. However, between winning a game and the players’ bet, he would choose to win the game any time of the day.

Seeing that the first half was about to end, Hughes decided to get the whole team to retreat so as to keep their entire formation compact and hit Nottingham Forest on the counterattack.

Twain knew what Hughes was plotting, but he had to press on and attack right then, because there was not a lot of time left. He was not willing to walk into the dressing room knowing that they are a goal behind.

He waved his hand, and both Bale and Rafinha who had been restricted for more than 30 minutes were finally on the move once again.

With only about 10 minutes left in the first-half, Forest set their very first frenzied attack in the match into motion.

※※※

“Show your spirit!” Fat John shouted at his comrades behind him on the stand. “Don’t just think about booing the Danish Boy! What our team needs from us right now is not to boo their opponents, it’s to cheer them on! How many of you want to see us go into half-time being a goal down? Not me for sure! I’d even lose my appetite to drink beer knowing that! Mates, let’s sing our song…”

“Oh oh oh oh! Forest, forest! Nottingham Forest!”

“… Forest, forest! Nottingham Forest! There’s no battle we can’t win, there’s no defense we can’t overcome! We are the best team in the world… We make our opponents fear us, we make them tremble in fear! The world is in our hands…”

” Oh oh oh! Wood, Wood! Grow into a forest! Wood, Wood! Grow into a forest!”

※※※

George Wood received the ball.

He was going to bring the ball forward from the back. He easily shoved aside Elano’s interception. The Brazilian was only making it look like he was trying to defend…

He only met resistance once he made his way to Ireland, though he simply passed the ball over to van der Vaart when that happened. Van der Vaart was unable to turn his body around, so the ball was passed back to Wood, who then passed it to Lennon at the flank.

Lennon crossed the ball to the middle of the pitch. Van Nisterooy jumped up for a header!

The ball was headed out by Dunne.

It fell at Wood’s feet once again.

He acted like he was about to shoot for goal, but no one fell for it. Everyone knew how bad Wood was at shooting.

As expected, Wood did not shoot for goal from 35 yards out. He passed the ball to Tiago, who had run up from behind, and went back to defend himself. He had just switched positions with Tiago. It was now Tiago’s turn to attack, and his to defend.

Forest’s attack was quickly ended by Manchester City with a long ball.

Ashley Young dashed down the flank with the ball. There was an empty space that was left behind after Bale moved forward to attack. This was the perfect chance for Manchester City to widen the lead before half-time!

However, his run was stopped by George Wood, who cleared the ball at Ashley Young’s feet cleanly with a sliding tackle. Wood then took big strides forward with the ball in the opposite direction and left Ashley Young who just got back onto his feet behind.

Tiago saw that Wood was running up the pitch, but he did not go back to defend. There was not much time left before half-time. He wanted to remain in the front of the pitch to participate in the offense.

Elano was the first one to get in Wood’s way once again. He almost succeeded this time round, but unfortunately still lost out in a physical battle with Wood and was unable to stop him from breaking through by force.

After he had shaken off Elano with his body and speed, Wood made a gesture that suggested that he wanted to pass the ball over to van der Vaart. He changed the course of the ball and started running towards van der Vaart.

Right as Ireland’s attention had been averted onto their attacking midfielder from the Netherlands, Wood passed the ball to Tiago beside him.

Thereafter, he ran towards the edge of the penalty box.

Tiago raised his foot and made it look as if he wanted to go for a long shot. This time, somebody fell for it. Ireland turned around and pounced towards him. That was when Tiago passed the ball to van der Vaart.

Van der Vaart did not stop the ball at his feet. He passed the ball straight into the crowd in the penalty area.

“George Wood!”

George Wood turned his body sideways to receive the ball. He charged forward fearlessly even in the face of Dunne’s defending.

The two collided with each other and the ball flew away. Dunne collapsed to the ground, and George Wood looked like he was about to fall to the ground as well.

It was then that his strong body played an important role once again. He managed to climb off the ground in a second by using both his hands and feet!

“Did Wood foul him?”

“No, it was a reasonable clash!”

Manchester City’s goalkeeper Joe Hart hurriedly ran forward to try and stop Wood after seeing that he had already made his way into the penalty box.

Wood had already regained his posture and balance by then. He was positioned behind all of Manchester City’s defenders, and there were only Joe Hart and the goalpost before him. He raised his right leg.

Hart stretched out both arms and pounced to the side. He wanted to stop Wood’s shot!

Richards did not care if his sliding tackle from behind would result in a penalty kick. He slid a leg out towards Wood from behind.

Everyone thought Wood was going to shoot the ball straight ahead with force when they saw him raise his right thigh, because that matched the image that everyone had of him.

Both Hart and Richards were acting under the impression that he was going to shoot in that particular way as well. They were both guarding the bottom corners of the goalpost. Even if Wood shot for the upper corners of the goalpost, there would only be one outcome: miss.

No one believed in Wood’s ability to shoot.

Wood whipped his raised right leg against the ball rapidly.

And then…

The ball flew up, created a nice arch in the air as it went around Richard’s leg and Hart’s body, and went straight into the back of the net…

In that moment, it felt as though time had stopped. Everyone had their mouths agape and gawked at the bouncing ball in the goalpost in disbelief.

What just happened?

Andy Gray’s hysterical screams broke the silence. “Ahhhhhh! What did I just see? Paneka? A lob? A screw shot? God! Tell me this is an illusion! The Wood who can miss in front of an empty goal has actually scored an absolute beauty of a goal! Something must be wrong with this world…”

Tony Twain, who had remained seated in the technical area when Bendtner scored, could not help but hug his head as he rushed out of his seat at this sight. He looked at George Wood as though he was an alien and muttered, “Diego Maradona. Bruno Conti. Francesco Cotti. They must have possessed him right there…”

The three names that he had mentioned were all experts at lobs in the history of football.

“I cannot believe what…” Kerslake was also hugging his head in shock alongside him. “… My eyes are seeing.”

Only Dunn was a little more composed. “He did attempt it before when I gave him extra shooting practice previously. But he had never succeeded once before…”

※※※

After George Wood had lobbed the ball into the back of the net, he was sent crashing to the floor by Richards who could not retract his feet in time. He had only just stood up when he was brought down once again by his howling team mates who had swarmed all over him. Bale was sprawled on top of him and was hugging his head. Their noses touched each other.

“How did you do that?!” Bale exclaimed.

“I… I don’t know. All I thought was that the ball had a higher chance of going in if I lobbed it up slightly…”

Ribery slid towards him from the other side. After hearing what Wood said, he wrapped an arm around Wood’s neck. “So you were actually aiming for that! You little… How dare you steal all of our limelight!”

“What other kinds of shots can you do? How about doing the ‘scorpion kick’ next, George?” Van der Vaart patted his head while grinning.

Everyone at the stands were on their feet. They had their hands high up in the sky and swung their scarfs about. They were jumping around excitedly and singing songs in unison.

Every single person related to Manchester City was dumbfounded. They were all well aware of George Wood’s shooting abilities. It was safe to say that everyone in England knew about his abilities. They all knew how bad he was at shooting.

They did not expect Wood to be the one to pull off such a challenging shot that beat Joe Hart at goal and tie the score at 1-1!

Even Bendtner and Ashley Young, who used to be his team mates, had faces of consternation on them. Did that blockhead get injected with some kind of growth hormone? How did he come to know how to do a lob shot out of a sudden?

“All right, it does not matter what went wrong with this world, and it also does not matter how George Wood managed to score that goal. The fact is that he had scored the equalizer. Before the first half ended, Nottingham Forest has brought the entire match back to its starting point!”

“This is George Wood’s first goal of the season and it is such a beauty… It can surely become the goal of the match! The ‘Wooden Spoon’ goal! [1] Hahahaha!”

Chapter 700 - Wishing Good Luck

During the half-time break, everyone was enthusiastically discussing George Wood’s goal that evened the score, whether it was in the changing room, the bar, or at the car rental area. Even the most loyal of Nottingham Forest fans did not believe that the team captain could score so easily even though he had never learnt how to shoot — if the goal he scored had been a strong volley, it would not have been as shocking.

Twain stood at the entrance of the changing room, not interrupting the team’s discussion on Wood’s goal. He was glad to see everyone being this way, because he was excited by that goal as well. George Wood sat in the center like a criminal, surrounded by the team. The mischievous Ribéry even used a bottle as a microphone to mimic a reporter, asking for Wood’s thoughts on scoring the goal. This made everyone laugh. Although they were still tied at 1 : 1, it was as if no one thought they would lose this match.

Everyone returned to their seats after they had their fun, waiting for Twain to lay out the tactics for the second half. Twain did not spout nonsense; there was not much time, so he cut to the chase. While the team was still playing around, he had already drawn up the formation of both sides on his play board. He then analysed the play board for everyone.

“In the first half, the main reason why we lost the ball was because the dual defensive midfielders needed to assist in defending the side roads after the two full backs assisted the attack, hence opening up the center path. After adjusting to make the defensive line more secure, the attacking strength had instead weakened. This is not right. Man City is the away team, so even taking a point in the contest is sufficient for them. We are the home team; a draw is a failure. Hence in the second half, we have to think of breakthroughs to strengthen our offense. The full backs still should assist the attack. However, we still need to adjust a little …”

※※※

In Man City’s changing room, the team still congratulated Bendtner on his goal, despite George Wood’s surprise of a goal that turned their leading advantage into a tie. But Bendtner was not happy. George Wood stole his spotlight with that goal, and he was still one goal behind the two that he promised, so how could he celebrate? He sat on the stool feeling dull, half-heartedly listening to Mark Hughes adjust the formation for the second half.

Hughes’ tactics did not change from the first half: it was either assistive attacking the side roads while prioritising the attack on the main road or assistive attacking the main road while prioritising the side road. He repeatedly emphasized a word — patience.

“We need to be patient, because Nottingham Forest are the ones fighting on their home field. I believe Tony Twain will hope to not end the game on a draw in this contest. Under time pressure, they will be forced to attack. That will be our opportunity. Before that, all of you just need to maintain your patience and wait for them to make a mistake. Taking a step back, even a draw is acceptable as well,”

Bendtner frowned. The head coach thought a draw was acceptable, but he definitely could not take a draw. He only achieved one of the two goals he envisioned. He had already made this announcement before the match and made it known to the media. If he were to score only one goal by the end of the match, who knew how those people would make fun of him? Besides, Tony Twain did not accept a draw, so why should he? Bendtner spent the fifteen-minute halftime break mulling.

※※※

At the start of the second half, Man City used a defensive formation, in hopes that Nottingham Forest would bring the attack to them. If Nottingham Forest did not attack, they would not have gaps to take advantage of. As expected, Nottingham Forest then went with an aggressive attack. Mark Hughes saw Nottingham Forest’s full backs joining the attack, but he was not happy for long because he discovered how Twain meticulously used the arrangement to defend as well.

In the first half Nottingham Forest’s full backs advanced from both left and right sides. It looked powerful and threatening as both added an additional layer of offense. But at the same time this created space on both sides that could have been exploited, hence both defensive midfielders had to defend their respective sides, creating an empty center.

Twain switched it up in the next half. Both full backs still assisted the offense, but they were not allowed to advance at the same time. If Bale advanced to assist the offense, Rafinha must stay at the back, so Tiago would defend the center while George Wood replaced Bale’s position after he advanced. If Rafinha advanced to assist, Bale would retreat; Wood would defend the center path and Tiago would temporarily take the role of the full back.

No matter which side advanced, there would not be a lack of players on the defense line or obvious gaps. Hughes, after realising this, scolded Twain being all about defending in his mind. But what choice did he have?

This move indeed blocked all of Man City’s offensive pathways — launching a quick counter-attack was almost impossible. Now, Man City only had two options. The first was to defend till the end of the whole match and not allow Nottingham Forest to score, ending the match with a draw. The other was to get out there and face Nottingham Forest, relying on the possession game to search for an opportunity.

Mark Hughes was leaning towards the first option, afraid that Nottingham Forest’s counter attack could expose a gap. However, Bendtner did not think the same.

※※※

Bendtner wanted to score. In the offensive half, he continuously raised his hand to signal for a pass, but most of the time he just seemed like an island in the middle of the vast sea; There was nobody near him who could assist him. Nottingham Forest’s attack was aggressive, so Man City’s players had no choice but to repeatedly return to defend. Bendtner was only able to stay on the field because Hughes had expressly allowed him to do so during the break. Originally, Hughes had wanted to counter-attack Nottingham Forest.

Bendtner was a center forward, so he needed support from the midfielders or he would be of very limited use. On top of that, there was basically nothing he could do except passing once he retreated to the midfield which was too far from the goalpost.

Twain led Bendtner for four seasons, so there was no way he would not be familiar with Bendtner’s speciality and style of playing. He used high offensive pressure to suppress Man City, which was as good as cutting Bendtner off from the team. Bendtner could either continue to wave his hand to signal for the ball at the front, or he could run for the ball and plan an attack. No matter what he chose, his threat to Nottingham Forest’s goal was pitifully negligible. Twain watched from his seat as Bendtner ran back and forth for the ball but to no avail.. He crossed his legs.

George Wood did not let that goal get to his head. He was still dedicatedly carrying out Twain’s new mission for him — defend. With great difficulty, Bendtner finally received the ball, only to be tackled by Wood. Bendtner immediately fell to the ground upon losing the ball, in hopes of getting Wood another yellow card. The jeering started up again; the audience regarded Bendtner’s stunt with disdain.

Wood paid no attention to Bendtner’s stunt and dribbled the ball to initiate a counter-attack. There was an unspoken rule in soccer: if there was an injured player, the ball should be kicked out of bounds to allow the player to receive treatment. However, Wood had no intention to do so. Not only did he dribble past Elano, who compromised defense to signal for Wood to kick the ball out of the field, he also charged past Ireland who tackled too aggressively.

Humiliated and angered, Ireland shoved Wood. The referee’s whistle finally rang out, cutting through the cacophonous jeering. He gave Ireland a yellow card. Both players quickly charged at each other, looking to start a fight. The referee and some of the calmer players rushed to pry the pair apart, trying to stop a fight from breaking out.

The culprit who started the chaos, Bendtner, stood up sulkily once he saw Wood pass Ireland. He sure did not look injured at all. Both sides managed to prevent a fight from happening, but the jeering intensified every time Bendtner had the ball.

Twain shrugged at the people around him. “Self-created mess.”

“The performance in the second half was not as good as it was in the first half.” David Kerslake was starting to pick up on things.

“If he placed all his thoughts on the match instead of filling his mind with vengeance, he might have scored two goals.” Twain shook his head, shrugging. “But he’s not so scary now.”

“What does that mean?” Kerslake, an Englishman,could not understand the last Chinese word Twain used.

“It means ‘nothing worth fearing’,” Twain translated for him.

※※※

There was nothing worth mentioning about what followed after. Man City was not able to score, and was only able to shrink back to its defense. With Hughes shouting angrily, Bendtner had no choice but to return to the defensive half to participate in defense. At the 70th minute, as the Nottingham Forest fans cheered loudly, Twain substituted Nistelrooy for ?igi? and switched Lennon out for Beckham. Thus started the high bombardment tactic.

Beckham came together with Rafinha at the right road, partnering with great chemistry. They did a one-two and then passed to ?igi? who was using his height and strong build to create chaos in front of the goal. It would be good if they could score, but even if they did not, this could be a chance for another teammate to score.

At that moment, Man City’s goalkeeper aerial defense alarm rang incessantly. Dunn became flustered and Joe Hart’s heart was in his mouth. At the 82nd minute, his heart dropped to the ground.

“Nikola ?igi?!! Beautiful header bomb! A heavy bombing machine! He made Man City’s full backs helpless!”

igi? opened both arms and ran towards Beckham who passed him the ball and both players hugged to celebrate his first goal in the English League. Twain waved his fists about excitedly. ?igi? scoring a goal was what he wanted to see the most. Bendtner might be gone, but they still had a stronger aerial overlord!

While ?igi? was leaping amongst the crowd with his arms wide open, a huge shadow was cast?on Joe Hart, who looked like he had seen a B52 bomber machine. Dunn was virtually holding onto ?igi? with both his hands, but that did nothing to stop his run-up. With the ball and the player in place, the ball shot into the goal. Look — this was what it meant to dominate the penalty area!

“A height of 2.02 meters… Too scary…” Gray sighed. Even if ?igi? did not jump, it would have made people in front of Man City’s goal dizzy. Even Dunn and ?orluka, who were 1.88m and 1.93m tall respectively, seemed like children in front of him. Most importantly, ?igi?’s jump was not weak. Had he jumped with all his might, he would have been more than just “outstanding”.

“Twain favoured center forwards with strong builds like him for a reason. Sometimes they are indeed very useful…”

※※※

While still recovering from his injury, van der Vaart launched a counter-attack after Man City’s furious attempt to even the score. In the end, he scored a goal which utterly destroyed Man City.

The match ended with Nottingham Forest winning 3:1 on its home field. Bendtner played the whole match, but he did not fulfil his promise of scoring two goals. At the end of the match, Nottingham Forest fans were happy for their team’s win, but did not forget to mock the traitor who was too ashamed to show his face.

Bendtner, who had been running nonstop for 90 minutes, stood rooted to the ground like a puppet after the whistle was blown, unable to accept the outcome. At that moment, Nistelrooy walked over. He took off his jersey and placed it in front of Bendtner. Bendtner looked blankly at his opponent.

“It doesn’t have to be like this…” Nistelrooy smiled. “I get injured frequently these days, and my health is declining.”

Bendtner lowered his head, taking off his own jersey. They shook hands after exchanging their jerseys. “Good luck to you, Niki.”

Nistelrooy threw the number 9 jersey over his shoulder and left, joining the team that was celebrating their victory. As Bendtner watched his old teammates who were wearing the red jersey and thanking their fans, an indescribable emotion rose in his heart.

Twain charged into the group, his left hand holding on George Wood who scored the first goal while his right was grabbing onto ?igi? who scored the second. Because the two players stood at different heights, Twain looked funny, but this did not affect the smile on his face.

“Do you like winning? Do you like champions? Then come to Nottingham Forest!”

“Then you use your set to get the championships!”

Bendtner?had chosen his path. It might be a path might be full of thorns, but he had to keep walking. Regretting would not help, so he would not regret. Wearing Nistelrooy’s jersey, Bendtner lowered his head and slowly walked out of the stadium. This would be his last time wearing a red Nottingham Forest jersey in front of everyone.

※※※

At the interview after the contest, Twain was asked for his views on Bendtner’s problem. He refused to express any opinions on Bendtner’s performance in the match and simply said, “Personally, I wish him good luck.” Then, he changed the subject, “I am more willing discussing with you all my two players who scored in this contest. George Wood scored a noble goal and ?igi? played his best 20 minutes since he joined Nottingham Forest. I believe both of them would have bright futures.”

Reporters were not content seeing how Twain was not willing to answer the question regarding Bendtner. Only Pierce Brosnan could understand Twain’s intentions — the past was already the past. What point was there in discussing it? No matter how outstanding the people who left were, they could not bring Twain another victory or championship. As such, it was best to focus on the present instead. Compared to those who left because of various reasons, prioritising and treasuring people who were with him should be what he most optimally want to do currently.

Twain was still praising the performance of his team on stage. As for his opponents, whether it was Mark Hughes, the Man City team or Bendtner, he did not have any opinions.

What has passed is past.

Chapter 701 - Chilly

After the match with Man City, the media lost interest in hyping up the resentment Bendtner had against Nottingham Forest. Upon losing the bet, Bendtner treated all his teammates to a round of drinks. He was smiling again, almost as if he had forgotten his experience he had playing that match in that city. Although he lost the match and his bet, his relationship with his new teammates became more harmonious. Guess there was not a gain without a loss.

There were also no Nottingham Forest fans discussing the player who no longer belonged to the team, but Bendtner would be greeted with jeers if he returned to that city for another match as a Man City player. His performance in that match made a lasting impression on Nottingham Forest fans.

Nottingham Forest players would also no longer talk about the past matches, even though that match created many topics which could be talked about with great relish. George Wood’s goal was evaluated to be the best in that round, and was repeatedly played in the highlight reel. ?igi? was also favored by the media, because he had only recently transferred into the Premier League for a month, but had already scored for Nottingham Forest in his second match. Plus, this goal became the final winning goal.

After the end of that league match, Twain brought the team to Kyiv, Ukraine to participate in their second match in the Champions league. It was October, and the weather in Kyiv was cool and perfect for outdoor activities.

Although they were playing in the Champions league, Twain decided to use rotations on account of FC Kyiv Dynamo’s true capabilities and the current state of the team. Switching up the roster they used in the Man City match and relying on the second-grade roster, Nottingham Forest was victorious over FC Kyiv Dynamo with a 2 : 1 victory as the away team. Having a streak of two consecutive wins streak and a good start for their group matches.

Continuing their expedition created problems in the physical fitness of the team. Their physical reserves, which were never that good to begin with, have been hovering below the safety line since the international matches.

Upon returning to England, Nottingham Forest drew against Middlesbrough with a score of 0 : 0.

After seven matches, Nottingham Forest ranked 4th in the league with 14 points. They were even behind the newly promoted Hull City. Hull City, since their 5-goal loss to Nottingham Forest in the second match, had achieved three consecutive wins, bagging 4 wins and 1 draw in their 5 most recent matches. They had accumulated the same number of points on the league table as Nottingham Forest, placing third and thereby becoming the biggest black horse since the opening of the new league season.

Even Twain would lament on the inconstancy of life. Hull City, who they had utterly destroyed in the second match, now placed above them in third place. But he was not concerned that Hull City could become a real threat to their team. It was normal for recently promoted teams to be ranked highly at the start of the season as they relied mostly on momentum and the public’s general unawareness of them. However, the test of endurance was what truly tested the mettle of these teams. Wigan Athletic F.C. was once also called a black horse. But now? The coach who looked up to him was still leading a team that was working hard in the Champions League to return to the Premier League.

Soccer’s top leagues were essentially just a rich man’s game. Without a stable financial backing, a team would only be a temporarily brilliant display. At the end of the day, they would still be heartlessly eliminated. No matter how strong a team was, stronger teams would split them up if they did not have money, reducing them to a “player market” . This was what happened to Italy’s Parma and England’s Leeds United.

Though Twain knew Hull City posed no threat to him, he also knew that the league was a long battle where one placed most of their efforts not at the start during the middle or towards the end. As for the current state of the team, Twain was still not very satisfied.

What happened during the summer threw a wrench in their plans for transfers and they did not achieve many of their goals, which resulted in the players being overwhelmed with problems It had only been 2 months since the league had begun and they were already in such a state. Winter, the more ruthless season, had not even started. Twain could not predict what other unfortunate events would happen to the team; he needed to take precautions.

He decided to find Evan to discuss the financial issues they would face when attracting players during the winter transfer period. Speaking of Evan made him realise that he rarely saw Evan around. Evan used to frequent Nottingham but meeting him in Wilford had become a rare occurrence in the past month. Allan Adams was another person Twain rarely saw. They were probably busy with some things, though it was a relief they were in Nottingham these days. Twain decided not to put it off any further. He immediately left to find Evan.

※※※

In Evan’s office, Twain saw Allan again. Because both of them were business partners are friends who were always hanging out together, this was not a surprising sight for Twain. He greeted Allan and went straight to the point.

“Evan, you’ve seen what the team is like now. The reserves are not sufficient, resulting in many matches where I could not arrange a well-rounded and complete roster. I feel that we should at least transfer in 3 players during the winter period, especially for the offensive half…”

Upon finishing, Evan looked at Allan for a moment, then gave a bitter smile while spreading his hands. “Tony, I’m afraid I can’t meet your requests this time.”

Twain felt strange. “Why?”

Evan’s smile was not any less bitter. “We’re out of money.”

“Out of money? I don’t understand, isn’t the club still in a good financial state?”

Allan stood up from the sofa. “Simply put, the current costs of running the club are still affordable, but coming up with additional money to buy new players is a little difficult. Have you seen the news, Tony?”

“I only watch the sports side…”

Allan sighed. “There’s a financial crisis.”

Twain was a little confused. He could not differentiate between “financial crisis” and “economic crisis”; they were the same to him. He only had two opportunities to learn about these crises: once during high school where he learnt from the history books about the 30-year global economic crisis in the past century, and the 1998 financial crisis in Southeast Asia. But being an ordinary person living in China, even the most recent case in 1997 had minimal effects on his life, so it was unlikely for him to have a concrete idea of what a financial crisis was.. What exactly was a financial crisis, and what impact did it have on my life? Now, he had the chance to properly learn about it.

“A sub-credit crisis broke out in the United States, so it’s only time before this crisis affects the whole world. Evan’s business in the States took many blows. This sub-credit crisis started due to the United States’ property market bubble, and Evan’s company in the United States was property investment…”

Evan continued from what Allan said. “Simply put, Tony, my company in the United States went bankrupt.”

“But isn’t your business in the United States always separated from the duties in the club?” Twain asked. He still did not understand why Evan’s company in the United States had any relations with the club.

“It is. But in reality my business in the United States could still financially support the club. This summer we were doing heavy investments in China, but we overestimated ourselves and the investments were insufficient. Now the business in the United States collapsed, our investment chains are broken,” said Evan as he sat on the chair, looking a little dejected.

Twain felt like he more or less understood the situation. Although the business in the various lands were separated, they were always linked. The business in the United States could fund the club’s activities, and the club’s gain could be used for their investment project in China.

From the United States to England, then onto China, this structure of organisation for a soccer club, which was not considered wealthy and lacked a financial backing, was spread too big. Now, if any part of the link broke, the rest of it would be affected. Of course, if there were issues with their investments in China, the other two areas would not be impacted as much.

“If you want a large-scale business, your money cannot stay in a single place, which is why the money is constantly circulating. Now that there is an issue in the United States, this chain will break…” Allan’s words confirmed Twain’s conjecture. “We’ve been in the States this month to handle some affairs.”

Twain asked carefully, “How bad is the situation?”

Evan smiled a little, but it did not reach his eyes. “It’s not too bad now, but I think it will be bad once the crisis spreads across the world. Globalisation has made it easier for one country’s problems to become a shared one. Actually the sub-credit crisis had already begun in the United States last year, but at that time I was still optimistic that the economy will not collapse, that the self-regulating function of the market would resolve the crisis. Also, at that time there were many who were as optimal as me. But in reality we all underestimated the crisis. It was only a crisis last year, but it snowballed into Europe and Japan’s financial markets, becoming a windstorm…”

“Will the club go bankrupt?” Twain did not understand the professional terms that Allan would use, he was only concerned about one thing.

“I cannot confirm,” said Allan as he shook his head.

“That is indeed very terrible,” Twain mumbled.

Seeing how the atmosphere turned a little dull, Evan clapped his hands and grinned. “Alright, the situation isn’t actually that terrible yet, is it? I’ve already shut down all the business in the United States, now this club is the only business I own. I will not let this club go bankrupt no matter what.”

Twain looked at Evan Doughty who was beaming, and Allan Adams who was usually confident, but now seemingly at wit’s end. “How can I help?”

Evan laughed. “Just lead the team well, Tony. Don’t worry about the financial side of things. It’s not something you can worry about, anyway. Didn’t I say? No matter how terrible things are, I will also hold onto this club. Because this is my last hurrah.”

What else could Twain say? He had initially come here to ask for funds, but he could not make that request now. He bid them goodbye and went back to the team alone.

He sighed at the inconstancy of the world. Allan Adams and Evan Doughty had been smug upon arriving from Asia last summer. On the plane, they described the future of Nottingham Forest to him as one full of excitement. Unexpectedly, only after two months, things changed completely. The company in the United States went bankrupt, cash flow became unstable, and the plans went from becoming a reality to becoming completely impossible to carry out with the current state of affairs.

But what could he do? How could a club profit? Profit came mostly in the form of television money and sponsors, along with ticket and merchandise sales, and all of these stemmed from one thing — results. If the team’s results were not good, their television airtime would be reduced, sponsors would no longer be interested, ticket and merchandise sales would be reduced, and cash prizes from competitions will be lost. Twain felt the burden on his shoulders grow heavier, and was no longer able to relax.

Actually, even if Nottingham Forest went bankrupt, he could just jump ship. Depending on the results he achieved while leading the team, he could land a high-paying job as a head coach in any club in the world. Even now, some teams were waving cheque books in hopes of him joining them. He definitely did not have to worry about starving. It was not like his early days where not succeeding at his job would cost him his job, causing him to starve to death. That would never happen to him.

He did not need the guilt and emotional stress from worrying over Nottingham Forest’s potential bankruptcy. But he could not put down this team which he raised personally, nor the fans which looked up and trusted him. Being a traditional Chinese, he valued sentiment. Allan and Evan also treated him well, so he could not do things that would betray them. He should try to help them to his fullest. Evan said Nottingham Forest was his last hurrah, so Twain was also willing to regard the team as his.

Twain did not know how to run a club, and he was not some business genius. Looking at large numbers gave him a headache, and even when he was buying things from the market he would pay the wrong amount. What he did know was how to lead a soccer team in competitions, and winning those would mean the club earned cash prizes. Twain could only get the club through these tough times by earning money the only way he knew.

※※※

Tony Twain, someone who only cared about soccer, only learnt about financial crises today. In reality, this global-wide financial crisis had already persisted for almost a year. Property markets took a heavy hit, stocks of various countries took a huge dip, credit companies went into bankruptcy, currency devaluation was occurring. It was akin to a windstorm, forming in 2007, spreading over the world and peaking in the second half of 2008.

The global market, during the first half of 2008, was still carrying the optimal thought of “subprime mortgage crisis’ worst period has finished”. But upon reaching the second half of the year, the situation took a turn for the worse.

In August, France announced its profit warning. Following that, an estimate of 8.2 billion euros were lost, because they, under an extent of 127 billion euros called the “Rhineland Fund”, participated in the United States’s sub-credit investment business.

The United States’ 10th largest mortgage institution — American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation, officially applied for bankruptcy protection on 6th August, following the bankruptcy of Century Financial Corporation, another big-scale mortgage institution in America.

On 8th August, the 5th biggest American investment company, The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. announced the fall of two funds, reason also being the sub-credit windstorm.

9th August, France’s biggest bank BNP Paribas announced the freezing of its three funds, similarly because of investing in the subprime bond with the United States and resulting in huge losses. Thus, the European market was in shambles.

On 13th August, Japan’s second biggest bank Mizuho Bank’s parent company Ruisui Group announced its losses from the United States’ sub-credits being 6 billion yen. In the past, people thought if the United States partnered with other economic powers in other countries, this economic state would not be so devastating. However now the cruel reality has been displayed in front of everyone. The financial crisis was not just a frightening thing to raise an alarm, it had became a reality.

These incidents were actually still quite distant from Tony Twain’s life. But as September transitioned into October, an event had begun to alter the work life he originally had. The American investment bank Lehman Brothers, which invested in Nottingham Forest’s new stadium through loans, applied for bankruptcy protection.

That October, in England, Twain also felt a chill.

Chapter 702 - Winter Has Arrived

The most immediate impact of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse on the Nottingham Forest Football Club was that their new stadium landed in a predicament of a shortage of funds.

Though Nottingham Forest’s new stadium did not yet have an official name, it had become a highly anticipated British construction project. Because it was not merely about a construction of a stadium.

It was a massive real estate development plan. With Nottingham Forest’s new stadium as the core, the development radiated outward to form a commercial and residential circle, as well as facilities such as a football theme park, a national fitness park and green space. With Nottingham Forest’s increasing rise to fame, Allan Adams also planned to open the site as a tourist attraction to the world in the future. Like Real Madrid’s Bernabéu, Barcelona’s Camp Nou, and both AC Milan’s and Inter Milan’s San Siro and Meazza….and the other stadiums of famous European clubs, they were not just stadiums. Due to the glorious tradition of the teams, they had become sacred places for countless tourists and fans at the same time

The plan was huge, and the prospects were fantastic, but the cost was much bigger than building a single stadium.

Manchester City’s new stadium, City of Manchester Stadium, had cost just over one hundred and ten million pounds. If only one such stadium was built, it would not have been such a big deal for Nottingham Forest’s finances. They only had to tighten their belts for a year.

But Allan’s plan would cost at least six hundred million pounds. It did not include the investment from Nottingham City Council.

If they did not want to spend that much money, then the Forest Club would end up with the ownership of the stadium with no other facilities to earn money and accumulate wealth. In order to maximize the club’s development, Allan and Evan ventured to be the majority owner in the project, in return for the development rights of the stadium, football theme park, and a commercial area.

America’s financial problems were already prominent at that time. But who would have thought that the self-regulating capacity of the market economy was so vulnerable?

It took only a year to bankrupt Lehman Brothers, America’s fourth-largest investment bank….

Allan became more haggard during this period and flew around the world all the time. Evan Dougherty’s businesses in the U.S. were completely over, and now Allan was busy looking for follow-up funding for the new stadium. Many banks had refused to lend to Nottingham Forest because of the global financial downturn.

Without a choice, Evan had to announce a temporary shutdown of the new stadium construction and other building developments. Otherwise, if they continued to invest money in the project, the entire Nottingham Forest Football Club would sooner or later be dragged into this bottomless abyss.

The news immediately made headlines in the British press. Everyone knew that the Nottingham Forest club was finally in big trouble after a rapid expansion in the last few years.

“... I admit that the Nottingham Forest boss is ambitious and driven. But overly rapid development will lead to stalling. The Nottingham Forest team is widely popular in Europe, but their economic fundamentals have not kept pace with the team’ progress, with the club’s construction and their results not matching. Look at the other powerhouse clubs, both their results and the club’s conditions are very much in line with their status. Only Nottingham Forest... Like a deformed child, it has a pair of fast-moving feet, but without a body that can withstand the impact of this speed...” The various professional experts at the television stations, analyzed Nottingham Forest’s current predicament. They thought it was a reverse archetype of how a football club should survive and develop in the midst of the world’s economic downturn.

“I think the Nottingham Forest Football Club should reflect on their strategy of expanding everywhere. China, Japan, Southeast Asia, England, United States of America and the entire world…. Tony Twain’s magic has caused his boss to think that his team and club are omnipotent. To be honest, I am not at all surprised by the current predicament when I know that the chairman and market manager of Nottingham Forest are Americans who have never cared about football before. They ignore the important point—a football club is different from an ordinary listed company. Other than having to abide by the laws of the economy, it also has to obey the laws of football. Tony Twain’s magic has given the team a good foundation for development, but they still need to take it slowly and develop step by step. Evan Doughty had once revealed his goal of turning Nottingham Forest into a powerhouse club at a certain reception held in Nottingham. But I’ve never heard of a powerhouse club that can be built in just five or six years. Chelsea is rich and has good results, but is it a powerhouse now? I think the vast majority of people will disagree that it is a powerhouse club.”

“Nottingham Forest is one of the clubs established the longest in the history of the modern football world and the only team to still compete in the top leagues. However, now the club is giving everyone the impression that it is young. From the owners of the club to the manager of their team and to the players, they are all extremely young. Young people will always make some errors in judgment and their estimation of the situation will be overly optimistic...”

“Now they know how bad the situation is.”

※※※

“There are sounds of plaintive whines everywhere.” Evan sat in the large boss’s chair in the office and rested his chin on his hands. “It’s as if winter is coming early.”

He appeared to be talking to himself, and yet as if he was speaking to Twain sitting next to him.

Allan was not in the room. He was on his way to China. Those investment projects in China also ran into financial problems which he needed to personally solve.

Twain looked down at the sweater he wore inside his suit.

“Winter is really not that far away...”

After a 0:0 draw with Middlesbrough, the team was dismissed again as the national teams’ games resumed. The players flew to various countries in the world for the World Cup qualifiers on all continents. Some of them did well and the others performed badly. The players who returned to the Forest team after two national games were mostly unsatisfactory in terms of their form and physical strength. Under such circumstances, Nottingham Forest lost its away game to Liverpool and quickly slipped to the seventh spot in the league table. It was the first time in two years that Nottingham Forest had placed at seventh in the league. The last time they were in the seventh spot in the league tournament was on October 14th, 2006, after they lost to Manchester City in the eighth round of the league tournament and the team finished seventh following three consecutive rounds of no victory.

The score was 2:3. They worked hard but still lost. In the post-match press conference, Twain expressed concern about the fatigue of the Premier League players and suggested that the Football Association should consider giving the players a breather by setting up a winter break. But his suggestion elicited no response and he did not receive any reply from the Football Association. The setting up of a winter break had hotly debated for so many years, but it was just wishful thinking of the coaches and players. Neither the Football Association nor the league committee would agree because it was directly related to their income...

Now he was about to lead the team to Italy to compete against a strong rival, Juventus.

Before he went to Italy, Evan came looking for him.

Twain knew what Evan was here for. Could it be anything else other than the team’s recent poor results?

But there was nothing he could do about the current situation. The players’ physical strength had been depleted by the club and national team competitions. The continuous twice weekly games had left them with no time to rest and adjust their form. For Benítez to have been able to reverse the score in the last five minutes, the Forest lads had already played outstandingly in the game against Liverpool. But it also took a lot of physical energy to play like this, and the whole team was exhausted after the game. He did not even know how to face Juventus.

He could not afford to buy anyone during the winter transfer window, and he must rely on the players to stand for one season. But he had not given up. He was still indoctrinating his players with the goal of winning at least one title this season. No matter how bad the situation might be, the team could not lose its confidence.

“I know what you’re going to say, Evan. The team will win against Juventus.” He stood up and wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Evan smiled at him and did not detain him.

※※※

Two days later at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin.

Nottingham Forest lost 2:0 in the away game against Juventus, which returned to the Champions League.

Twain sat in the technical area of Stadio delle Alpi’s visiting team, without any angry expression on his face. He did not throw his suit jacket down nor kick a water bottle. He just sat there with a helpless look on his face. In fact, just before the final whistle sounded, he was still angry like a bull that saw red on the sidelines. He flew into a rage on the sidelines over the team’s performance.

He had deployed the strongest lineup he currently had. But his tactics were not effective against Juventus at all. After all, his routine bore a lot of resemblance to the routine that Juventus was best at, and Ranieri knew how to deal with him.

Defensively, Juventus was no worse than Nottingham Forest. The Italians’ blood had long been infused with defensive instincts. No matter how much the Forest team dispatched back and forth, no matter how quickly and suddenly the Forest team counterattacked, Juventus’ rear defensive line was not disorderly. Moreover, they used sneak attacks to defeat Nottingham Forest by scoring a goal each at the start of the first and second half.

Twain’s tactics came from Juventus during Capello’s time. Juventus’s football was ugly to watch but stable and capable of obtaining victories and winning titles. Now that they were up against Juventus, which was more stable than themselves and hungry for victory, he could not take any advantage. On the other hand, the Forest players might have depleted their strength due to the consecutive campaigns and could not get into their competitive form, as if they ate too much and not fully awoke. After Juventus scored their second goal, they did not appear to have any desire for victory even though there were almost forty minutes left. They were simply too tired. The players were human too and not machines. They would be tired and following their fatigue, they would certainly be slack, which could produce some negative thoughts ...

There was nothing Twain could do about it. No matter how energetically he tried to rouse the players in the locker room, the players did not have any strength at all. It was impossible for them to generate infinite power out of thin air and then POWER-MAX to blast their opponent away just because they heard him roar a few words of “we must win!” Nor could they definitely win the game just because he promised Evan Doughty that the game must be won before coming to Turin.

The Juventus players embraced each other with exceptional excitement after they won the game. Kerslake, who could not stand the spectacle, snorted, “It’s not as if they won the Champions League title. It’s only a victory in the group stage. Must they be so excited?”

“They did beat the defending champion after all, since their return to the Champions League...” Dunn explained. He thought that this could explain why the Juventus players were so excited. Many of these people had experienced the tragedy of relegation from Serie A to Serie B, also experienced the years of striving for Serie A while in Serie B and the joy of returning to Champions League qualifiers a season after a successful promotion.

Many of them must have tasted the ups and downs, as well as the joys and sorrows in life.

He looked at the Juventus captain Del Piero as he thought to himself.

While the two men talked, Twain stood up from his seat without a word and walked slowly toward the tunnel. He did not want to see the Juventus players get so excited that they were crazy because he felt that it was the victor showing off to the loser and a disgrace to the loser. He did not want to sit here and be treated as such.

In the post-match press conference, Ranieri looked very excited, while Twain was reticent and refrained from answering. Even if he must answer a question, he would try to be as succinct as possible.

“What do you think about losing this vital game?”

“I have no opinion.”

“?igi?, who was the substitute for the injured van Nistelrooy, performed poorly in the starting lineup for the game. Do you think it was a mistake to buy him?”

“No.”

“Will the loss to Juventus affect the team’s eventual advancement out of the group stage?”

“There’s no impact.”

“What’s your assessment of Juventus’ performance?”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

When the reporters saw that he was so uncooperative, they directed their questions at him, and not the team or the game.

“Are you in a bad mood since you lost the game?”

“Take a guess.”

“Then why are you acting like you’re unwilling to answer questions?”

“I don’t feel like talking.”

“Why don’t you want to talk?”

“I have a toothache.” Twain replied with a straight face.

“... All right. Are the team’s recent results related to the financial difficulties the club has encountered?”

“I can assure you that the worldwide financial crisis has nothing to do with the performance of our team.” This was the longest sentence Twain had uttered at the press conference.

The press conference ended unhappily amid such a cold atmosphere.

※※※

Having to break his promise, Twain was in a bad mood and did not even criticize the players’ poor performance in Turin. Back in Nottingham, the Forest team beat Aston Villa, which ranked above them, 1:0 at home after much difficulty. With this hard-won victory, their ranking rose from seventh to fifth.

But in the Champions League, the Forest team was in big trouble.

Back at home, Nottingham Forest, which swore revenge, were forced to a 1:1 draw at the City Ground stadium by Juventus, which used its usual method of clinging to defense, holding their ground and sneak attacks.?A draw with Juventus left the Forest team now uncertain of their advancement out of the group stage. After the grouping came out for the Champions League group stage, the pundits were unanimous in their bullish view of Nottingham Forest and believed that it would be normal for them to be the first team to advance.

Tony Twain, who liked to go up against the media, had done it once again. However, it did not go as he wanted this time. If possible, he would rather cater to the media’s predictions this time.

Juventus was at top of the table with three wins and one draw; Nottingham Forest was second with two wins, one draw and one loss.; FC Kyiv Dynamo was third with two wins and two losses, following close behind with six points; FC BATE Borisov lost all four games with nary a point gained and had basically been declared out of the group ahead of schedule.

If there was no other surprise, it would not be a problem for Juventus to advance. Now the problem was between Nottingham Forest and FC Kyiv Dynamo. The gap between the two teams was so narrow that no one knew which team would advance until the last minute.

The final two rounds of the Champions League group stage were scheduled as followed: on November 26th, Nottingham Forest would challenge Belarus’ Borisov in an away game and against FC Kyiv Dynamo in a home game on December 11th.

The away game against Borisov would be crucial. If they lost in this game, Nottingham Forest might bid farewell to the Champions League early. As for why the game was so important, it was not because Borisov was strong, but because the impact from the long journey to Belarus and the harsh natural climate would have on the Forest team would be too great to be ignored.

At the end of November, Belarus had already entered a cold winter. The worst-case scenario would be that Nottingham Forest would have to play in a world of ice and snow against the opponent which had the home-field advantage and was adapted to the icy weather in order to take the lead in the knockout stage against FC Kyiv Dynamo.

In that game, they would not only play against the Borisov team, but also against the cold weather in Belarus. Furthermore, it was often when the players were the most tired and the most vulnerable to injuries during that time period.

The players’ fitness needed to be guaranteed to win and so that no one would get hurt.

As soon as Twain remembered the condition, he felt a boulder pressing on his chest and making him breathless.

In early November, in the morning of Nottingham, the mist from the Sherwood Forest still shrouded the city, the roads were wet, and it was still raining. The sun had already risen but was blocked by the thick dark clouds in the sky, not even letting in a ray of sunshine. The men who went to work huddled their bodies in black coats and hurried along. The headlights on the cars were still on as they drove across the roads, splashing sprays of icy water.

Twain stood outside Wilford Lane, looking up at the training base in front of him shrouded in the woods and fog. He tugged open the collar of his turtleneck, and the cold air took advantage of the opportunity to thread in, giving him the chills which he was unprepared for. But the good thing was that the feeling of breathlessness had finally eased a little.

He had just opened his mouth to take a deep breath when a puff of white breath from his mouth gushed out. It was dispersed by the chill in front of his eyes and diffused into wisps of white mist which gradually faded until it finally disappeared and melded with the white fog in the early winter morning.

Winter had arrived.

Chapter 703 - The Distance Between the Dream and Reality

Seven months had passed since he came from China to the faraway Britain. Chen Jian was getting used to life in this distant country. His language proficiency progressed very quickly in an environment where English was spoken everywhere. Only his studies progressed slowly at the University of Nottingham.

It was not that he did not want to study well but that he was too tired.

In the beginning during that period, his landlord, Fat John and his family were used to seeing the somewhat tanned looking Chinese young man dragged his exhausted body back home after the training and returned to his room to study English diligently once he had dinner. Then the next morning, he would go Wilford if there was training or take a bus to the University of Nottingham if there was no training.

Simple days like these were repeated. He rarely went shopping in the city center and did not go to any parks to relax. Other than John sometimes obtained an extra ticket for him to go to the City Ground stadium to watch the Forest team play, the city of the legendary English hero Robin Hood was just these three places, “Wilford training base”, “University of Nottingham” and “Mr. John’s house” and the roads between them to him.

Such arduous time slowly improved recently. He already had no problems with his English listening and speaking abilities. He could now communicate with his landlord at the dinner table and listen to John talk about Nottingham Forest’s proud history.

His body had adapted to the youth team’s training program and had shown his consistent qualities in training which were his strength and hard work.

However, he still felt very tired. Not just because the intensity of the training was particularly strong, but also because of the psychological reasons...

Chen Jian had formed the habit of keeping a daily diary since he came to England. His original intention was since this was a valuable life experience, he did not want this period of experiences to be forgotten over the course of his life as time went on. Therefore, he wanted to record his life, training and study in Nottingham in a written form.

Now when he flipped back at the earlier diary entries and read those crooked lines, he would recall each day during these seven months. In fact, he felt that even if he did not write a diary, these seven months, as well as the remaining five months would not be easily erased in his memory. They were too deep and strong, as real and clear as the aching in his body after the daily training.

※※※

...

“Chen! Can’t you run anymore? Can’t you?” The youth team manager, Greenwood leaned over and opened his mouth wide as he was almost going to bite Chen Jian’s ear. He rushed to Chen Jian, exhausted on the ground, and loudly scolded in English, regardless of whether Chen Jian could understand. “If you can’t do it, you can go home now! No one’s going to keep you here! No one here has any hope for you! You’re just a lucky contestant from the talent show! Do you really think you’re lucky? Stand up! Keep practicing! You’ve got twenty more runs to dribble the ball back and forth! Don’t delay my dinner time, this is the most ordinary youth team training!”

Chen Jian could not understand what Manager Greenwood shouted. Even though the manager always had such a loud voice during the training, he knew that the English coach must have been unhappy with himself—he’d never seen anyone crouch next to his ear to compliment him with such a fierce expression.

He got up from the ground and wobbled as he continued to dribble the ball forward. He ran a few steps forward before he stumbled and fell to the ground again. But this time, without waiting for Greenwood to continue to rush up to “rain down on him with wrath”, he climbed up and continued.

※※※

“Are you calcium-deficient or had polio as a kid? Chen! If you can’t withstand such a tiny collision, how are you going to play football? Are you a little girl? Do you secretly stuff your panties with sanitary pads? Are you having your period? Get up, continue! What are you hiding from? This is not motherf**king playing football. This is war! If you can’t win, you might as well die. Anyone who runs away and does not die on the battlefield, will be dead by my hands! If you’re so afraid of getting hurt, I can recommend you train with ten-year-olds! Do all you Chinese behaved like this? Direct confrontation! Face the confrontation! How many times do you want me to say that? Face it!!”

Chen Jian could more or less make out the series of grunts from the youth team’s loud-mouthed coach’s mouth and what they meant. He did not shout back, nor did he did not wash his hands off it and leave. Instead, he got up, and yelled as he rushed up to his opponent. Then he tackled the opposing player to the ground with a foul.

The young man who was knocked down by Chen Jian shouted in an exaggerated way. He laid on the ground and did not want to get up.

“James, if you’re going to keep lying on the ground and pretend to be lazy, I’ll punish you with running ten laps with the ball!” Greenwood changed the aim of his muzzle this time and rushed to bellow next to the ear of the boy lying on the ground. The other person immediately jumped up from the ground. He certainly did not forget to give Chen Jian a smack in the chest and said, “Hey! You should have just used the force just now to vent at the coach!”

The youth team players who were enjoying this lively sight around them, watched and laughed. Greenwood also applauded Chen, “Although it was a foul, a defense player has to be used to fouling to stop the other side. And it was a good momentum... Another thing don’t go ‘ah ah’ and yell out the next time. You looked silly.”

There was more laughter.

Chen Jian wrote in his diary: “... I still don’t quite understand, but I think Manager Greenwood praised me. It was the first time in three months that he had complimented me... Professional football in England is indeed different from what I’ve heard at home...”

※※※

“Chen, you should pay attention to the position of the opposing attacking player! You chased after the ball, but why were you chasing the ball? Do you think your physical strength is that good? This is not your talent show. You won’t be able to hold on till the halftime interval with that little strength of yours in a professional game. Are you training here for professional competition as your goal? If that’s not the case, then you just take it that I did not say...”

“Of course, I am, Manager Greenwood, of course. But George Woo…..”

“You want to say his stamina is very good, right? Yes, his stamina is extremely good. But he’s a monster. Are you a monster? Are you George Wood?”

Chen Jian shook his head.

“Then listen carefully! Your body may be considered strong in your country...”

“No, not strong, Manager Greenwood...”

“Don’t interrupt me! Well, since you’re not considered strong in your country, then you’re not strong here. You can’t always think about using your body to defend. I don’t know which idiot told you that the defense depends on the body. In fact, the body is only an innate gift, but people can’t always rely on innate gifts to live. You need to learn how to observe and analyze every move of the attacking players and then figure out what they will do next to prepare yourself in advance. It’s prejudgment. Do you understand prejudgment?”

“I think... I understand, Manager Greenwood.”

Greenwood pointed to his head and said, “If you think football is a physical sport, you’re wrong, Chen. Football is actually a sport full of wisdom. Idiots and fools don’t have a future here. Your body isn’t strong, but there’s no rule that only strong people are qualified to be defenders and defensive midfielders. You have to learn to defend with your brain and intelligence, find the attacking players’ next moves and weaknesses, and then make targeted countermeasures. Your speed and agility of an East Asian are your characteristics. You have to work on them...”

Chen Jian nodded vigorously and said, “I see. Manager Greenwood, thank you for the instructions.”

※※※

“Chen! I ask you to use your brain to play. I did not ask you not to run at all! What are you doing there, standing like a fool? What are you defending? A human vegetable can easily bypass a wood block like you!”

“Shovel the ball! Be decisive ... Look, you put him in the penalty area. What are you going to do next? Give the opponent a penalty shot? Foul? What are you afraid of? What will you choose when it comes to a free kick as compared to a penalty shot?”

“Plug ahead and plug ahead! Don’t just stand in place after you pass the ball. Run forward diagonally...How is your teammate going to pass to you if you don’t run? His other passing routes are blocked. Only if you plug ahead from behind, can you create a passing route for him. Don’t just think that passing is only something a playmaker has to consider. It requires people next to him and the whole team moving together to create a passing route! Standing to play football is absolutely not allowed here!”

“Chen, do you know what your biggest problem is? It’s not that your body is thinner and weaker than an Englishman and not because you don’t have a solid foundation. Those things can be improved through constant exercise and practice. Your biggest problem is here. The brain, wisdom, consciousness. It’s football awareness! Playing on the pitch is completely different from watching in the stands. Don’t think that just because you’ve watched a lot of football games means you have a lot of outstanding football awareness. If you don’t come down and play in person, you never know what’s going on! You have to learn to observe and analyze the situation on the field... Isn’t your English fast improving? Why can’t you use the same intelligence to develop your football awareness?”

...

Chen Jian could still think of a lot of such examples of remarks now. He discovered that the praise at the time turned out to be the only time the youth manager, Greenwood had acknowledged his efforts in seven months. He had just picking at his faults all the other times. Greenwood could certainly find more faults just when he thought he had done a good job in one area.

Chen Jian often felt that he was not really suitable for playing football ...he simply made too many mistakes. Even with the most basic running, Manager Greenwood would think that there was a problem with his running posture, which affected his speed and explosive force... But he had run like that since he was a kid. He had been running for eighteen years and no one had ever said to him, “Hey, man. There’s a big problem with your running posture.”

He admitted he thought about a variety of things before he came here, including how the professional training in England should look like. But he never thought it would be so harsh and unbearable. One tiny misstep, the sharp whistle and Greenwood’s loud voice immediately rang out in his ears.

He could not refute and explaine. A mistake was a mistake and he could only say “yes, Manager Greenwood. I won’t make a mistake the next time!” The reason was simple as he was from China, a country with a backward level of football. Anyone from the English youth team was better than him and knew more than he did. In the sport like “football”, he had no say as a Chinese.

During the seven months in the youth team, in addition to the unimaginable intense training, he was also subjected to mental challenges—any effort would almost certainly be relentlessly rejected. He absolutely could not expect an appreciative glance from the manager after he beautifully stopped a long pass or receive the appreciation and applause of his teammates after he successfully intercepted an opponent’s dribble... Those scenes that appeared in the football fantasy novels never happened to Chen Jian. Why? Because the coaches and teammates would think that what he did was common. Did a footballer have to be complacent about praise and rewards when he did his job?

Chen Jian would never tell his parents or the fans and classmates in China who cared about him, the things he encountered on the training ground. He also would not tell his landlord, John and his family. No matter what kind of treatment and difficulties he encountered, there was one thing that remained unchanged for him and that was to always keep smiling, even if he found it hard to smile. He did not want to look miserable in the face of difficulties, giving the impression that he could not handle it.

As he always smiled, he was on fairly good terms with his teammates and there was no such thing as crowding him out. Perhaps the teammates were aware that this kid was just a product of a talent show and could not possibly fight with them for a spot here. He was basically not a rival.

※※※

Sometimes Chen Jian would call his two companions at Bolton Wanderers and Everton to ask about their situation. Whether it was Wang Yang at Bolton Wanderers or Song Hui at Everton, they seemed to be in a much better position than he was. Everyone had the same training content and did not receive any special treatment but was not abused either. After they met the standard required and completed a training session, they would be warmly praised by the coaches. Their training intensity and training environment simply could not be compared with Chen Jian’s “hell.”

They were all very surprised when they heard about what happened to Chen Jian. Wang Yang even asked him directly if he had offended the youth team’s manager, or if the manager hated Chinese people.

Chen Jian firmly stated that it was impossible.

Wang Yang curled his lips and said maybe he did not realize he had offended the other man with some small details.

Chen Jian thought for a while this time and still shook his head to say it was impossible.

Song Hui was very concerned about Chen Jian’s training situation. After hearing Chen Jian’s account, he stayed quiet for a long while before he faintly said just when Chen Jian thought the phone cut off, “Ah, completely two different worlds….”

Although their training was easier than Chen Jian’s and the people around them were relatively kinder, Wang Yang and Song Hui had basically given up on their “dream” of staying in the United Kingdom after a year. They called their “dream” a “daydream” after they experienced the level of English football. They knew their own levels and were also aware that be it Bolton Wanderers or Everton, they had no interest in either of them. Frankly speaking, the previous talent show only came about because they represented the Chinese market.

After figuring it out, they felt a little disheartened and foolish, knowing in advance that they had been eliminated while they tried their best.

“I have learnt much during the year. Even if I can’t stay in the UK in the end... Ah, I definitely can’t. I don’t regret this year too.” With six months to go before the one-year deadline, Wang Yang had begun to characterize his one year of experience. “No matter what happens, I’m here anyway. I’m much luckier with those who were already eliminated and did not even qualify to be here. I don’t think I can ask for anything more.”

“The gap is really too wide. Before I came here, I had the fantasy in my mind that I might even be the main character in those football fantasy novels on the Internet? I only realized what I’m made of when I came here. I’m worse than other people... by a billion light-years. The level of Chinese football is really backward in every area. It’s not just the system, the players and the coaches who are behind...” Song Hui shook his head and sighed, somewhat frustrated. “Sigh, the only benefit is that the improvement in my English level... Even if I study in England later, I won’t have to go to a language school first.”

The manner of these two men was completely different from the complacency they showed before they came here. The reality was cruel, so they woke up from their dreams.

Only Chen Jian was still persistent in his dream. He was not arrogant, nor was he fanciful. He just felt that even if it was a game that he knew he was going to lose; he would persist to the final whistle. Giving up early was not his style and had never been since he participated in the audition of <The Football Kid> and was eliminated the first time.

※※※

Chen Jian returned to the locker room after he completed Greenwood’s special training program for him again. The players in the youth team were still changing their clothes and everyone looked very excited. It made him a little curious.

A black man on the team gesticulated to explain to him, “Manager Greenwood said the First Team manager, boss and chief will come to the youth team tomorrow to watch the training match!”

Chen Jian knew what it meant for these people. If they performed well, they might even be transferred to the reserve team and be qualified to play for the official competition. If they did well in the reserves, they could even move up to the First Team and play in the league tournament. They could perhaps obtain a spot to participate in the Champions League after the winter transfer window, then shine and make a name for themselves—all the young people would have that dream, wouldn’t they? They thought that they would become the most special, prominent, unique and the best player.

It was a moment that all young players who had practiced hard for years, yearned for day and night. It was a chance to decide their own destiny.

But what did this have to do with him? Chen Jian used English to wish the enthusiastic black kid good luck, and then went to the shower room to wash off his sweat.

There were still five months away from his dream and he still could not see the road ahead up until not. He did not know whether his dream was really waiting for him up ahead. But he had to keep running. Even if he stumbled and did not have the strength, he had to keep going.

Because he really did not know what else he could do except to run forward.

Chapter 704 - Strong and Resolute

The worsening global economy, the construction works on the new stadium that were ceased due to a lack of funds, problems with the players’ fitness, signs of an imminent increase in injuries amongst the players and unstable team results. All these different factors came together to weigh down as an immense pressure on Twain.

At the same time, they also opened his eyes to the fact that he could not pin his hopes on the club to splash the cash and buy players during the winter break, and that he had to learn to make use of his local resources more to strengthen the team’s capabilities.

The youth team was definitely an area that he should pay attention to. However, it was not enough to just pay attention to it just by sitting in the office and looking at data and reports as he had always done so far. He had to go down and see the youth team for himself. This was a way to make a statement on his stance. It did not matter if he all he did was to stand by the side of the pitch with his sunglasses on and space out. To the youth players, what they will see is hope. The sight of him will bring them encouragement.

This act of his would also be a signal to Evan Doughty. I know you don’t have money to buy players, but the youth team is the foundation for the team’s survival. You can scrimp however you want elsewhere, just not here.

The only thing he had not done to get his message across to Doughty was to paint the words ‘you can scrimp, but not on the kids’ on the walls of the youth team’s training ground.

He decided to make a trip down to North Wilford with his two assistant managers Kerslake and Dunn after the first team’s training session to check on the kids’ progress. He wanted to see how far the talent of those young geniuses that the scouts have brought back from all over the world have developed.

※※※

As Britain embraced winter, it also embraced the rainy season.

London was called the ‘City of Mist’ during the days of the Industrial Revolution due to how it was engulfed in industrial gases and smoke. But now, instead of industrial gases and smoke, it was shrouded in fog.

Nottingham was no different. The incessant cold rain had already lasted for four days, and there were still no signs that the weather would clear up or stop raining according to the weather reports.

Even though Twain was brought up in Sichuan where there would also be frequent cold rain during winter, he still disliked weather like this. The constant rain made people feel as though both their clothing and body have gone moldy. His body exuded an unbearable stench of mold and his clothes were always damp. It felt terribly uncomfortable when his clothes clung to his body.

“I hate weather like this.” Twain grumbled under his breath as he walked under a black umbrella. He was on the way to North Wilford with Dunn and Kerslake. “Looking at a sky like this only makes people feel depressed.”

He tilted his umbrella to the side a little and looked up at the sky. The raindrops went pitter-patter as they hit him on his face, in his mouth, in his eyes and rolled down his neck into his collar.

Kerslake furrowed his brows. The team’s performance has been very unstable recently. A weather like this would certainly make people feel ‘disoriented’.

He did not believe that they would be able to find suitable players for the team from the youth team during this winter break. He could not be any more familiar with the training of Nottingham Forest’s youths. The team may have been constantly scouting for young, gifted players from overseas in recent times, but all those players are still far from ready to play in the league… The earliest they might be ready would be January of next year.

As for Dunn, he already had someone in mind. When Twain suddenly mentioned that he wanted to take a look at the youth team yesterday, the first person that came to his mind was not any of those hardworking kids in the youth team. Rather, it was Chen Jian.

He could not help but worry about him every single time he heard news about him from the youth team.

Can he hold on? Can he realize his dream?

The three of them arrived at North Wilford, each deep in thought.

The rain and bad weather did not deter the youth team from carrying out their training sessions outdoors. A small-scale practice match had been arranged in place of the usual training session to make it easier for the first team managers to discern the players’ true abilities.

The youth team’s training ground was hidden by a forest and usually looks to be of a better condition than the first team’s training ground. However, all they could see today was a stretch of muddy field due to the bad weather.

The skies above were dark enough to mislead people into thinking that time had fast forwarded and that evening had already dawned. The forest to the north of the training grounds came across as a black, hazy shape amidst the fog, and it added an even darker shade to the training grounds.

The youth players were changing their clothes in the dressing room. They ran out timidly after the manager’s exhortations.

Chen Jian was one of them. He had only found out a minute before that he was actually playing as a member for the yellow team in this intra-team match.

The youth players had been grouped into red and yellow teams for the practice match, and they would each wear a jersey corresponding to the color of their teams.

In the first team, the yellow jersey was typically worn by the starting players, but over here in the youth team, the colors meant nothing. They were only used to allow everyone to differentiate who were their allies and foes.

It has been more than seven months since Chen Jian came to Nottingham Forest, but he had never once represented Nottingham Forest to participate in a youth game.

It was not that he was ineligible, but rather he had only been building on his foundation for this entire time. He had only started training with his team mates two months ago and still lacks coordination with them.

He did get a chance to feature in intra-team games from time to time, but he was nothing more than an accessory for the most part. He would play the game and get substituted after a while.

Regardless of how well he might have played in those games, his performances would never be taken into account by the youth team managers.

It was quite cumbersome to be an ‘accessory’. No one truly believed that an amateur chosen from a talent show would really make it through the year and ultimately get to stay at Nottingham Forest Football Club.

Thus, it did not matter how hard Chen Jian tried. Nobody other than Greenwood paid much attention to him, because Greenwood knew that assistant manager Dunn was exceptionally concerned about him. As someone who had worked with Dunn in the youth team before, he was willing to help Dunn keep an eye on his Chinese compatriot.

Since this was a game that would allow the first team managers to scout players who could be brought over to the reserve team, he believed that he naturally did not have a part to play since he would just be taking up a spot in the team. Therefore, he was quite surprised to hear Greenwood call his name.

Chen Jian might have been surprised, but he did not act as though he had just been given a once in a lifetime chance. All he did was to smile and nod his head as an acknowledgement, before he calmly went to change his clothes. He then ran out of the dressing room that was situated at the second floor and ran out onto the training grounds and into the rain.

As he passed by the side of the field, he saw Greenwood conversing with three men under black umbrellas. He was only able to make out the men’s features from under the umbrellas after he had run past them, and that was when he recognized who each of them were.

One of them was the Chinese assistant manager Dunn, whom he was the most familiar with. In his eyes, Dunn was a man who was always gentle and busy. He was already the assistant manager in a team like Nottingham Forest despite the fact that he had yet to turn 30. It was quite the feat.

Seeing him fills Chen Jian with strength. It did not matter that Dunn was a manager and he was a player. Dunn was his top role model on his journey to achieve his dreams.

The tall man standing next to Dunn, who did not speak much and was wearing a black shirt and a frown on his face was the king of this football team, their boss Tony Twain.

Nottingham Forest has had a bad run of results recently, and they were also struggling to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

After enjoying success for three years, the pressure riding on Twain now must be immense...

Behind the two of them was a man who kept looking about. He was the other assistant manager Kerslake. It has been said that he became the manager of the youth team after Twain made his departure. Manager Greenwood even worked under him at one point.

He has since been promoted to become the first team’s assistant manager… But people at the top also have their troubles. The team is performing badly, so his days as an assistant manager must not be good either.

Chen Jian ran past all three managers and started to do warm-ups with his other team mates under the guidance of their youth team managers.

The temperature was low in the winter and it was also raining. This made it even more vital for him to do his warm-ups properly. It would be a complete shame if he were to get injured during match like this.

※※※

Dunn discussed the recent state of the youth team’s training with Greenwood so as to obtain first-hand information and advice. After their discussion, all four of them turned around to watch the young players as they went about with their warm-ups on the field.

Out of them, only the youth team manager Greenwood was wearing a knitted hat to conceal his deeply cherished, almost bald head. The other three all had umbrellas over their heads.

Greenwood’s entire body had become drenched in the rain as a result, but he did not care about such trifles. He was not a first team manager who had come to observe the players. He was in charge of this place. He was not in the position to be leisurely strolling around holding onto an umbrella. There were times where he had to get on the pitch to demonstrate a particular movement, or get in a player’s face when the player made a mistake.

Given his role, was it appropriate for him to be holding onto an umbrella?

He squinted his eyes in an attempt to keep the raindrops from sliding into his eyes. He waved his hands towards the field and shouted, “That’s enough. Let’s begin!”

Players from both teams stood in the field as they were told. The practice match kicked off the moment the referee-cum-manager blew the whistle.

Twain was fully aware that it would be almost impossible to find a player from the youth team whom he could bring into the first team. Nonetheless, he had to appear in this training ground to motivate the youths and to give them the peace of mind to remain in Wilford.

The truth was that the ones who were taking everything into consideration and doing the scouting were his two assistant managers. He was just there to find players who interest him.

It was particularly demanding for players to play in the fairly heavy rain and their ball handling techniques were constantly put to the test. Players slipping and falling on all fours became a frequent sight on the pitch.

Greenwood felt a little awkward. Twain had been too random with his visit. Or rather, he had chosen a poor time to come and visit. It was impossible for the players to demonstrate their best form and abilities in a match like this.

The first team managers would surely lose their patience and simply condemn the youths for their performances if all they could watch were several minutes of ‘football in the mud’.

Greenwood wanted to let the first team managers see the abilities of the youth team players, so he had specially transferred their two gifted players John Bostock and Nicolás Millán from the U16 team to the U18 team to let them participate in today’s practice match. Both players have yet to reach 18 years of age, but they have been training in the U17 team all this while.

They were players that Twain wanted to pay close attention to as well. He was interested in seeing how far the two geniuses had progressed after a year of training in the Forest team.

What he saw from them was satisfactory. The two of them might still be young, but they were able to perform exceptionally well against numerous team mates who were older than them by a year or two. They were each the core player for both the red and yellow teams respectively. Neither looked estranged from the team and they were both able to coordinate well with their team mates. It was clear that Greenwood had often utilized them in the U18 matches.

The poor condition of the training grounds and the bad weather did impact their performances slightly, but Twain was confident that if they were to keep developing as they were now, he would have to bring both of them into the first team in the coming season, so as to provide them with more chances and a better stage to shine on.

After confirming that both players’ performances were up to his standards, Twain began scanning through the pitch aimlessly to search for another player to focus on. The way he looked around could easily lead others to the misperception that he was being inattentive.

Besides the sounds of players’ shouts, the sounds of water splashing as the players ran, tackled and shot for goal and the sounds of the whistle going off repeatedly, there were no other sounds that could be picked up on the field.

Everyone was focused on the match and on leaving the best impression possible in front of Tony Twain.

※※※

Chen Jian was well aware that he was nothing more than an ‘accessory’ in today’s match once again, but once the match started, he invested his whole mind and body into the game. He ran around and tackled the ball industriously, and tried his hardest to fortify the defense. They were tasks that were delegated to him by Manager Greenwood as the right back for his team.

He was not trying hard so as to catch the eye of the first team managers. He was trying hard because it was a match.

However, to Greenwood, Chen Jian’s performance was terrible. The pitch was slippery due to the rain and as a result, there was no power behind some of his movements. Chen Jian also looked extremely clumsy due to the fact that he was wearing soccer boots with short cleats that provided very poor traction as he ran. The right flank that he defended was always easily broken through by the opposition, which led to the red team primarily attacking down the right as the match progressed.

John Bostock also found the Chinese to be someone he could take advantage of, so he started to bring the ball towards the right as well.

The yellow team had just gotten a chance to counterattack, but the red team pushed them back and made it difficult for them to move forward. The young players became irritated at the fact that they were being held back and started acting out a little. Their actions allowed Bostock to earn a penalty. He stepped up to the plate to take the penalty and the red team led by 1-0 afterwards.

Greenwood, who was standing by the pitch, applauded and praised Bostock loudly after he scored the penalty. His gestures upset the yellow team who was trailing by a goal.

Discord began to brew in the yellow team. The goal from earlier had not been scored because the red team had broken through from Chen Jian’s side, but the looks that everyone sent Chen Jian were looks of animosity. Everyone got along well with him usually, but that was only because he did not pose a threat to them. However, if they were to become unable to perform as a result of Chen Jian’s terrible performance, then he would surely be resented by his team mates. Who would treat a guy who was only going to stay in the team for a year kindly at such a time?

If you make a mistake, the ones with a better temper would only send a look your way, but the ones who were more hot-headed would most likely charge at you directly and admonish you.

Chen Jian stood at the right flank. He was not an idiot. He knew the meaning behind the gazes.

He tried his best to not let himself think about the looks of contempt from his team mates, and continued carrying out his duties at the right flank.

He continued to defend and continued to be the target for the opposition’s attacks. He felt like an idiot every time he fell to the ground after losing his balance and climbed back up.

The words ‘at wits’ end’ could be used to describe the predicament that he found himself in. He could not stop an entire team’s attacks all by himself. He lacked support from his team mates. His poor performance from before had caused all his team mates to lose trust in him.

Raise a hand and ask for support?

Nobody would listen to him anyway.

He felt aggrieved, but could only keep on dealing with the red team’s relentless breakthroughs by himself.

One-on-one, one-on-two, one-on-three…

The red team’s dogged efforts finally paid off in the end. Bostock easily ran past Chen Jian, who was already about to drop dead by then. He passed the ball into the middle and provided an assist to his team mate who went on to score the second goal.

The yellow team was behind by two goals.

Unlike the previous time when they had conceded a goal however, no one looked at Chen Jian this time round. They were completely treating him like air. A center back playing for his team ran up and stood beside him, clearly unhappy about the shoddy defending he did previously and wanted to take over the role as right back himself.

Chen Jian looked at his team mate, then turned his head to look at his managers at the side. He wanted to see if this arrangement had been done at Manager Greenwood’s wishes. He did not see Manager Greenwood make any special gesture, but what he saw was Tony Twain looking around, seemingly distracted.

Twain’s actions angered Chen Jian instantly.

Regardless of how he performed, the ball had been rolling around him this entire time. Even if his managers were not pleased with his performance, they would at the very least stare at him and shake their heads, or they would look away when they realized that he was looking their way.

What’s up with that?

All he was doing was to lift his head and look around. Was he watching the match or was he watching the forest in the distance?

So he was actually nothing more than a bundle of air to all these British!

Look at how he was covered in mud from top-down now. If he were to fall to the ground, he would just blend right in and nobody would look surprised if they were to accidentally step over him.

Chen Jian looked down at his miserable state and felt humiliation for the first time.

That’s right, I’m from a country whose abilities in football trails behind many other countries. I’m just a celebrity who came from a commercial talent show. I know my place and I never expected any of you to revere me and treat me like a star. But at the very least…You all should at the very least look my way! I am a grown-up who’s alive and stands at 183 cm tall and weighs 70 kg.

He was broken through time and time again. He faced numerous opponents all by himself. He was toyed with. He ran. He jumped. He fell….

He was a human who could move!

Are you foreigners all so f*cking blind that you can’t see me?

At that moment, Chen Jian suddenly desperately wanted Greenwood to run up to him angrily and scold the living daylights out of him. Because that meant that he was being paid attention to. It meant that he still belonged on the pitch.

I don’t expect praise from you lot anymore. I only wish that you don’t ignore my presence, that you don’t pretend I’m not here, and that you don’t close an eye to all the effort that I’ve put in!

Why have I worked so hard for every single day? What did I hope to gain by working hard in a foreign land all by myself?

All of you are chasing after your dreams, and I’m the same!

I don’t want to get promoted to the first team of Nottingham Forest. I just want to become a true professional footballer!

It has been seven months. Other than being praised once before, all I have gotten were criticisms and rebukes. None of my hard work was rewarded or acknowledged in any way.

No matter how badly I performed, it will just be that I worked hard to all of you right? What right does any of you have to so easily deny my every drop of sweat and hard work that I have put in over the seven months?

Chen Jian saw that Dunn, who was standing next to Twain, was looking at him. Dunn then sighed and lowered his eyes, clearly disappointed at his performance. That was good.

A fire set off within Chen Jian and he galvanized into action instantly. He walked to the side of the pitch and walked in front of Greenwood. He then said in English to the youth team manager, “Please substitute me, Manager Greenwood.”

Everyone was shocked at his words. Greenwood did not understand what compelled Chen Jian to do this. He was never one who stirred trouble and was never one who got angry at anyone else. The Chen from China who had always kept a smile on his face was standing before him with his lips tightly pressed together, his eyes wide open and brimming with fury.

Greenwood had yet to answer him, but Chen Jian had already gone past him and was headed for the dressing room.

“Stop right there.” Someone pulled him back.

Chen Jian turned around to stare at the person who was pulling him. The person was none other than the ‘distracted’ Tony Twain who was looking all around just now.

Tony Twain was not wearing his trademark sunglasses due to the dark skies overhead, and it allowed Chen Jian to see the manager’s eyes clearly.

They were a little cold.

“Who allowed you to leave?” He asked coldly.

“Tony…” Dunn was a little surprised and called out to him.

Chen Jian did not respond to Twain’s question. He had no idea why the first team manager would hold onto him suddenly and not let him go.

“I’m asking again, who allowed you to leave?” Twain repeated his question in a cold voice as he stared straight ahead at Chen Jian. His gaze felt colder than his voice.

Greenwood could not bear to let Chen Jian get berated by the King of Nottingham Forest. He was well aware what sort of person Tony Twain was. His acrimonious words could make even the toughest of kids cry. He wanted to help Chen Jian out, and was about to wave his hands and call for the substitute player from the side when he was stopped by Twain’s outstretched umbrella.

“Get back on the pitch. The match has not ended and the manager has not substituted you.” Twain said with a dark face as he enunciated his every word slowly.

Chen Jian still did not understand why the first team manager would suddenly butt his nose into the affairs of someone like him who was only training in Forest’s youth team.

He turned his gaze towards Greenwood. To him, only the youth team manager Greenwood had the right to give him instructions.

Greenwood forced a smile and waved his hands. “Get back onto the pitch, Chen. The match has yet to end. I haven’t substituted you yet.”

Twain released his grip. Chen Jian glanced at Twain before walking back onto the pitch with a face that suggested he did not feel like relenting.

The players stared quizzically at Chen Jian who made his way back onto the pitch. They still did not understand what had just happened.

The center-back who had wanted to take over the role as right-back was asked to return to his initial position by Greenwood.

The match restarted after that.

※※※

Chen Jian’s performance after the match restarted was as terrible as ever. To be precise, it was even more terrible than before. His emotions had undoubtedly taken a hit after the events from earlier. How could someone like him whose mental state was in turmoil play a good match?

Twain had finally stopped looking around after the incident. He was only staring at Chen Jian under his black umbrella.

Chen Jian was broken through by the opponents’ two-versus-one pass when he tried to defend against Bostock. He lost his balance as he turned around and he slipped. He fell onto the ground on both knees. Both his hands were stuck in the mud. He kept his head low and never got back onto his feet.

He felt extremely dejected. He was looked down on and chided by others because he was incapable. Because he performed terribly.

Reality was so cruel.

He realized that his dream was starting to distance itself from him. Maybe it was never waiting for him at the end of his journey in the first place. Everything was just his fantasy. He was just pulling the wool over his own eyes.

He suddenly felt like bawling his eyes out. He wanted to cry for the dream that he has kept in the depths of his heart and chased after relentlessly for all these years. He wanted to cry for the 10 years of time that he had lost by being passionate about soccer. He wanted to cry at his stupidity for choosing to give up his studies to come to Britain to pursue his dream.

What was hard work without talent? How could an amateur football fan dream of becoming a professional footballer? Stop kidding yourself! If it was that easy to succeed, there won’t be so many people relying on those imaginary things to fulfil their desires!

So what if you are resilient? So what if you never give up till the end? Your attitude can determine everything?

Bullsh*t!

It has been seven months. I worked so hard for seven months and what have I gotten in return?

Endless criticisms and looks of distrust and displeasure from those around him!

Forget it, let’s go back. Leave behind all your unrealistic thoughts. Study hard and make progress every day.

He clenched both his hands and grabbed onto two fistfuls of mud tightly.

But… But… I really can’t accept this…

※※※

Dunn was discreetly shaking his head at Chen Jian’s terrible performance when he saw a wobbling umbrella by his feet.

He then heard Kerslake’s shout of surprise.

“Tony!”

When he raised his head, he saw Tony Twain’s back as he took big strides onto the pitch. The umbrella he was holding onto had been tossed onto the floor. It was flipped over and had already collected a little rainwater.

The referee-cum-manager saw Tony Twain walk onto the pitch. He blew his whistle to suspend the game in a hurry before running towards Twain. All the players got out of Twain’s way as he advanced. They all wanted to hide from their dark-faced boss.

Twain trudged forward under the rain. Puddles of muddied water splashed and dirtied his pants as he walked.

He made his way straight towards Chen Jian who was still crouching in the muddied water. Chen Jian did not notice his approach. He continued to kneel there with his head lowered.

A voice rang out above his head.

“Get up.”

Chen Jian did not respond.

“Get up!”

Chen Jian raised his head at the second shout and stared blankly at Tony Twain who stood before him.

Twain knotted his brows together at the sight of a dazed face that was devoid of life and radiance. He quite preferred the face that turned to glare at him earlier than the one he was seeing before him now.

He bent over and grabbed Chen Jian’s collar with both hands abruptly. Then, he pushed Chen Jian over onto his back with force.

“I told you to f*cking get up! What are you doing kneeling here? Are you trying to do a kowtow to someone? Me? I don’t give a damn about a loser asking for mercy!” Twain opened his mouth and began to give Chen Jian a dressing-down after he had pushed him over onto the ground.

Chen Jian was dumbfounded. Tony Twain was speaking fluent Chinese.

Twain spoke in Chinese once during the very first time the two had met, but ever since then, he had insisted on using English to converse with him, even if it was easier for him to speak in Chinese than to translate his words.

Chen Jian understood that the reason why Tony Twain did what he did was to remind him that they were in Britain, and to tell him not to take it easy knowing that he had a manager who could speak in Chinese with him. It was important for him to learn to speak in English so that he could truly get used to life and football here.

But now, Twain was using Chinese that could not sound any more fluent and any more authentic to castigate him.

“Look at you and the miserable, sh*tty state you are in! You really look like you are a patch of f*cking mud by lying there. Utter mud! Grass can’t grow where you are lying now! What are you doing? What are you doing staring at me? Are you upset? If you are then get on your feet and punch me!”

Twain noticed that there were two areas on Chen Jian’s mud-stained face that were clean. They extended from the corners of his eyes all the way to the wing of his nose.

“What’s this? Did you cry? Tsk tsk. Look at you! All you did was play a bad game of football, and you are all snot and tears. Do you think this is some kindergarten’s football match?”

Dunn was shocked to hear Twain mock and swear at Chen Jian in Chinese.

It was not just him. Everyone by the side of the field were stunned to see Tony Twain lose his temper, even if they could not understand whatever was coming out of Twain’s mouth.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Mud? Did you decide to cry your way back home since you just played one bad game? Are you going to go back to China to continue your studies earnestly and find a job upon graduation, and then be satisfied playing occasional amateur soccer once you are lugging a big belly about? Then when you are old you will brag to your grandson about how his grandpa once trained for a year in the youth team of Nottingham Forest, who was the European Champion! What if your grandson asks you what happened after a year? What are you going to say? You are going to tell him, ‘Ah, your grandpa performed badly in a match and gave up trying and then came back to China crying… What do you think your dear grandson will say to you?”

Twain pointed at Chen Jian who stared at him dazedly and chided, adding a pause between his every word, “You. Are. A. Wimp! A. Cowardly. Scaredy. Cat! You are never going to be able to raise your head before your grandson till the day you die, just like a man who can’t get it up. Get this right, you are an impotent man, not a man who has premature ejaculation, because you are a man who can’t f*cking raise your head so you don’t even have the right to have premature ejaculation!”

Dunn thought that Twain’s admonitions were all over the place. What exactly was he scolding about…

Why was Twain so infuriated? All Chen Jian did was to perform slightly badly. How did that rub him off the wrong way? Didn’t he not rate Chen Jian’s performance all this while?

“So? Have you finally realized that you have been daydreaming all along after experiencing for yourself how cruel reality can be? Let me tell you. This isn’t even f*cking professional football! This is just a f*cking youth game! And an intra-team one to boot! Did you think that all dreams were easily achievable? Did you think that as long as you got fired up like some stupid main character then your dreams will just strip itself and let you f*ck it? You need to f*cking pay even if the other person is a prostitute! There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world! That little hard work of yours means nothing! It means nothing!” Twain pointed at the youth players all around him, who stood there completely stunned.

“How many of them here have not been training for 10 years? How many of them do you think can be successful on the professional stage and make their appearances in Nottingham Forest’s first team? Who do you think you are? You are not the protagonist of some novel or comic. You are not a genius. You are just an ordinary man! Hundreds of people who are just like you die every second in this world!”

“One year!” Twain held up his middle finger. “You f*cking want to become a professional footballer after one year? How can such a good thing exist in this world! You can talk about your dreams all you want, but let’s see you try! Do you remember what I asked you when you first came here? You said you will never give up… Look at your cowardly state right now. Do you have the face to say those same words to me again right now? Do you dare to say, ‘I will not give up, sir’ to me again?”

The rain got heavier. It had drenched Twain from top to toe, but he did not feel anything about it. All he did was to stare at Chen Jian with eyes that looked as though fire could erupt from them.

“Very well. I want to congratulate you for not being that stupid little kid who only knew how to superficially chase after his dreams anymore. You have matured, you now know that reality is cruel! You have decided to beg for mercy in the face of the cruel reality. I won’t stop you if you want to walk away now. The match is not over, but your match is, boy! You have lost and have been disqualified! When you are ready to go back to China crying, don’t forget to give me a call. I will buy the plane tickets for you and will even give you a complimentary packet of tissue.”

Twain finally caught a breath after going on for so long and he inhaled deeply.

Following that, he bent over once again and looked squarely at Chen Jian. His face was right before Chen Jian’s.

“Before you leave, I have one last question to ask you. Tell me, what’s your name, you failure.”

Seeing that Chen Jian did not respond to him, he repeated his question. “Answer me. What’s your name, you failure!”

Chen Jian answered, with trembling lips,” Chen… Chen Jian.” It was unclear if the trembling was because he was frightened, or if it was due to the cold weather.

“Very good! Chen Jian, Chen Jian… Your mother gave birth to you, your father gave you this name. Chen’s your surname, and which Chinese character is it for your ‘Jian’? It’s not the character that can be found in the word that means ‘rape’, not the one that is found in the word that means ‘indistinguishable’ and not the one that is used for the word that means ‘get a bargain’. It is also not the character that is found in the word that means ‘depraved’ or the one that is used in the word that means ‘blade’. The Chinese character that is used in your name ‘Jian’ can be found in the words that mean ‘strong’ and ‘resolute’! Remember this well. This is your name, Chen Jian!”

After finishing those words, Twain straightened his back and turned to leave. He no longer cared about the youth team’s practice match, and did not bother seeing what expression Chen Jian had on him while lying in a pool of muddied water. He did not stop to pick up his black umbrella off the floor. He walked straight out of the field and out the door.

Dunn saw Twain walk straight out of the training grounds. He quickly apologized to Greenwood before chasing after Twain while holding an umbrella over his head.

※※※

Everyone on the pitch was stupefied. This included Chen Jian. He remained in the same posture after he was pushed over by Twain. He looked spaced out and could not believe the scene that had just unfolded before him earlier.

He felt like giving up, then he suddenly got chastised by the first team manager… And it went on for several minutes?

What… What exactly happened?

※※※

Dunn shared half of his umbrella with Twain and sheltered him from the rain above his head. He had left in a hurry earlier and had forgotten to pick up the umbrella that Twain had tossed to the ground.

“Why?” Dunn asked.

“I can’t bear to see these scaredy-cats being all cowardly before me. If you want to cry then do it while hiding in your home! Doing it here is indecent!” Twain’s voice as he spoke still sounded stiff. He was truly angry.

“Just because of this?”

“And also to relieve some pent up stress after what happened these few days.” Twain turned around to look at Dunn. “It’s true. Scold people when you have time on your hands. It’s good for your health.”

Dunn smiled. “And?”

Twain was not in a hurry to answer Dunn’s question. He fumbled around his coat pocket for a pack of cigarettes and was about to light one when he realized, to his annoyance, that the entire pack of cigarettes was wet from the rain and none of the cigarettes could be lit up. He crushed the entire pack of cigarettes with his hands and discarded it into a rubbish bin by the road. He patted his other pockets and gave up once he realized that he had run out of cigarettes.

“Honestly, it was nothing. He has a dream, and has already gotten so far. But the reality was also right in front of him. All I told him was that there were two roads before him right now. The rest is up to him. As for what he chooses, that has nothing to do with me. But, if he really wants to go, I will definitely pay for his airline tickets and the packet of tissues like I said I will. I have never gone back on my word.”

“But there is clearly only one road.” Dunn did not agree with Twain’s opinion. “The dreams have reached a dead end.”

Twain smiled. “No, to me, there are actually two roads. One road leads to reality,” he pointed at Wilford Lane. It was a straight stretch of road and one could see the end.

“The other leads to dreams and it is a…” He pointed at the wall surrounding the training grounds and continued, “… Dead end.”

“What difference is there?”

“To some people there might not be a difference, but to some others, there is a difference. You are right, the dreams have reached a dead end. Some people will choose to stop, then turn around and walk back towards the road to reality. What about the others? They will choose to push at the wall!” He pushed at the wall near him.

“It might be more tiring than to walk back to the road that leads to reality, and it might also be more challenging… And there is also a risk that they will get hit on the head by bricks that fall over. But how can dreams be so easily attained? It’s very easy to give in to destiny or reality. But you have to risk your life… If you want to push down a wall.”

Twain stood by the road and mumbled under his breath as he stared at the wall.

Dunn stood beside him, and held up an umbrella to shelter Twain from the rain.

Chapter 705 - Accidentally Caught a Cold

The next day, Greenwood was slightly surprised to see Chen Jian run up to him with a ball at his feet at North Wilford.

“Chen, what are you doing?”

“I’m practising my first touch, Manager Greenwood.” Chen Jian kicked the ball upwards using his heel and began to juggle it with his feet as he stopped to talk with Greenwood.

Greenwood smiled at the sight of Chen Jian practising. “Still, you didn’t need to practise while you make your way here, right?”

Chen Jian shook his head. “I can’t think of what else I can do besides this. I don’t have much time left, Manager Greenwood. I have barely five months left. I must…” he paused for a moment, “The training time is limited. So I am making use of the time when I come here and when I go home to practise my first touch.”

Greenwood looked at the boy from China. In truth, he did not understand why Twain got so angry at Chen Jian yesterday. However, it was not a question that he needed answers for. The incident only made him increasingly interested in Chen Jian.

“All right. You might have added extra practice items for yourself, but don’t expect your training regime later to become lesser as a result.”

Chen Jian nodded. “That’d be for the best, Manager Greenwood.” He wanted to bid farewell to Greenwood as he finished his words, but was stopped.

“Chen, tell me. What are your aspirations? To be more exact, why did you come here to go through a year of practice?”

“To become a professional footballer.” Chen Jian replied without hesitation.

“Where do you want to play in?”

Chen Jian hesitated this time round. “If… I can play in Britain or Europe, that’d be for the best. Even if I can’t, I’d still like to be able to play in other countries.”

“What about your home country?”

Chen Jian froze.

“I…” He did not know how to answer the question. He was a Chinese and was undoubtedly patriotic. Nonetheless, he was well aware of the state of football in China and the standard of play in their so-called ‘professional leagues’, namely the Chinese Super League and the China League One.

In the end, he responded with apparent conviction, “I will not return to China to play professional football.”

Greenwood nodded his head to signal that he understood. He knows a little about the standard of football in China due to the presence of Dunn, Sun Jihai and the ‘China Hand’ [1] Tony Twain in the team. The environment in China was certainly not ideal for someone who desires to play professional football.

Greenwood patted Chen Jian on the shoulder. “Continue working hard. You still have five more months.”

Chen Jian was working hard to push down the wall that was in his way.

※※※

After he had given Chen Jian a dressing-down in the rain, Twain woke up to a headache the following morning. However, he did not pay much attention to it. He ate his breakfast and rested for a bit before heading out to Wilford to work.

Twain had only stood by the side of the training grounds for a short while when he felt like he could not hold on any longer. He did not sneeze, did not have a runny nose, and was not coughing either. All he had was a headache and it felt as though something wanted to rush out from his temple. It felt swollen and painful and it affected his thought process. He also felt debilitated. The muscles on his back were sore, and he felt chilly.

He turned around, walked to the back and leaned against the pillar that propped up the sunshade, wanting to rest for a bit.

Kerslake had a whistle to his mouth as he directed the players’ training on the pitch, while Dunn was making preparations for the next training item off the pitch.

Dunn realized that Twain was not standing at the spot he last saw him at. Finding it odd, he turned his head and looked behind.

He saw Twain leaning weakly against the pillar with his head shaking left and right gently.

Seeing that, Dunn immediately tossed aside everything that he was doing and scurried over to Twain’s side.

“What’s wrong?”

Twain saw that it was Dunn and continued to shake his head. “My head just hurts a little.”

“Go and see the doctor.”

“It’s a waste of time.” Twain continued to shake his head.

“Then I’d get Fleming to check on you.”

“He’s a physiotherapist, not a doctor who can treat everything.” Twain found the suggestion to be ridiculous.

Dunn ignored his remark. He turned around and walked towards Fleming who was examining Beckham’s ankle.

“Gary, Tony’s not feeling too good. Can you take a look at him?”

Both Fleming and Beckham raised their heads in unison and looked into the distance at Twain. They saw Twain shaking his head with all his might.

Fleming pressed hard on Beckham’s left ankle. Beckham gasped and grimaced in pain.

“Apply ice over it after you are done with your training. This part here needs rest. Don’t treat it too roughly, David.”

“What’s wrong?” Fleming’s very first question was the same as Dunn’s.

“Headache.” Twain’s response was the same as well.

Fleming reached his hand out and felt Twain’s forehead.

Twain drew back his neck at his cold touch, and the back of his head collided against the pillar. He winced in pain from the impact.

“Your hand is really cold.”

Fleming ignored his comment. He continued to press his hand against Twain’s forehead and asked, “What other symptoms do you have besides the headache?”

Twain thought about it for a moment and said, “Muscle pain. Feeling weak all over. And I feel a little chilly…”

“You have caught a cold, you idiot.” Fleming shook his head. “I heard you coolly tossed aside your umbrella yesterday, scolded a Chinese boy for several minutes in the rain and got drenched from top to toe. Did you take a bath after going home?”

Twain shook his head. “I had already bathed the night before…”

“Poor bachelor,” muttered Fleming, “Go back home and rest. Eat some medicine for your fever. If they don’t work you’d have to go get an injection at the hospital.”

“Don’t make things sound so serious. Saying things like go to the hospital…” Twain did not want to leave. There were lots of things going on with the team right now. How could he leave?

“If you don’t leave, I can’t guarantee that you won’t spread your cold to others here.” Fleming knew what was on Twain’s mind, so he brought up the reason that would force Twain into compliance.

Twain watched as both Dunn and Fleming started to retreat away from him and threw up both his hands. “All right, all right. I’m going back. I’ll leave things here to you, Dunn. Help me tell Kerslake and the rest. I won’t be going over, or Gary’s going to call me a contagion…”

Fleming was skilled at chasing Twain away. “Hurry up and go. The earlier you leave, the safer we feel!”

Twain glared at him, then turned around and walked out of the premises.

Everyone on the pitch had already taken notice of what was happening by the side of the pitch when Fleming and Dunn both walked towards Twain, and they were quite surprised to see Twain turn to leave.

Dunn walked over and whispered a few words into Kerslake’s ear. The assistant manager smiled, then clapped his hands and announced to the players, “There’s nothing for you to see. Your boss got drenched in the rain yesterday and is suffering from a headache and a fever today. To prevent him from spreading his cold to us, Fleming has already chased him back home.”

One of the players laughed softly.

“Don’t laugh. The temperature has been dropping very quickly recently, and the rain that goes on all day long can make people feel as though their bodies have gone moldy. So all of you have to be extra careful these few days. Make sure to take a hot bath every day after training and change into a set of clean clothes daily. I don’t wish to see our results being affected due to these tiny cold viruses! All right, get back to practice, don’t let your bodies cool down!”

※※※

Twain returned home, ate a bunch of cold and fever medicine, added two layers of blankets on his bed, took a hot bath, wrapped himself up in three layers of blankets, laid on the bed and left everything else to fate.

His body kept on shivering as he laid in bed. Looks like his cold this time round is pretty bad…

All I did was to get drenched in a bit of rain… Do I really deserve this?

He felt like he was down on luck. He thought to himself, when have I ever taken medicine for my colds, and when have I ever felt this terrible for being down with a cold? When have I not gotten better just by toughing it out?

Looks like this body of mine is really getting old with every day, every minute and every second of my life.

That reminds me, others who transmigrate get to be reborn, but I get 10 years of life taken away from me instead. Twain felt upset at this.

However, there was no point getting angry over it. You gain some and you lose some. What he has gained so far is unimaginable fame, honor and wealth, and he even has a chance to gain a peculiar love relationship.

It was necessary for him to use 10 years of his life in exchange for all the things he has and is about to gain. After all, how can one wish to have their dreams come true but give nothing in return in this world?

His biggest worry right now was whether he would be fit to direct the team in the EFL Cup’s game a day later.

Because their opponent for that match is Arsenal…

What’s more…

He found himself unable to lay in bed and rest in peace the moment he thought about the situation that the team is facing currently.

The team had just won narrowly against the weak Stoke City by 1-0 in the last league game. The players’ conditions were still unstable. The team may be ranked third in the league currently, but the gap in points between them and the first and second-ranked teams was slowly widening.

Chelsea and Liverpool have both racked up 29 points.

Arsenal won their last match and has 23 points. They are very close behind Nottingham Forest who has 24 points.

Manchester United might have lost to Arsenal and are ranked fifth in the league with 21 points, but they are one game behind the other teams at the top of the league.

He cannot let the two teams ahead of him widen the gap too much before the winter transfer window commences, and he also cannot allow Arsenal and Manchester United the opportunity to overtake them.

He would have to see if there are any free agents whom they can obtain without paying a cent, and if there are any really, really cheap players that they can buy in January to strengthen the team and help them get through the winter.

His painfully swollen brain kept on mulling over all sorts of problems.

The medicinal effects started to kick in after a while, which made Twain feel drowsy, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

※※※

Twain managed to triumph over his cold virus before the EFL Cup game. His body still felt a little lethargic, and he would cough intermittently when he spoke with too much force, but other than those, he was fine, which is why he did not care about the persisting issues that he was still suffering from.

Based on his past experiences, many of his cold symptoms lasted for quite a while before he was able to make a complete recovery. He was going to stop taking medicine and let his body recuperate by itself slowly.

He is so busy on a daily basis. If not for the fact that his symptoms were so glaring this time round, he would definitely not have remembered to eat his medicine on time.

Nottingham Forest, who played a team of players from the reserve and the youth team, lost 1-3 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, who also similarly played a team comprising of their youth players.

It was the third consecutive year that Nottingham Forest have failed to make it past the third round of the EFL Cup.

The final score for the match demonstrated the difference in abilities between the youth players for both teams.

Arsenal’s youth players looked monstrous and dazzling. Carlos Vela scored two goals by himself, and Jack Wilshere slotted another one in before full-time, thoroughly securing a victory for Arsenal with his goal.

The only goal for Nottingham Forest came from ?ahin, and his goal helped to rescue Forest from total humiliation as the away team.

He felt that the time was right for ?ahin to play in the first team matches. The team lacks players currently, and ?ahin’s arrival will help to lessen the burden on van der Vaart. The Dutch is certainly trusted and valued in the team, but the pressure placed on him has also multiplied as a result.

Van der Vaart does not have players who can replace him, when even George Wood gets to have players who can replace him. Twain cannot keep getting Ribéry to run down the middle so as to share the burden that is placed on van der Vaart.

Twain was full of praise for Wenger’s young geniuses when he shook hands with Wenger after the match. He could not conceal his urge to salivate at the talent that was displayed by Arsenal’s youth players.

Wenger pretended not to notice Twain’s urges. “No one would have believed half a year ago that he would be able to perform as he had just now. Tony, you are great at turning junk into gold.”

Twain forced a smile. “I was forced to do that.”

Indeed, he had been forced to do whatever he did. Why would he only rely on ?ahin if Forest had a youth system that was as developed as Arsenal’s, or came close to how Arsenal have produced numerous talented youths ceaselessly over the years, and how it is known throughout the world as a football club that valued talented youths?

Wenger spent 10 years to get Arsenal to where they are today. He had only spent six. He still has a long way to go as a manager…

“Hey, Professor. Is Wilshere available for loan?”

Twain had set his eyes on Arsenal’s talented youth players. Since the club did not have money to purchase players, then it should be acceptable for him to get some of these young players on loan to help the team through this difficult time.

Wenger shook his head. “He’s a part of my first team’s plans, Tony.”

Twain muttered the word ‘scrooge’ in his heart. How is Wilshere a part of his first team’s plans? All Wenger plans to do is to let Wilshere play a few games in the EFL Cup, and then let him play during ‘garbage time’ in the league games.

At the end of the day, Wenger just did not want to let a talented player be on loan at a rival’s team, and did not want to bolster the strength of their rivals.

He decided to stop talking about a potential loan.

“May you progress far in the EFL Cup.”

“Thank you.”

※※※

Twain became the focus of the British media once again after losing the EFL Cup.

This time however, it was not because of something that happened during the match. Twain had not provoked any of the Arsenal fans by the pitch, had not gotten in the face of the fourth official, and had not questioned the fairness of the referee in the post-match press conference.

He had peacefully accepted the loss, since winning the EFL Cup was never in his plans.

The reason he became the focus was not because of the match, but rather the publication of a new book…

The book written by Carl Spicer from The Daily Telegraph had finally been published after six months of preparations.

Due to how Spicer would actively speak about the book in his interviews prior to the publication of the book, everyone already knew about the frighteningly long title of the book before it was even released.

“What Kind Of Man Is He: Uncovering The Mysterious Halo Around Tony Twain”

A blurry back view of a person was printed over the red book cover. The white letters of the title took up all of the space on the cover and was printed over both the red background and the black, blurry image of a person’s back view.

During a television talk show, Spicer held up the book and told the audience with a solemn face,

“He is a ‘phenomenon’.”

It was a quote from the title page of his book.

Twain had observed the author for a while after he found out that he was the one who conducted that utterly foolish survey. He realized that many of the views that were against him were all written by this man.

He was actually a resolute ‘Anti-Twain’.

If that is the case, is his reason for writing the book so that he can earn money while writing about his anti-Twain comments?

The book was sold out the moment it was released. The publisher had not anticipated that a book analysing Twain would be so highly sought-after. Even people who were not fans of Nottingham Forest or football bought the book. The book had to be hastily sent for reprint due to the overwhelming popularity.

Carl Spicer proudly announced in his own column that the book delved into a very serious ‘social issue’, and that it was not one of those boring biographies that discussed the private lives of celebrities. He also denied that he wrote the book to satirize Twain, calling it a form of performance art instead.

There was not a single good thing that was written about Twain in the book. The book was full of comments that derided him, questioned him, and scolded him in a roundabout way.

However, such a book still became a bestseller in Britain. It had barely been published for a week and was already ranked third on Britain’s Bestseller List for the month of November, and it looked like it could continue to climb higher up the list.

A book with the name ‘Tony Twain’ printed on it became overwhelmingly popular, but Twain earned nothing from it.

He felt like he was ripped off.

Chapter 706 - Carl Spicer’s Hardcore Fan

When Carl Spicer’s book was on sale, Twain received a signed copy. On the book, Spicer wrote, “To my closest friend Tony Twain, wishing you all the best.”The inscription wrote, “Your life-long partner, Carl Spicer”.

When Spicer had gifted the book to Twain, he brought this matter up to the media. He was showing off about this incident on his own column. “I really want to see his reaction upon receiving the book… Haha!”

The relationship between Carl Spicer and Twain had always been tricky. In the past, the Twain’s hatred for the media had always been generic and not specific to a person. Now, Spicer had bravely stood out and raised a flag indicating “Twain being bad”. How could Twain stomach such a brazen provocation? 80% of the people thought it would be uncharacteristic of Twain to not respond to this. Spicer thought so, too. He was well-prepared to deal with Twain’s revenge. For example, having a verbal warfare on the column, using Nottingham Forest’s recent unstable results to criticize Twain… Since the start of the provocation, he was starting to be impatient for Twain’s inevitable revenge.

Since there was still half the day left, Twain drove around the whole of Nottingham to all the bookstores and newsstands, maxing out his credit cards to buy all the copies of <The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is> in Nottingham.

Since the book was essentially mindless gossip, it was not selling well?in Nottingham. Other than a portion of Notts County’s fans who might buy the book, almost all of Nottingham Forest fans did not care about it at all.

As such, Twain bought so many copies until he could not store any more in his jeep.?In the end, he had to tell the bookstores, “Pack the books the exact way they were sent to you, and wait for me to call a truck to haul these.”

※※※

BBC aired a programme preview on television. In the new episode of Match of the Day this coming Sunday, they were going to invite the popular soccer journalist, Carl Spicer, as a guest and discuss with him about his thoughts on?<The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is> , interesting episodes during the creative process, and his personal opinions on Tony Twain as a person.

<Match of the Day> producer Lineker predicted that this week’s programme would attract widespread attention, and sure enough, two days before the recording of the programme, he received a bill of lading.

“What is this?” Gary Lineker looked confused as he held onto the bill. The bill was attached with a letter which wrote, “For my dear friend Carl Spicer”. The inscription made Linekar laughed. It was signed “Tony Twain”.

The letter opened with a greeting for Lineker, thanking him for speaking on behalf of?Nottingham Forest several times. At the end he raised a small request —

“I want to thank someone very important who spent close to half a year writing a book to log my achievements. To express my respect for him and my gratitude for his efforts, I have a presumptuous request: while interviewing this book’s author, please ask the respected Carl Spicer to sign my copies.?All of the books have to be signed; I want to gift the book to a few of my friends so I hope he can sign them. Of course, I’m not asking too much from him with this small request, right?”

Following that, Lineker ran out of the BBC building while holding onto the bill, and he almost fell when he reached the car park.

What was it that he saw? Four trucks, weighing five tons each, were parked neatly. The containers were covered by canvas and secured tightly by the rope. The truck drivers who were huddled together and smoking saw Lineker. One of them frantically ran over and shook hands with him. “Gary Lineker. I’m a fan!”

Lineker did not care about him, he was only blankly staring at the four trucks. “This is…”

The four truck drivers gave each other a look, and broke out into laughter. The leader said. “Heh, we delivered props for your programme on Tony Twain’s request.”

“Props?”

The driver pulled Lineker to the back of one of the trucks and pulled up a corner of the canvas. “The three trucks behind contains the same thing.”

A chill ran up Lineker’s spine when he saw what was in the trucks.

※※※

Adrian Chiles was a well-known BBC talk host. He was the host of Match of the Day: Sunday Edition, but this episode where they interviewed Carl Spicer was also his job, and it was a lot better compared to Lineker’s.

Carl Spicer was absolutely delighted during the show. He answered several questions, and both parties seemed to be able to talk a lot. Even though he was criticizing Tony Twain on the show, this host did not comment much. On the contrary, he incited Spicer to say more groundbreaking words. They spoke about the motive behind the production of this book; Spicer thought researching on Tony Twain had a lot of purpose for the society.

“... on a road interview, those who picked ‘I hate Tony Twain, he is a b*stard’ made up 93% of the whole group, and those who picked ‘I like this guy, he is not bad’ were only a pitiful 7%. Worth mentioning was that no one chose the option of ‘Tony Twain? Who is that?’ Adrian, did you know why Twain would think our research was lame?” Once they got to badmouthing Twain, Carl Spicer became overjoyed. He liked to see a strong figure being beaten up in front of him as it gave him a sense of achievement.

In this episode, there were many topics similar to this one. Before the end of the program, the program director had already received several calls protesting from Nottingham. The only position opinion towards Twain was the sentence of the title, “He is a phenomenon.”

Towards the end of the programme, Adrian Chiles told Carl Spicer cryptically, “Since the start of the programme, the bottom of the screen was constantly showing that we would give you a mysterious gift at the end.”

“I know, you brought it up to me.” Spicer nodded.

“We can guarantee to the audience that this is definitely a mysterious gift, and that we did not discuss this with you before the filming. This is a live broadcast.”

Spicer nodded continuously to confirm that Adrian Chiles indeed did not arrange anything with him beforehand. He smiled, as if he were also looking forward to it.

Lineker and his colleagues hid in the production room, sheepishly laughing while preparing for the good show. Mark Hansen leisurely said at the side, “This programme is becoming more and more like an entertainment show…”

Alan Lawrenson turned his head towards his colleague with the sharp mouth and grinned. “Isn’t this great? We need to relax from time to time.”

Back?to the live broadcast. Adrian Chiles smiled like he knew a prank was about to unfold. The lights shone on his face, lightening up his face till it seemed vibrant.

“Here’s the thing, Carl. You have this extremely loyal fan. He keeps up with your various columns in the newspaper and is very supportive of your book. It sounds quite extreme, right?”

Carl Spicer acted surprised, but he actually loved it inside. “What? There is really such a reader? I didn’t know about this.”

Adrian Chiles nodded profusely. “Yes, there is. To show his support and love, he used his own money to buy a lot of copies of this book.” He waved a copy of <The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is> in his hand. “He has a small request. He hopes that you can sign on every copy of his book for his collection.”

This boosted Carl Spicer’s ego so much?he might even have forgotten what his surname was. He then waved. “No problem, I am never stingy with satisfying other people’s requests.”

Adrian Chiles snapped his fingers and a worker from the back of the live broadcast room pushed a trolley that was specially for goods out onto the room. Loaded onto?it was a stack of neatly arranged books, almost one meter tall.

“Ha!” Carl Spicer laughed a little, “he bought all of these? Should I say if he is hardcore or crazy?”

He reached into his pocket to fish for a pen, but as he reached in, his hand stopped. Just now, he had been grinning so widely he could not close his mouth, but now he was so frightened that his jaw dropped.

Following behind the first trolley came a second which had another load of books neatly stacked into a metre-high column. Then came the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh… There were 10 exact same trolleys were placed right in front of the stunned Carl Spicer. The front of the recording studio was completely blocked.

The screen panned from the top to the bottom. Adrian Chiles applauded, then he took one book from the first trolley and placed in front of Carl Spicer, flipping to the title page, “You must satisfy this small request of your hardcore fan, Spicer!” Upon finishing, he turned and carried another 10 books over, placing them beside Carl’s hands. Spicer knew he had been had, but there was nothing he could do but reluctantly pick up his pen and start signing his big name on the first book.

At the same time, the screen started rolling the credits — Special thanks to Tony Twain providing 11038 copies of <The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is>

After came the normal namelist of the productive crew.

Under the credits, Adrian Chiles said something that devastated Carl Spicer. “Sign slowly, Carl. This is not even 1% of all the books, there are still four more full trucks downstairs! Your reader is really both hardcore and crazy, but I don’t envy you one bit…”

The pen slipped out of Spicer’s hand, and he was not unaware of it at all. He only raised his head and gasped while looking at the host Adrian Chiles who was holding in his laughter. At the same time, in the productive room, Lineker and his crew could no longer hold it in and broke down into laughter.

※※※

“This is the most exciting episode of <Match of the Day>! Hahaha!” Before the start of training, Nottingham Forest coaches were still excitedly discussing yesterday’s television programme. At the start when Adrian Chiles signaled the crew to bring out the books, everyone had been as confused as Carl Spicer, not knowing what had happened. Only when the credits with the special thanks started rolling then they started breaking into laughter in front of their televisions.

“Tony played this beautifully! Did you all see the expression on Spicer’s face? It was simply too exciting!”

What happened in Wilford was not just an epitome. After that day, discussions about how Tony Twain made Carl Spicer admit defeat spread like a wildfire. It was phenomenal; as the story spread, Twain sending Spicer four trucks of books eventually exaggerated into him sending ten trucks.

Carl Spicer also admitted on his own column that he was utterly defeated by Tony Twain this time. However, he would not give up on this promising career in going against Twain. “Despite being played by him, he still insisted that going against Twain was an interesting matter. Undeniably, people do look forward to what other ridiculous tricks Twain could possibly resort to.”

Towards this, Twain’s private evaluation was only a word — cheap. But Twain did feel that everyone started to get busy near the end of the year, including those reporters, because news relating to him suddenly skyrocketed.

※※※

Once, Shania’s news had been on a film magazine.

These magazines were booked for Shania, because of her interest in movies. Since it was her hobby, she would naturally want to learn more about movies. However, she went to the United States afterwards, and there was still a year before the subscription expired, thus Twain just took over and occasionally flipped through it to see if he could find any new good movies. Soccer coaches were human. too, so they needed to rest and relax as well; forgetting about all his worries and just letting his eyes flit about the pages of the magazine was naturally a good way to let loose. He was not some film critic who needed to search their hearts and use their brains to uncover a hidden meaning while watching the movies.

He discovered Shania’s whereabouts in the latest magazine issue. She appeared with Tom Cruise on the cover page. This issue introduced the new movie produced by Tom Cruise, <Florida’s Summer>. In the movie, Shania acted as a beautiful lady who participated in the stream party who had a one-line dialogue with the main character. Afterwards, she had another appearance without dialogue but a 5 minute close-up. This portion did not have screen time and had almost no bearing on the plot, so one could say her role was just for the sake of appearing with the other main characters on the cover page of the magazine. It was evident Cruise had other intentions for partnering up with this new friend of his.

There was a paragraph in the magazine allocated specifically for an interview with Shania. The paragraph was not long, it was almost as important as the other main characters’.

Actually, all this attention Shania was getting could be because of her relationship with Cruise, but it was also because of the reputation she had already been building up in the modelling industry. Before she started acting, Judy Shania Jordana had been famous in the global modelling and fashion world. She had been a global supermodel at a young age and a spokesperson wanted for many big international brands. It was natural for people to pay attention to such a personality when she started acting.

Shania’s interview were no different from others. Other than being asked for the issues in her work, she was also asked for the difference between catwalking and acting in a movie, if there were any conflicts, and what she thought of the cast. Shania was a smart girl. When reporters asked for a male Hollywood star she liked, she immediately blurted out, “Tom Cruise”, with a vibrant smile. The reporter continued to ask, “Is this because of the intimate relationship you two shared?” Shania shook her head, “It is not that. I have rewatched every one of his movies several times, I do like him a lot.”

Twain pouted upon seeing “I do like him a lot.”

Then he thought back to when Shania told him, “Uncle Tony, I love you.”

Liking and loving are two different emotions, but Shania also started with liking Uncle Tony which then developed into love too right?

He continued reading. In the final portion of the interview, the reporter started to pry into Shania’s private life, asking, “From what the public knows, you have no other boyfriends save from the few rumours that have spread in the past. Since you’re still single, could you reveal your ideal type?”

“Yes, my standards are very special.”

“Exactly how special is it?”

“I like… older men.”

The reporter was a little shocked. He wrote on the back of his handbook that he was indeed shocked by what Shania said, where he only responded after a long while. Thinking that revealing those emotions was ill-mannered, but he still emphasized, “It is … very unique.”

Shania jokingly disregarded the emotions of the reporter.

Twain stared in shock at this final conversation. Uncle Tony counted as an old guy right?What was she trying to do, revealing her preferences so brazenly? While he was still stunned, he received a call from Shania.

“Uncle Tony! I’m going to come visit you the night after tomorrow. Help me tidy up the room ok?”

“Ah… the room has always been tidy, you can come anytime…”

“Ok, thank you Uncle Tony! See you on the day after tomorrow!”

Hanging up, Twain then reacted. Why was she suddenly coming back to England suddenly? There were no other words exchanged, saved for that redundant greeting. Was it possible that she still felt a little distant after that incident at the airport?

Indeed, he said he owed her an answer, but it was almost December now and this answer was not given to her yet. On top of that, the results of the team, the financial crisis and Chen Jian’s issue had made him so busy that he could not think it through properly sufficient times.

All of a sudden, they were to meet so soon. When that time came, how could he face Shania? What if she asked him for that answer he owed her? What should he tell her then? What a pain. On and off the field, there were issues giving him a headache.

Chapter 707 - High Technological Inflatable Doll

The ultimate rule of the natural world was as follows: no matter what humanity desired, the Earth would still rotate everyday and orbiting around the sun. Hence, despite Twain’s headache, Shania would still be here.

“How did you find the time to come over?” Twain drove her from London back to the home in Nottingham, a broad grin stretched across his face.

“To promote the movie in London.” Twain set her luggage down while she looked around downstairs. “It’s just one day, then I’m going to Italy after.”

In the absence of a woman, the house had become messy again; a bachelor’s life was just too tragic. In the past, she had a job too, but she would regularly clean the place when she had time off. After all, no woman would want to live in a dumpster. She wrinkled her brow as she took a deep breath, as if she had smelled something foul.

Her focus was everywhere, but she saw the few film magazines on the table. She was on the cover. Her face relaxed and the corners of her?mouth started to rise.

Footsteps sounded from the top of the staircase. Once Twain came down, he immediately saw Shania reading the magazines but he did not sit down. He was quite embarrassed too, because the sofa was indeed too messy. He did not want the big star to just be lounging on a dirty and messy sofa.

“I’m really sorry. I wanted to tidy up yesterday, but in the end I was so busy I became drowsy,” Twain apologised as he frantically tidied up the room.

Shania did not walk forward to help, she only stood at her spot to watch Uncle Tony being busy. “Are you very busy?”

“Yes, I am.” Twain carried a pile of books and walked in front of the bookcase, slotting them back into their respective places according to their index.

“Did you miss me, Uncle Tony?”

Before Twain’s birthday,?everytime Shania asked this, Twain would giggle and reply like Feng Gong, “I missed you so much I could die!”

But now…

He hesitated, but continued slotting the books. “Yes, I missed you.”

“Liar,” Shania pouted. “You sound so insincere. You didn’t call or text, You’ve forgotten about our chat, haven’t you?”

Twain felt his heart tighten. What was meant to happen truly was meant to be. He stood rooted to the ground, unable to decide whether the book in hand should be placed back on the shelf.

“I think we’re drifting, Uncle Tony.”

“You’re in America, I’m in England.” Twain threw out an excuse clumsily.

“No, since that incident, I’ve felt like that. Are you angry at me?”

“No, why would I…”

“You think I’m too capricious right? My dad used to reprimand me like this frequently, saying I was too playful as a girl, making things tough for them. I know I was being unreasonable. You have your life, you are you, and I am me. However…, nevermind, I should stop talking about this. I only came back to see you, Uncle Tony. Don’t look so startled, alright? The more polite you try to be, the more it feels like you’re trying to distance yourself from?me.”

Twain turned to look at Shania who was behind him, smiling. “Silly girl, I was afraid you’d scold me for being so careless when I lived alone. Look at this, my house is too messy.”

As long as Shania did not bring up that matter, he could relax.He was too afraid Shania would ask him directly, “I love you, do you love me?”

If it came to that, he would not know what to answer.?Twain could not reject her bluntly. There was no reason why, he just could not do it. He did not hate Shania, but did this type of “like” equal to “love”? He still did not know. What exactly was love? He was older than Shania by a whole 22 years, and this gap was hindering him from understanding his true feelings inside him. Developing feelings for a girl who was younger than him his junior, was this “love” or just a platonic “liking”? Even if it was “love”, was it “love” between young couples, or “love” from an older person to a younger one?

Physical age gap aside, he was also emotionally older than Shania by a whole 14 years. He knew this world had no lack of old couples. Yang Zhenning even married a young lady who had a master’s degree. Though they had intense quarrels back in China, both of them still continued to live together. However, that was them. It is a whole new feeling putting it on himself, no matter how small the matter, it was still an issue to one’s self.

Thinking of this problem gave him have a headache. He was not an expert when it came to women. Though he was very thoughtful and confident, he was still relatively dull when it came to understanding women. He did not know what Shania thought of this; he just wanted to clear up how exactly he should think about this.

This girl, whose beauty was comparable?to an angel’s, had a lot of potential in Hollywood, a superstar with large fame in both the modelling and the fashion world. They had already known each other for five years. When they were alone together, he had never thought of her the way the public did. In his eyes, Shania was still a person who had been brave enough to leave her house when she had not even turned 14, someone who went to the faraway England, a mischievous girl who met him on the streets then. Twain liked a girl like this, he definitely did, but did he love her??

“What do you want to eat tonight, Shania?” Twain decided to temporarily forget about the unspoken words and troubles that were plaguing his mind, because it was late and it was time for dinner. Although he was a bachelor, he was still somewhat confident in his culinary skills. At the end of the day, he was still a man from Sichuan; how could he not know how to make a few common dishes? However, Shania turned and vivaciously ran into the kitchen first.

“You clear the living room first, alright? Let me make dinner. I learnt a few new dishes in the States!” Right after entering the kitchen, she peeked out, staring at the helpless Twain, “You’re not allowed to say it’s bad!”

※※※

After dinner, Twain went into the kitchen to do the dishes and clean the dining table. Shania went upstairs to fetch her Chinchilla doll, and sat on the sofa with the legs crossed as she watched the television. Just like any ordinary night, she did not pester Twain to go shopping, to nightclubs, or play around.

Twain finished the dishes and dried his hands as he stood at the entrance to the kitchen. As he looked at Shania who was sitting on the couch, a sort of misperception started to flesh out in his head. This was just like a regular family. No socialising, no flashing lights. The time after diner was for a family to enjoy in peace.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to make it. You coming actually makes me really happy.” Twain sat beside Shania and said softly, “Besides, your cooking skills are getting better.”

Shania beamed. “I’ll take that as the truth!”

Twain opened his arms, his face innocent and sincere, “I only speak the truth. I’m the most honest person; I have never lied.”

Shania covered her mouth as she chuckled. As her laughter died down, she tilted her head back and leaned on Twain’s shoulders. Twain tensed for a moment before relaxing. He did not struggle, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

“Uncle Tony, do you hate me?”

“No, why would you ask this?”

“Hehe, then that’s great…” She adjusted her posture, like a cat curling into itself, and snuggled into Twain. Twain’s hands hovered for a while before he gently settled them onto?Shania’s shoulders.

※※※

On the dawn of the second day, while the sky was still pitch black, Shania hurriedly rushed back to London to participate in the promotional activities for the movie. It was Mr Fascal who fetched her; Twain had not even been out of bed yet.

After he got up, he discovered a warm breakfast coupled with a paper slip. “Remember you still owe me an answer, Uncle Tony.”

Beckham had already applied for leave yesterday in order to participate in this event. At the promotional activities in England, they had to get the most popular superstar. On account of their friendship, Twain agreed.?He was not interested in these types of activities. Shania had even invited him to go together with her yesterday night but he rejected her. Beckham was a soccer player so missing some training was nothing much, but he was the head coach, so how could he leave his position?

In the blink of an eye, it was already December. The league schedule started to clutter, so he had to give a 120% worth of attention to deal with various issues.

After finishing breakfast Shania prepared for him, he carefully kept the slip in his wallet and walked out of the house. Just as he stepped out of the house…

“Snap!”

A blur of white flashed before his eyes and it almost knocked him to the ground. After he could see properly again, all he saw was a somewhat familiar car driving down to the end of the street, drifting out of his sight.

“F*ck…” he cursed. “What the h*ll is going on?”

Just as Dunn opened the door to walk out, he heard what Twain said, and looked at him filled with confusion.?“What happened?”

“How would I know?” Twain answered sourly.

※※※

Soon, Twain and Dull both knew what happened. Other than the both of them, everyone on the Wilform training ground, the whole of Nottingham, and the whole of England knew what happened.

The promotion team for Shania and Tom Cruise just left, and an explosive news just appeared on a star gossip tabloid, which the newspapers quickly spread to even more media companies.

One of the main characters was undoubtedly Tony Twain who had been quite popular recently and even had someone writing a book to evaluate him. As for the other main character, everyone was definitely not unfamiliar with her. It was Judy Shania Jordana, an international supermodel who officially recently left London. Everyone was definitely not strangers to the content of the news — the huge reveal of the relationship between Shania and Tony Twain!

It was the same news publishers and reporters behind this, but the main reason that this was completely different from the previous time, and why it attracted the attention of mass media so rapidly was because, this time, Lisa Aria had gotten hold of the most critical evidence which convinced the media and the audience that everything she said was true.

Photographs. The four photographs were displayed on the top of the title, and they were sequenced much like a four-panel comic.

In the first one, Twain and Shania were returning home and both were at the door. He was carrying the luggage while searching for the keys while Shania was beside him and holding his arm, seemingly intimate.

The second was taken when both were entering the house. Shania turned to close the door, the angle rendering her face visible. Even with the shades, her tall built and other distinct facial features made it hard to believe this tall girl was not the world-renowned model Judy Shania Jordana.

One look at the third picture made it obvious it was taken at dawn, under the dim light when the streetlights were still bright. Shania was walking out of Twain’s house without her shades, and everyone could properly recognise her face.

The fourth was of her getting into a car and driving away.

These four suggestive pictures clearly explained all the happenings. From the timestamp on the bottom right corner of the pictures, these four pictures were taken over the course of the whole night. Hence, when Lisa Aria had vowed in her articles saying, “After Shania entered Tony Twain’s housing, she was staying over there for a whole night.”, there were no doubts to this.

But what did staying over entail?

In the past, though everyone knew Twain and Shania had a good relationship, both only admitted they were friends, so no one thought too much about it. On top of that, the age gap was so big that no one would assume they were a couple.

Even if staying over at Twain’s house was not a big deal to the both of them, it was definitely not the first time. But to the media and the audience this was big news, because they did not know about this before the expose!

Lisa Aria staged a beautiful come back. In the past, people had mocked her for being a small reporter from the village who wanted to become famous so desperately she would make up lies and fabricate news. Now, no one was saying that. Seeing how these four pictures were personally taken by her, the public opinion was an uproar.

In the past, any conjectures the media had about Tony Twain’s personal life were just that. There were even rumours that he was gay. However, no one would have thought a soccer coach who get together with a supermodel…

This rumour should have been one involving a soccer superstar instead. Professional soccer has developed for more than a hundred years, and there was an uncountable number of soccer players who had become superstars due to their high income and dated various superstar girls, living a life of luxury. But has anyone ever heard of a soccer coach getting together with a hot female superstar? Of all the great head coaches who had achieved numerous stellar results and left behind great legacies,, how many of them had rumours during their careers? There was not even one.

Tony Twain did it! No matter what measures he took, or what sweet nothings he said, it was a pixie who was 22 years younger than him, and a dream girl in the eyes of several fans’ who followed this middle-aged uncle into his house and stayed throughout the whole night. The dreams of male teenager shattered. The hearts of middle-aged women were also shattered.

※※※

Just seeing her name was enough to anger Twain. He called her and the first thing he said was, “Are you deliberately going against me, Lisa Aria?!”

“All I wanted to do was to prove I’m not a liar, Mr Tony Twain.” Aria was not intimidated by him.

“How did you know Shania was coming to my place?” Twain could not be bothered to care about these details recorded by the other party. He immediately asked the question he wanted to know most.

“They were going to be promoting the movie here in London, so I knew she would definitely swing by Nottingham.”

“You’re actually quite smart, aren’t you?” Twain grinded his teeth. Aria analysed something so trivial and spun it into a paragraph.

“Because I’m a woman, I understand the mind of a woman too, Mr Twain.”

“But you don’t understand me!” Twain roared, and then hung up.

In reality, when he was called this time, his tone was not as firm as it was the last time. He knew about Shania’s intentions; if she saw this article, she might not be mad and might even feel happy about this. The one who was mad was him. This was as good as pushing him down the road of no return.

Thinking back how the article hinted on Shania not leaving throughout the night and staying over at his own house for an entire night. Regarding about what they did, it was only them both who knew…

Twain thought the audience definitely thought that he hooked up with Shania. But the problem was nothing happened between Shania and him. Although Shania confessed to him, and he did not agree to accepting these feelings, but their relationships still continued as per the past. How could he tell others about this relationship and the story behind it? Who would understand him?

※※※

“Since the reporter, Lisa Aria, caught Twain and Judy Shania Judana returning to his house together, where Shania did not leave throughout the night, Tony Twain stood in front of the media and explained this incident for the first time today.”

It cut to the vibrant outdoors.. Tony Twain’s house entrance was already swarming with reporters from various places; they were all very concerned with the personal life of this famous tempered coach who was famous in the Premier League. Everyone wanted to hear him personally admitting his relationship with Shania.Once he admitted it, this forgotten relationship would be officially established.

Twain stood in front of this bunch of excited reporters, looking at the microphones which were almost stuffed into his mouth, and coughed. The live scene quietened immediately.

“I have nothing much to say, Lisa Aria’s every word can be believed. Shania and I are friends, but our relationship is not what you all are thinking of.” Twain was still stubborn as a mule.

“But it’s clear from her picture that you and Shania went home together…” Some of the reporters were unhappy, rebutting him with evidence, clearly wanting Twain to clear up everything.

Lisa Aria was also in the crowd. She raised her hand to attract the attention of everyone. “I can guarantee, on my dignity, all of these photographs are real and are definitely not fabricated or edited via Photoshop!”

Twain stared at this woman who was trying to making a promise to everyone. His peaceful and quiet life was totally destroyed by this woman. He thought that it was definitely due to his act of bribing her initially which hurt this woman who had strong self-esteem, so all of this is for her revenge!

This was too much. This was worse than when Twain gave Carl Spicer ten thousand plus books to sign on live scene!

“Your photograph is definitely not fake, Ms Lisa Aria.” Twain stared at her coldly and said, “But that is not Judy Shania Jordana. That is just my newly ordered inflatable doll.”

Once the word was out, everyone was shocked!Even Lisa Aria did not think that Twain would actually used this type of means to cover up his relationship with Shania. She screamed, “I clearly saw her walked in and out, how can the inflatable doll walk by its own!

Twain smiled, “Like I said, it’s the latest model. What’s so impressive about it walking? It can cook, too. With the press of a button, it will cook me anything I want. Ah, the wonders of technology”

Suddenly, everyone thought they were too stupid…

※※※

The entrances of Twain’s house and the Wilform training grounds were filled with reporters who rushed from various places around the world. When they huddled to discuss, they buzzed like a group of flies.

After Twain’s speech on “inflatable doll”, the people who were surrounding the Wilford training grounds retreated first, only those who did not give up continued to camp at Twain’s housing entrance. They wanted to mimic Lisa Aria’s one-night stakeout in the car during the winter’s harsh winds, seeing if they could dig out some more breaking news.

Twain did not entertain them, he would wave to greet them when he entered and left the house, shouting in a Chinese accent, “Hi my fellow partners! You all worked hard!” Nowadays he would allow them to shrink their necks and snivels during the winter winds to camp for their “exclusive groundbreaking gossips”.

As long as his heart was at peace, these reporters blocking the entrance to his house posed no problem to him. In fact, he even wanted to thank them. Now that there were so many more reporters here, the security at Branford Garden street was a lot better and there were virtually no thieves or pickpockets.

Twain made a text on his column to remind the Nottingham police to quickly present a medal to these heroes who persevered in protecting the citizens’ property openly complimented them. After this move, the reporters who had no idea of how long they had to wait beat a hasty retreat.

In another face-off against the media, Tony Twain was clearly victorious. But his “backyard” started a little fire — he received a short protest from Shania:

“I am not an inflatable doll who knows how to cook, Uncle Tony! If you speak carelessly again, be careful I fly back to hit you!”

Chapter 708 - A Narrow Escape

Twain soon could not think about the stage at which his relationship with Shania should be. Once again, he was plagued by the many complicated and compressed competition schedule as well as the undulating and inconsistent condition of the team.

On November 15th, Nottingham Forest traveled north to the cold Newcastle and lost 1:2 to the opponent in the away game.

On November 24th, the Forest team returned to its home ground and struggled to beat Everton by 3:2 after a bitter battle. They finally managed to hold to the third place in the league tournament.

The Forest team’s results were not too bad purely based on the points table alone. Other than their point difference being a little far away from the top two teams, they were still in the top tier in any case.

But only those people, who were really familiar with Nottingham Forest, knew how dangerous the Forest team’s situation was now. Every game won was always full of twists and turns. It was scary while trying to win. Furthermore, the specter of injury was like a nightmare which could not be dispelled and always followed the Forest team’s onward march, ready to pounce and bite hard when the Forest team was tired.

Tony Twain himself had the illusion that he was walking a tightrope.

He did not know when the team would collapse if they were to persist continuing. From last summer until the end of this year, his players did not have any time to rest and their physical strength had reached the stage of collapse. How were they going to survive the cold winter? He had no idea at all.

They achieved victories by the skin of their teeth. If they slightly loosened the grip, they might fall like a house of cards. But the constant taut nerves might cause them to collapse earlier …

“… I’m awestricken by Tony Twain’s approach to coaching and also admire the Nottingham Forest team’s fighting spirit and will to win. They reversed West Ham United and Manchester City to win, but lost to Liverpool at the last minute, and then overtook Everton to win… Tony Twain proudly declared after the game against Everton that his team was the only one in the world which could turn the tide against their opponents. But I think he’s just seeking to impress by exaggerating his abilities—which manager would want his team to win every game with such a thrilling reversal? I bet Tony Twain is eager for his team to take a two-goal lead at the start of every game, and then win by a comfortable margin…”

The pundits on the television station analyzed the current situation the Forest team was experiencing. Although Twain always said that his team was in a good shape and everything was normal to the outside world, plus the team’s results were not bad, any fool could see that he was putting up a front.

Any discerning person could see the team’s crisis at the first glance. Twain’s actions were nothing more than doing what his personality dictated.

Indeed, the crisis was not the kind of crisis in which they had been hit by repeated defeats in a row, and continuous decline in the points ranking. However, that kind of situation was likely to be the future for Nottingham Forest. Now the team was walking a tightrope, in case of a misstep, what was underneath them could really be the abyss…

※※※

Twain brought an exhausted team and flew to Minsk, Belarus, to face the local team. It was a crucial battle over whether Nottingham Forest could finally make it out of the group stage. If they did not break through the group stage as the defending champion, then he and his team could really become the laughingstock of the entire world.

No matter how bad the team’s situation was now, Twain would never allow that to happen to him.

Therefore, he deployed the strongest squad he could send. Pepe, who had a minor injury, was also in the starting lineup as it was important to ensure that the team’s defense was worry-free.

By the end of November, Belarus had turned white all over the country. Pure white snow had covered the Eastern European country. When the team went to adapt to the venue, only to find that they simply could not adapt to the venue ahead of time—a thick layer of snow covered the pitch and the snowplows were plowing snow in the stadium.

Until the day before yesterday, it was still snowing here, and it was a blizzard. Although it stopped yesterday, the thick layer of snow was still a shocking sight. Twain frowned as he looked at the field in front of him.

FC BATE Borisov’s Dinamo stadium in Minsk did not have the same artificial turf field as Russia. If the geothermal and drainage system were not good enough, tomorrow’s game would be a mud pool …

The players huddled around their necks and looked at the pitch at a loss. Could this kind of venue really allow them to play their best?

During the pre-match preparations, Twain also knew that the game would be tough. The tactics were repeated more than once. Now there was no need for talk. He just told the players that no matter what difficulties they encountered; the game must be won. He said, “I don’t care how you do it, even if you put the ball into the goal with your hand, as long as the referee does not see it!”

Now the Champions League was not just about his face. After the financial crisis affected the Forest team, the Champions League tournament also directly involved economic benefits— UEFA bonus was awarded for winning games. The more games they played, the more bonuses they received. The share in the final television broadcast fee was higher. The Forest team’s financial losses would be huge if they were eliminated early in the group stage.

※※※

Thankfully, there was no snow on the day of the game. Although dark clouds loomed over the city, the snow that Twain was most worried about did not descend upon them. The lights at the Dinamo Stadium were kept on till at night. The sky was calm and still.

The snow plowed yesterday was piled around the pitch, hemming in the green field in layers.

Twain was a little relieved.

At the start of the game, Borisov used a long shot that brushed out of the goal to warn the visiting team, which was intent on scoring. They were not pushovers that could easily be overpowered.

In the frigid weather, the Borisov players were able to move freely and with vigor. They played better than they did at Nottingham Forest’s home game. On the other hand, the Nottingham Forest players, with the exception of Arshavin, a Russian player, were a little unaccustomed to the weather here. It was so cold that even if they had warmed up for twenty minutes before the game, their bodies seemed to be stiff.

The ground was slippery. With a little force, the footage of a complete mess would emerge. Clearly there were opportunities to shoot, but as the supporting foot slipped, the players would directly shoot the football into the stands behind the goal. They could barely struck the football, but the shots were weak.

The fifty-five thousand fans who came to cheer on the home team filled the stadium’s stands to the brim. Their enthusiasm even melted the snow beneath the stands. There were also some valiant fans who were topless and rode on the grandstand railings to wave the scarves in their hands, sing and clapped loudly as they shouted for Borisov. The Borisov players’ every move would elicit thunderous cheers. Furthermore, whenever the Forest players took the ball on the sidelines or kicked a corner kick, white snowballs would fall from the air and struck beside the players, splitting into numerous spatters. If the snowball was packed with a lighter, cell phone, coins or something else… it would be unthinkable if it hit someone.

The fans and team brought a double pressure to the Forest team, which could not enter the game form and its attack appeared to be messy.

The first half was basically Borisov besieging and bombing the Forest team’s half of the field indiscriminately. The Forest team only had the strength to ward off the attacks but was powerless to retaliate.

But in the end they managed to keep it to a tie after much difficulty and did not lose the game yet.

In the second half, Borisov began to withdraw while the Forest team began to fight back, with both sides deadlocked near the midfield.

In the seventieth minute, van der Vaart was inattentive and fell to the ground when he picked up the ball in the front field because the ground was too slippery. The football was given directly to the Borisov player next to him. How could Borisov let go of such a big gift? They immediately organized a counterattack and rushed into the Forest team’s penalty area after a series of quick passes. With a two-versus-one pass in front of the goal, they tricked van der Sar and easily pushed the ball into the empty goal.

The Dinamo stadium immediately erupted into thunderous cheers, vibrating and making everything groan in the stadium, as if the sky was about to collapse.

Looking at the dazzling white light in front of his eyes and listening to the roar in his ears, Twain only felt his chest tightened, as if a needle was stuck in it. He gritted his teeth and stood still.

The Borisov people reveled, while the Nottingham Forest players were dejected. Faced with such a weather, such an opponent, and such an away trip … they were somewhat powerless.

Just as everyone was their wits’ end, they heard Twain’s roar from the sidelines, “What did I say? We must win! We must win! I will absolutely not accept anything less than victory! Absolutely not! I don’t care what you do… Damn it!”

He suddenly turned around and summoned ?igi?, “Five minutes!” He opened up five fingers on his left hand and said, “You only have five minutes to warm up. I want you to immediately come back after your warmup. Just go!” He pushed the big man.

igi? stumbled and ran to warm up. Five minutes later, he stood in front of Twain again.

“We’re going to change tactics. The ground coordination and breakthroughs from the two wings obviously won’t work. I don’t mind making the game looked uglier. The traditional English style of play is suitable in the face of such a situation. Do you know what to do when you go on?” He stared at ?igi? and asked.

The Serbian player performed averagely after scoring one goal against Manchester City. He did not live up to expectations, and his inability to adapt to the pace of the Premier League made many felt like Twain had made an error of judgment again after Grosso. He himself was under a lot of pressure. He was a substitute at Valencia and ended as a substitute again when he came here. He was desperate to be able to prove himself again that he had not passed into oblivion because he was on the bench at Valencia.

He nodded forcefully and said, “Batter them in the penalty area.”

“Make good use of your height and jump! Go up and tell them that when we have the ball, pass it to your head. Where you are, that’s where the ball goes!”

After he pushed ?igi? onto the field, Twain continued to stand on the sidelines. Now that Borisov’s temperature at night had dropped below zero, Twain felt a little warm instead. He felt a layer of sweat on his forehead. He was perspiring on his chest and back, and his shirt was drenched. He had to open his black coat and unbutton the buttons on his shirt.

A cold wind flowed straight at his chest, and yet he felt more relaxed and comfortable.

If the team lost the away game to Borisov… Twain dared not even think that such a situation would happen to him. He must not let this come true.

Within minutes of bringing on ?igi?, Twain replaced Lennon with Beckham. The situation was obvious. He wanted to use the side passes and headers in the middle to overcome the disadvantages in the field condition and weather.

Having done all this, he was basically out of moves. He had done all that was to be done. What was next? He did his best. Could he leave it up to fate?

Twain looked up at the dark sky.

He suddenly squinted his eyes. A chill passed over his face. This icy feeling spread from his face directly to the bottom of his heart—it was snowing.

After holding out for a day, the snow had finally fallen. The fluttering snow soon filled the air in the city and the sky above the stadium.

Could this be destiny?

Twain only felt the kind of needle-like pain in his heart became increasingly noticeable. He clenched his teeth and stared at the sky. White snowflakes were visible to the naked eye under the light.

In the area next to him came a smattering of cheers, the Borisov players and coaches saw the snow and knew the game was moving towards a situation that becoming advantageous to them. The Borisov’s head coach was already plotting how to compete with FC Kyiv Dynamo for the other spot for advancement in the group.

“Nottingham Forest looks like it’s going to be in trouble.” The ESPN commentator announced the Forest team’s impending doom in a very calm tone, “Once it starts to snow, the team’s performance will only be worse. I think their players must be freezing. The ground is completely wet and the drainage system at the Dinamo Stadium is terrible. But the Belarus team clearly doesn’t have these troubles. They are totally used to the grounds and playing in the snow is as common as breathing. What does Tony Twain have in mind? Maybe he wishes his team has a home ground that is at an altitude of three kilometers above sea level…”

※※※

“I don’t accept failure!” George Wood said to the two full backs while the opponent was slow-going in preparing for a free kick. He had a serious expression as if a fire was burning in his eyes. “All of you go up during the attack. Just leave the back to me!”

“Is it going to be okay?” Rafinha was a little worried. Borisov was strong in its counterattacks.

“We still have more than ten minutes to go. What difference does it make if we concede one goal or ten goals?”

Bale nodded first in reply, “Got it!”

Rafinha followed suit and said, “No problem!”

Borisov’s free kick was slightly above the crossbar, which still drew cheers from the stands.

“Those bastards! The Belarus team is getting the better of us!” Twain was hopping mad and raining curses on the sidelines. He yelled, “Get your spirits up! We’re the damn defending champion! We can’t lose to a team like this! You have to run even if you can’t! If you don’t run now, you may not get a chance to run again in the future!”

He was aware of the players’ physical condition and knew that it was more physically draining to play in a stadium like this in today’s game. However, in the present circumstances, he could only let the players grit their teeth and persist. If they conceded here, the season would be over.

They must advance from the group stage whatever it took!

The Forest team’s full backs began to provide frequent assists, which were stronger than ever. Sometimes Pepe would dribble the ball himself to rush ahead and get involved in the attack. George Wood stood alone in the backfield, waiting for Borisov’s counterattack himself.

Rafinha dribbled the ball ahead and when he saw the opponent wanted to intercept his ball, he hurriedly passed the ball to Beckham. He ran forward, hoping to do a one-two combination with Beckham.

David Beckham did not pass the football back to him. He stood in place and suddenly swung his leg for a shot, ten meters away from the penalty area. It was a diagonal pass at a forty-five-degree angle!

igi? was entangled with the opposing defenders. When he saw Beckham swung his leg for the diagonal pass, he suddenly charged out, and leapt high after a sprint!

“He’s so tall—GOOOOAL!! Eightieth minute! Nottingham Forest equalized the score!!”

Twain turned and threw a punch at the underside of the awning in the technical area.

The snow was getting heavier, but he no longer cared about such minor details.

“It’s not over yet!” After he vented a little nervousness, he turned back and made threatening gestures toward the field as he shouted to remind the players to continue to work hard.

igi? also knew the team’s current situation. He did not wildly celebrate his goal. Instead, he picked up the football from inside the net and was surrounded by a group of teammates as he ran back.

“Aerial shots! High passes! Blow open their goal!” Following which in the game, Twain leapt and jumped on the sidelines as if he was deranged. Foul language spewed continuously from his mouth. He was caught in a dead end. Just like he warned the players, if they did not go crazy now, perhaps there would be no chance…

Borisov also had to give up the idea of a home win over the Forest team. They needed to try to play well defensively first. The two center backs were used to keep an eye on ?igi?, and Beckham was also given extra attention. Then the Borisov players began to try their best to waste the time in the game.

The slightest touch would send them falling painfully to the ground. In quick succession, they would hold their calves and fall to the ground with cramps. If they kicked the ball from the goal, the ball must be repeatedly placed twice. To throw in an out of bounds ball, they would definitely wait for the full backs to slowly walk up before they launched…

Every time he saw the Borisov players fall to the ground because of an “injury” and the Forest team kicked the football out of bounds on their own due to sportsmanship, Twain’s chest would violently heaved up and down off the field. Fury would rushed out and he could immediately exploded if a spark were to be lit.

It was not the first time he had witnessed such a “reasonable” use of the rules of the game to delay the game time. But he felt extremely unpleasant to personally experience it… he was so out of sorts that he almost blew up.

One of the Borisov players fell to the ground during a scuffle with the Forest players. Pepe did not see what happened behind him. He intercepted the ball and passed it to George Wood in front of him.

The Borisov player was still holding his wrist and lay motionless on the ground.

The Nottingham Forest players did not see it, but the Borisov players did. In fact, in the final stages of the game, they were basically watching their players at all times other than defending. Whenever someone fell to the ground, a series of hands were raised to signal that they were injured and asked the Forest players to kick the ball out. While the Forest players really carry forward the spirit of sportsmanship and politely kicked the football out.

But this time, when the players raised their arms to ask George Wood to kick the football out and let their player receive treatment, George Wood remained unmoved. He bypassed the opposing players easily, and the Borisov players could not believe what just happened in front of their eyes.

When George Wood bypassed another man, no matter how much the Borisov players on the opposite side gestured, and no matter how many people in the stands booed him, he continued to dribble the ball forward and attack as long as he did not hear the referee stop the game with his whistle.

When he bypassed the second man, the Borisov players finally understood. Nottingham Forest simply did not intend to carry out any sportsmanship this time!

One of the players charged up and wanted to use an aggressive foul to shovel Wood along with the ball to force a halt to the game.

Wood did not give the other side a chance to foul. He passed the ball to Bale in the wing, and then jumped up to dodge.

Bale also seemed to hesitate.?The Borisov player across from him stepped back to defend while asking him to kick the ball out.

But George Wood yelled, “Keep attacking!”

He sent the football into the penalty area.

The Borisov players were bewildered by the Forest team’s attack. Some of them rushed to face the attack, which simply could not make up an effective defensive protection.

When the football flew toward their goal, no one cared about sportsmanship and how the Forest team acted shamelessly … the arrow on the bowstring was ready to be fired!

igi? leapt high again and the two center backs jumped close to him, trying to squash him.

The Serbian player did not shoot his own goal, and he ferried the ball to the unmarked Arshavin behind.

Arshavin did not hold back. He swung his leg to kick right away and the football volleyed into the net!

“Arshavin! Arshavin—Nottingham Forest turns the game around! Now they’re ahead! Although the goal is somewhat controversial, the referee signaled that the goal was valid!”

Twain knelt with both knees on the ground and point two fingers at the sky. He opened his mouth wide and shouted in Mandarin, “If this is Heaven’s Will, then I will defy you wily God!”

The Borisov players angrily blocked the referee and tried to reason. The others came at George Wood in a rage, looking murderous.

The Forest players rushed over before they could celebrate the goal.

“This is so lacking in sportsmanship!” The young Borisov manager, Goncharenko, roared angrily at the fourth official on the sidelines. Sometimes, the fourth official was a pathetic character that the two teams’ coaches would vent at… and the fourth official could only treat it as one ear in and one ear out and not take it to heart.

“This is disgraceful! We want to appeal!” He yelled at the fourth official in broken English.

“Where are you going to appeal, Mr. Goncharenko?” Twain, who had finished giving vent to the sky, had a smirk on his face as he appeared on the other side of the fourth official. He looked at the somewhat hysterical opponent and said, “My players have the right to decide whether to kick the football out of bounds. As long as the referee doesn’t blow the whistle to stop the game and we don’t kick it out, what can you do? The FIFA rules do not state that if the opposing player falls to the ground, the player with the ball must suspend the attack. You won’t win if you appeal to FIFA!”

“You… No sportsmanship!” He pointed to Twain’s nose this time and scolded him.

Twain gave a shrug and said, “At least my players did not deliberately waste the game time. A manager, whose goalkeeper was shown a yellow card for procrastination, is unqualified to say that about me.”

After saying that, he turned around and walked away, letting the poor fourth official continue to suffer the venting from the already thunderous Goncharenko. The UEFA also did not want a team like Borisov, which had no market prospects, to advance to the final sixteen teams in the Champions League. Nottingham Forest at the top was easier to deal with. Borisov, which played in the Champions League for the first time, was really tender…

The situation on the pitch was a bit chaotic. There was physical contact on both sides and the referee had to show four yellow cards to four players in a row before the situation was brought under control.

George Wood stood at the heart of the struggle. No matter how angry the opposing players were, he just clenched his fists and celebrated the decisive winning goal with his teammates, completely ignoring the other side’s anger.

It was his blatant attitude that infuriated the Borisov players, making them want to punch him.

After the players on both sides squandered the game time, there was really little left. Once the experienced Nottingham Forest team overtook with a goal, it completely defeated Borisov’s fighting spirit. They felt ill at ease and were completely unable to concentrate on the game itself. Their minds were full of anger and unwillingness, grievance and regrets …

How could such a team pose a threat to Nottingham Forest?

The snow was still falling, but no one cared anymore if it would affect the Forest team.

Nottingham Forest had won because the game was over! Tony Twain won!

When the final whistle sounded, Borisov’s head coach immediately rushed to the pitch and got hold of the referee to demand him why he did not decisively whistle to suspend the game when his player had fallen to the ground and was injured. But due to his aggressive words, coupled with his pulling actions, he paid the price for his recklessness and youth as a result—he was directly sent off by the referee with a red card!

Twain was not in the mood to watch the young manager’s passionate performance. He did not even hug and celebrate with his players who had a narrow escape. He slumped in a chair and took a deep breath. A weight was lifted off his chest, but a heavier weight was hoisted up, hanging above his heart.

A life like a roller coaster was almost the entire trajectory of a professional manager.

Even if it was clamorous around him, he could still clearly hear the rapid throbbing of his heart as if it were echoing in his ears.

The game was over, and he won, but the sound did not slow down because of it. It kept beating at that pace, just like the speed in which Nottingham Forest had suddenly risen in the European continent for the last three seasons.

This was really worrying. He did not know when that taut string would break …

Chapter 709 - Eight Months!

On the flight back to Britain from Belarus, Twain would occasionally recall what happened, scene by scene, at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk. Then he felt the lingering fears and his heart would beat faster.

By the time he brought on ?igi?, he could have guessed how many media outlets would have been sharpening the knives in far-flung England, ready to take the defeated Nottingham Forest apart. If he did lose the game, he did not have to consider the pressure from the club’s senior management. Just the domestic public opinion could hang, draw, and quarter him.

Even if he had won the game now, the debate about the game would not stop there. The Belarusian media shouted unjust treatment, lashed out at Nottingham Forest for its lack of sportsmanship and said that Britain did revere fair play (the spirit of fair play), but as a Briton, Tony Twain had no concept of fair play at all. He stole three points from Borisov in the game with an unfair advantage.

Some of the British media also derided that it was a pity Twain had fallen to the point where he had to resort to the strategy of robbing with force to ensure that they advanced out of the group stage.

He could foresee that the pressure shrouding him would not diminish at all with the victory of the game in the near future. He was still in the middle of the maelstrom and was still unlikable.

In addition to thinking about how to deal with the enemies on the pitch, he had to rack his brains to cope with the media.

The immense pressure exhausted him. No matter how loud the noise was on the plane, he just went to sleep the moment he tilted his head and shut his eyes.

※※※

Twain recently felt that his sleep was not restful, and he was in a bad mood every morning when he got up. The moment he opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, the troubles which he temporarily forgot while sleeping would surface thick and fast, which caused him to suddenly lose all interest in life—there were worries every day on top of more worries. His brows did not have a moment to smooth out at all.

He forgot from where he had heard the phrase “The mood of the day is decided by your mood when you wake up.” At the moment, he felt that this phrase was too appropriate. He was in a bad mood every day when he got up, so he was in a bad mood all day.

During this period, he headed more frequently to the Forest bar, where he downed one drink after another with a cigarette constantly in his hand. Everyone in the bar also knew that Twain had been under a lot of pressure lately and that the team’s results were daunting. Even playing against the weakest opponent in the Champions League group stage was a narrow escape. Carl Spicer continued to attack Twain in his column because he sent him ten thousand books to embarrass him in public. Furthermore, after his relationship with Shania came to light, numerous rumors swirled around him.

As a football manager, the pressure was already greater than it would be for a normal person, on top of so many things out of the football field to bother him. He could not find any other way to relieve his mental stress other than drinking and smoking.

John and the others were unable to help however much they wanted to. No one could help Twain share this kind of pressure.

No…

Actually, there was someone.

The fans in the bar were talking and laughing with drinks in hand. They discussed the latest interesting happenings. Football was not the only topic being talked about here. The fans who often gathered here knew each other well and could talk about anything.

Twain was still sitting alone in the corner, drinking and smoking.

John leaned over and propped his bent elbows on the bar. He looked at Twain in the corner and said to himself, “It’s really hard to see Tony like this. Unfortunately, we can’t help him… Can’t play football and help him win good results; can’t help him deal with the media, can’t help him raise money to buy players in January…”

“It’s hard behind the glitz…” Skinny Bill sighed too.

As one of the best in a new generation of managers, Tony Twain had a high-profile and many admirers and followers. What the people, who liked or hated him, saw was nothing more than Twain’s arrogance and domineering appearance plus his bright and dazzling achievements. Who could see the Tony Twain of the present moment?

Burns wiped the glasses and softly spoke, “Bone weary from the day, he returns home all the time to a dark and cold house. Even the smallest amount of pressure will slowly accumulate to become something bigger?”

John looked back at him.

Burns held up a glass and looked at it under the lights to see if there were any stains that had not yet been cleaned. “A forty-year-old man, still single and doing such a high-stress job. How many football coaches have you heard who are single?” He looked up at John and asked.

With a bang, Twain stood up and knocked over the glass placed on the table. He waved goodbye to Burns, John and Bill, as he wove out of the bar alone.

“Who can spend all his life in a bar?” Burns looked at the swaying door and said.

※※※

Every day after work, he would go to Burns’ Forest Bar to get drunk and then sleep in a drunken haze. The next day, he would get up and frowned as he thought for a while only to realize the new day held nothing that could make him feel better. The international financial situation was deteriorating every day and the club’s finances could only shrink further. He was worried that the next day Evan would find him to say that the club could no longer afford to pay the big star players their high salaries. The players’ exhausted stamina could not be fully recovered with a few days’ sleep. There were always a few names on the injury name list. Sometimes a person would leave, and another person would come on.

This was Twain’s “happy life” nearing the end of the year.

Although he could not think of any good news that would make him happy when he got up every morning and sat by the bed, he still had to drum up his spirit and forcibly put on a pleasant face to go work in Wilford.

He had to supervise the training, develop a week’s work plan, communicate with the physiotherapists and team doctors to know the recovery status of the injured players every day, communicate with the fitness coaches to keep up-to-date with the team’s latest fitness, observe the players’ condition during training, and occasionally pay some attention to the youth team and reserve players, listen to the latest reports from the football scouts from around the world. He also had to search for talent within the database of players specially crafted by Sports Interactive for the Forest team, hoping to rely on Sports Interactive’s vast network of scouts around the world to allow him to unearth one or two unknown wonder kids and young bosses. He continued to deal with the media’s various tricky questions at the regular press conferences, studied the next opponent’s latest intelligence, and worked with Dunn to develop a detailed campaign …

Since the pressure was too enormous to be solved, he simply worked harder and kept busy to make himself temporarily forget the pressure.

This was the “stress reduction” approach that Twain used to face the pressure.

It could be said that this method was effective at work. He was frantically busy and basically had no time to consider the amount of the pressure. It was only at the end of the day when work had ended, that the feeling would surge up like a tide coming ashore, and increasingly stronger than before.

When he returned home after he “relaxed” at the bar and saw the dark painted colossus from the outside, he had the urge to not go in and turn to leave.

It was cold outside. It was just as cold at home.

Standing on the dark doorway, he broke out in a cold sweat after drinking as a gust of icy wind blew at him.

※※※

On November 29th, the fifteenth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest defeated West Bromwich Albion at home by 3:1. In the other games played at the same time, Chelsea and Arsenal tied at 2:2 while Liverpool easily beat West Ham United by 2:0. Manchester United and Manchester City shook hands on a 1:1 draw at the Manchester Derby. Thus, Liverpool overtook Chelsea to take the top spot in the league table with thirty-eight points, followed by Chelsea with thirty-six points, and Nottingham Forest at the third place with thirty points.?Manchester United, which originally had the same points as them, was in the fourth place with twenty-eight points. Arsenal was in the fifth place with twenty-seven points.

Nottingham Forest had finally pulled ahead of Manchester United in points and was no longer in third place in the league with the other teams. Chelsea’s winning streak was held back by Arsenal. At thirty-six points, they only a six points difference with the Forest team, once again giving the Forest team a glimmer of hope to catch up and overtake.

In the game against West Bromwich Albion, the team also put in a spirited performance rarely seen in recent games and easily won against the opponent at 3:1.

It was reasonable to say that these were all good things, but neither Tony Twain nor the media clearly thought that was the case.

Van Nistelrooy was replaced by ?igi? after he was injured and fell to the ground in the 70th minute of the game against West Bromwich Albion.

According to a preliminary diagnosis after the game, he needed to take a break for the injury for two months.

The figure had made Twain’s already knitted brows creased even more.

Van Nistelrooy knew what troubled the boss. In an interview, he even smiled with ease that he was fine to lessen the pressure on Twain. He said, “It’s only for eight weeks. I’ll just have a good rest for two months. I’ll be back!”

As a result, when he flew to the United States for further examination, a staggering piece of bad news came out.

The previous estimation of two months of recuperation did not include the option of surgery. The team doctors did not think that there was any need for surgery and he just needed to recuperate. Of course, it was from the club’s point of view. After all, the team doctors knew the Forest team was currently short of players. Beckham and Eastwood had been injured, while Pepe’s injury was also further aggravated in the game against Borisov. He had to sit in the stands completely, and Sun Jihai was also injured for a month.

Under the circumstances of the team being strapped for players, they did not consider the surgical treatment option at all.

The doctor in the United States had no such concerns. The famous doctor, Richard Steadman who diagnosed van Nistelrooy, bluntly pointed out that the Dutch man should have surgery right away and…

<Eight months!!>

<The Sun> printed the big and somewhat shocking black headline.

Eight months was the estimated time for van Nistelrooy to recover from the surgery—eight to nine months.

When the news came from America to Nottingham, Tony Twain could hardly believe his ears. He thought the other side had mistaken “eight months” for “eight weeks.”

How could he be wrong?

※※※

“… At least eight to nine months and it’s only the time for recovery from the surgery. It’s at a year away from him being able to play again!”

How could Tony Twain’s most loyal opponent, Carl Spicer not be around during such a sensitive time? In an interview with a television station, he broke the news and pushed Tony Twain further into the heart of the struggle.

“The players normally have at least a month to undergo muscle training to regain their forms during the initial stages of recovery from a serious injury. Any intense exercise during the one-month period can cause the newly healed injury to flare up again. Van Nistelrooy’s injured knee meniscus is the most likely part of the body that can cause the old injury to recur from any collision. The most classic example is Ronaldo. Can any of you count the number of times the Brazilian O Fen?meno’s knee has been injured?”

“No, no. I won’t say the kind of foolish things like van Nistelrooy will definitely say goodbye to the season. I’m just saying that the Dutch will have a ninety-five percent chance of completely retiring! Is this alarmist talk? I’m not doing that. Well, I’ll pray for the Dutchman’s successful surgery and perfect recovery from the injury. Then he will be able to start a simple muscle strength training, and then gradually strengthen to participate in the team training with the whole team. And he can slowly … begin to compete again. There will be no twist and turn during the period, and a year will have passed.” On the television football program, he wrote and drew on the board. He spoke frankly with assurance about van Nistelrooy’s serious injury, “Remember, there will be no problem during this time. He will recover well, and he hasn’t had a relapse in his right knee. Then he will be thirty-four years old.”

Spicer spread his hands and said to the host with a smile, “Do you know what thirty-four years of age mean for a striker? In a fast-paced and fierce competition like the Premier League, what can a thirty-four-year-old striker, who has just suffered a serious knee injury…do? Will Nottingham Forest renew van Nistelrooy’s contract? I don’t believe Evan Doughty will be a philanthropist under such terrible financial climate. That’s why I said he had a ninety-five percent chance of retiring directly!”

“Well, I made myself clear about the unfortunate Dutchman. Now let us see who’s the cause of all this and who was responsible for van Nistelrooy’s tragic fate!” He saw the host’s mouth open and hurriedly stopped him with a gesture, so that he can continue to add, “That’s right, I’m referring to—Tony Twain!”

From the beginning of the new season, van Nistelrooy is already injured and has not been in good shape. He basically plays in a few games and takes a break during the first half of the league tournament. At the start of the season, van Nistelrooy already announced his retirement from the Netherlands national team and focused on playing for the Forest team. Twain overjoyed by this. After he drove Bendtner away, van Nistelrooy is the only center forward he can rely on. The Serbian simply couldn’t adapt to the Premier League football. The team’s performance is not good and the entire team’s condition was up and down. Coupled with the impact of the financial crisis, Tony Twain knew he has to obtain good results. Under immense pressure, he can only continue to rely on van Nistelrooy…”

Having said that, Carl Spicer leaned calmly against the back of the chair, with a mysterious smile on his face.

“I have inside information that just before the game against West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest’s team doctor had warned Twain that it was best not to let van Nistelrooy play or he would risk an injury. But Tony Twain still forced to bring the Dutchman on and did not heed the team doctor’s warning for the sake of his manager position. And what did everyone see in the end? A manager who only cares for his own position regardless of the players’ health. Some people may say that he rules with an iron fist. But I scoff at this!”

※※※

While Carl Spicer’s talk show was on the television, Twain was drinking his troubles away in Burns’ bar. Van Nistelrooy’s serious injury was indeed a heavy blow to Twain. ?igi? was still slowly adjusting to the Premier League, Eastwood was constantly suffering from minor injuries and Arshavin was more of a winger than a scoring center forward. The only one who could be trusted was the dedicated van Nistelrooy. As a result, he became injured and it was going to take eight months… He completely had no idea how to resolve the task of goalscoring within the team the rest of the season.

While he was troubled, he naturally came to the bar to drink and drown his sorrows.

He was surrounded by John and Bill, who were both trying to comfort him.

Then he heard the news of Carl Spicer looking smug on television and jabbering about the scoop.

At the time, his body swayed as he stood up, holding a thick beer glass in his hand, and was about to smash the television. Fortunately, John and Bill acted quickly. One of them held him and the other man reached to take the glass. But the beer in the glass drenched Twain.

“The bitch-faced bastard!” He punched and swore.

“Why do you care what that idiot do, Tony? Drink up, let’s drink!” John signaled to Burns to continue serving.

But Twain did not keep drinking. He sat in the chair in a daze and still looked back on what happened before the game.

Carl Spicer was right with one thing. Fleming did warn him that van Nistelrooy’s body was close to collapse and could not be used like this again. Therefore, Twain decided to rotate and rest van Nistelrooy to give ?igi?, who had not adapted to the Premier League yet, to start in the game. Anyway, West Bromwich Albion was just a newly promoted team which they could cope with. Even if Beckham, Eastwood, Pepe and van der Vaart were injured, they could always cope.

But van Nistelrooy looked for him and insisted on playing. He was aware of the team’s current predicament and knew that the boss had no one available whom he could use.

Twain thought about it for a long time before he nodded and agreed.

He just did not think that what he feared would come into fruition. Van Nistelrooy really got hurt in the game and was seriously injured for eight months!

It was really unfortunate. He was out of luck…

※※※

The next day, a lot of reporters were at the gates of Wilford and they wanted to come here to confirm if what Carl Spicer said on television last night was true.

Twain’s hoarse voice in front of these reporters sounded a little soft. The troubles, which came one after another these days gave him a sense of powerlessness and he could not act tough even if he wanted to.

“Don’t make wild guesses…” He waved his hands and said, “It was my decision to let Ruud play, and I’m not going to shirk my responsibility for it. I feel sorry and shocked that the team has lost such an important striker, but my team will persevere. We are ranked third and in good condition. An injury is a normal occurrence. I don’t see what you call a crisis. That’s it, goodbye everyone.”

With that, he turned and walk inside.

A group of reporters rushed forward at the back and shouted, “Mr. Tony Twain! I have one more question!”

“Mr. Twain, I heard you forced van Nistelrooy to play injured with the use of local injections?”

Twain turned and glared at those reporters and coldly said, “I am in a bad mood, don’t bother me! If you’re curious, go ask Carl Spicer. Didn’t he claim to have inside information? Let him give you all the inside information he knows!”

After he marched ahead to shake off the reporters, only then Twain stopped to look up at the gloomy sky.

At least eight months…

When van Nistelrooy returns from the recovery of his injury, who knows what the situation will be like at that time?

Will the global economic crisis be over? Will we have any money? Can I wave my checkbook to buy people all over the world? What will happen to the team? Can we win the UEFA Champions League title for the third time in a row? Can we still defend the Premier League title? What kind of breakthrough can we made in the FA Cup?

What’s going to happen to Nottingham Forest and I… a year later?

Chapter 710 - Powerless to Stage a Comeback

Ruud van Nistelrooy had already left Nottingham, and was undergoing final preparations prior to his operation in America.

No one knew if he could return to the pitch after the operation. It was also unclear if Nottingham Forest would still want the 34-year-old at the club when he returns. His current salary is relatively high amongst all the players at the club, and his contract is due to expire by the time he recovers and makes it back to the team.

The uncertainties surrounding van Nistelrooy’s future left everyone feeling uneasy about his trip to America.

Twain was the only one who forced a smile and comforted him, “Come back alive and kicking, I am waiting for you!”

Van Nistelrooy’s injury had further aggravated the team’s woes at the front. There was now a complete lack of attacking options in the team.

However, that was only one of the many issues that his injury brought about. A bigger issue was how the team’s morale suffered a heavy blow as a result of his injury and departure.

The usual scenes of perpetual laughter were nowhere to be seen at the Wilford training grounds. Everyone would sigh collectively when the word ‘injury’ is mentioned in the dressing room and would say nothing else afterwards. Everyone prioritised their own safety and chose not to give their all during training.

It was safe to say that a fear of injury had spread and manifested itself throughout the entire team.

Twain was clueless as to how to deal with everything that was unfolding before him. He could not berate the players and tell them to give their all during training, because that would cause the players to slightly, or even completely, lose trust in him.

The players’ fear of picking up an injury was even more evident during a match. Their opponents seemed to have honed in on their fears as well, and they would all show their strong and aggressive side before the Forest players during the game and make use of boorish defending to control the flow of the match.

Most of the time, the Nottingham Forest players could only choose to give up the ball against such crude defending.

George Wood was the only player who remained unchanged and unaffected by any external influences. Sadly, he was not able to carry the entire team on his shoulders alone.

A low team morale. The players’ lack of stamina. The constant state of anxiety that the players were in due to their fear of injuries. All these factors led Forest to two consecutive defeats in the league.

On 6th December, Nottingham Forest lost 0-2 to Arsenal in an away game. On 13th December, they lost 0-1 to Blackburn at home.

Following their two consecutive defeats, Nottingham Forest slipped from third place to seventh in the table. Aston Villa and Everton were ranked above them, and Hull City was ranked eighth.

On 16th December, Forest travelled all the way to Japan to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup.

The exhausting plane flight coupled with Twain’s indifference towards a match of this level resulted in a loss for Forest against Fluminense Football Club, who was the champion of Copa Libertadores, in the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. Forest missed out on bringing the trophy back home.

The only positive for the team came during the last round of the Champions League’s group stages. Nottingham Forest clinched a 4-1 victory over Kyiv Dynamo at home amongst the cheers from their 30,000 fans, and managed to secure the last spot into the knockout stages.

They were able to hold onto both their spot in the Champions League and the money that they can get by remaining in the competition.

At least they have funds going into the next season.

The team might have made their way into the knockout stages of the Champions League, but the media’s criticisms of Twain did not relent and had only increased instead. The reason for it was because they realized that Tony Twain would most likely be unable to make a comeback in a short period of time this time round, so they did not need to worry about getting slapped in their faces by Twain after he started to win games.

Many criticized how he only had his sights on victories and turned a blind eye on the players’ fitness levels, which led to the disaster that befell van Nistelrooy.

Others criticized his powerlessness to do something that would help bring his team out of the pinch that they were in.

Some derided him over how he spent most of his time squabbling with the media, but did not spend any to build up his team’s fitness levels.

A few believed that the reason behind why there are very few managers who get embroiled in a lot of off the pitch news is because those news would lead to the manager becoming distracted during his training and guidance of the team. Managers like that cannot be counted as incompetent, but have certainly failed as managers.

“… We can criticize a player if he performs badly when he gets overly caught up with affairs that have nothing to do with his job as a footballer. The manager can drop him to the bench or send him to the stands to let him reflect on his actions. But, what about a manager who gets so distracted that he is unable to give his all for the job? Are there any ways for us to punish him? Tony Twain thinks he is the king of Nottingham Forest. I have no intentions to debate over whether he is the king or not, but if a country’s king encounters a problem and makes a mistake, where should the country go from there?”

All sorts of criticisms besieged Twain. He would come across at least two columns lambasting him every single morning when he flips open the newspapers.

He eventually stopped reading newspapers all together. This was also how he got rid of his bad habit of reading the news while eating breakfast.

He was not scared in the slightest of how the media admonishes him. It was not the first time it happened to him anyway. The only difference was that the media seemed to be concentrating their attacks together this time round instead of the scattered, individual attacks in the past.

What made him feel growingly pressured was the intent from the higher-ups of the club.

It did not matter how good of a relationship he had with Evan on a daily basis. The fact was that the team was performing badly right now. He could not escape being summoned to the office by a grim-faced Evan to discuss about the situation for an hour.

Evan did not reproach him. He only talked about how the team was in a difficult position right now, and how he hoped that Twain would divert the attention away from the club’s financial issues and change the image that people have of Forest currently by winning matches.

As long as they won matches, all the problems would stop being problems.

As long as they won matches, the fickle media would start to cheer for Forest again…

The words that Evan said were what made Twain feel immense pressure.

Evan was an owner who only sat in the office the whole day. He never cared about the club. He has no idea how hard it is for the team to win matches with the situation that they are currently in, but Twain was different. He understood it best as the manager of the team.

Nonetheless, Evan was still his boss, and what he said was right as well. Nobody would wish to see their team lose matches. Losing matches was not the way for him to reduce the stress placed on him either.

What to do? Brace yourself, grit your teeth and face it head on, of course.

Twain agreed to do as Evan said.

They will win their next match. They had to win. The situation would definitely turn for the better. The issues that they have on their hands were only temporary…

But who was their opponent for the next match?

On 20th December, matchday 18, Nottingham Forest was up against Manchester United in an away game….

※※※

Ferguson might be Twain’s drinking and horse racing buddy, but it would be a pipe dream to expect him to let Twain off the hook because of the friendship that they share.

How could Ferguson pass on the chance to obliterate the arrogant Nottingham Forest who had tyrannized the Premier League for two seasons?

Even if he was willing to go easy on Forest, Manchester United’s players and fans would never assent to it either.

Think about it. Who was it that snatched the Premier League Champion’s trophy from them during the final game of the previous season?

The Nottingham Forest who did that to them is currently in a sorry state. Twain could not even gather 11 players to play for his starting team.

Manchester United was not a charity organisation. They have no obligation to help them get over their hurdles.

Rumors circulated before the match that if Twain were to lose again, he would likely get the boot.

A banner with the words “See Tony Twain off with a victory. Die, Nottingham Forest!” appeared at the Old Trafford stands during the match as a response to the rumors.

The Old Trafford stands were teeming with animosity towards Twain. Many of the fans were desperate to rush down and dismember him.

There were endless insults thrown Twain’s way from behind his manager’s seat.

The British were certainly creative. They came up with all kinds of ways to scold him so that he would not feel lonely for 90 minutes.

Van Nistelrooy has left the team indefinitely due to an injury. Van der Vaart is out with an injury for a month and so is Pepe, who is out of action for half a month. Similarly, Beckham is out for a week, Eastwood is out for two weeks, Petrov is out for 10 days, Tiago is out for a week and Sun Jihai is out for a month…

Who else do they have on the pitch right now?

How could they hope to win against Manchester United with such a team?

If Ferguson knew about the promise that Twain made with Evan prior to the match, he would definitely fly into a rage and say that Twain was looking down on him and his team.

All Twain could do was to force a smile. He knew how hard it was to win Manchester United as an away team. However, there was no way back for him now. The team’s morale would take a hit if he were to show his weak side at a time like this.

Twain stood by the side of the pitch and kept flailing his hands about agitatedly as the match progressed.

Seeing that, the Sky Television’s commentator joked, “Tony Twain probably longs to get on the pitch himself and help the team win the match personally.”

The team was in a slump. The players who had performed well in the past were unable to re-enact their past good performances.

ahin, the Turkish gifted youth player who was playing as a replacement for van der Vaart, quickly became invisible in the game after being closed down in Manchester United’s midfield.

Rafinha was close to becoming disoriented after dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo’s repeated breakthroughs.

Kompany could not stop Rooney and Tevez’s interchanging attacks all by himself.

George Wood kept on running, but he was unable to defend both sides of the flanks at the same time.

igi? was isolated at the front of the pitch and was unable to produce anything without support from the midfield.

Lennon tried to find a way to break through, but his attacks were too predictable and were easily stopped by his opponents…

Twain raised his head to the skies. There was nothing else he could do…

Everything had gone well for him during the past few seasons. There were a few occasional injuries, but those injuries did not affect the team as a whole.

Maybe lady luck was smiling at him back then?

Unlike the past few seasons however, every unlucky thing came at him at the same time this season. The way that they happened one after another in such a short span of time made Twain feel as though they were all pre-arranged.

God, are you trying to drive me to my grave?

He felt a sudden pang at his heart.

Twain gave up directing the match by the pitch. He turned around, languidly walked away, and languidly sat down on the manager’s seat.

His face was one of utter stupefaction.

The score for the match at that moment was 3-1. The home team’s score comes first, followed by the away team’s.

※※※

Nottingham Forest suffered their third consecutive defeat and they continued to slip down the ranking table. This time, they fell all the way to 11th place!

Amidst the state of chaos for the team, Real Madrid made a move once again to throw things into further disarray. They openly announced their interest in Forest’s Ribéry, and how they hoped to buy him during the winter transfer window.

This was not a joke published by the Spanish media outlets. It was also not that a screw came loose in the heads of the higher-ups in Real Madrid.

The reason behind why they wanted to spend big money to buy a player who participated in the Champions League before was simple.

Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were both facing the same issues: injuries to players and a dreadfully incomplete team.

They had lost Robinho in the summer, and it weakened their already weak offense down the flanks. To make matters worse, Robben picked up a serious injury during the last match and was expected to be out for two to three months. This left Real Madrid in a situation where they have no wingers in the team that they can employ during games. Drenthe was too inexperienced and could not be played either. Schuster had made it clear that the Dutch was not a part of his plans as well.

Hence, it was imperative for Real Madrid to buy a winger in the winter transfer window.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still intent to leave Manchester United, but he will not agree to a transfer during the winter transfer window. The earliest he would agree to go would be during the summer next year.

After searching around, the only player Real Madrid could buy who would be risk-free, with a proven track record, and who would be able to get in the team and play straight away was Franck Ribéry.

Due to the fact that Nottingham Forest is currently going through a financial crisis, Real Madrid believes that the club would not play hardball and refuse an offer this time round.

After all, they are in desperate need of cash to turn their financial situation around, and Ribéry’s salary of 130,000 pounds per week was a heavy burden to the club as well.

Real Madrid put in a bid of 50 million euros for Ribéry after taking everything into account.

The reporters swarmed up to Twain, all wanting to obtain the latest information regarding the potential transfer from him.

Twain only shook his head and repeated his statement that he had not heard any details regarding the offer, and that Ribéry was happy at the club and would like to stay.

In contrast to Twain’s words however, Allan later came out and admitted that the club had indeed received an offer from Real Madrid during an interview with the press, but did not comment when asked about how the club intends to deal with the matter.

The media believes that Nottingham Forest would find Real Madrid’s offer in euros to be irresistible given the current economic downturn.

Twain was definitely aware of how tempting Real Madrid’s offer is. What he said to the media earlier were all lies.

Bruno Heiderscheid, Ribery’s manager, gave Twain another call to discuss about the matter, and he expressed his wishes for Tony Twain to let his player leave.

“It will help ease the club’s financial troubles and lower the wage structure. At the same time, Franck would be able to get what he wants. It’s the best of both worlds. I don’t think it is a bad offer.”

Everything he said made perfect sense, but Twain’s face was cold as ice and he just refused to nod his head.

※※※

Stress over the team’s results, stress from the difference in players’ thoughts, stress from the media, stress from the higher-ups and stress over finances…

Twain felt like he would only see a sea of black when he raised his head, even if the weather for the day was actually all sunny and bright.

It has been an exceptionally difficult winter for him.

What made things especially difficult for him was not the stress that continued to loom over him, but rather how he was completely clueless as to how to get rid of the stress that was weighing down on him.

He has no money to buy players and no time to make adjustments to the team and let the players rest. As long as the team continue to be depleted, there would be no chance of turning the results around, unless a miracle happened. The stress would only continue to accumulate if the terrible results keep coming one after another, until the day it gets so massive that he can’t endure it any longer and collapse.

When that happens, it did not matter how he, the Monkey King, struggled, he would just be crushed under the ‘The Mount of Five Fingers’ and not see the light for 500 years… [1]

It did not matter how tortuous the road was. As long as there was light before him, he could still get the entire team to grit their teeth and get through it by giving their all.

Sadly, the road that stretched out before him now was not only extremely tortuous, but without a glimmer of light as well.

If things were to go on as they have been, the team would likely face swift elimination despite qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The multi-faceted problem that they have on their hands is not only shown in the club’s financial situation, but also in the various competitions that the team competes in.

Twain has to give up a goal or two and invest his all into ensuring that he can at least attain one of his goals.

The problem is, should they fight for a top four finish in the league, or should they fight to leave their name in history as the three-time champions of the Champions League?

If the team is unable to finish in the top four in the Premier League, then they will miss out on Champions League next season and can only watch as others get busy and celebrate.

The prospect of being crowned as the three-time champions of Champions League is certainly enticing…

Twain contemplated for a long time, and eventually decided to prioritize getting a top-four finish in the Premier League.

He felt that regardless of how tough a situation he is in now, there would come a day where his luck would turn for the better. Things might not be going his way right now, but who is to say that luck would not be on his side after the winter passes? Misfortune might just be a blessing in disguise.

Twain did not think that it was mission impossible to secure a top-four finish with the current Nottingham Forest team.

Now that he has set his goal, all he needed were results to help him make his goal a reality.

Christmas was around the corner, and Nottingham Forest was ranked 11th in the league table. This result was a far cry from where he wanted Nottingham Forest to be, which was to not be too far away from first place.

He needs to win games…

Twain wanted to pull his hair out at that thought.

When has winning a game ever been easy?

Chapter 711 - The Imminent Passing of 2008

There are no matches between 21st December to 25th December. On Christmas, everyone can leave behind their woes for the year, kick back and enjoy the occasion.

The festive mood for Christmas was discernible in every nook and cranny in the city since the start of December. Christmas is akin to Chinese New Year in China, and is regarded as an important occasion in the West.

It did not matter if you are carrying a truck load of worries. You have to put them aside momentarily during Christmas and celebrate the day with everyone else. The same applied to Twain.

The atmosphere at the Christmas party organized by the club was insipid given how the team has been plagued by a run of poor results.

The Christmas tree was placed where it should be and each player received a small gift as well. However, the atmosphere was still much colder than before. Nobody was in the mood to celebrate the occasion given the bad results. No one knew what lies in store for them in the future, and they just could not bring themselves to celebrate.

Shania gave Twain a call to check on him and to remind him repeatedly to find a chance to sit back and relax so as to not ruin his health.

The two were quite in sync in how neither brought up the incident that happened between them previously. Shania seemed to have made up her mind that Twain has to be the one to speak about the matter first. She will not force him for an answer.

As for Twain, there was too much on his plate right now, and Shania was one of them. He has not found a way to deal with what is happening with the team, and certainly does not have a way to deal with his relationship issues either.

He just talked with Shania casually as he always had while being careful to avoid touching on the topic that will make him feel awkward.

It was only when he returned home in the middle of the night to a pitch black and chilly house that he realized how inconvenient it was to have one less person around him.

Twain spent the Christmas with Dunn at George Wood’s house. He thought Sophia’s face kept looking paler and paler every time he saw her.

It seems like the winter had not been easy for her either.

The only thing different about Sophia this time round was how she had a twinge of worry in her eyes when she looked at Twain.

Twain had forgotten to shave and he also did not cut his hair for a while, so his hair had grown long and only looked like it would grow longer. His eyes were bloodshot and looked a little clouded.

“Mr. Twain, please look after yourself…” She reminded as they were all having their meal.

Twain laughed. “I’m in fine fettle! Don’t worry, it’s just that I’ve been so busy that I’ve forgotten about my personal hygiene… It’s okay, I will shave and cut my hair when I get back…”

Sophia told him softly, “I don’t know much about what’s going on with the team, but George has been feeling down lately and keeps pulling a long face…”

Hearing her words reminded Twain of how George looked dispirited recently. His performance on the pitch so far has been solid, but could not be considered as particularly outstanding.

Is it because of the slump that the team is in, or is there another reason that he can’t speak about?

“Er… It’s nothing big. The winter will definitely pass, right? Shelley once said, ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’… That was from Shelley, right?” Twain turned his head to ask Dunn.

Dunn nodded his head.

“It’s Christmas today. Let’s just celebrate the occasion and not bring up anything else!”

He did not want to hear about the things that have been troubling him for half a year, especially during a jovial occasion like Christmas.

Just let him forget everything!

He wanted to stop frowning just for tonight…

※※※

After leaving Sophia’s house, Twain located his white jeep amongst a row of cars by the road and got into the vehicle with Dunn.

Once inside, he started the ignition, but was not in a hurry to drive the car away.

He just sat on the driver’s seat and spaced out.

Dunn turned his head to look at the dazed Twain and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

“Many… Many things.”

“The team, or Shania?”

Dunn broke into a smile. “Both.”

“I know I probably shouldn’t say this… But, how long do you intend to stay this way with Shania? She has already confessed to you. Shouldn’t you give her some kind of response as a man?”

Twain placed both his hands over his face and kneaded it.

“I know that… But I don’t know how I should face her…”

“Do you love her?” Dunn asked without beating about the bush.

“I don’t know…”

“Why won’t you just shake your head and say ‘you don’t love her’?”

“I don’t know…”

“Are you still worried about the age gap between the two of you?”

Twain remained silent.

“If you were younger by 22 years and were the same age as her right now, will you like the girl?”

Bang.

Twain and Dunn both raised their heads to look into the distance at the same time, and they saw a cluster of red fireworks bloom in the night sky through the car’s windshield.

“I guess… I will probably like her.”

Dunn smiled and said nothing else. He looked out the window and seemed entranced as he admired the breathtaking fireworks that went off one after another in the night sky.

Twain turned the steering wheel and drove the car out of the parking lot.

“Do you want to see the fireworks?” Twain asked.

Dunn shook his head. “There’d be a crowd. Let’s just go home.”

Twain nodded his head in agreement. He was not interested in a fireworks display that highlighted all the good times of the past year.

2008 is about to be over. Should I reminisce it, or should I not?

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s first match after Christmas was a game at home against the northern powerhouse team Newcastle.

For non-football fans, the Christmas break has just started and they can choose to go all over the world for a vacation as long as they had the money.

For the football fans, being able to admire high standards of Premier League football is the best form of holiday to them.

The Nottingham Forest fans still vividly remember how the team lost to Newcastle at St James’ Park a month ago.

Now that they are on their home ground, they definitely have to make sure that Newcastle gets a taste of their own medicine!

To Twain however, getting revenge was only a complement. The most important thing was to win the match. They had to win no matter what.

His team had lost three times in a row in the Premier League. Their only win since the start of December was against Kyiv Dynamo in the group stages of the Champions League. This losing streak simply cannot go on!

They have to defeat Newcastle and put an end to these excruciatingly suffocating days!

There needs to be change in the new year. They must welcome the new year and pave the way to Nottingham Forest’s resurgence with a victory!

※※※

“If the Premier League conducted a poll on the most disappointing or worst football team for each month, then I would give my vote to Nottingham Forest for the month of December!” The experts were doing all sorts of analyses for the match on television.

“Three consecutive defeats and a shocking loss against Blackburn at home. There are absolutely no signs that this team is the two-time defending champion of the Premier League! It feels like the team is in complete disarray when all they have really lost is van Nistelrooy… Don’t tell me they won all those matches in the past because of van Nistelrooy?”

“We certainly cannot condemn the team based on one loss, but in the case of Nottingham Forest, it is not just one loss. They have been performing terribly for a long time. When they win, they do it unconvincingly, and when they lose, they make people wonder what just happened. Is this the Nottingham Forest that we know of? The Nottingham Forest that we know of under Tony Twain is a team that wins convincingly and was reputed as a consistently performing team, and even when they lost, they don’t leave people wondering why.”

“Nottingham Forest’s offense has seemingly lost its direction now that Van Nistelrooy is not in the team and van der Vaart and many other players are out injured. Their offense lacks a clear strategy… Look at the players, all they do is to run about blindly not knowing what to do. When the ball reaches a player’s feet, he can only fight alone by relying on his techniques. Even the team’s passing… The players only pass the ball around because there is a team mate next to them. They lack a clear strategy. Why do they pass the ball, and how they should pass the ball… None of those. They have none of those thoughts going through their heads. Nottingham Forest might be playing at home against Newcastle, but with the way they have been playing, I don’t expect them to win. The odds given by the various betting companies all suggest that they see Nottingham Forest as the underdogs going into the match. I don’t think their views are unwarranted…”

※※※

Twain did not feel like saying words like ‘we definitely have to win this match’ before his players anymore. He believes his players have grown sick of those words as well. Therefore, rather than straining his throat to say a bunch of useless, empty words, he decided to say something practical to them this time round.

“The fullbacks should move forward to attack in turns. Try to pass high balls more often and send the balls above ?igi?’s head. We must make full use of ?igi?’s height and physicality. Let’s use the simplest way to defeat them! Force them to follow our tempo in the game through our attacks. We must score a goal within the first 30 minutes! One goal won’t be not enough, we must score two before we think about switching over to defending! We must make sure we are leading them and have the upper hand before we revert to the playing style that we are more used to, then we can drag the game out with Newcastle…”

His voice sounded very solemn. He was not his usual self where he would banter with the players.

The players listened to him with grave expressions on their faces. They were fully aware of the situation that the team was in. They could not afford to lose… They could not afford to lose anymore.

Twain knew that this was a time where he should play in a more cautious manner, but he still decided to go for an all-out attack on Newcastle. This was an arrangement that suited him better as a gambler, or a gambler who was on a losing streak, because the stakes were high.

“Remember this! Minimize the mistakes that you make as much as you can. If they score one against us in the first half, don’t wait until you get back into our own half to defend. Snatch the ball from them wherever the ball is at! We are the home team. We must always act like one. If we can make them fear us then that’d be even better!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest started the match with explosive energy and displayed the air that one would expect of a defending champion football team.

With their backs to the wall, the team put in a performance that terrorized Newcastle for a while. Newcastle was sent into a frenzy and did not know how to react against them.

Nottingham Forest might not have been performing well lately, but they were still undoubtedly a strong team.

It had only been seven minutes into the match when Ribéry capitalized on a mistake by Newcastle’s defenders to slot in a goal into the bottom corner of the net.

The City Ground erupted into thunderous cheers. Tony Twain jumped high into the air and celebrated the goal by waving his arms in the air.

What a way to start the match!

Nicely done, Franck!

“Ribéry might have been troubled by the transfer speculations around him recently, but he continues to perform remarkably well for the Forest team. His goal is very crucial for the team! Look at how excited Tony Twain is by the side of the pitch. It’s almost as if he’s the one who scored the goal…”

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. Newcastle carried out a ferocious attack towards the end of the first half, and Owen managed to find an opening amidst the chaos before Forest’s goalpost. He shot for goal and scored the equalizer!

The City Ground went silent for a while. Twain did not know what kind of expression he should make as he stood by the side of the pitch.

The commentator made a joke after seeing Twain’s drastic change in emotions. “I think we should really give Tony Twain a heart rate monitor… His heart rate right now must be way above average!”

During halftime, Twain was livid and chastised the defenders for trying to carry the ball forward repeatedly and for being too apprehensive on the way they handled the ball.

“Why did you all try to carry the ball forward in our penalty box? For what? Did you all think we could carry it all the way over to the opposition’s penalty box? You must clear the ball away quickly! Clear the ball away quickly! Haven’t I told you guys that countless times? What’s the first thing a defender should do? It’s not to show off your superb techniques. It’s to get rid of the danger quickly! As long as the ball stays at your feet for one more second, we also stay in danger for one more second! The way you all handled the ball only gave the bastards from Newcastle more confidence! It’s like you were telling them ‘the ball’s at my feet, come and get it! As long as you get it you can shoot for goal straight away’!”

“If you can’t find someone suitable to pass the ball to, then just send the ball out of play! Don’t care about anything else!”

“Also, if you lot run out of stamina in the second half, then the full backs should stop moving forward to join in the attack… I’m going to say the same thing again. When the second half starts, fight to take the lead! The team that leads always gets to decide how the match goes! I don’t want the game to drag all the way till the 90th minute and still not be won by us. We can’t let that happen!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest was lively when the second half started and they actively went on the offense. On the other hand, Newcastle tightened their defense and did not give Forest any more chances at goal.

When a game reaches a stalemate, the importance of set pieces becomes accentuated.

17 minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest wins a corner. Bale crosses the ball into the penalty box. Every single Newcastle player was focused on defending ?igi? and they completely forgot about the short Ayala.

The short center back from Argentina jumped high into the air, and accurately located the spot where the ball fell without any players marking him. He then went on to do a beautiful header towards goal!

“They lead once again! Ayala’s thrilling header! ?igi? provided the perfect cover for him! Nottingham Forest lead Newcastle by two goals to one!”

Twain hugged Dunn who was beside him tightly. His hug was so tight that one could almost hear Dunn’s bones cry out in pain. However, Twain was unaware of how tightly he was hugging Dunn, and only continued to exert more force.

Kerslake was the one who saved the pitiful Dunn by turning around to hug Twain. It was only then that Twain let go of a Dunn who was gasping for air.

※※※

“F*ck! F*ck them! F*ck those northern sons of b*tches! Nottingham Forest will win!” The fans at the stands went into hysteria.

Forest’s consecutive defeats have left many fans feeling all riled up. Everyone wanted to win against the opponent that defeated them previously now that they are on their home ground.

The face of Newcastle’s newly appointed manager, Alan Shearer, who is the club’s legend, was still as chiselled as ever. Just like how his face has a strong and clear bone structure, the Newcastle United under him is also a strong team. They will not give up easily.

Shearer will not give up, and neither will his team.

He led the team to a 2-1 victory by catching Twain off guard at their home ground. He intends to win the team that is led by his former temporary colleague at BBC, who commentated on the World Cup together with him, again.

Issues with Forest’s stamina started to occur once the match entered the later stages of the second half. Ayala suffered from a leg cramp and was substituted by Woodgate. Ribéry was worn out and could not continue playing and was substituted by Leighton Baines.

Bale was shifted up to the midfield following Ribéry’s substitution, and his main role was to defend.

Simply leading by a goal is the riskiest scenario that a team can find themselves in, but Twain was not in a position to think about things like that. He had to thank the gods for being able to lead by a goal.

He waved his hands and asked the players to retreat backwards to defend. Only ?igi? was left at the front. All he had to do was to fight for headers and harass Newcastle’s defenders so as to keep them in check.

After that, the only thing left for Twain to do was to keep looking at his watch and count how much more time remained in the match…

Newcastle went on the offensive after seeing that Nottingham Forest had run out of energy to attack them. They wanted to level the score before the end of the match.

Twain’s heart throbbed wildly every time he saw Newcastle close in on van der Sar’s goalpost. He was terrified that the worst case scenario would happen in the next second.

Twain stood by the side of the pitch with his back straight. His waist was starting to feel sore from him keeping that posture for so long, but the pain went unnoticed to him.

All his attention was on the match and before his goalpost.

No matter what happens, we can’t let Newcastle score the equalizer!

That was the only thought in Twain’s mind.

※※※

On the 88th minute, Martins broke into Nottingham Forest’s penalty box with his pace.

None of the Forest players dared to tackle the ball away from his feet out of fear that a penalty would be awarded against them, especially with the end of the game drawing close.

It’s not guaranteed that Martins would score if he shot, anyway…

Martins chose not to shoot for goal given the tight angle. He pretended to shoot but had actually passed the ball away!

Alan Smith swept at the ball with his feet as he was brought down by Kompany.

Twain was on tenterhooks. He leant forward, his eyes wide open and his fists clenched tightly.

He watched as the ball went under van der Sar’s arm and into the goal…

“Alan Smith! Alan Smith! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Newcastle has levelled the score in the dying minutes of the game! Their relentless attacks have finally paid off! Ah! Look at Newcastle’s bench area… Everyone’s going wild! It’s a narrow escape for them!”

The commentator was yelling hysterically. The Newcastle players and fans were equally hysterical as well. They were cheering feverishly.

But, none of that mattered in Twain’s eyes right now.

A wave of exhaustion hit him.

He felt really tired, really sleepy and really cold.

“… This goal is a devastating blow to Nottingham Forest! Their players are standing on the pitch at a complete loss… Four consecutive matches without a win! Four consecutive matches without a win… This entire month of December must feel as cold as the North Pole to Nottingham Forest! They’ve just lost 3 points again… Let’s take a look at Tony Twain’s expression. We doubt he’d be able to say anything about what just happened!”

No one could see the expression on Tony Twain’s face, because he had already fallen asleep.

Chapter 712 - A Dream too Realistic

“Twain!” An enraged voice rang by his ear, shaking him from his thoughts.

He lifted his head and looked at the figure in front of him with dazed eyes. Stood in front of him was a bald man wearing black-framed spectacles, who looked a lot older than his actual age. This man looked familiar…

Wait, isn’t he that department head from Twain’s company? Right?

Twain looked to his left and right, a little space formed by a cluster of office desks appeared in front of him. Everyone lifted their heads to look over, but after seeing Twain, they lowered their heads to continue what they were doing.

Wasn’t this where he worked last time? Twain was no stranger to this place. After he graduated from university, he had looked for hundreds of jobs before he finally settled for an admin position.

“You stayed awake to watch soccer again? What kind of a place do you think this is, Twain? This is a company, not a bed in your house!” The department head realised that Twain was not even looking at him, which enraged him. He leaned down to stare at Twain angrily. This time, Twain turned his head towards him, but he still was not looking at him.

He was still in a daze. Why did he appear here? Shouldn’t he be on the coach’s bench in the city stadium orchestrating the contest? Dunn? Kerslake? And his soccer players, where were they? Did Newcastle even the score? At this point, his train of thought stopped abruptly. There was still hidden pain in his heart.

Oh, so everything was just a dream… The corners of his lips raised. It was a dream… Should he say ‘that’s great’ or should he be regretting?

George Wood, Sophia, Michael, Gavin, Dunn, Des Walker, Kenny Burns and Shania. They were all characters I imagined, characters who only appeared in my dreams. How was it possible that a small worker scrambling for a living in China became a super coach who led a team to promote and win two consecutive championships? How could a pretty and bubbly world-class supermodel, a superstar, fall for me, a useless homebody? What was it if not a daydream?

Nothing happened, so he lost nothing, yet that type of pain felt all the more palpable.. For some unknown reason, there was a hollowness filling his chest.

“I gave you a chance, little guy. But whether you could become the best soccer star in England depends on yourself. ”

“Hey, Tony! If we aren’t in the Premier League next season, I don’t mind showing you what a hardcore soccer fan looks like!”

“Wait till I have money in the future, I will definitely buy Nottingham Forest! Then ask you to be its head coach!”

“Here lies the beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard, Nottingham Forest’s most loyal fan and George Wood’s lifelong supporter Gavin Bernard.”

“Victory! I only want victory! I only want the championships! Other than that, I do not accept any other outcome! Let them be scared! Let them curse us! The worse they curse, the more it proves that we’re might!”

“From the second level league to European Champions, Tony Twain and his team took four years. It was as if we saw Brian Clough’s shadow… that glorious team reappeared in our vision. This isn’t an accident, this is a red storm! Nottingham Forest, a team who won the European champions in two consecutive years, and descending in Europe for the third time!”

“So sorry, Tony. The club is unable to take out money to satisfy your needs… economical crisis, we have no money. ”

“I can’t wait any more… I love you, Tony uncle, I love you.”

…

Just kidding!

All of these experiences that happened to me which made me laugh, cry, happy and sad, how could all of this have been a dream? What kind dream would have such realistic feelings? If dreams were really this realistic, then they would not be called dreams. That was reality, and this was a dream.

Twain jerked his head up violently and glared at his department head who was still scolding him.

“What kind of a place do you think this is? We could easily find a kid like you who’s fresh out of university! Don’t think that being here makes you amazing. Let me tell you this: if I fire you now, there are so many people who would kill to take your place! You think a thousand dollars is too little, but even if it were only $700 there would still be a lot of people trying their best to snatch your job! Why are you looking at me? Not convinced? If you’re not convinced, then leave! I’ve tolerated you for a long time. Your productivity is average and your temper is terrible. Young people these days are really getting worse…”

Twain took a look at that visage, contorted with rage and a hint of fear, and burst out laughing.. This was who he had been in his dreams. Here he had been, sucking up to his manager for a year. Because he could not fit in with his peers, they left him out of good things and he was discriminated even in work, while those who hit it off with this old fogey could draw a better income. After a year of hard work, he was still unable to save much, but the others who buttered up the boss could afford a car after just a year. They kept all their complaints to themselves for fear that, should they lose this one, it would be difficult to find another job. It was as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders and he was forced to trudge forward with his back hunched.

Now, he finally realised this place did not suit. He was totally different from the colleagues who had their heads ducked in fear. He did not belong here, he belonged in the battlefield for real men, a battlefield filled with passion and hot blood! One was one and two was two; a win was a win, a loss was a loss. Legitimacy belonged to the victor.

What was the point in nesting here, in this tight space? No matter how big his aspirations,, how bold his spirit, and all the dreams he had, all of that were trapped in this small space with no means of escape. Trapped, and then assimilated into the infinite space much like this one only to slowly disappear and vanish, as if they had never been a part of his life.

After working tirelessly for half his life, his earnings could not even buy a toilet in a new house. The rich changed their girlfriends daily; they only needed to reveal the goods in their wallet for gorgeous and sexy women to flock to them . But for Twain, he could only jack off to Japanese porn while fantasizing that God blessed him with a girl. He worked hard to butter up his boss, saying nothing but empty words to him, sacrificing his dignity and his values just to cling on to this job during such a tumultuous economic time.

The older generation resented Twain’s generation for always falling short of expectations, repeatedly emphasising in a sincere tone that theirs was a generation that had failed. The younger generation spoke in their Internet slang, in a way that subverted the mainstream, “You’ve been eliminated, this world is ours.” The best way to vent was to drink beer and eat grilled meat from the roadside stores while cursing at the state of China’s soccer.

The worst part about his life being reduced to this was having to live it, but what else could he do?Unsteady at thirty, lost at forty. As he looked back on his life now, he asked himself, “What have I been doing? What did I leave behind? In the next half of his life, what would he do?

The short ceiling that made it hard to breathe. The dividers that limited thoughts to a 1×1 meter space, where exceeding was overstepping. The white lights that cast a ghostly glow onto faces.

Twain really wanted to laugh out loud. This was a place he once worked in. This was a place he almost surrendered in.This was the dream, and a most ridiculous one!

He pushed away the department head who was blocking his path and walked straight outside. The department head who almost toppled growled furiously, “Where are you going! You’re still on the clock! Twain! You fool, if you take one step out this office, you’re fired. Fired, you hear me? Fired! You’ll be fired!!”

The office lobby was completely silent, save for the old man’s heavy breathing. Maybe he had never scolded someone so agitatedly to the point of aggression before. He was panting like an old man who had just gone at it with his wife who somehow had more stamina the more she aged.

From where Twain stood at the entrance, he turned around to look at the pitiful department head and mocked him, “It’s none of your business where I’m going, you old fogey.”

After saying that, he took a step and walked out without turning back.

※※※

“… I don’t know if this counts as good news for Nottingham Forest’s opponents. Even though I don’t think this news will make anyone happy… Tony Twain, while orchestrating the match between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle this afternoon, fainted suddenly and was sent to the hospital. Currently, he’s still unconscious…”

The newscaster reported the breaking news with a stern face. The screen then cut to the hospital entrance of the Royal College of Medicine in Nottingham University. Reporters were flocking to the hospital; rental cars were endlessly driving in to park nearby and, one after the other, reporters alighted from the cars.

A white-haired man wearing gold silk glasses was trapped in the middle of the crowd, like a canoe in the middle of the sea of roaring waves. He waved his arms, shouting, “We’re doing our best to save him, but his condition is still critical. I can’t guarantee anything! Could you all please make way and stop blocking the main entrance? I’m sorry, I can’t say anything because I don’t fully understand the situation. We will call a press conference just for this, but it won’t be here and it won’t be now.”

A group of people who were sitting in a coach, lifted their heads to watch television on the bus announcing all of these, and became speechless. They were the Nottingham Forest players who had just ended their match and were preparing to return home. The competition had not ended when Twain suddenly collapsed. Initially no one reacted. The Newcastle players were still celebrating their goal. Nottingham Forest’s players were taken aback and did not know what to do; the fans could only use their silence to express their discontent.

The commentator had still been teasing Tony Twain, and wanted to see his expression for the current situation. Once the screen changed, the person who was supposed to be standing could not be seen on the coach’s seat. Instead, captured on screen was the assistant coach, Dunn, who jumped out from the coach’s seats. Following Dunn’s actions, everyone then saw the main protagonist who were lying on the ground and was not moving.

Dunn shouted to attract the attention of the surrounding people, and everyone panicked. Even the Newcastle players who were initially celebrating their goal were helplessly looking over to Nottingham Forest’s coach seats. George Wood ran over to the side of the field; following him was the head referee who realised something was off.

Newcastle’s fans stopped singing. The city stadium fell silent in that moment.

The stretcher, meant for rescuing injured players, was brought over. The ambulance stopped right outside of the stadium also charged in. Even after Twain was carried onto the ambulance and sent to the hospital, the majority of the people in the stadium was still in shock.

The match ended, resulting in Nottingham Forest’s fourth loss in the league season. Their ranking continued to fall but at this current moment, did anyone still care about that?

Dunn jumped onto the ambulance and left with Twain. Kerslake took over all post-match matters by himself, and the press conference was also cancelled at the last minute. Concerned, Alan Shearer asked Kerslake what happened to Tony Twain.

After the match, the atmosphere in the changing room was lifeless. The players of Nottingham Forest were devastated not because they did not win, but because they were worried that something terrible had happened to Tony Twain.

Gareth Bale, who was sitting in the last row of the car, had his hands in his head and he started weeping softly. Although it had already been more than half an hour, but just thinking about Twain falling onto the ground suddenly and seizing scared Bale. It was as if his leader was dead.

His crying broke the silence within the cabin. Kerslake stood up and clapped. “Let’s go back… Don’t think much into this; this isn’t a problem for you guys to worry about. Let’s… continue training tomorrow.” His tone revealed his helplessness and fear.

Please, do not let anything happen to Tony!

※※※

When Twain woke from darkness and chaos, what he saw was, unsurprisingly, the whie ceiling. He heard some whirrs. Turning towards the source of the sound, he was shocked to see a familiar back view.

With her back turned, she lowered her head to blow on a steaming cup in an attempt to cool it down. She then took a spoon and dipped it in before bringing it to her mouth to test the temperature, only to be scalded and almost threw the stainless steel spoon.

“Ha,” Twain chuckled. His weak laughter shocked her, and this time she was so surprised she almost dropped the cup in her hand.

“Uncle Tony, you’re awake!” The person turned. There was a kind of indescribable joy in her voice. Who would it be if not Shania?

“What a conventional line.” Twain was a little weak, breathless after just a sentence.

However, Shania could not stop crying, tears ceaselessly flowing from her eyes and leaving two silver trails on her pretty cheeks.

“Why are… you crying?”

Shania was still crying and did not answer.

“I’m okay.”

At his words, Shania then wiped her tears and grabbed Twain’s hands, her voice filled with sorrow. “You were unconscious for exactly 24 hours. At some point, the doctors had wanted to give up. Dunn called me and I rushed here as quickly as I could, I was afraid —” Tears flowed down again. Shania could not bring herself to continue her sentence.

“I… I’m good…” Twain had to repeat what he said just now.

Shania continued to speak through her crying, “We were supposed to be in Tokyo for promotional activies, but I’m not going. It doesn’t matter if I’m not famous. I prayed to God, hoping you would wake up”

Twain heard her complain about how she pulled through in these 24 hours and felt a little guilty. He discovered that Shania’s phoenix eyes were bigger than usual and they were red, obviously swollen from crying. Within this 24 hours, how much had she cried? Twain would never know.

A warm glow filled his heart. He lifted his hand with much effort, trying to wipe the tears on Shania’s face. Instead, he discovered the needles inserted into his arms which restricted his movement. Thus, he could only lift the edges of his mouth to smile at her. “Don’t worry, I’m evil. God wouldn’t want me.”

Shania did not reply. She only lowered her head to weep continuously, as if she wanted to pour all her turmoil and fears in fromt of Twain. This was not right, how could he let this bubbly and cute little fairy be so devastated? Twain decided to change the subject. He shifted his view toward that cup that still seemed to be steaming hot. “Is it water inside the cup, Shania?”

Shania shook her head, “No, it’s not water. It’s the paste you fed me when I had a fever last time… Are you thirsty, Uncle Tony? Let me pour you some water.” After saying that, she made to get up.

Twain shifted his hand to stop her. “I’m hungry, Shania. Can you feed me?”

Flustered, Shania turned to grab the cup, almost knocking it over. Twain lied on the bed, taking all of this in. He was hungry. Being unconscious for 24 hours, that was a full day…

Shania carefully carried the cup. She scooped up a spoonful of black paste which smelled like sesame and blew on it before feeding it to Twain. This was the Chinese black sesame paste Twain had fed her where she had been running a fever. It was surprising she remembered.

After finishing half the cup, Twain signalled that he could not eat any more. He regained some of his energy after eating and continued to lie on the bed, quietly watching Shania who was red with agitation.

“Uncle Tony is evil, and all evil people live a long life, so I won’t die. Stop crying — look, your eye bags are gonna show. How will you promote your movie with your eyebags showing?” He made fun of her. Drawing a long face at this time was just not good at all.

“I put aside my work. I’ll be by your side this whole time!” Shania sternly said. “Don’t even think about ditching me and leaving!”

Twain did not say anything, but only continued to watch Shania. Seeing how she was pretty even when she cried made Twain recall the ridiculously devastating dream he had before. If he were still in the working class sitting around waiting for death, would he have a chance to have a life-and-death farewell with a world-class supermodel? If he were still a nobody in the working class, would Shania still say “I love you” to him? Even if this were a dream, he would rather live in this dreamland. The Twain from that other world, just let him die. Who cares!

His eyes were fixed on Shania and it made her feel a little embarrassed. Both of them had already known each other for five years, but this was the first time Uncle Tony looked at her so directly and overtly. Plus, the main reason she was shy was that there was something in his eyes that had not been there before.

“Shania, did you know? I just had a very interesting dream.”

“What? What dream?”

“I dreamt that I was going to die. Then I thought of going to heaven, but God chased me out, He said I was born evil, so I should die like a demon and shouldn’t go to a place like heaven,” Twain slowly explained, like a scholar. “At this moment, Satan appeared, he used his bewitching voice to tempt me to hang out with him…”

Shania widened her eyes and stared at Twain, she did not know whether Uncle Tony was speaking the truth at that moment. Plus, before this, Uncle Tony had never spouted nonsense in front of her.

“Then, I thought about it. He was right, I was indeed made to be evil. So I followed him. But I didn’t think that b*stard Satan would raise his arm to block me. He pointed at the black door in front and said,” Twain tried to mimic Satan’s voice by making his voice more hoarse. “Whether you’re going to heaven or hell, it means you’re willing to give up everything you have in the living realm. If you want to follow me, you’ll have to forget all your feelings you had when you were alive before you can walk through this door.”

After saying all that, Twain paused to take a breath and he sneaked a look at Shania. Even when Shania was bawling her eyes out, she was still pretty. There was a sort of beauty in her sorrow, like Lin Daiyu.

“Actually, I’m not afraid of dying. I don’t think dying is a big deal. If I have no ties to the world, I think dying isn’t that big a deal. Living is not that different from being dead. Honor, money, reputation… I can’t bring these to the grave, so what is there to miss? I was going to walk through that door, but then I suddenly remembered something that made me hesitate. Shania, do you know what that was?”

Shania frowned and shook her head. “I don’t know…”

Twain looked at her confused face, which was undeniably adorable. He chuckled. “I forgot I still owed somebody an answer.”

“Oh…” Shania raised her eyes and was shocked to see Twain beaming.

“I, Tony Twain, have never owed anyone anything. I didn’t want this person to stalk me until the depths of hell for this answer, I’m unable to bear that responsibility… So, I apologized to Satan and said, ‘Mr Satan, I’m terribly sorry but I can’t follow you and become a demon. Why? Because I discovered that living is beautiful, and I still have a lot of things I can’t let go of! I can’t follow you.’ Satan became depressed and reprimanded me being too greedy, saying that the good things can’t be kept, so the earlier I forgot about it, the better it’d be for me. I shook my head to object. I’m greedy. I like those good things, I want to keep them forever by my side, and I just can’t let go of a person…”

After saying so much, Twain paused to take another breather.

Shania did not respond either. She sat on a chair and quietly waited for Twain to continue.

“Is it too late now to say sorry?”

Shania pouted, her eyes glossy with tears, and frantically shook her head.

Twain stretched out his hand and gently held Shania’s soft hands. “I’m really sorry, I’m too stubborn. I almost brought my stubbornness and regrets to the grave. If something this serious had not happened, my stubbornness might really be incurable for the rest of my life. Luckily, I almost died, which made me understand a lot of things…” Twain’s voice felt weak, he recalled that he used too much effort after speaking so much.

“Can you continue to call me ‘Uncle Tony’?” he asked.

Shania nodded shyly. Twain gestured for her to lie by him. Then, he painstakingly shifted his head to whisper by Shania’s ear. “Shania, I love you too.”

Upon hearing this, Shania’s eyes widened. She was shocked and happy at the same time, and did not know what to say at that instant. That line seemed to zap all of Twain’s energy. After that confession, he lay back down on the bed to look at the ceiling and grumbled. “I’m tired, I want to sleep.”

Shania tensed up. Making such a confession at this time was not a good sign. She gripped Twain’s hand tightly and reached for the emergency button at the front of the bed. To her surprise, Twain raised his hand to stop her.

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to sleep.” He smiled to calm Shania who seemed panicky and lost. “I still have a lot of days to live, and a lot more things I can’t let go of. I just discovered that I fell in love with a person, how would I be willing to find Satan? Don’t worry, I guarantee… this time I won’t sleep for long…”

He slowly closed his eyes, and then his breath evened out. This time, he was really sound asleep. Maybe he was dreaming of something again, but it was probably a beautiful dream this time.

※※※

Chapter 713 - Relief

When Tony Twain fell asleep for the first time, several things occurred in this world.

The doctors knew this head coach had been in a coma for 24 hours before he woke up abruptly. He had also drunk a cup of paste-like food and chatted with Shania for a while. Then, he went back to sleep. This news made the doctors really happy. This indicated that treatment was successful, and Tony Twain’s life should be out of danger now.

Dunn, who had been constantly helping out in the hospital, knew about this news immediately as well. He was relieved and went home to rest so he could prepare to start work again. He then entrusted everything in the hospital to Shania.

The reporters surrounding the hospital also received this news. The hospital called a press conference to report on the latest situation, informing the general public through this. Those who had still been worried about Tony Twain’s safety could finally catch their breaths. The Nottingham Forest fan club website also immediately announced the news of Twain’s condition stabilising.

“After being unconscious for 24 hours, Tony Twain finally woke up for a short while. We are extremely happy about this occurrence.” The BBC newscaster announced this with a wide smile.

After the Nottingham Forest players found out that Twain would live, they were extremely relieved and could finally focus on their training and the competition.

There were also people who cared about more than just Twain’s health condition. Tony Twain’s sudden collapse brought back to attention an issue he had once denied, and had now become an irrefutable reality.

When the news of Twain’s collapse first broke out, Judy Shania Jordana, who was originally supposed to promote Cruise’s new film in Shanghai, China, suddenly disappeared from the namelist. After 14 hours, she quietly appeared at London Heathrow Airport and, after another hour, she was sitting by Tony Twain’s bed. This was spread by the doctors and nurses from the Royal College of Physicians, and some fans even took the time to use their phones to take a picture.

If both of them were simply friends, why would Shania be so affected by this incident? Others would, at most, make a call to ask about it. Only she would fly from such a faraway land and go to great lengths to take care of him, and the worry on her face was undeniable — she did not even try to hide it. On the road, she had still been trying to keep it low profile to avoid the pestering paparazzi, but once she was beside Tony Twain, she could not hide anything. She opened up to those busybodies to see clearly.

So finally, the answer was out and clear — Tony Twain and Shania were no ordinary friends. They were indeed a couple! It was unthinkable that Tony Twain’s collapse could reveal such a shocking truth…

After finding out that Twain was not in life-threatening danger for the time being, the media became active again. They immediately caused a clamour about the news regarding the loving relationship between Shania and Twain.

While the public was remorseful about the troubled fate Twain had these days, they were also commending how he could win the heart of a pretty 18-year-old supermodel. The Chinese media claimed that this was the modern soccer version of “blessing in disguise” .

Even BBC news, after they confirmed the truth behind Twain and Shania’s relationship, jokingly said, “Losing on the field, but gaining in the relationship field. No matter what happens, Tony Twain never loses.”

Shania did not make an appearance to clear things up either. She could not be bothered with what outsiders thought about the relationship between Twain and her. In this period of time, there was only Uncle Tony in her heart and nothing else.

What about work? She had already thrown it far away. Other than the promotional activities for her film with Tom Cruise coming to an end, she had already turned down all of the fashion shows during the Christmas season up till January of the following year. Through her agent, Mr Fascal, Shania had declared that she would not leave until Tony Twain got better. She did not care if she was throwing away her partnership with famous international brands. This was as good as publicly announcing her relationship with the 40-year-old man.

“Love makes people do crazy things, but a love as crazy as Jordana’s…this is my first time seeing something like this,” Some fashion magazine commented on this matter.

※※※

When Twain woke up again, he had already slept for 12 hours. He turned his head and laughed when he saw Shania, who was sitting by his side looking a little sallow. “See? Like I said, I didn’t sleep for too long this time.”

Although his body was still weak, his mental state was a lot better compared to the last time. Twain shifted his eyes, discovering he had a bed beside him. Obviously, it was for Shania to sleep on. Hence, he asked. “How much did you sleep in the past few days?”

“I don’t remember.” Shania’s hair was a little messy and her bare face seemed extremely haggard and devastated. If she walked out like this, even the most loyal and hardcore of her fans would not recognise her.

“Go sleep. I’m fine already.”

Shania stubbornly shook her head to decline Twain’s suggestion. “I’m not tired.”

Just as both of them were still talking, the door to the room was pushed open. Some doctors and young female nurses walked in. They all seemed surprised but happy upon seeing Twain lie sideways with his eyes opened.

“This is great! Thank God, Mr Twain, you’re awake!”

Twain smiled and thanked the doctors who saved his life, “I haven’t even thanked you all, my saviours.”

“Ha.” A middle-aged male doctor who seemed to be the leader, gleamed. “You can save those words of thanks; it’s our job to save lives. As for the person by your side, however…” He looked at Shania. “Ms Shania stayed beside you this whole time. You should thank her properly.”

Twain looked over at Shania but did not say anything. Despite that, they both knew what the other was thinking about.?Of course he should thank her. He was prepared to spend the next half of his life to thank her…

Witnessing such a warm scene, even fools would know what was going on. The doctors and nurses were not surprised at this, but the middle-aged man still coughed to interrupt the two who were still looking at each other. “Sorry to disturb the both of you, but we actually have something for Ms Shania. However, since you are awake, Mr Twain, then it’s better that we tell you directly.”

“Is this regarding my body?” Twain asked.

The man nodded, then he stretched his hand towards Twain. “Hi, Mr Twain. I’m your head physician Stanley Meley, but you can call me Stanley.”

Twain also held out his hand. They exchanged a simple handshake.

“Have you had a flu recently?” Stanley Meley immediately went straight to the main topic after the self-introduction.

Twain nodded.

“Did you cough?”

“Initially I didn’t, then I did. I didn’t get any better, but I didn’t take any medicine either,” Twain recalled.

Stanley exchanged a look with his colleagues. Shania stood by the side, uninterrupting, looking at them in silence.

“Mr Twain,” Stanley looked at Twain and said, “You have pulmonary heart disease.”

Twain was not shocked to hear this. Instead, he chuckled. “Which head coach doesn’t have some sort of heart problem?”

Stanley also nodded to agree with his point. “You’re right. Being a head coach comes with tremendous psychological stress, so working in this stressful environment in a long time would easily induce various heart diseases. However, you’re barely 40 and you’ve already contracted this disease. It’s simply too premature. This is related to your incorrect living habits.”

After saying this, he looked at Shania for a brief moment.

“Alcoholism, smoking, unhealthy snacking, irregular work-rest cycles, plus the job which already comes with enormous amounts of stress… Truthfully speaking, Mr Twain, when I saw you collapse suddenly on television, I had already guessed it was a heart attack. That flu was a symptom, which induced minor bronchial asthma. The smoking caused great damage to your lungs. Nicotine causes accelerated heartbeat and increased blood pressure, but excessive smoking would cause your blood pressure to decline, an increased oxygen consumption of your heart, vasospasm, irregular blood flow and an increased platelet adhesion. Alcohol, which contains ethanol, also directly impacts the health of your heart. Alcoholism not only increases the pressure on your heart, but it might cause arrhythmia, which impacts fat metabolism and promotes the formation of arteriosclerosis. Lastly, it’s regarding your work.”

Stanley Meley pushed up his glasses. “You know, there are rules in life. Being in a good mood will prevent you from being over-emotional and over-exhausted, which are efficient means in preventing heart disease. But the unique requirements which your job entails clash with all these requirements. This is also why I agree with your point on head coaches being at high risk of contracting heart diseases.”

“Honestly speaking, Mr Twain, although you are conscious now, I don’t think you’re out of danger yet. Right now, your body is weak, your heart condition is still unstable and there might be danger any time. I am not here to scare people off, but I have a duty to tell you that you have to be extra careful this month. You cannot go anywhere else as we need to put you under 24-hour surveillance.”

After listening to all that, Twain laughed bitterly. “Is my body in such a poor state?”

“Heart disease is only one of the many issues. Your lungs and liver are in different degrees of danger. I seriously suggest you quit smoking and drinking, improve on your diet and having a regular work-rest cycle. This is if you want to live a few extra years.”

Initially he was still somewhat friendly, but once he started talking about Twain’s condition, his expression and tone immediately turned cold. As if he were reading off a script, hee was emotionless.

Twain looked at Shania who seemed a little nervous by the side, and then waved his hands. “What more can I say? You’re my god now, Stanley. I’ll listen to you and quit smoking and drinking immediately, but as for work…”

“Don’t tell me you still want to go back to lead the team for training and competition?” Stanley Meley frowned. “In this state of yours, even leaving the hospital will be too dangerous, let alone going back to the head coach seat! I suggest, for the sake of your health, that you disregard all types of soccer and sports news and don’t think about the condition of your team. That isn’t what you should think about. None of my colleagues and I are unable to guarantee that you wouldn’t faint by the side of the field again, and if you faint again…” He gave Shania a look. “You might not be as lucky.”

“Uncle Tony,” Shania chimed in, shaking her head furiously at Twain.

Twain sighed. “Ok, I’ll give in. I will cooperate with you, Dr. Stanley, just let me leave this place earlier.”

Stanley then started smiling again. “We also hope that day will come fast. After all, I am a Nottingham Forest fan as well.”

He smiled and left with the other doctors and nurses.

After they left, Twain then turned to look at Shania. Ever since the people came in, Shania had had his hand in a vice-like grip and his palms were now sweaty.

“Well, your Uncle Tony has become a pitiful being who can only lie on the bed and rely on others for help with everything he does…”

Shania bent over to use her lips to stop Twain from continuing talking. Twain could feel the lips, which used to be soft, were now dry and cracked. The past few days must have been really hard on her. He used his other hand to wrap around and pat her back.

While they were still focused on each other, someone coughed from where they stood at the door. Even then, neither of them backed off. It was only after a while that Shania, embarrassed, moved away from Twain and sat by his side to pour water for him. Twain turned to see Dunn and Fasal at the door.

“It’s really lively. A huge group just left and now another two have come. Hello guys.” He was not at all embarrassed that he and Shania were interrupted by them.

Fascal looked at Twain with a huge smile on his face, then at Shania who was busy, and said, “Seems like you’re recovering well, Mr Twain.”

“The doctor said I’m not completely out of danger yet,” Twain beamed while answering.

Dunn’s face became a little more stern. “I heard you woke up again, so I came over to see you.”

“Thanks.” To this “brother” he had known back in China, Twain need not say so much.

“Everything is fine with the team, you don’t have to worry about anything. The Chairman has already asked me to be the temporary head coach for the team. While you’re receiving treatment, I’ll be in charge of leading the team during the competition.” Twain trusted Dunn the most. Though Dunn was Chinese, he was naturally the best candidate to succeed Twain when the latter was not around. Evan Doughty did not care what country Dunn came from, or the soccer standards of that particular country, he only trusted Twain’s opinion.

“It’s been hard on you.” Twain nodded.

※※※

Twain thoroughly followed Stanley Meley’s suggestion and did not actively ask about the team’s state. Dunn obviously knew that Twain should not be stressed any further, so he did not mention it either. The trio then chit-chatted for a little longer before Dunn and Fasal both bade him farewell.

Before he left, Fasal asked Shania outside to talk for a few minutes. Shania came in afterwards to see Twain’s concerned look. She smiled and said, “It’s nothing much, just that I’ll lose a few contracts and earn a bit less. Anyway, I’ve already finished spending the money I’ve earned before.”

Twain did not say anything. After years of interaction, he understood Shania’s temper. If there were things she acknowledged as important, she would deal with those immediately with little care for the consequences. Even if there were any dire outcomes, she would only bother with those after she had dealt with the matter. As such, there was no point convincing her. Although, there was something he had to nag about.

“You should go rest. Even if it’s just for an hour, it’s still better than staying up like this.” Seeing how Shania was going to refute, he straightened his face. “If you don’t rest, how can you take care of me? I’m relying entirely on you and only you now, Shania. If you’re over-exhausted, what will I do?”

At this, Shania immediately lay on the bed with her clothes on. Before she fell asleep, she did not forget to tell Twain “good night”. Almost immediately after, he could hear soft snoring. A beauty snoring and being able to fall asleep so quickly… She must have really over-exerted herself. No matter how tired she was physically, her mind could not be at peace and she could not relax at all, which was what was really draining. Twain could relate to that feeling, because he was like this as well before his heart attack. The stress piled and piled until he could not take it any longer and collapsed.

Models might look like they are in good shape but that did not necessarily mean that they were in good physical condition. In fact, a lot of them are actually in worse states than the average person. Twain really hoped that nothing bad would happen to Shania.

The doctor did not allow him to think about the team, and he really was not planning to think as well. However, in this period of time, he was still wide awake and did not want to sleep. What should he do? He turned his head to look at Shania who was sound asleep and continued to watch her quietly.

Once he was sure about his intentions, his inner self calmed down and it was as if nothing else could shock him anymore. As long as Shania was by his side, he would be warm and there was nothing for him to think or worry about. He also did not care if Dunn would be able to take on the burden of leading a soccer team, or the rumours on the news, or the injury reports, the underperforming results, criticism from the media, the immense pressure and the expectations of the fans. He could disregard all of those. Let those who had to be busy go and be busy, he just wanted to enjoy this peace by himself.

The special treatment ward was completely silent, other than the low-pitched noises from the instruments. The sound of cruel battles from the fields and the days where he would be locked in constant strife with the media were slowly becoming further and further from him. This small ward was like a long-lasting village of oblivion which allowed people to forget all their troubles and go into slumber peacefully.

Twain settled his gaze, full of love and joy, on Shania’s face, staring until he felt drowsy as well.

※※※

Chapter 714 - The Core

Twain’s daily routine became normal at long last—it could be said to be normal because he could now sleep at night, wake up in the morning, and eat three regular meals a day.

He felt he had no problems anymore and could be discharged from the hospital at once. But Stanley Meyer strongly disagreed. He thought he should continue to be under observation, so Twain was still in the intensive care unit until now, where he was cared for in every aspect by Shania who never left his side.

During this period, Twain received a number of phone calls from people who cared about him, inquiring about his health. His answer was consistently, “I feel good, thank you!”

Most of his people who cared about were his friends and his friends in Nottingham made personal visits. They chatted together to help Twain relax his mood and ease his state of mind. The players of the team entrusted both George Wood and Eastwood to visit and present flowers and greetings. In order to prevent Twain from getting emotional again, they did not talk about the team’s situation, and Twain did not ask. It looked like he made up his mind to leave the work to the others.

The friends who were not in town, called in succession to inquire after him through phone calls and text messages. For example, Des Walker and Ian Bowyer, as well as the ex-Forest players from Brian Clough’s era had also expressed concern about the Forest team’s current manager.

Twain even received Michael Bernard’s regards through a call from as far away as the United States, which moved him so much that he became a complete mess.

The other people who send their regards to him were the managers of Premier League teams. No matter how hard they competed on the pitch and appeared like they were sworn enemies, those things were forgotten by people at this time.

Roy Keane and Alan Shearer called. Even Benítez, a manager whose team had been suppressed for three years in a row by the Forest team, also sent a text message to ask about him.

Evan and Allan also came to the hospital to visit him once and said what Dunn had said before to exhort him to take good care of his health and not think about anything else.

The Arsenal manager, Wenger and Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson had specially traveled from London and Manchester to visit Twain. It put him in a very good mood for the two days.

He had previously thought that his bad mouth and character had caused him to offend all the people who could be offended in the industry, and now that he suffered this great difficulty, those enemies must be laughing up their sleeves endlessly. He did not expect these people to care about his health. He felt some sense of accomplishment in his heart—I, Tony Twain, am rather popular!

Once he felt good, his heart functioned more normally. Stanley Meyer’s smile gradually became wider. Shania was also not so afraid anymore—it was actually the thing Twain cared about the most.

These days, Shania did indeed look thin and pallid. If she had to do a runway show again, she probably did not have to control her weight.

In fact, the reason that those Premier League managers had expressed concern for Twain one by one, was perhaps because the sudden collapse of Tony Twain, a manager who had just turned forty this year, gave them the chills in the winter just after Christmas—everyone was the same and no one had less stress than anyone else. Seeing Twain lying in his hospital bed and unable to continue working now made them a little afraid—Could this be our future? When will I suddenly collapse on the sidelines of the field or on the training ground? Am I going to die because of it? Tony Twain’s life was saved after twenty-four hours in a coma. He is lucky, and it has a lot to do with the fact he is forty. What about us, the old men? When it’s suddenly our turn the next time, will we be ready? Will we be that lucky? Can our aging bodies survive this winter?

Wenger’s words in an interview after his visit to Twain represented almost all the Premier League managers’ common thoughts, “I hope Tony will still be as sharp, full of fighting spirit, able to withstand the pressure and conquer the heart. The last thing I want to see is his downfall. Seeing him in this position for years, I feel I might be next…”

Ferguson also added, “I had a pacemaker installed four years ago. I can understand Tony Twain’s feeling at the moment. He felt that he was in control of the world but was knocked down by the heart and pressure. Having personally experienced it, I can only tell him that it’s no big deal. I’m already sixty-eight years old, but I’m still doing a good job in this position. I receive at least ninety minutes of intense stimulation a week. I’m full of energy and don’t feel tired at all. If I can, I want to keep doing it.”

Roy Keane briefly remarked and expressed his hope for Twain, “I have fully felt the different feelings that this new job has brought to me. If he can get back to the technical area, I think he’ll be a hero to all of us. At that point, when our two teams meet, I’ll applaud him in respect.

No one wanted to be the second “Tony Twain” and no one wanted Twain to collapse due to this. Because that would make them feel a little despair—could this be where all the football managers end up in?

The greatest manager in the history of the Scottish Premiership was Stein, who died of a heart attack in a match; Liverpool’s former manager, Houllier, suffered a heart attack during a match against Leeds United and only came out of danger after fighting to stay alive for eleven hours; and Nottingham Forest’s legendary manager, Brian Clough even went so far as to say, “I’d rather shoot my grandmother if I had to, in exchange for three points”; Taylor resigned from Aston Villa because he could not bear the pressure; the former Newcastle United manager,?Glenn Roeder was diagnosed with a cerebral thrombosis after a heart attack; in 2004, Ferguson had a pacemaker put in for his heart just in case…

These examples were sufficient.

Was it now the turn of the fearless “Forest King”, Tony Twain, who thought that no one in the world could subdue him?

※※※

The observation lasted a week, and Meyer came to him again one day. After examining his body’s indicators, he put on a consulting tone and said to Twain, “Mr. Twain, what do you think about installing a small device inside you?” He pointed to Twain’s heart.

Twain wondered, “You want to install what?”

“A lovely little thing called a pacemaker.”

The term gave Twain a scare.

“Isn’t that something an old man…”

“As long as there is arrhythmia, there’s a possibility to install it. It’s not necessarily an old man’s monopoly, Mr. Twain.” Meyer was exceptionally amiable today.

Twain began to feel apprehensive inside. Did Stanley not say that things are getting better day by day these days? Why is he suddenly going to install a pacemaker in me? Don’t tell me… that my condition is actually worse?

“Give it to me straight, Stanley. Is my heart giving way?” He frowned and asked gravely.

When he asked the question, Twain could feel Shania’s grip on his hand tightened.

He did not expect Stanley Meyer to laugh instead. “You’re recovering well, Mr. Twain. But it did break down once.” He said as he pointed to Twain’s heart, “We can’t guarantee that there’s not going to be a problem here in the future. Moreover, your own circumstances determine… Unless you plan to quit from Nottingham Forest and never work as a professional football manager again, maybe then you’ll probably be in control of your emotions. Are you willing to accept my suggestion? Mr. Twain.”

Twain did not expect to hear this. Telling me not to be a professional football coach?

Stop kidding!

What else can I do besides this? If I don’t be a manager, what am I going to do at home? Wait to die?

He suddenly thought of the dream he had in his coma.

I’m never going to live that kind of life again… What’s happening here now is my life. I may encounter failure, may be lying in a hospital bed like this, but I fought here before and will continue to fight.

“Eh, Stanley. I really don’t know what else I can do but this.” Twain said with a laugh.

Stanley Meyer also laughed and said, “Look, I knew you’d give that answer. So, I asked you directly if you wanted to install a pacemaker, and not asked first if you wanted to quit the manager’s position. Listen to me, Mr. Twain. Your career is a high-risk job for heart patients. The world’s most brilliant cardiologists and cardiac surgeons cannot guarantee that a manager who has had a heart attack will not relapse … And the probability of a relapse is frighteningly high. Have you ever heard of such a thing?” Meyer paused at this point.

Twain indicated with a look for him to continue.

“One year, ITV installed a special device for two Premier League managers to test their pulses and had them to carry it with them while they directed the games. In general, a normal person’s heart beats between sixty and a hundred beats per minute. But the figure shown on the device was twice as high as the standard! Generally speaking, it only happens to astronauts and people who are bankrupt from stock speculation…” Meyer spread his hands and said, “I can’t guarantee that your heart won’t have problems again when you are in such an environment for the heart rate for a long time.”

Twain found that Shania had tightened her grip on his hand more and more. He glanced at the anxious-looking Shania, then turned his head and smiled at Meyer, “I’m afraid I can’t answer you right now. Can I think about it?”

Meyer pushed up his glasses and replied, “Of course, as you should. After all, it’s a matter that is as common as going out to buy a pack of cigarettes.”

He turned and took his leave.

Twain glanced sideways at Shania. He knew that Shania had something to say, and he could probably guess what Shania was going to say.

But Shania did not say a word.

The two people looked at each other, and finally Twain spoke first, “I know what you’re going to say, Shania. You’re going to try to persuade me to quit, right?”

Shania nodded.

“But I can’t listen to you this time, Shania.”

Shania’s mouth was set in a grim line as she said, “Why? Isn’t your life important enough?”

“Of course, my life matters, especially for people like me who had died once. There’s nothing more important in the world than to be alive. But …” Twain’s tone quickly turned around, “But there is also an equally important thing as life, and that is to live.”

“Isn’t that the same meaning?” Shania said with a frown. She could not understand Twain’s words.

“Of course, it’s different. Living is not simply about being alive. Shania…” Twain looked at the little fairy in front of him, “Your Uncle Tony is a very incompetent man. I can’t do anything besides being a manager. If I quit this job, I wouldn’t be living even if I had a hundred years of life. You and football are proof that I live in this world, and I don’t want to give up either one of you.”

Yes, both of you make me feel like I’m not dreaming right now. I was not dreaming for the last five years. The time was actually not long, but I had left some traces in this world that belonged to me. If I abandon football, that trace will fade away with the passage of time and no one will remember me. There will be no evidence of my existence and the meaning to continue living. So, what if I’m alive?

To be a zombie, making a living and waiting to due, just getting by, drifting and living without purpose… These words should not appear in my life.

Who am I?

The young clerk in Chengdu, Tang En, died when he was twenty-six years old! Now I’m the 40-year-old Tony Twain, the manager of Nottingham Forest!

Shania’s sigh broke the silence in the room.

“I knew Uncle Tony would say that. That’s so you.” She shrugged and said, “If you’re not allowed to go near football, you’ll be worse off than dead… As long as there is football, you can even forget about me… To tell you the truth, Uncle Tony, I’ve always been jealous of football.”

Twain smiled and hugged Shania, “You don’t have to be from now on. You both hold the same places in my heart…”

Unexpectedly, Shania did not get mad and laughed instead, “Who comforts people in such a way? Shouldn’t the normal way of saying it is to look at me lovingly and say: ‘From now on, you are the first in my heart’? All right, I’ll grant you this. But please pay attention to your health. Don’t treat my words as in one ear and out the other this time.”

Twain nodded vigorously and said, “Don’t worry. I still have a long way to go in my life.”

People who were not afraid of death were often because they had lost all interest and attachment to the world. So, they could meet death without regrets. Tony Twain was not afraid of dying…

※※※

Stanley Meyer was a competent doctor who was good at understanding others. The method he prepared for Twain was the best of both worlds. He did not have to worry about sudden death or to give up football for it. Implanting a pacemaker in the chest cavity was a good idea.

Some people might think that it was somewhat an exaggeration for a forty-year-old man to install a pacemaker. But for Twain, who nearly died, the problem with a little dignity was out of his consideration.

Both he and Shania agreed to undergo the operation to implant a pacemaker.

Before the operation, Meyer offered a number of pacemakers for them to choose from. His top recommendation was certainly the improved r-wave inhibited pacemaker which Twain was keenest on this type of pacemaker because it was an on-demand artificial pacemaker.

The pacemaker would not function when the patient’s heart rate was normal or higher than the pacemaker’s fixed pulse frequency. And once the rhythm of his own heartbeat was lower than the set frequency of the pacemaker, that was, the ventricular electrode could not sense the R wave that occurred in his body’s own rhythm, the pacemaker would wait for a predetermined period of time and immediately act in accordance with the inherent pace frequency to release pulses to the heart to put it into a working state. This was currently the most commonly used and most convenient kind of pacemaker.

None of the other pacemakers were suitable for Twain’s condition.

In terms of power in the pacemaker, Twain expressed the hope for a battery that could be used for a long time and did not need to be replaced—he really did not like to come to the hospital. He found it unbearable to have to live here for half a month this time. Moreover, replacing the battery was a dangerous operation in itself. He wanted to lessen the risk as much as possible.

Stanley Meyer smiled when he heard Twain’s special request, because he thought of something and said, “Although most pacemaker batteries are said to function for ten years, in fact, they only last four or five years. But five years is not considered too short… Well, if you don’t want to have to replace the battery for a long, long time… there’s one power source that should meet your requirements.”

“What is it?”

Meyer snapped his fingers and said, “Nuclear battery.”

Hearing the word “nuclear”, Shania widened her eyes and turned pale. She was obviously startled. Everyone knew what “nuclear” was and its harms.

Twain clearly had the same concerns, but he obviously did not show it.

“The technology for nuclear batteries has been perfected. You don’t have to worry about radiation.” Meyer explained to them with a smile, “The maximum radiation dose is the same amount as what the phosphor emits on a watch at night. Within a year, the total dosage of radiation received by the body is equivalent to the dosage of one chest X-ray. The battery is very tightly sealed, and the nuclear substance inside is unlikely to leak. Moreover, even if there is a risk of leakage, then the installation of mercury batteries will not reduce this risk. Once there is a leak, whether it is mercury or nuclear battery, it will be hazardous to the body. So, the safety standards in this area are very, very strict.”

Having said that, Meyer stroked his chin and muttered, “I also think it’s necessary to require longer-life batteries… After all, there are huge risks to the battery replacement surgery, and very inconvenient to Mr. Twain’s job… It’s best not to frequently open up things that are implanted under the skin. Nuclear batteries are really a great choice!” He raised his voice, as if he agreed with the idea himself. “There are now one hundred and thirty-six patients in the UK with nuclear-powered pacemakers. The device of the patient with the longest record, has been working without problems for thirty-four years, and there is no sign of the battery running out at all. You know, most patients come to the hospital on an average of two to three years to have an operation to replace the pacemaker battery. From the looks of it, nuclear batteries are very cost-effective.”

Twain gave a whistle and said, “And it sounds pretty cool. So, it’s decided, nuclear-powered pacemaker it is!”

※※※

Five days later, Twain was pushed into the operating room with Dr. Stanley Meyer personally in charge of the operation to implant this extraordinary pacemaker for him.

Three hours later, the Royal Hospital held a press conference to announce to all the media that Tony Twain’s operation to implant a pacemaker was a great success. From now on, Twain had a nuclear-powered heart.

The “core” would be full of power in the days ahead, and there would be no problem. And as a result of this, people also termed Twain as “the nuclear-powered Twain” …

Chapter 715 - Determined to Hang on to You

When Tony Twain was pushed into the operating room to undergo the surgery to implant a pacemaker, Allan Adams was signing a contract in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

Next to him, glasses of champagne had been poured and placed quietly on the table.

When the person opposite also signed the contract, the two men picked up the glasses of wine and clinked their glasses as a toast. “This is a great collaboration, Mr. Allan Adams.”

“Yes, we each get what we need. Mr. Mijatovi?.”

“A toast to our cooperation.”

“Cheers.”

※※※

Meanwhile, in Nottingham, England.

Franck Ribéry looked at the two-story mansion in front of him, which he bought with the signing payout after he came to Nottingham Forest. He had already lived in it for four years and would be moving out today.

He would entrust his agent to sell the house on the United Kingdom housing market.

Thereafter, Nottingham would only have memories for him.

Today’s weather was no different from any previous day. The sky was gloomy with gusts of cold wind, as if it was going to rain at any time. The brick houses with their red roofs and white walls stood quietly in the woodlands where the trees only had bare branches left. The noisy birds called from the forest, accompanied by gusts of undulating wind. It was not calming to one’s mood.

He spent countless days and nights here. He had held a party on the lawn in front of the house to entertain his teammates. He also once pushed a child’s stroller and took a stroll together with his wife along the forest path and played with his child here. He also sunbathed alone on the grass, but it was seldom...

He did not return to Wilford to say goodbye to his teammates because he was afraid of facing those disgruntled looks. He knew that since he decided to move to Real Madrid, some people in the team despised him and thought that he wanted to run away when he saw Nottingham Forest fail.

He admitted that he did make up his mind to leave because the boss had collapsed, but he did not think he was running away. He just went to a place to pursue a better life. If the boss was around, he would not have left. He definitely would not have left even if he fired the chattering agent. He would not leave the boss. But now no one... knew whether the boss could return to Wilford or not. He did not have to continue to stay here.

Piqué was gone, Bendtner had left, and now it was his turn. What could still be left of the all-powerful and arrogant Nottingham Forest, which swept across Europe at the time...

The sound of a car horn tooted behind him.

“Franck! Time to go! You’re going to miss the plane if it gets later!” His agent, Bruno Heiderscheid shouted at him from inside the car. “The weather’s so cold. What are you doing standing outside?”

Ribéry pulled his collar tight and wrapped himself in his coat. He turned and walked to the car parked on the side of the road.

Behind him, the house underneath the dark clouds slowly blurred, as if to blend in with the woods behind. Then the house disappeared, and the City Ground stadium in the open space. Loud noises traveled from there.

“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest! We’re the champions! We’re invincible! Come on—Forest, Forest, Nottingham Forest...”

Amid such a song, Ribéry did not turn his head back as he got into the car and hurried away.

※※※

In the same afternoon, Ribéry arrived in Madrid, Spain. After a simple medical examination, he attended a grand press conference. At the press conference, he took a number 18 white jersey printed with his name on it from the hands of Real Madrid’s honorary president, Di Stefano.

Then he greeted the Spanish reporters present in Spanish, smilingly said that he liked the weather in Spain very much, causing them to laugh. Following which, he said he would help Real Madrid through the tough times, and he did not come here to taste defeat.

Next, he went to the stadium to show off his skills and won the applause of the fans present.

After the public event was done, he strolled with his wife and child through the empty Bernabéu stadium to get a feel of the international powerhouse’s home ground, which was astoundingly big.

The City Ground stadium was like a high school campus compared to the Bernabéu...

A higher salary, a bigger pitch, more attention... and more honors?

Ribéry embraced his wife with his left arm and his right held his daughter. The sunshine of the Iberian Peninsula was warmer and brighter than that of England. He even felt a little warm, with a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.

Although he was at Bernabéu now, he thought—would the boss fly into a rage since he did not say goodbye? Could his heart take it?

※※※

Sometime later, Nottingham Forest’s official website announced that Franck Ribéry had officially moved to Real Madrid for a fee of fifty-five million euros. The official online article was followed by a tribute to Ribéry for his contribution to the team over the four years, thanking him for the number of championship trophies he had brought to the team, and finally wishing him all the best in Madrid, Spain.

The Spanish media sang praises of Ribéry’s arrival. They claimed that he was the first man who could change Real Madrid’s weakness in the wings and that he was a world-class superstar. After the departure of Robinho and Robben’s injury, the admiral of the flanks which Real Madrid had long waited for was finally here. Schuster would be better off in the second half of the season.

But there was no hot topic mention of how Nottingham Forest, which was having a tough time, would survive the winter.

Twain, who was lying in a hospital bed at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University and had not yet regained consciousness from the operation, was not aware of everything.

※※※

When Twain woke up again, he did not see Shania, but Stanley Meyer’s smiling face.

“That’s good, you’re awake. It’s pretty fast this time.” He said.

“How long have I slept?” asked Twain.

“Eight hours. The anesthetic had long worn off, but you went on sleeping for a while.”

Twain turned his head and saw Shania who was watching over next to him as expected. When Shania saw he was awake, she smiled at him.

Twain was relieved when he saw the smile. This showed that the operation went very well and there was nothing to worry about.

Sure enough, Mayer later confirmed his hypothesis and said, “The operation went very smoothly. You have nothing to worry about. Now you have a nuclear-powered device here, full of power!” He said, pointing to Twain’s heart.

“So, can I return to the team?”

Meyer shook his head and said, “No. You just had surgery and haven’t recovered from your heart attack. You need at least five months to recuperate.” He extended his five fingers.

Twain’s mouth gaped, “Isn’t that too long?”

“No, it’s not long at all. Heart patients need the recovery time. The heart is not a finger, which only take a few days to recover if there’s a problem. Your body is still weak and needs to recover slowly. I’m worried that if you immediately return to such a stimulating environment, even an antimatter-powered battery won’t save your heart, Mr. Twain.”

“But the team...” Twain still could not forget Nottingham Forest, which he had thrown all his energy into.

Stanley Meyer had a flash of an odd expression across his face and then he smiled to say, “Just take it that you gave yourself a half-year holiday, Mr. Twain. A chance that a lot of managers can’t get. Don’t pay any attention to anything about football. Let Miss Shania stay with you. In half a month’s time, you can be discharged from the hospital. However, you still need to return for frequent check-ups so that we have a grasp on your latest condition.”

Twain did not care about these matters. He still asked, “So roughly when can I start focusing on football again?”

Meyer thought for a while before he said, “Four months from now. You just finished the operation, and there are a few recommendations you ought to know: stay away from strong magnetic field. Do not open the hood to check the engine if the car breaks down. When using the cell phone, remember to use your right hand and also not to place the phone in the left chest pocket; do not let the pacemaker’s area to come into contact with hard objects. When driving, take care not to let the seat belt press against the pacemaker. You must stay in bed for three days after the operation. No intensive exercise within seven days, do not lift your left arm, and pay attention to not let this arm bear weight in the future...In addition, Mr. Twain, you mustn’t think that just because you’ve got a pacemaker, your heart has no more problems. You must complete all the treatments, carry the medicine with you at all times, and take as prescribed.”

Twain laughed bitterly as he laid in bed, “No matter what I hear, I feel like an eighty-year-old man.”

“It’s a necessary measure to protect your life.” Meyer consoled him with a smile, “Please be sure to follow them strictly. I have also told Miss Shania that it is necessary to pay attention to these things in your daily life. I know Miss Shania can’t always be with you to take care of your everyday life. Please hire a professional medical staff to take care of you later. Mr. Twain, I’m afraid from now on, you must say goodbye to your familiar old habits.”

Twain gently nodded and said, “I know, I know... Although it is sad, I can only follow the doctor’s orders strictly in order to live.”

“Just so long it’s clear, you’ll be fine, Mr. Twain. In that case, I won’t disturb your rest.” He left with the nurse.

Once again, only both Shania and Twain were left in the ward.

Twain looked at his lover and said, “It will take me at least five months to start work again. How about you? Shania, when are you going back to work?”

Shania seemed to already have a plan. She said with a grin, “Would you glare at me if I said I also have five months?”

As expected, Twain wanted to glare at her.

“So, when you’re in a better shape, I’ll hire a professional nurse for you to take care of your daily life. Then I’ll be able to leave with a peace of mind... Of course, we have to hire a male nurse!”

Twain rolled his eyes, “Ah, you know how to get jealous so soon.”

Shania held the Totoro soft toy she took from home to sleep with her and hid her face behind the toy. She then carefully stretched forward and said, “I belong only to Uncle Tony, and Uncle Tony only belongs to Shania.”

Hearing her said so, Twain suddenly thought of something, “Do your parents know that we are now... in a relationship?”

Shania shook her head and replied, “I did not tell them. But they are not blind, deaf or stupid. I’ve rejected so many jobs to run back to England to be with you. The media outside have hyped it up so much that they cannot not know. Once they know this matter, I don’t think I need to tell them specifically about our relationship.”

Twain remembered the dream he had in the car on the day Shania confessed her feelings. So, he asked carefully, “What would your parents think? After all, you and I... uh, have a twenty-two-year-age gap.”

Shania continued shaking her head, “I don’t know.”

“Don’t tell me they did not contact you?” Twain did not believe that with such a big thing, the irresponsible parents did not look for Shania. Otherwise he had to wonder whether Shania was their biological daughter.

“They called once. But they did not say anything about this matter. They just asked you about your condition.”

“You did not tell them?”

“Why should I tell them? This is my love life, my business, and nothing to do with them.” Shania found it strange.

Shania’s words rendered Twain speechless. Deep down, he still thought that this was a traditional Chinese love relationship which required both parties’ parents to agree before the two people could be considered ...

Well then, I don’t have to think whether the irresponsible parents would think I have abducted their daughter. Anyway, they usually do not care how their daughter is. Even if she really was abducted, I reckon that they will not know as long as the kidnappers do not demand a ransom.

Shania burst out laughing, “But when your health is better, maybe we can make a trip back to Brazil together. I will re-introduce you to my parents!”

Twain wondered why Shania suddenly changed her mind when he saw the little fairy smiled at him with her eyes glittered with excitement and sneakiness.

She leaned over and moved closer to the front of Twain. As she exhaled her sweet and warm breath, Twain felt turned on—the tips of her chest intentionally or unintentionally rubbed against his body. Her hair hung down and draped his face. Her fragrant perfume continuously drifted into his nostrils. Once he opened up his heart to reveal the truth of his feelings, he found that he longed to possess this person.

It turned out that the little peach had matured long ago ah ...

But then her words immediately startled Twain.

“Uncle Tony, let’s get married!”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean ‘huh?'” Shania pouted.

“Well...”

“What does ‘well’ mean?”

Twain tried to struggle, only to find himself firmly pressed to bed by Shania. “The doctor said that you must stay in bed three days after the operation, Uncle Tony.”

“It’s too sudden, isn’t it?”

“What’s too sudden?”

“I mean... about getting married. We haven’t started dating yet... How can we get married so soon?”

“But we’ve been in love for five years.”

Twain was completely baffled, “Why was I not aware of it? When did it start?”

“It started when you clumsily tried to make sesame paste for Shania, lying in the sick bed.” Shania’s lips curled up with her eyes curved like a crescent moon and laughed happily. “It was then she fell in love with this middle-aged uncle!”

He picked up a cute young girl with a cup of sesame paste. Twain lamented inside that Shania’s love values were actually equal to a cup of sesame paste.

“How could you know what love is at such a young age….” Twain retorted weakly.

“It doesn’t matter. Five years are enough to let Shania know what love is.” Shania was determined to force Twain to submit today.

“I’ve decided, Uncle Tony! I want to marry you. This is the final ruling. No rebuttals and appeals are allowed!”

“Wow, you’re acting shamelessly!”

“I don’t care if I am! I’m hanging onto you, Uncle Tony! I’ll hang on to you for the rest of my life!”

“That’s not fair, I protest ... Well...”

Shania’s rosy lips had once again sealed Twain’s mouth.

“Your protest is invalid.” After the moist kiss, Shania licked her lips. Her face was flushed, and she was slightly breathless, but she still had a sly smile. Twain could even see a pair of pointed ears shaking smugly on top of her head, and a brown tail swaying behind her.

Chapter 716 - 45 Million Years of Love

Twain and Shania spent their new year’s day in the hospital ward. Twain was in a critical condition at that time, and neither of them had the mood to celebrate.

He stayed in the hospital for a month and finally received Stanley Meyer’s approval to be discharged at the end of January.

When news of his forthcoming discharge was made public, the entrance to the Royal College of Physicians’ hospital became jam-packed once again. Media outlets from all over the world rushed over for a shot of Tony Twain, as it was going to be his very first public appearance since his hospitalisation. The reporters had a month’s worth of questions for him. It was easy to imagine the scenes that would unfold at the entrance to the hospital.

To avoid bringing trouble to the hospital, disrupting their operations, being harassed by the reporters when he gets discharged, and because Twain enjoys going against the media even if he is suffering from a heart disease, he chose an unexpected timing for his discharge: 1 a.m. in the morning.

Needless to say, the timing that was released by the hospital to the public was that his discharge would happen slightly later in the day at 9 a.m.

The paperwork necessary for his discharge were finished a long time ago. When it was time for him to be discharged, he walked to the entrance under the accompaniment of Shania.

Everywhere around him, be it the front or side of the hospital or the streets, was deserted at 1 a.m. in the morning.

The frigid temperature outside was below zero degree Celsius and it could turn water into ice. There were no reporters who would wait outside the entrance to the hospital under such conditions just for a shot of Tony Twain.

They successfully evaded the reporters by choosing this time. They shook hands and thanked Stanley Meyer and the other hospital staff who had taken great care of Twain for the past month at the entrance to the hospital before leaving the premises quietly.

The two did not return to the house located at No.13 Branford Garden Lane. Instead, they drove straight to a fancy neighbourhood near the Lace Market, where Shania had previously bought a house at.

Unlike Twain’s old residence, this house was not as well-known to the media. Twain did not have to worry about reporters waiting to ambush him outside his door for a long time.

This change in residence had been pre-arranged by the doctor. Stanley Meyer wants Tony Twain to recuperate in peace during this period of time following his discharge. Twain should not do or care about anything else besides recuperating. This meant that he has to stay away from the media as much as possible. If the media really wanted to know about the latest news regarding Twain, they could give Pierce Brosnan a call, for he would be more than happy to play the role as ‘Tony Twain’s spokesperson’ on all things related to Twain.

There were no newspapers related to sports in the house. The television would never switch to the sports channels either.

Twain has to train for half an hour every day, quit drinking and smoking, as well as cultivate a regular daily routine by sleeping and rising early…

He has to start living a brand new life here.

The medical staff who was specially hired by Shania started work as well, and that was when Shania could finally take her hands from everything and rest.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed by.

Towards the end of February, Shania published a post on her official website thanking her fans for their concern, and she also revealed the date for her comeback, which was during Milan Fashion Week Spring.

The way in which she had stubbornly pushed aside a number of her jobs suddenly had caused her to lose most of her brand endorsements and some popularity. It did not matter what reason she may have for refusing the jobs. The modelling industry is very competitive and brutal, and she has to start from the bottom once again, even if she used to be a super model. She has to work hard on the runway and win back the endorsements and popularity that she had lost with her abilities.

Twain was a little worried as to whether Shania would be able to make her way back to the top, but Shania looked full of confidence and fight.

She has been in good spirits ever since her relationship with Twain had been thoroughly confirmed. None of the problems she ran into at work mattered to her anymore.

If not for the fact that Twain was not in good health currently, she most likely would have given her body to him a long time ago…

When March arrived, Shania began practising zealously for her upcoming runway show and became very busy with work. Twain’s care was generally left in the hands of the male nurse named Albert Douglas.

Speaking of Mr. Douglas, he was someone who was specially selected by Shania after going through numerous rounds of tests. He was a conscientious man who was very meticulous about his work. At the beginning, his conscientiousness tormented Twain, but Twain soon came to realize that his only option was to give up against an individual who was even more stubborn than him. Thus, he became obedient and listened to every word that Mr. Douglas said.

Forcing himself to quit smoking and drinking was something that pained Twain both mentally and physically. It was only after a month of perseverance that he realized he could sleep well without thinking about his cigarettes and alcohol.

In Twain’s eyes however, the best part about Mr. Douglas has nothing to do with his professional attitude towards work or his accomplishments as a nurse, but rather how he is able to cook authentic Spanish cuisines!

Twain has certainly been in for a treat all this while after his arrival.

Shania was forced to give up on her romantic ideas of feeding Twain her home-cooked food after tasting Mr. Douglas’s dishes.

The days went by peacefully. Twain would go for a check-up at the hospital every 10 days under the accompaniment of Douglas. His every visit was kept low-key, and he would not say much even if he was caught by the reporters. The way in which he wore sunglasses and pulled a long face made him look like a movie star who was putting on airs instead of a football manager.

The feedback he received from the hospital became better and better with each visit, and the time in between his check-ups lengthened as well.

Both his operations, one to cure his heart disease and the other to implant the pacemaker, were also a success.

On the last day of March, Twain visited the hospital for another check-up once again.

After the check-up, Meyer asked him, “Mr. Twain, why am I not hearing you rant about your life this time round? You’ve always talked about how your nurse is too strict on you, and how asking you to stop smoking and drinking was like asking for your life, right? Why have none of these come up this time round?”

Twain grinned, looking very proud of himself. “I have quit smoking and drinking a long time ago. Entirely.”

“That is definitely something worth congratulating you about, Mr. Twain. That’s right, are there any areas that you are not used to in your life right now?”

Twain hesitated slightly, then he touched his nose and said, “I’ve forced myself to stay away from football for three months, but I still have not gotten used to life without it.”

Stanley Meyer smiled as he nodded his head. “I didn’t think you’d get used to it either. Actually, I think it’s about time you start reverting back to your previous lifestyle.”

Twain did not comprehend what Meyer was saying at first, which was why he sat there unmoving for a moment. When the words finally registered in his mind, he was quite surprised. “You mean I can start working again?”

Meyer shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant, Mr. Twain. What I wanted to say was… Your heart is pretty much fine now, so you can start getting yourself into the mood, but you still can’t get back to work just yet… Basically, I want you to start getting your heart ready for the future when you do return to work.”

Twain was left mildly dejected at his words, but was quick to regain his optimism. “This works as well. At least now I’d be able to know where Forest is ranked…”

Meyer was a little surprised. “You still don’t know?”

“I’ve not looked at a single thing related to football so far. How could I possibly know?”

Meyer sighed after hearing Twain’s words. “I thought maybe you’d still learn a thing or two about the current situation of your team. I didn’t think you would really completely shut ‘football’ out of your life.”

“If I said I will means I will.” Twain felt that it was only natural for a man to be true to his words.

“Well, I suppose it’s good that you are not in the know.” Meyer smiled again. “Finding out yourself is always better than finding out from someone else. Also, Mr. Twain, you can stop coming for check-ups so frequently from now on. You just need to come back once every half a year. As expected of a 40 year old. You have recovered a lot faster than I anticipated.”

Twain was very happy to hear his words. It is only when you fall sick that you come to realize how importance health is. Now that he has fallen ill, the well wishes that he wants to hear the most from others are not wishes for him to be successful in his work or to have a prosperous year ahead, but rather wishes that wish him the best of health.

They bade farewell to Meyer and exited the hospital soon after. Douglas went to the parking lot to get the car while Twain stood by the side of the road and looked at the newsstand across of him.

A colorful array of newspapers and magazines was put on display before the black newsstand. However, Twain did not cross the road to buy the newspapers in the time it took Douglas to drive the white Mercedes jeep before him.

He might have acted like he was really excited to learn about the news surrounding Nottingham Forest back when he was conversing with Meyer, but now that he truly had the chance to find out for himself, he was getting cold feet. He was quite worried about the news that he would learn, because he suspects that the team is not performing particularly well even if he has not heard anything so far.

The situation was disastrous enough when he was in charge, and he did not think that Dunn could do a better job than him and turn things around. If Dunn could, then surely he would not have not won a single match during that time when he took over when Twain was served a three match ban.

It was not hard to imagine the kind of predicament that Nottingham Forest would be in given how they have no money to buy players and had suddenly lost their manager.

Nottingham Forest was a team that Twain had personally built from scratch. He was very familiar with every area, every component and every person in the team. He could tell the team had not been performing well even with his eyes closed.

Still, he felt that his heart was not fully prepared for what was to come… He was afraid that the news that he would see the moment he bought a copy of newspapers would be news about the team that could not get any worse.

If that were to happen, Twain would probably have to be re-admitted into hospital. However, fainting right before the hospital does make things a lot easier, and he might also get the chance to witness the prowess of the nuclear-powered pacemaker that was implanted in him, and see if it is powerful enough to let him reach his climax.

Douglas pulled up the car by the side and stepped out of the car to open the door for Twain. He realized that Twain’s gaze was fixed on the newsstand across the street.

“Do you need me to buy a few copies of the newspapers for you, Mr. Twain?”

Twain shook his head and got into the car. “No, there’s no need for that. Now’s not the time yet.”

※※※

Shania returned with endorsements from three world-renowned brands after her work in Milan. Her abilities, popularity and Mr. Fasal’s means had allowed her trip to Milan to be a lucrative one.

When she learned that Twain’s heart was fine, she became so thrilled that she announced on the spot that she was going to bring Uncle Tony back to Brazil for a vacation!

Twain was taken aback. He understood that there was only one reason why they would go to Brazil for a vacation. How could they not meet Shania’s parents if they were in Brazil?

How should he handle the situation when he meets her parents? Even if Shania insists that she will not let her parents interfere with her love life, he still feels awkward…

He still remembers the scenes when he last met her parents. It was clear that Shania’s parents treated him as a friend who could take care of their daughter in Britain. Yet, during their next meeting, his status would have changed from ‘guardian’ to ‘your daughter’s future husband’…

That gap was not something that everyone could accept easily.

However, he could not find it in him to reject Shania’s proposal after seeing how excited she was. All he could do was to force himself to bring along a few pieces of summer wear as well as his male nurse Douglas, who was highly conscientious, could cook, could drive, was willing to do anything without complaints, never talked nonsense and was very subservient.

The three of them flew from Britain to Rio de Janeiro the following day.

※※※

Just like the last time he was at Brazil, Twain saw Shania’s parents waiting outside the airport the moment they stepped out.

Shania left Twain behind and pounced towards her parents the moment she saw them. Her actions were like that of a child’s.

On the other hand, Twain stood awkwardly behind their daughter, with Douglas standing next to him with a solemn look on his face.

How should he address her father?

Address him as “Bruce Tenório”, perhaps? Does that sound too distant? After all, I am their daughter’s boyfriend…

Or maybe address him as ‘Dad’?

Stop joking around! We are of the same age… What’s more, I haven’t gotten married to Shania yet, that’s just inappropriate!

Just call him ‘Bruce’? That was how he addressed him previously.

But… Should I really be addressing him in such a chummy way?

As Twain was lost in his thoughts, Bruce Tenório had already reached out a hand towards him. “It’s good to see that you have been doing well, Mr. Twain.”

And so, he reached out and gently shook Tenório’s hands. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Tenório. It’s been a while…” The expression on his face and his tone as he spoke were a little unnatural.

However, Tenório did not seem to mind. He extended his hand to Douglas behind him next.

“Hello, this is the first time we meet, Mr. Douglas. I’m Shania’s father, Bruce Tenório.”

Douglas shook his hand back half-heartedly.

He was not the main cast over here and naturally did not care about what Tenório thought of him.

Twain looked at Shania who was babbling away endlessly in her mother’s embrace. It was the only moment that he felt that all three of them looked like a family. Shania was truly their daughter, and they were truly Shania’s parents.

All of them are usually busy with their own lives and only get to meet a few times in a year, which is why Twain has the tendency to forget about the existence of Shania’s parents.

The ones who are forgotten are the most troublesome…

Mr. Tenório’s lack of enthusiasm told Twain that this trip to Brazil was not going to be easy for him.

Sunshine. Waves. Palm trees. Beach. Beautiful women in bikini… As compared to having a holiday in such a country, I would rather be holed up in my damp and cold house in Britain watching a replay of a football match…

Tenório smiled at the sight of Shania in her mother’s arms. “All right, let’s save the talk for later, Jordie.”

It was only then that Shania let go of her mother and returned to Twain’s side. She then reached out and hooked her arm over Twain’s naturally.

Twain’s body was still a little stiff as he gingerly followed Shania into the car. He did not forget to observe her parents’ reactions, and he realized that neither Shania’s mother or father appeared to be upset by Shania’s gesture.

That was when Twain heaved a sigh of relief.

Shania nestled against him as they sat in the back seat of the car. Twain suddenly felt like he had been acting too cowardly this whole time. Why can’t he act like how he did the last time they met and be all smiles and jest? Why is he acting so reserved this time round, almost like how someone acts when they meet someone older than them?

In contrast, Shania has not been holding anything back and she clung onto Twain tightly like an octopus. She paid little heed to Douglas, who was seated next to them and was being a third-wheel.

It seemed like she was intent on showing her parents how far her relationship with Uncle Tony had developed.

※※※

On the way back home, both Tenório and his wife showed concern for Twain’s health. They asked him several questions about his heart problems, and the atmosphere in the car could still be considered as amicable.

Once they arrived at Shania’s house, they each began settling down in their respective rooms. Shania stayed in her own room, while Twain shared the guest room with Douglas so that it was easier for Douglas to take care of Twain.

After they had settled into their new rooms, Douglas sharp-wittedly went out to the balcony to gaze at the Copacabana beach, leaving behind the other four in the living room.

The red flags in Twain went off. He knew the crux was about to happen.

Shania’s mother, Giselle Tenório, looked at her daughter. “Jordie, isn’t there something you should tell your parents about?”

Shania pouted and intertwined her arm with Twain’s once again. “I thought I’ve already made things pretty clear.”

Twain felt like he could not utter a single word in a family’s talk like this. He was almost like a backdrop that one would see at theaters. The only thing he needed to do was to show how deeply in love they were with each other, and… keep his mouth shut unless asked to speak.

Shania’s father, Bruce Tenório, opened his mouth to speak. “To be honest, I’m not very surprised at this development.” He turned to speak to his wife as he placed his hand gently over hers. “Our Jordie has always been unique as a kid. She never played around with boys of her age. I still remember asking her why. Do you know what she said? She pouted and said ‘they are too childish’! Haha!”

Mr. Tenório could not restrain a laugh as he talked about Shania as a kid.

“I will never forget how Jordie looked like as a nine year old as she said those words. She had a look of seriousness and displeasure.” Bruno Tenório averted his gaze onto Shania. “We watched that interview that you did in Hollywood, Jordie. I don’t have anything else to say. This is an issue that concerns only you. Neither of us have really interfered with what you did growing up. We always gave you as much freedom as possible, and we intend to keep doing that. You have the right to choose who you love or do not love. Your mum and I will never get in your way.”

Twain heaved a sigh of relief after hearing his words, and his body that had been stiff all along relaxed as well.

Shania felt the change in tension in Twain’s body. She looked up at him and smiled at him, looking very pleased at how things had turned out.

“However, your mum is still very upset at the fact that you did not call to tell us that you have fallen in love with someone, Jordie.” Tenório went on to say.

Shania grinned. “But I brought him back for the two of you to see! Actually, I still have something else on my mind. I plan to get married to Uncle Tony this year!”

Looks of bewilderment were written over both her parents’ faces at what Shania just said.

One look was all Twain needed to know that her parents had not expected her words.

Looks like it’s still not the time to relax just yet…

“You cannot do that!” Giselle’s rejection came out of her mouth without much thought. The smile that would sporadically appear on her face was gone once and for all.

“Jordie, I hope you can reconsider that.” Her father, Mr. Tenório, had a solemn look on his face as well.

“I knew it…” Shania shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “The two of you only give me freedom to decide on trivial things. You will always do this whenever it concerns something important.”

“Jordana.” Her father’s voice became cold quickly. “We might agree to you being in a relationship with Mr. Twain, but that doesn’t mean we agree to your marriage. Marriage is a serious matter. How can you make a decision so easily?”

“Shania, if you were to get married so early, what is to happen with your modelling career? Or your career in Hollywood? Do you understand what a woman needs to sacrifice when she gets married?” These words came from Shania’s mother.

Twain recalled that Shania’s mother used to be a model in the past as well. However, she left the modelling world after getting married to Shania’s father, and has rarely made an appearance on the media since then.

Shania once said that Chinese blood runs in her mother’s lineage, and it looks to be true. There are certain traditional viewpoints that are just hard to rid of…

Shania stubbornly refused to relent. Her obstinate side was beginning to surface again. “If I have the freedom to fall in love with whoever I want, then why can’t I have the freedom to marry whoever I want? I want to get married to Uncle Tony within this year. I know full well what kind of consequences that might bring to my job. I’m not a kid who doesn’t know anything!”

Twain could not help but cough after noticing that the joyous mood they had earlier was about to dissipate. “I’m sorry… Do you mind if I said a few words? After all I did play a role in this…”

All three turned their gazes onto him.

Twain scratched his head, then said, “Where should I begin? To be honest, I only came to truly understand who it was that I loved about three months ago. I’m a little dense when it comes to these things… But Shania has loved me for five years, from the very first time we met. The love that we have between us is very special. At first I treated her as my junior, and I sometimes called myself her ‘surrogate guardian’ in Britain. After all, I’m older than her by 22 years… I can’t escape from that fact. I’m just…” he looked at Bruno Tenório, “Younger than you by a few years, Mr. Tenório. The fact that we are able to be together now is itself a miracle, especially after how I lived through my heart disease and experienced such a big happening in my life. Shania stayed by my side through it all, even at the expense of her endorsements. I am not a religious man, but I can only thank fate for that.”

“I think I can understand your worries and concern, but at the same time, I can understand Shania’s feelings as well. On 9th September this year, I celebrated my fortieth birthday. Half of my life is gone, and I’m a sick person. I have a nuclear-powered pacemaker implanted over here. I don’t know when I will suddenly… Fall asleep again. To Shania, I am someone who is living in constant danger. She doesn’t know when she will lose me forever, and likewise, I don’t know when I will lose her. Thus, to the both of us, every minute that we can spend with each other feels exceptionally precious. We can’t waste even a minute or a second. The reason why Shania so desperately wants to get married to me must be because she wishes to cherish the present.”

“Shania loves me, and I love Shania. There’s no problem with that. To someone like me who has died once before, there is nothing that fills me with more assurance than waking up and seeing that the person I love is still beside me. The two of you will not be able to imagine just how much I cherish everything that I have in my life right now… Maybe you might even be skeptical about the feelings that I have for your daughter as well. The truth is, I don’t know how many more years I have to live, but there’s one thing that I’m certain of… And that is that right till the moment I die, my feelings for Shania will never change.”

Shania looked on in shock as Twain conveyed his deepest feelings. Even when they were alone, Uncle Tony would always act like he’s the elder, and would rarely be so forthcoming with his words. She thought that the Uncle Tony whom she had fallen in love with was someone who was inarticulate, unromantic and did not know how to sweet-talk.

“So, out of consideration for our desire to cherish the present, I sincerely ask the two of you to agree to let me marry your daughter.” Twain straightened up on the sofa and said the words in a grave tone.

“Uncle Tony…”Shania did not expect Twain to be the one to bring up marriage. She thought that deep in his heart, he actually did not want to get married too quickly.

Shania’s mother looked like she was about to say something, but she was stopped by her husband. Bruno Tenório said with a smile, “As expected of the manager who is known for his eloquence. I don’t doubt the feelings that you have for my daughter, Mr. Twain, just like how I don’t doubt the feelings that my daughter has for you. It’s just that have you ever thought about this, and I’m not cursing you, but your health is truly a worry. If one day you were to suddenly… What will happen to our daughter?”

“Dad!” Shania jumped to her feet. She was very upset that her father had said such words.

Twain tugged on her hand and got her to sit down. Then, he faced Tenório and said, “I can’t promise anything about the future. That is why I only said my feelings for Shania would not change right until the day I die. But, Mr. Tenório, have you not thought about it this way? It does not matter how healthy a person can look, there will come a day when he or she has to die. Maybe they will suffer from a heart disease like me or some other incurable disease, or maybe they will get into a car accident or some other accident… I’m no different from them. Nobody knows when they will die, and nobody knows in what way they will die. Rather than worrying about what happens after death, why not live each day to the fullest? If a fear of what happens after death keeps us from getting married, then I think nobody will ever get married.” He shrugged. “But, please rest assured that I won’t die so easily, because I want to enjoy all the time that I can spend with Shania. This heart of mine…” he pointed at his left chest, and suddenly sounded valiant, “This heart of mine is nuclear-powered! The duration of its radioactive half-life would be the duration of my love for Shania.”

Shania hugged Twain from behind out of the blue, and buried her face in his shoulder. She suddenly remembered the words that Mr. Fasal told her that afternoon in America.

“The truth is, once you make your way into their hearts, you will receive the warmest reciprocation you can ever get. It’s just that pirates tend to be a little careless, so they don’t really pay attention to the people and things around them. But once they notice them… I need to start racking my brains over what is the best thing to get the two of you for your marriage.”

Hearing his words, Bruno Tenório held out his hands and smiled at his wife. “What more can we say? Even I’ve never said those words to you when I was young, Giselle. The duration of its radioactive half-life would be the duration of my love for you… It seems like our daughter has found the best possible partner for herself.”

He turned to face Twain with a smile on his face. “But Mr. Twain, are you truly prepared to call me ‘dad’?”

Twain had acted like a real man just now, but his words had stunned him.

To call a man a few years older than him ‘dad’…

Shania continued to lean against his shoulder. Her mind was still preoccupied with Twain’s confession earlier, and she was not aware of the predicament that Uncle Tony was in.

Twain could not count on Shania to help him. He was in a dilemma over what he should do for a while, but he eventually decided to make the right choice in that situation.

Forget it, it’s not like we meet each other every day! Let’s just pretend I’m still 26 years old right now!

“Dad!” Twain yelled, his voice sounding stiff.

He did not stop there. He turned to Giselle Tenório next and yelled in the same tone, “Mum!”

Bruce Tenório burst out laughing and he patted Twain’s rigid body. “You are a good man, Mr. Twain. I know I can definitely leave Jordie in your hands. Enjoy the time that you have together!”

Twain broke into a stiff smile.

“Are you hungry? Let’s go eat. We shall treat it as your engagement banquet!”

As he finished his words, he helped his wife to her feet, before the two walked outside together.

Twain got up after them, but realized that Shania was still leaning against him. He turned his head to the back, and saw Shania raise her head, her cheeks visibly flushed. She looked immensely bashful, but there was still a hint of slyness in her bright irises.

“It’s good that I’ve not forgotten this piece of chemistry knowledge… The half-life of uranium 238 is 45 billion years. Uncle Tony, you have to love me for 45 billion years!”

Chapter 717 - Here Comes The Wolf

Dunn felt like he was reliving the days before Twain took over his body.

Besides getting busy training the team every single day, he also has to put in time and effort into analysing data regarding their opponents with his colleagues, come up with a thorough plan to help the team win, hold tactical meetings and devise the tactics that the team would employ during the match.

Afterwards, all that was left for him was to wait for the match to commence…

He came to the miserable realization that nothing had changed about him all this while. He still has not improved as a manager…

He was only capable of thinking about all the situations that could arise during the match and prepare for them in advance. Once the match started however, he would slowly lose control over the match. He could not compare to how Tony Twain was able to adapt and alter his tactics based on what was happening on the pitch. Not in a million years.

The team’s results were very, very terrible.

His only consolation was that the team did manage to get a win under him.

Both Nottingham Forest and Dunn lived through a dark and gloomy January when Twain was critically ill and his condition was at its worst.

The team kept up with their horrendous performance that they had put in throughout December and did not manage to secure a single win during the first 3 weeks of January. It was only on the very last day of January that they were able to attain a gruelling 2-1 win over Aston Villa in an away game.

That was also the day when Twain announced to the public that he was about to be discharged.

Due to their 10 consecutive losses during December and January, Nottingham Forest slipped further down the ranking table and was ranked 12th with just 36 points at the start of February.

Ribéry’s departure from the team had greatly impacted the team’s pre-existing tactics as well. When he was still a player for Forest, the left flank was pretty much his own personal passageway. Now that he has left to play for Real Madrid however, the Nottingham Forest whose forte was attacking down the flanks was akin to a bird that had lost half its wings.

Dunn was against the idea when Allan Adams insisted on selling Ribéry for money to help the team through its difficult times. But, who would listen to what an assistant managers says? Did he have a better relationship with the club’s owners than Allan?

Moreover, he was not someone who liked getting into a dispute with others. Since the higher-ups in the club had already decided to sell Ribéry, all he could do was to tweak the team’s tactics and have the team get used to playing without Ribéry on the left flank.

Perhaps no one in Forest wishes to admit it just yet, but everyone else all believe that it will be impossible for Nottingham Forest to be the champions in any competition for the remainder of this season. In fact, it will be extremely challenging for them to even qualify for Champions League football next year.

The team finally started playing better after Twain was discharged from the hospital.

Winter was also starting to pass by slowly. It did not matter how far away Spring was… It has to come one day.

The team went undefeated in the league for the whole of February under Dunn, attaining three wins and one draw.

They went up by two rankings as a result, and was ranked 10th with 43 points.

He was also crowned ‘Manager of the Month’ for February in the Premier League.

It was rare for a young man from China to receive such an honor and thus, it garnered a lot of attention in China. Numerous Chinese media outlets flew over to Britain to gain an interview with the man they dubbed as ‘The Rising Chinese Power Amongst International Football Managers’. Dunn’s popularity in China went through the roof for a short period of time.

Amidst all the buzz surrounding Dunn, the name Tang Jing shone the most. That was because she could get access to exclusive information that no other news outlets was able to lay their hands on. She considered herself to be Dunn’s sole spokesperson on many things related to Dunn.

There were many rumors involving her and Dunn in China. One particular rumor that was widely accepted by many ‘gossipers’ was that there was something going on between the beautiful reporter and Dunn. They believed that their relationship has gotten so intimate that it has crossed the boundaries of what is acceptable between a reporter and an interviewee. There were speculations that the two were actually a couple, and there were even posts online made by someone who claimed to be a student studying abroad in Nottingham that vividly described how he ran into Dunn and Tang Jing on the streets, and how they were hugging and kissing each other and being intimate.

Tang Jing never tried to defend herself against the speculations. She felt that it was actually beneficial to her job for the public to have such misunderstandings about her relationship with Dunn.

As for Dunn, he never cared about such baseless rumors. As long as there was nothing between him and Tang Jing, he would continue to accept Tang Jing’s exclusive interviews and provide her with the information she needs.

Additionally, it was actually a big plus for him to maintain a good relationship with Tang Jing. It was certainly not because of the fact that he would be able to have intimate interactions with a beautiful woman; everyone needs to get that straight, but rather, he could avoid spending time and effort on all the other random reporters from different news bureaus, magazine publishers, tv stations, radio stations and websites from China and focus on his work instead.

However, the enthusiasm and interest that the Chinese and the Chinese media had for Dunn quickly died down soon after. Nottingham Forest suffered a crushing defeat against Mourinho’s Inter Milan during the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Mourinho was finally able to clinch a victory against Nottingham Forest, but he did not look particularly pleased with the result during the press conference after the second leg of the match.

The discerning ones would definitely understand the reason behind his displeasure. The team that he won against was a Nottingham Forest led by Dunn, not a Nottingham Forest led by Twain. It was akin to the despair that one would feel after finding out that the person that they had just painstakingly defeated was not the bitter enemy they wanted to defeat.

To Mourinho, defeating Nottingham Forest was secondary. Defeating Tony Twain was his primary objective. It did not matter if Tony Twain were to manage a team that was not Nottingham Forest as long as he could defeat Twain.

※※※

March soon arrived, and Nottingham Forest was still performing poorly. The team have not lost, but had only managed to attain 2 draws and 1 win.

It seemed as though everyone lost confidence in the team following Twain’s departure. Ominous signs began to appear within the team as well. The players began to lose the fight and determination that they used to have. They would sink into a state of utter helplessness when the opposing team scores against them, even if the other team was a team that was weaker than them. They would typically give up trying to level the score if the other team continues to lead them by a goal with 10 minutes left in the match./update by vipnovel

George Wood was infuriated at his team mates’ lack of tenacity. But, he was only the captain of the team, and could never emulate the kind of influence that Tony Twain has over all the players.

The media made the following evaluation of the current Nottingham Forest team:

“Tony Twain has an issue with his heart. Likewise, Nottingham Forest is also having an issue with their hearts. Without motivation and fight, the team is no different from a mid-table team in the Premier League. They absolutely don’t look like a team that was crowned two-time champions. The word going around is that Twain is still ‘shutting’ football out of his life as per his doctor’s instructions. I wonder if he would get so angry at the sight of Forest’s current state that he would relapse and be admitted into hospital once again?”

It did not matter how skilled Dunn was at training and formulating tactics for the team. Even an outstanding assistant manager like him was at his wits’ end about how to deal with the psychological issues of his players.

The bliss that he felt over the team’s successes in February had all been washed away to some faraway island. Now, he has to face a team suffering from a low morale every day, and his brows have never eased up.

In April, while Tony Twain and Shania were enjoying their vacation in Brazil after professing their love for each other and becoming engaged, Dunn was all the way in Britain mulling over how to help get the team out of their predicament.

The team’s results was akin to the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the financial crisis after entering April. It kept going on the decline and did not look like it would turn for the better.

On 4th April, Matchday 31, they lost to Everton in an away game 0:2.

On 11th April, Matchday 32, they lost to Wenger’s Arsenal 1:3 at home.

On 18th April, Matchday 33, they lost to Ferguson’s Manchester United 1:2 at home.

On 25th April, Matchday 34, they drew 1:1 with Blackburn in an away game.

To the British, the cold and damp winter had long passed. It was now spring, the season that signified the resurrection of life.

However, at the City Ground stadium in Wilford, the frigid winds of the winter continued to wreak havoc around every single person related to Nottingham Forest, and they did not look like they were going away anytime soon.

※※※

It was the afternoon of 2nd May, and a game for Premier League’s matchday 35 had just concluded.

The Forest Bar was silent despite being packed with people. The final score for the match appeared on the television screen, but no one seemed bothered by what they saw. They had all become apathetic to it. Nottingham Forest had just lost again at home to Bolton Wanderers 0-2.

In the past, the Forest fans would look down on teams like Bolton Wanderers. Forest would never lose against a team like that, even if they were the away team. But now, the tables have turned and they were getting bullied by a team they never thought highly of.

What made them feel even more disgruntled was how the players performed against Bolton Wanderers. They played as though they had no interest in the match at all. The consecutive defeats in the league have caused them to lose their fight completely.

The fans were enraged by what they saw in the players.

“This isn’t Nottingham Forest!” Someone broke the silence with a holler. “I won’t acknowledge such a team as one that is befitting of the name ‘Nottingham Forest’!”

No one echoed his sentiments, but his words did elicit many sighs.

“Tony… How much longer till Tony comes back?” Someone asked in a soft voice.

These words prompted interest from a number a people, unlike the previous comment.

“Don’t tell me they have already sacked him? It’s been five months…”

“How is that possible? Don’t talk nonsense! Dunn’s title is still clearly ‘assistant manager’.”

“What’s going on with Tony’s condition now? The media can’t seem to get hold of any precise information about the matter either…”

“Didn’t they say that his condition has turned for the better?”

“Then, if it has gotten better, why isn’t he back? Can he bear to watch his football team get bullied by an opponent like Bolton Wanderers?”

“Since it concerns the heart, who can say for sure what’s actually going on with him? I actually think it’s best if Tony doesn’t return to the team during this season. If not he’d probably be so upset that he has to be re-admitted into the intensive care unit.”

“You are right, with how the team is performing right now, we definitely won’t qualify for Champions League next season! Maybe we won’t even qualify for the Europa League too!”

All the discussions ended with a sigh.

Kenny Burns quietly listened to the discussions among his customers as he wiped the glasses in his bar.

The current Nottingham Forest is actually not performing that terribly right now. He has seen worse.

Few would agree with his view, but he did not mind. He believed that Twain would find a way. As a spectator all he could do was to keep waiting and see what transpires next.

※※※

The players had finished showering and changing their clothes, and they all returned to the bus in groups of three or four.

Dunn reclined wearily against the seat in the changing room and refused to get to his feet.

He suddenly understood what Twain was feeling during the final moments of the match against Newcastle.

He must have been exhausted.

Or, to be more precise, mentally exhausted.

Kerslake returned to the changing room to see Dunn sitting in there all by himself.

“What’s wrong, Dunn?” He took a look at his complexion. “Don’t tell me you are suffering from a heart disease as well.”

Dunn forced a smile. “Close to suffering from one.”

Kerslake was well aware of the team’s current situation. There was nothing he could say to comfort Dunn after seeing the state that he was in.

“I feel like I’ve let everyone else down. If Tony was here… He would have told the players off at half-time, ‘You guys actually let a team like Bolton Wanderers take the lead?’ And after that he would have tweaked his tactics and try to get the team to do a comeback in the second half… We might be able to come up with very precise tactics for the team, but we can’t get the players to execute our tactics with zeal.” Dunn shook his head and threw his hands out as he finished his words.

“Dunn, that is not something that you are responsible for. Honestly, you are already doing a great job…” Kerslake could not find the words to console his colleague.

It was inevitable that he would be compared to Tony Twain from the very first second that he took over the job as caretaker manager. The criticisms against the man from China have never ceased now that the team is not performing well. The acerbic British media seemed to be exceptionally harsh with their criticisms of the Chinese.

Be it charisma or his track record as a manager, Dunn could not hold a candle to Tony Twain.

“I’ve suddenly come to a complete understanding of what Grant must have felt when he was at Chelsea.” Dunn said out of the blue.

That’s right, every manager before him were ‘the special ones’. Their successor was nothing more than an average Joe.

Kerslake found their conversation to be utterly pointless. After all, the problems with the team did not lie solely on the manager, but on the entire team itself.

One particular thought had begun to manifest itself within the team, and that is that since they are not going to be able to win anything this season, why should they work so hard for? All they need to do is to avoid relegation and wait for the boss to return next season and then start all over again under him.

Additionally, rumors about how the team is going to go through a major overhaul after the season ends, and how the club intends to use the money earned from the sale of players into resuming their construction works of the new stadium have never stopped either.

Nobody knew what lies in store for them in a year that is fraught with so many issues.

The issues with the team right now are not just about how they are playing on the pitch. There are also issues with the management of the club.

He did not want to continue discussing about such a depressing topic anymore, so he decided to ask something else for a change. “Has Twain contacted you?”

Dunn nodded.

“How is his health condition right now?”

“According to him, there are no issues whatsoever.”

“Then… Does he know about the current situation of the team?”

“I think he does.”

“Did he say when he intends to come back to the team?”

Dunn shook his head. “No. I think he’d only return after the season has ended. With the team as it is now… It’s pointless for him to come back, right?”

Kerslake fell silent again. Dunn had just brought up a crucial point. Even if he was Tony Twain the ‘King’, he would only get bogged down after he returns, given how the team is in complete shambles currently. He risks tarnishing his prestige and reputation if he returns. A smart way of handling the situation would be to stay away from all the mess and come back when this disastrous season is over. He can then build a new team from scratch and display the control that he has over the team as well.

Kerslake had no doubts that the sly and intelligent man would do just that.

※※※

Twain switched off the television, and shook his head profusely.

Shania looked at Twain nervously from the side, fearful that he would suddenly collapse to the ground as he shook his head.

Douglas was nervous as well. He was on standby as he sat near Twain.

Twain slowly sat down, and did not say a word for a while. It was as though the air in the room had solidified. The room went completely quiet, and the atmosphere felt oppressive and uncomfortable.

Shania asked cautiously after some time had passed, “Uncle Tony?”

Twain looked at her and smiled. “I’ve realized it, Shania.”

“Huh?”

“My heart is truly fine now!”

“Huh?” Both Shania and Douglas were stupefied. What is going on?

“I was able to watch that infuriating match from start to finish. And I still feel well after it!” Twain stood out and started moving his arms and legs about to show that he was feeling well.

Shania led out a long sigh. “Can you not scare others like that, Uncle Tony?”

Twain grinned. “But I was truly very mad earlier. I was thinking that if I was on the manager’s seat then, I would have given them a dressing down at halftime, and the words that would come out of my mouth would be as ugly as they can possibly get. I even thought about what I would scold them about as I sat there. I imagined myself to be extremely angry and I kept putting myself in that emotional state because I wanted to see just how far my heart could take it. From how I see it, I think my heart’s ready for my comeback.”

Seeing that Twain was fine, Douglas used the excuse that he wanted to rest earlier to leave the living room and return to his room. He then closed the door behind him and provided a space for Tony and Shania to speak to each other.

“Uncle Tony, do you really intend to do that?” It was rare for Shania to have such a serious and grave expression on her face as she spoke to Twain.

Twain just smiled as he nodded his head. “Yes. I’ve thought about it for a while and I feel like I can’t escape from it any longer.”

“But what difference does it make for you to go back now, Uncle Tony? The team is already in shambles, and there’s only a few matches left in the league. Do you think you can lead the team back to the top of the table and become champions again by going back?”

“Ha!” Twain led out a laugh. “Don’t even think about becoming champions of the league, Shania. I think it’s impossible for the team to even qualify for the Europa League.”

“Then why do you…”

Twain reached out and held a slightly discontented Shania in his arms. His hand caressed her lustrous brown hair while his nose sniffed at her hair. The scent of a young woman wafted into his nostrils and left him feeling bewitched.

“It’s not about what kind of results I’d obtain after going back, Shania.” Twain murmured as he closed his eyes. “It’s just that I only truly feel alive when I return to the team. It’s great to live a life with you and Douglas taking care of me, but that’s not the kind of life I want to live. Haven’t you already noticed it? That I seem like a man who has lost all his energy these few months.”

Shania buried her face in Twain’s chest and began to recall the scenes from the past few months. She then realized that what Uncle Tony said was completely right. The Uncle Tony who had left football and his managerial position did not seem like the Uncle Tony from before. She could not understand the reason behind the difference before this, but now she can.

For the past few months, Uncle Tony has been behaving like any other middle-aged man, but the Uncle Tony from before these past few months was not like any other middle-aged man.

He was unique, he was the ‘one and only’, and he was someone who ‘cannot be replaced’. Men like that possessed a distinctive charm. It felt as though blinding lights would burst out from his body at any time. It was completely different, or even the polar opposite of the Uncle Tony who would smile the whole day and listen to everything that the doctor told him, or the submissive and obedient Uncle Tony who would let himself be watched over by a nurse.

One was a fearless wolf who could roam about the wilderness freely and howl at the skies, while the other was a tame sheep who was watched by the sheepdog in the farm.

I wonder which Uncle Tony it was that made me fall so deeply in love with him, regardless of what happened to me?

I am afraid it is not the Uncle Tony that I have seen over the past few months.

She placed her ear against Twain’s left breast. “I can hear your heartbeat… And it sounds a little fast?”

Twain laughed and embraced her tightly. “That’s because I can’t help but feel excited at the thought of the life that I’m about to start living again.”

He raised his head. He felt as though he could already hear the cacophony inside the City Ground stadium: the cheers and songs for Forest, the boos against their opponents, the ear-splitting sound of the whistle going off, and the dull sounds of the football being kicked and bodies colliding with one another…

Those sounds came at him like the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and they stirred him from within. His nuclear-powered heart was starting to get restless inside his chest.

If anyone thinks that I, Tony Twain, would turn into a tame sheep after suffering from a heart disease and lying low for five months, then they are utterly mistaken!

Ladies and gentlemen! Have you all heard of the story ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’?

I have never lied. This time, the wolf has really come!

Chapter 718 - Tony Twain’s Tactical Class

“… The doctor’s advice for Tony Twain was for him to wait till the season is over before considering returning to his managerial position. However, word has been going around recently that he wishes to return to the team straight away. Could it be that Nottingham Forest’s terrible results have become too much for him to bear?”

“… Quite frankly, I don’t think there’s much truth behind that hearsay. If Tony Twain is a man of intellect, he will not choose such an awkward time for his return. There are only 3 matches remaining in the league, and the team is destined to finish the season empty-handed. He can’t change anything even if he returns. In fact, he could even be made the scapegoat for the team’s failures. Is Tony Twain a man of intellect? Surely he is…”

“What I find the strangest is not that he intends to return to his managerial position in advance. Rather, it’s that he actually intends to return to the position. Honestly, I don’t think he is suited to be a manager any longer given his health condition. He might be a manager who has achieved brilliant things with his team in the past, but I think it would be better for him if he were to end his career here. Given his fiery temper and personality, I’m very worried that his heart would not be able to handle it…”

Most people did not view the news of Twain’s premature return to Nottingham Forest favorably when they began to surface in the media.

Carl Spicer, the leading figure when it comes to making anti-Twain comments, wrote the following in his column:

“Tony Twain is done for! His heart will never be able to tolerate the ups and downs of the Premier League! His heart disease has taken away most of his spirit! I heard that he was actually docile when he was watched over by a nurse! That is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard this year! Look at the results that Gérard Houllier attained when he returned as Liverpool’s manager after his hospitalisation… I think the best thing Tony Twain should do right now is to announce his retirement, then work on developing a career at Hollywood with his supermodel girlfriend. It’s fine if he can’t make a lot money from it, his young girlfriend is very rich after all... Do you all think I’m making these comments because I’m anti-Twain? That’s a shame, because I’m truly concerned about him this time round. To be honest, every single comment I’ve made so far has been for his own good. I think no matter how much a person might hate him, they wouldn’t wish to see him die on the manager’s seat right?”

Unlike the other Premier League managers who hope that Twain can make a comeback and triumph over his heart disease, the media did not think Tony Twain would be successful if he were to return to Nottingham Forest.

There were some who felt that he had chosen the wrong timing, and there were others who believed that his heart would not be able to tolerate the stimulations of professional football. Others simply joined in the criticisms against Twain because they felt that the Twain right now was a pushover.

Twain did not publish a single article in any of the newspaper columns for the past five months, and he never accepted an interview as well. There were occasional news about Twain published by Pierce Brosnan about how ‘Tony Twain is making a good recovery’, or ‘Tony Twain is actively training his body’, or ‘Tony Twain is in good spirits’, or ‘Tony Twain and his girlfriend Shania are having a vacation in Brazil’, but other than those ‘small news’, there was nothing about what Twain said in response to the criticisms. He did make any form of rebuttal at all. It was very unlike Twain’s personality…

His odd behavior inevitably led people to think that he must have lost his temper as a result of being tormented by his heart disease.

There were even smaller publications that spun a yarn about his treatment process. They wrote that he was forced to undergo a heart transplant, and how he could not let his heart experience the slightest stimulation, or it would result in a relapse of his heart disease…

They were all lies that those media outlets fabricated, but there were people who believed in them. One cannot help but lament at how anything is possible in this world, and how there will always be people who keep breaking the record of possessing the lowest I.Q in the world.

The news that Twain was about to return sent some of the media outlets into a frenzy…

※※※

Today’s weather was good by Britain’s standards. It was clear throughout the country.

The sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless.

The yells of the coaches and the sounds of the whistle going off could be picked up incessantly as the players practised on the training grounds.

The most hardcore Forest fans from all over the world had turned up to watch the team’s practice. They continued to show support for the team despite the bad run of results lately. However, they were not just here to watch and support the team. They were also hoping to be able to obtain signatures from the players after the practice was over. It would be even better if they could get a photo with them as well.

There was nothing different about this day in Wilford from any other.

Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were seated in an office that was located within the administrative building at the training grounds. They were looking at a man standing across of them.

The three of them exchanged greetings. The atmosphere felt as though it was about to freeze up afterwards.

The man smiled first. “Why are the two of you being so serious? Allan, did you think I was back to denounce you?”

Allan Adams had made the decision to sell Ribéry when Twain was not around. Twain only learned of the news months later. He was a little mad when he first learned that Ribéry had been sold, but he tried his best to calm himself down, thanks to the doctor’s instructions.

He then thought about it once more after he was calm, and he realized that Allan Adams did the right thing. The club needs money and Ribéry was the only player who would fetch a high price in the team. Moreover, Ribéry has made it clear for a while that he wanted to leave. Nothing good happens when you use force…

Truth be told, ever since the day Twain personally went to persuade Ribéry to join Nottingham Forest during the summer, he has always been mentally prepared that there will come a day when he leaves him and the club.

You can’t keep Ribéry without money. That guy is afraid to be poor.

What has happened has happened. Let bygones be bygones. There was no need to jeopardise his relationship with his colleague over a player who has left. This was why he did not grab Allan Adams by the collar, and let him see for himself why he is sometimes called ‘the hairdryer’.

Evan smiled. “Tony, there you go again with your jokes.”

The first thing Twain did upon his return to the club was not to meet with his colleagues and players immediately. He made his way to the Chairman’s office instead.

“I just dropped by to tell the two of you that I’m back for work.”

“You could have just called if it was for something like that.”

Twain raised an eyebrow. “How could I possibly? It’s better to say it face-to-face.”

“Is your health… Really fine? I’ve also only just learned of your return from the newspapers recently. I thought it was just a rumor.” Evan asked out of concern.

Deep in his heart, Evan longed for Twain to return to the club as soon as possible, but out of considerations for Twain’s safety, he never made a call to ask Twain about the date of his return.

It was great that Twain was back… But he still had to say the words that he did out of courtesy.

Twain felt his left breast. “Now I have something extra over here. I can actually feel it with my hands, but most of the time I can’t feel its existence. As for my health… I watched the last match that we competed in.”

Evan had a slightly awkward expression on his face when Twain brought up the match in which the team lost to Bolton Wanderers at home. It was certainly an utterly humiliating match.

Never mind the fact that the team lost the game. The way that they played without a twinge of fighting spirit was intolerable, even to a chairman of the club who knew nothing about football like him. He could not bear to watch the team play in such a way any longer, and he even discussed with Allan Adams about the players they needed to get rid of in the summer as they sat in their private room.

“I was very mad after watching it, but nothing happened to my heart!” Twain started to laugh. “I think I can start working again. I actually can’t wait to start!” He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

He was similar to George Patton who got dismissed after slapping his soldiers in Sicily, in that they both felt deprived of something when they are not working. One would feel dead if you did not let him fight in the war, while the other would not feel alive if you did not let him command a team in a match.

Allan Adams, who had remained silent the entire time, stood to his feet and retrieved a letter off the table before handing it to Twain.

Twain did not understand the meaning behind his actions. Allan pointed at the letter and explained, “Franck Ribéry passed it to me before he left. He told me to pass it to you, if you came back.”

Twain looked down at the words ‘To: Boss’ written on the envelope. He then pinched the envelope lightly. There was only a thin sheet of paper inside.

He slid the envelope into his shirt’s pocket.

“You are not going to read it?” Allan was a little surprised.

“Not now.” Twain shrugged. “I should get started with my work.”

Evan held him back. “Does the team know you are coming back today?”

Twain shook his head and smiled proudly. “They don’t. I didn’t tell anyone. I want to give them a big ‘surprise’!”

※※※

The sun was bright. The grass on the training grounds emitted a musky scent under the sun.

Dunn did not feel warm despite being basked in the sunlight. It was still winter around him.

The assistant manager was distracted and so were the players, who seemed as if they had their heads in their clouds as well.

The season was approaching its end. There has been word going around that the club is in need of funds and would undergo a major overhaul after the season has drawn to a close. Many of the players themselves are also seeking better opportunities elsewhere.

Who would have thought that a team that lifted numerous trophies together last season would be falling apart soon?

Nottingham Forest was destined to become the most dazzling shooting star in the history of British football. Its blinding light lit up half the night sky when it flashed by twice, but it vanished without a trace after making those two appearances.

The season has yet to end, but many of the first team players have received offers from other teams.

As the captain of the team, George Wood was also a player that many big clubs thought highly of. However, his manager, Billy Woox, was clearly not as fast at dealing with these transfer offers as opposed to clinching endorsements for him. Wood has not given a response to any club that wishes to buy him during the summer transfer window.

It felt as though there was a centrifugal force within the team that was tearing everyone apart. It was sad to see such things happen to the team simply because they had lost their manager.

Kerslake blew the whistle in his mouth. “This concludes our outdoor training. Go for tactical class next!”

A group of people slowly made their way over to the their tactical classroom with their heads hung low.

Their ‘tactical class’ on the day after a match day would always involve watching a video of the match that they had just played in.

A match like yesterday’s… Is there really a need to watch it? Everyone mumbled in their hearts.

Two thick curtains were pulled over the windows in the tactical classroom. It was pitch black inside, almost like the interior of a cinema. The environment was just right for everyone to watch what was being shown on the big screen.

A crowd thronged the classroom after the door was opened. Sounds of people bumping into chairs and crying out in pain ensued. It was only then that someone remembered to switch on the lights.

As the lights lit up the room, a voice rang out by all the players’ ears. “Have you all lost your souls? Why wasn’t the first thing that you guys did upon entering such a dark room to switch on the lights? To swarm in straight away… What is on your minds?”

When everyone finally snapped to their senses, they realised that there was already a man sitting in the room.

The man, who was seated on the chair next to the computer, had a strong presence about him. His brows were furrowed and he looked a little impatient.

Who else could that be besides their boss, Tony Twain?

The room went muted in an instant…

Dunn noticed that the people before him had stopped moving.

He found it odd. Did they see a ghost?

He froze as well after squeezing his way into the room.

“Hey! Everyone at the front! What are you all doing? Why aren’t you moving? Why are you blocking the entrance?” Kerslake’s characteristic booming voice rang out from the back of the crowd. He could not squeeze his way through like Dunn, and could only jump about at the back and shout.

Twain did not stand to his feet. He just waved his hands and gestured for the people at the front to enter the room. It was only then that they began to swarm into the room and made way for those behind them.

Only Dunn stood unmoving by the side and did not join the rest in moving forward. Kerslake behaved in the same way as Dunn did after stepping into the room and seeing Twain inside.

A group of people stood wordlessly in the room. Twain was the only one seated.

Twain did not open his mouth to speak. All he did was to scan through the room and look at everyone.

This is his football team…

He stood to his feet shortly after. “I’m here to conduct today’s tactical class. Sit down, everyone.”

The players took a seat obediently.

Upon hearing Twain’s words, Kerslake went forward and intended to put the disc containing the footage from yesterday’s match into the computer, but he was stopped by Twain.

“I don’t need this. I still remember everything about that match. I also believe that none of you has forgotten about it so quickly right?”

Everyone’s hearts fell to the pits of their stomachs after hearing Twain’s words. It looks like the boss is very upset and is about to give everyone a dressing down. But, can his heart handle such intense emotional changes?

Dunn wanted to stop Twain from continuing. “Tony, you…”

Twain looked at him. “I watched the entire match from start to finish on the tv and my heart was fine throughout. I decided to come back earlier after ascertaining that it was able to rise up to the challenge. Do you want to know why?” He turned his head to face the players.

“Because I did not want to watch an even poorer and more infuriating match than yesterday’s for the rest of my life!”

He raised his voice suddenly, and everyone had their hearts in their mouths.

David Beckham looked at Twain worriedly. He was afraid that Twain would not catch his breath after yelling, and would faint to the ground once again.

To his relief, his fears did not materialise. Twain continued to stand firmly on his two legs and had a solemn look on him.

“Look at what you guys just did… You actually lost at home to Bolton Wanderers! Bolton Wanderers, everyone! You dare to lose against a team like that? What else can you lot not do in this world? Take over Mars or land on the moon?”

It has been five months. All the unhappiness, resentment and passions that he had suppressed within him began to gush out. That meek little lamb who obediently listened to everything that the nurse Douglas said had transformed into a savage wolf who had opened its ferocious mouth that smelled of death and bared its sharp fangs.

“I know the team’s results are poor, and I know how difficult it has been. I have nothing to say about our elimination from the Champions League. It is only natural for us to give up on one of the competitions given our current situation. Do you all know this? During December of last year, when the team was going through our toughest times, I prepared myself for the worst, but even then I thought we would only throw away the Champions League. I thought we would be able to stay within the top four… But look at where we are now! 12th in the league! All the media out there has been saying that ‘Nottingham Forest can’t play football anymore after they lost Tony Twain’. Do you all think I should be happy and proud to hear those comments? Bullsh*t! I feel utterly humiliated! You guys are the f*cking ‘Nottingham Forest football team’, not some son of a b*tch ‘Tony Twain football team’!”

His emotions had run high, and everyone were expecting him to raise his voice once again. However, Twain suddenly stopped and began deeply inhaling a few times. He felt the pressure on his heart after chastising the players. He had no choice but to rest for the moment.

Kerslake hurriedly went in front to support Twain after seeing him in that state, but he was pushed away by Twain. Twain pressed a hand on the table for support instead. “This is nothing. Yours truly has a nuclear-powered heart right here!” He pointed at his chest and told Kerslake in a fierce tone.

“I’ve always looked down on Grant and Chelsea. We’ve always won over them, which was why I always said that we had the psychological advantage over their team. But, in these five months, I’ve been very impressed with Grant’s Chelsea team. Do you guys know why? That’s because just like us, they changed managers mid-season, but they managed to make their way into the Champions League finals! What about you guys?”

“No Champions League’s trophy, no Premier League’s trophy, we are going into next season with nothing! It’s like we are a team that just got promoted into the Premier League! Have any of you gotten sick of being champions? That’s good, we can start all over again next season as a team that has not been crowned champions before! But, I’m not going to hide anything from all of you. Our poor results will lead to financial difficulties. We will need pay for our mistakes this season! Yes, all of us here, including me. Why did I choose this time to come back? It’s because I want to show that I’m a part of the mess that this team is currently in. I have to bear responsibility for what has happened. But!” He raised his voice and pointed at the players before him.

“You guys are not going anywhere next season! You have to atone for what you did! I don’t expect any of you to suddenly go into overdrive and bring the team to the sixth spot. None of our opponents are idiots. But, I don’t wish to see any more of that revolting performance against Bolton Wanderers anymore! How do you think Nottingham Forest managed to reign as champions in Europe for the past two years? If it’s just strength, there are many teams that are stronger than us. What made us champions was our spirit and vigor! Those were what separated us from the other teams. It was something uniquely Nottingham Forest! There are so many teams in Europe, but we are the only team that ‘never gives up’! We can lose, but we cannot surrender! That is a trait of our team that I’m proud about, and it is just like our team’s unique flag. I don’t want any of you to throw that flag away. If you have thrown it away, you better go and retrieve it from now on and stick it right here!” He pointed at the sole of his foot.

Twain became very tired and could not hold on much longer after scolding so much at one go. However, he still straightened his back and waved his hands. “The tactical class ends here. You are all dismissed!”

No one moved. He walked straight out the door.

Dunn chased after him. He was scared that Twain would collapse to the ground once he was out of the door. The scenes of what happened at the end of the match against Newcastle still lingered in his mind, and they would surface from time to time. When he knelt by Twain’s side and watched as his body went into a spasm, he truly believed that the fearless man was going to die that day. It did not matter how much time has passed since then. The fear was still there every time he recalled the scenes.

※※※

“Tony!”

Twain was walking very fast and Dunn had no choice but to jog to catch up with him. When he finally caught up, he was already panting slightly.

Twain stopped and turned his head to look at Dunn. He then smiled at him. “You look even more tired than my heart is. It’s been tough on you for the past five months.”

Dunn shook his head.

“When are you planning to move back into the house?” For the past five months, Twain has been living at Shania’s luxury residence near the Lace Market, and that was also how he evaded most of the reporters. Dunn was the one who looked over and took care of his house at No. 13 Branford Garden Lane for the past few months.

“I guess I will go back tomorrow… Why, did you miss me?” Twain grinned as he teased Dunn.

Dunn was emotionless and made no reaction to his words. Twain’s tease had fallen on deaf ears. Twain pouted in response and said, “I’d go back with Shania tomorrow. If you are free tonight, let’s have a meal together at the house. I need to introduce Shania to you once again.”

“When are the two of you getting married?” Dunn asked. He already knew about Twain and Shania’s engagement in Brazil.

“The summer of this year.”

“So early!” Dunn was taken aback.

“I’m already 40, is it still early?” Twain smiled. “Be my best man for my wedding, Dunn. The wedding ceremony will be held in Brazil. Call dad and mum over. As their… son, I still have not given them anything good so far. This will count as an overseas trip.”

The two chatted as they continued to walk away from the classroom. Neither of them brought up the team’s troubles. All they talked about were the trifles that happened in the five months that they were separated from each other, such as how the house would be cleaned twice every day or how Toto was about to become Dunn’s pet…

They walked all the way to the office. Right before Twain pushed open the door to walk inside, Dunn suddenly remembered something. “That’s right, Chen Jian visited me once during March. He wanted to thank you, but was afraid to meet you, so he only came to find me when he was about to leave. He wants to thank you for scolding him that day. He said your words have allowed him to persevere…”

Twain interrupted him. “I almost forgot about him… You said he persevered?”

Dunn nodded his head. “Greenwood followed your words and picked on his problems every day. He amplified every single problem of his, and used Wood’s training plan to train him meticulously. He corrected every mistake that Chen Jian made, and was even stricter on him than before. But Chen Jian managed to persevere till the end.” Dunn’s face suddenly turned solemn. “But, since the club had to deal with a load of problems, from your illness to the team’s poor results, nobody had time to spare for the youth player who was selected from a talent show. So he returned to China after his one year’s contract was up.”

Twain fell silent for a while after hearing Dunn’s words.

Then, he let go of the handle on the door and turned around to face Dunn before saying, “Let’s go. Follow me over to North Wilford.”

Chapter 719 - Little Red Riding Hood and Her Uncle Wolf

Twain and Dunn sat in Greenwood’s office, looking at what was in front of them. Both men had very serious expressions.

Greenwood pointed to what they were looking at and said, “This is his training log. Records are made every day as per your instruction.”

They were two thick B5 sized notebooks made out of photocopier paper.

Twain certainly could not finish reading the contents of these two books here. He turned to the beginning, then flipped over to the middle, and finally flicked to the back. It was enough for him to draw a conclusion.

“He persisted and completed George Wood’s training program at the youth team. To tell you the truth, I’m very surprised by it.” Greenwood said beside him, “I could tell George was very strong just by his physique but Chen ... where did the strength come from such a thin figure?”

Twain did not make a sound and continued to look down to flip through the training log.

Greenwood looked to Dunn, who was Chinese, and Dunn answered with a smile, “I don’t know. Maybe it was the power of his dreams.”

“Dreams?” Greenwood stroked his chin and smacked his lips, “Wasn’t it his dream to become a professional footballer? But in the end it didn’t come true. And I think he should have known long ago that this was impossible. No club wanted a young man who had only trained for one year, not to mention he was already eighteen years old. Why was he insistent on doing so? Where did his strength come from?”

Dunn pointed his finger at Twain reading the log next to him, “Isn’t there a guy here who accepted a seventeen-year-old who only just started his formal football training and developed him to become the youngest captain in Nottingham Forest’s history?”

“Stuart Pearce also only started playing professional football at the age of twenty-one.” Twain said without looking up. “This kid did a good job... he completed everything well. I thought you lied to me at first.”

Greenwood cleared his throat, “Why would I lie to you? To be honest, Chen’s drive was amazing. If he had started training here from the age of ten, he would have been able to become a qualified professional football player. But as for now...” He gave a shrug.

Twain closed the notebook and said to Greenwood, “Can I take these back to read?”

“They were prepared for you, Tony. If it wasn’t for your illness... You should have read them in February.”

“Well...” Twain put away the thick books and said, “It looks like I’ve missed a lot of wonderful things in the last five months...”

“Is your health all right, Tony?” Greenwood asked.

“You’ve already asked, Ian. Of course, there’s no problem. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come back to work... You know how many beautiful Brazilian women there are, heh heh.”

Both Dunn and Greenwood ignored his joke.

Twain glanced at the two training logs again and said, “He even gave himself additional training? Dribbled the ball back and forth between here and home every day to participate in the training?”

Greenwood nodded, “Yes, he even did it when he went to the University of Nottingham for his cultural studies classes. John also told me that he saw Chen ran in the street with the football when he got home. His classmates also said he was a ‘weirdo.’ You know, the sidewalks were uneven, and the football always bounced around...”

Twain interrupted his account to ask, “How long did he do it for?”

“Until the last day of his training here.”

Twain stared at the cover of the training log and did not say a thing.

He thought of that muddy face in the wind and rain, the miserable appearance and how it was somewhat in line with the image of the football of that country...

With the terrible defeat of China Olympic team at the Olympic Games, “football” was already a word that almost everyone abhorred in China. The mention of football would inevitably provoke a burst of ridicule, which was almost always the case in both popular and state media. Nowadays if someone announced that he wanted to be a professional footballer, he would be jeered at. As long as a person was playing football, some people would think that he was related to the Chinese Football Association. As long as he did not hate Chinese football, he would be looked down upon ... The wave of fanatical antipathy currently remained in China and was not expected to cool down for years to come.

Twain did not have any special views on this. The Chinese Football Association did this to itself and cannot escape. It’s better to let them die early. Maybe there will be another new lease of life.

But Chen Jian has nothing to do with the Chinese Football Association and it’s not his fault that Chinese football was so dire. He’s not even a product of the system. He’s just a stubborn kid with a head full of dreams.

He gave his best and was exhausted. Had he broken down the wall?

What was his mood like when he left Wilford? Did he regret it? Disappointed? Unwilling to resign to his fate?

I really want to see his face with my own eyes.

When I laid in the hospital bed, I really missed out on a lot.

“Tony?” Dunn saw Twain in a daze for a little too long and called out to rouse him.

“Ah... Ian. I’ll ask you one more thing. How did he perform in the internal game after that incident?” Twain looked up at Greenwood.

“He was a lot better than before, and in the end I could hardly pick out any faults ... If I had to pick on something, it would be an innate factor, such as the gap between his level and that of his teammates who had been training here for a decade. But I couldn’t say that his ability was terrible. For example, in terms of progress, he was the fastest in the team. But after all, he was nearly a decade behind the average player.”

Twain smiled, “Yeah, he thought it was just a wall blocking the way to his dream. But what is blocking in front of him is not a wall, but a mountain.... Ah, the fool.”

He stood up and said goodbye to Greenwood before he left North Wilford with Dunn.

“What do you have in mind, Tony?” Dunn asked after they left.

“Nothing. I’m going to go back and take a good look at these...” Twain waved the two training logs and said, “I’ll leave the afternoon training to you, David and the others.”

Dunn nodded and said nothing. Twain could not tire himself on the first day back to work. No one would want him to stay here and endure. He needed to resume his work day by day. Anyway, the team’s terrible situation could not worsen anymore. No one would urge Twain to get back to work quickly and guide the team to get back on track.

※※※

Twain had been sitting at the desk since he got home from noon. He carefully finished reading the two training logs. Other than grabbing a meal in the middle, he had not moved from the spot and did not even play provocative little games with Shania. Shania also found that Twain looked serious and focused. She knew it must be an important matter, so she did not go up to him and bother him. She only persuaded Twain to go to bed when it was time to rest. Douglas’ contract expired the day Twain decided to return to the team. Now Shania needed to take care of her beloved Uncle Tony herself. But it was nothing for she had learned a lot of professional medical knowledge and skills from Douglas. She could take care of Uncle Tony alone.

She did not have a job for the time being these days. As Uncle Tony had to be in England, she did not go to Hollywood. Her Hollywood career also seemed to become insignificant. She did not care about what celebrity parties to go, which famous stars to get to know and meet, and all kinds of necessary social interactions.

Twain once asked her the question, and her answer was fairly simple—“Movies have always been my passion. It’s good if it can become my work. But if I have to choose between my passion and Uncle Tony, I certainly won’t choose to go to America.”

“Don’t tell me you have given up on your situation after a year-long struggle in the United States?” Twain felt sorry in his heart for Shania. He knew that once she was far away from Hollywood, she could only get farther and farther away from the land of her dream, even if she had many friends to support her.

“Although I have let Mr. Cruise down a little, for me, nothing is more important than you, Uncle Tony.”

Hearing Shania say so, Twain gave a long sigh, “You’re going to make me feel guilty, Shania. Because I deprive you of the right to pursue your dreams...”

“Come on, Uncle Tony.” Shania pouted, “Don’t forget, four and a half billion years. I already feel that it’s a bargain for four and a half billion years of love in exchange for a movie career.”

What else could Twain say? He could only tightly embraced his young girlfriend.

※※※

Before helping Twain to bed, Shania casually asked, “What were you engrossed in reading? I’ve never seen you so focused on a... book?”

“A dream journal.” Twain rubbed his temples. Although his eyes and mind were a little tired, he was in a good mood. “I was very pleased reading it. I wanted to stop but couldn’t. I just wanted to finish reading in one breath ...Unfortunately, it was cut off before the writing was done. The author was just horrible...”

“A dream journal? Is it a novel?”

“No, a reality TV show.”

Shania shrugged. Her Uncle Tony sometimes liked to say inexplicable things. She was used to it, but it was safe to say that it was something to do with his job. Because that kind of focus only appeared when Uncle Tony was working. It was charming just to look at his silhouette.

After she covered the thin blanket over Twain and kissed him on the lips, Shania got up and turned to walk away.

Although the two people were engaged, they tacitly maintained their way of living at No. 13 Branford Garden Lane—they slept in separate bedrooms. It was such an arrangement even while they were on holiday in Brazil. It started out because Uncle Tony was physically weak, and his heart could not withstand the stimulation. Making love, getting orgasm which would lead to his heart beating overly fast and putting his heart in extreme danger were naturally forbidden. Later on, because the lifestyle became a habit... Shania would not take off her clothes and come onto Twain to initiate sex. As for Twain..... he was accustomed to a bachelor’s life and neglected this area. Coupled with the hope to start work as soon as possible, he had not been in the mood.

But today, after he returned to the team and read Chen Jian’s training logs, he suddenly felt he was in a good mood.

Twain grabbed hold of Shania.

He laid in bed and looked at Shania, who was still dressed like a little girl. The dim bedside lamp shone and penetrated the layer of gauze-like material, fully showed off her fine body curves as a model. Except for a pair of panties, she did not seem to be wearing any underwear. Her youthful naked body exuded a seductive fragrance through the thin top. It suddenly stirred his appetites and he was feeling amorous ...

Shania did not move and leave. But she did not turn her face around and look down at Twain with a smile to say, “What’s the matter, Uncle Tony?” She just stood on the spot with her back to Twain.

“Would you like to hear a story, Shania?” Twain’s hoarse voice came from behind.

“Okay, Uncle Tony. But what’s the story?” Shania still had not turned her head back.

Twain’s hands suddenly exerted force and pulled Shania down in his arms, “Little Red Riding Hood and Uncle Wolf.”

Shania did not play along with him and make a whining sound to act coquettishly as she pounced on Twain’s arms. Instead, she screamed, “The pacemaker...” She was afraid that she would fall down and hit the pacemaker in Twain’s chest.

Twain made a face and said, “Don’t need to worry about that little thing...You’re not playing along, Shania. The mood is gone!”

Shania laid on Twain’s chest and glanced sideways at Uncle Tony, who had a straight face. Her lips slowly curled up at the corners as she said, “Isn’t it supposed to Little Red Riding Hood and Granny Wolf?”

“Now it’s Little Red Riding Hood and Uncle Wolf!” Twain tried hard to look serious and widened his eyes to act as the fiendish Uncle Wolf.

“Is Uncle Wolf hungry?”

“Yes, hungry!” Twain said gruffly. In fact, even if he did not intentionally do so, his voice was hoarse enough ...

“Then in that case, Little Red Riding Hood will go make you a late-night snack!”

Twain did not let go and said, “No, you will run out to call the huntsman. I am not stupid!”

“Oh, what should I do...” Shania said in distress with her head cocked to the side, “Uncle Wolf is hungry and won’t let me go...” She thought about it. “There’s only one way!”

She suddenly unbuttoned her shirt with one hand and winked at Twain, “Feed Little Red Riding Hood to Uncle Wolf!”

Twain did not stop her too. He just let go of her other hand and put both his hands behind his head. He quietly watched Shania lowered her head as she carefully undid each button and gently unfastened. As her top was peeled off, that flawless milky white alluring body unveiled in front of Twain’s eyes bit by bit.

He watched her in a daze, and suddenly there was a surreal feeling that he was dreaming.

The beauty standing undressed in front of him, was she really the long-legged Lolita who had annoyed him so much that he wanted to call the police? When he carried and rushed her to the hospital because she was unconscious from a fever, and disturbed Constantine’s happy occasion, did he think that there would be a day like this between him and her? When the young cute girl constantly addressed him as “Uncle Tony”, was he ever moved to love her from the deepest corners of his heart and wish that she would become his wife?

These past events and his feelings of the time were slowly blurring. Only the bashful body was clear in the dim light.

She opened her arms and leaned down slowly. With her cheeks flushed, rosy lips slightly parted, sweet-smelling breath, her voice spoke from the depths of her throat, as if through a layer of hazy water vapor, “Dear Uncle Wolf, please ... don’t hold back...”

An abundance of love flowed within the bedroom as if the two people’s intense passion could not be melted.

Chapter 720 - The Original Dream

After a night in the throes of passion, he was spent. Twain expended all the energy that he had bottled up for more than half a year. He and Shania did not know how many times they did it. Anyway, it was wild. For a forty-year-old middle-aged uncle who had a heart disease, it could be rated as amazing to have this kind of performance.

Until the mid-morning sun shone through the small crack in the curtains into the room, Shania still laid supine on the bed and was unwilling to get up. When Twain patted her small buttocks and called her a lazy worm, she pouted and groaned, “Who was the one who turned Little Red Riding Hood into a lazy worm?”

After she finally got up and lifted the blanket, Twain found some red spots on the bedsheets. He also understood why Shania lazed in bed and did not get up.

But he was not surprised.

It was not because he thought that Shania should remained chaste and innocent. He was not surprised because he simply did not care if Shania was a virgin or not. He was clear-eyed about the world today and he also knew how the girls of the world were mostly like.

But it had nothing to do with his love. If he loved a woman, he would just love her. It could be he loved her beauty, character, heart, or even her talent, voice, eyes, lips, breasts … But he would never love a woman for the thin membrane inside her vagina.

Even if he were to get married, he wanted to marry this woman, and not with a “cling wrap.”

Therefore, it was fine that Shania was a virgin and it did not matter if she was not a virgin. It would not affect his feelings for this girl. He also never cared about such a meaningless as to whether Shania had tasted the forbidden fruit with another boy before him.

At the thought of how he finally had his fill of the Little Red Riding Hood last night, he felt fantastic. He even could not help licking and smacking his lips as he wanted to say, “Very good, very good, the taste is really good!”

Shania wore only a pair of lace-edged white panties. She came out of the bathroom with her upper body completely naked. Seeing Twain’s expression, she wondered and asked, “What are you doing, Uncle Tony?”

Twain laughed mischievously when he saw her perfect body curves and seductive breasts, as well as the faintly discernible scenery behind her lace panties, “Little Red Riding Hood is delicious…”

When Shania heard him said so, she walked directly over and straddled between Twain’s legs on the bed. Her waist sank slowly as she looked at Twain with her dark eyes, “Do you want to have breakfast, Uncle Tony? Look, it’s hungry again…” She gently held Twain’s naughty little brother with one hand.

Twain remembered that he still had to go to work today. If he really let Shania sit down like this, he was not certain if he had the willpower to make sure he would not spend the whole morning in the bed.

“Eh… better forget it. I still have to go to Wilford…” He raised his hands in surrender, “And you to have to get ready for the move… Another thing, is it really okay to move over and be seen by the media?”

Little Red Riding Hood leaned down to give her Uncle Wolf a good morning kiss and let him go.

“You and I are both public figures, Uncle Tony. We are long used to the media’s attention on us. As long as they don’t rush into the bedroom and film our lovemaking, they can pay follow whatever they want.” Shania was more at ease than Twain in her attitude toward the media. “And…” At this point, she smiled slyly, “I’m kind of looking forward to the media’s reactions when they find out about our engagement… That must be fun!”

Twain gave a light affectionate pat on her smooth back. Shania sensibly let go to allow him to slowly sit up from the bed and get dressed. Being together with such a lively and lovely girl, he would not find his days boring. He could not ask for more in love.

※※※

After breakfast, Shania drove Twain to Wilford and returned to prepare for the move—in fact, there was nothing to prepare for. There were just two suitcases of clothes, which could be just put in the trunk of the car for the move.

Twain walked alone into the still-empty training ground. The team would start the training at ten o’clock and he came slightly early.

The three standard football stadium-sized training grounds were connected together. At a glance, it was an unobstructed view of green, which made him feel carefree and relaxed. He could not help but take a deep breath as he avidly sniffed the familiar smells of this place.

It was only when he came back here that he felt that his body strength had not vanished. A voice beckoned to him, telling him that this was the home of his soul.

Stepping on the turf carefully cared for by the workers, Twain did a little warm-up exercise and then put his hands into his pants’ pockets. He touched on a piece of paper—an envelope, to be exact.

He then recalled that Allan Adams gave him a letter yesterday and said that Ribéry had given it to him to pass it over to him when he left.

Although he had already left and yesterday’s time was gone, they had interacted with each other for four years after all. Twain was still curious about the lad who left in pursuit of money and what he wrote in the letter.

He pulled it out and opened it.

A thin piece of paper was shaken out.

“Dear Boss,

I’m really sorry to have chosen to leave Nottingham Forest at this time. I don’t care that they reproached me as a deserter. It also doesn’t matter to me what others think of me. I just want to apologize to you… You may despise my actions. I can only say that for the sake of my family, Spain is more suitable than here.

Of course, I write so much not to justify what I’ve done. Has any player ever written to the manager to explain the reasons he left a team? So, this is not an explanation. I just want to thank you. Franck Ribéry is not a fool. Who gave him the chance at the lowest ebb of his life? I remember very well. I’ve learned a lot and gained a lot in the four and a half seasons at Nottingham Forest. It will be a valuable asset in my life experience. Now I have to say sorry to say that I’m embarking on a new journey. I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to play under you, boss. But it had been a fantastic four-and-a-half years.

I’ve always been reluctant to say this. But objectively, my departure has helped the team solve a little bit of the financial problem—fifty-five million euros. If it wasn’t for the economic crisis, I might have fetched a better price. Sixty million, eighty million? I do not know. We all knew what the second offer entailed before Piqué left. Perhaps in your mind, a person like me is different from Piqué. But in fact, it was the last goal I could bring to the Forest team. If you still watch La Liga, take a good look at our performance in El Clásico. I hope it doesn’t disappoint you.

Finally, after I finish writing this letter, I will completely be a Real Madrid player. In the future, if we do meet on the pitch, I may very well do my best with the goal of beating your team like Bendtner. Don’t get me wrong—I know you can be a little paranoid—I just want to prove that the players who come out of Nottingham Forest are the best anywhere! If I say I am going to score two goals against the Forest team by myself, will you say, ‘I believe he will, because he has that ability.’?

Yours Sincerely, Franck Ribéry, whom you picked up from Ligue 2.”

Twain stood on the training ground in a daze and let the cool breeze blowing in from the Trent River to sweep past him, fluttering the letter in his hand.

After a long time, he gave a sigh and came out of his reverie. He wanted to take out a lighter to burn the letter. But when he reached into an empty pocket, he recalled that he had long quit smoking, so he naturally did not have to carry a lighter.

He folded the letter back into the envelope and slowly tore it into two halves, four pieces, eight pieces…until it finally became countless pieces of debris. With a toss from his hand, it was swept away by the wind.

Score two goals alone?

If you dare say that, I’ll teach you the same lesson as I gave Bendtner, Franck!

You want to run away like this? Not so easy. The next time we meet, be prepared to take my anger! You bastard!

※※※

Twain stood on the sidelines with his sunglasses on for the morning training again, just like he did before he fell ill. The team’s morale also seemed to recover all of a sudden like it was before. George Wood was even more energetic. The team was slowly improving, and Twain thought of another thing. People here might have heard about the matter, but they were more likely to treat it as meaningless speculation from the media.

Just before the training began, Allan Adams came looking for him and told him that because of the team’s poor results in the season, their revenue had plummeted after they ended up empty-handed. The budget was tight in all areas for next season. Therefore, the team had to sell some players in the summer in exchange for money. Twain could go to the transfer market to buy new players, but there was a severe restriction on the price.

Allan hoped Twain could draw up a purge list for him to help him determine the budget estimates for the new season.

Currently, the players who could stay or go in the team in front of his eyes could all fit on an A4-sized sheet.

This time, Twain did not make a big scene with Allan in the office and vehemently against the club selling people. He just nodded and agreed. He did not say anything else.

He understood that this was the reality.

What was the reality? It was that people had to eat, live their lives, survive, and to live on. The same went for the club…

Who among these people could eventually stay in Wilford?

Twain began to plan in his mind.

※※※

After the training ended, Twain took Dunn and went to North Wilford. Dunn was not surprised by it—him thought Twain was going to dig up talent himself for next season.

But what Twain’s actions firmly took him by surprise.

“Ian, I’ve finished reading these two records.” Twain was in Greenwood’s office, putting two thick training logs on the table and said, “I went through them in one shot and I’m still not satisfied yet.”

“It’s nice that you like it, Tony.” Greenwood took this as Twain’s affirmation of his work. He replied with a chuckle. But Twain’s next words stopped his laughter.

“Why are there not a third and fourth book? His story is not over, and I haven’t seen the ending yet. I’ve made up mind.” Twain’s finger stabbed at the training log, “You’re going to take him back to training soon, Ian.”

The other two men in the room were baffled and did not understand what Twain said.

Looking at their puzzled expressions, Twain continued to say, “I mean, I’m going to give this kid an apprenticeship. The club will handle the transfer procedures and apply for a student visa for him to register with the Chinese Football Association as a player … Then let him come here and write an ending!”

“Tony!” Dunn exclaimed. His behavior could be considered a gaffe based on his usual conduct. But he did not care about these details. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I’m very clear, Dunn. I want him to come and train under me.”

“Tony… Why would you do that? He has already left. Surely there’s no need to get him back, is there? Although I also admire Chen’s efforts and spirit, he is not an amazing young talent for us… I don’t think we will reap any rewards from putting our energies on him.” Even Greenwood, who had watched Chen Jian trained all year, disagreed.

“It’s up to him to get something in return, and it’s our business whether to give him the chance or not. I think I found a piece of rough stone in those two thick logs, a rough stone in which a brilliant diamond might be enclosed within.”

“Maybe there’s nothing, and it’s a just stone.” Dunn finally calmed down.

“There has never been a one hundred per cent talent in the world. A genius may become mediocre, and a good-for-nothing may become a talent. I believe my foresight, Dunn. I believe more in this boy’s efforts. Maybe it’s going to take longer, but I think we’ll always get something out of it. For a lad who could persist for a year based on George Wood’s training standards without giving up and done a good job, I think he can succeed.” At this point, he looked at the two men and said seriously, “This is the final decision, Ian, Dunn. I’m going to give him a chance. Just like when I gave George Wood a chance outside the ghetto.”

Dunn frowned and said, “Do you know what kind of media attacks you’re going to provoke by doing this? They’ll say you must be crazy to actually have high hopes for a Chinese kid chosen from a talent show. Others will also think that you’re just keen on the market of the country he represents…”

Twain interrupted him, “I don’t need the media’s validation in order to do what I want to do. They can admonish all they want. I’ll just do what I need to do. They have no right to interfere with my freedom. That’s it, Ian. When the boy comes, please give him George’s training plan and let him continue to do so. Let’s see what he can do for us as he perseveres.”

※※※

In Tianjin, China.

At the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School.

Chen Jian had just come out of the school building, holding a pile of books and wearing a navy-blue uniform, which looked no different from the standardized Type 99 police uniform, except that he did not have a collar badge, police rank and shoulder emblem.

His companion greeted him, “Ah Jian, let’s play football later! You’re the core, you must be there!”

“Okay, I’ll come after I go to the dorm and put my stuff.” Chen Jian did not refuse.

In fact, he had things on his mind just now.

Having been back for more than three months from England, he found himself completely unable to forget every single day and night he spent there, and even felt that it was no longer important to continue to study here.

Even though the name of the school was flashy, in fact, the standards was rather average and a vocational academy. Everyone would either go out to earn a living after graduation, or they would continue their studies at a university. If anyone thought that he could be police officer of the People’s Republic of China once he entered, then the reality might disappoint him.

He had not found where his future laid in reality at the moment.

As for his dream future…

Had it already bade him farewell?

Although he still tenaciously carried out his personal training with whatever available time he had every day, a habit which he had developed in Nottingham, he was willing to admit that it was nothing more than a habit. A year of training life bore too deep an impression on him, that it was almost imprinted in his bones. It was rather difficult to forget in a few months.

What’s the point of this foolish behavior? Knowing that I’m not destined to realize the dream, what’s the use of such persistence? What else can I do if I can’t be a professional player? Apply to become a security guard after graduation? Or to rely on connections and use money to enter by the back door and get an assignment? Or continue to sit for the examinations to enter the university, go for tests in the academies directly under the Ministry of Public Security, and become a real policeman after graduation…

But with my own academic performance, plus the delay for this due to my trip to Britain, will I still have a chance if I sit for the test from that kind of university?

Chen Jian felt very lost.

When he went to England, it was the three of them, and it was still three people when he returned to China. Unsurprisingly, no one received the “reward” of staying on the professional team. Even so, Chen Jian was quite popular among the students who liked football in the school. His good friends always liked to pester him, hoping to hear him talk about what real professional football was really like.

He did not turn down these curious classmates. But whenever he talked about the past events, the floodgates of his memory could not be shut. He felt unwilling to resign to his fate.

He recalled again the scene where it was raining that day when Tony Twain yelled at him. Every remark and each single word rang in his ears and he was unable to forget.

“… When you return to China, are you honestly going to go back to your studies, graduate and look for a job? And then will you be satisfied with occasionally playing amateur football with a pot belly? When you’re old, you’re going to brag to your grandson and tell him about how his grandfather once trained for a year in the UEFA Champions League champion’s youth team, Nottingham Forest! What if your grandson asks you what happened after that year? What are you going to say? You say— ah, your grandfather was so bad at a team game that he gave up and left crying back to China….”

I did not give up. I also did not cry and run back to China. But that doesn’t change anything, Manager Twain. I am still me, in this vocational academy, feeling lost about my own future.

Do you understand, Manager Twain? Can you understand my situation and mood?

I fully appreciated the cruelty of professional football, experienced my own gap between them. But it’s only a year … One year was not enough for anything! I had worked very hard. I wished I could be doing header shot drills instead of sleeping. Why did you only give me a year? Why couldn’t I have started regular training from the age of ten like the players in the youth team…

Ah, I want to play professional football, I want to be those star players who can only be seen on the television. I even believe that given a few years, I will be just as good as them. I can stick it out no matter how hard, exhausting, and brutal the training can be. This time, I promise absolutely not to give up. I’ll persevere and be strong, like my name.

But why was it only one year…

I had just stepped on the threshold and the door was closed. What can I do? If I had a lot of money, I would have emptied my pockets to buy Nottingham Forest and changed nothing. It would be just to give me a chance and give me more time…

A year ago, I thought a year was enough, and many people could have dreamed and would not necessarily have the time and opportunity of a year. But a year later, I now realized that a year was only enough for me to get superficial knowledge.

What’s the use of understanding this?

Chen Jian laughed at himself and entered the dormitory.

“Ah Jian, are you back? Just in time!” His dormitory roommate jumped out of the bed and said, “Someone called you just now. I said you were out and hadn’t returned from your class. He said he would call again later.”

Chen Jian was surprised. Who would call him? “Did he say who he was?”

“He did not say, and I forgot to ask too… Do you still want to play football? Or are you going to wait here for the call?” His roommate picked up the grubby football and headed the ball in the dormitory. “Hey, catch the ball!”

He headed the football toward Chen Jian’s head. Chen Jian lifted his leg instead and firmly stopped the falling football at his feet. The entire routine was deftly executed at will, as if it was unintentional.

“Well done, Ah Jian! You’ve gained a lot in a year in Britain!” His roommate complimented him, and yet it upset Chen Jian. “I’ll say, real professional football is definitely different! I guess if their youth team were to play directly in the Chinese Super League, they would definitely be a Double Winner? But if Arsenal’s youth team were to come, I think they can still be the runner-up! Well, well, I want to go to England too… Although it’s only one year, I will die without regrets if I were to be able to experience the world’s leading level!”

Chen Jian returned the football to him and said, “Aren’t we playing football? Let’s go.”

“You’re not waiting for the call?” His roommate pointed to the telephone.

“Not going to wait. It’s probably to ask me to play football.” Chen Jian put his books on his bed and began to take off his school uniform to change into his sports gear.

“Hey, you’re popular since you came back from your studies in England… Then I’ll go first!” His roommate called out and rushed out the door with the football.

While Chen Jian was wearing his boots, the telephone on the table suddenly rang.

Chen Jian stared blankly for a moment before he went over to answer the phone. “Hello, 705, who are you looking for?”

“Is Chen Jian here?” A man’s voice came on.

“This is he. May I ask who you are?” It was probably the person who called him just now.

“I’m Dunn. Hello, Chen Jian. Fortunately, when you signed up for that event, you left your dormitory phone number. Otherwise we really don’t know how to contact you …”

When the man gave his name, Chen Jian thought something was wrong with his ears.

“Someone here wants to talk to you…” Dunn did not wait for Chen Jian to say anything, and just handed the phone to another man.

“Chen Jian, I’m Tony Twain!” A man with a voice full of energy sounded in the earpiece, and he spoke in Mandarin.

Chen Jian was jolted into awareness by the voice, but still could not accept the reality for a while—why did Nottingham Forest’s manager and assistant manager called him?

“I have a question for you now, Chen Jian.” Twain spoke as if he was talking to himself on the phone and completely ignored how Chen Jian would feel after hearing his name. “Do you still remember… your original dream?”

The original dream? How can I forget? To play football! To play professional football, like the star footballers on TV!

“To play football and play professional football.” Chen Jian stood straight and replied.

“Very good.” Twain smiled and said, “Remember what I said to you? Professional football is definitely not as simple as you think, and a dream is not…”

“… something that can be achieved just by talking.” Chen Jian and Twain said the latter half of the sentence together.

“Ha, it looks like you haven’t forgotten. That’s good. I don’t want to get back a good-for-nothing loser that have long since given up and can’t remember that year.”

“I haven’t forgotten every single day of that year, Mr. Twain.”

“Well, Chen Jian. Then listen carefully next… To you, the road to your dream had come to a dead end. What do you think is blocking in front of you? A wall? No, no, no, I want to tell you now that it is not a wall, but a mountain that is blocking your way forward! If you have to realize that original dream, what are you going to do, Chen Jian? Answer me.”

Chen Jian thought about it, and then replied in the tone reserved for answering the instructor, “Dig through it, sir!”

He heard a burst of laughter from the receiver, in which Twain’s voice came on intermittently amid the laughter, “Dunn, did you hear what he said? Dig through it! Dig through it! Hahaha! Do you still doubt my vision? Have you heard how many people would answer this question? Dig through it, dig through it… That’s the best answer I’ve ever heard!”

Then Twain’s voice became clear again, “Very well, student of The Foolish Old Man Who Removes the Mountains. I’m giving you the chance to dig through the mountain! I don’t care how long you’re going to take. In short, I want you to dig through the mountain! Do you understand? It’s to dig through, not go around it… You can’t get around it at all. The mountain props up the sky and is grounded. It stretches continuously from left to right around the earth. You can’t get around it. It’s either you turn and walk back, or you’ll dig through it for me! This is the last chance given to you to choose, A, you can continue to stay in that school and accept the facts; B, leave the place and come here to be the foolish old man who removes the mountains! I must remind you that once you choose B, there is no turning back. You cannot go back to the school to continue your studies. Your life may change dramatically. Please carefully consider before you give me an answer. I’ll leave you the contact details…”

Before Twain could finish, he was interrupted by Chen Jian’s determined voice.

“B. I choose B,Mr. Twain.”

Twain did not expect Chen Jian to give the answer so soon. He was somewhat taken aback and asked in return, “You don’t to think things over? Are you really not going to think about it? Is it okay? This concerns a big turning point in your life. Are you really not going to seriously think it over or discuss it with your parents?”

Chen Jian raised his fist on the other end of the line and said, “Mr Twain. This is the only path for me. In order to realize my original dream, I am willing to pay the price.”

All of a sudden, he was not lost. The problem that had perplexed him while he walked all the way from the school building just now was easily resolved!

The reality of his future of and the future of his dream were at a confluence here, and then merged into one road, where it was paved under his feet. When he looked up ahead, it was the dark and black mountain which stretched from the sky to the ground and spanned for thousands of miles till he could not see the edges. It coldly overlooked him.

Was there not a way?

No. Once he dug through the mountain, the road would be waiting for him on the other side.

At that time, he would see a whole new world, which was completely different from the prospects here. There would be nothing to stop him. Even if the path was dangerous and difficult with high mountains to climb and rivers and oceans to cross, he would not let them stop the pace of him running forward.

With the original dream tightly grasped in his hands, how could he give up halfway on the road to the place where he wanted to go the most?

He would definitely arrive at his original dream. He! Would! Absolutely! Arrive!

“Very good! Twain’s voice became serious too, “I’ll remind you for the last time. You’re not an official Nottingham Forest player even when you come here. You’re just an apprentice. I will not give you any guarantees. I make no promises that you will certainly become a professional player and definitely achieve your original dream. Don’t even get any ideas now about the opportunity to represent the First Team to play! The club can’t promise you anything. Wages, package, contract guarantees… nothing cannot be promised. We’ll give you nothing except this chance. Maybe you’ll train till you’re twenty-six years old and can only be in the reserve team, or simply be eliminated and can only go to those semi-professional teams to get by. Feel free to imagine worse scenarios … so, do you still want to come?”

“Yes!”

“Do you want to come even if you bet on the future and destiny of your life?” Twain raised his voice for the question.

And Chen Jian almost roared to him,

“Yes!!”

“Very well, kid! I’ll be waiting for you, in Wilford, Nottingham, I’ll wait for you!”

※※※

Twain was suddenly stirred by Chen Jian’s tone. He felt his body burning with fervor, and even used force when he hung up the phone.

Dunn was a little surprised, “You just hung up like that? I wanted to talk to him about some specific things…”

“You can just call back again.” Twain waved his hands, “It takes little effort. Ah, Dunn, I’m suddenly not interested in Chen Jian’s dream… I just want to see his performance on this road. As far as the goal is concerned… it has become complimentary.”

“Do you really believe he can do it? I’m afraid more people will just laugh at him for overestimating his capabilities.”

Twain gave a snort, and returned to the cold manner from before, “Everyone in this world who feels “more clear-headed” than others, has reached the point where the so-called wise man is dime a dozen, and wise men are everywhere. But I think it’s better to have more foolish old men. Because whatever difficulties the wise men encounter, they will always shake their heads and say that it is impossible, that it will not work. But the foolish men will be willing to do the hard work to try till the end. Taking the road into the dark can perhaps lead to the dawn? If he, Chen Jian dares to bet on the future of his life to come here to dig through the mountains, I’ll dare to accompany him to the end! If someone wants to mock, then let them ridicule and see who has the last laugh!”

Chapter 721 - The Purge List

In fact, Chen Jian’s matter did not cause any sensation, not even the slightest ripple. A week later, after someone from the Nottingham Forest Football Club came in to help Chen Jian take care of all the procedures, he left the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School under the envious gazes of his classmates and embarked on the journey to his dream in Nottingham.

There was no domestic media coverage of the matter, as the Nottingham Forest Football Club was very low-key in the handling and did not inform any media outlet. Allan Adams had wanted to hype it up in China, so that the club could open up the Chinese market further. But Twain discouraged him and said it would not be too late to publicize when Chen Jian really made something of himself. It would not produce any effects even if it was publicized now. China’s market was vast, but it would not be opened to a young player whose future was unknown at the moment.

In actual fact, Twain did not want to put any heavy weight on Chen Jian’s shoulders. The pressure on him was already big and heavy enough.

Once he arrived in Nottingham, there was no special treatment other than a small family welcome dinner prepared for him by his landlord, Fat John. He still lived at John’s house and would take time out every week to attend a cultural class at the University of Nottingham. He was the same as the other young players in the youth team. Twain only met him once when he arrived in Nottingham and went to busy himself with the work for the First Team after he reiterated the reality that he had no way back. Twain did not say much and just wanted him to persevere. There was no press conference, welcoming crowd, and reporters in pursuit... Everything indicated that he was just an apprentice.

Greenwood made a small joke, “Chen, did you dribble the ball back from China?!”

“Yes, Manager Greenwood.” Chen Jian replied proudly.

Everything was business as usual.

At present, Chen Jian was no longer the youth who arrived here more than a year ago, filled with endless expectations and visions for the future. He understood the cruel reality and was also well aware of the gap between him and his dream. Instead of fantasizing and dreaming of achieving the day when he would be impressive all the time, it was better for him to be down-to-earth and diligently train. He did not think about whether he would realize the dream. He firmly believed that as long as he worked hard every day and stuck to it, one day he would dig through the mountain and open the path between the reality and the dream. No matter how long it took, no matter how high the price he had to pay, even if it was in blood, he would continue to dig forward!

※※※

The matter of recruiting Chen Jian as an apprentice was settled. But for Chen Jian, his story had only just begun. It might take a long time before Twain could see the third and fourth volumes, as well as the ending of the dream journal. However, he was not in a hurry. He had patience and would slowly wait to accompany the strong and tenacious kid to the end.

Now he had to shift his focus to the First Team.

During the interlude of Chen Jian’s pursuit of his dream, Nottingham Forest had already played another league game.

Nottingham Forest faced West Bromwich Albion on May 9th in the thirty-sixth round of the league tournament. Although Twain had officially begun to join the team’s day-to-day management work, the game was still directed by Dunn on the sidelines. Twain sat in the box and watched the game.

Perhaps knowing that the real boss was watching them high in the stands, the Nottingham Forest players did their utmost. They beat West Bromwich Albion by 3:0 in the away game to kick the opponent back to the EFL Championship two rounds ahead.

During the match, the television footage repeatedly swept to Tony Twain, who sat upright and still in the box. The commentator mentioned more than once that today’s Forest team was completely different from the last round of the league tournament for the simple reason that their king was coming back.

Nottingham Forest, which won the game, rose two spots to rank at the tenth spot in the league table with fifty-two points. With two rounds remaining before the season ended, they were seven points away from the sixth-placed Aston Villa and were inevitably unable to qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa League.

Could the season be declared as over in advance for them at this point?

Twain did not see it that way.

When they were back in Nottingham’s tactical session, Twain told his players, “... This is a great opportunity. You have the opportunity to prove that you are still men with balls with your own actions! Even if we came up empty-handed this season, we still have to end the season with three consecutive wins. It will be the most insignificant compensation we can make for our previous poor results! Let those home fans be comforted in the final round! Tell them that even if we don’t get anything this season, we’re not broken! Tell the opponents who are waiting to see us fail that Nottingham Forest will be back in the new season and no one will be able to stop us! Let the new season officially begin from this game!”

On May 16th, the thirty-seventh round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Stoke City.

Before the game, Nottingham Forest’s official website officially announced their “king” Tony Twain had returned to the team. Dunn handed over the command and Twain would personally sit in the technical area to direct the game. The team once again decisively won against Stoke City by 3:0 under his command in the away game.

After the game, this was what the BBC’s sports news said about the game—-

“The other managers in the Premier League need to be careful. That guy is back!”

※※※

Before the final round of the league tournament, the battle for the league title became clearer. Arsenal had to pay the price for trying to gain supremacy with a young squad. They were firmly positioned in the fourth place, with no danger of losing. However, they could not go any higher. Chelsea also slowly fell behind after their boundless prospects in the first half of the league tournament to finish third.

Instead, the two teams vying for the league title were Liverpool, which was previously thought to be unable to play in the league and the shrewd and ruthless Manchester United.

Both teams had the same points, but Manchester United was temporarily behind in the second place due to the goal difference. If they wanted to win the title, they must score at least three goals in their last game against Hull City and pray that Liverpool cannot win by a wide margin. In terms of the opponents, Manchester United’s was slightly more favorable. Hull City was ranked in the middle level and had no desire for more. Whereas Liverpool’s opponent, Tottenham Hotspur had to fight to stay in the league.

Such a form inevitably reminded people of last season’s final round of the battle for the title, when Manchester United was one of the main players for two seasons in a row. But their opponent was replaced. Nottingham Forest, which wiped out Manchester United to take the crown at Old Trafford last season, was ranked in the middle and bound to get nothing which was a shame.

Twain did not have the time to care about how people lamented for his team. He was just as busy even though Nottingham Forest did not have any specific goals at the moment.

The team’s training was all handed over to the coaching staff led by Dunn and Kerslake. He was busy talking to individual players to find out their inclination to determine the candidates on the purge list.

The first person he looked for was the team captain, George Wood.

Because when he had not yet returned to the team, the transfer rumors about this person had been flying around. Many clubs were interested in the midfielder who was rare in the world of football. He was willing to do the grunt work, did not ask for high wages, and was not emotional. AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, FC Schalke 04, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal to name a few...

They were all the big boys club. Any one of them was a fatal temptation.

But Wood’s agent, Billy Woox remained unmoved.

After Nottingham Forest announced the official return of Twain, Billy Woox immediately announced that his player had never thought of leaving Nottingham Forest, that it was Nottingham Forest who had nurtured him and gave him his current achievements. He was willing to stay at Nottingham Forest unless the club chased him away.

Twain was unable to make sense of the old man’s intention, so he simply looked for George Wood to hear his own player’s thoughts.

“What Woox said is the truth.” Wood answered him, “I’ve never thought of leaving. Even if he wanted me to leave, I wouldn’t. Don’t I have to sign the contract myself in the end?”

Wood’s words reassured Twain. He was well-prepared to face the transfer crisis that would follow the summer. But George Wood absolutely could not leave because he was the real core of the team. If he wanted the Forest team to regain its glory, he could not be short of this person.

Not only that, George Wood also said something that greatly moved Twain, “I know the state of the team’s economic situation. If it really can’t manage, I’m willing to re-sign a contract with the club to reduce my current salary and some bonuses. Anyway, I think no matter how much more money I have, I’m fine as long as I have enough to use. Mr. Woox had made me a lot of money in other areas. I don’t even know how to use it...”

Twain almost laughed out. This silly boy actually grumbles about more money?

“Ah, your words are going to infuriate Woox. Your revenue also directly affects his income.”

Wood’s expression remained unchanged, and spoke with a straight face, “He has so much ‘money that he simply does not need me to help him make money. I’d fired him if he does not agree.”

Twain finally did not hold back this time, and guffawed. This boy’s heart is still with him ah... He was happy.

“You don’t need to take a pay cut, George. You just focus on playing with a peace of mind and hold the team together for me. Just set an example on the pitch and it will do. You don’t have to consider the financial side of things.”

After he sent George Wood away, Twain was calmer by half. Without taking a break, he began to talk to each player one by one. Under the pretense of “being gone for five months, everyone should deepen our connections and communicate with each other”, he observed and deliberated the players he could give up and need to let go with the right prices, and the ones he simply could not discard, and whom he was not willing to drop but the other parties might be determined to leave...

Van Nistelrooy was still recovering from his injury after he underwent the surgery. If he returned to play after he recovered from his injury, Twain would give him a contract of one year minimum no matter what. He did not want the veteran who had helped him rise to be bitterly disappointed. If he did not have a heart attack, he could have urged the club to offer a new contract in the first half of the year to the Dutchman, when van Nistelrooy was still undergoing his surgery.

Despite his body would not be as before, van Nistelrooy’s experience and role in the locker room were evident.

It went without saying that Eastwood must stay. The Romani himself also did not want to leave here.

As for Arshavin... he might leave or might not leave. He himself did not have a particularly strong desire. If Twain wanted him to stay, then he would most likely stay. Because Barcelona, where he wanted to go the most, clearly did not need him now.

igi?’s performance at the Forest team had been average this season, with the occasional flashes of brilliance. But these brilliant flashes were too few as a player who was taken as Bendtner’s successor and number one center forward during van Nistelrooy’s injury. He was even once rated by the British media as the most “subpar foreign import” of the season. But Twain did not intend to give him up, because Twain knew that ?igi?’s poor performance was not his problem, but the team as a whole. He still wanted to give ?igi? a chance to prove himself again. In addition, he had the selfish motive of not wanting to readily admit that he had failed. Twain would not sell Nikola. Not to mention selling ?igi? at this time could only be a loss-making deal. Only a fool would do it.

Van der Vaart’s situation was somewhat special. Real Madrid midfielder’s emergency was more than just the flanks. The middle was also short of players. Van der Vaart had long proven his talent and ability at Nottingham Forest. Real Madrid was interested in attracting him. Van der Vaart himself also wanted to play football in Spain. He did not care whether it was for Real Madrid or Bar?a. The Forest team might have to pay a high price if they wanted to keep him. Allan Adams was inclined to sell him quickly while he could still fetch a high price, but Twain was hesitant. ?ahin’s performance was getting better, but he could take charge of the area alone. He needed van der Vaart to oversee and organize the offense.

Twain struck a question mark next to van der Vaart’s name,. He himself did not know if the Dutchman would still be on his squad list when the next season came.

He naturally wanted ?ahin to stay in the team, and the man himself did not want to leave too.

Beckham would definitely leave the team. After the expiration of the two-year contract, it would be according to the original agreement and Twain would not urge him to stay. He was going to the United States with his wife to join the Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy. Twain and he both knew, so they did not say anything to each other.

Aaron Lennon would not go as well. Twain would not relinquish, and he himself did not wish to leave. When Beckham was gone, he would be the main player on the right side of the field as expected—the Forest team certainly did not have the money to buy a lot of players to rotate this season, and they did not need to rotate because there were not too many games.

Martin Petrov was also like him. Ribéry had pressed on top of his head for the past few years, With Ribéry gone now, he could make it too. But Twain had not ruled out the possibility of selling Petrov to cash out. For in his view, Petrov’s position was not high, at the very least he was not comparable to Lennon, who was a promising young player. If a club were to offer the right price, he might consider letting him go and buying younger wingers from the transfer market without spending too much money.

Twain would also not drop Tiago Mendes. On the one hand, he was an all-rounder in the midfield and was able to play as a defensive midfielder. He could also play as a playmaker in the midfield. He was better at defense than van der Vaart and a little better at offense than George Wood. While he was not top-notch in any aspect, the team now needed a player with well-balanced abilities.

He would not give up Kris Commons either. Although he was very popular in the lower leagues, Twain wanted to be better prepared for the future “4+7”, “5+6” and “6+5” combinations. Such a local player was especially important since it was the player they had trained in their youth training system. There were opportunities to play in the EFL Cup and FA Cup. He could even receive appearances in some inconsequential league games and also help the team smoothly qualify for the Champions League.

Wes Morgan was like him. As the team’s third captain, Twain would not drop Morgan.

Roberto Ayala would not renew the contract with the club once his contract expired. He wanted to return to Argentina and Twain did not intend to keep him. Ayala was no longer in his plan anyway, and he would have to spend for one more player’s salary if he continue to stay.

Rafinha had attracted a few club’s interest for his outstanding performances at the Forest team and could be presented with offers from a number of clubs in the summer. At that time, Twain would carefully consider as to whether he would rebuff every one of the clubs or choose to accept some of the offers. However, if he was exchanged for money, there would be another vacancy for the right back position, and he would have to continue to have a headache in search of a right back.

With regards to Chimbonda... as he got older, fewer and fewer teams were interested in him, and it could be predicted that there would be few offers which could satisfy Twain this summer. Twain would have to keep Chimbonda for at least another season.

Surprisingly, when he had the fight with Bendtner, Twain wanted to drive out Chimbonda and keep Bendtner. In the end, Bendtner, whom Twain was reluctant to give up, was actually the one to leave, leaving behind Chimbonda, whom he did not want to keep. It was really a case of the people who should have come did not come, but the people who should go did not leave...

Sun Jihai wanted to continue to stay in Nottingham Forest until he retired. It was not hard to understand his thinking—he had entered the twilight of his career and there was nothing else he could ask for. What more could he ask for other than to be able to play in a team that had won the UEFA Champions League title for two seasons in a row until he retired? He had been glorious before and made enough money too. Anyway, if the Forest team did not want him, he would never go back to China. Twain was now hesitating whether to purge Sun Jihai. Because his contribution to the team was lessening. But Sun Jihai had not been popular in the Premier League. If a team wanted to buy him, it could only be the EFL Championship level team. How much could they pay?

Like him, there were mid-to-lower level teams interested in Leighton Baines. But Twain would not sell. The player was one of the safeguards to stabilize the team’s rear defensive line. He was not as good on offense as Bale but had done very well defensively. Where would Twain go and find a second one if he gave up such a stable player?

The three players, Gareth Bale, Vincent Kompany and Pepe had all received a number of transfer offers. But Twain was not going to let go of any one of them. There was no room for discussion. These three men, George Wood plus Eastwood were treated like the same—not for sale.

Woodgate had only been with the team for a year. He did not want to leave, and Twain was happy to oblige.

Van der Sar intended to retire at the Forest team, but he would give up his place as the main goalkeeper next season. Starting with the friendly matches, Twain planned to promote Akinfeev. After two seasons with the Forest team, he was finally going to become the team’s main goalkeeper.

Dale Roberts would also be the team’s third goalkeeper. But if he wanted to leave and there was a team which wanted him, Twain would release him, and then draw up a goalkeeper from the youth team or reserve to team.

Going through the names, Twain discovered that the so-called purge actually did not have many people ... He hated to part with these guys who had fought with him for years...

Everyone had prospered all together and partook in the successes as one. They competed across the world without limits. Why did they have to go on their separate ways in the face of the imminent catastrophe?

If there was a team to pay Bale, Pepe, Kompany tens of millions of dollars in price, would he be able to ward them off and keep them from leaving? Would those loyal players who simply did not want to leave the team in the first place be forced to leave because they had to pay for the club’s poor financial management?

He did not want his team to turn out like Lazio. He also did not want his players to be the second, third, fourth... “Nesta.”

They were the seedlings of Nottingham Forest’s resurgence. He would safeguard them no matter what!

Chapter 722 - His Majesty Has Returned

24th May 2009 was a special day to the Nottingham Forest fans. They started getting excited in the days leading up to it, and the tickets to watch the final home game of the season were completely sold out. There were countless fans who were waiting for others to sell their extra tickets despite the fact that the team was destined to finish the season empty-handed.

The reason for the overwhelming response was not because the team was going to go top of the table after the match, and neither was it because they were going to get relegated.

The reason behind their excitement was simple: that man was coming back.

Even though it has been three weeks since Tony Twain returned to his managerial position at the team, this was his first time directing a home game after his comeback.

Additionally, there was also someone who was going to bid farewell to Nottingham and Nottingham Forest.

That person was David Beckham, whose contract with the club has expired.

The past few days have seen numerous Forest fans swarm up to Wilford to watch the team train, and they would surround Beckham asking for his signature and a photo. His popularity had become even higher than before.

A faint sense of sorrow over Beckham’s imminent departure pervaded the team. These feelings were actually no stranger to the team. However, due to the fact that they had performed exceptionally well during the past few seasons, every one focused their attention on celebrating the team’s successes instead, and these feelings of sorrow became diluted amidst the joyous atmosphere.

Since the team had performed poorly this season however, there was nothing for them to celebrate about, and these feelings only became even more accentuated than before.

Beckham’s departure from the club was inevitable. There were also players who continued to ponder over whether they should stay at or leave the club…

The pleasant surprise that came with their boss’s return did not last for long.

※※※

Beckham was a player who was good at maintaining friendly relationships with his team mates. He was on good terms with everyone in the team despite how he enjoyed far greater popularity than them. The light around him could cast the entire team into his shadow, but the reason why he still managed to get along with his team mates was because he knew how to treat others well.

Before the last Premier League match of the season, everyone in the Forest team received a gift from Beckham, much to their astonishment.

Twain was no exception. His gift was specially delivered to him by Beckham.

“After tomorrow’s match, this season will be officially over. This is a gift that I specially prepared to thank you, Tony.” Beckham did not address Twain as ‘boss’ in private. Instead, he would call him by his name, which showed how close the two were.

“Thank me?” Twain felt ashamed to receive a gift from him. “I gave Albertini the best possible parting gift when he left. But now that you are leaving, I don’t have anything to give you.” He opened his hands and patted his pockets. “There’s nothing that you should thank me for.”

“Ha.” Beckham laughed. “When I decided to join Nottingham Forest, all I wanted was to prove that I wasn’t a just a pretty ‘vase’ in a place that was closest to the British football fans. I never thought that I would be able to win trophies in the Champions League and the Premier League. Is that not something I should thank you for, Tony?”

Twain smiled and said nothing.

“Two years’ not a long time, but everything that I have experienced here has left a lasting impression on me. Nottingham Forest is a good club. It’s a shame I can only stay for two years.” Beckham suddenly sighed.

“It’s enough for me to hear you say that, David.” Twain felt that Beckham’s words were the highest form of recognition for all the work that he has done at Nottingham Forest.

“You are going to America?”

Beckham nodded his head. “I have lifted trophies for the UEFA Super Cup, FA Community Shield, Fifa Club World Cup, Champions League and Premier League under you…There’s nothing more that I ask for in my footballing career. I have already signed a contract with LA Galaxy, and I will play for two more years with them. But going over there means I’m not going to play football, I’m just going to put on a show.” He shrugged.

The media were all bragging about how his trip to America would have a profound impact on American football, how it would bring life to America’s ‘barren’ state of football, how he would be a pivotal character in bringing about change in America’s footballing scene and how he would let more Americans fall in love with football… Everything was just a bunch of nonsense.

Beckham knew in his heart that he did not have that much influence as a person to bring about all those changes that they said he would. Even a legend like Pelé was not able to change the footballing scene in America by much. How could he change a country’s interest in something all by himself? The truth is he is merely going over to America to accompany his wife…

Speaking of Beckham’s wife, Twain has to thank Victoria for not giving him any trouble during these past two seasons that Beckham played for Nottingham Forest. She was well-known to be a woman who would get into disputes with managers in the past, but it looks like Beckham must have spent a considerable amount of effort to convince her before he signed for them. Beckham leaving to play in America for two years is also likely to be something that the couple agreed upon back then as well.

Another possible reason as to why she did not get in his face could be because of her relationship with Shania. She does help Shania with her work quite often, and probably did not want to make things awkward for everyone.

At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Twain’s mind. He asked, “Are you going to sell your villa in Nottingham?”

Beckham nodded. “I won’t be coming back to England much after this. I already have houses in Manchester and London as well. Victoria doesn’t think we should keep our house in Nottingham.”

Twain clapped his hands. “Just nice, sell it to me!”

Beckham smiled. “Have you come to dislike your current house, Tony?”

Twain touched his nose. “Heh. Actually, if I was just living by myself, then anywhere is fine. But from now on, there’d be someone else living with me, so I need a better house to live in. Now’s not the time to say goodbye yet, David. During the holidays after the season has ended, make a trip to Brazil!”

Beckham was taken aback. “Brazil?”

“Huh? You don’t know about it?” Twain found it odd.

“Know about what?”

“I’m getting married to Shania. Our wedding will be held during the summer holidays…”

Beckham widened his eyes, almost as if he could not believe what he just heard.

“Hey, you don’t need to look that surprised.” Twain pouted.

“This is really the first time I’ve heard anything about you getting married this summer…” Beckham felt a little crestfallen. His good friend was getting married soon, but this was the very first time he heard about it. Can he still prepare a gift in time?

“Huh? Shania didn’t tell Victoria?”

Beckham shook his head.

“The paparazzi didn’t publish anything about it?”

Beckham continued to shake his head.

Twain laughed happily. “That little girl’s pretty good at keeping it a secret!”

He reckons that the reason why Shania is being so secretive about their marriage is so that she can give the media a big surprise. She wants to see their reactions when they learn of this shocking news, because, as she once said before, ‘it would be very fun’ to do that.

“All right, David. You should be feeling happy right now. You are the only person in this world, besides Shania and I and her parents to know about this news. I was thinking of handing out invitations to all the players after we finished playing tomorrow’s match.”

Beckham smiled. “I have to congratulate you, Tony. You and Shania are a great match for each other. Victoria and I have discussed about the relationship between the two of you numerous times before. It must have been very tough for you to get to where you are now… What was it that propelled you to reach this decision?”

Twain recalled the image of someone mixing a bowl of black sesame soup for him in the hospital ward. “David, if there came a day when you thought you were going to die, and then after a struggle, you opened your eyes to see a person taking care of you attentively… How would you feel?”

Beckham did not answer the question. He knew that Twain was not even asking him a question.

“I have to thank my heart disease for that. It caused the team’s results to slip, but we can still start over next season. I have to thank my heart disease simply because it helped me find the person that I truly love.” Twain shrugged. He has no qualms about saying such mushy words now.

He also has to thank a female reporter named Lisa Aria for her words. It was just like she said, it was not embarrassing to admit that they were in love.

Beckham saw the happiness written all over his manager’s face. He felt his chin and said, “Oh no, what should I get you for your wedding, Tony?”

“You can stop thinking about it. Just lower the price for your house a little and sell it to me.”

“No problem, Tony. It’s a deal!”

The two shook hands.

Before he left, Twain told Beckham about his arrangement for tomorrow’s match. “David, you are in the starting team. This is your farewell match in the Forest team… You have nothing else you need to prove. Just enjoy the cheers from the fans as we play on our home grounds.”

Beckham nodded his head, then turned and left.

Twain’s eyes trailed behind Beckham as he made his way out of the office. He then led out a soft sigh.

There are more and more people close to him who were leaving his side.

There would come a day when he is standing before the manager’s seat in the City Ground stadium, and every single person in his line of sight would be people who could only give him 30 years’ worth of memories.

Can he still be friends with those players like he did with Beckham?

※※※

All the news in Nottingham for the past few days had revolved around two people and two things.

Tony Twain’s return and David Beckham’s departure.

Nottingham Evening Post did a feature on David Beckham, and it recounted Beckham’s two seasons in Forest, such as that glorious moment when he stopped Manchester United from becoming champions in the Premier League. It also mentioned his disappointment as the team went into a slump due to numerous injuries to their players.

However, none of those things mattered anymore. He was about to leave. The ‘heartthrob’ would never belong to Nottingham Forest again from now on.

It is said that Manchester United has been making plans to get Beckham to take over the role as global ambassador from Bobby Charlton after he has retired. In the end, he will always be a part of Manchester United.

There have also been numerous outstanding football stars who played for Nottingham Forest in the past. However, the club itself has failed to leave behind a legacy over the years, and this makes it difficult to foster a sense of lasting loyalty towards the club in the players. They are not able to get any of those star players to become their ‘global ambassadors’ after they have retired, and this is something regretful for the club.

Alessandro Del Piero might have been a player for Forest before, but he only feels attached to Real Madrid. Similarly, Albertini used to be the captain of the team, but after he retired, he had insisted on returning to Italy and to Milan. Now, it was David Beckham’s turn to leave. Twain could foresee several other players who would do the same in the near future, such as van Nistelrooy and van der Sar.

When will we be able to have legendary players that belong only to our club? Many of the players who used to play under the previous boss Brian Clough have all gone on to become reputable managers, but they are all scattered across the world, and do not come into contact with Nottingham Forest much.

Will Nottingham Forest still be able to produce their own Albertini, Del Piero or Beckham in a world where commercialization and money have made footballers increasingly fickle?

This problem could be associated with Tony Twain. The Forest fans firmly believe that as long as Tony Twain is around, Forest will not go down.

But now that there are problems with Tony Twain’s heart, who can guarantee how much longer he can stay as the manager of the team?

One year? Two years? Three years? Or five? Can he emulate the team’s previous boss Brian Clough, and stay in the position for 18 years?

If praying was all that was needed to ensure that a person can stay healthy, then every single Nottingham Forest fan would have prayed before their every meal for Tony Twain to be healthy, for his heart to be rid of problems, and for him to live for a 100 years.

※※※

On the day of the match, the weather was good and there were clear skies.

Hordes of fans began swarming into the stadium since the early afternoon, and all of them were seated before the match kicked off. The City Ground stadium that had a seating capacity of 30,000 was fully occupied, and there were no empty seats in the stadium.

This match was especially significant to the Forest fans because they had to welcome the return of their King, Tony Twain, and also send off Beckham.

Twain gave his players his last team talk for the season in the locker room.

“Our first match for this season was played against Portsmouth in the FA Community Shield. Our last opponent for this Premier League season is also Portsmouth. What a coincidence, isn’t it? This is great. This terrible season needs a good finish. We beat Portsmouth in the FA Community Shield game, and I hope all of you can beat Portsmouth again as our way of bidding farewell to this season and to send David off. All of you should have received a small gift from him. He did not give you all gifts for nothing!”

All the players burst out laughing.

The team’s final position in the Premier League table might not be good, but ever since their boss has returned, the team has regained its life, and all the problems did not feel like problems anymore, because their boss is able to handle even the biggest of problems.

“Right now, we are in a situation whereby we have nothing to gain or lose. However, Portsmouth is fighting to get a Europa League spot for next season. What a good chance this is…” Twain grinned. “Ruining other people’s chances have almost become our team’s tradition. We are not doing it deliberately, but the chance to do it is right before us… Last time it was Liverpool, and this time it’s Portsmouth. Nottingham Forest has never been a team that would sacrifice itself to help another team! Those people who think they can step over our dead bodies and climb to the top have to pay a steep price for looking down on us! Liverpool’s not the first, and Portsmouth will not be the last either! Let’s use action to tell Portsmouth how stupid it is for them to think that they can gain anything off of us! They think that we are tigers who are on the brink of dying from starvation, but we have to let them know that tigers are the most dangerous when they are in that state! Who do those Portsmouth bastards think we are? We are Nottingham Forest! We are the Nottingham Forest that is big enough to blot out the sun!” [1]

※※※

Ear-splitting cheers went off in the stadium when Tony Twain walked out onto the pitch towards the tactical area with his colleagues and substitutes, and they gave him a shock.

It took him a while to realize that everyone was yelling his name.

“Tony! Tony! Tony!”

“Let us welcome His Majesty!” The commentator roared at the top of his voice amidst the thundering cheers that was present in the stadium.

“Welcome back, Tony!” Fat John and his companions hollered.

“His Majesty! His Majesty! His Majesty!”

“Tony! Take care of your health!”

“We love you! Tony!” This was from a group of beautiful female fans who had gone crazy. They were wearing bikini-like clothing, and they each had one word ‘We’, ‘Love’ and ‘Tony’ painted over their chests.

All the voices in the stadium blended into one, and it was so deafening that the Gods above might be able to pick up on the sound.

Dunn and Kerslake walked past him as though they did not notice what was going on. The substitutes had their hands over their mouths to hide their smiles as they walked towards their seats.

Twain was the only one standing by the pitch. He raised his head and looked at the packed stands before him.

Everyone at the stands stood to their feet. They raised both their hands and began to act as though they were worshipping him. He was receiving the same treatment as the one that was given to him after the conclusion of the previous season.

This is an honor that belonged only to him.

This is the life that he wanted.

He raised his arm and punched the air.

The roars got even louder.

Shania pouted as she watched the scenes before her in her private room. “I’m going to get jealous…”

※※※

As players from both teams waited in the tunnel for the referee to lead them out onto the pitch, they suddenly heard deafening roars. Everyone was startled initially, but when the Nottingham Forest players finally made out what the roars were about, they started to laugh. On the other hand, the Portsmouth players’ faces were ashen.

The Portsmouth manager, Alain Perrin, who had taken his seat in the technical area, was also shocked by the crazy atmosphere in the City Ground stadium.

Last season, when Twain won the Double, there was an extravagant celebration party held here in this stadium. Twain was crowned as the King that night. He dressed in a robe and held a crown high up into the air. Those scenes were ridiculed by numerous media outlets and other football managers, who thought that his ego had become so big that it had reached a level of perversion.

But now, he was seeing and hearing how the fans are reacting to Tony Twain before him. Right here, in this City Ground stadium, in every Nottingham Forest fans’ hearts, Tony Twain was truly their king…

Perrin, who had initially hoped to win all 3 points from this game and secure a spot in the Europa League, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

The atmosphere in the stadium also influenced John Motson, the commentator for the match. “Look at this scene before us! It’s not hard to understand why Nottingham Forest plays with shocking power every time Tony Twain is in charge. He truly is the King over here! I think Portsmouth’s in for a hard time!”

※※※

Portsmouth was indeed in for a hard time.

Just like Twain, Beckham received a thundering ovation from the spectators when he made his way onto the pitch. However, the cheers for him did feel a little softer when compared to what Twain received earlier.

Every single time Twain stepped out of the technical area and stood by the side of the pitch to give directions to his players during the match, the stands would erupt into cheers, regardless of how the team was playing at that point in the match.

Twain had suppressed his feelings for football for five months. Similarly, the fans have also held back their enthusiasm for five months.

When the team had hit a brick wall and were losing to almost every single team they faced, how the fans wished that the person standing by the side of the pitch was the animated Tony Twain. Even if he ended doing nothing other than to stand there, his presence alone was enough to give everyone the belief that everything will be fine, and that he will find a way.

If he scolds someone by the side of the pitch, we will scold with him!

If he is overjoyed, we will dance in glee!

If he faints once again… We will support him from behind!

Tony, as long as you are around, we have nothing to fear! Not winning anything in a season is nothing! We will start all over again next season, and seize everything that we lost back!

We do not need to be nice to our opponents! Nottingham is the home of Robin Hood, which makes us all descendants of a thief. Seizing things from others is what we are good at!

Seize them all! Seize them all! Seize the fortunes and the women of the rich and drive them out from their castles!

Seize them all! Seize them all! Let us seize the whole world!

※※※

“This match was supposed to be David Beckham’s last match in Britain, but somehow the main character became Tony Twain.” John Motson said with a smile. “But I don’t think David will feel jealous at that.”

On the 88th minute, Twain finally took Beckham off the pitch, and that was also when Beckham finally reclaimed the role as the main character from Twain. He hugged the team mates who stood nearest to him, and slowly made his way to the side. He held up both his hands into the air and applauded the fans as he walked.

There were no Portsmouth players who were complaining about how he was deliberately dragging the game on. That was because it did not matter either way to them. They were not just trailing by a goal or two…

The Nottingham Forest fans all stood to their feet to send Beckham off. Unlike the wild feelings that they felt for Twain earlier, the feelings that they had for the ex-Manchester United player were very different and were more of gratitude.

Beckham’s heart might not be with Nottingham Forest, but the Forest fans are not ingrates. They are thankful for every assist and every goal that Beckham had contributed to the team over the past two seasons. Without this ‘heartthrob’, the game that decided the Premier League champions last season could very well have been anybody’s game.

Motson was a little moved by what he saw as well. “When David Beckham was still a kid, I was there at the scene to witness his goal from the halfway line. When he became a ‘heartthrob’, I was commentating the games he played in as a Manchester United player. Now, he’s already 34 years old, and he has decided to leave Britain and head to the opposite end of the Atlantic Ocean. I am still commentating Premier League matches. All I can do is to wish him all the best, and I hope he would have the best of luck in that country.”

“He has two assists in this game and it is the perfect way to end off his time here in Nottingham Forest. Forest’s slump in this season has nothing to do with him. He can leave without any regrets and he can accept all the applause that has been given to him without shame. Goodbye, David!”

Beckham finally made his way off the pitch. He then hugged Twain, who had been waiting by the side.

“Goodbye, David. I wish you all the best in America.”

“Goodbye, Tony. I also wish you all the best.”

Twain suddenly felt tears well up in his eyes. He quickly snapped himself out of it. “That’s not right! Now’s not the time to say goodbye. Don’t forget to fly over to Brazil during your holidays. I’d be waiting for you at my wedding. You have to come!”

Beckham smiled. “Of course. I’d be there, Tony. Both you and Shania are my good friends. How can I not go?”

The two separated themselves from each other. Beckham walked over to the other managers and substitutes behind Twain and gave each of them a farewell hug.

The match ended a while later.

The final score was 4:1. Nottingham Forest was able to end their chaotic season with a victory at home. It was also the perfect way to send Beckham off and welcome the King, Tony Twain’s return.

Portsmouth lost the match and also lost their chances of clinching a spot in the Europa League next season.

But, they were in the City Ground stadium and in Nottingham Forest’s territory. Who would care about what their opponents would feel?

The 2008-09 season went by just like that.

How many people would still reminisce it many years later?

Chapter 723 - Wedding Invitation

Twain had his arm around Shania’s slim waist as they stood before their new house. Neither of them said a word as they quietly admired the three storey mansion that they will call their home henceforth.

The house had white walls and a red roof. The exterior of it looked asymmetrical, but there was something charming about its asymmetry. It looked vibrant under the sunlight, as though the house had a life of its own.

Shania fell in love with the color of the house at first sight. It looked pure and clean.

The place they were currently at is known as Mapperley Park, which is located in north-eastern Nottingham. It sits on a small hill, and there was a road that gently led up to their neighbourhood and stretches all the way to the northern part of Nottingham.

Mapperley Park is a well-known luxury neighborhood in Nottingham, and it is also the place that many rich middle-class choose to live in.

The end of May is a time where the color green becomes the most prominent in Mapperley Park. Greeneries will encompass the neighbourhood, and the residents will also get to wake up each morning to the twittering of birds and the fragrance of flowers. The mansions, each with its own distinctive appearances and colors, look like villas surrounded by a vast garden.

Their house faced the street, and behind them was a garden that connected them to the Mapperley Golf Club.

All they could see around the house was a sea of green. The view was pleasant and made them feel invigorated.

Not too far away from the front of the house was a sports club. It had a standard-sized football pitch that people could use to play football matches.

Twain could not help but be amazed. The Beckhams really know how to enjoy their lives.

Their new living environment could not get any better. The only downside of the house was how it was located a considerable distance away from the club’s training grounds.

However, the long distance does not put Twain off. He has a car after all.

The Beckhams bought this three storey mansion for 2,700,000 pounds, but Beckham sold it to Twain and Shania for only 1,000,000 pounds after living in it for a year. The economic crisis had certainly influenced the price of the house, but offering the house at a low price was intended as Beckham’s wedding gift to the couple as well.

Beckham generously indicated that they were free to keep the furnishing of the house if they liked it. If not, they could change it as they pleased.

There was nothing that needed to be changed about the furnishing, however. Beckham’s taste suited Twain perfectly. The house had everything they needed and there were only a few minor arrangements that they needed to tweak for the furniture. Nothing major had to be done to the house. It was a house that Twain and Shania could start living in straight away.

Twain accepted Beckham’s magnanimity without feeling ashamed. After all, he was the one who gifted Beckham his final glorious moments at the end of his footballing career.

Beckham’s commercial value has gone on the rise due to his good performance in Nottingham Forest and the fact that he won the Double with the team. He has nothing to worry about financially even if he has to face the economic crisis.

“Do you like it?” Twain lowered his head to ask Shania who was cradled in his arms.

Shania nodded her head. “Yes!”

Twain raised his head again to look at the mansion before him and then lost himself in his thoughts. He started to think about the dream that he made when he was unconscious, and also thought about the kind of person he was in the past.

He could not afford a decent house in the past, much less a mansion like this.

What do the Chinese pursue throughout their lives? To settle down, to start a family, and to have a successful career. But, the irony is, how can you start a family without a house to live in?

It is very difficult to purchase a house that you can call your own in China. His biggest desire back then was just to have enough money to buy a one-room apartment in Chengdu. He never would have dreamed that there would come a day where he could live in a mansion with a 100 square meter garden, with a golf club to the back and a football pitch to the front.

My destiny… Has changed.

I have gained a lot of things that I could never gain in that world, but I also lost some things as a result. Do I regret?

No.

This is my road. This is my life. This is my story.

“Uncle Tony?” Shania shook Twain’s arm after seeing that he was in a daze.

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you supposed to go to Wilford? Why aren’t you leaving?”

“Oh… Ah! I almost forgot! I got carried away after seeing the house… Haha!” Twain laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

Shania had just reminded him of something important. He was indeed supposed to make a trip down to Wilford. Today is the last training session for this season. The players would be enjoying their holidays all over the world so as to rest up for the next season after the training ends.

He has an important thing to announce today before they depart.

※※※

“Lads, have you all thought about how you are going to spend your holidays?”

All the players, including Beckham who was on his way out of the team, were seated on the pitch in their training grounds at Wilford. They looked at Twain who stood in the center.

“Regardless if you have or not, I hope you can cancel or delay your plans.”

Beckham smiled after hearing what Twain said.

“I’m inviting all of you over to Brazil for a holiday!” Twain waved his hands. “I’m paying for all your plane tickets, accommodation and food!”

An uproar ensued.

“Brazil’s a good destination but… Why, boss?” Eastwood asked loudly. “Sabina and I had made plans to go to Spain for a holiday! We even bought our plane tickets…”

“Cancel your flight. I will reimburse the money that you spent for them, Freddy. You have to come over to Brazil!”

His comments made everyone even more curious. They had to ask Twain what was going on.

Twain waited till the clamor died down before he flashed a mischievous grin, “I’m inviting every single one of you to my wedding!”

A rowdy commotion broke out on the pitch.

“Wedding?!”

“Boss… You mean you and Miss Shania? That’s way too fast!”

“What’s with this surprise attack, Boss? How do you expect me to prepare a gift for you now?”

“Wedding? Wedding? Ah… Boss, so you weren’t gay… Er, no, so you were just single all along…”

“Quiet down! Quiet down! Just tell me if you are going or not! I’m telling all of you, it’s very common for a player to invite his team mates to his wedding, but it’s not every day that your manager will invite you to his wedding. This might be the only chance in your life to attend one!” Twain cocked his head upwards and said proudly.

What he said made sense. Football managers who have not gotten married in the world are probably even rarer than the Tibetan Antelopes. 99.99% of football managers are married and have their own families. After all, it takes time for them to make their way up to the managerial position and lead a team.

There might be a few of these managers who only get married after they have taken up the role as a manager, but even then, they would definitely not invite their own players to their wedding, due to reasons such as wanting to maintain his authoritativeness and mystique.

Twain did not care about those things. He felt that this was the biggest and happiest occasion that will happen in his life, and he definitely had to share his joy with the people around him, which is why he has invited almost every single person that he could think of.

Besides these players of his, Twain had also invited renowned actor and film producer Tom Cruise, as well as well-known fashion designer Giorgio Armani to his wedding. Twain’s tuxedo and Shania’s wedding dress would both be designed by Armani himself.

How great it is to have such celebrities as my friends. I don’t need to pay for the tuxedo and wedding dress…

“I’m going! The Boss is getting married, of course we are going!” Eastwood’s voice was the loudest amongst the players. He began gesturing about animatedly and had completely forgotten about how he said he wanted to accompany his wife to Spain for a holiday earlier.

The other players followed suit and began shouting that they will attend his wedding as well.

Twain smiled at the sight of his players getting so excited.

Initially, he did not wish for his wedding to be too complex. He wanted to be like other celebrities and just hold a simple wedding at a secluded and quiet location. However, after seeing how well he got along with Shania, he changed his mind.

This is the biggest occasion of my life, why should I hold it secretly? Am I scared of the media taking photos of us? You must be kidding, I’m just getting married, there’s nothing I should feel ashamed of! It’s not like I’m having an affair!

I have to publicise my wedding with Shania and let the whole world know that we are getting married.

Twain was not scared of getting criticised for ‘robbing the cradle’ once news of their marriage begins to spread. His relationship with Shania has already met with much censure ever since they publicly confirmed it. He was not concerned about breaking the hearts of Shania’s numerous male fans either.

Who cares about whether or not they are upset at the fact that we are getting married?

I am the one who should be upset over how they constantly have sexual fantasies about Shania…

Twain shared his sentiments with Shania, and told her, “I want to openly let the whole world know that I, Tony Twain, love you, Shania, and that I want you to be my wife.”

Shania was so touched that she almost cried, and that was how they came to the decision to hold a high-profile wedding ceremony instead.

※※※

After the team dispersed, Dunn flew back to China to help Twain invite his parents over to the wedding.

Before he left, Twain repeatedly exhorted Dunn to get both his parents over to the wedding either by hook or by crook.

Twain knew his parents well. When he was working at Chengdu in the past, he had hoped to bring his parents over to live in Chengdu as well, but his parents were unwilling to leave their little town in the South Sichuan countryside. They told him that there was no place better than home, and also complained about the traffic congestion and high cost of living in the big city. They said that it was more comfortable to continue staying in their little town in comparison.

Dunn just smiled and reassured Twain, “Their son is getting married. It doesn’t matter how far it is, they’d definitely be there.”

Twain patted him on the shoulder and said nothing.

※※※

Lisa Aria was still working for a small news agency that primarily published gossip news in Nottingham. She was the one who first found out and took photos regarding the love relationship between Twain and Shania, and was also the reason behind why Twain decided to publicly acknowledge his relationship with Shania.

Twain suffered a heart disease but gained a lover as a result. There was a positive change in his life. Unlike him however, nothing about Lisa’s life has changed.

She was still working as the chief editor for the entertainment news section. Her future looked bleak with no prospects in sight.

Revealing Twain’s love relationship with Shania did not lead to any significant financial gains for her.

She had hoped to be able to obtain more sensational stories about Tony and Shania’s relationship that would help draw readers in to read their newspapers. However, Twain has been evading reporters ever since he has been diagnosed with a heart disease. They managed to locate Shania’s house that was situated near the Lace Market, but the windows there were shut 24/7.

The only news and photos they were able to take were of the couple leaving and entering their house. But, there are no readers who would be interested in news and photos of Twain and Shania going in and out of their house.

And so, everything about her life is still the same. Nothing has changed.

That is, until today.

She suddenly received a call from Twain.

“Hello, Miss Aria. Can you guess who I am?”

“Mr. Twain, please do not use such dumb questions to irritate me when I’m working, okay?” Lisa Aria was not in the mood to entertain Twain given how she was going through a rough time at work and had a bleak future ahead of her.

Twain coughed twice on the other end of the phone. “I have good news for you, but if you don’t want to hear it then forget it. I, Tony Twain, never begs anyone to do anything for me.”

“If you have something to say then get on with it. If it’s an exclusive scoop I am interested.” Aria’s fingers never stopped typing away even though she was on the phone with Twain.

“This is indeed an exclusive scoop, and a big one to boot. Hmm… Where should I start though? There might have been some misunderstandings between us, Miss Aria, but I intend to give you this scoop for free as a form of sincere apology to you, and also to thank you for what you did.”

Aria scoffed, “Looks like your relationship with Shania has been going very well! Who was it who said that I knew nothing in the first place?”

“… Let’s let bygones be bygones… The reason why I called you today is to give you the exclusive rights to publish stories about my wedding. I’m getting married to Shania. Note, I’m giving it just to you…”

Aria’s fingers stopped moving. She thought she had misheard him, and quickly interrupted Twain, “I’m sorry, Mr. Twain… I just heard that you want to give me the exclusive rights to publish stories about your wedding?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. And I’m not providing the rights to the news agency that you work for, just you. As for how you want to report on the wedding, or which media outlet you get to report on it, that’s entirely up to you and is none of my business.” Twain laughed after saying those words.

“I hope you understood everything that I told you, Miss Aria?”

Aria did not display her excitement straight away, even though the joints on her fingers had already gone white from her clenching her hands too tightly.

She asked in a steady voice, “Why are you giving it to me?”

“Huh? Didn’t I tell you earlier? It’s a gift to thank you and to apologise for the misunderstanding between us from before. I have to thank you because if it weren’t for the constant news stories that you published about us, then I wouldn’t have been able to get close to Shania as quickly as I did… Also, I have really benefitted from the words that you said to me previously. You said ‘It’s not a shameful thing to admit that you are in love’, and so I have not only admitted my love for Shania, I want the whole world to witness our wedding. That’s all I want, and it is also why I am handing the job of generating publicity to you, Miss Aria. After all, you are the one who brought us together. How can you not be there to witness the moment when I put the ring on Shania?”

Aria went into a daze. She did not know what to say. She already knew, based on rumors and her personal experience dealing with Tony Twain, that the man is an unreasonable monster. How is he capable of saying such words?

She might have a lot of doubts about what was going on, but there was one thing she was certain of.

She could quit this meaningless job right after she gets off from work.

No… Perhaps she could do so right away.

Before she did that however, she asked him one other thing that was on her mind. “Should I thank you, Mr. Twain? I do hope that this isn’t the last time I’m working with you however…”

“As long as you don’t barge into my house and take photos of us before our bed,?everything else is up to you.”

Aria smiled. “That does sound like something you would say, Mr. Twain. I gladly accept this gift of yours.”

Twain and Shania’s lives both changed when they became an item. It is only natural for change to happen for Lisa Aria as well, given how her fate is intertwined with theirs.

When Aria first published stories exposing Twain and Shania’s relationship, neither she nor Twain would have foreseen what was in store for them in the future.

A blissful marriage for one, and a successful career for the other.

A win-win situation for both.

Chapter 724 - Call Me Uncle

Since Twain told many people about his marriage to Shania, he certainly did not think about hiding it from the news media. He did not specifically inform the press about it because he knew that the reporters had their own means and channels to learn about it.

As expected, the next day, the news of Twain sending invitation cards everywhere appeared in a number of British newspapers and media.

The press was somewhat caught off guard by the sudden announcement of their marriage, just as Shania had hoped.

The media knew that Twain and Shania were in love, but they did not expect the two people to make known their relationship at the beginning of the year, and announced their marriage in the middle of the year…

“It looks like Tony Twain plans to walk hand in hand with Shania into the church. It is said that they have invited a lot of famous people to the wedding. For a manager’s wedding to be set like a star player’s wedding, I guess Tony Twain is probably the only one, right?” The BBC television said in the news.

“… I was surprised at the news. I can’t believe it….” An actress, who was eager to have a one-night stand with Twain, covered her mouth and said on the show.

The gay magazines announced that even Tony Twain’s marriage would not hinder his status in the eyes of the homosexuals.

Shania’s official website was deliberately attacked by unidentified hackers after the news broke. The home page of the website was modified with the color changed to black, and a line of words ran repeatedly across: “You have become the bride, but the groom is not me.”

After the site was restored, heartbroken and inconsolable fans around the world confessed their love for Shania and their own grief on the message board. Some fans even lambasted Tony Twain, the old bastard, for snatching their sweetheart. Among them, there was no shortage of malicious speculation and slander. There were also people who indulged in histrionics and lamented that for them to still be able to become a pair of husband and wife despite the twenty-two years of age difference, public morals were degenerating with each passing day and people’s hearts were not what is used to be…

The fashion magazines also expressed concern about Shania’s wedding. Most people were puzzled by Shania’s decision—for models, eighteen years old was the rising period and maturity of the career. Choosing to get married at this time would affect her work. These magazine editors could not understand why Shania would rather lose her career to care about love.

Only her friend, Mr. Armani, came forward to support Shania’s move. He said, “She’s not like the average model, so she considers things differently. Perhaps in Shania’s view, the glamor of being model is far less important than enjoying her time with Tony…”

…

In short, no matter what the outside world thought of these two people’s May-December love and marriage, Twain and Shania were simply immersed in their sweet twosome world.

They openly walked down the street hand in hand, kissing in the streets, and acted as if they were alone. They did not pay any mind to the reporters who followed them around. As Nottingham was a small city, people were extremely tolerant of Tony Twain who brought numerous honors to the city and wished him well. So, Twain and Shania did not have to worry about being harassed on the streets by anyone but the reporters.

When they were back at their villa in Mapperley Park with the curtains pulled, no one would know what they did inside.

What was even more heartbreaking and sad for Shania’s fans was the thought of their idol and sweetheart being crushed under an old man’s body, gasping and moaning?

Therefore, there was a new rumor—Although Tony Twain was already forty years old and had a heart attack, he was still a man with a strong libido. They would make love many times a day and never use protection. Some media began to speculate about when Shania would become pregnant. Once she became pregnant, no matter how thriving her career was, she would be set aside for the time being. Some of the press even thought the reason Shania and Twain were getting married so soon was because Shania was already pregnant…

“For a forty-year-old man to still have such a vigor, the nuclear-powered pacemaker is really brilliant. With a healthy sex life, the beautiful young girl, Shania will have no other desires, even at the expense of her own modeling career. It really makes one think of what is love and how it grips one in the throes of passion … … Of course, disregard Shania’s cool expressions on the runways. In fact, deep down, she’s a young lady with a longing for a man’s caresses and emerging stirrings of love… It can even be said: a forty-year-old man is like a tiger, and a young girl who yearns for love, seduces; spring in its full bloom cannot be inhibited, with a spray of blossom bursting forth….”

A certain unknown gossip editor wrote in the sports section of a well-known web portal in China.

※※※

After a day’s rest in Nottingham, Twain flew with Shania to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Shania’s parents had prepared everything to do with the wedding. Their big day was set for May 31st. The league tournament only ended on May 24th, so time was a bit tight, but there was no other way. According to Brazilian tradition, May was the season for marriages and to hold weddings. It was known as “Bride’s Month.” Hence, the wedding was set on the last day of the month, which meant they could catch the tail end of the “Bride’s Month.”

After meeting Shania’s parents again in Brazil, Twain had lost the discomfiture and restraint of their last meeting. This time he was here to openly and honorably marry Shania and did not have to be self-conscious.

The wedding had not yet begun, and Twain’s invited guests and friends had arrived in succession. The crowd from Nottingham Forest naturally needed no introduction. Giorgio Armani came personally and attracted a lot of media attention. In addition, there were Tom Cruise and some of the celebrity friends Shania met during her time in Hollywood. The couple, Beckham and Victoria, also came. The other people who did not come also sent their gifts. For example, Ferguson, Wenger, Keane and Twain’s other friends in the coaching world, as well as John Motson, Martin Tayler, Gary Lineker… and other famous people of the television world.

The eyes of the reporters who gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were momentarily dazzled.

Just as Twain hoped, his wedding to Shania caught the world’s attention. Before the wedding, everyone knew that Twain was going to marry Shania. The age difference of twenty-two years was no longer an issue. There were many cases of older husbands with much younger wives in the modeling world, not to mention the love story of Shania and Twain had already been exposed by the media to the point of being a household story. Everyone knew that when Shania was not yet a model, when Tony Twain was still just an unknown small-time manager, the two people already knew each other. It was gratifying to people that they were able to get to this stage.

※※※

George Wood came to Brazil with his mother. He said that they were here to attend Twain’s wedding but in fact, there was another reason. He wanted to take his mother on trips everywhere in the world and have a good time while her health was still well enough to do so. Brazil was a good place.

Despite Twain’s promise to cover for the return air tickets and arrange accommodations for the players who came to Brazil, the players had money and did not want to trouble Twain. They wanted the excuse to travel to Brazil, so they all came one by one.

Wood was the same too.

When Twain saw Sophia again, the frail and sickly woman looked worse than she had been. He could even see through the body and the faint fire of life teetering in the wind. A thought suddenly came to his mind—this admirable mother was running out of time…

Was George mentally prepared? Twain glanced at Wood, who was holding his mother.

“Mr. Twain, you’re so busy. You don’t really have to come pick us up.” Sophia smiled and whispered, “It’s fine with George around.”

Twain shook his head and said as he opened the door for her, “That won’t do. You are the guests I invited; I can’t leave you at the airport.” He motioned to Wood to let go of his hand, and he came up to help Sophia get into the car.

The two people’s skin touched, and their movements were natural, as if they had a kind of tacit understanding with each other’s heart.

Twain always knew Sophia was interested in him, but he could not accept her affection. It was not due to George Wood. He might be confused about the feelings between him and Shania. But he was clear on his feelings between him and Sophia—he did not love this woman.

He did not love her, not because Sophia was once a prostitute, and thus it gave rise to disdain or even contempt. On the contrary, the result was he developed a kind of respect from the heart, an indelible admiration and tenderness. Twain was certain he also had a deep affection for Sophia. If time were to be turned back and the circumstances were right, he would be even delighted to have a physical relationship with Sophia.

But that would not be love.

Although he knew that the woman was pitiful, sympathy could not make up for love.

While he held Sophia, Twain could touch the woman’s petite and thin body through the thin clothing. Her condition had never really improved…Had this poor woman ever gotten a love of her own during her lifetime?

George got into the car from the other side, and Sophia reached out to sweep his hair out of his forehead, revealing his bright eyes. When Twain saw this scene from the rearview mirror, he thought that this mother might have already poured all her love into her child.

Suddenly he felt that the atmosphere inside the car was a little depressed, so Twain decided to find some topics to chat about to distract everyone. He said, “George, you’d better find a girlfriend… Look, I’m getting married.”

“I’m not interested.” Wood made a face.

“Don’t be so headstrong. Your mother must also want to see you have your own love. Don’t you think so, ma’am?”

Sophia smiled and looked at her son, “I’ve urged him many times, he just won’t agree…”

Wood did not speak. He just looked out the window at the Brazilian street view.

The atmosphere became cold again. Twain felt that with George next to him, there would be no need for air conditioning even in the hot summer. This kid… I don’t know what’s on his mind!

Sophia also seemed to find the atmosphere a little depressing, so she took the initiative to ask, “Mr. Twain. Where’s Miss Shania?”

“Ah, she’s staying at her parents’ house. She said that she will only see me at the wedding.”

“So, during this period, you…”

“I have been staying in a hotel, ha!”

Sophia lightly chuckled, “You poor groom…”

※※※

After sending Wood and Sophia to the hotel they booked, Twain received a call from Dunn. He was delighted to hear the message that his parents had also arrived.

When he rushed over to Dunn’s hotel, he found his parents in the lobby at a glance.

He strode over and held the two elders’ hands. He called out to them intimately with the hometown accent, “Papa, Mama, you’re here!” Although a foreigner calling the old Chinese people “Papa and Mama” would make people feel preposterous, it was a lot more natural than making him called Shania’s parents “mom and dad” in Twain’s mind.

Because the two old people in front of him were his authentic birth parents.

“I was still worried that you wouldn’t come.” He smiled till his eyes became narrow slits because he was really happy. The wish he did not complete in his previous life was completed in this life.

“He he, my own child is getting married, of course we must come.” His father said in Sichuanese as he held and patted Twain’s hand. Twain and Dunn had always been together and had a good relationship like they were brothers all these years. His parents also naturally regarded Twain as their own child.

Dunn stood at the side and said to Twain, “I did say. When their own child gets married, they will come no matter how far it is.”

Twain looked around and did not find any luggage. He asked, “Did you just arrive? Was the journey tiring? Are you finding everything okay here?”

“Ah, he’s never seen so many foreigners… So delighted and excited, how can he be tired?” His mother rebuked her husband beside her. “You ain’t seen the world before?”

It seemed like they had adjusted pretty well. With a digital camera in hand and dressed trendily, they even specially dyed their original white hair to black for this time abroad. Overall, they looked much younger than their actual ages. In the recent years, his parents had also changed and were no longer “old-fashioned” as what he remembered. This was very good. His parents had worked hard for decades. Now that their son had grown up and could earn money to support his family, they should also put their minds at ease, travel around, and enjoy life in comfort. There should be nothing in the world that required them to worry about…

Well, maybe there was one more matter. Twain glanced at Dunn.

That would Dunn’s marriage. He did not know how he was going along in his relationship with Tang Jing, the beautiful reporter. Had their relationship improve during these five months?

He must grill him well when he had the chance to grab hold of him.

After he enquired solicitously about his parents’ well-being, Twain brought the two elders and Dunn for a Brazilian dinner. He had wanted to accompany the elders on a sightseeing tour, but the old people’s energy was not up to it. On top of the tiring journey, the day had just turned to dusk, so they were exhausted. He could only send them back to the hotel to rest. Twain and Dunn chatted for a while in Dunn’s room before he left for day and went back.

In the days that followed, Twain’s time was spent in hosting various guests who came to attend the wedding and sightseeing with his parents, as well as taking time out to have long chats with Shania on the phone.

Until the wedding day.

※※※

Although a lot of people were invited, the wedding process was very simple and did not cost much. It was also impossible for the expenses to look as scary as the list of guests invited for the wedding. After all, Shania was just a model, not considered the world’s most popular model. And not to mention, Tony Twain had little status in the upper society. The people who could come to the wedding were really good friends. Nor were they owners with huge amount of assets to splurge. Every pound was earned by their own hard work. Twain was the first to refuse wasting money on a large scale. In today’s depressed global economic environment, they had no right to be extravagant and ostentatious to put up a front. Although according to traditional Brazilian customs, all the expenses and preparations of the wedding were taken care of by the bride’s family. The groom’s side was the most relaxed and only needed to bring the wedding rings and attend the wedding. Wealthy bride’s families would often give new houses as gifts. But for Twain, Shania’s family was his own. He would still feel the pinch for the money spent.

The wedding ceremony was held in a one-hundred-year-old church near Shania’s home.

A hundred guests gathered to celebrate and were tightly packed in the small church. Many media waited outside could only capture the arrival of the guests in the limousines. But they could not shoot inside. The right to shoot report inside had been given Lisa Aria.

When Miss Aria pushed her way through with her BBC television crew carrying the film equipment, she was enormously proud of her success as she feasted her eyes on the scene. Incidentally, she took the opportunity given by Twain as “proof of allegiance” and officially joined BBC.

As the groom, Twain had to receive the guests. The hardest for Twain was his cheeks and lips—the Brazilians were used to greeting each other close on the cheeks, with one kiss each the left and right cheeks. After he greeted all the bride’s relatives and friends, he felt his cheeks were swollen …

After the guests were seated, the main event began.

Twain wore a dark blue suit designed by Mr. Giorgio Armani himself, a snow-white shirt and a dark red tie as he stood erect in front of the priest. Behind him seated the many guests who came. It was quiet in the cavernous church. Even the live band, which had been playing music before, had stopped.

He suddenly felt a little nervous.

Dunn, who stood next to him, smiled and observed with interest the change in Twain’s expression.

Twain looked back sideways at the church door as he anxiously anticipated the familiar figure to appear at the door, come in from the light, and gradually enter his field of vision.

When Shania finally appeared at the door wearing her white wedding gown, accompanied by her bridesmaid Clarice Gloria and holding onto her father, there was the sound of a small commotion from that starting point. Thereupon, the live band also played <The Wedding March>.?Everyone gasped in admiration at the bride’s youth and beauty. The wedding dress, also from Armani, was worn by Shania, who had a model figure, and was the object of envy and admiration in the eyes of the female guests present.

Shania held a bouquet of flowers. Against the light, Twain was finally able to see her face clearly. The little fairy gazed at her husband with a smile on her face as she slowly made her way over.

This is my wife… Twain sighed in his heart. But he did not think he was dreaming anymore.

He stepped forward and held out his hand. Shania also reached her hand out and tightly intertwined with Twain.

Mr. Bruce Tenório looked at the happy couple and said to Twain with a smile, “Tony. I’m giving your daughter to you. Please make her happy.”

Twain gazed fondly at the bashful Shania and softly said, “I’ll make her happy for the rest of my life.”

Hearing the answer, Tenório felt reassured enough to let go of his daughter’s hand and retreat.

After they vowed and promised to love each other for the rest of their lives in front of the priest, it was time to exchange the rings.

Dunn handed over the ring box, and Twain took the wedding ring out of it to carefully put it on for Shania. Holding Shania’s soft little hand for her to wear the ring, he only felt full of joy: from this moment on, the little fairy belongs to me! No one can take her away!

Although there might be things to spoil the joy ahead, he really thought so at this moment…

After exchanging the rings, it was time for the bride and groom to exchange a deep kiss.

They were both accustomed to kissing. But kissing at a wedding held another layer of meaning.

Shania slightly looked up and gazed at the face that she was infatuated and in love with for six years. Her cheeks flushed and her lips slight parted as she breathed, “Tony…”

Twain lowered his head and said, “Call me Uncle!”

Shania rolled her eyes, but she still listened and called out in a low voice, “Uncle Tony…”

Tony Twain looked at the dainty and still young face. When he heard her called out in a low moan, he suddenly felt aroused … … Eh, no, he felt an enormous swelling of love. Reaching over Shania’s slender waist, he held her to his front, closely snuggled up, leaned down, and kissed down hard.

They kissed as if no one else was around and only the two of them were left in the world, ignoring the applause and cheers of the guests, and ignoring the band’s performance. They continued to kiss. For how long? Who knew? Nobody cared! They only felt that they were the happiest people in the world.

It was a kiss, full of deep love.

Chapter 725 - The New Season After the Honeymoon

The photograph of the forty-year-old groom holding his eighteen-year-old bride in his arms and deeply kissing her, made the news on the BBC television the next day. The news soon spread all over the world. No matter how sad Shania’s male fans were, it did not change the fait accompli—their idol, coolly elegant and haughty on the runway, but lively and lovely in life, Judy Shania Jordana only belonged to Tony Twain, the old man alone henceforth.

The BBC’s newscaster concluded, “Yesterday Tony Twain became the happiest man on the planet. Although the season that had just ended was a failure for both him and Nottingham Forest, he personally won on another competition arena. We wish them all the best.”

But it was not known how many fanboys cried on the inside as they cursed him...

※※※

The morning sun came through the window and shone on two naked bodies lying in bed.

Twain and Shania had just finished their “morning workout.” Shania laid beside him and curled up like a sleepy kitten. The perspiration had not yet dried on the two of them, but no one got up to go shower in the bathroom.

Twain had not stopped “procreation” since he became one with Shania that night. He knew he was not getting younger and afraid that if he did not procreate, he might be willing in mind, but his body would not be able to in the future. Shania also did not show any antipathy in this aspect. After all, being pregnant would impact a model’s career. But she also wanted a baby.

On the wedding night, the two people made frenzied love the entire night and started another sweat-dripping session when they woke up early in the morning. This somewhat surprised Shania.

“Uncle Tony...” She was still snuggled up in Twain’s arms, softly calling.

“Hmmm?” Although he had moved uninhibited on top of Shania’s body just now, Twain’s hand still misbehaved and gently caressed across her smooth skin, bit by bit as if to titillate his loveable wife.

“You’re simply not like a forty-year-old... Hee hee!” Twain tickled her sensitive area, and she laughed and twisted her body.

Twain did not know why he was like this. But every time he saw Shania’s young and full of vitality body, her slightly young and tender beautiful face, bright and lively eyes, he felt that his body had an irrepressible fervor flow surging forth. He would not be able to sleep if he did not vent it out.

The young girl has an irresistible force temptation on me. Why did I not realize it in the first five years? Lisa Aria was right. I don’t know the people around me, I don’t know myself too.

Twain patted Shania’s smooth and pert buttocks and said, “Go take a shower. With such good weather, don’t tell we’re going to lie in bed for all day?”

Shania sat up and turned her head toward Twain to make a very tempting request to Twain, “Want to shower together, Uncle Tony?”

Twain gave her a look and said, “I don’t want to.”

Shania shrugged and jumped out of bed. She sashayed past the bed with the model’s strut as she twisted her buttocks to walk toward the bathroom. After entering, she did not forget to poke her head out to ask, “You really don’t want to?”

“No.” Twain looked at the television ahead and said without turning his glance.

“I left the door unlock, Uncle Tony.”

“Are you inviting me in a sense?”

“No, maybe I just forget to lock the door.” Shania giggled as she went in. Then there was the sound of flowing water.

The sound seemed to flow into Twain’s heart, scratching at his heart and making it hard for him to resist.

He looked left and right and muttered, “Take a shower together? Well, that does sound like a good idea...” And he jumped out of bed.

※※※

This morning’s story was just one of many little stories about Twain and Shania’s honeymoon.

The day after the wedding, the reporters captured shots of Shania in a bikini, frolicking by the sea with Twain at Copacabana Beach. The following week, the happy figures of the two of them could be found in practically every corner of Rio de Janeiro.

Twain had never experienced such days the past twenty-six years of his life. He felt infinitely happy. In the streets, when the mood struck him, he would embrace Shania and French kissed her as if they were alone. He did not care even if he knew that there were reporters hiding in secrets places to secretly shoot.

“It looks like their relationship is really good...” In the beginning, the media could promote the two people kissing in the streets. Later, they discovered that Twain treated this kind of thing as a common thing, so they could only say so.

※※※

Good times were always brief. As an English Premier League manager, he did not have a whole month to be intimate with his new wife, make love every day, sometimes three times, sometimes twice.

To say it was a honeymoon, it was really just “a honey week.”

During this week, Twain reintroduced Shania to his parents. He had hoped that Shania would regard the pair of elders as her parents. Shania’s behavior made Twain very satisfied. She used her recently learnt Mandarin to address them as “Papa” and “Mama” when they met, which made the two old people laughed in delight and as happy as can be—they just gained a beautiful Brazilian daughter.

Having the time of his life, he did not think about anything else and just spent a wonderful week alone with Shania, which soon passed very quickly.

Although there was still time, Twain did not stay on in Brazil to play. He took Shania on a “tour of Latin America.” Even though they were on a holiday, Twain was in fact inspecting the excellent young successors around, to see if there was any chance of spending very little money to unearth a talented teenager who could become a big star player. But the biggest problem with selecting talents in South America was that these young players might not be able to obtain work permits from the English Football Association and the Department of Labor.

They traveled through Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay... and all the way up to Mexico which was Twain’s last stop.

He wanted to go take a look at the development of Martín Galván, who was bought by the Forest team two seasons ago.

He was overjoyed with the result.

Although he was not yet seventeen years old, Martín had made several appearances in the Mexican league tournament on behalf of Cruz Azul. Furthermore, he scored five goals and had seven assists. He was also the midfield core of the Mexican under-17 team, wearing the number 10 jersey.

Over time, the kid would surely grow up to be the talent Tony Twain needed. The worry now was not to let him suffer injuries during the most crucial stage of his development. Therefore, Twain did not want the Cruz Azul to let Martín compete too much.

He was afraid that to spoil him through excessive enthusiasm and cause Martín to become like the fable of <Decline of Zhongyong>. Out of concern, Twain and Martín talked alone once. Twain had a amiability and affinity with the young players—of course, it was before the youngster became his First Team player—even though this was Martín Galván’s first face-to-face chat with Twain, he did not feel the force from the manager, who had won the UEFA Champions League title for two years in a row. They talked about everything, and Twain asked Martín what was fun to do in Mexico City so that he could bring his model wife to go sightseeing.

From the conversation, Twain knew what Martín’s attitude to the Forest team was—the boy was keen to leave his home country and play in the higher level of football league in England. He also had a sense of belonging to Nottingham Forest.

Twain told Martín not to worry, and that he would have a chance when he was at the age of eighteen—provided he maintained a high level and continued his progress over time. He would not give a mediocre eighteen-year-old a chance to play. He was extremely tough on this point.

Twain did not make an empty promise to Martín. Considering the increasingly severe economic environment, and the stadium’s botched project, Twain anticipated that in the next two to three years, he would not have much transfer market funds to chase the world-class and already famous star players. Giving a lot of opportunities to young people was not a new idea. Leeds United and Arsenal had been setting off a rage of invincible youths in England and European football. So why could Nottingham Forest not do the same?

Before the start of the new season, he had already heard a lot of doubts about him and Nottingham Forest. He did not want to argue with the other party in the media because he believed that facts spoke louder than words. After he really set off the rage, then he could settle the scores.

In addition, there was another purpose in his trip to Cruz Azul. That was to promise Cruz Azul on behalf of the Nottingham Forest Football Club that, even though the current financial situation for the Forest Club was not good, the money to be given to Cruz Azul would still be fully transferred into their accounts.

It must be said that selling Ribéry solved a big problem for Twain and the Forest team. Fifty-five million euros could be used in a lot of areas with meticulous planning. When Wenger used half of the thirty million euros he got for the sale of Anelka to build the modernized London Colney training base, it benefited Arsenal’s countless of players.

Nottingham Forest did not need to build a new training base for the time being. The fifty-five million euros in revenue was divided into two parts. One portion was to maintain the day-to-day operations of the club, including the expenses for various purposes. The balance was to be used as Twain’s funds for the new season’s transfer market to buy the players he wanted.

As for the new stadium, the construction plan would continue to be put on hold until Allan could pull in the money again for the stadium. He heard that he had gone to the Arabian Peninsula this time to raise enough money for the new stadium for the price of selling the stadium’s naming rights, copying what Arsenal did for the construction of the Emirates Stadium at that time.

※※※

After ending the visit to Mexico, Twain made a brief stop in Los Angeles with his young wife and met up with Clarice Gloria and Tom Cruise—the two people “hooked up” due to their connections with Twain and Shania—Not to get the wrong idea, it was a work relationship. Now they had a partnership. Introduced by these two people, Twain also met some of the big stars he had heard and knew of in Hollywood. They spent three happy days and nights there.

Then he flew back to England with Shania.

The honeymoon had officially ended. They did not come from a wealthy family clan, and Shania’s parents were just considered an up-and-coming middle class in Brazil. Therefore, both husband and wife must work hard to earn money to support their families. If they had a baby, they would need more money.

When Shania returned to Nottingham, she started to get busy with the runway shows, film production for commercials and promotional activities for the brands she endorsed.

While Twain met with Evan Doughty and resumed work for the new season.

After more than five months of rest, Twain was starting to get restless and could not wait to start his career again.

But to put it bluntly, what was in front of him now was a big mess. If comparisons were to be made, it was probably better than the team Twain faced after he was knocked to the ground on the back of his head.

Real Madrid really seemed to treat Nottingham Forest as a newly opened supermarket for new players that was still offering discounts. After they poached Ribéry, they set their sights again on Lennon, the right back. They hoped to spend fifteen million euros to buy Aaron Lennon and take him to Bernabéu.

In addition, they had their eyes on van der Vaart for two seasons. This summer, Mijatovi? thought it was time to make a move. They offered eighteen million euros to buy van der Vaart.

AC Milan hoped to get Arshavin who could play as the forward, winger and midfielder. For this reason, they were willing to offer twenty million euros.

Whereas Juventus had its eye on Nottingham Forest captain, George Wood. The Old Lady was ready to come up with thirty million euros to bring in the steely midfielder whose form was constant even as the team declined. Ranieri wanted George Wood to come and take over from Nedvěd.

But Juventus was up against aggressive rivals.

Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were all interested in George Wood’s defensive ability and the level of attacking capability he was gradually showing. Several years of offensive training had brought Wood’s offense skills to another level every year. One of the simplest, most specific and easy-to-understand examples to illustrate:

When George Wood made his debut at Nottingham Forest during which the famous Football Manager game created by Sports Interactive had the real player data that they were proud of, listed his passes, crosses, shots and dribble, skills, and long shots as 9, 5, 4, 8, 10, 6.

In the latest FM 2009 which still referred to the 07-08 and first half of the 08-09 seasons, the points of these various technical attributes became—passing 14, crosses 9, shots 11, dribble 12, skills 14 and long shots 13.

He was only twenty-one years old and had the potential to continue to develop. And FM had also set his potential at 9, which was a very high number. But Twain believed that after a period of time, Wood’s potential would be set at 200. He had that confidence.

Although Wood’s quality was excellent, it was almost impossible to get him. The more pragmatic approach was to find someone else in the Forest team.

Pepe had been lured by Chelsea and Scolari hoped that the player whom he was proud of in the national team could partner with Terry to become the Premier League’s best center back, pushing Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. As a result, the media speculated that Abramovich might make a bid of thirty million euros for Pepe. Scolari’s rivals were certainly still Real Madrid. After a failed season, Real Madrid had decided to come up with more transfer money to fill in their flawed positions on all fronts.

Eastwood had also been favored by a number of teams. Tottenham Hotspur hope to bring in the “lucky striker” who had always brought victory and championship titles to the club at crucial moments.

Gareth Bale was also lured by Tottenham Hotspur. They promised Bale a higher salary for and more signing fees for Bale’s father and agent. They hoped that the youngster with his outstanding attacking abilities, who could play as a left back and left midfielder, could be taken away from the City Ground stadium at a price of fifteen million euros.

Kompany was favored by AC Milan. With Nesta constantly injured and did not play all season, they were in desperate need of a good center back. The Italian media expected Galliani to bid nineteen million euros for Kompany.

...

Twain suddenly found that his players were so popular... If he sold all these players, let alone the economic crisis, the new stadium could start construction right away.

But could he do that?

If he really did this, he would be the biggest idiot in the world. Similarly, Evan and Allan would not really accept all of these offers.

Nevertheless, the departure of some players were already inevitable...

Chapter 726 - Self-reliance

The first thing Twain did when he started his work was turn down the other clubs’ bids for George Wood, Gareth Bale, Pepe, Kompany and the others. Real Madrid’s offer for van der Vaart had also been rejected. But unlike the rejections for the few other players, the reason for this time was not that Rafael was not for sale, but that Real Madrid’s offer was not high enough.

Twain decided to sell van der Vaart after considering it over and over again, based on the following points: Firstly, van der Vaart himself did not necessarily have the desire to stay at Nottingham Forest; Secondly, he could fetched a good price; Thirdly, Twain had already prepared an alternative course of action.

There was still ?ahin with van der Vaart gone. Even if ?ahin was too young, there was still Tiago. Moreover, George Wood was no longer the midfielder who only knew how to defend.

Although the global economic crisis had affected the financial situation of the football clubs, the Spanish teams were different from the English Premier League teams. They were membership clubs and never had to worry about how to make money—they could not make money as they were non-profit organizations—they only needed to think about how to spend money. For the rich and imposing Real Madrid, that was hardly a problem.

Since Real Madrid saw Nottingham Forest as a supermarket for players, Twain did not mind jacking up the price.

His reply was that they need not bother to talk to him with less than thirty million euros.

He was not afraid to scare off Real Madrid. Anyway, he would not lose out if van der Vaart did not leave. He might be glad to see it happen in his mind.

Real Madrid had yet to react to the new quoted price for a short time. They just knew that Twain would not block van der Vaart’s departure. Then in that case, the next thing was about the money, which was easy to handle.

※※※

The seventeen-year-old John Bostock and seventeen-year-old Nicolás Millán separately received a call from the First Team assistant manager, David Kerslake. He informed them that they did not have to return to the youth team once the team started training in the new season and, but to report directly to the First Team.

The news made the two young guys wild with joy. They had trained in the youth team for a year and finally got the chance to play for the First Team. It might not be good news for the club during the current crisis of not having the money for the team to buy new players, but for the young players, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as they grabbed hold of the opportunity, they could rise rapidly all the way. Success and recognition would be a cinch.

Although Millán was Chilean, he did not have the problem of not being able to play because he could not obtain a work permit. In the past year, Nicolás Millán acquired Italian citizenship and now had dual citizenship for Chile and Italy. He did not need a work permit to be able to play.

In Twain’s new plan, Bostock would team up with ?ahin to take on the heavy responsibility of establishing the links in the midfield, while Millán would become the team’s striker to attack and score for the Forest team.

Bostock was already selected for England’s under-18 squad. He had represented the Forest team to play in the FA Youth Cup on several occasions last year. He performed outstandingly and was named one of England’s top ten most promising and hopeful under-eighteen star players by the English media. Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was number one and John Bostock was in the seventh spot. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United once battered each other in the contest for him, but in the end it was Tony Twain who profited from the fight. After Twain put him in the youth team for a season, the future member of the England national team finally had the opportunity to prove himself in a higher level of competition.

With Nuri ?ahin, who was about to turn twenty-one, the twenty-two-year-old George Wood, the nineteen-year-old Aaron Lennon, as well as the seventeen-year-old John Bostock, the Forest team’s midfield lineup for the new season was arguably the youngest in England.

This could somehow demonstrate Twain’s determination to set off a storm of youthfulness.

Nicolás Millán had already made a splash in Chilean football in Chile. He set the record for being the youngest player to make an appearance for Chile’s Colo-Colo when he played for the Colo-Colo’s First Team at fourteen years and nine months old. His subsequent performance attracted the attention of many teams in Europe. But in the end, Tony Twain struck first and brought Millán to England.

Millán’s technical features had a lot of similarities with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He liked to use the wing to attack the opponent’s defensive line and made use of speed and skill to bypass the defenders. Then he directly threatened the goal. At the same time, he liked to scissor like Robinho.

For more than a year at the Forest youth team, Greenwood successfully made Millán aware of one thing—that being on the wings did not imply that he should limit himself to the sides. He needed to be more comprehensive or he would not survive in the brutal European professional leagues.

Now he was beginning to consciously move to the middle. After all, Twain needed a striker, not a mere winger. But it would take time for this change to happen slowly. It also took five seasons for Cristiano Ronaldo to go from being a winger who could only delight the spectators with fancy techniques in the wing to a killer who scored more than forty goals in a single season.

Twain also did not expect Millán to burst into a dazzling brilliance this season and make a name for himself immediately. Since he had determined to mainly use more young people, he had to be ready to bear the side effects brought on by the young people. Rebuilding the team required time.

In addition, the right midfielder Adriano Moke, who had been on loan for two seasons, was also included in the plan for the First Team this time as Lennon’s substitute. Greenwood was not bothered by it. Originally in the group of players, Moke’s standard was outstanding. Greenwood believed that if he was utilized properly, Moke would surprise Twain. The only problem was Moke’s injury-prone form. He was injured for two months after being loaned out last season.

Along with Moke, the left midfielder, Chris Cohen was also called to the First Team during the pre-season warm-up training camp. Cohen was already twenty-two years old. He did not have any outstanding performance since he moved from the youth team to the reserves. He was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday last season and suddenly broke out instead. He often played well with thirty-one appearances in the EFL Championship. So much so that when he returned to Nottingham Forest after his loan expired at the end of the season, Sheffield Wednesday’s fax came hot on the heels of Cohen’s ass, asking if Nottingham Forest could sell him. Such a move attracted Twain’s interest. He intended to put Cohen by his side to observe carefully what had happened to the previously unobtrusive player and what were his advantages that he could use.

Compared to the more talented Moke who was more prominent in terms of speed, Cohen was even across the board for the skills indicators and was less prone to injury.

In previous seasons, Twain had rarely drawn so many players from the youth team to the First Team in one go. He was still more confident in those players who had proven their abilities. Even Lennon and Bale were chosen because they had proven themselves in the world before Twain’s transmigration.

This time, Twain completely put aside the so-called super-consciousness—in fact, he did not have foresight. Ignorance of the future actually made him excited. How many of these people would eventually succeed to become the future star players of the football world? Twain looked forward to it when he thought about the possibilities of the future. He felt a greater sense of accomplishment about it than signing Lennon and Bale through cheating.

※※※

The transfer of four players from the youth team to the First Team at a time did not mean that Twain would not make any moves in the transfer market.

Real Madrid’s second bid to purchase van der Vaart was thirty million euros. This time Twain gave a big wave—agreed! Real Madrid’s people then went to discuss individual terms with van der Vaart’s agent. As for whether it could be successfully negotiated, Twain did not care. He only cared about how many players he could buy with the twenty-five million euros.

Arshavin was also tempted by Italy. Juventus hoped to bring in the new Russian tsar for eighteen million euros. In an interview with the Italian media, Arshavin also revealed his desire to leave and seek success in a new league tournament. Even though Nottingham Forest had won two UEFA Champions League titles, it was still considered a small player for him. A traditional powerhouse club such as Juventus was more attractive.

After Twain learnt of Arshavin’s stance, he turned down Juventus’s offer—it was not that he was not for sale, but he thought that the money was too little—and quoted a price which he could accept: twenty-six million euros. It was up to them to accept or not.

Juventus backed down…

Although Juventus refused to engage at the key moment, Bayern Munich stepped up. They made an offer of twenty-five million euros to the Forest team and hoped to bring in Arshavin. Twain stuck to his guns and insisted on a minimum of twenty-six million. Either we seal the deal, or the deal is off.

Bayern Munich hesitated for a while and finally agreed to the price.

Although he did not manage to go the long-established Serie A powerhouse team, Juventus, to be able to go to the Bundesliga traditional powerhouse, Bayern Munich, was also good for Arshavin.

On the same day that van der Vaart signed a personal contract with Real Madrid, Arshavin also struck a deal with Bayern Munich.

The three clubs made the announcements at the same time. Van der Vaart had joined the La Liga powerhouse, Real Madrid for a fee of thirty million euros and signed for four years. He would wear the number 23 jersey. Arshavin had signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga giant, Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of twenty-six million euros.

The media had mixed reviews about the two transfers. Arshavin’s departure was understandable and acceptable. After all, he was not the core of Nottingham Forest’s offense. But van der Vaart’s departure was thought to be Tony Twain’s muddled move. How would Nottingham Forest play next season now that it had lost the playmaker in the midfield? Was he going to use ?igi? and play long balls? Or would he completely just attack from the sides?

Nuri ?ahin was not a player on the same level as van der Vaart at all in the eyes of the people. It was a pipe dream if he wanted to replace van der Vaart and play the role of the Dutchman. As for Bostock? He was too young…

In that case, what did Twain had in mind for selling van der Vaart so easily for thirty million?

In fact, Twain did not think much. He did intend to put ?ahin in place, with Bostock to assist. But if it turned out that ?ahin was too young to take on such an important role, Twain had a back-up. The back-up plan would require him to take a greater risk, and certainly invite the media’s harsh rebuke. But for Twain, the sense of accomplishment would also be the greatest.

The back-up plan was simple and nothing new. It was also not necessarily clever—he would let George Wood be in charge of organizing the attacks.

It was exciting, wasn’t it? To let a blue-collar worker become a white-collar worker and a gold collar worker. This was Albertini’s highest expectation of George Wood when he was still in the team. Twain believed that after so many years of training, it was time to give Wood a chance.

If Wood succeeded, then he would have a defensive midfielder who was an all-rounder in the midfielder, good in defense and offense, could run endlessly and be able to counter-press in the front field to launch an attack. If he practice his goal scoring well … he felt like this was fantastical just thinking about it.

※※※

Arshavin’s departure compelled Twain to continue adding players to the forward line.

Nicolás Millán had talent, but he was too young and lacked experience to play in the European football arena. Therefore, he must not expect too much from him. Van Nistelrooy was still in recovery and was not expected to return to the pitch until the end of the year. It was not clear how much of a role he would play even when he returned. He naturally had to focus on training ?igi?. But having only ?igi? alone was clearly not enough. Eastwood was the most stable force in the team’s forward line at the moment. Although he suffered from minor injuries, it did not affect his goalscoring rate. He was the type of striker who always saved the team with goals at key moments.

He was Twain’s most reassuring striker.

In addition, he needed a fast and impactful striker.

Twain set his sights on Aston Villa. He was interested in Gabriel Agbonlahor who performed outstandingly last season and made thirty appearances for Aston Villa. He scored ten goals and made six assists.

Agbonlahor was very fast in speed, especially with his lauching speed. He could easily shake off the defenders marking him in parallel positions, and play both center forward and winger, which was very much in line with Twain’s desire for the players to be versatile.

For such a player, Aston Villa certainly would not let go easily. Twain decided to throw money at them.

Anyway, Evan said that since the stadium’s new construction was temporarily suspended, the club would naturally fully support Twain’s moves in the transfer market.

No matter how much money, as long as the club could afford, they would try their best to support.

Twain was grateful to Evan for this. He knew that Evan was counting on the club to make money, and he was thankful that Evan was a smart businessman with a long-term vision. Otherwise he might have sold the club during the economic crisis—although no one could know for certain if there would be still many people who were interested in buying a football club at this time.

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa were at an impasse over Agbonlahor.

Aston Villa was determined not to sell. Their attitude was as tough as when they turned down Liverpool’s bid to buy the team captain, Barry last summer. However, Tony Twain tirelessly praised Agbonlahor’s outstanding performance during last season in the media and was generous in expressing his appreciation for the player. He was actually waiting for his own men to settle Agbonlahor’s agent. As long as Agbonlahor came forward to state his desire to leave, then Aston Villa would have to seriously consider whether to let go of the speedy player.

Just as the Forest team was engaged in a covert battle with Aston Villa, the future of Sun Jihai was also place on the desk for Twain.

The player’s fate was not as easy as what Twain had previously thought.

Imperceptibly, there was a line linking him to the future and fortunes of the club.

Chapter 727 - The Setting China Sun

With regards to Sun Jihai, Twain’s attitude towards him was very complicated. He personally persuaded him to come to Nottingham Forest in the first place. There was no denying that Sun Jihai was originally here because he was Richards’ replacement. It might not be fair to Sun Jihai himself to put it this way, but it was the case. But Twain was well aware of Sun Jihai’s performance after he came to the Forest team. He was a dedicated professional player. His attitude made up for the lack in his level. Overall, Twain was relatively satisfied. There was no incident other than some Chinese media which complained that Twain had not given Sun the main position.

But as his age increased and the frequent occurrence of injuries, it was indisputable that he gradually lost his place in the team. Now Sun Jihai could not even play as the substitute defender. More often than not, he could only be with the reserve team to participate in the games. Even if the Forest team was extremely short of people, Twain did not give him any chance.

During the period, the Chinese media attacked Tony Twain for being unkind to the Chinese player.

But Nottingham Forest was not a charitable organization. The players who did not have the ability and could not keep up with the team’s needs would naturally be eliminated. Sun Jihai was not a direct line of descent of the team and was not an indispensable player. Even if he highly motivated... he was not the only one with a high drive in Nottingham Forest.

Sun Jihai’s contract with the team officially expired next summer. Twain had no plans to give Sun Jihai a new contract. Not only that, he decided to sell Sun Jihai this summer. Now there were two EFL Championship teams which had expressed interest in Sun Jihai. They would not lose too much if the deal was managed well.

Both Sheffield United and Crystal Palace wanted to get the Chinese all-rounded defender.

But they had only expressed their intention to buy and had not yet made an official offer.

Just as Twain decided to wait and see for a period of time, Evan approached him in the hope that he would reconsider the contract renewal with Sun Jihai.

Twain was surprised when he heard the request.

“What’s the matter, Evan? I remember that we previously had a common view of Sun Jihai’s future.”

Evan smiled and did not immediately answer Twain’s question. Instead, he brought up Allan’s matter. “Didn’t you always tell me that plans can’t keep up with changes? You know Allan’s been out there looking for sponsorship for the new stadium project. He first found the Arabs. Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium was built with the backing of the Emirati people, at the cost of a decade’s naming rights. I think this is a very suitable price. But...” He spread his hands.

“The Arabs have agreed to fund the project, but they asked for a spokesman for the clubs to nominally monitor whether their funds are used appropriately. As a matter of fact, ... I don’t have to spell it out and you understand, don’t you?”

Twain nodded.

“I don’t want to add a senior manager in the club that I’m not familiar with, no matter how much money he represents behind him.” Evan Doughty said with a laugh. But it let Twain understand that the man actually had a big appetite for power.

“Furthermore, China has done quite well in the worldwide financial crisis. So, Allan set his sights there...”

At this point, Twain finally interjected, “Have you found the moneybags from China?”

“Not yet.” Evan shook his head.

It was odd but Twain was somewhat sorry.

“In other words, rethinking the contract with Sun Jihai . . . Is it because we want to send out some hints to potential investors in China?” Twain was not stupid. He quickly straightened out the relationship between the two.

“Dunn told me that people in China are very disappointed with their own football. Under such circumstances, the only thing that can make the Chinese fans feel a little proud, besides Dunn himself, is the Chinese player, Sun Jihai still playing for the Forest team. He is now the only player from China who still plays in Europe’s top leagues.”

Shao Jiayi, who originally played for Cottbus, had been put up for sale by the team and sold to 2. Bundesliga. Zheng Zhi was also struggling in the English Football League Championship. Every time there were rumors that a certain Premier League team interested in him, it was ultimately just wishful thinking on the Chinese people’s part.

As for those young players whom high hopes had been placed…. they were currently not doing well.

Against such a backdrop, Sun Jihai and Dunn were the only solace for those Chinese fans.

Dunn was the hope of the Chinese coaches, while Sun Jihai... was obviously not the players’ hope, but he could long been considered the most successful out of all the Chinese players abroad. And it was estimated that for a very long time, there would not be a successor who could surpass his current position—the first Chinese player to go abroad, the first Chinese player to make his appearance in the European arena, the first Chinese player to score in the European arena, the first Chinese player in the UEFA Champions League, the first Chinese player in the English Premier League, the first Chinese player?to win The Double... the countless “firsts” that were tagged on him by the enthusiastic Chinese media and fans.

Looking at these achievements, he really deserved the title of “The first successful Chinese player.”

Even if he was old, his form had declined and he made few appearances, as long as he was still on the Forest’ First Team squad list every year at the start of the new season, it was the biggest consolation for the Chinese fans who had no other demands.

Twain felt very sad. The greatest consolation in for the country’s football could only play as the second team substitute and was already on the verge of being abandoned by the team.

“I see.” Twain nodded and said, “I will reconsider giving Sun Jihai a new contract. But he must accept a pay cut. You know, he’s not in my plans for the new season.”

Sadly, the greatest consolation was already of little competitive value for the Forest team. The only reason he could stay was simply because the club wanted to use him as a cover to drum up funds from China. He went from a professional player to a flag hanging in front of the door to attract the bankrollers.

Evan left with a satisfied smile, and Twain looked at the two clubs’ faxed requests for quotes on the table in a daze.

If he wanted the two clubs to make their offers, how much would Sun be worth?

A million? Or a million and a half? Maybe... not even a million?

Sun Jihai’s presence in the team was minimal, perhaps because he was Chinese and relatively low-key. His lifestyle habits were not the same as the other European teammates. He never attended those parties with a lot of sexy girls to set the mood. He also did not go to nightclubs to relax. After each day’s training, he drove home alone to spend time with his wife and children. He would play with their children in their grassy backyard. Twain had once accompanied Dunn to Sun Jihai’s house for a small Spring Festival celebration in the previous year’s Spring Festival. While Dunn and Sun Jihai chatted in Mandarin, Sun Jihai mentioned his desires—“in fact, I don’t have many desires for life. I’m here alone to make money, to feed my wife and children. How can I not work hard? My wish is to work hard and make money. Make more money while I still can. I can live a better life after retirement. I don’t think about anything else... My teammates are really good to me, but I can’t hang out with them. After all, we are not from the same world.”

His life was so simple that it was boring, but he was long used to it. Playing in Nottingham was a job for him. His children had gone to school in Nottingham and were educated in England. But when he retired, Twain believed the family would return to China immediately. With the savings from the years he had worked hard in the United Kingdom, he could live like any ordinary Chinese.

※※※

Sun Jihai did not know the connection between the club and China that surrounded him. He also did not know if his fate and future had changed somewhat due to these things.

His agent had previously informed him that two English Football League Championship teams wanted him to join. Sun Jihai wanted to see what the Forest team had to say first. Anyway, there was still one year left in the contract. He was not in a hurry to sell himself. If he were to join those teams in a year’s time on a free transfer basis, he could perhaps attract more buyers.

On top of that, after the team’s vacation ended, he only came to the training ground on time every day to train, and then drove home after the training. He would occasionally receive several media reporters from China, sign autographs for the Chinese students outside the training ground or somewhere else and take photos with them. He spent his days the same way as any previous season.

Until one day, Tony Twain called his agent, wanting to discuss the contract renewal negotiations with him.

The news surprised Sun Jihai—he was not an idiot, nor a hot-blooded teenager who liked to let his imagination run wild. He was aware of his place in the team. If the Nottingham Forest club was smart enough, the best option would be to sell him this summer. In that way, they could still receive a little money. Otherwise, after a year, they would get nothing. He thought so because he was certain that the team would not renew his contract.

He did not expect Twain to want to talk to his agent about renewing his contract.

His agent was not surprised by it. He vaguely heard that the club’s marketing manager, Allan Adams was campaigning in China.

He felt he could secure a good contract extension for both Sun Jihai and himself.

Twain gave Sun Jihai a new contract for a two-year extension starting from the summer, but Sun Jihai must accept a fifty percent pay cut.

Sun Jihai’s Chinese agent rejected Twain’s contract. He thought it was totally unacceptable to reduce the pay by fifty per cent. Because this contract was not based on the original contract to renew two years. Originally in the new season, Sun Jihai could still take one hundred percent of his salary. Once the contract was signed, he would lose half of his income. This was the main reason why he disagreed.

They could completely turned down the contract and had no qualms taking one hundred percent salary for a year until the contract expired next year before they moved to another team on a free transfer.

However, Twain would never agree to the other party’s proposed condition that the salary level remained the same. The team was now racking its brains to cut costs and control spending. If Sun Jihai left this summer, it would benefit everyone. As it happened, Allan wanted to seek provincial moneybags in China who were willing to foot the bill for his new plan, so Sun Jihai had become an important player. Even so, Twain would not have allowed a contract for a second team substitute to be offered the same salary as before.

He laid his card on the table to the other party that Sun Jihai’s level was no longer worth his original salary—he certainly did not put it in those exact terms as it would be too hurtful to say so. He spoke tactfully. He only gave the Chinese agent an example that no club in the world would offer such a contract for a player who was soon retiring. Even if AC Milan’s Maldini had to accept a pay cut, what more a Chinese player?

The agent also made it clear—since the club thinks that Sun Jihai still has his uses, then you should meet our requirements.

Twain said it was not possible. He could meet reasonable requirements, not the sky-high asking price. So, in order to show good faith, they should simply meet each other halfway—a twenty-five percent pay cut.

The proposal was approved by the other party. Then it was simple. Everyone would meet together, sign the papers, and have a glass of champagne to celebrate.

Sun Jihai would continue to belong to Nottingham Forest for the next two years. He would be thirty-four years old when his contract expired. At that time, whether he intended to continue to make a living in England or return to China to play for Dalian Shide, it was not something Twain had to worry about. Moreover, maybe next summer there could be a few inquiries and faxes on how much Sun Jihai could be sold, would appear in his desk again.

If Allan could really attract money from China, then who would worry about whether Sun Jihai would still be able to stay in the team?

Twain was not a philanthropist for Chinese football. He had no time to cultivate a savior for Chinese football, or to establish a flag-bearer.

After Sun Jihai’s affair had been settled, there was good news on the other side.

Agbonlahor laid the cards on the table with the Aston Villa club. In a private discussion with Martin O’Neill, he told the manager that he wanted to play for Nottingham Forest. The reason was simple: he had confidence for Tony Twain. He believed that going to Nottingham Forest could satisfy his desire to win honors. Tony Twain was a manager who could lead him to victory and glory, even if he had just recovered from a heart attack.

Martin O’Neill could not convince Agbonlahor. The boy was apparently captivated by Tony. Twain’s charisma.

Aston Villa began to seriously consider how much of a price tag would be enough for Agbonlahor...

※※※

Three days later, Nottingham Forest announced that they were signing the nimble striker, Gabriel Agbonlahor from Aston Villa for a transfer fee of sixteen million pounds.

In the new season, Agbonlahor would wear the number 18 jersey left by Arshavin. He would run unhindered through the Forest team’s front field and crush each of their opponents with speed.

After Anelka, Twain finally had a fast striker of true significance.

If it was previously said that van Nistelrooy and ?igi? were more like a heavy hammer, Agbonlahor was like a sharp dagger. With hammers and daggers, Twain could easily face all styles of enemies ...

Chapter 728 - The Young Guard

The transfer fee of 16 million pounds had used up almost half of Nottingham Forest’s budget for the season. Twain had to come to a decision over whether he should spend the remaining money on a top-class player or on several cheaper, average players who could each play at different positions in the team next.

However, it was not a hard decision for Twain to make.

In his heart, he knows that Nottingham Forest is a team that will rise from the ashes and emerge as a force to be reckoned with once again. Therefore, there is no need to spend money acquiring average players. He decided that he should assemble the ‘best army’ and bring in everything that is needed for the team’s rebuild in one fell swoop.

He had his eyes set on Valencia CF’s David Silva.

Unfortunately, he faced a huge obstacle in his pursuit of David Silva’s signature, because Nottingham Forest was not the only club who had their eyes on Silva. Big clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and AC Milan were also looking at him. Nottingham Forest was not a club that stood out when compared against these other clubs.

Twain decided to use 30 million pounds of his transfer budget to purchase Silva, but he was only going to pay in instalments. This payment method was not accepted by Valencia CF, however.

Valencia CF had performed well for the first-half of last season. However, the team gradually slipped down the table as the season progressed. The club’s financial problems had not been solved, and was only made worse with the arrival of the economic crisis, which forced them to consider selling David Villa and David Silva for money despite being adamant initially that neither player was up for sale.

When news that both Villa and Silva were available broke out, the big clubs pounced on the opportunity like a pack of wolves who had rushed in at the scent of blood.

Real Madrid led the race for David Villa’s signature, whereas competition was fierce for David Silva.

In the end, Nottingham Forest proved to be no match against the other big, wealthy and successful football clubs.

After his plan to acquire Silva ended in a failure, Twain came to realize that he needed to change his mindset. Rather than pin his hopes on being able to buy established and famous players like Silva, he should look at getting younger players into the team instead.

Hence, he decided to shift his attention onto acquiring Britain’s gifted young players.

※※※

Right as Twain was wondering over how he should build up his team, his friend, ‘Crazy’ Stuart Pearce, gave him a call and recommended a player to him.

“I’m not recommending him to you because I have anything to gain from this transfer, Tony.” Pearce said. “I just don’t want his future to become bleak. His contract with his club expires in summer, but he doesn’t want to continue staying in that League One side. He is looking for a bigger stage to perform on. I also think that he would not be able to improve as a player if he were to keep playing in League One. There are a few clubs after him right now, but I believe in you, Tony, which is why I recommended you to him when he approached me for suggestions.”

Twain had been listening to Pearce go on and on without mentioning the player’s name. Therefore, he had to ask, “Who is he and who does he play for?”

“Joe Mattock. Leicester City’s left back.”

Twain realized after hearing the name that it was a name that he has heard numerous times before. The British media had hailed him as one of the top 10 youth players in Britain. He is only 18 years of age and has already been given a place in Britain’s national U21 team by Pearce. He has amassed a lot of experience as a first team player in League One. He is physically strong and good at defending and going forward to attack.

There are several clubs who are interested in getting his signature. Twain could not believe that Pearce had actually recommended him to a player of this caliber.

“No problem, no problem at all, Stuart. I promise you I will help you groom him into a much better player than he is now.” Twain naturally agreed to take the player into his team. How could he possibly say no to such a good deal?

They might have Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale in the team right now, but considering how Bale has to play as the left midfielder from time to time, it was a good idea to get another left back to fill in the gap during those occasions.

Additionally, Joe Mattock is very young and will be a good investment for the future.

All in all, it was a good deal for the club.

Pearce had not lied to Twain. Just two days after he gave Twain a phone call, Mattock’s agent turned up at the club to negotiate a deal.

What both parties had to do next was simple. They agreed on personal terms for Mattock and put pen to paper straight away. Nottingham Forest acquired one of Britain’s most promising left backs without spending a single penny.

※※※

The Forest team made progress on trying to bolster their strength on other positions as well.

Even though Nottingham Forest was a team that did not appeal to foreign football stars and was also a team that did not have the finances to compete with bigger clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City for those players, but in the eyes of the local British youth players, they are a team who is known for their abilities to groom young players, and they also have a charismatic and unique manager in charge. Nottingham Forest was an appealing team for those youth players to consider joining.

At the end of June, Charlton officially announced that their up and coming youth player, Jonjo Shelvey, was sold to Nottingham Forest for 2 million pounds.

The fee paid by Forest was quite high given that Shelvey was still a player who had yet to reach 18 years of age. However, Shelvey was worth 6 million pounds last summer. If it was not for the ongoing economic crisis that forced many other clubs to become even more careful with their expenditures, it would have been impossible for Twain to obtain the captain for Britain’s national U16 team for only 2 million pounds.

Shelvey might only be 17 years of age, but he was already quite famous in Britain. He made his debut for Charlton when he was only 16 years and 55 days old. He came on a substitute for the captain of the Chinese national team Zheng Zhi in that game.

However, Shelvey had already attracted the attention of numerous football clubs prior to that as well. In 2007, he captained Britain’s U16 national team that was crowned champions in the Victory Shield. He played as a midfielder in that game and scored 3 goals. He was already a goal scoring machine when he was playing games for Charlton’s youth and reserve team.

However, Twain does not expect Shelvey to be able to make an instant impact in the team and score lots of goals for them. The reason why he bought Shelvey is because he saw potential in him to become a great player in the future. This is in line with what everything that Twain has been doing during this summer so far, which is to lay the foundation needed for the future of the club.

Other teams such as Sunderland and West Ham United were also in the race to sign Shelvey, but what allowed Twain to triumph over them in the end was because he was Tony Twain.

Twain has made a name for himself these few years, and there are many people who like him as there are many who dislike him. He is called the ‘Arsene Wenger of Britain’ because of how he shows a preference to playing youth players in his team, and this makes him an attractive destination in the eyes of numerous youth players.

This advantage that he has over other rival teams is not only shown through his acquisitions of Joe Mattock and Jonjo Shelvey.

Victor Moses was also another player that became a part of Nottingham Forest this summer. He was an 18 year old forward who played for Crystal Palace. He was born in Nigeria, but his family emigrated to Britain when he was five. He signed a four year contract with Crystal Palace when he turned 16.

Just like any other football player from Africa, he was physically strong and possessed exceptional pace. His football techniques were remarkable as well. His only flaw was that his heading ability was average at best despite being 185 cm tall and having a strong body.

Twain wished to use Moses primarily during squad rotations. Moses would play for the first team, reserve team or youth team when needed.

Besides those three players, Twain also had his eyes on Sunderland’s all-rounded midfielder Jordan Henderson. Henderson could play in numerous positions such as the right midfielder, central defensive midfielder and striker. He once led the Sunderland youth team into the finals of the FA Youth Cup.

Twain wanted to buy Henderson and groom him further, but Roy Keane did not budge even though they were friends. He was adamant that Henderson was not for sale.

Despite his failure to purchase Henderson, Twain was content with his summer signings. He had focused more on getting British players this season due to the upcoming implementation of the 6+5 rule in 2012.

Twain believes that the youth players would all become great players in the future as long as they can groom them properly and the players put in effort on their side. Of course, injuries also need to not pay them a visit that often.

The potential that those youth players have is right there waiting to be properly utilized.

※※※

Contrary to their aggressive style of buying loads of players in the past years, Nottingham Forest announced during the start of July that the club would not be buying any other players for the rest of transfer window, and that the player list for next season has been confirmed.

This piece of news shocked the British media.

Who exactly did Forest bring in during the summer?

They have promoted John Bostock, Nicolás Millán, Adriano Moke and Chris Cohen from the youth team to the first team, but this does not count as bringing in new players into the team. All they have done is look inwards for new players.

They got ex-Leicester City left back Joe Mattock on a free transfer, paid 2 million pounds to get the current captain of Britain’s U16 national team Jonjo Shelvey from Charlton, and paid 3 million pounds to bring in Crystal Palace’s gifted forward Victor Moses.

Gabriel Agbonlahor was Nottingham Forest’s biggest expenditure for the summer at 16 million pounds. He was also the only established player that Nottingham Forest bought this summer that the media thought would perform well in the Premier League.

Agbonlahor has already proven himself after his stint at Aston Villa, and there was nothing else that he needed to prove at Nottingham Forest. He was a player who could be used in games straight away.

The resolute ‘anti-Twain’ Carl Spicer sarcastically mocked Tony Twain for his joke of a transfer window in his column:

“When he got married to his supermodel girlfriend, he was all gung-ho and went to great lengths to make sure the whole world could witness the scene as he kissed Shania. But, when it comes to bringing in new players for the Forest team, he acts as though he has his hands and feet bound and has done little but save money for the club. Look at the players he bought… The only player that I approve of is Agbonlahor. As for the rest of them… If Mr. Tony Twain’s main intention for buying those players is so that he can sell them for a higher price in the future, then I must applaud Mr. Tony Twain for having an excellent business sense. Everyone knows that Nottingham Forest Football Club is going through a hard time. Their new stadium got discarded in Clifton right after the workers finished laying out the foundation needed for its construction, as though it is mocking its American owners for being overly ambitious. The club is in dire need for money currently, and what should they do to solve this issue? The only thing they can do is to sell players, obviously. So, they find numerous young players from all over the country who have the potential to go on to become football stars, and they groom them for a few seasons before selling them for a high price… That is a good business strategy.

However, if Mr. Twain intends to rely on those players to bring Nottingham Forest back to the top, or if he thinks buying those players is all he needs to have decent results in the league, then I’m sorry, allow me to laugh for three minutes. Is Nottingham Forest really in such dire straits that they are choosing to rely on a bunch of kids who are probably still feeding on their mother’s milk? Or is it that all Mr. Tony Twain is aiming for is to avoid relegation next season? And then get the team to make occasional appearances in the Europa League… Oh, that reminds me, he has yet to clinch a Europa League trophy! This lends credence to my earlier speculation. But, allow me to be blunt, Mr. Twain. With your current squad, it would be a challenge to even get into the Europa League…”

The article was full of sarcasm, mockery and distrust towards Twain, and some of the words used were of a derogatory nature. The article led to a buzz after it was published in The Daily Telegraph.

Everyone knows that Carl Spicer has a long-standing agenda against Twain. However, if you take away the strong words that he used in the article, everything he said has actually hit the nail on the head.

The current Nottingham Forest without Piqué, Bendtner, Ribéry, van der Vaart and Arshavin was a team that consisted mainly of young, inexperienced players and it lacked competitiveness.

George Wood was definitely still a player that everyone could trust, and other players such as Gareth Bale and Pepe have both proven themselves to be good players as well.

As for Tiago, it remains to be seen if he is truly suitable for Nottingham Forest.

Twain’s insistence on giving ?igi? a chance to prove himself next season was also worrying. After all, it was not as though Twain has not misjudged players in the past.

Eastwood’s ankle and knee are both quite fragile. No one knows when is the next time he has to lie on the operating table.

ahin? That kid has yet to prove whether he is able to regain that form that he showed before he got injured. His performance so far has been largely inconsistent. Of course, from a neutral standpoint, his inconsistent performance has been influenced by the team’s poor performance as a whole.

Petrov? He is getting on with his age and has lost a lot of pace. His attacks are also a little too one-dimensional.

Kris Commons? All right, let’s be frank. We have nearly forgotten about him…

Tony Twain might be called ‘Britain’s Arsene Wenger’, but he is still immensely different from Wenger, and Nottingham Forest is not Arsenal either.

Even Arsenal did not manage to attain any notable results with their exceedingly talented youth team. They failed to become champions in the Premier League, did not win the Champions League, was eliminated in the quarter finals of the EFL Cup and did not progress beyond the semifinals for the FA Cup…

It goes to show that it is not beneficial to have a team that is made up of very young players if the team wants to become champions of a particular competition. It is impossible even if you have a team like Arsenal’s with 23 young players who are overflowing with talent.

What you need to become champions is not talent or an exceptional gift that excites people. Rather, what you need is an abundance of experience and the ability to perform consistently. Of course, you need luck on your side as well.

If Tony Twain truly intends to rely on a bunch of kids to stage a comeback, he must certainly be building castles in the air!

We would not mind mocking him when he fails. After all, he has a nuclear-powered heart right now. Even if his heart stops all of a sudden, he would be revived on the spot.

He will not die.

Tony Twain is a scourge. Scourges typically have long lives…

Of course, we would be more than happy to watch him ridicule himself if he uses his heart problem as an excuse for his failures.

Chapter 729 - The Future Belongs to the Young

Carl Spicer criticised Twain’s recruitment strategy for the summer in his column. He believes that Twain is living in a fantasy if he intends to employ a team made up of young players next season.

His views were met with approval from numerous media outlets and led to the successive arrival of various other criticisms.

Some of those criticisms were against Twain, some were against the club, and some pointed their fingers at the players.

“I don’t believe Tony Twain will be able to achieve any notable results this season.”

“The club spent money buying all these young players, and it will be quickly proven that they have invested wrongly.”

“Nicolás Millán? I’m sorry, I haven’t even heard of the name before…”

“Tony Twain must be dreaming if he thinks he can make the team powerful just by bringing in all these young players with potential. Is he trying to replicate Manchester United’s Class of ’92? This is nothing more than a complete farce in my eyes!”

Even Pierce Brosnan, a journalist for Nottingham Evening Post who has always supported Twain, published an article expressing his concern at how Twain had mostly bought young players over the summer.

He opined that it was worrying that Twain has pinned his hopes on a team of young players between the ages of 17 and 18. He did not doubt that Twain had brought in talented youths, but he felt that grooming these youths is a process that takes time. They might turn out to be great players in a few years’ time, but is Forest going to rely solely on them right now?

He tried his best to be as tactful as he could, and tried to phrase his words nicely as much as possible in the article.

However, his article still angered the King.

He received a call from Twain, and a flood of admonishments came his way the moment he picked up.

“What the hell are you writing about in your article, Mr. Reporter? Are you trying to denounce me? Thank goodness I didn’t plan on publishing an article in a column in your newspaper! If not I’d have become a big f*cking joke! An article written by me scolding the media and the article from you casting doubt over me would have been published at the same time in the newspaper… Mm hmm?”

“But… But, Mr. Twain, I only wrote what I wrote out of concern as a Forest fan…”

“Forest fan? Have you gone onto the streets to interview people? Are those fans worried? Can you represent their opinion?”

“Based on what I understand so far… Yes, they are worried, Mr. Twain. They are all worried about the overly young team that you have right now…”

“They have their reasons to be worried! But you don’t have the right to publish them! Do you know what I’ve been doing every single day besides training the players? I’ve been inculcating the footballing spirit of Nottingham Forest in these youngsters! I’ve been telling them that whatever the media says is bullsh*t, and that they are actually much better than what the media makes them out to be! I’ve been trying to instill confidence in them all this while… And here you are trying to wreck my plans? You have to understand where you are coming from, Mr. Reporter! You are the local newspaper for Nottingham, you represent the voice of Nottingham! You can’t get in my way like this! If we start fighting amongst ourselves, then aren’t we just going to end up becoming the laughingstock of others?”

“But what I’m saying is the truth…”

“Screw your f*cking truth! I’m the only one who needs to know about the truth! What you need to do is to give the youngsters confidence, confidence and more confidence! The reason why I gave you access to the club’s exclusive information is not for you to be loggerheads with me! Are you a Nottingham Forest fan or not? Do you wish for Nottingham Forest to become better, Mr. Reporter?”

“Of… Of course I wish for that…”

“Then you go out there and write a story about how these youngers are the best in the world! The best! It doesn’t matter if you praise them to the skies. Don’t worry about them letting your words go to their heads. It’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen, Mr. Reporter.”

Pierce felt wronged and was reluctant to do as Twain said, but he could not continue squabbling with Twain over the phone. He was worried that he would send Twain back into the hospital after remembering that he was someone with a heart disease.

“All right… I will accept this suggestion of yours, Mr. Twain.”

Twain’s voice softened a little after hearing his words. “Remember this, Mr. Reporter. You represent Nottingham and you are the voice of Nottingham Forest. No matter what happens, you have to always stand on our side. I need voices of support from you. When the other media outlets out there are questioning my team, you have to step out and defend us. Do you know what it means by the ‘atmosphere at our home grounds’? Don’t think that you only get that kind of atmosphere when you are at the stands of the City Ground stadium. What the youngsters need is not the media’s disapproval towards them. It’s praise! Don’t care about anything else. You are only getting in my way if you do.”

Two days later, an article was published on Nottingham Evening Post by Pierce Brosnan. In it, he interviewed the young players playing for Nottingham Forest. The article wrote about how the young players had a lot of fight and resolve going into the next season, and displayed a tightly-knit and optimistic team to the public.

Of course, the article had been published at Twain’s behest. Twain could not care less about Pierce Brosnan and his ‘position as a journalist’. All he cared about are the things that benefit him, and those that do not.

※※※

Twain’s anger towards Brosnan’s earlier article was well grounded.

The truth was that Twain was actually happy that the other media outlets out there were chastising his players. He had only been feigning fury at their words. This was because he could make use of the opportunity to unite the youngsters as one.

It was also the chance for him to bring out the fight in the young players and build up their confidence by telling them ‘Look, the media does not think highly of you lot’. The youngsters are all at the age whereby they can get rebellious, so it is a good way to direct those fiery emotions of theirs towards the media instead. Then, he can tell them that he, Tony Twain, will always stand with them. He will believe in them forever and that they are the best!

Those words would get the young players fired up and itching to prove their abilities on the pitch.

Afterwards, it was up to Twain’s ability to train and discipline the players.

He did not worry about the youths breaking free of his control over them, regardless if the team lost or won.

It was also then that Brosnan came out and showed the world that he was more aware of the situation at Nottingham Forest than others.

All along, the Nottingham Evening Post has been Twain’s spokesperson. It has been admonished by others as a newspaper that was devoid of the principles of good journalism when it comes to issues surrounding Nottingham Forest. However, the Nottingham Forest fans did not share their sentiments. They enjoyed reading articles that praised the Forest team. They would pay attention to the articles published in the Nottingham Evening Post. Nobody likes to read about criticisms against the team they support.

A media outlet that has always supported him suddenly questioned him. That definitely made him feel uncomfortable.

※※※

Nottingham Forest did not make a trip to Asia for money during their pre-season days. Neither did they go to North America. The team did not even step out of Nottingham and visit other areas in Britain. They simply stayed in their training grounds and had practice matches with a few other British football teams.

Twain had arranged for more practice matches this year because he hoped to bring the team together by playing more matches. This would help the young players get used to the way the team plays quicker.

It was also a good chance for him to observe and pick out the players who would be a part of his plans for the coming season. There are things that one cannot discern during training. The best way to judge a player’s abilities is always through actual matches.

Twain found Adriano Moke, the player who Greenwood rated very highly, to be very disappointing after observing his performances over a few practice matches.

His physique, which was prone to injuries, constantly gave him the disadvantage when he was engaged in physical battles with his opponents. He might be good at dribbling and getting past his opponents, but those things mean naught if he cannot get into physical battles with other players. There is no soccer match in this world that does not involve physical contact between players.

If a player is not good with physical battles, then it does not matter how good his techniques might be. He was not a player that Twain wanted.

On the other hand, the player who had not stood out for a few years in the reserve team, Chris Cohen, impressed Twain. His performance on the left flank was noteworthy. His pace and technique did not rival Moke’s, but he performed better on the whole than Moke.

Additionally, what really set Cohen apart from Moke was how he preferred working with the team, unlike Moke who preferred working on his own. Perhaps this has something to do with how he lacks pace and power and is unable to create much chances for the team on his own.

During the practice matches, he managed to make several good passes and was a threat going down the middle from the left flank as well.

Twain decided to focus his efforts on grooming Cohen for the coming season.

As for Moke… He would either get him out on a loan or sell him.

Bostock and Millán’s performaces lived up to Twain’s expectations. Neither of them lacked experience after having already played in plenty of youth team matches. Millán has even played in a first team match before when he was just 14 years of age. Therefore, playing first team matches was not something new for both of them.

Similarly, ?ahin’s performance was worthy of praise as well. At the very least, he had displayed a higher level of abilities than other players during the practice matches. His techniques are regarded to be outstanding by the British players, and Twain’s decision to bring him back to the first team also seemed to have strengthened his confidence.

Meanwhile, the left back Joe Mattock’s performance was average at best. He had moments of brilliance, but did not perform better than Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale most of the time. Twain believes that the Premier League might still be a little challenging for a player like him who has only played in the League One so far. Mattock might have a lot of potential in him, but he has to be groomed over a period of time first.

Victor Moses performed well thus far. His physicality and speed allowed him to gain the upper hand during the matches. He was good at breaking through the defense with his speed and also managed to shoot for goal while holding back the defenders. He was a player who could be used during squad rotations.

If everything goes to plan, then as of now, Nottingham Forest’s list of strikers for next season includes ?igi?, Eastwood, Agbonlahor, Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses. The first three are players that Twain intends to rely upon heavily throughout the season. The other two players would play games for both the reserve and first teams so as to gain experience and improve themselves through game time. As for what kind of position those two will end up playing in the first team, that will be dependent on the kind of performances they make from now on.

Twain’s most expensive signing of this summer, Agbonlahor, has not let him down so far. The kid’s pace and power turn him into a razor-edged dagger on the pitch. He started in all four practice matches and played till the end for each match. He scored a total of six goals across the matches.

Twain also tried to play him as a winger, and he put in a performance that was to Twain’s satisfaction. Regardless if it was breaking through into the penalty box, or crossing from the byline or shooting, he was good at each and every of them.

The best part of Agbonlahor was how he had publicly declared time and time again about his trust in Tony Twain’s abilities. He expressed that he has never regretted making the switch from Aston Villa to Nottingham Forest, because he believed that he would stand at the top with Twain one day.

His words made Twain overjoyed.

The players who choose to stick with the team through their toughest times are the players who deserve his respect and attention, and a player who specially transferred to the club when it is going through its toughest times is a player he must value.

※※※

This summer feels like a summer that belongs to the young in Wilford.

North Wilford welcomed a new batch of U18 players around the time when Twain was preparing for the new season with the first team.

Every summer, a group of players who has been specially hand-picked throughout the globe would be sent to North Wilford. These players are here to receive the most formal training, and they are all here with the goal of either becoming a professional footballer, or a first team member of Nottingham Forest.

Some of the players are average, but there are also a few talented ones amongst them. Those with talent might get a few more glances their ways by the coaches, but their talent would have little to no impact on their futures. What determines if a player can succeed in the future is not the player’s talent or gift, but rather how much hard work he puts into training and improving himself.

Every year, the head of the youth team would provide the first team manager with a new list of youth players. Talented players who the manager should focus on would also get marked out on that list.

However, how many players on that list can make their way into the first team?

Fewer than few.

There are very few players who went through training at Nottingham Forest’s youth team who eventually ended up playing for the team. This is also why Twain’s promotion of 4 young players into the first team became a topic of debate everywhere in North Wilford.

The young players who were training at North Wilford saw hope through Twain’s actions.

Greenwood looked at the group of fresh faces on the training grounds. Some of the players standing before him have grown up in Nottingham and have managed to rise above the rest after going through numerous trainings that were tailored for different age groups. Others are players with potential who have been brought over by their scouts from other countries. They have all agreed to join Nottingham Forest’s youth team and receive training in Nottingham.

For the young players who grew up in Nottingham, George Wood was their exemplar and someone they should aspire to become.

For the players who came to Nottingham Forest from other parts of the world, Gareth Bale would be the role model for them.

The last batch of youth team players have mostly left the team. Some joined the reserve team while some lucky ones managed to make their way into the first team. As for the rest… They have either been sold to other football clubs in a different tier to theirs, or they have had their contracts terminated with the club and are left to figure out what to do next on their own.

“Firstly, I’d like to welcome all of you to North Wilford.” Greenwood stood before the bunch of kids with his other youth team coaches.

“Next, I’d like all of you to know that your goal is not to stay here forever. Your goal lies in the south…” He pointed in the southern direction. “That’s the training grounds of Nottingham Forest’s first team. A team that has won the Champions League four times is waiting for all of you there! Still, I hope all of you can understand, that the door over there is not open to everyone. Every year we will eliminate many players, and even if you make it into the reserve team, it doesn’t mean you will have a chance to play for the first team. Besides training your hardest here, I also want all of you to put in your best performance before us and the first team manager. Don’t think about doing anything else other than those!”

“I’ve looked at your résumés, and I understand a lot about where you lads have come from and what you have done so far. I truly believe that you are cream of the crop. But you need to prove that you are indeed more outstanding than those who are of the same age as you through your actions and performances! You are not here because you want to play amateur football, right? I don’t want to tell you the success story of George Wood. That is a story that has been reported endless times by the media. All I hope you can understand is that he put in a lot of hard work to become as successful as he is now! From today onwards, each and every of you will be lucky enough to experience what he had to go through! It’s not an experience that will make any of you happy, but I can guarantee you that when the day comes and you are able to shine on the pitch, you will realise that everything you have gone through here is not for nothing!” Greenwood flailed his arms about forcefully.

Chen Jian stood amongst this group of newcomers. He might have trained as a part of the youth team from last season, but he was still allowed to join as a newcomer for this year’s youth team.

Henceforth, he would be an official member of this youth team. This time round, he has come from China and not from a talent show anymore. He was no longer just a ‘guest’ who could only participate in the training and could not represent the team in any competitions. He has a concrete goal that he could work towards. His every good performance would mean something now, unlike in the past when it did not matter whether he performed well or badly.

He wants to become a professional footballer!

It did not matter how much sweat he has to put in for it, or how tough the journey would be for him. It did not matter how the road beneath him would twist and turn.

His goal would never change.

He was willing to gamble everything that he has and give his all for it. He wants to become a professional footballer no matter what.

He was like a soldier who had wandered into the opponent’s territory. There was no way back now. He cannot even turn around. All he can do is to keep walking forward.

And finally, at the end of the road… Checkmate!

※※※

Twain received the new list of youth players from Greenwood. There were 30 names on the list, and some were circled in red.

The ones circled in red are the players that Greenwood thought highly of. They have the potential to make it into the first team and are the ones that they should keep their eyes on and see how he develops from here on out.

Those players were Lee Alexander from Nottingham, Darren Williams from Bishop’s Cleeve, Andrew McLeod from Glasgow, Scotland, and Chen Jian from the distant, far-away country of China.

Chapter 730 - The Death of an Idealist

Chapter 730: The Death of an Idealist

As July was about to end, they wrapped up a month’s worth of training and warm-up matches, and Twain had basically confirmed the roster for the first team in the new season.

※※※

Adriano Moke had been suffering recently. When he received a call from the first team, he was very excited as he thought his efforts for the past 10 years has finally been recognised, until the cruel reality still struck him.

The head who always liked to wear shades and rarely smiled did not really give him any approving looks. He could feel that, compared to the players who were drawn from the youth team, his was very clearly treated differently from the rest. Of course, his performance was not exactly stellar…

He realised that the head preferred those who were not afraid of physical confrontation in the competition, who would actively initiate body contacts. Players like him who preferred to avoid body contact were not popular.

Since his promotion to team U16, he suffered a total of three major injuries, the worst one while he had been on loan to Sunderland in the previous season. He admitted that he was afraid of having physical confrontation with stronger opponents, but he also thought that he was not wrong if he could reasonably use his tactics to avoid physical confrontation. Why was there a need for physical confrontation? If he could train to be so technically competent that the defenders were unable to touch him, then there was no need to directly confront them.

Ever since that first injury, he had already been trying to turn these plans into a reality. As such, his techniques improved a lot and he became the best technical player in the team. When he went up against his peers, he excelled in feinting and deceiving , or using his incredible speed to dribble past the defenders. Such methods allowed him to be outstanding in the youth team and impressed the audience easily. Hence, he was determined by Greenwood to be the most promising youth in this season’s youth team.

However, none of this worked all his advantages did not work in South Wilford.

During his debut for Nottingham’s first team in the warm-up match, he faced fierce defenders in the League One team. As much as he wanted to use his techniques to break through the defense, he looked more like he was evading the opponents instead.

He could still remember it clearly. He had hoarded the ball so excessively that, when he lost it to a pair of full backs, he caught a glimpse of the captains shaking their heads from off the field.

During that match, he was substituted out in the middle of the match and sat quietly on the reserves bench. He knew he blew it with his performance, but it was only his first match. Besides, everyone would screw up one match anyways. He continued to comfort himself with this mindset.

However, in the matches that followed, he continued to be substituted out halfway through the match, or swapped in right before the match ended.

On the other hand, there was this this 22-year-old who was still mixing around in the reserve team. He was someone Moke had always been making fun of, the person everyone said had no future because his skills were average. And yet, Chris Cohen performed so well on the first team that he shocked Moke. He was obedient and brave. His performance on the field was outstanding; it was as if he had already played for the first team for several seasons.

Cohen constantly attacked the left lane and actively participated in defending. Whenever he ran back from the offensive half and forced his opponent to run near the corner flag, Moke, who was on the reserves, would sneakily squint to find the head nodding with approval. Why?!

Up till now, he still did not think that he was inferior to Cohen. Whether in terms of talent or technique, he was way better than Cohen. Cohen’s techniques was limited to stopping the ball before passing it, was he even able to lob the ball from the back over his defenders? Could he continuously do step-overs without tripping over the ball? Could he constantly protect the ball while speeding past defenders? Could he lob the ball sufficiently to dodge the opponent’s slide tackles at top dribbling speed? Was he able to spin past his defenders with the ball?

Watching him kick the ball only made Moke frown. Cohen was basically a miner kicking the ball; there was not elegance at all! But seeing Cohen play, Moke thought Cohen had a bigger chance of staying in first team than he did. Moke felt unjust.

※※※

“There are 15 daysto the start of the new season. The big roster will be confirmed by then,” Twain told Dunn and Kerslake in the office. “You guys can settle these matters which would heavily offend people,” He laughed slyly.

“Let me do it.” Kerslake took the initiative to take over this task.

Actually the main aim was to notify the players drawn from the youth team and the second-rate team, and also those youths who recently joined the league teams this summer. Just like how they drew the previous first-team, Kerslake called the players one by one, informing them if they were to stay on the first team to train or temporarily return back to either their youth team or the second-rate team. This was definitely a tough job. Of course, if the players were smart enough, they would understand that these choices were made by their head, Tony Twain.

“Besides, there are three English Football League teams and one League One team who are interested in Kris Commons. If the price is suitable, just sell him.” Twain waved his hands.

Twain was only selling him now, but Commons’ level had been very far off the team’s for a very long time. Twain only decided to sell him now. On one hand it was because of the team’s financial situation, as selling those who could not bring much contribution to the team, would clear up the pay that the club gives to them. On the other hand, it was to prevent Commons from being a bench-warmer forever on the team. Even playing as a starter in the English Football League was far better than wasting his golden years in the Premier League. Although Commons was extremely loyal and did not complain when he was appointed to play as a reserve, Twain still had to make the harsh decision to sell him.

The third reason was because he found a replacement for Commons — Chris Cohen.

In this month, Cohen’s performance was all observed and remembered by Twain. He thought that Cohen’s performance and capabilities was all superior compared to Commons. The fact that he had no complaints about playing for the reserve team for several years was testament that he was the type of player who was willing to accept the fate of being a reserve. Twain loved these types of players the most, those who had potential but no opinions. They would not become the unstable element in the changing room.

※※※

After a day’s training, Kerslake announced in front of the players that some young people would receive his call tonight to know if they would be registered for the Premier League in the next season. For these youths, their most critical moment has come.

Moke returned home, uneasy, then continued to wait for the assistant coach’s call. His heart was filled with lucky fantasies that he still had hope in entering the first team. His basis of thinking came from the previous two warm-up matches. His time on the field was a lot longer as compared to the past. He believed that his outstanding techniques and his fast breakthroughs in the right lane would move the captain.

After a month, he was not as ambitious. He no longer wished to be the most promising young superstar in his team but only to be able to play for the first team in the contest, even if he was only a reserve player. The youth who was initially filled with hopes and dreams had no choice but to throw his unrealistic dreams aside today.

At 9.30pm at night, he received the call which determined his fate.

※※※

David Kerslake held up the contact list of the players and found the name of “Adriano Moke.”This was his last call for today, and the only one that was different.

The previous calls he made had been filled with laughter, but he had to be sterner when he dialed this number. This was no laughing matter.

Kerslake did many things which offended people. Dunn and him were Twain’s closest assistants. Most of the time, when he interacted with the players, Twain had to be likeable to establish rapport with them As such, these smaller matters that would upset the players would be left for Dunn and him to handle. Of course, Twain also did things to upset the players on a larger scale, like scolding people in the changing room.

“Hi, is this Adriano Moke?” The call went through.

“Yes, sir, it’s me!” One could not tell if the voice on the other side was excited or nervous, just that it was different from usual. Kerslake almost thought he called the wrong number.

“Yes…” Kerslake paused. “You really worked hard in the trainings in the team. Frankly speaking, your techniques really impressed me, and your breakthroughs in the right lane were extremely clean as well.” He was not saying any congratulations nor comforting words, it was purely stating Moke’s strengths without beating around the bush. “There was nothing I could do but clap and cheer.”

After the praises…

“However.” Kerslake took the phone away to cough softly. “I’m sorry to inform you that you are not in the plans of the first team. Yes, I’m talking about the current league’s plans. You still have a lot of flaws but we hope you will continue to accumulate experience in the reserve team’s competitions to overcome those flaws. At the same time, you could choose to be loaned out to train as well…”

※※※

Everything that the assistant coach said after was nothing to Moke. He only heard the part where he said “Sorry to inform you that you aren’t in the plans of the first team in the current season.” Everything else was just noise ringing in his ears.

Was it over? That was the only thought in his mind.

He did not even know when he thanked the assistant coach and hung up.He felt unjust.

In the youth team, he had been the most outstanding one. Before he even turned 17, he had already received several invitations from other soccer teams. Those scouts all begged him to sign on to their teams but he rejected all of them. He was a Nottingham citizen, his family had been Nottingham Forest fans for many generations, so he only wanted to play for Nottingham Forest.

Whether it was David Kerslake, Dunn or Greenwood, the successive youth training director back then, were all expecting him to do well. They promised he would have a bright future in Nottingham Forest.

He would become a player as outstanding as George Eastwood, wearing the Nottingham Forest uniform every week to showcase his breakthroughs and dribbling techniques to his supportive fans and also score continuously.

His room had been filled with the greatest soccer superstars in the history of Nottingham Forest team. When he first joined the youth team of Nottingham Forest, he had the same dream over and over again. There would be a day he would retire from Nottingham Forest team and the whole city stadium would be filled with standing soccer fans who would chant his name.

But now, all of these were gone. He could not even get into the first team!

※※※

On the second day of training, Twain and his coaches were all shocked to see Adriano Moke doing his warm-up in the team.Twain gave a glance towards Kerslake

Kerslake quickly explained. “I called him and explicitly told him he was cut.”

“Maybe he just felt unjust,” Dunn commented from the side.

“I…” Just when Twain was about to speak, Kerslake ran out. “Let me talk to him again.”

※※※

“Moke!” Kerslake’s face was blank as he strode to Adriano Moke, gripping his arm with a hand. “What are you doing here?”

“To participate in the training, sir.” Moke’s arm was restricted so he started working on his legs.

“Was I not clear enough on the phone yesterday?I told you that you should join the reserve team for training and competitions.”

“You were clear enough, sir. But I don’t think I’ll improve much on the reserve team.” Moke stopped and stared at the assistant coach of the first team.

Their scuffle attracted the attention of everyone else on the training grounds. The other players who were also doing their warm-ups also stopped doing what they were doing and turned to look at Kerslake and Moke who were huddled together.

“Then you can opt to be on loan to gain experience from competitions. Just like the previous two seasons!”

“Is it for a Premier League team?” Moke responded with a question.

“Then you would need to see if there are any Premier League teams who are interested in you,” Tony Twain’s voice echoed from beside the pair. He glanced at Moke, then turned to Kerslake and said, “Looks like you’re in trouble, David.”

“Very sorry, Tony, ut I—”

Twain interrupted him and interrogated Moke directly, “Did Coach Kerslake not tell you on the phone yesterday? Your capabilities are not up to the team’s standard, But you could use the reserve team competitions or the experience you would accumulate upon loaning out to correct your flaws.”

“But I don’t think I’m that bad. The reserve team and the English League are of no use in improving my standards, captain.” Even when it was Twain he was confronting, Moke did not shy away from his stare. “My techniques are the best in the youth team in the same league and my speed is also very good. You’ve seen me play. Did my breakthroughs by the side lanes not leave any deep impressions on you?”

Twain stared at him for a while, thinking where Moke got his courage from.Then he turned to look at Kerslake.

“He was indeed outstanding in the youth team…” Kerslake awkwardly shrugged. “No one could defend him one-on-one without fouling.”

“I wouldn’t let my players play an official match without fouling,” Twain commented.

“Do you know what your issue is, Moke?” He turned again to ask.

“Physical confrontation. But I have my ways in avoiding these confrontations. I have good techniques and I’m fast. Even if I’m surrounded by three people, I can immediately get out of the situation. I am smart, I know how to leverage my strengths to compensate for my flaws,” Moke spoke like a promoter frantically trying to explain his strengths of his product in his hands. He did not care ho, he just wanted to stay on the first team of Nottingham Forest.

Twain then stared at him again, almost seemingly wanting to see through him.

※※※

When Twain intervened in the scuffle between Moke and Kerslake, the players present no longer cared about the commands of the coach and gathered together to watch what was actually going on.Now they all understood that Moke was excluded from the plans of the new season and felt unjust, which was why he was here to ask for an explanation. This kid was so daring! You all should know this had never happened in the Nottingham Forest under Twain’s coaching.

“Want to bet?” Eastwood asked the bunch of players. “On whether the kid will get to stay? I’ll be the banker. 1 to 20 odds for him staying, 7 to 1 for him leaving”

“Two hundred pounds on him leaving. I don’t like that kid.” Pepe also joined. It was no surprise Pepe disliked Moke. Every time there was training within the team, Moke always picked on defenders like Pepe, who were recognised by the Premier League and European Football, to have a one-to-one confrontation. If Moke could successfully dribble pass them, he would obviously be very excited. This really humiliated Pepe. If their head coach allowed this sort of internal conflict, Pepe could not guarantee he would not sock Moke.

After Pepe placed his bet, more and more players participated. The bets increased by the fifties and hundreds, but not a single person thought Moke would be able to stay on the team.

“Hey! Hey!” The Gypsy suddenly screamed. “At times like these you should be betting on the unpopular option.” If everyone bet on Moke leaving, then after this betting session he would not be able to earn anything… According to the odds, if Moke really stayed, then betting 100 pounds would earn him 2000 pounds. If the bet did not land, then all the money would be given to Eastwood. If he bet on Moke leaving Moke did end up leaving then, aside from his 100 pounds Eastwood would still have to pay him another14 pounds. As such, unless everyone bet on Moke leaving and Moke left, he would just be setting himself up for failure.

“We’ll definitely lose if we bet on the unpopular option. We’re not idiots, Freddy. With these odds, who would bet on him winning?” Everyone laughed. It was not because everyone hated this bubbly kid like Pepe did, but because they knew what would become of people who opposed their captain.

“A thousand on him staying,” George Wood said from outside the group. Everyone turned to look at him, stunned.

“Reason being?” Pepe questioned.

“Someone has to let him earn,” He pointed at Eastwood and said.

“Hey!” Eastwood suddenly frowned, and gave an ungrateful look. Although George Wood shoving his leg was a thing in the past, his opinion towards Wood had not changed. “Don’t worry. If you somehow win, I won’t go back on my word.”

If Wood really won, Eastwood would have to pay him twenty times of a thousand — 20,000 pounds. Even though he was a professional soccer player, this was no small sum.

Someone finally placed a bet on Moke staying, even if it was George Wood, but the others were still betting on Moke leaving. The youths who had just joined this team hesitated for a while but they also joined eventually.

“Don’t you want to go and play as well, Colin?” Bostock, upon placing his bet, was squeezed out of the crowd, and found Colin Cogen rooted at the same spot. “This small bet wouldn’t. The coaches don’t care anyway.”

Colin shook his head. “I don’t gamble.” He looked at Moke who was still confronting the two coaches.

“Moke… this will turn out very unfortunate for him.” Bostock commented as he sat beside Colin. Actually everyone knew Moke looked down on Colin. Perhaps it was because both of them took up positions that were on opposite sides and were therefore often compared to each other. Also, coach was obviously more biased towards Colin, something Moke’s ego could not tolerate.

“He’s a stubborn and pitiful brat.”

Bostock looked at Colin with shock. This was the first time Colin expressed negative views on Moke. Before this, whenever Moke picked on Colin during training, Colin always stayed silent.

“He’s always thought that he was the best in his age group and that he’d have a bright future after leaving the youth team. Hallucinating that he could be the hero who saved a critical match from from the brink of defeat and rise to fame from that. Thinking that, just because he could dribble past five players, he could become a global superstar and represent England to clinch the Europe Cup and World Cup. Thinking that his teammates should work hard to not hold him back, and should strive to make space for him to perform.

“He should be the face of the team, the star player, and the media should flock to him like flies. There would be different girls visiting him everyday and fans would paint him out to be the greatest talent this team has ever seen. Every major soccer club would be at his door waving big cheques and begging him to join their club. Head coaches would threaten the club with suicide if they even thought of selling him.

“When he retired, millions would send him off. A bronze statue would be built outside even before he passed. The most popular fan base will be named after him, the best player award from England will be named after him as well…”

After Colin finish saying all of these in one breath, he turned to look at the surprised Bostock and grinned. “These daydreams, I’ve had them too.”

※※※

Twain took back what he said. “Very well, kid. I’m giving you this last chance to prove your capabilities. Prove to me with your capabilities that I made the wrong call. If you do this, I’ll let you stay. Otherwise, go to where you’re supposed to be.”

“Yes, sir!” Moke nodded excitedly.

Twain turned to walk away, signalling the workers to move a mini-goal into the penalty area. “Place it here.” He pointed at the penalty line on the right side.After that, he stepped on the football and signalled Moke over.

“Two-on-two in the penalty area. I don’t care what method you use to escape the defender and how you shoot or pass to your teammate. If you’re shooting, you need to score. If you’re passing, you need to make sure your partner scores with your pass. This is how you’ll win. Any questions?”

“Is there a goalkeeper?”

“What is the use of the goalkeeper with a goalmouth this small?”

“Can I pick my partner myself?”

“Of course, you can pick who you think is the best shooter.”

Moke looked at the small goalmouth, then pointed at Eastwood who was still busy with calculating the bettings. “Freddy Eastwood. I want Eastwood as my partner.”

Twain nodded. “Very well.” Kerslake then turned to shout. “Freddy! Come over here!”

Eastwood ran over with a face of confusion. “What’s the matter, captain?”

“2 versus 2, you are partners with him.” Twain pointed at Moke. “Both of you from there.” He pointed at the penalty line opposite the goalmouth. “Start attacking from there and up till there. He will lead the attack and you will support him to open up the space. He could also choose not to pass you the ball and score on his own. Just like an actual match.”

Eastwood was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. “No problem, captain.”

“Alright, your team is complete. Let me find opponents for you.” Twain turned to scan the group who gathered to watch the show. Then, he told Kerslake, “Call George and Pepe over.”

Kerslake was confused and did not move at all. “You’re joking, Tony.”

“I’m definitely not.”

“But the both of them…”

Twain looked at Moke who was beaming with confidence. “If he wants to stand firm in Nottingham Forest’s first team, naturally he would need to challenge the best opponents. We are not a team who fights to stay in the league. If he can’t win George and Pepe, he can forget about winning the strongest opponents in the world. Am I right, Moke?”

Moke nodded. “Yes, captain. Competing with weak opponents, I may as well participate in the reserve team matches or choose to be loaned to the English League.”

Twain raised his thumb. “I like this character. Call them over.”

Eastwood, upon hearing this exchange, looked uneasy.

※※※

Kerslake marched over to the players’ front and waved. “George, Pepe, come out!”

After this, everyone knew what the head wanted to do. The crowd was in an uproar.

“Hey, George! You wouldn’t purposely go easy just to win money right?”

“Pepe! Teach that kid some lessons! Stick closely to Freddy and not give him any chances to shoot at all!”

Kerslake did not know whether to cry or laugh after looking at this crowd. Did they start betting on this matter on their own?

Pepe and George stepped out. Pepe looked at the team captain by his side, “I’m going all out, captain.”

“Do you think I’m the type to go easy?” George questioned back.

Both of them followed Kerslake towards the few who were waiting on the other side.

Twain repeated the rules for Pepe and George. At the end, he emphasized, “This is not like training or a show. This is an official competition which determines if we are able to enter the champions cup in the next season! I hope both of you will bring out your fullest potential and attitude. If I were to see someone not putting in effort, you will know what will happen to you.”

Then, he exited the penalty area, making Kerslake the referee for this match.

“Come on, guys. Five rounds, three to win.”

The group surrounded the match to watch this special contest.

※※※

Just like in an actual match, Eastwood started the ball from the “middle circle”, then passed it to Moke. He advanced on his own to assist Moke in distracting Pepe.

However, Moke met George Wood upon advancing with the ball.When both of them were still three meters apart, Moke’s torso suddenly jerked. = The ball then appeared behind his head and flew behind George Wood.It was a heel pick to dribble pass his opponent!

“Wow!” Some were whistling off field. This move was indeed elegant. But for the practical effects…

Wood turned on the spot and stretched both his arms, blocking Moke who was trying to run past him, then he calmly passed the ball to Pepe who received it from behind.

Kerslake’s whistle rang out. “End of round one. George’s team wins.”

There was an uproar by the side of the field. They were definitely not celebrating over Moke’s defeat but actually for their small winnings.

Moke bit his teeth while starting at the calm team captain.Eastwood was crossing his arms by the side.

In the second round, Eastwood passed the ball to Moke as expected, then Moke did his thing.This time, he decided to use his sudden start to change his direction to shake off George Wood who was standing firmly on his spot. He was confident of his speed, even if the team captain was as fast, turning would be a lot slower than breaking through on a straight line right?

After he shook off a tackle, he successfully dribbled past Wood, the defender who needed to turn would definitely lose out. However, just when he was excitedly thinking to continuing to dribble pass Pepe, he was knocked by someone from behind, staggering the ball.

He was trying his best to hold his balance while protecting the ball. But taking a hit from such fierceful body proved his efforts to be futile. He stumbled with the ball as he brought it out of the area. Pepe did not move at all from his initial spot.

“Foul!” He shouted with unjust.

“A reasonable tackle.” Kerslake told him. “This is the end of round two. George and Pepe win this round.”

“Your body is too weak, little kid!” Pepe mocked him.Eastwood gently shook his head.

In the third round, the Romani passed to Moke yet again, and ran forward. But he wasn’t looking forward to this player to pass the ball to him. Pepe clearly thought the same way, he left Eastwood alone and stayed behind George, waiting to attack with George from both front and back.

This time, one could tell Moke was furious from his eyes, he glared at Wood. There was no change in his dribbling speed.

Stepping onto the right, and over the ball.

Wood did not react.

Stepping onto the left, and over the ball.

Wood did not react.

Feigning with his right leg.

Wood did not react.

Right leg back.

Wood still did not react. He was only following Moke’s speed whilst retreating.

Moke then lifted his right leg and continued feigning with the ball. Just as his foot landed, his heel hit the ball. The ball did not roll left, just straight between George’s legs!

The crowd by the side screamed. “This kid did a nutmeg on Wood!”

Wood was stunned for a moment — he did not expect himself to be nutmeg-ed by his opponent — and then he saw his opponent speeding past him.

Pepe was panicking. He had to go forward to defend, but then he saw Wood fiercely turned and chased with giant steps, and just when he was about to be able to hold Moke, he used a hand to hold the kid’s shoulder, and sank his body while pulling his hand, both legs sliding towards the ball under Moke. It was a sliding tackle from behind!

Moke had no time to celebrate. He fell immediately and rolled a couple of rounds with the ball before stopping.

The crowd immediately turned silent. Everyone was thinking, “The captain really did it huh…”

Moke was on fours, and turned to see how George Wood was still in his slide tackle stance. He could not believe what had just happened. Kerslake’s whistle rang as he ran towards both of them, showing a yellow card towards Wood. “It is a foul! This is the end of the third round, George and Pepe won!”

Moke reacted furiously, he jumped from the ground and pointed at Wood while shouting. “Why! He fouled! It was him who fouled! But why did he still win!”

“Because your attack ended.” Kerslake explained.

“But he had to foul to stop me! Aren’t fouls actions which aren’t allowed by the rules?” Moke didn’t want to accept this result, because he knew it was a best of five, losing this round meant he was about to be eliminated.

Looking at Moke’s angry face, Kerslake couldn’t link between him and the person who was delighted most of the time.

“Have you seen a soccer match with 0 fouls throughout its 90 minutes?” The coach who used to coach Moke back in the youth team asked coldly.

“This is unfair!” Moke hesitated for a moment and continued shouting, “Using fouls to stop attacks is unfair! If he didn’t foul, I would have broken through for sure!”

“Nonsense!” Kerslake started shouting as well. “After Wood, there was still Pepe in front. If you had used your time to dribble past Wood to dribble past Pepe, Wood would have rushed back! You continue to dribble pass! Are you able to dribble past 11 people on the field!”

“I only needed to enter the penalty area…”

“Don’t worry, they would have tackled you down before you enter the penalty area, just like what Wood did to you before!”

“That was a foul!”

“Have you seen a soccer match without fouls? What did Tony say just now? Regard this as an official match! In an official match, your opponents would not be unmovable sticks for you to pass through! They are not robots without self-reflections!”

Moke was utterly stunned.

“The rule was to win three out five, Moke, and you lost. Return to the reserve team now!” Kerslake coldly commanded while pointing to the western side of the field.

The players who were watching felt bad. It was undeniable that the stunt he pulled on George was beautiful and awe-inspiring.

“David.” Twain walked over and stopped his assistant. “Let him finish the last two rounds.” Then he turned to tell Moke. “I’ll give you another chance, seeing how you almost succeeded in dribbling past George. I can give you another chance. You can stay if you win just one round. Right now, you are left with two rounds.” He raised two fingers.

Kerslake turned to look at Twain. He did not, in the least, think this was Twain giving Moke a second chance. Rather, it seemed to him that Twain wanted to utterly destroy Moke’s faith because, based on Moke’s performance, there was almost no chance of him winning the next round.

Moke quietly picked up the soccer ball and walked back to the starting point. Eastwood, who was essentially a spectator, sighed and shook his head as he followed.

In the fourth run, Moke decided to charge forward past Wood. But this time, Wood did not even have to turn to determine the position of Moke to hold him in place. Moke then fell over as the ball was intercepted.

There were no discussion or whispers. All the players were stunned. Honestly, everyone knew that Moke was average and he had no chance of winning against Wood, but what stunned them was that Moke was still charging forward to face Wood who did not give any chances even against a weaker opponent. A lot of them thought that, if they were in Moke’s shoes, all they would feel was despair…

Pepe, upon looking at Wood competing with Moke, shrugged by the back and turned to make a wry face to his teammates who were spectating. What kind of a 2 versus 2 match was this? This was just George Wood challenging Adriano Moke on his own. Eastwood and him were just unlucky spectators…

※※※

The fifth round.

Moke continued to challenge Wood on his own. Pepe came over to prepare for the opportunity for him to charge forward once Wood had his back turned on him. Although he knew the odds were small, but he could not let Wood always be the main lead. As for Eastwood? Just let him have his way.

This time, Moke did not charge from the front, but instead dribbled the ball on the side lane, keeping Wood within the inner line and the ball running on the outside, using his body as a wall to block Wood’s tackles and the possibility of a slide tackle. Hence, even if Wood slid, he could preemptively dodge it with a flick of the ball.

After running for a while, he made a feign for a sudden cut. Wood bought it and lost his footing as Moke dribbled forward.

However, how could it be so easy to shake off Wood? Moke was not as naive as before. He dribbled a distance from Wood and adjusted his footing, then he lifted his foot to pass!

Seeing how the ball was going to cross over, he instead lifted a foot from behind and tapped the ball with his heel, causing the ball to change direction and fly out of the area. The group of spectators finally let out the breath they had been holding.

George Wood rushed back at the most critical moment. In the five encounters, he did not allow his opponent to escape his defending area once. Regardless of his measures, he still won.

Upon seeing how the soccer suddenly changed direction and flew out, Moke’s legs became wobbly as he knelt onto the ground. His partner, Eastwood, ran over and told him, “Want to hear my thoughts, kid? The last ball was unfortunate.” He shrugged while walking away.

Wood stood up, wiped the grass on his butt and walked away as well, without exchanging words with Moke at all. Two silhouettes then appeared in front of him, Moke raised his head to see Kerslake and Twain.

“Moke, you lost.” Kerslake commented without any expression.

“Yes, I know, coach…” Moke softly spoke while holding his head low.

“You know you lost, or do you know how you lost?” Twain questioned.

“I shouldn’t have done this alone…”

“What kind of reason is that?” Twain snorted.

“Sorry, boss. I’m not sure…”

Twain lifted his leg and stomped onto the firm ground. “Be realistic, kid. This way, you’ll be able to walk walk further.” Afterwards, he raised his arm to pat Moke. “Your skills are not bad, maintain them. Now, report to the reserve team. If you want to be loaned out for competitions, then go and apply.”

After saying his piece, he also turned to walk away.

“Go back and carefully reflect, Moke. Hopefully, these five rounds today will help you in your road in the future.” Kerslake finally smiled. “You have talent, but soccer is not a sport you can play with just talent.”

Moke opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Twain’s voice. Both parties were distracted by what happened on the other side.

“Why are you all in a daze? Go and start training! The show has ended, all of you go back! We have wasted too much time… Freddy! What are you doing!”

“Oh— Boss!”

※※※

By the time Moke looked away, Kerslake had already left. He was standing on the field alone, looking at that bunch of first team players starting their training.

Chris Cohen, who he had always looked down on, was running slowly among the team with his head down. Before this summer, he was only a small shrimp in the reserve team who seemed to have no future.From today onwards, he was a player in the first team, and Moke would have to take his place in the reserve team…

※※※

Chapter 731 - Before the Start of the New Season

Nottingham Forest was quiet this summer. There were no news about them that was exciting enough for the media to spread. The China Media discovered that Tony Twain really liked closed trainings. Twain’s “closed training” was not the same as China’s version. It was just the media that he barred from recording the team training. In the whole world, only the?official Nottingham Forest’s website had pictures of the training. Even theNottingham Evening Post who had the rights to enter the field to film was stripped of its privilege after offending Twain with its article by Brosnan.

Nobody knew how Nottingham Forest’s conducted their pre-season training. They also did not know the potential of Nottingham Forest in this new season. Would these brats really be useful? Did Tony Twain still have power over this soccer team? Would the club continue to sell or buy players? There was no information at all. Twain even aggressively cancelled the routine press conference on every Wednesday afternoon because there was just nothing to talk about!

The newest information that the media could obtain about this club was from the warm-up match open to outside viewing. However, Twain mixed up the number and sequence of the players in the roster and, after the first half, brought in a massive number of reserves to play. With this, the match results were of no value to the spectators.

Everything Twain did was to reduce pressure placed on the new players on the team, creating a less tense environment for them. But the media did not view it this way, they all think that Twain was trying to go against them as per usual. If Twain wanted to treat the media like this, then he could forget about them having anything good to say!

Although Twain did not reveal any message to the media, this did not prevent the media from fabricating any messages. Hence, articles criticizing Tony Twain, and questioning the current state of Nottingham Forest’s new season were piling up.

The English Media had to acknowledge this much: they could look down on Twain all they wanted, but they had no choice but to rely on talking bad about Twain for the audience to pay attention to them.

Regarding Twain’s methods to have a younger soccer team, doubts originating from the Carl Spicer’s press conference, had not stopped. Following the incoming new season, these voices became louder.

Some experts predict the results of the new seasons had Nottingham Forest as the “middle of the league”, and this was being respectful as well. Some immediately clamoured that even avoiding relegation this season would be a miracle for the team.

Just because Twain allowed the team closed training did not mean he was ignorant to what was happening outside the stadium. He knew what the outside world was commenting about him and his team, but he did not want to argue with the media. This was the first time he did not comment any hopes on his own column regarding the new season — all of these was just to avoid creating stress on the many youths on his team.

There was a great difference between the current team as compared to the previous. Twain also understood this point, he could no longer use the same attitude he used on the previous team, some times his managing methods needed change and adjustment.

He did not want to create too much pressure for these people, but this did not mean that zero pressure would be given. He just needed a suitable time to tell his players what being in the professional league meant. He actually needed to thank the media who had been constantly thinking of adding troubles on him, because they helped Twain to complete the outside environment of Nottingham Forest.

Frankly speaking, Tony Twain was a sly, innately disgusting person who liked to go against the norm. Hence, the team he led would be contaminated by such atmosphere. If the outside world was not as optimal, then Twain would gladly grab the collars of those people, and slap them with his might. The slapping sounds would be music to his ears.

※※※

In the final moments before the start of the new season, the team was doing its final preparations for the new season. Twain and Dunn recreate the new tactics and attacking methods. They could no longer rely on counter attacking as their only method of winning, Twain insisted on having an organizational midfield, because he viewed that the battlefield was a problem he could never avoid.

Van der Vaart’s departure dealt a heavy blow to Nottingham Forest’s new tactics. ?ahin was still unable to replace van der Vaart’s position and potential immediately so the team needed to readapt to the new playstyle after changing its core.

In the warmup match, Twain rotated ?ahin and Bostock to try out this position, while occasionally allowing George Wood and Tiago to be the ones in the organizational attack. After observing for a few matches, Tiago was eliminated first. Maybe Tiago used to excel in the midfield in the attack last time, but after many years of sharpening, he became the second-rate version of George Wood. But George Wood was performing phenomenally.

Bostock was still a little young. ?ahin displayed great potential to be utilized but the warm up match and actual competition had a huge difference. Twain had seen his fair share of players performing brilliantly in warm-up matches only to underperform in the actual matches.?ahin still needed to be reevaluated in the actual competition to truly determine his capabilities. With the mindset of not placing all hopes on one person, Twain decided to focus on the new role by Wood in the attack.

In the new season, George Wood, other than continuing his job as the defensive midfielder, needed to bear several offensive duties as well. Because by then, Nottingham Forest initiated almost all its attacks from this position. — Starting the attack from the back would be from him as he was in charge of passing the ball forward. Upon being pressurized by the opposing forwards, he was required to open up space by running to support his full backs via receiving the ball and controlling it, waiting for his other teammates to support. While his forwards were restricted, he was required to run forward to alleviate the pressure via receiving and passing the ball.

The defensive midfielder is the most important position in modern soccer, it is the central position in the team. If Wood were able to perform a little better, he could become Nottingham Forest’s Fàbregas, Gerald, and then Twain could loosen down a lot more. By that time, he could even try using the more offensive 4-3-3.

Aside from that, Wood did not slack during shooting practice for even a day. Now his shooting was a lot better than it used to be. At the very least, only half his shoots from 10 feet outside the penalty area would be off its mark.

A defensive midfielder who excelled in defending was very capable in his running, and also able to pass in an organizational attack, while when all else fails is able to send a screamer into the opposing goal mouth. Just the thought of such a player would scare most people.

※※※

The newly married Shania had no reason to slack off. The whole world was facing an economic crisis so she also needed to work hard to earn money. But she was no longer a single who could feed herself easily. After getting married, there was suddenly a lot more things on her plates. Aside from making money, there was?a very crucial matter, and that was the love between her and Uncle Tony.

If possible, she would rush back home to Nottingham after her work, then fall in love back on bed with Uncle Tony, relishing in the world only the two of them shared. They would make love without stopping, sometimes going two or three rounds, going at it again after changing positions. Aside from their sexual desire from their love of each other, this was also because they wanted to have a child soon.

Tony Twain was about to turn 41. For a man, having children at this time was considered late. Also, considering the dormant dangers in Twain’s body, having children sooner would make them feel more secure. Since their wedding two months ago, they had been making love everyday, other than the days where Shania was out working, and yet there?was no reaction from Shania’s body.

“Alright…, you can’t rush these things.” After another time of lingering, Twain lied on the bed, holding Shania by his side, and said to himself. It seemed like he was comforting Shania and himself at the same time.

“Also, frankly speaking, Shania, I feel like getting pregnant this early won’t be good for your career.”

Shania crawled onto Twain’s naked chest, carefully searching for the position of his cardiac pacemaker. “Are you worried my figure would change after giving birth, Uncle Tony?”

“No, that isn’t it…”

“Frankly speaking, Uncle Tony, if I really lose my figure after giving birth and become an ugly woman who is obese and dull, would you still love me?” Shania suddenly raised her head to look at Twain.

Twain flipped and looked at the ceiling. He was thinking how that woman would look like.

“Ah! You hesitated, you’re wavering!” Shania sat up from the bed, raising her voice while pointing at Twain.

“Nonsense! I am seriously thinking about it! If I gave you a reply easily, then you should really worry!” Twain pulled Shania over to lean onto his chest. “Listen to the sound from here!”

Shania seriously listened to it for a while. She was worried Tony’s heart disease would act up again. “It sounds normal…”

“This means I’m not guilty! You shouldn’t think that being fat will turn you ugly. Some women become cuter after gaining weight!” Twain stared at Shania and sternly said. “Besides, I won’t allow you to think about what I would think if something ridiculous should happen to you.”

“For example?”

“Like how I don’t go thinking about what would happen to you if I di—” Shania covered Twain’s mouth with her own.

After a long kiss, Shania straddled Twain’s waist, staring at him while saying, “If you dare to say ‘dead’ again, see how I would handle you, Uncle Tony! Ah…”

Shania suddenly felt something poking her butt. She did not turn because she knew what it was without looking.She squinted at Twain who was on the bed and screamed surprisingly. “Wow! Are you really 40 years old, Uncle Tony?”

Twain was not embarrassed at all, he pointed at his left chest. “I have a nuclear powered heart with a long lasting power and a stronger effect. I have five batteries to last after one goes down, then I can battle with you for another 300 rounds without panting!”

“You are lying! Are you a machine,uncle?” Shania puffed out her cheeks, pouting in disbelief at his lies, but she started gyrating.

Twain could feel his thing being grinded by Shania’s soft and round butt, being a little indecent. He looked at Shania’s beautiful face; she looked spellbound. Her vibrant eyes were glossed over and her wet lips were slightly parted. The dim, yellow light by the bedside cast a glow over her lips and it made them look like delicate cherries.

“Then… want to try?” Twain naughtily placed his hands onto her slim waist, they then started a new round of “human production exercise” with the guy on top of the woman.

The last moments before the season then passed by like this...

※※※

The week before the start of the new season, on new Wembley stadium, the previous league champion Manchester United and FA cup champions Liverpool reenacted their last encounter in the previous season. However, this was a more direct challenge. In the last round the last season, Liverpool could not perform as they usually did against Totterham due to the overwhelming pressure of needing to remain in the league. As such, it was Totterham that performed outstandingly.

In the end, Liverpool drew against Totterham on their home court, allowing Totterham to avoid relegation. However, Liverpool lost their league championships. On the other field, Manchester United completely dominated Hull City with a three goal lead, snatching back the league championships and continuing the legacy of Mr Ferguson.

With this backstory, the Community Shield Cup was very exciting and intense. Liverpool was trying their hardest to find Manchester United for revenge and they finally got their chance.克里斯蒂亚诺.罗纳尔多 wait what ?????

In their 90 minute contest, the head referee issued a total of 6 yellow cards and 1 red card, Manchester United not only lost to Liverpool, and lost the Community Shield Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just had knee surgery, suffered from another violation by his opponent, re-opening his injury on his knee and forcing him to leave the field. And the player who fouled him was Liverpool’s midfielder Mascherano Zebel who was directly given a red card to leave the stadium.

The match results did not do justice to how exciting the match seemed, 1:0 with Liverpool winning.

After the match, pictures showing Ferguson raging on Benítez was on the headlines of several newspapers. When he was interviewed, he angrily called Liverpool, regardless of coaches or players, being a bunch of bandits, saying that a player like Mascherano who had no sportsmanship should be sent to the gallows. His comments blew up in the English media. He was also then fined by England for a hundred thousand pounds.

Benítez and Liverpool were not the best people either. Benítez thought that Ferguson lacked the basic respect towards others, and he felt sorry for Ronaldo but he did not think that Mascherano should be accepting such denouncement from the Manchester United media. Who allowed his innocent player to face such tremendous pressure? Those people who wanted to send Mascherano into the gallows should be sent to the gallows instead.Hence, Benítez was fined fifty thousand pounds by the England Football Association.

Mascherano was then suspended for four matches after that game. During his interviews, he had already answered that he had called Ronaldo to claim that it was an accident caused by exaggerated defending. He also claimed that Ronaldo had accepted his apology.But because of this injury, Christiano Ronaldo missed almost two months’ worth of the new season, hence whether he really accepted his apology was really questionable.

The English Premier League from 2009 till 2010 then opened with such a chaotic background.?And Tony Twain, with his team, was outside of such chaos for the first time.

※※※

Chapter 732 - The Juvenile Footballers

“Four rounds had been completed in the league tournament, and the next round will only resume on September 12th. Now we can summarize what Tony Twain and his Boy Scouts have achieved in these four rounds of the league tournament.....” Spicer continued his promising job to “vilify Twain” on a football talk show he hosted.

It was indeed “very promising”, because he had been mocking and jeering at Twain in the column. His incisive words left an indelible impression on people. As a result, Sky TV came knocking on his door to ask him to host a talk show dedicated to commentary on football celebrities on the Premier League channel. It was called <Football Matters>. One to a few guests were invited to open up discussion on the interesting matters that had recently taken place in English football every week. As long as they did not directly burst into obscenities or make personal threats, they could say whatever they wanted. Relying on his glib talking skills, Spicer quickly made the new show soar all the way on Sky TV’s ratings charts, almost trending to become a new highly rated show...

When the show first aired, some people predicted that it was actually a show directed against Tony Twain. Because whichever matter that touched on Twain would grab everyone’s attention—it could not be helped since many stories always swirled around him.

But with the start of the new Premier League season and the show had been on for four episodes, this was the first time Tony Twain was brought up as a topic.

“With two losses and two draws plus two points accumulated, they ranked second to last! Awesome!” Spicer clapped his hands hard and said, “The Juvenile Footballers delivered a satisfying and unsurprising result. What do you think, Andy?”

The show’s invited guests this episode were the retired former Manchester United legendary striker, Andy Cole, who was currently the second highest goalscorer in Premier League history. He was also from Nottingham, where Nottingham Forest was his hometown’s team. He was a Forest fan before he became a Manchester United striker. Since it was time to talk about Nottingham Forest, it was natural to invite a celebrity guest connected to the Forest team.

“Well, you said it was unsurprising, and I also think the result was to be expected... To tell you the truth, I have great respect for Manager Tony Twain. He’s very capable. But at the moment, the team is too weak in any tournament. Four rounds had already started in the league tournament and their opponents were not weak: the first round was an away draw with Middlesbrough, the second round was a home loss to Chelsea, the third round was an away loss to Everton, and the fourth was a draw at home with Everton... The lads played outstandingly on the pitch, but overall they aren’t strong enough.”

Spicer laughed, “Yes, that’s it! What did I say before the league tournament started? Mr. Twain, it may not be a problem if you want to stay in the middle level in the league tournament with the current squad. But if you want to win back the league title or get back into the Champions League with these players? I really can’t find a reason to be optimistic... Now I’m going to correct my statement. By relying on these juvenile footballers now, not to mention the middle level of the league tournament, he should be happy if they are still in the Premier League by the end of the season!”

“The only good news is that after the fourth round of the league, his team finally scored. Eastwood scored his first goal of the season against Everton. It’s not easy!”

“It reinforces my conviction that I’m not optimistic about Nottingham Forest. Watching their game was like watching a bunch of headless flies bumping on the pitch. It was really hard to watch with my own eyes.” Spicer made a face to show that he really could not bear to see it. “The young people lack experience. George Wood’s form is as stable as ever, but he can’t bring stability and experience to the team. How should I put it with regards to experience? It’s not something that the veteran players in the team can bring out. They also need to go through the baptism of the competition ... At least before Christmas, we won’t see the once-familiar Nottingham Forest.”

“Does Tony Twain have any regrets? The devil knows!”

※※※

Did Tony Twain have regrets?

How could it be possible!

He did not have the free time.

He obviously knew that the team had not done well lately, but it was within his expectations. A team that was almost half made up of young players with a lot of key players gone, their tactical play must change. How could they achieve good results?

Therefore, no matter how the outside press criticized him and his team, he would not have the slightest doubt about his choice because of this. Instead, he wanted more criticism—he needed to use these things to motivate the players.

Just going into September, the players on the team who had their national team assignments were drawn away. Even the young people had their own national youth teams to play for. These two weeks were valuable for Nottingham Forest. It was not good to not win in a row for whatever reason. They could use these two weeks to recalibrate, tactically or mentally...

In Twain’s mind, the goal this season was not to win any title, but to return to the European arena next season, whether it was the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Champions League... As long as they could return to Europe, the club’s financial situation could improve, and the team would be able to return to the top group.

While the club’s players headed off one by one to play for the national teams, Twain spent his first birthday with Shania after they got married.

They held a small party in the back garden and invited some of his colleagues from the club. They had a simple dinner and then left after. During the dinner, they chatted about the current state of the team and how to fix it. Even though it was a birthday party, it was probably more like a work dinner. A middle-aged person’s party was not like those of the young players, where after they ate and drank copious amounts, they then called for female escorts to have orgies.

After he sent away his colleagues, Twain hugged Shania as he stood at the entrance of the yard and sighed.

“Having a lousy birthday? Is it because of the team’s recent results?” Shania looked at him.

“How could that matter make me sigh?” Twain turned to look at Shania, who nestled against him. “I’m just lamenting that I’m a year older... You know something, Shania, when I was still your age, my daily wish was to grow up quickly, become independent, and be an ‘adult.’ Now I regret it... My days with you were short of twenty-two years without a reason.”

Shania tightly embraced Uncle Tony and said nothing.

“Don’t have to celebrate my birthdays anymore, Shania. Just take it that... I’m forever forty.”

If it was possible, he really wanted to say, “take it that I am eighteen forever” or “forever twenty years old,” But he could only say “forever forty years old”, which was really helpless.

“Then you are not allowed to celebrate my birthdays. Just take it that I am forever eighteen!”

Twain smiled and said, “All right, we are immortal and stayed young forever.” With Shania in his arms, he walked back to the house and was about to start their new round of “making a human being.”

※※※

After she celebrated Twain’s birthday, Shania flew to Los Angeles again. Tom Cruise was kind enough to give Shania a role in his new film. This time the role was more important than the previous minor role of a pretty face. There were a lot of lines, and even a scene with the main character.

Shania was eager to get into action and prepared to show her acting chops in the film. At this time, the “making a human being” project also naturally had to be postponed.

And the team’s players were also coming back in succession. Two days before the start of the league tournament, all of them were back in the team. Whether it was Rafinha in faraway Brazil and Sun Jihai, who was back in China to compete, both had returned on time. After a brief day of practice together, Nottingham Forest headed off to London to take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. They would continue their away tour in London on the 15th, this time the opponent was Fulham.

The media was generally down on Nottingham Forest’s trip to London. In addition to the level shown by the team in the first four rounds of the league tournament, they naturally took into account that after the national team games, they would play two games in a week one after another. Given the team’s stamina distribution and the players’ inconsistent form, these two games pointed to disaster for the Forest team.

On the way to London, the television in the bus showed an entertainment program to pass the time, which Twain had thoughtfully prepared for the players—the recording of the television program in which Carl Spicer mocked the Nottingham Forest’s “juvenile footballers.”

“What can a bunch of kids who are still at their mothers’ teats do? Ha ha! There’s nothing they can do! Look at how they played in the games. If I were Tony Twain, I would tell them all to go home. Some people don’t have the chops to establish a foothold at Nottingham Forest at all. Did Tony Twain receive kickbacks when he bought these players?”

“... Yes, yes but Andy, I think you’re still too kind. If I were Tony Twain, I would swear even harder, they’re basically good-for-nothings... I believe that chap, Tony Twain would agree with my view.”

“That’s the way it is—Tony Twain is counting on a group of juvenile footballers to conquer Europe. I’m going to pick this as one of the ten funniest things to laugh about this year. It can even hit the top spot. You can just imagine the scene and you’ll see how funny it is—Adolf Hitler yelled at a group of babies with their pacifiers still in their mouths: ‘You (Bleep—) will flatten France, then stand on the edge of the English Channel, pull out your things from the pants, and urinate on that bunch of Englishmen! Let the whole of Europe tremble under our iron hoofs and beg for mercy!'”

Carl Spicer could not help but laugh and slapped the table when he came to the last bit.

It was silent in the bus, except for the laughter coming from the television.

At first, everyone did not take it seriously, and were busy with their own things. Later, they found that it was not that simple. So, one by one, they opened their sleeping eyes, took off their headphones, and took their eyes off their phone screens or PSP screens.

“Who’s that idiot?” Someone eventually called out.

“Carl Spicer! He is always targeting the boss and us. Did the boss cuckold him?” Someone whispered.

“What kind of crap is he spouting?”

Even though Carl Spicer talked about the young Forest players, the others felt as if it happened to them too as they were a collective and their teammates were scolded by other people. Not to mention the Forest team was really very young ...

“Such a person can also host a TV show? I’m getting more and more confident in my life plans after I retire...” Eastwood muttered as he stroked his chin.

“It’s too early to consider retirement, Freddy.” Twain stood up and leaned against the back of his seat, to face Eastwood, sitting in the back.

“This is the latest episode of <Football Matters>. I’m afraid some of you haven’t watched it, so I specially recorded it and brought it to play for you on the road. You want to know why I’m doing this? Guys, it’s because these are the voices and talk outside. I think you all must have heard them and don’t want to pay attention to it. But...” He raised his voice and stood in the middle of the aisle to address the players. “It’s not our style to ignore it. Do you know why I did not write in my own column to fight back against those who questioned us? Because football is not shown by glib talk. If we want to fight back against those idiotic remarks, the best way is not to burst into foul language in interviews, but with victory! Use victory to give them all a slap! Slap them to the point where their own mothers cannot recognize them!”

“I’ve never told you I’m angry that we only have two points and are in the bottom two because I don’t want to put too much pressure on you. But now I have to let you know how I really feel—that is, I’m really f **king angry!” He waved his fists hard. Like what Carl Spicer said, he did look a little the madman warmonger, Adolf Hitler.

“I’m telling you that being young and inexperienced are definitely not your excuses. I don’t want anyone to use the media’s rhetoric as a reason for failure. There is only one reason for failure, and that is that you are not doing well enough! I’ll give you a month to get used to this damn new season and I think you should get used to it and be ready to win. Are you ready?”

“That’s right, boss! We’re ready!” The people in the compartment followed suit and roared.

“Yes, you must be prepared. Those who are not ready, I’ll let him out of the bus and run back to Nottingham! I need a madman who believes in Nottingham Forest’s victory at any time, and not a coward who thinks we might lose! You have to remember, the opponent for the game is definitely not Tottenham Hotspur, but those media which look down on us, mock us as juvenile footballers, say you haven’t weaned!”

“Prove to them with victory that ... who are the ones who did not wean!”

※※※

“I don’t think Nottingham Forest is as vulnerable as the media have described. My team is ready. I believe Tony Twain must be ready too. I will shake his hand before the game and congratulate him on his fight against the heart attack and his return to the field. But when it comes to the game, he’d better forget my well wishes. It’s going to be a very intense competition...”

Redknapp spoke these words in a pre-match interview.

It was indeed a tough game.

Twain deployed two defensive midfielders for the game. George Wood and Tiago formed a wall in front of the center backs and used their tireless running and interception skills to stifle Tottenham Hotspur’s offense in the midfield. Then they made use of the characteristics of their ability to pass the ball to launch the attack and immediately counterattack after they intercepted the ball. It caught Tottenham Hotspur by surprise.

ahin sat on the substitutes’ bench and watched his teammates attack from the backfield time and time again, threatening the opponent’s defensive lines with long passes.

Petrov and Lennon impeded the opponent’s defenders in the wings and forced Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive line to stretch horizontally to expose a lot of gaps. If Tottenham Hotspur’s defenders shrank the middle, then they turned the attack toward the sidelines. All the changes were entirely controlled by the two defensive midfielders.

Agbonlahor’s speed allowed him to raid Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive line in the middle after he received the long pass from the backfield, while ?igi?, who was tall, good at headers and physically strong, was in charge of support and cover. His presence ensured that the Forest team’s long-pass attacks would not be easily ended by the opponent. Once the midfielder or striker took the ball in the front field and controlled the situation, the Forest team would start to press forward. The two full backs, Gareth Bale and Rafinha gave their best side assists to put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur on the sides.

Redknapp also had a counter measure. He saw the features of Twain’s attacks on the sides. Whenever Bale and Rafinha pressed up, Tottenham Hotspur would put the direction of their attack firmly on the Forest team’s two sides—the striker, Darren Bent who stayed in the front, was not in the middle, but would pull to the sides to receive the ball and then break through the Forest team’s defenses from the sideline to pose a threat to Akinfeev’s goal. In addition, Modri? and dos Santos would follow closely and be in charge of receiving or covering Darren Bent.

Both sides had a very fast pace of switching between the offense and defense. But in general, it was Tottenham Hotspur which could not slow down due to the Forest team’s fast pace. Bale, Rafinha, Petrov, Lennon and Agbonlahor were speedy players. Every time the Forest team launched an attack, they did not pass the ball back and forth in the midfield. Instead, they directly made the long passes. These players competed with the football in speed. Tottenham Hotspur could only follow suit to rush if they don’t want their defensive lines to collapse.

Over time, Tottenham Hotspur’s stamina dropped dramatically, not to mention they had not been able to keep pace with Nottingham Forest. The exhausted defensive line was pulled apart by the Forest team, and the cracks were getting bigger and bigger...

At the end of the first half, ?igi? received a sideline pass from Agbonlahor. Marked by Ledley King, he headed the ball to the goal and smashed the ball into the goal guarded by the England national goalkeeper, Robinson.

The new season’s aerial overlord made a show of strength for the first time and Ledley King was weak and thin in front of him like a bamboo pole!

In the second half, Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of a chance for a place kick with Darren Bent equalized the score with a goal.

However, the game was already completely in the rhythm of Nottingham Forest. Twain fully made use of the team’s many young players with their fit and fast characteristics to drag Tottenham Hotspur into a fight using their fast-paced attack and defense. The television commentator said more than once that “it’s only a matter of time before Nottingham Forest scores again.”

Nottingham Forest scored their second goal in the 21st minute of the second half.

Tiago had a physical head-on confrontation with Modri? near the midfield, with both of them almost falling to the ground at the same time. Nonetheless, it was Modri? who was fouled when he tackled after his ball was intercepted, knocking down Tiago. But George Wood shot out diagonally and grabbed the out-of-control football. The referee, who initially intended to blow the whistle to suspend the game, immediately raised his hands parallel at this time and pointed forward—the offensive was valid and the game continued!

Wood did not dribbled the ball for long as he saw Agbonlahor cruising diagonally in front of him and decided to kick a straight pass.

Agbonlahor used his speed to shake off the defender in an instant and cut to insert himself behind the Tottenham Hotspur defender. He was not offside! He then dribbled the ball into the penalty area and fired at an angle into the net in front of the attacking Robinson.

“Agbonlahor’s dribbling speed to break through is simply amazing ... George Wood’s speed at which he rushed up from five meters out to grab the ball was also unexpected for the Tottenham Hotspur players... The goal, as well as the game, fully interpreted what Tony Twain always says about ‘speed.'” The commentator exclaimed at the lightning-fast goal. From Modri?’s fall after his ball was tackled to Agbonlahor’s goal, the entire process only lasted fifteen seconds.

The goal scoring Agbonlahor ran back to hug his captain, George Wood who assisted him. He looked very excited because it was his first official goal scored since he joined Nottingham Forest.

Twain, who saw the scene off the field, stroked his chin as he contemplated. George Wood is showing more and more traces of Albertini in his early days... The timing, power, and accuracy of the pass as well as the pre-judgement of Agbonlahor’s running direction were impeccable. If he can keep playing like this, rather than showing the occasional brilliance, then I do not have to tire and worry over the candidate of the team’s playmaker...

※※※

The game eventually ended with Nottingham Forest’s 2:1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Twain’s team won for the first time in the new season. While Carl Spicer insisted on his show that the outcome of a game did not represent anything and that it was normal for young people to perform well occasionally. The league tournament was a long season with thirty-eight rounds. Who would know how long could these juvenile footballers hold on?

Hence, he continued to insist that he was not optimistic about Nottingham Forest’s position and always ready to criticize.

Twain did not respond to Spicer’s criticisms in any way, but he knew the Nottingham Forest team were fired up due to the man’s mocking. He was well aware that as long as his team won one game after another until the end of the season, the dear Mr. Spicer would have to eat the crap he spouted in person.

He very much looked forward to that day. Then he would not mind ridiculing the dear Mr. Spicer with the most vicious and ruthless words.

Chapter 733 - Newborn Calves

Nottingham Forest continued their London tour after they defeated Tottenham Hotspur. In the sixth round of the league tournament, they scored an away goal and won against Fulham to win two straight games of the new season.

The criticisms of the group of “juvenile footballers” waned in the outside press.

With the exception of a few diehard elements determined to “vilify Twain”, everyone else slowly embraced the team.

“After all, they’re young, and being young means there are more possibilities… Isn’t it?” That was what a pundit said in the newspaper.

However, they faced another impending test next.

“… I think one of the benefits that a young team has is they are very motivated. But in the face of an experienced opponent, it will show the inexperience and tenderness of the youth. Tony Twain and the rest of the team don’t have that problem, but there are others who are the team’s indefinite time bombs. Up against a team like Manchester United, I’ll do my best to deploy the ‘veterans’ and contend with Ferguson if I were Tony Twain.”

Indeed, Nottingham Forest’s seventh-round opponent was the defending champion, Manchester United.

Nottingham Forest faced Manchester United at home on September 20th, 2009.

※※※

At the Wilford training ground, Dunn announced the eighteen-player squad list for tomorrow’s game against Manchester United (the Premier League began to implement a “seven substitutes system” since the start of last season) and the starting list.

Having just finished the eighteen-players roster, Twain stood up before Dunn could continue to read the starting list.

“I have a question to ask you before the starting list is released. What are your views on pressure among you?”

A group of people looked at each other and could not understand why the boss asked the question out of the blue.

Twain called out by name, “Millán, let’s hear your thoughts on it. What do you think of pressure? Did you feel the pressure when you played for the club’s First Team when you were only fourteen?”

Nicolás Millán hesitated for a moment before he replied, “A little… But I felt fine, boss.”

“Why did you only feel fine?”

“I said to myself that I was just playing against players older than me and that it was no big deal. Even if I played badly, no one would say anything to me, because I was only fourteen years old, which was very normal.”

Twain nodded, and he turned his gaze to Bostock, “How about you, John?”

“Me?” Bostock smiled and shook his head, “I didn’t feel much, boss. I am a professional player. Since I’m a professional player, I will certainly face all kinds of pressure. I’m used to it.” He told the truth. As one of England’s highly anticipated and most talented players, John Bostock was followed with interest by the clubs and media when he was not yet sixteen years old and had made international appearances to compete for the England national teams of all ages. As a result, the pressure on him from professional football was not a big deal.

Twain asked one by one, but he picked all the young players who had recently been transferred to the First Team this season.

He was satisfied with the results he received.

He certainly was unable to know if the answers were genuine or just to please him as a manager. But he had a way to verify the veracity.

He nodded to Dunn to indicate that he could continue to announce the starting list.

“The goalkeeper, Akinfeev.” After the new season, van der Sar gradually withdrew from the starting lineup. Any fool could tell Twain’s intention to promote Akinfeev the main position. Van der Sar was also mentally prepared for his future as he withdrew from the starting lineup. After all, he was almost thirty-nine years old. The Dutch goalkeeper’s contract would expire next summer, just four months before his fortieth birthday. He had long decided not to renew his contract with Nottingham Forest. He certainly would not go anywhere else. He would announce his retirement directly after the expiry of his contract.

“The full backs are Gareth Bale, Pepe, Kompany and Rafinha.” This setup of defensive line was the absolute main defensive line for the Forest team this season. Cooperated together for many years, they had long developed enough rapport. Woodgate, who only came last season, was currently limited to be a rotating player. The only problem with the defensive line was that it was somewhat heavy on offense and light on defense.

“The midfielders are George Wood, John Bostock, Chris Cohen and Lennon.”

When their names were called, Bostock and Cohen looked at each other in surprise. They thought the starting lineup should be George Wood, ?ahin, Petrov and Lennon. It was also the same configuration in the midfield for the Forest’s away win over Fulham the last time.

“The strikers are Agbonlahor and Nicolás Millán.”

Twain looked the bewildered players and said with a laugh, “Prove to me with your actions how you play under pressure, guys.”

※※※

“Nottingham Forest’s expected starting lineup should be the goalkeeper, Akinfeev, the left back, Gareth Bale, the center backs, Pepe and Kompany, the right back must be Rafinha. George Wood will definitely start as the midfielder. As for his partner… it should be ?ahin. If the Forest team were to play defense, it could be Tiago. On the forward line…”

Ferguson was in a hotel room with his aides to determine Tony Twain’s starting lineup for tomorrow’s game. That would make it easier for them to review the countermeasures.

The door was pushed open and the assistant manager, Mike Phelan came in with a piece of paper.

“Boss, Nottingham Forest had announced their starting list for tomorrow’s game.” The expression on his face was a little odd when he spoke.

Ferguson looked up at his assistant, who only took over last season.

“This is the list.” He handed the paper to Ferguson.

Ferguson’s expression on his face was the same as Phelan when he glanced through it.

“Is Tony crazy?”

※※※

“I’m not crazy. I’m just trying to get the young players to get into the competition as quickly as possible. Losing? I’m not afraid. Anyway, we don’t count on any championship titles this season. We can use one season to train the young players, which I think is a good deal.” Twain answered in this manner to Kerslake’s question about the starting list. This obviously took place before they announced the starting list.

Twain convinced the other coaches that he would try to use the inexperienced young players as much as possible in the heavyweight game against Manchester United. He put aside the outcome of the game. Training these young players was the goal of the game. As long as he could achieve the purpose of training the new players, he would not lose his temper even if they really lost the game.

For him, to be able to compete against those strong team was a hard to come by actual combat practice…

Whether it was Ferguson’s Manchester United, Wenger’s Arsenal, Benítez’s Liverpool or Scolari’s Chelsea, they were just NPCs for his players to gain experience, upgrade and become stronger.

He did not care how many games he would lose as long as those young players could learn something useful in the process. Failure was the mother of success. No matter how many games they would lose this season, they could win them all back one by one next season.

※※※

The day of the match.

“Tony Twain announced their starting lineup for the game a day early. This list is really startling. In the face of a strong team like Manchester United, Twain actually sent the veritable ‘juvenile footballers.’ Agbonlahor has been doing well lately, but Nicolás Millán… has only played a total of one hundred and ten minutes so far this season and his performance has been average. And as for Bostock and Cohen, there’s nothing much to say for their performances at all. I don’t understand why Manager Tony Twain suddenly wants to put these young players in the important positions in the game against Manchester United. Petrov, Eastwood and ?igi? are fine and not troubled by injuries. The team doesn’t have to store up its physical strength for competing in multiple tournaments…” The commentator, Motson remained perplexed by Twain’s lineup despite much thought.

Like him, the Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson also did not understand what Tony Twain wanted to do.

He would not understand what was going on in the smiling man’s mind until the game began. He could only get Manchester United to play the way they were accustomed to and take control of the pace in their own hands.

The rest… was up to the players themselves.

At the beginning of the game, the situation was nothing more than what most people had expected. Manchester United dominated the game with their seasoned experience and excellent skills, as well as the tacit cooperation between the players.

Even though Nottingham Forest also had George Wood, Bale, Pepe and the other proven “battlefield veterans”, they were all defensive players. They could only guarantee that their goal would not be easily breached by Manchester United, but they could not pose any threat to Manchester United’s goal.

Agbonlahor played as well as ever, but it was hard to difficult to achieve anything alone.

He lacked effective support from his teammates and, more often than not, he had to run back to the backfield to help with the defense.

On the away side, Manchester United completely played like it was its home ground, bombarding the Forest team in its half of the field.

Motson said with concern, “If this continues, Ferguson will get the results he wants…”

Instead, Ferguson was worried—He was well-acquainted with Nottingham Forest’s stance and had studied the opponent for four years. He was so familiar with them that he knew what kind of dump they were going to take the moment they lifted their butts. This was the preparation for the defensive counterattacks.

Agbonlahor and Lennon were fast in speed. Millán was not bad either. Cohen was probably the only one who was slower.

He thought about how this team’s first win of the season came about…

Should the formation withdraw now? Slowly deal with the Forest team?

No!

Up against such a Nottingham Forest lineup, it was really embarrassing for Ferguson himself that Manchester United should only aim to equalize the game. The best method was to keep strengthening the offense and score early to put the game in its own orbit.

Ferguson did not have to wait long for Manchester United to score.

Berbatov cleverly blocked Kompany behind after he received a pass from Nani in the penalty area. He immediately swung his leg for the shot and the football passed between the legs of Pepe who had rushed over to defend. It then bypassed Akinfeev’s fingers and drilled into the goal.

The visiting Manchester United fans celebrated the goal with thunderous cheers at the City Ground stadium.

Ferguson also stood up and clapped, expressing his delight.

※※※

But Manchester United’s excitement did not last long. The Forest team took advantage of the kickoff soon after. Bostock dribbled the ball and broke through to the front of the penalty area before he was tackled and fell by Hargreaves. The referee whistled to give Nottingham Forest a free kick.

When Bale stood in front of the football, the City Ground stadium rang out with a song for Bale. They sang, “Young Monkey Bale, he’s our number one free-kick master! With the football at his feet, it’s as precise as controlled by hand! It draws an arc, bypasses the human wall, no matter how far, it will hit the bullseye … Tenth circle! You’re already dead!”

The home ground would ring out with the song every time Bale was going to execute the free kick. Even if Beckham were the one to do it, the lyrics would not change. Bale was once asked about the song in an interview. He replied modestly, “I’m actually not that good…” when he incessantly delighted on the inside.

Ben Foster nervously directed the positions of the human wall. Bale stood in front of the ball and coolly observed everything. Only at this time, his focused look made people forget his actual age.

The human wall was set up and the referee whistled for it to start.

Bale ran up to kick!

The football streaked past the human wall, swept past the penalty area at a low altitude, and got into the top left corner of the goal!

Ben Foster was still standing in the same place, staring blankly at the football that rolled up the net behind him…

“They equalized the scores half a minute later!” Motson shouted and the City Ground stadium cheered and sang thunderously cheers in response to him.

“Tenth ring! Tenth ring! You’re already dead!”

This time it was Twain’s turn to rejoice. He high-fived everyone around him off the field.

“It’s the key goal!” He said with a laugh as he high-fived with Dunn.

※※※

Indeed, it was the key goal. The Forest team’s young players were encouraged by the goal and their morale was boosted. Bale used his free kick to tell his newly recruited teammates— that there was nothing to fear even from the defending champion, Manchester United!

Manchester United’s leading goal did not bring them any benefit. Instead, it inspired the Forest players’ determination and fighting spirit to win in another way.

The benefits of being a young player were evident here—everyone was full of energy fighting against the Manchester United players. They had to use all their strength in every desperate fight. Their vigor to counter press in the front field surprised the Manchester United players.

In terms of experience, this Forest team was slightly inferior to Manchester United. But in terms of fighting spirit, Manchester United was not as good as the Forest team.

The two sides were tied at 1:1 in the first half. During the halftime interval, Twain repeatedly encouraged. He fully acknowledged the performances of several young players in the first half—even though not everyone deserved praise for his performance.

He then asked the team to continue in this mode and unleash high pressing on Manchester United in the second half. Start to grab from the other side’s goal line to force the opponent to mess up, while creating opportunities for their own offense.

After the start of the second half, the two sides continued to tangle with each other in every corner of the pitch. Nottingham Forest’s physical display surprised many Manchester United fans. But the Nottingham Forest fans knew that this was a normal condition for Nottingham Forest—Tony Twain always emphasized and valued the team’s physical development. Last season’s situation was a special case compelled by circumstances and could not be used as a reference.

Nottingham Forest’s high pressing paid off and they scored another goal in the 27th minute of the second half. Nicolás Millán dribbled and broke through with the ball. Then he helped Agbonlahor to score.

The City Ground stadium was almost in a frenzy. The defending champion was about to be beaten by them!

Some Forest fans even yelled at the Manchester United fans in the other stands, “Last season we weren’t there, so you won the championship! It’s no big deal. Now we’re back!”

※※※

Unfortunately, they ultimately did not take the defending champion’s glory at the City Ground stadium. Ferguson deployed his team on a mission and finally equalized the score before the end of the game to retreat with pride.

While the Nottingham Forest fans might be disappointed with the outcome, the Nottingham Forest players would surely be disappointed with the score. But only Twain was happy. The first-year students fought valiantly against the defending champion team. It was a more valuable gain than three points.

It was also the first time the new Forest team did not lose a game against a strong team this season.

It was the Forest team he was familiar with—no matter what kind of opponent they faced, they would not be cowed or in awe. Newborn calves were not afraid of tigers, youth was the wealth of unbridled arrogance…

It does not matter that they did not win today. There’s still a lot of time and we’ve got plenty of opportunities to be arrogant.

The media were more concerned about—

“The defending champion almost lost to Tony Twain’s juvenile footballers!”

Chapter 734 - The Final Moments of 2009

After coming away with a draw against Manchester United at their home grounds, Nottingham Forest’s ‘juvenile footballers’ received an overwhelming ovation from the supporters. They also slapped their critics in the face through their actions and performances.

On 27th September, Matchday 8, they won 1:0 against Newcastle in an away game.

On 3rd October, Matchday 9, they won 2:0 against Hull City, who performed unexpectedly well last season.

On 17th October, Matchday 10, they won 2:1 at home against Portsmouth.

On 25th October, Matchday 11, they drew 3:3 with Manchester City in an away game.

Tony Twain’s ‘juvenile footballers’ went undefeated for 8 matches since Matchday 4 on 30th August. Their ranking in the league shot up from the second last to seventh.

All the criticisms against them were silenced.

Carl Spicer was the only one who continued to have doubts over Nottingham Forest’s performances, as he always had. Every other media outlet had gone quiet.

The young players’ performances have also earned the approval of the masses.

Chris Cohen might not be a player who stood out, but his numerous crucial performances have helped the team earn at least seven points in the league this season.

He was the type of the player that others would typically overlook or not pay attention to, but he was a very useful asset to the team. He might not be blessed with outstanding talent like Moke, who has been demoted to the reserve team, and he might not be quick and is also not good at getting past his opponents. But, he was an all-rounded player. He could play as the left midfielder or the central midfielder and was skilled at both passing and crossing from the byline. He was also a straightforward individual who did whatever Twain told him to do without a single complaint.

Kris Commons had been sold for 2 million pounds by Twain. The only two left midfielders on the team were Petrov and Cohen. With Petrov getting on with his age, Cohen will undoubtedly be playing games for Forest consistently in the coming years.

He has more luck than Commons did since Forest will most likely not be able to fork out too much money to bring in established football stars from here on out. This means he would be able to get more game time, unlike Commons who was only able to make an appearance in the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and during garbage time for some matches.

Cohen’s performance attracted the attention of some other clubs as well. The season had only barely started for a few months, and there were already rumors going around that certain clubs were showing an interest in acquiring Cohen. A winger like him who was willing to track back and defend and could also put in accurate crosses definitely appealed to several other clubs.

Victor Moses’ performance was noteworthy as well. He has played a total of 340 minutes throughout all the matches so far, and he has found the back of the net twice and provided three assists. Such results were considered to be passable for a player like him who was only 18 years of age.

Additionally, he managed to achieve those results when the season has yet to pass its halfway mark. Twain was certain that Moses would continue to repay the trust he has placed on him as long as he continued to give him a chance to play.

Moses displayed all the attributes that should be found in an African football player. His only problem was inconsistency. His two goals and three assists were all attained over 3 matches. However, inconsistency cannot truly be regarded as an issue for young players. It was actually normal and within expectation. What Twain has to do is to give him patience and encouragement.

On the other hand, Nicolás Millán, who also played the role as a forward in the team like Moses, was able to get a lot more game time than him because he could also play as a midfielder. He finely exhibited all the attributes that could be found in South American players. He possessed exquisite footballing technique that could not be found in the Premier League. His speed and technique ensured that he could work his way around big and burly defenders. They also allow him to help the team earn set pieces and penalties, and give Gareth Bale a stage to shine on.

Of course, by helping the team win free kicks and penalties, he also attracted negative attention onto himself, and got labelled with names such as ‘The Chilean Who Is Good At Falling Down’ or ‘The Lad Who Dives’.

Every time an opponent or the media make such criticisms against Millán, Twain would always publish an article rebutting them in his column, or he would openly scold those critics during an interview, “If the referee says it’s a foul means it’s a foul. If you are upset about his decision, please question the referee’s decision. Don’t take your anger out on my player!”

Millán might have only scored once so far, but his techniques have definitely enriched Forest’s attacking abilities in the final third.

His biggest flaw at the moment was his weak physique. He might be able to earn free kicks for the team, but there is no manager in the world who wishes for their forward to only be able to earn free kicks and penalties.

If Millán hopes to develop further, he has to enhance his physicality. It does not matter how good your techniques are. You cannot survive in the Premier League if your body is not strong enough to stand up against your opponents during physical battles.

Nonetheless, Nicolás Millán’s performance so far has been worthy of his title as the ‘Genius Youngster’.

His reputation in Chile continued to soar with each passing day. Many Chileans became Nottingham Forest fans because of him. Every time Nottingham Forest had a match, they all hoped that Tony Twain would send their ‘gem’ onto the pitch and let him play.

Amongst all the ‘new blood’ in the team, Joe Mattock received the least game time.

This is definitely not Twain being biased and giving preferential treatment. It is simply because the back line is very important to the team and should not be changed easily. He would only think about giving young players game time when the team lacks defenders and has no one else to choose from.

Twain was worried that his actions would upset Mattock, so he went up to speak with him on numerous occasions. He told him that he needs the back line to be sturdy and stable, and that there is little room for error for defenders, unlike the front line whereby the players get to be more free and can do as they like. Hence, as a left back, Joe Mattock would get lesser game time than the other ‘new blood’ in the team.

However, Twain promised Mattock that he was still a part of his plans. He also hoped that Mattock would try playing in other positions such as center back and right back as well.

In Forest, a player who is able to play multiple positions has an advantage over players who are only good at one position when it comes to game time.

Joe Mattock accepted Twain’s suggestion and has been working hard to get used to playing as a right back.

The reason why he has been working hard is because everything he has seen in Nottingham Forest so far has convinced him that Tony Twain is the manager that he should entrust his future to. Pearce had not lied to him. Nottingham Forest is indeed the team that suits him the most right now.

※※※

They might have achieved an excellent run of results of going undefeated for eight matches, but that does not mean that things will be smooth-sailing for them in the league from now on.

For Matchday 12, Nottingham Forest faced Arsenal in an away game.

In the end, Arsenal came out on top with a 3:2 win over Nottingham Forest with their home advantage, and they successfully put an end to Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten run.

Jack Wilshere was named man of the match after scoring once and providing two assists. The light surrounding the 17 year old genius was so blinding that it made the entire Nottingham Forest team disappear in its shine. The commentator could not stop roaring his name throughout the match, as though he was a fan of Wilshere, and the Emirates Stadium erupted into thunderous cheers every single time he touched the ball.

He even managed to steal the spotlight from the captain Fàbregas during the match.

Neither ?ahin, John Bostock, Nicolás Millán, Cohen nor Victor Moses, who came on as a substitute later in the match, could hold a candle to him.

“He’s a true genius!”

“Jack has come out of nowhere and is really making himself known! Capello is sitting in a private room in the Emirates Stadium, and he must have taken note of his performance today! Perhaps we will see the name of this 17 year old in the player list for the next training session for the England national team…”

“He is another gem that Arsenal has unearthed for us!”

“The day we see Walcott still seated on the bench is when we can start looking forward to Wilshere becoming a leading figure in the Premier League!”

After the match, all sorts of praises were heaped on Jack Wilshere. It might not be his first season in the league, but this match against Nottingham Forest made him stand out from the crowd and become noticed, especially since he was also awarded the man of the match.

In the hearts of the Arsenal fans, the match was the best possible stage for Wilshere to shine on. Nottingham Forest was a team that was becoming too full of themselves in recent years, and a team like that became a backdrop for Wilshere in today’s match. That was a scene that all the fans wanted to see.

However, Twain had a different opinion on the matter.

During his post-match interview the day after the match, a reporter wanted him to comment on Wilshere’s remarkable performance from yesterday.

He smiled and said, “I believe that Jack Wilshere is an undisputed genius footballer. I had my eyes on him since last year. Back then I even wanted to take him on loan from Wenger. But too bad, he refused me. He is a gifted player and definitely has the skills. I don’t doubt that he would be able to achieve great things in the future. But…” Twain paused and shrugged. “It’s not surprising for me to see a player like Wilshere rise to fame after performing well in a match. Unfortunately, in my eyes, he was lucky that his opponent was us. I want all of you to remember something… George did not play in the game yesterday.”

What Twain was getting at was, ‘If George Wood had played, can Wilshere still perform as well as he did?’

His words undoubtedly upset the Arsenal fans, but what he said was the truth.

George Wood was unable to play in the Arsenal game after picking up five yellow cards in previous games. His defensive abilities were already well-known in the Premier League and did not require Twain to do any further explanations.

If so, then had George Wood not been left out of the match because he had picked up all those yellow cards, then can Wilshere, who would definitely play in a position where he would be marked by Wood, still be able to put in such a good performance?

During the match, it was as if Wilshere had wandered into an uninhabited territory. He met little to no resistance on the pitch and was free to do as he liked because Tiago could not keep up with his pace. It seemed as though the young was bullying the old throughout the match…

However, quite a number of people believe that if it had been George Wood playing instead of Tiago, then Wilshere would not have been able to act as freely as he did in the first 15 minutes of the match due to Wood’s constant assaults on him.

The truth was that Wenger only started Wilshere and gave him the onus of creating chances for the team at the front of the pitch because he knew that George Wood would not be playing due to his one match ban.

Wenger won the gamble. Arsenal and Wilshere both attained success in the game.

On the other hand, Twain was a little depressed. He had to console his ‘new blood’ after the match and tell them that losing is part and parcel of life. Losing to Arsenal was also not an unacceptable outcome.

During training, he even took an aim at George Wood, “Look at what happened, George. You missed one match and an underage kid rose to fame just like that.”

George Wood replied him in his usual, serious tone, “I hope that the next time we meet, that lad will still start in the game.”

Twain laughed as he stood by the side. They might have lost, but he was not angry with the result. He has learned to loosen up and not view each loss so seriously, unlike his past self who had the mentality that they could not lose even one match.

It was true that he was leading a team whose average ages did not exceed 25, and there were several ‘new blood’ in the team that the others did not think favorably of. It was also true that the club was experiencing financial difficulties and they were going through rough times. However, he did not feel stressed despite being in a tough situation.

Those days from the previous season where he had to bite the bullet and pull through each and every day felt like a distant memory.

Right now, it was normal for them to be losing matches. It takes time for a team to mature. It was not possible for his ‘new blood’ to play like experienced players in a short period of time.

Additionally, Twain also did not want to burden his heart too much, primarily because he was worried that Shania would not be able to handle it if he did. He personally did not really care if his heart was burdened or not.

His main source of stress-relief has been going shopping with Shania ever since he quit smoking and drinking. Many shops have been giving discounts on their items due to the economically tense situation that they were in. It was a good time to be shopping.

Besides shopping with Shania, he would also visit the Forest Bar, order a glass of fruit juice and chat with his friends. If not, he would wage a war with Carl Spicer on various media outlets. It is good for the health to scold someone or something every day.

Life has been comfortable and good for him thus far.

Allan has to fly around every day to clinch new sponsors for the construction of the new stadium. Just doing this one job was enough to leave him overwrought. In contrast, Twain did not have to care about any of these annoying issues and could just leave them all in the hands of Allan and Evan.

All he had to care about was leading the team out to matches. He had also stopped pondering over what players he should buy for now as well. There was nothing he had to worry about as long as the club was still able to pay everyone’s salaries.

The team continued to win and lose games under his guidance for the next few matches. Their performance was unstable and had its ups and downs, but it was slowly improving as they approached the new year.

Half the season was about to be over, and it was time for Christmas once again.

※※※

Shania spent her first Christmas after getting married strutting down different runways across the world just like she always have. Similarly, Twain also spent his Christmas with Dunn at Wood’s house where they had a Thanksgiving dinner together, just like he did in previous years.

Sophia’s face would turn extremely pale every time winter comes. Twain knew how tough living through the winter was for the sick. Her body would start to feel better once Spring comes, at least that was what he believed.

He spent almost half of 2009 living in the shadows of his heart disease, but he also gained a love that will last a lifetime. His career might be down in the pits right now, but things aren’t too bad for him. He could still stage a comeback.

He wondered if the sea of red before his eyes would turn even deeper in color the next time he appeared in Europe…

Chapter 735 - Wolf

Tony Twain’s ‘juvenile footballers’ made their way into the semifinals of the EFL Cup, but they missed out on progressing to the finals and were unable to top their previous performance in the competition.

Despite their loss however, Twain expressed satisfaction at the results his team had attained. He had treated the EFL Cup as nothing more than a training ground to hone the skills of his ‘troop’ from the start. Therefore, being able to progress into the semifinals was already a feat and his players had performed above his expectations.

The FA Cup kicked off after the start of the new year. The team successfully made their way past the first two rounds of the competition.

His ‘juvenile footballers’ also performed consistently in the league and were generally ranked between fifth to seventh place.

Forest was not playing the lead role in the current Premier League season. After the novelty of them being a young team went away, the media began to produce significantly fewer articles about Forest as compared to previous seasons. To the media, only the teams who were vying for the champion’s spot in the league deserved a great amount of attention. The usual top four teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea were all in a heated battle to become Premier League champions, and it was much better to report about those teams than Nottingham Forest’s ‘juvenile footballers’.

When the Champions League kicked off in February, everyone started paying attention to how those four representatives of the Premier League were performing in the Champions League. Who would care about Forest?

It was in this environment of being looked down on and being disregarded by others that Twain’s football team was able to gain the atmosphere they were looking for all this while. They could finally be rid of the media’s disturbance and slowly develop themselves based on their own ideas.

There might not be immense pressure from majority of the media outlets, but the ‘juvenile footballers’ were still aware of how well they performed after each win or loss they obtained. They were improving with each and every match they played in.

The season passed by in a flash of the eye to Twain. That was because they competed in 25 percent less matches than last season.

When the media, fans and managers of other football teams snapped back to their senses however, they came to the sudden realization that Nottingham Forest was only two points away from becoming fourth-placed in the Premier League.

※※※

“Four consecutive wins, three consecutive wins, seven matches undefeated… Nottingham Forest has silently finished their mission of catching up with their opponents. At a time when the top four are all in terrible shape after being tormented by the games they had to play in both the EFL Cup and the Champions League, Nottingham Forest, who had lost both the EFL Cup and FA Cup, has made their way right behind those top teams and is ready to pounce.”

“There are still 8 matches left in the Premier League. Everything is possible for Tony Twain.”

“Let us take a look at who is ranked fourth right now… Chelsea! Haha…”

“… Scolari must be feeling the heat. He will definitely suffer a headache over whether he should play his first team in the quarter finals of the Champions League or in the Premier League, because their next opponent in the Premier League is Nottingham Forest!”

“Actually… What I want to say is that it is actually not impossible for Forest to become Premier League champions this season…”

The media got thrilled after seeing Nottingham Forest creep its way up the ranking table.

“Nottingham Forest has yet to face any of the top four sides other than Arsenal in this latter half of the season. This could lead to two possibilities. A, Nottingham Forest will lose all their games against strong opponents and slip down the ranking table once again or b, Tony Twain will lead his team of ‘juvenile footballers’ to victory over his three direct rivals and then subsequently change his goal into becoming champions of the Premier League!”

※※※

Premier League champions?

Twain was definitely not thinking that far ahead. Having ambition and being baselessly arrogant were two completely different things.

All that was on his mind right now was how to defeat Chelsea in the Premier League. He was going to pull down Scolari and his men and take over their spot.

The good news to Twain was that there have been numerous signs that suggested that Scolari was going to play his first team in the Champions League instead.

It has been 7 years since Abramovich bought over Chelsea. In this time, the team has been crowned champions in the EFL Cup, FA Cup and Premier League. Only the Champions League trophy remain out of their reach.

Chelsea’s best performance in the Champions League came during the 2007-08 season when Grant was in charge as a caretaker manager. However, they suffered bitter defeat at the hands of Twain’s Nottingham Forest in the finals that year and failed to lay their hands on that coveted trophy yet again.

Scolari has managed Chelsea for two seasons so far and he has always prioritised Champions League over other competitions every season. Sadly, things never worked out the way he wanted them to, and he missed out on becoming champions in the Champions League every single time.

This season was no exception. Abramovich brought up how he hoped to win the Champions League numerous times before Scolari.

As for the Premier League… It was still Matchday 38 after all. It was not a big deal to lose one match in the Premier League, but the team cannot afford to lose even one match after making their way into the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Thus, Scolari did not play most of his first team players in the Premier League game before their Champions League quarter finals match against Bayern Munich, just as Twain has expected.

Scolari thought it would not be hard for his team to go away with at least a draw even if they were playing without most of their first team players, considering that they were playing at their home grounds.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Unlike Chelsea who had a lot to think about going into the match, Nottingham Forest only had their eyes set on winning the match the whole time. They displayed enormous energy the moment the match kicked off and managed to turn the momentum in their favor through their vigor. It was as though they were playing on their own home grounds. They went on the attack aggressively and was also organised at the back. There was nothing that Chelsea could exploit.

During the 11th minute of the match, Eastwood sent ?igi?’s header into the back of the net and scored the opening goal for Nottingham Forest. The goal was also Eastwood’s 19th goal of the season. He was the top scorer in the team at the moment, and had also scored the fourth most number of goals in the league.

The Romanichal has not been down with much injuries this season and was able to display his impressive skills before the goalpost. His ability to score goals consistently in games was what landed him a spot in the top scorers’ list for the Premier League.

Eastwood’s goal completely shattered Scolari’s dream of getting at least a draw without playing his first team. It told him that it was impossible to get a point against Nottingham Forest even if they were playing on their own home grounds.

Twain made some slight tweaks to his game plan after they had taken the lead. Forest switched to the playing style they were best at, which was to defend and counter-attack.

Scolari stood up from his seat and started instructing the team to attack Nottingham Forest from all sides, but he never saw a goal up till the end of the first half.

The score remained 0:1. The away team, Nottingham Forest, was still leading by a goal.

Scolari continued to be torn at half time. Should he throw away the match at hand and prioritise the quarter finals of the Champions League, or should he play three of his first team players and get his team to give their all and battle it out with Nottingham Forest, so as to maintain a top four position in the Premier League?

In the end, he chose the former. Even if they lost this match, they still had seven more matches to play in the Premier League. He did not believe that Tony Twain’s team of ‘juvenile footballers’ would not slip up and commit mistakes, and he also did not believe that he has no chance of reclaiming fourth place later on.

The most pressing issue at hand was the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals match next week. It was a match that directly concerned his fate.

Meanwhile, in Forest’s locker room, Twain was analyzing Scolari’s mentality for his players.

“Scolari will definitely choose to throw this match away, because there are still seven more matches left in the league. However, if they were to give their all in this match and then lose the Champions League match next week, then he would probably be fired by Abramovich before he even gets to see through those seven Premier League matches. His boss is not someone with a lot of patience. However, things are different for us. We don’t need to worry about any life-or-death battles next week. Maybe in the future we would encounter a similar situation just like them, but right now those troubles belong solely to Chelsea, and that is the advantage that we have over them. So I want all of you to keep piling the pressure on Chelsea in the second half and fight to score one more goal. This would cause Chelsea to give up on the match entirely. If we were to only lead by one goal, the Chelsea players might suddenly have a change of heart and think it’s possible to draw the game…?To us, just taking one point is unacceptable! If you guys want to play on the European stage next season, then you better win this match!”

Both teams were on completely different levels when it came to vigor and fight from the start of the second half. Chelsea players might be playing a game with Forest at the moment, but all they were thinking about was the Champions League quarter finals second leg match against Bayern Munich.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest’s players were not thinking about anything besides winning the match before them. They were not even thinking about what would happen 10 minutes after the end of the match.

Different mindsets lead to different outcomes.

Nottingham Forest put in a performance that exceeded Twain’s expectations in the second half. They gave their all and played in a manner that suggested they definitely did not want to lose no matter what.

From the 70th to 80th minute of the match, in the span of just 10 minutes, the team managed to score two goals. The goals were scored by ?igi? and ?ahin, and they completely obliterated Chelsea’s fight and desire to continue playing in the match.

After seeing that there was no chance of them winning the match anymore, Chelsea’s players began playing as though they were doing warm-ups on the pitch.

Scolari remained speechless as he sat on the manager’s seat, which was a rare sight considering that he was known to have a bad temper.

Evidently, he had already shifted his attention over to the ‘finals’ that the team would play three days later against Bayern Munich. They were the away team and were up against the ‘overlord’ of the Bundesliga. It was going to be a very difficult match for them.

※※※

Winning the match against Chelsea fulfilled Nottingham Forest’s wish of being in the top four of the Premier League.

Twain indicated amicably in the post-match interview that he was happy to be able to win Chelsea. He also wished for Chelsea to progress as far as they could in the Champions League.

Additionally, he hoped that the other two Premier League teams, namely Manchester United and Liverpool, who had also made their way into the quarter finals of the Champions League, would also be able to progress far in the Champions League as well.

“It would be for the best if they could face each other in the semifinals, and then we would have two teams from England in the finals! I am British myself, and I would love to witness such a scene.”

Some media outlets believed that Twain’s words highlighted his generosity and tolerance. He was not as narrow-minded as others said he was. He was able to show support to teams who are also playing in the same league as he was, and his words demonstrated his ‘sense of belonging to the country’.

Only Carl Spicer wrote the following in his column, “Why would he wish for the three teams to be able to make their way into the semifinals of the Champions League so sincerely? In my opinion, if Arsenal had not faced Forest earlier in the league, then he would have made the same wish for Arsenal as well! Look at the match that he had with Chelsea… I know exactly what Tony Twain is plotting. The top three teams in the league need to be careful! There’s a sly wolf that’s right on your trails!”

Spicer was once again labelled by others as someone who ‘just wanted to go against Twain no matter what’ after his article was published.

Unfortunately for him, he got it all right this time round!

※※※

Chelsea managed to eliminate Bayern Munich and make their way into the top four of the Champions League after a tough battle. Abramovich could not hide his big smiles after the match. Scolari could also take a short breather before he turned his attention; not back to the Premier League of course, but back onto the Champions League once again.

Since they have already made their way into the semifinals, why would they not force themselves to pull through and make their way into the finals by eliminating Juventus from the competition? Of course, it would not be easy to eliminate Juventus considering they are the team who kicked the defending champion Inter Milan out of the Champions League.

And if they make their way into the finals, then they must of course continue to endure all the hardships, defeat their opponents, and become champions of the Champions League.

One other team who also managed to make their way into the top four of the Champions League was Manchester United. Their match against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League was also imminent.

Before the match against Manchester United however, Nottingham Forest had to face Liverpool, who got eliminated from the Champions League, first.

Against Twain’s wishes, Liverpool was not able to progress further in the Champions League. They still have to play in the FA Cup, but that game will only take place several days after their match against Forest, so it would not have any sort of impact on their performance when they face Forest.

Hence, this match between Forest and Liverpool was going to be very tough. It would be useless for either side to play any sort of tricks during the match. The only things that would determine the winner of such a match would be skill and… a little bit of luck.

Twain played his first team for the match, contrary to how he mostly played his ‘new blood’ during the match against Manchester United in the first half of the season. At that time, there was still room for errors and it was all right for them to lose, but now was definitely not the time for him to be using the fate of his team next season as a training grounds for his ‘new blood’.

Most of the players he had sent on the pitch were ‘veterans’ who had fought in numerous battles before. They were going to defeat Liverpool at their home grounds and ensure they are able to play in the Champions League next season.

In the end, Nottingham Forest, with their home advantage, managed a narrow win of 1:0 over Liverpool through a late penalty. They were able to get three precious points from the match and continued to maintain a one point lead over Chelsea on the league points table.

There were four more matches to the end of the current Premier League season. At this point, Tony Twain’s ambition for the season was very conspicuous. Premier League champions might be a far-fetched dream, but he was definitely going to qualify for the Champions League next season!

There are only four teams that would be able to qualify for the Champions League. In the years before Nottingham Forest became a force to be reckoned with, it was a ‘tradition’ for the four big teams in the Premier League to dominate the four spots that would get them a place in the Champions League.

However, now that Nottingham Forest is staging a comeback, there would definitely be one unlucky team who would lose that precious spot. Which team would become the sacrifice for Forest’s comeback?

As of now, it would seem that Chelsea was the likeliest to become that very sacrifice. Scolari definitely had some thinking to do. Even if he is able to lift the Champions League trophy this season, but if the team is only able to play in the Europa League next season despite being the defending champion… How would that feel?

A top four finish was a must for him, but sadly, his fate was out of his hands now.

The strongest opponent that stood in Forest’s way in the four remaining Premier League matches was Manchester United.

Will Ferguson become Scolari’s savior?

※※※

Matchday 36. Nottingham Forest faced Manchester United in an away game.

Chelsea faced Liverpool at home.

Two battles between top teams. Those two matches definitely attracted everyone’s attention.

The bookmaker, William Hill, leaned in favor of Manchester United and Chelsea. They believed those two teams would be able to win because they would be playing at their home grounds. Nottingham Forest was the team that they thought had the lowest chance to win out of the four.

However, no one would have guessed that the four teams would draw at the same time…

Indeed, Nottingham Forest drew with Manchester United 1:1 by defending and counter-attacking. On the other hand, a lot more goals were scored in the match between Liverpool and Chelsea. The final score was 3:3!

The very last goal in that match came during added time. Liverpool managed to draw with Chelsea and also retained their third placed ranking in the league.

There was still only one point that separated Nottingham Forest from Chelsea. Nottingham Forest was ranked fourth while Chelsea was fifth.

There were two matches left in the Premier League.

Chapter 736 - He’s back

“There are still two rounds left in the league, but these two rounds are the most important rounds for Nottingham Forest and Chelsea. Scolari’s team has been eliminated. Aside from the Champion’s Cup, they did not enter the finals at all. Scolari would probably still do well even if they are unable to participate in the Champion’s Cup next season. Abramovich once said that Scolari would never be dismissed regardless of the results of the league, but who would believe his words?”

The television in the bar was playing Soccer’s 90 Minutes on Sky Television . Although its main host had been replaced several times, this programme still had an important position in the hearts of the British audience.

This programme was different from Match of the Day on BBC channel which aired after the matches on the weekends. It was the prospect of the matches following the programme.

In the previous season, the away team Nottingham Forest tied with Manchester United. Because the match had not ended yet, this scoreline made several Nottingham Forest fans’ hearts quicken as all of them thought this meant the end of the season. But surprisingly Chelsea, too, had a draw before the end of the season.

During that night, this Nottingham bar saw two extremes in the emotions of Nottingham Forest fans. Kenny Burns sold all his alcohol on that day.

“Nottingham Forest rose from the dead. In the remaining two league matches, both teams have weak opponents. If Nottingham Forest can maintain and win both matches, then they will be?able to return to the Champion’s league in the following league season. This has to be the happiest moment to a Nottingham Forest fan…

In the bar, a customer shouted, “To be honest even just the league cup is fine… I don’t want to stress them too much…”

Then, someone rebutted immediately, “Don’t get it wrong. It’s not the kids that are stressed. It’s that guy, Tony!”

“Let’s hope everything is fine with his heart…”

“Hey, just a small piece of news… Shania sneakily returned back to Nottingham again…”

“Wow! Tony definitely won’t be stressed!”

“Hahaha!”

The group of guys laughed raucously with their mugs in their hands. Though Tony had not been here often in his bid to quit smoking and drinking, his presence still lingered in the bar. The long-term fans who gathered in this Nottingham Bar still stayed here as “Tony Twain’s supporters”.

※※※

On the last night before the second league, Tony Twain spent it with his wife.

As these two matches concerned the future of the team and their financial status, the news reported that Tony Twain did not have it easy. Hence, Shania flew back specially for him in her break, in hopes of helping him tide over these two weeks.

Although Twain did not feel like his heart was that weak as he had met with such stressful situations many times, it does not seem like it was stressful at all this time. But he was glad that Shania, who was staying in the States, could come back and accompany him. They were a married couple that lived separately For someone who lived in a villa that spanned several hundred square metres, it was extremely lonely and cold.

To welcome Shania home, he personally cooked up a feast. — British food really could not be considered a “delicacy”, so he only cooked Chinese food.

“Uncle Tony, aren’t you afraid I’ll grow fat?” Shania asked with her hands on her hips as she took in the spread of food on the huge table.

Twain indecently held Shania’s waist and said, “I think there is no need to worry at the moment.”

“Hey!” Shania slapped Twain’s hand, pulled a chair and sat down. She was not rushing to start, but instead looked at Twain sitting opposite her. “It’s been three months since we last saw each other. Did you miss me, Uncle Tony?”

“You’ve asked me this question 10 times today, are you aware? There’s a Chinese saying: Absence makes the heart fonder. Our reunion after the short separation feels like our honeymoon… That is what I’m feeling now.”

“There’s such a saying, huh. Absence…” Shania looked up while deep in thought. “Then in the future when I travel everywhere, wouldn’t we always be in our honeymoon period? If you say it like this, then separation will become a very romantic matter!” She applauded as she beamed, being proud of her discovery.

“I don’t see it this way though.” Twain pouted. “If possible, I hope you’ll always be by my side.”

Shania smiled as she looked at Tony who looked slightly bummed “Did you know, Uncle Tony? While I was in Los Angeles, I went back to school.”

“Eh?” Twain, upon hearing what she said, was a little surprised. He did not know about this matter, and Shania did not mention this before. He thought Shania had?only been entertaining other superstars and improving her own acting skills in preparation of the new film in Los Angeles. “You’re still going to school? What are you studying?”

“Costume design.” Shania winked.

Twain thought about it and understood why. Shania, being a model, would naturally be more sensitive to fashion trends, and naturally would have her own insights. If it is about costume design, Twain believed she would excel in this more than acting in movies. But why did Shania suddenly think of learning costume design?

“Hey, Uncle Tony. Let’s discuss something?”

“Yeah?”

“If I got pregnant, I’ll quit modelling and acting.”

Twain was so shocked he dropped his spoon. He looked at Shania who had a serious look on her face. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I be kidding? I can’t possibly act and walk down the runway with a huge belly, right?” Shania giggled, but her tone was still firm.

“You could wait till after you gave birth…”

“Uncle Tony, the competition in this industry is cut-throat. Who knows what the world would be like after I lost my pregnancy weight?? Now you know why I want to start learning about costume design?”

“You’ve thought that far, huh…”

“Far? Pregnancy is actually a simple matter.” Shania gleamed at Twain. “Let’s start tonight, Uncle Tony!”

※※※

Twain and Shania lingered in their home for a night, then went to the stadium with high spirits to prepare for competition.

Every time he saw the young and beautiful Shania pliant and moaning under him, he was filled with a desire to conquer, one that raged strongly in his chest. This feeling did not fade after they made love, and he rode on this high the next day during work.

Twain was kind of chauvinistic. Whether it was women or his opponents, conquering them brought him immense satisfaction.

From this perspective, it was a perfect timing for Shania to return….

Hence, in the city stadium’s changing room for the home team on an afternoon, Twain passionately made a calling for the European Champions Cup:

“...Although I’ve never won the league championships before, why should we still compete for some league cup if the league championships exist? There is only a one-point difference between Chelsea and us. They can turn the tides if we aren’t careful. I don’t want something like this to happen right before the end of the league season. All of you must know this well: I only want the Champion League Cup!”

“An opponent like Middlesbrough should not even be a concern. You guys just need to perform as per normal, and the victory of this match will belong to us… Remember, do not give chances to our opponents, whether they are our opponents in this match or in the ones in the back waiting for us to make a mistake!”

The end result was Nottingham Forest winning on home ground 2 : 0 against Middlesbrough. Chelsea also won Hull City on their home field.

While there was still a match left to the league, Nottingham Forest still led Chelsea by a point.

※※※

“A match is what separates us and Europe!” After the match, Nottingham Evening Post ran this headline.

Pierce Brosnan voiced what the Nottingham Forest fans were thinking.

Nottingham Forest’s last match in the league was Stoke City!

Checking out this name, their luck could not have been better.

It was no wonder Nottingham’s local media was hurrying to announce that Nottingham Forest team had obtained the participation rights into the European Champions league in the next season.

There were some who were worried that Nottingham Forest, who was basking in the praises, would become complacent and then mess up in the last match. Anything could happen in this world.

But Twain turned down all of these worries. Rather, their “expectations”,

He repeatedly emphasized during team training to treat the opponents in the last match seriously. And he set the roster for this match solely based on the players’ attitude and emotional state during training.

Twain was obviously aware there was the possibility of an upset during the match, which was why he was trying his best to avoid that. Twain was definitely not the type of person who only regretted after the problem reach him. He wanted to destroy even the last bit of hope Chelsea had.

Making his opponents feel despair… That was indeed too great!

※※※

The last match of the league season started at three?on a Saturday afternoon after a week.

Nottingham Forest challenged Stoke City as the away team while Chelsea was on home ground waiting for Portsmouth’s challenge.

Everyone who was spectating these two matches knew Chelsea was definitely not losing to Portsmouth on home field, hence the focus was on Nottingham Forest who was playing on away ground.

Scolari was already adding pressure onto Nottingham Forest team on his interview before the match, waging a psychological war.

He said, “My players have never given up the tickets in entering the European Champions League next season. Although, Nottingham Forest isn’t a bad team. They’re very, very young; some on their team are even first-timers. Being able to achieve the results they have today is already quite the feat. Youths have passion, but they’re also very unstable and unable to withstand much stress.”

It was obvious what Scolari was trying to say.

And London’s local media were even more obvious with their propaganda. “If Nottingham Forest can only go as far as the League Cup, it’s not too big a loss for them in terms of competition. Their greatest loss would be their financial one. Participating in the League Cup and the Champions League are two completely different things. Participating in the Champions League would mean a lot more income.

“Everyone knows their financial situation isn’t ideal. Allan Adams hasn’t been able to find a sponsor for their new stadium, hence that lousy piece of architecture only fixed its base and left it as it is. For a team which won four European Champions league, that piece of lousy soccer field is just like the scars on their fresh appearance. Evan Doughty must be under a lot of stress, which would transfer onto the team. If they are unable to get the rights to participate in that European Champions League next season, this stadium might continue to rot…”

Look, how clever. They drew a connection between the club’s financial status and the results of the team to accurately tell the?players without errors, “If you guys can’t win, you’ll feel the stress.” Who does not want to play in the Champions League? Who does not want to improve their future days?

As such, the youths in this team would constantly fret before the competition, thinking that they absolutely cannot lose. The stress would accumulate, until it popped like,, just like a balloon being pierced.

That was what the Londoners were hoping.

But it was quite a sorry sight, because the team they were rooting for only stood a chance if their opponent slipped up. No matter how they spun it, this was some form of charity.

Regarding this, Twain did not start any wars against the opponent through media. That would only intensify the situation, making it more complicated. This would not be great news to Nottingham Forest which was preparing for war. He emphasized again and again that the only rebuttal method is using their match results after the war.

※※※

Stoke City did not want to be the calefare of another person’s celebration. Their head coach Tony Pulis was accepting the interview with some discontent, saying, “I know we have no trouble avoiding relegation, and I also know you are concerned about the four teams representing England in the European Champions League next season. But, ladies and gentlemen, what I want to say is that this is our home ground. I won’t let the away team be the main character on our field.”

Just like what Pulis said, from the start of the match, Stoke City’s players were charging with all their might. They focused on securing their defense instead of rushing to attack but instead securing their defense, using their strength in numbers to hold down Nottingham Forest’s attack. This tactic made it seem like Nottingham Forest was a wolf going up against seem like a wolf going against a porcupine — they did not know where to strike.

As for the match on Stamford Bridge, Portsmouth had already surrendered from the start. Before the first half ended, Chelsea had already scored two goals and, according to the commentators of the match on television, “Looking at Chelsea’s stance, they might still score in the second half…”

The match between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City was still at 0:0 when the first half ended. When the whistle blew mid-match, Sky Television was airing the scores of both matches real-time.

According to the current results, Chelsea is ahead of Nottingham Forest, with a two point difference to be placed at fourth, while Nottingham Forest has fallen to fifth,

During the mid-match break, Twain did not arrange any changes to the tactics. He felt that the tactics had no issues, the problem of the match not playing well was no

※※※

During the mid-match break, Twain did not arrange any changes to the tactics. He thought that there were no issues with the strategy. They were not playing a good game, but it was not because of the team. On the other hand, if he did not say anything, the players might feel like the problem was them.

Hence, he said, “My friends, this is the last match of the current league season. Think back to the summer a year ago and then today. What did we work hard for a full season for? Maybe some of you would think playing for the league cup would be good, maybe some would feel that all of these efforts was just for competing rights for the Champions League to reduce the financial burden of the club, but now I want to rightfully tell you guys that all of the talk above are bullsh*t! My Nottingham Forest is a team with a tradition to win championships, even though we faced some issues last year which pulled us away from Europe for a year!?But now, we are coming back.

“In our absence, those of Europe’s greats have had a very comfortable life. They ate well since no one could threaten to take their spot. Every year, the favourites for the titles are always the same few teams. I’m sick of that! Things are different now, because we’re coming back. Robin Hood is back! Their honor and their wealth, it won’t be theirs for long, which is why they’re panicking. What are we going to do next? ”

Twain laughed. “Use this match to remind them: That’s right, we’re back! ”

※※※

In the second half, Chelsea’s momentum did not slow and they continued to score. Two goals in ten minutes locked their score at 4:0. Portsmouth had no will to fight; they were just waiting for the game to end. Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge had long been unconcerned about the game under their noses; they were all wearing headphones and listening to the latest news from another stadium on the radio.

Even in Scolari’s chair, someone was listening to the latest developments on the radio.Just as the media had predicted before the match, the deciding factor in the last Champions League spot was not Chelsea’s match, but the match between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City. At the very least, and to the relief of Chelsea fans, the score line was 0:0 right up till the end of the eighty minutes.

After a brief exhilaration, everyone began to wait anxiously for the last ten minutes to end. Nobody thought ten minutes could last that long, as if it would take up all the time they had in their life.

At the eighty-seventh minute, a voice came on the radio:

“... ?igi?’s header! It’s been pounced on! Shoot again! This time it was the goalposts that helped Stoke City! Ah...And it’s there! Nottingham Forest still has a chance...Freddy Eastwood- GOAL! GOOOAL! GOOOOOOAL! They finally broke the deadlock! Nottingham Forest lead on away 1:0!”

Stamford Bridge was dead silent. Scolari and his aides looked at each other, as if refusing to believe what they just heard.

※※※

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest’s coaching and bench are already in a frenzy at Stoke City’s home stadium, Britannia. Everyone hugged and cheered and roared. For this late goal.

Twain was not as crazy. He just patted his chest, to the side of Dunn smiled, “I almost thought the goal is going to be cool...”

Twain shook his head and said, “Shania can rest assured. ”

The TV narrator was shouting, “Freddy Eastwood! The Key of Nottingham Forest! He saved the team’s effort scored a season three minutes before the end and Tony Twain’s heart! Tony Twain really should have a hard kiss on his shoes! It was the Gypsies’ 23rd league goal of the season! He ranks third in the league! This season, he’s been in great form and that had a lot to do with not having frequent injuries...”

※※※

Stamford Bridge spent the final days of the game in a strange silence. There was no love on the pitch on either side. When the referee blew the final whistle, the Chelsea players on the pitch ran to the bench to ask for information about the game at Nottingham Forest.

They were greeted by a dejected face from their teammates.

※※※

As soon as the game was over, Twain did not even have time to run to celebrate the victory with the players before he was surrounded at the coach’s chair by reporters .

“Ninth place last season and fourth place this time. Coach Tony Twain, as someone with a heart condition, you have achieved something very brilliant. Congratulations! What do you have to say?”

“Tell the guys in Europe that your old friends are back!” He said, laughing, pointing at the camera lens. Mourinho, we’ll repay the debt from when you kicked my team out last season!”

Gary Lineker turned around to see Tony being interviewed on the big screen. On the screen, the English footballer said to the camera, “Tony Twain challenges the whole of Europe. Yes, he’s back. ”

Chapter 737 - Plans for the New League Season

Following the previous match where they defeated Stoke City, successfully held down Chelsea and became the final team participating in the Champions League, Tony Twain became person the media was most concerned with. His delightful smile appeared on several media platforms, his line “tell the buddies in Europe that your old friend is coming back” had even become a quotation that several Nottingham Forest fans loved to mimic.

Some were happy, but others were disappointed.

On the second day after the league, Chelsea had officially announced that Scolari had lost his job as the head coach. On paper they had thanked Scolari for his contributions to the team and acknowledged his results, not that there was much to acknowledged. During the two league seasons that Scolari led the team, they did not win any championships at all. Despite that, Chelsea had to maintain a courteous facade. On paper, they did not state their reason for dismissing Scolari, and Scolari, did not accept any interviews after he left the club, turning down any means of him expressing his opinion.

But everyone knew. They were stuck at fourth place in the current league season, and they even lost the right to qualify for the Champions League. Losing their rights to the Champions League next season was the main reason why Scolari was dismissed. The focus should not be on Abramovich, who was wealthy enough to purchase several players for Chelsea, but on Chelsea’s head coach who was arguably under more stress than their Manchester United and Arsenal counterparts.

Man City’s previous general Mark Hughes faced the same plight as Scolari. Hughes definitely understood what Scolari was feeling at the moment. He had been dismissed by the boss of Man City who could not tolerate any more because Man City?did not achieve any glorious results despite the heavy investments; participating in Europa League had been the height of their achievements. Mark Hughes’ final words before his dismissal garnered much pity. He said, “I can finally get a good sleep.”

As for his successor Kevin Keegan, he was still tormented in that position, and Keegan’s main reason for not resigning because he hoped they would terminate their contract with him so he could receive a hefty compensation fee. Today, the position of the Man City’s head coach has become a hot potato.

In comparison, Chelsea’s situation was slightly better. After Hoddle’s start, they moved on to Gullit, Viali, Ranieri, and then up till the current Mourinho., Chelsea had already become a strong team in the Premier League, so they became more attractive to elite players and coaches.

Hence, after dismissing Scolari, Chelsea then announced his successor.

“... We have already agreed with Mr Frank Rijkaard. He is very willing to take on the head coach position for Chelsea. Mr Abramovich looks forward to Mr Rijikaard bringing delightful soccer for the Chelsea’s fans…”

People who knew Abramovich would not be surprised at this. Rijkaard, who had been idling at home, was indeed the most suitable candidate to suit Abramovich’s wants. Bearing in mind the beauty of the soccer he played back in Barcelona, Rijkaard would be the best candidate at the moment if you wanted to watch a beautiful soccer.

And Rijkaard responded quickly. He accepted Chelsea’s invite Chelsea and made it a whole new challenge for himself.

The rumours stating Rijkaard replacing Ancelotti as AC Milan’s head coach collapsed by itself.

On the second day of the news announcement, Rijkaard then appeared in London to take on the role officially. The media, while interviewing Twain, had mentioned this matter, hoping to hear his thoughts on Chelsea’s new head coach.

Twain thought it was strange. “Why would you all ask for my thoughts for Chelsea’s switches in manpower? I’m not their head of human resource…”

The reporter chuckled, “But didn’t you incite this change in their manpower, Mr Twain?”

Twain was stunned by this question. He thought carefully — that was true.?Had he not pushed Chelsea down a slot to the fifth position, maybe Scolari might not have been dismissed. A premature termination of a contract like this required a huge withdrawal for the dismissed head coach, which meant it was a loss for Chelsea as well. Had the results not been too much for Abramovich to bear, would he have dismissed Scolari so easily?

“Alright…” Twain sighed. “I really admire Rijkaard for his achievements back in Barcelona. However…” He thought of his personal grudges with that head coach back in Barcelona. “You must know such things for it to be another hot topic for you all to talk about in the Premier League season. For me, there isn’t much change. My aim is championships and victory. I am only concerned with both of these things so I don’t really care about other matters.”

※※※

Although he gave such a magnificent response to the reporter, but Twain’s haters thought he was talking too big. For the current conditions of Nottingham Forest, to be able to guarantee the top four positions in the league every league was impressive enough. Twain actually had the audacity to think about winning the championships altogether…

To fulfil the lofty ambitions in the new league seasons, it was definitely not sufficient to rely on these people. Nottingham Forest definitely needed to search for players on the transfer market to enhance the capabilities of the team.

But this required money.

Twain knew the team would not be able to fork out enough money for him to spend. Even then, he still stubbornly went to find Evan, hoping that he could give Twain a little more money.

He initially thought this matter would be difficult, but the results made him gasp.

“I have decided that before the financial situation takes a turn for the better, we would postpone the repairing of the new stadium indefinitely.” Evan Doughty smiled upon facing the shocked Twain in the club main office. “Thus there are funds for you to buy players now.”

“Does Allan… know about this?” Twain’s first reaction was not to happy but to ask what Allan would think about this.

“This was his suggestion.” Evan beamed. “Also, our plans for that humongous stadium also needs some tweaking. Anyway, we’ll leave that matter to him. Tony, you just need to lead the team to achieve results. I watched the interviews that included you; I hope you aren’t just making empty talk.” He walked forward to pat Twain’s shoulders.

“Yes, championships… I don’t make empty promises, they do nothing to help me win championships. How much are you setting aside for me to spend in the new league season, Evan?” He asked the most crucial question.

“How much do you need, Tony?”

Tony thought for a while.

Every summer, other teams would be interested in his players, but it had always been the same people that he would never consider selling, such as George Wood, Gareth Bale and Pepe.

If Tony wanted to replenish his capabilities, then he should not sell the main columns in the team. But Twain knew that the players he was willing to sell would not fetch much money, so relying on selling players to get transfer fees was not realistic. Currently the team’s weakest points were the forwards and midfielders. Van Nistelrooy had returned to the team with a new 2-year contract and a salary much lower than was stipulated in his previous contract. This was some kind of price to pay, huh.

His body was recovering adequately well, allowing him to represent the team in the new league season. But his condition was still unpredictable.

Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses were still young and needed more training. The team required a two-line operation in the new league season hence requiring a practical rotation. Their chances in competing were not worrying. The only worry was whether their abilities could meet what the European matches would demand from them. Currently, there were not many issues with Millán but Moses still needed more polishing.

igi? playing as a center forward would allow Nottingham Forest to secure a place. Though his performance was not outstanding, he was very practical.

Agbonlahor’s speed was Twain’s new weapon; his presence allowed the team more unique and ever-changing tactics.

There is nothing much to say about Eastwood. The previous season was his best season thus far. If he did not get injured, he would definitely be the prime shooter in the team. Also, Nistelrooy and him had the most experience playing for the Champion League on the front line.

But this type of front line potential was not sufficient. They still needed strikers to raise their standards.

For the midfielders… George Wood and Lennon were dependable players, but Lennon only had himself in the right lane. In the previous league they only had to focus on the league games within the country, so this was not?an issue. But now that they required a two-line operation, a player going solo was definitely not sustainable through the season.

ahin’s performance was actually decent, having improved after a league’s worth of breaking in and training. Perhaps being recalled to Turkey’s national team was proof of that. Tiago Mendes was another player on rotation. As for John Bostock, Twain wanted to loan him out for a year because he still needed more training. Likewise Adriano Moke also needed to be loaned out.

Chris Cohen’s performance was average, a great supplement to the midfielder. He definitely should stay since he would have plenty of opportunities?to play in the two-line operation.

Twain decided to sell Petrov. One reason was that the Bulgarian was getting older. He was not as fast as he used to be, and his condition had been on the decline as well. Another factor was to take advantage of people who still wanted to get him. It was said that the black horse two leagues ago, Hoffenheim, had been interested in him, wanting him to go to France to showcase his skills. Petrov was considering this as well as he did get famous back in Brigade, hence it was not foreign for him to return.

Counting these people, the two lanes in the midfield required strong players to supplement.

There were not many worries on the final defensive line. Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale performed steadily. In the past league season Baines had few chances to appear, but his chances would only increase following the new season.

The right full back Rafinha had already fully grown. He had efficient attacks and persistent fell back to defend, securing his right full back position in the team. There were several teams which are interested in him outside, but Twain would not consider selling him at all.

Chimbonda was a special case. He had already turned 31 so Twain wanted to find someone suitable to replace him easily, but up till now he still stayed on the team with a steady performance. Whenever he entered the field, he would go all out. He did not even complain when he was benched. His contributions were relevant to them being able to obtain the rights to Champions League last season. He might be a lot more outstanding than Rafinha in the right full back position. When Twain needed the team to defend, Chimbonda was a lot more reliable than the Brazlilian. Twain also rediscovered the value of this French — he was not a soccer superstar but he was undeniable a key player essential in any team. All of them had their own role and responsibilities, the base of a team. Twain needed such players. This summer, the club was discussing a new contract with his manager which would last four years. Signing this would almost mean a life-long contract. Chimbonda would turn 35 in four years, after which he could basically consider retirement.

And for the plans for repairing the new stadium and the activity to go China to search for sponsor, both were unsuccessful. As such, Twain decided to place Sun Jihai on the transfer market. Whether it was a Chinese club or one in the English league, he would sell Sun Jihai for a suitable price. Although selling him now would not fetch a high price and there would be a huge difference between the transfer fee obtaining him and selling him, waiting another year would cost them the profit since Sun Jihai would transfer out on his own.

For the center backs, Pepe was the unmovable main force. Unless he gots injured, he would definitely play well. Kompany and Woodgate would then belong to the rotational center backs in the new season. Woodgate’s body would not be as strong as Kompany’s, where he would be filled with minor injuries and diseases. Wes Morgan would be a great replacement. But for the contest in Europe, Morgan was not reliable.

Five center backs would be sufficient. Any more would be a waste.

The young left full back Joe Mattock has been working hard to adapt to his new position as a center full back since last season. In the new season he would be loaned out to accept the test of the practical grinding.

“I’m thinking… around fifty million pounds.” Twain quickly did a mental calculation, then reported an estimate.

Evan frowned, “This isn’t a small amount, but I’ll think of something” Evan frowned, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. “Go and have a happy vacation with Shania and don’t think of anything else. Once the money issue is settled, I’ll notify you, Tony. Where are you two thinking of going to play?”

“China.” Twain shrugged. “To visit Dunn’s parents, who are also my parents.” Besides, I have an endorsement contract to discuss there as well.”

Twain mentioning China made Evan recall his trip to China in the summer of 2008. During that time, Nottingham Forest won the Champions League, getting the dual championships in that season. It was delightful and wonderful in that moment. There were celebrations everywhere. Seeing the East Asian fans and companies pay homage to himself was a pleasant feeling, but it was a pity that all of that was gone now. Allan Adams ran around China for almost half a year. Those enterprises, upon hearing that they need to invest money in the stadium, would shake their heads and complain about the economical crisis, limited time and funds. Those wealthy overlords were state-owned enterprises, so even if there were people wanting to invest in the Briitsh’s property market, it would hinder their identities to not dare to act rashly.

But then for United Arab Emirates people suggested it was possible to invest in them, not into the construction of the stadium but into the club, which was tantamount to a disguised acquisition. Evan rejected them consistently — even if they were to sell Nottingham Forest, now was not the time. The other party would unscrupulously lower the price; only a fool would sell.

Evan Doughty zoned out for a while, then discovered Twain was still in front of him. He chuckled, “Hope you enjoy yourself, Tony. If possible, bring back some Chinese souvenirs for Allan and I…”

Twain nodded. “Then I should really spend some effort to think of what presents to bring back to satisfy you two.”

“Haha, don’t think much of it! Anything is fine. We are not kids who still wait till Christmas to find presents in our stockings.”

Chapter 738 - What Is Chinese Football?

What was the difference between China in the summer of 2010 and the summer of 2007 in Twain’s memory? In Twain’s view, it was no different. The impact of the economic crisis on China was not as great and obvious as the European, American and Japanese world. From the looks of it, the country was full of vitality and contained countless opportunities. Despite the global economic crisis of the past two years, the country had maintained an eight percent economic growth rate.

Although he was a British citizen, Twain did not forget that he was in fact white on the outside and yellow on the inside salted egg yolk custard steamed bun. Therefore, no matter how many times he went to China, he would always have the warm feeling in his heart.

Despite claiming to be of one-eighth Chinese origin, Shania clearly had less feelings for this country than a thoroughly Englishman like Twain. For her, China was a tourist country with many fun spots and a lot of delicious food. Of course, it was a place to make money too—A Chinese company had already approached her to be a brand ambassador because her profile said she had one-eighth of Chinese ancestry. Putting in this inconsequential detail did not rule out the possibility that Fasal wanted to use it to pull in Shania’s relationship with the Chinese market. Even more so, being an internationally famous model and a slightly famous actress in Hollywood excited the fans in China.

As a result when Twain and Shania married in Brazil last summer,?the Chinese media smugly stated that Tony Twain and family had an inexplicable relationship with China—Twain’s good friend and assistant was the Chinese man, Dunn; Twain himself claimed to be extremely fond of the Chinese culture, proficient in Mandarin, and appeared to know China better than a Chinese; there is a Chinese player in Nottingham Forest; he was said that he had acknowledged Dunn’s parents as his godfather and godmother... Now he had a wife of one-eighth Chinese descent.

This summer, Tony Twain, who was closely linked with China, was on holiday in China again.

When he and Shania, as well as Dunn, appeared at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, he was startled by a group of interviewers that blocked outside the terminal.

About twenty reporters from various media outlets gathered outside the pick-up point, a marked difference between the ordinary people around them who came to pick up their relatives and friends. Before Twain’s arrival, they attracted a lot of people’s attention, all of whom were guessing which star was coming to Chengdu today.

They also caught the attention of the airport security, and soon a team of security guards, responsible for maintaining the order, appeared around them. They did not know who was coming but knew that it must be a star. They had seen a lot of such instances as the airport employees.

When Twain led Shania by hand and pushed the luggage cart around accompanied by Dunn to appear at the pick-up point, the group of people pressed the camera shutters in their hands as if they had received the signal. For a time, the flashes went off endlessly and the waiting hall was bright white.

“I thought we were secretive enough...” He glanced at Dunn next to him, because he immediately spied Tang Jing in the crowd when the flashlights momentarily stopped.

“You two are public figures. How can it be kept a secret?” Dunn did not deny that he told Tang Jing the news, but he did not admit it either. He just obliquely expressed that the combination of Twain and Shania was like a firefly in the night sky, so eye-grabbing and striking. No matter where they hid, they would be found ...

Shania did not bicker with them. She displayed the true qualities of a star— she immediately put on her best pose with the most appropriate smile on her face and waved to the reporters.

Consequently, Twain could only plaster a smile on his face and waved to greet these people, “Hello everyone.” He said in fluent Mandarin.

Dunn obviously did not have to pretend. He pushed the cart behind the two big stars and turned a blind eye to the Chinese reporters.

Tang Jing moved up closer and reached out to Twain across the temporary human wall lined up by the airport security, wanting to shake hands. “Mr. Twain, Mr. Twain! How long are you going to stay in China? Can you accept an exclusive interview with me before you leave? You and your wife, Miss Jordana...”

Twain turned to look at Dunn, who pretended not to see anything, and glanced at Shania, who smiled at him. So, he extended his hand and shook it with Tang Jing before he said, “I’d love to. You make an appointment, Miss Tang Jing.”

“Let’s make it tonight... Are you going back to Dunn’s hometown?”

Twain nodded, “Okay. You know Dunn’s contact details, so you must know where we are staying. Give Dunn a call early before you come.” He used words to mock the current relationship between Dunn and Tang Jing.

Dunn did not say a word whereas Tang Jing did not mind. Having settled the interview with Twain and Shania, she looked excited, “I have a car. Would you like to take my car?”

Twain shook his head and refused, “Thank you for your kindness, but we also have a car.”

Twain and the others pushed their luggage and walked outside. The reporters followed behind with incessant questions, hoping to get answers from the three people. In fact, these reporters were not here for Twain. Some of the media wanted to interview Shania, while some of the media were more interested in Dunn ...

They walked out of the hall, being surrounded in this manner.

“All right, all right, my friends.” Twain thought it was too much trouble to bring along a large group of people, so he stopped and turned around to speak loudly to the reporters, “I’m here for a holiday in China, and I hope I can enjoy a quiet holiday. Thank you for coming specially to welcome me. Please go back now!”

Having said that, they walked straight to the outside car lane to queue up for a taxi, waiting for passengers.

Tang Jing asked in surprise at the back, “This is your car?”

Twain turned to her and smiled, “A taxi is a car too, Miss Tang Jing.”

※※※

“A quiet holiday is extravagant hope for me.” In the car, Twain complained in English about everything that happened at the airport.

Shania sat next to him and held his hand. She smiled and said, “I’m used to it for a long time. I never thought I could go visit somewhere in peace and quiet.”

Dunn sat in the front passenger seat in silence.

Twain saw him like this and remembered the matter he was very concerned about. He then asked, “I say, mate... at what stage have your relationship with Tang Jing developed to?”

“Huh?” Dunn did not hear it clearly.

“Are you and Tang Jing dating?” Twain changed his tack.

“How ... How can it be?” Dunn flatly denied.

“Okay. Look, I’m bringing Shania back to see our parents. If they ask about your plans for marriage, what are you going to say?”

“I’m still young...”

“Is twenty-nine years old still young?” In fact, Dunn’s actual age should be forty-one years old, which was Twain’s current age.

Dunn did not speak because he did not know how to answer the question.

“You know... regardless, they’d rather see you settled down and get married so that they can carry your kids early...” Twain muttered, a little lost in his thoughts.

In any case, he was not the biological son of his parents. There was always a difference between close and distant relatives, which was human nature. Although he felt a little uncomfortable, he could only accept the reality. He got the fame, fortune and love he had yearned for, so he had to pay for them in return. Hence, he lost his biological parents.

※※※

In the evening, Tang Jing suggested that she would play host and invited the three people to dinner. Twain thought Tang Jing’s excuse was very interesting. She was not Sichuanese. How would that make her the “host?”

But they still gladly made the appointment—surely they would have to give face to Dunn, wouldn’t they?

After dinner, they returned to the hotel. In the room, Twain and Shania accepted an interview with Tang Jing together. In fact, it was mainly an interview with Twain. After all, Tang Jing was a sports journalist, and not a freelance writer for a fashion magazine.

Tang Jing was concerned about Nottingham Forest’s prospects for next season and wanted to hear about Twain’s plans. So, Twain selectively revealed some details. Following which, they looked back at last season. Twain was generally satisfied with the team’s performance last season. To be able to successfully squeeze Chelsea out and advance to next season’s UEFA Champions League were in line with his expectations.

The next step was to talk about his married life with Shania, which was naturally very loving and happy. On the football field, Twain’s goal was to pursue victory and championship titles whereas in the couple’s life, it was to have a child.

Then Tang Jing took a look at Twain’s physical condition and asked him to talk about his experiences of more than five months of resting at home due to his heart disease. Twain did not think there was much to talk about. An illness was not a good thing, let alone a heart attack. So, he directly stated his attitude to the question—He was not going to answer it.

The atmosphere was considered harmonious enough that Tang Jing momentarily forgot that she was interviewing Tony Twain, who was said to be “the most difficult interviewee by the reporters.” But on the issue of Twain’s health, she finally experienced the man’s unreasonable side again.

She could only move on to the last part—as the manager of Nottingham Forest, the most successful young manager in Europe in recent years, and a public figure who understood the Chinese football world well, what were Tony Twain’s views on Chinese football?

As opposed to his previous succinct answers, Twain seemed to have a lot to say when it came to Chinese football.

“I heard you’re going to change football back into the national system? I don’t know how to evaluate. If it was to only let the national football team produce results, it was understandable. Just like your country’s table tennis, diving, gymnastics, it is very effective. The whole world knows that China is the strongest in table tennis and the best in diving. Gymnastics is also traditionally China’s dominant event.”

“But I don’t think the significance in football is just about getting the national team to get the top spots in the international competitions. Football is a competition of skills, and also a game, where anyone can get involved and play the game. At the same time, it’s even a lifestyle. I’m a manager of a club. For my club fans, going to the stadium once a week to watch the hometown team play is a lifestyle. This way of life has been passed down from the fathers to the sons and then to the grandchildren. It has been going on for hundreds of years. Do you understand the difference between this and yours now?”

“It seems to me that although China was the original birthplace of football, there is still a long way to go in China based on what I called ‘a lifestyle.’ How many years has it been since professional football was introduced to China? And how many years has Britain been doing it? I believe that professional football is promising in China, because the Chinese people are very smart, know how to do a thing well and will definitely do it well. The key is whether you want to do it well or not. Having done professional football for more than ten years, the thing in China is still like water without a source and a tree without roots. I think it’s an abysmal failure! It’s a shame to the clever Chinese people!”

Twain suddenly got a little worked up as if he were the Chinese man who was ashamed of it.

“Because of the failures in the Olympic Games and World Cup qualifiers, your General Administration of Sport of China has decided to let football revert to its former national system. I do not deny that doing so will help your country develop a team that has a corresponding place in the football world. At that time, playing in the World Cup or the Olympics will lead to results that your fans will feel acceptable. But if I were a regular football fan, I would be sad to live in such an environment. You want to know why?”

“I’d like to hear the details.” Tang Jing was unknowingly captivated by Twain’s loud arrogant talk. She even forgot that this part was just a routine “add-on” and that it would not take up too much space when writing the article. But now, she had a strong idea deep down—to make this part the highest priority for the interview to promote to all readers.

“How many games can a strong national team play, counting all kinds of invitation tournaments and commercial competitions? And how many high-level games does a mature club team play in a year? As an ordinary fan, he will certainly support his country’s team and wave the flag to cheer for his country on the national team game day. It’s all very good. So, how about the other times other than the national team match days? How does he find an outlet for his love and desire for football? Where can he find a target to entrust such an ardent conviction? Foreign teams?”

Twain snorted with a laugh, “AC Milan? Inter Milan? Real Madrid? Barcelona? Juventus? Manchester United? Arsenal? Liverpool? Chelsea? Bayern Munich? Or Nottingham Forest? Or the German national team, the Italian national team, the England team, the Spanish national team, the French national team, the Portuguese national team, the Czech Republic national team, the Brazilian national team, the Argentine national team, the Japanese national team, the Korean national team ... Anyway, it will not be the Chinese national team.”

“Of course, they can like the above-mentioned teams, which is not a problem. No one has the right to interfere with other people’s interests and choices. But they are Chinese people and Chinese football fans. The above-mentioned teams will not play every weekend at their doorsteps. They cannot cheer in the stadium for their favorite teams. They can only argue with the opposing fans online. They also can’t get up close and personal with these stars outside the training grounds, ask for autographs, or even buy genuine team memorabilia...To be honest, this kind of love makes me feel very sad.” He shrugged and said, “I think the Chinese people pay particular attention to a sense of belonging, but this kind of love has no sense of belonging. You love those teams, but those teams don’t necessarily love you. Ah, I’m not denigrating the European teams. I just think you’re too far away from them that they basically don’t care about your love. What is the position of the Chinese fans who carry posters to the airport to greet their idolized teams in the eyes of the European clubs?” Twain thought of the gold rush trip to China he did with his team.

What did the Chinese fans who were so enthusiastic to the point that they almost bow down look like to Allan Adams and Evan Doughty? They only represented “the China market”, the exchange rate between the Chinese Yuan, the British pound, and the euro.

What was the case for the Forest players? They were just ordinary supporters who were far away. They were at a different level from the Nottingham fans in the minds of these people. They had a duty to use victory and their own skills to please the Nottingham fans who would go to the City Ground stadium every week to support them, but they would not please those fans who were far away in China, even though they were as enthusiastic as the former.

The Nottingham Forest club received letters from fans all over the world every day. Due to the presence of Assistant Manager Dunn and Sun Jihai, there had been many letters from the Chinese fans. Most of those letters were of several templates, of which the vast majority were postcards and souvenirs. Some of them were just professional “autograph collectors” in the country, and some of them really liked the Forest team. However, in either case, the date of the postmark of the letters and the date on which the letter was received were almost one month apart.

Was the cost of this kind of love a little too high?

“I’ve said so much. Can you understand my meaning, Miss Tang Jing?”

Tang Jing nodded mechanically—in fact, she had not digested Twain’s words.

“The purpose of football for the General Administration of Sport of China and Chinese Football Association is absolutely not to give your country’s fans a way of life in football culture—it does not fall within their concern and consideration. To put it nicely, their aim is in hope that the national team’s performance will improve. To put it bluntly, it is only for the achievements of these leaders currently in office. What kind of position does the Chinese fans hold in their hearts? That’s an interesting question...”

Perhaps it was “the mob of people” that had gathered outside the stadium chanting “The Football Association is a stupid c**t”, “Disband the China national team”, “Xie X Long, f**k your mother”, and such slogans. Or it could be the figures in the statistics of each Chinese Super League match...Anyway, it was an indistinct community with a repulsive image and not living, breathing, flesh and blood “people” with feelings. Therefore, they naturally did not need to care about their feelings, listen to their voices, and what “football” meant to these ordinary people.

“... The focus of their work is only the national team. As long as the national team does well, they will be good officials with achievements. As for the football culture and way of life... What is that? Can it guarantee that they will be promoted and make a fortune? Can it guarantee that they will have a political track record? To have football imperceptibly influence people’s lives, what is needed is not merely the efforts of several leadership teams. How many leaders are willing to let the fruits of their labor be taken advantage of by future generations? I have worked hard for four years and not achieve any political accomplishments just so that the next generation can salvage the political achievements? On what basis! Why should I suffer just to let others profit from it!”

Twain suddenly got up from his chair, and paced around the room in an emotional state, completely forgetting that he was being interviewed now. He just had a lot of things on his mind that he wanted to say, not caring who the audience was, and where he was at.

Once he started talking about Chinese football, Twain began to use Mandarin to communicate with Tang Jing because he might not be able to convey certain context in English. Therefore, Shania could not understand what her Uncle Tony said. When she saw Twain suddenly got agitated and stood up to pace around the room muttering nonstop, she was a little worried and said, “Uncle Tony...”

Tang Jing also did not expect that Twain would have such a fierce reaction. She initially asked the question because she wanted to listen to what Tony Twain, an outsider, thought of Chinese football, which now had a bad reputation. She wanted to let the readers know what a foreigner thought of Chinese football. She did not expect that although Twain did discuss the matter from an outside perspective, his emotional state ... did not appear to be that of an outsider.

She also followed suit to stand up, with her heart full of contradictions. Should she exhort Twain to calm down, or hope that he continued to speak and let her hear more hot news items...

“Yes, that’s what they think!” Twain turned around and stood while he waved his fists and said, “You really did encounter some detours and diversions in the process of developing the professional football path, but that doesn’t mean you have to deny everything about professional football and go back to the national professional system. Is your football problem a professional problem? Is it a matter of the star players making too much money and the club throwing away too much money? Which of the European teams and star players make too little money? Which club doesn’t invest money? Are the players of countries with high-level football, fine examples of high moral standing and drink milk that is squeezed from grass? Are all European clubs so squeaky clean and transparent like air? People in the system certainly don’t admit that the institutional problems are the causes of it all, because acknowledging it will be to break their livelihood, smash their rice bowls, and destroy their own interests. So, the push to professionalism, to those professional players with low-quality skills but can still make a lot of money and in fact have no right to speak of, make use of society’s ‘hate the rich’ mentality, shift everyone’s anger of the Chinese Football Association to the professional league. They are saying ‘with the professionalization over the years, the players are making more and more money, but the level of football is getting worse’, so the fault lies with ‘the professionalization of football.’ But if it were not for professionalization, how would you know how incompetent and inflexible the organization that had managed Chinese football for fifty-five years was!!”

“Once many years, many years have passed, maybe your national team will be great in international football, like the Soviet Union before its collapse. But your football level won’t improve for a hundred years... No, there will never be progress. What does football mean to your masses? It is an Olympic event that strives for the nation’s glory but locked away from the world in a high-walled compound. It is definitely not a game for young children to play and have fun together in the school playground. Nor is it something that the fans gather once a week for in the stadium stands and in front of the television. It is not the kind of belief, entertainment, way of life that they will be happy about, cry for it, be proud of it, be angry about, be deeply concerned about. It is not a living life that exists among the people and originates from the people that will continue to germinate, blossom, bear fruit and continuously grow and strengthen uninterrupted for a hundred years and not decline. It is definitely not a culture that is full of vitality and has a reasonable cycle mechanism which can regenerate and radiate far-reaching influence that will make the politicians down to the civilians to...love it!”

“Do you know what that feels like, Miss Tang Jing?” After saying this in one breath, Twain looked back at the reporter, Tang Jing, who was stupefied.

“When Nottingham Forest was unfortunately relegated, half the people of Nottingham city cried. When Notts County was once on the brink of bankruptcy, the other half of Nottingham city’s people generously contributed money and did not expect anything in return. They donated pound by pound, hoping to save the team. Because that’s their team, it’s their hometown team! Even if it’s just a nobody team in Football League Third Division North which almost never has the hope to win the Champions League.”

“But in China today, ninety percent of people half surprised and half sneered at you and say, ‘Yo, you still watch Chinese Super League? You still watch Chinese football! You shouldn’t self-abuse in this way, you stupid c**t!'” After he uttered the obscenity, Twain spread his hands and his tone finally eased. “You see, that’s the difference between the two situations. Miss Tang Jing. What’s wrong with Chinese football? It’s okay, because it’s a big problem in itself, a big problem that breeds a large host of mid-sized problems, and the mid-sized problems involved countless of small problems... Ah, it’s wonderful, it’s a family reunion for a group photo.”

Twain laughed and said, “But what’s the solution to the problem? To be honest, I don’t think you can hope to solve it in the current situation of the sports system in China. I sympathize with you, really, I’m not kidding. I do indeed have a lot of sympathy for you all... Also, don’t fantasize about one or two talented players who can help you get to the path of glory. In the future, try not to pay attention to Chen Jian. I know you are trying to introduce him to the Chinese fans and shape him into a new hopeful overseas Chinese player. But I want to warn you, Miss Tang Jing.”

Twain extended his index finger and wagged it in front of Tang Jing. “He’s absolutely not the savior of Chinese football. He’s just an ordinary young man who wants to make a living from football and is a bit silly but has pretty good luck. If my player is ruined by your meaningless delusions, today will be the last time I’ll accept your interview.”

※※※

When Tang Jing was about to leave, it was clear from her appearance that she was still in a daze from Twain’s speech. Apparently the interview impacted her far more than any of Twain’s previous conversations in front of the media. She really needed to get back and digest it. Fortunately, although she was still in a daze, the interview machine in her hands still worked faithfully and completely recorded Twain’s every word.

But one thing was very clear when she left—if this story was published, the impact that it would give rise to could be by no means merely compared to “the most successful young manager—into Tony Twain’s world” interview.

To publish this piece in the papers, she might even have to take some risks...

※※※

Shania did not care about the impact Twain’s words would have on the country’s football community. She wondered about Twain’s vehemence at the last moments.

What would agitate Uncle Tony so much that he could not even help himself?

Twain hugged her, shook his head and smiled to explain, “She asked a question that I could not explain clearly in one or two sentences and the question was easy for people to lose their cool and calm... I’m really sorry to have scared you, Shania. But it’s all right now, at least I don’t have to continue to worry about that problem. Let’s have some fun!” He suddenly grabbed Shania and threw her onto the bed.

Shania’s screams soon turned into gentle moans...

※※※

Tang Jing came out of the elevator, and found Dunn sitting in the couch facing the direction of the elevator in the lobby.

“The interview took longer than expected.” He said as he saw Tang Jing come straight over.

“Sorry, the last question caused the interview plan to spin out of control.” Tang Jing shook her head and said, “He got very worked up and said a lot.”

Dunn was somewhat interested and said, “What was the question?”

“I asked him what he thought of Chinese football. I originally wanted to hear what a foreigner thought of something that we ourselves thought of as rotten... The result came as a surprise to me.” Tang Jing said in a low voice as she frowned and recalled the scene. “He said a lot, some stuff we did not know, some stuff we never thought about and some we knew and thought about but did not dare say...”

“I’ve decided! I’ll take out his answer on its own and published the full text without a single change in his words!”

“I can imagine what Tony said. Aren’t you afraid that publishing it will bring trouble?” Dunn asked.

Tang Jing smiled sweetly and ran her fingers through the hair dangled in front of her. “What could be the trouble? If there’s blame from the top, I’ll shoulder it. At the most, I’ll quit. Losing a job is not a big deal.”

Dunn looked at the determined woman in front of him, opened his mouth, and said nothing in the end.

Tang Jing lifted her wrist to look at the watch. It was already ten o’clock at night.

“Ah, it’s so late! I have to get back.” She waved to Dunn and said, “Goodbye, Dunn!”

“Goodbye.” Dunn stood at the entrance and waved goodbye to Tang Jing.

When Tang Jing got into the taxi and left, he muttered, “I wish you good luck...”

Chapter 739 - A Lame Joke

Tang Jing sat upright in front of her father, who sat behind a large office desk and wore reading glasses to carefully read through the new draft that his daughter just handed in.

He had been reading the three-thousand-word manuscript for a full fifteen minutes and did not plan to put it down yet. It was very quiet in the editor-in-chief’s office.

It was a long time before the editor-in-chief, Tang Yuanan took off his reading glasses and massaged the inner corners of his eyes.

“Xiao Jing, I’m going to retire in a few years...”

“I know, Papa. You can put the blame on me if there’s any problem.”

Tang Yuanan put down his hands and glared at his daughter, sitting on the opposite. “Nonsense! How can your own father be such a person?”

Tang Jing did not speak, but continued to look at her father, the president and editor-in-chief of the sports newspaper with the widest circulation in China.

“I almost built the newspaper up with my bare hands. It has been twenty-two years ... I’m just worried that once you publish the article, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the papers...”

Tang Jing pulled her lips and said, “Then I will resign now and transfer to another sports newspaper. Let them take the blame.”

“Hey, you...” Tang Yuanan really could not do anything about his own daughter. He stared at Tang Jing for a moment and then slightly softened his tone, “Actually, Tony Twain’s words are not new. The General Administration of Sport of China intends to put the national system into effect and return football to the professional sports school era. Many people have privately discussed this issue. But no one dares to speak out publicly. Even if they said it in front of the media, the press will not print such comments ... Do you know why, Xiao Jing?”

“The pressure from the Chinese Football Association.”

“No.” Tang Yuanan shook his head and said, “The Football Association has long been a target of scorn. After the Olympics, Xinhua News Agency and People’s Daily continuously published articles critical of the Chinese Football Association. Someone must take the blame for the failures in the Olympics and World Cup qualifiers, and the Chinese Football Association is a good candidate. The real pressure comes from... General Administration of Sport of China. The FA is a subordinate body of the General Administration of Sport of China. The one calling the shots is in fact the General Administration of Sport of China and the FA only follows in accordance with the path given by the General Administration of Sport. So, which exactly was Twain rebuking? It’s not the Football Association, it’s the General Administration of Sport.”

Tang Jing’s face slightly changed color. She was well aware of the difference between the Chinese Football Association and the General Administration of Sport of China, and she knew which organization had more power.

After thinking for a moment in her seat, she got up and walked toward her father’s desk. She reached for the manuscript and said, “No, Papa. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Tang Yuanan wanted to reach out to take it back. But he had just lifted his hand when he put it back again, allowing his daughter to pick up the manuscript, which was filled with Twain’s furious words, and walked out of the office.

Back in the press room, Tang Jing began to pack up her desk—her favorite Garfield hanging pendant, her own water glasses, folders, books...

Her colleagues looked strangely at her as she packed up the things in silence. There were fewer and fewer things on the table as everything was swept into the box.

“Tang Jing, what are you doing?” Finally, a colleague who had a better relationship with her rushed over and asked in surprise.

“I quit my job.” Tang Jing took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, opened it and pressed it on the table. Then she pick up the box and smiled at her concerned colleague.

“Quit...” The colleagues were too stunned to respond and stared dumbfounded at her as she left the office.

The paper that was pressed on the table was a “resignation letter” written earlier.

※※※

When Tang Jing drove her car on the way back to her house, she received a call from her father.

“Tang Jing!!” Tang Yuanan roared angrily on the phone, “What do you think you’re doing!”

“I quit, Papa.” Tang Jing looked calm and said, “You don’t have to care about what I want to do now.”

“I don’t agree to your resignation!”

“Then we’ll go to the court for labor arbitration, Papa.”

“...” Tang Jing could even hear the creaking sound of her father’s teeth gnashing.

“Fine!” He spat out in frustration, “Even if you quit, you’re still my daughter. I won’t allow it!”

“Your daughter is already an adult. I have also moved out a long time ago to live on my own. Even if you are my Papa, you have no right to interfere in your daughter’s life.”

“You.....”

What else could Tang Yuanan say? Tang Jing had heartlessly refused to talk with him. “Okay, Papa. Your daughter now has the steering wheel in her left hand and the cell phone in her right hand. I’m driving on the beltway now. If you don’t want to get a bereavement call from the traffic police later, I’m going to hang up now, Papa.”

“Hey, Tang Jing you... Hello? Hello!”

He could only hear the busy signal.

※※※

That evening, Tang Jing updated her blog post in Sina blog and announced that she had officially resigned from <Titan Sports>. She was now independent and unemployed. Then she recalled some of her life working in the newspaper and thanked some people.

Tang Jing’s blog had always been popular because she was a well-known “beautiful reporter” who followed and covered Nottingham Forest in Nottingham and was rumored to be linked with Dunn. Consequently, her article was quickly reprinted. All the people who knew her were surprised by her resignation because there was no indication that she was unhappy with the newspaper. She even received orders to fly to Chengdu two days before she resigned to interview Twain. Many journalists in China had hoped to do an exclusive interview with Twain but only Tang Jing had the opportunity. Nor did they hear of any contradiction between her and the management—everyone knew she was the daughter of the president and editor-in-chief. No matter how big the contradiction was, it should not result in her resignation...

The advantages and disadvantages of the Internet age were that information spread quickly. So, within one night, the piece of news on “a well-known sports newspaper in China’s well-known beautiful reporter mysteriously resigned out of the blue” appeared on several portals’ landing pages. Many netizens expressed their views on the matter and made all kinds of statements.

The most sensational was someone said that because the woman and Coach Dunn were caught together and exposed, she was forced to resign due to the pressure from all sides. She had said that she was in Chengdu to interview Twain but in actual fact, she was on a date with Dunn. Twain unexpectedly caught the couple in the act and there was no way to dispute it. Nottingham Forest Football Club made a strong protest to the newspaper and she had to resign to quell the error of judgment, even though she was the daughter of the president. Otherwise it would be bad for everyone if the matter was leaked...

Although this version was sensational, not many people bought it. Because how could a foreign football club be angry because one of its assistant coaches had sex with a woman in his native country while on vacation? It was too trifling.

Therefore, the real reason for Tang Jing’s resignation was still widely debated.

There were also reporters who called Tang Jing, wanting to hear what she had to say. As a result, Tang Jing’s cell phone was turned off and could not be contacted at all.

Her window of contact with the outside world only left with the Sina blog.

The next night, just as everyone was still speculating about why the beautiful reporter, Tang Jing who had a smooth career and whose fame was on the rise in the recent years, suddenly resigned, she updated an article in her blog.

“This was the last question I asked when I went to Chengdu to interview Manager Tony Twain two days ago. I had asked a routine question, but I did not expect to receive a surprising response. It is well known that Manager Twain is fluent in Mandarin. We communicated directly in Mandarin from start to finish with regards to the question. Therefore, you do not have to suspect that I’ll use the translator machine to tamper with his answer. This is the original text, and tomorrow I will consider releasing a recording of the conversation.” This was the introduction that Tang Jing wrote, which was naturally followed by the article she had showed her father.

<Chinese Football in the Eyes of a Successful English Football Manager>

In the three thousand-word article, Twain’s style of statements could be found everywhere. The unruly English manager berated Chinese football, and hit the nail on the head, which made most people who read it, nodded their heads in approval.

At the end of the article, Tang Jing wrote the following words: Everyone is welcome to reprint the work, but please do not change a single word.

Tang Jing succeeded. She made use of the resignation incident to rouse everyone’s interest, and then threw out the long-planned article after the attention was focused on her blog. She caused an earthquake on the Internet in the shortest possible time.

Sina, Sohu, NetEase, Tencent, Tianya Club...and all the large and small, well-known and little known, professional and amateur, football-related and unrelated websites as well as forums all reprinted the article immediately. As the original source, the number of clicks on her blog surged overnight with the comments refreshing every minute.

Some people agreed, some people scolded, some people contemplated, and some people questioned.

The people who agreed naturally said that the article hit the nail on the head, so that it suddenly dawned on some people.

Those people who scolded were more interesting—they certainly did not scold Twain and Tang Jing because they supported such lousy Chinese football. The reason they scolded was: No matter how bad Chinese football is and how terrible the Chinese Football Association is, that’s our own affairs as Chinese people. Since when do we allow our own affairs to be dictated by an English barbarian? Your words were so harsh. Who do you think you are? No matter how successful you are and how many championship titles you have taken, what gives you the right to be so cocky in China? Not to mention that you appeared to be down and out in the last two years...

Those people who questioned it queried if Tang Jing used a fake article to create sensationalism, which was basically self-hyped. Anyway, now was the era of hype and speculation of others was not unusual. To create self-hype, one just had to take a look at those star bloggers and online celebrities which were the product of self-hype. Therefore, nowadays belonged to the era of “even one is ugly, one must also dare to show and tell.” Their reasons were well founded—an Englishman, no matter how much he claimed to know and love China, could not say such a thing that drew blood on the first prick about the current state of Chinese football. These words could only be written by people who had been immersed in Chinese football for years, or only if they were Chinese who really understood and cared about Chinese football. What was an Englishman doing by joining in on the action? Did he know who the current full-time vice-president of the Chinese Football Association was before he bawled the system out here? Moreover, looking at the pervasive “resentment and impatience towards the system for failing to meet expectations” and “pity your misfortune; condemn your submission” emotional state, how could a British who has nothing to do with our country, have such a sentiment? Therefore, to summarize the above-mentioned points, one could only draw the conclusion that Tang Jing’s level of fraud was too low, or she was simply hawking such a big gap in the story to complete the self-promotion.

“The questioning theory” was very popular in the mainstream media because they represented the voice of “calm thinking.” Although these people were indeed very calm, seriously considered, and did not blindly follow the words of other people, it was a shame...that their proper analysis was really wrong this time.

Some people had called on Tang Jing to upload the recording that she had stated, online as the proof.

But the next day, Tang Jing’s blog was quiet and there was no “emergence of Tony Twain’s original recording.”

All of a sudden, the tide of those who questioned that she made up the news for her self-promotion became even more intense. It also gave rise to another faction—those who agreed with the article and also affirmed Tang Jing’s original intention to do so. But they still thought that the article was made up by Tang Jing herself.

There were also rumors that the Chinese Football Association was also paying a lot of attention to the article. Even if it was made up by Tang Jing, they did not rule out that she would be brought to court.

Tang Jing later wrote in a blog post, “I have given it some thought. Nowadays technology is so developed, even if I release the recording, I’m sure the disbelieving people will think that it is a fake using some kind of sound-change software. It’s like the fans of the stars whose nude photographs were exposed, they all thought that the photos were created from Photoshop.?Just like photographs can be PS, videos can also be faked. In that case, how difficult can it be to doctor a mere audio file? The people who don’t believe, will not believe with whatever evidence you come up with. Sometimes I feel that it’s quite sad to be suspicious of everything, to doubt everything and to refute everything... So, I decided not to release it for the time being. If you have any questions, you can ask Tony Twain yourselves. He is in Sichuan, China, isn’t he?”

※※※

Twain suddenly found his and Shania’s vacation plans in this small town, south of Sichuan with his parents and Dunn completely destroyed.

Because a lot of reporters with the different Mandarin accents from all over the country suddenly came to the surrounding home area of Dunn’s parents...

Every day, someone would come knocking on the door and asked politely and humbly, “Can I please ask if Mr. Tony Twain stays here?”

Since Tang Jing’s blog called for the people who were in doubt to ask Tony Twain themselves, those reporters really all rushed over. Anyway, they knew Dunn’s home address when they interviewed Dunn before. One by one came looking in hope to hear Twain confirm that the words really came out of his mouth.

In order not to disturb the two elders, Twain and Shania had to move to stay in a hotel in the city and finally lured the swarm of reporters away from Dunn’s home.

But they did not come here for a scenic tour. They just wanted to stay with the two old people. What was the point of going back to Sichuan after all these torments?

“What’s going on?” Twain was so surprised as he could not figure out why he would suddenly turn into a cream cake that attracted flies.

“The words you said to Tang Jing were put on her blog.” Only Dunn and Tang Jing still had a connection, so he was aware of the whole story. “But I didn’t expect them to come to you so soon. It looks like ...” He did not finish the rest. It looked like Tang Jing could not hold up any longer.

“F**k, are you serious?” Twain swore, “I only scolded the current state of Chinese football and these people come looking for me like mad men. Conservatively, it is estimated that ten thousand of people are scolding Chinese football every day in China, right? Why don’t they go find them?”

“The head is not concerned with ordinary people’s admonishments. You’re different, you’re a public figure, a famous coach. Even if you fart, there are people watching.”

Twain covered his nose and said, “You’d find a better metaphor in the future. I have a mouth in my head, not an asshole. No, why should I bear the sin for your secret lover? I can’t even have a good time... I’ll just lay my cards on the table, let them know the answer, and then tell them to go f**k off!”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“What am I supposed to worry about?” Twain looked strangely at Dunn and said, “Since I have already said those words, why would I not dare to admit. It is not a disgrace. Then again... I’m an Englishman, what can I not say? Even if I scold them, what can the FA boss do to me? Shut me out? Not let me attend the CCTV New Year’s Gala? Cancel the ads for my endorsement products? Completely cut off my chances of coaching the China national team? Oh, thank heavens... If I were to gain knowledge of the correct path in the morning, I would be able to die at sunset..”

※※※

Therefore, in the next day, through the hotel he stayed at, Twain informed the reporters who had followed him to the small town in the south of Sichuan that he would hold a last-minute press conference tomorrow. They could ask their questions at the press conference.

The hotel where Twain stayed at was the best in the city, but rarely ushered in such a lively scene. They made an all-out effort to hold the grandest event. They handled the publicity well. All the reporters who heard the news was aware of Twain’s press conference, so more people flocked here.

On the day of the last-minute press conference, the conference room which the hotel specially allocated simply did not have enough room for people to stand. The head of the hotel was so anxious that he sweated profusely. Finally, it was Twain who stepped forward and let everyone simply move to the lobby, which solved the problem.

Because it was a last-minute press conference, there was no time to prepare any advertising sponsorship boards in the background. The curtain behind Twain had the hotel’s huge logo and name printed on it, which gave them a one-time free advertisement.

“I know what you want to ask. I went online yesterday to have a look at it.” As soon as Twain sat down, he did not wait for the reporters to raise their hands and ask questions. He immediately spoke in Mandarin, “The matter is funny. I’m not saying that the article was funny. I’m saying that everything that came out of it was funny.”

“I’m not going to deny what I’ve done. I’ve carefully read Miss Tang Jing’s blog post. I am now here to officially announce—that article had sections of what I said and not a word has been changed. It was indeed what I personally said to Miss Tang Jing.” Twain looked at the stunned reporters with a straight face.

“Well, that’s all I have to say, good day.” He got up and left when he was done.

That was when the reporters roused themselves and did not care about the order to raise their hands to ask the questions. One by one crowded forward, blocked Twain, and threw their questions at him.

“Mr. Twain! I don’t understand why you said all those things!”

“Tang Jing asked, of course I had to answer. What’s not easy to understand?”

“No, no, I mean... Your answer is somewhat out of proportion to your identity...”

“What’s so disproportionate? Because I am the manager of Nottingham Forest, so I can’t comment on Chinese football? Don’t you reporters particularly like to ask the foreigners when you interview them—what do you think of the Chinese players, Chinese football teams... and so on?”

“Mr. Twain, your knowledge of Chinese football can’t be that in-depth. Could it be Miss Tang Jing made some suggestions and then you said it? Or did she write the answer in advance for you to read it?”

“Sir, you’re joking. Not only you insult my IQ, you have also insulted my character. Those words came out of my own comprehension. No one gave me any suggestions, and I was not fed any lines in advance.”

“But you’re British...”

“So what? I remember saying I know China very well... Understand everything about this country, and of course football. Does it not make sense that I understand your football? Everyone in the world knows how bad your football is. Is it wrong for an Englishman who love China like myself to understand it well? Your football had already made you a disgrace in the world during the Beijing Olympics. What’s so inconceivable about this matter? have already made your football a disgrace to the world? You think you can’t see the fact just because you put your head in the ass? Furthermore, how many of the full-time vice-presidents of the Chinese Football Association are engaged in football understand football? For them to be able to occupy the top positions, how is it that no one loudly ask them if it was reasonable or not, eh? You are not qualified to question whether it is reasonable for me to say such a thing!”

As Twain squeezed his way toward outside, he hit back at the reporters’ questions with his razor-sharp wit. The hotel security also wanted to come up to help, but they lost the decisive opportunity to do so and had been squeezed to the outermost edge. They could only look on and worry helplessly at the thick layers of heavy siege.

“But Mr. Twain, don’t you think that as a foreigner, it’s excessive of you to judge Chinese football in this way?”

“What’s too much? It’s rotten to the core, that’s what it is. It’s rotten and you still don’t allow to speak. No wonder your football has not improved for decades. What’s this about don’t wash your dirty linen in public? I think you should take the initiative to air it in public. The more people know, the better. You don’t want to clean up the pus in the wound and yet you want to cover it up... Are you trying to get rich by breeding maggots?”

“What do you as a foreigner get out of criticizing Chinese football like this?”

“I don’t get anything. You ask, I answer, that’s the point. If you have other stories to cover, then don’t come here from thousands of miles away and ask me questions.” Speaking of this, Twain became furious—damn it, my vacation was spoilt by this swarm of flies and face in front you still dare to ask this idiotic question to my face!”

The scene was becoming explosive and more intense.

After the press conference, the media said that Tony Twain had a fierce dispute with a group of reporters at the press conference, but he did not speak off the cuff...

“Mr. Twain, is it appropriate that you criticize a country’s official body that governs football?”

“What’s inappropriate about it? The British prime minister would be criticized if he did wrong. What cannot be said if a football association has a problem? Perhaps you all think that the Chinese Football Association has no problem at all. That they are hardworking, serious, have the correct attitude and are responsible?” Twain could not hold back his laughter, “I have nothing to say if you really think so. I have already berated and criticized it. Is the Chinese Football Association not happy? Angry? What does it have to do with me?! I’ll tell you this, if they were standing in front of me today, I would say the same thing! But for a dog that is kept by the General Administration, they really think of themselves as influential? That’s the funniest thing in the world... Ridiculous! Sad! Pathetic! Shameful!”

With that, Twain pulled the crowd apart with force and squeezed out.

Halfway through, he turned around to the group of reporters and said, “I suddenly thought of a joke. Ah, I say it’s a joke, but it’s actually a true story that happened around me...the atmosphere was too tense just now. Do you want me to tell it to ease everyone’s mood a little?”

With that, he went right ahead and recounted without waiting for the reporters to say yes, “My team’s right back, Rafinha, is a member of the Brazilian Olympic team. As one of the few players on my team who had the honor to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games, he came bragging to me that he had learnt Mandarin while he was in China when he returned to Nottingham. One day, during training, he smugly said to me, ‘Boss! I know how to shout the Chinese word to cheer on the Brazilian team!’ So, I let him shout to see what it’s all about, and then I heard him shout, ‘Fire Xie X Long!'”

All the reporters present looked at each other, rendered speechless.

Twain looked at them and laughed, “Is it lame? But I think it’s very funny! I laughed till I almost died, ah ha ha-ha ha-ha—–”

He left the last-minute press conference hall with chortles of “ha-ha ha-ha”, leaving behind a group of stunned people.

Chapter 740 - World Cup in South Africa

Twain’s fight with the reporters in the hotel did not cause his holidays to return to him. Instead, it only caused his holidays to leave him further behind.

News about how he berated the Chinese Football Association and got into a ‘duel of words’ with the reporters during the press conference surfaced on numerous media platforms. No matter where he walked, he would always run into reporters or football fans. Some of them were friendly towards him while others longed for him to die.

It is said that the Chinese Football Association was so enraged by Tony Twain’s comments that they specially phoned Nottingham Forest Football Club to protest. However, Nottingham Forest Football Club’s reply to them was, “Mr. Tony Twain does not represent our football club when he is out on holiday. The comments he makes during his personal time have nothing to do with our football club.”

And that was how they dismissed the Chinese Football Association’s fury.

However, the Chinese Football Association still had other ways to express their discontent. They made it clear that they would not allow Nottingham Forest to play any matches in China in the future. Essentially, they blacklisted the entire Nottingham Forest team.

What a display of might!

If they could, they also wanted to ban Tony Twain from entry into China.

Of course, their actions only caused the netizens and the media to bombard them with admonitions.

In Chinese, there is a term that is used to express humility in which the speaker downgrades himself or herself by claiming that he or she is ‘presenting something unpleasant’ to the other person. However, what the Chinese Football Association is doing at the moment was not to ‘present’ something unpleasant, but rather, they are ‘showing off’ their unpleasantries. They are making all their imperfections known to the public, as though they are bragging about it. It is as if they think the world is as stupid as them.

The Chinese media in China has been unusually busy during this period of time. Some were busy scolding the Chinese Football Association, some were applauding Twain for his words, some just wanted to be at loggerheads with both parties involved, and some were just trying to hype up the whole incident. There were all kinds of people making an appearance.

All the reports left the Chinese football fans stimulated, as though they had taken stimulants. It was one adrenaline rush after another.

As for Twain, he left after stirring up numerous disturbances and dumping a massive grenade into an originally calm lake.

He definitely could not continue to enjoy his holidays in China any longer. All he could do was to make his way over to Hong Kong and attend a press conference about a business endorsement there. Similarly, Shania had to shoot an advertisement for a makeup brand that she had signed a contract with earlier, and she also needed to attend a press conference for a product launch in Hong Kong.

The organisers of the event had also prepared a small dinner party to entertain both Twain and Shania.

There were less of those annoying and trivial issues that would bother Twain in Hong Kong. Things might be getting out of control in China, but all those things had nothing to do with Twain while he was in Hong Kong.

He stayed in Hong Kong for a couple of days, before flying back to England with Shania.

He certainly did not forget to bring back a present for Evan and Allan from China. However, the present was not something tangible. It was a request for a business collaboration.

During his short stay in Hong Kong, Twain met Li Ka-shing’s elder son, Victor Li, who was the CEO of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited.

It was just supposed to be a simple dinner party, but Victor Li clearly came prepared.

He mentioned how he was very interested in the real estate development plan that had been put aside by Nottingham Forest during his chat with Twain.

He did not say much, but the intelligent Twain already knew what the man was getting at.

The British real estate market has taken a huge blow as a result of the economic crisis that has been going on for two years. Property and land prices have gone on a steep decline and have almost hit rock bottom.

However, to a successful businessman, it is precisely during times like this that an opportunity to make a fortune arises. Since the British real estate market is currently experiencing winter, doesn’t that mean that spring is not too far away?

If not for the arrival of the economic crisis, Nottingham Forest would have been able to complete their development plans in Clifton without a hitch. And, given how the British real estate market has prospered over the past few years, the football club would have been able to generate a profit and suffer no losses.

However, if that were to happen, then it would be very difficult for the Li family, who mainly did business in Hong Kong, to participate in the British real estate development market.

To Victor Li’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited, the economic crisis has provided them with a golden opportunity to expand their business overseas.

Clifton was just a part of a brick wall that Victor Li had to tear down in order to bring his business into England.

However, Twain did not care about what these businessmen had on their minds. He was just going to relay the news to Allan Adams and Evan Doughty. Everything else was up to Allan.

If this business collaboration was possible however, it would be good news for him as well, because he would no longer have to worry about not having the funds to buy players. He could also stop selling star players in his team to generate the funds needed to fill the bottomless pit caused by the club’s constant financial troubles…

※※※

Evan was very interested in the ‘gift’ that Twain had brought back from China. It would certainly greatly reduce the club’s financial burdens if they are able to convince the Hong Kong firm to invest in their development plans.

He did not think about having all of the profits to himself at a time like this when the economy was not doing well. The cake was too big for him to finish alone.

Allan was optimistic towards the news that Twain had brought back, but also exercised caution. He had approached Victor Li in the past for a business collaboration as well. Back then, Victor Li had considered his proposition for a while, but still ended up refusing his proposal. Why did he change his mind in just a year?

In contrast, Evan did not find it odd that Victor Li had a change of heart. A year ago the property and land prices had not reached rock bottom. It is only natural for him to wait until the prices hit rock bottom before making a move since it would lower the overall costs for him. He is a businessman after all. He needs to be a little crafty.

As Twain was having a headache over which players he should buy and sell for the new season, Allan Adams flew over to Hong Kong personally to discuss the details about their potential business collaboration.

None of them would have known that this business deal would take a year before an agreement would finally be reached. Both parties only signed a contract in September of 2011.

The new football stadium finally welcomed the arrival of the ‘God of Wealth’ from the East. The construction works that had been stalled for three years could finally resume once again.

Of course, these information are just ‘postscripts’ right now, and will be discussed at a later time.

※※※

Half of June had already passed by when Dunn returned to Nottingham by himself. To both Twain and Dunn however, the summer for 2010 had only just started.

Travelling to China and helping the club earn a chance to work with the Li family this summer were trifles to Twain.

The main event for this summer was definitely not his squabble with the Chinese media. It was going to take place in South Africa.

The World Cup had commenced.

Numerous highly sought-after football stars have all emerged from the previous World Cup competitions. The World Cup was the perfect chance for all managers to scrutinize the conditions and performances of their own players as well as potential players.

After hearing that Cheung Kong Holdings Limited was interested in working with the club in the development of Clifton, Evan Doughty set aside 50 million pounds as Twain’s summer transfer budget from the company’s finances.

With that money in hand, Twain dragged Dunn along with him and they boarded the plane to the capital of South Africa: Johannesburg.

The treasure hunt starts again!

※※※

“I was still worried that we would see nothing but sceneries of falling snow when we alight from the plane. It seems like I know too little about the world.”

The host South Africa was situated in the Southern Hemisphere. It was currently winter in South Africa, unlike other countries in the Northern Hemisphere that were already experiencing midsummer.

It might be winter here in South Africa, but the weather was not ‘wintry’. The average temperature at Johannesburg, which was one of the several venues for the World Cup, was 18 degree Celsius. Such a temperature was very suitable for outdoor sports.

The main reason behind Twain’s trip to South Africa was none other than to take on the role as a guest commentator for the World Cup on BBC5. He has already established his own unique style of commenting on the matches following his commentaries during the World Cup in Germany and the Euro 2008 held in Austria and Switzerland. There are numerous people who like listening to his commentaries.

He also has his own fan site online. His fans would collect and post the various comments he made on air in the past on the net. They would also post his writings, videos and recordings; basically anything they can find, for others to browse and download, so as to spread his influence.

In China, he also has his own fan base, and those fans of his call all these materials that have been posted on the net as ‘Tony Twain’s Quotations’.

There were even Chinese netizens who suggested that the China Central Television should hire Twain as a commentator after he chastised the Chinese Football Association. He was very fluent in Chinese after all.

Of course, those were nothing more than the netizens’ wishful thinking. They never came true.

However, what it all demonstrated was that even if there came a day where Twain does not want to be a football manager anymore, he would still be able to find a job as a pundit with the reputation that he has right now.

On the other hand, Dunn was going to join Kerslake and the other scouts who have all arrived in Johannesburg much earlier than them in their work of observing the players who were participating in the World Cup, so as to provide Twain with the first-hand information with regards to what sort of players he should go for during the transfer window. They would also scrutinize the players who are already on Twain’s transfer wish list and make sure that those players are truly eligible to be a player for Forest.

Additionally, as the assistant manager, Dunn also has to constantly meet up with the football agents who have turned up at the World Cup. Some of those agents approached him to recommend their players to Nottingham Forest since they are a team who has made their return to the European stage, while others required Dunn to take the initiative and approach them himself instead.

After parting ways at the airport, Twain followed the BBC staff over to the hotel which he would be staying at, while Dunn got in contact with the scouts who were scattered all over the city and began doing his work as well.

※※※

The World Cup in South Africa was not spared from the impact of the global economic crisis, but the South African government hope to use the World Cup as an opportunity to boost their country’s economy. Hence, much effort was put into making the World Cup a lively one.

Twain did not care about that, however. Besides providing live commentaries and writing articles for the four British and one Chinese media outlets that had signed a contract with him, he was going to allocate all his remaining time and energy into his search for a few interesting players amongst all the players who were participating in the World Cup.

The commentators who were in charge of providing commentary for the England match were able to provide a more in-depth analysis due to their familiarity with the players.

Twain has also started focusing on the homegrown British players a lot more since two seasons ago, due to the imminent implementation of a rule that will enforce a fixed ratio of homegrown players to foreign players in all football clubs.

This rule proposed by Sepp Blatter that will restrict the number of foreign players in all football clubs across the world will be enforced in the 2010-11 season. The rule was to be carried out slowly over three stages.

Firstly, all clubs have to comply with a ‘4+7’ rule. Every club is allowed to have four homegrown players and seven foreign players in their starting line-up of 11 players.

Secondly, during the 2011-12 season, all clubs have to comply with a ‘5+6’ rule. The number of foreign players allowed in the starting line-up would be reduced to six, while the number of homegrown players would be increased to five. The number of homegrown players would still be slightly lesser than the number of foreign players.

Thirdly, during the 2012-13 season, all clubs have to comply with the ‘6+5′ rule. The number of homegrown players in the starting line-up will be higher than that of the foreign players’.

This rule is meant to combat how numerous football clubs are becoming increasingly ‘international teams’. It is a rule that hopes to provide more opportunities for the homegrown players and thereby boost the standards of football in the various countries.

However, the moment this rule was proposed, it was met with fierce protests from the European Union. The European Union believed that this rule by FIFA was an impediment to the free movement of talent from one country to another, and saw it as a rule that contravened human rights.

Up till now, both parties have yet to see eye to eye, and neither side has relented. The European Union might not have agreed to the implementation of the rule, but the ‘6+5’ rule looks set to be implemented in the new season.

The Premier League will be the league that is the most deeply affected by the implementation of the rule. The Premier League’s unique system of giving out work permits to foreign players has led to several Premier League teams possessing a relatively high number of foreign players in their teams.

A foreign player playing in the Premier League only needs to pass the Home Office’s audit to obtain a work permit. It did not matter what the player’s nationality was. All foreign players are allowed to play in the Premier League without restrictions. This system is very different from La Liga, whereby every football team is only allowed to have three non-European Union players, and it allows the Premier League to gather top players from many countries.

To obtain a work permit, a foreign player is required to appear in at least 75 per cent of his national team’s competitive ‘A-ranked’ matches in a year, and his national team also needs to be ranked within the top 68 teams on the FIFA World Rankings.

The implementation of such a system has ensured the quantity and quality of the foreign players who play in the Premier League. This is how the Premier League became one of the most successful leagues in the world. It also explains how the Premier League is able to replace Serie A, which was once reputed as a ‘mini World Cup’ in the early 90s, as the top league in Europe.

However, there was also a dire consequence that arose as a result of the implementation of such a system. The standard of football was high in the Premier League, but conversely, the standard of football of the England national team was beyond terrible…

One contributing factor to the terrible standard of football was how the British media would only brag about how talented their youths were. Another contributing factor was how the various big football clubs were unwilling to give their homegrown youth players more playing time. They would rather spend money bringing in established foreign talents. Doing so deprives the youth players of the opportunities to gain experience, and ultimately leads to their downfall. The youth players all become ‘Fang Zhong-Yong’ in the story of ‘The Pity of Zhong-Yong’ [1].

The FIFA’s regulations left Wenger feeling extremely annoyed and helpless, but all he could do was to accept the rules. Unlike Wenger, Twain was not as worried about the implementation of the new rules. He had already started gathering talented homegrown players and youths two years ago, and has been waiting for the day where the rule would be implemented all along.

It was not hard for him to comply with the ‘4+7’ rule based on how his team is set up currently. However, considering how the rule mainly restricts the 11 players who are going to play on the pitch, he still needs to continue scouting homegrown British players.

For this season, Twain was definitely going to go after Tottenham Hotspur’s right winger David Bentley. Ever since Beckham’s departure from the team, Forest has lacked attacking options going down the right, and relying on Lennon alone was not viable. Thus, he has his eyes set on the player who shares the same name as the world-renowned luxury car brand ‘Bentley’.

Beckham’s departure from the England’s national team has also led to a fierce competition for the right-winger position. Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott are both players who have been called the ‘successors’ of David Beckham, but it was David Bentley from Tottenham Hotspur who came out on top and became the starting right winger for Capello’s England national team.

Like Capello, Twain also thought highly of this midfielder who could play on the flanks. He was a player who could pass, shoot and break through the defense. Twain decided to pay the most attention to Bentley’s performance during this World Cup.

There was also another player who Twain wanted to focus on as well. However, he was paying attention to that player not because he wants to bring him into the team, because he is already a member of the Nottingham Forest team.

George Wood is a player that Twain personally picked up from the slum. The attention that Twain has placed on George Wood all this while has already surpassed the kind of attention that a manager is expected to place on his players.

George Wood was not able to receive a single minute of game time during the World Cup in Germany. From 2006 to 2010 however, George Wood underwent a drastic transformation. He was the captain during both seasons when his team won the Champions League. He would also be present in the midfield positions for the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League Team of the Year every season. His performance has garnered attention from teams all over the world. Twain would find heaps of faxes hoping to buy George Wood on his desk every summer. Players of the Football Manager game also splash the cash in the game to buy the solid midfielder for their teams.

Will George Wood, who has had a fantastic footballing career in his club so far, be able to gain his first experience playing for his national team at such a big tournament during the summer of 2010?

Twain intends to wait and see how everything transpires.

Chapter 741 - George’s Maiden Appearance

Till this very day, George Wood still vividly remembers the words his mother told him when he was first chosen to be a member of the England national team that was going to compete in the World Cup.

It feels like he had only just heard those words yesterday, but in truth, four years had already gone by since then.

Four years ago, he could only watch as others competed on the pitch. He sat on the bench for 5 matches, and did not even get a single minute of game time.

Four years later, he is well aware of the fact that there are many media outlets that have expressed their desire to see him start in the World Cup matches.

Wood was once a player whom the previous manager did not think highly of, but ever since Capello took over, he has managed to earn the favor of the tough Italian manager through his professionalism and willingness to work hard without complaints.

England’s midfield defense would become significantly better whenever Wood plays on the pitch. The opponents would only run into an iron plate if they tried to go down the middle.

What Capello has to consider now was not whether or not Wood should play, but rather who Wood should play with.

George Wood might have improved his chances of becoming a regular starting player for the England national team, but he certainly did not improve his relationship with his team mates due to his reticent personality.

He was like a drop of oil in a glass of water.

There were not many people in the England national team whom he could have a chat with besides Leighton Baines and Aaron Lennon, who were both from Nottingham Forest just like him.

Just like Capello, he always puts on a long face, which makes it hard for others to approach him.

During the last few days of training for the World Cup in South Africa, Wood could not think of what else to do other than to train. Everyone else besides him had all gone out together to do shopping.

Their entire shopping trip had been zealously photographed by the paparazzi who were constantly on their trail. However, you would never find a shot of George Wood in any of those photographs.

That was because he would rather make an overseas call to chat with his mother.

Some of his team mates secretly gave him the nickname ‘Mama’s Boy’. His nickname certainly contrasted his tough personality on the pitch.

The George Wood off the pitch was definitely not someone who captured the interest of others, and neither was he someone who would get on the news. Every single time his name is mentioned in the media, it would only have something to do with tactics or the match. He is never involved in any gossips.

He would make an appearance during training and practice matches, but besides those, it was as if he had vanished from the eyes of the public.

However, those days where Wood went unnoticed would not continue for much longer, because the World Cup was about to commence, and when it does, it would be the time for George Wood to shine on the stage.

※※※

The opening match for the World Cup was between the host South Africa and Uruguay. There were not a lot of well-known football stars playing in the match. South Africa held the home advantage, whereas Uruguay was slightly stronger in terms of abilities as compared to South Africa. In the end, both teams were evenly matched, and the game finished with a score of 1:1.

The match could be considered to be an exciting one, but there were no specific scenes that lingered in the spectators’ memories.

It might be the opening match, but to the British fans, it was not a match that they particularly cared about.

Everyone was waiting for the D group match between England and Costa Rica.

England, being a Pot 2 team, got very lucky during the allocation of groups, and was put in the same group as Costa Rica from North America, Korea from Asia, and Brazil from South America.

Brazil was a strong team, but as for the other two teams in the group…

The media from all over the world believed that it would be Brazil and England who were going to progress onto the next stage. They did not think that either Costa Rica or Korea would pose a threat to those two teams.

The Koreans and the Korean media were still living in the 2002 dream where they managed to make their way to the semifinals of the World Cup. They began fantasizing about the numerous ways they would be able to make their way into the knockout stages.

One of the ways was that they would draw with Brazil, marginally win over England and completely triumph over Costa Rica.

Another way was to lose to Brazil and draw with England. They would then progress onto the next stage by scoring numerous goals in the match against Costa Rica and beat England to second place on goal difference.

They could also win against Brazil, England and Costa Rica, and progress onto the next stage by winning in all three of the group stage matches.

However, no one else besides the Koreans believed that Korea would be able to make their way onto the next stage of the World Cup.

The day before the match against Costa Rica, news about England’s starting line-up were already widely reported.

During his pre-match show, Tony Twain talked about his predicted line-up for England for tomorrow’s match. George Wood was the player he believed would start as a midfielder for the England national team.

Everyone believed that George Wood will make his maiden appearance in the World Cup tomorrow.

However…

Wood was informed that he was not in the starting line-up for tomorrow’s match at lunchtime.

Capello, the manager who ruled with an iron fist, did not explain the details of his decision to Wood. All he told him was that he was going to start Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield due to tactical needs.

After he made his announcement, Capello specially looked at Wood. He realized that the lad remained emotionless and simply nodded his head to acknowledge his decision. It was only then that he was able to leave feeling relieved.

Capello was more detailed in his explanation to the media than to Wood. He told them that Costa Rica was not a particularly strong team, hence he needed a team that could score more goals against such a team. Wood was a player that does not contribute much to the offense. There was no need for him to waste a spot in the team just to bolster the team’s defense, when that same spot could be used to boost the team’s offense. Hence, the decision was to let Wood rest for the upcoming match.

His explanation made sense, but that still did not stop Wood’s supporters from being disappointed that they were not going to see him wear the England’s national jersey in his maiden appearance for the World Cup the next day.

The England national team without George Wood was pressurized by Costa Rica in the starting 20 minutes of the match that took place the next day, but beyond that, England was generally able to control the flow of the match, and they did not give Costa Rica any other opportunities to score a goal.

As per Capello’s wishes, England was able to clinch a 3:1 victory over the Pot 4 team.

Lampard, who took over George Wood’s position in the match, scored one goal and provided one assist, and he was named man of the match.

Twain was slightly concerned at the fact that Lampard had been named man of the match. There was not a single manager who would drop his best player in the next match. Moreover, the next match was against Korea, who was not a strong side. Capello had even less reason to put Wood on the pitch.

Before the World Cup commenced, Twain had published an article writing about how George Wood would become one of the leading ‘actors’ on the World Cup stage.

Now, it seemed like Wood had merely become a ‘substitute player’.

Even if he featured in the match against Brazil, it would just give people the impression that he was a player that played only because England had already progressed onto the next stage of the World Cup, and they needed to rest their starting players and preserve their energy against Brazil.

During his commentary, Twain made some veiled criticisms of Capello’s decision to not play Wood. At the same time, he suddenly hoped that the Koreans would be able to create a little trouble for the England side and force the England team to make some changes…

※※※

Just as Twain expected, Lampard, who performed brilliantly in the previous match, continued to start in the match against Korea, while George Wood continued to sit on the bench.

The British were all looking forward to the match. They were all hoping to see Capello’s team triumph over Korea and make their way onto the next stage of the World Cup in advance with two wins under their belt.

However, Twain did not think it would be an easy match to win for England. “The Koreans have already lost to Brazil. This match is critical in deciding whether or not they have a chance to progress onto the next stage of the World Cup. I don’t think that this match will be as easy as some people might think. If anyone in the England side looks down on their opponents, then they might be in for a tough time, even if they are only up against the Koreans!”

Twain did not like the Koreans, but he still approves of their strong willpower. If the Koreans were to really go crazy during the game, and should the England team show arrogance and belittle their opponents, then there really was a possibility for England to meet with unexpected failure and potentially lose the game.

Twain had hit the nail on the head once again.

England met fierce resistance from the Korean side right from the outset of the match.

The strategy employed by the Korean team in the match was an ‘all-out offense and defense’. They utilized their outstanding stamina to run all over the pitch, and began snatching the balls from the England players’ feet during the first half of the match. Their actions forced England to commit more errors as a result of their frenzy. The number of unforced errors made by England kept going on the rise as the game progressed.

The England players were clearly unprepared to deal with the Koreans’ treacherous playing style. They went into a panic every time the Koreans snatched the ball from them, and were unable to play at even half of their usual standard.

Lampard’s remarkable performance from the last match turned out to be a ‘disaster in disguise’. His outstanding performance had caused the Koreans to ‘take really good care of him’. It was normal for Lampard to find himself in situations where he is marked by two players. He would also get kicked at the ankle, get hit on the thigh or get his shirt pulled among many other gestures.

The referee would constantly blow on his whistle every time the Koreans did that, but his whistles did little to deter the crazy Koreans. What were fouls compared to the possibility of missing out on entering the next stage of the World Cup?

Lampard would fall to the ground time after time, and he would raise both his arms helplessly. His gesture almost looked like he was surrendering to the Koreans, but in actuality, he was protesting against them. However, it was useless for him to protest.

The Koreans were clever with the way they are committing the fouls. They rarely make fouls from behind, because those are offences that the referee will definitely give a card for. Sometimes, a red card might even be given in those situations.

Additionally, they also do not only let only one or two players commit fouls.

At halftime when all the commentators began to discuss about the match, John Motson angrily commented that the Koreans were too shameless.

Twain only smiled in response. He actually longed for the Koreans to be even more shameless than they are now…

Capello was definitely not a fool like Steve McClaren. The current situation was that Lampard had been so tightly marked by the Koreans that he had almost vanished from the game in the latter part of the first half and had no chance of scoring. He also made very little contribution to the team’s defense as well.

If Twain was Capello, he would definitely take Lampard off the pitch without hesitation and put George Wood onto the pitch. He would make use of Wood’s ability to fight and snatch the ball to help the England team regain control in the midfield.

Of course, Wood’s offensive abilities did not rival Lampard’s, but a team’s defense often changes its offense.

Putting four attacking players on the pitch would not lead to the team’s offensive abilities multiplying by four, and neither would it improve an originally bad offense.

The key to winning the match was to solidify the midfield defense and use an even tougher approach than your opponents to regain control of the midfield.

Twain expressed his views to the other commentators in the broadcast room. Everyone nodded their heads in approval.

Motson even joked that the Football Association should get Twain to become the manager of the England national team once Capello’s time was up.

Twain grinned. “If they did, the officials at the Football Association will suffer from a bad headache every day.”

※※※

The second half had barely started, but there were no changes at all to the situation on the pitch. The Koreans continued to stop England’s offense by running tirelessly around the pitch and committing fouls during their defense. At the same time, they were also waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack against the England side.

The Koreans could accept a draw as a result for this game, because their final game was against Costa Rica, and they were confident of winning that match.

However, England could not settle for a draw, because their final match in the group stage was against the powerful Brazil. Capello’s plan was to win against both Costa Rica and Korea and then play half-heartedly against Brazil so as to preserve the team’s energy before they faced their opponent in the knockout stages.

The Koreans were trying their hardest to drag England down. They were going to draw with England, win against Costa Rica and then compete with England for the spot into the next stage based on goal difference. They were able to only let Brazil score two goals by going all out in their defense in the previous game.

Capello knew that he could not continue the match in this manner against the Koreans any longer. He waved his hand and decided to get Lampard off the pitch.

An individual who was standing by the side of the pitch removed his outer jacket and revealed his jersey within. It was England’s No. 13 player George Wood!

“Ohhh… It’s George Wood’s maiden appearance for the World Cup!” Motson looked at Twain with a smile.

Twain noticed Motson’s gaze on him. He shrugged and said, “I think this substitution was only done because things have reached a critical stage… England did not think that they will meet with such fierce retaliation from the Koreans. But I still believe in George’s abilities. He has always been entrusted with helping the team find a way to win during critical times in Nottingham Forest as well.”

As Twain said those words, Capello had pulled Wood over to him by the side of the pitch, and was relaying his intentions to the player who was about to make his way onto the pitch through his interpreter.

“I need you to help me reestablish order in the midfield and stop the Koreans’ momentum. Do you know what you need to do, George?”

Wood nodded his head. “Defend.”

Capello smiled. “That’s right, that’s what you need to do. We are losing the ball too much in the midfield and we’ve allowed the Koreans to go on the counterattack several times. Things will get risky if we keep letting them do that. I hope you can protect the midfield. If the Koreans snatch our ball then you go and snatch it back… Don’t be afraid of committing fouls. This referee does not blow the whistle often and also does not show a card easily as well. Let’s show the Koreans what we are made of!”

He pushed Wood onto the pitch.

※※※

“George Wood. Sotonian. Plays as the captain for Nottingham Forest. He has lifted the Champions League trophy twice, the EFL Cup trophy once, and the Premier League trophy once. He has almost earned all the glory that he should earn as a professional footballer. However, his record as a national player remains as blank as a piece of paper. He is not a player that gets utilized much because he only plays as a defensive midfielder. This is the first big match that he has played for his national team. Capello clearly has high hopes for Wood to be putting him on at such a time in the match. Let’s see what kind of changes he can bring to the current situation on the pitch.”

Motson introduced George Wood in great detail. He actually felt a little uncomfortable when doing the introduction. As a commentator for the Premier League, there was no need for him to introduce George Wood as though he were a newcomer. However, he needed to do that for Wood when he plays for the national team.

※※※

Wood ran onto the pitch and gestured for the team to shift their positions forward.

He had clearly done that at Capello’s request. England needed to go forward and attack and they needed to score goals.

As for the midfield defense… They could just leave everything to Wood!

Manchester United’s star player, Park Ji-sung, had intended to cut into the penalty box after bringing the ball forward down the flank, but this time he met a powerful obstruction. He had kicked the ball forward a little too hard, and the ball got tackled away by George wood who had sprinted up front.

Gerrard lost the ball in the midfield?

No problem!

George Wood tackled the ball away while the opponent was still trying to readjust the ball on his feet.

The Koreans’ tenacity and their ability to run all over the pitch that they were so proud of had no effect against George Wood.

If they tried to be rough, George Wood was even rougher than them! Wood showed no mercy against the Koreans. He tackled the ball every time he was supposed to, and also fouled them every time he was supposed to. He did not hesitate in the slightest. He was just like a robot who had been programmed before the match, and he carried out all his orders that had been inputted into him.

Park Ji-sung was once again sent crashing to the ground by George Wood. This time the referee finally blew his whistle to signal that George Wood had just committed a foul. However, he only issued Wood a warning. He did not show a card.

Wood’s actions caused unhappiness in the Korean players. They surrounded the referee and hoped that the African referee would show Wood a yellow card.

The Korean players’ actions angered the British fans at the stands. They started booing them.

Why don’t you ask for a yellow or red card from the referee when you are kicking our players?

Now that George is giving you a taste of your own medicine, what right do you lot have to be upset?

Well done, George!

Kick those Korean monkeys to their deaths!

In an instant, cheers directed at Wood burst out at the stands and began getting louder.

George Wood used his usual tough playing style and fierce expressions to intimidate the Korean players, and allowed the England team to regain their control on the pitch. The results were very conspicuous when the England team finally toughened up, and that was also when the gap in abilities between the two teams finally surfaced.

Only Park Ji-sung in the Korean side had the ability to battle it out with the England players, but sadly, he was already on the list of players that Wood was going to ‘take really good care of’.

Now, every single time Park got the ball, he has to run forward while avoiding Wood. He was fearful that he would get sent off the pitch by Wood. He had not seen Wood’s playing style before in the Premier League. If Capello had really sent Wood on the pitch to incapacitate him, then he might really be incapacitated by the end of the match…

The advantage that the Koreans gained over England by running all over the pitch slowly disappeared as their stamina depleted.

On the other hand, the England team relied on George Wood’s tenacity in the midfield to give themselves the upper hand in the game.

On the 77th minute of the match, Gerrard provided an assist for Darren Bent to score the only goal of the match. The England team was able to ensure their qualification into the next stage of the World Cup, and at the same time, they sent the Korean team packing.

The Koreans stood rooted at the stands. They could not believe the truth that had just unfolded before their eyes. They had intended to at least make their way to the top 8 teams of the competition…

The Korean team has not been able to make their way past the group stages in the next two World Cups after they managed to attain considerable success in the 2002 World Cup.

To the Korean fans, they believe that they were unable to progress past the group stages in the World Cup in Germany due to how the Europeans ‘ganged up on them for revenge’. As for this World Cup in Africa, they could not progress further because ‘they had bad luck’ and was assigned to the ‘group of death’ (what they themselves defined to be the ‘group of death’).

However, the whole world knew. The Koreans lost simply because they are not good enough, and that was their true standard of football. They might have a player who plays for a big football club like Manchester United, but it did not mean that their entire team was made up of players who could play for Manchester United. Park Ji-sung is not their savior, and modern football is not invented by the Koreans.

Their current standard of football can only ensure that they can make their way into every World Cup in the future. They might not even be as strong as their closest neighbor Japan.

※※※

Twain was very happy. He was happy that the Korean side that he hated got eliminated from the World Cup in advance, and he was also happy that George Wood had put in a brilliant performance earlier.

“If I were to rate the England players’ performance for this match, I’d give Wood the highest score out of all of them. His appearance on the pitch was key in changing the game in England’s favor. Capello would also be praised by the British football fans for his decision to send Wood on the pitch for a long while. His decisive action of changing players led to a victory for his team, and also contributed to the formation of a brand new midfield for England!” Twain could not stop praising George Wood’s performance during his post-match commentary. He was not even scared that others would say he was being biased.

“I believe Capello has also found the best starting line-up to play in the games from here on out. Also, I’d like to remind him of something. Their next match is up against Brazil. There might be a few players on that team who needs to rest, but George Wood does not need to rest! It does not matter how many consecutive matches he needs to play. He does not need to rest. He is truly nuclear-powered, he does not tire ever! Please do not put him on the bench because you want him to rest for the game. He should be a starting player for the England team as long as he is not injured! If England can make their way to the finals then he can play in all the games including the finals. There’s no need for squad rotation and there’s also no need to get him off the pitch earlier. He’s a monster, but what the England team needs the most right now is a monster!”

Chapter 742 - St. George’s Protection on England

Even though Twain told Capello not to worry about George Wood's fitness problem, Capello still kept Wood benched in their third game against Brazil.

He really did not have to worry about Wood's fitness. He was worried about Wood's yellow card. Wood received a yellow card for his defensive tough work against South Korea. In the match against Brazil, Capello was concerned that Wood had been shown another yellow card, leading to a suspension. That would have been a big loss for England.

Bearing this in mind, Capello's view of Wood was already completely different even though he was benched as he had always been.

Both sides tacitly sent off non-main players and eventually England lost to Brazil in second place in the group.

※※※

Unlike George Wood who had a tortuous World Cup tour, David Bentley, who was his team-mate and Twain's focus on the trip, had a much smoother trip. At the moment in this national team, he had no opponents on the right and was a player Capello relied heavily on.

The games for all three groups started. Their performance left much to be desired.

This strengthened Twain's confidence in buying him. But with Bentley doing well, Twain was ready to compete with other teams.

Twain was a side-friendly coach, and the new season's guidance was all from the midfielders, almost all of whom were offensive players. The left and right forwards needed to be added, and there had to be a strong new aid in the forward line.

igi? and Agbonlahor are both specialised players — they were particularly outstanding in one area but not exactly impressive. ?igi?'s height and header, as well as Ken's good sense of passing for his team-mates, were the bridgeheads of the team's attack. Abangraho's speed was a sharp weapon in a quick counter-attack. But Twain still needed someone who specialised in shooting, just like Van Nistelrooy.

Right now, France's leading scorer, Benzema, was absolutely in line with the requirements, but Twain knew he wanted to buy a hand almost all the time. There were also the numerous big names who were contending. Satisfying the appetite of Olath's shameless greed was not something Forest can do right now.

As for Huntelaar, he had been bought by Real Madrid ...

Twain felt that deciding who to buy was a headache for him, much more than studying tactics and thinking about how to beat his opponent were.After all, this was something that could not be undone once the transaction was made. The pressure brought about by the prospect of splurging on someone only to buy back a useless player was not small.

Twain decided to continue observing.

※※※

England's team was back up against the United States, the second time the two sides had met since the 1950 World Cup where England lost 1-0 to the United States. After the first match between the two teams 60 years ago where the United States' beat England, England's editors could not believe the match. Therefore, after a very prudent review, they came up with a "perfect" solution. They believed it was the front-line reporters who got it wrong and omitted a '1' before England's score. And so, with great flourish, England trumped America 10:1. The news of the great victory over the United States was published in the newspapers, and it became a running joke in the history of the World Cup.

Sixty years on, England was still arrogant but they will not make the same mistakes as they did 60 years ago. Mistakes on live broadcasts make were almost impossible to repeat.

Wood was back on the bench and given the chance to make his debut. Capello gave him a clear mandate — to defend in midfield and cut the link between the American midfielder and the forward line.

George Wood did a good job. The whole game was under his control, and the U.S. team had to rely on long comings to attack.

England scored one goal in each half and eventually eliminated the United States 2-0 to reach the top eight.

George Wood made his debut, played 90 minutes, shoveled the ball 20 times in the game, made 16 attempts, tackled 11 times, successfully made nine, committed five fouls, was violated six times, passed 51 times, made 40, shot once but none on target, assisted a goal.

That was his technical statistics, and after the game he was second in the team in scoring, behind Gerrard, who had scored two goals.

Commentators around the world mentioned his name again and again during matches, calling him England's midfield pillar. With him, England's midfield was rock solid. England's ability to beat the United States so easily was inseparable from his play. Had Gerrard not scored two goals, the best of the game would have been given to George Wood..

In fact, the World Cup for most players, was a perfect stage to get themselves to the world. Although George Wood had long been a world-class player in England and an impeccable performer at the club, he had been considered a world-class player because of a lack of national team results. There was also this idea that Wood could only perform well at the club where there was a man who trusted him to be at the heart of the team, namely their coach, Tony. When he was on the national team, he was just a side dish; he was just not as good a player. Just like the Italian "Golden Boy" Del Piero. No matter how well the club played, he would not be recognised if he could not play well on the national team.

The club and the national team were the two legs of a professional footballer. Without either, a player would be crippled.

At this World Cup, although the team was on the bench, but in the knockout stages, he became Capello's most reliable player.

After the game against the United States, Capello publicly praised George Wood at a press conference,: " He reassured me that he knew what to do. Having him in our midfield is very orderly."

Many pundits said after the game that although the star-studded England midfielder, George Wood, was a "bright" midfielder, Wood looked the least humble, but he was definitely the last one to replace. Whether it was Gerrard, Lampard, Bentley, Joe Cole, or anyone else, they could all be replaced. In terms of both character and role, George Wood was irreplaceable..

If England wanted to go further in this World Cup, such a diligent midfield tie is definitely the key to the manager's tactical intent.

To win the title during the big cup want to win the title, it was clear they had to rely on defense. George Wood was the make-or-break when it came to England's midfield defence. Capello was not a fool; he knew as much. George Wood was the very definition of "defense".

Despite England's next match against European champions Spain, Downey boldly predicted in his column that England could reach at least the top four. They might even get to the finals for the second time since 1966 for all they knew. His confidence came from Capello's reuse of George Wood, and that he was a defensive coach. .

※※※

Before the game against England, Fàbregas, a longtime Premier League midfielder who knew English football best, was interviewed by reporters. They asked, "Who is the most dangerous man in England?" He replied with no hesitation, "George Wood. "

Till this day, the Arsenal captain and the Spanish national team's midfield core still could not forget the youth FA Cup he played in England. George Wood seemed to kill the spirit of this young genius. Until now, Fàbregas has struggled to face Wood in the English Premier League.

Spain's coach Jose Bosque agreed with his men. He said, "Unless we're going to play England's traditional long pass, we're not going to get around George Wood.

Yes, Spanish football was very much about midfield control. Look at Spain's starting midfielders in the group stage — Fàbregas, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and David Silva. They were all technically skilled, good at attacking as well as intercepting the ball and controlling the tempo of the game. This set of midfield line-up in the group stage, Spain's three-match winning line-out from the group, scored 11 goals, fully demonstrating their attacking prowess. All 11 goals were launched by the midfield; the four midfield starters directly assisted seven of the goals.

After just two rounds, Spain's midfield combination garnered a lot of attention. Almost everyone wearing "art football" hats over their heads. The Spanish team played a football that was pleasing to the eye, one that was very ornamental with a smooth and natural attack. Fans love to watch them keep the football under their feet, play between their hands by passing back and forth and running around before unknowingly seeing the goal, which was really an art.

So with these three group games, Spain became the top candidate for the title. The media's assessment of the power of the European champions was still there: an opponent that no team dared to look down on.

But for England coach Fabio Capello, he saw a chance to win. Spain scored 13 goals in four games so far, second only to Argentina who had Messi, Aguero and Tevez. But they lost seven balls. Casillas's ability was indisputable, and the reason for losing so many balls was simply that they did not value defense, or that their own level of defense was limited.

For a team so focused on the midfield control layer, with frequent assists from the wing-backs and a very good level of attack, what could be worse than going up against an aggressive middlefield striker?

Against Spain, Capello put on a defensive display, replacing Bentley with defensive midfielder Hargreaves, and in midfield he put on a jaw-dropping three-back line: George Wood in the center flanked by Gareth Barry and Hargreaves. Gerrard was left on attack in the centre.

"Obviously, I'm going to defend," Capello explained his squad in his pre-match press conference. "Against Spain, trying not to lose the ball first is the key to winning the game."

Twain agreed, "I want to do the same! Defense is the basis for winning, and the side that loses the ball first in such an important game can easily lose focus and give the opponent a chance. I don't need 7:6 to win the race, I just need 1:0!"

The Spanish media regarded Capello's decision as a gesture of mercy and weakness, and they proudly declared, "The Spanish team's attack is not even good, the gold medal coach Capello is rather afraid."

"Three backs can't stop us from scoring goals!

The arrangement of the three backs was simply outrageous! This was the regression of football, the detox of utilitarian football! This World Cup was destined to belong to Spain and aesthetic football!

But they all forget that a very important reason why Spain won the Euro 2008 was that there was a full-time defensive midfielder in good form, Senna. It was his tireless running and interceptions at the back that allowed Xavi and Iniesta and Fàbregas to attack as they wanted to.

At this World Cup, Senna did not even make the final list because of the fact that he was getting older and slipped so fast. Bosque didn't even bring a defensive midfielder to South Africa. No, it's just the nature of the Spanish nation, who worships aggression and art from the heart, and they despise defence and utility from the heart.

※※※

The match was held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The direct collision of art football and utilitarian football, the strong dialogue between the title favourites Spain and England attracted the attention of the world. any reporters gathered on the scene and hundreds of television media around the world broadcast live; the seats were full, and the grandstand had long been crowded. Everyone was looking forward to this quarter-final between Mars and Earth.

"Who are you rooting for, Tony?" Newcastle coach Alan Shearer who was also invited as a guest of honour prior to the game asked his colleagues. At this time both men temporarily set aside their obligations as head coaches and formed an easy alliance.

"England." If Capello was to play Spain in the group stage, I would bet on Spain."

"Three backs. I really didn't think of that. "Alan Shearer once played as a striker and even as a coach he was known for his attacking approach.

Twain was very happy, and now he saw Capello as a fellow."I heard the Spaniards' reaction before the game, and I bet that after half a game the arrogant Spaniards would have broken their glasses. Three backs, Harvey they don't want to have anymore to play. Ha ha!" He's looking forward to the game for a while now.

※※※

After the game officially began, everything was as Dunn said. With less than half a game to play, the Spaniard was already looking very anxious.

George Wood, Hargreaves, Gareth. Three of Barry's midfielders piled up in front of the line-up, leaving the passing of Xavi, Iniesta and Fàbregas. Later, possession of the ball would become a luxury, let alone actually managing a pass.

Capello's task for the three backs was simple and clear — no matter the method, do not let the Spanish midfielder comfortably get the ball to organize the attack. As such, the Spanish players suffered a lot with the many fouls, small movements, reasonable use of the body of the collision. At the group stage, the elegant artists in the face of England's tough rush looked miserable.

Xavi and Iniesta were largely submerged in England's muscular forest, only for Fàbregas, who had been in the Premier League for a long time, to be slightly better off physically. By then, the Spanish team had essentially given the ball to Fàbregas, who had been placed on the right, and slowly moved himself to the centre, resulting in Harvey's power, in the middle and old rival George Wood spun around.

The ensuing game was deadlocked. England's whole-hearted defence was powerless to fight back, while Spain's attack was goalless.

The first half was a 1:1 battle between the two sides.

In the second half Bosque made adjustments, replacing with Diego Capel, moving Fàbregas to the centre, and Xavi forming the centre-forward, the side hand silva and Cazorla to break through, with the intention of opening the gap from the side .

This change brought about some effect, but Capello adjusted quickly enough]. Let the defensive area of the three backs increase. The middle road was mainly left to George Wood, leaving Gerrard to help cope with Cesc Fàbregas and Xavi's shock.

Capello had no intention of fighting back at all.

The game was so dull that viewers around the world waited in front of the television. Spain's most proud and popular offensive football, art football was thrown out of rhythm because of the opponent's three-back midfield configuration. England drew back as well, as if they lost the desire to attack. What was the point of watching such a game?

But Twain looked so fond of watching Spanish attack blocked by the three-back configuration. Each time he saw George Wood defend again he cheered silently.

The score was 0:0 until the end of the ninety minutes. The two sides went into overtime after a short break. This was the first extra-time game of the World Cup.

Commentators had been critical of Capello's conservatism, but Capello could not hear the criticism, and even if he heard it, he would continue to do what he did. There was no point in pleasing the audience instead of winning the game.

In the first half of extra-time England suddenly made a big difference on the attack, narrowly breaking Casillas' goal in three successive attacks, making the Spanish fans sweat. Tony Twain's solution was that it must have been Capello's own instructions, because if the game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out, it would be no good for England.

The impact of Germany's World Cup penalty elimination by Portugal must have sustained until now, not to mention in the goalkeeper's ring, Joe Hart missed Casillas by more than one grade.

So Capello was hoping to take advantage of the Spanish player's physical decline in extra-time to let England, who had endured a 90-minute strike, take the game. They came close to succeeding --if not for "St. Igor" to show spirit again.

In the second half of extra-time, England's attack faded and Spain regained the initiative, seizing the last time they were hoping to decide the outcome of the regular season, even if the man standing behind them was Casillas, and no one wanted a penalty shootout. Bosque, on the other hand, was already thinking about the order of the players in the penalty shootout.

The singing in the stands faded. The Spanish fans were so worried that they would not expect the highly-anticipated team to play so badly, and England's fans were worried because Capello's three backs gave them no hope of winning.

※※※

The game went to 118 minutes with two minutes left in overtime.

In the backfield after breaking Fàbregas' pace, George chose to take the ball forward instead handing it to Gerrard, Barry or anyone else as usual.

His sudden movement caught the Spanish midfielder off guard and everyone but Fàbregas was always with him, who forgot to defend the England No.13 with the ball.

Fàbregas knew nothing more about what the boy was going to do. When Nottingham Forest was in trouble, Tony occasionally let George Wood step in at the last minute to organize the attack, which often ended curiously.

"Go, George, go!" Twain said on the live broadcast.

" George Wood himself took the ball forward and the Spanish midfielder had no interceptions at all. ...No, Fàbregas followed him, But he was not fast enough! Mortensen raised his fist and shouted.

This was England's last attack ...

Capello rose from his seat, pursed his lips and looked motionlessly at the pitch, as if he were a statue.

"Gerrard is picking him up ...Puyol's up! Passing the ball? No! Force a break! Well done, George!! "

Wood relied on Puyol's combination of body and speed to force a pass past the Barcelona captain.

"Into the 30-meter area! "

Twain seemed to have forgotten that he was now a commentator, not the Nottingham Forest manager. He got up from his seat and raised his fist and yelled at the field, "Shoot! George! Shoot! "

"But the shot's a little ..." Shearer disagrees. He thought the pass was better.

Before he could finish speaking, Wood abruptly got up about thirty metres from the goal, and even Fàbregas didn't expect him to be so decisive.

The football rose from the sky, did not spin, flew straight to the goal, with a gust of wind.

It was too late for Casillas to adjust the position, and he had to rise up, stretching his arms and trying to pounce on the corner. At this moment, "Saint-Igor" is the only Spaniard the Spaniard can rely on, all defenders can do nothing about Wood's foot.

"George_WOOOOOOOOOOO——GOOOOOOOOAL!!!"

With Motson's long whistling, Casillas fell from the air and he did not touch the ball. The football pierced the "St. Igor" defense boundary and turned into a meteor crash into the net!

The deadlock of nearly a hundred and twenty minutes was broken ...

"A shocking move!" Mortensen, who had been repressed for a hundred and twenty minutes, also broke out, and he stood up and waved his arm and shouted, "GOAL! GOOAL! GOOOOAL!! A kill right before the end! There's no better killing than this! Casillas lost to George Wood! George..St. George. St. George defeated St.Igor! He is the patron saint of England! Four we go, goodbye Spain!" St George, who scored the kill, was pushed to the bottom by his frantic teammates, and the escaped Capello and his colleagues hugged each other tightly, swearing in Italian and venting their feelings of being repressed for 120 minutes. The England FA's goal for Capello before the World Cup was to finish in the top four, and now he has done it.

The Spanish side was dead, and no one could believe that England's goalkeeper, George W. Bush, could not score. Wood kicked the ball out of the world and kicked them back home in Spain at the last minute.

"Yes! He's bad at shooting! But it's not the first time in his career that he's hit such a wonderful world wave! Manchester United and Chelsea have both lost to his footy.The Spaniards should have learned their lesson! You have St Igor and we have St George! "

"Four hundred and twenty-two years ago, the British Navy hung the flag of St. George in the Red Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean, fought to the end, and never backed down, defeating Spain's invincible fleet! Now we see the flag full of glory, it is flying over Johannesburg, South Africa! Once again, we have defeated Spain's Invincible Fleet ! "

"St. George for England!"

※※※

Chapter 743 - St. George’s World Cup

Apologies for not updating it on time...

※※※

A day had passed since the game, and it was possible that the Spanish fans were unwilling to accept the fact that the predicted champions Spain were knocked out by England’s most incapable shooter.

This game boosted George Wood’s fame in world football, and even most pseudo-fans now knew George Wood.

After the game against Spain, George Wood passed the urine test without any problems. He was then named the most valuable player on the spot. FIFA’s official website comments on him were, “Impeccable defence and game attitude, last-minute elimination of the favourites Spain, embodying the full value of a central midfielder.”

Motson’s new nickname for Wood was also widely spread along with the goal, and now England fans had a new moniker for George Wood: St. George. After the game, on England’s streets, public squares, echoes a sound – “St. George protects England!”

The English media said that George Wood’s stunning shot was perfectly comparable to , David Pratt’s last-minute shot against Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Pratt’s goal 20 years ago saved England and helped the team to reach the top eight, and two decades later George Wood’s screamer helped the team reach the Top Four.

Fàbregas looked frustrated after the game, but in the interview he still praised George Wood’s performance, “I tried to intercept the ball, but he was too fast. Maybe I should have fouled earlier...That’s football, a second of hesitation costs us the game. He did well and deserved to win the game, and I wish him good luck.”

Capello rarely praises a player individually, but this “rule” did not apply to George Wood. He was very emotional after the game and he took the initiative to mention Wood to the media, “He’s a great player and I’m happy to have one of those players in the team. Yes, he played beautifully but what I valued most was his performance in the 119th minute before the goal — it was perfect. He completely contained Xavi and Fàbregas , and not losing the ball was the best affirmation of his efforts.”

Bosque was calm after the World Cup loss. When he was asked about George Wood, he replied, ” Capello’s three full backs were successful, but without George Wood, the three full backs are not as strong as people think. He is the core of the midfield defence...Yes, I think he is the best defensive midfielder in world football in recent years. But maybe in a few years I’ll have to get rid of the ‘defensive’ aspect. That was a beautiful goal. I have nothing to say after being beaten by a goal like this.”

Twain, who trained George Wood, was also the subject of media pursuit after the game. He was not surprised at Wood’s success. “Because I knew he would succeed. If Eriksson had been as clever as Capello, England might have gone further in Germany. If McClaren had a clearer head, England wouldn’t have had to be spectators in the summer of 2008. You see, anyone who looked down on Wood had a miserable ending. Do you think Nottingham Forest’s two European Champions Cups and one league title in two years were due to luck? What is there we can’t achieve with St. George?” At this point, Twain laughed with pride. He liked Motson’s new nickname for Wood in the live stream, it was a lot better than “monster”, “artificial man” and “future soldier”.

So many people complimented George Wood, but what did he think of himself?

“I’m happy to get into the top four. I’m just playing as I usually do. ” He said he was glad, but there was no obvious smile on his face.

“He’s just playing normally, and I really want to see how his extraordinary play looks like...” The reporter who interviewed him said in the report.

In short, George Wood had established himself as a god in the football world.

From before the World Cup began, all the way to the group stage. The English media was still trying to debate whether Lampard and Gerrard or George Wood and Gerrard should start. There are people who supported Lampard but there are people who supported George Wood. Capello’s arrival did little to solve England’s “double German”; on the contrary the issue exacerbated.

Now, all the arguments disappeared overnight. Some media even said this, “Capello should not think about whether George Wood or Lampard should start, but instead who should start with George Wood?”

It seems like “St George’s” World Cup journey was just beginning but he still had time to write his own legend. Thanks to Wood’s excellent display, England’s fans were even starting to look forward to the finals and him lifting the Champions Cup.

“... Since 1966, we never got close to that trophy. Every World Cup, we say we’re the strongest English team in history, but in reality? But this World Cup may have a different ending. Capello is a coach who prioritises defense and, in the World Series, defending meant champion and victory. Now with ‘St. George’, we have the power to dream big! ”

※※※

But St.George’s World Cup trip ended.

In the semi-finals, they encountered the Italian team led by “Silver Fox” Lippi.

It was a contest between the two Italian coaches and a direct conflict between aconservative person and another who was even more conservative. In the end, Italy’s reinforced concrete chain-link defence beat England. In the face of Italy’s shrinking defence, England lacked the means to break the deadlock. Revealing their weakness in the lack of a deciding midfielder, Gerrard and Lampard acted both more like scoring midfielders and were slightly inferior in passing.

On the Italian side, Pirlo sorted the team’s midfield in a well-organized way. Threatening England’s goal with a defensive counter-attack kept England from full-out attacking.

In the end, the game was dragged into a penalty shootout.In fact, England was exhausted by the time they entered the overtime period. Playing 120 minutes against Spain consumed too much energy, and now they played another 120 minutes against Italy. With that in mind, the mindsets of England’s players began to collapse.

Only George Wood and Gerrard were exceptions, both of whom were still running tirelessly in the hope of breaking the deadlock for the team. Wood wanted to repeat history, by scoring from the back. In fact, in the last minute of the game, England’s fans and the media all wanted that.But their opponent this time was not Spain, who did not guard its midfield, but the defending footballer’s forerunner, Italy.

George Wood was focused on the defence and the Italian players were more willing to foul early and would not have given Wood a chance to step in. There were times when Wood rushed to shoot but it was way off. Despite England fans shouting, “May St. George bless England”, St.George had no energy left and he could no longer watch over England.

The game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out and England had completely lost their confidence, even though it was not the first time they had fallen in penalty. During a penalty-shootout, almost everyone would have an inexplicable psychological shadow.

George Wood was not put on Capello’s penalty list. Although his psychological state was good, but his shooting skills was really not reassuring.

The result was indisputable. The world’s best goalkeeper, Buffon, who dived and blocked a penalty shot, “frightened” away another penalty shot. The Italian side made four penalties and England’s fifth man did not even play before the game was over.

Twain was not sad about the result. On the one hand, he was not a real Englishman, so his emotions will not be affected by the fate of this team. On the other hand, when the game was dragged into overtime, he had seen England’s fate. They could not keep up on a physical level. Not being eliminated by Italy in overtime would only be because they were lucky, but now they were out of luck after the two overtime games and could not afford to return in the penalty shoot-out.

George Wood stood side by side with his teammates in the middle circle, watching his teammates step up one by one to the main penalty, whether they would be happy or frustrated. However, he could only watch his World Cup journey come to an end.

He did not get a minute off at the World Cup in Germany, and even if England was knocked out by Portugal, he had no special emotion other than to experience Beckham’s sadness. Four years later, South Africa was different, he had been a major player since the knockout stages and he really felt he was part of the team. England could finish in the top four but he deserved more than just stopping at the top four ...

He felt sad, but he did not cry. He could not remember ever crying in his lifetime. He just stood in place with his back straight, not even wavering in the slightest even to vent his frustration. He could not move because a man was leaning on his back.

Lampard, who came on as a substitute in overtime, was the fifth to play, but the game was finished before his turn and he cried behind Wood. It was not because he was not strong enough, but because he knew this could be his last World Cup. He would turn 32 in 2010, then 36 four years later, making it almost impossible to play for his country again.

Nobody, no matter how strong they were, could withstand such a blow.

Beckham was initially criticised for not being seen at the time when he was substituted for the match against Portugal and sitting on the sidelines and sobbing. Those people were just trash talking, because nobody could understand how sad they were if they had never been in their position.

When the fourth Italian player, Grosso, kicked the ball into Joe Hart’s goal post, the Italian players next to him buzzed him immediately and half of the crowd in the stands cheered.

Wood looked at his opponents’ ecstatic expressions and raised his fists. He now regretted that he could not make a little more contribution to the team on offense. Had his shooting been better, had he taken one of three chances in overtime, he would not see the Italian’s expression right now. .

He hated to see his opponent laugh, and he liked to see people who were fighting against himself cry.

Shoot a little better! Attack a little better! I’m not going to be a midfielder who would only defend! I do not want others to take control of the direction of the game! I want to take destiny in my own hands!

I’m going to be the real “St. George” !

※※※

Mortensen kept silent for a long time, as if he were dead. Alan Shearer shook his head helplessly. Twain sighed. The first two were really sad for England to finish only as the top four again, but Twain just felt sorry for George Wood.

“Regardless… being in the top four was part of their pre-World Cup goals. But after watching the last game against Spain, I’m sure all the English people are looking forward to more, but...” Mortensen had finally recovered a bit of anger. “This is football. It does not bend to our will. England’s lads are good...24-year-old George Wood, 23-year-old Alan Lennon, 18-year-old Jack Wilshere, 19-year-old Jack Rodwell, 22-year-old Micah Richards, 21-year-old Walcott, 23-year-old Joe Hart, 24-year-old Wayne Rooney, 25-year-old Ashley Young, 26-year-old Bentley, 26-year-old Stewart Downing. Look at these young people, I think we can continue to look forward for another four years. ”

※※※

In the third-fourth placing finals on the day before the final, George Wood continued to play as a starter in the match with Lampard as his partner.In the third-fourth placing finals, England’s opponents were Brazil who were in the group stage.Losing the semi-finals did not affect Wood negatively. Conversely, he had become more competitive.

Capello handed Kaka over to him, and he was on the pitch faithful to the manager’s tactical demands. He did not let Kaka receive the ball easily, did not give him the space to start a breakthrough, did not let him easily pass the football, even if it were at the expense of a yellow card. He was out to completely freeze the core of the Brazilian team completely.

George Wood and Kaka’s duel was wonderful and became a beautiful scene in the game. Neither side was on top, both had their wins and losses.

In the end, England, who was not as good as Brazil overall, and with two 120 minutes matches in a row which exhausted their entire stamina, lost to Brazil 1:2 to finish fourth in the World Cup.

The final match was between Italy and Argentina, for a fierce 90-minute battle. Argentina beat Italy 2-0 with two flashy plays from Messi and Aguero, winning the World Cup for the third time in history. After this battle, Messi was labelled “God”, and the media and fans called him the king of the new generation of football. For a moment, “Mesidona” was shouted all over the world.

“2010 is Messi’s year!” At the club, he wore the No.10 shirt to lead Barcelona in the league and The Champions League! In the national team, wearing the No. 10, he finally became the king of the world! We have the honour to witness the birth of a new king in the soccer generation in South Africa! ”

In the midst of such praise, only one person thought the opposite.

Tony, who had a me-against-the-world mindset and despised people who blindly followed the majority, wrote in his column after the finals, ” I’ll admit that Messi has won three championships, but it’s still too early to call him the new Soccer King. Argentina only won the World Cup because they didn’t encounter England. Barcelona only won the Champions League because Nottingham Forest was not there! ”

Some people called Twain a sore loser.

Twain rebutted, saying his team would return to Europe to play next season and he would let everyone know who was right and who was wrong.

“I don’t mind UEFA pitting my team up against Barcelona, I would even hope for it. Come on, use your ‘unspoken rules’ on me! ”

He was later fined 20,000 euros and given a severe warning for his speech convincing people that there was a covert operation inside UEFA.The tension between him and Barcelona was exacerbating.Losing money and fame, and creating a deeper feud with his opponents. In the eyes of outsiders, Tony Twain was an idiot who behaved in an unacceptable manner.But Twain thought he was just calling a spade a spade.

If George Wood had gone up against Messi, all Messi had to do was pray he would not be injured and ejected in 90 minutes and nothing else. As long as Twain was still the manager of Nottingham Forest, he would do it. Why did Italy lose? They lost because they had been too civilised when marking Messi. Unfortunately, as he aged, Gattuso’s standards slipped as well. If Gattuso were in his prime, it would be hard to say what the outcome of this final could have been. In the game, Gattuso clearly could not keep up with Messi’s pace and was always easily left behind by Messi’s speed. He could not even foul quick enough.

The new ball king? Messi was still far from dominating everyone. He still had a long way to go before he could?be king.At the very least, let St George test his mettle first.

Chapter 744 - A Pair of Forest Wingers

The World Cup was over. The matter of other people’s reactions was not something Twain should care about. He had to think about how to maximize the club’s transfer budget of fifty million pounds.

Bentley’s performance at the World Cup was far less brilliant than that of George Wood but Twain was basically positive about his strength and form. He had already commissioned the club to ask Tottenham Hotspur for a price while the World Cup was still going on.

Tottenham Hotspur initially did not agree to sell the England starting right back, so Twain took time out during the World Cup to go meet Bentley’s agent and got in touch with Bentley through the agent. Bentley has told Twain that he wanted to join Nottingham Forest because the Forest team could play in next season’s UEFA Champions League while Tottenham Hotspur was only qualified for the UEFA Europa League.

Consequently, Twain wanted Bentley to put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur himself and lay his card on the table for Levy.

Bentley promised to do it after the World Cup. Now he just wanted to play well in the World Cup.

After the World Cup, he once again urged Bentley to lay his cards on the table with Tottenham Hotspur through his agent.

Firstly, Tony Twain publicly declared his appreciation for Bentley—he used his work to build momentum for the matter during the World Cup broadcast.

Then Bentley went along with the flow to respond. In an interview with the reporters, he said he was delighted with Manager Tony Twain’s appreciation of him. He thought Tony Twain was the best English manager now because he could lead the team to the championship title. Pierce Brosnan who interviewed him, went along and said, “What if you play for him?” Bentley smiled in reply, “I think it must be great!”

Well, now that both parties were willing, it was up to Tottenham Hotspur’s say-so.

After the World Cup, Bentley had a private discussion with the Tottenham Hotspur manager, Redknapp. During the meeting, Bentley made it clear to Redknapp that he wanted to leave Tottenham Hotspur and go to Nottingham Forest in pursuit of his desire for championship titles and honors. He hoped the team could support his personal pursuits, which had nothing to do with his salary.

In fact, after the incident with Berbatov, Tottenham Hotspur should have made one thing clear—that as long as the player himself wanted to leave, it would not help to force to detain.

If Levy was smart, he should not have continued to rebuff Nottingham Forest’s “good faith.” Instead, he should seriously consider how much money Bentley can be sold for.

Tottenham Hotspur agreed to Bentley’s departure after two days of consideration. The rest of the matter was simple. It was just a question of how much money was appropriate.

Tottenham bought Bentley for fifteen million pounds. With the onset of the world financial crisis, the clubs spent more wisely in the transfer market, and the value of the players generally fell. Bentley was no exception. It was considered good to be able to sell fifteen million. In fact, Tottenham Hotspur had quoted the Forest team a price of fifteen million pounds. They hoped to at least not sustain a loss.

Whereas Allan Adams insisted that the Forest team could only offer eleven million pounds.

The talks were deadlocked for a week, and the two sides eventually met each other halfway. The deal was made for thirteen and a half million pounds. The Forest team made a down payment of eleven million pounds. When Bentley made a full thirty appearances for the Forest team, they would give Tottenham Hotspur another two and a half million pounds.

The individual package contract was long negotiated.

Less than two weeks after the World Cup, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur jointly announced that England’s “new Beckham”, David Bentley had officially transferred to the Forest from Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer fee of thirteen and a half million pounds.

※※※

After Twain handed over the negotiations to Allan, he was busy looking for the left winger for the team.

After a repeated screening process, he set his sights on La Liga’s Villarreal’s left midfielder, Matías Fernández.

On the one hand, Fernández had the desire to leave The Yellow Submarine. While Villarreal could safely guarantee that they could participate in the Champions League in recent seasons, to win the title was amount to nothing more than a pipe dream. Whereas, Nottingham Forest had just defended the championship title for the tournament two seasons ago. A discerning eye could tell the difference between Villarreal and Nottingham Forest at a glance.

On the other hand, Villarreal also needed money. As a small club, its budget had always been tight. They could only make money by selling their star players. If Forest wanted to buy Fernández, the club would not be a barrier.

When Twain purchased players, he still employed a two-step strategy—one step was to the contact the club and the other step was to approach the player. Before he contacted the club, he would approach the player in private to see what he had to say. If he wanted to come, then he would tackle the club. If he did not want to come, he would take care of the player first. He would change the target if he could not manage it.

This time, Fernández did want to leave. He longed for a bigger arena and a new challenge. He could not do that in Villarreal. In fact, if Real Madrid, Bar?a and other clubs were interested in him, that would be the best result. But these big clubs were currently not that interested in him. Only a few mid-tier clubs were. The examples included Italy’s Roma and Fiorentina, Bundesliga’s Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen, English Premier League’s Everton and Aston Villa, and La Liga’s Deportivo de La Coru?a and Valencia.

By comparison, he thought it would be more worthwhile to choose Nottingham Forest. No matter what, the Forest team was also a team that had just won the UEFA Champions League for two years in a row. Despite some setbacks over the past two seasons, as long as their manager, who pursued victories and championship titles was still around, the team’s confidence would still be there.

Matías Fernández comprehended this: the pillar of a Premier League team was the manager, so as long as the manager was still there, the team was not finished.

His understanding was very much in line with the current situation of the vast majority of Premier League teams.

Twain assured him that playing for the Forest team would be more promising than playing for Villarreal—“because we are a team with a tradition for championship titles.”

Fernández had assured Twain that if Nottingham Forest could meet Villarreal’s transfer fee and conditions, he would consider signing for the Forest team first.

Following which, Nottingham Forest made a bid to Villarreal for twelve million euros for Fernández.

Villarreal did not rebuff the Forest team right off the bat but gave another quote: the amount was still twelve million, but for them to change from the euro to “pounds.”

Twain did not hesitate and nodded in agreement to the other side’s quote.

The following procedure was to compete with several other clubs to see who could get the “rose” that Matías Fernández threw.”

Since an agreement had been reached in private, Fernández eventually opted for a contract with Nottingham Forest.

In this way, Tony Twain spent a total cost of twenty-five and a half million pounds and got the left and right wingers he wanted. Bentley was on the right, and Fernández was on the left.

With half of the transfer budget left, how should he spend it?

※※※

“What do you think of Adriano?” Twain suddenly said to the busy Dunn around him as they prepared for the upcoming training at the Wilford training base.

“If you’re interested in him, I’m going to say nothing great about him.” Dunn replied Twain without looking up and continued to do his work.

“Well...” Twain did not refute. He just rubbed his chin and pondered.

“You’re right, there’s really nothing great about him” Twain spoke up after a moment of contemplation, “I’m just thinking about it casually...”

The two new wingers were just introduced to their teammates, the fans and the media a day ago, and the Nottingham Forest king was worrying about the candidate for the striker.

igi?’s performance in the second season was much better than his first season and his contribution to the team’s tactics was remarkable. However, it seemed that because he always needed to be a bridgehead in the tactics, his scoring rate was on the decline. His assists went up and he was very helpful in the forward line, but his own goal scoring numbers could not go up. Twain had decided to give up the idea of purely using ?igi? as a striker. He found that ?igi? did a good job in the tactical center forward position. He could hardly pick out any faults except that he scored fewer goals.

Agbonlahor was very fast, extremely fast. But his shooting skills was a bit rougher, and he preferred to be active on the sides—because there was enough room for him to break through there. He was more useful than anyone during counterattacks, but the Forest team could not always counterattack. This set of routine had long been thoroughly studied by their opponents.

Eastwood’s form was stable provided that he was not injured. The Forest team would have to play in at least two tournaments this season, and Twain could not expect Eastwood to play all the games in the season alone.

Millán and Moses were too young to be counted on to take on the big responsibility.

Therefore, the Forest team still needed to strengthen the force of the forward line.

To make room for a new striker, Twain decided to put Moses and Millán out on loan to train them. These two young guys were in high demand due to their excellent performances last season. Twain did not need to worry about their positions.

So, the only question now was—which striker should he buy?

Twain’s current transfer fund was still worth up to thirty million pounds—after he bought Bentley and Fernández, Allan Adams added in another five million pounds to the transfer budget for Twain. It looked like the Forest team really wanted to make a big splash in the new season.

Who could he buy with thirty million? The players he could actually buy were a lot, but in fact they were also very few players whom he could buy.

The financial crisis had led to a decline in the value of the players. The star players who used to readily have sky-high prices were now down to ordinary levels. In a classic example, Real Madrid announced the acquisition of Benzema this summer. The haggling over prices went on for the entire World Cup, which eventually ended with a total of thirty million euros. What did Aulas say two years ago? “Benzema is worth one hundred million euros!” At that time, the actual price would not be less than fifty million.

Ibrahimovi?, Eto’o, Villa, Tevez, Berbatov.....These men were currently available for a transfer fee of thirty million pounds, but not one of them could be bought by the Forest team.

On the one hand, the Forest team was a lot worse as compared to those real powerhouse names. On the other hand, even if they could buy these superstars, they might not be able to afford to pay their salaries. One must know that Ibrahimovi? enjoyed an annual salary of twelve million euros after tax at Inter Milan. Italy imposed a one hundred per cent tax on football. An annual salary of twelve million after tax implied that Inter Milan pay twenty-four million euros a year for just Ibrahimovi?’s salary alone...

Even if England did not impose such a heavy tax on the football industry, the figure of twelve million was beyond what Nottingham Forest could afford.

As a result, Twain could only look at two categories of players: one category was a world-class striker who had long proved his place in the football world but was currently in poor form. The other was the less famous, capable and about to become a first-class striker.

The former’s best candidate was in fact Adriano, who was soured by the loss of his hopes at Inter Milan.

Twain had seriously considered the possibility of the Brazilian joining the team before. First of all, although he and Mourinho were at loggerheads, he believed that Mourinho would not be difficult in the matter of Adriano’s transfer. Inter Milan also wanted to get rid of the burden, Adriano as soon as possible. Moreover, they would never allow Adriano to be sold to an Italian team, so the foreign teams were the Brazilian’s only option. Meanwhile, Adriano and his agent would not agree to return to Brazil, so an English team was the best option.

But the core issue that left Twain indecisive was Adriano himself. This was a player who was technically fine but questionable attitude-wise. Late to the training, the absences, the late-night jaunts to the nightclubs that lasted to the next morning, the prostitutes, his self-confessed big-shot attitude that he was not willing to correct, face-to-face confrontation with the team’s manager, questioning authority ...

None of these problems was something Twain did not hate.

He had a similar temper as Mourinho. If Mourinho could not tolerate Adriano, then Twain most likely could not.

Maybe he could keep Adriano honest for a season by all means, but Twain was well aware that it was not going to be easy to turn around a character like Adriano. Once he was flushed with success again, it would the endless off-field scandals that awaited Twain. Could he change such a self-sabotaging genius?

Twain and Dunn had discussed it several times. Dunn’s conclusion was always the same—perhaps he would do before his father’s passing but after his father died, he was completely hopeless.

He also advised Twain, “If the club thinks you’ve spent tens of millions of pounds on him to only play well for the team for one season, I’m not sure what the chairman will do to you. Adriano is too risky, and we have many ways to avoid the risk. I don’t think bringing in Adriano is a good deal.”

Twain agonized for days. After studying Adriano’s performance in the recent years and his off-field gossip, he officially announced that he had given up on him this morning.

The Brazilian was a hopeless case, and Tony Twain was not an omnipotent God. Although he felt deep down that it was a shame for this once talented striker, the reality was very cruel. He did not have to use tens of millions to do charity and save a young man who was neither a relative nor a friend and had taken a wrong turn in life.

So, the problem was here again.

“Hey, Dunn. Can you recommend a few more to me? The ones whom you previously recommended always had some areas that I was not satisfied with. You know I’m a perfectionist...”

Chapter 745 - Super Ibi’s Troubles

The only light source in the dim video screening room came from the big screen in front. The drawn heavy curtains made the room appeared to be night. The German language that sounded in the room was completely incomprehensible to Twain, but it did not matter. He could understand what the commentators were jabbering about by filling the gaps in his mind. The key was that he could repeatedly hear a word popping up among the German spoken:

“Ibi?evi?!”

Every time the commentators, full of enthusiasm, called out the person’s name, the birth of a goal would be shown on the screen.

Sometimes the commentators did not shout in this way. They yelled out, “Super Ibi!”

But no matter what the tall player on the screen was called, he always scored goals.

He shot hard, he jumped for the header, he leaned on the opposing defender and then turned to shoot...

“Even though while watching the best of the highlights, any player will look like an awesome player like Pelé and Maradona. But at the very least we can know what the other party’s strengths are and he’s very good at scoring goals.” Once they finished watching the video, the screen faded to black, and the room was dark, Twain opened his mouth to speak in the dark, “Also I want to ask, isn’t anyone sitting next to the switch?”

“There are only three of us here, Tony. Dunn and I are next to you.” Kerslake’s voice sounded in the dark, “In addition, the data indicates that his assists are also very good.”

“All right, I’ll go...” Twain had just gotten up and knocked down the chair next to him. He gave an ouch, and then scolded, “Damn chair!”

Dunn thoughtfully took out his cell phone to illuminate for Twain, but the light was too weak.

Twain did not grope about. He directly kicked over everything blocking in front of himself. Amid the crashing objects, he went to where the switch was and turned on the lights in the room. All three men squinted their eyes when the bright white light came on.

The room was in a mess. Several chairs laid scattered about in the room.

Twain then picked them up to put them upright again.

“Back to the topic just now. What do you think of this man?”

Dunn did not say a word while Kerslake shook his head and said, “We’re looking at a video of him a season ago. His performance that season was amazing. But Tony, Bundesliga regularly produces ‘ordinary strikers’ who only hit the big time for one season. Look at his performance last season, it was as if he was a different player in the video. I don’t think highly of him.”

Twain did not make any comments yet. He just turned to Dunn.

“It’s a risk, Tony.” Dunn’s words were simple, but he did not explicitly object. To tell the truth, he also could not make up his mind.

Twain nodded and said, “I can understand your concerns. He scored thirty-seven goals in the 08-09 season and almost broke Gerd Müller’s record of forty goals in a single season. It was absolutely a miraculous performance. Based on the performance of that season alone, we can’t even buy him with thirty million. But in the 09-10 season, his performance was completely incomprehensible to people. He only scored ten goals in the season... It was a far cry from previous season’s performance.”

“Since you know all these, why did we still have to watch his video?” Kerslake asked.

“Because I don’t think the man’s success was accidental. Instead, his strange performance last season was accidental.” Twain said with a chuckle, “I like his background story and his character. I think his success is definitely not down to luck. There are many reasons why he played poorly last season—Firstly, the tactics that Rangnick devised for Hoffenheim had been studied by the Bundesliga teams. Hoffenheim was not a newly promoted team, but a participating team the Champions League. Obviously, no one looked down on them; Secondly, as the Bundesliga’s best goalscorer and Europe’s best striker for the 08-09 season, Ibi?evi? was the focus of his opponents’ marking, which somewhat limited his play; Thirdly, competing in multiple tournaments had left Hoffenheim’s team exhausted and in poor form. This affected Ibi?evi?’s goalscoring; Fourthly, there were injuries. He suffered an injury last season and had not been able to get back into his form after a two-month break. It’s a little strange, but understandable. A player’s form is not something we can fully grasp. So, I don’t think his decline in goals last season has anything to do with his individual ability... You want to hear why I’m optimistic about him?”

Kerslake nodded.

“Psychological quality.” Twain retracted three of his fingers he had extended just now, leaving only one. “Why did I say his success was not accidental? Look at his experience for the lower level leagues and as a substitute, those are valuable assets for a striker. He has a good mindset and has never given up on his efforts to be a good striker. This is very important. Bayern Munich’s leading striker, Luca Toni did not do well in Fiorentina before he became famous, but he eventually broke out. I believe Ibi?evi? can be the second Luca Toni. He just needs a bigger stage, and Hoffenheim is no longer suitable for him. The boss there would never have more money than the UAE royal family. They spent so much money and yet Manchester City did not win a single title, nor did Hoffenheim. I think Nottingham Forest is an entirely new stage suitable for him to play to his full potential.”

“Also, thanks to his poor performance last season, we shouldn’t have to spend too much money on him now. Moreover, as a Bosnian who had lived in the United States, he also speaks fluent English. To play in England without any linguistic problems, it will help him fit into the team better and faster. The striker is the one who needs to adapt to the style of the team as quickly as possible. It is beneficial for him and for us.”

Kerslake looked at Twain and said, “So in actual fact, you’ve made up your mind, haven’t you?”

“Don’t say that, David.” Twain laughed, “I always listen to both your opinions.”

“Since you’ve said what you’re supposed to say, what other opinions can we have? Isn’t that right, Dunn?” Kerslake turned to ask Dunn, who sat next to him.

“Tony believes that a player’s psychological quality can determine his achievements.” Dunn answered, “I reserve my opinions on it. But as an assistant manager, I support the manager.”

“That’s it!” Twain gave a clap and exclaimed, “Tomorrow, let our guy sound out Hoffenheim!”

※※※

Including the transient population, the small village of Hoffenheim only had three thousand and three hundred people and belonged to the German city of Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg. But in fact, Sinsheim was not considered a big city. Albeit labeled as a city, it was most like a “town.” The train that passed through the Sinsheim station was a single track, which made it a veritable small station.

But such a humble little place caused a whirlwind in Bundesliga and European football in the 2008-09 season. They did well and ended up the runner-up in the league tournament as a newly promoted team as well as their first ever appearance in Bundesliga. The team’s top striker, Vedad Ibi?evi? became Bundesliga’s top striker that season and was awarded the European Golden Shoe.

It was truly a crazy season. At the end of the season, all of the Hoffenheim players had attracted looting by teams in Germany and Europe.

But the owner of the club and European software giant, SAP, Dietmar Hopp was ambitious and had money. So, not only did he not sell a single player, he also signed a number of well-known players to supplement the team’s strength and got ready to play in the new season in the Europe arena.

Unfortunately, a football was round...

The team’s results in competing in two tournaments in the new season went down the tubes.

The Golden Boot, Ibi?evi?, who did well last season, also appeared to lose his goalscoring ability overnight. He scored only ten goals in the league tournament and scored only three goals in the UEFA Champions League, which was a far cry from what people expected of him.

Even the team’s manager, Rangnick, was baffled by his sudden breakout and dormancy once again. “Why was he able to score thirty-seven goals in one season and only ten goals in another season? It’s the same thing when he scored five goals in a single season in 2. Bundesliga. I don’t understand.”

He was not the only one. Ibi?evi? himself could not understand. He believed he had made great progress as compared to his previous self. At least after a successful Bundesliga season, his confidence was greatly reinforced and strengthened. He definitely did not take a step back in his skills. So, what made him suddenly lose his state?

Perhaps this would become a famous unsolved mystery in German football...

※※※

It was only a slightly more than ten-minute drive from Sinsheim to Hoffenheim, and the distance between the two places were actually short enough.

After Vedad Ibi?evi? drove his cherished car into Hoffenheim, he would often be greeted by the oncoming Hoffenheim villagers. It was a quiet little village... even if the people here had their first ever foray into the Champions League last season.

But Ibi?evi? was not in the mood to greet the fans who liked him one by one. He had his own troubles.

Just before driving to Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion, he received a call from his agent’s firm, Stars & Friends International Holding.

The agency’s person asked him over the phone if he was interested in playing for another club.

He received a lot of such calls last summer. Manchester United, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Barcelona... the European powerhouses practically came everywhere for one purpose—to take him away from the small village of Hoffenheim.

At that time, he only had one year left on his contract with the club, but he refused them all and opted to renew his contract with the club until 2013. He achieved success in Hoffenheim and had a good time. He could not think of a reason to leave. Just because Hoffenheim is a small place? But I love life in the quiet countryside. Sinsheim sells everything I need, and I don’t think big cities have any advantages over Sinsheim.

But a year later, it was not known if he would have regretted the choice he made at that time.

He did not see what he wanted to see in the new season. His form and the team’s form slipped and Hoffenheim’s great plans had not gone down well. Hopp’s ambitions had suffered setbacks. He was also labeled as the “brightest shooting star in the history of the Bundesliga.”

The powerhouse teams that were once interested in him, had all withdrew without exception. As the number of football scouts dwindled in the stands at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, everyone shook their heads and sighed that he was just another Mintál—“scored a lifetime’s worth of goals in one season.”

The biggest problem was not that he scored fewer goals, but that he did not know why it became that way.

There was nothing wrong with his body before the injury. The team doctors smacked their lips and proclaimed that he was as strong as an ox before the start of the season.

In the middle of the season, there were reports in the German press that Ibi?evi? was in a state of flux—he wanted to be paid and treated according as the team’s number one while the off-field scandals also interfered with his normal training. He sneered at those things. Only he knew the state of his mind in the world. He had never relaxed the demands on himself because of his successes last season. Because the wandering years of playing in Europe’s lower leagues had taught him one thing: there was no pie in the sky in the world. A euro’s worth of success would cost him eleven million euros’ worth of efforts.

Maybe the injuries could explain some things? But it was not the type of injury that could threaten his career and not something that a professional player was immune from while playing. If an injury would completely sink him, then he was not fit to be a professional player. Ibi?evi? did not think of himself as that kind of person.

After he recovered and returned from the injury, he still gave himself half an hour of shooting after training every day and had no complaints about Manager Rangnick’s arrangements. But he and Rangnick were caught up in an inexplicable crisis—at the end of the season, he was no longer the “Super Ibi” that made the Bundesliga strong teams trembled with fear. More often than not, he was just wandering between the wasted opportunities and the search for chances. The team lost the qualification to play in the UEFA Europa League. At one point during the season, Rangnick was also rumored to be fired early by Hopp.

Another summer came, and the transfer market was in full swing. Ibi?evi?, whom the entire Europe went crazy for last summer, was suddenly at the “bottom of the heap.” There were still teams interested in him, but they were all the second-tier teams. It would have been better to stay in Hoffenheim and looked for a chance to prove himself again than to go to those teams.

But a completely different name was mentioned in the call from the agency today—Nottingham Forest.

He knew the team. The history from last century’s late 1970s and early 1980s was too far away for him but the red team that won the UEFA Champions League titles for two years in a row in 2007 and 2008 to become the first team to defend the Champions League title since the reform, was world famous and without parallel for a moment. During that time, Hoffenheim was still working hard to be promoted to Bundesliga from the 3. Liga and 2. Bundesliga tournaments. The club’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rotthaus, always used Tony Twain’s team to inspire the young blue-and-white team—“One day, we will be like the Nottingham Forest team! This is by no means an impossible dream!”

They almost succeeded...

Later with Manager Tony Twain’s sudden heart attack, the team, known to create miracles, suddenly lost its miraculous halo and, at one point, even lost the chance to play in the European competition. It was not until they squeezed out Chelsea in that thrilling final stage of last season that they were able to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

He thought the team’s experience was very similar to his at that time, but he did not think he’d receive an offer from Nottingham Forest.

He told the agency that he had to think it over. Now he was not confident enough to say, “I just want to finish my current contract with the club.”

Maybe a change of place can bring about new changes? There was such a voice in the deepest part of him.

Chapter 746 - The Drifter

Rotthaus was the Chief Executive Officer of the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim club and the man who gave the club an injection of funds to determine the direction was the owner, Dietmar Hopp. But the man in charge of all the specific affairs was this middle-aged man.

He used to be the head of marketing at the Bundesliga elite squad, VfB Stuttgart. He resigned from Stuttgart in 2005 and accepted Hopp’s offer to move to a small team that was still in the 3. Liga tournament at the time. It actually took some courage to make such a choice. After all, Rotthaus did well in Stuttgart and had a satisfactory income. There did not seem to be a need to change places and start from scratch. He could get stuck in a quagmire going to a small team in 3. Liga if he was not careful. But after months of deliberation, he decided to come to Hoffenheim to make something out of it.

If it were to be compared to the Hoffenheim team when he first came, he had already succeeded.

They finished second in the Bundesliga in the first season they were promoted to Bundesliga and even cultivated two Germany national footballers and the best striker in the Bundesliga and Europe. Their results in the second season were not as good as the previous season but they were situated securely in the Bundesliga. At least they had no worries about relegation. Their original plan was to secure a place in the Bundesliga in two years’ time.

Neither Hopp nor he was in a hurry to forge Hoffenheim into a team that could win the title. Hopp had invested heavily to first build the new training base and stadium, as well as to look for young players. They did not buy the big-name star players.

From this point of view, they were equally a miracle maker, but they were a far cry from Nottingham Forest.

Last season, news of Rangnick’s impending dismissal from the club circulated so much that Hopp immediately instructed Rotthaus to offer Rangnick a new five-year contract. News of the manager’s contract renewal quickly appeared in the major news media, and the rumors were discredited.

Rotthaus was not disappointed with what happened to the team last season as it was within his expectations. The ones who were disappointed were only total strangers who had high Hopps for Hoffenheim.

Rotthaus had a big dream, probably bigger than that of his boss, Hopp. He wanted to make Hoffenheim a club that could survive without relying on Hopp’s investment and be kept afloat. Like the famous football clubs that already existed in the world, the investors could be changed many times over, but the team would always exist. He and Hopp would grow old and die one day. Hoffenheim could not fall to the seventh-tier tournament because of Hopp’s departure. They should have the ability to continue to stay in the Bundesliga. He must let the team gradually move away from Hopp’s investment and influence and become independent step by step.

Now there might be a chance to start the first step.

Just this morning, he received a fax from England.

Nottingham Forest had made an inquiry to him about whether the team’s striker, Vedad Ibi?evi? was for sale. The miracle of England and the miracle of Germany finally had its first formal contact.

He received numerous faxes like this last summer. At that time, he rejected them all without asking Hopp for advice. No ambitious club would sell its leading striker in its own team. Not to mention Hoffenheim was not short of money and would be competing in next season’s Champions League. He did not think Ibi?evi? would choose to leave.

There were much fewer such faxes this summer. The teams that were interested in “Super Ibi” had stated one by one that they would not sign the once-famous super striker. The teams that were still interested in Ibi?evi? were only the second-rate teams in the top leagues, or second-tier leagues.

At the end of last season, the German press once quipped sarcastically, “Ibi?evi? has always been a drifter mixing in in the lower level leagues in Europe. He has no problem adapting to that level of football. He may perhaps be successful starting from a different place again. To be honest, he’s not a striker who can play in the top leagues...”

These remarks might be harsh, but many people truly thought that in their minds and thought that Ibi?evi?’s wild performance in Hoffenheim’s debut in Bundesliga was just an accidental breakout. He was actually better suited to play in the lower league tournaments. Was it not evident that he showed his true level for the second season?

In fact, there was also debate within Hoffenheim about Ibi?evi?’s true level. Some people thought that he indeed had what it took to be the top striker, while others thought he was just lucky. It seemed reasonable on either side. The manager, Rangnick did not belong to either side, but he was also worried about Ibi?evi?’s sudden erratic performance.

When he first joined Hoffenheim while Hoffenheim still played in 2. Bundesliga, he made thirty-one appearances, mostly as a substitute and scored only just five goals. This figure was simply terrible for a striker. At that time, the local media believed that Hoffenheim had bought the wrong player, and Ibi?evi?’s experience from a long time had proved that he could not meet Hoffenheim’s requirements. Everyone was not clear why Hoffenheim would be interested in Ibi?evi?, who had not shown any abilities while he was still at Alemannia Aachen.

If it was not for the Beijing Olympics, perhaps Ibi?evi? would have continued to sit on Hoffenheim’s bench until his contract expired, or he would be dumped and sold by Hoffenheim to any club and be abandoned. But fate was often so wonderful, unpredictable, full of all kinds of changes and surprises.

His rise was not due to the fact that Rangnick had the foresight to recognize talent, but purely a coincidence. You know, just before the 08-09 season, he was only a substitute striker in the manager’s mind. But the team’s main striker, Obasi, would miss most of the team’s preparations and the first few rounds of the season as he had to participate in the Beijing Olympics.

Ibi?evi? was then able to make his mark in the first round of the league tournament.

It was Hoffenheim’s debut in Bundesliga against Cottbus that became a legendary beginning. Never been thought highly of, acknowledged and noticed by others, the nobody, Vedad Ibi?evi? scored twice in the game! He helped the team scored a major victory of 3:0 over Cottbus. Then he scored in every game and even scored twice in many games. Even if Obasi returned to the squad after he ended his run in the Olympics, Rangnick found that he could not let Ibi?evi? who was in excellent form, play as a substitute at that time. But Obasi was also a very capable striker, he also could not bear to let the striker be on the bench. So, he simply modified his tactics and allowed Obasi, Wellington and Ibi?evi? to play at the same time, using the more aggressive 4-3-3 formation! It produced a wonderous effect as a result and for a time, they were unstoppable in Bundesliga.

Ibi?evi? became the best striker and Rangnick even added, “To me, he’s like a player we’ve just brought in this season.”

In the second season, Ibi?evi? was bizarrely in a state of doldrums and Rangnick said again, “To me, he’s like a player we’ve just brought in this season...”

The Bundesliga manager was also at a loss with regards to Ibi?evi?.

Perhaps he should sell him?

The idea flashed through Rotthaus’ mind.

But still he rebuffed Nottingham Forest and said they would not sell Ibi?evi? for he was a big part of their team.

He did not receive Nottingham Forest’s second fax. He thought the team must have given up. Perhaps they just asked casually...

He did not expect to receive the Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain and his German translator.

※※※

“Hoffenheim is really a tranquil little village. I like it here... I would choose this kind of place to live.” Dressed like a tourist in a pair of sunglasses, Tony Twain and his German translator stood on the sidelines of the training ground and watched a person trained alone on the pitch across a barbed wire fence.

The time for normal training was over. The fans who had surrounded earlier had long since dispersed. Not many people stayed behind.

They were all fans of the man on the pitch.

Vedad Ibi?evi? was giving himself extra shooting drill on the training ground. It was a rigidly adhered procedure—half an hour extra practice after training every day. He was a striker and there was nothing more important than shooting.

Twain looked on from the sidelines. His shooting skill was very good. Perhaps it was due to his long-term persistence in training.

Half an hour passed quickly. Instead of going straight to the locker room, Ibi?evi? came over to sign autographs for the fans waiting outside.

With a height of 1.89 meters tall and a weight of eighty kilograms, he was sturdy but not heavy. He stood behind the barbed wire fence and signed autographs for the fans. Then he walked up to Tony Twain.

Twain passed the blue Hoffenheim jersey with Ibi?evi?’s name and number that he had just bought in the souvenir shop outside through the fence, along with a marker pen as well as a business card.

No fans would hand over their business cards when they asked him for autographs. Ibi?evi? looked up somewhat strangely at the middle-aged man in sunglasses.

“Tony Twain. It’s very nice to meet you, Ibi?evi?.” The man outside made the first move to introduce himself.

The name sounds familiar... Wait a minute!

Ibi?evi? widened his eyes and asked directly in English, “Are you the Nottingham Forest manager? What are you doing here?”

“Because Nottingham Forest is interested in you.” Twain grinned.

Three days had passed since he received the call from his agent’s company. He had not yet given a reply to his agent’s company. Because he did not know whether he should leave here and whether he should go to Nottingham Forest. There was more than one team interested in him besides Nottingham Forest.

“I had watched the videos of you playing football. But I thought it was better to see it with my own eyes when it came to matters such as this, so I’m here. Do you have extra practice every time you finish training?”

Ibi?evi? nodded.

“No wonder your success was no accident. So, what do you think? Do you want to go to England with me? I’ll help you find your form again and get it back in the Champions League.” Twain laughed like a demon who was seducing the mortals.

Ibi?evi? was silent for a moment and then shrugged, “I don’t know how to answer you, Mr. Twain. Maybe a change of place will bring new experiences, but I still have a contract with the club. If the club doesn’t let me go, then it’s no use saying anything.”

“Well, you just have to show the club that you’re thinking of changing to a different environment and leave the rest to us.” Twain patted his chest.

“I know Nottingham Forest is a team that is going to play in the Champions League the new season, but I don’t understand why you come to me.” There was another question that Ibi?evi? did not understand. In his view, a team that was capable to compete for the title should go after those well-known star players. Anyway, the financial crisis was still in progress, those big-name star players were not expensive.

“I only buy players who meet my requirements and never care if they are famous or not, whether they are big names or not. You’re the one I need, Ibi. Come to my team and I’ll give you a bigger stage.”

Ibi?evi? was silent for a moment and then nodded, “Okay, Mr. Twain. If you can convince my club, I will give priority to the Forest team for the signing of a contract.”

With that, he was going to leave but he did not expect Twain to stop him and said, “An autograph.” He pointed to the jersey still in Ibi?evi?’s hand, “I’m your fan. Give me an autograph.”

Ibi?evi? signed his jersey somewhat reluctantly and handed it back. But he kept the business card.

He felt that it was indeed time to change places. Anyway, he was always changing teams, from America to France, from France to Germany, and now it would just be from Germany to England. It was no big deal. He changed teams almost every year. Hoffenheim was the team he had ever been with the longest. What did the European media call him?

The Drifter.

※※※

On the same afternoon, Twain brought his German translator and met with the Hoffenheim club’s Chief Executive Officer, Rotthaus.

The two sides held a secret meeting.

No one knew what they discussed. The outside world did not even know about Tony Twain’s sudden trip to this small village, south of Frankfurt, Germany, to meet Rotthaus.

A day later, Nottingham Forest and the Hoffenheim club officials announced at the same time that the former European Golden Shoe winner, Vedad Ibi?evi? would transfer to Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee of ten million euros plus an exchange of players. The two parties signed a four-year contract with an undisclosed annual salary.

The German media only met Tony Twain returning to Nottingham with Ibi?evi? at the airport in Frankfurt.

“He’s the player I need.” After being surrounded by the reporters at the airport, Twain did not care about the doubtful voices. “I’m not concerned about what you think of him. I bought him for me, not for you. Inferior foreign imports? If you are so sure of a player’s future development, why don’t you quit to become an agent? I promise you’ll have more money prospects than wracking your brains to make up stories in the papers!”

“What are you unhappy about? From now on, Ibi is my man and a Nottingham Forest player. He’s someone who is going to be a registered player in the English Premier League. The German media has no say in it.”

“I believe in his ability, and I’d like to give him a chance to prove himself again...I have a problem with my judgment, you say? Sure, but for me to be able win the championship titles, it’s precisely because of those ‘foreign imports’ that I had chosen.”

“Am I wasting the club’s money? It’s my prerogative. Why do you care?”

...

Amid the noise and doubts, Ibi?evi? was pulled by Twain on a flight from Germany to the United Kingdom.

Eleven years ago, at the age of fifteen, Ibi?evi? left his war-torn homeland and briefly stayed in Switzerland. Because he did not have legal residency due to visa problems, he moved again and traveled across the ocean to St. Louis in America to rely on help from his relatives. He stuck to his professional football dream in the United States, a country that was a barren land for football. He relied on his outstanding performances in the local team for the manager of the France Ligue 1 powerhouse club, Paris Saint-Germain to take an interest in him. Following which, he returned to Europe again. He was only nineteen at that time. He was then loaned out to the small Ligue 2 team, Dijon FCO. He grew up quickly there, received chances to play, even scored some goals and learnt a lot of new experiences. Then he was released by Paris Saint-Germain from his contract. He faced a situation like that of a young man without any prospects. Fortunately, his last two games in Dijon were watched by a German agent who recommended him to two German teams. He chose to join Alemannia Aachen, which was still in the Bundesliga at the time. He only played for Aachen for a year when Aachen was unfortunately relegated. Wearing the number 9 jersey, he did not make any great contribution to the team. This time he chose to leave Aachen and moved to another German team, Hoffenheim in 2. Bundesliga.

He made thirty-one appearances in his first season and scored only five goals. In the second season, he was Bundesliga’s top striker and the European Golden Shoe winner. During his third season, he was said to have “scored all the goals in his lifetime in one season.” Just like a shooting star, he rose rapidly from the horizon, and quickly vanished in the vast sky.

He had been unknown before and had been red-hot popular. He had succeeded before and failed as well. He had experienced big things and had also once persist in his ideals in a plight that others could not imagine. He believed that one day he would succeed. Eleven years on, he was no longer the kid who had fled with his parents. He became a professional footballer, lived in a spacious house, had his own car and enjoyed the cheers of the fans. He had changed a lot.

But one thing had never changed—he was always drifting, from one place to another.

This time, the drifter, Ibi embarked on an entirely new journey.

He might continue to drift and live out the label of “The Drifter.” Perhaps he would stop his wandering and choose a place as his last stop.

Would it be the forest that the heroic robber, Robin Hood once settled his debts of gratitude and hatred?

Chapter 747 - Let’s Make a Wager!

Twain’s swift decision to sign Vedad Ibi?evi? shocked the British media.

The media was well aware that Twain intended to buy a ‘quality’ forward from before, and they had linked numerous players to Nottingham Forest all this while. Nobody would have guessed that Twain would end up buying Ibi?evi?, who was an ordinary player that no one thought highly of!

Some media outlets commented that if Twain’s signing of Ibi?evi? was not to go against the media, then there must be something wrong with his brain. Other outlets expressed a different opinion, they believed that if Twain’s sole intention behind the signing was to go against the media, then his brain was definitely out of whack.

“Twain has actually placed his hopes on a player who so far has only played well for one season. Ibi?evi? has spent 90% of his footballing career playing against lower-ranked leagues, and even then, his performance has been terrible. What did Twain say a while back? ‘Our goal is to win the Champions League’. Now, would you allow me to laugh for three minutes…”

Carl Spicer was very excited on a TV show, because he had just found a reason to attack Twain. He smiled gleefully in the show ‘Football Matters’.

Ever since Twain had really led his team to fourth place in the Premier League and successfully earned the spot to play in next season’s Champions League, Carl Spicer has been in for a rough time. Twain chastised Spicer in his own column, and Spicer was not able to do a single rebuttal against his words.

Before the Premier League started, Spicer had gone on and on about how he did not think highly of Forest. He was confident that they would not perform well in the league, but who knew, at the end of the league, Twain’s team had really accomplished what he thought was impossible for them. His ‘juvenile footballers’ had won. Carl Spicer got slapped in the face and he could do nothing but swallow the pain. After all, he could not be a ‘crazy dog’ like Twain and scold everything regardless of the reason. If he wants to criticize Twain, then he could not become just like the person he criticized. He had always asserted that he was ‘impartial’ and he needed to maintain that image of him before the masses.

This was the chance he has been waiting for after feeling aggrieved for the past few months. He finally has a reason to admonish Twain openly. He definitely had to scorn and ridicule Twain to his heart’s content in the show.

“I don’t deny the miracle that Hoffenheim had created in the 2008-09 season. I also felt excited to see them achieve the things that they did. But clearly, Tony Twain is merely acting based on his emotions this time. He must also really like Hoffenheim just like me, because their performance probably reminds him of Nottingham Forest when they first made their return to the Premier League. However, you can’t buy a player based on your emotions alone. If he had cooled his head and analyzed Ibi?evi?’s abilities as a player, then even a fool would have been able to tell that Ibi?evi? is not a player who can attain success. I think the German media was spot on with one of their descriptions of Ibi?evi?. He is a player who has scored his entire career’s worth of goals in that one season where he performed well! Look at his stats for the 2009-10 season! It’s beyond terrible…” Carl Spicer covered his face with his hand. “It is a waste to even spend 1.5 pounds on a player like him, let alone 10 million pounds and Petrov as a part of the deal. Rumor has it that Tony Twain personally made a trip over to Hoffenheim, and he had a secret meeting with Rotthaus. No one knows if there was some kind of secret deal made between them…”

Spicer claimed that ‘no one knows’ anything about Twain’s secret meeting with Rotthaus, but he deliberately kept trying to direct everyone’s attention towards it.

“I don’t think we need to wait till the arrival of September the 1st. I can already award Ibi?evi? with the titles of ‘worst summer signing’ and ‘the biggest flop of the new Premier League season’. He is more than deserving of those awards! I’ve already prepared my popcorn and drinks and I’m ready to watch Tony Twain and Ibi?evi? make a fool of themselves after the new season starts. Twain thinks Ibi?evi? is going to end up becoming a superstar? He should thank the gods if Ibi?evi? doesn’t end up becoming a ‘super big joke’!”

※※※

Carl Spicer has never been alone and unsupported in his every criticism of Twain, because there were quite a few people in the media who questioned and disliked Twain.

It is also why he was able to land a job as a host for a new Sky TV show just by lambasting Twain.

The reason why he was seen as the leading figure for ‘anti-Twain’ sentiments was because he was always the first to criticize Twain, and has always used sharp expressions and words to attack him. Out of all the critics of Twain, he was the most famous and resolute one. Others might change their opinions towards Twain on certain issues, but not Carl Spicer.

With this information as the context, it is not difficult to understand why the press conference where Twain introduced Ibi?evi? to the media and the fans became yet another battlefield.

Carl Spicer personally made a trip to Nottingham as a reporter for Sky TV, and looked set for a showdown with Twain.

The press conference was scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. in the afternoon at City Ground stadium’s press room.

A total of 30 reporters turned up for the press conference. Carl Spicer sat amongst them and had a pleasant chat with these individuals who were all of the same profession as him.

He never concealed his hostility towards Twain in the slightest during his conversations. He treated it as his trademark and went around bragging about it to others. He mentioned more than once during his chats with the other reporters that there was likely to be some inside story behind the transfer.

When Twain walked into the press room alongside Ibi?evi? and the press officer, the entire room instantly quietened down. The reporters returned to their seats and silently waited for the segment where they could raise their hands and ask questions.

The moment Twain sat down, he saw a beaming Carl Spicer who was seated at the front rows. He was well aware of what Carl Spicer has been saying for the past two days, but he remained unaffected and began his introduction of Ibi?evi?.

The introduction was nothing special. All the reporters present at the scene already knew Ibi?evi? very well. What they wanted was to raise their hands and ask questions.

Ibi?evi? also did a self-introduction after Twain finished speaking. He did not boast about his remarkable performance in the 2008-09 season, and neither did he mention his terrible performance last season. All he did was to praise the glorious past that Nottingham Forest possessed as a football club, and then humbly commented that he hoped to be able to contribute a little to the club.

When they had both finished talking, the press officer signaled that the floor was open and the reporters could ask questions freely.

Carl Spicer was the first to raise his hand. His arm shot straight up towards the ceiling. It was as though he was afraid that Tony Twain could not see him even though he was seated right in front of Twain.

The press officer, Sandy Albert, who has already established a good rapport with Twain, deliberately ignored Carl Spicer and directed his gaze towards a reporter at the back.

However, the reporter asked a question that was similar in nature to Carp Spicer’s.?“I am a reporter who works for The Times. I’d like to ask Mr. Twain this, Ibi?evi? has not proven he possesses the abilities to play for a top team in a top football league besides his good performance in 2008-09 season. Do you think this transfer carries too much risk?”

“Every signing has its risks. I am not a clairvoyant. I only buy players whom I deem fit for my football team.”

The second reporter who stood up works for England’s ‘FourFourTwo’ football magazine. He was also concerned about whether Ibi?evi? would be able to adapt to the Premier League and live up to the team’s expectations.

Twain’s reply was, “I believe he can adapt to the Premier League and can also live up to the team’s expectations.”

The reporter followed up with a question asking for a reason.

“He is physically strong and is an all-rounded striker. He is able to score goals on his own, and is also able to create chances for his team mates. He is able to put pressure on the defenders in the penalty box, and can also control the ball well. He also plays in a composed manner during games. These are all points that I can see from him through his past games. I cannot find any flaws to him.”

“But he does not score goals consistently.” The third reporter to ask questions was Carl Spicer. He kept his hand high throughout, and kept waving it before the press officer. Twain signaled to the press officer that it was all right to pick him.

Carl Spicer stood up and did not even bother doing a self-introduction. His very first comment was, “He only scored a lot of goals in that one season alone. His performance in the other seasons have proved that he is nothing more than a European player on the decline!”

Twain sneered. “You don’t have the right to decide if a player is on a decline or not, Mr. Spicer.”

He then glanced at Ibi?evi?, who looked awkward but was trying his best to maintain his smile.

“How about this, Mr. Spicer. Why don’t the two of us make a wager? If Ibi?evi? scores a total of at least 20 goals in all the various competitions this season, then you’d have to shave your head. If he is unable to do that, then I’d shave my head. What do you think?”

Commotion broke out in the press room. Even Ibi?evi? turned around to look at his manager in shock.

Twain just smiled confidently as he looked at Spicer.

Carl Spicer smiled as well. “Very well. I will make a wager. If I lose, I will shave my head in my show. If you lose, you have to specially hold a press conference and let everyone watch as you shave your head.”

“Deal!”

This was a situation that nobody had expected to see. Both parties looked glad to see how things would unfold in the future.

The small commotion that arose as a result of the wager gradually vanished following Spicer’s silence.

Everyone focused their attention back on Ibi?evi?.

All the questions they directed at the Bosnian were still ones of skepticism.

Ibi?evi? forced a smile as he dealt with the England media’s acrimonious words.

In the end, Twain signaled for the press officer to end the press conference, and he brought Ibi?evi? towards the stadium to meet with approximately three hundred fans.

The previous fan meeting involved both David Bentley and Matías Fernández. At that time, around 1500 fans had turned up. Majority of them had turned up to see England’s starting right back David Bentley.

However, this time round, there were only around 300 fans who turned up for Ibi?evi?’s fan meeting. Most of them were related to Fat John, and they had all turned up for Twain.

There are numerous Nottingham Forest fans who did not think favorably of Ibi?evi?’s future at Nottingham Forest. They liked Twain, but they simply could not harbor high hopes for this new signing of his.

He was a player who has scored 37 goals in one season and had no particularly notable performances in the other seasons. His total number of goals scored in all those seasons combined might not even exceed 37…

A player like this was going to be a part of the Nottingham Forest during a time when their goal is to climb back to the top.

Such a player and such a situation seemed like something that will only appear in one of Hollywood’s motivational movies.

They would not openly oppose to the club signing Ibi?evi?, but this deserted stadium was a way of making their feelings known.

The good thing was that Ibi?evi? has a good mentality. He never thought of himself to be a superstar, and never thought that he had to receive the cheers of tens of thousands of people.

Even if only 300 fans had turned up for him, or even if 99% of the 30 reporters were there to question him, he would still earnestly wear a smile on his face and show his skills in front of everyone. He would still hold up the club’s jersey and scarf for the reporters to take photos, and he would still kick his signed football into the stands.

Truth be told, this was the biggest turnout he had seen in his career having joined numerous other football clubs before. What’s more, all these people have all turned up just for him. He knew that most of them have turned up because he once scored 37 goals in a single season and nearly broke Gerd Müller’s record, and also because he was lucky enough to get awarded the Golden Boot back then as well.

He could not ask for too much.

After the relatively quiet and unenthusiastic fan meeting ended, the staff carried the board that had Nottingham Forest’s name and sponsors printed on it. The reporters and fans also left the stadium.

Before long, there were only two people left in the empty stadium.

Tony Twain and Ibi?evi?.

The two of them stood at the spot where he tossed the signed football towards the fans.

Tony Twain was explaining how England’s media is typically like to Ibi?evi?.

“They are always like this. Every single one of them only follows where the wind blows, and they have no mind of their own. When you are good they will praise you, and when you are bad they will scold you. You don’t need to take their words to heart. For me, I am always on loggerheads with them. It doesn’t matter whether they praise or scold me. My opinion towards them never changes. As humans, we all ought to have things that we never waver on and persist with. The reporters are always changing their minds about something, but we don’t need to be like them.”

“The media’s the same wherever you go, manager…”

“Call me ‘boss’.”

“All right, boss.”

Ibi?evi? was a down-to-earth man. His experiences from before have forced him to be so. Any unrealistic fantasies of his have long been sent to Mars. Knowing how to keep a low profile was something he picked up when he left his home country at 15 years of age.

“Do you have anything to say about how I had a bet with that reporter without your consent?”

“Me? I will try my best to help you win your bet…” Ibi?evi? was still being low-key as usual.

“No no.” Twain shook his head like a rattle-drum. “That’s not what you are supposed to say at a time like this. You have to say ‘No problem, boss! I will personally shave that bastard’s head!’.’

Twain laughed after seeing Ibi?evi?’s puzzled expression. “This is how we do things at Nottingham Forest. And also… This is not just to help me, it’s to help you, Ibi. The one who has it worse when you don’t perform is not me, it’s you. I will put you on the bench or in the reserve team when you don’t perform well, and I won’t show you any mercy. It doesn’t matter how much money I spent to acquire you. I might be smiling to you today, but my face might go dark tomorrow and I might chase you out of the team. I’m sure you have experienced many of such situations in the past. You don’t need me to elaborate further right?”

Ibi?evi? nodded his solemnly.

Twain slapped his broad back hard.

“You can lose games but never your face. You must never let others get you down. You must go against them when they question you. You must never admit defeat. I don’t care what you think in your heart. You must keep your lips sealed till the end.”

“But… If I really lost…”

“I never think about things that have not happened. I’d only say it when I’ve already lost the bet and have to shave my head.”

Twain called for Ibi?evi? to leave.

“I promise you, you will fall in love with this place. This place has the best fans, the best team mates, and the best manager.” Twain broke into a radiant smile.

The two walked side by side and disappeared down the tunnel.

Chapter 748 - Players Come and Go

Since Ibi?evi? was only a target late to join, and because of his poor performance last season, his transfer fee plummeted, for the striker position that was supposed to be the most expensive, the Forest team spent only fifteen million euros, or about fourteen million pounds. Taking into account the costs of Bentley and Fernández and the further injection of five million pounds, the fifty-five-million-pound transfer budget was left with sixteen million.

What was sixteen million enough for?

Twain decided to bolster the right back positions. The right back position had become a common headache in the world. A good right back was currently hard to find. Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, Barcelona’s Dani Alves, Inter Milan’s Maicon, Arsenal’s Sagna, ... were all among the best in the world. However, Nottingham Forest definitely could not buy such a player.

Twain could only start with a younger player who was less famous than them.

After a selection, he set the target for AS Monaco’s full back, Nicolas Nkoulou.

The twenty-year-old Cameroonian young player had been playing as the main force in Monaco for a season. In the 07-08 season, he went to the France Ligue 1 team, AS Monaco for a trial and received recognition from the Monaco team, which signed a contract with him. He played in the Monaco First Team in the second season. Following which, he was the mainstay in the 09-10 season.

Nkoulou could handle both the right back and center back positions. As a center back, his height of slightly less than 1.8 meters was like the fly in the ointment, but he did a good job in the right back position. He even also guest starred as the goalkeeper once when he played for the Cameroon national team. He was a “multi-faceted player.”

In fact, Nkoulou was noticed by the Nottingham Forest scouts two years ago, and the Forest team had asked him to come to England for a trial. But at that time, he chose to go to the France Ligue 1 to try his luck, instead of accepting the Forest team’s invitation.

It was not just Nottingham Forest that was optimistic about his future. Wenger’s Arsenal had been at the forefront in search of young talent from around the world and had long been interested in Nkoulou.

The two clubs made their moves at the time this summer. Nottingham Forest had a slight edge due to its previous contact with Nkoulou.

Monaco knew that they would not be able to keep a player like Nkoulou in the small team. Therefore, rather than force him to stay, it was better to sell for a good price early. Nkoulou had also expressed his desire to play in Europe’s top leagues and the France Ligue 1 was on longer able to satisfy him.

They compared Nottingham Forest’s offer to Arsenal’s and decided to raise the price of Nkoulou to twelve million pounds.

Arsenal turned down their return asking price. It was crazy that a player who was only twenty years old and had not proved himself in a European major competition to be able to sell for twelve million pounds in Wenger’s view. After all, Nkoulou was not the kind of player with a special talent like Messi, Bojan, and Wilshere. It was absolutely not worth twelve million for such a player.

Tony Twain also rejected the offer. But he sent another offer over—eight million pounds.

Monaco thought it was too low and they asked for eleven million pounds in return.

In return, the Forest team made a bid of nine million. This time, it was Allan Adams who personally flew to Monaco with the offer.

After a round of negotiations, Monaco agreed to sell Nkoulou for nine and half million pounds.

It was not known how Arsenal heard the news. They also put in an offer of nine and a half million to steal Nkoulou away.

Twain was furious about the news, which he thought Monaco had deliberately leaked out in order to keep the price higher. But unexpectedly Arsenal was also very clever and offered nine and a half million, not a cent more.

Twain’s fear was that Nkoulou would choose Arsenal over himself. Since Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League, he had competed against Arsenal on a number of occasions in the transfer market and spoilt things for Wenger. But Wenger had also robbed a lot of players he had his eye on.

But this time, he beat Wenger.

Nkoulou was more familiar with and knew Nottingham Forest better. Not to mention it was not the first time Nottingham Forest had come to him. He almost became a member of the Forest team at the time. Emotionally, he preferred Nottingham Forest and not Arsenal, which was known throughout the world for placing young players in important positions.

Nkoulou was a sentimental man, and Tony Twain heavily played the emotional card. He eventually managed to get Nkoulou to sign the contract.

The club then announced that the twenty-year-old right back, Nicolas Nkoulou had transferred to Nottingham Forest for a fee of nine and a half million pounds and signed a five-year deal.

※※※

While signing new players, Nottingham Forest also sold their players to other teams. After all, one way to control costs was to control the salary budget. If there were too many First Team players, paying salaries alone was a big burden for the club.

Sun Jihai was the first to leave the team. Twain had had already given him a heads up before the end of the season that the Forest team would not renew his contract even when his contract expired. He wanted to hurry up and find his next team before his one-year contract expired.

Sun Jihai was an understanding person. He also knew that he did not have the strength to stay on in such a championship title-oriented team. He would love to stay in the English Premier League, but the reality was brutal. Until July, all the Premier League clubs rumored to be interested in him were still stuck at the rumor stage.

The agent told him that there were now two paths ahead for him. One was to return to China to play football and enjoy life in retirement for the last two years. The second was to lower his expectations, go to the English Football League Championship to play for two more seasons, and then retire.

Sun Jihai did not intend to return to China. He even refused the invitation from his former owner, Dalian which trained and developed him. He chose to go to the English Football League Championship and signed a two-year deal with Sheffield United. He would turn thirty-five when his contract with Sheffield United expired. He would be offered a one-year contract extension if he remained in a good form and ensured a steady number of appearances.

Sheffield United paid the Forest team a transfer fee of one million pounds in order to get Sun Jihai. Although Sun Jihai was already thirty-two years old, he was still a “championship level player” who had been with the team to win two UEFA Champions League titles and one league championship title. He was the Asian player with the most top European honors in Asia. Park Ji-sung at Manchester United was second.

Chimbonda had thought that Nkoulou’s arrival would lead to his departure. Although he had just renewed his contract with the Forest team, it was only one way to prevent the players from leaving on a free transfer of players after their contracts expired. Twain came to him first one day after training to talk with him alone and dispelled the doubts in his mind.

Twain told Chimbonda that regardless, he was a member of Nottingham Forest during the contract period and that the team needed his experience and defensive ability. Nkoulou was still young in any case and just a rotating player.

The shift in Twain’s attitude toward Chimbonda stemmed from last season. The team had been in poor form, but Chimbonda’s performance was impressive. His steady play as a right back was the team’s guarantee of a fourth-place finish in the league tournament. With Rafinha having some injuries last season and low attendance, they depended on Chimbonda alone most of the time. The older Chimbonda’s level had fallen not as fast as Twain thought, and he remained at a high-level last season.

Perhaps because of the right mentality, Chimbonda made Twain sit up and take notice again.

People said a friend in need was a friend indeed. During the team’s most difficult 07-08 and 08-09 seasons, Chimbonda helped the team with his steady play. Now it was time for the team to repay Chimbonda. The team offered him a new contract last winter, and this summer, Twain told him he could play here with confidence till his retirement—when that contract expired, Chimbonda could no longer physically play even if he wanted to.

Twain was planning a long-term goal—he wanted to develop as much as possible the players’ sense of belonging and loyalty to the team. Unless it was someone he wanted to get rid of, he wanted these players to still have feelings for the team even when they were older. Like the other big teams, they had a unique culture to retain their own players.

Twain hoped that in a few years’ time, Nottingham Forest would produce a Paulo Maldini, Ryan Giggs, Gerrard...

In addition to Sun Jihai, Martin Petrov was the second Forest player to leave in the summer.

Twain paid ten million euros plus an exchange of players to bring in Ibi?evi?, and the player who was traded was Martin Petrov.

Hoffenheim was interested in Petrov and Nottingham Forest was interested in Ibi?evi?. The two sides found common ground in this regard. In fact, this was the main content of the talks during the meeting between Twain and Rotthaus.

Martin Petrov was mentally prepared to leave the Forest team and going to Hoffenheim was not bad for him. Hoffenheim had now shed their “newly promoted team” label and become a mid-level team in the Bundesliga. Playing for that kind of team was not insulting for him. Moreover, the Hoffenheim boss had the money to meet his demands in terms of pay package.

After the agreement between the clubs was reached and the player had also reached an agreement with the team, the deal was successfully settled.

As precisely stated before, Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses were loaned out by the club to two newly promoted Premier League teams, Southampton and Norwich City.

Twain hoped they could rely on their strength to work hard, gain valuable experience and receive training in unfamiliar teams to grow into the players he needed.

Like them, there was also Adriano Moke. He was loaned out by the club to another Premier League club, Blackburn Rovers. Since selling Bentley, Blackburn Rovers had been looking for another player on the right wing. They were interested in the technically excellent Moke. On the principle that Twain wanted the young man to receive more training and experience more competitions, so he agreed to Blackburn Rovers’ request to loan Moke.

Whereas Moke himself was no longer that proud and arrogant youth who was disgusted that he was loaned out and had to play in the reserve team. He also believed that a loan to play in tournaments at the moment was the best move to improve his level. He agreed to play for Blackburn Rovers for a season.

This was basically what happened this summer. Twain did not carry out a purge on the lineup because there was no need. His players did a great job last season. Otherwise he would not have the chance to return to Europe in a year’s time. The players brought in were just to complement a few positions which were slightly lacking in strength such as the two wingers and a striker. The preservation of the overall structure of the team was the main reason why Twain was filled with confidence for the new season. He was most familiar with this group of players. He understood the characteristics of each of them and knew how to use them well.

※※※

Another good news that was no less happy than the signing of the new players was that van Nistelrooy was finally back on the pitch after a long recovery from surgery!

In the 15th round of the league tournament on November 29th, 2008, the Dutchman was injured in the Nottingham Forest’s home game victory of 3:1 over West Bromwich Albion. He took a full year to recover from the surgery, rather than the eight months previously reported in the media. He did not return to the team until January 2010 but spent most of his time struggling with a knee injury and was not nimble throughout. Twain did not dare to send him back on the field, not even in the reserves. He was afraid that his body could no longer stand up to the strain.

Born on July 1st, 1976, he just turned thirty-four years old.

A year and seven months after he left the team with an injury, he was finally ready to play again. He made an appearance as a substitute in the Forest team’s friendly match against the Scottish Premiership elite team, Celtic.

Twain gave him thirty minutes to play. Although he did not score, Twain and all the coaching staff were not concerned about van Nistelrooy ‘s performance, but his knee. After the game, Fleming did a medical examination of van Nistelrooy and found that there was nothing wrong with the operated knee, so everyone slightly put their minds at ease.

In a rather good mood, Twain even joked with the reporters who interviewed him the day after the game, “Our fourth signing of the summer has been confirmed!”

When the reporters asked in surprise about who the fourth Forest player was, Twain laughed and solved the mystery, “Ruud van Nistelrooy!”

Van Nistelrooy was in the starting lineup in a subsequent match against the League One team, Walsall and scored a penalty shot, which made the Forest fans cheered and celebrated.

From the looks of it, things were developing in the right direction.

Twain often joked with van Nistelrooy during training, as if it was not a relationship between a manager and a player.

The newly joined Forest players were a little surprised, but the old players would laugh and tell them, “It’s normal since Boss is that kind of guy.”

But in fact, they only got half of it right.

Twain was so close to van Nistelrooy because half of it was he had a better relationship with van Nistelrooy than the other players. The Forest team now had a lot of players, but for Tony Twain, there were not many players he could recall from his memories in his two lives.

Hierro, Albertini, Beckham, van der Sar, Ayala whom he considered were gone. Only van Nistelrooy was still in the team now.

It was as if his old friends around him had originally planned to travel together, but after traveling on the road for some time, he was focused on enjoying the scenery along the way. When he thought of the friends around him, he turned to look back but instead found that there was only one person left next to him.

It was an emotion that was hard to explain to others. It was not that a relationship which was on I paid for you, so you came to play for me.

Van Nistelrooy had two years left on his contract with Nottingham Forest and Twain hoped that van Nistelrooy would be offered another year extension after his contract expired. He would be thirty-seven years old by then.

Then when he retired at Nottingham Forest, Twain must offer van Nistelrooy the best farewell match, just as he had promised Albertini at that time.

He did not want that day to come, but he looked forward to its arrival as well.

Chapter 749 - Leaving the Life of Football

After the training session, Van Nistelrooy did not go to the parking lot after showering in the changing room, as there might be hardcore fans waiting for his signature. He went straight to the head coach’s office and knocked on the door.

After training, the players could take a bath, change their clothes and go home, but the coaches often gathered and handed over the report of today’s training to Twain so he could understand the situation of the team firsthand.

Now, as Twain was looking at the reports, he heard a knock at the door and thought it was Dunn. He said without looking up, “The door isn’t locked, just come in.”

Van Nistelrooy pushed the door and said, “Sir.”

Twain looked up and found it was van Nistelrooy, and he was a little surprised: “What’s the matter, Ruud?”

Van Nistelrooy nodded, “Well, there is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I think it’s better to tell it to you, sir. ”

Twain put down his training report.”My contract with the club doesn’t expire until June 30 , 2012, right?”

Twain nodded. ” Yes. If your performance is stable, I’m going to extend your contract for another year...”

Van Nistelrooy shook his head, “No, sir. I have decided to retire after this season.”

Twain startled in his seat. He thought he misheardTwain, sitting in a chair, could feel his body moved on its own as he thought he had misheard: “Sorry? ”

“I said, I’m going to retire after this season, sir.” Van Nistelrooy had no choice but to repeat himself.

Twain felt like he would like to ask loudly once again, not because he misheard but out of a mix of disappointment, anger and shock which induced his impulse.But he abandoned the idea and stood up.

“Today isn’t April Fool’s Day, Ruud.” He smiled with a little reluctance.

“I’m not kidding, sir.”

“Your body is recovering well and I can’t figure out why you’d want to resign in advance.

“It only looks good on the surface, sir. And retiring at thirty-five isn’t early. ”

“If your injury hasn’t healed, I can continue to let you heal. I’m not in a hurry, you do not have to worry...”

Van Nistelrooy laughed, “This is exactly what I’m worried about, sir. I’m a professional footballer, not a guy sitting on the bench or in the stands, on the injury list, drawing a salary without playing any games. I’ve been out for a whole season and a half, and if I were to continue to be absent, it’s better for me to announce my retirement now. ”

“Hey, Ruud.” Twain’s tone was a little harsher. “We’re allowing you to miss more than a season of games now so you can play longer in the future. ”

“Sir, why would a 34-year-old striker want to play longer?” ”

Van Nistelrooy’s rebuttal stunned Twain.

Yes, at thirty-four, it was basically a season-by-season situation where you could either get injured or retire at any time. Why would he want to ask van Nistelrooyto play till he was thirty-six or thirty-seven?

“Hey, Ruud. If I say I don’t want you to retire and that I wanted you to keep kicking, would you believe it? ”

Van Nistelrooy smiled and didn’t answer, obviously he did not believe it. It was just not something a head coach would say.

Twain laughed too, treating it as a joke.

“I think your experience can aid the team. ”

Van Nistelrooy believed this explanation, but he shook his head. “I’m not the only one who has experience. The Gypsies are good. Before moving to Nottingham Forest, I just wanted to prove to Ferguson how bad it was to let me go, but I never thought we would be champions in the future. Now I don’t want to prove anything to anyone, I’ve got everything I needed to,; my career is perfect. To be honest, sir, I don’t have the motivation to keep playing. And you hate people who don’t have the motivation to play, right? ”

Van Nistelrooy stood in front of TonyTwain with a crooked smile under the afternoon sun.Twain opened his mouth as if there was something he wanted to say.

“I don’t need to use honor to push myself. I don’t think it’s wise to stay with NottinghamForest without a sense of honor. It’s better to retire and give up the opportunity and my position to the younger players. ”

“Did you make this decision because I bought Ibi?evi??” ”

“No. I thought it over as I was lying in my hospital bed in the United States. Don’t you think it’s a way to help the club ease its financial burden?” He laughed.

Twain could not smile as he looked at Van Nistelrooy with a serious face.

“Anyway, I’ve decided, sir. I’m not going to play another season. I want to spend more time with my family in the future. Sir, you’re also married, can’t you understand where I’m coming from? Whether it’s football or not,?the point of doing anything is all about making money, and the point of making all that money is so I can spend time with my family family. I felt like I’ve reached this last stage. ”

Van Nistelrooy had a smile on his face throughout.

Twain knew he couldn’t convince the Dutchman. Retiring was one of the most important decisions of a professional footballer’s life, and his ability to say it out meant he had thought about it for a long time. This consideration was not easily influenced by others.He sighed, a little disheartened..

“I think I’m a failure, Rudd. Whether it’s you, or Demi, or David, I’ve tried persuading all of you but I’ve never succeeded. You never let me do what I want.”

Van Nistelrooy smiled and did not respond to Twain’s words. He knew that Twain had already agreed, but this stubborn man did not want to accept so easily.

“Can I ask you what do you plan to do after you retire?” ”

“Go home, back to Holland to spend time with my wife and children. ”

When Twain heard him say so, he suddenly had a feeling of being a “landowner”. He laughed, ” If the weather is good then, you would lie in the yard under the sun? ”

“Maybe I’ll plant some flowers, teach my children to play football, go shopping with my wife, travel around...” Van Nistelrooy laughed as well. Life as a retiree seemed very attractive to him=. He could finally stop thinking about training, playing matches, how to stay in shape every day, thinking about the game, thinking about how to stay in shape, thinking about ruthlessly fighting with someone for ninety minutes... about the premier league’s current record of the most goals and the second-most goals in Champions League history, these auras will be away from him, and he would not care.

” It’s an enviable life...”

Twain sighed, put away the report on the table, and walked up to Van, “Let’s go home. ”

※※※

Watching Van Nistelrooy driving out of Wilford, Twain was still leaning on the Mercedes Jeep that Shania had given him. Today’s weather is good, the Nottingham’s vicinity was vibrant, although it was still hot, but it is better than constant raining day till night.

He suddenly wanted to bask in the blazing sun.

He never thought about what he would do after leaving football. Not to think about training and the opponent of the next round as the first thing to do every day, most of the day just sitting in the sun doing sunbathing and playing with the kids till the evening.

He felt that he would be very old when that day comes.

The phone in his pocket rang.

“Hey, Uncle Tony!” Shania’s voice popped up just as Twain received a call on his phone.

“Ha, Shania. ”

“Is it two training sessions today? ”

“Well, no. What’s wrong? ”

“I was waiting for you until the lunch got cold!” Shania was very angry.

Twain then raised his wrist to look at the watch, discovering that it was already one.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Shania! I was dealing with things and being so busy I’ve forgotten, I’ll come out right away...” Twain said, while he was holding the phone and hurriedly driving towards the door.

Van was right, he is also a man with a family, he could understand this want to be with his family.

“I am hanging up, Shania. I promise...”

Shania interrupted him: “Slow down, don’t be hastily until you run into something bad. I’m just a little worried that you haven’t come back yet. Now, I’m okay, you drive slowly. ”

Twain opened his mouth but said nothing.

See you later, Uncle Tony. ” Shania was visibly in a better mood, as she gave a little kiss on the phone and hung up.

Twain was still holding his cell phone and keeps his same stance as he got onto the car.

Why play football?

In order to make money.

Then why make money?

In order to be able to have time with family.

But in order to make money, there is no time to spend with family.

Then…

Players can play until the age of thirty-four or five and choose to retire, and they have most of their lives to spend with their loved ones. What about a head coach? Ferguson is 70 years?old and still in his position as Manchester United manager...

Former Liverpool manager John Houlier was only home twice a year, once on his wife’s birthday and once on Christmas during his busiest period. He stayed at the hotel most of his time with the team.

England’s head coach is the world’s highest-paid coaching position and also the “perfume” in the eyes of many but in fact many England’s head coaches have been avoiding this position. Aside from the extraordinary pressure, it is the fact that being england’s head coach is more busy than a club manager – an England manager is almost as busy as a head of state. As a club manager every day there will be some time of his own, if this person is good at time management. But as England manager, he must stick to his job 24 hours a day.

Twain thought he was lucky, and he had helpers like Dunn and Kerslake to help him with matters, so he could share some private moments with Shania. If he is the head coach who must handle everything, there might not even be time to flirt with Shania. But even so, when he’s busy, Shania will retreat to a small corner of his life. Even so, he knew that he would sometimes neglect Shania. Especially when taking the team to play away from home, or a week with two matches, in order to conveniently facilitate the management of the team, and study tactics with his colleagues and work, he would stay in a hotel. Even if he was in Nottingham.

It would be good if Shania was busy outside as well. If Shania returns to Nottingham, waiting for her would be only a big house in black paint and desertedness.

These times he will be full of guilt, but only guilt. He could not leave his job to spend time with his wife, and he could not even make additional phone calls. The players only needed to think about matters on the training ground and in the game, the manager needs to consider ten times more, as long as Twain was free he would be always thinking about things like this, like a machine which functioned forever.

Sometimes even with Shania, he would be absent-minded. It was not rare for Shania to be angry with him about this.

It is impossible for no conflicts in the life of a married couple, Shania and Tony are both very rigid people. But in every quarrel, Twain always gave in to Shania, once Shanai got mad, he would immediately soften down, anyway he just needed to be hard in bed just like during that call.

Because he knew that Shania was a very sensible girl, and she was unhappy because he gave insufficient concern usually — his mind was always on football, and it has been like this since they just met until now. Before their relationship was uncertain, she would be jealous quietly, but now it was openly envy.

Of course he can’t leave the job, so he could only take the initiative to admit that he was wrong every time Shania is unhappy. As a gentleman, one should be able to have an open mind, what is the big deal!

Van Nistelrooy’s reason for retiring gave him a push today, making him want to have that kind of days as well. Not needing to think or worry about anything, just needing to be with his family, he could even be content under the blazing sun of summer.

He began to think very carefully – when would he choose to retire?

※※※

Shania waited at home Twain to come, and she was going to turn around and take the cold meals into the microwave to heat up. But she was hugged by Twain from behind instead.

“Hey, Uncle Tony?” Shania was able to feel Twain’s nose coming and going around in her back, and she was a little surprised by Twain’s sudden gesture of affection.

“Do you have any plans for the afternoon?” Twain buried his face on Shania’s shoulder and asked.

“No, I do not.”

“Do you have anywhere you want to play at? ”

“What’s wrong with you, Uncle Tony? I’m not angry about what happened just now...” Shania struggled gently, but she felt Twain hugged with greater strength.

“Ruud was retiring, and I advised him to stay but did not succeed. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family. I suddenly felt a little envious of him...” Twain lay behind Shania, sniffing her hair and muttering.

“Where do you want to go?” He asked again.

Shania let him lie on his shoulder and said, “Don’t want to go anywhere.”

Twain rolled his eyes. “You still said you weren’t angry.”

“If you continue to hold me and not let me go and heat up the food then I’ll really get angry! ”

Twain hurriedly loosened his hands, but still sniffed with a little affection. “There’s an idiom in China which meant looking at beautiful women would allow one to forget about hunger… actually I’m not hungry.”

“Gynophagia?” Shania frowned.

Twain was in a state of shock.

The word can also be translated literally in English as “beauty dining”, but it is represented in the Chinese idiom “beauty dining” as a whole different scenario.

Chinese idioms?say “beauty dining” to praise women or beautiful scenery. But in English the word “Gynophagia” literally means – “eat a?woman”, which is not romantic at all, it simply meant eating. This is a kind of fetishism, which often leads to sexual fantasies with violent and rape fantasies.

” Ah! Uncle Tony, you’re a pervert!” Shania cried.

“Nonsense! I’m talking about ‘xiusekecan’ of Oriental culture, not ‘Gynophagia’! They mean two things! Twain was in a hurry to defend. Even when he was married, he sometimes had an unstoppable sexual fantasy about Shania, but in all the fantasies he never fancied that he was going to cut Xenia’s head and then dismember her. . .That’s disgusting!

Shania looked at Uncle Tony, whose face had changed, and laughed slyingly: “Uncle Grey Wolf is hungry. She set the food aside and began to unbutton her shirt.

Halfway through, Twain could already see the seductive rounded chest behind a thin shirt, with the sunlight coming in from behind the window and reflecting it in a hazy. It was like two jelly cakes wrapped in a layer of cream, and a gentle touch would cause it to wobble...Shania isn’t wearing a bra today.

He unwittingly swallowed a gasp.

Shania laughs even more when she sees him like this. She put her hands down, like walking on a Cat-shaped stage, walking cat-walking to Twain, who was standing at the kitchen door. She had a sexy and seductive smile which meant trouble as well.

When she walked up to Twain, she relaxed her arms around the neck of Twain and put her face onto him. Her eyes were covered with a layer of water vapor, which was blue, voice being like the honey sprinkled onto the butter cake, being excessively sweet.

“How does the Uncle Grey Wolf who is excessively hungry want to eat me?”

As Twain buried his face, his three last clear thoughts were,

“This type of life, on an afternoon, was too dirty!”

But if I retire now, there would be a lot of such afternoons ...

Oh my God! It is really delicious…

Chapter 750 - Integration

After he was finished busy with the sales and purchases, Twain’s work was finally a little easier. The training that followed would mainly be taken care of by the whole coaching unit. He did not have to attend to everything personally.

When he had more free time, he would notice some things he had not noticed before.

For example:

“Strange, the preparations before the start of the season is in full swing and the media from around the world are gathering in Nottingham … How come I don’t see your secret lover?” Twain asked Dunn the question in a joking manner.

Dunn did not refute this point. He was not that kind of person. He simply said, “She has resigned from the newspapers, so she won’t be here.”

Twain was a little surprised and said, “I thought that was just one of her tricks—she always likes to pull this…”

“It’s for real this time.” Dunn said casually, “Do you know what would happen if those remarks that you made were to appear intact in any of China’s regular media?”

Twain nodded reply, “I am also an authentic Chinese man.”

“In order to be able to publish smoothly, and not to get her father in trouble, she chose to resign, and then published alone. You saw…the consequences.”

“I more than saw it, and I had even experienced it firsthand…” muttered Twain.

In fact, Tang Jing’s actions somewhat threw him under the bus. But both of them were well aware that the effects and impact on Twain could be completely ignored. As an “Englishman”, he could speak freely without any scruples for the consequences, because he did not live in that circle and did not have to rely on that circle to survive.

Tang Jing did this only in hopes to get Twain to help her share the enormous pressure at the time. He succeeded in doing so and bawled the Chinese media out at the press conference. Almost no one paid attention to the instigator, Tang Jing. Then there was the World Cup. Now that the World Cup was over, it was time to settle the scores.

Tang Jing and Twain were completely different. Although she resigned, she still wanted to continue to be in that line of work. It would perhaps be somewhat difficult…it was expected that she would shut out.

He touched his nose and said, “Hey, I kind of miss her all of a sudden…Uhm, you’d better not get me wrong. I just feel that it’s too quiet without that noisy woman around …”

Dunn did not respond to him. He just quietly finished his own business, and then walked away.

Twain pulled a face at him in the back.

As for Tang Jing’s matter, he really did not think she would actually resign. Now that he thought of it, he felt that it was a shame for the woman who would put on a tough stance at any time in order to make it in the men’s world…

※※※

With less than half a month to go until the start of the new season, Twain had announced the end of Nottingham Forest’s transfer campaign this season.

“I’m happy with every pound that I’ve spent this summer and I think the four players are worth it. They have met my requirements and I personally decided to buy them. I’m optimistic about everything they have here. I made some requests to the club before the season on the transfer funds and I am delighted to have those requests satisfied. I have no other requests after spending the money. Now I’m just waiting for the new season to start. I can assure you that Nottingham Forest will remain a force to be reckoned with in the new season. Of course, given that the media always describe me as an untrustworthy rascal, so you can disbelieve my words. We’ll just have to see when the time comes.”

He wrote these words in his column,. The hint of hubris was utterly obvious—and he did not want to hide anything.

The whole world knew what Tony Twain wanted.

※※※

Since betting with Twain at the press conference, Carl Spicer always kept the bet on the lips. Now all of England knew he and Tony Twain had a bet with his own hair as the wager.

Spicer was confident that Ibi?evi? was incapable on the one hand and unable to adapt to the style of the English Premier League and Nottingham Forest on the other hand.

One must know that to score twenty goals a season was not a target that could be achieved easily.

Conversely, Tony Twain did not mention the bet again after he determined the wager. But he could tell that his bet with Spicer, and what he said to Ibi?evi? afterwards, was indeed effective.

Ibi?evi? was trying his best to integrate with the new environment. He was not at all as reticent as the Bundesliga player everyone thought. On the contrary, he was very lively.

He would use his fluent American English and joke with his British teammates. He could also chat in French with the Frenchman, Chimbonda, Nkoulou and the Belgian, Kompany. At the same time, he also used his fluent German and chatted with ?ahin who used to play in Dortmund, lived in Germany for many years, and had a German passport, about life in Germany. In addition, Bosnia and Serbia were once part of the former Yugoslavia, so he was able to communicate with ?igi? in his native language.

Besides, he was a real linguistic genius, and it did not take long for him to say hello in the still unfamiliar Portuguese language to his teammates from Brazil and Portugal.

Having no problems in terms of languages, he was very quick to integrate into the team. The best thing about coming to Nottingham Forest was that no one here was interested in his poor figures last season and did not make things awkward for him as the reporters did.

Tony Twain trusted him and had the intention of developing him to be the main force during training. He paid back with his good performance in the friendly matches. He scored two goals in three friendlies and had a selfless assist.

But it did not prove anything no matter how well he performed in the friendlies. To get England’s harsh media to change their minds about him, he must score goals in the official tournament, and a lot of goals at that.

He learnt a lesson from the mistakes of his predecessor, ?igi?. Although Twain highly regarded this tall man and he played a big role on-field whenever the team needed to attack by storm and cling fast to defense, he was always termed by the media readily as “inferior parallel import.”

The only measure of a striker’s qualification was his goalscoring rate. ?igi? had eleven assists last season. Once he played, the Forest team’s creation of header shots in the front field would not be sidelined, but they only resulted in nine goals, which were naturally not enough for the picky media. There were also media which protested unfairness for ?igi? and thought that Twain had used the tall man wrongly. But as long as the tall man did not object, Twain would continue to use him in this way.

Ibi?evi? desperately tried to fit into the team. He was aware that no position needed more support from his teammates than the striker. Moreover, he was not the kind of striker who could dribble the ball across more than half the pitch alone and then bypass the opposing goalkeeper to take the ball into the empty goal.

Bentley’s integration into the team was the fastest. First of all, he was English, and had no problems with the food, weather or language. Secondly, he was the player that Twain brought in based on the tactical needs of the team. Such a player often did not have any adaptation period in terms of the tactics. Twain understood Bentley’s characteristics. Since he decided to buy him, he was certainly in line with the team’s tactical needs.

The only thing that worried Twain was the “World Cup Syndrome.” Bentley had done well since his transfer to the Forest team. But Twain believed he was only carrying on his performance in South Africa from this summer. The better he played in the friendlies; the more worried Twain was about his form after the league tournament officially began.

As the fourth player the team had signed this summer, Nkoulou conformed with the norms of the team. In the right back position, he would face competition from Rafinha and Chimbonda. Although Chimbonda was old, he was experienced and defensively stable. His defense on the right was reassuring as long as he was not required to plug in to assist. Rafinha’s strength was plugging in from the back to attack on the side. In Twain’s tactics of the two wingers in full strength, a full back who could assist, had always been heavily used by him. Rafinha was on the right and Gareth Bale was on the left.

The young Nkoulou might still have to work his way up from the substitutes’ bench. Twain had promised the Cameroonian youngster him that he would have a great future if he continued to persist and integrate with the team.

Fernández was now the slowest to integrate out of the four players signed to the team this summer. As a South American player, the differences in languages and the totally different styles in the Spanish football and English football were still considered fine. The most painful things for him were the weather and food in England.

Most of the time, the skies would be as gloomy as it was in today’s training, and then it would start to drizzle. He finally understood why the opening line of the English conversation was always about the weather. Then there was the terrible local cuisine, which he was not used to eating.

These two points affected his performance on the training field and the friendly matches. He was still staying in a hotel room since he had not found a suitable place to live in. How could he focus on playing football, living like this? Unfortunately, his compatriot, Nicolás Millán had been loaned out. Otherwise he could have helped his senior from Colo-Colo adjust to life in England. As the only Chilean in the team right now, Fernández was indeed a little lonely…

The fans might have to wait a while to see Fernández, who was once awarded the South American Footballer of the Year.

※※※

Whether or not these players managed to fit in with the team, time was passing day by day and getting closer to the start of the new season.

Nottingham Forest, who finished fourth in the league tournament last season before the start of the new season, had a life-and-death battle to cope with even though they did not have a FA Community Shield game to play.

It was the Champions League qualifier.

Nottingham Forest was not eligible to go straight into the official competition since they finished fourth in the league tournament. They must play in the Champions League qualifying round first and pass the test to be one of the official thirty-two teams in the Champions League.

Nottingham Forest’s qualifying opponent had been confirmed as the Red Star Belgrade team from Serbia.

There were two games, home and away. Only by eliminating Red Star Belgrade, would Tony Twain be qualified to say his team was really back in Europe.

On August 11th, the Champions League qualifying rounds kicked off.

Nottingham Forest would play Red Star at home.

Despite being a qualifying event, the City Ground stadium, which could only hold up to thirty thousand spectators was full. As the rare team in English football’s history that had fewer league titles than the Champions League championship titles, the Forest fans seemed to have a tradition of thinking that the Champions League was the most important title. The tradition was similar to that of Real Madrid. Between the league tournament and the Champions League, both teams would simultaneously choose the Champions League.

But Real Madrid’s reason for this choice was probably because the league title was so common for them. Whereas the Nottingham Forest fans made this choice only because they thought they had a tradition of winning the Champions League title as compared to the league tournament…

The City Ground stadium was small, but the fervent fans caused a lot of trouble for the Red Star team here.

The Forest fans found an emotional outlet after bottling it up for a year. They gave vent to their frustrations suppressed for a year. There was the constant singing and shouting in the stands. They did not stop at all from the start to the end of the game.

The Red Star team was very unaccustomed to the away atmosphere and Tony Twain’s team was like a fish back in the water here.

Nine minutes into the game that just started, Eastwood, who was in the starting lineup, helped the team scored an opening record with a long shot from outside the penalty area.

Following which, in the 32nd minute, ?igi?’s header sent the City Ground stadium into a frenzy.

The first half was entirely controlled by Nottingham Forest and the Red Star team was powerless.

In the second half, Twain began to give the new players who joined the team in the summer a chance to make their debuts.

In the 55th minute, he brought Matías Fernández on to replace Chris Cohen. Fernández won the applause of the fans with a beautiful bypass as soon as he made his appearance.

But it was only one of the few flashpoints for him in the game.

Then, in the 69th minute, Twain replaced Lennon with Bentley.

Less than four minutes into Bentley’s play, he used a pass from the side and accurately sent the ball to the feet of ?ahin, who plugged in from the back.

The Turkish talented midfielder faced the Red Star goalkeeper and fired calmly into the top corner. The football flew into the Red Star goal for the third time.

The goal completely snuffed out the Red Star players’ desire to win.

Next, amid the home fans’ thunderous singing, Gareth Bale locked in the score at 4:0 with a free kick!

Nottingham Forest won big at home. After the game, the English media stated that Tony Twain had set foot in Europe about three-quarters of the way.

“Just like the Invasion of Normandy sixty-six years ago. Tony Twain’s troops successfully seized the beachhead as they aimed for Berlin (this season’s UEFA Champions League final was held in Berlin)!”

※※※

Appendix:

Nottingham Forest First Team squad list for the 2010-2011 season (26 players):

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (1), Dale Roberts (12), Shane Redmond (25).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (22), Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Jonathan Woodgate (5), Vincent Kompany (4), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (30), Rafinha (14), Joe Mattock (33), Nicolas Nkoulou (21).

Midfielders: George Wood (13), John Bostock (23), Aaron Lennon (17), Tiago Mendes (31), Nuri ?ahin (15), Chris Cohen (20), David Bentley (7), Matías Fernández (8).

Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nikola ?igi? (9), Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Gabriel Agbonlahor (18), Vedad Ibi?evi? (19).

Chapter 751 - A Temptation from Italy

The big-screen television was broadcasting the best of Nottingham Forest games from over the past few seasons, with only one leading character.

“George Wood! He’s really the linchpin of Nottingham Forest! The beautiful tackle from the oblique rear, no foul and clean!”

“It’s George again! Where did he run out from? He snuck up next to Riquelme and put his leg out! And cut off the ball!”

“He’s giving chase… His speed is very fast! What an amazing explosive force! Studs-up! He has fouled! But he stopped a quick counterattack from Manchester United, and even getting a yellow card was worth it!”

“Sidwell had a head-on collision with him. I’d say Sidwell must have thought he had hit a wall! George Wood did not moved at all and the ball was intercepted by him. His defensive stance is very good!”

“He completely froze Kaka, and the Brazilian seemingly vanished under his close marking…”

“Fàbregas! Oh… He couldn’t pass the football because he was pushed to ground by Wood. It’s so unfriendly… Fàbregas protested to the referee on the ground, while George Wood just turned and ran away.”

“Cristiano Ronaldo! This is a counterattack by Manchester United. He sprints and dribbles the ball on the sideline! No one can stop him… No! George Wood rushes up to stick close and Ronaldo tries to get rid of him, but the feint is ineffective against him! A beautiful defense!”

“A shot to the goal!! The ball’s in! George Wood—a world-class ball! He saved England, he saved Capello! Saint George blesses England!!”

The commentator’s passionate voice echoed in the darkened room, but everyone in the room took their eyes off from the television screen.

“Our new target.” A bald-headed man in the center said to the people here, “He’s incomparable. Cesare told me after following him for two years. I believe in his insight.”

An old man known as “Cesare” stood up. He was AC Milan’s chief football scout in charge of bringing in defensive players, the former AC Milan team captain and the legendary Paulo Maldini’s father, Cesare Maldini.

“I’ve carefully edited all the videos of his games that I’ve shown you. You can see from the video the standard of his defense. He mainly benefits from his physical fitness. He has many nicknames in England, almost all of which are aimed at his abnormal body. He almost never gets hurt… No, he has actually never been injured. He’s in a stable shape and got a solid basic skill. He’s got a good attitude, and there has never been a rumor about any conflicts with his teammates and coaches. I think he is a man who meets AC Milan’s requirements in terms of technique, tactics and even his temperament.”

However, the team’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti sitting opposite did not think so.

“I don’t think Tony Twain will let their team captain go, and George Wood is a very loyal player. It will be too difficult to manage the transfer.”

The baldheaded Galliani laughed, “That’s not something you need to worry about, Carlo. We just have to make sure one thing now and that is Gattuso’s condition no longer meets our requirements. We just need a ‘new Gattuso.’”

Ancelotti hesitated for a moment and then nodded, “We do need a defensive midfielder, but I think trying to sign on George Wood will be too difficult…”

Galliani was a little unhappy and said, “In that case, do you have any good candidates to recommend, Carlo?”

“Blasi, Mariga or Sammarco is a good choice too…” Ancelotti had just reported the three names when he was interrupted by the old man next to him, Braida.

“Napoli’s asking price is too high, and we’ve been negotiating the Blasi deal for about a whole year, and there has been no progress. If we satisfy Napoli’s demands, I think the money is pretty much the same if we buy George Wood. As for Mariga, I think he’s just got a lot of potential. What we need is a player who can come in and play as the main force in the midfield. Mariga is not good enough. As for Sammarco, he doesn’t want to come back. What can we do?”

Braida was the official in charge of AC Milan’s transfers, and his words held more authority than Galliani’s.

Ancelotti was not willing to be persuaded just like that. He retorted, “George Wood’s problem is not the transfer fee. Thirty million or fifty million is the same. The key is his own attitude and Tony Twain… Do you think Tony Twain is someone who’s easy to talk to?”

Galliani did not expect to end up in a situation similar to the quarrel. He waved his hands impatiently to signal to Braida to shut his just-opened mouth.

“I told you, Carlo. That’s not something you should worry about. You just focus on leading the team in training for the games. Leave the purchase of the players to me and Braida.”

Braida was the “king of transfers” for AC Milan. At the age of sixty-three, he had brought in many classic transfers for AC Milan, such as bringing Rijkaard to AC Milan and took Shevchenko, who also played in Eastern Europe, to San Siro. He was a senior football scout and expert negotiator.

But he had already stepped down as AC Milan’s Chief Executive Officer a year ago, and this time Galliani re-hired him for the sake of George Wood.

His intention was clear—I obviously know that it will be very difficult to buy George Wood, so I brought Braida here.

Ancelotti looked at the three men who were obviously standing together on the same side, pursed his lips and did not speak anymore.

Everyone unanimously decided at the final meeting that they would specialize in George Wood alone for the remaining time and sign on the world’s currently hottest defensive midfielder at all costs.

Since Gattuso suffered that terrible injury in the winter of 2008, his form had declined rapidly. Now the AC Milan midfielder could only play as a substitute. His willpower was as before, but he was not physically and technically as good as before. More often than not, his spirit was willing, but the body was weak. His full beard which used to be a symbol of courage and boldness, now appeared to be a sign of the vicissitudes.

AC Milan youth team had a Nigerian young player, Wilfred Chinoye Osuji, once labeled as the “new Makelele.” He had also been lured by Manchester United. At the time, Ancelotti strongly advocated to keep Chinoye in the squad and used him as Makelele’s successor. But the reality was failure. Chinoye did not become the second Makelele. He was lost in the people’s expectations and disappointed AC Milan’s top brass. The matter also led to Galliani’s growing distrust of Ancelotti. Therefore, this time he decided to force his way in to sign George Wood.

He certainly knew that it would not be easy to sign George Wood, not to mention from trying to “extract a tooth from the tiger’s mouth” like Tony Twain.

This time he decided to let Braida step in and make a breakthrough with George Wood’s agent.

A former celebrity in the fashion world, Billy Woox’s sudden career switch to become a sports agent had shocked people. But he still had his former connections in Milan. Galliani and Woox had several opportunities to meet and were considered “friends.” He believed it was right for him and Braida to work on Billy Woox. Whether George Wood would be able to join AC Milan, his agent was the key.

※※※

“Hey, George! Guess where I am?” Wood’s cell phone rang out with his agent, Billy Woox’s always sly voice.

Wood was not one to play such a meaningless game with others. He simply asked, “What’s up, Woox?”

“I just had coffee with a friend in Milan. We talked about you. Guess who that person was?”

“Who?”

“Galliani, AC Milan’s second most important figure.”

“Oh.” George Wood gave a grunt and did not continue to ask questions.

Woox had long been used to Wood’s way of thinking. He added, “He’s very interested in you and wants to hear if you will be willing to play for Milan.”

“AC Milan?” George Wood’s impression and feelings toward most of the world’s powerhouse clubs might displeased these clubs because he would not even show surprise when he heard their names. In his mind, all the teams were the same. “Why should I go play there?”

“They promised you a higher salary than what you get at Nottingham Forest and will give up all your portrait rights.”

At Nottingham Forest, after a number of contract renewals, George Wood, whose current weekly salary was around one hundred thousand pounds a week, had become the highest-paid player in the squad after Beckham and Ribéry left the squad one after another and the older van Nistelrooy accepted a new contract. At the same time, half of his portrait rights were owned by Nottingham Forest—if not for Billy Woox, he would not even get the half.

George Wood was not a fool and could tell which side would give more money. But…

“I think I make enough money now, Woox.”

As if he had expected Wood to say that, Woox laughed at the other end of the line, “There’s one more condition. Do you want to hear it?”

“What?”

“They promised to use the power of AC Milan to treat your mother. It will be a more detailed and professional treatment than what Nottingham Forest did.”

Wood was silent.

After he hung up, Wood went to the kitchen to help his mother. Sophia asked the call just now, “Mr. Woox called?”

“Yeah. He told me that several other clubs are interested in me.”

“Did you promise him?” Sophia coughed and asked.

“No.” Wood’s lips quivered as he replied.

Sophia did not say anything. She just reached and rubbed Wood’s messy hair.

※※※

Twain was as amazed as if he had found the New World. He discovered that George Wood was distracted during training these few days. There was even a rare decline in his form!

He was not worried about anything at first. Instead, he was pleased with the discovery. Because George Wood was finally getting closer to becoming human. At least his form would fluctuate, rather than being so tediously and despairingly steady.

So, he joked about Wood during training and excitedly announced it to people around him.

“Hey, George! Are you in love? Which girl has taken your fancy? Introduce her to me.”

Wood gave a cold expression in return.

“All right, I respect your privacy. When you feel the time is right, you can introduce me then.”

After the ruckus from him, the people in the team all thought George Wood was really in love. Otherwise, it was hard to explain his recent absent-mindedness. It was known that he had always been the most serious and toughest on himself during training in the past.

This situation continued for several days until one early morning, while Tony Twain was still getting cozy in bed with Shania, he received a call.

When their lovemaking was interrupted, Twain naturally did not have a good temper. He shouted, “I don’t care who you are. If you can’t give me a reasonable explanation… It’s only half past six!”

He heard Pierce Brosnan’s voice spoke up, “I just heard the news, Tony. I think I need to tell you. Have you heard?”

“What?” Twain was completely confused by the man’s random remarks.

“The news that AC Milan is very interested in George Wood…”

Twain gave a sigh and said, “I thought it was some big news. Aren’t there always rumors like that every summer? To be honest, Mr. Reporter, if George Wood wasn’t loved and sought after by the flies, he wouldn’t be George Wood.”

Brosnan hurried to explain, “No, I mean they’re for real.”

“They need to find a successor to Gattuso, so I understand…” Twain still did not take it seriously. He lied back on the bed while his fingers circled back and forth on Shania’s smooth and flat lower abdomen.

“They got in touch with George’s agent Billy Woox in private.”

“I knew that sneaky old man can’t keep still. But his word is useless. George Wood has to agree first.”

Shania watched as Twain hand circled downwards bit by bit and moved to the edge of her white panties. She seemed to regard Twain’s hand as a little bug crawling around on her body, and she observed it very carefully.

“Ah, that’s what I wanted to tell you…” It took a long time for Brosnan to remember what the subject was. “I heard from my media friends in Italy that AC Milan worked hard to get the player’s own consent and prepare for George Wood’s mother to undergo surgery and treatment. The club will bear all the costs!”

Twain’s hand was about to pry open the panties and enter a hidden utopia, but he suddenly retracted his hand.

“What did you say?” He sat up on the bed.

No one knew better than he did what Sophia meant to George Wood. When the Forest team and Wood signed their first professional contract, the club paid for Sophia’s operation and to undergo treatment, which led to Wood’s unswerving allegiance to Nottingham Forest. He then gradually grew into a standard-bearer at Nottingham Forest in later years.

But he never thought there would be another club doing the same thing for Wood.

He knew that Sophia’s illness was actually incurable. The long-term accumulation of all kinds of illnesses had long hollowed out this delicate but strong woman. The only reason supporting her was perhaps because she hated to part with her son. So, the club did not continue the medical treatments for Sophia. Anyway, George Wood made enough money to buy the medicine to continue the treatment.

But it did not rule out the possibility that George still had illusions deep inside. If there were more money, more advanced professional equipment, superior doctors and medicines, finer hospitals, he could save his mother’s life.

In that case, would it matter where he play football?

It suddenly dawned on him why George Wood did not seem right these days.

“I’m so stupid…” muttered Twain.

“Uncle Tony?” Shania raised her head beside him, looking strangely at Twain.

“Tony?” Brosnan asked on the phone.

There was only one person in the world who could make Wood upset. It was absolutely not a beautiful girlfriend, and a big salary contract. He only cared about his mother. There were only two people in his world, him and his mother. It was something he had known for a long time. If he had detected it earlier…

“Well, thank you for telling me this, Brosnan! I’ll allow you to go onto the training ground for an exclusive interview!” After he promised Brosnan the relevant repayment, he hung up and intended to give George Wood a call.

But halfway through dialing the number, he put down his cell phone again.

“It’s not even seven o’clock now…” He turned his head to look at the clock. “What happened so far has already happened, makes no difference if it’s earlier or later…” With that, he laid down again. But his hand no longer strayed toward Shania’s body.

“If you’re in a hurry to find George, why don’t you drive to his house to pick him up before training? Then you’ll have a lot of time to talk in private on the way.” Shania said suddenly.

Twain turned to look at his wife and said, “That’s a good idea! And to thank you, Shania…”

Shania glanced at him and said, “Ah, here you go again … I really suspect that you’re twenty, Uncle Tony…”

Twain laughed mischievously and held Shania in his arms, “Your Uncle Tony has heart that never tires!”

Shania’s young, healthy, energetic body snuggled in the crook of his arm, making him feel like he was on his honeymoon every day.

He already had a plan in his mind about George’s matter. For now, he had to make time for Shania.

Chapter 752 - Robin Hood and The Forest

After George Wood said goodbye to his mother at the door, he discovered that there was something different from the norm outside his house today when he opened the door—a white jeep was parked on the side of the road, with a man standing at the front of it.

When the man saw him come out, he greeted him with a smile, “Good morning, George.”

“Boss?” Wood was a little surprised. It was the first time he had seen the team’s manager when he walked out the door to head for training. And it was obvious he waited here specially. He looked back at the house and asked, “Why didn’t you come in since you were here?”

“I’ve just arrived.” Twain told an obvious lie.

“Do you need me for something?”

“I was just passing through here. Shall we go to Wilford together?” Twain patted the Mercedes Jeep behind him.

As the highest-paid player in Nottingham Forest, George Wood currently did not even have a car and ran to the training ground every day. Maybe it could explain why he was so fit from this aspect...

Wood looked back at his house again, then marched over, opened the car door and entered.

Twain drove slowly. It was still early, and he was in no hurry to get to Wilford. Because there were some words that were more appropriate to say at this time than when they reached there.

“George, you have been distracted lately. Have you met with any trouble?”

Wood certainly knew that for the boss to break precedence and pick him up for training, he was definitely not “passing by.” But he still had to retort back at Twain, “Didn’t you say I was looking for a girlfriend?”

Twain cleared his throat and said, “It... was just a joke. I received a call early this morning. My friend told me that AC Milan has privately contacted you?”

“They didn’t get in touch with me. They just talked to my agent, Woox.”

Twain smiled, “Getting in touch with him the same as contacting you. He’s your agent. A lot of times, he can make decisions on your behalf. I heard AC Milan promises you a lot of favorable terms. Can you tell me about them?”

“The weekly salary is higher. They will give me all my portrait rights. And….”

At this point, Wood hesitated.

“What else?” Twain asked.

“They promised to pay for my mother’s medical treatment.”

Twain sneered in his heart. In order to get the world’s number one defensive midfielder, AC Milan really spared no efforts and knew to start with George’s mother...

But then again, it made sense. They were not fools and would obviously uncover George Wood’s weaknesses.

But Twain had something to say, “George, I’m going to say something that you might not want to hear— Is your mother... Is your mother’s illness a problem can be solved by money?”

With his palms at the steering wheel, Twain turned his head to George Wood, who sat in the front passenger seat.

Wood did not answer the question. He just reminded and said, “Eyes ahead, boss. You’re still driving.”

Twain did not turn his head. He continued to look at Wood and asked, “Do you really think having a lot of money will cure your mother’s illness?”

Wood pursed his lips and did not answer. But the expression on his face was already a little ugly.

“George if you want to make more money, want to play football in a real powerhouse club and become more famous, I understand when you say you want to go to AC Milan. But if you’re doing it for your mother... I can’t agree. Can you cure your mother’s illness by going to Italy? You’re with her every day. You probably know more about the condition of her health than those Italian experts...”

“Stop the car!” Wood suddenly said.

Twain obediently applied the brakes.

Wood twisted around to open the car door.

Twain did not try to stop him either. He just raised his voice at the back and shouted, “George Wood! You know better than anyone else, don’t you?!”

Wood wordlessly opened the car door and jumped out of the car.

“When are you going to stop fantasizing? Can’t you be more realistic?”

The answer to his question was the loud bang of Wood slamming the car door.

Then Twain saw him turn and run in the direction of his house.

Twain did not get out of the car to give chase. He just threw a punch at the steering wheel.

Once he vented a little, he took out his cell phone and gave George Wood’s agent, Billy Woox a call.

“You rarely take the initiative to call me, Mr. Tony Twain.” Came Woox’s sneaky and slick voice on the phone.

But Twain had no time to quibble with him today. He went straight to the point and asked, “Did the people at AC Milan looked for you?”

“You’re very well informed, Mr. Twain.” Woox did not deny it.

“Do you believe their nonsense that they are going to cure Sophia?”

“They are very sincere.”

“Do you think Sophia’s illness can be cured by spending more money?” Twain suppressed his anger.

“It does not matter what I think. What is important is what George thinks.”

“You’d better turn them down.”

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Twain. You are not my employer.”

Twain heard Woox’s leisurely voice and was so angry that he almost threw his phone. But he finally managed to restrain himself. Then his tone softened, “Well, I hope you can persuade George, Mr. Billy Woox. I don’t think his move to AC Milan is a good choice, let alone for that reason...”

Woox did not say yes. He just asked in return, “Did you just talk to George, Mr. Twain?”

“Yeah.”

“It looks like you did not succeed.” Woox lightly chuckled, “Mr. Twain, I think there’s something you’ve never figured out.”

“What is it?”

“When it comes to George, my words are not as effective as yours. How can I persuade him if you can’t even convince him?”

Twain was stunned. He really did not think about this. He always thought that George must listen to what Woox said.

But...

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Why would I lie to you, Mr. Twain? You haven’t even observe this after knowing George for so long?”

Twain was speechless.

“All right, thank you, Mr. Woox.” Twain was completely out of his anger. He hung up, sat dazedly in the car for a while, and drove it to Wilford.

※※※

George Wood did not show up in the morning training. The incident caused a stir within the team—for this was the first time George Wood was absent from the training since he became a member of Nottingham Forest.

Relating to his unusual behavior over the past few days, everyone was speculating if anything had happened to George Wood.

Kerslake came to Twain, because everyone knew that Twain and Wood had the best bond like “a father and son.”

“He had some trouble.” Twain did not tell his assistant manager the truth, “I granted him leave to deal with it.”

“Oh...” Kerslake suddenly realized, “I’ll say. George is not the kind of person who is absent from training for no reason.”

He shook his head and left, while Twain gave a shrug at the back.

After Kerslake relayed the message to the team, everyone’s suspicions subsided slightly, but a new speculation came up—what kind of trouble did George have? That he would need a special leave to deal with it.

Twain glanced at the media who were filming outside the training ground and called Kerslake over. Then he pointed to the reporters and said, “Inform them that the public filming is over and tell them to leave.”

Kerslake nodded and began to send the reporters out.

But the reporters disagreed.

“The fifteen minutes are not up yet. We can continue filming!”

“Mr. Kerslake, I would like to ask why we did not see George Wood among the team?”

“I heard that he recently had been in touch with AC Milan privately. Does his absence from the training this time have anything to do with that?”

“How much money does AC Milan need to offer for George Wood in order for Nottingham Forest to release him?”

“Will selling the team captain cause the fans to complain? Are you worried about this?”

...

They buzzed like a flock of flies and made a din in the corner of the training ground, causing everyone to look over.

Twain finally walked over himself.

“Now is not the time to answer questions, ladies and gentlemen.” His cold look scared some reporters. “Time’s up. Please leave.”

“Mr. Twain, please answer some questions about George Wood’s transfer rumors...”

“That’s all fucking nonsense!” Twain burst out with a cuss word, causing a commotion among the reporters.

“Before my mood turns for the worse, you’d better leave, or I’ll cancel the regular press conference this afternoon.” Having said that, Twain took another look at Pierce Brosnan.

Brosnan understood what he meant. It looked like the exchange between him and George Wood did not go well at all...

He nodded and was the first one to leave.

Other reporters followed him behind and began to disperse one by one.

The last person to leave was Carl Spicer, who deliberately trailed at that back with his Sky TV interview crew. He even smiled brilliantly at Twain when he left.

Twain’s black face had been imprinted in his eyes.

Twain knew that the new installment of <Football Matters...> must have some stuff about him and George Wood. But he did not care about this minutia.

※※※

Sophia was surprised to see her son open the house door and walk in again.

“Forgot to take something?”

George shook his head and sat gasping for breath on the living room couch as soon as he came in. Sophia only then noticed her son’s flushed face and breathlessness.

“What’s the matter, George?” His mother put aside her chore, wiped her hands clean, came to sit down next to Wood and looked at her son with her head tilted.

“Mom, how about we live in a different city for a change?” Wood looked up at his mother.

Sophia was a little surprised, “Why change to another city? We are going well in Nottingham and there’s your job... You want to transfer?” She suddenly understood.

“There’s a club in Italy who wants me to go, and they promise to treat you...”

Sophia looked at Wood seriously and asked, “Why do you play football, George?”

“For your treatment...”

“But I’ll die eventually. Even if I’m no sick, I’ll still die. What are you going to do when I’m gone? Are you going to stop playing football and follow me to death?”

In the face of an increasingly serious-looking Sophia, George Wood was speechless.

“George, it’s your job to play football. You’re playing for yourself, not for me. If you say you want to play in Italy because of your own pay package, I don’t have a problem. But don’t say it’s for me. Do you really want to play in Italy?”

Wood continued to remain silent.

Sophia looked at her son’s pigheadedness and sighed, “To be honest, George... I know my health very well. Spending more money will not cure me. So much of your salary has been used on my health for so many years. And what is the result?” She smiled but looked a little sad.

“Your mom hasn’t thought about that matter for a long time. I just want to see you healthy and happy while I’m still alive. Find a girl, George. You are always single, and that worries me ...”

Wood tried to shake his head, but his mother used her hands to hold him still. Wood stopped shaking the moment he felt his mother’s cool hands on his cheeks.

“Don’t shake your head. If you really have my best interests, then stop being willful, George.”

Wood nodded as he listened to his mother’s gentle but slightly weak voice.

“George, remember. There’s no son in the world who’s always with his mother. People will look at that kind of thing in a different light. You have to have your own life, a life that is completely your own and nothing to do with your mother. Do you understand?”

Wood continued to nod.

Sophia looked at her son and smiled tenderly. She kissed Wood on the cheek and said, “Go to your training, George. Don’t let Mr. Twain wait too long.”

“Mom...” Wood looked at his increasingly frail mother, as if he was worried that he would never see her again when he turned around and went out. “Can I stay with you for half a day? I’ll go to the afternoon training...”

“No, George.” Sophia wagged her finger and said, “You can’t look for an excuse to good off. What makes you succeed, George? What are you worrying about? Go to training, that’s your job.”

Sophia stood up and looked at Wood.

Wood could not bear the look in her eyes, so he stood up and said, “Okay, I’m leaving. Goodbye, Mom.”

Sophia waved at him, “Oh, if you’ve a fight with Mr. Twain, remember to apologize to him. You shouldn’t contradict him.”

“Mom?” Wood was surprised.

“Don’t think I did not see the jeep parked in front of our door.” Sophia winked. “Think about who gave you the chance at that time? He really has your best interests, George.”

Wood nodded again. It was time to say goodbye to his mother and get back out of the door again.

When the door was closed, the smile on Sophia’s face disappeared, and the shining light in her eyes faded, replaced by a low sigh.

※※※

George Wood arrived at the training ground while the training was nearly halfway through. At the moment, no media was around.

His teammates looked curiously at him and Twain.

“I want to apologize to you, boss.” George Wood stood in front of Twain and said with his head bowed, “I shouldn’t...”

Twain interrupted him, “You don’t have to apologize to me. The people who need to accept your apology are all the players on the team. You are the captain and their role model. Everyone’s eyes are on you. What you need to get late for training is the understanding from them, and not from me.” Twain waved his hands and said, “Go and apologize to them.”

So, George Wood obediently walked up to his teammates who were training. Twain signaled to Kerslake to stop the training and gather everyone to listen to Wood apologize.

“I would like to apologize for my lateness to training to everyone. I’m sorry that I’m late for training as the captain...” Wood spoke slowly to make sure everyone could hear what he said.

His teammates opposite him all had different expressions on their faces. Some of them had a sudden realization, some looked confused and some looked expressionless.

After Wood’s apology, Twain stepped forward to announce the rule for George Wood’s penalty—he would be on the substitutes’ bench for the first round of the league tournament because he was late for training. At the same time, he would be fined ten thousand pounds. In addition, the training program had been delayed due to his lateness which must be supplemented by additional training.

No one disagreed. Not even George Wood would ask for privileges because he was captain. The discipline that Twain had always emphasized was fully reflected at this moment.

※※※

At the regular press conference in the afternoon, the media, which was scolded by Twain in the morning, intended to collectively give him a show of strength—after the press officer walked into the conference with Twain to announce the official start of the press conference, these reporters left their seats in succession. Within a very short period of time, they all left the venue! In the instant, there was only Pierce Brosnan left in the press room...

The press officer’s face looked extremely embarrassed. Even Pierce Brosnan did not expect his peers to actually do such a thing... He turned around and looked back at the two men on the stage.

The surprised expression appeared only on Twain’s face at first, and he soon masked it.

Now he was smiling at the empty press conference.

“Mr. Reporter, do you have any questions to ask?” He said to Brosnan, who sat in the middle.

“Ah... Oh, uh...” Brosnan still had not recovered from the shock that this scene had caused him.

Twain whispered to the press officer, who strode to the door. He did not want to let what he was about to say be heard by the ears outside the door. Since they wanted to play this game, then they should not expect to receive any news!

The door was closed with a heavy sound and the reporters waiting at the door, retreated as if startled by the sound of gunfire.

“Well, Mr. Brosnan. You don’t have to be nervous. There are only the two of us here now. You can ask any questions you want. I’ll tell you all that I know and hold nothing back. This is to thank you for giving me special preferential treatment by tipping me off!” Twain sat on the stage and smilingly looked at Pierce Brosnan.

“Well, okay. George Wood and AC Milan...”

“He’ll stay at Nottingham Forest and not go anywhere.” Twain interrupted Brosnan’s question and said, “He’s the red flag of Nottingham Forest. Have you ever seen an army that lost its flag? You can tell the Forest fans to put their minds at ease. Their captain has never considered abandoning them. Whether it was before, now or in the future, he will be here. You might as well give him the ‘Robin Hood’ label. Anyway, he has plenty of labels, this will only be just one more. Have you ever seen Robin Hood leave Sherwood Forest? No? Me neither. Robin Hood is the only one. Sherwood Forest has meaning because of Robin Hood, but a Robin Hood who leaves Sherwood Forest will not be Robin Hood.”

Chapter 753 - A Sigh

During the press conference, Twain promised Pierce Brosnan that George Wood was definitely staying at the club. However, he only said so to placate the team and the fans. He did not know if Wood was going to stay at the club either. He was not foolish enough to think that Wood had a change of heart simply because he came back to practice.

This whole issue between him and Wood was yet to be over.

Tony Twain has to speak to Wood. This time, they need to speak in an environment that was peaceful, and they both need to be frank and open with their thoughts so as to be able to solve what was going on between them.

Twain was definitely not going to tell Wood that his mother was doomed to die, and that he should give up on treatment for his mother. He just wanted to tell Wood that he has to be more realistic. Nottingham Forest had tried their best to provide Sophia with treatment in the past, and they even sent her to America where the treatment methods were the most advanced.

But what was the result of it all?

She experienced terminal lucidity for a while, and that was it.

Of course, Twain needs to be more tactful with his words this time round unlike how he spoke during the rushed conversation that they had on the car previously.

All he wanted to tell Wood was that he could not take AC Milan’s promise seriously. He can’t grow up if he keeps on living in his fantasies. They are both well aware of Sophia’s current condition. All they have not done is to turn their thoughts into words and openly express them.

AC Milan might offer more money to find better doctors and a better hospital, but what George Wood feel if Sophia were to go to Italy and still not recover?

The bigger your hopes, the bigger your disappointment.

Twain was worried that Wood would not be able to get over it afterwards. He knew what Wood was like. He might act like a grown-up most of the time, but he was still like a child on certain things. Without his mother and Twain beside him, Twain felt like Wood might sink into depression if he were to face the greatest setback of his life alone.

George Wood is the only driving force that keeps Sophia alive. Who is to say that Sophia isn’t the only driving force that keeps Wood alive?

However, the situation could not go on like this any longer. It might be brutal of him to say it like this, but all humans have to grow up eventually. Since no one wishes to be the ‘bad guy’, then Twain, who is ‘rotten to the bone’, will take up the role. It was also why he said those hurtful words to Wood in the car.

Now was the time for the two of them to have a calm and deep conversation. The topic might be brutal, but everyone has to face the brutality of life someday.

We have to learn to face life’s brutality head on, and not hide ourselves in the fantasies that we have constructed forever.

Whose life isn’t brutal?

I transmigrated all the way to England for no particular reason and I lost my father and mother as a result. Is this not brutal? If all I did was to escape from this brutal life of mine, then how can I live on? I might as well tie a rock to myself and then jump into the English Channel.

In the 24 years of George Wood’s life, he never lacked motherly love. The only thing he did not even get to enjoy a second of was fatherly love. The notion of ‘father’ was something that was distant and foreign to him. In his life, he has never experienced the impact that a ‘father’ brings.

Twain did not mind being his ‘father’. He was a character who was so strict it could be considered a little too demanding, and a character who was brutal.

“I need to apologize to you, George.” Twain did not beat around the bush the moment they met.

Wood looked at him and said nothing. He listened to his mother’s words and apologized to Twain, but he still felt a little queasy inside.

“You are still angry about the words I told you that day right?”

“I thought you understood the relationship I have with my mother.”

“Of course I do. Actually, I understand it better than you think…” Twain threw out his hands. “I know that my words will make you feel uncomfortable. But don’t misinterpret me. I also hope that your mother can live on healthily. I don’t doubt that there is a possibility that this might happen. Every single year, you spend millions of pounds from your yearly salary on her and that acts as the economic base for this whole issue.”

Twain observed Wood’s reaction after saying those words. He realized that Wood did not exhibit feelings of repulsion, so he went on to say, “Do you believe in miracles, George?”

“Miracle?” Wood thought about it. Before he went to bed each night, he would wish that he would be able to wake up the next day and see his mother sitting by the side of his bed with a smile. She would tell him, ‘George, my body has recovered!’

Does this count as a ‘miracle’?

If this counts as a miracle, then he has believed in it since the day he became sensible, for close to 20 years.

But it never came true even once.

Should he believe in it? Should he not believe in it?

“I still remember that time when we sent your mother to America for treatment. The doctor who diagnosed her was very surprised and indicated your mother should not have been able to live till then based on her condition…” Twain slowly recounted the story that Wood has never heard of before.

Twain still vividly remembers the look of consternation on the doctor’s face, because he too, was very surprised after hearing his words. The doctor told everyone present at the scene that Sophia should have died after giving birth to Wood. She lost a lot of blood while trying to give birth to Wood, and she did not have any nutrients in her body after giving birth. This caused her face and lips to appear pale and devoid of color. Almost every single incident in her life since then was like a ‘poison’ that could lead to her sudden death.

Evan was also very surprised. He asked Twain, who was closest to Sophia, if it was true.

The first thing that came to Twain’s mind was George Wood. He nodded his head. “She has something that works better than any doctor or medicine… And it is supporting her life.”

“It’s you, George.” Twain told Wood who was sitting in front of him. “Your mother believes in miracles. But her miracle isn’t any of those medical equipment, doctors or medicine. It’s you, her son. You are the essence of her life and you allow her life to continue on. You are her miracle. Do you know why your mother never had a religion despite being in such a difficult situation? It’s because you are her God, George.”

Wood had lowered his head without Twain realizing, and said nothing in response. Twain could not see his expression and he could only guess what Wood must be feeling based on his gut feeling.

“This joke is not funny…” Wood’s voice was a little low.

“Unfortunately, George. Those are all words that your mother told me personally.” Twain looked at Wood, who had his head lowered, with an utterly serious expression.

Before she was pushed into the operating room, Sophia suddenly grabbed hold of Twain’s hand. There was a dim light that shimmered in her irises as she looked at him with her raven black eyes.

Her voice sounded a little weak, and so Twain had to bend over his body and place his ear beside her lips to listen to her murmurs.

“Other than George… I actually don’t have anything else that I worry about, Mr. Twain… He’s my baby and I just can’t help but worry about him. If I…”

Twain squeezed her icy cold hand. “You will be fine, Sophia. You are just going to sleep for a while. Don’t entrust such an important to me. I’m not a careful person. I’m always forgetting things. I will mess a lot of things up… You have to be the one to care of the thing that you cherish the most. You have to live on no matter what for George.”

Two streaks of tears rolled down from the corners of Sophia’s moist eyes.

Twain smiled at her and said, “Whenever I lead my team, I will always tell my players, including your son, that I don’t want them to choose to give up on attaining success, no matter how tough a situation they might find themselves in. ‘Never admit defeat’ and ‘can’t lose’ are all words that people use to scold me, but I think those words are the best forms of compliment towards me. I take pride in being what they scold me for. Now, I’m going to say those same words to you, Sophia. No matter what happens, don’t admit defeat and don’t give up. You have to keep living on no matter how tough it might be. Isn’t that how you managed to pull through for the past 18 years? Now that your son has become a professional footballer and is making a lot of money, your life has also become much better than before. What other reason do you have to give up on the thing that you cherish the most? You have to live on, not for anyone else, but for George and for yourself.”

Sophia nodded her head as tears continued to roll down her face.

She released her grip on Twain’s hand and was wheeled into the operating room.

Twain noticed that Wood’s head had been lowered further.

“The operation was very dangerous. It lasted for 12 hours.”

After going quiet for a moment, Twain continued, “I am not opposed to you letting your mother undergo treatment. A huge chunk of your yearly salary is spent on it after all. You have visited many countries in the past to try and treat your mother. Maybe Italy is a choice that you can consider as well? I don’t know. The only reason why I am stopping you from leaving is because I don’t believe that AC Milan would be able to deliver their promise. Of course…” He looked at Wood. “I admit I’m much more realistic than you when it comes to such things. I might even be too realistic that I become a little too callous… But if you still insist on trying things out at Italy after our conversation today, you can put in a transfer request and I’d let you go. I’m just giving you a suggestion. Whether or not you take it up is up to you. Think about it, when your ex-team mates all wanted to leave the club, who did I manage to keep?”

Twain threw out his hands and laughed self-derisively.

That’s right, it all started from Michael Dawson to the recent Bendtner. When has he ever succeeded in keeping a player that he wanted to keep?

I’m just a f*cking cat’s-paw from head to toe.

They call me the ‘King’ who dictates who lives and dies? What a joke. Those are nothing more than the media’s antics in trying to hype things up. You guys actually believe in it?

That’s strange, wasn’t I supposed to be persuading Wood to stay in the club? Why am I persuading him to leave now?

This isn’t right…

“Uhh… No… I actually don’t wish for you to go, George. We should use another method to solve this. You want to find the best doctor, the best hospital and the best medicine and equipment to treat your mother, right? What makes you think Nottingham Forest can’t fork out the same amount of money that AC Milan has promised you? Their laboratory at Milan is a place that only treats sports injuries. It is not a place that treats the illness that your mother is suffering from. Why must you go to Italy? Isn’t it the same no matter where you go?”

After making one big round, Twain had finally found his ‘main idea’.

He was almost duped by AC Milan. AC Milan promised to provide treatment for Wood’s mother regardless of the costs involved, but they never said that the treatment would be performed in Italy. They were just hoping to attract George Wood’s attraction and make themselves look more favorable in his eyes by showing him kindness. They can then reach a personal agreement with the player, which would aid in their all-out attack on the club…

Isn’t that a method that he uses all the time?

AC Milan’s offer was not something decisive. As long as Nottingham Forest Football Club puts an identical offer on the table, then George Wood is the one who gets to have the final say on the matter.

Can Nottingham Forest present the same offer as AC Milan?

Without a doubt.

In truth, after the previous surgery, the surgeon had told them that Sophia’s body was extremely weak, and if they wanted to let her live for a longer period of time, then she should not undergo anymore surgeries in the future. She should instead take expensive medicine to sustain her life. The money needed for those medicine is peanuts to Nottingham Forest.

What a calm conversation this turned out to be…

Actually, the one who calmed down was him. Twain realized that once he had calmed down, he was able to see that AC Milan actually posed no threat to him. He was the one who had almost messed things up in his anxiety.

The hell!

Did you think that the whole world was against you? You almost lost yourself there!

Twain stopped talking and looked quietly at Wood as he waited for a reply from him.

After a while, Wood’s gloomy voice rang out once again. “I never said I wanted to go to Italy.”

“Huh?” Twain thought he had misheard things.

“I’ve never said I wanted to go to Italy all this while.” Wood finally raised his head. His eyes were red, but there were no tear streaks on his face.

Twain opened his mouth wide and stared blankly at Wood. He thought he was looking at an alien.

The confrontation went on for a while before Twain suddenly burst out, “You bastard!” He was not angry. He had only yelled because he just realized that Wood had not told him or the media the he wished to go to Italy…

The truth was that he was actually the bastard here, but Twain was a man of pride. He could never bear to tell Wood that.

“All right, looks like I jumped the gun and was too full of myself…” The man of pride still lowered his head. “I’ll apologize to you. Will you accept it?”

Wood shook his head. “It’s not like whatever you said didn’t make sense…”

There was another man of pride right here.

Now that they have gotten most of what they wanted to discuss about out of the way, it was time to discuss some other personal issues…

“George, I’m telling you this seriously. It’s really time for you to start thinking about your love life. Your mother really hopes to be able to see you stop being single. How much longer do you want her to wait?”

Wood went quiet for a moment and then said, “I haven’t found one yet…”

“What kind of girl are you looking for? I can get Shania to introduce a few girls to you. It’s not a problem if you happen to be looking for supermodels or movie stars.” Twain said jokingly.

“Someone like my mum.”

George Wood’s honest answer nearly caused Twain to puke blood.

He inhaled deeply to calm himself down, then he exhaled sharply.

This lad’s love life…

Let’s just leave it all to fate!

※※※

To Twain, the ‘triangle story’ between him, George Wood and AC Milan had concluded. However, to the reporters who would only wish for the world to be in chaos, the story had only just begun.

Twain kept them outside the door, but actually, they were the ones who had run out. Nonetheless, being kept outside the door did not hamper them from making up a news story.

Why would George Wood miss out on training? He might have turned up afterwards, but it remains a fact that he was late for training. There must be a hidden reason behind Twain suddenly throwing a temper. He must be pissed off that AC Milan was courting George Wood. One cannot help but let their imagination roam wild after connecting Twain’s loss of self-control and George Wood’s lateness to the training session together.

Could the man known as Nottingham Forest’s most loyal warrior also face a day where he cannot resist temptation and would end up betraying his country?

This is definitely groundbreaking news!

The next day, reports about how George Wood was definitely on his way out of the team began surfacing in all the various media outlets. The reporters were all positive that Wood would transfer to AC Milan, and they gave life to all sorts of inside stories regarding the potential transfer. It was as though the reporters were invisible and had followed George Wood and Adriano Galliani 24/7. There was no room for doubt from the readers.

“… Why would George Wood be late for training for the very first time in his career? We have to remember that he is the model player in the team when it comes to discipline. It must be because he is upset with Twain’s decision in not letting him transfer over to AC Milan, and so him not turning up for training on time is actually a form of protest against Twain. Back then when the Malinese player Mahamadou Diarra wanted to transfer from Lyon to Real Madrid, Jean-Michel Aulas refused to let him go. Diarra refused to turn up for training and also threatened that he would retire if they did not let him go to Real Madrid. Looks like George Wood might have learned a thing or two from him…”

“It is easy to see why Tony Twain would be so furious. His most trusted star player was going to betray him. Every single person in this world would be furious. Word has it that AC Milan had offered an astronomical price for George Wood. Coupled with the fact that Wood’s manager Billy Woox is also coaxing him to make the switch over… It must be hard for George Wood to not feel tempted…”

“Yesterday, Tony Twain lost self-control by the side of the pitch. The reason for that clearly has something to do with the troubles that he has faced lately. George Wood is being seduced by AC Milan’s high salary and he cannot find a good way to deal with it. To make matters worse, Wood deliberately turns up to training late as a way of expressing his stand. So…”

The next day, Nottingham Forest faced Fulham in the first match of the new season.

The media was ‘surprised’ to find that George Wood sitting on the bench!

The entire scene felt as though it had been set up to allow the media to include a footnote in their news articles.

“George Wood did not pick up an injury recently. Additionally, the Premier League had only just begun, surely he has no issues with his stamina either… No, even if the Premier League had progressed to Christmas, Wood would not have stamina issues. As for his form? Have we ever heard of a time when this monster was not in form? Then why has George Wood been put on the bench? The answer is clear as day!”

The commentator was speculating excitedly. If George Wood, who had put in sublime performance during the World Cup, left Nottingham Forest for AC Milan, it would undoubtedly become the most sensational transfer of this summer.

A banner calling for the club to keep George Wood had been hung up at the stands of the City Ground stadium. The whole scene gave off the impression that the player was really on his way out.

On Forest fans’ forums, there were extreme fans who chastised Wood for becoming Judas who would betray everything for money, and there were also loyal fans of Wood who came out to defend their idol. Both parties had a heated debate online over Wood.

Honestly, if they wanted to understand the truth behind the matter, all they had to do was to listen to what Twain or Wood had to say.

Unfortunately, Twain’s relationship with the media had soured a few days ago, and he had rejected all media interviews, barring Nottingham Evening Post. At the same time, he did not allow the media to get close to his players either. Even when he answered Brosnan’s questions, he refused to bring up anything related to George Wood. His actions puzzled others.

As for George Wood?

Even if the media managed to get a hold of him through other means, he would not answer any questions regarding his transfer to AC Milan. He made use of the two things that he was good at, that being silence and his poker face, to answer all of those questions.

After the match commenced, the screen cut multiple times to the face of George Wood who say on the bench. His expressionless face was interpreted by the commentators to be a face that showed ‘discontent towards Tony Twain’.

The commentator mentioned numerous times during the match, “If George Wood has already reached an agreement with AC Milan, then Twain would not even give him a minute of game time before he leaves. This might be the very last time we get to see him in the City Ground stadium.”

“In the past, both Tony Twain and George Wood were people that others discussed about enthusiastically. The relationship that they had between them was like that of a father and a son, and was akin to the one that Ferguson shared with Beckham back then. Twain transformed Wood from a porter living in a slum into a superstar living in a mansion, whereas Wood helped Twain earn the glory of becoming a champion that he so ardently coveted. The two of them were like the best partners in the Premier League. But this best partnership between them is able to meet its end. Loyalty and glory are no match against the temptation of money… I suddenly feel a little sorry for Tony Twain…”

The Twain who was being sympathized with was currently standing by the side of the pitch with a solemn expression on his face as he instructed the team. His team was caught in a deadlock with Fulham at the moment. The score was 1:1, and based on the situation on the pitch right now, no one knows who would win the match just yet.

The commentator went back to his job after sympathizing with Twain.

“Without George Wood, Nottingham Forest lacks some toughness in the midfield and their ability to control the midfield has also gone down. Tiago is not on the same level as George Wood. Moreover, he is getting on with his age and his condition is going on the decline every single day. If I were Twain, I would see him this summer. ?ahin lacks protection up front while he keeps giving the ball away. How can Forest put together an attack?”

“Ibi?evi? has yet to fully blend in with the team and as the striker, he lacks a bit of assistance up front. Cohen is putting in an average performance, but he might be a little too honest as someone who should be assisting in the offense… Nottingham Forest needs some kind of inspiration or some kind of spark. Maybe Twain should put the Chilean on?”

The first half ended with the score of 1:1.

In the second half, Twain did not make any changes and continued using his current team and set-up.

On the 67th minute, Nottingham Forest went into the lead just three minutes before the time that the commentator conjectured that Twain would make a substitution.

Eastwood abruptly kicked the ball from outside the penalty box, and caught Fulham’s goalkeeper Diego Pani off guard. The goalkeeper did not expect Eastwood to do a long shot from where he was without making a run. It was already too late when he made the dive to the side, and he could only watch as the ball flew into the net behind him.

The City Ground stadium burst out into cheers for the second time of the day, as the fans celebrated Eastwood’s goal.

“A brilliant goal! Eastwood has maintained his excellent form from last season! Twain has been looking for a forward this whole summer, but I must say that he already has a talented forward right by his side!”

“The Romani Rooney has helped put Nottingham Forest in the lead with his brace!”

Twain, who had his face scrunched up all along, finally found a reason to vent his emotions. He flung his arms out as he dashed out of the technical area, and hugged the people around him.

The screen cut to Wood once again. They wanted to see how the Nottingham Forest captain, who appeared to be a part of the team but has his heart elsewhere, would react to the goal.

Wood stood by the side of the pitch, and were applauding the goal alongside the other substitutes.

The scene looked harmonious, but to those with a hidden agenda, the scene looked like one of ‘feigned harmony’ instead…

※※※

After Eastwood helped the team regain their lead, Twain finally brought on Matías Fernández for Cohen, and also took ?ahin off for Bostock. There were no changes to the team formation and tactics, however.

Towards the end of the match, Twain took off Ibi?evi?, who had put in an average performance for the match, and brought on van Nistelrooy in his stead. Van Nistelrooy had been out of action for the past year and a half, and he received a standing ovation from the fans the moment he made an appearance.

In truth, Twain had not taken Ibi?evi? off because he was upset with his performance, because he himself did not know what kind of performance van Nistelrooy would put in either. Rather, he only put van Nistelrooy on the pitch to allow him to make a public appearance at their home grounds. Nottingham Forest’s next two matches were all away games.

Ibi?evi?’s head was drooped and he looked crestfallen when he went off the pitch. He had tried his hardest to score a goal on his debut for Nottingham Forest because he wanted to prove his abilities, and he also wanted to prove that Tony Twain was right to buy him for the team. However, it seemed like the Premier League was truly very different from the Bundesliga.

Twain shook his hands and told him, “Well done, Ibi.”

Ibi?evi? looked a little disenchanted and said nothing. He just shook Twain’s hands and panted as he sat on the bench.

The boss has a bet with someone regarding how I would score 20 goals this season. I’ve played 88 minutes for my first match of the season and I’ve scored none, but he still looks relaxed. I really don’t know what’s on his mind.

Twain used up his last possible substitution by bringing on van Nistelrooy. This also meant that George Wood would definitely not be making an appearance in the match.

The commentator could not stop talking on and on while on air, “It looks like the conflict between Twain and Wood has been utterly publicized. Twain has not even let Wood get up to warm up throughout this match. It seems like he never had the intention of letting Wood get on the pitch from the start! This brings me back to the 2008-09 season, when Bendtner kicked up a fuss with Twain when he was adamant about going to Manchester City. Twain dropped Bendtner from the players’ list, and sent him home to watch TV while the team competed on their home grounds. Based on what we have seen so far, perhaps tomorrow is the day we will get to know the final outcome of this transfer rumor?”

The reporters sitting at the press box had already started coming up with different kinds of sensational titles that would attract readers after watching the match.

‘The Steel Soldier Lands in Milan!’

‘St George Blesses Milan!”

‘The Seven-year Itch! Tony Twain and George Wood Officially Part Ways!’

‘Father and Son Turned Rivals. The Warmth in Their Relationship Has Dissipated…’

One cannot help but admit that a person needs to be imaginative to be able to work in the news industry. If not, the person cannot last in the job.

In the end, Nottingham Forest got a narrow 2:1 win over Fulham on their first match of the new season, owing to Eastwood’s goals in the first and second halves.

※※※

The City Ground stadium’s press room was teeming with people. Numerous reporters from different media outlets had all gathered under one roof for the post-match press conference.

What they cared about was not the outcome of the match. Roy Hodgson, the manager of Fulham who went against Forest earlier, was just like air in the reporters’ eyes.

All the reporters had their arms raised during the segment where they could freely ask questions. They were all eager to ask Twain if his act of leaving George Wood on the bench meant that the two had officially fallen out with each other, and that George Wood would soon be on a flight over to Milan.

However, an unexpected scene happened, that no one, not even the press officer present at the scene, saw it coming.

Twain looked at the outstretched hands that seemed to form a forest beneath him. He then snatched the job of the press officer for himself. He picked up the microphone and told the reporters with a smile, “There is something I need to declare before you ask your questions. I will not accept any questions from any media outlet besides Nottingham Evening Post. If you do not want to tire your arms out, then I suggest that you put them all down now. If not, even if you do get picked by the press officer, I will just pretend that I didn’t hear them. Have I made myself clear? With that being said, Mr. Pierce, do you have any questions?”

Pierce Brosnan did not stand up to ask questions, however. He was shocked by Twain’s decision, just like the rest of the reporters.

Tony Twain intends to shut out almost all the media outlets in Britain. Does he know what it means to go against the all the media outlets in the country?

After Twain had finished those words of his, the reporters sitting below went into a frenzy. Chaos broke out at the scene as the reporters clamored.

Twain stood up and shrugged his shoulders. “Looks like no one has any questions. If that’s the case, then goodbye.” Before he left, he did not forget to shake the hand of the unlucky Roy Hodgson who had been dragged into the conflict between Twain and the reporters. Hogson looked at Twain with bulged eyes when he did, and clearly did not understand what was going on.

Afterwards, Twain spun around, looking confident and at ease. It was his turn to play the reporters, just like how they had played him two days ago.

One of the reporters shook their heads as they watched him disappear out the door.

“This Tony Twain… He’s back!”

“Who does he think he is?” Someone yelled out in anger. “What right does he have to treat us like this?”

“Don’t be foolish, young one.” An older reporter told off the reporter who had just complained. “He doesn’t need us to put money in his pockets. Of course he can treat us in that way. As long as the board of the club trusts him, then he will have the guts to do that. On the contrary, we are the pitiful ones. We have to rely on him for our money…”

His words elicited sighs from all those around him.

Tony Twain was an out-and-out ‘newsmaker’. He is always able to play the media in the palm of his hand. The media hates him to the core, but they are unable to leave his side for even a moment. Twain carried controversy with him wherever he went, but that did not seem to diminish his charisma in the slightest.

It was grievous for the British reporters, who have gotten used to being arrogant all this while, to meet a person like Twain.

They were ‘kings without a crown’, whereas Tony Twain was a ‘king’ who had been officially crowned in the City Ground stadium.

※※※

Even though the press conference ended on a bad note, the reporters were not worried that they would have nothing to write about. Besides hyping up the whole incident whereby Twain was rude to the reporters during the press conference, the reporters also focused on publicizing the ‘rift’ between George Wood and Twain.

If a reader only read the articles about Nottingham Forest for the past two days, then it was likely that they would think that George Wood harbored a deep hatred for Twain. The word ‘vendetta’ could be aptly used to describe the situation between the both of them at the moment.

As for the Italian media, La Gazzetta dello Sport was unable to contain their excitement for the transfer and they had impatiently ‘photoshopped’ an image of George Wood wearing AC Milan’s red and black-striped jersey. They indicated that George Wood was already in Adriano Galliani’s bag in their article.

Galliani, the old fox, exhibited caution and optimism despite the obvious advantage that he had in the situation.

He told the media, “We admit that we are interested in buying George Wood, but as for whether or not he’d be able to join our club, the decision lies not with us but with Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest Football Club. It’d be best if he is able to come. He is a great player. I believe he’d be able to attain the same level of success… No, even greater levels of success at San Siro.”

In comparison to the ‘caution’ displayed by Galliani, which was nothing more than a botched attempt at covering up the truth, the ‘caution’ that was displayed by Carlo Ancelotti was definitely him being cautious with the transfer.

“I don’t know, I am not responsible for handling his transfer. If the club is really able to sign him as a player, then I’d certainly welcome him with all my heart. His arrival at our club would definitely help us go one level higher… I hope he can come, but before he is here at our club, I can’t say anything else.”

Kaka, who was a representative for the players at the club, represented the San Siro’s locker room and welcomed George Wood to the club, “Milan’s locker room is just like a big family. Everyone gets along well, and we are all happy, like how a family should be. I believe George would come to love this place. It’s okay if he doesn’t know how to speak Italian. I can speak to him in Portuguese, and I can even be his interpreter for free.” Kaka smiled as he finished saying those words. “I really admire him as a player. George is the most outstanding defensive midfielder in the world right now, and we need a player like him at our club. To be honest, I think the same way as Fàbregas. The opponent whom I do not wish to encounter the most in a match is George Wood.”

Rumor has it that George Wood really likes his number 13. However, this number currently belongs to AC Milan’s senior full back, Alessandro Nesta.

Nesta would definitely not give up on his own number, but he mentioned during a interview, “I like the number 13. But I’m already 34 this year. I think I’d be very happy to see George Wood wear my number 13 shirt after I have retired.”

Therefore, as long as George Wood bears with a non-number 13 shirt for two seasons, then he would definitely be able to get the number 13 shirt that he liked.

There have been loads of high-sounding words that have been said in reference to George Wood. It seemed as though the entire AC Milan, from the board to the players, are all prepared and ready to welcome George Wood’s arrival at the club.

However, the truth was that all that had happened at that point of time was that Billy Woox had agreed to help Galliani convince Wood to join AC Milan, and he had told the club to wait for further news.

A few days went by since then, and neither Wood or Woox gave Galliani a reply, not even an ambiguous one.

※※※

Another day passed by after Forest’s last match, and the rumors surrounding George Wood’s transfer continued to escalate, despite how Brosnan had published an article as the ‘spokesperson of Nottingham Forest’, which claimed that George Wood was not going anywhere in an interview with Tony Twain.

The article had been interpreted by many to be one of ‘Tony Twain living in denial’.

All he is doing is nothing more than a final struggle before death. Didn’t he also publicly announce that Bendtner wasn’t going anywhere when the latter wanted to go to Manchester City?

His behavior is just like that of a girl who is about to sleep with a guy, and she acts all shy and embarrassed during foreplay and keeps going ‘no’ or ‘you can’t’ or ‘don’t’, but in the end she still gives in and just pants away underneath the man…

We have already seen through him!

When George Wood’s open letter got published in the Nottingham Evening Post however, all these media outlets that have been hyping up his transfer went silent.

“I would like to offer my apologies to all the Nottingham Forest fans and my team mates for the events that have happened in this period of time. I would like to reiterate my loyalty to the club to all of Nottingham Forest’s fans through the Nottingham Evening Post. I will not be going anywhere besides Nottingham Forest. I am a player that has been groomed by Forest, and this is where I belong. I am the captain, and I am not going anywhere.

Your Captain, George Wood.”

That was all that was written in the letter.

There were no criticisms against the media for adding fuel to the fire, and he also did not use any words to describe how deep a relationship he had with Tony Twain. Wood also did not mention AC Milan’s name in his letter, despite how they are the other party involved in his transfer saga.

If it was any other player, he would most likely have included a few words to express his gratitude and happiness that a big club like AC Milan was interested in him. However, Wood only focused on issues involving him and only conveyed his own thoughts.

The way the letter was written was just like how George Wood usually speaks and thinks.

Nottingham Evening Post’s editors did a great job. They published Tony Twain’s article right beneath George Wood’s open letter.

Twain mocked the media without restraint for assuring their readers that ‘George Wood had already transferred to AC Milan’, that ‘the transfer was just pending confirmation from both clubs’, and that ‘the relationship between Tony Twain and George Wood had reached its end and the two will remain foes from now on out’.

“… George has reached a total agreement with me over how he would continue to stay at Nottingham Forest. He has never thought of leaving the club, and it was just pending confirmation from the both of us. You lot just want to see me break up with George Wood right? I know what you lot are thinking. But I’m sorry everyone… You have all been played by me! Ahahahaha!”

Twain’s words slapped almost all the British media outlets on their faces. The sounds of the slaps were so crisp and loud that they were able to travel from the English Channel all the way to Italy.

Galliani had to thank himself for always being cautious, while Ancelotti did not dare to act like ‘he knew a long time ago’ in the club. Nesta did not worry about having to retire when he was 36 either, and there was a possibility that he might be able to keep playing in the club for a bit more time. The one who was in the most awkward position was Kaka.

“… This is what football is like. We never know what’s going to happen in the next second until the end. However, I am a little disappointed that I am not able to play football with him…” Kaka replied a little resentfully during his interview with the Italian media.

Perhaps it is not AC Milan that Kaka should complain about, but the Brazilian Football Confederation instead.

Back when George Wood was just an up and coming star, there was actually a fight between Brazil, Jamaica and England over which team he should represent as his national team.

Jamaica was the most zealous and warmhearted of the three. Sophia’s parents might not acknowledge her as their daughter, but the Jamaica Football Federation was willing to acknowledge her son as one of them. However, George Wood flatly told the country that had no future in World Football ‘no’ after consulting Twain.

His final choice was England, not only because he was born in England, but because he had the deepest understanding about England, and it was only natural for him to want to play football for England.

Additionally, there was also another important reason that led to his decision to play for England. It was that the Brazilian Football Confederation responded very coldly to the entire issue.

There are a lot of Brazilian football players playing football throughout the world. You might not get selected to play for the Brazilian national team even if you are a football player born and raised in Brazil. Didn’t Aílton Gon?alves da Silva keep on demanding that he wanted to switch nationalities and play for Qatar instead? Did anyone actually cared about him?

What’s so good about some up and rising star from the Premier League? We have our hands full just with picking all the players that we have at our disposal. Who cares about a lad like you who only carries a little Brazilian blood in you? Also, your skills are so poor. There’s no use for players like you other than the fact that you have a bit of physiciality…

Brazil doesn’t want a player like that.

Several years later at the 2010 World Cup, the Brazilian team led by Dunga was eliminated in the semifinals, and they lost to their bitter rivals Argentine. Dunga blamed the loss on how they failed to find that defensive midfielder that would help the team solidify their defense. Neither Anderson, Lucas Leiva nor Renato could live up to what he wanted in a defensive midfielder, whereas Argentine had Javier Mascherano in that position.

It was only during the match against England for the third and fourth place in the World Cup that he noticed the player wearing the number 13 shirt. George Wood, whose defending had caused Kaka to disappear from the game, was exactly the ‘Dunga Jr.’ that he was looking for.

Sadly, the man who had Brazilian blood in him and could even speak Portuguese was already a British through and through.

After the match, when Dunga was summarizing the World Cup, he said, with a little bit of grievance and mostly regret, “If we had George Wood on our team, then we would have had 6 stars on our chest!”

There were media outlets in Brazil that berated the Brazilian Football Confederation’s president, Ricardo Teixeira, for his decisions during the time when George Wood was still deciding the national team he would play for.

But what good does it do to say such words now?

Kaka softly sighed at the end of his interview.

Chapter 754 - Football at Nottingham Forest

Galliani sincerely wanted to persuade George Wood to join AC Milan but did not think for Twain to spoil things in the end and turn it into a farce.

George Wood did not come, and even wasted half a month of AC Milan’s precious time. Now that the summer transfer window was closing, Gattuso’s successor had yet to be found.

Ancelotti’s gloomy face was now even gloomier. If Galliani and Braida failed to find him a new defensive midfielder, then AC Milan’s plans for the league title in the new season would definitely be dashed.

Galliani also knew what kind of players the team needed and that was what made him better than the former Real Madrid’s director of football, Mijatovi?.

The candidate, Blasi that Ancelotti had brought up earlier could also be considered but Galliani did not put all his eggs in a basket this time. He looked for two other players while the team contacted Blasi’s agent.

The first was a defensive midfielder who shone at Sporting Lisbon and closely watched by a number of powerhouse clubs— Miguel Veloso.

The second was Liverpool’s steadfast mainstay player and defensive midfielder, Mascherano who was instrumental in Argentina’s World Cup title win this summer.

In terms of actual value, Mascherano was a step ahead of Veloso and much more than George Wood because he won the World Cup title. The prevailing saying in the football world now was that Veloso was still a little young while Mascherano and George Wood were already excellent and seasoned defensive midfielders. Both of whom were arguably the best defensive midfielders in the world.

Galliani’s intention was that while it was difficult to buy Mascherano, the Argentine was not the captain of Anfield in any case and was unlikely to be not for sale. Then as long as there was money, it could be easily dealt with. He did not want George Wood as Wood’s position in the Forest team determined that the deal would be difficult regardless of how much money AC Milan had.

Galliani leaned toward Mascherano.

But Liverpool vowed not to let the Argentine go to AC Milan, even though they already had Lucas, the Brazilian defensive midfielder.

Time was running out and the deal with Mascherano was in a deadlock due to Liverpool’s lack of cooperation. However, things were progressing well in Portugal. Veloso had long wanted to leave Sporting Lisbon but did not leave last summer because his agent and the club agreed that his value should rise after he played in the UEFA European Championship, so he was advised to stay on in Portugal. The just ended World Cup was a good time to move to a big club.

Sporting Lisbon also believed that the sale of Veloso at this time might result in a high transfer fee, so there was no entanglement of the issue in not letting him go. The negotiation went straight into talking about the transfer fee. Veloso himself was delighted to join a world-class club like AC Milan, where there were more fans, more attention and more honors. Joining AC Milan was an important step for him toward becoming a world-class star player.

Eventually Galliani and Braida had to abandon their pursuit of Mascherano and sign Veloso.

On August 25th, AC Milan announced that they had signed the Portuguese national team’s main defensive midfielder, Miguel Veloso.

The curtain finally dropped on the series of dramatic transfers that began from George Wood.

※※※

Ever since Wood’s statement was published in the papers, Twain was no longer concerned with the fact that AC Milan had bought George Wood’s substitute. It was all the same to him whether Galliani bought Veloso or Mascherano. He was going to lead the team to the second leg of the Champions League qualifying campaign and the second round of the league tournament.

In the first leg of the Champions League qualifying round, Nottingham Forest’s 4:0 home win over Red Star Belgrade almost guaranteed them a place in the official Champions League tournament. Consequently, Twain used a rotation system in the away game.

Akinfeev’s starting position was given to Dale Roberts. The left back went from Gareth Bale to Joe Mattock. The center backs were Woodgate and Morgan. Nkoulou, who had joined the team this season, was the right back. In the midfield, George Wood continued to rest. Tiago continued to be in the starting lineup and ?ahin was replaced by Bostock. Fernández was the left midfielder and Bentley was the right midfielder. On the forward line, Ibi?evi? did not sit on the bench for his flat performance in the first round of the league tournament. Twain gave him full confidence and continued to let him start. His partner was the “speedy horse” Agbonlahor.

If the Serbians thought that this was the reserve lineup from Nottingham Forest and they could do whatever they wanted at home, then they would suffer big time.

The rotated lineup did not mean that it was a substitutes’ lineup. Solely looking at this lineup, the strength was not that different from what they thought of as the “main lineup.”

Such a lineup was played at the Red Star Stadium, Red Star Belgrade’s stadium, and the score against the home team was 3:2.

The Red Star team was quite crazy the moment the game started. If they wanted to enter the official tournament, they had to score at least four goals at home and not let the other side score at the same time. It was too difficult, but they have no other way than to attack.

The opening goal was set by the Red Star team, which scored the first goal in the fourteenth minute of the game and the Red Star Stadium was in full jubilation. Unfortunately, the home fans’ good mood did not last long. Seven minutes later, Nottingham Forest relied on a corner kick from Morgan to score a goal.

Following which, Nottingham Forest went on to score when Agbonlahor picked up Ibi?evi?’s pass, he sent it straight at the goalkeeper and scored successfully to reverse the score.

In the second half, the Red Star team continued their frenzied counterattack, but its backfield had too many loopholes and big gaps, which were seized by Nottingham Forest to counterattack and Agbonlahor scored again.

The goal completely destroyed the Red Star’s fighting spirit, and they played the game feebly after. They only managed to catch the Forest team’s negligence in its defense in the last minute to score a face-saving goal. It did not help with the outcome.

Nottingham Forest advanced to the official tournament with a total score of 7:2.

It was a bit of a pity that Ibi?evi? still did not score against such an opponent...

Carl Spicer and some of the media must have some things to say after the game.

Was Ibi?evi? really just a shining meteor?

Ibi?evi? was a little depressed after the game. But his mood overall was not too affected.

Twain still comforted him with those words, “You did a good job, Ibi. Integrating with the team bit by bit.”

He was not the kind of person who made a decision and immediately denied his men. Even if he really misjudged, he still wanted to give the other party a period of time to prove himself.

※※※

Therefore, in the second round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest still let Ibi?evi? be in the starting lineup in the away challenge against Newcastle United.

Regrettably, he still did not score.

In the 75th minute, he was replaced by van Nistelrooy.

The commentator’s assessment was “Tony Twain doesn’t seem very satisfied with the Bosnian player.”

Twain’s real intention was simply not to put too much pressure on Ibi?evi?.

Nottingham Forest ended up in a tie with Newcastle United in the away game. Neither side scored.

After the game, some media thought that if Nottingham Forest was more capable and better at seizing the opportunities, it could actually win the away game against Newcastle United to take all three points. But Ibi?evi? was a disappointment and wasted at least three chances.

Carl Spicer ridiculed Twain and thought that he should reconsider the wager on his show after the match. “Of course, if Mr. Twain wants to shave his head, I’d be happy to fulfill his wish.”

There was dissonance coming from the local media in Nottingham. They thought Tony Twain had misjudged again. Ibi?evi? was not as good as everyone had thought. His performances in the 08-09 season were a flash in the pan, and he was in fact a substitute-level striker in a third-tier league in Europe.

※※※

Ibi?evi? had already integrated into the team in terms of life and language, but he had been slow to score on the pitch. Matías Fernández had to thank Ibi?evi?, because if it were not for the bet between Twain and Carl Spicer on the Bosnian’s goalscoring rate, then the player whom the media would be criticizing should be him by now because he had not been able to integrate with the team himself.

Twain felt that the first problem to solve was not to study the opponent and how to win. It was to let these two men quickly get used to the team because they were not bought to be substitutes.

Ibi?evi?’s reasons for not scoring were manifold. Firstly, he had not yet fully adapted to the style of play in the Premier League; secondly, he cared too much about the wager between Twain and Spicer and placed the burden on himself; thirdly, it was a tactical issue.

During Hoffenheim’s wildest season, Ibi?evi?’s thrilling goalscoring was related to their frenzied attacking tactics. The 4-3-3 offensive plays allowed them to score big with the two wingers constantly raiding the sides and feeding the ball to Ibi?evi? in the middle. The three midfielders moved as precisely like clockwork, with the four full backs pushing forward with a maddening accuracy in creating offside.

They had pursued simple, quick and direct tactics, somewhat similar to Nottingham Forest in the previous years. But Nottingham Forest rarely, almost never created offside. Twain did not believe creating offside as a tactic, especially in the Premier League, which favored straight play. And he liked his opponent to create offside, and then let his fast players repeatedly be onside. An opportunity seized was a fatal blow to the opponent!

A tactic like this was simply a typical newly promoted team’s tactic. But now that Nottingham Forest was no longer a newly promoted team, Twain insisted that they controlled the ball in the midfield. The tactic of pressing ahead quickly was not always used in the midfield. He had to make his team’s tactics more abundant and varied. Otherwise it would be easy to be studied by the opponents, like Hoffenheim in the second season of the Bundesliga...

Ibi?evi? was used to having two wingers deliver the balls to him and played with fast passes and runs. He had to adapt to another way—keeping the ball under his feet, consolidating at every step and pushing on slowly. While Nottingham Forest also had fast wingers, the midfielder and winger could not be compared.

Twain believed Ibi?evi?’s ability in this area was fine but there was a process of adaptation which required time.

So, he decided to talk to Ibi?evi? and not put too much pressure on him.

A player who had just suffered defeat came to a completely unfamiliar environment, might not appear to be under pressure but the psychological pressure was very great.

He prepared a number of arguments in advance and planned to help Ibi?evi? reduce pressure from multiple angles.

But Ibi?evi? was surprised that the manager suddenly wanted to talk to him alone.

“I have no problems in life, boss. I can just about stomach the good...” He thought Twain was concerned about his life.

“Of course, I know your life is fine.” Twain felt his enthusiasm was dampened by Ibi?evi? just like that. He said impatiently, “I’m not here to talk to you about this. I am….” He wondered in his mind what words to use so he would not agitate the striker.

The position of a striker was different from the other positions. Sometimes the skill or awareness was not the most important. The important thing was actually self-confidence. And the source of self-confidence was very simple—goals and scoring consecutive goals.

He hoped to restore Ibi?evi?’s self-confidence as much as possible without compromising his self-esteem.

“I know. Is it because I haven’t scored in a few games?”

Twain nodded vigorously. It was so easy to talk to smart people... But why were these words spoken by Ibi?evi?? Isn’t that my line?

Ibi?evi? was silent for a moment, and just as Twain was about to open his mouth to comfort him, he said again, “Boss, are you worried...that you can’t defeat that reporter?”

Twain laughed, “What are you talking about? I almost forgot about this matter if you haven’t brought it up. Didn’t I say? I never worry about what hasn’t happened yet. I won’t start thinking seriously about shaving my head unless you still haven’t scored a goal until the last round of the league tournament. But that’s never going to happen, right?”

Ibi?evi? did not answer his question. He asked instead, “Do you regret brining me to the Forest team, boss?”

Twain looked at Ibi?evi?, “To be honest... No regrets.” He smiled and said, “Why should I regret it? How many games have you played? I’m not an impatient person. We still have time. I know how you performed last season and yet I still bought you. I do not plan to have regrets. You have to know I am not a person who has nothing better to do than to give myself a slap in the face. I usually do that to other people. Ha!”

“I came to you to talk and just wanted to make sure of a question—are you beginning to doubt your abilities and choice?”

This time, under the watchful eye of Tony Twain, Ibi?evi? fell into a long silence.

Twain did not rush him either. He got up to pour Ibi?evi? a glass of water and then sat back down. He quietly looked at the tall center forward sitting opposite.

It took a long time for Ibi?evi? to speak again, “I’ve always been like this throughout my career, boss. Always one choice after another. I don’t know if I’m doing it right until I choose, so after a long time, I stopped thinking about it. If I do make the wrong choice, the solution is simple—I’ll make another choice.”

“Now I know why the European media call you ‘The Drifter.'” Twain said with a smile, “But I don’t want the player I bought for more than ten million euros to play for a season and then make another choice.”

“If it were possible, I wouldn’t want that either.” Ibi?evi? answered him that way, “I don’t like that label.”

Twain put his hands together and said, “Looks like we have a consensus, Ibi. That’s good. You have lived through more miserable years than you do now. I don’t think the current situation is too tough for you, is it?”

Ibi?evi? nodded, “I’m really frustrated that I haven’t scored a goal. But I’m not at the point of losing my confidence, boss.”

“That’s good. It’s nothing, I just want to make sure of that. You know, I’m happy to give new players a chance, but I have to know if they’re willing to take advantage of those opportunities to prove themselves again. I don’t do useless work, and I’m not a philanthropist. If the other person doesn’t have this idea, I naturally don’t waste my time and energy on them. But as long as you refuse to concede defeat, I will do whatever it takes to make you successful. You know what I mean? Ibi, football at Nottingham Forest is not the same as any football you’ve ever experience before.” At this point, Twain took a moment and a smile appeared on his face. “The motto ‘We never admit defeat and never give up’ is our best lover.”

“If you can accept this football philosophy, then I’ll welcome you again.”

Twain extended a hand to him.

Ibi?evi? was silent and just reached out with his hand.

“I take your silence as consent then, Ibi. Welcome to Nottingham Forest! This time, you joined for real.” He winked at Ibi?evi? and grinned.

Chapter 755 - I feel really satisfied!

Twain was immensely relieved after confirming that Ibi?evi?’s mentality was ok, but Matías Fernández’s problem was not as simple. He faced a language barrier so he needed a club-hired translator to communicate the coach’s will to him at any given time in training and, when it came to the game, he was basically guessing hand gestures. He currently spent two nights a week learning English, progress was slow because?of time constraints. Twain feared that Fernandez might not learn enough in time.

Ibi?evi?’s poor form became popular in the media, which aided him to block a lot of media slurs. Had Ibi?evi? been in good shape and scored a goal, it would have been the Chilean’s turn to be the hapless man.

Twain decided not to care about Fernandez for the time being, believing in the former South American footballer’s IQ. Even if he was not proficient in the language?and unaccustomed to the living habits of this land, there would always be a common language on the football field. T state of recovery, though slow, was certain.

※※※

On August 27, the third round of the league, Nottingham Forest continued their away tour, with an away challenge against Manovic who had promoted. This was a weak team. In the first two rounds of the league, they suffered two consecutive?defeats and their opponents were only of the middle standards of the Premier League.

Playing an opponent like this did not require the full strength of Nottingham Forest, so Twain’s big rotation was not surprising. After George Wood’s second-round league debut, he continued to show in this game and the rest of the roster was changed. But no matter how much rotation there was, on the day before the game Forest announced the starting list, Ibi?evi?’s name was still on the list.

Now, Carl Spicer had something to say, ” Twain is bent on fighting us. Even a fool can see what state Ibi?evi? is in, so why should he take a starting position? Van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, Abonrahho, Zikic, which of these are no better than this Bosnian refugee? Is Bosnia Persia? Ha ha! ”

His last words gave him a minor problem.

Nottingham Forest formally protested against Carl Spicer’s insult of their players on the show to Sky TV. Carl Spicer also went on the news programs of other channels.

A good reporter ran to?ask Ibi?evi?h what he thought of the new nickname “Bosnian refugee”, but Ibi?evi? refused to answer the question; he was not too happy about this.

Twain pouted. “Some people do not speak through the brain, but through the hole under their buttocks, I’m used to it. But him insulting my players like this, I would make him swallow his words. ”

It was Ibi?evi?’s team-mates who expressed outrage. Eastwood jumped out for his forward buddy,?“Ibe has the strength, but as a new player, he needs some time to adapt, which is normal. I don’t think identity has anything to do with performance on the football field. I’m a Romani and I believe Mr Carl Spicer must be looking down on us wandering around, but I would like to ask, who was the third man on last season’s scorer’s list? ”

Bosnians in Britain allegedly a protest letter to Sky TV, demanding Carl Spicer to formally apologize to Bosnians on TV and in newspapers.

This thing was not big nor small. Bosnia was a small country and they had no standing, especially not in Britain where the Bosnian population was so small. They basically had no social status so no matter how loudly they shouted,?their voices were no louder than the crickets chirping at night.

But if this turned into a case of racism, Carl Spicer could lose his job. .

Spicer could afford to not be afraid of Twain because him scolding Twain was just like scolding his family, which was just an internal conflict. If the other party did not care, he could be unscrupulous, in any case can not go online to the point that can let him lose his job. He might need to think twice before scolding others.

Before the game, the media was buzzing about it. Through this, the true nature of the media was made apparent. When Carl Spicer scolded Tony Twain, they followed suit. When Bosnians were outraging about Carl Spicer being racist, they fanned the flames. They took no sides and sought only to profit.

Twain was happy with this snob, Carl Spicer, helping him before the game: he was trying to further agitate Ibi?evi? with this matter, and the frustrations and discontents he had accumulated in his heart would all break out. It would be like a volcanic eruption, a blast! The world would be cleansed.

In the dressing room on game day, Twain was fervently inciting the players’ emotions, mainly Ibi?evi?’s.

“Look what that idiot said. Today, he called Ibi?evi? a Bosnian refugee and tomorrow he might call any one of you out the moment you make a mistake in the game. If this weren’t a modern civilisation I wouldn’t hesitate to fire two shots into his head! But now we have our own way of revenge: win the game against Norwich, and win it beautifully! ”

Then he pulled Ibi?evi?h aside. “Hey, Ibe. I don’t want to put pressure on you,but you see, that’s?life.” He spread his hands. “Pressure came looking for you. I think you have to prove yourself in this game. Remember what I said? I don’t like to slap myself. Now there is such a chance slap someone else right in front of, you see if you are able to grasp it. ”

Ibi?evi? nodded with a sombre look on his face. “I understand, sir. ”

“If there is a penalty, you can be the penalty shooter.”

Ibi?evi? interrupted Twain, “I’m not a penalty shooter, sir. I want to score goals during the game time.”

Twain reached out. “Have you thought of your celebration moves? ”

Ibi?evi? slapped him on the hand. “I think so. ”

“I’ll be waiting to see. ”

※※※

Norwich were truly unable to compete with Nottingham Forest at all, even on their home court. The moment the game started, Nottingham Forest?officially took over the “sovereignty” of the Carrow Road stadium from them.

When playing the underdogs, Nottingham Forest usually used their control of the midfield and layer-by-layer tactics, relying on a strong force to crush their opponents a little bit. At the same time, they would not let the back line add on the pressure, giving the other side the chance to counter attack.

But in this game, Twain changed tactics. He did not let the team to play possession, but instead played the style they used against a strong team, in the away game against Norwich played a quick counter-attack, which was a sure-win secret he had.

It was a little weird just looking at this starting roster.The starting forwards were Eastwood and Ibi?evi?, neither of whom was a speed forward. How could they stage a counter-attack?

Nottingham Forest would soon reveal the answer.

George Wood’s direct long pass in midfield sent the ball to Theibevic’s feet. Ibe, who had his back to?the goal, passed the ball to Eastwood, who was next to him, Eastwood kept firing straight, but the ball kept missing the goalmouth by a bit which stunned Norwich’s home fans.

Neither Bostock nor Shahin made their debuts in the game, but instead it was George Wood and Thiago, the dual-back configuration which?makes Forest’s midfield defence much thicker and makes their attacking approach more concise. This was a tactic for weak teams to use against strong teams, it was not expected for Twain to use it to deal with a weak team like Norwich.

After several attacks, Nottingham Forest was doing the same thing, launching direct attacks from the backfield. The two sides quickly plugged in and the forwards’ area was not confined to the penalty area, but almost the entire half.

These attacks proved that Wood’s initial kick was not a temporal flair, but a tactic carefully orchestrated by the manager.

“I can’t understand, ” The TV narrator muttered.

Of course he could not understand, but it was a change that Twain made specifically to take care of Ibi?evi?, making some adjustments based on Nottingham Forest’s original defensive counter-attacking tactics in order to get Ibi?evi? to find a feel at Hoffenheim.

Quick and simple tactics with forwards running in a huge area to intercept and receive, so that Ibi?evi? could receive the ball more. But the first goal was not scored by Ibi?evi?.

In the 29th minute of the first half, Cogen broke through on the right side and passed the ball, but was intercepted by Norwich’s full back. Landing on the foot of Thiago outside the penalty area, he got his feet on the ball and the ball flew onto Eastwood’s butt and into the net, and the Norwich goalkeeper had no means against this goal – he dived towards the initial direction of the ball, but he had no idea there would be a Romani butt in the middle of its flight.

The TV caption registered the goal as Thiago’s at first but after replaying, the goalscorer’s name changed to “Freddy Eastwood”. This was his third goal of the season. Nottingham Forest had scored three league goals in the new season, all by the Romani.

The narrator did not forget about Ibi?evi? as he cheered for Eastwood, “It looks like Nottingham Forest’s goals are all given to Eastwood all the time this season, maybe Tony Twain should bet with Carl Spicer on Eastwood instead. But I think if that’s the case, Spicer would definitely be afraid to take the offer. ”

Ibesevic smiled as he celebrated Eastwood’s goal. No one knew what he was thinking and how he felt about it.

※※※

Ibi?evi? tried to calm his restless heart. He was no stranger to the current situation, he just needed to calm down and think, then he would discover in the years of his career, he had been through several doubts from others.

At Paris Saint-Germain, he was labelled to have been able to get into the French club through the “countryman” relationship of then-head coach Halilhod?i?.?In the team, among the fans, there are rumours that he has an unusual relationship with Halilhod?i?.

No matter how he trained during that time, people would look at him that way. So suddenly he realized that although Halilhod?i? appreciated him and personally brought him from the United States to France, he could not stay under Haliloch if he wanted to have a future.

Even if he did well in the training session, people would think Halilhod?i? was playing favourites. If he did not do well, him and Halilhod?i??would both be in trouble.

He played only two games under Halilhod?i? before he was out. In the eyes?of outsiders, his good days were over.?He?only made four appearances for Paris Saint-Germain all season and scored no goals.

From the head coach to the ordinary training ground staff, it was believed that Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Khalilozic decided to introduce the Bosnia-Herzegovina so he could benefit from some other sources. This kind of young man basically did not have a future so it was better to let go of him earlier.

Ibi?evi? was no fool. He knew what the club people thought of him, so he offered to go out on loan to play the game.

In this way, in the 05-06 season, he was loaned to the French-B where he felt freedom for the first time. No one would think he had been offered the job because of his relationship with the manager, and he could make the most of his abilities. There he made 33 appearances and scored ten goals. As a twenty-one-year-old player, he had already attracted attention.

But a big team like Paris Saint-Germain was certainly not interested in a 21-year old player who only achieved this much.

So he went to the Bundesliga team Aachen.

It wasn’t a successful season, making 24 appearances,?scoring six goals and wearing the No.9 jersey, which symbolized the main center.

The doubt ringing in his ears did not dissipate. People always said that he was too nervous during games as a striker, which cost him a lot of scoring opportunities. In the face of the goalmouth, he seemed completely confused and did not know which direction he should kick the ball. He did not even have the confidence to shoot the goal, how could such a striker succeed?

In fact, there were thousands of players like him playing?football. They were unknown, mixing?in the lower leagues and the end team They could not score much in a season and could only move from one place to another to try their luck, only to end up transferring to a league and a team which was worse. At the end of the day, at the age of thirty-five or six, they simply just find a low-level league team to retire. They would then go to the community to coach the youth football team or find other jobs irrelevant to football?to support themselves and their family. They may have had talent and ability, but what they had in common was a lack of opportunity and luck.

For him, he was lucky after the end of the 06-07season, because German FN Hoffenheim found him then.The story after was obvious, everyone knew what happened afterwards.

Now he was in the dark red Nottingham Forest jersey and stood on the pitch in the English Premier League. It was the most prominent team he had ever played for, but little else has changed. He was still being questioned.

Even if he scored 37 goals in a season at Hoffenheim he would still be questioned. “This kid was a wallflower, I dare bet that he would drop immediately, just like Mintál. Best not let him get his hopes up!”

Well, the only change was that in England, someone was finally making a public bet on this. “I bet he can’t score twenty goals a season!”

Carl Spicer, after watching Ibi?evi?’s performance in recent games, said with pride, “In fact, I should have said that he couldn’t score ten goals in a season.”

I want to enjoy a genuine cheer, one without any distractions. Let them shout “Super Ibi” without whispering, “hopefully he can do this next season, or even the next game.”

Calm down and remember how I played in the 08-09season. Think about how I faced the goalmouth last time, facing those goalkeepers and defenders, and how I shot the ball through their gaps and into the goalmouths!

It is no big deal, there is nothing to be nervous about. I am still me, Vedad Ibi?evi?, a boy from Bosnia. Do not expect too much from me, but do not look down on me either!

Score a lifetime worth of goals in a season?Do not make jokes like this!

I am only twenty-six years old, I still have a long life ahead of me, I still have a lot of goals I have not scored!

※※※

“George Wood controls the tempo in midfield and now looks more and more like an organized midfielder, with Nottingham Forest’s five attacks originating from his feet. His long passing has come a long way compared to previous seasons. He looked up to observe the situation.”

In an instant, George Wood passed the ball to Bentley. Bentley did not carry the ball forward by the baseless, he passed directly at an angle of 45 degrees! On Norwich’s organized back line, Ibi?evi? suddenly appeared, leaping high to hit a strong header towards the goal.

“The header is too straight! Does he observe the goalkeeper’s position before he starts his jump?” The narrator could always find Ibi?evi?’s mistakes.

The football was hit out by the goalkeeper with both hands. This time the football fell at Eastwood’s feet and everyone in Norwich got nervous. They could see that the Romani was in the right form in the game, at the top of the arc of the penalty area, which was literally “Eastwood area”, and once he lifted his left, the soccer was on an arc towards the goalmouth.

Everyone focused their defensive attention on the Romani but ignored the Ibi?evi? who was next to them. Eastwood got into position to shoot?but instead passed the ball forward.

Ibi?evi?, who had just ran back from the goalmouth, immediately turned around and did not even turn his head to look at the flag referee by the side. He only cared about the ball under his foot and at the same time took a glimpse at the opposing goalkeeper.

Offside? Kick this ball in first!

Whistle? I didn’t hear it!

Ibi?evi? turned around and instead of taking the ball forward, he went straight for a ground shot

The football jumped on the turf, evaded the hand of Norwich goalkeeper Ward, and went straight to the post at the far end of the goal!

It jumped up again in front of the door line and hit the door post.

Instead of getting up right away, Ibi?evi?, who shot the shot, was half-kneeling, maintaining his shooting stance and, like goalkeeper Ward, was staring at the football.

Two people saw it hit the door post, and then jumped the third, sloshing and falling within the door line …

In this moment, Ibi?evi?’s pupil dilated out of excitement while his Norwich defenders raised their hands concurrently.

Was it offside…?

The TV narrator first cried out, “Offside! ”

But soon he looked at the side of the sideline, the line referee was running towards the center line with the flag, but the main referee was raising his hands flat and pointing towards the center.This was the gesture indicating a valid goal!The goal was valid!

A handful of Nottingham Forest fans started to cheer. A voice began to ring among them, “Super Ibi! ”

“Norwich’s players ran to the sideline and obviously they were a little bit controversial about the loss. But anyway, Nottingham Forest’s players are already cheering! 2:0! They led by two goals away from home, and it was only the first half! Vedad Ibi?evi? finally scored even if it was a controversial one,. c” The narrator sounded a little unnatural, perhaps reluctant to admit his mistake so he only using “conversional goal” to save?some face for himself.

The goal scorer Ibi?evi? jumped from the ground with uncanicity, ignoring his teammates who wanted to hug him, and running straight to the corner flag, facing the camera, firing his right hand high, then swung it sharply and drew a circle. He was really working really hard as he almost hit Eastwood who was running towards him to hug him from behind.

Afterwards, he did not stop and ran towards the head coach seats. While hugging Tony Twain, his teammates who were chasing him for half a soccer field also came over and hugged, the big group of players were together.

“Ibi, what was the meaning of that action?” In the chaos, Twain questioned loudly.

Ibi?evi? who was surrounded by his teammates chuckled happily, “It is like what you said, sir. Slapping someone else is indeed very satisfying! Ha! I am feeling really satisfied!”

Chapter 756 - Once Every Goal

Ibi?evi? finally scored a goal. The reporters who watched the game thought that they did not have to worry about what they were going to write in their reports later.

But the Bosnian’s performance was not over yet.

He had a long shot that almost breached the goal before the end of the first half. The ball just brushed against the goalpost and skimmed out.

This time, the commentator stopped mocking him for his poor shooting skill. Instead, he exclaimed, “He almost scored the second time!”

The Nottingham Forest players congratulated Ibi?evi? during the halftime interval as he finally broke out of the goal drought. Then they discussed with great interest about the wager between the boss and Carl Spicer. They encouraged Ibi?evi? to build on the effort. Everyone looked forward to seeing Carl Spicer’s bald look.

Twain smiled as he watched the players make use of the half-time break to have some fun. He felt that the game had been won, and no additional words were needed to be said. Norwich City and Nottingham Forest were basically not on the same level at all. They could not even prevent the Forest team from winning the game at their own home ground with a two-goal lead.

Nottingham Forest slowed down a little at the start of the second half and consciously retreated.

Because Twain knew that Norwich City, who trailed at home, would definitely launch a counterattack. They did not care about the gap in strength between the two teams. All they knew was that being “shaved clean” at their home ground was not something to be happy about.

It was the Forest team’s chance to continue to widen the score difference. As long as Norwich City wanted to attack, then they were bound to leave gaps at their back. Once they seized one or two chances, they could end the game early.

It was also one of Nottingham Forest’s usual tactics—to obtain the lead in the away games and then retreat to lure their opponents to attack as they waited for the chance to fight back. As long as they could be in the lead, the tactic was almost tried and tested.

As expected, Norwich City pressed ahead. They desperately needed to score a goal—no one wanted to lose at home, much less a defeat without a single goal scored.

Nottingham Forest patiently circled Norwich City in the midfield and backfield.

It was not until the game entered the sixty-seventh minute that after George Wood intercepted the ball and did a one-two combination with Cohen, the ball was passed to Eastwood in front.

The Norwich City players rushed back to defend, and Eastwood did not give them the chance. He handed the ball over to Bentley on the other side.

Bentley kicked and crossed the ball.

In the middle of the field, Ibi?evi? plugged in at a high speed, jumped high, and gave a powerful and accurate header!

The Norwich City goalkeeper, Ward had not even reacted yet—when Bentley received the ball, he glanced at the goal while Ibi?evi? was still outside the penalty area….

“What a GOOOOAL!!! Clean and beautiful goal! With a swift counterattack, Nottingham Forest once again showed us what they do best with a quick give-and-go offensive. And Ibi?evi? hammered it home. He appeared at the most opportune spot in the most important moment. The goal was effortless for him!”

“It was his second goal of the game! Amazing, he hadn’t scored a goal for four games in a row and had been criticized for not being able to score. I did not expect him to break out in this game!”

After the goal, Ibi?evi? ran again to the camera and made the same celebratory gesture as he did when he scored the first goal. Then he was hugged by his excited teammates.

※※※

Twain high-fived the people around him off the pitch to celebrate. Then he swept his glance across the press box in the stands and said to Dunn next to him, “If I had known that Ibi?evi? would score in this game, I would have sent a ticket to Carl Spicer. I wonder if he’s watching the live broadcast of the game? I’ve now won a tenth of the victory! Ha ha!”

“Whether he wins or loses, Spicer’s goal has been achieved—he’s famous from the hype.” Dunn said to him.

“I don’t care what his purpose is. I just want him to make a fool of himself.” Twain shrugged and put his arms around Fleming, the team doctor next to him.

※※※

After Ibi?evi?’s second goal gave Nottingham Forest a three-goal lead, they slacked off a little and were less aggressive in the offense. They did not even fought for some of the opportunities. The game was deadlocked in the midfield at one point.

Twain look at the time. Unknowingly, the time almost reached seventy-five minutes.

He walked to the sidelines, cleared his throat, and yelled toward the field, “Ibi! Ibi!”

Ibi?evi? heard his roar and turned his head over.

“Have you run out of energy?” Twain asked aloud, “Do you want me to bring you off?”

Ibi?evi? shook his head and signaled that he could still run. He found his form after much difficulty. He did not want to be replaced so early.

“Then continue to look for opportunities to score goals!” Twain raised his fists and waved. “3:0 is not enough!”

After giving the latest instructions to Ibi?evi?, Twain cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Show more drive! Don’t hold back in the face of such an opponent! Score as many goals as you can score for me!!”

His voice was loud. Not only did the Norwich City fans behind the technical area heard, the members of the Norwich City coaching unit next to it and the Norwich City players close to the sidelines on this side also heard.

They suddenly gave rise to a sense of anger of being “looked down upon!”

The Norwich City fans behind the away team’s technical area began to make noise and changed tack to scold Twain, while they sent a message to the players on the pitch, “We’re f**king being looked down upon, and you’re still playing half dead! Get your spirits up! Get at least one goal into those scumbags from Nottingham Forest!”

The Norwich City manager, Worthington was furious and disgusted with Tony Twain’s arrogant way of publicly making such remarks. As the manager of a Premier League team, he could not accept such an insult in any way.

He must fight back and make that bastard, Twain know whose home ground he was on now!

He began to send the team on a task and deploy two offensive players, showing that he wanted to score a goal in his own home ground!

If everyone knew what he thought before the game, they would think how pathetic his thinking was now—before the game, he wanted to get at least one point at home. With a little bit of luck, it would not be hard to defeat Nottingham Forest which had just one striker to score goal...

The Norwich City team became crazy like they were a pack of wild dogs at home, foaming at the mouth and roaring as they pounced towards Akinfeev’s goal.

So, when Ibi?evi? scored the fourth goal against them, only then they suddenly woke up to the fact that they were all tricked by Tony Twain!

※※※

This was what happened at that time...

As soon as they saw the entire Norwich City team all fired up and pressed ahead to attack as if they were on stimulants, the Nottingham Forest team collectively retreated with tacit coordination and compressed the defense. They did not give Norwich City much of a chance and also gave Norwich City the illusion that Nottingham Forest did not want to continue the attack after a three-goal lead. With only ten minutes left in the game, it would be strenuous and unrewarding to go on the offensive with all of their might.

It was the practice for most teams.

Norwich City did not suspect anything. They just wanted to score a goal at home to save some face. Therefore, they did not care about the gaps in the back. From the strikers down to the defenders, they all pressed on and charged ahead.

On two occasions, when they fought for two corner kicks for the team through a barrage of bombardments in front of the goal, the goalkeeper, Ward even ran in one go to stand near the center circle, as if he was considering whether to rush up to join in the action...

Everyone at the Carrow Road Stadium did not realize how dangerous the situation was with only five minutes left in the game.

Finally, in the eighty-seventh minute, Nottingham Forest seized the opportunity after Norwich City fully pressed up and Akinfeev had pounced on the shot to immediately throw the ball to launch an attack.

Tiago did not hold the ball too much in the midfield. He did not even make an adjustment and directly passed the ball to Bentley. Then Bentley made a straight pass.

Ibi?evi? entered into the opponent’s half of the field from the side and he was not offside!

“Not offside! Not offside at all!” The commentator continuously yelled out. Now Ibi?evi? had already received Bentley’s pass, and he was dribbling the ball toward Ward’s goal He beautifully went alone into the enemy lines!

When the Norwich City players, who waited in front for a second opportunity to attack, turned to see that it was not their man who had the ball, but a Nottingham Forest player, they were in a state of shock.

However, with the nearest Norwich City player nearly twenty meters away from Ibi?evi?, how could they make it in time?

A group of people chased back pointlessly, while they watched Ibi?evi? run further away and closer to the goal.

Ward bravely struck but was also unsurprisingly swung to the ground with a feint from Ibi?evi?. Next up in front of Ibi?evi? was a wide-open goal, unrestricted and waiting for him.

Without hesitation, Ibi?evi? kicked the ball in.

“A hat-trick!!! Oh, my God! This is too... incredible!” The commentator got up from his seat, leaned over to look below. His mouth was agape. He could not believe what he saw.

Not only could he not believe it, even the Nottingham Forest side was incredulous—they thought Ibi?evi? had his big break out with two goals scored in the game. They did not expect him to put on a hat-trick!

Two goals were not considered new. A hat-trick could only happen serendipitously.

Even Tony Twain held his head in his hands and laughed in disbelief.

Ibi?evi? ran in front of the camera for the third time after the goal and made his somewhat exaggerated celebratory gesture.

“Is this the Ibi?evi?, who had ‘scored a lifetime’s worth of goals in one season?’ A hat-trick! Hope he isn’t only play outstandingly in this game... If his form stays every game, Tony Twain will wake up laughing every time he dreams!”

“Norwich City collectively pressed on at the last minute and wanted to score at least one goal. But they did not expect Nottingham Forest to seize the chance. They completely forget who their opponent is. It’s not any other team, but Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest! You can’t even relax the protection of your own goal for a second, playing against them! Otherwise this is the end of the game...”

He was right. At present, there were only the cheers of the away fans at the Carrow Road Stadium. The home fans collectively lost their voices. They frenziedly rained curses on the arrogant and conceited Tony Twain just now but did not expect to immediately lose their own goal. The first people to calm down guessed that the “mass ridicule” which was so loud that everyone could hear was actually Tony Twain’s deliberate use of psychological tactics. He just wanted to make the Norwich City people lose their composure in order to give Nottingham Forest a chance to score at least one more goal...

That horrible man! He was still not satisfied with a three-goal lead. His desire and pursuit for victories and goals seemed endless. When would he stop? It must not be because he was satisfied, but because... he was dead.

After expressing some surprise for Ibi?evi?’s hat-trick, Twain happily celebrated with the people on the sidelines.

Those Norwich City fans who first calmed down, had guessed right. His loud comments to his team on the sidelines just now was done to provoke his opponents, causing them to press on the attack and leave their defense empty.

He thought that it was not enough to just score only three goals against an opponent like Norwich City... The team needed a big win to boost morale and motivate their fighting spirit.

He was reluctantly satisfied with…. four goals.

※※※

The game ended in this way. Norwich City had its head shaved at home by Nottingham Forest. A score of 0:4 was not a fiasco, but it was an utter loss of face.

After the game, Tony Twain became a supporting character instead. The leading figure was the Bosnian striker, Ibi?evi? who completed a hat-trick.

Named as the game’s best player, Ibi?evi? held a bottle of champagne as a prize as he was surrounded by the reporters in the mixed zone. The reporters were intrigued by the reasons for his breakout.

Ibi?evi? offered no fresh explanation. He only said, “Manager Twain had given me the confidence to be in the starting lineup for five games in a row. He had been under a lot of pressure. I thought I had to do something to help him share the pressure, so I scored.”

Pierce Brosnan huddled up and asked, “Can you talk about your celebratory gesture? What does it mean since you’ve never done it before in Germany? I saw that you had used the same celebratory gesture in all three of your goals...”

Ibi?evi? recalled Twain’s expression and laughed, “It’s actually an action for a slap in the face. I just exaggerated it a little.”

“A slap in the face?” The bunch of reporters stared blankly—what kind of celebratory action was this?

“Why a slap in the face?” A reporter for <The Sun> asked first, “Who are you giving the slap to?”

“Someone said I can’t score twenty goals in a season, so I’m going to give him a slap in the face for every goal I score.” Ibi?evi? continued to laugh and added, “At least twenty times.”

Hearing him say so, all the reporters were in a frenzy.

Pierce Brosnan heard these remarks and sighed inside—ah such a good young guy, and he’s already corrupted by bad examples after he has only been with Tony Twain for more than a month...

Chapter 757 - The Group of Death

Ibi?evi?’s hat-trick soon caused a stir in the English Premier League. In addition to him being the only player to achieve a hat-trick in the round, there was his celebratory action. It did not matter everyone did not understand it at the time. Once he specifically explained after the game, everyone knew who he was targeting.

What was Carl Spicer’s reaction to it?

He did not express any views on Ibi?evi?’s hat-trick in the latest installment of <Football Matters>. He discussed other matters. For example, Ferguson angrily said that it would be his last season at Manchester United after Manchester United’s upset loss of 0:2 to Fulham.

Although the topic of Ferguson’s retirement was also an attention grabber, Sky TV still received a number of disgruntled phone calls after the show aired. They all indicated that they would rather see how Carl Spicer would rate Ibi?evi?’s hat-trick.

Most of the calls were said to be from the Nottingham area.

Upon hearing the news, Carl Spicer gave a long breath—it was a good thing that not all of the country’s audience wanted to make a joke out of him. The people of Nottingham were all Tony Twain’s Don’s lackeys and not worth a mention at all!

Therefore, he would not respond.

But that did not stop Tony Twain from taunting him in several of his columns. In his latest column, Twain told his readers a story about the “ostrich.” Any fool would know who he was referring to.

Carl Spicer was quiet for the time being, but it did not mean that no one stopped questioning Ibi?evi?.

<The Sun> described Ibi?evi?’s hat-trick as “fantastic” but said he could score mainly because Nottingham Forest’s opponent was too weak, and Norwich City had begun the countdown to its relegation from the moment it was promoted to the Premier League. It could only be said that both Tony Twain and Ibi?evi? were lucky to have the weakest team in the league tournament served up to them when they needed to score the most.

As a result, his performance in the game proved nothing. Ibi?evi?’s wanted to show that others’ doubts were all wrong, he still needed to keep scoring goals. If Tony Twain did not want to shave his hair clean after the league tournament, then he had to make sure Ibi?evi? was always in good form. It was not something that was easy to achieve.

So, The Sun came to its own conclusion—it was premature of Tony Twain to taunt Carl Spicer now. If Ibi?evi? could not score in the next game, his current taunts would be returned untouched by the shrewd Spicer.

This kind of pressure was really all on the players and the teams. A high-profile wager with Carl Spicer was not a wise move.

In fact, what they was rather reasonable. However, they were all nonsense in Twain’s view— the professional players would face with countless pressures from the moment they entered the circle. As a striker, whether a bet was placed with anyone or not, there would certainly be pressure once he played without scoring a goal in the game. So, a player with good psychological quality would certainly have his own methods to reduce pressure. The media did not have to worry about such things at all.

Twain was not worried about Ibi?evi?’s mental capacity for stress, especially after watching his last game.

For better or worse, Ibi?evi?’s psychology was not a problem. Twain had already confirmed the matter.

※※※

Following which, there would be two weeks without a game for the league tournament to make way for the national team competition. During this time, Twain would not be idle. He had to go to Switzerland to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony.

After the draw ceremony, he had to rush back to Nottingham to spend his 42nd birthday with his wife, Shania—although he said he would forever be forty years old from then on, the reality was so cruel! He was forty-two years old in a blink of an eye!

This year’s draw ceremony took place in Monte Carlo, Monaco, same as last season’s Champions League award ceremony. In Europe’s famous casino town, Europe’s powerhouse coaches and award-winning star players gathered.

The most popular coaches and players came from one club, the Spanish powerhouse, Barcelona.

When Guardiola appeared with Messi on the streets of Monte Carlo at night, there was a sudden uproar among the reporters and fans waiting there.

The young manager, who steered Barcelona to a comeback by beating Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League in the country, had the last laugh in the European football’s famous Champions League.

Messi, who was also young but already famous, had finally won a UEFA Champions League trophy that truly belonged to him. He was the biggest contributing player that allowed Barcelona to win in last season’s Champions League. At the same time, he was the top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League last season. This summer he was crowned FIFA World Player of the Year in South Africa and unparallel for a time.

His name was eulogized everywhere. His giant advertising portraits were filled the whole of Europe. Cheers and praises were sung everywhere he appeared. Every time he took the ball on the pitch, he was greeted with loud cheers. Even the opposing fans admired the football magician.

In the past, Argentina had always been looking for a successor to Maradona, a move that was wishful thinking in the eyes of the outsiders, and also a bit of a joke—any player who had been chosen as their successor was not very good. But now, Argentina no longer looked for Maradona’s successor, as they had announced this summer that Messi was Maradona the second!

No one would deride the Argentines again this time as their own wishful thinking. Even the Brazilians exclaimed his strength when faced with Messi. Kaka had been plagued by injuries and his performance were not as before in the last two seasons.

A humble young man who showed a shy smile in front of the reporters’ flashing bulbs was unlike Maradona... At least the king of the ball would not be so modest and shy.

2010 was a bumper year for Lionel Messi, who not only won the domestic league and the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona, but also led the team to the World Cup champion as the core for Argentina. It could be said that there was no other person with such an achievement in ten years of football. No wonder everyone unanimously agreed that Messi was the “king of football” of the era.

From the car drop-off point to the hotel entrance with just fifteen meters of the red carpet, Messi and Guardiola walked for about five minutes. They had to stop continuously for the reporters and fans to take pictures, answer questions from the reporters and fulfill the football fans’ requests for their autographs. The scene was still a little chaotic, even if there were the police to maintain order at the scene.

Pierce Brosnan was flanked by two reporters from Spain’s Catalonia region. They were somewhat smug when they saw the scene and said in the universally used English, “Only Barcelona and Messi in the world have such an appeal!”

Tony Twain entered before them. As one of the hottest young managers in European football in the previous seasons, he also fell by the wayside in the face of a younger Guardiola. There were not many people asking questions when he made his appearance. Only a few British reporters came up and asked a few questions before letting him go. Such a scene would have been unthinkable two years ago. At that time, everywhere Tony Twain went, he was the darling of the media’s pursuit and attention, and he was synonymous with “sensational news.”

Now his limelight was robbed by Barcelona.

He chatted at the door with Ferguson, who had stepped in first, and asked if he was really retiring. Ferguson half-jokingly said he was going to retire and recommended Tony to coach at Manchester United.

That was when Guardiola and Messi came.

The commotion at the scene was so loud that it interrupted the conversation between Twain and Ferguson. They could not help but turn around. Twain did not take a first look at Messi but at Guardiola. He said to Ferguson with a laugh, “Look, your best successor is here.”

Ferguson gave a snort, “Do you think Barcelona will let their man go?”

“Then what makes you think that Nottingham Forest will let me go?” He asked in return with a smile.

“You’re more likely than he will be.”

Twain shrugged and did not intend to continue the discussion of the issue.

He and Ferguson looked at the busy scene in front of them for a while and found it uninteresting. They were not star-chasers. So what was the use of them here to watch the lively scene?

As he turned around to walk away, Ferguson smiled at Twain, “I lost to them in the semi-finals last season. Hargreaves and Carrick couldn’t defend Messi. I thought to myself at that time how nice it would be to have George Wood on my team.”

“Ha.” Twain touched his nose, “I’ll help avenge you and keep Wood for my own use!” He certainly understood what Ferguson meant. England’s powerhouses coveted Wood for a long time. Wenger also occasionally talked about George Wood when he was on the phone with him. He never hid his interest for the kid. From the moment Wood played against the Arsenal youth team, he tried to rope him in but was turned down. Now he would regret the past matter whenever he thought about it.

“You lucky bastard...” Ferguson muttered as he walked into the hall with Twain and left the clamor behind.

※※※

In fact, Guardiola noticed the two men standing on the steps while he was surrounded by the reporters. He even locked eyes with Tony Twain once. Ferguson next to him was sly like an old fox with his eyes roving.

Since Tony Twain took the post, Barcelona and Nottingham Forest had many grievances. Guardiola had been quiet about it as he did not want to waste his time in the war of words when he was hired. Even with regards to the arch-rival, Real Madrid, he rarely spoke strong words. They were always affable remarks such as “Schuster is excellent, I regret his resignation”, “Ramos is a great manager and I believe he can succeed at Real Madrid” ....

It gave people the impression that he was somewhat soft. But perhaps it was the single-minded nature that allowed him to pull Barcelona back up from the abyss and rise to the top again.

Compared with him, Tony Twain was like a mad dog. Everyone detested him, but everyone was afraid of him—afraid of being bitten with rabies.

So, although Guardiola became the Barcelona manager, the relations between the two teams had eased. However, after Tony Twain publicly expressed doubts about Barcelona winning the Champions League this summer, the relationship between the two clubs was strained again.

Guardiola still adopted the stance of not waging a war of words with the other managers, but his men were not so easy to deal with.

Eto’o was the first to jump out and rebuke Tony Twain for using this method to attract attention because he was snubbed by the media, which made him unhappy.

In response, Twain reply was—I can’t wait for the media to cold-shoulder me. Do you think everyone is like you, using your admonishment of your own teammates to attract media attention?

Eto’o was so angry that he almost declared that he and Tony Twain had irreconcilable differences...

Valdés was also displeased with Tony Twain’s doubts, but he chose another way to fight back — “to mock and ridicule.” He said that no matter what we are the king of Europe. Where was Nottingham Forest last season?

So, Tony Twain asked in return, “Where was Barcelona when we were the defending champion of the Champions League?”

Barcelona’s defensive midfielder Keita expressed disdain toward Tony Twain’s team, “I think even if they have a chance to participate in the Champions League and are lucky enough to be in the final, we will still win easily. This Forest team is no longer the Forest team that won the Champions League trophy two seasons ago.”

Following which, Twain uttered the famous quote that led to a fine from the UEFA, “In the new season’s Champions League, I can’t wait for us to be grouped with Barcelona. Come on, you can use the unspoken rule against me!”

Only Messi was more restrained and did not comment on Twain’s words. But everyone believed that if the Argentine youngster would put in more energy than anyone else if Nottingham Forest did have a chance to encounter Barcelona.

※※※

Before the draw ceremony, there was an award ceremony. Last year’s champion, Barcelona was indisputably the biggest winner. Messi alone took the top two awards for the best player and best striker. Barcelona’s right back, Dani Alves picked up the best defender award while the best midfielder belonged to Barcelona’s Iniesta. Only the best goalkeeper was out of Barcelona’s reach. The UEFA gave the prize to Juventus’s Buffon.

Guardiola was voted the best manager. While he spoke cordially with Platini on the stage, it seemed that the two men were congenial.

The UEFA used to want to focus on cultivating Tony Twain but Twain was too tactless and repeatedly embarrassed UEFA. His big mouth was fearless and did not care who he offended. They had to quickly put Twain in the opposite camp. In the UEFA’s eyes, English football, which had always produced individualistic managers, was the least popular. Tony Twain’s appearance just proved the correctness of this “law.”

Now they could breathe a sigh of relief. Guardiola’s rise filled the gap left by Tony Twain’s departure. The UEFA could finally produce a positive image.

Twain was not interested in all these. He did not want the UEFA to promote him, because he did not want to be the face of another company. If someone else did something bad, the first one to be scolded would be the face.

He was only interested in the result of the draw.

The draw ceremony was co-chaired by the football stars and the players who won the awards, invited by the UEFA.

The players would draw for the teams, and the famous players would draw the teams’ groups.

The teams were drawn one by one and went into the groups they were supposed to go to.

Nottingham Forest was disqualified as a seeded team after it missed the recent season of the Champions League in addition to a season of average results. They were assigned to the second tier.

So which team would it be grouped with?

“Nottingham Forest.” Guardiola held up the note in his hand and showed it to below the stage. A burst of laughter came from below the stage. It felt a clever twist of fate stirring things up by having this man pull out Nottingham Forest.

Twain whistled and did not care about the managers who turned their heads around to smile at him.

Next up was Nottingham Forest’s group.

“Group C.”

Once this was announced, the people here looked back at Twain again.

The seeded team in Group C was the Serie A giant, Juventus. In the 2008-09 Champions League, the defending champion, Nottingham Forest was grouped with Juventus in the group stage. At the time, the Forest team had lost the away game to Juventus. They could not win at home as well and were completely crushed by Juventus, leaving them with no chance.

Everyone thought that with Tony Twain’s vengeful character, how could he easily let Juventus go? Now that this had happened, UEFA gave both teams a chance to resolve their grievances, or to continue to worsen their grievances.

After the draw was over, Twain realized his team was in the group of death.

The four teams in Group C were the seeded team, Juventus, Nottingham Forest and Celtic and Atlético Madrid.

Twain addressed the issue in an interview after the draw, “The group of death? That depends on which point of view... It’s nothing to me, but for my opponents, it’s really a group of death...” With that, he turned around and left. He seemed to have little interest in playing a mind twister game with the reporters here.

Unfortunately, he was not sent to Group A by UEFA’s unspoken rules... The seeded team in that group was Barcelona.

But it was all good. Twain had a chance to get revenge. With the gap of two years, the thought of the entire team’s wild celebration after Juventus’s home win over the Forest team still rankled.

The away loss to Juventus and being forced to a tie at home by The Old Lady seemed to be the beginning of Nottingham Forest’s slump in Europe. Now Twain had a chance to get things back to normal.

The group of death?

More like the group of death for the other three teams...

Chapter 758 - Happy Birthday Uncle Tony

Nottingham Forest were drawn into the group of death; it became another conspiracy that the UEFA targeted Tony Twain and his team under the English media’s rendering. Although none of the media which solemnly vowed, were able to produce solid evidence, the readers liked this angle.

“With Guardiola and his Barcelona team, they no longer needed to rely on Tony Twain’s team to reach the knockout stage to secure the biggest commercial advantage for the Champions League tournament. But even in the group stage, they still wanted to squeeze the last bit of value from Twain—they had grouped Nottingham Forest and Juventus together. The feud from two seasons ago will continue to play out this season. The media and spectators like to watch such a strong showdown.”

<The Sun> which had always been known for saying anything, had put it this way, which seemed rather reasonable.

In his column, Tony Twain stuck to his viewpoint that he had said to the media after the draw: the death group was not the group of death for him and the Forest team, but the group of death for the other three teams.

He did not care much about the “group of death” that the media hotly hyped about. Because the top priority for the moment was to go home and spend his birthday with Shania.

Shania was in America some time ago and had come back this time because of Uncle Tony’s birthday.

Twain loved his job, but now he cherished his time with Shania even more.

People who had died once would get over certain matters very quickly but became more strongly attached to some things than before.

※※※

While Twain was still in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for the Champions League draw, Shania had quietly returned to their home in Mapperley Park, Nottingham.

She seemed a little distracted these days in Los Angeles, both at work and in her studies. Her agent, Mr. Fasal, found her out of character. But when he thought about it again, he knew it must have something to do with Twain’s birthday, so he was not too concerned. It was a matter between the couple, and it was inappropriate for an outsider like him to speak.

What caused Shania to behave out of character was actually related to Tony Twain’s birthday—she was worried about what birthday present she should give to Uncle Tony.

On his fortieth birthday, Shania had given him a car, an expensive gift that Twain had already told her not to give again in the future. Although he liked the car very much and had been driving it, it was rather awkward for him as a man that his young wife had bought a car for him—he could not let outsiders think that he was guy who lived off a woman.

Consequently, on Shania’s birthday, Twain returned with a gift of an adorable Beetle to Shania. The two people were considered even.

So, what would be the best thing that Shania could give now?

It was a real difficulty to give a gift to her sweetheart. Twain had almost no other hobby since he gave up smoking and drinking, so it was not going to work to fit with his interests.

While she was worried, Shania had gone to Gloria to come up with ideas.

The woman who circulated in the men’s circles all the time but kept her hands clean, said with a smile, “You should give whatever you think is missing in your life.”

Then Shania began to rack her brains to think about what was missing from her life with Uncle Tony...

They had almost everything in life. The financial crisis impacted the wealthy less than imagined and even less so on the hard-working rich. Materially, she could not think of what was missing.

In terms of spirit...

She felt too lonely in Los Angeles and believed that Uncle Tony felt the same way in Nottingham alone. Could it be that she or one of them had to end their work and devote on accompanying the other person and become the other person’s dependent?

Shania thought neither she nor Uncle Tony was like that.

What was missing the most...

She worried about it for several days in this way. On the last day before returning to England, Mr. Fasal, who was sending her off, suddenly made her understand what was most missing with a jest.

In the car on the way to the airport, Fasal teased about Shania and Twain while he drove, “Jordie, you and Tony have been married for more than a year, when will I see your baby?”

It was said in jest, but it stirred Shania’s mind.

It did not occur to her if other people had not mentioned it. She had been married to Uncle Tony for more than a year and made love almost every day as long as they were together. But her body just did not respond...

They did not use any contraception, but Shania did not have any news.

She suddenly thought of the best birthday present she should give Uncle Tony—she wanted to successfully conceive on Uncle Tony’s birthday.

It was more valuable to give Uncle Tony a child as a gift!

Shania was so proud of her idea that she smiled in the car.

Fasal was surprised to see her smiling in the rearview mirror.

“Nothing, Mr. Fasal. It occurred to me that what is the best gift to give Uncle Tony.”

※※※

In fact, time was very tight for Twain. The Champions League draw ceremony took place on the evening of September 8th. Then the coaches attended a dinner reception. It went on late into the night, so he could only return early next morning in order to catch up with Shania on September 9th to spend his birthday with her.

When the travel-worn Twain rushed home, he saw Shania in the living room as he’d wished.

“Safe on the base.” Shania gestured like a baseball referee.

Twain leaned against the door frame, breathed a sigh of relief, and then laughed.

“You’re thinner than before, Shania.”

“Staying in shape is a must for models.” Shania walked over with her catwalk and tried to tease Uncle Tony. “Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!”

Twain hugged her and gave her welcome kiss but did not immediately respond to her teasing. He was concerned about another question, “We still have half a day left, and I don’t want to spend the time in bed, Shania. Let’s go out and have some fun, shall we?”

Shania had to let go and shrugged, “Okay. But I’ll state first that we’re having dinner at home.”

“Have you learned to cook any good dishes?” Twain said with a wry smile. For Shania, the greatest pleasure in family life was to learn to cook from people everywhere, and then use Twain’s mouth and stomach as a laboratory. Although her cooking had improved slightly over the years, generally speaking, most of what she cooked was actually inedible...

Shania did not answer. She only giggled and looked mysterious.

“Where are we going to go have fun?” She asked.

“Anywhere, we can go shopping. Aren’t you going to give me any gift?”

“Well...” Shania’s dark eyes turned, and she said, “Okay! What kind of gift do you want, Uncle Tony?”

Twain was stumped by the question. He really did not know what he wanted, so he coughed and said, “As long as it’s from you, anything will do!”

“That’s half-hearted!” Shania rolled her eyes and grabbed Twain’s arm, “We’ll go out for lunch. Let’s head out, Uncle Tony!”

※※※

Since the jeep was sent to the workshop for service and maintenance while Twain attended the draw ceremony and the Beetle that Twain gave to Shania was also far away in the United States, the two people could either choose to take a taxi or a public bus when they went out.

Twain first called Landy and asked if he was free. The answer he got was that Landy was driving a passenger on his way to Birmingham Airport. Twain certainly could not ask him to abandon his passenger halfway and drive back to Nottingham to pick him up. Twain was reluctant to take a taxi with an unfamiliar driver. So, they simply took the public transportation.

Shania agreed as well. Although she was the real star, she probably never liked her modeling career, and did not think anything amazing about being a model star. So, it was acceptable to her to not drive and choose public transport.

The two people wore only dark sunglasses and got on the tram to head to the city.

People on the tram recognized them—whether it was Twain or Shania, they were well-known in Nottingham. Some people took out their call phones to take pictures of them. The sun was shining outside the window, and there were not many people in the car. Other than people taking pictures, no one came up to talk to them. The two people did not pay much attention to other than to acknowledge them. In this way, they enjoyed the ordinary life of the ordinary people.

When they got to the station, the two got off and transferred to another public bus toward the busiest city center. They did not forget to wave to the passengers on the tram before they left.

On the public bus, the two people encountered the same situation. But as they get closer to the city center and more passengers came on board, they received more attention. It seemed that some people were somewhat astonished that big stars such as Tony Twain and Shania chose to travel by bus. Some people discussed spiritedly in whispers as they watched the two of them.

Twain and Shania acted as if they did not hear those discussions and calmly sat side by side as they turned their heads to look out of the window and admired the streetscape.

Before he transmigrated, it was hard for him to imagine what kind of mood he would be in when he was photographed on the cell phones by onlookers on the bus to go out. But now he was unruffled by the situation.

Shania did not care what those people did. She occasionally joked with Twain, chatted in a low voice, and laughed happily in the noisy bus. She was more relaxed than Twain. She was a natural-born star...

This afternoon, the two people hung out in the city center for a long time, bought a lot of unnecessary items, as long as Shania liked them. As the day wore on, the two people carried bags of stuff and took the bus back to Mapperley Park.

At this time, Twain grumbled that if he drove, they did not have to lug so much stuff and squeeze in a crowded bus ... ...

Shania would give him a roll of her eyes and said, “Who asks you to send the car for servicing at this time?”

※※※

When the two got home, Twain lay exhausted on the couch and refused to move from his spot. His feet hurt. Whereas Shania put down the things excitedly and ran into the kitchen.

“You’re so excited...” Twain grew increasingly frightened when he saw Shania’s manner. He asked, “What universally shocking meal are you going to serve up?”

“A dinner of love!” Shania poked her head out of the kitchen and pulled her face at Twain.

Twain knew that Shania was always full of ideas and did not investigate further. Anyway, there must be a surprise or scare waiting for him. There was a good point being with Shania—he never knew what he was going to eat at his next meal.

He took a break and began to rifle through the prizes from the afternoon.

In addition to some daily necessities, there were new clothes for the two of them to wear. She bought for him a suit, casual wear, shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts, jacket, tie, leather shoes... Shania bought very little for herself. She only had one bag.

When they paid for the stuff, Twain did not look as it was on Shania’s credit card—because it was his birthday today. Now looking at the delicate pink bag, he suddenly became curious and wanted to see what Shania had bought for herself. When she first bought it, Shania did not do it in front of him.

So, he reached out and opened the bag.

He had just taken out one item and stared at it in disbelief—he was holding a pink sexy underwear!

He and Shania had never needed anything like this as husband and wife... Because Shania’s energetic young body was more attractive to him than any sexy underwear.

He could not understand why Shania bought it.

He put the underwear in his hand, carried it behind him, and walked into the kitchen. He had to ask for clarification—he did not want Shania to secretly buy it and bring it back to America to wear it for some other man.

He quietly appeared behind Shania, and the busy Shania did not notice that there was someone behind her.

Twain did not open his mouth to ask because he was stopped short by what he saw.

He saw two whole boxes of raw oysters...

Any fool knew what the raw oysters were for.

Next to the oysters was a jar of unopened caviar bought from Fortnum & Mason in London.

Both items were aphrodisiacs.

“I’m not so old that I need to rely on food to replenish my sex drive, Shania...”

Twain suddenly piped up in the back startled Shania. She covered her mouth and turned around. She glared at Twain said with annoyance, “You gave me a scare, Uncle Tony!”

Twain transferred the underwear in his left hand to his right hand at the back and then put out his left hand to point out, “Are you not satisfied with my performance in bed?”

“What are you talking about?!” Shania could hear some displeasure in Twain’s tone and hurriedly explained, “I just want to add some spice to the mood ... A candlelight dinner, I even ordered a chocolate cake! Don’t you think it’s very romantic?”

Twain pursed his lips and said, “I feel it’s very romantic that you came back from America. I don’t ask for much.”

Shania draped her arms around Twain’s neck and said softly, “I want to give you the best birthday present, Uncle Tony.”

“I’ve already received it. Those clothes outside...” Twain pointed to the living room outside the kitchen door.

Shania rolled her eyes and complained that Uncle Tony had spoiled the mood, “How can those things be compared to the real gift I’m about to give you? I want to give you a baby!”

Twain was so startled that he nearly jumped out of Shania’s arms. He thought he misheard, “You’re pregnant?!”

Shania continued to roll her eyes. She thought Uncle Tony was hopelessly stupid.

“I want to get pregnant! Tonight!”

“Hey, Shania. How can we conceive like that just because we say so?” Twain did not know who was the foolish one...

When she heard Twain express doubts, Shania gave a smug smile, “Today is my dangerous period, Uncle Tony.”

Twain’s eyes instantly widened. He seemed to have heard the most incredible thing.

“You lost, Uncle Tony!” Shania laughed happily across from Twain, “A candlelight dinner with champagne, caviar, and oysters! This is the first part of my birthday present to you!”

Twain looked her all excited, but thought instead— perhaps it would be more interesting to put caviar on the tips of Shania’s breasts...

Ah, what a sin, I’m such a pervert...

That night, Tony Twain had a very busy time while Shania was fully sated.

They both wanted a child. The two people’s life alone together for too long could really a little lonely and boring ...

A little surprise in life was needed, whether it was Tony Twain or Shania, both hoped that a child could be their surprise in the near future.

Chapter 759 - Travelling with Tony Today

While Tony Twain and his young wife Shania were romantically enjoying each other’s company and were also trying their hardest to create a human being, Carl Spicer, on the other hand, was leading a depressing life.

One of the things that made him feel depressed was how he had publicly addressed Ibi?evi? as a ‘Bosnian refugee’. His words were deemed to be racist, and he had to recite an apology letter during his show due to the different kinds of pressure that were weighing down on him.

It was supposed to be an ‘apology’ letter, but he did not mention the word ‘sorry’ in it.

This showed how reluctant he was to do an apology.

Right after that, Ibi?evi?, who Spicer had mocked without restraint all this while, had scored in the league. To make matters worse, he had scored three in one go! The way he scored the goals was akin to a monk who saw a beautiful naked woman after 30 years of abstinence. He was unstoppable.

That was not the end. During the post-match interview with the press, the man of the match had said that his celebratory move was to ‘slap someone in the face’. Even a fool would know who that ‘someone’ was.

One can easily imagine how Spicer’s face would be slapped over and over again in front of the masses as long as Ibi?evi? continued to score goals from here on out.

That was definitely not something that would make a person feel good.

What was even more depressing was how he could not retaliate, or even rebut, despite being slapped in the face.

Who asked that he had made a wager with the fox Tony Twain, and had also arrogantly derided Ibi?evi? in his show?

Now the ‘master’ and the ‘disciple’ were both teaming up to get revenge on him.

It could be regarded as retribution…

He has had his tail between his legs during this period of time.

At the same time, he has also been on the lookout to see when Tony Twain would get into trouble again, so that he has the opportunity stage a counterattack.

He tried not to touch on any topics related to Nottingham Forest for the past two episodes of his show. He talked about a number of things, such as how Ferguson brought up his plans to retire once again. He also talked about Arsenal’s gifted youth players and how Rijkaard was seemingly unable to get used to life in England. But, the things he avoided talking about were Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest, as well as the ‘Bosnian refugee’.

However, there will always be people who like watching him talk about Tony Twain and who are unwilling to remain idle…

※※※

On Monday, when Carl Spicer had just reported to work, he found an e-mail in his inbox. The title read, ‘Dear Mr. Carl Spicer, I’d like to provide a bit of gossip regarding Tony Twain’.

The sender wrote that he was someone living in Nottingham. One time, he had boarded the bus and was on his way to do some shopping when he noticed, much to his surprise, that Tony Twain and his wife had boarded the same bus as him. The two were all smiles as they went downtown to shop. The sender abandoned his shopping plans and stalked the pair for an entire afternoon. He captured numerous photos of them with his mobile phone and had only stopped when the couple went back home.

News about celebrities out to do shopping were nothing extraordinary. No matter how bored Carl Spicer might be, he would not attack Tony Twain for going out to shop. However, what interested both him and the informant was that Tony Twain had not driven a car when he had gone out to do shopping with his supermodel wife. Instead, he had chosen to board the bus, which was an accessible mode of transport typically used by commoners.

Carl Spicer thought the same way as the informant. This incident was something that he could use to deride Twain.

The informant introduced himself as a fan of Notts County. Nottingham Forest was his club’s arch-nemesis, hence, the more proud and well-off their arch nemesis becomes, the more irritated Notts County fans become as well. This meant that there were at least half of the people in Nottingham who supported Carl Spicer…

Spicer downloaded all the photos that were attached to the e-mail, and began going through each and every of them.

The informant might have secretly taken all those photos, but he apparently had good skills, because the photos were all clear and there was very little motion blur in them. He was able to clearly see Twain and Shania chatting away happily on the bus in the photos. The two had donned sunglasses, but even an idiot could recognize who they were.

The couple did not seem to mind the looks of astonishment from those around them, and they continued getting intimate on the bus as though no one was around.

Carl Spicer looked at the photos and smiled.

He thought of a brilliant way to hit back at Twain in his show.

※※※

Carl Spicer’s big cartoon head popped up on the screen, accompanied by a relaxing and wacky music as the latest episode of ‘Football Matters’ aired.

In the first half of the show, Carl Spicer discussed about the recent and interesting events that had happened in the England footballing scene as he had always done in the past. He still avoided talking about Tony Twain, and also did not mention the latest draw results of the Champions League.

Everything was normal and there was nothing different from how his show had been like in the past.

Towards the end of the show, Spicer concluded his discussions related to football and began talking about the status of England’s public transport industry to his audience.

Don’t look down on all these information of his that he was using as a part of his build-up towards what he really wanted to say next. They were all information that he had gathered after doing research for numerous days.

“… Oil prices have soared at the moment. Most people are unable to drive their cars even if they own one. Under such circumstances, there have been numerous wealthy people who have also begun to consider making use of a different mode of transport to travel around…” He was about to go into the main point of this entire discussion. “For example, our friend, Mr. Tony Twain… Has recently ditched his 130,000 pound Mercedes jeep behind, and had taken the bus with his wife.”

A photo that had been taken by the informant showed up on the screen. The scene of Tony Twain and Shania having a chat on the bus appeared before the public.

Subsequently, Carl Spicer picked up an item from the table, and dangled it before the camera. “The combined salaries of a manager who has a yearly salary of 2,700,000 pounds, and his supermodel wife whose salary we do not know of, but it can only be higher than his, cannot afford the rising oil prices. It goes to show how much the fuel prices have soared! As a friend who is concerned about Tony Twain, I have decided to give Twain a birthday present.”

He pointed at the item in his hand and said earnestly, “This is the annual pass for Nottingham’s bus services. It is priced at 640 pounds. I believe this will be able to help ease your financial burdens. A day later the courier will help me deliver this right to your hands. Happy birthday, Mr. Twain! Haha!”

He had kept a deadpan expression the entire time, but he finally could hold it in no longer and led out a laugh.

The credits began flashing by the screen right then, and the episode ended with his laughter.

He had finally found a way to hit back at Twain, but when the show ended, Spicer felt like his mockery lacked something. It felt a little reserved…

Things would have been perfect if Twain did not own a car, because he would have been able to mock how he had earned so much money, but would not spend the money buying a car for himself and would rather squeeze on the bus with his wife.

All he could mock Twain about right now was his reluctance to spend money purchasing fuel for his car. However, the truth was that in England, oil prices were truly quite expensive, and there were quite a number of people who chose to take the public transport during the weekdays despite owning a car. They would only drive their cars during the weekends when they bring their families out to play.

This current situation in England made his mockery lack a bit of punch.

※※※

A day later, Twain really received the annual pass at his doorstep. The pass came with a handwritten note from Carl Spicer,

“Happy Birthday, Mr. Twain! I hope this present of mine is able to lessen some of your financial burdens! Yours Sincerely, Your Best Friend, Carl Spicer.”

Twain has never watched any of Spicer shows.

Wouldn’t I just be torturing myself if I watched the shows knowing full well that they were shows to scold me?

Thus, he did not make sense of what was going on initially. He only understood what had happened when he drove over to Wilford.

Pierce Brosnan greeted Twain as he approached him. “Carl Spicer has scolded you in his show once again.”

Twain was not the least bit surprised. “He finally found an excuse?”

Brosnan nodded his head. “Someone secretly took a photo of you and Shania when the two of you had boarded the bus to go out to shop. He used that as the pretext to deride that you were a penny-pincher.”

Twain remembered the annual pass that he had received earlier. “So that’s what happened…”

“Do you want to say something to hit back at him?” The reason for Brosnan’s interest was because every time Twain raged a war with Spicer, the sales of Nottingham Evening Post would rise significantly.

Twain nodded his head and decided to publish a few sentences scolding Spicer in his column. He had intended it as his way of repaying Brosnan for providing him with information regarding George Wood earlier.

However, after thinking about it some more, he realized that it was meaningless to just publish a few sentences to scold Spicer. If he really wanted to publish something, he should make sure he gets to scold him a lot more.

Mr. Carl Spicer, do you think you can stump me with just these petty tricks of yours?

You want to anger me?

I think you are still very inexperienced. I will show you how it’s done!

Therefore, he shook his head afterwards. “Not this time round.”

Brosnan looked a little disappointed.

“I will call you over to take some photos for me a few days later.” Twain patted him on the shoulder and walked into the training grounds.

“He looks like he doesn’t care about what happened at all…” A reporter who was following Brosnan as an intern came up to him after seeing that Twain had left. He had initially been standing a distance away from both of them.

“If you were quarrelling with your girlfriend on a daily basis, then you wouldn’t think much about another quarrel either.” Brosnan turned around and told the intern in the tone of someone who has worked in the industry much longer than him.

※※※

Two days later, Brosnan received a call from Twain asking him to bring his camera over to Mapperley.

Brosnan rushed over excitedly, but was shocked by what he saw once he reached the designated spot.

Twain stood beside a humongous object and was already doing a pose. He shouted at Brosnan who stared incredulously at him, “Take two more shots! After taking these shots outside, we’d head inside for more photos!”

Brosnan pointed at the object and stammered a little, “You… You bought this?”

“That’s right. Don’t look down on it. It costs more than my Mercedes-Benz!”

“This… Does Shania know about it?” Brosnan was still unable to press down on the shutter. His brain was filled with question marks, how could he possibly be in the mood to take a photo?

“Of course she does. I explained everything to her. She even told me to send her the photos after I’m done. Stop talking crap, hurry up and take a photo!”

There was nothing Brosnan could do but to lift up his camera and press down on the shutter with an awkward smile.

He thought to himself, Tony, you have really splashed the cash this time…

※※※

Carl Spicer has received numerous feedback that have made him delighted ever since that particular episode aired. Everyone enjoys watching his exchange of words with Tony Twain, and they like how they would always mock each other.

There were many other shows that also discussed footballing matters, and he might not do as good a job as some of those veterans. However, when it came to ‘insulting Twain’, there was not a second person in the whole of England who did a better job than him.

Numerous newspapers reported the news about how Tony Twain had boarded the bus with his young wife. The Sun even wrote about Carl Spicer’s unspoken words in its article,

“Tony Twain is the Felix Grandet [1] of this modern era! Your wife specially flew over from America to celebrate your birthday, and this is how you treat her? You brought a supermodel to squeeze with others on the bus. Even if you don’t find it embarrassing, others would!”

Of course, Spicer was the one who provided this piece of news to the media.

He also got featured on numerous media platforms for his action of gifting Twain with an annual bus pass.

Everyone thought it was a joke. All jokes can be classified as either one done in ‘goodwill’ or ‘menace’. Carl Spicer’s joke was definitely not one that was done in goodwill…

He was very happy to see this incident grow in influence as a result of the media adding fuel to the fire.

Thereafter, he began to look forward to seeing the look of fluster and exasperation on Tony Twain’s face. He wanted to hear Twain’s thoughts on the matter. Hence, he made preparations to head over to Nottingham to attend the press conference that will be held before the start of the next match, because he wanted to ask Tony Twain about his thoughts when he received the special birthday gift in person.

He would then be able to admire Twain’s wonderful expression up close.

This was truly something that would make people feel all refreshed!

However, he did not need to wait for the day when he headed over to Nottingham for Tony Twain’s response.

He received an envelope from the same courier service that he had used previously. After he had signed and opened the envelope, he realized that the annual pass he had given Twain laid within quietly.

There was nothing else in the envelope besides the pass. Carl Spicer even went to the extent of shaking the envelope, tearing it open and checking it numerous times just to make sure that Twain had not left behind a note that berated him.

He found it odd. This was not something that Twain would do. What Twain would usually do is to exact revenge in different ways if you angered him. It was not possible that he would only return the pass to him and not do anything else after how he derided and scorned him…

He got his answer quickly.

Because he received another envelope moments later.

It was a bulged envelope. Spicer opened it and took a look. There were nothing but photos inside.

Tony Twain stood beside a double-decker bus and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

Tony Twain sat in the bus and read a set of newspapers with his legs crossed.

Tony Twain sat on the driver’s seat of the bus and had his hand on the steering wheel.

All the photos had one recurring theme: Tony Twain and his new vehicle, the bus!

※※※

The show ‘Match of the Day’ that aired on BBC5 discussed the interesting events that had happened in England’s footballing scene recently.

The international competition had just concluded, and all the football clubs were gearing up for the league matches that would kick off over the weekend. There were no interesting news to discuss, except for the incident between Tony Twain and Carl Spicer that had caught the attention of everyone once again.

Gary Lineker laughed in his show as he said, “Carl Spicer gave Twain an annual pass to mock him for being a penny-pincher. What happened next was that Twain instantly reacted in a way that speaks of him. Please take a look at the photos.”

The photos that Carl Spicer saw appeared on the screen.

“Tony Twain has indicated that he does not need Mr. Carl Spicer’s help to ease his financial burdens. He likes big cars, so he spent 180,000 pounds to buy an Alexander Dennis Enviro400. It can go up to speeds of 28 miles per hour. It has an engine with a capacity of 6700cc, and it is able to seat 90 people. What a big fellow this is! If Tony really drove this with his wife in it onto the streets, how cool would that be! Ha!”

“The day when Carl Spicer is able to get Twain to buy a helicopter through his derision would be the day that he triumphs!”

※※※

Carl Spicer amply understood how scary Tony Twain could be when he gets stubborn through this particular incident…

But, he did not admit defeat. He said mockingly afterwards, “I admire Mr. Tony Twain for his resolution, but how many times is he able to drive such a big car onto the streets? If he doesn’t drive it out, the vehicle will definitely take up too much space in his yard… From what we can see from the photos, there’s not much space left in his yard after he parked the bus there…”

There was no need for Carl Spicer to waste his energy pondering about such things, because it was not something that would stump our intelligent and sly Tony Twain.

The bus that Twain spent 180,000 pounds to buy became immensely popular due to how it was used in the battle between Twain and Carl Spicer.

Thereafter, Twain ‘sold’ the bus for a symbolic fee of 18 pounds to a local bus company in Nottingham. The bus would operate on the route that leads from Mapperley to the downtown area of Nottingham.

In England, buses would typically come with a sign that would be used to display the name of the bus driver driving the bus for the day. The words ‘Today, you will be travelling with XXX’ would be written on it. However, the bus that Twain just ‘sold’ was slightly more special. The sign on the bus read,

“Today, you will be travelling with Tony Twain!”

The Sun wrote teasingly after receiving word of the news, “The Notts County fans who live along the bus’s route have to ascertain who they are travelling with before boarding the bus…”

Chapter 760 - The Manager Killer

By the time the war of words between Tony Twain and Carl Spicer was over, the national team’s games had ended as well. The players returned to their clubs in succession to prepare for the league tournament and cup competitions.

Nottingham Forest would take on Manchester City in an away game on September 15th.

On September 17th, they returned to their home ground to play the Champions League game against the Scottish Premiership champion, Celtic.

The league game with Manchester City was attention-grabbing because of the two-year-plus feud between the two teams.

Bendtner was now Manchester City’s main striker and unassailable main force. He did very well in Manchester City. Although the team’s results did not improve much, he personally benefited a lot from the transfer. The United Arab Emirates boss could fire managers but would not fire a striker who could score goals for no reason.

Ashley Young did pretty well at Manchester City too. He was basically the main winger. Even though he left the Forest team, his assists per season still ranked among the best. It was a model example of “gold shines everywhere.” The Manchester media once ridiculed Tony Twain, “He sold a good player just like that. Does he really think he’s the king of Nottingham Forest? The megalomaniac!”

The good performances of these players were in stark contrast to the decline in Nottingham Forest’s results over the past two seasons. During the six months Tony Twain spent recuperating from his heart attack, there were media outlets which expressed congratulations to Bendtner and Ashley Young for “escaping” Nottingham Forest in time.

But every dog had his day. After those two seasons were over, Nottingham Forest was back in contention for the title again. This time up against Manchester City, Tony Twain did not want to lose even if it was an away game.

Before the game, the personal feud between him and Bendtner was brought to the table again. Twain felt that the media were being tedious. Why was the same boring old gossip being talked about again and again?

“Every time I play against a team wearing red, I get invigorated.” Bendtner said in a pre-game interview.

Some people had said he was trying to win favor with the Manchester City fans because the Manchester United team wore red. But in fact, more people believed he was obliquely referring to Nottingham Forest. After all, he was already secured in the Manchester City main striker position. He only had to please the fans when he just joined the team. Was there a need to use this time to show loyalty again?

Twain’s response was silence. He felt he did not waste his breath with a traitor that had left.?That would be a loss of dignity. It was better to use the actual results from the game as a weapon to fight back

It was his man, Gareth Bale that stepped forward unhappily and hit back at Bendtner, “He should have thought about where he would have been without Nottingham Forest. Maybe he would be a substitute player at Arsenal and keep clamoring to transfer if he did not get a chance to play.”

The ridicule was deep and smacked of Tony Twain’s style. Bale followed Twain for so many years and was good at glib talk. He was no longer the nervous young kid who followed Ashley Young went to the Dutch brothels.

George Wood was not involved in the war of words between the two teams. He was busy discussing his new contract with the club.

Having gone through AC Milan’s incitement, Tony Twain recognized the need to negotiate a new contract with Wood and give the team and fans confidence at this time.

So, he threw Billy Woox whom he did not want to see the most at Allan Adams and let the two foxes negotiate the renewal.

It was said that if the new contract was successfully signed, George Wood would play for Nottingham Forest until 2015. He would be twenty-nine years old at that time, and his retirement from the Forest team was just another new contract.

And this contract would greatly enhance George Wood’s package in the team and cement his current position as the highest-paid player in the team. This time, neither Allan Adams nor Tony Twain was not going to be stingy with his salary. No matter what, George Wood was also the World Cup’s fourth main player. His reputation was not the same after the World Cup. If they did not make a heavy investment, how could they make Wood stay here unswervingly and reflect the captain’s extraordinary unique value?

Insider information stated that he would be offered a hefty contract of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds a week, possibly on the same level as Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool’s Gerrard and other world-class star players.

His goal of entering professional football was achieved—he was paid one hundred and twenty thousand a week and now had a contract of ten thousand more than he had imagined.

No one in the Nottingham Forest team objected to George Wood’s contract. Everyone knew what Wood meant to the team. As the team captain, core of the midfield and flag-bearer, he deserved a contract that surpassed the wages of the rest of the team.

And everyone else understood clearly. If they wanted to emulate George Wood’s signed contract at this level, perhaps the boss would put him up for sale after he considered it carefully…

George Wood’s renewal negotiations started from the matter with AC Milan. The two foxes, Allan Adams and Billy Woox haggled for several rounds and finally settled every word and punctuation on the contract.

Then, two days before the match against Manchester City, Nottingham Forest officially announced:

In clarifying the rumors about his connection with AC Milan, Nottingham Forest’s team captain, George Wood has proudly signed his name this morning on a new five-year contract. He will continue to play for Nottingham Forest until June 30th, 2015.

Then Wood and Tony Twain attended the press conference together for the renewal.

At the press conference, Wood seriously and earnestly expressed his loyalty to all Nottingham Forest fans, “I will play at Nottingham Forest until I retire, even if it is unfortunately relegated.”

Twain gave him a gentle pat and said, “Don’t say anything inauspicious, George. How can the Forest team be relegated?”

The pair’s intimate gesture made the reporters in the room laughed. The performance also dispelled any rumors that Wood and Twain were at odds.

Afterward, Pierce Brosnan wrote in the article about the renewal, “After half a month’s wait, all the Nottingham Forest fans can finally take a breath and have a good night’s sleep—they do not have to worry about waking up to read the papers to find that their team captain has gone to faraway Italy. George Wood has promised to play here until his retirement, and he has expressed his love for the team. The story from the summer became a farce, and we have reason to look forward to the day George Wood retires from the Forest team!”

Twain’s decision to announce the success of the club’s contract with Wood ahead of the Manchester City game was also well thought out.

He wanted to send such a signal to all his opponents, including Manchester City that Nottingham Forest was certainly still united internally and the opponents had better not take advantage of the situation to stir up trouble. The flag-bearer’s contract renewal with the team’s to 2015 also greatly boosted the team’s morale and confidence. No one would be harassed by the tabloid reporters after training. Everyone only had to think how to win the game.

Twain undoubtedly did not forget to continue unleash his best psychological offensive—not against the younger Bendtner, but against the team’s manager, Kevin Keegan:

“I really, really, really feel sorry for him. I used to think the manager of an English football team was the hardest thing to do. Now I realize my mistake—the Manchester City manager is! Look at what his predecessor, Mark Hughes’s first words were after his dismissal? ‘I can finally get a good night’ sleep!’ It’s pathetic… A manager at Manchester City can’t sleep well. Actually, Kevin wanted to leave that place, didn’t he? He’s in a tug of war with Manchester City now, and Manchester City’s the one tugging the rope… Ah, who’s the sorriest man? I bet it’s not Kevin Keegan. Who am I supposed to sympathize with?”

Manchester City had a poor record last season. At the start of the new season, they lost the Toto Cup again and lost the qualification to compete in the European competition this season. Coming up empty in results was unforgivable for the Manchester City boss, who had invested at least three hundred million in the transfer market in two years’ time.

Such a result for any other team, the club would not hesitate to fire the manager. Or some managers themselves would take the initiative to resign when they could not stand the pressure.

But the situation was unique at Manchester City.

Keegan’s refusal to quit had a lot to do with the contract he originally signed with Manchester City. After Mark Hughes left, Kevin Keegan’s high-profile return to Manchester City, where the club valued his reputation and coaching ability in English football, gave him a worthwhile contract—an annual salary of three million and eight hundred thousand pounds! It was almost on an equal footing with Ferguson and Wenger, the two legendary Premier League managers.

The contract was signed for four years, and it had only been one year now. If the club was going to fire Keegan, it was fine except they would have to pay the three-year salary of 11.4 million pounds first.

Anyway, Keegan had a good temper and attitude. He was not a fool who had a sudden heart attack due to excessive pressure and collapsed on the sidelines of the field…..

As a result, he was properly installed in this position. Whenever the Manchester City club could grit its teeth and pay the salary of more than ten million pounds in one go, he would leave immediately.

Keegan’s mind had done the calculation. How could other people not know? But everyone was an insider, so basically no one mentioned these hurtful words. As the saying went, “do not hit people in the face while beating someone up.”

Tony Twain just did not care. With his big mouth, he just spilled the beans whether what could be said or not without filter…

So, when Kevin Keegan heard his words, his face immediately darkened.

The manager’s loyalty to a team had a direct impact on the team’s morale and fighting spirit, as well as performance. Tony Twain did understand the principle, so he must have deliberately yelled it out.

Everyone who was a manager was aware not to think of the professional players as too smart. As a manager, if he wanted to manage these players as an adult, he would be badly battered and found out that it was still best to manager them all like a parent and treat them as children.

The players often had a blind faith in the manager, and they were willing to believe in the actions and manner that the manager did on a daily basis, rather than consider whether that statement and practice were reasonable.

Although Kevin Keegan produced poor results that resulted in a mess, he relied on his good old man’s style of management and interpersonal relationships. Even though his relationship with the senior management was not good, his prestige within the team was quite high. Every player listened to him. Every time the news of the club’s top brass being unhappy with Kevin Keegan’s results came out in the media, there would be players who stepped up to defend their manager, saying that the club should give the good manager enough patience. Keegan had proven his level in his previous coaching experience and all he needed now was time. A club that always changed its manager could not solve any problems…

Roping in the locker room was the most effective way for Keegan to contend against the club’s top brass.

Now Twain’s words were clearly about dividing the cohesion between him and the players. Such a move could be said to be ruthless…

To be more malicious, it would not be too much to scold Tony Twain as mean, despicable and shameless.

As a peer in the same profession, how could he try to destroy another person’s livelihood?

But Twain did not think so. He and Keegan were unrelated and not friends. What had Keegan’s life and death got to do with him? It did not matter that he exposed someone’s scars for the sake of his victory. He did not bear any psychological burden at all.

His remarks indeed caused a stir in the media. Kevin Keegan had to come forward and refute the rumor. He said that his stay at the club had nothing to do with his salary. It was because he loved Manchester City and wanted to lead the team out of trouble…

A reporter tactlessly asked, “If the results continue to decline, will you consider taking the initiative to resign?”

Keegan frowned and thought for a moment to sidestep the topic, “I never think about what had not happened. I’m a firm believer in the future of the team and things haven’t become bad enough.”

In the end, he did not say he would resign voluntarily.

Twain’s words caused a lot of trouble for Keegan. Kevin Keegan was furious. Carl Spicer ridiculed on the show, “I dare to wager with Tony Twain this time—if Keegan were to appear in front of him now, he roundly beat him up!”

They soon met.

※※※

In the fourth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Manchester City in an away game. Kevin Keegan did not have to beat Twain in private. He now had an aboveboard chance to beat Twain. In a pre-match interview, he even lost his self-control and repeatedly stressed the following words, “We will definitely win! Definitely!”

Twain’s response was calm. He only said, “He’s mad.”

What was the result of the game?

Caught up in Twain’s psychological warfare, Kevin Keegan had no time to study how to contend with the Forest team’s tactics. Meanwhile, the impact of Twain’s words on the Manchester City team was as if a stone had been dropped in an otherwise calm lake—perhaps it was not big enough, but the ripples and changes had taken place and were gradually spreading.

Questions were raised within the team about their manager, and their performance in the game was a lack of concentration.

Tony Twain’s team seized the opportunity to pursue Manchester City relentlessly and battered them in the away game. Bendtner tried his best to change the result with his own goals, but under the Forest defenders’ split defense, he looked isolated and overly selfish—as long as the ball was at his feet, he rarely passed it out.

Twain wanted to seize on Bendtner’s impatience to take revenge to take him out of the entire Manchester City offensive system. The individual ability of the imbalanced and impatient Bendtner simply could not stand up to the Forest team’s rear defensive line.

As for Ashley Young? He was the unluckiest… He did not even make the squad list because he was too excited the day before the game during training and sprained his ankle.

In the end, Nottingham Forest easily took a 2:0 away win over the chaotic Manchester City team. Ibi?evi? did not make the starting lineup for the game. After confirming that he had returned to form, Twain gave the chance to the other strikers who had sacrificed their starting positions in previous games, such as van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy did not score in the game, but he assisted in the team’s second goal. His goalscoring rate declined as he became older and the number of injuries increased. But none of the strikers in the Forest team could certainly be compared to his all-roundness. With him around, Nottingham Forest would have plenty of options when they struck the thirty-meter zone in the front field.

The two goals were scored respectively by ?ahin and ?igi? who replaced Eastwood in the second half. Twain use the aerial master to blast open Richards’ defense and smashed the ball into the net midair. The ever-strong Richards was knocked aside. This goal looked really powerful!

In the post-match press conference, a reporter asked about the two managers’ pre-match spat. Twain laughed till Kevin Keegan really wanted to pounce on and punch this scumbag like what Carl Spicer had said.

He said, “I think I helped Keegan and Manchester City solve a common difficult problem.”

Two days later, the Manchester City club announced that Kevin Keegan was released from his contract and they paid Keegan a three-year salary of 11.4 million pounds in one lump sum.

“We thank Kevin for the work he has done for the team over the past season and wish him good luck.” It was such a simple statement to bid farewell to Keegan. After losing so much money, the Manchester City club did not want to show any “warmth” and “feelings.” They drove Keegan out of the Manchester City Stadium’s gate like he was the plague.

Tony Twain never lied. He did help Keegan and Manchester City solve their problems.

A busybody did a calculation. This was already the third manager to step down after a game against Nottingham Forest because Tony Twain.

The first was the unlucky Real Madrid manager and Brazilian, Luxemburgo, who resigned on his own the day after losing the game to then-unknown Nottingham Forest at the Bernabéu; the second unlucky person was the famous Mourinho, who left after he tied the game with Nottingham Forest amidst the continued poor results in addition to the conflict with the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich; the third was the current Manchester City manager, Kevin Keegan.

But if the initial disgraceful departure of the Forest manager, Collymore was counted as well as McClaren who was constantly cursed by Tony Twain as “more appropriate to be an assistant manager than a manager” the moment he took office, then the figure made five….

“This guy is a peer killer!” <The Sun> commented in a half-serious and half-joking manner.

Chapter 761 - Anyone and Us

Chapter 761: Anyone and Us

When team leader George Wood announced the extension of the contract, the team easily triumphed over Man City on away ground 2:0. These two matters combined to inflate Nottingham Forest’s morale, boosting their confidence.

Upon facing the Celtics in the Champions League group match, the Nottingham Forest players expressed that there was no problem in winning on home ground. Twain took from Dunn a list of the names of people who either expressed similar sentiments to the media or were overconfident in their usual training. Then, on the starting roster of this starting group match, none of these people were on it.Overconfidence was the most serious problem in the middle and backcourt. Shahin, Bostock, Bentley, Kompany and Rafinha were on that list.

Therefore, the Celtics saw another version of Nottingham Forest on the road: goalkeeper Akinfeev, central defenders Pepe and Woodgate, left back Joe Mattock, and right back Nkoulou. For the midfield position, eternal captain St. George Woodley continued to start and he was untouchable. The person who partnered with him was Tiago. The right avant-garde was Lennon and the left avant-garde was Cohen. The forward line comprised partners van Nistelrooy and Agbonlahor. Not letting Ibi?evi? start out was a tactic to protect him and relieve him of pressure.

The Celtics were absolutely afraid to say that they could easily win over such a version of Nottingham Forest. In fact, because Twain had always liked rotating frequently, each line up did not vary much in terms of strength. Any one could be said to be the main lineup, and sometimes under his ingenious words, the lineup that was not an optimal one could bring immense energy to the field.

This was deeply felt in 07-08. At the Portsmouth season, they thought that the Nottingham Forest, which had a major rotation of the main lineup, could be easily bullied. He had planned to beat this incomparable team and the incomparable head coach at home. They almost succeeded, but in the end the outraged Nottingham Forest dominated with seven goals.After that, no one dared to look down on the second lineup of Nottingham Forest.

The Celtics used a lineup which prioritized defensive counterattacks on the road, striving for a steal by securing a point. Twain expected that the opponent would do this, but the Nottingham Forest of today was no longer a team that only defended counterattacks. Although his lineup lacked a midfield organizer like Shahin, George Wood’s progress in offense was enough to make Twain feel relieved.

There was also a benefit to this midfield configuration: the midfielder had two defensive midfielders who cut off the route the opponent intended to use in his counterattack. In the formation of the two, the two people stood side by side, and the two side avant-garde positions were very forward. They were almost to the position of the winger and seemed to be far away. This was not the case during the actual competition, because Wood and Tiago always took turns to intercept and the two frontiers would also retreat, so there was no danger that the distance would be too far to be cut off.

Twain had always asked the players to be flexible, so his lineup did not represent actual results. On defense, he required everyone to strictly abide by tactical discipline, and things that should not be done were not done. But on offense, he gave the players the greatest freedom to play freely under a big tactical frame. As long as one could score, he did not care how they did it.

Now back to the game.

The Celtics laid many men in the middle and backcourt, just like a web weaved by a spider, waiting for the stupid bird which was Nottingham Forest to slam into the net, and then used the counterattack to kill them.

Twain was no fool. He asked the team to team press properly, but the defense line would not move. One of the benefits of getting Joe Mattock and Nkoulou to start was that they were more obedient than those old sticks in the mud – yes, Bale had evolved into an old fritter, so he knew how to be sly and play tricks.

Twain did not ask for the full-back to assist the offense, but he asked for the midfielder to plug in. Originally, there were two midfielders, but they continued to take turns in the game to inset, causing the Celtics’ defensive line to be cautious.

Especially Wood, whose speed and body made him extremely threatening when he was plugging in, moreover his through pass was getting more clean and accurate. After playing for 30 minutes, Wood already had two direct passes to penetrate the Celtics’ heavy defense. Unfortunately, neither Van Nistelrooy nor Agbonlahor could receive his ball.

But the Celtics were also smart and immediately adjusted their defenses. The back line shrunk back further, not giving Wood any space for a straight pass.

After seeing it on the sidelines, Twain got up from the coaching seat and made his first adjustment in this game. He let Van Nistelrooy get to the top, Agbonlahor to the side, emptied the middle, and then strengthened the long shot.George Wood, Tiago, Lennon, Cohen, Agbonlahor, and even Van Nistelrooy would try to shoot long shots whenever they had the chance.

Although the long-range scoring rate might be the lowest of all scoring methods, the Celtics created such a good opportunity for Twain that he did not have to be too violent. After the Celtics’ backline contracted, there was a big gap in the forefront of the penalty area. There were several times when Wood was there to take the position but none of the Celtics players would to the defensive in the first place, giving the players in Nottingham Forest too many adjustment opportunities.

What would you do if you could not shoot?

The Celtics were also unlucky. Wood, who usually had a poor aim, made two long-range shots hitting the door frame. Although there was no goal, stands of the city stadium cheered loudly.

The Celtics reacted too slowly, hence they still did not rush forward to control Wood’s long shots. So on the third shot long shot, Wood scored.

“Hey, George Wood!! Beautiful long-range shot! Fast, powerful, angled! His shot is getting better! Nottingham Forest leads at 1:0 at home!”

After the goal, George Wood was surrounded by teammates and rushed to the side of the field to enjoy the cheers of him.

“This is the best gift he gave to the club after he renewed his contract! He’s always played a stable state and constantly made his opponents feel despair… Such a person renewing his contract in the team for another five years, Tony Twain must be the happiest person in the world!”

Twain stood up and applauded Wood’s goaland he smiled from the side of Dunn. “Your efforts paid off. His long shot today and from when I first time I met him are worlds apart.”

Dunn also applauded. “It’s his efforts, I didn’t do anything. Demi was right; Wood’s a genius even in this regard.”

Speaking of Demi, Twain is a little lost. If Albertini was among the people around him, the Italian would probably be elated. ※※※

After scoring the goal, playing the match felt more manageable for Twain and his team. The core of his tactics was to let himself lead and then launch counter attacks against the opponent. This tactic was very cumbersome, but it worked best.

Now, he had to look at the opponent’s mentality. If the Celtics felt that there was nothing to lose a goal on the road, then they would continue to wait for the opportunity to counterattack. Maybe they could tie the score at the final moment of the game which would be ideal. This was more uncomfortable for Twain. 1:0 was the world’s most unsafe score, so he had to keep the team vigilant for the rest of the time, cautiously and constantly besieging the Celtics. At the same time, they had to beware of their counterattacks. This type of contest would be too tiring for the players. If he had the choice, he also would not want to play like this for the remaining of the contest.

Another possibility was that the Celtics were not willing to lose on the road. They would want at least a draw. Then they would try to attack in the rest of the game.

This was Twain’s favorite coping style. He could come and go with the opponent on the court. Of course, it was not a counterattack. Only a fool would launch attacks on a team which wanted to score. He wanted to defend those counter attacks. The two roles of the teams would then switch. It was in his blood to play dirty like this.

This time the Celtics did not do what he wanted. They chose to continue defending and waited for an attack, so Twain had to stand on the sidelines and supervise the war, asking his players not to relax their vigilance.

During the intermission, Twain repeated this request to everyone. He analyzed the current situation and asked them not to underestimate the enemy. They should not be taken lightly and should not relax. The defensive line was still not allowed to attack, they had to continue defending the opponent’s quick counter attacks.

In this game, he put all the self-confident and conceited players on the bench. From the player’s mentality, he was not worried about anything.

Now he just had to pray that there would not be any inexplicable accidents on the court. At the beginning of the second half of the game, the Celtics intend to attack fiercely the moment the game started while the other party was still not completely focused, to equalize the score. However, as Tony Twain had already expected, Nottingham Forest was not inattentive at all and they played against that instead. They made several counter attacks against the Celtics and almost scored.

This time the Celtics were a lot more honest. They retracted and no longer came out. The second half of the game was quite dull. Nottingham Forest was indiscriminately bombarded by the Celtics’ restricted area. Due to lack of luck, it was impossible to score. And the Celtics’ few counterattack opportunities could not threaten Akinfeev’s goal.

Nottingham Forest finally won against the Celtics at 1:0 at home and gave them a good start on the Champions League death group match tour.

At the post-match press conference, Celtics coach Rod Strickland said with some helplessness, “This is football, I think a draw was a fair and reasonable result…”

Twain almost laughed out loudly. What did he mean “fair and reasonable”? He then responded sarcastically, “I’m not very satisfied, because we only won by one ball.”

A reporter later asked, “Group C was the recognized group of death. Can the victory on the Celtics explain that Nottingham Forest has taken the lead on the group’s exit road?”

“I never thought about this issue. As long as we can continue to win, we will definitely be able to qualify. I prefer to focus on the opponents in the quarterfinals.”

Scottish reporters might still be a little too unaccustomed to Tony Twain’s habitual madness, but the English reporters were accustomed to this. They rephrased their question, “What two teams do you think would come out of the group?”

Twain looked at the reporter with a sigh of relief, “If I said that everyone has the potential to qualify, are you sure you are very dissatisfied? Thinking I am suffocating you guys?”

This sentence was very true. To Tony Twain’s character, he almost never said anything that would be satisfying. So he went on to say his own answer, “Nottingham Forest and any other team.”

What a great tone! The three teams of the death team have become his foil.

No one was surprised. It would be more unsettling if Tony Twain were not arrogant. What their reporters liked to see was this Tony Twain. A group of people were excited to prepare the title of the next day’s report:

Tony Twain sees nobody but himself

Twain looks down on Juventus!

Twain pre-registers in the form for the team leaving group matches

And many more.

Of course, Twain could be very arrogant in front of the media, but that was a means for him to confuse his opponent. There was a quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: All’s fair in war. This was also the case for football.

In fact, his real idea was that any opponent in this group was a threat to the team, but there were three or six things in it. the most threatening team was Juventus, followed by Atletico Madrid, and the third was the Celtics he had just defeated.

However, Twain was not too worried about the team’s morale and state of Juventus. The only team that had not won in the European Champions League two years ago must win this time! Everyone must have thought this way.

Playing Atletico Madrid was a challenge for the team. This was an opponent they had never encountered before, not to mention the team’s silver boots shooter Aguero in the World Cup in South Africa.

As for the Celtics, returning to play at home was also the final round of the group stage. If the forest team’s qualifying situation had been fixed, how the results would go was not a concern to Twain. If the Celtics want to qualify or fight for a League Cup entry, they would inevitably launch a storm at home, then Nottingham Forest would just deploy their best tactic to defend against counterattacks.

※※※

After the game, the media’s attitude towards this game was mixed. The local media in Nottingham unanimously praised the performance of Nottingham Forest, saying they won a key victory and made a good start for the qualifying group. Although the score is not high, the scene is not good, but the three points are the most crucial.

This game has strengthened their confidence, they can once again smash the team’s taste at the top of Europe…

Of course, there are also a lot of media sneer at Tony Twain’s “habitual arrogance”. Just because of this Nottingham Forest team, it was not necessarily possible to qualify from the group stage, let alone things that were further away. Playing the Celtics, who is the weakest team in the group, and only won a 1:0 at home, how could they even say, “The teams that will qualify will be Nottingham Forest and any other one?”

Public opinion was generally not optimistic about Nottingham Forest qualifying from this group, they are more optimistic about Juventus and Atletico Madrid. As if to cite their ideas, Juventus and Atletico Madrid scored a 0-0 level at the Alpi Stadium – it seems that they are all ready to qualify from the group together and without conflict.

Chapter 762 - Tony’s Little Scheme

Ibi?evi? was fully integrated with the team. He had no problem with the language. Now that he had scored, his confidence was restored. He often joked with his teammates during training and in the locker room, or he would recount “his homeless and miserable” life to everyone… He was popular.

In fact, it was one of the reasons Twain bought him—Ibi?evi? was definitely not the kind of player who would spoil the atmosphere in the locker room. On the contrary, he had a significant role to play in the cohesion of the team. When Ibi?evi? was at Hoffenheim, he did not play in the main force. Yet he provided substantial assistance to his two direct rivals, Obasi and Demba Ba, with their assimilation into life in Germany. His selfless help kept him on the team even though he only scored five goals within thirty-five appearances in his first season at Hoffenheim.

Now his strong point was further developed at Nottingham Forest, where the atmosphere was better. Twain also hoped the team’s number of amusing people would increase. Having solved the problem of Ibi?evi?, Twain now had to consider how to solve Matías Fernández’s problem… It was more troubling than Ibi?evi?’s problem.

First of all, Fernández’s English was improving at a slow pace. Habitually silent, he was more like an invisible man in the team’s locker room. In fact, he did not have an introverted personality. It was because he could not understand nor speak English, so he simply chose to keep quiet and never participate in the conversations with his teammates. This gave the impression that he was “awfully unsociable” and “not easy to get along with.” His teammates also distanced themselves from him, intentionally or unintentionally. This also led to his alienation by the team on the pitch.

Twain felt that if he still did not solve the problem, Fernández might seriously consider whether his move to England was appropriate. Perhaps he would think carefully and realize that Britain had neither the delicious Spanish cuisine, nor Spain’s blue skies, white clouds, and sunshine, and decided that he must have chosen to transfer to Nottingham Forest on a momentary impulse. Thus, he was probably busy figuring out how to escape from this perennially overcast and rainy country… That would not do. Twain did not buy him only to send him away again.

But even a simple conversation needed to be done through a translator due to the language barrier. The result might not be as good as that of Ibi?evi?. The more important reason was that he could not rely on a conversation every time to solve the problem. After all, not every issue could be resolved by talking alone. So, he had to think of another way…

※※※

After his additional practice with shooting accompanied by Twain, George Wood marched back to the locker room. He was currently covered in sweat and just wanted to take a shower, change his clothes, and go home to be with his mother.?When he walked to the locker room door, he found the team’s manager, Tony Twain standing there, as he smiled and waved. “Hey, George! I’m so glad to see you!”

“You see me every day.” As soon as Wood saw Twain smiling so brightly, he knew it was not a good thing and became wary.

“Haha!” Twain touched his nose and gave two dry laughs. “Then… When’s your birthday?”

“April 1st. Don’t you know?”

“Er…” Twain certainly knew. How could he not remember his favorite disciple’s birthday? Not to mention that the date was really too easy to remember—April Fool’s Day! But he had a request… “Can I ask you to have another birthday right now?”

Wood widened his eyes since he heard something strange. “My birthday is already over this year. My mother gave me…”

“I know, I know.” Twain bobbed his head repeatedly. “In truth, I just want you to convene everyone and gather your teammates to your house for a small dinner party…” He rubbed his hands together and smiled more brightly. “You can drink and eat meat, but don’t look for prostitutes. You all can bring wives and girlfriends along… I allow you guys to party till twelve-thirty at the latest. I’ll agree to you guys collectively coming in late an hour for the next day’s training. What do you think?”

Wood no longer viewed Twain as a human being. He looked at his boss as if he was an alien. “Don’t look at me with that expression…” Twain shook his head. “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. Don’t you think Matías’s condition isn’t right all along?”

“The Chilean?” Wood thought very carefully and shook his head. He did not believe there was anything wrong with Fernández. “That’s because you don’t know what he used to be like,” Twain explained. “He’s not always so gloomy. He can also be very sociable and cheerful, but we have to create the conditions for him. I think it’s a good idea to get everyone together to hang out. You’re the team captain. The team captain’s job isn’t just about leading your teammates in the games, George.”

Wood thought it over seriously and then frowned as he said. “But my birthday is really over, and they all know it. That won’t fool anyone.”?What he said was true. The truth of the party should just be known by a few people. It would be difficult to explain why the team captain’s birthday was moved to September 19th whereas Matías Fernández’s problem was known by everyone.

He could not let Matías know what he was doing. He did not want to put any more pressure on the Chilean. He wanted Fernández to think it was just a party, and gradually take the first steps to having a good time with his unfamiliar teammates. Everyone would accept him enthusiastically. After this, he would realize that the team was so lovely and enjoyable that the bad weather and food in England did not matter at all! He would love Nottingham Forest, he would like the grass and trees here, and he would decide to pledge his allegiance…

But it was no longer feasible to use George Wood’s birthday as an approach. So, what excuse could he use? The two men were in deep contemplation at the entrance of the locker room.

“What are you doing?” When Dunn did not see Twain in his office, he went to the parking lot only to find his car still there. Dunn went looking all the way to the locker room, only to find the man he was looking for, standing outside the locker room with George Wood.?“Ah, it’s like this…” Twain told Dunn about it in full detail when he saw his partner here.

Dunn felt it was odd and said. “What’s there to worry? Did George not just renew his contract with the club?” With that, Twain understood. “Ha, that’s a good idea!” He rubbed his hands and laughed, “George, use this pretext and call everyone together for a lively party!”

Wood had no objections. Although he felt that just because he had renewed his contract, he was going to have a big party to celebrate was a little… overboard, it was much more reasonable than postponing his twenty-fourth birthday celebration to September 22nd or having his twenty-fifth birthday ahead of schedule.

※※※

September 22nd was the date Twain chose. It was midweek, with neither a Champions League group stage game nor the league tournament to deal with. It was an excellent time to relax. And thank heavens, it had been a clear day from the morning to the evening. “The weather forecast says it won’t rain tonight.” When Twain said to Dunn sitting beside him in the car, a sense of relief could be felt.

Dunn frowned and said, “Why are we going to their party? What’s more, you said during the day that you won’t go to the party, just so that everyone can relax and hang out…”

George Wood announced the decision to hold a party in the back garden of his home the day before, hoping everyone would come. Eastwood initially heard it was Wood’s private party and wanted to refuse. But Bale and Lennon joined forces to persuade him to go, and he decided that though it was alright to reject Wood, it would be difficult to ignore his entire team—almost everyone was going.

At this time, according to the written “script,” Wood falsely invited Twain, Dunn, and Kerslake to participate. The straightforward Kerslake was so delighted that he was going to say yes. Dunn suddenly coughed next to him and interrupted his attempt to speak. Then Twain immediately did not give Kerslake time to react and took over to “tactfully decline” Wood’s invitation, quick as lightning. He said that as coaches, appearing on such an occasion would make everyone uncomfortable, so they would not go! Everyone could rest assured, just hang out, and have a good time to their hearts’ content! Everyone would be allowed to be late by an hour to tomorrow’s training!

The players cheered when they heard that Twain said they could be an hour late for the next day’s training session. The matter was settled, and everyone was happy. Only Kerslake pursed his lips at the side, looking a little frustrated—he actually wanted to go, but no one cared about how he felt. So, in this way, the entire Nottingham Forest team went home to change after training and then went to George Wood’s home to gather.

Twain’s white jeep was parked in a dark corner where the streetlights could not shine upon so as not to attract anyone’s attention. Nottingham Forest’s number one and number two figures sat in the dark car at the moment. “Idiot, I said that we’re not going to sound good if we said we would come. But if I don’t come, why would I try so hard to organize this event for them?” Twain refuted Dunn’s ignorance.

“You can hear about Wood’s and the other players’ reactions to the party tomorrow.” Dunn rejected Twain’s statement.

“As the saying goes, take what you hear to be false, only seeing is believing.” Twain wagged his finger, then opened the car door, picked up a black backpack from the back seat, and beckoned to Dunn. Dunn helplessly got out of the car and followed. What he could not understand the most was why he had to be here for such a matter?

“I found them a South American band and then have them sing a song called ‘El Cóndor Pasa!’ The original, not Paul Simon’s English adaptation! It will definitely succeed in stir up Matías’s emotions and make sure he can find the sounds of his country in faraway England!” On the way to Wood’s house, Twain excitedly told Dunn about his “clever arrangements.”

“But it’s a Peruvian folk song, not a Chilean one.” Dunn poured cold water on him instead.

“Peru?” Twain was a little surprised. He really did not realize, but… “Never mind! Isn’t Peru and Chile next to each other? It’s all the same! South Americans are good at singing and dancing. I believe with wine and music, Matías’s mood can be lifted. Chinese people place importance on that things are easier to handle with drinking. This is a universally applicable truth! Ha!” Twain laughed proudly. Dunn had little interest in his enlightening remarks, so he kept his head down and walked without saying a thing.

※※※

Since they had said that the coaches would not attend the party, Twain and Dunn obviously could not press the doorbell at the door and just walk in. To be clear, Twain and Dunn were here to secretly take a peek this time. It was also possible to understand why Dunn was so disgusted with the matter… He felt like a voyeur.

Twain and Dunn were familiar with the surroundings of Wood’s house. They came here at least once a year. Initially, the mother and son lived in the apartment rented by the club. Wood later moved houses again, still not far from Wilford, but the environment was better—standalone house with its own courtyard and undisturbed. It was close to the River Trent: the air was fresh, and the house was surrounded by greenery, perfect for Sophia to nurse her health.

There were many big trees around Wood’s house, some of which were outside the back garden of his house. The lush branches reached into the garden, leaving a shade that allowed people to cool down below in the summer. The destination of Twain’s trip was among the stout trees.

Twain led the wordless Dunn to circle outside the yard before he finally locked onto his target. But when he looked up, he discovered a person lying above in the darkness! The discovery startled him. After he could see who it was, he barked in a low voice. “You really think you’re James Bond, Mr. Brosnan?”

Pierce Brosnan was so alarmed that he nearly fell from the tree. He turned his head to look below, just in time to lock eyes with Twain. “Get down!” Twain pointed firmly at his feet. “Otherwise I’ll call the police, Mr. Reporter!”

Brosnan could only admit his bad luck for having bumped into Tony Twain. He scowled as he climbed down from the tree while he defended himself. “I’ve just gone up. I did not see anything…”

“Why are you here?” Twain did not listen to his excuse. “I heard that the Forest team is having a private party, but the media did not know beforehand. I thought there might be some potential news…” Brosnan said with his head bowed, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

“What a good and professional reporter.” Twain laughed and said. “But who did you hear the news from?” Brosnan clammed up and shook his head.

“You’re really loyal!” If Twain knew who had told Brosnan the news, he would not have fired the man, but a rebuke would have been inevitable. For his own sake and that of the “informant,” Brosnan chose to be silent.

Twain no longer cared about Brosnan or who had given Brosnan the news. Anyway, everyone knew that Brosnan was the team’s “designated reporter.” So, it was also innocuous that some harmless “inside information” was revealed to him. He began to carry his backpack on his back and did some warm-up exercises.

“But Mr. Twain… And Mr. Dunn, why are you here?” At this point, Brosnan realized something was wrong—he actually met the team’s top two people outside Wood’s house at the same time. Twain first spat into his open palms before he replied, “None of your damn business!” Having said that, he ran up to climb the tree…

Then Brosnan stared agape at Twain agilely climbed up the tree using his hands and feet before he laid on the branch that he had just rested on. After he settled his position, he waved to Dunn below and said. “This is a good spot, Dunn. The view is great.”

Dunn crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood in place while he refused Twain’s enthusiastic invitation. “I don’t want to.” Twain shrugged from the tree and stopped urging. Instead, he pulled out a thing from his backpack to put it in front of his face. Under the dense cover of the branches in the night, Brosnan could not see clearly, but judging by Twain’s gesture and where that thing was placed, it should be a pair of binoculars…

“They did not hire prostitutes. All the women are their girlfriends or wives…” Brosnan felt the need to speak in fairness to the team’s players. Looking at the situation, Twain apparently intended to follow Ferguson’s lead and catch them in action. He was currently gathering evidence. “Shut up! Come up if you want to see!” Twain’s eyes did not leave the binoculars.

Under the fairy lights like the many stars in the sky and in the spacious garden surrounded an open-air swimming pool, a lively party was gradually heating up. The guests were all having fun chatting and dining. A wooden platform was set up in the corner near the house where a well-dressed South American style band of musicians sang to add to the fun. Twain scanned the crowd and found his target.

Matías Fernández was interested in the South American-style band, standing in a daze with a wine glass. Because of the distance and the noise from the people, Twain could not hear what they were singing, but he was satisfied with Fernández’s interest in it.

Liu Bang used the songs of Chu everywhere to demoralize Xiang Yu the Conqueror’s army, while Twain used their strategies to help Fernández find a familiar voice in far-flung Britain. But Fernández did not appreciate the Peruvian folk song for long. Twain saw that George Wood walked over first to talk to Fernández.

They’re communicating with words? Twain was quite surprised. They seemed to be able to barely communicate in Spanish and Portuguese… Through the binoculars from the tree, Twain admired with great interest as George Wood, a man who was not good with words, chatted with Fernández—both used a lot of body language, and probably half of which was through guessing and the other half through words. They were able to talk for a few minutes, which Twain had to hand it to George.

After a moment of talking, Fernández had already turned around and walked with Wood to the crowd. Twain knew the matter was basically a success. But he was in no hurry to come down. He continued watching.

Surrounded by his teammates, Fernández was busy greeting the women, and more smiles appeared on his face as the wine in his glass lessened. In the end, all red-faced and smiles, he jumped on the stage, grabbed the microphone from the band’s lead singer and sang!

Twain saw the scene and laughed in the tree, which caused him to nearly fall from above. Seeing this, he could finally put his at ease completely. He slipped off from the top.

Dunn was still standing below waiting for him, while Brosnan, lying on another branch, came down when he saw Twain slip down. In fact, he did not know what was going on—it looked like George’s party was normal. They did not spend tens of thousands of pounds hiring countless prostitutes to come here for his teammates to have threesomes and orgies. The atmosphere was lively but not chaotic. Everyone played some games to help liven things up, but they were football-related, such as who could kick the football to a target. They took bets, but only small wagers. Twain would not object. To his bewilderment, when Fernández ran up to sing, Twain suddenly laughed.

He really could not understand what the man was thinking… Just as he was confused, Twain had already walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Mr. Bond, you came here at the right time. You’re lucky enough to obtain exclusive information that no other press can get— I’ll allow you to write what you saw tonight and send it to the newspaper, though of course, don’t write about what Dunn and I did here.”

Brosnan did not expect this gift to fall from the sky. He hurriedly nodded. “I know what to write and what not to write, Tony. But can you tell me why…”

“I don’t think it’ll take you long to find out, Mr. Reporter. If you have confidence in your IQ, you may as well guess, haha!” He patted Brosnan and called Dunn so that they could leave. Pierce Brosnan scratched his head and then glanced with a frown in the direction of George Wood’s yard, where the lights were bright, and the party was in full swing.

※※※

“Hey, Dunn. I really did not think that the Chilean can sing. It was a big loss that you did not go up to see this scene!” On the way back to the spot where their car was parked, Twain recounted with delight to Dunn all the interesting things he saw. “He was holding the microphone like a mic hog in a KTV! I never knew he has musical talent…”

“I take it that things are going well?”

“Ah, very well. I really want to hear Matías sing… No, I must come up with the idea of letting him sing in the locker room…”

“Actually, this has nothing to do with me. Why do I have to come?” Dunn still brooded over Twain’s initial shameless insistence that he must come.

“You were the one who didn’t want to climb up to watch the show. You would have something to do if you had climbed up too. Of course, you made a wasted trip since you did not go up.” Twain put the blame on Dunn.

“I didn’t want to be like the paparazzi. This is not the way a coach does things…” Dunn said with a frown.

Twain sneered at the claim. He made a face, “What is supposed to the way a coach does things? As long as the goal is achieved, we must explore every option.”

“I think there should at least be some dignity . . . Climbing a tree to peep is not a good idea. It would be damaging to your image if you were caught.”

“Of course, I’m very dignified in front of them. But sometimes you need to deploy some schemes to help you shape the ‘dignified’ coach image, Dunn.” Twain began to teach Dunn his insights as a manager all these years—the key was on the word “pretend!”

“As long as Brosnan doesn’t talk, no one will know that we’re here tonight to sneak a peek. I’ll certainly pretend to ask George tomorrow how the party is, and I’ll pretend to be interested in whatever they talk about… As long as our goal is achieved, it doesn’t matter how we do it. The point is that if Matías fits in with the team because of this, then it doesn’t matter if I act like the paparazzi tonight.”

Dunn found out that he could not argue with Twain, because it was indeed the truth—as long as Brosnan did not reveal it, no one would know what they did tonight. And Brosnan certainly would not spill the beans. His integrity could be seen from his refusal to sell out his informant who gave him the inside intelligence. Furthermore, if the matter were to be leaked, then Twain would know one hundred percent for sure it was Brosnan who leaked it. There was no need to point out what would happen to the person if the King of Wilford was angered…

Although Dunn felt that doing so smacked of deception, there seemed to be no other way. Twain laughed. “Dunn, it’s exciting to be a manager. Don’t look so serious all the time. A serious look doesn’t mean that you are very professional and dignified. It can only alienate others. Look at me! I think tonight’s event was quite fun. Just take it that we came out to relax for a night. No big deal!”

He opened the car door to the side of the front passenger’s seat. “Come, I’ll take you home!” Dunn muttered. “You are always right!” Then he got into the car.

“Ha, you’re absolutely correct in saying that!” Twain shamelessly took this as a compliment and laughed with delight. He had a great night, and his mood was excellent too. And Dunn just added the icing on the cake.

Chapter 763 - Chain Reaction

Chapter 763: Chain Reaction

As like what Twain told Dunn, during the training the next day, he did find Wood and ask what happened at the party.

“It went well,” Wood told Twain succinctly. “I talked to him for a while and introduced him to his teammates. Once he drank, it was as if he became a different man, and everyone liked him.”

Twain acted surprised. “So he’s different when drunk?”

Wood nodded. “He even sang for us.”

“How was his singing?” This was the question Twain was most concerned about

“Terrible.” Wood shattered Twain’s little fantasy with a straight face, “But everyone said it was nice.”

That was just to prevent hurting Matías’s feelings…

In fact, when Fernández was on the stage humming into a microphone for a while, no one knew he was singing. He sang in a foreign language. His voice was too soft for the melody, so they did not know whether it was accurate sounding. In short, after the self-satisfied singing finished, a group of people below the stage roared and applauded energetically.

After listening to Wood’s account of the singing in detail, Twain quickly dismissed the idea of letting Fernández sing in the locker room to help liven things up—it would be okay for him to go to the opponent’s locker room to sing and harass them. But it was likely that Fernández would rather be killed than to do that in his sober state.

Then Twain stood on the side and put his ears up to listen to the players’ excited chatter after the training to hear what they were discussing.

He found that Fernández, though still unable to communicate due to the language barrier, was unlike before when he would hide far away as soon as everyone started discussing something. He joined in and had an enthusiastic look. He could not understand, but if everyone laughed, he would laugh too.

It was a good sign! Twain could finally put his mind at ease.

He slowly moved back to the coaches’ side and said to Dunn with a laugh, “You see, Dunn. Being a manager is sometimes like a kindergarten teacher. I have to take care of everything.”

“It was the first time I had seen a kindergarten teacher climbing a tree to take a peek.”

“Ha! Anyway, the mission is accomplished. The next step is how to get him to integrate with our tactical system.” He patted Dunn on the shoulder and said, “It’s your favorite coach’s job.”

Tactically speaking alone, there was nothing to worry about. Matías Fernández was a player who could play in the wings, the middle, and on the left flank. Twain needed a versatile player who could launch an attack on the sideline alone and complete an assist after dribbling the ball to break through. He would also be able to lean toward the middle, send a straight pass, or do a long shot straight away while ceding the left flank for the left-back, Gareth Bale, to plug in to assist.

There were just some areas that needed to be finetuned. For example, Fernández could not keep the ball for too long, otherwise, he would be knocked out of bounds in the Premier League games. Also, he would slow down the Forest team’s offensive momentum. The Nottingham Forest’s pace in the competition had always been known as “fast.”

Therefore, to fit into the team, Fernández must change his habit of overly sticking with the ball and learn to play more directly. That way, it would not slow down the team’s offense, and would also reduce his chances of injury at the same time. But a matter like changing a professional player’s style of play may not be accepted by the player.

If he could not accept it, then let him have a taste the cruelty of the Premier League!

That was what Twain intended. Once Fernández’s play improved, he was bound to receive more attention from his opponents. If he did not change the way he played, he would face being frequently on the injury list.

Having settled Fernández’s case, Twain planned to fully compete in both the league tournament and the UEFA Champions League. Coming up next was the sixth round of the league tournament at home against Tottenham Hotspur and then with Atlético Madrid in the second round of the Champions League group stage next week. Neither opponents of these matches were weak, and Twain had to be careful.

It was not hard to play against Tottenham Hotspur and defeat the old Redknapp’s team based on their home advantage. To play against Atlético Madrid in the away game was a trip full of unknown risks.

Twain served up a strong attacking lineup in the match against Tottenham Hotspur, intending to settle the fight in the first half and then preserve their strength to deal with Atlético Madrid.

What he did not expect was Gareth Bale’s injury, the cause of which was somewhat silly.

Nine minutes into the game, after he took the ball on the left flank, none of the Tottenham Hotspur’s players managed to rush up and pounce on the defense. So, he intended to dribble the ball forward while playing with some footwork skills at the same time. When he faced the first Tottenham Hotspur defender, he immediately slowed down and decided to play one of Roberto Carlos’s previously favorite move, which was to use his heel to knock the ball behind him, quickly stop, and then sharply change direction to bypass the other player.

He knocked the ball beautifully and smoothly fooled Tottenham Hotspur’s Dos Santos. But he suddenly lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground as he made the quick stop to change direction.

Dos Santos looked stunned and did not know what had happened. He first raised his hands to indicate that he did not foul. Not to mention that there was no foul; he did not even have any physical contact. He did not want to receive a yellow card without reason.

Gareth Bale was in pain as he held his knee and rolled on the ground. He then put down one hand to summon the referee and a stretcher.

Fleming followed two staff carrying the stretcher onto the field. The referee and the Forest players had surrounded Bale.

“Was there any physical contact?”

“What did that Mexican kid do to you?”

“What the hell is going on? Aren’t you in good health?” His surrounding teammates all talked at once. But none of them could help.

Fleming yelled as he squeezed in. He just took a glance and knew that things were not good. He hurriedly dispersed the crowd, signaled for the stretcher to come up and carry Bale out.

At the same time, he got up and motioned to Twain on the other side of the field for a substitution.

“Goddammit…” Twain swore. He also did not expect a simple bypass move could lead to such an outcome.

But Bale, oh Bale, why were you showing off for nothing? A simple misdirection would do. Why did you have to try Roberto Carlos’ move…

He called up Leighton Baines, who was sitting on the bench with a surly expression. He had no intention of letting Baines play in this game. He wanted him to start against Atlético Madrid and secure the defense.

In the end, Bale left the game under the circumstances of injuring himself without any physical contact.

The Forest team finally relied on a header shot from ?igi? in the first half and a counterattack that Agbonlahor launched at the start of the second half, as well as a long shot from outside the penalty area by Ibi?evi? to beat Tottenham Hotspur by 3:1.

Ibi?evi? scored his fourth goal of the season, a step closer to the twentieth goal target. Although he did not forget to give a slap to a particular person the fourth time, Twain was not happy at all.

The day after the game, Twain received the latest injury report on Bale from Fleming. He would be absent for at least seven months due to a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.

It took a while for Twain to react.

At this time, he did not know who he should blame. Bale’s injury was mainly due to himself. He did not check out if anything was wrong with his right knee at the start of each season. Every time, Fleming said that Bale’s body was solid and that he could not see the skinny young monkey of before.

And the result…

A dereliction of duty of the team doctor? It was impossible. It was just God playing with him.

“Okay…” Twain muttered, “Fortunately I did not loan Mattock out before the season…”

He did not know now whether it was wrong to sound pleased at this time.

If the Forest team did not sign on new players in the winter transfer window, then Joe Mattock and Leighton Baines would support the Forest team’s left flank defense for a whole season.

Twain had to think it over carefully concerning the matter of signing on new players. If the Forest team reached the Champions League knockout stages in the second half of the season—almost a certainty for Twain—then adding a left-back seemed like a must. But then, when Bale recovered from his injury and returned next season, there would be four men in the same position competing for a starting position. It would be too intense and result in a waste of personnel. He could not always let Mattock play in the reserves. While the young players were relying on the increase of competition experience to enhance their abilities, they would kick up a fuss if he did not always let them play in the First Team games.

If a new full-back was not brought in, Twain was not confident about whether he could rely solely on Leighton Baines and Joe Mattock to sustain the season. Furthermore, there was a worse possibility waiting for him ahead—what if Joe Mattock or Leighton Baines or even both of them were to be hurt?

This was a real headache!

If someone could be said to be pleased that he had benefited from Gareth Bale’s injury, then Joe Mattock would be the only candidate. He did not show such joy and also spoke in an interview about his frustration and regret, over Bale’s injury.

But objectively, Bale’s injury did give him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—if Bale had not been injured, the Forest team’s left-back position would be rotated between him and Baines. Only in an inconsequential game like the EFL Cup would he have a chance to make the starting lineup for the team.

Now he had a chance to prove in a higher level competition that the potential level, which Sports Interactive had set at 9 in the Football Manager game, was not because of the partnership Nottingham Forest club had with Sports Interactive.

Twain also looked for Mattock immediately after and talked to him about how he would follow the team to play in the league tournament and the Champions League. In fact, Twain had listed him in both competitions, but he had little chance of playing. Gareth Bale and Leighton Baines were in stable form and rarely injured.

Twain mainly told him that he would probably opt not to bring in any players during the winter transfer window, so he needed him to play with Baines on the left flank for a season. He had high hopes, whether it was the league tournament or the Champions League. Twain also hoped that he could withstand the pressure and not disappoint him. After all, he was optimistic about his potential at the time in order to purchase him. He needed Mattock to prove to him that his decision was not wrong.

Mattock’s answer was, “Don’t worry, boss. I’m not an immature child anymore.” He was right. He was already twenty years old and got his driver’s license.

※※※

With a knee injury that would take at least seven months, it was the most severe injury that Gareth Bale had suffered since playing. What made it more painful for him was that a violent collision did not cause it, but that his knee was unable to withstand the pressure when he did the action. This gave him a sense of self-doubt—was his right knee so fragile that it was not suited to playing an intense sport like football?

Twain understood Bale’s mood and was worried about it. However, he did not have time to deal with it himself. After the game with Tottenham Hotspur, he would lead the team to hurry to Madrid, Spain, for the Champions League group stage match against Atlético Madrid.

Where would he have the time to rush to the hospital to see the little monkey lying in his hospital bed, confused about his future?

But he thought of a man who might be able to help Bale get back on his feet.

Nottingham Forest’s First Team squad had a total of twenty-six players, but only twenty-five players were allowed to register in the Champions League each season. This season, Twain did not register for van Nistelrooy, which the Dutchman himself suggested it. He reasoned that he was too old and frequently injured. He could not guarantee his attendance. Rather than taking a spot, it was better to give it up to the other younger teammates. He was going to retire after the season and did not care if he could still play in the Champions League. But the others must be very keen on this Champions League spot.

Twain tried to urge him to no avail, so he fulfilled van Nistelrooy’s wish. He removed him from the name list and filled in Joe Mattock’s name. Now it looked like van Nistelrooy gave Twain a lifeline. If this interlude had not happened, he would have had to use Baines alone to finish all five of the remaining group stage games. He must not be injured nor received a card. Even if his form and fitness were poor, he would still have to put a bold face on to play.

Now van Nistelrooy could help him again.

Before leaving Nottingham, he found the Dutch striker after training. He hoped he would go to the hospital to visit Bale, and then use his experience to inspire and comfort the little monkey so that he could pull himself together early.

Van Nistelrooy understood what Twain meant. He laughed and said, “I understand, boss. It’s just like what Ferguson said to me at that time.”

When van Nistelrooy planned to join Manchester United in 1999, he suffered a serious knee injury and missed out on Manchester United, which almost ended his career. It was Ferguson who flew to the United States to see him that time and tell him that the Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, had suffered the same serious injury in his career, and how he eventually overcame the injury to return to the pitch to become Manchester United’s flag bearer.

It was the speech and Keane’s example that gave van Nistelrooy the confidence to battle the injury, and he eventually managed to overcome the knee injury to return to the pitch, where he joined Manchester United as he wished.

At the time, he was also pursued by Real Madrid in addition to Manchester United. It was Ferguson’s talk that finally made van Nistelrooy decided to join Manchester United. It made him realize that the Manchester United club was more humane, and Ferguson was clearly a worthy manager whom he could bank his future. He had a unique charming personality, which attracted him. He had no regrets playing and conquering for such a manager. Therefore, he turned down Real Madrid and joined Manchester United.

Who would have thought that six years later, the mentor and student whose relationship was as close as that of a father and son, would fall out with each other and for Tony Twain to pick up a bargain?

It was indeed hard to predict things in the world. Fate made a fool of everyone…

Now Twain hoped that van Nistelrooy could play the role of Ferguson. He was not worried that it would cause van Nistelrooy to think of his feud with Ferguson and caused an unpleasantness. Because of his understanding of van Nistelrooy, he was not the kind of person who hated everything and held onto hatred for the rest of his life.

It was best for van Nistelrooy to take over the matter. First of all, he was the oldest player on the team at the moment. Everyone respected him, and his words carried a lot of weight; Secondly, he had personally experienced it. Thirdly, Bale and van Nistelrooy had an excellent personal relationship, unlike Eastwood and George Wood who were so cold with each other that they had nothing to discuss.

Twain was relieved when he saw that van Nistelrooy had promised to help Bale rebuild his confidence. He led his team to fly to Madrid, Spain with a peace of mind.

One other effect of Bale’s injury was the lack of attacking ability in the left-wing. When Bale was previously still there, the assists on the left-wing were pretty sharp. Now it was up to the left midfielders to do the job, and it was bound to be affected.

Matías Fernández must also be required to step up and quickly integrate with the team’s tactical system. Twain had no time to wait. Fernández, who was more familiar with the current La Liga and its clubs than anyone else in the team, would be tasked with the heavy responsibility and be in the starting lineup. His play largely determined whether Nottingham Forest could get the results they wanted in the Estadio Vicente Calderón.

Fernández might feel the pressure, but his pressure was definitely not larger than Tony Twain’s, who decided to let him start…

Chapter 765 - Conquering Calderon

“Welcome to Calderon! You are now watching a match from Group C of the Champions League in the 10-11 season where Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest face off against each other. They have never confronted each other before so, to both sides, the other is a piece of blank paper. Nottingham Forest beat the Celtics 1-0 at home in the first group game while Atletico Madrid shook hands with Juventus away from home. In terms of points, Nottingham Forest are temporarily ahead. But this is in Calderon, the home of Atletico Madrid, so Nottingham Forest can’t afford to let down their guard! ”

The lights in the Calderon Stadium were bright at night. Towering lights shone from all directions illuminating the stadium. In a city that was plunged into darkness, this was a place where there was concentrated light, and fans walked through narrow streets, pouring into the stadium. The noise was like water droplets carried by the river into the ocean, and the pitch slowly became a buzz. The whole of south Madrid was in a feverish atmosphere.

People here did not mind spending a full day’s wage on a ticket, to just rush in and roar for 90 minutes and then be either satisfied or disappointed before going home to sleep. Football was not a pastime for them, it was almost their goal of life.It was a crazy stadium and any visiting team would be under a lot of pressure here.

“But we f*cking grew up under pressure! No pressure to play away? I don’t believe in such a gimmick.” Twain was making the final pre-match campaign for his team in Calderon’s dressing room for the away team. “As professional players and professional coaches, we all face all kinds of pressures. I don’t think that highly of Calderon. Atletico Madrid wants to use their home advantage to scare us, tell me, are you scared? ”

“How is that possible, Sir?” Eastwood stood up and said,” Who do they think they are?” King Kong? Godzilla? Or the Jurassic dinosaurs?”

Twain hastened to make gestures to stop him from continuing, otherwise the main character for the pre-game time would be replaced.

“Well, Freddy. I know your determination. This game concerns whether we can get out of the group… Actually, every game is about it, so I’m asking you to do your best! Aguero is the key man, the whole defensive line better put on some effort and pay close attention to the defense and completely freeze him. If I think Aguero isn’t capable after the game, you’ll win! He’s fast, so I’m asking the back line not to press down easily. The winger’s assists also minimized some of the opportunities not to give Atletico Madrid a quick attack. Pay attention to protect each other on the empty space behind them. George. ”

Wood got up.

“If Aguero pulls back to the midfield to take on the midfielder, you go up and defend. Stay away from the penalty area if you’re going to foul.”

Wood nodded.

After explaining Wood’s situation, Twain said to the team, “When attacking, stick to the side. The middle road has Camacho, who’s a problem. Bypass him and when he draws to the side-side co-defense, George and Thiago will be waiting for the opportunity to plug in. ”

When Twain played Atletico Madrid at home and arranged the line-up with two defensive midfielders he gave up almost entirely the tactics of the centre-back attack. One reason for using the main side of the road was to avoid the short route and play with Nottingham Forest’s best side flanks. The other was to prevent Madrid’s attack. He deliberately compressed the distance between the two players in midfield and the back line, denying Aguero and others the chance to make plays in the forward line.

The next attack depended on how well Matías Fernández and Lennon could do on the sideline.

Twain took a look at Fernández, whose translator was not allowed into the team’s most private place, the locker room, so he could only rely on the player’s experience and guess what the team was going to play.

Twain also could not speak Spanish. He was fluent in Chinese, but Fernández as a Chilean could not understand. Fernández was the key in this game so instructions had to be relayed to him clearly. He called Fernández’s name. Fernandez looked up. He could recognise his name being called, at the very least.

Twain drew his position on the tactical board and then a straight line in the circle representing Fernández, all the way to the other side’s penalty area. He looked at Fernández with his eyes.The Chilean nodded.

Twain then split scored two lines at this point, one continuing to walk near the baseline and pulling a dashed line near the bottom line all the way to the front. The other suddenly folded from that point into the penalty area and then pulled out a dotted line towards the goal.Twain looked at Fernández in the process of drawing and only continued to draw after Fernandez nodded. After he finished drawing,, Fernández had basically understood what he was going to do. Then, Twain spoke to him in very simple English, “No defend.”

“No” and “defend” were two simple English words that Fernández could still understand. He nodded and said, “Yes.”

Twain suddenly raised his voice and said, “Attack!Attack!”

Fernández was taken by Twain and also raised his volume of the answer, “Yes! Yes!”

“OK!” Twain gave Fernández a thumbs up.

Having done this, Twain clapped his hands: “Okay, guys. In this game, just remember one thing: I don’t need a draw and a defeat, I just need to win! Take on Calderon at home and take down Atletico Madrid! ”

※※※

Atletico Madrid started the game with their home ground, launching a ferocious attack on the heart of Nottingham Forest, which seemed to never stop.Twain stood on the edge of the field with his hands crossed over his chest and regarded the changing scene coldly. He was not in a hurry. He was still quite confident with Nottingham Forest’s defence; as long as it was solely defence, the number of teams who could score on Nottingham Forest was pitiful. Maybe Barcelona could? But all of this was just speculation; both sides would have to meet for a conclusion to be drawn.

Five minutes later, Atletico Madrid were back to no avail and they slowed down a little. The next wave of attacks was brewing while guarding against Nottingham Forest’s quick counter-attacks.Nottingham Forest fought back.

The attack from midfield sent the ball straight onto the sideline and gave it to Matías Fernández.Atletico Madrid players had expressed some attention about Fernández, but more often than not, they set their sights on George Wood.

The latest information told Atletico Madrid coach Pellegrini that George Wood had been in excellent form lately and, to the chagrin of Nottingham Forest’s opponents, this defensive midfielder was now able to step up to the attack. It was difficult to guard against something you could not see. Fernández had such a good defense, so it was annoying that George Wood would] attack suddenly with a screamer.

Fernández then began his performance on the sideline.He was not too fast, but his technique was excellent. He was also outstanding in a game where the emphasis was on technology in La Liga.Twain gave him the most freedom in this game, allowing him to play at will under the bottom or inside. He was also not required to defend, which was Fernández’s favorite point.

He used his first touch to dribble past Sim?o quickly, then passed the ball suddenly when he was facing against the Greek right-back Setaridis, then went down. Agbonlahor then passed the football out immediately, a one-two!After, Fernández did not wait for the defensive centre-back Zé Castro to advance. He passed the ball in and the goal of the ball was to reach ?igi?!

In this game, Twain did not have a technical striker, Eastwood, nor did he let the good-looking Ibi?evi? start. Instead, he went to two extremes: one was the fast Agbonlahor and the other was the tall ?igi?.Pablo, the tallest centre-back at Atletico Madrid, was 1.92m tall, but he was injured a month ago and had not recovered enough to play so he did not even make it into the roster of this match. Atletico Madrid’s first two centre-backs were a 1.83m?Zé Castro and Heitinga, who were 1.8m.

Twain decided to make a big deal of the other’s centre-back’s height, using ?igi?’s jump and header to cause trouble for Atletico Madrid. He succeeded!

“?igi? leaps high…header! ”

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——”

igi? jumped up when no one around him could compete with his height. Fernández’s pass ball was so easy comfortable to receive that he did not even need to adjust his posture. All he did was tilt his head slightly, then swing!

It was impressive enough that Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper Leo Frank could react at such a close distance was already very good. He jumped out but was just a step late, and could only watch the football roll into the goalpost.

“Nottingham Forest scored a goal in the sixth minute! It was their first attack, their first shot since the start of the game! They’re ahead! Atletico Madrid has been dealt a heavy blow! ”

They really took a hard hit. Losing a goal so quickly at the start was definitely not in their tactical arrangement. What to do next?Atletico Madrid suddenly lost their ideas.

Should we attack?

After a few minutes of hesitation, Atletico Madrid launched another ferocious attack. With the cheers of the home fans, they seemed to be drowning out Akinfeev’s goal.

Twain was really entertained. He liked being overwhelmed by his opponent, taking all their hits while keeping an eye out for openings before shocking them with a counterattack.

Why would he arrange a double defensive midfielder? It was just for this moment to come. It was just that this moment came a lot earlier than he had expected.

※※※

The next game was exceedingly well for Nottingham Forest. Atletico Madrid, who had lost a goal, was still attacking pretty strongly and they were left out in the frenzy at home.

Even Pellegrini did not think there was anything wrong with that. He had told the players to stick to the attack at home and try to take advantage of the home advantage to take on Nottingham Forest and pave the way for the group to come out of the game.

Wandering in the midfield was Fernández who looked at the lively backfield, he chose to continue to patrol. The head did not seem to make gestures on the pitch to make him defend. Of course he knew what the team was facing, so he knew that his personal skills will be the key to the team’s counter-attack.So he was at ease and continued to patrol in midfield.

The opportunity reappeared towards the end of the first half.Fernández received the ball from Barnes and ran along the sideline. This time he managed to attract the attention of two Atletico Madrid players. Hetinga and Camacho came in one after the other. He did not choose to blindly dribble near the bottom, nor forced an incision, but in the gap of the two men he found the route of the pass, the football from between Hetinga’s legs rolled out.

Quick, kill Agbonlahor!

Because he came from the back, it was completely not an offside. Taking advantage of Atletico Madrid’s pressure and empty defensive half, strike again!

Agbonlahor received the ball and then accelerated, relying on his speed to shake off Guilo who was constantly chasing behind his ass, and then faced goalkeeper Frank, where he?feigned to trick him onto the ground.

What was there to hesitate in the face of an empty door? Strike!

“GOOOOOAL – SECOND BALL! In the 41st minute of the first half, Nottingham Forest had a classic quick counter-attack! It was perfectly possible to write in the books! Fernández, who had two assists, was Forest’s best player in the first half, scoring two goals on two occasions. Perfect performance! ”

Twain and his colleagues applauded the goal. His two-goal lead over Atletico Madrid was far from him being overjoyed for Fernández, who was in his best form.

※※※

At half-time, Twain praised Fernández’s performance, praising him as if he bloomed. Although there were still too many English words he did not understand, he understood “GOOD” and “VERY GOOD”. He finally began to think that his first choice to move to Nottingham Forest might not have been a failed risk.

Atletico Madrid stepped up their defence on Fernández in the second half. As a player who played in La Liga last season, he was no stranger to the game. That somewhat limited Fernández’s play. Even Camacho paid special attention several times to interfere with Fernández’s receiving the ball. In such cases, Twain instructed Wood from the sidelines to step in and get involved in the attack. There was no need to always defend at the back.

This play upset Pellegrini’s lineup at half-time. If Camacho was to stop Wood, then Fernández would have to hand over his wing-back and the forward defender to defend, which would be tantamount to sacrificing the team’s right-hand side of the attack and rely on one leg on offense. How would that even the score? The middle-of-the-road attack was stuffed by Thiago and Wood, as well as Pepe and others.

At the start of the first half, Aguero was still waiting for support from the midfield, and then he found that the midfield pass was cut off by Wood and Thiago, he tried to pull back the ball back, and then he fell into Wood’s tight watch.

George Wood was judged to be a one-on-one defender who could defend against Messi, and Aguero was unable to do anything but be silent the entire first half. Despite the fact that Atletico Madrid had plenty of opportunities to attack, Aguero had never had the chance to make a particularly threatening shot.

Wood’s chances increased slightly in the second half when he was about to attack, but he was still held back by Pepe and Thiago. Even without Thiago, Pepe was capable enough to take on Aguero alone. Aguero really faced a strong enemy today.

Atletico Madrid was basically Aguero’s team in the last two years because of his outstanding performance. The benefits and disadvantages were obvious. When Aguero was in good form, Atletico Madrid could kill whoever it saw, but once Aguero was frozen, then Atletico Madrid would soon become a second-rate team. Twain planned to freeze Atletico Madrid’s core Aguero in this game. Coupled with Fernández’s outburst, the victory came as no surprise.

Aguero only came to light in the final five minutes of the game, with his two consecutive shots narrowly scoring through the city of Akinfeev, but the morale-boosting performance came too late and did little to change the score.

Nottingham Forest finished with 2-0 on away with two assists from Fernández with the dual defensive midfielder strategy with counterattacks.?Two wins in two games had already taken the lead in the competition with Juventus for a place in the group stage. If he could keep winning like that, then the team will really be the death group of the other three teams, as what Twain said.

Pellegrini looked dejected in his post-match press conference, admitting it was Nottingham Forest’s goal in the sixth minute which disrupted the team’s entire deployment. So much so that for the next eighty-four minutes, his team was in a state of total passivity, with Tony Twain’s team is leading the way.

And for Tony Twain? “It was just a wonderful night and we won. Fernández found his form, and I have no other needs.”

There was a reporter who asked what he thought of facing Juventus after playing against Atletico Madrid.

“Meeting old friends always makes people excited.” Twain laughed charmingly. It was as if that the opponent was really his old friend.

After this game, the media could start to officially hype Nottingham Forest and Juventus “double club”.

Chapter 766 - Fight The Old Lady Again

Seven rounds had carried on in the league tournament, with Nottingham Forest achieving two draws and five wins to stay in fourth place in the league for now.

The competition in this season had been fierce since the first round. By now, in October, the league tournament’s top six teams’ points were only three points difference. The top two, Manchester United and Arsenal had the same points. They were only one point ahead of Nottingham Forest.

However, the season had only now started for two months. It was too early to say which team would win the title in the end.

Twain’s plan this season was to stay within the top four in the league tournament and secure the qualification for next season’s Champions League. They must at least advance into the final four from the top eight in the Champions League. If they could win the title, then of course they must fight for it at all costs. As for the EFL Cup and FA Cup, they were still used for the team as practice.

The Champions League away game against Atlético Madrid had helped Fernández regained his form. But whether he could show the same form in the league tournament remained a question mark for everyone.

In the eighth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest had an away challenge against Sunderland. Tony Twain continued to put Fernández in the starting lineup. He continued his performance from the game against Atlético Madrid. Also because of Bale’s injury and that Baines was not a full back with good attacking abilities, Twain did not ask for Baines to assist with the offense or for Fernández to return to defend on the left flank. The Chilean could single-mindedly deal with the opponent’s defensive players and employ breakthroughs or passes to threaten the other team’s goal.

Fernández’s technique was undoubtedly outstanding in the English Premier League. Sunderland was not the kind of team with fine technique. They were more like a traditional English team with their long balls, rough individual techniques, lots of active errors in passing and receiving the ball. But they had good physical fitness, bold in tackles and like to use physical contact.

However, Fernández showed that he was more able to compete than they did in the game— he completely did not consider whether he would get hurt in a physical collision with his opponent. All he knew was that if he did not try harder, he would not be in the main position for long.

The Chilean’s body was thin, but his technique was good, which somewhat closed the gap between the two sides. He used his superb footwork to protect the ball alone surrounded by three Sunderland players. Under such circumstances, the Sunderland players had only two options—one for Fernández to successfully dribble the ball out and the other was to foul.

The Sunderland manager was no longer Roy Keane. Twain felt that even if Keane was still there, it was expected that the players would be instructed to give Fernández a hard kick without reservations. Well, because he was the kind of manager who would instruct his own players to do so too…

Fernández was given the extra attention and was fouled against five times in the forty-five minutes of the first half. Fortunately, he was not hurt. In return, three of Sunderland’s four defenders received yellow cards due to him.

In the second half, Sunderland finally suffered for their rough tactics. When Fernández dribbled the ball to break through to the penalty area, he was shoveled to the ground by the Sunderland center back, Paul McShane.

The referee did not hesitate to award a penalty kick. Although this caused a collective protest from the home team’s players and fans, the referee did not change the penalty. Not only that, he showed McShane, who already had a yellow card, his second yellow card!

An agitated McShane was almost on the verge of grabbing the red card in the referee’s hand. While on the other side, Fernández who produced the penalty kick and sent down one Sunderland player, was being hugged by his teammates. He felt that he was integrating with the team. He no longer questioned whether transferring to the cold and wet England was right or wrong.

There was no turning back now. He must succeed here no matter what!

The penalty kick was to be executed by Eastwood; the team’s number one penalty shot expert. He fired a powerful shot after a long-distance run and the goalkeeper judged it in the right direction, but the ball was too fast, and the ball had already hit the net behind him as he pounced!

Nottingham Forest took the lead in the away game with a penalty shot.

Sunderland, which had one center back sent off, had to adjust their tactics. They had to bring off the Paraguayan striker, óscar Cardozo and replaced him with the center back, Anton Ferdinand. This man was the younger brother of Manchester United’s center back, Rio Ferdinand. But he was not as capable as his brother, young and could only play for the mid to lower level teams.

Being forced to change the players this time completely disrupted Sunderland’s deployment.

When Fernández took the ball again, the Sunderland defenders had to hesitate—they were afraid to follow McShane’s footsteps. This made Fernández increasingly aggressive. He was not satisfied with breaking through from the wings. He simply moved to the middle and pushed ?ahin to the left.

His excellent long shots, passes and breakthroughs created a big headache for the Sunderland defenders.

In the 87th minute, Sunderland fully pressed to try to equalize the score with a dogged fight. But Fernández’s long distance dribble and strike from the backfield shattered their dream.

Because of his previous active performance, his dribbling this time attracted the marking from two Sunderland players. Instead, he passed the football to the completely unguarded Ibi?evi?.

Super Ibi slightly adjusted the ball under his feet outside the penalty area and then fired a long shot that went straight past the Scotland national team’s main goalkeeper, Gordon’s ten-fingers.

After the goal, Ibi?evi? ran to the camera behind the corner flag once again and then lifted his right hand to give a hard slap.

This was his fifth goal of the season!

It was a goal that locked in the win and a goal that caused the Sunderland team to lose their fighting spirit.

With five or six minutes remaining, Sunderland could no longer organize an effective attack and the game was brought to an end in this way.

Nottingham Forest won the away game by 2:0 against Sunderland with Matías Fernández’s wonderful performance.

After the game, Fernández received the champagne that symbolized the best player on the spot. He smiled happily in the crowd of reporters.

Twain also praised Fernández at the press conference. He now had to do everything he could to make Fernández feel that he had a future at the Forest team and that Nottingham Forest was a team worthy for him to play for.

Anyway, saying good things did not require any costs, so naturally the more the better.

Fernández later spoke about life at the Forest team in an interview with his hometown media.

He said, “… I love this team and I’m getting used to the life here. Everyone is friendly and the boss—they all address the manager here in this way—is a man of unique charm. This team is different from the other teams and I want to win championships here. I enjoy my life here very much.”

“Is the language barrier an obstacle?” The reporter asked him.

He shook his head and said, “Playing relies on the feet, not the mouth. I feel like I’m building the rapport with my teammates.”

He was right. “He is building the rapport.”

Despite winning the game against Sunderland and Twain also praised Fernández for his best performance, in fact his heart was not as happy as he showed.

Fernández found his form but the rapport needed to be developed slowly. To able to defeat Sunderland was due to individual ability and not the overall strength of the team. Fernández more often opted to fight alone, which could be seen from the ten fouls against him in the game.

Twain was positive about Fernández’s brilliant performance in the game. But if that was the case in later games, he would have to criticize the team with a grim expression. Nottingham Forest had never been the type of team that insisted on individualism. He was after overall football. If it must be said that this team had individual heroism, then the hero could only be Tony Twain himself.

※※※

Nottingham Forest once again left the United Kingdom and flew to Italy after they played against Sunderland.

This time, they were up against an old rival, Juventus from two seasons ago.

Before they left, Twain gave an interview to the media, which was unexpected. He did not show his usual style of madness. Instead, he carefully said, “There’s a certain degree of difficulty playing against Juventus in the away game. Of course, I want to win, but it doesn’t make sense to say whether we can win right now. The football is round. Until the last second, who can know the result?”

The media interpreted Twain’s attitude as a deliberate show of weakness and that it was nothing more than a psychological warfare—he wanted Juventus to think that Nottingham Forest was afraid of them and to take them lightly. In actual fact? They wanted to strike them another fatal blow when Juventus underestimated them!

It was simply too in line with the guy, Tony Twain’s style.

Therefore, his words definitely could not be trusted!

※※※

It was miracle that Ranieri had not been dismissed yet as the Juventus manager. Everyone thought he was an overdue manager and he lasted three seasons… He still sat firmly in that position.

Now the white-haired old man was studying their strongest opponent in the Champions League group stage, Nottingham Forest.

Judging by the current points standings, the seeded team, Juventus had one win and one draw, trailing behind Nottingham Forest with two wins.

Tony Twain’s speech before he came naturally did not escape Ranieri’s attention.

He was pondering Tony Twain’s motive behind his sudden display of his stance…

According to Tony Twain’s previous habit of giving outlooks on the game and future, he should brashly expressed, “The three best teams in the world are Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest. So, our opponent is us. I don’t care whether the game is played against Juventus or Barcelona because the result is only one—we win!”

Only by saying that would be in keeping with his character.

He was unexpectedly cautious and voluntarily low-key. Such an unusual behavior could not stop Ranieri from being extra careful.

He wants us to take the enemy lightly?

Is Juventus that kind of team?

Does he really think the probability of winning is low playing against Juventus in the away game? So, he’s giving himself a good way to get off the hook ahead of time?

Ranieri felt that this possibility was way too low…

What tricks is Tony Twain hiding up his sleeves? What does he want to do?

If his aim was to trick Juventus into underestimating the opponent, then he must want Juventus to attack aggressively at home and then wait to fight back. But Juventus was not a team that would forget itself. Even at home, Ranieri would not have taken the risk of doing so. At any given time, Juventus always give priority to “stability.” Otherwise they would be called “The Old Lady.” It was a team style that would not change no matter how many managers were changed.

Ranieri believed Twain’s level of intelligence would not be low enough to think Juventus would attack at home and leave plenty of space in the backfield for the Forest team to counterattack.

After all, when Juventus beat Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, it was not based on offense, but on the overall balance. They might not be the best in offense or defense, but their integrated strength was powerful and had no obvious weaknesses.

Football was a game of hiding one’s weaknesses and finding the opponent’s weaknesses to exploit. In this respect, Juventus’ style of play had already established them in an “invincible position.”

Unable to think of exactly why Twain suddenly adopted a low-key manner at this time, Ranieri decided to stop mulling over it. Regardless of what Tony Twain had hiding up his sleeves, as the home team and Serie A’s biggest powerhouse, Juventus, he just needed to stick to their style of play and football.

Juventus’ football was not the kind of football that was adjusted to different opponents. If the football style of Barcelona, currently dominant in the football world, was “aggressive offense”, then Juventus’ style was “immovable.”

Ranieri decided to stick to his style in order to cope with shifting events by sticking to a fundamental principle.

Just like the first time the two teams competed against each other, he did not know much more about Nottingham Forest than the average person, so he stuck to Juventus’ own style of play to eventually defeat Nottingham Forest at home and retreat as a whole in the away match. He felt he did not have to make any changes. Juventus was almost born to subdue Nottingham Forest.

What was a “natural enemy?”

Juventus was the natural enemy of Nottingham Forest!

Tony Twain’s tactical style did not appear to change much from two years ago. If that was the case… Ranieri felt it would not be a problem to get the three points at home without any surprise. As for the away match, he only needed to be more careful.

He did not underestimate his enemy at all.

Chapter 767 - Change

Nottingham Forest had been in closed-door training again since they finished the game with Sunderland. The English media complained that there had never been a manager like Tony Twain who used closed-door training so often to prepare for the competition.

Carl Spicer then said it was proof that how terrified Tony Twain was—he dared not let the media and his opponent know what he was doing. This implied that he had no confidence.

Twain obviously did this to keep things confidential because he wanted to give Juventus a “big surprise.” But he did not feel that he had no confidence. Self-confidence and blind arrogance were two different things. Anyhow, he was up against the group’s most powerful opponent.?Superficial arrogance and true arrogance were two different matters.

In fact, Twain’s remarks to the media before he came to Italy were not entirely intended to create some trouble to Ranieri’s mind. He truly had to be careful.

That was what he said to the team.

When the team arrived in Turin, they trained at Stadio delle Alpi to adapt to the pitch. For the first fifteen minutes, the media could come in and film. It was what the rules must allow, or else Twain would not have even given them a second. But the media could not really shoot anything meaningful within these fifteen minutes. Because the team had been doing simple physical training. After the fifteen minutes were up, the team really began its tactical practice after they saw all the media pack up and leave. But it was just drills for set pieces.

Twain knew there would be people from Juventus in some corner of the pitch observing them. He would not reveal the real stuff on the enemy’s turf.

Once the training was over, it was the pre-match press conference. Twain saw Ranieri again. Both parties acted low-key. It was normal for Ranieri to maintain a low profile, but it was irregular for Twain to keep a low profile. Twain repeated the words he spoke in England, but he deliberately acted as if he was teasing and not serious about his speech.

He just wanted others to not be able to guess what he was going to do.

“Juventus is a very strong opponent ... Did I say before that the teams to advance were Nottingham Forest and any other team? Well, yes. But isn’t Juventus among them? Do you really want me to state an exact name? In that case, if I say Team A advances, how would Team B and C take it? I’m not stupid enough to make enemies everywhere...” Twain grinned and completely overturned his previously arrogant image.

Many media muttered below, “He had just said those words not long ago and now he refuted everything. He’s so shameless!”

“If he still had a sense of shame, he wouldn’t be Tony Twain...”

Twain seemed to want to express goodwill toward Juventus, but the Turin media would not give him the chance. Over and over again, they mentioned the two group matches two seasons ago and asked Twain what he thought.

“What do I think? It’s normal to win or lose on the football field. Besides, what’s the point of talking about what happened two seasons ago now? Winning or losing before held no meaning for tomorrow’s game. I only care about tomorrow. I don’t care about the past.”

“Have you ever thought about how to successfully take revenge at the Stadio delle Alpi, Mr. Twain?”

“I have a lot of respect for Juventus. It’s a great team. Since it was founded in 1897, it has gained a total of ...” Twain began to recite a brief summary of Juventus, which took about two minutes. After the summary, he said to the reporter who asked the question, “Do you understand what I mean?”

The Italian reporter’s mind had temporarily lost its ability to think.

But it was impossible for the media to let him go so easily. Another reporter took over and piped up, “You know Juventus very well, Mr. Twain. But you still did not say whether tomorrow’s game will be a revenge battle for Nottingham Forest.”

Twain stared at the reporter who stood up for a while. His eyes slowly became cold and the reporters anticipated Twain to suddenly slam on the table, become hostile and abuse roundly. Then there would be a good show. But that kind of expression only appeared for a second, and he suddenly smiled, “If revenge breeds revenge, will there ever be an end to it? I’m not interested in revenge. I’m only interested in winning.”

The answer greatly disappointed the reporters.

They had to throw the question to Ranieri and ask if he was worried about Nottingham Forest’s revenge at Stadio delle Alpi. Ranieri was not tricked by the media either. His answer was precisely the same as that of Twain, “I’m not interested in this kind of question.”

Due to Twain’s sudden anomaly, the press conference, which should have a lot of attention-grabbing news, ended in an awkward silence.

As they left the press conference, Twain stopped Ranieri and offered to shake his hand, “Hopefully tomorrow is a great game.” He smiled and said in Italian.

Ranieri was a little surprised, “I didn’t know you speak Italian, Mr. Twain.”

“A little.” In actual fact, he did not know any at all. Twain made a concentrated effort to quickly memorize the sentence by rote at the last minute before coming.

So Ranieri smiled, “I hope so too, Mr. Twain.”

After Twain’s farewell, the smile on Ranieri’s face gradually vanished. He felt that he was unable to make sense of the man. Ever since he had to play against him, his performance had become more and more unusual. In the face of the reporter’s numerous provocations, he did not get angry on the spot. Did his temper improve because of the heart attack?

Did his unusual behavior had anything to do with the game?

Ranieri shook his head and did not think about such meaningless things. Anyway, Juventus would only play their own football. No matter what tricks Twain pulled would be pointless in the face of Juventus.

It was a team that was so stable beyond hope.

※※※

“No one asked me how I was going to play against Juventus. Their attention was diverted to other places.” In the hotel room, Twain was talking to Dunn about the press conference that took place in the afternoon. “We’ll surprise them tomorrow!”

Meanwhile, at the hotel Juventus stayed in, Ranieri gathered all the players and coaches for a final tactical meeting. At this meeting, he would make clear the tactics to be used by the team tomorrow and the countermeasures to the tactics that the opponent might use.

It was a meeting directly related to the outcome of the next day’s game and everyone must take it seriously.

“Nottingham Forest emphasis on the flank attacks is their tradition. No matter what opponent it faces, no matter what situation, Tony Twain will not give up on that.” Ranieri explained the Forest team’s tactics to everyone in front of the tactical board.

“Matías Fernández has been in good form lately and Twain will be focused on the wings in tomorrow’s game. But judging by the last two games, Fernández and the other Forest players had not been able to work well enough with each other. He frequently fights alone in the wings. This is our chance. There’s nothing to fear about him once we cut him off with the rest of the Forest team.”

“Our defense is focused on the flanks. As long as we don’t let the Forest team play in the two flanks, their offense will be of no threat. I think in tomorrow’s game, Twain will deploy the same starting lineup as when they played against Atlético Madrid in the away match. There will be two defensive midfielders in the midfield—George Wood and Tiago. Their primary role is to intercept our attacks. Their attack focus is on the left and right side. But we also have to be prepared to deal with the two opposing defensive midfielders. Sissoko.”

Ranieri called the name of the team’s defensive midfielder, Mohamed Sissoko.

“You’re in the middle tomorrow. Stop them.”

Sissoko nodded hard and was clearly pleased with Ranieri’s arrangement. Because the manager did not select Poulsen and Marchisio, who were also defensive midfielders. It showed that in a hard-fought game, the manager trusted him more than the other two.

He had already wanted to pit his skills against the opponent’s George Wood long ago. Similarly, as a physical excellent defensive midfielder, he saw Wood as his biggest competitor. Over the years, Wood had relied on the team’s fame and results which made his value soared like a rocket. Whereas he came to Juventus from Liverpool and was always in a middling state.

He believed he was no less inferior to Wood whose strength was more likely to be hyped by the English media. He had played in England and was well aware of the media’s attitude.

When he was at Liverpool, he had played against Nottingham Forest a few times. Wood was a high-profile rookie at the time, but in Sissoko’s view, he was no different from himself. They were both physically good, technically rough, and good at defense. That was all. But just because Wood was an English player and hyped by the media, he was suddenly a world-class level player...

He was sidelined at Liverpool during that time and could not even play as the main force. Despite having a dedicated defensive midfielder like him, Benítez still brought in Mascherano, whose role overlapped with his. That was when he knew his days at Anfield were over.

Juventus played against Nottingham Forest two seasons ago. He had missed those two matches after he had received a red card in a previous match. He would not miss it again this time.

Defensive midfielder versus defensive midfielder? He looked forward to it.

Ranieri only left Sissoko in the middle alone and then placed the others to focus on the sides. Despite this being a home match, he intended to use defensive counterattack tactics to play against Nottingham Forest. Two seasons ago, he used this tactic to beat the insufferably arrogant defending champion, Nottingham Forest. He believed he could still do it two seasons later.

“First, solidify our defense and then wait for the opportunity to fight back. A team like Nottingham Forest is used to counterattack. However, they are not good at dealing with the opponent’s counterattacks. The five minutes at the start and end of every half are good opportunities for us to score goals. So do your best to seize them. If we’re going to attack, we’re going to use the middle. Nottingham Forest places its focus on the sides and the middle will be our chance.”

Ranieri announced the starting list for tomorrow’s game after he explained the tactics.

The soon to be 36-year-old next month veteran, Del Piero was not in the starting lineup. But he was on the squad list. If they could not breakthrough, Ranieri could bring him on and use his experience and skills, as well as his ability to position the ball to break the deadlock.

The starting strikers were Amauri and Iaquinta. Lined up apart in the midfield from left to right were Malouda bought from Chelsea for a fee of seven million pounds this summer, the talented young player, Sebastian Giovinco, who was trained in their youth academy, the tough defensive midfielder, Sissoko, and the old and tough, Camoranesi. In the rear defensive line from left to right were Cristian Molinaro, Chiellini, Legrottaglie, and the Czech, Grygera. The goalkeeper was, of course, Buffon.

Also, on the substitutes’ bench was the veteran captain, Del Piero, Christian Poulsen, Iago Falque Silva, Mellberg, Criscito and other strong players.

This was the strongest lineup Ranieri could come up with in recent time.

One could see how much importance he placed on the game.

※※※

But after watching for a few minutes after the start of the match the next day and observing carefully at Nottingham Forest’s formation for the game, he was immediately stunned—for the first time, Tony Twain did not adhere to his signature flank offensive. Instead, he placed the players heavily in the middle!

4-1-3-2!

This was the formation Tony Twain arranged for this game.

The goalkeeper was Akinfeev and the center backs were Pepe and Kompany. The left back was Leighton Baines and the right back was Rafinha. The defensive midfielder was George Wood while the three midfielders from left to right, were Matías Fernández, Tiago and ?ahin. The striker were Ibi?evi? and Eastwood.

“What is this?” Ranieri stood on the sidelines and muttered.

None of the information he collected suggested that Nottingham Forest had ever or tried to use such a formation. Anyone would know that the flanks were the foundation of the Forest team’s success. Looking at the signings each summer, Tony Twain always put the most focus on the wingers. Almost every winger in the Forest squad was world class.

In contrast, the abilities of the players in the middle were slightly inferior. Van der Vaart might have been the best player in terms of offense in the middle and midfield after they were promoted to the Premier League. But he had since been sold to Real Madrid. ?ahin had talent, but never gave the impression that he could take on the heavy responsibility, not to mention Tiago. He was not the kind of star player who could change the course of the game.

By relying on this midfield layout, how could Twain think that he could play with the configuration of three midfielders?

While Fernández could also play as a midfielder, he was still most suited to play as a winger. Was it not self-destructing to put him in the middle?

Soon Ranieri knew why Twain had arranged it in such a way.

Juventus planned to score a goal in the opening five to ten minutes and then drag the game into their familiar rhythm. But their attack was doggedly blocked by Nottingham Forest in the midfield. This time, even Fernández was instructed to defend aggressively.

With four players in the middle, three in the front and one behind, it formed enough depth for the players to protect each other. At the same time, they could also attack directly from here. Once they attacked, Fernández and ?ahin on the left and right would pull to the sides, with Tiago in the middle managing the team’s offensive order. George Wood would protect behind him. Sometimes the two of them would switch positions, with Wood moving forward and Tiago cruising behind him.

At the same time, Eastwood frequently retreated to receive like a shadow striker and also a little like a free agent in the front field. He did not have a fixed position. Ibi?evi? stood up to Juventus’s rear defensive line in the front, leaving them afraid to make a move. With such a lineup, it seemed he had given up the flanks, but it greatly enhanced the defensive and offensive abilities in the middle. ?ahin and Fernández were given the chance to face the goal directly.

In addition, the Forest team did not really abandon their flanks. Twain instructed Baines and Rafinha to plug in ahead in the game when they had a chance and be actively involved in the assists.

The combination between the flanks and middle, stumped Juventus all of a sudden. They appeared to be at a loss in the first ten minutes of the game—the pre-match tactical arrangement was to keep an eye on the flanks and steadily fight back. However, Nottingham Forest treated the middle as the main direction for attacks. And after placing four players in the middle, they were not afraid of a possible counterattack from Juventus.

Ten minutes had passed. Even though Juventus’ attack was fierce, it was of no avail. More often than not, their attacks were stopped once they advanced into the midfield. Nottingham Forest’s midfield and middle blocked the way as if there had been a series of crashes along the highway. Even the fastest attack had to slow down or even stop completely.

Ranieri stood on the sidelines, listening to the cheers from the home fans in the stands at the Stadio delle Alpi, and again looked at Tony Twain, who, like him, stood on the sidelines to direct the game. He felt a headache coming on...

Chapter 768 - Counterattack Counterattack

Ranieri was not a manager who was good at changing tactics according to the situation on the field. He was as slow as his team when faced with Tony Twain’s abrupt change in tactics.

Nottingham Forest quickly took control of the midfield while Juventus was unresponsive. There was a saying in modern football—the player who seizes control of the midfield takes the world. It was slightly exaggerated, but the importance of the midfield was evident.

Nottingham Forest must first take control of the midfield if they were to break the opponent’s steady counterattack and defeat Juventus in the away game. Only then would they have the ability to push ahead step by step.

Juventus simply could not pass the ball in the midfield, with all four of Nottingham Forest players taking care of both offense and defense at the same time. George Wood, in particular, tirelessly ran and intercepted in the midfield. He harassed Juventus’ every attack. Juventus’ rate of failure in its passes began to rise after the Forest team’s fast-paced tackling in the midfield.

Another weakness of Juventus’s lineup also gradually emerged—they lacked a midfielder who could keep the ball under his feet and control the entire team’s pace of attack and defense. Camoranesi was a winger and too old already while Giovinco was too young. His control of the ball was good but did not know what to do about the pace. As for Malouda… He was more of a raider than a midfield playmaker. Sissoko, the muscular man, needed not to be mentioned. He was only a worker bee. He was very talented in stealing the ball, but he was horrible at passing. Del Piero had the ability in this area, but he was on the substitutes’ bench. Ranieri did not dare put his captain at risk for any minor injuries.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nottingham Forest took control of the midfield and fully pressed on, completely ignoring their away team disadvantages. As the whole team pressed on, the goalkeeper Akinfeev’s range of activity changed from the goal area to the entire penalty area, even extending outside pf the penalty area to act as a scrounger. The distance between the three lines was sufficient: even if the first wave of attacks were blocked, there would be a follow-up attack so that an unsuccessful attack would not result in the opponent’s counterattack. The midfielder’s double layer of interception also ensured that Juventus’ attack could not get through quickly, buying time for the Forest team’s defense.

The target that Ranieri set for the team in the opening five minutes of the game failed to materialize. It was Nottingham Forest’s turn to play. The Forest team who controlled the midfield had many ways to send the ball near Juventus’ penalty area. It was no longer the monotonous pass from the wing to the byline.

George Wood kept the ball under his feet. Sissoko wanted to rush up to intercept from a distance, yet he didn’t. If he were to do so, he would have left the goal wide open behind him and allow Nottingham Forest a direct shot to their goal. Then he would risk being replaced. Sissoko’s role became even more important when it became clear that Nottingham Forest’s main line of attack was not on the two sides, but the middle.

Wood could not remember if he had ever faced off against Sissoko. In his eyes, all opponents were the same. Very few deeply impressed him. He ignored Sissoko’s provocative expression and passed the football to Tiago. Nottingham Forest started an attack from the middle, but it did not mean that they had to strike the opponent’s penalty area straight from the center. In fact, Fernández and ?ahin could disperse to the two wings during the attack.

This time, for example, when Fernández saw Tiago receive the football, he knew intuitively to plunge diagonally ahead. Sissoko looked at him and let him go. He did not keep an eye on him. His task was in the middle. Once Tiago passed the ball to Fernández, he also ran forward. Juventus’ defense swiftly retreated. Fernández soon encountered resistance. He had to stop and turn around to protect the ball. The Italian defense was not that easy to break.

Wood looked at the situation ahead and decided to go up to support. Fernández handed the ball to Wood and continued to pull to the side. When Fernández went to the side, Juventus could not help but defend. The corresponding right-back, Grygera, came up to mark him. However, Wood passed the football to Eastwood, who came from behind.

Eastwood did not keep the ball and gave it to Tiago again. Tiago already faced the goal head-on when he took the ball, so he did not hesitate and shoot from afar. Buffon fought hard to save, but he did not touch the football. The ball flew off the end line after a brush against the goalpost. The stunned Juventus fans at Stadio delle Alpi broke out in cold sweat.

※※※

In the next few minutes, Nottingham Forest had three chances to shoot, but they were all from afar. This slightly reassured Ranieri. Although the Forest team suddenly changed tactics which somewhat caught him off guard, Juventus’ traditional football was still very effective—we do not care how the opponent changes, we just stick to our football and content with the opponents. Juventus football must first put ourselves in an invincible position!

Although their attack is aggressive, they can only use long shots to threaten our goal. As long as they can’t get into the penalty area, they were not a threat. He walked to the sidelines, whistled and made a gesture, instructing the team to push the Forest team outwards and not give them a chance to enter the penalty area. They did not need to fear long shots as that shooting method had the lowest rate of scoring goals.

Even the commentator realized the point and said. “Juventus’ defense is solid, and their defensive formation is pretty good. Nottingham Forest passes the ball back and forth to find a suitable attacking point but can only play a few long shots from outside. It seems Tony Twain is still unable to find a better solution in the face of Juventus’ tactics.”

After a few waves of attack from the Forest team, Juventus began its counterattack. The standard procedure of the game should be Nottingham Forest would attack, and Juventus would use a defensive counterattack.

This time, though, they encountered aggressive interception in the midfield. Giovinco’s body was almost like a kindergarten kid in front of George Wood. Unless he dribbled the ball far away from Wood, the football at his feet would most likely be lost once he entangled with Wood.

The shaved Sebastien Giovinco was a bit like the former Italy team captain and center back, Cannavaro. But his height was a different story. He was only 1.64-meters tall, and he weighed sixty-one kilograms. He was not particularly thin, but in front of George Wood, his agility and physique did not work.

Wood was as agile and stronger than him. That kind of chance had a fifty-fifty percent chance. As long as Wood use a little bit of force, Giovinco would undoubtedly lose control of the ball. Perhaps the best solution was a quick pass to get rid of the man who was like his shadow.

But he could not find a way forward and could only pass the ball back. The pace of the team’s attack was then forced to slow down. With Nottingham Forest’s two wingers returning from the front, Juventus found that they also had to face a well-fortified defense during their attack…

Since Juventus had found a way of making Nottingham Forest only able to threaten their goal with long shots, surely Nottingham Forest would have a counter-measure too? For a while, everyone’s offensive ended with a long shot, and as a result, the quality of the attack was not high. The score was still 0:0 thirty minutes into the first half.

The commentator really wanted to give a yawn. The game was too dull—the quality of the offensive was low, the pace was dragged to a crawl by the “joint efforts” of both teams, there was neither passion nor highlights. Both sides were careful not to make mistakes. Their play-it-safe mentality made the game was absolutely unlikeable.

Ranieri was happy with the current situation as he intended to play a defensive counterattack. Juventus’ real chance was at fifteen minutes before the end of the first half. He still remembered how it went down the first time the two sides met in the Champions League—Tony Twain was anxious to take three points in the away game, so he ventured boldly with the tactics, and lost to Juventus’ defensive counterattack. They scored one goal each just five minutes into the first and second halves to completely crush Nottingham Forest.

He believed that with Tony Twain’s character, he would never learn his lesson on things he had decided on. Even though he appeared to manage the game in a low-key manner, he was, in fact, more eager than anyone else to win the game on the inside.

Why? Because his record against Juventus was a loss and a tie. There was no other team in the world that he had not defeated more than Juventus. Ranieri might have let the resentment over it passed, but for Tony Twain, he would absolutely not take it lying down. He would definitely attack, and aggressively as well! That would be Juventus’ chance!

For the ten minutes, the two sides remained in a deadlock on the pitch, threatening each other’s goal with long shots and occasionally hitting the ball into the penalty area, but the shots posed no real threat to the goalkeepers. Perhaps only the fans of both teams would be interested in such a game.

The neutral fans must have been disappointed—before the game, the media hyped it up as Tony Twain’s revenge battle and “a showdown for the giants.” But in reality? Every game with Juventus was dull, and any game with Nottingham Forest would not be too exciting either. When these two teams came together, the dullness had doubled. How could it be thrilling at all? A football game requires passion! Such a game is simply a disgrace to modern football! Those people complained in their hearts.

※※※

Ranieri looked at his watch. With six minutes left in the first half, he got up from the technical area and was ready to signal to the players to fully attack. Meanwhile, Tony Twain, who had been standing on the sidelines for forty minutes, finally seemed to feel the ache in his legs. He turned around and walked back to the technical area.

Buffon wonderfully blocked a long shot from Eastwood. This time instead of kicking the ball afar, he looked up at the midfield and threw a handball to launch an attack! Sissoko’s header tipped the ball forward, and Camoranesi withdrew to pick it up. He passed the ball to Giovinco, who was sprinting ahead at full strength.

Giovinco looked back at the ball rolling toward him and looked up ahead of him—there was no one there, but he caught a glimpse of a shadow on the left from the corner of the eye. He did not have to look carefully to know who it was. George Wood followed closely next to Giovinco like a silent wolf. He had entered a state of a hunter.

Although Wood did nothing yet and was still some distance from Giovinco, the Italian prodigy suddenly developed a state of anxiety. He felt that if he continued to dribble the ball, he would most likely be tackled by the silent number 13 near him. If the opportunity that Juventus had gotten after much difficulty were to perish in his own hands, he might be replaced in the second half. The team captain, Del Piero, had already been called by Ranieri to warm up. He must be dissatisfied with his performance …

Since he could dribble the ball to break through this man’s defense, then he must pass the ball! No matter how good he was, he could not take care of the entire backfield. Giovinco made up his mind and suddenly braked. He then looked up to find a target to pass the ball to.

He should not have stopped the ball—the stop placed him in the “dead zone.” Wood crossed in front of him and the position chosen was so good that he sealed almost all the routes he might have dribbled the ball to break out—unless he turned to dribble the ball back.

Wood was in no hurry to tackle as that could easily cause him to be bypassed. He just blocked in front of Giovinco and prevented him from dribbling the ball forward. It slowed down Juventus’ counterattack while he waited for his teammates to return to defend. Ranieri saw Giovinco suddenly stop in the field and waved his fists in a hurry.

“Giovinco is stuck near the sidelines by Wood! The Nottingham Forest players have already returned to defend, and Juventus’s quick counterattack was unsuccessful!”

Giovinco understood his situation when he saw Wood as soon as he looked up after he stopped. He knew he could not dribble the ball forward. Giovinco panicked, even more, when he saw Wood’s calm expression. He felt that his ball might be intercepted. At this time, he could only hurry to get the ball out of the way! He thought so and caught a glimpse of a man in the corner of his eye— that’s it!

“Giovinco passed the ball straight to Tiago’s feet! Did he think that Tiago was his teammate? Juventus is in trouble—they had just finished a pressing attack, and the ball was inexplicably sent to the feet of the opposing player.”

Nottingham Forest gladly accepted Giovinco’s generous gift. “Thank you.” Tiago did not forget to use Italian to thank his former teammate. The phrase suddenly provoked Giovinco, who rushed at Tiago with a furious look in his eyes.

Wood called Tiago’s name at the back to warn him that Giovinco had pounced. Tiago had clearly anticipated Giovinco’s reaction. He directly pushed the ball to Wood with his heel. Giovinco pounced on empty space and then turned to rush toward Wood. This time Wood passed the ball directly to ?ahin, who was further ahead.

Nottingham Forest pressed and counterattacked Juventus! ?ahin dribbled the ball forward when he was brutally shoveled by Sissoko, who threw him out along with the rolling ball. But the referee did not whistle for a foul. Even though it looked like Sissoko’s shovel was ferocious, it was clean.

Malouda, who was next to him, was going to rush up to get the ball and then continued to counterattack Nottingham Forest. Just as his foot was about to hit the football, the ball in front of him suddenly disappeared! Sissoko had just climbed up and saw a man with the yellow team caption’s armband and clad in a red Nottingham Forest jersey, flew past in front of Malouda like the wind. The football was at his feet! He did not even think and rushed toward the man’s figure to press on. We’re finally face to face, boy!

Instead of shoveling the ball first, Sissoko crossed his body and knocked into George Wood, intending to knock Wood to the side. He succeeded. George Wood was hit by him to the sidelines, but the ball at his feet was not lost. He hooked the ball, and it went with him.

Sissoko saw that the ball was not intercepted. Then he sped up and tried to push Wood to the sidelines. Just like what Wood did to Giovinco just now. This time he did not succeed. Just as he rushed at full speed toward Wood, Wood suddenly stopped, parked the football at his feet, and Sissoko overshot!

Sissoko crossed in front of Wood with a look of dismay as he could not stop in time. If Wood had a good sense of humor, he could even wave goodbye to Sissoko, who had rushed past himself.

“He shook him off with a brilliant pause!” The commentator could not help but applaud Wood for his sudden halt. “That’s so clever! Sissoko was completely deceived!” George Wood, who shook off Sissoko, had plenty of time to adjust the football. He swung his right leg. It looked like he was going to do a long shot…

“Chiellini rushed up to defend … A pass?” Wood did not shoot at the goal. Although his movement looked like a shot, the ball drew an arc and flew to the right side of the penalty area.

Ibi?evi? stood there, but he was offside—apparently, he was behind Juventus’ entire rear defensive line just as Wood passed the ball. Another center back, Legrottaglie, raised his hand high and gestured to the referee and the assistant referee. Ibi?evi? did not plan to receive the ball. He ran back and completely ignored the football that flew to where he was.

“Offside!” The commentator could not wait to announce the end of Nottingham Forest’s attack. Unfortunately, the referee and the assistant referee did not hear his shouts. The referee did not whistle, and the assistant referee did not raise the flag. Their eyes were clearly not on Ibi?evi? who was running back with his head lowered, but on another red figure that was plugging in from the back at high speed.

Rafinha! Rafinha ran forward when Tiago passed the ball to Wood. When he saw ?ahin’s ball being cut off by Sissoko, he still hesitated and stopped running. He thought whether or not to turn around and run back to defend. But after he saw George Wood snatch the ball back, he had no further qualms and was determined to move forward.

Wood had intended to shoot directly after he stopped. But he saw Rafinha, who had plugged in from the side, and changed his mind immediately. He passed a high ball to the right side where Rafinha arrived just in time!

The ball and the player arrived at the same time. Rafinha did not stop the ball. He directly slid to the ground and shoveled the ball for a volley shot!

Buffon clearly did not expect Nottingham Forest to make a move. He had focused all his attention on George Wood just now. Who would have thought that an opposing right-back would appear in front of his own goal? The football drilled through the gap between Buffon and the goalpost!

The ball went in!

The ball went in?!

The Juventus players seemed unable to accept the reality—they had wanted to use the last five minutes of the first half to break the deadlock, but they did not expect Nottingham Forest to successfully plot against them…

Which team was actually counterattacking?

Chapter 769 - Grind to Death

“A beautiful counterattack! George Wood’s brilliant performance scored a goal!” The Nottingham Forest players hugged each other tightly. It was their first goal at the Stadio delle Alpi venue!

Twain could not stay in his chair. He kept jumping up and down, waving his hands excitedly. He acted as if he had won the game already. “George is acting more and more like the core of the midfield!” Kerslake was also excited and shouted elatedly beside him. “The breakaway and pass were gorgeous!”

Ranieri shook his head in disappointment and turned to walk back. He was still jabbering nonstop. “How could he pass the ball to the opponent’s feet? I really don’t know what he was thinking!”

The loss of the ball started with Giovinco’s passing error in the front. It was frustrating to lose the ball like this. By the time Sebastian Giovinco ran back towards the penalty area, the ball was already in the goal. He looked at the football despondently.

Giovinco felt like his performance today was like a pile of crap. After a moment of silence, the booing started in the Stadio delle Alpi Stadium again. It was obviously targeted at Nottingham Forest. But to Giovinco, it sounded like all of the cries were focused upon him alone.

The booing continued until the end of the first half. Nottingham Forest entered the locker room with a one-goal lead, while the Juventus players looked a little lost—they thought the last five minutes should have belonged to them. Ranieri had already turned to leave the technical area to walk toward the tunnel the moment the whistle sounded. He was quite unhappy and had much to say during the halftime interval.

Tony Twain, on the other hand, was in no hurry to get back into the locker room. He stood on the sidelines, patting every Forest player who came off the field on the head as he shook hands with them to congratulate and encourage them. Twain was the last person to enter the visiting team’s locker room.

“Well done, guys!” Twain was in an excellent mood. His voice was loud, and his movements were energetic. It looked like he was also quite satisfied with the result of the first half. “The game has been going as we planned. But we have to keep working hard in the second half. A one-goal lead…”

“Is the most precarious situation!” Eastwood helped finish the sentence. Twain pointed at him, and everyone laughed. Twain has always treated this valued player with the most leniency. No one else would have dared to interject while Twain spoke, yet Eastwood would do so frequently without any backlash.

“Freddy, I think you can be a manager in the future.” The guys laughed again. Eastwood chuckled. “How could I, chief?”

“I bet Ranieri is upset right now.” Twain stopped paying attention to Eastwood and continued. “His plan should be the same as the last time he beat us, which is to use the opening period or the period before the end of the first half to score since he felt that we would only relax at those times. But he didn’t expect to be tricked by us.” Twain laughed deviously.

“In the second half, they will definitely keep attacking for a while because they won’t accept losing to us during a home game. That’s our chance. Seize it!” Twain made a grip with his hands.

Meanwhile, in the Juventus locker room…

Ranieri was livid. The man he faced sat silently in front of his locker-room cabinet with his head bowed. The player held a sports towel in his hand, but he was motionless. Ranieri did not scold Giovinco, who had made the crucial mistake. He just stared hard for a moment, turned around, and sighed.

“Let’s see how we can reverse the situation in the second half…” He looked at the tactical board with the formations of the two teams. In his view, the Nottingham Forest’s formation had already retreated into a defensive stance, or began “parking the bus.”

Since he coached Juventus, he had not allowed himself to make mistakes. He wanted to capitalize on the faults of others, yet he was immensely unhappy when others do the same. But now their flaw had been caught by Nottingham Forest in the first half. Tony Twain was also quite observant of other teams…

The situation was currently not in their favor. With Nottingham Forest in the lead and Ranieri’s knowledge of Juventus, he could understand what Nottingham Forest would do.

Defensive counterattack! If it were me, I would do the same…”We have to attack…” He spoke somewhat dispiritedly. “But we can’t fully press up. We have to guard against their counterattack at the same time. In the second half, we will concentrate our attacking forces on the two wings…” He said as he pointed to the other team’s formation on the tactical board.

Looking at the formation, Nottingham Forest’s middle was sturdy. Generally, an offense would encounter a strong resistance here. But the wings were relatively empty. Attacks on the wings would be far more effective.

Ranieri figured it out! Twain must have taken control of the midfield for a midfield advantage. Ranieri was not going to play by his book. They will use a quick pass from the wings to shoot straight for the goal.

“In the second half, Alessandro, you go up and replace Giovinco.” While he did not criticize Giovinco’s performance in the first half, the replacement showed everyone his attitude towards the rising midfield star. Del Piero nodded. Giovinco bowed his head lower.

※※※

“I guess Ranieri will step up the attack in the second half, but he’s not a fool. Looking at our midfield configuration, it would be a pipe dream if he wanted to win by attacking the middle. So, he’s definitely going to focus on the wings.” Twain drew two lines on the tactical board and added. “It looks like our wings are empty. Therefore, in the second half, we have to make a little adjustment…”

“The two wingers will reduce the number of assists up the line, and we will adjust the formation to a 4-4-2 parallel position. George, you and Tiago continue to take charge of the defense in the middle. Matías, you will go back to the left side and ?ahin, you rest in the second half. Lennon will go on.”

ahin nodded in acceptance of Twain’s arrangement. Both had changed players during the halftime interval, but Twain and Ranieri had completely different goals. So, the moods of the two players who were replaced were completely different.”In the second half, we will return to our?offensive tactics in the wings and surprise Juventus again!”

※※※

Before the start of the second half, both sides got ready to make the substitutions near the sidelines. Juventus used Del Piero to replace Giovinco, who made a fatal error in the first half, while Nottingham Forest replaced ?ahin with Lennon.

“It’s easy to understand why Giovinco was brought off. After all, he played terribly in the first half. But replacing ?ahin with Lennon… What is the meaning of this? ?ahin’s performance in the first half was remarkable…..” The commentator was still wondering about it, but Ranieri was keenly aware that something was wrong.

Lennon was purely a winger, and ?ahin was a true midfielder. What did the adjustment mean? Nottingham Forest is going back to the wings! He had just gotten his players focused on offense in the wings, and now they were directly up against the Forest team…

He believed it must have been Twain’s plot—in the first half, he thought Nottingham Forest would stick to their play in the wings, so he focused on the wings to trap Nottingham Forest. He had not predicted that would Tony Twain uncharacteristically chose to play in the middle. Finally, the Forest team managed to attack and gain one goal. At the halftime interval, he made his own countermeasure to deal with this situation, but he did not expect Twain to change again!

Twain instructed the team to focus on their offense in the wings for the second half. It was not just for their offense, but also for their defense—when the Forest team stepped up the offense in the wings, Juventus’ offense in the wings would inevitably be affected. It was Twain’s idea to fight fire with fire in the wings.

The effect was still considerable… After the game resumed, Juventus had wanted to besiege the Forest team’s goal but were dragged into a quagmire in the midfield by Nottingham Forest. Del Piero could control the ball after he came on, but George Wood’s close marking on him made it very hard for him. To counter the Italian Golden Player with excellent ball control but a weaker physique, George Wood used his remarkable frame to tire Del Piero out, even risking fouls a couple of times.

Wood and Tiago were simultaneously on offense and defense in the first half. But by the second half, they were almost entirely focused on defense. Like two meat grinders in the midfield, they dragged in all of Juventus’ attacks to grind and crush them. The midfield defense caused a lot of trouble for Juventus’ offense.

No matter where the Juventus players passed the ball, Nottingham Forest would have the upper hand in numbers. They seemed to be everywhere. The Forest players were in excellent shape and ran around to intercept Juventus’ ball.

The game entered a deadlock. The two teams kept making mistakes—Nottingham Forest used their Premier League pace to drag Juventus, the graceful and elegant team into a frenzied dash without any regard for their image. After a while, The Old Lady could stand it no longer… Active mistakes began to increase.

While the Forest team’s mistakes were also on the rise, it was still within the extent that Tony Twain could bear. They now had the lead, and if they drag Juventus into disarray, there would be plenty of chances for the Forest team. Twain returned to his seat in the technical area, sat down and crossed his legs. He was not in a hurry.

As time went on, Juventus was the one getting more and more anxious. It was as if the manager’s seat in the Juventus technical area had nails on it. Ranieri seemed to wince as he sat restlessly. He paced around the sidelines, anxious as he stared helplessly at the pitch.

He could only hope now that Amauri could break out with the energy he had in the league tournament and break into Nottingham Forest’s goal. Unfortunately, Pepe kept a close watch on Amauri and stuck close to him. The talented center forward met a fierce rival. Furthermore, Nottingham Forest cut the link between Juventus’ midfield and forwards. Neither Amauri nor Iaquinta could receive support from the midfielders. More often than not, they struggled alone and had to continually retreated to receive the ball.

All in all, Juventus’ offensive system was messed up by Nottingham Forest. Ranieri was at his wits’ end—he was always slower than Twain by a step and made adjustments that were aimed at Twain’s previous deployments, causing the players to be at a loss over what to do.

※※※

The second half was a hundred times more frustrating than the first half. It was not until the game was about to be over that Juventus set off a wave of counterattacks. They seized the last moments and began a siege on Nottingham Forest’s goal. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest seemed reluctant to attack again. All of them retreated to defend and huddled in their own penalty area.

Twain was so unhappy with the situation that he stood on the sidelines and roared at the team to fight back. But his voice was drowned out by the deafening cheers of the home fans at Stadio delle Alpi.

“This is Juventus’ last chance! If they don’t hurry up, they will lose at home!”

Ranieri replaced Sissoko, who did not contribute to the attack at the last minute, and brought on Iago, the excellent midfielder from the La Masia Youth Camp, hoping to step up the offense, equalize the score in the final minute and create a miracle.

“Amauri attacks with a header shot!”

“Ah – Akinfeev! A beautiful save! That’s awesome!”

“Iaquinta fell inside the penalty area, and the referee whistled! But it is only a free-kick outside the penalty area. Kompany’s foul was timely. Any later, it would have been a penalty kick!”

“Del Piero takes the free-kick… and it hits the human wall! The Juventus players protested to the referee that the Forest team’s human wall was too close, but the referee only signaled to them to throw the out of bounds ball.”

…

The game only became thrilling in the last ten minutes. Juventus pressed on the edges of the Forest team with threatening shots coming in quick succession. The hearts of the Forest fans almost jumped out of their throats. The goal guarded by Akinfeev tottered under the rain of attacks as if it would fall at any moment.

Twain was also nervous. If Juventus had scored the equalizer in the final minute and he was to see them hug and celebrate in a frenzy, Twain really did not know if his nuclear-powered heart could withstand the agitation…

“Tony!” Dunn shouted from the back. He was also worried about Twain’s heart. “I’m fine, Dunn.” Twain waved his hands and rushed to the sidelines to yell. “What are you doing shrinking at the back? Are you tortoises? Your heads do not f**king belong to tortoises!!”

Nottingham Forest finally made two counterattacks, one of which came close to scoring, thanks to Twain’s frenzied yelling and body signals. Juventus was not disturbed by Nottingham Forest’s two counterattacks and continued to fully press on, wanting to score a goal before the final whistle. The always gentle and graceful Old Lady also finally took off its veil, rolled up the sleeves, and pulled up its skirt to fight with Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately, they were too late… Del Piero kicked the ball into the stands behind the Forest team’s goal when the referee blew the final whistle to end the game.

As the Juventus team captain, he was not unhappy with anyone. He was just upset about losing like this—they were completely ground to death by Nottingham Forest’s defense… The post-match statistics showed that their shots on goal were almost a third more than Nottingham Forest, but they did not score at all. At the end of the game, the Nottingham Forest players repeated what Juventus did two years ago at the Stadio delle Alpi—a frenzied celebration of the victory.

But Twain seemed calm. He did not even celebrate as he got up to shake Ranieri’s hand. “It was a great game…” Twain said in English, regardless of whether Ranieri could understand. In fact, the language barrier was not an obstacle for Twain to express his meaning, because, at the moment, the smile on his face was as bright as a flower.

Ranieri knew what kind of man Tony Twain was. Although he could not understand what he said, he knew it was definitely unpleasant. He ignored the opponent who genuinely wanted to show off in front of him. He shook hands with Twain and turned to leave.

As soon as Ranieri left, the reporters swarmed up and surrounded Twain, wanting to hear his thoughts on winning the game. “Three consecutive wins.” Twain extended three fingers and said. “We’re definitely advancing to the next stage!”

“Mr. Twain, aren’t you being a little overconfident?”

“You’re wrong, Mr. Reporter. It’s not overconfidence, I’m just telling the truth.”

“Are you dissatisfied that you only won against Juventus with one goal?”

“No, I only care about the three points.”

“Two seasons ago, your team lost to Juventus in the away match in the Champions League group stage. How does it feel to successfully avenge that game?”

“I don’t feel anything right now. We still have to face them at our home stadium. When that game is over, you can ask me this question again.”

“Can you talk about Nottingham Forest’s goal in the Champions League this season?” In this rare instance, Twain was modest. He smiled and said. “We will do our best and see how far we can go.”

As a result, the day after the game, his modest smile was interpreted as “Tony Twain is back in the Champions League for the title.” In the photograph, Tony Twain smiled mysteriously, and the pair of narrowed eyes seemed to be calculating how far his team was from the UEFA Champions League title. Twain shrugged innocently. “That was just a professional smile…” Dunn snorted. “Don’t be modest, you’ve been stereotyped, Madman.”

Chapter 770 - Psychological Battle

Forest beat Juventus 1:0 in an away game, and successfully got revenge against them after losing to them that year. At the same time, they also cemented their position at the top of the table for their group.

However, winning this particular match had an ever greater significance to Forest than the aforementioned points. Previously, the media made no special mention of Nottingham Forest’s victories over either Celtic F.C. or Atlético Madrid. When they won Juventus however, numerous media outlets printed the following in their titles:

“The Red Forest Makes Its Return to Europe!”

By right, Nottingham Forest had made its return a long time back. They had made their return ever since they qualified for next season’s Champions League in the last match of the Premier League last season. There was actually an additional meaning behind the media’s words. What they meant was that the invincible Nottingham Forest that once took Europe by storm was truly back.

By defeating a strong team like Juventus, Nottingham Forest proved that they weren’t a team that was just going to travel around Europe and then head back home. They were a team full of ambition, and they were intent on making a name for themselves in Europe. Defeating the seeded Juventus team was nothing more than a starting point for them. It was definitely not the end.

It can’t be helped that nobody believed Tony Twain when he showed humility, even though he rarely does so. It was just like the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’. People would constantly think that you have an ulterior motive no matter what you did when the image of you being all egotistical has been deeply seared into their memories.

In truth, Twain was truly keeping a low-profile this time. He did not want to add too much pressure onto his team. The times have changed, and so has his team that he is leading right now. There are many new and young players in his current team. He wasn’t sure if, just like him, they all craved for a challenge and would also never get tired of being challenged.

Rebuilding a team is a process and it needs time. He cannot be too focused on instant gratification. This was a principle that he was very clear about.

Honestly, it was truly a blessing to be a player for Nottingham Forest. There isn’t much stress on the players besides the stress of trying to become champions.

When Ibi?evi? failed to score goals, Tony Twain was there to shoulder the pressure with him. When Matías Fernández failed to assimilate himself into the team, Tony Twain tried his best to create chances for him to become one with the team.

igi? is scoring too little goals? That’s okay. Tony assured him that as long as he makes a contribution to the team, he would not get upset with him even if he doesn’t score goals.

The media has the guts to question a particular Nottingham Forest player? Tony would have already fired back at the uneducated media with his big mouth before the players get to have an opinion about it.

The players have nothing to fret over as long as they are with their boss, Tony Twain. To the players who have followed Twain for several years, Nottingham Forest was Twain, and Twain was also Nottingham Forest.

Frankly, Twain does not really wish for his players to harbor such thoughts about him, because it would cause them to get infected with the ‘Reliance on Tony Twain’ illness.

Even though Twain has never considered leaving Nottingham Forest to work elsewhere, but that did not mean that accidents would not occur. For example, his heart…

※※※

Nottingham Forest still have to face another challenge from Juventus at home after winning them in the away game.

Three matches have been played in the group stages so far. Juventus had won once, drew once and lost once, and they were ranked second with four points under their belt. Atlético Madrid drew twice and lost once, and they have two points. Celtic F.C. was the weakest team in the group. They lost twice and drew once, and were ranked last with only one point.

However, no one would say that Celtic F.C. has no chance of advancing into the next stage. Besides Nottingham Forest, who was way ahead of the pack with nine points, all three other teams in the group could miss out on clinching the final spot to qualify for the next stage.

If Juventus intends to put themselves in a favorable position to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, then it is best for them to triumph over Forest at the City Ground stadium.

But, is Twain a man with a good heart?

He chose to employ a more defensive-oriented formation at the City Ground stadium once again and made use of several layers of defense to confine Juventus. The match had no highlights and was also not exciting to watch. Both teams put in sub-par performances, but in the end, Nottingham Forest beat Juventus 1:0 once again with a goal that was suspected to be offside.

After the match, the British media commented, “… Ranieri’s team were already on their way home before they even got to see what the City Ground stadium looked like. Juventus could only run around the periphery of the penalty box and they were never able to make their way into the penalty box because Tony Twain had focused heavily on defense for the match…”

On the other hand, the Turin media outlets expressed helplessness over the two 1:0 losses that Juventus suffered, “… Juventus were defeated by the playing style that they are good at… Nottingham Forest gained two ‘Italian-like victories’.”

Nottingham Forest were guaranteed of a spot in the next stage of the Champions League by winning all four matches and gaining 12 points. Twain decided to reduce the pressure on the team by performing squad rotation in the remaining two group stage matches. Joe Mattock would get to play his very first Champions League game in his professional footballing career.

In the Premier League, Nottingham Forest’s performance was evidently not as consistent as they had been in the previous two seasons, and it had its ups and downs. They could win Aston Villa by a whopping 4:0, and they could also lose 0:3 to Arsenal away.

Nottingham Forest has yet to fully regain its vitality after changing most of its players after all.

After playing in the match against Juventus in the Champions League group stage,?Nottingham Forest subsequently played in 12 matches in the Premier League. They attained seven wins, three draws and two losses, and racked up a total of 24 points. They were only four points behind first place Arsenal.

This result was enough to please Twain.

It was already late November. The team would soon have to play frequent games during the Christmas period. Twain’s plan was to cling onto a top four position during this period of time and also to widen the gap between themselves and fifth place Chelsea.

The economic crisis had impacted Chelsea far more deeply than Nottingham Forest…

Abramovich’s assets had decreased by nearly 80 per cent during the economic crisis. During that time, he not only sacked 15 scouts, he also did not invest a single cent in the club. There were also lots of rumors floating around that he was planning to sell Chelsea for a symbolic fee of 1 euro.

Even though Abramovich eventually came out and dismissed the rumors and also said that Chelsea was still under his name, it was an undisputable fact that Chelsea was suffering from a dip in form.

Frank Rijkaard was a manager who was down on his luck. He was not assigned to manage Chelsea at a good time. The club that spent the most money during the summer this year was Manchester City, and the club that spent the least was a club that none of you could have guessed: Chelsea.

Abramovich demanded Rijkaard to work with the current squad, and he also wants him to attain at least one trophy throughout all the competitions. However, his demands are too much of a stretch. Rijkaard was not only unable to get the players that he wanted for the team, but the team’s star player, Florent Malouda, had transferred to Juventus as well.

Rijkaard had never once said that he wanted to give up on the Premier League. His only words so far with regards to Chelsea’s ranking in the league was that there were still quite a few games left to play, therefore nobody would know which team would become champions until the end.

However, deep in his heart, he was beginning to want to give up on the Premier League and focus his attention on winning other local competitions and the Europa League.

Tony Twain was not in the mood to wage a verbal war with Rijkaard after seeing the miserable state that he was in. He just couldn’t find it in him to bully a hapless guy.

※※※

Based on the match schedule, Nottingham Forest has to play in numerous games during the period from Christmas till January. However, they were in luck, because none of those games would be against any of the top five sides.

To Twain, the difficult matches to play in would come before Christmas, and they would face two tough opponents consecutively. To make matters worse, both matches were away games for them. They were up against Manchester United on Matchday 16 and Liverpool on Matchday 17.

Nottingham Forest achieved two wins and one draw for the 3 matches between Matchday 12 and Matchday 16.

There was slight movement in the ranking table. They edged out Liverpool and rose up to third, and were only two points away from the second place Manchester United. If they could attain an away win over Manchester United on Matchday 16, then they would rise up to second place in the league, and be right on Arsenal’s trail.

Twain liked such matches whereby he could go head on with their rivals. It was one of the fastest and most effective ways to achieve what he desired.

He was not afraid of Manchester United, even if they were playing as the away team.

There was only one week left till the match.

During the post-match conference after their match against Middlesbrough, Twain took the initiative and discussed about Manchester United without the reporters prompting him to.

He tactfully expressed that it was time for Ferguson to retire. “Yes, I have a good relationship with him, which is why I’m saying these words out of consideration for his health. How old is he this year? He’s turning 70 in a few months’ time. I’m worried about his heart… As you all know, I’m also someone who has a heart disease. I have a deep understanding about it…”

Throughout the press conference, Twain displayed his care and concern towards Ferguson. It seemed like the two really had a ‘close’ relationship as he had claimed.

However, people who knew what the two of them were like would not view Twain’s concern as being genuine. All Twain was doing was nothing more than trying to start a psychological battle with Ferguson…

Ferguson took up Twain’s challenge proactively. “I am indeed at the age whereby I should be considering my retirement. However, that would only come after I have attained a trophy this year. What? You are asking who is the most suitable successor for me? Hmm… I believe if Tony Twain took up the job, he wouldn’t do a worse job than me.”

Ferguson beat Twain at his own game and made use of the topic of ‘recommending Twain as the new manager of Manchester United’ as a pretext to disrupt Forest’s morale.

The media has been hyping up the topic of Ferguson’s successor for decades, and all sorts of people have made their way onto the list, such as the manager for Portugal’s national team, Carlos Queiroz, or Roy Keane, the ex-United captain who is currently doing nothing at home, or David Moyes, who is doing a good job at Everton. Even the ‘madman’ José Mourinho, who currently manages Inter Milan, was also on the list.

Of course, how could the list not include Tony Twain, who is the best, young British manager in England for the past 10 years, and also has a striking personality just like Ferguson?

Moreover, the truth was that Twain had always been regarded as the favorite to become Ferguson’s successor.?If one were to judge Twain based on the results he had achieved so far, then the only manager who came close to him was Mourinho.

However, results is definitely not the only criteria to judge who has the highest possibility of moving to Old Trafford. Most of the time, one has to see how likely a particular candidate would leave their current work position.

Both Queiroz and Moyes are doing a good job at their current clubs, while Mourinho had also expressed that he has no interest in becoming the manager of Manchester United. As for Roy Keane, he is too inexperienced.

Out of all of them, Tony Twain is the most suitable candidate. No one thinks that he would really stay as Nottingham Forest manager for 20 years, because ‘one cannot rear a big fish in a small pond’. As the Chinese saying goes, ‘a golden carp cannot stay in the pond forever’. Tony Twain’s current annual salary is the lowest out of all the managers who are managing the top five teams in the Premier League. It is hard to guarantee that Twain would never feel discontent towards his salary. If Manchester United were to offer Twain a high pay at a time when he is discontented with his salary, then it is possible for Twain to leave his post at Nottingham Forest for a bigger stage…

After all, Nottingham Forest is not regarded as a big club in the eyes of most people. Its appeal naturally cannot rival that of Manchester United’s, which has always been a rich and powerful club throughout history. Being the manager of Manchester United is a dream job for countless people. How many people in the world can reject an offer to become the manager for such a club?

Twain might be close to both Ferguson and Wenger, who are the two most influential managers in the Premier League, but between the two, Twain was more similar to Ferguson in terms of personality and management style. This is another reason why most people tip Twain to take over as Ferguson’s successor.

If Twain were to take over as Manchester United’s manager, then there would not exist any problems with regards to the continuity of Manchester United’s playing style as well as how well the new manager can adapt to the team. Ferguson would not need to worry that his current players in the squad would not get used to the new manager’s playing style, and this smooth transition between managers would aid in stabilizing the team and allowing them to achieve consistent results.

No matter how you looked at it, Tony Twain is the destined one to take over at Manchester United…

※※※

Ferguson’s words brought the age-old topic of his successor back onto the table. The media hyped up the topic once again and things became lively. Both teams still needed to play in one Champions League group stage game before their match, but nobody really paid attention to that Champions League game anymore. The starting line-ups for both Nottingham Forest and Manchester United had already been decided.

Twain regarded Ferguson’s words as nothing more than his psychological tactic. He would definitely not make any sort of response to his words, because his words would only end up being further hyped up by the media. Not only that, he would also fall right into Ferguson’s psychological trap and be at the losing end of this battle if he were to make a response.

The smart way of handling this situation is to stir up the other party’s emotions and leave. This would cause the other party to feel a mixture of emotions: discomfort, excitement, dissatisfaction and emptiness. As a result, the other party would not be in the mood to prepare for the match.

Thus, Twain chose not to make any form of response to Ferguson’s words. He focused on preparing for the Champions League match and for the important battle between Forest and Manchester United.

Twain used a radically different team in the Champions League match against Celtic F.C. so that the players could get ample rest before that period of time where they have to play in frequent matches.

Twain did not go into the match expecting the team to achieve a particular result. He just wanted to make sure that not a single player got injured in the match.

Atlético Madrid is currently battling with Celtic F.C. to gain entrance into the Europa League Round of 32. Atlético Madrid would not go easy on Juventus at the Estadio Vicente Calderón stadium. Similarly, the Scots would not let Nottingham Forest leave unscathed at the Celtic Park stadium.

As Twain was preparing to head over to Glasgow, he received a call from Manchester United Football Club.

My successor? I believe if Tony Twain took up the job, he wouldn’t do a worse job than me.

He thought Ferguson said those words jokingly and as a part of his psychological battle, but apparently, the other party did not think the same way as he did…

Chapter 771 - My Successor

Let’s turn back time to three months ago.

In the away team’s dressing room at Fulham’s home stadium, the King of the Red Devils, Manchester United, was throwing a tantrum at his soldiers.

“You lost to Fulham! What? Fulham! You dare lose to a team not even worth mentioning? You didn’t even score a goal! Look at your performance in the game! I dare to bet that prostitutes can even perform better than you! No fighting spirit, no initiative, I see no ambition from you guys! If you don’t want to play, tell me in advance, I will not sign you up! ”

Ferguson was already sixty-nine years old. Just like Twain, he had a pacemaker in the left side of his chest. Although, from how he had been behaving in the past few years, it was difficult to believe that an energetic old man like him had one. At this moment he was red, but this is not necessarily a sign of health. On the contrary, the people who really cared about him now must be worried about the old man’s heart. It had been some time since Manchester United’s players last saw Ferguson so angry.

They lost their away match to Fulham, completely and utterly, as if they raised hands early to surrender. From the result till the process, the TV commentators were wondering why Manchester United had played so badly in this game.

After a long time of swearing, Ferguson suddenly shut his mouth. His unusual move caught the attention of the players, with some daredevils quietly raising their heads and seeing Ferguson gasping for breath in his chair. His face was still red, but there was a fine layer of sweat on his forehead. He was sitting on the chair in that manner, his shoulders shaking as he breathed. It looked as if he was exhausted.

“Go home, run back to your car.” Ferguson waved.

The players were relieved to get up and walk out of the dressing room.

When everyone was gone, and Ferguson was left alone in the locker room, he was still sitting in his chair motionlessly. The gasps faded, the red on his face faded, but the sweat on his forehead was still there, though Ferguson did not wipe it. He was sixty-nine; even scolding people seemed to be draining his strength, requiring him to rest for so long after. What would that group of rabbits think of his aging? Would they think that they could do as they wished now that Ferguson was unable to control them?

He thought of the scene of Brian Howard Clough leaving the City Stadium. Ferguson did not want to leave his coaching position like that. He was a great coach and deserved a decent ending.

After the break, Ferguson felt the strength return to him, so he got up and walked out of the dressing room.

※※※

Two days after the game, David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United who was involved in the English FA’s work in London, got a call from Manchester.

It was the manager, Alex Ferguson, but this time he did not reach out to the club for money, nor did he say which young talent he saw, and wanted Gill to arrange it. He did not ask for anything and gave no explanation for the unexpected loss to Fulham two days ago, but he did not call specifically to simply just talk.

He said only one thing, “David, I’m tired. Find a successor. ”

David Gill was shocked, and in his mind the FA meeting was no match for this news. He immediately pushed the meeting and flew back to Manchester on the earliest flight. He was going to talk to this guy in person to see if he was being serious.

Ferguson had repeatedly expressed his desire to retire. Sometimes, he did it just to put pressure on the club, and the other times he had been sincere, but the club successfully discouraged him. Ferguson’s 24 years at Manchester United had long been integrated with the world-famous club, and no one in Manchester United had seriously considered even a one-day absence of Ferguson, They did not think that was going to happen. Everyone wanted the Old Scotsman to die at Manchester United.

If Ferguson wanted to put pressure on the club, then Gill wanted to know what he wanted. If Ferguson was serious about retiring, he would still keep the old manager anyway. We had already managed to keep him three times, so this time it would still be okay!

As soon as he got off the plane, Gill kept going, straight to Carrington. The team would have finished training, but Ferguson would not leave the training base so early. If there was no traffic jam on the road, Gill should still be able to catch up. In order not to go on an empty trip, Gill called Ferguson on the way, hoping that he would wait for him in his office. Ferguson had no objection. It was clear he wanted to have a good talk with Gill.

※※※

“What do you want, Sir?” As soon as they met, Gill could not even take off his coat, he said to Ferguson, who had been waiting for a long time, in a half-joking tone.

“This is not a scare tactic, David.” Ferguson sat on the sofa, crossing his legs.

“Are you really serious?” Gill turned and stared at Ferguson.

Ferguson smiled. “I have decided to retire after this season. ”

“I’ve heard these many times, but I’d like you to think it over…”

“I’ve also heard these many times. I thought it over for two days before I decided to call you.”

“It’s only been two days…The team needs you, Alex.” Gill pulled a chair and sat in front of Ferguson, looking at him.

“I’m seventy next year, David. Don’t you think it’s cruel to ask a 70-year-old man to continue working such a stressful job? ”

“Well…” Gill had to admit that there was no way he could outtalk the manager who was once “invincible in the Premier League”. He hesitated and decided to use another way to convince him.

“Don’t you want another European Cup? You once said to me your biggest regret was winning winning only one Champions League. ”

Ferguson laughed, “Of course I’d want to win another. I still haven’t given up on that, even now. This season is still not over, I think this season is very promising. ”

Either way, Gill did not think Manchester United could win the Champions League again this season. The team’s performance this season had been unsteady. That was one of the reasons he did not want Ferguson to leave, but now it seemed that Ferguson had decided that he could not be persuaded with just a few words.

“Start looking for a successor, David. You’d better decide on the candidate before I retire. The last thing I want to see before leaving is a soulless Manchester United. ”

“Do you have someone in mind? ”

“After all these years, there would always be those few…”

Gill also clearly knew who Ferguson was referring to. He started listing names, “Mike Phelan? ”

It was the result of a dive from within after Queiroz left Carrington, a close confidant of Ferguson, the current Assistant Coach of Manchester United. Mike Phelan’s advantage was that he came from the Manchester United system and had a good understanding of the essence of Ferguson’s use and tactics.

But Ferguson shook his head. “No, he’s better suited to be an assistant coach.” He paused, perhaps realising he already had too many assistants, before adding, “At the very least, he’s not the right person for the job at this moment.”

“Then, Moyes?”

This time Ferguson thought for a moment before shaking his head, “I’m not sure he can do as well in this position as he did at Everton. You know, coaching a big team and a regular team are two different jobs. ”

“Hm, Roy?”

Ferguson continued to shake his head, “Wait till he’s fifty before considering.”

That meant he was too young. His resignation from Sunderland was, of course, due to poor results and too much pressure to make Keane feel that things were out of his control. All in all, he was not really ready to become a professional manager, let alone Manchester United’s manager. He had previously said he wanted to replace Ferguson as Manchester United’s manager, but he had not said that again in recent years and it seemed like he had learned the gap between reality and ideals.

“José Mourinho?”

Ferguson glanced at Gill. “Do you think he’ll come?” ”

Gill shrugged. “How do you know if you don’t try? What do you think? ”

“If you can bring him, I certainly don’t have a problem. But United’s fans may have to take a while to get used to their new manager. ”

“Well, what about an easy one… Queiroz? ”

“He and the Portuguese Football Association have just renewed less than a year ago.”

“Hey, Alex, all I need is your evaluation of the candidate. ”

“I think he knows Manchester United best, but…”

“But?”

“Manchester United’s record under his team might be volatile. Well, to put it simply. I think Queiroz is a good fit for Manchester United technically, but mentally I can’t look at him with high hopes. ”

“Ha, you see, Alex. There’s no suitable successor, so stop saying you want to retire.” It turned out that this was all a set-up. But was Ferguson one to give in so easily?

“You haven’t heard my recommendation yet, David. Didn’t you just ask me to recommend?”

“Try one.”

“Tony Twain.”

Gill’s eyes were wide. “It’s impossible!” He gave almost no thought and rejected it.

“Is it impossible for us, or for him?” Ferguson asked.

“Can you imagine him leaving Nottingham Forest?”

Ferguson stared at Gill. “I don’t think I can imagine you working with him.”

Gill admitted to that, “I wouldn’t be happy working with him.”

“Putting aside your personal relationship with him, I think he is the best fit for Manchester United. He’s a coach with a championship tradition and he can bring success to the team and easily gain the trust and support of the players. Of course, United fans will love this arrogant man once they get used to him.”

Gill’s distaste for Twain was completely personal. There was no real reason he hated Twain. He did not hate Twain because of his character or words — he just did. Though Ferguson was also a head coach with huge character, he did things within reason. Twain was purely a mad dog; in order to achieve his goal, he would do whatever it took. Keegan was a good old man but he just got bitten down by Twain.

Though he could talk at length withFerguson and Arsene Wenger, the fact of the matter was most people hated him. In this relatively conservative circle of English football, he was too arrogant, too shameless, too mean, too self-righteous, too selfish…

“He’s not my type anyway. I always felt that he did not belong to England, nor did he belong to Manchester United.” Gill said vehemently.

Ferguson acquiesced. He also knew that it is very difficult to get Twain to Manchester United. The issue was not with the club but with Twain. From numerous side knocks, Ferguson could see that Twain did not have much interest in coaching a team like Manchester United.

To be able to coach such a big team was a dream of countless coaches. It was like a train that only passed you once — if you missed it, you missed it. But Tony was always rejecting his kindness; was he not willing to leave Nottingham Forest?

Ferguson had always been suspicious of his loyalty to Nottingham Forest. He always looked down on Nottingham Forest for being a small club no matter how many champions he won. He was a very talented head coach, but it was a waste how he was willing to tie themselves to such a small stage where he could not expand his talents.

According to the source, Benitez led Liverpool for several years in a row, splurging on people but only play in the League Cup, Liverpool’s top committee once wanted to ask Twain to coach. But in the end it was not clear why they cancelled in the end. Maybe they were thinking the same way as David Gill?

He did not belong to Manchester United, he did not belong to Liverpool, he did not belong to England, he did not belong to any team. If, one day, he suddenly announced that he was leaving Nottingham Forest and then went home to enjoy the world with his wife, Ferguson felt that he would not be too surprised. Such a tough and unique person would belong only to himself.

David Gill looked at the pensive Ferguson, preparing to leave. “Well, we will try for the person you recommend. My personal feelings are still only my personal feelings, if you choose him to really help Manchester United…” He shrugged. In fact, he decided that Twain would never accept Manchester United’s invitation.

“The Ferguson I know is someone who tirelessly chases victory.” At the time of the farewell, Gill was still standing at the door with some reluctance.

“That must have been me forty years ago. Have we known each other for so long?” Ferguson laughed and turned his last effort into dust.

Gill had no other options in the face of this old man. He sighed and left.

※※※

Around three months later.

Ferguson was locked in psychological warfare with Twain, and he played the “My Successor” card. Some thought he was just trying to disrupt Nottingham Forest’s morale, but the top committee in Manchester United was serious.

Twain received David Gill’s call before going to Glasgow.

“Hello, Mr. Twain. I’m David Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United. Can?have a minute of your time?”

Twain was confused. What did Manchester United’s CEO want from him? He instinctively refused, “I was just about to go out to the airport.”

“Only a few minutes, I promise, no more than five minutes.” Gill held in his hate against Twain, prioritising business. In fact, he did not even use a minute.

“There’s an attractive job contract here, Mr. Twain. We hope to hire you to coach Manchester United next season. We don’t ask for your reply right away, we just want you to think it over. This is my phone number. Once you’ve made your decision, you can contact me at any time. Goodbye, Mr. Twain. ”

Twain was stunned at the door with a phone that was still ringing. Manchester United suddenly called him to invite him to go Manchester United to coach?

Hey, Sir, is it not psychological warfare? Why does it sound so serious?

What was that all about?

Chapter 772 - Who Will Become Tony Twain the Second?

David Gill was still waiting for this kind of thing to happen again. He gave Tony Twain a call but did not expect an answer from Twain at all. He felt that rather than let Twain take over Manchester United, he should do more to persuade Ferguson to change his mind.

Twain found a problem. Ever since Gill called him, the news in the press that he might take over Manchester United had spread and intensified.

This phenomenon put him on guard—if Manchester United were to poach him as the manager, there was no reason to make it so publicly before any plan was in place. But if they did not publicize it, how did the media know? Manchester United deliberately leaked it out…

What was their intention in leaking it? To confuse the Forest team.

Everyone was talking about whether Tony Twain would go to Manchester United during this period. Some people said that Twain was a good fit for Manchester United, while the others said Twain would not leave the Forest team. It appeared that whatever was said made sense. Because of this, the matter caused people to feel more confused—people who did not understand the truth did not know what to believe. Tony Twain’s loyalty and standing at Nottingham Forest would surely be challenged.

With that in mind, Twain felt it all of these looked like Manchester United’s psychological warfare.

However, if this was Manchester United’s psychological warfare, then it was overly excessive of them to do so. Although the truth mingled with the falsehood was the highest level of duplicity, it was really not worth it for a game—it was not a game that determined the league title winner.

Just when Twain could not figure out why Manchester United did it, he received another call.

This time the call was not from David Gill who detested him, but from Alex Ferguson.

“The cost of this psychological warfare is a little high, Sir.” Twain said half-jokingly.

“Ha, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be effective on you. I haven’t heard any noise of dissent coming from the Forest team.”

“He he.” Twain rolled his eyes. If his team were to be so easily bothered by a baseless rumor, then he, as a manager, should just tie a rock to himself and jumped into the English Channel. “So, your retirement this time is fake again?”

“No, this time it’s true, Tony. I’m already seventy years old. I’ve won countless honors, and I think it’s enough.”

Twain did not make a sound and listened quietly to Ferguson continuing to speak on the other end of the line.

“I won’t change my mind again this time. You know why I called you? I would like to persuade you to accept Manchester United’s invitation. Tony, Nottingham Forest is not your final destination. You should have a bigger stage.”

“I think the current stage is big enough.” Twain laughed and did not directly reject Ferguson.

“No. At Manchester United, you are perfectly capable of becoming the second me, but at Nottingham Forest… Your reputation can’t go any further. It’s a small team that can’t meet all your requirements. You’re only forty-two now. You can work at Manchester United for up to twenty-eight years, until you’re seventy, longer than I’ve been at Manchester United. You’re going to be a legend… But you won’t get all of these at Nottingham Forest.”

Twain smiled, “Why are you so sure?”

“Quite simply, your boss is not a wealthy man.”

Modern football was a world of capital. It could not be played and changed without money. At the very least, it could not be played well. Evan Doughty was not a wealthy man. His fortune was ranked at the bottom among the owners of the twenty clubs in the English Premier League. In fact, for so many years, Twain’s days had been hard up and had never been rich.

Ferguson believed that when he joined Manchester United, Twain at least would not be too financially constrained by the club. He would be eligible to buy the players he wanted to buy. Coupled with Manchester United’s repute, it would not be difficult to build another team that could dominate the world. Manchester United would have to rely on this man if they were to continue to dominate the Premier League and Europe after his retirement.

Having surveyed comprehensively all the coaches throughout the years, he was the only one who was best suited to Manchester United and the most capable.

But unfortunately, this man was more obstinate than he thought…

“I have to admit you’re right, Sir. Manchester United has more money and prestige than the Forest team. If I move to Manchester United, it will be a new opportunity and progress for my personal career. Although I don’t think much about this team when we’re opponents, I personally respect the team. I will not turn down Manchester United’s invitation because of personal dislike. But I’m afraid I can’t accept the invitation.”

“Why?”

“Manchester United is very good, Arsenal is very good, and Chelsea as well as Liverpool are good too… But I’m only fit for Nottingham Forest.”

“Your words are too idealistic.”

“Of course, I know myself the best.” Twain said with a smile, “Sir, when you consider your successor, you must be coming from Manchester United’s point of view, right? And I have no reason to think about it from Manchester United’s point of view. I only consider from my point of view—I don’t think I’m a good fit for Manchester United.”

In the past, when the two of them talked about the future Manchester United manager together, Ferguson invited Twain in a joking manner, and Twain naturally refused with a joking tone. But this time, Ferguson asked for real, and Twain’s tone was much more solemn.

“Sir, do you think if I go to Manchester United, I can still have the power I have at Nottingham Forest now? Can I manage a bunch of big-shot players in the locker room? You can guarantee that Mr. David Gill will not do anything because his prejudice against me…”

“I believe David is a man who puts the bigger picture first.”

“All right, even so, Manchester United is a big team, a powerhouse club, a team with a very high standing in the world. Nottingham Forest, by contrast, is small club with a few championship titles that is still being seen as an upstart. We have everything but money. However, I prefer the small club.”

Twain played the emotional card.

“I also came to Manchester United from a small club.” Ferguson responded, “I think a person needs to make important decisions in life. When I first chose to coach Manchester United, it was a choice that I would never regret in my life. I also won a few titles at Aberdeen, just like you did at Nottingham Forest now. If I had continued to work there, people wouldn’t know who Alex Ferguson was twenty-six years later. And you, Tony… You have such an opportunity. I don’t want you to let it go.”

“Ha!” Twain laughed, “Sir. I led a small team to rise from the League One and without ample funding, we had won two European titles, a league title and an EFL Cup. We became the fifth power in the Premier League contending against Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. I think even after thirty years, people will remember me.” Twain said these words with confidence. He was never modest or embarrassed about the successes he had achieved. He accepted them calmly.

In fact, he did indeed have reasons to be proud. Apart from having less league titles and domestic cups than the other managers, he had won the most UEFA titles than any of the top five managers in the Premier League.

Benítez won once in Istanbul in 2005. Ferguson won it once at the Camp Nou in 1999. Rijkaard defeated Twain to win it once in Paris in 2006. Wenger had never won the Champions League title. Only Tony Twain had won the Champions League title twice. Furthermore, it was twice in a row. In terms of the European honors alone, no manager in England had matched him. That alone was enough for him to be one of the Premier League’s top managers and England’s first-class managers. Even in the history of English football, a manager who had won more than two Champions Leagues could be counted on one hand—there were only two men: Robert Paisley, the great manager who led Liverpool to four Champions League titles, and Brian Clough, the creator of Nottingham Forest’s glory days. Now Tony Twain carved his name in record as the first active manager in the Premier League.

It could be said that the present Tony Twain and the above several famous managers were completely on the same level. As for the likes of Keegan… they were all beneath Twain and at best second-rate.

Ferguson also felt that he could not argue with Twain on this point. But he had other ways. He said, “Yes, what has happened cannot be changed. But there are a lot of possibilities for the future… Do you think there will be any big development in the future with Nottingham Forest’s current situation?”

“Why not? We have a group of talented players and they are loyal.” Twain shrugged.

“But the club hierarchy behind you is a destabilizing factor. How do you know when they will force the sales of your favorite players without your consent? Like Ribéry…”

The remark silenced Twain for a moment. Because he believed that what Ferguson said could become a reality. It was probably the only thing that he felt it was not good about the Forest team—Allan Adams was a profit-maker and he could not rule out that he would continue to sell players when the club needed money. Evan Doughty was a smart man, so he would let him and Allan to control each other. But what was the strength that supported him and Allan? It was the result. Once the team’s performance declined and became unsteady, then he would not be able to get an equal status as Allan at the top.

He had actually been walking on the difficult path along for so many years. He had never had a peace of mind before.

“It can’t be helped. No club is perfect. For it to be able meet all the requirements of the manager without causing trouble for the manager, such a club does not exist, Sir, whether be it my Forest team or your Manchester United team. I am more satisfied with the present situation.”

“You’re such a stubborn man! Don’t tell me the name ‘Manchester United’ holds so little appeal?”

“At least for now … I prefer to stay at Nottingham Forest.”

“So, it can be a possibility for you in the future?”

“Who can tell what’s going to happen in the future? Like you said, if the Forest team’s top brass sells all my players, I might leave.”

“And here I am thinking you’re very loyal.”

“I’m not a fool, ha! When other people treat me well and respect me, I naturally give it back in full. On the flipside, I will not force myself to stay in a place I don’t like.”

“Okay…” Ferguson felt it was almost impossible to convince Twain now, but he had to give him something to think about. “I look forward to seeing you at the Old Trafford technical area in a few years.”

“I think things are pretty good now. How long can I still see you in the manager’s chair at Old Trafford? Would you still retire now that you did not convince me? Besides, don’t you have a Champions League title to take? You are not as good as me in this respect.”

“I’ve made up my mind this time. Nothing will change that. I will retire at the end of the season.” Ferguson’s words were resolute and without a hint of a joke.

Twain’s mouth was agape. In fact, he’d never thought Ferguson would actually leave the Manchester United manager’s position. He was at Manchester United before he even started watching football. For the longest time, he was Manchester United and Manchester United was him. How could this ambitious and always combative Scottish old man be willing to leave the position? He could not wait for Wenger to retire earlier than he did. He wanted to continue to dominate the English Premier League, suppress Arsenal and Liverpool, wage a war of words against Wenger, shut out BBC, swap attacks with the media, continuously buy and sell players. Even Glazer, the Manchester United chairman had to be reverent and respectful toward him. He had to continue to star in the leading role at Old Trafford’s The Theatre of Dreams.

How could he retire?

“You know what, Tony? When my wifey, who always kicks me out to get to work every morning, starts to worry about my heart, I know I’m old. I don’t want to be like Jock Stein and die in the coach’s chair.”

Not knowing why, the call to urge Twain to join Manchester United suddenly became filled with a sense of farewell.

Perhaps Ferguson was aware of the problem too. He quickly changed topic and said, “In short, Tony, I hope you will seriously consider it no matter how long you take to think about it. If you decide to change your mind, I welcome you to call me. Don’t worry about the management of the locker room and the relationship with the top echelon. I’ve been at Manchester United for twenty-six years. I’m happy to lend a hand if you need help.”

“Thank you so much for your kindness, Sir.”

Ferguson left a door open, and Twain did not give a flat-out refusal. No matter what, the old man was looking out for him even though his motive was the good of Manchester United…

※※※

The rumors that Twain would join Manchester United next season were rife in the press. Many media had vowed that the Manchester United club had signed a deal with Tony Twain in private. Although he still had four years left on his contract with Nottingham Forest, Manchester United was willing to fork out the penalty to be able to bring him to Old Trafford.

What they said made sense and appeared to be real. After all, it was very difficult to turn down an offer from Manchester United.

If the news was officially confirmed, it would surely be the Premier League’s most sensational news of this season.

The Old Trafford’s technical area’s manager had not been changed in twenty-six years. If Twain really became Ferguson’s successor, it was akin to the US President changing from a white man to a black man.

There were many stories about him and Manchester United, so much as that it even seriously affected the Forest team’s normal training. Even people inside the club were asking if what the outside media saying was true.

Like when Evan Doughty first heard that Manchester United wanted to poach him, he immediately called Twain, who was in Glasgow in preparations for the Champions League, to pry his intentions. Twain’s answer gave him a shot of reassurance, “I’ll finish my contract with the club.”

Dunn and Kerslake also expressed concern about the matter. Twain also reassured them in the first instance. One of the bases for his success at the Forest team was that he always had the full support of the coaching staff, so regardless, there could not be any suspicion between him and the coaching staff.

As for the players, Twain also expressed his loyalty to them in the locker room at Celtic Park, “I ask you to play for me, so naturally I want to give you back in the same way. I hate lying. If I really want to leave, I will tell you. The truth is, I’m not going anywhere except Nottingham Forest. So, there’s nothing to worry about. Win the game for me and then we go back to Nottingham together!

In the end, the Forest team still beat Celtic by 3:2 in away game with a rotated lineup. Twain supervised and commanded the game from the beginning to the end on the sidelines. From his performance, it could not be seen that he had recently been disturbed by a series of rumors. When the team trailed 1:2, he made a wonderful switch of players to change the situation and let the team turned things around to a victory in the end.

The commentator appraised Twain as showing his ability to Manchester United’s top brass, proving that he was qualified to become Ferguson’s successor.

But in the post-match press conference, Twain publicly dismissed the recent rumors in the press and said, “It’s all nonsense. I’m not going to Manchester United. It’s not necessary for me to deceive you here, because I don’t anything to benefit from by doing so. Besides, I have no interest in becoming someone else’s successor. If you’re going to hype up which club I’m going to coach the next time, please write this instead—‘Who will become Tony Twain the second?”

Chapter 773 - Strategies Against Manchester United

Tony Twain had personally confirmed his future at Nottingham Forest. He would not leave Nottingham, much to the relief of the Forest fans. But the media rumors that he might leave City Ground stadium did not immediately disappear. <The Times> had declared that Twain would leave City Ground stadium in four years’ time and seek a better job. At that time, his contract would have expired, and he would be free to leave. He did not have to bear a high penalty cost. It was believed that countless big clubs would compete for him when the time came.

Twain was not going to Manchester United, but Manchester United had not stopped looking for Ferguson’s successor. Because Manager Ferguson was determined to retire at the end of the season. This piece of news had not yet been officially announced. Most people would rather think that it was just a moment of confusion for the old manager and that he would find that he could not really leave football and Manchester United at the end of the season. Then he would recant his decision and decide to stay at Old Trafford. In this way, many people could breathe a sigh of relief—except for his archrivals.

Both Twain and Ferguson confirmed their futures, but the story between the two of them did not end there. It was just beginning.

After playing the last game of the Champions League group stage, both teams finished first in their respective groups. There would be a big game three days later—Nottingham Forest’s away game against Manchester United.

It was a match of the titans in that round of the league tournament and it would be a national broadcast of the live game. The game was in the spotlight due to the recent interesting sidelights of Ferguson’s successor. Coupled with a two-point gap between the two teams, a win or loss in the game would determine the two teams’ rankings in the league table, not to be missed.

After the game against the Celtic team, Twain resumed his campaign against Ferguson at a press conference. He declared that he had no interest in becoming someone else’s successor with the intention to provoke Ferguson.

Undeterred, Ferguson immediately shot back, “When he has been in this business for twenty years, his wish will come true.”

From the war of words between the two men, outsiders really could not tell that their personal relationship was more harmonious …

These two men were typical examples of “where we stand depends on where we sit.” They would speak and behave from their positions.

※※※

The managers could not always be the main characters in a confrontation between two teams. The players on both teams were also the targets of the myriad of people.

Cristiano Ronaldo had said numerous times that he wanted to leave, but he always ended up staying at Manchester United. He would be Ferguson’s sharpshooter against Nottingham Forest in this game. The reporters went to interview him and wanted to hear what he thought of the game. Ronaldo appeared to play it down and said, “It’s just a regular league game.”

Although he told the truth that the game held no special meaning, the media were so dissatisfied that they went to ask Rooney who was a little fiery than Ronaldo, “We will beat Nottingham Forest at home. I can’t imagine we will lose at our home ground.”

The young man, Rooney seemed proud and arrogant. “Who do you think is the biggest threat in the opposing team?” The reporter asked him. His answer was, “The entire team is not a threat.”

His comments angered the Forest players. Pepe was the first to step forward to express his displeasure with Rooney, “I hope he has a chance to play. I’ll show him what a threat is at that time.”

Eastwood said, “I’m glad their team feels this way, just like how everyone hopes their opponent to be an idiot.” He beat around the bush to scold Rooney as an idiot.

George Wood was not a man who wanted to incite a war of words with others. He preferred to shut the opponent up with a ferocious foul. When he was pestered by the reporters, he could only say, “You’ll find out during the game.”

Find out about what?

He did not say, but it was believed that the media assumed George Wood was going to teach those assholes who looked down on them, a lesson!

※※※

The managers’ war of words, the players’ war of words, and the war of words between the supporters on both sides breeding like flies were a special scene of professional football. All of these were laid out for the climax of the final game.

Three days flew by quickly. After Nottingham Forest returned from Rangers Football Club, they only spent one day in Nottingham before leaving for Manchester again. It was not a good thing for the team preparing to compete to run around so often. The team was unable to continue their systematic preparation training. Fortunately, because they finalized their advancement ahead of schedule, the Forest team had in fact prepared for the game against Manchester United since the last round of the league tournament. The team had made detailed arrangements during training to target several of Manchester United’s main attacking points. The way the team would operate its offensive was also carried out during training.

The only thing to worry about traveling to two away games within three days’ time was the team’s fitness.

Numerous pre-match expert fans had analyzed that Nottingham Forest would play the defensive counterattack tactic that they were best at in Old Trafford. After all, no team dared to play offense against Manchester United here. The outcome was they would be crushed without exception…

But this time Twain decided to do the very opposite again—he was going to play the game in a way that no one could anticipate.

“We will attack.” At the tactical preparation meeting the day before the game, Twain said bluntly, “I bet Ferguson won’t think we have the guts to do that, so I’m asking you all to fully press and attack. The moment the game starts, we gain the upper hand by a show of strength. The sooner we score, the better it will be for us.” He snapped his fingers.

“Boss, what if we don’t manage to score in the opening?” Eastwood raised the issue.

“Slow down the pace, stabilize the defense, and then continue to attack.”

Twain seemed determined to conquer The Theatre of Dreams with offensive play.

As they needed to attack, ?ahin replaced Tiago to start in the game. Nottingham Forest’s formation had also changed from the parallel layout of 4-4-2 to the diamond shape 4- 4-2. The two wingers would be frequently involved in the attack. When the two sides were in a deadlock, the two full backs would remain in the backfield to participate in the defense, with few assists in the front. Meanwhile, George Wood would take on a defensive role in the game, and the offensive work was left to his teammates in the front field.

Even though he had stated that they were playing offense, Twain had not forgotten that defense was the foundation. So, it was almost impossible to see Twain’s team completely disregard the defense… Maybe in the last five minutes of the game, when his team was still one goal behind, then he would have done so.

※※※

Ferguson really did not think that Tony Twain would dared to play offense against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He felt that Twain was a pragmatist and that defensive counterattack was clearly the most appropriate if he wanted to fully protect his team at Old Trafford or even win.

Although the outside world did not like him always sticking to the main tactic of defensive counterattack and felt that he was cowardly and weak, Twain had never been shaken by outside criticism.

Ferguson felt he already knew Tony Twain very well, but this time he was wrong.

Before the game, Wood did the coin toss with the Manchester United captain, Gary Neville, which he lost. So, Manchester United won the right to pick its side, while Nottingham Forest got to kick off. In fact, getting to do the kick-off was a good thing for Twain’s Forest team because they were able to control the ball under their feet right from the start of the game.

Previously, there had been a misconception that Nottingham Forest never cared about ball possession rate which they backed it up with data to prove that Nottingham Forest’s ball possession rate was lower than that of their opponents ninety per cent of the games, regardless of the outcome.

But in fact, Twain just did not care about the kind of ineffective ball control that repeatedly passed the ball back and forth in his own backfield to boost the ball possession rate. He was focused on whether the opponent could finally form a threatening offensive ball control in their own half of the field. As long as they could finally score a goal, it was acceptable even if it took two passed from the start to finish. So, although his ball possession rate was always lower than his opponents, he could still win the game.

Looking at the games of the other teams, most people might have the thinking that when the football was not at the feet of the players, their supporters would start to worry about the opponent scoring. Because it was really dangerous thing to let the football be controlled by the other side.

But watching Nottingham Forest play, the Forest fans were already used to a game of the opponent controlling the ball and their team defending. In their eyes, once the football was at the feet of the opponent, the opposing fans should be worried instead. They would definitely come up and attack, which would leave their back with gaps. That would be the opportunity for Nottingham Forest.

But today’s game at Old Trafford would change the Forest fans’ perception.

The Nottingham Forest players kept the ball under their feet after the kick-off but were not in a hurry to launch a quick attack. Instead, they seemed to be casually passing the ball back and forth near the center circle. In the previous Nottingham Forest games, it was rare to see the backfield players pass the ball back and forth as Twain felt that it was pointless to pass the ball back and forth in the backfield. It could cause them to lose their chances as well as to wear out the team’s drive. Hence his game pace had always been fast.

Today, they were leisurely passing the ball back and forth at Old Trafford and passing the football further and further backwards. In the end, the football was passed by Woodgate to Akinfeev’s feet. The stands at Old Trafford began to ring out with boos against Nottingham Forest.

Berbatov rushed up to the penalty area, wanting to tackle the ball at Akinfeev’s foot and behind him, Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez pressed on in succession.

Akinfeev did not give Berbatov a chance to intercept the ball. He directly kicked a long pass to the front field when there was a distance of ten meters between the two men.

“A long pass! It’s very much in line with the Nottingham Forest style!” The commentator quipped.

The player that Twain deployed in the forward line was not tall center forward, ?igi? and not Ibi?evi?, but the former Manchester United veteran, van Nistelrooy, and his partner was Eastwood.

With Fernández injured in the previous game, Lennon played as the left back. Bentley was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, so the right back was changed to Agbonlahor. Twain wanted to use the speed of these two men to strike hard at Manchester United’s flank defense. Van Nistelrooy still received the ball under Carrick’s watch and used his skills and experience to keep the ball firmly under his feet, waiting for his teammates to come forward and help. Carrick struggled behind him to tackle the ball. Unfortunately, his position was gone, and unless there was a foul, he would have been unable to intercept the ball.

Just when he was trying to get a foul, van Nistelrooy passed the ball out and the target was ?ahin.

After ?ahin received the ball, he did a cross pass toward the side. On this side near the technical areas of both sides, a gust of wind blew past and that was Agbonlahor!

Agbonlahor was quite fast and the Manchester United defender on this side was Evra, an equally fast player. The two players were evenly matched.

阿邦拉霍还没有接到球,沙欣的直传球就被飞速赶来的埃弗拉铲出了边线.

Agbonlahor had not received the ball, and ?ahin’s straight pass was shoveled out of the sidelines by Evra, who dashed over.

A smile emerged on Ferguson’s face when he saw the scene off the field. This was the Nottingham Forest team he was familiar with. It looked like today’s Forest team would not be any different than usual.

The Forest team’s characteristic was that they used more straight passes. They liked those penetrating passes. Although the success rate was not very good, it could be fatal as long as they succeed once.

Instead of bringing on Scholes to deal with this kind of straight passes, Ferguson heavily laid down two midfielders, Hargreaves and Carrick who were highly capable of running and focusing on defense in the midfield. At the same time, the rear defensive line was required to pay attention to help with the defense and not give the Forest team a chance to play straight passes. In terms of offense, once the Forest team’s direct pass was intercepted, they should immediately fight back. Neither Carrick nor Hargreaves was really the kind of player who could pass and organize the attack, so Manchester United’s main attackers were Ronaldo and Rooney, who switched to playing in the midfield. They were responsible for dribbling the ball to the front and then passing it to Berbatov or Tevez.

Now it looked like they were doing a good job. ?ahin’s straight pass was thus destroyed by the quick-witted Evra.

Nottingham Forest’s possession of the ball from the start of the game was ended by a long shot from the top of the penalty arc by Eastwood. The ball he shot deflected off the goal.

Some might think that Nottingham Forest attacked so aggressively because they obtained the right to kick off the game, so they might as well make use of it… But as a matter of fact, the Forest team soon show that that they were wrong.

After Manchester United’s shot was pounced on by Akinfeev, he did not kick a long ball, but threw a handball away to launch an attack. Wood passed the ball to ?ahin, who once again sent a cross pass, but this time it was toward Lennon on the left.

Thirty-five-year-old Gary Neville did not pounce over to shovel the ball like Evra did. He knew he was absolutely at a disadvantage in terms of speed, but his experience could help him deal with Lennon. So, he chose to retreat slowly and not give Lennon any room to sprint.

The trick worked. Even though Lennon managed to receive the ball, he found that he could not break through the Manchester United captain’s defense directly. Nottingham Forest’s quick attack could not be launched, and the football could only be passed back for a slow grind.

Ferguson sat in the technical area and constantly chewed gum in his mouth. It was his signature pose. He would adopt this pose when he was certain. After watching Nottingham Forest’s performance in the opening five minutes, he grew more confident of winning the game.

It was no different from the old Nottingham Forest team. Five more minutes, if they could not score, that guy Tony Twain would definitely instruct the team to withdraw and then lie in wait to counterattack Manchester United.

Ferguson was not worried playing this way. Their training for the past week had been specially set up to counter the Forest team’s tactical features. Once the Forest team could not score in the first ten minutes and put the game on track, it would be time for Tony Twain’s luck to turn for the worse.

Fighting to score first once the game started, then shrinking the defense to lure out the opponent, and next relying on tenacious and solid defense and speed to strike the opponent’s counterattack.

Ferguson had already studied the Forest team’s tactics and competition habits quite thoroughly. He believed that Tony Twain could not escape his control.

Now Ferguson suddenly had some regrets about why he did not use the outcome of the game to make a bet with Tony Twain— if he won, the two men would sign an agreement to let Twain take over the manager’s position once he retired at the end of the season.

Chapter 774

Chapter 774: 1:0

Ferguson felt that everything was within his control, but it was Nottingham Forest who scored a goal first.

Ten minutes after the game started, Nottingham Forest’s formation slightly withdrew. Manchester United saw it as a sign that the Forest team gave up playing defensive counterattack in the front field. They began to press on their offensive and seize the initiative.

When they first pressed into the midfield, they encountered more resistance than they could have imagined. Nottingham Forest did not fully return to their half to lay out the defense in one shot. They were only not press up to the center line like they did in the first ten minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s dribbling was caught in a converging attack by Rafinha and Agbonlahor. He had intended to force a breakthrough, but when he looked up and caught a glimpse of George Wood standing not far away, he changed his mind at the last minute.

The ball was passed to Carrick in the middle. Ronaldo ran forward and wanted to do a two-over-one pass with Carrick. But Carrick’s stance was not very good when he received the ball and he had to slightly adjust to pass the ball to Ronaldo. That was what got him tangled up by Wood.

If he forced a turn to pass the ball, he would be tackled. So, Carrick sent the ball back.

After Ferdinand received the ball, van Nistelrooy worked hard to rush over to make a grab. He wanted to pass the ball forward, only to find that there was no suitable target and that almost everyone had the Forest players nearby. He could not hold the ball for long because his space would only be forcibly narrowed by the Forest players and eventually the ball would be intercepted. Helplessly, he passed the ball to his partner, Vidic next to him.

Vidic also met his match, Eastwood.

Unlike what Ferguson, Nottingham Forest did not directly withdraw. Instead, they launched an aggressive scramble in every corner of the pitch.

The Manchester United team really did not expect it.

After a few minutes of careful observation, Ferguson discovered that Nottingham Forest’s overall formation did not really retreat but was still in an offensive formation. But the old manager hesitated. He was unable to ascertain whether this is Twain’s strategy to lure the opponent, or something else …

He intended to continue his observation.

After another five minutes of observation, Nottingham Forest scored.

※※※

In the twentieth minute, Ferdinand received a return pass from his teammates in the backfield. He wanted to pass it to his nearest teammate. Hargreaves had already withdrawn to support. But Nottingham Forest’s ?ahin also retreated with him…

He was unable to pass the ball to a player who was tightly pressed by the opposing player and had his back facing the offensive direction. Consequently, he chose to kick a long pass and let Berbatov and the Forest defenders fight for the ball.

Berbatov managed to get ahead of Woodgate and headed the ball. He had planned to pass the football directly to Tevez in the air, but the football was intercepted by George Wood who plugged in from the side.

Seeing the captain tackled the ball, Agbonlahor and Lennon, who had just helped defend in the backfield, changed their roles from defense to offense in a flash. They immediately plugged into the opponent’s half.

ahin, who had just followed Hargreaves into the opposing half, also pulled back to support George Wood. After Wood passed the football to him, he did not rush on, but stayed where he was. As they had to attack Manchester United at Old Trafford, only Wood, the defensive midfielder was in charge of the defense in the midfield. So, the requirement for defense was even higher. Generally, when there were no special requirements, he would not come forward to participate in the attack.

ahin received the ball and turned around to dribble the ball forward by a couple of steps before he diverted the ball over to Agbonlahor on the right side.

Agbonlahor relied on his own speed to break past Evra. The two men entangled in the wing.

Twain stood up in the technical area and shouted Agbonlahor’s name to remind him not to hold onto the ball too much.

Maybe he heard Twain’s shouts, or maybe he simply found it difficult to try to break through Evra with such a crude method. Agbonlahor passed the ball anyway.

He sent the ball straight to the other side of the pitch and Lennon received the ball.

The Forest team did not pass the ball into the penalty area in the crude way that Ferguson thought. If they did not have the right chance, they would rather pass the ball back and forth outside and look for a gap.

Gary Neville’s defense was unassailable, and Lennon did not force a breakthrough. He sent the ball back to Leighton Baines’s feet!

Even Baines, the full back with very few assists, came up. Where was their stance for defensive counterattack?

Baines came up, but Wood had not come up yet.

Baines crossed the ball to ?ahin, who came back to support. ?ahin looked at the side and Rafinha was on the edge. Manchester United’s defensive attention was naturally drawn to the sides when both Baines and Rafinha rushed up. After all, they all knew that Nottingham Forest’s flank attack was world-famous.

ahin turned toward the right side and looked like he was going to pass the ball to Rafinha. Ronaldo had to keep up to prepare for the defense. Several other Manchester United players, including Evra, turned to that side, as if they were sunflowers following the sunlight…

But ?ahin’s body only turned halfway and suddenly passed the football directly to Eastwood in front!

Hargreaves pounced over to Eastwood. He felt that the situation was still in his control because Eastwood received the ball with his back toward the offensive direction. As long as he stopped him from turning around, he would have to pass the football back.

Hargreaves pounced over, intending to stick Eastwood from behind. He did not expect Eastwood to not stop the ball at all. He shifted his body sideways and used one hand to hold back Hargreaves. Then he gave his left ankle a shake and the football directly moved to van Nistelrooy at the back!

Hargreaves’s attention was drawn to the pass. He did not realize Eastwood turn and move inside after he completed the pass.

Van Nistelrooy was the striker placed at the forefront. Although he was already old and had suffered serious injuries, he remained a dangerous player in the eyes of his opponents. Because he was a center forward who could still control the football at his feet under heavy siege. With such an attack fulcrum in the front field, the Forest team’s attack had infinite possibilities. He could shoot to the goal on his own, draw the opposing defensive attention and create chances for his teammates. Like this time…

Vidic and Rio Ferdinand had already lunged at him at the same time even before he received the ball, with one on the left and the other on the right, trying to catch him.

But van Nistelrooy did not plan to dribble the ball himself and then score. He made the same move as Eastwood—his ankle gave a shake to directly cross the ball out.

Eastwood dashed over in time!

He lifted his left leg, which was not his dominant leg and shot a volley directly without stopping!

The ball was slightly slanted but it perfectly fooled Ben Foster. The football scraped inside the goalpost, gave a strange crack sound, and then flew into the goal!

And for this shot, which was close at hand but with matchless strength, Ben Foster did not react. He just turned his head and watched the ball go in…

“A beautiful coordination! Nottingham Forest leads Manchester United 1:0 in the away game! Eastwood has the right form!”

The noisy Old Trafford suddenly went quiet, closely followed by a thunderous booing.

In the midst of the booing, Eastwood skidded on his knees and charged toward the corner flag. His passionate celebration also ignited the enthusiasm of the Nottingham Forest fans. They loudly sang the song composed for Eastwood, “You have Rooney, we have him too! He’s a Romani! He lived in a caravan and rode his horse to warm up. If you look down on him, he’ll teach you a lesson! With a goal! With a goal! Our Romani Rooney! Oh-la-la, Oh-la-la!”

The Manchester United fans hissed on one side and the Nottingham Forest fans chanted on the other side. Old Trafford truly became a “theater.”

※※※

Seeing Eastwood pumping the ball hard at the goal, Twain jumped excitedly on the sidelines like he was the person who scored. He waved his fists and demonstrated to the Manchester United fans in the stands. They obviously responded to him with more aggressive booing…

“Ha, it looks like Tony Twain does not want to please the Manchester United fans. He really doesn’t want to coach at Manchester United at all.”

Ferguson was a little annoyed by this goal concede. His mouth kept moving but he was not chewing gum but cursing fiercely.

“Our defense in the middle is useless! Are they all wood blocks? They just watched the opponent did a wall pass in our penalty area! And f**king scored! Why did Hargreaves not foul? What was he thinking?”

In fact, what incensed Ferguson more than the goal concede was he found that the situation had not been within his control, but in the hands of the young man next door …

He had a sense of defeat.

Although he and Twain had a good personal relationship and also hope that Twain would come to Manchester United, he was still an old man who did not want to lose when it came to the game. He wanted to remain as the master of the whole world, the best manager in this sport, smarter than anyone else, always ahead of the game and everything firmly in hand. No one could beat him unless he did not want to do it anymore.

For more than two decades, he had enjoyed a war of words with Wenger because he had the upper hand most of the time. He also enjoyed fighting with Kevin Keegan because the poor old man was almost driven mad by himself. Mourinho’s arrival did not shake his position in the Premier League either, as Mourinho’s departure proved that he was not qualified enough to be a “powerful man” in the Premier League.

He became Manchester United’s manager before the Premier League was founded. He had weathered through more storms than the other managers had combined. He fought with countless famous managers, but always had the last laugh. Mark Hughes, George Graham, Kenny Dalglish, Souness, Kevin Keegan, Arsène Wenger, Mourinho, Benítez, Scolari, Eriksson, Rijkaard….But it was him, not anyone mentioned above, who was chosen as the decade’s best manager in the Premier League.

He also enjoyed going measure for measure with Tony Twain. But the manager, who was nearly thirty years younger than himself, made him feel really old.

He should have seen through Twain’s crafty plot sooner…

Ferguson scolded Hargreaves and got up from his seat. He was going to the sidelines to direct the game.

Twain noticed that Ferguson had gotten up from the manager’s chair for the first time in the game. He turned his head to look at the old manager and smiled at the old man when he noticed him.

Ferguson’s expression looked ugly. He ignored Twain and reached out to call Neville over while the Forest players celebrated the goal to brief him directly.

After he finished clapping on the sidelines, Twain turned around and walked back with a smile.

According to past management, the Forest team would contract the defense after taking the lead and then fight back against the opponent. If Ferguson still thought so in this game, then Manchester United would be in trouble.

※※※

However, it was clear that Ferguson was much smarter than Twain thought.

He discovered Twain’s true intentions through the goal concede—Nottingham Forest did not intend to play defensive counterattack at Old Trafford at all. Instead, they played offensive football which was unusual for them. It looked like they planned to beat Manchester United using offense.

Ferguson bravely confronted the enemy head-on.

Since you want to attack, then bring it on!

Ferguson adjusted his team’s tactics, stepped up the defense and blocking in the midfield in an effort to control the midfield. Whichever team controlled the midfield in this game, would have a higher chance of winning.

When the game resumed, what the fans saw the most were scenes of the two sides fiercely fighting in the midfield and in a complete mess.

Twain also stepped up the defense in the midfield after realizing Ferguson’s intention. He moved ?ahin’s position back to be in line with Wood’s position, leaving the Forest team’s middle looking less empty. The diamond-shaped 4-4-2 formation became the parallel 4-4-2 again. Under pressure from Ferguson, Twain was forced to give up his plan to continue the attack in the away game.

Anyway, with a one-goal lead, he was not in a hurry. He could slowly grind it out with Manchester United in the midfield.

Manchester United gradually regained the upper hand for the rest of the first half, but there were too few threatening shots. Berbatov and Tevez were trapped by the Forest team’s strong overall defense. After Manchester United fully pressed, it objectively caused Nottingham Forest’s defense to shrink. The gaps acquired by Berbatov and the others were greatly reduced. They could only meet force with force many times with the Forest team’s strong center backs near the penalty area.

They could not break through in the middle but were very active on the two sides.

Rooney’s and Ronaldo’s frequent breakthroughs on both sides caused a lot of trouble for the Forest team’s defense. Much of the reason Nottingham Forest was forced to shrink their defense was due to both of them.

Rafinha’s defense was weak, Agbonlahor was not a defensive player, and Wood had to make up for it several times to limit Ronaldo’s sharp attacks.

Nottingham Forest’s defensive tradition played an important role under the circumstances of Manchester United’s fierce attacks. Whoever was facing such a solid defense would have a headache. Even if it was Ronaldo or Rooney.

Manchester United did not score and the score was still at 1:0 until the end of the first half, with Nottingham Forest in the lead.

When Ferguson left the technical area with a grim look, the staff around him knew that the players were going to be in trouble in the locker room during the halftime interval. Never mind that he was sixty-nine years old, he was merciless when it was time for admonishments.

As for the leading Tony Twain, when he left, his face did not look much better. He was not unhappy with the performance of the players on the pitch, but slightly worried about the second half. Ferguson definitely would not be willing to accept this score and result. Furthermore, he had seen through the Forest team’s play, so he would certainly make adjustments during the halftime interval. How should he take up the challenge?

He had originally planned to score two goals in the first half. The current situation was very dangerous for the Forest team. 1:0 was really not a good score…

Chapter 775 - Unexpected Situation

In the away team’s locker room at the halftime interval, the players snatched time to take a break, rehydrate and wipe away their sweat with towels while Twain spoke on one side.

“A one-goal lead is not enough. There was a short time in the first half when you were completely held back by Manchester United. That won’t do. You have to attack your way out and fight against Manchester United! Do you know why we moved back in the second part of the first half and were eventually suppressed by Manchester United?” Twain walked around the locker room, surrounded by the busy players, but they were listening to Twain.

“Every time we hit the front field, we always wanted to threaten Manchester United’s goal in the simplest and most direct way. What was the result? The error rate was too high, leading to the ball being lost too quickly. Our men who had just gone up, had to retreat. As I have said before, in this game against Manchester United, we have to change our habit of preferring straight passes. Manchester United had made arrangements to target the straight passes that we like. If we do the straight passes, we’ll just be doing exactly what they want. Don’t rush to pass the ball forward after we attack to the front field in the second half…”

Nottingham Forest liked straight passes and fast pace of the game. People knew these well and some teams would do some work based on them to contain the Forest team’s offensive firepower.

That was what Manchester United did. In response to Nottingham Forest’s fondness for straight passes, Ferguson instructed the team’s rear defensive line to create offside and intensify the tackling in the midfield. Otherwise why would he have deploy Hargreaves and Carrick?

The goal the Forest team scored was actually the result of Manchester United’s failure to create offside. Van Nistelrooy was at the forefront and Eastwood’s plug in from the back removed the problem of offside, leaving him with an easy shot to score when no one was marking him. It was believed that Ferguson would be unhappy with the goal concede at the halftime interval.

“We try to keep the ball under our feet in the front field and don’t rush to pass the ball forward if there’s not a good chance. Don’t you have any confidence in the control of the ball at your feet? If they withdraw too tightly and you can’t find the right gaps after a few passes, then pass the football back to pull them out. Don’t just compress their formation alone. It’s just compressing our own attacking space.”

“Nuri.”

ahin looked up.

“You passed the ball very well in the first half, very well.” Twain singled ?ahin out for praise, which made ?ahin happy. But then Twain’s tone took a turn, “But you passed too many straight passes in the first half. Did you count how many times you made mistakes in those passes?”

ahin’s smile was a little embarrassed.

“I don’t blame you, Nuri. But as an attacking midfielder, you have to learn to always analyze the situation on the field. Different situations require you to have different countermeasures. Don’t just concentrate on repeating straight passes just because you can do so. You are the team’s brain in the game. If the brain is confused, how can this team play normally? You made too many mistakes in passing the ball to the front in the first half, especially in the latter part, which gave Manchester United a lot of chances to counter press. If you had realized this earlier, our situation wouldn’t have been ugly in the end.”

Twain might usually be smiling and behaved jokingly but if he really wanted to criticize someone, he could really be considered as “merciless.” If one’s psychological quality was slightly weaker, perhaps that it would cast a psychological shadow. But in fact, if it was a player he did not care about, he would not be bothered to say a bad word. But any player who could be criticized, showed that he held a place in Twain’s mind. Previously, when Anelka and Twain were at odds, Twain and he could say nothing to each other, and regarded each other as air.

ahin’s head was bowed from Twain’s words. He knew the boss valued him very much, but he really felt a loss of face by his terrible words in front of so many teammates.

“In the second half, we must be a little more patient in the attack … For the two sides, don’t rush to the front in one shot, pay attention to keep the distance from the midfielders. When you rush too quickly, you will lose contact with them. Manchester United would love to see this happen. Freddy does this quite well. He’s always actively retreating to link the front field with the midfield. Ruud did a good job too to stay at the top to get the other side’s attention.”

After he finished talking about the offense, Twain began to speak of the defense. In the second part of the first half, Twain was quite satisfied with his team’s defense to not have conceded a goal when under pressure from Manchester United. In fact, the most reassuring thing for Twain was always the rear defensive line for several seasons in a row. It was definitely not a brag to say that Nottingham Forest’s defense was strong.

“We did a good job defensively. George, your main task in the second half is still to defend.”

Wood nodded without any objection. Some players would prefer to attack. They would want to show their talent in offense even if they were defensive midfielders so that they could obtain cheers from the fans and media. But Wood was not that kind of player. He had no preference for offense or defense. He would do what the team required.

“Because most of our energy in this game is on the offense, so the rear defensive line’s defensive task is even more important. I hope you will be vigilant every second for the remaining forty-five minutes and be aware of every attack that Manchester United may have. Manchester United will certainly step up their attack in the second half, but our forwards may not be able to provide more help. Sometimes you will need to be on your own… In addition, we can focus on the ball control in the front field, but I don’t want to see you pass the ball back and forth in the backfield. That’s a dangerous thing. Got it?”

The players on the rear defensive line said yes.

“Manchester United will be pressing on the attack because they are trailing at home. This is our chance! Seize their gaps and score another goal to completely knock them down! Don’t show mercy, guys!”

The players laughed.

It was crazy to show mercy when playing against Manchester United.

※※※

Although Twain criticized ?ahin’s performance in the Forest team, the overall atmosphere was still very harmonious and relaxed. After all, they were now ahead.

But the atmosphere in the Manchester United locker room was not so good.

Ferguson lost his temper in the locker room with a grim expression, showing off his powerful “hair dryer” style.

Big names such as Ronaldo and Rooney, who had been scolded by Ferguson, dared not take a breath and straightened their backs.

“I instructed you to create offside. I didn’t ask you to let one through! You can’t even keep up with Eastwood’s obvious plug in from the back. What was the point of creating offside? Hargreaves, you are the barrier before the center back. How could you let Eastwood go so easily from where you were in charge? What are you doing following the ball? You were supposed to mark this guy. The middle defense was so easily hit by them with such a big gap! You’re just f**king ornaments in the pitch!”

After the vent, Ferguson took a little rest and began to tell his team what to do in the second half.

“You have to reverse the score, the sooner the better! If not, it will only bring confidence to the Forest team. This game is not the same as the one we played with the Forest team before. In the second half, Tony Twain wouldn’t shrink in the back to let us attack. They’re going to come out and face us head on. While we’re trying to equalize the score, we have to be careful not to let them widen the score. The midfield!” Ferguson pointed at the tactical board and said, “The midfield is still the most important! If we can control the midfield, we can directly threaten the other side’s goal. If the midfield is controlled by the opponent, then you bastards will be in big trouble!”

“Carrick, Hargreaves, you two have to play a more important role. ?ahin is just a child, and it is a risk for Twain to let him play as the attacking playmaker. Don’t worry about George Wood’s plug-ins. He is certain to stay in the backfield to defend. So, you just need to put more pressure on ?ahin and keep a tighter eye on him. Making him lose the ball and mistakes will destroy his confidence.”

The two midfielders nodded obediently and replied, “Understood, boss.”

“Not only do you have to make a grab in the midfield, you also have to play aggressively in the front. Spare no energy in making a grab! That’s how the opportunity will come about. As long as we score a goal to equalize the score, then the opponent’s morale will be affected. Then we continue to attack and rob. Do not to hold back. It isn’t enough to level the score. It would take at least two more goals. 3:1 ensures that they lose their ability to resist…”

Having said that, Ferguson thought something did not feel right. Perhaps 3:1 is not enough. Will Tony admit defeat so easily?

So, Ferguson added, “Of course, it would be better if you could score more goals. I won’t think it’s too much with four or five goals.”

The Manchester United players had taken Ferguson’s words as a joke and thought it was used to enliven the locker room’s somewhat dreary and serious atmosphere. A team that dared to say to score four goals or five goals against Nottingham Forest must be a conceited fool.

※※※

As the players from both teams ran up to the pitch from the tunnel, cheers broke out again in the slightly quiet Old Trafford stands. The halftime interval was about to pass.

Twain met Ferguson when he walked out. He found the other man look bad and knew that the old man must have lost his temper in the locker room. He was still so bad-tempered at such an age. Did he really want to retire because he was worried about his health?

Ferguson also saw Twain because Twain was looking at him with a smile. Only a blind man would not notice. Instead of giving a snort and walking away, he marched straight over and said, “Tony, I hear you like to bet. Why don’t we make a bet?”

“Huh?”

“If you lose in this game, you’ll coach Manchester United next season.”

Twain shrugged and said, “I don’t take part in such meaningless wager.”

“Because you’re afraid of losing.” Ferguson burst out laughing.

“Don’t try to stir me up, Sir.” Twain shook his head and added, “We can bet on something else. For example, if you lose, you can sell Ronaldo to me for cheap.”

Ferguson’s face changed, but soon returned to normal.

“How can I accept such a stupid bet?”

Twain spread his hands and said, “You see, Sir. We all have things we don’t want to bet on, so let’s not make a bet.”

Ferguson did not really want to bet with Twain. He just wanted to interfere with Twain through this kind of thing. For him, psychological warfare was to be waged all the time. He would not let go of any chance that might interfere with his opponent. However, Twain was also apparently well-versed in this area, and hit back without batting an eyelid.

In the end, the two men could only helplessly make peace.

Ferguson muttered one sentence, “Hopefully the second half will be exciting.” Then he turned and left.

Twain also turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

The second half was about to begin.

※※※

Just like what Twain said at the halftime interval, Manchester United took advantage of their kick-off at the start of the second half to launch a ferocious attack on the Forest team’s goal.

Nottingham Forest was completely held back and forced to defend.

Twain roared repeatedly on the sidelines and then used hand gestures to instruct the players to press out again and again.

On the other hand, Ferguson stared at the pitch with a serious face, and forgot to chew gum.

The sooner they scored, the better it would be for Manchester United.

Nottingham Forest withstood Manchester United’s fierce offensive and did not concede the goal within the ten minutes of being besieged by Manchester United. Then Manchester United slightly weakened, and the Forest team pressed out to attack Manchester United. The two sides launched a fierce fight in the midfield.

ahin was heavily marked by Manchester United. Every time he took the ball, he would attract a Manchester United player’s ferocious tackle. If he was slightly distracted, the ball at his feet might be lost.

Manchester United was very effective in doing so. The Forest team’s attack was mired in a quagmire and Manchester United took advantage of the opportunity to hit back with a number of threatening counterattacks. ?ahin appeared to be isolated. Twain had to let Wood and the two sides to consciously lean to the middle to support him so that they were finally able to reverse the situation again.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, the two sides were deadlocked on a 1:0 score line.

During this time, Ferguson also walked down from the technical area again. The team did not score as he hoped in the opening minutes of the second half. It could be seen that the mood of the Nottingham Forest players was gradually stabilizing. That was not going to work…

The pressure exerted was not enough…

※※※

After seeing the situation level off on the field, Twain slightly breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to sit in the technical area.

1:0 was indeed dangerous, but at least they had passed one stage.

Manchester United must be impatient after being unsuccessful for a prolonged period of attack. It would be an opportunity for the Forest team at that time. If there were no further surprises, he was confident of taking three points at Old Trafford.

※※※
ahin counter pressed after he lost the ball in the midfield. But he committed a foul. The referee whistled to signal a free kick for Manchester United while he pulled ?ahin over to give him a verbal warning. The other Nottingham Forest players turned and ran back to defend against another attack from Manchester United.

The Forest players who turned around did not notice the following scene happening:

Hargreaves took the ball to position it. The football had just touched the ground and he bent over to kick the football out!

He send the free kick out fast!

When Ronaldo received the ball, there was not even a Nottingham Forest player within five meters of him. Wood was far in the middle and Rafinha was delayed at the back. Agbonlahor surrounded the referee in protest at the penalty because he felt ?ahin had not committed a foul at all. Rio Ferdinand was suspected of diving.

“Ronaldo receives the ball! He’s completely unguarded! Empty!”

The Manchester United fans, who had just fallen silent in the stands, were instantly revived. They burst into huge cheers to root for Ronaldo.

The Forest players were ill-prepared for Manchester United’s free kick. Even if Ronaldo received the ball, they were still rooted in place, and even turned their heads to look at the referee and the assistant referee, hoping they would give a whistle and let Manchester United re-launch it.

They were disappointed. After seeing that Manchester United had sent out the free kick, the referee did not stand in place and whistle. But he dropped ?ahin and Agbonlahor aside and ran along forward. He clearly deemed it as effective.

It was only then that the Forest players woke up like a dream and ferociously pounced over to Ronaldo one by one while quickly retreating to organize the defense.

But it was already too late.

Ronaldo raced into the penalty area dribbling the ball and Rafinha did not even react in the flank.

Pepe rushed up to defend, aiming to force his Portugal national team captain to the outside and could not directly threaten the goal.

Ronaldo made a feint to look like he was going to quickly stop and then suddenly accelerated to turn the ball out of the line.

At the same time, Pepe make a move.

He did not kick football because it had been pulled away by Ronaldo one step ahead of time. He stepped directly on Ronaldo’s feet.

Ronaldo screamed, jumped and rolled on the ground.

The referee’s whistle sounded, so everyone reflexively turned their heads to look at the referee running over and stared nervously at his gesture—he pointed to the penalty spot!

“A penalty kick!” Oh, oh, oh! It’s a penalty kick! Ronaldo’s beautiful breakthrough earned Manchester United a penalty kick! The Nottingham Forest players surround the referee and Pepe keeps waving his hands to signal that he has not committed a foul. It was Ronaldo’s dive. At this time, he cannot care about his fellow countryman …”

Ronaldo held his leg as he curled on the ground. It looked like Pepe stamped his foot quite heavily.

Berbatov rushed up to hug Ronaldo and found that Ronaldo was indeed injured. It was not a dive…. He raised his hand in a hurry to find the team doctor.

The other Manchester United players ran over to check on Ronaldo, while the others celebrated the penalty kick.

For a while, it was a clamor in the Forest team’s penalty area.

The referee dispersed the Forest players who had been protesting around him and insisted on a penalty kick. At the same time, the Manchester United team doctor ran up to help Ronaldo to the sidelines for treatment. He limped off the field to prove that he did not dive. Of course, the Nottingham Forest fans did not go easy on him—they though the Portuguese even pretended to walk like this in order to deceive the referee.

This penalty kick could not be changed. Nottingham Forest could only accept such an outcome.

Accepting it did not mean they were calm. Twain had been muttering and fuming with rage between gritted teeth off the field since the referee awarded the penalty kick.

“This is Manchester United’s home ground. Yes, this is Manchester United’s home. I get it, I understand it better than anyone, this is Manchester United’s home…”

He was like Mistress Xiang Lin. He kept on harping which eventually brought the fourth official over.

“Can you be quiet, Mr. Twain?”

“Ah, I’ll shut up right now and say one last time: this is Manchester United’s home ground!”

“Mr. Twain!”

“Is there anything wrong with what I said? Don’t tell me this is our home ground?”

The fourth official basically did not know what to do with this scoundrel. He just glared at Twain and said, “I hope you can pay attention to your words and deeds. Your every performance will be recorded in the game report…”

Twain looked at the field and pretended not to hear it, ignoring the fourth official.

As Ronaldo was receiving treatment off the field, the penalty kick was played by Hargreaves.

Hargreaves easily tricked Akinfeev and pushed the ball into the middle.

“Manchester United finally equalized the score! In the sixty-first minute of the game, the two sides are back on the same starting!”

Even though they scored with a penalty kick, Ferguson looked excited. He rushed down to celebrate with his assistants next to him. Twain posed on the sidelines with a look of displeasure.

The score was levelled, which was not good news for his team in any case. Even worse, Manchester United’s morale would be boosted, further threatening the Forest team’s goal.

After all, their opponent was not just any team, but the Premier League champion, Manchester United. Moreover, they were still in the opponent’s home ground.

Ferguson’s words during the glib repartee with Twain at the halftime interval were really accurate.

With thirty minutes left in the second half, it was going to be exciting…

Chapter 776 - The Crazy Stoppage Time

Twain was enraged when Manchester United levelled the score by scoring the penalty.

Regardless of how brilliant a manager might be, he will not be able to control the kinds of set pieces that would turn up during a match. He can only remind the players to commit less fouls, especially in dangerous areas.

However, a football match does not usually progress in the way you have planned for it to before the match. There would always be all sorts of unexpected events that occur on the pitch. For example, the penalty kick that was awarded to Manchester United as a result of them taking the free kick quickly.

If Twain was a TV commentator right now, he would have commended Manchester United for the sudden shift that they made. It amply demonstrated how crafty and intelligent Manchester United and Ferguson were.

However, Twain was their opponent right now. He could only grumble and swear at them.

Ultimately, the Nottingham Forest players are at fault for the whole incident. If the players had not let down their guard and lost their focus collectively, then how could Ronaldo possibly have managed to take advantage of such a chance? A total of five minutes had passed when Ronaldo first picked up the ball till the moment he was fouled in the penalty box by Pepe. During that period of time, the Nottingham Forest players made no response and were all dumbstruck.

If this were a basketball match, then Twain would have called for a timeout immediately and called all the players to him. He would then give all of them a merciless dressing-down and make them fear losing their focus collectively during matches again in the future.

Twain really likes the timeout rule that is implemented in basketball as a result of the aforementioned points. He would get a total of seven chances every match to readjust his team or berate the players’ bad performance.

Unfortunately, implementing such a rule in football would only ruin the excitement and the flow of football matches, so he can only fantasize about it for now.

Twain hollered angrily at the pitch and kept flailing his arms to express his unhappiness at the players. As for how many of those players actually heard, saw and took his actions to heart, that was out of his control.

“All right, lads! The score has been levelled! Start focusing on the match! None of you have the right to get distracted again!”

※※※

Ferguson was very pleased with the goal, even though he knows that Twain would definitely make comments such as Manchester United ‘is under the care of both the referee and the Football Association’ or ‘everyone is against Nottingham Forest’ after the match.

But, you need to give the loser an out right?

What was most important was that they had levelled the score, and the match was back to square one.

Now that Nottingham Forest’s morale has been affected by the goal, the final victory would definitely belong to Manchester United.

What he needed to do now was to get his players to keep up the momentum and continue to apply pressure on Nottingham Forest. They should make use of this period of time where Nottingham Forest’s players are still a little distracted to get another goal under their belt. Doing so would completely destroy Forest’s fight.

He came up with very good points, but sadly the reality was contrary to his thoughts.

※※※

Nottingham Forest did not get flustered because Manchester United had scored a goal. They were able to quickly form a defense line whenever Manchester United strengthened their offense.

Manchester United’s striker, Carlos Tevez, was marked tightly and had no chance to score a goal. All he could do was to attempt long shots at goal outside the penalty box. He continued to waste chance after chance that his teammates had created for him.

Ferguson shook his head vigorously as he watched the match by the side of the pitch. Eventually, he could take it no longer, and he substituted Tevez for Paul Scholes at the 70th minute. Even though Ferguson had used a midfielder to substitute a forward, but in actuality, Manchester United’s offensive abilities did not weaken as a result. In fact, they had actually been strengthened.

Wouldn’t it be better to just play a true midfielder if Tevez also had to carry out midfield duties?

Don’t underestimate the 36 year-old Scholes. His professionalism and good lifestyle habits have allowed him to stay in good shape. He would not disappoint Ferguson every time the team needed him.

Scholes improved the team’s organizational and goal-scoring abilities at the midfield ever since he got on the pitch.

Of course, he also had to face a formidable opponent after he started playing: George Wood. Twain would not allow a player like Scholes to roam about freely outside their penalty box. This means that Wood will definitely mark Scholes, which would help the other Manchester United players get more chances to score.

Sure enough, after Scholes got on the pitch, Wood began acting as though he had automatically received some kind of signal, and immediately stuck close to Scholes.

Scholes was unable to shake off Wood regardless whether he moved in front or behind, so he could only pass the ball horizontally after finding an angle.

It was only when Wood had been attracted to defend another area that Scholes had the chance to do a long shot at goal. His shot was on target and was a threat.

Igor Akinfeev performed well. He pounced on Schole’s shot and blocked it.

Ever since Scholes got on the pitch, the balance in the midfield for both teams had been altered. Manchester United, who had more players in the midfield, continued to attack Nottingham Forest’s goalpost fiercely.

Their attacks exposed ?ahin’s incompetence in defending. He was constantly on the losing end against Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick’s physical battles.

Even though Twain wished to persist with his plans on how to attack Manchester United at Old Trafford, keeping ?ahin on the pitch would not change their current situation. Twain needed to make changes to his team as well.

On the 75th minute, Twain substituted ?ahin for Tiago.

“Is the action of putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch a signal that the team is going to focus on defense from here on out?” The commentator said, “Maybe Tony Twain thinks that it is enough to only get a point at Old Trafford. After all, they are the away team, and they are also up against Manchester United…”

The commentator was trying to give Twain an out for his imminent failure. However, Twain did not want to follow the way out that had been given to him. He wanted to go against everyone else and against all odds.

Putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch actually acts as the foundation for their offense. Twain’s ideology is that offense starts from defense. Your offense will only improve when your defense is solid. This is why he would never simply put a center forward on the pitch and remove a defender when he wants to strengthen the team’s offense.

By putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch, Nottingham Forest would be able to curb Manchester United’s offense and regain the upper hand in the midfield. Subsequently, the team would be able to start their own offense from the midfield and charge straight for Manchester United’s goalpost.

If they are not able to regain control over the midfield, then the only attacking option left for them is to get a defender to do a long shot from the back to the center forward at the front. This is the kind of offense that the opposing defenders love, because they are able to defend against such attacks effortlessly.

Wood and Tiago both have the ability to pass the ball forward. At the same time, they were both able to defend as well. Tiago was able to help Forest regain balance in the midfield after he got on the pitch.

Neither Wood nor Tiago was afraid to get into physical battles with Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick. They were also able to take turns taking care of Scholes.

Both teams were evenly matched after the substitutions that both managers made. Eventually, the match reached a stalemate and neither side was able to get good chances to score a goal.

※※※

“I think Ronaldo should step up to the plate and do his job as a star player in the team. Manchester United’s offense is clearly in a predicament. The team is no longer able to break through Nottingham Forest’s defense as easily as before with their team play. This is the time where individual techniques would be more effective than passing the ball about. He should try making his way into the penalty box more often.”

The commentator was offering suggestions for Manchester United.

Besides the penalty that he scored, Ronaldo’s performance has been rather insipid throughout the match so far. He had even disappeared from the match for a period of time after he got stomped on the ankle by Pepe.

Perhaps his overall condition had been affected because of his ankle injury?

Nonetheless, this was indeed a time where Ronaldo has to step up to the plate and display his abilities.

Ronaldo has been searching for a chance to make his way into Forest’s penalty box all this while. There were a few times during Forest’s offense where he stayed at the front of the pitch and waited for a chance for Manchester United to go on the counterattack instead of tracking back to defend.

On the 79th minute, he was able to get that very chance. Vidic intercepted the ball that Tiago tried to pass to van Nistelrooy and then passed it over to Scholes. ‘Ginger’ subsequently passed the ball over to Ronaldo, and Manchester United was on the counterattack!

George Wood did not join in the team’s offense earlier. He had stayed behind at the back of the pitch and was geared up to defend all this while. He went up to Ronaldo right as the latter picked up the ball. Wood started to accelerate after running for a few steps because Ronaldo had accelerated as well.

Ronaldo brought the ball forward down the flank amidst the fans’ cheers.

There were only Pepe, Jonathan Woodgate and Igor Akinfeev in front of him. When he was about five to six meters away from penalty box, he abruptly cut inside.

Two bullet trains that had originally been travelling on different tracks met each other right then.

Wood timed himself and performed a sliding tackle the very moment Ronaldo cut inside. He tackled the ball and also brought down Ronaldo in the process!

Deafening boos erupted at Old Trafford. The sounds were enough to stop a person’s heart.

“That is a foul!” The commentator shrieked.

He was stating the obvious. It was clearly a foul. The referee blew on his whistle and ran over to Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s body was curled up as he clutched his leg. It seemed like he had sustained a rather bad injury. The leg that Wood tackled was the same leg that had been stomped on by Pepe earlier.

Wood did not go up to Ronaldo to comfort him by giving him a few friendly pats on the body. Neither did he try to defend his actions. He simply climbed to his feet and did not even spare the pitiful Ronaldo a second glance.

In his mind, it was a foul that he needed to commit. It is better to commit a foul at the flanks than to commit a foul in the middle of the pitch, and it is better to commit a foul outside the penalty box than in it.

He did not think that he did something wrong. As for injuring Ronaldo with his tackles? That was not his intention. It was just a by-product that came with his tackle…

The referee did not care about what Wood had in mind. He called him over to him, and fished out a yellow card from his pocket.

※※※

Tony Twain heaved a sigh of relief by the pitch. He had thought that Wood would be shown a red card and sent off the pitch for the foul, especially after hearing the ear-splitting boos in the stadium. But, now it seemed like Wood was in luck!

“Ha! Good one!” Twain, who was now relaxed, started commending Wood.

This time, it was Ferguson’s turn to be all enraged.

He rushed to the side of the pitch and grabbed the fourth official. He then unleashed his special ‘hair dryer’ attack on him as he pointed at the pitch, “You only give a yellow card for that kind of foul?! Then what kind of foul will be punishable by a red card? When their players break my player’s leg or his heart? That penalty is too f*cking awful!”

“Sir Ferguson, please watch your words…” The fourth official felt a little disgruntled. He was extremely unlucky to have been assigned to be the fourth official for this match. He was stuck between two managers with fiery tempers. One was old and one was young. He was just like a hotdog between two buns.

“My player is injured! He is moaning on the ground and you want me to watch my words? I am the one who wants you to watch your enforcement standards! That was definitely a red card offense! Great, now Tony Twain can’t say that the Football Association favors Manchester United after this match! I’m the one who gets to say it!”

The fourth official decided not to rebut him. He was just going to jot down the behaviors of both managers into his match report and submit it to the Football Assocation.

Let them be the bad guys…

Ferguson’s face was flushed after he finished chastising the fourth official. He huffed and puffed as he walked back to the manager’s seat, and was intent on calling Nani to go and do his warm-ups.

Ronaldo looked like he had suffered a fairly serious injury. It took a total of four minutes to treat him as he laid on the pitch.

The Manchester United fans at the stands who were swearing at Wood and Nottingham Forest all believed that Ronaldo had his leg broken by Wood.

The foul on Ronaldo looked extremely terrifying. Ronaldo flew into the air and his body did a half flip before he landed face down on the ground heavily. George Wood was just like a bulldozer that had bulldozed Ronaldo the tree.

“Let us not discuss about Tony Twain’s chances of managing Manchester United for now. At any rate, I think that George Wood will definitely not play for Manchester United in his entire life… How many times has he assaulted a Manchester United player in all the games played between Forest and Manchester United so far? He’s lucky to have escaped the red card from the referee this time, but he would surely not escape the wrath of the Manchester United fans. Listen to the boos, they are enough to kill a man!”

The cameras did a close-up shot of Wood. He kept a long face and remained unmoved.

※※※

The injured Ronaldo was eventually replaced by Nani. Even though Ronaldo was able to hobble to his feet in the end, Ferguson did not allow him to keep playing in the game because he wanted to protect him from further injury.

All players who like to bring the ball forward would receive such a treatment from the opposing defenders. It was certainly not the first time that Ronaldo was tackled in such a fashion. He is truly lucky to be able to last in the game till this day…

However, Ronaldo had most probably lost all favorable impressions he had of George Wood.

Fabregas and Kaka either saw Wood as someone they should treat seriously, or had hoped to have him as their team mate.

Cristiano Ronaldo longed for George Wood to disappear from this world.

The match that had been stopped for 6 minutes finally restarted after Ronaldo got off the pitch. However, the boos from the fans did not stop. Every time George Wood picked up the ball, a wave of violent boos would come his way. Fortunately for him, he mainly played in the middle of the pitch. If he had been playing down the flank, there might even have been items thrown at him along with the boos…

Nani was once touted as the second Cristiano Ronaldo. There were some similarities between his finishing and Ronaldo’s, but the two were still very different in terms of their overall abilities and experience.

Nani gave his all after he got on the pitch. He wanted to prove that he was able to become the hero that is capable of helping the team triumph over a strong opponent.

Unfortunately, Tiago and the rest of Forest’s defenders had marked him aggressively and he was not able to get many good chances to score.

Manchester United had substituted Ronaldo for Nani. Likewise, Twain also substituted the exhausted van Nistelrooy for Ibi?evi?.

Ibi?evi? had scored a total of 12 goals in all competitions so far. He scored 9 goals in the Premier League and 3 goals in both the EFL Cup and Champions League combined.

Most people do not think that Carl Spicer would be able to win in the bet that Twain made with him earlier. The only way he would win is if Ibi?evi? were to suddenly suffer from a serious injury and miss out on playing in all the remaining matches. If not, it is likely that Ibi?evi? would keep scoring goals based on his current momentum.

The reason why Twain decided to put Ibi?evi? on the pitch this late in the game was because he hoped Ibi?evi? would be able to create some chances for the team by attacking Manchester United’s defense.

However, both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have been quite solid with their defense so far. Ibi?evi? was not able to get many chances when the two of them defended against him at the same time.

The match continued to remain in a stalemate. Both sides were able to gain a few chances, but no one capitalized on them.

Ibi?evi? fired a shot at goal from close range, but it whizzed past the goalpost. Berbatov also had a shot that was blocked by Akinfeev, but Akinfeev was not able to hold onto the ball, which led to a moment of chaos in Forest’s penalty box. In the end, George Wood was able to get to the ball ahead of Rooney, and he kicked the ball away from the penalty box.

Of course, his interception attracted boos from the Manchester United fans once again, because the fans believed that he had touched the ball with his hand prior to kicking the ball away.

On the 88th minute of the match, the score between the two teams remained 1:1. However, no one knew if that score would persist till the end of the match, because starting from the 85th minute, both teams had given up on defense, as though it was something that had been coordinated beforehand.

Both teams went back and forth as more and more chances to attack the other party arose, and the number of misses committed by both sides also steadily increased.

Evidently, neither side wished for the match to end as a draw.

Both managers nervously watched every change that unfolded on the pitch by the side. They were both hoping that their team would score a goal that would break the current deadlock.

“I understand that neither of them wishes for the match to end as a draw, but I must say that reality is cruel, and it is telling them that there is a high chance that the match would end as a draw. The fourth official has held up the board and we are getting… 6 additional minutes! That is really long, but it is normal considering the time that had been lost because of Ronaldo’s injury…”

If this were any other day, Twain would have flown into a rage by the side of the pitch over the six minutes of added time. He would have thought that the referee was being too explicitly biased towards the other team. However, right now, he actually hoped that the referee would give them another six minutes of added time, on top of the six minutes that he had just given.

Twain clapped his hands by the side of the pitch and reminded his players to continue with their attacks.

※※※

On the 92nd minute, Forest’s attack was ruined by Agbonlahor who lost the ball. Manchester United immediately went on the counterattack at a breakneck pace.

The ball quickly made its way to the front of the pitch after some passes. Rooney made use of his pace to trouble Baines at the flank, before he passed the ball into the middle of the penalty box. His action caught both Jonathan Woodgate and Igor Akinfeev off guard, which is why Woodgate did not have the time to reach when Berbatov stopped Rooney’s ball with his chest.

The striker who cost Manchester United 30 million pounds did not choose to shoot for goal at once. Instead, he stopped the ball with his chest before performing an ingenious shot at goal. The ball was sent in the direction that was beyond Akinfeev’s reach…

“The ball has gone in! The ball has gone in!” The commentator roared crazily. “2:1! Manchester United leads!”

The Manchester United fans at the stadium all went wild. They rushed to the front of the stands and began shouting Berbatov’s name as they flailed their arms about.

It did not matter how far the Manchester United’s players were from Berbatov. They all ran up to him with their arms outstretched and wanted to give him a hug.

Ferguson even jumped into the air by the side of the pitch. He was as happy as a kid who had just gotten a candy. All the players who were sitting on the bench were all locked in an embrace as well.

“A goal on the 92nd minute! This is a last-minute goal! A last-minute goal! What a miracle! Manchester United has managed to do a comeback against Nottingham Forest after being a goal down! Berbatov’s goal sends Forest into the abyss! Pepe committed an unforgivable error! He missed when he tried to head Rooney’s ball away! I wonder what was in his mind at that very moment?”

※※※

Twain did not emulate Pepe, who was hugging his head with both hands in vexation. He flailed his arms about by the side of the pitch and yelled at the players, “Put the ball on the center circle! There’s still time! There’s still time! Don’t f*cking give up!”

How could his voice be picked up by anybody in such a cacophonous environment?

However, it seemed like Forest’s captain, George Wood, was on the same page as him. He picked up the ball from the net and ran over to the center circle. While Manchester United’s players continued to celebrate wildly, he had placed the ball on the center circle. After doing so, he turned around and slapped some of his disenchanted team mates on their backs, “It’s not over yet! It’s not over yet!”

Subsequently, he ran over to the referee to remind him that Manchester United’s celebration time was taking too long.

The referee looked at his watch. It was indeed taking too long. However, there were only three minutes left in the match.

Don’t tell me you lot still want to level the score? That’s nothing more than a delusion…

That might be what he thought, but the referee still carried out his professional duties. He ran over to pull the Manchester United players back onto the pitch, and gestured for them to continue with the match. After all, the match was not over yet.

Every single Manchester United player who returned to their positions were brimming with happiness and they could not hide the smiles on their faces. They were all very pleased and happy to be able to triumph over Nottingham Forest in the dying minutes of the game. They were not going to feel this good a second time.

You injured one of us through your tackle. We are going to make all of you pay the price with a loss!

The goalkeeper, Ben Foster, even turned around to the fans and gestured for them to get riled up and sing the songs louder.

Forest tried to do a long pass to get the ball to the front of the pitch for an attack when the match restarted. However, such a frenzied attack was easily stopped by Manchester United’s players, and that gave Forest yet another setback.

“Without ?ahin, Forest can only rely on long passes in their offense. This makes their attacks predictable and crude. Such attacks don’t work against the two burly Manchester United center backs. Eastwood is not a center forward who is good with long passes and Ibi?evi? doesn’t look he’s gotten himself into the game either…”

The commentator felt that Forest was merely struggling on its deathbed.

Van Nistelrooy, who had been substituted earlier, stood by the side of the pitch alongside Twain with the team’s jacket draped over his shoulders. He stared anxiously at everything that was happening on the pitch.

He certainly did not want the match to end in such a manner. He might have played for Manchester United in the past, but he is a player for Nottingham Forest now. He desperately wanted to defeat Manchester United, and defeat Ferguson.

“Keep at it! Don’t be fazed! You can do it!” He cheered his team mates just like how a manager would.

The 93rd minute of the match had passed by amidst Manchester United’s players and fans’ wild celebrations. They used one full minute to celebrate, and this one minute of game time would not be compensated. Thus, in actuality, they were only going to play five minutes of added time instead of the six that had been given to them at the start.

On the 94th minute, Nottingham Forest’s offense continued to be in a mess. Their simple long balls were unable to threaten Manchester United’s goalpost at all. On the other hand, Manchester United nearly scored once again. Rooney’s long shot hit the crossbar and ricocheted off the pitch. His shot had silenced the fans’ cheers for a moment.

On the 95th minute, Nottingham Forest was able to earn a corner kick. Akinfeev wanted to rush forward to help, but he was reprimanded by Twain for his actions and was sent back to defend the goalpost.

Pepe rushed to the front of Manchester United’s goalpost, intent on getting a goal to atone for his mistake. Unfortunately, he pushed Vidic down while he jumped up to try and head the ball.

The referee mercilessly blew on his whistle and penalized his foul, which resulted in another lost chance for Forest. Pepe wanted to argue with the referee that he had not pushed Vidic, but rather, it was the latter who had committed a dive instead. However, Pepe was pulled away by Wood. What good does it do to argue with the referee about such things at a time like this? It was just a waste of time!

“It’s hopeless for Nottingham Forest. There’s only half a minute left till the end of the match. Also, it’s Manchester United’s ball. As long as they don’t give the ball away, they would be able to make it past the remaining half minute without a hitch…”

Manchester United’s fans were already singing and dancing at the stands to celebrate their victory.

Manchester United’s players did not choose to pass the ball around the back of the pitch to drag out the game, because both Ibi?evi? and Eastwood kept charging wildly at them to try and snatch the ball away. The defenders were worried that they would commit an error and their opponents would intercept the ball and go on the counterattack. Therefore, they chose to send the ball to the front of the pitch, and get the ball far away from their own goalpost.

Pepe did not miss the ball this time round when he jumped up to head the ball. He managed to stop the ball with a powerful header.

Rooney ran into the middle of the pitch and was going to pick up the ball and shoot for goal once more.

However, Tiago stopped him from doing that with his body.

There was chaos right before Forest’s penalty box.

Wood rushed out from within the chaos and kicked the ball towards the front of the pitch.

No matter how one looked at it, all Wood was doing was to get the ball away from their own half…

The ball flew like a missile over to where Ferdinand stood.

At the same time, Ibi?evi? also charged at the ball. He was the only one left on the pitch who had the energy to make such a run, because he only got on the pitch for a short period of time. Eastwood wanted to chase after the ball as well, but he realized he did not have the energy to do it, so all he could do was to stand near the center circle and watch.

Not too long later, both Ibi?evi? and Ferdinand began fighting for the ball.

Ferdinand was unable to head the ball forward due to Ibi?evi?’s interference. Instead, he sent the ball backwards…

However, he was about 10 meters away from the goalkeeper, Ben Foster. The ball would not make its way into Foster’s hands.

He had created the kind of ball that Ibi?evi? was looking for!

Ibi?evi? ran past Ferdinand, who had lost his balance, and pounced straight at the ball.

“An error! Ferdinand has committed an error! Was that not a foul? The referee has gestured for play to go on! This is Nottingham Forest’s last chance! Ibi?evi? got to the ball and Foster is rushing out in a frenzy…”

Immense boos rang out.

Amidst the boos, Ibi?evi? raised his feet to kick at the ball while it was still in mid-air!

Foster pounced towards the ball, but the ball slipped past him right under his armpit!

Everyone in Old Trafford watched as the ball passed by Ben Foster and the goal line, and collided against the net…

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Un… believable!”

Ibi?evi? ran up to the side of the pitch and started doing his celebratory action of slapping his face after scoring the goal. However, this was the hardest he slapped himself out of all the 12 slaps he did in the past. This was a goal that levelled the score. This was a goal that pulled Nottingham Forest back up from the edge of the cliff! This was a goal of exceptional significance!

“This is just like a dream… Nottingham Forest has actually levelled the score in the final minute of the game! They have really done it! I take back everything that I said three minutes ago. The goal from Manchester United was not the last goal of the match that would get them all 3 points! Manchester United thought they had won the game, but Nottingham Forest has come out and told them, ‘No! The match is not over! It doesn’t matter if there’s only half a minute left, we can still score a goal!’! What a brilliant goal! Super Ibi!”

Tony Twain got carried away with his celebrations amidst the commentator’s passionate voice. He performed a flip to express the excitement that he was feeling. After he had finished his flip, he faced the stands and flailed his clenched fist about as a demonstration towards the Manchester United fans. This time round, no one booed him…

“This is truly one crazy stoppage time… Both teams scored two goals in the final 6 minutes of the game. Neither won and neither lost. Nonetheless, the last 6 minutes of the match were very worthwhile!”

The Manchester United players stood rooted at the ground and were all left dumbstruck. Nottingham Forest had tied the score at the very last second of the game. Most of the players were unable to accept such a result. Three minutes ago they had all believed that they were the victors. Three minutes later they all felt like they were the losers…

Nottingham Forest’s players swarmed up to Ibi?evi? and pushed him down onto the ground. They then flung their bodies on top of him and on top of one another. They were celebrating wildly, but the referee would not get in their way, because the match was over. Nottingham Forest had levelled the score with Manchester United with this goal on the 96th minute.

Perhaps, to the Twain before the start of the match, such a result would not be pleasing. However, to the Twain from 3 minutes ago, this was the perfect result…

“We have demonstrated our bravery.” Twain said those words in his post-match interview.

Chapter 777 - Red War

After a crazy injury stoppage time in the post-match press conference, both sides were still talking about the two goals in stoppage time. Twain was happy to level the scores at the last minute, so he did not mention that he was hoping to win the game before the game.

“What is there to be not satisfied with this performance? This result is a great demonstration of Nottingham Forest’s style and I am very happy. ”

The draw and last-minute goal of the game were important for Forest as it further boosted the team’s morale and confidence, setting the groundwork for the upcoming Liverpool and the devil’s calendar during Christmas.

Ferguson was a little annoyed, but he still accepted the result, “There is nothing I can do but to accept the results. This is football. I really didn’t think they’d be able to level the scores at the last minute...”

To say Ferguson’s face, when Ibi?evi? shot the ball into the door of Foster’s goalmouth, was ashen was an exaggeration, but saying he was ugly was apt. Ferguson had on the same expression until he shook hands with Twain. He was not in the mood to trash talk with Twain; he quickly shook hands with Twain and left.

The last-minute counter-score and levelling the score in the last minute. These ups-and-downs really challenged one’s heart. The only good news was that this game was just a league game, not a Champions League or a FA Cup knockout match.

※※※

Ibi?evi?, who scored the last-minute equaliser for Nottingham Forest, only played for a short time but was named the best player of the game, receiving a bottle of champagne. He was happy that he was able to score the last goal, but he did not take all of the credit, instead modestly expressing that it was a team effort. Without Captain Wood’s long pass, he would not have had the chance to score.

He also mentioned another hero who helped levelled the scores, “When I was still adjusting to the Premier League, the head talked to me alone. He told me that Nottingham Forest was unwilling to lose and one that would not give up under any circumstances. I’m happy I lived up to this reputation.”

The Manchester United players interviewed were a little upset. “I really didn’t think they’d be able to get force a front-court press at that time. We were a little flustered...” Anton Ferdinand explained the loss of possession for his central defender.

Vidic, who lost the ball, rushed into the dressing room with his head down and did not give an interview to any of the reporters. It was certain that Ferguson would not let him off after returning to the changing room, it was at least a bad scolding.

※※※

Twain was all smiles throughout the press conference, and he did not hide his happiness behind the results. Ferguson, on the other hand, looked so sombre that everyone knew he was upset and unhappy.

At the end of the press conference, Twain headed back to the dressing room to find the players still talking about the two goals from the game’s injury-time break. Obviously they’re excited about it, too. Twain clapped and motioned for the players to be quiet, as he had something to say.

“The last-minute tie was exciting, isn’t it? ”

A group of people laughed. It really was exciting.

“I’m proud of your performance in the last three minutes and that’s what I want to see in Nottingham Forest. But...” His tone changed and his face calmed down, “I still want you guys to know, if we could have scored earlier and taken the situation into our own hands a little earlier, then none of us would need to experience this excitement.”

Twain touched his heart, “I have a problem here, and I do not wish to experience anymore ups-and-downs like this. This match is a lesson for you to never entrust your fate to something that you can’t see. We were able to level the scores because Vidic made a low-level mistake at the last minute. You can’t always expect your opponents to make such a mistake. Your own destiny should be placed in your grip, to be steady.” He clenched his fist, as if he had his fate in his palms.

Having said that, the smile returned to his face, “But the last ball was great! Everyone did great! Now you guys just celebrate!”

Playing both the good cop and the bad cop prevented the players from being too complacent and also would not let them think that the coach would be too strict. With their high morale, Twain was not worried about their next home game against Liverpool.

※※※

When Ferguson invited Twain to drink after the game, his mood seemed to return to normal. On the surface, he did not seem angry. He looked a little helpless, actually.

The media was unanimous in their praise after the game that Ibi?evi? had given Forest an important goal. But Ferguson disagreed.

“They said Wood’s kick was just a clear forward, but I don’t see it that way. He thought he premeditated it to be a long pass.”

Twain laughed slyly, neither denying nor confirming. Wood always had that touch of genius to pull of stunts he technically should not be able to with his skill level.

“Really not considering about coming to Manchester United to coach?” After this game, Ferguson thought Twain was the best manager for Manchester United.

“No, Sir.” Twain?shook his head while swirling the liquor in his flass.

Since he had a heart attack, he had basically stopped drinking. However, he had to have a drink with the opponent after the game, out of courtesy. He should be fine if it was just one cup, so Shania and the doctors did not stop it as he also knew his only condition only allowed him to drink one glass.?His early days of abstinence had been hell, but he had no reaction to drinking now.

“It’s a shame...” muttered Ferguson.

Twain again turned down Ferguson’s invitation. Ferguson knew that, with Twain’s personality, he would not accept it again. So will the Premier League champions continue to shine when he retired? Although he knew that there must be a trough after a peak, which is the law of nature, but it happening to his own team, he did not know if his emotions could accept it. He wanted someone to continue his glory at Manchester United, but the most talented man had turned him down twice.

Twain read the old man’s mind. He advised, “I think you’re in good health, why not keep coaching?” ”

“You don’t seem to want me to retire, and I think it’s a strange thing. Aren’t we rivals, Tony?” Ferguson looked at Twain.

Twain smiled, “It’s not like I’ll win a lot more championships if you leave, because I’ll still win lots even if you’re here. Ha ha! But without you, I always feel like something is missing.”

Ferguson finished the glass, “Rest assured, there is still Wenger. You wouldn’t be lonely.”

“Professor, I’m not going to have a war of words with him.” Twain shrugged, “It’s more interesting to bicker with you. ”

Ferguson suddenly understood what Twain meant by “missing”. Mourinho’s absence gave him one less target to bicker with, and if he retired, none of the people left would be as thick-skinned as him. No wonder he would feel lonely.

“If not being scolded is going to upset you, I can still scold you plenty even after I retire, Tony.”

Twain laughed when he heard this. What an interesting old man!

He also leaned and finished the wine in his glass, “If your successor has potential, do you mind if I teach him a lesson? ”

“As long as you can.”

※※※

Nottingham Forestwelcomed Liverpool shortly after they were back in Nottingham. Nottingham Forest wasback in fourth place in the league after being overtaken by Liverpool thanks to a draw with Manchester United. Liverpool was back in third place after a 3-2 win over Everton at home, but they also paid a heavy price for the Derbi victory.

Centre-back Agar, for elbowing Everton striker James Vaughan, drew a red card on the spot and was subsequently suspended for three games. Dutchman Ryan Babel left the game with an injury and will miss three weeks’ worth of games. Pennant was also injured, although it was not too serious, but he definitely could not play in the match against Nottingham Forest. Adding Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt who were already injured before the match, there were not many people Benítez can use.

With that in mind, Benítez kept a low profile on the away side, putting on a defensive display and aiming to get a point as a win. The team lost too many players on offense, but defensively they basically retained their original strength. Aguero was shown a red card but was suspended for the next game, so he was still able to play against Nottingham Forest.

So in midfield Benítez had a very thick defensive formation. Lucas, Mascherano’s double back-up configuration with Gerrard in the center, forming a triangle. Gerrard was on the main offense while Mascherano and Lucas lead the defense. It was clear Benítez was wary of Nottingham Forest’s attacks.

Twain could cry at this — after so many years have passed, there were finally opponents who adjusted their defensive arrangements because of their fear of Nottingham Forest’s attacks.

Despite Benítez’s adjustments, his team did not get what they wanted in the stadium. Benítez’s thick defenses lasted only twenty-seven minutes before it fell apart. Lucas and Mascherano’s matching error was seized by ?igi? to intercept the ball, and then he used his own body to shield the ball from the two defender’s surround attack, until Cohen ran up to support. He got into position to pass the ball to Cohen, but took advantage of the moment the circle loosening to pass the ball to Shahin who was running the opposite direction.

Sahin picked up the ball and passed it to Lennon, who was inserted from the left, but instead of passing the ball directly to Lennon’s feet, he imaginatively passed the ball in front of him, which could take full advantage of Lennon’s speed.

Lennon picked up his speed and snatched the ball right in front of Liverpool right-back álvaro Arbeloa, directly breaking through Liverpool’s defensive line.?Afterwards, he did not dribble downwards but instead immediately through the penalty area, and shot steadily through Agger’s defenses, and past Reyna’s hands.

Nottingham Forest was ahead,1:0.

The game did not send Eastwood and Van Nistelrooy, who were less confrontational, but instead two strong, tall forwards, Ibi?evi? and ?igi?. It’s about playing against Liverpool’s tough midfielders.

He succeeded.

This lost goal put Liverpool in a difficult position. They certainly could not solely defend; they would have to come out and attack. This must have been what Twain wanted.

Both the narrator and Benítez thought Tony Twain would let his team play defensively. But they all forgot Tony Twain was a coach who liked confrontation.

This time, Nottingham Forest was playing against Liverpool who is going all out at home. The game was quite exciting and intense. Both sides had plenty of chances and the goalkeepers from both teams were the busiest and most brilliant players for some time.

Ibi?evi? grabbed an opportunity from Reina’s loose save before the end of the first half and fired the reflected ball into the net, this was his 11th league goal of the season and his 14th overall goal. Nottingham Forest headed into the half-time break with a 2:0 lead.

The team’s extraordinary optimism at half-time forced Twain to become the villain again, warning them not to take it lightly.

“Who do you think your opponent is? It’s not a cat or a dog, it’s Liverpool! They have a captain like us who doesn’t lose — Gerrard! Even if we lead by three goals, we might still lose in the second half if we’re too complacent.”

He was not wrong. Ten minutes into the second half, Liverpool relied on a free-kick to score a goal from a powerful long shot by their captain, Steven Gerrard. The ball boosted Liverpool’s morale because it was really beautiful. The force was heavy, the angle was drilled. Akinfeev was stunned and at a loss. If Liverpool was allowed to play like this, it was only a matter of time before the scoreline levelled. Twain had to make adjustments and replace Sahin with Thiago to strengthen the midcourt.

Thiago went up and used his aggressive pace to allow for fair competition between the midfielders of both teams. It also took back a little flair and destroyed the fighting spirit of Liverpool players. Their attacking momentum finally waned after another ten minutes where Liverpool could not score. Would Nottingham Forest miss such an opportunity?

They launched a counterattack.

Cohen and Barnes hit a one-two on the left, and ?igi? again displayed his aerial dominance and pressurized Aguero and Martin Skrtel, heading the ball into the net. The score gap grew to 3:1.

Just two minutes later, Ibi?evi? made a comeback, firing a long shot from outside the penalty area which pierced Reina’s reach. 4:1!

The game had basically lost its suspense, but Gerrard was still looking for a chance to score. In the 86th minute, he finally scored his second goal for the team. But the score of 2:4 was only four minutes from the end of the game and nothing else could change.

Nottingham Forest was not Manchester United and they would not let Liverpool be themselves in the last league match. In the final moments, the Nottingham Forest team all came back to defend and resist Liverpool’s fierce attacks. Keeping the score of 4:2 till the end and successfully getting the three points!

Now, Twain and his lads could have a good Christmas.

Chapter 778 - Coupled Up

Since his chance encounter with Shania, Twain sadly discovered that he had only spent Christmas with her once. It was in 2004, the year Nottingham Forest had just returned to the English Premier League and Shania was not a famous model yet. She was still living at her aunt’s house in Newcastle, but she was not very happy there. So, she chose to spend Christmas at Twain’s place.

That year, they and Dunn, as well as George Wood and his mother had a very happy Christmas together.

At the same time, they agreed to do this every Christmas.

Unfortunately, the reality was cruel. They had not spent another Christmas together since. Shania has embarked on the path of professional modelling. As she rose to fame, she had been busy with work more and more. Christmas was a day of family reunions for the Westerners, and a prime time for models to work and make money.

Shania could not return to Nottingham to accompany Twain, and Twain could not fly to those fashion capitals to be with Shania. Because as a Premier League manager, Christmas was also the busiest time of the season for him. Two to three games a week even kept him from returning home. He could only stay in a hotel.

Even after the two of them got married, the situation did not improve at all.

Although Shania had acted in two films, she was still a model. Over the Christmas period, she needed to rush around for the runways shows and attend various commercial events in Milan, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo… and all over the world, but just not in the tiny Nottingham.

Twain was probably the most pitiable manager in the Premier League when it came to this matter.

The other managers who had not spent Christmas with their families must be because they were too busy, and their wives were still waiting at home. At least their homes would not be dark and cold. Whereas if Twain did not go home, the house would not even be lighted up because the husband and wife were very busy…

For the Christmas in 2010, it looked like it would still be the case. Twain and Dunn, as well as George and Sophia spent this Western equivalent of the “Spring Festival.” Under the Christmas tree with the gifts prepared for everyone by the club, George Wood extended an invitation to Twain and Dunn to spend the holidays together.

“Okay, no problem, George.” Twain nodded and agreed. He did not think to turn it down. “Dunn and I will be there.”

Dunn hesitated for a moment and did not nod.

Twain felt it was a little strange and asked, “What’s the matter, Dunn?”

Dunn hesitated for a while before he spoke up, “Can… Can I bring another person along?”

Both Wood and Twain were surprised, except that there was a difference to the extent of the two men’s display of surprise. Wood just raised his eyebrows while Twain just stopped short of shouting it out.

“Well, never mind if it’s not okay…”

Wood shook his head and replied, “No problem, yes. My mother likes things to be lively.”

He did not ask who Dunn wanted to bring. He was not the kind of person who liked to pry into the other people’s privacy. He would not ask if the other party did not say.

After he settled the matter, Wood took his gift and left. Twain was not like Wood. He was actually very gossipy. He curiously asked his partner, “You’re bringing someone? Who is it, Dunn?”

“You’ll know when the time comes…” Dunn also unexpectedly did not answer Twain’s question. He picked up his gift and turned to walk away.

Twain looked at his back and scratched his head, “Hey, you have your own little secret!”

※※※

At the end of the training, Twain drove home to change his clothes. Although he was used to living alone in the big house, he still felt it was particularly cold in winter.

He did not stay long in the cold house. He changed his suit and put on his coat. Then he returned to his car to drive to Wilford.

In addition to feeling cold, the other reason why he did not want to stay at home for long was it would also remind him of Shania, who was far away in New York. Then he would remember that his wife was not around every Christmas and she was not here for him to embrace. It was not something that made him feel good.

Parking the car at the door of Dunn’s rented apartment, Twain beeped the horn.

Instead of knocking at the door, he waited in the car.

Soon the door opened, and two people came out… Wait a minute! Two people?

Twain rolled down the car window and stared with wide eyes to make sure he did not see wrongly.

Two people had indeed walked toward him. He knew one of them which was his partner and assistant, Dunn. As for the other person… he knew her too.

“I thought I’d never see you again after that interview, Miss Tang Jing.”

The car’s rear-view mirror reflected Twain’s wonderful expression. He did not know whether to express surprise or despair.

Next to Tang Jing, Dunn’s expression was a little awkward. Tang Jing herself appeared to natural and unrestrained.

“Don’t think so poorly of our country.”

“Oh no, I did not mean that. I mean to say, you shouldn’t come to England again after you quit…”

“Why not? I’m free now and have more time to travel. It’s normal for me to come to England just like going to America. As a matter of fact, I only arrived yesterday.”

Twain tilted his head. His gaze bypassed the talkative woman and fell on Dunn behind her. Dunn’s expression was a little peculiar as if it was akin to… the feeling of being caught in bed. He was too quiet as compared with the chattering woman.

“Have you done anything wrong, Dunn?”

“Huh?” Dunn did not understand why Twain suddenly said that.

“You’re so quiet. It’s like you’re a child who have done something wrong and are waiting to be reprimanded by your parents.”

Dunn gave an awkward cough and pointed to Tang Jing to say, “She only arrived yesterday…”

“The additional person you were talking about is her?”

Dunn nodded.

“I was going to spend it alone with Dunn. But he did not quite agree.” Dunn did not seem to want to say much, so the task of explaining fell to Tang Jing’s lap. “I know it’s a bit presumptuous, but I suggested to him the hope of spending Christmas with you guys.”

Twain clapped his hands. “It looks like your relationship has already reached a very delicate point. Get in the car.” He reached his hand over to open the car door behind. It was impolite to let the other person stand outside and talk to himself.

“I’ll drive slowly so that I have time to hear you tell me the love story between you two on the way.”

“Tony…” Dunn called out before getting into the car.

“What?”

“We’re just… ordinary friends.”

Twain glanced in the rearview mirror at Tang Jing, who had already boarded the car. Next to the visibly embarrassed Dunn, the woman’s expression was very natural. She also did not make any rebuttal to Dunn’s remarks.

“Do you know what it means when a cover up only makes matters worse and to reveal what one intends to hide, Dunn?” Twain closed the open front passenger door that Dunn opened and said to him, “Sit in the back!”

So. Dunn listened and sat in the back seat, next to Tang Jing.

The Mercedes Benz jeep was very spacious. It did not look tight with Tang Jing and Dunn sitting together. Tang Jing patted the leather seat and exclaimed, “This car is awesome! Much better than the QQ car I drive in China! Your wife loves you very much, Mr. Twain.”

Dunn lightly cleared his throat. He was worried that Tang Jing’s words would make Twain think of Shania, who was far away in a foreign country, and reminisce.

Twain snorted, “You can also give a car to Dunn for a birthday present.”

“I don’t have any money.” Tang Jing brushed off Twain’s sarcasm. She twisted around to observe the interior of the car. “I am now unemployed and an international drifter, traveling the world.

“Did you come here in a container ship?”

Tang Jing chuckled and said, “I’m not a stowaway. I haven’t hear your acerbic tone for more than half a year. I suddenly missed it, Mr. Twain.”

“Thank you for your compliments.”

In fact, Twain’s mood was pretty good at first, but when he saw Dunn and Tang Jing together, his mood suddenly became gloomy.

The other people were coupled up and he appeared lonely. Even if he was married, he felt he was no different from a bachelor now.

Even though it was said that absence made the heart fonder which was better than being newlyweds, Twain was apart from Shania at least two hundred days a year, so he would rather not be better than being newlyweds.

Consequently, until they reached George’s house, Twain did not ask about “when Dunn and Tang Jing hooked up” in the car. He had no interest in knowing now.

※※※

Wood looked just as surprised as Twain when he saw Tang Jing. Then he leaned over to Twain and said, “I don’t want any reporters to come interview….”

Twain pursed his lips and said, “She’s not a reporter… She has resigned.”

“Then…” Wood was somewhat uncertain about what a woman who was not a reporter was doing here.

Twain’s lips were so pouted that an oil bottle could have hung from them. How could George be so dense? “The two of them are now… a couple.” Twain said reluctantly.

“Oh.” Wood did not raise any further objection. As long as she was not a reporter, he had no problem.

When Dunn introduced Tang Jing to Sophia, he said she was his friend, while Twain made eyes at the side.

Sophia was a smart person, and more importantly, she was a woman. She fully understood what was going on from the respective expressions of the two people, Dunn and Tang Jing. But she did not show it. She just smiled and welcomed everyone.

Twain dragged his feet at the back, frowning and did not look very happy. Sophia noticed his expression, quickly walked up to him and whispered to ask, “Did Shania call you?”

“Not yet.” Twain shook his head.

Sophia thought about it and glanced at Dunn and Tang Jing, who had already gone inside and laughed. Then she did a bold move that surprised Twain a little—she gently leaned her body over and put her hand around Twain’s arm that had his hand inserted into the coat pocket.

Twain’s body suddenly stiffened as Sophia leaned against him. He reflexively wanted to try to throw off Sophia’s hand that she immediately put up.

“Don’t move, Mr. Twain.” Sophia turned her head and whispered in Twain’s ear, which made it looked like she was a happy woman snuggled up to her lover’s shoulder.

Twain did not struggle, and his body gradually softened, leaving Sophia to lean on his shoulder and arm.

George Wood had entered the house with Dunn and Tang Jing. Only Twain and Sophia were both left in the empty yard outside.

No one spoke or made a sound. The two of them stood in the cold night wind of Nottingham and watched the streetlights come on one by one.

When the streetlights on the doorstep were also lit, Twain suddenly asked, “Are you cold?”

Sophia now nodded and then quickly shook her head to deny it.

“Let’s go in.”

Sophia let go of her hand and nodded with a smile.

Twain also smiled at her, “Thank you, Sophia.”

“You finally stopped calling me ‘Madam.’” Sophia covered her mouth and laughed.

Twain scratched his head. He used to always call her “Madam Sophia” or “Madam.” Influenced by the wonderous atmosphere this time, he actually called her name. Was it a bit presumptuous? No, it looked like Sophia liked it very much.

“What are you guys doing?” Wood suddenly appeared at the door and looked oddly at his mother and boss who had not come in from outside the door.

“Ah, I forgot something and went back to get it.” Twain took a small paper bag out of his coat pocket and said, “A Christmas present for you.”

Sophia said to her son, “I waited for Mr. Twain for a while.”

Just as Twain was about to enter the house, his cell phone rang.

“I got the timing right, Uncle Tony!” When he heard her voice, a heartfelt smile burst open on Twain’s face.

Sophia saw Twain’s expression change next to her and bowed her head. “Let’s go ahead, George.”

“Ah….ok.” Wood glanced at Twain and followed his mother into the house.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas…”

The two of them spoke in unison, and then they laughed at the same time again.

As the laughter subsided, the two people fell into a somewhat awkward silence at the same time.

In the end, it was Twain who broke the awkward silence first. “When will you be back?”

“End of January.”

“Ah, then it won’t be too long…..”

“Do you miss me, Uncle Tony?”

“I do miss you… I miss you every day. Tell you what, you know Dunn? He’s got a girlfriend!”

Shania gave a cry of surprise on the phone.

“I just found out today. I miss you even more when I see them together, Shania.”

“Uncle Tony…..”

“But my mood becomes better when I hear your voice.” Twain simply sat on the steps outside Wood’s door. It looked like he still had a lot to talk about with Shania and was not in a hurry to get inside.

Twain did not feel cold, listening to Shania’s lively voice. In fact, he was very clear in his mind that for a long time in the future, he and Shania could only spend Christmas like this—far apart from each other. It could not be helped, unless one of them was willing to give up their current job. But this was not their style. They depended on each other and yet maintained an independent character. The two of them could mutually understand each other like they were one person but could not simply sacrifice themselves for each other and play a supporting role.

In their union, age was a barrier, but this mutually strong-minded character was also a barrier.

But they finally came together. So, the two of them also specially cherished their relationship, while maintaining their independence.

I’m married to you, not because I want an accessory and not for someone who is exactly the same as me. Otherwise I could have just look in the mirror every day. Ah, that would be so boring!

After chatting to Shania in the cold wind for a while, Twain finally had to hang up the phone without finishing what he wanted to say. He patted his buttocks and got up to go into the house.

When he looked at Twain and Tang Jing close together, he was able to be his “usual self.”

“Well, you ‘adulterous’ pair! You have progressed so fast under the circumstances that I don’t even know! I can see you’re quite the lover, old Dunn!” He muttered in his heart.

Chapter 779 - The New Year

It was the first time Tang Jing spent a private Christmas with those she would normally only have access to in interviews. She was extremely curious, but she was quite calm on the surface and hid her professional habits as a reporter very well.

She knew that George Wood did not want reporters to be involved in his private life. There was once a mindless British tabloid that revealed his mother had previously worked as a cheap prostitute in the slums shortly after Wood became famous with a somewhat sarcastic tone. George Wood and Nottingham Forest joined forces to block the media company for good, and no news about the Forest team and Wood would be allowed to appear in that press outlet, or a lawyer’s letter would be issued.

This was different from Twain’s bickering style of “blocking.” This was done for real. Sure enough, Nottingham Forest had no contact with that media outlet since then.

When Twain came in from outside the door again, his entire person changed. He no longer had the kind of depressed look from before.?This Christmas was turning out to be a decent one.

During the dinner, he even occasionally joked about the mysterious relationship between Tang Jing and Dunn.

In dealing with Twain’s type of jokes, Dunn used silence, while Tang Jing seemed quite easy-mannered.

Now that Dunn no longer lived next door to Twain and while Twain and Shania enjoyed their couple hood, Dunn also had his own private space. So, Twain would not be too surprised if something happened between him and Tang Jing...

His only surprise was that with Dunn’s outwardly retiring but deep and passionate inside character, he could develop a love affair with Tang Jing who was extraordinarily extroverted, somewhat carefree and a pseudo career woman. It was just incredible...

Twain felt that these two people simply was not compatible ... With a man like Dunn, outsiders basically could not discern his strengths without long periods of close contact. So, what exactly did Tang Jing like about him?

Twain felt that he really could not understand the men and women of today. But he forgot that outsiders also shook their heads at his and Shania’s “match made in heaven” and simply “could not understand it!”

※※※

This Western version of “Chinese New Year’s Eve family dinner” was different from previous years because of the new addition of Tang Jing. It was a different affair.

Tang Jing showed some restraint in the beginning, and then gradually relaxed.

Twain would glance at Sophia from time to time. He could not forget that Sophia held his arm at the door and leaned her head against his shoulder.

He still remembered what it was like to see Sophia for the first time. At that time, when the entire Sneinton ghetto was grey—grey skies, cracked grey streets, grey walls, grey roofs, and even faces with grey expressions...

Only that mother sitting at home cutting potatoes was in color, alive and full of a tenacious vitality.

Now that he looked again, Sophia’s light was gradually fading, because the surroundings was long filled with color. Or because Sophia’s own life light was weak?

Twain knew that this woman liked him. But he avoided and tactfully declined. Now that he thought about it. Was he being too cruel to do this to a weak woman? But Twain could not accept the idea that one must love a person just because one sympathized with her. It would be a torture for him and for Sophia.

Fortunately, Sophia was a sensible and intelligent woman. She took a back seat when Shania who was better suited to Twain, appeared. She was satisfied to nestle against him just for a little while today outside the house.

In this world, good people were not always lucky and good people’s lives were not necessarily secure...

※※※

They stayed for a little while after dinner and then Twain and his party bid farewell to Wood and his mother, Sophia.

Twain drove and sent Dunn and Tang Jing back to his home in Branford Garden Lane before he returned home on his own.

While he sent Dunn and Tang Jing to the destination, Twain did not forget to tease the two of them with glib talk, “Hey, Miss Tang Jing, it’s dangerous to be alone with a man.”

“It’s dangerous to be with you.” Unwilling to show weakness, Tang Jing retorted. Since she was no longer a reporter, she did not have to play nice because it was no longer an interdependent relationship between them, which was a great thing for Tang Jing—she finally did not have to “act humbled” in front of this overbearing man.

“Ha!” Twain laughed, “I’m a married man. Surely I’m better than a lonely old virgin?”

“I can go back with you, but you’ll see the news of you spending a night with your mystery Chinese lover in The Sun tomorrow, Mr. Twain.”

Dunn watched the two people bickered somewhat helplessly.

“All right, you win!” Since he had his wife, Twain had to pay attention to the image of his private life. For example, Shania was not around for long periods of time, but Twain could no longer hire a call girl for his physical needs.

“Good night, I wish you both a fantastic night together!” Twain did not forget to retaliate against Tang Jing before he left. Then he quickly drove away.

“That old hooligan!” Tang Jing could only spat at the butt of the swiftly departing car.

She and Dunn did indeed establish a dating relationship, but their relationship had not progressed to the point of going to bed and having sex together.

Dunn smiled silently at the back. If Twain was “old”, should he not buried and at rest?

※※※

Twain drove the car and did not head straight back to his home in the northeast part of the city. Instead he went to the city center.

It was after eight o’clock in the evening and it was still lively here with young couples, close friends and relatives, all gathering in the municipal square, waiting to enjoy the fireworks display, which would start in a while.

Twain was idle so he simply parked his car in the parking lot and sat in the car to watch the fireworks. Anyway, there was no need to go home so early home. Who was he going to spend Christmas with, facing hundreds of square meters of dark and deserted house?

When the first fireworks bloomed in the night sky, a cheer came from the crowd.

More and more fireworks burst into the sky and bloomed open. The noise of the commotion grew louder with the scope becoming wider.

Twain was not as happy as those young people. He just looked at the fireworks in the sky, lost in his thoughts— when would he have someone by his side, exclaiming in excitement, as he watched the fireworks here?

In a few days, it would be the New Year and the calendar would turn to 2011. If he were to make a wish, what kind of wish would he make?

The sound of fireworks and explosions as well as noises from the crowd of people rang in his ears. Twain closed his eyes and made a wish in his heart which he did not know when it would be fulfilled—

I hope to spend Christmas and New Year with Shania.

Dammit! I’m a married man. Why am I still like that lonely person in university on a day which should be spent together happily with my family!

※※※

After experiencing a Christmas with joys and sorrows of life, Twain did not have much time to be depressed. The next day his team would face Birmingham City at home. Work was still the most important thing.

Back at the training base to start the day of work, Twain did not forget to privately continue to tease Dunn and asked him if he had a good time last night.

Dunn ignored Twain, smiling lasciviously. He got busy with his things and let Twain invite a snub.

After the Christmas, everything looked as usual except for some players who were not very professional, looking tired. But Twain had secretly recorded who had a too crazy time and would not be on the squad list for the game against Birmingham City.

Nottingham Forest’s home game against Birmingham City was the eighteenth round of the Premier League. It was the first time Tang Jing had sat in a VIP box, rather than watching the game in the media gallery below.

The game ended with Nottingham Forest thrashing Birmingham City 2:0. Starting with the left back, Donovan Slijngard, who was loaned to Birmingham City from Ajax, gave the Forest team a big gift three minutes into the game. He helped Nottingham Forest with the opening record with a wonderful own goal shot. Shortly after the start of the second half, Eastwood broke the ball into the net after bypassing two players in a row, showing his killer style and helping the team fixed the score at 2:0.

The game was perfect in terms of both results and process. The Nottingham Forest fans rarely had such an enjoyable time—their team pressed against their opponent from start to finish in the ninety-minute game with Birmingham City had only one shot and it was not within the goal area. Apart from the fouls, their players were completely unable to stop the Forest team’s attacks. They could only to become the game’s supporting players and not cause any trouble for Akinfeev so much so that the television commentators in the game were worried that Akinfeev would feel too cold...

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest tried to score in the goal twenty-two times! They had the upper hand in the ball possession rate, pass success rate, cross success rate, stealing success rate and header success rate. Each player on the field played very well, resulting in such a wonderful game.

Every Forest fan who left the City Ground stadium was in a good mood, with Tony Twain and his players giving them the best Christmas gift.

Playing offense against Manchester United as well as Liverpool, and it was only natural to turn this game into a half-time offense and defense against Birmingham City.

Some experts had analyzed whether this was a sign that Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain were about to transform.

Twain did not give any explanation. Two days later on December 28th, he led the team to an away game to the Riverside Stadium and beat Middlesbrough by 1:0.

Although they only scored one goal, they completely controlled the game and had the upper hand in all the statistics.

This had left many experts who had found the Forest team objectionable, taken aback and exclaimed that Nottingham Forest could win and play well. They had a bit of Arsenal’s style.

But they were all talking nonsense. Twain would not admit that the Forest team did not learn from Arsenal. The conscientious people would find that while Nottingham Forest’s statistics on ball possession and other statistics had risen, some of their traditional skills had not been lost. For example, the emphasis on counter press in the first instance and if the counter tackle was not successful, then they would rapidly retreat to defend. They must never give the opponent space and time in their own half to find the change to breach the goal. It was something Arsenal’s Wenger rarely or even never used.

Twain could pursue beauty and momentum during the offense, but when it came to the defense, he suddenly turned into a German, rigorous and meticulous to the point of slightly harsh.

In offense, he allowed the players to make mistakes or even waste chances. But whoever made a mistake in defense would be certain to be scolded by Twain.

The outside world remained perplexed despite much thought by the changes in the Forest team, but the Forest coaching team was not surprised at all. Because it was the end result of Twain’s and their efforts over the last few seasons.

As early as the 06-07 season, Twain developed the idea of controlling the game. But things cropped up intermittently during this period and it was only completed now. Nottingham Forest had the confidence and ability to win against any opponent in a way that ensured efficiency and pleasing the crowd.

Once again, the reporter, Pierce Brosnan served as the mouthpiece for Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain once again. He wrote an article to praise the way the Forest team was playing now, saying that the Nottingham Forest fans could enjoy the victory while savoring it and showing off—our team can play the type of football everyone cheers about!

They certainly did not have a problem with Tony Twain. In fact, with Twain’s successes at the Forest team over the years, and his credentials at the Forest team since 1996, no fan would be unhappy with him. It was just that when they were arguing with the Arsenal fans or Barcelona fans, they could only use the championship title to fight with while the fans of the other two teams could deride Twain’s football as “football that makes the most troublesome monkeys sleep.”

The feeling of watching the team in the stands firmly in control of the game from start to finish, casually playing and managing the opponent, always feeling assured and not worried about the opponent pressing on them to suddenly score, was too good ...

Therefore, would Nottingham Forest stick to their new style and keep playing like this?

Twain gave his answer with practical action.

In the last month of 2010, Nottingham Forest had a remarkable record of five wins and one draw in all six games, especially they did not lose any points against the traditional strong teams, Liverpool and Manchester United. They were safe playing against Manchester United in the away game until the final minute and almost won against Liverpool at home, which was not easy.

So, Nottingham Forest won the best team of the month, while Twain won the award for the best manager of the month for the fifteenth time since he took charge.

Having just received the award on New Year’s Day, January 1st, 2011, Twain led the team with a tough away win of 1:0 over Blackburn Rovers.

The players were suddenly in a bad shape after crossing into the new year. At the start of the game, Twain was going to win with the ball possession routine. It turned out that the players were in no form at all, so he changed his mind at the last minute and went back to their old routine—playing the defensive counterattack tactic that the Forest team was most familiar with and best at that they did not need to deliberately train for.

In the end, with Agbonlahor’s goal during a counterattack that was between offside and onside, they had a hard-won victory over Blackburn Rovers and got three points.

The Forest team did not play this game beautifully and it was ugly to watch. Most of the time the two teams made mistakes all the time and it was so dull that people wanted to doze off. It was a world of difference from the previous games. But they eventually won the game. Twain had the confidence in front of the reporters to say, “No! I’ve never said my team has to stick to that style. I don’t care if the team plays well or ugly, as long as we can win it! It’s a fool who plays well and lose a game.”

The Times then lamented, “Blackburn Rovers’ excellent performance almost caused the “curse the best manager of the month to lose the next one’ to resurface but Tony Twain used his way to minimize that possibility. He’s still him. Everything changes in the new year, only Tony Twain hasn’t changed...”

Chapter 780 - Transfer Window

Chapter 780: Transfer Window

For ordinary people, January represented the arrival of the new year, a holiday and snow. But for Europe’s professional football clubs, January represented a busy transfer window.

Was there any area that Nottingham Forest needed to supplement? Except for Gareth Bale’s serious injury, Nottingham Forest’s injury situation was still relatively minor. It had something to do with their good stamina reserves during their summer preparations. The intense competitive events during the Christmas period did not drag down the team’s fitness and naturally there would not be many inexplicable injuries.

Twain rarely purchased players during the winter transfer window unless he was forced to. Because there were a lot of restrictions with players who were bought halfway during this time. Moreover, this was not the time to but good quality and cheap players. Good players finished moving in the summer and those left were either too expensive, limited in their level or unable to play in the Champions League. Coupled with the fact that the players who joined the team mid-way often did not have time to familiarize with the team’s style and had to play immediately, so the degree of tacit understanding with the teammates could not be compared to those players who joined in the summer. It would result in the team’s play being affected.

Twain had long said to Evan and Allan that the Forest team would not buy anyone in January. There was no need for any purchase.

He might need to buy a left back to supplement if Joe Mattock was out on loan. But for now, Mattock had been fairly solid after a couple of appearances, worthy of being highly recommended to him by Stuart Pearce, England’s under-21 national team manager. It was great to have someone at the top… There was always a bargain to be had!

Twain had already set out to focus on developing Mattock as the Forest team’s future left back.

Even if Nottingham Forest did not sign on any players in the winter period, it did not imply that their own players were not coveted by the other teams.

After AC Milan in the summer, no one had ever mentioned the signing of George Wood again. Everyone knew that English football produced the kind of old-fashioned stalwarts, such as Manchester United’s Scholes and Giggs, Chelsea’s Terry and Lampard, Liverpool’s Gerrard and Carragher….It was almost a fantasy to want to buy such a player. Even though George Wood was currently young, he was already rising among the “stalwarts.”

Wood was naturally not for sale at Nottingham Forest, but the other players did not have this label.

Aaron Lennon had won the attention of more and more other teams over the years as he played well at Nottingham Forest. This season seemed to be a good time to take him away from the City Ground stadium as Bentley, his direct rival for the national team, was brought in by Twain. The media thought that Lennon would have some dissatisfaction. Although he did not show it, it must be frustrating to have another competitor come in for the team’s main position which took him great effort to secure.

Two clubs had already announced their interest in Lennon. One was England’s Tottenham Hotspur. They had hoped to bring in Lennon before Lennon went to Nottingham Forest, but unfortunately Lennon chose Tony Twain at that time. Tottenham Hotspur still “refused to give up its evil designs” for Lennon and still constantly had him on its mind.

The other team was La Liga’s Valencia. Joaquín and Vicente, the pair of former Spanish golden wingers were now on the verge of turning thirty this year and frequent injuries affected their appearances. After David Silva was sold to Real Madrid, they lacked a new force on the wings. So, Valencia’s top brass, who had weathered the economic crisis after much difficulty, had their sights set on Lennon, who was fast and good at breaking through and assisting on the sides.

In response to the rumors that these two clubs wanted to buy Lennon, Twain’s response was “not for sale!”

Seriously, his own flank had only few players to rotate, two on the left flank and two on the right flank. If he sold one, what would happen if the other player was suddenly injured? Furthermore, Lennon used to play in the Forest youth team and also considered to be trained by the Forest Youth Camp. He also played a role in the Champions League qualifier and had feelings for Nottingham Forest. Twain basically would not touch such a player who had not make any unforgivable mistakes.

Kompany and Pepe were still sought after by a number of teams every year. After Piqué’s departure, they were two of the mainstays in Nottingham Forest’s rear defensive line. Woodgate was also good, but in terms of level and physical fitness, the first two players were still a little better.

For these two players, Twain was also of the same attitude—they were not for sale.

What did Nottingham Forest rely on to prosper? How were they supposed to continue to compete if they sold their defensive backbone?

There was a team which was interested in Leighton Baines. It was not a big team, just a mid-tier Premier League team. Twain did not turn it down immediately. Now that Gareth Bale had confirmed his departure from the season, it was unlikely that he would sell another left back during the winter transfer window. But in Twain’s mind, Baines was not necessary not for sale. If Mattock developed in the future, Baines would have to be ranked third in the team’s left back position, which he would not be good for the team at that time. He was only twenty-five years old now. This was the best time to sell for the best price.

In rejecting the offers from those teams, Twain added, “In the winter transfer window, we will not consider selling any of our left backs.”

With Twain starting to play the combination of double defensive midfielders this season, Tiago had also made a number of contributions in offense, so he had more chances to play than last season and even edged ahead of ?ahin. Tiago’s excellent performance attracted the attention of the other teams.

Portugal’s Benfica was hoping to recall their old player and Spain’s Villarreal also hoped to get him. Twain did not want to sell yet, thinking he had not found a suitable successor. When Twain decided to sell a player, he must have identified an alternate in the same position so that he would not be derailed by some unexpected circumstances. To know that there were so many inexplicable surprises in life…

At the beginning of the season, Twain let John Bostock stay in the team because he felt the team had to compete in multiple tournaments and Bostock would not be short of opportunities to play and practice. But half a season later, he found that he was wrong. Bostock’s chances of playing had been reduced as a result of tactical changes. And he only played in the middle of the midfield in this position. His strength and experience ranked last among the four midfielders, so he naturally had the least the opportunities to play. This was not conducive to his growth. Bostock had also been to talk to Twain alone. He certainly did not say that he intended to transfer from Nottingham Forest but said that he hoped to seek a loan opportunity to get more appearances in the games and gain experience.

Twain thought it over for a long time and finally agreed to his decision. Adriano Moke, Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses had been loaned out and their performances were a mixed bag. But it was better than sitting on the bench.

Since January, Nottingham Forest had received three applications to loan Bostock. One of which was the right to purchase first after a loan period. The club had been shot down directly by Twain. He did not want to sell Bostock yet. The boy had a great future but needed time to develop.

The two remaining clubs were Fulham and West Ham United. Twain agreed to both, and all that remained was up to Bostock to choose the team he wanted. He did not have to do anything else.

Chris Cohen, a low-profile player who had been honed and progressively emerged as a sharp player, had been favored by a number of teams after a season and a half of outstanding play. His and Matías Fernández’s performance on the left flank continued the Forest team’s tradition of focusing on the flanks and having good side players. Fernández occasionally had to play in the middle while Cohen was also an all-rounder who was good at the sides and middle. But Twain fixed him in the flank because there were too many players in the middle…

His performance lived up to Twain’s expectations. He was diligent and never complained about sitting on the bench. He had two goals and six assists after playing half of the season. At first he was seen as the second Kris Commons. Their names sounded similar and the media and pundits thought Cohen was a player who would helplessly leave the Forest team in the end after a few years on the substitutes’ bench. But they did not think that Cohen had impressed the Forest coaching staff with his good attitude and strength. He not only stayed with the Forest team, but also became a mainstay in the rotation with Fernández.

There was one thing that could specifically be a vivid description of Chris Cohen’s level today. In the FM 2011, the famous football manager game that was just released less two months ago, Cohen’s potential was fixed at 152, which was not a high figure, and not impressive as compared to those young wonderkids who were easily at 180 and above. But his data distribution was quite scientific. In the left midfielder position, which needed a few key data, his numbers were very good. His current ability of 145 allowed his passes and crosses to be at 16, his skills at 15, stopping the ball at 14, endurance up to 18, speed also at 14, and teamwork at the highest 19.

The universal feedback from the gamers for such players was that they had low potential but could obtain high marks every game. They were very useful. Their other numbers did not look good, but their actual performance was very good.

Sports Interactive and Nottingham Forest had a collaboration. They could have the most direct and detailed observation of the Forest players, so the data given was generally the most authoritative. A lot of gamers who played FM liked to buy the Forest players because they were very useful regardless of their data. Maybe this was partiality on Sports Interactive’s part? There was even talk of Tony Twain playing FM to coach the team to dig up the wonderkids everywhere…

In terms of the strikers, ?igi?’s performance also marked the second turnaround of his career. As a center forward, his number of goals scored was still not too many and subjected to many fans’ denouncement. But the people who were really savvy about football knew the importance of ?igi? in the Forest team: firstly, with him around, the Forest team had the absolute aerial advantage in the front field. Secondly, his presence could greatly enrich the Forest team’s offensive style. He could launch the attack from both sides and force bombardment. He could also be a firm center forward and receive the passes to create chances for his teammates to plug in. Whether it was a long ball or a short pass coordination, he was needed as a bridgehead; furthermore, he could occasionally withdraw to be the center back to defend when the defense for a set piece was required.

Twain always valued a player who appeared ordinary but could always play a role that was not noticed by ordinary people. ?igi?’s character was also clearly much better than that of his predecessor, Bendtner. He had been with the team for several years, kept a low profile and never create trouble.

It was because of such a low-key player who was now like a light bulb in the night that attracted bugs…

Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Atlético Madrid, RCD Espanyol and Italy’s Fiorentina and Napoli were all interested in signing the front field’s lighthouse, who could both score goals and create chances for his teammates, in addition to having a great impact on the team’s attacking tactics.

While the most attention-grabbing news in the transfer market each year were the transfer rumors of the superstar players, the fact remained that most of the deals that made up the transfer market came from these second-tier players.

Twain certainly would not be willing to sell ?igi?. It was currently hard to find a good center forward.

But Allan Adams came to him.

※※※

Twain had already figured it out. But if Allan came to him first, most of the time it was not a good thing. If it was not about the club’s financial constraints and how his plan to buy several players to bolster the team’s strength was put on hold. Or it would be that the club’s financials were tight and there was a need for the team to sell a few players to ease the situation; or to say that he hoped Twain would pay attention to control the team’s salary budget …

The relationship between the Nottingham Forest trio of heads was delicate: the relationship between Evan and Allan needed no mention. They were partners who worked hard together till now. As for Evan and Tony, they were friends who found each other familiar at the first sight and got along well. Whereas for Tony and Allan… it was a little complicated with them. On the one hand, they were colleagues and naturally needed to join forces to work together. For example, Twain needed Allan to set out for negotiations a lot of times when he had to buy players. Occasionally, they could even joke and chat about the world. It was congenial between them. But on the other hand, also because of the work relationship, Twain and Allan curbed each other, so they naturally would not have too much affection for each other—Twain wanted to spend money and Allan wanted to make money. This was the basic contradiction. In addition, there were times when Twain felt that Allan used the money as a cover to meddle too much in the team’s affairs, which upset him a little.

This was, of course, Evan’s way of management for everyone to control each other which would be more stable.

But even he could not control how other people complained in their hearts.

Allan clearly knew what Twain thought of him, so he jokingly pointed out his purpose as soon as he saw Twain, “I know what’s on your mind, Tony. You guessed right.”

Twain glanced at him unkindly.

“Evan and I both think you should seriously consider the clubs’ bids for ?igi?.”

“I need a center forward, Allan.”

“Won’t the Bosnian do?”

“He’s still not good enough…”

“Then train him, Tony. We all believe in your ability to do so.”

Twain spread his hands and bent his fingers, warming up like a magician would do before he performed magic. He said, “Look, Allan. I have nothing in my hands now.” Then he made a grip with his hands, waved his fists in the air, and spread open again. “I still have nothing.”

“I’m not a magician who can make something out of nothing.” The empty-handed Twain said to Allan.

“Tony, Millán and Moses are back next season. How are you going to arrange your forward line?” Allan did not care about Twain’s conjuring sarcasm and asked.

“Ruud will retire. Millán, Moses and Agbonlahor can play as wingers or attacking midfielders.”

“We are not short of midfielders.”

Twain shook his head and said, “I’m going to change the formation.” He was going to go into detail about what the changes were, but upon seeing Allan’s face, he lost interest—he could talk nonstop but the American, with his half-baked knowledge, might not have understood much.

Allan sat down and sincerely said to Twain, “Tony, you know, we never asked you to sell the core players. But I really don’t think ?igi? is the kind of indispensable player. He has done well in the last two seasons, so suddenly there are a lot of clubs interested in him. I am a businessman. I know that we should be decisive to selling when a product is at its most valuable stage. Otherwise, when the value declines, we can’t even sell it when we want to sell. Selling ?igi? will bring an income to the club and reduce the wage burden, which I think is a very good deal.”

Twain snorted in his mind. A businessman, of course, only talked about business.

But he did not hit back at Allan who at least said one thing right—?igi? was not an indispensable and irreplaceable player yet. Moreover, in his new squad, he really did not need that many strikers…

However, he needed a way out of an embarrassing situation…he said, “Give me a few days to think about it, Allan.”

Allan Adams smiled and replied, “I’ll waiting to hear from you, Tony.”

Allan said goodbye, and Twain leaned against his large desk. He turned to look at the training ground behind him. The team was still in training. His eyes were firmly fixed on the tallest man on the field.

Chapter 781 - An Ibrahimović Good at Headers

According to Tony Twain’s habit of doing things, he must determine an alternative course of action before he made up his mind on a matter.

The sale of ?igi? had really been bothering him for two days. The reason he wanted to keep him was really as he thought when he spoke to Allan before. The reason for selling him was that the Forest team might not need as many players in the forward line from next season... It was not impossible to sell a player and make some transfer money available for the team.

Twain was not stubborn about this matter.

In fact, starting in the second half of the season, the Forest team would be using more new tactical formations in order to seek breakthroughs. For all these years that Twain had led the team, it was the first time that he had made all these subverted changes. After all, the Forest team previously always gave the impression that they defended and then counterattacked. No matter how they changed, they could not break out of this cycle.

New formations and tactics required more proactive measures. Twain no longer insisted on his 4-4-2 formation. Instead, he changed the play to 4-5-1, and a stricter differentiation would be 4-2-3-1, the Christmas tree shaped formation.

In this way, the demand for strikers was greatly reduced. Each game only required one striker. If too many players were on the bench and the rotation could not be arranged accordingly, there would be people who felt dissatisfied—why can he be rotated on the field while I can only continue to sit on the bench?

He could only consider in this way if he really were to sell ?igi?.

But if ?igi? was gone, the team would be missing a center forward. In some special circumstances, a center forward like ?igi? could play a role that the other strikers could not. Twain was unwilling to throw away a still very useful card in vain.

Ibi?evi? was a striker, but he was not purely a center forward, let alone a firm center forward.

Van Nistelrooy was retiring at the end of the season. Eastwood’s knee had always been like a landmine which could be stepped on at any time after three major operations. Ibi?evi? was the only striker with no trouble. In the new tactics, Agbonlahor would be a more comprehensive player. He could be a striker, but Twain planned to let him play as an attacking right midfielder because his speed advantage could play a bigger role in the flank.

Millán, who was out on loan, could also play as a forward, attacking midfielder slot and other positions. A utility player always did not have to worry about having opportunities to play.

If he sold ?igi?, where would he go find a suitable replacement?

Twain’s target he had in mind for the substitute was to have a certain strength, but not too strong, because anyone too strong would certainly require the main position, which Twain absolutely could not satisfy this requirement. If Eastwood was fit and uninjured, he and Ibi?evi? would be the team’s main forwards and in rotation for appearances.

As a result, the role of a new striker would be less. If possible, Twain was reluctant to pay for a third striker... It would be a waste.

After mulling over it for two days, Twain thought of a man.

※※※

“Are you free now?” During a break in the training, Twain pulled in Kerslake and Dunn.

“Isn’t the training in progress?” Kerslake was surprised.

“Let the coaches handle it first. I want you to accompany me to the reserves training ground.”

“Why do you suddenly want to go to the reserves team?” Dunn asked.

“I suddenly thought of a person. I almost forgot about him...” Twain scratched his head and said slightly embarrassed.

He did forget that person...

※※※

“You did forget him.” Standing by the training ground at Wilford, Dunn glanced at Twain.

The reserves team did not belong to the youth team, so they trained with the First Team in South Wilford. The two places were not far apart and did not take long to reach there.

The reserve team was playing a seven-on-seven game on the training ground in front of them. There was one person in the yellow team who was very eye-catching because he was the tallest on the field now.

Twain and Dunn, as well as Kerslake came to see him—Aaron Mitchell. Two and a half years ago, Twain had gone to the reserve team to inspect ?ahin’s state of recovery but did not expect that day’s protagonist to be another person.

At the time, Mitchel’s performance as a center back was lacking. If he continued to play like this, the best chance he would have would be to play in the second-tier league, which he would never have been able to establish himself in the Premier League at his level anyway, let alone play in the Nottingham Forest First Team.

After watching him train and play, Twain called him in and suggested that he played as a center forward from now on. Although both positions were played in the middle, the position was moved from the back to the forefront, which could be described as a dramatic change.

It was only out of Twain’s professional habits to let Mitchell change position. Then half a year later, when he was crushed by a heart attack, he was busy battling the heart disease for another six months and completely forgot about Mitchell. Later in the process of rebuilding the team, because the Forest team was not short of players in the forward line, so he also never recalled that poor player whom he changed his position, threw in the youth team and never asked about again.....

It was no until the possibility of ?igi?’s transfer was on the agenda that he recalled the young man who had felt similar to ?igi?.

Aaron Mitchell was currently twenty years old and had played in the reserves for two years but had yet to get a chance to play in the First Team.

While arguably playing in the reserves was a way into the First Team, it did not mean that playing here would necessarily allow him to get into the First Team. There were a number of players who spent most of their time in the reserves and could only be drawn to the First Team occasionally to relieve any immediate need. This portion of players were considered lucky. Most players faded into obscurity in the reserve team, perhaps seek opportunities in the lower leagues, or declined henceforth. If a player who had graduated from the youth team and always played in the reserves after, it at least meant that he did not have any outstanding talent or ability. Such a player’s future was bleak.

From this point of view, Aaron Mitchell’s talent was clearly not outstanding.

Mitchell was on the pitch as a center forward, and his header was still outstanding, thanks, of course, to his fearsome height. Twain felt that Mitchell was currently taller than when he first saw him. So, he pointed to Mitchell as he turned his face to the reserve team coach Colin Calderwood and said, “How tall is he now?”

“Two point two meters.” Calderwood replied.

Twain whistled, “He’s as tall as ?igi?.”

“But he is thinner than ?igi?.” Dunn said next to him.

Indeed, the thinness of the two-point-two meter tall Mitchell was clear. He was a bit like Peter Crouch who used to play for the Forest team.

“How’s he with physical confrontation?” Twain asked.

“Average.” Calderwood replied.

The answer made Twain frown. The center forward he needed had to be strong and able to compete with the opposing tall and strong defenders in the penalty area so that he did lose his position and the ball easily.

Calderwood certainly knew what Twain was worried about, so he laughed and continued, “But Tony, he’s not quite like the traditional center forwards...”

“Eh? How is he different?”

“Have you ever seen a center forward who is more than two meters tall and can scissor?”

Twain and the two assistant managers next to him stared at Calderwood in surprise.

“His technique is excellent.” Calderwood laughed, “and even. There’s no obvious weakness technically. He can pass the ball to create opportunities for his teammates, and also to pull to the side to cross pass. His dribbling in terms of his height, is also good. Maybe it’s because he knows he’s not capable of physical confrontation, so he works hard in technical training, and so... it becomes what you see now.”

During their conversation, Mitchell got the ball. He stopped the ball during running with his heel outside of the foot. While he stopped the football at the same time, he also completed the action to do an emergency stop and turn to change direction...

“Wow—,” Kerslake could not help exclaim.

After stopping the ball in the flank and bypassed an opposing defender, Mitchell swung his leg for a pass on the spot. Unfortunately, the teammate who received in the middle did not expect Mitchell’s decisive pass and missed the ball by a margin.

The men did not speak and began to observe Mitchell’s performance on the field.

Perhaps because he had been a center back, Mitchell retained the habit of seeing opposing players go up and grab the ball, rather than playing like a pure attacking player who walked around in the front field and watched as the other side take the ball past him. This helped Mitchell get a lot of chances to counter press in the front field.

Because he was two point two meters tall, he dribbled the ball at a very wide pace, so his speed did not feel slow, and did not give a heavyset feeling like ?igi?. Coupled with his excellent footwork, watching him play always gave the illusion—was this really a big man more than two meters tall?

He was also not the kind of center forward who liked to wait in front of the goal for his teammates to pass the ball to him. He preferred to pull out, back up to receive and overly connect for the attack.

His header was indeed a very sharp weapon. As long as the football flew into his aerial space, he would get it nine out of ten times. His amazing height coupled with his outstanding jump, in addition to the level of his header and awareness from his training and playing as the center back, he could said to dominate the aerial space in front of the goal.

Unfortunately, his shot was a little poorer compared to his excellent header...

Twain watched his game for fifteen minutes and had a rough idea. His header success rate was as high as eighty per cent, but only one out of five shots from his feet hit within the goalpost range—which was too direct and intercepted by the goalkeeper.

“Well... His shooting skill improvement rate is slow...” Calderwood was a little embarrassed when it came to that.

In the reserves, the tactic for Mitchell was during the offensive, he would retreat to receive the pass from the midfield. Then he would use his footwork skills to dribble the ball to break through and after which, he would divert it to the sides for his teammates who had already plugged in while he continued to dash to the penalty area. His teammates would send the ball after they got rid of the opposing flank defense. Mitchell who was already in place by then, would fight to head the ball. This time he had two options: A, he would use his header shot to score a goal; B, he would send it to the other teammates and create a chance for them to shoot.

The tactic was very simple and Mitchell did quite well. He was really impeccable with the header shots.

Unfortunately, his body was really too thin and almost did not have the ability for direct confrontation. That was one of the main reasons why he could not play well as a center back in the first place...

This reason was also essential to why he had not been recommended for promotion to the First Team.

The Premier League was the most confrontational league tournament in the world. A “reasonable collision” in the Premier League could be a malicious foul in other league tournaments. The physically inferior striker would lose out when he competed against the others. Apart from Wenger’s oddity, few managers would take an interest in a striker who looked like he could be blown away by the wind.

But Twain did not care that much. He saw hope in Mitchell and a completely different center forward. He might bring something different to the Forest team’s offense.

“Tell him to report to the First Team tomorrow.” Twain snapped his fingers and said, “I’m going to sign him up for the next stage of the Champions League tournament.”

This sentence meant that he could let ?igi? go with confidence ...

Neither of the two assistant managers made any suggestions with regards to Twain’s decision. They saw something brilliant in Mitchell, whose shortcomings could be made up by training and high level competition.

After he finished briefing on these matters, Twain left with two assistant managers. They still had to go back to the First Team training ground and was not able to waste too much time here.

※※※

Aaron Mitchell only heard the news from Coach Colin Calderwood that he had been transferred to the First Team from the reserve team after training. After being stunned for a short moment, he was joyous. Since switching to play as the center forward, he had thought about his future at the Forest team. He felt that since the boss had to change him to play as a striker, he might need a striker.

But then he felt a little hopeless when he saw the Forest team’s swelling to somewhat bloated ranks in the forward line. He thought he was not an exceptionally talented player, and the only things he was proud of were his height and headers.

He kept practicing his skills in the hope that he had some different qualities that could stand out from the other players of the same kind.

After determining on how to train him as a striker, Colin Calderwood, also noticed Mitchell’s efforts and characteristics in the area, so he recommended a training example for Mitchell to follow.

This example was not ?igi? in the Forest team, nor was it van Nistelrooy. It was Ibrahimovi? in the far away Inter Millán.

In addition to training, he would study the tall Swedish center forward’s playing characteristics and style, to try his best to imitate and learn, in hopes that he could also become a striker who was more than one point nine meter tall but with outstanding footwork skills.

Now the opportunity had come!

The next day he went straight to the First Team’s training ground and saw the star teammates he rarely saw on the sidelines, which made him a little excited. While those teammates also looked a little curiously at the foolishly happy Mitchell, standing on the sidelines.

Mitchell was not a rising star player like Moke who was in the reserves, but whose name had long been spread throughout the club. He remained in obscurity before he came here. Although everyone was in the same club, it was normal to be unfamiliar with each other.

When the First Team players warmed up together, Aaron Mitchel still stood outside, at a loss over what to do.

That was when his savior came.

Tony Twain and the two assistant managers walked onto the training ground. He saw Mitchell at a glance, who was wandering outside the crowd, and waved to him, “Kid, come here!”

“This is your new teammate.” Pulling Mitchell over, Twain introduced him to the other players, “Aaron Mitchell, a professional striker, who used to play as a center back.”

Hearing his strange position change, the players broke out in a moment of wonder.

After a brief introduction, Twain asked the players to warm up, but he made Mitchell stay behind.

“There are some things I have to make clear to you in advance so that I don’t have any trouble in the future.” Twain said to Mitchell who stood in front of him extremely deferential, “First of all, to be able to be transferred to the First Team proves that you are capable, so don’t doubt that you are not strong enough; Secondly, you can’t think that you will be able to get the main position and be in the starting lineup once you are in the First Team…I won’t promise you all these. You have to fight and compete with the attitude and form you’ve trained if you want all these. You know, you’re currently last out of all the strikers in the First Team.”

Mitchell nodded repeatedly.

“You’d better use your learning mentality to prepare for your days in the First Team. I think that will help you more.”

While saying all these, Twain’s face with the sunglasses on was always serious-looking. He did not mind being harsh on these young people, because he knew how cruel professional football was. It was best not to have any illusions and be down-to-earth in order to achieve something. On the path of these young people’s development, he was willing to be the number one villain in these people’s hearts all the time.

Seeing that Mitchell had a good attitude and was humble enough made Twain very satisfied. He ended his sermon and began to assign specific training tasks, “Starting from today, we will increase your shooting and strength training. The coaching team will give you a special training program for you to follow. I heard when you were in the reserves, Coach Calderwood asked you to learn from Ibrahimovi??”

Mitchell nodded in reply, “Yes, boss. I hope to be a striker like him.”

“Make no mistake, boy. Ibrahimovi? is not physically weak, and his shooting ability is ten light years better than yours.”

Mitchell’s expression darkened. Although Twain spoke the truth, the truth was not nice to hear...

Twain remembered that Mitchell was already twenty years old, but he was still a young player after all. Sometimes encouragement was needed.

So, he grinned and said, “But don’t worry. At least you have one thing that is better than Ibrahimovi?—your header.” He pointed to Mitchell’s head and said, “An Ibrahimovi?, who is good at headers and much better than Ibrahimovi? himself!”

Chapter 782 - Twain’s Christmas Tree

Aaron Mitchell’s promotion into the first team marked the official commencement of ?igi?’s transfer work.

Allan picked a few clubs that had put in the highest bids for ?igi? and accepted their offers.

As for ?igi?, he had no special thoughts regarding his transfer. He was not one of those loyal subjects who would pledge his undying allegiance to Forest. If the other club is able to offer him an even better contract than the one he has at Forest currently, then he would certainly not reject their offer.

Additionally, he is well aware that the boss has no intentions of keeping him at the club, given Mitchell’s sudden promotion into the first team. It is meaningless for him to stay.

The three clubs whose bids had been accepted by Allan Adams were Premier League’s Newcastle, Bundesliga’s Hamburger SV, and La Liga’s Villarreal CF. All three clubs had put in a bid of 10 million pounds.

A bid of 10 million pounds is very attractive given the current circumstances. It is no wonder that Allan wanted to speak to Twain about it.

Negotiations for ?igi?’s transfer proceeded smoothly. Eventually, ?igi? chose to go to La Liga’s Villarreal CF, because the club offered him the best personal terms. In addition, they were also a team with the capability of fighting for Champions League spots in the league every season.

Three days later, both Nottingham Forest and Villarreal CF officially announced the completion of the transfer. ?igi? has transferred over to the ‘Yellow Submarine’ for a transfer fee of 10 million pounds.

Twain had initially bought ?igi? for 10 million euros. Now that ?igi? was sold for 10 million pounds, it means that he was sold for 10.8 million euros. Given the current economic situation, being able to make a little bit of profit off a player was considered to be a good deal for the club.

At the very least, it was proof that Twain was spot on with his judgement of players, because the club did not suffer a loss on the players that he had bought.

igi?’s number 9 shirt was left behind after his departure. Twain gave the shirt to Mitchell.

When he passed the shirt to Mitchell, he kept a long face and told him sternly, “The number doesn’t represent anything. The number 9 does not symbolize that you are a starting player in the team.”

Mitchell has gotten used to the way that his boss speaks and acts. He nodded his head and replied, “I know that, boss. I will do my best.”

Twain’s mouth parted slightly at his response, and he passed it off as a smile.

※※※
igi? did not perform badly during his time at Nottingham Forest. In the two and half seasons that he played for Forest, he scored a total of 21 goals and provided 25 assists.

Sadly, the team went through its ‘darkest times’ during the two seasons where he was a player for Forest. They did not become the champions for any competition, and they also did not attain a single accolade. ?igi? came and left empty-handed.

The Nottingham Forest fans do not regard ?igi? to be on the same level as other center forwards in their team, such as van Nistelrooy or Eastwood. ?igi? left the team without leaving behind any sort of memorable moment that others would still think about in years to come.

Not too long after ?igi?’s transfer had been finalized, John Bostock also accepted Fulham’s loan offer.

Twain specially added a clause in Bostock’s contract which states that, ‘Bostock is not allowed to play in any games between Fulham and Nottingham Forest’.

It is not rare for such a clause to appear in the contracts of players playing for La Liga. In contrast, such a clause is rarely included by Premier League clubs. It was quite ‘shameless’ of Twain to include the clause, but he did not want Forest to be defeated at the hands of a player that they have groomed. The ‘tragedy’ that happened at Real Madrid when they faced RCD Mallorca and Samuel Eto’o should never befall Nottingham Forest.

Ex-Real Madrid player Pablo Garcia once talked about the clause, and he called it a ‘sh*t clause’. One can tell how much he despised the clause.

Twain did not care about the reputation surrounding the clause. Everything of use to him was good!

Fulham did not care about the inclusion of the clause either. They were already halfway through the season, and they would only face Forest once in the remaining games. It was not anything big to not play Bostock for just one game.

However, Bostock was slightly upset about the inclusion of the clause, because he had hoped to get the chance to show off his skills before Twain during the match against Forest, which would then attract Twain’s attention and help him earn a spot in the starting team in the following season.

That was the situation that Twain feared the most. He was afraid that the players he had loaned out to other clubs would play with a desire of proving their worth to their parent club, and they would then perform exceptionally well during the games against Forest and become the star player who defeated his team. This is why he needed to completely eliminate the possibility of such a situation happening before it is too late.

In the end, Bostock accepted the inclusion of the clause. What could he do even if he did not agree to its inclusion? The only two choices for him were to either accept the inclusion of the clause, or to spend the remaining season on the bench.

There are certain times where Twain is your closest friend, but most of the time, he is a despicable demon.

Two players left Nottingham Forest during the winter transfer window, but the club did not bring in any new players. Twain believed that his current line-up was enough to deal with the remaining matches of the season.

※※※

On 16th January, Nottingham Forest faced Everton in an away game. It was the game where Twain was going to unveil his new formation for the very first time.

Moyes had studied Forest’s recent performances in their past few games. He figured that Twain would still insist on playing an attacking style football, but he never expected Twain to change his formation.

Twain might have changed the way his team played football from time to time, but all this while, there were certain things that Twain insisted on and never changed. One, he always placed a strong emphasis on defense. Two, he always made use of the flanks to attack. Three, he always employed two center forwards. Four, he always made use of a defensive midfielder.

4-2-3-1.

That was the formation that Forest was going to use during the match against Everton.

Joe Mattock, Pepe, Jonathan Woodgate and Nicolas Nkoulou make up the back four. Such an arrangement was not surprising. What was surprising was the fact that Twain did not put a defensive midfielder in place!

It was not that George Wood would not be playing in the game. How could he possibly not play in a game when he is in good form, is not sick or injured and has not been banned from playing?

It was just that there were some slight modifications to the position that he would be playing at.

He was not going to play as a defensive midfielder for the match. Both his and his partner Tiago’s positions have been moved forward. They were no longer defensive midfielders but rather central midfielders.

Don’t underestimate this shift. The responsibilities of a defensive midfielder differs from that of a central midfielder’s. A defensive midfielder primarily focuses on defense, whereas a central midfielder typically acts as the bridge between the team’s offense and defense. They are required to play a larger role during the team’s offense.

Forest’s coaching staff have actually been working on developing George Wood’s offensive abilities since a few seasons ago. However, due to the fact that he has always played as a defensive midfielder, only his defensive abilities have been tested thus far.

With this change in position, Wood would be able to unshackle himself and focus more on attacking. It signified a rare breakthrough for both Wood and Forest.

Wood and Tiago were in charge of organizing the team’s offense in the midfield. In addition, they also have to take on the important task of defending. They were the busiest players in their entire team.

The ‘3’ players playing in front of them were Chris Cohen, Matías Fernández and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Cohen and Agbonlahor were positioned at the left and right flanks, while Fernández was positioned in the middle. His central position would allow him to make good use of his long shots to either provide the final pass needed for his team’s attacks, or to score a goal.

Fernández was playing as a playmaker, but he was not playing as playmaker who would organize the team’s attacks. He was playing as a playmaker who would score goals.

Fernández’s ability to score is one of the reasons why Twain chose to use him over ?ahin. ?ahin’s ability to score goals paled in comparison to Fernández.

It was not surprising that Agbonlahor was playing on the right flank, because he had played at that position numerous times during his time at Aston Villa. It was also not his first time playing as a right winger for Forest.

The center-forward positioned at the very front was Ibi?evi?.

Additionally, Twain has also requested his two full backs to actively participate in the team’s offense, which is a complete change to how he rarely allowed his full backs to go forward and join the offense in the past. It was evident that Twain had really set his heart on playing an attacking style football at Everton’s home ground.

The coaching staff might have gotten Wood to play as the central midfielder during training numerous times before, but it was his first time playing in that position in an actual match, which is why the Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff were all nervously watching how the match played out. They wanted to see if Wood would be able to perform as he did during their training sessions.

Wood did not get used to his new position initially. He kept wanting to run back and play as the defensive midfielder. This forced Twain to chastise him loudly from the side of the pitch, and he made Wood return to his position as a central midfielder.

Retreating backwards was permissible for central midfielders, since their role also involves defense. However, it was not permissible to retreat backwards and not move back up afterwards.

Tiago took on the responsibility of organizing the team’s offense while Wood struggled to get used to his new role. He used to play in this position in the past, so he did not need to get used to it, and was able to get into the role straight away.

※※※

It was obvious from the start of the match that it was the very first time that Forest had employed such a formation and tactic in an actual match, because all the players were trying to get used to the new playing style…

Moyes could not comprehend why Twain would suddenly employ a set of tactics and formation that his players have clearly not gotten used to. However, he did not dwell on things he could not understand.

Since Forest has yet to find their momentum for the match, I’m going to go ahead and take full advantage of this situation!

He instructed his team to start attacking Forest’s goalpost ferociously.

Eventually, on the 17th minute of the match, their genius forward, James Vaughan, displayed his gift right outside Forest’s penalty box.

He initially wanted to make his way into the penalty box after receiving a pass from his team mate, but he faced Tiago’s interception outside the penalty box. Tiago’s tackle did not stop Vaughan completely. He wobbled a little, but was able to regain his composure quickly. He then raised his feet and shot for goal before Wood came over to tackle him. The ball flew over the tip of Akinfeev’s fingers like an artillery shell and flew into the back of the net!

“A worldie!” The commentator roared excitedly. “When Wayne Rooney was still at Everton, he too scored a nearly identical goal in the match against Arsenal! Everton’s fans have all forgotten about Wayne Rooney with how Vaughan has been performing lately! He has already scored 11 goals for the team as Everton’s first choice forward this season! The future ahead of him is very promising!”

The goal set the audience at Goodison Park on fire. Everton’s fans began doing waves at the stands to celebrate. They were like a sea that had just been hit by a storm.

Twain felt a little crestfallen.

This was the difference between a genius player and an ordinary player… An ordinary player would choose to give up when he has to deal with interceptions from both Tiago and Wood, whereas a genius player would grasp at the fleeting chance and send the ball into the net through a small gap between players…

The blame is definitely not on him as the manager…

Now that his team is trailing behind, should he revert back to the 4-4-2 formation that they are used to?

It was not impossible to make the changes based on their current line-up. Agbonlahor could be moved into the center-forward position, and Cohen could take over on the right flank.

However, Twain adamantly said, ‘No!’ to the idea.

He has to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation. He firmly believes that it would be Everton’s turn to be down in luck once his team gets used to the new playing style!

The might of the 4-2-3-1 formation has already been shown during training. The problem right now was how to successfully display that same might during an actual match.

The key to solving the problem lies with George Wood. If he is not able to get into his new role, then it will affect the team’s performance as a whole.

Twain believes that Wood’s sense for football is not that terrible. After all, he is a player that Demetrio Albertini thinks highly of. Albertini is a man whom people call the ‘commander of the midfield’. He is known for having a keen sense for football!

George Wood finally started getting used to playing in his new position after struggling for 20 minutes on the pitch. However, he had his own insights on how to play in his new position. He did not only anchor himself at the position of the central midfielder. He was more flexible, and the way he played was akin to how the traditional box-to box midfielders used to play in England. His playing style allows him to actively put in good performances in both the team’s offense and defense.

Players who adopt such a playing style have to cover a large area on the pitch, and it is very physically demanding. However, stamina is Wood’s forte, so he did not need to worry about being drained out in the later stages of the match due to him running back and forth constantly throughout the match. It was a playing style that suited Wood nicely.

Twain smiled after seeing how Wood was playing his new role as the central midfielder. It was not what Twain had put in place for him, but Wood’s way of doing things was actually much better.

Let him find a way to play that suits him the most. Maybe he would play in a way that exceeds all our expectations.

Wood began his performance of sprinting back and forth from one penalty box to the other.

He stopped Everton’s attacks. He organized Forest’s offense. He kept appearing at every single place where he was needed. He was so full of energy that it made him seem like a superman.

“George Wood tackles away Vaughan’s ball! Did he foul him? No, it was a clean tackle!”

“George Wood’s through ball! Brilliant! It went past all the Everton defenders! But sadly there’s no one who could receive it… He kicked it too hard…”

“He tries to do a long shot! But the ball goes over the bar!”

“Ohhhhh! George Wood! He has stopped Everton’s counterattack once again!”

Nottingham Forest’s two central midfielders make up the core of their new tactic. George Wood is the key player between the two central midfielders, and his performance is pivotal to the team’s success. If Wood performs well, then the whole team performs well.

On the 40th minute of the first half, Wood intercepted Tim Cahill’s ball and then passed it over to Tiago. Tiago subsequently passed the ball over to Cohen, who was positioned at the right flank.

Cohen passed the ball into the middle. Everton’s goalkeeper, Tim Howard, made an error in his judgement when he came out to try and keep the ball away. He failed to touch the ball and allowed it to fly over his head!

How could Ibi?evi? possibly miss out on such a good chance? He broke free from Joseph Yobo who was marking him and jumped up. He then headed the ball into the net!

This is the advantage of playing two central midfielders. The team is able to snatch the ball from their opponents and go on the counterattack instantly. There is no delay when they make the switch, and it also doesn’t give their opponents a chance to snatch the ball back in the midfield.

※※※

During half time, Twain acknowledged his players’ performance in the latter part of the first half. He told them to keep playing in the same way in the second half. Everton is incapable of stopping Forest when they go all out in their offense.

It was just like Twain said.

In the second half, Everton put up a resistance for a short period of time, but Nottingham Forest was able to seize complete control of the game thereafter.

Playing five midfielders was not just for show. It was a tactic that will allow Forest to control the midfield and stop the opponents’ attacks in the midfield. In addition, it will also allow the team to pressure the opponent’s defense and gain the upper hand in the game. Once the team gains the upper hand, they can then turn this advantage into a victory.

Twain had deliberately chosen Everton to be the club that he tried his new tactic and formation on. He was afraid that something would go wrong if he tried them against a strong opponent, and there was also no point in trying them out on weak teams.

Therefore, Everton, being a mid-table team who has been performing consistently, and who also has the ability to fight for the qualifying spots to get into the Champions League, was the best candidate for Twain to try his new tactic and formation on.

Poor Moyes…

On the 80th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest’s domination in the game finally paid off.

What happened this time round was that Matías Fernández first created space by running off the ball. Tiago then passed the ball directly into the empty space and Ibi?evi? was onside to score his 14th goal of the season in the Premier League. He has now scored a total of 16 goals in all competitions.

Ibi?evi? only has to score four more goals in order for Twain to win his bet with Carl Spicer. To the current Ibi?evi?, scoring four goals was not a problem at all.

Ultimately, Nottingham Forest defeated Everton with the two goals from Ibi?evi?. However, in actuality, the true reason behind why the team was able to win Everton was because of Twain’s ‘Christmas Tree’.

As everyone knows, AC Milan’s 4-3-2-1 formation is known as the ‘Christmas Tree Formation’. Similarly, Twain’s 4-2-3-1 formation also looks like a Christmas Tree, which is why Twain addresses his formation as his own ‘Christmas Tree’. It is ‘unique’ and ‘the one and only tree in the whole world’. To Twain, ‘Other 4-2-3-1 formations cannot be called as a Christmas Tree formation. Only my 4-2-3-1 is a Christmas Tree.’

The statistics for the match highlighted the reason why Everton lost. Nottingham Forest had 59% possession. Their pass accuracy was 79%, and their rate of successful interceptions was 89%. They made a total of 14 shots in the game and 10 of them were on target. In comparison, Everton only made six shots in the game, and only three were on target. They were clearly inferior throughout the game.

During the post-match press conference, Moyes grudgingly admitted to the fact that his team was inferior, “They completely controlled the flow of the match. They deserved to win…”

On the other hand, Twain was very proud of the result. “I am very happy to see such a scene. We won convincingly.”

A reporter asked him for the reason behind why he chose to give up on using the 4-4-2 formation that he had always been using for the past few seasons.

Twain threw out his hands. “Why? Does the 2:1 score and 3 points not answer your question?”

“But hasn’t your style of football always been to defend and counterattack, as well as to employ a 4-4-2 formation?”

“That’s what you think. My style of football has always been the same. It comes in the form of victory and becoming champions. Everything else is nothing more than the means that I use to achieve them. As long as I can win and become the champions, I don’t care if it’s to defend and counterattack, or to go all out in either attack or defense. I also don’t care if it’s a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation.”

Twain smiled as he threw out his well-known phrase,

“I will do anything to win and to become champions.”

Chapter 783 - An Out and Out Conspiracy

They beat Everton with the Christmas tree formation, but in the following league game they drew 1-1 with Manchester City at home with the same formation.

This did not affect Twain’s thinking and confidence, as it allowed Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff to find out what the problem is, after all, this was a new tactic that still needs to be honed.

A draw was not a bad result, after all, he did not lose. And he did not let those watching the show get what they wanted. Bendtner was as combative as ever in the game, like an angry bull. But there was no longer media hype about this matter, Twain had no reason to argue with a transition coach. There were more important things waiting for him.

In Paris, the European Champions Cup knockout stage draw ceremony was commencing.

The 16 teams that qualify for the knockout stage would be put together by fate’s hands to fight each other.

The Premier League, which had been strong in recent years, had four, the most of any league who participated. It was Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The former Little World Cup Serie A and La Liga were close behind, with three teams each. Representing Italy are Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, while Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia represent Spain.

The Bundesliga, one of the four major leagues, is the poorest, with only Bayern Munich being in the top 16. It’s a thing that all German fans feel helpless – the Bundesliga can only be supported by Bayern Munich, but in fact it has long been an indisputable fact that the Bundesliga has been less competitive because of Bayern Munich’s domination. Bayern Munich are both the saviours of the Bundesliga and the main culprits of the Bundesliga’s decline…

This time, even the French and Dutch teams have two teams into the top 16, after comparing, one can tell how the Bundesliga is so embarrassing.

The two teams representing France are Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, while the Netherlands are Ajax and Eindhoven.

The Portuguese Super League had a representative and it was currently second-placed Porto in the domestic league.

Defending champions Barcelona are, of course, the most high-profile team, having won all six of their group games, scoring 18 goals and conceding only four. They had already been considered the number one favourite in the Champions League this season.

Another high-profile team is Nottingham Forest. As a team that has missed a season and returned to the Champions League, their performance in the group stage has been impressive. Two wins over Juventus cannot be done by luck, also, Nottingham Forest also got out of the group stage, but they scored fewer goals than Barcelona.

Everyone remembers that at the beginning of the season, Twain said, during the draw of the allocation of group stage, “Come and use your unspoken rules on me!”, an incident which made him get fined. Whether under Johansson or Platini’s presidency, UEFA has always declared that they are transparent and fair, which was absolutely not allowed to be questioned by outsiders, but Twain, with unknown reasons, was disturbing UEFA’s backscales at this point, so fines were flying over like snow, one after one. The two sides seemed to have stopped since the 2006 finals.

In fact, regardless of Twain was picking a fight with UEFA, it is because UEFA sometimes do things that are far too suspicious. For example, this time…

※※※

The stage is set in the style of the Champions League, with five-star symbols all over the place, on the big screen, on the background wall, on the drawing box and even on the back of the seat. The silver-studded European Champions Cup is back in sight, and it is placed in the center of the stage, attracting the attention of everyone here. That’s the common goal, and there was always the power to dream, no matter how much one’s strengths was.

Corina, a former famous Italian skinhead referee who was invited to the draw as a draw guest, stood in front of the glass box, and with his right hand, he pulled out of the box with a colored ping-pong ball. He opened it, glanced, showed the note to the stage, and read, “Barcelona.”

Barcelona’s name appeared on the big screen behind it, this was the first team to be drawn out.

Next, drawing the other ball team.

Zinedine Zidane went ahead as another special guest.

He fumbled in the box for a while and pulled out a small ball. After unfolding, he read expressionlessly:”Nottingham Forest. ”

He was expressionless on the stage, and the others on the stage laughed.

Everyone knew what this draw meant.

With Barcelona and Nottingham Forest both top of their respective teams, it was absolutely impossible to hope that Barcelona and Nottingham Forest will hit the ground in the first round under the Rules of the Champions League draw. But UEFA did not say that Nottingham Forest and Barcelona would not meet under any circumstances.

So …

Barcelona’s first game, Nottingham Forest’s second, can meet in the quarter-finals if they can beat their respective opponents.

This was really out to eliminate all difficulties and to overcome the rule limit to draw two teams together!

The coaches sitting around Twain were turning around to laugh with Twain – that was what he wants to see. Playing for the likes of Eindhoven, Ajax, Porto and Paris Saint-Germain, he was afraid he could not put in effort.

The Chinese narrator, who broadcast the draw to a Chinese audience, laughed, “There is a chinese saying in China –?You are not enemies if you don’t come together. Nottingham Forest and Barcelona looks like they’re on the hook. ”

The British commentator said:”The first two teams drawing the same results is likened to Mars hitting the earth. There will be a lot of great games in the Champions League. ”

Spain’s explanation,” Is this the first time they have met? ”

Everyone seemed to think that the two teams reaching the quarter-finals was not a problem at all. They were talking about the situation in which these two teams play each other even before knowing their respective opponents were.

In case of an upset, it would be wonderful to see how their faces would change.

The telecast gave Twain and Guardiola a close-up each. Guardiola was expressionless, or even serious, while Twain was not any different from flowers.

One must make people lament that Twain was really a “slut”. People want their opponents to be weaker as possible, but he liked to take the initiative to provoke those big bosses.

But the sensational scenes did not end there.

After the first round of the draw, the eight teams begin to draw opponents.

Barcelona drew Eindhoven, which was the best draw. It could even be said that the draw could not be better. There was even an envious voice at the venue..

At last there was a subtle smile on Guardiola’s face. In any case, the first round against Eindhoven is better than the first round against any of those big teams.

The next person to draw Nottingham Forest’s opponent was still Zinedine Zidane. What he pulled out this time was

Inter Milan.

Excitement cheers and booing echoed.

Tonight’s draw was filled with the smell of intrigue! The English narrator shouted; he was a little disgruntled. It was like trying to kill Nottingham Forest, where a lock was not enough and two locks being double insurance.

If it was Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, there was no fear of such a battle. Others did not have to worry about anything. But Nottingham Forest are now in a poor position, clearly not as good as they were when they won the Champions League. Barcelona and Inter Milan were as strong as day by day. Even if he was lucky enough to pass Inter Milan, can Tony Twain guarantee his team would get away unscathed? Where no one has accumulated yellow cards and no one has been injured or anything?

Then they will face the defending champion with that mindset.

It was a dark future.

The telecast gave Twain a ten-second close-up. He was still laughing! Last time being similar to flowers but now he was basically like a flower.

What did he say at the end of last season?

“Mourinho, you got my team out of the books, we will pay back next season! ”

It was truly fate!

Mourinho, did you think you can escape my invincible fate by escaping England? It is of no use! A man like you who is so impressive, even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you cannot escape from my palm. This time, you are dead!

Mourinho was sitting opposite of Twain, with ten men between the two. Mourinho did not turn back to look at Twain when the result came out, and there was no eye contact between the two men. He bowed his head and said something to his partner and did not care what the people around him thought of the draw.

Twain did not look at Mourinho either, he was staring up at the draw on the big screen. It looks like he was one of onlookers who was just watching the show and not one of the parties involved…

Even Platini found the scene so interesting that he smiled and explained, “I guarantee that this result had never been manipulated…”

There was another burst of laughter under the stage.

※※※

After the draw ceremony, the final results were announced.

Barcelona and Eindhoven will play first, with Nottingham Forest taking on Inter Milan on the same day.

Then Paris Saint-Germain will then host AC Milan.

Bayern Munich against Juventus.

Arsenal taking on the away team Valencia.

Real Madrid hosting Liverpool.

Manchester United play Lyon on away.

The match with Porto against Ajax is probably the least watched.

Important matches in the quarter-finals are Nottingham Forest v Inter Milan, Bayern Munich v Juventus and Real Madrid v Liverpool.

After the draw, Twain was surrounded by a large crowd of reporters, all of whom wanted to hear how he rated the results of the draw. For example, whether UEFA would be scolded for their black curtain, many people were looking forward to hearing him say that classic line, “Come on, bring out your unspoken rules! ”

But this time Twain let them down. In the face of many reporters’ excited looks, he said with a smile, “I am very satisfied with the results of this draw. Thanks to the UEFA’s drawing, I drew the opponents I mostly want to meet. ”

The answer was really a disappointment for journalists who feared that the world would not be in a mess.

So there was a reporter very blatantly asked, “Are you worried about being fined by UEFA? ”

Twain glared at him, “Don’t make jokes, Mr. Reporter. I’m not short of that money. I think you guys are too bastard, you guys don’t believe me when I speak the truth, and gossip around when I’m telling a lie. I’m really happy with the result. Before the season I said Barcelona’s value in the league was not enough, and some people attacked me for having red eye disease. Now I can prove to those people whose eyes are actually wrong. As for Inter Milan, I’ve been thinking about revenge since he knocked out Nottingham Forest more than a season ago. I’m even worried that i didn’t have a chance…You all know that the lottery is a small probability event….”At this point, Twain laughed, “So of course I’m very grateful to UEFA for solving both of my problems at once. It’s a matter of efficiency, I don’t have to wait until next season, next season, next next season…”

But, Mr Twain. Inter Milan are very strong, do you have the confidence to beat them? ”

“Nonsense. If I don’t have the confidence, then why am I here to play in the European Champions Cup? I don’t believe that Nottingham Forest and I are still taking the elevator between the Premier League and 2nd League. I wouldn’t have won the Champions League without confidence. My Nottingham Forest have won two European Champions Cups, one Premier League title, and none of them have been picked up cheaply. My championship value is real and full of color. Do you think every team that made it to the last 16 of the Champions League has the good fortune of Barcelona and could draw the weaker team in the first round?” He also did not forget to laugh at Barcelona, several rounds ahead on the start of psychological warfare.

“Mr Twain, I heard you have a bad relationship with Mourinho…”

“You’re right!”, Twain did not deny this time, as he very simply and cheerfully agreed with the reporter’s statement, completely not trying to cover up on the surface. “He and I are enemies. Ask him, and you’ll get the same answer. I’m actually very much looking forward to and confident about the game against Inter Milan. Against them, Nottingham Forest have a psychological advantage. ”

Twain also did not forget to bring Inter Milan into the psychological warfare of the battle. If he were to play he would play big, it was always better to play with the whole crowd. It was a pity they were lacking a fourth member…

※※※

The next day’s newspapers and television, as well as the Internet, reported the results of the draw in the knockout stages of the European Champions Cup. Pictures of Tony Twain and Mourinho, as well as Guardiola’s three young managers at the draw, were all prominent, with three different expressions and meaning .

As the vast majority of fans saw this result, their natural first thought was

” Conspiracy! An out and out conspiracy !”

Chapter 784 - Coming from A Thousand Miles Away for Revenge

Being drawn with Inter Milan was a good thing to Twain. The better news had nothing to do with football—Shania was finally back.

When Twain was still a bachelor, he thought he only had football in his life, and he did not care anything else but football. He was crazy about football, no less than one of the most hardcore fans. So, after he became the Nottingham Forest manager, he was really no different from Dunn other than he went to the pub and have a drink. When he did not drink at the pub, he could lock himself up at home for a whole day, draw the curtains to watch the game videos, and study the various notes left by Dunn. He would be unaware of the passing of time and not even aware when he got hungry.

But after he got married, his love of football was divided into half and given to his family and wife. Now he felt that there was one more thing that was as important as football in his life.

He was happy that Shania was back. He would no longer find an empty and lifeless cement building when he came home after a day’s work.

Twain worked hard before he got married because he liked football and the job. After marriage, he also worked hard because he had a responsibility on his shoulders—a man needed to support his family...Although Shania earned as much money as Twain, Twain still had some traditional Chinese men’s thinking as the most authentic Chinese man in his bones. He thought that men should support their families and that was the purpose of the work.

With his parents, a lovely wife and future children, it was worth it even if he had to work hard.

With Shania’s return this time, she would not leave until May. They had four months to enjoy their time together. Twain wanted to make up all the time he was previously owed.

One of the important agenda was, of course, to make a baby.

Twain and Shania had been married for almost two years, and both had worked hard. But Shania had no response till now. The revolution had not yet succeeded, so the comrade still needed to work hard...

※※※

The first game since the return from the draw ceremony was the FA Cup. The media asked about the result of the draw before the game, wondering if such a terrible draw would affect the Forest team’s performance. Twain denied that it was a “terrible” result. Following which, he led his team to win against West Bromwich Albion with a 2:0 home win in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It proved that the media’s unfounded speculation was not justified.

Next in February’s league tournament, Nottingham Forest remain unbeaten with two wins and two draws to remain in third place in the league tournament. The point gaps between the top five teams in the league were not big. It looked like it would not be a surprise if any of the five teams would win the title by the end of the season.

The reason for the two wins and two draws was that Twain’s new tactics still needed time to adjust and adapt, so the team’s performance fluctuated with the ups and downs.

But Twain did not take the league tournament particularly seriously. He even voluntarily gave up in the fifth round the FA Cup. As the Champions League drew near, he began to hold back in the league tournament.

After all, he had already talked big in front of the media. So, if he lost to Inter Milan, it would be a big loss of face...

※※※

March 1st was the day of the away game against Inter Milan. It was a “big day” to Tony Twain.

The team left Nottingham three days early and arrived in Milan by plane. Twain was no stranger to the city. But it was still unfamiliar to many of the current Forest players.

When Twain first brought the team here to play against Inter Milan, he went to great lengths to explain to Shania that there was nothing between him and Gloria. Now that he thought about it, could it be it was since that time he realized he cared about Shania?

Among the Forest players, the changes in the midfield were the greatest. Tiago, ?ahin, Cohen, Bentley and Fernández had not experienced the last big game against Inter Milan.

The media were not optimistic about Nottingham Forest’s Champions League prospects this season because Nottingham Forest’s strength had dropped too much in the midfield area...

In the past, the Forest team’s midfield could definitely be described as world-class, with George Wood, van der Vaart, Ribéry and other famous star players. The current Forest midfield lacked the star power and was more ordinary. Looking at Tony Twain’s implementation of the double defensive midfielders and 4-2-3-1 formation, even if they increased the number of midfielders, they still could not get rid of the “blue-collar worker midfield” appraisal.

By contrast, Inter Milan’s midfield was grander. The fame of Cambiasso, Vieira, Muntari, Stankovi?, Montolivo, Mancini, Quaresma, Mario Balotelli and the others was much bigger than that of the Forest team’s.

The comparison on the forward line was even more pathetic...

Nottingham Forest did not even have a publicly recognized world-class striker. Van Nistelrooy was considered world class, but he was not on the Forest team’s Champions League squad list and could not be available for comparison. Eastwood’s reputation was limited to the United Kingdom. Even if he had ever won the Premier League’s golden boot, it did not mean anything.

Ibi?evi? was just a slightly brighter meteor. Agbonlahor was a typical coarse player who had no footwork skills but speed, while Eastwood’s frequent injuries had affected his progress towards being world-class.

Then looking at inter Milan’s side—Ibrahimovi?, Adriano and Giuseppe Rossi, who had transferred from Villarreal for a fee of 15.25 million pounds this season. In addition, a substitute player, Cruz who could be brought on to score.

Even in Twain’s proudest defensive lineup, Inter Milan was stronger than them.

The Argentine “The Wall” Samuel, Nicolás Burdisso, Iván Córdoba, Cristian Chivu, Maicon, Maxwell, as well as Javier Zanetti, Inter Milan team captain who was already thirty-eight years old but still in good form.

Which of these players were not famous figures in international football?

In comparison, Nottingham Forest only had Pepe and Kompany to show for. Woodgate and Baines were only well-known in the country. Rafinha had always been a fringe figure in the Brazilian national team, having been selected and then ruled out several times. Ultimately, in the right back positions up against the better options like Dunga and Maicon, Chimbonda was not worth a mention. Joe Mattock and Nkoulou were currently the most promising stars and would need to continuously prove their abilities at a high-level competition before they could be recognized.

No wonder everyone was not optimistic about Nottingham Forest.

If it had to be said the advantage Nottingham Forest had over Inter Milan, maybe their players were younger...

The foreign media were generally not optimistic about Nottingham Forest, but the local media in Nottingham was confident of Tony Twain’s team. Their confidence came from the “history” of just a few seasons.

In fact, when Nottingham Forest’s most brilliant two seasons, their lineup was basically like this. They were not in the same league as any big teams. But why was it them, which won the Champions League title in the end and not AC Milan and Chelsea? They had beaten Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Arsenal... and other strong teams. How could it be that the other teams deliberately threw the games?

The Nottingham Forest fans, like fanatical religious believers, had faith in that nothing could hold Tony down. The person who could make him surrender in the world had not yet been born. As long as the man sitting on the Nottingham Forest technical area was Tony Twain, Nottingham Forest would not lose no matter how powerful an opponent they faced.

With two days to go before the game began, the media in Nottingham had started to hype the concept of “revenge” in big way.

No Nottingham Forest fan would forget the game two seasons ago when Tony Twain was forced to leave his coaching post due to a heart attack and Nottingham Forest were suddenly left without a head. As the acting manager, Dunn had already exhausted all his energy just to secure the team’s place in the league tournament and utterly had no energy at all to consider the team’s future in the Champions League.

Nottingham Forest completely lost those two games to Mourinho’s Inter Milan in both the results and scenes.

Mourinho was like an infatuated man who had waited long and hard to marry this bride, only to find that the bride sitting by the bed was not the beauty in his heart, but someone else when he took off the red veil. As a result, his surprise turned into humiliation, humiliation into anger, and then took out this anger on the poor Dunn ...

Most Forest fans were still unwilling to mention those two games until now because they lost terribly, and it was too shameful ... Their spirit was completely lost, and the players’ performance on the pitch led to the belief that they must have been waiting for the final whistle to ring right from the first second.

If Twain had been there, he would have lambasted his team in the locker room that they were acting like a woman who had been stripped of all her clothes by, pinned under and be raped by an evildoer but still took the initiative to pander to his pleasure. Then maybe he would have another heart attack and be finished off straight away...

Fortunately, he was carefully cared for by Shania, and had no time to pay attention to the team’s mess.

But afterwards, in order to test the extent of his heart recovery, Twain specifically locate the videos of the two games to watch. After watching them, even though his body was all right, he was truly furious. Mourinho really did not give him face. With one match score of 2:0 and another match score of 3:0, he utterly wiped out the defending champion with a total score of 5:0. Twain suffered his biggest defeat in scores ever since he started coaching at Mourinho’s hands.

How could he take it that this kind of humiliated had never happened? Obliterate the feud with a smile when they met? That was not Tony Twain’s style. His style was—even if you turn to ash, I’ll still recognize you!

So, this time Twain did not mind the media hype of the “revenge” concept. He was not afraid to bring psychological pressure on the players. He was eager for the players to have pressure.. They could not play the game without pressure...

At the first press conference in Milan, Twain explicitly agreed with the local media in Nottingham about “revenge” and said, “Yes, we are here to seek revenge. The Italian media, please tell Mourinho about this—The Tony Twain he couldn’t win is here again!”

He had a smile full of confidence, and his attitude was very arrogant. He wanted to let the Italians, who had been tormented and hard pressed by Mourinho, to know that the English boss was not easily served!

At the press conference, Twain waged a war of words against the reporters. He dismissed every single comment that was down on him, trying to prove that his team was the best team of the week and none other.

If the media did not believe it, he spread his hands and said, “You’ll find out after the game if I’m talking big or telling the truth.”

※※※

After the “big truth” was released, Twain was naturally prepared.

This time, Twain planned to continue using the 4-2-3-1 formation, but different from before. The “2” was not two midfielders but became two defensive midfielders. The “3” was not a parallel line on the thirty meters line. Other than the “1” in the middle continued to be the attacking midfielder’s position, the two attacking wingers on the sides retreated to become the side midfielders, so that the formation was more layered with a few lines not too far apart that it would cause things to come apart.

Although the offense was not as strong as before with such an adjustment, the defense was certainly a lot more stable. There was a problem with the previous 4-2-3-1 formation—the gap behind George Wood and Tiago was too big and the opportunity would always be seized upon by the opponent to directly face the rear defensive line, resulting in a loss of the ball. Inter Milan’s midfield strength was not to be underestimated. The fewer such gaps, the better it was.

Now that Wood and Tiago were back in the defensive midfielder line, closer to their own rear defensive line, it was in fact still unified with two wingers in the middle even though they were far from the attacking midfielder. They could truly press for the attack and retreat for the defense.

As Wood and Tiago focused more on defense, the task of organizing the offense fell to the attacking midfielder. This time, Twain chose not to let Fernández, who was more capable of scoring, play as the attacking midfielder, but decided to let ?ahin play. Fernández was moved to the left as a winger, but compared to Bentley on the right, he had slightly more freedom. He was a little like Ribéry, who was the FIFA World Player of the Year previously at Nottingham Forest. After all, Fernández and Ribéry were a little similar in characteristics. It was a waste to fix him on the sides. Having played brilliantly in recent rounds of competition, Fernández had been called “Ribéry the second” by the British media.

Unlike Fernández, who could break through, pass and shoot on the left, Bentley on the right was more of a player who passed the ball. He was tasked to retreat and support as well as pass the ball forward to send it to the front of the opponent’s goal.

At the tip of the formation as the arrowhead figure was Ibi?evi? who was recently in good form and had no physical problem. He was a striker with very wide range of activity and could be seen in almost the entire front field. He was most suitable to be the arrowhead, because he would not be easily blocked by the opposing defenders.

The team was in a good shape without any major injuries and the morale of the players was high too. Although they were up against Inter Milan, which had thrashed them by 5:0, they had the boss there this time. There was nothing to worry about!

This time, we’re standing with the media—That’s right! We’re here to smash the place and seek revenge!

Chapter 785 - José And Tony

Milan, Italy, this city was famous worldwide for its fashion. But in the hearts of the football fans, the city had nothing to do with fashion. There was only one reason why the city’s name could be known around the world—football.

The word “derby” in the sports world was first used in horse racing, but it was football that carried it forward all over the world. There were many wonderful classic “derbies” in the football world, but no derby was more attention grabbing than a same city derby.

In Spain, the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona might shining bright, but in the minds of the players and fans, the real derbies were The Madrid Derby between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid and the Derbi barceloní between Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. The same city derby was always the most eye-catching match, such as the most intense city derby in the world—the “Old Firm” of Glasgow, Scotland.

It was no exaggeration to say that “the derby created football.” For football without a competition like a derby and dominated by antagonistic and hateful sentiment, perhaps it would not have developed as far as it had today—that state of mind would have been like a catalyst.

Milan in Italy also had the same kind of city derby, which was one of the few cities where these two world-class powerhouse clubs existed. The powerhouse clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan had long been spread around the world with their respective brilliant achievements.

AC Milan had an era of three musketeers and Inter Milan had its own dominated era. Both teams were not weaker than which. Sometimes the east wind toppled the west wind, and sometimes the west wind overpowered the east wind. Twain was tired of reading about the war of words between the fans on both sides when he was still a Chinese man.

In fact, there was a possibility that no matter how hostile the fans of the city’s two teams might be to each other, they might at least joined forces when they were up against Nottingham Forest.

Because both teams had suffered the painful lesson of being beaten by Nottingham Forest in important games. By contrast, the AC Milan fans had been hurt even more, with Twain not only speaking rudely often to their red and black legion, he also had a terrible personal relationship with Ancelotti. Furthermore, on the night of the 2007 UEFA Champions League final in Athens, they beat AC Milan which had reached the finals for two seasons in a row but returned home empty-handed.

Inter Milan’s feud with Nottingham Forest was limited to the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 05-06 season, when Nottingham Forest eliminated Inter Milan to eventually reach the final, only to lose to Barcelona. It was just a normal game, which would not implicate too much of a vendetta. Later, Inter Milan eliminated Nottingham Forest. From the point of view of the Inter Milan fans, it was just an equally ordinary game. The team that played better won. It was as simple as that.

Unfortunately, they all thought wrong. Who knew that Nottingham Forest ha a mad dog? A media outlet in England once evaluated Tony Twain’s character as such—“He’s the kind of guy who will crouch down like a dog and bite back once he is bitten by a dog.”

Tony Twain and Mourinho had a long-standing feud in the Premier League, and now that Mourinho had arrived at Inter Milan, the old feud between both sides would naturally be passed on to Inter Milan. Moreover, Inter Milan had thrashed Nottingham Forest before. The personal grievance and the impediment from the team were all stirred up... With Tony Twain around, it would certainly be stirred up. He was the best in stirring things up.

To this day, Inter Milan had the mind to continue their feud with Nottingham Forest until... one day Tony Twain stepped down from his position as that manager of Nottingham Forest.

“I think this matter is incredible, I don’t understand it.” The trainee reporter who came with Pierce Brosnan frowned and disagreed, “If Nottingham Forest accidentally lose again, there is reason enough for their two teams to continue to entangle. But what if Nottingham Forest wins? Isn’t Inter Milan going to be unforgiving? Even if Mourinho is such a man, Moratti is not a president who likes to provoke his opponents. He will surely keep a tight grip on Mourinho’s mouth. In fact, Mourinho has settled a lot more since he came to Italy than in England...”

Brosnan smiled and shook his head while he said, “You really don’t understand, because you really don’t know what kind of person Tony Twain is. If he loses, he’s going to fly into a rage. But if he wins...” He chuckled, “He’s going to insult Inter Milan at the press conference and show off. He will act as the kind of person who will cause the other people to want to pounce on and beat him up.”

His partner really could not figure this out. “But why will he do that? Is it good for him to offend so many people?”

“You can take it that this is his personality. You can also recognize that he is playing a psychological warfare with his opponent.”

When Pierce Brosnan uttered the words with a serious face, the trainee reporter suddenly had a whole new level of respect for Brosnan, “You’re really a reporter who has followed Twain for so many years. Mr. Brosnan, you truly understand Tony Twain!”

Brosnan shrugged and gave a self-deprecating laugh, “When you think you know Tony Twain very well, you will be wrong again. I’m afraid he doesn’t even know himself...”

The two men stopped the pointless topic which also could not improve the mood and watched the Inter Milan manager, José Mourinho, walked to the front of the interview stage.

After the interview with Twain, the reporters flocked to hear what Mourinho would say about his opponent. This group of people were so efficient.

“Ask any questions you have, gentlemen.” Mourinho, who had just arrived from the training ground, was still wearing an Inter Milan jersey. It made his figure look slightly bloated. Maybe he lived well in Italy. He crossed his legs in his seat and chose a posture that made him the most comfortable while he faced the reporters.

“Tony Twain had just commented that Nottingham Forest came to Milan to seek revenge. What do you think of this, Mr. Mourinho?” The first reporter to ask the question was from < La Gazzetta dello Sport>.

“Only a loser will think about revenge. I don’t care about this because I’m not a loser.” Mourinho grinned. He seemed to sketch out in his head how flustered and exasperated Tony Twain should be... it made a deep impression.

A hint of confrontation emerged in just the first question, which made the reporters secretly gleeful. Whenever Mourinho and Tony Twain met, they would never waste valuable time at a press conference asking such questions about the tactical arrangement of the players. It would only lead to the exciting scenes slip away in vain.

Mourinho was clearly relished being able to lead his team to a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the past. He smiled at the reporters as he waited for the second question.

The man who stood up next spoiled his good mood.

Pierce Brosnan raised his hand and asked, “Mr. Mourinho, Tony Twain asked me to relay a message to you.”

Mourinho gave a snort but did not stop the reporter from speaking.

“He said—the Tony Twain whom you can’t defeat, is here again. Do you have any opinion on this?”

Some people laughed among the reporters. Mourinho’s face became slightly ugly.

“I never care about that boring record. As compared to who can’t win whom, I care more about winning the championship.”

If Twain were around, he would definitely speak up to ridicule right away, “I win just as many titles as you, Mr. Mourinho.”

Unfortunately, he was not here, so Mourinho could continue undisturbed, “I never take the initiative to talk about who had not defeated me. It is a very disrespectful behavior...”

If Twain were next to him, he would say “That’s because you don’t have such a result.”

“Some people only see the past, but what I care about is the future and the game in two days’ time...”

If Twain were next to him, he would say, “I’m still going to win you in two days’ time and let this ‘thing of the past’ continue.”

If Twain were next to him... It was estimated that the two men would engage in a real-life PK.

Mourinho did not want to answer Brosnan’s question because he finally recognized who the man in front of him was. He was the reporter for the <Nottingham Evening Post> and was known as “Tony Twain’s mouthpiece.” He was always on the same side as Twain and spoke for Tony Twain because he became famous for his coverage of Twain. It was said that Twain had instructed this person and not allowed him to write a bad word about him. The extent that Twain had dictatorship could be seen. He even interfered with the freedom of press... The crimes he committed were simply innumerable!

“Can you talk about your relationship with Mr. Twain? When you were fired by Chelsea FC, Twain had verbally abused Mr. Abramovich during a television interview...” An ESPN reporter asked.

“I have to correct your mistake. I wasn’t dismissed by Chelsea. I resigned on my own. It was an amicable breakup.” Mourinho put his index finger up and stressed, “As for my relationship with Twain...” Mourinho paused here, as if he was really thinking about his relationship with Twain. “We are definitely not friends anyway.”

He actually did not say, “We are enemies.” It was mind-blowing.

Mourinho did not give the reporters a chance to keep asking. He was tired of being asked idiotic questions on “how Tony Twain was.” It made it looked like he had something to do with that guy. You should ask him how he was himself. Why are you running to ask me about him!

“If you don’t care how Inter Milan has prepared for the game, then I think that’s the end of the press conference.” Mourinho got up and left, not giving any of the reporters present time to react. He just disappeared in the eyes of the dismayed crowd.

Despite Mourinho’s departure, the reporters present showed no surprise and anger, but excitedly discussed the press conference, which had just ended in a hurry.

It was obviously the first time the trainee reporter had encountered such a situation. He was a little stunned. Pierce Brosnan calmly said to him, “Who would ask him how Inter Milan had prepared? This is the way to create news. Come on, let’s go back and write the article.”

※※※

When Twain brought the team to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium to adapt to the pitch, he met an old friend. This time it was a real old friend with no quotation marks.

The man who came to see him was the former Nottingham Forest team captain and retired Italian player, Demetrio Albertini.

In addition to reminisce with an old friend like Twain, he also came to cheer the Forest team.

“Of course, I’m going to cheer you on. I’m an AC Milan fan.” Not having seen him for a long time, Albertini had put on some weight. He laughed heartily.

Now he was the vice-president of the Italian Football Association and considered a high-ranking official. Impeccably attired, he looked very different from when he was a player.

Albertini came to the pitch midway through the training. Twain called down George Wood from the training ground.

Seeing once again his junior whom he had once pinned high hopes on, Albertini did not warmly embrace him but stared at Wood with a smile on his face for a while.

“You’ve already got seven assists so far this season, George?”

Wood nodded. Seeing his mentor, he did not really know what to say—he was not the kind of person who could express his inner feelings very well. It would simply kill him to take the initiative to do a mushy thing like a hug.

“Well done, George. But you have to keep working hard.” It was Albertini who insisted that Wood had offensive talent in the first place that allowed Twain to focus on training him in that area. Now Twain and the Forest team benefited from this together.

It was somewhat predestined to talk about this matter now—it was at an away game against Inter Milan that Wood suddenly sent a beautiful straight ball out and Albertini appeared on the direction of the ball like an apparition. He scored after he received the ball, helping the team to force a draw on the home team and secure two precious away goals.

It was the first appearance of Wood’s offensive talent, and it was caught by Albertini’s eye.

“You’re not a natural leader, George. But you did a good job as the Nottingham Forest captain. Tell me, do you usually talk more in the locker room?”

“Not too much.” Wood shook his head.

“Then how do you lead your teammates?”

Twain helped him to answer, “Action. He led the team with action. He never talks nonsense, and his actions are more powerful than words.”

On the training ground, he was the one who trained the hardest, the earliest to arrive, the latest to leave, ran the hardest on the field, never gave up, always full of fighting spirit and passion. He seemed to view football as life. It was hard for such a person to not convince the masses.

Albertini nodded approvingly, “That’s your style, George.”

Wood disagreed, “But I don’t help the new players as much as you.” When Aaron Mitchell came into the First Team, Wood’s face was a little too serious when he welcomed him as the team captain. For this reason, he was deeply concerned till now.

Albertini glanced at Twain and turned his face to smile at Wood, “Nottingham Forest is a team with a very good environment. Some things do not require you to manage. Someone else will do it. Freddy and Bale are both warm-hearted people. You don’t want to take everything on yourself. Just like how you are on the pitch, trust your teammates and you will gain more.”

Wood nodded and listened to his instruction respectfully. Albertini’s every word was a valuable experience to him.

Twain did not let the two talk for long. After all, the team was still training. As the captain, Wood was even less qualified to act privileged.

Looking at Wood running back, Albertini sighed, “What a good player. It’s a pity that he did not come to Milan last summer.”

“As long as I’m at Nottingham Forest for a day, he won’t leave the City Ground stadium.” Twain chuckled.

When Twain’s work came up as a topic, Albertini had to ask about his health.

“There’s nothing wrong with me. Everything is working normally.” Twain gently patted his left chest, where a pacemaker was installed, so he could not use too much force. “I was very lucky not to have died the first time. I won’t die in the future.” Twain was now very relaxing when it came to talks about life and death. Once a person had died once, his ideological awareness was not the same anymore.

Albertini laughed, “I had wanted to ask you to drink together after the game at first. Later, I remembered you had given up drinking. So, I can just save the money.”

Twain gave a sly wink and said, “You can always exchange it for cash for me, Deme.”

The two men laughed together. It was like they had gone back to the good old days when they worked together.

As he said goodbye, Albertini held Twain’s hand and said, “When we were together, we did not lose to Mourinho, right, boss?”

He suddenly addressed him this way, but it did not surprise Twain. He smiled, “That’s right, we never lost.”

The two men did not say anything more. They only felt that there was an added strength to their hands held.

Chapter 786 - Dry Wood and Fierce Fire

Chapter 786: Dry Wood and Fierce Fire

Two days passed quickly, and the day of the game was approaching. Both sides already made preparations to deal with the battle.

Mourinho would never allow himself to have any mishaps at home. The hardest way to play for the knockout stage was to have the home match first and then the away match. But it could not be helped because they lost the first place in the group stage competition at the last minute.

Mourinho’s plan was to not lose any points in his own home ground. He demanded that the team’s rear defensive line must keep their opponent out, so he would stick to the defensive counterattack at home.

Whereas Twain’s idea was also simple, which was to score goals. The advantage of playing the away match first was that there was still a home game as a cushion, so that there were a few more opportunities to adjust. Away goals were the number one priority. They had to score, and they must score. That was the reason Twain arranged to play the 4-2-3-1 formation instead of the 4-4-2 formation. Other teams might choose to play defense in an away match, but Twain chose the opposite and emphasized on the offense.

To be able to defeat Inter Milan was obviously the best result. A draw was a must if they could not win. But to lose… that was definitely not allowed.

Twain did not see Mourinho again until before the start of the game. Both managers’ interviews were staggered for the press conference. They would only appear together in a press conference after the game.

But the media did not feel sorry about it. Because there would be more exciting stories when they met after the game. As for now, there was really no good to hype about… The war of words between the two parties was almost over.

Although Twain and Mourinho did not meet before that, they had long been at odds with each other through the media. People really admired these two men just by looking at their explosive remarks. The Italian media exclaimed that Mourinho had been a little lonely since he came to Italy. Now he had finally found his opponent…

Mourinho was an unusual breed in Serie A. His way of shooting his mouth off broke Serie A’s seemingly harmonious atmosphere. When had those academic type of managers seen such men before? They argued with each other about some tactical stuff at the most and fought poorly even if they did quarrel. They were totally defeated when up against Mourinho’s clever and eloquent tongue. Some people also wanted to learn from Mourinho and wage a war of words with other people. The result was they set out to be tigers but ended up with the likeness of a dog. It made themselves look more like a superficial clown.

So, Mourinho gradually did not bother to bicker with those guys—it was really beneath him to do.

Now that Tony Twain was here with his Forest team in Italy, people finally saw the Mourinho, who was once successful in the Premier League.

Waging a psychological warfare and war of words really required an evenly matched opponent for them to be fun.

Twain and Mourinho were really perfect for each other like dry wood and fierce fire.

※※※

On the evening of March 1st, the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium was lit up and the crowd was buzzing. The first round of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals kicked off here.

The Nottingham Forest fans who had specially travelled from England entered the stadium under the police escort. Next to them were some extreme Inter Milan fans who harbored malicious intentions to provoke them. The Nottingham Forest fans were not willing to show weakness and glowered at them.

The police in charge of the security at the stadium were at the highest alert. Neither the Italian fans nor the English media had a good reputation, not to mention the atmosphere that had been heated up by the war of words between the two managers before the game. If there was any group of people who did not want to see the two teams’ managers have a spat with each other, it must be the police officers responsible for the order. The managers had stirred up the atmosphere and the mood of the fans would follow suit and heated up, which could be dangerous. If it was not tightly controlled, a single spark could lead to volcanic eruptions.

The players from both sides had already come out to warm up as the fans of both sides were at daggers drawn outside.

Twain finished what he was supposed to do in the locker room and slipped out. He encountered Mourinho whom he had not seen for a few years, on the sidelines.

“Ha, what a coincidence. Mr. Mourinho.” Twain smiled as he greeted the other man.

Mourinho, on the other hand, looked at him with a straight face and did not want to acknowledge him.

“Don’t put on such an expression, Mr. Mourinho. I won’t ask you to have drinks anymore. I’ve quit drinking. You are the host here. You can’t look so indifferent.”

“Do you want me to say, ‘I’m happy to see you?’ But I’m not happy at all.”

“Because you’re afraid of losing?” Twain smiled and leaned in front of Mourinho.

The remark clearly touched on Mourinho’s sore point. He snorted and said, “Think whatever you like, Mr. Twain. A football match is not won by cheap talk.”

“Ha, great minds think alike.”

Twain did not waste any more time with Mourinho because both men had things to do. The war of words had been fought. It was no use to provoke now.

He walked to the sidelines to observe the team’s warm-up and get first-hand information on who was in a good shape and who was not in the right state of mind… This was the last chance to make adjustments. Once the game started, he would have to use up the three-substitution spot if he wanted to adjust.

The players did well. He did not see anyone overly self-confident and impetuous. These boys were quite good. He had been lecturing them these days and wanting them to take the game seriously. Because this was the “war of revenge.” They could not be sloppy, careless and do as they pleased.

Twain also took a look at the fans’ situation in the stands. The Inter Milan fans accounted for about four-fifths. It was a sea of blue when he looked up, while the red color gathered in a corner, surrounded by the sea of blue, looking isolated.

A circle of police surrounded these fans, separating them from the Italian fans. Under the heavy protection of the police, the Nottingham Forest fans were not afraid of the home fans’ unkind boos and hostile looks. They sang Nottingham Forest’s war songs in their own stands.

Twain saw the scene and smiled. Those lovely fans. He seemed to be able to see John and Bill in the square area on the far side from here.

After spending a moment on the sidelines, Twain was able to hear the boos coming from the grandstand behind him. This was, of course, aimed at him as the manager who had provoked a war of words with Mourinho. He did not care. He even turned to smile at the hostile-looking fans before walking back down the tunnel and toward the locker room.

He was determined to make the Inter Milan fans unhappy for this game…

※※※

The team’s warm-up was over shortly after he returned to the locker room. The players filed into the locker room and started to change into the jerseys needed for the game. Twain paced back and forth in the locker room as he thought about what to say to further mobilize the players’ mood.

The tactic was already laid out a day ago. There was not much time now, so he would not cover that again.

The players finished changing their clothes and sat down to catch their breath while they waited for their spiritual leader to say something.

Twain finally stopped pacing and stood still in front of the team.

“Who among you had played in those two games before?” He looked at the players.

George Wood raised his hand, followed by the goalkeeper, Akinfeev. The full backs, Baines, Rafinha, Pepe, Kompany, Tiago, Lennon, ?ahin and Eastwood all raised their hands. They all knew the “two games” the boss asked about.

It accounted for almost two-thirds of the squad list.

“I know some of you must be still be unhappy about that… Ah no, everyone is not happy. After all, the other team scored a total of five goals in two games, but we did not score a goal. If anyone can still accept this, then he’s not normal. It’s fantastic now that you have a chance to correct that mistake and show Inter Milan that 0:5 was an accident.” Twain snapped his fingers and added, “I really wonder if UEFA did this out of full respect for our opinion at the time of the draw.”

There was a burst of laughter among the players.

“Anyway, guys. Now we have a great chance! Are you going to let this opportunity slip away in front of your eyes? Are you really going to do that?”

“No one thinks so, boss!”

“Very good! Then buck up! We’re going to thrash them in their home ground! We’ll settle all the scores today!”

※※※

Mourinho did not stir up emotions in the locker room. Inter Milan was not Nottingham Forest. It was not a group of blood-thirsty creatures with simple minds. And he did have much to fire them up with. Inter Milan and Nottingham Forest did not have many grievances. For many players, it was just an ordinary Champions League quarterfinal game. The star players such as Ibrahimovi? had no interest in the hyped up “Forest team’s war of revenge” by the media. Some people simply did not understand why Tony Twain would behave like a mad dog and jumped around to bite people. Was it better for him to do so? Could it be the more people he bit, the more dividends he received?

Although their manager occasionally bit people, he did it with purpose and substance. It was unlike Tony Twain’s random attacks.

If he were to be our manager, would he just bite his own people in the locker room? That’s terrible! I don’t know how the Nottingham Forest players can tolerate such a bad-tempered man to lead them.

In fact, … Even more incredibly, how can this man’s team win the Champions League title for two years in a row? There must be something we don’t know about…

Mourinho calmly set out the tactics before talking about what happened in the media.

“No matter what’s said outside, it’s their freedom. You don’t think about anything else. This is just a normal game. If you have any emotional ups and downs because of this, you will have fallen for Tony Twain’s ploy. In terms of strength, Nottingham Forest is certainly not as good as us. They are in a hurry to score away goals and will be aggressive from the start of the game. We just need to be more patient than them and we can get the result we want. That’s it. Get ready to play.”

※※※

The Inter Milan players came out and received loud cheers. The blue and black legion was the hero in the hearts of the Inter Milan fans. Many fans were quite confident of a victory over Nottingham Forest. Those two games of the 08-09 season were still vivid in their minds. Only a few teams in the football world could beat a defending champion so efficiently.

Of course, the Nottingham Forest fans would retort that the loss was due to Tony Twain’s absence. But the Italian fans did not understand this. They thought that even with Tony Twain around, their loss would only be less terrible at the most. But the end result would still be the same—they would still lose. How much power could a manager have, no matter how good he was? The star players, not the star managers, were the ones to dominate the team and determine the strength of the team.

Ibrahimovi? suddenly felt a deep animosity as he shook hands with the Forest players according to what was customary. This hostility peaked when he shook hands with the Forest captain.

Wood’s hand shook Ibrahimovi?’s hand to carry out the necessary understanding, but his eyes stared coldly at the other man. It was not a very polite attitude, which also made the Swede feel uncomfortable. The other party’s eyes were piercing, almost poking holes at Ibrahimovi? inside out, turning him into a sieve.

He did not like the impolite look, so he just touched Wood’s hand and separated.

But even when he turned and left, he could still feel the pair of cold eyes staring at him behind his back.

Ibrahimovi? was a typical representative of Inter Milan’ players. Almost all of the Inter Milan players felt the unfriendly air from the Nottingham Forest players.

They simply could not understand why these people would view this game as if it were a vendetta. Even if we had defeated you with a wide score, that was a very normal thing which happened often in the football world. Isn’t it very petty to keep hanging onto it? If you seek revenge against every team that defeats you, can you handle it?

The Nottingham Forest players did not care what the Inter Milan players thought. They just knitted their brows with serious faces and looked murderously at their opponents who came over to shake their hands to show goodwill.

It was hard to imagine a situation like this happening in real football. Maybe only the perverted Tony Twain could bring out such an abnormal team …

After the handshake ceremony ended in a strange atmosphere, the players from both sides returned to their respective positions and waited for the game to begin.

All the major media outlets seized the last moments and crazily snapped away in front of the two managers.

Mourinho was expressionless, while Twain smiled. He even repeatedly glanced at Mourinho next door in front of the press, trying to see his manner.

It was a pity that he saw nothing. Mourinho hid himself in the middle of the technical area and was not in the front. He had no idea what he was doing. Twain was not in a hurry. He knew that when the game started, it would not be long before Mourinho would come out on his own.

Why?

Because he would not be able to sit still!

Chapter 787 - Outer Instep

Nottingham Forest occupied the initiative from the start of the game.

Inter Milan did not get to do the kickoff, so they withdrew and carried out the defense as soon as they came on. They first solidify the defense, and then conspired to attack. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest did not hold back and made the most of their kickoff advantage, keeping the football firmly under their feet and not rush to the goal. They patiently circled.

George Wood and Tiago were indeed further back in their positions than ever before. It looked like the distance between them and ?ahin was wider than ever, but in fact the players were not wooden blocks. They would keep running and interweaving on the pitch. The formation of the team could only be used as a reference—if they were too far away, ?ahin would know he could withdraw to receive. As for Wood and Tiago, they would also know to run up there.

The tactics might be set, but the players were absolutely alive.

To be able to use fixed tactics flexibly, that was the players’ level. Some players only knew to cling obstinately to the manager’s arrangements. One was one, two was two, and they would dare not go one step beyond the prescribed limit and had no ideas of their own. Such a player’s life was that of an ordinary professional player. But some players were able to develop their own ideas and make their own judgments based on their understanding of the manager’s tactical intent. Such players were often the master players who could see the situation clearly on the pitch and turn things around.

While Inter Milan retreated to defend, Wood and Tiago did not cling to their defensive midfielders’ positions and foolishly waited for the opponent to attack. Out of the necessary caution, they did not rush up at the same time, but took turns to plug in and take part in the offense. When Tiago was up, George Wood would stay in the back to defend. When Wood went up, Tiago would be in charge of the defense.

Nottingham Forest controlled the football under its feet and was in no hurry to send it directly to the Inter Milan goal. In the tactical meeting the day before the game, Twain arranged ?ahin to start, but also specifically warned him that if he was not particularly certain in the game, he must not pass the ball directly. He was not to give Inter Milan the opportunity to intercept the ball to immediately fight back. He would rather he passed the ball back and forth on the periphery to jerk the Inter Milan’s defense around first.

ahin habitually tried to send a threatening pass every time he got the ball. But when he looked up at the seemingly impervious wall of Inter Milan defense, he remembered the boss’s admonition. So, he turned around and sent a cross pass instead.

ahin passed it to Bentley, who saw that Inter Milan’s rear defensive line remained calm when he was about to cross the ball, so he sent the football out with a long pass straight to the other side of the pitch. Matías Fernández received the ball and passed it to Leighton Baines, who plugged in from behind. Baines saw that it was not a good time, so he continued to pass the ball, which fell to George Wood’s feet.

The Inter Milan players certainly would not cower in their own thirty-meters zone like shrinking violets and let Nottingham Forest pass the ball back and forth outside. Ibrahimovi? at the fore front saw the ball fall at Wood’s feet and rushed up to try tackle the ball. Under his lead, Inter Milan’s overall formation began to slightly press out. There were finally some gaps in the originally impenetrable formation.

Wood ceded the ball to Rafinha when Ibrahimovi? pounced up.

Rafinha then passed the ball diagonally to ?ahin and continued to run forward, as if he wanted to do a wall pass with ?ahin.

The Inter Milan players were not fools. How could they tolerate such a conventional and simple coordinated move being made in front of themselves?

Chivu kept a close eye on Rafinha, and Cambiasso came up to pounce on ?ahin.

ahin did not receive the ball. He just made a move like he was going to receive the ball and then turned around to block Cambiasso so as to give the ball to Ibi?evi? behind him.

“Ibi?evi? takes the ball and he’s now on the edge of the penalty area. He faces the goal sideways. It looks like he’s got a chance to shoot!”

Ibi?evi? did not shoot because the moment he tried to lift his leg, he realized that Samuel was close to him. It was not suitable to shoot. So, he changed his mind at the last minute and gave a shake with his ankle to pass the ball back to George Wood.

The pass was too familiar to Mourinho—the striker’s back was to goal, Wood faced the goal directly and the ball was passed to him from the striker’s position. He could shoot straight while running and without stopping the ball at all.

While some people always said how bad Wood’s shot was, it had been proven time and again that this player with a bad shot could always kick a world-class shot in this spot...

He raised his fist in the hope that the Inter Milan players on the pitch would remember what he had said to them before the game.

—George Wood is the most dangerous killer at the top of the penalty arc! It’s not alarmist talk. You have to keep that in mind and stop all possibilities of him from shooting in this spot!

Fortunately, his players had not forgotten that. Samuel was defending against Ibi?evi? and they still had people who could step forward and defend against Wood. Burdisso stepped forward bravely and planned to use his body to block Wood’s startling long shot!

Wood gave a jab with his ankle. After he tricked Burdisso fell out of balance, he pushed the football to ?ahin on the other side!

ahin had turned and completely bypassed Cambiasso when he gave the ball to Ibi?evi?. Now he faced the goal and there was no one in front of him.

Wood just passed the ball to ?ahin’s front. All he had to do was to speed up and charge into the penalty area. Then he could directly face the Inter Milan Milan’s Brazilian goalkeeper, César…..

“A one-on-one face-off with the goalkeeper!!”

The commentator roared with excitement. The game had only began three minutes and Nottingham Forest already had such a good chance.

ahin’s breakout was not so strong that he could dash to the front of the football with one step of his leg and then throw everyone off to kick the ball. Wood used too much strength to pass the ball in order to try to penetrate the opponent’s defensive line.

ahin tried his best to charge up but did not manage to shake off the defenders.

The three players, Samuel, Burdisso as well as Cambiasso rushed at him from three different directions, intending to smother his shot in its infancy. Of course, since the football was already in the penalty area, they had to be careful not to foul...

But these three Argentines’ purpose had been achieved. They crowded ?ahin and surrounded him. In this way, the angle with which ?ahin could shoot was very small. Under the heavy siege, even if he just raised his leg to prepare to shoot, the football on the ground might immediately be removed—they could not do nothing just because of the possibility of a foul. To foul while tackling the ball might the work of a rough defender, but it would be an unqualified defender if they let the other side score a goal for fear of a foul.

If ?ahin wanted to shoot, even if it’s a penalty-kick, these three people will be shoveling down!

ahin did not shoot. He and the three men fell to the ground at the same time, but he just swept the ball across to the other side...

“Ibi?evi?!! He’s completely unguarded—”

None of the Inter Milan defenders, including César, noticed Ibi?evi?. They only had eyes for ?ahin when the ball reached ?ahin’s feet. But ?ahin passed the football to Ibi?evi?.

Now that most of the goal area in front of Ibi?evi? was empty. It was very simple what he needed to do—

“He shoots! GOOOAL!! It’s too easy!”

The Nottingham Forest fans erupted in thunderous cheers at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.

Ibi?evi? ran with wide open arms to the corner flag and continued to do his slap in the face celebratory gesture.

The Inter Milan players, on the other hand, stood in a daze where they were and could not believe what they saw—the game had only started more than three minutes ago. How did they concede the goal? And lost so easily, so simply, so... inexplicably!

They were the people on the spot and baffled, but the onlookers saw it clearly.

“A beautiful coordination! It’s really a treat to watch Nottingham Forest’s coordination! It’s rare to see such a smooth coordination played so strongly in the middle in modern football. The offensive that started from George Wood had fooled all the three Inter Milan defenders.”

ahin’s pass was crucial. If he was completely unaware that Ibi?evi? would plug in from the side, he would have chosen to force a shot. No one would know the result if that happened. It was the moment when he pretended to shoot but passed the ball when he fell on the ground that completely tore up Inter Milan’s tight defense. Ibi?evi? easily pushed the football into the goal as if he was facing an empty goal on the training ground.

The Nottingham Forest players rushed up to embrace him one by one after Ibi?evi? had done a slap in the face move. And the Forest team’s technical area and substitutes’ bench off the field had long been in embrace together. Tony Twain also did not forget to brandish his fists to demonstrate in front of more than seventy thousand Inter Milan fans. His actions naturally once again won a lot of boos and abuse for himself. But he did not care. He was the winner at this moment, and those who insulted him were losers!

As Twain expected, Mourinho soon rose from the technical area. He walked back and forth on the sidelines, displeased. Just three minutes into the start of the game and Nottingham Forest had opened the gap from the middle to score a valuable away goal. Such a thing was humiliating for a Serie A giant like Inter Milan.

He knew Twain’s mind, so he instructed the team to must pay attention to the defense at the beginning of the game. . . But he did not expect the middle, which was the most difficult to break through, had become Nottingham Forest’s exclusive corridor. Looking at the coordination between the three players in the middle, they completely treated Inter Milan’s three defenders as monkeys to play with. They were dragged around by their running and passes and neglected the real focus in the end.

Which area did I miss and not cover?

He began to reflect on it much to his discontent.

Unfortunately, he did not come up with a reason why when the game resumed again.

He could only attribute it to an accident which could regularly happened on the field and no one would know when and why it occurred—at one point, a gap happened in Inter Milan’s initially tight defense due to some factors and was keenly seized upon by Nottingham Forest. It could not be said that Inter Milan played terribly, only that the enemy was too cunning.

※※※

The game resumed. Inter Milan suddenly gave up their defense, and actively pressed out by several lines, which disturbed Nottingham Forest for a while.

The Nottingham Forest players clearly did not expect Inter Milan to counterattack so crazily so soon—they thought Inter Milan would not be able to recover from the shock of conceding the goal so quickly in the opening of the game.

Nottingham’s red colored players made a mistake. Inter Milan was not as easy to deal with as they thought.

Amidst wave after wave of sounds from the home fans, Inter Milan launched a steady stream of attacks from the midfield, putting constant pressure on Nottingham Forest’s defense. Inter Milan seemed to be testing the limits of Nottingham Forest’s rebound.

In the eighth minute, after Cambiasso intercepted ?ahin’s ball, he quickly dribbled the ball in the middle forward but encountered Tiago’s tight defense and the ball was intercepted. Fortunately, Montolivo did not rush too fast and Tiago’s intercepted ball rolled right under his feet. Inter Milan’s attack continued.

Montolivo did not intend to attack from the middle, as Cambiasso did. He sent the ball directly to Quaresma on the side.

Speaking of Quaresma, he was also a young man who became famous for a long time, but unfortunately did not seem to be a big name. Whether it was at Barcelona or currently at Inter Milan, his status had not been stable. His gorgeous footwork seemed out of step with the team’s overall tactics. Mourinho had high expectations with him at first, but it was a pity that he simply could not adapt to Inter Milan’s tactics and Italian style of football when he came to Italy. His footwork skills and divine outer instep skills, which could win international acclaim in Portugal, could only be a focus of defensive attention in Italy and the main culprit for dragging the team’s offensive tactics.

Having adapted for several seasons, Quaresma remained a fringe figure in Inter Milan’s lineup. He was in this game because Mancini was injured and could not play the game ...

But the Portuguese was not to be underestimated. Although he sometimes seemed out of step with the team’s tactics, his individual combat ability was still very good. Mourinho might also want to use Quaresma’s individual ability to restrain the Forest team’s offense on the left flank.

Quaresma seemed to be in good shape for today’s match. After he received the ball, he showed a good body flexibility when he simply followed the ball movement, and then accelerated on the side to break through!

Matías Fernández rushed up from the back and tried to overtake to tackle the ball.

Quaresma noticed Fernández accelerating and approaching. He calculated precisely when Fernández made a move to intercept the ball to suddenly make a stop. He hooked the football back with his right foot and then pushed forward with the arch of his left foot to bypass Fernández!

Next, he started the acceleration again, shook off Fernández, caught up with the football and directly confronted Leighton Baines. Not far from Baines was George Wood, lying in wait for him to bypass Baines so that he could rush up to tackle the ball.

Fernández saw Wood on the side and gave up the chase. He believed the captain and Baines would be able to hold off Quaresma.

Baines did not manage to defend Quaresma alone. He was bypassed by Quaresma with a back heel and a quick stop. Following which, just as Quaresma was about to enter the penalty area, George Wood pounced toward him.

The football was on the left side of Quaresma’s body at this time. He was a right-footed player and needed to adjust. That would be Wood’s chance!

Wood’s entire person was as if he were being pulled with a tight bow string and his eyes were fixed squarely on Quaresma’s movements.

He saw Quaresma made an emergency stop and bypassed Baines. After which, he started to turn around. It was expected that he would use his left foot to snap the ball back and then simply cut into the penalty area. Wood planned to cut cross to meet him on the way and hit him head-on.

But then he saw a scene that widened his eyes—

Quaresma did not continue to dribble the ball. His left foot stepped on the ground with force and he turned around to lift his right leg toward the football... and volleyed!

In that moment, George Wood’s eyes widened, and he was unresponsive. Because he saw... Quaresma used his outer instep!

The football flew in front of Wood’s face, drawing a strange arc. Looking the movement of his lifted leg, it did not look like a shot but to say it was a cross pass...

Had anyone ever seen a cross pass into the goal?

The football leaped high to bypass everyone in the penalty area and then fell straight into the far corner of the goal. The goalkeeper, Akinfeev was unable to defend in time. When he jumped up and tried his best to reach out, his extended hands could not touch the ball.

Everyone witnessed Quaresma’s signature goal at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.

“What a great GOOOOOAL——”

The football fell into the net from the junction of the goalpost and the crossbar.

George Wood’s heart sank as his eyes followed the football. What did he see? The right outer instep volleyed the ball in an arc and bypassed all the defenders to drill into the goal from the most unlikely angle...

It was a complete surprise!

“A beautiful goal from Quaresma! Just five minutes later, he single-handedly equalized the scores for Inter Milan! The once-rumored to-be-purged player pulled his team back with such a brilliant goal! I’m willing to bet this goal will be among the top ten goals in the Champions League this season! It’s so beautiful! The Nottingham Forest players did not react to the shot!”

Quaresma was a little excited after the goal. He pulled his jersey and said words that no one understood. But his teammates did not care what he said. They rushed forward and pushed him to the ground.

Mourinho also rose from the technical area and waved his fists hard. It was lucky to have equalized the score so soon... He was previously worried about how the game would turn out if Nottingham Forest had continued to be in the lead.

It was all good now... He turned his head to look at the thunderous Tony Twain on the side and a proud smile emerged on his face.

Your lead was fleeting. You’re still at my home ground. I want to see how you’re going to play next, Tony Twain!

Chapter 788 - Missed out on a Golden Opportunity

“Ricardo Quaresma! What a wonderful goal!”

The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium was like a volcano that had just erupted. The lava and flames of the volcano were personified by the fans dressed in blue who were cheering fervently at the stands.

“Quaresma’s outside of the foot pass has made a name for itself, and Quaresma has just demonstrated that very stunt to us in this Champions League game! The goal leaves all the Nottingham Forest players stunned!”

All the Nottingham Forest players were indeed stunned.

Quaresma’s goal shows how imaginative he was as a player…

There were certain Forest players who knew beforehand how Quaresma liked to use the outside of his right foot to make such shots down the right flank, but no one expected him to succeed on his very first try!

Tiago was Quaresma’s team mate on the Portugese national team. He had reminded his Forest’s team mates not to underestimate Quaresma’s individual skills and abilities prior to the start of the match.

He had said those words out of good intentions, but he did not expect Quaresma to perform as he did, and neither did he expect his passing remark to come true.

George Wood stood rooted at the spot. Quaresma had already run away from him to celebrate his goal with a dance.

Wood suddenly felt humiliated, and so he clenched his fists tightly. It was not because he saw Quaresma to be a terrific player who made him feel helpless all over, but rather, it was because he had overly relied on his experience, which resulted in him not stopping Quaresma’s shot.

If only he had not waited in front of him and had just pounced at him earlier, perhaps he would have had a way to stick close to Quaresma and not give him a chance to shoot for goal.

Everyone else was heaping praises on Quaresma for his brilliant techniques. George Wood was the only one who saw Quaresma’s goal as nothing more than a result of his own personal mistakes.

He is the one to be blamed for the goal. He has to come up with a way to amend.

※※※

Mourinho celebrated the goal without restraint by the side of the pitch, whereas Tony Twain swore profusely, “F*ck! F*ck this! F*ck it all!”

He did not know who he should blame and scold for Quaresma’s goal, because his goal was impeccable.

He was not abnormal like Wood. He does not set high standards on himself, and thus, he would not pin the blame for the goal on Wood’s hesitance. He would definitely not pin the blame on his tactics either. Quaresma’s goal had nothing to do with his tactics.

He just felt really upset because the score had been levelled when his team had barely gone into the lead for five minutes. It was a blow to the team.

The players’ morale and confidence would both be affected. They might also lose their concentration in the game temporarily here and there. All these effects could lead to dire consequences in the match.

Twain sat on the chair and vented his unhappiness through the use of swear words. Thereafter, he got to his feet and walked to the side of the pitch.

He might be upset right now, but he needed to cheer his team on. He can’t let the goal undermine his army’s morale.

The Nottingham Forest players looked preoccupied, as though their souls had left their bodies. They were only able to lead their opponents for five minutes before the score was levelled…

It was quite the blow to their morale.

Wood was not the kind of captain who could encourage and boost his team mates’ morale by giving them a loud and impassioned speech. However, someone definitely needs to come out and say a few words to calm everyone down with the situation that they are currently in.

Where could he find such a person?

That person is right by the side of the pitch.

“Bastard! You bunch of wusses! It’s just a draw! Don’t forget that we have an away goal! What are you guys so depressed about?” Tony Twain stood by the side of the pitch and yelled at the players while gesticulating about. “Score another f*cking goal now that the score is tied! If one away goal is not enough then for f*ck’s sake score two away goals! Three away goals! Four away goals!”

Twain did Wood’s job for him. The only thing he did not do was to point his middle finger at the dejected players who had their heads drooped.

Frankly, given the cacophonous environment within the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, several of the players who were situated a distance away from Twain could not hear what he was yelling about at all. However, the moment they saw their boss standing by the pitch and making a few gestures at them, their unsettled hearts were able to settle down.

How is he not the emotional pillar of the team?

How is he not a natural born leader?

It was such a pity that Twain could not get on the pitch and play in the game.

Mourinho noticed Twain jumping up at down by the side of the pitch, and he snorted at the sight.

He also heard everything that Twain said earlier. He was a multilingual Portuguese who could speak many other languages, and his familiarity with English was perhaps second only to his mother tongue, Portuguese.

I didn’t think this guy’s temper would still be as fiery as before. I thought he would act with more restraint after suffering from a heart attack. That string of swear words that he just spewed really tested the masses’ tolerance towards him. Isn’t he afraid that his heart attack might relapse someday due to him being overly agitated?

But…

A feeling of nostalgia surged up from within.

You rarely get to hear such fiery swear words being used this profusely by the side of the pitch during an Italian game, and it is also very rare that you get to see such a great pitchside performance. In England however, such scenes are not uncommon. Things were worse at the games between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.

※※※

Inter Milan had originally intended to attack Forest’s half ferociously after the match restarted. They wanted to take advantage of the momentum of the game that had swung in their favor after they scored the goal. However, Nottingham Forest shifted their entire formation backwards and made themselves more compact defense-wise, and they started employing the tactic of defending and going on the counterattack. It made it difficult for Inter Milan to gain any sort of progress.

This time, it was Mourinho’s turn to stand up from his seat and make adjustments to his tactics.

Mourinho gestured for his players to move backwards as well. He wanted them to pay attention to the empty space behind them. His team must never charge ahead mindlessly during matches against Nottingham Forest. The more his team gains an upper hand in the match, the more dangerous it gets for his team.

As a manager who has faced off with Twain numerous times, Mourinho knows Twain’s tactical ideologies and habits like the back of his hand. It might seem as though Forest is intent on playing an attacking style football with their 4-2-3-1 formation that Twain even called as ‘his own Christmas tree’, but in actuality, Twain was a utilitarian at heart. If going on the offense doesn’t bring success to his team, then he has no qualms about throwing that tactic out the window and reverting back to his previous tactic of defending and going on the counterattack.

Inter Milan’s fans were singing and dancing at the stands to celebrate the fact that their team has the upper hand in the game right now.

Even the players started to get ahead of themselves. Maicon Sisenando rushed up the pitch and never returned. Do those players have a death wish?

Mourinho could now allow his players to behave like that any longer. He needed to eliminate any possible risks before they became a threat to his team.

Perhaps Mourinho was not persuasive enough.

Nottingham Forest went on the offense once and all the Inter Milan fans at the stands went silent.

Zlatan Ibrahimovi? displayed his ball handling techniques before Forest’s penalty box. He made several feints, but he was not able to cause George Wood to lose his balance. Left with no other choice, he then passed the ball over to Quaresma who was on the right flank.

Quaresma’s goal at the start of the match has allowed everyone to recognize that he was in a brilliant form today. His team mates started passing the ball over to him more often, especially after Forest started to make its defense more compact, because they hoped that he would be able to make use of his personal skills and abilities to break through Nottingham Forest’s airtight defense.

The ball from Ibrahimovi? was snatched away by Tiago before it reached Quaresma’s feet.

Almost all of Inter Milan’s players had moved up the pitch when they attacked Nottingham Forest’s goalpost earlier. Even their two center backs had moved towards the center circle to try and see if they could contribute to their team’s offense.

What a good chance this is!

Nottingham Forest fans habitually cheered at the top of their voices after seeing Tiago snatch the ball from Quaresma. They were cheering as though their team had just scored a goal.

Inter Milan fans were puzzled by their cheers. They thought that Nottingham Forest fans were all unambitious people who would get excited over a simple thing such as snatching the ball away.

The Inter Milan fans began cheering their players on even louder, hoping to drown out Nottingham Forest fans’ cheers with their voices.

Tiago passed the ball over to George Wood without hesitation. Wood was positioned closest to him and was also the easiest to pass to.

Ibrahimovi? was situated right before Wood. He stuck out a leg to try and snatch the ball away, but unlike his offensive abilities, his defensive abilities were amateurish. All he was doing was to ‘put on a show’ that he was trying to defend.

Wood was able to get past the Swedish effortlessly.

Thereafter, Wood brought the ball forward. He had already passed the ball over to ?ahin while Esteban Cambiasso tried to chase after him.

ahin turned around and began darting towards the flank. Ibi?evi? was also running towards the same place as him. The two of them attracted both of Inter Milan’s center backs, Walter Samuel and Nicolás Burdisso, over to them. However, when the center backs were closing in on them, ?ahin suddenly turned around and passed the ball in the opposite direction to the one that he was running in!

The one who received his pass was Matías Fernández, who had also run to the front of the pitch.

The runs from both ?ahin and Ibi?evi? had caused the Inter Milan’s defense to be scattered, which is why when Fernández picked up the ball, there was no one before him…

Inter Milan fans finally understood why the Nottingham Forest fans were so pumped up earlier…

Because those fans have gotten even more stoked now.

“Fernández has received the ball! There’s no one ahead of him, he can make his way straight into the penalty box!”

“F*ck!” Mourinho could not help but swear in exasperation. He did not need to turn his head to look at Tony Twain. He could already imagine the smile that would be on his face.

Nottingham Forest have been acting as though they are on the losing end all this while, but this was the moment they have been waiting for!

Mourinho’s heart was in his mouth the moment he saw Fernández make his way into Inter Milan’s penalty box. He felt that Forest would definitely score, because there was no way that Forest’s players, who were well known for their abilities to defend and counterattack, would miss on such a chance.

“Charge! Chilean!” Twain urged his player on excitedly by the other side of the pitch.

Inter Milan’s Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César chose to rush out of his goalpost after seeing that Fernández had made his way into the penalty box. However, he did not pounce for the ball at the Chilean’s feet straight away, because that would only allow Fernández to go past him easily.

He had chosen to rush out of his goalpost so as to try and minimize the angle in which Fernández could shoot. At the same time, he was also able to maintain a considerable distance from both Fernández and the goalpost, which enabled him to stop the other party from shooting. He could also avoid getting too close to his target and being left aside.

Júlio César made the correct decision at the most critical time.

Fernández had initially intended to get past César when the latter pounced at him, but when he looked up, he realized that César did not get close to him and had instead laid down horizontally on the ground. Fernández was at a loss since things did not go according to his plan.

He could not just leave the ball there while he thought about how to deal with the unexpected situation. Both Walter Samuel and Nicolás Burdisso had turned around and were rushing for him after realizing that they had walked into a trap. There were also other Inter Milan players who were charging for him as well. The chance that he had to score was beginning to slip away from him.

Fernández was in a state of panic, and he chose to raise his leg and shoot for goal straight away.

The ball rolled towards the goalpost.

César pounced towards the ball, but he made an error in his judgement!

Unfortunately, Fernández’s shot was too straight and did not have an angle to it. César was not able to get the ball with his hands, but his legs were able to get the ball away!

All the Inter Milan fans held their breaths when Fernández shot at the goalpost.

When César kept the ball away however, the ones who could not breathe were the Nottingham Forest fans.

The fans of both teams experienced an emotional rollercoaster at the same time.

They should really give each other a hug for going through the same experience…

“Fernández shoots! Ah! Júlio César! He has saved the hearts of all the Inter Milan fans!”

In truth, the ball had not gone out of play after being blocked by César. However, Fernández’s heart had been dealt a heavy blow by then, and all he could do was stand rooted at the spot. Instead of rushing forward to attempt another shot at goal, Fernández hugged his head with both hands and watched in disbelief as the ball rolled towards the edge of the end line. Nicolás Burdisso was the player who eventually sent the ball away from their goalpost.

Ibi?evi?, who had also rushed into the penalty box, was very upset with Fernández’s performance. He yelled at the Chilean who had his hands around his head, “What were you doing just now? You should have gone and retrieved the ball and tried a second time, not stand there and stare into space!”

Fortunately, ?ahin was able to pull him away from Fernández before things escalated.

Fernández did not appear to have heard Ibi?evi?’s words. All he did was to continue to stand at the spot and hug his head like a fool.

※※※

Mourinho felt as though he had just experienced a heart attack, and there was a lingering feeling of fear within him after going through the calamity. He wanted to sit down and rest for a little, so he turned around and looked for his seat.

Tony Twain, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth tightly as he stared at the pitch. He was unable to say a single word.

Both Kerslake and Dunn who were behind him were thinking about how Fernández would not be able to escape a dressing-down from Twain during half-time later.

Even though Forest was not able to score a goal, but their attack was enough to scare the Inter Milan fans speechless.

The commentator was worried for Inter Milan after witnessing the prowess of Nottingham Forest’s tactic of defending and going on the counterattack.

“If Inter Milan is very desperate to get a goal, then they have to be mentally prepared that there is a chance that Nottingham Forest might go on the counterattack and score when they move forward to attack. I bet this is definitely not the situation that Mourinho wishes to see. Thus, changes need to be made to the team right now. It’s suicidal to keep playing the way they are now!”

Fortunately, Inter Milan did not continue playing the way they were.

Just like Tony Twain, Mourinho also made use of his rich body language and yells to remind his players to pay attention to their defense and not move forward too much. His players were also clearly frightened after Forest’s previous counterattack, and they have all retreated backwards.

The two sides then engaged in a battle in the midfield.

Twain wants to obtain away goals, but one goal was far from enough. Nottingham Forest has to keep going on the offense.

For the remainder of the first half, Nottingham Forest became the team on the offense, and Inter Milan became the team who seemed to be playing defend and counterattack.

The 4-2-3-1 formation was truly a formation that allowed the team to be much more powerful in their attacks. Having five players in the midfield allowed Forest’s defense in the midfield to be very solid.

On the other hand, Inter Milan did not dare to commit too many players to its offense, and so they were not able to find many ways to attack.

The matched continued to be in a stalemate. Both sides were able to get a few good chances, but neither side grasped at those chances. Just like this, the first half ended with the score being 1:1. Nottingham Forest has an away goal and also has the upper hand in the match so far. However, no one knew what would happen in the second half, because both managers were capable of making tweaks to their teams that could completely change the situation on the pitch.

Moreover, this was a match between those two very managers. There was no way they would not make changes to their teams.

The commentator was content with how both teams had each scored a goal in the first half. “The match has not been boring so far, and both teams have scored brilliant goals. Both teams also had good chances in the first half. I believe that the match will never be boring with these two managers in charge. The first half has proven my point…”

There was a reason why he said those words. The faces on both managers were not very pleasant when they walked towards their respective locker rooms, and it meant that they were not happy with how things had progressed in the first half. Since they are not happy, they would definitely make some adjustments to their teams, and that would make the second half even more exciting than the first…

How great would it be if all football matches were like this one, and only involved a battle between strong teams!

That was the thought on the minds of all the football fans watching the match who were not fans of either team.

Chapter 789 - Be Crazy Together!

There was a little bit of noise in the dressing room. Everyone was talking about the first half and forming their own opinions, or advising other team-mates on how to do better. Only Fernández sat in his seat with his head bowed, playing with the towel in his hand. It was as if he was back to his unsociable form at the start when he first joined the team. He was still regretting that he had missed the shot in the first half.

All the players came in, and Twain was the last to enter the dressing room, the door closed behind him, and the noise outside was gone almost instantly. Hearing the sudden silence in the dressing room, Fernández knew who was coming, so he kept his head bowed. After more than half a season of interaction, he had figured out the head’s temper. The team had a chance to take the lead to end the first half, but they had to accept the draw because of his own mistakes. The King of Nottingham Forest must be very, very unhappy, so there was no way he could escape the scolding.As a player, Fernández was not a man who liked to talk back to the manager, so he chose to suffer such a rebuke in silence.

The expression on Twain’s face after he entered the house signaled to the others that he was going to curse. His eyes swept around the dressing room and ended up on the boy, who was holding his head and fiddling with the towel in his hand.

Honestly, the only thing he felt when Fernández missed the ball was pity, but seeing Fernández stand stock-still in place instead of choosing to continue running and go for another shot angered him. Twain could tolerate bad luck or bad shooting, but he would never tolerate a player just giving up.

As a result, he appreciated the actions of Ibi?evi? after that — rushing up to the?Fernández to snarl and express his displeasure. Twain did not think that this kind of behavior would affect the harmony of the team. On the contrary, he felt that if everyone in the team were like Ibi?evi?, the atmosphere in the dressing room would be harmonious to the maximum. What he needed was a team eager to win, not a team that sacrificed some of its most valuable things for harmony.

Twain went straight to Fernández, stopped in front of him, and cast him in his shadow. “Matías What are you looking so annoyed about?” He knew Fernández could understand him. The latter had been in England for half a year, so even though he was not fluent, he could still understand well enough.

Fernández could not ignore Twain. In simple English, he stuttered out, “That ball….did not go in…”

“Was it just that?”

Fernández didn’t know what Twain was talking about. Other than that mistake in the first half, his performance was average and he made no mistakes.

“Actually, I don’t care if the ball gets in.” Twain shook his head. ” I really don’t care. After all, we already have an away goal.” As his voice rang out in the locker room, the attention of the rest of the public was directed at him and Fernández.

“I’m disappointed with your performance, Matías.” Twain stood,while Fernández sat, and instead of bending down and saying this to Fernández, he leaned over and looked down at him. “I don’t care if you score a goal, what I care about is your attitude. Look at what you did after you lost your first kick. You just stood where you were and held your head in your hands. What, were you under attack?”

Twain’s voice rose sharply, and everyone flinched even though they knew what was coming. It was like being in a car on a bumpy mountain road and hitting your head on the ceiling of the car with a bang.

Twain gritted his teeth and stared at Fernández. There were basically sparks coming out of his eyes. “As long as the ball is not out of bounds, you will rush up to the ball to assist the shot! Even if you kick the ball into outer space, I won’t have any complaints. If the other side gets the ball first, you kick the ball and him into outer space!”

With his bad-tempered boss scolding him, Fernández’s head was buried lower.

Twain hated this attitude. He reached out and dragged Fernández from his seat. “Keep your head up! It’s just a goal which didn’t go in, what’s so great about it? No matter when it is, you have to be full of fighting spirit! Fight! What is fighting spirit? Fighting spirit is to not admit defeat till death! It’s when someone calls you trash and you rush up to fight them. Don’t just keep your head down and and not say a word! ”

Don was a little worried about Twain’s heart, and he coughed next to him, but he didn’t expect Twain to look back and stare at him, “You’re sick or something, Don?”

“Well, uh…no, I’m not.” Don knew it was better if he kept quiet.

“Yes, I’m sorry, Chief.” Fernández hurriedly apologized..

“Don’t pull this with me! What are you sorry for? Fighting spirit is not when someone else scolds you and you kneel down to beg for mercy! What should you do? What should you do? ”

Although Fernández had not been at Nottingham Forest long, he knew more or less what he had to do. So he looked up and said, “I’ll try to make up for it in the second half, Chief.”

Twain loosened his grip on Fernández’s shoulder and patted him. His face immediately brightened. “That’s good. It seems you understand.”

Although Twain was known to scold people without mercy, it would be better to look at this from another angle. If you did not treat this as a “scolding”, perhaps it would not be so uncomfortable-. Twain was actually teaching you how to see reason, just more intensely and vigorously, with more emotion and extreme methods.

After helping Fernández see reason, Twain turned to look at the rest of the locker room. “In the first half you guys did a good job. We scored an away goal, that lost goal…” He glanced at George Wood. “It was not the fault of any of you.” He noticed that Wood’s facial muscles moved a little and he was happy.

“But we need to make some adjustments. It looks like Quaresma is in great form today and if Mourinho is smart, he would make big use of it in the second half. We need to pay attention to his watch. George, I remember you’re on the right? ”

Wood nodded, “Yes.”

In the back, Wood tends to the right and Thiago, to his left.

“In the second half, you and Thiago will change positions to come to the left. On defense, help Barnes and Fernández limit Quaresma to the sideline. ”

That was what Wood wanted to hear the most. His answer was even louder, “OK! ”

Of course, Twain knew what Woodwas thinking, so he added, “Try not to foul, and definitely don’t get any cards. ”

Although Wood had stopped getting cards unnecessarily these days, Twain thought it was necessary to remind him again. Allowing Wood to guard Quaresma when he was so keyed up was a double-edged sword that might cut his own fingers and result in a huge loss.

“Guys, Inter Milan wants to play our defensive counter-attack, so in the second half you need to pay more attention to the defence than in the first half. We will start with defending, and slowly toughen up with Milan at the midfield. Once the situation is good for us, they will become more on edge as the game goes on and throw aside Mourinho’s tactics, as long as they cannot score in the later part of the game. That will be our chance.”

Pepe stood up and asked, “Chief, are you saying we defend against counter-attacks in the second half?” ”

Twain made a thumbs up, “Yes! ”

※※※

While Twain was “reasoning” with Fernández in the dressing room, Mourinho was busy telling his players about the second-half tactical adjustments.

The score of 1-1 in the first half, while containing some occasional elements, was also telling. Mourinho discovered one thing: Inter Milan would undoubtedly lose out if he assumed Tony Twain had not changed.

What did he mean by ‘change”? It was saying how Tony Twain himself and his team were not very good at positional warfare. When their opponents secured their defense and counter-attacked Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain and his players would run out of plays and could only rely on some free kicks and luck to win the contest. At least that habit did not improve until Mourinho left England.

But judging by the first half, Nottingham Forest was now completely out of the question of not being good at the position. Twain’s special “Christmas tree” formation was the best choice for battle. The first attack in the battle of the position was often not important, the important thing was the following attacks. In this aspect, it was easier to accomplish that with Nottingham Forest’s current midfield. The midfield has thickness, the attack had different layers, the defense also had depth, so it would not be as easy for the opponent to counter attack after a failed attack. Their opponents would also not be able to break through a whole area after breaking in at a point. At the time they were surrounding the midfield while playing around Inter Milan at half-time, they looked like a stronger team.

Mourinho could not guarantee that Inter Milan would survive if Nottingham Forest continued to play like this in the second half, so changes had to be made. He guessed that Twain would not stick to the tactics of pressing Inter Milan in the second half. On second thought, he realised that he would give up on pressing Inter Milan if he were Twain as it left too much space behind him, which made it easier for the opponent to counter-attack.

“… Nottingham Forest’s attack in the second half should not have been as aggressive as it was in the first half, so it was our turn to attack. Also pay attention to our own behind, you can see how sharp their counter-attack is, right? You’ll see it a lot in the second half.”

“Watch out for their two sides and their quick counter-attack. We also need to strengthen our side attacks, with our attacks to suppress their attack. At this point, he glanced at Quaresma.

The Portuguese was listening to the manager’s arrangement with a satisfied smile. Could a game change a player’s fate? Mourinho did not think this situation was ideal, but he did need to use Quaresma’s strength in this game. He said he should pay more attention on the side attacks. Quaresma was also one of the two side roads, so the implication was obvious.

Quaresma was clearly excited about what the manager had shown. He had been a fringe figure at Inter Milan for several seasons and had been disappointed that he could not impress the manager with his brilliant footwork. Now the Champions League quarter-final against Nottingham Forest might be a good opportunity, and the absence of Mancini’s due to his injury might be God’s arrangement. As long as they maintained this state and momentum, it was estimated that he could only be the Brazilian’s reserve even if the latter recovered from his injury.

Such a future was exciting for Quaresma who could not wait to get started in the second half, but Mourinho also made his own demands for Quaresma. ” Riccardo, don’t limit your position to the side. I know you like the feeling of taking the ball on the sideline, but you have to be more flexible in this game. Both sides and middle roads are available. ”

Quaresma nodded to show that he understood; only a fool would shake his head.

After speaking to Quaresma, Mourinho looked to everyone. “The focus of this game is to score goals without losing the ball. You have to remember, 1:1 score is absolutely not good, 2:2?and 3 :3 are not okay! You have to win and you can’t let them score again. Otherwise our home-field advantage is meaningless! Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest want revenge. No matter what he thinks, no matter what others say, the situation is against us, we have reached the edge of the cliff, and we will fall if we’re careless. Every one of you better be careful!”

Mourinho’s last words amounted to a euphemistic admission of his previous mistakes. He once said he did not care if it was a revenge game for Nottingham Forest and that they should just regard it as a normal game to play. But now he found that this was simply not possible. If it were a normal game, then his team was definitely losing. Because the game began with a pre-match war, he had already been pulled into Tony Twain’s orbit.

Tony Twain seemed to have some sort of magical power that could drive the people he had interacted with crazy.

Mourinho could do nothing but go crazy with him now and let the players realise that this game was different from the ordinary games of the past. Why was it different? Not because they blew their heads two seasons ago — that was just an excuse for Twain to play psychological warfare. The reason was simple:

It was because their opponent was Tony Twain.

Chapter 790 - Swift Counterattack

At the start of the second half, Nottingham Forest did shrink their defense. Inter Milan, on the other hand, took advantage of their kickoff to launch a fierce attack on the Forest team’s heartland.

Ibrahimovi? had a shot from inside the penalty area which struck the goalpost and bounced, that startled all the Forest players to break into a cold sweat.

Following which, there was a moment of chaos in front of the goal, with Rossi falling to the ground amid the chaos and the football being taken by the goalkeeper, Akinfeev. The Inter Milan players immediately raised their hands to signal a foul on the Nottingham Forest players, which should result in a penalty kick. The Nottingham Forest players also raised their hands to show their innocence.

The referee made his own judgment and he gestured for Rossi to get up.

Deafening boos broke out at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium for his gesture.

The Inter Milan players did not protest much because it was indeed not a foul… They did that before in hope to give the referee a wrong message amid the chaos and put pressure on him to award a penalty kick in their favor. They did not expect the referee to be able to distinguish right and wrong with acuity. In that case, there was no need to continue the entanglement.

After five or six minutes of chaos in the opening, the situation was back in balance.

Inter Milan attacked, but they were afraid to put in all their strength and thus not be able to put the most amount of pressure on the Forest team’s defensive line. Nottingham Forest was naturally be able to hold on.

Nottingham Forest had shrunk their defense and was not strong on the offense, giving Inter Milan a chance to attack.

One team wanted to attack, and the other side must defend. So, the game was back in balance.

※※※

Quaresma was more active than in the first half. At the halftime interval, he saw hope in Mourinho’s words, and it was an opportunity to seize. He had a year and a half left on his contract with Inter Milan. If he still did not have a convincing performance, then his departure from Meazza at that time would only be the inevitable result.

He raised his hand frequently on the field to ask for the ball.

Montolivo passed the ball to him and Leighton Baines immediately leaned closer. Quaresma was not afraid of one-on-one confrontation, even two over one—behind Baines was Wood, the defensive midfielder they revered.

He intended to get rid of Baines first, and then face Wood in a one-on-one duel. He wanted to play with the hotly anticipated defensive midfielder in the football world to prove his ability to stay in Meazza.

Unfortunately, Quaresma did not eventually encounter BOSS George Wood this time. He hit a wall with Baines. He was too eager to break through but forced himself to a dead end instead. Not only did he miss the opportunity for the tactic, he could not dribble the football out. It was finally jabbed out by Baines.

Anyway, Quaresma used his consummate skill to win an out-of-bounds ball for Inter Milan…

For a while after, Quaresma was obsessed with a duel against Baines in the flank, much to Mourinho’s displeasure. In the end, he could no longer tolerate it and stood on the sidelines to shout Quaresma’s name, reminding him not to always wander around the side.

Quaresma also found out about this problem—if he was always on the side, he would not be able to run into George Wood, because Wood was also in charge of the defense in the middle and could not run to the side to stay.

While the Portuguese winger preferred and was more accustomed to the side, he had decided to move to the middle the game in order to prove to the manager that he was a good player who was battle ready and could win the game.

The first time he came face-to-face with Wood, he used a beautiful step over move to bypass a defensive line and send the ball out—it was a clever move, even though Quaresma did not realize it at the time.

The Portuguese was encouraged by his first successful attempt to trick Wood into losing his center of gravity and decided to directly challenge with a breakthrough next.

The second time, he changed into a feint, dribbling the ball at a high speed from the side and cutting inside. Then he changed direction with his ankle and subtle control of speed to get rid of the defenders. He managed to get rid of Baines, but not Wood.

When Wood’s powerful body leaned close, Quaresma suddenly felt that the football under his feet had become unmanageable.

A powerful force pressed against him, preventing him from controlling the ball under his feet. The football bounced on the ground and he extended his leg to hook the ball while he leaned his body against Wood. Did he want to fight Wood with his body? He failed.

Wood struck Quaresma who was dribbling the ball and caused him to tumble but it was not even a foul. It was just a reasonable collision.

Quaresma was so angry at the referee’s decision that he knelt on the ground and waved his fists. But no one paid attention to him.

However, the Portuguese winger was in fine form for the game. The third time he took advantage of a sudden change of direction to coordinate with his teammate’s running position to bypass Wood.

Wood lost his balance from the swaying and Quaresma easily broke through before passing the ball to Ibrahimovi?. The Swedish striker swung his leg again for the shot. Akinfeev firmly caught it this time.

The goalkeeper, Akinfeev was clearly unhappy that Wood let the opponent broke through. He held onto the football and did not rush to send it out. He shouted instead, “George, what’s wrong with you?”

Wood waved his hands and looked at Quaresma, saying nothing.

This nimble kid was more difficult to deal with than he thought…

Quaresma lost in the next two one-on-one face-offs that followed.

Mourinho watched for a while on the sidelines and decided not to be silent.

He wanted the team’s offensive focus to shift to Quaresma, but it was not so as to create the condition for this kid to face off against George Wood and play out individual heroism. If he continued to singlehandedly challenge, the team’s offensive would sooner or later be destroyed by him.

Taking advantage of a dead ball, he called over Quaresma who was near the sidelines. He said, “Ricardo, I instructed you to take charge of the offensive, it’s not so that you can face off the opponent individually. Have you not played professional football before?”

Quaresma also felt that he was being excessive for that period. He bowed his head and said, “I know, coach…”

“When you have a face-off with George Wood, you have already fallen for Tony Twain’s ploy! Wood’s one-on-one defense is very good. If you continue to play like this, I can only consider bringing you off, no matter how good your form is!” Mourinho said seriously with a straight face. He and Quaresma were both Portuguese, so there was no language barrier. He could be certain that Quaresma would not have a situation where he did not understand what he said and continued in his own way.

“If you get it, get back on the field!”

Mourinho shoved Quaresma back.

Following which, some interesting developments happened in the game. Quaresma remained as Inter Milan’s playmaker, but he was no longer obsessed with challenging Wood or Baines. He would only choose to break through if the timing was right. More often than not, he would lure Wood over and then pass the football out.

This time, Inter Milan’s offensive became alive.

Quaresma was no longer the end point of the offensive, but more like a relay station—the ball was passed to his feet and he could make his own breakthrough or pass to his other teammates based on his own observation of the situation. Such an offensive approach was obviously better than letting Quaresma try his best to break through Wood.

Nottingham Forest also found it more difficult to defend. Before, they only needed to defend against Quaresma. Now they needed to defend all the Inter Milan players and not miss any positions. Otherwise it was possible to…

※※※

“Quaresma gets the ball again, and he’ll choose whether to break through or pass…”

As soon as the voice trailed off, Quaresma chose to force a breakthrough. Baines planned to come up to shovel the football out, but he was easily bypassed. This time he did not choose to go to the middle and clash with George Wood, but he picked a better soft touch.

Breaking through Baines, he could pass, and he could also go straight into the penalty area. Once he entered the penalty area, the Nottingham Forest goal would be in danger.

George Wood certainly would not let that happen. He rushed over to stop Quaresma from breaking through, but also to guard against his outer instep shot.

When he saw Wood coming, Quaresma picked up his right foot. This time he did not want to shoot straight at the goal—he sent the ball to the front of the penalty area.

Cambiasso received the ball and Tiago rushed up to cover the position. Wood also turned around to dash back. Quaresma did not pose a threat without the ball, and Baines returned to be in charge of defending against him.

Tiago blocked Cambiasso’s direct shot angle, but Cambiasso did not want to shoot for the goal. After he did a feint to look like he was going to charge into the penalty area, he passed the ball to the flank where Nottingham Forest’s defense was the weakest.

Maicon suddenly slotted in from the side like a bullet train and received Cambiasso’s pass.

None of the Nottingham Forest players noticed his plug-in, including George Wood. Their defensive attention was all attracted by Quaresma, Cambiasso and Ibrahimovi?.

Maicon kicked the incoming ball straight on and volleyed hard!

The football whistled through the heavily guarded penalty area like a cannonball and flew toward the far corner of the goal!

“Maicon’s long shot—”

The commentator lengthened the end of his voice, which was accompanied by cheers from the Inter Milan fans.

Everyone was convinced that the ball was in!

But there was one man who did not believe it.

Akinfeev took a step to the right and then jumped. He stretched his body in the air, extended his arms and flew toward the football.

The football was cut off in the air by a pair of big hands like a scud encountered a MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile.

The commentator’s tail end of his voice and the cheers of the Inter Milan fans came to an abrupt end.

Maicon gave a long sigh out of frustration after he saw what happened.

Just as he looked up at the sky, Akinfeev, who had fallen to the ground, had already climbed up and threw the football out with his hands without hesitation—it was a chance for Nottingham Forest to fight back!

The football was thrown at Bentley’s feet and he did not turn to take the ball forward. Because he knew that he did not have a speed advantage in the counterattack. If he were to break forward and could not find a point to pass, the ball could only be intercepted by the other side. Even if he managed to protect the ball, he would also lose a quick counterattack opportunity.

The best way was not to dribble the ball himself, but to pass the ball.

Who should he pass the ball to?

Most of his teammates were still defending in the backfield. There was no one who could show up in the front. He looked up to take a glimpse and saw his captain.

Wood had originally wanted to defend against Cambiasso, but Cambiasso passed the ball to Maicon, leaving him empty. However, it was a help to him—when Akinfeev caught the ball, only George Wood was heading in the direction of the offensive and cutting out to sprint. . .

He looked back at Akinfeev and made the choice to continue running forward immediately.

As he had anticipated, Akinfeev thought the same as him—this was a great opportunity for Nottingham Forest to fight back quickly!

Bentley passed the ball to the only Nottingham Forest player who was running forward in his line of sight.

By the time George Wood received the ball in the middle, he had left behind a number of Inter Milan and Nottingham Forest players. Now he had adjusted his forward direction well, which directly faced Inter Milan’s goal!

Cambiasso rushed up diagonally from the back. He wanted to intercept the ball while Wood had not yet accelerated. The worst that could happen would be a tactical foul.

Wood poked the ball forward. Instead of shoveling the football, he shoveled Wood’s feet.

The man who was shoveled at his feet did not seem to be George Wood. He only stumbled once and continued to maintain his balance to accelerate!

“George Wood dribbles the ball and avoids Cambiasso’s tackle from behind! He’s sprinting forward! This is Nottingham Forest’s counterattack at its best!”

The Nottingham Forest fans’ cheers grew louder.

“Stop him! He’s only one person!” Cambiasso, who had failed in the tackle, shouted as he laid on the ground. He certainly knew what it meant to let Wood get away with it. But maybe the situation was not that bad, because Nottingham Forest just wanted to fight back quickly, so there were not too many people there to support at the moment. George Wood could not do much if he broke through to the forefront alone.

In the blink of an eye, Wood had already dribbled the ball through the center line.

Burdisso stormed up aggressively and just as he hit Wood, Wood sent the ball out. But Burdisso did not care about the small matter. His target was Wood, not the football.

Wood was knocked out of his original track by Burdisso’s full impact collision and deflected to the right. Did Burdisso succeed?

No!

Wood had also directed the ball to the right side when he sent it out…. Burdisso’s collision helped Wood instead and brought him closer to the football. And what about Burdisso? He used his full strength and center of gravity for the collision just now. After he collided with George Wood with a reckless mentality, he also fell to the ground, but George Wood did not fall to the ground with him.

Chivu, the left back in the game, completely could not keep up in speed with Wood running at full speed. Although the football was kicked toward his side, he could only watch Wood’s back soar through his zone, fast as lightning and turned into the penalty area.

Inter Milan’s last line of defense was made up of two men: Samuel and the goalkeeper, César.

Samuel was smarter than Burdisso. H was not stupid enough to hit him straight on. He just blocked the inner line and forced Wood to the side. He would succeed as long as he forced him to the side.

Wood waded into the penalty area and Samuel came up. He did not make a move and just ran with Wood. He was not afraid that he did not have an advantage in speed, because Wood had slowed down a while ago. He could not rush inside the penalty area.

Wood made to look like he was going to shoot, so Samuel leaned his body closer, but did not throw his entire weight into it. If Wood did not shoot again, he would not have a chance.

George Wood decided to force a shot. How about Samuel and César? He would just blow them apart!

This time Wood swung his leg again, and Samuel continued to lean his body closer to interfere. Wood shot directly at the goal!

The football whistled and flew past Samuel to charge into the near corner of the goal.

Even César had already sealed the angle, the football still found a crack and hit on the nearest goalpost…

A crackling sound and the football seemed to hit the hearts of all Inter Milan fans, collectively caused their hearts to stop.

The scene they were most afraid to see did not happen in the next second. The football hit the goalpost but did not bounce into the goal. Instead, it rebounded out!

“Ss—-” The gasps from the Inter Milan fans could be clearly heard at the raucous Meazza Stadium.

César laid on the ground, Samuel was on the ground, and George Wood was also on the ground. Was this the end of the attack?

No way!

“Matías Fernández!”

The Chilean appeared in the penalty area. Only Burdisso was around him. But now he did not care too much. He only had eyes for the rebounded football.

The boss seemed to be growling in his ear at this time, “See that football? It’s bouncing in front of you, laughing at you that you can’t shoot it in, can’t shoot it in, can’t shoot it in! Even if it’s an empty goal, you can’t—shoot—it—in——!! You’re a coward who only knows to hold your head and cry when your first shot is blocked!”

Burdisso tried to get the ball out first to lift the siege, only to find himself unable to move after Fernández leaned in—his position was completely blocked by the Chilean.

The next thing was simple.

Fernández picked up his right foot and faced Júlio César, who had gotten up from the ground. He knocked the football hard toward the goal!

“GOOOOOOOAL——!!”

The Chilean finally completed his self-redemption…

Chapter 791 - Two Away Goals

“George Wood dribbles the ball and breaks through! He breaks into the penalty area! Against Samuel’s and César’s defense... He shoots! Oh, but the football hit the goalpost... Wait a minute! Matías Fernández! He shakes off Burdisso’s defense, shoots high in the air sideways and —GOOOOOOOOOAL!!”

The football hit hard into the net. César only just flew to the spot but to no avail...

Fernández, who scored the goal, looked very excited as he ran toward the corner flag. He pulled his jersey and roared. He was finally able to relieve his frustration.

Although it was him who scored the goal, the man who got the most attention was George Wood. The television coverage cut to a close-up of Wood immediately after the goal, which even led some viewers to mistake George Wood was the one to score the goal...

Fernández helped Nottingham Forest to score and take the lead again. But the thrilling part of the goal was not his makeup shot, but that George Wood’s previous consecutive bypasses to shoot at the goal. It was a pity he was unlucky. The football hit the goalpost. Otherwise it would have become one of the memorable goals in his career!” The commentator gave high praise to George Wood.

Even Tony Twain below felt it was a great pity about Wood’s failure to score. Then he remembered that he should applaud Fernández’s shot...

Who was the happiest person to see Wood perform like this? It was not the excited commentator nor Tony Twain who held his head in his hands in disbelief at what he saw. It was not even the Nottingham Forest fans but Albertini, sitting in the box above the pitch.

When Demetrio saw Wood dribble the ball past several people in the midfield, he had already risen from his seat. When Wood shot at the goal at last, he could not help but shout “goal” in advance, but unfortunately ... the football hit the goalpost in the end.

But that was not the most important thing. Albertini was very happy he saw a different George Wood from whom he had seen before. It could even be said that he was even more outstanding that the George Wood he had imagined before.

Albertini wanted Wood to become a defensive midfielder who could control the entire team’s pace of offense and defense, just like AC Milan’s Pirlo. But judging by his performance in this game, he was getting closer to the combination of Kaka and Pirlo...

He could use the passes to dispatch the team and also had his own ability to dribble the ball forward to break through at the same time. It was just formidable...

Watching the game with Albertini was his good friend, AC Milan’s iconic figure and retired Paulo Maldini. He laughed when he saw Albertini this excited, “It looks like your feelings for Nottingham Forest run really deep.”

“Other than AC Milan, it’s them.” Albertini continued to clap and said, “After all, I also got the... oh.”

He had wanted to say he had won a Champions League title there, which was something he never dared to think about. Suddenly he realized that the championship title was snatched from this man next to him.

Maldini did not care, “It’s okay. The championship title belonged to the side that played better. I feel sorry instead... that last summer, Galliani did not bring Wood to San Siro.”

Albertini laughed, “He’s going to become Paulo Maldini of Nottingham Forest.”

He finally ended the applause of several minutes and sat down again. The game on the field had also started again.

Maldini shook his head and was not convinced, “Nottingham Forest is not AC Milan.”

Albertini also seemed to think that his good friend had a point. He said, “To put it another way, if Tony continues to stay at Nottingham Forest, then I think George will stay there too.”

“I was thinking... Galliani had set his heart on getting Wood, but he’d never thought of this method—poach Tony Twain along with George Wood together.”

To hear Maldini say so, Albertini laughed, “Don’t you know the personal feud between Tony and Galliani?”

“I heard a little. But I think... This kind of thing is of little importance in some respect. If AC Milan can offer better pay and other conditions than at Nottingham Forest, I think even the unpleasant thing between Tony Twain and Galliani should disappear?”

Albertini continued to laugh and shook his head as well, “You don’t know Tony, Paulo. He is sometimes very emotional. His personal feelings represent everything. In addition, AC Milan cannot give him anything else other than a higher salary. As for him... As far as I can see, he’s not particularly a fan of money.”

Maldini disagreed, “At the very least we can give him a higher transfer budget. I know he not only has no money to buy players at Nottingham Forest, but also needs to sell players to make money for the club. Have you ever seen such a Champions League manager? I would have quit my job long ago if I have to work in that kind of place...”

“Paulo, do you think Galliani and President Berlusconi will allow Tony to buy the players he wants to buy, and not get involved like obedient kids?”

That remark stumped Maldini. He really did not consider the matter while Demetrio was absolutely right... At AC Milan, the real decision on which player to buy could lie with Galliani, the expert negotiator, Braida, or possibly his father Cesare Maldini. There was even a big chance that it could be Berlusconi. But it would not be the manager.

When he saw that his good friend did not speak, Albertini patted him on the shoulder and said, “Even though there’s not much money at Nottingham Forest, Tony can do what he wants and lives like a king. At AC Milan, he can earn a lot of money, wear the golden crown, look like the king, but he cannot decide on many things. The distinction is decisive. So, don’t think about this impossible thing, Paulo. We all don’t want President Berlusconi to leave his post. Just enjoy watching the game.”

※※※

The game had already progressed another ten minutes while Albertini and Maldini discussed in the box why Twain and Wood could not come to AC Milan.

Mourinho was furious at the goal concede. He left his seat for these ten minutes and stood on the sidelines to supervise and direct the game with a serious face.

He knew how good Nottingham Forest’s counterattack was. He was certain that his players were aware of it too. In that case, what was the problem?

The problem laid with George Wood.

He had not been in the English Premier League for a few year and Wood got better... Mourinho had never seen this outstanding show of dribbling the ball to bypass a few players before in the Premier League. He suddenly plugged in ahead and did an out of character individua breakthrough. He did not pass the ball, resulting in the collapse of Inter Milan’s entire line of defense. Everyone’s attention was on Wood and neglected the other Forest players. And they eventually lost the goal...

Did Inter Milan concede to Nottingham Forest in terms of overall strategy or George Wood’s individual play?

This was really a difficult question to understand.

Therefore, what was Mourinho angry about? Of course, he was furious that he conceded two goals at home! What did it mean to let Tony Twain obtained two away goals? That meant that they were halfway into the top eight!

But what was the use of anger now? The opponent had already scored the goals. His team could only find ways to score a few more goals and minimize their away goal advantage.

However,..... was Inter Milan really confident of scoring more goals with twenty minutes left in the game against Nottingham Forest’s die-hard counterattack style?

※※※

Tony Twain crossed his legs in the technical area. He was enjoying the situation now.

The voices of the Inter Milan fans in the stands behind them became softer. It looked like the Inter Milan fans had been hit hard by Nottingham Forest’s second goal...

The score of 1:2 and the Forest team’s two away goals were like a huge boulder, pressing on the hearts of those people. When they wanted to open their mouths to shout something for the team, they would feel short of breath and tightness in their chests.

What they did not understand the most was why Nottingham Forest suddenly became unrecognizable with a change in the manager. They had not seen it with their previous games. It was reasonable to say that the players’ strength of the current Nottingham Forest team should be not as good as compared to the previous team which they had played against.

How did they break out with such amazing energy when Twain took over?

Could it be possible the man who always liked to provoke a war of words before a game and was derided by the media as a clown, had a mysterious aura?

※※※

The television commentator, who knew Tony Twain well, had already declared that the game had entered a dreary stage.

“Nottingham Forest is in the lead for the away game and even scored two goals. Who can give me a reason that Tony Twain will not defend? And once Nottingham Forest is determined to hold fast, there are not many teams in the world that can breach its goal. Maybe Inter Milan can be one? I do not know. But I’m sure of one thing—Inter Milan must work very, very hard to score goals. Even so, even if they beat Nottingham Forest by 3:2, Tony Twain will also leave Meazza with a smile...”

With such a conundrum placed in front of the Inter Milan supporters, it did not make them feel good. It was no wonder that the voices at the Meazza Stadium became much smaller.

The Inter Milan players launched a fierce attack on the Nottingham Forest goal with fury in their eyes, as if they had collectively taken the same medicine. They attacked wave after wave, each stronger than before.

George Wood did not have a chance to show his offensive talent again. Even Ibi?evi? quickly became the third center back and frequently used his physical superiority to break the siege in front of the goal.

Mourinho brought on Adriano to replace Giuseppe Rossi, which had been inundated by the Nottingham Forest players. Meanwhile, he also repeatedly waved on the sidelines to signal for the team to press on continuously. At this point, he did not care if there were a lot of gaps behind the team, because Nottingham Forest simply could not fight back!

Adriano came on and won some a few chances for the team. However, there were too many people in the Nottingham Forest penalty area...

Inter Milan had also reduced their own offensive space to the lowest level as they besieged the Forest team. It was really not conducive for them to shoot and score goals. As the game wore on, more inter Milan players began to try long shots.

The voices of the Inter Milan fans suddenly grew louder when the game was ten minutes away from injury stoppage time. Although the score was still 1:2, they were not willing to give up. Even if there was little time left, they had to fight until the last minute. Now their highest wish had changed from “a victory” to “an equalizer.”

Even with this wish, Tony Twain did not want them to make it happen. He replaced Fernández with Cohen, who was better defensively, and then used Woodgate to bring off ?ahin. He was now playing the 5-4-1 formation with three center backs. It was abundantly clear that they were going to cling fast to defense.

Until the injury stoppage time, Inter Milan still did not break the Nottingham Forest goal. Just when it looked like the game was about to end in this way, a sudden change took place in the game!

※※※

After Ibrahimovi? received the ball, Adriano and Quaresma, as well as his other teammates in better positions, raised their hands to ask him for the ball. But he did not pass. He chose to force a breakthrough and cut inside.

Just moments after he crossed the line of the penalty area, he was tripped by Tiago!

Meanwhile, a shrill booing rang out at the Meazza Stadium.

Everyone nervously turned to look at the referee. One gesture from him at this moment might just determine the fate of both teams...

“He points to the penalty spot!! My God! Inter Milan has a narrow escape!!”

The Inter Milan players might have just complained that Ibrahimovi? acted alone again at the crucial moment, but now they were all cheering the Swede and embracing him.

Whereas Tiago, who had been indicating to the referee starting from just now to show that he did not foul, and that Ibrahimovi? did a dive, was angry. He rushed up to hold the referee’s hand and tell him that it was a dive!

It was not only Tiago who was angry. The rest of the Forest players were also angry. They rushed to the referee and surrounded him.

No one could understand why the referee would make such a decision. Putting aside whether Ibrahimovi? dived, no one could determine such a matter without a slow-motion replay. After all, it happened so fast. But they all clearly saw that the physical contact between Tiago and Ibrahimovi? was outside the penalty area...

Even if Tiago had fouled, it should be a free kick, not a penalty kick!

The players were furious on the pitch, while Twain held back the fourth official to express his displeasure, “How can this f**king be a penalty kick?”

“Please mind your language, Mr. Twain.”

“Then please get the referee to pay attention to his eyes! A last-minute penalty kick! He’s got some balls!!”

Dunn saw that Twain was getting more agitated the more he rebuked. For fear that the fourth official was going to tell on him to the referee and then be directly kicked out of the game, he hurriedly gave Kerslake a look and the two men rushed up to drag Twain against his will back to the technical area.

Twain was still scolding, “He’s got some balls! Takes special guts! His balls are exceptionally big!”

“This is a pretty controversial penalty. One must know that it takes courage to give the trailing team a penalty kick nearing the end of the game...It takes guts. The referee must have some hard evidence but let’s take a look at the slow-motion replay... Oh no, it’s outside the penalty area! This is a miscalculation!”

What was the point of the commentator saying that? Once the referee decided on a penalty, he would not change it easily.

He stood at the penalty spot with a serious face and waved his hands to disperse the Forest players who surrounded him. The Inter Milan fans were already shouting slogans in praise in the stands.

Twain snorted, “Forget it! Even if they were to equalize, we still have two away goals!” He decided not to argue with the fourth official. Otherwise the gains would not make up for the losses if he were to argue till he was forced to be in the grandstand... No, there was basically no “gain” at all. It would all be “lost.”

The Forest players on the pitch saw that no matter how they begged, the referee would not change his penalty decision. Not only that, Tiago who fouled and Woodgate, who protested the loudest, were given the yellow cards respectively.

They could only choose to accept the result and withdraw from the penalty area.

Mourinho was delighted that his team was lucky enough to get a penalty kick in the final minute. But he did not show it too much. He and Twain had the same idea at this time—even if they scored the goal, they would only equalize the score. The fact that Nottingham Forest already had two away goals could not be changed like this penalty kick.

Ibrahimovi? himself carried out the penalty kick. Amidst the Nottingham Forest fans’ boos and the Inter Milan fans’ cheers, he equalized the score at 2:2.

The Inter Milan players embraced excitedly to celebrate the new lease of life after the goal. The Nottingham Forest players were still holding the referee back, wanting to say whether the penalty kick should have been awarded. But this time their tone was much better with no worries about getting a yellow card. Because it was no longer possible to change the score.

Everyone at Inter Milan were celebrating, with the exception of Mourinho.

Twain found Mourinho looking at his side, so he spread out his hands and shrugged at his other man to deliberately taunt the other side. Sure enough, Mourinho soon averted his eyes.

When Twain saw Mourinho like this, he also forgot that the other team had just used the penalty kick to equalize the score. He just grinned.

In any case, he maintained his personal unbeaten record against Mourinho. As long as the record was kept, he could remain strong against Mourinho. If Mourinho wanted to reverse the situation, he would be knocked over by him, and never be allowed to bring about the reversal.

The game ended in a raucous environment, with Nottingham Forest still complaining about the referee’s last-minute “bold penalty” as they left the Meazza Stadium, while the Inter Milan fans expressed concern about the fate of the team’s second leg.

As for the reporters? After finishing the interviews in the mixed zone, they all hurried to the scene of the post-match press conference, looking forward to a good show there—it was Mourinho’s first face-to-face press conference with Tony Twain since Mourinho left England. It would simply be outrageous if there were no explosive content!

Chapter 792 - The Post Match Spat

The reporters gathered in the mixed zone had dispersed, with no players waiting there for the reporters. The focus was no longer on them by this time.

In the press room at the San Siro Stadium, a rather special press conference was being held.

The Inter Milan manager, Mourinho sat on the left-hand side while the Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain sat on the right-hand side. The English media had not seen this scene for more than three years, so they appeared to be a little excited. But the Italian media thought it was just a normal press conference.

Twain and Mourinho soon showed them what kind of press conference it was…

A practical reporter from <La Gazzetta dello Sport> raised his hand and asked Mourinho to give his opinion on the game.

Mourinho snorted, “We were unlucky to have not been able to win. I’m not happy with the two goal concedes, but that’s the way football is. You can only accept the result…”

Then he said some nonsense which was tantamount to saying nothing.

The same reporter threw the question at Twain, who laughed and said, “Mourinho said they were unlucky? I think they were lucky instead. Otherwise we should have taken three points from here, and not just one. The game is over, so I don’t want to evaluate the referee’s work anymore…” In fact, he did not want to give himself any more trouble. “But I think Mr. Mourinho really should thank God for letting them get the one point.”

A tense situation had already emerged.

Twain took the initiative to provoke, and Mourinho could not resist.

The press conference continued.

Asked by an English reporter this time, he was clearly more aware about the story between Twain and Mourinho than his Italian counterparts. He said, “Mr. Mourinho. You never seemed to have beaten Tony Twain whenever you led the team. It was no exception this time. Do you think this matter has become a vicious circle?”

Mourinho had answered many such questions during his years in England. He was long tired of such questions. So, he decided not to answer.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Next to him, Twain raised his hand and saved the situation with a smile, “I can answer your question, Mr. Reporter.”

Mourinho knew that no good words were to be expected from a scoundrel like Twain, so he gave Twain a cool glance.

“Well, it’s like this. Mr. Mourinho and I never cared about this kind of record.” Surprisingly, Twain’s first words were to help Mourinho. “Because it does not illustrate any issue. After all, I have nineteen opponents in the league tournament. Even if I could obtain a complete victory every time I encounter Mourinho’s team, it was only six points. Was six points enough? Not at all. So, I’m more concerned with the championship title than the unbeaten record against Mourinho.”

At this point, everything was still normal.

But then Twain changed his tune.

“But while I don’t particularly value the unbeaten record against Mourinho, I don’t want to lose for no reason. No manager wants to lose. So, I don’t regard Mourinho’s team alone, but treat it as any opponent and try to win. Therefore, the result is… what you’ve seen!”

Twain smugly laughed in the end.

Everyone understood. Twain had gotten what he wanted and still bragged!

His way of handling it was too annoying!

Mourinho very much wanted to silence Twain because he could not refute the matter. What could he say? If he were to say, “I don’t really care about that shit record. I only care about the results,” but the result was that he did not defeat Tony Twain in the game once again. It also led to a stalemate on their promotion path to the Champions League. Or he could say, “Although we haven’t won this time, I promise to win the next time!” It was a little too meaningless. It lacked class to say words like they would definitely win the next time. It was like the promises which a crazy-eyed gambler said when he found someone to borrow money from. Mourinho absolutely could not say such a thing.

With a dark expression, Mourinho wanted to turn and leave abruptly, but he could not. Because his boss, Moratti had already warned him more than once that this was Italy, and not England. He must pay attention to his image, which was also the image of Inter Milan.

The next question was slightly more normal, which was to ask the managers to comment on the performance of the players in the game. Mourinho praised Quaresma’s goal and performance. His words, which were disseminated through the media, would surely delight Quaresma. On the other hand, Twain praised the team. He did not praise anyone alone, even though George Wood played brilliantly in the game. However,…Twain was undoubtedly the reincarnation of a mad dog. He could also create an explosive situation with such a question.

“… I don’t praise any player alone, not because they did not do well. Instead, they played so brilliantly that I couldn’t just praise a few players individually. If I really wanted to name them, I would have to list all the names of the Forest players that played. I’m very pleased with the team’s performance tonight. Even though the game was a draw, we scored two away goals. It was the result of everyone working together. Inter Milan, by contrast, only had a few players that performed normally…” The unspoken implication was should Mourinho have praised Quaresma alone? Because he had no other player to praise except him.

Mourinho was not a fool, but he could only pretend to be dumb at this point. Because he actually lost to Twain. A draw at home was a loss.

The result made him feel sullen. What was even more dour was that he might have faced the result of a home defeat had it not been for the referee’s last-minute extra favor.

Pierce Brosnan stood up and asked Twain if the away draw with Inter Milan could be considered a revenge for when Inter Milan eliminated the Forest team two seasons ago.

Twain shook his head to correct Brosnan’s question, “First of all, we did not force a tie with Inter Milan. It was the home side that forced us into a draw. Secondly, I don’t think this can be considered a revenge. It’s just a draw. We still haven’t play one more game. After that game is over, I might be able to answer according to what you asked.”

Mourinho finally found a chance to fight back, “Don’t speak too soon, Mr. Twain. I don’t think you can win against Inter Milan when you get back to your home ground. Since you can score two goals at our home ground, why can’t Inter Milan score at least two goals at your home ground?”

Twain gave a laugh, “Well said, Mr. Mourinho. It doesn’t really matter what we say here right now. I think football is played with the legs and not with glib talk. I’m looking forward to the game.”

“I’m looking forward to it too.” Mourinho responded with a cold face.

What seemed to be specifically asked to embarrass him, this time an English reporter asked, “Since the home side conceded two goals, the situation is grim for the team’s promotion. What do you think of the current situation, Mr. Mourinho?”

“I admit the competition is going to be tough. But I’m confident. We’ve eliminated them once, and it’s no exception this time.”

Twain pursed his lips. But he did not say, “that’s because I wasn’t there.”

It was pleasurable to win against Mourinho in the war of words. But it could in turn hurt the feelings of the coaches such as Dunn and Kerslake. Because that indirectly meant that his aides were incompetent…

The press conference eventually ended in an awkward and tepid atmosphere. Mourinho did not even shook hands with Tony Twain and hurried away from the scene. However, Twain still smiled and posed for the photojournalists present to take a few more photos.

To be able to score two away goals and compel Mourinho to yield at the press conference, both matters made him feel good.

※※※

Despite Twain’s failure to name George Wood in his post-match press conference, Wood’s outstanding performance in the game had also attracted a lot of attention. Nottingham Forest’s rivals were scared to discover that the silly boy who used to defend the entire field like a headless chicken had grown into a powerful offensive weapon in the Nottingham Forest lineup.

“He can freeze the other team’s midfield core one-on-one. He does not have to worry about attendance rate due to his excellent physicality and never-been-injured abnormal physique. He can shoot world class long shots to score, and now he can even start dribbling the ball from the backfield to bypass a few players to send the ball all the way to the other side’s penalty area … What more can you ask? Tony Twain has been focusing on developing Wood’s offensive ability since the start of the season. He intends to develop George Wood as the double core of the team—Wood has been a spiritual core before, and now he has signs of moving closer to becoming a tactical core. He can make interceptions directly in the midfield and then deliver the shells to his teammates. In some cases, he can even dribble the ball himself to break through and create opportunities. Such a midfielder is what every manager dream of.”

The media’s appraisal was good. Now that George Wood was in perfect form and his physical fitness was also on the rise, his status in the national team was increasingly important. Although Lampard had not announced his retirement from the national team, he was no longer likely to rock George Wood’s dominant position.

The players who partnered Wood were sometimes Gerrard, Barry, or Joe Cole. Only Wood’s position was immoveable. Capello liked this boy with a serious attitude. The only headache was that Wood received more yellow cards. Although he did not get red cards, it was still frustrating to be suspended due to the accumulated yellow cards.

Nottingham Forest was warmly welcomed by many fans since they returned to England. They scored two away goals and the public unanimously thought highly of them. Nottingham’s local media even could not wait and started looking at the clash between the Forest team and Barcelona. Poor Mourinho was tossed aside…

Even the Forest players were pleased with the result during an interview and were optimistic about the team’s prospects of a promotion.

Some people even spoke out about their next opponent, Barcelona, in the interview. For people who did not know what happened must have thought that the game that had just ended was the second leg between Nottingham Forest and Inter Milan…

That kind of optimism continued into the league tournament, with Nottingham Forest’s 3:0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. For a time, the media touted Nottingham Forest as an invincible warship.

Subsequently they came with this kind of thinking in their encounter with Bolton Wanderers in the 28th round of the Premier League. It was played at Nottingham Forest home ground. Everyone thought that with the Forest team in top form, it would be easy to defeat Bolton Wanderers, which was ranked sixteenth in the league.

But…

The twenty-one-year-old young player, Nathan Woolfe magically scored his second goal in the game and helped his team to defeat the mighty Nottingham Forest. The score for that game was 1:2, with the home team’s score in front and the away team behind.

At the end of the game, Twain sat in the chair in the technical area and did not express any anger. He did not throw his suit jacket nor kick a water bottle. He did not even swore incessantly. He just got up and expressionlessly shook hands with the Bolton Wanderers manager, Phil Brown.

Some people thought that Twain did not even take a stand due to his anger. The Nottingham Forest players also thought so. To have lost to a weak team like Bolton Wanderers which was on the edge of relegation zone at home, wouldn’t such a result be enough to make the boss angry? So, they hurriedly thanked the fans in the stadium and hurried into the locker room. Everyone waited in trepidation to shoulder for the boss’ fury.

But what happened next came as a surprise to them.

Twain smiled and told them they “lose well.”

“Do you know why I say that? I’m definitely not making an ironic remark, so you don’t have to worry about me scolding you next. I’m also not muddled and speaking nonsense from being angry. I’m clear-minded. I remembered your previous performances. I’m not reminding you because I just don’t think it’s persuasive enough to say those words when your spirits are high. But it’s different now.” He spread his hands and continued, “You just lost a game, and you lost a weak team like Bolton Wanderers. I think it will be very persuasive to say it now. No one will whisper in their hearts, ‘The boss is always an alarmist.’ Now I’ll tell you—if you continue to use this mentality to play against Inter Milan, you will lose everything including your underwear!”

“Am I being an alarmist? Just look at the game that has just ended. I bet you must have thought before the game that it would be effortless to beat such an opponent like Bolton Wanderers, which was about to fall into the relegation zone, right?”

No one made a sound, but everyone knew in their hearts that the boss was right… Few people could take an interest in the placed last fourth team, especially when a major Champions League match was about to begin.

“We have lost to a team like Bolton Wanderers because we momentarily underestimated our opponent. Do you think Inter Milan can’t even be compared to Bolton Wanderers? So, this game came just in time. If you must lose a game because you underestimated your opponent due to your pride, I would rather lose a regular league game than the Champions League. So, I can laugh now because I know I’m not going to lose the Champions League game. Will I?”

“No, boss.” Someone answered him.

“This is what you said.” Twain pointed to the players and said, “A man must keep his word. If you lose, then you’re not men.”

Chapter 793 - Relive the Past Experience

Despite Twain’s remark that “the players are not men if they lose”, he was still worried. He might appear to be confident, in fact, his inner pressure was no less than anyone else. One must know that the pressure on the players if they lost the game, would only last from the pitch to their home, while the pressure on the manager could last for days. Therefore, he could not be negligent.

In addition to using words to motivate the players, he must think of other ways.

The Inter Milan team had already arrived in Nottingham. Mourinho joked in an interview at London’s Heathrow airport that he did not think he was competing in an away game because he was very familiar with many things in England. Mourinho’s face looked relaxed and smiling in the television frame. He appeared to have a card up his sleeve. And he did not care that the reporters mentioned Nottingham Forest’s two away goals in front of him.

“I think it’s a good thing for us. Yes, Nottingham Forest has two away goals. At the same time, they only have two away goals while we’re not the same. Our away game hasn’t started yet. Why can’t we score three goals at the City Ground stadium?”

Looking at his tone and demeanor, it made people doubt that it was him and not Tony Twain who had the advantage of the away goals…

※※※

“It’s psychological warfare.” Twain’s snorted, “Mourinho lacks new ideas. He has taken a step backwards from staying in Italy for too long. He used to be like a sharp-toothed kitten.”

Twain did not have to worry that the walls had ears in his office or that the paparazzi would put miniature cameras and microphones in his domain, so he could sneer at Mourinho without fear.

Kerslake guffawed when he heard Twain’s analogy. He neither liked nor disliked Mourinho himself, but he clearly did not like “Mourinho the enemy.”

After commenting on his opponent, Twain looked at his assistant, Dunn.

“Dunn, have you prepared the thing?”

Dunn nodded and handed a disc to Twain. Twain did not put it on the CD-ROM, but repeatedly played with it in his hand. The disc’s surface reflected his face, somewhat blurry.

“I’ve decided to let them watch it twenty minutes before the game.” He spun the disc around with his index finger.

“What’s that?” Kerslake was a little curious.

“Something not nice for us.” Twain glance at Dunn. In fact, it was not really a good thing for Dunn. It was probably the biggest defeat he faced since he took charge of coaching Nottingham Forest alone. He wanted to give Dunn some face and did not want to say it too obviously.

“It was the Champions League quarterfinal series of the 2008-09 season, Nottingham Forest’s home game against Inter Milan.” Dunn himself introduced it.

“Ah, that game…” Kerslake was no longer curious. That game was a painful memory. If he could, he really did not want to think about it again. “Tony, you… Why do you want them to watch that?”

“Let them revive the old dream.” Twain shrugged.

“That was a nightmare…” Kerslake cried.

“Revisiting a beautiful old dream will only deprive them of the motivation to move forward. I don’t think the stimulus is enough.”

Kerslake knew that Twain was someone who kept his word. His lips quivered a little and he stopped speaking. He just cast a sympathetic glance at Dunn. After all, Dunn personally directed that game… He suddenly realized in a flash what it meant to “do whatever it takes to win.”

Dunn had no objection and said, “Tony had discussed it with me, and I agreed. I also think it’s a good idea.”

Dunn personally cut, edited and burnt the CD-ROM, in order to meet Twain’s requirements. To make the video more impactful, he needed to watch the game many times and select the best scenes to edit and put together. For Dunn, it was like looking in the mirror at his own worst moments to repeatedly watch the scenes and place his own shortcomings under the microscope to analyze them. No one liked this kind of feeling.

But Dunn must do this kind of job for the team’s requirements.

Kerslake felt it was a hard job to be Tony’s assistant, but fortunately it was Dunn and not him…

“That’s it, guys. Let’s give Mourinho a lively welcome party!”

※※※

On the day of the match, throngs of crowds milled around the City Ground stadium, with a large number of fans walking along the banks of River Trent to the City Ground stadium. A lot of fans were already in the stands, including Nottingham’s most die-hard fan group, John, Bill and the others from the Forest Bar.

They arrived in the stadium ahead of time and were busy hanging the banners.

“Welcome back to England, welcome to the City Ground stadium, José!”

The first sentence appeared as if Mourinho and them were really friendly, but the following sentence exposed the hostile relationship between both rivals: “You won’t win this time too!”

The Inter Milan fans were certainly not to be outdone. They also had their way to fight back.

A group of Inter Milan fans hung a banner with the score below the stands. The score of 2:0 and 3:0 were written on it, of which 2:0 was the score at Inter Milan’s home ground, and 3:0 was the record they wrote in the City Ground stadium.

Since Nottingham Forest entered Tony Twain’s era, no team had ever scored three goals at the City Ground stadium and kept Nottingham Forest from scoring. Mourinho did it.

The matter would not have been worth a mention, but due to Tony Twain’s repeated provocations, the Inter Milan fans simply wrote in bleeding colors to provoke the Nottingham Forest fans as a counter response to their constant provocations.

These two games, especially the score at the home ground, were indeed a “painful memory” for the Nottingham Forest fans.

They had let the opponent scored five goals for the home and away matches and failed to score even one goal. In that game at the City Ground stadium, the Forest players bottled up their energy and wanted to teach Inter Milan a lesson when they got back to the home side. No one expected Inter Milan caught hold of the Forest team’s over eagerness to press for an attacking goal and successfully snuck an attack when the game started. After leading by three goals, Inter Milan played more comfortably, and Nottingham Forest played increasingly anxious. The whole team counted on their acting manager, Dunn to be able to step up and try hard to save a desperate crisis. Dunn could only look on helplessly at the field and completely did not know what to do. He usually prepared a full head of football technical and tactical knowledge. But at this moment, he could not even apply it in the slightest bit.

In the end, the team played more and more chaotically. Inter Milan took the opportunity to score consecutive goals and utterly crushed the Nottingham Forest players’ fighting spirit with 3:0. Then the game went into garbage time.

After the game, the local media in Nottingham angrily stated that, judging by the performance of the game, if Inter Milan had scored another goal, the Nottingham Forest players would have to collectively hold their hands up and kneel for mercy.

Even the Forest fans, who almost never booed their own team in the stands, could not help but hiss too.

After that game, countless Nottingham Forest fans gathered in all the major bars to talk about the same issue—

What would it look like if Tony was still there?

Now they had a chance to find out the answer.

※※※

The buses for both teams’ players arrived in the stadium for the pre-match warm-up. But the Nottingham Forest players came earlier. About only a quarter of the crowd sat in the stands when they entered the stadium to warm up, while the Inter Milan players had just left the hotel where they stayed at.

When the Inter Milan players arrived at the stadium at a regular time to carry out the warm-up, they found that the Nottingham Forest players were getting ready to leave.

This surprised some people because, as was customary, everyone came out together to warm up at the same time. So why did the Nottingham Forest players finish the warm-up so early? With more than half an hour to go before the game starts, what were they doing in the locker room now? Take a bath and a nap after?

The Nottingham Forest players brushed past the Inter Milan players; they did not care about the puzzled looks from the Inter Milan players.

All this, of course, was arranged by the boss. He asked the team to make use the home team’s advantage to come into the City Ground stadium early, start warming up, and then return to the locker room. He had a mysterious and exciting thing to show everyone…

Everyone was guessing what it meant for the boss to suddenly rack his brains to show a “film” half an hour before the game to everyone. Who was still in the mindset to watch a film at this time?

Twain smiled and did not speak. After everyone entered the locker room, he switched off the lights, turned on the DVD projector and television.

After a brief black screen, a sound rang out in the small space of the locker room:

“Ibrahimovi?!! Ibrahimovi?!! A beautiful turn to shoot! Just three minutes into the game, Inter Milan obtained an incredible lead! Now Inter Milan is already 3:0 ahead of Nottingham Forest! Poor Nottingham Forest… Of course, they want to bring down Inter Milan at home, but they did not expect to concede another goal. It’s not easy to play this game…”

Many of the Forest players in the locker room changed faces. They might have made a lot of guesses, but no one expected the boss to show them this … The players who had experienced that game would not easily forget the humiliation—the home fans actually booed the team they originally supported team. They clearly had the drive but could not execute it. They could only run back and forth behind the opponent. The pace of the game was controlled by Inter Milan right from the beginning. They did not even have the power to fight back.

He did not even have to worry about the Forest players who had not played the game. Dunn’s excellent clip was enough to give them an immersive experience of that 0:3 game.

Three minutes into the opening, Ibrahimovi? scored a goal.

Then it was followed by another goal at the start of the second half. By this time, Inter Milan already had a 4:0 lead over Nottingham Forest and even had scored two away goals. Nottingham Forest needed to score at least five goals in the remaining forty minutes if they wanted to qualify and not let their opponents continue to score. It was an impossible task for a team like the Forest team.

Eventually, there were fans in the stands who could not stand the ordeal and emitted shrill boos. Finally, the sporadic boos joined together, and became an unstoppable mainstream voice. The commentator’s voice sounded even more piercing amid the booing, “Even since Tony Twain became the manage of this time, there had never been anything like it in a game. The fans, labelled as the most loyal fans in the Premier League, actually boo their home team… I don’t even know what to say… The Nottingham Forest players’ performance are really terrible!”

The players who had played in that game seemed to go back to that day and relive the scene, which made them all bow their heads and not want to watch the television screen. If possible, they even wanted to cover their ears. The booing was so shrill that it was as if there were needles poking at their hearts.

Whereas the players who joined the team later understood when they watched the game—to Nottingham Forest, which was the defending champion at the time, it was a heavy blow for Nottingham Forest, which was once successful, fearless and thought that the whole world was in their hands…

this time? Samuel! In the chaos in front of the goal, Samuel got the ball. There was no Nottingham Forest player around him! It’s incredible! … 3:0! Inter Milan is ahead of Nottingham Forest by 5:0! The game ends in twenty minutes, but I’d say… looking at the performance of the Nottingham Forest players, the game has now entered garbage time ahead of schedule.”

No one could stare indifferently at the screen after hearing that, except for Tony Twain.

The coaches, including Dunn and Kerslake, averted their eyes from the television screen. They also did not want to relive the nightmare.

Twain was the devil for forcing them to recall such a cruel game. And he was still smiling—the light from the television screen shone on Twain’s face. That expression should be a smile!

After the video clip of the game finished playing, Twain did not turn on the lights immediately. Instead, he told everyone in the dark with his hoarse voice why he did this.

In this kind of environment, his voice sounded as if it came from the depths of hell. It was hoarse, sometimes low, sometimes sharp, and uncomfortable to listen to.

“Is anyone still speculating as to why I’m showing you something like this? I know that game is definitely not a ‘good memory’ for some people. I just hope you know that we can laugh at some failures and they will pass. Some failures we absolutely cannot forget! What do you do if the enemy wants to humiliate you? Obediently climb through under his pants?! No! That’s not our style! You should use your head to knock their testicles above when you climb under his pants! Knock him to the ground and stamp with your feet! Stamp! Crush! Until his balls burst! If you don’t want this game to happen again to you, if you don’t want your own supporters to switch sides and cheer for your opponent, if you don’t want the enemy to mock you as a bunch of sissies after they beat you, then remember to win this game! We lost by 0:3! It’s like being pinned under and gang-raped by eleven strong men, too powerless to fight back! Do you like to be gang-raped? I don’t like it! I feel sick!”

Twain finished saying that before he turned on the lights in the locker room.

The light was restored instantly which many people had not adjusted to yet. They covered their faces and squinted their eyes to hide in the shadows.

“How does it feel to be back to reality?” Tony Twain’s tone and emphasis did a one hundred and eighty degree turn when he opened his mouth again, completely without the previous sternness and rebuke. His squinted eyes and smiling face looked really harmless. But anyone who knew him was aware that this version of Tony Twain was more dangerous. “A lot of you must be relieved—fortunately it was only a dream, right? But dreams and reality are closely linked. Now that Inter Milan is at our door, is this still a dream? If you’re not careful, the nightmare just now will come back! I don’t want to hear the boos from the home fans on my own pitch. I’ll never want that in my lifetime ever! You know what to do, don’t you?”

“Yes, boss!” Was there any fool who would say “I don’t know?”

“That’s great.” Twain put his hands together and said, “Remember the feeling you had in the dark just now. Never forget, guys! That’s the most valuable asset of your career…”

Chapter 794 - Poor Quaresma

During the handshake, Inter Milan’s players got the feeling that Nottingham Forest’s players emanated a killing intent that was even stronger than before.

They were perplexed.

Nottingham Forest is the team going into this match with an advantage! Why are they acting in such an aggressive manner? We are the ones who should be giving off a killing intent!

The stadiums in England are generally smaller in size. The City Ground Stadium can only hold a maximum of 30,000 spectators, but to the Italians however, the noise that is produced from such a small stadium could not be underestimated.

The smaller the stadium, the closer the audience gets to the football pitch. Every single sound that they make will easily concentrate and be distinctly picked up on the pitch.

At stadiums like the San Siro Stadium where the stands are situated further and higher away from the pitch, the players are unable to see the fans from where they stand on the pitch, and they feel less stressed as a result. However, at traditional British stadiums such as the City Ground Stadium, not only can players hear every single swear word that the fans shout clearly, they can even see the hairs in the nostrils of the fans who stand right behind the goalpost when they shoot for goal. The kind of stress that comes with playing at smaller stadiums was not something that the players can experience at large stadiums.

Forest fans exerted enormous pressure on the Inter Milan players from the start of the match. They made use of boos, chastisements and all sorts of gestures to disturb the Inter Milan fans. The atmosphere in the stadium made Mourinho furrow his brows.

Mourinho decided to start Quaresma in the match again given his outstanding performance previously. He hoped that Quaresma would be able to make use of his personal skills and abilities to trouble Nottingham Forest’s defense.

There was theoretically nothing wrong with his decision to play Quaresma. Choosing to rely on a player’s individual performance when you have to face off against a team that is strong at defense might sometimes lead to unexpected results.

Quaresma was laughed and booed at by the Nottingham Forest fans after he got the ball out of bounds when trying to stop it at his feet. The mockeries from the fans happened so close to him that it made him tense up, and he started performing poorly afterwards.

As a result, Mourinho could not pin his hopes on Quaresma being able to bring about any drastic change to the team’s offense anymore…

The Forest fans spared no pains in going against Inter Milan. The moment Inter Milan makes a tiny mistake, there would be overwhelming laughter and boos from the Forest fans.

On the other hand, every single time a Nottingham Forest player touches the ball, there would be thunderous applause from the Forest fans.

This is the home advantage…

※※※

Quaresma was an inconsistent player. In the previous match between the two teams, he was able to put in a brilliant performance and even score a world-class goal. In this match however, he has been performing poorly.

There was a time in the match where Quaresma failed to get past Baines at the flank, and he chose to raise his foot and shoot for goal forcibly. However, his outside of foot shot flew right past the end line and was miles away from the goalpost.

His blind shot at goal made Ibrahimovi? very upset as he had been waiting in the middle of the pitch for him to pass the ball over. Ibrahimovi? flailed his arms about vigorously to let Quaresma know that he should have passed the ball over to him instead of shooting for goal, but Quaresma hung his head in frustration over the mistake that he just made, and did not pay any attention to the Swedish forward.

Quaresma tried to make his way into Forest’s penalty box a while later, but he was intercepted by George Wood who came at him with a tackle. The ball did not roll out of bounds, but Quaresma rolled off the pitch.

Quaresma, who was on the ground, signaled to the referee that Wood had just committed a foul, but the referee showed no interest in his claims. The referee did not blow on his whistle, and that indicated that the referee did not think Wood had committed a foul on Quaresma.

Quaresma was furious with the referee’s decision. He jumped up from the ground and began flailing his arms about as he complained to the referee incessantly about his decision. He completely ignored how Wood had started going on the attack right as he was complaining to the referee.

His behavior upset Mourinho. Mourinho stood right behind Quaresma and hollered at the player who was from Portugal just like him, “What are you f*cking doing, Ricardo? Get back in the match!”

Quaresma became much more well-behaved after he got scolded at by his manager. However, it did not take long for him to start ‘misbehaving’ again.

Quaresma was not in a good form for the match, but he was very worked up for some reason. He would raise his hand and signal to the referee that the other party has committed a foul the moment there is a little bit of physical contact. He would blame the opponent for playing petty tricks when he lost the ball, and he would also claim that the other party collided with him when he failed to get past them.

It was not just during offense that he acted with this much agitation. He acted the same way during defense well. People were worried that he would be shown two yellow cards and get sent off the pitch before the first half ended.

Those people clearly worried too much.

Quaresma did not receive a single yellow card in the match, though he was still taken off the pitch…

Wood did not pass the ball straight away after he snatched it from Quaresma’s feet. Instead, he observed the situation on the pitch, and came to the decision that he should bring the ball forward himself.

His decision came as good news to Quaresma, who had been held back by Wood. It meant that he had the chance to snatch the ball back from Wood and catch Forest off guard!

Without hesitation, Quaresma moved beside Wood and tried to snatch the ball back while tugging onto his shirt.

Just when he had stuck his leg out, Wood galvanized into action and he dragged Quaresma with him as he made a turn.

Thereafter…

Quaresma led out a cry in pain and he released his hand that had been holding onto Wood’s shirt. His face went white as he laid on the ground with a hand over his right knee.

He did not look like he was putting on an act…

Wood glanced at Quaresma who was on the floor. He hesitated a little but still decided to kick the ball out of bounds.

Everyone was unprepared for the incident since it occurred so suddenly. The commentator went into a short daze before he said, “Quaresma is injured… How did he get injured?”

A replay of the incident began to air on the television screen.

Quaresma had tugged on Wood’s shirt in hopes of lessening his pace, which would then bring about a chance for him to snatch the ball away from Wood.

It was a good plan, but who would have known how fearsome Wood’s strength and energy was?

Quaresma had his right leg as a support, and right at the moment when he stuck his leg out to snatch the ball away, Wood suddenly galvanized into action. The force behind Wood’s actions caused every other part of Quaresma’s body, barring his right leg, to turn forward. His right leg was not able to turn with the rest of the body because it had been acting as a pivot for his body. As a result, it created an utterly bizarre scene: Quaresma’s body had already made a 360 degree turn, but his right leg still maintained its original position…

Everyone knew what the scene signified.

There wasn’t a single person whose knee would be in good shape after making a turn that was not humanly possible.

And that was also why Quaresma has fallen to the ground yelling in pain with a hand over his knee.

“Oh god…” The commentator’s voice did not sound like he normally did. He was frightened by the scene that he had just viewed. The moment where Quaresma’s knee got twisted and became deformed was shown before everyone in slow motion. The scene was real and brutal. Not everyone could act normally after seeing such a scene.

“I think that Quaresma’s knee has suffered a very bad sprain. He’s definitely unable to continue playing in this match.” The commentator showed reservation in expressing his real thoughts.

Maybe Quaresma will be unable to continue playing for the rest of the season.

Inter Milan’s medical staff rushed to Quaresma’s side without waiting for the referee to gesture for them to get on the pitch. The spot in which Quaresma laid at was very near to Inter Milan’s bench after all.

They removed Quaresma’s hand that he had clasped over his knee. When Inter Milan’s head doctor Franco Combi saw Quaresma’s right leg, he could not help but draw a deep breath.

His calf laid in an absolutely abnormal manner next to his thigh. It did not look like Quaresma’s calf at all, because a normal person’s leg would not be joined together in the same way that his was. It was proof that Quaresma had fractured his knee joint.

Nevertheless, Combi still had to comfort Quaresma who was in a lot of pain, “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal…”

He had already gestured Mourinho to bring on a substitute for Quaresma.

“I… I can’t feel… My… My… Right leg…” Quaresma was in tears as he laid on the ground. The doctor might have tried to console him all this while, but he knew what had happened to him. There was nothing more agonizing than a broken leg to a professional footballer.

Quaresma, who had been as lively as a rabbit just a while ago, was now lying lifelessly on the ground. His right calf was twisted to the side. The sweat that had been secreted due to the pain and the tears that gushed out from his eyes blended into one. It was impossible to separate them from each other.

Even the Nottingham Forest players had looks of pity on their faces upon seeing the scene.

The boos that were targeted at Inter Milan gradually stopped, and the City Ground Stadium that could hold 30,000 spectators suddenly quietened down.

A stretcher had been sent onto the pitch. Four medical staff gingerly placed Quaresma onto the stretcher. Combi then covered his right leg with a towel before the stretcher was lifted off the pitch.

Quaresma’s injury might not have been caused by a foul from Wood, but Wood was still inextricably linked to it.

Wood stood by Quaresma’s side ever since he fell to the ground. He only walked up to Quaresma when he had been lifted up in the stretcher, and he gently patted him on the shoulder.

He had never been injured before, but that did not mean he did not understand how it felt to be injured. He has been feeling guilty all this time for causing Eastwood to suffer a serious injury due to his reckless actions. He hopes to avoid getting injured as much as possible, unless he is really left with no other choice.

Quaresma felt someone pat him on the shoulder, but he assumed it was from his team mate and did not pay any heed to it. He had covered his face with both of his hands and was feeling tormented over the fact that he was injured. He was not in the mood to care about anything else.

Quaresma was definitely not going to be able to get back on the pitch for the remainder of the match. He needed to be sent to a local hospital in Nottingham for immediate treatment straight away. He would only take a plane back to Milan after the match has ended.

His injury messed up Mourinho’s plans completely. Mancini has not recovered from his injury and Mourinho did not even bring him along to England. Now that Quaresma was severely injured, Mourinho was left with no other choice but to bring on the 32 year-old Dejan Stankovi? as a substitute for Quaresma.

※※※

Twain crossed his leg after seeing Stankovi? get on the pitch. It was a sign that he was very relaxed at the moment.

“It’s a shame that Quaresma suffered such a serious injury and I do feel sorry for him, but this is a chance that has been given to us. Inter Milan’s players must still be reeling in shock from what just happened, and bringing on another player so suddenly will lead to some confusion and chaos on their side as well. If we can grasp this chance, we can close out the match.” Twain told the two assistant managers beside him.

“David, tell the players to strengthen their offense. This is a good chance to get a goal.”

Kerslake did as he was told. He had a loud voice that did not pale in comparison to Tony Twain’s, and more importantly, his voice was not as hoarse as Twain’s. When he shouts at the top of his voice, even people who are situated very far away from him can hear him, which is why Kerslake is generally the one who will relay Twain’s instructions to the team during the match, unless there are important things that Twain must convey personally.

As Kerslake stood by the side of the pitch, he made use of his loud voice and hand gestures to tell the Nottingham Forest players, “Don’t let the fact that an opposing player sustained an injury get you down! This is a very good chance for us to score a goal!”

※※※

If anyone had thought that the atmosphere in the stadium would ease up a little and become much better for the away team to perform in after seeing how Nottingham Forest’s fans showed kindness and respect towards Quaresma when he was injured, then they were utterly mistaken.

Laughter and boos directed at the Inter Milan players rang out from the stands once again a while after the match restarted.

There was not even a shred of sympathy on the Forest fans…

As fans, they draw a clear line between ‘work’ and ‘personal affairs’. Keeping quiet when Quaresma was injured was out of personal feelings, but now that they are in a match, it was back to ‘business’ for them.

Twain wanted his team to strengthen their offense and fight for a goal, but Mourinho did not make any further mistakes. He quickly saw through Twain’s plan, and immediately got his team to make their formation more compact and pay more attention to defense. They were not going to give Nottingham Forest any chance to score a goal.

The Inter Milan players put in a good performance. Nottingham Forest attacked Inter Milan vigorously, but they lacked the finishing blow. Ibi?evi? was tightly marked by Inter Milan’s defenders, and Mourinho chose to let his players get rough on ?ahin as a way to curb his attacks. Both flanks were also well-defended, and the players were also asked to keep a close eye on George Wood and Tiago.

All in all, Inter Milan did not give Forest even the slightest chance to score.

The match reached a stalemate. Both teams spent most of their time battling it out in the midfield and had very few chances at goal. It was quite boring to watch.

However, things were different for this game as compared to their previous match against Inter Milan. It would be good if the team could score goals, but Twain would not feel irritated if the match continued to stay as a stalemate since they have two away goals. Nottingham Forest would still progress to the next round even if the score stayed 0:0 at the end of the match.

Hence, Twain’s core tactic for this home game was to ‘defend and counterattack’.

It was a tactic that has made countless of their opponents gnash their teeth in anger, and it will always make a grand appearance every time Twain needed a result. It represented Tony Twain’s ‘conservative football’ and ‘result football’.

George Wood and Tiago were both playing as the defensive midfielders and their main role was to defend. Cohen and Fernández play as the side midfielders, but they were not attacking midfielders. They had to defend while going forward to attack. Leighton Baines and Rafinha play as the full backs, but unlike the previous match against Inter Milan, they did not need to go forward and join in the attack as frequently. Their main job was to defend.

As for Ibi?evi? and ?ahin, they were asked to snatch the ball back despite being more attack-oriented players. Ibi?evi? also has to return to the penalty box during set pieces to help in the defense and head the ball away for his team.

Netherlands’ football is to either go all out in offense or defense. Tony Twain’s football is to go all out in defense and only half in offense. It is easy to see why others say he only cares about results…

Inter Milan had no way of breaking through Nottingham Forest’s sturdy defense after losing Quaresma.

The key to breaking the deadlock during a battle between two top teams in football could lie in the manager’s ability to make changes based on the situation on the pitch, the players’ individual performances, one counterattack, one set piece or one mistake from the opponent.

Sadly, none of the aforementioned factors happened up to the end of the first half. Both managers wanted a more solid performance from their team, and they sought to make the least number of mistakes while they waited for the other party to make an error. The players for both teams were not able to shine due to the restrictions present in the tactics that their managers have chosen.

When the first half ended, Mourinho’s face had gone dark, whereas Twain carried a smile on his face.

If things continue in the way that they have in the first half, then Nottingham Forest would definitely progress to the next round!

Chapter 795 - The Chip Shot

At half-time Twain praised the team’s overall performance and asked the team to continue playing like that. Mourinho, on the other hand, was not as relaxed; he was concerned about Quaresma’s injury and how to crack Nottingham Forest’s defensive counter-attack tactics. Other than improving their offense, what else was there to do?

Inter Milan was a bit demoralised. Quaresma suffered such a serious injury because the situation was disadvantageous — the news from Comby confirmed that Quaresma would miss all of the games this season and that it was not clear when he would return next season.

But Mourinho’s spun this into a morale boost for the team. He used Quaresma’s broken leg to inspire the players in the team, telling them that they there was no way back and that he would have to roll back to Milan if they did not work hard enough, also that Quaresma’s injury would be pointless.

And like Tony Twain, Mourinho was also a demagogue who was able to spur others. He excelled in these things. Those Inter Milan players who were uninspired were motivated by his words like wolves.

And just like that, they were back on the court. Inter Milan’s attack was clearly strengthened after the start of the second half, and they were taking a siege at the Akinfeev’s goal without thinking about their defense. That being the case, Nottingham Forest was naturally happy to fight back defensively.

But César played well, he consecutively blocked two shots from Nottingham Forest. With him at the back protecting the goal, Inter Milan’s attacking players were relieved.

Twain was furious that the team had missed two chances. He was acutely aware that the second half was different from the first half. In the first half, it was a mess that only alleviated with Quaresma’s injury. There was something ominous about the second half and they could not help but be wary.

※※※

Ibi?evi? was in the thick of the game and had to take on too many defensive tasks, also he was not fast enough to fight back. Twain decided to replace him immediately, loath to delay. What if Inter Milan scored in this period of time?

Since they wanted to counterattack, of course a striker who is speedy would be ideal. One option would be the experienced striker Eastwood and the other the faster Agbonlahor. Eastwood was not slow, but he was certainly not as fast as Agbonlahor. However, he was more capable of grasping opportunities in front of the goal mouth with several ways of shooting methods. The advantage of Agbonlahor was much simpler; that is, speed. He moved like the wind and it was almost a guarantee that he could break through the defensive line easily and face the goalkeeper directly.

But what then, after facing the goalkeeper? Agbonlahor’s shooting was not superb so it was possible to lose in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and César was in good form and might have made some incredible saves. If Agbonlahor repeatedly wasted his opportunities, it would only strengthen Inter Milan’s confidence and reduce Nottingham Forest’s resolve to fight back quickly.

After weighing his options, Twain opted for the slightly slower but technically better pure striker, Eastwood. After calling Eastwood to him, Twain looked at him and laughed, “When I need help, you’re always the first person I think of, Freddy.”

“We need to score goals, Chief.”

“You’re not going to let me down, are you?”

“I was riding Fina this morning as a warm up, Chief.” Fina was Eastwood’s horse. When Fina was younger, Eastwood used to ride it on the road in the eastern suburbs of London as warm-up. Today, it was very sturdy, and Eastwood’s stance in these two seasons was also very outstanding.

“That’s assuring. As you said, go up and score goals.” Twain patted him on the shoulder and handed the work to Don, who was responsible for explaining the general tactics to him.

Don asked Eastwood to move more widely on the pitch, not to be confined to the middle of the road. He also told Eastwood not to think too much about the defence and to focus on scoring instead. To shoot more, no matter where he was, since more shots would mean more chances of scoring.

Eastwood nodded, then the fourth official held up a sign on the sidelines to signal for his substitution. Ibi?evi? walked off the pitch to complete the handover with Eastwood, and both of them were applauded by Forest’s fans. Although there were no goals, Super Ibe was working very hard in defence, and there are several key headers to clear the ball. His selfless character also helped the team’s overall defense.

Eastwood came on, and everyone knew it was Twain’s “offensive signal”. Eastwood was not good at defending, but he was good at scoring goals, and his physicality did not allow him to sprint back and forth from one penalty area to another in the game, let alone physically confront his opponent.

Eastwood ran on the field with his right hand above his head, drawing a circle and eventually pointing to the front. Keep going with the defensive counterattack. All the Forest players could understand it.

Twain made a substitution but Mourinho’s side was still standing put. First of all, he still did not know what effect this adjustment of Twain would bring, so it was better to observe first. Secondly, due to Quaresma’s accidental injury, he lost a replacement for no reason and only had two cards left which he could only use in the most crucial moment.

He just let the players on the back line pay attention to the offside. One way to deal with defensive counter-attacks was to create an offside, allowing the opposing attacking player to fall into the offside trap frequently, causing the opposing passer to no longer dare to pass the ball straight.

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s counter-attacking quality improved after Eastwood came on. The Romani could control the ball under his feet. He was very well-rounded, could break through and shoot from afar. Such a striker could do what that required several talents to do alone. Forest’s long and straight pass on the counter-attack had a high error rate, but once successful, Eastwood could face César directly.

Eastwood also did not return to defend, but instead just stood in front of the field and waited for the opportunity. If his teammates made a mistake in passing the ball, he would snatch the ball, but he would let go otherwise and continue to wait for the next chance. He believed in the midfield’s ability to intercept and there would not be a lack of chances for him.

The Forest players in the midfield also had great confidence in Eastwood’s ability so they did not worry that their passes would not reach anyone. They just had to send the ball forward.

After Wood intercepted a pass from Inter Milan, he passed the ball to ?ahin, who continued to pass it straight. This time they succeeded! Samuel had some big direct cuts, but he let the football slip past his feet! Eastwood ran out from behind Andreu and went offside, sloping to catch the ball.

“Freddy Eastwood! A beautiful pass that was not offside!”

But this was not a death sentence for Inter Milan because there was still some distance between the route of the pass and Eastwood. As long as César’s timely strike blocking the line and angle, coupled with his continued magical play, then it was not impossible to save the team at a time.

Julio César made his choice. He ran out of the goal to get as close as possible to Eastwood to block his shot. At the same time, he recalled some of Eastwood’s technical features. As a striker, he preferred to shoot hard instead of shooting cleverly. That’s good, blocking the angle, no matter how much strength, unless he shot past the goalkeeper, he would not score.

ahin passed the ball straight, Eastwood slotted in, and if he wanted to shoot, he needed to adjust his direction after receiving the ball, which was advantageous for Inter Milan’s defense.

César slowed down a little because he thought he could grab the ball in front of Eastwood, and once he got out he would not be able to use his hands, which would greatly limit his play. He intended to let Nottingham Forest’s No.11 get the ball first and then block his shot.

“Eastwood was about to reach the ball and now he is right outside the penalty area and César has blocked his angle of the shot. Will he pass the Brazilian goalkeeper?”

“Pass him!” There was a tsunami of mountain calls in the stands, and they all wanted to see Eastwood dribble pass César, send the football beautifully into the empty goalmouth, and admire the desperate expression on the faces of the chasing Inter Milan players. As long as the goal was scored, Inter Milan needed to score at least two goals to secure promotion.

But Eastwood made an action that no one thought he could. Once he received the ball, the Gypsy was facing sideways towards César, he lifted right foot calf…

The football chipped over the top of César, who had already dropped his centre of gravity and prepared to pounce on the ball, and flew straight to the empty door behind him!

“Chip shot! Beautiful! Beautiful!”

César would have been prepared for Eastwood’s strong shot, but he did not think the other side would actually do a chip shot. When he jumped from the ground to pounce on the ball he had already been too late as he could only be half-kneeling on the ground, turning his head shockingly to look at the ball that was still in the air.

Eastwood, who had completed the chip shot, ran to the other side and was ready to celebrate the goal with open arms. He knew that the ball could not be stopped by anyone, not even the crossbar posts.

César watched the football fall into the net, and finally fell to the ground on one side, a chill was sent into his heart.?The graceful arc seemed to make all the sounds disappear and stopped time, but when the football fell into the goal, the city pitch comes alive like an erupting volcano.

“Wonderful shot! A kick of surprise. César is in good shape, but Eastwood, who hasn’t been on the pitch for long, was in better shape than he is! The goal, from passing to running to the last shot, had a clear and easy path. Eastwood’s as he is during regular trainings — you don’t see any extra movement when he shoots. Neat! ”

“Ahha! Don’t think that I can only shoot hard shots!” Eastwood, after the goal, flew on the pitch with open arms and gloated.

“You’re still chewing gum? Aren’t you afraid of swallowing that thing!” Teammates flocked to him.

“Hey, if you don’t pat me on the head, I won’t!”

“Hahahaha-”

※※※

Unlike the Nottingham Forest players who were basking in their excitement, the Inter Milan players were extremely frustrated. Nevermind that they could not score against Nottingham Forest despite the siege, but to have Nottingham Forest score against them? How were they to continue the game now? Now they had to make sure they did not lose the ball again and scored at least two more goals to qualify. Even if they end with 1:1 draw,they would be eliminated because of the lack of away goals.

Mourinho, as manager, stood rooted and was a little helpless. Technically, the loss started with Samuel’s shoveling error, but he could not blame anyone. Because of how he played, Nottingham Forest’s goal was going to come sooner or later. He had hoped to score before the other side, thus changing the stance of his play and taking the initiative of the game in his own hands.

Now it was all gone!

Was he really going to lost to Tony Twain?

Mourinho clenched his fist, he was not satisfied. Why was it so difficult to win a game from him!

※※※

Mourinho then replaced Cambiasso with Adriano and Mario Balotelli replaced Samuel, who made the mistake. He seemed to be doing an all-in like a madman.?Twain, on the other hand, substituted ?ahin with Woodgate, so the technique was re-stousteing, five full and three center backs as defense. As the game passed, his odds of winning increased. As long as Inter Milan did not score two goals in the last minute, Forest would advance even if they accidentally scored a goal. He really went all out with the exploiting…

In the final moments of the game, Forest gave Inter Milan three free-kicks in a row on the edge of the penalty area due to their exaggerated defense moves. This made Twain very nervous. He could no longer sit as he stood from the coach’s seat to step up to the side of the field, nervously watching the game.

He knew Balotelli was a free-kick ersty, and the division from Mihajlovic was not to be underestimated. He did not want to make himself the victim of a genius boy rising; he was more willing to be the devil who killed this genius boy.

Balotelli’s first free-kick hit the post and flew out of bounds, leaving the Forest fans in the stands in a cold sweat. Mourinho was as nervous as he was on the sidelines, staring at Balotelli while grit his teeth. What he was probably wanting to see the most at this moment was Balotelli’s “two goals to fame” drama.

The second free kick, Balotelli kicked the ball against the wall. The sly Nottingham Forest player took full advantage of the opportunity, being knocked to the ground by the football’s smouldering, as Eastwood, groaning in pain on the ground, was unwilling to get up.

Inter Milan wanted to continue their attack, but was hasty as they kicked the football at the feet of forest players. Barnes kicked the football into the stands with a big kick as the team doctor entered the field, wanting to drag the time.

Mourinho quipped on the pitch, “I bet if Barnes did not kick the ball out and decided to take the ball back for a counter-attack, Eastwood would jump up and take part in the attack.”

He was not wrong at all. Nottingham Forest just did not have much sportsmanship.Eastwood’s affair took five minutes and it did not take long after for Inter Milan to get another free-kick after the match resumed.

There were still three minutes to go before the additional injury time, and eight minutes left, even if the injury stoppage time was five minutes. To score two goals in eight minutes was not easy for Inter Milan’s players. Not to mention their opponents, Nottingham Forests, excelled in defense.

This third free-kick was a testament to how anxious inter Milan’s players are at the moment. Balotelli kicked the ball straight into the air, being 108,000 miles away from the goalmouth.

The six-minute injury lay-off did not bring good luck to Inter, who were frantically besieging Forest’s goal and even goalkeeper Julio César rushed up to play as a kicker in the corner. It did not help.

City’s stadium was instantly covered in loud cheers when the referee blew the final whistle. They finally got the revenge for the previous season and using the best way to eliminate Inter Milan.

At the end of the game, Nottingham Forest fans sang self-made songs in the stands to mock Mourinho,

“You’ll never win Tony! You’ll never win Tony! What a poor man! If Tony appears in your dreams, it would be a nightmare for you! If you open your eyes, Tony would appear in front of your eyes to smile at you, to smile at you! ”

In the midst of the noise, Mourinho came over to shake hands with Twain.

“Did you step on dog sh*t today?” He asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“You had such good luck.”

Twain laughed. “As long as I win, the reason doesn’t matter.” Twain did not care if his luck was good. “I only care about the results.”

In fact, when Mourinho was in Chelsea, he had been a little shameless, but when Tony Twain, such an extremely shameless person came into the picture, he lost. Hence, it was normal facing Twain with a consecutive loss record.

Chapter 796 - Before A Big Game

Eastwood’s shot became a topic of great relish among the Forest fans after the game. It was even featured on the opening reel of ESPN’s highlights and broadcasted repeatedly. It was a really terrific goal, like a work of art. The commentators joked that it was not humiliating for Mourinho to be wiped out under such a goal.

While Nottingham Forest eliminated Inter Milan with a score of 3:2, Barcelona also easily defeated Eindhoven by 2:0 and advanced to the final eight. The two high-profile teams finally met.

Although it would be almost a month before the two teams actually encounter each other, the media and fans were already eagerly counting down.

So far this season, Nottingham Forest had been hovering between the third and fifth places in the league tournament. It would take a lot of effort on their part to win the league title, while also praying that the top teams in the table would make consecutive mistakes. It was too low a probability. So, those people familiar with Tony Twain thought Twain would focus the strength on the Champions League while retaining a top-four spot in the league tournament.

Barcelona’s situation was slightly better than Nottingham Forest. They currently occupied the top spot in the league tournament, with the second-placed Real Madrid four points away from them. At the same time in the Copa del Rey, they also reached the final. It looked like it was going to be another successful season—they were likely to achieve the great accomplishment of a Treble, even though Real Madrid was eyeing covetously in the league tournament, the Copa del Rey final was against Sevilla, which was recovering and wanted to use the Copa del Rey as a chance to re-emerge, and their Champions League opponent encountered was the toughest…

It was right to say that they had a bright future, and also reasonable to say that their future was uncertain.

With half a month to go before the game, Guardiola was asked by the reporters about the match against Nottingham Forest. He did not want to answer the question, so he said, “I’m only thinking about the next league game and derby against RCD Espanyol now. The Champions League is still half a month away.”

Unlike him, Twain spoke to the media early on about the game, “Who will be the eventual winner? Do you still need to ask the question? It’s obviously us! Barcelona is unlucky. Their competition schedule is not good for them during this period. This is our chance… Want me to comment on the Derbi barceloní the night after tomorrow? I hear it’s a bigger game than El Clásico? I hope a few players in their team will be injured in that game…”

The remark caused a stir in the Catalan media. <Mundo Deportivo> angrily denounced Twain as a “stadium fascist” and he actually said the despicable words of wanting his opponent to have their players injured in the game.

<Sport> derided Twain’s remarks as a “declaration of a coward.” Why? Because “he can only pray that we have injured players in Barcelona so that his team can win. How sad and pathetic it is!”

A number of other tabloids published their own comments about Twain in their articles. In their published caricatures, Twain became a monster with a human face and a bull’s body. He had long horns on his head and a tail behind his buttocks. A strip of a moustache above his lips made him looked like Hitler.

But Twain did not talk nonsense. At least Guardiola had the worry—what if his players were really injured in the Derbi barceloní against RCD Espanyol? What was he going to do? Messi was currently in great form and playing very well. He had scored consecutive goals and assists. He had long been a player who needed the special attention of his opponents in the games. Since it was the Derbi barceloní, it was almost inconceivable that RCD Espanyol would not send anyone to mark Messi. The use of lethal tactics against Messi in the games now seemed to become an “unwritten rule” in La Liga. In any team encounters against Barcelona, Messi would always be the player with the most violations against him after the game.

Cruyff had on more than one occasion called on the Royal Spanish Football Federation to introduce a rule: to protect the players with artistic talent and punish the lethal tactics that targeted a particular player. Although he did not mention Messi by name, anyone with a normal IQ knew he was speaking for Messi.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation could not change the rules for a player, and FIFA had long created a regulation to crack down on the “tackle from behind.” So, nothing could be changed.

Messi had already suffered an injury in the first half of the season and took a month and a half off to rest before returning. In fact, he had been injured for almost every season over the years. As one of the best offensive star players on the planet, he was naturally contradictory to the defenders. All defenders would never feel “tender, protective feelings” when they faced Messi. They would only shovel him to the ground again and again, forcing him to lose the ball and thus bringing Barcelona’s offense to a standstill.

Twain was definitely not cursing the Barcelona players. He was just telling the truth—the current situation was such. One could say that the players who were technically good suffered from others’ jealousy, or that the defensive players were killing the beauty of football. It was an indisputable fact that they were more likely to be injured.

Therefore, Twain’s words caused Guardiola a certain amount of complications… There was no doubt that the match against RCD Espanyol would be intense. Messi would certainly be the core of his team and be heavily marked by the opponent, which would even use lethal tactics. If Messi were to be injured in the game and missed the next few games, would the loss not be even greater?

He mulled over it, and in the Derbi barceloní a day later, Messi’s name was not on the starting list.

Some media exclaimed that Twain’s mouth was really powerful and could actually make the Barcelona manager changed his mind …

It was not as simple as not having Messi. The entire Barcelona team also practiced a little restraint when they played in that game against RCD Espanyol. As they played in the away game, they were clearly not as proactive as the home team, RCD Espanyol. The commentator said that Guardiola had instilled in them the idea of not getting hurt in the game when he touched on this point.

Regardless of how careful Guardiola was, Twain was right in that Barcelona’s competition schedule during this period was against them:

After Derbi barceloní with RCD Espanyol, the next round of the league tournament was against the fourth-placed Valencia, followed by the internationally highly anticipated “war of the century”, the “El Clásico” —Barcelona’s away game against Real Madrid. After they finished playing in the game, it would be time to play in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. They would wait at home for Nottingham Forest to come challenge. Then after playing this game, it was the league’s home game against Sevilla, followed by the away challenge against Nottingham Forest.

It looked like Twain really had a deep understanding of his opponent and even completely knew the other side’s schedule. In the face of such a difficult competition schedule, Barcelona still wanted to break through in all the tournaments. It was indeed difficult. After the league tournament was played till mid-April, everyone would be exhausted and lacked strength to continue by then. But this was the final sprint. A single slip might cause long lasting trouble.

Barcelona would not be willing to lose the Champions League title, nor would they want to give up the league tournament. The four-point gap was not enough for them to keep out Real Madrid, not to mention that they still had a chance to directly play against Real Madrid.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest’s competition agenda was much easier. They only had one stronger opponent before the game against Barcelona, and that was Chelsea.

※※※

The result of the Derbi barceloní was a 2:2 draw between the two sides. In this game, the referee showed nine yellow cards and one red card. RCD Espanyol’s center back, Sergio Sánchez was sent off with a red card for knocking over Iniesta. The latter lasted for fifteen minutes after he was sent off for a red card and was immediately replaced with Yaya Touré by Guardiola.

Twain’s jinx became true. After Iniesta was replaced, the center back, Gabriel Milito was forced off the field with a twisted ankle from a scuffle.

The Barcelona fans should be really happy that the game was a 2:2 draw because toward the end, Barcelona only had nine players to play—Milito was injured with eight minutes to go before the end of the game and Guardiola had used up all the substitutions.

The only good news was that Guardiola was right not to arrange for Messi to be in the starting lineup. In fact, by the end of the game, when Barcelona was facing a bad situation, Guardiola also did not let Messi play. After seeing RCD Espanyol’s exuberant fighting spirit and rough actions, only a fool would let Messi go up and take the risk.

After the game, the media went to interview Twain and asked him what he thought of the game. Twain used a tone which set the Catalan’s media teeth on edge, “This result showed that I absolutely did not maliciously curse the team, because I was telling the truth. I don’t believe that no one would get hurt and no one would not be sent off, playing a game like the Derbi barceloní. So similarly, I don’t believe there won’t be any bit of friction in playing in a game like El Clásico…”

The last remark revealed his sinister and despicable nature—RCD Espanyol was not enough. He continued to expect Real Madrid to cause trouble for Barcelona.

Of course, Twain’s comments had caught Barcelona’s attention. Guardiola did not say anything as always, but his players could not sit still.

The big mouth, Eto’o was the first to fire at Tony Twain, “Some people just lack basic respect. I really don’t know how this guy became the manager of a professional football club.”

Xavi also expressed his displeasure, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to promote injuries in players. Quaresma’s injury was a tragedy. Don’t tell me Mr. Twain wants to see such a tragedy unfold every day?”

In fact, the Barcelona players were clever and eloquent… Twain could only choose to shut up with response to Barcelona.

But the person caught in the middle who had it the hardest was Piqué. As a Barcelona player, Piqué’s affection for Nottingham Forest and Twain ran deep. Without his previous boss and Nottingham Forest, Piqué did not know how long he would have to endure before he could be in Barcelona’s First Team squad and become the current center back. He could be considered to “save his country through a roundabout way” …

The war of words with Barcelona was first provoked by Twain. As for Piqué, who had played for his team, he certainly knew what the boss had in mind—it was not that he hated Barcelona. It was completely a necessary means to victory and nothing more. But in the eyes of his Barcelona teammates, this man had a deep hatred of Barcelona.

When the reporters came up to ask him as the man in the Barcelona team who knew Tony Twain the best, Piqué could only use “I refuse to comment” to dodge it.

He did not want to say bad things about his mentor, but he could not help an outsider either, so he chose to be silent.

Twain could afford to pay such attention to Barcelona. Unlike Barcelona, which was struggling to compete and try to win multiple titles, his team played well enough to finish in the top four of the league tournament for now. He long since given up the FA Cup and EFL Cup. Now he had a lot of time to slowly play with Guardiola.

※※※

After a draw with RCD Espanyol and two players injured, the Catalan media could not help but panic. In fact, the media were like this and like to create a ruckus. Knowing that Nottingham Forest’s next league opponent was Chelsea, one by one, they began to trumpet Rijkaard’s great achievements previously at Barcelona. Since they had previously referred to Guardiola’s Barcelona as “the second dream team”, they had to say that Rijkaard was the “founder of the second dream team”, just like AC Milan’s Sacchi and Capello.

They looked back at Rijkaard’s experience in Barcelona and, of course, automatically blocked the bad things, saying nothing but merit. Everyone sang high praises of him and wish him all the best and success at Chelsea.

Looking at these attitudes, it could not be seen that when Rijkaard was in trouble, it was them who threw him under the bus.

Rijkaard was a smart and calm man who reacted coolly to the sudden collective crazy praises from the Catalan media. Everyone who left Barcelona did not seem to have a good impression of the local Catalan media…

When asked about the subject by the reporters, he simply said in a very bland tone, “I am the manager of Chelsea now. Of course, I will try to defeat Nottingham Forest, but it will not be for Barcelona.”

But a defeat of Nottingham Forest would not be beneficial for Barcelona. Twain did not seek to win the league title, so he could afford to lose a game or two. The Catalan media must have hoped that what Twain had “cursed” them with would happen to him—a number of players would leave the field with injuries in a bitter clash with Chelsea.

Twain did not give them that opportunity.

In the previous years when the two teams met, a war of words would inevitably happen, thus inciting explosive scenes during the game. Plus, Twain and Rijkaard had an old feud. The media speculated that the game might not be exciting, but it would certainly be intense. But what happened instead? Twain did not take the initiative to provoke a war of words, and Rijkaard, who was upset by the team’s factional locker room, was not in the mood to argue with outsiders.

Twain swapped the entire starting lineup for the game and rotated all the players expected by the media to be in the Champions League starting lineup to be on the bench and in the stands.

The game eventually ended with a 1:1 draw with Chelsea. Nottingham Forest was still in the fourth place in the league. It had little impact.

Compared to the Derbi barceloní, the game was civilized—there was no red card, only four yellow cards, and no one was injured. The media also guessed only half right. The game was really not exciting, but it was not intense either. It was dull for ninety minutes, with a scored goal for each side. The game, which was highly anticipated to be “an explosive duel” before, ended like it was an errand to be dealt with.

After the game, Twain wrote in four of his media columns mocking the Catalan media for “wasting their energies in vain.” The war of words between the two sides escalated further.

Although there was still more than a week to go before the real match day, the smoke had already spread, blown by the wind from England to Barcelona.

Chapter 797 - Heavyweight Skirmish

After they played the game with Chelsea, there was still one more league game before Nottingham Forest would fly to Barcelona in Spain for the Champions League quarterfinals.

Their opponent was not strong. It was only Blackburn Rovers. Tony Twain rotated the team again. Only half of the players who would play against Barcelona, were in the game. In the end, Nottingham Forest easily beat Blackburn Rovers, which was not on the same level at all, by 3:1.

Nottingham Forest’s game was played on Saturday afternoon. It was considered a slightly earlier game in this round of the Premier League. After the game, Twain handed the team to Kerslake and rushed straight to London with Dunn. They had to catch the evening flight to Madrid, Spain.

They were not traveling to Spain for a holiday nor for an elopement. They were going there just to watch El Clásico live the next night at the Bernabéu and collect first-hand information at the nearest distance.

The team would not leave for Barcelona until Sunday afternoon. By that time, Twain and Dunn would be waiting in their booked hotel for a long time.

※※※

It was now six hours before the evening’s game. They were already here early. It did not make sense to stay in the hotel. It was better to go out and explore. They could enjoy the atmosphere of a different country while relaxing their tight nerves.

Spain was not like England. Visitors wove through the sun-filled streets. Twain saw a lot of football fans from all over the world. He even saw East Asian faces. He did not know whether they were Chinese or Japanese. Some of them looked like ordinary tourists, wearing sun hats and sunglasses with cameras hanging in front of their chests. But some people paraded ostentatiously about town, wearing the jerseys of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Fortunately, this was not Glasgow. There was need to worry about being stabbed to death by the other side’s hardline fans…

There were also the media from all over the world doing random interviews with those football fans in the streets.

This scene was absolutely nonexistent in Nottingham. No matter how good Nottingham Forest was, the gap between a big city and a small town was not so easy to close. That was why most people still did not think of Nottingham Forest as a “powerhouse” —the so-called “powerhouses” were not located in small cities.

Inter Milan and AC Milan were in Milan, Italy’s second-largest city. Juventus was in Turin, the city of car industry. Not to mention Barcelona and Real Madrid. Manchester United was in the heavily industrial city of Manchester, while Liverpool was a famous port and tourist city on a large scale. There was also Munich, home to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim was also good in the Bundesliga, but no one would see them as “a powerhouse.” Even they themselves did not think so.

There was no large market without a big city, which in turn lacked more attention. It was all linked. Nottingham Forest completed its revival under Evan Doughty’s administration but there was still a long way to go to create even greater glory.

※※※

“It’s the first time I’ve been to the stadium to watch El Clásico…” Twain and Dunn stood outside the Bernabéu stadium, looking up at the huge white building.

“When I was still a football fan, I looked forward to coming to Europe to watch the famous derbies like the Derby della Madonnina, the Manchester derby, the Merseyside derby, the North London derby, El Clásico… Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it.” When Twain and Dunn were alone, he did not shy away from talking about who he was formerly. “Now that I can afford it, I’m only able to fulfill the wish after so many years…”

“I thought you really wanted to spy on the enemy.”

“Ha, of course I’m here to spy on the enemy. But it’s normal to have some personal selfish motives…”

“If you were a football fan, which team would you cheer for?” Dunn also asked a question that had nothing to do with his job.

Twain touched his nose and thought for a moment, “Barcelona… I think. Maybe it is.”

“Why the slight hesitation?”

“Because I wasn’t sure what my mentality was at the time. I have been a manager for so many years. I had long forgotten what it was like to purely be a fan… Why did I support Barcelona? Because they played beautifully. But the only thing I think about when I watch the games now is whether I can win, even if I’m not a manager.” He viewed a game the same way even when he was a guest pundit on the BBC.

Dunn smiled, “Occupational hazard?”

“Maybe.”

“In fact, your current style of football is nice watch. The rhythm is very fast, and the game is very intense.”

“Someone thinks I’m whitewashing it, ha!” Twain thought it was funny when he said it.

Dunn laughed too, because he knew what Twain was like. It was not his style to win public support for doing this kind of thing.

In the game against Barcelona, Twain would stick to his defensive counterattack tactics without any surprises. He would try for a draw and score away goals. Then he would go back to the home side and seek a chance for a fatal blow.

To go directly against the team that was best in offense in the world, that manager must be crazy.

Standing in front of the home ground of Spain’s most prestigious club, Twain looked up at the high-up name as a fan. Everyone loved beauty and was willing to pursue good things. Football was no exception. Beautiful football always won applause and cheers from the bottom of people’s hearts. If Twain were a fan, he would pay sublime tribute to the teams which played beautifully but lost the game and maintain the necessary respect. Even if he was not a supporter of that team.

However, he was now a coach who could only rely on the pursuit of victory to prove his worth and maintain his position as a manager.

Suddenly a voice came from behind. Twain and Dunn could not understand it at all, so they ignored it. It was not until the voice rang out again that they realized it was directed at them.

At the same time, the owner of the voice already went around in front of them. She was a professionally dressed beauty, holding a microphone and followed by a cameraman with a camera on him.

It turned out to be an interview. Twain and Dunn looked at each other and saw surprise in each other’s eyes—they came to Spain without informing any media. Why were they found out here by the Spanish media? But they discovered they were mistaken in the next second.

“Tony Twain!” The female reporter screamed out first.

Twain and Dunn glanced at each other again—it turned out to be sheer dumb luck…

They originally thought that in Spain, a place so unfamiliar that even if they had been kidnapped, they would not be able to find anyone for the ransom, they simply did not need to wear any sunglasses or be in disguise. They did not expect the dedicated reporters to be out so early to produce the program that they would run into them among so many people…

Twain’s first reaction was to cough and lower his head to say, “You’ve got the wrong person, Miss.”

“How can it be?” The female reporter looked very excited, and said the rhetorical question with a laugh, “For the past month, the Catalan media has been plastered with all kinds of photos of you. I have collected a lot of them myself. How can I be mistaken?”

She was so happy not because she was a big fan of Tony Twain and eager to have a one-night stand or something with Twain. But it was because she was lucky enough to get the best news that no one else could get.

“It looks like you are part of the Catalan media too. Don’t you really want to give me a slap now?” Twain finally admitted his identity with reluctance. He knew he could not escape today. It would be better to admit it in this way.

“Although I’m not a lady, I’m not going to hit anyone casually, Mr. Twain.”

“Oh, is that so? I read the remarks in the Catalan media. You guys are eager to tear me apart. To give you an exclusive story, I’m already thinking about whether to hire a professional bodyguard to protect me while I direct the game at the Camp Nou. If I were to be knocked out from a weapon of mass destruction like a pig’s head, would the game be suspended for a rematch? Will the home game at Camp Nou be cancelled?”

The Catalan reporter did not know whether to laugh or cry at by Twain’s remarks. She began to think that maybe it was not an enviable job to interview Tony Twain…

“Can we not talk about those things? Mr. Twain, I’m curious as to why you’re here. Yesterday you were at the Premier League’s technical area, directing the game…”

“Don’t tell me you think I’m here to buy toilet paper?” Twain asked instead.

※※※

“This is the latest news from our reporter outside the Bernabéu stadium. Let’s take a look at whom Miss Savier met!” The “breaking news” was plugged in the pre-match special on the television station, TVC. The footage turned from the studio to the outdoors.

In the square at the Bernabéu Stadium, Tony Twain faced sideways at the television camera and opposite him was the beautiful reporter.

“What am I doing here? Don’t tell me you think I’m here to buy toilet paper? Of course, I’m here to watch the game.”

“Are you here to watch your opponent for the next game?”

“That’s right.”

“I can see that you take the next game very seriously. So, what do you hope to be the outcome for tonight’s war of the century?”

Twain gave an answer that surprised the reporter, “That Barcelona wins.”

The footage cut back and the host smiled, “It’s an unexpected answer. After Tony Twain wages a month-long war of words with us, is it him expressing goodwill?”

The interlude ended with the host’s hilarious laughter.

※※※

While waiting in line to check their tickets to enter, Dunn still could not figure out why Twain would answer in that way.

“I thought you would say ‘I want Barcelona to lose’ even if you didn’t say, ‘I want Barcelona to have a few more injured players.’ Why are you acting abnormally…”?

Twain smiled, “We have to play defensive counterattack, so we naturally have to dial down our attitude. That’s how Barcelona will be willing to press out. Although it does not matter what tactics we play and Barcelona will still stick to the offense, they certainly want us to attack them. We are not going to do what they want. A lower stance and playing defensive counterattack will be for our best.”

Having said that, he smacked his lips again and said, “If someone like me goes to Barcelona to coach, I will probably be sacked after the first game, right? Ha!”

Dunn laughed when he thought about what kind of treatment someone like Tony Twain would receive if he were to stand at Camp Nou’s technical area, “You’ll probably be the first coach in Barcelona’s history to be booed by his own team’s fans every game.”

“That’s too bad. I hate the method of booing one’s own team. But I’m looking forward to hearing the boos at Wednesday’s game.” Twain opened his arms as if to hug the boos. He added, “The fiercer they boo, the more afraid they are!”

※※※

The clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid appeared lackluster against the backdrop of the Champions League quarterfinals. This disappointed Twain—the war of the century he most wanted to see should be like this: the referee should crazily issue cards like a dealer in a Las Vegas casino, the players of both teams should repeatedly collide on the field like twenty-two bulls in heat, and then a few core players would be in a heated collision. Maybe it would not necessarily be intense. The process was not important. What mattered was the result—for them to be injured and leave the pitch. The latest news from the hospital the next day would that these people would all be injured for a month, just missing the two games against the Forest team.

Unfortunately, Guardiola was not a fool. The war of the century was a game that could not be lost the most in the season, but he was not willing to give up the Champions League. What heartened him was the rival, Real Madrid also reached the top eight of the Champions League and they did not want to use up too much energy in the war of the century.

The two sides tacitly played a slow-paced “war of the century” on the pitch, much to Twain’s dissatisfaction. He booed in the stands like an ordinary fan, “Such a game should really refund the ticket price and the TV broadcast fee! Practically deceiving the spectators! It’s so fake!!”

There were plenty of spectators who shared his views at the Bernabéu. It was clear how much the fans and the coaches disagreed—the fans who paid to buy tickets to watch the game might only care about this game in a season, whereas the manager of a team could not do that. Otherwise, he would be fired.

Ribéry missed the game due to his injury. So, Twain did not see a showdown between his two former players. Piqué’s performance was adequate without any bright spots. Maybe he was conserving his energy for the game against Nottingham Forest?

When Real Madrid temporarily took a 2:1 lead over Barcelona with twenty minutes left in the game, the Barcelona players were in no hurry to equalize. Messi tried his best to score, but it was difficult for him to achieve anything without support against the backdrop of a slow pace throughout the team. Guardiola did not whistle until ten minutes left in the game to signal to his team to increase the pace of the attack and try to equalize the score.

It was already too late.

For Barcelona, which had been slow for eighty minutes, it was easier said than done for them to suddenly speed up. Only Messi was able to keep up with the pace, but he was replaced by Guardiola five minutes ago—he wanted to protect Messi and keep his strength.

In this way, Barcelona lost the game by a score of 1:2 to Real Madrid. Both sides obtained a victory respectively in the “war of the century” this season which gave them a draw.

Twain was extremely disappointed when he left Bernabéu with Dunn because he did not see some of the key players in Barcelona’s squad injured. He complained that Guardiola treated Messi like a vacuum pack for fear that he would suffer the slightest injury.

From this point on, Guardiola had already won a chip even though the two men had yet to officially fight.

For the Catalan young manager, losing to Real Madrid in the league tournament and equalizing were not too important. The games which already ended were not worth the discussion. No one on the team was injured in this game and that was the greatest victory.

In the post-match press conference, Guardiola looked a little distracted. Perhaps he was already imagining Tony Twain’s expression when he saw the scene.

We’ll use the strongest lineup to deal with you. Hope you won’t be too surprised, Mr. Twain.

Chapter 798 - An Army Burning with Righteous Indignation

The area which Guardiola was most careful about these days was not on the training ground, but on the team doctor’s side. Iniesta and Milito were injured in the game against RCD Espanyol, with Iniesta slightly injured. The team doctor said at the time that he was likely to play against Nottingham Forest. So, after playing in the war of the century with Real Madrid, he began to care about this issue for fear of a relapse.

Iniesta was now the team’s midfield core. He and Xavi managed things well in the midfield for Barcelona’s offense. Barcelona was considered to be the team that played most beautifully on the planet at the moment, and it was to the credit to the both of them.

Guardiola did not want to lose that player when it came to deal with the aggressive Nottingham Forest.

Aside from Gabriel Milito’s slightly more serious injury, he did want to come up with the strongest lineup to deal with a tiger like Tony Twain.

Two days before the game, the good news finally came. After a detailed physical examination of Iniesta by the team doctors, they confirmed that he recovered well and was in good form. He could play in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Guardiola could finally heaved a sigh of relief.

※※※

Despite the life-and-death battle between the two teams, there was already tension between the two managers. But the relationship between the players was not as bad as what the outsiders thought. As a Barcelona player who had played for Nottingham Forest for many years, Piqué still had a good relationship with a few people even though many of his former teammates had left Nottingham Forest, such as Bale and Lennon, as well as his former center back partner, Pepe at Nottingham Forest.

Fortunately, Twain got used to it a few months early. Otherwise he really would not know how he would feel when he saw Real Madrid’s future main center back and the future Barcelona’s main center back joking together and acting like brothers...

Of course, there were also some media that used this relationship as speculation. When the Nottingham Forest team arrived in Barcelona, Pepe was asked such a question in the interview. Pepe did not mince words to say he and Piqué were good friends, “... We had a good understanding on the pitch, and I enjoyed that time. Of course, I currently work well with Kompany, Woodgate and other teammates... But I thought it was normal that he left. After all, he came out of La Masia... You ask what happens when it comes to the game? I certainly will not hold back. Friendship is friendship and the game is the game ...”

Piqué also responded to Pepe’s words, “... Yes, I still remember my time at Nottingham Forest. But I’m clear-headed and know what the game is. You don’t have to doubt my loyalty to Barcelona. Otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to leave Nottingham Forest then. Maybe I’ll treat them out to a meal after the game, but until then I just want to beat them.”

He was also asked by the reporters how it felt to work with Twain. Piqué was slightly upset by the recent Catalan media’s aggressive and strong comments about Twain, which were already sufficient to constitute personal attacks and slanders—leaving aside his loyalty to the team and the manager, Guardiola did not hold the same place as Tony Twain in Piqué’s mind.

So, he decided to put aside his previous “no comment” attitude and say something nice about Twain, “Tony Twain is a charismatic manager. He seems to have a magical aura that captivates you. There are a lot of criticism of his style in England, but his players always stand with him.”

The Catalan media were not happy with the answer. They wanted to hear the voices of the Barcelona players joined in opposition to the same adversary, rather than such an “anomaly.” Then someone asked, “But every player who left Nottingham Forest did not seem to have anything good to say about him...”

Piqué laughed, “Am I not one?”

“What about Guardiola?”

It was a trap, and Piqué carefully went around, “They are both very good managers. I have the privilege of playing for them and won the Champions League titles.” Piqué won two Champions League titles under Tony Twain and under Guardiola, he lifted the championship cup for the third time last season. Therefore, when it came the experience of getting the Champions League title, he might have more than many of his current teammates.

Piqué was probably the only player in the Barcelona team who had goodwill toward Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain. The other players did not speak as nicely during the interview.

“There is no doubt that we will win.”

“I want a victory.”

“We’re the defending champions!”

...

And so on. Declarations like this made people think that Barcelona was full of confidence.

What did the master of psychological warfare, Tony Twain think of this?

“The louder the clamor is at this time, the more nonsense being said, the more they prove that they lack confidence, and must use this false bravado to boost some confidence in themselves. As for me? I never talk nonsense before a game.” He casually dismissed Barcelona’s angry attacks even though a number of Catalan media derided him as giving himself a slap in the face, “If he ‘never talks nonsense before a game’, then maybe it’s the end of the world.” Some Barcelona fans in China even lashed out at Twain’s “thick skin is as thick as the Great Wall.”?On the internet, they even traded insults with those they labeled as “country bumpkin upstarts”, the rising emergence of a large number of Nottingham Forest fans following the rise of the Forest team.

That was what Twain said, and that was what he did. Since the team’s arrival in Barcelona, he refused to accept interviews of unidentified origin. If the outsiders wanted to know what the manager was doing, they could only find out through Pierce Brosnan’s <Nottingham Evening Post>. Still, he gave pitifully little information to the “royal correspondent.”

He was focused on preparing for the game and intended to wage a big war at Camp Nou.

The media complained that “Tony Twain’s secretive time” had returned and did not know why he liked closed door training so much. But what made the media even more miserable was that even though Tony Twain drove them away like they were flies, they did really scrabbled madly for him like flies to a cake. To put it bluntly—they were really lowly.

※※※

On April 16th, after a month of repeated hype, both sides engaged in numerous wars of words, mixed with Derbi barceloní, El Clásico, Nottingham Forest’s heavyweight games against Chelsea and other teams, this high-profile clash that would leave both sides shattered was finally on the verge.

By this time, all the noise seemed to disappear. Whether it was the Forest team’s side or Barcelona’s side, no one jumped out and spat at each other. If they still clung to the outcome of war of words at this time, then they could not be considered as qualified professional players.

On the day of the game, there was only ninety minutes in the game to decide which team could finally be able to hold their heads up high and which team could only hung their heads in dejected and go home with the tails in between their legs. If they did not want to be trampled in the mud and be humiliated after the game, then they had to put all their efforts into the game.

※※※

Tony Twain was in the luxurious away team locker room at Camp Nou, giving the players one last reminder and special instruction.

“Iniesta and Xavi are the playmakers in the game. More attention must be paid. Don’t give them too much space and time to get the ball in front of the penalty area. Our flanks should pay attention to the opponent’s full backs, especially on their right which is our left side. Today’s defensive task is quite important. Alves and Messi are both put here. But I don’t ask that you just defend, because that doesn’t work. Fight back at the appropriate time and let Barcelona know that if they dare to press on, we’ll fight back!”

Twain looked stern, and so were his players. No one would take such an opponent lightly, let alone it was the opponent’s home ground.

Using “luxurious” to describe Barcelona’s lineup today was probably not enough. “Terrifying” must be used.

On the tactical board, Twain listed the opponent’s starting lineup which he had just received:

The goalkeeper was Valdés. The center backs were Piqué and Puyol. The right back was Alves and the left back was Lahm, who joined the team from Bayern Munich this summer. The three midfielders were Yaya Touré who were further back, with Iniesta and Xavi in the front to organize the offense. Among the three strikers, Bojan was in the middle, Silva, whom Twain was interested in at one point, was on the left, and Messi was on the right.

The 34-year-old Henry had already left the club. While there were rumors of Eto’o being sold off cheap every season, but ultimately still remained in the squad, only for his main position to be replaced by Bojan. His speed, which he was so proud of, also gradually grew rusty with age. Other than his mouth, he was not his valiant self of the yesteryear.

This time, Twain had no intention of handing Messi over to Wood, as there were Xavi and Iniesta, the two players in the middle. It was impossible to cede the middle to them. So, the main responsibility of Wood and Tiago would be in the middle to directly defend against the two playmakers in the midfield. Messi was left to Baines, Matías Fernández, and the others to take care of.

At the same time, the defensive pressure on the right side was not small either. Silva was not to be trifled with and Lahm was also a full back who exceled in assists.

Coupled with an agile Bojan, it was really a headache to face such an offensive lineup. The defensive side should handle everything and not be exposed.

If they really had to attack Barcelona head-on, there were probably few teams in the world that could fully withdraw. Twain cleverly chose to play defensive counterattack and placed many players in the middle of the backfield. To be on guard and defend to the end required the cooperation to the team.

“You have to make sure the formation stay in shape and not let them give and go to disrupt. The full backs do not have to withdraw by too much. It will give them the chance to play near the sides. Messi and Silva were great players. We have George and Tiago in the flanks. The range of activity should be appropriately increased, but don’t lose your positions.”

“Guys, this game is very demanding on the defense. But that doesn’t mean we don’t value offense. The aim of the away game is not to prevent defeat, but to score goals and score more goals. You must think of attacking anytime, anywhere during defense. But with defense as priority, we can’t give the offense too much support. This requires you, the attacking players to find your own way. But no matter what you do, you must be resolute. When there’s a chance, you must plug ahead and pass forward! Don’t think about the pointless question of whether the attack will be successful. You only think about getting the football closer to the other side’s goal, and that is success! As long as we can create enough trouble, Barcelona’s offensive momentum will naturally wane. There is no unadulterated offense and defense in this world. We must be more patient than the opponent!”

After he finished talking about the technical tactics required attention, Twain tossed aside the marker pen in his hand. He said, “Okay, guys. Let’s talk about something that’s not so dry. Will you be surprised If I say I’m not sure we can finally win the championship title this season?”

It appeared that most of the players were not surprised. Obviously they also had a certain understanding of their own strength.

“I always give people the impression that I’m arrogant and conceited. But I’m never blindly arrogant. When did I say we’d win the championship and not win? No, not once.” He shook his head. “But I can’t ask you for more this time. Barcelona is currently really strong, and I think it’s even stronger than last season when they won the Champions League title.” Twain said this with an imposing expression on his face.

But someone disagreed. Eastwood smiled and said, “Hey, chief. You’re kidding us, aren’t you? I’ve been with you all these years and never seen you so afraid of a team...”

Twain glared at him and said, “It’s not fear. I’m never afraid of an opponent, but I hope you don’t develop a blind self-confidence, which will only push us into the dark abyss. To be honest, I haven’t thought to advance into any finals this season, so I’m happy to be able to encounter Inter Milan and Barcelona in two rounds in a row—I don’t have to wait until the final to meet one of them, which is great! I’m asking you now to play every game as if it were a final. Regardless of how far we can finally go, it’s beside the point! Totally beside the point!”

The boss’ anomaly today was not to boost morale for everyone before the game. The players really found it incomprehensible that he would say something that demeaned himself and gave high praise to the opponent... But when they saw the serious expression on the boss’ face, he was definitely not pretending. So, they also followed suit and wiped the smiles off their faces, leaving only frowns and piercing gazes. They always believed in the boss, and since the boss said so, they would do so as well.

“Play against Barcelona like they are our opponent in the finals, and then play against any opponents after like you would in a final! That’s all I ask of you.”

The players finally took to the pitch with this sentiment, while Twain and Dunn stayed at the back.

“What’s all that about?” Dunn asked.

“Barcelona is really strong, so I’ve got to scheme a little. An army burning with righteous indignation is bound to win.” Twain laughed slyly, “Tell them not to think about what to do in the future, to play the game like it was the finals, to play every game with their utmost efforts, and then when they suddenly want to stop to take a breather, they look up—wow, it’s already the finals!”

“So, do you think about winning the title or not?”

“If we’re in the finals, why should we do our best to fight for a runner-up spot?” Twain turned to look at his partner. His brown eyes flashed with an elusive glow.

Chapter 799 - The Taller Trees in The Woods Are Liable to Get Their Tops Blown Off

It was Twain’s third time at Camp Nou, and it felt more intense than the previous two times because the nearly eighty thousand home fans were booing the Forest team with imposing momentum. The last time he was here, he did not receive such a warm welcome. What happened today was all to the Catalan media’s credit.

As the Barcelona players walked into the stadium, the fans were still chanting Barcelona’s team song, singing at a crescendo. Every one of the eighty thousand people chanted “Bar?a! Bar?a! Bar-?a!” Then when they saw the Nottingham Forest players ran onto the pitch, these people uniformly burst into shrill boos like they were one person.

“What a welcoming host.” Twain laughed.

While eighty thousand people hissing at the same time was a magnificent sight, it did not affect the Nottingham Forest players. As the annoying Tony Twain’s men, they were long used to being booed when they played in away games. The difference was whether it was a lot of or fewer people. The stadium was smaller if there were fewer people, and the noises would reverberate. The more people the bigger the stadium and the sounds were spread out, so the side with more people would not have any advantage to their number.

The Nottingham Forest players might be weaker than Barcelona in other respects, but in terms of their mental strength, they considered themselves second to none in the world. So, they were calm in the face of the thunderous boos.

George Wood shook hands with Puyol and exchanged the team flags. Then they did the coin toss. He won Puyol and got to pick the side. In fact, Twain had always felt that picking the side was not as important as the kickoff. Therefore, he hoped Wood would lose in the coin toss every time.

After the game started, Barcelona used the kickoff to launch an attack and Nottingham Forest retreated to defend.

“The game has just started, and Nottingham Forest are on the defensive. The pre-match spat was so intense that I thought Tony Twain would pounce to attack at the start of the game.” The television commentator was slightly critical of Twain’s retreating defense.

The commenter next to him laughed, “Barcelona has the ball. If Nottingham Forest wants to attack, how can they attack without the ball under their feet? Nottingham Forest will stick to the defensive counterattack in the game if there are no surprises. Tony Twain is a smart man who knows what the result is to go directly against Barcelona at Camp Nou.”

“But can they really hold on if they cling fast to defense at Camp Nou? I think it will be a matter of time before a goal is scored if they are besieged by Barcelona.” The commentator also had his own opinion on this.

“You’re right. If any team just wants to attack when it is up against Barcelona, then it’s normal for them to concede goals. On the other hand, if they just want to defend, they will also concede their goal sooner or later. So, Tony Twain did not go to the extremes here, and defensive counterattack is his special measure. I think if Barcelona can’t score after a while, the game will be on track for Nottingham Forest.”

Guardiola was aware of this point too. He knew that Tony Twain would play defensive counterattack in the away game, so the key was whether he could keep him from defending successfully. As long as the Forest team lost the possession of the ball first, Tony Twain’s defensive counterattack would collapse.

The crux of the game was not how strong the defense was, but whether the offense was sharp.

One of the best attacking lines in Europe today was facing the best defensive line, and the clash between the spear and the shield was not as exciting as one might think.

Barcelona’s offensive met with a tenacious obstruction from Nottingham Forest outside the thirty meters zone. George Wood’s and Tiago’s defense was solid, especially Wood’s. His tireless running ensured that he would appear where he was most needed. Both Xavi and Iniesta met with a lot of trouble.

Iniesta took the ball and stopped outside to observe and found that there was no suitable chance to pass the ball inside. Just as Messi found the same problem and pulled out to receive in the midfield, Iniesta simply handed the ball to him.

While Iniesta and Xavi were the brains of the team, Messi’s popularity was much higher than theirs. As soon as the small statured Argentine received the ball, a huge cheer went up in the stands. Everyone was waiting for his magical performance.

Barcelona’s No. 10, known as the king of the new generation of footballers, was last year’s European Footballer of the Year, FIFA World Player of the Year, champion of the Champions League and World Cup. When he stood in front of you, it was as if his entire body radiated with light. Even if he did not do anything, he would still be the most eye-catching target on the field. Then he easily bypassed Baines.

The combination of speed and technique was perfect. It was a simple feint and another kick to the ball tricked Baines into stumbling. Such a gap in level was really frustrating—no, that would be the general idea. But for the Nottingham Forest players, they might smugly underestimated the opponents if they were too weak. However, when the opponent was too strong ... they were more excited instead!

Baines was knocked to the ground. Fernández was already blocking in front of Messi as he prepared to cut inside. The quick-to-react and nimble Messi rushed to kick the football to the outside line and flashed past Fernández. When he evaded Fernández’s amateur defensive action with his excellent response, he was tangled by Pepe, while Baines had rushed back to defend him from behind at the same time.

The embattled Messi also tried to protect the football, but he fell to ground when he was kicked by Baines who rushed from behind!

Baines kicked the back of Messi’s right ankle, and Messi screamed as he fell to the ground. He held his ankle as if he was in agony.

The stands burst into earthshattering hisses. The impetus was enough to scare a man with a weak heart to death.

The Barcelona fans hated all fouls against Messi because it would simply be killing the art of football and destroying their beliefs in football.

The referee’s whistle was almost drowned out by the boos. Baines reacted quickly and immediately leaned over to comfort Messi to show goodwill to the referee. But the commentator did not let him go easily, “The game has just begun, and Messi has been attacked by the Nottingham Forest player. This scene is simply too familiar. Recently we often see such a scene. As Barcelona’s most famous and powerful player, Messi has reaped numerous honors while he has also been given the attention of the defenders. Baines’ foul is enough for him to get a yellow card!”

The referee did not give Baines a card. Perhaps given that the game had just begun, he did not want to affect the intensity of the game that followed. It seemed that the Italian referee was not an “iron-faced judge.” Otherwise, he would not be able to evade a yellow card.

The Barcelona fans close to the sidelines were swearing at Baines in Catalan and English, “You bastard! Only a coward kicks another person’s ankle!!”

“You English savages! Football hooligans!!”

Baines turned a deaf ear. When he saw that the referee did not issue a card, but only a verbal warning, he turned and ran off after listening.

Messi looked miserable, much to the delight of Twain off the field. He thought Baines had caused Messi to leave the pitch with his kick. But soon he was disappointed—Messi groaned for a while and stood up...

Looking at the way he was moving his ankle, he guessed he was okay.

Twain’s mouth twisted and said to Dunn somewhat disappointed, “Just as I thought. How could he scream like that with such a light kick?”

Guardiola was furious that the referee had not shown Baines a yellow card. He protested loudly on the sidelines until he drew the attention of the fourth official. He finally calmed down under the behest of the fourth official.

“I’m wondering if Baines’ kick was accidental or Tony Twain’s special request before the game...” The commentator said after he saw the scene.

“We’ll find out as we continue to watch the game. But I bet it must have been arranged by Twain. He has said that he will use all means and ways to win. So why will he not use the lethal tactics against Messi which are so popular now?” The commentator said.

In fact, they blamed Twain wrongly. He did not instruct the players to use rough fouls and lethal tactics against Messi before the game. He just told the players to keep a close eye on Messi, so the players themselves understood that it was difficult to use the conventional defense tactics to defend against the football genie. The simplest and most effective way was naturally a foul. As for whether to kick the ankle or the knee, whether to knock or pull the person, it was all only a formality.

Of course, the possibility that Baines was resentful after being easily shaken off by Messi and turned around to kick Messi in retaliation could not be ruled out.

※※※

Messi did not cut back on his ball possession rate because he suffered Baines’s attack. When the team could not get a breakthrough, he always actively pulled back to ask for the ball. Then in the face of Baines, he would insist on bypassing him one-on-one. Messi’s active play put the focus of Barcelona’s offensive on the right side. Nottingham Forest’s defense on the left was under immense pressure. George Wood, Pepe and the others started to consciously lean towards this side.

At this point, Iniesta, who was in charge of diverting the ball, did not continue to pass the ball to Messi, but shifted to the right side and handed the football to Silva.

Nottingham Forest’s right side was emptier as compared to the heavily guarded left side. Silva beautifully stopped the ball to suddenly cut inside and charged into the penalty area!

“Silva! This is Barcelona’s chance! He tried to keep going in the penalty area. Rafinha is defending against him, but doesn’t dare to make a move lightly... A breakthrough! Success!”

Silva seized the opportunity when Rafinha did not dare to make a move. He pushed the football past him and then lifted his leg to sweep the ball. The football rolled along the turf in front of the goal. Anyone who kicked the ball could hit the goal in this way.

Bojan grabbed the ball in the crowd, but his shot was blocked by Akinfeev, who was in an excellent position and used his body to block!

“Bojan shoots! Oh, that’s a shame! It did not go in!”

Blocked by Akinfeev, the football fell to Iniesta’s feet. He hit a long shot under Wood’s close marking but hit it too high.

In the ensuing period, Barcelona completely suppressed Nottingham Forest. For a period of time, Nottingham Forest could not even pass the football past half of the field, never mind start a counterattack. George Wood’s and Tiago’s job was to keep intercepting the ball again and again.

※※※

Tiago was shown his first yellow card in the game in the 24th minute when he fouled against Messi. At the time, Messi suddenly switched to the middle and directly broke through Tiago. As Tiago turned a little slower, he could only stretch out his hands to drag Messi to the ground as if he were wrestling in order not to let Messi break through successfully.

It would not do to not issue a yellow card with such an obvious foul. The referee gave a yellow card to warn Tiago, but the Barcelona fans were still unwilling to forgive—they felt that the referee on duty for the game was too soft and that many of Nottingham Forest’s fouls were only verbal warnings. For example, George Wood shoveled Iniesta from behind. After the ball was intercepted, the referee actually indicated that it was not a foul and the game continued! The thunderous boos came at Wood and the referee at that time.

The Nottingham Forest players grew bold after they realized this and stepped up their defensive moves. It was not until the 24th minute of the game that the referee showed his first yellow card of the game. Tiago did it right under the referee’s nose and it was no excuse that he even used his hands to encircle the waist…. The football match was fast becoming a wrestling match. If he still did not show any cards, perhaps the game would become an unrestricted wrestling competition.

The referee’s yellow card slightly moderated Nottingham Forest’s actions. But within minutes, when they found that Barcelona’s attack became lively as they exercised restraint, they suddenly threw the yellow card warning out of their minds.

Messi was knocked straight out of the field by Baines and hit a billboard when he was dribbling the ball on the side. The scene was visually impactful as if he were dead. Consequently, the boos suddenly grew louder again.

This time, the referee took a yellow card out of his pocket and gave it to Baines. When Baines saw that he had gotten a card, he simply stopped pretending to be a nice guy ... He did not pull Messi up. He just turned around and ran away.

In fact, Messi was not injured. He got up himself and spread his hands somewhat helplessly. He had met with such treatment countless times, but he was not used to it. The defenders always looked vicious and could not wait to break the joints in his whole body whenever they saw him.

The series of violations against the Barcelona players had brought down Nottingham Forest’s image to the bottom of the Barcelona fans’ minds. At the beginning of the game, the home fans still maintained the basic courtesy to the visiting team. But thirty minutes later, as soon as the Nottingham Forest players touched the ball on the pitch, what “welcomed” them was a burst of boos.

Another thing that made the Barcelona fans feel fretful was—it had been thirty minutes since the game started, Barcelona’s attack could be said to be aggressive, and at the most dangerous time, Nottingham Forest’s goal looked like a skiff in a tempest, ready to be capsized at any moment. Despite this, the score on the big screen remained at 0:0 so far.

“Time went by so quickly and before we know it, thirty minutes had already passed in the first half. But Barcelona still did not score. They had numerous chances to shoot in the thirty minutes. It looked like every time they were able to break the goal that Akinfeev guarded, things turned out contrary to what they wanted. Until now, they and Nottingham Forest are still 0:0! It’s indeed embarrassing for the Barcelona fans. The only highlight within the thirty minutes might be that Messi was knocked to the ground again and again, right? I think in the second half, he should change to a new jersey to play. Otherwise, we won’t be able to tell the number on his jersey...”

“But the result of Nottingham Forest’s efforts is clear. Messi is heavily marked, and Iniesta and Xavi have no better way in the face of Nottingham Forest’s heavy forces deployed in the middle. With Messi being so active on his side, Silva’s side looked a little deserted, while Bojan was completely inundated by the Forest team’s strong defenders... Tony Twain is good at defense and Guardiola should consider how to deal with it. Maybe he should make some adjustments? His offense is a little too dependent on Messi. Twain is clearly targeting him on this point by sending people to attack Messi in turn.”

“The aggression against Messi was uncomfortable to watch but from the Nottingham Forest manager’s point of view, he did it very well. It looks like Nottingham Forest intends to bring Messi off. Three players had been shown the yellow cards so far. In fact, I think Guardiola did not have to rush to adjust and he should just wait until the second half. As the Nottingham Forest players get more and more yellow cards from Messi and the others, problems will appear within Nottingham Forest’s defense and it will be Barcelona’s chance when the time comes. Tony Twain will have a chance to pay for his actions...”

Chapter 800 - Come out If You Dare

“Problems would naturally arise in Nottingham Forest’s defense as their players receive more and more yellow cards for their fouls on Messi and the other players. Tony Twain will pay the price for his actions…”

The guest commentator had only just finished his words when there was a sudden change to the situation on the pitch.

During one of Barcelona’s attacks, Xavi and Iniesta performed a feint in the midfield that fooled people into thinking that they were going to try and attack down the middle of the pitch. The next moment, they suddenly passed the ball over to Messi who was positioned at the flank.

Their attack was no different from any of the attacks that Barcelona had launched in the past. However, Nottingham Forest messed up its defense this time. Baines had initially wanted to commit a foul on Messi, but he did not expect Messi to take advantage of him instead and make his way past him with a turn.

Baines’ mistake was a little too amateurish. He had rushed up towards Messi like a fool, but Messi easily got past him when he stuck his leg out as though he was nothing but air.

Messi had already made his way into Forest’s penalty box before any of the Nottingham Forest defenders had the time to react!

“He has made his way inside!”

None of Nottingham Forest’s defenders dared to act recklessly now that Messi has made his way into the penalty box.

Messi has a way to score a goal no matter how small a space he is given, as long as the defenders do not stick a foot out to kick the ball away. He skillfully made his way through the tight space within the penalty box and demonstrated his outstanding ball handling techniques. He got past Pepe with the ball still firmly at his feet.

“He has gotten past Pepe! He continues to control the ball at his feet!”

Kompany did not dare to stick a leg out to stop Messi for fear of giving away a penalty.

George Wood did not share Kompany’s reservations. He would never think about the consequences. He would always act first and think later.

Messi sensed danger as he was looking for a chance to shoot. He did not have time to contemplate if he should pass the ball or shoot. He instinctively raised his foot and shot for goal!

Right as Messi kicked the ball away, Wood came at him with a tackle. Fortunately, Messi had jumped up into the air after he shot the ball, and it allowed him to evade Wood’s potentially life-threatening tackle…

The entire incident had happened in a flash of an eye. All the spectators saw was Messi raise his foot to shoot for goal, and George Wood coming in at him a short while later.

The goal had happened too close and too suddenly. It did not matter how fast Akinfeev could react. He would still not be able to get to the ball…

The ball flew past Akinfeev’s feet and went straight into the corner of the net!

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!” The Spanish commentator dragged out the word as he roared.

Camp Nou came alive. Everyone began chanting the name of the hero who just scored a goal in unison.

Guardiola, who had been standing nervously by the side of the pitch all this while, jumped up with clenched fists.

He could finally let out a sigh of relief…

All the staff and players sitting at the bench to his side were all locked in an embrace.

Messi’s goal had come at just the right time. If it had come later, Barcelona would have gone into halftime with a score of 0:0, and that would have dealt a blow to their team’s morale. Messi’s goal not only boosted the team’s morale, it also ensured that Nottingham Forest would not be able to play their ‘defend and counterattack’ tactic anymore, and that would shift the game in Barcelona’s favor from here on out.

Messi’s goal was extremely significant to the team. The team has no reason not to celebrate to their hearts’ content.

“F*ck!”

In contrast to the euphoria exhibited by the Barcelona staff and players, Twain was upset and had just shouted an expletive.

“Baines made an idiotic mistake! And those defenders at the back… If you don’t dare to stick your foot out, then you jolly well stick close to him! Why are you all just standing there ogling at his performance? Are you all watching a monkey perform tricks? Sh*t! Bunch of bastards!”

No one beside Twain dared to utter a word as he vented his frustrations. They were also feeling dejected over how their team was one goal down. The team was not able to maintain the goalless situation till the end of the first half despite having held on for 40 minutes. How could they not be dispirited?

“Messi’s solo performance! Brilliantly done! He has allowed Nottingham Forest to realize one thing… You can’t win even if you defend to the death against Barcelona! Messi’s the fairy of football, and he’s the player who has gotten the closest to the King of football, Diego Maradona! He is always able to find a way to pry open the door that his opponents try to seal on him and bring victory to his team! Messi is in an outstanding form right now! He continues to persevere and fight no matter how tightly his opponents mark him and how much they foul him! Well done!”

The commentator threw every compliment that he could think of at the Argentinian shorty. To him, Nottingham Forest was the ‘villain’ who was only capable of using fouls to stop Messi. They were a team that was rotten beyond salvation.

Messi, on the other hand, was like a hero who always managed to get back on his feet to fight no matter how heavy a blow he has been dealt with. He was someone who earned everyone’s respect.

Tony Twain and his team are just not likeable most of the time…

Contrary to how Barcelona’s players were celebrating without restraint on the pitch, Nottingham Forest seemed lifeless and despondent. Baines, who had committed an error, stood rooted at the spot with his head hung low in vexation. Pepe had initially wanted to get back onto his two feet, but he lied back down onto the ground and covered his face with his hands after seeing Messi shoot the ball into the net.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest players appeared dazed when the match restarted. Everyone had been emotionally affected by Messi’s goal. They had worked hard for 40 minutes to no avail, because Barcelona still managed to score against them.

With the Forest players being distracted, the remainder of the first half swung in favor of Barcelona. There was a time where they nearly scored again. If not for the fact that Akinfeev was in a good form and had pounced at the shot from Bojan Krki? as though his life depended on it, the first half would have ended with a score of 0:2.

Twain was very upset with how his players performed after the match restarted. He could not stop yelling and flailing his arms about as he stood by the side of the pitch. He was just like a King Kong who was hitting at helicopters at the top of a building.

The players pulled themselves together after hearing his repeated yells. They fought to the end of the first half and did not give Barcelona another decent chance at goal.

At half-time, Guardiola made his way away from the pitch with a contented smile on his face. Twain stayed behind by the side of the pitch and patted any Forest player on the shoulder when they walked past him.

Twain said nothing besides patting his players on the shoulder. The players were well aware that their boss was very unhappy with their performance towards the end of the first half. They had all kept their heads low as they walked briskly back to the locker room.

Twain was the last to make his way into the locker room. However, he did not slam the door shut after him and admonish the players furiously.

“Don’t think about the goal that you have allowed the opponent to score. What good can come of filling your minds with thoughts about it? Can it make the goal disappear? Can it help us score two goals in five minutes and make a comeback?” Twain was upset with the performance that the team put in after the match restarted, and so he focused on criticizing their performance during that period of time.

“The performance that all of you put in after we went one goal down was too awful! That wasn’t a performance that any professional footballer should be putting in. Don’t tell me that all of you are so psychologically weak?”

As a veteran player for Nottingham Forest, Pepe has more guts to say the words that no other player would dare to say to Twain in the locker room. The words are not words that only he could say, but George Wood was reticent and Eastwood did not play in the match, so he did not understand what the players were thinking during the match.

Right now, Pepe was the only one who understood what the players were thinking and also had the courage to voice his opinions.

He raised his hand and indicated that he had something to say.

“What do you want to say, Pepe?”

“Boss, it was you who told us to play the match as though we were playing in the finals. When we thought that we had allowed the other team to score during the finals… We… Uh… Well, as you can see.”

“Can any of you guarantee that you won’t let the opponent score a single goal during the finals?” Twain was not angry. He laughed instead. “The finals is also nothing more than a regular football match. If you let the opponent score a goal, then you just score one back. There’s nothing else that needs to be said. We actually had a chance to get a goal back if all of you were in a better state of mind after Barcelona scored the goal.”

Twain was not lying. Barcelona had gotten ahead of themselves after they managed to score a goal. They had pressed high up the pitch hoping to find the opportunity to score another goal, but they had forgotten about how Nottingham Forest had the chance to go on the counterattack due to the large space that they had left behind them.

Unfortunately, the Forest players were unable to get over how they had allowed Barcelona to score a goal, and they even looked battered as they defended against Barcelona’s attacks. A counterattack was the last thing on their minds…

“If you can score goals, then the ones who would be dispirited right now would be the ones next door and not us… But, forget it.” Twain shook his head. “There’s no use crying over spilt milk. Focus on thinking about what you ought to do in the second half. Does anyone here think that we should press forward and attack because we are down by one goal?” Twain started laughing as he finished those words.

“I believe many of you would think that way, including those people next door. They think that being down by one goal is the end of the world, but sadly, that’s not the case. We are still going to defend and counterattack in the second half. You guys need to think about it this way. The worst case scenario for us is that we would lose this match, but even then, we would only lose with the score of 0:1. We still have a big chance of winning when we play at home. So, I want all of you to get your act together for the second half. We are going to stick with our plan of defending and counterattacking. Relax, the ones who will falter as the match goes on will be Barcelona. They know that winning by just one goal in their home game is a very risky thing. All you lot need to do is to be even more patient than them and wait for the chance to counterattack. If you do that, you will definitely be able to score a goal. As long as we can score a goal, we can level the score, and we’d be able to seize the initiative in the match. If Barcelona keeps pressing and attacking us, we’d just continue to counterattack! We’d annihilate them at their home ground!”

“There’d be no changes to our tactics. But I want you to be careful not to pick up too many cards in the second half. If I were Guardiola, I’d let Messi, Dani Alves, and perhaps even Xavi and Iniesta attack our left flank. How many of our players have picked up yellow cards?” Twain started counting with his fingers. “Baines, Tiago, Pepe. It’s not like you can only defend by committing fouls. What will we do if all of you get a red card? So, be careful with your actions. Of course, if you can commit a foul and somehow escape the referee’s eyes, then I’d applaud you!”

※※※

In the second half, Guardiola strengthened his attack down the right flank, just as Twain had predicted.

Dani Alves became even more lively in the second half and kept going forward to join in the attack. During one particular attack, he did not even return to his original position, choosing instead to wait in the front of the pitch for the second chance to attack. Messi kept trying to mess up Forest’s defense and exert pressure on Pepe, Baines and others by cutting into the middle from the flank numerous times.

Guardiola chose to ramp up their attacks down the right flank after noticing that Nottingham Forest had no intentions of going on the offense and facing them head on. He was going to let Forest pay the price for choosing to go all out in their defense against Barcelona.

Weren’t you out to injure my players? I’d make sure your players pick up a red card and disappear from the pitch first!

The Nottingham Forest players were more reserved with the way the defended due to the warning given to them by their boss at half-time. This allowed Barcelona to get more chances to attack Forest’s goalpost.

Fortunately for Forest, Akinfeev was in a good form for the match. He became the busiest person on the pitch in the second half. He had to pounce into the air and also get down onto the ground to block the numerous shots from Barcelona’s players.

“Messi shoots! Akinfeev… What a wonderful save!”

“Bojan Krki?’s header is easily stopped by Akinfeev. He might only be 1.84m tall, but he has amazing jumping abilities, and is also very accurate in his judgement as to where the ball will fall. It looks like Tony Twain is intent on going away from Camp Nou with a score of 0:1. That’s not a bad idea, actually. If Nottingham Forest do manage to go away from this match with that score, then all credit goes to Akinfeev…”

“Is Silva trying to pass the ball into the middle? No! He has actually shot for goal! Brilliant! Akinfeev pounces for the ball and sends it over the crossbar!”

“There goes the corner, and Akinfeev gets the ball!”

Akinfeev did not just perform brilliantly during defense. He was also able to initiate an attack by throwing the ball forward. In fact, Akinfeev throwing the ball forward after saving a shot became one of the main ways for Nottingham Forest to switch from being on the defense to going on the counterattack.

Sadly, Nottingham Forest was unable to commit too many players to the counterattack each time, and their entire offense lacked power as well. Hence, Forest’s counterattacks would always lead nowhere and Akinfeev was not able to initiate a successful counterattack for the team.

Despite Akinfeev’s outstanding performance however, the Barcelona fans and the commentator continued to believe that Barcelona were the favorites to win the match, because they did not believe that an all-out defense would lead to victory.

Isn’t Messi’s goal towards the end of the first half enough to prove that such a tactic would not work?

No matter how well the goalkeeper performed, all Nottingham Forest was doing was to play passively and defend. There is no such thing in the world as an impenetrable defense. As time goes on, Akinfeev is bound to commit a mistake that will lead to dire consequences for the team. The match will more or less be decided once Nottingham Forest goes behind by two goals, and Barcelona would become the victor of the match.

This match between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest was beginning to take the shape of a battle between ‘attacking football’ and ‘conservative football’.

The glory belongs to attacking football! The victory belongs to attacking football!

Conservatism will just get buried by attacking football!

Tony Twain, your crude performance will not work at Camp Nou! There is not a single team in this world that has not lost by going all out in its defense against Barcelona!

Come out and face us if you think you have what it takes to win us! Let us fight fair and square!

Twain hid behind his thick and sturdy rampart and yelled at the top of his voice, “Barcelona! Don’t get ahead of yourselves! If you think you are so good, then try getting in!”

“Come out if you dare!”

“No way! Only a fool will go out…”

“I’d count to three. If you don’t come out, then I’m going in!”

“If you think you have what it takes, then try it!”

Chapter 801 - One Goal and a Red Card

Guardiola stood outside the penalty area and shouted at the closed gate, “Tony Twain, you coward! Which man would hide inside! Have the courage to come out and fight with me!”

Twain hid behind the tall gate and replied, “You have no right to decide whether I’m a man or not. Didn’t you call yourself the best in the world? Come in if you can, then! What kind of a hero are you if you can’t do that much?”

“Have the guts to come out! ”

“Hmph, I just don’t want, are you going to bite me?”

“You’re a shameless old thief! Come out quickly and face me!”

“And if I don’t? What are you gonna do?”

“Ha! Don’t dare come out like a man to fight in the right way. The ladies who can only hide in their necks!?”

“Haha! Whether I am a man or not, do you want to come in and experience it for yourself??”

” Well, you shameless Twain, if I count till three, would you still not come out??”

“What would you do if I don’t come out! ”

“If you don’t come out… you don’t come out then I’ll force myself in?”

” Well, well, I still have that patience for you to try out!?”

“One!”

“Go on. ”

“Two!”

This time, he did not wait for Guardiola to count to three. The opposing suddenly opened the door, and a horde of troops rushed out, killing him with a surprise!

※※※

“Pepe intercepted the ball that Bojan passed to Silva, and he got the position of the ball right and decided to cut into the way in advance! He passed the ball to George Wood who received him!”

It was George Wood who brought the ball forward. He relied on his body to lean on Iniesta, who had come forward to defend himself, and then deflected the ball to Lennon on the sideline. Lennon led Nottingham Forest’s quick counter-attack.

“Nottingham Forest have had few decent chances to counter-attack so far and their counter-attack is not a threat because of the lack of troops in front. Will it be the same this time?”

No, it was very different this time! After Wood passed the ball, instead of staying in the backfield ready to defend, he followed Lennon through the midfield.

“Lennon is very fast! Barcelona had collective pressure and the back was empty. This was a great opportunity to fight back!”

Lahm had just pressed up the attack and was now desperately chasing behind Lennon’s ass, but he could not keep up with Lennon’s dribbling. Pique, who is in charge of the centre-forward, was moving towards Lennon, aiming to block his former team-mate in front.

Pique knew Lennon and Lennon was as familiar with Pique, so when he saw Pique coming up he knew that the middle way was bound to be empty. At this moment, he had to see if he had that awareness and techniques to pass that ball.

Who was running the middle road? Ibi?evi?!

Lennon passed the ball out when Pique rushed up to seal himself, but instead of stopping after the pass, he continued to run.

All Nottingham Forest players do not stop after they pass the ball on the counter-attack, but instead kept running. This was an important condition of the counter-attack – playing in place would not ever play a quick counter attack for a lifetime.

Lennon was running forward with Matías Fernández on the other side. He was also running forward along with ?ahin and George Wood, and even Thiago was sprinting at full speed. This was their chance after waiting through the first half of the opportunity, they definitely could not let it go!

Ibi?evi? received the ball and then Puyol forced him to pass it to Fernández on his right. With Alves’ assists too far ahead, at this time he was still chasing back behind Fernández, but in front of Fernández there was a clear pitch!

“Barcelona’s defence is completely empty! None of them thought that Nottingham Forest’s counter-attack would come so resolutely and deadly!”

Twain crossed his legs outside the field, a proud smile on his face.

“Now it’s three on two ... No, four, five on four!?”

Rahm managed to get back, but he ran towards the middle instead of chasing Lennon. Nottingham Forest’s chances of hitting the ball to the left were too small at this time. The endpoint of the attack must still be in the middle road, so only returning to defense on the middle round was the correct choice.

Their full back Yaya Touré returned back to place as well. After Matías Fernández cut into the penalty area, Puyol ran over and Ibi?evi? had Yaya Toure guarding him, and he could focus all his attention on Fernández.

Seeing how he was unable to shoot directly, Fernández sent the ball back with a quick stop. Ibi?evi? took the lead and rushed to the front, the football was clearly not meant for him. ?ahin received the football when no one was defending, and he did not hesitate to directly kick the shot!

“?ahin shot from afar!?”

Fortunately, Valdes was quick-witted and focused and not fooled by Fernández’s neche.

While he was defending Fernández, he was also mindful of the players in the middle room.

Valdés wanted to hold the football directly, but when the football hit his fingertips, he found that the football had a strong spin and it was impossible to hold the football. At that moment he just wanted to hit the ball out. But the football hit his fingertips and bounced off!

“Vedad Ibi?evi?! He appeared where the ball was landing… and did a header! Goal! Goal! GOOOOOAL!”

Yaya Touré lost his target in the instant of ?ahin’s shot as he turned his attention to the shot.” Ibi?evi? overtook from his side and waited for Valdés’s chance to fumble the ball.

Barcelona’s players had doubts about Forest’s goal, believing that Ibi?evi? might have been offside before ?ahin’s shot, but in fact he moved forward after ?ahin’s shot and did not go offside.

Twain stood up from his seat and clapped loudly, he was very excited. He finally got an away goal! Guardiola, on the other hand, waved a little helplessly. He knew Nottingham Forest would fight back, but did not expect it to happen so suddenly. Because that was when his team was at its best, it seemed like a step away from breaking the door. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to go against the flow and level the scores with a counter-attack.

Ibi?evi?’s goal was followed by his celebration of slapping faces, while England’s narrator was particularly excited. “This was his 20th goal of the season! Hey, Mr Carl Spicer, are you watching this match? Are you ready to bid farewell to your hair? Haha!”

Although what Ibi?evi? was targeting was Carl Spicer, but Barcelona fans who don’t know the inside story and took his actions as a provocation by the Nottingham Forest players as they jeered for a while .

Amidst the jeering, Ibi?evi? changed his celebration. He put his finger to his lips and signaled everyone in the stands to shut up. This was really a provocation to the Barcelona fans.

“Well done, Super Ibi!” Nottingham Forest fans stood in solidarity with Ibi?evi? in the stands, using their songs to fight the jeers of the Barcelona fans.

Forest’s players congratulated Ibi?evi? on scoring his 20th goal and helping their Chief win the bet with Carl Spicer.

“Going back to England, we’re going to urge Spicer to deliver on his promise as soon as possible. It’s best if he just bring a shaver to the live stage, haha!”

Twain, who scored an away goal, was in a good mood and had begun to look forward to how to humiliate Spicer. Perhaps in the future, he would need to call the other person “Bald Spicer”?

※※※

The scoreline was tied, giving Barcelona’s players a slight impact. Their attack afterwards was less aggressive as it had been before, as there were always fears of another sharp counter-attack from Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest’s attack was a bit exuberant and they were going to take the opportunity to go down again and score two goals to basically set the tone for the second leg.

Unfortunately, they were a little less fortunate and Barcelona’s defence was not as vain. Pique put the ball out of the penalty area twice in a row to defuse Nottingham Forest’s attack.

The game then returned to its former form — Barcelona’s successive attacks and Nottingham Forest’s shrinking defence. But there was a slight change: Barcelona began to pay great attention to their own backs at the same time as the attack, and Alves and Rahm’s assists were clearly reduced. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, were more determined and willing to put in their forces when they fought back.

It seemed that no one wanted to end the game with a 1:1 score.

※※※

Messi was back in the game after the 70th minute. He constantly and successfully broke through Nottingham Forest’s defenses to shoot at the goal, but they were both saved by Akinfeev. After a period of silence, Messi used these two shots to tell the Forest crowd that he was the most threatening player in the game and they would die if they ignored him.

One thing Messi knew was that Pepe, Barnes and Thiago in front of him now had a yellow card and, no matter what, he had to make sure that one of the three men was sent off, preferably the centre-back, if possible, o he cut in-ways from the side several times, looking for Pepe.

Pepe also found Messi’s intentions, but there was nothing he could do about it because he could run away due to the yellow card?he was holding. He had to do what he usually does, he just needed to pay attention to his defensive action and not give Messi the possibility of success. Even if foul was the only way to stop his opponent, the location of the foul could not be in the penalty zone.

In the 77th minute, Messi forced a break through George Wood. Wood wanted to stop it with a foul, but he was was so flexible that a little bit of the gap allowed him to break through. Now he could face Pepe directly and if he could pass by Pepe, the only person in front of him would be only Akinfeev.

Pepe stretched his foot to intercept the ball but Messi pulled the ball away. Messi, who had flicked the football, did not follow to run from Pepe. In that moment, his body seemed to have become awkward, as if he did not dodge and hit Pepe head-on, rolled over and fell to the ground, not forgetting to clutch his ankle.

The referee’s whistle was heard along with boos from The Barcelona fans.

“That was a foul! He even kicked down Messi! Pepe looks to be in trouble…”

Pepe pulled Messi up, constantly waving his hand to signal to the referee that it was not a foul. The reason he was so anxious was because he had seen the referee put his hand towards his chest pocket.What did that action mean?

“No!” Twain also shouted when he saw this scene.?“This was not a foul! It’s definitely not enough for a yellow card foul! You f*cking referee, you’re doing this on purpose, huh!”

His shouting and swearing did not prevent the referee from showing Pepe a second yellow card, and the Brazilian was sent off! A group of Nottingham Forest players swarmed up and surrounded the referee as they could not accept the result.

“In fact, there is not much to argue. If Pepe did not foul, Messi will pass by him, and then directly to the goalkeeper Akinfeev. He was the last ball! It’s not wrong to give a yellow card!”

When Twain saw the referee pull out a red card, he jumped like a flash lightning onto?the pitch. The score line-up was levelled and, as the game wore on, the situation should have become more and more favourable to Nottingham Forest. Now the main centre-back was sent off, and in the face of Barcelona’s wrath, how could Nottingham Forest play?

In a contest with a team like Barcelona, it was very different to have one person fewer. There would never be a situation where that one person did not make a difference.

The fourth official came up to call Twain to stop a little, and only then did Twain stop scolding to turn and walk back. Pepe’s penalty was immutable, and to be fair it was a foul, so he could only accept it.

The referee dispersed the crowd and urged Pepe to leave the scene quickly. The Brazilian defender left with jeers from the home fans. But instead of returning to the locker room, he stood at the mouth of the aisle and continued to keep an eye on the game.

※※※

Pepe was sent off and Twain was forced to replace him. Using Woodgate to replace ?ahin. When ?ahin came down, Twain came up to shake his hand and comforted him. There was really no choice... ?ahin’s performance was not bad, and he indirectly assisted Ibi?evi?’s goal. But in this case the two backs certainly could not change, the striker as well because Twain still wanted to fight back. If he changed one side, both sides would not be balanced, then the person who could be substituted out was the front midfielder ?ahin.

“You did a good job, Nuri. There’s nothing to be frustrating about, it’s just our luck ... It’s a little bad. ...”

Twain said it for??ahin and himself.

It was a difficult match… keeping this goal might have become his highest target.

※※※

“Barcelona stepped up their attack against Nottingham Forest who was lacking a player, and they were on full-back attack to end their opponents by taking the opportunity! Pepe’s unexpected departure has caused Nottingham Forest a lot of trouble. Maybe Tony Twain should consider to take the score 1 : 1 away from?Nou Camp Stadium being his biggest victory. But will Guardiola give him that chance? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Barcelona! I think Nottingham Forest is in danger.?”

“That’s well said, Calvin. But I don’t think it’s unacceptable that Nottingham Forest to lose to Barcelona on 1 : 2, they still had a home game and what happens then would not be easy for anyone to say. If Guardiola think he wins for sure, he would regret going to England. With about 12 minutes left in the game, Barcelona would have preferred to score two more goals so that Nottingham Forest’s promotion hopes could be wiped out! With Barcelona’s offensive ability, I doubt it’s an impossible task...”

Chapter 802 - The Second Red Card

However, they did not expect that after Woodgate was brought on, Twain had instructed the England center back to bring a new command to his teammates on the field.

“We need to attack. The boss wants us to find a way to attack.” Woodgate took advantage of a dead ball to gather everyone to announce the latest decision. He said, “He stated that Barcelona’s mind is full of how to score goals against us now and will never think that we have the strength to fight back, so their defense exists only in name. As long as we can seize the opportunity, the initiative will come to our side.”

The others nodded in agreement. Having been with the boss for a long time, they seemed to understand this principle—riches could be gained from danger. The more impossible the area was, the more likely it was, while the more dangerous it was, the safer it could be.

When the game resumed, Barcelona continued to focus on how to break through to take the lead. Their rear defensive line was, as Twain put it, existed only in name. Nottingham Forest first bunched themselves into a ball like a hedgehog, leaving Barcelona, desperate for goals, nowhere to go. Then those little eyes began to look for a path to victory in the midst of a tumultuous situation.

Heaven helped those who helped themselves!

Barcelona attacked so aggressively that it lost its sense of measure. Alves, Lahm and even Puyol all crossed the center line, with the intention to “fight and attack in half of the field” against Nottingham Forest. Even Valdés unwittingly moved his position outside the penalty area while he focused on his team’s offensive.

With one player short, Nottingham Forest had been acting like a stray dog during this time. Who would have thought such a team could still threaten the opponent’s goal?

Nottingham Forest, the “stray dog” managed to do it against reason.

Messi’s sudden shot from the penalty area was pounced on by Akinfeev. After Woodgate received the ball, he was immediately marked by Bojan. Barcelona wanted to counterattack after it counter press in the front field. Woodgate could not turn around and he passed the ball to Baines on the sideline under extremely difficult circumstances.

Messi rushed up when he saw Baines take the ball.

Barcelona’s use of counter press in the front field made it hard for the Forest team to get the ball out. But it also created a problem—with every line pressed up, it caused their rear defensive line to press too far in front, leaving a large tract of empty space behind the defenders. A long pass could penetrate and basically did not require any technical skills to do so.

Messi’s counter press was amateurish. After all, he was not a professional defender. After Baines guarded the football, he saw Alves rush up. He could not afford to delay and passed the football to his own teammate, George Wood.

Reasonably speaking, he should pass the football to Fernández when Alves came up and open up the way from his side. Wood did not choose such an obvious method. He suddenly turned to send out an obliquely long pass and passed the ball in the exact opposite direction.

Over there, Lennon was sprinting at high speed, ready to receive the ball. As for Lahm? He was already thrown behind him by his sudden start.

Wood’s long pass was precise, passing from one sideline to another. He was even able to send the ball to Lennon’s front, taking full advantage of the latter’s speed.

Lennon lived up to expectations and caught up with the football.

Then Nottingham Forest fought back at full speed, with Ibi?evi?, Fernández and even Tiago all rushing up.

Nottingham Forest’s speed of counterattack was astonishing. Barcelona’s run-back speed was simply not up to speed!

In the backfield, there were only both Piqué and Puyol. Piqué went to defend against Lennon, and Puyol was guarding from a distance while monitoring Ibi?evi?’s movements.

Lennon saw Piqué again and glanced at the middle again. He saw that Ibi?evi? was almost in place, and that Fernández was waiting at the far end. He was certain that his pass would be absolutely safe if he passed it over. So, he lifted his feet while running and crossed the football out. The football flew over Puyol’s head and dropped to the rear.

Ibi?evi? slightly slowed down and did not get the ball!

“Oh, what a shame…”

The Barcelona fans in the stands did not think so and their boos suddenly became louder.

Although Ibi?evi? did not receive the ball, Fernández on the other side managed to catch the ball.

While receiving the ball, Fernández also turned the ball toward the middle and stopped the ball to adjust in one go.

Alves was still chasing from behind but Fernández was just one step away from the penalty area.

“It’s a one-on-one face-off with the goalkeeper! He burst into the penalty area!”

Valdés left the goal to strike but gave Fernández a chance to lob a shot instead. He lifted his left foot up in the run and picked the ball over Valdés’ head!

At that moment, the hearts of the Barcelona fans collectively stopped beating and their breathing froze. Everyone watched the football pass over Valdés’ head and crash into the goal…

The Nottingham Forest fans, who were overwhelmingly in the minority, erupted with volcanic-like energy at the moment. Their cheers resounded across the skies above Camp Nou.

“Incredible! Nottingham Forest reversed the score with one player short!!” The commentator was going crazy… He did not expect the game to turn out to have such an ending.

Twain jumped from his seat and ran to the sidelines with his arms raised up. You sent off one of my men and I scored a goal against you. What a good deal this was!

“We’ve won, ah ha ha!” He laughed and said to Dunn and Kerslake.

Frustrated throughout the game, the elated Nottingham Forest players ran to the front field to hug Fernández and celebrate the goal.

But in such a joyous scene, the team captain, George Wood was yelling in the backfield. From his hand gestures, it looked like he wanted his teammates to hurry back…

What was going on?

“Wait, wait!” The commentator called out too, “Offside! The assistant referee raises the flag. When Lennon passed the ball, were Fernández and Ibi?evi? both in an offside position? Maybe we’ll take a look at the replay. But now… Barcelona quickly sends out a free kick as the Nottingham Forest players celebrate in front of the goal. Now it’s their turn to fight back! George Wood is beckoning his teammates to return to defend. Currently, the Forest team’s rear half of the field only has him, Woodgate and the goalkeeper, Akinfeev. It’s almost unguarded! What’s going on? Look at the Nottingham Forest players’ expressions. They are completely stunned and even forgot to return to defend!”

Only a few people were trying their utmost to run back. But by this time, Barcelona had already passed the ball to the front of Nottingham Forest’s penalty area…

The referee did not stop Barcelona’s attack. He thought that Barcelona did not break the rules because the game had not been suspended.

Tony Twain could not believe his eyes on the sidelines, either. His hands, which had been held high to celebrate the victory, were now holding his head as he stared at what was happening on the field with an incredulous expression.

George Wood had only one way to save the team now. It was not to be a superman to keep all the Barcelona players out and then kick the ball out of bounds. But… it was to foul.

He was like a severely overloaded heavy-duty truck, charging toward Messi who was dribbling the ball at full force. This time, even if he broke both Messi’s legs, he was going to stop Barcelona from scoring!

Messi saw his intentions. Before Wood rushed up, he passed the football out and then jumped to duck Wood. Despite this, he was still struck by Wood and rolled in the air before he fell to the ground. It looked vicious but his mission was completed.

The football was successfully sent to Bojan’s feet and he was not in an offside position!

Before Woodgate could come up and block, Bojan made a decisive kick, and the football flew over Woodgate and then over Akinfeev to accurately drilled into the goal!

This time, it was the Barcelona fans’ turn to cheer. And the assistant referee’s spoiler flag was not raised. He just ran toward the center line—which meant that the goal was valid.

“The ball’s in! It’s a game full of ups and downs! Nottingham Forest’s recent counterattack was ruled invalid, but Barcelona’s counterattack was effective. 2:1! Barcelona is ahead! With five minutes to go until the end of the game, Nottingham Forest was dealt a heavy blow!”

The Barcelona players began to celebrate the successful counterattack, while the Nottingham Forest players angrily surrounded the referee, demanding an explanation from the man.

“Why was our goal considered offside and their goal was not an issue?”

“Why did not you whistle when they kicked off so quickly?”

“The decision was so inexplicable! I’m definitely not in an offside position!”

“You scum…” This player’s mouth was covered by a slightly more sensible teammate.

But someone else helped him with his foul language.

After realizing that Barcelona’s goal was valid, Twain seemed ignited by TNT explosive off the pitch. At this point, even if the sky came falling down, it would not stop him from bursting into a string of obscenities at the referee.

“You motherf**king bastard! Where’s your damned conscience today?! What qualifications do you have to stand on the pitch in that suit?” He rushed into the field and pointed to the referee while shouting the abuses.

Instead of immediately confronting him, the referee showed a yellow card instead to Wood, who had just struck Messi!

The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands booed with all they had at the black-clad referee.

The move was nothing short of adding fuel to the fire on the angry Nottingham Forest players. A group of people surrounded the referee to tug at him aggressively. They opened up their mouths as if they wanted to gobble up the small statured referee in front of them. Fernández even received a yellow card for protesting the penalty. If someone had not pulled him away, he would have rushed up and punched the Italian referee.

“Ha!” Twain laughed instead of getting angry. He said, “You even gave my men yellow cards! If I were George and Matías, I would f**king give you a red card! You son of bitch corrupt referee!”

The fourth official came over once again and said sternly, “Mr. Twain! Please mind your language…”

“Mr. Fourth Official, please ask your referee to pay attention to his conscience!” Twain retorted with a bad attitude, “What is this? What is this? You’re practically killing us! You murdered our goal and made a false countercharge! That’s just great! Is this UEFA’s must-kill tactic? Sent off my center back, blew up my goal to give a goal to Barcelona! That’s fantastic, just great! I must applaud you! I should be proud to have made you go through so much trouble to get rid of us! I’m so f**king proud!!”

The more Twain scolded, the more furious he became. Beads of spittle sprayed the face of the fourth official, and the fourth official’s face gradually darkened.

“There’s no problem with our goal. You’ll see that there’s no problem with a thousand replays! Barcelona’s goal shouldn’t have happened! You bunch of UEFA robbers! Utterly shameless! You robbed us of our championship title in Paris in 2006. And what else do you want to rob this time? You don’t want us to advance? Don’t be too pleased with yourselves! Don’t be too happy too soon!”

Twain held his head against the fourth official and scolded.

The fourth official pressed the microphone attached to his ear and informed some men to deal with the mad dog in front of him.

It was not easy for the referee, who was heavily surrounded on the field to break out, so the fourth official was abused by Twain for almost a minute. The game simply could not continue during this period. The Barcelona players waited for Nottingham Forest to kick off after they finished celebrating the goal only to find that they all surrounded the referee for an explanation. While the Nottingham Forest manager on the sidelines was up against the fourth official. The Barcelona fans in the stands continuously booed at Nottingham Forest.

It was a mess!

Guardiola stood on the sidelines and happily to watch the show. Anyway, he had nothing to lose from the delay. It was Nottingham Forest which was unlucky. They got so many yellow cards during this game and now it appeared as if Tony Twain did not want to stay in the technical area… Although the next round was at the Forest team’s home ground, Nottingham Forest was no longer a threat.

He now specially hoped that Twain would scold more viciously and even directly punch. Although he had no grievances with the UEFA, it would have ensured that Twain would be sent off.

The referee finally broke through the siege of the Nottingham Forest players and ran toward Twain. The Forest players chased behind him and continued to protest along the way. But the referee turned a deaf ear.

He ran to the sidelines. The fourth official turned away from Twain’s spitting range and lowered his head to say a few words to the referee. Then he saw the referee walk up to Twain and point to him to speak in a stern tone, “You need to take responsibility for everything you say, Mr. Manager.”

Twain looked like he was still bantering and said, “Of course I’ll be responsible. You want me to repeat what I just said in front of your face? I’d love to, Mr. Referee.”

“I’m warning you, Mr. Manager…”

“Don’t pretend, Mr. Referee. You blasted one of our goals and then helped Barcelona score the winning goal. You robbed us of our victory by holding a knife to my throat. And now you dare come here and point at my nose to warn me? What do you want to warn me about? You want to warn me for telling the truth? You want to warn me for accidentally pricking your soft, tender heart? Oh, baby, that must have been my intention…” Tony Twain eloquent and fast talk rebuked the referee till he could not say a word for a long time. But he also had his way.

He put his hand into his chest pocket. When he did this action to a manager, he certainly would not immediately show a yellow card.

Twain began to clap while his mouth still provoked nonstop, “Well done! F**king well done! Mr. Black Shirt, why don’t you just sent off my entire team? You see, half of them already have a yellow card. You just have to find any excuse and they will all go!”

The referee ignored Twain’s provocation and showed him a red card.

The stands behind the Nottingham Forest technical area sounded with gleeful cheers and laughter.

“Look at what just happened on the sidelines! Tony Twain was sent off with a red card for contradicting the referee! For Nottingham Forest, it’s really… terrible, terrible! They have a center back sent off, are trailing by 1:2 and the manager is now ejected from the pitch…The game can be declared over early, right?”

“But it is truly a ‘wonderful’ game. One climax after another toward the end, wave after wave…”

Twain turned and walked toward the tunnel. The fourth official shouted to his back, “I will put all these down in detail in the report of the game, Mr. Twain!”

“Whatever, Mr. Robber of the UEFA.” Twain waved without care.

“I’ll write that remark down too!”

Twain did not pay any more attention to him. When he walked to the mouth of the tunnel, unable to quell the anger in his chest, he decided to do a move to vent.

He held up his right hand and did a money-counting action under the attention of several cameras and more than eighty thousand people in the stadium…

The smiles on the faces of the mocking Barcelona fans froze, while Twain turned his face and did not want to watch any more.

After a brief uproar, lighters, coins, mobile phones and everything else that could be thrown, rained down at the mouth of the tunnel.

But Twain had long since disappeared into the tunnel while they were in still in shock.

“…..” The commentator spoke up after a moment of shocked silence. “I dare say that Tony Twain’s actions will cause him a lot of trouble after the game. This is not just a matter of a suspension for two games with a red card… Does he know what he’s doing?”

The guest commenter replied, “Of course he knows. He is setting himself against the whole world.”

Chapter 803 - Snap My Fingers

“It’s common to see a player being sent off with a red card for contradicting the referee, but it’s not every day you can see a manager fighting nonstop with the referee and the fourth official on the sidelines and finally being sent off with a red card. Last night, Tony Twain played out such a passionate scene for us at Camp Nou…”

As the television footage switched, the recording of last night’s final moments of the match between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest emerged onscreen. In the image, Tony Twain had one hand on the hip and a finger pointed at the referee while he jabbered nonstop. He looked agitated as if he wanted to throw a punch at the other man.

When the referee pulled out a red card to send him off, he walked to the entrance of the tunnel and made a money-counting action. This completely infuriated the Barcelona fans at the stadium, and it could be seen clearly in the imagery that lighters, coins and other debris came raining down.

At the post-match press conference, when Twain reappeared in front of the reporters, the Catalan reporters even directed hisses of displeasure at him. Twain turned a deaf ear to this. He sat down and initiated to speak about two things:

“Firstly, the referee is Italian; secondly, we will be promoted.”

Having said those two remarks, he got up and walked away without even shaking hands with Guardiola. It was clear that he was still indignant and unable to calm down.

The television presenter commented, “He still seems to think he has not done enough to stir things up. He has added fuel to the fire again. I’m sure the UEFA definitely won’t let him go this time.”

In fact, Twain was reprimanded in person by Allan Adams before the UEFA came knocking.

Allan Adams and Evan Doughty came to Barcelona together. They had wanted to watch a great game in the box at Camp Nou. But they did not expect to see such a scene …

By the end of the game, when Twain returned to the locker room after the press conference, the players had already left. The men waiting for him in the locker room was the club chairman and marketing manager.

“Tony, you’d better explain it to us.” Allan suppressed his anger and glared at Twain, while Evan remained silent beside him.

“There’s nothing to explain. You saw it.”

“It’s still normal to be sent off with a red card … But what did you mean by that action after? Are you accusing Barcelona of bribing the referee? Do you have any proof?”

“I just snapped my fingers.” Twain shrugged.

“You can tell this nonsense to the officials at the UEFA disciplinary committee!” Allan was so infuriated by Twain’s indifferent attitude and explanation that he wanted to smash something. He said, “You’re the manager of Nottingham Forest and you’re in the public eye all the time. In a sense, you are more like the symbol and representative of this club than Evan. You can’t express your emotions so recklessly. You represent the image of Nottingham Forest! Your actions caused us to offend almost all of our friends in the circle!”

Twain looked at the angry Allan and said nothing. But his eyes and expressions unmistakably told the other party that he was not willing to back down.

“All right, Allan.” At this time Evan stepped forward as the chairman and friend to smooth things over and slightly ease the tense atmosphere. He said, “I’m sure Tony must have been dizzy with anger at the time. To be honest, there was no problem with our goal, I’ve watched the replay. The commentator also talked about the issue after. But neither the result of the game nor the penalty could be changed. You’re not the manager and in that position, so you’ll never know how much psychological pressure is on them.”

Having said that, he walked up to Twain and lightly patted him on the shoulder.

“Tony, you’re in big trouble this time. The club can’t absolve you of your actions. You have to deal with it yourself.”

Although he always did not see eye to eye with Allan, Twain still did what he was told in the face of Evan. He nodded and softened his stance by a lot. He said, “I’m sorry, Evan. I was too agitated…”

Hearing him say so, Allan gave him a hard look. Why didn’t you say that when you were facing me?

“There’s no problem with your heart, is there?” Evan pointed to Twain’s left chest area.

Twain shook his head and said, “Everything is fine.”

“You’d better call Shania. If she’s watching the game, she’ll be freaked out by your last five minutes of excited performance. Did you turn off your phone?”

The moment he said so, Twain remembered the matter. He did switched off his cell phone, but Shania was far away in the United States. It was hard to say whether she would be watching the game.

“Well, Allan. Let’s go first.” Evan intended to give Twain some alone time and space.

Before Allan left, he did not forget to point at Twain and warned him, “You’d better be prepared, Tony. This time, this is not something that can be solved by paying a fine of a few thousand pounds.”

Twain ignored him.

After everyone had left, he pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. Then he dialed Shania’s cell phone number.

“Tony!” It was rare for Shania not to call him “Uncle Tony.” She sounded angry from her tone.

“Looks like you watched the game, Shania?” Twain twisted his lips and smiled somewhat helplessly.

“Of course, I did. Were you trying to scare me? What was going on in those minutes?”

“Well, we were treated unfairly, and I’m a little angry…”

“I don’t care about that, Tony! I don’t care about the matters in football. Why did I watch the game? I only care about you. Seeing you lose your temper there; do you know how worried I am about your heart?”

“… I’m sorry, Shania. I’m sorry…” Twain was unable to put forward any convincing argument at this time, so he could only apologize.

“When will you get rid of your bad temper, Tony?” Although she was younger than Twain, Shania currently used the tone of an elder to chide her husband. She said, “You’re always so easily agitated. One remark from another person and you will be all fired up. You’re already in your forties, Tony. Why are you still acting like a child?”

“Well, my temper is a lot better now…..” Twain recalled in his mind that before his transmigration, he was simply quite loathsome and never give face to others, like a stone in a latrine, smelly and hard. “It’s just that there are times when I really can’t control everything on my own. You know, Shania, sometimes it’s not of my own volition…”

“All right, Uncle Tony!” Shania interrupted Twain’s explanation, “As long as you’re okay. Sometimes I really don’t know what to say to you. You’re always so stubborn… Perhaps you have to give up this career completely to give me a peace of mind. But I also know you will never do so. So, what else can I say?”

Shania’s tone was much softer, and she also called Twain “Uncle Tony” again. But Twain still felt a little guilty. Sometimes he momentarily gave free rein to his emotions but alarmed Shania. He did not care how the UEFA punished himself, how the rival fans would love to kill him, how the media condemned him in speech and writing, and Allan’s rebukes to his face, but he had to care about Shania. Because, like what a Canadian country singer with the same name as Shania, sang—“You’re Still the One.”

“I’m sorry Shania. I promise I’ll try to be restrained in the future. I’ll think of you when I want to lose my temper. Ah —just the thought of you calms my emotions…”

“You’re so corny, Uncle Tony!” Shania laughed at the other end of the line.

When he heard Shania laugh, Twain also laughed along. His heart finally settled, because Shania was not angry with him.

After he ended the phone conversation with Shania, Twain walked out of the locker room. Some media still blocked him on the way to the bus, trying to get him say more explosive content. But Twain shook his head and stayed silent on any questions. He had already said what he wanted to say and also said what should have not been said. He too had done what he should and should not do. Now he would just have to deal with how people were going to evaluate the matter, how the UEFA would punish him, and what trouble he was going to face. It was no use talking about it.

※※※

The UEFA acted swiftly. Just as Twain and his team had stepped off the plane and re-entered England, the initial penalty was already out.

Tony Twain was suspended for two additional games on top of the ban of two games from the red card and fined fifty thousand pounds for contradicting the referee, verbally abusing the fourth official and making an insulting gesture to provoke the Barcelona fans. Furthermore, the matter was not over yet. The UEFA would call for a hearing at a later date to bring Twain in to question him on what his actions and words on the sidelines meant, and whether there was any evidence to prove that the referee had accepted a bribe from Barcelona. If he did not produce the evidence, he could face a far more serious punishment.

But since the UEFA was a big bureaucratic organization, it might take a long time for a specific hearing to be held. Twain still had time to prepare…

Twain certainly would not resigned to his fate. He told reporters at the airport during the interview, claiming that his action was not counting money, but a snapping of his fingers—these two actions really looked very similar …

The important thing was that Twain did not put his thumb on his index finger and middle finger to rub them back and forth. If that was the case, it would be “counting money” without a doubt. But Twain only rubbed his fingers a little. Snapping his fingers required only a bit of rubbing.

In addition, Twain also had prepared other materials for his counterattack. He insisted that Nottingham Forest had been treated unfairly at Camp Nou. The Catalan media had criticized his team for being rough and the lethal tactics against Messi were contrary to sportsmanship. Twain snorted at it, “If I really want to deal with Messi using that kind of means, I can guarantee that he won’t last on the pitch for five minutes.”

A reporter asked Twain that it should be true that Nottingham Forest had a lot of yellow cards. Twain asked in return, “In Derbi barceloní, both teams, Barcelona and RCD Espanyol had a lot of yellow cards. What did that imply?”

Twain also continued to attack the referee and assistant referee at the airport. He said anyone who watched Nottingham Forest’s second goal replay would admit this point—Fernández’s goal was fine and not in an offside position. Ibi?evi? might have been in an offside position, but he was not actually involved in the offensive or interfering with the defense. It made no sense to rule the goal invalid and immediately allow the other side to quickly kickoff until there was a goal. He was not afraid of even going to the UEFA hearing. If the UEFA did not give him an explanation, he would even go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In short—if you want to fight me, I will fight with you to the end!

Twain’s attitude was tough, and Barcelona was not soft, either. In a post-match interview, Guardiola mentioned the controversial goal. First of all, this was what he said about Nottingham Forest’s goal being invalidated, “I’m not a referee and I was not near that part of the sidelines, so I did not know what happened. But I think if both the referee and the assistant referee thought it was in an offside position, then it was definitely in an offside position.”

Then he talked about his team’s goal, “There was no problem with our goal. It was absolutely not against the rules. The referee signaled for the game to continue, so we kickoff the attack. I don’t think there’s any reason for us to stop and wait for the other team to return to its defensive positions to start attacking. As long as we did not break the rules, it was fine.” Anyway, he pushed the problem to the rules and the referee. If there was any problem, it laid with the referee. We were only following the referee’s instructions…

Following which, he was asked about his opinion on Tony Twain’s strings of actions. He said, “I could understand how he felt at the time. Of course, there are times when there are surprises on the football field. But regardless, he should respect the referee. He’s a role model for the players… What did he say? I’m sorry it is so noisy here; I can’t hear you. What about his gesture? I don’t know what that meant. Maybe only he knows… I didn’t see it either. I only saw it on the news after someone told me about it. I don’t care what his gesture meant.”

Finally, he responded to the media reports of “Barcelona had bribed the referee” and said, “This is complete nonsense! How can Barcelona, a powerhouse club which enjoys immense prestige all over the world, do such a thing? We have the strength to win any game and don’t need anyone’s help. I didn’t hear Twain say we bribed the referee. If he did say that, the Barcelona club will definitely make a complain to the UEFA. He must give us a reasonable explanation.” He did not forget to show his rarely displayed sense of humor. He said, “It would be more effective to use that money to pay our players a winning bonus than to bribe the referees. Ha.”

The Barcelona Football Club also stated they would pursue this matter with Twain to the end. They would definitely appeal to the UEFA for the insults they had been subjected to.

Unlike Barcelona’s unyielding stance, Nottingham Forest was a bit ambiguous. They simply stated that they would gather evidence for the “offside goal” in the game to report to the UEFA. They refused to acknowledge all the other personal complaints about Twain and Barcelona.

Any mess that Tony Twain had made, he had to clean it up himself.

Chapter 804 - A Gift for Barcelona

When the team returned to Wilford from London’s Heathrow Airport, they were dismissed on the spot and given a half-day break. They would resume training tomorrow morning. But Twain and the two assistant managers did not have a break. He brought the two men straight to the training base to handle the day-to-day maintenance of the training ground.

The person in charge of this department was Thompson Isaksson, an elderly man who had worked his entire life in the turf maintenance at Wilford. He now continued to serve the club, leading sixteen men. The seventeen-member team was responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of a total of eight training grounds at the North and South Wilford training bases. The work included leveling the site, turf maintenance and some special requirements from the coaching staff.

Twain came to them this time for “some special requirements.”

“Thompson, which is the worst training ground in the First Team’s training base?” Twain got right to the point and asked the old man which momentarily stumped him so that he did not respond right away.

South Wilford was the First Team’s training base with four standard training grounds. Each of the grounds was the same size as the City Ground stadium. The fields with the best conditions were number one and two, where the Forest First Team and reserves often trained and played internal games on. Within such a venue, even the turf was the same as what the City Ground stadium used, and it had the best maintenance.

Twain saw that Thompson looked uncomfortable, so he smiled and said, “Don’t think too much, old man. I’m not here to criticize. Just tell me which training ground had the worst conditions.”

“Well… Number three.” Isaksson replied.

“How bad is it?”

“Well … We haven’t had the time to level the ground and the grass growth is not satisfactory. Usually the team never used that space, so we didn’t do much…” He still thought Twain was here to ask to criticize, and hurriedly explained on behalf of his team.

Twain patted him on the shoulder and said, “Bring us along to take a look.”

So, the old man awkwardly led the way in front, followed by the three coaches, which somehow looked like a criminal being escorted…..

The number three training ground was located in the most remote corner of the training base, surrounded by dense woods. It was largely invisible from the outside. This training ground was the first field to be used by Nottingham Forest when it moved the training base from the City Ground stadium. Later because of the facilities were more complete in three other fields and after the more conveniently located training grounds were completed in succession, this location was gradually forgotten. The First Team’s three training grounds were basically adequate for usage, so this fourth place was left idle here and neglected.

Twain knew about the situation but today he wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.

Hidden deep in the dense forest, the number three training ground revealed a barren and dilapidated air from which Twain could even detect a hint of the 1980s.

“It was first used when I was already at the club…” Isaksson could not help but sigh with regret when he saw the training ground. “It was lively at the time. Then it gradually died out. Coupled with the club’s poor financial situation the end of the last century and no extra money to maintain so many training grounds at the same time, this place was completely abandoned …”

The group of people walked down the field themselves. Twain found that it was just as Isaksson had said. The training ground was no different from a wasteland due to the lack of maintenance and management. Although it did not have an overgrown of weeds and hares roaming about, it was largely different from the other three leveled training ground that were like green meadows.

“The ground is uneven … Oh, be careful!” Kerslake stopped Dunn beside him. He was walking when he twisted his ankle.

Dunn took a breath and seemed to have sprained his ankle. “It’s nothing…”

“The quality of the grass is not good. It’s too hard. One can easily get scratched training here.” Isaksson added while he gave Dunn an apologetic glance at the same time. As one of the groundsmen, every site was their area of responsibility, so they would feel guilty if someone were to be hurt.

After he carefully walked a lap, Twain stood on the sidelines to look around again, and then snapped his fingers, “Very good.”

“Very good?” Isaksson did not understand what the manager meant when he said that.

“Level the ground a little. Pay attention, Thompson, I’m talking about just level it a little. Just slightly. Do you get me?”

Isaksson looked at Twain and shook his head with a look of confusion. He could not understand his words.

“Well… That is to say, while keeping to its original appearance is important, try to make sure that one doesn’t sprain one’s ankle while walking on the training ground.”

“Keeping it to its original appearance? What does that mean?” David Kerslake was also surprised, so he asked next to Isaksson.

“I need to maintain the little bumps in this pitch, keep the grass rough and for the football to fall unevenly on top.” Twain explained.

“Why?” Isaksson and Kerslake asked the question almost at the same time. Only Dunn at the side suddenly looked pensive. When Kerslake saw it, he wanted to pinch his neck and said, “Say it if you know something! Dunn!”

Dunn shook his head and said, “I just thought maybe Tony is up to something no good again…”

“That’s the idea I came up with on the flight.” Twain chuckled, “I can’t be in charge of the next game. I’m afraid the UEFA people won’t even let me in the locker room. I think it’s a loss for us when we are up against a team like Barcelona, so I have to make up for this loss from somewhere else. You’ve all seen the quality of the pitches at Camp Nou, haven’t you?”

“Of course, it’s much better than this… er, training ground under our feet. They have a five-star stadium.” Kerslake had wanted to say, “this rotten vegetable patch under our feet.” But he suddenly thought of Isaksson by his side. It would be too unfair to say that to an old employee.

“Ha, you’re right, David. Their turf is of an excellent quality, which is also to be expected. After all, for a team that always likes to keep the football under its feet rather than at the top of its head, the requirements of the field must be very high. We have to use all means and methods to create trouble for them. In addition to the tactical and psychological means, I thought of the venue. A terrible field can greatly limit their play.”

“But Tony. That will also limit our play.” Kerslake was puzzled.

“So that’s why I’m here today to handle the matter. Starting from tomorrow until the end of the game against Barcelona, we’ve got to carry out our training on this training ground, such as getting our players to get used to the feeling of playing on this ground as quickly as possible and avoiding injury as much as possible. And then on the day of the match, I’ll ask that the City Ground stadium to be turned to this.” He pointed to under his feet.

Kerslake swallowed when he heard Twain said that. He thought about how Dunn sprained his ankle just now from just walking on top of the field. If they were to use all their energy to sprint and do their moves on this kind of field…

It was as Dunn said. This was really not a “good idea.”

After he explained to Kerslake, Twain turned to Isaksson who had been listening in a daze and said, “You only have half a day. Can you do it?”

“Ah, uh… If it’s just to ‘slightly’ level it, I think there’s no problem, Mr. Twain.”

“In that case, I’ll leave it in your good hands, Thompson. Without letting our people easily get hurt here and if we win Barcelona in the end, I’ll send you a good bottle of wine!”

※※※

On the way out of number three training ground, Kerslake raised his objection to Twain’s approach. He did not really think it was necessary to do so.

“I don’t think there’s such a big gap between us and Barcelona that we will need to resort to such an unusual means to secure victory, Tony.”

“Truthfully, David. The gap between us and them is indeed that great. Do you think we can win easily just because we are back at our home ground? Pepe can’t play while Baines and Fernández have accumulated enough yellow cards to be suspended. And as for me, I can only sit in the stands and wish you all good luck. But who are they missing? No one. Now come to think of it, we were too restrained in the first round…” Twain smacked his lips and rubbed his chin.

“Limit their play with terrible field conditions and frequent fouls, disrupt their inherent game rhythm and mess up the game situation as much as possible. Lastly… instruct out team to only practice long balls this week and I want to change the striker.”

Kerslake saw Twain’s expression and he already guessed who he wanted to replace, so he was even more surprised, “Are you serious, Tony? That kid had only played three times as a substitute in the league tournament and did not even score one goal. If you let him play in such an important game, aren’t you afraid of ruining him?!”

“He’s not going to collapse at the first blow like you’d imagine, David. I know what I’m doing.” Twain gave a shrug and said, “The only regret is that he’s still not strong enough… How nice it would be if he were a combination of ?igi? and Ibrahimovi?…”

“Dream on!” Kerslake threw out the remark in frustration.

※※※

The next day, Twain came to Wilford early in the morning, ahead of most of the staff and players, as well as all the reporters. He went straight to number three training ground.

The early morning mist still shrouded the small forest. The number three training ground was faintly discernible amid the white fog. The scene reminded Twain of the Journey to the West story he read at a young age. The white fog lingering in the Heavenly Court was almost like this.

No one was there because he came too early. Twain went off the field to walk a lap and then jogged another lap. Following which, he nodded with satisfaction alone and said, “Well done.”

Isaksson was undoubtedly a veteran worker who had worked here for decades and had good techniques. The work was fully in line with Twain’s wretched requirements.

To ensure that the ground was uneven, and the quality of the turf was scraggly, but to also ensure that their own people training on top of it would not be easily injured, it was certainly risky. But that was not something that the groundsmen could control. These were matters for the coaching staff to consider.

Stepping on the still-uneven field, Twain began to chuckle deviously to himself.

※※※

The players arrived at Wilford for training as usual with the reporters huddled outside the venue to wait for fifteen minutes of public filming. Of course, more reporters were here to interview Tony Twain. They still wanted to hear the latest developments in the war of words between the two teams.

But what they saw was disappointing.

Tony Twain did not appeared in front of everyone from beginning to the end. Kerslake was the only coach on the training ground.

The players were as surprised as the reporters. They went out to get ready for training after they changed into their training clothes in the locker room, only to find that apart from the assistant manager, David Kerslake, none of the other coaches were to be seen.

After everyone had gathered, Kerslake spoke, “Guys, we’re training at a different place today.”

Huh?” Everyone’s reaction was one of puzzlement.

“Go to the number three training ground.” Kerslake pointed to a direction. Everyone looked over and could only see a dense forest.

“Where is it?” The vast majority of the players did not know the exact location because they had never trained in that place before. Some people thought that South Wilford had only three training grounds, number one, two and four.

“Don’t ask. Just follow me.” Kerslake turned and walked toward the dense forest.

“But the reporters…” Some of the players looked back at a group of media outside the barbed wire.

“Ignore them.” Kerslake did not even turn his head.

The reporters outside the field were surprised to see the team suddenly march together to the most distant part of the training ground. Just as they did not know what was going on, the press officer appeared in front of the crowd with a smile.

“Mr. Twain suddenly informed the team to seal off the training. I’m sorry, everyone.”

This was not the first time they had encountered such a situation, but the reporters still openly voiced their complaints.

“When has there ever been a manager who treats the media in such a manner?”

“Is he scared witless by Barcelona? Does he need to have a closed-door training for an away game again Norwich City, a league opponent at the bottom of the rankings?”

“Actually, I think he doesn’t want to be surrounded by us and be asked questions about that gesture of his…”

Pierce Brosnan shook his head in the crowd. He could not understand what Tony Twain had in mind.

A group of reporters left reluctantly in the midst of their complaints.

Meanwhile, the Nottingham Forest players stared blankly at their “new training ground.”

Twain was grinning in front of them, as if here were Mr. Devil himself to lure them to jump into the lava hell.

“This is the new training ground you will use in the coming week. It looks great, doesn’t it?”

Eastwood mumbled to himself in a low voice among the crowd, “This is probably the worst training ground I’ve ever seen…” He had the right of speech and people would believe his words because he was the only one among the players who had played in the amateur league.

“It looks like a vegetable patch in a farm. Actually, it is a vegetable patch.”

Twain’s expression when he said this made the people who saw it wanted to beat him.

The color of the grass varied in the regular football field-sized training ground with patches everywhere. In some areas, there was no grass at all, and the color of the soil was directly exposed. It looked like a head being carelessly shaved with a pair of blunt hair clippers.

“You have to be careful. It’s not as flat as it looks… So, today’s warm-up has to be longer than previous days. No slacking off. Otherwise, don’t complain that I did not warn you in advance after you sprain your ankle.” After he said that, signaled to Kerslake to step forward and continue.

Kerslake stepped forward with today’s training schedule.

“Guys, our training assignment today is…” At this point, he thought it was amusing, but he had to look serious and keep pretending, “to adapt to this site!”

Some of the players laughed. Kerslake immediately gave a glare and said, “This is not a joke! We are pressed for time. You only have one day to get used to… the feeling of playing football on this vegetable field! If anyone is injured here the next day, you will not get my sympathy!” He pointed to the other side, where the team doctor’s unit was on standby under the leadership of Fleming with his “Super Mario beard.” Everyone looked at them with a serious expression. They were no strangers to that look in their eyes. Whenever a player was seriously injured during a game, Fleming and his colleagues would look at the injured area with that look in their eyes and then turn around to make a substitution gesture to Twain.

When they looked at the situation, the laughter in the team gradually subsided until it completely disappeared. They realized that the boss was not prompted by a sudden impulse to play a joke on them. He was for real. It was a very serious matter.

After he saw that all the players realized the importance of the matter, Kerslake raised his voice, “Warm up! Fully warm up! Loosen up every part of your body and every joint! Even if your ankle twists to ninety degrees, it won’t hurt easily! Then use your bodies to firmly remember the feeling of running every step here! Remember the parts which are deep and shallow, the areas which have pits and bumps, where the football has irregular movements when it falls… Don’t remember them in your hearts or minds, remember them with your bodies! If anyone gets hurt, it’s because your body doesn’t remember! Finally, I ask you to keep your mouths shut on the contents of this week’s training!”

His voice was concealed by the dense forest. No outsider could hear them. The reporters would absolutely not obtain any content to do with Nottingham Forest’s closed-door special training this week.

To welcome their distinguished guests from afar, Tony Twain racked his brains and spent one week’s time to prepare a big gift for them.

He hoped they would like it.

Chapter 805 - POMO

Ahead of the match against Nottingham Forest and Norwich City, the media rushed to report this piece of news:

The host of Sky TV’s <Football Matters>, Carl Spicer appeared with a shaved head on last night’s show. It had been confirmed that Spicer had been wiling to concede that he lost his wager with Tony Twain and shaved his hair. Mr. Carl Spicer became the second public figure to have lost a bet with Tony Twain. The first public figure to lose his beard was Mark Lawrenson. His beard has not grown back to date…

It was certainly a scandal for Spicer, but a good thing to Sky TV. Because they could make use of this opportunity to further drum up publicity for the show. Therefore, they went around promoting Carl Spicer would appear with “a brand-new look” in the upcoming show before the program was aired. The show set a new high in the ratings on that day.

Twain also did not forget to add salt to the wound and mocked Spicer in his column, “He should thank me for insisting on this bet at the time. I heard that their ratings have skyrocketed and that is all to my credit. I think Sky should seriously consider giving me a bonus.”

In the visiting team’s locker room, the Forest players marked Ibi?evi?’s twentieth goal of the season. But he was not in the starting lineup for this game.

The media were aware of the starting lineup a day before. Tony Twain had rotated the team and had nothing to hide.

The striker who replaced Ibi?evi? to start in the game was not Eastwood, nor Agbonlahor, but the young player, Aaron Mitchell. It was his first appearance for Nottingham Forest in an official tournament.

Such an arrangement was not surprising. After all, Nottingham Forest would face the strong rival, Barcelona at home next week. There was really no need to send the strongest lineup to play against an opponent like Norwich City.

Aaron Mitchell might see this day as the most memorable day of his career, because when he was still a center back, he never thought he could make his league debut so quickly as a member of Nottingham Forest.

But Twain did not take any special care of the lucky kid. What he said to the whole team was also what he had to say to the kid.

“I don’t know if you’ll feel the uneven ground under your feet when you walk onto the pitch later.”

The players laughed. They had been training on that terrible training ground for the last half of the week, with three players injured on the first day. Eastwood was one of them, but luckily he did enough warm-up and was not seriously injured. In order to seize the time, Twain even got here to play the away game on the morning of the game itself. For the sake of the Champions League, he was ready to give up the preparations for this league game.

“Norwich City’s turf quality and pitch are certainly not as good as Camp Nou, but it must be a lot better than that training ground of ours. Don’t forget your body’s memories because of this venue. To be honest, I won’t give you any pressure for this game. It does not matter if you win or lose. You just take it that you’re training in that rotten field. Keeping your bodies’ memories is your only task in this game.”

※※※

After the game began, the Nottingham Forest players played a state that was surprising to the outsiders. It was not a matter of them being slow to warm up. The Forest players played as if they did not know how to play football collectively and acted clumsily.

From the simplest action of running, when the football that was obviously closer to the Forest players, the Forest team would certainly have gotten it under general conditions.

But during this game, the Nottingham Forest players appeared as if they could not run. They looked like they did not have the energy to start running and completely could not catch up with the Norwich City players mid-run. In this way, they just watched the football being taken away by the opponent first.

“I really suspect that the Forest players went out last night and got prostitutes. Otherwise, how else to explain the weakness in their legs?” The commentator also thought the Forest team’s playing was really ugly like this.

“The desire to win is not strong and their bodies are not right. What did Tony Twain train for those three days of closed-door training?”

“Only God knows…”

Aaron Mitchell was brought off after sixty-five minutes of his debut. His own personal play was not ideal due to the team’s inexplicable “poor state” on the pitch. He could not perform the headers and footwork skills which he was good at. On the contrary, because his body was slightly thin, he was also at a disadvantage in the confrontation against the opposing center back.

Ibi?evi?, who was brought on, did not see any improvement in his form too. The commentators found it even more difficult to understand—“Why is Nottingham Forest’s entire team, from its starting lineup to its substitutes, in such a bad form? Are they voodooed?”

In the end, everyone was in a poor form and unable to find their competitive form on the pitch from start to finish. Unexpectedly, Nottingham Forest, which acted as if it could not play football, lost 1:0 to Norwich City in the away game, causing the biggest upset in the current round of the league tournament. One must know that beforehand, Norwich City was at the bottom of the rankings and almost certain to be relegated.

After the game in the mixed zone, the Nottingham Forest players who lost were the targets of the media’s pursuit instead. All the reporters wanted to ask the Forest players one question, “Can you explain your poor performance in this game?”

Most players might refuse to answer the questions because they were in a bad mood from losing the game. The few people who answered, would not really say anything of value such as, “A thing like a player’s form cannot be pinpointed. We feel that there’s no problem, but problems may crop up during a game, so we do not know what went wrong.”

Well, these players were clearly reluctant to cooperate with the reporters. Perhaps they felt that their performances were terrible, and they were too ashamed to answer such questions. So, the reporters turned to their attention to the post-match press conference, planning to hear what Twain had to say. According to precedent, Tony Twain must be furious that his team played such a bad game.

But what did they see at the scene?

Tony Twain sat smiling in front of a row of microphones, speak frankly with assurance about the just-concluded game.

“Football is like this, you can never say that just because we are strong, we deserve to win. You can’t celebrate victory in advance before the game starts. No one knows what the outcome is till the last second. I’m really sorry about the result of this match.”

Could anyone see the slightest expression of “sorry” on his face?

“The team was not in form and I’m angry.”

Was he really angry? “Angry with a smile?”

“Finally, I would like to congratulate Mr. Glen Roeder. His team played a beautiful game.” Twain stood up and shook hands with a beaming Roeder next to him. The two men were also quite connected—Twain’s debut match against West Ham United was led by this man. At the time, he showed off his “big mouth” for the first time at the press conference. He not only successfully cursed West Ham United’s relegation, but also found out for the first time where the English Football Association’s front door was.

Now, eight years later, Mr. Roeder appeared before Twain again after he had suffered a heart attack and a cerebral thrombosis. This time, though, he was neither the West Ham United manager nor Newcastle United’s acting manager, but the manager of the newly promoted team, Norwich City. He led the team to promotion last season but was likely to lead the team back to the English Football League Championship this season. At this crucial time, to be able to beat a strong enemy like Nottingham Forest, it was naturally help provided in the hour of need.

Unfortunately, even so, he could not be the leading character at the press conference. Instead, it was the defeated Twain who became the focus of attention. Had it not been for Twain’s initiative to stand up and shake his hand to congratulate him, he did not know how long he would have to wait for the reporters to turn their attention to him.

Norwich City’s victory over Nottingham Forest was an upset after the game, but the articles which appeared in the important placements were the media analysis on why Nottingham Forest had suddenly been unable to find its form. Poor Mr. Glen Roeder…

Some people said it was due to the rotation that Twain did to prepare for the game against Barcelona. But with the Forest team’s strength, even if with a full rotation, it should not be defeated by a low-level team like Norwich City, should it?

Other people said it was the away loss to Barcelona that had a profound impact on Nottingham Forest. Cracks had appeared in their originally invulnerable locker room and Tony Twain, who only knew how to be hopping mad and scold people, could no longer control his star players. Today’s Nottingham Forest was like a sheet of loose sand, with its morale at rock bottom after two consecutive losses. Barcelona’s chance was here.

Moreover, Twain’s unusual performance in the post-match press conference suggested that he had a falling out with the club’s top brass after he lost control of the team. He had sent the helve after the hatchet. There had been rumors that once he lost to Barcelona, Tony Twain would be out of Wilford. And the Manchester United club had signed a deal with Twain in private. He would immediately go to Manchester United after he left Nottingham Forest.

These rumors were half-truths. Some of which simply did not hold up while some seemed to contain some truth. The real and fake news mingled together. The readers could not discern the truth and could only be led by the nose by the media.

Twain chose to remain silent over these media reports. Nottingham Forest also chose silence. It was like a nuclear submarine diving into the deep sea and lying in the dark, so that the enemy could not figure out where they were going or what they were planning to do.

The only trouble was that some people among Nottingham Forest’s fan base also believed the rumors. After all, the game was really ugly to watch. It was almost on par with their home loss to Bolton Wanderers in that year. And Tony Twain unexpectedly did not lose his temper. No wonder some of the Forest fans had the wrong idea.

But based on this point, Nottingham Forest did well in its secrecy.

※※※

While the rumors continued to spread about Tony Twain’s imminent departure outside, the Nottingham Forest players continued to train on the rotten ground. After these few days of “trampling”, the site became even worse.

But it did not have much impact on the training, as Nottingham Forest did not do much ground coordination training. The focus of the team’s training this week was in the air—long balls.

The attacking players in the front field were asked to simply manage the ball after they had taken the ball. The simpler the better, the faster the better. They did not need to think about brilliant ground coordination—in fact a lot of players did think so at the beginning, but when they saw that the passes they were sending could not roll to where they wanted the ball to go on such a field, they gave up the unrealistic idea.

To put it bluntly, the only trick to playing on such an uneven ground with patchy grass was to minimize the contact between the football and the ground, so a high ball was the way to go.

When the defenders were marked as they took the ball, they must stride forward; when the two defensive midfielders switch between offense and defense, they did not use a short pass, but a long pass; the wingers frequently used cross passes at a forty-five-degree angle, rather than crossed from the byline. Then they would place a tall center forward who was outstanding at header shots in the forefront. The football would go where the tall center forward was. In addition to practicing extra set piece plays, the set pieces, whether offensive or defensive, would become the game’s top priority. Because Twain was well aware that his tactics might not get more direct shooting opportunities, so he needed other means to score. A set piece was the best option.

The Nottingham Forest players would not be too unfamiliar with the style of play, nor would they think it was a new thing to do from the boss’ moment of impulse. Because even when the Forest team played most beautifully, they could see this “efficiency football” or “ugly football” in their tactics. Otherwise, why did the media always criticize them?

The Nottingham Forest coaches were also not surprised. Because Tony Twain’s initial success at the Forest team was based on efficiency football and “useless possession.” It was only later that he revised his tactics a little to make the Forest team’s style of play richer and better. Only this time Twain took the “useless possession” to the extreme and used a famous extreme—POMO (“Positions of Maximum Opportunity”), meaning “the areas of the field from where goals were most often scored. It was the famous “English style long ball.”

Almost all England coaches knew and were familiar with this theory, because the theory was founded by Charles Hughes, who had the greatest influence on English football in the last century. He also used his position as the Director of Coaching for The English Football Association in the 1960s till 1990s to greatly promote the idea. It was the culprit in why the English football technical style had not progressed or even regressed.

It was a classic example of “an armchair strategist” in football. The theory was invulnerable, but the actual situation acted in a way that defeated one’s purpose. It was not the same thing at all. Even so, why did Twain suddenly decide to use this extreme tactic?

Since POMO had been popularized in England for thirty years and had far-reaching influence, there must be some merit to it. Even if it was small, George Graham’s Arsenal achieved success with it in the early 1990s. Although they played rough football that made the Arsenal fans tired of them too, they won the championship title, and that was the redeeming quality.

The terrible pitch was clearly well suited to the use of long balls. Twain said he would do whatever it took to win, so it would be no big deal to briefly resurrected the “notorious” POMO once in Nottingham Forest.

Every winner would still smile even if he was scolded by people, while the loser would not be happy even if he received more praise.

There was always one reason for the Catalan media to attack Twain—he played extremely ugly football which was full of the utilitarian stench, and he was England’s biggest football hooligan.

Then Twain would tell them: since you talk so much about ugly utilitarian football, have you ever seen the ugliest and most utilitarian football? It doesn’t matter if you have never seen it. I shall open your eyes soon!

Chapter 806 - Aaron’s Troubles

Aaron Mitchell has never felt this valued in his entire life. The attention that he has been given so far exceeds the attention that he received during the very first time he played for Nottingham Forest in a Premier League match.

All eyes were on Mitchell as the team conducted physiotherapy, tactical drills and training sessions that worked on improving the players’ techniques, set pieces and strength this week.

The kind of attention that was given to him was not one whereby the coaches approach him to ask dumb questions such as if he was feeling happy. The kind of attention that was given to him came in the form of the coaches’ chastisements towards him following an increase in intensity in the training that he was given.

Using the strength training session as an example, Mitchell was informed that he had to do more strength training so as to enhance his overall physicality when he was first promoted into the first team, but the coaches became even stricter with their demands of him this week.

Luckily, the physiotherapy sessions following the training session have also been enhanced, if not Mitchell really doubted that he would be able to last for long.

The situation suddenly turned for the better in the middle of the week two days before the Champions League game. Mitchell was on his way to the gym to continue with his strength training when he was held back by Dunn.

“You don’t need to do additional strength training today, Mitchell.”

“But I’m fine. I want to…” Mitchell was a little taken aback and he did not react in time.

“You don’t need to do additional strength training tomorrow either.” Dunn smiled at him. “I want you to rest up for these two days.”

Mitchell was baffled. The Chinese assistant manager was speaking in English, but Mitchell realized that he completely did not understand what he meant.

Dunn felt a little awkward as he looked at the confused expression upon Mitchell’s face. He should not be revealing the starting list to the players without Tony’s approval, but seeing how the lad has worked hard and pulled through his tough training for the past couple of days and how he was endearing…

Perhaps it would be all right to tell him as a reward?

“Yeah, Mitchell. You will start in the game two days later.”

Mitchell nodded his head and did not appear to be surprised in the slightest. It took him a while to react, and when he did, he nearly jumped into the air.

He bulged his eyes and stared at the assistant manager before him. “What did you just say, Mr. Dunn?”

“I’m not dreaming am I, Mr. Dunn?”

Dunn shook his head. “Rest up these two days. And don’t tell anyone.”

Mitchell immediately covered his mouth and nodded his head. He thanked Dunn and ran away gleefully.

※※※

Aaron Mitchell’s father was an ordinary workman who was also a loyal fan of Nottingham Forest, which was why he chose to send his son to Forest’s football academy. He was overjoyed for days when his son got promoted to the first team by Twain, and he went about bragging to every person that he met that his son was a football star.

His son, on the other hand, was not as excited as he was. He was well aware about how competitive it gets in the team and he kept raining on his father’s parade. He did not want him to get his hopes up.

Every time Mitchell did that however, his father would start acting authoritative and pretend he is about to slap him by raising his hand.

“Get your act together! Some French bastard whom I’ve forgotten the name once said, any football player who doesn’t want to be a football star is not a good player!”

Mitchell has always acted in a much more mature manner as compared to his excited father. However, there was a turn of events today.

He deliberately hid the smile on his face the moment he entered the door.

“Good afternoon, Dad!”

“What good afternoon? It’s almost night time!” His father was doing carpentry work in the garden and he responded to Mitchell without turning around.

“How’s training?”

“I’m doing okay!”

“You make me think you are not training in your team at all when you say that.” His father’s words sounded muffled since he was biting onto nails, but Mitchell could make out what his father was trying to say.

“I’m doing great!”

“That’s more like it…”

“Where’s mum?”

“Making dinner.”

“Heh heh.” Mitchell broke into a laugh suddenly. His father was surprised by his sudden laughter and dropped the hammer that he was holding. It nearly hit and hurt his fingers.

“Hey! You!” His father was about to chide him, but he realized his son was already gone by then.

He stood rooted at the ground for a moment. “Did he get stimulated by something today?”

During dinner, neither the father nor the mother could focus on eating their dinners. They had their eyes on their son, who was smiling to himself.

Eventually, Mitchell’s father opened his mouth to break the peculiar silence that they were in.

“Aaron, do you have a girl that you like?”

Mitchell found it odd that his father would suddenly ask a question like that.

He shook his head. “I haven’t liked anyone for a long time. Don’t you know that, Dad? My height makes it hard for me to find someone suitable…”

It was certainly difficult for Mitchell to find a girlfriend with him being 2.02m tall. How awkward would it be if his girlfriend found it easier to give him a blowjob than to kiss him?

His father used to joke that he would have to look for a girlfriend in the girls’ basketball team.

But… The girls in the basketball team all look a little…

“That’s odd. Then why are you smiling to yourself if you don’t have a girlfriend?”

“Ah! That’s because…” Mitchell nearly divulged the information that he was going to be in the starting list for the Champions League match, but he suddenly remembered Dunn’s words about keeping it a secret.

He quickly changed what he was about to say. “Nothing. I’m just happy! Oh, right, Dad. Will you be going down to the stadium to watch the Champions League game?”

“When has your Dad ever missed watching a Forest game at the City Ground Stadium? Are you doubting my loyalty to Forest?”

“Heh heh.” Mitchell laughed again. “That’s good, that’s good.”

His laughter made his father feel uncomfortable from top to toe.

“Mitchell! Stop laughing like that, you are not a girl! Hearing your laughter makes me lose my appetite to eat!”

His father knew that he was hiding something from him, but he could not force him to speak. The authority that he held as his father would also not be able to help him get his son to speak. He felt very upset at the fact that there was nothing he could do…

“All right, all right. Let’s just eat.” Mitchell’s mother spoke up to ease the mood.

Mitchell did not care about how his father seemed to stare daggers at him. All that was in his mind right now was not his father’s reaction, but the Champions League instead.

He felt as though the sounds of the Champions League had rung by his ears. The sound set his heart ablaze and he became so excited that goosebumps broke out all over his body.

He imagined tens of thousands of people at the stadium chanting his name at the top of their voices.

He was finally going to fight against a strong European team. He was not just going to make an appearance in an insignificant competition at an insignificant time.

He once dreamed of donning Nottingham Forest’s red jersey and making an appearance in a top-level European match as a child. Now, he was not too far from making his dream a reality.

Mitchell’s mother felt a little worried after seeing her son’s behavior. She knew that the team had increased his training load for the past couple of days. Her son had also come home a few days ago telling her how he was exhausted. She feared that Aaron was overly worn out.

“Rest up earlier tonight, Aaron.”

“I will, Mum. I will rest right after finishing dinner.”

Mitchell continued eating his dinner without haste. When he was done, he pushed his utensils forward and stood to his feet. He then said good night to his parents before going upstairs.

The two adults who were left behind looked at each other. They did not understand what was going on.

Mitchell’s father felt a little dejected and frustrated for not knowing what his child was thinking about earlier.

His wife laughed upon seeing the expression on his face. “Our son’s all grown up now. He even has secrets that he keeps from us now.”

※※※

Mitchell laid on the bed and forced himself to sleep even though it was barely nine at night. However, he could not fall asleep no matter how hard he tried, because he was too excited. He did not think he would fall asleep even if it reached 12 midnight.

He still wondered if everything that had happened today was just a dream. Maybe he had been hallucinating back then…

If the person who broke the news to him had been Kerslake instead of Dunn, he would have just passed the entire thing off as a joke.

How does it feel like to play in the Champions League?

He has watched numerous Champions League matches either on television or at the stadium in person. However, he has never stepped on the pitch to play in a game before.

Watching a match and playing in one were two completely different experiences. How would he perform when he has to play in the game? Will he get too nervous and not be able to perform at half of his usual standard as a result? Or will he get too excited instead and not be able to perform at half of his usual standard as a result?

Gah, let’s not think about such dreadful possibilities!

“… The fourth official has raised the board. 3 minutes of stoppage time! Loud boos ring out in the City Ground Stadium. How can there only be 3 minutes of stoppage time added when there were numerous fouls and substitutions made in the second half? It’s bizarre.”

“The score right now is 0:0. If the score stays this way till the end of the match, then Barcelona will successfully progress into the next round of the Champions League. That is definitely not something that Tony Twain wishes to see. He is standing by the pitch and gesturing to his players to press forward and attack. There are only 3 minutes left for him. Can his team create a miracle?”

“Nottingham Forest has earned a corner. Even their goalkeeper Akinfeev has rushed over to Barcelona’s penalty box. This might be Forest’s last attack of the match! Aaron Mitchell, being the tallest on the pitch, has been tightly marked by three defenders. His height advantage and ability to head the ball are all very important to Forest’s set pieces.”

“The ball goes into the penalty box… Aaron Mitchell jumps into the air! No one can stop him! All the energy that has been building up within him has finally been released! He jumps higher than anyone else! Higher than Víctor Valdés’ hands! He heads the ball towards the net!”

“GOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! GOAL!”

Mitchell jumped off his bed and began running about his room with his two arms outstretched. He went ‘GOOOOAL’ as he jumped up and down here and there and stomped his foot on the ground.

“Aaron Mitchell!” Sounds of his father shouting in exasperation and knocking furiously on the door rang out in the room. “What on earth are you doing? The dust on the ceiling have all fallen into the soup! Do you want me to call an ambulance over for you?”

Mitchell turned a deaf ear to his father’s furious knocks and chastisements.

Right now, he was in the City Ground Stadium. His powerful header has just saved his team from the abyss, and it has also sent Barcelona into that very same abyss to fill up the void left behind.

He hugged his team mates around him and also ran to give the assistant manager, Dunn, who had told him the good news, a hug. He hugged every person possible to try and release the emotions that had built up within him.

He has rose to fame with this goal!

“Bam!”

His father was left with no other choice but to charge into Mitchell’s room after seeing that the noises coming from his room showed no signs of stopping.

He stood before Mitchell and was just about to admonish him when his son pounced on him and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Mitchell then mumbled by his father’s ear, “Die Barcelona! We have progressed to the next round! We have progressed! I am the hero!”

“You are the one who should die!” His father had been fuming over his son’s actions thus far and he slapped him on the back of the head.

Mitchell woke up after getting slapped. There was a look of bewilderment on his face as he looked at his father who was in his arms.

“Huh?”

“Did you think you were hugging some big-breasted beauty?” His father had a smile on his face that sent chills down Mitchell’s spine.

He knew he was going to be in for a hard time…

※※※

The next day, Twain noticed that Aaron Mitchell was not in a good state and was also not able to focus during the training sessions on the pitch.

Twain found it odd. This was not how Mitchell acted like in the past. Mitchell has always been fully focused, hardworking and earnest during training. If not, Twain would not have arranged for him to make an appearance in the second leg match against Barcelona. Any player that Twain sets his sights on was a player who did not have any problems with his attitude.

Now that there was an issue with Mitchell’s attitude, and for it to have happened in just one night…

Twain felt that there was a need to have a talk with him. It was not just because of the issue with his attitude. Another important reason was that Mitchell would definitely sprain his ankle in no time if he were to keep going through training in the state that he was in. If he were to sprain his ankle, then Twain’s plan would go haywire.

Thus, he walked to the side of the pitch and called Mitchell over to ask him what was going on.

“Mitchell, were you not able to sleep well last night?” Twain noticed that Mitchell’s eyes were bloodshot.

“Uh, yes, boss.” Mitchell did not dare to lie to Twain.

“Can you tell me the reason?”

Mitchell glanced at the expressionless Dunn who stood next to boss and contemplated if he should say the truth.

Assistant manager Dunn told him not to tell anyone, but boss is the leader of the entire team, which means that the news that Dunn relayed to him must have come from the boss himself…

If that is the case, then it should be fine to tell boss, right?

“Yeah… Assistant manager Dunn told me that I will be starting in the match against Barcelona yesterday…”

Twain turned to look at Dunn. The latter had a deadpan expression on his face, as though he had nothing to do with whatever Mitchell just said.

He decided to make himself clear to Mitchell before settling things with Dunn.

“That’s right, you were put in the starting list by me.” Twain quickly made a gesture where he pressed both his hands down. “But, don’t get excited just yet. Look at how you have been performing during training so far. Do you think that’s all you need to do to start in games? There’s still a day and a half to go till the match. I can still change my starting list at any time.”

The smile that had emerged on Mitchell’s face vanished after hearing Twain’s words.

“I don’t care how much you might be looking forward to the match tomorrow. You better get back onto the pitch and give your 100 per cent to the training! I want you to be fully focused on it!” The expression on Twain’s face was grave and frightening. “If you continue to have your heads in the clouds and you injure your leg in the process, then you might as well give up any shred of hope that you might have about starting in the game tomorrow.”

Twain’s words allowed Mitchell to come to his senses.

Getting distracted while training on the pitch was a very dangerous thing…

“Did you tell others about it?” Twain asked.

Mitchell immediately shook his head. He was never someone who liked to go around bragging about his achievements, and he also did not tell his father the truth when he tried to force the words out of him yesterday.

Twain smiled and patted him on the back. “Great. You just avoided the possibility of embarrassing yourself before your friends.”

Mitchell felt an overwhelming chill down his spine. He knew his boss was not joking with him. If he did not perform well during training, he would definitely be taken off the starting list.

Hence, he rushed back to join in the training once again and did not dare to think about whether or not he would start in the game anymore.

After he finished dealing with Mitchell, Twain turned to look at Dunn.

“I just thought of giving him a reward for all the hard work that he has been putting in for the past couple of days…” Dunn knew what Twain was about to say, so he responded before Twain opened his mouth.

“But you almost caused harm to him.” Twain’s expression was still as grave as when he spoke to Mitchell earlier.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Dunn knew he was in the wrong. Everyone knows how well Mitchell has been performing. It was true that his performance had only become worse after he heard his words.

Twain did not feel like admonishing his partner. Dunn has always done an excellent job most of the time, and he hardly makes an error.

He just gets soft-hearted from time to time, just like a girl…

Twain consoled Dunn. “I suppose all’s well ends well. This incident actually turned out to be a valuable experience for him. His mentality is much better now. This will help us greatly during our future matches.” His eyes were fixed on Mitchell as he finished his words.

Chapter 807 - Adapting to the Field

The day before the game, the Barcelona team arrived in Birmingham by plane, followed by a special bus to Nottingham, where they had a simple adaptation to the ground training, all they had to do was wait for the game to arrive.

At the airport, Messi and Guardiola were the targets of a chase by journalists. Both men were very low-key; they did not say they would definitely win, just that anything was possible in a football match. It was home court for Nottingham Forest and everyone knew Nottingham Forest’s home game would be difficult, so they did not think it is right to take it lightly.That was what the Barcelona players thought, and only they knew what they truly thought internally.

At the airport, Barcelona, Europe’s most-watched team, was warmly welcomed by the media, and the density of the flash lit up every time a Barcelona player walked out of the hall. Later, The Catalan newspaper Le Monde ran the headline?“The Arrival of the Champions”, which revealed Barcelona’s ambitions.

After putting their luggage in the hotel, Barcelona immediately went to the city’s stadium for training on the pitch. Tony Twain was giving his players a tactical lesson at Welford when assistant coach Kerslake, tasked by Twain, snuck into the City Stadium with the home team as an excuse to watch Barcelona’s warm-up training in the box.

Guardiola clearly knew the little tricks the home team liked to play, so he did not plan any training sessions in the afternoon that might reveal their tactical content. All he wanted was to adapt to the pitch.

The coach in Barcelona’s coaching staff laughed after seeing the turf on the city pitch, “They really are a small club, this stadium is not as good as our training ground.”

“I heard their new stadium ruined the finances of the team, it’s normal to not have enough money to maintain the turf.”

“I really don’t know where Tony Twain’s ridiculous confidence came from, is this the turf he’s really giving us?”

“The stadium, which can only hold 30,000 people, looks like a high school stadium.”

The turf they saw certainly was not the best, but this was what Tony Twain intended. Just yesterday he asked the grass workers at the city’s stadium not to put on the best turf, but to keep the grass that had been used frequently before.

Guardiola listened to his colleagues’ comments on the pitch but did not make any comments himself. This field was indeed not as good as the one in Nou Camp, but this was normal. The San Siro stadium had also been ridiculed for its quality of turf.

He did not care much about the condition of the venue but instead more about Tony Twain’s tactics. He had studied Twain before, and he knew almost exactly what tactics Twain would use in the game — defensive counter-attacks. It was nothing new. While on a tie, he would use defensive counter-attack, while leading he would still use defensive counter-attack, and while behind he will still use defensive counter-attack, while playing on away he would use defensive counter-attack, back at home still defensive counter-attack. His tactical manual may simply only read “Defensive Counterattack”.

Even in the face of a 1:2 situation when they were behind, Guardiola did not believe that Twain would come out against Barcelona since he was a coward. He would never know the beauty of the attack as his mind was full of utilitarian paste.

Out of the football philosophy of the gap between heaven and hell, Guardiola did not think much of Tony Twain. The only reason why people thought he did not hate Twain was because he did not publicise it.?But in fact he hated Twain more than anyone. Others hate Twain perhaps just because of his unbridled mouth, while Guardiola hated Twain’s ambitions and thoughts of rising being a gulf that could never be filled. Twain and Mourinho would sit down one day for a drink and laugh over their feud, but this would never happen with Guardiola.

Guardiola already had plans in mind. If Twain continued to use the tactic of defensive counter-attacks, Barcelona would not mind defending the counter-attack as drawing the game was advantageous for Barcelona. This game, from whatever angle, was more favourable to the visiting team Barcelona. For the home team, the score of 1:2 was not fatal, and even the suspensions of Pepe and Barnes and Fernandez were not too difficult, but the most fatal factor was that man could not appear on the sidelines to lead the team. Without Twain’s on-field command, Nottingham Forest’s level would have to be reduced by a notch, and the players who had lost their main bone would play erratically and become a loose-haven. Inter Milan in 08-09 were Guardiola’s example, with Mourinho’s home win over the Nottingham Forest without their leader, it was as easy as stepping on ants.

If Nottingham Forest were to press out and go for a shot, it would be more in line with Guardiola’s expectations. Then Barcelona would play against Nottingham Forest’s offense. He was not afraid to losing the ball. Tony Twain should be the one who was afraid, because Nottingham Forest only had one away goal, and Barcelona’s chances would be unlimited during those 90 minutes. With Barcelona’s invincible offense, did anyone believe they were unable to score against Nottingham Forest during their offensive conflict? Even if Barcelona did lose on 2-3 on away in the end, it would be Barcelona who had scored one more away goals than Nottingham Forest.

Anyway, no matter how Tony Twain reacted, this time he was doomed to failure. The initiative would always be on the Barcelona side. If Guardiola had read?the classic Oriental Chinese book The Journey to the West, he would have felt that Tony Twain would be that preposterous Monkey King who liked to jump around in front of the media. and he?would be Buddha who had everything under his control. No matter how incredible that monkey might be, it would never escape his five-fingered mountain.

After a hastily finished training at the City Stadium, Guardiola took his team back to his hotel, where they held tactical meetings and made final arrangements for tomorrow’s game.

※※※

While Guardiola led the team to the ground at the City Stadium, Twain was giving the team a tactical lesson. The last day of training before the game was almost all theory lesson, and he was more detailed than ever because he could not even step in the dressing room the next day.

UEFA was wary of him this time. He was not allowed to wear any communication equipment. They also drew on the lessons of Mourinho’s coaching at Porto did not allow an assistant to sit next to him on the stands. Tomorrow, he would be thoroughly checked by two UEFA supervisors before he went to the stands to watch the game. UEFA did not mind picking people who had great opinions against Tony Twain to complete this task, because it would help them better put an end to the tricks of Twain.

In the final tactical lesson, Twain analysed the video of the first leg between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest with full details and made a targeted arrangement for his players. He believed Barcelona would continue to attack away from home, but he had not ruled out Guardiola’s sudden decision to take a point and hold on to a?2-1 away side.

“I was sent off for a red card, Pepe was red-carded and Barnes was suspended for one game for accumulating a yellow card. The outside world feels that our prospects are bleak. Guardiola may think their chances have come, but I hope you show them whose chance is actually coming. Our core tactic in this game is fouls.” Twain raised his thumb, “Bad pitches will limit their play, but that’s not enough. You have to thoroughly disrupt the rhythm of Barcelona with frequent fouls and oppressive defences. If you lose the ball in the front of the field then snatch it back, don’t limit your dangerous actions in less dangerous places, foul frequently, then they will know their place and be scared.

“Remember, it’s important to play like this from the start of the game. Barcelona’s hopes of qualifying are greater than ours, or so it seems. So it’s easier for their players to cherish their chances of playing. They don’t want to be injured in this game and miss the semi-finals and finals that follow. Psychologically, their desire to win is inferior to ours. What kind of team is Barcelona? Their tactics are impeccable and are the best in Europe today. But psychologically…”?Twain shook his finger and laughed ,”The artist is always short of a bare-knuckle temperament that is not afraid to die.

“Capitalise on our strengths to nullify theirs and they’ll start to break down from the bottom of their hearts. Body! Speed! Resistance! And in the air.” Twain looked at Aaron Mitchell.?“Mitchell, now that you’re aware, I don’t have to talk more about it. Tomorrow’s game you start to play center forward. We need your height and header skills, don’t even think about dribbling in this game. If you do, I’ll replace you. Do you understand? ”

The head spoke to himself very seriously, and Mitchell nodded hurriedly. His starting did not surprise his teammates, as the training sessions of the day were always around Mitchel, even the fools could see it.

“Your task is simple: squeeze into the other side’s penalty area when we reach the front and get into position for a header. When we’re still in the backfield, you retreat to the near midfield to prepare for the call-up, use your header to pass the ball to the team-mates on the counter-attack, or protect the football while waiting for support.

Mitchell continued to nod.

After instructing Mitchell, Twain set his sights on the team, “The key to winning this game is in the air. Barcelona’s air defence is weak, Pique can not be used as four people. As long as we have the power to take control of the air, Barcelona can only wait for us to be slowly slaughtered, even with their outstanding skill and footwork. Does anyone think doing this is dirty?”

No one dared to make noise; only a fool would make noise now.

“It seems that no one has an opinion, then that’s fine. Let me tell you the unbreakable truth of a football field. What is ugliness? Only failure is ugly! Those who shout ‘ugly victory’ are people who are sore! If you don’t believe then look. When they win, no matter what they do, they will never say they are ugly. Barcelona thought they were the most gorgeous, and we were ugly representatives, so let them gorgeously die! In front of the ugly!”

※※※

After ending his tactical class, Tony Twain did not return home straight like other coaches, but instead he drove hurriedly into the city stadium. By the time he arrived at the City Stadium, The Barcelona team had long since left. In addition to him, there was Thompson Isaksson who arrived from the Welford training base and his team. In addition, he met Kerslake.

“Do you get anything?” he asked casually.

Kerslake pouted, “Guardiola was very cunning. Nothing is planned for the play. Even after the reporters walked away, it was still like that.”

Twain shrugged, “That’s normal. Think about what we did at the Nou Camp.”

Then he turned to Isaksson. “Thompson, I have a request.”

Isaksson nodded before Twain went on. Twain was surprised, “I haven’t said what the request is.”

“The ideas our coach Tony Twain thinks of is definitely something bad, I have already guessed. You want us to make this field exactly like that one right?”

Twain made a thumbs-up, “Absolutely! But my demands are more strict. I hope you can copy the No.3 training ground into the city pitch.?Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. Down to the bumps, everything has to be the same. Can you do it?”

Isaksson frowned for a moment, then nodded, “I think it’s ok, we’re professionals in maintaining the turf, and every detail of the venue has long been in mind. Just a simple copy, I think it should be possible.”

Twain breathed a sigh of relief, and he clapped, “Thank you so much!” But you only have one night’s time, okay?

“You need to ask the stadium keeper to turn on the lights, but I don’t know if the stadium keeper will agree to do this, The pitch is sacred to them.” Isaksson’s dilemma was visible on his face.

“That’s not a problem, tell me everything that you need, the club would fully support. It’s just time-pressing and it has to be done by tomorrow morning, and I don’t want the damn media to catch on to anything.”

Isaksson looked back at his team and turned around with a proud look on his face, “They followed me for more than a decade, and they were my Nottingham Forest team, Mr Twain.”

Twain smiled and extended his hand, “I dedicate my victory to you, gentlemen!”

“But the game hasn’t played yet, Mr. Twain.” Isaksson said as he extended his hand.

“Two Nottingham Forest teams working together, it is a definite win!”

The hands of the two men were clasped together.

“Let’s show Barcelona what we have!”

Chapter 808 - Do I Need to Take Off My Pants?

On April 22nd, the sky over Nottingham, which had been cloudy for several days, finally cleared. Barcelona, which had been worried about rain, could breathe a sigh of relief now. With the favorable weather, the time to kill Nottingham Forest had arrived!

“The English are good at playing in the rain because it’s always raining over their heads.” The Catalan reporters liked to joke about such things when they chatted with each other. Compared to the sunny Barcelona, the weather in England was damp enough to make people become moldy.

“As long as the weather is good and the venue is good, victory will definitely belong to us!”

※※※

When the sun shone in the middle of the City Ground stadium, Thompson Isaksson, who had been busy all night, was resting in a seat in the technical area. As a sixty-something-year-old man, working all night was a big strain on his body, but he and his team had finally completed the task given by Tony Twain on time.

His old partner and longtime mate, Glenn Shelvey, stood on the sidelines and looked at the pitch that they had spent the night working through.

“I thought I’d never had the experience of messing up a good piece of field and still have a sense of accomplishment.”

Isaksson sat behind him and chuckled.

“Sometimes I really don’t know what Tony Twain’s brain is made up of. He can always come up with a lot of shady ideas to deal with others. Make the pitch look like a rotten field and let everyone play on this ground… I’m afraid there’s not a second manager in the world who will do that.”

Shelvey had been muttering lots of words to himself in front of Isaksson, but he did not continue the thread. He pointed to the particular seat he was resting on while he enjoyed what it felt like to be a manager.

Shelvey looked back at him and found that his old mate with a look of enjoyment. Then he noticed the seat.

“How does it feel like to be Tony Twain?” He asked.

Isaksson shrugged, “With no cheering fans and team for me to direct … It feels a long way off.”

Shelvey smiled and patted Isaksson on the shoulder, “With those things around, I don’t think your heart can stand it!”

“That’s true, a manager is under too much pressure. In the previous Champions League game, when I saw Mr. Twain squabble with the fourth official on the sidelines, I felt a little discomfort in my heart…” Isaksson touched his left chest, “I really admire Mr. Twain. He’s actually someone who had a heart surgery.”

After talking about a few things that had nothing to do with work, Isaksson stood up and looked at the venue, nodding with satisfaction, “I guarantee that Mr. Twain will be satisfied with the pitch. Let’s knock off work now!”

“We’re done!” Shelvey shouted to the other workers, and then he turned to ask Isaksson next to him, “Are you going for a drink, old chap?”

Isaksson waved his hands and said, “You go with them. I’ve got to go back to catch some sleep and then come watch Barcelona’s exciting performance on our pitch tonight.”

“Ha!”

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

※※※

Aaron Mitchell got up early in the morning. Although there was no training on the day of the match, the team had to go to Wilford in the morning and then take the bus to the hotel. They would be on a break until they leave for the City Ground stadium an hour before the game.

During the meal, Mitchell found that his hands were shaking slightly. Was he too excited or too nervous?

He hurriedly found an excuse to go to the restroom and splashed cold water on his head.

After splashing some water on his head, he looked at the mirror to see his look of a drowned rat and repeated over and over again, “Aaron Mitchell, it’s just a regular game. Yes, all the games are just regular games. What are you nervous about?” He clenched his fists hard as he tried to see if he was still shaking.

He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists with all his strength, and stared at the man in the mirror as if he was looking at the enemy who killed his father.

After a while, he felt that his body did not tremble slightly for no reason, so he wiped any traces of water on his head and came out.

His father and mother looked strangely at their son and thought the boy’s mind was getting increasingly harder to guess.

But today was the match, so it was not good to ask too many questions that would interfere with their son’s mood and state as parents. As their son often said, “The form is not something that can be pinpoint. It can inexplicably come and go.”

It was not until Mitchell went out the door that his parents looked at each other.

“I feel that our son is a little out of sorts these days.”

“Today is the game. He’s a little nervous, isn’t he?”

“He’s not playing. So, what’s he nervous about?” As a father, he always held out hope for his son, but he was also a clearheaded fan who knew that Tony Twain could not give his son any chances in such an important game.

“Is he hitting his puberty now?” His father finally murmured.

※※※

When Mitchell hurried to Wilford, his teammates who had made the squad list were almost there. They even joked with Mitchell when they saw him come over, “Were you too nervous to get some sleep last night, Aaron?”

“I slept well, Freddy!” Mitchell shot back.

Looking at his serious expression, everyone laughed. If he was really not nervous, he would not have such an expression.

“Hey, relax, Aaron. The game hasn’t started yet!”

“Don’t take Barcelona too seriously. It’s not as good as your opponents in the training session!”

“Are you saying we’re very strong?”

“Of course! Nottingham Forest is the strongest!”

“Remember how you felt during training? It’s the same in the game!”

“It’s only the Champions League quarterfinals! I play games like this every year…”

“Stop bragging, Freddy. We were absent from the quarterfinals for two years.”

“Hey, Aaron. Just imagine for a moment that Barcelona’s tallest center back is that kid, Piqué, but he’s still shorter than you by a head! Then you won’t be afraid!”

“Are you talking about Piqué? Ah, I know that boy well.” Pepe, who had just arrived, stepped in and said, “He’s got great stamina, but he’s still not quite there yet in terms of skills and awareness. I’m better than him! Unfortunately, he went to Barcelona. Otherwise, if he had been with me, he would definitely progress quickly…” He shook his head with a look of regret.

“I think Aaron’s going to be marked by Piqué. If you’re going to pit body to body and fight hard with him… To be honest, I don’t think you’ll get the upper hand, Aaron.” He then gave Mitchell a word of advice as Piqué’s ex-partner. “I think you should try to use your own skills…”

“But the boss doesn’t want me to rely too much on my footwork skills…”

“Don’t be a fool! Techniques are not just about footwork. Your awareness, your positional play, these are all techniques!” Pepe wished he could give Mitchell a knock on the head.

“A high-level technique of tricking an opposing defender away with a positional play can only be grasped by a superb striker like me!” Freddy Eastwood was ruthlessly despised by his teammates for putting on an act of a capable player in front of everyone.

Everyone’s comments gave Mitchell the idea, and he was not nervous. Of course, he would think about tonight’s game, but he did not feel other emotions other than looking forward to it.

He was certain that he was really ready this time.

※※※

“We got the whole world in our hands! We got the whole world in our hands! We’re invincible and ever victorious… Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

When the lights first came on in the evening, a large group of fans sang out outside the window.

Mitchell’s father said goodbye to his wife at the door, and then hung the Forest team scarf around his neck as he opened the door to walk out. He greeted several familiar fans and then began to flow with the stream of people in red. As they continued to pass by the houses and streets, more and more people joined them, like a rushing river, sweeping everything along its way as it rolled toward the sea.

They sang Nottingham Forest’s team song as they made their progress towards the City Ground Stadium.

On this night, countless such groups flocked from all directions to the brightly lit City Ground stadium. They did not know each other ordinarily, but at this moment they were all comrades who fought side by side.

The Barcelona fans, on the other hand, gathered outside the City Ground stadium to wait for admission, heavily protected or more likely surrounded by a number of police officers. They were also chanting Barcelona’s anthem. Their shouts of “Bar?a! Bar?a! Bar—?a!” could be heard from afar. They might be small in numbers, but their voices were not small.

They were more optimistic. In a pre-match interview with the media, they confidently expressed that Barcelona would win the game. “We have Messi! We also have Xavi and the Pale Knight! We have Bojan! We are the best in the world! What does Nottingham Forest have? Tony Twain, Tony Twain, Tony Twain… Where is he now? In the stands! Hahahaha!”

In response, the Nottingham Forest fans began to act like pundits who were familiar with the history of competition between the two teams in front of the cameras, telling the Catalan media that Barcelona had been knocked out twice in the two times they played against Nottingham Forest other than the 2006 final. “What about the championship title? We don’t think about that kind of thing. We tell you, tonight we just want to see Barcelona go home in tears to find its mommy! All the champions have to bow down when they face Nottingham Forest. Inter Milan had just lost, and Barcelona will not be an exception too!”

“Even though the game hasn’t started yet, I’d like to say… this is going to be a tough game!” The BBC reporter said at the end when he reported back from the scene.

※※※

The buses from Nottingham Forest and Barcelona arrived at the same time, with the distance between the two buses no more than twenty meters, front and back. With the help of a police car to clear the way, they all smoothly made it through the crowded Trent River.

The players filed down from the bus. Some people were still in the mood to wave to the surrounding press and fans and showed confident smiles.

Tony Twain was in the crowd, but he could not follow the team to the locker room. The two inspectors sent by the UEFA watched him at the entrance of the tunnel.

“Hey, Mr. Twain! Can you accept an interview?”

“Manager Twain, I have a question…”

Twain glanced at the two inspectors standing at the entrance, smiled at them, and stopped here to accept interviews from the reporters.

“I’d love to. Do you have any questions to ask?”

“In a game up against Barcelona, you’re banned from the game and could not even enter the locker room. I would to ask if this will have a negative impact on your team?”

“There’s no adverse effect. My coaching staff are very good, and my players know what they have to do. I’ll watch the game like an ordinary fan in the stands.” When Twain finishing saying, he pried opened his shirt collar and showed the media what he wore today—there was a red Nottingham Forest home jersey underneath!

He also pulled a Nottingham Forest scarf, also in red, from his suit pocket. He hung it around his neck and looked like those ordinary fans outside.

“In a pre-match interview, Guardiola said he was very glad you couldn’t direct the game on the sidelines. What’s your take on it?”

“Is he praising me?” Twain laughed and said, “The enemy’s fear is my glory. But what I want to say to him is he can laugh all he wants because I’m afraid he won’t be able to laugh when the game is over!”

“It looks like you’re confident you can win the game. But where did you get your confidence from, Mr. Twain?”

“My team.” Twain had a look of pride on his face when he answered the question, “They’re the best team in the world.”

“All husbands think their wives are the best, don’t they, Mr. Twain!” A Catalan reporter raised a different opinion.

Twain glanced at him and noticed the Barcelona badge on the collar of his suit. He was convinced that the man was a Barcelona fan.

“Oh, no, this gentleman. The words of wisdom I’ve heard is that another person’s wife is always good, and only one’s own child is the best.”

Having said that, he stopped the interview and went straight to the two UEFA match inspectors. He opened his arms as he walked up to the two men and said, “Do you need me to take off my pants?”

The two inspectors looked at each other and wondered why Twain said so.

“To look for any miniature microphones or other high-tech gadgets like a wireless transmitter in my anus.”

Hearing him say so, the two inspectors looked as if they ate shit.

“We… We’re not in prison here, Mr. Twain.” One of them suppressed the surge of disgust to reply.

“Isn’t it? I think you two look a bit like the prison wardens.” Twain snorted and walked past the two men.

“Where are you going, Mr. Twain?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to the locker room. I’m just going to the restroom.” Twain looked back at them and said, “Are you coming together with me? Don’t be shy. I’ll be the host. By the way, you can see if I’m going to put any miniature microphones, satellite phones in my anus…”

“Mr. Twain!” One of them finally could not bear it to say, “We just had dinner!”

Twain raised his hands and made an apologetic gesture, “But I’m doing this for your own good. If I really connect with the coaching staff through those high-tech gadgets, how are you going to account for it when you get back, right?”

“I’ve never seen a coach who would bugger himself for a win in a game.” The other man spoke a little viciously. Obviously his prejudices about Twain were deep. Or it could be said that through the little amount of interaction just now, he had firmly become “anti-Twain.”

But Twain winked at him and uttered words which completely disgusted him, “I will, Mr. Inspector. I will do whatever it takes to win.”

At the time, the two UEFA inspectors simply thought that Twain deliberately made these angry remarks to disgust them. However, it was not long before they knew that everything Tony Twain said was true…

Tony Twain never lied. He would do whatever it took to win.

Chapter 809 - Two Identical Leaves

Although Tony Twain did not really take off his pants, he did get a check-up by the two inspectors. His entire body was rummaged through to prove that he did not have any communication devices on him. The battery in his cell phone was removed in front of his face. As the battery was taken out, a thought flashed in Twain’s mind. He wanted to simply entrust someone in China to buy him a knockoff cell phone so that even if the battery was removed, the cell phone could still be used. It would throw those ignorant guys off their guard!

Twain was amused by his idea.

The two inspectors next to him looked grim instead.

“Looks like you’re in a good mood, Mr. Twain. Aren’t you worried about the game at all?” One of them beat about the bush to try and provoke Twain.

“I don’t need to worry about the winner.” Twain shrugged and asked, “Are you done with the inspection?”

“Yes, there’s no problem. You can go to the stands.” The two men made a gesture. They would not follow Twain to the stands. They were seated in the box. The Nottingham Forest club treated them well.

Twain turned around and walked away. He did not even say “goodbye.”

The two inspectors were still indignant about the treatment they received.

“We’ll see if you’re still so cocky after the game!”

They said viciously to Twain’s back.

※※※

There were more and more fans in the stands, and all kinds of songs and chants reverberated through the air in the City Ground stadium.

Tony Twain walked up the steps to the grandstand.

“Hey, guys!” He stood in front of his fans with their backs toward him and shouted out a greeting.

“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!!” The group of people only turned back after the last phrase. The fat leader laughed and announced, “Look who’s here, guys! The poor man who is punished to the stands—Tony! Welcome to the Robin Hood grandstand!”

Fat John gave Tony Twain a warm bear hug. He was so enthusiastic with his hug that Twain was almost breathless.

After John had hugged him, the others came up to hug and welcome him here.

Taking off his suit, he wore a red Forest jersey with a scarf around his neck which made him looked no different from the average fan. It was not easy to find him among the fans.

“Tony, what’s going on with the stadium?” Skinny Bill pointed to the pitch under the grandstand.

Twain gave a glance and immediately laughed. Isaksson did a good job. It looked exactly visually the same as Wilford’s number three training ground.

“Are our turf maintenance workers asleep on their jobs? How can we play on such a field?”

Someone in the crowd echoed.

Twain chuckled and said, “Doesn’t it look shocking? It’s going to an exciting game!”

“Ah — you did it on purpose!” Bill reacted and pointed to Twain to say, “You badass!”

“Badass! Badass! Tony’s a badass!” The fans next to them immediately shouted the slogan, like how they cheered the team on during the game.

“I prepared a little gift for Barcelona. I hope they like it.”

The crowd laughed.

“But for a venue like this, our guys can’t adapt as well…” Some people were still doubtful.

“Ha! What do you think we have been doing during the week of closed-door training?” Without Twain clearing up the confusion this time, John laughed first. He already understood it.

Twain looked at the group of fans looking excited and stood at the side, laughing without saying a word. To be honest, it was a shame not to be able to stand on the sidelines and watch Mr. Guardiola’s expression when he saw the pitch…

When everyone was done laughing, he asked, “The club did not tell me where my seat is. They only said to just to sit with you guys. So… Where’s my seat?”

John pointed to the middle, “Right in the center! Between us.”

“Very good!”

※※※

Kerslake’s loud voice rang in the home team’s locker room, “Warm up! Warm! Fully warm-up! Keeping in mind the conditions of the field, you have to warm up more seriously than in any other games! You can be shoveled by your opponent on the pitch, but I don’t want you to run and hurt your ankle! Think about what you’ve been doing all week. How can that kind of thing still happen to you?”

Kerslake paced back and forth in the locker room, but everyone treated him like he was the background music. Someone even asked Dunn, “Where will the boss be during the game is?”

“In the north grandstand.” Dunn replied.

The north grandstand, or as Fat John called it the “Robin Hood Grandstand”, was the area where Nottingham Forest’s most hardcore and most ardent fans gathered. Every football club’s home stadium had such a grandstand, with some in the north stands and some in the south stands. The north stands of the City Ground stadium were next to the Trent River, with the home stadium, Meadow Lane of their same city archrival, Notts County across the river.

“The boss must be like a fish to the water there.”

“Heh heh, that’s right. He’s Nottingham Forest’s number one big diehard fan!”

Dunn had a feeling that the atmosphere that had just been a little on edge because of Kerslake’s constant clamor slowly eased after they knew of Tony’s position. The manager was indeed the backbone of a team. No matter how well the assistant manager did, he could not steal the manager’s light …

※※※

The first team to warm up was Barcelona. Twain was able to tell the difference from the level of the boos that rang out in the stadium. So, he got up and left his seat to stand up and look down.

He very much wanted to see the marvelous looks on the Barcelona players when they saw the pitch. It was a bit of a cheap thrill for him…

The Barcelona players ran out of the tunnel in succession and then stopped without fail the moment they first stepped on the pitch. Then they looked at the field in front of them in disbelief. Some of them even wanted to turn back.

“What’s going on in their minds now? I bet they must be thinking—strange, we’re on the wrong field!” Sitting in the corner of the grandstand, a fifty-year-old man and a sixty-something-year-old man rocked with laughter and said, “The field was not like this yesterday when they did their adaptive training! Hahahaha—”

Glenn Shelvey slapped Thompson Isaksson’s thigh and almost fell to the ground. Isaksson was also overjoyed as he admired their masterpiece after a night of hard work.

Guardiola and the members of the coaching staff followed the players out, only to find them standing on the sidelines and not warming up on the pitch.

Vilanova, Guardiola’s assistant and his assistant manager at Bar?a’s second team, thought it was strange and asked, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you warming up?”

“Coach, this ground…” Puyol stood up as the team captain to bring it up to the coaches on behalf of the team.

“What happened to the field?”

“It doesn’t feel like how it was yesterday…” The professional players were very sensitive to the pitch. Although the training ground was bad yesterday, it was not quite the same as today’s.

Guardiola did not listen to them continue. Instead, he personally stepped on the field to get a first-hand experience to have a say.

He had only walked a few steps when he knitted his brows.

“Scumbag!” He swore under his breath.

“Josep, what’s going on?” The second assistant manager, Eusebio (an assistant to the former manager, Rijkaard and not the Portuguese named “Black Panther” Eusébio) noticed his strange look and asked.

“They changed the turf and the pitch was specially treated.” Guardiola looked up toward the technical area and found it empty, which he then recalled that Tony Twain was banned from the game. He should look toward the stands if he were to look for him.

Eusebio was a little taken aback. He said, “Is there such a thing? Wasn’t it still normal when we came to adapt to the field yesterday?”

“Maybe they changed it after we warmed up…they must have done it overnight.”

Eusebio was shocked by Tony Twain’s despicable action. “How could he do this!”

Just at this time, Nottingham Forest also came out to warm up. Eusebio immediately saw Dunn, who was always inseparable from Twain. He rushed up to personally asked, “Mr. Coach, would you care to explain what is going on with your pitch?”

Dunn looked confused and said, “Is that Catalan? Or Spanish? Please speak English.”

Eusebio only realized that he had not spoken the lingua franca and came out with his hometown language in a moment of excitement after he saw Dunn’s reaction. He had to readjust his mood and angrily pointed to the different colors of the turf on the pitch again in English to demand, “Such terrible turf. It’s very bumpy when our team stepped on it. How is this field suitable for a match? Don’t you have anything to say?”

Dunn suddenly realized, “Oh, the City Ground stadium recently maintained the previous used turf, so it was replaced…”

“Did they replace it with such patchy turf?” Eusebio was infuriated when he heard Dunn say that.

“We’re a small club and financially tight, so we did not have any good turf to spare. I’m really sorry.” Dunn bowed slightly and looked sheepish. It made it impossible for the Barcelona people to lose their temper…

In fact, all that he had said to answer to Barcelona’s questioning were prepared by Twain who anticipated that the big difference in the before and after situation with this kind of turf would cause some people to take notice. So, he prepared the corresponding answer in advance so that it was naturally foolproof.

Moreover, the Nottingham Forest club did inform the UEFA a few days in advance that they were going to maintain the turf. It was normal to change the turf, so the UEFA did not take it seriously either. They just nodded in agreement and said, “You can change it!”

The end result was a field which stunned Barcelona and the most powerful stadium in history, which was unforeseen by the UEFA.

The two UEFA inspectors, who were accustomed to the ways of the world, were also in shock for a long while when they saw the field. They thought they had gone to Meadow Lane on the other side of the river—for a Premier League football club that had competed in the UEFA Champions League for a long time, won two Champions Leagues titles and one Premier League title in the past few years, to be so terrible to this extent…it rendered them speechless.

Eusebio had wanted to say more but was stopped by Guardiola.

“We have been screwed by them. There’s nothing more to say. It’s impossible to change the ground back. Since they’re insisted that it is to maintain the turf, it means they’ve taken everything into account.”

Eusebio was upset and said, “We can report to the UEFA…”

Dunn suddenly pricked his ears next to him and piped up, “The UEFA?”

It was a sensitive moment. A week before the game, the English media seized on the close relationship between Barcelona and the UEFA and repeatedly speculated to insist on proving that the UEFA had dark secrets and that Barcelona’s home victory was given by the UEFA. Anyway, it was not a day or two that the UEFA was not happy with English football and the English media, which would not even give face to their own people, would definitely not give face to the UEFA. Therefore, “The UEFA” was almost a prohibited word at this time. Whenever Barcelona mentioned the UEFA, it would lead to other people to associate the two…

Eusebio turned back to him and said unkindly, “I thought you didn’t understand Catalan?!”

Dunn just put on the kind of fake smile that East Asians gave and said nothing.

Eusebio was completely at a loss as to what to do with these shameless scoundrels that he could only be pulled away by Guardiola and walked away from Dunn.

“It’s no use complaining to the UEFA. The game is about to start. Will the UEFA change the game date due to a small matter like the turf? Furthermore, the field can still be played in—We just need to tell our players to be careful. But after the game, we will report the state of the City Ground’s pitch to the fourth official.” Guardiola looked helpless. He had been thinking about Tony Twain for the past week and what kind of tactics he was going to come up with since he could not direct the game. But he did not think Tony Twain did not play by the rules and played such a hand.

He carried out such an operation on the pitch and meticulously set up the plan from beginning to end with no oversight. It was truly “obtaining the victory by fair means or foul” …

But with such a rotten field, my team cannot play, don’t tell me your team play on it?

Just when he thought that the game might not be as bad as people had thought, Guardiola suddenly remembered that Nottingham Forest had been in closed-door training the past week before the game. They even canceled a routine press conference with the local media without fear of offending them, so that no one knew what they were practicing…

Maybe, perhaps… They were training on a training ground that was similar to this one?

When Guardiola stirred suddenly, he realized that his back was sweaty and breaking out in cold sweat.

That Tony Twain!

He unconsciously clenched his fists.

※※※

While the assistant coach was arguing with Dunn, the Barcelona players at the side huddled around in whispers. Someone even ran to ask Piqué because he was the only one of these people present who had the experience of playing for Tony Twain.

Piqué could only speak honestly, “He is such a person … In order to achieve his purpose, he can use all means available …”

“Wow, didn’t it feel awful to play for him?” Someone gave a gasp of surprise.

When Piqué heard what they said about Tony Twain, he muttered with a wry smile, “It’s okay…”

He then looked at the empty Nottingham Forest technical area. He could imagine how the Nottingham Forest players would feel—it must have been great!

Because when he was at Nottingham Forest, every time the boss pulled such a stunt against an enemy, it would always drew approving responses.

“We will do everything that makes our opponents uncomfortable, and that’s going to benefit us.”

This was what the boss had said before. At this moment, it was somewhat awkward to recall such a scene because he had become the “opponent” in that remark.

※※※

“Warm up!” Vilanova shouted from the sidelines, urging the players to warm up. “But be careful, don’t get hurt. The pitch is in a terrible condition. Do not get hurt!”

The moment he shouted that all the Barcelona players who were warming up on the pitch became constrained. Because no one wanted to leave the game because of an injury during the warm-up before the game started, especially the star players who had been placed on the starting lineup…

On the contrary, when the Nottingham Forest players stepped onto the pitch, there was a hint of pleasant surprise on their faces at the same time.

They thought it felt familiar, too familiar… Because the stadium’s field felt exactly the same as the number three training ground!

“Did they move number three here?” Akinfeev even removed his gloves and bent down to touch the turf to get a real feel.

“After training there for a week, this suddenly feels familiar… Hey, look at the Barcelona players. Haha!” Pepe suddenly pointed to the opposite side and laughed.

Everyone followed his hand to look over and laughed as well. The Barcelona players did their warm-up as if they were in a minefield. Every one of them stood on tip toes as if they could not wait to fly and not to suffer from using such a terrible pitch.

“Look at them. I feel like we are going to win the game!” Lennon exclaimed excitedly beside him.

George Wood poured cold water on him instead and said, “Don’t underestimate the opponent.”

“Well, guys! Chat time is over!” Kerslake’s loud voice chased them down from the locker room to the field. The group of people ran up one by one, as if to deliberately provoke Barcelona.?Unlike the opponent’s overcautious movements, their pace was strong, they moved nimbly, and were in high spirits. They moved on the bumpy pitch like they were on an even field.

It was the result of a twice daily drills for a week at the cost of three injured players.

This was the real home ground—no one in the world could adapt to the turf on the City Ground stadium now except them.

A philosopher liked to say: No two leaves are alike in the world.

The Nottingham Forest players would argue against him this evening in this way: No, there are two identical leaves in the world, one at Wilford and one at the City Ground stadium.

Chapter 810 - The Puppet Master

“To our friends and spectators, welcome to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals of the 10-11 season. We are now broadcasting live the high-profile game for you at the City Ground stadium, with Nottingham Forest taking on Barcelona at home!”

“Well, we say it’s the City Ground stadium, but I believe a lot of people must think we’re talking nonsense.” The guest commenter next to him interjected.

The commentator laughed, “I couldn’t believe it at first—Nottingham Forest’s pitch is so poor… Half a week ago, Nottingham Forest said it was carrying out maintenance works and turf replacement. Who would have thought that such turf would turn out a few days later? Are we watching a friendly match between Nottingham Forest and an amateur team?”

The guest cleared his throat and said, “By putting it this way, you’d better watch out for protests from Barcelona. You actually liken them to ‘an amateur team.’”

“Ha!” The commentator laughed drily and hurriedly changed the subject., “There’s still some time before the start of the game and we’ve got the starting lineup from both sides. Barcelona’s list is not surprising, extending the same lineup in the last round. Speaking of which, Tony Twain was really wronged by the Catalan media—he really did not use any lethal tactics against Messi and the others. Messi, Bojan … Even Iniesta, who had only just returned from the recovery of his injury, continues to be in the starting lineup. George Wood also did not to mark Messi in the last game and did not stand out in his performance.”

“Well, let us take a look at Nottingham Forest… Will you look at that! Compared with Barcelona’s stability, the Nottingham Forest team has changed a lot!” The commentator raised his voice and there was a deliberate sense of mystery.

“First of all, there’s a big adjustment in the rear defensive line. Leighton Baines was automatically suspended for one game due to the accumulation of yellow cards. His replacement is Joe Mattock, who is thought to be England’s new star defender. Even though he’s young, he already has a record of two appearances in the starting lineup for the England nation team. He has been placed in an important role by Twain since Gareth Bale’s injury. He has received many opportunities to be in the starting lineup for the league tournament and is currently rotating with Baines in the left back position. With Baines currently suspended, he’s naturally the one to replace him. This is not the first time he has played in the Champions League. But it is believed this young player will still be a key target for Barcelona to break through from as they have Messi and Alves on this side. We can take a good look at young Joe Mattock’s performance this game. Hopefully he will not betray Twain’s trust…”

“As for the center back here, Pepe is suspended by his red card and the player who replaces him is Woodgate. His partner is Kompany. The right back has also been replaced. Rafinha is said to have suffered some injuries in training. Nkoulou has appeared in this position. With a height of 1.88 meters, he can actually play as the center back. He has played in both positions in the league tournament.”

“In the midfield, Fernández is suspended for accumulating yellow cards, like Baines. Twain arranges for Lennon to play on the left and Bentley on the right. It’s no surprise that Cohen didn’t appear on the starting lineup. The middle is still the unshakable George Wood and Tiago’s partner. Since Twain started using the double defensive midfielder, Tiago found new lease of life. ?ahin did not start in the game because Tony Twain did not use his recent favorite 4-5-1. Instead he went back to the old 4-4-2 formation. All right, ladies and gentlemen, here comes the main highlight!”

“Let’s see who the two strikers are in the starting lineup?!”

“Agbonlahor!”

The guest commenter next to him corresponded with his commentary to say, “There’s no issue with it. Agbonlahor is very fast and if Tony Twain wants to fight back, he’s a very good player to deploy. Eastwood is also injured in training and unable to play in the game. There are only a few strikers to choose from…”

“That’s right, but they still have Ibi?evi?. The Super Ibi who scored two goals in a row at Camp Nou and that last goal might have helped the Forest team win the game if it hadn’t been for the referee’s whistle! But he’s not on the starting list! Yes, you heard right. He’s not on the starting list and he’s not injured. He’s fit as a fiddle, in good shape and can overcome Camp Nou. But he is not on the starting list. Why is he not on the starting list? That we don’t know. Maybe Tony Twain, who is watching from the stands, will know. I believe that if Nottingham Forest lose the game after and is eliminated, he will definitely be bombarded by the media with this question. Having said all that jabber, who is the player that replaced Ibi?evi??”

Aaron Mitchell’s head shot, and name appeared on the screen.

“That’s right, it’s this kid, Aaron Mitchell. The young striker, who was born on May 5th,1990 and about to turn twenty-one, was only transferred from the reserves to the First Team by Twain in January of this season. He had made five appearances on the bench and made one appearance in the starting lineup for the league tournament, with a total of one hundred and seventeen minutes. He has not made his debut in the Champions League and appeared once in the starting lineup for the FA Cup but did not score any goal. His record is clean like a piece of white paper. That’s not a good thing for a striker. What’s more, before he became a striker, Aaron Mitchell played seven years as a defender in the youth team and one year as a goalkeeper… It wasn’t until the age of eighteen that he started playing as a striker at Twain’s suggestion and then went unnoticed. We don’t have any information on hand about him. Maybe Tony Twain doesn’t have, either. He is neither the player with the highest goal score in the youth team nor an effective hitter who consistently scores in the Premier Reserve League. We know nothing other than he is very tall. Why would Tony Twain let such a player be in the starting lineup for such an important game?”

※※※

The commentator’s doubts were also the doubts of all media reporters. According to Tony Twain’s practice of not releasing the starting lineup until the last minute, they had just gotten the Forest team’s squad list. Everyone was “stunned” by the name of the starting striker.

The English reporters took it slightly better. They at least knew who the written name, “Aaron Mitchell was because he had just made his Premier League debut in the last round, albeit without any contribution. The media in Catalonia, Spain, were baffled. They even had to ask, “Is there such a player in the Nottingham Forest First Team?”

It was not that the English media would nod and go “Oh, all right.” when they know who Aaron Mitchell was.

In fact, their response was—

“Is Tony Twain crazy?! What’s he doing? Ibi?evi? is not injured and has no problem with his form. Why must he use this young boy?!”

“Lord knows. He’s been acting out of character since his sudden outburst at Camp Nou…”

“No, I think it’s been harder to pin him down since he had a heart attack. Before he was like a hot-blooded young man, now he is a sinister and cunning middle-aged man.”

“Is he having a menopause?”

“I think he’s covering his ass and getting ready for the defeat of the game. Once he loses the game, he can put the blame on the boy—‘I have high hopes for him, but his performance… Everybody saw it!’”

“You all seem to know Tony Twain well.” Pierce Brosnan, who had been quiet, finally could not stand it and retorted.

“Ah, look who’s here. The big reporter who knows Tony Twain the best, Pierce Brosnan. Are you saying that you know some inside information?”

Brosnan shook his head awkwardly and said, “I have no idea too…”

A burst of laughter rang out in the crowd. “You have no idea too? Today is full of surprises. I thought Mr. Tony Twain will give you some exclusive information!”

“Anyway, Tony Twain is not the kind of manager who will put the blame on the players after a defeat in the game.” Brosnan might not understand the tactics, but he believed he knew Tony Twain’s character better than these people. “He will only place the blame on himself, and I’ve only even seen a few managers like that.”

The reporters saw that Brosnan was so serious and suddenly felt it was dull—Everyone was joking just now. If you have to talk about it so seriously, then that takes the fun out. You missed the point if you’re being so serious!

The group of people dispersed with the doubt of why Tony Twain had to used Aaron Mitchell and not Ibi?evi? as they got ready to focus on the start of the game.

※※※

The outside media would certainly regard Aaron Mitchell’s performance with preconceived ideas and be determined to find faults. But in the home team’s locker room, Mitchell did not feel any difference in the mood.

It was a Champions League quarterfinal game and he was part of the team, that was all.

Dunn was explaining the tactics and the things for everyone to take note of in the game for the last time.

After Dunn finished speaking, he suddenly turned on the television and DVD player, saying he wanted to show the players a video.

This surprised many people. They had watched Barcelona’s game video countless times, and long understood this opponent clearly. There was no need to watch any video with ten minutes to go before their appearance.

“This is not a video analysis of the opponent.” Dunn explained and then pressed the play button.

Suddenly a clamor which could only exist in a stadium assaulted their senses. It did not seem to come from the tiny square of screen on the TV rack.

“… Offside? Is the ball in an offside position? … Barcelona scored! A beautiful counterattack! The Nottingham Forest players cannot believe their eyes. The referee invalidated one of their goals with a whistle and almost immediately ruled Barcelona’s goal valid. The situation turned around in an instant! … Tony Twain is in a heated confrontation with the fourth official on the sidelines. He looks furious. If we had copied NBA and gave every manager a microphone, that would have be fantastic… A red card! Tony Twain was sent off to the stands by the referee! The game suddenly reaches another climax toward the end! The Nottingham Forest players surround the referee but cannot change his mind. Their manager, Tony Twain has been kicked off the pitch again!”

What was showed on the screen was, of course, the mess in the final stages of the game.

After the video finished playing, Dunn said, “Tony wanted me to show you this segment of the video. He hoped that you would not to forget how the other side treated us in the last game, and what we were made to suffer. We are slightly inferior in terms of strength in this game, but he wants you to put aside the disparity in strength and teach your opponent a hard lesson. Teach those who want us to lose… a good lesson!”

Although Dunn did his best and tried very hard to show vehemence in his speech, he was not Twain after all. The effect of his speech was diminished. Fortunately, the players were outraged by the video just now. Because that reminded them of the scene in the last moment of the first round. No one would feel comfortable after experiencing such a stinging defeat.

In fact, each of them had a ball of fire in their hearts. A week of closed-door training did not extinguish the fire gradually but made it burn brighter. Because Tony Twain would always bring up the matter this week and tell them they had been insulted in the away game, so they must take revenge on the home ground.

It was now time for this ball of anger to explode!

While the man sitting in the stands had been planning for a week to take revenge today. Even though he was not in the locker room, his influence was still there.

From the transformation of the training ground, a notice to replace the turf in the City Ground stadium, the ongoing war of words with Barcelona, repeatedly connecting them with the UEFA to remind the public of the close relationship between the UEFA and Barcelona, the change in the formation and strikers, using a young player whom Barcelona was completely unfamiliar with, to using the video as a catalyst in the locker room for the last time, he calculated everything. Now everything was ready except for only one tiny crucial detail.

If anyone thought that Nottingham Forest was finished and scattered because Tony Twain was banned, then they were gravely mistaken!

He was no longer as simple as the king of Nottingham Forest for the game. He was the puppet master of Nottingham Forest…

Even if he was not in the technical area, he could still control every detail of the team.

The moment the Barcelona team filed out of the tunnel, they had in fact embarked on the road to hell in Tony Twain’s eyes.

Hey, Mr. Guardiola, do you see the sea of red in front of you? That’s not our Nottingham Forest fans. It’s the red lava that spews out of the eighteen levels of hell! It’s erupting and surging in front of your eyes. Do you feel the broiling heat hitting you in the face?

Welcome to hell.

Chapter 811 - The Loudhailers

When Guardiola received the Nottingham Forest starting lineup list before the game, he looked at the name in the forward line. He thought for a moment, and then asked his assistant beside him, “Is Ibi?evi? injured too?”

Vilanova shook his head in reply, “I haven’t heard of such news. All we know is that Eastwood is definitely absent from the game with an injury.”

Guardiola fell into deep contemplation when he heard his most trusted assistant say so.

He really did not know why Tony Twain served up this completely unfamiliar striker when Ibi?evi? was not injured. He did not even have any information at all on the player presented before his eyes, only that his name was “Aaron Mitchell.” It was only because it was written on the starting list. He did not even know how tall Mitchell was until he saw the real person. Not to mention this player’s technical characteristics and real level…

He frowned. Barcelona’s training in defense was targeted at Ibi?evi? but now Ibi?evi? was sitting on the substitutes’ bench. Barcelona’s defenders knew nothing about the player in front of them. How were they supposed to defend? Should they observe first for a while and then decide? Then he’d better hoped that Nottingham Forest would not take advantage of this situation to score a goal first…

It looked like they could only do it this way. No one in the coaching unit was familiar with this “Aaron Mitchell”, so the Barcelona players were less likely to be familiar with the player they had never heard of.

It was a scene that took place before the game began. Now Guardiola was sitting in the visiting team’s technical area and watching the game on the pitch. In the area next to him, the manager’s seat was empty in the home team’s technical area. The Chinese assistant manager looked like a manager in appearance, but he was a little too nervous.

Guardiola still unwittingly looked to the stands and seemed to be able to find Tony Twain among so many people. In fact, he did not find anything.

※※※

At this point, Twain was enjoying the football game surrounded by a group of his closest fans.

“You rarely watch the game from this spot, don’t you, Tony?” Fat John said with a smile, sitting on the left. The game had just begun, and his attention was still on the people around him.

“I had been penalized and sent to the stands many times. But this is my first time sitting in the stands where the hardcore fans gather. Well… the view is a lot better here than the technical area.”

“Why don’t we change seats? You can sit here in the future and I’ll sit there.” John pointed to the Forest team’s technical area below.

Twain grinned and did not speak.

On the other side, Bill poured cold water on his friend and said, “I bet you can’t sit down for forty-five minutes.”

“Don’t put your own level as the standard on someone else, Skinny!”

Taking advantage of the two men’s bickering, Twain turned back and looked up. Nottingham Forest treated the two UEFA two inspectors very well and gave them seats in the VIP box. But it was actually arranged by Twain, including sitting in the stands which was Twain’s idea as well. Since we are the home team with the home advantage, then we must make good use of it. Otherwise it will be a waste of our resources.

When he arranged to be seated in the stands, it was not really about being able to enjoy the game with his old friends here. Twain had another purpose.

He glanced back at the box and never saw the two black-clad game inspectors. However, he was sure the two men must be up there, drinking and watching the game.

So, he interrupted John’s and Bill’s argument over who would be more capable to sit in the Nottingham Forest manager’s seat.

“Hey, guys. I want to discuss something with you…”

John and Bill turned to him at the same time and stopped arguing. “Anything you need help with, just name it, Tony!” This time they came to an agreement.

“Well, it’s like this…the UEFA people use every possible means they can to stop me from contacting the coaching unit and the players below, so I don’t have any communication devices on me…”

“I’ll lend it to you!” Bill pulled out his cell phone, but it was swatted down by Twain.

“Don’t take it out. I can’t even borrow someone else’s cell phone. Do you think they don’t know what I’m doing here while they are sitting up there?” Twain pointed upward without turning back. “They’re equipped with a powerful binocular.”

“Wow, is that so!” Bill was amazed. It was only an inspection. Why did they need to act like voyeurs …?

“I prepared it for them.” Twain laughed.

“Huh?” Both of them were taken aback.

“I want to show that I’m very cooperative with them and definitely will not play any tricks. Preparing the binoculars for them proves that I do not have any schemes in mind. But actually…” Twain gave a sly smile, a look which made John really want to give him a punch.

“I can’t really get in touch with below through any means of communication, but the UEFA can’t ban the fans from shouting, can they?” He smiled again, with his eyes squinting together.

“Hey, Tony! Don’t beat around the bush, just say it! What do you want us to do?” Bill was a little impatient. He was not a man of good patience.

“Sometimes I may need to give the latest instructions based on the situation on the pitch, but I can’t tell my coaches and let the players know my ideas. But I think maybe I can borrow your mouths to tell them. If I have information I want to tell the people below, I want you to help me shout them out, but don’t be too deliberate. It will be just like cheering the team in the stands… That way, when the UEFA ask me about it, I have an excuse. They can seal my lips, but they can’t shut your mouths. Ha!”

John laughed with Twain. He now thought that Tony Twain’s mind must be different from everyone else. Otherwise how could he come up with so many clever schemes?

Bill’s reaction was a little slower, but it dawned on him soon after.

“No problem, Tony!” He shouted excitedly, “We’d be delighted to meet the UEFA head-on! I always find the group of men in suits objectionable!” He also brandished his fists.

John also patted Twain on the shoulder and said, “Just take it that you’re directing the game from the stands. We’ll be your assistant coaches.”

Twain nodded to the two men and said, “Thank you guys!”

John laughed and continued, “As long as you can win Barcelona and make things difficult for the UEFA, not to mention we will help you voice out the instructions, it’s not a problem even if you want us to pave the way!”

When he finished speaking, he got up and left his seat to inform the nearby fans. It would be impossible to act collectively by relying on two or three people. So, this grandstand must be informed of what they were going to do in a while.

※※※

Five minutes into the game, Barcelona was aggressive in its offense because they kicked off the game and were able to use the technical advantage to keep the ball on their side. Another reason for Barcelona’s fierce attack was that a problem seemed to arise in Nottingham Forest’s midfield defense today… George Wood repeatedly turned to the north stands during the game to find that man. He thought it was strange as he had always thought since he was the team captain, he should be able to take charge. But when he habitually glanced toward the technical area before the game and could not find the familiar figure, he felt a little unsettled…

Since when did he considered him as a person to rely on?

This is ridiculous! I’m George Wood. I had tried to make a living in the slums since young and took care of my mother. I don’t need to rely on anyone!

Despite thinking this way, he still incorrigibly threw glances at the North Grandstand…

There were so many people there that he could not possibly find him.

Just as he turned his head, Iniesta passed the ball past his defensive zone and he did not even react.

※※※

“George is a little distracted…” Twain muttered and frowned in the stands.

Bill, the “number one loudhailer” beside him, pricked up his ears and asked, “Do you need us to shout this?”

“Ah? Well, there’s no need to.” Twain hurriedly waved his hands. The side effect of getting the fans to be loudhailers to help was that they could mistook what he said casually as something that needed to be shouted out… If anyone was too enthusiastic, awkward scenes such as thousands of fans shouting “māle ge bī” (your mother’s f**king c**t) in unison would appear. Because he was used to muttering dirty words repeatedly while he watched the games, and the words would all be in Mandarin…

He did not know what was wrong with Wood but judging by his performance of the last few minutes, he was always glancing around on the pitch and not focused on the game. It was a very rare situation. George Wood was always known to focus his attention, threw his full concentration on the games and had a dedicated attitude. A situation like today should not happen to him.

In that case, what was wrong?

If he were below, he could stand on the sidelines and shout, “George!! What the hell are you doing?! Play attention to the game!”

Now, although he had the fans to act as the loudhailers, they could not just shout out any remark.

※※※

Dunn also noticed Wood’s anomaly. But his reaction was not the same as that of Twain. He looked down and pondered for a moment. Then he got it and looked up with a smile. He turned around to look for Kerslake and his loud voice. He said, “David, can you help me tell George that Tony’s in the middle of the North Stand?”

Kerslake thought it was a little strange. He asked, “Didn’t you say that in the locker room?”

Dunn smiled, “Maybe someone did not hear it at the time.”

Kerslake shrugged and rose from his seat. He really felt that as an assistant manager, he was sometimes like a nanny. He had to deal with any matter, regardless of its importance…

After taking a deep breath, he bellowed, “Geor—ge!!”

Wood heard Kerslake’s voice and turned his head to look over. He found Kerslake pointing to the north stand and yelled, “He’s there! In the middle! Stop looking! I think he must be dissatisfied with your performance!”

The remark was effective. Wood glanced at the north stand and refocused his energy on the game.

When Messi was about to break through him, the ball bounced off the turf from his interference and knocked against the leg to go out of bounds. It was even considered Nottingham Forest’s throw-in.

“George Wood was not in form in the opening five minutes of the game and his position allowed the Barcelona players to break through several times. But it all seems okay now! Messi had wanted to play the same old trick, but he took a tumble instead. Not only did he fail to break through, he gave the Forest team a throw in after Wood’s close interference.”

Messi also felt the course of events had changed. He was like a zebra in the African savannah. As soon as the wind turned, he smelled a lion in the low bushes. He shrewdly looked up and looked around with his ears pricked up and on guard.

Whether George would admit the feeling or not, he was at peace at the very moment. Before, he was like a lion snoozing in the afternoon, lazily lounging under the bushes, letting the bunnies and zebras hopped around in front of his nose, even too lazy to lift the eyelids.

But when the last light of the sunset disappears below the horizon and the night descends, our lion will rise from the shadows, with its cold eyes staring at its prey.

It is hungry.

※※※

When Wood re-focused on the game, Barcelona’s five-minute advantage was immediately wiped out. In addition, there was the bad news—their men were completely unable to adapt to the crumbling pitch at the City Ground stadium.

When Silva ran to an empty gap on the left side and raised his hand to ask for the ball, Xavi sharply noticed that there were no Forest players marking him nearby. So, he did a feint and passed the football over.

Such a pass was cakewalk for the Spanish national team’s playmaker—provided that it was done on normal turf. At the City Ground stadium, his pass eventually rolled out of bounds. Silva lifted his leg and did not get it. Because the football in front of him suddenly jumped to the left and flew straight out of the sidelines!

The Catalan commentator thought at first that there had been a mistake in the two men’s coordination and regretted missing out on such a good opportunity. But then Barcelona’s pass-and-go balls went wrong one after another, he felt something was wrong—when he first saw the pitch, he only thought the turf was of poor quality and that some areas had exposed dirt. But now he found that there was a problem with the foundation of the soil under the turf!

“I don’t know how the Nottingham Forest football club maintains its turf, but I do know there’s not one professional football club in the world that will maintain its grounds in such a way. This must be Tony Twain’s idea again! This is… really a lack of sportsmanship!” He did not have to think about impartiality. He was a Catalan commentator and the people who listened to him must be the Barcelona fans. He did not need to consider the mood of the English fans, so he could try everything he could to denigrate Barcelona’s opponents on the show. The response was very good at the same time.

After Silva’s miss, Bojan had another very good chance. He broke through Woodgate and almost faced off Akinfeev alone. But just as he lifted his leg to get ready to shoot, the football popped up on the uneven turf! He kicked out in the empty air, and nearly twisted his knee on the supported leg… Fortunately, he reacted quickly and threw his entire center of gravity out. Although he cut a sorry sight and was covered in dirt, he was not hurt.

The football was easily saved by Akinfeev who struck.

Akinfeev, who got the football, still remembered to smile at Bojan, who was lying on the ground.

“Ten minutes since the start of the game, Barcelona had relied on the advantage of its ball possession after the kickoff to launch several threatening attacks. George Wood’s wandering mind led to many loopholes in Nottingham Forest’s defense. But Barcelona did not manage to score a single goal. Their players suddenly behaved like they could not play football. Their performances on the pitch were…comical. I think it must have something to do with the venue. To tell you the truth, the turf on the City Ground stadium is terrible! The Barcelona players are wearing the yellow away jerseys for the game. But I reckon they’ll be brown by the time we get to the halftime interval…”

Seeing his players play like this, Guardiola, sitting in the technical area, shook his head. He really had no ideas. He was not superman and could not move Camp Nou’s turf to England in an instant.

He could only hope that Nottingham Forest would be restricted by the pitch at the same time. Even if the score was 0:0 in the end, Barcelona would still advance.

Such a rotten venue was a double-edged sword. No one knew how the football would move. Sometimes the naughty football could cause trouble for Barcelona. But who could say that at other times it would not become Nottingham Forest’s nightmare?

Chapter 812 - Aaron Is a Fool

Nottingham Forest’s tactics for the match were actually very simple. They would create a tense atmosphere for Barcelona to play in by passing the ball about quickly and snatching the ball from their players ferociously. Those actions would stir up feelings of agitation within the Barcelona players and cause them to perform poorly. The venue in which they are playing at would also assist them greatly in creating an atmosphere that is difficult for the Barcelona players to play in as well.

Barcelona is well-known for being a team that is not good with headers during both its defense and offense. This prompted Tony Twain to research about aerial tactics so as to capitalize on this particular weakness of Barcelona’s.

Nottingham Forest gradually seized the initiative on the pitch after Barcelona tossed aside the advantage that they had at the start of the match.

Barcelona has always placed a strong emphasis on getting its forwards to snatch the ball at the front of the pitch. Many of their goals have all been scored as a result of their players snatching the ball back from the opposition in the opposing half.

It was a tactic that worked well in La Liga, but it was ineffective against Nottingham Forest in this match.

The Catalan press once mocked British football for being crude. They said, “The defenders playing in the Premier League only know to raise their legs and kick the football into the other half. They possess such poor technique!”

Now they all can see how that supposed ‘poor technique’ is tormenting Barcelona…

A forward is only able to snatch the ball away at the front of the pitch on the premise that the opposing defenders do not kick the ball away easily, and prefer to control the ball at their feet before sending the ball to the other half through a series of passes.

That is something that the defenders in La Liga do often. La Liga is a league that regards individual techniques so highly that even the players playing in teams that are at the bottom of the league possess the skills and techniques needed to break through Real Madrid and Barcelona’s defense.

Getting your forwards to snatch the ball from defenders who prefer to control the ball at their feet can compel those defenders to commit an error, which would then help the team in snatching the ball and going on the counterattack straight away.

This tactic has been very useful in allowing Barcelona to gain the upper hand over their opponents in La Liga. However, it was a tactic that was very physically demanding. The season has gone on for quite a while now, and this was the period of time where the players’ stamina start to plummet. Many of the Barcelona players who were on the pitch right now were pushing themselves to run.

If Barcelona is able to score a goal quickly using this tactic of theirs, then the match would most likely be decided right there and then. Barcelona would be able to control the flow of the game from that point onwards, and Nottingham Forest would just be led by the nose.

Given how Barcelona was much stronger than Nottingham Forest as a whole, it was certainly not difficult for them to score another goal.

However, Bojan Krki? and Messi realized after going forward that the Nottingham Forest’s defenders gave them no chance to get close and snatch the ball away. The moment they saw the Barcelona players approach them, they would kick the ball into the other half of the pitch.

Their actions frustrated the Barcelona players. They are only able to snatch the ball from the defenders when they have run up towards Forest’s penalty box, but since the Nottingham Forest players kick the ball away before they can even snatch the ball from them, it would mean that their efforts were in vain and they ran for nothing.

Given how running back and forth depletes the players’ stamina, it was hard to guarantee that the Barcelona players would be able to last through the entire match.

If their physical conditions were to deteriorate as the match goes on, they would most likely start to lose focus and their movements might become erratic. It would then be as easy as walking for them to pick an injury on the pitch…

Nottingham Forest was good with long balls. Their defenders were usually able to find their target, Aaron Mitchell, who was positioned in the other half of the pitch, when they kick the ball to the front. It was then up to Mitchell to do the rest.

Mitchell struggled against Gerard Piqué at the start. He might be 2.02m tall, but he had a bamboo-like figure and was not physically strong, just like Peter Crouch was in his early days.

He was on the losing end during the few times he battled with Piqué, and he was not able to perform any headers even though he was good at them and also had the advantage in height.

The commentators kept praising Piqué and Barcelona during this period of time, despite the fact that Barcelona’s attacks were not as good as before. “… Barcelona definitely triumphs over Nottingham Forest based on their overall abilities as a team. This is an indisputable fact… It is only a matter of time before they score. It all depends on whether they are able to readjust their mentality when facing Nottingham Forest…”

How should Barcelona readjust their mentality when facing Nottingham Forest?

Do they have to get rid of how they ‘look down’ on their opponents?

Twain shook his head as he watched Mitchell’s performance from the stands. “Mitchell, you fool!”

Bill, who sat next to him, immediately asked, “Do we need to shout this sentence?”

“No need, Bill…” Twain replied, feeling exasperated. He realized that he might have a mouthpiece now, but it was still much easier for him to say what he wanted to by the side of the pitch.

It was also much more natural for him to do that…

But, no, wait a moment, maybe it will work!

Twain turned to Bill. Bill watched him with excitement written all over his face.

“Bill, John, I want you to shout like you always do when you are cheering for a particular player. First, you shout his name a few times, then you shout, ‘Technique. Awareness. Positioning.’ Can you do that?”

Fat John did not agree to Twain’s request at once. He leaned towards Bill and they rehearsed what they were going to shout.

“Mitchell! Mit-chell! Technique! Awareness! Positioning… No, that doesn’t feel right!”

“It sounds very awkward when we shout those words…” Bill furrowed his brows as well.

Fat John contemplated for a moment before he suddenly snapped his fingers. “Why should we shout them? We should sing them out!”

Bill clapped his hands together in response. “That’s right! We are good at singing!”

“Singing?” Twain was a little surprised. “You’d need to come up with the lyrics and the melody on the spot. Can you two do it?”

John smiled. “You don’t need to worry about the lyrics. As for the melody we’d just use the melody of a popular song. I’ve never heard of anyone who is able to come up with a melody on the spot…”

The two had a hushed discussion amongst themselves before they passed on the lyrics and the melody of the song to the other fans seated around them. Thereafter, the fans worked themselves up and a clear voice rang out from the North Stand,

“We have a giant on our team, his name is Aaron Mitchell! He’s 2 meters tall, good at headers, jumping and good on the ball! Yet, he doesn’t make use of any of them! He prefers to confront his opponent head on! Lalalala! Aaron, Aaron is a fool! Tony, Tony has lost his cool! Lost his cool!”

The fans made use of a melody from a popular song that Twain was familiar with. Many people were able to sing along because the song was catchy and had a very simple melody.

Even Tony Twain could not resist waving his arms in the air and singing ‘Tony, Tony has lost his cool’ alongside the other fans.

He burst out laughing when he finished singing. This is so interesting! This is an emotion that I won’t get to enjoy when I’m sitting on the bench with a long face.

Their voices were a little jarring. The lyrics were very weird as well…

Still, it caught the attention of everyone in the stadium. People who stood by the side of the pitch also raised their heads to try and locate the source of the voice.

Eventually, everyone focused their gazes on the crowd of people at the North Stand who had their hands in the air.

“… He prefers to confront his opponent head on! Lalalala! Aaron, Aaron is a fool! Tony, Tony has lost his cool!”

Dunn, who initially had his brows furrowed as he sat at the tactical area, suddenly smiled. He was the first to make sense of what was happening. He knew Tony Twain must be ‘up to no good’ and the song was his ‘wicked idea’.

This was his way of communicating with the players after UEFA banned him from coming into contact with the other managers at the tactical area as well as the players on the pitch.

UEFA must be thinking that all is well after sealing Twain’s mouth. They surely did not expect him to make use of the 27,000 mouths at the stadium to help him relay his messages.

The voices grew louder and louder as more and more fans joined in the chorus.

It suddenly dawned on Mitchell that the fans were singing about him. He froze and listened carefully to the lyrics.

His face turned red soon after.

He knew that the boss was seated at the North Stand, and he understood what the song was really about.

The boss was upset with his performance.

In the past, if the boss was upset about something, he would yell and flail his arms about by the side of the pitch. However, he was seated at the stands now, and all he could do to convey his emotions was through such a method.

Mitchell was not stupid. He knew what he has to do from here on out…

Most of the Barcelona fans, players and staff did not pay any heed to the voices that had emerged out of nowhere, because they knew that it was very common for British football fans to sing songs at their stadiums, and that they include all kinds of messages into their lyrics.

Piqué was the only one amongst them to realize that something was amiss with the song since he had played in England for numerous years and was also able to understand and converse in English.

He began to keep a closer watch on Mitchell. He knew that he would most likely fail the next time he tried to snatch the ball from Mitchell by relying on his physical advantage.

※※※

Nottingham Forest played a long ball to the front once again. This time, Mitchell did not jump up to fight for a header with Piqué, and neither did he try to engage in a physical battle with Piqué over the ball.

Instead, he ran backwards towards the ball and waited till it had fallen close to the ground before using his chest to bump it downwards. He then stopped the ball with his right foot.

Piqué went up to him and pushed him from the back. Mitchell made use of the momentum from the push and continued to run backwards. It looked as though he was running further away from Barcelona’s penalty box, but the ball was still at his feet and he had not lost it.

Mitchell had no intentions of protecting the ball at his feet after he got it under control. Piqué continued to chase after him to try and snatch the ball away, and he continued to retreat backwards towards his own half.

When he had retreated all the way back to the center circle, he suddenly passed the ball away. He then turned around and made a run forward!

At this moment, Piqué had been led out of Barcelona’s penalty box by Mitchell!

The spot that was originally guarded by Piqué was vacant. Carles Puyol had no choice but to move towards it to fill up the void.

Mitchell did not hesitate to make use of his advantage in height against Puyol this time. He jumped up into the air and headed the ball over to Puyol’s original position.

The player who received his ball was Lennon, who had suddenly cut into the penalty box from the flank.

Yaya Touré was hot on his heels.

Lennon did not dribble the ball forward. He made a turn the very moment he received the ball and passed it over to Forest’s left back, Joe Mattock!

“Nottingham Forest is very fast on its counterattack! Their left back has joined in the offense in the flash of an eye. However, if we look at this from another perspective, if Barcelona manages to intercept the ball, they would be able to make use of Nottingham Forest’s left flank because it is currently empty!”

Intercept the ball?

Joe Mattock did not give Philipp Lahm the chance to do that. He passed the ball into the middle of the pitch.

Bentley, who was originally playing at the right back position, had appeared in the center forward’s position right before goal.

He jumped up high but failed to get to the ball. However, his actions had attracted the attention of Víctor Valdés.

The player who followed up on the ball was Aaron Mitchell!

Mitchell had been on the losing end throughout his numerous battles with Piqué so far, and this led the other Barcelona players who had not faced off with him before to assume that he was a player who was tall but was bad with headers. Thus, Puyol did not go forward to mark him.

Piqué was the only one who kept close to Mitchell throughout. He was not familiar with Mitchell, but he knew that the boss must have his reasons for choosing to use him in such an important match.

Mitchell dashed towards the ball when he was just a short distance away from where it would land. He then jumped up and threw his body towards the ball.

Piqué did not dare to be negligent. He followed suit and jumped into the air and stretched out his hands to try and interfere with Mitchell.

Most people are of the opinion that the taller a person gets, the higher they can jump. However, Mitchell has surpassed their expectations. He had jumped higher than any other player in front of the goal. Piqué, who stood at 1.91m tall, could not even jump as high as him.

At this very moment, Mitchell was the Mount Everest within the City Ground Stadium!

Piqué could only knock his body against Mitchell and hope that he is able to throw him off balance.

He succeeded. Mitchell was hit by Piqué when he tried to get to the ball, and he lost his balance as a result. The ball that he tried to head into the net slammed against the sidebar and deflected onto the top of the net…

Mitchell subsequently fell onto the ground due to him losing his balance.

Twain burst out, “That’s a f*cking penalty!”

Bill did not need to ask if he had to relay Twain’s words this time round, because all the Nottingham Forest fans had bellowed in unison, “Penalty! Foul!”

The referee and the assistant referee shared the same opinion. It was a goal kick.

Bentley flung out his hands to protest against the referee’s decision. The referee shook his finger at him, then pointed at his eyes to indicate that he had a good view of the entire incident. He determined that Piqué had not committed a foul.

Mitchell climbed to his feet. He was very upset with the fact that he had not scored a goal and that the referee had not given him a penalty kick. He kicked the goalpost in anger before shaking his head and running away.

He might not have reacted fiercely to the referee’s decision, but there was one person at the stands who did.

“That’s my son! That’s my son!” Mitchell’s father, who was a workman, shouted at the top of his voice as he pointed at his son. “You son of a b*tch! Piqué had obviously knocked into my son just now! Why has there not been a penalty awarded against him! I hope your child ends up without an anus [1], you evil referee!”

When Mitchell’s father first found out that Mitchell was going to start in the match, his mouth was so large it could fit a light bulb. He finally understood why his son had acted so abnormally for the past few days.

However, his happiness was short-lived. He began to worry that his son would not perform well in the match and would end up affecting the entire team as a result. If that were to happen, he would become the laughingstock of the neighborhood after the match ended.

At the beginning, his son’s performance showed signs that it could progress in the direction that his father feared he would.

When the fans began to sing the song directed at Mitchell, he sang it with much more gusto and force than any other fan, especially at the part of the song that went, ‘Aaron, Aaron is a fool’. It was just like he was scolding his own son for failing to live up to his expectations.

Mitchell’s poor performance even prompted him to make a promise in his heart.

If his son were to perform well in this match, then he would buy a car for him the next day.

Aaron Mitchell has always complained about how his team mates would drive their own cars to the training grounds and how he was the only one who boarded the bus over. He has always wanted a car of his own.

It was natural for Mitchell’s father to shout the loudest after seeing his son perform better on the pitch and being unfairly treated.

Look at how he had rolled up his sleeves. He looked like someone who desperately wanted to rush towards the referee and ‘settle the score’ with him like men.

※※※

Twain took the lead and started to boo the referee’s decision after seeing how he had not awarded a penalty kick to Mitchell. Soon after, deafening boos rang out from the stands as well.

The fans did not care if the referee was right or not. All they cared about was that things did not go their way, and that is why they booed.

Booing is nothing more than a way for the fans to vent their frustrations. It does not change the situation on the pitch in the slightest. The match went on as per normal.

Nottingham Forest did not score a goal, and they were not awarded a penalty kick either, but the players saw something positive from the incident.

Barcelona’s defense was still weak, and they could only rely on Piqué to help them deal with aerial balls. However, everyone saw how Piqué had lost out to Mitchell when battling for the ball in the air.

The knowledge that Barcelona was not some indomitable giant gave the Nottingham Forest players a huge confidence boost. It meant that they could keep attacking Barcelona’s goalpost fearlessly and pile the pressure on their defense from here on out.

Nottingham Forest would definitely be able to score a goal!

Barcelona tried their best to control the game, but things did not go their way due to Nottingham Forest’s tactic of snatching the ball away from them and the terrible venue that they were playing in.

The Catalan press looked down on the long passes being used by Nottingham Forest in this match, but it was those long passes that had bared their fangs before Barcelona.

Frightening booms would ring out every single time the ball pounded against Barcelona’s defense. It would not be long before the rampart starts to crumble.

Guardiola had a grim look on his face, and his lips had also gone white from him biting onto them.

Chapter 813 - A Blunder

The Barcelona players were trapped in a vicious cycle.

It all started with them being unable to control the ball at their feet. They started to feel indignant at the venue that they were playing in, and as a result, feelings of agitation began to rise within them. These erratic emotions led to erratic movements, and they became unable to perform at their best. They continued to struggle to control the ball, they continued to blame the terrible venue for their mistakes, and they continued to feel agitated and enraged…

And the cycle repeats.

Not a single Barcelona player had the right psychological state for the match. The players responsible for the team’s offense were agitated, and the players responsible for the team’s defense were on edge.

Even players like Messi who looked cool and composed on the outside would make two consecutive mistakes when bringing the ball forward. Once, he exerted too little force when kicking the ball forward, so the ball did not move by much. Another time, he exerted too much force and sent the ball far away from him.

Messi stomped on the turf beneath him in anger after he committed the two consecutive mistakes. He knew that the reason for his errors lies beneath his soles, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was lucky to not have picked up a sprain during the runs that he has made so far….

Before Guardiola could give any instructions to the players with regards to the situation that they were in however, the Barcelona players began to readjust their playing style by themselves.

They reduced the number of dribbles and passes that they made, and they also stopped making their way into Forest’s penalty box as frequently. They chose to do long shots at goal instead.

Once the ball made its way towards the front of the pitch, the Barcelona players tried to threaten the goalpost that Akinfeev was protecting by shooting from a distance. However, their long shots at goal were ineffective against Nottingham Forest. They lacked power and were nothing more than a shadow of their former selves…

In contrast, Nottingham Forest’s offense was much more exciting and threatening.

The defenders would intercept the ball and do a long pass.

The defensive midfielders would also intercept the ball and do a long pass…

Every single player in the team would do a long pass to the front.

The ball continued to fly about in the air. The necks of the Barcelona players ached just from having to raise their heads to track the ball.

Technical players like Xavi and Iniesta found themselves unable to make use of their techniques and keen awareness following the shift in strategy. They were soon rendered useless in the match even though Twain had not assigned players to mark them.

Yaya Touré was the only player who could contend against Forest in the midfield. However, there was very little that he could accomplish alone. He was not able to stop all of Nottingham Forest’s attacks all by himself.

The fact that George Wood was able to get increased chances to go forward and join in the offense highlighted the mess that Barcelona’s midfield was in.

Guardiola insisted with playing a 4-3-3 formation for the match, and this has resulted in the current situation whereby Barcelona only has three midfielders against Forest’s four. It made it very hard for Barcelona to put up a fight against Forest in the midfield.

Nottingham Forest’s long balls would always make their way past the midfield easily.

Yaya Touré would have his hands tied behind his back whenever Aaron Mitchell retreated backwards to retrieve the ball. He paled in comparison to Mitchell in numerous aspects, be it height, ability to head the ball or the ability to jump.

Mitchell, who stood at 2.02m tall, was superb at jumping. Yaya Touré could only wait on the ground and try to snatch the ball after Mitchell jumped up to head the long ball from his team mates.

Every time Mitchell retreated backwards to retrieve the long ball, there would always be a Forest player positioned near him to provide support, and this allowed Mitchell to have a good grasp of who he could pass the ball over to.

It did not matter how good a player Yaya Touré was. He might be able to try and snatch the ball from one possible spot in which the ball lands, but he was not able to go after the ball at all the possible spots in which it will land.

There were many players that Mitchell could choose to pass to after he had jumped into the air. He could pass the ball to Lennon, to Bentley, to his partner Agbonlahor, and he could also pass to George Wood or Tiago. He could also stop the ball with his chest and then control the ball under his feet.

As a result, it was very difficult for Yaya Touré to try and snatch the ball away given how there were many different ways for Mitchell to deal with the ball after he has headed it…

He was unable to stop Nottingham Forest’s aerial attacks by himself. It was just not something that he was good at.

※※※

“Nottingham Forest’s offense goes unimpeded! There are no obstructions along the way… Yes, that’s because Barcelona do not have the players who can deal with their aerial attacks! They do not have the ‘Royal Air Force’ on their side! Akinfeev kicked the ball to the front of the pitch, and Mitchell headed the ball over to George Wood who has moved up to join in the attack! Wood passed the ball over to the flank, and Bentley passed it into the middle. Agbonlahor jumped up to head the ball! He misses! Valdés gets a hand to it! Forest’s entire attack has been completed in the air. Piqué has become the most important player in Barcelona’s defense. Unfortunately, there’s only one Piqué in the entire Barcelona team.”

The match had only gone on for 20 minutes, but Gerard Piqué was already gasping for breath.

He was under immense pressure. Every single one of Nottingham Forest’s attacks was done in the air, and he was the only player in Barcelona’s defense who was able to deal with aerial balls. This meant that he had to run all over the pitch.

He was not a ‘freak’ like George Wood. There was a limit to his stamina, and running all over the pitch was taking a toll on his body.

Carles Puyol was very experienced as a defender, but sadly, he lacked height. Additionally, his physicality has also deteriorated with age. He was not good with dealing with physical players like Agbonlahor and Mitchell.

As for Dani Alves? He was busy trying to join in the offense. Piqué has to thank his lucky stars that their opponents did not exploit the space left behind by Alves whenever he moved forward to attack.

As for Philipp Lahm, he was also a fullback who liked to move forward and join in the attack like Alves. However, unlike Alves, Lahm was still a ‘newbie’ in the team, having just joined a year ago. Therefore, he was not as reckless and would not go all out during an attack. He would still track back and help in the team’s defense vigorously.

At the back, they had the unreliable goalkeeper Víctor Valdés.

Piqué suddenly felt alone after surveying his surroundings.

He would not be so exhausted when dealing with aerial balls if he had Pepe as his partner. Bale and Rafinha might be attack-oriented fullbacks, but they would stay at the back of the pitch for an entire match if the boss asked them to.

In comparison, Guardiola prefers to get the fullbacks to join in the offense. The main job of the fullbacks is to move forward and attack rather than to defend.

The playing style adopted by Barcelona makes it very exhausting for a center back like Piqué to play in.

It did not take long for Nottingham Forest to initiate another attack. This time, Bentley passed the ball into the middle, and Mitchell jumped up to try and head the ball into the net.

Piqué had to give his all to compete with Mitchell in the air. In the end, he managed to triumph over Mitchell marginally, and he headed the ball out of bounds and gave Forest a corner kick.

“Forest’s ex-player Gerard Piqué has been rather lively throughout this match. He has stopped Nottingham Forest’s attacks numerous times so far. His performance reassures Guardiola.”

The commentator might have praised Piqué’s performance, but there was nothing ‘reassuring’ about the current situation to Piqué and Guardiola. In fact, if Guardiola were to be given a choice, he would rather take Piqué off the pitch, because that would signify that Nottingham Forest’s offense was not a threat to Barcelona.

Twain shook his head vigorously as he sat at the stands. If possible, he wished that Piqué would get injured and miss out on playing in this match, because the game would have been dominated by Forest if not for his presence on the pitch.

There were no other player in the Barcelona team who could stop Forest’s advancements besides him. Piqué was like the last soldier standing for his army, and he continued to put up a resistance against Forest.

The ball flew into the penalty box from the corner. Piqué headed the ball away before Mitchell could get to it. Right after he did, he turned around and yelled at his team mates, “Focus on the defense! Victor, you need to step out a bit more! The area that you can take control of should be bigger! They keep using aerial balls, but we don’t need to fight for the ball in the air! We can interfere with them on the ground!”

The Piqué right now did not seem to remember that he once played for Nottingham Forest. All that was on his mind was to help Barcelona defend its goalpost.

Twain scratched his head.

It looks like I have gotten Piqué all fired up… This is not good.

Mitchell was not a player with a strong body. His performance would definitely be affected if he were to be marked by Piqué. Twain hoped that Mitchell would be able to get tougher, but it was hard for him to achieve that in this match. He needs more training to build on his muscles and strength, but those were things that he could only do after the match.

It would be disadvantageous for Forest if Mitchell were to be tightly marked by Piqué, because Forest’s tactics for the match were formed with Mitchell as the core.

Perhaps some changes need to be made?

※※※

Forest launched yet another attack. The ball was sent to Mitchell through the air once again.

This time, Mitchell decided to stand his ground and engage in a physical battle with Piqué for the ball instead of avoiding him.

Mitchell tried to block Piqué from getting to the ball in the air. His tall stature certainly made things difficult for Piqué. He then jumped up into the air to receive the ball. Piqué also followed suit. Right at the moment where there was physical contact between the two players however, Mitchell led out a cry and fell to the ground.

The referee’s whistle rang out.

Piqué had committed a foul!

Piqué felt wronged. He did not see anything wrong with his actions. They were normal actions that would be taken in any other physical battle.

He checked with the referee over what had been deemed to be a foul, and the referee raised his arm upwards to indicate that Piqué had wrapped his arm around Mitchell during the physical battle earlier.

Piqué knew that Mitchell had deliberately fallen to the ground at the slightest of contact, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Nottingham Forest had finally gotten their first free kick of the match after practicing for an entire week.

Guardiola should feel lucky that Bale was out injured for the match. Bale was Forest’s sole free kick specialist.

The free kick that Twain had trained his team to do for the past week was the ‘indirect free kick’.

There are two types of free kicks in football. One is called the ‘direct free kick’, while the other is called the ‘indirect free kick’. There are no restrictions for direct free kicks. The ball may be directly kicked into the goal without any other player touching it. On the other hand, an indirect free kick requires at least two players to touch the ball for it to count as a goal in the event that it does make its way into the net.

Mitchell had earned a direct free kick for Forest. However, Nottingham Forest was going to play the ball as though it was an indirect free kick that had been awarded to them.

Bentley walked over to the ball. Mitchell kept trying to squeeze his way past the Barcelona’s defenders, and that led to a minor scuffle between the players from both teams.

The scuffle prompted the referee to step forward to maintain order. In the end, Mitchell was able to get what he wanted from the start, which was to squeeze his way into Barcelona’s penalty box.

The Barcelona players all believed that the ball would be sent to Mitchell. Thus, they sent a player to stand right behind Mitchell. The player would able to mark Mitchell and also prevent a gap from being formed that Forest would be able to exploit if Mitchell were to run away after the free kick has been taken.

But, everything was nothing more than a pretense for Nottingham Forest.

Their true tactic was this…

After the referee blew his whistle, Bentley ran up to the ball. However, he did not kick the ball straight for goal. Instead, he passed the ball over into the middle of the pitch!

George Wood ran up from behind and shot for goal at once!

He did not manage to shoot the ball at the height that he was most comfortable with. The ball was low and it lost a bit of speed due to the friction with the pitch below.

Nonetheless, the shot still caused huge problems for Valdés…

The ball bounced about erratically on the pitch, and it was hard to tell where the ball was going towards.

Valdés’ initial judgement was that the ball would continue to follow its current trajectory and land in his arms, but he did not expect the ball to suddenly change direction after bouncing over a small bump on the pitch.

The ball then rolled towards the goalpost!

Valdés pounced towards the ball and managed to tip the ball away!

All the Barcelona players broke into cold sweat at the sight.

“George Wood does a long shot at goal! He nearly scored! The terrible pitch has helped him out. Fortunately, Valdés was completely focused and he did not commit a rudimentary mistake…”

Wood was disappointed that the ball had not gone in. It was not like he could replicate such quality long shots at goal every single time.

Valdés’ heart was palpitating furiously after he got the ball away.

It was a close call.

His heart was in his mouth when he saw the ball make a turn at the last moment, and there were still lingering feelings of fear in him even now.

Thankfully, the ball had not deviated too much from its original trajectory, and it was still within an area that he could get to. However, given the condition of this pitch…

Who knows if Barcelona would still have such good luck the next time Nottingham Forest launched an attack?

The ball was sent into the penalty box from the corner.

Mitchell headed the ball, but sent it wide due to Piqué’s interference.

※※※

Guardiola looked at his watch as he stood by the side of the pitch.

27 minutes had passed since the start of the first half, and Nottingham Forest’s attacks were still as ferocious as ever.

The only thing Guardiola could be glad about was that the team had not let in a goal during the period of time where Forest’s offense was at its most intense. Piqué’s outstanding performance had definitely saved the team.

He definitely has to make changes in the second half…

Nottingham Forest decided to slow down their tempo to allow their players to conserve some stamina after attacking feverishly for 20 minutes. They did not want any of their players to be exhausted before the first half ended.

Barcelona decided to try and shift the game back into their favor now that Nottingham Forest had stopped being as offensive.

They maintained possession of the ball and tried to find a way through Forest’s defense. They did not believe that Nottingham Forest had no weaknesses that they could exploit. They just haven’t found one since they were too busy dealing with Forest’s attacks earlier…

However, they soon realized that Nottingham Forest’s was invulnerable to their attacks. They did not give them any chance to break through and shoot for goal.

What should they do against a team that is defending to the death?

Barcelona decided to pass the ball around the back and maintain possession for the time being. Doing so would attract Nottingham Forest to move forward, because they were the ones who needed to score a goal.

Nottingham Forest were the ones who should be getting anxious. Not Barcelona.

Once Barcelona realized of that fact, they started becoming less frantic. They would pass the ball around at the back, and if Nottingham Forest did not move forward, they would continue to kick the ball backwards and let their goalkeeper Valdés initiate another attack.

On the 30th minute of the match, Barcelona continued to pass the ball about at the back, but Agbonlahor suddenly charged towards Puyol from the middle of the pitch.

Puyol was not in a hurry to pass the ball away. He wanted to attract Agbonlahor and the other Forest players to move upwards. He gestured for his team mates around him to move back and support him.

Piqué turned around and ran back towards him. However, Puyol did not pass the ball over to him, because Mitchell was right behind Piqué.

The Forest players were all like a pack of wolves chasing behind its prey, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Puyol turned and passed the ball over to Alves at the flank.

Lennon rushed up to Alves after seeing that the ball had been passed to him.

Alves could have passed a long ball to the front of the pitch, but he hesitated. He raised his leg and put it down.

In the time in which he hesitated, Lennon had already run up to him!

Alves turned around and tried to protect the ball at his feet. He realized that it was risky to pass to any player before him, so he chose to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper.

He held Lennon back and passed the ball back to the goalkeeper. Valdés moved forward to stop the ball that was rolling towards him.

Agbonlahor noticed that Barcelona had passed the ball back to their goalkeeper. He did not stop in his tracks. Instead, he shrugged off Puyol and charged towards Valdés.

Valdés had initially wanted to stop the ball at his feet before passing it to a defender, but he realized that he had underestimated Agbonlahor’s pace. In the blink of an eye, the two were already in very close proximity to each other. He would only be digging his own grave if he were to stop the ball at his feet now.

Valdés changed his mind at the last minute and decided to kick the ball towards the other half of the pitch.

Barcelona’s first choice goalkeeper lifted his leg. All he had to do was to connect his feet with the ball…

Agbonlahor was only about 10 meters away from him. He definitely could not afford to make a mistake.

In the next second however, every single player, fan and staff of the Barcelona team could not believe their eyes…

The ball that had rolled over towards Valdés was not fast. It would be as easy as breathing for a goalkeeper like Valdés, who had played in countless games before, to kick the ball away.

Valdés got into position and was ready to kick the ball away…

But, the ball suddenly bounced upwards just when it was a short distance away from Valdés!

It was at this very moment that Valdés swung his right leg out!

His right leg did not hit its intended target and he kicked at nothing but air…

Valdés exerted too much force in his attempt to kick the ball. It tipped him off balance and he fell backwards onto the ground.

It dawned on him at once that he had just missed!

He looked on in horror as Agbonlahor passed him by…

“A mistake! Valdés has made a mistake! This is a chance for Agbonlahor! This is a chance for Nottingham Forest… He shoots! GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!”

Agbonlahor would have to smash his head against a wall if he could not score a goal before an empty goalpost. There were no defenders around Agbonlahor when Valdés failed to kick the ball earlier. He could have stopped the ball and readjusted himself before shooting. He would still have scored a goal.

The Nottingham Forest fans were already cheering by the time Agbonlahor scored the goal. They had erupted into cheers the very moment Valdés fell to the ground.

Twain, John and Bill all jumped up from their seats. They stretched out their two arms and roared at the top of their voices.

“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

Barcelona has committed a blunder…

Chapter 814 - Panic and Lost

Víctor Valdés was perhaps the worst goalkeeper of any European club. It wasn’t because of his lack of potential, but because of his instability of play. He often exhibited some inexplicable low-level mistakes, such as kicking the ball directly to the other side’s feet, creating an assisted offense for the opponent, or fumbling the ball after diving on it…

But this time it was not his fault.

Nottingham Forest’s turf and field combined to make the goal. Valdés knelt on the ground and gave a hard slap to the culprit: a bulging piece of turf in front of his foot. This was where the football rolled when it suddenly jumped and playfully dodged Valdés’s right leg, scoring Forest’s goal.

“Nottingham Forest’s lousy field has made a contribution!”?the narrator roared with excitement. “Alves’s return pass has caused Valdés’ mistake, and Agbonlahor scored with ease!” This scene was so dramatic that Barcelona’s players could not believe their eyes until now, and Valdés could only vent his anger on the turf. Nottingham Forest now gained the lead, tied with Barcelona on aggregate score, and took the advantage with an away goal!

“Passing the ball back to the goalkeeper in this situation, Alves must also take responsibility for this lost goal!”

※※※

When Barcelona’s players saw the football slip away from Valdés’s feet, everyone was in a state of desperate panic. Some people even hugged their heads prematurely because they didn’t want to watch.

Guardiola, looking expressionless, sat in the coach’s chair with his hands around his chest. It was impossible to tell how he was feeling from his face. He was not the kind of head coach who immediately went into a frenzy after losing the ball—this was the great difference between him and Tony Twain.

Looking at what was next door, Kerslake raised his arms, charged out of the coaching room, and hugged whoever he saw, displaying Tony Twain’s style. Don, another assistant coach, was calm. He just clenched his face and waved.

What about Tony Twain?

As the ball slipped through Valdés’s feet, Twain rose from his seat like everyone else around him, raising his arms and cheering.

Eventually, when he imitated tens of thousands of fans and shouted, “Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!” he felt an excitement that he never felt when he was on the coaching seat.

“Well done!” After the cheers, John gave a thumbs-up to the celebrating Forest players. “We’re even now!”

Twain corrected him. “No, we’re ahead. ”

If Twain did not say anything, once he spoke, the fatty John squeezed over like a meaty hill, “Tony! Wow, your idea was really brilliant! They definitely lost out on this field! Did you see their expressions? It was too exciting! Haha!”

“Hey, John… I’m going to be out of breath…”

※※※

The goal-scorer, Agbonlahor, was so excited that he ran to the north stands with his mouth open and roared, waving his arms at the most hardcore fans, and immediately drew even greater cheers.

Twain did not cheer like the rest of the fans this time. He just gave a thumbs-up to Agbonlahor below. He did not know if Agbonlahor could see him, but he still had to act like a head coach.

In fact, Agbonlahor was looking for his head. He soon found him in the crowds, because his head was different from the masses—he was actually smiling at him!

“Hey, guys! I see the head!”?The excited Agbonlahor pointed to the stands as he shouted at his celebrating teammates, and for a moment everyone looked at the stands, in the direction that Agbonlahor was pointing, as they saw Tony Twain’s silhouette.

“Hey, let’s have another celebration!”

Agbonlahor first did a salute towards the stands, similar to that of the U.S. Marine Corps The other players also followed to salute to Twain.

Twain made a serious face and saluted back, just like a general’s head.

After they saluted to their head, they ran back to get ready to reenter the game.

But Tony Twain was still excited amongst the fans. They sang the Nottingham Forest anthems loudly, again and again. Even Twain sang with them afterwards.

“We are invincible, we are invincible! We are the strongest team in the world, we are Nottingham Forest! ”

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s goal impacted Barcelona quite a bit, as Barcelona’s players looked a little flustered on the pitch after the game resumed. If Forest’s front-court players were pressing a little more, Barcelona’s players would immediately kick the ball a lot further – they definitely did not dare to pass the ball backwards, as they were scared that the ball would playfully jump up again, it would all be over for them.

So, in order not to let the football be intercepted in front of them, everyone chose to kick it forward, hard.

This naturally helped Nottingham Forest a great deal. Barcelona’s attack was threatening when the football was on the ground, and when they kicked the ball into the air for fear of making a mistake, they were not even a first-class team in front of Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest were easily in control of the situation on the pitch, again and again besieging Barcelona’s goal.

Fortunately, Valdés was not affected by the loss of the ball. His performance was still normal: blocking the ball consistently, ensuring the goalmouth was not lost. Another busy man was Piqué, who was in good form. Nottingham Forest were dominating in the air, and he was the only man who could be trusted in Barcelona’s backline, with his height and header advantage.

He was not completely downwind in his tussle with Mitchell, which was one of the reasons why Barcelona had not let in another goal. But Piqué did not think the situation was optimal. He had given all his strength, and the tall man, who was still looking for his play, did not give full strength. If this goes all, he did not know if he could hold on for the full 90 minutes.

Towards the end of the first half, Nottingham Forest, who had been expected to take a possible counterattack at home, instead surrounded Barcelona’s penalty area and launched a frenzied siege. Barcelona could not even get over to the other half of the field.

Guardiola was restless and anxious on the sidelines. He just wanted the first half to end quickly so he could make adjustments. He did not care about pride; he just waved to the team to defend the whole line and survive the last five minutes.

The last five minutes were a pain for Barcelona’s players. Nottingham Forest’s wild attack was never seen at the Nou Camp, and they even thought Nottingham Forest would not attack at all, or would maybe try once or twice.

But Nottingham Forest’s current attack had left the Catalan narrator speechless.

England’s narrator, on the other hand, was very excited. He kept shouting the names of Nottingham Forest players.

“Aaron Lennon’s breakthrough was very beautiful, he passes! Mitchell’s header! The header was too good, but it’s a pity it was blocked by Valdés!”

“Thiago’s long shot – it flew just past the goalpost and out!

“Nottingham Forest seemed to be trying to force a break in the middle of the road to open a breakthrough, with Mitchell leaning on Piqué and relying on his leg-length advantage to pass the ball to Agbonlahor. Agbonlahor feigned and passed straight! Bentley appeared in the penalty area and he received the ball, as if it was a straight cleaver! He shoots! Valdés pounced and hit the football out…

“Barcelona fouled on the right side of the penalty area, with Nottingham Forest’s free-kick…Will they do it again? Bentley passes! Straight to the post! Mitchell attracted three of the Barcelona defenders by himself, Kompany heads the ball from behind! The ball went in … Oh no, it hit the side of net! It’s a shame, it was like it got in from this point of view…

“Nottingham Forest intercepts the ball on the midfield…Barcelona were intending to pass it out, but they were beaten by George Wood’s relentless resistance. He passed the ball to Thiago and ran forward … one-two, it was beautiful! Nottingham Forest made a two-on-one play in front of Barcelona, Yaya Touré was played around with by the chemistry of Wood and Thiago! Piqué keeps a close eye on Mitchell…Long shot! George Wood came straight up with a long shot, and it flew slightly above the crossbar! Listen to the voices in the stands—they thought the ball was going in!

“Joe Mattock passes! Aaron Mitchell – goalpost!! Alas, it seems that today the Goddess of Luck has not blessed the young Mitchell. This is the second time in the game he’s headed the ball at the crossbar! His height and header were a big threat to Barcelona’s goal, but his luck was off—or was Barcelona’s luck too great?”

In Nottingham Forest’s tide-like attack, the referee became Barcelona’s saviour. As he blew his whistle at the end of the first half, even the most hardcore of Barcelona’s fans wanted Nottingham Forest to come again, Barcelona’s defensive line would collapse.

“Guardiola should be thankful for the first half, because at least they haven’t had a player who was injured by that poor pitch but had only lost a goal.”?At the end of the first half, this was how the narrator was casually talking.

※※※

Twain got up from his seat and said to Bill and John next to him, “Hey guys, do you want to have a drink? I’ll treat you.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be drinking,” said Bill.

“Of course I can’t drink. But I can drink juice, and you guys can choose to drink what you like.”

“You’re in a good mood, Tony.”

“Because we’re ahead, ha!” As he said this, a group of people walked towards the exit.

“Aren’t you worried Guardiola will make adjustments during the mid-game break? Barcelona is a world-class team for a reason…”

Twain laughed. ” Unless he can figure out a way to level the ground in 15 minutes, Barcelona won’t be able to turn the tables. Their technique simply can’t be used on such a pitch, and if they play high-altitude football, they might as well continue to endure a bad ground attack.”

Yes, he had calculated everything: this game must consume Barcelona. So he was not worried about the bad effects when the UEFA would not allow him to enter the dressing room. He believed that the outcome of the match had been decided by his idea of the “vegetable patch.”

I am like Buddha, Guardiola. No matter how sly you are, you will still be unable to escape my palm, haha!

“Come on, guys, I’ll invite you to drink. Moisturize your throats—I might still need to use you guys in the second half!”

※※※

While Twain was drinking and talking at the stadium’s concessions stand with his “voice-over”,?Barcelona’s dressing room was a bit of a fendiall.

The team’s physiotherapist was giving Barcelona’s players ankle and knee massages to prevent them from spraining in the second half. The atmosphere was a bit dull, and no one knew what to say. It was too bad to play on a pitch like this, because they were unable to display their most prided techniques. They could only be played around by Nottingham Forest.

If the game went on like this again…the consequences were unimaginable. Perhaps they could also count on Nottingham Forest to make the mistake they had made in the first half?

Guardiola took away their hopes. “Don’t expect your opponent to make a mistake. We have to play well in our own game.”

But Guardiola had no idea how to get his team to play well, too. The atmosphere in the changing room turned cold again.

Barcelona’s players might have felt this way for the first time after experiencing thousands of glorious games. This game was unplayable, and it was not because their potential was not up there, but because their opponent was too cunning. Who would have thought that Nottingham Forest would have been at the expense of transforming their pitch for a win …

After a moment of silence, Guardiola re-opened his mouth. “We will pass the possession to them in the second half.”

Everyone looked up with an expression of surprise on their faces. Barcelona’s football was always under their own feet—passing the possession right to their opponents did not fit their style.

Guardiola had to explain why he wanted to do this. “Yes. The quality of the turf on the City pitch is so bad that long-term ball control on the foot increases the risk of losing the ball. So, I think it’s better for us to give up the football to the other side. Once the football is at the foot of a Nottingham Forest player, wherever that player is, the people around him have to go up and snatch possession. Launch a quick counterattack immediately after the turnover!”

This was a good idea, as Barcelona’s players had accepted the manager’s arrangement.

“Piqué, how do you feel about defending Mitchell?” Guardiola turned to ask the defender.

Piqué gasped, “I feel that it’s a little tough, coach…I’m afraid I can’t defend him alone.”

Guardiola looked around at the players on the bench, and found that there seemed to be no players with decent heading skills other than Márquez, a veteran on the bench. But Márquez was too old and was in a bad state, rarely getting a chance to play. In such an important game, he really didn’t want to pin his hopes on such a player.

So his eyes passed Márquez and fell onto Puyol. “Carles, in the second half you helped Piqu.?I don’t ask you to win their no. 9 in terms of heading, but don’t let him jump and head so easily.”

Puyol nodded, stating that he knew what he was supposed to do.

Next, it was time for psychological hints.

“Don’t give up the race in the last second! We have 45 minutes left, and with just one goal, Nottingham Forest will be in disarray. But until then, we can’t panic ourselves! I saw that in the last half you were panicking. That’s not going to work! That’s absolutely not going to work! Your panic will only make your opponent happier. I know this kind of venue has cost us a lot, but if your minds are just complaints on the bad pitches, I’m sure you’ll have no hope of winning. This is Tony Twain’s trick! You have to put all your energy into the game, and not think about anything else! The more you think about it, the worse it may turn out!”

Guardiola made a strict face, but deep inside, he knew the situation was bad…

Chapter 815 - Piqué

The mood in Barcelona’s locker room was gloomy and miserable. Guardiola desperately tried to boost everyone’s morale. It was a different story in Nottingham Forest’s locker room.

“Well done, guys!” Kerslake took on Tony Twain’s job in the locker room. He had to continue motivate the players with words while Dunn was responsible for explaining the tactical arrangements.

The players were as happy as the coaches. They were pleased with the performance in the first half. Barcelona’s offensive was almost completely blocked. They had the upped hand in the game and even scored a goal in the final five minutes.

Everyone sat down and started discussing Barcelona’s predicament in the first half. They had a happy discussion.

When he saw that their discussion was becoming more animated, Kerslake had to use the imposing manner as the assistant manager to keep them quiet, because Dunn had something to say, “We played well in the first half. But we cannot relax in the second half. I am now worried that you will be arrogant and underestimate your opponent in the second half. You still have to keep in mind what kind of opponent Barcelona is. If you give them too much space, the situation will not be good once they adapt to the pitch…”

The expressions on the players’ faces became serious. They knew what Dunn said was right.

As the saying went, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. A team like Barcelona was still strong under any circumstances. They could get into trouble if they lowered their guard.

“So, in the second half we will continue to fully press them, forcing them to make mistakes and not being able to organize an effective attack. Force their offensive to only rely on long shots and crossing from the sides. Once they play high-altitude football with us, their threat will be much reduced.”

“As for our offense … we just have to pay more attention to the rate of success. We had a lot of chances in the latter part of the first half but didn’t score a single goal. We cannot be like this in the second half. Tony always said there will be payback if we waste our opportunities and a one-goal lead is the least secured score in the world. I don’t think he wants to see that you are satisfied with a score of 1:0 in the second half in the stands?”

Dunn still had to evoke Tony Twain in the end to make his speech more convincing. He could not control the players, which was already proven when Twain was absent from work with a heart attack. When things were good, everyone listened to him, and no one cared about him when the situation was bad. Evoking Tony Twain at such times was like having an imperial sword which gave the sword bearer arbitrary powers. Sometimes Dunn would also think that he might just be an assistant manager all his life at Nottingham Forest because Tony’s influence on the team was so profound…

※※※

Twain held a disposable cup filled with fruit juice and returned to the stands with his mates. The second half was about to begin and both teams’ players had left after they did their warm-up on the pitch. The fourth official and three referees appeared on the sidelines. They were having a chat. Perhaps they were talking about the stadium?

Twain’s appearance in the stands caused a small commotion. The other fans who recognized him came up in succession and shouted, “We’re going to win, right, Tony?”

Twain also replied loudly, “Of course!”

Then a group of people raised the beers in their hands and shouted, “Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

They kept shouting until the players from both sides entered.

The Nottingham Forest players were cheered by the fans as they entered the stadium. It was much quieter followed closely by the Barcelona players.

The situations of both teams might be gleaned from the players’ expressions when they entered the field. The Nottingham Forest players talked and laughed, while the Barcelona players frowned and looked grave without exception from the players to the coaching staff.

Messi, who was previously dubbed as the “new king of the world” by the media, also pursed his lips and looked grim. He almost ceased to exist in the first half, with no contribution at all. The unparallel Argentine football leader and Barcelona’s ace of all aces, who was dominant on the pitch, played looked as if he was sleepwalking.

He was thinking about how he could salvage the situation and get his form back in the second half.

But it was a bit difficult. The venue was a reason, while the close marking from Wood and the others was also a reason. Twain did not let the full backs defend against Messi in the game as they did in the previous round. George Wood would often take the initiative to “pop by to talk about the ideals of life” with Messi whenever he was free.

The uneven field made it inherently difficult to control the ball. In addition to Wood’s close-marking interference, he could barely manage the ball.

Maybe he should be more aggressive with his positional play in the second half and widen his scope of activity to make it better…

※※※

After the start of the second half, Puyol and Piqué used their full strength to defend against Mitchell and the situation slightly changed. Mitchell’s height and header, as well as his jump, were indeed excellent. But he was completely at a disadvantage in terms of experience. He did not know what to do when Piqué and Puyol joined forces against him.

During that time, with Mitchell being closely marked, Barcelona gradually regained the situation on the pitch. They began to attempt organizing the offense.

Unlike the first half, Barcelona’s attack began to rely more on the individual skills of the star players than coordination. Because the first half’s failure proved that their cooperation could not be played on such a pitch.

Almost any team with many star players would consider relying on their individual skills to determine the game under such circumstances. Barcelona’s lineup had Messi, Silva, Bojan, Iniesta, Xavi, Alves… and many other star players. Any one of these players had the ability to decide the outcome of the game alone. It would be too wasteful if they were not used.

Silva chose to act alone in the wing after he received the ball. He managed to break through the tall Nkoulou with his high center of gravity, but his pass was easily headed out by Kompany.

Then Xavi came to try. He fired a long shot straight away and deliberately hit a ground ball, trying to use the uneven field to cause trouble for Akinfeev.

But the Russian, who had been training on this kind of field for a week, had adapted to this kind of shot. Twain had specially trained him in similar capacity. He pressed the ball firmly under his body when he fell to the ground and did not create a chance for Bojan to shoot.

It was followed by Messi.

He pulled the ball to the sideline and faced Joe Mattock’s defense. He did a feint to cross the ball but suddenly hook the ball to cut inside and shook off Mattock.

Messi would be more confident if he were at Camp Nou. Now he could only choose to cut inside early. Unsurprisingly, George Wood rushed up.

The football bounced on the uneven turf and Messi struggled to control the ball. His technique was really good to not lose the ball and still be able to control the ball under his feet in such a situation.

Wood saw that he was very steady in the possession of the ball, so he was not in a hurry to make a move. He just leaned his body closer to him.

Messi also knew that once he was leaned on by Wood, he would have no chance to break through. So, he suddenly stopped, flashed past Wood, and then changed direction toward the side.

He was going to forge a way out from being hemmed in by Wood and Mattock, and straight into the penalty area!

He pushed with his left foot and his right foot hooked the ball!

He succeeded in shaking off Joe Mattock’s interception and intended to charge out from this crack. But the power of Wood’s breakout was amazing! By the time he pushed the ball with his left foot, he had already seen through his intentions. He took a big stride first and cut across Messi’s path. Just when Messi hooked the ball to the front with his right foot, Wood separated him from the ball and successfully locked in his position!

Messi could not stop in time and directly knocked into George Wood. He felt as if he had hit a wall. Fortunately, he had just started. If he had been running at a high speed, perhaps he would be immediately dizzy …

Messi fell to the ground, with the Barcelona fans and Nottingham Forest fans in the stands booing at the same time. The Barcelona fans thought that George Wood had fouled by blocking and they should have given a free kick, or a penalty kick—the exact spot where Messi had fallen was vague. It appeared to be outside the penalty area and also in the penalty area…

The Nottingham Forest fans booed because they thought Messi dived. It was exaggerated of him to fall to the ground at such a close distance collision.

The referee did not whistle to indicate that Wood had fouled, nor did he signal that Messi had dived. He did not do anything, and the game continued.

Even though Wood had stopped Messi’s attack, Nottingham Forest was not out of danger yet as Bojan had come up.

At the same time when Messi had failed, Bojan plugged in diagonally from behind and tried to intercept the ball. He thought Wood had focused all his attention on Messi and certainly would not have time to focus on him. But he was wrong.

After Wood had stopped Messi, he twisted his body around and shuttered Bojan behind him.

When Bojan and Messi hit him like they did, he did not fall to the ground, but lost the chance to grab the ball.

George Wood’s ability was fully reflected when he defended against Barcelona’s two top attackers on his own. Instead of blindly sending a shot out after protecting the football, he passed it to Joe Mattock, who had already pulled to the side and let him get the football out to organize the attack.

The few successive attacks did not yield any results. It looked like Barcelona’s plan to rely on the individual skills of the star players to score goals did not work as well …

※※※

The game was interrupted in the 60th minute.

Someone was hurt!

But it was not a Barcelona player who was injured this time, nor was it a Nottingham Forest player. The injured party was a bit of a surprise.

At that time, Barcelona’s ball was intercepted in the front field and Nottingham Forest launched a quick counterattack, with both sides moving at a high speed. The referee naturally had to run quickly from Nottingham Forest’s half of the field to Barcelona’s half. Just as he had started running, he fell to the ground on his buttocks!

It was not until Nottingham Forest had finished the attack that people noticed the referee was still sitting in the center circle, with one hand holding his ankle…

“Ha! What are we looking at? The referee’s hurt!” The commentator laughed, which sounded like he took delight in someone else’s misfortune.

A burst of laughter could also be heard over the City Ground stadium. This scene was really comical.

“We’ve been speculating about who’s going to get hurt from the terrible pitch. Maybe Messi, maybe Iniesta, maybe Bojan, maybe even the Nottingham Forest players themselves … But we never thought the first person to be injured would be the referee… Does it look like he sprained his ankle? Let us take a look at what happened at the time…”

The replay appeared on the television screen. When he started running, the foot which the referee used to launch stepped on a bulge, so …

“Well, I don’t think it’s possible for this referee to enforce the game any longer…”

While he spoke, the camera gave a close-up to the fourth official who was warming up on the sidelines.

“We wish the fourth official good luck and hope he doesn’t sprain his ankle the moment he gets on that pitch. Ha!”

Twain also saw the scene in the stands. He laughed happily like the other fans. Due to the things that happened in the first round between the two teams, the Nottingham Forest fans did not have any good feelings toward the UEFA referees.

Even the two teams’ players who were fiercely fighting for the ball just now on the pitch, also put aside the competition at this moment and surrounded the referee to watch the lively scene with amused smiles on their faces.

Kompany even took the opportunity to catch up with Piqué.

“Hey, man, how’s it going?”

“Hey, it’s okay. How else can I be?”

The referee’s injury added some comedic elements to the hostile game and eased the atmosphere a little.

Next, supported by the staff, the injured referee left the field and the fourth official got ready to go into battle. As the two men did the handover of the job, the referee specifically warned him repeatedly, “Be careful of the turf around the center circle…”

A fan in the stands shouted at the fourth official, “Hey mate! Are you sure you have done enough warmup? Be careful not to twist your leg——!”

“Ahhahahaha—” His shout triggered a burst of gleeful laughter.

After the original referee came off the field, he described how terrible the turf was on the City Ground stadium pitch when asked by the people around him. He spread his hands and shook his head as he gave a helpless shrug.

※※※

When the game resumed, the ease shown by the players on both sides just now disappeared immediately. Kompany and Piqué did not have the warmth of chatting together with a smile. Everyone returned to the state of mutual hostility.

After all, it was the final game that would determine which team would advance to the quarterfinal and which team would be eliminated. They could not let their guard down.

Messi suffered a hard time with Wood, but he did not give up. He did not even get around Wood to seek another breakthrough point. It looked like he wanted to have a showdown Wood today.

This time he managed to bypass Wood but still could not break into the penalty area easily. He could only shoot from outside.

Akinfeev threw the ball out of the end line which gave Barcelona a corner kick. Could this be considered a victory for Messi?

Piqué rushed up to get ready to fight for a header and Kompany was ordered to keep an eye on him. As the two men leaned forward, Kompany smiled next to him, “Don’t even think about scoring, mate!”

“You’re so full of crap…” Piqué gave Kompany a sideway glance and said, “Don’t pull my jersey!”

“I did not pull!” Kompany raised both hands.

Crowded in front of the goal, Piqué kept changing positions. He was dodging Kompany.

Xavi ran to serve the corner kick. He was waiting for the situation in the penalty area to be a little more chaotic…

Piqué was still competing with Kompany. Although his center back partner was frequently Pepe at Nottingham Forest, he also often partnered with Kompany because Tony Twain always did the rotation. Having trained and competed together for so many years, he knew Kompany well and how he was used to defending corner kicks. Likewise, Kompany knew him well too. He was familiar with his habits of competing for headers and standing positions. Piqué was aware that it was not good for him to continue to be entangled. He gave a signal with his eyes to Puyol next to him. Puyol understood tacitly and suddenly inserted himself into the fight to separate the two men. Piqué, on the other hand, took the opportunity to get out and moved outside the line.

Meanwhile, Xavi kicked the football toward the front of the goal!

Kompany knew it was Barcelona’s tactic, but he could not do anything about it. He tried his best to get rid of Puyol’s defense but was a step too late in the end.

The football drew an arc and slightly turned outwards. Piqué who freed himself of Kompany’s close marking, dashed inward and have a powerful header!

With the distance too close, Akinfeev could not react in time. He just raised his hands and the football flew into the goal past his side!

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL—” The Catalan commentator yelled for a minute before stopping. Whenever people though he had exhausted himself and stopped, he would immediately raise his voice and keep yelling.

“A powerful header from Piqué! He blew his former team’s goal wide open!”

Piqué did not celebrate after the goal. His teammates came up to hug him in a rush, but he did not show any expression. He was like a block of wood and let them hug and clap him on the back.

He scored the goal because he was now a Barcelona player and naturally wanted to play for his owner. But he rose to fame at Nottingham Forest and he loved everything there, even the fans who booed him in the stands. There was only sporadic booing in the stands. Most of the Forest players were still unable to harbor any ill feelings toward Piqué. The way he was treated in his return to the City Ground stadium was completely different to how Bendtner was treated.

But if Nottingham Forest was knocked out by Barcelona due to his goal, how would the two parties feel at that time?

“Barcelona is currently in the lead with the overall score! And more importantly, they also have an away goal! How will Nottingham Forest fight back? Tony Twain is not in the technical area. He’s always best at meeting contingencies as the circumstances dictate ..”

Chapter 816 - Who the Hell Is This Kid?

“Now Barcelona is leading by the overall score! And more importantly, they also have an away goal! How will Nottingham Forest fight back? Tony Twain is not in the technical area. He’s always best at adapting to the changing circumstances…”

The commentator’s concern was also the Nottingham Forest fans’ worry. John, Bill and the others next to Twain turned to look at him as if they wanted him to make a decision.

They did not expect Twain to look at each pair of expectant eyes and laughed, “Why are you looking at me for? I’m not on the sidelines.”

“You can use our mouths, Tony.” John said, pointing to his mouth.

Twain shook his head and said, “Before the game we took into account all the things that could have happened, including, of course, the concede of the goal, even though I thought the probability of it was small … It seems that Piqué has a high fighting spirit…”

“So, did you come up with any countermeasure?” The impatient Bill asked.

“No.” Twain continued to shake his head.

“Tony…..”

“Haha!” Twain laughed, “In fact, Barcelona had a bit of luck with this goal. They didn’t obtain control of the game. Apart from this corner kick, they didn’t really have chances to threaten our goal. So, with regards to any adjustments we have to make, we just have to keep our offensive pace. Barcelona’s defensive weakness will not improve much as a result of this goal. So, I’m not worried…”

“But we need to score two more goals now if we want to advance directly, Tony…”

“Is scoring two goals difficult?” Twain asked in return.

He stumped everyone with the question. Two goals were really hard, but why was Tony Twain so confident?

Twain no longer explained. He wanted to watch the game now.

※※※

In fact, Barcelona was in high spirits after the goal and besieged Nottingham Forest’s goal for a while. However, they did not get a decent chance in the face of the constrained conditions in the pitch and Nottingham Forest’s defense. The goal was purely down to luck, just like what Twain said.

Soon Nottingham Forest drove Barcelona back. Currently for them, with twenty-five minutes to go, they needed to score a goal to make sure they were not eliminated within ninety minutes. To directly advance to the next round, they needed to score at least two goals.

It might be an impossible task for an average team up against Barcelona. But for Nottingham Forest, nothing was impossible.

They had all the right conditions. They had no excuse to lose the game!

After watching for a while, Twain said to the people next to him in the stands, “Let them boldly press forward, Barcelona’s force is spent.”

Accordingly, the north grandstand erupted in a burst of chanting voices, “Forest, Forest charge forward! Barcelona is finished! Forest, Forest, press forward! Barcelona is done for!”

They chanted over and over again. The Nottingham Forest players knew the chanting came from the north grandstand and were aware of whom it came from…

When the two full backs, Joe Mattock and Nkoulou boldly pressed ahead, the chanting finally disappeared.

Twain high-fived the people around him and thanked them for their help. “Well done, guys!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s oppressive attack kept Barcelona so busy that they had no time to attack. Perhaps they thought it was better to cling fast to defense until the end of the game under such circumstances. That way, they could eliminate Nottingham Forest by a total score of 3:2 to advance to the semifinals.

Soon Nottingham Forest was awarded a free kick in the danger zone. The Barcelona players were nervous as they knew that a set piece was key in the game. Consequently, the human wall lined up to be deliberately close to the football. When the referee did not pay attention to them, they slowly took small steps to inch forward.

Twain frowned in the stands and said, “They should simply place the human wall in front of the football!”

This time without waiting for his instructions, the fans in the north grandstand began to chant in unison, “The human wall is too close! The human wall is too close!”

Whether the referee could understand or not, it was to make some different sounds. The shouts were accompanied by a huge number of boos.

The Nottingham Forest players also noticed Barcelona’s petty maneuver. They got hold of the referee and signaled to him to take notice of Barcelona’s human wall position—they had moved forward about a meter from where they were originally…

The referee turned back to motion for Barcelona’s human wall to move backwards. The Barcelona players dragged their feet and were unwilling to move. They even indicated that they were in the right position.

The referee knew that it was not persuasive enough to use words. He must prove that Barcelona’s human wall was not far enough, so he started to walk from the penalty spot to the human wall. One step equaled to one yard. The standard free kick distance should be ten yards (9.15 meters) from the human wall, which was about ten steps.

As he began to walk, Twain and the rest of the fans in the north grandstand joined in to count the numbers for the Barcelona players who did not know numbers:

“One! Two! Three! Four!”

As the counting progressed, more and more fans joined in the camp. For a moment, loud counting voices rang out over the City Ground stadium.

“… Five! Six! Seven!”

The Barcelona players looked a little worried. Even if they did not comprehend English, they should still know what the most basic “One Two Three” meant.

Before the referee could walk up to them, one by one began to retreat.

The referee was delightful too. Even when Barcelona’s human wall moved back, he did not stop there, but continued walking. So, the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands also followed suit and were determined to embarrass Barcelona.

“Eight! Nine! Ten ——!!”

After counting to “Ten”, a huge cheer erupted in the stands. The Forest fans celebrated the victory against Barcelona for this round. Even the commentator could not help but laugh at the scene.

In the end, the referee stood in a position that coincided with Barcelona’s human wall position. Then he walked back to signal to the Forest team to get ready for the free kick.

Bentley’s free kick bypassed the human wall and went straight into the top corner of the goal, which was quite threatening! Unfortunately, Valdés pounced and turned it into a corner ball.

Off the field, Kerslake waved to signal both Woodgate and Kompany to go up. As a full back with a height of 1.88 meters, Nkoulou also squeezed to the front of the goal to prepare to fight for a header. Joe Mattock was the shortest in the rear defensive line, so he retreated to near the center circle to defend.

After Nottingham Forest’s corner kick was sent out, Nkoulou received the ball. But his header deviated slightly under interference. The football brushed against the goalpost and flew out, making all the Barcelona people gasped.

※※※

“Barcelona has fully retreated to defend, leaving Nottingham Forest to pass the ball back and forth in front of our penalty area. It is a dangerous thing … I don’t think I can understand why Guardiola did this!” The Catalan commentator was dissatisfied with the situation. Barcelona played so pathetically which greatly embarrassed the Catalans.

But he was a typical armchair expert. If he were to play, he would realize Guardiola’s frustration in doing so.

The Barcelona players could not execute an effective offensive on such a pitch. If they were to rely on the star players’ personal skills, it would be easy to get caught up in the quagmire of the Forest team’s collective defense. If they could hold on to the one goal advantage, why not?

As the game entered the seventieth minute, Guardiola looked at his wristwatch. It was only twenty minutes away from the victory.

Nottingham Forest attacked again, with the Forest fans in the stands chanting, “We need to score a goal! We need to score! We are dissatisfied, quickly score a goal to satisfy us!!”

When Bentley took the ball on the sidelines, he was about a dozen meters from the penalty area and looked unthreatening. So, Lahm did not immediately rushed up, because he wanted guard against Agbonlahor from inserting diagonally behind him. Yaya Touré and the others were also paying attention to Tiago and George Wood. In short, no one thought Bentley, who was far away from the penalty area, was a threat. If he were to cross from the byline, he would face Lahm’s defense. If he passed the ball, Yaya Touré was standing guard in the middle.

Bentley, on the other hand, chose a way that no one thought of to create a threat—he swung his leg on the spot and directly crossed the ball near the midfield into the penalty area!

Knowing that the player furthest in the front at this time was Aaron Mitchell, who was still outside the penalty area, what was the point of his pass?

The football was not passed to the front of the goal. Actually, the ball’s distance from the goal was as wide as a penalty area…

Aaron Mitchell sprinted forward during Bentley’s pass and Piqué closely followed him. This time, due to Bentley’s sudden pass, Puyol did not keep up in time. With only Piqué around him, Mitchell was confident of winning the header against his rival.

But what would happen if he won the header? He did not have a teammate around him who could receive it… Piqué began to focus on defending the second point of fall. He observed for a while. Agbonlahor, nearest to Mitchell, was on the right. Was he going to ferry the ball over?

After competing for most of the match, Piqué believed the tall man did have that ability as his header was really strong.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

When Mitchell turned his head back to confirm the direction of the football, he took a glance at the situation around and found that there was no Barcelona defender in front of him, apart from the goalkeeper, Valdés. Perhaps it was a good time to shoot?

Is it too far? I don’t know where I am now! I only saw a wide-open goal, and a goalkeeper standing slightly forward…

Mitchell, who had made up his mind to shoot, leaped high after his sprint. He opened his arms wide like he was a glider and blocked Piqué behind him so that no one could interfere with him…

“Mitchell’s header… Is this a shot to the goal?”

The commentator could not believe it. Mitchell’s current position was still outside the penalty area. It was precisely at the top of the penalty arc.

Mitchell jumped really high, and even had time to adjust his body posture in the air to position himself to directly face the incoming football. Then he gave the football a powerful flick of his head. The football drew an arc in the air that could only be achieved with a kick to bypass Valdés standing slightly in front and lobbed to the far corner of the goal … …

Piqué, who was behind Mitchell, could not believe his eyes—Mitchell actually chose a direct header to the goal outside the penalty area!

What made it even more unbelievable for him was that… the ball actually went in!

Valdés stood a little outside during Bentley’s pass. He had wanted to intercept the pass but did not expect Bentley’s pass to have a wide arc. He returned after he moved into the penalty area. He knew the ball was directed at Mitchell, but he did not expect Mitchell to dare attempt a header shot to score the goal from so far away…

Unable to respond in time, he hastily jumped. But how could he stop the ball?

“What a beautiful goal! Incredible! A long-range header shot from outside the penalty area! From Aaron Mitchell—This is his first goal of the season! It is also the first official goal he scored for Nottingham Forest!”

This time it was the English live commentator’s turn to be crazy. He was upset just now when the Catalan commentator extended his voice next to him and shouted “GOOOOAL!” This time, he had a chance to take revenge. His mouth was like a Gatling machine gun, popping out with all sorts of flattering words.

“Valdés was completely stunned by a goal like this! Piqué, Barcelona’s best-performing player, was also at a loss in the face of such a beautiful goal! I bet he did not even think Mitchell would choose to shoot directly! What a genius idea! Mitchell had this extraordinary confidence in his header, and he did it! Congratulations! The twenty-year-old player will pull Nottingham Forest back from the edge of a cliff! It was definitely not a momentary lapse for Tony Twain to let him make his debut!”

Mitchell still stared blankly when he saw the football flew into the goal. He was uncertain as to whether he had really scored…

When he heard the deafening cheers ringing in his ears, he then realized he was not dreaming—this time he was not fantasizing in his bedroom. Even if he shouted as loud as he wanted, his father would not break the bedroom door and rush in to admonish him.

“GOOOAL! GOOOOAL!! GOOOOOOOAL——!!” He had rehearsed this action many times. He roared with his arms wide open and rushed toward the camera near the corner flag.

“Two point two meters tall, excellent headers, marvelous bounce! Where did Tony Twain find this giant? It was said that his breakout force is also very powerful… Formidable! We’re seeing another master header of the ball! Look at his goal, who would have thought he had played as a goalkeeper and center back eight years ago?”

Aaron Mitchell had been so obscure that most Forest fans could not call his name at once. They could only chant during the cheering, “Number 9! Number 9! Our Number 9 master header of the ball!”

Mitchell’s father was so dizzyingly happy in the stands that he kept shouting, “That’s my son! That’s my son! I’m his father! I’m his father! Hey! Son, I’m here!”

“You have a good son!” The fans next to him came up to him to hug and congratulate him. “Also, what’s his name?”

“Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! Hey, guys, remember this name. I promise you’ll often shout it in the future.”

“I hope so, old chap!”

Soon, the shouts in the stands turned from “Number 9! Number 9! Our Number 9 master header of the ball!” into “Aaron! Aaron! Our master header of the ball, Aaron!”

Then the fans present made up a song for the goalscorer, and of course they started singing from the north grandstand.

“Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! If you don’t know the name yet, you’re outdated! Outdated!”

※※※

When he saw Mitchell used his header to “shove” the football into the goal that Valdés guarded, Tony Twain who put him on the starting lineup, also rose from his seat and cheered with the fans around him with his arms high up. To see the success of a player whom he had personally dug up, that sense of accomplishment was indescribable.

Kerslake, who celebrated in the technical area, got hold of Dunn and shook his head as he admitted his failure, “Tony does have a keen eye for players. Luckily I did not bet with him at that time… Aaron did a wonderful job!”

※※※

Unlike the jubilant Nottingham Forest technical area, on the Barcelona side, Guardiola, who had just picked up a water bottle for a sip of water, threw the bottle out before he could put it to his parted lips.

“Who the hell is this kid?!” He could not help but burst out with a curse word.

He never thought Nottingham Forest could score when Bentley passed the ball…

They could actually head the ball in from so far away. They were too lucky!

The manager issued the angry question, and the people around him could not help because they similarly did not know who the kid was. . .

There was no information about the player in the information about Nottingham Forest. It was like he had descended from the sky, bringing with him a gust of wind to blow away Barcelona’s fire of hope.

Chapter 817 - A Giant’s Waltz

“Aaron Mitchell! A beautiful header outside the penalty area! Nottingham Forest equalized the score between the two sides!”

Huge cheers broke out at the City Ground stadium.

The Barcelona manager, Guardiola was furious on the sidelines and threw out the water bottle in his hand when the football was “shoved in” by Mitchell’s header.

“Who is this kid?!”

Both assistant managers, Vilanova and Eusebio, cleverly chose to be silent at this moment.

Guardiola’s anger was not directed at his own team. The fact that they could score a goal in such conditions, was already good. What angered him was that he knew nothing about the Nottingham Forest striker. He obviously could not make targeted arrangements without any information, such as he did not know before the number 9 player was outstanding at headers. Otherwise he would not let the team give Bentley the opportunity to play from the side …

After a while, Vilanova said, “Maybe… it isn’t as bad as we think it will be? At least the total scores of both sides are currently tied and the away goals are also at a tie. We still have a chance to play during overtime…”

Guardiola frowned and shook his head. He spoke in a bad mood, “It’s useless to play overtime with the current state of the team… The players will physically exhaust themselves very fast on such grounds.”

He was right. Even if Nottingham Forest accidentally allowed Barcelona to drag the game into overtime, they were not worried at all. Tony Twain had taken that possibility into account before the game. The Forest players were fit enough to ensure that they could complete in a 120-minute intense game, while Barcelona was not. Playing on such a terrible pitch required more stamina than usual. Playing an additional thirty minutes was more likely to increase the chances of their players getting injured.

No wonder Twain was not anxious after the goal concede.

Everyone was lamenting in the Barcelona technical area and the players on the pitch were no better. After Barcelona’s goal, they were in high spirits and wanted to build on the momentum. If they were to score a second goal, it would be almost impossible for Nottingham Forest to reverse the situation. Not only did they not score the second goal, they had unexpectedly let Nottingham Forest score another goal …

When they saw the football flew into the goal, their hearts instantly felt cold almost at the same time.

What scared them was not the score, but the game had gone on for seventy minutes, and they were still unable to adapt to the feeling of playing on this ground, while Nottingham Forest took to it with ease. What would be the outcome of the game if it were to continue like this? They did not dare think about it.

After the game resumed, Barcelona stepped up their defense against Mitchell. But this time Mitchell played even better. The Barcelona players could block him from shooting, but not necessarily prevent him from passing the ball. As a beacon for the front field, he could not only score goals himself, but also create all kinds of opportunities for his teammates. His height was his biggest weapon. At the same time, the skills he displayed in stopping and protecting the ball had caused the Barcelona defenders to be at a loss as to how to deal with him—once they were squeezed behind him, they could not tackle the ball without fouling.

Agbonlahor also got opportunities for two threatening shots due to Mitchell’s excellent performance.

To make matters worse, four minutes after the Forest team scored, Messi withdrew from the game after he sprained his knee in a scuffle. The departure of the team’s soul due to an injury hit Barcelona really hard. Many Barcelona players on the pitch had a lost look in their eyes… They really did not know how to play such a game.

The Catalan commentator began to scold Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team incessantly when Messi was injured. He accused them of no sportsmanship and destroying the players’ bodies in order to win.

The English commentator, on the other hand, gave a long breath and said, “A player was finally injured…. It would be incredible if no one was hurt playing on such a bumpy field.”

When Messi was injured, Guardiola finally could not stand it any longer. He rushed to the sidelines to look for the fourth official—the previous referee who was brought off the field due to the injury—and pointed to the field as he said to the fourth official, “Is this a venue where the Champions League can be played? It’s bumpy and causes my player to get hurt! Is this also allowed?”

Unfortunately, Twain was not on the sidelines. Otherwise, he would step forward to rebut without hesitation, “The UEFA agreed. Why are you kicking up a fuss?”

The fourth official shrugged helplessly, “There’s nothing we can do about it, Mr. Guardiola.”

“I’m going file a complaint to the UEFA after the game! How can something like this that violates the sports ethics be allowed to happen?”

“Hey, look!” John suddenly pointed to the technical area below, where Guardiola spoke to agitatedly to the fourth official. In fact, everyone could tell what he was saying by looking at his gesticulations—he was pointing at the pitch.

“Ha! Is he sore about losing?” Twain laughed in his seat. “Want to go crying to the UEFA mommy?”

“I guess he must be protesting to cancel the game or lodging a complaint with the UEFA!”

“What a coward!”

An immediate deafening hissing of Guardiola erupted in the north grandstand. Even Twain booed in the crowd. He could not go down to argue with Guardiola. He obviously could only boo here.

The fourth official reassured Guardiola, “We will record all these details in the game report. But for now, please go back first, Mr. Guardiola.”

Guardiola walked back with a black face. The boos grew increasingly louder, which he pretended not to hear.

Messi was eventually carried off on a stretcher with a painful expression. The team doctor’s expression also did not look good. Guardiola could not help but swear as he looked upon the scene. He did not find Twain when he looked up toward the stands with the loudest boos. The guy was hiding among a crowd of fans, dressed up as they were and could not be told apart.

The UEFA sent him to the stands as punishment. From the looks of it, it might even have been a favor to him…

Guardiola gritted his teeth and thought so.

Messi could not continue to play so Guardiola brought on the young midfielder, Busquets to strengthen and increase control of the midfield. Busquets, who stood at 1.89 meters tall, had outstanding physical qualities. His presence could change Barcelona’s weakness in competing for the headers. At the same time, his playing style was to the point which was very suitable for handling the ball on such a ground.

Before he went on, Guardiola patted Busquets on the shoulder and said, “Be careful, don’t get hurt…”

It was indeed a helpless act.

As the game went on, the Barcelona players played with fury. It was quite normal… Who would not be angry at watching his teammates get hurt due to this terrible field? Moreover, they might follow in Messi’s footsteps and could not calm down at the thought of it.

Even Piqué also set aside his relationship with Nottingham Forest and did not hesitate to make Mitchell fall during defense. His approach “won” the boos of Nottingham Forest. He did not find it awkward.

Nottingham Forest did not care what the Barcelona players thought. As always, they attacked Valdés’ goal and were bent on settling the fight within the ninety minutes.

But Busquets did prove to be effective on the field. His height and physical condition helped Barcelona to complete the midfield defense well. He and Piqué teamed up to defend against Mitchell in the grab for the headers, thus freeing Puyol while Agbonlahor had little chance.

So, Nottingham Forest began to try to make more use of the long shots to seek scoring opportunities. Such an attack tended to end hastily after it hit the front field.

Twain was very unhappy about it and waited a little longer to see if the team show no signs of change. The north grandstand rang out with shouts from the fans, “Be patient! We have the upper hand! Don’t shoot blindly!”

“Okay. Guys. I’m sure they heard it.” After shouting a few times, Twain told them to stop. He did not want to do it too explicitly.

As the game progressed, the Barcelona players began to gradually recall their defensive lines till everyone retreated to their half of the field. They did not have much energy left to attack now, so they naturally concentrated on the defense. They wanted to be able to hold on to the current score so that they could have at least thirty minutes more to fight again.

Dunn stepped out from the technical area when he felt it was time for the team to attack. So, he signaled to indicate for the team to fully press.

“The Nottingham Forest offensive is pretty fierce! Barcelona has fully retreated to defend against it…Let’s look at how many Barcelona players are in the penalty area when Nottingham Forest attacks. Eleven! They’re all back!” The English commentator was quite proud of it. “Who says that Nottingham Forest only plays conservative and utilitarian football? Such scenes are not common in offensive football, are they?”

Such a situation might be humiliating to the Barcelona fans, because they had always been the ones to compress their opponents like this in previous games. They would never display such pathetic side to them.

Mitchell felt greater pressure than before since 1.89-meter-tall kid came on. Sometimes he might win while they competed for the header, but the header that was sent out might not go accordingly to plan. It seemed that Barcelona had made special arrangements to target his height and headers…

If it continued, Mitchell did not know he could still contribute to the team with his headers. He had played almost the entire game. During the long time, he had been playing directly up against two of Barcelona’s best defenders and had expended more energy than he did in the last league game. His bounce and sprint s were not as powerful as before. Sometimes he could not guarantee that he could lock in his position.

When Bentley passed the ball over, he was pushed behind by Piqué at the last minute even though he had locked in his position earlier. When he struggled to squeeze back, he felt as if he was pushing against the head of a train and could not jump. He watched helplessly as Piqué headed the ball in front of him.

Barcelona fought back. His teammates were quick to defend. His spirit was willing, but his body was weak. He put his hands on his knees while he took big gulps of air. In the past, he always appeared as a substitute. Even though he was in the starting lineup in the last league game, he was also replaced midway and did not even complete the game. Now that he had persisted in such a fierce match for more than seventy minutes, he did not know if his body could sustain until then.

George Wood intercepted Silva’s pass to Bojan in the backfield. He did not hesitate to send out a direct long pass.

Mitchell, who had been gasping for air in front of him just now, wanted to jump and catch the ball, but was ruled in an offside position—he was focused on taking a break but forgot to look around at the situation.

“Is his size a weak spot for his stamina?” Twain muttered to himself in the stands.

Then Mitchell got another chance, but this time he lost it quickly under the joint defense of Piqué and Busquets after he controlled the ball under his feet. He was even crushed to the ground by the two players who were not as tall as himself, looking really vulnerable.

The Barcelona fans in the stands began to laugh at the stupid great hulk of a man.

“Aaron Mitchell has fully exposed his physical weakness. Being overly thin, he could not achieve anything under Barcelona’s tight defense. His performance is worrying. Perhaps the Forest team should consider replacing him?” Even the commentator began to question Mitchell. “He scored a goal and he did well enough for a young player who made his debut in such an important game. The Forest team’s coaching staff can’t ask him to do more because that’s impossible.”

Kerslake also noted that Mitchell’s performance during this period was not as active as it had been before. Apparently it had to do with Barcelona’s targeted defensive arrangements. Guardiola found that the situation had turned better after he replaced Messi with Busquets. So, he simply brought on Keita to replace Xavi and changed for the team to play the 4-4-2 formation with three defensive midfielders and one attacking midfielder. The Forest team’s ball was now difficult to deliver to Mitchell’s feet as Barcelona’s midfield defense had hardened. Another reason was that Mitchell’s fitness had declined by a lot…

He looked for Dunn to discuss, “Aaron looks like he can’t play anymore. The opponent’s defense against him is too tight. He has overly exerted himself physically… plus it is his first time playing in such an important game. I think he did a great job, going head to head with Puyol and Piqué for eighty minutes… Should we think about replacing him? The most important thing…” He hesitated for a bit before he said what he was worried about, “Tony insisted on putting him in the starting lineup. He performed wonderfully. But I’m afraid that the confidence he’s just built up with much difficulty, will be destroyed if he continues playing. You must know that Piqué and Puyol are not your average defenders. We may have been too hard on him to let him fight these two strong opponents…”

Dunn frowned. He was also considering whether to have Mitchell come off and bring on Ibi?evi? who had better stamina and more superb shooting, to attack. But his mind would inevitably diverge in the other direction— what kind of choice would he make if he were Tony?

He realized that if he were Tony, he would probably insist on keeping Mitchell on the field.

In that case, would he also agree to do the same?

“David… I don’t think Tony would agree to bring him off…” Dunn was hesitant.

“But we’re the ones in charge of the team now, Dunn!” Kerslake was unhappy that Dunn used Tony Twain as an excuse.

Dunn also seemed to feel that he was too feeble. He could not always take Tony as his only guide. He thought about it and then made his choice, “Let us wait a little more. Give him five minutes…”

Kerslake nodded and stopped saying anything.

The game entered the 79th minute. Soon, there was only ten minutes left.

Once again, Nottingham Forest organized an attack.

Keita, Yaya Touré and Busquets formed a wall in front of Barcelona’s penalty area, blocking the Forest team’s attack.

The Forest team’s midfielders very much wanted to send the ball to Mitchell’s side, but under the opponent’s tight defense, even if the ball was passed over, Mitchell could not hold it. What was the use of passing the ball over when he would soon lose it?

Tiago took the ball and was a little confused. He wanted to send the ball out. but did not know who to pass it on to. Just as he was looking in all directions and hesitating, his ball was jabbed away by Keita.

The Barcelona fans in the stands suddenly burst into huge cheers, but their cheers had just come on before coming into an abrupt end because Keita’s ball was also intercepted by George Wood.

When Keita had ball successfully intercepted, Barcelona was just about to fight back, and their formation pressed slightly outwards.

Mitchell found himself in an offside position again, so he also followed suit and retreated. This time he could no longer let a teammate’s pass turn into an offside position. But he retreated a little more this once. Instead of acting as the beacon in front, he simply retreated to Agbonlahor’s position in one go—somewhat like a shadow striker. Did he over-compensate?

After George Wood intercepted the ball, he saw that Barcelona’s rear defensive line hurriedly pull back and widen the distance just enough from Mitchell who ran back. No one was marking him up until now!

Wood did not hesitate to pass the football over.

Piqué saw that the football was passed to Mitchell, and he suddenly pounced over. He had already seen through the tall guy. He knew the other man was close to collapse. As long as he put in a little more force in the back, his ball would be dropped.

Mitchell’s stamina was really exhausted. He only had two things in mind right now—to receive the ball and not lose it. As for where and who the opponent was plus what they were going to do to him, he did not think about it at all. His oxygen-deprived brain simplified his thinking and anything superfluous was stripped away.

Piqué rushed up and decided to speed up to bypass Mitchell from the side. He wanted to suddenly circle to the front to defend, intercept Mitchell’s ball and then seize the opportunity to counterattack Nottingham Forest!

It was a good idea, but…

After picking up the ball with his back to the goal, Mitchell used his heel to arrange the ball while he jumped up, stepped on the ball, turned around and pulled the ball at the same time. With Piqué as the axis, he turned one hundred and eighty degrees and evaded Piqué’s defense together with the ball! Piqué went around to the front had instead brought about Mitchell’s beautiful bypass!

“Wow! What a fantastic bypass!” The commentator could not help but call out, “A Marseille Turn!”

It was indeed visually stunning for a player with a height of 2.02 meters to produce a move as elegant as the waltz…

At this moment, Mitchell tossed the boss’s warning that he was “not allowed to play with fancy footwork” to the clouds. When the football came, more than two years of hard training allowed his body to automatically make the most suitable choice—he did not use a header nor his body. He just used his own footwork to deal with it.

After being bypassed by Mitchell, Piqué was a little dazed, and even forgot to return to defend as he stood in a daze at the same spot—he did not expect that when he pounced on him, the other man took advantage of it to bypass him. And he still did not know how the other side did it.

Thanks to the help of Busquets, Puyol had put his focus on Agbonlahor and the other. He did not expect Piqué who played so well in the whole game would be bypassed so easily off and be caught off guard.

Fortunately, Busquets was so focused that he rushed up to defend when Mitchell bypassed Piqué.

On the outside of the penalty area, Mitchell suddenly made a quick stop. After he pulled away from Busquets, he swung his leg to shoot!

Busquets reached his leg out to stop but did not think this was Mitchell’s feint!

He simply dodged and got away from Busquets to enter the penalty area!

“He bypassed two people in one breath! My God. What are we seeing? The 2.02-meter-tall player is willfully showing off his footwork in front of Barcelona’s defensive line! Is he possessed by Ibrahimovi?’s spirit? The world is going crazy!”

Busquets, who had been flashed past by Mitchell, could hardly believe his eyes. He slipped to the ground and turned to look back at Mitchell in amazement. But by this time, he could only see his back.

At the very moment, Mitchell and the Mitchell that Guardiola understood were completely different players. He did not make use of his height and header advantage but displayed his stunning footwork! Guardiola, who saw the scene off the pitch, suddenly felt like a failure as he sat in his chair—there was so much more about the kid that he did not know! Who exactly was this kid?!

Mitchell himself seemed to have entered a mysterious realm where he forgot himself. Perhaps he was too tired, and his physical instincts in turn dominated his consciousness. Whenever an opponent was directly in front of him, his legs would automatically make the movements, leading him all the way forward. He did not know the faces of the opponents that appeared in front of him. He only knew he must go around them!

“Son! Bypass him! Bypass him!” Mitchell’s father roared with excitement as he watched the scene in the stands.

Busquets’ blocking did not succeed in tackling the ball, but he at least bought some time for Puyol and the other defenders.

Seeing how Mitchell bypassed two players alone and enter the penalty area, Puyol and the rest of Barcelona’s defenders came up to encircle. They dropped their original defensive target and came charging aggressively at Mitchell as the target.

Mitchell did not even lift his head. After he entered the penalty area, he lifted his leg to shoot again!

Puyol took a big step forward to block in front of him, intending to stop the other player’s shot with his body.

It was actually a feint, with Mitchell hooking the football back with his left foot. The experienced Puyol had already anticipated his move, so he did not make a move. He just locked down on his position.

However, he did not realize that Mitchell was not done hooking the ball. He used his right foot to hook the football back to its original position again. With two consecutive hooks of the ball, he finally shook open a crack. Mitchell continued to drill inside! Puyol, on the other hand, was stuck in place because changes in the center of gravity happened too quickly.

“Three players!” The commentator roared excitedly.

Breaking through Puyol’s defense, Mitchell only had Valdés in front of him. He once again lifted his leg to seize the opportunity to shoot.

Whether he was doing it for real or still faking it this time, Valdés had to make a defensive move. He fell to the ground as he pounced toward the direction that Mitchell might have shot. With Alves making a slide tackle at the back against Mitchell, even if he fouled, he could not allow the kid to score so easily after tricking three Barcelona defenders!

Don’t even think to score such a beautiful goal in front of Barcelona!

It was almost as if Mitchell had eyes in the back of his head. Without looking back, he pulled the ball to the right and jumped with the ball. He tricked Valdés and dodged Alves’ slide tackle.

Although he evaded Alves, he also missed the first opportunity to shoot.

Alves tried to get up and grab the ball. But Mitchell tilted his body and his 2.02-meter-tall body pressed against him. This time he lifted his leg once again to shoot for the fourth time!

But it was not a feint…

“Mitchell! Mitchell! Mitchell!” From the moment he burst into the penalty area, the commentator kept shouting Mitchell’s name, each time louder than the last. Because if he did not shout louder, he could not hear the words he was shouting, even with a soundproofed headpiece on—the entire City Ground stadium was like an erupting volcano with the continuous thunderous cheers coming in one wave higher than the previous wave.

“Mitchell! Mitchell—goooooooooal!! A beautiful goal from the ground! A brilliant goal! A magnificent goal! A tall player who was more than two meters tall used his long legs to play with the Barcelona defenders as much as he liked! He single-handedly overturned Barcelona’s entire rear defensive line! It’s a miracle! Who would have thought that this tall player could have such a delicate footwork skill! Hey, Mr. Tony Twain, had he really been playing as a center back for the last seven years?” The English commentator was almost mad. On the other side, the Catalan commentator was completely silent.

“Even Messi couldn’t guarantee the control of the ball on such a bumpy pitch, but the 2.02-meter-tall kid did it! He levelled Barcelona’s penalty area like a giant! The football was meek like a sheep under his feet. It was like he was playing on a flat field! The City Ground stadium, which made Barcelona’s skillful players suffered greatly, was like the lawn in the back garden of his own home, where he drew a wonderful painting on it with his pair of long legs!”

“Listen to the cheers in the City Ground stadium——!”

“Aaron! Aaron! Aaron Mitchell!! If you don’t know the name of Nottingham Forest’s number 9 yet, you’re already outdated!”

It was the cries of the Nottingham Forest fans, which became the only voice in the City Ground stadium during this time period.

Tony Twain held his head in his hands among the crowd. He could hardly believe his eyes. He knew that Mitchell’s footwork skills were much better than his ability to shoot and dealing with physical confrontations. But he did not expect his footwork skills to be this good—to be able to keep the ball firmly under his feet on such a rough and bumpy terrain which made it difficult to control the ball and bypass four players as well as break away from the goalkeeper to finally send the ball into the empty goal.

Was this something which an average striker could do?

Was it just plain dumb luck? But good fortune only favored the people who were prepared.

Amid the unified cheers of the fans in the entire stadium, he seemed to see the ascendant of a new star player of tomorrow.

While his opponent, Guardiola sat paralyzed in his chair. He did not even have the strength to scold “who is this kid?”

If he really lost the game, he must admit he had no idea that Tony Twain would boldly deploy a new player in the game, and he knew nothing about the new player. It was the main reason for the failure of the game.

He thought the new player was of a great height and would not usually be good at his bounce and header. But Mitchell’s header from outside the penalty area gave him a slap in the face. Next he thought the player was outstanding in his height, jump and headers. That meant his footwork skills must be terrible. According to the general law, such analysis was immaculate and unassailable.

He was wrong again…

When the football went in, it was as if Mitchell woke up from a dream. He looked at the football quietly parked inside the goal and turned around to look at the Barcelona players lying on the ground in disorder. He still could not believe his eyes.

I scored the goal?

How did it get in?

It looks like… I’ve bypassed all of them?

Ah! I’m done for! The boss will definitely must scold me! He said I wasn’t allowed to show off my footwork skills… How can I forget!

The somewhat panicky Mitchell was startled by the huge cheers coming from behind him. He looked back at the grandstand with countless arms waving, and everyone roaring his name.

“Aaron! Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! Aaron Mitchell!! If you don’t know his name, you’re outdated!”

He could not find the boss among the crowd because all he could see was arms and excited faces. He did not know if the boss was in the cheering crowd.

He turned his eyes from the stands and when he turned his gaze to the field again, he saw his teammates rushing toward him excitedly with arms wide open.

Then he was pounced onto the ground. His ears were filled with hoarse shouts.

They were shouting, “Aaron, you bastard! You stole all of our limelight!!”

Chapter 818 - A Last-Ditch Struggle

“Aaron Mitchell! He has scored the most brilliant goal of the match! No, the most brilliant goal of the Champions League! He went past 4 players on his way to score the goal! At 2.02m tall, his techniques remind us of Ibrahimovi?, who is also over 1.9m tall. But Mitchell is even taller than him…”

Mitchell’s team mates flung their bodies onto him after he scored the goal.

Mitchell’s father looked at the player who had been weighed down by the other Forest players absent-mindedly. He was not like the other fans around him who were screaming and dancing in joy.

A fan next to him patted his shoulder and yelled excitedly, “You have a great son! You have a great son!”

Mitchell’s father forced a laugh in response, but quickly averted his sight back towards Barcelona’s goalpost.

Is that man on the pitch really that foolish son of his?

That son of his who would always go ‘heh heh’ when he laughs?

That son of his who has a weird voice?

That son of his who, as a child, was suspected to be suffering from ‘gigantism’ due to how he could not stop growing in height?

The only reason why he had sent his son to Nottingham Forest’s football academy was because Mitchell enjoyed playing football. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect his son to score not just one but two goals in a top-level European match…

He was overjoyed for his son when he scored the first goal.

The second goal was also a brilliant goal, but he felt like his brain was unable to comprehend everything that had happened after that goal.

Number 9. Mitchell.

That’s right, that’s his last name.

He then took a look at the face that carried an exuberant smile. It was indeed his son.

This all feels like… A dream…

My son has just become Nottingham Forest’s hero in the blink of an eye!

I am now the father of a hero!

Guardiola turned his head to look at his assistants seated next to him. He realized that they all had blank looks upon their faces.

It seemed like none of them have recovered from the shock induced by Mitchell’s goal.

There was nothing that any of them could say against such a brilliant goal.

But, it was not like the match has ended, right?

He stood up from his seat and readjusted his emotions. He then called Carles Puyol over to him.

“There’s still 10 more minutes!” He told Puyol as he pointed at his watch. “Nottingham Forest would be finished as long as we can score one more goal! One more goal! I don’t need anything more than that! One goal is enough!”

Puyol nodded his head. He knew what he had to do.

“Tell the others to concentrate fully on offense. Don’t think about defense right now. We have to score another goal against them!”

Puyol did as he was told. He called all his team mates over to him and relayed Guardiola’s words to them.

“The match is not over yet! Now’s not the time for our heads to drop! As long as we can score another goal, it would be game over for Nottingham Forest! The initiative is still on our hands!”

Barcelona had not given up on the match, but neither did Nottingham Forest lose themselves in their euphoria either.

When the players were celebrating the goal, Dunn and Kerslake reminded them from the side of the pitch, “Don’t let your guard down. The match is not over yet! I need all of you to put aside your feelings of happiness right now and pay attention to the defense! We are going to change our tactic from here on out to defense and counterattack!”

After the match restarted, Barcelona launched a flurry of attacks towards Nottingham Forest’s half of the pitch. They knew that if they do not bestir themselves right now, there would be no chance of them winning the match.

Nottingham Forest responded to Barcelona’s attacks by making their defense compact and trying to find the opportunity to hit them on the break.

Both teams played as though they had tossed their midfield aside. Barcelona kept passing long balls towards the front of the pitch, and similarly, Nottingham Forest’s defenders also kept passing the ball to their forward at the front. The ball kept flying about in the air.

Barcelona was making use of a playing style that they were not good at. However, long passes were right down Nottingham Forest’s alley.

Mitchell was utterly exhausted after scoring his last goal. He could not even get off the pitch after the celebration of his goal due to a sprain on his leg. Hence, Dunn took him off for Ibi?evi?.

As he hobbled to the side of the pitch under the assistance of the team’s medical staff, the fans in the stadium all stood to their feet and applauded his performance.

“Aaron Mitchell. He has scored a brace in this match. If Nottingham Forest were to end up winning Barcelona, then he is surely the biggest contributor to their victory. His performance in this match can be regarded as perfect. The media might not have given him a score for his performance yet, but the fans at the stadium have all given him a 10 for his performance today! Look at all the fans who have rose to their feet! Well done to the 20 year-old Aaron Mitchell!”

Mitchell could not believe that the scenes he fantasized about that very night had actually turned into reality.

He lifted his head to look at the stands before raising his two hands slowly to thank the fans for their applause.

Tears welled up in his eyes. He felt like he was the happiest man alive in the whole wide world right now…

“Well done, Aaron.” Dunn stood before him and looked at him with a smile on his face.

Mitchell took a step forward and gave Dunn a hug.

“Rest up. Everyone’s waiting to give you a hug.” Dunn patted him twice on the back lightly.

Mitchell noticed his team mates on the bench who were winking at him. A smile emerged on his weary face.

The scenes at Forest’s bench might make one feel warm inside, but the scenes on the pitch would fire one up instead. Nottingham Forest and Barcelona were still having a heated battle with each other.

Barcelona’s offense might look ferocious, but it did not rattle Nottingham Forest’s defense in the slightest. They kept attacking Forest from all directions, but their attacks did not lead to any results. Instead, it was Forest who nearly scored another goal due to the void left behind in Barcelona’s defense after their players moved forward to attack. If not for the fact that Forest was unlucky during their attacks, the score would definitely not remain 3:1.

Guardiola stood by the side of the pitch and watched the match nervously. He would become very enraged every time Forest went on the counterattack. There was nothing else that he could do besides feeling enraged.

Barcelona has to press forward and attack, and it is only natural that Forest would try to go on the counterattack. Forest were no fools. With all the Barcelona players moving forward to join in the offense, it was the perfect opportunity for them to go on the counterattack. How could they not make full use of it?

All he could pray for was that his team would score a goal quickly.

His team just needs one goal to pronounce Forest dead…

Unfortunately, Barcelona were not able to get their wish. Nottingham Forest did not give them the slightest chance to score a goal.

Five minutes had passed since the match restarted.

Barcelona was a team that took pride in its offensive prowess, but right now they were being kept outside of Nottingham Forest’s penalty box, and were only able to attempt long shots at goal.

The Barcelona players started becoming more and more agitated as the end of the match drew near. The players from both teams started to have physical contact with one another more often as well. However, there was something different about the physical contact that the players shared. There seemed to be a note of anger in the players’ actions every time they had physical contact with an opposing player.

Bojan Krki? was pushed to the ground by Wood when he tried to maintain possession of the ball before Forest’s penalty box.

The Barcelona fans started booing to show their displeasure towards Wood’s actions, and the Barcelona players all gave up playing in the match as well. They raised their arms into the air to indicate that Wood had committed the foul. Every single one of them waited for the referee to blow on his whistle, but the referee did not react at all!

Nottingham Forest did not care about what the Barcelona players were doing at the moment. Wood passed the ball over to Lennon, and Lennon initiated a counterattack by bringing the ball forward.

Their actions snapped the Barcelona’s players back into the game. Yaya Touré charged towards Lennon and tackled him from behind as revenge!

Lennon fell to the ground and rolled about as he clasped onto his ankle. It looked like a serious injury.

This time, the referee blew his whistle. He deemed that Barcelona had committed a foul!

The Barcelona players had initially intended to rush over to the referee to question his decision over not penalizing Wood’s actions as a foul earlier. However, they changed their target en route to the referee and dashed towards the spot where Yaya Touré had fouled Lennon instead.

That was because Yaya Touré and George Wood both had their hands on each other’s necks over there.

“Ah! Look at what’s happening on the pitch! George Wood and Yaya Touré have gotten into a confrontation!”

Sergio Busquets, who was 1.89m tall, ran up and shoved Wood on the chest. It was unclear if he did what he did to stop the fight or to vent his frustrations.

“Take off your hands, bastard!”

The Forest players were not willing to take things lying down after seeing their captain get humiliated. Kompany bumped his head against Busquet’s, and the two looked like two angry bulls in a fight. Their eyes were bloodshot and there was hot air being emitted from their nostrils.

“Do you f*cking want to die? You bastard!” Kompany chastised Busquets.

“Shameless son of a b*tch!” Busquets did not reply in English but in Catalan instead.

In truth, the Barcelona players have been fuming over the terrible state of the pitch for a while now. Their actions have started becoming rough when Messi was taken off the pitch due to an injury earlier. The fact that their team was now a goal down only added to their frustrations.

They were looking for a way to vent their vexation all this time, and now they finally found one. Nottingham Forest has given them the chance to vent when Wood committed a ‘suspected foul’ on their player earlier. None of the Barcelona players were willing to let this chance slip away.

“Hey! Stop fighting!”

The Barcelona players might be shouting that, but they were secretly punching Wood behind his back.

“Are you guys going to get rough after seeing that you can’t win? I’m not afraid of you!”

“Pull them apart at once!”

“What do you want to do?”

The players from both teams were at each other’s throats. The scene was utterly chaotic.

The Forest fans at the stands started booing the Barcelona players. There were even coins, lighters and other objects being thrown towards the pitch.

The security officers at the stands were on high alert. They were afraid that the more ‘extreme’ fans would rush down from the stands to join in the fray on the pitch.

That would be terrible…

Dunn did not expect the situation to go out of hand. He was dumbstruck and did not know what to do.

Kerslake was the one who was shouting by the side of the pitch, “George! You are the captain! Calm down right now!”

No one on the pitch could hear what he was shouting about. All the players were lost in their anger, and the only thoughts in their heads were how to teach the opposing players a lesson.

Gerard Piqué from Barcelona and Jonathan Woodgate from Forest were the few players with a clear head. They threw themselves into the fight that was going on between their team mates and tried to pull as many players away from the brawl as possible.

Wood appeared to be livid. He did not utter a single word and just glowered at Yaya Touré. He looked to be trying to find an opportunity to grab hold of Touré.

If Yaya Touré were to be caught by Wood, he would definitely get punched in the face.

Piqué was well aware of the kind of temper that Wood has. He had seen him throw his temper numerous times during his time as a player at Forest. Wood would always be the first person to get in their opponent’s face whenever his team mates got fouled.

Perhaps that is his way of protecting his team mates…

Between the two troublemakers, Piqué chose to run up to Wood first. He wrapped his hands around Wood’s waist and forcefully dragged him away from Yaya Touré.

“George! George!” He shouted. “You need to calm down! You are the captain! You can’t be the one getting into fights! Calm… down!” With concerted effort, he dragged Wood away from the fray.

Wood continued to struggle in his arms. He wanted to rush back towards Touré to teach him a lesson.

Meanwhile, Puyol was the player to drag Touré away. He had also wrapped his arms around Touré just like Piqué had done to Wood.

Both Puyol and Piqué believed that Wood and Touré would likely fight to the death if they were to loosen their grip.

Twain swore after he saw what was happening on the pitch. However, none of the angry fans seated around him understood what he said, because he had sworn in?his Sichuan dialect.

“F*ck your mother!”

He was not reprimanding the Barcelona players. He was reprimanding his own players instead.

John and Bill’s faces had gone red in fury. They kept yelling and scolding the Barcelona players at the top of their voices.

Twain wished he was at the technical area rather than the stands. If he were at the technical area, he would have rushed onto the pitch and stopped the fight between the players.

Nottingham Forest was most likely going to progress to the next round of the competition. A wise thing to do at a time like this was to rile the Barcelona players up and let their players get penalized with yellow cards for committing fouls.

Forest should not be the ones getting riled up as well!

What are Dunn and David doing?

Pepe is not able to play in the next match! How are we supposed to play in the semi-finals if any other player on our team picks up more yellow cards and gets suspended?

F*ck, are all of you bastards on drugs or something? Why are you all so damn agitated?

The referee kept blowing on his whistle to signal for everyone to calm down. The conflict abruptly started again just when things looked under control, but eventually the players were able to calm down and stop fighting. However, both Wood and Touré still had to be held back by another player, because the looks on their faces still suggested that they were not ready to walk away from the fight just yet…

Forest’s medical staff had already run onto the pitch to treat Lennon during the confrontation between the players.

Once the situation was completely under control, the referee called Touré and Wood over to him. Both players carried looks of hostility on their faces when they stood next to each other, but they did not get into a fight before the referee.

The referee fished out a deck of cards from his pocket. Then, he flashed the red one at Yaya Touré to penalize him for his malicious tackle from behind.

Touré protested against the referee’s decision, “Why have you not penalized their player for committing a foul on us?”

The referee paid no heed to him. He turned around and flashed the red card at Wood!

Wood knew he was going to get shown a red card. He had already walked to the side of the pitch before the referee flashed the red card at him.

The fans at the stands applauded him when he walked off the pitch. They saw him as a hero who stood up for his team mates.

He helped us take our anger out on those Barcelona players!

Kerslake chased after Wood when he saw him leave the pitch. He personally walked him back to the locker room because he was afraid that Wood would get into another fight with Touré on the way back.

On the way over to the locker room, Kerslake kept patting Wood on the head to chide him for being too rash earlier. The managers clearly saw things from a different perspective than the fans.

Dunn hung his head by the side of the pitch. He did not know what kind of expression he should make after all that has happened.

Guardiola, on the other hand, was very upset with the referee’s decision. He felt that the decision was biased against his team, and that they were ‘unfairly treated’.

He pulled on the fourth official and questioned him, “Why have there not been any penalties given to their team for the fouls they made on our players? Why are we the only ones who got penalized? And we even got a red card for it! Why was only one player penalized for their team? What about Kompany?”

He soon found out why Yaya Touré had to be given a red card and why George Wood was so indignant.

Aaron Lennon was carried off the pitch on a stretcher. He was badly injured and would not be able to continue playing in the match. Gary Fleming, Forest’s medical doctor, gestured to the managers to make a substitution as he walked off the pitch alongside Lennon.

“That was one nasty foul. The referee has made the right decision to show Touré a red card!” The British commentator was furious.

“This match has really been… Horrible.” There was a twinge of helplessness in the Catalan commentator’s voice. He knew the match was over for Barcelona. They were not going to qualify for the next round…

Wood and Touré were both penalized with red cards for their actions. Kompany and Busquets were also shown yellow cards for their involvement. Numerous other players were all given verbal warning as well.

The entire confrontation had lasted for 5 minutes. When the situation was finally brought under control, the match was already at the 90th minute and was about to enter stoppage time.

The fourth official was able to shake off Guardiola after a moment of struggle. He raised the board to indicate the number of stoppage time that would be added in the game:

Nine minutes!

Deafening boos erupted in the City Ground Stadium once again.

“Why don’t you f*cking add 45 minutes to the game? Rotten referee!” The Forest fans chastised the referee’s decision at the stands.

“The confrontation from earlier lasted 5 minutes. That’s why the stoppage time is exceptionally long… Is there still a chance for Barcelona to win the match?”

Not a chance.

Dunn put Rafinha on the pitch to replace the injured Lennon, and he also reassigned Nicolas Nkoulos to play as the center back.

With the addition of Nkoulos, Forest’s defense was now made up of five defenders. It was just like a bulky iron chain that had completely sealed up Akinfeev’s goalpost.

The Barcelona players were all affected by the confrontation from earlier. Their emotions and movements were erratic, and they were not able to perform at their best. They chose to do long passes to the front of the pitch instead of building up their attacks slowly from the back during their offense.

The boos from the stands turned into cheers the moment the referee blew on the whistle to signal the end of the match.

All the Forest fans celebrated their victory. They had triumphed over Barcelona 3:1 at home. They not only exacted revenge on Barcelona with this victory, they also proved that Nottingham Forest, who was the two-time defending champion of the Champions League, was still a strong team.

“The match is over! Nottingham Forest has just eliminated the 2009-10 Champions Barcelona after eliminating the 2008-09 Champions Inter Milan! Those two teams were the champions in the two seasons where Nottingham Forest failed to become champions in the Champions League! They have now eliminated both of those champions… Nottingham Forest is truly the ‘Champions Killer’! Tony Twain said at the start of the season that we would know how good a champion team is by letting them play a game against Nottingham Forest! His team has certainly shown what they are capable of!”

Chapter 819 - Well Done

Everyone at the stadium was cheering when the referee blew on the whistle to signal the end of the match.

Twain stealthily left the stands behind once the whistle went off.

UEFA might have barred him access to the locker room and the pitch prior to the start of the match, but they did not ban him from getting into contact with his players after the match has ended.

He was finally able to bask in the joy of their victory over Barcelona after being banished to the stands for more than 90 minutes.

If possible, Twain hoped that he would be able to do a handshake with Guardiola. He wanted to enjoy the treatment that a victor deserves.

Mitchell, who had been sitting at the bench after being taken off the pitch, tossed the towel that was draped around his neck onto the floor. He then bolted onto the pitch to give his team mates a hug.

As he made his way about the pitch to hug his team mates, he realized that a crowd of reporters was constantly on his trail, and they would surround him no matter where he went.

“Heh. Aaron, you are famous now.” Akinfeev patted Mitchell on the head before leaving him behind.

Mitchell was left to deal with the horde of reporters coming in for him alone. He did not know what he should do.

“Mitchell, can you answer a few questions for me?”

“Can you share what was on your mind when you scored that last goal?”

“Is it a challenge for you to play as a forward now when you have been playing as a center back previously?”

“This is the very first time that you are representing Forest in the Champions League, and you were able to score two goals in the match. Is there anything you’d like to say?”

“Ah… Uh…” Mitchell was at a loss of words. It took him a while to gather his thoughts and answer the reporters’ question one by one.

As a ‘newcomer’ who just made his debut as a professional footballer for Forest, Mitchell was still inexperienced when it comes to dealing with reporters. He did not know how to reject others and answered all the questions that were thrown at him.

If this goes on, he would be stuck here answering questions all day long…

Right then, a voice rang out by the side of the crowd, “How long do you plan on asking him questions? My player can’t even return to the locker room to bathe and change his clothes. If he were to catch a cold because of this, then don’t even think about interviewing any of my players again in the future.”

Mitchell and the reporters turned their heads towards the source of the voice. They saw Tony Twain standing by the side with a dark face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the interview time is over.”

The moment the reporters saw the fiendish Twain appear before them, they knew that their interview time was over. They would not be able to get any ‘ground-breaking’ scoop from Mitchell now that Twain was here…

The crowd of reporters dispersed at once.

Soon, only Twain and Mitchell were left at the scene.

At the sight of Twain’s dark face, Mitchell instantly remembered the warning that the Boss gave him at the start of the match.

“If you dare flaunt your techniques during the game, I’d take you off the pitch right away, even if it’s only the start of the match.”

He might not have flaunted his techniques at the start of the match, but he still flaunted them towards the end. He knew that he had went against the boss’s wishes.

He did not know what kind of chastisement would be thrown against him. The happiness that he felt from scoring the two goals had already been tossed somewhere far away…

“B-Boss…”

“You forgot everything that I told you, right?” Instead of praising Mitchell for scoring a brilliant goal in the match, Twain seemed to be intent on reproaching him instead.

“I… I did it instinctively…”

Twain watched as Mitchell said nothing for a while. He then patted Mitchell on the shoulder before walking away.

Dunn noticed Twain’s figure on the pitch from the corner of his eye as he was giving an interview to the reporters. He saw him discuss something with Mitchell.

Dunn immediately recalled the words that Twain had told Mitchell prior to the start of the match. He was worried that Twain would go over and reprimand Mitchell for his actions. Thus, he shoved the reporters out of the way and approached the duo with the intention of saying a word for Mitchell. He was going to pin all the blame on himself by saying something like, ‘I was the one who asked him to do that’.

Before he could reach them however, Twain had already turned around and was walking towards him.

“Tony.”

“Hey, Dunn. Congratulations. You did very well in the match.” Twain’s originally dark face brightened up. He smiled exuberantly at Dunn and looked like a completely different person than the one who stood before Mitchell earlier.

“Ah… Thanks. Well, Tony… I saw you and Mitchell…” Dunn’s focus was still on Mitchell. He found Mitchell to be a very gifted player, and he was worried that Twain would destroy his confidence by giving him a dressing-down.

“That lad… Did well. He has what it takes to become a football star in the future.” Twain turned his head around to look at Mitchell, who continued to stand rooted at the spot where they just had their conversation.

“Huh?” Dunn was surprised to hear Twain say the words that he did.

“What’s with that response?”

“I thought you would admonish him for going against your wishes…”

Twain laughed. “A player who is able to break free of the restrictions imposed on him at the start of the match and perform to the best of his abilities in a way that no other player can, is a player who will turn out to be a superstar in the future. If not for that ‘eureka moment’ of his towards the end of the match, I think I would still be sitting at the stands now and the match would have gone into extra time. So, why would I scold him?”

“But I saw you with a dark face earlier…”

“I just don’t want him to get ahead of himself.” Twain smiled slyly. “You can be the one to heap compliments on him. I’d be in charge of playing the devil.”

“Oh, you…!” Dunn did not know what to say to Twain.

Twain left with a grin on his face. He still needed to find Guardiola for a handshake after all.

Dunn clearly saw through Twain’s ‘scheme’, because he told him, “Don’t bother. He left the moment the match ended. I was the one who shook his hand.”

“Huh?” Dunn’s words burst Twain’s bubble.

“But… If you really want to get your handshake… You can go to the press conference.”

Twain thought about it for a moment. UEFA probably wouldn’t care about what he does now that the match has ended.

He nodded his head. “All right. I’d go to the press conference. I reckon there’d be many questions for me from the press.”

“Are you ready to handle all those questions?”

Twain waved his hands dismissively. “One has to act based on the situation! Plus, I’m not scared of those reporters. In fact, you should pray for them instead.”

Dunn smiled as he shook his head. He then left Twain behind and walked straight to Mitchell before patting him on the back.

“Ah, Assistant Manager Dunn!” Mitchell instantly felt better once he saw Dunn.

“Well done, Aaron. But these are not words from me.” Dunn secretly pointed at the person behind him.

Mitchell looked in the direction that Dunn pointed at and saw Twain.

“Boss?”

“He doesn’t want you to get ahead of yourself. You still have a long way to go.”

Twain and Dunn have certainly allocated their roles very well. Twain is responsible for being imposing before the players, whereas Dunn is responsible for helping him come off as being much more friendly and approachable than what he might appear to be in front of the players. Doing so allows Tony Twain to maintain a ‘perfect’ image before the players. He is imposing like a father should be, and also kind like a mother would be…

Mitchell finally understood that his boss had his best intentions at heart. In truth, he had actually felt a little upset with the way Twain looked at him earlier. He is, after all, the person who helped the team win the match! He did not deserve to be treated that way by Twain.

He nodded his head forcefully. “I understand now, Assistant Manager Dunn. Thank you.”

“If you really want to thank someone, thank him.” Dunn smiled at him, before turning around and walking away.

When Twain made his way past the mixed zone, numerous reporters chanted his name. However, he did not stop in his tracks. He only pointed at the front and said,?“I’d see all of you at the press conference later. Ask your questions then.”

After hearing his words, there were a few reporters who decided to give up on their interviews with the players. They left the mixed zone and headed over to the venue for the post-match conference.

Twain had only sat inside the conference room for a short while before the reporters began to stream in and take their seats one after another.

Everyone was waiting for the arrival of Guardiola, but he did not show up for quite some time.

Twain was not angry that Guardiola was late. There was not a twinge of anger on his face. Rather, he carried a smile the whole time as he waited at his seat. He would even make eye-contact and gestures whenever he spotted a reporter whom he knew.

The reporters soon got annoyed with how long they had to wait for Guardiola. Just as they began to whisper amongst themselves, Guardiola finally showed up in the conference room. He clearly looked displeased, especially after seeing Tony Twain at the stage instead of Dunn or Kerslake.

What made him even more enraged was the fact that the man before him was smiling!

Does he not know what he did to my team? He actually has the audacity to smile?

Guardiola felt like turning around and walking straight out the door after seeing the smile on Twain’s face. However, he decided against it when he thought about how he had to display poise before the reporters. Additionally, he could not become a person like Tony Twain, who has no manners.

He swallowed the animosity that he held towards Tony Twain and took a seat.

“Since both managers are here, we shall commence the press conference right now…” The press officer said with a forced smile on his face. He could tell that there was tension between the two managers.

Guardiola, who was the manager of the away team for the match, spoke first. “There’s nothing I want to say. We lost. However, everyone saw the reason why we lost. I’m proud of the performance that my team put in.”

It was Twain’s turn next.

All the reporters were keen to hear what sort of ‘brilliant’ comments he would say this time round. They were certain he would not have anything good to say.

“I’m happy that we won.” Twain said with a grin. “It proves that we are stronger than Barcelona, and that we are more qualified to progress into the semi-finals. I am very pleased with my team’s performance today. They were able to dominate every aspect of the game without my guidance. It was the kind of match that I hoped to see.”

The reporters were upset with the comments that the two managers made so far. There was no element of hostility in their words.

Nobody’s here to watch the two of you get along with each other!

When it was time for the reporters to ask questions, one reporter instantly threw a sharp question at Twain, “Mr. Tony Twain. The Barcelona players mentioned numerous times about how the terrible pitch has affected their performance for the match during our interviews with them. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think that it is inappropriate for you to suddenly announce that you are going to change the turf just a few days before the match?”

The reporter who asked the question was from Catalonia. He looked hell-bent on getting a comment from Twain regarding the state of the pitch.

Twain replied slowly, “There’s nothing inappropriate about what we did. We provided a report to UEFA prior to the match, and they permitted our actions. Thus, there are no problems whatsoever. Are you questioning UEFA’s decision?”

“No. I just find it odd as to why you would only change the turf a few days before this match is due to kick off.”

“That’s because this is the time when we usually change our turf. We played in an away game before this match, and that delayed our plans to change the turf. If not, we would have finished changing the turf by now.”

Twain pushed all the blame to the Premier League’s match schedule. He had no intentions of shouldering any blame for the poor state of the turf.

“You said you changed the turf. But your stadium looks as though you did not even lay out a turf over it.” The reporter was still relentless in questioning Twain about the turf.

“We are a small club and we have been having tight finances recently. We cannot afford to buy a better turf, so we can only settle for something that isn’t as good.” Twain threw out his hands before him and looked helpless, as though he was the victim in this situation. “We can’t possibly let Barcelona play on mud. So, we still put the turf over it even if it’s low in quality. But, we do know that others would make fun of us for our poor pitch, which is why the club is considering to purchase two sets of high quality turfs. I promise that such a situation would not happen again in the future!”

Twain was serious about his words. After all, such a situation could never happen a second time. It was a scheme that he could only use once…

He would not have thought about altering the pitch if their team was not in such a dire situation after the first leg of competition.

His words rendered any other reporter who still wanted to question him about the turf speechless.

Guardiola was upset with how things had turned out, but he knew that there wasn’t much that he could say or do. “I believe that UEFA should look into establishing a standard that all pitches have to follow in the future to ensure the quality of the pitches that we play on…”

Twain concurred with Guardiola’s proposition shamelessly. “I completely agree with Mr. Guardiola’s opinion. UEFA should indeed come up with measures to standardize the quality of the pitches that we play on. We should never have to let players play on rotten pitches in the Champions League ever again.”

The Catalan reporters all wished they could run up to the stage and slap Twain on the face. They have seen many shameless people in their lives, but they have never seen anyone as shameless as Twain!

Guardiola was so enraged by Twain’s words that he shuddered all over his body.

He was not good with verbal confrontations. He did not know what to say to Twain, and he also found him to be someone he could never reason with.

There were a few reporters who felt that they were not going to be able to get any interesting scoop from the managers if they continued to probe them about the turf. Therefore, they decided to shift the focus onto the players who got injured in the match.

“Messi has sprained his knee. I do not know the extent of his injury right now. As for how he picked up the injury? Isn’t that very obvious? It’s impossible to not pick up an injury while playing on such a terrible pitch!” Guardiola became agitated as he said those words.

Messi was a player that he really liked and relied on. How could he not be indignant now that he was injured, and badly, from the looks of it?

“He had sprained his ankle without any physical contact from any other player on the pitch!”

When it was Twain’s turn to respond, the very first thing that he said was, “My players have not gotten injured while playing on the pitch. Lennon was only injured because of Yaya Touré’s foul on him. I think that foul by Touré was truly very malicious. I don’t know why he actually wanted to protest against the referee’s decision. If I were him, I’d most likely have run off the pitch before the referee showed the red card. Every experienced footballer knows how dangerous a tackle from behind is!”

Twain was equally enraged when speaking about Lennon’s injury.

“As for my opinion on Wood’s red card incident, I have to say that I fully support the actions that he took then!” Twain might have been upset with Wood’s impetuousness when he was at the stands earlier, but he has to show support for his player before the press right now. “He had only acted out of concern for his team mate. I understand him completely.”

Guardiola could not hold his emotions in any longer. He scoffed, “So it’s reasonable to hit another player to you?”

“And you are saying that it’s reasonable to tackle another player’s ankle from behind?” Twain did not even turn his head to look at Guardiola when he spoke. “Would Wood have been that rash if not for Touré’s tackle?”

“If the referee had not failed to penalize Wood’s foul on Krki?, would my players have acted the way that they did?”

Twain laughed coldly. “That’s the job of the referee. I’m not able to make a comment on that. If your players felt so upset about that, why don’t they tackle the referee from behind? Do they think they are so great after venting their anger on Lennon? Who doesn’t know how to do a tackle? Touré’s action is completely devoid of sportsmanship!”

Twain was just like a thief, and he was calling another thief ‘thief’.

Guardiola realized that he could not triumph over Twain when it came to arguing. Nottingham Forest was the team that did not display sportsmanship first, but Tony Twain made it sound as though Forest was the victim, and that Barcelona was the team without sportsmanship…

There were many reporters who were also upset with Twain’s comments. The Catalan reporters started booing to show their displeasure and to protest against Twain.

Twain definitely did not give up on the chance to make things difficult for the Catalan reporters now that he was the victor of the match. The Catalan press has constantly criticized Twain for these two matches. It was payback.

He pointed at the Catalan reporters who were booing him. “I wonder who was it who said that their style of football is a kind of art, and that the football that Nottingham Forest played was ‘ugly’, because it was ‘defensive’ and ‘conservative’ football? Look at the score and look at how the match progressed. We dominated the game and drubbed Barcelona throughout. Our possession was at 68% at one point in the match. Be it shots or passes made, Nottingham Forest was the team with the better stats for the match. Let’s not forget Aaron Mitchell’s last goal. He went past four players! He went past every single player on Barcelona’s defense! Do any of you dare to call his goal ‘ugly’?”

Twain’s words were powerful and they resonated in the conference room. Forest’s performance for the match could certainly be regarded as ‘perfect’. It not only added weight to his words, it also gave him the confidence to confront the Catalan reporters.

As Twain had expected, none of the Catalan reporters stood up to rebuke his words. The team that they supported had lost completely in the match earlier. The Barcelona player who got the highest score in the post-match ratings was Piqué. He received a score of 7 for his performance in the match. However, his performance was definitely not one that could be seen as a form of art.

Additionally, what humiliated the Catalan media even more was the fact that Piqué, who was the man of the match for the Barcelona team, was groomed in Nottingham Forest. The style of football that he plays bears the mark of ‘Nottingham Forest’, and he was also a player who still maintained a good relationship with many of the current Forest players. It was not wrong to call him a Nottingham Forest player, even.

Twain threw the criticisms and mockeries that he had received from the Catalan media back at them. When he was done throwing a temper, he stood up and left the room with a dark face.

Twain’s departure made things awkward for Guardiola. He should have been the one to walk away from the press conference and make things difficult for Tony Twain, but now Twain was the one who had made things difficult for him…

Guardiola sat unmoving at his seat for a moment. Eventually, he stood to his feet with a displeased look on his face and left the room without saying a word.

A grudge between two managers was born.

Chapter 820 - A Scoundrel Realized His Ambition

The game between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona ended but the story was far from over.

A day later, the Barcelona Football Club filed a complaint with the UEFA about the quality of the turf at the City Ground stadium. At the same time, Nottingham Forest submitted a complaint document which they had worked on for a week about the issue with the referee in the first leg.

In any case, the battle between the two sides would continue on to a higher level.

Barcelona protested against Nottingham Forest’s use of a method which lacked sportsmanship to help them win the game. They had brazenly changed the turf at the last minute. Mourinho used to sprinkle sand on the turf at Stamford Bridge when he was at Chelsea to deal with Barcelona.?But generally, people simply could not see the sand spilled on the pitch. Only the people who personally played on the field would know how uncomfortable it was and could not find the reason why for a moment. Tony Twain’s ploy was too blatant. Was he afraid that he did not leave enough evidence?

The English media taunted Barcelona for being a sore loser. “They had already lost the game and yet they still talked about the terrible pitch condition and Nottingham Forest resorting to tricks. Did they still want the UEFA to award them the victory?”

The Catalan media hit back, “We just want to preserve the spirit of sportsmanship in professional football! A sacred football match must not be tarnished by the conduct of such a vile character!”

When the Barcelona players and coaches were interviewed after the game, they all blamed their loss on the City Ground stadium’s poor pitch. It appeared as long as the pitch was fine, it was as they would have definitely won.?In fact, they just wanted to draw attention to the quality of the turf on the City Ground stadium.

The Nottingham Forest Football Club remained unmoved. They alleged that the UEFA had agreed for them to change the turf. The quality of the turf was really a little worse for wear, but there was no other choice due to the club’s financial constraints … But they had learned their lesson this time and promised that this would never happen again.?If they did not believe it, the UEFA officials and the Catalan media were welcomed to inspect and provide pointers for the first leg of the semifinal match…

The UEFA was also forced to suffer in silence this time. In fact, anyone with a normal IQ could see what Tony Twain was up to.?He stated that the financial constraints had caused the quality of the turf to be so poor. Did it mean that it had to be really bad? Nottingham Forest was also an English Premier League club. How could they not have two sets of standard turf? It was pure nonsense! He deliberately did not take it out, just so that they could pit against Barcelona.?This point was already everyone’s common understanding. Even if the Nottingham Forest fans were interviewed, nine out of ten would think so, and the one person who did not think so was lying.

But the UEFA really could not punish Nottingham Forest, because the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s change of turf was agreed upon and approved by them. They would have to take on the responsibility first in order to punish the Forest team. That way everyone would find themselves in an awkward situation and it would not look good on them. And more importantly, Tony Twain did this in full compliance with the procedure. No fault could be found.

Barcelona’s complaint made them looked like a sore loser.

Platini privately supported the Catalan side. His and the other top brass’ relationship with Barcelona was really good. But he must handle the matter impartially, or he would lose his prestige and undermine the UEFA’s reputation. The result of the impartial handling of the matter was that Nottingham Forest was innocent of any wrongdoing.

Finally, the UEFA issued a public statement saying that it would inspect the quality of all fields that would host the Champions League games in the future, and that any clubs which did not pass the review would be penalized. The “home ground would be banned.”

“… We believe that as the highest level of tournament between the European clubs, the venues that host the matches should also be of the appropriate standard. This should never be in doubt. For example, we have asked that the venue for the Champions League final must be able to accommodate at least sixty thousand people, which is a mandatory requirement. Any stadium that does not meet the requirement will not be considered. Of course, we can’t use the number of seats as a criterion for venues that are not for the finals, but the quality of the turf is still necessary… Yes.?We don’t want to see the scene from the City Ground stadium last week to happen again. I admit that the official launch of the rule has something to do with the game between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest. It was an unusual game… No, we will not impose any punishment on the Nottingham Forest Football Club. They were within the limits of the regulation…”

Following this remark, the press spokesman said it rather helplessly.?This was tantamount to a euphemistic expression of the UEFA’s attitude that Nottingham Forest had found a loophole with the UEFA.?Since we can’t punish them now, it does not mean that we can’t punish them in the in the future.?Anyway, we have taken note of this, and one day we will settle the score.

After the new rule was established, the Catalan media was still unwilling to forgive and complained that Barcelona would have made it to the top four if it had been introduced a week earlier.

The English media taunted them and said, “If Barcelona had learned of Tony Twain’s move earlier, they wouldn’t have to complain like that.”

Guardiola was expressionless during an interview. It was clear that losing the game in such a wretched way still left him brooding a week later. “The UEFA did the right thing, albeit a little late. I just hope that Barcelona’s defeat can be a source of power to drive progress in the Champions League—what the viewers and fans in front of the television as well as the spectators who go the stadiums to watch the highest level of European competition definitely do not want to watch that kind of game.”

That kind of game he referred was certainly the second leg match between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona. The football flew back and forth in the air from start to finish. There was no beauty to speak of. The big-name star players did not play normally, which disappointed those people who wanted to enjoy their wonderful performances. It had zero technical highlights and the tactics used were subpar.?A typical game whereby “the results are important than everything else” was really boring.

But there were four goals in a game like this. And there were two goals that had made it to the top ten best goals in the Champions League this season.?In this respect, the game was better than a lot of those thrilling to watch games but with dull results…

On the other side of the sea, Tony Twain was surrounded by a crowd of reporters at the training ground, wanting him to talk about the new UEFA rules.

Twain smiled and agreed with the UEFA’s new rule, “It’s a good thing, of course it’s a good thing. In particular, I agree with the spokesman’s statement that ‘as the highest level of tournament between the European clubs, the venues that host the games should be of the appropriate standard.’ Well-said!” Twain’s smile could easily be interpreted that he was fawning on the UEFA. “I don’t think the fans themselves want to see a game on a vegetable field. That would be damaging to football!” Looking at his righteously indignant face, it was as if the turf on the City Ground’s stadium had nothing to do with him.

“So, I give two thumbs-up to the UEFA rule.” At this point, he even raised his hands. “The rule guarantees the quality of the Champions League tournament and it’s a good thing for our players too—because no one will worry about getting injured playing on a bad pitch. This is a very humane rigid rule.?Nottingham Forest will certainly give its full support and cooperation!”

Guardiola was said to have torn the newspaper in half after he read Twain’s comments. Well, reportedly anyway…

The other matter was more complicated.

A week after that game, the UEFA finally dealt with the issue of the turf with a new rule. Following which, they were going to deal with Tony Twain. They had no grounds in the “vegetable field” incident. But now they believed there must be enough reasons to deal with the unruly Tony Twain.

You dare to accuse our appointed referee of accepting a bribe from Barcelona! What evidence do you have? There’s no evidence. You’re making a false accusation!

Originally with UEFA’s bureaucratic style of handling things, a hearing would have to wait until six months later.

But this time, contrary to the norm, the UEFA acted swiftly and decisively. Tony Twain was notified to attend the hearing in Nyon, Switzerland as soon as the “vegetable field” incident was dealt with.

Before going to Switzerland, Twain called Pierce Brosnan and Lineker. He was willing to accept their interview, to be recorded by BBC 5. The interview would be aired on BBC 5 and published in the <Nottingham Evening Post>.

Obviously, Twain also realized that this was a huge pitfall in his coaching career. Someone wanted to mess with him, but he would not be dragged down.

So, he needed to give his all and package himself as a Robin Hood figure up against the official authorities. He needed to win more support from the people and make use of the media.?This kind of thing could be done easily.

The interview naturally revolved around a series of recent focal points about Tony Twain and unfolded from there.

Lineker was the one who did the interview while Brosnan made notes at the side.

Lineker asked a lot of questions, which Twain explained them one by one. In the television footage, he tossed aside his usual arrogant and ego centric manner and looked placid with a smile on his face as he cordially accepted the interview. Sometimes he even displayed his characteristic sense of humor, but his antagonistic way against the reporters could not be seen.?It was rare to see this in previous interviews—he seemed to have a natural enmity against reporters.

He did not shy away from those sensitive issues. Instead, he opened up to Lineker.

He said the word “counting the money-gate” incident was a term invented by the Catalan media. He never said that the referee had accepted a bribe from Barcelona. He did not hint at it in other ways. His gesture was obviously… a snapping of his fingers.

Lineker asked why he would snap his fingers in that situation. One must know if his action were to be interpreted as a snapping of the fingers”, then its appearance was indeed abrupt and inexplicable.

“It may be abrupt to the outside world, but I don’t find it strange. It’s like when a player was sent off inexplicably by the referee, he used clapping to express his anger.?I did not choose to clap. I chose to snap my fingers and that meant—well done, referee! Can you understand? It was actually a kind of irony.?But the Barcelona fans in the stadium preferred to interpret it as ‘counting money.’ I don’t know why. Maybe they’re naturally cynical?” He laughed.

The Nottingham Forest fans would think that this was Twain’s humor. But the Barcelona fans were lucky enough to watch the interview, they would definitely not going to think so…

“I repeat, I had never said in any way on any occasion that I thought the referee on duty at that game had been bribed by Barcelona. I know the Catalan media vilification of me is not a short-term thing.?Of course, they would love to see me make a fool of myself. Whereas the twisting of right and wrong or fabrications in the world are a common occurrence for the media. So now, do you know where the nonsense come from? If the Catalan media is unhappy with my comments, I am willing to take responsibility. I will cite all the media comments after that game. I have collected them.” Twain laughed again at this point.

“But those are considered evidence, and I’ll only show them to the UEFA. They’ll know who started this whole thing and it’s not me anyway.” Twain shrugged.

The interview eventually received a good response after it was broadcast on the television. Brosnan’s article was reprinted by several newspapers. Twain’s purpose was achieved. At least now a lot of the media and public were on his side.

After he had done his preparations, Twain left for Nyon alone. Before he left, his wife, Shania, specially called him from the United States to support and comfort him.

All these gave Twain the confidence to tackle the pitfall.

At the same time, the club also did something. They presented the UEFA with a video of the last ten minutes of the first leg match between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona as evidence to support Twain and show that this was not a shot in the dark. His team had indeed been treated unfairly in the away game. If the UEFA was unwilling to admit that the penalty shot had issues, they did not mind appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.?Anyway, since you’re going to mess with our manager, we’ll fight you to the end!

Twain’s leading the team into the top four spots also appeared to have improved his relationship with the club’s top brass. Evan decided to step forward to show support for Twain while Allan was also being ordered to lobby the UEFA’s top echelon.

The Forest team’s final place in the Champions League had a direct impact on their televised bonuses at the end of the season. Twain was a manager who could lead the team to victory and naturally it would bring a lot of money to the club. Only a fool would not protect such a cash cow…

Meanwhile, a lot of people in the circle had come out to express their support for Twain’s view.?Mourinho, who always did not get along with Twain, also seemed to have seen glimpses of himself in Twain, also came forward and said that the Catalan media’s hype about “counting money” was pointless. As a former Barcelona translator and assistant coach, his words held sway.

Ferguson also said he had not heard Twain complain that Barcelona had bribed the referee. Because “he’s not that kind of person.”

Wenger said that although Tony had a sharp tongue, he would never talk about uncertain things.

Benítez’s relationship with Twain was not good either, but this time he chose to stand on the opposite side of his country. He thought that since he and Twain had many encounters before, he was familiar with Twain’s temper. If he said that he did not say it, then he must not have said it.

This time the Premier League managers were on Twain’s side. Perhaps the UEFA’s attitude towards the Premier League had angered them. The English Premier League had long been an organization that fell outside the grey area on the edge of the UEFA’s jurisdiction. The Premier League gave the biggest headaches the UEFA in terms of people and incidents.

They naturally took it that the UEFA’s beef with Twain was actually them making an example of Twain to warn them. It was obviously necessary to unite. After all, the interests of the Premier League were their own interests. These problems were in fact about “interests” at the heart of the matter.

Led by John and Bill, the Nottingham Forest fans also gathered at the City Ground stadium to show solidarity with Twain at the time of the hearing. They contacted a number of media outlets to come for interviews and do coverage to continue to expand the impact.

“We’re fighting a battle to defend our own kingdom!” John said resolutely in front of a lot of media and cameras.

All of these were totally down to put pressure on the UEFA.

No one knew the details of the hearing, but one thing was clear to everyone.

The moment Twain got out of the car and greeted the reporters outside the UEFA headquarters with a smile, an observant person could see that his smile was somewhat stiff. The Ray-Ban sunglasses that he wore—he was now the brand’s British spokesperson—still could not hide his worries.

Despite all the preparations he did, he was still a little nervous.

But after two hours, when he came out of the headquarters building, he took off his sunglasses and gave a breezy smile. There was no hidden meaning behind his smile. He smiled naturally from the bottom of his heart.

Every reporter present was familiar with Twain and certainly knew what Twain’s behavior meant.

The Catalan reporters groaned in pain on the spot, “This bastard got away with it!”

The reporters from Nottingham and England cheered Twain who happily waved to them. Twain willfully enjoyed the cheers usually reserved to welcome a hero’s return.

Following which, a UEFA press spokesman reappeared in front of the press to announce the final verdict of the case, “While we think that Tony Twain’s remarks toward the referee was a little extreme after the game, there was no evidence that he had suspected the referee’s and Barcelona’s professional ethics. He gave a reasonable explanation of his actions at the hearing, of which we had accepted. Finally, we want to remind Tony Twain to pay attention to his words and deeds…”

Brosnan asked about the referee and his handling of the penalty.

The UEFA spokesman stalled for a long while before he replied, “That offside ball was a miscalculation …for which we’re sorry.”

Up until now, Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest had won big.

The next day the Catalan media largely adopted the same headline, which roughly translated into Mandarin words as—

A scoundrel realized his ambition.

Indeed, in their eyes, Twain, a despicable scoundrel had managed to escape twice. Just look at his brilliant smile in front of the UEFA’s Nyon headquarters. He’s a typical scoundrel that got away!

A hardcore Barcelona fan tweeted a similar message at a popular Barcelona fan forum in China:

“It’s truly the case of the good die young (Barcelona was knocked out) and the evil lives a thousand years…”

Chapter 821 - The End of the Season

The press was still publishing numerous articles about Twain’s hearing days after it had happened. Everyone wanted to know what were the exact words he said to the UEFA officials during the hearing that actually compelled them to let him walk away scot-free when it was clear that UEFA wanted to drive Twain into his grave.

Twain did not utter a single word about what happened at the hearing to the press, not even to Pierce Brosnan, who had called Twain to ask for some ‘insider information’.

What happened at the hearing was destined to become a secret that no other person would ever know about. All people could hope for was that Twain would include some details about this hearing in his bibliography when he retires as a football manager.

The UEFA also made no further mention of the incident. It was as though the entire hearing had not happened.

The Catalan media was upset with how things had turned out, but what else could they possibly do besides to rant and moan in the papers and on TV?

They lost to Tony Twain both on and off the pitch. They needed some kind of way to vent their frustrations, and they could only achieve that through the various media platforms.

However, the Catalan media did not walk away from this ‘battle’ with Tony Twain empty-handed.

A few of the more level-headed reporters were able to point out that Nottingham Forest had actually paid a steep price for their actions despite successfully defeating Barcelona and evading punishment from UEFA.

In the first leg of the match against Barcelona, Tony Twain was served a four match ban for insulting the referee. He has only been banned for one match so far, and there were three more to go. What this meant was that Forest would have to play in the finals of the Champions League without the guidance of their manager, should they somehow manage to land themselves a place in the finals.

Tony Twain would certainly not be able to rely on the 27,000 Forest fans to be his mouthpiece then either.

Pepe was shown a red card in the first leg and was banned for two matches. He had served his ban for one match, and there was still one more match remaining.

George Wood was also shown a red card for his violent behavior in the second leg. Similarly, he also has to serve a two match ban, which would mean he will definitely miss out on both the semi-final matches.

Both Wood and Pepe are key players in the team. Their absence undoubtedly deals a heavy blow to Forest’s defense.

In addition, Lennon also picked up an injury after being tackled by Yaya Touré during the second leg. His injury was determined to be very severe in the post-match examinations, and he would have to miss out on all the remaining matches for the season.

Nottingham Forest was truly down on their luck to have two of their key players severely injured and unable to play for the remainder of the season.

The four aforementioned points made it very challenging for Forest to win their semi-finals match.

The two most fatal points out of them, according to the Barcelona media, were the bans on both Wood and Twain.

The ‘trick’ that Tony Twain used against Barcelona has already been exposed to the public, and he would not be able to use it a second time. Furthermore, there would be supervisors from the UEFA who would be sitting with him throughout the following matches to prevent him from making use of his fans as his mouthpiece to convey his instructions to the team.

Nonetheless, one cannot deny that his method of using his fans to communicate with his team is truly ingenious…

Forest’s opponent in the semi-finals would be Germany’s Bayern Munich. They were a tough team to beat. Football teams from Germany have always been tenacious and Twain’s psychological trick of trying to rile up the players during the match would not work against the Bayern Munich players.

Without Twain’s onsite guidance, Forest would only be half as strong as they usually are.

If we were to add George Wood’s absence to the equation as well…

Wood has always been Nottingham Forest’s protective screen in the midfield. The influence that he has on the team is huge. Most people might not be able to tell how big of an influence he has on the team when he is playing on the pitch, but the difference becomes significant and discernible once he is off the pitch.

Anyone who knows football knows how important a defensive midfielder is to any football team, especially to a defense-oriented one like Forest.

Without Wood on the team, Forest’s opponents would be able to threaten their defense directly. Tiago is clearly not well-suited to carry out Wood’s role. He could not measure up to Wood in terms of both abilities and stamina.

Wood’s absence from the team also serves as a crude reminder about an issue that has been largely ignored but has always existed.

The team has not been able to find a substitute for George Wood.

Now that Wood has been banned from playing for two matches, Forest has no other defensive midfielder like him that they can employ for the next game. Tiago is not a player who mainly operated in the midfield. Most of the time, he would move forward to join in the attack. He would play as a defensive midfielder occasionally, but even then, he would have Wood right beside him to support him. His inability to defend in the midfield would undoubtedly be magnified when Wood is not playing next to him.

Nottingham Forest’s happiness was bound to be short-lived.

When an article that brought up all the aforementioned points was published, it was mocked by Nottingham Forest fans as being nothing more than ‘Barcelona trying to console themselves over their loss’.

However, it was proven a while later that the article had hit the nail on the head…

“The match is over! Nottingham Forest has lost 0:2 to Bayern Munich in an away game. The final score is 1:3. Nottingham Forest is eliminated from the Champions League!”

The Allianz Arena erupted into cheers following three blows to the referee’s whistle.

Bayern Munich’s coaching staff and substitutes rushed onto the pitch in a frenzy, and they hugged the players on the pitch tightly.

In contrast, Forest’s players stood rooted to the ground with their heads hung low on the other side of the pitch.

The camera immediately zoomed in on a particular corner at the stands, and Tony Twain’s emotionless face showed up on the screen. He was surrounded by a crowd of crestfallen Nottingham Forest fans.

Twain was not able to make use of the home advantage to create trouble for their opponents this time round. His good luck appeared to have reached its end.

The match had only barely started for five minutes when Forest found themselves down by one goal. The accident messed up all of the team’s plan, and the match slowly slipped away from Twain’s control. There was nothing he could do at the stands.

The cheers from the Bayern Munich fans were all he could hear when the match ended.

Twain lowered his head. He then turned around and followed after a group of fans as they all made their way away from the stands.

“Tony Twain has finally lowered his arrogant head!” The commentator said as he watched Twain’s actions.

Thereafter, he went on to tease, “Nottingham Forest has eliminated both Inter Milan and Barcelona consecutively, and those two teams happen to be the champions of the Champions League for the past two seasons. The British media hailed Nottingham Forest as the ‘Champions Killer’ ever since. However, this very name that they were given might have led to their downfall, because Bayern Munich has never clinched a Champions League trophy in years… The magical Forest appears to have lost their drive against a non-champion Bayern Munich team. This has led to their elimination from the competition…”

The commentator’s explanation as to why Forest lost seemed to carry some truth in it.

Twain could only force a smile after hearing the commentator’s words after the match.

It does seem like everything was meant to be.

The commentator’s words helped to cast an interesting sidelight on the match.

Twain entered the locker room after the match had ended. He did not criticize the team, and neither did he give the players a dressing-down. All he did was to express regret at the team’s elimination from the competition. Following that, he commended their performance. He told the players that they have all tried their best, and that they should not have any regrets in their hearts over the result. All they could do was look forward to trying to claim the Champions League trophy again next year.

Twain even joked towards the end of his speech to his players. “Actually, this all works out just fine. We have embarrassed UEFA too many times now. Lads, think about it. If we were to really make our way into the finals and become champions… It would mean that a team whose manager is sitting at the stands has actually managed to lift the trophy. How embarrassing would that be for UEFA? We can’t make things too difficult for them.”

Everyone in the locker room burst out laughing at his words. The despondence within their hearts slowly started to vanish after they laughed.

Twain relaxed after seeing that everyone had gotten into a better mood after his words.

There was no use for them to keep dwelling on the fact that they have been eliminated from the Champions League. It was all in the past now.

What he needed to do was to get his team back on track quickly so that they can continue their fight in the Premier League. Ensuring a top four finish and clinching qualification for Champions League next season were the most important things to Nottingham Forest this season.

“All right, lads! Head on home!”

Twain clapped his hands and ended the debrief. The players all stood to their feet one after another and began packing their belongings.

Twain was quickly located and surrounded by the sharp reporters after he exited the locker room.

Countless microphones came at him and were all directed at his mouth. Some of them nearly hit his lips. Twain could not help but lean backwards to avoid ‘kissing’ the microphones.

“Hey! Hey! Bring the microphones away from my lips!”

“Mr. Twain. Is there anything you’d like to say regarding your team’s elimination?”

“There’s nothing for me to say about that. All football teams win and lose games. I hope that Bayern Munich would become the final champions of this competition. That’s all I have to say…”

“Mr. Twain! Would you agree that your ban has a huge influence on your team? Your fiery temper has directly led to your team’s elimination from the competition…”

“Nonsense! My team is collectively strong. We won’t become weaker just because we lose a certain team member. And you say I have a fiery temper? I am not to blame for the incident from before. UEFA has also agreed to it.”

Ever since the hearing, Twain would always bring out UEFA’s name to shut the reporters up every time they try to get him to talk about his ‘feud’ with Barcelona.

This move of his is indeed shameless, but no one can stop him from doing it.

“I’m just protecting my rights.”

UEFA’s name was certainly an effective weapon. Several reporters shut their mouths right there and then.

“All right, please give way. Don’t block the door.” Twain reached out both his hands and tried to shove his way out of the crowd.

“Mr. Twain, I have one other question…”

“Keep your question to yourself! Someday you might get your answer.”

“Mr. Twain! Mr. Twain!”

Twain disregarded the reporters”reluctance’ to let him go. He shoved a way out for himself and rushed away.

The manager of Bayern Munich, Jürgen Klinsmann, chanced upon the scene where Twain looked a little worn out as he was being surrounded by the reporters.

He laughed. “A man who has been banished to the stands remains a cynosure. As expected of a famous manager.”

Nottingham Forest loss in the semi-finals did not come as a surprise to most. After all, Bayern Munich was the leader of Bundesliga. They are consistently ranked first on the ranking table.

Moreover, Forest was in a very bad situation going into the match. Several of their players had either been banned from playing or were injured. The fact that they were able to progress into the semi-finals was in itself a feat.

Some Forest fans even regarded the two matches against Barcelona to be just like the finals of the Champions League. They did not desire for anything else this season, as long as they defeated Barcelona…

However, such a desire would certainly be scoffed at by the Barcelona fans. They would deride Nottingham Forest for not setting their sights higher.

No matter what the Barcelona fans might think however, it was still a fact that Forest won Barcelona. As the victors, Forest has every right to ‘not set their sights higher’…

Nottingham Forest’s loss in the Champions League was not good news to their rivals in the Premier League.

It did not matter how much those rivals despised Twain. This was one of the few times that none of them would be able to say words like ‘I hope Forest gets eliminated’.

Forest’s elimination from the Champions League would signify that Twain’s ‘pack of wolves’ would now put all their focus on the Premier League.

Currently, Forest was ranked fourth on the ranking table. If they were to put in all their time and effort into achieving results in the Premier League, it would certainly not be a problem for them to climb up to second place. Only a few points separated the second placed team from the fifth placed team after all…

Every single one of Forest’s rivals wanted Nottingham Forest to progress as far as they could in the Champions League.

There was one exception however, and that was Manchester United’s manager, Ferguson.

His team had made its way into the finals once again. His wish would definitely be for Nottingham Forest to make its way into the finals, so that they would then be able to lose against Manchester United. The arrogant and obstinate Tony Twain would thereafter bow his head before Ferguson the master, and announce his transfer over to Manchester United as Ferguson’s successor. Twain would then go on to lead the Red Devils to glory in both England and Europe…

That would mark a perfect end to his managerial career.

Thus, after Manchester United’s qualification into the finals, Ferguson said, “I think it’s a pity. If I could choose my opponent, I would rather meet Tony Twain in the finals. Of course, it’s on the premise that he’s not seated at the stands…”

His words led to unhappiness in Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giant felt that Ferguson had insulted them with his words.

Ferguson immediately came out and explained himself shortly after, “My words are not targeted at Bayern Munich. They are a big and prestigious club, and I do think that it’s great that I can meet them in the finals. I will treat every single opponent with respect… I just hope to be able to choose my opponent in the very last game of my managerial career….”

It did not matter how Ferguson tried to mince his words. It still sounded like he was looking down on Bayern Munich.

There were some media outlets that said that Ferguson was getting more and more muddled with age, and that all he was doing was just adding fuel to the fire.

But, what if the ‘old fox’ Ferguson had only said those words as part of his psychological trick against Klinsmann?

Twain did not involve himself in the entire issue. He was perhaps one of the few people who understood what Ferguson was up to. Ferguson had definitely said those words as part of his psychological battle against Bayern Munich.

It looks like the old man is very confident that he would clinch his last Champions League trophy of his managerial career…

His response to Ferguson’s comments was, “I might go down to the stadium to watch the match. However, it’s not because I care about the results. All I care about right now is the Premier League. We’d definitely challenge for the title again next season.”

Ultimately, Nottingham Forest finished the season by coming in at third place, and they successfully qualified for Champions League next season.

Wenger’s Arsenal successfully overtook Manchester United on the ranking table due to how the latter had put in more time and effort into playing the Champions League instead, and they were crowned champions of the Premier League.

It might be a pity for Ferguson to not be able to achieve the Double, but the final result was an embodiment of Ferguson and Wenger’s long-standing battle over the past decade.

Alex Ferguson, Manchester United’s ‘godfather’ who had announced his retirement as a football manager after the end of the season, led his Red Devils team to a 2:1 victory over the King of Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, at Arena AufSchalke, which serves as a stadium for Schalke 04. He was the one who had the last laugh in this clash between two giants.

Ferguson also fulfilled his promise from years ago:

I would retire after clinching one more Champions League trophy.

He lifted the trophy that signified the highest possible honor for all European football clubs in one of the best stadiums throughout the whole of Europe. However, the expression on his face did not look like one that belonged to that of a professional manager’s. It looked more like one that belonged to an elder who should be enjoying his old age. There was no passion upon his countenance, only a look of relief that everything was over and that he was finally able to remove the burden weighing on his shoulders.

In that very moment, it seemed as though he had aged by another 10 years. Even the red hue on his cheeks seemed to have faded.

Tony Twain watched from the stands at Arena AufSchalke as Ferguson lifted the trophy before him. He suddenly felt like Ferguson was very far away from him at this very instant. They might only be separated by a short distance since one was at the stands and the other was on the pitch, but Twain felt like the distance between them was like the size of Europe.

He joined the other spectators in the stadium who had all stood up to applaud Ferguson for having reached the end of his managerial journey. The happiness in his heart was intertwined with a twinge of loneliness.

From this day onwards, I will face one less fierce competitor.

But, likewise, I will also face one less good competitor…

Farewell, Ferguson.

Chapter 822 - Goodbye, My Friend

A week after the Champions League final, the television stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, Internet… all the major media outlets were talking about Ferguson’s retirement. It was indeed the most sensational thing to happen the football world in recent time.?Although Ferguson had already announced his retirement in advance, when the day finally arrived, people still felt unwilling to let go.

Even Wenger, his archrival for years, sent well wishes to Ferguson’s retirement. He said, “He has created an era. This is probably the only time I’ve praised him. He’s done really well in his twenty-five years at Manchester United.?The league championship title? You know, life always needs to have such a regret for it to be beautiful, isn’t it?” Wenger laughed slyly.

Even Klinsmann, who was defeated by Ferguson in the Champions League final, did not have any bad comments because Manchester United snatched away his title, “He is a role model for me to learn from and a target to catch up to. I’m happy that he could win another UEFA Champions League title before he retired. Manchester United performed better and they deserve the title.”

In a television interview, Ferguson again spoke of the concerns of his successor.

“There are many great coaches in the world and I’m sure the board will pick the most suitable manager for Manchester United. Take note that I said, ‘the most suitable’ instead of ‘the best.’?I won’t comment on how the club handles the personnel work anymore. Now I just want to go home and enjoy a relaxing time with my wife. You know… for the first time in so many years, I don’t have to think about tomorrow’s training plan and the weekend’s lineup schedule. It’s actually a very pleasant thing.”

He did not name a specific candidate and apparently did not want to cause trouble for the club’s selection process. Because if he had to state it, it would be “Tony Twain” but Tony Twain was certain that he would not come to Manchester United. It was not a good idea to say things that would cause embarrassment to everyone.?He called Twain in private and sighed with some regret after he confirmed once again that Twain had no desire to join Old Trafford.

Just when Twain was tired of the media’s extensive coverage of Ferguson, he finally heard a different news.

After the league tournament ended, the Forest team was dismissed, and the vacation had begun.

Twain also planned to take advantage of this holiday to fly to the United States to spend many wonderful nights with his wife, so as to continue their great “baby making project.”

While Dunn would bring Tang Jing back to his hometown to probably meet his parents this time…

Before leaving, he suddenly gave Twain a call and asked to meet him alone.

Twain thought it was strange. If Dunn had something to discuss with him, he could talk about it over the phone if they were not together. Even if it was a major matter, there was no need to specially arrange for a face-to-face meeting alone.

Feeling odd, Twain still made it to the appointment. He even remembered to joke on the phone, “Are we going on a date?”

The place that Dunn set could not really be connected with “a date” mentioned by Twain. It was right at the Wilford training base.

When Twain drove there, the exceptionally busy training base gate which was always crowded with a lot of reporters and people coming and going, was so quiet that the distant sound of birds in the woods could be heard at this time.

The guards were surprised when the manager suddenly came. Twain smiled and greeted them before he was allowed through.

Twain parked his car in the parking lot, and saw Dunn waiting at the door of the building when he got out of the car

He raised his hand to say hello, but did not hurry over, but strolled along in parking lot under the sun.

“It’s nice out today. Breezy and sunny.” He spoke of things that only Dunn and himself knew where the punchline was.

But this time Dunn was not amused by Twain. He stood within the shadow of the building, expressionless.

Twain waved at him and said, “It’s so sunny and beautiful today, and yet you’re standing there. Don’t you feel the chilly wind around? If you have something to say, we can talk as we walk. How about taking a lap around the training ground?”

Dunn nodded in agreement.

But before that, they did not talk and just walked along until they accidentally walked to the number three training ground.?Twain smiled when he saw the training ground, which was still like a vegetable field. He said, “If Guardiola saw this training ground, I wonder if he would give Barcelona a similar piece in the training base?”

Dunn did not answer, so Twain turned his head and asked, “Do you have something on your mind, Dunn? Is Tang Jing giving you pressure to get married?”

Dunn rolled his eyes and said, “I do have something I want to talk to you about, but I don’t know where to begin.”

“Hey, this is us! We’re sworn brothers from our hometown in Sichuan. If you have something to say, just say it.?You don’t have to worry about the wedding gifts.”

Dunn cleared his throat and said, “It has nothing to do with marriage. Tony… Well.” He started to talk and stopped again.

Twain frowned. He rarely saw Dunn overly careful with his words. “Do you have bad news?”

“No… I don’t know.” Dunn shook his head and said, “I… I intend to end my contract with the club early.”

Twain was taken aback. He thought he heard wrong. Was the bird song in the woods so loud that it affected his hearing?

Dunn’s contract with the club as the assistant manager expired in two years. Twain had planned to offer Dunn a new contract after the start of next season, with a longer extension.?Maybe it would even be good to sign an eight-year contract like himself.

Seeing Twain looking incredulously at him, Dunn explained, “I’ve been thinking about this issue for a long time. I… Uh…” He wrung his hands, not knowing where to put them. “I don’t want to be an assistant manager anymore.”

“Why?” Twain asked. He did not want to make any comments now. He wanted to hear Dunn’s explanation.

“Tony. You probably don’t know… Initially, we… Before that, I really did not think about wanting to be a manager. Then you found me, and I thought it was okay if I could be an assistant manager.?But after following you all these years, I suddenly feel… I feel like I’d like to try and be a manager.”

Twain looked at him and said, “Go on.”

“Well…” Dunn mulled over it for a bit and thought about where to start. He rarely said so much in one breath, but this time it had to do with his future life choices, so he had to say more.

“Honestly, Tony. During the time when you left the team due to the heart attack, I was the acting manager.?When you were banned, it was also me… But this is your team, not mine. What I want to do is not to be the ‘acting’ manager.?I want to be a real manager, but I don’t have a chance at Nottingham Forest.”

“I’m not complaining about anything, Tony. But Nottingham Forest is now your Nottingham Forest team, deeply marked by you.?I can’t change that mark, so I struggled a lot to be the acting manager. You know what? Tony? Sometimes when I have to instruct the players, I have to borrow your identity to be effective.”

Twain only raised his eyebrows and did not say anything.

“I said to them—Tony thinks…so on and so forth. Tony says so and so. Then they’ll listen.?The king’s name is no exaggeration. You’re really powerful, Tony.”

“Is this a compliment to me?” Twain did not laugh. “Simply put, you want to be a manager, but at Nottingham Forest, you can only be an assistant manager. That’s right, isn’t it?”

Dunn nodded.

Twain fell silent for a moment and then said, “It looks like I really… did not consider your feelings. I only thought about how you can help me a lot by keeping you by my side as an assistant manager… I should probably say to you generously at this time, ‘Go on. Go pursue your life ideals?’ But I still don’t want you to go. I’m a selfish person. I can’t help it. If you leave, it will be hard for me in my job.”

Dunn shook his head and said, “You are giving yourself an excuse to be lazy.”

“Okay. I’m trying to be lazy.” Twain nodded and admitted Dunn’s “allegations.” He said, “But regardless of the reason, don’t you think we’re golden partners? We’re invincible when we’re together! I want you to stay, Dunn.”

When Twain asked Dunn to do something in the past, he would always agree, whether he was willing or not.?But this time, Twain’s move did not work. It looked like Dunn had made up his mind. He said, “It’s no use, Tony. I thought about it for a long time and felt I should leave the Forest team to try to a different path.”

“Perhaps is there a club inviting you?”

Dunn did not deny. He nodded in reply, “There is a club.”

“Ha!” Twain gave a dry laugh.

“An EFL League Two team.”

Twain really laughed this time. He seemed to have heard a funny joke.?Dunn did not stop him and watched quietly next to him as Twain crouched on the ground and laughed.

“Ha… Let’s be honest, Dunn. Do you really think that leaving Nottingham Forest for such a team would do you any good for your future? EFL League Two, huh? A fourth-tier team is equivalent to the previous the Football League Third Division! Do you really want to go?”

Dunn said very seriously, “I really want to go.”

“Are you sure?” Squatting on the ground, Twain did not laugh, and just looked at him from the corner of his eyes.”

“I’m sure.”

“Is that good for you?” Twain stood up and asked angrily. He really could not understand Dunn’s choice, so he would rather think that it was Dunn’s excuse to deliberately get away from him.

“I don’t know. Tony.?I don’t know if it’s good for me.?But I want to try… Maybe I’m still terrible that I can’t even lead a League Two team well and be fired in the end.?Who knows?” He spoke calmly about the terrible future. “But the idea has going around my mind every day. I just want to try… Even if I don’t succeed, at least I have tried.”

“Go and try to lead a team with your mark on it?”

“Yes. I envy you, Tony. I hope one day I can achieve accomplishments like you.”

Twain did not express any joy at Dunn’s praise. He still had a straight face and was in a very bad mood.

“I decided to start from scratch. I’m confident I’ve learned a lot from you which should help me. But I don’t have to be the type of manager like you are.?I’m still not good at fight a war of words with people.”

“That kind of team… No name or no profit…” Twain still wanted to persuade Dunn to give up the illusional idea.

“I don’t care much about fame and profit, Tony. I just want to see if I have the ability to be a manager.”

Twain was still frowning and looked unhappy.

Dunn sighed when he saw him looking this, “Do you still remember Chen Jian, Tony?”

Twain stared blankly for a moment. He did not react to why Dunn would suddenly mention the Chinese kid. “I remember. What about him? He’s still training in the youth team and reserves.?I haven’t gone to see him in a long time…”

“Do you still recall what you spoke to him about on the phone at the time and asked him to come to England to play? Do you still remember how excited you were after the phone call with him? Do you remember when you decided to train him using Wood’s training program and how you answer my question?”

Twain was rendered speechless by Dunn’s three consecutive questions.

“You ask me if I have any dreams. You ask me if I have the impulse to do certain things. You also told me, ‘Men will definitely have one thing in life that makes them want to complete it no matter what.’ Thank you, Tony.?Now I have a dream and the urge to complete something, I’ve the one thing in my life that I want to finish no matter what.”

Twain was checkmated by Dunn using his own words spoken previously. He completely lost his anger.

He looked at Dunn for a long time, and then gave a smile, “You’re getting more and more slick with your words.”

Dunn felt relieved when he saw him smile, “Really?”

“If you really determined to leave, I can’t stop you. After all, you’re not my personal belongings. I have no right to interfere in your life.?The kind of road you have to take, and how you will end up, have nothing to do with me.” Twain waved his hands in defeat. He was really tough, but he was not unreasonable.

When Dunn heard him say this, he suddenly smiled, “Your words are really callous.”

“You hurt me. Of course, I’m going to be a little heartless.” Twain glared at him and said, “But … I said if, if.?If you really can’t make it, then come back. The door at Wilford is always open to you.”

“Like Queiroz?”

Twain chuckled, “I think it’s incorrect that one should not go back to one’s past experiences. If you want to come back, give me a call. I’ll free up the assistant manager’s position for you.”

Dunn did not say anything. He felt more relaxed after he told Twain what he thought. From now on, he could pursue his own ideal.?Although it was a bit cruel to Twain, after all, they worked alongside each other all the time and had a tacit understanding in the work, Twain would be caught unprepared with his sudden departure.?But in fact, if he had not considered to minimize the impact, he might have left the season when Twain returned. The Forest team was on track this season, with a new group of young players such as Mitchell revealing outstanding talent which made him think that it was time.?He could leave with confidence.

“Tony. Since I’m leaving, there’s something I want to say to you… In fact, my departure is a good thing for you.”

“How is that a good thing? I will be short a right-hand man.”

“You had always used the excuse that you’re not familiar with training for the team to let me arrange everything. But you’ve been in the team for eight years now. You should have observed enough to learn to do it, shouldn’t you? But I’m always here, so you leave everything to me. Now that I’m leaving and you can’t find anyone, you’ll have to do it yourself.?I think it will further raise your level. Don’t underestimate yourself, Tony. You have the potential that you have not developed. It’s a waste and it’s a shame to waste it.”

Twain continued to laugh, “Are these words of a man on his deathbed coming from the heart?”

Dunn did not continue to get tangled with Twain on the subject. He believed that Twain had listened.?“I have made everything clear to you, so I have nothing else to say.” He was going to say goodbye.

“Oh right, can you tell me which team asked you to be the manager?”

Dunn was unable to suppress a tiny smile on his face when he heard Twain asked.

Twain was even more curious and asked, “Which one?” If you need help at that time, I can loan you the Forest youth team players. You can pick the players you want. I won’t charge you the fees for the loan …”

Dunn could not bear it any longer and laughed, “Notts County.”

Twain’s eyes widened and stopped mid-sentence. His mouth was agape as if he saw an alien.

“I did not hear wrongly, did I?”

“I thought you’d be happy that I don’t have to move out of Nottingham.”

“What? How can I be happy?” Twain felt that he’d been fooled. “Nottingham Forest’s arch enemy! I take back every word I said before! Want to loan my players from me? No way! Keep dreaming! The next time we meet, we will fight for real!”

“Ha! Are you finally interested in the city’s derby?” Dunn laughed happily.

Twain gritted his teeth and stared at him, “Are you still laughing? You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Of all the teams to pick from, you pick Notts County!”

Dunn spread his hands and said, “The other teams are not keen on me. Only they came to me. They don’t think there’s anything wrong with me as the assistant manager of the Forest team. I certainly will not turn them down just because they’re from Notts County.”

“You really… You really will do whatever it takes in order to be a manager, won’t you?” Twain felt helpless.

“The conditions they offered are also very attractive. Although the team is not in good shape recently, they promised that I make all the decisions in the team and also gave me control of the youth camp. I can build my team from the ground up and according to my own philosophy.?This is the best condition.”

Twain nodded forcefully, “Very well! I wish you all the best to lead the team to move up three levels and appear in the Premier League. That way, I will have two chances to crush you bastard face to face every season!”

“I’m looking forward to that day.” Dunn replied with a smile.

Even though he scolded him, Twain still reached his hand out and said, “If you find that you can’t make it in Notts County and want to come back, I’ll still welcome you. You don’t have to worry about the pressure from the fans. I’m sure my words still carry some weight.”

Dunn also put his hand out and said, “Thank you, Tony.”

Two days later, the media report thanked him for all his contributions to the team and wished him all the best elsewhere.

Three days later, the Notts County officials announced the official signing of the former Nottingham Forest assistant manager, Dunn for a four-year contract as the team’s new manager.

However, both pieces of news were drowned out in the flood of news about “Ferguson”, and did not even make a tiny splash.

The Nottingham Forest and Notts County fans had taken note of the two pieces of news. They were divided on the issue. Some people understood and some people rebuked. But in any case, they could not interfere with the path that Dunn wanted to take.

Brosnan was going to interview Twain. He wanted to know the story behind the personnel change. But Twain, who had already flew to Los Angeles to be with his wife, simply turned off his cell phone. So, he could only give a sigh when he held a phone which emitted a busy ringtone.

After five years of working with Twain, Dunn chose to take a different path. Whether this choice was a blessing or curse for him and Twain, it was still unknown. The two of them chose two different paths. Would the two paths meet someday after a few years?

Chapter 823 - A Crimson New Beginning

While Twain and Shania indulged in their sensual activities every night in Los Angeles, Allan’s negotiations with Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited were in their final stages. After a year of repeated negotiations, the two sides had basically reached an agreement. Cheung Kong Holdings Limited obtained the development and management rights to the land around Clifton’s new Nottingham Forest stadium at the lowest price, while Nottingham Forest did not have to pay out of its own pocket for the development and other miscellaneous expenses of the new stadium.?After thirty years of Chinese operation, the right to operate these areas would be gradually returned to the Nottingham Forest Football Club.

The previous deadline proposed by Cheung Kong Holdings Limited was fifty years, which Allan considered too greedy and unreasonable. The negotiations between the two sides were deadlocked. After a period of cold war, Allan took the initiative to call on them again with a thick skin, hoping to reopen the negotiations.?Only the Chinese appeared to be rich during the world financial crisis…

The world economic environment was gradually improving, and the Clifton area development plan had restarted. It also added a lot of jobs in the Nottingham area. The Nottingham city council had given the greatest support for the project.

One must know that Nottingham was not a very safe city. Its crime rate had been ranked one of the highest in the United Kingdom all year round. The financial crisis had added many unemployed people and they became a destabilizing factor in this society.?Since the Nottingham Forest Football Club and Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited could finally reach an agreement to provide nearly ten thousand jobs in the area, it was indeed a good thing that allowed the mayor to breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, he would support it.

Eventually, the day before Twain decided to return to Nottingham, the representatives of both parties formally signed a contract in Hong Kong. The next day, the first batch of staff from Cheung Kong Holdings Limited set out for Britain and began their overseas expansion plans.

The entire Clifton development was expected to take eight years to get the preliminary plans to take shape. Just the stadium alone was estimated to be under construction for two to three?years. Nottingham Forest would officially move to the new stadium for the 2014-2015 season if all went well.

In order to show its sincerity for the cooperation, the Nottingham Forest Football Club originally intended to give the naming rights of the new stadium to Cheung Kong Holdings Limited, which invested in the construction of the project. It was to be called the “Cheung Kong Holdings Limited Stadium.”

But Victor Li, now the chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited’s board of directors, rejected the name. He had given the new stadium a name that would please the locals as well as in keeping with the Chinese background of the investors.

The Red Stadium.

Red was naturally the main color of Nottingham Forest, while red was also the traditional Chinese representative color.

When the Arsenal club’s new stadium was named the “Emirates Stadium”, many fans protested the name which was unrelated to Arsenal, except that the voices of the fans clearly could not stand up to the Sheikhs’ oil money.?But Victor Li was much smarter, and the name was cleverly pleasing. Whether they were Nottingham people or Chinese, they would love it.

Judging from the new stadium renderings given by Cheung Kong Holdings Limited, the main color of the stadium would also be the same as the Nottingham Forest jersey, a slightly darker red—crimson. Carrying on with the rectangular style of most of English pitches, it could accommodate sixty thousand spectators to watch the game at the same time. The sixty thousand seats would have backs.?At the same time, in keeping with the expansion space, it could be expanded to a capacity of up to sixty-eight thousand people. There would be a luxury box above the stands on both east and west sides. This time it was a really authentic stand-alone box and not the small, shabby “box” in the City Ground stadium that looked like a corridor. It was estimated that there would be two hundred and twenty luxury boxes that could accommodate more than four hundred and forty VIPs to watch the game.

The north grandstand would still be home to the home team’s most hardcore fan pool, and the name “Robin Hood” would be engraved above the grandstand to inspire the team and the fans to fight ceaselessly like the brave Robin Hood.

The stadium had a retractable roof, so that even the worst weather conditions would not affect the game held in the stadium. Good geothermal and drainage systems ensured that the site condition was always at its best. This time, there would never be another repeat of the predicament in the Nottingham Forest’s home game against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League quarterfinal.

Guardiola must be in tears at this moment…

There was also a wide tunnel for both home and visiting teams to enter the stadium at the same time, as well as spacious, bright, clean and tidy modern locker rooms. The City Ground stadium’s locker rooms with the obvious 1980s-style were practically like public toilets…

There were also four huge LCD television displays in four sides of the grandstand, which could display the latest melees, scores, goal replays in real time and so on.

Up to a dozen gateways and links to the stadium’s all-encompassing transport network ensured that sixty thousand people could leave within ten minutes after the end of the game. Even under exceptional circumstances, the busy and tense flow could still be orderly and calm.

Once the project was finished, such a stadium would be completely designed and built in accordance with the standard set by the UEFA for five-star stadiums,. The UEFA would officially award it the honorary title of “a five-star stadium” after the inspection.

At that time, the Nottingham Forest Football Club could formally apply to host the finals of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

With a brilliant history and results as well as a brand new five-star stadium, Nottingham Forest were making big strides towards the goal of being “a powerhouse club.”

Twain spent two wonderful weeks in Los Angeles with Shania and reluctantly bade farewell to the Los Angeles sunshine and his beautiful wife to return to Nottingham. Work in the new was about to start.

When the team regrouped, Twain first explained to the players the reason Dunn left. There was no contradiction, as some media had reported. Then he set out to rearrange the work and take over the job that Dunn had left behind.

When Dunn was still with the team, Twain simply did not have to worry about the daily training and miscellaneous matters. Dunn was someone who had a deep tacit understanding with Twain. Dunn knew what to do without Twain having to open his mouth and he did well.

It was indeed Twain’s greatest fortune to have such an assistant.

Unfortunately, the fortune was gone now. He had to do everything personally. Fortunately, he had been in the team for a long time.?He was able to handle these things when he was familiarized with them.

He was certainly more tired than before, but Twain also slowly realized how correct Dunn’s words were at the time. He did improve …

He used to make little headway before but when his reliance on Dunn was taken away, he found that he could actually do a lot more.

First of all, he had to determine the new season’s lineup and matters like signings and transfers.

In the 07-08 season, the Forest team signed a contract with the Mexican young player, Martín Galván. He had finally reached the age of eighteen and could play abroad.?He ended his career at Cruz Azul, packed up his bags and came to the unfamiliar England with his family. Living in the apartment provided by the club for their family, he still had to adapt from scratch with regards to the language, diet, weather and football style.?For him, everything about Nottingham Forest was fresh and an impact on the past.

Twain did not expect him to come and be able to play for the team in the games. He still had to learn to adapt in the youth team and reserves for a while.?It also made it easier for the Forest team’s coaching staff to closely observe him. It was not that he would be famous and could do what he wanted in coming to England.?No, on the contrary, if he did not perform well and was slow in adapting to Nottingham Forest’s football, he would be likely to be sold again by Twain. Twain had a lot of affection for the old players, but he did not invest too much emotion in those young players. It was a cruel line of work.?Nobody knew if they could make it.

Another person returning to the team was Adriano Moke, who was on loan at Blackburn Rovers and played outstandingly this season.?He had twenty-three appearances in the league tournament, scored two goals and assisted five times. He had five appearances in the EFL Cup with one goal and six assists.?In total, he had three goals and eleven assists. As a winger, he gave satisfactory results. After Moke’s loan period, Blackburn Rovers wanted to continue the loan, but Twain refused.?On the one hand, putting Moke on loan was to give him the opportunity to train. On the other hand, it was in hopes that this talented player’s overly ambitious nature could worn down, so that he could keep his feet on the ground. In this way, it could help with his development.

Judging from the situation over the past few seasons, he had clearly met Twain’s expectation. Moke’s arrogant and opinionated character was much moderated. He was more pragmatic and down-to-earth.?So, Twain thought it was time to reward him by getting into the First Team and bringing him back to the First Team. It was also convenient for Twain to observe his performance up close which would be conducive to his growth.?After all, Moke was a Forest player. If everything went as planned, he would play for the Forest team in the future. Wandering around outside in other teams all the time would not help him develop a sense of belonging to his team and familiarize with the team’s style of play.

Moke’s return would not cause the midfield to be crowded. Lennon could play on both left and right wings and Fernández could also sometimes play as the defensive midfielder in the middle.?Considering that the Forest team would definitely compete in multiple tournaments next season, the staffing of the midfield was actually reasonable. Only John Bostock needed to remain on loan because he was currently unable to occupy a spot in the Nottingham Forest midfield with his current ability.

There was no change in the rear defensive line. Gareth Bale was back in the team after his recovered from his injury.?The competition for the left back position was fiercer than ever, but the strength was also greatly enhanced. Other than that, Twain had no plans to bring in full back in the summer.?The past few seasons had proved that Nottingham Forest’s defensive system was perfect, and he did not need to bring in any new players to disrupt the already tight and coordinated defense.?Although Pepe and the others still received a number of transfer applications, Twain refused them all without exception.

The stability of the rear defensive line overpowered everything. He would break it up without any special circumstances.

In the forward line, Van Nistelrooy, who already retired at the end of last season, left Nottingham and returned to his hometown In the Netherlands to enjoy his days without professional football. He was living a comfortable and idyllic life.

Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses continued to be on loan.?Although Moses was already twenty years old, the competition in the Forest team’s forward line was too fierce. He would not even get to play if he did not go on loan. Looking at the current Forest team’s strikers—“Romani Rooney”, Freddy Eastwood, who was Twain’s favorite in the club and would always save the team at crucial moments; “Super Ibi” Ibi?evi?, who was in excellent form, scored twenty-seven goals in the Premier League last season and won the Premier League Golden Boot; in addition, the talented giant, the second Ibrahimovi?, Aaron Mitchell, who broke out of the blue in the second leg against Barcelona; Although Gabriel Agbonlahor often played as the right back, he was still considered a striker and moved with a surprisingly fast speed that could serve him as the most lethal dagger during a counterattack.?Adding to the number were Nicolás Millán that might appear in the future and Victor Moses which made up six strikers. If Twain was going to stick to his 4-5-1 formation for most of the season, then it was rather ferocity and cruel to compete for the six strikers to vie for a spot on the field.

Twain had been looking for ways to reduce that number, including not bringing in new strikers from the transfer market and allowing some strikers to try to play more positions. Agbonlahor himself could play multiple positions, which was obviously the best.?And Nicolás Millán could also play in the wing and should have a place when he returned to the team. Eastwood was no longer a pure striker after a number of injuries. His passes and awareness could help connect the team’s strikers and midfielders. He was more like a False 9.?Sometimes he could even take ?ahin’s position, but then he was not tested for his playmaker skills. The work would be left to Wood and Tiago behind him. Although his shooting skills and awareness were still there, he was further away from the penalty area. He was still not the best candidate for the “1” in the 4-5-1 formation.

Ibi?evi?, who was in his peak playing years, was the striker Twain would need to rely on in the coming years. Mitchell, on the other hand, was young. Despite his great talent, he needed to accumulate experience, step by step. Twain did not want spoil things through excessive enthusiasm.?At times he had to deliberately put the kid on the bench. Fortunately, Mitchell’s personality was completely different from Bendtner’s. He listened to Twain, who did not have to worry about being too harsh and pushing him away.

While Evan had promised Twain that he would have more funds invested in the transfer market this summer, Twain had no plans to be extravagant. He did not like those stingy owners who never want to give a little more money for the team to put into the transfer market like Grant.?Similarly, Twain also did not like those owners who liked to throw money around to sign a bunch of players he did not need and stuff them in the team.

The change mainly happened in the midfield.

In the 4-5-1 formation, the two midfielders at the back were very important.?In Nottingham Forest’s current squad, George Wood and Tiago mainly played the positions. He did not have to worry about Wood as there was basically no big problem.?The key here was Tiago.

The Portuguese midfielder had just celebrated his thirtieth birthday. Although his competitive form was still in its golden age, it was an indisputable fact that his competitive curve was about to decline. As he got older, problems would arise.?Twain could not wait until the problem emerged to find a solution. He must plan ahead.

In any case, the position required at least three players to facilitate the rotation. There were a few good midfielders who played in the middle in the football world these days, such as Mascherano, Veloso, Lassana Diarra… But none of the three players could come.?One was the Reds, Liverpool’s absolute main force, someone whom AC Milan could not even take away from Anfield. The second was the new darling of San Siro. The third was “the second Makelele” whom Real Madrid had been lacking for years.

Twain was interested in the Argentine midfielder, Gago, who had unhappy at Real Madrid.

With the presence of van der Vaart and Ribéry, as well as Diarra, Gago’s space for survival at Real Madrid was getting smaller and smaller. Originally when he was playing in Club Atlético River Plate, he played with confidence and ease and was famous for his sense of the big picture in the game. But at Real Madrid, in order to fight for a chance to play, he had to change his style of play and became a midfielder like Gattuso.?Although he was hard-working and not bad…the situation changed when Lassana Diarra came.

In terms of the defense abilities such as interception, tackling, marking, he was not as good as Diarra. In his ability to pass the ball and organize the offense with long shots to attack, he was not as good as van der Vaart and Ribéry.?He appeared to be a little mediocre. His defensive ability was stronger than van der Vaart’s. His offensive ability seemed to be slightly better than Diarra’s. But he did not have one ability that had the prominent advantage, leaving him on the bench at in the star-studded Real Madrid.

He worked very hard the pitch, but he had played as a foot soldier for so many years and seemed to forget how to attack. He often made mistakes when passing the ball forward on the pitch.?And as a defensive midfielder, once he made an error in his pass, the other side could directly counterattack and cause a mess in Real Madrid’s rear defensive line.

Although he occasionally had some flashes of brilliance, it was too insignificant compared to his teammates around him…

Gago’s chances for appearances at Real Madrid had been woeful these two seasons, while his Argentine teammate, Higuaín did very well instead.

Although he did not do so well, Twain saw what he needed—in his team he did not need Gago to be a foot soldier and tirelessly run around to tackle and foul in the midfield as he did at Real Madrid. George Wood could handle such tasks. What he needed was Gago’s special features such as his strong sense of the big picture in the game, excellent passes and creativity. In addition, Gago had good endurance and a serious attitude, which Twain quite liked.?He liked dedicated players, even if they were not geniuses.

Based on these circumstances, Twain found Gago’s agent.

One side wanted the player and the other side wanted to leave. Both sides hit it off. Next, it was the Forest club’s offer to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid also believed that Gago’s role in the current team was not obvious. Rather than keeping him, it was better to sell him. After all, he was already twenty-five years old, and in any case could not be counted as a “young promising player.” There was basically no hope to count on if he had not succeed at twenty-five. Playing for a powerhouse club was prestigious but the demands of a powerhouse club was much higher and more stringent.

Negotiations between the two sides went well, with Nottingham Forest’s offer of ten million pounds accepted by Real Madrid. Although it cost them sixteen and a half million pounds to buy him at the time, Real Madrid always did the same thing—to buy a player at a high price and then sell him at a low price or give him away for free. Anyway, the super wealthy Real Madrid did not care about the small amounts of money.?Moreover, Nottingham Forest had sold a lot of players to Real Madrid, and the relationship between the top brass of the two teams appeared to be good.

In this way, Fernando Gago, the Argentine midfielder, who played four and a half seasons at Real Madrid and was once known as “the second Redondo”, put on Nottingham Forest’s number 16 red jersey.

He hoped to usher in a new chapter in his career in England. And Tony Twain hoped that under his own hands, Gago could restore his elegant style of playing like “the second Redondo” and inject a limitless momentum into the team’s offense.

But Gago did not seem to be adapting to the style of the new team. Whether in training or friendly games, he always played according to what he did at Real Madrid by participating too much in the midfield defense and contribute little to the offense.

Due to this, Twain specifically found him and talked to him about it.

In fact, the conversation was very simple and less than a minute. Twain only made a remark, and everything suddenly became clear at once for Gago.

At the time, Twain said, “You only need to care about passing the ball forward, don’t be afraid of mistakes. Don’t worry about errors in passing and dribbling. George is around you, isn’t he? Trust him and just boldly attack with confidence!”

A few years later, when Gago recalled his career, he still thought that Tony Twain’s words gave him the greatest help and encouragement.

Chapter 824 - Everyone’s on Their Way

Chapter 824: Everyone’s on Their Way

In the blink of an eye, Chen Jian has already spent two years in a foreign land. If he were to count the year in which he was sent here after participating in the talent show, then this was his third year in Nottingham.

He had initially stayed at the proclaimed Nottingham Forest’s most die-hard fan, Mr. John’s home. However, he later moved out because he wanted to learn to be independent.

Chen Jian might be having an apprenticeship with Nottingham Forest at the moment, but that did not stop him from continuing his studies at Nottingham University. He keeps a low-profile in school, and does not reveal his additional identity as a footballer to his school mates.

Having spent three years in England, Chen Jian no longer struggles with communicating in English. He is always the most hardworking and passionate player amongst his team mates, and the coaches would always use him as an exemplar to encourage his team mates to train hard.

His behavior piqued the interest of his team mates and they asked him, “Do all Chinese people work as hard as you?”

Chen Jian should feel lonely and left out since he was the only Chinese or Asian in his team. However, he focused all his attention on his training solely, and he did not think about any of these other trifles.

He knew that he was in a race against time. He would not be able to accomplish anything in his life if he were to slack on his training now.

He firmly believes in a principle that was brought up in many of the stories that he listened to while growing up:

A genius is only able to achieve success because he is working hard in the time that another uses to drink coffee. There is no such thing as a genius who is able to achieve success just by relying on his gift alone.

If even a genius needs to work hard, then there was no way an ordinary person like him could not work hard.

A genius would still have his gift without hard work, but an ordinary person would have nothing without hard work.

Chen Jian was assigned to train with the U15 team during the very first year that he joined Nottingham Forest due to his poor foundation in football. He might have stuck out like a sore thumb amongst a group of 14 to 15 year olds, but he was not embarrassed about the situation. He put his heart and soul into training his footballing foundation, and he did not care about the looks that were thrown his way.

It was difficult for him to find a training partner as a result of the age gap between him and his other team mates in the U15 team. Therefore, he could only practise by himself most of the time.

Chen Jian was also unable to participate in the U15 competitions.

In China, it was common for players to lie about their actual ages, but that was not the case in England.

In truth, Chen Jian longed to participate in the U15 competitions. Every time the team participated in a competition, he would sit by the side and become very engrossed in watching how the players play football.

The players might be younger than him by four or five years, but besides his physical build being slightly better than theirs, he was not able to find a single advantage that he had over them.

Chen Jian was also not able to participate in intra-team U15 competitions either. He was too old, and it would be too easy for him to take advantage of his physical build, which would make things unfair to the younger and smaller players in the team.

This situation lasted for close to a year.

In the second year, Chen Jian was promoted to train with the U18 team despite being nearly 20 years old by then. However, even then, he was still unqualified to participate in U18 competitions such as the FA Youth Cup. He was only able to play in intra-team U18 competitions, or some unofficial warm-up competitions. But, he was still able to participate in some kind of competition at the very least.

Chen Jian was actually a very intelligent person. His intelligence can be discerned from how he was able to converse in fluent English with his British team mates in just a short period of time.

Even if he was not selected to play in a particular game, Chen Jian would still make a trip down to watch the match in person. In fact, he never misses a match that Nottingham Forest plays in, be it a youth team match, a reserve team match or a first team match.

The best part about watching the match in person rather than on TV is that his view would not be restricted by the camera shot. He is able to get a complete view of the entire pitch.

Other than a few occasional appearances as a right back, Chen Jian mostly featured as a midfielder who operated down the middle of the pitch in the youth team. It was a position that required him to be able to see and grasp everything that was happening on the pitch.

He would mull over every action that a player takes while he watches the game from the stands.

Why did they choose to deal with the ball that way and not this way? What are the pros and cons of every possible method of dealing with something?

He would pay attention to the performance that the more famous players put in on the pitch. He would observe how they play football in general.

Chen Jian believes that watching football is also a form of training. A player who is willing to rack his brains and analyze the game being played out before him would definitely be able to learn a lot of things just by watching.

He also carries a small notebook with him whenever he shows up to watch the matches. He would jot down everything that he observed or thought of as he watched the match, so that he is able to refer to the notes again in the future.

A midfielder needs to be the most intelligent player on the pitch, because he needs to be able to analyze what is happening on the pitch at all times and make the best decision that corresponds with the situation. In this sense, the training that Chen Jian has given himself is apt.

Chen Jian did not only watch and analyze the games. He would also try to apply what he learned from the matches in his actual training.

All the coaches of the youth team admire his way of playing football in which he would make use of his brain.

Chen Jian did not have any advantage in his physicality once he was put into the U18 team. There were lots of professional footballers who were physically stronger than he was. Asians simply are not able to measure up against the Westerners in terms of physical stature and height.

In terms of explosive power, Chen Jian was not the weakest in the team, but neither was he the most outstanding. He was just average at best. The only thing that he could work on to make himself stand out from the rest of his team mates was his ability to make use of his brain. Unlike physical stature and height, a person’s intelligence does not rely on his genes.

He might not be physically strong enough. He might lack explosive power and he might also not be fast enough. But, he can make up for all those weaknesses with his intellect.

A year has passed since Chen Jian trained himself to use his brains more while playing football, and he has managed to achieve outstanding results.

He might not be able to participate in the FA Youth Cup or the Youth League, but he was able to put up good performances in the intra-team matches.

Chen Jian typically plays as a defensive midfielder for his team. When he has to defend, he does not make use of his physicality to fight for the ball with his opponents. Instead, he would judge where his opponent would run to during his attack and then run over to the area before his opponent is able to get there so as to intercept the ball and stop the opposition’s offense before it threatens his team’s goal.

Similarly, he would not try to use his pace against his opponents when he is trying to bring the ball forward during an attack. He would always observe the situation on the pitch after he has received a pass, and he would then pass the ball over to where it should be passed to. Doing so makes his attacks easy, effective and straightforward. It also enables him to grasp any fleeting chance to catch their opponents off guard and launch an attack.

However, it did not matter how hard he trained and how well he performed in the youth team. He remained as an ‘apprentice’ in Nottingham Forest, and the club has never offered him a new professional contract. His salary was very low and it was only enough to let him live his life in Nottingham. He was not able to send money back to his parents, and neither did he have the money to spend on women to satisfy his biological needs.

His life was simple and dull. He spent most of his time at either the training grounds or his apartment, and he would drop by the university once in a while. It has been three years since he came to Nottingham, but he has only gone to the downtown shopping district five times so far, and he did not even know where the other places of entertainment were at.

He did not know how much longer such a life would last. He was not some monk doing penance. He craved to live a life of higher quality, but he needed to be given a higher salary in order for him to achieve that. He needed a new professional contract.

He still vividly remembers every single word that Tony Twain said to him in that very phone call.

“… You are just an apprentice. I won’t guarantee you anything. I won’t promise that you’d be able to fulfil your dream and become a professional footballer in the future. Don’t even think about something like being able to represent the first team in competitions right now! The club will also not be able to promise you anything. Be it your pay, your treatment or a guaranteed contract… We won’t promise you anything. We would not give you anything besides a chance. It is possible that you would still be in the reserves team fighting for a spot in the first team once you are 26. It is also possible that you would be kicked out of the club and be forced to join a semi-professional football team. There are even worse scenarios, but I leave those to your imagination…”

Will those scenarios become a reality?

Chen Jian did not return to China during the month’s long vacation. He intended to use the time to continue with his practice.

His actions caused his mother to worry about him, and she took a month’s leave to fly over to England to visit him. His father, on the other hand, was not able to fly over because he had to work. That was to be expected, since his family was not rich enough to be able to emigrate over to England to be with their son.

Chen Jian could be considered to be working right now, and it was good that he no longer needed to ask for money from his parents.

Both his parents were doing jobs with a low salary. It would take them a long time to plan their finances before they are able to pay for a trip to England.

Chen Jian hoped that he would be able to receive a professional contract from the club soon. This would increase his salary and he would then be able to reduce the financial burdens on his parents.

It would mostly be a lie if he were to say that he wanted to play football because it was his passion. His wish was to turn his passion into his profession. There would be nothing more blissful to him in this whole wide world than that.

His mother brought numerous bags of items with her when she came over to England. Most of the items were specialties and condiments from Sichuan.

She had brought them along because she was worried about her son’s inability to taste authentic Sichuan cuisines during his time in England, and because she wanted to save money, since the cost of living in England was much higher as compared to Mianyang City, their hometown.

However, Chen Jian could not eat of any of the Sichuan food products she brought along, be it the Sichuan bacon or sausages, because he was a professional athlete and he could not eat any of those food.

In truth, he really wanted to eat them, but he had to force himself to stay away from them. If he was not able to persevere with this strict diet, then he should just give up on being a professional footballer entirely.

His mother could not understand why he would find boiled chicken delicious. Despite their disagreements over food however, the two still spent a happy month with each other. Chen Jian did not feel as lonely with his mother by his side.

Every night after training, he would bring his mother out to shop. At times, he would also bring her to watch Forest’s first team matches at the stadium. He wanted to let her experience the crazy atmosphere. However, his mother did not want to go after a visit or two because she found the atmosphere too noisy and she did not think that her heart would be able to take it…

When the time for their separation drew near, Chen Jian began contemplating about what he should get for his parents as a gift. He eventually decided to bring his mother over to London during the weekend to buy a gift for both of them.

Oxford Street is a famous business district in London. Nearly all of the luxury brands in the world have set up a retail store in this district.

Every year, large numbers of tourists make their way over to shop for branded products at Oxford Street. They come here to shop not because of the appeal of the luxury brands, but because the products here are slightly cheaper as compared to other places.

Despite the cheaper price however, the expression on Chen Jian’s mother’s face changed after she glanced at the price tags on a few items. She immediately pulled on her son and urged him to leave. She looked like she would never go near any of these shops in her life again.

Regrettably for her, Chen Jian was adamant about buying them gifts as his way of showing filial piety towards them.

It was only natural for Chen Jian to want to buy gifts for his parents, considering what they had done for him in the past.

His parents were the only ones who stood up for him at a time where all his close friends and relatives were against his decision of dropping out of the Tianjin Police Academy to pursue his footballing dream in England.

They did not think that Chen Jian was talented enough to make a name for himself in the footballing scene. One of his relatives who had no knowledge of the state of football in England used the state of football in China as a way of deterring him from going over to England.

“Jian, look at the reputation surrounding Chinese professional football! Listen to me. Don’t think about the quality of the school that you are enrolled in. All you need to do is to get a certificate. When you graduate and return here, I will use my connections to land you a job at the court. Don’t become a professional footballer, okay?”

If Chen Jian could still vividly remember the spectacle whereby all his relatives made a trip over to talk him out of his decision, then he would certainly remember how his parents had supported him in the face of his relatives even more clearly.

His relatives intended to get his parents to stop him from pursuing unrealistic things. They knew that there was a chance that Chen Jian would not listen to their words, no matter how good a relationship they might have with him. However, a son would surely not disobey his parents should they tell him to give up on his impractical dream.

Chen Jian’s parents gave a unified response to their relatives when asked. “It’s up to Chen Jian. We as parents can’t interfere with his decision. If he wants to go, then we’d let him go.”

His relatives could say nothing else when his parents were supportive of his decision. Chen Jian subsequently flew over from Sichuan to England and began his journey to realize his dream.

Chen Jian did not know what he would be doing now if not for his parents’ open-mindedness.

Perhaps he would have gotten a job at court through his relative’s connections, and also end up owing his relative a huge favour in the process. Or perhaps he would have become a security guard in Tianjin after graduation.

Who knows?

He definitely needed to do something to reciprocate the support he received from his parents.

However, he needed an excuse to get his mother to accept his gift wholeheartedly. Thus, he told his mother that he had just signed a new contract with the club before she arrived in England. He was no longer just an apprentice but a professional footballer. His salary was one that a professional footballer would draw and definitely could not compare to the salary he was getting as an apprentice.

Therefore, it was not a problem to spend a bit of money to buy gifts for them!

His mother was happy for him after hearing the news. Chen Jian felt like it was worth lying after seeing the smile on her face.

As for how to cover up his lie afterwards, he would just think about it another time.

In the end, Chen Jian used up his two years’ worth of savings to buy a tuxedo and a casual outfit for his father, and a handbag and skirt for his mother.

His mother wore the skirt and walked out of the dressing room happily. She looked a little embarrassed as she looked at herself before the mirror.

“My son is a famous football star now.” She quickly averted the topic to hide her embarrassment from her son. “Your dad will also be very happy when he hears this.”

“I’m just a professional footballer. I’m not a football star, mum…”

He might have feigned composure before his mother, but worry still crept onto his face when he walked over to the cashier to make payment.

He was not concerned about the money he had to spent to buy the gifts for his parents. He was just worried that his lie would be exposed one day. He could not imagine how disappointed his parents would be then…

His mother’s flight was scheduled to take off on Tuesday afternoon. Chen Jian went to find the youth team manager, Greenwood, to request for a day off during training on Monday.

Greenwood did not accede to his request straight away. Instead, he grinned at him and said, “You came at a good timing, Chen. I received a call from South Wilford earlier. They told me to inform you to make a trip over and find Manager David Kerslake when you reach.”

Chen Jian was confounded. “I’m sorry, Manager Greenwood. I didn’t catch your words. Can you repeat yourself once more?”

Greenwood coughed lightly. “The first team assistant manager David Kerslake wishes to speak to you.”

“Me?” Confusion was written all over Chen Jian’s face. He did not interact with the first team coaching staff before. Why would the first team manager want to speak him?

Greenwood could not hold back his words after seeing the foolish look on Chen Jian’s face. He slapped him on the back and said, “He’s going to tell you to sign a new professional contract! You are not going to be an apprentice after this.”

Chen Jian would have thought that he must be dreaming if not for the fact that Greenwood’s slap was painful.

“You mean… They want to sign a professional contract with me?” He asked in disbelief.

“That’s right, Chen. Are all the Chinese as cautious as you? I’ve already repeated myself so many times, yet you still don’t believe in me. If you don’t believe in me, then I’m going to call them to put away the contract…”

Before he could finish his words however, Chen Jian had already run away from him after giving him a curt bow.

It took a while before the words, “Thank you, Manager Greenwood!” reached his ears.

Greenwood smiled. “Why are you thanking me? You should thank yourself, Chen.”

The first team training session had concluded a while back, but both Tony Twain and Kerslake had stayed behind to wait for their man in the office.

Sounds of hurried footsteps and rough breathing could be picked up down the corridor. The two looked at each other and smiled.

Their man was here.

Chen Jian stood before the closed door. He was not in a hurry to knock on the door. He held up a fist, lowered his head and closed his eyes. He tried his best to calm himself down and slow down his breathing.

No one could blame him for feeling so worked up after hearing the news. Nonetheless, it would still be very embarrassing to enter the room looking the way he was right now.

A while passed before he finally raised his hand to knock on the door.

“Come in.” Kerslake’s voice rang out from behind the door.

“Manager Twain. Manager Kerslake.” Chen Jian politely greeted both managers as he made his way inside.

Kerslake was full of smiles when he responded to his greeting. “Hello, Chen.”

Twain, on the other hand, was more composed and only nodded his head as acknowledgement.

“Judging from the way you look… I suppose you already know why we want to speak to you today?”

Chen Jian nodded his head forcefully. He was afraid that they would change their minds if he were to nod too softly.

“We have always kept an eye on your performances for the past two years. You have performed well in the youth team. Tony thinks that you are talented. If we were to count the year where you became a part of us after joining the talent show, then you have improved very fast in these 3 years.”

The first image that surfaced in Chen Jian’s mind was his mother’s smile. He no longer had to worry about the lie he told her earlier.

I did not lie! I’m really going to be given a professional contract now!

“You still don’t have an agent yet right?”

Chen Jian nodded his head.

“Hmm… It doesn’t matter. It’s just a normal contract like any other. Go through it yourself.” Kerslake passed the contract over to him.

Chen Jian scanned through the contract. He did not care about what was written on the contract. He only paid attention to the duration of the contract and his weekly pay. It was a four year contract, and he was going to be given 1500 pounds a week.

It was not a high salary, but it was much better than the salary he was drawing as an apprentice right now.

“I’ve finished looking through it. I have no issues with it! Can I sign on it now?” Chen Jian wished that a pen would magically appear in his hands right now.

Kerslake was about to open his mouth, but Twain cut him off.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, lad.” The manager who had not spoken a single word since Chen Jian entered the room stood to his feet. “I want you to think about it carefully. Is this your final goal?”

Chen Jian did not understand what Twain was trying to say. He looked at him in confusion.

“We might have given you a professional contract, but based on your current abilities, you would still not be able to play for the first team. Even if we were to put aside the issue of the work permit, you would still not be able to appear in any of the first team matches. You also can’t play in any of the reserve team matches.”

Chen Jian felt as though someone had doused cold water over him after hearing Twain’s words. He was instantly able to cool down and think rationally.

What Twain said was right. Even if he signed the contract, he would still not be seen as an official member of Nottingham Forest, because he would not be able to represent Forest in any of its matches.

What good is there in being a professional footballer if he was not able to participate in matches?

Was he just going to go to the training grounds to train every day and then draw a salary for it?

I am indeed playing football to earn money, but this is not how I want to earn money.

Chen Jian shook his head. “If I’m not able to participate in matches, then why are you still giving this contract to me? I don’t understand, Mr. Twain…”

Twain glanced at Kerslake, before continuing, “The reason why we called you here alone is because we have a special arrangement with regards to your contract with us… By signing this contract, you are undoubtedly a member of Nottingham Forest. We would be responsible for your professional career. However, as you know, the work permit is an issue. You won’t be able to play for the team. We also wouldn’t sign a player and leave him to train on our training grounds for four years. It’d be too much of a waste.”

“I do think highly of you. You have the potential to become a star player in the future. I believe that what you need right now is to play in matches against decent teams. There’s little you can learn by training in the youth team. But, as you know, you can’t feature in matches if you don’t have a work permit. It does not matter how talented you might be.” Kerslake said. “This is a vexing issue, Chen.”

Twain went on to say, “Let’s not think about your personal abilities and potential for now. Let’s focus on the work permit for now. Actually, there are many ways to obtain a work permit. It just depends if you are willing to do them. One of the ways is to marry a British woman.”

Chen Jian was shocked. He was only 20 years old this year. He has been preoccupied with becoming a professional footballer for the past few years, so he did not have any time to spare to find a girlfriend.

How could someone like him possibly have contemplated about marriage?

Twain smiled after seeing Chen Jian’s reaction. “Looks like this is a dead end. The other way is to apply for British citizenship.”

Chen Jian was not as shocked this time round. He immediately shook his head. “This is impossible, Mr. Twain. China does not allow any of its citizens to hold dual citizenship.”

“Then just change your citizenship.” Twain told Chen Jian with a stoic face.

Chen Jian became even more animated. “No way! Definitely not! I have never thought about something like that. I am Chinese. How could I possibly give up my Chinese citizenship? My parents would never agree to this either…”

“Okay, let’s say you get selected to be a member of the Chinese national football team and you manage to play in 75 per cent of your national team’s ‘A-ranked’ matches. The Chinese national football team would also need to be ranked in the top 75 teams in the world… I don’t think that’s possible based on their current abilities. I also think it’s a pity for you to be playing football in China…” Twain furrowed his brows and continued to speak to Chen Jian gravely. “I still think it’s better for you to consider doing one of those two things that I told you about earlier. Either you marry a British woman or you change your citizenship.”

Chen Jian continued to shake his head. “Mr. Twain. I am really grateful that you think so highly of me. It doesn’t matter if my abilities are good enough to get into the Chinese national football team or not. It also doesn’t matter how poor the Chinese national football team is. I will never reject being a player for them as long as they request for me to do so. It’s impossible for me to change my citizenship, Mr. Twain. Perhaps you do not understand this strong sense of belonging that we Chinese feel towards China… I don’t know how to explain this feeling to you either. Anyway, I won’t ever change my citizenship. I can’t do something like give up my Chinese citizenship to play football…”

Chen Jian suddenly felt as though the contract he was holding in his hands was very heavy.

He was prepared for the worst. He was prepared to either give up the opportunity to sign a professional contract with Nottingham Forest and return to China, or to play football in another country that did not require a work permit.

Twain shrugged. “I certainly don’t understand. Isn’t your dream to become a true professional footballer? Then why are you hesitating now that the chance is right before you? I think it’s very normal to change your citizenship. Look at all the famous professional footballers. They all hold multiple citizenships. Didn’t the Brazilian football star Aílton give up his Brazilian citizenship to join Qatar so that he could participate in World Cup?”

Chen Jian furrowed his brows as he explained to the British manager, “It’s not the same, Mr. Twain. The Chinese are different from the people from other parts of the world. Why is there a Chinatown in almost every country? I might not harbor such thoughts if I was born in England. But I was born and raised in China…” He started becoming more and more exasperated as he spoke. He did not know how to explain his feelings to the manager before him.

He bit on his lip and contemplated for a while. “A dream is just a dream, Mr. Twain. My dream is to turn my passion into my profession. However, neither my dream or my job would ever become more important than my ‘motherland’. The word ‘motherland’ also refers to the land of your mother. How could anyone turn their back on their mother just for money? Being filial to your parents is one of the many Chinese morals that we are taught, and it is also the most important. How can I still call myself a human if I push my mother aside just to play football?”

Chen Jian got more and more worked up as he continued to try and explain his thoughts to Twain.

Eventually, he decided to just return the contract to him.

“I would rather give up on this chance if I really have to give up on my citizenship to play for Nottingham Forest, Mr. Twain.”

Neither Twain nor Kerslake picked up the contract. Instead, the two broke out laughing.

“What did I tell you, David? Don’t underestimate a Chinese’s stubbornness! Ha!”

Twain then looked at the dumbstruck Chen Jian who could not make sense of what was happening. “Don’t worry. There’s no one here who would force you do anything that you don’t want to do. As for what citizenship you want to choose, that’s entirely up to you. Your decision would not affect the validity of this contract. We still want you to sign this contract.”

“Then… Just now…” Chen Jian was at a loss.

“That was just a joke.”

The expression on Chen Jian’s face turned solemn. “But I don’t think that was a very funny joke, Manager.”

Twain became a little embarrassed after hearing him say that. “All right, I’d apologize to you. I’d apologize to you sincerely for that. I definitely understood what you meant and how you felt earlier. I’m not joking about this. After all, I am a British who knows a thing or two about China.”

Chen Jian’s happiness had completely vanished due to the ‘joke’ that the two had pulled on him.

He looked at the contract in his hands and suddenly began thinking a lot more about his future. He was not as excited as he was at the start.

That’s right. Even if I do sign on this contract, I can’t guarantee that I’d be able to succeed in the future. This is just the first small step in the long journey ahead of me. If I can’t play a match for Forest, then where should I go four years from now? Will I be able to continue playing professional football? If I can, where can I go?

The work permit. The Chinese national team. My citizenship…

All these various issues continued to linger and encircle his mind.

Twain seemingly read his mind. He placed his hand on Chen Jian’s shoulder. “Don’t think about things in the future. You should focus on playing well for now. If you really possess the skills needed to represent Forest in matches, we would apply for the work permit for you. Thus, the work permit is not an issue. The only issue is whether you have the abilities to represent Forest. Do you understand?”

Twain’s words enlightened Chen Jian.

That’s right. I might not be able to get the work permit in the end, but as long as I have the abilities, then isn’t it the same no matter where I play football? My dream was never to play for Nottingham Forest either…

Chen Jian eventually signed on the contract by penning down the Chinese characters for his name.

Twain received the signed contract from him. He scrutinized his signature for a while, before he smiled and said, “You sure wrote your name nicely.”

He passed the contract over to Kerslake before turning to face him once again. “I heard your mother is in Nottingham?”

It was only then that Chen Jian remembered why he tried to find Manager Greenwood earlier.

“Yes, but she’s flying back tomorrow. I was going to request for a day off from Manager Greenwood to send her off…”

“No problem. You can just make a request to me. Anyway, I approve of your request. Go ahead and send your mother off tomorrow. After you are done with that, I want you to start packing your things. You have to prepare to leave England as well.”

The news caught Chen Jian off guard.

Are they trying to chase him away now that he has signed the contract?

“What kind of rubbish are you thinking about now? Why do you always like to think about all these useless things? Greenwood said that you are an intelligent player, but you need to use your intellect on other things! Without a work permit, you can’t play in any matches here. Why would we keep you here? Can you develop your skills just by training? You obviously need to participate in matches! That’s why, you are already on loan to Volendam, a Dutch football club that is playing in the Eerste Divisie. Develop yourself while you are there!”

Chen Jian did not think that he would be able to play in an official league match so soon. It might only be for a club in the Eerste Divisie, but he was not picky.

It was great that he was able to play in a match after being deprived of any chance for three years. How could he possibly still be picky?

“There’d be a language barrier, but you need to get used to it. No matter what, I still hope that you’d be able to perform well over there. From my point of view, I don’t want any player that walks out of Nottingham Forest to become a laughingstock to others. From your point of view, you need to perform well for your own good.”

Chen Jian nodded his head forcefully. “I promise you I’d do my best over there!”

Twain smiled after seeing the way he reacted to his words. Chen Jian reminded him of how a member of the Young Pioneers [1] would act when they were inducted into the organization…

“Word is cheap. If you fail to perform over there, then this would be the very last contract you are getting from us.” Twain pointed at the contract in Kerslake’s hands.

Then, he paused a little and changed the tone and language that he had been using up till then.

“Chen Jian.”

“Huh?” Chen Jian did not expect Twain to suddenly speak in Sichuan dialect at all. It took him aback.

“You are a player who only started playing football recently. You know what you lack, don’t you? It’s time. It doesn’t matter how hard you train. This is something that you can’t make up for through training. Three years of training…” Twain raised three of his fingers. “Is definitely a very short time for any player who’s aiming to become a professional footballer. But you don’t have a choice. It doesn’t matter where you are playing football. You have to remember one thing. You do not possess talent, and you also do not possess time. You cannot afford to make mistakes, and you also do not have the right to complain about your circumstances. You are incredibly lucky to even be able to get to where you have today. So, from now on, I want you to keep pushing ahead, no matter what obstacles lay in front of you. You don’t have another choice. Do you understand?”

Chen Jian nodded his head. “Yes, I understand.”

Twain smiled and then reverted back to speaking in English. “Don’t think about anything and don’t care about anything. Just keep moving forward. Keep moving forward…”

Twain’s voice started to trail away and eventually became a whisper. His vision became blurry as he spoke as well.

Isn’t it the same for him?

Ever since the day he transmigrated, hasn’t he also just kept moving forward? He also has to keep moving forward now and in the future as well…

Destiny chose him and he does not have a choice either. Just like Chen Jian, there was no way back for him.

“Keep moving forward!” Twain’s voice changed back to how it was earlier, and his vision also started to clear up.

He looked at Chen Jian. “You will definitely achieve your dream someday. Don’t forget that expression that you made just now when you were adamant about retaining your Chinese citizenship.”

Chen Jian bowed deeply to Twain.

A day later, Chen Jian sent his mother off at the Heathrow Airport. He also told her that he was going to play football in Netherlands then.

His mother wished him all the best after hearing the news.

Two days later, Chen Jian packed his belongings and made a trip over to Netherlands all by himself. There was no attention from the media over his departure, and there were also no fans to send him off at the airport. He was going to start chasing after his dream in a new and foreign country.

At the same time, Dunn began his journey to achieve his dreams over at the Meadow Lane Stadium that was situated north of the Trent River. He was being revealed for the very first time before the press as the new manager for Notts County, and he displayed a slightly bashful smile before the cameras.

As for Tony Twain, he continued to lead Nottingham Forest, a team that has his name deeply engraved upon it, towards a brand new tomorrow.

The radiant morning sun rose up slowly from beneath the horizon, and it shone light onto the faces of everyone who were on their way to achieve their goals and dreams.

Chapter 825 - Two Years Later

The rays of the morning sun seeped into the room through a small gap between the curtains.

Twain got off bed gently, before turning around to glance at his sleeping wife. He then donned on his pajamas and left the room quietly.

He turned on the tap and squeezed a lot of toothpaste over his toothbrush. He then put his neatly folded bath towel next to the sink. He was all prepared to wash his face and brush his teeth so as to get refreshed for the new day.

The moment he raised his head however, he became dumbstruck.

The man he was seeing in the mirror was foreign to him.

He looked like someone who had not slept in ages. The crisscross wrinkles on his face seemed as though they had been engraved onto his face with a knife, and his eyes were bloodshot as well.

However, what he found most unsightly was not his wrinkles or his bloodshot eyes, but rather the clump of dishevelled white hair on top of his head.

Twain tilted his head and stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long while. He did not care about how the tap was still running and how his toothpaste had already slipped down onto the basin.

He welcomed his 45th birthday a month ago, on 9th September 2013.

Time passed by really quickly. Before he even knew it, it has been more than 10 years since he transmigrated.

If not for the fact that he transmigrated, he should only be 32 years old right now and should still be considered young. He would have been at an age where he could still afford to mess around in life and pretend to be someone young on the internet. He also would not have to care about any complex philosophical issues such as where life comes from and where it leads to.

However, as a result of his transmigration, he was already 45 years old this year.

It is said that you have lived half your life when you reach 50 years old. But, how many people in this world can live till they are 100 years old? One is considered to have lived a long life if he or she is able to live till they are 90 years old. Hence, being 45 years old signified that he had already lived half of his life.

A thought surfaced in Twain’s mind for the very first time as he stared at his aged self in the mirror:

It does not matter if I never suffer a second heart attack. I am not far away from death either way. The time I have left will not be longer than the time I have lived.

Melancholy gushed up within him at the thought.

When would he too, turn into an old man who is gibberish, confused, unable to speak loudly, perpetually wheelchair-bound and who required assistance wherever he went?

He had always thought that he still had a long way to go before he would end up in that state. But, why does he feel like those things would happen very soon now?

The sounds of the running water caught the attention of Shania, who had been lazing around on bed.

In truth, she had woken up when Twain got off the bed. She lied on the bed and tried her hardest to suppress her smile as she watched her husband get off the bed gently so as to not wake her.

The sounds of running water emerged shortly after Twain made his way into the bathroom. However, it has been almost 10 minutes since he went in, and the sounds have not ceased.

The smile on Shania’s face disappeared. She sat up on the bed and called out, “Uncle Tony?”

There was no response.

Shania’s heart began to beat wildly. An unpleasant thought surfaced in her mind.

Did Tony’s heart attack relapse?

At the thought of that, Shania jumped off the bed in a panic. She did not care that she was only wearing an underwear then, and she did not bother trying to put on her slippers either. She ran into the bathroom next door without anything on her upper body and her feet.

The first thing she saw was not Uncle Tony lying unconscious on the floor. She heaved a sigh of relief and broke into a smile when all she saw was Twain holding onto a toothbrush and staring at his reflection in the mirror with his head tilted to the side.

“You scared me to death, Uncle Tony.”

No one responded to her.

“Uncle Tony!” Shania had to raise her voice and shout.

“Huh? What? Oh…” Twain saw the way that Shania was dressed, and he immediately understood what had happened.

“You must have let your imagination run wild again, right?”

Shania rolled her eyes. “You look like a corpse and you didn’t answer when I called you. Of course I’d be worried.” She walked over behind Twain and hugged him from behind.

“What were you looking at? You were so engrossed earlier.” She whispered by Twain’s ear.

“I was just looking at my white hair.” Twain forced a smile.

“You can just dye it.” Shania kissed the back of Twain’s neck. “Besides, it’s not like all your hair has turned white. It’s just your sideburns.”

The pair were being intimate with each other, but somehow, the sight of it seemed a little jarring when viewed from the mirror. The man looked old while the woman’s naked body emanated youth and passion.

If the two of them had not been doing such intimate acts, one would have thought that they shared a father-daughter relationship.

“Dye my hair?” Twain contemplated about it for a moment, then nodded his head. “That’s a good idea. But I’ve never thought that there’d come a day where I need to dye my hair.”

Shania smiled. “Every human being ages with time. I might look young to you now, but 10 years from now, I would be just like you as well. My dear philosopher, you will age faster if you keep having such deep thoughts about life every morning.”

Twain’s nether region slowly started reacting to the sensation of two lumps of plump flesh against his back. However, now was not the time to be doing those things.

He turned around and grasped Shania by the shoulders before trying to push her out of the room. “Put on your clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”

The eagle-eyed Shania noticed the abnormality with his nether region. She smiled proudly and said, “Look at that, Uncle Tony. We already did it yesterday, but you are still lustful in the morning! It’s proof that you haven’t aged at all!”

She then giggled as she finished her words and ran away right as Twain raised a hand and pretended that he wanted to hit her.

Twain saw Pierce Brosnan when he drove over to the training grounds at Wilford. The way in which he stood with a cigarette in his mouth and his brows furrowed made him look much older than he was.

Twain realized that he now has a tendency to observe the changes in the outward appearances of every person he interacted with. It might be due to what happened in the morning.

Time changes many people. He wanted to see what those changes are exactly.

“Hey, Mr. Bond. Why do you look so depressed in the morning?” Twain poked out his head from within the car and greeted Brosnan.

“Ah, Tony… The interview that you promised me…”

“I will arrange for it to happen some other day.”

“Not another day, Tony. My boss told me to get the exclusive interview with you today or else… Help me out please…”

“All right, all right. Let’s do it this afternoon then. At the restaurant in Wilford. We’d chat while we eat.”

More reporters rushed up to Twain when he finished dealing with Brosnan. They were all fighting for the chance to ask him questions.

“Mr. Twain! Can you discuss about Lennon’s transfer…”

The reporter’s question touched a nerve with Twain. He glared at him fiercely. “That is something that happened almost two months ago. What else do you want me to say? If you really can’t find a question to ask me, I’d suggest that you ask me about what I had for breakfast this morning, or what I intend to eat for lunch or dinner!”

Indeed. That was something that happened two months ago…

Aaron Lennon’s outstanding performance in Forest has allowed him to cement his position as a starting left winger for England’s national football team.

Currently, both the right and left winger positions on the national team are taken up by players from Forest, namely Bentley on the right and Lennon on the left. Walcott, who was nicknamed ‘The Little Tiger’, was forced to sit on the bench whenever the two could play.

Of course, Fabio Capello would not be displeased with such a situation. He was very fortunate to be able to choose from a number of high quality players for the same position.

Lennon’s ability to play on both the left and right wing has benefited his career significantly, because he was able to obtain more chances to play in a game as compared to others. The numerous chances to play in games allowed him to improve his skills and become more mature as a player, and his good performances eventually led to interest from other football clubs.

There were numerous football clubs that had put in a bid for Lennon this summer. They all wanted to buy a player like Lennon who could play on both the left and right wing.

However, Twain insisted that Lennon was not for sale. Lennon was a player whom he personally groomed. He was a player who climbed through the ranks from the youth team all the way to the first team, and he was also a player who was well-liked in the team.

Why would Twain think about selling a player like that, especially now that he was in his prime?

Despite Twain’s refusal however, Lennon still left Forest in the end. The reason was simple.

Inter Milan had put in a bid that Forest could not reject: 30 million pounds!

Allan Adams did not care about Twain’s refusal to sell Lennon and insisted on involving himself with the transfer. He forcibly sold Lennon to Inter Milan, and his actions led to a huge rift between the two. Things got very bad between them, and the two nearly engaged in a physical fight before Evan Doughty.

When the press started publishing articles about how the two did not see eye to eye, Twain did not offer any clarifications to the issue.

I’m not clarifying anything because I obviously don’t get along with that money grubber!

Sometime later, Kerslake consoled Twain by telling him about how Lennon was also intent on leaving the club because Inter Milan had offered him a higher salary as well as other bonuses.

Twain was well aware that Inter Milan’s offer was an attractive one. However, he felt that he would have managed to keep Lennon at the club for another two seasons by making use of his personal charisma. If Lennon wanted to leave the club after those two seasons, Twain would definitely not stop him then, because Adriano Moke would have developed into a good player by then.

But, Allan’s interference had completely foiled his plan.

He was not upset about Lennon’s sale. He was upset that Allan Adams had gone against his word, because they had come to an agreement previously that Allan would not interfere with his job.

As someone who liked to have control and authority over everything, Twain saw Allan’s actions as a humiliation.

The only reason why he did not resign and walk away from the club was out of consideration for Evan Doughty and the team. It would be very easy for Twain to leave the club and find a higher-paying job elsewhere based on his achievements. However, it would be very difficult for him to groom another team like Forest in a short period of time. Forest was a club that he had spent 10 years to groom. It was his everything.

Twain still has yet to bear a child of his own with Shania, but Nottingham Forest was just like his son. He had developed a deep bond with the team, and he just could not toss this 10 year old son of his aside.

Brosnan, who was well aware of Twain’s temper, did not dare to bring up Lennon’s name before him for the past two months.

The reporter who just asked him the question clearly looks like a newbie…

Twain was left in a bad mood due to the reporter’s question. He decided to take out his anger on all the other reporters at the scene by refusing to answer any of their questions. He pulled a long face and drew up his car window before driving into the training grounds.

Some of the reporters began ranting about the situation.

Of course, their rants were not directed at Twain, since they were well aware of his fiery temper after years of interviewing him.

Their rants were directed at the young reporter instead.

“Are you new to the job? How could you not know the rules?” A middle-aged man questioned the young reporter with a voice brimming with hostility.

“Who was it that got you to ask such a stupid question? Which news agency do you work for?” Another bespectacled man who looked like he was a gentle and well-mannered person also questioned the young reporter through gritted teeth.

“That’s a piece of news that had been widely reported two months ago. Why are you still asking about it now?” This reporter was the only one who asked his question in a nicer tone.

“Do you know who exactly you are interviewing? It’s not the ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ Kevin Keegan! It’s Tony Twain! Tony Twain! You must be an intern reporter… I really hate newbies who do not know anything…”

The crowd of reporters left after reprimanding the young reporter. Brosnan looked at the young reporter who looked helpless after being chided. He walked up to him, gently patted him on the shoulder, and left without saying anything.

The incident made Brosnan recall his experiences as an intern reporter. He did not need to tell the young reporter anything. The young man would definitely come to understand how it is normal to make mistakes as a newbie.

The reporters who congregate around Wilford are perhaps the most unique group of people in the whole of England. The various news agencies would only send their most talented or most experienced reporters to carry out interviews here at Wilford. It was very rare for any agency to send a newbie here because they would just end up humiliating themselves.

The job of interviewing Tony Twain, who was known as the hardest man to deal with in the whole of England’s footballing scene, was not something that any newbie reporter could handle. Additionally, a newbie reporter would also find it hard to fight for a piece of news amongst a group of veteran reporters.

Every single reporter who frequently appeared here at Wilford was a veteran reporter who has wrote articles about Nottingham Forest for more than three years. They have all picked up numerous strategies about how to deal with the moody ‘King of the Forest’ through their long-standing ‘battles’ with him. They were all more familiar with Twain than they were with their own wives and children.

Many of these veteran reporters are known as the ‘wily old foxes’. They are called such because they know how to observe and analyse a situation. They know when they should ask a particular question, and they know what are the questions that they must never ask him. They also know what questions would potentially elicit a fierce reaction from Twain that they could then report about in their articles. Last but not least, they also know what is the best way to ask their questions so as to elicit the best results.

They learned everything through experience. It was no different from how a professional footballer develops himself. A footballer would never be able to grow if he is not able to play in games…

New football players would become seasoned players one day, just like how newbie reporters would also become capable, veteran reporters through time.

A certain inept manager was also only able to lift two Champions League trophies, two Premier League trophies, one EFL Cup trophy, one FIFA Club World Cup trophy, two Community Shield trophies, two UEFA Super Cup trophies and become known as the ‘Manager of Champions’ after suffering a concussion by the side of the pitch.

The City Ground Stadium was usually silent when there were no matches being played. However, there were times where the silence would be broken by visitors who had travelled all the way over from thousands of miles away.

A big luxurious bus was parked at the parking lot outside the City Ground Stadium. A group of yellow-skinned Asians wearing red caps over their raven black hair followed a slender white-skinned beauty into the trophy room within the City Ground Stadium.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s trophy room. This room holds all the trophies and honours that Forest has earned ever since it was formed.” The beautiful tour guide was British. Her Chinese pronunciation was not very accurate, but she could still use it to communicate with others as a tour guide and translator.

“The team has obtained one EFL Cup trophy after its current manager Tony Twain took over.” The tour guide said as she pointed at a small but exquisite trophy in the cabinet.

“They were also crowned as the champions of the Community Shield twice.” She then pointed at two silver trophies that were shaped like a shield.

“They were also able to obtain two UEFA Super Cup trophies, one FIFA Club World Cup trophy…” The beautiful tour guide introduced the trophies of varying sizes to the visitors behind her. The trophies were all exquisite, and they shimmered under the light.

“And two Premier League trophies. The one on the right is a trophy that they obtained during the 2007 to 2008 season. That very season was also the season where Nottingham Forest was able to achieve the Double. The trophy on the left is very new. It’s the one that Manager Tony Twain was able to achieve in the previous season.”

She walked towards a big glass cabinet in the center of the room before stopping in her tracks. She then pointed at the four trophies within the cabinet, and then introduced them with pride,

“These four trophies that are shaped like big human ears are the trophies that signify the greatest honor possible amongst the European football clubs… The Champions League trophies!”

Some of the visitors who understood football led out gasps of astonishment, while the others remained emotionless. They simply stared at the trophies and wondered if those silverware were truly made of silver…

The visitors crowded around the glass cabinet. There was a rule that stated that they were not allowed to take photos, but there were still football fans amongst the crowds who secretly fished out their digital cameras or handphones to take a photo.

After all, it is not every day that one is able to see four Champions League trophies all in one place.

The tour guide did not notice the visitors’ actions. She continued to introduce the significance behind the trophies to everyone excitedly.

“The number of European football teams who have managed to win four or more Champions League trophies can be counted with two hands. They are the nine-time champions Real Madrid, the six-time champions AC Milan, the five-time champion Liverpool, the four-time champions Ajax, Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest! It is possible that Nottingham Forest would clinch a fifth trophy under the guidance of Manager Tony Twain soon!”

A visitor amongst the crowd raised his hand to ask a question. “Miss Tracy. Are you a die-hard fan of Tony Twain?”

The beautiful tour guide smiled after hearing the question. “Half of the people in Nottingham are his die-hard fans.”

The four Champions League trophies sat quietly within the glass cabinet and accepted the looks of wonder and admiration from the people beyond the glass.

There was an extraordinary story behind every single one of the trophies.

In Munich, Twain’s ‘swordsmen’ unsheathed their long swords from their shafts and shocked the whole of Europe during their very first appearance in the Champions League.

In Madrid, Forest was able to retain their champions title by defeating a tough team that had the then European Footballer of the Year as its player.

In Athens, Forest, who made its return to the top-flight European football competition, was able to put in a performance that made the King, AC Milan, pale in comparison. At that time, Tony Twain even shouted arrogantly that he would ‘jump into the sea’ if he could not win, but sadly, no one was able to get him to fulfil his promise.

In Moscow, Eastwood was able to clinch the winning goal against Chelsea amidst a heavy rain and help Forest defend its champions title for the second time. They were also able to achieve the double in that season as well.

If one were to quiet down and listen carefully, one could almost hear the sounds of muffled cheers that had been transmitted over from a distant time and space reverberate within each and every trophy.

“… The match is over! 1:0! Nottingham Forest, the club from England that made its maiden appearance in the Champions League has been crowned champions!”

“… Robson’s goal! The match is over…! Brian Clough has successfully led his team to retain the Champions League title at the Bernabéu! This is the highest ever honor for any football club! They are the Kings of Europe…”

“Freddy Eastwood! He has scored the goal needed to seal the victory for Forest! Tony Twain has finally led his team to clinch the Champions League trophy! They have defeated the mighty AC Milan!”

“It is pouring in Moscow right now, but the rain does not dampen the passion within the Nottingham Forest fans! It’s Freddy Eastwood once again! He has scored the goal needed to seal the victory for Forest again! The ones to topple under Robin Hood’s arrow this time round are the Blues! This is Nottingham Forest’s fourth Champions League trophy! All hail Forest! They have achieved the double!”

The visitors from China have left. Most of the lights in the trophy room were switched off and the room went dark, but the trophies continued to shimmer faintly within the darkness.

Chapter 826 - Destiny

“The defending champions of the Premier League, Nottingham Forest, has run into some troubles recently. They have gone without a win in three consecutive matches in the league, and the gap between them and first-placed Arsenal has increased to seven points. They were also eliminated by a Championship team in the EFL Cup. However, those are the least of Twain’s worries. His favorite player, Freddy Eastwood, has picked up another knee injury in the previous match, and that has left Twain in a very bad mood lately. The reporters who frequently appear at Wilford have all chosen to stay away and avoid asking him for comments.”

On November 1st, Matchday 11, Nottingham Forest faced Tottenham Hotspur in an away game.

Eastwood was knocked onto the ground when Michael Dawson tried to intercept his ball during the 54th minute of the match, and he was unable to get back to his feet after the collision.

Dawson was successful in snatching the ball from Eastwood, but he quickly kicked the ball out of bounds after realizing what had happened so as to allow Forest’s medical staff to get onto the pitch.

Dawson had intended to say a few comforting words to Eastwood, but he was pushed away by Forest’s medical staff who had rushed over to Eastwood’s side before he could say anything.

He might have been Nottingham Forest’s captain in the past, but he was now regarded as an enemy in the eyes of the Forest players.

Fleming and his two assistants carried out a medical examination of Eastwood as he laid on the ground moaning in pain.

“All right, all right. You’re going to be fine! You’re going to be fine!” The first thing Fleming did was not to check Eastwood’s knee. Rather, he looked at his expression instead. The sight of the Romani’s face shocked him. Tears had welled up in both of his eyes.

As a team doctor, Fleming would often get to see the expressions on the players’ faces up close when they lay injured on the pitch.

The expression on the players’ faces was all he needed to get a rough gauge of how serious their injury is most of the time, because it is said that we always know the state of our bodies the best.

Fleming knew of only one other example where a player cried after picking up an injury.

It was when Ronaldo collapsed on the pitch for the second time during the match with Nottingham Forest a few years ago.

Eastwood had opened his mouth wide and he looked as though he wanted to moan in pain. However, he was unable to produce a single sound. He resembled a fish that had just gotten out of the water.

“Stretcher. Stretcher.” Fleming called for the stretcher. The medical staff gingerly placed Eastwood onto it.

“You’d be just fine. Believe me. You’d be fine…” Fleming bent over to whisper by Eastwood’s ear as the latter was being carried off the pitch on the stretcher. He kept repeating his words as though he was performing a chant.

When they had gotten off the pitch, Fleming looked up and noticed Twain’s questioning gaze on him. He shook his head gravely in response, and he saw Twain swear.

The next day, Twain received even worse news.

Eastwood was seriously injured and was out of action for four months. In addition, he also needed to undergo an operation one more time.

“… This is very unfortunate. This is the third time Eastwood has to undergo a major operation for his injuries. His first came when he represented West Ham’s youth team in a match against Nottingham Forest’s youth team, and he picked up a serious injury after being tackled by George Wood. He had just celebrated his 30th birthday two days ago. Who would have thought that he’d receive this for a birthday present…”

“The 30 year-old Eastwood’s professional footballing career can be said to be legendary. He was once seen as a youth player with high prospects in West Ham’s youth team, but he was eventually discarded by West Ham after picking up a severe injury during the match against Nottingham Forest’s youth team. He then went on to play football in a semi-professional league, and also worked as a salesman selling second-hand cars…” The TV commentator spoke as though he was reciting a eulogy at Eastwood’s funeral.

“He was then brought over to City Ground Stadium by Tony Twain, and that was when he was given a second chance to play professional football. He scored the winning goal in the Champions League finals twice, and he has since become a legendary striker for Forest. He was the third highest goal scorer in the league during the season when Tony Twain returned to manage the club after ceasing treatment for his heart attack. He might have picked up one injury after another ever since then, but he was still able to score ten goals and above every season… This injury of his has probably dealt the heaviest blow to him so far. It might even lead to him ending his career in advance… According to his American operating doctor, Richard Steadman, Eastwood’s right knee is just like a bunch of torn cotton that had been stuffed together messily. There’s a possibility that he would get injured again after the operation…”

“Bastard!” Twain slammed his hand onto his desk. Kerslake, who stood beside him, did not dare to take a breath.

Twain was not reprimanding Kerslake, and neither was he reprimanding any other person.

He was reprimanding this terrible destiny of his.

He has never been able to have a healthy striker in his team ever since the day he brought back the Romani player from the soccer field in East London.

Eastwood was a brilliant forward when he was not injured. Twain firmly believes that Eastwood has the capacity to become one of the top strikers across the whole of Europe, but sadly, his injuries have become the fetters around his feet, and they have restricted his ability to run about freely.

Twain could not help but feel pity towards Eastwood over how life has toyed with him.

There was one other thing that infuriated Twain terribly as well.

Eastwood had called him an hour ago and told him personally that he had decided to retire as a professional footballer after his operation.

The two had a heated debate, or perhaps, argument, over the phone regarding his decision.

Twain refused to accept Eastwood’s decision to retire. He did not even want to hear the word ‘retire’. However, Eastwood had set his heart on it. He was going to follow through with his decision and was even going to oppose the King by arguing with Twain over the phone.

“Listen, Freddy! I won’t allow you to say the word ‘retire’! I won’t agree to your retirement either! You are just 30 years old. Why would you retire at this age? What I want you to do now is to go through with your operation, rest for four months, then return to the pitch and continue to play football! What are you so depressed about?”

“Boss, I know my own body the best! I really can’t go on like this anymore… Nine years ago, you told me to persevere and choose the path that I wanted to walk on. I listened to you, and I have walked on the path that I really love for nine years… It’s been nine years, boss. It’s been a long time. I really can’t walk any longer…”

Twain heard sobs coming from the other end of the phone. He fell silent and did not know what he could say to console him.

If Freddy were right before him this very moment, he would have hugged him without hesitation. However, they were separated by an icy cold telephone and intangible electromagnetic waves right now. There was nothing he could do.

Eastwood regained his composure after sobbing intermittently for a while. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Actually, I’ve been running a lot less during games recently. I would not be able to contribute much to the team even if I were to return to the pitch after my operation… I’m really tired, boss. Do you know what’s my biggest dream right now? It’s to take care of my horses and my kids, and to be with Sabina… That’s all I want. It’s not been an easy journey for me so far. I’ve gotten really tired from persevering all this while. I want to rest now…”

“Freddy…”

“Don’t try to talk me out of it, boss. I’ve made up my mind. I…”

Twain raised his voice and cut off Eastwood curtly, “Do you remember our promise? I’m going to become the legendary manager, and you are going to become the legendary striker! Do you remember, Freddy?”

“I’m sorry, boss. I’m sorry…” Eastwood’s voice was low and he was choking back sobs.

Twain abruptly raised his head after hearing those words from Eastwood. He pulled the phone away from his ear and pursed his lips, trying to hold back his tears from falling.

Fortunately for him, there was only one other person in the office besides him. No one else would be able to see the King of Nottingham Forest in such a state.

Twain successfully held back his tears. He then put the phone back to his ear.

The call had not ended. Eastwood was still on the other end.

“Freddy.”

“Boss?”

“Drop by Wilford once you are done with your operation. Say goodbye to everyone. I won’t tell them anything for now.”

“Okay.”

“Call me when you are coming.”

“I will.”

“Rest up for now, Freddy…” Twain hung up the phone quickly. He was worried that he would cry if he were to continue with the call any longer. His voice was starting to quiver towards the end.

You are going to retire right now! Right now! I want to arrange for a farewell match for you at the f*cking least! Freddy! You… Why would you choose to retire right now?

Twain walked about his office aimlessly. His chest rose and fell furiously, and he was not able to calm down for a long while.

Twain regarded every player who has worked with him for numerous years to be his friend, and he would feel devastated every time any of them left.

From Fernando Hierro to Demetrio Albertini to David Beckham to Ruud van Nistelrooy and now to Eastwood…

What he did not wish to see the most was a player retire before him. He would feel better if the player was just going to transfer to another club, because it meant that he would still able to see their familiar faces at other places.

But, retiring was different.

Twain would go into a slight daze every time Albertini appeared before him formally dressed as an official for the Italian Football Association.

How time flies…

No one else besides Twain and Eastwood knew about the latter’s decision to retire from football. However, the media still managed to pick up on it through the numerous rumors that had been floating around.

A post-match conference was held following the Champions League group stage match against Lyon. During it, a reporter asked about Eastwood’s injuries.

“… Based on the numerous reports going around, is there a possibility that Eastwood would retire?”

Twain’s face darkened at once. “I don’t know. I’m not a professional doctor. I can’t make any comments about his injuries.”

Another reporter raised his hand. Before he could open his mouth however, Twain had pointed a finger at him and said, “If it’s about Eastwood, then I’m sorry. I refuse to reply. It has nothing to do with the match.”

The reporter opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to say something, but he eventually sat back down.

Clearly, he had intended to ask a question about Eastwood.

“Let’s talk about the match.” Twain changed the topic. “We defeated Lyon in an away game, and we are already guaranteed of a spot in the next round of the competition with two matches still to play. I’m very pleased. I’d like to thank the team for being united.”

Why would the reporters be interested in hearing those words of his?

Sadly, they were not given a single chance to ask about Eastwood’s injuries at the press conference. No one knew what the outcomes of Eastwood’s injuries were.

The reporters decided to switch targets and ask the players for comments since they were unable to obtain anything valuable off Twain.

“Freddy? We all hope he can recover quickly and come back to the team soon! The locker room just isn’t as lively without him around! Ha!” Pepe laughed as he spoke.

“I hope that he can recover quickly. But, there’s no use in rushing things either. He should take the time to rest up properly before returning. That’s much safer for him.”

“Freddy! You can do it!” Ibi?evi? raised his fists and shouted at the camera after scoring a goal during the match. During his celebration of the goal, he had lifted his jersey up to reveal a shirt with the words ‘This goal is for Freddy’ beneath.

Interviewing George Wood was the hardest, especially since the reporters wanted to ask him for his opinions regarding Eastwood’s injuries. Everyone knew that Wood was to blame for Eastwood’s rocky footballing career. Eastwood’s current team mate and captain was the first to injure his right knee that has since underwent three operations.

“I… I think he’d return…” Wood sounded uncertain when he spoke. “Probably… Will return.”

Wood hastily left after making the comment. It seemed as though he was escaping from the question.

Eastwood’s teammates were generally positive about his recovery and return to the team.

Three days later, Freddy Eastwood underwent the third operation on his right knee in America.

When the operation was over, his operating doctor told him that things were not looking good for his knee. He was not sure if Eastwood could return to the pitch following the operation.

Eastwood responded to the doctor’s remarks with a smile. It was as though he did not take it to heart even though it was a piece of bad news.

He flew back to England under the accompaniment of his wife after resting for a week. He then gave a call to Twain as promised.

“Boss, I’m going to drop by and visit everyone.”

Twain understood what his words really meant.

It was time for goodbye.

Freddy Eastwood appeared at the training grounds during the morning training session the next day.

It has been quite some time since the Nottingham Forest players last saw him, and everyone was just glad to see him even though it was clear that he would not be joining them any time soon since he was still on crutches.

“Hey, Freddy! It’s been a long time! How’s the weather like in America?”

“I heard the operation was a total success? Do you still need to rest for another three months?”

“Have a speedy recovery and come back soon! Everyone misses you.”

Eastwood’s teammates swarmed up to him. They patted him on the shoulder and on the head and asked him about his condition and his life.

Kerslake was pleased to see all the Forest players crowding around Eastwood and did not say anything to stop them.

Twain, on the other hand, had a grim look on his face while he stood by the side with his sunglasses on.

Even George Wood, who hardly spoke to Eastwood, went up to greet him.?“We… Uh… We are all waiting for you to come back.”

Eastwood has never treated the ‘chief culprit’ who caused him to be in the state that he is in now kindly. Likewise, George Wood has always been a man of pride, and he would never admit his wrongdoings before Eastwood either. As a result, the relationship between the two has always been bad. The media had also widely reported about their ‘feud’ before.

However, Eastwood felt that it was meaningless to keep harping over such things now that he was about to retire.

He smiled at Wood for the very first time. “Thanks.”

Some of their teammates began whistling at the sight of Eastwood’s smile. They then called for them to shake hands and give each other a hug.

This is going to be one of the biggest news ever! Who would have thought that these two players would actually bury the hatchet after years of harboring a deep hatred for each other?

Despite their exhortations, the pair did not shake hands or hug each other.

Twain stepped forward after seeing that the conversations had gone on for quite a while. He coughed once to signal everyone to quiet down. Thereafter, he pointed at Eastwood and said, “Freddy came here today because he has something he wants to say to everyone.”

When he was done saying those words, Twain retreated to the side and gestured for the Romani player to move forward.

Eastwood slowly limped forward with the help of his crutches.

Everyone looked at him in confusion. They did not know what exactly he wanted to say to them.

“Uh… Umm… I nearly changed my mind earlier.” Eastwood clamped the crutches under his armpits and scratched his nose with his hand.

“I really want to play football with everyone again. But I know it’s not possible for me to do that any longer…”

Commotion broke out.

“Hey, Freddy. What are you saying?”

“I’m sorry, Freddy. Your English pronunciation is poor and you speak really fast too. I totally didn’t get what you were saying!”

“It’s not April’s Fool today, Freddy!”

Eastwood only continued speaking once everyone had calmed down slightly. “Guys, I’m not lying. The doctor told me after the operation that my knee would not be able to handle the strain that playing professional football brings. If I don’t want to keep walking like this in the future then…” He patted his crutches. “I better give up.”

“Let me finish my words first.” He noticed that some of his teammates looked like they had something to say, so he immediately gestured to stop them from talking. “I’ve thought about this for a long time… And I also discussed it with the boss.”

Eastwood turned around to glance at Twain. Twain looked emotionless with his sunglasses on. He almost looked like he was trying to act cool.

“I’ve decided to retire from football.” He finally said the words that he wanted to say.

Kerslake looked at Eastwood with surprise written all over his face. He then turned around to look at Twain. Twain had already lowered his head by then.

His teammates reacted fiercely. They all began shouting at the top of their voices agitatedly, and some even wanted Eastwood to take back his words.

“Eastwood! You… Do you know what you just said?”

“We are all waiting for you to return! How could you choose to run away?”

“Hey! Everyone! Calm down…”

“Why should we calm down? He has undergone three operations on his knee. He has pulled through the previous two times. Why can’t he do the same this time? You are only 30 years old! Why are you thinking about retirement?”

A cacophony of angry voices assaulted Eastwood’s ears. However, he did not seem to be affected. He leaned against his crutches and smiled at his agitated teammates.

Twain could not help but yell, “Shut up!” when he noticed that the scene was getting out of control.

Everyone obediently shut their mouths, but there was still indignation in their eyes.

“If you truly treat Freddy as a close friend, then you should respect his decision!” Twain’s face had gone dark and the expression on his face was quite unpleasant. “He knows his own body the best. What do you all hope to achieve by yelling like that?”

After he finished chiding the players, Twain turned around to speak to Eastwood. “You said your dream is to take care of your horses, your kids, and to be with Sabina. But, I have also prepared another gift for you. I hope you will accept it…”

Eastwood was a little taken aback by Twain’s words.

“There’s not a single person here…” Twain turned around and pointed at all the players and coaching staff behind him, “Who wishes to see you leave.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“Therefore, I don’t intend on letting you go either. I’ve given you a new contract…”

Eastwood widened his eyes.

Why is he in the dark about this? Isn’t he going to retire? Why is there a new contract?

“Are you willing to become a member of the coaching staff after you retire?”

The players who had been a little dazed started whistling once Twain finished his words. They all wanted Eastwood to accept the new contract.

“Coach!” Someone teased Eastwood by calling him ‘coach’, but before long, everyone else had joined in as well. The coaching staff laughed as they watched the Forest players tease Eastwood.

What should have been a sad occasion became a happy one.

Eastwood looked at Twain, before turning around to look at his teammates who were all cheering for him. The expression on his face changed several times, but eventually it settled on a smile.

“I’m worried that I’m not cut out for the job, boss…” He said with a smile.

“Take it slow. It’s not like you were born to be a professional footballer either, right?”

“I… All right, I accept.”

Cheers erupted.

Everyone was too busy cheering and they failed to notice something amiss with George Wood. Wood was the only one at the scene who looked as though he had something on his mind, and he was also the only one without a twinge of a smile on his face.

Chapter 827 - A Legendary Tribute

After he bade farewell his teammates in Wilford, Eastwood held a press conference where he would officially announce the news of his retirement to the media and the outside world. Not one media outlet was aware of the news beforehand, although some of them might have guessed it.

The press conference was held at the City Ground stadium. There was already some media buzz ahead of the press conference—Eastwood would not have announced good news at the press conference.?Some of the Forest fans who cared about Eastwood gathered outside the stadium and anxiously waited for the latest news from the press conference.

When an impeccably dressed Eastwood appeared in front of the reporters, accompanied by Twain, the raucous press conference suddenly quieted down.

Sitting in his seat, with countless microphones and recording pens in front of him, Eastwood was not in a hurry to speak. He needed some courage to make his decision public for the first time.

Twain sat next to him and gently patted him on the back.

The room was silent. After a while, Eastwood took a breath and spoken in his distinctive accent, “I have made a decision. When I had my surgery in the United States, my doctor told me that even if my knee recovered, I wouldn’t necessarily be able to continue to bear the pressure of professional football. I thought about it for a long time, and I have decided to retire.”

While some people had already guessed the reason for Eastwood’s surprise press conference, they were still shocked to hear the words coming out of his mouth in person. There was an uproar at the scene.

After he had said his piece, Eastwood was no longer concerned with the reporters’ intense reaction. He got up and walked out together with Twain. Some of the reporters who reacted first squeezed to the front row to ask him some questions, but he waved them off and said, “I have nothing to say, thank you everyone.”

With that, he left with his head lowered.

Someone took aim at Twain.

“Mr. Twain! Mr. Twain…”

“I’m sorry, I have nothing to say too. That’s the way it is. We’ll arrange a farewell ceremony for Freddy in one of the home games in the league tournament in more than half a month later.?That’s it, thank you everyone for coming…”

Twain waved his hands and declined any further questions from the reporters.

“The Romani striker announced his retirement!”

“With three serious injuries to his right knee, it’s the end of his career!”

“Tony Twain lost a major player. Eastwood waved goodbye in tears!”

“A list of three serious injuries in Eastwood’s career. His retirement bound to happen as early as a decade ago!”

“The cause of Romani’s retirement was someone else, and not the former Nottingham Forest captain!”

…

All sorts of shocking and attention-grabbing headlines appeared in the media.

All of a sudden, everyone knew the news of Eastwood’s retirement.?Numerous reporters flocked to Wilford in hopes of scouting out further information.?Although Eastwood had never really been among Europe’s top strikers, the two winning goals he scored at the two UEFA Champions League matches spread his fame across Europe and the world. There were even media reviews of his career which reported that without Eastwood, Tony Twain definitely could not bring back those two championship trophies.

The Nottingham Forest fans had long regarded him as the best striker in the world, and their love for him went without saying. When they heard that Eastwood was retiring, they could not accept it for a while. Every day outside the Wilford training base, there was a large number of fans holding Eastwood’s portraits, posters and slogans to urge Eastwood to stay.?Unfortunately, the hero in their minds was not in the training ground but recuperating at home.

The atmosphere at the training ground was not the same as it used to be. Everyone felt bad seeing so many signs with slogans to urge Eastwood to stay. But the boss was right. Since they were like brothers, then they must respect a brother’s decision.?Eastwood had chosen his path which no one else had the right to interfere.

Fans flocked to the online message forums to post emotional messages in the hope of persuading Eastwood to change his mind.

But none of it was going to work.

Some reporters wanted to interview Eastwood directly only to find that the other man had turned off his cell phone.

As a professional player, it took more than courage to make a decision to retire at the age of thirty.?Even if he had made the decision, it would have been really hard for him. Eastwood was feeling down during the twenty days of recuperation at home.

His wife, Sabina took it all in and sometimes she joked with her husband as she played with the cards in her hands, “The Fate says you can still go back and play football.”

Eastwood glared at her and said, “If I were to fall for what you’re trying to do, then I’m not a Romani. Don’t bring it up, Sabina.?I’m not going to change my decision…”

“You’ve been playing football for so many years and suddenly one day you don’t want to play anymore. Don’t tell you can get used to it?”

“Why would I not be used to it? I haven’t played football during this period. I’m doing fine, aren’t I?”

These days Eastwood was really not in contact with football. After he was able to walk freely without the crutches, he had been in the stables to care for his horse, Blanc which had been with him for ten years.

Sabina grinned and stopped talking about it. “You’re going to the stadium tomorrow. Aren’t you going to bed early?”

Eastwood shook his head and said, “I’m not one of the players who are going to play in the game.”

Sabina kissed her husband on the forehead and said, “Then I’ll go up and see if the children are asleep yet.”

“Okay.” Eastwood replied somewhat distractedly.

When he was alone in the living room, Eastwood buried his face in his hands. Sabina had said something right—Now that he suddenly did not play football, he really could not get used to it.

He had just been injured at the time when he called his boss. At that moment, he thought he was really tired of living like this as he looked at his knees. He even thought he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. At the time, he decided to bid farewell to the past ten years without hesitation.?He was convinced that he had made the right choice.

He still thought he was right to retire. But his heart was no longer as determined as it was half a month ago. Sometimes when he closed his eyes. a tsunami of cheers from the City Ground stadium would ring out in his ears, and everyone was calling his name.?When he was fast asleep, he dreamt that he had returned to the field and had a pair of healthy knees. Then he would run on the field to score goals and enjoy the cheers of the fans.

When he woke up from the dream, he realized that he really could not live without football.

He really could not continue to play with his knees again, but the boss gave him a coaching job. He was still happy. At least he was not thousand miles away from football and had nothing to do with it.?He was still able to fight alongside his brothers. He only changed his identity.

Football is no longer simply a hobby or a job for me.

Football is my life.

Eastwood had already risen from bed when the early morning sun still loomed behind the clouds. The rustling sound made as he got dressed, woke his wife up.

Sabina groggily looked at his busy husband and asked, “Didn’t you say you’re not playing?” What’re you doing up so early?”

“Going to ride the horse to warm up.” Eastwood’s answer was the same as when there was a home game.

Sabina heard this and sat up from the bed, “But you’re not playing…”

“Go back to sleep, Sabina.”

His wife ran her fingers through her messy hair on top of her head, shook her head and muttered, “I’ll make you breakfast.”

The faint sunlight shone at an angle through the window. Dust motes danced within the column of light, and the dusky stable appeared very quiet. The silence was soon broken by the squeak of the door.

Eastwood stood at the door, took a deep breath, and sniffed the familiar scent.

The creature in the stable sensed that someone was here. It gave a snort as a way of greeting.

“Blanc.” Without the lights on, Eastwood waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the interior before he walked in.

It gave another snort.

Eastwood stopped in front of a black horse. He reached out his hand to stroke the black horse’s neck. His caress was gentle, as if he was touching his lover.

The black horse, Blanc also leaned his head next to his master and stamped its hooves affectionately.

Eastwood did not answer his wife’s question just now. He just told Sabina to go back to sleep Because he could not explain to his wife the mood he was in—he would only ride Blanc in his own field in the early hours of the day when he had a home game. Otherwise, he would not do it.?So why did he want to do that today?

He was not muddled. He knew he was just going to the stadium to say goodbye before the game today. He was not going to play football.?But his body wanted to do some laps by riding Blanc at this time. Was it a physical habit?

Eastwood untied the strap to hold the horse, put the reins on Blanc, and slowly led it out of the stable.

The outside was clearly brighter than the interior. He and the horse looked at each other. Eastwood looked at Blanc with a smile and said, “Hey, old friend. I’ll retire today, so you’re retired too. Shall we ride one more time?”

While he was still at Grays Athletic, he rode the nine-year-old Blanc on the road to warm up. He lived in a modernized caravan and parked his home inside the woods within the green belt.?Everyone else had looked at him in a strange way. But he never cared. He prided himself on being a Romani. Now that he had money and children, he did not have to live in a caravan, but he still kept the strange habit of riding early in the morning of every home game to warm up.

A reporter once interviewed him before and asked why he could always score winning goals at the most critical times to help the team win. He always gave his lucky pony, Blanc as the reason.

Today, the “lucky pony” had become the “lucky old horse” and he himself was also thirty years old.

Eastwood patted Blanc on the back and stepped on the stirrup to straddle.

“Let’s go, old friend!”

He lightly patted the black horse’s behind, and Blanc trotted off with his master.

The cold morning breeze blew in Eastwood’s face and Blanc’s mane fluttered in the wind. Eastwood felt a long-lost comfort. He was eager to give a whoop on the horse.

“Oh, oh. Blanc! You gallop really hard! In fact, you can still run, you’re not old, right!”

Blanc ran around the track, and then Eastwood simply loosened the reins. He threw his arms open, leaned his body back, and closed his eyes to enjoy the wind blowing around him. Lost in a trance, Blanc became his legs. He ran on the field as much as he wanted and tirelessly. No matter how fierce the collision was, it could not stop him in his pace.?He ran and ran like this, leaving all his pain and sorrow behind him. As he ran, he threw the sound of the out of his head. He kept on running…

“Freddy, do you want to play professional football?”

In the cold wind, a few water beads spilled from Eastwood’s face.

His young daughter, Chartwainay, heard a clanking sound coming from the kitchen when she got up to use the bathroom.?Curiously, she went downstairs only to find out that it was her mother.

Still sleepy-eyed, she rubbed her eyes at the door and asked, “Mom? Where’s Daddy?”

Sabina turned and saw her young daughter. She said with a smile, “Daddy went horse riding.”

“Does Daddy have a game today…” The six-year-old young daughter did not know much about her father yet, but she knew only one thing—once her father was out riding in the early hours of the morning, he must have a match in the afternoon or evening. Then she would have to wait to watch her father in front of the television.

“Yeah, the last game.” Sabina came over and gave a kiss on her daughter’s young face.?“Go back to bed. You’re not wearing your slippers. Be careful to not to catch a cold.”

“Mommy, have you seen my new football boots?” The voice of her eldest son, Llewellyn came from upstairs, followed by the sounds of urgent footsteps.

“Why are you all getting up so early today?” Sabina looked at her two children in front of her and asked. “I did not see your new boots. You always throw your things around. You can’t find them when you want to use them, can you?”

“I asked my friends to play football in the morning.” The eleven-year-old Llewellyn reached for a slice of bread on the table but was speedily slapped away by Sabina.

“Go brush your teeth and wash your face!”

“Where’s Dad?” Llewellyn did not get on with it immediately. He turned and looked around. “Did he go to the stables early to chat to Blanc?”

“No, he went riding.”

Llewellyn whistled. Then he turned around and headed upstairs to wash up.

“Llewellyn, bring your sister’s shoes down with you!” Sabina shouted from downstairs.

“Got it!”

Sabina picked up her well-behaved little daughter and placed her on a chair to keep her bare feet from touching the cold floor.

It was a pity that her efforts were in vain.

The sound of the door opening sounded outside the dining room. Chartwainay jumped out of her chair excitedly and ran barefoot to the door.

“Daddy—”

“Chartwainay! Good morning, my little beauty!”

“Good morning, Daddy!” The little girl gave her father a kiss on his face.

“Go wash your face and brush your teeth, Chartwainay.?Llewellyn! How long more do you have to dilly dally? Quickly bring down your sister’s shoes!” In this house, it looked like Sabina was the head of the family.?Eastwood, on the other hand, did not manage anything but eat.

“Coming! Coming!” The eldest son ran down like the wind. He tossed the shoes in front of his sister and ran up again. “Good morning Dad!” The sound of his greeting came by time he was upstairs.

As the family of four gathered to eat, the father announced a decision, “Llewellyn, Chartwainay, you guys will come with me to the City Ground stadium in the afternoon.”

Chartwainay did not object. At a young age, she was happy to be with her dad. She did not have much time to socialize yet. Llewellyn was a little surprised and said, “I’m going to meet Hesher and Andy…”

“Llewellyn.” His mother’s stern voice rang, “Your father wants to be with you all at that time.”

Llewellyn Eastwood looked at his stern mother and at his smiling dad again, before he nodded and said, “Okay, Dad.”

His sister was still young and might not know what retirement meant. But the eleven-year-old Llewellyn could definitely understand. It was really more important than going out with his mates.

Eastwood reached out and rubbed his son’s head. “Thank you.?Llewellyn. To make it up to you, I will spend more time playing football with you in the future.”

“You must mean what you say, Dad.” Llewellyn felt that his father seemed to prefer to spend time with Blanc.?The horse had long been a regular member of the family. When he was not yet born, his father already had Blanc. Their relationship was rock solid.?Sometimes he would feel aggrieved when he thought of this— exactly which one of them was his father’s son?

Eastwood smiled and gently pinched his pouting son’s cheek and said, “Cross my heart.”

The City Ground stadium in the became livelier earlier than usual. The Nottingham Forest fans was informed by the various media outlets earlier that today’s game was different. Their favorite striker, Freddy Eastwood wanted to bid farewell to Nottingham Forest before the league match against Arsenal.

Although Eastwood was not a player cultivated by Nottingham Forest, he had been here for ten years and it could be said that he had devoted all his career to Nottingham Forest.?It had long been forgotten that he was once a member of the West Ham United youth team.

The first half hour of today’s game belonged to Eastwood and no Forest fan wanted to miss it. They arrived more than half an hour earlier than before and waited to say goodbye to the Romani striker who had brought them two UEFA Champions League trophies.

As the players from Nottingham Forest and Arsenal warmed up on the pitch, Eastwood, wearing a casual jacket, brought his family along to chat with the club’s chairman.

“It’s a shame to retire so early, Freddy.” Evan Doughty said as he patted his former player on the shoulder and shook his head, “I still remember the way you reported at Wilford the first day. Towing a caravan with a horse and bickering nonstop with your wife at the entrance… You gave me a fright. Haha!”

Evan laughed, and Eastwood laughed as well. But when he recalled that time, his smile was a little wry.?He was only twenty at that time…

“I’m glad you accepted the coaching contract Tony gave you. To be honest, I always felt that the club owed you a lot.”

Eastwood shook his head and said, “Please don’t say that, sir. It was an honor to play for Nottingham Forest.?When I played for Grays Athletic, I never thought I would be able to lift the Champions League and Premier League trophies.?Never mind twice.”

Because it was the official farewell to Eastwood before today’s game, everyone was in low spirits. Although Eastwood agreed to be the team’s coach, everyone had more affection for Eastwood as a player.

Even the boss who always liked to say something before the game was not himself today. He just sat at the door without saying a word. No one knew what was on his mind.

The atmosphere in the locker room was a bit awkward.

George Wood was probably the quietest one of all. He kept adjusting the captain’s armband on his arm. He would put it on, take it off and look at it in his hand.?Then he would put it on again, and take it off again…

He seemed to have a lot on his mind.

Twain looked down at his watch. The uncomfortable silence finally ended.

“Okay, guys. It’s almost time. Go on out there. We still have to say goodbye….to Freddy.”

Wood was the last player to come out of the locker room.?Since he was the team captain, he should normally be walking at the forefront.

After the two teams came out of the tunnel, they did not line up to take team photographs, exchange team flags, do the coin toss or shake hands… They lined up outside the tunnel, waiting for a person to appear.

Arsenal was very accommodating at this time as an opponent which had nothing to do with Eastwood. To show full respect to a legendary striker who was leaving, Twain was grateful to Arsène Wenger for his willingness to do so. Perhaps he should be glad that the game was not played against one of his archrival team…

Eastwood stood in the tunnel, surrounded by the staff who were responsible for maintaining order. He was currently holding his eleven-year-old son, Llewellyn in his left hand and his six-year-old daughter, Chartwainay, in his right hand, as he waited nervously for the signal.

A unified voice had rang out in the stands outside. All the fans were chanting his name in unison which could be heard clearly.

“Daddy? They are shouting your name.” Chartwainay listened for a moment and said to her father.

“Yes, Chartwainay. They’re calling Daddy’s name. Do you like what you’re wearing?” He touched Chartwainay’s forehead with his nose. He was referring to the red Forest jersey worn by his daughter, with his name “Eastwood” and the number “11” on the back.

“I like it!”

“Why?”

“Because it has Daddy’s name on it!” Chartwainay said excitedly.

Compared with Chartwainay’s excitement, Llewellyn was silent as he held his father’s hand. He did not think it was a very interesting thing like his sister. Although his father would have more time to spend with him after his retirement, in his heart, he still liked his father running, scoring goals and cheering on the field.?His friends would always be envious when they mentioned his father and said to him, “Llewellyn, you have a hero for a father! If only my dad were like your father…””Llewellyn, your father scored again in yesterday’s game! That goal was so cool! A lob!””Llewellyn, please help me get your father’s autograph…”

He pressed his lips together. The more he thought, the worse he felt. Tears pooled in his eyes as if they were going to fall at any moment.

My father is a hero! I’m a hero’s son, I can’t cry!

He thought hard.

Feeling his son hold his hand with force, Eastwood turned to his left. He looked at his quiet son with his head bowed and smiled.

After a segment of music was played, the announcer’s voice rang out on the live broadcast, “This is not a happy news for us. Our Romani star player, Freddy Eastwood has decided to say goodbye on this day…”

The staff at the entrance signaled to Eastwood, indicating that he could go out.

“Let’s go, Llewellyn.”

Eastwood then led his son along and carried his daughter as they walked out.

When Nottingham Forest’s number 11 led his two children wearing his jerseys as they walked out of the tunnel, a tsunami of shouts erupted in the stadium.

“Freddy! You’re our hero!”

“You’re amazing, Romani!”

“Goodbye, Freddy! Goodbye!”

“Change your change, Freddy! Please!”

“Don’t go, Freddy… Look around you, are you willing to leave this?”

“Freddy, we need you! Tony needs you! You can’t do this!”

…

With a smile on his face, Eastwood let go of his son’s hand, and waved goodbye to everyone. But there were already two lines of tears on his face.

The Arsenal and Nottingham Forest players stood next to him and applauded him. Some people even gave him thumbs-up.

Chartwainay watched the scene curiously. She might not understand the feelings of these people. But she knew her father was very popular.?The expression on Llewellyn’s face looked worse. He was almost going to cry in public.

Sabina stood up in the box to applaud her husband, like everyone in the stadium.

In this way, he walked all the way to the middle of the field, bent down to put his daughter down, and took the wireless microphone from the staff.

At this, the sounds in the stadium gradually subsided. They knew Eastwood had something to say, and they did not want to miss every word he said.

“Thank you… thank you very much everyone.” Eastwood curbed his emotions and tried to get his trembling voice back to normal.?He spoke slower so that everyone could heard his words clearly. “When I was still an amateur player, I never thought I’d have such a farewell one day.?I’m so happy that you’ve all come to see me off…”

After a moment’s silence, Eastwood tried not to let himself cry on the spot. No matter how he forced himself to smile, he had no desire to smile in his heart at this time.

“I want to thank the Nottingham Forest Football Club and my teammates. More than anything, I would to thank Manager Tony Twain. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have the chance to stand here and say thank you to you all.

The telecast gave Twain a close-up. He stood in front of the technical area with his arms across his chest and a serious expression on his face.

“My professional career had only lasted a decade… But I don’t think it was short. In these ten years, I had received all the honors I had thought of or never thought about. I am very satisfied and happy. I am happy every day of the ten years I’ve played at Nottingham Forest because I’m doing what I love and in the environment I love.”

“But now it’s time to say goodbye to you and my teammates.” Tears streamed down uncontrollably from Eastwood’s eyes. “Ten years ago, the chief once told me that I would be a legendary striker for Nottingham Forest… I’m really sorry, Chief, to disappoint you, I’m sorry…”

Eastwood stuffed the microphone into the hands of the staff and leaned down to hug his daughter, Chartwainay.

“…” Kerslake heard Twain swore under his breath next to him, “You’re a bloody legend, Freddy.”

The Englishman, who always shouted at the top of his lungs and played the role of a stern assistant manager in front of the players, could not help but burst into tears.

“Daddy? You’re crying…” Chartwainay looked oddly at her father. That familiar face was wet.

“Daddy is not crying, Daddy is… happy.” Eastwood forced a smile on his face, “I’ll have more time to spend with you, Chartwainay. Are you happy?”

Chartwainay looked at her father for a moment and then opened her mouth to chirp, “Happy!”

“Let’s go back.”

He picked up Chartwainay again and took Llewellyn’s hand.

“Freddy Eastwood, once an amateur player who had a broken leg before when he joined Nottingham Forest on January 1st, 2004, was in his twenties at the time.” Motson, who was responsible for the commentary on the match, said enthusiastically, “He’s now in his thirties. He’s taking his family to say goodbye to the Forest fans. He said that he was not a legendary striker, but in the minds of the Nottingham Forest fans, no one is more legendary than him.”

“An amateur player who scored the winning goal in two UEFA Champions League finals to help Nottingham Forest regain the Champions League title after a twenty-eight-year hiatus. His right knee suffered a serious injury before he became a Forest player, but he had been dragging the injured leg on the pitch to play for Nottingham Forest for a decade, scoring a total of one hundred and thirty-seven goals. He is not the player with the greatest number of goals scored in the history of the Nottingham Forest Football Club, but he is definitely a player who scored the most valuable goals in the history of the team! Two goals scored and two UEFA Champions League titles! His experience was enough to be made into a movie for all the football-loving kids out there. He showed people that even if you had been seriously injured, even if you had been drive out of the team you once played for, even if you had fallen into the amateur league and had to sell second-hand cars, as long as you did not give up on your ideal of the heart, you could still create a legend!”

“We salute the legend of the decade! Goodbye, Freddy! Goodbye, Nottingham Forest’s Mr. Buzzer Beater!”

As Eastwood led his children slowly down the tunnel, the fans’ unified singing voices rang out in the stands.?They were singing a song dedicated to Eastwood. It was after Eastwood scored a crucial goal to help the team overcome AC Milan to regain the long-lost UEFA Champions League title after twenty-eight years. The fans composed a hero’s song for him.

“With the game down to the last minute, do you think it’s over? There’s little time left as the referee looks at his watch and your heart goes, ‘Forget it, we still have the future.’”

“The cheering song gradually loses its voice, and some people begin to leave early. A bunch of beer cups are strewn about in the stands, and it’s a mess!”

“The opposing players laugh at our final struggle, and the opposing fans celebrate their victory in advance!”

“The Forest team’s number 11 steps forward and he said, ‘No! The game isn’t over yet! Don’t be too happy!’”

“Don’t be happy yet!!!”

“He’s like Robin Hood. His arrow shoots through the enemy’s heart!”

“The enemies scream in horror, “Who is he?!’”

“Who—is—he!!”

“His name is Freddy Eastwood! He’s the Forest team’s Mr. Buzzer Beater!”

“His name is Freddy!” He never gives up!”

“Freddy, Freddy! The privilege is yours to fall under his arrow!”

“La la la! Freddy! La la la! Robin hood!”

“La la la! Freddy! Freddy! La la la!”

Whenever Eastwood scored another crucial goal, the song would ring out in the home stands. Eastwood would run wild on the pitch with open arms, with the number on his back flying like a flag over the City Ground stadium and the number “11” on the back like two sharp arrows. He was indeed the “Robin Hood” of Nottingham Forest.

But this time, Robin Hood was shot in the knee by the poison arrow of fate. He could no longer stand up to continue the fight. He fell under the great oak tree where he had once gathered with his comrades-in-arms to rise up to fight. He bade farewell a little unwillingly to those brothers whom he had fought side by side with, leaving behind a legend to let future generations look forward to the future while they fondly recalled the legend—while he was still around, what a heroic time it must have been….

The stirring singing voices sand continuously until their Robin Hood disappeared into the tunnel.

Tears glistened on the faces of the fans present. They applauded “Mr. Buzzer Beater” of their hearts one last time and bade farewell to another legend of “Robin Hood.”

Chapter 828 - Not Friends

During Eastwood’s farewell game, all the Nottingham Forest players were stirred by the scene of Eastwood’s tears at the stadium. As if they were collectively doped on performance enhancing drugs, they crushed their arch-rival, Arsenal by 2:1 at home.?It was a farewell gift for Eastwood.

But everyone did not care much about the result of the game. In the post-match press conference, the reporters asked more questions about Eastwood.

Nottingham Forest was rumored to have offered Eastwood a staff contract. He would remain with the Forest team. The reporters seek confirmation on the validity of the news.

Twain told them it was true that Eastwood would remain in the team as part of the First Team coaching unit.

A reporter was also concerned whether the loss of a leading striker in the middle of the season would have an adverse impact on the team’s prospects. After all, the team’s results were not ideal. It was almost December and Nottingham Forest was in sixth place in the league tournament.

Twain rebuffed this statement. While Eastwood’s departure was a big blow to him, it was not enough to ruin his plans for the entire season.

The atmosphere of the press conference was good. Twain did not take his anger out on the reporters just because he had lost his cherished player. He tried his best to answer everyone’s questions, and his good attitude surprised everyone.

But if it continued to develop in such a manner, then it would not be a press conference with Tony Twain present.

Finally, someone stood up and asked a question that angered Twain.

“Mr. Twain. Do you agree with the view that Eastwood’s retirement today was already conclusive before he joined Nottingham Forest??If it hadn’t been for George Wood’s ferocious foul at the time, the Romani’s career could at least last until the age of thirty-four.”?The man who stood up and asked the question, had a smiling, but his face looked extremely ugly in Twain’s view.

The man who asked such a vicious question was Twain’s old nemesis, Carl Spicer, who still had a shaved head to this day….

There had been media reports of this matter before. They think for Eastwood to choose to retire so early, the culprit was George Wood and not in Michael Dawson. To that end, they listed out Eastwood’s career information when he played for West Ham United’s youth team, proving that what they said was true.

While Twain did not blame Dawson as the killer for cutting off Eastwood’s professional career, he strongly disagreed that Wood was the culprit. The reason why he did not have a war of words with the other media in his column to refute the issue was not because he had a guilty conscience, but because he did not want to get caught up in the media’s treachery. It would not be a good thing for Wood and Eastwood as well as the entire team if the matter was blown up.

However, now it was clear that some people were not happy about Twain’s silence.

If you don’t want to say it, I’ll force you to say it in front of everyone!

The reporters were in an uproar when they heard Spicer ask such a question. Actually, many people wanted to ask such a question except they knew Twain’s limit. It was a difficult question to ask and they absolutely could not receive an answer if it were asked. There was nothing good in it for themselves to ask it.

Now the “hero” in their hearts had appeared! Carl Spicer clearly did not expect an answer from Twain. He asked the question for a simple reason—he was trying to make Twain angry, and all the source material for his news came from it.?He did not care whether Twain answered the question or not. As long as Twain had a reaction, there would be good material for this evening’s <Football Matters>.

Twain glared at Spicer. He currently very much wanted to throw the microphone in front of him at the other man, then get up, grab the chair, pounce over, push the other man to the ground and use all his energy to smash—he did have the urge to kill the other man.

He managed to restrain himself and did not really do so. He just stood up slowly and pointed to Spicer. He spoke slowly so as to try to make it as clear as possible for the man who asked the question and other people, “There’s one thing I agree with, Mr. Carl Spicer.”

“What is it?” Spicer smiled and asked, waiting for Twain to answer.

“You’re a stinky bastard who deserves to go to hell!”

Twain finished scolding and turned around to leave the press conference.

His answer made the reporters present unusually excited, while Wenger, sitting next to him, smiled wryly. He served as the background in the battle between the reporters and Twain…

When he heard Twain swore that dirty remark with gritted teeth, Carl Spicer was delighted instead of being angry.?He raised his fist and said happily, “Fantastic!” Then he turned and looked at the cameraman on his show to ask, “Did you record it?”

The cameraman nodded.

Spicer gave his partner a thumbs up. He got the result he wanted. He did not attend the press conference in vain.

“Eastwood’s retirement was painful for the Forest fans. But even the most hardcore fans can’t deny the fact—who was the one that had led to the early retirement of the promising Romani striker? It was none other than their most beloved team captain, George Wood.” On the evening show, Carl Spicer spoke frankly with assurance in front of the camera. Perhaps the thing he regretted the most now was that Twain did not punch him in the nose on the spot, so that he could rely on an attention-grabbing shiner to wordlessly denounce to the viewers that Tony Twain was a dangerous violent man.

“Am I talking nonsense? Let’s take a look at the evidence.”

The frame cut into the afternoon’s press conference at the City Ground stadium. Carl Spicer looked urbane on camera. When he threw out the question, what answered him with Twain’s vicious face and uncouth language.?The images of the two men were really different.

“Okay. First we need to answer the question of why Mr. Tony Twain was flustered and exasperated after hearing my question.?Will anyone believe that he did not have a guilty conscience? Obviously, like me, deep down inside him, he thinks I’m right, and absolutely agrees with my comment.?That’s why his reaction was so intense—we all know Mr. Tony Twain is all about keeping up appearances and has a strong ego. He may agree on some things, but he won’t express it.?Like this matter.”

Spicer smiled with delight. He felt the dagger thrown had hit the bull’s eye. The footage timely replayed with the scene of Twain’s swearing at the press conference.

“Of course, we have to look at things separately. George Wood’s foul that happened while he was still in the youth team, did lead to Eastwood’s early retirement. But without his kick, Eastwood might not have had such a successful career—he might be in another team and not have met Tony Twain as well not come to Nottingham Forest…”

It seemed that Spicer exonerated George Wood but in fact it was just a ploy he used habitually to package himself as a “fair and objective commentator.” He often did that when he needed to disparage a person.

For example:

“So, and so’s performance on the field was so bad, I wonder if he went to a nightclub last night to have fun. Of course, it’s normal that young people need to vent. After all, playing in a powerhouse team is very hard. Whether physically or psychologically, he needs to find a way to let out the built-up pressure ..”

From the looks of it, there was not a single word that was sensitive, and it sounded like he was considering the player. But the “rumor” about so and so’s outing with a prostitute the night before a game became true.

So now when he framed it in such a way, it was about making the matter of “Wood was the culprit who caused his teammate to retire” fait accompli.

He never hid his loathing of Tony Twain. As a team with Tony Twain’s deep imprint, the Forest team naturally did not please Mr. Carl Spicer.?If his remarks and the episode could throw the Forest team into disarray, he would be happy to do so.

“You fell for his trick again, Uncle Tony.” Shania, who was watching the television at home on the couch, complained to Twain.

“I did it on purpose.” Twain shrugged.

“How could you purposely fall for his ploy?”

“It would really piss me off if I didn’t dare to scold him on the spot for fear of being used by him. Of course, I had to admonish him. I didn’t stand to lose that way. As for his tricks, I have my own ways.”?Twain said it like it should be expected as a matter of course.

Shania pouted. She knew Uncle Tony was reluctant to admit his mistake and did not have his own way to deal with it. He just gave into his impulse at the time. From the time before they were married, she had lived with Uncle Tony for ten years. She was extremely familiar with the man beside her.

Twain did not want to hear Spicer talk drivel on the public broadcast, so he took out the remote control and changed the channel.

“I still feel that I have not scolded hard enough. I can come up with at least fifteen different ways of scolding him now.”

“You’re like a little boy, Uncle Tony.” Shania laughed when she heard him say so, “Why are you squabbling with him?”

When it came the handling of the media, the younger Shania’s was was more mature than Twain’s. Perhaps it was because she had been trained as well as influenced by her own mother, also a model, from a young age. No one could be liked by everyone in the world. A charismatic star like Shania also had people who did not like her. When these people in the media talked a lot of nonsense about her, she always ignored them and continued to do her own thing.

Twain did not answer. After a series of questions and answers with Shania, he started thinking about ways to reduce the impact of Spicer’s recent episode on the team.

He knew that Spicer was definitely not talking nonsense because Wood’s performance had fluctuated recently.?He had always been constant like a pool of stagnant water with no outflow nor new inflow of water. Now a lot of ripples frequently emerged.

I hope this is not a sign of an earthquake…

“Uncle Tony?”

“Yes?”

“What exactly is the relationship between Freddy and George?” Shania’s sudden concern about the team slightly surprised Twain.

Shania had always been jealous of football. Although she was a Brazilian, she was not very fond of football due to the reason that football robbed her of Uncle Tony’s love. Naturally, her level of concern for her husband’s team was also superficial and limited to knowing the good or bad results.

Twain thought about it, because he was also thinking about what the relationship between the two men. In the team, apart from having to perform his duties as the team captain, George Wood rarely spoke and was a man of action.?Eastwood, on the other hand, was talkative and the joker in the locker room. But the two of them rarely talked alone, and if they had to say something, it would be related to the team.

Twain knew Eastwood had a sore point and was unwilling to greet Wood with a smile on his face. He also knew Wood’s character. Because of his life history, his reticence seemed to be the outer shell of his fragile self-esteem, which made him seemed a little haughty.?“Proud” was a nice way to put it. Therefore, Wood could not be expected to take the initiative to look for Eastwood and reach his hand out to him to say, “Hey, Freddy. The incident was my fault, I’m very sorry and regret it… But now that we’re teammates, I hope we can still get along well…”

The both inferior and proud, sensitive and taciturn George Wood was absolutely incapable of doing such a thing.?Now that Eastwood had made it clear that he did not like him, he would not put down his pride and try to get closer.

As a result, the relationship between the two men appeared to be atypical in the Forest team, famous for its harmonious atmosphere within. Fortunately, they were men who attached importance to the bigger picture and would not deliberately pick a quarrel with each other in the team.

“Well… They are not friends in any case.” Twain thought for a while and did not know how to explain it specifically, “They’re almost never together alone and say more than three sentences to each other.”

Shania tilted her head and looked at Twain, “Then why don’t you create an opportunity for them to talk alone?”

Twain stared blankly for a moment.

That’s right. All along, he had thought that he could not let the two people feel awkward and not to inflame the conflict.?So, he turned a blind eye and thought that it did not endanger the team’s internal atmosphere anyway. He should just let them be as they were sensible people.

Now obviously it could not go on like this…

George Wood’s ups and downs in his condition had affected the team’s performance. This was what Twain wanted to see.?Also, if the issue were to go on, someone the team might really think so— it was the team captain who harmed Eastwood. Because Eastwood’s popularity was good, it could be scary if this thinking were to spread. It could shake the foundation of the team’s unity. When a captain no longer had prestige in the hearts of his teammates, it could cause a chain of adverse effects.

The matter must be settled.

Shania had given him a good idea.

Twain came up next to Shania and moved his body over.

Shania was alert, “What are you going to do, Uncle Tony?”

Twain smiled, “To thank you, Shania!”

Shania rolled her eyes and said, “Your naughty smile gave you away, Uncle Tony. Are you thinking about that again?”

Twain put away his smile and looked serious, “I suddenly got a little jealous of Freddy when I saw his two kids. I want a baby, Shania.”

They had been married for five years. No matter how hard they tried, Shania’s body had no respond at all. Although Twain never showed it, Shania knew he was anxious and even had some worries. What could she do as a wife? She could only use her own gentle and young sexy body to comfort her husband. She had secretly went for a checkup when she was in America.?She had no problem physically at all…

Uncle Tony had suddenly mentioned a baby again. He was apparently motivated by Freddy’s two children. Eastwood’s son and daughter were really adorable. Everyone would want a child like that.

When she heard Twain say so, Shania raised her head and kissed him first. The two of them made passionate love on the couch…

The next morning, when Twain drove to Wilford, Eastwood was already waiting for him.

“You don’t have to be so early, Freddy.” Twain look at his watch. It was only eight-thirty. He usually came early. He did not expect Eastwood to come earlier.

“Ha, chief! It’s the first day of work, I have to be proactive, don’t I?”

Twain glared at him and said, “Don’t call me chief. You’re now one of the coaches in the team now, like me.”

Eastwood shook his head in disbelief and said, “Actually, while I was waiting for you here, I had been thinking about how to address you. Then I realized that I still like to call you ‘chief’ the best. I’m used to it.?Aren’t you used to hearing it, Chief?”

Twain helplessly acknowledged this address and no longer continued to get hung up on the detail.

“Well, chief… This is my first time as a coach. What kind of work would you like to assign to me? Or… what do you think I can do?” Eastwood put his hands together. His new identity still made him a little awkward. “Even though I train with the coaches every day, I don’t know much about it.”

Without his wife’s advice from yesterday, Twain had originally intended for Eastwood to work with and learn from the other coaches and not to take care of specific matters yet. Then he could simply take coaching classes at the League Managers Association to get ready for his coaching license test.

But now there was clearly a more urgent job for him to do.

“Well… it’s like this, Freddy. What are your thoughts on…George?” Twain thought over and asked.

Eastwood paused for a moment. He did not know why the chief asked the question, but he knew that the chief was definitely not having a casual chat with him. He thought it over before he replied, “Not a friend.”

Twain laughed. He recalled his answer to Shania last night.

“Well, I can understand why you would think that, Freddy.?But now I hope you can help…actually it’s not considered a help. Since you’re now a coach, you have to treat everyone equally. I want you to do one thing for the team as a coach…”

“Does it have anything to do with his recent poor form and distracted performance?” Ever since Carl Spicer pitched the question at the press conference, the media began to follow suit.?In their view, such a piece of gossip was clearly more entertaining and attention-grabbing than to reminisce about Eastwood’s career.

“It’s so easy to talk to smart people.” Twain exclaimed, “Yes, that’s it.?No matter what you think of him, I hope you can let go of this part of the relationship. It’s okay even if you temporarily let it go…Get the steadfast and hopelessly wooden block back for the team.”

This was an unexpected “mission.” Eastwood had never done the job of “psychological coach.” Not to mention, he had to face his “enemy” who caused his current predicament… But he also knew that his current identity did not allow the interferences from his personal feelings. The chief strongly stressed teamwork. This request was not limited to the team. It also applied to the coaching staff.

It was a really troublesome job.

“Okay, chief. I promise.?But … You have to make me think about how best to go about it.”

Twain let out a long breath when he saw him agree and smiled, “Of course, but don’t think about it for too long. Our team’s current ranking is not very optimistic.”

“I know, chief. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”

Eastwood said goodbye to Twain and then turned to walk away.

Twain stood in the office, looking pensive.

Chapter 829 - Whoever Started the Trouble Should End It

Twain threw an extremely thorny problem of acting as a psychological counselor to George Wood to Eastwood.

Eastwood seriously thought back on it, and he found that Wood almost never had such an experience. Sometimes it really made people wonder if his heart was really oaken, as hard and stubborn as iron.

All along Nottingham Forest relied on such an oaken heart, operating at a steady and high speed. Now that the heart had issues, the team’s performance was naturally affected.

Eastwood was troubled by his own inexperience. Never mind that he was a little upset with Wood. Even without this matter, he did not know what to do when faced with Wood.

He contemplated on the matter all day long. From his frown during the day, it seemed he did not come with a good idea.

Eastwood had intended to look for Wood directly and get straight to point to say, “Let’s talk about your recent decline…”

But he had second thoughts about doing it in this way, which seemed to be ineffective. He could not determine if Wood would even listen to him at all.

Feeling vexed, he ended his first day as a coach.

Back home, he still had a worried frown on his face, which alarmed Sabina. She asked, “Did something make you unhappy in your first day as a coach?”

“Nothing made me unhappy but there was an annoying matter…” Eastwood recounted the task given by Twain.

Sabina looked at her husband with a seemingly smiling face, “You men are such strange creatures. Freddy, do you really hate Wood?”

Eastwood thought for a moment. He did not hate him to the core. Otherwise he would not play in this team until retirement. But it would be a lie to say that there was no feeling. Anyone who had encountered such a thing, could not treat it as if nothing had happened.

“Hate? I don’t know… But I certainly don’t like him.” Eastwood shook his head.

“Did you ever have a quarrel with Wood in the team? Had you ever come to blows with him or been in conflict?”

Eastwood wondered why his wife asked such questions. He said, “Don’t you know me, Sabina? I’m not that kind of person… I just don’t talk much to him.”

Unknowingly, a deck of cards appeared in Sabina’s hands as she asked, “Would you like to consult the cars?”

Eastwood quipped, “Save that for the tourists, Sabina.”

Sabina ignored her husband as she played the cards in her hands. A moment later, she looked up and said to Eastwood, “I think you should look for Wood and have a fight in person.”

“Is that what you’ve figured out?” Eastwood felt he really should not have discussed work with his wife.

“That’s why men are stupid creatures.” Sabina slowly fiddled with the cards on the table, “If Llewellyn makes a very serious mistake, I’ll just give him a beating and not treat him coldly. And he would be happy to accept the beating, rather than not talk to his mother for the rest of his life.”

Eastwood dismissed his wife’s remarks and said, “Llewellyn is your child. But George Wood is not my son.”

“Sometimes men and boys have something in common. If you feel embarrassed to fight in person, you can make an appointment with him to find a time and place in private, like a knight throwing down his gauntlet.” Sabina snapped her fingers and kept the cards. “I’ll go see if Chartwainay is asleep.”

Eastwood was left alone in the living room. He had ridiculed his wife’s rotten idea at first. But after he mocked the idea in his mind, he found that there seemed to be some truth in this approach…

Since I don’t know how to talk to Wood, it’s better to take the tough approach right away.

Based on his understanding of Wood, the other party was not a man who beat about the bush. If I say a lot of highfalutin stuff, it will be ineffective and a waste of efforts.

All right… I’ll look for an opportunity.

Eastwood kneaded both hands and his joints made cracking sounds.

Before going to Wilford, the next day, Eastwood rehearsed his “ferocious” expression in the bathroom mirror for a long time.

He was a mild person and popular. He always had a smile on his face in the team and joked with the people around him. Everyone also liked such an optimistic and cheerful teammate, so few people would ever give him an attitude.?Thus, the impression was Eastwood was a nice man who would never be fierce to anyone.

It was really hard for him to play the role of villain now…

“Wood! What are you doing?!”

Eastwood shook his head. His tone did not seem to be aggressive enough.

“Didn’t you eat last night? Don’t you have any strength in you?!”

“Look at your movements. Are you really training?”

“All right, actually your performance is not good enough… No, no! It’s terrible! Bad! It sucks!”

…

Eastwood finally shook his head and walked out of the bathroom. If he still did not come out, his daughter, Chartwainay, who had called him for breakfast, would knock till the door was broken.

Sabina kept smiling at her troubled husband during breakfast.

When she sent him off for work at the door, Sabina kissed him on the cheek and said, “Good luck.”

“I don’t feel confident that…” Eastwood spoke without certainty.

George Wood changed his clothes in the locker room with a black face. He had been in a bad mood lately. People around him did not dare to talk to him. Even an old friend like Bale tried not to provoke him at this time.

Everyone knew what kind of pressure the team captain was under. The outside media were going crazy in their speculation that George Wood was responsible for Eastwood’s early retirement.?It was as if they wanted Wood to step forward and take responsibility for Eastwood. If this were to happen in South Korea, it was reckoned that they would all directly ask George Wood to cut off his finger as an atonement…

Actually, everyone was aware that Carl Spicer was right in that the first time Eastwood was seriously injured, it was due to Wood’s foul. However, all in all, it was an unintentional mistake. It was too mean to bring it to the surface again after ten years… To put it more seriously, it was done with malicious intent.

The media would not delve into the reasons behind the injury at the time. They only knew that this matter was very newsworthy, so they did a lot of follow-up stories…

As for the readers, they also lacked basic judgment.?Or they simply did not want to judge who was right or wrong. They just wanted to watch the drama and feel that life was good.

To make matters worse, the next game was the tenth anniversary of when Tony Twain officially took charge of Nottingham Forest. The team was keen to pay tribute to the boss with a win in that game. But the team’s current condition and a mighty opponent like Liverpool had made that game looked bleak.

Liverpool was also keeping a close eye on the Forest team’s developments. Benítez must be pleased to see that cracks and unrest had emerged within the Forest team.?Because he and Twain had fought each other for so many years, he had found that the easiest way to beat Twain was to hope that something would go wrong inside the walls of the indestructible castle.

George Wood’s form was up and down. This was indeed a great and rare opportunity…

Liverpool’s local media had already harshly spoken out that they wanted to upset Tony Twain’s tenth anniversary at Anfield.

“How long he has coached the Forest team has nothing to do with us. We just want a victory.”

Wood was the captain and of course he was aware that his form affected the team. But he just could not let the matter go like it was air. He did feel guilty about Eastwood, and he had felt guilty for the last ten years. It was just that he was not good at showing his emotions, especially after he became the captain. He always wanted to leave his teammates with the image of a “dignified” team captain. Some words were not easy to say out loud again.

Wood spent the day in training with a heavy heart again.

Kerslake looked anxious at the side. He said to Twain more than once, “I think George listens to you the most. Why don’t you speak to him in person and it will all be okay? Why are you doing this?”

Twain put on a profound expression and said, “There is a saying in China—whoever started the trouble should end it.”

“What do you mean?” Kerslake did not understand Mandarin.

“As a man sows, so he shall reap. The two of them are a doomed pair.” Twain sighed, “They are entangled with each other.”

“What are you doing, Tony? You’ve got another knock on the head?”

“Oh, you just wait and see. No one can get involved in the matter between them.” Twain finally said something that Kerslake could understand. “It’s so tiring to talk to you!”

“All you have to do is to just talk sense.”

After the training, Wood routinely gave himself another half hour of practice. The rest of the players went back to the locker room. The members of the coaching unit had long been used to the scene, so no one stayed on the field to watch Wood.

When Wood was alone on the field, he decided to forget the troubles for the moment and train carefully. The quiet environment helped him to do so.

Just as he was about to start, a football hit him in the back of the head.

The knock to the head was not light. It could be a volley shot in a game. Wood was a little dazed from the impact. He put his hand on his head and turned around to glare at the “culprit.”

“It looks like I still have my footwork. Should I consider withdrawing my decision to retire and return to the field?”

Eastwood completely ignored Wood’s angry glare and stood in place as he stroked his chin, talking to himself.

After he saw that it was Eastwood, Wood’s anger suddenly began to dissipate. It had always been the case in the team. Eastwood always gave Wood a little bit of attitude, but Wood was fierce toward Eastwood.

“Don’t look at me. It was no accident. I did it on purpose.” Eastwood stormed over to Wood, picked up the bouncing football on the ground, and shook it in front of Wood with one hand.

“I never hide my dislike of you, have I?” Eastwood asked. He did not expect Wood to answer, but Wood nodded. It surprised him a little.

“Well… All right. I don’t have any interest in knowing what you think of me. It was really a miracle that we could play together for ten years. You know, every time I see your face looking like nothing has happened, I just want to pounce on you and give you a punch. That thought became especially strong when I was last injured… Unfortunately, I’m no match for you.”

Wood did not defend himself, nor did he retort. He just listened quietly.

Eastwood was actually quite nervous, too. He was reciting the lines he had spent a day preparing… At the same time, he had to make his tone sound like it was a complicated mixture of anger and disdain. It was the best method that he could think of and do—to have a good talk with Wood without having to fight like a man. But he could still express his anger like a man and make Wood feel it.

“You’re so physically strong…” Eastwood appraised Wood up and down, “You’re never tired and never know what an injury feels like, and how it feels after the injury. No one can hurt you and can make you miserable.?You’re basically not a human being… If someone else wants to assault you, he’s the unlucky one in the end. While you nonchalantly wonder why the other person is hurt…” Eastwood became more agitated as he spoke. At first, he just tried to make himself look angry, but he became really angry in the end.

That’s right! Why is everyone human while you, George Wood can have such an enviable physique? And I, Eastwood have such fragile knees? Why!!

“You… You think I willingly choose to retire?” The football in Eastwood’s hand was long gone. He stepped forward, closed in on Wood and glared at the other man. “I’m only thirty years old! The golden age of a professional footballer is not over yet. Why should I retire? Do you think I’m satisfied to stand in the middle of the City Ground stadium, enjoy the final cheers and say some moving bullshit? I don’t want this shitty farewell! I’d rather play football all my life!”

He had completely deviated from the lines he prepared…

“Then when I look at you again! Look at you again!” Eastwood suddenly grabbed Wood’s collar and growled with his mouth open, “You have such a healthy body, so enviable …but you’re playing like shit! If I had such a healthy body as you, do you know how hard I’ll train and play? How grateful I will be? You bastard! You suck! Are you mocking me? ‘Look, I have a strong and healthy body but I’m deliberately playing like shit, just so that I can sicken a fool like you who have to retire at the age of thirty!”

“I…”

Wood finally opened his mouth and wanted to say something.

But his voice was drowned out amid Eastwood’s raging storm.

“Now I really want to beat you up! Even if I can’t defeat you, I want to fight you!” Eastwood gave a hard push with both hands and really shoved George Wood to the ground. He glared furiously and trembling all over. He raised his fists, but he did not smash down in the end.

“I’m really a f**king coward…. I’m a coward who gave up his professional career for fear of getting hurt again. I’m afraid to keep playing football.” Eastwood seemed to be drained of all his energy at once. He bowed his hand and muttered, “I’m only thirty…”

He suddenly looked up again and stared at Wood, lying on the ground. He said, “Do you know what it’s like to be hurt there? The part below the knee doesn’t seem to belong to your body anymore, you can’t feel anything. Lying in bed in the middle of the night, when I remember that I can’t play football anymore… Do you know how that feels?” At this point, he suddenly paused, and a look of realization dawned on his face. “Yeah, why am I telling you these? Why am I saying all these to a robot that has never been hurt? Am I confused from the anger?”

He shook his head. He was going to turn around and walk away.

“Not only am I a coward, I’m also a fool…”

“You…”

Wood got up from the ground and said somewhat helplessly, “Why don’t… you hit me? If it can… allow you to… feel good…”

Eastwood suddenly turned around and rushed toward him. He almost stuck his nose in his face and roared, “What is this? A winner’s sympathy for a loser? I don’t f**king need your sympathy!”

He took a step back again and continued to stare at Wood as he said, “I chose to retire. It f**king has nothing to do with you! Why are you pitying me? You’re a scumbag! What’s with the look on your face? Is this how you look when you see a pitiful idiot? You think I’m pathetic, don’t you? Ah, I know, I know what you’re thinking—it’s so sad that he can’t play football…”

“No, I don’t…”

“Shut up! So, what if I retire? So, what if I can’t play football? I’m the coach now. You’d better watch out, you bastard! If you dare continue this kind of shitty performance, next time I will cuss you out like the bastard you are in front of the whole team! You think I won’t do it?” Eastwood gave a cold laugh, “I never like you. You’d better not let me get the chance, boy.”

After his harsh words, Eastwood quickly left the training ground. If he did not leave, he was afraid he would burst into tears.

He really hated Wood, not because Wood had injured him in a tackle. He hated that Wood had such a healthy and strong body and yet his own knees were so fragile… He hated the injustice of his fate and his powerlessness.

When he grabbed Wood’s clothes and roared, there was also a voice in his heart that roared, unwilling to resign to his fate:

I want to keep playing football! I want to keep playing football …

Why? Why am I retiring at the age of thirty? Why can’t I have a healthy body like that bastard? Why… Why should I say those nonsense to him here?

Eastwood, who was back in his car, did not drive away. He sat in the driver’s seat and hung his head, feeling deeply tired.

Meanwhile, George Wood stood on the training ground and looked at the football that Eastwood threw at his feet in a daze.

Chapter 830 - Tony’s Decade

On December 12th, 2003, Tony Twain, one of the greatest managers in Nottingham Forest’s history, returned to the post he was best at after six months of silence and appeared in the home team’s technical area at City Ground stadium. When he returned, there was no talk of his luckless predecessor, Collymore. It was as if the City Ground Stadium’s position was for tailormade in advance for Tony Twain.

It was an ordinary Football League First Division game (there was no English Football League Championship at the time, so the Football League First Division was the second-tier tournament). After losing six games in a row, Nottingham Forest met Crystal Palace, a team that was ranked a spot lower than them but aggressively determined to beat them, at home. Nottingham Forest first fell behind and then reversed the situation to end an embarrassing six-game losing streak.

He had not left his post since that game. Tony Twain had been the manager of Nottingham Forest and this team had been branded with his arrogant and untamed mark. Even during the six-month period when he was in recuperation from a heart attack, the team was not short of his influence. He led his Forest team to sweep across Europe and won two UEFA Champions League and two Premier League titles.

Up until now, Nottingham Forest, one of the world’s first few established professional football clubs, had two of the most glorious periods in its history. The first glory days were when Brian Clough came to Nottingham Forest. Under the leadership of one of the most individualistic managers in English football, the previously unknown Nottingham Forest soared to the skies and won one of England’s top league titles, two European Champion Clubs’ Cup, one European Super Cup as well as created an unbeaten record of forty-two games in the English topflight tournament. That record was only surpassed by Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal record of forty-nine games twenty-six years later.

The second glory days undeniably began on December 12th, 2003. Tony Twain, a former nobody, led the Forest team to stir up a red whirlwind at the City Ground stadium. They had won two Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League trophies, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, two Football Association Community Shield titles and one EFL Cup. But in terms of the number of championship titles, he had surpassed his predecessor, Brian Clough. Clough had already passed away while Tony Twain was only forty-five years old. His age was considered young as a manager and he still had a long way to go. People believed that under his leadership, the Forest team could continue to be brilliant and go on to create one of the most glorious Forest dynasties in history which was imminent.

Ten years had since flew by.

As the only manager who could be on par with Brian Clough in the history of the club, his ten-year anniversary as a manager was well worth a big celebration. The club had decided to present a commemorative award to Twain. But unfortunately, on December 12th, the Forest team’s game was not at its home ground, so the trophy could not be presented in front of tens of thousands of spectators before the game.

December 12th, 2013, in the 17th round of the English Premier League tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Liverpool in an away game.

It was a decade after Twain officially coached the First Team. Although he became the Forest team’s acting manager as early as January 1st, 2003, he was only an “acting manager” and was dismissed by Evan Doughty midway through. It could not be counted in his formal coaching career. Even Twain was reluctant to count half of that season’s failure into his own decade even though that half of the season occupied a very important place in his life which left him with countless precious memories.

The local media, such as the <Nottingham Evening Post>, had published special issues as a retrospective of Tony Twain’s past decade. For the people of Nottingham, the past ten years had a lot of things worth remembering. It was like they had a wonderful and long dream. If someone were to say to them ten years ago, “Your team can get back to the top,” they would think that the man had deliberately mocked them. But now those honors were quietly placed in the club’s honors room, telling them this was not a dream. It was a reality.

Everything was thanks to this forty-five-year-old man. As a manager, he was only forty-five years old and very young, but his honors had made him the envy of many managers older than him. But as a man, forty-five years old was considered middle-aged. The biggest wish for all Forest fans was that he could hopefully continue to be the manager, the longer the better.

A book publisher came to Twain in the hope of publishing an autobiography of this worthy time period. Twain’s writing was rather good. He often wrote in his column in the newspapers, but it was too time consuming for him to write a book. The manager of a Premier League club was already busy enough. How could he have the time to write a book? So, he handed the matter to Pierce Brosnan, the reporter who knew him best, stating that he would dictate and Brosnan would take notes. In fact, he did not have to do much. Brosnan had used all the material he had gathered and recorded over the past ten years to put together the entire book. The only thing that was likely to be Twain’s creation was the title of the book.

<Ten Years>.

Well... Strictly speaking, even the title of the book was not of his creation. When the publisher asked him to think about the title, the title of a song by Eason Chan coincidentally popped up in his mind. He thought it was a kind of destiny, so he used it.

At first the publisher thought the name lacked grandeur and too low-key. It was completely incompatible with Tony Twain’s “madman identity.” He wanted Twain to change to another, such as “The Forest Emperor”, “Lionheart”, “The Godfather of Champions”, “We Are the Champions” ... these kinds of straightforward and common titles which could be easily comprehended when written.

But Twain refused.

“Since I am a madman, what kind of madman I will be if I can’t even insist on a book title?” His question left the publisher speechless. He was definitely egotistical...

“Tony, I’ve thought about it. Shall we present you with the award at a press conference in Nottingham the day before the game?” Three days before the game, the club’ chairman, Evan Doughty came to Twain.

“Why?” Twain was surprised because the original plan was to present it after the game.

“Well, I’m worried that if you lose that game, you won’t be in the mood to receive the award in front of the media...”

Twain laughed.

“Don’t laugh, Tony. We have to prepare for both eventualities, don’t we?”

Twain continued to laugh, “Ha! If you present me that crystal award before the game., how’s that preparing for both eventualities? Before some important games, the media always have Plan A and Plan B, but they do not declare the loss for a team ahead of the game. Don’t worry.” Twain patted Evan on the shoulder and said, “The situation which you are worried about, won’t happen because we will not lose. I don’t want to lose the game and then receive the award too.”

“It’s going to be hard to play in Liverpool’s home ground...”

“It’s not that we had not beaten them at Anfield. Don’t tell me it’s because it’s my tenth anniversary that they suddenly become a fortress that is the most difficult to conquer in the world?”

“But with our team’s recent performance ... plus George Wood’s form...”

Twain shook his head and interrupted his doubt to say, “No problem. There are no issues with him and the team.”

Twain pushed back Evan’s doubts and said, “Believe me, Evan. This is my tenth anniversary. How could I allow someone to mess it up? I have drinks for friends who come and bullets for enemies who approach.”

“Anfield is the most devilish home ground on the planet!” Christopher Beesley, a senior correspondent for the <Liverpool Echo> predicted in his column the game about to be held two days later. “Our relationship with Nottingham Forest is not too good and there is no reason for us to let Tony Twain enjoy his anniversary celebration at Anfield.”

The man had once listed in his own column the top ten wishes for the 2009-2010 season, one of which was “Hope that Tony Twain has a heart attack to completely say goodbye to the position as the Forest manager.” In addition, he wanted Abramovich to go bankrupt and for Chelsea to have no choice but to sell Lampard to Bar?a and Terry to Liverpool. In that way, the “Premier League can start a fair and reasonable competition.”

It was obvious that he was a staunch Kopite and did not like Chelsea nor Tony Twain.

In fact, without him adding fuel to the fire in his column, few Liverpool fans had any favorable impression of Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain.

Liverpool, which was confined to the UEFA Europa League for several years in a row, had become the laughingstock among Europe’s powerful teams. It was all due to Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest. Going back a little further, the question was: whose was it that Liverpool, once a giant that dominated Europe, was beaten by the same opponent in a year and eliminated from the three tournaments, League Cup, EFL cup and the European Cup?

The answer was: Brian Clough and his Nottingham Forest team.

With the added layer of relationship, both were the “red camp” in English football, but every fight seemed to be a derby. Liverpool wanted to prove they were no weaker than Nottingham Forest with a league win and why they could play in the Champions League whereas Liverpool could only compete in Europa League. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, had always pursued the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Since you’re upset with me, I naturally do not need to be polite to you.

Furthermore, with regards to the debate as to whether Gerrard or George Wood was England’s best midfielder at the moment had never stopped between the two teams’ supporters. In the past, the Chelsea fans had also joined in to support Lampard. As Lampard grew older and lost his place in the national team, the Chelsea fans also discreetly left the fray.

The Liverpool supporters saw Gerrard as more comprehensive, immaculate and flawless. He was undeniably the core player of both England and Liverpool, which certainly made him the best in England. While George Wood was slightly better defensively than Gerrard, his offense was far too inferior. His goalscoring ability was night and day as compared to Gerrard. He could not be placed on par with Gerrard. In the England team, George Wood had emerged more as a player to assist Gerrard.

Nottingham Forest’s supporters thought Wood’s midfield defense as matchless in the world. His offense was quickly improving. He was younger and had plenty of room to rise. Instead, Gerrard was already stereotyped. Moreover, Liverpool was always kept under by Nottingham Forest in the league tournament. The team’s results were not ideal, and Gerrard’s achievements were largely set. On the contrary, Nottingham Forest, led by Tony Twain, had repeatedly won championship titles. George Wood continued to update his honors list. He was certain to achieve more honors and achievements in the future. He could definitely reach the heights of which Gerrard had never reached.

The fans, pundits and reporters who supported their respective teams, stuck to their own teams and regularly engaged in such debates. But the controversy did not affect the relationship between Gerrard and Wood. The national team saw no negative impact caused by these kinds of debates. Wood’s dynamic duo with Gerrard was clearly better than his partnership with Lampard. Wood was a midfielder who could partner with anyone. He could attack and defend, be a playmaker and to assist, which was what Capello liked most about Wood. So, while he and Gerrard played at the same time, it must be him to assist Gerrard. However, in the national team, anyone’s position could be rotated, only Wood could not be. Gerrard sometimes needed to give his position to another player to partner with Wood, but there had never been any media hype about “who is going to partner Gerrard.”

Wood was not a man who liked to compete for the false reputation of “who the big man is in English football” and Gerrard clearly did not need to fight for the top spot. His status had long been cemented.

Such an argument was nothing more than an excuse for fodder among the fans and for the media to speculate about the two teams’ match.

“Nottingham Forest has been in poor form lately. Their core and team captain, George Wood seems to be having problems. I’m not going to hide my feelings that I’m very happy to see this happen. I just want my opponents to have their own problems.” Beesley continued to state in his column, “The competition schedule is terrible for Tony Twain. His tenth anniversary will be played at the devil’s stadium. If he were to be at City Ground stadium, he might still be able to accept the club’s award before the game. That must be a glorious thing, but now Manager Twain can only fantasize about it in his mind.”

“To be able to disturb the anniversary of this arrogant man, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most in this game. I make no secret of my dislike of Nottingham Forest and my love for Liverpool. Every Kopite who knows Liverpool’s history in the late 1970s and early 1980s should agree with me. We are going to settle the score with new enemies and old hatred on December 12th night at Anfield!”

Chapter 831 - Trust

When Nottingham Forest arrived in Liverpool, many journalists tracked them down to their hotel in the hopes of getting some pre-match updates up close. Thus, the local media in Eastern Liverpool naturally got the updates first. They gathered outside the hotel, waiting to interview every Forest player who would come out of it.

George Wood was clearly the most high-profile player. Recently, the media hyped his feud with Eastwood, which brought out days from his youth team when he was still new. Majority of the media thought George Wood should take responsibility for the retirement of Eastwood, who pretended to be very angry at his team-mate’s retirement, but Eastwood did not even mention it, questioning whether the atmosphere in Nottingham Forest was really as harmonious as what Twain had preached….

This time, many Liverpool journalists who went to ask Wood directly about Eastwood’s retirement. These Liverpool journalists clearly calculated when they did this — they knew the reason behind George Wood’s poor form.

Now that you had been injured here and the wound has not healed, then we do not mind shoving a knife on your wound and then spill salt onto it….

Actually, resorting to any means for victory, was not something only Twain was capable of.

“Wood, the media said that Eastwood’s retirement was related to you, are you planning to comment?”

“Hey, George. I heard your relationship with Eastwood has been bad, was it because of that?”

“It was said that you two are not friends, how do you two get along usually?”

…

As soon as he showed up, it was a group of journalists flocking up to throw such questions. At this time, Wood would then lower his face and look as gloomy as he could, not wanting to answer any questions. No matter how the reporters harassed him, he just did not speak.

Eastwood became part of the coaching staff. He also went with the team, and the same media ran to ask him similar questions. Being a Roman player was very much courted by the media because he loved to talk and was very cooperative in answering the questions from the media. But today Eastwood acted as if he was possessed by George Wood, blackening his face and keeping his mouth shut. He turned a deaf ear to the reporters’ questions.

That was enough.

Those who wished to create a scene was satisfied with this moment. They did not really expect two people to stand in front of the microphone and talk, as long as they could capture the faces of two people had in the face of the problem, it was sufficient for them to write articles about.

Soon, a report about George Wood and Eastwood’s falling out appeared in the media. Their expressions were placed together. Even if there were not any texts, it was still clear.

After these media renderings, in the eyes of outsiders, Nottingham Forest seemed to have been amongst themselves to the point of being disbanded at any time.

At a press conference the day before the game, Twain pointed to the media and scolded, “I know what you all are trying to do. But it’s a shame that what you’re doing is useless. ”

And in response to the media’s disinformation, Twain, who used to refuse to show his roster list until the last minute, announced the starting lineup a day earlier. George Wood’s name was still inside.

He used this action to show his support for his captain.

He did not know what Eastwood’s conversation with Wood was about, but he believed in Eastwood. And also, only he could accomplish this affair. He also believed in George, that he could be able to get out of it and he could wait for Wood to become something close to a robot. He was the team’s guarantee of victory, the lamp that would never go out, the tower of power.

“Coach Tony Twain insists on sending George Wood, but Wood’s form in the recent games was really bad and the team’s performance had been affected. This was obviously because Eastwood retired, Carl Spicer might be right this time.”

Before the game, while announcing the starting line-ups for both teams, the narrator was analyzing for everyone.

“We all know that Tony Twain is a very grumpy, self-centered person. He always insisted on things that people disagree on, he was right the past few times, but will he still be right this time? You must know, his opponent this time is Liverpool, who is recently on a five-game winning streak.”

Meanwhile, Twain was making a final change in roster for the team in the locker room.

“Liverpool has won five in a row recently and are second in the league. They are a difficult opponent to deal with. But we only won one game in the past five games.” Twain raised his finger for the players to count. “They are second in the league and we are seventh, which is far behind. They are delightful but our situation is not optimal… However, what I am about to say has no relations to all this. ”

He made a gesture, “What does it have to do with this game if they are doing well? Nothing at all. Each game is independent of another. Arsenal, who was unbeatable for 49 games still lost their 50th game, so Liverpool, who have won five in a row, might not be able to win a sixth. Gerrard is a key figure. George, your job in this game is to freeze Gerrard for me and also assist in the attack.”

Wood did not nod or shake his head. He did not say anything. Others turned to him, looking worried.

After Twain delegated George’s duties to him, he turned towards Gago. “Fernando, your job is not to defend but to attack.”

Gago was stunned. He thought the head would allow himself to assist Wood in defence. After all, Wood’s recent form was poor, and if Wood had a problem, the opposing offense would face the back line directly. In the last six games, that was what happened most of the time.

Twain saw his concern, but he did not explain anything, he just continued to assign tasks. “Play to your strengths and do not stop running. Do not be afraid of the ball being intercepted, leave everything behind to George. You only care about the offense, you understand?”

“Oh… I understand, coach…” Gago answered with hesitance. Was there really no issue with this arrangement?

It was a bold arrangement, and if Wood was in good shape it was no issue. But it was no surprise to what Wood was only able to do now. What is the difference between this arrangement and suicide?

Seeing Gago’s hesitation, Twain added, “Offense, offense, offense…You just need to have offense in your mind, Fernando. Don’t think about anything else, even if there is a mistake, it will not be your responsibility. ”

Gago nodded. “All right, coach….”

Actually, he was still hesitating on the inside. He was definitely not the only one hesitating inside.

After deploying the duties of others, Twain clapped, “All right guys. Everyone knows what to do. But that’s not enough. It’s far from sufficient to just know what to do to win a game. You have to trust your teammates. Football is a sport played by eleven people, so no one can do without anyone. Right now in the locker room I can talk?to you about tactics and tell you what to do and where not to go, but when it comes to the game, things change rapidly. Who can you count on? Anyway, it would not be me who is sitting outside.” Twain spread his hands. “It’ll be your teammates around you. Partners. Look into their eyes, you are together in the same trench, you can only choose to believe each other. You know what I mean? I know some people are worried that George’s form will affect the team, but even if that’s the case, you still have to trust him. Because you can only trust him on the pitch. ”

This was a bit unreasonable, but it was also Twain’s style. Everyone got used to it, so everyone nodded.

“Let’s play. ”

The players got up and went out. And George Wood was lagging again. Twain looked at him, smiled at him, as he also looked at Twain. The two did not say anything.

When Wood also left, Eastwood offered to find Twain, as if trying to say something, “Coach, I….”

Twain interrupted him, “Keep me in suspense.” He winked at Eastwood. Eastwood understood Twain’s meaning, as he nodded and walked away.

“Players on both sides are out! George Wood is at the front of the line and he still wears the captain’s armband. Tony Twain trusted Wood like a stubborn idi*t, but in the first few games Wood didn’t give back his trust as he did a poor job. So in this important game, will Twain’s trust be rewarded?”

In the press, Beesley was listening to the commentary coming from the television above his head, while typing up on his laptop the manuscript for today. He had already written the post-match press release in advance.

“…It’s great that Twain has chosen to continue to trust Wood. We don’t have to feel guilty about disrupting Twain’s anniversary. He’s asking for it….”

He looked up at the TV as a close-up of Wood’s face appeared on the screen.

“Look at his face, you’d think Forest lost the ball. Haha!” He pointed to the TV screen while laughing with those around him.

Wood shook hands with Gerrard and stood next to the referee for the coin toss.

“It’s a direct conversation between two of the best midfielders in English football today. This game is bound to be very eye-catching. Of course, Wood has been in poor form lately and Gerrard may be taking advantage of it. ”

During the coin toss, Wood lost to Gerrard.

“Gerrard with a lead, ha!” Beesley laughed upon watching this scene.

After Twain appeared in the coach’s chair, several media outlets gathered around him, blocking him in his seat, and the camera siphoned off. He was the most high-profile focus of the game. It was a ten-year stint in charge, in which he had won eight titles, big and small, and was one of England’s most successful coaches, ranking in United Kingdom’s “Coach Hall of Fame” as one of the top 20 and being a top 10 in England’s “Coach Hall of Fame”. The most important thing was not these honors, but him being only forty-five years old, as a coach, he was still “young and handsome”, there was reason to believe that his legend was far from ending yet.

Twain sat in his seat, enjoying the star-studded treatment. This was the honour he deserves, and he need not be ashamed.

The only regret was that it was not at the City Stadium, otherwise he will have a chance to accept the club’s award on the field and enjoy the scene of his name being sung by tens of thousands of fans and cheers for him. Maybe the Nottingham Forest club would still need to put a crown on him, putting on the big coat and let him hold the cane to collect the prize.

As Twain got up from the coach’s chair, reporters dispersed with a warning from security guards. The game has begun.

Liverpool took advantage of the home side’s advantage to attack Forest’s core from the start. They were really not intending to give Tony Twain to win on his anniversary day in this stadium. And as George Wood’s form was not ideal, they intended to use him to expose Nottingham Forest’s goalmouth.

“Steven Gerrard! Beautiful long shot!”

Akinfeev struggled to lift the powerful long-range shot off the crossbar and, after climbing up from the ground, he shouted to his team-mates to pay attention to the defence in the middle. Although he did not name names, everyone knew that the range of Gerrard was under George Wood’s responsibilities.

Gago was a little annoyed. Although the coach did not want him to care about defending, and only regard about the offense. But seeing how Gerrard almost score with this long shot, if they lose the ball, how can they even attack?

He decided to help Wood before he got into form.

Liverpool’s corner kick did not go straight towards the goal, but was instead passed outside. Gerrard came again for a direct goal, although it was off, but this also indicated that he was excited about the game. An excited Gerrard was definitely a danger and Nottingham Forest had to be careful.

“Watch out for Gerrard,” Kerslake could not sit still outside the match, he ran to the side of the field and reminded the players. “Don’t give him so many opportunities for long shots!”

Liverpool came back again. Gago hesitated. Under the training in Real Madrid, he still ran towards the midfield to prepare to guard Gerrard.

“The actions can be more exaggerated, the Premier League is not La Liga, if necessary, you can also foul…” He was muttering as he welcomed Gerrard.

But there was a man faster than him.

George Wood started his attack.. Heading towards Gerrard, the two men bumped into each other. Gerrard was hit by the bump and the football was lost. Wood was going to get the ball, but he heard the referee’s whistle.

“Foul!”

Huge boos were booed at Wood in the stands at Anfield.

Wood ignored it, as if he did not hear it. He turned and made a down-pressure gesture to Gago, “Let me handle it from here.” He pointed to the front again. “You advance.”

Seeing Wood’s expression, Gago nodded. From the first day he came to Forest, the boss told him to trust George as the captain in the game. He had always followed that as he was happy through these two league seasons. This time it would not be a mistake right…

As soon as he thought so, he heard a familiar voice shouting his name, “Gago! Gago!”

He turned towards the coach.

“What are you doing? Did you forget what I said before” Twain waved his arms with much effort. “Your position is in front. Go forward! Go even more forward!”

Gago gave Twain a thumbs-up, indicating he understood.

“Don’t get behind George, or else who can he pass the ball to?”

“I know, coach,” Gago had to answer out loud, otherwise he was afraid that the coach would keep saying that.

Nottingham Forest were not in a 4-5-1 formation but instead in a 4-4-2 formation. Gago and George Wood’s position were not on the same line. Wood’s position was slightly behind, and Gago was staggered in front. It was not a diamond midfield, a disc-shaped midfield, or even a parallel midfield.

Such a formation had already made it clear how the roles in the midfield was distributed – Gago being the main attacker while Wood being the main defender.

Benítez saw this but he did not know why Twain dared to use this formation on an away field, but he was sure of a point——this was an opportunity that can be exploited by yourself.

It seemed like he was correct in attacking midfield, if he continues, it would not be a surprise that the defensive line of Nottingham Forest will collapse!

Chapter 832 - Gerrard’s Challenge

Rafael Benítez realized 15 minutes into the game that he was wrong to think of George Wood as the weak spot that Liverpool could capitalize on.

George Wood’s poor performances from previous games had not been carried over to this game.

Gerrard ran into trouble in the midfield. George Wood’s resolute defense made it hard for him to progress any further up the pitch. Left with no other choice, Gerrard passed the ball over to Mascherano.

Mascherano was not having an easy time either, because he still had to deal with Gago’s attacks.

The two were teammates in the Argentina national football team. Mascherano was regarded as a ‘guaranteed’ starting player in the team, whereas Gago was a player who would start in some games and sit on the bench for others, and he has not been able to perform very well.

Contrary to his performances in the national team however, Gago has been performing brilliantly as a Forest player. This could be attributed to a difference in tactics used by the manager of the Argentina national football team and Twain.

In Nottingham Forest, Gago is able to receive overwhelming protection and support from George Wood. However, he does not get to enjoy the same benefits in the Argentina national football team. In the national team, Gago has to focus on defense more. This causes him to not be able to go on the offense, because he was not the kind of player who could attack and defend at the same time. He could only focus on one thing at a time.

Mascherano believes that Gago is at his best when he plays for his club rather than his country, because he is forced to sacrifice some of the things that he is good at in order to play in games for his national team.

However, Gago is only able to perform well on the premise that George Wood is playing well too.

Wood had not been able to perform well during the past few games, and Gago’s performances also became rocky as a result.

It looks like Forest’s No. 13 has come alive in this match?

Liverpool focused on attacking down the middle of the pitch as per Benítez’s pre-match instructions, but their attacks proved to be futile and ineffective.

George Wood ran about tirelessly in the midfield and was also able to make sharp judgements as to where he should run to in order to intercept the ball. He not only made use of his strong physical build to engage in physical battles with the opposing players, he also knew when he needed to commit fouls to stop Liverpool’s offense. It was as though he had regained his form overnight.

Liverpool was hardly able to attack the area that Pepe defended as a result, and Akinfeev had nothing to do in the match so far either.

Benítez realized that he had made an error of judgment. Hence, he walked to the side of the pitch and gestured for the team to change the way they attacked Forest. He wanted them to carry the ball forward down the flanks instead.

Nottingham Forest’s offense started becoming livelier after the shift in strategy by Liverpool led to less pressure on George Wood to defend.

Wood made pass after pass to Gago for him to initiate the attack. This move might look insignificant to some, but it was actually very crucial.

A team’s offense always starts from its defensive midfielders, and this makes them very important assets to the team.

It did not matter how good a striker or winger a team might possess. They are not able to do anything if the defensive midfielders always end up losing the ball when trying to pass it forward. The defensive midfielders’ inability to pass the ball forward would not only cause the team to encounter issues in their offense, it would also lead to frequent counterattacks by the opposing team.

Thus, a defensive midfielder who is able to snatch or intercept a ball is only considered to be decent at best. In contrast, a defensive midfielder who is able to snatch the ball, control it and pass it over to where it should be passed to is world class.

George Wood is a player who is capable of the latter.

As for Gago, his passing accuracy would drop significantly every time he focused on defense. Additionally, he is poor at maintaining possession of the ball as well, and his opponents are often able to snatch the ball from him. It is easy to see why Gago is unable to become a regular starting player in the Argentina national football team…

Gago had to face off with his teammate from the Argentina national team, Mascherano, after he received the pass from Wood. However, Gago was not afraid of battling with Mascherano, because he knew that his teammates would help him to snatch the ball back if he lost possession of it. Hence, he concentrated on trying to make passes that relied on technique and awareness, such as crossing the ball over to the empty space at the flank by using the outside of his foot, or performing a feint to get the ball past Mascherano before making a long pass into the space behind Liverpool’s defense.

If Mascherano tries to snatch the ball from him aggressively, Gago would pass the ball back to Wood and then act as a ‘decoy’ by running forward. Doing so would attract Mascherano over to him and it would provide Wood with the opportunity and space to move forward and attack.

If Mascherano did not follow after him, then Wood would just pass the ball back to Gago.

In a nutshell, both Gago and Wood are capable of attacking and defending, but the former is stronger at attacking, whereas the latter is better at defending.

Simply defending against Gago or Wood would not be enough to stop Forest’s offense. However, it would be too exhausting to defend against both of them at the same time. Thus, the best strategy to stop Forest’s attacks is not to battle with either Gago or Wood in the midfield, but rather to freeze Forest’s strikers or wingers, who are positioned nearer to the goalpost, in their tracks. This is because they are the ones who will put the finishing touch to the team’s attack by shooting at the goal.

Whenever Twain employs a 4-5-1 formation in a match, the players who needed to be marked would be the player positioned at the forefront as well as the attacking midfielders, because they might sometimes be playing as a ‘second striker’. However, ever since Eastwood’s retirement, there has not been another player who is able to play as a ‘second striker’.

Twain’s 4-5-1 formation often becomes a 4-3-3 in the match. Hence, the player who is most likely to score a goal is not the player playing at the forefront. Their attacking and side midfielders were the threats instead, because they would play in a way that a winger would.

The formation that Twain employed in this match was not a 4-5-1, but a 4-4-2 instead. The onus of scoring a goal rested on the shoulders of the forwards.

Benítez gestured for his team to pay attention to Forest’s two forwards. However, it was a difficult task to accomplish for the Liverpool players, because the two forwards that Twain employed in the match were not easy to deal with…

One was the 1.88m tall Ibi?evi? who has been nicknamed ‘Super Ibi’, and the other was the 2.02m tall Aaron Mitchell.

This combination would give any manager in the Premier League a terrible headache…

Ibi?evi? was accurate with his shots and was the more complete player between the two. Mitchell, on the other hand, would easily dominate in the air against any other player, and he also possessed great technique and was also good with headers. His only flaw was that his shooting was still slightly poor.

Sometimes, all Nottingham Forest needed to do to score a goal against their opponents was to bring the ball forward down the flanks and then pass it into the middle.

It was rare for Twain to play both Ibi?evi? and Mitchell in a match, but when he does, the combination almost always brings victory to the team. Clearly, Twain does not intend to let Liverpool jeopardize his important day today.

Liverpool’s center back, Martin ?krtel, who stood at 1.91m tall, was assigned to mark Mitchell.

It was a job that made ?krtel feel immense pressure.

Mitchell was no longer the inexperienced youngster who made his debut during the match against Barcelona. He has grown more mature and reliable ever since, and Twain has also stopped banning him from showing off his techniques during matches as well.

It would be a mistake to think that Mitchell was less threatening when he tries to control the ball at his feet. He might not be good with the ball, but he was still capable of getting past defenders and making passes to his teammates without losing the ball.

Ibi?evi? was positioned close to Mitchell for support. Daniel Agger was the Liverpool player assigned to mark Ibi?evi?.

Mitchell performed a feint and made it seem as though he wanted to pass the ball over to Ibi?evi?, who was heavily marked by the Liverpool defenders. However, his real target was Fernández, who was running down the flank. After passing the ball over, Mitchell started to make his way into Liverpool’s penalty box.

This was how Forest typically carried out its attack. The forward would pass the ball over to the flank before making his way into the penalty box without the ball at his feet. The winger would then pass the ball into the penalty box, and the forward would fight for the ball and try to shoot for goal.

Liverpool was very familiar with Forest’s attack pattern. Agger charged towards Mitchell the moment he made his way into the middle of the pitch. Both he and??krtel closed in on Mitchell from the front and the back, and they tried to make it difficult for him to jump up and fight for the aerial ball.

Liverpool was going to defend against Forest like they always did in the past, since the latter was also making use of an attack pattern that they always have as well.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten that Forest was not playing a 4-5-1 formation, but rather a 4-4-2 instead…

Mitchell tried his best to fight for the ball despite being surrounded by two burly center backs. He successfully attracted the attention of all the Liverpool defenders. Even the goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, had turned his body towards him.

They had all forgotten that there was another Forest player dressed in yellow behind Mitchell…

Mitchell was not able to reach the ball due to the interference from both Agger and ?krtel. Likewise, both center backs were not able to reach the ball either due to interference from Mitchell.

The ball flew right over their heads…

Ibi?evi? jumped high into the air. He saw the frenzied look on Reina’s face from the corner of his eye.

“Ibi?evi? has headed the ball!”

There was no way he could miss. The goal was right in front of him…

“The ball has gone in!” The commentator roared. “It has only been 21 minutes since the start of the match, but Nottingham Forest has managed to take the lead! 1:0! The away team leads!”

Tony Twain, who had been sitting at the technical area, jumped off his seat and raised his fists into the air. He then turned and waved his fists at the spectators standing at the stands behind him. It was his way of demonstrating his might before the Liverpool fans at Anfield.

It looks like you are not capable of ruining my banquet later!

His actions were met with deafening boos from the crowd.

Benítez felt like he was truly down on his luck. His team had only committed one error during its defense, and Forest had capitalized on it right away.

It was as expected of Forest. They have always been known to be a highly efficient team.

Despite being a goal down however, Benítez did not make any adjustments to his team’s formation or tactics. He believed that his team would be able to stay strong and make a comeback, because they were a team that had gone through even more difficult situations in the past.

Chris Beesley had only just typed the words, “Nottingham Forest’s attacks do not appear to be threatening. They are playing their usual boring tactic of passing the ball into the middle from the flank…” when he saw Forest score the goal from the press box.

Thereafter, he heard loud cheers coming from the television situated above his head, “GOOAL!”

He raised his head to look at the scenes of Ibi?evi? celebrating the goal wildly with his other Forest teammates on the television screen, before looking down at the very last sentence he had typed in his Word document.

He swore under his breath, then proceeded to delete the words that he had just typed.

The screen subsequently cut to a scene of Twain performing provocative actions before the Liverpool fans.

“Stop being so cocky!”

He pointed his middle finger at the Twain in the screen as he held a cigarette in his mouth.

Not far away from him, the reporters from Nottingham were all cheering for the goal with both hands high in the air.

The match restarted soon after, and the song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ resonated throughout Anfield. It was as though the Liverpool fans were singing the song to hit back at Twain for doing provocative actions at them earlier.

Their voices increased in decibels gradually. The Liverpool players appeared to have been motivated by the song, as they began trying to attack Forest even more vigorously than before.

The match completely turned in Liverpool’s favour from that point onwards, and Nottingham Forest was being dominated completely.

Many of the Forest players were still immersed in the ecstasy of the goal from earlier. They did not expect the Liverpool players to get back in the game as quickly and as ferociously as they did.

The song was clearly a source of strength for the Liverpool players.

George Wood found the Gerrard before him right now to be much more difficult to deal with. The latter’s actions have become much faster than before, and he seemed to be much more relentless as well.

Perhaps the thought that they are currently losing has set him off?

Gerrard was well-known for his mental toughness in England’s footballing scene. He has a tendency to perform better in times of adversity. As a result, Wood did not dare to let his guard down around him.

“A battle between George Wood and Gerrard!” The commentator became excited.

This was the kind of scene that viewers wanted to watch. Many people are not able to understand the brilliance behind the tactics used in a match, but they would undoubtedly get excited when they see two football stars get into a battle with each other.

Gerrard did not pass the ball away when he met resistance in the form of Wood’s defense this time round. He behaved in a way that suggested that he wanted to try and force his way through. Wood decided to retreat slightly to establish a distance between himself and Gerrard. Doing so would prevent Gerrard from making his way past him.

Gerrard was able to see through Wood’s plan. It was too obvious.

He was indeed intent on trying to force his way past Wood earlier, but he had changed his mind now. He was going to shoot from a distance instead!

George Wood did not expect Gerrard to perform a long shot at goal. He was at a loss and failed to respond to Gerrard’s actions. He watched as the ball flew by before him.

Akinfeev did not think that Wood would allow Gerrard to shoot at the goal that easily. Fortunately, Gerrard’s shot flew straight at him. He clumsily blocked the shot and sent the ball out of bounds.

“Hey, George.” Pepe shouted behind him. He was worried after watching Wood’s performance earlier.

Wood waved his hand at him to signal that he was all right.

He then turned around and tried to locate Gerrard, but he realized that the Liverpool player had already made his way into the penalty box and was preparing to fight for the ball in the air.

Wood quickly ran over to mark him.

However, Gerrard suddenly retreated right before the corner ball was kicked.

Wood had a foreboding sense of danger.

He did not have the time to warn his teammates. He chased after Gerrard straight away.

But, he was still a little too slow…

Both Agger and ?krtel rushed into the penalty box. Their actions made it seem as though they were both trying to join in the attack. However, Liverpool’s corner was not kicked into the penalty box. Instead, it had been kicked to a spot outside of it!

Gerrard waited till the ball was right over his head. He then looked up at it, before adjusting his body towards the goal.

Wood charged past the crowd of players in the penalty box and headed towards Gerrard at full throttle. He was confident in reaching the ball and stopping Liverpool’s attack after Gerrard stopped the ball at his feet.

Don’t even give me a second, Gerrard! You’d be finished the moment you do!

All right. I’d do as you wish.

Gerrard raised his right leg with his eye on the ball.

Everything was in place.

The ball.

His foot.

And him.

“Gerrard has shot at the goal with the ball still in mid-air!”

The ball flew past Wood’s face at breakneck speed. Wood felt his cheeks tingle in pain due to the wind that had been induced as the ball whizzed by.

The shot from Gerrard was just like a cannonball. It smashed its way past Forest’s defense and all the players standing before the goal. The ball was already in the back of the net before Akinfeev could even react…

“A worldie! An absolute worldie! That was utterly fascinating! The captain of the Reds has finally unleashed his prowess! He has won the battle between him and George Wood!”

Gerrard did not run to the side of the pitch to celebrate after scoring the goal. Instead, he stood rooted at the spot, raised his fists and roared.

It might look like he was celebrating his goal, but his eyes were fixated on George Wood the entire time.

Is that a challenge?

Wood clenched his fists.

Chapter 833 - Don’t Be Happy Yet

“World class ball! World class ball! The captain for the Reds has finally exploded into life! He has drawn first blood in his duel with George Wood!”

Gerrard stood where he was after scoring and pumped his fist towards George Wood after scoring.

Even though he didn’t like to compete for the status of England’s best player, he didn’t like to concede defeat in a match against any opponent either. The media was right to keep mentioning him and Wood together. He also thought that George Wood was an opponent that could compete with him. It was very satisfying to go one on one with Wood and beating him.

George Wood had a sullen and unfriendly expression on his face. He was responsible for the goal that they conceded and he was not going to shirk the responsibility.

Since it was his own responsibility, he had to think of a way to make up for it then…

“Ah ha ha! Beautiful!”, Beesley shouted after seeing Gerrard’s goal from the press box, he stood up from his seat and waved his fists excitedly.

After cheering for a while, he sat back down and typed on his keyboard, “…Gerrard scored a world class ball to announce that he’s the best midfielder in this country… No, perhaps I should remove the word ‘midfielder’, he’s the best player in England… George Wood might be good defensively but his goal-scoring ability is lacking…”

At this point, he glanced at the field and found Wood. Wood was standing at the same spot, but he could not see his expression.

“What a pity, it must be quite a sight…”, He shook his head, muttering with a cigarette in his mouth.

However, he smiled again later as he saw Tony Twain on the TV screen.

The live broadcast of the match was showing a replay of Tony Twain’s reaction in the technical area at the moment when the goal was scored.

When the ball was unexpectedly passed to Gerrard, his butt left his seat and his upper body extended outside the technical area as he paid attention to what was happening. When Gerrard finally shot the ball into the goal, he sat back down into his seat and waved his right hand with some disdain.

“Ha ha!”, Beesley laughed happily after seeing Twain’s performance. “Where do you think you are? Mister Twain? This is our home ground! It’s Anfield! This is the most devilish stadium in the world! Listen to this singing! You’ll never walk alone, Liverpool!”

Beesley was a little crazed then. But his behaviour is nothing special as there were many people in the Premier League who found joy in watching Tony Twain make a fool of himself. None more than the host of Sky Television’s “Football Matters”, mister Carl Spicer.

The beautiful goal by Gerrard boosted morale and the singing from the stands boomed even louder.

“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high—”

“And don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm. There’s a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark—”

“Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain—”

“Though your dreams be tossed and blown—”

“Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart—”

“And you’ll never walk alone—”

“You’ll never walk alone—”

In Heysel, in Hillsborough and in Istanbul in 2005… This song has encouraged the Reds on countless occasions and tonight will be no exception.

All the Reds’ supporters, even the Reds’ players think so.

For a long period of time after that, Liverpool was in cruise control as they bombarded Nottingham Forest. The singing of their fans were like a conductor’s stick, commanding the team to attack. The singing became louder every time the team attacked and when the team was building up to attack, it became softer.

“This is an exclusive view that you can only see at Anfield!”, the commentator exclaimed, “Nottingham Forest seems to be finding it difficult to hold their grounds. Tony Twain obviously did not prepare well enough for the stubbornness displayed by Liverpool in this match. What was it that he said before the match? ‘Nobody can trouble me.’ That sounds like a joke now…”

Twain stood up, he could smell the stench of danger from the relentless attack displayed by Liverpool.

Liverpool was determined not to act as a foil for Twain’s ten-years-anniversary indeed…

George Wood wanted to make up for his mistake by attacking, but he could not even lift up his head under the fierce attack?of his opponent. Even Gago had to gradually dropped back to help out in defense. Forest really could not catch a break in attack at all. The Liverpool players felt like they were all on stimulant. They were in every position, all their passes were able to reach their teammate accurately and every shot seemed like it would penetrate the Akinfeev’s goal… As the saying goes, “when things go well, everything you try will come off”, Liverpool was already in that state then.

“Bastards…”, Twain cursed on the sideline. He really did not expect the whole Liverpool team to have such a change from just a beautiful goal.

And that song!

Twain was actually quite envious of Liverpool because they have an anthem that the whole world knew about. Whether the team was performing well or not, the Liverpool fans would sing this song. This was more effective than any cheer. A pity. Nottingham Forest did not have something like this…

In terms of team culture, his own team was miles away from the opponent’s…

The Forest players finally hung on till half time and they walked out of the pitch with their heads low right after the referee blew his whistle for the end of the first half. They also felt embarrassed about their performance in the first half. On the other hand, the Liverpool players took in the song and cheers of the fans with their heads held high on the pitch.

“There’s nothing to feel disheartened about…”, Twain told his players in the changing room, “We’re still level now, what’s there to feel disheartened about? As long as we score in the second half, we’ll still be the ones leading. You have to think of it this way…”

When Twain was giving his team counselling in the changing room, a bunch of die-hard Forest fans gathered outside the drinks stall, drinking beer while sighing because of the first half.

“We completely lost!”, said Skinny Bill as he waved his arms forcefully. “Our voice could not even compare with theirs… Look at the team’s performance in the first half, I believe their poor performance had something to do with the lack of support from us.”

“If it’s on our home ground… We’ll definitely make Liverpool go back crying!”, someone in the group shouted indignantly.

What he got in return was more sighs. No matter how you look at it, they looked like a bunch of defeated cocks who could only talk tough.

“Say… Tony’s ten-years-anniversary…would it end just like this?”, someone finally asked what everyone was worried about.

“How is it possible?”

“No way!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

The bunch of them rejected the idea quickly, but in truth, the idea of this result was growing bit by bit in everyone’s mind, from a blur to a clear picture, from “ridiculous” to “reality”.

“I feel disgusted when I think about the gloating faces of Spicer and Beesley if we lose this match…”, Bill said, the strong tone that he used was unable to cover up the uneasiness in his mind.

Fat John, who had been silent all this while, passed him a beer.

“I’m not done with this yet…”, Bill said as he lifted the cup in his hand. He did not even manage to take a sip of his beer because he was talking all the way.

“Have another. Wet your whistle, pal.”

“What idea did you come up with now?”

“Isn’t it just singing? We can’t sing just because we have less people? We’ll fight them head-on in the second half!”, John said fiercely.

After hearing this, Bill took the cup and drank it in one gulp. The others drank their beer after watching him do so and threw the disposable cups into the rubbish bin at the side.

“Sing our song!”

“Okay, don’t think about the significance of this match.” Twain said. He knew that some people might bear some unnecessary burden because of how special this match was. “You guys must not fall back just because Liverpool is attacking just like what you did in the first half. Are you afraid of conceding? If you’re afraid of conceding, then attack! Score a few goals and we’ll see if they still have the capabilities to attack. Gago, your positioning is too messy in the first half, you were in front for a while then at the back. Didn’t I tell you that your position is a little bit in front of George’s?”

Gago had no answer. He was responsible for the first part of the first half but it was not his problem in the second part.

Wood had a very strong desire to score in this match, that was why he moved forward so often that he snatched Gago’s position. Gago realized this later and he followed what the boss wanted in training—”Two of you, no matter who’s attacking, there must be one covering at the back”—and he retreated until he was behind Wood. This caused his position to be not fixed and confused his own teammates…

”?Wood stood out and said, “It’s my responsibility.”

Twain looked at him. Would Eastwood be effective if he’s introduced now? He was not sure yet, although he could see with his own eyes that Wood’s performance in the first half was like a roller-coaster ride.

“Do you want to say something about your performance in the first half, George?”, Twain asked.

“Yes.” Wood nodded and said, “After Gerrard scored, I became a little agitated and snatched Fernando’s position.”

“Yes, I can see that. Can you tell us why you were so agitated?”, Twain asked.

Wood stayed silent for a while before saying, “Gerrard’s goal was my responsibility…”

Twain smiled and said, “An agitated George Wood, you don’t see that often. Are you unhappy that Gerrard scored such a beautiful goal right in front of you?”

Wood nodded.

Mm, that’s why you tried very hard to attack…”, Twain mumbled. “Let’s do this. We’ll make some adjustments. In the second half, George, you’ll stay in front, Gago at the back. You’ll be in-charge of attacking and Gago will be in-charge of defending, any questions?”

Wood was surprised and he looked at Twain.

Gago at the side said, “No problem, boss.” Of course there was no problem. That kind of adjustment was nothing new. Twain would often ask the two of them to switch positions in previous matches, after all, they were players who could both attack and defend.

“Is there a problem, George?” Twain did not want to let it go without getting an answer from Wood.

“I…have no problems with that.”, Wood replied.

Twain snapped his finger and said, “Remember your mission, it’s not to defend, it’s to attack. If Liverpool realized that we made this kind of adjustments, they will definitely tighten the marking on Aaron and Ibi, as well as on Bentley and Fernández.” He told the whole team, “I hope the four of you can be more active in front and run more. Try to draw the attention of the Liverpool defence to focus on you, then…”

Twain took out a marker and drew an arrow from the circle representing Wood towards the opponent’s goal.

“My personal advise under this situation, shooting is more effective than passing.”

After the second half started, the song “You’ll never walk alone” continued to be sung from the stands and Liverpool continued their excellent performance from the first half and kept Forest pinned in their own half of the pitch.

Twain kept waving his arm on the sideline, indicating for his team to press up and not be cowards.

Beesley’s fingers flew around the keyboard of his laptop, covering Liverpool with all the praises that he could think of. There was an undisguisable smile on his face, which he did not try to disguise either, as he anticipated this match to go towards the ending that he expected.

Maybe they were tired, the song “You’ll never walk alone” finally stopped. At this moment, there was another song that rang out from the stands. It was not very loud, but because it happened when the Liverpool fans are resting, it was very clear.

“With the game down to the last minute, do you think it’s over? There’s little time left as the referee looks at his watch and your heart goes, ‘Forget it, we still have the future’—”

“The cheering song gradually loses its voice, and some people begin to leave early. A bunch of beer cups are strewn about in the stands, and it’s a mess!—”

“The opposing players laugh at our final struggle, and the opposing fans celebrate their victory in advance!—”

“The Forest team’s number 11 steps forward and he said, ‘No! The game isn’t over yet! Don’t be too happy!’”

“Don’t—Be—Happy—Yet!!!”

A few thousand Nottingham Forest fans shouted this line together and they gave the Liverpool fans a scare.

Twain cocked his ears and listened for a while, then turned to look at Eastwood next to him.

Eastwood was obviously entranced, he looked up and opened his mouth in surprise. He did not expect to be able to hear this song again.

Wood heard the song too and he felt goosebumps, deeply affected by it.

“Do you think I’m happy to retire?!”, he felt like his collar was being held by Eastwood as Eastwood berated him and he found it a little hard to breathe. “I still want to continue playing!”

When George Wood was still in a trance because of this song, the other players of the Forest team were similarly being affected by the “Song of Eastwood”. The scene of Fred’s farewell in the City Ground was still unforgettable for them. Their best comrade had no choice but to leave them because of injury. With the match in such a situation, Fred, who was seated in the coach’s seat must be kicking himself for not being able to play himself! They clenched their fists and stared at Liverpool’s goal and they were itching to score.

“Press up!” shouted Akinfeev behind everyone, “Boss wants us to press up! Don’t make me the leading man!”

Gago entrusted the ball to Wood. Boss was right. No matter how the captain performed during the previous few matches, he had to trust his captain , he could only trust his captain.

After Wood received the ball, the one who came up to defend him was not Mascherano but Gerrard.

Wood feinted a pass to his teammate supporting him at the side, then kicked the ball forward suddenly— he was going to dribble through!

Gerrard put his body close to Wood to force him to slow down and signalled for Mascherano to come help. He realized that it was a little bit difficult to defend Wood, who was determined to attack, by himself…

With Gerrard on the left and Mascherano on the right, the two of them were like bodyguards, “escorting” Wood forward. Gerrard disturbed him from one side while Mascherano waited for a chance to tackle the ball from the other. Gerrard was not afraid that Wood would take a long shot. Once he was poised to shoot, that would be the perfect chance for them to intercept the ball. As long as he can stick close to Wood, the Forest team’s attack this time would not cause them any problems…

Aaron Mitchell and Ibi?evi? ran towards the two flanks in support to pull the defenders away from the centre. Agger and Skrtel did not dare to leave them alone. Furthermore, they saw there was both Gerrard and Mascherano defending Wood and thought that even if they leave the centre open, there would not much threat to the goal guarded by Reina.

Wood still had no intentions of passing and continued dribbling forward. He continued tussling with Gerrard and Mascherano while running forward, preventing the ball from being stolen by them. He had the basics training that he did everyday for the past ten years to thank for his solid dribbling. Mascherano and Gerrard could not find any chance at all…

Then…Gerrard looked up and he was shocked!

The penalty area is just ahead! Since when were they so close to the penalty area?

A terrible thought flashed through Gerrard’s mind—he was tricked by Wood. He thought that Wood only knew long shots but he actually wanted to break into the penalty area to have an one-on-one with the goalkeeper this time!

His dribbling is good, it’s not easy to intercept the ball, he can only foul him now… At this position, it’ll be too late if he doesn’t foul him now!

Gerrard did not hesitate anymore and tackled Wood from diagonally behind him. At the same time, Mascherano gave Wood a strong push from the back. They obviously have the same thought—we have to foul him now!

Wood suddenly kicked the ball away and Gerrard did not manage to get the ball. However, that was okay as he was not going for the ball anyway.

He tackled Wood but he was not able to bring him down. The push from behind by Mascherano became a force that allowed Wood to move forward… He managed to dodge the fouls by the two of them and even though he was still unbalanced and his steps were unsteady, he did not fall and lose the control of the ball.

The referee had the whistle in his mouth but he did not blow for a foul by Gerrard or Mascherano, instead, he allowed the match to continue.

Right when Wood kicked the ball out, Reina was alert and moved. This might be the best opportunity to do so but Wood’s explosive power was too scary. Reina barely ran out from the goal and Wood only took two steps to catch up with the ball. Even though his steps were still unsteady, it did not stop him from shooting…

It was like a volley with all his might. When the ball flew past Reina, he did not even see the ball clearly. All he heard was a “whoosh” and then a “clang!”.

The ball hit the inside of the post and bounced into the goal! The goal was still vibrating…

Reina felt a chill all of a sudden—if this shot was to hit his face, would he go into a shock on the spot?

From less than ten meters away from goal, the ball was shot with the strength of a long shot and the goal happened in a flash. Reina might be the only one who could understand the power of this shot. He knelt on the ground, a little dazed, and he did not even turn back to look at the ball inside the goal.

The song “You’ll never walk alone ” which was ringing in the Anfield skies disappeared and only another voice continued to roar out:

“The game isn’t over yet, don’t be too happy! Don’t be happy yet—!!”

Chapter 834 - Happy Tenth Anniversary

“George Wood! Goal! Gooal! Gooooal!!”, screamed the commentator, “Nottingham Forest lead again! Ahh! This is an amazing goal! George Wood started dribbling from midfield and went straight for goal! Even though he was under pressure from both Gerrard and Mascherano, he still managed to score! This midfielder doesn’t score often, let alone a beautiful goal like this!”

After watching Wood shoot the football into the goal behind Reina, Mascherano hammered the ground with his fist. He regretted not pushing Wood hard enough just now…

Did Gerrard regret not going for Wood’s leg with his tackle earlier?

Wood was stunned for a moment after scoring and seemed to have forgotten to celebrate. When Aaron Mitchell and Ibi?evi? rushed forward to celebrate with him, he pushed them away and ran straight to the technical area.

Twain was already standing up when Wood broke through Gerrard and Mascherano’s defense into the penalty area. His fists were clenched as he waited to celebrate the goal. When he saw Wood running towards him, he rushed out of the technical area as well with his arms wide open, waiting to have a passionate hug with Wood.

Wood was the one who saved his tenth anniversary so Twain had to thank him properly.

“Ah ha! Come on George! Let me give you a passionate hug!! You little darling!”, Twain exclaimed while he poised himself in front of everyone, waiting for Wood to jump into his embrace.

But Wood passed him by like the wind without even looking at him, as if he was air…

“Hey…”

Eastwood was standing not far away from Twain. He was happy that the team regained the lead of course, even though this goal was scored by Wood. But he still got up from his seat to celebrate with his colleagues around him. Right at this moment, Wood jumped straight at him and gave him a hug.

“Hey!”

“Ah!”

Everyone around were like birds that got frightened by Wood as they dispersed.

Eastwood could feel that Wood was hugging him very tightly and he was still exerting more force, causing him to have difficulty breathing.

“W… ood…”, Eastwood could barely speak, “Are you… are you… trying to suffocate me…”

Wood had no intention of letting go as he buried his head in Eastwood’s shoulder, muttering something under his breath. However, the environment was so noisy that even if Wood was right next to his ears, Eastwood could not tell what he was saying.

What is he saying? What is he doing?

Eastwood’s head was filled with questions like these then.

Twain stretched out an arm and patted Wood on the head, shouting, “Enough, George! Are you trying to murder your coach cum ex-teammate?”

As expected, the Boss’ words were most effective. After Twain said that, Eastwood could feel the pressure on him loosening. Wood let go of him then looked at him and said, “Sorry.”

Before Eastwood could appreciate what he said, Wood turned and jogged away.

He never did gave the main star of this match a “passionate” hug, but Twain did not mind.

“Ten years late.”, Twain smiled in front of Eastwood as he said this. “But he has always been an awkward person.”

Eastwood looked at the view of Wood’s back, nodded and said, “That’s right, an awkward person…”

“Wood ran over for a hug with Eastwood after scoring, what a heartwarming scene! This hug between them squashed any rumors about any internal conflict within Nottingham Forest that was spreading previously. The rumors that George Wood caused Eastwood’s early retirement can stop now…”, the commentator said with a sigh after watching this scene.

Just like how the world-class ball by Gerrard was able to boost Liverpool’s morale, George Wood’s goal and his hug with Eastwood after scoring similarly was able to boost Nottingham Forest’s morale. If the Forest team was like a huge family, then everyone in the family would be just like a friend. When there was an argument between friends, even if it did not affect them directly, as a member of the family, they would feel bad and be affected by it too.

The reason why this incident between Eastwood and George Wood caused the team to perform badly during the past few matches was not because Wood was in a bad form.

So when everyone saw Wood gave Eastwood a hug in public, they were finally able to put down the rock that was in their hearts. The effect of this on the team’s morale was much more obvious than Gerrard’s world-class ball.

In the match later, the captain who had regained the trust of his team led Nottingham Forest to totally suppress Liverpool on the field. Tony Twain’s adjustment to make Wood the focal point of the attack was totally out of Benítez’s expectation. What was even more out of the expectations of the Liverpool players was Wood’s resolve when attacking. There was a feeling of “Do-or-die” in his movements. Must score, must succeed, must win!

In the 77th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest scored another goal. The scorer this time was Aaron Mitchell. He received the ball from Wood in the penalty area and used his long legs to his advantage as he evaded Skrtel’s defense before striking the ball unexpectedly. The ball took a deflection off Agger’s leg and took Reina by surprise.

3 : 1!

However, this score line was still unable to let Twain stay in his seat at ease. Everyone knew what kind of a team Liverpool was, they were well-known to be good at mounting comebacks. Furthermore, this was their home ground—Anfield Stadium. More than forty thousand fans would forever be their staunch shield, their twelfth man on the field.

As long as the match was not over, even if they were leading by two goals, Twain could not claim that they had the match won.

Luckily, the players on the field also knew what kind of team Liverpool was. They started to draw back and played a counterattacking game which made Liverpool unable to go all out in attack.

This move did make things difficult for Liverpool.

Liverpool only got some good chances during the last five minutes of the match when they gave up on defending. After all, during the last five minutes, there would be no difference even if the opponent scored ten goals if they could not score themselves. The whole team pressed forward and bombarded the Forest goal under the encouragement of the song “You’ll never walk alone”.

In the 89th minute, they managed to score a goal. There was chaos in front of the Forest goal then and nobody knew who kicked the ball, or if the ball hit someone, but the ball flew into the goal. Akinfeev made a diving action but he was still too late.

This goal boosted Liverpool’s morale and they wanted to go from strength to strength and level the match. However, Nottingham Forest did not give them another chance like that. The situation was tense but Forest eventually managed to defend the score line.

When the referee blew the whistle for full time after the four minutes of stoppage time, boos rang out on the stands against Tony Twain — This bastard managed to grind out a win again and escaped unscathed during his tenth anniversary.

Twain appeared to be very happy as he stood up to shake hands and hugged everyone. They congratulated him on his victory in this memorable match.

Next, Twain walked towards Benítez with his hand extended out from quite some distance away. The smile on his face was as if a cherry blossom had blossomed.

Benítez really wanted to avoid Twain at that moment, but under the watchful eyes of the public, where could he hide?

“Congratulations, Mister Twain.”, Benítez said, as he had no choice but to shake hands with Twain.

“Ha, thank you. This was a good match. You guys did well.”, Twain replied with a smile on his face.

Their hands touched lightly and it constituted to be a handshake. Benítez turned and walked away while Twain returned to embrace his players on the field, thanking them for their efforts to make this wonderful night a success.

He put his arms around Wood’s neck and pulled Eastwood over. Facing the crowds of reporters, he said loudly, “Sorry to disappoint you!”

“Hey, Tony! Regarding your ten years here, do you have anything to talk about?” The reporters were not bothered by Twain’s taunting. They were used to his temperaments after working with him for so long, he loved to talk on the spur of the moment.

looked at Wood in his arms, then looked at Eastwood by his side before proudly saying, “Look for yourselves, my ten years are all here.”

Some reporters got close to ask Wood about that embrace and he resumed his cold expression and replied simply, “Goal celebration.”

The reporters added, “How did you come up with the idea of hugging Eastwood to celebrate your goal?”

Wood replied, “I ran over and I saw him, then we hugged.”

Twain heard Eastwood mumble very softly at his side, “How awkward…”

He smiled.

Back in the dressing room, Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were already waiting there to present a memorial trophy to Twain.

“So sorry, Tony. We couldn’t present this trophy to you in front of so many people on the field.”, Evan said while passing the crystal cup to Twain.

“That’s not important, Mister Chairman.”, Twain replied. In front of the team, he was still very formal. “I’m already very satisfied with winning the match. My team has already given me the best trophy.”, he said in front of the whole team, in response, he got the cheers and applause of the players.

At this moment, Eastwood stepped up and told Twain, “Boss, the team has another gift for you.”

As he was still a player in the team not long ago, coupled with his popularity within the team, Eastwood’s main job after becoming a coach was to link up the players with the coaches and act as a bridge between them. He was elected as the spokesperson of the team now.

Before Twain could understand what was going on, Eastwood snapped his finger and both Bale and Pepe came in with a big cake in the shape of a crown. There were ten red rubies made of cherries on the crown which represented the ten seasons that Tony Twain stayed in the Forest team. In the middle of the crown, written in red jam was:

Just ten years, just beginning.

“Boss, we hope that you can stay for ten years, and ten more years after.”, Pepe spoke of the whole team’s wishes when he presented the cake.

Twain had tears in his eyes. This was unexpected to him and he thought these players were too adorable.

Thank you.”, he choked a little on his reply.

“Okay, don’t make the atmosphere so gloomy!”, Kerslake shouted at the side as he gave a look to a few people at the side.

Wood and Eastwood held on to Twain on both sides while Pepe, who was still so warm and touching earlier, suddenly smashed the cake onto Twain’s face…

“Happy tenth anniversary, boss! Ha ha!”

The reporters waited for a long time for the Nottingham Forest manager who was late. However, his appearance gave everyone present a shock, including Benítez who was getting a little impatient…

Twain’s face was white and there were only two eyes which could be seen. At first glance, everyone thought that a skeleton had entered. His dark red suit were smeared with white and red paste-like substance and his hair which were dyed black became white again.

“This is cream.”, Twain explained matter-of-factly to the shell-shocked audience as he took his seat. “There was a mini ‘war’ in the dressing room earlier… As revenge for what they did, I decided to come out looking like this, to let you see what I’ve been through! You have to write this in your reports and scold them on my behalf. This is concrete proof of the internal strife within the Nottingham Forest dressing room!”

While he was talking seriously, some reporters on the ground could not take it and laughed. Even Benítez could not help but to smile while shaking his head.

However, some reporters felt embarrassed by what Twain said. Even an idiot could tell the sarcasm behind the last sentence that Twain uttered. He was mocking the media whom reported that the Forest team was not united internally previously.

Channel bbc5 “Match of the Day”used this scene as this week’s special behind-the-scenes footage at the end of the program. Lineker laughed very happily as he watched Twain complained about how his team treated him on the screen.

“This is Tony Twain’s tenth anniversary. Nottingham Forest managed to take down the toughest fortress, Anfield, George Wood and Eastwood seems to have put down their differences, he received a crystal trophy from the club as well as the ‘special gift’ that his team gave him… Ha!”, Linekar laughed.

The report that Beesley published in his column was totally different from what he wrote when he was enjoying the football on display at Anfield. The draft that he wrote in the stadium had been deleted by him. In the report that everyone could see, he congratulated Tony Twain on his victory and he thought that Forest deserved their victory. However, at the end, he was still a little bitter as he wrote, “Nottingham Forest is Tony Twain’s team. With Tony Twain, they’re invincible. But if Tony Twain’s not there… Nottingham Forest may want to consider the shrugging off the “Twain Dependency Disease” in future…

However, the Nottingham Forest fans obviously would not be willing to consider this issue. To them, Tony Twain would be like Ferguson and work in the City Ground his whole life, retiring only when he was too old to continue working. Then everyone would build a life-sized bronze statue for him outside the stadium. Even if he was no longer the manager, his influence would still be around every inch of Nottingham Forest.

This should be the curtain call that a Forest King should have.

Everyone believed that this ten years was just the first step of Tony Twain’s legacy in Nottingham Forest. He was only forty-five years old, he still had a second ten years, a third ten years, even…a fourth ten years.

Chapter 835 - Do Not Touch the Tiger’s Ass

In public, December 12th was perhaps a memorable day Tony Twain because it was the day he returned to the Forest manager’s position and led the team continuously for a full decade.?But Tony Twain had two identities. So, in actual fact, January 1st was the day that left a more indelible mark on him.

It was eleven years since his transmigration on January 1st, 2014…Perhaps this day could not be considered as an “anniversary?”

Regardless of the outcome, a thing like transmigration was not worthy of remembrance. Because it meant that he had obtained a lot of things, nevertheless he had also lost some things forever.?The gains might not feel precious, but the losses were irretrievable.

Therefore, on January 1st, Twain was still busy working and preparing for the FA Cup in three days’ time. It was the first FA Cup game of the premier league teams this season.

In Twain’s mind, he had won almost all of the titles he could get, but he had one regret—as England’s oldest and most important tournament, his record as a championship manager was blank in terms of the FA Cup. It was out of step with his current status.

Hence, he made himself a fresh New Year’s wish on January 1st. One of them was that, regardless of the results of the other tournaments this season, he must win the FA Cup!

The other was—I want to have a baby in the new year.

Having been married to Shania for four and a half years, the most important thing they must do was to “make a baby” whenever they had the chance to be together. Although once they were pregnant, it would certainly affect Shania’s career. Shania herself did not care about this kind of thing. However, in the last year, Shania rarely mentioned “baby” and focused on her work.

In fact, Twain knew that Shania’s desire for a child had not really diminished. She just did not want to put the pressure on herself …if his wife were to be infertile. In most cases, the responsibility laid with the man. On more than one occasion, Twain had the impulse to go to the hospital to for a checkup himself. But he balked when it came down to it. It was better for him to still have the delusion that everything was fine. The problem must not lie with him. It must be that he just had a little bad luck. It’s not as if I’ve never missed the mark. During the military training in high school, I did not hit any of the rounds during target practice in the shooting range. The guys next to me shot ten rounds and scored 101 points—I did score ten points with one shot but it hit the target next to mine…..

At times, Twain also wanted to call Dunn, who lived in the same city, and use an indirect approach to ask if he had any of these conditions before or a family genetic history. But in the end, those thoughts were just in his head. He could only delude himself now, “The problem must not lie with me, it must be just some bad luck…”

If he won the FA Cup as he wished, he wondered if his wish of having a baby would come true…

Twain did something today that would look strange to outsiders. He found a piece of paper and wrote on it: “I want a baby, it can be a boy or a girl, as long as he/she is healthy. Regardless of which higher being is listening, please help if you see this request!”

Then he folded the note carefully and put it in a small glass bottle. He buried it under a tree in his garden. When he was burying it, he even muttered the words, “I plant a seed in the spring and come autumn, I’ll have a child …”

Fortunately, Shania was not around. Otherwise she would be infuriated by Twain’s actions—since you had time to “plant a child”, it would have been better to “sow your seeds” in me.

He must have been really desperate to try anything…

Twain only thought having a baby occasionally. He would not be able to bear it if he thought about it every day. The matter could not be rushed. Having a baby and winning a championship title were two completely different things. Once winning the championship title was set as a goal, then the whole team could just work towards the goal. The matter of having a baby would not necessarily be effective just because they worked hard. Countless couples hit the mark accidentally because they did not wear a condom on the day while those husbands and wives, eager to have children, might not necessarily produce results after years of putting in the effort…

The opponent of Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup first round was the English Football League Championship team, Leeds United. The original “youth guards” team was not as good as before. Currently in a financial mess and its results were also up and down, it was almost relegated back to League One in last season’s EFL Championship. In the eyes of outsiders, it was their misfortune to have encountered Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. But in fact, it was one of the opponents that Leeds United most wanted to meet—the match was held at Leeds United’s home ground and the ticket revenue would go to Leeds United.?Nottingham Forest was now a team with star players. Just Tony Twain alone was attractive enough to lure people in, not to mention the famous star players. They were guaranteed to sell tickets. For Bates, who was not a wealthy man, every pound mattered. He would never refused money.

The opponent for the game was not strong. Twain deployed half of the First Team and half of the youth team. The result was a 3:0 easy win over Leeds United.

Adriano Moke was named the best player on the spot after the game. He contributed a goal and two assists. The Forest team’s three goals were all connected with him. His sharp breakthroughs on the flank and dazzling skills made it impossible for the opponent to defend effectively and also the spectators cheered in delight.

Although Lennon’s departure made Twain a little unhappy, Moke lived up to expectations and grew up very quickly. It seemed that the years of wandering outside had helped him a lot.?Twain believed the saying that trials and tribulations made people grow, so he deliberately made Moke’s career not so smooth sailing. Now it looked like the efforts had paid off and it was time to reap the rewards … He just hoped that Lennon had a good time at AC Milan.

The FA Cup was the first game the Forest team played in the new year. Twain placed a lot of importance on the opener. The score of 3:0, complete victory, and the other team’s failure to score a goal seemed to bode well for the new year.

The following month also confirmed his hunch. The former enmity between Eastwood and George Wood had been dispelled and the team’s atmosphere returned to its happy harmonious state. The morale was high, and everyone was united.

Nottingham Forest had a proud record of four consecutive victories in the league tournament in the four games played in January. Twain was then named manager of the month, and Nottingham Forest was named the team of the month while George Wood was named the best player of the month. The Forest team was also back in the top tier of the league table to place fourth.

As the time went into February, another important tournament began. The UEFA Champions League resumed with Nottingham Forest as one of the top sixteen teams. It would face Eindhoven in the round of 16. The opponent was the weakest opponent the Forest team had faced in the first round of the Champions League knockout stages in recent years.

Did it look like the UEFA was giving preferential treatment?

Eindhoven played first at home. They held on tenaciously for a draw against Nottingham Forest at home and managed to keep the Forest Team from scoring. The failure of Aaron Mitchell, Ibi?evi? and the other strikers, who dominated at the Premier League, to break Eindhoven’s goal, made Twain angry. He roared for five minutes at the group of players in the locker room and admonished everyone for five minutes till they dared not raise their heads.

At the end, he even said viciously, “You’d better pray that it’s not going to be another draw at our home ground, especially a tie with goals scored!”

This frustrating game of 0:0 made many people gleeful. Tony Twain was too arrogant in European football. Everyone wanted to see him fall. To be forced into a draw in the away game against the “weak” Eindhoven and not score the most important away goal, the Dutch people and media had issued optimistic predictions that Eindhoven’s elimination of the Forest team to advance to the top eight was not impossible. The football world had a lot of upsets and surprises. The powerful teams might not necessarily deserve to win. Didn’t Nottingham Forest start as the dark horse in the beginning? Not to mention, strictly speaking, Eindhoven was a powerhouse and not a dark horse.

“Our goal: The top eight!”

Before Eindhoven set off for Nottingham, the local media in the Netherlands posted such a striking headline.

Twain responded in Nottingham, “Their goal is only top eight? Good-for-nothing…”

Even though he talked tough, he could not be sloppy with the behind-the-scenes preparation. Twain gave up the previous league game for this match, in which his team finally stopped its winning streak. Those people, who were anti-Twain, would certainly see this as “Nottingham Forest recently has a poor run. After the defeat in the Champions League, they also stopped their winning streak in the league tournament. It looks like they’re not doing very well in in the recent days…”

Twain ignored it. They would only find out if the recent situation was bad or not after they tried.

Before the game, Twain instilled a belief in his players that they must win.

“If you’re eliminated by Eindhoven at your home ground, you can imagine for yourselves what the consequences will be.”

This remark was more effective than to yell at them thousand times over that “we will win, because the other side is shit!”

An unseen fear was the true fear.

No one wanted to be scolded in the locker room for more than five minutes and no one wanted to be jeered at after a loss to Eindhoven. Even more so, no one wanted to lose a game or a championship title. This Nottingham Forest team was one with a tradition of victory and championship titles. They had long been used to winning and glories. Losing? They hated failures.

Eindhoven’s manager, Huub Stevens was still clear-headed. He was not stirred by the media.?He still sent the defensive counterattacking lineup used at home. He expected Twain to be eager to attack because he wanted to advance to the next level, so he only needed a defensive counterattack to unexpectedly score one goal and it would meet his target. He had that kind of confidence because his team had managed to hold on for ninety minutes at home.

As expected, Twain did display the aggressive offensive at his home ground. With Mitchell, Ibi?evi?, Bentley, Fernández and ?ahin, Twain’s 4-4-2 formation only had one defensive midfielder. Gago and Tiago did not play in this game. Wood led the midfield alone to play against Eindhoven’s counterattack.

Stevens smirked when he saw the starting lineup. But his smirk was wiped off within ten minutes.

Nottingham Forest already had two shots that hit the goalpost. The Eindhoven defenders, who had excelled in the first leg, simply could not withstand the attacks from the Nottingham Forest attacking players.

Amid the home fans’ non-stop singing, Nottingham Forest finally cracked open Eindhoven’s goal in the 27th minute. The goalscorer was Ibi?evi?, who scored with a powerful header that knocked aside the Swedish goalkeeper, Isaksson.

It was like a moment of carelessness had led to a calamity. Following which, Eindhoven feel like a house of cards and was destroyed by Nottingham Forest’s surge of offensive.

In fact, the lineup was the same as the first leg but Nottingham Forest, which was unwilling to lose to Eindhoven, broke out with unexpected energy like a nuclear bomb exploded, and buried them with shock waves. No one in the opposing team survived …

In the 40th minute, Mitchell’s header yielded a goal. 2:0! The Forest team’s high aerial bombing tactics were quite successful in this game. Eindhoven’s defenders were at a loss between facing Ibi?evi?, who stood at 1.88-meter-tall, and Mitchell, who was 2.02 meters tall.

Stevens was restless and anxious on the sidelines. Two goals behind, it was not easy to play this game… Eindhoven needed two goals… But looking at the Forest team’s momentum, if they rushed to attack, they could still score goals. However, what was the point if they had to concede a lot of goals?

The Forest team continued their ferocious offensive from the first half and did not intend for Eindhoven to catch a breath. It appeared that Twain was obviously provoked by the comments of those outside media. He was certain to let everyone see whether this tiger’s ass of his could be touched.

In the 51st minute, Nottingham Forest scored again. This time the goal was scored by Bale, who relied on a direct free kick to score.

The goal completely crushed Eindhoven’s fighting spirit.

It looked like the tiger’s ass really could not be touched…

Eindhoven then lost the initiative completely on the pitch. They tried to counterattack, only to give the Forest team more chances to fight back.

In the final moments, the Forest team entered the penalty area with a set piece and the defender’s header error gave the ball to Mitchell, who unceremoniously grabbed the gift, extended his leg and kicked the ball into the goal to seal the win at 4:0.

“Look at the performance of the Eindhoven players. Perhaps there’s only one thing in their minds right now, and that’s to get out of this noisy stadium as soon as possible!”

Despite the big score, the Forest fans in the stands at the City Ground stadium did not let go of the Eindhoven players. A burst of hissing waited for them whenever the visiting players took the ball. They could not catch a break unless the football was on the Forest team’s side.

When the referee considerately ended at the three-minute injury stoppage time at one and a half minute, the entire Eindhoven team was relieved. After such a game, perhaps their disgust at Tony Twain and his team was even greater…

In the post-match interview, Twain was very cool. He did not waste his breath. When someone asked what he thought of the victory in the game, he just said, “I’m sorry to disappoint some people!”

Who were the “some people?” Those people with the guilty conscience would know.

Chapter 836 - The Loser Eats A Table

Having advanced to the top eight of the Champions League, Nottingham Forest coached by Tony Twain, also made a historic breakthrough—they passed the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. It was the best result they had in the FA Cup since Twain was in charge.

But by the time the FA Cup reached the sixth round, Twain had abandoned the strategy of grouping half of the First Team and half of the youth team to play. Instead he deployed a full First Team lineup. The change was never seen in previous seasons, so much so that their sixth-round opponent, Manchester City, was surprised and eventually lost the game. The change also boded well for Twain’s emphasis on the FA Cup this season—Nottingham Forest had always been eliminated early in the tournament and become spectators. This time they wanted to be the ones with the last laugh at the FA Cup.

However, in this way, with the team competing in three tournaments, the players were bound to be affected in terms of their physical fitness and state. The Forest team’s ranking in the league tournament had always hovered between the third and fifth places, which appeared to be a little far from the top of the league.

By mid-March, there had been media analysis that Nottingham Forest’s goal this season was not to defend the title but to win at least one title in the Champions League and FA Cup.

“I think the Champions League can be counted as the tournament Tony Twain is traditionally strong in... At his most brilliant, he led the Forest team to two consecutive championships titles, and he also became famous for reaching the finals and almost defeating Barcelona in his first time leading the team in the Champions League. Almost six years have passed since he first won the tournament. If he still prides himself as a successful manager, he must not be willing to extend the six-year gap...”

An expert in a television program analyzed seriously. It seemed that everything he said was clear and logical and people could not help but nod in agreement.

“So, for the sake of the Champions League, Manager Twain will give up the league tournament... he only needs to secure a top-four finish in the league tournament to qualify in the next season’s Champions League.”

Could Twain really give up the league tournament?

On March 16th, Nottingham Forest drew 0:0 with Manchester United at home and the reporters mentioned this question after the game.

Twain laughed at the question when he heard it during the press conference. He did not answered the other person’s question head-on. Instead, he smiled and asked, “Do you want to bet with me? Bet that Nottingham Forest can win the league tournament.”

The reporter shook his head and said, “I’m not interested in betting on this kind of thing, Mr. Twain. Your team is six points behind the league’s first placed team, Arsenal...”

Before he could finish, another man raised his hand and stood up to state, “I’m willing to bet!”

Everyone present looked at the man. After clearly seeing who he was, hearty laughs rang out.

“I’d like to make this bet with you, Mr. Twain.”

“So, it is Mr. Carl Spicer. What’s going on? You didn’t lose enough the last time you lost your hair?” Twain could see Spicer’s big bald head at a glance.

Spicer did not mind. He rubbed his shaved head and shrugged, “I failed the last time. Now that I think of it, twenty goals were actually too few for a season... But this time it’s different. You’re six points behind Arsenal and there are three teams between you and Arsenal. Furthermore, you’re going to compete in three tournaments. If you can still win the league title, I...”

“Are you going to eat a table?” Twain suddenly interjected. The remark made everyone laugh.

Spicer did not expect Twain to say that. He stared blankly for a moment and then laughed with the people next to him. He said, “You always come up with these weird and wonderful ideas, Mr. Twain. But I think it’s interesting. If I lose, I’ll eat a table. Are you going to eat a table if you lose?”

Twain spread his hands and said, “Of course, if I lose, I’ll eat a table. I’ll guarantee it on live television, there’s no going back on my word.”

Next to him, the Manchester United manager, Martin O’Neill was taken aback. He thought Twain was just joking with the other side. He even wanted to remind Twain to ask him to mind his words.

There was also a commotion among the reporters—eat a table? Was this something that a human being could do? Some reporters want to help smooth things over. Such as Pierce Brosnan wanted to divert everyone’s attention by asking questions. But Twain smiled and met gazes with Carl Spicer. He turned a blind eye to Brosnan’s raised hand.

“Very well, I accept the bet.” Carl Spicer seemed to think he would never get a chance to eat the table, so he nodded and agreed.

Twain snapped his fingers and said, “That’s great. You just get ready to eat the table, Mr. Spicer.”

Spicer also talked tough, “I think you should consider looking for an excuse to put off the bet of eating a table when the time comes.”

“You need not let that bother you, Mr. Spicer.” Twain made a please-sit-down gesture.

The reporters were in a disarray. Now they did not care about the boring 0:0 game. They just went through the routine of asking O’Neill questions. Everyone wanted to end the less important press conference early and rush to release the news of “A bet never seen before since the establishment of the English Premier League.”

There was no shortage of bets in the Premier League. But betting to eat a table was something that had never been done before... How did one eat a table? Whether it was made of stainless steel, aluminum alloy, wood, stone or glass... There was simply no way to eat it.

Therefore, people preferred to believe that the bet would eventually develop into the losing party trying all ways to deny the bet, or simply shut up and not mention it at all. As for the winning party, he would do everything possible to humiliate the loser. You must eat the table! If you don’t eat it, I’ll send you a table and help you contact the media...

The two of them opposed each other measure for measure and would end up in this way. Anyway, everyone had news to write about and money to earn, the readers had interesting news to read, what could anyone have anything against it if everyone was delighted and satisfied?

As to what would happen to Tony Twain and Carl Spicer, they were all smart people. There must be a way to get past it. No one needed to worry about it ...

In fact, without these media to help promote, Carl Spicer had already hyped the story on his own show that night. The cameraman he brought with him filmed the whole process and even filmed the reactions of others in the room as they heard the matter. The edited clips were interspersed throughout like a montage most commonly used in movies. It was as if the audience were not watching the news but a movie with one climax after another.

On the show, Spicer proudly analyzed why he dared to accept such a bet, “….. Tony Twain’s team is now six points behind the top-ranked Arsenal. The point difference may not seem much but in the last eight rounds of the league tournament, the strong teams the Forest team will need to face are Chelsea and Arsenal. In addition, two of their eight opponents are on the edge of relegation. You know what that means? Chelsea need to fight hard to qualify for the Champions League as it is now fifth in the league table. They won’t let Nottingham Forest go easily at home. While Arsenal is at the top of the table, there is no reason why Wenger will give Twain a chance to ‘win six points in a game.’ We often say that in the final stages of the league tournament, the most dangerous opponents are not the title contenders, but those teams fighting to avoid relegation. The fight for the title is only for honor, while fighting to avoid relegation is about survival. Those teams which fight for survival are always the ones to break out with unexpected energy at the most critical moments...Does Mr. Tony Twain think his team can easily beat the number 17th ranked Portsmouth and 18th-placed Sunderland? In comparison, Arsenal’s last eight opponents are much weaker. Poor Nottingham Forest needs to compete in three tournaments in the final sprint... In fact, what I want to see the most is for Nottingham Forest to reach the final in the FA Cup and the Champions League, but to lose all of them. And for them to finish fifth in the league tournament because of a physical breakdown—to play in the UEFA Europa League next season. That will lend Mr. Tony Twain a hand. He still hasn’t won a title in the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League, has he? This will be a good opportunity, which will not always happen to Mr. Twain’s team...”

“Then I’ll order Mr. Twain a table of the best quality in the latest style at IKEA. I hope he’ll like it.”

Twain did not get involved in the war of words. He only wrote about playing against Manchester United and wishing Martin O’Neill all the best at Old Trafford in his column. Manchester United’s current poor form and inability to rank first was not the manager’s responsibility. Any team with an excellent tradition that had gone through a change of managers, would undergo a long or short painful period. Manchester United was currently going through this period.

Twain sent his well wishes to Manchester United, and the former Manchester United manager also sent him his blessings. Ferguson, who was retired at home, spoke about Twain and his bet with Spicer in an interview. He expressed support for Twain.

“... I don’t have anything to say except to remind everyone of Carl Spicer’s hair and Mark Lawrenson’s beard...”

The implication was that Tony Twain would win every bet.

“The bet to eat the table” had even been disseminated through the developed media network to spread abroad. An Italian television program also talked about the bet to eat a table between Twain and Spicer. One of the guests also talked about Twain’s bet with the Italian media at the time.

“He bet he would jump in the Aegean Sea if he lost the Champions League final. I’d say it was a blessing that no one on our side came forward and bet that he would jump in the Aegean if the Forest team won.”

The host laughed, “It was a shame that we lost a very creative and compelling live broadcast.”

In China’s online forums, someone also expressed his own views on this, which won a lot of people’s approval and was popular. He said, “I think when Tony Twain says, ‘Do you dare to bet with me’, it should be forbidden. It’s like when someone in those hot-blooded animation movies suddenly says, ‘After I finish fighting in the battle, I’m going back home to get married.’ Those words should not be uttered. Spicer is going to be in trouble! This post is evidence of it.”

Below a group of Forest fans posted their comments, “I f**king salute you, the original poster! I’d never like Spicer, this big SOB! Let’s see how he eats a table in person!”

The Arsenal fans, on the other hand, were a little mixed in their views, “Oh, I don’t like Spicer, but I’d love to see Uncle Tony eat a table... Well, I admit I don’t want my team to lose the championship title because of a table. That would be such a shame ah hahaha!!”

“A congratulatory message from a Manchester United fan, this matter is none of our business...”

“Just a message from a Kopites group passing through, we are all happy no matter who eats the table.”

“A hello from The Blues fan! If I remember correctly, the Forest team and Chelsea still have one more game, right? At that time, heh heh heh…”

“They can eat all they want. If there are not enough tables, there are the chairs. When the chairs are gone, there are the couches, floors... Anyway, I am an AC Milan fan. Internal strife in the Premier League is the best. I’ve already hated to see those Premier League teams dominate the Champions League all these years!”

“AC Milan fans have no business being here. This is the English Premier League forum, nothing to do with Serie A! And I’m all for Twain eating the table! This arrogant SOB irks me!”

“Dear cousin from next door, calm down, mind your manners...”

“Who say I’m a Inter Milan fan? I’m a Bar?a fan!”

“Yo, so you’re a silly Bar?a fan. Since it is the Premier League forum, what are you doing here and not in La Liga?”

“A yapping dog shouldn’t come out and disgrace yourself!”

The original poster of the online thread finally showed up, “F**k, this thread has completely gone off rails, Loudly Crying Face...”

...

Well, it was just a small episode, a tiny episode...

Such quarrels happened countless times on the Chinese internet, but they did not affect the far away United Kingdom.

The bet on eating a table was just a matter of conversation for everyone. Even within the Forest team, people talked about it. Kerslake would joke about this matter with Twain, but no one at work was disturbed by this matter. Because they were all influenced by Twain’s self-confidence. During the interview, the players also saw it as a disguised form of motivation from the boss.

“Bet to eat the table? The boss has never lost a bet, so I’m not worried...” Bale shook his head.

“It’s actually a form of motivation . . . The six-point gap is nothing. We have never said we will give up the league title. If we can win the championship title, why give up? Now’s not the time to give up. There are still eight rounds left in the league tournament and I think we have a chance to win the title.” The defensive player, Pepe looked very confident.

“In order for Mr. Spicer to eat the table as he wishes, we will try our best to win the league title.” Eastwood politely said with a smile.

George Wood said, “Even if there’s no bet, we’ll win the championship. Our goal is to win the championship title.” He voiced out the heartfelt wish of the entire team.

The next day, the <Nottingham Evening Post> published the headline: “We win the championship title and Carl eats the table.” In short, it showed the Forest team’s confidence in winning the title.

Chapter 837 - Lost the Game and Money

No matter how resounding the catchphrase was shouted, no matter how tough Twain talked, Carl Spicer’s analysis made sense..

With eight rounds left in the league tournament, it was indeed a difficult situation in which Nottingham Forest had to compete in three tournaments.

Their physical fitness was bound to be affected and their condition would fluctuate. The team could only grit its teen in terms of physical difficulties and stick to it, while the adjustments in their condition depended on the standards of the coaches. It had to be said that the few psychologists Twain had hired for ?ahin’s a few years ago, came in very useful at such times. Many players would go to the beautiful and gentle psychologists to chat for a while after the end of training to relax their tense nerves.

On March 22nd, the 31st round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Aston Villa in the away game with a final score of 3:2. Nottingham Forest won, but it was a tough win. The Forest team was 0:2 behind in the first half and only reversed the score to 3:2 in the second half. All three goals were scored in the last ten minutes. The match was the most thrilling game in the current round of the Premier League. Both teams scored five goals with another goal declared invalid by the referee. In addition, there were one red card and six yellow cards. The conversion between offense and defense was very fast. Both sides made a lot of errors and the game was very lively. But it was not so “exciting” for Twain’s heart… If he lost the away game to an opponent like Aston Villa, he would have to stop his bold rhetoric about fighting for the title toward the end of season.

So, when Cohen crossed the ball after a last-minute forced breakthrough and assisted ?ahin to grab a point to break the goal in that moment, Twain did not jump from his seat and crazily celebrate. Instead, he sat in his seat, closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. His heartbeat was really fast just now… which made him think his nuclear-powered heart was going to collapse.

Eastwood began by hugging his teammates to celebrate, and then he found one person missing next to him. He turned around to find that man still sitting down and did not get up.?He saw from Twain’s expression that something was wrong. He looked lethargic and tired, completely unenthusiastic. He hurried over to ask, “What’s wrong, chief? Is it your heart?”

Twain shook his head and smiled, “Heh heh.”

“What do you mean by ‘heh heh?’”

“I’m very glad we’ve won in the end…” Twain reached his hand out to Eastwood, who pulled him up. Twain gave him a hug by the way.

“It’s good that we won, Freddy.”

Eastwood’s eyes flickered as he thought of the bet between the chief and Spicer—it would really be embarrassing if he were to lose with that kind of wager…..he said, “Is it necessary for you to do this, chief? Why must you make a bet with someone else? Eating a table is also set by you… In fact, chief, I don’t understand. Why do you like to make that kind of bet which will be very embarrassing if you were to lose?”

“I’m a lazy person, Freddy. If I don’t give myself a little pressure, I’m afraid I won’t be motivated to move.” Twain patted Eastwood on the back and let him go.

Then he raised his hands and opened his arms to welcome the others.

“Ah, David! Come! Let’s hug it out! Cohen and ?ahin did a great job!”

Eastwood shook his head behind as he looked at the chief who suddenly restored all his firepower.

“Tony Twain had a narrow escape… His luck is always so good. A goal from Aston Villa was invalidated by the referee during the game because they were in an offside position. If this goal was not in an offside position…it would be hard to say what the end result would be. He made a bold statement a few days ago that he would eat a table if he lost in the fight for the league title. Now he has pushed himself to the brink and cannot afford to lose a game… No, not to mention a loss, he can’t even afford to tie a game.”

The football commentators on the television were analyzing the just-concluded round of Premier League matches for the viewers. He stated in this way when he spoke about the game between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

“But it was so hard to win this game that it was worrying if his team had the ability to turn it around. I can say that this win was entirely due to Twain’s luck. But what about the next one? The next game is against Chelsea. Will Tony Twain have any luck left?”

“Rijkaard’s Chelsea team has played beautifully in recent years and I think they are in a unique situation in the Premier League, like Wenger’s Arsenal. To play football so beautifully and yet not able to win the championship title… I think Mr. Abramovich must be at a loss. What’s that? You’re asking me why he is at a loss? I mean, just imagine a man dressed gorgeously, holding a pure gold bowl and going to the streets to beg…”

Twain dynamically fired the first shot in the psychological warfare against Chelsea in the media.

Rijkaard, who was familiar with what Twain was like, ignored him. Seeing that the other party did not respond, Twain fired a second shot in the media.

“Even though the team is going to officially move into the new stadium next season, I prefer the old stadium. Why is that? Because it’s small enough to allow the fans’ voices to reach the players on the pitch in the maximum extent possible, which naturally also bring great psychological pressure to the visiting team.?We have four more home games at the City Ground stadium. I hope we can bid farewell to the City Ground stadium with four wins and one championship trophy.”

Rijkaard still did not voice any comment.

“I don’t mind making this game into a rugby match permitting the extent the rules. I’ll ask the team to try to put pressure on the opposing players as much as possible. Won’t that be rough? No, no, no, I don’t think so. It’s just normal tactics…”

That was the third shot.

Twain was such a loathsome person. He was always trying to hover in front of his opponents to provoke and annoy them. He would win once they were really provoked.

Before this game, Twain talked about the tactics he would use against Chelsea. He was not afraid that it would prepare the other person in advance. He knew Rijkaard’s character, so he was not worried even if he let him know it. Rijkaard would stick to his style of football at the City Ground stadium and Twain would stick to his style.

As the saying went, there was a rock to every scissor. Tony Twain was Rijkaard’s natural enemy.

A raucous City Ground stadium and a fierce Premier League game was under way.

“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest! Ra ra ra ra ra, we triumph in every battle and win every fight! We are the best team in the world! Ra ra ra ra ra —”

The Forest fans in red jerseys were cheering their team in the stands at the City Ground stadium, which could hold up to thirty thousand people.

The score displayed on the score board was 0:0. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were tied for the time being.

Twain stood on the sidelines, watching every detail of the game closely and nervously.

Wood had just overturned the Chelsea striker, Obasi.?He was given a verbal warning by the referee. Now he was making hand gestures to his teammates to signal that everything was fine, and to keep doing what the boss had instructed.

Twain studied the characteristics of the referee when he was developing the tactical play before the game. Philip Dowd, the referee of the game, had produced a total of twenty yellow cards in nine Premier League games this season and no red cards. He was a lenient referee.?So, he worked hard on this point and asked the whole team to be a little rougher with their movements.

Wood’s foul was in fact a test of the referee’s limit in his enforcement measures in the game.

He directly shoveled Obasi but was only given one verbal warning. Twain chuckled in his seat. It looked like the Dowd man was really soft.

He was relieved in that case.

Subsequent the game officially entered Nottingham Forest’s orbit. The Chelsea players repeatedly dropped the ball during “physical contact” with the Forest players and the referee did not consider it a foul, but a “reasonable collision.”?This left the Chelsea players a little disgruntled and their mentality to be off balanced on the pitch. Even their manager, Rijkaard, was also angry at the referee’s many decisions. On several occasions, he rushed to the fourth official to protest the Forest players’ rough actions.

He even said, “Tony Twain said before the game that he was going to use rough tactics against us, and now he’s doing it! Don’t tell me you have no objections to this?”

The fourth official shook his head to indicate that the referee alone held the criterion for the game. If he thought the Forest players had not committed a foul, then there were no fouls.

It was not until the 31st minute of the game that Bale was shown a yellow card after the Forest team did a series of vicious fouls. Rijkaard was so angry that he applauded the referee’s decision off the pitch, only to invite the fourth official’s special attention when he said, “Mr. Rijkaard, you’d better pay attention to your conduct.”

Rijkaard was like Tony Twain, who dared to fight the referees to the end. After being warned, he retreated to the technical area. He only hit the side of the barrier in the technical area in a show of exasperation.?As a result, …

With a crashing sound, the hard-plastic barrier came off the frame after being smashed by him and fell to the ground.

Rijkaard did not care. He was so angry now. So, what if he broke the barrier? Or perhaps he did not see it happen at all. Anyway, he did not look at the “incident” that happened next to him and continued to complain in the technical area.

Twain saw the scene happened next to him. He clapped and laughed, “That’s great! After the game, we should sent a personal bill to Mr. Rijkaard to ask for compensation on behalf of the club.”

Kerslake nodded next to him to show that he remembered.

Shortly after the yellow card, the Forest team took the lead. Gago scored a goal from a long shot which ?ech could not save. He could only look at the “ball” and sigh.

“Yes!” Twain raised his fist and cried excitedly on the sidelines.

While not far from him, Rijkaard was going to hit the side of the barrier again. But this time, he only struck the air and almost sprained his back. It was only when he noticed that the barrier around him was gone.?“Damn it…” He could not help but swore when he saw the empty frame and the barrier on the ground.

The commentator for the game also noticed this small detail and looked at Rijkaard’s look of surprise and displeasure. He laughed and said, “It looks like the City Ground stadium, which has been in use for one hundred and fifteen years, should really be retired. Even the barrier in the visiting team’s technical area is not solid. Rijkaard had only gently knocked on it and it just fell off … … Ha!”

The singing in the City Ground stadium became louder after the lead. The fans took turns singing the songs they often sang during the games in the stands. There was the Nottingham Forest team song “We’ve got the whole world in our hands.” There were George Wood’s song “He’s Our Saint George”, Tony Twain’s song “Long live Tony”, a song for Bale “Little Monkey”, Mitchell’s song “Seven Foot Zidane”, Ibi?evi?’s song “Super Ibi” and a song “He’s Our Redondo” praising Gago…. Of course, there was Eastwood’s song “Robin Hood Forever.”?Any player who was popular had a fan song. It was not unique to Nottingham Forest. It was a feature of all English teams. So, to determine a player’s standing in a Premier League club, all one had to do was to listen if there were any fan singing the song he had written for him during the game.

The Forest team gradually took control on the field during the fans’ concert, leading Chelsea by the nose.

Chelsea during Mourinho’s time was a very tough team. Twain would not have used the tactics he currently used to deal with Chelsea at the time because neither side would win. But after Rijkaard’s “hard work” over the years, Chelsea had now lost their former “blue collar temperament” and become “high level white-collar.”?A new generation of Chelsea players was technically focused, playing as if they were Barcelona of yesteryear. They focused on ball control and were able to play wonderful set pieces. The star players could also put on a show of greatness. But they lost the “fighting spirit” Mourinho had always stressed upon.

This was why Rijkaard’s Chelsea was the team in the Premier League which could play the most beautifully, but always did not win the title—he could make Chelsea into another Barcelona, but the Premier League was not La Liga.

Without the fighting spirit, Tony Twain was not afraid at all of Chelsea with its showy appearance. After Twain’s encouragement during the halftime interval, the team continued to build on their rough tactics to curb Chelsea’s offense in the second half. The referee was really lenient. He only gave out four yellow cards for the twenty-seven fouls Nottingham Forest committed calculated at the end.?There was no red card.

The Forest team relied on rough fouls and quick powerful counterattacks to score another goal in the second half to eventually accomplish a 2:0 home win over Chelsea, the first strong opponent they encountered on the road to the title.

After the game, Rijkaard was furious at the defeat. He believed that the referee’s many crucial penalties were decided in favor of Nottingham Forest. It was a key factor in his defeat.

Twain said sarcastically, “I fully understand Mr. Rijkaard’s displeasure because he broke our visitor’s technical area.”

A burst of laughter broke out among the reporters. The matter became the highlight of the game and was replayed several times during the live broadcast.

“But I’m not going to make any comments on the referee for the game. I believe the referee had his reasons for every decision he made. We just need to obey as a team….”

He did not say that when his team was treated unfairly by the referee, he would not say such things.

Rijkaard had wanted to refute, but he suddenly remembered that the man sitting next to him was Tony Twain, and not Wenger, Benítez or anyone else, so he promptly shut his mouth again.

He was resigned to his bad luck…

A day later, just as Rijkaard had just led the team back to London, he found a bill sent from the Wilford area of Nottingham in his house’s mailbox.

It was sent to him by the Nottingham Forest Football Club, demanding compensation for the damage done to the visitor’s technical area during the match.

The bill was accompanied by a short letter. It was stated in the letter that they hope he would be able to compensate for the loss.?The tone was respectful but made Rijkaard grit his teeth as he read it—not only his own team had lost to the Forest team, he also had to pay for their visitor’s technical area…..was there any manager as unlucky as he was?

At that moment, he was so furious that he balled up the bill. But he immediately unfolded it again and read again helplessly.

He had to pay the money because he did damage their property…

It was just that if it had been Tony Twain’s team, he would have been willing to fork out the money and even felt guilty.

Chapter 838 - Three Battles

Including the bet Twain made with Carl Spicer, Nottingham Forest had won two games in a row in the league. After beating Chelsea, they beat Middlesbrough on away.?It was as if they heard the motivating command and greatly stepped up. Perhaps every step was not so steady, there was also some fatigue and pain, but it was still progressive steps nevertheless. They also climbed to being third in the rankings, ranking between them and Arsenal was only Liverpool.

Then, on April 2nd, Nottingham Forest hosted Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals at home. Nottingham Forest would play Arsenal three times in a row in the next week. Them being two rounds in the Champions League, as well as a league game. This week would be a crucial week to decide what Nottingham Forest could achieve this season. The media has hurriedly played out “the final battle” as the hot discussion title.

“Tony Twain says he’s going to win the league this season, that was clearly a direct challenge to Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal. Coincidentally, they would also need to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.?The result can vary a lot, and any outcome would be interesting for us as the audience. Arsenal winning both games against Nottingham Forest, or Nottingham Forest winning both against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest being eliminated by the Champions League or Arsenal only winning the Champions League but allowing Nottingham Forest to win in the Premier League. Of course we cannot rule out Nottingham Forest giving up the league match to eliminate Arsenal from Champions League…

“…Tony Twain and Arsène Wenger have a good personal relationship, but this week they will surely forget about their relationship and fight each other for the league and the trophy. The game might be exciting….”

“…These are two teams who are meeting for the first time in the Champions League since the 05-06 season. Last time Forest eliminated Arsenal by a penalty shootout in the semi-finals. In the end they lost to Barcelona in the final. Will Arsenal be successful in their revenge this time?”

“…Arsenal are in good form now. They’ve won nine games straight in the league and their margin with Nottingham Forest is only six points, but we can’t look down on Nottingham Forest’s potential in the match. I think Tony Twain is a coach who excels in playing such elimination matches. His team has a momentum, and that momentum is perfect for elimination matches, so the ideal outcome would be for Nottingham Forest to abandon the league match and eliminate Arsenal.”

There was a lot of debate about the outcome of the two teams, and it suddenly seemed as if everyone had a point.?That was for sure. The supporters of the teams must think their team would get the best outcome.

At the door of Wilford, Twain was blocked by a group of reporters.

“I don’t predict the outcome of the match the day after tomorrow.” Numerous microphones were pointed at him but Twain only waved his hand. “Yes, I have a good personal relationship with Arsène, he is a coach that I respect a lot.?But that has nothing to do with the game. Don’t try to set me up, I’m a lot smarter than you all think.”

He was cautious because the team had been particularly physically depleted recently, and three consecutive enduring games in a week may have a negative impact on the team. For instance, a physical breakdown at the last minute. He did not want to be too negative or put too much pressure on the players.

Seeing that he was about to squeeze out the siege, a reporter anxiously shouted, “Will three consecutive games against Arsenal have a negative impact?”

“No, I think it’s a good thing to put all the trouble together to settle. After settling Arsenal in this week, we can concentrate on other opponents.” Twain was stubborn as a duck, he did not want to let others see his true inner thoughts.

Meanwhile at the Kearney training base in north London, Wenger was also surrounded by a similar number of reporters.

“I’m looking forward to playing against Nottingham Forest again. Tony Twain is a very capable coach as you would know from the number of championships he won. Arsenal would be careful in handling this battle…”

Some journalists were tired of such politically correct answers. He asked aloud, “After Alex Ferguson retired, is Tony Twain the only person you would regard as a worthy opponent, Arsène?”

Wenger looked up at the reporter who asked the question and smiled, “All the coaches are my opponents.”

“But will Tony Twain be that “special one?”

“He’s certainly the special one, and he is also a popular icon anywhere he goes.” Wenger dodged the controversial topic with a joke.

The spat between the two coaches did not start, much to the disappointment of the media. When Ferguson was there, whenever Nottingham Forest would play with Manchester United, Twain would not mind having a great trash talking war with Ferguson. But this was always the case with Arsène Wenger. It was so boring.

For Wenger, Tony Twain was still not that “special one”. Alex Ferguson, who had retired, was then the “special one”. It was like when Mourinho left England; Twain felt a little lonely. Who knew, maybe Wenger had also felt that way after Ferguson’s retirement.

Francesc Fàbregas, Arsenal’s current captain, was the flag bearer of the Emirates Stadium. He was now the core of the Spanish national team’s midfield and was already a superstar in the football world. But there was always a shadow in his heart that had not been mentioned before. That shadow was buried deep in his heart before he became famous. It was constantly reminding him that he was not the strongest person in this world.

He remembered meeting George Wood when he thought he was the best youth player in the world. There was no denying that the pitch that day was terrible and not conducive to his play, but on the other side was an unknown ordinary youth player. After the loss to Wood, he came back to collect information about Wood, and he was even more surprised. George Wood was a rookie who had only been receiving professional football training for less than a year! A total rookie!

The blow on him was big. He thought of himself as the best player in the World Youth Football Championship, which came out of Europe’s famous youth camp Ramasia, only to lose to a rookie who had only been training professionally for less than a year. He was even going to start doubting whether he was suitable for football.

This was clearly not what Wenger would like to see, and this time Wenger was good at coaching the strengths of young players. He counselled Fàbregas, telling him his loss to Wood was an accident because the conditions were so bad. You cannot doubt yourself, you can only say that the enemy was too cunning. As for George Wood, Wenger told Fàbregas, “Don’t be fooled because he keeps a low profile, he is actually a genius of the same caliber as Fàbregas himself. The fight between the two geniuses, both having victories and losses would be normal. There was no need to be depressed.”

This consoled Fàbregas, who also reflected again on his thoughts during his early fame, and the defeat when he went against Wood. In that sense, it helped him and became a valuable asset in his career. Maybe he would need to thank Wood? But he would never admit this publicly.

This was a good opportunity because Arsenal would be going against Nottingham Forest for three consecutive matches, he would have a chance during the competition to defeat Wood.

Four years ago at the World Cup in South Africa, then-European champions Spain lost to George Wood alone, where Wood then gained the title of “St. George”. The title was an honor to Wood, but it did not sound so pleasant for Fàbregas. He would always remember being knocked out, the year they had high hopes but instead they were eliminated early….

Two years later at the European Cup, both men were the main players in their respective national teams, but they had never met.?Capello’s team stopped in the top four, Spain, on the other hand, were eliminated in the top eight.

Although in each year during the league season, they would have two chances to meet where both would win some matches, none of them were key games.?Unlike this time, there were three games, where each game is important. Fàbregas was eager to destroy George Wood in this league season. He really looked up to Wood, and that would be why he would especially enjoy beating Wood.

George Wood did not know what’s going on in his opponent’s mind, and he would hardly have such worries like Fàbregas. There were too many opponents, but he treated them all the same, he would not treat a few people as a life-long opponent. His brain lacked the capacity for this level of thinking. The only thing in his football world was Nottingham Forest, and other teams and players were just labelled as “opponents” or “enemies”.

Arsenal was coming the day after? Well, let them come. We will see you on the pitch. This was George Wood’s whole mental activity.

If a reporter asked him the question he asked Fàbregas, his answer would be so plain that people would wonder if he was purposely trying to go against the media.

A reporter once conducted a poll in the media circle, “Who do you think is the most difficult person to interview in a Premier League team? Who do you think is the least newsworthy player in the Premier League? Who are the Premier League players you least like to interview?”

The answer that was ranked first in every question was only one person: George Wood.

A reporter complained about him being like his name, exactly like a piece of wood. He answered with no interest and added no hype. In this aspect, he was the exact opposite as Tony Twain. If both of them were asked “What’s one plus one?” Wood would simply answer, “Two.” Tony Twain’s reaction would be much more interesting, and he would instead rebut, “You don’t even know the solution to this simple question?” or “Maybe it’s 3?”

So on the Nottingham Forest side, journalists were more willing to interview Pepe, Bale, or other football players, George Wood was the only person they all did not want to contact.

It was like this since his debut. There were only a few interviews about him in the media. Any journalist would feel terrible when he confronted Wood. They did not get a warm response regardless of what they ask.?The celebrity interview was actually like two people playing tennis. Someone would serve and the other would receive the ball, then this would repeat throughout. This way both the interviewee and the interviewer would feel comfortable.?But the interview with Wood would be a one-man tennis game, the interviewer would effortfully serve the ball, but Wood would not receive or pick up the ball. So the interviewer needed to work as a player and the caddie, running back and forth between playing the ball and picking up the ball, so tired that he would be half-dead. Then he would look up to see George Wood’s stoic face. It was a really frustrating interview.

The media did not ask Wood much about the three-match stakes against Arsenal, only Nottingham Evening Post, which had the best relationship with Nottingham Forest, got an interview with him.

When Pierce Brosnan asked about the outlook for the game, Wood was not as cautious as Twain. He said bluntly, “We will win.?”

“Three games? Or the one on the day after tomorrow?” Bruce asked.

“All three. ”

Bruce laughed, “But your boss, Tony Twain, didn’t say the same thing.”

Wood shook his head, “Why else would we play if not to win?”

The answer sounded philosophical. Pierce Brosnan was speechless.

He then used the phrase in the title to inspire the team Nottingham Forest and their fans.

“The purpose of the game is to win,” Wenger could not help but laugh when he saw the article. “It was fitting of Tony Twain’s football philosophy.”

He was sitting on the bus towards Nottingham from Northern London. He did not need to continue analyzing their opponents at this time. Wenger was already far too familiar with Tony Twain and his team. Nottingham Forest’s home game against Chelsea in the first two weeks might have given him some references.?His side also excels in ball techniques and Twain was sure to use that crude tactic at home to undermine Arsenal’s attack.

In this regard, Arsenal made specific arrangements.

At the City Stadium, Arsenal would speed up the delivery of the ball while minimizing the amount of time the ball spent at the feet of the players. If Nottingham Forest were to snatch the ball, let them be led by our noses, then at the end spend the last ounce of strength.

He knew that in the recent end-of-season sprint phase, Nottingham Forest’s fitness had a big drain. This was something he could take advantage of.

In Wenger’s mind, he did not look at this game alone, he was considering all three games and thanks to the schedule, he had a very good overall plan.

First of all, at home against Nottingham Forest, Wenger did not even mind losing to Nottingham Forest on away, as long as the difference was not too big. The main aim was to continue to consume Nottingham Forest’s fitness and let them do their best to win a game. And in the next league match and Champions League match, it would be home ground of Arsenal.

Wenger would then continue to press Nottingham Forest in that game in the league, forcing them to follow their own fast pace and further drain Nottingham Forest’s fitness. A draw would be the best result, because if they won Nottingham Forest on home ground, it might motivate Twain to put all of his season’s focus into the Champions League, so that if he has lost to Nottingham Forest in the first leg, the second leg would not be safe if it was the home side. If they lost to Nottingham Forest in the league, Wenger had also seriously considered this situation, which he believed was not entirely unacceptable. After all, his team and Nottingham Forest had a six-point gap, and between his team and Liverpool there was also a five-point gap, so he was not worried about losing a match in leading to losing the whole situation.

Finally, returning to Champions League match in the middle of the week, Arsenal would be at home with full firepower to face a tired Nottingham Forest that had been drained out by two high-intensity games in a row.

By that time, Nottingham Forest would be drained out, and they would be eliminated in the Champions League. Arsenal would then have one less formidable opponent to deal with.

Chapter 839 - The Real Target

A helicopter flew across the top of the City Ground Stadium. It then went past the Trent River before making a U-turn.

Looking down from the helicopter, one could see countless people that had congregated at the City Ground Stadium located south of the Trent River. The streets around the stadium were all heavily congested as well.

The walkie-talkie on a policeman’s shoulder continued to transmit static noises. He looked up at the helicopter that had flew over his head, before averting his gaze back on the ground.

A group of Forest fans walked past him while singing a song,

“Forest, Forest! We are Nottingham Forest!”

“Forest, Forest! We are Nottingham Forest!”

The sounds of people singing assaulted him from all directions, but they soon passed him by and surged into the City Ground Stadium near him.

“Forest, Forest. We are Nottingham Forest…” The policeman sang along to the song softly.

“… Bzzt… 0415. Report the situation at your side. Over… Bzzt…” Static noises interfered with the person’s voice.

“This is 0415. Everything’s normal. Over.”

“Forest, Forest! There’s no battle we can’t win! Forest, Forest! We are Nottingham Forest…” The policeman continued to sing along to the song before he turned around and switched on the radio in his car.

“… As we can see from the screen, the buses for both teams have been parked right outside the City Ground Stadium. The players are all making their way out of the bus right now. An exciting match will be presented right before you in 30 minutes time! Stay tuned after the break.”

“Go go go go!” Kerslake shouted at the top of his voice in the locker room. “I want all of you to start feeling tense! This is the Champions League!”

He then urged the players to go and get their warm-ups done.

The players ran out of the locker room right after they got dressed. None of them dared to waste even a second before their boss.

They knew very well what competition they were about to play in. They did not need the assistant manager to remind them at all.

The Forest this season harboured a far greater ambition as compared to previous years.

Twain ran into Wenger by the side of the pitch when he walked out. The two engaged in a small talk.

“This is my third time seeing you this week. I think I’ll get bored of seeing you.”

Wenger laughed. “I don’t quite like seeing this face of yours either.”

“The match schedule is sh*tty… Oh, right. I need to confirm something with you, Arsene.”

“Hmm?”

“Would we still be able to stand here and talk like this if I were to defeat Arsenal?”

“You are that confident?” Wenger did not answer his question. Instead, he asked Twain another question of his own.

“It is a possibility, isn’t it?”

“Ha! Save the talk for when you truly defeat me.” Wenger turned around and left.

In the end, he never answered Twain’s question.

It was a difficult question to answer for Wenger. He was not someone who could accept a loss wholeheartedly and congratulate another for their victory. Additionally, he was unwilling to think about losing, because the moment you thought about it, the thought would linger in your mind and continue to grow bigger. It was just like planting the devil’s seed inside of you. Eventually, you would not be able to shake off the thought: are we really going to lose?

Twain smiled to himself as he watched Wenger’s back.

15 minutes later, the team returned to the locker room after completing their warm-ups.

Twain looked at his players. The very first sentence he said caused them to burst out laughing. “Is there anyone here who thinks we are playing a league game?”

Laughter resounded in the locker room.

“Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal… This is our third time facing them in a match. I hope none of you got bored of it. Ah…” Twain sighed. “I know it’s not easy to face a tough opponent consecutively for three straight matches. But, I’m sorry, I will not go easy on any of you because of that. I would never say something stupid like ‘just try your best’ or ‘don’t leave any regrets’. What I want from you guys has always been very simple, and it has never changed either. It is…”

Twain drew a deep breath and was just about to say the words when the players roared in unison, “To win!”

Twain was dumbstruck. A moment later, he smiled and snapped his fingers. “Looks like I have to change my lines now. That’s right, it’s to win. I don’t want anything else but to win. It doesn’t matter how tough our opponent is. It also doesn’t matter how difficult a situation we are in. All I want is to win. Deal with all the opponents before you and become the champions of everything before you even think about resting and enjoying your holidays. Now’s not the time to relax yet.”

Twain paused in his words.

“I want all of you to keep this fight in you from today all the way till… Till the night of May 22nd. Don’t slack off for even a moment…” He lowered his head and went silent. He did not try to stir up his players’ emotions even more.

The players must think that their boss was a little odd today.

The silence ensued for a period of time. Everyone in the locker room was waiting for Twain to speak up once again.

Twain finally raised his head after a while. He flashed a smile before everyone and said, “Let’s create a season that none of you can ever forget throughout your entire footballing career. Let’s win… The. Treble.”

Twain’s final few words sent shivers down everyone’s spines. They felt like a ball of fire had been ignited within them, and it started to blaze.

The treble!

That was something that so many people craved for…

To achieve the treble, a club has to win its national league competition, its main national cup competition and a continental trophy, which would normally be the Champions League.

No other club in the whole of Europe has managed to achieve it ever since Manchester United in 1999. Liverpool fans have jokingly said that they have achieved the ‘quintuple’, but they are only referring to how they have won the Champions League five times in the past. Similarly, Barcelona has only managed to achieve the Double by winning its league competition and Champions League at its peak. They were unable to win the Copa del Rey in that same year.

It’s very challenging to achieve the ‘Treble’. Luck plays a huge part in it. But, it is also precisely why it holds so much prestige among all the European teams.

All the players’ faces lit up at the mention of the word ‘Treble’. They were envisioning the future in which they achieved it in their minds.

On May 11th, they would bring the Premier League trophy back to this stadium.

On May 17th, they would bring the FA Cup trophy back to this stadium.

And lastly, on May 22nd, they too, would bring the Champions League trophy… Back to this stadium!

The thought of those scenes would get anyone fired up.

When the players shook hands prior to the start of the match, Fàbregas felt George Wood exert force while shaking his hand, and he felt a little happy at the fact.

He thought that Wood was just like him and was full of a fighting spirit going into the match.

In truth, Wood was only being excited after hearing Twain say the word ‘treble’ earlier.

“The match has started. Nottingham Forest has made full use of their home advantage, and they are attacking Arsenal from all directions! They are very ferocious with their attacks! I completely didn’t expect them to go on the offense right at the start of the match…”

The commentator was surprised by how Forest had adopted an aggressive playing style at the start of the match. He did not know that the team was only acting that way because of what Twain had said before the start of the match. His words had stirred up the players’ emotions and they had gone into the match with a stronger drive to win.

Wenger did not look the least bit surprised as he sat at the technical area. He did not know what Twain had said to his players prior to the start of the match, but Forest being so aggressive with their attacks was a part of his plans.

He told his players that Forest would definitely attack them ferociously at the start of the match, and that it was all right to let them attack.

The moment Forest’s attacks weaken however, the stage would be theirs.

Forest would definitely go all out during its defense, and that would greatly deplete their stamina. Therefore, Wenger did not think that it was a big deal if Arsenal did not get a decent chance at goal. It also did not matter if they did not score a goal either, because it would be mission accomplished if they are able to deplete Forest’s stamina greatly in the first half.

However, Wenger did not get to see the scene that he was waiting for.

On the 21st minute of the first half, Arsenal committed an error in its defense. Bacary Sagna erred with the way he dealt with the ball when he was under pressure from Fernández. The pass that he made had not much power behind it, and it was quickly intercepted by ?ahin.

ahin then passed the ball straight forward, and Ibi?evi? was deemed to be onsite when he received the pass. He was able to easily slip the ball past Manuel Almunia who had rushed out of the goalpost in an effort to stop him.

The goal sent the whole of City Ground Stadium into uproar.

Twain stood up and embraced the people around him as he celebrated the goal. He felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“SUPER IBI!” Deafening cheers erupted at the stands.

The commentator excitedly announced, “That is his 20th goal of the season! The Bosnian striker is definitely Tony Twain’s most trusted striker!”

Wenger did not react in the slightest when Forest was celebrating the goal.

He had expected Forest to score a goal…

Forest tried to take advantage of the momentum that was in their favour and they continued to attack Arsenal’s half of the pitch mercilessly for a while. However, they were not able to break down Arsenal’s defense a second time. Arsenal was able to stabilize their defense after the 27th minute of the match, and that was also when they started going on the counterattack.

They played a kind of football that belonged solely to them. They controlled the ball at their feet exquisitely, and every pass that they made was fascinating.

Watching them play football was just like watching a classical music concert. The ball was like a series of musical notes that wandered about their feet. A beautiful melody would play with every move that they made.

As for Nottingham Forest, they could only go on the defense and follow the ball wherever it went. They tried to snatch the ball from Arsenal when the latter had made their way into their half, but the Arsenal players were able to make use of a succession of quick passes to deal with Forest’s attempts, and they did not let the ball stop moving.

Fàbregas was the core of Arsenal’s tactics for the match. He did not need to carry the ball forward and get past a bunch of players all by himself. He also did not need to shoot the goal into the goalpost. All he needed to do was to position himself in the middle of the pitch and help to distribute the ball. Every single Arsenal player would pass the ball over to him and let him decide where the ball should go, be it the front, the back, the left or the right.

He was just like a ‘super calculator’. All the information that needed to be processed would be sent to him for processing first before they are relayed to the rest of the Arsenal players.

He was undoubtedly the core player in the Arsenal team.

George Wood was the player who was assigned to mark Fàbregas in the match. This arrangement appeared to have fired up Fàbregas. There was a period of time in the match where he did not even let the ball stop at his feet for a single second. He was well aware of the positions of every single player on the pitch before he received the ball. Thus, he was able to pass the ball straight away after the ball reached his feet.

Wood would always go away empty-handed every time he ran up to Fàbregas to try and intercept the ball.

The commentator could not help but heap praises on Fàbregas. “His positional play and passing abilities are just works of art. His every move might look random to some, but they are actually deeply connected to the situation on the pitch at that very moment. He is able to grasp the positions of his opponents, and even George Wood can’t do anything to stop him! A turn and a pass! The ball rolls into an empty space and Sagna has moved forward to pick up the ball! How on earth has he managed to see what is going on behind him? This is absolutely fascinating! What a wonderful pass! Arsenal might have a talented young British midfielder named Wilshere on its team, but he certainly can’t hold a candle against Fàbregas!”

Fàbregas enjoyed the feeling of having complete control and understanding of the situation on the pitch. He would always smile inwardly every time George Wood charged at him after he had passed the ball away.

Arsenal performed exceptionally well during this period of time in which Fàbregas was on top of his game. Their passes and coordination dazzled and fascinated the crowd, but sadly, they were still not able to find their way past Akinfeev’s goalpost.

It might be an exaggeration to say that ‘Arsenal likes to pass the ball into the goalpost’, but it was exactly what Arsenal seemed to be doing at the moment.

It did not matter how well the Arsenal players could pass if they could not find the back of the net. They needed to shoot to score.

Carlos Vela was very agile as a player. However, he was a little too thin and weak, which caused him to be unable to gain an advantage in Forest’s penalty box.

Robin van Persie, on the other hand, did not seem to have brought his ‘shooting boots’ with him today, because all the shots he made were not on target.

Towards the end of the first half, Fàbregas suddenly changed what he had been doing all along. Instead of passing the ball to the other Arsenal players, he decided to shoot at the goal right before Wood!

Fortunately, Akinfeev was fully focused on the match. He pounced on the ball and sent it out of bounds. His efforts ensured that Arsenal could not level the score before the end of the first half.

“Fàbregas has stepped up to the plate at a time when Arsenal’s forwards have not been reliable. His shot… Nearly went in.”

The commentator was extremely disappointed at how things had turned out. Both teams had played good football for at least half of the first half, but they were only able to score one goal.

It felt very unsatisfying…

Arsenal’s attacks and coordination in the latter half of the first half was a joy to watch. It would make any spectator feel like he or she was enjoying a cup of tea while relaxing in the warm sunlight.

All that was missing however, was a plate of freshly baked cookies to go with the tea. It felt a little dull to simply be drinking tea.

Arsenal definitely deserved a goal with the way they have been playing.

At half-time, Twain commended his team for their performances in the starting few minutes of the first half. He did not criticize their performances in the latter half however, because he felt that Arsenal had performed very well then, and it would be unfair to criticize his players for their opponents’ good performance.

Twain decided that he had to change his tactics for the second half. If Arsenal were to continue playing the way that they did in the first half, then it would only be a matter of time before they scored a goal.

“George, you were not able to mark Fàbregas tightly enough in the first half. You can’t allow him to make passes that easily before you… The number of fouls that you created in the first half can be counted with my hand.” Twain raised five of his fingers. “Look at Fàbregas’ jersey when he walked off the pitch! It was as though he had just picked it up from the cleaners! What a disgrace, George!”

Twain was not displeased with his team, but Wood was the only one he did not show any mercy to.

Wood did not utter a word in response. He accepted Twain’s criticisms of him.

“In the second half…” Twain spoke in a low voice as he contemplated. “If Arsenal were to continue playing the way that they did… We would make our defense compact and force them to only be able to attack down the flanks. We have a goal on our hands after all.”

Twain laughed when he finished his words.

“Let’s see how Arsenal passes the ball into our goalpost!”

Chapter 840 - Regarding the Possibility of Exchanging Jerseys

The second half was just like what Twain said, Arsenal continued the performance of the later part of the first half, attempting to rip through Forest’s defense through quick passing.

After Twain’s criticism during halftime, George Wood became more energetic in the second half. Fàbregas wanted to keep everything under his control, just like the first half, but he realized it was not so easy anymore.

Wood’s man-marking was very impressive as he ran after Fàbregas as if he did not care about his stamina. As for the defense behind him, he left it to Gago. Forest was leading by one goal anyway; it did not matter if they sacrificed Gago’s attacking prowess. The key was to freeze Fàbregas out completely.

“Fàbregas receives the ball and he wants to pass it… Ah! Wood’s tackle is very timely, he poked the pass from Fàbregas away!”, the commentator said.

Fàbregas reacted very quickly after seeing his pass got poked away by Wood, moving to recover the ball immediately. Too bad Wood was faster than him as he blocked the Spaniard off with his body and cleared the ball.

Fàbregas was a little pissed as he gave Wood a shove from behind, but he could not move Wood at all of course. He did however, provoked Wood to turn back and look at him expressionlessly.

After that, Wood played as if he was stuck to Fàbregas.

Fàbregas changed his strategy when he realized that Wood was only making use of his exceptionally strong body to challenge for the ball. He stopped passing the ball straight after receiving it, instead, he controlled the ball, made a few feints before passing the ball.

It worked well initially as Wood’s inertia thinking allowed Fàbregas to skip past him easily, however, it did not work afterwards.

Wood had an ace up his sleeve.

He still went in for the tackle, but he kept a trailing leg behind and did not push his center of gravity forward totally.?Fàbregas thought he got past Wood and as he adjusted his body in preparation for the pass, he lost his balance all of a sudden and fell to the floor.

Upon second look, he was tripped by Wood’s trailing leg.

He raised his hand to indicate that he had been fouled by Wood and the referee’s whistle rang out as he wished.

Wood made no appeals to the referee regarding his foul. He did not even give?Fàbregas a hand up before running back to defend.

Fàbregas pushed himself up. Wood’s foul was not vicious, but it caused Arsenal’s attack to break down. Fàbregas felt helpless regarding the foul, he was already used to this after numerous face-offs with Wood.

Only when taking the free-kick, could he experience the freedom without Wood’s disturbance at his side.

Later, Wood used every methods in his repertoire to make things exceptionally difficult for Fàbregas… Fouls, cheeky moves, legal shoulder charges — even though he was not totally frozen out by Wood, he had to dedicate a huge amount of energy to go against Wood, causing his passing accuracy to drop till it was much lower than the first half, leading to a sharp decline in his contribution to the attack’s build up.

Not only that, he exhausted so much energy in the battle with Wood that he was panting in exhausting after that.

On the other hand, Wood was not even panting or flushed, everything was just as per normal. His physical attributes were so good that they were a source of hopelessness for his opponents.

Because of Wood’s sudden good performance, Arsenal had no choice but to leave the task of building up their attack to Wilshere.

The one defending Wilshere is Gago. In terms of defensive abilities, he was two levels below Wood.

As the one who could organize an attack the best amongst the midfielders of England’s younger generation, Wilshere was able to have quite a bit of space to perform under Gago’s watch as he gave three beautiful passes. It was a pity that the other Arsenal players were not able to take their chances.

Wilshere’s good performance meant the praises that the commentator gave Fàbregas were passed to him.

“It’s no wonder he’s being lauded as the most creative and technical midfielder in England after Gascoigne! He’s simply too much for Gago to handle! People say that Wenger has a habit of selling his players once they are past 30 years old. Fàbregas will be 27 years old soon, perhaps it’s time Wenger seriously consider about using Wilshere to replace Fàbregas’ position in the team…”, he said.

Arsenal’s high-tempo attack only stopped for a little before starting again. However, the focal point this time changed from Fàbregas to Wilshere.

The Forest goal was in danger again. Twain muttered as he sat in his seat, “Two focal points huh?”

He thought for a while. Fàbregas is getting exhausted very quickly under the torment of Wood, he won’t be able to recover so quickly. Wilshere is indeed talented, it is a rather difficult for Gago to mark him… Wilshere is the leader of England’s midfield in future after all.

This won’t do, we must stop Wilshere.

He walked to the side of the field and took a deep breath.

“George!!”, he shouted.

His voice was really loud… Maybe it was to cooperate with him, at that moment, the songs in the City Grounds suddenly became softer.

Wilshere suddenly felt a chill.

After that, Twain went back to the manager’s seat and Wilshere realized that the person standing in front of him had changed to George Wood…

Wilshere was a little overwhelmed as he turned back to look for his captain, Fàbregas. However, what he saw was Fàbregas bending over, panting heavily, and Gago standing beside him.

He had a bad feeling about it…

The commentator deeply understood that Wilshere was still some distance away from Fàbregas from the match afterwards… He did not mention anything about replacing Fàbregas with Wilshere anymore.

Under the close marking of Wood, Fàbregas was still able to pass the ball out to his teammates. Even though the success rate was lower than the first half, he still managed to pass the ball. Under the marking of his international teammate, Wilshere found it difficult to even get the ball. Under the physical challenges from Wood, he always lost the ball very easily.

Fouls, cheeky moves, physical challenges bordering on the lines of being unreasonable…

Wood did what he did against Fàbregas to Wilshere.

Wilshere conceded defeat before long. He did not dare to allow the ball to stay at his feet for too long, passing it to Fàbregas after receiving the ball. Without any instructions from Wenger, he returned the position of the focal point back to his captain.

Seeing that Wilshere had admitted defeat, Wood went back to mark Fàbregas.

After a long day’s work, Arsenal’s attack did not get better. Their bark was worse than their bite as they did not get any goals. The score was still 1:0, with the home team Forest in the lead.

Nottingham Forest pushed out for a while to fight for the ball, but drew back after seeing that the second half had more than half way more to go.

This change took Wenger by surprise. He had analyzed Tony Twain in detail, and he knew that Twain would never choose to defend when his team had only a one-goal lead. He would choose to keep attacking until they got another goal. Why were they defending when the score was only 1:0? And Forest did not seem to be in a disadvantageous situation on the field. Could they be giving up the opportunity to widen their lead just like this?

Twain had his own difficulties. He knew that Wenger wanted to break his team down using this high-tempo game because he used it on others before. That was why he decided to go with a defensive tactic to conserve some energy since they were already in the lead.

At the same time, he started to use his substitutes. Cohen coming on for Fernández and Moke for Bentley.

“Defend and counter!”, the commentator blurted out when he saw this in the commentary box.

It was too familiar, so much so that they could imagine how the match would go even with their eyes closed.

Nottingham Forest would defend in their own half, disturbing Arsenal’s defense line occasionally. Arsenal would surround the Forest penalty area. However, with a lack of good scoring opportunities… the time would just go by quietly.

Reality was not much different.

When Nottingham Forest drew back to defend, it made things difficult for Arsenal. Their impressive passing was ineffective when the Forest players were all crowded around the penalty area.

Wenger understood that they would be the one at a disadvantage should they continue surrounding the penalty area — Nottingham Forest only needed a counterattack and they might score another goal.

When he thought about this, he adjusted the team’s tactic. Instead of surrounding the penalty area, they started to build from behind and push forward slowly. They did not rush to put the ball near the Forest goal, forcing Forest to come out.

Forest then attacked reservedly without much enthusiasm. Defense was still their top priority.

The match went by very quickly when the two managers were engaged in a battle of their wits. In the blink of the eye, it was already in the 80th minute.

Now, Wenger was faced with a choice, should he let the match end just like this, or should he try for a goal in the final ten minutes.

Even if Arsenal lost the first round 0:1, it was acceptable. After all, it was just a goal’s difference, they could still turn it around when they were at their home ground.

If he went for it and got an away goal, the score would be 1:1. The team would already have a foot in the semifinals.

Both results seemed to be not bad…

Wenger fell into a deep thought.

The pro of the first choice was that the result for this match would be guaranteed. It looked like Nottingham Forest had no energy to go for another goal. If Arsenal was just looking for a slender defeat of one goal, it would not be a problem. The con was that whether they would advance to the next round would be based on the unpredictable future, that was not guaranteed.

The pro of the second choice was that he would be in control of his team’s fate after the first round. The con was that it was a real possibility that they would concede a goal instead of scoring. Even though Wenger had been researching Twain for many years, there was one aspect that he could never figure out. That was Tony Twain’s unpredictability. This person’s character had no pattern to speak about, and it was the same with his actions. He could not tell whether the exhausting that Forest showed earlier was a show with an intention of luring him to press forward… and then they would be successful in their sneak attack.

Just when he was unable to make up his mind, Twain made another substitution.

Wenger turned his head to check it out. The person getting his boots checked by the fourth official was Aaron Mitchell who was more than two meters tall.

And the person he was replacing was…

The fourth official lifted the electronic board:

Number 15 Nuri ?ahin off. Number 9 Aaron Mitchell on.

Wenger uttered a “cunning” in his heart. If he had adjusted his tactics earlier and his team started to attack, Twain’s move now was obviously prepared for him. Removing an attacking midfielder and introducing a tall center forward would increase Forest’s attack. Simple and crude tactics such as going down the flanks to cross or long ball tactics were surprisingly effective during the last few minutes of the match.

Looks like Twain himself could not keep his cool anymore, he wanted to increase the lead at the end…

This change made Wenger decide to defend. Arsenal would rather lose the away match by a single goal than to let the one-goal defeat turn into a two-goals defeat at the last moment.

In the final ten minutes, the situation on the field turned right on its head. Forest were actively attacking while Arsenal fell back in defense. It was just as Wenger expected, Twain’s team went for high balls all the way in the last ten minutes. The crosses kept going towards the Arsenal goal, keeping Almunia and the Arsenal’s defense busy. There was also once where there was a dispute when Mitchell fell in the penalty area. The Nottingham Forest players were adamant that the Arsenal players fouled Mitchell when defending whereas the Arsenal players believed that that was nonsense. How could someone as tall as Mitchell fall so easily with just a touch? It must be a dive!

Both sides were caught in an argument and the Arsenal players had the intention to waste time. The referee made a final decision. This was neither a foul nor a dive. Ears piercing boos rang out from the stands.

Until the last second, the barrage from Nottingham Forest did not achieve any results. The commentator blamed it on their late burst. They only thought about attacking during the last ten minutes, that was too late. However, you could bare see any expression of unhappiness on Twain’s face. It seemed like he was very accepting of this 1:0 result.

When he shook hands with Wenger, there was a smile on both their faces. The friendliness made it seem like what just ended was not the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, but a preseason friendly.

“See you at home, Tony.”, Wenger said as he extended a “warm invitation” to Twain.

Twain just smiled and said nothing.

When the match ended, Wilshere hesitated for a while and he decided to ask George Wood to exchange jerseys. Even though he was marked out of the game during the match, as fellow England players, he still looked up to Wood. What made him hesitate was that he knew Wood had a weird temper and he especially disliked exchanging jerseys.

But just when he finally decided to look for Wood to exchange jerseys, he was shocked to see that Fàbregas had already beaten him to it.

After the Arsenal captain made a gesture to exchange jerseys in front of the Nottingham Forest captain, Wood took off his jersey and passed it to him without saying anything.

It was so straightforward that Wilshere was dumbfounded.

When Fàbregas came back after exchanging jerseys, Wilshere approached him and asked in surprise, “Didn’t they say that he…”, he pointed at George Wood who was walking away, “doesn’t like to exchange jerseys with his opponents?”

Hearing this, Fàbregas looked surprised too as he asked, “Who told you this?”

“Er… Everyone says so.”, Wilshere replied. He did not know where the rumor came from, but he had this impression.

Looking at him,?Fàbregas laughed, “He’d only refuse to exchange jerseys if Forest lost.”

Wilshere breathed a small sigh of relief.

Fàbregas read his mind as he patted him on the head and said, “Don’t be so happy Jack. You won’t have anymore chance this season.”

“Ah?”, Wilshere did not understand.

“We’ll win the two remaining matches.”, said Fàbregas confidently as he walked away with Wood’s jersey on his back.

Chapter 841 - Behind a Successful Man

The first round of the three round of matches between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal had ended. Forest won by one solitary goal. Wenger was not unhappy at all, the whole Arsenal team’s mood wasn’t affected by this defeat, that was why Fàbregas had the mood to exchange jerseys with Wood after the end of the match.

Twain was in a good mood too. He did not care what kind of tactics Wenger had in mind; all he knew was getting the victory was safest. He never believed in words like, “What are we going to do in future”, “what are we going to do in the next round”.

He had to temporarily toss the UEFA Champions League out from his thoughts, the league was just as important.

From early April to 22nd May, these two months were the most crucial period of the season for Tony Twain. Whether they were able to get any returns for the season’s hard work depends on these two months’ results.

They could be the glorious “treble winners”, or they could crumble at the last step and get nothing.

These are the busiest days for managers in the whole season. They would be so busy that they would not be able to care about anything. Because of this, every time Twain returned to his big, pitch black house, he would feel exceptionally fatigued. A manager who was living separately with his wife for the long term, one could probably count the numbers of them in one hand.

Good news finally arrived.

After completing her work in America, Shania rejected an interview and a banquet and returned to England ahead of schedule.

At this moment, Twain was holding on to his coffee as he leant on the door frame, quietly looking at Shania getting busy in front of the washing machine.

Fans who loved Shania would probably find it hard to imagine such a scene. The supermodel who shone on the runway, the superstar who was a maverick in the eyes of the media, would be tidying up a messy room like a normal woman at home, bringing out piles and piles of dirty clothes before tossing them into the washing machine. She then put on an apron to do the dishes and cooked.

Twain had no intention of helping, instead, he was enjoying the view. Watching his wife getting busy at home gave him the feeling that this was family.

“Uncle Tony.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you looking at?”

“At you.”

“Am I that nice to look at?”, Shania said with a smile, “after so many years of marriage, haven’t you seen enough of me?”

“It’s been quite a while, I want to watch to my fill.”

”?Shania went silent for a moment before asking, “Uncle Tony, how about I quit my modelling job?”

Apparently, she was mistaken about Twain’s meaning.

“Ay, what are you talking about? That was not what I meant. I don’t want to do anything else now, I just want to look at you, that’ll do for me. Don’t think too much about anything else.”, Twain said.

Twain put down his coffee mug and walked in to help.

“But it’s good now, I have nothing until the Summer, I can stay by your side all the time.”, Shania said very happily. She looked forward to days like this too. On normal days, she was an high-profile star, yet she was not interested in the happenings of the entertainment circle and she did not yearn media exposure. She also seldom visit luxury shops, her favorite way to spend her personal time was to stay with her husband, even staying on the sofa watching dvds was better than going out to get photographed by reporters.

That was why the media said she was a maverick in the modeling world and Hollywood.

Twain smiled after hearing her say that.

To him, the biggest advantage was that he could focus all his attention on football without any worries. But to Shania, she would receive a little less love. What to do, this was the sprint of the season. They would be like this every season — Shania would go back to take care of Twain and enjoy their time together while Twain had to split his attention. Half of it to his wife and half to football. Shania thought this was a little unfair…

Luckily for Twain, he had an understanding wife. Other than the occasional complaints and jealousy towards football, Shania were not dissatisfied at all.

Every time he thought about this, Twain felt like he should thank Shania. The reason why he could enjoy the success he had now, he could claim half the credit while his wife had half. It was not easy to have a star for a wife, let alone one with a personality. But when Shania was with him, she would sacrifice her personality to fulfill his needs.?Feminists might feel that Twain was too chauvinistic, but this was what married life should be like. Someone had to sacrifice a part of his or her benefits, compromises had to be made.

What was in Twain’s mind then was that he did not want to stay in this business until he was 70 years old before retiring, like Ferguson. Because that would leave him with not much time to spend with his wife. When he retires, he would give everything he had to compensate his wife for all the love that he owed her.

A model’s career is short and Shania had no intentions of having any great achievements in the reel business. So when Twain retires, Shania should most likely not be a model anymore. When that time came, the two of them should have a lot of time to arrange for their own life. First, Twain wanted to travel the world with Shania. Go places where they had never went before, to all corners of the world. To an utopia where there was no media or any conflicts, as if they were the only two left in this world, enjoying each other’s company…

Twain was lost in thought as he kept scrubbing the plate in his hands, water flowing.

“What are you thinking about, Uncle Tony?”, Shania asked, aware of Twain’s abnormality.

“Ah…”, Twain muttered as he looked at the plate that was long cleaned. He put it at the side and turned off the tap, smiled at Shania and said, “I’m thinking about our lives after we retire.”

Shania was also interested as she put down what she was working on and asked, “What did you think of, is it interesting?”

“I thought about travelling the world with you. Where do you want to go?”, asked Twain.

“Hmm…”, Shania looked up as she thought, “There are too many places that I want to go…”

“That’s okay, we have lots of time.”, Twain replied.

“Have you already decided when to retire?”, Shania asked.

“Not yet, but I won’t wait till I’m 60 or 70 years old. I’ll be old then and I’ll only be able to sit in our backyard, get a suntan, that’ll be pointless then.”, Twain replied as he wiped his hands dry before going behind Shania and gently hugging her. “When the time comes, we’ll go to places we’ve never been to. You love ice-cream, don’t you? We’ll eat while we explore and I’ll let you taste all the ice-cream in the world.”

Shania could feel Twain’s breath on the nape of her neck and it ticklish, causing her to laugh as she replied, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll eat so much that I’ll become fat?”

“An old man and his fat wife, that’ll be even more compatible.”, Twain said as he nuzzled Shania’s ears and hair from behind. “We’re very compatible, Shania.”

Shania did not argue with Twain’s “old man” and “fat wife” as she laid in Twain’s wide chest, enjoying this warm moment. Twain might find it difficult to endure when he was alone in England, but was it not the same for Shania in America?

She yearned to smell the breath of her man, feel the warmth of his body. After a day out at work, entertaining and doing catwalks, all she wanted when she returned home was to lie in her husband’s embrace like this, throwing all her troubles away and enjoying their quiet time together.

She closed her eyes slightly and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder lazily, not wanting to move.

Twain greedily smelled the scent of her hair as he hugged Shania.

Then, both of them smelled something burning at the same time…

“Ah! The egg!”, Shania exclaimed as she jumped up, knocking into Twain’s nose as she did so. “Uncle Tony?”, she said as she turned back in a panic to see Twain holding on to his nose in pain while he held onto the table at the side for support, tears coming out from his eyes. Looks like it was quite a strong impact. “Uh… I’m really sorry Uncle Tony…”

Twain held on to his nose with his left hand and pointed behind Shania with his right, indicating for her to switch off the electricity first.

She panicked as she switched it off, then tossed the fried egg in the frying pan into the dustbin. After she was done with that, she turned back to check on her husband. Twain had already recovered. He rubbed his nose and muttered, “I hate big noses…”

Looking at his moment of weakness, Shania could not help herself but to laugh.

“You’re the culprit and you’re still laughing!”, Twain said as he gave her a stare, wiping a tear off the corner of his eye as he gave her a fierce look. “Isn’t your head in pain?”

Shania continued laughing as she shook her head.

“The eggs are burnt, right?”, Twain asked.

“Mm, burnt.”, Shania replied as she glanced at the dustbin by her feet. The pitch-black fried egg was quietly lying there and she started to laugh even more.

“Let me do it.”, Twain said as he prepared to do it himself. Shania stopped him.

“Let me do it Uncle Tony. But this time, you must behave yourself.”, she said.

Twain shrugged innocently and said, “I was only hugging you.”

Shania gave a stern look and pointed at the dining table saying, “Now, sit and prepare to eat!”

Twain sat in front of the table like a good boy with a knife in one hand, a fork in another as he waited for his meal.

Only then did Shania smile and turn back to continue making her fried egg.

Both of them enjoyed a night like this.

With Shania back in England taking care of Twain, when he went to the training grounds the next day, Twain had a smile on his face and greeted every reporter that he met. Everyone felt that something was strange. The team was going to visit the Emirates Stadium soon. Was he putting on a show to show Arsenal that he was full of confidence?

Or maybe he really had a way to ensure victory?

The reporters would probably puke blood if they knew the truth.

Pierce Brosnan understood Twain the most after all. He specially researched the love story between Twain and Shania when he was writing Twain’s biography, that was why he knew the reason. He asked Twain when he greeted him, “Your wife’s back?”

Twain nodded and took his leave with a smile.

Pierce Brosnan stroked his chin and thought for a while. The people around him asked him what was he thinking of, and he replied, “I’m thinking that the element of uncertainty for Forest has been solved, Arsenal might need to take care at their home ground…”

The people around him could not understand what he was saying. Brosnan did not explain either, they would know during the weekends anyway.

The next day, an entertainment magazine from London, England, took a picture of Shania shopping outside. Shania was dressed rather normally in the picture, without the model’s disposition on the runway at all, and her clothes were not very fashionable either.

The editor of the magazine even mocked her saying,”…Shania was dressed like an old lady from the countryside. This would have displeased the various fashion sponsors she has as it was as if she was dressed in cheap clothes bought from the market in public. Those fans who loves her would be very disappointed to see these pictures. The superstar in their eyes did not have any branded clothes in her hands, instead, she had bread, cheese and egg. She’s just like a housewife…”

In the pictures, other than a pair of sunglasses, Shania did not try to hide her identity at all. And it seemed like she did not know she was targeted by paparazzi. She drove to the supermarket and came out with bags full of food and necessities. Later, she called someone and the magazine editor gave her the lines, “Tony, what do you want for dinner?”

They were actually quite accurate. Shania was indeed giving Twain and call and she did ask this question indeed… Twain was thinking about the Arsenal match then and was a little absent-hearted in his reply, “Don’t burn the eggs again.” This made him apologize to Shania for a very long time before he could eat dinner.

As everyone can see, just like how Tony Twain had not many friends in the media, as his wife, it was natural that she would be mocked by the others.

Later, when Twain brought the team to north London and prepared for the match with Arsenal, he found a few reporters for entertainment papers in the crowd.

The questions posed to him were naturally related to Shania. Twain felt weird that the media would suddenly ask about Shania.

“This has nothing to do with this match, right?”, Twain said. He was unwilling to answer personal questions during work.

“Will she come watch the match?” A reporter asked a question which he thought was relevant to the match.

“Is it any business of yours whether she comes?”, Twain said with an unfriendly expression, unwilling to cooperate.

In fact, Shania would come watch the match. Ever since Twain had a heart ailment, Shania would come watch the match whenever she had the chance. That way, she could be closer to Tony and had a better sense of security.

Wenger had to come cool the situation down, “Please do not ask any questions that are not related to the match, we have limited time.”

Without asking these gossip questions, they could only ask some very boring questions. For example, “How confident are you of beating Nottingham Forest at home?”, “Would Van Persie’s injury be a great blow to the team?”, “Would two away games in a row make you feel that the match is difficult?”, “Is there really no issues with the team’s physicality?”

There was no conflict during this press conference. Twain behaved properly.

The media left unhappily.

After the end of the press conference, Twain specially thanked Wenger for helping him out earlier.

The cordial atmosphere between the two made it difficult to tell that they were going to be engaged in a battle to the death here soon.

Wenger smiled and said, “I don’t want them to anger you. Who knows what you’ll do when you’re angry.” He put out his hand, “I hope you’ll be in the mood for a drink after the match.”

Twain took his hand and said, “I don’t drink, Arsene.”

“Juice would do too, as long as you are in the mood.”

“Why not?”

After saying goodbye to Wenger, Twain received a call from Brosnan. The mysterious tone that the reporter used on the phone made Twain think that he was very annoying.

“Hey, Tony. Um… Is Jordana’s return beneficial to your final sprint?”, he asked.

“Is this an interview?”

“Oh no, this is definitely not an interview, nor would it be publicly posted. I’m just a little bit curious…”

“Since when did you become so interested in gossips, just like those entertainment reporters, Mister 007?”

“He he…”, Brosnan could only give a wry laughter.

Twain sighed, it was not a big secret anyway, “Yes, are you happy now Mister 007?”

“Ah…Thank you! I understand now!” Brosnan hung up excitedly.

Twain shrugged as he looked at his phone.

Even though Shania was not technically a “good wife”, he still needed his wife to give him a push at the back during the sprint…

At home, Shania always liked to lie down in his arms, but during the sprint to become champions, he felt a gentle but firm person behind him. As long as that person was there, he felt like the road filled with thorns was flat and smooth and there was good weather ahead.

Chapter 842 - Collapse?

Nottingham Forest now looked like they were walking along a narrow path that only one person could go through sideways, with a deep abyss on the left and right sides. Following the movements of the footsteps, small stones would roll down and the echo of the crashing sounds could be heard in the abyss, growing gradually fainter.

In such an environment, slight inattention might cause one to lose his footing and fall. Then even one’s bones could not be found.

In short, Nottingham Forest now had no room for even a millimeter margin of error. They could not lose the Champions League and the league tournament. What could they do when their goal for this season was the continental treble this season?

Twain did not care about rotation for the away game against Arsenal. He deployed the strongest lineup possible.

Nottingham Forest faced a series of attacks from Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Similar to the last Champions League game, Arsenal’s offensive was fast paced, leaving the Forest team struggling on the pitch.

With a need to win, Twain did not choose conservative tactics, unlike in the last Champions League game. Nottingham Forest chose to play defensive counterattack in the last Champions League game because they already had a one-goal lead in hand. Now the score was still 0:0, and it was of little value to play conservatively—he did not need a draw and could not accept any other result other than a win.

So, in this game, Twain asked the team to attack aggressively. Even if the Arsenal’s swift attack made them confused and disoriented, they could not retreat. Instead, they had to actively carry out interceptions in the middle and front field against Arsenal.

It was what Wenger wanted to see most. Nottingham Forest would consume a lot of physical energy in such a scramble.

Twain was aware of it too. Arsenal wanted to drag down the Forest team. But now he had no other choice but to try to wipe out Arsenal before they themselves were dragged down.

“George! George!” Twain kept shouting Wood’s name off the field, signaling for him to tackle a little fiercer and to not be afraid to foul.

Gago also gave his very best on the pitch. He had trained his playing style to be like “a brave man, willing to risk his life” at Real Madrid. Now that the Forest team transformed to learn from Redondo, Twain still intended to let Gago keep up with his spirit.

With the opponent using the same tactics, the Forest team played harder than they did in the last game. Apart from not choosing to play conservatively, Arsenal’s home advantage could not be ignored.

Wenger’s team in this game fully played to their characteristics of fine skills, good rapport and smooth offensive, and their continuous campaign caused the entire Forest team to be exhausted. In the face of Arsenal’s attack, the will was there, but not the strength.

Twenty-nine minutes into the first half, the Forest team’s defense finally revealed a crack, which was keenly seized by Arsenal. Fàbregas did a straight pass. Carlos Vela suddenly plugged in from the side and unexpectedly appeared behind the Forest team’s entire line of defense. He was not in an offside position!

“He’s not offside! Vela has the ball!”

Pepe was still raising his hand to signal that Vela was in an offside position while Akinfeev had already left the goal to strike. A huge cheer erupted over the Emirates Stadium.

Amid the cheers, Vela shot low!

The football past through Akinfeev’s underarm and struck the farthest goalpost to bounce into the goal…

“The ball’s in! A gorgeous onside shot! And a brilliant assist from Fàbregas!!” Amid the thunderous cries, the live commentator had to raise his voice to shout along with the fans, “Arsenal leads at home! This dealt a heavy blow to Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest!”

Akinfeev was a little angry after the goal concede. He walked over to Pepe and shouted, “Asshole! Why didn’t you come back to defend just now?”

Pepe was clearly angry too. He brusquely pushed his teammate aside, “It was f**king offside!”

“Whether it was offside or not, you should have f**king come back! You bastard!” Akinfeev was a little angry that he and his question were pushed aside. Just as the two men were about to come to a head, their teammates around fortunately rushed up to separate the two men.

Twain nearly flew into a rage as he watched the scene from the sidelines. He kept swearing, “Those bastards! They actually display their shameful behavior on live broadcast!”

Next door, Wenger sat in his seat with a slightly hidden gleeful smile on his face. Internal stride within the Forest team? It was highly unusual. It looked like the Forest team was about to collapse under immense pressure.

Even the commentator was excited, “Oh, oh! The Nottingham Forest players have a clash. What more, it is a conflict between their own players! This is getting interesting! I’ve done commentary for nearly ten seasons of Premier League games and nearly fifty games with the Forest team playing, and I’ve never seen such a heated conflict between their own men! Tony Twain always boasts that his team is the most united team in the world, and there is really little negative news in the media about their locker room.?But today … all this is happening openly before all of us. It’s a once-in-a-century sight! I’m already starting to look forward how Tony Twain is going to face the influx of reporters after the game…”

“What are you guys doing?!”?Meanwhile, on the pitch, the Forest players were trying their best to calm down the two “angry bulls.”

“Calm down!”

“Don’t make a fuss. What’s wrong with you two?!”

Wood stood between the two men with one hand on each side to push them apart. But the two men tried to struggle free of Wood, unwilling to back down.

The Arsenal fans in the stands booed and jeered after a brief moment of shock— any fans of a team loved to see their opponents made a fool of themselves in front of them.

The laughter and booing sounded harsh in Twain’s ears. It was even more shrill than when he was on the ground scolding, “You son of bitches!”

He finally stopped muttering alone and rushed to the sidelines to yell toward the field, “It’s live broadcast. You damn idiots! Live broadcast!!”

His voice was drowned out by the loud boos at the stadium and he was not heard. However, it invited special attention from the cameras. The broadcast gave him a long close-up. In the camera, he clenched his fists and he was red in the face. Eyes wide with fury, he looked really angry.

Shania, who saw what happened from the box, also stood up nervously from her seat. Whenever Twain was excited, Shania would be so worried.

Twain roared in vain on the sidelines until he was out of breath and had to return to the technical area to get some water. He did not succeed. Kerslake handed him the water and muttered, “Is there too much pressure?”

Twain took the water bottle but did not drink from it. Instead, he stared blankly at Kerslake, which scared the latter a little. He suddenly did not drink the water, nor did he go to the sidelines to continue swearing. Instead, he sat down and stared at the field without saying a word, as if he was in a daze.

In the end, it was George Wood who unleashed his “power” as the team captain and grabbed the collars of Pepe and Akinfeev to make them calm down.

“We are playing a game now. If you want to fight, wait till the game is over!”

Even the referee stepped forward to intervene. He called the two men over to his side and gave them verbal warnings. He told them that even if they were teammates, he must give out a yellow card warning in the event of a violent physical confrontation.

The anger of the two men subsided a little. But they still did not look at each other.

They walked back to their own positions, without saying a word.

While the Forest team had the internal strife just now, Wenger got up and walked to the sidelines to beckon Fàbregas over and brief him personally.

“They have a problem themselves. This is our chance. Next up, continue to assist Pepe with that.”

Fàbregas nodded as he sipped water.

Back on the pitch, Arsenal did adjust their tactics and use Pepe’s position as the main offensive direction. Pepe was clearly affected by the goal concede and the brawl, because realistically speaking, the ball did slip past him, and he did not actively defend. Perhaps in that moment he opened up a small gap, or for some other reason, his mistake gave Vela a chance to shoot the ball in easily. For a time, the Forest team’s goal was surrounded by perils.

Twain saw this and got up from the technical area, shouting Wood’s name from the sidelines and using hand gestures to signal for him to cover Pepe’s position. Wood obeyed and went before the Forest team’s defensive line was able to regain its footing amid Arsenal’s stormy attack.

Fortunately, there was not much time left in the first half for Arsenal. Even if there was infighting within the Forest team, the stoppage time was only three minutes. The referee quickly blew the whistle to end the first half, which also upset the Arsenal fans, who thought the Nottingham Forest goal would be conceded again if Arsenal were to be given another minute.

Regardless, the Arsenal players were in a good mood when they were back in the locker room because they saw their opponent collapse—nothing was more demoralizing than a clash between the teammates in the game, because such an incident was humiliating….

They knew when they saw the way the Forest players walked off the field with their heads down. They could not wait for the game to be over so that they could fled the Emirates Stadium early.

Twain stayed behind. He stood alone on the sidelines for a moment and then slowly walked toward the tunnel.

His back view appeared to be very tired.

Shania saw this scene in the box and her face sank.

When Tony Twain who acted brashly on the sidelines and experienced such an intense game, he would suddenly age ten years when he went home. He had a heart problem and the pressure was so great … She was really worried.

The Forest players in the locker room were silent. Akinfeev and Pepe sat far part and did not look at each other.

Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, people looked up and saw the boss.

They did not see an angry expression on his face. It did not even look like the calm before the storm.

Twain swept his gaze across everyone. His eyes slowly turned to look at them one by one which seemed to take several minutes. The locker room was dead silent. Kerslake was not one who could withstand such an atmosphere. He tried several times to open his mouth and say something, but he gave up in the end.

He did not think the atmosphere felt right.

Twain finally spoke up, “I think I’ve made a mistake—I happily made an exciting bet with someone, but I forget your ability to bear it. It wasn’t my intention to put you under the same pressure as I am. You all know … Well, I want to be able to put all the pressure on myself so that you can play without worry. Now it looks like I’m wrong, ridiculously wrong.” He kept shaking his head to negate himself. He looked pained and tired.

“So, I won’t put any pressure on you for this game. You just play at will … As for the matter on eating the table, you don’t have to worry about that. I have my own way.”

With that, Twain sat down in his chair and let out a long breath.

“Igor and Pepe don’t let this get to you both. I don’t blame you. I know you’re all thinking about the team, so … let bygones be bygones.” He put his hands together as if he did not really take it to heart.

“I now realize that the treble is not an easy thing to do, especially given our situation. It’s a pipe dream for us to want to win the treble. The outside world was justified to ridicule. I, Tony Twain, am used to talking big. But I want to thank you all, you always make my big talk become a reality every time… But this time, it’s not the same. The treble is indeed … very hard. All right!” He got up from his seat again and raised his voice, “I admit defeat! We’re not qualified to win the treble! Everyone will go home and sleep after this game. Don’t think about anything else. Let’s win either the Champions League or the FA Cup.”

“Let’s put the pressure down! It’s no big deal to lose this game to Arsenal! As long as we knock them out of the Champions League, revenge will still be ours to take!”

Twain finished speaking only to find that the locker room was still dead silent, even quieter than before. He asked strangely, “What’s the matter? Why are you not talking? Did I say something wrong? Hey, I’m doing this for the good of you guys! I’m trying my best to relieve the stress for you! Is this your attitude in response? What are you looking at me for? Why are you not talking?” He suddenly shouted, breathed heavily and stared at the crowd in the room.

“Say something! Like, ‘Okay, we gave up the league tournament!’ or something like that.”

“No.” Wood stood up and said, “I don’t want to give up the league tournament.” With that, he looked at Twain.

Pepe hesitated for a moment before he got up to say, “Boss …?I apologize for what happened in the first half … I lost my cool when I saw the goal concede…”

“That’s why I’m here to relieve your stress, isn’t it?” Twain spread his hands and shrugged.

“But what I want is not for the pressure to be reduced in such a way…” Pepe shook his head and said, “Like George, I don’t want to lose the championship title.”

“Boss… None of us said we were going to give up the league tournament. Why would you say that?” This time it was Akinfeev who came forward and said, “I apologize to Pepe. I acted impulsively in the first half, but it’s all right now. We’re only one goal behind. Why give up now?”

More and more people stood up to express their wishes. No one wanted to give up. They all wanted to win the championship. At last everyone stood up and surrounded Twain in the middle.

Twain looked left and right.

“Strange. So, in other words, you suddenly don’t want to lose the game again?”

“We did not say we wanted to lose the game, boss!” Someone corrected the mistake in Twain’s words.

“Do you really want to win?” Twain asked incredulously.

“Does anyone want to lose?” Wood asked in return.

When Twain heard Wood, he put his hands up in front of his chest and lowered his head to signal for everyone not to speak first. He was silent for a moment, and then spoke up, “Very well, you’ll forget what I just said from now on. Forget those damn words like ‘give up the league tournament’, ‘go home and sleep.’ Let’s set up the tactics against Arsenal for the second half…”

Chapter 843 - This Season

It was silent in the locker room, and Twain stood among the group of players. He looked at each of them. Everyone stared at him wordlessly. He was the backbone of this team.

“Do you really not want to lose?” Twain asked, but he did not expect the men to answer. He raised his hands in front of his chest and bowed his head to signal for everyone not to speak.

“Very well. Then from now on you forget all of what I just said just now! Forget those damn words like ‘give up the league tournament’, ‘go home and sleep.’ Let’s set up the tactics against Arsenal for the second half…”

“We’re definitely going to win this game. A draw is unacceptable. We’ve put in our efforts and we need to be rewarded. So, we don’t have to consider defensive counterattacks…” Twain wrote and drew on the tactical board. He looked back to see everyone still standing and hurriedly wave for them to sit down.

“In terms of defense, we can refer to the last game. George, you have an important task.?Freeze Fàbregas completely, leaving him too occupied to organize the attack. Arsenal rely on him to manage in the midfield. If he’s ineffective, Arsenal’s offensive threat will be at least weakened by half. Don’t wait, pounce on the first point. Fernando, you protect in the back.”

Gago and Wood both nodded at the same time.

“Your task is not to intercept their ball, but to delay the time and slow Arsenal’s pace down to buy some time for Wood’s defense. Remember, when they want to pass the ball, let them pass. You don’t have to run over. Guard the middle and leave the other positions to your teammates.”

Then Twain drew two lines along the sidelines on the tactical board.

“It’s going to be very demanding on the sidelines in the second half because not only do you have to attack, you also have to let go. The full backs have to assist with the offense and the wingers also have to defend. If the side midfielders are not active, then our defense will be in jeopardy. If the full backs do not assist in the offensive, then we can’t win the game. You’re the key to this game, guys.”

This time it was Bale, Rafinha, Fernández and Bentley who nodded.

Twain looked at Pepe and said, “Pepe?”

Pepe knew what he wanted to ask. He shook his head and said, “I don’t have a problem, boss. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Twain pointed to him and smiled, “Toward the end of the first half it was clear that Arsenal had used your position as the place to focus on breaking through. Now let’s make a bet. Do you feel…” He winked, “… that Arsenal will still think so in the second half?”

Pepe guessed what the boss wanted to do. He asked, “Boss, you’re saying they think Igor and I are going to fight in the locker room and continue to play abnormally in the second half?”

Twain wagged his finger and said, “I just think it’s possible, and Arsenal can think it’s possible.?If I were Wenger, I would take everything into account. You had a big blowout with Igor in the first half. It looked like you have a vicious feud between you two…Heh.” Seeing the look on the two men’s faces, Twain laughed.

The two parties in the conflict bowed their heads a little embarrassedly. Now that they had completely calmed down, they were really ashamed of themselves for their outburst in the first half in front of tens of thousands of people and live television cameras.?Who knew what went in their minds at that moment, and what rang in their ears?

“I think Arsenal will try to break through from your position in the second half. If they find that nothing has changed from the first half, they will concentrate all the attacking firepower on you.?If it were me, I would do the same. It’s my favorite thing to twist another knife into the open wound and add salt to the injury.” As he said so, he did the action of stabbing with a knife and twisting it. The muscles on the players’ faces twitched as well. . .

Twain suddenly stopped talking and stuck his head out to look around. The people who were focused on listening to his instructions, were puzzled—what was the boss up to again?

“Tony, what are you doing?” Kerslake could not take it anymore and asked aloud.

“It’s a shame.” Twain shook his head and sighed, “The locker room in the Emirates Stadium is really clean. There is no dirt or dust at all…I wanted to slightly change your appearances.” Twain said to Pepe and Akinfeev, “Your faces are too clean now. It doesn’t look like you’re two enemies that had just fought a fierce fight.”

Some of the players who were first to catch the boss’ drift, laughed.

Amid the laughter, Akinfeev looked embarrassed again, but Pepe was brave enough to throw caution to the wind and lifted his head to say, “This is nothing, boss. Igor and I will continue to stare at each other. That’ll do.” Having said that, he specially demonstrated the action.

He stood next to Akinfeev but turned his head to the side and glared at the other man from the corner of his eyes with the muscles flaring slightly around his nostrils. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards, but it was not a smile. It showed contempt, disdain, and disgust.?It was as if he really looked down on his teammate next him from the bottom of his heart.

Twain clapped right away as he watched from the side. He said, “You acted it out very well. I recommend you go to Hollywood after you retire, Pepe!” Then he looked at Akinfeev.

“I can’t act that well, boss.?I can only avoid looking at him.” Akinfeev turned his body around and turned his back toward Pepe.

The two men’s performance made the locker room laugh endlessly.

Twain snapped his fingers and the laughter subsided.

“While we’re defending, the biggest headache is not how sharp the other side’s attack is, but not knowing where they’re going to come from.” As he said it, the defenders nodded and felt the same way.?“Now the problem is solved.” Twain pointed to Pepe, and there was another burst of laughter in the crowd. “At the start of the second half, you act a little clumsy. Don’t worry, I won’t shout at you from the sidelines, Pepe.”

“Okay, boss.” Pepe agreed right away. It was also a challenge for him to be able to deliberately perform abnormally without making any fatal mistakes.

“Pepe can be a little bit clumsy, but you can’t, Igor.”

Akinfeev nodded hurriedly and said, “I know, boss. I’m the last line of defense.”

Twain knew the Russian goalkeeper was smart and did not continue the topic. He turned to the team now and said, “Now that Arsenal’s main direction is clear, don’t think that we can win just like that. Our opponents are living people, not bronze statues outside the stadium or computer data. They will adjust to our changes. Once they find out that Pepe is just a trap, they’ll make a change right away, or they’ll beat us at our own game…So, in fact, we are given very few opportunities. I ask you not to hurry to counter press after successfully defending and to make sure of the success rate. I repeat I don’t want to see you send long shots ahead after you intercept the ball. Try to keep the ball on our side and not give the ball possession back to Arsenal easily. If you lose the ball, then counter press. Don’t rush back to defend. You must remember, we don’t have many chances to deceive Arsenal. You have to treat it as our only chance to attack each time you take the ball! One goal!” He put up his right index finger and said, “As long as we have a goal, we can break the deadlock on the field and mess up Arsenal’s tactics. So, we have to take advantage of our one shot at the ball! This is an away game for us, everyone outside is our enemy, we don’t have a right to waste our chances! We will suffer if we waste any opportunities!”

“In terms of offense, you have to keep running, and every opportunity will emerge during running. Don’t be lazy and expect the football to be sent to your feet in front. Pull apart Arsenal’s defense. Their full backs also like to assist. Take advantage of that to strike their flanks! Ibi, you’ve got to be a little bit tougher! Keep them occupied. In that way, it also reduces the pressure on our defense.”

After everyone knew what they had to do, Twain was silent for a moment. Kerslake looked at his watch. There was little time left for the halftime interval. The halftime interval seemed extraordinarily short.

Twain was silent for a while before he continued to say, “I know that everyone is very tired recently. Honestly, I am also very tired. Everyone here is tired.” He pointed to the coaches around him. “You’re not the only ones fighting in the final stages. So are we. You are physically tired, and we are mentally tired. Anyway, we are so tired till we are going nuts.” Twain used the word “tired” a lot in one shot. He seemed to want to emphasize the feeling in particular.

“But it’s the 34th round of the league tournament now.” Twain pointed his finger and said to his players, “Four more games to go before the end of the season … No, it’s three and a half.?We are six points behind Arsenal, a gap of two games. That means there are one and a half games left. If they win against us in this game, then there is a three-game gap. Even if we win all three of the last league games and Arsenal loses all of them, we still share the same points with them, but because we have fewer goals scored than them, we still can’t win the title.”

“I say these things to you not because I want to lessen the burden on you and not to make you feel like ‘things are still in control.’ I want you to know ‘Damn it, things are at a rotten stage! We are done for if we don’t work hard!’ Three and a half games! We don’t even have the slightest chance to make a mistake, just like life. Once you lose, you lose and there’s not another chance for you to re-do. So now I’m grateful for the competition schedule!” Twain gnashed his teeth and looked fierce when he said “grateful.””It gives us a chance to take our destiny into our own hands, even if this is our last chance.”

Twain raised his index finger, slightly trembling. It was a sign of him using too much force.

“One last chance. If we can’t grasp it, we can really declare that we give up. Even there are still three rounds until the end of the league tournament. We are not qualified to win the championship in that case! We have no right to laugh at the losers, because we will be the biggest losers! So, for me, for you, for all of us, this season actually has… only forty-five minutes left.?If we can’t defeat Arsenal, we can’t win the league title! If we lose to Arsenal here, then we still can’t win against them in the Champions League game three days later! It’s how things are. If you have been tripped by the same stone, you will be tripped by that stone for the rest of your life. You can’t climb up. To you, that stone lying on the ground will simply be a mountain insurmountable to you! So, don’t believe the kind of nonsense that if we lose the league tournament, we still have the Champions League!”

Twain’s face was flushed again. This time it was not from anger, but from excitement.

“How many times in your career will you have the same opportunities as this season? The league title, the Champions League trophy, the FA Cup, we have three titles to fight for. We can win the ‘treble’ that tens of thousands of people admire! Twenty-two years since the establishment of the English Premier League, only Manchester United had ever done it! We would have a chance to be the second in twenty-two years, but it will be gone if we let it go here today! Who knows what’s going happen in the future? Who can guarantee that we can still win the treble next season? I can’t guarantee it in any case.”?Twain spread his hands and added, “If such an opportunity is still not worth our whole team to grit their teeth to fight!” He brandished his arms and roared, “Then what else is there in this world that is worth us fighting hard for? What else?!”

The eyes of the players who had been watching him in silence, underwent a transformation. Balls of raging flame burnt in their eyes. Some of them were so excited that their lips trembled, fists brandished, and bodies shook. They could not wait to rush out now and fight Arsenal.

But Twain was not done talking. The fire was not fanned strongly enough!

“You’re tired, I know! You’re under a lot of pressure, I know that! But why are we tiring ourselves for and putting ourselves under pressure? It’s all for the first treble to be achieved since 1999 in fifteen years! If you’re tired, grit your teeth and bear it! If you’re feeling the pressure, grit your teeth and bear it!” Twain gritted his teeth and said as his knuckles turned white. “Hold up till May 23rd. At that time, we will have three championship trophies to prove that it is worth gritting our teeth and bear it! We will not do useless work. There must be a return for every bit of hard work and perseverance we put in.?We, Nottingham Forest … are champions!”

“Champions!!” The players, unable to contain their excitement, finally roared out.

“On that day, everyone will Bow! Down! To! Us!!” Twain brandished his fists vigorously, as if he was going to smash a hole in the air.

A crowd of people followed suit and howled. The air in the entire locker room sizzled due to him, leaving everyone excited and eager to find an outlet for the fire inside their hearts.

They had already overshot the time. The staff came knocking on the door of the visiting team’s locker room to remind the Forest team it was time to play. Arsenal had been waiting for them on the pitch for almost two minutes. Unhappy boos had broken out in the stands. Those security guards were really worried that if the Forest team still did not come out, the fans in the Emirates Stadium would start to tear down the seats and smash the visitors’ technical area.

But when he knocked on the door, a group of people rushed out and nearly knocked him to the ground.

He staggered to one side to avoid and watched in amazement as the Nottingham Forest players, with their glares and necks flushed with anger, rushed to the pitch.

Then he saw Tony Twain coming out last. Twain also saw him, and the two men exchanged looks. Twain smiled and walked to the field.

Chapter 844 - The Crucial Goal

Once the second half started, it was as Twain had analyzed at halftime interval, Arsenal first tried out from Pepe’s position. They wanted to see if Pepe still had not adjusted back.

It was not just Arsenal’s concern. It was also an issue that the live television commentator was concerned about.

“Tony Twain did not replace his player. Pepe, who clashed with Akinfeev in the first half, still remained on the field. It looks like his anger has not dissipated. I really don’t understand … Tony Twain, who has always been known for his strict discipline, why did he not show any response to such a serious conflict? If they managed to settle the dispute during the halftime interval… Why do I feel that Pepe is still playing with anger? As a center back, he never communicates with the goalkeeper during the game and doesn’t even want to look at him. As for Akinfeev…?When he directs the game, he calls the names of Bale, Rafinha and Woodgate, but he doesn’t look at Pepe . . . That’s weird…”

The commentator remained perplexed despite much thought. The Arsenal players could not care less. All they knew was that there were gaps within the Nottingham Forest defense for them to go through.

Everyone still remembered how, just before the end of the first half, Arsenal surrounded the Forest team’s goal with perils. Pepe was simply too distracted to play during the last few minutes. If it was not for Wood filling the position in time, or if Akinfeev was still doing his job conscientiously, they believed Arsenal should have brought a score of 2:0 to the locker room at the end of the first half.

Now, after a fifteen-minute break, it looked like the conflict between Pepe and Akinfeev remained unresolved, which was good news for the Arsenal players.

Wenger also thought the same. He stood on the sidelines and signaled the players to continue attacking. A score of 1:0 was not very secured. He needed to score another goal.

Fàbregas controlled the ball in the midfield and Wood did a fierce tackle. He had to get the football out as soon as possible. Against an opponent like Wood, it would be dangerous to let the football stay at his feet for one more second.

Wood pressed hard, but for Fàbregas, the situation was not the same as before. When Wood pressed him hard at the time, he needed to deal with Wood while also looking for the target and route to pass the ball. Having to multitask, it was easy for him to lose the ball at his feet.

Now he did not have to think about where to pass the ball. He knew Pepe’s position and so did his teammates. He just had to pass the football there …

Therefore, without any worries, Fàbregas kicked the ball into Pepe’s defense zone.

Now the test for Pepe was here.

How could he guarantee that he could perform poorly to convince Arsenal and yet not cause real trouble for Akinfeev behind him?

He slightly stumbled and was a little late by a step. Vela rushed ahead of him and grabbed the ball. It looked like Pepe’s form still had not recovered.

But just as Vela was about to go around inward, his body was entangled by a stronger and more powerful body. Pepe strode fast to catch up, and he pushed Vela out. He could not use too much force.?He had to make Vela think his defensive rhythm was chaotic, so his strides alternated between hard and soft. Vela was so bothered by him that he could only pass the football out when he saw his own position was veering off. He passed behind him and Walcott appeared where Pepe should have been. He shot directly!

Akinfeev had already jumped to make the save, but someone’s leg flew across and the football hit the leg to bounce out of the end line.

It was Woodgate who saved the day. After he saw Pepe followed Vela, he took care to cover the gap left by Pepe because he knew that Arsenal would attack from here, so it was not difficult.

Twain heaved a sigh of relief when he saw what happened off the field. He was obviously very nervous.

“Your method is really risky…” Kerslake smacked his lips next to him. He was on tenterhooks just now.

“Heh heh.” Twain chuckled, “Taking risks come with great rewards.”

Seeing that the team’s goal was temporarily out of danger, Kerslake had a casual chat with Twain. He was impressed by Twain’s performance in the locker room and full of praises, “Hey, Tony, how did you come up with that idea to motivate the team?”

Twain was focused on the game and did not quite understand, “What?”

“First you deliberately look down on them, and then you stirred up their fighting spirit …That was an incredible move!”

Twain turned to look at Kerslake with an excited look on his face. He looked amused and said, “I meant what I said.”

“What?” This time it was Kerslake who did not understand.

“You think I said that to deliberately motivate them?” Seeing Kerslake nodding his head incomprehensibly, Twain smiled, “I’m telling the truth. I really wanted my team to give up. The pressure was so great to have cause my own men to clash in person during the game. I couldn’t take it that it hadn’t happened and forget about it. If that pressure was bad for the team, I did not have to keep going. It was only that the players’ own behavior went beyond my expectations, so I changed my mind at the last minute.”

“But something about your manner told me that it was not the case. You seem to have a card up your sleeve. It was as if you planned for everything…”

“Of course, I can’t let you see through me at a glance. I couldn’t let them think that I really wanted to give up as a manager. It would be blow to their morale. So, I had to let you think that I deliberately pretended. Look, you were deceived, weren’t you? If the players thought the same way, then a bad thing had turned into a good thing.” Twain smiled and explained to Kerslake, who wanted to give Twain a punch—he deceived everyone.

“Then why are you telling me this now?”

“They can’t hear us anyway.” Twain said and shrugged at the players on the field.

The Forest players on the pitch really could not hear the conversation between the boss and the assistant manager. They were all focused on the game. They were thinking about how to score one goal and score another goal to win the game.

Arsenal’s corner kick did not pose any threat to the Forest team’s goal. Fàbregas’ corner kick did not even get past the first point and was headed out by Wood in front of the goal.

After a chat with Kerslake in the technical area, Twain felt it did not look good if he was sitting comfortably in the technical area—if he was not happy with Pepe’s performance, if his team was in perilous situation, he should get up from his seat as the manager, pace anxiously back and forth and occasionally shout from the sidelines?

At this point, he left the technical area and walked to the sidelines to shout toward the field, “Fight back, fight back!”

He was really worried that the players would forget to fight back.

Nottingham Forest must cherish every attacking opportunity because they knew there were not many opportunities like this.

After Wood headed the ball out, it was Sagna who got the ball on the sideline when he came up to assist in the offense. He was going to pass the ball, but he was entangled with Fernández and could not disengage himself for a while. Then Wood rushed up and converged with Fernández front and back to intercept the ball!

It was a long-awaited chance for Nottingham Forest!

After Wood intercepted the ball, he looked up and did not follow up with a long pass to send the ball forward. Instead, after a feint, he dribbled the ball along the sideline.

Sagna rushed back to defend and intended to cut Wood off midway. Just as he was about to catch up to Wood, Wood braked and turned around to pass the ball to Gago, who had already plugged in.

At the same time, Fernández, who had just been entangled with Sagna near the end line, as well as Bentley on the other side, plus ?ahin and Ibi?evi? who defended against the corner kick in front of the goal, all of them rushed up at this time. When Arsenal finally responded, they had already crossed the center line first.

“Return to defend!” Fàbregas shouted to his teammates to run back.

“This is Nottingham Forest’s chance to counterattack! It’s rare to see such a scene in this game!”

Fàbregas was the first to rush up after Gago got the ball in the middle. The best defense was to end their offense now!

Gago did not go directly head to head against Fàbregas. He sent the ball back to Wood. Wood did not stop the ball and directly divert the ball to the side, which was received by Bale who plugged ahead and dribbled the ball along the side as he dashed!

Nottingham Forest’s attack was as fast as what Arsenal had done before. But they are more concise and direct than Arsenal. If Arsenal’s attack was like a classical symphony, then Nottingham Forest was more like rock ‘n’ roll.

The former made the neutral fans give a standing ovation, while the latter made their supporters to jump out of their seats and get carried away as they waved their arms high and shout.

Bale dribbled the ball along the sideline and Arsenal’s defensive center of gravity tilted toward his side. He did not force to break through and pass the ball to Wood.

Wood then moved sideways to pass to Gago.

Meanwhile, Fernández and Bentley suddenly retreated to the flanks from the sideline, leading Arsenal’s defenders to follow suit and adjust.

It was a tiny window of opportunity. Gago saw a gap between the two sides which he could pass the ball which could be received. He did not hesitate to send the ball to the right.

The Arsenal full back retreated to the flank as he followed Bentley. The side was temporarily empty and Rafinha took advantage of the move to receive the ball.

“Rafinha is completely unguarded! Arsenal has made a mistake!” The commentator exclaimed.

Clichy threw aside Bentley to run to the sideline to defend against Rafinha. The flank was handed to Walcott who returned to defend.

The Forest team’s attack was quick, and Arsenal’s defense was fast as well. If Rafinha were to force a cross pass, Ibi?evi? was not absolutely sure he could have gotten the ball. Then the Forest team’s one opportunity to attack would have been wasted. That was not what Twain wanted to see.

So, Rafinha hooked the ball and passed it back.

Gago ran over to help him, and Wood moved to the middle. ?ahin cruised in the flank to look for opportunities. Ibi?evi? was at the forefront and tried his best to get the attention of the opponents.

Gago seemed to feel that a forward pass would not be effective. He intended to send it back. That was when he heard Twain growl on the sidelines, “Don’t pass it back, Gago! Forward! Forward! Attack!”

Gago could only pass the ball to Wood in front of him. Fàbregas immediately pounced on the ball, trying to tackle Wood’s ball under his feet.

But Wood protected the ball as well that he could not find a chance to make a move.

Wood continued to shift the ball.

The ball went to the left side again and Fernández took the ball in the flank. Bale plugged in from his back at a high speed which attracted Sagna’s attention. He pulled back a little and Fernández suddenly cut inward to enter the penalty area!

Nottingham Forest only passed the ball back and forth outside just now. It looked like their pace had slowed down and there was no threat. Now, in a flash, they were showing off their ability and giving fierce smiles to Arsenal.

Sagna raced back to defend in a panic, but Fernández gave the ball to Bale on the sideline in time.

Bale did not pass the ball but slipped into the penalty area along the end line!

“A breakthrough! What a beautiful coordination!”

Seeing that Bale had broken through and entered, it was suddenly pandemonium in front Arsenal’s goal.

Despite Sendero pulling him at the back, Ibi?evi? struggled to squeeze forward and prepared to grab the ball.

And Arsenal’s defenders, too, rushed toward Bale, trying to stop him before he passed the ball or fired a shot, using their bodies to block the ball out of the end line.

Bale saw through their intentions. He would not be stupid enough to give them that chance. Before the encirclement had fully closed in, he swept the football with his left foot to the middle!

Ibi?evi? crossed in front of Senderos but did not grab the ball. While the goalkeeper, Almunia who was disturbed by him, fell to the ground and did not touch the ball. None of the other Arsenal defenders touched the ball.

The football slipped past them like this, and then Gago rushed up to meet the ball and fired a shot!

The football flew into Arsenal’s empty goal unsurprisingly… Almunia was still lying on the ground at this moment and had not gotten up.

“Goooal! Nottingham Forest has equalized the score! It’s not even ten minutes into the second half! Gago scored his fifth goal of the season! This is the crucial goal!”

Gago was so excited after the goal that he turned to run toward Bale, who had passed the ball to him. The two men hugged each other tightly.

Off the field, Twain also raised and vigorously waved his fists.

He finally got the goal!

“The goal pulled Nottingham Forest back from the edge of the cliff! They have temporarily avoided the fate of failure! With three and a half games left in the race for the league title, this is their strongest opponent. This is also the Forest team’s best chance to close the gap in the points! Tony Twain certainly won’t allow his team to lose to Arsenal. Even if they face a strong opponent in an away game, he will tell the team that winning is the only goal! Now from the looks of it, Gago has done it!”

The Forest players looked so excited after the goal. They flocked to Gago, pressed him under their bodies and cheered to their hearts’ content.

The commentator did not exaggerate. The goal was too important for them. The risk of the duplicitous tactics set up by the boss during the halftime interval was too great and gave them only a scarce few opportunities. If the ball did not go in, nobody knew how the game would develop next. Everyone felt a great weight had lifted once the goal was scored.

The Arsenal players stood in place and felt a little helpless. They did not have any special feeling about this goal concede, which was like any goal concede in a normal game.

But if any of them listened carefully to what the Forest players were roaring about, perhaps their hearts would not settle down.

The Nottingham Forest players in the yellow away jerseys chanted endlessly:

“Treble! Treble! Treble!”

Chapter 845 - Qualifying for Championship

“Fernando Gago! He scored a crucial goal! That goal pulled Nottingham Forest back from the edge of the cliff!”

There was a loud cheer in the stands at the Emirates Stadium where the fans all jumped from their seats and cheered with their arms raised. Arsenal’s players were a little helpless, with Arsène Wenger sitting in the manager’s box but only bent his head backwards, expressing his displeasure.

Twain’s celebration lasted only a short time as he pulled over Mitchell when the crowd was still clapping and cheering. “The warm-up is over, boy.” Twain glanced at No. 9 in Nottingham Forest who was taller than him.

Mitchell nodded, and the expression on his face was calm. It had already been three years since then, he was not the rookie who had just made his debut in the Champions League.

“Our replacement is a little early, the opponent must not have predicted this. I want you to go up there and play a bigger role, and not just scoring goals. Do you know what to do?”

“I know, coach. It’s not the first time I’ve played. ”

Twain laughed when he heard that, “Right, you’re not a rookie anymore. Also, go up and tell them, Sagna and Criscito are very active in assisting and let them take advantage of that.” He pointed to both sides of the field and said to Mitchell. “Try to score another goal in a short time.”

Mitchell went forward after receiving the orders, Twain whistled as he walked to the side of the field, he used gestures to direct the team to continue the attack.

Wenger really did not expect the early substitution made by Twain. Not to mention that after they have just scored, it was reasonable to say that the team was doing well, and they should try to ensure the integrity of the line-up, not interrupting the rhythm of the team. This adjustment should have been made after they lose the ball.

Mitchell came on and replaced ?ahin. ?ahin was a little unhappy when he came down because it was too early. It was only fifty-five minutes.He had a dark look on his face as he clapped with Mitchell. Twain did not say anything as ?ahin walked by, only raising his hand to touch his forehead.

From that goal, Gago seemed to be in good form in the game, hence Twain got Gago to get more involved in the attack with Wood defending at the back.

Seemingly aware of Twain’s intentions, Wenger got up and issued the newest instructions. The two wing backs of Arsenal then stop assisting the offense and stayed at the backcourt.

Twain saw this scene and called them “p*ssies” on the manager’s seat. The enemy was too cunning!?He initially wanted to take advantage of Arsenal’s instability and score another goal to take the initiative in his own hands, but now it would become a stalemate.

Fortunately, Mitchell was able to control the ball on the pitch, so Nottingham Forest were able to play the possession game against Arsenal. But Twain still seemed a little worried…

From time to time, he got up from the coach’s chair to walk to the sidelines, or raised his hand to look at his watch and the score on the big screen. Time went by minute by minute, and Nottingham Forest’s attack still did not gain much. And Arsenal’s offense was not as active, it looked like Wenger was satisfied with taking a draw on their homecourt.

After all, they were six points ahead. Even if it was a draw, they would still be six points ahead. For Arsenal, maintaining the six-point gap would almost certainly ensure that they would win the league in the end.

Wenger did not want to exert too much energy for this game as there would be another Champions League game in three days. That was the most important thing, where losing was absolutely unaffordable.

For that, after 65 minutes, Wenger began to make substitutions. First, he replaced Fàbregas.?As the core of the team, the captain, the absolute main force, his task had been completed this game, Wenger did not want to see him getting injured or exhausted in the last 25 minutes. Fàbregas did not express any displeasure, but he was by no means thrilled, because he wanted to keep playing against Wood on the court….

So after seeing the fourth official raise the sign, he hesitated, shrugged and pointed at himself, questioning the side court. Wenger nodded. He then turned his head and glanced at George Wood who was a distance away, and then slowly walked down.

Nottingham Forest fans were very unhappy with his move. He thought he was deliberately delaying the game and hence jeering at Arsenal’s captain on the stands.

Francesc Fàbregas remembered that he was still wearing the captain’s armband after walking halfway, and then folded back and handed the sleeve to Senderos as the jeers became louder. But soon the boos were drowned out by the applause of the Arsenal fans, who stood up to greet their captain.

On the sidelines, Fàbregas turned and turned to the pitch, raising his arms in response to the applause of the fans, but his eyes kept staring at George Wood who was standing near the center circle. He seemed to be looking at himself as well.

The two men met eyes as Fàbregas turned and walked back to the bench. He shook Wenger’s hand. Wenger patted him on the shoulder, signaling that he did a good job.

Twain was happy to see Fàbregas go off the field. He knew that there was hope for this game.?Wenger has clearly chosen to be conservative as he switched to a defensive midfield——Denilson, the Brazilian who played the defensive midfielder.

Wenger’s idea was that even if Fàbregas were to go off-field, Arsenal’s offense would still have Wilshere, thus he was not worried about anything.

But in Twain’s view, Wilshere was not yet able to compete with Fàbregas. It was not a matter of talent, but instead a gap in experience.

Wood alone was more than enough to deal with him, and after Wilshere got frozen, the likes of Walcott and Berra would not be able to play their full potential and Nottingham Forest would have more energy to put into offense, as they sought more chances to score goals.

In the remaining time, Nottingham Forest gradually took the initiative in midfield and began to put pressure on Arsenal’s penalty area. Arsenal were on the defensive.

Nottingham Forest were aggressive but they seemed to have forgotten the requests of Twain at half-time. Rafinha fired a straight-out shot after receiving the ball outside the penalty area twice in a row, with one kick deflected and one shot flying. That upset Twain, who was watching the game, as he rushed to the sidelines and yelled Rafinha’s name.

Rafinha became more patient after that and he no longer shot away blindly.

Twain then muttered as he walked back to the manager’s seat, “It’s a waste of opportunity….Do they still think they’re leading by at least three goals?”

Francesc Fàbregas was substituted in the 75th minute five minutes later and Nasri was also replaced by Ramsey. Twain sneered at Wenger’s replacement, then he made his own adjustments. Bentley was replaced by Moke. Moke’s task on the pitch was simple, to use his technical skills advantage to create enough trouble for Arsenal’s left-field defence. Since Lennon left, Nottingham Forest’s right side was dominated by Bentley. Moke was still a little immature, but on some special occasions he had more use than Bentley.

Breakthrough! Breakthrough! Breakthrough!

Before the game, Twain pulled Moke and told him to forget everything else, leaving only one thing in his head, breaking through Arsenal’s defensive line after he went up. He did it very well. He was not fast, but his dribbling was really good as Arsenal’s defenders could not intercept the ball easily.

For a time Clichy’s side became the focus of Nottingham Forest’s attack, with Arsenal’s defensive core following the left, Nasri did not play long as he quickly became a defensive forward….

They managed to hold on against Nottingham Forest’s offense until the 80th minute.

Twain looked at the table. They were already at the eighty-minute mark and he had one last substitution left. Several people had some fitness issues and they seemed to need to be replaced for a rest.?Bale, for example, was not efficient in his offensive assistance. After running forward, he no longer ran back actively to defend. Fortunately there was still Wood to make up for him at the back as he did not let Arsenal seize the opportunity to score.

Twain only brought Leighton Barnes as a left-back to come to play in the away ground. If he went up, the offense will definitely be reduced, because he needed Barnes’ defense.

Should he let Bale rest for the Champions League match three days later? Or substitute into an offensive player and continue to strengthen the offense?

Twain considered for a while as he called Agbonlahor from the bench. He was going for an all-in.

A minute later, the fourth official signalled for Nottingham Forest’s substitution as Agbonlahor replaced Gareth Bale. Removing a wing-back and replacing him with a striker, this was Twain’s gamble. As he told his players at half-time: if we lose here, we would not be able to continue to qualify for the title.

He wanted to use the replacement to remind the players that he had not forgotten his words, so he hoped the players on the pitch do not forget it. Victory would be their only goal.

Agbonlahor ran up onto the field, as the ball went out, he called everyone over as he raised his fist and shouted at his teammates, “The coach allowed us continue to attack, we must win!”

After hearing this, Nottingham Forest players all turned to look to the side of the field to look at Twain, with his stern face.

“What about defense? Bale’s down, Rafinha’s not made for a centre-back” Gago had some concerns.

“Don’t think so much. Think about it after a goal!” Agbonlahor cheered.

Wood said, “I would be in charge of the defense. You guys don’t worry about it. ”

He ended the argument as soon as he spoke and no one disagreed.

“That settles it.?Be sure to score goals.?Be sure to win!” Agbonlahor raised his fist to cheer up the tired players.?“Guys, think about the triple champions”

Gago gasped as he nodded, “Ten minutes to go, find a way to get them a goal.”

The group of people set a goal and then dispersed.

After a minute later, Nottingham Forest attacked into the penalty area, but Ibi?evi? collided with Almunia during the scuffle, and the latter fell to the ground with the referee summoning the team doctor to the pitch.

Nottingham Forest fans in the stands were still complaining that Almunia had deliberately delayed the game, as Twain did not have the effort to find the fourth official to reason. He took the time to call Wood to the sidelines and strategized.

“Cross! Pass the football through the air to the front of Arsenal’s door and to Mitchell! But it is not to let him score, he’s not the main striker, but instead let him grab the back spot and then swing the ball over. Do you understand? He’s not the main offense, but we want to make the opponent think that he’s the one who solves the problem.” Twain hurriedly used gestures to make up for the information.

Wood nodded, “I understand.”

“Tell them about the change, tell Gago if we succeed in a pass, then run into the penalty area and ignore the defense of the midfield. ”

“Do I defend?”

Twain nods, “Yes!”

“Okay, no problem.”

Wood ran back to the field and told the team about Twain’s adjustment.

Wenger called Senderos to the sidelines while Almunia was being treated to keep his eye on defending Mitchell. Senderos was the only one on the pitch which was able to compete with Mitchell for headers with his height in Arsenal. At such times, Twain would certainly use the simplest approach —?a cross into the penalty area, allowing Mitchel to fight for the header — to try to score, so he had to mark Mitchell.

After the game resumed, Wenger began to take comfort in his previous arrangements. Mitchel did become Nottingham Forest’s main offense, as Senderos fought hard to get the top spot at the start and was not in the downswing.

But then things started to look different. Looking at his stamina, Senderos had been running for almost 90 minutes and could not keep up with Mitchell at all, who only joined in the second half.?Tactically, Mitchell was not really the endpoint of Nottingham Forest’s offense.

When George Wood intercepted the ball successfully in the backfield, his position was on the right side.?He did as he said he would, to guard the right-back as well.

At that time, Walcott was aiming to force a break with his pace against Wood.?Unfortunately, Wood’s accurate position made it impossible for him to increase his speed, and the ball at his feet was easily tackled by Wood.?He just tried to snatch Wood’s ball in front and ran back. But Wood did not pass the football to Gago in the midfield, as what the narrator thought, as he made a move that surprised everyone: he dribbled the ball straight through the sidelines!

Walcott did not expect Wood, being a temporal wing back, to bring the ball up like an authentic wing-back.?He watched Wood run past himself as he was completely unresponsive.

When Wood crossed the middle line, the Arsenal defenders was still thinking he would pass the ball to Gago in the middle, or Fernandez in front.?So everyone’s defensive attention was on the two at the back, so they watched Wood continue to dribble the ball along the sideline.

“Ah, ah! George Wood’s still dribbling the ball! There’s not a single Arsenal player going up to defend, they’re defending Gago. Some were focusing on Fernandez, some even on Mitchell. But no one were going up to defend George Wood. He was still dribbling!”

The narrator got excited, because whenever Wood did something unusual, things would get interesting.

“Don’t leave him alone!” Wenger roared as he got up from his seat, abandoning his calm facade. As an experienced veteran coach, he sensed danger from Wood’s unusual move.

Like him, Fàbregas got up from his seat as he got nervous.?He has changed his clothes as he sat on the bench with a towel, chatting with his teammates. At this moment, he could not help but leave the bench, as he walked to the sidelines, staring intently at George Wood dribbling crazily on the sidelines.

He really has a lot of stamina.

That was Fàbregas’s first thought in mind. The second was: This is bad!

The manager’s loud reminder made Arsenal’s players change their minds, just before Sagna was preparing to leave Fernandez to go to defend Wood, Wood passed the ball. He passed the football to Fernandez.

When he saw this pass, Sagna suddenly had this wonderful feeling. He finally passed the ball!

Then he threw his head coach’s words away to Java as he turned around to pounce on Fernandez. In the inertial thinking of a lot of players, George Wood would never run to the sidelines.

But they were wrong.

Fernadez discovered that Wood, after passing to himself, did not stop running. Instead he continued to speed forward. He did not make any gestures to ask for a pass, but Fernandez felt that he should pass the ball instead of dribbling it himself.

So when the football came over, Sagna was still following from behind. He did not hesitate to pass the ball out again, the goal was to the space on the sidelines, Wood was running through at high speed.

“One-two?” The narrator’s tone was visibly surprised. Apparently he did not expect Nottingham Forest to play the game from there. Since Bale stepped down, the narrator repeatedly said that Tony Twain wasted one sideline. But the situation he was looking at now embarrassed him.

Wood’s style of play was very simple, the focus now was on handling the ball. He was not like other wingers who received the ball and passed it again, even though he had lost his best passing opportunity at that time. No one knew exactly what habit it was, perhaps it was simply to get the football to stay at his feet for a little longer. He was also not like other wingers who like to break through from outside.

He watched the football roll towards himself, as he did not stop the ball but instead immediately kicked the ball towards the goal.

Until this moment, many people at Arsenal were still counting themselves lucky. None of them went up to defend Wood, because they thought Wood’s passing technique would definitely be bad, because no one had seen him have any decent pass….

This time Wood’s pass still seemed quite bad….

It was very high.

Twain raised his head outside the field, as he squinted his eyes to stare at the silver-white football that was high in the dazzling light.

The people below even had enough time to compete for positioning.

Senderos looked up at the ball while he was grabbing Mitchell’s uniform to prevent him from slipping away.

Wood, who had passed the ball, lost his centre of gravity and fell down, sitting on the ground as he watched the ball fly past Arsenal’s goalmouth.

“Watch out for his header!” Almunia nervously reminded his teammates in front of the goal. “Watch Out for Ibi?evi?!”

There were two center-backs, one of which was to defend Mitchell, and the other to defend Ibi?evi?. Senderos and Mitchell jumped at the same time.?The Swiss centre-back felt like he was stuck in position, but it was only half of it. Mitchell still found a little space, twisting his body in the air and pushing Senderos aside.

The football fell. Almunia gave up the idea of jumping straight into the air and competing for the ball.?With a center-back, he did not want to risk a foul.

While in the air, Mitchell felt like he was flying, he always felt it whenever he jumped, and he enjoyed it.?He saw the football in the air and he also saw Senderos’s forehead, then he discovered himself jumping a little higher than his opponent…

He was looking for someone. Ibi?evi? was blocked, so he could not pass there.

Gago. Where was Gago?

A yellow figure appeared at the corner of his eye.

Whoever it was

Mitchell swung his head with much effort. Senderos hit nothing with his header at the front. Instead of flying towards the goal, the football flew in the opposite direction.

In the crowd, the yellow figure ran out. Even under the pull of Denilson, he still struggled forward, stretching his legs back and kick!

Gago felt he had kicked football, but what happened next, he was not sure.

Almunia realised he had made a mistake. He should not have put Senderos and Mitchell, two big men, to be in front of him, as he could not see what was happening in front!

When he saw the football flying over, his brain was still blank. He did not make any actions to dive for the ball, he just stared as the ball flew past him, and scored.

Was the ball in?

Arsenal’s players and fans were surprisingly calm in their heads at this moment, as they were just asking themselves. Did the ball really go in? When the match still had a minute before injury time and the ball scored?

The ball’s in! How could that be!

The Emirates Stadium, which had been dormant for a moment, suddenly became a crater of eruptions.

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable!” The narrator presses both his hands on the soundproof headphones and roared, for he was about to be unable to hear his own voice.

Twain rushed out of the coach’s chair with the screams of Arsenal fans behind him, his arms open, his teeth clenched and waved. He looked like deranged; it was hysterical.

Immediately behind him, more Nottingham Forest players and coaches rushed out of the coaching staff, hugging and kneeling on the ground to thank God.

Eastwood was crying with excitement, his eyes red, as he grabbed onto his clothes and roared. No one could hear clearly what the Romani was shouting about.

Gago, who was pulled down by Denilson, took a peek at the goalmouth by habit, when he really saw that the football was lying in the goalmouth, he went crazy.

His eyes were wide, with his pupils shrinking, as blood surged from his neck and into his head, dyeing his face red.

He clenched his fist as he felt himself grabbing onto fate by its throat.

“If we give up here, we won’t be eligible to win the championship! If we don’t win Arsenal, we can’t win the league! If we lose here to Arsenal, we won’t win the Champions League match three days later! If such an opportunity is not worth our whole team to grit their teeth to fight, what else is there in this world that we’re fighting for? What else!”

The passionate voice of their coach rang in every Nottingham Forest player’s eardrums. Now they could proudly claim to be the team that qualified for the title.

He got up from the ground, shook off the entanglement of his teammates behind him, and ran to the corner flag, taking off his jersey and throwing it to the sky.?He did not care if the referee would give him a yellow card, as this time he was like venting everything he had. Gago was usually elegant, but this was the first time he stripped as a celebration after a goal, it really seemed that the Argentinian was really very excited.

Even George Wood, who had rarely let his emotions out, stood up from the ground, as he raised his fist and waved. Then he was hugged by Mitchell, who rushed forward.

At the Emirates Stadium, in front of 60,000 Arsenal fans in front of the enemy Arsenal, Nottingham Forest’s players were celebrating their last-minute goal, completely ignoring the home team’s mood and feelings, and venting as if they were the owners of the stadium.

The Emirates Stadium was silent. On the coaching seat, Arsène Wenger had his head in his hands, he held his head low as he did not want to see this scene in front of him.

He had nothing to say about the result. But there was still a thought in his heart: Champions League.

After three days, let us have a battle to decide it all, Tony, This time, it will be a true death battle!

Chapter 846 - One More Match Remaining

“Fernando Gago! Fernando Gago!” The commentator roared. “A goal in the dying minutes of the match! Nottingham Forest has miraculously gone into the lead! They have made a comeback against Arsenal! My god! Look at them… They have all gone crazy!”

The Nottingham Forest players have truly gone crazy on the pitch.

Even Twain had lost himself in his ecstasy. He began acting rather inappropriately as a manager by the side of the pitch, and his behaviour caused numerous cameras in the stadium to be ‘attracted’ to him.

He was not acting inappropriately so as to anger the Arsenal fans. He was truly fired up by the goal. He had told his players during half-time that they needed to win this match if they wanted to continue their fight to become champions, and they had done just that.

How could he not be worked up?

When his excitement and euphoria died down, Twain noticed that Eastwood was murmuring to himself by the side. He looked like he had just cried as his eyes were red.

He walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Why did you cry?”

“I didn’t cry… Boss.” Eastwood stopped murmuring once he noticed that Twain was standing next to him.

“What are you mumbling about?”

The Romani’s face turned red, but he said nothing.

His reaction piqued Twain’s curiosity. He shook Eastwood’s shoulder and asked, “Go on, tell me. What are you being embarrassed about?”

Eastwood hesitated for a while before he went on to say, “I, uh, I’m trying to memorize the words that you said at half-time, boss…”

Twain was taken aback by his words. A short moment later, he burst out laughing. “What is there to memorize? It won’t do you any good…”

Eastwood chuckled. His cheeks were still faintly red. “Your words are just like the bible, boss. I feel full of energy every time I recite them, boss.”

It was Twain’s turn to be embarrassed. He scratched his messy head of hair and did not know what he should say.

“… How can there be anything else in this world that is worth fighting for if we don’t even want to fight for a chance like this?”

Eastwood grinned at Twain after reciting the words one more time.

“Well said, boss. We fought hard and we have attained victory. Do we have what it takes to become champions now?”

Twain looked at the smiling Eastwood. The latter’s eyes were still red.

He definitely cried earlier.

It suddenly dawned on Twain that if Freddy had not retired, then he could have become a player who achieved the treble in his career.

Those achievements mean nothing to him now…

Twain did not answer Eastwood’s question. Instead, he said, “Didn’t I say this before? I equate Nottingham Forest with the champions. Looks like you didn’t memorize properly, Freddy.”

There were three minutes left to play in the match. The Arsenal players could only pick themselves up and continue playing in the match.

Twain had left his happiness from earlier aside and was shouting at the top of his voice by the side of the pitch. He wanted his players to stay focused and not give Arsenal the chance to level the score in the final few minutes of the match.

After all, if Nottingham Forest is capable of scoring a goal in the dying minutes of the game, then who is to say that Arsenal is not capable of doing the same?

“Stay calm! You all have to stay calm!” Those were the words that Twain shouted the most in the final three minutes of the match. He was worried that his players would get too excited and that their emotions would end up affecting their performances.

Twain was right to be worried, as the players’ emotions did nearly get in the way. Luckily for them however, they had a captain who was capable of staying composed in all circumstances.

George Wood kept reminding his teammates verbally and through his actions on how they should be acting in the final few minutes of the match.

The Emirates Stadium was filled with deafening cheers. The home team fans were all supporting and cheering their team on.

Wenger might be thinking that it was all right to lose the match since they still led Forest by three points, but there was not a single fan who would want to see the team that they support lose a match.

Wenger got his Arsenal team to go all out with its offense. It did not matter if they were to lose by another goal since it would still be a loss. But, if they were lucky, they could score a goal against Forest and level the score.

Arsenal earned a corner after shooting at Forest’s goalpost repeatedly. It was Arsenal’s last chance to score in the match. Even their goalkeeper Almunia had run up to Forest’s penalty box.

The ball was sent into the penalty box from the corner.

Almunia actually managed to head the ball!

Unfortunately for him, his shot went wide. It flew right out of bounds.

There was no one guarding Arsenal’s goalpost right now. Akinfeev was not going to let this opportunity to carry out a counterattack slip. He ran over to the ball boy positioned behind the goalpost and asked for the ball. He planned on scoring a goal and making the score 3:1 by kicking the ball towards the empty goalpost before Almunia made his way back.

He did not get his wish, however. He heard three blows to the referee’s whistle right at the moment he received the ball from the ball boy.

“The match is over!”

The Forest fans at the stands all stood up with both hands raised to the skies, and they began cheering at the top of voices.

Their team had achieved victory in a challenging game. This win was worth six points in their hearts!

“Nottingham Forest has defeated Arsenal in an away game and they have obtained three valuable points. The gap between them and Arsenal is only three points now, and they have also risen to second place. In the match that kicked off before this, Liverpool drew with Manchester United and has dropped to third place. Tony Twain has taken another step towards a future where Carl Spicer has to eat a table.”

“It was a match that would get any football fan fired up. Gago scored a brace, and his second goal was crucial in rescuing Tony Twain’s heart. He is Forest’s biggest hero today. If Nottingham Forest were to end up becoming the champions of the Premier League, then Gago deserves a lot of credit for their success. His goal was extremely significant!”

When the whistle signalling the end of the match sounded, Twain stood to his feet and walked over to Wenger with his hand outstretched.

“I’m in the mood for a drink now.”

Wenger forced a smile as he stretched out a hand.

“I’m not in the mood for that sadly, Tony.”

Twain patted Wenger on the shoulder. It was his way of comforting him.

“There’s still one more match left to play between us. If you win, I’d wish that you can become the champions of the Champions League wholeheartedly.” Twain sounded sincere with his words. It was hard to discern even a twinge of sarcasm in them, and it was also hard to imagine that these words would come from a man whose goal was to become champions of the Champions League.

“Thank you.”

Wenger was the most influential manager in the Premier League after Ferguson retired. He has achieved many accolades during his managerial career, but the only thing that eluded him was the Champions League trophy.

“I too, would wish that you would become the champions should you win the next match between us.”

The two bade each other farewell. Wenger turned and walked down the tunnel, whereas Twain turned and walked towards the pitch.

Twain quickly made his way onto the pitch. He hugged each and every Forest player and thanked them for putting in a good performance earlier.

When he reached Gago, he gave the latter a tight hug with all his strength. The reporters surrounding them started pressing down on their shutters as they hugged, but neither Gago nor Twain cared about the attention that was on them.

“Well done, Fernando!” Twain patted Gago on the back forcefully.

Five minutes might have passed since he scored the match-winning goal, but Gago was still feeling pumped up. His lips continued to tremble, and he returned Twain’s hug with a lot of strength as well.

He was the main character in the stadium today. He was Nottingham Forest’s hero for the match, and he could very well end up being Nottingham Forest’s hero for the season as well.

He had definitely not expected things to turn out this way when he transferred to Nottingham Forest from Real Madrid.

He now saw himself as a member of Nottingham Forest completely. He did not have any lingering thoughts about his time in Real Madrid. It was all in the past now.

“The treble, boss! That’s what you said! We all tried our best…” Gago, who rarely got worked up, had trouble forming his words.

“That’s right. Like I’ve said, we would definitely achieve the treble.” Twain spoke softly by Gago’s ear.

Gago suddenly calmed down and stopped trembling after hearing Twain’s words.

Twain ruffled Gago’s hair affectionately before releasing him from his embrace.

“Enjoy this special night, Fernando.” He winked at him.

Gago was surrounded by countless reporters the moment Twain left.

“Can you talk about that very last goal of yours, Gago?”

“How do you feel to have scored two goals in the match, and one of them being the goal to clinch the victory for your team?”

“Can you tell us what you were talking about with Manager Twain earlier?”

“Let’s talk about the possibility of Forest becoming champions of the Premier League. You have just reduced the gap to just three points…”

“Hey, Gago…”

Twain, who had been making his way over to the tunnel, suddenly stopped in his tracks by the side of the pitch. He then lifted his head to look at the row of VIP rooms situated at the top of the Emirates Stadium.

He knew that Shania was in one of the rooms, though he did not know exactly which room she was in since there were people in each and every room.

He had gotten really worked up earlier, and he was certain that Shania must be worried sick.

Watching football matches is a great enjoyment to most of the fans who turn up at the stadium every week. It is a way for them to vent their pent-up emotions and to experience the highs and lows that watching football brings.

However, Shania was an exception. Watching football matches was a form of torture to her. She did not care about the exciting performances that the players put in, nor did she care about how the two managers are battling with each other through their use of tactics. She certainly did not care about whether a particular player is handsome or not either.

All she cared about was Tony’s performance in the match. She did not want him to overexert himself or get too overly excited, because she was afraid that those behaviours would affect his heart.

She did not care about how appealing football is as a sport, or how it is reckoned as the number one sport in the world. Some people even call it the ‘war’ within a peaceful era, or a ‘game between men’, but none of those things mattered to her…

She just wanted her husband and lover to be healthy at the end of each and every match.

Twain did not manage to see which room Shania was in but he waved his hands at where the rooms were situated, before pressing a hand on his heart.

He was sure that Shania would see this action of his, and that she would also know what it meant.

Shania did indeed see that action of his. She smiled and waved back at her husband from the VIP room as a response.

As for whether Twain saw her gestures…

There is no need to ask, is there?

Twain did not solely commend Gago’s performance during the post-match conference. He commended the team’s performance collectively.

The players shared the same opinion as him as well. All of them spoke about how the victory was only possible because the team had worked together as one during their interviews at the mixed zone.?They also brought up how the words that Tony Twain said to them at half-time became their source of strength to pull off the feat.

Their comments piqued the reporters’ curiosity. However, neither Twain nor the players were willing to divulge what was said in the locker room. Therefore, ‘what Tony Twain said at half-time during the Arsenal game’ would most likely become yet another secret that no one knows the answer to for a long while…

Twain and the Nottingham Forest players were in a good mood during the press conference. Likewise, Wenger was also composed and did not throw a temper either.

In contrast, the Arsenal players did not appear to have been able to accept the outcome of the match.

Fàbregas kept shaking his head during his interview. He was clearly dissatisfied with the result.

“A loss is a loss. There’s nothing else that I can say about it… I have no idea what to say either. We’d focus on the Champions League next. We still have a chance. The initiative is still on our hands. We still lead them by three points…”?His voice grew softer as he spoke before he turned and left. It was as though he did not believe what he had just said.

Wilshere did not approach Wood to request for an exchange of jerseys at the end of the match. He was not in the mood to do it. He finally understood what Wood must have felt when he refused to exchange jerseys when his team lost.

If another player were to go up to him and ask to exchange jerseys right now, he might not refuse the other person, but he would definitely not feel good during the exchange.

Fortunately for him, the Nottingham Forest players were too busy celebrating their victory, so no one went up to him to ask for his jersey. He left the pitch briskly, but was still stopped at the mixed zone. The reporters wanted him to say a few words about the match from before since he looked crestfallen.

“I don’t know if we are still able to become champions of the Premier League. They (Nottingham Forest) are right on our trail…” He realized that it was not appropriate to say such words after losing the match, thus he quickly added, “However, we don’t know what will happen in a match until the very last moment. Thus, it’s not the end of the world just because we lost a match…”

He left in a hurry after he said those words.

The way in which Wilshere and?Fàbregas left after providing an interview to the reporters was subsequently adopted by all the Arsenal players.

None of the Arsenal players were in the mood to talk about the match after losing the match at their own home grounds. All they wanted to do was to get away from the stadium, take a nap, forget all about the match and start preparing for the second leg of their Champions League semi-finals match.

The Arsenal players were well aware that the best way to forget the pain of losing a match is not with the passage of time, but with a victory instead.

Their manager was of the same opinion as well.

At the end of the press conference, Wenger said, “To me, today’s match is already a thing of the past. I’d not think about it anymore. What’s really important is the Champions League match three days later. We’d be playing at the same stadium then, and we would not lose to Nottingham Forest again.”

His expression was solemn. It was a stark contrast to Twain’s smiling face.

The next day, the various media outlets all reported about how there was immense pressure riding on Wenger’s back, whereas things were easy for Twain going into their Champions League match.

Sadly, they were all wrong…….

Chapter 847 - Other Than Attack, it’s Still Attack

As it was an away game in the UEFA Champions League three days later in the same stadium, the Forest team did not return to Nottingham. Instead, they stayed at the Nine O’clock and prepared for the mid-week UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

To help the players loosen up and relieve their stress, Twain sacrificed precious training time and gave the team a day off.

The players had the freedom to choose whether they wanted to sleep in the hotel rooms or go shopping outside. However, Twain still had to analyze the videos of the matches with his coaching staff to prepare for the final match.

The players might be able to relax, but as coaches, especially the manager, they would not be able to relax at all.

There was no time for Shania to even have a meal with Twain. He was that busy. Even when they had a chat on the phone, they could only have a quick chat. Shania could tell from Twain’s voice and replies that he was obviously very distracted. During this time, Uncle Tony’s body and heart were both not Shania’s, his whole mind was filled with “football”.

Shania was very jealous, but she could not do anything about it.

She would never really ask Twain to retire and accompany her for the remainder of their lives. That was because she could not be by her husband’s side half the time in a year due to her own career. So, when she could be with Twain, she did not mind sharing half of her husband to football. She even felt guilty and thought she let Twain down, so she had to accept a little unhappiness.

And so, she reminded Twain to take care of himself again and hung up.

Twain only managed to come out of his distracted state after Shania hung up and he started to think about whether he was acting too poorly earlier.

“Phone call from your wife?” Kerslake turned and ask after hearing the door opening in the midst of analyzing the videos.

Twain acknowledged.

“Actually, you should still have time for just a meal, isn’t it?” Kerslake turned and said to Twain, “Call her back and ask her out.”

“I do, but I’m afraid I’ll be distracted,” Twain shook his head as he rejected the suggestion of his assistant manager.

Kerslake smiled and said, “How I envy you, Tony. Look, my wife will never call me to show any concern.”

“You’ve been married for so long,” Twain smiled as he sat down beside him and continued to watch the videos.

“That’s precisely why I envy you… It feels like you’re enjoying the life of a newly wedded couple every day,” Kerslake said.

“That’s only because we don’t get to spend many days of the year together,” Twain said with a dry smile, “Okay, let’s not talk about women anymore, let’s talk about the match with Arsenal. Our physical fitness might not be a match for them now…

“Do you want to rotate the players, Tony?” Asked Kerslake.

Twain went silent for a while as he considered whether he really wanted to rotate the players. For a competition like the UEFA Champions League, he still preferred to use the strongest lineup available. However, he had already been using the strongest lineup for two matches in a row. This third match…

“Let’s make a few changes,” Twain said after much consideration, “?ahin’s fitness is poor, let’s switch him out. We’ll play with two forwards.”

“442?” asked Kerslake.

“Hmm…” Twain thought for a while again. Turning to his assistant, he asked, “Say, what formation do you think Wenger will expect us to use in this match?”

Kerslake frowned and thought for a moment. He took a rather long time to consider and so, Twain extended a palm without waiting for his answer and said, “Here, let’s analyze our advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, their fitness level is better than ours. They have two home games in a row while we have two away games in a row. Secondly, they have the home ground advantage. The referee’s judgement will definitely be affected by this and we’ll be under stricter scrutiny by them, whereas it will be the opposite for them. ”

At this point, Kerslake interrupted him, “Who asked you to always emphasize that our style is very rough and physical in front of the media. That even Rijkaard’s Chelsea will have to go back crying against us.”

Twain scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

He cleared his throat and continued saying, “Thirdly, hmm…thirdly, they’re only one goal behind after the first leg. This difference is too small, it’s so small that we can ignore it. Arsenal is an attacking team, a goal difference doesn’t mean a thing to them. I believe that it was Wenger’s intention to lose 0:1 in their away game.”

“What’s the fourth point?” Asked Kerslake.

“There’s no fourth point,” Twain clapped his hands and said, “These three points are enough to put us at a complete disadvantage. The media do not think we have much of a chance as well. Ever since the first leg ended, they have been reporting that Arsenal will definitely progress, and we can only be eliminated. Now that we beat Arsenal in the league, they’re looking for more reasons. Saying that we’re placing a higher emphasis in the league and giving up on the Champions League…” At this point, Twain burst into a short laughter and said a line in mandarin, “How can a sparrow know the will of a swan?”

Next, he continued in a language that Kerslake can understand, “I think that Wenger will be expecting that too. Since we’re lacking fitness and we’re playing away, I’ll definitely choose to be more conservative in my tactics and try to hang on against Arsenal. Even if they score once, we still have extra time and penalties. Anyway, if we want to progress, there’s no wrong in being conservative.”

When he said this, Twain suddenly smiled, “But I want to give him a surprise this time.”

In the team meeting at night, the players who have been relaxing the whole day gathered in the meeting room provided by the hotel and listened to the words of their manager.

Nobody was distracted by the freedom in the day and failed to return, and there was no problem with the team’s discipline.

“For the match on the day after tomorrow, we’ll not be playing counter-attack at all,” Twain said loudly in front of a bunch of players. The meeting room was rather large, and the team was not able to fill it up completely. He had to raise his voice or else it will be dispersed in this rather empty room and some people might not be able to hear him clearly.

“We’ll attack!” He said while waving his arm.

There was a minor commotion in the meeting room which died down very quickly. The players knew that Boss had his reasons for this arrangement, all they needed to do was to listen.

“Everyone else thinks that we’re exhausted, but we are going to tell them through this match that—we’re still going strong! They definitely won’t be expecting us to go for an offensive approach in the away game, that’s why we’ll give them a surprise! We’ll bamboozle them right from the start! So, our tactics for this match has to be simple and effective. For that purpose, I’ve decided to cut one of our midfielders,” Twain said.

ahin knew that he’ll be the one replaced. Boss loves to use two defensive midfielders, and he places a lot of importance in the flanks too, so if he’s going to sacrifice a midfielder, it’ll definitely be him, the attacking midfielder.

“Aaron, you’ll start in Nuri’s place,” said Twain.

Mitchell and ?ahin both nodded. They both accepted this arrangement.

“We’ll be using the 442 formation. With Aaron’s height in front of goal, we need to make use of the flanks more. Also, George and Fernando, you two have to actively push forward instead of staying back in defense. Pressure the Arsenal’s defense and make them lose focus. Take note, I’m talking about a very offensive approach. We’ll be attacking Arsenal from start to finish and not give them a chance to control the game, prevent them from implementing their rhythm on the game. Disrupt their game right from the first second,” Twain continued.

“If we can get into the match faster than them at the start, then we don’t have to worry about their attack at all!” Twain told his players confidently, “They will not have any chance to threaten our goal at all. So, both our full backs need to actively assist the attack too. Scoring first will be the key!”

“Leave Fàbregas to George. Fernando, you’ll have to pay more attention to the others.”

“Just remember, just attack for the match in two days’ time! Attack, attack, attack. Other than attack, it’s still attack!”

He rarely says this. He usually says, “Defense, defense, defense. Other than defense, it’s still defense.”

After the meeting, the players went back to their rooms. Along the way, they were discussing about this arrangement and they were also very interested in the Boss’ thinking. Fighting head-on with Arsenal in terms of attack? Few have tried that before. Against Arsenal in the past, Twain would usually pit themselves as the weaker side and choose to play on the counter. Make use of physical fouls and defense as well as tireless fitness to compete against Arsenal’s exquisite attack.

Because of this, the media had always demonized Nottingham Forest. Indeed, if you compare the footballing styles of the two teams, there would be a stark contrast—Arsenal’s football was pleasing to the eyes, like a classical musical, refreshing to the audience. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest’s football was much more utilitarian in nature, not as attractive or pleasing. Other than their own supporters, there were only very little neutral fans who liked Nottingham Forest.

Now, this situation might be changed in two days’ time. Tony Twain was finally giving up on the conservative ways and was going to compete against Arsenal fair and square in the Emirates stadium. The Nottingham Forest players have the chance to prove to the world that they were not inferior to Arsenal, and that they were not naturally conservative. Defeating Arsenal by attacking in their home ground no less, this was indeed a tactical arrangement that can inspire them.

For the next day and a half, Twain focused on some attacking training, flank attacks and midfield attacks. The media did not know about the contents of the training as Twain rejected all forms of interviews again.

This gave the media even more evidence to belittle him.

“…Tony Twain rejected our interviews and recording requests once again. He seems to be very nervous. Even though Arsenal is the team trailing, everyone favors Arsenal to go through to the next round. There are many situations that are advantageous to them and the nervousness of the manager, Twain, is compelling evidence.

“Twain is not confident himself, otherwise he would not have trained behind closed doors.”

“In the last league game, their own players clashed in the match and almost came to blows. Tony Twain must have been very troubled by this. A team will crumble when they are under too much pressure, I believe Nottingham Forest is not far away from crumbling.”

“I asked Pepe after the match, why did he clash with Akinfeev in the match? He said it was nothing, they were only gunning for victory and the conflict has been solved… Look, what a stereotypical answer. I’ve interviewed countless players, and I’ve seen many internal conflicts situations. Their answers are almost always the same as this, so much so that I’m beginning to suspect that they have the same template.”

“There are no problems internally for the Forest team? Only a fool will believe that! The pressure on Tony Twain is so heavy it feels like he’ll suffer from a heart attack anytime. His players even almost came into blows in a match. If not for their luck in coming from behind to beat Arsenal at the death, I really don’t know if Twain would be admitted to the hospital again.”

“Are there really no bad blood between Pepe and Akinfeev? Will their performance during the match really not affect the team’s morale? Is Twain really not going to “rest” Pepe by reducing him to the bench? There are too many talking points to watch out for in this match.”

“… No matter what, I think Arsenal would progress. They have too many advantages. Nottingham Forest? All I see is a group of wounded soldiers that have collapsed due to the pressure and fitness. Twain has used all his energy to think about how to make his team recover, how can he have the energy to think about any tactics?”

The media was so vocal in their voices and their abilities to mislead the people was so powerful that even the Nottingham Forest fans were unsure—is there really a big problem internally in our team? Are we going to be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League? Can it be that even a strong manager like Tony Twain can no longer control the Forest dressing room?

And so, Nottingham Forest welcomed the final match of the three matches against Arsenal in a row under such a circumstance, the concerns of their fans and the belittling of the media.

The final match that would decide their fate.

Nottingham Forest was standing with their backs to a cliff, they had no way to go other than forward. If they were eliminated then, all the hard work they put in earlier in the season, all the victories that they fought tooth and nail for would be for naught.

There is still the Premier League champion? So sorry, our target is the treble. The English FA cup, English Premier League and UEFA Champions League. All three of them. We will not accept any less.

On the night of the match, the Emirates Stadium and its surroundings were brightly lit. The fans from both teams entered the stadium full of expectations.

The official anthem of the UEFA Champions League was being broadcasted live. People who heard the anthem felt even more hot-blooded and they could not wait for this blockbuster match to begin immediately.

At the same time, in the respective dressing rooms, both managers were doing the final preparations for their teams.

Wenger looked at his players calmly and said, “We’ve lost twice, we can’t lose again. If we lose again, we’d have lost everything this season…”

Some people might find it strange, even if they lost the Champions League, did they not still have the Premier League? They are still leading Nottingham Forest by three points, how could they lose so easily?

But how could they have understood Wenger’s thoughts? He won many different trophies during his almost 18 years in Arsenal, yet he had never won the UEFA Champions League, that was his only regret. He was already 60 years old and he did not know how long more could he stay in this business. He was not willing to give up on any opportunity to lift the Champions League trophy. For this, he was even willing to sacrifice the Premier League…

“Arsenal has never won the Champions League before. I hope you can change this embarrassing history into real history this season,” he said.

On the other side, Twain was shouting with his team as he pumped his fists in the air, “We’ve just beaten them in the league, surely we can beat them again in the Champions League! Beat them three times in a week, make them shudder at just the sight of us in future! Remember your task—Attack, attack, attack! Other than attack, it’s still attack!!”.

Chapter 848 - Unexpected Advantage

“Arsenal is in trouble,” the commentator said, “It doesn’t seem like they ever expected Nottingham Forest to suddenly attack in full force in their home ground…”

The Arsenal fans in the stands kept booing to disrupt the Forest team.

From the situation on the field, Arsenal was indeed in trouble…

Just like what Twain said, Wenger did not expect that Forest would dare go against their normal behavior and attack in Arsenal’s home ground at all.

In the first five minutes of the match, Nottingham Forest had already threatened Almunia’s goal twice.

This caused Arsenal to be a little flustered, and their defense was full of mistakes.

Nottingham Forest firmly held on to the initiative of the match.

When the ball was under their control, Arsenal could only keep running, tiring themselves out. As they were not prepared for Nottingham Forest’s attack, they did not even know what to do. Some of them wanted to follow Wenger’s pre-match tactics and continue to attack, others felt that the situation was critical and they should defend before counter attacking.

With differing opinions, they were not able to work well together. When they could not work well together, there would be loopholes for the opponents to take advantage of.

Twain could see the gap between Arsenal’s front and back lines very clearly on the side. This was a massive opportunity for Forest to score…

He turned to look at Wenger on the manager’s seat. The Frenchman had no expression on his face, and he did not seem to have any intention to make any adjustment. Maybe he believed in his team? Maybe he was unable to understand Nottingham Forest’s intentions yet and did not dare to make any rash decisions?

No matter what, he would not be able to change anything no matter how much he thought about it. The matter of fact was Nottingham Forest had the advantage then.

Making use of the advantage that they got hold of in the opening five minutes, Nottingham Forest successfully turned an away game into a home game.

Next, they continued to launch their attacks deep into Arsenal’s territory. This was not a simple siege — In fact, a siege of the Arsenal’s goal was not what Twain hoped to see. Arsenal also launched attacks of their own and a good amount of them too. Forest controlled the game to create a situation where there were attacks from both sides, allowing them to have more chances of attacking. If their opponent did not come out of their own third, how could they attack?

Arsenal had no choice but to work hard to try and grab the control of the game back. That was why they had to attack instead of just defending. After about ten minutes of panic, there was a unified thought within Arsenal internally — attack!

That was what the Forest team wanted to see the most, Arsenal attacking along with them.

An intense attacking game started…

“Fàbregas! Beautiful pass, Vela receives the ball, shoot! Ah, what a pity!”

Akinfeev caught the ball tightly. He did not wait for the Arsenal players to go back into their defensive positions as he threw the ball back into play to launch their own attack. Gago got the ball and dribbled with it. After Wilshere came out to stop him, he did not stop to turn and try to dribble pass him, instead, he passed the ball directly to Cohen at the flank.

Cohen, who was playing in this game in place of Fernández, was a better crosser of the ball than the Chilean. Twain let him start because of this. This was because the starting forwards for Forest in this game are Ibi?evi? and Mitchell, both good headers of the ball.

However, Cohen was not great at dribbling and the Arsenal’s full-back, Sagna, was quick to retreat. Therefore, Cohen changed the play directly from one flank to the other with a long pass to Bentley. Bentley received the ball and passed it to the middle where Gago was already approaching.

After receiving the ball, Gago passed the ball forward and it rolled into the penalty area!

Mitchell appeared from behind the everybody and just when he was about to receive the ball and form an one-on-one with the keeper, the ball was intercepted by the onrushing Almunia. Michell was a little unhappy to see the ball fly over his head, if only he was a little faster…

Almunia waited for Mitchell to get out of the penalty area before kicking the ball forward. Wood’s advantage in the air was obvious. There was no one in the Arsenal’s midfield who could compete with him for aerial balls.

Wood headed the ball in the air easily as he passed it to Pepe behind.

After witnessing this situation, Fàbregas made a sign with his hand to Almunia at the back, informing him to try throwing the ball out instead of pumping the ball forward so that they can build their attacks from the back.

Starting the play like this was akin to giving possession back to Forest.

Even though the ball was intercepted by Forest, Arsenal did not give up on attacking this time. They actively tackled and fought for the ball and successfully got it back from under Gago’s feet, starting their attack right then.

Wilshere dribbled pass Woodgate using his technique before feinting to shoot and passing the ball to Fàbregas coming from behind instead.

Under pressure from Nottingham Forest’s captain, the Arsenal captain took a shot but the ball flew just over the crossbar, giving the Nottingham Forest fans a scare.

Fàbregas was a little upset with this miss. He stood up and gave a clap out of annoyance.

Twain looked down at his watch, the match had started for 15 minutes. Forest had not scored yet, but on overall, they had the advantage. The Arsenal attack felt a bit messy under the strength of Forest, depending more on the individual brilliances of their stars. The main reason why Arsenal was at a disadvantage was because Wenger did not even play with any defensive midfielders in his attempt to attack Forest on their home ground, he picked an all attacking midfield. As a result, their midfield was being overrun by Forest’s midfield.

They still had to score as early as possible, otherwise this tactic of theirs would not be able to work if Wenger came around…

Furthermore, the fitness of the team was indeed a problem, they could not afford to drag the game.

Twain stood up from his seat and walked to the sideline. He did not say anything, but he believed his players understood what he meant by standing on the sideline.

We need to score, guys. What are you doing?

Arsenal was still working hard to regain control of the game. They were neglecting their defense a little, or more like they placed too much focus on attack. Wenger told them before the game that they had to score in this match. Scoring was the key. That was why the thought of scoring was ringing in their minds…

As for defense?

Even though they knew that their defense was in danger in the face of the Forest attack, all of them had a feeling of luck in their minds, thinking that they would be able to break through the Forest defense first before they concede.

This was simply a game to see who would score first. If Arsenal scored first, the game would be following Arsenal’s game plan. If Nottingham Forest scored first, Arsenal would not have the initiative.

That was why they kept thinking about scoring, so much so that they placed their defense as second priority instead…

Arsenal’s attack got intercepted yet again. George Wood and Pepe intercepted Fàbregas’ pass to Vela. After Pepe poked the ball away, Wood got to the ball ahead of Wilshere and stormed forward with the ball. His dribbling was very standard, and his form was good. Fàbregas gave up on trying to win the ball, choosing to disrupt him from the side instead.

Wood was only dribbling for a few steps when he realized that the Arsenal’s defense was not in position yet. It was very messy, some people assisting in front, some people rushing back, some people hesitating whether to go back to defend or go forward to fight for the ball…

There were spaces everywhere.

He decided not to dribble anymore, passing the ball to the flank instead. There were no defending Arsenal players there, wide open!

Cohen ran as hard as he could. He was not fast, but Wood’s pass was too good… He did not have to compete with anyone for speed. As long as he ran forward in a straight line, the ball would go towards him as it rolled. The opponent’s defenders might seem to be closer to the ball, but they would find out after a few steps that if they ran in a straight line, the ball would be just out of their reach, and if they ran in a slanted line, the ball would be further and further away from them…

As Sagna was still in a forward position and did not come back in time, a center back had to cover him for this ball. One of the two center backs, Kolo Touré ran towards the flank. He gave up trying to get the ball halfway in his run and chose to run along the path of the ball instead, blocking the path into the box, preventing Cohen from going in. This was the best choice he could have made under this situation.

It was a pity that Cohen did not even think about cutting into the penalty area at all. He allowed the ball to roll about two meters ahead of him, feinted a dribble, forced Touré to move back a little. When there was space, he went outside and crossed directly!

Cohen’s cross was good. It was unlike Wood’s cross in the dying moments of the previous game, high and floating. His cross was level, the speed of the ball was fast and there was an obvious curve to the ball. The ball was almost at the byline when the curve was at its strongest. The ball was going towards the goal but curved towards the penalty area when it was going to reach the goal. This curve caused Almunia to be at a loss about what to do. He wanted to come out to claim the ball initially, but just when he started to come out, the ball curved away.

So, he started to retreat and prepared to protect his goal. He just put up his hands when there was a shadow in the air.

“Aaron Mitch——ell!” Screamed the commentator.

The ball seemed to have been attracted by Mitchell as he headed it. The ball changed direction and flew past Almunia who could not react at all. The force of the cross, along with the momentum of Mitchell combined to give an effect of “one plus one is greater than two”. Right in front of goal, there was no goalkeeper who could have reacted to it.

The ball was headed into the goal powerfully by Mitchell.

Twain pumped his fist at the sideline towards the sky.

He looked at his watch, the match had started for 29 minutes. He finally got what he was looking for!

Wenger, who was seated on the manager’s seat, slapped his thigh forcefully, with an upset look on his face. He did not expect Forest to really score with this attack. Looks like the attacking form showed by Nottingham Forest until then was not just putting up a show, they were serious…

He miscalculated.

He did not expect the gambler, Twain, to dare gamble like this in this game.

The Nottingham Forest fans at a corner of the stands exploded into a loud cheer, drowning off the boos from the other side temporarily.

Mitchell ran over and gave Chris Cohen who assisted him a hug. The other players surrounded them as they celebrated the goal.

This goal by Mitchell not only gave Forest an away goal, it also gave them an aggregate lead of 2:0. If Arsenal wanted to progress to the next stage, they could not just win this match by a score of 2:1, they needed to score three goals!

No wonder Wenger was so agitated after conceding the goal.?Fàbregas’ face turned solemn immediately.

Anyone with a clear mind knows that Arsenal would have a tough time for this game…

Replays of the goal was shown repeatedly on the screen as the commentator praised Mitchell’s movement and header, “…He appeared behind Arsenal’s Senderos just like that, unmarked as Touré was drawn out to the flank to defend Cohen. Ibi?evi?’s movement was so good! His movement in front drew Senderos away and Mitchell, who was still outside the penalty area when Cohen was preparing to cross, suddenly sprinted into the box and leapt high into the air! He leapt higher than anyone else! He scored! All in one movement, beautiful! The planned movements that Forest demonstrated were key for this goal, but the individual capabilities of Mitchell was praiseworthy too…”

Ever since Mitchell became a member of the first-team and scored often in matches, his father became the happiest man in the stands. Every time his son scored, all the Forest fans around him would congratulate him and shouted his son’s name loudly. He loved this feeling of being a star.

The spot where Mitchell celebrated his goal was coincidentally just below the away end of the stands. A group of people shouting, “Aaron! Aaron!” made him, the father, passionate too.

As the players ran past the front of the technical area and back to their own positions after celebrating, Twain shouted at them from there, “Keep attacking! Continue! Don’t slack off, score as many as you can!”

Next, he pulled George Wood next to him and gave him some quick instructions, “Watch out for Arsenal’s fight back. If they’re going for long balls, we don’t have to worry. If they attack through the middle, pass the ball to the flanks immediately after intercepting their ball. We’ll counter their attacks and try for another goal in the first half! Tell Cohen and Bentley to take note of any opportunity to counter attack.”

Wood nodded and turned to run back to the pitch.

After everything, Twain turned and returned to his manager’s seat, took a seat and had a drink of water.

After drinking, he turned and gave Kerslake a silly smile.

Kerslake asked, “The pressure’s not that high anymore, right?”

“No, it’s even heavier now.”

“Huh?”

“Unless the game is over, otherwise my pressure would not be reduced. Before scoring, I’ll be worried that we won’t score, and the opponent takes the lead by scoring first. Now that we’ve scored, I’m worried that the opponent will score and level the match. I asked them to try for another goal before the end of the first half. That way, we’ll have greater leeway,” Twain explained.

As expected, Arsenal attacked Forest wildly after conceding, almost giving up on defense entirely. They did not want to lose at home, did not want to let Nottingham Forest complete a double over them in the same season. Attacking with all their might was the only way.

Forest performed steadily, getting into their defensive formation and dealing with the balls calmly, making full use of their advantage of having two defensive midfielders, controlling the all-attacking midfield set-up that Arsenal had.

Next up was the counterattack.

That was the Forest team’s forte.

40 minutes into the first half, there was an astronomical figure. A 2:0 lead with five minutes to go in the first half, 3:0 on aggregate.

This game was basically over…

Chapter 849 - To Win the Championship

Arsenal made an adjustment during halftime interval. Wenger brought off Wilshere and brought on Denílson. It looked like it was to strengthen the defense, but in fact it was to prepare for the counterattack. Unfortunately, the gap of three goals was too wide. If Arsenal wanted to advance to the next level, they had to score four goals in forty-five minutes and ensured that they did not concede another goal.

It was simply an impossible task.

At the start of the second half Arsenal did threaten the Forest team’s goal, but good times were always short-lived. They still could not shake Nottingham Forest’s advantage built in the first half. George Wood is certainly one of England’s most powerful midfielders today. Fàbregas’ errors in his passing began to rise under his close marking and his physical strength was on the decline.

Although he could also send out those incisive passes, the whole team was suppressed by the Forest team. What could he pass the ball to?

The game was a tactical failure for Arsenal and no matter how good Fàbregas was, it was to no avail.

When Arsenal still failed to score halfway through the second half, Wenger had already foreseen his defeat and begun to save his team’s strength for the league tournament.

Fàbregas was still running hard on the pitch, passing the ball or making shots himself. He was not willing to admit defeat at this time.

The Spaniard was a little impetuous on the pitch, while Wood was calmer. The boss instructed him to keep a close watch on Fàbregas, and he meticulously carried it out. As for who Fàbregas would pass the ball to, he did not care.?Just as his teammates believed in him as the team captain, he believed in his teammates too.

It was this sort of tacit understanding that allowed the Forest team to play actively in the away game and gain the initiative in the game.

In the second half, Arsenal had very few chances and the Forest team kept threatening Almunia’s goal. The Nottingham Forest fans had not seen such an easy game at Arsenal’s home ground for a long time.

In the 80th minute, some Arsenal fans began to leave the stadium early. They already held no hope for the game and could only comfort themselves with “we still have the league tournament” as they left the stadium unhappily.

Seeing that the overall situation had been determined, Twain also replaced a few players who had been more tired recently. Bale was replaced by Joe Mattock; Bentley was replaced by Moke and Ibi?evi? was replaced by Agbonlahor.

Every player who was brought off hugged Twain and celebrated their victory in jubilation.

Twain did not think there would be a chance of failure with a 2:0 lead and ten minutes left.

He could go back to Nottingham with a relaxed mood. He believed that Shania in the box could breathe a sigh of relief as well.

During the last ten minutes, Arsenal launched a frenzied counterattack on the Forest team’s goal. They had almost given up on the pursuit of victory, but the pride of the strong team made it impossible for them to be so cleanly defeated at home. They wanted to take advantage of the remaining time to score a goal.

Unfortunately, the Forest team did not let them get their way. The entire team retreated to defend and fully block the goal.

Fàbregas finally played a full game and was not replaced early. Unfortunately, his efforts did not help the team win and not even bring a face-saving goal for the team.

When the referee blew the final whistle to end the game, many of the Arsenal players sat immobilized on the pitch, with only their team captain still standing.

On the other side, the Forest players on the bench, led by the assistant manager, cheered as they rushed onto the pitch, hugging their teammates on the field to celebrate.

While Tony Twain tidied his clothes and strode towards Wenger with a smile on his face.

“I’m sorry.” He comforted.

“I wish you good luck now, Tony. I hope you can make it to the final. But I won’t let you have the league title.” Wenger wanted to appear gracious. But he had just lost the Champions League and could not really smile.

Twain smiled and did not speak.

Wenger shook his hand and turned to walk away. Twain looked at his back, and he did not say the words on his mind, “Of course I’m not going to ask you to let me have the championship title, Professor. I’ll take it myself.”

After shaking hands with Wenger, Twain was surrounded by the reporters.

“How does it feel to be in the top four again, Mr. Twain?”

“It feels great!”

“Is the Champions League title your goal this season too?”

“Who doesn’t want to win the championship?”

“Is it a bit of a surprise to beat Arsenal so easily in the away game?”

“No, it’s Arsenal which should be surprised, not me.”

There were reporters wanted to ask questions, but Twain raised his hand to refuse, “You can ask whatever questions you have at the press conference. I have to go be with my team!”

He pushed aside the crowd and walked to the pitch to celebrate the win with the Forest players.

“Acting all self-important…” One of the reporters muttered in a low voice.

“But he’s qualified to act like a big shot.” Someone next to him shrugged, “After all, he’s the victor, isn’t he?”

The defeat of Arsenal and advancement to the semi-finals had given the Nottingham media a few days of enthusiastic publicity. The Wilford training base was full of buzz every day, with hardcore fans coming to support the team and the news media came sniffing.

The Forest team, who reached the semi-finals, met with some good luck. Their semi-final opponent was not strong. It was the France Ligue 1 team, Lyon. In the other match, it was an El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The Spanish media were excited about the top four teams because they had two teams in the top four and a team which dominated the top four of the Premier League long-term. All the teams had been utterly defeated this season except the Nottingham Forest team representing the Premier League in the top four.

The foreign media took delight in the misfortune, claiming that the Premier League was finally going to hand over the claim to the top league. The Spanish media proclaimed that they were going to take the top spot and that La Liga was the top league in Europe.

Whereas the Italian and German media, as always, chose silence.

The English media were unanimous in their optimism about Arsenal before the game, cheering Wenger’s team. Now they were turning to Nottingham Forest like opportunists, blowing Twain’s team up as “English football’s only hope”, “a warrior fighting for the dignity of English football” and “the inheritor of English football’s glory.”

Twain did not care about these labels being put on him. He had to return his focus on preparing for the league tournament. He would only think about the Champions League when the time came.

Before the Champions League game, the Forest team had already experienced playing against two strong teams. In the end, neither Chelsea nor Arsenal were able to complete their task of stopping them. Twain’s team successfully advanced and were currently ranked second, one point ahead of the third-placed Liverpool and three points behind the first-placed Arsenal with fewer points and goals than Arsenal. Arsenal was still quite far ahead in winning. The latest odds issued by William Hill for the Premier League title win this season remained bullish on Arsenal.

In an effort to prove that he had the victory in hand in his bet with Twain, Carl Spicer analyzed the Forest team’s disadvantages on his show. In terms of the competition schedule, he stated that the Forest team would face two strong teams and two weaker teams. The Forest team had already played the strong teams. The weak teams were the real test.

Neither of the two teams was out of the relegation zone yet. Worse still, they had not been promoted early. This was a situation that any of their opponents feared—a team in or at the edge of the relegation zone could either relegate to the English Football League Championship before the three rounds of the league tournament or successfully secure a last-minute stay in the Premier League. Heaven and hell were right in between.

No one wanted to go to hell. Everyone wanted to go to heaven. Twain was the same. If he help the others succeed, he would go to hell. He was a saint or Buddha who had altruistic love for the world and willing to sacrifice himself. Therefore, the two games could be expected to be very intense and exciting.

These two games were in the 35th and 38th rounds of the league tournaments respectively.

In the 35th round, the Forest team would play against Portsmouth in away challenge. While in the 38th round, the last game of the league tournament, they would play Sunderland at home.

If Nottingham Forest could beat Portsmouth while Sunderland won, then the final round might not be so bad for either team—Sunderland had already successfully avoided relegation and Nottingham Forest would naturally no longer have to face an opponent who would fight desperately to survive.

It was the ideal situation for the future, but Twain did not think their luck would be so good.

Because in 35th round, Sunderland was up against Manchester United. How could Manchester United let Sunderland win at home in the fight to qualify for the Champions League? Sunderland only had one home game in the final four rounds and with two of the other three away games, they had to face formidable opponent. It was harder for them to avoid relegation than Portsmouth.

As a result, the media had already declared Sunderland’s death sentence ahead of time. In comparison, Portsmouth’s last four rounds only had the Forest team as its strong opponent. They appeared more likely to successfully avoid relegation.

Perhaps only the Sunderland people themselves had not given up. The local media constantly cheered the team on. They thought that they would be able to create a miracle if they were united. It had even been suggested that Sunderland should bring back the former manager, Keane who had performed a similar miracle—taking over the previous team at the bottom rank and leading the team to be successfully promoted to the Premier League after half a season.?It was also Keane’s only brilliant performance as manager. His coaching career was not very smooth later on, so such a proposal was entirely a desperate attempt at anything in a crisis.?Nor could Keane have promised to step forward and be the fall guy.

There was a seemingly reasonable interpretation.

“… Tony Twain’s team is currently competing in three tournaments. Their physical exertion is extremely high and there is a lot of pressure on the players.?I don’t think Sunderland is at the point of surrender. As long as we haven’t dropped out before the final round, we may still have a chance to defeat the exhausted Nottingham Forest team… Think about it, the fatigue from three consecutive tournaments and the immense pressure of having to win the league title, or else their boss will have to eat a table… No team can play at a normal level under such circumstances…”

But any terrible suggestion would seem reasonable before anything bad happened.

In short, Sunderland was still struggling. Twain would not go easy on them just because he had loaned many young players to them on several occasions, as well as had a good personal relationship with their former manager, Keane. Just like he would not show any mercy to Portsmouth. He did not care about any opponents other than himself. As long as they were obstacles in front of him and became a stumbling block to his progress to win the title, he would ruthlessly kick them aside.

Nottingham Forest challenged Portsmouth in an away game on April 19th, the 35th round of the league tournament.

Portsmouth had the vigor of a team looking to avoid relegation. But it seemed to come up with only eighty per cent of strength. Because the news came from Old Trafford that Sunderland trailed Manchester United just three minutes after the start of the game. Sunderland falling behind lessened a lot of the pressure that was on Portsmouth. They wanted to win the game but was not willing to stake it all. After all, there were three rounds left in the league tournament. If they used all they had got against the Forest team, then they would probably watch as their opponent overtake them in the remaining three rounds to escape the depths of despair in hell.

It was dangerous to bring such a contradictory frame of mind to compete against Nottingham Forest, which was determined to win and catch up with Arsenal.

The Forest players did not have that many complicated ideas in their heads—They had to win the game. What about the next game? They played using their best in the game. What about the second half?

It was easy to them—once they won this game, they would continue to win the next game. They played using their best efforts in the game and they would continue to play their best in the second half.

In the 25th minute, Nottingham Forest broke the deadlock with a long shot from Rafinha. They took a 1:0 lead in the away game.

Portsmouth only stepped up their attack?once they trailed behind,?with their manager roaring from the sidelines to ask the team not to give up. Ten minutes later, Portsmouth used a corner kick to breach Akinfeev’s goal and the score was 1:1.

This time it was Twain’s turn to get angry on the sidelines.

During the halftime interval, Twain replaced the under-performing Tiago with Gago and continued to strengthen the offense.

The Forest team finally scored in the 71st minute. Wood’s long shot deflected off the Portsmouth defender’s body and bounced right to Mitchell’s feet. He swung his leg and shot the football right into the net.

Trailing once again, Portsmouth tried to fight back. But only three minutes later, Matías Fernández blasted the Portsmouth goal with a long shot that completely extinguished Portsmouth’s fighting spirit. The ensuing game was dominated by Nottingham Forest and Twain made substitutions to let more players rest.

The only disgruntled people were the Portsmouth fans watching the game from the stands. They protested by exiting the stadium early.

When the referee blew the final whistle to end the game, the latest news from Old Trafford was that Sunderland had lost to Manchester United. In this way, the situation of the two teams remained unchanged. There was still a risk of relegation and a possibility of a promotion.

As Twain got up to shake hands with the Portsmouth manager, Kerslake, who was next to him, said, “Arsenal won, too.”

Twain nodded and said nothing. With a smile still on his face, he extended his hand to the other manager.

The two teams were still three points apart. Nothing had changed.

Now, Nottingham Forest could only make sure that the team kept winning and then expect Arsenal to make mistakes.

But could Wenger and Arsenal, which had been knocked out of the Champions League and only had the league tournament to contend with for the season, make mistakes and give Twain a big present?

Chapter 850 - Sprint

After they defeated Portsmouth in the away game, the Forest team overcame another obstacle. Portsmouth, fighting to avoid relegation, did not cause them much trouble.

Following which, Twain temporarily shifted his focus from the league tournament to the Champions League.

In the semi-finals, Nottingham Forest’s opponent was the France Ligue 1 dominant leader, Lyon.

Although it had always been the France Ligue 1 champion and a well-deserved overlord, this team was the weakest in the Champions League quarterfinals. Their strength was not in the same league as Nottingham Forest. There was some element of luck for them to reach the Champions League quarterfinals this time.

The immediate consequence of Lyon, the dominant team in the France Ligue 1 was the lack of competitiveness from the France Ligue 1 team in the European arena—how good could a team be if the league was not competitive?

There was a consensus in the media that the Forest team would make it to the final, and the English media even guarantee Nottingham Forest a ticket before the game. They were already introducing the finals venue to their readers.

English football world was also bullish on the Forest team. Some people felt that there was no need to use full strength to play against Lyon. Twain should save up the energy to play against their league rivals.

Even so, Twain did not dare take it lightly. Instead, he was even more worried due to the media hype—he was afraid that his team would be influenced by the public opinion and be conceited enough to underestimate the opponent.

To this end, he put on a grim face every day, as if he was worried that his team would be eliminated. During interviews, he also changed his past arrogant and condescending style to appear cautious and never brought up remarks such as “they are definitely in the final”, “book your tickets for Bernabéu in advance.”

His behavior was so strange that people wondered if Twain was kidnapped by aliens and had a brain transplant…

“… Against a team like Arsenal, he dared to say before the game that he wanted to win. Against the weakest team in the top four, he was afraid to mention the finals instead… Maybe it’s a ploy to deliberately confuse his opponents?”

Twain did not care how the outside media viewed his actions and words. He just did not want his team to lower their guard and not to be overly conceited to underestimate the opponent.

Due to his and Wood’s influence, the entire team did not appear to take the opponent lightly. Twain instructed the team to play against Lyon with the attitude that should be taken against a semifinal opponent. Wood trained and prepared for the game seriously to set a good example. Twain’s prestige in the locker room was highly regarded and the power of George Wood’s example could not be ignored. Twain had nothing to worry about before the game against Lyon.

The first leg would be played in the away game.

It was the first time in the history of the Lyon football club that they had reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League. They even hoped to reach the final and lift the trophy. Therefore, Lyon’s spirits was flying high and also had the home field advantage. They launched wave after wave of attacks against the Forest team’s core like raging waves beating against the shore, which made the Nottingham Forest fans watched with their hearts in their throats.

Twain instructed the team to use defensive counterattack tactic in the away game because he predicted that Lyon’s momentum at home would be strong. According to the military tactic of “avoiding the sharp edge”, Twain would not be foolish enough to go head to head against Lyon. It would be victory for this game if he could obtain one point. It would be better if they could score goals.

Lyon’s idea was simple: to use its home advantage to aggressively attack the Forest team, score goals and to win the game in the end to lay the groundwork for the next round. After all, it was hard to play in the Forest team’s home ground. If there was a win in hand, there might be more leeway. No matter what, Lyon was tired of being the reigning champion at home. They wanted to make a historic breakthrough—to be a European champion.

But Nottingham Forest clearly had more experience playing in the Champions League semifinals than Lyon. Twain’s handling of it was experienced. On the contrary, Lyon appeared to be overly anxious. They attacked ferociously from the start. What if they did not score? What if they overstrained themselves?

Twain asked the team to stay firm, slowly wear Lyon out. They would grind Lyon’s fighting spirit and physical fitness. The Lyon players were overexcited and galloping around the field. They looked good playing like this. Those fans who did not understand also blindly cheered, thinking that Lyon had the absolute upper hand and scoring goals was only a matter of time.

That was not the case at all in the eyes of the professionals.

The match was played in France. As a Frenchman, Wenger, the manager of the already eliminated Arsenal, accepted an invitation from a French television station to comment on the match. When he saw Nottingham Forest being beaten back into the penalty area by Lyon, he asserted that Lyon would be the unlucky one if they continued to attack like this.

The French commentator was still doubtful and thought it was only a matter of time that Lyon breached the Forest team’s goal based on the situation in the field—“this is a passive defense. No matter how tight the defense is, there will be loopholes once the other side besieges. I don’t believe Nottingham Forest’s defense is impregnatable. The Forest team, not Lyon, will be under a lot of pressure if the game continues in this way…”

Wenger just laughed and did not speak. He could not argue with the commentator on the live broadcast, but he did not agree with the commentator’s words. He could only wait quietly until it was time to tell who was right and who was wrong.

Thirty minutes into the first half, it was mostly Lyon which besieged Nottingham Forest. The Forest team had only two shots, while Lyon had six shots and broken into the thirty-meters zone several times. Lyon was well ahead. The Lyon fans sang and danced in the stands in a happy and relaxed mood.?They seemed to think that they had nothing to fear from Nottingham Forest.

Lyon’s rear defensive line also pressed closer and closer, with the center backs almost eager to dribble the ball into the opposition’s penalty area and shoot.

Just when everyone thought that Lyon’s next attack would be able to break the Nottingham Forest goal, the Forest team fought back.

Like a spring compressed to the extreme, once the pressure loosened up slightly from the top of the spring, then it would suddenly bounce up and its tip would pierce through the light in the night with chilling brilliance.

Akinfeev directly threw a handball to launch the attack, and ?ahin quickly diverted the ball after he dribbled the ball to break through. After Agbonlahor, the starting right back used his own speed to force a breakthrough, he did not continue to dribble the ball on the sideline as the Lyon players thought, but suddenly cut inside and headed straight for the goal.?He was going to shoot straight at the goal!

Agbonlahor was too fast and the Lyon players were ill-prepared for the Forest team’s counterattack. When Agbonlahor cut inside, there was only one goalkeeper in front of him.

What happened next was unsurprising.

Agbonlahor burst into the penalty area. Just as he was about to shoot, he was knocked down from the back by a full back returning to defend. Agbonlahor’s fall was slightly exaggerated, but the other side did indeed foul. The referee promptly awarded the Forest team a penalty shot. Not only that, he gave the player who fouled a yellow card.

Off the field, Twain did not let it go and thought that he had gotten off easy with a yellow card. He should at least be directly sent off with a red card!

His protest “won” a lot of boos from the stands.

The Lyon players were ill-prepared for the penalty shot. After a moment’s pause, they gathered around the referee to demand an explanation. They think Agbonlahor had dived.

And on the other side, Agbonlahor was hugging and high fiving his teammates in celebration. He did make the penalty shot happen on purpose. Otherwise he would never have been able to be shoveled from behind by his opponent with his speed. He just needed to jab the ball out and accelerate to get away. But in doing so, he would also lose the best angle and timing to shoot. Under such circumstances, a penalty shot was obviously the most reasonable thing.?So, he dragged a leg in the back, waiting for the other side to shovel and then fall. In that way, the penalty shot was in hand.

The player in charge to carry out the penalty shot was ?ahin. He succeeded with one shot and sent the ball into the goal. The goalkeeper misjudged the direction. He only found out that the football came from the middle to land in the position he had stood earlier after he pounced.

Seeing that the Forest team had scored, the commentator on the French television station lost his voice for a moment. Wenger kept his smile as usual, making it impossible for others to see his smugness.

Finally, the commentator gave himself a way out and said, “This penalty shot was a bit controversial, but the referee insisted on his penalty decision… the Forest team was lucky to have taken the lead in the away game…”

Wenger thought: How is this considered lucky? You haven’t watched a Premier League game before, Mr. Commentator. This tactic is one of Tony’s most commonly used tricks. You think he’s being beaten passively. In fact, none of them are actually hit… He’s just waiting for the right moment to fight back. If I were the Lyon manager and saw the Forest team play like that, I would ask the defenders to watch the defense and then pull back to lure them out again.

Unfortunately, Lyon’s lack of experience with Twain and playing in the Champions League semifinals was entirely exploited by Twain.

The leading Forest team played better and more easily. As Lyon continued to attack, the Forest team stepped up its counterattack. They almost scored another goal before the halftime interval.

During the halftime interval, Wenger chatted with the commentator about the game. When they touched on the second half, Wenger said that it would be difficult for Lyon in the second half if Nottingham Forest was given the lead in such an elimination game. This time, the commentator finally agreed with Wenger. After all, this manager was more familiar with Twain than he was.

In the second half, as Wenger had stated, Twain still used a defensive counterattack tactic to lead Lyon by the nose.

Lyon was desperate to equalize the scores, which gave the Forest team more chances to counterattack.

But it was clear that the Forest team’s fitness had indeed been affected by a series of high-intensity games. Their fitness in the second half also started to show problems. The power of the counterattack was modest. Despite Twain’s on-field demands for the team to attack repeatedly, the Forest players were lacking in strength even though they were willing.?By then, Twain was resigned to the situation. He started to make substitutions and replace the exhausted starting players. He replaced them with the substitute players and focused on the defense.

The last five or six minutes were a tough test for Twain’s heart. With only one goal ahead and Lyon still pressing hard, all the efforts in the game would be wasted to him if Lyon were to score a goal— perhaps he might have accepted a 1:1 result at the opening ten minutes of the game. But at this time, he still had a one-goal lead, so he would never accept any result other than victory.

Fortunately, although the game was thrilling, Nottingham Forest finally held on. The referee blew the final whistle after four minutes of injury stoppage time. Nottingham Forest secured a precious away win and an away goal amid the home fans’ hissing.

With an away win and an away goal, it looked like Nottingham Forest had one foot in the Bernabéu stadium. The Forest team would be formidable and definitely not disappoint Lyon once it was back in its home ground.

Three days later, Twain led the team to a home win over Fulham in 36th round. A day later, Arsenal also won an away game. The gap between the two teams was still three points and there were only two rounds left in the league tournament. The bookmaker, William Hill was still bullish on Arsenal winning the title. And in the odds for the Champions League, Twain’s team was the second-to-last out of the four teams—with the exception of Lyon, they were the least optimistic about the Forest team.

Real Madrid was at top of the table as they tied 2:2 in the mid-week Champions League game with Barcelona. They scored two precious away goals and a good chance of reaching the final.?Moreover, this year’s Champions League final was being played at their home ground, the Bernabéu. Once Real Madrid reached the final, they would unreservedly have a real home advantage. By then half of the championship title would almost be Real Madrid’s.

No one would doubt Real Madrid’s desire for the Champions League trophy. They had already been one title short of fulfilling its magnificent record of ten Champions League titles. This time it was also at their own home ground. There was certainly no reason to let go of such an opportunity. As it could be seen from their away game against Barcelona during the semifinals, their ferocious momentum completely suppressed Barcelona. Although the score was 2:2, everyone, even the Barcelona fans, who watched the game from the start, would admit that Barcelona was lucky enough to tie with Real Madrid…

Twain faced two fearsome teams in two tournaments, with both teams having an unlimited desire for the titles. Real Madrid, once the world’s number one football club, had not won the Champions League which they had once won nine times in twelve years. Wenger’s Arsenal also wanted to regain their title in the league tournament. They had already lost the Champions League to Nottingham Forest. They would not want to lose the league tournament to them again.

Three days later, Nottingham Forest crushed Lyon by 2:1 at the City Ground stadium and bade farewell to the City Ground stadium with a victory in the Champions League. They advanced to the final with a total score of 3:1, and then reached the final again after five years.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid beat Barcelona1:0 at home, edging out its archrival, Barcelona with a total score of 3:2. They successfully made the Bernabéu stadium, the main ground in the Champions League final, their true home ground.

Nottingham Forest reached the final against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest also reached the final in the Champions League and their opponent was Real Madrid.?With two rounds remaining in the league tournament, they were still three points behind Arsenal.

Would Nottingham Forest, which was in the final sprint in all three tournaments, return to Nottingham with three championship trophies at the end of the season or would they collapse and ended up empty-handed in the end?

All would be revealed half a month later.

Chapter 851 - A Letter from The United Kingdom

“Aaron Mitchell! A beautiful bypass to shake off the defense. He swings past the goalkeeper who strikes and sends the football into the empty goal! The ball’s in! Nottingham Forest leads Lyon 2:0 at home. They have basically reached the final!”

The televisions in the home electronics section of the supermarket was showing the live broadcast of tonight’s Champions League semifinal game. There were not many people watching the game there because the semifinal game had nothing to do with their national team. The people who came to shop at the supermarket just glanced at it and left. Only one person stood in front of the television the entire time, watching the game.

Chen Jian forgot that today was the Champions League game at Nottingham Forest when he went out. He wanted to buy some daily necessities at the supermarket. However, he accidentally wandered to the home electronics section and did not move.

He had not watched a game at Nottingham Forest in a long time. He was in the Netherlands and only cared about the team he played for. Nottingham Forest was too far away from him.

He did not expect to encounter his mother team in the supermarket today.

So, he stopped to watch the Forest game.

He started from the 11th minute of the first half and stood to watch until now. The Forest team was 2:0 ahead of Lyon and he was going to stop watching. Nottingham Forest was certain to make it to the finals. There was no sign of Lyon turning the tables throughout the game. There was no suspense in the game and no need to continue watching.

Chen Jian carried the stuff he had just bought and turned to leave here. The televisions were still playing the clamor from the City Ground stadium. That sound faded into the distance and soon Chen Jian could not hear it.

Name: Chen Jian.

Nationality: China.

Age: Twenty-three.

On-field position: Midfielder, defensive midfielder, right back.

Current team: FC Volendam, Netherlands.

He was loaned out to Volendam from Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, when Volendam was still in Eerste Divisie.

In fact, Chen Jian was not a player needed by Volendam. At the time, Volendam needed strikers and defenders, not midfielders. Chen Jian was basically forced onto Volendam by the Forest team because Volendam was the Forest team’s satellite club.?As Chen Jian had occasionally played as a right back, he was also barely in line with Volendam’s needs.

Due to this, he did not have a good time at Volendam at first. Or it could be said that he did not receive much attention at all. On the one hand, he was forced onto Volendam by the mother team. On the other hand, because he was Chinese, and as a player not from a country with developed football, his nationality worked against him.

Therefore, in the Eerste Divisie team, he could only play for a few minutes occasionally during garbage time to fulfill Volendam’s playing requirement for players on loan. Furthermore, he could only play in the right-back position which he was not very good at. He did not play very well. This strengthened the resolve of those who did not like him. Even the Chinese media gradually lost interest in him, and there was rarely news about him in the Chinese media.?Chen Jian, who was originally a member of the “European Champions Team”, quickly lost the shine and had little news value.

Chen Jian spent the first half of the season under such circumstances. The change in his fortunes came when there were wide-spread injuries in the midfield. He was finally remembered by the manager that he could play in the midfield…

It was his first time in the starting lineup. More than two years later, Chen Jian could not remember the details of the game, but he still remembered that he was named the best player after the game.

He showed a remarkable intelligence during his performance in the midfield. His defense was clean and timely, and his offense was organized. Players who could keep a clear head on the pitch were rare, especially at the Eerste Divisie level.

Since then, Chen Jian’s position changed. He became Volendam’s main midfielder step by step. He returned to Nottingham Forest at the end of the first season. Following which, Volendam’s transfer application was sent over. But after Twain saw a video of his game in the Netherlands, he rebuffed Volendam’s transfer request, but said he could continue to put him on loan to them.

In this way, Chen Jian returned to the Netherlands when he had not even have time to end the lease to his rented apartment in the Netherlands.

The second season was a cause for celebration for Volendam. The team was successfully promoted to Eredivisie through a season of hard work. Because of Chen Jian’s excellent performance, they once again apply to the Forest team to purchase Chen Jian. Twain refused once more and said that he could continue to loan Chen Jian to them.

Then came Chen Jian’s third season with the team. . .

He had not even played a game for Nottingham Forest since he officially became a member of the team. He had never worn a Nottingham Forest jersey. It was accurate to say that he had a little sense of belonging to the Forest team.

He already did have much to do with the matters of the Forest team anymore. So much so that he was not anxious about which day Nottingham Forest was to play the Champions League semifinal. As the season entered its final phase, he must consider his future again. He and the club signed a four-year contract at the time. Three years later, there was still a year left. Where would he go a year later?

Volendam placed a lot of importance on him and hoped he could transfer to the team. Just a day earlier, the Volendam director had approached him and asked about the Forest team.?He told Chen Jian indirectly if he was always on loan, the team could not determine and revolve the tactics around him. His position within the team would never be confirmed.

“… No team can use a player on loan as the core. You are very talented, and it has been three seasons. You fit very well with our tactics and there’s a high level of tacit understanding.?We all love you, but…”

He did not need to say the next sentence and Chen Jian could understand the meaning. The director was right. If the situation continued, Volendam would have to abandon him. This season, Volendam was mired in in the quagmire of relegation and had a lot to do with Chen Jian’s ambiguous status.

After two seasons of hard work, Chen Jian had proved his ability and gradually became the midfield core the small team, Volendam. But it was not a good thing for Volendam because they could not make long-term plans. They could only play one season and see how it went for the next. How could the team do well in this way?

He was also a little lost. What should he do?

He felt satisfied with being able to play in the professional league in the past. But when he really played in the professional league, he wanted more and was unwilling to be a flash in the pan. He wanted to stay in this circle. He hope to receive a stable environment that neither Nottingham Forest nor Volendam could give him now.

He felt whether he should have given Manager Tony Twain an ultimatum and leave Nottingham Forest to go to a team that could provide him with this kind of environment. He had done well at Volendam. Several teams in Eredivisie and Belgian First Division A had asked his agent if he wanted a change of environment.

He also hesitated about this matter. It was reasonable to say that Nottingham Forest gave him patronage. If it wasn’t for Nottingham Forest, he must now be a security guard somewhere in China, rather than playing professional football to the cheers of the fans at least once a week.

But it was obvious that he could not go on like this…

Chen Jian was troubled by these problems. He had been a little absent-minded lately, and the manager had hinted that he would not make the cut for the starting lineup in the next game.

It was at this time that he happened to see the Forest team’s game in the supermarket, and the red jersey which he had not seen in a while, distracted him a little.

These guys were his teammates, but they had received a lot of glories while he was still adrift and not knowing where home was.

The next day, Chen Jian went to the training base to take part in the training and was called by the manager to talk alone. His words were the same as the director. He hoped Chen Jian could consider putting pressure on the club to transfer to Volendam. Although the situation of Volendam looking to avoid relegation seemed precarious this season, as long as Chen Jian transferred over, they could have a long-term plan and it would not be difficult to return to Eredivisie.

That was what the manager said but it was unclear how much credibility he could place in his words.

He also gave Chen Jian a small warning at the end of the conversation: next season, Volendam would not continue Chen Jian on loan. They would apply to Nottingham Forest for a striker and a defender instead of a midfielder. That was to say, Chen Jian had to find another way.

Chen Jian did not speak. After hearing this, he did not show his loyalty to the manager and say a lot of things like he loved Volendam, wanted to stay and help the team through the tough times.

The manager did not know what was on the Chinese man’s mind. He could only let him go and confirm that Chen Jian was not on the squad list for the weekend game before he left.

Well, he could at least have a good think about his future.

After the training, Chen Jian received a call from his agent, Mr. Xia. Mr. Xia wanted to talk to Chen Jian about next season and his future development. His contract with the Forest team expired in a year’s time and whether he wanted to renew his contract with the Forest team or changed to another place. These were the things that the two people needed to discuss.

Chen Jian agreed to meet.

The team had made it to the finals, and Twain was busy again—he was busy sending tickets to his own friends, like Gloria and his wife’s friends like Tom Cruise. He had also mailed it to Michael Bernard even though he had decided not to watch the game again. He did not plan for Michael to come, but he wanted to let Michael know that his favorite team had reached the Champions League final again.

Then there was also the adorable Gavin Bernard, whom he would personally go to Gavin’s grave and burn the tickets to him.

The rest of the tickets would be mailed out to those players on loan. It was a tradition that Twain had pursued in order to foster the players’ sense of honor and belonging for Nottingham Forest. In fact, the club’s specialized department could do this kind of thing but in order to express good faith, Twain insisted on doing it. Each ticket sent was accompanied by a short letter, written by Twain himself.

His concern for the players could be reflected from these small details and helped win people over.

He only wrote to the players when he got home. He switched on a lamp and laid out the paper to start writing to every wandering player who drifted outside, telling them that the team was always watching their performances and that they would have a chance to play for the Forest team as long as they performed well. He wished them good health and happiness always. That was basically the content of the letters with the names of different people filled in.

The Forest team had ten players on loan this season, with the youngest being seventeen and the oldest twenty-three.

After he finished writing a letter, he would fold it and put the ticket in an envelope with the corresponding name.

When he picked up the last ticket and looked for the name on it, he saw Chen Jian’s name in Hanyu Pinyin.

His hand stopped at the sight of the man’s name.

He still remembered when Chen Jian first came to the Forest team. At the time, he was the second runner-up in a talent show and was awarded a year of training with the Forest team. He also vividly recalled asking Chen Jian on the phone if he wanted to abandon his existing life to pursue his ideals in England and how Chen Jian answered. He also remembered how Chen Jian refused when he gave him his first professional contract to change his nationality.

These things happened like it was yesterday, vivid in his mind.

Now, three years later, Chen Jian had one more season left on his contract with Nottingham Forest. He had to consider what Chen Jian’s future should be like…

Should he renew the contract, or would it not be renewed when it expired? Would he continue to loan him out for training, or would he be brought back to the team and start playing in the reserves?

Although he did well at Volendam, Volendam’s strength was not comparable to that of Nottingham Forest, so his performance at Volendam did not mean that he could meet the requirements of Nottingham Forest. Twain believed that today’s Chen Jian was still not up to the standards of the First Team.

He put down the ticket and started to write a letter.?He did not use English but wrote in Mandarin. He had not written in Mandarin for many years and was a little rusty. The problem of forgetting how to write some words caused him to stare blankly for a long time when he picked up the pen.?In fact, the main reason was that he did not know what he should say to Chen Jian.

It was him who gave Chen Jian hope. But he could not keep Chen Jian for the rest of his life.

After he mulled over it for a long time, he only wrote this sentence on the A4 paper: “Foolish Old Man, how’s your digging going at the Taihang and Wangwu mountains?”

Then he folded the paper and stuffed it into the envelope along with the ticket. He patted it gently before he turned off the lamp and got up to go rest.

Shania was in bed and already got ready to “make a baby.” She casually asked as she watched Twain undressed, “Writing letters to those players you’re sending the tickers to?”

“Yeah.” Twain nodded, “It felt a little rusty to do that for the first time in five years, so I wrote a little slower.”

“I’m not in a hurry.” Shania laid lazily in bed and smiled at Twain, “You don’t look like you’re in a good mood, do you?”

Twain said as he got undressed, “I just wrote a letter to a silly boy. After thinking about it for a long time, I still did not know what to say. I want to help him, but I’m afraid he’s not up to scratch.”

“So, you’re bothered by this…”

Shania suddenly got up on her knees in bed and hugged Twain from behind, “You can give him a chance. Don’t you always say that? It’s someone else’s business to work hard and try, but it’s your business to give a chance.”

Twain felt the soft and gentle contact from behind him, and his lower body responded.

He turned around and threw Shania down on the bed, laughing, “You have a point, so to thank you…”

It was a room full of love and passion.

Twain handed all the written letters to the club’s staff the next day and they would mail them out. Each letter would be delivered to each corresponding person in person by courier and absolutely not be lost.

For the vast majority of players on loan, the letter in the same envelope as the ticket was nothing but an add-on. The manager said things that seemed to be warm but was in fact the same for everyone.?No one was to be the special one.

“Dear so and so, I have followed your performance closely in the so and so team. I hope you can learn useful things from this loan… Tony Twain.”

All the letters were the same except for the names.

But for one of the people, he was the special one.

It did not start with “Dear so and so” and it did not end with a signature. The tone was plain and written as if asking about a very ordinary matter.

Chapter 852 - The Foolish Old Man

It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, with blue skies and cool breeze outside the window. Chen Jian had no interest in taking in the sun outside. Volendam during the weekends was not a quiet place. As a famous wedding photography spot and a tourist attraction in Netherlands, the place would be bustling and packed with tourists every weekend.

He was watching TV at his place at that moment while his agent, Mr. Xia had just arrived and was making coffee in the kitchen.

Chen Jian’s eyes were fixed on the live broadcast of the match between AZ Alkmaar at home against FC Volendam on TV. The match was only 10 minutes old and FC Volendam was already a goal behind.

“You’re still watching?” Mr. Xia said as he walked out of the kitchen with coffee in his hands, “This team’s standard is just like this. It’ll play for a while in the Eredivisie then go back to where it belongs.”

Chen Jian did not answer him as he continued watching the match.

Mr. Xia sat diagonally opposite Chen Jian and stirred his coffee with the spoon. After stirring for a while, making some clinking sounds, he asked Chen Jian, “Chen… Have you considered about the thing I told you about?”

Chen Jian turned to look at his agent, “I haven’t decided yet, Uncle Xia.”

Mr. Xia glared at him and said, “How long do you want to think about this? The season is almost over, this team is definitely going to be relegated.” He pointed at FC Volendam on the screen and said, “You say the manager said he’s not planning to loan you next season? I told him I don’t intend to let you stay at this place. You’re already 23 years old, when the new season start in the second half of the year, you’ll be 24. Do you really want to waste your golden period in this kind of team?”

Chen Jian fell silent again after these words.

“What’s the meaning from Nottingham Forest’s side?” Mr. Xia asked after having a sip of coffee.

Chen Jian shook his head and said, “I don’t know what do they mean.”

Hearing this, Mr. Xia could only sigh helplessly. Nottingham Forest was unlike FC Volendam, he could not scold them the same way he scolded FC Volendam. After all, they were soon-to-be one of the top teams, one of the hottest teams in Europe. Many people made every effort they could but still could not play in Tony Twain’s team. Yet his player was already part of the Forest team… Even though he had not played for Forest before.

After sighing, Mr. Xia thought about it and felt even more aggrieved as he complained, “Dong Fangzhuo at least put on the Manchester United jersey when playing for them and they brought him to South Africa, to Hong Kong to play for them. As for you… They did not say anything about you, neither are they excited about your prospects, nor are they not excited… What does Tony Twain mean by this? I’ve introduced so many Chinese players overseas but I’ve never seen your situation before.”

Chen Jian asked, “Uncle Xia, did you talk to Mr. Twain?”

“What’s there to talk about? He doesn’t care about me at all… A big shot manager is a big shot manager…” Mr. Xia was getting angrier the more he talked about it as he drank all the coffee in one gulp, “But this time…” He swallowed all the coffee, “I must have a talk with him. There’s only a year left on the contract. I must know what plans the club have for you. Otherwise I can’t plan your future for you. Chen Jian, do you know… I originally wanted to make you the example of Chinese players playing overseas because you’re a full-time player for Nottingham Forest. This was very exciting. But if you keep messing about in this kind of teams, it’s useless even if I boasted that you’re the combination of Maradona and Pelé. There are an Eredivisie team and two Belgium First Division A teams interested in you now, I believe this is an opportunity for you. You have to cooperate with me and convince the club to agree to a transfer for you.”

Chen Jian frowned. He was no longer focused on the match as he said, “I don’t think I can convince that person…”

“We’ll do it the hard way then! At such a crucial moment, we have to fight for a better future for you even if we have to burn bridges!” Mr. Xia said as he clenched his fist, as if he was very agitated, “Initially when you were loaned out, what did the club say? It was for you to train. It has been two years and you’re the main player for this team, leading them to the Eredivisie. If they still don’t have any reactions to that, I believe they’ve never really placed much importance on you. Just like Dong Fangzhuo…” He muttered, “In front of the Chinese media, they always say ‘We are not doing this for the Chinese market, that youth really has potential.’ But in reality? Chen, do you feel like you’re important to them?”

This was a difficult question for Chen Jian to answer. Was he not important? Coach Twain called Tianjin himself to ask to let him chase his dreams in Nottingham Forest, and he even set up a special training menu for him. When coach Twain was still in the Forest team, he took extra care of him. Was he important? After he was loaned out, the club almost did not ask about him at all. FC Volendam would report the performance of the player on loan to Forest once every quarter. Chen Jian knew that this was not a special privilege that he had. Every player on loan would have the same treatment. As for the reports that were sent back, would his be looked at a few more times? He did not know.

Mr. Xia looked at Chen Jian and waited for his reply.

Chen Jian did not know how to answer this question, so he resorted to the same old reply. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know…”

“You! You…” Mr. Xia was fuming at Chen Jian’s reply, “I’m trying to fight for your benefits, bro!”

Chen Jian knew that everything Mr. Xia was doing was for his own good of course… At least from a financial point of view.

Mr. Xia say down after he finished complaining and stayed silent. Chen Jian did not know what to say either. The room fell into an awkward silence. At this moment, there were cheers coming from the TV and their attentions were momentarily drawn by it.

FC Volendam had equalized.

“How stubborn…” Mr. Xia mocked.

“They have no hopes of escaping relegation even if they draw,” Chen Jian said calmly at the side.

This topic gave them another impetus to talk as Mr. Xia continued asking, “Can you tell me what you think, Chen? Do you want to stay at FC Volendam, or at Forest, or at another place?”

Chen Jian did not hesitate this time, “If possible, I wish to play for Nottingham Forest of course.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the top league, the level is the highest, and… If I play in a team like that, my parents would find it easier to watch me on TV,” Chen Jian replied.

Mr. Xia grunted in reply, “This last point fits your personality. I also know that it will be great if you can play for Nottingham Forest. But…it’s too difficult.” He dusted his hands and shrugged his shoulders as he continued, “I think you should not hold on to impossible fantasies like this, Chen. The current situation is that Nottingham Forest is not interested in you. Obviously, I’m not concerned about you being dealt a blow by what I’m saying, Chen. You’re indeed not good enough to make them attracted to you…” At this point, Mr. Xia stole a glance at Chen Jian and found out that there were no signs of unhappiness on his face. He thought that he was a fellow who knew his own strengths.

“So, the plan I have for you is to train yourself in teams from the Eredivisie or the Belgium First Division A for a few years first, then transfer to a team in one of the four big leagues. First, you have to leave Nottingham Forest. They might be your parent team, but they are no help to your development at all, even hindering your progress.”

Mr. Xia started to list down the various wrongdoings that Nottingham Forest had to Chen Jian. At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.

Chen Jian waved at his agent apologetically and went to answer the door.

There was a young man with a yellow cap and a yellow jacket standing outside. Chen Jian noticed the “dhl” printed on the cap. That was the logo for DHL Express.

“Mr. Chen Jian?” The man smiled and asked in English.

Chen Jian nodded out of reflex, he still did not know why the logistics company was looking for him. Could it be his parents sending food from China to him to add to his meals again? When he thought about that, he turned and looked behind the courier, other than the exclusive yellow dhl van with red stripes, there was nothing else. Could the item be in the vehicle?

After confirming the identity of the customer, the dhl staff took out an express delivery envelope and a pen.

“Please sign here, Mr. Chen Jian.”

“Eh?” Chen Jian felt strange looking at this letter.

“It’s for you sir, please sign here, Mister Chen Jian.” The dhl staff did not show any signs of unhappiness at the hesitation displayed by Chen Jian, instead, he repeated what he said earlier with the addition of honorifics.

Even though he did not know what it was exactly, Chen Jian still signed his name.

After ensuring that there was no mistake, the dhl staff passed the envelope to Chen Jian and politely took his leave.

Chen Jian stood at the door in a daze, holding the envelope until that van drove off.

Mr. Xia felt something wrong when he did not see Chen Jian return after so long and he stood up and walked towards the door, “What’s wrong, Chen, who was it?”

“Ah… A letter. But I don’t know who is it from,” Chen Jian replied as he turned around, waving the item in his hand.

“Open it up and you’ll know,” Mr. Xia said as he turned back, it was nothing serious, “You have to give what I said earlier some serious consideration, Chen. Nottingham Forest is really not suitable for you…”

He was still rambling on.

Chen Jian opened the envelope and found another red envelope inside. He flipped it over and saw the Nottingham Forest badge.

“It’s from Nottingham Forest,” Chen Jian did not hear what Mr. Xia was saying at all. He waved the envelope in his hand and continued opening it.

Two pieces of paper fell out from the envelope.

“They sent it to you? What did they send?”

Chen Jian did not answer his agent’s question. He bent down to pick up the two pieces of paper, one thin and one thick. The thicker one was actually a ticket.

“UEFA Champions League…Finals…Ticket?” Chen Jian read it out softly. He looked up at Mr. Xia in surprise. Nottingham Forest did not reach the Champions League final ever since he was loaned out, so this was his first time receiving a ticket from Forest, it was no wonder that he was shocked.

Mr. Xia had a sudden realization. He shrugged and said, “This trick again…” He explained to Chen Jian, “Every player being loaned out will receive this ticket when Forest reaches the Champions League Final. Tony Twain thinks that this is a way to cultivate the honor and loyalty of these players to Forest. As for the effect of it, I’ll not go into details. They’re not treating you any differently, Chen.”

Chen Jian looked down at the ticket in his hand. Then he saw that there was another piece of paper in his hands.

It seemed to be a letter, he opened it up. There was just one line on it, written in Mandarin:

“Foolish old man, how’s the digging of the Taihang and Wangwu mountains?”

This sentence struck a chord deep inside Chen Jian’s heart. He remembered how he answered Twain when he was at the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School then.

—Chen Jian, for you, when the road to your dreams leads to a dead-end, what do you think is standing in front of you? A wall? No, I’m telling you now, what’s blocking in front of you is not a wall, but a huge mountain! Then Chen Jian, if you want to fulfill your dreams, what do you plan to do? Answer me.

—Dig through it, sir!

Dig through it, dig through it… dig through it!

Chen Jian trembled slightly with the letter in his hands.

That voice had already became muffled gradually and there were times when he even forgot this conversation.

I always thought that I had succeeded because I’m playing professionally here and I have an agent, just like any other professional players… But I see, I’m still just digging through the mountain.

If I stop here thinking that I’ve already dug through that mountain, then I’ll be stuck here my whole life. I’ll look up and think that the sky that I’m looking at is the whole world. I won’t be resigned to this…

The agent, Mr. Xia realized that Chen Jian was acting weird and he asked, “What’s wrong, Chen? What’s written there?”

Chen Jian looked up, smiled and said, “Dear Chen Jian, the club has always been monitoring your performance very closely, please continue to work hard…something like that. It’s just as you said, Uncle Xia, beautiful words to win people over.” He folded the letter properly and placed it back into the envelope before showing Mr. Xia the ticket.

“I’ll go watch then.”

“Me too,” Mr. Xia took the ticket from him, had a good look and returned it to him, “I’ll book one online. I have to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Tony Twain.”

“There’s no rush actually. Let’s wait till after the Champions League final. You’ll definitely not be able to have a private talk with him before the final, Uncle Xia. He’s sure to be extremely busy then.”

Mr. Xia thought about what Chen Jian said and realized that he was right.

“Okay then, after the season is over, you’ll return to China to visit your parents and I’ll go look for him.”

Chen Jian nodded.

“We’re not done yet, Chen. You have to tell me about how you’ve planned for your own future? Don’t tell me things like you still wish to play for Nottingham Forest. That’s impossible, you know? It’s a delusion and empty delusions are pointless. You have to be realistic, your future lies elsewhere…”

Chen Jian waited for Mr. Xia to finish talking before replying calmly, “Sorry, Uncle Xia. I still want to play for Nottingham Forest, at least until the end of my contract.”

Mr. Xia put a hand on his forehead and exclaimed, “Why? To be a star? To let your parents see you on TV every weekend? To win more champion’s trophies? To earn more money? Why?”

This time, Chen Jian smiled and shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“You…you’re really an idiot!” To be stuck with a player like this, Mr. Xia, the agent, had no choice.

Chen Jian could only smile as he looked at him lying down on the sofa, unwilling to acknowledge him.

There are some things that you can’t tell an outsider so easily, Uncle Xia, very sorry.

Chapter 853 - The Old Guard is Still Standing Strong

When Chen Jian was debating with his agent in Netherlands about his future, Nottingham Forest was facing their opponent who was second from the bottom in the league—Newcastle.

This match took place at the same time as Arsenal’s visit to Tottenham.

The north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham might be the toughest match that Arsenal had left in the remaining eight games of the league. That was because it was not an ordinary league match, this was a derby.

Twain was also paying attention to this match, Kerslake was listening to the latest match information on the radio with his headphones. If there was any new happening, he would tell Twain beside him immediately.

The Nottingham Forest players also understood what this match meant to them. They also paid a lot of attention on Arsenal’s game. The whole team could be said to be very distracted.

This was not a situation that Twain wanted to see; hence he had no choice but to keep reminding his players to focus before the game.

The match had entered the second half and the score line between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle was still 0:0. On the other side, Arsenal was leading Tottenham 1:0.

These scores were a little depressing.

Twain also felt that it was not good to keep caring about other people so he stood up from his seat, away from Kerslake’s “oral broadcast”, and shouted to the pitch for his players to focus and to score.

At the same time, on the other side at Tottenham’s home ground, White Hart Lane, even though his team was leading 1:0, Wenger was having a tough time.

Sometimes, the score did not reflect the actual state of the game, especially in games such as a derby.

Even though Arsenal was leading by a goal, they were under heavy pressure from Tottenham.

The Tottenham fans also knew the importance of this game. Some people even hung words of encouragement in the stands for Nottingham Forest playing in the north, “Leave the league to Forest, give us the FA Cup.”

As archrivals of Arsenal, they did not mind pulling Arsenal down nor do they mind watching Arsenal lose the crown. The opponent’s pain is their greatest pleasure and happiness.

Wenger stood at the sideline anxiously, constantly calling for his team to remind them to watch out for the counter. His brows touched from his frown and he looked very serious.

On the other side, Twain gritted his teeth as he glared at the pitch with his fists clenched and body tensed.

As managers, the pressure on the two of them were intense.

If Arsenal won this game, they would have basically won the league already. Nottingham Forest only had a mathematical possibility in theory—hoping for Arsenal to lose 0:8 in the last game and for Forest to win 6:0. The odds of that happening was too low…

Twain looked at his watch, there was 27 minutes to the end of the match. In other words, there was only 27 minutes to the end of the season.

Carl Spicer was at St. James Park himself as he wanted to witness Twain’s failure with his own eyes.

Twain was hesitating about whether he wanted to make a substitution. Newcastle was determined not to give Forest the three points in their home ground. They basically gave up attacking and defended with everyone. Bentley’s passes could not even get in. In this kind of situation, should he sub Bentley out?

Two more minutes passed, Forest laid siege on Newcastle’s goal. However, the bark is worse than the bite. Twain made his decision and he asked Kerslake to call Moke back from his warmup.

Newcastle was obviously defending against crosses, then let’s give them something different.

Moke ran to Twain and called out, “Boss.”

Twain who was watching the situation on the pitch turned to look at Moke then pulled him over. He pointed to the pitch and told him, “I need you to get on and use your penetration abilities to create some trouble for the Newcastle backline. Do you understand?”

Moke nodded, “I know what to do Boss.”

“Remember, you must cause chaos in their backline.”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

“Go!” Twain slapped Moke on his back.

The fourth official raised the LED board for a substitution on the sideline. Nottingham Forest making a change, number 7 Bentley off, number 17 Moke on.

At White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspurs also made a substitution. 34 years-old, old guard Michael Owen coming on for Croatian defender Corluka.

When they saw 34 years-old Owen coming on, some people from the visiting Arsenal fans broke into laughter.

Did Tottenham Hotspurs have no other players to use? They actually sent someone who could barely run on.

The commentator could not guess what Harry Redknapp wanted to do with this substitution either.

Owen was already 34 years old and he was frequently injured this season. He did not play many games for the team at all. Why would he send someone whose fitness and form cannot be guaranteed on?

“Hey, Tony, there’s a substitution over there,” Kerslake told Tony with his hands pressing on his headphones.

“Hmm?” Tony did not really care much about the substitution at White Hart Lane, he was paying attention to Moke’s performance. He dribbled the ball into a dead end again earlier, making his manager stomp his foot in annoyance.

“Tottenham’s substitution. Owen’s on.”

Twain was familiar with this name. He was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses, “Owen? Michael Owen? The one who played for Liverpool and Newcastle before?”

Kerslake nodded his head.

Twain rolled his eyes and said, “Is he not retured yet? I thought he already retired since I’ve not seen him this season.”

“He’s frequently injured, He hasn’t even finished a complete match yet this season, “explained Kerslake.

“What’s old Harry thinking about? Forget it…” He sighed and pointed to the mini radio in Kerslake’s arms, “Keep that lousy thing. There’s no need to care about the others. We’ll just have to play our own game…and have no regrets.”

When he heard that the one who came on was that old guy Owen, Twain even had such a thought—Harry Redknapp is planning to give the League title to Arsenal. Therefore, he had already decided to take his revenge on Tottenham Hotspurs in the FA Cup Finals. Not only must he win, he wanted to give them a proper thrashing and shame them.

Kerslake moved his lips and put his hands inside his clothes, but he did not switch off the radio. Deep inside, he was still anticipating a miracle…

December 14th last year, Michael Owen celebrated his 34th birthday on the hospital bed. At that time, he just suffered a rather serious injury in training and everyone said that he would definitely retire then. In the end, he did not announce his retirement, instead, he claimed that he would do everything to recover and return to the field. Many people thought that it was a joke at that time.

But now, he had indeed returned to the field, even though the season had only one game and 21 minutes left.

The Arsenal goal was right below the visiting fans’ stand. He could hear the mocking coming from the stands clearly.

“Hey, old man! Why are you not retired yet?”

“Can you still run, Michael?”

“Be careful, don’t get injured again! If you must fall, remember not to fall in our penalty area!”

He ignored them.

He experienced peaks and lows in his professional career, and he had seen everything before. Such taunts could no longer affect his morale.

“This is really an aging strike force…” The commentator shook his head as he looked at this scene, “32 years old Pavlyuchenko and 34 years old Michael Owen. Could Harry Redknapp be planning to break through Arsenal’s defense with such a strike force?”

Wenger turned to take a look at the Tottenham Hotspurs’ manager Redknapp, who was standing at the sideline too. The old man looked calm and had no expression on his face.

He was behind but he seemed to be calmer than Wenger, who was leading.

Many Tottenham fans could not understand Michael Owen’s introduction too. They thought that Redknapp had given up on the game, otherwise, why would he introduce an old man? Boos targeted at Owen rang out from the stands.

To Owen, this was a betrayal…even his own fans were booing him.

Moke successfully broke though the defense of the Spanish left-back, José Enrique, but he had no intention of passing the ball. Instead, he continued to dribble into the area and this caused the Newcastle defense to fall into a state of panic.

Argentine defender Coloccini left Ibi?evi? alone and came forward to cover. Moke did a quick stepover and pushed the ball towards the byline. Coloccini did not fall for the trick and simply followed him, not allowing him to cut in.

With his back towards Coloccini, Moke suddenly nutmegged the Argentine with a backheel and turned 180 degrees using Coloccini as a pivot and cut in near the byline!

Coloccini stretched out a leg to tackle the ball out of reflex but he saw Moke move the ball away in front of his eyes, and his foot managed to catch Moke’s foot…

One could have used guessed using his knees what happened next.

Coloccini felt a chill within him.

Moke fell with a shout.

The goalkeeper, Tim Krul grabbed the ball and he heard the referee’s whistle too.

“Penalty!” The commentator shouted excitedly. Nottingham Forest could not score after laying siege to the goal for more than 70 minutes, but they managed to get an opportunity to score from a dribble.

The Forest players on the field was just as excited as they rushed forward to hug Moke, pat his head and hammer his chest. Obviously, these people did not know that Arsenal was still leading on the other side yet.

In comparison, the Nottingham Forest technical area was much calmer, these coaches knew what was happening at White Hart Lane. Even if they scored the penalty as long as Arsenal was able to maintain this score till the end, Forest would still be unable to win the title.

“Forest got a penalty kick,” Wenger’s assistant leant towards him and told him.

Wenger smiled.

Even if Forest won with a penalty, it would be pointless. As long as they win this match, the title would almost be certainly Arsenal’s. He did not want to judge his opponent, certainly not one that was already defeated.

He remembered one thing though, Twain mentioned before that an one-goal lead is the most dangerous score line in this world. It was indeed rather dangerous for Arsenal to just be leading 1:0. He should remind his players to increase their attack and try for another goal. That way, they could celebrate winning the league title in their archrival’s stadium. There was nothing that could feel better than that in this world.

He stood up from his seat and he did not care whether Forest scored their penalty kick.

“Ibi?evi?’s penalty! It’s in!!”

The commentators were very excited, but the celebrations in the Forest team’s technical area was very restricted. They merely stood and clapped, they did not even give each other a hug.

On the pitch however, the Forest players were very agitated as they hugged each other, they were only short of piling on top of each other.

Twain looked at his players and turned to look at Kerslake.

Kerslake knew what he meant and answered, “It’s still 1:0 on that side.”

Twain thought and said, “Don’t tell them about the truth.”

“But if they ask us…”

“Then say Tottenham equalized!” Twain snapped.

Ibi?evi? freed himself from his teammates’ embraces and ran towards the sideline after scoring. He wanted to know about the situation on the other side.

“It’s level! It’s level!” Kerslake waved his arms and said, “Tottenham has drew level!”

Ibi?evi? looked at Twain suspiciously because he did not see much agitation in his Boss’ face.

“Go back and continue the match! Why do you care about how other people are doing?!” Twain had to lecture him loudly, “Make sure you play your game properly first!”

Ibi?evi? and the other players turned to run back onto the field, only Wood stayed there and looked at Twain, without moving immediately.

Even though the coaches told them that Tottenham had levelled, the surrounding people did not look happy and the Forest fans in the stands did not use any special actions to remind them. This “fact’ was very suspicious.

“I think we are very bad actors…” Kerslake complained as he walked back to the coaches’ seats.

Twain crossed his arms at the sideline, ignoring his complaint.

“Attack. Press up! Press up!” Wenger were gesticulating to his team from the sideline, “Both Owen and that Russian are not speedy forwards, don’t be afraid of their counter-attacks!”

Arsenal’s defensive line went further and further forward. They even forgot that this was a derby match.

Wilshere’s pass got intercepted but Arsenal’s defenders did not fall back to defend. They were waiting for their own midfielders to get the ball back and continue attacking.

Tottenham started their move. A streak of white flash ran past the Arsenal’s defensive line and received the ball from the air as Modri? pinged a long pass forward from defense.

“Michael Owen?”

Even the commentator was shocked as he questioned what he saw.

Owen turned to look at the Arsenal defenders behind him, then turned to look at the linesman to confirm if he was offside. The linesman did not do anything, only ran alongside him towards the byline.

Owen then looked forward, Almunia was hesitating whether to come out or to stay back.

Owen did not hesitate, he stopped looking around and dribbled the ball forward!

A deafening cheer exploded from the stands as everyone cheered for Owen at that moment. The Tottenham fans prayed that he could be 10 years younger and become the “Wonder Boy” again. The Arsenal fans, however, were cursing him to fall immediately.

“Michael Owen…” Kerslake suddenly stopped halfway back, listened carefully and mumbled under his breath.

“What?” Twain frowned as he asked.

“He’s dribbling the ball…onside…one on on…” Kerslake continued to mumble.

“He’s dribbling! He’s very fast, onside! Totally onside! What’s Senderos doing? Why is he raising his arm? Fall back! He’s one on one!” The commentator could not help but to complain, “This is not the sprinting speed that a 34 years-old old guard should have! Michael Owen! He seemed to have returned to 16 years ago for a moment…”

Owen was indeed very fast, so fast that Wenger was shocked too.

Almunia decided to come out because Owen was going to enter the penalty area.

He saw Owen’s right foot nudged the ball slightly while running just when he rushed out…

The ball flew over his head and ended in the goal behind him.

At that moment, White Hart Lane was silent.

“One on one… Almunia came out… Lob… Goal!! It’s a goal!!” Kerslake shouted all of a sudden and jumped up as if he was mad, “It’s a goal! Tony!! Tony! It’s a goal!! Tottenham has levelled the game! They’ve really equalized this time!!”

He turned and shouted towards Twain while pointing to the radio in his hand.

Twain did not ask, “Really?” Instead, he snatched the headphones from him and put them in his ears.

“…Beautiful lob from Michael Owen! Almunia could not react at all! I feel for him. The Arsenal team did not expect Owen to still have this kind of sprinting speed! One error of judgement of their defense gave Owen a chance like this. He dribbled with the ball for 30 meters and levelled the match at 1:1 with a beautiful lob!! I heard that Nottingham Forest has taken the lead at Newcastle with a penalty. Tony Twain’s team has a lifeline now!!”

At the same time, cheers suddenly rang out from the visiting stands. Those Forest fans who were closer to the pitch waved their mobile phones and radios in their hands and shouted towards the pitch.

“They’ve scored! They’ve scored!! Tottenham, Tottenham has scored!”

“Tony!” Kerslake clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he looked at Twain, “A miracle has happened!!”

Twain did not smile, he was in a slight daze. Has it really happened? Arsenal really conceded an equalizer? Will there be a delay in reporting and Arsenal has already scored immediately? He looked around aimlessly and passed the headphones back to Kerslake, “The game is not over yet, it’s too early to celebrate.”

He turned around and shouted towards the pitch:

“Score another goal! Score one more! Seal the victory! Watch out for their counterattack… focus!!”

This time, the Forest players believed that Tottenham had really levelled the score and their morale was boosted. For a moment, they actually forced the whole Newcastle team to be stuck inside their own defensive third.

“Owen! Owen! Owen!” The voices from the stands at White Hart Lane boomed into the sky.

The old guard, Owen, extended both arms and ran on the pitch. It had been very long since he last enjoyed such cheers and felt the cool breeze on his face. He felt like he had wings and was flying freely in the sky.

When he got seriously injured this season, some people advised him to retire with dignity. But he said, “Injuries are like my wife. I’m already used to being with them all the time. I will not retire because I want to continue playing, I feel that I can continue playing.”

Everyone joked that he was in denial and being boastful then.

But now, everyone who mocked and laughed at him had shut up. What showed on their faces were shock, awkwardness, embarrassment and respect now.

At that moment, even injuries were defeated by this strong old guard. He gave those people who exclaimed, “Hasn’t this old guy retired yet?” a tight slap on their faces. The slap really felt good…

Wenger hung his head and nobody could see the expression on his face then. Annoyance? Anger? Regret? Doubt? Helplessness?

None of these mattered now.

Wenger had always believed that a professional player’s career and competitiveness would start going downhill after 30. That was why he always did what he could to cleanse his team of all the “old players” above 30 years old, why the young talents that he trained could have so much room for development. There was nothing wrong with that and Arsenal agreed with that club philosophy.

But this scene today was indeed rather ironic. He was defeated by an old guard whom he never placed much importance on. He was totally defeated and he could not even come up with a reason for it…

What could he say? What kind of expression should he show in front of the cameras?

He could only look down in silence.

The next day, when Nottingham Forest won the hopes of fighting for the league title again, and news of Arsenal settling for a draw after the goal from old guard Owen got published in the papers, Owen received a postcard from his own mailbox.

Written on it was:

Your goal saved the life of a person. Thank you, Michael.

It was not signed.

Chapter 854 - Our City Ground Stadium

The number of fans who travelled to the City Ground Stadium increased as the time for the last match of the Premier League drew near.

Twain would sometimes drive by the City Ground Stadium when he made his way home from Wilford, and he would see the entrance to the stadium surrounded by hordes of flowers and Nottingham Forest scarves that swayed gently in the wind.

He knew that all those items had been left behind by people who wanted to bid farewell to the City Ground Stadium.

The red City Ground Stadium was reflected on the clear surface of the Trent River. On the opposite end of the river was the Meadow Lane Stadium, which serves as the home ground for Notts County.

Twain and Dunn were working in two separate places that were situated very close to each other. But, the two have never met each other after they bade farewell a year ago.

There were two days left till the last match of the Premier League. Twain drove over to the City Ground Stadium after finishing his work for the day. The sun was close to setting by the time he reached.

There was a greater number of Forest fans who had made their way to the City Ground Stadium to say their farewells today. The fans knew that they did not have much time left on their hands. The City Ground Stadium would be demolished during the summer after Forest plays their final match in two days’ time, and a new sports and recreation center would be built in its stead.

Twain parked his car by the river and turned on the stereo. He listened to Dolores O’Riordan’s gentle voice as he admired the scenery of the City Ground Stadium against the backdrop of the setting sun.

A feeling of warmth surged up from within him as he gazed at the stadium. He would have felt nothing but coldness inside of him right now if he had not transmigrated and gone through the life that he did.

He had fought for 11 years in this very stadium. He had always complained about how small the stadium is, and how it is not able to house more spectators and thereby lead to greater pressure on their opponents.

Evan Doughty eventually came to agree with his sentiments as well. The size of the stadium did not reflect the results, standing and reputation of Nottingham Forest.

Twain did not change his opinion about needing a bigger stadium, but he still felt a little reluctant now that he had to bid farewell to it.

He did not buy flowers, attach a card to it and leave it at the entrance of the stadium like the rest of the fans did. All he did was to recline against the bonnet of his car and gaze at the stadium with his arms folded before his chest.

11 years might have passed since he transmigrated, but Twain still vividly remembers all the emotions that he felt in the stadium when he was first placed in charge as a manager.

He felt a sense of belonging to the City Ground Stadium when his team sent West Ham into a frenzy by scoring two goals consecutively. He liked the fervent atmosphere in the stadium, and he enjoyed the cheers and singing voices that came from the stands. He did not regard those sounds as cacophonous. To him, they were sounds that were even more pleasant to listen to than the best music in the world.

He was 34 years old back then, but he is 45 now. Those 11 years have become a part of his life that he is unable to erase.

To the City Ground Stadium however, 11 years is nothing more than a tenth of its ‘life’. It has quietly stood by the Trent River for a long period of time, and it has seen the rise and fall of Forest.

All the heroes who have left a name for themselves in history did so on its grounds, and it was much older than all the trophies in the trophy room.

It did not matter how arrogant and conceited Twain was as a person. Even he has to bow before the stadium.

115 years passed by in the blink of an eye. Everything that happened during all those years have now become nothing more than a part of history. The City Ground Stadium might be bathed in golden light right now, but its red exterior was still conspicuous even if viewed from a distance.

Countless people have left bouquets of flowers before it as a way of remembering and saying farewell to the stadium.

Twain was lost in his thoughts as he leant against the bonnet of his car.

Someone recognized him from afar and approached him.

“Tony?” The person who approached him squinted his eyes to look at him. He could not see properly due to the glare of the sun.

“Kenny. It’s been a while.” The person standing before Twain was the boss of the Forest Bar, Kenny Burns.

“It has definitely been a while since you moved houses.”

“What could possibly have led you to leave your bar behind and make your way over here?”

“How could business be more important than saying goodbye to a dear friend?” Burns pointed at the City Ground Stadium behind him.

It was only then that Twain noticed that Burns was holding onto a bouquet of flowers like the rest.

“Do you have the ticket to the last match of the Premier League?” Twain was going to give Burns one if he did not have the tickets.

“I’m a season ticket holder, Tony.”

Twain chuckled. “I’ve never seen you at a match before.”

“I will definitely go and watch the last match. Also, it won’t just be me. Some of my friends will be coming down too.”

“Brosnan told me that he’s trying to plan some farewell event for the City Ground Stadium, and that he was trying to gather some of the ex-Forest players for it. Looks like he has already reached out to you?”

Burns nodded his head. “I would’ve attended it without his invitation anyway. It’s a shame that the boss can’t make it.”

The ‘boss’ that he was referring to was not Tony Twain but Brian Clough instead. Clough was Burns’ manager back then.

“Mrs. Clough has also agreed to attend the event.” Twain said.

It was great that Mrs. Clough could turn up at the event, but both of them were well aware that Mrs. Clough would never be able to replace the boss. Neither of them meant to disrespect Mrs. Clough with those sentiments, but that was just how that felt.

The conversation died at the mention of the deceased Clough and a silence settled between the two.

Against the setting sun, Dolores gently sang,

“I had a dream, strange it may seem… Open my eyes, I realize, this is my perfect day… Hope you’ll never grow old. Hope you’ll never grow old. Hope you’ll never grow old. Hope you’ll never grow old…”

“Tony…”

“Hmm?”

“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to say. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Go on.”

“I have to thank you for not saying that you would get people to forget about Brian Clough even though you’ve achieved great results at this club.”

Twain snorted. “Ha! I’m not a fool. I really respect the boss as well.”

“It doesn’t matter how well the club is performing right now. To us, the boss and what he has achieved are irreplaceable. I suppose you can say it’s just us being obstinate.”

Twain smiled and said, “If you dare to say that there is someone who is better than him as a manager, then a stroke of lightning will flash across the sky and hit you on the head. I don’t want to be hit by lightning, and I’m sure you don’t either.”

Twain’s words caused Burns to laugh, and the slightly despondent atmosphere between them dissipated as a result.

Twain was actually alluding to something with his words. Several years ago, when a team led by Nigel Clough, or Brian Clough’s son, faced off with Manchester United in the FA Cup, a reporter asked if he agreed with the statement that Ferguson was the most outstanding manager in the British footballing scene, to which Nigel Clough responded, “It’s hard for me to say because of my family connections. If I said Sir Alex, a bright light might come crashing down from above and hit me on the head!”

“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.”

Those were the words that were said by Clough, and they have also been inscribed onto the base of Brian Clough’s statue that is situated at Old Market Square.

“You two are a little alike…” Burns shook his head as he looked at Twain. “I think he’d be proud of what you have achieved.”

“No.” Twain disagreed with Burns’ remark. “He’d have scolded the living daylights out of me on the papers. Just because I said that the referee was unfair.”

Burns smiled happily at Twain’s words. After a while, he averted his gaze back onto the stadium, and his mind wandered off again.

He began reminiscing his younger days where he fought with Manager Clough and his teammates. The stadium is still the same as the one that he played in back then, and even the cheers sound the same, but the people from back then are long gone.

Now, the stadium is about to be demolished, and the only things he has to remind himself of those times are the memories within his mind. But, there would come a day where he turns old and his memories get foggy.

When that day comes, what can he use as proof that his memories are real?

Twain’s mobile phone that he left in the car rang. He reached into the car to grab it.

It was a phone call from his wife Shania asking him when he would be coming home.

“Ah. I’m currently at the stadium, and I ran into Mr. Burns…” Twain explained to his wife over the phone.

Burns snapped out of his reveries and smiled at Twain. “Go back home, Tony. Your wife is waiting for you.”

Twain shrugged. “I still want to chat with you a little longer.”

“I’d definitely come down to watch the match during the weekend, Tony.”

“Are you trying to put pressure on me?” Twain turned and looked at Burns as he opened his car door.

“Are you telling me you are scared of pressure?”

Twain smiled. “We’d definitely win. But, as for whether or not we’d become champions of the Premier League, that still depends on the outcome of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.”

“What an exciting season. I wish you all the best.”

Twain sat in the car. He then poked his head out of the window to wave at Burns. “I wish Nottingham Forest all the best.”

He then drove away from the City Ground Stadium while being bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun.

Burns, on the other hand, started walking in the opposite direction towards the entrance of the City Ground Stadium where all the other fans have gathered, with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

The next day, the Nottingham Forest players saw Pierce Brosnan and a cameraman make their way into the training grounds under the accompaniment of Allan Adams.

Twain frowned when he noticed Allan Adams beside Brosnan, but he said nothing in response.

When all three individuals passed by in front of him, he smiled radiantly at them. “What a rare sight. I wonder what brings you here to our training grounds today, Mr. Reporter?”

Brosnan was about to open his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Allan Adams.

“It’s like this, Tony. Mr. Pierce Brosnan is intending to do a feature article on the City Ground Stadium, and he hopes to be able to interview the team about their thoughts and feelings towards the stadium…”

Brosnan smiled and nodded his head by the side.

“Is that so… All right, go ahead. But, I must remind you not to let it drag on for too long. They have just finished their training and have yet to change into a new set of clothes. If they were to somehow catch a cold…” Twain pulled a face. “It won’t be good for either of us, right?”

Twain turned around and left after finishing his words.

Brosnan felt a little awkward, because the very first person he had to interview was Tony Twain…

Allan could tell that Twain was upset, and he knew the reason behind his bad mood.

The first-team manager has not spoken a single word to him ever since he intervened and forcibly sold Lennon to another club. However, Allan was unwilling to reveal the strained relationship between him and Twain before the media, so he quickly explained to Brosnan, “Don’t mind him. He doesn’t like to be disturbed, especially since there’s a big game coming up…”

“Haha! We understand, Mr. Adams.” Brosnan said with a laugh.

To Brosnan, Twain was not acting the way that he did because ‘a big game is coming up and he doesn’t like to be disturbed’. Rather, it was because Twain was just a temperamental person, so it was normal for him to treat a person well on certain days and coldly on others.

The interview went quite smoothly due to Allan Adams’ presence. The players were all well aware of Allan’s status and position in the club.

Twain stood at the side with his arms folded and watched on coldly.

Once Brosnan was done interviewing the players, he went up to Twain to ask for an interview.

Allan Adams did not follow after him immediately. He hesitated for a moment, seemingly intent on keeping a distance between him and Twain.

“Tony. Can you talk about the final match that will be played at the City Ground Stadium?”

Twain continued to pull a long face as he looked at the two reporters. “We will bid farewell to City Ground Stadium with a victory.” He did not go on to give an inspirational and passionate speech about how he would lead his team to become champions of the Premier League.

If it had been any other reporter interviewing Twain right now, he or she would have followed up with a question about why he did not say that he was going to bid farewell to the City Ground Stadium by becoming champions.

Brosnan did not ask Twain the question because he knew Twain well, and he knew how complex the whole situation was.

Even if Forest was able to defeat Sunderland at home, their fate of becoming champions would still rest on the outcome of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.

The entire Nottingham Forest team surprisingly did not display even a twinge of optimism towards the possibility of them becoming champions of the Premier League. Even their arrogant manager, Tony Twain, refused to comment about whether they could become champions as well.

Carl Spicer announced in his show that he had ordered a new and trendy table from Ikea for Tony Twain.

Astonishingly, Twain did not say anything in response to Spicer’s comments. His lack of reaction left the media very disappointed.

However, there were still many other areas that the media could focus on.

Will the champions of the Premier League be Arsenal or Nottingham Forest?

Will the two ex-Forest players in Manchester City go easy on Arsenal due to their personal grudges against Twain?

Bendtner had spoken up regarding the rumor that he would go easy on Arsenal in an interview that was conducted a day ago. “I am a professional football player. What I care about is not who becomes the champions of the league. I only care about attaining victory for my team.”

As for Ashley Young, he confirmed that he would leave Manchester City for Liverpool at the end of the season. He indicated that he would like to bid farewell to Manchester City with a victory.

Neither player mentioned a word about Twain.

Fat John, Skinny Bill and their gang gathered at the Forest Bar a day before the kick-off of the final match of the Premier League to create the banners and flags that they would use during the match. There were several other Forest fans who also gathered at other bars to do the same thing.

The Nottingham Forest players went through their last training session at Wilford. Tony Twain set aside some time to analyse Sunderland’s game with his coaching team. They had already studied everything that they could about their opponent for the entire week, but they still wanted to analyse Sunderland a little more because they could not think of any other thing that they could do instead.

Perhaps they could somehow help Manchester City defeat Arsenal by analysing Sunderland on a much deeper level?

As the day approached sunset, the number of fans who gathered at the City Ground Stadium entrance began to dwindle in numbers.

The only things that remained were the flowers and scarves that continued to sway in the breeze.

Thompson Isaksson, who worked as a football ground staff for Forest and helped to maintain the grasses at the training grounds and at the stadium, appeared before the flowers that had been placed at the entrance of the City Ground Stadium.

If someone were to ask him whether the most memorable thing he ever did as a football ground staff was to help Forest defeat Barcelona by creating a ‘one and only’ stadium for Tony Twain, he would definitely shake his head and disagree.

To him, the most memorable thing that he did as a football ground staff was stepping onto the turf at the City Ground Stadium and maintaining it.

He had already decided to retire at the end of the season. He regarded it as an honor to be able to retire alongside the City Ground Stadium.

Today, he had come to say goodbye to the City Ground Stadium alone. The next day, he would return here with 30,000 other Forest fans, and he hoped to be able to witness the moment where Nottingham Forest bid their stadium of 115 years farewell by clinching the champions trophy.

Isaksson felt as though he was looking at his younger self as he gazed at the City Ground Stadium against the setting sun.

He stood quietly out in the open with a small smile upon his wrinkled face as a breeze caressed his skin.

“… This is our City Ground Stadium. It is as old as our granddad. It will still be here by the Trent River even when we all become granddads… It will still be here by the Trent River till the day we die… We will all die one day, but it will never grow old nor die, because it is our City Ground Stadium…”

There were not a lot of people who could still sing the song that Isaksson just sang. It was a song that the Forest fans dedicated to the City Ground Stadium when Isaksson was still young. The melody was simple and the lyrics were down-to-earth.

Sadly, technology was not as advanced back then. The fans were not able to record their songs by themselves, and there were no professional music companies who would help fans record their songs into CDs and then release them to the public either.

Darkness enveloped the streets, and the streetlights came to life.

Isaksson sang the song softly under his breath as he turned around and left.

Chapter 855 - A Suboptimal Situation

“The weather is fine today.” On the Wilford training ground, Bale shaded his eyes with his hands and looked up at the sky. In his vision, his surroundings were clear as a crystal and the sun was vibrant. “We will play our last league game under such good weather.”

“That’s good. I hate the rain.” It was ?ahin who said this and, as a technical midfielder, the pitch being wet was torturous for him.

The team had just finished a training session and was getting together to rest. The atmosphere in the Forest team had always been good, so even during the training break, they would get together and chat.

The conversation naturally shifted to the ownership of the league title. Nottingham Forest’s players were sensible and everyone knew that it was not their team that decides whom the league title belonged to.

“I called Bendtner yesterday.” Bale said, as everyone looked at him.

“I asked him if he was starting in the match. He was sure he was starting. And then I hoped for him to do his best to beat Arsenal…”

“You actually went to beg him?” Pepe said dismissively. Until now, there were still people in the team who could not approve of Bendtner leaving the team as a traitor back then.

So many years have passed…let bygones be bygones.” Bale pouted. “And I didn’t ‘beg’, I only wanted him to bring up his sportsmanship…”

“How did he answer that?” Some teammates were more interested in Bentner’s reaction.

“He did not agree or reject. ”

Pepe then snorted next to him, “Look at the way he is now, leaving Nottingham Forest, what did he get? No champion, no honor for so many years. Playing the Confederations Cup every year was his highest pursuit…”

Bale knew Pepe looked down on Bendtner, hence he did not go on.

“Don’t bother yourself with what happens to others, just focus on winning this match of ours,” said Wood, who had been listening. He was right, it was pointless, and was simply “nonsense”. Everyone had no interest in continuing to talk about the subject.

“If, and I mean if, if we don’t win the league, how would our coach eat a table?” Ibi?evi? tried to make his tone sound like a joke.

But everyone stared at him.

“Well, okay, okay, let’s not talk about this…” Ibi?evi? raised his hands.

“Hey, are you guys under a lot of pressure?” Tomorrow’s game…” It was Woodgate who said that.

“Are you under a lot of pressure?” Someone next to him immediately rebutted.

Woodgate replied honestly, “A lot.”

“I’m still ok…” Pepe lay on the grass with a strand of grass in his mouth,” As long as we win the game, being able to be the champion depends on the results between Arsenal and Manchester City. But I still want to say, putting my fate into other people’s hands, makes me unhappy.”

“I’m not happy, too. ”

“Me too. ”

The group of people echoed.

Pepe looked at the white clouds in the blue sky and muttered, “Our pressure is no greater than the coach. Every time I see the head, I think, I would never want to be a coach after I retire, at least not to be a head coach …”

As everyone heard him, they all looked over to see coach talking to the coaching team about something.

※※※

“I always thought the team was not very competitive…” Eastwood, as a coach who just switched over from a full-time player, was clearly more aware of his teammates’ mental states than any other coach.

Twain did not speak, he just looked over there. Chris Kerslake laughed, “So, how do you think it should be, Freddy? Should we get everyone together and shout slogans?”

Eastwood did not care about Chris Kerslake’s words, as he frowned and said, “Perhaps it was the reality that we are unable to guarantee victory even after winning the matches demotivates everyone…”

Chris Kerslake wanted to object, thinking that Eastwood was worrying mindlessly. Nottingham Forest had been with him for nearly a decade and he knew the team better than anyone else. But Twain opened his mouth first and said, “You’re right. Don’t just talk about them, sometimes I think about this reality, I also lose my fighting spirit …”

Chris Kerslake opened his mouth and looked at Twain in amazement.

Twain bowed his head as he stood silent for a moment before started talking again, “I f*cking hate this feeling, placing my fate into other people’s hands, and it’s even someone that I hate, it feels helpless.”

Eastwood looked at the coach and did not reply, he could understand this feeling because he was feeling the same way.

“I have a lot of ways to make sure we win against Sunderland, whether tactically or psychologically, but don’t feel very motivated now. Do you think Wenger will give us such a chance? Will they make mistakes? If I were Arsène Wenger, I would ask the team to defend once they scored a goal, as this time 1:0 and 5:0 were of no difference.” Twain told his colleagues, “The Football Association prepared for two scenarios, they took two Champions Trophy to both the Emirates Stadium, and us here. But the trophy that came to us is a replica, because everyone thought that Arsenal’s chances of losing the title are too small.

“A month ago I promised everyone a better tomorrow, that we could win the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League three times and becoming triple champions. But now it seems that the probability is too small, it’s no wonder they’re feeling unmotivated.”

Twain looked at the watch. Break time was over and his face immediately changed, “Well, forget what I just said, don’t let them sense anything unusual. Keep training!”

He was revitalized in an instant. Eastwood had seen a similar scenario once, that was after Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 win over Aston Villa in the 31st round. Twain was also tired initially and then instantly rejuvenated, seemingly two different people.

Was this his way of self-regulating?

※※※

“Well, this is the end of today’s training, I hope you don’t play too late and have an early break.” Twain spoke to the team before concluding the training. “Tomorrow’s game is very important. This season of hard work will be decided in the 90 minutes. But don’t be too nervous, it’s just a league game.”

Twain waved and let the team disperse.

He was the last person to leave the training base, and when he picked up his belongings before driving away, he saw Pierce Brosnan waiting at the door. After seeing him come out, Bruce waved to him frantically.

“Is there any issue, Mr. Journalist? I’m in a hurry to go home, it wouldn’t be nice of me to make my wife wait.”

“The media’s been quiet these two days. I would like to ask you, Tony, are you sure you don’t want to say anything?” Bruce came up and asked.

“What would you like me to say?”

“We all thought you were going to use psychological warfare again… Against Wenger and Arsenal, to put some pressure on Manchester City…”

Twain looked at Bruce, thought for a while, and said, “Okay, then. Just say that I celebrate preemptively for Arsenal for obtaining the title and, to be honest, I don’t think Manchester City poses any threat to Arsenal. They have already qualified for the Confederations Cup and have no additional desires. And you know Manchester City and us have shared a very strained relationship… I’m prepared enough to say that Arsenal’s win over Manchester City would be a definite thing, after all, the two teams are not on the same level. Of course against Sunderland, we will win as I said I would have a victorious match to bade farewell to the city stadium.”

Having said that, he pointed to Bruce’s little book, “Have you written it all down?”

“No more?” Bruce was a little surprised.

“No, that’s it. Just upload what I said without changes. There’s still a day left anyway.”

After dealing with Bruce, Twain drove away.

Bruce looked at his quick notes, as he really could not find anything worth hyping up … He was telling the truth. First of all, Arsenal and Manchester City were really not on the same line. Secondly, Manchester City did qualify for the Confederations Cup early and arguably had no desire for the last game. Thirdly, the relationship between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest was bad and that was true that they did not have to work hard to beat Arsenal in an unnecessary game to let Nottingham Forest reach the top, they were not the modern new citizens of the new century. Fourthly, now that McClaren was the Manchester City manager, this man and Twain’s personal feud was enough to write a book. What reason did he have to fight with all their might with Arsenal to help Twain? He might even deliberately send the three points to Arsenal and then watch gleefully as Twain suffered. Fifthly, Bendtner, Ashley Young and Twain’s relationship was not good either, and there was no need for them to help Twain’s team to win the title and try to beat Arsenal, even if Nottingham Forest were their initial team. But having left for so many years, that relationship was long gone. Sixth …

There was no need to analyze anymore. If he were to go any further, Manchester City not automatically scoring into their own goal was giving face to Tony Twain already.

“What kind of psychological warfare is this?” Bruce frowned. “When did the truth become a means of psychological warfare?”

※※※

“George, tomorrow is the last round of the league, right?” Sophia asked about her son. Wood nodded.

“I watched TV and it said your chances of winning the championship are slim?” Wood nodded again.

“Well…” Sophia hesitated, “Then wouldn’t Mr Twain have to eat a table in front of the media? ”

Wood looked up at his mother. “The chances are just slim, it is not a sure loss, don’t worry, mum. ”

“But if you and Arsenal both win, wouldn’t the championships be still theirs?”

“Arsenal could also lose or draw. They might not win fore sure. ”

Sophia wanted to speak more, but when she saw the look on her son’s face, she chose to shut up. She did not know much about football, and since her son said that there is hope, then she would trust him.

※※※

Gareth Bale recently found a girlfriend, but the girl was not a public figure, just an ordinary beautiful girl who was still a college student. The two met at a ball and fell in love. They were still dating, and the girls liked Bale’s star status, which makes her feel proud in front of her classmates.

Tonight, Bale had dinner with the girl at her place, and then, as the girl sat, dreaming that they were going to have a passionate night, Bale suddenly offered to go home.

“Go home?” The girl stared at Bale as if she had heard something ridiculous.

“Yes, I have to go home.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Gareth. You’re not a child anymore, do you have to go home to sleep at 9:30 every night?” The girlfriend put her petite body on Bale in the hope that she could use her sexy body to keep her boyfriend. “Your parents are not with you, and even if you stay with me overnight, they won’t say anything…”

Yes, Bale had moved out of his home and was living alone, and it was not the first time he stayed at his girlfriend’s place. But tonight was special.

Bale placed his lips on his girlfriend’s mouth, but to her disappointment, he did not stick his tongue in, but instead only touching for a bit before leaving.

“Not today, Shannon.”

Bale escaped the girl’s embrace, as he could feel his girlfriend’s disappointment.

“Because tomorrow is the final round?” Shannon sat on the bed, looking at her boyfriend.

Bale looked back at her. As it was summer, Shannon was only wearing a sling dress, and now the sling had slipped to the shoulder, revealing a large area of her white swaying chest, if it was any lower he could see that reddish spot. She really had a good figure … Bale exclaimed in the mind. But such a temptation would be of little use to him.

Gareth Bale nodded.

Suddenly the girl became a little willful, as she asked aloud, “Me or football?”

Bale was stunned as he was asked upon such a question, he did not find the question difficult to answer, he just did not expect Shannon to ask such a low-standard question…

He looked at the beautiful girl, who had almost stripped everything, and shrugged, “From tonight till tomorrow, I love football more.”

Having said that, he opened the door and walked out.

The girl, who felt insulted, grabbed her pillow and threw it at the door, then threw everything that she could throw onto the floor, as she lay down on the bed and cried. She and Bale had known each other for three months, and it was the first time she saw him being so ruthless.

It seems like sleeping with him was not sufficient to understand him…

※※※

Bendtner and Ashley Young sat in a bar on the second floor of the hotel, where his teammates usually relax, drink, play billiards, chat and dance to the music. The team’s goal had been achieved this season, and this last round of the league was more like a walk-through. After 90 minutes of play, they can immediately pack their luggage to enjoy a holiday.

Bendtner knew that at another hotel not far from here, Arsenal’s players must have gone to the room early to rest under manager Arsène Wenger’s supervision. Compared to them, Manchester City’s team-mates seemed like they were on holiday in London.

A teammate walked past unsteadily with a beer in his hand and asked aloud, “Nicklas, how have you been in summer?”

“Go home.” Bendtner replied.

“You are really boring…”

The man muttered and poured a half-glass of beer, and then raised the glass to Bendtner. Bentner then raised his glass of wine out of courtesy, but did not drink it.

After the people left, Ashley Young who was beside Bendtner, then turned at said,”Look at what they look like… I bet we’ll lose at least three balls at the Emirates Stadium! There was a slight disgust in the tone.

“It’s normal to relax, it’s been a tough season and we got the League Cup early anyway.” Bendtner had no expression on his face.

Ashley Young heard Bendtner say so, but laughed out loud instead,”Ha! The goal of a team that claimed to be the richest team in the world was to only reach the Confederations Cup … You know why I am going to leave? Liverpool doesn’t pay me as much as I am paid here, but I long for glory, and Manchester City can’t give that to me. ”

The music was loud, Ashley Young was not afraid of people overhearing what he said.

“That is how it is here…” he laughs, pointing to his indulgent teammates, “when they move from other teams, they will constantly claim that ‘I will help Manchester City win the title’, ‘I’m not here to get a good salary’ … But the truth? It was still the money that was more practical. Without fighting spirit, the players in the dressing room are only concerned about how much they can get more the next time till they renewed their contract, where to play after the weekend game, how many beautiful women they will get in the post-season holiday. I also care about these, but I care more about the championship!”

“I’ve had enough. Even if Liverpool didn’t look for me, I would’ve asked to leave.”

Bendtner listened silently to his team-mates’ complaints and asked, “Can Liverpool give you the title?”

Ashley Young responded, and he knew what Bentner meant by asking that. As long as Nottingham Forest were present, Liverpool would have to be under pressure, they were initially second this season, but because of Nottingham Forest, they were forced to be third. Last season, Liverpool were top of the league until the 30th round of the league, but the last league title was given to Nottingham Forest, and then back to … Forget it, stop thinking about it.

“At least . . . There’s a bunch of players out there who want to win the championship, not a bunch of people like these … If they can get paid, even if they are to sit on the audience seating, they would be okay with it.” Ashley Young found the difference between Liverpool and Manchester City, as he specifically reiterates “professional players”.

This time it was Bendtner’s turn to be silent, Ashley Young was accurate, as he had nothing left to say.

The atmosphere in Manchester City’s dressing room had been poor all these years. Head coach McClaren was not the kind of iron-fisted coach who could hold down the dressing room. To be honest he lacked charisma and was too different from Tony Twain. Coupled with the fact that the Manchester City hierarchy are people from the UAE, there was a lack of desire to keep the players loyal to the club. Even Manchester City fans jeered at their players at home games, at those “mercenaries” who came just for the money. This team was really different in the Premier League: everyone knew that Manchester City had no chance to win any title, and coming to Manchester City was to say goodbye to the championships. But every year there were still a lot of players moving to Manchester City because they could get a higher salary than their former owners. Instead of going to places like Qatar to seek gold, they could stay in the sights of Europe’s top competitions and mass media.

The two people were silent for a while, perhaps realizing that it was not always good to think bad about their teammates.

Later, Ashley Young sighed, “I now think Nottingham Forest is really unlucky, the last round of the league their opponents are not strong, but Arsenal’s opponents definitely weak as well. The boss did not arrange for me to start, I would rather not play at all for the whole game, lest being a disgrace. The boss himself, perhaps is all looking forward to watching Nottingham Forest lose their championships…”

Bendtner glanced at him, “I don’t think the boss is that narrow-minded. He’s a decent person.”

“Yes, a good man. What a good person to be able to bring out such a dressing room… I would rather have an iron-fisted coach who could get the team in line with so we can get a big salary and the honor to fight out. How good would it be…”

Ashley Young poured the beer from the glass in one breath, then got up and left.

“I’m going back to my room to rest, this music is really awful.”

Bendtner watched his teammates leave, he did not return back to his rest but continued to sit in the same position, playing with a glass full of wine, but he did not drink it at all.

Chapter 856 - I Am Ready, What About You Guys?

11th May, sunny, the highest temperature after noon was 31 degrees Celsius. The final round of the English Premier League would all start at three-thirty in the afternoon.

Tony Twain got out of bed at seven in the morning. His wife was even earlier than him and she was already busy making breakfast for him in the kitchen.

He was not anxious to wash up and change, instead, he sat on the bed and dazed for a while. Was this day just like any other day? No, this was a special day. Not because the champion would be decided on this day, but because of the complexity regarding how the title is decided.

He remained dazed on the bed, as if he was still not fully awake yet.

After he stayed silent for a period of time, he rubbed his face and got off the bed.

A new day had begun. How would he feel when this day ended?

Shania went forward for a morning kiss after she saw Twain coming down. Twain pouted and said, “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

Shania kept reminding Twain not to be too agitated over the course of breakfast, it was not a big issue if he was not able to win the league title.

Twain thought that Shania was being inauspicious by saying that and he said with a black face, “Can’t you say something nicer?”

Shania rolled her eyes and replied, “You’re being so nervous so early in the morning. What will you do during the match?”

“Me? Nervous?” Twain could not help but laugh. However, he would find it difficult to laugh very soon as he felt his heart beat much faster than usual.

Shania looked at him as she realized that Twain had fell silent again.

Twain laughed awkwardly, “Seems like I’m really a little nervous…”

Shania placed her forehead on Twain’s head, smiled and said, “I know you love to be the champion, but don’t make me too worried too.”

Twain nodded softly.

※※※

His teammates staying in the same room as him was still sound asleep when Bendtner sat up on his bed. It looked like they had a crazy night last night. The smell of alcohol in the room was proof of that.

Ashley Young’s concern might very possibly be a reality this afternoon —— This Manchester City team was totally incapable of stopping Arsenal. Even if Nottingham Forest demolishes Sunderland by a score of 90:0 at the City Ground, it would be pointless.

He turned and look at Robinho who was not always in line. The Brazilian’s nightlife was really rich… The fact that he was still sleeping here and not at the side of some other woman should have shocked him.

Bendtner jumped out of bed wearing only his underwear and drew the curtains. Bright sunlight gushed into the dark room immediately and fell straight on Robinho’s face.

Robinho blinked as he was woken by such a radiant beam of sunlight.

“Who turned on the lights?” He asked groggily as he covered his face with one hand and squinted his eyes.

“Robbie, it’s morning,” Bendtner replied loudly with gusto.

The confused Brazilian finally became a little bit more awake.

“It’s morning?” He blinked hard and saw that the light that woke him up did not come from the lights, but from the sun instead. He mumbled, “What the…what time is it?”

“7.30,” Bendtner smiled at him.

“Oh, for god’s sake…” Robinho flopped back down on the bed, “It’s so early! Let me sleep a little longer…”

“It’s time for breakfast Robbie,” Bendtner said as he acted dumb.

“You can go…” Robinho covered half his body with the blanket and waved weakly, muttering, “Don’t care about me…”

“What time are you planning to sleep until?”

“Until I wake up naturally…” Robinho fell asleep after saying that.

Bendtner opened his arms and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

He believed that Robinho was definitely not a special case. Many of the Manchester City players were like this last night and McClaren could not care less. To him, the team had already completed their task ahead of time. The final league match was not important, and it was natural for him to let the players relax. As long as they did not go sleep around, why should he stop them from drinking? In the English footballing world, one could not say one was a professional footballer unless one could drink!

Robinho was going to start in this game…

After 11 years of arrogance, Tony Twain was finally going to receive his karma. The team facing Arsenal was a Manchester City team who had surrendered even before the match.

Logically speaking, he should be happy about it, but he did not feel any joy in his heart at all.

After washing up and changing, he saw Ashley Young yawning as he walked out of the room next to his when he exit.

“Good morning…Yawn——”

There was a drop of tear.

“Didn’t you sleep very early? Why are you not awake yet?” Bendtner asked, puzzled.

“Don’t even talk about it…” Ashley Young looked to be in pain, “Shaun was exceptionally excited last night and forced me to play poker with him. He’s the leader of the team and I couldn’t say no…” He yawned again as he recounted his tale.

“Who won?”

“I did…” But there was no traces of the joy of winning on Young’s face, “That bastard Shaun said that I can forget about sleeping until he won… But his card skills are really damn lousy! In the end, I tried very hard to finally let him win one game but it was already 3…”

Ashley Young’s pain made Bendtner sympathize with him. Good thing Robinho’s interest in alcohol and women outweighs his interest in gambling with his roommate.

Even the captain Shaun Wright-Phillips was behaving like this, one could just imagine the strength of the team.

Bendtner walked towards the elevator with Ashley Young, who was still half asleep, as they prepared to go for breakfast.

“Wake me up later on if I fall asleep on the dining table.”

“I think you’ll not fall asleep, you’ll stab yourself in the nostrils with the fork, ha!” Bendtner laughed, “You’ll be the first professional footballer in history to injure yourself with a fork during a meal!”

“So what… I’m not playing anyway, this might be better. If I injure myself, I don’t even have to go as a substitute…” Ashley Young mumbled as he entered the elevator.

They were alone in the massive elevator and it felt very empty.

“Yawn——,” Ashley Young stretched, “One more game and I’ll be free. Goodbye Manchester City, I won’t miss you at all! Hey, Nicklas, aren’t you going to plan about your future?”

Bendtner was silent.

Ashley Young was not expecting an answer from Bendtner as he leaned on the wall of the elevator. The icy cold feeling dissipated a little bit of his sleepiness.

He suddenly fell into a state of reminiscence as he thought about his days playing in a red jersey. His salary then was way lower than what he was getting now, but he was happier…

He wondered if Bendtner was thinking the same?

※※※

Wenger was enjoying his coffee slowly in the restaurant of the hotel he was staying at, taking a break with his assistants. The players just had an early lunch and were resting in the room.

His assistant manager, Pat Rice, brought him a piece of good news, “Someone told me that he witnessed the Manchester City players partying in the bar until way past midnight. We’re facing an opponent who has no desire to win. We’re definitely going to win this game!”

Wenger smiled and refuted him, “You cannot say something like this until the last second, Pat.” However, this refutation lacked conviction. Even he felt that Manchester City was so slack that they were not a threat.

Pat did not pay much attention to this warning as he said happily, “I’m now sympathizing with Tony Twain. His team is trying so hard to win their game, but they will never expect that our opponent will be a team like this. Even I think that we’re a little too lucky, maybe it’s really fated that we’ll be champions this year!”

After hearing what he said, Wenger thought for a moment and instructed, “Don’t tell the players about the opponent’s situation, and don’t let the reporters have any contact with them, these reporters will only mess things up. Let our players think that Manchester City is still as before, an opponent that requires us to give our best. Pride and underestimating the opponent, I don’t wish these to happen in this match.”

Pat Rice nodded. He knew about Wenger’s temperament. Arsene was not one to be highly conceited.

※※※

When Wenger and his assistants were resting in the hotel, talking about their opponent that afternoon, Twain received a call from Pierce Brosnan.

“Um, Tony… There’s something that I don’t know whether I should tell you…” Brosnan was being very hesitant on the phone.

Twain felt that everything was not normal today and he felt a little impatient.

“Just speak your mind, Mr. Reporter.”

“I heard that the whole Manchester City team was partying all night in the bar last night…”

Twain chuckled silently, “That’s not surprising, Mr. Reporter. The impact of your news is getting worse.”

“Aren’t you worried about the fate of you and the Forest team?”

Twain laughed out loud this time, “Am I supposed to fly to London, grab McClaren by the neck and force him to show some sportsmanship by doing his best?”

Brosnan had no answer to that.

“Mr. Reporter, I don’t care where you got this piece of news from, but I hope that you will not disturb my players with it. ”

Brosnan promised.

“Good, thank you for calling me specially to tell me this,” Twain hung up the phone after thanking Brosnan.

“Who was it, Tony?” Kerslake asked when Twain returned.

“An old friend concerned about the prospect of our title challenge,” Twain dodged the question. He pointed at the hotel lobby, “Tell security to help me chase all these reporters away. My team requires ample rest and I do not want to see any form of disturbance.”

Both Kerslake and the hotel security were not surprised by this sudden decision from Twain. They knew what kind of manager Tony Twain was. Fighting against the media was part and parcel of his life, as normal as eating or sleeping.

In the eyes of the media, Twain’s reason for doing this was obvious —— He was nervous. This manager who never showed any weakness in front of others finally had a moment of nervousness… This was something worth writing about.

Twain did not care about how the others perceived him. He had to ensure that his players were not disturbed by all this nonsense before they entered the pitch. No matter what happened on the other side, my team’s resolve to win the title must not be affected. Even if there is only a 0.00000000001% chance, we have to do our best.

※※※

The last round of the 13-14 English Premier League season would start together at 3.30 pm in the afternoon. 45 minutes before the start of the matches, four buses set off from four different hotels, going towards their destinations.

Two of them were headed to the Emirates Stadium while there other two were headed to the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest’s bus was a little quiet, unlike the atmosphere in the past when they were headed for a home game. Maybe this peculiar last round made everyone lose interest in conversation.

Twain also sat alone in the front seat, turning his head to look out of the window silently. Even him, the soul of the team, was acting this way, what more those under him.

The oppressive atmosphere in the bus finally got broken by Kerslake’s booming voice when they reached the stadium, “Get off quickly, get changed and prepare to warm up!”

Twain got off last. He took one look at the media and fans gathering around and entered the tunnel without waving at them nor accepting any interviews from the reporters.

※※※

When Bendtner got off the bus, all he saw around were Arsenal fans in their red and white jerseys. The Manchester City fans in blue were few and far between, whether in terms of numbers or strength, they were completely defeated.

The Arsenal fans were shouting at the Manchester City players, waving their fists, the slogans in their hands, their scarfs, in an attempt to create more pressure for them.

Bendtner wanted to laugh when he saw this.

There’s no need to work so hard, we’ve already surrendered…

Go cheer your team on, congratulations on winning the league title.

Bendtner walked forward and there was a reporter who attempted to rush in to interview him. He was blocked off by security and he shouted, “Bendtner! You almost joined Arsenal before. Do you have any special feelings facing Arsenal in the final round of the league now?”

This question made Bendtner stop, but very soon, he continued to walk forward, shaking his head.

How many years ago was that? That’s right, Arsenal wanted to sign him then, but he chose Nottingham Forest in the end. If he had chosen Arsenal…where will he be now?

This question was pointless, he could not be bothered with it.

※※※

Wenger looked serious and solemn as he told his players returning from their warmup, “We’re leading by one point, but I want you to forget about this one point. Manchester City is not a weak team, if you underestimate them, you’ll suffer a heavy loss. I’m not trying to scare you; this is a fact.”

“I don’t wish to see the English Premier League trophy flying to Nottingham after 90 minutes. The trophy that was brought to the Emirates Stadium is the real deal, keep it here!”

The cultured and elegant French manager, Wenger, was a little agitated. A rare sight.

※※※

On the other side, McClaren allowed the Manchester City players in the changing room to listen to music, do whatever they wanted. Bendtner sat silently on his seat after changing into his kit, resting with his eyes closed. Manager’s team talk? McClaren had never managed to say anything meaningful. He might as well rest instead of listening to him talk.

Robinho, who only woke up at nine, looked full of energy now as he juggled with the ball wearing only an underwear. His technique was indeed good, and he would often do moves that would cause his teammates to exclaim in shock. He could still move freely in the small changing room. The only question was how much of his form now could be brought onto the field later.

“Hey Robbie! It’s not time for a Nike commercial now, don’t be so excited!” Someone from the team shouted teasingly.

What he got in return was a nutmeg by Robinho after a stepover. The surrounding team members all laughed at this maneuver as they started to get noisy, booing their teammate who got nutmegged.

Ashley Young was among them. He was very relaxed as he did not have to start this game and he would be joining Liverpool next season. Nobody would work too hard for the game later. To them, the summer break had already started!

※※※

Sunderland’s manager, Roland Nielsen, was boosting the morale of his team loudly. The team seemed a little downhearted. Facing a Nottingham Forest team who had to win to ensure they had a chance of winning the title away was really the greatest misfortune that this team could have…

“Don’t give up! As long as we defeat Nottingham Forest, we’ll be able to escape relegation! Think about it, my friends! We’re way luckier than our opponents —— They might not even win the title even if they beat us! At the very least, fate is still controlled in our hands now. Don’t throw this chance away easily! Sunderland must not be relegated!”

“Don’t think that Nottingham Forest is undefeatable just because they are in second place now. In fact, as long as we take our chances, victory could be ours too… They have to defeat us at home to have any hopes of winning the title. This is immense psychological pressure for them. At the same time, even if they can defeat us, it’s up to the results of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City to decide if they can be the champions, their players are well aware of that… So, in reality, on one hand, Nottingham Forest is facing immense pressure, on the other hand, they have insufficient drive. This is our chance, grab it, defeat them! Let us stay in the Premier League!”

※※※

Tony Twain entered the changing room and closed the door behind him. The noise from outside lessened a lot. Everyone lifted their head to look at their leader, their captain.

“There’s something that you guys know a lot about, and I don’t want to repeat it here. What I want to say is…” Twain scratched his head out of habit. Because of this habit, his hair was always in a mess, “Don’t care about the situation on the other side, you have to play this game properly. Do you remember what I told you during halftime of the Arsenal match? If we can’t even win our own game, what rights do we have to fight for the title? This is still applicable now. If we lose to a team like Sunderland, then Arsenal doesn’t even need to play Manchester City to win the title.”

“This is not what I want to see. Us Nottingham Forest has always been a team that never gives up. We didn’t give up in the two Champions League finals, that’s why we’re the champions. It’s the same this time. Ignore what the others are doing, finish our job. Sunderland thinks that we can be bullied easily, then let’s show them what a big mistake that is.”

Fortune favors the bold. When the chance comes, I want everyone to be prepared for it,” Twain’s tone was not impassioned, but everyone could feel the strength within what he said.

“I’m ready, what about you guys?”

He asked the players in front of him calmly.

Chapter 857 - The Stubborn One

The starting whistle for all 19 matches of the English Premier League blew at the same time at 3.30 pm on 11th May. The last round of the 13-14 season of the English Premier League started together.

Every Nottingham Forest fan in the stands of the City Ground brought a radio with him, paying attention to two games at the same time. The first is the match between Forest and Sunderland happening in front of them, the other is the match between Arsenal and Manchester City all the way in London.

From the radio, Arsenal had all the advantages right from the start of the game whereas all the players from Manchester City were not on form at all. The Forest fans on the stands started to curse Manchester City and McClaren.

The game between Forest and Sunderland was more like a normal game. Sunderland was going all out in the away game with Forest for survival and Nottingham Forest was unable to get any initiative on the field despite being in a home game.

Twain sat on the manager’s seat with a stern look on his face, staring at the match in silence.

Kerslake’s task was not here. He was seated at the side, listening to the broadcast of the match on the radio with the headphones. The expressions of his face changing along with the commentary from the radio.

After five minutes, he took off the headphones and told Twain by his side, “Arsenal has all the advantages… Manchester City does not care about this game at all…”

Twain smiled and said, “That’s normal. Manchester City has no reason to go all out in this game at all.”

However, he was gritting his teeth in his heart: Damn you Manchester City! Watch how I destroy you the next time we meet!

He did a good job regarding security. None of the Forest players knew about the situation at Manchester City and they stepped onto the field with unlimited confidence and hope. He treated it as him lying to his players, but it was better than telling them the truth before the game and watching them lose motivation.

He only wished that Manchester City could have a little fight inside them, but it seemed like that was going to be too much to ask…

McClaren, Manchester City… He had met the worst combination that he could ever meet in a thousand years.

Ignore Manchester City, we can’t count on other people… Ask our guys to press on in attack. If we continue to let Sunderland drag the game out, the players’ mental state will take a turn for the worse…” Twain walked to the sideline after saying this. He did not shout, nor make any hand signals, he merely stood there with his arms folded. He knew that the players knew what he meant just by seeing him at the sideline.

After that, Nottingham Forest increased the intensity of their attack, committing more players forward in attack and the two full backs started to actively assist the attack.

The commentator kept saying that Nottingham Forest and Sunderland were not of the same level. Forest was way stronger than Sunderland, so there was no doubt that Forest was going to win this game. The only uncertainty was the number of goals that Forest would win by…

Following that, he commentated on this match but the topic of discussion switched over to London as he talked about the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The players on the field might not know what was happening in the Etihad Stadium but the spectators were very clear. Even if the commentator did not say anything, the Forest fans would switch channels on their remote control frequently.

※※※

Ten minutes later, there was news of a goal from the Etihad Stadium. Nobody knew which side scored yet until the scrolling marquee at the bottom of the TV screen indicated that Arsenal had scored on the 16th minute, the scorer was Van Persie.

The City Ground burst out with a loud boo when they knew about this news. Even if the one controlling the ball was a Forest player, the booing still continued.

The players were stunned momentarily and they knew what the reason was.

Kerslake wanted to tell Twain about the latest situation but Twain stopped him with his hand, “I know by listening to this booing.”

Kerslake remained silent.

※※※

Van Persie sprinted like a madman amidst the deafening cheers in the stadium. Behind him, his Arsenal teammates were roaring with their fists clenched.

Wenger also ran out from the manager’s seat in agitation, jumping around.

Leading after just 16 minutes, he had a reason to be happy indeed.

The Arsenal fans from the stands swarmed forward in an attempt to get closer to their hero. Everyone were screaming Van Persie’s name.

On the other end of the field, the Manchester City players did not react to conceding this goal. They were expressionless. Rather than saying they were shell-shocked, it would be more accurate to say they did not care.

Ashley Young looked down as he sat on the substitute’s bench. He did not want the others to see the laughter on his face —— This was Manchester City. The same Manchester City who were so full of passion and drive to overtake Manchester United, Milan, and dethrone Real Madrid as the best club in the world!

McClaren was a little displeased, maybe the reason was just because they conceded so early. However, despite being displeased, he merely complained a little at the manager’s seat and did nothing, his butt did not even leave the seat.

Bendtner stood in the center circle waiting for the restart. Opposite him was Robinho, with a nonchalant look on his face.

※※※

“Manchester City resisted symbolically for ten minutes,” Kerslake described what happened to Twain after the booing stopped, “They committed very little players in attack, the forwards were isolated, the gaps between the lines were huge, as if they had no united tactics. The defense wants to defend, the forwards…” He stopped for a moment here, “The commentary kept mentioning Bendtner, his name popped up the most for Manchester City. He is very active but he could not get any support from midfield.”

Twain did not mention anything about Bendtner’s performance, he merely said, “Ignore what happens there, we’re still level here…”

Sunderland was very fierce in fighting for the ball, pressing all over the pitch without considering if their stamina could take it. Such pressing also gave the Forest team some considerable problems. Whether it was the defenders or the midfield players, they could not control the ball properly under such pressing, much less build up an attack. The energy that Sunderland was displaying in their desire to survive made things very difficult for Nottingham Forest.

And now that Arsenal was leading, for a moment, their morale was shaken…

Some would think : Arsenal is already ahead, what’s the point even if we beat Sunderland?

The others placed their concentration on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. Even though they were physically in the City Ground, they were already at Etihad Stadium in spirit.

How could they continue playing a game like this?

Twain stood at the sideline and frowned.

“This is not a match that I wanted to see…” Twain muttered in his heart.

After that, he shouted for Wood loudly, “George! You’re the captain! Do something! Look at your team! Look at their eyes!!”

Wood heard Twain’s voice, turned to look back and realized that everyone was rather distracted.

He was not the type of captain that liked to shout or use motivational speech to inspire his team and its morale, compare to words, he preferred to express his meaning with actions directly.

So, when Sunderland attempted to continue using their high-press to push Forest back, George Wood returned the favor immediately with a foul. This foul gave his a yellow card and the combined protests of the Sunderland players, but he won claps as loud as thunder from the stands, as well as a different look in his teammates.

After watching his foul, Twain continued to shout. “Don’t just stand there! This is our match! It’s our own match! Score some goals! You bastards!”

Nottingham Forest regained their composure after being scolded by Twain and finally scored three minutes later.

The score was Bale. He put the ball in the Sunderland’s goal with a direct free kick. This fit the Sunderland tactics —— Frequent tackling will lead to more fouls, especially closer to the danger areas. This gave Forest many free kick opportunities. Bale already had three other free kick opportunities before this goal, putting two above the bar and hitting the wall directly with another.

This time, he finally grabbed his chance and took a beautiful free kick, over the wall and squeezing within the far post. The goalkeeper could not dive in time and could only watch as he conceded a goal.

The stands erupted in massive cheers. The oppressed feeling that the Nottingham Forest fans had finally had a reason to be released. They indulged in the celebration for the goal and did not want to think about the fact that Arsenal leading was still leading Manchester City.

“Gareth Bale! Beautiful free kick! No wonder what’s the situation between Arsenal and Manchester City, his goal gave the Forest fans some breathing space!”

Bale was being embraced by his teammates, however, all he was thinking was : I wonder if Shannon is watching this game…

This goal also relieved the tension that Twain was feeling in his heart. His team was leading Sunderland, that way he could continue to look forward to…a miracle.

The way he looked as he waved his fists on the sidelines made Shania worried as she sat in the VIP area…

※※※

After Sunderland fell behind, there were also cheers that rang out from another stadium. That was the home ground of Portsmouth. That was because the Portsmouth fans were very clear that the results between Portsmouth and Tottenham did not matter as long as Sunderland lost.

At this moment, all the Portsmouth fans were cheering for Nottingham Forest as they forgot to pay attention to their own game. They even hoped that Nottingham Forest could win the league title so that Portsmouth can stay in the Premier League, that was the best scenario.

In the Premier League, there weren’t many fans supporting Nottingham Forest. The Portsmouth fans would usually not forget how Forest scored six goals in one half and humiliated them 7:4. But this time, they were at the mercy of Nottingham Forest. At this time, they might be the only supporter for Nottingham Forest, an ally… They would be an “ally” who could only help to shout of some chants.

※※※

Since Forest was leading Sunderland, then if the situation continues as it was, Sunderland would not be much threat to Forest. The Nottingham Forest fans started to hope that Manchester City could try to make a good showing, even forcing Arsenal to a draw would be good, Arsenal was only leading by a goal after all. Did Tony Twain not say that a one goal lead was the most uncertain lead? Then let Arsenal have a taste of this uncertainty!

Too bad their hopes were crushed.

Before the end of the first half, at the 44th minute, there was news of another goal from the Etihad Stadium. The scoring team was still Arsenal. A long shot from Fàbregas helped Arsenal to a 2:0 lead before the end of the first half.

The commentator of the Forest game sighed after hearing this news, “The match has ended early, Arsenal has won the league title. It doesn’t matter how many goals Nottingham Forest scores against Sunderland now. I suddenly feel that Nottingham Forest is so solemn and stirring…”

Not just him, every Forest fan watching on the TV fell silent then.

It looked like there was no longer any hope for this season’s league title.

Twain stood with his head hung at the sideline when he heard the news, not letting anyone see his expression. He suddenly felt a wave of fatigue.

A man’s abilities are limited indeed. One does not always get the returns one wants just because one has worked hard…

He only realized that his shirt was totally soaked with sweat now.

He stood on the sideline, expressionless and silent until the end of the first half.

The stands were filled with boos for Manchester City and Arsenal, but what was the point of that? They would not be able to hear the boos from here anyway.

※※※

Bendtner felt annoyed at the cheers coming from the Etihad Stadium. They were not cheering for Arsenal, instead, they were mocking Manchester City’s uselessness mercilessly. As part of the Manchester City team, he was being mocked as well naturally.

But he did not accept this mocking because he had been working very hard all this while. He only lacked support…

He took a look at the substitute’s bench, Ashley Young was seated on the seat with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep. It was a little hot this afternoon, yet he could actually be so calm over there. Had he completely lost hope for Manchester City as he expected?

Bendtner thought about how he would perform in this game if he was also confirmed to be leaving the team next season.

It was hot, the sun was so strong that it made people groggy. Would he avoid running as much as possible? Would he show up for work but did not exert himself? Would he be full of imagination for his new life and did not care about this game?

It was a pity that he did not have the chance to verify it.

The whistle signifying the end of the first half was like music to the ears of the Manchester City players. They could finally return to the cooling changing room to rest for 15 minutes out of the direct sunlight. As for this game… Arsenal is already leading by two goals, do we have to continue struggling?

※※※

When the referee blew two whistles to indicate the end of the first half, Twain was the first person to turn towards the tunnel. The fans on the stands were still showing their displeasure at the match between Arsenal and Manchester City by booing. However, this booing sounded very unpleasant to the ears of Twain.

He felt very tired and wanted to lean on something.

If he gave up like this, he probably did not have to bear such torment.

No!

When entering the tunnel, Twain clenched his fist. He could even hear the beating of his heart clearly.

I love to make things difficult for myself!.

I will never give up until the last second! .

Chapter 858 - The Special One

Two stadiums, four changing rooms, yet the atmosphere were totally different.

In the home changing room of the Etihad Stadium, the Arsenal players were relaxed as they listened to music and discussed excitedly about how they were going to celebrate this league title that they worked so hard for. Not even Wenger thought that Forest could create a miracle again, even though he just found out that Nottingham Forest was leading 1:0 at home.

Manchester City’s performance in this game today did not surprise Wenger —— There was indeed no need for Manchester City to work hard for this game. Nobody wanted to get injured in the last game of the season after all. If they went all out knowing that their opponents were Arsenal who would do everything for the league title, it would naturally be difficult for them to avoid injuries. They might as well just show up for the game and then go for a vacation after that.

Meeting an opponent like this during the last match of the season was really lucky for them. On the other hand, look at Tony Twain’s situation —— Sunderland, a team who must beat Forest to be able to stay in the Premier League.

Under such circumstances, if Arsenal still could not become champions, Wenger did not know what other opportunities there could be for his team to win the league.

After two years, getting the league title back from Nottingham Forest. There would be no regrets even though they were knocked out of the Champions League by them.

※※※

At Sunderland’s changing room at the City Ground, manager Nielson was giving a passionate speech in the middle of his team with his fists clenched, “It’s just a goal! Arsenal is already leading by two goals. The Nottingham Forest players will definitely know about this news during the halftime break. What does this mean for them? It means their league title is gone! Their morale and confidence will both be dealt a severe blow, and this would be our chance… Defeat them and let us stay in the Premier League!”

The players all looked fired up by his speech. Boss is right, Nottingham Forest will definitely be affected by it, and that will be our opportunity, we just need to take the chances for a couple of counter attacks… For our survival in the Premier League, we’ll go all out for these 45 minutes!

If not now, then when?

※※※

Arsenal’s changing room was exuberant and relaxed, Sunderland’s changing room was filled with unrest and hope. Nottingham Forest’s felt more like the calm before the storm.

All the players enquired about the situation in the other stadium from the coaches and teammates on the substitute’s bench the moment they left the field. They heard loud boos coming from the stands twice during the match and they wanted to confirm if it meant that Arsenal was leading by two goals.

The answer were unanimous. Both the coaches and their teammates told them about this cruel fact with a helpless look and nodding motion.

For a moment, everyone grew silent as they sat in the changing room, not knowing what to say or what to do. They could only wipe away the sweat on their bodies like a machine.

Twain was in the changing room all this time; he did not say anything either.

The Forest players were all hoping that their boss would say something then, even if he was scolding someone. Otherwise, this silence would be too unbearable…

Bale opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself, he turned to look around and found that everyone had habitually looked down. He started to hate this action all of a sudden.

Are we going to just give up like this? Even Boss, who’s usually so arrogant, has accepted this result?

This unbearable silence lasted for five whole minutes.

※※※

Brazilian samba music was playing in the changing room. Manchester City had so many Brazilian players that it was becoming more and more like a Brazilian team. Robinho, Elano, Jo, Alex… All these players from Brazil were twisting and turning along with the music in the changing room, as if they were enjoying the fiesta again this year.

There were also people joining in, everyone’s thoughts were no longer on the game.

Bendtner was the only one who felt pain as these samba music were like extensions of the Arsenal fans’ mocking, reverberating in his ears. He felt as if his head would explode. He hated the atmosphere of the changing room and he would rather everyone sit squarely while manager McClaren kicked the door in to give all of them a scolding.

He might feel more comfortable if there were shouts and curses of, “What bullshit was that in the first half?”

He covered his head with the towel he used to wipe away his sweat, leaned on the wall, closed his eyes and tried his best to calm down.

But the noisy and happy rhythm of the music made his efforts for naught. All sorts of weird thoughts popped out in his head along with the music.

Are we going to continue like this for the second half?

Can I request to be substituted? Hmm… probably not, I guess? Then I should find a chance to get two yellows, or injure myself… Anyway, I don’t want to play anymore.

What kind of lousy game is this, we’ve already lost our will to fight before the match. Is it a proud and honorable thing to watch others lift the champion’s trophy in front of us? Are these people dancing in the changing room not ashamed of the current score line? Do they wish to fail? Didn’t we get together to form a team to win and be champions?

Bendtner lifted his head slightly, he saw Ashley Young watching the performance of Robinho and co with a smile on his face from under the towel. The smile was cold. At that moment, he started to envy Ashley Young, because… He is finally free.

Bendtner had a thought.

※※※

After allowing the awkward and unbearable silence to continue for five minutes, Tony Twain finally stood up from his seat. Along with his action, everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Everyone knows about the situation of the other game, I’ll not go into it. Is this result making you depressed? We worked so hard in the first half and we only managed a one goal lead whereas Arsenal got a two-goals lead so easily? I have the admit that this result is not to our advantage. I have no way of asking you guys to become champions because the way to becoming champions is not in our hands,” Twain said as he opened his arms.

“All we can do now is to play our own game. Forget about the championship for now,” Twain said. He looked at his players and realized that they did not have much reaction. He smiled, “Are you guys depressed because of what I said? You thought that I will stand here, wave my fists and shout that victory belongs to us and the championship belongs to us, didn’t you?”

The players did not answer, but Twain could guess from their expressions.

“I just want you to put down your burdens. I’ve been thinking about this question earlier, if we continue to play with the burden of being champions on our backs, we might even lose to Sunderland in the second half… Don’t, don’t look so unbelieving,” Twain pointed at a few players and said, “Your minds are filled with Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal… You don’t even know who our opponents are today, do you? Newcastle? Tottenham Hotspurs? Or… Real Madrid? Fellows, when you’re looking at the target far away, pay some attention to your feet. If you get tripped by a small rock, you’ll become the laughingstock of everyone. When that happens, not only would Arsenal win the league title, they can also mock us for our incapability without remorse!”

“Indeed, we’re behind Arsenal by one point. Arsenal has a very comfortable lead, that’s a fact too. But this should not be a reason for us to give up. Play this game against Sunderland properly, don’t give them any chance to come back, next…” Twain stopped when he reached here. What should he say next? Pray to God that they would become champion? Wait for the blessings of lady luck?

“No,” Twain shook his head, “Even if the whole world doesn’t believe in us, we have to believe in ourselves. Arsenal cannot announce that they’re the champions until the last second of the game! Similarly, you cannot announce that it is the end! Let me tell you guys, I have not given up yet, I’ve never given up! I’ve always believed that my team is the best team in the world, and we should logically achieve all the glory. Some people are worried for me, if I lose the league title, how am I going to eat a table? Let me tell you guys… I’ve never thought about this problem because I firmly believe that we will not lose!” Twain shook his fist with vigor, his tone suddenly becoming very passionate. “If you do not have the same state of mind as I do, you won’t be able to smile at the end of this intense fight! It is always better to believe in yourselves instead of believing in others! I’ve said it before, do you remember who your opponents are in this game? Let me tell you, it’s Sunderland! That unlucky team that is destined to be relegated! Crush them!”

If there was an apple in Twain’s hand now, he might just be able to crush it.

※※※

Nielson was making his adjustments to the tactics for the second half. He was confident that he found a Nottingham Forest’s loophole.

“Their state of mind is not balanced now. A one-goal lead is not enough for Twain. This is Tony Twain’s habit, he’ll definitely want his team to press more in attack, that will be our chance… The two Forest full backs were very active in the first half, they’ll probably be even more active in the second half. Everyone said that Tony Twain is conservative, but deep inside, he is a very crazy man, he can continue to press forward in the second half for victory. That’s why I want you to launch an attack the moment you intercept the ball, pump the ball forward. As long as we can enter the penalty area once, it’ll do!”

The tactics board was all messed up by him and he kept talking non-stop. He could not care if his players understood him, all he could think of now was, “There’s not much time left, I have to let them know what to do in the second half!”

“Continue to press them over the whole pitch and tactical fouls… Of course, try to foul them further away from our penalty area. Don’t be afraid of being exhausted, I’ll emphasize it again —— This is the last game of the season, if you don’t go all out, this will also be your last game in the Premier League. Run even if you’ve a cramp! If you cannot continue to create pressure for them, you’ll be the ones at a disadvantage!”

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, get the ball back if you lose it. Be more ferocious and they’ll be afraid of you! Think about what Forest is feeling now. Their championship is gone!” Nielsen even repeated this last sentence three times.

Nielson was not an impressive tactician, otherwise Sunderland would not have been in this situation —— The Irishman Quinn still had the backings of a rich financial group. But he was not an impressive speaker either, under the current special circumstance though, what he said still had some provocative effect. The Sunderland players’ eyes turned red and they were prepared to fight till the end in the second half.

Topple the arrogant Nottingham Forest and destroy their dreams of winning the title as well as ensuring their own safety. This season would be perfect.

※※※

The samba music finally ended, but Bendtner did not feel that his torment was over. Because McClaren was preparing the tactics for the second half…

Robinho was still bobbing his head on his seat, as if the music did not stop. He had already been substituted. At the start of the second half, the main striker was being substituted for the young striker in the team, the 20 years-old Jack Reed. He had only played five times for the team this season, all as a substitute.

McClaren was already training the rookies for the team.

As the top scorer of the team, Bendtner was still considered an important member and he would continue to play in the second half.

Bendtner really did not know whether this was a good or bad thing for him. When McClaren announced that Jack Reed would be replacing Robinho, he secretly stole a glance at Ashley Young and found out that he was also looking at him, only he could not hide the sympathy he had in his eyes.

At this moment, a sentence popped up in his mind.

People from Nottingham Forest were always a tough fit to the environment they were in. That was because that man was too special, so the team that he brought up was also too special, and people coming from that team would naturally be special too.

If Nottingham Forest were in the same situation now, that man would probably give everyone in the changing room a piece of his mind. He could not tolerate failure, much less failure without any fighting spirit like now. It was very tiring to play for him, seriously, it was as if he was being forced to run forward by a mace every day without stopping.

But one day, when they were allowed to stop and take a break, to catch their breath, they would find out that they had run up the mountain when they looked up. That was when they could finally straighten their exhausted bodies, take a deep breath and take a good look at their surroundings.

They could see all the mountains in a single glance…

Chapter 859 - The Explosion in Silence

When the second half began, the Forest fans were still paying close attention to the latest developments in the other game. When they heard from the radio that Robinho had been taken off at the start of the half, they started to scold McClaren. Taking off the main striker for a young player, even an idiot knew what that meant.

Twain also heard about this from Kerslake and he shrugged. They could not depend on other people after all, they could only believe in themselves…

Sunderland started the second half as if they were on steroids and launched attacks after attacks on the Forest goal. The speech by manager Nielsen had the desired effect.

But did what Twain say had no effect?

Sunderland was very prone to unforced errors in their hotheadedness and their full pitch pressing, which meant they would “intercept the ball and lose it again.”

Forest took advantage of these unforced errors and launched a counter attack after intercepting the ball, threatening the Sunderland’s goal immediately.

The Sunderland players did not expect themselves to be the Forest team’s prey when they were dreaming of defeating Nottingham Forest once and for all in the second half. The Scottish international goalkeeper, Gordon, gave up after the second try.

Forest was launching an attack from the flank then. Bale came forward and played a one-two over the top with Fernández and crossed the ball. The ball was punched away by Gordon, but it did not go far. Gago took a long shot outside the penalty area and the ball took a deflection off the Irish defender, Paul Mcshane.

The ball did not deflect into the goal, but it fell to the Forest striker, Ibi?evi?’s feet instead. The Bosnian did not need a second invitation and took a shot. The ball flew straight into the empty net.

“Nottingham Forest leads Sunderland by 2:0!!”

The second half had only begun for four minutes and Nottingham Forest extended their lead. This goal was a very heavy blow to Sunderland —— They wanted to score a goal, but they conceded a goal instead. So much for staying clear of relegation… It all looked like a joke at that moment.

Ibi?evi? punched the air in celebration after scoring.

Forest could not control the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The only thing they could do was to score as many goals as possible in the game against Sunderland and vent their anger on them.

However, if Manchester City could not draw or defeat Arsenal, it would not matter how many goals they scored, it would be a futile resistance.

Twain was not as agitated as before when his team scored. He merely waved his fist and sat back down to continue and wait for news from the Etihad Stadium.

※※※

“The two goals by Arsenal brought this match to an early rubbish period. This is not what we want to see… Manchester City appeared to have no motivation at all. If the second half continues this way, the officials from the Football Association can shake the hands of Arsenal’s chairman, Hill-Wood and congratulate him early,” the neutral commentator was obviously displeased that the heavily anticipated match would be so one-sided.

What he wanted to see was an exciting match, with both sides unwilling to surrender and fight till the final moment. Add that to the match between Forest and Sunderland in the other stadium, they would be able to see the fight to the death between these four teams keep the suspense of the league winner to the final second.

This would be a deserved match fit for the intense fight for the English Premier League earlier in the season.

If Arsenal were to win the title so easily, it would be so unfair to Nottingham Forest whom had been working so hard to play catch up… At the very least, Manchester City should work hard to give Arsenal some excitement.

The Arsenal fans definitely had a totally different thinking as compared to this commentator. They were singing and dancing on the stands, jumping around and they could not wait for the referee to blow the whistle to signify the end of the match now. The beer that were prepared to celebrate winning the title were already out and there were fans who could not wait any longer, lifting up the banners and slogans to celebrate winning.

The Arsenal substitutes were chatting in a relaxed manner on the substitutes’ bench. Wenger became the person who was paying the most attention to the match. He was not overly optimistic, even if there was a 99% chance of them winning, he did not want to appear too excited before the end of the match.

Pat Rice just told him that Nottingham Forest had scored again on the other side. They were like Arsenal now, having a two-goals lead.

Wenger laughed as he knew that Sunderland would not pose much of a problem for Forest. Even if they were to perform up to 200% of their abilities in their fight for survival, they still had 300% distance between them and Nottingham Forest, what good would that do?

That was why it was enough for him to have a one point advantage for his team before the game. What remained was very simple. Arsenal just had to play their own game, ensure that they did not make any mistake and not be forced into a draw by Manchester City, they would be champions. Rice were very concerned about Nottingham Forest, but he did not really care much about the circumstances that Tony Twain was in.

Jack Reed, whom was sent on by Manchester City in the second half did not have much experience. Other than being good at running, he was not a problem for Arsenal. Wenger could not be bothered to send someone to mark him. As for that Bendtner… He was still a problematic person.

Half of the Arsenal’s defense were already marking him, and he could still be as active as the first half. He was an abnormality in Manchester City.

What was he seeking exactly?

※※※

“There is still no information from Arsenal’s side. Arsenal has slowed down their game and have started to go for ball possession. Their fans have already started the celebrations early. Manchester City still doesn’t have many chances…”

Kerslake went close to Twain’s ear and told him.

Twain remained silent for a while, then shouted the names of his players for them to continue attacking.

He could only vent his frustrations on Sunderland now…

10 minutes later, Nottingham Forest scored their third goal. Pepe was the scorer.

It came from a corner this time. Bale took the corner and Pepe leapt for the ball and headed it into the goal close to the post.

Three goals down, Sunderland had completely lost their will to fight. Their lofty sentiments and aspirations from halftime had been dispersed by the two goals in the second half. It was to be Nottingham Forest’s time to perform next.

※※※

When news of Nottingham Forest going 3:0 up reached Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, there were thunderous cheers. The Portsmouth fans knew their team were sure to stay in the Premier League and Sunderland would take their place to be relegated to the Championship. Everyone were grateful to Nottingham Forest for their “magnanimous act” and hoped that they would win the league title as they wished.

The Tottenham fans also did not wish to see their city rivals lift the Premier League Champions’ trophy. Since the results of this game did not matter anymore, there was no need for them to continue facing each other with enmity on the stands. Therefore, the Tottenham fans cheered along the Portsmouth fans, congratulating them for staying up and cursing Arsenal to lose the league title at the same time.

The only thing lacking was the fans from both sides hugging each other and cheering together.

※※※

“67 minutes have gone in the game. Nottingham Forest is leading Sunderland 3:0 while Arsenal is still leading Manchester City 2:0. There are 23 minutes to the end of the match. Earlier I said that Arsenal had a 99% chance of winning the title, I have to correct myself, this chance is now 99.5%,” the commentator commentating on the Arsenal and Manchester City game said.

“The fourth goal is coming… It’s in! Nottingham Forest is leading Sunderland 4:0… Poor Sunderland,” the commentator commentating on the Nottingham Forest and Sunderland game did not sound that enthusiastic. He also felt that there was no point for Nottingham Forest to score so many goals. In his mind, Twain’s team had already lost their sense of reasoning and are now just venting their frustrations without care for Sunderland’s feelings. Not only were they causing them to be relegated, they were venting their anger at not being able to win the title on the poor Black Cats (Sunderland’s nickname).

The Forest fans were not cheering much for the goals now. Their attentions were all away from this match, they had already flown to London. If Manchester City did not buck up, it would not matter how many goals Forest scored.

Fat John stood there watching the game. His butt had left his seat ever since the game started and he was surrounded by his friends. All of them had the same feeling of worry for the future of the Forest team.

Someone even thought about the personal grievances between Manchester City and Forest.

“I heard that Ashley Young did not start and Bendtner is the only ex-Forest player on the field… Would that fellow throw the game on purpose?”

“Manchester City does not have a good relationship with us, it’s hard to say, something like this…”

“Is it because we’ve been too arrogant previously, making enemies everywhere…”

“Bullshit!” The direct Skinny Bill stared angrily at the person saying that, “The victors have the rights to be arrogant. It’s their problem for hating us, does that have anything to do with us? Damn it!” He was also worried for Forest and he frowned and did not care about that unlucky chap anymore.

“Actually…” The fatty started to speak. His voice was low, just like his mood, “We should do something to cheer the team on, but I don’t have any mood to sing at all…”

“Sing, John! Do what we have to do! Don’t let those rascals treat us as a joke!” Bill was angry again, he clenched his fist and said to John, “Even if Forest doesn’t win the title this season, we’ll walk out with our heads held high! Sing!”

John took one look at his partner and nodded furiously, “Sing!”

Following that, the songs cheering Nottingham Forest rang out from the stands. Their singing woke many indecisive fans up and drew their attention back to this game. More and more people joined in, the voices became louder and clearer.

“With the game down to the last minute, do you think it’s over?”

“There’s little time left as the referee looks at his watch and your heart goes, ‘Forget it, we still have the future’—”

“The cheering song gradually loses its voice, and some people begin to leave early. A bunch of beer cups are strewn about in the stands, and it’s a mess!”

“The Forest team’s number 11 steps forward and he said, ‘No! The game isn’t over yet! Don’t be too happy!’”

“Don’t—Be—Happy—Yet!”

“Don’t be too happy! Don’t be happy yet!”

The Forest fans seemed to be roaring at Arsenal.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest fans roared hysterically in desperation, whereas in the Etihad Stadium, the song “We are the Champions” rang out from the stands.

“…We are the champions, my friends! And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end! No time for losers, ’cause we are the champions of the world!!”

Of course, there were some Arsenal fans who put out banners mocking Nottingham Forest to save their efforts.

Bendtner could not see their banners, nor did he mind them, but the some “We are the Champions” really agitated him.

His hard work served as the greatest contrast for the celebration banquet of others. He seemed like a clown for running his lungs out for 70 minutes.

What am I working so hard for?

Look around me, look at my teammates, they are all just putting on a show without having to suffer. Under such a hot weather, I’ve been running until I’m on the verge of cramping up whereas their jerseys are not even wet with sweat!

Bendtner felt unhappy about it, what kind of teammates were he playing with?

Why is he playing with these people…

When the Arsenal defenders were passing the ball back and forth at will in front of him, Bendtner clenched his fist.

Sweat dripped down from his forehead, down his cheeks. He felt that the inside of him was hotter than this weather.

Play if you want! I’m not playing anymore!

Arsenal’s attack ended. Joe Hart pumped the ball forward with and Bendtner worked hard to get the first ball. He headed the ball to Jack Reed at his side, the young man who just came on in the second half.

This kid could run, had speed and stamina, but his technique and sense were very lacking. He was already 20 years old and who knew if he had a future. He wanted to dribble by himself and shoot after getting the ball —— He already wasted so many such opportunities previously —— He wanted to prove himself in front of McClaren. Him, along with Bendtner might be the only ones left in the Manchester City team who still had the will to fight.

But he heard Bendtner roar, “Give me the ball!!”

To Reed, Bendtner was an authority figure in the team, and he was one of the steadiest strikers in the team. His status and authority were not something that a rookie like him could challenge.

Hence, when Bendtner roared like this, he could only pass the ball over as instructed.

But he kept running forward after passing the ball with the intention of playing a one-two with Bendtner. He did not dare to roar, “Pass me the ball back!” Like what Bendtner did, he only ran forward, hoping that Bendtner could understand his intention.

It did not matter if Bendtner could understand his intention, but the Arsenal defenders certainly did —— This pass and run’s intention was too obvious, only a fool would be fooled.

The Arsenals drew back along with Reed and there was a space in between Bendtner and the Arsenal’s backline. What was worse was… Bendtner was totally unmarked.

This kind of chances did not come often, especially when your opponent was Arsenal. It might be because Arsenal slacked off due to their two-goals lead and they thought that they could win easily, and that Manchester City would not be a threat to them. That was why there would be such a space in defense. Bendtner did not even have a chance to think about how that happened. He moved the ball forward, took a step and lifted his leg…

He was 32 meters away from goal…

An outstanding long shot!

Almunia dived and stretched his arm as long as possible, his body extended but he did not touch the ball. Nobody in the penalty area touched the ball.

The silver ball flew across the grass of the Etihad Stadium, across the players and penetrated the defense of Almunia’s fingers!

The ball hit the net ferociously with a “whoosh”.

“Ah… Ahhh! It’s a goal! It’s a goal!!” The commentator jumped from his seat and roared with his arms raised.

The Arsenal fans watching the game on the TV were a little unhappy at this outburst of his —— Why were you not so agitated when our team scored?

“Nicklas Bendtner! Nicklas Bendtner!! A beautiful goal! He shocked everyone! Including his teammates!”

After scoring, Bendtner ran towards the stands where there were the most Arsenal fans, put his left hand behind his back and planted a right finger on his pursed lips to make a “shut up” sign.

His teammates were all stunned where they stood, they did not expect the goal to come so suddenly, so much so that none of them ran forward to embrace him and celebrate his goal. Only when the loud boos from the Arsenal fans started did they react to it and rushed forward to embrace Bendtner tightly, patting his head and congratulating him for his goal.

Even though Manchester City had no desire to get anything from this game, it did not mean that they wanted to throw the game. If their teammate scored, it was still something to be happy about.

Facing his teammates rushing over to celebrate with hi,, Bendtner gritted his teeth as he wanted to get rid of them and continue his celebratory action. But they really embraced him too tightly…

※※※

“Tony!” Kerslake, who was listening to the radio, shouted suddenly.

However, Twain waved at him and made a “shh” sign with his hand. At the same moment, there was a loud cheer from the stands. Sunderland had possession of the ball then…

“I already know, David.”

Twain turned back and smiled at him.

David Kerslake was so agitated that he clenched his fist, almost jumping up, “Bendtner! It’s a goal by that kid, Bendtner!”

The name of the scorer surprised Twain a little.

The cheers were still continuing as the voice of the broadcaster came up over the live broadcast in the stadium, “73rd minute, Arsenal 2: 1 Manchester City, scorer… Nicklas Bendtner!”

Hurray——!!” The Forest fans shouted together, totally forgetting the hatred they had for this traitor when he left.

At that moment, they worshipped Bendtner as if he was still the Danish kid in red. Back then, he was still thought to be the main striker for Nottingham Forest for the next 10 years…

※※※

Wenger was furious about the goal that they conceded. He kept waving his arms towards his assistant manager Pat Rice as he sat next to him, complaining, “What’re our defenders doing? What’re our midfielders doing? Did they think we’ve got this in the bag? Five seconds before Bendtner took his shot, we had no one within a 10 meters vicinity to him!”

After he finished complaining, he stood up and walked to the sideline, putting up two fingers on his left hand and his index finger on his right as he shouted to the field, “The score is 2:1 now! 2:1!”

This score line made him nervous. The explosion of Bendtner after being oppressed for 70 minutes made him uneasy too.

He did not know why, after all, his team was still in the lead and other than Bendtner, the rest of the players in Manchester City were not a threat.

Yet his heartbeat hastened without warning. He was a very rational manager, but sometimes he would trust his instincts.

His instinct was: They could not let the Dane continue his performance!

Chapter 860 - The Final Three Minutes

Arsenal might still be leading 2:1, but Manchester City’s goal has given Nottingham Forest an immense confidence boost. They felt like all the hard work they had put in up till that point was worth it.

The fans started singing Bendtner’s song and cheering for Manchester City at the stands. They had completely put their feelings of hostility towards Manchester City aside.

The Nottingham Forest players began to get even more lively on the pitch as well. They were relentless against a Sunderland side that had lost all will to fight.

The Forest players could not help Manchester City score goals against Arsenal. All they could do right now was to try and score as many goals as they could so as to boost their confidence and hopes of becoming champions of the Premier League.

If they could, they really wanted to score at least six goals against Sunderland in this home game.

Sadly, Forest was slightly down on its luck. Almost all the Sunderland players had retreated backwards to defend, and Forest was not able to score a goal at all.

The 3:0 score was enough for Forest to win the game. Thus, Twain slowly began directing his attention towards the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.

This final league match sure is exciting…

As a fan, he absolutely adored the excitement, but as a manager, he absolutely despised it.

The match entered its 80th minute. However, there were no further meaningful news regarding the match between Arsenal and Manchester City ever since Bendtner’s goal.

The Forest players and fans started getting tense. If the match were to end with a 2:1 victory for Arsenal, Forest would not be able to clinch the champions trophy.

Everyone hoped that Manchester City would work harder and turn the match around.

However, they could not decide the outcome of the match just with their thoughts or hopes alone.

※※※

Bendtner was tightly marked by Arsenal’s defenders. If one defender was not enough, then two would be employed to mark Bendtner.

Arsenal was hell-bent on ‘freezing’ Bendtner and not letting him have a chance to move about on the pitch. There were times where Bendtner could do nothing but stand rooted at a spot. He could not even retreat backwards to help with his team’s defense.

Even the toughest of men would feel exhausted after running about non-stop for 80 minutes under a scorching weather of 32 degree Celsius.

However, Bendtner did not want to make his exhaustion known, because he was afraid that McClaren would substitute him and take him off the pitch.

This was perhaps the most tiring match he has ever played in throughout his life. Not only did he have to battle with his opponents on the pitch, but he also had to battle with his own manager.

He was not giving his all because he wanted to help Nottingham Forest become champions. He just did not want to see the hard work he had put into the match so far end up being humiliated by others. If he were to get substituted, then everything would be over for him, and his goal would have been utterly meaningless.

In order to conceal his exhaustion, Bendtner forced himself to run all about the pitch. He tried to find a way to break through Arsenal’s defense, and also tried to act as a decoy so as to provide more space for his teammates to make their runs into the penalty box and shoot at the goal.

Sadly, Jack Reed was not able to capitalize on all the chances that Bendtner had created for him. If it had been Robinho, he would definitely have scored at least two goals by now.

Reed was eager to play in matches and prove himself as a player, but his techniques, experience and spatial awareness were not up to mark just yet, and he still had a long way to go before he could play like Robinho.

Wenger was slightly upset with Arsenal’s defense as he watched the match by the side. His team had focused all their attention on marking Bendtner, but they had missed out on marking the young player Reed.

Wenger began to throw a temper by the side of the pitch. At the sight of Wenger’s unhappiness, Philippe Senderos ranted to his team captain Fàbregas. “That lad doesn’t pose a threat at all… I think things would be much worse if we were to let Bendtner make his runs freely… The greatest threat in the Manchester City team is Bendtner. We’d be able to win this match as long as we mark him tightly. I don’t think we need to be scared of any other Manchester City player. I really don’t know what the boss is worried about… Even if Bendtner does manage to score a goal, we’d still win the match anyway…”

Fàbregas agreed with his views and told him to act as he saw fit. He would help in defending against Reed when the situation calls for it.

Senderos and Fàbregas were not the only players who thought that way. In fact, the entire Arsenal team thought the same way as they did. They were all exhausted and wanted to take it easy after running about under such a scorching sun for close to 90 minutes.

Why should they work so hard if Manchester City isn’t even going to threaten their goalpost?

They should slow down their tempo and not try to fight for the ball so aggressively like before. It would be all right to let Manchester City move up and attack them. All they needed to do was to mark Bendtner.

There were even some Arsenal players who started to fantasize about the scenes at the end of the match where they would lift the champions trophy, just like how many of the fans were as well.

Bendtner would have been disappointed if he were to overhear Senderos and Fàbregas’ conversation.

He thought that Reed’s liveliness on the pitch would help to take away some of the attention that had been placed on him by Arsenal’s players, but it was clear that Senderos was smarter than he thought and he did not take the bait.

Bendtner was slightly lucky to have scored with his long range effort from before, but Arsenal did not even give him the chance to be lucky now. He would be defended against when he is still about 10 meters away from the penalty box.

Manchester City relied solely on Bendtner for its offense. There was not a single player left on the current Manchester City team who could organize the team’s attacks after Elano was taken off the pitch.

Bendtner had to actively retreat backwards to pick up the ball and pass it about. He would not even have the chance to touch the ball if he continued to stand at the front of the pitch…

The match had turned into a battle between a single player and an entire team.

Wenger looked at the watch on his wrist. There were 10 minutes left till the end of the match. He and his team would become the champions as long as they pull through these 10 minutes.

For some reason however, the 10 minutes felt like an eternity to him…

He kept reminding himself in his mind: We would become the champions as long as we don’t commit mistakes. Our destiny is in our own hands.

※※※

Bendtner ran all over the pitch looking for a way to break through and shoot for goal. He tried attacking from the left, then he tried from the right, but they were both futile attempts. He lacked support from the midfield. Even if he managed to create a moment of a chance, the ball would not reach him on time, and all his efforts up till then would be for naught.

He had depleted a lot of his stamina by then, and his pants got heavier and heavier.

Looks like he can only rely on himself to score a goal…

Bendtner furrowed his brows under the sweltering sun. He was starting to feel a little dizzy from the heat.

He suddenly remembered his past, when he still wearing a red Nottingham Forest jersey and was not a Manchester City player yet. His main task back then was to provide chances for his partner van Nistelrooy to shoot at the goal by attracting the defenders over to him.

How he wished that he too, had a partner who could attract Arsenal’s defenders over to him right now…

In the past, he had always dreamed of becoming a solitary hero. He would be the star player in the team, and he would also be basked in applause from the crowd after each and every match. The media would constantly report about him, and he would be extremely popular and famous.

However, he has finally come to realize now that not everyone can become a solitary hero…

I am so tired…

Bendtner had lost all trust in his teammates. He had stopped passing the ball to them, and he would bring the ball forward himself.

However, the result was the same. The ball would be intercepted by Arsenal’s defenders.

Three minutes had passed. The entire Manchester City team had snapped out of their euphoria and excitement of scoring the goal earlier.

There were 10 minutes remaining in the match, but none of the Manchester City players was willing to fight with Arsenal to the death. It would be great if they could level the score, but it was not like they would die if they lost the match, so why should they try so hard?

※※※

Twain looked down at his watch on the 83rd minute of the match.

Kerslake was silent beside him. Twain did not know if he was not making a sound because he was paying attention to the radio, or if he was feeling dejected about how Manchester City had yet to score another goal.

Forest had just scored their fourth goal of the match, and they were leading Sunderland 4:0.

Twain decided to perform three substitutions consecutively and use up his quota for the match.

Ibi?evi? was substituted by Nicolás Millán, Fernández was substituted by Cohen, and Gago was substituted by Tiago.

Both Millán and Tiago did not have much chances to play in games this season. Thus, Twain sent them onto the pitch so as to ensure that the two were qualified to receive a medal should the team end up becoming champions in the end.

As for whether or not they would really end up receiving a medal… No one knows just yet.

Wenger might have thought that time was passing by extremely slowly, but it was the opposite for Twain. He felt that time was passing by too quickly. The fourth official had already lifted the board to signal that there would be three additional minutes to the game, but he still did not hear any new updates about the game between Manchester City and Arsenal.

It was only then that Twain realized that he was about to reach the end of a 90-minute match.

The fans who had been singing and cheering earlier at the stands all went silent. Everyone felt disappointed.

It looks like Forest would not be able to perform a comeback at the end despite their efforts. The title of being Premier League champions was starting to slip away from them.

Twain stood by the side of the pitch. He had pressed his lips together tightly, and he had an awful expression upon his face.

※※※

The second half of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City had only kicked off two minutes after Forest’s match against Sunderland. Hence, it was only the 87th minute of the match for Arsenal and Manchester City when Twain saw the fourth official lift the board to signal the additional stoppage time.

McClaren used up his last substitution for the match on the 87th minute.

Ashley Young was a little surprised when he was called off the substitution bench.

He quickly finished his warm-ups, and before he even knew it, he was already standing on the turf in the Emirates Stadium. He had been pushed out onto the pitch by the coaching staff hastily and he was still feeling a little dazed from the sudden change in events.

He noticed that Bendtner was looking at him. Sweat was pouring down the latter’s face like a river.

Young understood why Bendtner was looking at him.

All right, looks like I’m the only person in the entire Manchester City team who can help him…

He ran towards his position on the pitch. Bendtner pulled him over and was just about to open his mouth in between pants when Ashley Young cut him off with a wave of his hands.

“I know what I have to do. I just need to pass the ball over to you, right?”

Bendtner nodded his head.

“Wait for it at the front.” Young patted Bendtner on the shoulder before running away.

Bendtner suffered a cramp shortly after Ashely Young got onto the pitch. He suddenly fell to the ground while he was trying to snatch the ball away at the front of the pitch. He pressed a hand over his calf, and his expression was one of agony and pain.

Ashley Young bolted over and helped to press down on his leg.

McClaren did not react to Bendtner’s injury, because he had used up all his substitutions for the game.

If Bendtner was not able to continue with the game, then Manchester City would have to play with 10 men.

Bendtner’s cramp was an unexpected event, but he was back on the pitch after the team doctor and his teammates helped him with his injury for two minutes.

Additional stoppage time was given as a result of Bendtner’s cramps. The fourth official held up a board, and the time that was shown was 5 minutes!

The Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium began booing in discontent. They wished that the match would end right away. Five minutes of stoppage time was ridiculously long to them.

Bendtner would limp a little every time he walked on the pitch, but it was impossible to tell that he was injured when he ran. He continued to run about the pitch tirelessly as he looked for a chance to break through Arsenal’s defense.

Ashley Young had the most stamina out of all the Manchester City players on the pitch right now. His pace troubled the Arsenal defenders, who were eventually left with no other choice but to split up their forces. Some of them had to switch from marking Bendtner to marking Young instead. Bendtner finally felt the pressure on him lighten a little after Young’s arrival.

Senderos also did not seem to be marking him as tightly as before either. Perhaps he did not deem Bendtner to be as much of a threat anymore after he suffered from a cramp earlier.

Ashley Young suddenly crossed the ball into the middle of the pitch!

Bendtner jumped up into the air to head the ball, but he headed nothing but air. The ball fell into the hands of Almunia who had rushed out of his goalpost, and Bendtner subsequently crashed onto the ground.

Almunia hugged onto the ball in his arms and refused to kick it away. He looked down at Bendtner, and was planning to only kick the ball away after Bendtner had made his way out of the penalty box.

Bendtner enjoyed lying on the ground, because it meant that he could take a rest. Nonetheless, he could not lie there forever. There was not much time left in the match.

Bendtner climbed to his two feet after sensing Almunia’s gaze on him. He then slowly ran away from the penalty box.

The ball flew over his head as he ran.

※※※

A queer silence filled the City Ground Stadium for the final three minutes of the match. Both the Sunderland fans and the Nottingham Forest fans did not care about the match that was being played before them. They had their minds elsewhere.

The Sunderland fans were busy wiping their tears at the stands after knowing that their team was going to be relegated. As for the Nottingham Forest fans, they were all engrossed in listening to the radio for the latest updates from the Arsenal match.

The referee’s whistle that signalled the end of the match resonated loudly and much more clearly within the silence.

“The match is over!” The commentator said. “Nottingham Forest has beaten Sunderland 4:0 at home. But, it looks like their dream of becoming champions of the Premier League has gone up in flames…”

The Forest players on the pitch quickly rushed to the side to ask for the latest news from their teammates regarding the match between Arsenal and Manchester City the moment the match ended.

They could not conceal the sadness and disappointment on their faces when their teammates told them the score had remained 2:1. The players then sat by the side of the pitch and waited for Arsenal’s match to be over. All they could do then was to wait.

Twain could not sit down like his players did. He still had to shake hands with Sunderland’s manager.

Nielsen was in low spirits given how his team had just been relegated. Similarly, Twain was also downhearted, and both managers only gave each other a simple handshake before turning to leave.

Nielsen walked onto the pitch to console his players, whereas Twain sat down at his seat in the technical area and spaced out.

The Sunderland fans began applauding their team’s efforts. They knew that their team had tried their best. It was a shame that they had to face Nottingham Forest, who were hell-bent on achieving a victory, for their final match.

The Nottingham Forest fans did not leave the stadium. They stayed behind at the stands and continued to listen to the news from the radio.

The FA officials who had been sitting in the VIP room stood up to shake hands with the chairman of Nottingham Forest Football Club, Evan Doughty. “It’s a real shame… This was an exciting match.”

However, Evan was not willing to admit his loss just yet. “The match over there has not ended.”

That’s right. There were still three minutes remaining in the match at the Emirates Stadium.

His words made the FA officials feel a little awkward.

There are only three minutes remaining in the match. Are you saying that a miracle could happen? It’s already quite the feat that Manchester City was able to score a goal in that match. It means that they did put in effort and they did try to compete against Arsenal.

The trophy that they had brought over to Nottingham was nothing but a replicate. The real one is in London right now.

Don’t tell me Forest still dreams of becoming champions?

Stop dreaming!

※※※

Arsenal’s substitutes had all crowded collectively by the side of the pitch. They were all waiting to rush onto the pitch and celebrate with their teammates the moment the match ended.

The Arsenal players on the pitch all had their heads in the clouds by then. What they wanted to hear the most then were the three blows to the referee’s whistle, and what they wanted to do the most was to hug their teammates and celebrate becoming champions of the Premier League.

Who cares about the match?

The Arsenal players certainly did not care. Manchester City was hardly even a threat against Arsenal ever since they entered stoppage time. Even their best player Bendtner was not able to create any chances for his team due to a lack of stamina.

Wenger sat nervously on his chair. He pressed a hand against his chin and stared at everything that was happening on the pitch.

Pat Rice, who sat beside him, did not share his nervousness. He started giving high-fives to the other coaches to celebrate their victory.

They knew that Forest had just ended their match with Sunderland and that they had won 4:0.

However, those things did not matter to them, because Arsenal was still going to become the champions.

Ashley Young made his way down the left flank. The Swiss midfielder on their team, Valon Behrami, passed the ball over to him.

Young did not pass the ball away. Instead, he brought the ball forward by himself and tried to force his way into Arsenal’s penalty box.

He then crossed the ball into the middle of the penalty box, but his shot hit Sagna on the body before flying out of bounds. Manchester City was awarded a corner as a result.

Manchester City’s defenders all rushed up towards Arsenal’s penalty box from the back. They instantly became players that the Arsenal players had to mark as well.

“I want all of you to defend this ball at all costs!” Almunia roared before his goalpost. He was feeling a little nervous. His heart was beginning to beat faster and faster as the match approached the end.

If they were to let in a goal… They would be finished.

Almunia could not shake off the negative thought.

Bendtner squeezed his way through the crowd. His head was hung low and he was panting heavily. He was so tired and he desperately wished that he could lean against the body of one of the Arsenal defenders for support.

Ashley Young walked over to take the corner. He carefully positioned the ball on the pitch, and even made sure that the Nike logo on the ball was pointed in the direction of the goalpost.

The players shoved and pulled each other in the penalty box. Before the ball could be sent into the penalty box however, someone fell to the ground. The referee immediately blew on his whistle to halt the match.

Deafening boos erupted from the stands. The player who had fallen to the ground was a Manchester City player. The Arsenal fans all thought that he was trying to win a penalty for his team by pretending that he had been fouled by the Arsenal players.

The referee did not award Manchester City with a penalty, and neither did he punish the Manchester City player for diving. He called the players from both teams over to him and spoke to them. He wanted them to calm down and avoid excessive physical contact.

The atmosphere in the stadium became tense in the final two minutes of the game.

Wenger stood up from his seat and walked to the side of the pitch. He had pressed both his lips together and was staring at the pitch anxiously with a clenched jaw.

After ascertaining that all the players were not misbehaving in the penalty box, the referee made his way away from the penalty box and signalled for Ashley Young to kick the ball.

Ashley Young did not raise his hand and then run up to kick the ball like what some other players would. He sent the ball straight into the penalty box the moment the referee signalled that he could kick the ball.

His shot had happened so fast that it caught all the Arsenal players off guard.

As the Arsenal players all stood dazed at the ground, one player had jumped high into the air within the penalty box.

Straighten your back. Exert force. Swing your head. Attack the goalpost!

The ball flew into the goalpost and all Almunia could do was to wave his hands, as though he was waving goodbye.

Goodbye, Premier League champions…

The Emirates Stadium fell silent.

The commentator was the only one who made noise amidst the silence as he roared, “Arsenal’s hopes of becoming champions have just been crushed by Bendtner! He has headed the ball into the net adeptly! He has scored a brace in the match! 2:2! Arsenal has now fallen a point behind Forest! How dramatic can this be? Even the best scriptwriters in Hollywood can’t write a plot like this! This is football for you! This is the football that so many people are crazy about!”

Bendtner ran towards Ashley Young after he scored the goal. The two hugged each other and began rolling about on the pitch. Their teammates rushed towards them and flung their bodies on top of theirs.

It was supposed to be a match in which there was a clear winner.

But, the efforts of one man has introduced suspense into the match at the end…

※※※

Twain stood by the side of the pitch and Kerslake stood beside him. It had only been three minutes since the match ended for them, but they felt as though three years had gone by.

The City Ground Stadium was silent. It was as though no one was present in the stadium and everyone had left.

Everyone in the stadium was waiting for the latest news from the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.

Everyone was hoping that a miracle would happen.

Suddenly, a voice was broadcasted throughout the stadium.

It was the voice of the commentator who was commentating on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. His voice was hoarse, impassioned, and a little gibberish…

“Arsenal’s hopes of becoming champions have just been crushed by Bendtner! He has headed the ball into the net adeptly! He has scored a brace in the match! 2:2! Arsenal has now fallen a point behind Forest! How dramatic can this be? Even the best scriptwriters in Hollywood can’t write a plot like this! This is football for you…”

The City Ground Stadium regained life in a flash. Everyone lifted their heads to listen to the broadcast absent-mindedly. It soon dawned on them that whatever they were hearing did indeed come from the match between Arsenal and Manchester City, because they had just heard the same voice from their radios.

Deafening cheers erupted in the stadium thereafter.

Kerslake fell to his knees by the side of the pitch. He held onto the radio in his hands and tears streamed down his face.

Twain did not get worked up and jump into the air. He slowly sat back onto his seat at the technical area. He felt like his heart was about to fail him.

The players around him all started shouting at the top of their voices. The last minute goal excited them too much.

The voice being broadcasted throughout the stadium did not stop. Everyone in the stadium lowered their volume, because their attention had been seized by the commentator’s voice once again.

“… The referee has gestured for Manchester City to not drag on with their celebrations. Arsenal’s players are all protesting… The match starts once again… A long shot! Fàbregas has performed a long shot!”

Everyone in the stadium had their hearts in their mouths when they heard the commentator raise his voice abruptly.

“Brilliant save by Joe Hart!”

The Forest fans in the City Ground Stadium all cheered, “All hail Hart!” in response.

“A corner… This is perhaps Arsenal’s last chance to attack for the match. The referee is looking at his watch. The match might end the moment the ball fails to land in the back of the net after being kicked from the corner…”

Everyone’s hearts was in their mouths once again.

Twain lowered his head and covered his face with his hands. If he could, he also wanted to plug his ears…

Who is the bastard who came up with this? Whoever came up with it is obviously out to stimulate his weak heart!

“Almunia has rushed over to Manchester City’s penalty box as well…”

The Forest fans began to boo at the stands.

“All the players have squeezed themselves into Manchester City’s penalty box. Manchester City was able to level the score with a corner kick earlier. Can Arsenal win the match by doing the same?”

The boos grew louder in decibels. This time however, the fans were booing at the commentator’s words.

Don’t jinx it!

Twain was still able to hear his own heartbeat despite the cacophonous environment he was in. He suddenly felt like time had slowed down.

Why has the corner not been taken yet? Did they score or did they not? Just tell me right now, pal…

“Almunia was not able to head the ball… Senderos…!”

The commentator dragged out his last word as he shouted. His actions terrified Twain so much that he nearly jumped off his seat.

Twain might not have jumped off his seat, but there were many other people in the stadium who did.

“The ball has gone over the bar!”

For f*ck’s sake…

Twain wanted to swear at the commentator for scaring him. He was so frightened by the commentator’s words that his heart had really stopped for a moment back then.

Deafening cheers erupted from the stands. The cheers were like rolling thunder, and they electrified the stadium.

Everyone was certain that Forest had become champions of the Premier League, because the commentator went on to announce loudly, “The match is over! Nottingham Forest are the champions of the Premier League! They have successfully defended their title!”

The Forest players embraced one another tightly.

It was not easy for them to become champions this season. In fact, they might even have relied on luck a little. It was definitely much more difficult for them to lift the trophy this season as compared to the previous season…

※※※

The referee blew on his whistle to signal the end of the match.

Arsenal’s players could not believe what had just happened. They stood rooted before Manchester City’s goalpost. Each and every one of them was dumbstruck.

Fàbregas lowered his head. Van Persie raised his head to the skies and sighed. Wilshere balled his eyes out.

They were so close to being champions…

Arsene Wenger stood by the side of the pitch silently and was not able to speak for a long period of time. Behind him, the Arsenal fans could not believe what had just happened either.

The red Emirates Stadium was just like a volcano that had erupted for 90 minutes, but now it had stopped and was starting to cool down …

※※※

Evan Doughty reached out a hand towards the FA officials with a smile on his face. “Please make the necessary preparations to present the trophy to us, sir.”

“Ah…” The FA officials were feeling very awkward. They could not believe that the trophy would change owners in just three minutes.

“Uh, congratulations on becoming champions.”

Evan smiled merrily. He then raised his head proudly and accepted the well wishes from the FA officials.

※※※

Twain was just about to sit back down on his chair to rest when he was suddenly hoisted up into the air by his players. They then carried him about the stadium to bask in the cheers from the fans.

Twain sat on the shoulders of his players and waved at the stands.

It had not been easy for them to become champions of the Premier League this season, and it was perhaps the most unforgettable champions trophy he has ever achieved throughout his entire managerial career so far.

Twain smiled happily at the fans. Shania heaved a sigh of relief after seeing Twain’s smile from the VIP room.

15 minutes later, the players returned to the pitch to receive the trophy from the Football Association after changing into t-shirts that had been specially designed to celebrate the team becoming champions of the Premier League.

Twain and Wood were the two individuals who lifted the Premier League champions trophy high into the air.

The 2013-14 Premier League season came to an end amidst the cheers from 30,000 fans. Nottingham Forest has bade farewell to the City Ground Stadium by attaining their fourth Premier League champions trophy.

However, becoming champions of the Premier League was not a way for Forest to bid farewell to their season. On the contrary, it signalled the start of their journey.

Six days later, the FA Cup trophy awaits them at the Wembley Stadium.

11 days later, the Champions League trophy awaits them at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Becoming Premier League Champions was nothing more than the start of a great season ahead.

Chapter 861 - After getting the crown

For whole of 12th May, Nottingham was full of jubilation. There had been numerous reports in the local media about Nottingham Forest’s success in defending the league title, and countless media outlets had gathered in the central English city to interview the newly crowned Premier League champions.

On 11th May, the Football Association (FA) officials presented a replica of the trophy to Nottingham Forest, and local media were critical of the FA’s contempt for Nottingham Forest. As a result, on the next day, the FA replaced the replica with the actual trophy. This change was swift and it made them speechless.

After winning the championship, Twain gave the team a day off, but he reminded the players before the break that there were still two important games left so they could not go all-out and play.

The players were on holiday so Twain also gave himself a day off. On this day, he spent time with his wife. He did not go anywhere, choosing to rest at home instead. Shania enjoyed the time because on the last moments of yesterday’s match, she had really been scared to death.

Watching her husband get nervous for a moment, then excited, then finally devastated for a while. Even as a bystander, her heart could not handle the strain, much less= Twain who had previously underwent a heart surgery?

Fortunately, the nuclear-powered heart was very strong and there was no problem. Otherwise Shania would rather have Twain’s team achieve nothing at all the whole season than having her Uncle Tony suffer.

Shania still had a lot to worry about, even the next day.

Twain naturally knew this, so he had to make amends to Shania on this day. So he asked, “Where do you want to play? What do you want to buy?”

Shania came over and stuck onto him, blowing towards the tip of his nose and playfully said, “Don’t want to go anywhere, just let me hug you.”

Twain straightened his face, “I’m not your Totoro doll!”

Shania just ignored it, and hugged her husband like a doll, “Let me hug you, let me hear your heartbeat. I’m scared that this is all just a dream,” she murmured.

Twain did not struggle any longer, he placed his chin gently against Shania’s forehead.

“That’s a strong heartbeat.” Shania looked up and smiled at Twain. “I’m relieved!”

Twain did not roll his eyes, he gently rubbed Shania’s hair. There was much he wanted to say but no words left his lips which only twitched a little.

※※※

As Shania and Twain were hanging around at home, Bale was knocking on Shannon’s door with a gift.

The girl seemed to be still angry with Bale, so she only opened the door wide enough to see Bale but not let him in.So Bale, with gifts and flowers at the door, was waiting for almost the entire day when he finally convinced her to open the door and her heart.

“I don’t think you love me at all.” Although Bale had entered her room, her mouth was still unyielding.

Bell smiled and stuffed flowers and gifts into Shannon’s hand, then hugged her from behind and said, “Who told God to forsake me to be a professional soccer player? Sometimes you need to give in a little, you can’t be jealous. You should know about our coach? His superstar wife did not like him coming into contact with football because she’s worried about his heart.”

Speaking of Twain and Shania, the girls would give in. When Twain married Shania, who was twenty years younger than him, he had attracted many guys’ jealousy, but on the girl’s side, it was the envy of many people and Shannon was no exception. Although she was not a fan, but as a Nottingham citizen, she also knew about the story of Tony Twain.

She snuggled up in Bale’s arms, looking forward to her boyfriend being able to also give them an unforgettable romantic experience.

“Then… other than football, you are not allowed to love any other girl.” The girl started to act coquettishly.

Bale kissed her earlobe gently, “Okay, I swear. ”

The girl laughed with satisfaction, as she just followed Bale onto the bed without hesitation.

※※※

“The weather is nice, George.”

Sophia sheltered her eyes with her hands as she squinted up at the sky. She was being supported by her son for a walk outside to bask in the sun. Her pale face was coated with a warm color of sunlight, as she regained some spirit.

Wood hummed in agreement.

“It’s nice to win the league, aren’t you happy?”

“Hm, I am.”

“It’s good that Mr Twain doesn’t have to eat the table and make a fool of himself. . . In the last few minutes, I was really worried that he would suddenly fall on the sidelines. It was lucky that nothing unfortunate happened.” Sophia bowed her head as she said softly.

Two people walked till they were tired as they sat down on a bench to rest.

Sophia turned and looked at her son. He was looking at the walkers in the distance.

He looked like there was much weighing on his mind.

Sophia did not want to disturb him, as she leaned against the back of her chair to enjoy the sun. She felt like she owed her son a lot. At this time, his teammates must have been busy dating their girlfriends, going out shopping, going to nightclubs, bars or other entertainment venues. Only George himself needs to accompany herself as she was useless as a human being.

Perhaps it would be better for George if she died?

It was a pity that she could not bear to leave George behind. She loved George and thought she was the one who loved George the most in the world, and she did not want to leave George alone. Unless there was another woman in this world who loved George more than she does, she would always stay with him.

Wood was startled as he realized that someone was leaning on his shoulder. He discovered that the person to be his mother.

Her mother at this time was like a little girl snuggling up to himself. With her eyes closed, mouth slightly uplifted as it conveyed happiness. The morning’s rays were spilled onto her face, as a colorful glow was shown on her face.

Wood was a little stunned, as his mother has not had such a radiant expression for a long time. She was not well, so she had been in a bad state of mind. Maybe it was because of the sun?

He froze his body, and did not dare to move, in fear of disturbing his mother.

Maybe she was having a nice dream?

※※※

Kenny Burns was standing alone in Nottingham city centre square in front of the bronze statue of Brian Clough. A number of bouquets had been placed at the base of the bronze statue. It was a lot more lively now compared to before. It was all because Nottingham Forest had successfully won the championships and the City stadium needing to be demolished, which reminded everyone about the memories of the past.

Just as he was standing here, several other fans came to lay flowers. Without exception, they were white-haired old men.

What they did not recognize about the old man who stood next to them, was that he was actually one of the architects of Nottingham Forest’s first glory days, having won FWA Footballer Of The Year Award Today. Burns looked no different from an ordinary old English man, in which you simply cannot see the glory of the past that once belonged to him.

Just after yesterday’s game, he and his former companions came here again, as they shared a picture together. But that was only a well-arranged activity by the media. He returned here again today, because he suddenly had something to say to his coach.

“Three league titles, coach. There might be a third European title and a third trophy of the season … He’s really not bad right, coach? Maybe better than you, even…” Burns looked up at the sky. It was crystal blue and there was absolutely no chance of a bolt of lightning slicing onto his forehead.

After discovering his reflexive movements, Burns laughed, “Ha! ”

He remembered coach leaving them in September 2004 because of stomach cancer and died at the age of sixty-nine at Derby City General Hospital. The 69-year-old Ferguson was still leading the team to the Premier League and winning the Champions League. It was the second European Championship of his coaching career.

Now a decade was about to pass by in the blink of an eye.

Ten years ago, Nottingham Forest sent away the number one nobleman in the club’s history as they welcomed the second. The coincidence in the numbers were really signifying a cycle with a flavor of fate in it.

Ten years ago, Burns really did think he would be alive, as he could see Nottingham Forest re-emerge as if it were a dream. A rookie coach who was knocked out of the head by a player on the sidelines had suddenly become Europe’s hottest champion.

After standing for a little longer, Burns said goodbye to his coach and turned to walk away.

Behind him was Clough dressed in a cardigan, with his hands clasped together and his head raised. It was a scene when he decided to retire and bid farewell to tens of thousands of fans at the city’s stadium, which was now permanently fixed by metal.

Beneath the bronze statue, there were still fans who came forward to send flowers and missed the moments. Some people, like Burns, stood in front of Clough’s bronze statue and talked about the years of the past, and about their present glory. It was just like talking to an old friend.

※※※

Despite being waiting at London’s Heathrow Airport, Mr Bendtner, who was returning to Denmark, was still wearing sunglasses and still being able to be recognised. The “man of the round” of the round just made a huge appearance as he was unable to keep a low profile.

He was dragging his luggage to the gate as he was stopped by several people halfway through.

“Hey, Nikki!”

Those people were calling Bendtner’s nickname, as he could not help but stop walking.

“Ha, it’s Nikki! It’s really you!”

Several people came together, and Bendtner instinctively wanted to refuse the interview. But he found out that those were are not journalists, because they did not carry the interview bag, the camera in their hands were too amateur, their faces were very pleasantly surprised, this type of surprise was not the type of surprise when one seen a live news material, but the kind of joy that came directly from the heart.

He found it strange, did he have fans in London also?

Not wanting to disappoint the fans, he smiled as he waited to meet the other side’s signature and photo requests.

As a result, the four men had no intention of taking a picture with him or asking for autographs. They just gave Bendtner a thumbs up, “Well done, those two goals! We watched the show, they were really wonderful!”

“Yeah, well done, Gini . . . Cough, it’s been too long, I’m really not used to it…”

“To tell you the truth, I had no hope for you guys. But I’m glad I was wrong in the end!”

Several enthusiastic fans loudly praised Bendtner as they patted him on the shoulder and arms and then left.

Bendtner turned to look at their backs, they were walking on their heels as if they were flying. He then suddenly realised that these guys were Nottingham Forest fans!

After thinking about this relationship, he then grinned silently.

Last time, whenever he returned to the city stadium, what greeted him were the loud boos and rants of Nottingham Forest fans. Like Judas, he was written in a Biblical story for future generations to scold him hundreds of millions of times, and had no opportunity and power to appeal for himself.

Now the situation was completely reversed and he actually got a heartfelt compliment from Nottingham Forest fans. They even shout nicknames that were only used to be only called in the past, and even patted his shoulders and arms.

Nottingham Forest winning the title was because of himself, it was really a plot in a drama. He did not want to help Nottingham Forest win the championship, he just did not want to be looked down upon.

Standing in place and lamenting his fate, Bendtner dragged his suitcase and continued to search for his waiting area. Yesterday’s exciting game was almost left behind by him. The joy of the Nottingham Forest man was too far for him.

The red memories were already getting blurry, he had his own future, which was unrelated to Nottingham Forest.

※※※

After yesterday’s game, Wenger locked himself in a study as soon as he got home, he did not even want to get close to his wife. It was a special way for him to express and vent his anger — not wanting to eat or sleep, to lock himself up. No one knew what he was going to do, but when he came out from this isolation, most of it would show that his mood was back to normal.

This time, he came out from the study by dawn and gave his wife an apologetic smile.

His eyes were blood-shot, presumably from staying up all night. His wife was busy preparing dinner for him, as he sat alone on the sofa, keeping his eyes closed to rest.

After a night plus a day, the scene of failure was still clear, once he closed his eyes, he could remember it clearly. He had a higher chance of winning, but he lost the championship, what went wrong? Bentner was not marked down? He specifically called attention onto him, but he only needed to take two chances to score. This really could not be explained by common sense. Tactically he did not make a mistake at all, and it was reasonable to say that he should not have gotten that ending. But this was football, it was unpredictable.

Fortunately, his heart was a little bit tougher than Twain’s, and there’s nothing wrong with that stimulation. In fact, those that looked more civilized would have a bigger reaction than those with a worse temper, once they are under huge pressure.

He closed his eyes, trying to banish the scene in his mind, and gradually felt fatigue wash over him.

When his wife came to him with dinner, she found that her husband had fallen asleep and was snoring slightly…

She put down the dinner, pulled a blanket, and gently covered her husband.

※※※

Today, Shania was particularly passionate. She was moaning exceptionally happily as she closed her eyes while hugging tightly onto her lover, all ten of her fingers scratching marks onto Twain’s back. It was as if she was afraid that once she let go, her lover would disappear. Only whilst closely holding him tightly in her embrace, feeling his warmth and heartbeats, listening to his breathing, enjoying his every thrust, would give her the sense of security.

For Bendtner and Arsene Wenger, the intense season was over, no matter if it was effortless or devastating, they could only accept this outcome.

But for Twain who is still battling without rest in bed, it was only a start to his most exciting summer. His heart would still need to continue to go through relentless tests..

Chapter 862 - Please Eat the Table

Nottingham Forest really managed to defend their title, this made someone feel as if he was sitting on a bed of needles.

When the Forest players were on leave for a day, Carl Spicer was in a very bad mood since he woke up. He had left his mobile phone switched off since the end of the game yesterday to prevent people from disturbing him as he would definitely receive many calls from the media asking him when did he intend to make good on his promise the moment he switched it on.

Eating a table?

You’ve got to be joking! Is that something that a human can eat? I’m not a mouse!

He had no time to regret his bet with Twain then, he had to rack his brain to come up with a way to avoid this embarrassment.

At this moment, he heard the doorbell.

A staff from a logistics company was at the door smiling at him, “Mr. Carl Spicer?”

“Er, I am.”

Spicer had just woke up not too long ago and he was not dressed properly yet, he had not shaved and the tired look made him look a little haggard.

“There’s something for you.”

The courier pointed to a large box behind him.

Spicer could already guess what was inside it. If Twain had lost the league title, he would have also received such a package at his door, the only difference would be the sender would be different.

At that instant, a trace of anger flashed over his face and he wanted to deny it, “Er, I’m not…”

Before he could finish, more than a dozen reporters armed with hand-held cameras and video cameras popped out from the bushes at the side and started to take pictures of him.

Someone held a microphone and shouted at him, “Mr. Carl Spicer! Let’s talk about your thoughts! Nottingham Forest has won the title…”

That bastard Twain!

Spicer cursed him ferociously in his heart. He was not a fool, he knew that this courier and the reporters who ambushed him were all arranged by Twain who just wanted to embarrass him.

He could not deny his identity now.

The courier was also shocked by the reporters who popped out of nowhere. He turned to look at the people behind him and smiled. He was a football fan and he knew about the differences between Carl Spicer and Tony Twain.

“Mr. Carl Spicer, please sign here,” he tried to keep a straight face as he turned to talk to Spicer.

Since denying his identity did not work, Spicer could only sign his name on the delivery order.

The courier had no intention of helping Spicer move the box into the house —— Spicer had hoped that he would do that so that the media at the door would not be able to watch the show.

But the courier left after receiving the signed document.

Spicer had no choice but to move the box himself and he realized that the box was too heavy to be moved by him alone. After a few tries, he looked at the reporters watching the show around him knowing that these people would never help him.

“Why don’t you open it, Mr. Spicer?” A reporter asked loudly.

“If it’s a table, it would be more convincing to eat it here.”

“If it’s not a table, we’re not interested to waste our time here either…”

Spicer had an uncertain look on his face. There was the sender’s name on the delivery order, what else could Tony Twain send him other than a table?

The reporters who only wanted to see chaos kept egging him on to open the box in front of them.

Spicer finally gave up, he could not escape this anyway…

He slowly opened the package. What shocked him was that the first thing that he saw was not a wooden or a metal table, but a huge cake box instead.

What’s this?

Spicer looked at the box which had a faint scent of cream in a daze. The reporters also did not expect the box to contain something like this.

Could Twain have custom made a huge cake for Spicer?

Spicer had already thought of something. He opened the top of the cake box and laughed as he saw what was inside —— Just as he expected.

A life-sized chocolate cake of a table which still had the smell of cream and chocolate in the morning air.

Even the reporters who were standing 10 steps away could smell it. They looked at each other as they did not understand what was going on —— If Tony Twain wanted to embarrass Spicer, why would he send an edible “table” to make things easy for Spicer?

Could they have decided to take advantage of this opportunity to reconcile their differences?

That was too boring!

Ferguson had already retired. Wenger had the intention to retire, Mourinho had not returned ever since he left and now Carl Spicer and Twain were going to reconcile their differences, were they trying to put the news worker out of a job?

Carl Spicer did not care about the feelings of the reporters, he was feeling very happy then, as happy as when he cleared his bowels which had been constipated the whole night early in the morning. He took a whiff of the tempting scent of the cake and suddenly felt hungry —— It was time for breakfast.

“Ha, it’s a very nicely baked cake!” Spicer laughed and rubbed his hands. He looked at the reporters and asked, “Care to join me for breakfast my friends?”

The reporters all shook their heads with an unfriendly look on their faces —— This was not what they had hoped to see. They could only wait for Spicer to have a bite of the “table”, take a picture of that and leave. They did not have the mood to have breakfast with him.

Spicer was in no hurry, he returned inside to make some milk, then tied a napkin around his neck and reappeared with a fork and knife in front of everyone.

“What a pity… I can’t finish such a big cake myself…” He even acted sympathetically with an expression that made the reporters grit their teeth in anger, he was really taking his undeserved gains for granted.

Just when he was about to enjoy the cake, he realized that there was a card next to it. It was hand-written by Tony Twain.

Dear Mr. Carl Spicer,

The best chocolate cream cake, I hope you’ll like it. I wish to take this opportunity to show you my token of goodwill and reconcile all our differences in the past. We’ll just be giving those reporters a show to watch if we continued to be at each other’s throats. Can you see them? They should be just in front of you, right? Look at their eyes, you have the same look in your eyes when you’re at a circus looking at the clown, don’t you? We have no need to sacrifice ourselves to entertain them. Finally, I would like to apologize for my comments towards you in the past.

Your dearest friend, Tony Twain.

Tony Twain was actually backing down!

This was sensational news and Spicer had already decided to flaunt this on his own show. Even though he was forced to eat a “table”, it would be good to take back some of his honor like this… At the same time, he was thinking —— Maybe Tony Twain was not so bad after all…

Spicer wiped the card clean and placed it in his shirt pocket before starting to eat with a smile on his face. He used his knife to cut a piece of cake then used his fork to put it in front his open mouth.

The reporters were very cooperative as they took out their cameras and video cameras to take pictures and videos of him “eating a table”.

When the reporters are doe with their pictures, Spicer put the cake into his mouth, gave a thumbs up as he chewed and raised his eyebrows. Even though he could not speak, he used his expression and action to praise the taste to the cake.

To prove that he was not faking it, he had a few more pieces before finally eating with his hands, sucking his fingers and licking the chocolate and cream off them when he was done. Next, he pointed with his index finger and played a fool in front of the reporters.

His expression was really annoying, and the reporters felt like they were pranked by Twain and Spicer together. They were not interested in watching anymore, there was no show to watch at all and they packed up and left.

Carl Spicer was so pleased that he brought a chair over and continued to sit in front of his doorstep, eating the “table” that Twain send him.

Looking at how satisfied he was, it was as if he wanted more reporters to take a picture of him.

※※※

The news of Carl Spicer eating a table as he promised appeared on the papers, news station and on the internet in the afternoon. Everyone was shocked to see Spicer sitting at his doorstep, enjoying the table cake. The news stated that this was specially sent by Tony Twain and the readers had the same question as the reporters then —— Why would Twain send an edible table to Spicer, did he not want to see Spicer embarrass himself?

To this, the media had their own guess.

“…Maybe Twain was tired of his spat with Spicer and wanted to take this chance to reconcile their differences.”

This was a logical explanation and many people believed it.

A small group of people insisted that Twain could never back down after winning a bet. In their impression, Tony Twain would always try to do bad deeds and still wanted to have a good reputation. If he had a hold over someone, then he could only prepare to die a horrible death, with his body strung up on the city’s gate and whipped for everyone to see. He loved to beat his opponent to the floor and give him a few hundred million stomps until his opponent were totally stomped into the ground.

That was why so many people hated him. He did not know how to give people a leeway, was arrogant, full of himself, considered everything to be beneath him, become arrogant once he had the advantage… It was really not easy for all these negative values to be concentrated on a single person. Yet many people loved to follow him and liked him, the reason is simple —— Because he would always win. He had the rights to be arrogant.

That the “table eating” incident that everyone was looking forward to ended so pointlessly was quite boring.

This incident was not newsworthy, and the media decided to let go of Spicer. He could finally switch on his phone again without fear of being disturbed by the media.

The first call he got after switching on the phone was from the producer of “Football Matters”. He said laughingly to Spicer, “Looks like you got away this time Carl. Okay, enough about this, there’s not much value in this anyway. Come in to prepare for tonight’s live show. It’s the end of the season special, there are many things that you need to decide on.”

Spicer hung up and drove out, satisfied.

In the end of the season special, the champions were the stars of the show. Nottingham Forest would have a lot of air time since they were the champions. Luckily for him, Twain gave him a way out this morning, so he was in a good mood. He decided to cut down on his mocking of the new league champion as a favor to Twain.

He decided to feign sincerity and congratulate Nottingham Forest even though he planned to place the emphasis on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City as that was the match that ultimately decided the winner of the league title. The match between Forest and Sunderland had no suspense at all, nothing worth paying attention to in particular.

※※※

After 300 rounds in bed with his wife in the afternoon, Twain fell into a deep sleep, only waking up when the lights came on. Shania was making dinner in the kitchen.

She heard his footsteps and did not even turn back before saying, “Go watch some TV, dinner will be ready soon.”

“Do you need help?”

“No,” Shania turned and smiled at him, “You have a good rest today, you don’t have to do anything.”

Twain smiled back at her and left the kitchen to the living room and switched on the TV.

Looking at the time, it was already almost eight.

This was the golden period of the TV station as all kinds of interesting programs were aired at this timing. However, Twain was not interested in most of the TV program, with the remote in hand, he switched channels aimlessly. If he saw something that he vaguely had some interest in, he would stop to watch for a while before losing interest and switching again.

He switched channels for a while before his muddled brain that just woke up finally cleared up a little.

He remembered something. This was a very important thing.

So, he switched channel to Sky plc’s sports channel.

Then looked at his watch.

The TV was still showing advertisements. He had already forgotten about dinner…

※※※

If possible, Carl Spicer would really love to put his job down and rush to the toilet —— Even though this was already his eighth time there, he could not stop the desire to defecate that stemmed from the depths of his stomach.

The producer looked at the pained look on Spicer’s face worriedly. He knew what was wrong with his host of course, he got food poisoning, but he had no choice. This was a live show, he could not possibly cancel it at the last moment just because the host had an upset stomach otherwise the sponsors would have him for lunch.

“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Spicer continued to read the script for the night.

The producer slapped him on the shoulders, “It’ll start soon, you can go once more.”

Spicer rushed out immediately once he said that.

There was a scream from a lady that got knocked down and Spicer’s apologies coming from a distance outside the door.

When Spicer reappeared in front of the producer with an exhausted look on his face, the producer did not say anything. He merely gave him a pat on the shoulders and indicated that it was time for him to go out.

Spicer suddenly had a look of a person entering his execution ground. He gritted his teeth and walked into the broadcasting room with determination.

In front of the camera, when he hosted the show with his habitual sardonic smile, his lower body kept shifting around on the chair while his stomach kept making gurgling sounds.

“…Tony Twain’s team won the league title as they aimed for… Their… Hmm… Their journey to the title was very thrilling. Even after their match had ended, the league title still belonged to Arsenal…”

The attentive audiences must have already noticed that the Carl Spicer who was normally so good with words and spoke so quickly that he could overwhelm people who second-guessed him, was especially slow with his speech today. He tried his best to make it look like he was deep in thoughts, but in the eyes of the audiences, they only felt that something was off with him today, yet they could not tell what was wrong.

“…Nobody expected Bendtner… to score in the final moment to help Manchester City grab a draw with Arsenal. Nottingham Forest won the title dramatically… At this point, I have to congratulate Nottingham Forest…”

Spicer said while grinding his teeth. At the same time, he was scolding and screaming hysterically in his heart.

“Damn bastard! Tony Twain! What was in that cake that you gave me?! You despicable, shameless, devil who deserves to go to the 18th level of hell and cut by a thousand knifes! I curse you to never have any offspring!!!”

His stomach suddenly made another gurgling sound. Hearing this, Spicer’s face turned green…

※※※

The audiences in front of the TV would not know why was Spicer acting weird tonight. But one man knew, because he was laughing very happily in front of the TV.

“What are you laughing at, Uncle Tony?” Shania asked out of curiosity after hearing the laughter. Then she saw Carl Spicer on the TV screen.

“Oh, that man… Didn’t you send him a table cake? Why do I get this feeling that he looks rather unwell?”

Twain explained to Shania as he laughed, “Ah, I ordered that thing a few days too early. And you know, there is no refrigerator big enough to keep such a big cake. The weather is also getting hotter…”

Shania understood and a smile appeared on her face as she watched the show, “Ah —— Uncle Tony, you’re evil!”

※※※

The next day, Carl Spicer criticized Twain’s despicable and shameless move in his column furiously as he recounted his tragic experience of getting an upset stomach by eating expired cake.

However, not many people sympathized with him.

On the contrary, he became the new laughingstock of England.

There were even people leaving comments under his column asking if he shat his pants when hosting the show.

The evils that he brought upon himself were the hardest to bear

Chapter 863 - A New Journey

Chapter 863: A New Journey

A day’s rest was very short, and everyone made full use of the time to enjoy a momentary break because they were going to face two intense finals soon.

On the day they returned to training, Twain was waiting for the players at the training grounds with a smile on his face as he greeted every single one of them while observing their expressions. He was very satisfied with the results. The players did not go too crazy during their break and they still remembered that they had two finals waiting for them even when they were relaxing in their day off.

From the 13th to the 17th, the Nottingham Forest’s training was not focused on Tottenham Hotspurs. Twain was extremely familiar with their FA Cup’s opponent. They would have to play each other twice a year at least and there were no secrets between the two teams. The match would be very intense and exciting as they would not pull any punches.

While preparing for the FA Cup, Twain was thinking more about the Champions League final.

La Liga was not over yet, although it was inevitable that Real Madrid would win the league title. Even though they did not have the chance to win the Copa del Rey, it would be impressive to win the double nonetheless.

The Spanish media was already analyzing the odds of Real Madrid winning the 10th Champions League trophy in their club’s history. They gave an example from history to proof that this season’s Champions League belonged to Real Madrid —— In the year 2000, Real Madrid eliminated Barcelona before finally winning 3:0 against Valencia to win the eighth Champions League trophy.

The English media was not one to give up without a fight and the historical case study that they pulled out was equally compelling. During the times of Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest successfully defended their UEFA Champions League trophy at the Bernabéu. It can be said that Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium was their lucky ground.

Everybody seemed to care very little about the FA Cup.

For Tottenham Hotspurs, things were much simpler. The FA Cup was the only trophy that they still had a chance to fight for, it would be a good thing for them if Nottingham Forest did not pay much attention to it. They could focus all their attention on winning the FA Cup and getting the rights to compete in next season’s Europa League. Their league placing was not up to their expectations that season and if they wanted more glory and earnings for next season, they could only fight for the FA Cup.

There were even some Tottenham Hotspurs fans who indicated that the ideal result would be for them to win the FA Cup and Nottingham Forest to win the Champions League.

But…how could a sparrow know the will of a swan?

※※※

The match was not for a few more days, but Twain could not bear the loneliness and initiated the war of words. When taking an interview with a reporter, he kept talking about the Champions League, about Real Madrid and the Bernabéu, but he did not mention the FA Cup or his FA Cup opponent.

In the end, the reporter interviewing him could not take it anymore and he asked, “What do you think about the upcoming FA Cup final Mr. Twain?”

Twain thought it was weird and he asked, “Do I need to think about it? It’s an opponent that we meet twice a year at least, we’re very familiar with them. I don’t think that a FA Cup final can make them change into a team of a higher level like Arsenal. There’s nothing to worry about.” He smiled at the reporter confidently.

This attitude and opinion infuriated Tottenham Hotspurs. Their fans must be kicking themselves for supporting Forest to overcome Arsenal to win the league title during the last round together with Portsmouth.

Harry Redknapp was an old timer in the English football scene, and he could be considered as someone with reputation. Now that his team was humiliated by someone of the younger generation, he had to show up and say something.

“Of course, I would hope that Tony Twain thinks that way. Because that would give us a higher chance of being the Champion. In fact, I can’t wait for Twain to continue thinking this way.

He expressed his displeasure by taking the initiative to show weakness.

His players were not so cultured though.

Fabian Delph, a talented player formally from the ranks of Leeds youth team joined Tottenham two seasons ago. Now, he was already one of the key players of Tottenham. He told reporters, “I’ve always looked forward to competing against manager Twain during such an important match. I don’t want to high my thinking… I want to defeat them!”

“A team of Arsenal’s level? A team of that level lost the league title too. Why would we want to become a level like that? Tottenham is Tottenham, we don’t have to become anyone else to defeat Nottingham Forest.” Ledley King, whom have been playing for Tottenham all this while, not only rebutted what Twain said, he even made use of the chance to mock Arsenal for losing the league title. A Tottenham old guard indeed, his hatred for the Gunners was deeper than anyone else.

“We’ve defeated Arsenal before, and we can defeat Nottingham Forest now too!” Brazilian goalkeeper, Gomes, also hoped to get his first champions’ trophy since he joined Tottenham.

There was actually some history between Tottenham and Forest because there were two ex-Forest players in the Tottenham ranks now. One of them was center-back Michael Dawson and the other was Jermaine Jenas.

The latter did not have much feelings for Nottingham Forest because he left the team before Twain took over. Initially, he had the title of “England’s highest valued youth player”, but he did not particularly do very well and was now a peripheral player in the team. Michael Dawson used to be a center-back with bags of potential, but he was too injury-prone and lost his position in the national team. However, he was still better than Jenas in the sense that he would still be a key player in the club if he was not injured.

Jenas did not feel much for Twain and he participated a bit in the war of words. Dawson was grateful for Twain’s part in developing him as a player and he did not participate. However, he would not think that way during the match. He would definitely do his best for Tottenham and defeat Nottingham Forest.

※※※

After poking the hornet’s nest for Tottenham and causing so much chaos, Twain left. He was acting during the interview. Not only did he not look down on Tottenham, he thought very highly of them. In these few days, other than analyzing Real Madrid, the team did trainings specially catered for Tottenham.

If one had to find something special about the FA Cup, it would be because it was the final match and their opponent would have even stronger will and energy than usual. These energies could cover the distance between the powers of these two teams. If Forest was not careful, they might still lose due to carelessness.

Since Twain was going for the treble, he definitely would not allow losing due to carelessness to happen.

When it was only two days to the match, he wanted the whole team to watch the videos of the last five Tottenham games, to familiarize themselves with their opponents while he analyzed every single detail for them, including Tottenham’s usual tactics, the technical specialties and loopholes, how to make use of these loopholes, their method of doing so…etc.

The training durations were deliberately shortened for these two days and watching videos became a compulsory activity for everyone.

Who said that Twain was underestimating his opponent? If his opponent really thought so, they would be in for a show.

Watching the videos familiarized the team with their opponents and get themselves ready.

Next, Nottingham Forest only needed to wait for the match to start.

※※※

On May 15th, the Forest team set off from Nottingham on their bus towards London and stayed in a hotel to prepare for the FA Cup final on the 17th. That was the first time Twain led the team to the FA Cup final and the club treated the game with utmost importance. The chairman even put down his work and specially rushed over to London to cheer the team on. He also announced that there would be a cash prize if the team won the FA Cup.

The club chairman motivated the players using money whereas Twain used discipline to ensure that the players would be in their best form. He requested everyone to sleep before 11pm and wake up before 8am for breakfast. There must be a break of one hour in the afternoon and there was to be no pork in all their meals, and no alcohol for the two days. These regulations were not just for the players, the coaches had to enjoy the same “treatment”. It was still okay for them to have a set timing for bed and to wake up, but asking these Englishmen to not drink felt even worse than killing them.

Twain told the coaches during the coaching staff’s internal meeting that there was no better way to manage a team than to lead by example. If you want your players to follow the regulations that you set, then you have to follow them first in order to convince them. Take Wood for example, he was always the most hardworking one in training and he was also the most serious one in matches. That was why he was still held in very high regards in the team even though he was not good with his words. That was the power of “leading by example”.

He treated this FA Cup final very seriously and he would not allow even the smallest error.

This was Tony Twain’s first time after all…

He had experienced many first times in his life, but this first kept eluding him.

Even though he had already won many different champion’s trophies, he was still a little nervous when facing the FA Cup. It was as if he was a scholar taking the Imperial Examinations in the capital city in the past, he would not know whether he would be pass or fail the examinations the next day.

The other reason why he was so serious about the FA Cup was simple —— This was the second trophy in the treble. If they lost the FA Cup, they would have failed to achieve the objective that they worked so hard for that season. This was the same logic as with the league, there was no room for failure.

※※※

One day before the match, when the teams went to check out the venue at Wembley, both managers participated in a press conference.

No one could tell that the two of them were just engaged in a war of words when Redknapp and Twain sat together.

They were both very polite, Twain gave his senior in the industry enough respect while Redknapp seemed to have forgotten that Twain looked down on Tottenham previously.

They only talked about themselves and not their opponents. This press conference was so boring that it disappointed many people. Those reporters who came because of the news and wanted to incite some reactions between them were left wanting as the two wily foxes of different ages did not bite. They did not want to meddle with the other’s affairs.

If the reporters insisted to asking Twain about what he said a few days back, Twain simply shut up and did not answer. It was not his first time doing so and he did not find it difficult at all.

※※※

On May 17th, there was a slight drizzle in London since early in the morning. The temperature was four degrees lower than the day before and the atmosphere was comfortable. A drizzle should not have much effect on the pitch, however, Twain still requested for the coaching team to prepare two sets of boots for the players.

The rain was still coming down when they went to the stadium in the afternoon. Twain looked at the faraway sky before boarding the bus. The sky near Wembley was so white that it was shining, the rain would probably still fall for quite a while.

On the bus, Twain received a text from his wife reminding him to not stay out in the rain too long during the match in case he caught a cold.

The players were more relaxed and some of them even started playing poker at the back. Twain did not stop them, it was good for them to relax a little now.

Twain merely turned back to look at his players, then looked down at the message on his phone again.

If there was anything that could calm him down during this nervous moment which could trigger anytime, it had to be the care and concern of his wife.

When the Wembley Stadium appeared in the sights of everyone, the people who were playing cards, resting their eyes, listening to music, or texting, all looked up to witness England’s iconic stadium.

This was their final battleground.

Twain also looked away from his phone to look at the massive stadium under the overcast skies.

This was not his first time competing in Wembley, but it was his first time managing a FA Cup final. There should be not much difference.

He closed his eyes to go through every one of his opponent’s players once in his mind. He firmly believed that both him and his team were well-prepared, and the FA Cup would definitely belong to them.

The bus stopped at the exclusive lane and the fans nearby all rushed forward to witness the players at the earliest moment.

Kerslake was the first to alight, and he said in the rain, “Get down, get down!”

The players alighted one by one and they even had the mood to react to the fans’ cheers.

Twain was the last to alight and he was stopped by the reporters who insisted that he reply some questions.

Twain remembered Shania’s message and he put on a stern face and said, “No questions about prediction of the match, no questions about prediction of the score, no questions about the tactical arrangements, no questions about the starting lineup…”

“What can we ask about then?” One of the reporters protested.

“Oh, so there are not other questions? I’ll be leaving then,” Twain turned around and left after making a fool out of the media. He had no intention to stay out in the rain with the reporters who were in raincoats and holding umbrellas.

“Hey…”

“Mr. Twain, please stay…”

“He got us again!” Complaints from the reporters rang out all around them.

“Fine, he better pray that his team doesn’t lose in the FA Cup final, otherwise I’ll not let him off easily in the papers!”

“I think he better pray that his team will keep winning, otherwise none of us will let him off easily…”

Twain did not hear the vicious cursing of the reporters as he hurried into the tunnel to prevent himself from being drenched.

Even if he heard them, he would not pay much attention to them. It would not be so easy for those reporters to get the goods on him. He would not give his opponents a chance so easily.

Want to watch me embarrass myself? Not even in ten thousand years!

Chapter 864 - One More Needed

Not everyone would be seated on the stands waiting for the match to start before the match.

When the referee blew the whistle signifying kickoff, there were still people entering the stadium, looking for their seats.

Just when these people were still looking down in the rain, looking for the seat numbers that corresponded to the numbers on their tickets, they heard a booming cheer coming from next to them. It felt as though a tsunami was coming, or an earthquake was occurring at that time and they could not even maintain their balance.

“Boom——!!”

These people looked up in a daze, saw the people surrounding them jumping around with their arms raised and they looked towards the pitch.

What did they see?

The team in red sprinting in excitement!

There was a voice from the live broadcast which drowned out the cheers, “1:0, Nottingham Forest takes the lead! The scorer is Aaron Mitchell!”

These people finally realized —— When they were still busy looking for their seats, Nottingham Forest had already scored!

“This is really too fast! The TV broadcast wasn’t able to keep up with it… We can only look at the replay. After the kickoff, ?ahin passed the ball back to George Wood, who distributed the ball to the flank… Fernández continued forward after an one-two with Gago and Gago lobbed the ball forward very accurately and beautifully! Fernández received the ball… He crossed it! Aaron Mitchell’s diving header! The ball’s in —— It’s a goal!! Barely 20 seconds into the game! This is the record for the fastest goal in the FA Cup final, it’s also the record for the fastest goal for a cup final played in Wembley!!”

The commentator roared in excitement.

Twain pumped his fist in the rain and celebrated the goal with the people around him.

Back in the changing room, he told his players to get the first goal, a quick goal would bring the match towards their rhythm, but he did not expect the team to give him such a great surprise —— They actually scored after 20 seconds.

“No matter what’s the results of this match, Nottingham Forest and Aaron Mitchell have already etched their names in the history of the FA Cup with this goal!”

Mitchell sprinted towards the stands where the majority of Forest fans were at in the rain. He egged them on with his arms, asking them to shout louder and louder. He loved to hear this kind of cheers.

Tottenham did not expect Forest to score so early in the game. The match had just begun, and their defense were not organized yet. Forest took advantage of this small window of opportunity and hit Tottenham where it hurts.

Harry Redknapp’s face was darker than the London skies then. He could not say anything about conceding a goal like this at the sidelines.

He had thought that Forest would take it slow in this match after a sequence of high intensity matches, using a strategy of drawing their opponents out before hitting them on the break.

He did not expect Tony Twain’s team to be so determined in attacking right from the start, that was totally beyond his imagination.

Such an early goal had some element of luck of course. However, what was the point of saying that his opponent was just lucky at this point in time?

It’s a fact that they were trailing, and that their opponent was leading. There would be peculiar changes in the match due to such happenings.

The worst thing that could happen in a match against Twain’s team was to give them the lead. Forest could choose to continue attacking next or play a defensive game and hit them on the break. No matter what they do, it would be akin to torture for their opponents.

How should Tottenham deal with it?

Attacking?

Redknapp was not that stupid. Pressing up in attack would be like opening their doors for a few more Forest goals. He decided to shore up their defense first. After all, trailing by a goal was nothing, they just needed an opportunity to level the score.

He had to stabilize his players’ state of mind first, they must not lose their cool and panic, they must not give Forest another opportunity to take advantage and score another goal. This match would be difficult if they were to trail by two goals.

He stood at the sideline and shouted towards the pitch, asking his players to calm down with hand signals at the same time.

※※※

After 17 minutes, Tottenham levelled the score from a corner kick. The scorer was Michael Dawson. He did not show any mercy against his former club with an accurate and powerful header. Akinfeev did not even react to it as a group of people watched the ball fly into the goal. Some of the players even got their eyes blurred by the water splashing up.

Tottenham levelling the score made the fans doubly excited. When they were trailing earlier, these people were worried that the trophy would be given to Forest just like that, but it seemed like Tottenham did not want to give up yet.

Twain had no intentions of shoring up his defenses after Tottenham scored. Instead, he encouraged his two full backs to continued attacking from the sideline.

Redknapp could tell Twain’s intentions too. Since Forest was attacking, there would bound to be spaces behind. That was why Tottenham had to attack too, how else could they take advantage of these spaces?

One of the most exciting battles in the history of FA Cup finals has begun.

In the 39th minute, Tottenham Hotspurs took advantage of an opportunity to attack after Forest’s right-back Rafinha did not manage to rush back in defense in time and launched a quick counterattack. Pavlyuchenko made a feint when one-on-one against Akinfeev which made Akinfeev lose his footing and lost the best opportunity to dive on the ball. Pavlyuchenko rounded Akinfeev easily and put the ball into the empty net.

Tottenham had come from behind to lead 2:1!

The cheers of the Tottenham fans rang out from the stands. When Forest scored right at the start of the match, they could not imagine that Tottenham could come from behind to lead in the first half.

However, their cheers only lasted two minutes. In the 42nd minute, Mitchell used his individual skills against three Tottenham defenders, but he got pushed to the ground by Dawson. The referee blew for a direct free kick in the attacking half for Forest.

Bale stood on the ball and the Forest fans started singing the “Song of Bale”.

The ball was about 28 meters away from the goal and the wall was very compact. As a team in the English Premier League, everyone knew about the threat of Gareth Bale’s free kick.

George Wood and Gago did their best to squeeze into the wall, positioning themselves near the near post of the goal. It looked like Bale would be shooting from this angle towards the goal later, hence the Tottenham players pushed towards the near post, trying their best to squeeze the two Forest players out.

When the referee blew the whistle, Wood and Gago left the wall as expected, but the empty spaces left behind were covered by Tottenham players almost instantly… However, nobody expected Bale to not go for the near post, choosing to shoot towards the other side instead. The ball flew around the wall from the other end straight into the far corner of the goal!

That was obviously one of the free kick routines which they practiced countless times.

The goalkeeper Gomes was deceived by the wall and the tactics of the Forest team. When Bale took the free kick, he even moved his center of gravity towards to near post. As the ball flew towards the goal from the other side, he could do nothing but watch the ball fly into the far corner of the goal!

“2:2!! The first half is not over yet and there are already four goals between the two teams! What an exciting first half!”

The Tottenham fans kept mum, this time, it was the Forest fans who sang in the rain.

Of course, there were also some Forest fans who thought that it was weird. Tony Twain usually did not find it hard to resort to conservative tactics in important matches, why did he suddenly choose to play an attacking game against his opponent? They were worried that if this went on, Forest might fail instead.

Twain’s thoughts were very simple. He wanted to make use of this match to check on his team’s attacking prowess. Against a team like Real Madrid, it would not be sufficient to be able to defend.

When the first half ended, the two teams were level with the score at 2:2. The match was played in a very quick rhythm from the start and the fans got their money worth.

Many people did not expect such an exciting match to be played out in a FA Cup final. Nowadays, football had become more and more practical and finals were usually a boring affair. Especially so if Nottingham Forest was involved in the final.

They did not expect Twain to suddenly have a change of heart which made it difficult for everyone to get used to it.

Was he going to raise the flag of attacking football and play an open game with Tottenham?

Redknapp must have thought so, because he told his players during the halftime team talk to continue pressing the attack and take advantage of the spaces behind when Forest attack in the second half.

However, at the same time, in Nottingham Forest’s changing room, Twain smiled and told his players, “We’ll play on the break in the second half.”

※※※

The changes in the situation of the second half were beyond Redknapp’s expectations too.

His team pressed up in attack, but he soon realized that Nottingham Forest did not come forward in attack too. Instead, they retreated to the back and started to position themselves to play on the counterattack…

The commentator was very disappointed at this change and started to insult Twain again, “Tony Twain must be afraid, afraid that his team might continue conceding goals and lose morale or even the game if he continued to play an open game with Tottenham. I think he can’t take this failure and therefore chose to play a more conservative game… What a pity, only the first half of this final is exciting…”

Redknapp was not dumb. He knew Twain was going to play on the counterattack when they drew back their defensive line, if he continued pressing forward, he would have been asking for it.

Hence, he drew back too.

No wonder the commentator sighed and said that the first half was more exciting.

After 20 minutes of boring football, Redknapp finally could not take it and launched the attack first.

They bombarded the Forest goal for ten minutes without any result while the Forest team turtled in a total defensive formation.

Just when Tottenham was going to take a breather, the dagger that was hidden in Forest hands suddenly shot out!

Akinfeev did not pump the ball up, choosing to throw the ball out to start the attack. This was a counterattack with a purpose.

Gago sprayed a long ball to the flank after receiving the ball. Moke received the ball quickly and he did not continue bringing the ball forward. Instead, he took a look at the situation in front and chose to play a direct, diagonal ball towards the front of the penalty area.

Mitchell followed the ball with his long legs with Michael Dawson following him beside him!

The pass that Moke played was a rolling ball and it was very fast on the wet grass. Mitchell was not a fast player, but he was still fast enough when compared to a center back, and he had long legs which was a very useful advantage. For example, now…

Moke’s pass was a little bit forward, it was difficult to receive such a ball, let alone control it.

However, Mitchell did not even think about controlling it!

When the ball reached the arc of the penalty area, the 2.02 meters tall Mitchell suddenly jumped and slid towards the ball!

Michael Dawson did not expect this tall fellow to slide towards the ball from outside the penalty area! He was stunned momentarily and lost track of his target just like that.

Gomes originally wanted to come out for the ball but dropped back after realizing that Dawson was following his target also did not expect Mitchell to choose and slide after the ball from outside the penalty area…

Why is he sliding the ball? He’s not a defender!

The football told him about Mitchell’s plan in the next second.

Mitchell successfully reached the ball and the ball flew directly towards the goal after changing direction!

Earlier on, it was established that the ball would roll especially fast on the wet grass. Gomes did not expect Mitchell to shoot directly…a sliding shot from outside the penalty area!

Gomes could not dive in time and the ball rolled past his fingertips! It rolled towards the goal on the grass very quickly…

Dawson ran past Gomes and ran towards the ball, planning to clear it.

He was just a step too late and he kicked air as the ball rolled past him, hit the post and went into the goal.

“3:2! A brace for Mitchell!”

Mitchell became the hero of the Nottingham Forest fans. He raised his arms and thanked God for giving him such an opportunity —— To score a brace in the FA Cup final!

His childhood dreams were being fulfilled one by one.

The Nottingham Forest’s players were all very excited as they surrounded Michell, slapping him on the head and shoulders.

Their target this season was the treble. They had already won the league title and they were leading Tottenham by 3:2 in the FA Cup final with victory in sight. Two trophies would definitely improve their morale and confidence greatly.

But Twain was only happy for awhile before shouting at his team to focus and not let out in their attack. A lead of one goal was not safe…

Redknapp knew that Twain would do that. Taking the chance of Forest scoring, he waved his hand —— Tottenham was to continue attacking. They must score before Forest scored again!

He almost succeeded.

A long shot from Modric was out of Akinfeev’s reach but it came back off the crossbar and out.

The Forest Fans broke out in cold sweat from the shock.

The rain started to fall heavier.

Twain had already forgotten his wife’s instructions before the match. He stood straight on the touchline and allowed the rain to drench him with no intentions of moving back. He encouraged his team using this method.

His players were playing in the rain, as a manager, he had to brave the rain with them.

The teams started to play an intensive game after 20 minutes of a quiet game as the match became more exciting.

It might be because of the weather condition, the excitement of the match deteriorated. Mistakes became much more abundant following the drop in energy level and the match after that was difficult to watch.

However, Twain and Redknapp were still very focused. They were not looking at what was happening on the surface, but what was happening on a deeper level. Everyone was making mistakes, it was all about which side could capitalize on the other side’s mistake now.

On the 81st minute, Nottingham Forest capitalized on Tottenham’s mistake first. Agbonlahor, in as a substitute for Mitchell assisted from the flank and ?ahin followed up from the middle and fired the ball into the goal.

This goal basically pronounced the death sentence for Tottenham.

Following that, Tottenham struggled for a while more, but they could not break through the Forest goal. This was because Nottingham Forest shamelessly played with everyone in defense after taking a two goals lead and did not give Redknapp’s team any chance at all.

When injury time started, the Forest fans started to sing and dance on the stands in the rain. They were singing Queen’s “We are the Champions”, announcing their victory ahead of time.

When the referee blew the whistle for full time, the fans’ singing became thunderous cheers.

The Forest bench rushed onto the pitch with Twain leading them as they embraced the players on the pitch.

“Congratulations, Tony Twain! He finally got the first FA Cup trophy in his managerial career! In all the competitions that he had participated in, other than the UEFA Europa League, he has won all the trophies that he could win! This is really a historical moment! The most successful manager in England for the past decade has etched his name on this trophy with the longest history in English history! His team and him are creating history!”

Twain was lifted by his players above their shoulders and paraded.

He extended his arm and pointed towards the sky —— Just one more trophy!

※※※

The day after the match, the media used a photo of him doing this, with a caption:

Nottingham Forest, pointing their sword towards the UEFA Champions League!

Chapter 865 - Confess

When Tony Twain returned to Nottingham with the Football Association Challenge Cup, everyone knew what his next goal would be. At this juncture, he would be letting the two previous championship titles down if he did not win the Treble.

Like the league tournament, Twain gave the team a day off after winning the title to allow the players and coaches to have a break before they got ready to take on a strong opponent.

Having won two championship titles, Tony Twain once again became the focus of media attention. The reporters were unwilling to give up any opportunity to get close to him and interview him. Even if he was on vacation, he still had reporters who wanted to interview him.

Pierce Brosnan was one of them. He had one advantage over the other reporters—he had Twain’s personal cell phone number, and he could contact him anywhere at any time, while the other reporters did not have that privilege at all. Twain disliked the media. Even though he would not have been successful and arrogant had it not been for the media, he still would not show face to the media. Therefore, when the other media wanted to interview the manager, Tony Twain exclusively, they could only submit applications to the club and then wait for a reply. Their applications usually did not receive a positive response, so Twain had been called “England’s most difficult manager to interview” and ranked first on the “reporters’ most unpopular manager list.”

Brosnan planned to contact Twain on his private line today to request for an interview.

But he made three calls in a row from 8 o’clock in the morning, and Twain’s cell phone was turned off.

Brosnan shook his head in puzzlement. He thought for a while and could only put the reason down to Twain must still be in bed with his wife, either sleeping or making love and so he did not turn on his cell phone.

It looked like it was difficult to interview this man…

※※※

Brosnan thought Twain must be doing a morning exercise with his wife. But in truth, he was wrong.

At eight o’clock, Twain went out alone in his car while Shania was still asleep in bed after a night of passion.

Even if Shania had awoken, Twain would not bring her along. For the place where Twain was going and the matter that he needed to settle, he did not want anyone else to disturb, even if it was his wife, the most important person in his life. In order not to be disturbed by others, he even turned off his cell phone.

The place he was heading to was south of Nottingham, near Clifton. Like the north of Nottingham, there was also a large dense forest. Behind a church on top of a hill was a cemetery hidden from view in the woods.

Gavin Bernard, the first fan in George Wood’s life, laid in rest here.

In fact, Twain came here, not long ago. Although he was Briton, he still had not forgotten some of the traditional Chinese customs deep within him. For example, every year on the Qingming Festival, he would come back here to make offerings to Gavin. On this day, Twain would certainly take time out to make a trip here. If the team had a game on day of the Qingming Festival, he would come here a day ahead or the day after the game. The people around him did not quite understand why he chose to visit Gavin at this time, because there was no Qingming Festival in the Western countries.

Coming back here again in a little more than a month, Twain brought Gavin two pieces of good news.

“The league tournament and the Football Association Challenge Cup .” Twain stood at Gavin’s gravestone and said to him, “Everyone out there is going nuts with happiness. Do you know how many years it has been that Nottingham Forest have not won a Football Association Challenge Cup ? Fifty-five years. It’s half a century. Heh, to be honest, I didn’t think of this issue before the game. But when the reporters asked about it after the game, I only found out then that we had not won the Football Association Challenge Cup for so long. All is good now. Fifty-five years of resentment is finally over.”

“Have you watched those two games? It was so hard to win the league tournament. I almost gave up… Truthfully speaking, I’ll only say these words to you alone, Gavin. No one else knew… I really wanted to give up in the final three minutes. I even figured out how to deal with the nasty reporters. To eat a table?! I’ll easily eat a table made of chocolate cake. Anyway, I did not state the material of the table! Ha!”

Twain laughed smugly.

“It’s really tiring to be a manager. I almost ended up down there to accompany you. But I’m tough. So many people want me to die but I refuse to die. So, I’m still alive, and I’ll continue to win championship titles for you. But …” Twain thought for a bit, “There’s something buried in my heart for almost a year, and I didn’t tell anyone, not even my wife. Now I’m going to tell you, because I know you won’t blabber to anyone… I’m going to give them a big surprise when the time comes!”

Twain turned to look around. There was no one else in the small cemetery but himself. The wind blew from the forest through the cemetery and the sound of rustling leaves was the only sound that could be heard.

Twain got down on one knee and held the gravestone as if he were stroking Gavin’s head. He bent his head down and wriggled his lips beside the tombstone, but no sound came out.

With that, he stood up again, with a smile on his face and said, “What do you think of the idea? I really look forward to seeing their surprised expressions by then. But I have to say I’m sorry to you… Well, you’re not going to be the chairman of the Nottingham Forest club anyway. If you really could, I would still be in that position even if I were to be ninety-eight years old. Sometimes I look forward to that day and I’m excited just thinking about it in my mind.”

Twain cocked his head, as if he was fantasizing about a future like that.

“But…” He looked away and his gaze focused again on the tombstone. “I can only think about it in my mind.”

“There’s only one championship title left.” Twain sighed, “I suddenly have a kind of tiredness that appears at the end. Do you feel that way, Gavin? After you’ve run a marathon and saw that the end is near, but your body doesn’t feel right—you don’t want to run, your legs are running out of energy, you can’t breathe as if you’re just going to stop. Because you’re tired.”

Twain simply sat down, face to face with the tombstone.

“I really don’t want to run, but I can only say this to you here. I can only whine to you. If I really were to fall before the finish line, I’ll kill myself. Regardless of the outcome of the next game, at least I can’t give up until the end of the game. You know what, Gavin? So many people are looking to me. My players, my colleagues, my boss, my supporters, my opponents… Countless eyes are on my back and I can’t make any mistakes. My supporters will be disappointed if I make a mistake while my opponents will clap their hands in delight. You’re going to say why do I have to go head to head against so many people, don’t you? I can’t help my lousy temper. I really can’t pretend….to be a nice guy. A tepid-like character is not suitable for me. I’m extreme. Either I die or they die…I’m forty-five years old and still act like a child.”

“Well, actually I’m not that old…” Twain coughed. He felt uncomfortable once he stated the age. “I’ll tell you a little secret, which is something that not even the closest person to me knows about. I… Well…” He looked up and glanced around. There was still no one else around. “I came from another time and space. In that time and space, I’m not the Forest manager. I’m not even English. I’m very ordinary, and I don’t know you either. If I hadn’t come here, you wouldn’t be lying here, would you?”

Twain shook his head and said, “Let’s not talk about this. I will lose my fighting spirit after talking too much about some stuff.”

While he was still chatting to Gavin as he sat on the ground, a person had turned in from the entrance of the cemetery.

※※※

George Wood bought a bunch of flowers outside the church and asked for a card. He wrote on it with a crooked handwriting, “For Gavin, your George.”

He only wrote “George” the best, which was trained from signing autographs all the time for the fans.

As he wrote on the card, he remembered how Twain had laughed at his ugly handwriting.

“Look at the words you wrote. It’s worse than a grade school student’s handwriting!”

Wood inserted the card into the bouquet and picked it up as he went out of the florist.

It was at this point that the owner of the florist dared to ask him in a whisper, “Are you really George Wood?”

When Wood walked in through the door, he thought he was seeing things.

Wood did not say much. He just picked a bunch of lilies, asked for a card, paid, and left. The entire proceeding took less than a minute from the moment he stepped into the shop and he only spoke two sentences.

“Please give me a bouquet of lilies and a card.”

“Thank you.”

Wood did not have a habit of wearing sunglasses to hide his identity when he went out. But he would not take the initiative to expose himself either. The florist did not react at first because he did not think that George Wood would come to his little flower shop. It was not until Wood left that he reacted.

“What’s he doing here?” He frowned and muttered in puzzlement.

※※※

As Wood walked into the cemetery, he saw a man sitting in front of his destination, as if he was saying something.

When he got closer, he recognized the man sitting on the ground and it was the boss.

Twain also realized that Wood was nearby. Neither of them was surprised to see each other here.

Twain stood up and gave way to Wood, who stepped up to put the bouquet in front of the gravestone, close to the bouquet that Twain had placed before him.

“Do you want me to give you some privacy?” Twain was going to leave first.

Wood shook his head and said, “No. I have nothing to say.”

“You’re so heartless, George.” Twain began to tease George.

Unexpectedly, Wood replied, “I don’t know what to say.”

Twain stared blankly for a moment and then waved his hands. He said, “Then let’s go. I’ll give you a ride back.”

Wood nodded his head.

The two men glanced at Gavin Bernard’s gravestone at the same time and turned to leave.

“Aren’t you going to buy a car, George? You’re now a big star. People may laugh at a big star without a car.”

“I’ve no use for it at the moment.”

“You have such low expectations in life… Are you not going to find yourself a girl? How old are you, George?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“Twenty-seven and you still don’t want to look for a girl. Do you want people to say you’re gay?”

“I love my mother.”

Twain turned to give Wood a glance and said nothing.

No one would believe it if it was known that a twenty-seven-year-old star was still single. But it was to be expected and reasonable when it came to George Wood. There seemed to be room for only one woman in his life, and that was his mother. The child with an Oedipus complex could never imagine how it would be like to have another woman share his love. Even Twain had a deep-rooted belief that it would be a strange sight if one day a woman who was not his mother, were to be by Wood’s side…

※※※

When he sent Wood home, Twain met Sophia.

Sophia was also delighted to see Twain. Her face was even flushed. She wanted Twain to stay for lunch, but Twain tactfully declined because he had to go home to spend time with his wife. Shania must have made lunch and waited for him.

Sophia was a little disappointed, but her look of disappointment was soon covered up.

Twain did not even go inside the house. He would be in a complicated mood every time he faced Sophia. He knew how Sophia felt about him, but he was a man with a wife, and he did not think it was appropriate for him to be with Sophia. In order not to continue to let Sophia labor under this delusion, sometimes he deliberately kept his distance. It would certainly hurt Sophia a little. But it was better that than to lie to her.

While Sophia was urging Twain to stay for lunch, Wood stood at the side and said nothing.

Twain recalled Wood’s words and felt strange. He did not linger and directly said goodbye to the mother and son.

In his heart, he only hoped that Sophia and George would live on happily.

※※※

Pierce Brosnan intended to call all day. However, Twain’s cell phone was always turned off. He was confused. Twain’s cell phone was rarely switched off. Even at two or three o’clock in the morning, a call to him would still go through. Of course, it was also unsurprising that he would be scolded by him after the call had connected and then be hung up on.

He thought of a lot of possibilities in his head. The more he thought, the worse it got, and he decided not to think about it.

He did not get through until after 9 p.m.

When he heard that the sound coming from the line was not prompting him with “the number you have dialed is not in service” message, but the “beep-beep-beep-beep” tone of waiting to answer, he almost felt the impulse of excitement.

“I’ve been calling you all day, Tony!” Brosnan cried excitedly on the phone.

“Are you trying to woo me? Unfortunately, I don’t like men, Mr. Reporter.” Twain joked with Brosnan.

“I wanted to ask you for an interview. Now that you are a red-hot star, I was afraid that I would be too late, and you would be snapped by someone else …”

“I’m not a merchandise… All right, I promise you, but not right now, not tomorrow, and not the day after tomorrow… I will not take any interviews until the Champions League final. I have rejected all the applications sent to the club for interviews. You’re no exception as well, even though we have a good friendship .”

“Is it so that you can prepare for the Champions League final with a peace of mind?”

“Of course. Actually, I’m doing you a favor, Mr. Reporter. When I win the Champions League, it’s going to be difficult for you to ask me for an interview.” Twain said seriously on the phone.

Twain was putting on airs, but Brosnan did not care, as long as Twain had promised him an interview.

“Well, that’s great. I wanted to confirm this… Well then, I’ll leave you guys be…” Brosnan hurriedly hung up because he heard Shania’s laughter on the other end of the line.

※※※

Shania could not help but laugh when she saw that Twain’s straight face as he put on airs.

Twain put down his cell phone and opened his hands to Shania.

Shania immediately came closer and leaned in her husband’s arms.

“Where do you want to go this summer, Shania?” Twain gently smelled Shania’s hair and asked.

“Aren’t you going to be busy? Is BBC asking you to do the commentary for the World Cup in South Africa? When the World Cup is over, the team should be training again, shouldn’t they?” Shania asked strangely.

Twain smiled instead and said, “Who can say what’s going to happen in the future? Where do you want to go?”

Shania curled her body in Twain’s arms and closed her eyes as she enjoyed Twain’s caress while she muttered, “Anywhere is fine, just as long as I’m with Uncle Tony…”

Twain lovingly stroked Shania’s hair and said nothing.

Chapter 866 - Madrid

The team flew from Birmingham to Madrid after undergoing training for four days at their training grounds at Wilford.

Twain was very familiar with Spain’s capital. He has been in Madrid numerous times before.

The moment the team stepped out of the airport, they could tell that the city was gearing up for the Champions League finals.

Promotional banners and posters were hung on the walls by the sides of the roads all the way to the hotel that they were staying in.

The team might not have stepped foot in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium yet, but they could already envision the sort of scenes that they would see there.

Besides the promotional banners and posters for the Champions League finals, the respective team flags of the two finalist teams were also hung in the air.

There were significantly more Real Madrid flags than Nottingham Forest flags. That is to be expected, since they were playing in Madrid, and this is the home advantage that Real Madrid gets to enjoy. If they were to be playing in a ‘neutral’ venue however, the number of team flags should be the same for both teams.

The entire city of Madrid was basked in excitement over Real Madrid’s qualification for the Champions League finals. The Real Madrid fans all believed that their team has a 85% chance of winning the match.

Their beliefs were not unfounded. Real Madrid would be playing on their own home grounds, and the fact that they are playing in the Bernabéu Stadium would undoubtedly spur the players on and make them play at their best. After all, it is not often that a team gets to play on their own home grounds in the Champions League finals.

As the bus that Forest rode on drove past the downtown area of the city, the team saw numerous Real Madrid fans congregating around the streets. Such sights could be seen throughout the city, and their numbers would only increase as the day for the finals draw close.

The Real Madrid fans waved at them upon seeing the bus. They did not appear to be hostile, and there does not appear to be tension in the air either.

However, Twain knew very well that the expressions on those fans’ faces would change the moment his team creates trouble for Real Madrid in the finals.

It was not as if he has not heard the ear-splitting boos from the Real Madrid fans in the Bernabéu Stadium before. He knew that they are capable of showing hostility towards opposing teams.

Nonetheless, boos would not perturb Twain in the slightest, since he was someone who attracted boos wherever he went, and he has grown used to them.

“Look at that. Look at how they are smiling at all of you. Wave back, lads. You are not going to see such amiable smiles during the match for sure.”

Twain said to his players, and laughter instantly rang out within the bus.

The bus turned and stopped before the entrance to the hotel. There were many reporters who were already waiting before the doors.

The reporters from all over the world have all gathered here in Madrid to provide the fans with timely updates regarding the Champions League finals.

The Forest players have all grown used to being in the spotlight and seeing large crowds of reporters surrounding them. Thus, they paid the reporters no attention when they alighted from the bus, and they walked straight into the hotel.

Some of the more popular players were still stopped by the reporters, however. They were asked a few questions, but the reporters quickly changed their target when they noticed that Tony Twain had finally alighted from the bus after everyone else did, and they collectively flocked over towards him.

Twain felt as though he was looking at a pack of drooling wolves when he saw the reporters charge at him. He whistled in response.

“Mr. Twain. Is this your first time playing a match in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“Can you predict the results of the match?”

“Sorry, I have never predicted the results of any match.”

Twain might have said that, but the reporters did not think that he was speaking the truth. They had their ways to make him talk.

“Mr. Twain. Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you for achieving the Double by clinching both the Premier League trophy and the FA Cup trophy. So… Are you confident of clinching your third trophy?”

“We made it into the finals. How could we be fighting for second place?”

Twain flung his hands out.

He said he was not going to predict the results of the match earlier, but didn’t he just predict the match with those words of his?

The reporters laughed in satisfaction.

“How would you describe Real Madrid as a team? They too have won the league title this season…”

“Real Madrid is a very strong team. They are the strongest team in Spain. I am very happy that we can face such an opponent in the finals, and not some other never-heard-before team.” Twain appeared to have shown enough respect for Real Madrid.

“Are you worried that the stress of achieving the Treble would affect your team’s performances now that you are so close to achieving it?”

Twain smiled. “I am worried about them not being able to sleep well at night. I’m also worried that they will get injured during the match. And, I’m also worried that our plane back to England would be a little late… But, I’ve never worried about them performing badly on the pitch. Performing badly? What the hell is that?”

Twain oozed of confidence as he dealt with the reporters’ questions with ease. If there were any fan girls of his standing by the side right now, they would have shrieked in joy at his behavior.

“You look like you are full of confidence, Mr. Twain. We all know that Franck Ribéry was a player whom you brought over to England from the French Ligue 2. But he has betrayed you now…”

Twain cut the reporter off. “I’m sorry. This is something that happened many years ago. Please do not ask questions that have nothing to do with the match.”

“Uh… Are you worried that he would score against you in the finals?” The reporter hesitated for a moment before phrasing his question as one that seemed to have something to do with the finals.

“He is a Real Madrid player right now. Would it be surprising if he scored against me?” Twain looked at the reporters who had anticipation written all over their faces and paused. “He is a brilliant player and he has performed well in Real Madrid. I am very pleased to know that I didn’t make the wrong judgment back then.”

When he finished his words, he pushed away the reporters and thronged towards the security guards. He was then escorted into the hotel by them.

“Mr. Twain! I still have another question…”

“Manager Twain! Manager Twain!”

The question about Ribéry caused Twain to remember the past, and that upset him, because he did not like to reminisce about the past before the public.

Twain ignored the shouts from the reporters behind him and he briskly made his way into the elevator. When he turned around, there was not even a twinge of a smile on his face. His expression remained unchanged right up till the moment the elevator doors closed before the horde of reporters.

The expression on his face was a clear sign to the reporters that he was angry and that the interview was over.

In truth, he has almost forgotten about Ribéry ever since the latter left the club for Real Madrid. The two have not kept in contact since then, and the last time the two communicated with each other was when Ribéry left Twain a letter after his departure.

However, that very letter had been ripped up and scattered into the morning breeze at Wilford by Twain himself.

The British media is very egotistical. They would not report about a particular player once he stops playing in England. They show total indifference to the footballing matters that happen in other countries, but they are willing to report about even the smallest of things related to British football. Hence, it is not easy to read news reports about a particular player who is playing in La Liga.

When Twain first learned of their opponents in the Champions League finals, he thought of Ribéry.

He feels a mixture of emotions towards the lad. He really likes Ribéry as a player, since he was the one who brought him over to England from France, and he was also the one who personally groomed him into the player that he is today. However, he still resents him for abandoning him and the club back then.

There might not be many players left in the club who used to play in the same team as Ribéry right now, but Twain was still intent on teaching Ribéry a lesson for what he did all those years ago.

Despite being 31 years of age this year, Ribéry is still able to find a spot as a starting player for Real Madrid. His pace might have gone on the decline over the years, but his technique, experience and fight makes up for his lack of pace.

The fact that Ribéry is still able to play as a starting player for Real Madrid when van der Vaart left years ago is proof of the difference in status between the two players during their time in Forest. Ribéry was the core of the team, whereas van der Vaart was just a starting player for Forest.

Twain took the elevator to the 11th floor. Kerslake was waiting for him at the lobby, and he waved the room key at Twain when he walked out.

“Your room’s 1101.”

Twain received the room key from Kerslake.

Kerslake asked, “Have you thought about what you are going to say to Ribéry when you see him?”

Twain shrugged. “If his team loses to us, I’d hug him. If they win… Ah, damn. It’s bad omen to talk about such things before the match!”

He walked into his room with the room key in his hand.

※※※

Ribéry was receiving a massage in the physical therapy room at Valdebebas due to a slight back ache. The team doctor did not make any comments about his back ache, but Ribéry insisted on getting a massage for it because he did not want to jeopardize his chance to play in the finals.

He lied on the bed and quietly enjoyed the masseur’s service. A while later, he suddenly felt tired and he closed his eyes a little.

The memories in the recesses of his mind began surfacing against his wishes when their opponent for the finals was decided, and they have been surfacing a lot more actively these few days with the finals drawing close.

He remembered those days when he was in Nottingham Forest.

His footballing career prior to being a player at Nottingham Forest was not worth remembering. In fact, he has almost forgotten about them by now. He would certainly not disagree if anyone were to say that his professional footballing career only started when he joined Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest…

How many years has it been since I left? It’s been almost 5 years.

Ribéry has not faced off with his former team on the pitch ever since he left Forest. He could not believe that the very first time he is going to meet them would be in the Champions League finals.

Destiny sure is cruel.

One cannot think of Nottingham Forest without thinking about its leader, or their boss Tony Twain.

Ribéry was certain that the current Forest members still refer to Twain as their ‘boss’. Over here in Spain however, footballers do not refer to their manager as the ‘boss’.

It is a feat that his ex-boss is able to stay and manage Forest for the past 10 years, given his temper. It is truly something that only happens in England’s footballing scene.

Twain might not really understand the life he has had in Madrid since, but Ribéry has been paying attention to everything that Twain has done. For example, he knows that Twain got the last laugh in his bet with Spicer in which either of them had to eat a table upon losing, and he also knows that Forest just won the FA Cup.

It was not difficult for him to learn about news regarding Twain, because the media frequently reports about him. The Spanish media does not report about footballing matters from other countries often, but Tony Twain is an exception. He has always been able to attract interest from the various media outlets, and the reporters are always on his trail.

Actually, Ribéry is looking forward to facing off with Nottingham Forest. He has always wanted to go against his ex-boss at least once. There is a strange feeling within him that makes him long for a battle against his ex-boss and his team, but Ribéry does not quite know what that feeling is exactly.

Just when Ribéry was about to doze off, the massage ended.

The masseur gently patted him on the shoulder, and that jolted him out of his half-asleep state.

“Franck, all the best for the match two days later!”

※※※

Twain noticed an interesting phenomenon that can highlight the kind of image that others have of him.

This image of his would only change a little when he faces off with Juventus in a match, because the Old Lady was just like Nottingham Forest when it comes to playing style. They were both teams who played counter attacking football, and they were also teams who were very solid with their defense. Their defense would always frustrate their opponents to no end.

Many pundits all over the world have made appearances one after another on TV to express their opinions about the Champions League finals match over the past few days.

Some of them claimed that Twain’s team was like a thief, “… What those thieves care about isn’t football. It’s about winning. To them, the only thing that they want is victory, and they will use whatever method they can to achieve it. I believe that this kills the game of football… It’s a shame that we’d see such a thief in the Champions League finals this year.”

Others were in favor of Real Madrid simply because their style of football was much more pleasant to the eyes.

“Míchel González’s style of football is truly one that is pleasant to watch. As a member of the La Quinta del Buitre and an ex-manager of Real Madrid’s youth academy, he knows very well what Real Madrid’s football is all about… It is clearly much better for a guy like him to be in charge of Real Madrid as compared to any of those world renowned managers. When Míchel first took over Real Madrid two years ago, he was hailed as ‘Real Madrid’s Guardiola’. I’m very glad that he is currently walking down the path that Guardiola once walked on. I might be a Barcelona fan, but I have to applaud the kind of football that Real Madrid is playing right now.”

The person who made the aforementioned comment was Barcelona’s ‘godfather’, Johan Cruyff. His team might have been eliminated by Real Madrid, but he still praised and applauded them as a team. Clearly, the kind of football that Real Madrid plays is brilliant.

Real Madrid might have taken a detour for a while, but now they are back on the right track.

Their offense is made up of five talented attacking players. Firstly, they have Franck Ribéry, an ex FIFA World Player of the Year and recipient of the Ballon d’Or, who transferred to Real Madrid in the January transfer window in the 2008-09 season. Next, they have Cristiano Ronaldo, who transferred to Real Madrid in the 2012-13 season.

Besides those two superstar players, Real Madrid also has 31 year-old Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 26 year-old Benzema, and 26 year-old Higuaín in their team.

All these players form the foundation needed for Real Madrid to play an attacking style of football.

Not only does Real Madrid possess the ability to attract the world’s superstars to play for them, they are also a team who is able to play an attacking style of football. It is no wonder that Cruyff praises the football that they play as a team.

If we were to look at Forest however, their star player at the moment would be George Wood, and what the Spaniards find hilarious is the fact that the team’s star player is playing as a defensive midfielder. It accurately sums up Forest’s playing style and strength…

Ibi?evi? is the top striker in Forest, but he cannot hold a candle against the likes of Benzema and Huntelaar.

As for the midfield…

It would be better if we do not bring it up.

How can such a Nottingham Forest team compete against the star-studded Real Madrid team?

How can they expect to win without relying on counterattacking football?

If Twain actually dared to go head-to-head with Real Madrid at the Bernabéu Stadium, then everyone in the world other than him would think that he was just digging his grave.

But, the moment Twain chooses to play counterattacking football, all fingers would be pointed at him and they would criticize him for his playing style.

What logic.

Nobody thinks there is anything wrong for thinking the way that they do, because ultimately, they are things that are happening with a person named Tony Twain.

Which should Twain choose? Becoming champions or gaining reputation?

Twain tossed the newspaper aside.

The question was too stupid, and he refused to answer.

Chapter 867 - Red Cloth

Raúl González had some regrets – if he had retired a year later, he might have been able to use the club’s 10th European Champions Cup as a gift for his retirement. Now he is the manager of Real Madrid, mainly responsible for communication between the senior management and the players, hence many times he was still within the team, just like a player who wore a tuxedo.

When the team was training, he stood on the sidelines and watched with Coach Michels, he usually do not express his opinions unless Michels tells him to.

But today he had more things to say.

“Michels , for tomorrow’s game…” Raúl started to frown.

“Do you want to ask me how sure I am to win?” Michels smiled. “I don’t know. ”

“No, I was worried that Nottingham Forest’s style of play would restrain the style we were good at.” Raúl shook his head gently.

Michels heard what he said, and hesitated for a little, then said, “It’s a problem… But that was what Real Madrid’s football is all about, no matter what opponents we face, we would still use our usual style to contest. What suggestions do you have, Raúl?”

Raúl obviously had no good advice, as he shook his head and stopped talking.

“Our scouts had come up with the latest information about Nottingham Forest, they had also used all-out tactics in the first half of the FA Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur and I think that might have something to do with us.” Michels was still talking to himself. He suddenly turned his head and looked at Raúl, “Maybe Twain wants to fight offense with us in Bernabéu.”

Raúl, who was focusing on watching the team’s training, was taken aback by his claims.

“Fight in offense against us?” As soon as the remark repeated, he started laughing. “That’s crazy. ”

Yes, there are few teams in the world that dare to play against Real Madrid in Bernabéu, maybe Barcelona is one. But definitely not Nottingham Forest.

“I don’t think that is likely … Nottingham Forest’s playstyle is defensive counter-attack, and Coach Twain had always believed that championships are won from defense. He fight against us head on in an offensive battle in such an important game, a defensive counterattack has high odds though.”

Michels smiled at Raúl and said, “Why didn’t you choose to be the head coach after you retired, Raúl?”

“Me?” When asked upon suddenly, Raúl didn’t respond, “I don’t think I’m fit to coach.”

“Not as a head coach. You can be a youth training supervisor… If you want to do it, I can recommend it to the head manager.”

“It’s not the difference between a head coach or a coach.” Raúl thought about it before saying, “At Real Madrid, I think it’s too tiring to be a coach…”

He didn’t continue afterwards, but Michels already knew what he was trying to say. He nodded silently.

Raúl mentioned the key point. Do not look at the fact that Michels had done a good job at Real Madrid over the years, he had always been subjected to checks and balances at the top of the club, which was a tradition in most Spanish clubs, but in an elite team like Real Madrid, the restrictions on a head coach is especially high. For an introduction and transfer of a player, he had only the right to advise, but not the right to decide. There are too many factors for a club like Real Madrid to buy a person to consider, hence the competitive aspect did not feel as important.

In the management of the dressing room, the manager’s actions were also limited. Dressing room factions were inevitable for any big team, but in this aspect the Premier League manager were better than them, because the Premier League manager had absolute authority, the factions in the dressing room does not triumph over a head coach, the authority of the Premier League manager comes from their football tradition and the support of the club’s senior management. The players are in awe of the head coach like a bunch of kids under their captain. The coach of La Liga would have it worse, if they have a tiff with any faction in the training room, then his authority would be greatly challenged. Coupled with the small actions behind the backs of the top management group, the head coach is sandwiched between the higher management and the players, where both sides would be unhappy with him.

Michels was doing well at Real Madrid because he has met a good general manager, Valdano. Think of the former Mijatovi?, any head coach under him would be torture. Valdano knew fair authority delegation would be beneficial for the club, hence he would not pick on the transfer list that the head coach proposes. And hence came the revival of Real Madrid.

Otherwise, this team might be still be continuously stuck in the top 8 which would be the laughing stock of everyone.

Both Michels and Raúl had put these problems behind them, as they do not need nor have the capacity to have such troubles now. Otherwise they would not have been able to reach the Champions League final. Tomorrow’s game was a good opportunity, a game to prove Real Madrid’s value to the world, an opportunity for Florentino to rebuild his Real Madrid empire. Such a game cannot never be lost.

※※※

Twain did not have time to complain to others about the chores of a head coach, he was taking the team through the tactical drills of free kicks. In such an important game, free kick is definitely not something to be neglected. Twain had predicted that the match in Bernabéu with Real Madrid, the team would face tremendous pressure, perhaps free kicks would be the key to crack Real Madrid’s door.

After all, there was such an excellent free kicker in their team called Gareth Bale.

Chris Kerslake was explaining the coordination in a free kick on the field, the coaching team designed many variations of strategies behind a free kick, hoping it would be useful during the game.

The team was training on the Bernabéu stadium, which was a suitable training ground.

The turf in Bernabéu was a lot better than the City stadium, but there was no obvious difference. And Twain did not dare to guarantee that the workers would not pour too much water onto the field on the second day…

The reporters had been ousted by him, and the team’s training content must not be known to outsiders. For this, he also emphasized to Bernabéu in particular that he did not want Bernabéu to have any equipment to film their training content, he knew this was home ground for Real Madrid, it was difficult to ensure that Real Madrid would not play tricks. His repeated reminders and persistence had angered the staff at the Bernabéu , who in their eyes Twain was totally questioning their work ethic. Real Madrid, was a club that valued its reputation, has made it clear that the Club is dismissive of doing such a thing.

Twain then shamelessly and reluctantly gave up his persistent pursuit.

It’s a typical petty man’s heart – He would always do it in his own city’s stadium, there was no reason other clubs would not do the same.

But in fact Real Madrid really did not place any cameras nor spies in Bernabéu stadium, as what the staff member said, the great Real Madrid were dismissive of the despicable use of this vile means to help the team to victory.

Twain was still looking into the stands, searching for suspicious people.

※※※

At the afternoon press conference, Twain was “besieged” by the Spanish media.

The Spanish and English media were clearly divided. The Spanish media were keen to ask questions that would embarrass Twain, such as, “The outside world is optimistic that Real Madrid will win the title, will you be affected by this prediction?” ”

Another example would be, “The outside criticism of Nottingham Forest’s football is conservative and utilitarian, will you consider changing that?” ”

The Spanish media have apparently studied Tony Twain, knowing that he was a man with a bad temper and an unobstructed mouth. So they deliberately stimulated him to be able to receive the unique effects, allowing them to obtain groundbreaking news.

But their research was not professional, they only wanted to stimulate Twain, but had forgotten that Twain himself was not a porcupine, which would roll up as self-defense against such a siege. He was a cunning wolf, and if you dare provoke him, you need to get ready to take his anger.

For the first question, Twain’s performance was very dismissive: “If the outside world is optimistic about Real Madrid, then Real Madrid must win the title? Then, we don’t have to play in the Champions League final, let the outside world announce that Real Madrid won the title, okay? ” Twain opened his hand and coldly stared at the Spanish journalists.

This rebuttal made Spanish journalists look difficult.

As for the second question, Twain was surprised: “Why should I change this situation?” I can win the championship now, why should I give up the championship in order to satisfy the wishes of the outside world? I think… No one with a normal brain would make that choice, wouldn’t they? ”

When he said this, he stared at the reporter asking the question with a smile, as if to say to him, “Only someone as abnormal as you can ask such a mentally r*tarded question, Mr. Reporter.”

The Spanish journalist, was embarrassed for a while, as he finally sat down.

“But you don’t have to play well to win a championship, Twain.” Another reporter stood up.

Where is the press conference? This is clearly the Champions League version of the debate wars.

“I don’t have to take a more risky approach to winning the championship. Besides, in my opinion, playing well is equal to the runner-up. ” Twain was intentionally provoking those Spanish who were arrogant because of their home ground advantage.

Fortunately, Michels had finished his press conference beforehand, otherwise if the two people sat together, there might be another conflict brewing.

“So do you mean your tactics tomorrow would be defensive counter-attacks?” A middle-aged bald man stood up and asked, his face slightly pale. He was trying to link the question to the Nottingham Forest’s second day’s tactics.

Of course Twain knew what he was trying, no way he was trying to get information on his strategies for the next days during this chaos! “That’s not certain, maybe tomorrow I’m going for a full-on attack or defence?” Twain showed his hands again. “Don’t you just think I’m going to do defensive counter-attack? Oh my, I think it’ll be interesting to fight offense with Real Madrid…”

“Don’t you want a championship, Mr. Twain?” The middle-aged man, without changing his face, continued to argue with Twain.

“Of course I want to. Why wouldn’t I? ”

“Then you said that playing well was the runner-up…” the man who thought he triumphed over Twain in this discussion, started to laugh. Around him, many people started to laugh as well, those were all Spanish reporters.

In their minds, it was a dead cycle – Twain thinks he cannot win a championship if he plays well, but he also wants to win the title, so he is definitely playing conservative football, but he does not want to admit to playing conservative football and says he’s going to play offense against Real Madrid. So let’s see how he talks this out!

They did not think that Twain would suddenly relax and said without hestitation, “Playing offense against Real Madrid, I still have confidence of winning.”

As soon as that was said, the journalists present, whether if they were from Spain or England, were taken aback.

A reporter wanted to continue asking, but Twain stood up and signaled the press conference to the end.

“Mr. Twain…”

“Mr. Twain, please wait! ”

“Coach Twain…”

“Hey, Tony! ”

A group of reporters panicked, so what were they doing before? Arguing with Twain, in the end what they gotten was only some useless information.

※※※

David Kerslake was sitting in his room, sipping the fragrant coffee and flipping through the newspaper with his glasses. He knew nothing about Spanish but luckily there were several pictures, it was better than nothing to pass time.

“Half football, half bullfighting, Spaniards’ hobbies are really limited…”

The assistant coach muttered, as he suddenly heard a soft noise from the lock, and he looked up alertly, staring at the door. He only saw the door slowly slide, which opened a gap, and then a hand reached in, its fingers displayed a few stances, which followed by a quick shake, magically throwing out a scarlet cloak.

The door opened, Twain proudly raised his head, as he danced rumba on the way into the room, the mouth also humming “one dada two dada” in rhythm, the strong and firm body spun on the same spot for two rounds before ending with an aggressive pose, “Ah! Come! Madrid Bull!”

The poor assistant coach pounced forward, the coffee from his mouth flew into the newspapers and tables in his hands, while others flowed down the corners of his mouth and chin, dripping and splashing on the newspapers in his hands. The newspaper’s Ribery was opening his mouth to Chris Kerslake, as a drop of black coffee fell on his white teeth, it made his picture seemed like he was missing a tooth…

Chris Kerslake scrambled to wipe the coffee off the side of his mouth and his chin, as he used the newspaper to wipe the table, whilst asking Twain, “You went to watch bullfighting this afternoon?”

“No, I went to the press conference and bought this on the way back. ” Twain shook the cloak in his hand as it made a loud noise.

“Tourist souvenirs …huh? ”

Twain shook his head and smiled, “Isn’t the souvenir the Champions League trophy? This cloth has its special use.” After saying that, he did another signature move of a bullfighter. He waved to his left and his right as he elegantly spun a round, mimicking an angry bull just passing by him. The wind created by his waves blew Kerslake’s hair. “How do you feel about my learning progress?”

“I’ve never seen such an old bullfighter. ” Chris Kerslake finally cleared himself of the mess, and he looked at Twain and laughed. “What the hell are you going to do with it?” ”

“Secret, secret.” Twain blinked at him, as he chuckled again.

※※※

Chapter 868 - Chen Jian’s Troubles

After Nottingham Forest crashed its way through the semifinals, Chen Jian received a ticket to the finals. On the eve of the final game, he also received a round-trip ticket. The Nottingham Forest football club had taken care of everything so that not only did the players who came to watch the final game not have to worry about the cost of making the trip there, but they also did not have to worry about their accommodation. The club had arranged everything for them.

When they arrived in Madrid from various places, they would stay together in the same place and then head to the game together. Following which, they would choose whether to make the return trip or go somewhere else, when to go back and other return details.

Chen Jian’s agent, Mr. Xia, had booked his room in the hotel where Chen Jian was staying so that it would be easier. After the two of them arrived in Madrid, the capital of Spain, they took a taxi together to their hotel. After they deposited their luggage, Mr. Xia stayed in Chen Jian’s room to chat. Naturally, other than chatting about the Champions League final, the talk was certainly more about Chen Jian’s future.

“I asked around, Xiao Chen. They don’t want to think about the contract renewals for the players at the moment. Everything has to wait until after they have played the finals. Even Tony Twain’s contract renewal has not yet been signed…” Speaking of which, Mr. Xia frowned and looked worried.

Chen Jian did not make any comments. He was somewhat quiet. The topic about his future felt a little heavy. It was not good for him to make any hasty remarks.

“Never mind, there’s still one more year anyway…” Mr. Xia sighed. He did not know what to do. Now they could only wait for the Champions League final to be over before and see what happened next. “Nonetheless, if they’re still going to put you on loan to Volendam next season, you must remember to say no. Volendam has been relegated to Eerste Divisie. There’s already nothing for you to learn there and you won’t be able to gain any experience there.”

“Then where should I go?” Chen Jian asked.

“Go to Spain.” Mr. Xia thought for a moment and said, “Go to a team in La Liga. In fact, if it were possible, letting you play in the English league is the best option… what a pity.”

Indeed, if he wanted to develop more at the Forest team, then it was best for him to play in the English league. On the one hand, the Forest team’s coaching staff could get a closer look at Chen Jian, on the other hand it would let Chen Jian adapt to the style of English football.

As it happened, Chen Jian could not get a work permit …

Starting from when he was put on loan to Volendam, Chen Jian had been heavily hyped by the media for some time, during which time his fame at home was still very big. Any Chinese fans who were concerned about Chinese football and Chinese players who played abroad knew that there was such a young Chinese player in Volendam, the Netherlands. He could become the future hopeful of Chinese football. News about him might also gradually die down and he could fade into obscurity.

Although Chen Jian played at Volendam and hailed from the European champions, Nottingham Forest… the Chinese national team had not taken an interest in him. For more than two seasons, the national team had played in countless games and he had never been called up once. There was no shady business behind it. In fact, the national team thought that Chen Jian’s strength was not good enough, his level was not good, and he had not reached the level where he could play for his country.

Counting down the list more closely, there were a lot of Chinese players who went abroad to play. But most of them played in the middle to the lower stream teams in the lower-tier league tournaments. There was little attention. The levels of the teams and league tournament were not high. The national team would rather take those players who play in the country than to risk recruiting the players who played abroad. Because at least they were more familiar with the domestic players. They could also get together a few times a year to train together, so their tacit understanding was not a problem. As for the players who played abroad…they might consider those geniuses who appeared out of the blue and could play steadily.

When Dong Fangzhuo was at Manchester United, in order to make up enough number of appearances for the work permit application, the national team gave extra care to him. Chen Jian was also to play for the Forest team, but there was no treatment such as the one given to Dong Fangzhuo. Because unlike Dong Fangzhuo, he did not enough connections and relationships in the domestic football circle to help him establish contact through the upper and lower levels.

He was just an ordinary person selected from a commercial talent show. He did not receive training from any club at any level in the country before going to the Forest team. He also did not know this or that person in the domestic football circle. He was purely from the grassroots. Even though he was not corrupted by those bad practices in the domestic football circle, he also did not have the resources to climb up. Naturally, no one would run all over the country to help him get a work permit. Mr. Xia was also not a very driven agent. Otherwise he would not be Chen Jian’s agent.

As he was not able to be selected for the national team and unable to play in the international top flight tournaments, he obviously could not apply for a work permit and thus not able to play for Nottingham Forest, which was why Mr. Xia wanted Chen Jian to have a showdown with the club and leave on a free transfer. He did not care where Chen Jian wanted to play. He only cared that Chen Jian must play at a higher level of competition to boost his popularity so that he could make more money.

Ah, the work permit, the work permit… damn the Premier League rule. The English Football Association really had nothing else better to do, they are the same as the Chinese Football Association!

Mr. Xia cursed viciously in his heart.

At the thought of the work permit, Chen Jian was even more silent. Of course, he was aware that he won’t have a chance to apply for a work permit if he did not play for the national team. But the national team was not interested in him. So, what was the solution? He could not simply run begging to someone to recruit him into the national team, could he?

He was now suddenly pinning all his hopes on Manager Tony Twain. He felt that the omnipotent man must have a way of getting him a work permit. At the thought of the letter which Mr. Twain wrote to him, he vaguely felt that the eccentric man was very special to himself…

※※※

Chen Jian did not expect to meet Twain so soon.

That evening, when he and Mr. Xia had finished dinner after they went shopping in the streets, they found that it was lively at the floor of their hotel rooms. Gathered in the hallway of the several rooms next door which belonged to the Forest team were the players who were out on loan. They all surrounded one man and Chen Jian must be familiar with that man, because it was Tony Twain.

“What is he doing here?” Next to him, Mr. Xia obviously did not expect to see Twain here.

Twain had just finished chatting with a few other players. With a smile on his face, he looked like an old friend who was very approachable at will. He could name every player here and knew these players’ positions and about their performances while they were on loan this season. It made those players happy. Twain had captured the hearts of some people. If there were one or two people within this group who could finally qualify for the Forest First Team, then they would certainly become Tony Twain’s most loyal supporters.

Chen Jian did not gather up but stood in the distance and quietly observed.

When Twain ended his conversation with those people, he turned to see Chen Jian, who was standing in the distance.

“I came to look for you first, but you were not there.” Twain came up and communicated with Chen Jian in Mandarin. The people around them did not understand what was being said, so they had to go back to their rooms.

“I had dinner with Mr. Xia and went shopping after…” Chen Jian introduced his agent to Twain.

Mr. Xia shook Twain’s hand and wanted to say something, but Twain stopped him from speaking first. He looked at Chen Jian and continued, “I want to hear what you think, Chen Jian. Do you want to stay with the Forest team or go somewhere else?”

Mr. Xia gave a hard-meaningful look to Chen Jian next to him. He hoped that Chen Jian would choose to “go somewhere else.”

Instead, Chen Jian said, “Of course I want to stay in the Forest team to play, but I have no way of obtaining a work permit…”

Twain nodded his head. The kid was telling the truth. He did not expect the Chinese national team to be so picky and not be interested in Chen Jian whom he had his eye on. With more than two seasons, three years would have nearly passed, and Chen Jian had not even played in a national team game. He had not even participated in the national youth team game. He was not even selected for the squad list.

“Well, have you given more thought to my suggestion of changing your nationality?” Twain stared at Chen Jian with a grin.

Chen Jian shook his head like a rattle-drum.

“In that case, I will choose to play somewhere else, Mr. Twain. Anyway, the contract is over in a year’s time. The club won’t offer a new contract for a player like me, will it?”

The answer was what Mr. Xia hoped to have. He now looked at Twain with great anticipation, hoping that Chen Jian’s unyielding words would successfully provoke Twain, and then the thunderous Twain would decide to let Chen Jian leave on a free transfer when his contract expired.

But he was disappointed.

The smile on Twain’s face was even wider. He seemed to like to tease the young man, only because the boy was extraordinarily stubborn.

“Well, actually, Chen Jian. I’m here today to offer you a new contract… A new four-year contract.”

Without waiting for Chen Jian to say anything, Mr. Xia eagerly stepped forward and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Twain. Can I interrupt you for a moment? You offer Chen Jian a new contract, but how do we resolve his work permit?”

“He will be put on loan to the Netherlands or Belgium…”

When he heard Twain said so, Mr. Xia turned to look back at Chen Jian. The kid’s face was expressionless. While he himself was extremely disappointed.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Twain. I don’t think my player can continue to drift like this. He’s already twenty-three years old. If he can’t get a First Team position in your team, then we’d rather find him a new team that is willing to give him that position, even if it might be in Europe’s second tier league tournament.”

Twain glanced at Chen Jian and found that his expression had not changed. It seemed that the agent was the one to make the decisions.

So he faced the agent and extended his finger to say, “I am offering Chen Jian a few options: First, to continue playing football in the Netherlands so as to reach the length of residence for a Dutch citizenship and then become an EU citizen to automatically obtain a work permit; Second, marry a British wife, change your nationality to receive the United Kingdom nationality and you can even save on applying for a work permit. Third, play football on behalf of the Chinese national team till you meet the standards to apply for a work permit and obtain a work permit. Fourth, appeal for a work permit through the special genius clause.”

Twain put up four fingers and showed one by one to Mr. Xia to see. He said, “These four choices, each more difficult than the other. Chen Jian has already lived in the Netherlands for three years, and he can apply for Dutch citizenship in another two years. By that time, he will be a citizen of the European Union, and he would not need a work permit to play in the English Premier League. Nottingham Forest can naturally recall him to come back and play. At that time, he will only be twenty-five years old, and he will be in his prime.”

“With regards to getting married to an English wife, I’m unable to give Chen Jian any advice on this sort of private matter.”

“Third, the summon of the national team … You haven’t played a minute for the Chinese team, have you? Chen Jian.”

Chen Jian nodded in reply, “No.”

“Maybe you can in the future. But it’s absolutely impossible to apply for a work permit for you now.” Twain’s straight face vividly conveyed how cruel this reality was.

“Fourth, the special genius clause … To tell you the truth, Chen Jian, you don’t meet the requirements of this clause at all. You have not participated in the national team competition, you have not been selected in the national youth team, there is no hint of you being a genius during your development and experience, I can’t find any famous footballers to vouch for you…Your submission was unconvincing and in the end, it was only denied by the Football Association.”

What Twain said was true, but it did not sound convincing in Mr. Xia’s ears…

“Since Chen Jian has no such potential in your eyes, why did you tell him to abandon everything to come to the United Kingdom in the first place?”

Twain somewhat disliked this agent, so the tone of his voice was not so friendly as he said, “I was very clear in what I said to Chen Jian at the time. It did not mean that he would certainly succeed when he came to the United Kingdom. I merely gave him a chance, but I couldn’t help him whether to make his dream come true.”

Mr. Xia was rendered speechless by his words.

“The master teaches the trade, but the apprentice’s skill is self-made.” Twain spoke of a Chinese proverb. “I gave Chen Jian a chance. And Chen Jian, you also successfully played professional football, but you are not satisfied with it. You want to have greater pursuit. As for the level you can reach… The decision lies with you, Chen Jian. Whether you finally decide to leave Nottingham Forest to play for another team or agree to renew your contract and wait for the opportunity, I have no problem. That’s your path. You have to choose your own way.”

Twain looked at Chen Jian as he spoke.

“You can call me after you think it over.” Twain stuffed a business card into Chen Jian’s hand and walked alone to the elevator.

After Twain disappeared behind the elevator door, Chen Jian was still in a daze with his business card in his hand.

Mr. Xia frowned next to him and said, “Do you see it, Xiao Chen? They don’t take you seriously at all. I tell you, don’t foolishly wait here and waste your youth. What’s the point of signing a four-year contract only to be put out on loan? You’ll always be a fringe figure. When you endure to the end…Can you make it to the end? What if you get a labor permit? What happens then? Well, even if your performance for the next two years suddenly let the Chinese Football Association, that group of people open their eyes, and they recruit you into the team to play as the main force. You get to play in enough games, and then get the work permit. How old will you be in two years’ time? Twenty-five and you’ve just got a work permit. Do you think you really have the ability to compete with George Wood and Gago for the main player spot? Do you think those big clubs will play the same set of lineups for ten years? And that they won’t go looking for younger and more talented players than you to develop? How long will you endure days like these before it is the end?”

As Mr. Xia spoke, the more agitated he got. If Chen Jian was determined to stay in the Forest team, his livelihood was basically over.

“Don’t be foolish, Chen Jian. The Englishman’s lies sound beautiful. Anyone can speak the general truth. But do you know what’s on his mind? He has lied to you for four years, and he wants to try and lie to you for another four years! It is already very difficult for Chinese players to land in England. Not to mention a championship team. Listen to me, have your head screwed on right and keep your feet on the ground… Shall we play football somewhere else?”

Mr. Xia looked at Chen Jian with great sincerity.

Chen Jian knitted his brows. He felt a headache. He was imbued with so much information at once that anyone’s head would hurt.

“Excuse me, Uncle Xia. I have a headache… Let me rest for a bit and think about it again?” Chen Jian rubbed his temples and had a pained expression.

Mr. Xia sighed and said, “Okay. I won’t bother you. You have an early rest. Let’s watch tomorrow’s game and talk again.”

※※※

Chen Jian was lying alone in bed, tossing and turning. He could not sleep. He thought what Mr. Twain and Mr. Xia said were reasonable. But who should he listen to? His parents knew nothing about professional football and could not help him in that regard. So, he did not have to ask his parents for their opinions.

He had to rely on himself to make the choice.

He wanted to succeed in the Forest team, but Mr. Xia’s words seemed to have poured cold water on him – even if he obtained a work permit and could finally play for the Forest team, would the Forest team still want him to play at that time? New talent cropped up every day in the football world. Would Twain wait a few years for him alone? That was impossible since he was not the main character in a novel.

So where exactly would he go from here?

He really did not know.

The seventeen-year-old, who was initially bent on playing professional football, would never have such troubles in his mind. People grew all the time, and their ideals grew as well. Now he was not content with the simple dream of playing in a professional league. He wanted to play in a higher level of league tournament. He wanted to be a star player and not a meteor.

Putting aside Nottingham Forest’s background, could he succeed if he were to go play for an Eredivisie team or Belgian First Division A team for a few years? Was it also not impossible for him to completely decline, slowly end up in worsening situations, simply end up in the lower leagues, and then finally no one would remember him? Following which, he would simply run back to China, go to China League One and then China League Two to make a living. He did not know how he would feel at that time when he recalled the brief period in Nottingham Forest a few years ago. Would he feel numb, or unwilling to resign to his fate, or wonder about regrets?

※※※

In order to keep his mind alert tomorrow, Twain went to bed and rest early. He did not receive any calls from Chen Jian until he went to sleep. He did not take it to heart either, because it was not something he should be bothered with. What the future held for a young Chinese player had little to do with him.

He only had tomorrow’s final game on his mind now.

It was the most important day of his life.

Chapter 869 - A Wonderful Night Begins

Fat John and Skinny Bill woke up from their sleep and realized that it was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. They rushed out of the door to knock on doors. Soon, the hallway went from quiet to noisy. A group of Englishmen yawned as they came out of their rooms in succession. They all drank too much alcohol last night and found that their heads was still somewhat throbbing in pain.Fat John and Skinny Bill woke up from their sleep and realized that it was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. They rushed out of the door to knock on doors. Soon, the hallway went from quiet to noisy. A group of Englishmen yawned as they came out of their rooms in succession. They all drank too much alcohol last night and found that their heads was still somewhat throbbing in pain.

“Damn it. It’s eleven o’clock? I’m going to be late for work this time…” Some people were still confused about where they were at the moment.”Wake up, Gary. We’re in Spain now! In Madrid!” John knocked on the muddleheaded fool’s head.

“Madrid?” That muddleheaded fool stared blankly for a moment, then held his head and cried out, “Champions League final!!”

The man next to him laughed when he saw him wake up from the daze.

The laughter also dispelled the rest of their sleepiness.

“Well, guys, today is the day of the holy battle! Rouse yourselves. Go wash up, and then we’re going out for a meal!”

This was not a high-quality hotel. A group of ordinary people from a small city in central England could not afford to stay in a four- or five-star hotel. But it was not even easy to find such a small hotel like this. The Champions League final was held in Madrid, which directly drove up the occupancy rate in the hotels here.

John and his group were staying in a hotel, south of Madrid, which was located in a relatively backward part of the city’s economy. The hotel environment was not very good, but the price was low. It was the best choice for those people who were not rich.

As soon as John and the others stepped out with Nottingham Forest scarves around their necks, they caught the attention of the Spaniards around them.

But the Englishmen were not nervous. They even shouted to those Spaniards, “Nottingham Forest will win!”

It was not a provocation, because they were not drunk. Rather, it was meant to curry favor.Then came the Spaniards’ response, “F**k Real Madrid!”

This was a group of Atlético Madrid fans. Even though they were Spaniards and people from Madrid, they wanted to see their arch enemy lose at home the most.

“We found a good place.” John laughed and said, “Come, let’s go eat, guys!”

※※※

Javier Thomas, a history teacher at a high school in Madrid, was a Frenchman. However, he was now a Real Madrid fan.

During Real Madrid’s most brilliant period ten years ago, he was still teaching in France and had no interest in football. At the time, Real Madrid had many superstar players. The team was star-studded and known as the ” Galácticos.” They won two European titles in three years and were unparallel at the time. It was the greatest team in the world.

He came to Madrid in 2005 to continue teaching. He had already heard of Real Madrid’s football fame before, but unfortunately the Real Madrid he saw was the one with the new lease of life after its calamity. It was like a once-golden palace that had now turned into a ruin with thick overgrowth.

But his social circles were still full of Real Madrid fans. He was puzzled and surprised by this. So, he decided to explore the root causes of all this. As he was a history teacher, he began to study its history. Real Madrid’s history was the worthiest of their pride. While he studied its history, had close interactions with the Real Madrid fans, personally went to watch the Real Madrid games live, the tall Frenchman who wore glasses and was refined in his manner, had since become a Real Madrid fan.

But what really made him fall in love with Real Madrid was not the glorious history, but the character and fighting spirit that Real Madrid showed in the following seasons. They could reverse the situation and take the title in a game trailing behind Barcelona with fifteen minutes left, showing the spirit of Real Madrid, which had been overlooked for years. When he saw Higuaín score a goal in the final minutes at the Bernabéu and reversed the game to win a 4:3 victory over the RCD Espanyol team, this mild-mannered and good-natured gentleman was also thrilled and could not help himself as he roared in the stands and hugged strangers around him.

Such an exciting reversal was far more than one or two games, and he had fallen in love with such a team ever since.

Today he was an unwavering and fanatical Real Madrid fan. He had a dual identity. Normally, he was a mild-mannered teacher in school and never argued with people. Even his body language was very gentle. But when the weekends came, he was transformed into an easily excitable dangerous figure, and everyone had better stay away from him.

Even his wife of twenty years could not understand his transformation.

She could only blame football for being a sport that made people crazy. Fortunately, their child was a daughter. If their child were to be a son, she would definitely keep him away from football …

“It’s finally going to be over.” The wife sighed as she watched her husband check the “preparations” done for watching the game this evening over and over again in the room. For her, her husband’s regularly intermittent mental illness could recover spontaneously. Her husband was just a Real Madrid fan and not a fan of the French national team nor a fan of the Spanish national team. So, the World Cup this summer had nothing to do with him. Today’s game would be Real Madrid’s last game of the season. Whatever the outcome was, her husband would soon be back to normal.

Her husband came out of the bedroom when he packed and got ready. He looked at his wife and daughter, who were sitting in the living room. He came up to stroke his daughter’s head.

“Don’t think about taking her to the game.” The wife became alert.

“I’m just touching her head.” Thomas laughed wryly, “Don’t look at me like you’re looking at a mental patient, Selena.”

“You’re a mental case on this day.”

Their six-year-old daughter watched curiously as her parents argued over what she could not understand. She liked her mother and her father, but she seemed to have two fathers and two mothers. On a day like this, her gentle and beautiful mother would suddenly become nervous, and her always smiling father would become bad-tempered. Her young mind sometimes remembered that her father would suddenly lose his temper and throw stuff. She did not know the reason. There were also times when her father would suddenly be very happy, buy her gifts, accompany her to play games till late, or hug her tight which made her a little uncomfortable. She also did not know why.

Thomas did not want to quarrel with his wife on such an important day. He chose silence.

His wife also did not want to deal with him. She sat on the side and held her daughter as she watched her favorite cartoon.

Thomas sat for a moment like this. He felt that the atmosphere was very awkward. He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but his wife would immediately glare at him. So, he simply decided to go out early, walk around, find a bar, drink together with the Real Madrid fans to discuss the evening’s game and set off together to the Bernabéu when it was near the time of the game.

Then in these two hours, he would completely forget that there was his wife and child at home. He could enjoy the football which brought joy to him and of course, there might be pain too…

He did not forget to kiss his wife and daughter on their foreheads before he went out. This time, his wife did not shy away.

“I’ll be back early.” Thomas finished saying this and opened the door to walk out.

※※※

“Ah… Madrid in two colors. You don’t often see the city like this. To the north is Madrid in white color and to the south is Madrid in red. Now they will all mingle here, even though the red color does not come from the south…”

A tour guide said to the crowd behind him in front of the Bernabéu stadium. A group of East Asian tourists with Asian skin tones and dark hair faces held their cell phones, cameras and digital videos took photographs and filmed the magnificent Bernabéu stadium continuously as they made sounds of exclamations. No one cared about what the tour guide said.

“Hey, look at those guys, they’re not Spanish, they’re fans from England… Don’t take photographs of them! Don’t point the camera lens at them!” The tour guide hurriedly gestured for the curious people to put down the camera equipment in their hands.

“English fans, God knows if each of them has just gulped down ten gallons of beer. Drunk English fans are the most dangerous!”

As if to coordinate his words, the policemen on duty around them slowly got closer to the group of English fans in red jerseys to separate them from those people around them. The English fans did not mind the treatment. They even saluted the policemen and shouted slogans in English.

“What are they shouting?” Some of the tourists asked questions.

The Spanish tour guide shrugged and said, “Nottingham Forest will win… something like that. It is the UEFA Champions League final tonight. But unfortunately, you don’t have tickets. Otherwise I’d be happy to bring you to a football match of the highest quality in Europe.”

In fact, he would very much like to watch the final, but he had to bring the tour group around …

“Mr. Martin, can we still get tickets now?” One of the tourists asked again.

Martin smiled at the person who asked the question and said, “The tickets for this game were sold out a week ago.” He pointed to a shady spot under a tree not far away, where a lot of people, differently dressed men and women, were standing. The only thing they had in common was they each held a sign with the words “I need a ticket.”

“Come on, ladies and gentlemen. Our next stop is Fuente de Cibeles…” Martin looked back at the Bernabéu in the afternoon sun, with its glaring white walls in the sun. He was really reluctant to leave. He was really sorry that he could not watch the game in person as a Real Madrid fan.

After settling the group down in the evening, he must find a chance to sneak off to watch the live broadcast.

There were also a few tourists who looked back at the Bernabéu longingly. They really came here at a bad time. If it was a day with no match, they would have a chance to get a glimpse inside the stadium in person, visit the hall of honor at the Bernabéu and see how it compared with Nottingham Forest’s hall of honor…

※※※

“The weather is great today. It won’t rain in the evening, and maybe there’s even a cool breeze.” Pierce Brosnan sat with a cigarette in his mouth outside the cafe across the street from the Bernabéu. Next to him was the assistant who had come with him to cover the game.

He appeared cool and laid-back, while his assistant was covered in sweat. Such an exciting match was approaching every second and minute, making him nervous and excited.

“Mr. Brosnan, do you think the Forest team will win in the end?”

“How will I know that?” Brosnan shook his head and said, “I am not a prophet, nor a magician with a crystal ball.”

“Why don’t we head to the hotel and wait. There’s no news to be covered here.” The assistant was exceptionally talkative. He looked really nervous and excited.

“You’ve worked for me for two years, Paul. Do you still not know the kind of person we interviewed?” Brosnan glanced at his assistant with a somewhat disappointed and displeased look in his eyes. He said, “On such an important game, Tony Twain will be sure to drive away the reporters who surround the hotel entrance, like he’s shooing away a swarm of flies. He protects his team like an animal nursing its young. He doesn’t allow anyone to walk near his team. You want some news? There’s nothing new to write other than to describe how rude and insolent Tony Twain is over and over again. The readers are long tired of reading about this.”

“In that case, we’ll wait here, have some coffee… and admire the scenery?”

Brosnan nodded and said, “Have a break and relax. You’re going to be busy tonight, kid.”

In front of Tony Twain, he behaved as if he were an intern reporter. But in front of a real rookie, he would still rediscover the feeling and dignity of “a journalist.”

The young man muttered a few words and drank the coffee a gulp. Then he turned to look at the growing number of fans in the streets. His eyes were gradually fixed on the minority of female fans. After half an hour of research, he came to a conclusion that Real Madrid had the majority of female fans and that the young female fans were also mostly pretty. He even saw female fans who were clearly not of European faces… These people were crazy, coming all way from the other side of the world to watch a final match.

By contrast, most of the Nottingham Forest fans were from England. They did not have the international influence like Real Madrid, even if they had won more titles. On the one hand, their football was not nice to watch and on the other hand, Tony Twain’s unique personality cost them to lose a lot of neutral fans. Thirdly, it was because Nottingham Forest was still a small club, with no money to expand in the global market and no money to spread its influence globally. The fourth reason was… Real Madrid could woo fans by constantly buying superstar players, while who was Nottingham Forest’s biggest player? George Wood, the serious and unsmiling robot…

It was really a contest of wide disparity… and Nottingham Forest is completely defeated.

The result was really frustrating – there are so few beautiful women in this group. The young reporter lamented in his mind.

※※※

After 5:30 p.m., two buses set off from two five-star hotels.

The white bus was followed by a group of media outlets, which closely followed the bus towards the Bernabéu, like the sharks behind the slave boats.

The red bus had nothing else other than a few police cars on the road. As Pierce Brosnan had stated, the reporters who surrounded outside the hotel were driven away by Twain. He did not want his team to be disturbed in such an important game. When those reporters cursed Tony Twain under the scorching sun as they left helplessly, Brosnan and his assistant contently sipped coffee under the shade of the umbrellas, admired the beautiful women and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon.

Brosnan looked at his watch, patted the assistant on the shoulder, and got up. He said, “It’s time to work, kid.”

In the square in front of them, a commotion suddenly broke out.

Very soon, a white bus appeared in people’s line of sight in the afterglow of the sunset. The milky-white body of the bus was dyed ivory yellow by the sun. The fans became excited, and waves of roars began to spread in the square.

These sounds ignited the excitement around the Bernabéu, and Brosnan finally felt the atmosphere of the Champions League final approaching.

The two men walked quickly across the road and ran to the square. His assistant was holding the camera and changing the lens while he was looking for the best position.

The bus in which the Real Madrid players traveled on slowed down in the square, with the players waving to the fans, triggering a burst of screams. It was as if everyone here was a Real Madrid fan.

“That’s the home-field advantage…” muttered Brosnan. The assistant next to him kept taking pictures.

Javier Thomas was also in the crowd, waving excitedly at the players in the bus.

“Long live, Madrid!”

Such roars were heard around the Bernabéu, where tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans gathered to witness the glorious night that belonged to them.

Soon after, Nottingham Forest’s bus arrived, and the Nottingham Forest fans who greeted them were about ten thousand people. Their voices were much smaller than the Real Madrid fans. Coupled with the fact that the police at the scene kept a tight grip on the extent of the English fans’ range of activity, they could not even get close to the Forest bus. They could only watch the bus from a distance as it moved unobstructed through the square before it turned to the parking lot behind the stadium.

John and Bill led their own people in the crowd and shouted a few sentences, “Nottingham Forest will win!” and shut their mouths. They looked at the unfriendly looking policemen and spat on the ground as they said, “We’ll teach you a lesson when the game starts!”

※※※

Martin could still hear shouts from the Bernabéu, even though his position was more than a dozen kilometers away. He was now worried about how he was going to get rid of a group of Chinese tourists and go watch the game. If the group of tourists came to him and wanted to check out Madrid at night after they had dinner, he really did not know if he should refuse.

As he was alone worrying in the bus, he heard the sound of knocking on the window.

A Chinese man in the tour group stood outside the bus and smiled at him.

“Have you finished eating? How’s the food? This is the best Chinese restaurant in Madrid!” Even though Martin’s face still looked worried in the last second, he smiled attentively at the moment. He said, “I’m not lying.”

“The food is really authentic. No doubt, it’s the best Chinese restaurant in Madrid, Mr. Martin. But tonight, we would like to…”

Martin’s mouth twitched for a little bit. His worst fear came true. Ah, ah! At the thought of not being able to watch such an important game made him hate his career. In the Champions League final at the Bernabéu, one of the participating team was his favorite team, Real Madrid! How many times could he meet with such an opportunity in a lifetime?

“Ah I see, where would you like to go? How about going shopping on Calle de Serrano? It’s the best famous street in Madrid! If you don’t want to go there, you can still go…” Martin interrupted the other person and began to gush with recommendations, doing his duty as a tour guide.

The Chinese man quietly listened to Martin introduce all the places worth visiting in Madrid before he shook his head and said, “We don’t want to go to those places, Mr. Martin. We actually discussed and want to look for a cheap but lively place to spend the evening and experience Madrid’s most common nightlife. Especially on a night like this…”

The Chinese man had given enough hint and Martin was not a fool. He replied with a bright smile and said, “I have a good idea! How about taking you all to a bar with the best atmosphere in Real Madrid for drinks and to watch the game? There are beautiful and friendly Spanish girls, and more passionate than them are the football and beer! Ha ha!”

It was a truly wonderful night.

Chapter 870 - The Heart of Champion

Martin, the Spanish tour guide who was proficient in Chinese, took a group of curious Chinese tourists into a pub near Bernabéu stadium.

When they walked into the pub, they saw a large team logo of Real Madrid on the wall in front of them.

They didn’t find noisy music and hot girls in this pub. Unlike the description of Martin, the tourists only found a big TV and many fans who were looking up and fixing their eyes on the screen.

“This is my uncle’s pub. All of you could enjoy…half-off here!” Martin made a decision before seeking advice from his uncle. If his decision was unacceptable for his uncle, he would make up the price difference with his own money. In order to watch a Real Madrid match in peace, he spared no expense.

After getting those Chinse tourists settled, Martin walked into the crowd and started to watch TV by throwing his head back after ordering a glass of beer.

On the screen, players from both teams hadn’t run onto the pitch yet. The grandstand was full of fans. Those who could enjoy the match in the stadium were envied by those who could only watch the match in front of TV. Martin kept smacking his lips as he watched the TV screen.

***

All seats in the Bernabéu Stadium which had room for up to 80,000 spectators were occupied. It was impossible to find even one empty seat in it. Although the match hadn’t started, the fans in the stadium were as passionate as flames. They were singing, cheering and clapping their hands loudly. The entire stadium was noisy with voices. The pitch was lit up by those towering spotlights. Field staff were busy tiling the round flag of the logo of UEFA on the center circle. The journalists were waiting for the players from both teams at both sides of the corridor. A trophy, which was shiny silver, was placed in front of them. It was the highest honor of all European clubs – the European Champion Cup.

It was not a replica in a club’s trophy room. It was the genuine “Big Ears”.

***

After the completion of warm-up, players from both teams had gone back to their clubhouse. The managers of both teams were making final preparations for the most important match of this season.

It was not the time to talk about the tactics again. And they didn’t have time to do that now. At this time, some managers preferred to keep silent and leave time to the players. Some managers kept chattering without stop. The result of the first 45 minutes of the match was always decided in a few minutes like now. Therefore, it was inevitable for any players who were about to take part in such an important match to feel nervous.

Even the players from clubs like Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were no exception.

Unprecedentedly, Raúl González walked into the locker room. He had never entered the locker room before a match since his retirement. But he did that today, which meant the match was very important for him.

Michels stood on one side and said nothing. It was the time for Raúl to make a speech. This former captain was still quite influential in the locker room.

Raúl’s speech was not long. “This is my long-cherished last match. It is a pity that I can’t fight shoulder by shoulder with you in the pitch!” He said as he looked at his former teammates affectionately. “But I am very glad that my teammates could stand here at last! When I look at you, I really hope I could be 10 years younger…It has always been my dream to pick up the 10th European Champions Cup for our club. Now, I hereby request you to realize this dream for me!”

After saying that, he said goodbye to Michels and walked out of the locker room.

Then, the locker room of Real Madrid dropped into silence. As Raúl’s teammates, they couldn’t forget how unreconciled Raúl was when he decided to retire in the last season. That year, Real Madrid lost the champion of domestic league and failed to get past the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. It was the intense pain before Real Madrid’s reinvigoration, which should be deemed as the darkest hour before the dawn. It was a pity that Raúl had to experience those difficult days.

Raúl would have a chance to sign a one-year extension. But he decided to retire at the last moment. If he renewed his contract for 1 more year, he would be 37 and he really didn’t know what he could do in the pitch. Would he become a pet doll who sat on the club’s bench to receive the reverence from his fans? He was not a man who was reconciled to sit on the bench. A man with a heart of champion would never accept a fact like that.

So, he would rather retire.

Now, he might have some regrets…as long as he could take part in a match like this, he would be willing to sit on the bench for an entire season!

However, these were just people’s speculations. Nobody knew what Raúl was thinking about now.

After leaving the locker room, he walked into the VIP box on the stand alone, where he would watch the match with his family.

***

Unlike Real Madrid’s solemn locker room, the atmosphere in Nottingham Forest’s locker room was a little bit more casual. The players, who were sitting or standing in the room, fixed their eyes on their boss who was leaning against the wall. Like a group of soldiers who were about to step into the battlefield, they expected their officer to motivate them loudly by telling them everything would be OK when he was there. And they could go home after this battle.

Twain was standing against the wall. When he looked at these players in front of him, an unusual feeling welled up in his mind. He felt he was not leading a team but an army. Among his soldiers, some veterans had fought north and south and hadn’t been home for many years. From their unshaven face, the cigarettes in their mouth and their cynical expression, he knew these veterans gave no thought to life and death. He also saw some baby-faced rookies who were so nervous that they couldn’t even grasp their gun firmly. Their lips were trembling as if they were murmuring to themselves or praying to God. His army was about to fight a crucial battle in the war. Their victory would result in the reversion of the war. His main force would attack Berlin directly. His armored force would crush all obstacles on its way. But if they lost this battle, none of them would go back alive.

There was a moment that Twain fell in to a trance. He just wanted to say, “Stay alive and I’ll take you home after this battle!”

Twain shook his head to dispel the illusion in his mind.

Everything in front of him became clear again. The men in front of him were his players instead of sloppy Allied soldiers of World War 2 who wore tattered uniforms and shabby helmets. They were not in a dirty and stinky trench but a bright and modernized locker room in the Bernabéu Stadium.

However, the feeling of battlefield didn’t dissipate but became more intense.

Twain said as he scratched his head, “Actually, I really don’t know what to say! Just now I had a dream which only lasted for a short time. But I can remember it clearly till now!”

His words attracted those players’ attention immediately. I didn’t see our boss was sleeping just now. How could he say he had a dream? Is it possible to have a dream when people sleep standing up?

“I found we were in a battlefield. Fighters were roaring above our head!” Twain continued to say as he made a gesture, “We could hear the engines of our tanks behind us. Shells were exploding around us. The battlefield was very noisy! All of you were standing around me like now. Our enemy had taken a high ground. We had to fight them off by launching our last charge. If we could take the high ground, our main force could press forward to the enemy’s capital. If we failed, all of us would be buried there!”

“It seems to be a quite absurd dream!” Twain waved his hand to dispel the misty dreamland. “But that feeling is still lingering in my mind and tells me it is not a dream! Several minutes later, the most important match in our career will begin. This is a life-and-death matter for us and I am not exaggerating. We can pick up the trophy alive, or…we will and be forgotten by the world!” He said as he shrugged, “That’s it! We don’t have a third way to go! In the battlefield, we will face Life or death. Here, what we have is champion or loser! Think about how we could come this far! And forget the 2 champions we have won! They are useless in today’s match!”

Twain said as he pointed at the luxuriously decorated locker room, “This is the locker room of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which is more beautiful than the locker rooms of the City Ground. But don’t you be fooled by its shiny appearance. We are now in the hell. Guys, please trust me. We might be beaten the living shit out here. Or, we could do our best to win glory!”

Twain stopped looking around and started to stare at the players in front of him in their eyes.

“We could walk out of this hell by holding our head high. But I can’t do that for you now. In fact, I am too old…” he said as he touched his grizzled sidebums. “Sometimes I could even be frightened by myself in a mirror when I forgot to dye my hair!”

Actually, a 45-year-old man was not old at all. However, Twain used to have a cardiac disease which consumed too much vital force. Since then, Twain looked older than his age…

“When you grow old slowly like I do now, everything will leave without you, even those trophies. In fact, this is a part of life. When you lose something, you will know how precious it is because it is an irreplaceable memory in your life! No matter how many years have passed, you could still tell people proudly, ‘I took part in that match and we won at last!’” Twain said proudly with his chest out and jaw squared.

“This is the way of life. And it also applies to soccer. I mean we shall never give up any moment of glory no matter in our life or on the pitch even we have to pay dearly for such a moment! This is a war, guys! You shall do your best in each offense and defense and fight in every minute! Yes, I admit we don’t have a shiny all-star formation like Real Madrid. Compared to them, we are just like hillbillies coming from countryside. But soccer is a sport of 11 people! It is a team-working sport! So, our advantage is that we are a unit! We are a team! I believe everyone in this team is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve victory for the team! And you will fight restlessly for each ball!”

Twain started to say with emphasis as he waved his arms.

The players were motivated by his words and their eyes were filled with flames.

“I know the winner of every battle will be those team-workers who dare to sacrifice themselves! This is also the way of a soccer match. You will be unstoppable in this world when you are united and your heart is filled with the belief of triumphalism. I also know we are 100 times more powerful than that glittering bulb, because we are a team! I know even better that teamwork is the watershed between a winner and a loser! It is also the watershed between life and death!” Twain’s players also started to yell by following him.

“Let me tell you a truth. People who care about teamwork will always win at last!” Crack! He broke off the marker pen in his hand suddenly. The sound was echoing in everyone’s mind.

“If you are in a state of disunity, you will end up like this pen! When you are in trouble, when you have to confront the most powerful enemy in the most disadvantageous situation, you can always count on your teammates around you! Now, look at your teammates! Look at them, look at them in their eyes! They will be your most trusted men in the next 90 minutes! You are comrades-in-arms who share a foxhole and go through thick and thin together! When you are running off the ball, you know they will pass the ball to you. When you lose possession of the ball, you know they will grab the ball back. When you are facing your opponents’ offense, you know you are not alone, because they are just behind you! If you give up, you will put them in peril. You are willing to sacrifice your life to protect and help your teammates. This is not my request. It is because you know when you are in danger, they! Your teammates! They will also do that!!” His words were sonorous and forceful like a war drum. Everyone was motivated by his words and gestures.

“This is…teamwork! Gentlemen!”

Twain spread his hands as he looked at his players. His tone was softened. His heart-stirring speech reddened his face and made him pant heavily. However, it seemed his nuclear-powered heart was still quite efficient. Now, his life was not in danger.

Hearing his exciting words, the players started to look at their teammates around them. From their eyes, a message was quite clear – Hey, buddy, we are teammates!

“Now, you have an opportunity to leave the most precious fortune to your life. You have an opportunity to fight for the same goal together with the best professional footballers in the history! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You will never have another opportunity like this if you miss this one! Fight as if this is the last match in your life!” Twain said as he pointed at the door of the locker room, “No matter how powerful your enemies are, they can’t rival you! They are just a heap of loose sand. And you are the best team in the history!”

“We are the best!” A player, who couldn’t restrain the excitement in his heart, shouted at this time.

“I love soccer! I love this sport so much! Because of you, I can always relive my young years. When you are running and fighting on the pitch, I know my life is meaningful because I can still enjoy this passion! This is my career motivation! I hope you can still take me back to my young years tonight…don’t worry about my heart!” Twain said and shook his head as he placed his hand on his left chest, “It is still beating vigorously, like you! It longs for a victory and a champion, which has never been changed! Remember, guys, this is a nuclear-powered heart of champion! And you are the energy source of this heart!” Twain said as he pointed at his heart and the players in front of him.

“I heard people said…Nottingham Forest is not qualified to win the championship and the Treble! Because we don’t have star players and we look weak! Now, I am very glad that we have the opportunity to mock at their ignorance and stupidity to their face!” Twain said with a smile, “We are born to stand against others. If we are not qualified to win the championship, who else can do such a thing?” Twain looked around as he widened his eyes, “Who else? Who else is more qualified to win the championship than us?”

After taking a short break, he continued to say, “Now, let’s win our championship and let them say what they may. I have finished talking. What are you going to do?”

The players who were sitting stood up. Then, all players started to shout as they raised their arms, “Win the championship! Champion! Champion!”

“Treble! Treble! We will win the Treble!”

Huge roar, which was echoing in the locker room, was kept amplifying in this confined space. Also, it was echoing in everyone’s heart. Twain looked at those excited players with a solemn look.

Even George Wood who was always apathy turned around and looked at his overexcited teammates with his lips pressed together tightly. Raging flames could also be seen in his eyes. Actually, the flame was even more blazing deep in his heart.

At the very beginning, he played soccer to earn money to cure his mother’s sickness. Now, he enjoyed this passion of pursuing success very much.

As Twain said, he loved soccer because he enjoyed this passion! It was just like drugs in his life which was totally irresistible…

***

Florentino Pérez shook hands with Evan Doughty on the podium of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In his stadium, although he was courteous and ceremonious, he couldn’t conceal the sense of superiority and pride from the depth of his heart. After all, he was the most successful President of Real Madrid in the past 20 years. Compared to him, Ramón Calderón, Vicente Boluda and Lorenzo Sanz were just like clowns.

Indeed, Nottingham Forest was not on the same level with Real Madrid. In this dazzling and shiny white palace built with marbles, he was just like a proud king who was waiting for the audience of a visitor in his throne quietly.

Evan Doughty was like a foreign diplomat who was humble and inferior.

Evan didn’t like this feeling at all. In this place, almost everyone was looking forward to the victory of Real Madrid. Nottingham Forest had better be an excellent opponent to bring out the 10th champion of Read Madrid. It was just like the relationship between the red flower and green leaves.

Evan Doughty felt very lonely now. Even Allan Adams who was sitting beside him couldn’t bring him any sense of security. At this moment, they were just like 2 sheep who were trapped in a wolf pack.

When Evan saw Tony Twain came out from the corridor and walked to the coach seats of the visiting team, his discomfort disappeared gradually.

We are not making a pilgrimage in the greatest club in the 20th Century now. We are not interested in paying a visit to the 5-star toilet in this place. Tony, remember that and never forget it! Don’t let me shake hands with Florentino like this after 90 minutes!

Pull him down from his damned throne!

***

Chapter 871 - The Final Game Kicks Off

Huge Real Madrid emblems and silhouettes of the Champions League trophy appeared in the stands at the Bernabéu. They were collaborations made up of cardboard pieces held by the fans. Every Real Madrid fan would find a piece of cardboard of a different color in his seat. They just needed to lift the pieces of cardboard up to form a giant image that covered the entire spectator section. The atmosphere created at the stadium was feverish, and the confidence in Real Madrid’s victory at the Bernabéu was full to bursting.

The poor Nottingham Forest team did not receive such treatment as they were truly playing in an “away game” this time.

The Nottingham Forest fans huddled in a corner of the stands, clad in their red jerseys and were surrounded by white squares everywhere. Real Madrid’s anthem was also played in the stadium.

It was a scene that was not commonly seen in the UEFA Champions League finals. Real Madrid took full advantage of their home-field advantage. Their relationship with UEFA’s top brass was good, and Platini also acquiesced to their behavior which was “contrary to the spirit of fair play.”

“Long live! Madrid!! All Hail! Madrid!!”

Seventy thousand people roared at the same time, emitting a deafening noise. Amid such a continuous roaring sound, the players from both teams came out.

※※※

In fact, the players on both sides had been waiting at the Bernabéu for several minutes. The Bernabéu’s tunnel was different from the one in the City Ground stadium. The tunnel had a wall made of iron fences that separated the two teams. The players from both sides could see each other through the open mesh but could not engage in further physical contact.

Standing next to Gago was Higuaín. The two Argentines were engaged in a conversation. They were once sworn enemies in the country, and then they became members of Real Madrid. After which, the two men took two completely different paths. Higuaín quickly matured and seized the opportunity to secure a position as Real Madrid’s main striker, while Gago, due to overcrowding in Real Madrid’s midfield and was unable to be put in an important position, left Bernabéu and went to Nottingham Forest. The two of them were bound to have something to talk about when they got together.

But the two of them were actually not as close as people thought. The two men would only chat briefly before Gago would stop talking.

He used to be familiar with this particular tunnel. He previously stood on the other side, wearing white.

Now he stood in his red jersey on the opposite side of those players wearing white jerseys.

It was his first return to Bernabéu since he became a member of Nottingham Forest. He did not know how the Bernabéu fans would treat him when he took the ball on the pitch. Instead, he had seen the kind of treatment received by a lot of players who used to be part of a particular team and had returned to their mother teams’ home game after they left the teams.

He was mentally prepared for that.

Higuaín could see Gago’s concerns across the fence. He smiled and said to Gago in Spanish, “You can rest assured that the people here won’t treat you that way. After all, the team you have joined is not Barcelona or Atlético Madrid.”

Gago glanced at Higuaín and did not pay any mind to his words. He said, “What if we lead you, or defeat you?”

Higuaín almost laughed and said, “Fernando, to be honest, I don’t think you guys can beat us.”

Looking at his former teammate, who was flushed with success at Real Madrid, Gago rolled his eyes and said, “We’ll wait and see.”

Having said that to Higuaín, he suddenly found himself completely unconcerned with what kind of treatment he would expect during the game. Because he had figured it out. He was no longer related to Real Madrid now. So, if that was the case, why should he be concerned about how they were going to treat him?

※※※

Ribéry was not as worried as Gago was because he was playing in his team’s home ground. If he were to return to the City Ground stadium, he would definitely receive deafening boos. There was no doubt about that. He certainly knew that when he had chosen to leave during the period when the boss had a heart attack, it was a form of betrayal in the eyes of the Forest fans.

But for him, it was the only chance. A one-time chance in which the king had lost control.

He did not talk to his former teammates in the Forest team due to his ill-timed departure in the past. No Forest players would come forward on their own to speak to him as well. He hid within the Real Madrid team, bowed his head and kept quiet.

Across the fence was his former teammate, Pepe.

Pepe looked down on Ribéry’s departure. Knowing that none of them had chosen to leave at the most difficult time for the boss and the team, Ribéry had become a deserter. He gave Ribéry a sideway glance and then suddenly leaned his head over to speak to the Frenchman with a smile, “Franck, you’d better be careful during the game.”

Standing in front of Ribéry, Sergio Ramos heard Pepe’s words. Although he could not understand the words, he felt Pepe’s smile was unfriendly, so he turned his head back to glare at Pepe.

Pepe spoke in English, which Cristiano Ronaldo understood. He shot back, “Hey, boy. Mind your words. Are you trying to intimidate us?” When he was at Manchester United, he did not get along with the Forest team. The two teams did not meet when he was at Real Madrid. But in the current environment, the feeling of being mortal enemies came back to him.

Pepe showed no signs of weakness. He widened his grin at Ronaldo and said, “Portuguese dude, you are not my target.” He leaned his head towards the front of the line. Standing with his back toward everyone and not speaking was the team captain, George Wood.

Ronaldo certainly knew what he meant. He was fearless but just a little restrained around George Wood. He stopped talking.

Bale stepped forward to act as the peacemaker. “All right, don’t get worked up. It’s no good if we start quarrelling now. If the boss knows about this, he’s going to scold you all.” He said to Pepe since he knew that Pepe looked down on Ribéry and Bendtner as well. This man had well-defined likes and dislikes. To ease the atmosphere, he even took the initiative to greet Ribéry, “Hello Franck.”

Pepe still looked at Ribéry with a smile. His smile contained traces of ridicule.

Ribéry smiled at Bale, somewhat helplessly. He said, “Hello... Bale.” He had wanted to say, “little monkey.” But when he thought of his present identity, he forcibly changed it to “Bale.” He appeared to be a little unfamiliar in this way, but it was so as to prevent other people from needless assumptions.

Higuaín noticed the small disturbance in front of the line. He probed his head up to look around and asked, “What’s going on?”

Gago also lifted his head to looked over and realized what happened when he saw Pepe’s look. He said, “It must be Pepe putting blame on Ribéry...”

“Putting blame? Why?”

“When Ribéry chose to leave Nottingham Forest at the time and join Real Madrid... you knew about this, didn’t you?”

“Oh, I thought what was the big deal? Isn’t this kind of thing normal in the world of football? One player leaves one team and joins another team... What’s the point of holding on to a grudge like this?”

Gago, who only joined the team later, did not know much about that matter in the past, so he shook his head and said, “I’m not too sure either. Maybe that’s the Forest team’s style...” He had seen the “treatment” that Bendtner received when he went back to the City Ground stadium. Stop short of throwing a pig’s head down, the Forest fans scolded Bendtner in the stands in many various forms. They even composed a song live on the spot to humiliate the “traitor” who had betrayed the team.

“The English teams seem to be like this...” He added.

Higuaín smiled and shook his head, somewhat disdainful. “I wonder why you were so worried. It’s because you’ve seen too much of that in England. Don’t worry, this is Spain, this is Real Madrid.”

Pepe continued to stare at Ribéry with a smile.

Ribéry could only pretend that he did not see this person, and then simply closed his eyes.

Bale poked Pepe at the back and said, “Enough is enough, Pepe. Focus your energy on the game!”

George Wood looked back, and only then Pepe averted his gaze.

“It’s time to play.” Wood said to the people behind.

※※※

The Real Madrid players and Nottingham Forest players appeared at the same time. The stadium erupted in thunderous cheers. The home fans cheered for Real Madrid, while the away fans cheered for the Forest team. The cheers lasted only a short time. When the live broadcast began to announce the name lists of the two teams’ lineup, warm applause and cheers broke out when the names of the Real Madrid players were called while sporadic hissing rang out in the stands when the names of the Forest players were announced.

Twain looked up at the stands around him. He opened his mouth and laughed, “I’m really surprised by the scattered boos.”

“We’re not Barcelona.” Kerslake said beside him.

“We’re also not Atlético Madrid.” Eastwood added.

“Ha!” Twain barked out a laugh, “It doesn’t matter. Very soon, they’ll think we’re more detestable than both of those teams.”

※※※

The players from both sides filed onto the pitch and stood together to be photographed by the reporters. Then the visiting players took the initiative to shake hands with the referee and the home team players. When the players of both teams parted, the captains exchanged the team flags and did the coin toss to pick the side.

Casillas was now Real Madrid’s captain. He lost to Wood in the coin toss and Wood was given the right to pick the side while Casillas was given the right to kick off.

Seeing the result, Twain gently shook his head off the pitch and said, “I want the right to kick off... Letting the other side control the ball first is not good for our tactical layout.”

“We just have to hold off their five-minute offensive and we’ll be okay.” Kerslake felt it was nothing since the ball was going to come back to the feet of the Forest team anyway.

“You’re very confident.” Twain turned to look at Kerslake next to him and chuckled.

“After working with you for a long time, I have to be confident. If not, I can’t keep up with your footsteps.” Kerslake laughed too.

The feeling of tacit understanding rose from the bottom of two people’s hearts.

Kerslake did not hear Twain laugh heartily and openly. Instead, Twain nodded to him and said, “Thank you, David, for staying with me for so long...”

This caught Kerslake a little off guard. He cleared his throat and did not know what to say.

Twain patted him on the shoulder and said, “The game is about to start. Hopefully, as you said, we’ll be back in control after holding on for five minutes.”

※※※

Wood walked back after he shook hands with the three referees, as well as Casillas. He made a gesture and his teammates immediately gathered around.

“We’re not here to be first runner-up.” Wood put his hand out and put it in the middle of the circle.

“Neither am I.” Bale put his hand on top of his.

“This is the most glorious moment of my career.” Pepe pressed his hand on top.

“For the Treble.” Akinfeev’s big hand covered the palms of several people underneath.

The different skin tones and different sizes of palms piled on top and the pile of hands became higher.

After everyone put their hands on top of one another, Wood looked at everyone, and everyone looked at him. As the boss said, they were comrades in a trench through life and death. They supported each other all the way through countless baptisms of war. And now they stood on the last battlefield, ready to meet the last and most powerful enemy.

“I’m not good with words...” Wood said, “In any case…. I’m very happy to play football with you guys. Let’s win the championship together.”

Hearing him say so, everyone’s hands pressed down with force.

“Champion!!”

※※※

On Real Madrid’s side, they also formed a circle. Everyone came together to do the final battle mobilization.

“This is Bernabéu, partners.” Casillas’s eyes swept through the faces of every teammate as he said, “We absolutely cannot fail here. Seventy thousand people in the stands are all our motivation. We are Real Madrid! The glorious Real Madrid!”

He brandished his hands with great force.

“Don’t give your opponent any chance! Win the tenth UEFA Champions League title with all the energy we’ve got!!”

※※※

As the players from both sides stood in their respective positions and waited for the kick-off, the noisy Bernabéu stadium fell into a momentary silence after more than half an hour of clamor. The noise disappeared for a moment and everyone held their breath as they waited for the game to begin.

The referee stood in the center circle, looked at the watch on his wrist, and looked at the fourth official on the sidelines. After getting the signal for the kickoff, he blew a crisp-sounding whistle.

After Huntelaar passed the ball to Benzema, he ran forward. Meanwhile, Aaron Mitchell who had been waiting outside the center circle, headed straight for Benzema with the ball.

Benzema did not give him a chance to intercept the ball in place. He turned around to pass it to Lassana Diarra at the back as he brushed past Mitchell.

Twain did not put Ibi?evi? in the starting lineup for the game. Instead, he deployed Mitchell who had score two goals alone in the FA Cup final and was in excellent form. It was also the first time he had played in the Champions League final. But Twain was not worried that the kid could not handle the pressure. The kid sometimes looked lively and he had his own set of methods to reduce stress – which was to use his imagination and release all the pressure through his imagination.

Mitchell ignored Benzema and continued to rush towards Diarra.

Diarra then passed the ball toward the back and gave it to the Argentine center back, Garay. Mitchell then ignored Diarra and continued to pounce toward Garay.

Garay did not pass the ball this time. He finally figured it out. If he continued to pass back to Casillas, the big guy would rush over without any hesitation, like a robot which was programmed with a way forward in advance and would go all the way!

He passed the ball ahead to Ramos on the side, and Mitchell finally stopped sprinting.

Ramos had just received the ball and found that Fernández had already rushed in front of him. He hurriedly hooked the ball in an attempt to flash past the Chilean.

Fernández was more difficult to deal with than he thought. Instead of flashing past the other party, he was entangled by him.

“Don’t dawdle, get the ball out!” Casillas could clearly see the situation on the pitch at the back. If Ramos still wanted to continue to play in the rear defensive line, he would be in trouble. From his position, it could be clearly seen that Nottingham Forest’s overall formation pressed forward along with Real Madrid’s every return pass. Huntelaar, who had just run up, was already in an offside position.

What was Nottingham Forest going to do by pressing so hard in the away game?

With Ramos closed in tightly by Fernández, he chose the most appropriate approach – he drove the ball forward with a long ball.

The long ball, which appeared to be blindly sent out, flew to Huntelaar instead.

Huntelaar lost his position in the fight for the header with Pepe. He was completely unable to compete with Pepe in strength. Pepe headed the football back.

In the midfield, Gago lifted his leg to hook the football down from the air and Ribéry pounced on empty space. But as soon as he turned around, the Frenchman leaned in closer again.

Seeing him like this, the Forest fans in the stands booed. Only two players would be booed vehemently by the Forest fans after leaving the team. One was Bendtner and the other was Ribéry.

Ribéry interfered with Gago at the back, but Gago was no longer the young boy who could not even hold on to the ball and was always intercepted from behind by his opponents. He defended the football and looked up to find a way to send the ball out.

In the end, he chose to give the football to Bentley on the sideline.

Ribéry was still pestering him, and the side was emptier. Bentley took a few steps forward after he received the ball. Diarra and Real Madrid’s left back, Marcelo both got their eyes on him.

It was at this moment that Rafinha stepped in from behind Bentley at a high speed and skimmed past Marcelo.

Bentley passed an over-the-head high ball and sent the ball over Marcelo’s head to Rafinha who plugged in.

Rafinha beautifully unloaded the football that flew in from behind. Marcelo turned around a little slower, and Garay rushed up. Rafinha did not appear to look like he was going to do a feint. Instead, he swept the ball straight into the penalty area. A low pass!

ahin appeared like a shadow behind Mitchell. Mitchell had attracted the attention of another Real Madrid center back, David Luiz, but the football escaped past.

ahin directly did a slide shot on the line of the goal area!

The commentator had not had time to finish reading the two teams’ list of appearances before Nottingham Forest’s first shot at the goal had already been made.

Nottingham Forest’s beautiful coordination suddenly put Real Madrid’s goal in jeopardy. The only player who could be depended on at this time was their “Saint Iker”

Good thing that Casillas acted almost at the same time as ?ahin. When ?ahin did the slide shot, he threw himself over to pounce toward that side, and the football was pushed out by his hand!

“What a – fantastic save! Casillas completed his first save of the game. He saved Real Madrid’s goal!” The commentator roared excitedly.

“Ah!” Twain held his head in his hands off the field. He looked incredulously at what had just happened in front of the Real Madrid goal. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to turn from passive to active and get such a good chance to shoot from the start. But he did not expect Casillas to be able to block the shot so close at hand...

This man is a monster!

“What kind of defense is this?” Casillas jumped from the ground and yelled at his teammates. He was much more proactive than before now that he was the captain.

ahin sat on the ground and could not believe that Casillas actually blocked his must-have shot. One must know that when he shot, Casillas was still in front getting ready to defend against Mitchell’s grab point. He should not have seen him ... Could it be down to a goalkeeper’s instinct?

Applause broke out in the stands for Casillas. If it were not for their captain’s heroic performance, Real Madrid might have conceded a goal in the opening thirty seconds of the game.

The Spanish reporters in the press box were even more terrified in their hearts. They could see clearly it from up there.

“The bastard... Do you really want to go head to head with Real Madrid?”

※※※

Twain got up from his seat and applauded the Forest players on the field to offer encouragement and appreciation for the team’s faithful execution of his tactical arrangements.

The group of Spanish reporters guessed right. He was going to go head to head with Real Madrid in the game.

Real Madrid had always been better at offense than defense. If the opponent were to play defensive counterattack against them, they would only suffer themselves in the end. To hand too much of the initiative in the home ground to Real Madrid was nothing less than a slow suicide.

That was why he wanted to use a more aggressive and more proactive attitude to deal with Real Madrid. He wanted the entire team to press ahead and counter press so as not to give Real Madrid too much time and space. They would not allow them any opportunities to show their footwork skills. Once the game started, they would seek to intimidate Real Madrid with fierce offensive, making them somewhat apprehensive and unable to attack at full strength.

He gently waved to the players to signal that they should continue to do so.

Let this proud team experience the difficult and dangerous situation we create!

Chapter 872 - Own Goal?

Neither the Real Madrid manager nor the players could have expected Nottingham Forest to actually have the gall to attack Real Madrid this aggressively at the Bernabéu Stadium. They looked intent on going head-to-head with Real Madrid.

Real Madrid was only able to shoot at the goal once in the opening 10 minutes of the game, but the visitors Nottingham Forest was able to shoot at the goal twice in the same time. Their very first shot was the best chance in the game so far, and it nearly went past Casillas.

“Real Madrid has consistently proven something to us over the past decade, and that is that their defense is made up of only one person, and that person is Casillas. As long as Casillas is in the team, all the other defenders can be disregarded.” It is unclear if the commentator is praising Casillas or ridiculing Real Madrid’s defenders with his words.

Real Madrid’s defense did pale in comparison if compared against its star-studded line-up at the front. The star player in their defense is most likely their right back, Sergio Ramos. The performances of Ezequiel Garay and David Luiz have been mediocre thus far, and Marcelo is much stronger offensively than defensively. The best position for him to play in is probably as a left wing-back rather than a left back.

Fortunately for Real Madrid, in addition to Casillas, they now also have Lassana Diarra in their team. The French midfielder has improved Real Madrid’s defense significantly, and his arrival could mark the start of Real Madrid’s journey to glory.

If Diarra’s arrival could not even improve their defense however, it would have been a complete joke for Real Madrid to claim that they want to reign over the whole of Europe, because it would mean that they are in fact a weak team.

This match between Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest is also a battle between two of the world’s most talented defensive midfielders. Unfortunately, the Spanish media was not interested in discussing about such a topic. They were more interested in predicting what sort of exciting performances the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ribéry or Real Madrid’s front three would put in.

As the manager of the team, it is only natural that Míchel thinks differently from the media. After noticing that his team was at a disadvantage in the game, he immediately stood to his feet and walked to the side of the pitch. He then called out to Diarra and gestured for him to intercept the ball more frequently so as to protect their midfield.

Míchel was not afraid of Nottingham Forest going head-to-head against his team. In fact, Forest not going head-to-head against his team would scare him more.

There would be space left behind every time Forest moves forward to attack, and that would be something that Real Madrid could exploit after all.

Offense was certainly the least of Real Madrid’s worries. Míchel was confident that Real Madrid would come out victorious in a battle of goals scored.

※※※

Gago tried to put together an attack after he received the ball. His role in the match was to move forward and attack, while Wood was responsible for protecting him.

Diarra ran up to Gago. As a defensive midfielder, Diarra had a good sense of balance, was flexible, had explosive force and was also quick in his movements. There was nothing to pick on regarding his overall physicality either. His only flaw was that he was not very good with headers…

The French defensive midfielder pressurized Gago from the side. He was swift with his movements, and Gago was unable to keep up with him.

Gago eventually lost his balance and gave the ball away!

“A wonderful interception!”

Applause and cheers directed at Diarra rang out from the stands. The Real Madrid fans have grown fond of the lad from France. His presence in the team allows Real Madrid’s superstars at the front to attack fearlessly, and in turn the fans are rewarded with the attacking style of football that they love to see.

The Real Madrid fans are knowledgeable about football. They can boo teams that play defensive or conservative football, but they also capable of commending their defensive midfielder when he performs well.

However, it would seem that they were too quick with their applause and cheers.

Diarra had only just intercepted Gago’s ball when another player came charging into him from the side. The collision nearly caused Diarra to lose the ball at his feet.

The player who charged at him did not give up in his pursuit. It was clear that the player would continue chasing after him till he passed the ball away.

Diarra knew who was on his trail without even looking back.

“George Wood has gone after Diarra! This a direct confrontation between two gifted defensive midfielders! Diarra has done well to maintain possession of the ball. Wood cannot do anything to him for now…”

Diarra certainly possessed good techniques as a defensive midfielder. He is often able to bring the ball past several players all by himself before he passed it to his teammates. He has confidence in his ability to control the ball at his feet.

Being able to maintain possession of the ball is undoubtedly a beneficial skill to have, but it is also his weakness, as he would hold onto the ball much longer than what is expected from a defensive midfielder…

George Wood watched as Diarra carried the ball forward. When he noticed that the ball had been kicked slightly further away from Diarra’s feet, he instantly swooped in and tackled the ball.

Diarra instinctively sensed danger and tried to kick the ball away, but he kicked nothing but air.

The ball had been tackled away by Wood by then, and his kick landed on Wood’s feet instead. He then fell onto the ground.

The referee blew on his whistle to signal that Wood had fouled Diarra during his tackle.

Wood was upset with the referee’s decision, but he did not explain anything to the referee. He simply climbed back to his feet while shaking his head.

Twain saw everything that had happened up front. Wood’s tackle was clean and had not touched Diarra in any way. He was upset with the referee’s decision and kept complaining under his breath, “Home advantage… Home advantage…”

No one cared about his complaints. The fourth official did not even bother to send a glance his way.

It did not matter if Wood had fouled Diarra or not. What was more important was that Nottingham Forest had managed to stop Real Madrid’s quick play. In addition, the events so far have proven that Twain’s analyses of the Real Madrid’s players were accurate.

During the pre-match tactical briefing, Twain analyzed the strengths of each and every Real Madrid player for his team. He told his players that Diarra was a player who liked to bring the ball forward a lot. He did not play like a defensive midfielder would. His actions were more like one that an attacking midfielder or wing-back would do, and that was also something that his team could exploit.

As long as his players marked Diarra tightly, they would definitely find the chance to intercept the ball and go on the counterattack. When that happens, Real Madrid would be sent into a frenzy over how their defensive midfielder had lost the ball!

This time round, both Real Madrid and Diarra were lucky that Wood’s clean tackle had been viewed as a foul by the referee. There did not seem to be anyone associated with Real Madrid who had noticed that the events from earlier was a warning flag yet.

Their luck would definitely not be as good the next time…

Twain ranted for a while by the side of the pitch before he walked back to his seat.

“It’s game over for them.” Twain told Kerslake, who sat before him, as he opened the cap of a bottle.

※※※

Real Madrid utilized a 4-4-2 formation for the match. Diarra was the player in charge of defending the midfield. He had to run all over the midfield, and he also had to receive the ball, pass the ball and intercept the ball…

Given all the things that Diarra has to do for his team, he should be the player who is regarded as the core of Real Madrid instead of Ribéry.

Ribéry also plays in the midfield, but he was positioned further up front. Real Madrid’s midfield was shaped like a rhombus. Ribéry’s role in the team was to organize the team’s attacks and make use of his ability to shoot from far to threaten the opponent’s goalpost.

Cristiano Ronaldo was positioned on the left and Higuaín was positioned on the right. The two would switch positions frequently, making it hard for their opponents to keep track. They were two players who possessed pace and technique, and they also had the ability to break through their opponents’ defense.

The two players positioned at the front were Huntelaar and Benzema. Huntelaar was a pure center forward. He would wait for the ball to get passed over to him by his team mates, and he would then try to find a way to get the ball into the back of the opposition’s net.

Benzema, on the other hand, was more flexible with his position on the pitch. He would position himself either next to or behind Huntelaar and act as the bridge between the midfield and the front of the pitch. He was not the kind of striker who needed to score every time he shot either. He was all-rounded as a player, and he could provide chances or assists to his team mates as well.

Such a combination at the front of the pitch was flawless and immensely powerful for any football team. It could even be considered to be a masterpiece.

Sadly, such a wonderful piece of art had to go against the metal slab that is George Wood.

Real Madrid initiated an attack once again. This time, Diarra did not maintain possession of the ball for long. He passed the ball over to Ribéry the moment he noticed Gago charging after him.

Ribéry was able to continue to maintain possession of the ball as he turned his body around. His entire movement looked natural and effortless. The spectators might not have cheered wildly in response to his movements, but it certainly demonstrated the level of technique he possessed as a player of his age.

Twain could not help but shake his head after seeing Ribéry’s actions. Ribéry had transformed from a winger into a playmaker. This was a transformation that did not materialize during his time as a Forest player, but now the transformation was complete at Real Madrid…

Ribéry had only just gotten the ball under control at his feet when Wood charged towards him.

Pepe had threatened him before the start of the match to watch out for him, but sadly, there were not many chances of them going against each other in an actual match. The player that he had to watch out for was not Pepe but the captain of the Forest team instead.

The Frenchman gave up on trying to bring the ball forward by himself the moment he saw Wood charge at him.

It was a wise decision to make as he did not have the confidence to win Wood in a one-on-one battle.

He passed the ball over to Ramos who was running down the flank. Ramos had successfully attracted the attention of Bale, and this allowed Higuaín to speed up and pass the ball into the middle of the pitch without reservations.

Huntelaar jumped into the air to head the ball from Higuaín.

It was Akinfeev’s turn to perform next. He jumped into the air from where he stood and stretched out his right hand. He managed to get a hand on the ball and he sent it over the crossbar. His entire movement might look effortless to the spectators, but professional goalkeepers would know how difficult it really was.

A jump that is made without a run-up would always be slightly shorter than a jump made with a run-up. In addition, Huntelaar’s header had happened very close to the goalpost, and it did not give the goalkeeper much time to react.

The goalkeeper would need to rely on his instincts, split-second reaction and also God to be able to defend against such a shot.

Akinfeev was successful in his attempt to get the ball away. He was able to send what looked like an unmistakable goal from Huntelaar over the crossbar.

Applause rang out at the stands. The Real Madrid fans were all applauding the team’s attack, whereas the Forest fans were all applauding Akinfeev’s incredible save. His save was just as good as one that Casillas would make.

“They are both around the same height, and they have both played as a goalkeeper for roughly the same amount of time. Even their names are similar, Igor and Iker. The battle between Casillas and Akinfeev has not disappointed us. This is truly a match with many things to watch out for!”

In truth, Casillas’ performance had set Akinfeev on fire. He did not want to humiliate himself before his idol.

※※※

“It has been a game whereby both sides have attacked one another so far. The football that has been shown in the match up till now can be considered to be brilliant. I’m very pleased that Tony Twain did not choose to play defensive football in such a game. His decision has allowed us to watch an exciting match. But, I’m worried that such a scene would not last for long… The moment Nottingham Forest goes into the lead, they would definitely move backwards and make their defense compact. They would then switch back to playing defensive football. Twain’s strategy is predictable and lacks creativity… I hope that Real Madrid is the team who goes into the lead first so as to maintain excitement throughout the match…”

The commentator was bad-mouthing Twain once again, and that upset several Forest fans.

“Don’t spew nonsense!”

“Shut your damned mouth, bastard!”

The fans who were unable to head over to Spain to watch the match raised their fists before the television screen. Some of them were holding onto their beer mugs, and the beer had spilled over onto others due to their vigorous actions.

However, no one complained. Everyone was busy roaring. It was as though they believed that their chastisements could really reach the commentator on the other end of the screen.

“Hey! Tony! Don’t let that bastard be right!”

“Score a goal against those Spaniards!”

“Go into the lead! It doesn’t matter that they are playing at their home grounds!”

The drunk fans then started cheering for Forest once again. Their mugs were half empty by then, but none of them cared. They could always order more beer when the time comes.

What was more important to them now was that Real Madrid did not go into the lead in the match. They would lose their appetite for beer if that were to happen.

※※※

Míchel’s team was hellbent on scoring a goal in the match. 15 minutes had passed, but the score remained 0:0, and it did not look like Nottingham Forest was at a disadvantage either. Such a situation agitated the Real Madrid fans.

The Real Madrid fans have always been like this since the past. Intermittent boos would ring from the stands every time their team fails to score within 20 minutes of the match at the Bernabéu Stadium. Boos would then erupt throughout the stadium if the team fails to score after 30 minutes of the game. Their boos would always add immense pressure on the Real Madrid players.

Twain disliked coaching a football team under such an environment. He could not tolerate how the fans would boo their own players. If he were the manager of Real Madrid, he might point his middle finger at the fans.

However, he enjoyed the boos from the fans right now as the manager of the opposition team. He knew that the Real Madrid fans would become the 12th player for Nottingham Forest. Their intermittent boos would start resonating within the Real Madrid players’ hearts, and they would then start to pile up…

Eventually, one player amidst the Real Madrid team would not be able to hold it in any longer, and he would explode like a time bomb.

His players have been following his tactics dutifully. They have been going all out to intercept the ball, and their actions have helped to create a tense atmosphere on the pitch. This atmosphere has made it difficult for the Real Madrid players to perform at their best. The players have continued to commit one error after another despite their exceptional techniques. The team has not been able to coordinate well in their attacks either.

Forest’s constant interceptions and counterattacks have also forced Real Madrid’s defenders, especially Marcelo and Ramos, to stay at the back of the pitch.

Twain made his players target Marcelo during their attacks. He knew that Marcelo was a player who emphasized offense more than defense. It was also impossible for Míchel to not let Marcelo go on the offense, as it went against his philosophy as a manager.

One of the trademarks of Real Madrid was how they made use of their full backs to attack, and it was also one of their strengths this season.

But, Marcelo was unable to perform at all in the match thus far. He could not move forward to join in the offense, and he committed numerous errors during his defense as well. If it were not for Diarra’s assistance, Forest would have been able to break through Real Madrid’s back line by now.

“Here they come!”

The commentator shouted at the top of his voice.

“Here they come again, f*ck!” Marcelo cursed in his heart.

The combination of Bentley and Rafinha agonized Marcelo immensely. Ronaldo would track back to help Marcelo in defense, but ultimately, Ronaldo was not a defensive player. His main role was to attack.

Marcelo was left with no choice but to retreat backwards when Rafinha ran past him. He then watched as Bentley passed the ball into the middle of the pitch towards Gago instead of Rafinha.

What else could he do?

If he did not retreat backwards, Bentley would have passed the ball over to Rafinha, and Rafinha would have crossed the ball into the penalty box from the byline.

Rafinha stopped his run when he noticed that the ball had been passed into the middle of the pitch. He positioned himself near the byline, and did not appear to have the intention to run forward towards the penalty box.

Marcelo then moved towards the center of the pitch to try and limit the amount of space that Forest could exploit near their penalty box.

Right as he ran however, Gago passed the ball away.

The ball flew over the top of his head towards Rafinha!

Marcelo felt as though he was a monkey being toyed with by the Forest players. He turned around and ran back towards Rafinha.

Rafinha passed the ball over to Bentley. Ronaldo had tracked backwards to join in the defense, and Bentley passed the ball over to Gago through the gap between Ronaldo’s legs.

Diarra stopped being an onlooker. He charged towards Gago to defend against him.

Gago passed the ball over to Wood.

For a period of time, Nottingham Forest continued to pass the ball about before Real Madrid’s penalty box, and the Real Madrid players did not even manage to touch the ball once.

It was a massive humiliation for Real Madrid.

The boos from the stands grew in decibels.

Diarra left Gago behind for Wood once Wood received the ball.

It was difficult to play as a defensive midfielder. Diarra has to run all over the pitch non-stop. He has to run from one end to another end, and he would often end up defending against one thing and missing another…

Wood turned around and passed the ball over to Bale who had run up from the back.

Bale did not bring the ball forward down the flank. Instead, he made his way past Higuaín and moved towards the middle of the pitch!

Bale’s actions caught Ramos off guard. Ramos was initially going to wait for Bale to run up towards him from the flank, but he did not expect Bale to change route midway.

However, Ramos could not run over to defend Bale, because Fernández had moved forward and was positioned near the byline where he was currently standing. Ramos was afraid that the ball would be passed over to Fernández the moment he ran over to Bale.

Ribéry retreated backwards to defend and he charged towards Bale in the middle of the pitch.

Bale did not even turn to see who was charging towards him. He simply passed the ball over to Wood beside him and continued running forward.

Wood did not stop the ball at his feet after receiving the ball. He passed the ball back to Bale straight away.

The two players performed a quick one-two right before Real Madrid’s penalty box!

Ramos could not stay and guard the flank any longer, because Bale had nearly made his way into the penalty box. He left Fernández behind and charged towards the penalty box. He was going to team up with Garay and they were going to work together to keep Bale away from their penalty box.

Bale, who had been sprinting towards the penalty box, slammed into Ramos and fell to the ground inside Real Madrid’s penalty box.

Fernández raised his hand to gesture at the referee that Ramos had fouled Bale. It would be a penalty if the referee deemed Ramo’s actions to be a foul.

However, the referee did not give the foul, because he did not notice that Ramos had obstructed the path of Bale. Instead, the referee placed both arms before him to signal for play to resume. He was giving advantage to the attacking team, and the match will go on!

Bale had already passed the ball away before he collided with Ramos.

Mitchell was positioned in Real Madrid’s penalty box, and ?ahin had also made his way over as well.

Who did Bale pass the ball to?

“George Wood…!”

Wood raised his muscular right leg at the edge of the penalty box right as the commentator hollered.

Casillas reacted the moment he saw Wood raise his leg. He pounced towards the right side of his goalpost. His intuition and experience told him that Wood would shoot for goal straight away, and that he would shoot this way!

He was right!

Wood had shot for goal straight away without stopping the ball at his feet!

There was not any spin on the ball as it flew straight towards Casillas.

“Whooo…”

Wood’s shot was so quick it even created a sound as it whizzed by…

No, perhaps that was a sound made by the Real Madrid fans during their booing.

Wood’s shot travelled very quickly, and Casillas was still a little too slow in reaching the ball.

The ball would fly past before Casillas hand can reach it.

Wood’s shot slammed against the goalpost and made a loud thud.

The sound allowed the jittery Real Madrid fans to breathe a sigh of relief.

But, a dramatic turn of events soon ensued…

The ball deflected backwards towards Casillas after hitting the goalpost. Casillas had only just managed to reach the ball at this moment. The ball then hit against Casillas’ back as he landed, before flying past the goal line and into the back of the net…

“Unlucky Iker…” The on-site commentator cried out as he sprawled over his work desk.

Nottingham Forest has managed to find their way into Real Madrid’s goalpost at the Bernabéu Stadium on the 23rd minute of the match! And, the person who had scored the goal was…

The player regarded as Real Madrid’s most resolute rampart, Saint Iker Casillas!

However, the commentator from England did not agree with the view that it was Casillas who scored the goal. “Own goal? No no no! That was a goal by George Wood! What a brilliant goal! How can that be considered as a goal by Casillas? George Wood has scored his second goal in the Champions League this season! His goal has helped Nottingham Forest take the lead over Real Madrid for the time being! You have to remember that this is the Bernabéu Stadium, and this is the home grounds of Real Madrid! How remarkable! The combination play leading up to the goal has left Real Madrid in a complete frenzy! Listen to the boos at the stadium! Those boos are the best form of compliment to Forest!”

Chapter 873 - This Looks Bad

”A series of beautiful combination through the middle with a continuous one-two! George Wood’s——powerful volley! The ball hit the bottom of the crossbar, flew downwards and hit Casillas on the back and bounced into the goal… Nottingham Forest takes the lead in the Bernabéu Stadium just like this!”

“The captions indicated that this is an own goal by Casillas, but we have to give credit to George Wood for his impressive contributions to this attack. It was his long shot that caught Casillas off-guard… In fact, after the ball went in, the Forest players surrounded Wood to congratulate him.”

George Wood was indeed in the middle of his teammates’ embrace. The match would be much easier now that they were able to score first. That was why they did not care whether this was an own goal, the important thing was that they are leading Real Madrid 1:0.

Waves of jeering rang out from the stands. One could not tell whether these jeers were directed at the Nottingham Forest players or at Real Madrid for conceding a goal.

Poor Casillas had to pick himself up, turn around to retrieve the ball from his goal and kick it towards the center circle, mumbling as he did so. He must have been complaining about his bad luck for the ball to bounce out when he dived and for the ball to coincidentally hit him, then changed direction and flew into the goal after that…

He did not even know why that happened. When he was performing admirably in front of goal, saving shots that was impossible to be saved, the fans referred to him as “Saint Iker” and it was as if he was possessed by God. But at this moment, both the God and the Holy Light had left him.

It was a good thing that he was a goalkeeper as goalkeepers usually had very strong mentality. He shut his mouth after grumbling for a little and did not mention this matter anymore.

Michels was a little unhappy about the fact that Real Madrid conceded the first goal. After watching the goal go in, he jumped out of his seat and could not stop complaining while waving his arms. He was complaining about the problem in Real Madrid’s defense in the middle, and also their rotten luck…

The Nottingham Forest players were still celebrating the goal, ignoring the thunderous jeers while Michels pulled Ribéry to the sideline and instructed him about the things that he had to pay attention to in the match later.

“…They’ll play on the break after taking the lead, their defensive line will drop back, we have to press up in attack.”

Ribéry nodded in agreement. He did not have any opinions actually; he would follow whatever the manager said.

“Be more committed when attacking, if you lack support from your teammates around you, take a long shot!” Michels pointed at the Forest goal as he said, “George Wood is marking you; you can pull him away from the middle and tell Lassana to go forward more.”

Ribéry understood that he was to be the distraction then. Diarra’s attacking prowess was pretty strong too, with good passing and dribbling abilities.

“They know how to suppress our flanks; we shall do the same. Suppress their flanks and force their flanks to be on the defensive. Tell Ronaldo and Higuain to be more committed, don’t be hesitate, if they want to dribble, do so! Go!”

Ribéry went after receiving the instructions.

Twain sneered as he watched Michels pull Ribéry back alone to adjust his tactics. This kid had become a core member of Real Madrid, he was doing quite well for himself.

※※※

“If we look at it from another angle, it might be a good thing to concede after 23 minutes. At least Real Madrid has 67 minutes to comeback and win the game.”

The match restarted as the trailing Real Madrid launched waves of vicious attacks on the Forest team. Their momentum forced Nottingham Forest to pull back their defensive line and go into the defensive.

The commentator was a little pleased with himself as what he said earlier came true, “I said that if Nottingham Forest were to take the lead, they would play on the counter. I wasn’t wrong, Tony Twain has pulled back as expected. The excitement of the match next depends on when Real Madrid can penetrate the Forest goal…”

Ribéry became the focal point of Real Madrid’s attack. He was in charge of starting the attack, and he would also take some long shots to test Akinfeev’s focus on the match once in a while.

Pepe was abnormally excited today. There were a few times when Wood had already closed in on Ribéry and yet he still rushed forward to mark the same target.

Twain simply took it as a demonstration of Pepe’s excitement and did not put it to mind. After all, the pincer defense of him and Wood did make Ribéry a little flustered and made it difficult for him to start the attack.

Until the 31st minute, when Pepe brought Ribéry to the ground just outside the penalty area and the referee awarded a direct free kick to Real Madrid, Twain then slapped his thigh and complained, “Is he trying to break Ribéry’s leg? That bastard! He needs to watch what he’s doing!”

He received a yellow card because of this foul. That was a tackle from behind, bringing Ribéry, who was guarding the ball down.

The Real Madrid fans directed their jeers at Pepe while Ribéry held onto his ankle in pain on the ground. Michels stood up to denounce the violence of the Forest team furiously whereas Twain only scolded Pepe in private without any other actions.

Ribéry eventually picked himself up and walked around with a slight limp. He did not glare at Pepe like the other players, moving to one side instead.

Pepe did not let him off easily as he continued to glare at him.

Bale pulled his arm from the side and said, “Relax, Pepe!”

“I just don’t like the look of him,” Pepe said as he stared at Ribéry with a fierce look in his eyes.

“Look at where you committed the foul,” Wood walked over and said to Pepe with a stern look on his face.

Pepe took a look at it and pouted.

He committed the foul just outside the penalty area.

“It’s nothing, this is too close, it’s not a good distance for a free kick,” it appeared as though he made sense too.

“It better be so,” Wood turned to stand in the wall with no emotions on his face.

There were many people who thought the same way as Pepe. The Forest players all thought that this was too close to the goal and was not a good position for a free kick.

The commentator thought so too, “18 meters from the goal… This is too close, the ball would either hit the wall or fly over the crossbar.”

Cristiano Ronaldo stood over the ball. It seemed like he would be the one to take this free kick.

Ronaldo was adept at taking long distance free kicks, this seemed to confirm the everybody’s thoughts.

Pepe’s foul might seem dangerous, but it might in fact be the safest move?

The Real Madrid players did not attempt to squeeze into the Nottingham Forest wall, as though they did not have high hopes for this free kick too.

Aaron Mitchell had wanted to stay in the frontline to prepare to launch a counterattack, but he got asked to stand in the wall by Wood. His 2.2 meters frame was an eyesore in the wall. Wood arranged for him to stand at the most dangerous spot, blocking the far corner of the goal which was furthest away from Akinfeev.

When the wall was ready, the referee indicated that Real Madrid can restart the game.

Ronaldo stood in front of the ball, feet apart. He took a deep breath and started his run up.

His run up was quite long and everyone thought it would be a fierce shot, hoping that it would penetrate the Forest wall. However, when he reached the ball, he lifted it with the tip of his foot!

The calf moved rapidly but the thigh did not move much.

The ball flew above the wall and it did not go towards the far post, going to the near post instead!

Akinfeev did not expect Ronaldo to take the free kick like this at all. He originally chose to dive towards the far post and the center of gravity of his body had already moved towards that side before he realized that the ball was flying towards the near post. He wanted to readjust his position but he was already wrongfooted as he could only stand on the spot and watch the ball fly just above the wall and straight into the goal.

This…

Akinfeev momentarily lost his balance and all his strength as he fell backwards into the goal, as if he got hit by the ball.

Pepe stared at the ball inside the goal in disbelief too. Behind him, the Real Madrid players were celebrating.

“Damn it” Twain cursed on the sideline.

Michels ran back to the manager’s seat in excitement as he embraced his assistants.

“Ronaldo scored with a direct free kick!” The commentator roared in excitement. This time, he was really feeling happy for the goal scored by Real Madrid——Nottingham Forest could no longer play on the break, this match would be even more exciting now!

Twain would have definitely felt wronged if he knew what the commentator was thinking of. That was because he had no intentions of playing on the counter after leading…

“A beautiful direct free kick! This was actually not an especially good chance of scoring, but Ronaldo’s unique free kick’s arc still flew over the wall and into the goal! Akinfeev was totally bamboozled as he did not react at all!”

The Bernabéu stands finally erupted in cheers this time. The long-awaited moment for the fans in white to hold their heads up high had finally arrived.

“Twain was still rambling on, “This kind of goal… This kind of foul… And he even got a yellow card! I really don’t understand the benefits of that foul!”

Eastwood could only give a wry smile at the side. He believed he knew why. There were some things that would only be spoken amongst the players. No matter how close the boss was to them, or how high the players held him in regard, he would not be able to understand all the thinking of every player.

For example, Pepe had mentioned not just once that he looked down on Ribéry in the changing room privately. The reason why he looked down on him was not because Ribéry moved to Real Madrid for money, Pepe was no saint, he understood that the reason for playing professional football was to earn money. The reason why he looked down on Ribéry was because he chose to leave the team when the boss and the team were in a difficult moment. He had always been looking for an opportunity to get back at Ribéry and this final finally gave him the best opportunity.

※※※

Real Madrid seemed to be even more fired up after levelling the score. The two flanks completely woke up and suppressed any signs of a counterattack from the Forest team. Under the waves of cheers in their home ground, of which each wave was louder than the previous one, they launched attacks on the Forest goal continuously. There were times when they managed to reach the goal of the Forest team, making things very awkward for the Forest defenders.

Twain left the manager’s seat after Real Madrid scored. He stood on the sideline, making different kinds of body language as the situation changed on the field. When Real Madrid was getting close to the goal, he would clench his fist, straighten his back and leaned forward, as if all the muscles in his body were tensed up. When Forest had the ball and countered, he folded his arms and gave his team the feeling that their manager had everything under control, having the effect of stabilizing his team’s morale.

The tv broadcast also kept going towards Twain. Sometimes, his performance on the sideline was really a better show than the match.

Actually, Twain did not do that to hog the limelight on TV, he was just nervous…

No matter how much he acted as though he was unaffected, arrogant… He could not deny the fact that Real Madrid had a big advantage playing at the Bernabéu stadium. This kind of advantage might sometimes be decisive in a final, that was why he had to handle it carefully. Scoring first was a good sign as it reduced the pressure, but he did not expect Real Madrid to level the score within 10 minutes. Now, Real Madrid’s morale was high, and Forest had just been dealt a blow. Under such circumstances, if he was not careful, the situation on the field might be overturned.

Now that Forest was doing their best to not let Real Madrid overrun them, George Wood was once again the star that shone the brightest in the team. His tireless running, vicious yet clean defense, aided the team to barely stay level with Real Madrid.

In the eyes of most of the outsiders, Real Madrid had the advantages. Especially when coupled with the home ground atmosphere, it gave people a feeling that Real Madrid could penetrate the Forest goal at any time. Real Madrid’s combinations were pleasing to the eye, as though they could receive any kind of passes, and there were many different kinds of attacking plays they could pull off. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest found things to be a little difficult. After ?ahin was restricted by Diarra, the Forest midfield became a pure workhorse midfield. Their functions were not to start the attack and link the backline with the frontline, but they were to think of ways to destroy Real Madrid’s attack… When there was only destruction without any creation, how would that be good enough?

Evan Doughty’s expression became darker and darker as he watched from the VIP box. He only smiled when Forest scored, and he watched the match with a long face after that. The match became even worse after Real Madrid levelled the score… By his side, Florentino watched the whole game with a smile on his face. He did not even frown when Forest was leading.

He was an old and crafty person indeed. His culture and shrewdness were some things that Evan Doughty could not be a match for.

※※※

When the first half ended, the score was still 1:1. Even though Real Madrid had the advantage, they could not penetrate the Forest goal again as the Forest defense system passed the test. Twain was not concerned about his own defense; he was concerned about spending too much energy on defense that his offense would be stunted. The key to this match was no longer defense, but attack…

Twain entered the tunnel first, thinking about ways to salvage the situation in the second half.

The commentator felt pity for Real Madrid, “I bet, if the first half was five minutes longer, Real Madrid would penetrate the Forest goal again… Or have the initiative of the game completely. This is the Bernabéu after all, it’s their home ground. This halftime break saved Twain. We can look forward to the adjustments that Tony Twain will make during halftime.”

Chapter 874 - Countermeasures

In the dressing room, Nottingham Forest’s players were resting on the bench. The latter part of the first half was not the best period they played, and so nobody was in the mood to chit-chat. For a moment, there was just the sound of heavy breathing in the changing room.

Twain did not speak either. He had his back turned to everyone while he stared at his tactical board and he fell into deep thought. He imagined the tactical board as Bernabeu’s stadium and replayed what happened in the first half on the board.

Real Madrid had a strong sense of attacking hierarchy. The striker line, the forward line, the back line were all very excellent and consistent. Twain had a feeling while looking at the game in the first half — it was as if when the Real Madrid players were fighting for the header at the first ball landing spot, the second landing spot would always be in their perimeter, and it would be the opposite for Nottingham Forest. They could compete for the first landing spot, but had no control over its second landing spot, this then directed Real Madrid’s offense to be consistent and endless, while Nottingham Forest’s offense would a one-time affair.

This was determined by the quality of their midfielders and the tactics of the whole team.

Real Madrid, on the whole, were indeed stronger than Nottingham Forest, after experiencing their darkest years, the reformed Real Madrid finally found the path they were most familiar and excelled in. So what was the way to crack that?

Continue on the offense? No, they had to be diligent on defense as well. Defense is the foundation of everything, if the defense was not good, it would be futile no matter how many goals were scored. The morale gain from scoring a goal could not be compared to the morale lost from losing a goal.

They could not just focus on defense either, because if they expended all their resources on defense they could stop Real Madrid’s offense, but if they themselves were not able to score, the situation would only become more beneficial for Real Madrid as more time passed.

In reality, he thought of a way and although this approach was likely to be used by the outside world as a reason to attack him. But if he lost the game in the end, the pressure that he would have to bear would not be as much as simply losing the championships. Those voices criticizing him being “disgraceful because he lost the competition” would overwhelm him.

But he did not care what the outside world thought of him, because his reputation had been in tatters for a long time.

He turned and looked at his players.

“We would slightly adjust a little bit in the second half.” He opened his mouth and immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Their eyes were filled with a sense of trust and security that were sincere from their hearts. Yes, that was how much they trusted their coach. As long as he was still there, it meant it would not be a huge deal and that there was no issue. Tony would always have an idea to help them escape from a tricky situation. After so many years, they were long used to putting our sights on their captain whenever a dangerous situation occurred, to see what he was going to say.

“After the first time, I hope you guys confirmed this much: Real Madrid’s potential is a lot higher than our expectations.” He saw some uncertainty in the eyes of some players, hence he laughed, “Don’t try to deny it. After playing for 45 minutes, you guys still haven’t noticed the difference?”

Those uncertainties soon disappeared. It was really a situation which ruined their motivation and spirit, but they had no choice. Their own midfielder could only intercept and destroy, but the opposing midfield could reconstruct as easily, destruction with the same caliber as reconstructing would be one of a lower standard.

“It is now very obvious that compared to group offense, our midfielders excel more in intercepting and disrupting. This is our advantage and that is not available to Real Madrid. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.” Twain shook his head. “And I don’t think that’s a weakness. In fact, that’s the advantage we have and since it is a positive trait, we have to utilize it to the maximum.

“First of all, most of Real Madrid’s attack is on the ground, and they have more ground passes, midfielders often use the triangle formation to carry out their passes. Ribery is their core character and a lot of the ball goes through his feet. ”

Twain began to draw Real Madrid’s line-up on the tactical board. He repeated several strokes in the circle representing Ribery, making the circle extra thick and black and outstanding compared to the other circles.

“Next I want everyone to remember and do this on the court.” Twain poked the tactical board with his pen. “Whether it’s against Ribery or anyone else, and other than in the penalty area, I hope you guys are more rough with your actions. Don’t be afraid of fouling, kick their ankles.”

Some of the players whistled.

“Kick their ankles, knock into their thighs, pull their jerseys… Whatever you do, don’t let them take the ball easily.” Twain punched in the palm of his hand. “Completely disrupt the rhythm of Real Madrid’s game and don’t let them get comfortable with our play style.”

“This just destroys their defense, what about the offense, Chief?” Mitcher asked. He was a center-forward and he’s more concerned with scoring the ball in the game than defense.

“Don’t worry, Aaron. I’m getting there. Break their rhythm with fouls and rough moves, then when their midfield is in a quagmire, it’s our turn to take control of the situation. Let’s stick with our flank tactics. The wing-back, continue to advance. ”

In the end, the midfield was the key to everything. If the midfield lost control, it was useless no matter how sharp the side flanks were or how powerful the strikers we, just like a tank without fuel. It could only be a stationary cannon which would be beaten up by surrounding people. Once the midfielder was controlled, then it did not matter if it was defense or offense, it would be all simple. There would not be pressure on defense and there would be a lot of ways to attack.

“Nuri.” Twain called Sahin’s name and Sahin stood up to look at him. “Be a little more active In the second half but it’s not about being the core of the organization, it’s about attracting opposing defensive players … especially Diarra’s attention.”

Sahin knew what Twain was going to do, and he nodded. “Okay, coach.”

Twain then turned to Gago, “Fernando, in the second half you will organize our attack.”

Gago looked up at him. The jeers directed at him were limited in the first half since the Real Madrid fans did not target him in particular. But his performance in the first half was also bleak and Real Madrid fans thought he did not even deserve to be jeered at.

“Nuri would draw their defence from you and we’ll pass you the ball.You decide the way the team attacks. Is there any issues?”

Gago did not agree as readily as Sahin when he nodded, “Okay, coach.”

He was in a dilemma.

“This isn’t anything new, why are you hesitant now?” Twain asked.

“There’s no problem. I’m fine, coach,” Gago replied hurriedly.

Twain gave him another look and turned to Wood. “George, protect him.” For Wood, Twain’s order was much more simple and succinct.

Then Twain said to the team, “Try to be as simple as possible when attacking. I don’t hope to see my players still passing the ball when they’re still in front of an empty goalmouth. Don’t forget our Nottingham Forest’s tradition: substance over style. Passing the ball into the goal is not a great idea.”

“Then we’ll talk about something else.” Twain stared at everyone. “It’s a tough game because it’s the finals. None of you guys should even think about relying on luck. You won’t win if you don’t fight. ”

“We have 45 minutes left. I don’t know what adjustments Real Madrid will make,” Twain said, pointing to the group of players. “But one thing I’m sure of is that they’re not willing to settle for a draw here. This stadium is a regular venue for us in the finals, but for Real Madrid their home side means a lot of pressure for them. As long as we can cause them enough trouble, it will somehow stress them out. That’s our chance, be sure to seize it! Make them more impatient!”

When he saw Pepe’s eager expression, he glared at him. “Yeah, Pepe. About that missed the ball in the first half…”

Hearing what he said, Pepe’s eyebrows were immediately pulled down. His expressions immediately switched.

“You’ve got a yellow card now and in the second half you’d better be more decent. Things like kicking ankles, you’ll refrain from them in this half. I don’t care about your history with Ribery, I just want you to remember this is the final match!”

Pepe nodded hurriedly.

Twain clapped. “Guys, this is the last game. We’ve worked so hard this season and we’ve won two titles. There is no reason to give in in this last championship, what do you guys say?”

The team nodded in agreement, “Yes! ”

“I don’t want to mention that word, but it has to be in your mind countless times now. Each of you know what our target is, right? ”

“Yes!” The chorus of answers became even louder.

“Opportunity is in sight, what reason do we have to let it go? At Real Madrid’s home ground, snatch that championship tile back for me! ”

“Get it back!!”

Nottingham Forest’s image was inextricably tied to robbers. The media always advertised that they were Robin Hood’s heirs and their haters would angrily called them “a bunch of robbers”, using vile and despicable means to defend and snatch the championships which supposedly belonged to someone else. For instance, on the Argentinean forums, some people said, “Those who entered the finals are a bunch of thieves”.

Twain did not think there was anything wrong with these nicknames. Instead, he liked what people called them. Because when they are shouting that “Nottingham Forest are thieves and robbers”, their tone could not hide the fear they had. No matter how hard they tried to express their disdain, it was evident that their fear was bone-deep. The only ones who did not notice were them.

But it did not matter, Twain would soon make them realise why they once hated Nottingham Forest so much. There were only so many championship segments, but there were plenty of ambitious teams that wanted to win those titles. Yet when the Nottingham Forest appeared, the European football field which had seemed to be dead and monotonous, had started a bloody rainstorm. Nottingham Forest rose in the west as a rookie and soon swept England and continental Europe. “When they were in their prime, their name had basically been replacing champions. Today, after being dormant for a few years, under Twain’s leadership, Nottingham Forest have revived, and their aim was still going for the championships.”

Those people were afraid because Nottingham Forest wanted to get back what belonged to them: the championships.

※※※

When the team walked out into the field, Twain called Gago over. There were words he wanted to say to the Argentinian alone.

The other teammates had already ran out, and Twain accompanied Gago at the back, while walking and saying to him, “Fernando, I don’t care what ways you use. Now your task is simple: to find a way to get the football to the feet of our players. You’re in a more defensive position than Nuri, but a little ahead of George. So you don’t have to be afraid to lose the ball, the other side’s defensive attention at the beginning would be on Nuri.”

Gago nodded frequently, this time he could not add any additional comments. The coach spoke very fast and loud, and the scene was noisy. Even if he wanted to say anything, he would be overwhelmed by the coach’s speech.

“I want you to hide behind Nuri, try as many through balls as you can. Real Madrid’s defence is not the best and they lack enough protection behind them. Ramos and Marcelo, in particular, are two wing-backs who love assisting the offense so much that they will only attack more often rather than defending in the second half. You have to make use of the space between them and the full backs which is behind them.”

“Pass more balls towards that space?” Gago finally got the chance to interject his opinions.

Twain nodded. “Yeah, there are two of our wingers there, and the spot you’re passing to is the most awkward place in their defence. Ramos and Marcelo like assisting the offense and you can take advantage of their back…”

“Okay, coach. But you said that just before this.”

“In short, your passing direction would be towards the two wingers and the assisting strikers. Let Nuri take charge of the middle road. Don’t hold the ball for too long, being a defensive midfielder, you need to be more instinctive. If there is a chance, just pass forward, if not, just pass the ball back. Regardless, don’t let the ball stay under your foot for too long. ”

“I see, coach. ”

Hearing what Twain said, Gago felt a little more secure.

“Also, help me pass word to George and the others.” Twain suddenly laughed, “Stick close to Diarra and snatch the ball, upon the snatch, just start the counter attack!”

Gago was not a fool, he naturally understood why. Diarra loved to take the ball into the midfield and he also had the issue of hogging the ball. When Gago was still at Real Madrid, he had already seen this issue. Most of the time this habit did not bring any much trouble, and instead it might let others feel that his tactics were impressive, while being excellent on defense, he could also be capable of mid fielding.

But if he came across a team whose midfielder was able to intercept the ball, then he would be simply looking for a death wish. Intercepting the ball from the defensive midfielder, the opposing could immediately face the defensive line, or sometimes even facing the goalkeeper.

Gago nodded firmly. “I know what I’m supposed to do, coach.”

Twain patted him on the shoulder and pushed him out onto the field. “Then go!”

※※※

Evan Doughty repressed the idea of going to the locker room to find Twain. His brain was still clear. He knew that it was a big taboo to get into the dressing room at this time.

But he could not suppress his inner displeasure.

At the end of the half, Florentino shook his hand. His attitude was basically even more arrogant as compared to himself before the start of the match.

A few years ago, he would not be treated the same way when Nottingham Forest had been dominating in the European region. Even if his team was playing against Real Madrid, the Real Madrid coach back then, Calderon respected him.

Now that Real Madrid had a different chairman, they were back on their feet. His team, on the other hand, experienced a low point after Twain’s heart attack, with much less influence in European region than it used to be.

This was a very realistic world that only respected the strongest.

No strength meant no position.

Evan did not growl when he was angry, he would just find an empty corner and rage in silence.

Alan accompanied him. In fact, he was also worried. what if Tony Twain’s team lost to Real Madrid? He did not dare ask the question, as he knew Evan was still in a fit of anger. He was usually smiley and harmonious so if he were to actually get angry, it would turn out very nasty.

Just then, as soon as the second half began, Evan then said to Alan, “Come on, Alan. Let’s go back. ”

The two men left the rest area and walked to the podium outside.

By the time they came here, the players from both sides had already started to have players walking out onto the field. Florentino’s position was still empty though.

Until the start of the second half, his side’s position was always empty.

He did not know what Florentino was doing, and he did not want to care what the man was doing. But he still felt that he, himself was humiliated.

If this was a match against Barcelona in Derby, would Florentino dare to be late in front of La Porta? He probably would hate to miss even a minute of the game.

Nottingham Forest’s capabilities was a little weaker. To him, such a team would not be able to threaten Real Madrid so it would be alright and perfectly fine to miss a few minutes of such a competition. This match would definitely not be as important as what he was currently busy with.

As for what he was busy with, no one knew. Maybe he simply wanted to go to the bathroom, maybe he was talking to someone, maybe he forgot the time while he was resting.

In short, when Nottingham Forest went on the pitch against Real Madrid and launched a counter-attack, the space beside Evan Doughty was still very empty.

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )

Chapter 875 - A Wonderful Goal

The camera was turned to the rostrum of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. It was just a routine act. However, when they found that Florentino was not in his position, the camera stopped moving. The commentator also started to talk about it with a tone of ridicule: “Florentino is late. He is late in the second half of such an important match! No matter what the reason is, it will definitely make Evan Doughty have some ideas…”

Then, the camera gave Evan a close-up shot. He was looking at the pitch with a blank look. Displeasure couldn’t be seen in his face. However, people knew that what the commentator had said was right when they saw Evan’s straight face.

***

Twain was standing on the sideline at this moment. The tactical adjustments he had made at halftime had worked.

The players of Real Madrid were not used to the ferocious tackle of Nottingham Forest. Within the first three minutes of the second half, Forest had two fouls for ankle-kicking.

The two victims were Ribéry and Ronaldo. In this way, Real Madrid’s offense was contained. When the players of Real Madrid were thinking about the situation on the pitch and possible countermeasures, the hidden wolves of Nottingham Forest had launched their attack.

At halftime, Míchel had asked Diarra to take on more work in offense because Ribéry had been marked by Forest. If Ribéry was snuffed out, Diarra should run the offensive.

Diarra had always said that he was a great offensive and defensive player. It was a pity that most of the time he had to act as a defensive midfielder. In this match, he found plenty of opportunities to satisfy his craving in organizing the offense. And he decided to put on a good show this time.

In front of Wood’s defensive block, Ribéry hesitated a bit and passed the ball to Diarra behind him.

After receiving the ball, Diarra turned around and shook off Gago, who was trying to stop him. Then, he continued to run forward with the ball.

This time George Wood left Ribéry and started to rush towards Diarra.

Seeing that, Diarra didn’t pass the pall immediately. It seemed that he was still trying to control the ball, so that he could find a better chance to pass it.

When Wood rushed towards Diarra, it was the best time for Diarra to pass the ball. It was a pity that Diarra didn’t do that. Twain, who was standing on the sideline, smiled when he saw this scene. He grinned from ear to ear and almost laughed out loud!

When Diarra saw Wood, who was running towards him at a high speed, he used his old tricks to turn around after a sudden stop. He liked this trick very much, and always used it on the pitch. As a defensive midfielder, he was strong enough to keep his opponent away from the ball. Then, he would fool his opponent by adjusting his body’s center of gravity. In this way, he could abruptly turn around in the opposite direction and shake off his opponent. So, the key point of this dribbling was to keep the opponent behind his back. If he could do that, his trick would be half done—a defensive player was always good at boxing out his opponent on the pitch…

Unfortunately, he was facing George Wood this time.

Before Diarra had enough time to turn around, Wood had rushed up and appeared in front of him. Then, Wood bumped Diarra aside, and Diarra lost control of the ball immediately. Now, both of them had the opportunity to touch the ball. If Diarra tried to box out Wood forcibly, he would have a blocking foul…

Diarra tried to get his position back by pushing back his opponent with his body. However, he didn’t expect to be boxed out by Wood, unable to move a step.

At last, George Wood managed to take the ball away from Diarra. Then, he passed the ball to Gago.

The fans of Forest on the grandstand clapped their hands for Wood’s successful defense. Meanwhile, Twain was also applauding on the sideline. He believed his team would score a goal soon if Real Madrid continued to play like this without making any tactical adjustments.

Gago, whose intention to pass the ball forward was quite obvious, was intercepted by Ramos.

Real Madrid launched an offensive again.

As expected, the ball was passed to Diarra again, as well.

And again, Diarra didn’t pass the ball to his teammates immediately.

Seeing that, Twain continued to smile coldly.

Now, Wood was standing in front of Diarra calmly once again.

This time Diarra didn’t turn around. He planned to move the ball to one side and dribble past Wood by outrunning him.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the reaction speed of Wood’s body…

When he had just moved the ball out, Wood’s left leg had bounced out like a compressed spring. The next moment, Wood touched the ball first!

Diarra, who couldn’t stop his body, bumped into Wood. Bentley, who was beside them, got the ball.

Now, Twain smiled even more.

Diarra realized that Bentley had gotten the ball. At this moment, he was being stopped by George Wood. So, he was terribly frightened.

He was not a fool, because he knew what would happen when a defensive midfielder lost possession of the ball in the midfield…

He left Wood and rushed towards Bentley immediately. Like a cheetah, he was so agile that he caught up with Bentley, who was 10 meters away from him, within two steps.

It was a pity that his opponent didn’t like shaking off one defender after another. When Bentley saw Diarra rushing towards him, he passed the ball to Wood.

Diarra turned around and was about to intercept Wood.

Wood immediately passed the ball to Gago, who was in the front field.

Real Madrid’s offense had just been stopped. Ribery and Diarra were still in the half court of Forest at this moment. Now, only 3 defenders of Real Madrid were still at the rear…Ramos had run across the halfway line because he planned to set up the offense.

When ?ahin saw that the ball was under the control of Gago, he prepared to receive the ball immediately. He rapidly ran diagonally in the front court and gave Gago a sign, so that Gago could pass the ball to him.

Garay knew that Forest’s offensive midfielder was the playmaker of the team. So, Garay started to run after ?ahin and tried to catch up with him. Luis was marking Mitchell, who was over two meters tall. For a moment, nobody was trying to stop Gago.

Gago found an obvious passing lane. Ramos had run forward to assist the offense. Behind him, there was a big gap which would disappear soon. If Gago failed to take this opportunity, he would have to wait for the next time…

Matías Fernández also saw that gap. So, he shook off Ramos and started to run forward rapidly.

Ramos also noticed that something was wrong. He turned around and started to chase Fernández. Ramos was confident that he could stop Fernández because he was not a “pacey” player.

However, when he fixed his eyes on the Chilean, he didn’t know that someone was sprinting behind the two of them like a shadow…

Suddenly, Fernández cut inside, and Ramos did the same by following him.

Just at this time, Gago passed the ball out.

A slightly curved ground ball went past Fernández. He and Ramos, who was running behind him, failed to touch the ball.

Was it a bad pass?

No!

Ramos saw a figure rush up from one side of his body and receive the ball. Then, the figure changed his direction. In this way, the figure managed to make a break in front of Ramos.

“That’s Gareth Bale! What a fantastic break!” the commentator shouted excitedly. The second half had just started, less than five minutes ago. Nottingham Forest got a good opportunity again.

“Gago’s pass broke Real Madrid’s defense! It’s wonderful!”

After receiving the ball, Bale cut inside and dashed towards the penalty area. The defenders of Real Madrid got flustered. Garay left ?ahin and rushed towards the Wales fullback.

Bale took this opportunity to pass the ball to ?ahin, who was free from defenders.

However, the pass was misplaced. Although ?ahin received the ball, he had lost the chance to shoot immediately. Even worse, in order to receive this ball, which was poorly passed, he had to put his back to the goalmouth…

Diarra was running back, and was about to intercept ?ahin, who was still outside the penalty area. So, it was okay to foul him. ?ahin’s gesture reminded Diarra of Forest’s goal in the first half. If he passed the ball back to George Wood…

He couldn’t even think about it!

Diarra tried his best to catch up with ?ahin. Now, he had overwhelmed his opponent on the momentum.

However, ?ahin didn’t want to pass the ball to Wood or Gago. Also, he didn’t turn around to shoot. He just glanced over his shoulder as he kicked the ball out with his foot.

It was a back heel two-versus-one pass!

After passing the ball to ?ahin, Bale didn’t stop, but continued to rush forward due to inertia. If ?ahin decided to make a two-versus-one pass, he would pass the ball back to Bale. Otherwise, Bale could still attract the attention of Real Madrid’s defenders by rushing forward…

When he was running side by side with Luis, he looked sideways and saw the silver-white ball rolling towards him.

At this time, the best choice would be to shoot with his right foot. But Bale was a left-footed player. So, he leaned sideways to let the ball past him. Then, he swung his left leg and gave the ball…a volley shot directly!

The ball drew a small curve and flew rapidly towards the near corner of the goalmouth.

Forest’s counterattack was so fast that the defenders of Real Madrid had no time to react. When Bale and ?ahin had finished the two-versus-one pass, nobody was marking Bale, who was facing the goalkeeper of Real Madrid directly…

Casillas did his best to make the save. But he was still a half-step slow. The ball flew into the goalmouth through the gap between his fingertips and the goalpost!

The ball sighed as it collided with the goal net. There was also a sigh in Casillas’s heart…As the No. 1 goalkeeper in the world, he didn’t expect he could lose two balls in one match!

“Oh-oh-oh!” The English commentator started to yell crazily. What did he see? “This is the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium! Nottingham Forest took the lead twice against Real Madrid!”

“2:1! Nottingham Forest took the lead again!”

“Casillas could do nothing to stop that! In front of Nottingham Forest’s well-planned offense, one man’s effort was really…insignificant!”

Tony Twain jumped up as he saw the goal on the sideline. Then, he started to yell together with the fans as he waved his arms crazily. It was just like Luciano Pavarotti singing “Nobody Shall Sleep Tonight” in front of tens of thousands of audiences members! “Vanish, Night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!”

***

Florentino’s lateness was not caused by unexpected events. Just now, he had had a few simple conversations with Spain’s Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was commending Real Madrid’s good performance tonight as he held Florentino’s hand. Therefore, it was impossible for Florentino to walk away and leave the Prime Minister out there, because he didn’t put on airs in front of others deliberately.

He talked politely with the Prime Minister about some issues with Real Madrid. The No. 2 leader of the Spanish government, who was second only to the King, was a devoted fan of Real Madrid. He even had a membership card for Real Madrid. The Prime Minister joked that he had elected Florentino as the President of the club. Hearing that, Florentino could do nothing but smile obsequiously.

The former Prime Minister of Spain, who had been a 100-percent fan of FC Barcelona, disliked Real Madrid. During his term of office, Barcelona had hit its peak. However, Real Madrid had had some shaky moments during that period.

Now, they had a new Prime Minister. and good luck had also started to favor Real Madrid. They had managed to enter the Champions League final, and were quite likely to pick up the club’s 10th championship trophy club. It was really a joyous time!

The Prime Minister was nosy enough to ask Florentino about Real Madrid’s possible star player recruitment plan for that summer. Who would be able to catch the eyes of the new Galácticos this time?

In this way, the two of them talked…for five minutes.

When the Prime Minister realized that he second half had started, he ended the conversation apologetically. Then, the two of them walked towards the corridor of the grandstand side by side.

While Florentino was still in the corridor, he heard a cheer coming from one side of the grandstand, which was not very loud. Then, a cheer which was much louder came in.

His heart hitched abruptly—did this mean that Real Madrid had taken the lead?

At this moment, he tried his best to control his pace to outspeed the Spanish Prime Minister. However, the Prime Minister, who seemed to be more anxious, walked up to the grandstand in quick steps.

Then, he was surprised by what he saw. On the spacious pitch, the players in red were gathering and cheering in front of Real Madrid’s goalmouth!

Apparently, a goal had just been scored. And the scoring side was definitely not Real Madrid…

The Prime Minister just stood there, frozen in his stance. At this time, Florentino Pérez walked out. Instead of checking what was happening on the pitch, he tossed his eyes to the big screen on the other side of the grandstand. The latest score of the 2 teams could be found there.

It was 1:2.

The home team was at the front and the away team was at the back…

The team which was taking the lead was not Real Madrid!

A look of surprise came over Florentino’s usually smiling face for the first time. This might have been his only change of expression that day. He turned to the pitch and saw that the players of Nottingham Forest, dressed in red, were celebrating the goal. The players of Real Madrid were rooted to the spot in despair.

“What…happened just now?”

***

Evan Doughty got a feeling of exaltation at this moment. Florentino, who was always smiling ritually, was not sitting beside him now. So Evan wouldn’t need to congratulate him with a toothy smile if Real Madrid could level the score again.

At this time, he stood up from his chair and cheered for his team as he waved his arms without restraint. He kept shouting in English, “Well done! Well done! Pull them down! Pull them down!”

Allan Adams, who was sitting beside Evan, was surprised by the crazy reaction of his old friend.

Luckily, the Spanish around them didn’t understand Evan’s American English. Also, Florentino was not here…otherwise, they would have been totally embarrassed at this moment.

Evan Doughty, who had just finished his cheering, turned around and said to Allan in surprise, “I didn’t expect you didn’t cheer for this f*cking wonderful goal!”

“Eh, I cheered for it just now, and have just sat down…” Allan was even more shocked when he heard Evan’s dirty word.

“It is really a pity!” Evan glanced at the empty seat beside him. “I really want to know what that old guy’s expression is like now! Tell me, can he still keep his iconic smile now, Allan?”

Allan turned around to have a look. Then, he said as he looked at his old friend with a smile, “I don’t know. But if you are interested in that, you can check it for yourself! He is just over there!”

After being reminded by Allan, Evan Doughty turned around and easily found Florentino, who was in a daze. He also saw Florentino’s puzzled expression.

Then, Evan sat down as he smiled delightedly. Meanwhile, he said as he smoothed the collar of his suit, “I am ready to shake hands with that guy. Then, I will tell him with a smile that he has just missed the best goal of the match!” When Evan said that, his eyes were glowing in his face.

***

“In the Champions League final of the ’13-’14 season, Gareth Bale of Nottingham Forest scored a goal! Now, Forest is taking a 2-1 lead against Real Madrid! For Tony Twain, this is definitely a wonderful night!”

“I don’t agree with you, Jerry! The second half just started five minutes ago. Real Madrid still has 40 minutes. I believe they will be 200% powerful in their familiar home stadium. So, it is still too early to say that Nottingham Forest has dominated the match…”

“OK! Then, let’s enjoy the second half of this exciting match—which has just begun!”

Chapter 876 - A Dramatic First Act

To Madrid, this little slip-up was not a nail in the coffin. With 40 minutes left to the match, they were confident that they could still come back.

Coach Michels did, however, note a potential problem: With Diarra spending so much time dribbling in center field, the safety of their goal seemed to be in jeopardy.

So, as Nottingham F.C. celebrated their goal, he called Diarra over for a word.

“Listen up, I think you’ve been holding on to the ball too much, and for far too long. Your puppy-guarding might have cost us that goal.” He stared solemnly at Diarra as he spoke.

The player realised his error and replied. “I understand, coach. So you want me to hold on to the ball less?”

Michels shook his head, replying “No, it’s not like that. If you hold on to the ball less, how’ll you move it around the field for us? No, what I want is for you not to keep it under your feet for so long.” And then he demonstrated what he meant, and as he did so, he was suddenly reminded of a rival player, George Wood. But when he opened his mouth again to speak, this name didn’t come out.

“All I mean to say is that the defense they’ve set up in the center field is pretty tight. If you cut down on the time you’re keeping the ball underfoot, it’s more likely you’ll manage to break their defense, and less likely you’ll get intercepted.

Diarra listened to this and nodded. “Alright, I got it, coach.”

Michels then continued, deciding that now he had voiced his criticism, it was time for some reassurance. “Listen, don’t take that goal to heart. We’ve still got forty minutes, and that’s plenty of time to make a comeback. If you see Gago breaking into the others’ formation, I want you to pay attention. Make sure you work with him.

Once Diarra had gotten the idea, he ran back out onto the pitch.

Then, standing at his post beside the field, Michels began clapping heartily, in support of his team. He was clapping in the hopes that they would stir themselves back into motion; that they would remember their strength and their vigor. He wanted for them to regain hope; to not be trodden down by their lost goal.

※※※

Florentino finally snapped to his senses and ran back to his position. As he went Evan Doughty, the big-shot from Spain, approached him wearing a smile. Florentino was tempted not to shake the man’s hand and instead say something provocative — but in the end, reason prevailed, and he decided to bury the hatchet, at least for the time being.

He passed Doughty by, wearing a steady expression on his face. It seemed as though he was simply still focused on figuring out how he had lost the ball, and hadn’t noticed Doughty whatsoever.

The two of them sat simultaneously, and focused their attention on the game as it continued on.

※※※

Once again, Nottingham F.C. took dominance over the pitch. They surrounded Real Madrid’s goal and targeted it with an unrelenting blitz of shots, leaving the opposing team little time to breathe. Unfortunately for them, Casillas was on top of things, and after successfully blocking three separate goals, he came out victorious.

However, he had some things to say about the holes in his team’s defense. Picking himself up off the ground, he called them out:

“Don’t let them get shots in so easily! I don’t care if they’re right up close or far away!”

“Watch out for Gago’s back plug!”

“Remember: the wings and the ribs!”

And finally, under his guidance, Madrid’s defense snapped back into action.

Nottingham Forest tried multiple times to break Madrid once again, but each time they were unsuccessful. Eventually, they began to draw back in order to regain their strength.

Then, the game fell into a stalemate. Both sides attempted to break through the other’s defenses, but were unable. So, the game was very much trapped in the midfield.

Diarra stayed true to his word and abandoned his preferred play-style. Instead of holding on to the ball, he got in the habit of holding it for no more than a second before passing it off again. This time, Nottingham wasn’t prepared, and it showed. Gago dove for the ball, but ended up kicking thin air. Diarra’s strategy also had the effect of exhausting Nottingham’s defense, keeping them ever on their toes with his rapid, unpredictable passes.

Dunn too noticed this sudden change in tactics, and he glanced over at Michel.

The Real Madrid coach was no ordinary man. He has seen the problem and not only had he solved it, but he had also managed to turn things to his advantage… Now, Dunn needed to find someway to open Madrid’s defenses again.

His only option was to temporarily take Gago off of Diarra’s back, thus solidifying Nottingham’s retreat and furthering the stalemate.

As long as Diarra kept on immediately passing, the other team would not bother him. But as soon as he held on to the ball for even a second too long, Gago would be on him like a hawk.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, Ribéry stayed glued to George Wood. Ronaldo and Higuain lay idly to the sides on their wing positions. Madrid’s new “shoot from the ankle” tactics were garnering plenty of boos and hisses from the audience. Their opponents, meanwhile, were given three yellow cards, but despite this, things didn’t look too bad. Madrid had obviously still not fully adapted to their new strategy. Huntelaar and Benzema had resorted to taking the middle field, where their threat on the enemy goal was too little.

※※※

Time went on slowly, second-to-second and minute-to-minute. Soon enough they had reached the final 30 minutes of the second half, and neither team had managed to break the other’s defenses.

Nottingham, on their part, certainly were not worried. Sure, winning with a one-goal lead was not an absolute guarantee, but given the fact that they were playing in the finals, it seemed relatively likely. Dunn’s team decided upon a strategy of consistently diffusing Madrid’s attacks, whilst waiting for opportunities to fire back.

Real Madrid steadily began to lose their patience. They were playing a home match and were still down one point, while only fifteen minutes remained on the clock. Losing this match would mean failing to win a cup in their own Bernabéu Stadium.

In other words, it was something that they could absolutely not let happen.

Michel went to work, making some bold changes that not even Dunn could have predicted. Instead of substituting in any players, he opted to move around the players he already had out on field. Marcelo was sent midfield, Higuain was sent to the front, Ronaldo was returned to his much preferred right side, and Ramos was sent backfield to be a rear guard.

And thus Madrid’s formation changed from a 442 to a decidedly more aggressive 343.

When Dunn saw this he wore at first a look of astonishment, which then turned into a smile, and he began to chuckle to himself. Surely these kind of all-in offense tactics were not suitable to Real Madrid and Michel Gonzales! It seemed hasty; not a terribly well-planned move.

Dunn thought a moment, then decided on a strategy: They would not pursue any immediate goals and would instead play heavy defense, tiring out Madrid’s players. Then, at the last moment, they would bear down and score one final, fatal goal.

He whistled to his players and began to convey this with hand signals.

The changes on the pitch were plain to see: all of a sudden, Madrid’s offense had strengthened considerably, and Nottingham’s counter-offence had all but ceased. Madrid’s fans, who had earlier been silent and disappointed, has been reinvigorated and had returned to cheering and chanting their team on. They were elated again, and they yearned for victory.

One reason that football is such a wonderful game is that no matter how carefully the coaches on either side arrange their teams, and no matter how methodically they plan their strategies, there is always a tendency for the unexpected to prevail, and for the game to rocket off into some unforeseen direction.

Take, for example, the plan set forth by Michel Gonzales. He set his team forth on an all-or-nothing offensive strategy, and for a time, it did work. However, Nottingham F.C. had a decade of hard tempered will on their side. An aggressive front line did nothing to scare or intimidate them. They kept their heads.

Five more minutes passed, and some intermittent hissing could once again be heard from the audience. Hearing this, Dunn started to laugh once more. So, Madrid’s fans are ready to start crying? Then let’s put the pressure back on their team!

※※※

Ribéry lay on the ground again, rolling around in pain from taking a vicious kick. The offending player from Nottingham, Rafinha, was given a yellow card; his team’s fifth accrued throughout the match. Madrid, on the other hand, had a squeaky-clean slate: no cards the entire match.

Pepe came over to investigate, peering at the man as he lay there on the ground — he was sure that the Frenchman must be faking!

But he stayed by his teammate Woodgate’s side. It was a fortunate thing that Woodgate had such a quick grasp. Otherwise, if Pepe had been allowed to descend aggressively on the downed player, what sort of trouble would he have attracted? Surely Madrid would have played up the offense enough to earn Pepe his second yellow card, thus taking him out of the match.

Pepe’s energy had been undeniable throughout the match, so naturally, all eyes were on him.

“Bastard! You’re faking!” Pepe yelled, still at Woodgate’s side.

Ribéry pulled himself up off the ground, but did not respond. Instead he headed off, with a slight limp still visible in his step. It was unclear if the limp was genuine or not.

But this was just a brief episode. In a final match, when tension is high and emotions run blurry and intense, such fights are expected, and quickly forgotten. The match continued on.

Ribéry took his free kick on Nottingham, and he gave their keeper, Akinfeev, quite a hard time indeed. Ronaldo descended, sending out an inner pass that darted straight towards the goal box. He thought, if another player could just come up from midfield at just the right time… we could have a goal in no time.

But no such player came, and soon both teams flocked in on the ball all at once, generating a tangle of scrambling players. Akinfeev darted in and kicked the ball, hard.

The ball flew up and away from the goal, but all was not over yet. Right as the ball was careening away, a Madrid player was seen on the ground where the crowd of players had formed. From the stands, bellows were heard. “Penalty kick! Penalty kick! Penalty kick!”

The referee said nothing, but the player who had fallen, Christiano Ronaldo, attracted a furious glare from his opponent, Bell. The man came over and got very close to Ronaldo, his eyes blazing and his nostrils flaring as he sputtered angry abuse at the downed player.

Akinfeev and two Madrid players quickly dashed in and separated the two.

“That’s a penalty kick!” Benzema yelled at the referee while shoving Bell away.

“Why don’t you go kick your mother?” Someone yelled back. It was Rafinha, still seething after taking a yellow card.

Seeing the building conflict, the remaining clear-headed players on each team rushed in to deescalate.

Because there was no direct physical violence between many of the players, the referee decided not to give out any cards. Instead, he called Rafinha, Benzema, Ronaldo, and Bell aside, and he gave them all verbal warnings. He tried to get them to shake hands and forget about their conflict, but the four men turned their backs and sauntered away, paying him no further attention.

He shook his head in disappointment. This game, it turned out, would be no different from all the others: both sides were reflexively hostile, and they would be til the end. He just hoped no one would overstep their bounds… if that was even possible.

The referee stood still awhile in the same place, his expression reading equal parts disappointed and angry. But, he knew his best option was to turn the other cheek, and let the game go on. The players were set in their hostile ways, and there was little more he could do about it but to try and bear through the rest of the match.

Dunn watched this from the sidelines, wearing a smile. Go ahead and keep whistling, he thought, and stretch the final ten minutes out with more injury time!

Michel saw Dunn’s expression and knew what he was thinking. He jogged up to the side of the field, not showing the usual elegance of a big-shot coach, and he yelled out to his team, “Come on, get back in there! Let’s get this going! We’re still behind!”

His shouts prompted Real Madrid to drop their anger with the referee, and they snapped back into the mindset of playing the game.

Seeing this, Dunn blew his whistle. Sure enough, he thought, he isn’t a complete dunce. Maybe he isn’t so stupid after all.

※※※

The match continued again, and the energy from the stands was not lessened at all. Real Madrid’s fans and players alike all felt that the referee had been unfair, and the anger of both teams was quite apparent as time went on. Nottingham Forest had taken to shooting from the heel for nearly 45 minutes, and Madrid’s fans were getting noticeably angry.

Both teams’ plays started to get bigger and more dramatic, and pushes for goals became much more frequent.

Ultimately, the referee had no choice but to give Madrid a yellow card, which soothed tensions on the pitch a little. Since this was the team’s first yellow card in the match, Dunn stood up and clapped for them. The mocking nature of this gesture was quite clear, though, and he was chided by a fourth official, who called out, “hey, watch it!” The official came over and said to him “you need to mind the way you conduct yourself, Tony Dunn.”

The game was at 87 minutes and the score was 2 to 1, with Nottingham Forest F.C. in the lead.

Nottingham’s benched players all stood at the side of the pitch, buzzing excitedly. They were eagerly awaiting the moment when they would at last be awarded their Treble, for which they had waited so long.

Even Dunn’s co-coaches were up, and they stood with the players, just as excited.

Dunn was excited too, but he had to hide it. If his team were to see him looking happy already, they would get smug, and then they would get sloppy. Even if there were only five minutes left, plus a few more for injury time; he knew that they could still be in serious danger if they didn’t have their wits about them.

At this point, he knew that it would be no good to keep striving for more goals. Instead, it would be best to play defensively, thus keeping their lead for the remaining time. At the 80 minute mark, he had traded out Sahin for Kompany, who joined up to make a three-point defensive line. The coach conveyed this new strategy to the rest of the team.

Gago’s strategy was to change as well. Instead of being there to assist, he was told to work with Wood in the midfield, such that they could pull apart Madrid’s offense.

The indignant murmuring of the crowd grew and grew, and increasingly it became hard to tell whether they were angry at Nottingham, Madrid, or the referee.

Up on the stand, the two men there were unable to hide their feelings. Florentino wore a grave expression, and Evan Doughty had an unmistakable grin. Undoubtedly, he was smiling because at long last, it seemed as though the great Real Madrid would be forced to bow its head.

He cheered internally for Tony Dunn, and tried not to look too visibly arrogant… wow, he thought, this is hard.

※※※

Michel stood to his side, almost appearing as though he no longer had a plan. In the last 10 minutes, he had switched out two players: Diarra had been replaced by De la Red, and then shortly after, Vallejo had replaced David Luiz.

Seeing these two substitutions, Dunn couldn’t help but grin. He figured Michel must be crazy after all.

We’re right at the final stretch, he thought, you can’t kill me now! Don’t you see that it’s I who shall kill you?

A man who is barefoot doesn’t fret wearing shoes, but the opposite is not always true. Now, it appeared that the great and dignified team Real Madrid, practically royalty, would have no choice but to get its feet in the mud.

Seeing that Real Madrid was beginning to play more aggressively, and with more imposing strength, Dunn began to doubt his team’s safety. Their only option, he told himself, was to keep on retreating. The game was getting ugly, and he needed to maintain his team’s safety.

All they needed to do was hold out for a few more minutes… a few more minutes…

Dunn repeated those words to himself over and over in his head, not realising that he had now clenched both of his fists. Sweat dripped down his brow.

※※※

Real Madrid’s sudden shock-and-awe, almost lunatic tactics succeeded in finally frightening some of Nottingham Forest’s players. Three forwards, five midfielders, and two defenders had managed to encircle the team onto one half of the pitch.

Real Madrid had abandoned shooting from the ankle, and they held their position on Nottingham’s half of the pitch with strength and persistence. They were no longer worried about how Nottingham would play the rest of the game — as long as the ball kept coming to them, they kept launching attacks. They were relentless.

As this transpired, Nottingham F.C. shrunk back into their shell, like a threatened turtle

On the stand, Evan Doughty’s smile had begun to fade. Next to him, Florentino watched the match as though he was just a fan. His gaze darted around nervously, paying no attention to the people around him as their expressions began to change.

The fourth official stood to the side, holding up his electronic board. He thought to himself, it looks like I’m going to have to call injury time soon.

Dunn shot glances at the fourth official, wishing he would stop standing around, looking cute. The sooner he got onto the pitch and called injury time, the sooner they could end the match. He knew they couldn’t be that far off from the 90 minute mark.

Call it, he thought, just call injury time! We’ve been here for 90 minutes, haven’t we? Don’t tell me there’s still more time left on the clock!

Inside, he cheered himself and his team on, deciding it would do no good to keep obsessing over how much time was left. Then, he looked over and saw that unexpectledly, Ribéry had finally broken past Wood in a sudden attack!

Wood’s face wore an expression of utter shock. Not long before, Ribéry had been limping, his foot apparently injured. It was for this reason that Wood had slacked a bit when defending against the player — he didn’t expect the guy would suddenly spring back into action!

In that period of time, Ribéry had already closed the distance to the penalty box.

Pepe immediately rushed in, and yelled “They’re in! Come on, they’re in! Wake up, you old geezers!”

But he was moving just a little too slow, and Ribéry was already getting too close, almost ready to line up a shot. Pepe reached out and lightly pushed the player’s shoulder with his hand…

Ribéry, who had just a moment earlier been darting like a rabbit, all of a sudden came crashing down like a bomb.

He crashed to the ground and sprawled out on all four limbs.

Everyone was totally shocked by this sudden development.

Tony Dunn was standing now.

“Penalty Kick! Penalty kick! Penalty kick!” Now it was not just the crowd who was yelling, but the commentator had joined in as well, sounding outraged with what he had just seen.

Everyone turned their gaze to see the referee, who was running out onto the pitch, gesturing with his hands… for a penalty kick.

Up on the stand, Evan Doughty’s expression had shifted to something akin to one who has just eaten a plate of live caterpillars. How exciting, he thought, how very exciting it is, this match… (To be continued! Head to www.qidian.com to read more, support the author, and to show your support for real writing.)

Chapter 877 - Conflict

When Ribéry fell in the Nottingham Forest’s penalty area, Evan Doughty, who was seated in the Executive Box, had a very interesting expression on his face as he looked like he ate a plate of caterpillars. But the exciting event was happening on the pitch and not off it.

Pepe thought that he pushed Ribéry very softly and it would interrupt Ribéry’s action for a little, thus preventing him from having an opportunity to take a volley. However, he did not expect Ribéry to take advantage of it and fall inside the Forest penalty area. That was a penalty kick!

Pepe suddenly flared up while watching Ribéry lying on the ground, a surge of fire rushed into his head and his eyes turned red immediately.

First, he gave a direct kick to Ribéry’s leg with so much force that he lost his balance too and fell next to Ribéry.

The matter was not over yet. He then pressed onto Ribéry’s head and roared into his ears while gritting his teeth, “You’re a lying, shameless scoundrel!! Bastard! You…son of a b*tch!”

He wanted to continued screaming but he realized that Ribéry’s face was crushed so much that its shape had changed under his full force.

This scene was really terrifying for anyone witnessing it.

Pepe was not aware of it at all. He was still using force and he was still screaming. Even after he got up, he was still trying to aim a kick towards Ribéry.

“Pepe!” Bale tried his best to stop Pepe while Woodgate stood in front of Pepe, preventing him from lunging at Ribéry.

Ribéry was still on the ground.

The Real Madrid players had already rushed over to defend Ribéry. Higuaín went forward to argue with Pepe, but Pepe launched a punch towards Higuaín’s face across Woodgate!

Pepe was totally different from the usual impression of a benign and uncontentious person that he gave people. He was as furious as a thunderstorm and everyone standing ahead of him had to be prepared to receive his wrath.

“Damn it, he’s trying to punch people!” Benzema rushed over to try and exact vengeance on Pepe. He watched Higuaín squat down clutching his face and it looked like it was not a light punch.

He was cordoned off by the Forest players before he could go over.

The players from both sides clustered together in that small area, pushing and shoving each other while spouting vulgarities. For a moment, it was a totally chaotic situation.

Even though Bale and Woodgate were holding on to Pepe and trying to separate him, Pepe still kept trying to escape their hold to go towards Ribéry. At the same time, he kept shouting, “You liar! Don’t dive if you have the guts! Damn traitor! Diving for a penalty, useless fellow! Son of a b*tch!”

“Enough, enough!” Bale was holding on to Pepe from behind and he felt that it was very exhausting. Pepe was like a raging bull that he was trying to stop, “Stop scolding, Pepe! You’re in big trouble! You’re about to be sent off!”

“So what!” Pepe was in so much rage that he did not care if he would be sent off. All he wanted to do then was to teach that diving traitor a lesson. He gave his shoulders a powerful shrug, managed to escape the hold of Bale and Woodgate, and it looked like he was going to continue rushing forward.

Just then, George Wood grabbed him by the throat with one hand and stopped his cursing before they left his throat. Nobody saw where Wood came from, and nobody saw him make his move.

He looked at the stunned Pepe with a cold look, “Calm down.”

Veins popped out on Pepe’s neck as he competed with Wood in strength. Too bad he was unable to defeat his captain who was way stronger than him, and he could only grit his teeth and stare straight at Wood.

Wood exerted some force and pushed Pepe back, “Get out of here!”

“Damn…it!” Pepe gave a low growl.

“This isn’t a boxing ring,” Wood stared at Pepe and lunged at him after saying that, holding him tightly as he dragged him off the pitch.

“Let me go, let me teach that weak traitor a lesson!”

Pepe was still struggling, but it was to no avail. He could not beat Wood and he was dragged to the sideline eventually.

Just when Pepe was still struggling, the referee wriggled out from within the group of impulsive players and ran towards Pepe before showing him a direct red card!

The Real Madrid fans directed their jeers toward Pepe while the Nottingham Forest players booed the diving Ribéry. At that moment, there were only jeers ringing out from the stands.

After Wood dragged Pepe to the sideline, he pushed him out with one hand. Pepe did not return to the pitch this time. He merely shouted at the linesman assisting the referee who flagged for a penalty, “Bastard referee, my advice to you is to get a pair of glasses! No, you’d better bring your brain along!”

The assistant referee did not take it lying down as he returned fire, “You’re a violent person and you have no rights to be telling me how to do my job.”

Pepe did not pay any attention to him as he walked towards the tunnel, spewing curses such as “damn you”, “damn him” and he was still scolding them as he walked in front of Twain. Twain gave him a slap on the back of his head.

“What are you doing?” Twain stared at the startled Pepe angrily, “Look what you’ve done! We’ve given away a penalty kick and we’re also one man down!”

Pepe tried to defend himself, “I didn’t commit a foul, that was a dive…”

“Even if it was a dive, can’t you f*cking calm down? Bastard!” Twain pulled Pepe towards the tunnel, “Think about it carefully in the changing room!”

Pepe refused to accept it and he pointed towards the pitch and shouted furiously, “Even if I’m calm, as calm as the damn ice mountain! The referee will also give me a yellow card. Boss, I already have one!”

Twain was shocked by Pepe’s sudden explosion. He looked at Pepe and opened his mouth without saying anything.

“I hate that bastard Ribéry! I hate him! But I did not just hate him just now! I hated him to the core! He used an unscrupulous dive to get a penalty kick and get me sent off! This was the plan of that damn bastard! I want him to pay for it! I won’t accept this!”

Pepe shouted with his fists clenched.

“But the price that you made us pay now…” Twain opened his arms and his tone was not as agitated as it was earlier.

Within the players’ tunnel where nobody could see them, Pepe finally calmed down amidst the jeers from outside. He went silent for awhile before losing all his strength as his shoulders relaxed.

“Sorry. Sorry, boss…” He muttered in a low voice, as if he was a child who recognized his mistake and was begging his father for forgiveness.

Twain moved to touch his bald head, “Franck is already a Real Madrid player, it’s natural for him to think from Real Madrid’s point of view. The two of you are just enemies in this match, not sworn enemies for life. If you wanted to make him pay, you should work hard to stay in the match and defeat him and his team, lift the trophy in front of his eyes,” Twain sighed as he said that, “But it’s useless saying anything now, you’re already sent off. Go back to the changing room…”

He did not expect Pepe to shake his head and said with conviction, “No, boss. I’ll stay here, I want to watch our team defeat Real Madrid.”

Twain shrugged his shoulders, “It’s up to you.”

Then he turned and walked out of the tunnel and back to the manager’s seat.

The conflict on the pitch had already ended at that moment. After George Wood pushed Pepe out of the pitch, the people involved in the altercations had already dispersed. The referee gave Mitchell and Benzema who both threw punches in the conflict a yellow card each, putting the blame equally on both parties. However, this did not reduce the tension between the two teams. The Nottingham Forest’s players still stared at the Real Madrid players with anger in their eyes.

Franck Ribéry, the culprit who started everything, was surrounded by his Real Madrid teammates. Everyone around him was smiling happily, agitated even, but Ribéry himself had a forced smile on his face and he was not feeling especially emotional.

Of course, he knew he was exaggerating when reacting to the force of Pepe’s push. That push was so light that if he wanted to, his center of gravity would not even move a bit. But if he did that, he did not have absolute confidence to score. If that was the case, why insist on it? Almost 80% of the attacking players would choose to fall with no hesitation under such a situation to cheat a penalty kick…No, this was no longer “cheating”, it was making use of the rules logically…

When he thought about it that way, the guilt he felt deep inside lessened a little. He left the penalty area and waited for his teammate to take the penalty kick.

If this ball went it, Real Madrid would be pulled back from the cliff side. The suspense of the match could continue, and the Real Madrid fans did not need to leave early.

He stood outside the penalty area and watched Higuaín place the ball on the spot. There was sweat all over his palms.

※※※

Kerslake saw Twain walking back and he asked, “How is Pepe?”

“I think he has calmed down,” Twain looked towards the pitch while walking back, “Higuaín is going to take this penalty I see…”

“Honestly, Tony… Pepe gave me a scare just now. I’ve never seen him so furious before.”

“Me neither,” Twain looked at his assistant, “But…perhaps there will be something for everyone that cannot be provoked, something that they will never tolerate…”

To be honest, Twain had to thank Pepe. If Pepe did not explode with rage, he might have been the one who would be sent off. When he saw Ribéry dive, he almost cursed before he saw Pepe go berserk. And so, Twain naturally stopped himself from cursing as he was stunned by Pepe. Later on, Pepe attracted the attention of everybody else and he did not need to step up…

※※※

“Watching the replay of what Pepe did earlier…it’s really shocking,” even though Pepe was already sent off, his performance earlier still shocked the commentators, “Pepe is very good-tempered in Nottingham Forest and his defense on the pitch has always been clean. He did not even get a red card in this season, and most of the time, he would not be involved in any of the altercations on the pitch. For such a goody two shoes to act as if he was insane. It might be the pressure of the final…”

“His foul gave Real Madrid an opportunity to level the game just before the end. He might have exploded because of this. Looking at the slow-motion replay, there was no doubt that Pepe did push him, but Ribéry made the most of it too… For such a light push, he actually fell as though he was hit by a truck…”

The commentator did not say that it was a dive, but they too, felt that Ribéry’s acting was very exaggerated. Nottingham Forest could feel a little aggrieved at conceding this penalty kick…

※※※

There was no point feeling aggrieved. Even if Ribéry really dived, the referee had already given the penalty kick, naturally, it could not be changed. The Nottingham Forest players all looked like they could not accept it as they stood outside the penalty area, waiting for Higuaín to take the penalty kick.

When Higuaín was taking the penalty kick, the away fans behind the Forest goal kept jeering in an attempt to affect the Argentine striker’s mentality.

Under massive pressure, Higuaín calmly sent Akinfeev the wrong way and put the ball into the net.

The stands exploded and it felt like there was an earthquake.

The depressed emotions that the Real Madrid fans were keeping within them for so long could finally be released. They waved their fists and sang to their hearts’ content. At that moment, there was only one voice that could be heard in the huge Bernabéu Stadium.

“Viva la Madrid!!”

※※※

Akinfeev was totally duped by Higuaín’s eyes. He only realized that he went the wrong way after diving, and he turned back to see the ball fly into the center of the goal when he was still in mid-air…

Before Higuaín took the penalty kick, the Forest players and fans still had hope in their hearts——Under such massive pressure, maybe the Argentine might put the ball over?

Unfortunately, Higuaín’s mental strength was definitely stronger than Lǚ Meng from the Wu Kingdom.

Higuaín ran to the part of the stands where the Nottingham Forest fans were gathered after he scored and made a “shut up” sign. What he got in return was massive boos of course.

And Akinfeev kicked the ball which bounced back off the net towards the center of the pitch in frustration. Conceding a goal at the final moments of the match was really too damaging to their morale.

Michels stood at the sideline and applauded this penalty kick. On the other hand, Twain stood with his arms folded in front of him and did not say anything.

One could tell what the two managers were thinking about from the looks on their faces.

Michels must be celebrating the narrow escape that him and his team just experienced and Twain must have been cursing in his heart regarding this unexpected penalty kick.

The Real Madrid players were still celebrating the goal while the Nottingham Forest players looked crestfallen. Right after the goal from the penalty kick, the fourth official announced the injury time from the sideline.

Because of the conflict caused by Pepe, the injury time was a full five minutes.

Both sets of fans from Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were satisfied with this amount of injury time as they did not want to give up on the match and go to extra time directly.

The Real Madrid players seemed more fired up about it. Their morale was high as they just levelled the score and they could not wait for the match to restart so that they could attack straight away.

Whereas Nottingham Forest was shell-shocked by this goal. There were still players surrounding the referee, attempting to explain what happened in the penalty area to him.

Twain watched this unfold and he knew that it was almost impossible for his team to score another goal to send Real Madrid into the abyss. He decided to give up on the thoughts of going for it.

“Tell them that we’ll play on the counter in the last five minutes,” Twain waved his hand without much strength as he told Kerslake beside him. Then he turned and walked back to the manager’s seat and sat down.

Eastwood was a little worried, he approached Twain and just when he was about to speak, Twain interrupted him and said, “I’m fine Freddy. Let me be alone for a while, I need to think about what to do in extra time…”

He looked down as he rubbed his temple and fell into deep thoughts.

Chapter 878 - The First Half of the Overtime

When Real Madrid was awarded a penalty, Shania, sitting in a VIP box of the Bernabeu Stadium, squeezed her hands together before her chest. Lowering her head, she was praying in a low voice, as if she was speaking to herself. Her pretty face was a little pale. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Although her eyes were shut, her long eyelashes were slightly shivering.

“Almighty God, I don’t expect my sins to be forgiven. Neither do I want a great fortune. I only hope my husband will stay healthy, forever healthy…”

With her eyes closed, she kept murmuring like that. As to what was happening on the football field, she did not care about it at all. She only wanted her husband to finish this game safe and sound. Whoever wanted to be the winner, just let them be!

※※※

While Shania kept praying, Twain was sitting in the coaches’ seats, trying to calm himself down with his head lowered. He could feel how fast his heartbeat was. He had to slow it down. He knew it was already impossible to end the game in ninety minutes.

He still had two substitutes available to use. At the moment he felt fortunate that he had replaced ?ahin with Kompany so that the team would have three midfielders. Even if Pepe was penalized with a red card, they still had two center backs. There were enough people on the defensive line.

Real Madrid only had one substitute left to use. They were less exhausted than Real Madrid. Should they make an effort to score a buzzer-beating goal to defeat Real Madrid in the thirty-minute overtime or drag Real Madrid into a penalty shootout?

Twain did not want to curse the referee at the moment. He did not have the time, but of course he would do it some other time. If it were not the goddamned referee, he would be thinking about how to pose for the awarding ceremony. But he would wait until the end of the match. No matter whether he won or lost in the end, he would have to curse that guy anyway. He swore he would not give face to anyone by then to skip the curse. Even if it was Evan Doughty who tried to talk him out of it, he would not be persuaded.

Twain gave it some thought. In the end, he decided to seek to score a goal in the overtime. He absolutely would not adopt a conservative strategy. He wanted to show Real Madrid that even though they only had ten people, Nottingham Forest was still a hard nut to crack.

※※※

After bringing the scores level, Real Madrid’s morale increased a great deal. When the game had started again, they dominated the match and did not stop attacking the rival’s goal. Since Nottingham Forest was playing ten against eleven, all of them had to go back to the backfield to defend. They even left a thirty-meters-long empty zone space behind, in which Real Madrid could move around freely. They only wanted to continue defending to the last minute of the match.

Nottingham Forest’s defense deserved its fame. Although Real Madrid’s morale had been boosted, they did not get any chance to score. The five-minute injury stoppage time passed rapidly. In the boos from the audience, the referee finally blew his whistle to indicate the end of the ninety-minute match.

The two teams only had a five-minute break before the overtime. This little time was hardly enough for them to walk back to the changing room. So, they were all resting on the field. The players of both team gathered in front of the coaches’ seats of their respective team, enjoying massage and relaxing while listening to the head coach deploying tactics for the extra time.

Nottingham Forest’s players sat in a circle, while Twain was crouching at the center of it, looking around.

The players looked kind of exhausted. However, due to the unfair treatment they received, they were also angry, which made their exhaustion less obvious.

“I’m relieved to see you with such faces,” Twain said, nodding.

He was right. If he had seen a team of frustrated players, the overtime would be extremely difficult and he would need to change his plan for it. But fortunately, he knew he did not have to do it.

“We only have ten people, but it’s all right. This shouldn’t be the reason for us to give up the game. I don’t believe you want to give it up, don’t you?”

“No!” someone responded loudly.

“Who the hell would want to give up the game? I’ll show Real Madrid how great we are!”

“Exactly. We’ll give them hell!” Twain closed his fist and waved it at his players. “Only thirty minutes left! I need you to do more than defending. Advance a little bit to crack their defensive line. Try your best. Go get them in the overtime!”

“We need new blood on the field. Bentley, you take a rest.”

Bentley was unwilling to accept the coach’s arrangement, but he could not refuse it, so he just nodded slightly with reluctance.

Moke was called back while he was warming up. This was his first UEFA Champions League final. He was kind of thrilled. Sitting on the ground, he still could not calm down.

“Moke, your job is to give their defensive line a hard time, to make trouble for them. When you receive a pass, if there are gaps ahead of you, try your best to advance. Pass the ball if there are no gaps. You’ve got better stamina than their Marcelo. This is an advantage we should take good use of.”

Moke kept nodding.

Throwing him a look, Twain went on, “If Mitchell is in the penalty area, pass him the ball after advancing. I don’t care how you pass the ball, but you must pass the ball to him, a header or a kick, whatever.”

Moke kept nodding. If he also stuck out his tongue, he would totally look like a loyal hound.

“On the defensive line, our full backs should assist a little bit less, at least in the first half. Our plan is to continue with the defensive counterattack in the first half of the overtime. Focus on defense. Let Real Madrid attack, so that their energies will be consumed and ours will be saved. You shouldn’t let them score any goal in these fifteen minutes. It’s absolutely unacceptable. This is the most important thing. You must bear it in mind. Next, in the second half, we’ll start to attack. Don’t hesitate when it’s time to do it. Be audacious. Get more people involved in the attack. Full backs should also penetrate. Don’t be afraid to do it. We did practice penalties yesterday… but we don’t really want to see that happen. If you can nail it in one hundred and twenty minutes, just do it!”

Twain punched into his palm of hand.

“George and Fernando, you attack in turn in the overtime. Since Nuri was replaced, the task of playmaking will fall on your shoulders.”

“Okay, boss,” Gago said.

Wood just kept nodding.

The tactics had all been deployed. Twain stopped for a break. Not much of the five minutes was left.

“Okay, guys. This will be the last thirty minutes. The last thirty minutes of the season. We received some unfair treatments just now, but listen to me, for such unfairness, the best revenge is not to attack the referee on the pitch, but to win. Our victory will be a slap in their faces! We can say whatever we want to say when we win. If you want to revenge against them, win the game first!”

“If you feel tired, just gnash your teeth and hold on! I don’t want to see anyone give up the ship at this moment. You must know you are a team. Each of you is indispensable in the team. If anyone of you gives up, your teammates will be in big trouble…”

In this moment, Twain suddenly thought of Pepe, who was sent off the pitch due to impulse. Did that mean he gave up before anyone else did?

Twain was gazing at the players before him. Some of them looked exhausted, since they had been running for more than ninety minutes. Forest had one player less than Real Madrid. In the next thirty-minute match, he was sure it would be more tiring for them than for Real Madrid. He was really worried that the team’s stamina would not be enough for them to hold on until the last minute.

“Eh…” He smoothed back his messy hair. “Pepe’s disqualification was an accident…” He was afraid the other players would put the blame on Pepe. “An unretrievable accident. You remember what I said before the match? Compared to Real Madrid, we are a team. Now the team lacks one person. What should we do? It’s very simple.” He extended his hands. “You, who are still on the pitch, should run a little more than usual, should do a little more than usual. These extra distances you run over and these extra things you do will accumulate!” Twain closed his hand, as if he had grasped something, and squeezed it with effort.

“We are still playing eleven against eleven!”

His conclusion put everyone hot-blooded. The match had been difficult for them because of the lack of one person, but by then they found their confidence back again. The boss was right. As long as each of us ran a little bit more and did a little bit more, we would be able to compensate for the disadvantage caused by Pepe’s disqualification.

What was team spirit?

They were experiencing it right at this moment.

This was what was called team spirit!

Twain looked back at the passage. He saw Pepe’s figure there. As expected, that dude did not go back to the changing room. He was still staying close to the pitch, paying attention to everything happening there.

Although his impulse put the team in a very difficult situation, Twain could not blame him. More than that, he had to prevent the team from blaming him, too. Forest must stay together. Otherwise they would not be able to climb onto the peak of Europe. Neither would they be able to achieve the great treble.

Kerslake came up to him, “Tony, it’s time…”

Not until then did Twain get to his feet. “Come on, guys. Don’t forget you are eleven men… No, twelve… No.” It took Twain a second to think. “The coaches’ seats, the substitutes’ benches, those fans sitting on the spectator’s stand, and the Forest’s fans who couldn’t come to Madrid but are watching this game on TV, we are with you, and they are with you. You have a lot more people than Real Madrid does. What can be scaring for you, guys? It’s them who should feel scared!” Twain pointed at Real Madrid’s players next to them, who were also getting to their feet one after another to prepare for the start of the extra time.

The players burst out laughing. They had nothing to fear indeed. They felt the influence of the heavy blow caused by Pepe’s disqualification had been gone for some time.

“All right. Go onto the pitch to teach them a lesson!” Twain clapped his hands and then walked off the pitch.

He saw Pepe again, who was craning his neck to look towards him. The rule forbade him to go back onto the pitch, not even to the sideline of the pitch. As a result, he could only stay at the entrance of the passage, as sneaky as a thief.

If Pepe had managed to calm down back then, Twain would be the one doing what he was doing at the moment instead.

※※※

After the start of the overtime, Real Madrid’s morale was really boosted. They kept attacking Forest. They had had several attempts on goal. It seemed they were still excited about the equalizer. However, Twain was not worried. He was just watching Real Madrid attacking Forest’s goal on the sideline.

Nothing was unexpected for him. Overtimes usually go this way — you attack for half of the time and I attack for the other half.

In the first half, Nottingham Forest would focus on defense. They must defend themselves from Real Madrid’s attacks. No matter how ugly the game looked, it did not matter.

During this time, Real Madrid never stopped attacking. Once the football even hit the goalpost of Forest. They almost scored a goal.

Another time Ronaldo hit a sharp-angled shot after dribbling past Rafinha. The ball hit one side of the goal net. The entire audience, including those on the spot and those watching the game on TV, mistook it for a goal. Fans were cheering on the spectator’s stand. Even those commentators blurted out, “Goal!”

At that moment, Twain felt his heart had stopped beating. Fortunately, then he saw Ronaldo holding his head in hands, very frustrated.

“Damn it…” Twain swore feebly. “What are you excited about? It was only netting…”

In the first half, it was even extremely difficult for Nottingham Forest to advance to Real Madrid’s half. Each and every one of Real Madrid was advancing. All of them were attacking Forest’s goal again and again under the cheering of the home ground fans.

The fans of Real Madrid on the spectators’ stand were exclaiming in one voice, “Illa, illa, illa, Juanito maravilla! Illa, illa, illa, Juanito maravilla!!”

This cheer was supposed to appear at the seventh minute of each game. By then it appeared again at the seventh minute of the overtime. The arrogance of Real Madrid’s fans had been obviously gone. They had given up the idea that it was easy-peasy to defeat Nottingham Forest. At the moment, they needed the support from the spirit of Juanito.

Juan Gómez González, known as Juanito, used to be the number seven of Real Madrid. During the seventies and the eighties, when Real Madrid was not playing well, Juanito’s spirit was the symbol of Real Madrid. He always fought to the last minute and never gave up. To gain victories, he even had the nerve to kick assistant referees and punch Matth?us… He died in 1992 in a car accident. Real Madrid held a grand funeral for him. The scale of his funeral could be compared to that of a king’s funeral. Throughout the history of Real Madrid Club, before him, only the great president Mr. Santiago Bernabeu had a funeral of this level.

At the moment, Real Madrid’s fans felt threatened. They knew the enemy they were facing would not be defeated just by great footwork, back heel passes and artistic characters. Premier League teams always have a spirit that can intimidate the rival.

Real Madrid’s fans wanted to show Nottingham Forest that artists were not the only thing Real Madrid had and they did not only know fancy footwork. They wanted to show Nottingham Forest that they were hot-blooded as well and they also knew how to fight!

Gago received a pass in midfield, but he did not pass it quickly enough, and Higuaín hauled him down from behind him.

Lying on the ground, Gago raised both hands to signal the referee that Higuaín had fouled. Higuaín had run back fast. Watching him running away, people could recall George Wood easily, because the latter also always turned around and ran away immediately after fouling, without paying attention to the rival’s protest.

So, even a nice person like Higuaín went amuck.

The Spanish commentators completely abandoned a fair and justified standpoint which commentators were supposed to have. They kept encouraging and cheering for Real Madrid.

“Go Madrid! Nottingham Forest has a passing error! This is a great chance… Ah! The ball isn’t stopped well enough. It goes into Akinfeev’s arms directly. What a pity!”

“Only five minutes left in the first half of the overtime… Real Madrid is attacking Nottingham Forest’s goal… This is a handball offence! Why doesn’t the referee penalize it for handball? This is obviously a foul!”

“George Wood hauls Ribéry down. He should get a red card! Even if he only gets a yellow card, he will be sent off! Nottingham Forest’s football is so ugly!”

“If Forest wins, I’ll have to say such a champion isn’t convincing at all. Look at their performance in these ten-odd minutes! They are all defending in the penalty area. Is this the way football supposed to be played? And they are fouling again and again and again… If you want me to describe this match, I would say ‘ankle kick, ankle kick, ankle kick, and another ankle kick!’ What else is there? Nothing at all!”

“Deliberately hurting people, attacking assistant referees, ugly tactics… If such a team wins UEFA Champions League, it will be an insult to this supreme honor!”

These indignant Spanish commentators almost swore at Twain and called him a son of a bitch.

On the other side, the English commentators felt rather worried for Nottingham Forest. Real Madrid’s attack was too fierce, and Twain was doing nothing but defending. What if the defense failed and the team ended up trailing behind Real Madrid? It would be a heavy blow for the team’s morale.

“I insist that Forest should fight back properly, but it looks they can’t even go beyond the midfield…”

“After all, this is Bernabeu. Twain should not have underestimated Real Madrid’s energy in this stadium. Real Madrid has been driven up the wall. Listen to the cheers of their fans on the spectators’ stand… What are they screaming? It’s Juanito! A famous hard ass in the history of Real Madrid!”

“I’m worried about Tony Twain’s heart. Will he be able to stand still facing such attacks?”

In fact, Twain could stand just fine, and even very steadily as well. Real Madrid’s attacks were fierce indeed, but Twain had acutely found that few of these attacks were really threatening to their goal. It was what called much cry and little wool.

The first half was ending. If Real Madrid still could not score a goal, they would be doomed in the second half. They had consumed too many energies. And their morale was declining as well.

Twain was wearing a cold smile. He finally heard the referee blow the whistle.

“The first half of the overtime has ended. Tony Twain’s heart finally can get some rest! There will be no break. The second half will start right away. To some extent, these are the last fifteen minutes to decide who to win. If neither team can score a goal, we’ll see a penalty shootout! Real Madrid was thought to be stronger than Nottingham Forest before the match and they were supposed to win. However, the final has stretched into one hundred and five minutes. I have to admit I’m kind of surprised.”

“Forest still doesn’t look good to me. Fifteen minutes passed. With only ten people, how much stamina does Forest still have? This is something worth some attention. Michels evidently saw it, too. In the first half of the overtime, every player of Forest was running like crazy to compensate for the disadvantage of Pepe being sent off. By far, Nottingham Forest hasn’t lost any goal. It’s thanks to its players’ hard work. However, they are humans instead of machines. How much more time can they hold on in such an intensive competition? Five minutes? Ten minutes? I dare say as long as Real Madrid continues intensifying their attacks in the second half, Nottingham Forest will crumble sooner or later!”

Without an exception, the commentators were all predicting the second half of the overtime. Not even one of them felt optimistic about Nottingham Forest, with only ten players and exhausted.

Even a tough guy like George Wood took the chance of switching sides to run to the sidelines to ask for water. He looked he had been worn out. His football shirt was so drenched in sweat that it looked as if it had just been taken out of water. He was gasping for air and pouring water into his mouth when he was not doing that.

“George.” Twain approached. In order to not draw any attention, he did not stay too close to Wood.

Wood heard the head coach’s whisper. He looked back at Twain.

“Eh…” Twain smoothed his hair with his hand. “I’ve got a question which I’ve kept to myself for ten years.”

Wood tilted his head, gazing at Twain puzzledly. He had no idea what kind of question that could be, or what it had to do with him or the match.

“Eh… Do you remember, that you gave my wallet back to me and it was through that wallet that we knew each other? Okay. What I want to ask is, there was a kid who bumped against me and stole my wallet the day before that day… Any chance that was you?”

Wood’s facial expression changed. The puzzle on his face was gone. It was replaced by wariness.

Twain grinned broadly at Wood, waiting for his answer.

The referee must have noticed them. Wood threw him a glimpse and was going to go back onto the pitch. However, before leaving, he did not forget to answer Twain’s question, “Yes, it was me.”

Then he ran away.

Twain stayed there, watching him running away and laughing. The view of this man and the view of the kid who stole his wallet overlapped. The way he ran had never changed. Even if ten more years passed, Twain was afraid it would still remain the same…

If you had not stolen my wallet back then, would I have missed a talented player as well as the ten years’ great life after that?

Robin Hood, a wallet thief… Twain suddenly found what the media said was quite fair — this was a team made up of thieves indeed.

All right then. So, let’s steal that trophy in the presence of those eighty thousand people and the television audience of billions of people in a stately manner.

Twain looked towards the “big ears” with a silver glitter, which was placed at the exit of the passage.

His eyes were shining. It was the light of greed.

Chapter 879 - The Clinching Shot

Wood did not quite understand why the boss asked about something that happened eleven years ago at this time, but he was not in the mind to guess the reason behind it. He only had the opponent on his mind once he threw himself back in the game again.

Real Madrid also intended to take advantage of the favorable situation to continue to attack. He absolutely could not allow it. Nottingham Forest must regain the initiative on the pitch in some way. Although they kicked off in the second half, the football fell to the feet of the Real Madrid players at some point.

This time, George Wood stepped up and helped the team regain possession of the ball with his excellent defensive ability.

By the time the game reached the 105th minute, the players on both sides were close to exhaustion. George Wood was only slightly better off than them. But he was the team captain, so he could not show fatigue.

“We’ve had a very intense season. From the last-minute sprint till now, even George can’t bear it somehow…” Kerslake was worried about Wood’s fitness for the first time ever.

“You can rest assured that he can hold on.” Twain comforted the assistant manager next to him.

※※※

Casillas kicked a long ball from the goal and the ball flew into the midfield. George Wood and Ribéry both jumped at the same time to compete for the header. The football was headed by Wood and Ribéry missed his shot.

No one at Real Madrid could beat George Wood when it came to control of the high aerial balls.

But they got the second point of fall. De la Red received the ball below after Wood’s header. It was supposed to be Gago’s turn to defend forward at this time, but Gago was exhausted. De la Red’s change in direction caused Gago to lose his center of gravity and fall to the ground.

Gago, who fell to the ground, held his calf in his hands and rolled in pain – he had a muscle cramp.

The Real Madrid players did not plan to stop attacking. Everyone was in a frenzy at this time. No one would kick the football out of the sidelines because the opponent fell to the ground and. Anyway, there was no rule provided for this, so they pretended not to see it.

De la Red continued to dribble the ball, while the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands kept booing. Adriano Moke, the thin and small player who rarely engaged in physical collisions against his opponents, rushed up and pushed de la Red along with the ball out of the sideline.

His foul yielded him a yellow card.

The Forest players were disgruntled and surrounded the referee, pointing to Gago, who was still lying on the ground, to show him what the Real Madrid players had done.

The referee just shook his head and did not impose any penalty on de la Red – there was no rules in the book for this.

When the other players gathered around the referee to seek answers, George Wood ran up to help Gago press his leg down.

Gago laid on the ground and looked unhappy. He also appeared to a little listless.

“I can’t do it anymore, Captain. I can’t hold on… Both of my legs hurt.”

Wood lowered his left leg, lifted his right leg, and continued to press down.

“Get a substitute, Captain.” Gago whispered, in a tone of reluctance and not ready to give up. “I will only hold everyone back if I stay on the field…”

Wood kept pressing his legs without a word.

At this time, the team doctor, Fleming ran over here to check on Gago’s condition and decisively gestured to Twain for a substitute.

Twain still had a substitution spot in hand. He had been unwilling to use it before as he was afraid of an unexpected situation in the final moments. Now, he could put it to use.

Twain scanned the substitutes’ bench and did not call up Tiago, who was also a midfielder in the end. Instead, he chose the striker, Ibi?evi?.

“Score more goals!” Twain held his fist up to Ibi?evi? and said, “Aaron alone is not enough. You go up and continue to put pressure on Real Madrid’s rear defensive line.”

Ibi?evi? nodded. Although he had long been famous, this was his first time playing in the UEFA Champions League final.

“Nottingham Forest is making a substitution because the exhausted Fernando Gago, who has collapsed to the ground with a muscle cramp, is being brought off the field. And his replacement s… Vedad Ibi?evi?! Twain takes out a defensive midfielder and brings on a striker… It looks like he’s going to break Real Madrid’s goal in the last ten minutes!” The commentator’s tone revealed an undisguised shock.

The Real Madrid manager, Míchel González was also equally surprised by this. When he realized that the man standing on the sidelines was Ibi?evi?, he turned to look at Twain, as if he wanted to see through Twain’s mind.

Now, both teams had used up all the substitutions, the managers did all that they could, the rest depended on the players themselves.

Míchel did not expect Twain’s last substitution to stake it all on the offensive. Did he still want to end the fight within a hundred and twenty minutes? Originally Míchel thought that when Twain was going to make a substitution, he would have brought on a player who was good at executing penalty shots at the last minute and compete with Real Madrid on penalty shots.

Ibi?evi? was pushed onto the pitch by Twain, who made a forward gesture to the players.

His meaning was obvious, which was to get everybody to attack.

※※※

Even players like Moke dared to collide with the opponent. With an all-out effort, Nottingham Forest regained the initiative of the game. In the next period, everyone seemed to see the first half of the overtime game again, but the attack and defense of the two sides were exchanged.

Nottingham Forest compressed the entire Real Madrid team to the thirty meters zone, combining the breakthroughs on the side and long shots from the middle to make Casillas become the busiest player on the pitch.

Every time the Forest team controlled the ball and attacked; loud boos would break out in the stands. But the Forest players were not disturbed by these distractions. They were used to hearing boos. Such a scene did not scare them. They seek Real Madrid’s defensive cracks over and over again which they could then take advantage of.

Míchel had replaced too many defenders, so now Real Madrid could only withdraw its formation and defend against the Forest team’s attack with its advantage in the number of players in the local section.

But how long could they hold on?

※※※

“George Wood’s long shot bounces out after it brushes across the crossbar!”

“Casillas kicks the ball forward with a long ball, but Huntelaar basically can’t control the ball at all. The football falls again to Nottingham Forest. Moke breaks through Ronaldo on the sideline! Beautiful technique… Oops, it’s a pity that the pass is a little too wide… Wait a minute, Fernández runs up. He stops the ball near the sideline! He passes the ball again!”

Mitchell leapt high. He jumped higher than Garay, and then gave a powerful shake of his head!

“Casillas!!” The Spanish commentator roared excitedly, “A divine save!”

A header attack, close at hand, was actually kept out by Casillas’ single palm. The Real Madrid captain’s performance deserved the title of the world’s number one goalkeeper.

When Mitchell jumped in the air without any interference, the Forest team’s coaches and substitutes’ bench rushed to the sidelines, ready to celebrate the goal. Unfortunately, Casillas’s save extinguished the fire in their hearts. A group of people held their heads in their hands as they returned to their seats.

“The header was too direct!” Twain complained below. Then he clapped his hands toward the field, offering praise and encouragement.

Nottingham Forest’s corner kick did not go straight to the goal but instead it was played in a set piece. Bale executed a quick corner shot and kicked the ball to Fernández, who had come forward to receive the shot. Then Fernández dribbled the ball diagonally. After he shook off a defender, he dribbled the ball horizontally along the edge of the penalty area. Then, just as the Real Madrid players thought he was going to directly shoot, he suddenly passed a direct through shot. He and the ball turned the forward direction ninety-degrees into the penalty area. Bale, who had just made the corner kick, appeared there and swept the ball straight inside after he received the ball.

This time, Ramos was successful. He blocked the ball out of the end line before the ball could fly into the goal area and added another corner kick.

Nottingham Forest obtained corner kicks in a succession and everyone’s hearts were on edge.

Twain took the time to look at his watch. Only eight minutes were left before the end of the overtime period. Time passed by really quickly. Half of the fifteen minutes were over in a blink of an eye…

Instead of continuing to play tactical corner kicks, the Forest team continued to change their corner kick tactics. This time the ball was kicked to the top of the penalty arc with a long pass.

George Wood was already waiting there.

He stopped and pushed the ball upward with his chest to just send it over Ribéry’s head. When Ribéry found that Wood went around behind him with the football, he had wanted to reach out and pull. But he suddenly remembered that he was still near the penalty area. It was too dangerous to foul in this position. He could only drop it.

Even though Wood had stopped the ball and bypassed Ribéry, it was not good for a straight shot because the football was too high. He could only turn around with his back to the goal and control the football in the air as he made plans again.

It was at this time that Ribéry’s chance came. He turned around and hooked Wood’s ball away!

“Real Madrid’s chance!”

The commentator’s voice had not ended when Ribéry’s ball was snatched back by Wood again.

Despite regaining possession of the ball, the Forest team also lost the chance to shoot straight at the goal and Wood could only pass the ball to the sideline before he launched another attack.

Moke received Wood’s pass and made a feint to look like he was going to pass the ball. In fact, he suddenly hooked the football and actually shoved the ball past Marcelo!

He entangled with de la red after he broke into the penalty area. Then both of them fell to the ground.

The Nottingham Forest players believed that de la Red had fouled, and they should have been given a penalty shot. The Real Madrid players insisted that Moke dived and should be given a yellow card. In that way, Moke’s two yellow cards would turn into a red card and he would be directly sent off.

Twain was a little angry off the pitch as the referee ultimately failed to award the Forest team a penalty shot. However, the controversial referee did not give Moke a yellow card. He let Casillas send out the ball – there were no consequences.

Two more minutes passed.

As time went on, the intensity of the game on the field decreased. Everyone could not run anymore. On several occasions, the players on both sides would have fought to the death for the ball if it were thirty minutes ago. But now they could only look on helplessly as the other side took the ball while their minds were willing, but their bodies could not move anymore.

The Forest team’s energy began to decline after a period of fierce attack and the momentum of the attack was not as fierce as it had been before. Real Madrid was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and pressed out to look for opportunities. It was probably the only area that Twain had miscalculated – he arranged for the team to attack in the second half of overtime but did not expect the physical impact to be so great. After all, they had one player less than Real Madrid. Real Madrid was able to besiege the Forest team throughout the first half of overtime, but the Forest team could not replicate that in the second half.

He stood on the sidelines and was extremely nervous. He could only secretly clench and release his fists, and then clench and release again. The muscles of his whole body tightened again and again with this action.

His wife, Shania was also as nervous as he was. Since the overtime, her eyes never left Twain. She did not care much about the game. She was not interested in football anyway.

※※※

The players from both teams did not want to waste time here, but they did not have the physical capacity to push for a new wave of attacks. Time passed for another three minutes amid the slow pace. The whole game had gone on for one hundred and eighteen minutes.

“The score is still 2:2. Maybe the managers of the two teams should think about the penalty shootout.”

Míchel was compliant. He directly turned around toward the assistant manager to ask for the list of players for the penalty shootout, ready to arrange the order, and then handed it over to the fourth official.

Twain stood on the sidelines and did not move. He was not really to reconcile to this.

Indeed, he was not willing to go into the penalty shootout like this. He was unwilling to hand his fate over to the illusory luck.

But he had done all that he could. The players were constrained by their stamina and unable to play to their full strength. So, what if he could not accept it?

Without Gago in the midfield, Wood’s burden was even heavier. Not only did he need to defend, he also had to organize the offense. Without Gago and ?ahin there, both the defense and offense depended on him. If it were not for his perverted fitness, perhaps he would suffer a cramp and collapse shortly after Gago was brought off the field.

Wood passed a straight pass forward, but Fernández did not run there in time and the ball rolled out of the sideline which gave the other side an out of bounds ball.

The Chilean made an apologetic gesture to Wood as well as to indicate that he was too tired and could not run anymore. It was not because he deliberately became passive in the game.

What could Wood say? Looking around at his teammates, and even his opponents, almost everyone had the same tired expression as Fernández.

Bale took advantage of the dead ball to put his hands on his knees and leaned down to take big gulps of air as sweat gathered to the tip of his chin and dripped down on the turf.

Even Ribéry seized the moment to take a break – he stood in place and was unwilling to move one step. His scarred face was devoid of any murderous intent and his expression was a little sluggish.

In fact, he was also tired, but he did not show it.

If George bent down like Bale, then their opponents would be delighted to use his position as a point of attack and fully take advantage of it. If he looked dazed and dull like Ribéry, he would not be able to give his teammates confidence and the whole team could collapse at the last minute.

He gritted his teeth and persisted.

After Real Madrid’s out of bounds ball was tossed out, it was Wood who rushed up to grab it. From his pace and movement, it could not be seen that he was a man who had been running for nearly a hundred and twenty minutes.

At this time, George Wood’s running distance so far in the game was displayed below the live television screen – twenty thousand kilometers!

The commentator was shocked by the number. He stared blankly for a while before somewhat stuttering, “Maybe he really should go train for a marathon … He ran and ran nonstop. He kept running. George Wood can still sprint at the moment!”

Indeed, he could still sprint! Wood intercepted Higuaín’s ball using the speed of his sprint to skirt around in front to defend. Higuaín stood in place and stared blankly. He was ill-prepared for Wood’s defense. He raised his hands as if to protest something, or was annoyed at his own performance…

Wood, who intercepted the ball, still selflessly passed the ball to his teammates. Unfortunately, once his teammate received the ball, it was then was intercepted again – he was physically unable to even protect the ball.

Twain shook his head repeatedly as he watched off the field.

He took a deep breath and then raised his voice to yell, “Geor—-ge—”

Wood heard his roar and turned his head over.

“Dribble it yourself!” Twain waved his hand forward.

※※※

Dribble it myself?

Wood looked around at his teammates. They were clearly exhausted. Or perhaps they were waiting for the whistle be blown at one hundred and twenty minutes. Akinfeev still had the strength, but could he rush out?

It looked like he really had to fight on his own…

Just as the Forest team was thinking about how to attack, Real Madrid used its save up strength to launch its first attack in the second half of overtime.

Having just past the midfield, Ramos suddenly lifted his leg and crossed the ball in the air to send the football toward the penalty area.

Woodgate jumped to compete for the header, but he missed!

“He missed the header! It’s Huntelaar’s chance!”

Lying in wait behind him, Huntelaar stopped the football with his chest while he turned around at the same time. This was an extremely difficult move – to stop the ball and turn around at one go. When the football descended from the air, he had already raised his leg to shoot!

There was no one around him at all. He could finish the shot without interference…

“Huntelaar! A deadly shot by a hunter!”

The Spanish commentator did not wait for the football to be kicked before he eagerly cried out. He had even got up from his seat and poked his head out to look down.

“What the damn hell…”

Twain only had time to curse such a foul language and the football was already shot out by Huntelaar.

He turned around and volleyed a shot. This shot was fast and hard. It looked like it was definitely going in!

But a person’s figure blocked in front of the football’s path. Its speed was too fast, and he could not use his hands in time. He could only lower his center of gravity and used his chest to block the football out!

“Akinfeev! This is Akinfeev’s wonderful save! He keeps the hope alive for Nottingham Forest! At this moment, the Russian was also the ‘Saint Iker’ of Nottingham Forest!”

It was the English commentator’s turn to be crazy. Just now, the moment Huntelaar made his move, their hearts all sank to the bottom, thinking that the game was over just like that. They did not expect Akinfeev to prove at a crucial moment that Russia’s number one was no weaker than Casillas. He also tried hard to save a desperate crisis.

“Bastard!” Míchel could not help but burst out with the foul words. He had thought that his team had won for sure just now. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to be so tenacious…

“Ha!” Twain opened his mouth wide and grinned, “Those who survive a catastrophe are bound to have good fortune later on. Real Madrid, you are dead for sure! Dead for sure!!” In fact, his heart had been beating wildly nonstop and it had not slowed down until now. His forehead and vest were covered in sweat and his legs were even trembling. He might fall down at any moment once he went soft in the knees – if he did not yell, he might turn out that way.

Damn it, almost scared me to death…

Twain secretly rejoiced in his heart. He admitted that he was terrified. Had it not been for Akinfeev’s decisive strike, the ball could have actually enter the goal…

Kerslake also had a bad scare. He ran to the sidelines and said to Twain, “We should defend, Tony! There’s still a minute left, defend…” He even stuffed the list of penalty shootout players into Twain’s hands.

Twain turned his head around and gave him a glance. Kerslake was stunned by Twain’s expression as he looked at him — he was frightened by it again. With gritted teeth, glaring eyes and ferocious expression, Twain said categorically, “No! We’ll continue to organize the offensive! Even if it’s only one minute, we’re going to try to score a goal!”

Twain threw the name list in his hand directly on the ground, like the Hegemon-King of Western Chu that cut off his means of retreat by burning his boats.

※※※

When Real Madrid did not score the goal, it seemed to have a slight impact on their morale. Instead of taking advantage of the momentum to start a second wave of attacks, they opted to withdraw instead. With only a minute left until the end of the game, there was no need to risk pressing out to give the Forest team a chance to fight back. Míchel had studied the videos of the Forest team’s games. He found that the tenacious team often scored at the final juncture of a game. It could be counted as a feature of the Forest team. All he had to do was not to give the Forest team the chance to play its special feature.

Real Madrid withdrew and the Forest team attacked.

After George Wood received the ball, he did not choose to pass the ball, but suddenly dribbled the ball himself.

When he faced Ribéry in the middle, he did a feint. He first made a move to look like he was going to pass the ball. Then his right foot hooked the ball and he twisted his body around to bypass Ribéry, who pounced from the opposite direction, along with the ball.

Next, he did not continue to dribble the ball in the middle. Real Madrid’s middle was currently a hub heavily guarded by its players. He took advantage of the moment he brushed past Ribéry to directly dribble the football to the sideline.

“George Wood starts to dribble the ball! Is he going to break through from the sideline and then do a cross pass?”

Seeing that he was dribbling the ball on the sideline, Ibi?evi? and the already exhausted Mitchell both lifted their spirits to charge toward the front of the middle of the goal, intending to pick up his pass.

Higuaín came up to intercept Wood, but he was a step too slow and Wood blocked him at the back. He was no longer able to pose any threat to the strong Wood. After staggering a few steps at the back, he chose to give up – he was afraid that he would kick Wood from behind and get a yellow card. He already had a yellow card on him.

Wood felt Higuaín gave up after he gingerly kicked a couple of times behind his back. He would not conveniently take a dive and let the other team be punished with one player being sent off. He would rather dribble the ball on his own to the front of the other team’s penalty area. He did not hesitate and knew what he should choose to do when faced with such an option.

Wood felt the pressure behind him slightly lessened and he continued to dribble the ball forward along the sideline.

This time, it was de la Red and Ramos, the two players who came up. They wanted to cut Wood off.

Wood decided to force a breakthrough and rushed to dribble the ball out along with him before the other side cut him off.

But he was a little too slow. He had rushed past, but the ball was intercepted by Ramos.

“Intercepted! What a shame!” The English commentator shouted and expressed his disappointment in his speech.

“Well done!” The Spanish commentator could finally relaxed after being on tenterhooks just now. Wood’s breakthrough just now was so powerful that a sense of fear sprung up unbidden.

“F**k!” Twain waved his fists in anger after he saw the scene below.

Wood looked back at Ramos, who fell to the ground. He had collided with de la Red who crashed out of the sideline as he could not stop in time. Was it the end of this? Did he have to get ready to kick a penalty shot?

He suddenly saw Gareth Bale waving to him and shouting something. Unfortunately, the stadium was too noisy for him to hear clearly.

Lying on the ground, Ramos felt the danger. He could not get up in time, so he laid on the ground and wanted to sweep the football straight out.

Bale had already rushed over and extended his leg to block …

The football bounced back against his shin bone and went over Ramos’ head to fly ahead!

George Wood was there!

Garay habitually raised his hand while he turned his head to look at the referee at the same time. But he found that the referee did not make any indication, and he suddenly panicked. He turned around to rush toward Wood.

“Good shot! It’s in an onside position!”

“Is this an offside position… It is empty in front! The assistant referee has not raised the flag!”

Wood looked back at the football that was flying toward him. He moved sideways and raised his right leg to kick the incoming football inward… The football changed direction to bounce toward the penalty area. Then he accelerated to catch up with the football and continued to dribble the ball to charge into Real Madrid’s penalty area!

Ramos had already climbed up from the ground and aggressively pounced toward George Wood in front of him. This might perhaps be his last sprint.

It was also Wood’s last sprint.

Ramos, Garay, Marcelo and Ribéry also rushed from different directions toward George Wood at the same time.

Meanwhile, Casillas chose to abandon the goal to strike. Mitchell and Ibi?evi? still had not run into the penalty area yet. Wood was simply too fast for his teammates to keep up with him… If he still did not make a move at this time, he could only watched as the opponent entered the penalty area and then had numerous choices!

Would he shoot or pass the ball? Would he shoot on the left side or right side? Would he break through or shoot directly?

At that moment, a lot of thoughts popped up in Casillas’ mind. Like a fork in the road, there was a network of several forks crisscrossing in front of his eyes, so that he did not know which side to choose.

George Wood also noticed Casillas, who had struck. But he did not have so many chaotic thoughts in his head. He did not have any teammates in his line of sight, only Casillas and the goal behind him. It was as easy as that…

He made his shot!

Wood naturally swung up his right leg as he dribbled the ball. It looked like he was just simply swinging his leg while running. However, he hit the ball fast in his next step!

The football drew a covert arc and suddenly sprang ahead.

Casillas saw the football suddenly fly over. He wanted to pounce but it was already too late. He could only reflexively reach out with his hands to block, hoping that his fingertips could brushed against the football.

He did brush against the football. But the speed of the ball was too fast, and that little bit of power was not enough to change the course of the football’s flight.

The football bypassed Casillas and continued to drill forward.

Marcelo changed his mind at the last minute when he saw Wood rush into the penalty area. Instead of pouncing on Wood, he ran toward the empty goal left by Casillas.

He was going to lift the siege!

But this position was a little uncomfortable… Even if he could hit the football, there was a ninety percent chance that he could kick the ball into the goal. Marcelo had no choice. He had to do it…

The Brazilian defender did a studs up tackle and the football seemed to be magnified in his eyes. Just a little more… just a little more and he could hit it! Just a little faster and faster!

Marcelo roared in his heart.

The football crossed in front of the tips of his toes…

Then it lightly crossed the white line of the goal area.

At that moment, time seemed to stop still, or it could be said that time no longer existed in the world…

From the moment the football crossed the goal line, everything came to a standstill.

Everyone on the field kept their previous last positions and was transfixed in that moment.

As if ten thousand years had passed, a sound came from the distant fog as it gradually strengthened and became clearer.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!!!”

That kind of voice multiplied and finally gushed out, as if it burst out all of a sudden.

“The ball’s in!”

“It’s incredible! George Wood crashed through the goal alone!”

“This is truly the fatal shot that ends the game! A goal scored at the 120th minute! Nottingham Forest leads with 3:2!”

“Who would have thought of such an ending? Just when we all thought we were going to play a penalty shootout, George Wood stepped forward!”

“I thought George Wood could only shoot long shots hard and that it was down to luck whether his shots could go in or not. But I was wrong! This goal is so beautiful!”

“The Real Madrid team is stunned. They did not expect to concede the goal at the last minute!”

“This goal completely destroyed the proud Real Madrid!”

Amid these explosive voices, the football struck the net, which rolled it up, and then stopped.

Marcelo then slipped into the goal and was entangled in the net.

Casillas was half-kneeing on the ground. His hands were outstretched, and he even kept his posture from pouncing toward the ball just now. He looked back at what had happened inside the goal.

Ramos, who ran halfway, staggered and fell to the ground.

Garay simply stopped in his tracks. He already had tears in his eyes as he looked at the goal. He knew what the goal meant.

A living thriller was thus played out in front of the Real Madrid supporters. Everyone was too stunned to speak.

The entire Bernabéu stadium suddenly fell silent.

It was a suffocating silence.

A dead-like silence.

In such an environment, Twain lifted his head up high and opened his arms wide in front of eighty thousand people as he enjoyed the joyful impact on his heart brought by the success.

A Treble Win!!.

Chapter 880 - Tony Don Twain

“George Wood’s dribbling the ball on the flank! He’s very fast… Oh, Ramos intercepted the ball! Wait… Gareth Bale, he passed the ball over again… Ramos can do nothing about it, George Wood got the ball again, he’s through!”

There was an excited voice coming from the TV, just like the “rat-tat-tat-tat” of a machine-gun and the voice even sounded a little distorted.

Compared to that agitated commentator, the Forest fans watching the game in front of the TV was a little quiet. Of course, that was not because they did not care enough about their team, instead, it was because they did not have the time to make any noise. The bunch of them were maintaining the same pose, holding a heavy beer mug with their mouths wide open, looking up at the television screen, giving all their attention to it.

“George Wood has entered the penalty area, it’s a one-on-one!”

At this moment, someone roared softly amongst the people, “Damn it… George, put the ball into their net! Put it in!!”

“Shoot, George! Shoot!”

“This is the final chance, it’s up to you, captain!”

When Wood finally took a shot, the bar immediately went silent at that moment. It was so quiet that it felt like there had never been any sound in the bar before.

Their hearts went to the throat when they saw Casillas touch the ball as they were afraid the ball might be diverted away from the goal. When the ball continued flying towards the goal, they saw Marcelo sliding towards the ball and their hearts almost jumped out of their mouths this time, some of them even covered their mouths with their hands.

Eventually, the ball rolled into the ball along with Marcelo. This bunch of people did not give a long sigh of relief, instead, they started to roar as if they had gone insane collectively.

“To hell with Real Madrid! We’ve won! We’re the champion!!”

“Gooooal! Gooooal!!”

“Forest Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

“Nottingham Forest, la la la la la la! Nottingham Forest, la la la la la la!!”

Nobody drank the deer as they were all thrown towards the ceiling.

“Woooooooooow——”

This was just the epitome of most of the bars in Nottingham. When Wood scored, half the Nottingham City went wild.

Some places even could not wait and started some fires.

At the same time, in the Bernabéu Stadium situated in the northern part of Madrid, the short silence was over.

The noise seemed to have come from underground, showing no mercy to the ear drums of everyone present.

The commentators on television did all they could to tell every viewer and listener what happened there.

There was a distinct difference in the emotions of the eighty thousand fans in the stadium. The Real Madrid fans displayed a very complex mix of emotions; disappointment, fury, unhappiness and disbelief. As these emotions gathered, their jeers appeared to be very messy too. For the Nottingham Forest fans, it was much simpler——Excitement, a reckless excitement! They showed this emotion on the stands without care; singing, screaming, hugging and kissing everyone around them, even those of the same gender.

Even the most cultured person would probably find it difficult to control their own emotions after experiencing 120 minutes like this. Much less Evan Doughty, who wanted to show his emotions in front of Florentino deliberately, to show him that this was the result of underestimating Forest!

That was why, after the goal, Evan immediately jumped out of his seat and shouted with his arms raised up high, as if there were nobody else around, “GOAL! GOOAL!!”

Next to him, the Real Madrid chairman, Florentino, could only pull a long face and endure the subtle humiliation coming from his opponent. Behind him, a whole bunch of Real Madrid officials and esteemed guests looked at the conceited figure with an unfriendly look in their eyes. They must have classified the chairman of this English football club into the “uncultured” list.

But other than judging him silently, could they do anything else? It was their team’s fault for conceding at the final moment.

Allan was one of the calmer ones in the Nottingham Forest camp. He did not let himself go and celebrate the goal like his chairman, choosing to applaud with a smile on his face.

On the sideline, Míchel González looked at the Forest players celebrating with a blank look on his face. Conceding at this moment meant that Real Madrid had failed. He stood at the sideline alone, silence covered the coaches’ seats and substitute’s bench behind him. The people from Real Madrid could not accept such a reality yet.

Next to them, the Nottingham Forest substitute’s bench and coaches were already hugging each other, screaming like girls.

Twain did not express his own emotions so openly like his colleagues because he was not as agitated as them. After watching Wood score, other than the initial excitement, what followed immediately was relief.

He merely maintained a pose where he opened his arms, lifted his head and leaned back a little. He did not even have the strength to open his mouth and shout anything.

There was a period of time where nobody disturbed him at all, so he stood there, maintaining this pose for very long. Until Eastwood suddenly approached and hugged him from behind.

“Boss! Boss! We’ve won, right? We’re the champions, right? We’re the treble winners, right?!”

This agitated voice felt more like an announcement, rather than questions.

George Wood, the goal scorer. After scoring, there was a rare sight of him pumping his fists towards the sky as he felt an urge within him to make him want to open his mouth and shout.

When he was pumping his fist and roaring, the other Nottingham Forest players gathered around him, their faces distorted with excitement.

“Good job, captain!”

“We’ve got this in the bag now, ah ha ha!”

“We’ve won the treble!”

Wood was forced onto the ground by his teammates and they shouted as they climbed on top of him. This was a rare opportunity. Wood was not a striker, so he did not score much, and the piling celebration was not one that could be used all the time.

Most of the Real Madrid players looked on blankly as the Nottingham Forest players celebrated wildly, they had already given up——A goal in the 120th minute did not give them any time to equalize at all, they had never heard of there being four or five minutes of injury time in extra time.

Ribéry was the only one who was complaining to the referee about the time spent by Forest celebrating. None of the Forest fans jeered him then, they were still celebrating and nobody had to time to pay attention to a failure.

Raúl, once the symbol of Real Madrid, their fountain of strength, the leader in the changing room, was seated in the VIP box then, looking at the pitch helplessly. Even if he was on the field, he would not be of any help in this kind of situation. The 10th Champions League trophy for Real Madrid was actually so difficult to obtain. He remained seated and sighed.

Ribéry’s protests got a positive response from the referee as he ran to where the Forest players were at and pulled them up, warning them not to waste time deliberately.

The Forest players ignored the referee’s warning, and they were still waving to the stands in celebration after they were helped up. At the same time, they jogged slowly back to their own half.

Twain did not know how long the injury time would be. Compared to his colleagues, his mind was still clear. When the players were running back to their own half, he shouted at them from the sideline, “Defend properly! Don’t be too cocky, pals!! The match is not over yet!”

“George!” He shouted Wood’s name, asking him to remind the players not to celebrate too early as the captain.

Wood nodded. The excitement of scoring was already gone from the face of this monster. The serious look on his face made it look like they were the ones who were trailing.

In fact, Twain was worried for nothing. When the referee indicated for the Real Madrid players to start the ball from the center circle, some of them were still rooted at the same spot and did not move——Conceding a goal at the dying moments had sapped these people of their morale.

Casillas wanted to rush into the Forest penalty area to participate in the attack originally, too bad his teammates did not give him this opportunity.

Ribéry raised his arm in the middle asking for the ball but Ronaldo ignored him, choosing to cut in from the flank directly and taking a long shot!

Akinfeev jumped and raised his hand as the ball flew over the crossbar.

This was Real Madrid’s final attack in the match, the final shot…

Akinfeev planned to waste some time and he acted as though he was displeased with his defence before turning to get the ball from the ball boy, but the ball boy had already threw the ball at him.

The most diehard Real Madrid fans still had some hope in their hearts, but the referee’s whistle broke their hearts cruelly.

“The match is over!!” The commentator dragged his voice during his announcement, “3:2, Nottingham Forest with the final victory! Due to the goal by their captain, George Wood, in the 120th minute, they defeated Real Madrid in the Bernabéu Stadium and won the 13/14 UEFA Champions League trophy!”

This was like a heavenly voice to the Forest fans and all the tension that they felt disappeared along with this voice. What followed was indescribable agitation.

The Forest players and coaches who were already waiting outside the pitch rushed in as the final whistle was blown, celebrating the victory that belonged to them.

But Tony Twain still remembered to shake the hand of the opposing manager after the match ended.

The reporters gathered around him, surrounding him. He had to push them away before he could shake the hand of Míchel.

“Congratulations, Mr Twain,” even though he lost the most important match of the season, Míchel still had a polite smile on his face. A man of noble birth had a much better demeanour than someone from the grassroots like Twain indeed.

Twain did not accept his congratulations with his nose in the air as Míchel expected. On the contrary, the smile on his face was not obvious. He shook the hands of the Real Madrid manager and answered, “This is an exciting match, thank you, Mr González.”

The two of them did not communicate further. Míchel had to go console his players while Twain had to face the interruptions of the numerous reporters and at the same time, he had to go be with his players.

“Mr twain, can you tell us about your feelings after winning the Champions League again?” The question came from the English media. This reporter was very pleased with the “again” in his question, he even thought about Twain’s reaction——Praising him while he laughed, “Again? I like it!”

But he was disappointed. Twain was a little bit abnormal today. He was not as excited and agitated as people expected him to be. He merely made his way out, not planning to answer any question.

“Mr Twain, is achieving the treble the most memorable thing in your career?”

“Mr Twain, do you have anything to say about George Wood scoring the decisive goal in the dying moments? Was this specially planned by you?”

“Can we talk about Pepe’s foul and red card…”

“Sorry, please save your questions for the press conference later, thank you…” Twain pushed his way out while waving them away. As the manager who managed the winning team, to the reporters, he was putting on airs again.

An obvious smile showed on his face only when he saw George Wood.

But Wood’s keen senses still managed to catch the change in his expression.

“You don’t look too happy?” Wood asked.

“Nonsense,” Twain opened his arms with a smile, “I don’t want to let those reporters who are easily turned by success to keep asking questions. For now, I just want to be with you guys.”

Wood believed Twain, then, he did something that nobody expected——He gave Twain a tight hug.

“Thank you, boss.”

Twain patted him on his sturdy back, “I’m the one who should say thanks, George. Thank you for your goal at the end…”

He was planning to say something else but he realized that he had lost his balance——Wood and the other players had already lifted him up.

“Woah!” Twain was shocked.

“Hey, boss, stop moving around! You’re the manager of the champions!”

The players shouted at him gleefully.

Yet again, for the third time this season, he enjoyed the treatment that was exclusive to him as the players lifted him up——Being adored by everyone.

The English commentator laughed when he saw this, “Ha! The King of Nottingham Forest!”

And the Italian commentator gave Twain a new nickname——”Don”. Mister, sir, but there was another meaning to it——Godfather.

“Tony Don Twain. He is fully deserving of the title of Nottingham Forest’s Godfather. He led the team to three UEFA Champions League, three English Premier League titles, one League Cup, one FA Cup and many other International and Continental trophies. He is the most successful manager in England after Ferguson. Since Ferguson is Manchester United’s Godfather, then he can be Nottingham Forest’s Godfather too,” there was no signs of the usual mockery when the Italian said this. For this person who suffered from heart diseases, coming back to manage the team despite the massive pressure and eventually leading the team back to the peak, no matter how arrogant he was, how much they hate him, how much he made them suffer and how much he wronged them, in front of the glorious achievements he had, they had no choice but to accept it——The Godfather of Champions.

He was Nottingham Forest’s Godfather, and the synonym of champions.

He could accept the nickname “Don” without feeling bad.

Twain sat on the shoulders of the players and raised his fist towards the sky. The Queen’s classic song, “We are the champions”, was broadcasted in the Bernabéu Stadium. Along with the fervent song, the figure atop the people became larger and larger.

※※※

Chapter 881 - On This Night

When Tony Twain stood on the podium in a drenched suit and looking somewhat sloppy, the person waiting in front of him to give out the award was the UEFA President, Michel Platini.

The UEFA’s number one figure had a smile on his face as he looked at Twain pulled his wet hair away from his eyes and did not rush him.

Twain had just been splashed from head to toe by the players with the water they normally drank, which happened after he was carried around the field for a round. Twain was caught off guard and cut a sorry figure. He also had to be thankful that the boys did not pour champagne on him. Otherwise, he would have been sticky all over his body, which would be extremely uncomfortable.

Platini had been looking at Twain with a smile as if he was looking at something amusing. It was not until Twain finally tidied his messy hair in front of his forehead, that he finally extended his hand and said, “Congratulations, Mr. Twain.”

Twain returned the greeting, “Thank you, Mr. President.”

If Twain had been loyal to UEFA in the beginning, the smile on Platini’s face would have been even more resplendent at the moment. He would have patted Twain’s face and kissed him on the cheeks like how the French did it and said, “Congratulations, my dear Tony.”

However, having to now award a trophy to a team from the Premier League made Platini unable to smile in his heart. Five years ago, the Premier League teams, represented by Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, had occupied the top four spots in the UEFA Champions League back to back, much to the UEFA’s displeasure. Therefore, every effort was made to curb the influence of the Premier League teams in the Champions League, including covert manipulation of the draw results and the appointment of the referees. Later on, when Tony Twain had a heart attack and Nottingham Forest was in decline, the Premier League whirlwind became a little weaker. Unfortunately, Ferguson broke through layers of encirclement and suppression in the Champions League final before he retired and won the title. The strength of the Premier League could not even be contained by the UEFA’s plotting and scheming.

Now it was even more so. Tony Twain came charging back with Nottingham Forest and once again lifted the Champions League trophy, leaving all the European teams to become onlookers. If it were to continue to develop in this way, the UEFA Champions League should simply be renamed as “UEFA Europa League.”

It was definitely not the future that the UEFA wanted to see. On their lips, they said that “it is not good for the development of football if a certain nation’s league monopolizes the Champions League quarter-finals” when in fact, their real idea was that “after a certain nation’s national league monopolizes the Champions League quarter-finals, it is bound to make the other league fans lose interest in subsequent games, which will affect the ratings, and then directly affect the TV broadcast shares. In short, it was all about the money.”

The UEFA was not a charity and had no government funding behind it. They had to be responsible for its profit and losses so naturally they had to act accordingly to how the money came.

If there were three Premier League teams and any other national league team to advance in the top four every year, even the most hardcore fans would suffer from aesthetic fatigue one day. What would they do when they suffered from aesthetic fatigue? They would not watch the games, so the television broadcasters would in turn scale back their shares and the advertisers would cut back on their investments. Finally, there would be less and less money.

Platini raised the gold medal in his hand. At this time, Twain should bow his head and let Platini hang it around his neck. But he did not do so. He had not done that for a long time. He was not used to bowing in front of others, even to accept a gold medal. He always took the medal from the other person by hand.

Platini looked helplessly at the unruly man and handed the gold medal to him to his hand.

Twain saw the displeasure in Platini’s eyes, even though it soon disappeared. He knew Platini was not happy, but he did not care.

After he received the gold medal, Twain put it into the pocket of his suit jacket straight away, looking unimpressed. The Real Madrid fans must have been furious in their hearts when they saw the scene – the highest honor which they yearned for was actually treated like this by the rude and uneducated English country boor.

Tony Twain carried the gold medal in his pocket and shook hands with a few of the officials behind Platini. Then he walked to the side of the stage and waited with everyone for George Wood to take to the stage.

It was the highlight of the award ceremony – to give out the trophy.

As George Wood stepped onto the stage, his teammates on the other side were making hand gestures at him and whistling. One by one was excited like they had seen a beautiful naked woman- at this moment in their eyes, the “Big Ears” trophy with its wonderful arc reflecting the light on its shiny shell was indeed a beautiful naked woman in a sexy pose seducing them.

Wood bent over to let Platini hang the gold medal around his neck and then he walked with the UEFA president to the podium where the Champions League trophy was set.

“Champion! Champion! Champion!” The Forest players were shouting in unison at the back. They did not care what the UEFA thought about them taking the title. They just knew that the championship title was theirs!

Platini’s attention was caught by the sudden outburst of shouts at the back. He turned around to look back at the group of players with a smile of praise on his face. Twain watched at the side as he said in his heart that this official was indeed self-restrained….

Platini lifted and handed the trophy to Wood.

“Congratulations to you all, George. You are the European champions!”

Wood took the trophy unceremoniously and then held it high. His teammates behind him roared as they did the lifting of the trophy action together, “All hail—-the champion!”

Meanwhile, countless red confetti burst forth from behind the podium, and many more alternating red and white ribbons streamed down from the roof of the Bernabéu stadium, accompanied by the sudden blaring of the music, “We Are the Champions.” In the enemy’s lair, Nottingham Forest was crowned as the king of Europe.

This time, they were the king of kings – the Treble winner.

“… We’re the champions, my friend! We are the champions, victorious in every battle…”

Amidst the sound of the music, under the rain of confetti, Twain looked up and watched the scene. Those ribbons of streamers fluttering in the air glowed under the stadium’s bright lights, as if they were fragments of memories, each with a face and a memory. Eleven years on, he had been living here for so long. Some people’s names and faces had faded in his memory, while the others were still clear in his mind. Was it going to end like this?

Looking at those confetti dancing in the night sky, Twain felt somewhat reluctant in his heart as he thought on.

※※※

The reporters at the press conference were getting impatient as Twain was slow to arrive. He had changed into a suit and his hair was toweled dry. He looked more put together than he did when he received the award. Furthermore, he suddenly shook out a red cloak on the stage and acted like he was in a bullfight.

“What do all the Spanish reporters here think of my training? Let’s hear some applause.” He smiled and said to the people below, looking smug. “We’ve just killed a giant bull.” He made a sword piercing action.

He grinned at the Spanish reporters below whose faces had changed color. He had been looking forward to the meeting today since the pre-match press conference. He was glad that he had the last laugh. The red cloak for the bullfight was not bought in vain.

The faces of the Spanish reporters below suddenly darkened considerably. No one gave him a standing ovation.

It was an open provocation, and the action also set the tone of the press conference – if you’re going to provoke, we’re going to pick a quarrel.

Míchel left after he finished the interview before him. The carnage that was going to happen next naturally had nothing to do with him. After Twain taunted the Spaniards, he took a seat, nodded to the host, who signaled that the reporters could ask questions.

All the reporters raised their hands. Twain did not carefully look at which of the Spanish reporters here were the ones who had treated him with disdain just now or which of the English reporters who might be partial towards him. He simply pointed at someone. The person who stood up was a reporter for the Spanish newspaper . A middle-aged balding man spoke with gritted teeth. Apparently, he was strongly provoked by Twain’s “performance” just now. He said, “First of all, congratulations on your team winning the Treble. Secondly, I would like to ask about Pepe and that red card. He may face a very serious punishment. Do you have anything to say, Mr. Twain?”

Pepe’s nasty and violent foul in the game was certain to be the focus of many media attention after the game. The Spaniards would use it to attack Twain and topple the results that Nottingham Forest had achieved. And now, they wanted to spoil the good mood that Twain had just now at the press conference.

Twain raised his eyebrows and put his smile away as he said, “I support Pepe. The impulse was understandable at the time. After all, Real Madrid equalized the score with that penalty shot in the final minute. It’s such a coincidence. If it were me, I would be angry.” Unsurprisingly, Twain chose to be fiercely protective of his player and he covertly scolded the UEFA.

“Do you support the beating? The Marca reporter followed with the question.

“Under those circumstances at the time, I could understand it even if he hit someone.” Twain replied expressionlessly. “If it were me…” Twain paused a little and with a sudden big smile on his face, he added, “… I might perhaps hit someone too.”

The reporter of the Marca newspaper looked unhappy and sat down in anger. He was probably figuring out how to write bad things about Twain in the newspaper.

The second person who was called upon was still a Spanish reporter. This time, it was the newspaper. The target was still directed at Tony Twain. But the reason had changed to be about the tactics. “Wasn’t it abnormal that Nottingham Forest had repeatedly attacked the Real Madrid players throughout the game, with thirty fouls in one hundred and twenty minutes?”

“It’s a normal tactical arrangement.” Twain put the responsibility squarely on himself and said, “I instruct them to do so. As you can see, Mr. Reporter.” Twain pulled the gold medal out of his pocket. A ray of golden light dazzled under the lights caused the reporter to turn his head to the side and slightly closed his eyes. “We are the champion.”

“How can such a champion to take the title?” The reporter was upset by Twain’s flippant behavior. What he said was already out of a reporter’s scope of questions and somewhat lost rationality.

Twain spread his hands with a look of innocence and said, “Why ever now? We didn’t steal or rob. We didn’t rely on the referees nor the UEFA and we didn’t have the massive home field advantage. We also didn’t have the help of a last-minute penalty shot. We’re one player short as compared to Real Madrid. Under such circumstances, we still have the championship title. If we had no reason to win the championship, then dear Mr. Reporter, you tell me, is there any other team in the world that had more reason to take…this one than us??” Twain swayed the gold medal in front of the reporter’s eyes again. He deliberately wanted to annoy the other party.

“All right, next person.” Twain ignored the Spaniard, who was red in the face and biting his lower lip and turned his head to call up someone else again.

It was an English reporter who stood up this time, but in a sense he was still Twain’s “enemy”– a reporter from The Sun.

The Sun reporter was well-versed in the way of reporters. He said a few words of congratulation to Twain and asked a few painless questions which were not their purpose. If he were to play along, he wanted something explosive. He was unafraid of attracting hate. If he did not attract hate from people, then he was mediocre. A reporter must have the awareness to not change his colors even if tens of millions of people spat on and cursed on him.

“Mr. Twain, I heard that your contract will expire on June 30th, but you still haven’t renewed your contract with the club until now. Is there anything…. you’re hiding?”

The authentic English paparazzi indeed did a great job. He immediately shocked everyone present. Not many people knew about the news that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club. It could be said that even the Forest players did not know about the matter. He did not expect The Sun reporter to find out about it.

Twain had no choice but to sit up and take notice of the man in front of him.

“It’s a shame that you didn’t go work for the Scotland Yard, Mr. Reporter.” Twain’s words were tantamount to acknowledging The Sun’s story. The discussion below became so loud that the host had to step forward to maintain order.

But the reporter definitely wanted to make things awkward for Twain. He continued, “In other words, you admit that this matter is true. So, may I ask the reason why you choose not to renew your contract?”

Twain was prepared ahead of time and came out with the excuse to deal with Evan and Allan. He said, “I did not want to be disturbed by the terms of the contract and the salary package before the Champions League game.”

“That means it will be renewed after the Champions League, won’t it? Ah, Mr. Twain, you have to understand the feelings of those who care about you and the Forest fans. They must all want you to renew your contract and continue the glory as the club’s meritorious manager…”

These words sounded dignified, but Twain knew that the asshole was not well-intentioned.

“You’ll know when the time comes, Mr. Reporter.” Twain was certainly not to deal with too. He replied and ended the question.

Perhaps because three people had picked a quarrel in a row and spoiled his mood, Twain did not picked casually this time. Instead, he chose Pierce Brosnan.

Brosnan clearly did not know that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club yet. It looked like Twain had indeed covered it up tightly. He looked a little distracted when he stood. He must still be thinking about what had just happened. The questions he asked were also generic and without any news value. There was nothing about the team’s tactical arrangements. He did not praise the performances of a few players to play or talked about the feelings of winning the Treble…

Twain had a ready answer to every question. The two of them seemed to have already rehearsed earlier. The question and answer flower quickly. The other reporters below were earnestly doing shorthand but were shaking their heads inside at the same time – it looked like the show was already over.

After he finished answering these questions, Brosnan suddenly came to his senses. He still wanted to ask, “Tony, is it true that you’re renewing the contract after the Champions League?”

Twain was stumped by Brosnan’s frank question and his face looked ugly all of a sudden. However, such a look only appeared on his face for less than a second. He immediately returned to a smiling face.

“You’ll find out at that time, Mr. Brosnan.”

When Pierce Brosnan heard what Twain addressed him at the end, sweat beads appeared on his forehead. He realized that the king of Nottingham Forest was angry. But it reinforced his doubts about Twain’s failure to renew his contract with the club.

A year ago, the media speculated about Twain’s contract extension with the club. At the time, the Forest Football Club offered him a new five-year contract and more than doubled his current salary. Not only did the salary figure put him up there in terms of accomplishments, it also bumped him up there in the ranks of England’s top managers in terms of earnings. Initially, the negotiations went smoothly for everyone and Twain was already ready to sign a new contract. But unexpectedly, Allan forcibly meddled and sold Lennon. Twain said nothing and immediately suspended the renewal negotiations. He even told Evan to wait a year later to talk about this matter.

What Twain did was high-handed at the time and both parties were unhappy. Word on the street and even rumors stated that Twain would leave to coach Manchester United that summer. Although Twain did not leave in the end, which surprised those who thought he should have left, the rumors of a conflict between him and the club were rife and caused a stink for a while. It directly affected the team’s summer preparations for the competition. The will of the players in the team was unstable and transfers also tended to stagnate. As a result, the Forest team started the new season slower than the other rival teams. Otherwise they would not have to chase Arsenal so fiercely at the end of the season to capture the title.

Brosnan was aware that Twain and Allan were at odds, but did not expect him to really not renew his contract with the club thus far…

After this final game, it was believed that Evan Doughty would be eager to come up with a new contract. At that time, which course would Twain take?

The Nottingham Evening Post reporter’s eyebrows knitted together. He suddenly had a bad feeling about it.

By this time, the man in his eyes had got up to leave, and the host hurriedly announced that the press conference was over. The reporters still wanted to ask questions, but Twain just walked out without even turning his head back.

It should have been a celebratory and joyous press conference, but there was hardly a trace of the festive atmosphere to be felt…

Pierce Brosnan looked around and had such an idea in his mind.

※※※

Instead of going back to the locker room, Twain went straight to the bus parked outside the stadium, where his team was waiting for him.

Twain stepped on the bus and waved his hands as he announced, “Let’s go back and celebrate, guys! The season is over, so don’t think about anything else. Let’s party to our hearts’ content! Let loose and play!”

He was greeted by a crowd of people cheering wildly. After a tough season and gritting their teeth to persevere to this moment, what was it all for? It was to hear the boss say these words!

Previously, the boss would always brandished the whip at the back and yelled, “Run! Keep running! Don’t let up!” Now that they were finally at the finish line, and also the first to meet the line, they did not have to care about anything. They could stop and take a good breath.

The bus was suddenly lively. Some people were discussing where to go relax during the holidays. Some people were busy calling their families and girlfriends. Some people simply laid back on the seats to take a nap.

Twain did not care how much of a din they made. He sat down next to Kerslake and let out a gentle breath.

“It’s finally over, David.”

“Ah yes.” Kerslake replied with a smile, “I’ve got to have a good rest for a long time!”

“Me too.” Twain nodded.

“You really have to have a good rest. Don’t worry your wife too much. You have worked too hard during this period.”

Twain gave a grunt of agreement and then adjusted the seat to lean his body back and closed his eyes, He said, “I’m going to sleep for a while. Wake me when we reach, David.”

The luxury bus slowly pulled out of the Bernabéu stadium as the stadium lights slowly went out and headed for the hotel where they were staying. Everyone was still making a din in the bus. Leaning next to Kerslake, Twain was already lightly snoring away.

The din had nothing to do with him anymore

※※※

When Twain was woken up, the bus was parked in front of the hotel, and the players had all gotten out of the bus, leaving only him, Kerslake and the driver in the bus.

“Huh? Ah, we’re here?” Twain rubbed his face and sat up from his seat. But he forgot to adjust the seat angle, so his back relaxed and he laid back again. The feeling of weightlessness scared him and the expression on his face changed. He only returned to normal after he leaned back to the seat.

When he saw him looking tired like this, Kerslake laughed, “Looking like this, where is the demeanor of a European championship manager?”

“I’m still not fully awake yet…Yawn – ” Twain gave a yawn and stretched his back before he sat up again and slightly moved his neck and shoulders which were a little sore from maintaining the sleeping posture. “I had a dream.”

He looked at the old partner who had been with him for ten years. The lights inside the bus had gone out, but his eyes flashed in the dark, as if reflecting the lights outside the hotel entrance.

“A good dream?” Kerslake asked, following Twain’s words.

“A beautiful dream.” Twain nodded with certainty as he got up and left his seat. “A rare beautiful dream.” He strode and stepped out of the bus.

There were still many reporters and hardcore fans of the Forest team waiting at the hotel entrance. A commotion broke out when they saw Twain walk down, leaving the security guards and policemen in charge of maintaining order to be on high alert.

Fat John and his group were already inside. When they saw Twain, they started shouting, “Tony! Hey, Tony!”

Twain heard the shouts and waved to them.

“Thank you, Tony! Thank you!” The group of people seemed to drink a lot and looked very excited. They kept shouting “thank you” to Twain. They were obviously thanking him for giving the Forest team the Treble that had never been won even in Clough’s era.

Skinny Bill drank the most. He was flushed from his head to the base of his neck. When he saw Twain, he wanted to break through the barrier set up by the security guards and policemen. However, he did not have much strength due to too much drink. He was unstable on his feet and was pushed back by the police. Amid the jostle, he also vaguely shouted out, “Tony… hiccup! Tony, next year… Next year, we’ll win… the Treble, the Treble… hiccup!”

Twain waved to him and said, “Certainly.”

Then he walked into the hotel lobby. The security guards and police officers were relieved and withdrew to the door. With the help of the favorable location, they kept the frantic fans and reporters outside.

The players did not wait for the boss. Instead, they went out in packs of two and three. They had their own ways of recreation and fun, which had nothing to do with the manager. Twain also did not want to join in the fun. He and Kerslake went straight into the elevator to get on the floor where his room was located.

As soon as they came out of the elevator, the two men saw Evan Doughty and Allan Adams standing outside.

Evan smiled and greeted Kerslake first. Then he turned to Twain and said, Tony, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Although Kerslake was usually carefree and loud, he was not a fool. He knew that Mr. Chairman must have come to look for Twain about something. So, he made an excuse and left first.

Kerslake discreetly left, and Twain continued to stand inside the elevator.

Evan looked at him and smiled again, “If you don’t come out soon, you’ll have to go back to the first floor.”

Twain touched his nose and walked out with his head bowed. He longed to go back to the first floor. Although the idea had been hovering in his mind for a whole year, he still felt complicated when it was really time to say it out. He was very hesitant.

On this night, it was the night of the Champions. It was also a sleepless night for more than half of the people in Nottingham.

The players who had worked hard for a season would also have fun and indulge without restraint on a night like this. It was a night of revelry.

As for the reporters who hurried back from the stadium and the hotel, it was destined to be a busy night of work.

And now, for the three people standing at the elevator entrance, it was… a night for a showdown..

Chapter 882 - Showing His Hand

“Shall we head downstairs for a drink?” Tony Twain asked the two people in front of him, as he pointed in the elevator’s direction.

Evan looked at Alan before shaking his head. “No, I believe it’ll be full of football players there at this hour, and it’ll not be suitable for us to appear. Let’s go to your room, Tony.”

Tony Twain shook the key card in his hand and replied, “Alright. However, I can’t offer you two anything else aside from a few bottles of mineral water.” He turned to speak to the two guests as he stood before the door to his room.

Evan smiled at him, but Alan remained emotionless. Evan, who was standing beside him, looked like his bodyguard.

Twain invited the other two in after opening the door to his room. He walked in last and shut the door after them.

“What an exciting match, Tony,” Evan congratulated him first. At the Bernabeu, Tony Twain was either surrounded by reporters, lifted up by his team and paraded around the stadium, or he was receiving his medal. Evan Dogerty had no way of getting close to him.

“We lost one man to a red card, and the match could have gone either way.” In Twain’s eye, even though the match was intense, it was not exciting. He took out three bottles of mineral water from the minibar in his room and tossed two of them to his guests, before twisting the cap of his own bottle open and emptying half of it down his throat.

“What matters most is that you won!” Evan replied happily. He was destined to become the most successful club chairman throughout Nottingham Forest’s 149-year history, and he might even be known as its “greatest” one. “Aside, how will you handle the matter of Pepe’s red card?” Evan asked, not in a hurry to get to the main topic at hand. “Will you appeal against it?”

Twain looked at Evan, who was purposely trying not to reveal his true motive, and laughed. “Appeal? That red card was justified, and it’ll be perfectly normal for UEFA to issue a fine. The club should accept whatever decision the officials make. As for the others…they’re not your concern, Evan. You wouldn’t enjoy battling out in a war of words with those media reporters,” he said, signaling that he would deal with things.

“Alright, I can guess what you’re going to do…” Evan said, shaking his head. “However, I should warn you not to go too far.”

“I know how far I can go,” Twain replied, gulping down another mouthful of cool Evian water.

“Your limits…” Evan laughed bitterly. It was all he could do; Twain seldom requested for the club to clean up after him.

Actually, come to think of it, since all these years, the club would never involve itself in Twain’s squabbles with the media and not bother itself with either party. Twain had succeeded in focusing the public’s attention on his temper and character, instead of linking the issues at hand to the club. In short, his successes were attributed to the club, but when his reputation suffered, it had nothing to do with the Nottingham Forest Football Club.

Twain walked up to the window and opened the glass window before turning the air conditioning off. The night breeze rushed in, causing the curtains to puff up. The wind on the 11th floor of this building was rather strong.

The noise of the crowded streets drifted into the room along with the wind. The mixture of cars honking and fans’ drunken chants became very vague in the wind and sounded a little unreal.

“How cooling,” Twain said as he opened his arms, as if about to embrace the night.

“Hey, Tony. Do you have any plans for your vacation? I’m not talking about stuff like heading to Brazil to give a talk about the World Cup, mind you,” Evan kept beating around the bush, skirting around the main topic at hand.

Tony Twain was not in a hurry as well and took his lead. “I’ll be with my wife and I’ll go anywhere she goes.”

“You’re really a great husband,” praised Evan.

Twain shook his head in disagreement. “I’m only able to spend time once a year with her. I’m not a great husband…in fact, I don’t even know if I have fulfilled my responsibilities as a husband.” If it were not for the fact that he had to portray himself as the authoritative figure of a head coach in front of his players, he would have brought Shania back to his room for some intimate moments.

They chatted aimlessly in this manner, with Alan Adams remaining silent during their conversation. He sat beside Evan like an invisible person, drinking mouthful after mouthful of mineral water.

Perhaps, after sensing that Twain was finally getting tired after the intense match earlier on, Evan finally broached the subject matter at hand. “In truth, both Alan and I are here to discuss about your new contract, Tony.”

Upon hearing the words “new contract”, Alan discarded his invisible armor and fished out a stack of paper from his attache case, passing them to Evan Dogerty.

Twain’s lips curled. What’s to come will come, and no amount of small talk will be able to stop it from happening.

“You told me that you don’t want to talk about contract renewal before the Champion’s League campaign is over. I’m pleased that it has concluded, and even more so that we’ve won it. Now, the club would like to offer you a new contract – an entirely new one that was drawn up after the competition ended, mind you…Alan put in a lot of effort into this.” Evan Dogerty knew that Twain and Alan were at loggerheads with each other, and he was trying to rekindle their relationship.

Twain did not look at Alan, nor did he reply.

“You’ll stand to gain much more benefits. If you sign it, you’ll be the highest paid manager in all of England!” Evan Dogerty said excitedly. He was not known to be generous, but he had a thorough understanding of Tony Twain’s significance to Nottingham Forest Football Club. If they could retain him, they would be able to recoup any amount of money they had spent on him – whoever heard of a champion who worried about finances?

Twain reached his arm out toward Evan. The latter hurriedly passed the contract over, while he continued describing the wonderful future Twain would stand to gain once he renewed his contract, “…we’ll move into a spanking new stadium next season, and our ticket prices will definitely be increased. However, Nottingham is too small, and we have plans to expand into overseas markets. You’ve won the treble at just the right time! Now, the transfer market is open, and our resources have been boosted. You’ll be able to get whoever you wish!”

Twain ignored Evan’s emotionally charged speech and lowered his head to browse through each clause in the contract. Evan was not lying; it was much more generous than all of his previous contracts. If he signed on it, his annual salary would be as high as 7.5 million pounds. Even though it would not make him the most highly paid manager in the world, he would be very far ahead of his peers in the English Premier League. Wenger’s annual salary of 5 million pounds would not be a threat at all.

That was not inclusive of the perks of being crowned champions. To the Godfather of Championships, winning titles was a piece of cake, as was obtaining prize money.

However, Tony Twain did not think much about all these things. Even though he did not value money highly, he had many ways of earning it. The salary the club gave him was only one of them…

Aside from his salary, he also had many endorsement deals with companies like Armani, the FM series of video games, Gillette razors and Ray Ban sunglasses. He had even signed a contract with BBC television station to work as a special guest analyst during the BBC’s live telecasts of the England national team’s matches, and it gave him another source of income. Also, sales of his autobiography “10 Years” was also pretty good, and it was ranked among the top three most popular books in England for five consecutive weeks. In fact, it was number one on the bestseller list for two weeks. Everyone was extremely curious about England’s most peculiar and mysterious manager, and compared to all of these activities, the fees he collected by writing essays occasionally for various media outlets was peanuts and not worthy of mention.

He had never asked for a raise while signing the previous long 8 year contract with the club, and he led the way for his players. His supporters thought of him as the only coach in commercial football that was not materialistic, and some people also thought that his passion for Notthingham Forest Football Club was not measurable in terms of money. In reality, it was because his 2.7 million pound annual salary was only one-tenth of his total annual income…

Twain glanced over the clauses mentioning his income quickly, hoping to see that he be guaranteed more authority. If they were written in black and white, he would still be able to produce proof to protect himself during the unfortunate event of legal issues with the club.

This would be the last chance he was giving the club.

He was disappointed, however. His authority as a manager was not stated in any clause in the contract. Perhaps, Evan did not think that there was a need to state the obvious, as managers in the Premier League wielded the most influence in the footballing world, even though it had been watered down since the last two decades. Or maybe, he did not want to state it in fear that Twain would use it to hold the club hostage in a dispute. There was also a likelihood that this was Alan Adams’ idea; didn’t Evan mentioned that Alan drafted the contract? Why would he include anything that would diminish his own influence in it?

Twain shook his head lightly and returned the contract back to Evan.

Evan did not expect that Twain would return the contract untouched back to him. Earlier on, he thought that Twain would sign on it without hesitation after looking at the figures he would be earning.

“Er, Tony?” Evan asked somewhat dazedly, not taking back the contract immediately.

Twain lowered his head, as if having made a very big decision. He used the same amount of effort to raise his head and smiled at Evan. “I’m not planning to sign the contract, Evan.”

Evan Dogerty thought he had not heard Twain clearly and stared wide-eyed at him, trying to deduce how much possibility that he was joking from his smile.

Twain guessed Dogerty’s intentions and replied, “Stop looking, I’m not joking.” He brought one leg on top the other, taking a good look at the still shell-shocked club chairman. He turned his gaze to the calm-looking Alan Adams behind Dogerty and pitied him…

Alan did not have any intention to speak, and Twain remained silent after saying his piece. Evan was still in a state of shock, causing the entire room to fall into a state of silence. It was not an awkward kind of silence, however, because all three of them were thinking about different things. Noise from the streets had died down a little. Probably, the cops, who were supposed to maintain law and order, had finally decided to act.

Time passed by and Evan had long recovered from his shock. He began to ponder why Twain would reject the offer, his expression continually changing. Of course, he may have already came up with an answer, like how Alan forcefully sold Lennon one year ago, causing them to become enemies…but how could he still be so focused on something that happened a year ago? Wasn’t this too petty? People have to look forward to the future, and let the past be the past. If he continues staying with us, what title or football star would he not be able to get? What was one Lennon compared to all that?

However, he did not know that Twain did not care about Lennon or Messi, but that his authority had been directly threatened and challenged. He was idealistic like that, and if such incidents happened once, they would keep occurring, and it would eventually drive him mad.

If those crazy Arabs who owned Manchester City forked out 100 million pounds to purchase George, Twain was unsure if he could make the star stay. This was because Alan would definitely get involved; from a purely commercial viewpoint, 100 million pounds could bring in three top-class midfielders who were only slightly less skillful than George. Why wouldn’t that be a good deal?

Businessmen would never get it; football was not a numbers game. Some things could never be purchased with money, and had Manchester City won a trophy with all its riches and splurging? They were losers who could not even win the League Cup!

Evan pondered and observed for a very long while. He noticed that both Alan and Tony did not have any intention of making peace with each other, and he began to speak. “I think there must be some misunderstanding about this, Tony…”

Twain shook his head. “I’m tired, Evan. All I want is some rest and to stay at home with my wife. I want to take care of her needs, just like a stay at home husband.” He wanted to show his cards and add, “I don’t see eye to eye with Alan, and we don’t have to force ourselves to work together if we have differing view points. Let’s just seek different paths in life from now on,” but he changed tack before the words were about to leave his mouth.

“You’ll have vacation time.”

“Less than a month’s worth of vacation time cannot repay Shania for what I owe her over the last 11 years,” Twain said very seriously, without any hint of sounding perfunctory. This was because they were the truth.

However, Evan did not believe the reasons that Twain had just gave him. He frowned and kept shaking his head, “Oh, please, don’t be like this, Tony…no manager has ever left his post at the age of 45 for such reasons. You’re still young, okay? You can achieve even greater things, as long as we stay as a team, don’t you agree? Of all clubs in the Premier League…no, in the entire world, Nottingham Forest is most suited for you to display your talents. We need you as much as you need us.”

“I admit,” Twain nodded, grinning. He spoke the truth.

There were a group of players who he cultivated personally here, and his most ardent supporters were also from the club. There were media people who praised him and played mind games with him, and a club chairman who did not have much influence and did not care about what he was planning most of the time…perhaps, he might only find two of these things in another football club. There was only one Nottingham Forest in the entire world, and it was entirely unique.

Alan Adams might have been the only bad thing in the club for Twain, but he was a lethal thorn in his side. Twain would never scream at Evan and force him to choose between himself or Alan, like a jealous woman in some eight o’clock soap opera on the television.

He knew how important Alan was to Evan, as a co-founder and friend for many decades. Even if it came down to choosing between the two of them, Twain was sure that a distant relation like himself would never stand a chance.

“I only wish to rest. So, even if Nottingham Forest is the only club that’s suitable for me in the entire world, I don’t have any objection, Evan.”

Evan believed that Twain would rebut him, and he was prepared to ask him if it would really be better to go to a club bigger than Nottingham Forest. After so many years, he had long discarded his initial plan of achieving G14 status for the club. Of course, this was directly connected to the dissolution of G14 by UEFA.

“I’m not going to Manchester United, Evan. I’m not going anywhere…hmm, maybe I’ll go to the States; Shania’s career is based there. However, I’m not going to coach there. Do they play football over there? I’m clueless about American Football,” Twain said, turning his palms up, showing a ‘relaxed’ pose.

Evan stared at the grinning Twain, as if he wanted to see through all of him.

Twain stopped talking.

Both of them stared at each other for a while before Evan got up from the sofa. “I hope you’ll take some time to consider, Tony. There’s still a month before your contract will be up, and this contract…” he patted it for effect before continuing, “…you can keep it.”

He was about to leave.

Twain got up to send his guests off. “Don’t waste your effort, Evan. Spend it to look for my successor. I’m quitting, I’m serious,” he said in a very serious tone.

Evan did not reply and merely left with Alan.

He remained silent until both of them walked into the empty elevator. He only erupted in anger after the elevator doors were tightly shut, “Fuck! How could he do something like that!!”

Alan remained silent by his side and listened to his old friend and boss unleash his unhappiness.

“Who does he think he is?! Does he think he’s so great after winning three titles? How could he reject an annual salary of 7.5 million pounds?!! Tell me, Alan!”

Evan Dogerty turned around in a flourish and stared at Alan Adams.

“Tell me, did I wrong him in any way? I was cleaning up after him while he spoke arrogantly! I fulfilled all of his requests, and he has basically become the Supreme Emperor of Nottingham Forest in the eyes of the media. Who still remembers that I’m the club’s chairman? But I didn’t care…I really don’t care about such things! I only want him to continue managing this football club, and to win trophies for us! Yet, he’s still unsatisfied, he…fuck him!”

Evan punched the gold plated walls of the elevator, causing it to rumble. The entire elevator seemed to be shaking.

“Alright, I know what he’s actually thinking about. What bullshit about accompanying his wife? He’s only trying to complain that he doesn’t have enough authority. How much does he want? Does he want to directly replace me as the club’s chairman? If that happened, no one will be able to control him.” Evan laughed coldly all of a sudden, before continuing, “The media has created an image of him as the ‘King of Nottingham Forest’, and he really bought it…laughable!”

The lift stopped moving with a ‘Ding!’ and the doors opened slowly. They were at the first floor now.

Evan did not turn to look at his companion, the rage long gone from his face. No one could tell that he had just unleashed a volley of vulgarities in the lift. “Alan, prepare a shortlist of potential successors. I want to see it latest by next afternoon. Then, we’ll start looking for the next coach,” he said calmly.

Alan nodded, before realizing that it would be more prudent not to show Evan that he was all-knowing. As such, he asked, “Aren’t we going to wait for June 30th any longer?”

“A new coach, new plan and new formation will take time to meld. It’ll be too late if we wait until then. We’ll have lost out to our competitors.”

Evan walked out of the elevator as he spoke, with Alan behind him. Both of them walked past the great hall and out of the entrance, before diving into a black sedan that had long been waiting for them, disappearing into the night.

Chapter 883 - The Storm before the Night

It wasn’t until noon the next day that Twain met all the Nottingham Forest team members in the restaurant, both players and coaches. There was no one having meals in the restaurant in the morning. Twain knew that these people went through a full frenzy night of partying so all of them must have slept in. Anyways, the season had already ended so he would not ask someone else to knock on their doors.

After the team lunch, they would take a flight back to England, then an open-top double-decker bus from Birmingham Airport into Nottingham. After they arrived, they had an interview with the mayor at the city square, after which they would climb onto the town hall balcony and meet the fans that would gather there. That was their itinerary for the day. There was no arrangement to celebrate during the evening at the City Stadium as the City Stadium was fully closed for final preparations before its demolition.

On the flight from Madrid to Birmingham, Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were in first class seating and did not come to find Twain, thought Twain did not want them to disturb him either. He leaned against his seat and texted Shania to ask where she wanted to go this holiday.

Most of the players continued to sleep on the plane. The beautiful air stewardesses were elegant and careful, but they were also helpless in front of guys who were continuously snoring.

After the plane landed in Birmingham, it was Twain and Wood who were carrying the championship trophy and the first to walk down the plane’s ladder.

Reporters who had been waiting there for a long time swarmed up. In an instant, there were several flashes and some players who were still drowsy almost rolled down the ladder when they looked up.

Twain was interviewed after disembarking and was asked to give an impromptu speech.

“This is a gift to all the Nottingham Forest fans.” He held up his trophy and the silver glinted in the afternoon sun.

Instead of an emotional and passionate speech, he simply waved to the camera, “I love you all.”

Then he got into the crowd and left the scene under police protection.

This left a few stunned reporters facing each other. It was not like Twain to give such a short speech.

Only Evan Doughty and Allan Adams knew why – when Twain has decided to leave the scene, there was not much meaning to what else he wanted to say.

Twain forced a smile in front of everyone, but he was not in a good mood. If he were alone, that smile would disappear and he would just stare into space.

He stayed like this, zoned out, until he ascended to the second-floor balcony of City Hall to face the tens of thousands of Nottingham Forest fans below. He only got up when he needed to show up, choosing to hide behind the other players most of the time, his gaze was constantly moving.

Because every time he saw the enthusiastic fans below, he had to think about how to deal with them after he announced the news. What would the people who once supported him think? Would they continue to support him or would they shun him? Would he need to wear sunglasses and dress up differently whenever he walked within the city of Nottingham?

And his players. How would they feel in their hearts if his most loyal players knew their coach betrayed them? Twain did not dare to think about this future. He felt sorry for the team, but he had no choice, he did not want to force himself to stay anymore. Leading the team to the club’s unprecedented Triple Crown may be his only compensation for these people, so this also allowed Twain’s heart to settle a little.

Twain did not tell Shania when he was making the decision, perhaps he could have sought Shania’s comfort and support. But that would also make Shania worry for himself. Twain did not want this to happen, so he chose himself to bear these burden alone.

“Coach! Hey, coach!” Bale called a few times from the side before waking up the daydreaming Twain.

“Ah?” What’s the matter, little monkey? ” Twain called Bale’s nickname.

“They’re all shouting your name.” Bale pointed to the crowds below.

Twain knew he needed to go forward and wave again, so he squeezed towards the front.

The fans below stopped shouting his name when they saw Twain reappeared, then came a huge cheer afterwards.

Twain waved to them with a huge smile on his face.

Wood handed him the microphone from his hand. It was not as simple as just waving his hand, he needed to make a speech.

Twain received the microphone and looked at the people below, his mouth opened but he did not know what to say. So he dazed out on the spot while holding the microphone.

As the cheers faded, Twain realized that he would be exposed to be out of state if he continued dazing. He coughed and began, “Thank you all so much for being here.”

Then he got stuck again.

“Well… Thank you again for this… One season of support. He almost said, “the support of the past 11 years.”

“We won three of the most important championships. ” Twain pointed to the three trophies of different shapes and sizes in front of him. They were the English Premier League Champions Trophy, the FA Cup and the freshly released European Champions Cup. “Here are three love letters for all of you. I love you all. ”

When he said this, Twain was not being pretentious and fake. He really loved this group of fans. After all, He has coached this team for eleven years, there were no fake feelings involved.

Someone passionately screamed from below, “I love you, Tony.”

There was no shortage of sexy hot girls within the crowds. The players behind him whistled.

“We wouldn’t have achieved those results without your support, ” Twain continued after the commotion. “I will firmly remember you guys, this day belongs to you, go and have lots of fun!” he gave the microphone to the people around him and stepped back.

“The head coach is a little weird…” Bale muttered to Wood.

Wood looked at Twain and did not respond.

“Maybe he was too tired…” Others were also aware about how weird Twain was as what Bale said. If it was like in the past, the head coach would surely deliver a speech here that would excite his supporters and incite fear in his opponents, then he would bring the atmosphere to its climax. But today’s head coach was like a poet. He was a little… sentimental…?

His statement garnered the approval from others. During these days, the head coach was really tired. Everyone saw this; it was definitely not fake. There were only players, hence they would at most be physically tired, but being the coach would involve being emotionally fatigued. If he was tired mentally, he would naturally not have sufficient strength to make an emotional and passionate speech here.

The revelry with the fans continued into the evening. Nottingham Forest’s players and the three trophies finally disappeared from the second-floor balcony. Their whole team went to the mayor’s dinner, and the fans were also leaving as they would continue to celebrate this great season in their respective bars.

※※※

On the same day, the media also started buzzing.

The Spanish media were not happy with the Nottingham Forest winning the Champions League. They did not think Nottingham Forest had any reason to win the championship and the trophy was stolen by them. Whether it was the team line-up, sports physique or the audience’s opinions, Real Madrid was more qualified to lift the trophy than they were.

In addition to criticizing Tony Twain for his lack of championship demeanor in his post-match press conference, they also talked about Pepe’s red card. A majority probably wanted to force Pepe to retire, if not they would not stop criticizing about it.

Real Madrid did not speak yet but Angel Torres, the younger brother of the president of Real Madrid, Angel Torres, who had a Real Madrid membership card, jumped out and publicly attacked Pepe, claiming that “Nottingham Forest should have expelled such violent players from the team”.

Despite Pepe’s public apology in the English media the next day and his tears of remorse, the Spanish people did not waver at all. There were still some Spanish media clamors for Pepe to be banned from matches forever. The reason being “In the final match of the European Champions Cup, in such an important, high-profile game, such violent actions were a disgrace to football, and such a person simply does not deserve to play football!”

Marca was concerned about UEFA’s reaction towards the incident. The UEFA’s response was swift — in fact everything regarding Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain, like penalty decisions were decided quite quickly. On the second day after the match they had already made a penalty decision: a 15-game ban and a fine of 50,000 euros for Pepe’s European-wide matches. That meant that even if Nottingham Forest reached the Champions League final next season, Pepe would miss all 13 games. On top of that, Pepe would be suspended for the European Super Cup at the end of August and then another match in the next season – that is, if Nottingham Forest could still qualify for European competitions, whether it is the Confederations Cup or the Champions League, or for the European Super Cup.

This was a rather severe penalty.

Nottingham Forest did not appeal against this. Instead, they quietly accepted the penalty, so the Spanish media had speculated whether the Nottingham Forest club would also impose penalties on Pepe… Unfortunately, they did not receive any news on this and Nottingham Forest Club did not announce any form of punishment for Pepe — he would not even have a smaller winning bonus.

Pepe was in a very bad mood at first because after calming down, he also felt that he had broken into a great disaster. He even thought about retiring in his mind. If it were not for the coach, he might have just gone ahead and retired.

It was the head coach who found him at lunchtime the next day, pulling him into the corner for more than half an hour and explaining to him about the club and his personal’s stance. Regardless of this matter there would be no further complications, so just let bygones be bygones. Twain on his end understood what he did at that time and would not impose any further punishment.

Twain’s tolerance and understanding made Pepe grateful and strengthened his determination to remain loyal to the Nottingham team. Now Twain was still dealing with all kinds of issues, and when he was free, he would rebut against those Spanish media on his own forums. These Spanish people would definitely have the opportunity to suffer Twain’s scolding.

Most of the English media were speculating about another event that had nothing to do with winning the title — whether the affinity between Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest have come to an end. Ever since the news was exposed, it was like a tropical rainstorm, sweeping the whole English media. As for Tony Twain leading the team to attain the Triple Champions, the news rather became more common and uninteresting in comparison…

The mayor also asked about this matter during the celebratory dinner at the mayor’s official residence. The Nottingham team’s trio laughed harmoniously at the mayor’s concern, as if there were no contradictions at all. Twain continuously promised to “settle down in a few days first then consider a contract extension” and Evan Doughty assured the mayor as he swore that the club would offer their meritorious coach a contract that would match what he had achieved so far.

But the mayor would never know what the three people were actually thinking.

There were players who heard similar news from other sources, running to the head coach during the party and asking if he was really leaving. This was what Twain thought was the hardest to deal with: He did not want to lie in front of his players, but then again, this was not the time to reveal everything. He only entertained them by saying, “You guys will know then.” He wanted to pretend to be mysterious so everyone would not blindly speculate.

At the end he simply hid outside alone to enjoy the cold breeze.

This was the corner of the garden of the official residence. It was very dark, and usually no one would come to this place. Twain hid here, thinking that he could get through the night, but he did not expect to meet yet an uninvited guest.

“If I said, ‘Hey, what a coincidence!’ You wouldn’t buy it, would you?” The visitor was carrying a wine glass and it looked like he was coming out to enjoy the cold breeze as well.

Twain looked at him and did not say anything.

The man continued, “You don’t have to be like this right, Twain? Since you have decided to leave, then the feud between us should be written off, shouldn’t it? ”

Twain voice seemed to come out of his nose, “Good evening, Mr. Allan Adams.”

Twain was finally willing to talk to him. Allan smiled, “I have not much opinions about you, Tony. Everything I do is based on the financial considerations for the club. It’s like everything you think is based on team results. The two of us… well maybe if we weren’t handling such matters, could be friends.”

“Maybe,” Twain said coldly. If it were not for the man in front of him, his affinity with the Nottingham Forest might not have been broken so fast.

“Can I ask you what you’re going to do after you leave here?” No, it’s not the question asking where you are going with your wife, it’s about football…” Allan waved.

Twain thought, then shook his head, “I don’t know, no plans. Maybe I’ll go some time without touching football.” Then he smiled coldly. “Are you still worried that I’m going to Manchester United to become Nottingham Forest’s enemy?”

Allan did not say anything, it was as if he was acknowledging it silently.

“I’m not interested.” Twain shrugged. “I can’t be too sure about the far future, but I won’t be coaching any Premier League team in the years to come. ”

He did not say why, but the reason was obvious. Leading the Nottingham Forest for eleven years, this team had long been integrated with him — both entities were one and the same. He was simply unable to imagine himself standing as the manager of another Premier League team and directing them against Nottingham Forest. When he was at Nottingham Forest, he managed to put the rest of the Premier League on the opposite side of Nottingham Forest and made them enemies of Nottingham Forest, so how could he now turn around and become the very enemy he created?

Allan seemed relieved. When they signed the contract with Twain, they had never thought of what was happening today, otherwise he would definitely write in the contract, “Once the two sides decide not to renew the contract, five years upon the expiry of the contract, Party B would not be allowed to coach any team within the same league.” At least now he was a little settled.

Was he afraid of Tony? To tell the truth, he was indeed afraid. He was afraid to become an enemy of Tony Twain. When this guy goes crazy, he throws everything out of the window, he would become a completely different person.

After confirming this matter, Allan had no more reason to talk about the past with Tony Twain, he used an excuse to leave the place, leaving Tony Twain alone behind. Twain looked at the brightly lit doorway, as the noise came out vaguely.

He suddenly felt a little lonely, but he liked this type of loneliness. If it was possible, it was best to keep him lonely until the end of the dinner party, and then he could go back and hug his dear wife.

After spending a moment alone in the dark, Twain returned to the lively hall. Chris Kerslake came to him, “Where have you been, Tony? I was looking for you but could not find you. ”

“Go outside and catch a breather. What are you looking for me for?”

“Well… I heard a little rumor.” Chris Kerslake looked at Twain.

“And you want me to give you validation?”

Chris Kerslake nodded.

Twain hesitated for a while.

“You’ll know by then, David. ” He was still using the same excuse to avoid the question.

“When? If you want to renew your contract with the club, it would be usually around these few days?”

“You’ll find out in a few days, David. “Twain patted his old partner on the shoulder.

He did not lie on purpose, but he really did not think about how to say goodbye to the people closest to him. After today, the team would be immediately disbanded and everyone could go and settle their own respective matters. Some would go on vacation and they would not meet each other until the next gathering. Because of the World Cup, the first to return to the team were those players who were not selected for their respective national teams, Twain needed to commentate on the World Cup, so the team would be led by his assistants on the time being. By the time the World Cup was over, his contract with the club would have long been expired.

He also knew that Evan and Allan would not really wait until June 30 to find his successors, and the news would not be able to stay hidden for a few days. Still, he wanted this to drag on, so at least he was able to think of ways to bade farewell to these people.

“If there are any developments, I’ll turn to you first to let you know, David.” Twain laughed.

“Okay…” Chris Kerslake sighed helplessly. “My handphone will be switched on twenty-four seven. ”

“Thank you, David.”

“What are you thanking me for? Sigh, I also don’t know why, but my heart feels a little uneasy. Maybe I drank a little too much?”

Chris Kerslake muttered and turned away.

Twain’s troubles weighed heavier and heavier.

“I’m sorry, comrades. I’m not going to continue to lead you to victory and championship. I have decided to resign automatically when my contract expiresd because of some conflict between me and the club. I wish you all all the best.”

There were so many people, how could he say all of them in front of them?

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )

Chapter 884 - A Storm Brewing

Twain was lying on the big bed at home. He was awakened by the morning sun.

“Good morning, champion manager.”

Shania laid next to him, drawing circles on Twain’s chest with her hair.

Twain squinted his eyes as he looked out of the window at the bright white sunshine and groggily asked, “What time is it?”

“9:47.” Shania glanced sideways at the small alarm clock placed on the bedside table and continued to play the game of drawing her hair around on Twain’s chest.

Twain watched Shania play the game on his chest, and felt a warm feeling rose within his heart.

This was the most important person in his life, so he could not hide this matter any longer.

“Jor.”

“Hmmm?” Shania was a little surprised, and she stopped her hand movements as well. One must know that although “Jor” was Shania’s official nickname, Uncle Tony rarely called her by that name. He had always called her by the name “Shania” since they first met.

“Have you thought about where we’re going for the holidays?”

Shania recovered her composure and continued to draw her circles as she said, “We can go to Brazil. Anyway, the World Cup is being held in Brazil and you have to do the commentary for the games. We can also visit my parents on the way, and then we’ll do our own fun things after. After which, you can go do your commentary and I’ll head to America.” Shania had already arranged for the future plans to be formed.

“That’s a good idea.” Twain also agreed with Shania’s arrangement. But he still had a question, “So what about after the World Cup?”

“Huh?” Shania stopped what she was doing again and looked up at Twain. “Don’t you have to be back in the team then? Your team starts to gather on June 20th…”

Twain smiled and watched Shania without answering. The more Shania spoke, the more she felt that something was off. Then she did not go on and stared at Twain, which implied –”Do you have anything you want to tell me, Uncle Tony?”

Twain reached out and gently rubbed his hand on Shania’s head as he said, “Well, my contract with the club is soon going to expire and I’m not going to renew my contract with the club.” His tone was calm, as if he was talking about something very common.

Shania’s reaction was not calm at all. This time she directly pushed her body up from the bed with both hands, opened her mouth, and stared wide-eyed at her husband in front of her.

“I’m going to have a lot of time to spend with you.” Twain smiled and spread his arms wide open to draw Shania into his embrace.

Shania laid on top of Twain’s chest and still trying to make sense of it. She said “This… You’re not lying to me, are you, Uncle Tony?”

“Today is not April Fool’s Day.” Twain pretended to be angry.

“Well… why are you doing this? You’ve just won the Treble for the Forest team…” Shania still did not understand. It was reasonable to say that having just won the Treble, this should be the peak of Uncle Tony’s career. How could he choose not to renew the contract at this time? “You’re not going to another team, are you? Like Manchester United or something…”

Twain continued to laugh, “Did I not just say that I’m going to have more time to spend with you?”

Shania turned her head sideway over so that she could see Twain’s eyes as she asked, “What’s the reason? I don’t understand why you choose to resign at this time.”

“Firstly, I can have more time to be with you. Secondly…” Twain hesitated for a little while before he continued, “Allan Adams and I have a contradiction. It’s a contradiction that can affect my work. But he and the chairman have a good relationship, so obviously I have to leave on my own.”

Shania knew that her husband was at odds with the marketing manager. When Allan Adams forced his way in to sell Lennon, Twain came home angry for several days, which caused Shania to worry for a long time for fear of the provocation to his heart. As a result, she did not have a good impression of the man. The reason was adequate enough that she no longer doubted that she was dreaming, or that Uncle Tony was pulling her leg.

“If you want to resign, just go ahead and resign. My Uncle Tony is the greatest manager in the world, and the people who want to hire him can line up from London to Paris.” Shania held her chin with both hands as she laid on the bed with both her feet swaying behind her.

“Hey, Shania. I’m talking about spending more time with you.” Twain reminded her with a little surprise.

Shania glanced at Twain and said, “If it’s true, then that’s fine.”

Twain wanted to explain himself, but Shania had already jumped out of bed. She said, “I’m going to cook for you. Are you hungry?”

After saying that, she skipped as she ran out.

Twain laid in bed. He did feel hungry. But what he cared more about than the noise rumbling in his stomach was that Shania obviously did not believe what he said…

He laid back on the bed again, feeling deflated, as he looked at the ceiling and sighed.

What a failure. He had gotten so many championship titles that he just had to say he was going to win a title, and the media and the fans and the players would all believe it. But when he wanted to make his wife happy, his wife did not believe him.

Ah, it’s easy to take the champion title but so hard to coax my wife…

※※※

Italian football’s Serie A was long over and Inter Milan, which failed to reach the Champions League final, was dismissed the day after the league tournament ended. As the manager of the team, Mourinho was even less likely to stay at Milan to continue working, even if he was a workaholic. At this point, he was basking in the sun on the beach in his hometown of Setúbal Municipality, Portugal’s third-largest port city.

With his upper torso naked and wearing only a pair of printed shorts, the world’s top-earning manager was lying on a white beach chair with sunglasses on. Next to him was a glass of whisky with ice cubes floating in it on a small round table. His cell phone was placed next to it and underneath the phone was an opened book.

There were plenty of tourists on the beach. Most of whom came here with their families for a holiday and to relax. However, Mourinho was alone, not because he was at odds with his wife. He just wanted to enjoy his time alone. Sometimes he liked to be this way. Whether he was contemplating a problem, or when he had nothing in mind, he felt it was great to have such a quiet time which only belonged to him and he could do anything without anyone to disturb him.

Unfortunately, the time left undisturbed today did not last long.

The cell phone on the round table rang.

Mourinho did not pick it up at first. He laid motionless in his chair, as if he were asleep. Anyway, he wore sunglasses, so no one knew if he was asleep with his eyes closed.

The phone rang for a while before it was automatically cut off. Mourinho did not even turn his head throughout the whole process. He was still enjoying his own contented time.

Very soon, the phone rang again, and it was not cut off for a long time. The man lying on the chair finally got up somewhat impatiently. Instead of getting up, he reached out to touch his cell phone, put the Bluetooth headset on his ear, and pressed the answer button to say, “Hello.”

“José!” It was the voice of his agent and good friend, Mendes. “I have the latest update which I think you’ll be interested.”

“Is it still about Manchester United?” Mourinho’s voice was languid, like the afternoon sun.

Before the end of the season, the English and Italian media were speculating about the rumor that Manchester United was interested in asking Mourinho to take over Martin O’Neill’s position. In fact, it was not a rumor. The walls had ears and no secret could stay secret forever in the world. Tony Twain could hide that he did not renew his contract with the club, but it did not escape The Sun. The affair between Mourinho and Manchester United was naturally harder to hide from the omnipotent reporter.

As Mourinho’s agent, Mendes did have closer contact with the Manchester United Football Club. Manchester United wanted to reconstruct its glory, so it obviously needed a big-name manager of high quality and prestige. O’Neill’s ability was not bad, but he could not control the locker room. Originally, Tony Twain was the most suitable candidate and was handpicked by the godfather of Manchester United, Ferguson, to be the successor. However, he had no interest in any other team except Nottingham Forest. Manchester United only then found Mourinho because they knew the relationship between Mourinho and Inter Milan was not inseparably close.

Although Mourinho had the world’s highest salary for a manager at Inter Milan, he had not been happy there. Italy’s football environment was completely different from the English Premier League. As a team’s manager, he had too many restrictions, like he was walking with shackles around his neck, wrists and ankles. He could not talk about a lot of things because once he said them today and the media embellished tomorrow, then President Moratti would come look for him to have an “intimate long talk” the day after tomorrow. The rival managers had always thought Mourinho was not that great and that he was just a regular manager who talked big and of an unorthodox background. He could get the highest salary only because he could package himself while the Italian academic type of managers felt that it was beneath them to do so. For them, football was football and not to be diluted by anything else. A manager’s job was to train the team, develop tactics and direct the game. To become the team’s number one star would be to upstage the main attraction.

Sometimes he really missed his time in England. Although there was a club president who liked to criticize or give orders summarily, he could still breathe more freely there.

Like the sea breeze here, the freedom belonged only to him.

“No, it’s not Manchester United this time.” Mendes’s voice on the phone sounded different from usual. Perhaps the signal was somewhat distorted during transmission, or perhaps because Mendes’ own mood had changed.

Mourinho soon knew the answer to that question.

“There is a football club that has joined the ranks to compete for you.” Mendes tried to keep the pace of his tone close to normal, but in fact he was a little faster than usual. It could be heard that he himself was very interested in this matter.

“Oh –”Mourinho did not even raise his eyebrows. His tone was still languid. He did not ask which team. Such things happened all the time, whether it was Real Madrid or Manchester United. Their interest in him had not been just a day or two anyway. What he was doing now was to reach out to get the wine glass on the table.

“It’s also an English Premier League team.” Mendes was still keeping it in suspense, even if Mourinho did not cooperate. “This team has just made headlines in the major sports media…”

Mourinho’s hand had almost touched the glass when he stopped. His other hand pushed his body up. It was his biggest movement up until now since answering the phone because he was surprised.

He certainly knew which team Mendes was talking about.

“Nottingham Forest? How is that possible?” Mourinho was so surprised that his voice became much louder. The laziness he felt just now had been swept away, all of which was cleanly evaporated by the afternoon sun.

Mendes smiled and was very pleased with his friend’s reaction. “I have another piece of news, which is related to this.”

“What?”

“The contract renewal talks between Tony Twain and the club had collapsed and he decided not to renew the contract. He will leave automatically at the end of his contract.”

Mourinho’s mood at the moment could no longer be described as “surprise.” Perhaps it would be more appropriate to use “shock.” He still maintained his posture from just now, with his left hand supporting his body and his right hand reaching out to the wine glass.

“The talks fell apart? Was the salary too low?” It was the only reason Mourinho could think of. As one of the most successful managers in the world of football, Tony Twain’s ultra-low salary had always been incomprehensible to people. Mourinho was the same as well.

“No. I got the news from another source that Nottingham Forest offered him the highest annual salary in the English Premier League history.”

The Portuguese coach was completely baffled. Twain was not even satisfied with the highest annual salary. What more did he want?

“If you want to know the reason why, you can call him, José. I only know these details. Twain has kept this matter as top secret, and now the media are waiting for him and the club to announce the success of his contract renewal.” As a friend of Mourinho’s, Mendes naturally guessed what he was thinking at the moment.

Hearing this last sentence, Mourinho’s lips curled up. He knew that Twain was playing with the media.

But he would not call Twain. As he had said many years ago, as long as they were both football managers, they could only be enemies, and not friends.

After he ended the call with Mendes, Mourinho laid back down again and continued to enjoy the time that belonged to him only. But this time his mind is no longer carefree, but in a turmoil like a storm in the sea.

That guy, Tony Twain actually left Nottingham Forest where he had been for eleven years… What the hell is he thinking? Nottingham Forest has just achieved a great accomplishment of the Treble win. It is now time to take center stage and lord it over others. But the manager leaves instead. What will be the future of this team? It’s truly worrying…

But in fact, Mourinho was not concerned about these things. He cared only about which team Tony Twain would take over after he left Nottingham Forest. In his view, Manchester United was undoubtedly the most likely. Manchester United had always been interested in working with Twain. Previously, it was because Twain did not want to leave the Forest team that they were unable to recruit him. And now…

After pondering for a while, Mourinho suddenly turned his attention back. Shouldn’t this supposed to be Tony Twain’s trouble instead? Why am I worrying about it for?

Just as he was clearing the mess in his head and preparing to continue his vacation, his cell phone rang again.

He thought it was Mendes with the latest news again, so he put on his earpiece to answer the phone. What came on was a familiar and yet strange voice, and it sounded excited, “Hey, José! I want to book an appointment for you and me to have a drink together!”

Mourinho stared blankly for a moment and then he realized that the caller was the man who was just on his mind – Tony Twain.

“Did you not quit drinking after the heart attack?”

“For some people, it is necessary to drink together. Other beverages will not do. Anyway, it’s just this one time.”

“I recall saying that unless we’re not enemies in football, otherwise…”

Twain interrupted Mourinho’s words to say, “Hey, I’ve already resigned from Nottingham Forest!”

“Manchester United has an open position.”

Twain smiled and said, “I’ve heard that they’re more interested in you. In fact, I’m actually not going to continue as a manager.”

Mourinho was stunned by Twain’s words. Then he figured it out again – it must have been because of his heart. “But I’m in Portugal now.”

“It doesn’t matter. I know you’re going to do the commentary on the World Cup for the Portuguese television station. So am I. We’ll meet up in Brazil!” Twain took it Mourinho’s words as he had agreed to his request for a drink.

Mourinho wanted to say something more, but Twain had already hung up the phone. Judging from his voice, Twain’s mood was quite good. It was really strange that he could still be in such a good mood after he left something that he had poured eleven years of hard work into …

He shook his head and laid down again. This time he succeeded in taking a nap without any phone calls to bother him again.

※※※

The next day, the media finally waited for the news they had been longing for – the Nottingham Forest Football Club was going to hold a press conference to announce the latest news of its contract extension with Twain!

It looked like Twain did not deceive them. He did indeed carry out the work on the contract renewal after the Champions League final. There was a result after just three short days.

However, when a large group of reporters came to attend the press conference in high spirits, they found that only Evan Doughty was on the stage without the other lead character, Tony Twain.

Discussions quickly broke out throughout the room. In the crowd, Pierce Brosnan had an ominous hunch which grew stronger with the discussions.

The press conference was brief.

With a grim face, Evan Doughty had announced the news that the contract renewal talks between the club and Twain had been terminated and that the two sides would not renew the contract. It instantly shocked all the reporters present. Even The Sun reporter who had already caught wind of the news earlier, was stunned after the rumor was confirmed.

Then Evan Doughty looked back on Twain’s contribution to the team and said that no matter what and where Twain did in the future, he was a man that was forever etched in the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s memories and he wished him good luck.

Having said that, Evan Doughty got up and went out, ignoring the reporters who were shouting his name in the back.

The reporters were, of course, full of questions. Why did the negotiations for the contract renewal fail? Which party was responsible? Nottingham Forest had just won the Treble but suffered a major change. What was going to happen in the future? Who would succeed Tony Twain? Where would Tony Twain go after he had left the Forest team?

But no one would come to answer these questions for them.

The venue suddenly became chaotic. Someone rushed out of the door and sped away to leave. He wanted to rush back to be the first to release this piece of news which would absolutely shock the world of European football.

While Pierce Brosnan pulled out his cell phone somewhat in a daze and dialed Twain’s number directly.

No matter how many times he dialed, all he heard was, “… Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service…”

※※※

When a tropical storm formed over the Atlantic Ocean, Tony Twain was sitting on a recliner at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. His wife, Shania, was frolicking in the water in a bikini in front of him, while he was earnestly writing a postcard with his head down.

His cell phone was placed next to it, but it was turned off long ago.

“Dear David: If you receive this postcard, you must have known what happened. Thank you very much for the eleven years you’ve spent with me. You’re a good helper and partner in my work. I’m very sorry that I had taken my anger out on you whenever I was in a bad mood. But from now on I promise I’ll never yell at you again. You’re a great assistant manager. You’ve done a great job in the team. I hope you can continue to do that. The team can’t survive without you. Please forgive me again for saying goodbye to you in this way, because I really don’t know how to face you all again…”

Twain stopped when he wrote to this point and looked up at his wife not far away. Brazil’s sunshine was so bright that he had to squint his eyes to admire her energetic sexy figure. He lowered his head again to continue writing.

“… I wish you all the best. Your most loyal friend, Tony. Twain.”

After he finished writing it, he picked up the next blank postcard and placed it on his lap. He continued to bow his head, and occasionally lifted his head to look at Shania’s figure for a moment.

The weather was good today. The salty and damp sea breeze brushed against the branches and leaves of the palm trees by the sea. The wind prompted wave after wave of the azure sea to surge on the pure white fine sand beach with the crashing sounds of undulating tides. The warm sunshine shone on each person’s face, showing their different expressions. Contrasted against the sapphire-like sky, the Copacabana Beach was bustling with activities and people. It was extremely lively.

This was a holiday.

Chapter 885 - Traces of the Wind

The soap opera of last night was replaying on television but not many people were watching it. The television in bars was only left on to create a bit of atmosphere. Business here was slow in the afternoons, especially now that the football season was over. Burns was leaning on the bar table, wiping a row of glasses on it while John, Bill and the gang was gathered at a corner, drinking and just passing time.

“Days without football are so boring… Yawn——,” Bill yawned as he stretched his back, tears forming in his eyes.

“You’re like a drug addict Bill. And you’re still so skinny… Ha!” Someone teased him from the side.

“Even if I’m addicted, I’ll be addicted to football!” Bill glared at the person and continued to lie on the table, drawing on the beer mug with his nails, “The days after the football season is over are always the hardest…” He groaned weakly.

“Good thing the World Cup is starting soon. Who has tickets?” John asked next to him.

“Me!”

“I do!”

“The full set!”

Everyone raised their hands.

John laughed as he looked at them, “Great, we’ll be spending the summer together again! Ha ha!”

“Who knows, we might be able to meet Tony,” someone said all of a sudden, everyone chirped in after being stunned for a moment.

“That’s right, he’ll be in Brazil explaining the matches!”

“Oh no, what a dilemma… I want to watch the games live but I don’t want to miss Tony’s analysis…”

The group of people eventually started to chat about Twain.

At this moment, there was a flash on the television screen and the picture changed from an intense gunfight in the streets of London to the news station where a male news anchor with gold-rimmed glasses was seated.

“We interrupt your program to bring you a piece of news that we’ve just received…”

Bill was originally lying on the table, looking around aimlessly when he saw this change on the television. He took an interest to it and decided to look up and see what that news anchor was going to say.

The picture changed again, to a place that he was very familiar with——The City Grounds.

A reporter was standing outside the gate of the City Grounds holding a microphone, he pointed to the building behind him, and said while facing the camera, “Just earlier, Nottingham Forest Football Club called for a press conference. The club chairman, Evan Doughty, announced on the press conference that the contract renewal talks between Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain has officially ended. Twain will no longer hold the position of Nottingham Forest’s manager after his contract is up…”

Bill stood up suddenly, knocking over the chair behind him and the beer mugs on the table. The people around him was stood up in shock as they were afraid that the beer might drip on their pants.

“Hey! Bill! What’s wrong with you?”

“Have you had too much to drink?”

Bill did not react to that. He merely opened his eyes wide as he looked at the television, his mouth was open as if he was scared by something.

John turned back to look at the television, other than a couple of them who were still worried about their pants, the rest looked up at the television.

The television was replaying the scene of the press conference earlier on the screen.

Evan Doughty was seated in front of the table facing the numerous microphones and he said with a blank expression, “…We regret to announce this piece of information. As we were unable to reach an agreement with Mr Tony Twain regarding the extension of his contract, both parties have decided to end negotiations. When the contract is up, Tony Twain will no longer assume the role of Nottingham Forest manager. We thank him for all his contributions to the club in the 11 years he was here, and we are grateful to him for leading the team to 12 champions’ trophies. We wish him the best of luck.”

The bar suddenly grew silent. The sounds from the television was very clear. Burns also stopped doing what he was working on and looked up at the television.

The beer on the table dripped onto the pants of the people who were still seated, causing a wet patch on their pants but they did not even seem to notice it.

※※※

George Wood was taking a walk with his mother in the gardens outside to soak in the sun when his phone rang.

It was his agent, Woox, “Good afternoon George, what are you doing now?”

“I’m taking a walk with my mother,” Wood took a look at his mother leaning on him.

“I see, looks like you haven’t seen what’s on the television yet. I have a piece of news for you,” Woox stopped for awhile before continuing, “Tony Twain has quit.”

Wood did not manage to react to it at first because such a thought had never crossed his mind before. But he managed to clear his mind soon and asked, “What?”

“It was on the news just now. Forest and Twain failed to come to an agreement regarding the contract renewal, the contract is not renewed. So, come June 30th, he will no longer be your boss.”

Wood stopped. Sophia sensed something wrong with her son and she also stopped to look at him.

Wood did not speak again and he hung up silently.

“George?” Sophia asked softly, “What happened?”

Wood looked at his mother, hesitated before saying, “Boss has left Forest.”

Sophia exclaimed in surprise. She covered her mouth with her hands very quickly, but her eyes were still opened wide.

“Mr Twain…”

Wood nodded. His mother must have felt that it was inconceivable, but why did he feel so empty inside? As if he had lost something very important…

※※※

The English Premier League had ended so the English Football League Championship would naturally have ended too. Tang did not stay in England then, instead, he flew back to his hometown in Sichuan with his fiancée. He wanted to tell his parents about the most important decision in his life himself, it would not do to do it via a phone call.

Tang Jing rested her head on Tang’s shoulder, admiring the lush greenery of the Southern Sichuan’s scenery. The two of them were on a long-distance coach going towards their hometown from Chengdu. As the manager of the team which is the champion of England, Tang was not very well-known here and they were just like any other ordinary person on the coach.

Tang had never thought that he would be married when he was in his previous life, and with a Chinese woman no less. He felt that he had one person to thank for what he had then——Tony Twain, the person that was him previously, and him now. Even though Tony achieved success in his career, he himself managed to get a family and love. He thought that it was worth it, and he might even have come off better in this deal…

That was why Tang decided to give Twain a call to invite them to his wedding with Tang Jing in the summer, right after telling his parents about his marriage with Tang Jing and paying a visit to Tang Jing’s parents——He did not tell Twain in advanced, partly because Twain was very busy then in his pursuit of the treble and partly because he wanted to give Twain a surprise.

This couple who was headed towards a happy new life as a newlywed did not know about what happened on the other side of the globe, but they would probably know very soon.

※※※

The Champions League had ended long ago. Chen Jian did not call Twain, and he did not receive any other news about Twain. However, he felt that he had already made up his mind, especially when he felt fired up together with the team when he saw Forest lifting the Champions League trophy and he could not wait to be part of them.

He thought that he should give his future to this team.

But on the next day, Mr Xia kept dampening his spirits, asking him to not be muddled impulsively. Nottingham Forest is not a place that he could dream of at that time. Achieving the treble would only make them more inclined in buying well-known football stars, instead of developing their own players. Chen Jian would not gain anything by going there and he would finally realize his mistake after sitting on the bench for a few years before leaving dejectedly. That was his future.

He decided to pack up his stuff and return to Sichuan to be with his family. Maybe that would help calm his indecisive heart.

For a few days, Mr Xia kept calling Twain’s mobile phone relentlessly, but all he got in return was “The person you’re trying to reach is unavailable at this time”. He was infuriated and he left Chen Jian to fly to England alone. He wanted to catch hold of Twain and ask him directly about his plans.

Chen Jian returned to China alone.

Suddenly, he received a call from a stranger’s number as he was waiting for his flight carrying a large backpack in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

“Hi, Chen Jian,” Twain’s Chinese accent sounded weird, but it was not easy for a Caucasian to speak mandarin so well so the minor difference in accent was nothing.

This phone call was from Twain.

“Where are you now?” Twain could hear that the background was a little noisy and he seemed to have heard an announcement.

“The airport, Amsterdam’s airport,” Chen Jian replied.

“Ah, you’re preparing to go home? Can you tell me about your plans for the future?”

Chen Jian fell silent for awhile before making up his mind, “I think, I would like to extend my contract with the club…”

Twain exclaimed softly on his side, before following up with, “I would advise you against doing it.”

Chen Jian was surprised, was the person on the other side not the manager of Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain? If he was, why would he not stand on the side of the team?

“You haven’t been watching the news lately, right? You’re not paying much attention to Nottingham Forest, are you?” Twain laughed, “I resigned.”

Chen Jian was so shocked that his hand trembled and he almost dropped his phone. This was too unbelievable… It was like meeting a ghost in the day.

Twain could guess the reaction of Chen Jian then. He left Forest too suddenly. The contrast between winning the trophy and leaving the team immediately after was so big that normal people would not be able to accept it.

“You should know, Chen Jian. I was the one who decided to sign you, because I had high hopes for you. However, who would have expected things to be like this now?” He was naturally referring to the matter of him leaving Forest, “I don’t know who my successor will be, and I did not recommend anyone to the club. So, I don’t know what kind of attitude the new manager will have towards you. I don’t even know whether the club will offer you an extension to your contract. If I were still here, I’ll definitely give it to you, but it was a pity you did not sign then, and you don’t have the chance to sign it now.” Twain smiled and said, “Your agent was right, Chen Jian. Nottingham Forest is a very materialistic club. They do not have the patience to wait for a young man to grow slowly, unless you’ve demonstrated extraordinary potential.”

But I don’t have this kind of talent. Chen Jian said in his heart. He knew himself best.

“Your dream is to play football professional, you can do that anywhere, no? I think it’s not time for you to go to Nottingham Forest now, just like what your agent said, moving to a small team and taking things one step at a time would be more beneficial to you.”

“You mean…to let me leave Forest for a smaller club?”

“I’ve heard that there are teams in Netherlands and Belgium who are interested you, even though those are not one of the top European leagues, it would help to train you too.

This suggestion made Chen Jian lose heart a little. He had finally managed to muster enough courage to face the new challenges in Nottingham Forest.

“Even if you extend your contract with the club, you’ll still be loaned out as you cannot play for Forest without a work permit. If you don’t play, you’ll be wasting your golden years. So my suggestion is for you to transfer to a club that’s interested in you, able to provide you with playing time, guarantee that you will be trained, and at the same time, you should be waiting for your national team to call you up, get more experience and fame as well as games for your national team…”

Chen Jian interrupted Twain, “Mr Twain, if I don’t intend to play for Forest anymore, why would I care about the number of games I play for my national team?”

“If your performance is good, what if there are other teams in the English Premier League interested in you? For example, teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea… If you cannot apply for a work permit when they come knocking on your door, wouldn’t that be a pity?” Twain explained with a chuckle.

Chen Jian thought about it in his mind and he felt that it was a fantasy. However, he did not rebuke Twain.

“In short, if you think about it from your angle, Nottingham Forest is not suitable for you currently.”

Chen Jian fell into deep thoughts, everything he heard today was too shocking. Tony Twain actually resigned, and he even called him to persuade him to not stay in Forest… He even suspected that everything he saw and heard for the past few days were all an illusion.

This world is crazy…

“I… Er, let me consider, Mr Twain.”

Twain laughed again, “You don’t have to tell me that, I’m not in-charge of those things now… Make your own decision and be responsible for your own decision. I’m just giving you an advice; I’m not asking or ordering you to do anything. Think about it carefully, you have one more year on your contract anyway. Take the path that you’ve decided on yourself.”

After saying these, Twain hung up.

Chen Jian sat on the chair and spaced out holding his mobile phone. He was still digesting what Twain said in his mind.

He did not expect that just in the space of a few days, there would be a major upheaval in his future. Ever since he decided to leave the school, his homeland, his hometown for his dream of playing football professionally, he did not walk an easy path. However, he had never regretted it. He could only continue to walk on.

Chen Jian did not think for too long this time, when the broadcast in the airport reminded him to start boarding the plane that he was supposed to be on, he called his agent, Mr Xia.

“Uncle Xia, you don’t have to look for Mr twain anymore. I’ve decided, if there are any clubs in Belgium or Eredivisie interested in me, then give them a call. I have to board my place now, that’s all Uncle Xia. Give me a call when I land if there are anything you want to let me know.”

With that, he hung up and walked towards the boarding gate with his carry-on luggage.

A huge booming sound outside the window attracted his view. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, a plane just took off into the blue skies and disappeared above it, leaving only a white trail behind.

Chapter 886 - The World Cup

When Dunn and Tang Jing in faraway China learned that Twain had resigned from the Nottingham Forest Football Club, just a day after the Forest Club announced the news, the advanced internet had already allowed them to know what happened on the other side of the globe, even in the remote town of South Sichuan.

And in within the day, the entire world’s sports media would treat this matter as a piece of sensational news to report.

In Italy, Sky TV’s newscaster had a strange look on his face as he announced the news. It was clear that even he could not believe that he spoke about how the “Godfather of Nottingham” had ended actually ended his glory in the Forest team in this way.

In Spain, the Spanish media, which were still complaining that Nottingham Forest had “stolen” the Champions League title through improper means, had collectively lost their voices – they did not know what to say in the face of such news.

A manager who just won the Treble for the team had suddenly resigned. Perhaps the term “individualistic” could no longer describe him simply. It was only during this time that the usually self-proclaimed sharp-witted reporters realized how poor their vocabulary was.

In China, there was even a web portal dedicated to Tony Twain as a special topic. It was immediately very popular with people posting messages. China’s CCTV Sports Channel also produced a forty-five-minute-long feature program that comprehensively reviewed Tony Twain’s eleven years of ups and downs at Nottingham Forest.

On the internet, the Nottingham Forest fans had long been stunned and left head-scratching. Some people wept in pain about Twain’s departure in the forum, indignantly denounced the club’s top brass for being ungrateful after getting what they wanted from him and getting rid of him now that he had served his purpose… And the other portion of the people expressed that they did not like the Forest team just because they were catching with the times and like Tony Twain. They chose to stand with the club’s senior management and thought that it was okay for Twain to be gone and it was not like the world revolved around him. Furthermore, there were a number of rumors that Twain was very dissatisfied with the annual salary and package that the club had offered, that he was fighting with Evan Doughty for the same woman, and Twain’s real character was not that great.

The most commonly expressed emotion from the fans of the other teams was one of gleefulness. To them, the most troublesome foe had finally come to an end, and the teams which they supported had regained hopes of winning the title. In addition, they were also delighted to see the usually arrogant Forest fans who walked with their noses up in the air were currently in a state of infighting.

In England, the news of Twain’s resignation even overshadowed the England national team’s preparations for the World Cup. As for the Treble winner, Nottingham Forest,… it was even more pathetic. The accolades that the media gave them a few days ago, were not to be seen now.

Carl Spicer apparently did not expect Twain to choose to leave at the team’s most glorious period. It suddenly left him with a sense of loss in his focus – he would not be able to find someone to scold in the future. How would his show stand out among so many football television shows without criticizing people?

Later in his special edition of BBC’s program, Lineker helplessly half-joked and said, “I really don’t know if this is good news or bad news. But I’m sure that’s good news for the other nineteen managers in the Premier League. Because their strong enemy finally left. For the others, this must be bad news, because the Premier League has since lost one of its most special features…”

Many reporters and friends wanted to find the leading man in the event and hear what he had to say. But whenever they made a call, the message always prompted that the phone was turned off. This time, even Pierce Brosnan, who had been considered a reporter exclusively used by Twain, also did not receive any first-hand information, resulting in him being given a dressing down by the newspaper editor. He experienced the feeling of when he first came to the newspaper as an intern reporter. In this way, the storm of all kinds of rumors intensified.

Until the end of the year, when the Associated Press selected the top ten sports news of the year, the news of Tony Twain’s departure from Nottingham Forest was ranked fourth, showing how much influence he had at the time.

There was another example. Capello joked in an interview with the reporters and said, “I should thank Tony Twain. Because of him, you guys bother my team a lot less.”

…

When the storm had swayed everyone from side to side till they were dizzy and helpless, Tony Twain and his wife were enjoying themselves all over Brazil. This time he really did not go near football anymore. Children could be seen performing or playing street football everywhere in Brazil, but as long as Shania was by his side, Twain was fully concentrated on her – he just stared at his wife, as if his wife was the only person in the whole world.

Shania enjoyed this kind of treatment very much. She did not wonder whether Twain’s sweet nothings of “from now on, I’ll only be with you till the end of time” which he repeatedly confessed to her, were true or not. She did not care whether those words were true or false words to just to make her happy. She just wanted to enjoy the time together.

If it had been for the World Cup, Shania would have wanted to have fun longer and crazier. She had never been so happy in the eleven years since she met Uncle Tony. Because she no longer had to worry about waking up one morning to Uncle Tony gone. Then only to find him lying in the hospital’s intensive care unit with marks from the insertions of tubes, nurses coming in and out to unhook the apparatus, and the doctor standing at the side almost having the “I am sorry” written across the face.

She often had such nightmares, especially when she was alone in the United States. They were particularly intense. She woke up terrified every time. Then she would gasp for air in the dim light of the lamp and her entire body would be soaked in sweat. Before, Shania would sleep without the lights on. Later, after Twain had his heart attack, she developed the habit of sleeping with the lights on, even when she was held in the arms of Uncle Tony in Nottingham.

This woman’s heart finally felt safe for the first time, which made her feel contented.

※※※

Good times were always short-lived. Although this World Cup was held in Brazil, Twain could not always stick to Shania’s side. If there was a game in Rio de Janeiro, Twain would be able to stay with Shania every night. It could not be helped if he went to the other cities. Unfortunately, only one of England’s three games in the group stage was played in Rio de Janeiro. If they wanted to continue to come back and enjoy the sunshine and beauties in bikinis at Copacabana Beach, then they must advance into the semifinals in one go.

During the run-up to the World Cup, the English media finally remembered that they still had a team playing in the World Cup. So, they were predicting the team’s future in the World Cup one by one. It was no different from any previous tournaments – “This is the best team in England’s history. It’s the favorite to win the title.”

Twain first met his short-term colleague at the BBC, John Motson in the lobby of the hotel he was staying in. This was also the first time since the matter that he had appeared in front of the media.

Motson looked at Twain with interest. Looking at him, he was unable to hold back and said with a chuckle, “It looks like nothing has changed. Just like the Tony Twain from before.”

“Nonsense.” Twain did not hold back either with a face of disdain. He said, “You only came to this conclusion after looking at me for half a day?”

Motson laughed even harder, “Ah Tony, Tony, you’re the number one sinner in the world of English sport…” He shook his head and patted Twain on the shoulder as he said, “The whole world is going crazy about you leaving the Forest team, and yet you’re on a scenic tour in Brazil with your wife. What am I supposed to say about you?”

“Then don’t say anything, John.” Twain shrugged. He had expected the media’s reaction. He was also satisfied with the kind of madness that happened because of him – even when I had left the position, I can still let the world tremble!

“Maybe I should exercise the power of my position and get an exclusive interview with you…” Motson mused as he stroked his chin.

“Don’t even think about it. The World Cup has started, and no one cares about what I’m doing now. It’s a shame, I’m already old news.” Twain smiled and spread his hands. But there was no trace of regret in his voice at all.

Motson snorted, “The paparazzi’s noses are relentless. They can smell what attracts them from your body. You wait and see. At that time, you’ll face reporters all day.” He glanced to the side.

It was the World Cup news center here. The media from around the world would gather here to manager the latest news from various games and training venues in Brazil, which they would then transmit back to their home countries to present to those television viewers, newspaper readers and Internet users.

Therefore, it was also the paparazzi’s home base here as well. Twain was really “deep in the tiger’s lair” this time.

He also noticed this point. There were already some reporters here next to him whose eyes lighted up when they saw him. The light was like the glint that radiated from a vicious gangster’s eyes when he set his sight on a large box of gold.

Twain looked at these people and also gave a snort. He harped on in Mandarin, “What’s there to be afraid! Different situations call for different action!”

Hearing him popped out with something he did not understand but knew which country’s language it was, Motson suddenly had an interest in Twain’s talent in the language. He said, “You speak Mandarin so well. I heard you even have a column in China’s sports newspaper. Why did a Chinese TV station not come to you to do commentary on the World Cup? You’re very eloquent.”

When Twain heard him say so, he suddenly shook his head like a rattle-drum and said, “No way. Be a commentator for them? They will replace me at halftime interval.”

Motson stared as if he had heard something of interest, “Is it the lack of freedom of speech?”

Twain continued to shake his head and said, “It’s culturally different. Some remarks are acceptable to the British, but it does not mean that the whole world can accept them. It’s as if the Europeans don’t ask ‘have you eaten’ when they meet, but the Chinese always used this in greeting.”

Motson gave a clap to signal that he understood him. He said, “It’s like how we always start with the weather.”

Twain did not shake his head this time. He gave a smile and then came up with a Chinese saying, “The young man is promising and still worthy to be taught.”

Motson did not ask what that meant. He smiled and patted Twain on the shoulder, signaling that they have to go. Their work was about to begin.

The World Cup was also about to start.

※※※

Brazil was a country brimming with passion, like the babes in bikinis who went shopping in the streets like no one was around. People from various countries came here to cover the World Cup, would choose to use this kind of local conditions and customs to open with. Twain was not interested in these. He and Shania had already covered all these things.

He seemed more dedicated than any of his colleagues. Completely leaving football for less than a month, his life was full of football. And he discovered a very important question – when he faced football again, his nuclear-powered heart was moving vigorously in his chest. Whenever he faced football again in the middle of the night, when all was dark and quiet, he could hear his heartbeat clearly as he laid in bed.

That heart seemed to have gone quiet while he was frolicking by his wife’s side. Twain could not feel its existence. And now, it seemed to be alive again.

The discovery surprised him as much as Columbus’s first discovery of America, while there was a fear deep down at the same time. Because he had just said not long ago that he would accompany Shania for the rest of her life. But now he could not resist the temptation his former lover, football. His heart was wavering, and a crack appeared.

When he was doing the commentary on a game, he would be distracted as he listened to the thunderous cheers and songs coming from the stands. His point by point commentary were not so sharp and nimble. Sometimes it would attract the puzzled glances of his partner, Motson.

In a trance, Twain seemed to be back on the small City Ground stadium, standing on the sidelines and clenching his fists as he cheered the team’s goal.

He thought of the big picture that had been hanging on the bedroom wall. He stood in front of the sea of people in red with his arms wide open, as if he was embracing that sea of rage. He had been in Brazil for so long that he did not know how much dust had gathered on the picture.

Maybe… There was something in his bones that was not so easy to quit…

Twain sighed in his heart and felt that he was too useless. Only a few World Cup games and the original resolute thought in his heart was already a little shaky.

Perhaps it was due to Brazil, a country filled with all kinds of passions customs. Their football had impassioned Twain.

The Brazilian women looked good, but the Brazilian football was even better to look…

In the end, England lost once again to the Brazilians four years later. This time their results were worse than the previous time. The last time they were in the top four, but this time they did not even make it to the top eight.

In the round of 16, England was unlucky enough to encounter the host, Brazil. After the game, the English media complained that Brazil had taken full advantage of the “home field advantage”, which was a covert way of stating that there was something wrong with the referee. But the Brazilians did not care so much. Why would a winner bicker about a loser’s complaints?

But in Twain’s view, the reason England did not go any further in this World Cup to reach the finals was not because they encountered the host ahead of time, and the unspoken words that implied Capello was old. It was simple, but also unimaginable – George Wood was not in good form.

After coaching Wood for ten years, this was the second Twain had seen him in poor form. The first time was when Eastwood had retired.

Motson wondered why Wood’s condition was bad. Twain was also puzzled. The media all over England wondered too. Twain even wondered if something was wrong with Sophia.

Capello liked and trusted Wood. It appeared he had the intention to let him succeed Gerrard. But unexpectedly, George Wood’s performance in Capello’s last World Cup was a disappointment, completely without the aggressiveness and ferocity that he displayed in his club’s squad. Up against Brazil’s Kaka, he was played with till he was confused and disoriented. Kaka was also bewildered as to why the constantly ferocious Wood played as if he was a hypnotized sheep in the game. He followed and ran after him several times but did nothing and let him get away. If it had been before, perhaps he would have already shoveled him from behind. Even though he might have gotten a yellow card, he could still make the opponent feel fear and shock. Then it would be much easier to defend. If he was met with a tough character, he would fight to death with the opponent and compete who was tougher in the end.

Used to such a George Wood, Kaka was really not used to George Wood being soft. As a result, for more than twenty minutes into the game, the Brazilian core player’s performance was not good either. In the beginning, the English reporters even thought it was to George Wood’s credit. Then they discovered that something was wrong. England was done once Kaka and Brazil realized it.

Wood was England’s first line of defense, like the body’s immune system. Now that the first line of defense had collapsed, even if England was a two-hundred-pound strong man, he had collapsed like a house of cards when the wind blew.

At the end of the ninety-minute game, there were tears in the eyes of his teammates around him. George Wood’s eyes were a little confused. On the big screen behind him, the score for the match was displayed as 0:3.

Boasted by the English media as the strongest ever England team, they were wiped out and completely defeated when they faced the last World Cup’s second runner-up team.

Twain did not care about England’s defeat. But there were some people among his colleagues next him who had wiped tears in their eyes. For them, the quadrennial dream was over again. Twain watched with a detached point of view. But in his mind, he thought these people could be intoxicated with the dream once every four years, but how many more years before the Chinese fans could dream just once? Would it really be like 2002 when they could try confidently for the first time forty years?

When he thought of it, his cold eyes turned into a sneer.

You sons of bitches do not know how lucky you are.

He was not sad or concerned that England was out of the game. What worried him was George Wood’s condition. Although he was no longer the manager of Nottingham Forest, he would still subconsciously think of himself as a member of the Forest team. Therefore, he did not feel proud that the performance of the Nottingham Forest team captain as well as the talent that he had personally groomed, was so bad.

He was also not in form for his commentary work in this World Cup commentary. The frequency of the usually popular wonderful and clever remarks was also not high, which was in some way related to Wood’s poor form.

But it was not clear why Wood was not in top form. He did not know, and he did not inquire either, because he was not anyone to Wood anymore, so there was no need to care everything about this person. He just wished that the terrible form had nothing to do with Sophia.

Even though England was knocked out, Twain’s job was not over. He was still in charge of working with Motson until the final.

After England’s elimination, the English media put the blame for the loss on two men. One of them was George Wood and the other person was Capello. So, the combative Twain dedicated to protecting these two men in his column. In fact, he mainly did it to defend Wood, but he did not want to be blatant about this kind of thing. So, he defended Capello as well and admonished those media in his article. He did not make much sense, nor did he analyze the data. Anyway, everyone in the industry knew that even if Tony Twain was reasonable, his reasons and arguments were preposterous. Rational people would not quarrel with him. People who quarreled with him were not fools and had other agendas of their own.

Amid the clamor, the pressure on George Wood gradually lessened – Twain was still fiercely protective of his young till now. And he did not care about Capello. What storms had the old fox not weathered? He did not need his help to relieve the pressure.

Twain’s only regret was that, because of his poor performance at the World Cup, George Wood was destined to miss out on this year’s awards for the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year even though he had won the Treble.

As a defensive midfielder, the opportunity to be able to earn these personal honors was so precious…

At the thought of this, Twain gnashed his teeth, feeling somewhat resentful towards George Wood for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement in him.

F**king George why are you in such bad form?!

Comment (0)

When Dunn and Tang Jing in faraway China learned that Twain had resigned from the Nottingham Forest Football Club, just a day after the Forest Club announced the news, the advanced internet had already allowed them to know what happened on the other side of the globe, even in the remote town of South Sichuan.

And in within the day, the entire world’s sports media would treat this matter as a piece of sensational news to report.

In Italy, Sky TV’s newscaster had a strange look on his face as he announced the news. It was clear that even he could not believe that he spoke about how the “Godfather of Nottingham” had ended actually ended his glory in the Forest team in this way.

In Spain, the Spanish media, which were still complaining that Nottingham Forest had “stolen” the Champions League title through improper means, had collectively lost their voices – they did not know what to say in the face of such news.

A manager who just won the Treble for the team had suddenly resigned. Perhaps the term “individualistic” could no longer describe him simply. It was only during this time that the usually self-proclaimed sharp-witted reporters realized how poor their vocabulary was.

In China, there was even a web portal dedicated to Tony Twain as a special topic. It was immediately very popular with people posting messages. China’s CCTV Sports Channel also produced a forty-five-minute-long feature program that comprehensively reviewed Tony Twain’s eleven years of ups and downs at Nottingham Forest.

On the internet, the Nottingham Forest fans had long been stunned and left head-scratching. Some people wept in pain about Twain’s departure in the forum, indignantly denounced the club’s top brass for being ungrateful after getting what they wanted from him and getting rid of him now that he had served his purpose… And the other portion of the people expressed that they did not like the Forest team just because they were catching with the times and like Tony Twain. They chose to stand with the club’s senior management and thought that it was okay for Twain to be gone and it was not like the world revolved around him. Furthermore, there were a number of rumors that Twain was very dissatisfied with the annual salary and package that the club had offered, that he was fighting with Evan Doughty for the same woman, and Twain’s real character was not that great.

The most commonly expressed emotion from the fans of the other teams was one of gleefulness. To them, the most troublesome foe had finally come to an end, and the teams which they supported had regained hopes of winning the title. In addition, they were also delighted to see the usually arrogant Forest fans who walked with their noses up in the air were currently in a state of infighting.

In England, the news of Twain’s resignation even overshadowed the England national team’s preparations for the World Cup. As for the Treble winner, Nottingham Forest,… it was even more pathetic. The accolades that the media gave them a few days ago, were not to be seen now.

Carl Spicer apparently did not expect Twain to choose to leave at the team’s most glorious period. It suddenly left him with a sense of loss in his focus – he would not be able to find someone to scold in the future. How would his show stand out among so many football television shows without criticizing people?

Later in his special edition of BBC’s program, Lineker helplessly half-joked and said, “I really don’t know if this is good news or bad news. But I’m sure that’s good news for the other nineteen managers in the Premier League. Because their strong enemy finally left. For the others, this must be bad news, because the Premier League has since lost one of its most special features…”

Many reporters and friends wanted to find the leading man in the event and hear what he had to say. But whenever they made a call, the message always prompted that the phone was turned off. This time, even Pierce Brosnan, who had been considered a reporter exclusively used by Twain, also did not receive any first-hand information, resulting in him being given a dressing down by the newspaper editor. He experienced the feeling of when he first came to the newspaper as an intern reporter. In this way, the storm of all kinds of rumors intensified.

Until the end of the year, when the Associated Press selected the top ten sports news of the year, the news of Tony Twain’s departure from Nottingham Forest was ranked fourth, showing how much influence he had at the time.

There was another example. Capello joked in an interview with the reporters and said, “I should thank Tony Twain. Because of him, you guys bother my team a lot less.”

…

When the storm had swayed everyone from side to side till they were dizzy and helpless, Tony Twain and his wife were enjoying themselves all over Brazil. This time he really did not go near football anymore. Children could be seen performing or playing street football everywhere in Brazil, but as long as Shania was by his side, Twain was fully concentrated on her – he just stared at his wife, as if his wife was the only person in the whole world.

Shania enjoyed this kind of treatment very much. She did not wonder whether Twain’s sweet nothings of “from now on, I’ll only be with you till the end of time” which he repeatedly confessed to her, were true or not. She did not care whether those words were true or false words to just to make her happy. She just wanted to enjoy the time together.

If it had been for the World Cup, Shania would have wanted to have fun longer and crazier. She had never been so happy in the eleven years since she met Uncle Tony. Because she no longer had to worry about waking up one morning to Uncle Tony gone. Then only to find him lying in the hospital’s intensive care unit with marks from the insertions of tubes, nurses coming in and out to unhook the apparatus, and the doctor standing at the side almost having the “I am sorry” written across the face.

She often had such nightmares, especially when she was alone in the United States. They were particularly intense. She woke up terrified every time. Then she would gasp for air in the dim light of the lamp and her entire body would be soaked in sweat. Before, Shania would sleep without the lights on. Later, after Twain had his heart attack, she developed the habit of sleeping with the lights on, even when she was held in the arms of Uncle Tony in Nottingham.

This woman’s heart finally felt safe for the first time, which made her feel contented.

※※※

Good times were always short-lived. Although this World Cup was held in Brazil, Twain could not always stick to Shania’s side. If there was a game in Rio de Janeiro, Twain would be able to stay with Shania every night. It could not be helped if he went to the other cities. Unfortunately, only one of England’s three games in the group stage was played in Rio de Janeiro. If they wanted to continue to come back and enjoy the sunshine and beauties in bikinis at Copacabana Beach, then they must advance into the semifinals in one go.

During the run-up to the World Cup, the English media finally remembered that they still had a team playing in the World Cup. So, they were predicting the team’s future in the World Cup one by one. It was no different from any previous tournaments – “This is the best team in England’s history. It’s the favorite to win the title.”

Twain first met his short-term colleague at the BBC, John Motson in the lobby of the hotel he was staying in. This was also the first time since the matter that he had appeared in front of the media.

Motson looked at Twain with interest. Looking at him, he was unable to hold back and said with a chuckle, “It looks like nothing has changed. Just like the Tony Twain from before.”

“Nonsense.” Twain did not hold back either with a face of disdain. He said, “You only came to this conclusion after looking at me for half a day?”

Motson laughed even harder, “Ah Tony, Tony, you’re the number one sinner in the world of English sport…” He shook his head and patted Twain on the shoulder as he said, “The whole world is going crazy about you leaving the Forest team, and yet you’re on a scenic tour in Brazil with your wife. What am I supposed to say about you?”

“Then don’t say anything, John.” Twain shrugged. He had expected the media’s reaction. He was also satisfied with the kind of madness that happened because of him – even when I had left the position, I can still let the world tremble!

“Maybe I should exercise the power of my position and get an exclusive interview with you…” Motson mused as he stroked his chin.

“Don’t even think about it. The World Cup has started, and no one cares about what I’m doing now. It’s a shame, I’m already old news.” Twain smiled and spread his hands. But there was no trace of regret in his voice at all.

Motson snorted, “The paparazzi’s noses are relentless. They can smell what attracts them from your body. You wait and see. At that time, you’ll face reporters all day.” He glanced to the side.

It was the World Cup news center here. The media from around the world would gather here to manager the latest news from various games and training venues in Brazil, which they would then transmit back to their home countries to present to those television viewers, newspaper readers and Internet users.

Therefore, it was also the paparazzi’s home base here as well. Twain was really “deep in the tiger’s lair” this time.

He also noticed this point. There were already some reporters here next to him whose eyes lighted up when they saw him. The light was like the glint that radiated from a vicious gangster’s eyes when he set his sight on a large box of gold.

Twain looked at these people and also gave a snort. He harped on in Mandarin, “What’s there to be afraid! Different situations call for different action!”

Hearing him popped out with something he did not understand but knew which country’s language it was, Motson suddenly had an interest in Twain’s talent in the language. He said, “You speak Mandarin so well. I heard you even have a column in China’s sports newspaper. Why did a Chinese TV station not come to you to do commentary on the World Cup? You’re very eloquent.”

When Twain heard him say so, he suddenly shook his head like a rattle-drum and said, “No way. Be a commentator for them? They will replace me at halftime interval.”

Motson stared as if he had heard something of interest, “Is it the lack of freedom of speech?”

Twain continued to shake his head and said, “It’s culturally different. Some remarks are acceptable to the British, but it does not mean that the whole world can accept them. It’s as if the Europeans don’t ask ‘have you eaten’ when they meet, but the Chinese always used this in greeting.”

Motson gave a clap to signal that he understood him. He said, “It’s like how we always start with the weather.”

Twain did not shake his head this time. He gave a smile and then came up with a Chinese saying, “The young man is promising and still worthy to be taught.”

Motson did not ask what that meant. He smiled and patted Twain on the shoulder, signaling that they have to go. Their work was about to begin.

The World Cup was also about to start.

※※※

Brazil was a country brimming with passion, like the babes in bikinis who went shopping in the streets like no one was around. People from various countries came here to cover the World Cup, would choose to use this kind of local conditions and customs to open with. Twain was not interested in these. He and Shania had already covered all these things.

He seemed more dedicated than any of his colleagues. Completely leaving football for less than a month, his life was full of football. And he discovered a very important question – when he faced football again, his nuclear-powered heart was moving vigorously in his chest. Whenever he faced football again in the middle of the night, when all was dark and quiet, he could hear his heartbeat clearly as he laid in bed.

That heart seemed to have gone quiet while he was frolicking by his wife’s side. Twain could not feel its existence. And now, it seemed to be alive again.

The discovery surprised him as much as Columbus’s first discovery of America, while there was a fear deep down at the same time. Because he had just said not long ago that he would accompany Shania for the rest of her life. But now he could not resist the temptation his former lover, football. His heart was wavering, and a crack appeared.

When he was doing the commentary on a game, he would be distracted as he listened to the thunderous cheers and songs coming from the stands. His point by point commentary were not so sharp and nimble. Sometimes it would attract the puzzled glances of his partner, Motson.

In a trance, Twain seemed to be back on the small City Ground stadium, standing on the sidelines and clenching his fists as he cheered the team’s goal.

He thought of the big picture that had been hanging on the bedroom wall. He stood in front of the sea of people in red with his arms wide open, as if he was embracing that sea of rage. He had been in Brazil for so long that he did not know how much dust had gathered on the picture.

Maybe… There was something in his bones that was not so easy to quit…

Twain sighed in his heart and felt that he was too useless. Only a few World Cup games and the original resolute thought in his heart was already a little shaky.

Perhaps it was due to Brazil, a country filled with all kinds of passions customs. Their football had impassioned Twain.

The Brazilian women looked good, but the Brazilian football was even better to look…

In the end, England lost once again to the Brazilians four years later. This time their results were worse than the previous time. The last time they were in the top four, but this time they did not even make it to the top eight.

In the round of 16, England was unlucky enough to encounter the host, Brazil. After the game, the English media complained that Brazil had taken full advantage of the “home field advantage”, which was a covert way of stating that there was something wrong with the referee. But the Brazilians did not care so much. Why would a winner bicker about a loser’s complaints?

But in Twain’s view, the reason England did not go any further in this World Cup to reach the finals was not because they encountered the host ahead of time, and the unspoken words that implied Capello was old. It was simple, but also unimaginable – George Wood was not in good form.

After coaching Wood for ten years, this was the second Twain had seen him in poor form. The first time was when Eastwood had retired.

Motson wondered why Wood’s condition was bad. Twain was also puzzled. The media all over England wondered too. Twain even wondered if something was wrong with Sophia.

Capello liked and trusted Wood. It appeared he had the intention to let him succeed Gerrard. But unexpectedly, George Wood’s performance in Capello’s last World Cup was a disappointment, completely without the aggressiveness and ferocity that he displayed in his club’s squad. Up against Brazil’s Kaka, he was played with till he was confused and disoriented. Kaka was also bewildered as to why the constantly ferocious Wood played as if he was a hypnotized sheep in the game. He followed and ran after him several times but did nothing and let him get away. If it had been before, perhaps he would have already shoveled him from behind. Even though he might have gotten a yellow card, he could still make the opponent feel fear and shock. Then it would be much easier to defend. If he was met with a tough character, he would fight to death with the opponent and compete who was tougher in the end.

Used to such a George Wood, Kaka was really not used to George Wood being soft. As a result, for more than twenty minutes into the game, the Brazilian core player’s performance was not good either. In the beginning, the English reporters even thought it was to George Wood’s credit. Then they discovered that something was wrong. England was done once Kaka and Brazil realized it.

Wood was England’s first line of defense, like the body’s immune system. Now that the first line of defense had collapsed, even if England was a two-hundred-pound strong man, he had collapsed like a house of cards when the wind blew.

At the end of the ninety-minute game, there were tears in the eyes of his teammates around him. George Wood’s eyes were a little confused. On the big screen behind him, the score for the match was displayed as 0:3.

Boasted by the English media as the strongest ever England team, they were wiped out and completely defeated when they faced the last World Cup’s second runner-up team.

Twain did not care about England’s defeat. But there were some people among his colleagues next him who had wiped tears in their eyes. For them, the quadrennial dream was over again. Twain watched with a detached point of view. But in his mind, he thought these people could be intoxicated with the dream once every four years, but how many more years before the Chinese fans could dream just once? Would it really be like 2002 when they could try confidently for the first time forty years?

When he thought of it, his cold eyes turned into a sneer.

You sons of bitches do not know how lucky you are.

He was not sad or concerned that England was out of the game. What worried him was George Wood’s condition. Although he was no longer the manager of Nottingham Forest, he would still subconsciously think of himself as a member of the Forest team. Therefore, he did not feel proud that the performance of the Nottingham Forest team captain as well as the talent that he had personally groomed, was so bad.

He was also not in form for his commentary work in this World Cup commentary. The frequency of the usually popular wonderful and clever remarks was also not high, which was in some way related to Wood’s poor form.

But it was not clear why Wood was not in top form. He did not know, and he did not inquire either, because he was not anyone to Wood anymore, so there was no need to care everything about this person. He just wished that the terrible form had nothing to do with Sophia.

Even though England was knocked out, Twain’s job was not over. He was still in charge of working with Motson until the final.

After England’s elimination, the English media put the blame for the loss on two men. One of them was George Wood and the other person was Capello. So, the combative Twain dedicated to protecting these two men in his column. In fact, he mainly did it to defend Wood, but he did not want to be blatant about this kind of thing. So, he defended Capello as well and admonished those media in his article. He did not make much sense, nor did he analyze the data. Anyway, everyone in the industry knew that even if Tony Twain was reasonable, his reasons and arguments were preposterous. Rational people would not quarrel with him. People who quarreled with him were not fools and had other agendas of their own.

Amid the clamor, the pressure on George Wood gradually lessened – Twain was still fiercely protective of his young till now. And he did not care about Capello. What storms had the old fox not weathered? He did not need his help to relieve the pressure.

Twain’s only regret was that, because of his poor performance at the World Cup, George Wood was destined to miss out on this year’s awards for the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year even though he had won the Treble.

As a defensive midfielder, the opportunity to be able to earn these personal honors was so precious…

At the thought of this, Twain gnashed his teeth, feeling somewhat resentful towards George Wood for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement in him.

F**king George why are you in such bad form?!

Chapter 887 - A Call from London

After England was eliminated, they could still comfort themselves, “We were at least eliminated by the champion!”

The host of the East, Brazil, finally had a shot at the cup on their home ground and this meant Kaka finally completed his World Cup dream – just like Ronaldo from before, when he first won the World Cup, he was only a side character. But this time, he relied on his own capabilities and hard work to become the core of the Brazil team, finally leading the team to get the championships. For him, this championship was of more value.

If it was necessary to ask him what regrets he still had after obtaining this year’s World cup, he would definitely mention out his regret of not winning George Wood in his best state. This made him a little discontent after winning the World Cup…

Just before the end of the World Cup, the England team had already spread the news of changing the roster.

Capello’s contract with the English Football Association was due to expire right after the World Cup, and with England’s performance during the previous tournament not being satisfactory to most people, the Football Association would not offer to renew his contract. Hence after the expiry of the deadline, Capello ended his job in England, as he returned to Italy and officially announced his retirement.

Afterwards, the Football Association would then start the selection of a new head coach for the team.

The media had made a list of possible candidates. The list, which had not been officially recognized, was compiled by the media based on their experience.

Tony Twain, who has just resigned, was in the list, but he had the lowest probability. The simple reason was that when he was still the Nottingham Forest manager, he gave the Football Association trouble several times, and in the minds of the Football Association officials, Tony Twain was a hard-to-discipline hedgehog, and he should be avoided whenever possible. Another reason was that it was rumoured that Manchester United and Twain were in private contact and that a preliminary agreement may have been reached between both parties.

Motson, who just ended his role as the World Cup commentary, also asked him about this, mainly asking whether Manchester United had really invited Twain to coach. Twain nodded as he did get a call from the top management of Manchester United, but he refused as he did not want to snatch Martin O’Neill’s job, and just like what he told Allen, he was unable to accept the fact that he needs to become Nottingham Forest’s opponent and play against Nottingham Forest in a competition.

“What about the England team?”

Twain shrugged, “The Football Association didn’t look for me, don’t listen to how media said that that was some list up for selection, it is all fabricated.”

Motson then laughed, “Okay, why not you just come and work for us on BBC 5 tv station, to analyse the game or start a special program in the show. With your eloquence and influence, you don’t have to worry about the ratings.”

Twain declined Motson’s kind offer, “I just want to be with my wife.”

Motson did not believe this, “Come on, I know you can’t live without football at all. ”

Twain touched his nose and asked curiously, “Why?”

“It’s very simple. I can’t imagine what else you can do after leaving the world of football…” Motson quipped. “After finishing the job and go relax? ”

“I have to go and reunite with my wife.” Twain smiled apologetically.

“You…” Motson pointed to Twain, shaking his head helplessly, “Never mind! ”

Instead of returning to the United Kingdoms with the people from BBC, Twain left directly for Rio de Janeiro to continue accompanying with his wife.

Although he was still a little concerned about Motson’s words, but after more than twenty days of separation from Shania today, he really wanted to put on wings and fly directly to the side of his wife.

After returning back to Shania, Tony Twain was way more passionate as compared to before the World Cup. This made Shania feel weird, but afterwards she just thought it was a show of “absence making the heart feel fonder” .

Only Twain knew that he was trying to refute Motson’s words with practical action, trying to deny that thought that was still struggling in his heart.

※※※

The $15 million mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, was a shared property between Shania and Tony Twain. In previous years when Tony Twain and Shania decided to purchase it, it was during the economic global crisis which impacted the whole world, $15 million was already $4.5 million less than its original price, and even so, it was still quite expensive…

Twain did not want to live in such a mansion, he did not have the habit of hiring a housekeeper, so no matter how big the house was, it would only contain Shania and him, occasionally the house would be used to host friends from both parties. But the only reason why Twain was willing to buy the house was not because it was sufficiently huge, but because behind it was the Pacific Ocean.

Standing on your own balcony, he could enjoy the magnificent sea, it also had a private beach, such an environment deserving $15 million was not a scam.

Twain liked this type of an open environment, especially the sea. He was born within the city, hence during the first half of his life he did not genuinely saw the great ocean. So, today he wanted to mend this regret.

The house also had another advantage – it was close to his old friend, the Beckhams’ mansion in Beverly Hills, walking there would take at most 15 minutes. He could count them as neighbors.

Tonight, Twain and Shania are here to dine with the Beckham and Tom Cruise couple, along with some other Hollywood stars.

It was the second day they came to Hollywood from Brazil.

The journey-weary Shania was still in her bed, as Twain had already done his morning exercises on the beach behind the house. He sat directly on the beach, letting the sea continuously wash over his body, as he was looking out at the sea.

The ocean that had been sleeping all night was gently rippling in front of him, bringing a little smell of sea salt. He took a little breath to sniff it.

It’s nice not to get up in the morning and immediately think about how to lead today’s game.

That was what Twain was thinking.

Behind him came a slight “ssh ssh” sound, as Twain turned and got surprised. Shania walked out only in her three-point underwear, as she was still having sleepy eyes. She had something in her hand.

“It was too damn noisy, I can’t sleep at all… This call was made five times…” Shania handed the thing in her hand to Twain, as she pouted while sitting beside him, leaning her head onto Twain’s shoulder.

“Go back, don’t catch a cold.” Twain pushed her and looked at the unresponsive phone. “Is the call not coming anymore?”

“It’s hot inside and it’s much cooler here.” Shania pouted. “I promise there would be another call in less than five minutes.”

As soon as the voice dropped, Twain’s cellphone, in his hands, rang.

“You see!” Shania made a grimace face at Twain and continued to snooze on his shoulder.

“Hey, I’m Tony Twain” Twain discovered that the phone number was unknown and was never recorded in his phone book. “But I don’t care who you are, do you know what time it is in Los Angeles? Seven in the morning!” He was upset that this damn phone call had disturbed his wife’s dream. And since the caller was a stranger, that was no need to be polite.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Mr Twain. I didn’t know you were in Los Angeles, I thought you were in Brazil.” The caller was a man with a extremely low voice, although he was apologising, he did not sound humble at all. “I’m Shaun Barclays. I believe you must know who I am now right?” The voice started to laugh.

Twain was no stranger to this name, as it was the current executive of the English Football Association. Twain’s anger immediately reduced by half as this call really came out of the blue. Why did he even call him in the first place?

“Well, Twain, it’s about this. I have a plan here, I don’t know if you will be interested. ”

Twain rolled his eyes as he had already guessed what Barclays was calling him for. But he did not say it, but instead waited quietly for the other side to say it. As a successful coach, he had to be more reserved. But in his mind, the answer was already clear.

“As you know, Capello and our contract has ended. ”

“Yes, I’ve realised. ”

“We are now looking for the next manager of the England team. And I think you’ll be the most suitable one. ”

Twain acted surprised, “Why? I think this position and I should be very far away from each other. Although the surprise was pretended, but what he said was true. Twain knew what his image was in the Football Association, why would the Football Association look for such a disobedient head coach to manage the England team? At least before this call, he felt that it was weird.”

England’s leading figure laughed, “Championship. Isn’t the 12 championship trophies the Nottingham Forest team you led gotten enough to prove your worth?”

Twain was laughing in his heart. Mr Barclays was not praising him initially when he was discussing about him before.

When Shaun Barclays took up the position recently, there was a night press conference when he was asked about his review about Tony Twain, he pressed onto his temple while painfully answered, “If he could properly manage his mouth, I’ll thank the heavens.”

Later, Twain did not lessen his criticisms on the Football Association, so he often took a booking from the Football Association. Barclays’ name was firmly in his head. It was rumoured that whenever someone within the Association asked Barclays about his impression of Twain he would answer it with a hint of humour, “You mean the name that was always appearing in the booking?”

It was clear that the Football Association boss’s impression of Twain was not good.

Although today Mr Barclays’ attitude to him was much better, but Twain did not want to claim his sentiments. He said, “But you know, the club and the national team are two very different things, Mr. Executive,” he said. Success at the club does not mean success in the national team…”

The old fox, Barclays could tell the sarcasm behind Twain’s voice, and he did not show any disappointment or any emotion, but said quietly, “Don’t be in a hurry to refuse, Mr. Twain. You can think it over. The people and I agreed that the next England manager should be an Englishman. ”

Since the other party already gave him face, Twain also did not make enemies everywhere as he used to in Nottingham Forest to attract all the attacks onto himself. So he also gave face to the other party “Okay, I’ll consider this offer.”

After saying that he hung up the phone, as he looked down at his wife, who was still leaning on his shoulder.

“You actually did not reject him directly.” Shania’s words shocked Twain, he was about to defend himself, but Shania continued talking. “You don’t have to care about me, the key is what you want to do.”

She poked her head onto Twain’s shoulder.

“I won’t say yes, ” said Twain as he gently touched her hair. “That was just to not make Mr Barclays too uncomfortable and look too ugly.”

Shania sneered, “When did ‘Mad Dog Tony’ become so gentle? ”

“Who gave me that nickname?” Twain glared.

“Marca newspaper. They still hate you.” Shania raised her head with a smile.

Twain noticed that she was hugging her arms as he put her arm around her and brought her into the house. “Be careful not to catch a cold.” As for what the Marca newspaper said about him, he simply just did not care.

※※※

Although Twain thought he had already turned down the English Football Association, the English media did not think the same way. In an interview with the English media, Barclays personally admitted that the Football Association and Tony Twain had contacted, which pushed Twain, who was previously ghosting the media, back to the front stage.

Within a day, the media in England was crazily hyping Twain in the chance that he might take over the commander position in the England team.

Twain did not change his cell phone, so he got a call from Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan wanted to ask him if this was actually true. Twain admitted that Barclays had called him, but he did not agree to be the head coach. This made Brosnan a little disappointed as after knowing Tony Twain had left that world of football, he then knew how lonely he was.

“Actually, I think you can seriously think about it, Tony…”

“Why?”

“I think you should be a football coach… I can’t imagine you not doing something related to football. ”

This is the second time Twain has heard someone say that to him.

“Aren’t you seeing it right now?” Twain snorted, and then hung up in a hurry.

God d*amn it, why is everyone saying this? I just wante to accompany my wife…

※※※

The evening banquet was held as scheduled, as Hollywood celebrities from all walks of life carefully dressed themselves, and then brought their partners to the banquet. Shania was quite well-liked in this social circle but Twain usually only see many of these movie stars in the movies.

Outside the mansion gathered several United Kingdom and English reporters, many were reporting for an entertainment channel, while some were for sports. The sports reporters were clearly here to find Tony Twain. Beckham had retired long ago.

For the party, the Twain couple hired a team to take charge of the party, they did not have to bother with cooking nor waiting the tables. They just needed to entertain the guests.

The party was lively, but Twain’s mood was still affected by incident in the morning. On this day, the phrase “England national coach” would always suddenly appear in his mind and haunt him.

Beckham saw through Twain and thought he was distracted as he quipped, “What’s up, Twain? Are you jealous seeing Shania becoming the main lead.”

Twain glanced at the crowd who was surrounding Shania as she was entertaining everyone, “Why would I be jealous…” Looking at the good friend in front of him, the only guest here who has a common language with him, he suddenly thought to himself, “Maybe I can try asking David?”

“You look like you’re having something on your mind, what’s wrong?” Without waiting for him to speak, Beckham has already taken the initiative to show concern.

“I, uh… David. I got a call from the Football Association today morning. ”

“The English Football Association?” Beckham asked back, but he was not surprised.

Twain nodded.

The star on the other side started to laugh, “I am not surprised.”

This time it was Twain’s turn to be surprised, “Why do you say that?” ”

“If I was a Football Association official, I’d call you, Tony. Now that they’re all over the world looking for a new coach, how can they miss you out? ”

“But I’ve decided to leave football and just stay with Shania. ”

Beckham squinted as he looked at Twain.

“You don’t believe me?” Twain asked.

“Do you think anyone believes that, Tony?”

Twain would have liked to retort directly: “Why not?” But he suddenly remembered that Shania, Motson and Brosnan had expressed varying degrees of doubt about his thoughts. And compared to two outsiders, Motsan and Brosnan, the most vital thing is that even his wife who sleeps together with him every day did not believe this, this problem was really serious.

“Tony, I don’t doubt your feelings for Shania. But I, too don’t doubt your feelings about football. You’re born for football, and I can’t think of how you’re going to live after leaving from football. Beckham put his hand on Twain’s shoulder and said to him with a serious tone.

“But I’m still living fine.” Twain spread his hands.

Beckham laughed as he squinted his eyes.

“You don’t believe me again?”

Beckham patted him on the shoulder as he took back his hand. “Well, don’t think about that, just enjoy the night, I’ll introduce you to some new friends…”

He pulled Twain to the raucous crowd, where the lights were bright as a unforgettable night had just begun. (Unfinished, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )

Chapter 888 - It’s Not Easy to Find a Job

The deafening sound of the song reached his ears. Twain could not tell what they were singing as his ears were filled with a booming noise, as though there were waves hitting the shore.

There were tens of thousands of arms waving ahead of him and they looked like the lush Sherwood Forest.

Twain realized that he was situated in the familiar City Grounds. The stadium with a capacity of 30,000 people was totally full then. However, he was not in the manager’s seat at the sideline, he was on the stands instead.

On the pitch below, an intensive match was going on. He looked at the home team’s manager’s seat and he was stunned for awhile as he saw himself managing the team there.

What’s going on?

Twain looked at his hands, but he could not see anything from his hands. If that man managing the team on the side was Tony Twain, then who was he?

The other Tony Twain was standing on the sideline, a little nervous and a little excited. He leant forward with his fists clenched in front of his chest and paid full attention to what was happening on the pitch.

Twain looked beyond him and got a shock. He recognized the away jersey of West Ham United.

Why was it West Ham United?

Looking at Nottingham Forest on the other side, many of the players were unfamiliar to him. Twain did not see George Wood amongst them, no Gareth Bale, Eastwood, Pepe… He did not see those people, not even Albertini, van der Sar or Hierro from the earlier days.

What kind of Nottingham Forest was this?

Nottingham Forest was defending while West Ham was on the offense. Twain had to squint his eyes to look for a while before he could tell from the movements that the person holding the ball was Joe Cole. Was Cole not at Chelsea? When was this West Ham United from?

Joe Cole deliberately controlled the ball in midfield, or more accurately, he wanted to show off his dribbling skills in front of his opponents. When Twain saw this, he gave a cold snort and said, “Idiot!”

Under the press of the Forest players, he did not pass the ball, choosing to continue dribbling in an attempt to bring the ball out from within the surrounding Forest players. When the third Forest player came for the ball, Joe Cole lost the ball from under his feet.

The following scenes were very familiar to Twain, because these scenes happened in front of him quite often.

The Forest player who got the ball passed it to his teammate on the side and his teammate passed the ball forward. The third Nottingham Forest player ran forward from a position level with the opponent’s defensive line. The timing was perfect and even Twain himself could not help but shout, “Beautiful.”

And the fans around him had already raised their arms cheering long ago.

The Forest striker received the ball from behind the whole West Ham United’s defense and those confused West Ham United players were still raising their hands in protest to the linesman and referee to indicate that this player was offside.

The Forest striker calmly stroked the ball towards the far corner when one-on-one with the goalkeeper, the ball flew past the West Ham United’s goalkeeper and into the goal…

“Boom——!!” It felt like a ton of TNT exploded next to his ears.

“Forest Forest! Nottingham Forest!!!”

This was the only sound coming from the stands.

The massive soundwave not only crashed upon Twain’s eardrums, it also crashed upon his heart. He felt a dull pain in his left chest, and he touched it with his hand. He did not feel anything unusual, instead, he managed to feel the strength of his heartbeat directly with his hand.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

It was rather powerful, so powerful that it felt like it was going to jump out from his chest cavity.

With his hand on his heart, Twain’s gaze fixated on the man below.

That man was not as excited as the players on the pitch, at least that was what it looked like on the surface… He merely looked up at the surrounding stands. The Nottingham Forest team song rang out from the stands and Twain could even sing along to it——This rhythm was too familiar to him as he had heard it no less than 1000 times.

“We’ve got the whole world in our hands! We’re the best team in the land!”

After looking around, that man opened his arms within the songs and he leaned backwards, looking straight up into the sky and he seemed to enjoy this moment very much.

Twain seemed to have heard what that man was thinking.

I love this noise! I love this smell! I love this stirring spectacle! I love everything here! I love football!

In the stands, Twain also could not help but to open his arms and close his eyes, enjoying this choir that would probably sound like noise to normal people. This was really the most beautiful voice in the world…

When Twain opened his eyes again and the noise around him had completely subsided just like the tides, however, there were the faint sounds of the tides coming from outside his window. What he saw was not the green field and the spectator stands filled with spectators, just the white suspended ceiling above.

This was his home.

After about 10 seconds, he finally realized what was going on. He was not in the City Grounds Stadium. He was merely lying inside one of the bedrooms of his mansion in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.

It was just a dream.

Twain gently removed his arm that was stuck under Shania’s head and then closed his eyes while covering his face.

He wanted to make himself sleep again, maybe he might be able to return to the City Grounds in 2003.

He remembered what match it was—— The FA Cup on January 3rd, 2003. Nottingham Forest, which was still in the English Football League First Division then (Later known as English Football League Championship), playing against West Ham United in the English Premier League. That was the first official match that Twain took charge of as the manager of Nottingham Forest, and they fell to a 2:3 defeat at the hands of the referee.

Twain did not know why he would dream of a match from so long ago. However, he would very much like to return to the atmosphere of that match.

That was because he suddenly missed that feeling——Embracing victory with open arms amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of people. It felt like the whole world was in his hands and he was the master of everything. It would not be wrong to say he was God at that time.

Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught. He was exceptionally awake after he woke up and he could not go back to sleep.

Twain was a little bit frustrated that he could not find the feelings he had initially. He tossed and turned in bed for a while but as he was afraid of waking Shania, he decided to get out of bed and walk towards the open windows in just his underwear. The sea breeze blew against the curtains and there were ebbs and flows on the curtains just like the tides outside.

Twain was lost in thoughts as he looked at the greyish sea outside the windows.

After some time, he felt a shirt being put onto him.

“Be careful, don’t catch a cold,” Shania reminded him while snuggling up from behind him.

Twain held Shania’s hands, feeling the warmth of his wife.

None of them spoke after that and they snuggled together quietly.

Twain broke the silence after some time, “Shania.”

“Hmm?”

“Sorry…”

※※※

In fact, even though the media had indeed been stirring up news about Twain becoming the new manager of the England national team for a few days, it was just to attract the attention of the general public, a publicity stunt. Any reporter who had any sense of reason would not think that Twain would really take that position. There were many candidates for that position that the media speculated on and Tony Twain was the one with the lowest probability. It was very simple, nobody believed that the Football Association would ask someone that they could not control to manage the England team. No matter how many trophies he got, it was not as important as being “receptive to command”.

The Football Association did not announce who the candidates that they were interested in were. When interviewed, they would only say things like, “He’s not a bad choice”, “He’s not a bad choice either”.

The media was very helpful as they gave the Football Association a list of the candidates. Every candidate had a probability of being chosen at the end. Tony Twain was at the bottom of the list with a probability of only five percent. The evaluation of the senior experts was, “Unless Shaun Harvey is crazy, otherwise, there is no chance that he will bring disaster upon himself.”

Shaun Harvey publicly said that they would choose amongst the Englishmen first for the position of England’s manager, so no matter how impressive a foreign manager was, he would have to wait for his chance. However, there were not many Englishmen who were suitable for this position. The only people whom the public thought was good enough for this position were Everton’s manager, David Moyes and the manager of England national under-21 football team, Stuart Pearce. Martin O’Neill was not a bad choice either, but it was a pity that he was from Northern Ireland.

McClaren was out of the consideration as he had already been deemed a failure. Even though he wanted to prove himself again, the Football Association took a lukewarm attitude towards him.

Venables were capable but he was already 71 years old, a little too old. He also clearly stated that he had no interest in the position of England’s manager.

The media combed through the whole English Premier League and they had no choice but to tragically admit that their football league was dominated by foreign managers… A high-level English manager was rare. When Tony Twain was around, people hated him, and now that he was no longer around, they finally realized that he was the only one that was holding the fort for English managers.

The media was not the only one who did not think Twain would be the next England manager. Even the Football Association did not think it was probably. Harvey’s call to Twain was just a formality——As the best local manager, even though he had already resigned, he still had a certain amount of influence. It would simply not do if he was not informed about England’s search for a new manager… So, even if they did not think it was likely, they still had to put on a show and when the media asked about it, they had to say, “We believe that Tony Twain is the most suitable candidate for England right now. 12 trophies in 10 years proves everything.”

In his mind, Harvey thought that if Twain really agreed, then it was either Twain who was mad, or the world that was mad.

※※※

“Why apologize to me?” Shania hugged Twain from behind and asked softly.

“Do you remember me saying that I would quit and keep you company? Now, I realize that I might…” Twain grew silent for a while as he was still very conflicted inside his mind, “…not be able to do it. So, I’m very sorry, Shania.”

Shania rolled her eyes as she leaned on his back, “I thought you were having an affair!”

“Er…” Twain did not expect this reaction from Shania.

“Did you really think that I fell for your lousy sweet talks, Uncle Tony? I did not believe what you said when you quit. If that was true, you would have quit when you had your heart attack.”

“I…” Twain realized that Shania was right, he had no answers for it.

“The real reason why you left Forest was because of your conflict with Allan Adams,” Shania let go of Twain, allowing him to turn and face her, “You’ve never thought that you would leave football.’

“No…” Twain wanted to defend himself.

Shania interrupted him again.

“Ok Uncle Tony. It doesn’t matter what you think, I’m already very satisfied,” Shania smiled at Twain, then changed her expression rapidly, and sighed, “From the moment I decided to fall in love with you, I’ve mentally prepared myself for this——The love that I receive will always be a little lesser.”

Twain hugged the woman in front of him.

“Sorry, Shania. Sorry…”

What could he say other than this?

He was indeed feeling guilty towards Shania. Because his love for football had not really disappear, that was why the love that Shania received would definitely be discounted.

“Are you going to call the Football Association’s executive?” Shania looked up from Twain’s embrace.

Twain shook his head, “No, at least not for these few days.”

“Huh? Didn’t you tell me these because you’ve decided to manage England?”

“I didn’t say I must manage England. That position is not for human…” Twain kissed Shania’s head. Harvey’s phone call merely served to make him really understand how much he loved football. It did not mean that Twain was interested in that position now. He did really take a good look at the invitations that he received previous now…

※※※

Shania and her husband left Los Angeles within less than five days and boarded a plane towards Spain.

There was a piece of news that was absolutely confidential. If the Marca or Diario AS knew about it, their jaws would drop.

The piece of news was that Florentino had already contacted Twain the day after the Champions League final, asking him to be the new manager of the Galácticos. Twain was contemptuous of that invitation then, but now… He had to give it a serious consideration and listen to the conditions that Florentino offered.

Both parties met for a meal, had a good chat, and Twain left Madrid.

It seemed like he was not fated to work with Real Madrid——Florentino was unable to satisfy the only condition that Twain had; Tony Twain must have absolute authority in building the team, nobody was to interfere with it, not even Raúl González.

The first condition that Twain put forward when he met the Spanish property magnate was this. Florentino considered for very long before shaking his head.

There was nothing left to discuss after that. If this condition could not be met, there was nothing left to discuss.

It was a good thing that this was not publicized, otherwise both parties would not be able to back down in good grace.

Twain and Shania flew back to England straight after leaving Madrid. This was the first time he was returning to England after resigning. He was not here to discuss with the Football Association’s executive about managing the national team. He was merely there to attend the wedding of Tang and Tang Jing, a very small and private wedding.

Twain was still joking at the expense of this pair of newlyweds on the wedding, saying that he was the real matchmaker and they should bow to him.

He had a lot of fun and it appeared as though he was not concerned about work at all.

In fact, other than Real Madrid, there were also invitations from Juventus and Bayern Munich on his hands. He had to make a decision quickly because the new season was going to start in slightly more than a month’s time, the Bundesliga had only a month left.

When he was in England for the wedding, he contacted both clubs on the phone. However, the conditions that both clubs offered were unable to satisfy Twain’s requirement. Either they did not want to give up full authority, or they could not guarantee enough transfer budget——Twain had enough of a tough life at Nottingham Forest. Now that he was changing a team, he did not want to experience life with a tight budget again.

Hence, he was unable to work with Juventus and Bayern Munich too.

When Twain looked at the job openings he had in his hands again, there was only the manager of the England national team left.

Who would have thought that someone of the Godfather of Champions’ caliber would end up like this, it was not easy to find a job…

Chapter 889 - A Change of Manager

David Moyes was the first candidate to reject the English Football Association. He stated that he was happy to stay at Everton and did not want to change his working environment. Furthermore, it was too exhausting to be the manager of the England national team. The manager was under watch by the reporters three hundred and sixty-five days a year. There was no idle time twenty-four hours a day. And one also had to guard against those tabloids, such as the fake Sheikh incident and so on.

He did not like that kind of life. Therefore, he publicly rejected the Football Association. Everton later issued a statement on their website to clear up the earlier rumors and confirmed that Moyes would remain at Everton.

The English Football Association had offered an annual salary of up to eight and a half million pounds for the new manager, which made the position appeared to be a highly coveted and drool-worthy job. But in fact, it was actually a hot potato. The eight and a half million pounds salary was the annual salary of a manager which led the team to win the UEFA European Championship. In addition to the other incentives, the new England manager could earn more than ten million pounds a year. But all the managers knew how difficult the England manager’s position was.

Not only did he need to have enough fame and prestige to control those big-name star players who had been spoiled rotten by the media; he was required to have real ability and solid learning to withstand the questions from experts; Moreover, he also needed to have the awareness of an entertainment star, and could not gripe being under the magnifying focus of the media all the time.

After mulling over it for a period, Stuart Pearce also decided to give up the well-paid job. He said that he would prefer to continue working in the Under-21 youth team in response to questions from the reporters and that developing young players was the way forward for English football.

The two men’s consecutive announcements of their withdrawal left the Football Association in an awkward position – it was estimated that no one would take over the job within the scope of local managers.

They could only set their sights abroad.

There were a lot of good managers overseas, such as Scolari, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Hiddink and so on…

But the chief executive officer of the Football Association, Shaun Harvey still wanted to find a good local English manager. said the issue was “a good thing Barclay still wants a good coach from England. Foreign managers were not easy to manage. If there were still no results in the end, the Football Association would also be criticized that it was “because they chose a foreign manager.” A local manager was much easier to manage.

However, Moyes and Pearce were not interested. In particular, Pearce, who was specially cultivated by the Football Association, got cold feet at the last minute. He did not have the same drive as he did when he was a player which disappointed Harvey.

Just as he was worried about the matter, he received a surprise phone call.

“I’m in London now. I think we can talk about it in detail…” The man who said that was Tony Twain.

Twain was actually tempted. It would be impossible for the Football Association to stop halfway this time…

※※※

While the English Football Association was fretting about a new manager, so was Nottingham Forest. They had already made an overture to Mourinho, but Mourinho was not interested in them. It was not that he thought a small club like Nottingham Forest could not keep a big shot like him. Mourinho himself was a manager with a very individualistic character, so he did not like to go to a team with another person’s deep imprint. It would be too hard to get off to a good start. He was not interested in being anyone’s second generation and he certainly did not want to live in Tony Twain’s shadow.

No one wanted to come to Nottingham Forest after they searched outside for a successful manager. Hiddink had agreed to coach the Forest team, but the terms he gave were unacceptable to Evan Doughty. The legendary Dutch manager still wanted to remain as the manager of the Netherlands national team. Evan was not looking for a part-timer, so he would never allow him to have a foot in both teams. As a result, Hiddink’s encounter with Nottingham Forest was brief.

The other managers were very interested in the Forest team’s position and also keen on the annual salary figure, but the Forest team was not interested in them. These people were usually second-rate coaches. Evan did not think they could handle the current championship team.

In the end, after Nottingham Forest went through a lot of hard work in July, they finally poached the Manchester United manager, Martin O’Neill. The former Nottingham Forest manager was, by all accounts, the most suitable for the Forest team. Martin O’Neill had the ability and certain fame. And the most important thing was that he had a much milder temper than Tony Twain. Such a person was very easy to discipline.

O’Neill’s departure triggered a chain reaction. Manchester United stepped up the momentum of their pursuit of Mourinho after losing O’Neill and eventually persuaded Mourinho to switch teams from Inter Milan to join Manchester United. His arrival was seen by the Manchester United officials as a starting point for the Red Devils to rebuild its glory. It was mentioned on the same terms as when Liverpool signed Shankly, Manchester United signed Ferguson and Nottingham Forest signed Tony Twain.

For their part, Inter Milan could not do anything about it other than to express their regret. Manchester United was desperate, and even covered the penalty fee for Mourinho’s default in the contract. It looked like not having won a title for years in a row, made Manchester United, which was accustomed to winning titles during Ferguson’s era, a little flustered. They did whatever it took in order to get a good leader at the helm.

At this time, Inter Milan had to find a manager, so they contacted Tony Twain. Unfortunately, Twain had already reached an agreement with the English Football Association – he was going to officially coach the England national team.

He only had to wait now for the Football Association’s official announcement.

During the negotiations with Harvey, the two sides had agreed on the terms. Although the English Football Association was similar to the Chinese Football Association in some areas, they would not interfere with the manager’s work, which was the point that Twain was most satisfied with. He did not care about the other things. Some people were worried that after becoming the England manager, they would be kept under watch all the time. Twain was not afraid. He felt that fighting against fate and destiny was nothing compared to fighting against people because it was boundless joy to fight with people.

It was the case at Nottingham Forest, and it would be similar going to the England national team.

The Football Association’s idea was that they had let the word out that they must find a home-grown English manager this time lead the England national team. Since Twain offered to take the initiative, they had no reason to turn a blind eye or refuse. As long as everyone could reach an agreement, then they would let Twain be the manager.

The two sides hit it off, and the result was that the candidate whom the media thought of as the least favorite was the eventual winner, who was now with the English Football Association.

Two days later, the English Football Association held a press conference together with Tony Twain to officially announce the news at the meeting. At that time, a lot of people would definitely be taken aback by the news.

※※※

Martin O’Neill started his first day of work at Nottingham Forest today. He would meet his team for the first time. It was an ordinary meeting, but O’Neill was nervous and even restless. It was all because the last manager of this team was… too brilliant.

He and Twain were not considered close, but they were also friends. Because he never publicly said anything bad about Twain. It was enough to make someone like Twain think of it as a friendship. One must know that there were a lot of people who cursed and abused Twain every day.

Now he had to face the enormous influence left by his friend. He was also a successful manager and naturally was unwilling to live in the shadow of others.

Perhaps it could be said that how hard Martin O’Neill’s job was from another point of view.

While waiting for the new manager to arrive, the Forest players were changing their clothes in the locker room. But it was Tony Twain whom they were discussing instead.

“I read yesterday’s news that said a reporter had filmed the boss with that old man, Harvey. Do you think the boss is really going to coach the England team?” Bale asked.

“Who knows, I don’t think it’s very likely. The Football Association hates the boss…” said Mitchell, frowning.

“Hey, why do you care so much about that… I think we’d better think about how different the newly arrived Mr. Martin O’Neill will be from the boss.”

“How different are they? We can talk about it for a day and a night. The boss is the most unique and you can’t find another like him in the whole of England… No, no, in the entire Europe. Not even Mourinho can be compared to him!”

“Why do you think the boss wanted to leave…” Bale asked again.

All the talk immediately disappeared. Some people even sighed lightly. This question troubled a lot of the Forest players. They thought about a number of reasons, such as the boss’ poor health, a problem in the boss’ family, the boss and the club’s top brass could not get along, the boss was tired of coaching in the same team for eleven years in a row, or the boss had betrayed them…

Twain had never explained the reasons for his sudden resignation in the media, so there were a lot of rumors outside. Some of which were very close to the players’ speculation, so that they felt confused and did not know whom to trust.

The impact of Tony Twain’s sudden resignation was still very much present today. Some of them still did not understand why the boss chose to leave suddenly at that time, but they could clearly feel that the boss was gone. It felt as if the team had lost something very important and the will of the players fell apart. It would not be easy to gather together again.

Kompany had already been sold to Italy by Allan before O’Neill came to the Forest team. Without Twain’s obstruction, Allan could sell anyone, as long as the other side could offer the price that would tempt him.

Following immediately was the sale of Leighton Baines. He went to Everton in the Premier League.

These two players brought in a revenue of twenty-seven million pounds for Allan Adams. If Twain was there, he would surely berate Allan Adams but there was no one who could stop the businessman.

The Forest team was unhappy with the top brass for driving the boss away and also dissatisfied with the sale of two of their teammates. A growing number of people within the team had already lost faith in the team. Ironically, just two months ago, this team won the great Treble and became the only team to do so in the European football arena in fifteen years. At the time, they must have thought they could continue to create brilliance and become the strongest team to unify Europe. If football also took a leaf out of the NBA and had a championship ring, all ten fingers and even toes were not enough to hold them when everyone retired… A future of that kind was really beautiful!

Rome was not built in a day, but one night would be enough for it to collapse.

The dreary atmosphere in the locker room was interrupted by a man.

“Don’t dilly dally and let the new manager think you’re all professional players who like to be late.” George Wood was the one who spoke up. He had already changed into his training uniform, stood at the door of the locker room and looked coldly around his teammates inside the room.

He seemed to have recovered from the blow of his boss’ departure. His poor performance at the World Cup had also become a thing of the past. He was still the hardest working and serious one in training. He also spoke more words now than before. It was just that the expression on his face … had become colder.

No one dared to defy George Wood who was like this. They did not even look face to face at him. A group of people kept their heads down and changed into their clothes and shoes in a hurry. Some people who had clearly changed their clothes, also untied their shoelaces and tied them once again, as if it would be a little tighter this way.

Then the players rushed out and marched to the training ground in twos and threes.

Over there, David Kerslake was giving Martin O’Neill a basic account of the current situation. He tried to avoid mentioning Tony Twain’s name. He did not want the new manager to have any other ideas.

“… We have just sold Kompany and Baines before, but fortunately they were no longer the absolute mainstay of the team. Pepe and Woodgate are fit to play at as center back partners. We have Gareth Bale and Joe Mattock as the left backs. Bale can attack and defend. Mattock is younger and has more potential… Although our rear defensive line is the best in England, but I think it will be nice if we have another high-level substitute goalkeeper… Tiago is a little old and his form is slipping so fast that he didn’t have many chances to play last season. Tony said that if the team wanted him to… Uh.” He suddenly shut his mouth because he realized that he had inadvertently mentioned that person’s name.

O’Neill smiled amiably and said, “Tony was right. Some people don’t have to stay in the Forest team all the time. The Forest team has the most united and harmonious locker room in the whole of Premier League, but that doesn’t mean we are a nursing home here, what’s more, a public nursing home.”

Kerslake marveled inside that O’Neill seemed to be easy to get along with and he continued with the introduction.

By this time, all the players had arrived at the pitch. They had gathered on the other side and were doing warm-up activities under the leadership of the fitness coach.

O’Neill was observing quietly as he listened to the assistant manager’s introduction.

What gift would this team that had swept across Europe and made the enemies terror-stricken, have to give to the new captain for the first time? How long could he stay on this ship? O’Neill could not think about these things. There was only one person on this mind – Tony Twain. He was keeping his mind as close as possible to Twain’s, speculating about how Twain led the team so that he could find the fastest approach for himself to fit in with the team and turn the team into Martin O’Neill’s own team.

When the team finished its warmup, O’Neill walked over and said hello to them, “Hello, gentlemen. I’m your new manager, Martin O’Neill. I believe you’ve heard of my name, haven’t you?”

Some of the players in the team laughed, while the others muttered in low voices, “What did he call us? ‘Gentlemen?’”

It’s awkward. I still like to be called ‘guys.’”

“Shh, they have different styles. Be careful not to let him hear…”

In fact, O’Neill heard it. He had a smile on his face and acted as if he did not hear it at all.

He smiled on the surface, but he was laughing bitterly on the inside. It looked like it was not going to be easy to make this team his own…

Even though the Forest players were not yet aware of the difference between the new coach’s temperament and that of his predecessor’s, they soon learned the difference between how Manager Martin O’Neill led the team in training than that of the boss.

Twain always liked to leave the specifics and tasks to the rest of the coaching staff. He just stood on the side and watched. Occasionally, he would stepped forward and say a few words. He looked cool impeccably attired and wearing his sunglasses.

On the other hand, O’Neill wore a tracksuit and even personally demonstrated during training. It obviously had something to do with him being a great footballer once. Judging from the results of the training, O’Neill was better than Tony Twain. At least some of the players thought so.

Among the Nottingham Forest players was a stubborn “Team Tony Twain.” They would spurn the other people and coaches other than Twain himself. Although they did not give the new manager trouble on the surface, their hearts were full of contempt as they waited for the new manager to make a mistake so that it could become something they could hold and use against him.

The dyed-in-the-wool faction was reluctant to admit that O’Neill was more outstanding at training than Twain. They felt that O’Neill’s on-field command and mental ability must not be as good as the boss’s. Anyway, football ultimately depended on the outcome of the game, and not the training results.

After the morning training ended, everyone left, each with his own thoughts. Martin O’Neill went to see his immediate boss, the club chairman, Evan Doughty.

“How do you feel after your first day of work, Martin?” Evan asked with a smile.

“Very good. Everyone was very cooperative. It’s a great team.” O’Neill did not tell the truth. He lied to cover up those troubles.

Evan smiled and shook his head, “Don’t lie to me, Martin. I know this team. They’re like Tony Twain’s temper, smelly and tough.” He did not have a look of disgust on his face when he said this. He only gave a slight smile as if he was making a joke about an old friend. “I think some of them are not convinced by you, but it’s okay. They will know it after winning a few games. You must know the tradition of Nottingham Forest is quite simple – victory is ten million times more powerful than any sweet talk.”

Martin O’Neill muttered inside his heart: It’s also ten million times harder than sweet talk.

At this point, Evan shrugged. He suddenly remembered that this tradition did not have a long history because it was Tony Twain who brought it to the Forest team. Indeed, this man’s influence was really found everywhere in Nottingham Forest… like the ghost of an ancient castle which had not yet dispersed. He felt a little uncomfortable and changed his expression. His smile became milder as he said to O’Neill.

“You can make a purge list. We have to rebuild the team. Other than the core players who cannot be touched, you can do whatever you want with the others.

O’Neill was a little surprised to hear the club chairman say this. He looked up at the man in front of him, his eyes full of confusion.

“If you want a team that completely belongs to you, I think a proper purge is necessary, Martin. It’s time to reshuffle.”

O’Neill was silent for a moment and then nodded, “Very well. I’ll give you a purge list after I observe for a period of time. It will include the players who need to be sold and bought. It will all be there.”

With that, O’Neill took his leave of Evan Doughty and left the chairman’s office.

Standing outside underneath the sun, he suddenly understood why Tony Twain wanted to leave Nottingham Forest at such a glorious time. There were not many managers who had the capability to compete with club chairmen. Old monsters like Ferguson were rare. When the chairman of a club interfered too much in the affairs of the team, it meant that the team was dangerous.

It was the same when he was at Manchester United and now it was the case too at Nottingham Forest. It looked like the successful club chairman was confident about himself.

How long could he hold on in such an environment?

O’Neill did not know. He only hoped that he could regain his rightful place in the team with one victory after another.

Just like how his predecessor did, obtaining one victory after another, he would keep running forward and not give anyone a chance to stop and catch one’s breath. Even if he was tired, he had to grit his teeth and keep running.

Luckily, I do not have a heart disease.

O’Neill shook his head as he walked toward the parking lot.

Chapter 890 - The New Manager of The Three Lions

The noses of the media were very sensitive. Even though the English Football Association had not officially announced the news about them reaching an agreement with Tony Twain, the news had already been leaked by The Sun.

However, they phrased it as a question, “New head of the Three Lions?”

The picture next to the headlines was a photo of Tony Twain.

The first thing Twain did when he saw this news was to switch off his phone. Otherwise, he would be bombarded by countless annoying phone calls that day.

The Football Association would be calling for a press conference the next day anyway, they would be able to ask what they wanted to ask then.

※※※

Next day, At the English Football Association in London SOHO square, the Football Association and Twain attended a press conference here and officially announced Twain’s taking the role of England’s manager.

Media from all over the world gathered at one place to witness it.

Even though he had been the manager of a football club for 11 years, it was still his virgin experience as the manager of a national team. He specially wore a new suit today, and also wore a tie, a rare occasion.

When he reached the venue, there were countless camera flashes even before he said anything which stunned the Football Association’s executive, Shaun Harvey.

When the two of them are seated, Harvey officially announced that Tony Twain would be taking up the reins as England’s national team’s manager.

“We’re very happy to be able to get Tony Twain to take up the role of England’s manager. Amongst the many candidates, Tony Twain’s results was the key to him being chosen. His results when he was with Nottingham Forest are very satisfactory for us. We’re very confident that the England team will be able to welcome the new dawn under Tony Twain’s guidance.”

Twain and the Football Association signed a two-year contract. The target was to win the European Championship, and depending on the results of that competition, they would decide if the contract would be extended to the World Cup.

Next, it was time for Twain to give a short speech about him taking up the post.

“Leading the England team is a new challenge to me, and I like challenges.”

Once Twain said that, he sat back, and it meant the reporters were free to ask questions.

It was short indeed…

The first reporter to stand and present his question was from The Times. His question was still acceptable, “Mr Twain, the best result that the previous manager, Capello, achieved was fourth place in the World Cup. May I ask if you have a specific target?”

Twain was about to answer when Harvey interrupted from the side, “Our target is the European Championship.”

Twain glanced at him, then nodded and said, “Yes, the short-term target is the European Championship.”

The questions after that went further and further away from the topic.

The reporters were obviously more interested about the reason Twain resigned from his post as Nottingham Forest’s manager. Tony Twain did not give an explanation for it yet, and Nottingham Forest Football Club did not reveal more information.

The reporter from The Sun stood up and asked, “Mr Twain, what was the motive for you to leave Nottingham Forest when you’re at your most glorious moment?”

Twain looked at Harvey. The Football Association’s executive also felt very awkward.

Therefore, Twain opened his arms and said, “I’m sorry, this is the press conference by the Football Association regarding the new England manager, not a press conference by Nottingham Forest Football Club. You’re at the wrong place, Mr reporter from The Sun.”

This moment had finally arrived. The reporters were exceptionally excited. They had not seen Twain for a month, but Twain were still unfriendly to them. When he was at the club, he did not have a good relationship with the media. They should be under no illusion that things would change and they would work in harmony now that he was with the England national team.

The media used Twain to attract more attention and readers by provoking him whereas for Twain, going against the media was one of the greatest source of happiness for him. Being a manager of a football team comes with a lot of pressure, there had to be a way for him to vent it out. Going against the media was not bad way of doing so.

The reporters of The Sun wanted to continue asking but Harvey finally interrupted again, “Mr reporter, please ensure that your questions are relevant to the main topic today, otherwise we have the rights to not answer.”

“Alright, Mr Harvey. I have a question for you,” that reporter smiled and nodded, “As the English Football Association, you’ve undoubtedly chosen Tony Twain as the manager of the national team because of his results. Is the Football Association worried that Mr Twain’s big mouth might bring about some unnecessary trouble for the team and the Football Association?”

“Um…” Harvey secretly cursed under his breath, “We believe that Tony Twain will be mindful of his actions.”

Twain took over from him, “Don’t worry about this, I’ll definitely not bring any trouble to the Football Association or the England squad. In fact, I’ll only retaliate if someone else takes the initiative to provoke me. I also hope that we’ll be able to coexist peacefully in the days to come,” when he finished, he glanced at the reporter from The Sun with a look that suggested there was a hidden meaning within.

When it was known that Twain was attending the press conference, Pierce Brosnan was sent to London by the chief editor in the hope that his personal relationship with Twain would bring him some exclusive news. Too bad Twain had switched off his phone and he could only attend the press conference like the other reporters.

He was picked by the host and he stood up to ask his question. Like the reporter from The Sun, he really wanted to ask Twain why he left Forest, but he knew that he would not get any answers by asking that, all it would do was to destroy the relationship between him and Twain.

“Mr Twain, can you reveal some of the principles that you would build your team around?

“All the English players have a chance to be chosen into the national team. I do not care about their fame, or even what their names are, I’ll only look at their form and their attitudes. People who are lazy have no place in my team,” Twain replied indicated an “iron hand”, but that was within everybody’s expectations. That was the kind of manager that he was. He was like this when he was in Nottingham Forest, he would not take no for an answer and nobody could oppose what he said.

Brosnan did not continue asking and sat down. Another person stood up, “Mr Twain, when you were at Nottingham Forest, you thought that Forest was the best team in England. Would you build the team around the English players in the Forest team then?”

Of course, Twain knew that this person was questioning if he would be biased towards the English players in Nottingham Forest in a roundabout way. He did not bother to explain, “No, I won’t do that. I’ll be impartial in choosing my players,” This did not accord with his character and style.

He nodded and said, “If they perform well, why not?”

Appointing people based on favoritism is bad, but there is also a saying that says one should appoint people based on their merits. Compared to the players of the other teams, he was more familiar with the Nottingham Forest players, therefore the Forest players would naturally look to him for some help. Twain did not avoid this topic, in fact, he was prepared for it.

If the media were to criticize him, the reason for that would not be because he picked too many Forest players, but because he lost the match. Therefore, the national team was no different from the club, as long as one won, there would not be any problem.

After he understood the fundamentals of the problem, things became much simpler.

Twain handled the rounds of questions by the media perfectly, showing no weakness. After resting for more than a month, it did not look like it affected him at all. When the press conference ended, Harvey was very satisfied with Twain’s performance——He did not cause any problem in the press conference indeed.

He only hoped that it was not a rare occasion

※※※

After the press conference, news of Tony Twain taking up the role of England’s manager was on all major prints, television, radio broadcast and the internet. Twain became the hottest news topic.

His pictures were all over the newspapers.

BBC was planning to invite him for an exclusive interview.

Kerslake was having breakfast while reading the latest newspaper. He flipped to the sports section straight.

What he saw was a front-page picture of Twain. He was wearing a bespoke suit with a tie, a stern expression on his face.

Kerslake was reminded of the way he left Forest when he saw Twain’s picture. There was no doubt that Twain lied to him, promising him that he would be the first to know. In the end, news of it spread like wildfire amongst the outside media before he received a postcard with a tropical bikini lady from Brazil that Twain sent telling him that he resigned.

This was a sudden news, but Kerslake was prepared for it. Him, as an assistant manager, knew very clearly that Twain and Allan had a rocky relationship. But he did not expect Twain to really abandon the team that he had painstakingly managed for 11 years just because of this reason. He was really an enigma; one cannot predict what he would do using normal logic…

In Kerslake’s opinion, leaving at the highest point was a very difficult decision. However, he did not know that Twain had been considering about this problem for a whole year and he was still hesitant at the end. If Evan’s actions did not disappoint him so much, he might still stay in Wilford. Initially, he had the intention of leaving because of the row with Allan, but he eventually realized that Evan, with the smiling face, was also against him, that meant that he did not have to struggle anymore, it would be much easier for him to just leave.

Kerslake sighed at the way fate works while holding the newspaper before putting it down and continuing with his breakfast. At this moment, his phone rang.

Looking at the phone number, it was actually from Tony Twain!

“You finally called, Tony. Are you here to apologize?”

“I’m very sorry, David. I did not know that the club would call a press conference so quickly… I sent the postcard as soon as I reached Brazil,” Twain knew what Keslake meant by apologize and he did owe his partner an apology. He also had a favor to ask of him.

“Forget it, let bygones be bygones. Do you need me for something?” Kerslake did not want to dwell on that matter as it was pointless.

“It’s like this, David. You should have know that I’m now England’s manager, right?”

“I’m reading the papers, you look too stern in the photo.”

“Ha!” Twain gave a laugh, “I’m now a general with no army, there’s no one to help me… I intend to invite you to join England’s coaching team. We work well together, there won’t be any problem!”

Kerslake stopped eating and fell silent for a while.

Twain did not rush him, he knew that this was a sudden news and he had to give him some time to think, “You don’t have to give me an answer now, David. You can take a few days to consider and call me after that…”

“No, I reject your offer, Tony.”

“You can really take a few days to consider it, David.”

“I’ve already considered it just now,” Kerslake was firm in his answer, there was no room for discussion.

“Okay then… Can you tell me why?” Twain knew he could not persuade Kerslake because he did not like to force people to do things that they did not want to.

“I love Forest, Tony. After you left, Forest was in a mess. The new manager, Martin O’Neill doesn’t understand this team at all. I have to stay and help him get acclimatized to the team as soon as possible. Now that you’re gone, if I leave too, I don’t know what will become of this team…”

Twain felt his face flush a little when he heard what Kerslake said. He had been forcing himself to ignore news about Forest because he was afraid that he would feel heartache——The team of champions that he built himself had already sold two of the players, and word was they were going to keep selling. When the new season begins, how many of the original members would be left of the treble-winning Nottingham Forest team?

“If Tang was still here, I might have said yes. Oh yes, why don’t you ask Tang?”

Twain thought to himself that it would be pointless to ask him, the answer would be the same as Kerslake’s. He wanted to be a manager, and he was doing well in Notts County. Why would he leave the team that he had been leading to be an assistant manager for him in the England national team?

“Sorry that I can’t help you, Tony. I wish you all the best.”

After he hung up the call from Twain, Kerslake picked up the newspaper again. He was in a daze for quite awhile as he looked at Twain’s picture on the paper.

“Who was it so early in the morning?” His wife asked, wiping her hands as she came out from the bathroom. She was giving their son a bath.

“An old friend,” Kerslake replied as he put down the newspaper again, finishing up his breakfast.

※※※

Twain was troubled by the fact that he had no suitable coaching team now——Even though his coaching team was very good in the club, they were not willing to join the England team. When Capello became manager, he brought an all-Italian coaching staff. From assistant manager to goalkeeping coach, fitness coach, they were all Italians. When Capello left his post, these Italians left England with him, leaving nothing for Twain. He had to first build his coaching team before he built his team.

He gave Roy Keane a call next, hoping to invite him to be England’s assistance manager. As expected, Keane rejected him.

“I’m Irish, Tony,” Keane gave a strange laugh, perhaps due to the strange nature of Twain’s invitation, “How could I possibly be an assistant manager for the England team? Have you ever seen an Argentine being an assistant manager for the Brazil national team?”

Twain realized that he was not a very popular person. Other than a few friends, he was actually unable to find anymore potential partners. Those friends of his were all managers of a team, for them to drop what they were doing and be his assistant manager? They would have to be crazy to do so.

Even though the Football Association recommended a few candidates for him, Twain still hoped to look for one himself. That was because that way, the coach that he found would be the one that he really needed, and they would be able to work together and achieve more with the same effort.

He needed an assistant manager, a goalkeeping coach, a fitness coach and a psychologist. The most important one amongst them was an assistant manager. Twain’s managing style meant that he needed an able assistant manager to support him so that he did not have to worry much about the training, and he could focus more on the tactics and analysis of their opponents.

This assistant manager did not need to be very famous, just able and would listen to what Twain said. Twain was able to control the changing room himself, an assistant manager who had a mediocre character might even have a better effect.

Where would he find an assistant manager like that?

Chapter 891 - Old Partner

Stuart Pearce was on holiday at home when he received the call from Tony Twain.

He knew why Twain was looking for him and even though he already had an answer, he still listened to what Twain had to say politely.

“I’m very happy that you called me, Tony, but I think the youth team needs me more.”

Twain felt very depressed. Everyone that he approached rejected him, was it such a horrifying thing to be his assistant manager?

“But I need you too, Stuart.”

Stuart Pearce’s concern was that if he joined the England team, he would have to give up his job in the youth team. He had been working in the youth team for almost 10 years and he knew everything about it and everything had to go through him. If Twain’s contract was up, what would happen to him then? Manage the England national team? He was not very interested in that. The media pressure for that kind of job was too heavy. The youth team suits him best.

“If you can convince the Football Association to agree for me to still be the manager of the England youth team, I’ll agree to be your assistant manager.”

Pearce listed his condition.

Twain considered for a while and nodded, “Okay, I’ll try.”

He really talked to Harvey about it, but no matter what he said, Harvey would not agree to allow Pearce to take on two roles at the same time. He could be either Twain’s assistant manager or stay as the youth team’s manager. This was a single-choice question, not a multiple-choice.

“Tony, we’ve recommended so many coaches for you, are there none that can be your assistant manager? There are lots of talented coaches within the choices and they’re all the cream of the crop for their age…”

Twain was furious and he did not give Harvey any leeway and he said very firmly, “They are all not good enough to me!”

Harvey was more cultured than Twain and he merely shrugged, meaning Twain could go look for his own assistant manager if he did not like them.

Twain left the English Football Association’s office with a long face. It looked like he had to do it himself after all.

※※※

Des Walker was demonstrating how to defend in an one-on-one situation for his players on the training ground. All of a sudden, his phone vibrated in his pocket, causing him to lose his footing when dribbling. If not for the quick reflex from the player defending him, he would have made a fool of himself publicly.

Walker patted the player who held him on the shoulders, “You should intercept the ball and not think about giving me a hand.”

Next, he gave a look to his assistant manager. His assistant manager walked up and shouted, “Shuttle run 20 times, everyone!”

There was a commotion within the team, but it was silenced by the coaches very quickly. One for all, all for one. This was Walker’s training requirement. Even though that player attempted to help his manager out of goodwill, his action did not put him in the boss’ good books.

Only after every player accepted his punishment did Walker walk to the shelter next to the training ground and fished out the vibrating phone.

It was from Tony Twain.

“You don’t call me often, Tony.”

“Ha, we’re both busy most of the time, plus we’re not in the same city anymore…” Twain laughed awkwardly.

But Walker was not trying to be critical over this issue, in fact, he did not care about the reason at all, “But if you call me, there must be something. Do you need something from me? No!” Just when Twain was still figuring how to tell him, he broke the suspense himself, “Let me guess… You’re looking for an assistant manager, right?”

“You know me so well, Des,” Twain laughed from the heart this time.

“But what’s the use of you looking for me? I’m just the manager of a League Two team,” Walker said while looking at the team in training. He had parted ways with Ian Bowyer long ago. After Bowyer was fired by Hereford, he lazed at home for a period of time while Des Walker continued to actively look for a job. He had three different teams, from the manager of the youth team to the assistant manager to manager now. He went up the ranks step by step very practically.

However, the Oxford United that he was managing then was in the fourth tier of the English leagues. They were not very famous, was only a mid-table team in the league and their top target every year was to avoid relegation. That was why he thought it was weird that Twain called him.

“I don’t pick people based on their fame. You know that, Des.”

“Are you really asking me to be England’s assistant manager? Tony, are you mad?” What Twain said basically confirmed the reason for his call and Walker was shocked, “There are tens of thousand better coaches than me in England, why don’t you look for them?”

“For me, the best coach would not compare to a coach that suits me. Des, you were the first assistant manager I had after I became Forest’s manager. We work well together, you’re the one who’s most suitable for me, you’re the one I need,” Twain made it sound very passionate. If someone who did not know what they meant heard about it, they would have mistaken them to be a weird couple.

“Those coaches might be impressive, but they don’t know what I want, they don’t understand my thinking. Before I make the players understand my thinking, I have to make the whole coaching team understand me, that’s too difficult and inefficient. That’s why I need someone who knows what I want to do even before I say much as my assistant. Des, I can’t think of anyone more suitable than you.”

Walker was moved by Twain’s “passionate confession”, he did not reject Twain straight like the others, but he was stunned for awhile before stammering, “We, we’ve not worked together for, for 10 years, do…do we still work well together?”

“But we still keep in contact, right? You pay attention to what’s happening to me, don’t you, Des?

Even though this question made Twain sound like a narcissist, Walker still grunted a reply.

“We just need a little bit of grinding and lubrication and we’ll be able to work well together naturally. You know what kind of person I’m and I know what kind of person you are. You know what I need and I know what you can do. And in the past 10 years, you must have become better than before. Look at yourself, you’re already a manager… There’s nothing to worry about, it’ll be easier for you to be my assistant manager than to be an assistant to anyone else. And for me, with you as my assistant, things will be much easier. It’s a win-win situation. Besides, if we think of your future, it’ll be much easier for you to do anything next time if there’s this experience of “previous assistant manager of the England national team”, don’t you think so?

Twain was trying to make Des understand with reasoning while moving him with emotions. If he could not get Walker to agree, then he would be forced to accept one of the candidates that the Football Association recommended. Amongst them, there were even people who did not have a good impression of him… What kind of results would a combination like that bring the England team? Only God knows.

Walker went silent for a while, then asked hesitantly, “But I’m not very famous…” He was expressing his concern in a roundabout way that he might not be famous enough to influence those star players in the national team.

“You’re the assistant manager, Des. As an assistant manager, what’s important is your abilities, not your fame. When Venables was assistant to McClaren, the England team still listened to McClaren, at least on the surface.” Twain used the same roundabout way to express his opinion: The one managing the changing room is me, you don’t have to worry about it.

Walker looked up at the training ground, the team had already completed the 20 rounds of shuttle run and were resting at the side, waiting for the next training.

He knew that he did not have much time on that day, and he would not be able to be clear about everything. Furthermore, this was after all, a once-in-a-lifetime decision and he did not want to make a rash decision.

“My players are waiting for me, Tony. Let me consider it and give you an answer.”

Twain agreed very quickly, “Okay, no problem. For you, Des, I’ll keep my phone on all day, you can call me anytime you want.”

At the same time, Tony was screaming inside, “What are you waiting for, Des? Isn’t this much better than you being the manager of the League two team? You’ve already maximized their full potential by bringing Oxford United to the League two. They have no more potential to grow, you’re wasting your time by staying there!”

Even though this was the truth, if Twain had said that out loud, Des Walker probably would reject him directly without even taking a few days to consider. After all, nobody would allow anyone to criticize their own career.

When Walker place the phone back into the big and loose pocket of his sweatpants and return to the training ground. His assistant manager started to hurry those players that were still resting to continue to focus on training.

He was able to work very well together with his own assistant manager.

Was he going to give up his work here now for a work relation 10 years ago?

Which work was more important?

Des Walker could not make up his mind.

※※※

Twain called Walker, but he was not sure. Because Walker was spot on with what he said——”We’ve not worked together for 10 years, do we still work well together?”

What was the concept of 10 years?

For people who have never experienced it, they would probably find it hard to imagine the passing of time.

The youngsters who just entered high school 10 years ago, youthful and vibrant, full of hopes for the future yet being unwilling to grow up would step into the sanctuary of a marriage, and some might even become parents.

The young man who just stepped into society 10 years ago full of ambitions and determinations in pursuit of his dreams would become a middle-aged uncle who was waiting for death by bumming around in the blink of an eye, all his edges were smoothed by the flow of the society.

Not even the strongest man can defeat time. Even an arrogant man like Twain could not help but to surrender in front of time.

He was no longer that rookie whom did not know anything and required Walker to take care of everything 10 years ago. And Walker was no longer the inexperienced ex-player turned assistant manager 10 years ago who did everything using passion as motivation.

Both had experienced a 10 years period where they experienced the greatest change in their lives, would they still work well together?

Would they still know what each other meant without much words, using just an action or a gaze?

There is a saying in China, “the things are still there, but the people are different”, would this be applicable to them?

※※※

Des Walker was in a daze on the sofa. His wife called him three times from the dining room, but he did not respond. In the end, she walked out and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, staring at him.

“Ah? What’s wrong?” Walker finally realized there was someone in front of him after a while.

His wife ignored the reason why she was there staring at him and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s nothing…” Walker tried to dodge the question.

“Trouble at work?” His wife decided to sit down next to him and held his hand.

Walker felt the warmth coming from his wife and he gently stroked his wife’s small hands which was no longer smooth, “Tony gave me a call today.”

“Tony? Tony Twain?” As Walker’s wife, it was not easy for her to actually remember that man.

“Other than that Tony, which other Tony could it be?” Walker laughed.

“He was definitely not calling you to catch up, right?”

“He wants to introduce a new job to me, I’m hesitating about it,” Walker looked at the ceiling, unable to focus his eyes, “I don’t know if I should agree. I feel that this is a gamble, and a big gamble at that…”

“England’s manager?” As the wife of an ex-player and current manager, a woman still knew something about football.

“It’s an assistant manager, dear,” Walker smiled at his wife.

His wife looked at him unbelievingly. As his wife, she knew her husband’s capabilities very well.

“I told him that I don’t think I’m good enough to be England’s assistant manager, but he said it was okay, I can do it,” he knew what his wife was thinking about.

“You’re tempted?”

Walker stayed silent, then nodded and said, “To be honest…a little bit.”

“If you go to England, you’ll have to give up your job here in Oxford.”

Walker continued to nodding.

“Des, I don’t have any opinions about this. Go if you want, if not, reject him,” His wife did not care much about her husband’s work matters. Over the years, her husband had changed a few jobs and they had moved from one place to another, she just followed him everywhere. As long as there were teams which wanted her husband to be their manager, there was nothing for her to worry about. As a husband, he just needed to inform his wife about it and he did not expect his wife to give him any ideas. Especially now that their child was all grown up, there was even less need to ask his wife for her opinions.

“Let’s go for dinner, I was here to ask you to come over for dinner, Des.”

His wife stood up and pulled Walker up.

Walker stood up too. After telling his wife what he thought, he had already made his decision.

It would just be another adventure, just like when he decided to leave Nottingham Forest for Hereford. He was used to a life like this, moving from one place to another, changing jobs again and again. Maybe when he is fifty, he’d have accumulated enough experience and settle down in a Championship team, or even an English Premier League club, and he started to draw a blueprint for himself.

Before that, he would have to follow different people to learn and accumulate the experience.

Tony was not a bad target to learn from… How to manage the players.

He was really looking forward to see how Twain manages the star players of England whom had been spoilt by the media.

Chapter 892 - Momentous Changes

After a night marked by restless apprehension and thoughts about Shania, Dunn awoke to some great news:

Des Walker called to inform him that Walker had just been approved to join the English National Team as their Assistant Coach.

Dunn was so happy that, as he held the phone in one hand, he punched the other into the air in a triumphant fist.

With the Assistant Coach piece sorted, the puzzle surrounding England’s team would become much easier to solve. The team generally sought Dunn’s recommendations, as he was a man with remarkable stamina, and had a great working knowledge of England’s coaches. Now he would just need to find a new Goalkeeping Coach, and things would be settled. Dunn had a degree of mistrust for the current coach, because under his supervision, England’s goalies had not exactly been performing well. In his eyes, this had to be the root issue.

For finding a Goalkeeping Coach, Dunn had focused his attention on two places: Germany and Italy. His thinking was that he could perhaps enlist the help of England’s former coach, Capello.

However, this matter was evidently not as important as finding an assistant coach.

※※※

Right as Dunn was facing his quandry around picking new coaches, Nottingham F.C. was going through some great changes of its own.

In Mark O’Neil’s opinion, if England were to keep their treble, they would need to filter out some of their more lackluster members and replace them with some fresh, outstanding players. If they could do this, he thought, they would regain a fighting chance at winning.

Evan had told him that when it came to buying players, money would not be a problem. With their stadium debts paid off, Nottingham F.C. had plenty of money to spend.

Tony Dunn had never been a big fan of O’Neil’s way of doing things.

After deliberating on it for a couple days, O’Neil finished up his list of names and handed it off to Evan. As he took it and began looking it over, he said to his friend Alan, “Martin thinks he has this whole team in the palm of his hand. He overestimates his own power, and greatly underestimates Tony’s.”

“How so?”

“The players he wants to sell are all subs or old-timers. With these changes, the core team would essentially remain unchanged.” He said. Alan snatched the list and looked it over.

As he read, Alan began to smile. “He’s trying to do this from the perspective of a coach. Every player has a record of some sort, and he’s trying to make sure that the team uses as many well-proven players as it can.

“But, if the team is in turmoil behind the scenes, then their treble status might as well be useless…” Evan said, letting out a slow sigh.

Once Dunn had left, even though the media was bombarding the team relentlessly, Evan was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. However, the team knew on some level that Dunn had not left because he wasn’t making enough money. Dunn’s recruits within the team were many, and they all felt a certain unease about losing him, as he was the one who had brokered their success in the first place. Evan knew what this meant. With their main backbone gone, there would be a question as to whether or not these players could remain on the team. Why else would he have given the task to O’Neil? It would be better to take the initiative and have him determine who should stay and who should go, rather than letting everyone remain safe because of their connections to Dunn. He figured that this was the best way to do things, as it would minimise the damage from the current mess.

“Tiago?” Evan said aloud, looking off and trying to picture the player’s face. “If he doesn’t survive a change of coaches, shouldn’t he be retiring soon? He’s getting a little old.”

“That’s what I’m saying. O’Neil must still be considering just sticking with Dunn’s dream team.”

The two men looked at each other, and they each smiled.

Alan began to look over the list again. Tiago aside, there was one person he was most concerned about — but he didn’t really think this person would be cast aside anyways. He and Dunn were likeminded in their regard of this player.

“So… what’s the deal with George?”

Evan knew who Alan was referring to — there was only one George on Nottingham F.C.

“I have no idea” Evan said, shaking his head, “Mr. Wokes still hasn’t gotten back to me.”

A sudden silence fell in the office. They both knew the deal with Mr. Wokes, with whom Dunn had once famously butted heads. This had offended Mr. Wokes, who was interconnected in England’s high society. His sexual orientation was unusual, but even this was not seen as scandalous in the world of the very rich.

“He’s not short on money.” Alan said aloud. He was stating this as a fact, but also appeared to be trying to console himself.

“He’s not short on money, but George is.”

“I don’t see how he should have any reason to doubt George’s loyalty.”

“There might be a problem yet, Alan” Said Evan, who stood up and began to pace. “After all, where does George’s loyalty really lie? With Nottingham, or with Dunn?”

Alan gazed at his old friend, looking lost for a moment. Then he said, “He’s only gone off to play for the English national team! That doesn’t mean anything! It’s not like next thing he’s going to run off to Manchester United, just to turn around and drive us into the ground.”

Evan stayed silent, still unsure if his fears had merit or not.

“The way I see it, the best thing we could do is write up a new contract with George, and give him a healthy raise to his weekly pay. Even if his contract is up in only three years, we need to d everything we can to ensure that Nottingham is the last team he ever plays in.

After Alan said this, Evan looked at him and replied, “we’ve only just given hi ma new contract last year — he’s already the highest-paid player on the team.” He knew that Alan was sensitive when it came to talk about money.

“Well, let’s make him the highest-paid player in the UK!” Evan said, with certainty.

Alan opened his mouth, but said nothing.

※※※

Wood looked at the man sitting before him, a man who rarely made visits in-person. It was Billy Wokes.

“So, George, what do you think?”

Wood shook his head. “I’m not going.”

“Come on. The salary they’ve offered you is huge, as are the perks and benefits.”

“My money right now is enough.”

“But George… there are so many better clubs you could be with! In fact, when you put it in perspective, Nottingham starts to look more and more like a quaint little group of countryfolk!” As Wokes said this, he beamed at his own joke, completely ignoring Wood’s stony expression.

“And have these other teams won more UEFA titles than us?” he responded.

This jab caused Wokes’s smile to flicker, almost imperceptibly. Then, however, it came back, and the man burst out in laughter, “Oh, George! Quite a wit you’ve got on you, asking a thing like that! As La Puerta would say, you’ve the tenacity of a Catalonian…. Hah! I must be honest, I hadn’t pegged you as the sarcastic type.”

Wood did not smile. He simply doubled his resolve, saying “I’ll go nowhere but Nottingham.”

“Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Man U, Arsenal… none of those catches your fancy?

Wood nodded. “I have a three year contract with Nottingham. While that’s in effect, I’m not going anywhere.”

Wokes smiled, and said slyly, “In three years’ time… you’ll be thirty-one. You’ll have a hard time going anywhere at all.”

“All the better, then. After Nottingham, I’ll retire.”

“Come now, George. Your man, Tony? He’s gone now. There’s nothing forcing you to pledge your allegiance to the team anymore. I don’t know if you realise this, but it’s only a matter of time before your mates, who you won so many championships with, start going their separate ways. With your old coach gone, and your old teammates as well… why should anyone feel obliged to stay?”

Wood was silent for a moment, apparently digesting what Wokes had just said. Then, he spoke. “Professional footballers will come and go. That is their choice, and their authority to do so. But me? I’m choosing to stay put.”

Wokes sank back, then, into the sofa on which he sat. He stared across at Wood. amazed. “Why are you going this? Is it because of your mother?”

“It’s nothing to do with my mother. Only me.”

“But why?”

Wood was silent for a time, apparently thinking. Wokes did not press him, and instead added some sugar to the cup of coffee in front of him, stirring it slowly with a small spoon.

As he got lost, then, focusing on the coffee, he heard Wood’s voice, “I don’t want to be anything like the man you want me to be.”

Wokes stopped stirring and stared at his coffee, as though there were something floating in it.

He had zoned out for a time, lost in his thoughts. When he came back, he fished his mobile out of his pocket, and began punching in a number.

“Hi, Santi. I’ve got some news to give you — an insider thing, very hush-hush. You want to hear, do you? Good, good.” Wokes nodded his head as he said this. “Ah, well, I cannot tell you right this moment. I’m with George Wood, we;ve just sat down for a spot of coffee… not terribly good, though. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here anytime soon… Yes, yes, okay, you’re busy, I understand. I’ll talk to you later. Bye bye.”

Wokes pocketed his phone and saw that Wood was looking at him, a questioning expression on his face.

“I was just calling an acquaintance of mine who works with the media. I’m going to tell him how you’re interested in quite a few clubs: Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Juventus, the English top four — practically every great European team.”

Wood leaned forward, suddenly perturbed. He was looking at Wokes in an entirely different way. “Don’t you have any respect for me, and my wishes?

“Settle down, darling,” said Wokes, signaling for Wood to sit back down on the couch, “when have I ever disrespected your wishes? Only, since you won’t give me the good grace of a transfer fee, or a sign-on fee, I need to find some way of getting myself paid! You understand.” And with that, Wokes took his gold-rimmed glasses from the table before him and set them in their case — his sign that he was ready to leave.

“You are not to do anything. If the media comes to speak with you, I want you to be vague. Tell them nothing, except that you are loyal to Nottingham. Make your intentions unclear, and let the mosquitos drift over to me.” He reached out and lightly tapped Wood’s cheek. “Then, all you have to do is sit tight and wait for me. I’ll bring you a proper high-paying contract.”

“I’ve already signed one… last year.”

“Yet, if they come along and offer you more, who would you be to refuse? We came here today to celebrate your success, on the eve of becoming the highest-paid footballer in the UK. Next time we meet up to have a chat, why don’t we do it at your place? I’ll bet your mum makes a great cup of tea.” He stuck the glasses case firmly in his pocket and stood up. “Farewell, George. I do hope you don’t regret this day in the future.”

With the confidence of a jungle cat, the old man strode across the cafe and coolly walked out of the cafe door.

Wood, on the other hand, stayed seated where he was. He watched as Wokes climbed into an ash-gray Bentley, which then pulled out and disappeared in the daytime traffic.

※※※

When Wood was sitting down to his coffee with Wokes, Alan had already flown to Portugal and struck a deal with S.L. Benfica to write a transfer contract for Tiago Mendes. For six million pounds, Tiago would return to Benfica, and in all likelihood, he would remain there for the rest of his career.

In another decidedly ironic development, Real Madrid had unexpectedly come to fancy the Nottingham F.C. center rear guard — the Brazilian powerhouse, Pepe. Only a month prior, he had lectured a couple Madrid players out on the pitch, which had garnered intense animosity in the Spanish media. Yet, in a turn of events nobody could have expected, he had come back to Madrid a hero, with the press suddenly singing his praises.

In the previous season, Nottingham had scored on eleven free kicks. Because of this, their back defender, Gareth Bell, had become highly coveted by some big names in England, chiefly Manchester United and Chelsea. Manchester had gone so far as to offer Nottingham twenty million pounds to transfer Bell to their team.

Aaron Mitchell, who would be known as one of England’s best forwards for the decade to come, was also caught up in numerous affairs with clubs who lusted for his membership. Most notable amongst said clubs were A.C. Milan.

Nuri Sahin, the great midfielder of the Turkish national team, seemed on the verge of transferring to Bayern Munich, although Madrid also seemed quite keen to acquire him.

Wes Morgan, the third captain to be instated during the reign of Coach Dunn, also left Nottingham in favor of a new team — this time, Leeds United.

Bentley was being tempted along by Manchester City.

Rumours abounded that Fernandez was losing interest in Nottingham, and might return to play for a Spanish team once again.

Gago was on the verge of joining Inter Milan or Juventus.

Mourinho, dissatisfied with Manchester United’s goalkeeper, was rallying to acquire the Russian national team’s goalie, and current Nottingham player, Akinfeev.

When July first arrived, and the window for transfers in Europe officially opened, the media was flooded with stories and rumours that many of Nottingham’s players were soon to be changing teams. The masses were dazzled by the spectacular tales that began to spread, yet nobody knew what was true and what was fabricated.

Nottingham’s fans, collectively, were filled with worry about their team. It seemed that, with the departure of the Iron Fist, Tony Dunn, the lineup was being picked apart by more powerful teams. When they met in pubs and chatted on this topic, many fans pitted the blame on the incompetence of the team (despite its resounding successes in the past.) Others, though, psaid that the blame rested solely on Dunn.

He had brought joy and pride to Nottingham’s fans during his time as coach, but now that he had suddenly left, the fans had come to wholly resent him. Dunn had never explained why he had to leave, and this only made things worse. Misunderstandings about the man only got worse.

The man who was once the “King of Nottingham” had unexpectedly become widely resented. The club directors tarnished his memory, his hand-picked team was being pried apart by other clubs, and his once adoring fans had come to hate him. Could there be a worse fate?

※※※

While Dunn was still finding the right set of coaches for the English team, he was approached by the FA, who told him they wanted his team to come play a match.

“I haven’t sorted out my coaches yet,” he told them, slightly resentful of their decision, “let alone my players.”

Don’t worry, Mr. Dunn, it’s only a friendly match — nothing more. You can use the same roster from the last World Cup. The outcome of the match will not at all effect our evaluation on you.” Their decision was firm. They were the governing body, after all.

“This wasn’t in the contract.” Dunn said, discomfort evident in his voice.

“Mr. Dunn, this match was actually confirmed long before you were made head coach,” the official told him.

Dunn was at a loss for what to say. After all, who was to say that he could take it upon himself to be the slowest team builder in English history?

“Right. Who are we playing then, and where? Wembley? Or are we to go abroad?” He had a pen and paper in front of him, ready to jot down the details, lest he be messy and forget this new obligation.

“No need to go abroad, Dunn. You’ll be going to Nottingham, the City Ground. Your opponent is to be Nottingham Forest.” As the official said this, he tried to keep a straight face. He tried not to smirk. He failed to do so.

“Huh?” replied Dunn. He paid no attention to the smirking official, instead simply staring at the words he had just reflexively jotted on the paper before him: “Nottingham, the City Ground.” (To be continued. To follow up on this story and more, please visit www.qidian.com, where you can support the author, and support real, genuine literature.)

Chapter 893 - An Exhibition Game

Actually, a promise was made between Nottingham Forest and the Football Association about half a year ago. To celebrate the completion of Nottingham Forest’s new stadium, the club invited the England national team to play in a friendly match against Forest.

Twain was aware that such a friendly match had been planned by the club, but he had forgotten all about it now that he has a change of identity.

The friendly match against the England national team is nothing more than one of the many celebrations that had been planned. The club also intends to hold a parade to showcase the various jerseys that had been worn by Forest players over the past century. They were also going to have an exhibition to display all their past accolades, a reunion of their ex-players and staff members, and many more. It was going to be a grand celebration.

Twain was supposed to be one of the focal points during the celebrations, but now that he has left Forest, he no longer had any role to play in the celebrations, even though half of the accolades that Nottingham Forest earned over the years had come under his guidance.

Twain was not in the least excited about returning to Nottingham. He did not know how the Nottingham Forest fans would view his departure.

The reason why he did not go public with the truth behind his departure was because he did not want to burn his bridges and make his relationship with Evan turn sour. It was not like he left Forest due to a personal feud with Evan. He left Forest simply because of a mismatch of ideals.

Another reason was because it was just a resignation. There was no need to blow things out of proportion.

Unfortunately, the fans would not be able to see things from his perspective. In their minds, Tony Twain is the ambassador of Nottingham Forest. Now that this ambassador has left, their entire world has come crashing down on them. Twain is well aware that there would be people who would not forgive him for his actions.

All he could do was to manage a wry smile.

Why was such a match planned? Destiny must be playing with him.

※※※

“A match against the England team?” John looked at Bill.

The new season was approaching and Burns’ Forest bar was starting to get lively once again. There was an increasing number of people who visited the bar to have a drink and chat. Business appeared to be booming.

“Have you forgotten about it?” Bill looked excitedly at his friend of many years. “To celebrate the completion of the new stadium, our team would be playing in a match against the England national team.”

“That’s interesting.” John was being evasive with his response.

“It’s not just interesting. It’s very interesting!” Bill waved his fists in the air. “I have to get back at Twain for what he did!”

“You are still complaining about that?” John thought Bill was being a fool. That was something that had happened over a month ago, and here he was still harping over it.

“Tony must have had his reasons.”

“Who cares about his reasons?” Bill shouted in a shrill voice that sounded a little like that of a hysterical woman’s. “F*ck! He betrayed us all!”

Bill’s comments were met with assent from some people around them.

John opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but he eventually decided to leave them alone. He lifted his wine glass and walked towards the bar counter. He then placed his glass before Kenny Burns.

“One more glass, Kenny.”

Burns wordlessly refilled his glass to the brim.

“They have forgotten about all the glory that Tony brought to this city, even though it has barely been a month since then.” John muttered under his breath.

“There are people who like him, and they would also be people who hate him. These are words that would always hold true now and into the future.” Burns’ smiled in a way that a philosopher would.

“I don’t really feel like watching that match now. I can’t bear to watch those people who used to stand up for him in the past chastise him now. I think Tony would definitely be heartbroken to see that too.” John was in low spirits.

“And that’s all the more reason for you to go watch the match in person.” Burns spurred him on. “You have to let him know that there are people who understand him.”

Fat John coughed once. “Actually, I was even more furious than Bill when I first came to learn that he was leaving. Bill was the one who gave me advice. How did things become like this?”

“Maybe they are so mad because of the ‘indifference’ that Tony has displayed towards Nottingham Forest?” Burns said as he continued to wipe the wine glasses that he would not stop wiping for another 100 years.

John froze for a moment, and then he remembered. Tony had not brought up the name ‘Nottingham Forest’ ever since he resigned. It was as though he had never coached the team in his 11 years as a manager. Perhaps it was this ‘indifference’ that angered Bill and the other fans.

However, John knew very well that Tony wasn’t being indifferent. He was just feeling complicated. Nottingham Forest is a team that he managed for 11 years, how could he possibly forget about it? But, he couldn’t possibly keep mentioning the team after he left, because it would bring immense pressure onto the new manager, and that would not help the team as they embark on their new journey. He was trying to weaken the influence that he had over the team. He was the one who groomed most of the players in the Forest team. The moment he says something to the press, the players would definitely put his words first, even if he is no longer in Wilford. How could Martin O’Neill possibly manage the team properly if the players would rather listen to Tony than him?

Sadly, not everyone understood that.

He turned around to look at the people who were discussing about the words that they would put on the banners to mock Twain. Another doubt began forming in his mind as he did. It was a doubt that he has always had in him for many days, and it was a doubt to which he had no answer for.

Why did Tony choose to leave if he knew this was going to happen? What exactly is it that you can’t solve and had to choose to leave instead? Many things have happened during the past 11 years. You also made it through your heart disease. Why can’t you make it past your 12th year in charge of Forest?

※※※

“Some say that the reason behind Tony’s resignation was due to his conflict with Allan Adams. But, I must say this, haven’t the two of them always been at loggerheads with each other? Didn’t they manage to get by just fine for so many years? Why did he choose to resign now? Don’t tell me those men in suits have never thought about how the fans would feel?”

“What would happen to Nottingham Forest now that he has washed his hands clean of us? Is he going to be happy watching as our performance dip?”

“I know he must have had his reasons, but I don’t think it’s a big enough reason to justify his resignation. He has a lot more influence and power in this club than what other managers would get at other clubs.”

“If he really wanted to leave, he could have chosen to leave after this season is over. Why must he leave when we have just achieved the Treble? I really can’t describe my feelings then. It was just like being tickled by a person, then getting slapped twice by that same person a while later…”

Up till now, there are still fans who continue to leave comments expressing their views towards Twain’s departure on the article that had been published on Nottingham Forest’s official website, which wrote about Tony Twain’s decision to not further his managerial contract with the club.

Most of the comments written on the article were comments that would make Twain upset.

This is perhaps a scene that Nottingham Forest Football Club wishes to see the most. They quickly held a press conference to announce that they had failed to sign a new contract with Twain, and their actions highlighted how forthcoming they were with the whole situation. Naturally, the public would then think that the blame for the whole incident is on Twain, since he has been evasive about the situation the whole time, whereas Nottingham Forest was just like an innocent girl who was lamenting about what she had gone through.

Twain has never had a good image before the masses, and not many people liked him either. In the past, people defended him because they were all on the same side, but now that they were on different sides, it was only natural that he would get a lot more criticisms and animosity from others.

Neither Evan nor Allan wanted to be blamed for the departure of their most successful manager. Obviously, the only way they could avoid being blamed was to point the finger at the man who has never had a good reputation and image in his life thus far.

He was the one who wanted to leave. We gave him the best contract a manager can get in the whole of England, but he did not want it and was hell-bent on leaving.

To the ordinary people, Twain’s decision to leave Forest is hard to comprehend. However, when has Tony Twain been ‘ordinary’? The way he saw things was bound to be different from the ordinary people. If one were to judge him based on how an ordinary person would see and do things, then the only conclusion that one would get is that he is a ‘lunatic’. This is also why Twain is known as a ‘madman’ and a ‘manager with a personality’ before the masses. He was destined to be someone who most people would never come to understand.

※※※

Nottingham Forest has five pre-season friendly matches planned for the summer. The match against the England national team was to be held in the middle of these five matches, and it would be the very first match played at Forest’s new stadium.

The match was supposed to be just a ‘show’. The England national team would certainly not practise several days for such a match, and many of the players on the national team were also players who had been brought together at the last minute as well. The national team could not even get most of the players who played at the World Cup previously to turn up for the friendly.

Such a match bore no value to Forest in their preparations for the new season.

But, the match garnered massive attention when Nottingham Forest changed its manager, and when their ex-manager Tony Twain became the new manager of the England national team.

Numerous media outlets would be coming down to Clifton, southwest of Nottingham, to report on the match.

Evan Doughty must be brimming with smiles right now, because Nottingham Forest’s new stadium has just been given free publicity thanks to Tony Twain, and it looks like the publicity would be much better in terms of effect and influence as compared to those promotional events that he had planned earlier.

Martin O’Neill, the new manager of Nottingham Forest, has his own thoughts regarding the friendly match against the England national team. His team had not performed well in the two friendly matches that they played in so far, with one loss and one draw. They have yet to win, and the media was already starting to question O’Neill’s abilities as a manager. He desperately longed to attain a victory and reduce the pressure that is on his shoulders.

The England national team would not be playing their best players. This is the chance to boost his team’s confidence.

There was one other reason that prompted O’Neill to feel like he definitely had to win the friendly match against the England national team.

The current manager of the England national team is Tony Twain, and this match would be the very first, and possibly the last face-off between Forest’s current and ex managers.

O’Neill needed to attain a victory so as to make the people forget about the name Tony Twain.

It has been close to a month since O’Neill took over as the new manager of Forest, and he has come to understand how big of an influence Tony Twain has over the entire team. Defeating Twain would be a good way to tell the media and the players that he is their new boss.

“It’s just some useless match, but the head is being so serious with his preparations…” Some of the players were distracted as O’Neill conveyed his tactics to the team.

“It’s always good to treat everything seriously.”

“But you’d get nervous when you get serious.”

The players began whispering among themselves.

“If our boss was here, I think most of the players who would be playing in the match would be from the youth team. He’d tell them to play however they liked because it didn’t matter anyway.”

Someone instantly raised his finger to his lips to signal the speaker to shut up.

The word ‘boss’ was one that nobody wanted to bring up. They refer to Martin O’Neill as their ‘head’ and not their ‘boss’. In Nottingham Forest, only special managers can be referred to as the ‘boss’, and Tony Twain was a special manager.

Tony Twain was a forbidden name that could not be brought up in Nottingham Forest right now. Nobody forced the players to not bring up his name, but it was an unspoken rule that all the players abided by.

O’Neill heard whispers coming from the players. He lifted his head to look at them.

The whispers vanished instantly.

O’Neill did not try to figure out where the whispers were coming from. Instead, he continued explaining his tactics to the team.

The players kept quiet for a moment before they leaned towards each other and began whispering among themselves once again.

“Hey, how do you think the fans would treat the boss when he returns? I’ve been hearing that a lot of people resent him…”

“Don’t you resent him?”

“Me? Hmm… At the start, I did resent him a little, but I’ve thought it through now… The players can transfer to another club, so why can’t the manager?”

“That does not sound convincing.”

“Shut up.”

“To me… Honestly, I don’t know what the boss is thinking. I think I’d feel a mixture of emotions when I see him. I still can’t get used to the head yet. I don’t feel at ease when there’s no one in the locker room to yell at us.”

“I don’t care what you guys think. I actually miss the boss quite a bit, so I’m very happy to be able to see him again. Maybe I’d hug him too.” The player who said these words was Pepe.

“Do you all think the boss has a chance of coming back to manage us?” Bale asked a question, and all the whispers disappeared in an instant.

Some of the players pretended not to hear him, while others looked at Bale curiously.

Bale shrugged. “All right. Pretend I never asked.”

Wood was the only player who did not join in the discussion when his teammates were whispering among themselves. He stared at O’Neill the whole time. It was as though he was focused on listening to the tactics that O’Neill was explaining to them.

But, in truth, Wood’s mind was in a complete disarray. He tried his best not to listen to the words being exchanged by his team mates, but they still managed to find their way into his ears, and the memories within him of that man were brought up forcefully.

That man sent him home and also encouraged him to attend school. That man was even more childish than he was. When that man met his mother for the very first time, he suddenly felt like there would come a day where he would lose his mother, and that ignited a sense of danger within him. When he had lost all hope in himself, the man opened up a new door for him by leaving him a note and asking him to go find him. When he encountered the very first failure of his life and was intent on giving up, that man grabbed him by the collar and told him not to give up and not to admit defeat, if not he was destined to be a delinquent for the rest of his life…

If someone were to write an autobiography for George Wood, then two-third of the book would mention that man’s name. That man was just his manager, but in his heart, that man was just like a father to him. Wood has never been able to experience fatherly love his entire life, but he managed to experience bits of it through his time with Tony Twain.

He did not know why that man chose to leave the club, because that man was someone who did not allow others to get close to his innermost thoughts.

Wood wanted to stay at the club. He wanted to prove to that man that his decision to leave was wrong. Or, perhaps, he was protecting something at the club.

Wood’s thoughts were all over the place. He did not even hear what the manager was saying earlier, but it did not matter, since his role would always be the same. All he had to do was to stop the opposition from attacking and to build a barrier in the midfield so as to protect his team mates. When the situation calls for it, he would join in the offense as well.

The role that O’Neill assigned to Wood was not any different from how Twain would play Wood. This cannot be seen as a lack of thought from O’Neill. Rather, it was that Twain had shown the world how best to make use of Wood’s abilities, and there was no need to change anything about Wood’s game.

If a manager really wanted to change Wood’s game, he could get Wood to focus solely on offense and get him to give up on defense entirely. However, the truth was that there would not be a single manager in the world who would ever do that, because it is a massive waste to not make use of Wood’s defensive capabilities, and wastage is utterly shameful.

O’Neill felt a little relieved after seeing Wood listen to his words earnestly. At the very least, the team’s captain was behaving positively. As long as the captain stands with him, the locker room would not be in a complete disarray.

In truth, George Wood was the player whom O’Neill was most concerned about when he first joined as Forest’s new manager. Everyone knows the relationship between Wood and Twain. There were even some media outlets who described their relationship as that of a father and son’s. O’Neill was worried that Wood would transfer to another club after Twain’s departure. If that were to happen, the future for the team would be bleak.

Fortunately, Wood did not leave the club. He even signed a new contract with them.

O’Neill did not care about whether the other players wanted to stay or leave as long as Wood had stayed.

O’Neill decided to talk about something else after he finished explaining his tactics to the team.

“I hope we can attain victory in this match.”

Silence ensued when he finished his words. The players finally locked their eyes on him.

Their gazes conveyed a multitude of meanings behind them, and O’Neill returned their gazes. “I know this is an insignificant exhibition game. But, I hope you guys can understand one thing. It doesn’t matter what kind of game you play in. You have to prepare for it with the intention to win. You guys are a champion team. You guys are a team who pursue victory. That’s all you need to remember.”

The players averted their gazes away from O’Neill.

In their minds, there was one thought:

Why does he speak like the boss…

Chapter 894 - England Team C

In the end, Twain did not get anyone from Germany or Italy to be his goalkeeping coach. He chose Clemence, who had been the goalkeeping coach for the England team for many years. He was an experienced goalkeeping coach and he represented England alongside Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, previously. Shilton was the one who called to recommend him to Twain. As someone from Nottingham Forest too, they should take care of each other.

Twain chose Jon Webb, whom the English Football Association recommended, to be his fitness coach. He used to work for Manchester City but was unemployed then.

When it came to coaching team, the experienced Steve Wigley joined the team. From 1980, he used to play for Nottingham Forest for six seasons. After he hung up his boots, he returned to Forest and served as their youth team’s coach, coach and he also served as coach, assistant manager and manager of various clubs. He understood the English players very much and was very capable.

The 64-year-old Tony Carr was the oldest coach in the coaching team. He had been the youth team’s coach for West Ham United since 1973 and he was also once the manager of the team. West Ham United’s youth development was famous in English football and there were many talents who came from the club. Tony Carr was the greatest contributor to that. He was a loyal warrior whom had only served West Ham United. Now that he was getting older, the English Football Association persuaded him to support Tony Twain, that was why he left West Ham United and joined Tony Twain’s coaching team.

The 55-year-old Steve Gatting used to be Arsenal’s youth coach but was also sent to Tony Twain to be part of his coaching team by the Football Association.

With assistant manager Des Walker, the coaching team was basically complete. This was the first time that the England team was using a psychologist. Twain successfully convinced 46-year-old Miss Emma to leave Nottingham Forest for the England team. This licensed psychologist would take up the role as the psychologist for the England team and her job was to solve any psychological problems that the players have.

This was a fully local coaching team and Shaun Harvey was very satisfied with it. He thought that Twain would most likely not pick anyone from the candidates that he recommended because of the way he likes to make things as awkward as possible. However, only the assistant manager was someone from the outside, even though Clemence was recommended to Twain by Shilton, he had been working with the Football Association for many years.

In general, other than Des Walker, who was slightly less famous, this coaching team were rather well-known in English Football. However, he was also once part of the England national team, he would still be able to hold his own.

After the coaching team was set up, Twain needed to think about the players.

Realistically speaking, even though the English Football Association told Twain that the line-up for this match could follow the one from the World Cup, it was impossible to do so. At that time, all the clubs were preparing for the new season, especially those teams who had the ability to fight for the title. They would definitely not let their core players play in a friendly for the national team. Even without thinking about the disruption to the preseason preparation, there was also the risk that they might be injured.

That was why it would be difficult for Twain to call up players like Gerrard, Rooney and Walcott.

Therefore, Twain decided to take this chance to observe. Calling up the borderline players who were usually seldom picked for the national team and observing their performances to decide if they would have a place in Twain’s national team in future. Even though there were lesser stars in the team, which would disappoint the crowd in the City Grounds, Twain had never been one to change himself because of the audience’s preferences.

This was a good opportunity. The results were not important for this type of matches and there were no pressure, hence Twain could call up the players who would usually not be able to be picked without worry. This was even the first time for some of them to be called up to represent their country.

As for those established players who were usually part of the national squad, Twain did not even ask. He did not want to ask them when he knew that he would be rejected.

It only took one day for Twain to announce the name list for this match:

The three goalkeepers were Chris Kirkland, Stuart Taylor and Andy Atkinson. This was the first time that Taylor and Atkinson were called up to the national team, but Kirkland was not much better, this was only his second time. They were the real borderline players.

In defence, Dan Gosling was a versatile defender who played for Everton. Even though he had made a name for himself at Everton, and was once hailed as a genius, his international career was less successful. Before Twain called him up this time, he had only been selected for the national team four times.

The son of the ex-Wimbledon player, Alan Cork, 25-year-old Jack Cork was once the future star of Chelsea. But he failed to make the breakthrough at Chelsea and eventually went to Southampton. Southampton did not have any impressive performance in the English Premier League which affected his international career. However, he had always been thought of as one for the future. The reason why Twain called him up this time was to see if the rumours were true. This was his first time being called up.

Gary Cahill was already 28 years old, but this was his first time being called up. He had played for many different English teams such as Aston Villa, but he eventually transferred to Lyon and had been one of the key players for Lyon. However, he did not attract the attention of England manager Capello previously because he was playing overseas, and in the French Ligue One to boot. For him to be called up by Twain, it might send out a signal to everyone——It did not matter if a player was playing in England or outside England, as long as you’re capable, the national team would welcome you.

The younger brother of Rio Ferdinand, 28-year-old Anton Ferdinand, made his debut with West Ham but was plying his trades at Sunderland then. He had never represented the national team before.

The Middlesbrough’s key central defender, David Wheater, selected for the national team six times. However, he was always overshadowed by the likes of Terry and the rest and was not favoured. His name appeared in the substitute’s list six times but he only managed to get on the pitch once——As a substitute in the 87th minute. Standing at 1.96 meters tall, he was a central defender with impressive aerial abilities and Liverpool used to be interested in him. He was only 27 years old then and Twain wanted to see his abilities and if he did well, he would definitely have a spot in the England team in future.

Paul Pepper was the latest academy product from Middlesbrough. He was still a young player, only 20, he had represented England in the U19 and U21 level, and he was the captain of the U21 team. He was a talented youngster with immense potential. When Twain was still with Nottingham Forest, he was interested to bring him to the City Grounds from Middlesbrough, but the asking price of 15 million meant that a deal was not to be. He was the key left-back of Middlesbrough and his specialty was a strong attacking prowess, kind of like Gareth Bale. This was also his first time selected for the national team.

30-year-old Glen Johnson was a familiar face in the national team setup. However, he did not participate in the World Cup held in Brazil this summer. That was because he sustained a serious injury two months before the competition and had to be out of action for three months, only coming back from injury now. The reason why Aston Villa agreed to allow him to play for the national team was because they wanted him to get some match fitness.

Ashley Cole might be the most famous player in the national team backline. However, he was already 33 and had gradually lost his place as the key player in the Chelsea team. That was why Chelsea agreed to let him play for the national team and he himself wanted to win back his position in the club through his performance in this match.

In midfield, Twain called seven players up.

24-year-old Fabian Delph was the most successful academy product from Leeds United in recent years, but he was part of the Tottenham Hotspurs team now. He was called up to the national squad thrice, and this was his fourth time putting on the national team jersey. His position in the team was on the right of the midfield.

West Ham United’s 27-year-old midfielder, Mark Noble, became a core member of the team’s midfield after Gareth Barry transfer to Liverpool. This was his 10th time representing the country.

Michael Johnson used to play for Manchester City, but he was now a midfield player for Tottenham Hotspurs. If not for the existence of George Wood, he might have been a key player for the national team. He was a very capable player and had already been called up 11 times. He also took part in the World Cup in Brazil this summer and came on as a substitute once.

James Milner made his debut for Leeds United 13 years ago. When Leeds was facing financial meltdown, he was sold by the team to Newcastle for 3.6 million to help with the financial situation at the club. Later on, he went to Aston Villa and he also used to be the record holder for the youngest goal scorer for England. Eventually, he moved to Chelsea and had been with them since. He had represented the country 15 times before this.

Matt Derbyshire was a 28-year-old attacking midfielder from Blackburn who could also play as a striker. This was his first time representing England.

Jose Baxter was the next future star that Everton developed after Rooney and Vaughan. He was only 22 and had already been in the national team once. He could play on either wing and also as a striker.

Joe Cole was the most famous star in the midfield line up. After many years at Chelsea, he just moved to Manchester City this summer. His abilities were without doubt, but his form was affected by his frequent injuries. The reason Twain called him up was because he wished that his technical abilities would be able to bring about more changes in England’s midfield.

Twain picked five strikers into the team for observation. Stars such as Rooney were all not part of the list of players called up.

The senior of Jose Baxter that was mentioned earlier, James Vaughan was part of the players called up this time. He was Everton’s main striker now and the personal relationship between Twain and Moyes played no small part in helping Everton release him for international duties. Also, Twain had to promise Moyes that he would only play Vaughan for only the first half before Moyes agreed.

26-year-old Fraizer Campbell was a talented product of the Manchester United’s academy, but he could only warm the bench at Manchester United now. It was not known if Mourinho’s arrival at Old Trafford was a good thing for him yet, but he might be able to take advantage of this call up to showcase his abilities to Mourinho.

Danny Welbeck, 23, also a product of the Manchester United Academy. However, he chose a different path from Campbell. Campbell was still struggling in Manchester United for a starting position while Welbeck left Manchester United for Sunderland long ago. He was playing regularly for Sunderland now and performed well, hence he was also called up to the national team.

The high-profile striker from Charlton previously, Darren Bent, did not perform up to his standard after transferring to Tottenham, but this did not affect Twain’s decision to call him up. No matter what, he was still an experienced player when compared to the previous three strikers.

The last guy was Aston Villa’s 23-year-old striker, Nathan Delfouneso. Even though his height was not that impressive at only 1.81 meters, he was good in the air and had good physical abilities. This was his first time being called up for the national team.

The 23 players above are the ones that Twain wanted to observe, and the club was willing to release. None of the major stars were here and Twain did not even give them a call. Similarly, there were no Nottingham Forest players in this name list as well as they were the opponents.

This name list was placed under heavy scrutiny by the English media as it was Tony Twain’s first national squad members after all. There were countless people trying to figure something out from there.

Some people thought that Twain was favouring youth, otherwise, why would he pick so many young players? There were many older players that were also on the brinks of the national team.

Some people thought that Twain was taking this opportunity how his iron fist. By calling up so many players on the brinks, he was issuing a “warning” to the stars, “In my team, fame counts for nothing. I’m only interested in your attitude.”

The other group of people thought that Twain had no choice——Most of the big clubs were not willing to release the players and the key players of England were preparing for the new season with their teams. It was not easy for him to find 23 players, who cares about the quality of the players?

No matter how the media analysed this name list, all the players on the name list received a call from the English Football Association asking them to be part of the England squad.

Some were surprised, some of them were calm, but all of them had their own thoughts about it. To the players who were still preparing for the new season with their teams, working with the new manager first would give them an opportunity to understand the personality of the new manager. This would be helpful in helping them gain a spot in the new national team.

※※※

“Don’t expect to see anything from this match, Tony,” assistant manager, Des Walker told Twain, an opinion that was shared by some other coaches. This was the day before the team was supposed to assemble, the coaches were having a meeting to discuss the team’s tactics, the opponent’s tactics… etcetera.

“We don’t even have time for a training session, the team will assemble tomorrow, and we’ll be playing the three days later. This feels like a friendly match and everyone would be afraid of injuries. They will be scared, and we’ll be scared as well,” coach Steve Wigley said.

Twain took one look at everyone and laughed, “They may be afraid, but we don’t necessary have to be scared.”

Walker, who knew him very well, muttered in his mind, looks like somebody’s going to get hurt…

Chapter 895 - Nottingham Forest and England

Twain’s heart was not calm when he learned that his first game was against Nottingham Forest. Similarly, the Nottingham Forest players were stuck in in turmoil knowing they had to go against someone who was once their master.

Freddy Eastwood still remembered how he reacted when he found out his head coach had retired. He was still pouring coffee into his own cup and reading the newspaper on the table. When he saw that Tony Twain’s 11-year relationship with Nottingham Forest had officially ended, he forgot what he had been doing and could not wait to continue reading the main text. He was in a trance until the hot coffee spilled over the brim of the cup and dripped down to his pants. He threw aside the empty coffee maker and looked down at his wet pants, then at the mess on his table. His mood then was much like the current situation: extremely messy.

He could not believe or accept this reality. The man who once smiled and said to him, “You’re going to be a legendary shooter and I’m going to be a legendary coach.” just upped and left his home ground which he defended for eleven years.

Fortunately, he was not the same person which needed the head coach whenever he needed to overcome difficulties. He could draw on his own strength and he wanted to live for himself and not for someone else.

He accepted the fact a little faster than the rest, within a day, but his former teammates were not as accepting as he was.

Gareth Bale had been on vacation when he heard the news. As a result, the well-planned vacation in Hawaii was filled with constant complaints from his girlfriend, saying that he did not actually love her and he was not even focused when he was out playing with her. The girlfriend even interrogated him, asking if it was her or Tony Twain that he loved. In the end, the girlfriend suggested a breakup with Bale and flew back to the United Kingdoms by herself. Bale stayed in Hawaii in a daze for another day, then he went home afterwards.

Bale’s form was also worrying after the team started training. After not seeing the cool-headed head coach in sunglasses at the edge of the training ground, he did not know what to do. Twain was like a father figure to him, and now his father is gone, his core was gone as well. He had no idea what he was going to do next. His father, too, was his agent asking about his intentions, and he just shook his head. Last season, Twain initiated the renewing of new contracts for most of the team’s key players, improving their treatment and updating their contract terms. Bale now had three years left on his contract with the club before he could leave the club but before that, he needed to continue staying here.

It was already July when he decided to stay. He had feelings for his head coach, but he also had feelings for Nottingham Forest as well. As a professional footballer he had to be clear about one thing — he was playing for himself and not for a coach. It sounded a little ruthless, but that was the truth.

Pepe’s reaction was the strongest among the players. The day after the news of Twain’s departure broke, he informed his agent, Mendes, that he would follow Twain if he went to coach at another club. All of a sudden, he forgot his hatred for Ribery. Maybe he hated Ribery not because he betrayed the team, but because he betrayed the head coach.

Now that the head coach had gone to coach the England national team, Pepe could not follow. He was so disappointed that he would choose to leave whenever he had that chance. Now that he was the player most speculated would leave, a lot of clubs had intentions to invite the world-class center over, but Martin O’Neill did not want to let this Portuguese leave.

Fortunately, Twain did not quietly leave without any greetings. All the Nottingham Forest players received a postcard from Twain when he was in Brazil. The postcard did not mention the reason why he did not renew the contract nor any expectations of the players, it only contained greetings and apologies – apologizing for not informing them first-hand and keeping them out of the loop.

Twain did not say what he was doing was inexplicable. Nor did he ask everyone to forgive him and understand him. It was not something he could do, and if anyone in the players still resented him after reading the postcard there was nothing he could do about that. He was still what he was in the past, not willing to let other people in easily, not willing to show others anything other than his glamourous side]. Even if he was leaving, he still wanted to do it in style.

He never mentioned Nottingham Forest on any occasion after returning back to the public eye, and when asked by a reporter about Nottingham Forest, he would choose to be silent or to look at him. Some people thought it was cold and heartless, so people like Bill would be angry and have a lot of resentment towards Twain. But in fact it was just a botched ploy for people who did not know how to hide their emotions better. He did not want the players to miss him because it would not be good for the new manager and Nottingham Forest should not be “Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest”, whether was wishful thinking or not, he thought about this when he had his heart disease. A mature team should be able to maintain a high standard even if it changes its manager. Then, and only then, can it be called an “elite” team. Like Barcelona. Nottingham Forest will never be able to shake off the stigma of an “upstart” if it was relying on him.

He distanced himself from Nottingham Forest silently even though he often dreamed of returning to the City Stadium, returning to the moment when tens of thousands of people chanted his name. But when he was sober, his indifference was repulsive.

He was not a man who could be understood by just anyone.

※※※

Des Walker suddenly thought of something he was not entirely sure would be interesting. “Tony, when you return to Nottingham Forest, have you thought of the kind of treatment to get? ”

Twain pouted. “I don’t have time and effort to think about that.”

He was not lying. Today, he needed to think of how he was going to face the 23 people he was about to meet.

This time, Arsenal’s Kearney training base was requisitioned as England’s training base for a day. Twain would meet his players here for the first time. The New England players were changing their uniforms in the locker room and talking about how their new head coach would look like.

Tony Twain’s roster did not even include a single former Nottingham Forest player — it was a completely fresh roster. These people did not know as much about Twain as compared to those smaller reporters, hence for this head coach with this type of personality, he had several rumours.

“Hey, I heard Ashley Young said Tony Twain is the type to bear grudges. If you’ve offended him he would definitely find an opportunity to find revenge, whether or not you did it intentionally.”The man who said this was Michael Johnson, who had played for Manchester City, thus he knew Ashley Young opinion of Twain.

“You still need to spread rumours about this? The whole England knows the type of coach he is.”

“To be honest, I used to hate him… I never thought I’d be playing under him now…”

“Ha, Joe. It’s just temporary anyway, it’s better this way than to let him be Chelsea manager, right?”

“Do you think he’s annoying? But I think he’s great, a team like Nottingham Forest could win so many titles under him… It would not only by swearing, wouldn’t it? ” Just as there were people who hated him, there were also people who liked him.

Tony Twain’s controversial side, even in the national team, was also displayed clearly.

“I heard he would yell at people in the dressing room. I don’t like to be scolded anyway. ”

“Ferguson would, too, and I don’t think anyone at Manchester United is disgusted.” The speaker glanced at Fraser Campbell.

Campbell heard Manchester United being mentioned, so he had to come out and say a few words. “Although he is a little grumpy, everyone would still feel as it was normal. He had so many honors, how would his little temper matter? Anyway, I think there is nothing wrong, as long as you do not make mistakes, he will not scold you. I don’t know if Coach Twain would be like this as well… It’s a pity that we do not have anyone that was from Nottingham Forest.”

“He, we have a match against them on the day after next, how can there be anyone here like them here?”

“Don’t blindly guess, guys.” The oldest here, Ashley Cole coughed, “If we don’t go out again, I’m sure all of us will be scolded badly.” He reminded people of the time, and if there is no accidents, he would be wearing the captain band in this practice match. He played his role beforehand.

None of the people were skeptical upon hearing, some of them shrunk their necks and start changing their clothes faster.

Ashley Cole was the first player to run out of the locker room and into the training ground. Unsurprisingly, he saw the entire coaching staff on the sidelines, including, of course, the legendary Tony Twain.

Twain stood in the green field in his sunglasses, basking in the sunlight. He stood out even in that crowd and you could pick him out in just a glance.

Upon seeing Ashley Cole running out and looking over here, and he started to smile. Ashley Cole did not dare to confirm if the man was laughing because he was not able to see the man’s eyes.

“They must be in the dressing room, changing their training clothes while talking about what their new head coach is like. Otherwise the first person would not just appear now. “Des Walker was trying to joke about Twain.

Twain raised his wrist to look at his watch.

This move made Ashley Cole. It was a good thing he came out first; he was sure this devilish coach would not easily let them off if they were late. In fact, he did not know how early he had to come out to avoid being late because the former national team training time was not fixed.

Twain kept looking at the watch, as more and more players ran out of the dressing room and set foot on the training ground. They all moved quicker when they saw Twain’s particular action.

When the last player ran to the training ground, Twain finally put his arm down. Then he grinned at the players standing in front of him, revealing a mouth of white teeth.

“It’s good that you all just arrived before the time was up.” He said it with a smile, but some people felt a chill running down their spine. What would have happened if they had not arrived on time?

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Tony Twain, your head coach for the next two years if there aren’t any accidents.”

Some players bowed their heads and laughed. They all know what Twain meant. Poor performance by the team or a foul mouth would have a chance to lead to him being fired.

“I know you all were just talking about me in the locker room, and I don’t mind you talking privately about who I am. Actually, I get along very well, really. “At this point, Twain took off his sunglasses and gave everyone a smile that was even brighter than the sun.

This time no one laughed along with him. It seemed like there were excessive number of rumours outside, everyone were precautious against this head coach.

But Twain did not force these people to accept himself, anyway, they were all marginal figures who could become the backbone of the future England team, but they still needed to be under observation.

“No matter what you’re now thinking in your hearts, in short, I’ve become your head coach. The day after the next, the game, to your opponents, might be just a show for your opponents to celebrate the opening of their new stadium, but I hope you know one thing. For you guys, it’s not just an irrelevant show match. You should know why I didn’t call for a main national team player this time? ” Twain stood in front of the players and began to show these foreign soccer players his style of talking.

“Let me tell you, you all are the so-called marginal figures of the national team, some of you are capable, but you don’t have a chance to go one tier higher. How do you guys feel after watching England losing to Brazil at home? Ever thought that if you were there, you’d let the tragedy be avoided? Now the opportunity has come. I’m the new coach and I don’t know anything about the former England team and I don’t want to know anything about it. My eyes are for looking forward, which is why they are on the front of my head. The day after tomorrow’s game would be a chance for you: if you perform well, there would be a position for you in my future England team. I don’t mind building an England team without any superstars at all, as long as you guys really have potential within you. You need not bother about what the media says, your jobs are simple, it’s just to properly play the match the day after tomorrow. ”

Twain then waved as he said, “Go and warm up, don’t get injured.”

After the players listened to the head coach’s promise, some felt a sense of hope and were super motivated, but many more were sceptical. In particular, Twain saying, “I don’t mind building an England team which don’t have any big-shots nor superstars at all” was just too hypocritical. That was going against the whole of England, not just the media, but even the Football Association and the fans would never allow such an obnoxious act. So what if he was Tony Twain? Going against the whole world would have a very tragic outcome in the end.

During the warm-up run, a group of people gathered together and muttered, “Do you want to bet? I doubt Coach Twain would be here for a long time.”

“Just listen to the way he talks, it would be a miracle if he stayed for a long time. I don’t want to bet with you. ”

“He sounded so arrogant. The rumours are really true.”

“I’ve always thought it was a miracle that Mr Twain was able to survive in England for so long. He really does not act like an Englishman.”

“What is there to be surprised, what era is it now already. ”

“Cough, cough, he’s looking at us…”

※※※

Twain was observing the players, he knew it would not be easy to conquer this team and become England’s master. Maybe he needed to use a victory to start setting his foundation.

“Are you really going to go down?” said Walker.

“What?”

“Nottingham Forest.”

Twain turned his head and took a look at Walker.

“After all, you’ve been there for eleven years right?” Walker continued.

Twain shrugged, “It’s simple. I used to stand with them, and now I’m standing opposite them. ”

“I’m kind of curious about something all of a sudden…” said Walker, looking at the players who were warming up. “You’re not going to yell at them in the pre-match dressing room and tell them to tear up the Nottingham Forest bastards completely. You used to always call your opponent that. ”

Twain’s eyebrows jumped by a little.

After a long while, he then muttered, “It’s just a friendly match…”

A month and twenty-seven days after leaving Nottingham Forest, he was finally going back. It is just that this time he was going back as an opponent. How would the people there welcome him? There was no way they would roll out the red carpet and announce “Long Live the Majesty”. He knew the fans and the team he brought up too well.

Treat comrades as warm as the spring breeze, treat the enemy as ruthless as the autumn wind sweeps leaves.

Chapter 896 - The Days Since Twain Left

Kenny Burns’ Forest Bar had not been busy like today since the World Cup ended.

Once it opened for business since eleven o’clock in the late morning, people constantly pushed the door open to come in, ordered a beer, and then gathered together muttering in discussion.

By the time Skinny Bill appeared in the bar, the muttering sounds finally developed into a loud argument. The originally united fans had split into two factions at this time. No one was willing to give in to each other. Stop short of beer glasses being thrown and swearing, the atmosphere was unfriendly.

Burns continued to wipe the glass in his hands that could not be cleaned for a very long time. He had no intention of coming forward to stop it.

When John pushed the door in, the argument in the bar temporarily dissipated after seeing him.

John stood at the entrance and looked around the room. The fans in the bar stood clearly divided on both sides, with fewer people on the left side and more people on the right. Everyone was a little worked up as made fully evident by the flush in their faces under the influence of alcohol.

“Bill, what are you doing again?” John caught the main contradiction at once. He stared at Bill, who sat on the right side.

“Nothing. Just discussing how to ‘welcome’ Tony for tomorrow’s game.” Bill casually mentioned as he swirled the whiskey in the glass.

“Can’t you let it go? Tony has his own freedom…”

The fat man had just spoken when he was rudely interrupted by Bill. He suddenly stood up and stared at John with reddened eyes as he said, “Screw freedom! That’s right! We don’t care how many ordinary managers leave because they are worthless to us! But Tony Twain is different! It took him eleven years to prove that he belonged only to Nottingham Forest! A Nottingham Forest team without him is not our favorite Nottingham Forest team. He is also not the Tony we like…when he’s without Nottingham Forest!”

John waited for him to finish roaring and then he still calmly said, “You said you like Tony, but do you understand him? He was not happy working there. He should at least have the right to choose to leave, shouldn’t he?”

“Ah ha, he was not happy at work, so he had the right to choose to leave. So, we also have the right to choose to hate him!” Bill changed his tone and spoke sarcastically, “He made himself scarce and walked away. What about us after he abandoned us? What about the players who followed him wholeheartedly and the fans who trusted and supported him so much that they called him king? Did he ever think about how they felt when he left? Did he empathize with them? We saw him as the man who could get Nottingham Forest to the top, and this was how he treated our expectations?”

John felt that Bill had fallen into a frenzy. There was no way to communicate with Bill like this. He shook his head and ignored the hysterical Bill. He went straight to the left side and sat down. Then he raised his hand to ask Burns for a beer.

Burns personally served the beer. But John stared blankly at the drink and asked, “A disposable paper cup?”

Burns smiled at him and replied, “So that I don’t worry about any fatalities when you guys start fighting in a while.”

John heard this and suddenly was in a bad mood. Before he and the people across were good buddies who watched the games together. They would run around and follow Nottingham Forest’s glorious footprint. They would come back here to celebrate when they won a game. They would also be back here to drink to drown their sorrows and curse when they lost a game. No matter what happened, they never had an infighting like they had today, not even when Michael left.

But Tony Twain was gone unexpectedly, and they split up. That man is the devil himself. He’s gone and yet the influence he has left can still make people who were once friends turn against each other. Ah Tony, Tony, what am I supposed to say to you? What was on your mind when you decided to leave Nottingham Forest? Also, in tomorrow’s game, can you imagine what kind of treatment you will encounter?

John was not in the mood to sit here and drink. He got up, looked at Bill and shook his head. Then he walked out alone.

Those sitting on the left side departed one by one after John left. Soon, Bill and his gang were the only ones left in the bar. They came together and discussed how to “welcome” their old friend tomorrow.

Burns continued to wipe the glasses, as if he had turned a blind eye to all of this. His gaze had crossed the entrance and drifted into the distance. He also had no idea why Tony Twain had chosen to leave. But he knew that Twain was not the kind of man described by Bill. An ungrateful man would not visit Gavin at least twice a year.

Some people were used to encasing themselves in thick shells. Unwilling for other people to easily understand his inner world, Tony Twain should be this kind of person.

※※※

The day before the game, the scene at the Forest Bar continued to unfold repeatedly elsewhere in Nottingham. The city, which was first split between the two teams, Notts County and Nottingham Forest, had now been divided into three divisions – the Nottingham Forest fans were in a state of infighting.

Tony Twain would be back in Nottingham with the England team for tomorrow’s game. How should we treat him at that time? Should we thank and welcome him from our hearts, or greet him with boos, verbal abuse and middle fingers?

They could not forget the many trophies and joys that “His Majesty” had brought them. But similarly, they could not forget the shock Twain brought to their hearts when he and the Forest team broke up. The hard to describe complicated emotions surged within their hearts. Mixed with shock, disappointment, sadness and anger, it messed up their lives. One should not assume that the power of football was not so strong. Football had such power in this country and city.

The Nottingham Evening Post used this headline in the newspaper published that day:

King or Judas?

It was a good illustration of the Forest fans’ conflicting moods.

※※※

“I’m going to hug the boss before the game.” Pepe announced his decision in the locker room, drawing everyone’s attention.

There were people in the locker room who had good feelings toward Twain, like Pepe, who still could not forget the boss’ kindness till this day. There were also people who had disdain for Tony Twain, such as the new players who had just joined the team. They had not experienced the era of Twain at all and could not understand why someone like Pepe would go mad for an outgoing manager.

The Brazilian center back, Thiago Silva, who had just joined the club, was such a representative. He joined the Forest team to replace Kompany and was obviously excited to join a team that had just won the Treble. He was eager to make a big splash here and he did not care what happened to the Forest team before. He also somewhat could not understand why there was always talk in the locker room about a manager who had left.

“Pepe, aren’t you afraid that the top brass will be unhappy with you?” Bale pointed to the ceiling.

“They don’t need to care so much.” Pepe uttered with a despising look on his face. He was the first player in the team to make clear his dislike of the top brass. Anyway, if he really offended the club chairman, worst came to worst, he could leave. The boss was not here anymore. What was the point of staying?

Some of the players envied Pepe’s courage to love and hate, as well as the courage to accept the consequences of his actions. Some people disdained it as beneath contempt and brushed it off, thinking that Pepe was just shooting off his mouth. Anyone could move one’s lips.

Cracks began to quietly appear in what was originally a united and tight knit locker room in this way.

Bale looked at Pepe and turned toward Wood to say, “George…”

Wood looked at him and did not answer.

“You, uh… Are you going to hug the boss too?” In the team, everyone knew how good the relationship between Wood and Twain was. Perhaps no one would even disagree if it were to be said that Twain was Wood’s father.

But today Wood did not give an answer that fitted with this relationship. He shook his head and said, “I’m not that sappy.”

Bale felt Wood’s indifference, and he stopped talking. Since the boss was gone, the atmosphere in the locker room had changed and the change made him uncomfortable. It used to be a form of enjoyment playing for Nottingham Forest. Now, it was gradually becoming a form of torment. The feeling was particularly pronounced for some of the players who had the closest relationships with Twain.

He silently busied himself with his own things to do while the other players gathered and whispered in groups of three or four. It was most likely something to do with tomorrow’s game.

Bale was no longer interested in their discussions. There was nothing to discuss. Everything would be revealed tomorrow.

※※※

Evan and Allan were in the club chairman’s spacious office, looking at each other but no one spoke.

The silence lasted for a while before Evan changed his posture and leaned back on the back of the chair. The back of the leather chair squeaked, breaking the silence of the room.

“It’s truly a coincidence.” Allan laughed and said, “When I booked the game, I did not expect him to be the England team’s manager.”

“Isn’t that good? As far as I know, there are a lot of people in Nottingham who are unhappy with his sudden departure. This game may be a way for them to vent their frustrations.”

“Do you enjoy seeing this?” Allan asked.

Evan spread his hands and said, “Isn’t better than having those people protest and hold demonstrations at our doorstep all the time, is it?” When he suddenly took the initiative to hold a press conference, he had intended to put the main responsibility inexplicitly on Twain. Now he saw that his purpose had basically been achieved. There were still dissenting voices against the club, but they were too insignificant as compared to those who hated Twain.

It could be said that Tony Twain’s character and consistent image in the media helped Evan Doughty. Had it not been for his bad temper and rotten image, the public would not have targeted the attack at Twain so easily.

If Twain usually appeared with an image of a Mr. Nice Guy in front of people, that his character was gentle and low-key, and he did not offend so many enemies, how could he have fallen into such a plight? A person’s character determined his fate. These words were so true.

Allan stood up to take his leave as he said, “Tomorrow’s game… is full of anticipation. It’s to our advantage. What’s supposed to just a normal friendly match, is now different because of Tony. Outside the stadium is chock full of reporters. You’ll see later when you leave here. Just be careful of them.”

Evan smiled, “Excellent free advertising. We should all thank Tony.”

Allan did not answer. He turned around and went out.

※※※

Since Twain became the England team’s manager, the happiest people had not been Twain’s hardcore fans but Mr. Carl Spicer.

It was like he had rediscovered the center of gravity in his life. He laughed and greeted everyone in the television station. People who were familiar with him shook their heads behind his back at how he lived for Tony Twain. It was not known how Spicer would feel if he knew this.

After the end of the World Cup, the football programming was in a slump. Initially, the match between the England national team and Nottingham Forest was not an important one. Nottingham Forest wanted to use it to test their new squad, while the England team certainly would not send its main squad. Such a game was of little value. But it was different now, because Tony Twain became the England manager.

The main subject was a news making machine. Wherever he went, that was where the news happened. Carl Spicer did not have to worry about what he could say on the show anymore. Now looking at the previous episodes of the program he did, it was enough to let him stuff his head into his pants – they were dry and bland. The clever words which he was most proud of were nonexistent. His eyes wandered about when talking, as if he did not know why his mouth was wriggling and what was being said. He did not know what to say without Twain.

Now he did not have to worry about these things. Whether it was to attack or ridicule, there was now a target in front of him.

He marched into his own standalone office at a brisk pace. With a light flick of his foot, he closed the door, and then twirled around as if he was dancing. He turned around and walked to his desk. He picked up a dart on the table and threw it at the office door.

With a “pop” sound, the dart was stuck in the dart board. That dart board was special because it was a picture of Tony Twain laughing with his mouth wide open.

The dart happened to strike on Twain’s teeth which looked a little comical.

Spicer laughed like Twain did in the photograph. He said, “It’s been a long time, Mr. Twain. The England team is more difficult to lead than Nottingham Forest.”

The photograph of Twain was still grinning even with a dart stuck to it. It did not answer him.

※※※

“Tomorrow’s game is in the spotlight for the simple reason – Tony Twain is back again. This time he returned to Nottingham as a visitor.” The BBC reporter, holding a microphone, said to the camera. Behind him was the red behemoth, the Crimson Stadium.

Although the game was still a day away, the parking lot outside the new Nottingham Forest home ground, the Crimson Stadium, was already full of broadcast vans. The many media outlets gathered here to report the news of Twain’s “homecoming” for the first time.

The reaction of the fans, the reaction of the Nottingham Forest players… These were what the reporters were desperate to know.

The sale of the tickets to the game began a week ago with fifty thousand tickets out of sixty thousand tickets sold three days ago. It was estimated that sixty thousand tickets could have been sold out in big cities such as Manchester, Liverpool or London.

“The fans are very enthusiastic.” The reporter walked up to the fans who had lined up to buy tickets and was going to do a street interview.

A thin man appeared in front of the television camera and shouted excitedly at the reporter’s extended microphone, “We’re going to welcome Tony very, very, very warmly! This game will be extremely unforgettable for him! Ah ha!”

The reporter resurfaced on the television camera. He and smiled and said, “It looks like Tony Twain is still a big influence, and the fans still miss him. Tomorrow’s game must be very exciting!”

※※※

The players who finished their training went out of the training ground in succession and prepared to change to go home. The reporters, waiting for a long time, flocked to surround them. They wanted to make sure that they talked about tomorrow’s game.

“It’s just a normal friendly match.” The team captain, George Wood pushed away the reporters blocking in front of him coldly and squeezed his way out.

The reporters shrugged it off and took aim at the other players. They basically could not get what they needed from Wood’s mouth.

“I’m looking forward to a reunion with the boss!” Pepe said what the reporters wanted to hear, especially that name. This matter had too much to write about. If Martin O’Neill had heard this, how would he react?

“It’s a little strange… I’d never thought I will be competing against him before.” The man who said that was Gareth Bale, who was a little bit more even. He said, “But it must have been an interesting experience.” What he said was nonsense, which was equivalent to saying nothing.

Most of the other players were mentally conflicted and did not want to talk more about tomorrow’s game. They just managed with a few words and left in a hurry. Even while they were signing autographs for the fans, they looked distracted.

When Martin O’Neill came out from the training ground, all the players were almost gone. Some of the reporters were still gathered there waiting for him.

“I have nothing to say.” O’Neill knew what they were going to ask, so he raised his hands in advance to signal that as he said, “I know what you media are so interested in. But for me, it’s a normal friendly game. I don’t care how you hype it. I just want to remind you that you don’t affect my players.”

But the reporters did not want to let him go. “Hey, Martin. Does your predecessor have a big influence on you while you work here?”

O’Neill pursed his lips without answering. In fact, he had to thank Twain for not mentioning Nottingham Forest. Otherwise, the pressure would be even greater. Even so, the former manager’s influence was still everywhere which bothered him greatly. He must have been crazy when he agreed to take over the team at the time. He actually neglected Tony Twain’s influence.

“One more question, Mr. O’Neill. Care to give your opinion on Tony Twain?”

O’Neill pretended not to hear.

The reporter was unyielding and continued to ask, “Are there any contradictions between you two?”

O’Neill could not pretend that he did not hear the question in case the reporters were unkind enough to interpret his silence and really turn it into “Martin O’Neill’s dissatisfaction with Tony Twain.” That would throw himself at the heart of the struggle. He was not Twain. He did not like to be a news personality that received too much media attention.

“No.” He stopped in his tracks and answered with a smile, “I’ve always had a good relationship with Tony. He’s a very good manager as you can tell from the many championship titles he has won. As the new manager of Nottingham Forest, I hope I can continue this glorious tradition.”

In the end, he was still forced to answer the first question and even put himself in a lower standing.

Having said that, he quickly walked out of the encirclement of reporters. He no longer cared about the reporters shouting in the back and just strode away.

Pierce Brosnan was also among the reporters entangling O’Neill. As he watched O’Neill making his quick escape, he thought of Tony Twain in his mind.

From the start to finish, Twain did not show up to say a word regarding the game, but it sent so many people into a frenzy. At the same time, was the man hiding in the dark and watching the show while secretly laughing? He must be feeling smug, right? He had already left and yet his terrifying influence made countless of people willing to go crazy for him.

That man was truly a fiend that stirred up public sentiments with false statements.

Chapter 897 - Back Home

Some media used “Tony going home” as a caption for this match.

Twain’s home was indeed still at Nottingham. He had really not been home much recently because he was staying in a hotel in London, busy with the national team.

Shania was not there so there was no need to return to that empty home.

Going home…

Twain muttered under his breath. He knew very clearly that the Nottingham now might not be willing to be his home now.

When Twain arrived in Nottingham in the bus with his team, he was bombarded by the media from all sides. For the past few days, he would either hide in his hotel to fiddle with the name list or hide in the Colney training base where the media could not reach him. However, now that he was in Nottingham, he had nowhere to hide. The media was determined to get some exclusive news out of him.

The team was to stay in a hotel in Nottingham to prepare for the match the next day. The bus had just stopped when the reporters who had been waiting outside the doors rushed over and totally cluttered the pathway from the bus door to the hotel door.

When Twain jumped out of the bus, the microphones at the end of the poles all extended to above Twain over the heads of everyone and the video cameras and cameras all pointed towards him while the security guards and police on the grounds all looked like they were facing one of their fiercest enemies.

The other players almost could not help themselves but to whistle when they saw this scene.

A group of people gathered to whisper among themselves again.

“I thought these people were here to interview us… This set up is even more impressive than the main force of an army.”

“Stop dreaming, they are all here for the boss.”

“He is the focus of the media now indeed.”

“Did the boss say anything stupid this time?”

“He didn’t say anything.”

“He attracted so many reporters even by saying nothing?!”

“Idiot, this is Nottingham. He’s back to his home ground.”

The scene was bumbling and loud, and Twain did not hear the whispers of the players. He was busy handling the reporters.

“Mr Twain, Mr Twain! How does it feel to be back in Nottingham?”

“It feels good,” Twain replied with no expression on his face, and everyone could tell that he was not taking the question seriously at all.

“Can you explain the reason why you decided not to extend your contract with Nottingham Forest Football Club last time?” This would forever be the question that the reporters were most interested in. Even though there were many rumours but they were all not proven. The reporters still wanted to hear the real answer from the man himself.

“There is nothing to discuss about this,” Twain refused to answer. The reason why he did not want to talk about the conflicts between him and the club was because he did not want to sour the relationship between them totally, after all, he had been there for 11 years. Some things should be left a secret forever.

“There are some people who say there were some conflicts between you and the management of the club…”

“There is nothing of that sort,” Twain lied without so much as a stumble.

“Then, could it be because…”

“I’m sorry, I refuse to answer any question regarding Nottingham Forest,” Twain had a very strong look on his face. It was time to let these reporters know when to back off.

“But Mr Twain, your team will be playing Nottingham Forest. This question is related to Nottingham Forest too. If you don’t answer it…” A reporter picked on the flaw in the logic behind what Twain just said smilingly.

“What I meant was I won’t be answering any question,” Twain gave that man a look and entered the hotel lobby under the protection of both the security and the police.

The reporter who was still teasing Twain earlier was left stunned on the spot with a stiff expression on his face.

“Wow——” A player whistled, “That’s so cool!”

Carl Spicer could not stop laughing at this scene in the crowd. He turned to look at the camera and said laughingly, “Tony Twain is really back.” He felt utterly relieved in his heart. That arrogant Twain was back. He did not have to worry that Twain would become a toothless tiger under the restrictions of the Football Association after two months of dormancy. That would be no fun at all.

※※※

Twain’s return to Nottingham became the news headlines that day and the photo of him squeezing past the surrounding reporters into the hotel appeared on the papers and on the internet. Dressed in a black suit and a pair of sunglasses, he really looked like a godfather from the mafia.

Burns held the newspaper and lost himself in the picture of Twain on it.

How does it feel to be back home?

He really wanted to ask Twain that, but he did not think that Twain would be back at his bar. After becoming England’s manager, he was closely watched by the media every single moment of the day and he would have no time to chat with his friends anymore. Besides, he might not be able to find anyone to talk to even if he came.

“He still looks so cool,” Fat John came over to take a look at the photograph.

Bill and the gang was nowhere to be seen, probably discussing about the production of another slogan.

“But he offended the media. When he left Forest, there were not many of them who would speak for him,” Burns replied.

“Heh heh,” John laughed, “If Tony cared about what the others thought, he would not be Tony anymore.”

“Not necessarily,” Burns shook his head, “He will definitely be affected by the crimson stadium tomorrow.”

What Burns said was what John was thinking about. The smile disappeared on his face and he stayed silent. He merely lifted his beer mug and chugged his beer.

※※※

Tang announced that the day after training would be a rare day off for the players to rest up properly. He did not give a reason and the players did not think much about it other than feeling that it was strange. A day off was a good thing and they welcomed it.

Tang kept the tickets for the match properly and did not explain anything.

Such a match would normally be not worth watching, but he was interested in Twain and he wanted to see for himself what troubles would Twain come up with there.

※※※

Even though this was a friendly match, Twain called for a tactics meeting at night.

As the team had only a day to train together, it was basically impossible that they could have rehearsed for any tactics so Twain did not arrange for any complicated tactics. They would be using the basic 442 and attack from the flanks. These tactics were the most basic and simplest ones and no matter any player would be able to cooperate and work together because they had been training like this since young.

Twain reiterated what this match meant to the players in the meeting, hinting to them that there would be a good result for them if they worked hard.

It looked like he was seriously preparing for this match. Watching him like this made the players who were still sceptical about Twain’s thoughts previously think about it seriously——The match tomorrow was really a great opportunity…

“They will never guess that we will be treating this game seriously,” Twain thought for awhile and confirmed what he just said, “This is just a normal game. Even though the media is all over it, their focus are not on the game. I hope you’ll grab this opportunity.”

He looked at the players. How many of these players would really trust him and follow him, he would know after this match.

Of course, he did not expect everyone to do their best against Nottingham Forest. He was not that popular amongst the national team players yet, and the players were not puppets on string. However, the ones he needed were only those who would listen to him and had the will to work hard. As for those who were unwilling to do so… So sorry, but the doors of the national team are forever closed to you guys.

This warmup match was a good chance for him to give the players a warning, asserting dominance did not necessarily have to be through a victory.

※※※

At the same time, over on the other side, Martin O’Neill was discussing the tactics to be used against the England team with David Kerslake.

“What do you think England will do for tomorrow’s game, David?” O’Neill asked.

Kerslake knew Twain well. To guess what Twain would do, one just had to ask him.

Kerslake was silent for a while before saying, “The public believes that the focus of this game was not the game itself, but outside it. We’re going to use this game to test out some formations for the team and the form of the new players after they joined us while England’s side was filled with players on the border, therefore they would be weak. However, my thinking was totally opposite to theirs.”

O’Neill was interested, and he indicated for him to continue.

“Tony Twain is not one to do things logically. This is his first match since taking charge of the team and it is very important. If he wants his job to be easier for him in future, he cannot take this match lightly. I think he’ll ask his team to do his best,” he paused for a while, as if to think if what he was going to say was right.

“And…their target will be to defeat us,” he decided to tell him the conclusion in the end.

“O’Neill did not refute this conclusion that seemed so unlikely it might as well be a fairy tale, instead, he nodded in approval, “That’s just what I thought too. Tony needs this victory more than us, even if it’s just an unimportant friendly match. The media is still focused on him and he’ll be under a lot of pressure. He needs to prove his capabilities with a victory even if it’s a match like this.”

O’Neill was glad that Twain was under this kind of pressure too as he did not feel like the only fool in the world now.

“Even though they will do their best, we don’t have the need to do so too. Twain doesn’t need to worry that his players would be injured but we do. That’s why we should still go with our original plan——inspect our team.”

Kerslake agreed with O’Neill’s arrangement. Twain needed a victory and he needed it badly. He would use whatever means necessary for it and Nottingham Forest did not need to join him in the madness. Examining his players’ form was one thing, avoiding injuries was just as important.

Deep inside, he did not think that it was a bad thing for Forest to lose to England. Forest was not hoping to change anything with this friendly match so this result would ensure their safety and give Twain what he wanted, a win-win situation.

However, what O’Neill said later destroyed his fantasy.

“Even so, I don’t think that his England C team can defeat my Nottingham Forest.”

Kerslake turned to look at his manager. After so many days, this was his first time hearing O’Neill say “my Nottingham Forest”.

If he was facing some other opponent, O’Neill would never have said something like that. It looked like facing the previous manager of his team invoked a sense of crisis within this man. It was as if he was a lion trying to protect his territory and he was unwilling to retreat even for a little bit against the provocation of the previous leader of the pack. Was it instinct or responsibility? Kerslake did not know.

Twain did not want to lose this match so that he could establish his position in the England team whereas Martin O’Neill did not want to lose to Twain’s England team because he was not happy about living in Tony Twain’s shadows. The former for survival, the latter for glory.

These two had a good relationship privately but they would not hold back because of that.

He was suddenly looking forward to the match tomorrow.

What would the City Ground look like tomorrow?

※※※

This match was scheduled to be played in the afternoon. The temperature of Nottingham at the end of July was very hot and even though the kick-off timing of the match was at four-thirty in the afternoon where the temperature was a little lower, it was still very hot.

Despite the heat and the glaring sun, the passionate fans were not dissuaded from watching the match. The special meaning behind this game attracted almost all the Nottingham Forest fans to watch it and at the same time, the broadcasting vans of the media surrounded the whole City Ground, obstructing traffic.

Pepe saw this inside the bus and muttered, “Looks like we’re in time for the UEFA Champion’s League final… This is crazy.”

“They are all here for boss, aren’t they?” Bale got close to the window and looked at the fans below.

“Would they welcome him or boo him?” Gago chimed in, but everyone fell silent after he said that.

“Er…” Gago felt a little awkward, “Okay, take it as though I said nothing.”

He vocalized the concerns of everyone.

“Don’t think too much about it, prepare for the match,” Wood said from the side. He might be trying to ask Gago not to think too much but everyone felt that the atmosphere had become colder…

※※※

When the England bus arrived at the stadium, most of the fans had already entered. However, Twain still attracted everyone’s attention when he alighted. The media rushed over and he heard some scattered jeers.

He was not a fool, he knew who those boos were directed to. He could only act as though he did not hear it and walked quickly into the tunnel.

There were still reporters following behind him, asking, “Mr Twain, Mr Twain! How does it feel to be back home?”

This time, Twain did not even bother to give a fake reply. He acted like he did not hear it and entered the tunnel, leaving the reporter behind.

Back home?

This trip back home was not an easy one…

Chapter 898 - Welcome Home, Tony

In fact, the England national team’s tactics were very similar to Nottingham Forest’s. Other than they did not insist on just playing defensive counterattack, the features of the sudden attacks on the sidelines, the two wingers in full strength, simple and fast breakthroughs in the midfield were still very consistent. The England team’s ability for positional play was not very good, which neither Eriksson, McClaren nor Capello had completely resolved.

After Capello came on, he had tried ways and means to enrich the England team’s playing approach in the positional play, but with limited success. Compared to the Latin and European players from Italy, Portugal, Spain and France, the England team’s players had rough footwork skills. This fact had not been changed even though the English Premier League had flourished for so many years.

Now that Twain had taken over the England team, he was in no hurry to show England’s ability for positional play in this game. The easiest and most effective way was to get the team back the familiar path – to aim high for header shots, the two wingers in full strength, and the coordination between the sides and middle supplemented by long shots. Playing like this was definitely not good to watch, but the England fans did not care about it. After all, not all England fans were Arsenal fans at the same time.

The advantage of playing in this way was that the team was more familiar with it and Twain was also spared the worry. Given the ability of these current England players, they might be able to play any overly complex tactics. On the other hand, the Nottingham Forest players were coordinated. Even with a change of manager, the team’s strength had not suffered much.

Twain coped with the changes by staying constant. The tactics which had been developed before the game made all the England players feel very familiar – these were the best features of the training they received since young till they were older…

※※※

There was a big difference between the Crimson Stadium and the City Ground stadium. The players’ locker rooms and tunnel were shabby in the City Ground stadium even though they were renovated once in the 1990s to host the UEFA European Championship. They looked worn out after nearly two decades as compared with the modern Crimson Stadium.

Twain pushed open the locker room door and went out. He had to show up on the pitch earlier than the players.

Walking in the wide and bright tunnel, he turned into the hall.

The hall was more than twice as big as the one in the City Ground stadium. The smooth marble floor was like a mirror, reflecting everything on its surface. Twain looked down at his feet and scrutinize with his head tilted for a moment. Then he turned right and walked into the tunnel used specially to go out to the pitch.

The tunnel was wider than the one coming from the locker room. From what Twain could see, two Hummer Jeeps could even ride side by side. Just based on this detail, it was no wonder the Nottingham Forest club had been plagued by a financial crisis before – the budget was not a small one to build such a good stadium.

The left wall of the tunnel was painted with the team emblem of Nottingham Forest – a large white oak tree was on the red background. On the right wall, there was a sentence written on it: In addition to victory, it is still victory!

It was Twain’s suggestion at the time. He wanted to use this phrase to inspire the Forest players. They just had to turn their heads and they could see it from here before every home game, so that they could firmly remember what Nottingham Forest tradition was.

Unfortunately, he had already left the team and did not know if it would continue to be carried out.

Twain stopped in his tracks in the tunnel as he looked sideways at that phrase in a daze.

Above the players’ tunnel at Anfield, there was a saying: “This is Anfield.” The phrase was the brainchild of the famous godfather of The Reds, Shankly. He wanted every team which came here to compete, to know the opponent they were playing against. It was their hell here. And now a lot of Liverpool players would put their hands up to the sign before they entered the field for good luck. It almost became a tradition.

When Twain was still the Forest manager, he also wanted to use this method to remind his players that the pursuit of victory would always be a tradition for Nottingham Forest, whether it was during Clough’s era or in Tony Twain’s era.

The sound of footsteps came from behind. Des Walker walked up to Twain and also saw the same words on the wall.

“There’s definitely a touch of ‘Tony Twain’s style’.” He said with a laugh.

Twain ignored his teasing. He just turned around and walked toward the field outside as he said, “Let’s go.”

Before Twain had gone out, he could already see the media who had gathered there and been waiting outside through the exit of the tunnel. The number of media today seemed to have exceeded the number for a regular friendly match. It was too many even if it was a deliberate publicity campaign by the Forest Club.

Twain certainly knew who these people came for. He suddenly slowed down and let Des Walker, who was close behind him, overtake him.

From his spot, all he could see was a lot of frenetic media. What else was there in the area where he could not see, waiting for him?

His heartbeat suddenly increased, and he was more nervous than playing in the Champions League final.

He did not care about his enemies’ mocking and ridicule or abuses and attacks. But he could not ignore how his supporters would treat him now.

However, he could not hide in here and not go out. With so many media watching him, he did not want them to see that he had a weak side.

He readjusted the collar of his suit. This action seemed redundant because he was dressed neatly so far.

Then he stepped out.

The moment his figure appeared in the reporters’ field of view; the flashes of the cameras started working. And when he completely walked out of the tunnel and appeared in front of tens of thousands of people, those flashes merged into a big bright light and the clicking sound of the shutters fell incessantly on the ear.

Twain was still able to keep his composure in the face of the reporters. He walked to the home team’s technical area nonchalantly.

Des Walker could not close his agape mouth when he saw the scene next door. He really wanted to remind Tony that he went the wrong way…

The fans who noticed this in the stands also burst into laughter.

“Ah ha, what do we have here? Tony Twain has walked to the wrong place! Ha ha! This is a rare occurrence. Don’t tell me he still thinks he’s the manager of Nottingham Forest?” The commentator in charge of the commentary for the game had a gleeful emphasis and tone.

David Kerslake, who was sitting in the home team’s technical area, looked a little embarrassed when he saw Twain directly walked over here. Eastwood, on the other hand, continued to watch with interest. He wanted to see how the chief would resolve this predicament.

In fact, in the moment Twain turned toward that direction, he knew he was going in the wrong direction – he was used to walking to the home team’s technical area Nottingham Forest’s home ground. But he forgot his current status. But he did not immediately turn around and go back. That would be too obvious. So, he continued walking and even thought of the countermeasure to deal with the situation.

When he saw Martin O’Neill from far away, Twain had already offered to shake his hand first. He looked like he wanted to shake the hand of the other man.

O’Neill also got up and walked towards Twain when he saw him doing that. The two men shook hands in front of the throngs of media.

“It turns out to be just a handshake.” The commentator was very disappointed.

The laughter in the stands subsided when they saw Twain and O’Neill shaking hands. Perhaps the crowd waiting to watch the show felt that the result was too boring.

But the reporters had other ideas – was this considered a formal handover between the old and new Forest managers? They even helped the both of them scripted their lines:

Twain: I’m handing my team to you. Don’t let me down.

O’Neill: Rest assured, our goal is still to be the champion!

But the two men did not exchanged any words. They just shook hands. Then O’Neill gave way to the technical area behind him, knowing that Twain did not just want to say hello to him alone.

Sure enough, Twain walked toward the assistant manager, Kerslake after he let go of O’Neill’s hand.

Kerslake also wanted to shake Twain’s hand like O’Neill did, but he did not expect Twain to hug him.

While he held Kerslake, Twain still did not speak and patted him hard. Then he let go of Kerslake, who was still in a daze, and headed toward Eastwood.

Eastwood did not behave as woodenly as Kerslake. While laughing, he hugged Twain, and even whispered in Twain’s ear, “Good luck, chief.”

Just like that, Twain shook hands and hugged everyone in the Nottingham Forest coaching staff in turn, as the media followed the entire proceeding and filmed everything.

“He looks more like the master here than Martin O’Neill. Look at his calm demeanor…” John muttered in the stands.

“He won’t be calm anymore in a moment!” Bill shrieked beside him.

John ignored him and stood in the new stands to applaud Twain.

There were not many people like John in the stadium. More people booed like Bill did.

They obviously could not forget what Twain did two months ago.

After hugging and shaking hands with all the Forest coaches, Twain walked toward the visiting team’s technical area surrounded by the reporters. At this time, the fans’ boos became more intense and obvious.

In this way, Twain came to his seat subjected to a hailstorm of loud boos.

Kerslake looked at Twain with some concern and looked the surroundings again. He’d imagined the scenario of Twain’s return, but he did not expect the Forest team to really be so divided to this point.

The commentator was also a little perplexed as he muttered, “Just listen to the boos. They’re all directed at one person…”

The telecast gave Twain a long close-up shot, in which Twain tightly pursed his lips in the frame and did not look up to take a glance at the fans in the stands. His eyes looked unfocused like he was gazing afar.

“What a shame. This is the welcome given to the former king of the Forest team. Ha!” Carl Spicer quipped in the stands. He had another topic of discussion in his program in the evening.

Some extreme fans not only booed Twain, but also raised their middle fingers at him and shouted abuses.

Twain’s face was expressionless, and next to him, Walker looked at him with a worried look. He was afraid that his heart could not bear such provocation. But Twain did not suddenly collapse. He stood in place and let the boos ring out overhead. He allowed the reporters around him to take pictures non-stop.

“I bet he must regret not wearing his sunglasses when he came out in his mind.” Spicer glanced at the television set next to him, which was screening a close-up shot of Twain’s face.

Dunn, who saw the scene in the stands, sighed softly.

※※※

The boos kept on, and the players who were waiting to appear in the tunnel all heard it clearly. They gathered in twos and threes to discuss.

“What’s going on out there?”

“Who knows?”

“Cough … Well, it’s all because of the boss.”

“The hisses are for him? No way!” The Forest players were very surprised. To hear hissing against Tony Twain at Nottingham Forest’s home ground was almost comparable to the orbital revolution cycle of Comet Hale–Bopp, which paid a visit to Earth only once in three thousand years.

The Forest players were so surprised that their talking grew louder. The England players next to them also heard clearly and they became interested. The two teams, which were originally in two rows, mingled together. They could not be blamed for doing so as the booing outside was spectacular.

When the Forest team played in the City Ground stadium, once the grandstand, which could only hold up to thirty thousand people, hissed in unison, the momentum could make every visiting team feel a huge psychological pressure. Now in the Crimson Stadium, the capacity of sixty thousand people did more than just doubled the volume of the booing.

When a visiting team played here, the boos of sixty thousand people were shared among the eleven players. And now that all the booing was borne by one person as one could well imagine the pressure. These players could not imagine how long they could bear the power of the hissing if it were to be them.

※※※

Twain still stood motionless in front of the technical area.

John looked at the stubborn figure and surveyed the surroundings. The people who booed as if their lives depended on it made up the majority. He knew what he was going to do was not going to be welcomed, but he still had to do it. Otherwise he would be letting down his own conscience.

He beckoned several of his companions who held the same view as himself. He took out a red cloth from his backpack and handed one end of the cloth to one of his companions. He pulled the other end himself.

The two people stood apart and pulled the cloth to a certain distance. With a shake of their hands, a banner appeared in the grandstand.

Welcome home, Tony!

“Hey, John!” Bill looked at his friend in anger. By doing this, he was sabotaging him.

“Leave me alone, Bill. You boo all you want; I’ll do what I want. Neither of us should stand in each other’s way.” John ignored Bill’s threatening glare and continued to hold the banner as he stood in his seat.

The television broadcast director also noticed the new banner in the stands. Unlike the surrounding slogans that were insulting and mocking Twain, it was a greeting full of warmth and attention grabbing.

It was not known if Twain saw it, but the camera footage first cut over.

“It looks like he does not find himself utterly isolated.” The commentator said after seeing the banner.

“Tony.” Walker, who noticed the banner, said as he nudged Twain to ask him to look.

Twain turned his head and saw John’s banner as well. The corner of his mouth curled up. There was a noticeable change of expression on his face for the first time and this time he smiled.

Then he no longer cared about the reporters who were taking photographs of him. He turned around and sat back in the technical area.

※※※

When the players came out of the tunnel, the booing of Twain finally stopped.

As it was a game to celebrate the opening of the Forest team’s new stadium for use, the arrangement in terms of the appearances was not the same as a regular game. The England team came out first, followed by the Nottingham Forest players. The broadcast would loudly announce every player’s name as he made his appearance, prompting a warm response from the fans.

The Forest fans dedicated their cheers to the glorious Treble winning team, and every Forest player who made an appearance received thunderous cries.

As the captain of the team, George Wood received the loudest cheers, but he maintained his special trait of indifference and did not respond to the cheers from the fans.

The last to run out was the center back, Pepe, who was going to partner with the Brazilian center back, Thiago Silva in the starting lineup. The fans also gave him the same applause and cheers, but he did not wave in response like several of his teammates who came out before him. After which, he ran out with his head held high.

Before he ran onto the field and gathered with his teammates, he turned a corner midway through and ran straight to the visitors’ technical area.

Then, under thousands of staring eyes, he did an action that no one thought of – he opened his arms and gave the unsuspecting Tony Twain a bear hug.

The cheers came to a spontaneous end. The gigantic Crimson Stadium suddenly fell into an awkward silence.

“… Pepe gave Tony Twain an unexpected hug. He seemed to be saying something in Twain’s ear. . ..” The commentator could not understand what was going on with Pepe. Nowadays, anyone who was not a fool, could see the Forest fans’ dislike of Twain. In that case, why would he risk offending all the fans as a Forest player to greet Twain so warmly. Why on earth did he do that for? Could it be that he did not want to continue to be in this team?

Twain looked equally surprised on the television camera shot. He was not surprised because of Pepe’s action, but because of what Pepe said in his ear.

“I’m sorry, boss.” Pepe whispered in his ear. At this moment, the stadium was quiet, and his voice could be heard clearly in Twain’s ears. He said, “I’ve decided to leave here. After playing this game, I’m going to Milan, Italy. AC Milan, that’s my next stop…”

Hearing Pepe’s words, Twain suddenly felt that the Champions League life or death final two months ago was like a dream…

“I know why you left the team, so I also don’t want to stay here any longer. Thank you, boss, thank you. The years I had played for you were my most valuable asset.”

Pepe finished speaking, and hugged Twain hard before letting him go to run back to the field. No one cheered this time. If he listened carefully, he could hear some sporadic boos.

Twain was still sitting in a real leather seat as he stared blankly at Pepe, who returned to the team.

“Pepe! You really did it!” Gareth Bale stared with widened eyes at the center back who ran back.

“Heh heh. Did you think I was kidding?” The returned Pepe smiled proudly and said, “I did what I said I would do!”

While Pepe was bragging about his “feat” to his teammate, Evan Doughty in the chairman’s podium stared at his back with a somber expression. This was the first time someone in the team had openly challenged his authority. It was a dangerous sign. Initially, he was not going to consider the offers for Pepe from the big teams. After all, he was the core of the Forest team’s defense. But now he had to change his mind. Having just won the Treble, the thirty-one-year-old Pepe could still fetch a good price. If he waited a year later, he might not be able to sell him even if he wanted to…..

Twain did not have to raise his head to look around behind to know what expression Evan Doughty, the chairman, had on his face at this moment. When the fans in the stadium booed him, Evan must have been pleased because that meant the fans did not direct the hate at the club, but at him. In this way, his pressure was gone. But Pepe’s action signaled that there were people in the team who were unhappy with the club’s senior management. It was a dangerous development. The locker room had begun to break up.

The photojournalists who were gathered in front of Twain, dispersed. Their target was currently the players. Thanks to them, Twain could see the Forest players as he sat in his chair.

Those guys were standing in formation for a group photo. It was not the official group photo that every club would take before the season. But it could very well be the last more complete group photo of Tony Twain’s era.

What could be more heartbreaking than to watch the gradual collapse of the dynasty he had built by hand on the sidelines?

Twain thought for a long while and could not find it.

The exquisite statues carved out of marble, the bejeweled palace built with jade bricks and columns, the silver-inlaid and gold decorations seemed to have lost the vitality of life. Piece by piece collapsed, fell to the ground and cracked into pieces. The colors gradually dimmed and lost the luster. Very soon, everything would be weathered into sand. With another gust of wind, even the sand on the ground could not be seen.

Chapter 899 - The Determination to Win

More than fifty thousand home fans used boos to “welcome” Tony Twain had now become a thing of the past. The referee blew the whistle to start the game and the fans turned their attention to cheering for the Forest team, leaving Tony Twain aside.

Judging from the game, the home team, Nottingham Forest clearly had the upper hand. After all, they had played together for years. Even if the manager was changed, there was no loss to the rapport. Furthermore... even if they were facing a team led by their original boss, there was no need for them to throw the game. Twain did not teach them to throw a game when they played against old friends.

Nottingham Forest’s locker room was clearly divided into three factions. One of the factions comprised of staunch supporters of Tony Twain, such as Pepe. The other was made of players who were full of grievances against Twain. If a representative figure were to be named... Wood could be considered as one of them. There was also a middle-of-the-road faction. They did not clearly express their views and had no obvious feelings like Pepe’s or Wood’s toward Tony Twain’s departure. These people occupied the majority.

These divisions was also reflected during the game. George Wood was particularly driven. He tirelessly shuttled back and forth in the midfield to intercept and actively plugged to participate in the attacks.

O’Neill gave up the 4-2-3-1 formation that Twain had originally used to play and switched to the 4-4-2 formation. With Wood in the midfield as the only defensive midfielder, ?ahin played as the attacking midfielder. The two midfielders were Fernández and Bentley. The forwards were Aaron Mitchell and Agbonlahor. The full backs were Gareth Bale, Pepe, Thiago Silva and Rafinha from left to right. The goalkeeper remained as Akinfeev.

The lineup was no different from that during Twain’s time. It looked like O’Neill still intended to follow the main framework left by Twain. But if Pepe’s words were true, O’Neill would soon have to worry about finding another center back.

On the side of the England team, a group of players, temporary pieced together to form a C team, had to play the away game with little motivation, tacit understanding and technical tactics. They were really lucky that they did not concede a goal to Nottingham Forest in the opening ten minutes.

The defender, Jack Cork passed the football to the midfielder, Delph. It was supposed to be an ordinary fifteen-meter diagonal pass, which was a technical move that any professional footballer would have. But Cork lost the ball. Cork could not be blamed, because Delph was partly at fault as well.

The moment Cork passed the ball, Delph thought Cork was going to dribble the ball himself, so he stood still. But Cork’s pass needed Delph to start running to receive it, so Delph missed the ball and it rolled straight to ?ahin’s feet.

The fans in the stands gave Cork a burst of laughter for his passing error.

Dunn shook his head when he saw the scene in the stands and said, “It’s really a motley crew.”

He was right. The England team was a motley crew. Some of the players had rarely or never been selected for the national team before. And now they were put together at the last minute. How could they be expected to play well? hard work in the hope that they will do well? It was simply delusional.

Twain listened to the laughter of the Forest fans off the field. He was not annoyed nor anxious. Indeed, these players were not good enough and inexperienced, but they had an advantage that no one else had noticed – the team in front of him was had more fighting spirit than that England team with big name players, because they had more reason to work hard.

If you want to me to pick you, you have to show me your drive and fight hard.

※※※

But the motley crew remained a motley crew. After the England team held on for twenty-five minutes, the goal defended by Chris Kirkland was finally breached with a header from Aaron Mitchell.

The cheers which erupted from the Crimson Stadium this time were louder than the cheers welcoming the Forest players. The deafening sound was like the Niagara Falls pouring down in torrents next to the ears. It roared continuously like rolling thunder, surging in everyone’s heart.

It was the first time Twain experienced the power of the new stadium. He was a little unsettled from the shock – it must be gratifying to play in such a such stadium as compared to the City Ground stadium.

“The goalscorer is Aaron—” The announcer on the stadium broadcast led the fans to loudly chant.

“Mitchell!!!” The fans in the stands shouted in response.

“In the 26th minute, Aaron Mitchell scored the opening goal for Nottingham Forest! A beautiful coordination on the sideline and cut in for the shot in the middle! David Wheater and Anton Ferdinand were helpless against Mitchell’s height and bounce advantage! Before the game, people were afraid that Nottingham Forest, without Tony Twain, would play uncharacteristically as if they had lost their soul. But from this goal, the fear was superfluous. The Forest players are quick to adapt to their new manager. They are also unfazed and do not relent when they face Tony Twain... It looks like Tony Twain’s first national team game is going to meet with failure!” The commentator’s tone sounded like he took delight in the misfortune. In fact, to see the always strong Twain suffer defeat was the wish of many people. The commentator was no exception.

The reaction from the fans after the goal was enthusiastic, but the goalscorer was not in the mood to celebrate. On the one hand, it was just a friendly match and could not even be considered a quality warm-up game. There was nothing to be proud of to score a goal. On the other hand, it was because he was up against Tony Twain, the boss. The man whom Mitchell should be most grateful for his career in his life was Tony Twain. If it were not for him, it was likely that he would still be playing as the unpromising center back all his life and then be abandoned by the Forest team before ended up playing in a lower level league team and eventually retiring in obscurity. He was on the side of Pepe.

After the goal, Mitchell was not even in the mood to wave in response to the fans’ cheers for him. He just turned around and ran back. Occasionally he would shake his head and felt that the players the boss had picked were too weak...

Those who were really happy with the goal were Martin O’Neill and Evan Doughty. The former was happy because it was possible to beat Tony Twain. While a friendly match could not clarify too many issues, it certainly allow him to temporarily get rid of Tony Twain’s shadow. People would not always use the tedious and complicated label “Tony Twain’s successor” when they mentioned him.

The latter’s delight was that he heard the cheers erupted from the stands. The people’s hearts were still on his side...

Twain expressed a slight dissatisfaction with the goal concede. He shook his head in the technical area as he said to Walker, “The defense is not tight enough…We shouldn’t have given Bentley a chance to pass the ball.”

Walker nodded and said, “It can’t be helped, Tony. They’ve only been practicing together for half a day. I don’t think we should care about the result of this game...”

“No.” Twain categorically rejected Walker’s suggestion, “We must win this game.”

Walker did not go on. He could vaguely guess why Twain must win the game. The reason was complicated. In addition to establishing his power and prestige, perhaps he was provoked by the boos during his entrance. When did Tony Twain ever admit defeat? Give in? If people booed him, he had to prove his power. Simply put, he just liked to meet other people head-on. As a man with such a strong personality, no wonder he offended so many people.

Walker felt he might really be the most suitable candidate to be England’s assistant manager. If someone else were to be Twain’s assistant, he was afraid that the person might be at odds with him soon. Only those like him who knew Twain so well could act as a lubricant to oil the wheels.

On closer inspection, the person who could be an assistant manager to Twain must be a Mr. Nice Guy, someone who tried never to offend anybody. Like David Kerslake, or the Chinese man, Dunn. No wonder Roy Keane was said to have turned down two offers from Twain to be an assistant manager. If the Irishman had agreed, the two of them might not have been friends...

※※※

The Nottingham Forest fans were optimistic about the result of the game, especially after Mitchell’s goal. They thought it was not a problem for them to win. The issue laid in how many goals the team could win against the England C team. If they won big in the end, they would have the most satisfying afternoon.

Twain observed off the field for a while and decided to make an adjustment. Taking advantage of a dead ball, he called the captain, Ashley Cole, who was near his side, over to him and repeatedly exhorted for a while.

Back on the pitch, Ashley Cole relayed Twain’s latest instructions to his teammates. Following which, the England team tightened their formation and began to move into a defensive phase.

Twain saw that Nottingham Forest’s morale had soared amid wave after wave of support from the fans. Looking at O’Neill’s excited state on the sidelines, he could conceived that the Forest team would definitely take advantage of the momentum to wage an offensive later in the game. Therefore, based on the England team’s current state, if they wanted to press ahead and go head to head with the Forest team, it would end up in a disaster. If they were to concede another goal, Twain would not have the confidence to win the game.

So, he chose to retreat, which was really ugly to watch.

The commentator laughed, “We are now seeing Tony Twain’s signature move again. Nottingham Forest’s new manager, Martin O’Neill, is clearly more active. He’s directing his team to press on to attack and try to score another goal.”

Having paid the price of playing ugly football and being ridiculed, Twain’s team managed to hold the 0:1 score line until the halftime interval. No matter how Nottingham Forest bombarded, the England team’s goal did not fall. It was boring for the fans in the stands –the opponent was obviously England’s C team, put together at the last minute but the team was unable to overcome them even when the entire main force were deployed.

Defending to the last was very simple. All everyone had to do was to huddle together and be clear about what they wanted to do.

With only half a day of practice time, Twain made the team practice defense. At the time, everyone thought it was odd. Now they finally understood the pains the manager had put into this ...

By the time the whistle sounded at the halftime interval, Twain was the first to get up from his seat and take the lead to walk toward the tunnel. When the camera wanted to give Twain another close-up shot, it could only capture a shot of his back in the tunnel.

“It was an extremely boring first half. As long as Tony Twain is around, the game can’t look good. Martin O’Neill has brought a breath of fresh air to Nottingham Forest while Tony Twain brings what he did best at the Forest team to the England team. We don’t know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. But like what Twain himself has said, a victory is the only measure of a manager’s success. As long as he can lead the team to victory, those voices which doubt him will disappear.”

※※※

Twain watched the players filed into the locker room. He closed the door when everyone was there. The soundproofing of the new stadium was much better than the City Ground stadium. The noise outside was almost impossible to hear as soon as the door was closed.

“I have to praise you all for the good performance in the second part of the first half. You have defended against the Treble winning team’s attacks. I have nothing to complain about, considering you have only been a team for only one day and only concede one goal.” Twain first gave the group of people something sweet before...

“But.” He changed tack and said, “Do you still remember what our goal is for this game? It’s not to win marginally with one goal here and not even to tie the game with the home team. I want you to understand this point—” He raised his right index finger and continued, “The difference between the national team and a club’s team. When you play for your respective clubs, you have to face a long season, at least thirty-eight games a year. During the process, draws and defeats are allowed. It doesn’t matter if this game is lost. We can win the next game. But the national team is not the same. The room you are allowed to have here for mistakes and defeats is very small. I do not know how many of you can eventually make it to my national team squad list. But I hope you can develop a habit here – to try your best to seek victory in any game.”

He smiled for a bit and said, “From now on I am the manager of the England team and you must remember that. I’m a man who likes to win and hates defeat. My team also has to like to win and hate to lose.”

The players looked at him quietly.

“Don’t tell me there’s someone who likes to lose?” He asked.

Someone shook his head.

“Well it looks like we now have a common language and a common goal.” Twain spread his hands and said, “We will play defensive counterattack in the second half. They will use the sidelines to threaten our goal. We will, in turn, take advantage of the empty space behind their two sidelines.”

Twain was very familiar with Nottingham Forest, even with the change of manager. Twain had discovered that the Forest team had not changed much through his observation in the first half. At least they had maintained the offense on the sidelines which they were best at, very well. Did the Forest team’s only goal now come from the attack in the sidelines?

“Do not pass the ball too much in the midfield, play more high balls, and try your best to do long passes.” Twain was referring to the English style of long balls that were once sneered at by countless people before. But it was rather good to use it to deal with the increasingly elegant Nottingham Forest.

Martin O’Neill had instilled a certain beauty in Nottingham Forest’s style. Their playing was a joy to watch. It had been worth it after working on them for more than a month. What he did not notice, however, was that the current Nottingham Forest team was slowly losing the most important thing.

“You guys have to play with a slightly tougher attitude. Don’t be afraid of getting hurt! How could you get hurt? You’re the ones driving it, not them. Only the passive side will get hurt. So, the more afraid you are of injuries, the more likely you will be injured. Give yourselves the free rein to go big. It’s going to be okay!”

“?ahin passes the ball well, but he has been seriously injured before. So, he’s apprehensive about physical contact. You can grab hold of that point and stick closer to him to tackle. There must be some petty maneuvers too to make him unable to pass the ball easily. Mitchell’s techniques and headers are good. But don’t let his height fool you, his physical ability is very weak, and physical fitness is his weakness. Force him to run continuously and go head to head with him so as to exhaust him sooner. Then he will not be as threatening later in the game. Agbonlahor is fast, but his goal-kicking method is rough. There is nothing to worry about. Just don’t let him shoot from the sidelines. Blocking Mitchell will be the same as blocking Agbonlahor...” Twain analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of all the Nottingham Forest players one by one to his players. He told them how to deal with each of them. Except for those players who only joined the team this summer, he covered almost everyone once. He was very familiar with Nottingham Forest. He was so familiar that he did not need to do his homework in advance. He had the information at his fingertips, and he could talk about it as much as he wanted.

Then he had to touch on George Wood.

He was stuck.

He did not know what to say. He knew Wood well, but he could not talk about how to deal with this kid. He waved his hands and said nothing, leaving the players, who were full of anticipation about it, a little disappointed and confused.

※※※

Martin O’Neill was not satisfied with his team’s performance in the first half as he had deployed the main squad only to score 1:0, knowing that their opponent was England’s C team.

If Tony Twain were here, he would have abuse roundly right away. He would have rebuked them for ending the first half with only a one-goal lead when they were playing against such a terrible team. But O’Neill could not do that. If he were to really do that, his approval rating in the locker room would plummet.

It was just so unfair. The more Twain scolded, the more charming he was, while the other people had to carefully wait upon the team.

After O’Neill tactfully expressed his displeasure, he rearranged the tactics. He thought that Twain would stick to the defensive counterattack tactic in the second half, which was not a difficult thing to do for a man who had studied him thoroughly. Generally speaking, the defensive counterattack tactic would only be used when a team was in the lead. But Twain always used it when his team was trailing by one goal. On the one hand, he could ensure that they did not continue to concede the goal. On the other hand, he could rely on a sneak attack to equalize the score, and then disrupt the opponent’s formation. The hateful part was he had repeatedly succeeded, and the method was time-tested.

The order O’Neill gave to the Forest team was to fight to score first once the game started. If the situation was not ideal, then they would pull back the defensive line and contend with Twain in the midfield. Anyway, if they were to compete in the midfield, Nottingham Forest would definitely win.

After he finished talking about the tactics, O’Neill repeated his demands. “We must win this game!”

The players looked at each other and suddenly felt that this was not just a simple friendly match to celebrate the opening of the Crimson Stadium...

Chapter 900 - Principles

Twain substituted players out in the second half of the game. Because this was only a friendly match, the limit to substitution was decided by both parties, unlike in a real match where they were limited to three substitutions. According to the agreement between both parties, the maximum number of substitutions in this match was 11.

Even in England’s third-tier team, only a few of the players who had been released by the club agreed to play full-time, and Twain did not promise the opposing club that any player would only play half a match at most. As a newly elected National team, the international results of this team was like a blank white piece of paper to Twain, so his current attitude was extremely humble. Even on media, he did not have any attention-seeking rumours spreading.

After the half-time break, Twain substituted four men at once:James Milner for Joe Cole, Michael Johnson for Mark Noble, Paul Pepper for Ashley Cole who had just recovered from his injury, and James Vaughn for Darren Bent.

Unlike the huge substitutions from Twain’s side Martin O’Neill’s side did not make any moves in the starting five minutes of the second half. He did not make any substitutions.

“It looks like O’Neill wants to win this game,” Twain mumbled from the coach’s chair.

O’Neill’s thinking was very simple: Nottingham Forest’s strongest squad was sure to stay on the pitch for a while, as his plan was to aggressively attack England’s penalty area at the start of the second half to score. If he made substitutions at the start of the second half, how could they even attack?

So when the score was still 1-0 five minutes after the start of the second half, he was a little nervous. He got up from his seat and paced back and forth on the sidelines. At the same time, the mind was quickly calculating the possibilities and countermeasures for those possibilities.

If England’s goal could not be blasted in another ten minutes, then they would have to replace most of the main players and give them sufficient rest. At the same time they would also have to shrink the formation, switch into defence, and face England. O’Neill had the confidence that it would be almost impossible to break through the goalmouth of his team given the strength of the England team. Even if winning this match on a 1:0 score was below their expectations, at least they would have won.

What if England tied with them? Then replace a small number of key players, maintain relevant amount of potential, and continue to attack. Try to fight for the lead again.

Being different from the overly distracted Martin O’Neill, Tony Twain had been sitting at the platform with a peaceful mindset. He cocked his legs on the leather chair. England pulled back its defensive line like he commanded to compress Nottingham Forest’s space and time in front of their penalty area, which made Nottingham Forest a little uncomfortable. O’Neill wanted the team to look better in their game, so there were a lot of short passes, especially on the midfield. This was not necessary for Twain, but perhaps O’Neill chose to do so in order to deliberately differentiate himself from Twain.

It was the same situation for another ten minutes; Nottingham Forest still failed to find a good chance to get into the England penalty area, relying more on long-range shots to try to score, but this also caused England a bit of trouble. At half-time, Twain asked the team to take advantage of Nottingham Forest’s void which had opened up due to their assisting side flanks, but after 15 minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest’s two wing-backs did not actively assist the offense, which seemed to be O’Neill’s intention. Bale and Rafinha only crossed the centre line after the whole England team retreated to their 30m zone.

So Twain’s side flank counterattack tactic could not be utilized.

Fifteen minutes later, O’Neill saw that his team could not score, while Twain’s offense was not effective as well, so he decided to make substitutions.

He substituted Cohen for Fernandez, Mok for Bentley, Gago for Shahin and Ibi?evi?for Agbonlahor. He also substituted four players at a time, but he did not touch any person who was on the defensive line. He was very careful, not wanting to give Twain any chance at all.

Twain saw O’Neill’s replacement and knew this was his chance.

So he got up from his seat for the first time in the second half and walked to the sidelines.

Jeers erupted from the stands when the audience saw him get up and walk, but it fell on deaf ears. Twain simply shouted the names of the players on the pitch and signalled for them to increase their press on the other team.

O’Neill had George Wood to rely upon, so he wanted to turn the present Nottingham Forest into a team that could play beautiful football, a far cry from the fast passing midfield that Twain has stressed before. His efforts had been slightly effective: today, the midfield performance of Nottingham Forest is a lot better as compared to the team before, there were layers of layers of offence as the whole team was coordinated in taking their respective positions in the offense, allowing Nottingham Forest’s offense to be as smooth as a flowing river.

But this method of his did not have its desired effect in front of England who was heavily emphasizing on defense.

O’Neill also decided to make some adjustments.

Forest’s only goal in the first half was through a pass from the sideline, and now it looked like he needed to restore the coordinated attacks from both wings. He gestured on the sidelines to get Bale and Rafinha to get back into offense.

This was the signal Bale and Rafinha wanted to see to most. Due to their offensive mindsets, only attacking would allow them to get the sense of satisfaction.

After Bale passed the ball to Cohen, he did not wait to see the situation at the back to decide whether to attack. This time, he was very determined to step up, and overtook Cohen.

As a teammate who worked together with him for several seasons, Chris Cohen also knew what Bale meant. Now that the coach had let go the limits on the wing assistance and with his faith in Bale’s attacking ability, Cohen passed the ball forward.

It must be said that the national team that Twain temporarily cobbled together had a big gap in strength with Nottingham Forest. Jack Cook was unable to stop Bale’s strike alone, and Ferdinand did not come up first because of their lack of chemistry. The two men let Bale rush past them just like that.

There was a huge cheer in the stands, cheering on Bale’s breakthrough. They were eager to see Nottingham Forest score another goal because a 1:0 score was really not impressive. Besides, they knew the opponents of Nottingham Forest was a rubbish team —= they were a third tier team!

Seeing Bale break through made Twain a little nervous. He knew Bale was usually like a little monkey that looked harmless to humans and animals, but he was a complete maniac during games and his performance was steady and atypical of players in his age group. This was the reason why Twain valued him initially, but it had also become the reason he was very worried in the moment.

Mitchell could be still waiting in the penalty area, once he passes the ball in…

Twain raised a fist intuitively.

Bale did pass a high ball and this time it was Wheater who saved England and Tony Twain. David, who was 1.9 metres tall, secured the positive, preventing Mitchell from fighting for the header as he actively jumped to head the ball out.

The cheers in the stands immediately devolved into sighs.

Twain fist didn’t let go, because he saw another scene which he had been waiting for for ten minutes.

Wheater’s header did not fall at the feet of Nottingham Forest players but at Delphi’s feet, and it was just nice that Delphi wason the same side as Bale. Because Bale had just went forward to assist the attack, he was not able to get back into defense.

“Counter attack!” Twain screamed from the side lines. For a moment, he forgot that he was at the Crimson Stadium playing against Nottingham Forest, the team he had coached for 11 years. His mind only wanted the jeers in the stands to disappear for a while, as the words in the deep red stadium tunnel would resurface.

Other than victory, it would still be victories. That was what my way of life was, no matter if I changed my team.

Delphi also noticed this gap, but he did not dribble the ball forward by himself, as no matter how fast a person ran, they could not run faster than a ball flying in the air.

He passed the ball to James Vaughan, who only came on in the second half, and Everton’s leading scorer also ran towards the side flank. Although they had previously trained together for a very long time, tactical literacy from his many years as a professional soccer player had at least given him the knowledge of taking advantage of the opposing gap during the attack.

Delphi and he thought of this together. He was just about to read the side flank when Delphi passed the ball over.

The wing-back spot was empty as the full-center back and the defensive midfielder had to run over the cover up that gap.

George Wood was as fierce as ever as he rushed up to break Vaughn’s ball. As a veteran opponent in the Premier League, Vaughan certainly knew what Wood was good at, he did have the arrogance to think he could get away under Wood’s drive, the smartest thing to do was to get the ball out before he pounces…

Wood knocked Vaughan over, but instead of whistling to signal Nottingham Forest’s foul, the head referee raised both hands towards the attacking direction, indicating an advantage given to the current attacking team — continue the match!

Before Wood reached, Vaughan passed the football to his Everton’s team-mate, Joseph Baxter, who just pressed forward from the midfielder.

Nottingham Forest’s centre-back was still keeping an eye on another striker, Fraser Campbell. Including the assistance on the most recent attack, the defensive strength was not sufficient; other than the two center-backs, there was only George Wood.

Baxter was almost completely unguarded.

Pepe and Tiago Silva made another mistake in the coordination at this moment – by reason, one of them should have gone up to defend Baxter while the other stayed behind to watch Campbell, but both of them ran forward instinctively when they saw Baxter received the ball.

In that moment, Baxter passed the ball. He passed the ball to Campbell, who was in front but still not offside.

When Campbell received the ball, he was behind Nottingham Forest’s entire back line, with no one around.

Silva raised his hand to signal Campbell’s offside, but the head and line referees were unresponsive.

Only Pepe turned and lunged at Campbell.

He was too late. Campbell had already broken into the penalty area, as Pepe could only trip Campbell in the penalty area when he reached.

This time, the head referee and the line referee finally had a reaction, the side judge raised the flag and kept shaking, while the main referee whistled as he ran to the penalty spot in the penalty area!

“A penalty!” The announcer shouted.

O’Neill glared at this scene on the sidelines as he could hardly believe what he had seen.

The narrator continued narrating about Pepe who fouled, “In the Champions League final he also given such a penalty to Real Madrid, in this match he gave another big gift yet again. Was Pepe trying to give Tony Twain a hand? Thinking back to the hug he had with Tony Twain before the match, what were they talking about during the hug?”

The surprised fans at the stands were expressing their dissatisfaction towards this decision by the referee by boo-ing. Perhaps some were even thinking this was Pepe’s hidden agenda.

In any case, England got a “lucky” penalty just like this. Vaughan’s penalty was clean as it turned the score into a 1:1 draw.

Looking at his team’s goal, Twain did not make the exaggerated celebratory moves on the sidelines like he used to in the past to provoke his opponents. He did not even applaud and simply stood at the side lines like a huge marble statue.

Taking everything into consideration, there was no reason why there was no happy expression on his face or any excited actions, allowing the England players to accept him as the new head coach. But Twain gave up this opportunity to deepen his relationship with his players because, deep down, he could not bring himself to celebrate that was while he was competing against Nottingham Forest.

Even until this moment, Nottingham Forest was still not the enemy to him, and would not ever be even n the future because the England national team would hardly have a chance to play against them. They were supposed to be parallel lines which does not disturb each other at all, but the wronged fate brought them together today.

He was not mentally prepared to revisit Nottingham Forest so early…

The fans could jeer at him because they had a reason to hate him. He could also lead the team to victory over Nottingham Forest here because he could not go against his work ethic. But at least he could choose not to celebrate after the team’s goal, which might make him and the fans feel a lot better emotionally.

But he could not make the reason why he chose not to celebrate obvious for the outsiders, so he could only act cool with a straight face, as if he was disappointed in the team taking so long to even out the score. At the very least, he successfully deceived the narrator.

“Tony Twain doesn’t seem to be satisfied with the even score, he was still keeping a straight face after the team scored. He was really a strict head coach, I can almost see the days of those pitiful England stars being under him, haha!”

Skinny Bill was still next to him as the die-hard fans were jeering to express their displeasure at the loss of goal, and Fat John did not care about the outcome of the game. He came here to see Twain but all he saw was the main standing stock-still in the same spot, not even lifting his hands or changing his posture, and John thought back to the past when Nottingham Forest scored. Tony Twain had been a lot more more attention-seeking compared to the players who scored. He would do a backflip, slide on his knees or even buried under the players’ embraces.

Such a scene was probably impossible to witness again, huh?

John sighed softly, then turned and left his seat while he headed for the exit.

“John? Not watching anymore?” Someone questioned him as he saw his unusual behaviour.

John shook his head, “Don’t want to watch anymore. ” He slowly moved his fat body and disappeared at the exit.

※※※

Fatty John left the stadium early so he did not watch the scene during the 80th minute, 20 minutes after Vaughan seized an error from the passing in the backlines of Nottingham Forest.

The stadium was dead silent, as if they had just lost the European championship. Those waiting to see Twain make a fool of himself and those wanting to overpower Twain were all frightened still, as their minds were blank and they did not know what to say. Even Bill did not know that such a powerful team like Nottingham Forest could be behind on their own home field against a third-tier England team.

England’s players on the pitch were excited as they embraced, celebrating their goal that put them ahead. But Twain was sitting at the coach seat this time with no expressions on his face at all. He was stubbornly respecting his internal principles of not making any celebratory moves for his team in a contest against Nottingham Forest.

But of the 50,000 people in the stands, how many of them could understand his ridiculous “principles”?

This Tony Twain! This abominable traitor! This incorruptible, shameless Judas! You betrayed us! You betrayed Nottingham Forest! To think you can still look so proud of yourself and act like nothing happened when you are ahead of us, that is simply unforgivable! How do you feel about beating your past favoured Nottingham Forest? Do you feel happy?

But we do not!

※※※

PS, Today ended a little later – regular updating will be restored tomorrow. There is not choice, not saving drafts is very painful… it will be painful for you guys and me as well.(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )

Chapter 901 - First Victory

When England scored a lucky goal to come from behind and lead the game, loud jeering could be heard from the stands of the Crimson Stadium which puzzled the England players. Logically speaking, the national team would never be treated this way when playing in any stadium in its home country, so why were they booed?

They were mistaken as they were not the target of the boos. The boos were targeted at Tony Twain, who was seated in the manager’s seat with his legs crossed, no expressions of his face…no, he seemed to be pulling a long face.

Bill knew why Twain was indifferent to the fact that England was leading. After all, he was the fan who was closest to Twain and he knew a little about Twain’s personality and how he behaved. He understood that Twain did not want to provoke the massive amount of Nottingham Forest fans and their players.

However, that was precisely why Bill was even more furious.

He was angered by Twain’s acting.

You’ve already left us, why are you acting like a good guy in front of us? Why can’t you play a real baddie for once? Let us vent all our anger and dissatisfaction to our hearts’ desire? Since you’re already gone, why are you afraid of offending us? Do you know how much you’ve offended us already? Tony! Are you hoping to come back and become Nottingham Forest’s manager again one of these days? If you’re coming back, why leave us in the first place? Us fans, who’ve been following you, what exactly are we in your eyes…nay, in your heart? A toy that you can discard and pick up again at will?

I’m very sorry, Tony. We’re humans who are very much alive. We have feelings too. You’ve brought us joy previously, but no amount of joy can make up for the hurt that you caused us this time. Did you think about how we felt when you were enjoying yourself in Brazil after you decided not to extend your contract?

The sky collapsed on us!

Bill led his buddies on the stands as they “presented” their wildest jeers to the man whom they used to cheer and worship before.

※※※

Amidst the jeering, Twain lowered his gaze and lost himself watching the tip of his shoes.

Des Walker looked at him with some concern beside him, as if he was afraid that Twain would not be able to take the abuse.

This man was really going against the whole world… There used to be the Nottingham Forest fans who would support him unconditionally but what about in future? If results did not go his way, Walker could imagine the media condemning him through both in speech and writing like a storm. When that happens, who would still be behind him to support him?

“Don’t worry about me, Des. I was just thinking if it’s time for me to change a new pair of shoes,” Twain said suddenly while looking down. His voice was still clear amidst the booing all around them.

Walker turn back and brought his gaze towards the pitch.

“Martin O’Neill will not allow the score to stay this way till the end of the game. He’ll make a series of changes later. Let’s wait and decide on our changes accordingly after looking at his adjustments,” Twain said. Walker nodded in agreement to his plans.

“Before that, ask the team to play on the counter.”

Twain gave the task of giving the latest instructions to the team to Walker instead of shouting it out to his team himself. Apparently, he still had some qualms regarding the booing around him.

After booing wildly for a period of time, the fans grew tired and they decided to place their attention on the match again.

Martin O’Neill was indeed unhappy with this result. He was of the opinion that even the Nottingham Forest reserves would be a stronger team than Twain’s England C team, there was no reason for him to lose to a team like this at home.

At the same time, he also knew very well that Evan Doughty at the VIP box would not want Nottingham Forest to lose in the game that commemorated the use of the new stadium, especially not to Tony Twain. This was a match that he had to win.

Even though the players on the field were better than the substitutes, O’Neill still decided to change them.

The foul by Pepe suddenly planted a thought into his head. Usually he would have laughed off a thought like this, but today, in this match, this situation, facing an opponent like this, he had to give it a serious consideration——The old players in Nottingham Forest, were they loyal to Forest or Tony Twain? If Tony Twain had accepted the invitation by Manchester United, how many of them would follow their respected teacher to Old Trafford?

This thought bit on to his sense of reasoning like a viper, and even though he knew it was absurd, he could not stop its spread.

He decided to bring off the players who were suspected to be “in cahoots with the enemy”, no matter how good they were.

Who could he rely on next?

Those substitute players who were promoted from the youth team, they hardly had any relationship with Twain, and they were hungry to play, hungry to demonstrate their abilities. They had stronger fighting spirit than the first team players, and they had the desire and reasons to fight. This was the kind of Nottingham Forest that Martin O’Neill needed.

Pepe was the first one to be brought off. He was even booed by the fans when he was leaving the pitch, but he still raised his hands to applaud the stand. Twain watched him quietly from the side as he completed his own send-off through such a method. He felt sad inside, but one could tell nothing from his expression.

He was replaced by the Cameroonian Nkoulou. Standing tall at 1.88 meters, he could play as a right-back or a center-back.

Next, Gareth Bale was brought off for Joe Mattock.

A minute later, Aaron Mitchell was brought off too. He was replaced by the Chilean striker, Nicolás Millán.

After that, Rafinha was brought off for John Bostock as O’Neil decided to change his formation from 442 to a more offensive 352 formation.

For those fans wishing to watch the performance of their favorite football players, they were definitely unhappy with these substitutions. However, O’Neill could not care less about what the fans thought at that moment. He did not want to lose to Tony Twain, especially not as the new manager of Nottingham Forest.

※※※

Shortly after O’Neill made his changes, Twain made some changes of their own. O’Neill believed that he lacked players with the will and reasons to fight, but Tony Twain did not. He would pat every player that he brought on on the shoulder and hinted to them that they would have the chance of being included in the next call-up to the national team if they performed well. It would not be just a friendly game then, but it would be the qualifiers for the 2016 European Championship held in Spain.

These players knew what that meant of course, and they had no reasons not to do their best in this match. The league would have only started for a month when the next national squad would be decided. It would be difficult to persuade the national team manager with impressive performance in the league matches then. The fastest and convenient method would be to perform well in this game and demonstrate their capabilities to the national team manager right in front of his eyes.

There might be some players who did not think much about this manager who had many different rumours floating outside. However, as professional players, they were very clear about a fact——No matter what they thought about this manager, he was their boss now and he would decide your fate in the national team. If they wanted to play for their country, they had to make him happy.

O’Neill almost brought off his whole starting line-up, and Twain did the same.

Both sides were full of fighting spirit and they were unable to get the better of each other.

During the last five minutes of the match, O’Neill stood on the sideline and focused on what was happening in the match on the pitch with anxiety. He did not have wild hopes of them “winning” anymore, all he wished for was for his team to equalize so he “would not lose”.

However, his wish was not fulfilled. Twain parked the bus against him. The Nottingham Forest team lacked experience without the first team players, and they could do nothing against this England team. When the referee blew the whistle for full time, it almost served as an announcement of Tony Twain winning his first match in-charge of the national team.

The commentator was not very fired up when announcing the result as the result that he wanted to see the most did not happen——Tony Twain’s humiliation.

Boos rang all around the Crimson Stadium when the referee blew for full time. Amidst the sounds of such jeers, Tony Twain stood up and walked towards O’Neill, the expression of happiness for happiness continued to be absent from his face.

“It’s a pity, you could have won,” Twain said while shaking O’Neill’s hand. If O’Neill had not brought off so many first team players at a go, Forest could really have equalized or even come from behind to win it at the death. At the very least, after Bale was substituted, Forest had no set-piece specialist anymore and England could commit tactical fouls in their danger areas at will without any worry of being pegged back by the Welshman.

O’Neill might have understood what Twain meant, or he might have not. No matter what, he did not reply and merely forced a smile, then let go of Twain’s hand and turned to walk away.

Twain looked up at the stands; there were people leaving the stadium and there were also people still booing him. He did not know what these people booing him would think had they known the truth behind it, but he did not want to give them a vengeful middle finger in return, that would be pointless. A day as husband and wife meant there was a bond for a hundred days, he had been worshipped by these people for a good ten years, being booed today was nothing.

Twain realized that he was feeling more liberal after winning and he did not have to care about those boos as he was in a good mood. Besides, he knew that he had threw a spanner into the works of Evan Doughty’s celebration which fulfilled that bit of vengefulness that he had, so there was no need for him to continue being harsh.

The reporters were very unhappy as Twain did not express his specialty of speaking without thinking in the press conference later. His words flowed like water and there were only good words. The return of the previous Forest manager to Nottingham was supposed to be a very newsworthy lead, but Twain’s uncooperative attitude meant that they were not able to come up with anything interesting.

The reporters did their best but they were unable to trick anything of value out of Twain’s tightly-shut mouth.

There was a reporter who wanted Twain to analyze the performance of his opponents in the match. This was a very normal question, but that reporter planned to make Twain talk about Nottingham Forest.

Twain did not bite, he simply said, “They are a very strong team, they were unlucky not to win.” Immediately after that, he probably felt that this was unjust to the team that he was currently managing, so he added, “Of course, we performed better, and victory should logically go to the team which performed better.”

This was the first time he spoke of Nottingham Forest, and even though it was just to answer a very regular question, the reporters felt encouraged. Another person stood up and asked, “George Wood was in a poor form during the World Cup period and you even defended him then. What do you think about his performance in this game?”

Twain took one look at that reporter, then glanced at Martin O’Neill next to him and laughed, “You should direct that question to Martin O’Neill. George Wood is his player in this match.”

O’Neill felt a little awkward himself. He was the present Nottingham Forest manager yet those reporters would rather direct the questions to Tony Twain, the person who had already left this position.

That reporter took one look at O’Neill and sat back down. This infuriated O’Neill, but he was more cultured than Twain and he forced himself to swallow his anger.

After that, if there were reporters standing to ask Twain about Nottingham Forest, he would push them to O’Neill. O’Neill was really a cultured man and he would always reply those reporters patiently with a smile if they asked him the same question, one could not detect any unhappiness in him at all.

When the press conference ended, Twain stopped O’Neill to shake his hand again. Twain felt bad as he had been using O’Neill as a shield against the reporters throughout the day.

“I’m so sorry, Martin,” Twain apologized to O’Neill.

O’Neill had a rather cordial relationship with Twain, so he could not give a snort and turned to leave like McClaren and the likes of him. He could only laugh and say, “This is you, I knew I would encounter such a situation with you so I was already mentally prepared for it.”

This could be considered as a sort of ridicule.

Twain opened his mouth and laughed mockingly at himself. Then, he looked at O’Neill, his expressions gradually became more serious and said, “Please take care of…Forest… in future…”

After working with Evan Doughty, O’Neill could guess the reason why Twain decided not to renew his contract. He himself was not sure how long he would stay in this team. He laughed and said, “I’ll do my best, Tony. If you can’t get go of it, why don’t you come back and do it yourself?”

Twain laughed heartily this time and patted O’Neill on his shoulders twice, then turned and left without saying anything else.

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s defeat to England was nothing sensational. Other than reaffirming the hatred for Twain of some of the Forest fans, the result of this friendly game was nothing to write home about. What the people were interested in was the treatment that Tony Twain received when he returned to Nottingham. Images and reports of him being jeered in the stadium continued to appear in the media for the next few days, triggering discussions about it. The people who hated Tony Twain were very happy to see that even his most ardent supporters had left him whereas people who liked him felt that he was not treated fairly. However… When even the Nottingham Forest fans turned against him, how many people would really feel aggrieved by his fate?

Twain did not care about all these. After the match, the league would start in half a month’s time. The coaching team was assembled and there would not be any games for the national team for the coming month, Twain could take this chance to have a good rest. When the league begins, he would have to work as hard as a dog, running everywhere to watch the games.

At that moment, he saw a piece of news on The Sun.

Pepe admits that he’s planning to leave Nottingham Forest!

“…Ever since he was brought to Nottingham Forest by Twain from Portugal in the 05-06 season, the Brazilian Pepe became the core and pillar of the team’s defence. It did not matter who his defensive partner was, he was the unmovable starting center-back under Twain. Now, after ten years, Pepe has finally grown tired of everything that’s happening in Nottingham Forest. He admitted during the interview with our reporter that he plans to leave this team… After selling Wes Morgan, Tiago Mendes, Vincent Kompany and Leighton Baines, he’s the first core player that has decided to leave Forest… We do not know what kind of impact his announcement will have on Nottingham Forest Football Club yet, please continue to read our follow-up reports…’

Twain fell silent as he looked at Pepe’s photo on the newspaper.

Players come and go, all good things come to an end…

Chapter 902 - All Good Things Must Come to an End

Pepe’s statement sent shockwaves throughout Nottingham and the whole of England. No one expected the man known as Nottingham Forest’s most loyal warrior to request for a transfer on his own accord, especially after how the football club had stood behind him when he was given a match ban by UEFA.

However, those familiar with the relationship that Pepe share with Twain would understand the rationale behind Pepe’s decision. The person whom Pepe is loyal to is Tony Twain and not Evan Doughty. Now that Twain has left Forest, there was no reason for Pepe to stay any longer.

To Pepe, a football club that is unable to keep an illustrious manager is a sign of troubles within the club, and he has no need to continue working for such a club.

It is only natural for him to choose to leave.

But, the Nottingham Forest fans did not think the same way as he did.

They viewed his actions as another act of betrayal following Tony Twain’s departure.

For the next few days, Pepe saw numerous banners that had been put up around the training grounds when he went for practice.

“Get lost! Go to Real Madrid, you traitor!”

“Who was it that gave you everything that you have right now? It’s Nottingham Forest!!”

Those were some of the words printed on the banners that were held up by the fans, and they were extremely eye-catching.

Some of the players in the team found his decision incomprehensible as well.

Of course, the person who was the most upset with his decision was the man who sat at the top, Evan Doughty.

Pepe’s action of announcing his intent to leave the club before the press is akin to slapping Doughty on the face in public.

Doughty called O’Neill over to his office. On the surface, it looked like he was keen to hear what the manager had to say, but in truth, he had already made up his mind on the matter, and O’Neill was just there to hear his decision.

“Real Madrid, Milan and Manchester United… Those clubs have all put in a bid for Pepe.” Doughty sat on his office chair and seemed to exude an air of arrogance as he spoke. “I’d have never considered selling Pepe in the past, but things are different now, Martin.”

The Doughty now was different from the Doughty whom Twain first met back then. He has become one of the most successful chairpersons of a football club in the whole of England right now. The publicity surrounding him increased massively following Twain’s departure as a manager, and now the whole world knows that he is the person who leads Nottingham Forest.

In the past week, during the period of time where the club had just begun to make use of its new stadium, Doughty made appearances on five different television programs and accepted interviews from three different magazines. Photos of him smiling were displayed all over the various media platforms. He was touted as the leader that led Nottingham Forest to glory, and he was also regarded as the key figure in leading Nottingham Forest to greater glory in the future. Doughty repeatedly exhibited his ambition to achieve greater success by speaking about his philosophy towards football as well as his methods in building a good football team before the media.

“I hope that Nottingham Forest can truly become a powerful, world-class team in the next five years. We have plans to build a new training grounds following the opening of our new stadium. Our current training grounds at Wilford is too old and small. We have plans to use our current training grounds as the site for the Nottingham Forest Football Academy…”

Those were the words that Doughty said before the press. The feasibility of his plans remains a question, but those plans have certainly shocked numerous people. Wilford is a training grounds that was first built and used in the early 1990s, and it has barely been 20 years since then. For Doughty to call a training grounds that has barely been around for long as ‘old’ definitely highlighted his character and ambition.

Evan Doughty is now a successful chairperson who regularly attends luxurious dinners and meetings with the upper-class people. He is no longer able to get chummy with the manager like he did in the past as a novice chairperson. He had to maintain a distance between himself and the people who work beneath him.

A second Tony Twain would never work for him ever again.

O’Neill was slightly horrified by Doughty’s words. “We cannot sell Pepe. He’s the most important element of the team’s defense…”

Doughty shook his head. He did not mind that the manager was protesting against his decision. “Right now, it’s not that about whether or not we want to sell him. The player is the one who came out saying he wants to leave. Nothing good will come out of keeping him at the club against his wishes. Besides, let me remind you that Pepe is already 31 years old this year. If we don’t sell a center-back at his age right now, we probably won’t be able to fetch a good price for him in the future.”

He sounded as though he was talking about oil prices or gold futures.

O’Neill did not back down because of Doughty’s words. The players that the club sold previously were all substitutes and players who were not so important to the team, which is why he did not particularly care about those sales. However, the club has already sold two of the team’s center-backs. If they were to sell Pepe as well, where would he be able to find another suitable center-back to replace him? If the team’s defense is unstable, how would he be able to maintain their results this year? The task that has been given to him by Evan Doughty himself is to maintain top four position and to ensure qualification into next year’s Champions League.

“I can speak to him again. I believe he is just influenced by Tony Twain’s decision to resign. He just can’t come to terms with it just yet. He’s just throwing a temper…”

“A 31-year-old kid throwing a temper?” Evan’s sneer cut O’Neill short.

O’Neill did not mind that the chairperson was mocking him. He continued to voice his opinions. “Pepe is the core of our defense. If he leaves, then the entire defense needs to be built from scratch once again. Now’s not the time for us to do that, Mr. Chairperson. The team is unstable after a change of managers, and it will only lose cohesion if we continue to sell players repeatedly… The new season is about to start soon. I think it’d be better if we can maintain stability in the team.”

“It’s the complete opposite, Mr. O’Neill.” Evan was starting to get irritated by the manager who keeps going against him. He stopped referring to O’Neill as ‘Martin’ and had instead changed to the address of ‘Mr. O’Neill’ that would make people feel like they were distant.

“I know exactly who Pepe listens to, and it’s not you. Keeping someone like him in the locker room would be the biggest threat to the stability of the team.”

Evan was right. He might not have stepped foot into the locker room before, but there were some things that he understood without even having to step foot into the locker room. Pepe was certainly not very pleased with the new manager, despite the latter being an accomplished manager just like Twain. There was only one person whom he would willingly serve in the whole wide world. It did not matter how brilliant the other managers were. Those managers would never replace the position that Twain has in his heart.

O’Neill kept silent for a moment, but continued to struggle. “I still think things would change for the better if I were to speak to him face-to-face once…”

Evan Doughty laughed. “It doesn’t matter how many times you speak to him, Pepe is hell-bent on leaving. You should just listen to me, Mr. O’Neill. Give up on him. We’d go and find another top-class center-back for you right now. There’s still time. You still have time to bring the team together. We can’t afford to drag this out for too long. It’d be too late once the season starts.”

“I still want to speak to him once. I’m the manager of this team. It’s my responsibility.” O’Neill stood up and left without saying another word.

Behind him, Evan Doughty smiled in disdain.

※※※

The outcome of O’Neill’s talk with Pepe was just as Evan Doughty had expected. Martin O’Neill was left feeling exhausted at the end of it all.

No matter how O’Neill tried to persuade Pepe, Pepe was just unwilling to remain in the team.

Pepe was forthcoming with his thoughts during their talk. He told O’Neill that he was not upset with him as a manager and that he was just utterly disappointed with the club right now. Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest used to be a team brimming with warmth, but now that warmth has vanished without a trace. He did not like playing football in such an environment. His decision has nothing to do with the higher salary offered by other clubs. He has the right to choose to play football in a place that he enjoyed playing in. In the past, he enjoyed playing football in Forest, but he no longer enjoy it now, and that was all there was to it.

The player does not want to stay, and the club’s chairperson insists on selling. Martin O’Neill was sandwiched between both parties and there was little that he could do. He felt like the entire season he spent at Manchester United was not as exhausting as the two months that he spent at Nottingham Forest thus far.

In the end, O’Neill was left with no other choice but to nod his head and agree to Pepe’s departure.

It was just one day. Only one day had passed since he agreed to sell Pepe and news about a completed deal were published in Milan, Italy.

AC Milan spent 30 million pounds to buy the 31 year-old world-class center-back Pepe from Nottingham Forest. This deal was officially confirmed by both clubs shortly after.

O’Neill realized one thing after seeing the news. It did not matter if he agreed to Pepe’s sale or not. Pepe was bound to be sold from the start. Allan Adams, who is nowhere to be seen right now, must have already flown over to Milan some time back to finish all the required paperwork for Pepe’s transfer. It was only a matter of time before Pepe was sold, and even if O’Neill threatened to resign as a manager before Evan Doughty, the outcome would not change.

The higher-ups in the club had finished all that was needed for Pepe’s transfer by the time he met Doughty. He was the only one who did not know what was going on. O’Neill felt like Pepe must have known the outcome of their talk from the start as well. He was just like a fool trying to convince Pepe to stay behind in Forest…

※※※

Pepe’s departure was not well-received among the fans. However, none of the fans went over to Birmingham Airport to throw rotten eggs at him, and that alone was considered a blessing.

The media, on the other hand, saw something interesting that they could write about regarding the whole situation…

Martin O’Neill sounded deflated when he spoke in an interview, “Pepe is a talented center-back. His departure means I have to come up with a new plan to rebuild Forest…”

Clearly, Pepe’s transfer to another club was not something that the manager desired. That could only mean that the management had forcefully stepped in and sold Pepe against the manager’s wishes.

It seemed like the once impregnable Nottingham Forest warship was starting to crumble from the inside. This was something that caught the media’s attention.

The media then began to publish numerous articles about Pepe’s transfer, and the coverage led to growing unease within the Nottingham Forest players. No one knew who was the next one to be forcefully sold to another club.

After escaping the vortex that is Nottingham Forest, Pepe made an appearance at a press conference in Milan, where he held up AC Milan’s red and black striped jersey before the press. However, the smile he had on his face was not as bright as before. He looked like a kid who had run away from home and was reminiscing about the happy times that he spent with his family during the wee hours of the night.

The memories of those happy times would probably flood him when AC Milan faces off with Nottingham Forest in a Champions League match in the coming months. Of course, he might not reminisce about anything either.

A professional footballer has to learn to get used to separations, be it from their previous club or their previous team mates.

“I… Hope that I can… Help AC Milan clinch a Champions League trophy…” Pepe stuttered as he tried to speak in poor Italian.

AC Milan’s manager, Marco van Basten, was elated about Pepe’s transfer, because AC Milan had finally welcomed a qualified center-back into their feeble defense, and he could start thinking about how he was going to lead his team to dominate the whole of Europe.

“We now have the most talented center-back on this planet in our team!” The manager was so excited that he immediately commended Pepe as being the best in the world.

Conversely, his words also meant that Nottingham Forest had lost the best center-back in the world…

※※※

Pepe’s transfer was not like any other transfer. His sale sparked interest from other clubs towards Nottingham Forest’s other talented players.

If the club is willing to sell the core player of its defense, then will they sell Gareth Bale? What about Aaron Mitchell, or perhaps even George Wood?

Is there a player that Nottingham Forest would not sell?

All the football clubs throughout Europe went into a frenzy. In the eyes of the astute or perhaps even the not-so-astute football managers, Nottingham Forest was just like a big supermarket that had numerous items of excellent quality up for sale at reasonable prices. Things looked promising for Nottingham Forest after they won the Treble and moved into a brand new stadium, but clearly those things did not cause Forest to refuse to sell its players.

The players whom Tony Twain spent 11 years to groom all had their own respective values. The starting players were sought after by big clubs in Europe, whereas the substitutes were well thought of by mid-table clubs. If Evan Doughty sold all the players, he would easily rake in a profit of at least 500 million pounds.

George Wood alone was worth at least 60 million pounds. If he was an attacking player, he might be able to fetch a price of 90 million pounds.

The fact that he just signed a contract with the club did not cause his suitors to look away.

Signing a new contract with the club is nothing more than an attempt to mask his selling price! Don’t worry, we have the money!

“George Wood is the best midfielder in the world. He’s better than Gerrard.” Mourinho was being friendly towards Wood. His words also attacked his bitter rival Liverpool.

He wished that the steely midfielder from Forest would join Manchester United and help the team go against other strong teams.

Besides Wood, Mourinho also expressed an interest in Forest’s goalkeeper. “I hope that the team can bring in a world-class goalkeeper. A good goalkeeper is the key to becoming champions. Akinfeev is brilliant and I’ve always been keeping an eye on him. He has received a lot of experience and training during his time at Nottingham Forest, but I think it’s time for him to consider switching to another club…”

“Mitchell is the second Ibrahimovi?. He should come over to a big club like Inter Milan to play football.” Zola, the new head coach of Inter Milan, also expressed goodwill towards the player known as the ‘Little Giant of Forest’.

“Ribéry is brilliant, but he has gotten on with age. Perhaps this is the best time for Míchel González to rectify the mistake that Real Madrid made previously.” Diario AS published an article discussing Real Madrid’s failed attempt at bringing Pepe over to the club, and how they had switched targets and is focusing on Gago now.

“Barcelona’s tradition is to attack. We need a left back who is good at moving forward to attack. Bale fits what we need. That’s all there is to it.” Guardiola said those words when asked about the players he would buy in the summer.

“Agbonlahor is very quick. The past few years that he spent in Forest has nurtured him into an even better player. His shooting abilities have improved significantly. He’s the type of player that we need…” Manchester City was also keen on joining the battle for Forest’s players.

“?ahin is an immensely gifted player. If Bayern Munich wishes to prove that it is still a strong and powerful club in Europe, then he is the kind of player that they need to get.” According to the German media, Bayern Munich was getting closer to sealing a deal for the Germany-born Turkish footballer.

Other players such as Chris Cohen, Adriano Moke, Nicolás Millán, Joe Mattock and Rafinha also received invitations from other clubs as well. The whole of Europe interpreted Pepe’s sale as a message sent out by Nottingham Forest:

Our supermarket is always open for business. As long as you have the money, all players are up for sale. We hope you have a pleasant shopping experience here.

A wave of bids for its players assaulted Nottingham Forest Football Club. Martin O’Neill went to bed each night fearing that he would wake up the next morning and see that all his starting players had been sold by Allan Adams. He had no doubt that Allan Adams was capable of doing something like that, because the latter was a man who only had money in sight. He might have only known Adams for two months, but he was already starting to despise the businessman.

Right as O’Neill was being agonized by all the news of other clubs wanting to buy his players, he received a phone call from Pierce Brosnan.

“Mr. O’Neill, I am Pierce Brosnan from Nottingham Evening Post. You promised me last week that you’d let me interview you tomorrow. Do you remember?” Brosnan knew that O’Neill was going through a rough time lately, and he was worried that O’Neill would reject giving him an interview.

It was only then that O’Neill remembered that he did promise Brosnan to give him an interview. If he had not promised him earlier, he definitely would have rejected the interview since he has not been in a good mood recently.

Then again…

O’Neill suddenly felt an urge to rant to someone the moment he thought about all the things that had happened to him these couple of days. He did not care if the listener was the press or his own wife and children. He just felt like ranting to someone.

There were some words that he needed to get off his chest, and as for what would happen after he said those words, he did not particularly care.

“Yes, I’ve not forgotten about it, Mr. Brosnan. Come over to my office tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning. I’d be waiting for you there.”

Chapter 903 - A Well-Behaved Man Strikes Back

Martin O’Neill’s nightmare did not come true. When he laid in bed and opened his eyes the next day, he was not woken by the phone ringing off the hook, which gave him a little peace of mind. Because that meant the club did not put up a massive sale of the main players. Otherwise his phone would be bombarded with calls from the news media and the players’ agents.

The Northern Irishman, who had been left exhausted by the recent transfer rumors as well as beleaguered by the team’s top brass which always liked to intervene in the team’s affairs, laid in bed for a while before getting up to wash up and enjoy the breakfast his wife made for him.

While picking up the jug of milk, he stared blankly as he took the sports edition of The Sun from his wife next to him which she had folded properly for him.

The most striking thing in the newspaper was four photographs put together to form a square. It was clear that the photograph was taken in secret. The image resolution was not high, and the image was not clear, but O’Neill recognized Allan Adams’s baby face. It was taken in a restaurant where Allan was in discussion with someone. The cameraman tried several angles and could not get a full shot of the face of the man whom Allan Adams was talking to. In the final shot, when the man exited the hotel, the camera finally caught his face – it was Michael Dawson!

O’Neill hurriedly turned the page with the photographs to read the article.

“… Our reporter took the photographs yesterday at the Delimar restaurant in north London. The image showed Allan Adams, Nottingham Forest’s commercial director, secretly meeting with Tottenham Hotspur’s center back Michael Dawson. The pair’s meeting confirmed the newspaper’s earlier speculation that Nottingham Forest was interested in getting Dawson to return. And that Dawson himself wanted to leave Tottenham Hotspur to join his hometown team. He has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. Not only has he lost his position in the England national team, his position in Tottenham Hotspur is also in jeopardy. He is about to turn thirty-one years old and he hopes to start over in a different environment. It is reported that the amount involved in this transfer should not be too high…”

※※※

With a “pop!” sound, a newspaper was thrown on the table in front of Evan Doughty.

Evan looked at the photograph secretly taken of Allan in the newspaper and looked up at an angry-looking Martin O’Neill.

“When Pepe was sold by you guys, you had promised to sign on a center back of good quality. I only have one request – that he’s young enough! Michael Dawson is about to turn thirty-one and he’s been having injuries throughout this season. I don’t know why you’ve decided to buy him!” Without any apprehension, O’Neill asked loudly in the chairman’s office.

“Michael is really a high-quality center back…” Evan glanced at Allan, who sat on the couch wordlessly and explained to O’Neill.

Truthfully speaking, he was not mentally prepared to face O’Neill’s bald-faced question directed at him all of a sudden. His mind was still dazed till now – how did O’Neill who was always easy to talk to, suddenly become a violent warrior?

“I want a young and high-quality center back, not a center back who was almost thirty-one years old and has just recovered from an injury too. Moreover, a center back who has been seriously injured thrice in four seasons!” O’Neill vowed not to give in this time. He must make the other party be accountable to him.

“More importantly, did anyone ask me for my opinion when you decided to contact Dawson?” That was what made O’Neill most angry. To be honest, Michael Dawson could still be used. At least he still had the ability. It would not be a problem for him to play once he recovered from his injury.

O’Neill thought of Pepe’s transfer again. With new and old hate intertwined, he felt that his position as the manager was completely a puppet tole. He decided that everything in the team was decided the other two men in the room. One sat behind the chairman’s table looking at him in shock and the other man was nestled on the couch quietly as if he was watching the show.

“I’m the manager of this team. Gentlemen, in England, a head coach is called ‘a manager.’ His title is different from the title of ‘a coach’ in La Liga and Serie A. He also has different responsibilities.” O’Neill ambiguously criticized that the two Americans did not understand the British customs. “It is my power and duty to decide which player the team buys. You pay me to come here to work, so I’m going to exercise all the authority I ought to have.” O’Neill looked at his immediate boss and the boss above him. His eyes were full of uncompromising determination.

As expected, he was a man of completely temperament to that of Tony Twain. Even when he was angry, he was not going to be as foul-mouthed and hysterically lost his mind like Twain. He was still very calm, spoke reasonably and well-organized in his thoughts. But it was also due to this that every word he said made Evan Doughty particularly uncomfortable – he thought that when he had sent away Tony Twain, demon personifying pestilence, O’Neill who came was easy to talk to and a pushover. He did not expect the well-behaved man more difficult to deal with when he flipped out.

He was silent for a short few seconds, thinking about how to deal with this in his mind.

“Don’t get worked up, Martin… Of course, we know you’re the manager of this team. But what Allan does can be considered as paving the way for you ahead of time. If everything has to be done personally by the manager, then you will be exhausted to death, won’t you?” Evan laughed as he tried to alleviate the tense atmosphere. However, he found that the other two men in the room did not laugh except himself. So, after barking out a couple of laughs, he somewhat awkwardly shut his mouth.

But O’Neill did not give the chairman face this time. He responded with a serious look, “Yeah, you only inform me until you have privately reached an agreement with the other club, as well as the players themselves. Just like Pepe, isn’t it?”

Allan looked up and looked at the two men confronting each other across the desk.

While the expression on Evan’s changed, he glanced sideways at Allan, and turned back to look at O’Neill. He found O’Neill looking at him too… No, it might be more appropriate to say he was staring at him.

What O’Neill said was right. He was the manager of this team and he should be responsible for all transfers and be able to exercise his power. But Evan Doughty had been suppressed by Twain for so many years. He had long been unable to contain his desire for the control of the team. In his opinion, he was the owner of the club so he should be able to express his opinions about the team’s affairs and even directly have a hand in decisions… it could not be said that he had gone too far. So many club chairmen around the world liked to get involved in the team’s affairs, even if it was the English Premier League. So why could he not make a move?

No matter how good the manager is, he still works for me. I am the real boss here. Have you guys not figure this out by now?

Suddenly he did not want to face an employee with a smiling face. Sometimes he also had to show the dignity that a club chairman had.

“Very well. Consider it that you have been informed of this matter, Mr. O’Neill.”

Evan Doughty adopted the stance of showing the visitor out.

O’Neill stood in front of him and stared at him for a moment before he turned to walk away. He did not say another word to Evan Doughty again because he did not think it needed to be said.

※※※

The speculation and hype as to why Tony Twain wanted to leave Nottingham Forest at the height of his career had already declined. Some people even sanguinely thought that he ought to be like Shankly who suddenly quit the Liverpool team when he was supposed to make a big splash. Nottingham Forest would have a better future after a brief period of turmoil, like what happened in Paisley’s Liverpool team. After all, Twain had firmly established the foundation.

It was pointless to continue to speculate about a man who had already quit. It was better to put the focus on the new manager, Martin O’Neill.

But one person had an opposing view toward this idea.

When it was first known that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club, Pierce Brosnan, like everyone else, was enveloped by feelings of shock, anger, disappointment, and confusion. As a reporter, his curiosity gradually transcended several other emotions which settled in the days that followed. Since last week’s friendly match between the Forest team and the England national team, the accumulated doubts he had deep inside had surfaced. He had a growing interest in why Tony Twain did not renew the contract. Even if there were no other media investigating this matter, he still decided to get to the bottom of this matter.

However, he had no clue where to start when he wanted to check. Although he had followed the Forest team for interviews many times, he still did not know much about the senior management of the Forest team. On the one hand, he always mixed with Tony Twain. On the other hand, Evan Doughty also really kept a low profile at the time. Whenever Twain and Evan were together, they always looked like they had a joyous and harmonious relationship, which was enviable to others. He collected information all around, but he could not obtain any information in the two most critical areas.

Tony Twain kept his mouth shut and Nottingham Forest seemed to forget that they ever had such a manager. No news about Twain was disseminated.

Nottingham Forest was now solely Evan Doughty’s club. It was much easier for him to control the club than the board of directors.

These days Brosnan was busy collecting relevant information everywhere. Fortunately, his boss supported him, because they all knew that Twain’s departure was not a simple matter. There must be some inside information that others should not know. Otherwise the parties involved would not have sealed their lips.

And once the truth was revealed, it could be a piece of big news that would shake the world of English football. Therefore, it had to be done.

Brosnan was so busy day and night that he almost forgot that he still had to interview O’Neill. It was the first interview Martin O’Neill had accepted as the Nottingham Forest manager. His team-building policies and his goals in leading the team would be discussed in the interview, which could also be considered as an important interview.

It was only when a colleague in the office who saw him so obsessed with Tony Twain’s game of hide-and-seek reminded him that he suddenly remembered to call O’Neill to confirm the interview.

Regardless of why Tony Twain had left his job, regardless of what Evan Doughty who was in charge of the club had done behind the scenes, Pierce Brosnan must now put away his curiosity about these things. He neatly adjusted his clothes and knocked on the Forest manager’s door.

Martin O’Neill was waiting in his seat for the visit from the local reporter who was influential in Nottingham.

“Hello, Mr. O’Neill. I hope I’m not interrupting your work.” Brosnan put down his interview materials, got up and shook O’Neill’s hand.

“Not at all, Mr. Brosnan. My work is done for the day.” O’Neill smiled evenly.

Brosnan sat down and began to interview the new manager, who had always been considered to be in Twain’s shadow. But the interview did not follow the steps Brosnan had planned. He first asked the question, “How does it feel to be the manager of Nottingham Forest after two months, Mr. O’Neill?”

Under normal circumstances, O’Neill would have nodded and said, “It feels good. Everyone is very supportive of my work and I have received a lot of assistance…”

But O’Neill hesitated for a moment and shook his head as he said, “It’s harder than I’d imagined.”

With the sharp acumen of his profession, Brosnan immediately caught the important point. He followed up with a question to that remark and changed the question he had prepared before, “Is it because Tony Twain’s influence is too great?”

O’Neill continued shaking his head to say, “That’s not the case.” He seemed to be in the mood to talk today, so Brosnan did not interject. He just indicated for him to continue talking.

“Sometimes when you were on the outside, you couldn’t see clearly, and you thought everything was nice. But when you walked in, you found what you had thought was wrong.” O’Neill said mysteriously, “I used to think I was mentally prepared and had abundant experience. But now I feel like I’ve made an error of judgment at the time.”

Brosnan’s mind was spinning fast as he listened to these inexplicable words and was trying to work out what O’Neill meant. Then he tentatively asked a question, “Are you referring to Pepe’s transfer?”

He had guessed right.

O’Neill shrugged and said, “What were your thoughts when you first found out that Pepe had already decided to be transferred to AC Milan during the time when you still thought he might be leaving?”

Brosnan’s heart leapt. He seemed to have caught hold of something. The fog that had been bothering him was slowly dissipating.

“I’m sorry, Mr. O’Neill. I recall that you are the manager of the team. How could you only the last to be informed of this matter?” Brosnan continued to take advantage to pursue and attack.

“I don’t know why, either. But that was what happened. I was kept in the dark and everyone knew Pepe had already made a deal with AC Milan. Only I did not know. I also went to Pepe to have a talk once and was rightly turned down. I couldn’t turn the situation around. Now that the season is almost starting, we’ve lost the most important center back. I don’t even know who else we’re going to lose.” Full of resentment, O’Neill had finally found an outlet for him to vent. “Look at all the transfer rumors in the media right now about the Forest players. I’m really thankful that they’re still here.”

“Did you read the article on the meeting between Mr. Allan Adams and Michael Dawson, Mr. Brosnan?”

Brosnan nodded. As a sports reporter, he certainly had to pay attention to the sports news that happened every day.

“Did you find out through that report?”

Brosnan paused and shook his head after a moment. He said, “I have my own reporter friends, Mr. O’Neill. You know, we scratch each other’s back for information…”

Martin O’Neill bared his teeth and chuckled when he heard the answer, “That’s great. Even a reporter knows the target which our team is signing on before me, the manager. Maybe I should hire some reporters to be football scouts?”

This is a big problem.

Brosnan thought so in his heart. The problem was big if a manager was the last person to know what kind of player the team wanted to bring in. It was a big issue. He was completely bypassed. In that case, who was the one to find a way around him…

He suddenly thought of last summer, which was almost around this time. The Forest team’s right back, Aaron Lennon was sold to Inter Milan. At the time, Tony Twain was furious. All of England could hear his rants and foul words. He was admonishing Allan Adams for signing a deal with Inter Milan to surrender Lennon so readily, without asking for his consent,. Due to this, he even suspended the contract renewal talks with the team. At that time, there was a huge uproar. But then it quieted down later. The three men appeared to be the same together on the outside.

“Football is a sport that requires detailed planning. I have signed a four-year contract with the club, and I have a long-term plan, so everyone has to seek my consent before being able to buy and sell players. But now the situation is that my demands before signing the contract are not even met…”

While Brosnan was still in shock over this, O’Neill continued to speak and Brosnan’s recording equipment was faithfully recording.

“I wanted to stabilize the defense, but they sold Pepe in the end. I wanted a young and promising center back. Instead, they got in touch with Dawson. They didn’t even look at the players I recommended…”

Brosnan had to interrupt O’Neill and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. O’Neill. Who are ‘they’ you are referring to?”

“Who else can they be? The club chairman and the business director? Perhaps I now know why Tony left at the most glorious period at the time…”

The last fog in his mind finally cleared. Brosnan confirmed that he had grasped the key to all the problems.

“I chose Nottingham Forest because I started my career from here. I hope to continue the glory of the Forest team. But now from the looks of it, I was mistaken to think that everything would be great.”

There was a deep sense of exhaustion in the words. Although it had only been two months, Martin O’Neill was already tormented till he was bone weary.

The follow-up questions no longer needed to be asked and those questions that were prepared in advance were worthless in the face of such an explosive topic. Pierce Brosnan was so shocked by the thoughts in his mind that he was in no state to continue the interview. He got up to say goodbye to O’Neill and was ready to hurry back to write up this interview which would definitely cause a sensation.

“The Nottingham Forest manager blasted the club’s top brass!”

“Martin O’Neill: I’m excluded!”

“The dark secrets behind Pepe’s deal!”

There was still a lot of information he needed to gather from everywhere. But this time it was different. With the direction pointed, he knew where to look.

“Goodbye. I’m glad you accepted my interview, Mr. O’Neill. Good luck with that.”

O’Neill got up to see the reporter out. He also said, “Good day, Mr. Brosnan. Good luck to you as well.”

Chapter 904 - Unable to Be Interdependent Forever

Tottenham Hotspur’s fax on their acceptance of the offer from Nottingham Forest for Michael Dawson, the just published copy of the Nottingham Evening Post this morning, still with a whiff of the fresh ink smell, as well as Martin O’Neill’s handwritten resignation letter, all three of which were placed together on Evan Doughty’s desk. His brain did not respond for a while.

The fax was sent to him by his secretary, Miss Lucy, along with a good morning kiss. It was a very close interaction that transcended the relationship between a club chairman and a secretary. The Evening Post was brought to him later by his old friend, Allan Adams while the resignation letter was personally delivered by Martin O’Neill himself. The man who wanted to resign was still standing in the room waiting for the club chairman’s approval.

Two days had now passed since the day O’Neill flew into a terrible rage in front of Evan Doughty.

The deal with Tottenham Hotspur to buy Dawson was in Doughty’s plan, and they bought a center back at the peak of his playing career at a low price. Evan Doughty thought it was a good deal and was feeling happy about the matter. While he was being naughty with his hands on Miss Lucy’s body, Allan knocked on his office door with the newspaper which startled him. If the affair between him and Lucy was exposed to his wife, his family would be torn apart.

Lucy opened the door for Allan after she had tidied her blouse. Allan even watched with interest at the figure of swaying hips as she walked away. Then he handed the newspaper to Evan without saying a word.

Evan saw a picture of O’Neill on it, as well as an interview. The headline was striking and also explained why Allan risked interrupting the couple’s clandestine love affair to knock on his door.

Before Evan could figure out what he meant by being unhappy, O’Neill knocked on his office door.

When Evan was about to ask O’Neill what the interview was about, the other party had already placed something on Evan’s desk.

“A resignation?”

Evan thought he had misread. He picked it up and glanced at it again. Then he looked up at the Northern Irishman standing in front of him.

Standing in front of Evan, O’Neill said earnestly, “I don’t think I can carry out my plans and ambitions here at all. I don’t get enough respect here, and you guys don’t seem to need a manager. So, I think breaking up is the best solution.”

“You can’t do this!” Evan yelled out. He had no idea O’Neill would do this and resign? How dare he! He had only been in the position for two months, and now he was going to quit… What do you take me, the club chairman for?

“Of course, I can.” As a “senior manager” who had been in English football for more than two decades, O’Neill was not stupid. He said, “In the contract we signed at the time, you did not state how much money you would pay me if I were to be fired. So, I do not have to pay you money when I quit, Mr. Chairman. That’s fair.”

Since there was no need of compensation for default in the contract, O’Neill had no qualms left.

In fact, he made the decision to resign that day after he had the big blowout with Evan Doughty. That was why he came out with the big explosive news during the interview – since I’m going to leave, who cares what you think of me? I have said everything that should and shouldn’t be said. At least I have aired my grievances and vented my frustration!

“It’s … It’s not about the money, Mr. O’Neill. You’re the manager of the team, the league tournament is about to start and you’re resigning now…”

“I’m resigning now for the sake of the team. You still have time to find a manager at this point. It’s going to be hard if you wait until after the start of the league tournament, Mr. Chairman.” O’Neill addressed him using “Mr. Chairman” each time but it sounded more like he was giving a slap to the club chairman, Evan Doughty’s face.

Evan Doughty was completely stunned by Martin O’Neill’s show of determination. He had the letter of resignation in his hand as he looked at O’Neill with his mouth agape. He did not know what to say while Allan Adams sat on the couch without saying a word, as if he were a spectator.

“I hope the club agrees to my resignation.” O’Neill reiterated his intention in his meeting with Evan. “It is not possible for us to continue working together.”

Under the current circumstances, what could Evan do if he did not agree? He finally paid the price for his own arbitrary actions – the manager, whom he spent lots of effort hiring, had now resigned voluntarily, which was like a loud slap to his face. Having lost two managers in a row in two months, perhaps he should think about whether the managers were too fond of power or was he being too foolish?

After a moment’s silence, Evan stood up and put his hand out to O’Neill to say, “Thank you for everything you have done for the club, Mr. O’Neill. I’ll agree to your resignation.”

O’Neill smiled and said, “Goodbye, Mr. Chairman.” With that, he turned and walked out of the office without even giving a glance at Allan Adams sitting at the side.

After watching O’Neill go out, Evan Doughty slowly sat down and looked at Allan Adams, who had been sitting on the couch in silence.

“Who should we look for now to be the manager?” Allan spread his hands and asked.

“Lord only knows.” Evan mumbled weakly. Too much had hit him this morning.

“There are not many successful managers idling at home at this time. It is not a good time to find a manager…”

“Then we have to poach someone!” Evan suddenly got excited, “Poach a manager from the other clubs!” He balled up O’Neill’s resignation letter and threw it in the trash can.

※※※

The players and coaches were even more taken aback than Evan Doughty. Everyone could not believe it when O’Neill stood in front of them with a smile on his face and announced that he had resigned. They thought he was joking, but the problem was that Mr. O’Neill was someone who liked to joke. He and Tony Twain were different.

“Thank you for your support over the past two months.” O’Neill smiled and said goodbye to the players, “Although I did not have a good relationship with the club’s top brass, I had a great time with you. You’ve all been lovely and I’m proud to have once coached such a team, even though it was only for a short two months.”

“I’m sorry I can’t continue to lead you. I wish you all good luck.”

He then hugged and said goodbye to the assistant managers, fitness coach, goalkeeper coach and First Team coaches one by one.

Kerslake was still in shock. Tony’s gone and now Martin is leaving too. What’s happening? With them gone, what are we going to do? What about Nottingham Forest? Is such a team that has just won the Treble going to disappear from now on?

As he hugged O’Neill, he asked a question, “Are you resigning because of Tony, Mr. O’Neill?”

He was worried that Tony’s influence was too great to allow O’Neill to have free rein in his job here.

O’Neill shook his head and washed away “the unjust treatment” Twain received. He said, “It has nothing to do with him. I don’t have a good relationship with the club chairman and the business director, David. They have their standpoint and I have mine. It is a pity that our standpoints are not in line. You’re a good assistant manager and you’ll be a great manager in the future. Thank you for your help, David. When the new manager arrives, help him like you’ve helped me and Tony. Hopefully he can make it here… for longer.” He looked into the distance and sighed softly.

After he waved his last goodbye, O’Neill turned and walked away from the stupefied team.

The reporters who came when they caught wind of the news, had already blocked the gate of the Wilford training base till it was impenetrable. The bunch of dogs had a real nose for news. He just had a showdown with the club and they already knew. It was as if no secrets could be hidden from them.

When the reporters saw O’Neill emerge from the inside, they struggled to get away from the security guards and rushed up.

Countless microphones were extended right under O’Neill’s nose, and the cameras were pointed at him.

“Mr. O’Neill, we’ve heard that you have resigned? Is it true?”

“Manager O’Neill, can you tell me the reason for your sudden resignation? It’s completely unexpected… You’ve only been here for two months!”

“Hey, Martin! Martin! Is it true that you have a conflict with the club’s top management? Can you tell us what kind of contradiction?”

“Did Pepe’s transfer lead to your resignation?”

“Can it be due to Michael Dawson… Don’t you like Dawson?”

“Tony Twain also left suddenly. Have you two been in touch? Does your resignation have anything to do with him?”

“Can you tell me where your next stop is?”

“Is Nottingham Forest club’s top brass really interfering too much with the manager’s job to sign players, like what you said in the interview?”

“Care to comment on Evan Doughty?”

“Has your resignation been approved by the club?”

Nothing else could be heard at the scene except for the reporters asking their questions loudly and the pressing of the camera shutters. Everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs, afraid that O’Neill could not hear him in the crowd.

However, O’Neill was not in the mood to answer their questions. He stood in front of his car door and turned to the enthusiastic reporters to say, “I’ve received approval to resign. I have nothing else to say about the matter. I’m grateful to the people who helped me during the two months of coaching at the Forest team. In addition, I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Tony Twain. The resignation is my own decision, nothing to do with anyone. If you want to ask anything else, please save those questions for the club. I’m sure they’ll announce a press conference very soon.”

He pulled the car door open and went in. He closed the car window and started the car. He slowly drove out of the main gate surrounded by the crowd of reporters trying to chase and intercept him.

The reporters stopped after chasing for a few steps. As O’Neill said, the club was bound to hold a press conference and their questions would be left till then.

Pierce Brosnan did not expect O’Neill’s decision to resign to so firm and decisive. He watched the black car driving to the distance behind the crowd of people, wondering what Nottingham Forest’s future hold.

How did this happen? A dominant team that lorded over Europe and famous for its playing prowess in the world, had a massive turnover of people within these two months and was changed till it was unrecognizable.

If he had to trace the root of the cause… it looked like he could not avoid this one person.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tony Twain’s number.

※※※

When the cell phone which Twain left in the downstairs dining room rang, he was just going over the list of England registered players from all the teams in the English Premier League in his upstairs study. One of the two twenty-four-inch monitors connected to the computer was playing the video of a game. He needed to use the computer to cut and edit those video clips to make them into a collection for his own needs. Then he would burn it into a CD-ROM, label it and place it in its category in the cabinet. In that way, he would not be lost like a headless fly when he needed to check.

Staring at the television screen to study the game videos or reading notes and journals for a long term had caused Twain to be slightly myopic. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and looked up with a concentration to observe the performances of several targeted players. When he needed to pay special attention, he would press the pause button, and then looked down to record the time in the notebook, which made it convenient for subsequent editing.

He was so engrossed in watching the video that the first time the phone rang downstairs, he did not hear it.

When the sound disappeared, he suddenly realized if something was ringing…

He listened with his head cocked but heard nothing. Just when he was shaking his head and thinking that he must have been hearing things from being too busy lately, the telephone rang again the moment he was going to continue working.

When Twain shuffled along in his slippers to go through the long second-floor corridor, around the circular staircase, and then through the eighty square meters of living room, the ringing stopped again the moment he finally came to the dining room.

“Really impatient.” Twain mumbled as he picked up his cell phone, wanting to see who called.

The caller’s name that showed up in the missed calls on the screen was 007.

Twain did not bother to key in some people’s names. To him, English names were still not as easy as Chinese names, so he would give a lot of people codenames. 007 referred to Pierce Brosnan, because his name sounded the same as that of the famous actor, Pierce Brosnan who played 007.

So, it was the Nottingham Evening Post reporter. Twain did not know why he called him. Just as he was hesitating whether to call back to inquire, the cell phone in his hand rang and vibrated again.

He finally pressed the answer button.

“Hey, Mr. Bond, why are you calling me at this time?” Twain leaned against the couch in the living room and asked languidly.

“I want to know the real reason why you suddenly decided to leave Nottingham Forest.” Brosnan got straight to the point and asked.

The question made Twain’s face fall. He never answered such questions, not even from Brosnan. “I’m sorry, Mr. Reporter. I don’t want to answer your question. If you want to interview me, please make an appointment in advance…” With that, he was about to hang up.

That was when he heard Pierce Brosnan roared, “When are you going to stop hiding like a coward, Tony!”

Twain’s hand was stopped short by the sudden roar and did not hang up.

“Have you seen the news? Do you have a newspaper there? Is the TV on?” Brosnan continued to ask loudly after he finished yelling.

“No.” Twain looked around. The table was clear and had nothing on it. The television set was not turned on and the screen was dark.

“Then I’ll give you a live coverage now!” Brosnan said fiercely. This might be the first time he had spoken to the king of Nottingham Forest using this tone since he became a reporter. “Martin O’Neill has just tendered his resignation to the club, and I believe the club has agreed to his application to resign!”

Twain was stunned by the news. He thought he was dreaming, and the dream did not feel real.

Martin O’Neill had only joined the team for two months. Why did he quit?

“If you still care about Nottingham Forest, you must know why! Evan Doughty and Allan Adams kept O’Neill in the dark and reached an agreement to sell Pepe to AC Milan. Now they had hidden the fact that they were signing Michael Dawson from him again. Even though the media had called Dawson’s arrival as ‘homecoming’, it violated O’Neill’s authority. So, he quit! It’s as straightforward as that… Now, tell me why you decided not to renew your contract at the time? Did you lose faith in the club’s top brass, just like O’Neill did? Tell me, Tony!”

Twain was silent for a moment and did not answer.

“Very well, I know what’s on your mind. You’re worried about causing an upheaval in the team when you say it, aren’t you? You’re really stupid, Tony. All clubs are like this. Turmoil is not something that can entirely be foreseeable. Martin O’Neill has resigned and ?ahin is transferring to Bayern Munich. Do you think the team you’ve built up with so much effort can still be kept intact? The players have already lost faith in the top echelons of this kind of club. Did Pepe’s departure not clarify the issue? He was the most loyal player!”

“Do you still love this team? Do you still miss every day and night of the past eleven years? Don’t you feel hurt that they treated you like that in the Crimson Stadium? Don’t stay silent, Tony.”

※※※

Pierce Brosnan leaned against his car outside the gate of the Wilford training ground and called Twain. The reporters around him were almost gone. There was no one to bother him no matter how loud he shouted at the phone. He was treated as just another regular reporter asking for enough space from the bureau.

“Don’t stay silent, Tony! Tony? Tony… Hello? Hello!”

After vehemently spouting so many words for a long time, Brosnan found that the person on the other end of the line had cut off the call.

“What the damn hell!” He was so angry that he kicked the wheel of his own car, and the car alarm sounded, which startled him.

“Asshole!” Brosnan touched his car key to turn off the car alarm in a hurry. He felt that it was a truly lousy day.

It was reasonable to say that since he was a reporter, he should not have thought so. What happened today should fire him up and make him want to rush back to start writing the article so that he could post the news before everyone.

But now he felt terrible about this matter as a huge Nottingham Forest fan.

He leaned back on the car and looked at the Nottingham Forest emblem on the facade of the Wilford training base’s entrance in a daze.

※※※

Twain walked back to his study and stared blankly at the video of the game, which had been paused on the computer screen. Coincidentally, he was watching a video of Nottingham Forest’s game last season. The man in the video was Aaron Mitchell.

He found himself completely not in the mood to sit down and work. He suddenly wanted to listen to some music. Perhaps only music could soothe his fidgety heart at this moment.

He turned on the stereo and returned to the computer amid the sound of the music. The wonderful music still could not let him settle down his heart. Something was stuck in the chest and wanted to rush out.

He sat down and turned off the video of the game. Then he opened up a Word document. He recalled he should write a column for the Evening Post. Since the World Cup, his column had gone quiet.

But today, he was going to write. He had a lot of things to write about. He was going to rebuke some people. He wanted to ridicule, vent and destroy some things. It was the only way that the future could be rebuilt.

Amidst the sound of continuous tapping on the keyboard, the voice of James Blunt sang:

“… You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, it’s true… But it’s time to face the truth, I will never be with you…” (An excerpt from James Blunt’s song, “You’re beautiful”).

Chapter 905 - Two Atomic Bombs

Martin O’Neill resigned and stayed with the Forest team for only two months. I am not surprised at all. I even thought he would have left a little earlier.

Poor results are not the biggest enemy for an English Premier League manager, but flagrant interference from the club’s top brass. When you are the last person in the team to know the facts, what is the point of staying there? To the club owner, the manager may be just an employee, and he can be hired for money. Well, I am very happy to look forward to what kind of manager the chairman of Nottingham Forest can get to be their puppet.

It was the first two paragraphs of Twain’s column for the Evening Post. This was his open letter.

After almost a month of silence, Twain’s column had opened fire again. This time it was aimed at his former employer, Nottingham Forest.

He exploded with energy as soon as he opened his mouth. It was not merely a rebuke of people. He had also revealed for the first time the real reason why he initially chose not to renew his contract in the column:

“... When Pepe transferred to AC Milan, I could empathize with how Martin O’Neill felt. Because a year ago, when Lennon went to Inter Milan, I met with the exact same situation as he did. If it weren’t for the fact that I had stopped drinking a long time ago, I think I’d have called him and invited him to have a drink together – look at us, the two poor managers.

In fact, since leaving the position, I have a lot of things that I wanted to say. But at the time, Martin O’Neill had just taken over. I did not want to talk too much about a team that I was no longer coaching. It would have affected the new manager and the team if I had done that. I do not doubt my influence on the team at all. Yes, I am very confident on that point.

I chose to shut up as I thought it was for the good of the team that way.

But now that things have changed, and O’Neill has resigned too. I do not think the Forest team’s situation can get any worse, so I am choosing to let you hear the words that are buried deep in my heart.

Life and work are made up of many details. And these details are often overlooked. But I am a person who cares about details. With regards to Lennon’s transfer, I saw something that I was most unwilling to see – the club’s senior management becoming used to getting involved with the team. It was supposed to be absolutely forbidden in the verbal agreement between Evan Doughty and I. But for the last eleven years, the original verbal agreement was no longer binding. Following which, I realized that such a situation would only increase over time, plaguing me till I was completely exhausted. Just like what Martin O’Neill did today, I chose to leave at the most glorious time. Perhaps that would also give everyone a beautiful view of my departing figure. But now it seems, perhaps a silent departure did not achieve that effect, I tried to be clever and it ended up backfiring...

I have to apologize to the fans who still deeply love Nottingham Forest and have been hurt by my attitude. I am sorry I am unable to continue to coach Nottingham Forest. If I could, I had always wanted to end my coaching career there. However, the current environment is not good for me. But wherever I am, my love for Nottingham Forest, my love for you all has never changed...”

The Nottingham Evening Post cleverly placed the image of Martin O’Neill who had resigned and the contents guide to Twain’s open letter together on the front page of the special edition for a comparative reference. It also reminded all the readers who buy the copy of the special edition on what was discussed in the issue.

The story of the two men who left Nottingham Forest.

The headline on the front page was also full of meaning:

They came one after another and they left here one after another.

The subtext pointed directly to the club. It was what Pierce Brosnan wanted to imply.

That open letter Twain wrote was very long. It occupied half a page. Twain did not know how many words he wrote. Anyway, he kept writing what he wanted to express from his heart. When he finished typing what was on his mind in front of the computer, his arms were so sore that he could not straighten them.

For the Nottingham Forest fans, the article was explosive as if the United States military had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan at that time. Putting it next to the news of Martin O’Neill’s resignation, it was even more shocking – it was like there were two atomic bombs with the other one to Nagasaki.

※※※

“Martin O’Neill announced earlier this morning that he had already applied to step down as the Nottingham Forest manager. There has been no response from the club’s senior management to his application at this time. Our reporter has found O’Neill, who is about to leave, at the gate of Wilford...”

In the noisy and shaky image shown from the camera footage, O’Neill was standing by his car door to answer questions from the reporters:

“My resignation has been approved ... This has nothing to do with Tony Twain... I believe they’ll soon announce a press conference...”

The scene was noisy, and his voice could not be heard clearly, but the key meaning was still being expressed.

A group of people drinking at the Forest Bar stared dumbstruck at the big-screen LCD television set hanging on the wall. More than two months ago, they watched the news of Tony Twain’s sudden departure in the same spot and now they saw that Martin O’Neill had suddenly resigned again today.... Their brains had lost the ability to think. They did not know what opinion to express about the matter.

Perhaps Bill’s first reaction was the truest. He just swore a curse word “F**K.” It was now known who he cursed about. Was it Martin O’Neill who resigned? Or the chairman of the club? Or the reporter who reported the news that had spoiled his day? Or... was it himself?

The news continued and the front door was slammed open by someone.

Fat John crashed through the door and entered with his hands carrying a pile of newspapers.

Seeing Bill standing in a daze in front of the television set and watching the news, he laughed and then walked over. He put a newspaper on the table where he was, and then he went to the next table to issue the newspaper. After he put a newspaper on every table in the bar, he had just one copy left on his hands, which was his own.

Someone noticed his unusual behavior and asked, “What are you going, Fat John? I’ll take a drink if you’re buying. But I’m not reading the newspaper you bought.”

John leaned against the bar, asked for a drink, and then said to the man, “Aren’t you always demanding for the truth about Tony’s resignation? That’s all in there.” He pointed to the newspaper placed in front of the other man, which had the word “special edition” on it. It was a special issue that was rushed out specifically for everything that happened to the Forest team today.

He had just stopped talking when the group of people who were stupefied like a block of wood just now, suddenly scrambled for the newspapers in front of them.

Only Bill did not move. He moved his gaze from the television screen and turned his attention toward John.

John smiled at him, sipped his drink, and began to read the newspaper.

The tone in Twain’s column was more moderate than when he went to war with other columnists. But the force of his innate sarcasm was no less.

He was in a good mood today, which seemed very contradictory against such a news backdrop. His delight had nothing to do with Nottingham Forest. Anyway, Nottingham Forest was already in this state. It would no longer be surprising if something worse were to happen. What made him happy was that the real Tony Twain was back. There was another reason, and that was Tony Twain was precisely as he thought. He had never betrayed them. He had always loved the team and this group of fans.

His mood was like knowing an old friend, whom he had lost contact with for many years, had been thinking about him. It warmed him from the bottom of his heart.

This is enough. Tony. Do a good job with the national team. I may be a Nottingham Forest fan, but I’m also an Englishman.

※※※

It had only been half a day, but Martin O’Neill’s resignation and Tony Twain’s open letter had already spread throughout the whole of England. Major and minor media outlets had reprinted the report, which could be considered a “grand occasion.”

As the team which had just won the Treble, even if they fired a groundsman, it would appear in the media. Not to mention the major news of changing two managers within two months.

It was clear that Nottingham Forest was caught up in some kind of internal strife... And many people were now clear on the cause of the internal strife – too much interference from the club’s senior management in the affairs of the team which caused the two former managers’ dissatisfaction. Therefore, they did not renew the contract and resign as a protest.

It was just unfortunate for the players and the fans who adored Nottingham Forest...

The afternoon training of that day was completed under the guidance of the assistant manager, and everyone was distracted. Kerslake had wanted to continue the afternoon training schedule, but he changed the training schedule at the last minute when he saw the team looking like this and then thought about the reporters who were crowded outside. He announced a half-day off in the afternoon.

He was now worried that how many of these players would still remain in the team in the end.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that how fortunate he would be if there were a strong man standing next to him, who could make him feel safe, and when he encountered difficulties, he would come up to him and say, “Don’t worry, David. I’m here.” Or he would grin and said to him with a smile, “I have an idea, David. Do you want to hear it?”

※※※

Wood received a call from Billy Woox on his way home..

“Martin O’Neill has resigned, too. Do you still plan on staying in such a team? Real Madrid has offer you an annual salary of fifteen million euros before tax. All you need is to sign it. That’s what you’re going to earn for the next four years.”

Surprisingly, the Forest captain did not hesitate this time, and firmly rebuffed his agent.

“No, I’m going to stay here.”

“I can predict the fate of this team in the next few years – a decline in results and damage to its reputation. Furthermore, due to the enmity with the other teams over the past decade, everyone will want to beat the previously arrogant and domineering Treble winner. Your games are going to be tough. It is possible that you won’t win a championship, George.” Woox calmly analyzed the downsides of staying on in the Forest team for him.

“I don’t care. I’ve won enough titles.”

Woox smiled and said, “That’s true. You’ve obtained all the honor you can win as a club player. But I still don’t want you to stay here. Evan Doughty is a big idiot and that old friend of his is the lesser idiot. Such a team does not deserve your loyalty. You’re the best player in the world, George. You should play for the best team and show the world your ability.”

“Do you feel that your income will be reduced if I continue to stay here all the time?”

Woox laughed heartily. He thought Wood was so cute about it. He laughed till he coughed. He said, “Ha... ahem ahem! I don’t mind how much money I make, George. I care about you.”

“I think I have enough money now.”

“But do you feel happy playing in a team like this?”

“I’m happy.” George Wood replied.

“You’re lying, George. Tell me the real reason, or I’m not done with you. I will call you in the middle of the night every day to tell you which club has taken a fancy to my dear George.” The old man was really like a naughty boy.

Wood was silent for a moment. He was almost home. If he were to continue to be entangled with the old man, it would not be good if his mother asked about it. Because it was easy to deal with his agent, but it was hard to deal with his own mother.

“I want to remind you not to make up any excuse to fool me. I’ve crossed more bridges than the number of roads you’ve walked on, darling.”

“Because I’m the team captain.” Wood said.

Woox thought Wood would say a few words to explain, but Wood only spoke one sentence and said nothing else, which gave him a feeling that he was left hanging. He paused and asked, “That’s it? Nothing else?”

“That’s it.”

“Why do you have this idea? A team captain can be changed when the new manager comes. It doesn’t mean anything. If they can draw in your loyalty by giving you a captain’s armband, then your loyalty is not worth much money ... What happened to you? Are you affected by today’s events, dear?”

“Nothing is going on with me. I’m telling the truth. I’m the captain and I can’t leave my team. I don’t want to abandon a bunch of people and leave on my own like he did!” Wood rarely raised his voice and spoke seriously.

This time it was Woox’s turn to be silent. He knew who the “he” was that came out of Wood’s mouth.

“Very well, George... You do what you want, as long as you think this is for the best. But it is such a terrible excuse!” Woox hung up the phone.

※※※

As the night wore on, the last afterglow of the setting sun lingering at the border of the western sky and horizon, was clearly visible outside the window due to the flat terrain in Wilford and the lack of any tall buildings in the surroundings within the field of view.

Surrounded by the dense forest, Wilford exuded sections of ink-like darkness against the backdrop of the afterglow. At this time, even the turf maintenance workers were gone. Only the club chairman’s office had a light peeking though in the whole of Wilford.

Evan Doughty stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking out of the window at the twilight. On the table behind him was a copy of the Nottingham Evening Post, which was published only this afternoon.

There were only four pages in the special edition, two of which belonged to Martin O’Neill and two pages belonged to Tony Twain.

He had read all the pages, with a kind of calmness that exceeded Allan’s expectations. The so-called “calmness” was observed by Allan, which meant that the club chairman did not swear angrily while he read, or stopped reading and then balled up the newspaper to toss it in a trash can, or tore it to pieces and lit it on fire with a lighter, or something like that. He read all the articles quietly and sat there without saying a word.

Allan knew that he would be facing more rights and wrongs from today onward. It was not wise to disturb him at this time. So, he quietly took his leave.

In fact, Evan had long snapped out of his contemplation. He was currently hiding from the media. He knew that there would be a lot of media out there hoping to interview him, even if the club had already announced a press conference tomorrow afternoon. Those hungry paparazzi were still not satisfied. They wanted to know more, and they wanted to know more inside information. Or... they just wanted to capture a photograph with Evan Doughty’s panicked expression on his face.

When the last glimmer of light disappeared under the heavy night, Evan Doughty emerged like a thief from the dark three-story building and slipped into the parking lot by staying close to the wall. His driver, waiting in the car for him, had fallen asleep from waiting. He had to knock on the car window to wake the driver who had tilted his head against the driver’s seat and was drooling from his wide-open mouth.

“Ah? I’m sorry, sir... I fell asleep... Sorry...” The groggy driver opened the car window and wiped off the sticky drool on his chin with his other hand as he stammered his apology to Evan.

However, Evan impatiently tapped the car door and interrupted him, “Open the door and drive home!”

When the dark red Audi appeared at the gate, the security guard had the illusion that the hood of the car was alive. It moved to the left and right, as if to observe the situation ahead.

The driver honked at the guard to signal to open the closed gate but was scolded by the chairman.

“Don’t press the horn!”

He was afraid that the sound would be heard by the reporters hiding in unknown places. But it was reasonable to say that at this time there should not be any more reporters around here... Or was it merely his “guilty conscience?”

The beautiful modern electric gate in moved slowly before Evan Doughty’s eyes to give way to the car. But in his eyes, it moved more slowly than a snail. He somewhat missed the arabesque iron gate that was torn down before. Ian MacDonald would open the gate with his hands with strength as if he were a young man. The speed was much faster than this modern gizmo controlled by the computer program!

When the gate was only opened half-way through amid the rumbling sound, Evan urged his driver to drive the car through. For him, it was becoming more dangerous every second they waited here.

But he still miscalculated. When his car had just pulled out of the gate at its slowest pace, a group of reporters came out of nowhere and suddenly appeared on both sides and in front of the car.

The driver was startled and hit the brakes.

Now he could not escape at all.

The reporters swarmed up when they saw the car stopped. They carried their video cameras, cameras and microphones to the rear window.

“Mr. Doughty! Can you share your thoughts on O’Neill’s resignation?”

“Tony Twain claims that his departure is entirely your responsibility. Do you have any response to that, Mr. Doughty?”

“How do you feel about losing two managers in a row in two months?”

“Mr. Doughty, can you answer a few questions? Just a few!”

“Nottingham Forest has lost the manager less than half a month before the start of the league tournament. Do you have a new manager lined up?”

“What’s the future of the team? Real Madrid is said to have made an offer for George Wood once again. Will he leave?”

Countless questions accompanied by camera flashes, battered Evan Doughty. His face was ghastly white lit by the flash bulbs.

He tried to arrange his expression to look better and then ignored the reporters. He only urged the driver to drive the car to get out of here.

When the car started again, the reporters blocking in the front retreated and snapped photos at the same time. When they were certain that they could not take any newer shots, they gave way to the car.

The dark red Audi engine made a booming sound of being suppressed for too long and rushed out in front of the reporters like it was fleeing.

A photojournalist pressed the shutter to capture the tail of the car which stirred up a cloud of dust.

“This photo is awesome. The pathetic-looking club chairman speeding away. Let’s hope he can have a good dream tonight.”

Chapter 906 - The Two Buddies’ Troubles

Evan Doughty would definitely begin to miss the days when Tony Twain was still around from now on.

Because he realized that facing the media all the time was not an enjoyable thing.

When his car drove to the gate of the Wilford training base, a large group of reporters completely blocked the area, and his car could not move at all. Just like what happened last night, a large group of reporters pounced when they saw the dark red Audi A6, as if they were sharks which got a whiff of blood. Those bright white flashes were like the sharks’ giant teeth, which radiated cold light in the early morning sun.

They asked the same questions as yesterday, but they were even more aggressive. Evan believed that if he could not give them a reply, he would not be able to enter the gate of Wilford.

He opened the car window and the microphones immediately slithered in like snakes.

If he had just put his face in front of the car window, he would have been poked in the face by these stick-like objects….

“There will be a press conference in the afternoon, gentlemen. If you have any questions, please save them till then!” Evan raised his voice and shouted with none of the club chairman’s bluster. He was completely overwhelmed by the bloodthirsty paparazzi.

“And can we ask any questions?” A reporter inquired.

In order to get rid of these people, Evan Doughty had to nod and agree,, “Any question is fine!”

“Well, how about Tony Twain’s open letter… Can I ask about that?” The reporter did not want to let go of such an opportunity.

Evan Doughty did not answer the question. He pushed the microphones out and then closed the car window.

The Audi made a grueling drive through the crowd, inching forward bit by bit. The dissatisfied reporters were still filming around the car. People even hit the car windows and doors and shouted, hoping to get the people inside to come out and answer questions.

Security guards from the entire Wilford training base gathered here to escort their boss. Even so, he still appeared hassled under the impact of the reporters.

When Evan finally arrived at his office after much difficulty, Allan Adams was already waiting for him inside.

“Those reporters are really crazy!” Evan complained bitterly. A reporter appeared near his home last night. It seemed unlikely that he would have a peaceful day.

“You have to be thankful that they’re just reporters, and not crazy football fans. Or else you’re going to be flipped over with the car.” Allan said with a laugh.

Speaking of the football fans, Evan became wary and asked, “What?”

“Protesting fans have already appeared outside the training base. They’re holding a banner. The words on it are … all curses at you, Evan.” Allan gave him the latest update. In fact, he came to him this time for this matter.

Evan was taken aback for a moment. It had finally happened. And there would be more violent storms in the future.

“The fans need to be appeased.” Allan said.

“How to appease them?”

“We need to find a new manager as soon as possible, get the team back to normal, and let the fans turn their attention to the transfer market … Then hurry up to buy a superstar player with enough weight.” This was Allan’s plan.

“Here’s the problem, Allan. Do you have a candidate for the new manager in mind?”

Allan was stumped by his question. At this time, there were too few good managers left on the market and they were not interested in the managers who were not good enough. The goal that the club set for the team was to continue to reach next season’s Champions League and at least guarantee one championship title. They could not casually find a manager and be expected to fulfill such a demand.

Both men did not make a sound and the office fell into an awkward silence.

※※※

The Nottingham Forest players were training on the training ground under Kerslake’s guidance, but they all appeared to be preoccupied. Everyone’s eyes would unknowingly glance outside.

A large number of fans gathered there, but they did not come here today to watch the team train and then look for the opportunity to ask some of their favorite players to sign autographs. They hung the banners which they brought on the wire fence, in which the following words were written:

“Who’s the culprit who made the team a joke? Evan Doughty!”

“Evan Doughty needs to go! Give us back Tony Twain!”

“The perpetrator must be punished. Evan Doughty must step down!”

“We have a right to know the truth about Tony’s departure!”

“Die, Evan Doughty, die!”

There were no less than ten such banners, densely packed as they hung on the wire fence. They fluttered in the wind and were attention-grabbing.

If the reporters could come in, they would be filming and snapping away in a frenzy around the area.

It could be the best news material –

Chapter 907 - Rather Forget About the Past

More than 80 reporters from different media sources crowded the big conference hall of the Crimson Stadium as they attended the press conference in the afternoon.

Evan Doughty and Allan Adams attended this press conference.

The reporters were still rather reserved at the start, asking questions about O’Neill’s resignation, or asking about the identity of the next Nottingham Forest manager. However, after a few questions in, the reporters could hold back no longer and they started to stand up and ask about Tony Twain.

“Is the public letter from Tony Twain true?”

“Did you force a meritorious manager out just because you were unable to agree to his request of having absolute control over the club’s transfer matters?”

“Would you agree that the club’s biggest failure was not to extend Tony Twain’s contract?”

“There was supposedly a big group of fans protesting outside the Wilford gates this morning, care to talk about it?”

“Mr Allan Adams, you said that the club will give the fans an explanation about Twain’s resignation. Can you reveal a little bit about this explanation?”

…

The two of them were embattled by the questions that were coming in like a violent storm. They were obviously not adept at handling reporters and now they realized how dumb their decision to attend this press conference was——They could have just sent any media officer as their spokesperson.

At the end, they had no choice but to use their trump card——

“We’re sorry, but today’s press conference is held to give an official response to Martin O’Neill’s resignation request. We’ll not answer any question that is not related to this matter,” Allan Adams stood out to shield Evan from the questions, but how long could he last?

The reporters came up with an idea and changed the phrasing of the questions.

“Is the reason for Martin O’Neill’s resignation the same as Tony Twain’s reason to resign?”

“It is said that after the friendly match between Forest and England, O’Neill and Twain had another private talk after the press conference. Does it have anything to do with his resignation?”

“It is rumored that the Nottingham Forest team is not united, and Martin O’Neill did not have the trust of all the players. Does this have to do with the fact that Twain’s influence is still strong within the team?”

“Does the club have any countermeasures in place after losing two managers in the span of two months?

…

The reporters were bent on forcing these two to say what they thought about Tony Twain.

Allan Adams had no choice but to keep beating around the bush and answering off topic. The reporters were not happy with his attitude and their questions became even more blistering.

“There’s a rumor that you received a commission from Inter Milan in Lennon’s transfer, is this true?”

“Nonsense!” Allan was finally angered, “Rumors like these are equivalent to slander, I have the rights to sue!” He stood up and waved his hands in an agitated manner.

Evan Doughty, who was next to him, took one look at him and then gave the media officer a look.

The media officer stepped forward to “rescue the emperor”, “Everybody, this will be the end of today’s press conference…”

Before he could finish, Allan and Evan had already turned around and left.

The reporters were not willing to let them go and they chased after them, asking questions until the two of them completely disappeared out of sight.

“Bastards…they’re not cooperative at all!” The reporters complained as they did not get any news that were of value.

“Don’t worry, didn’t Allan say that the club will give the fans a satisfactory reply in four days’ time? Let’s wait and see,” The older counterparts laughed very happily, “This is a wonderful summer. If only every summer is like this…”

※※※

When scenes of this press conference were shown on television, many Forest fans laughed happily at the flustered looks of Allan Adams and Evan Doughty.

At first, they might still be doubtful about it as they did not believe that the club’s management would do something that self-destructive.

However, as the media reports pile up and more and more inside information was dug out, nobody had any other doubts that these two are the culprits behind the club forcing Tony Twain out.

They used the phrase “forced out”. Even though Twain was the one who chose not to extend his contract, nobody thought that Twain was responsible for it after knowing the truth. If not for the fact that the club’s management was unwilling to give up power and wanted to restrict Twain, it was impossible that Twain chose not to extend his contract. This was the result of 11 years of his hard work and there were countless fans who supported him, there was really no reason for him to leave.

So, the club’s management forced Twain out, that was indubitable.

There was laughter coming from the Forest bar too.

The fragmented bar was slowly recovering. The people were no longer arguing about whether Twain treated them unfairly, on the other hand, they felt guilty for how they treated him. Football fans in England are like this, they dare to love as much as they dare to hate.

Bill was the only one who seemed conflicted still.

He had not been there much recently, and even if he did go, he would drink alone at a corner and not pay any mind to anyone who came forward to talk to him.

Today was the same. Nobody noticed him when he arrived as everyone was busy watching and laughing at the club’s chairman and business executive on the television. He preferred it as well as he sat at a corner and made a hand signal asking for beer to Burns behind the bar table.

Burns asked a waiter to bring beer over to him while telling John, “He’s here again.”

John took one look at Bill, “I see him.”

“Aren’t you going to say something? You two are good friends you know.”

“He’s still feeling very confused, I should leave him alone for now. Let’s wait a few days… If he can think it through himself, there will be nothing to worry about, if he can’t, then there’s no use for anyone else to say anything. He’s already almost 50 and he’s still acting like a kid…” John rambled on.

Burns laughed when he heard the last time, “To me, all football fans are like kids. You did a good job leading the guys at Wilford this morning… Did you think about the kind of response that you’ll get? To be honest, I don’t think the club will possibly openly admit that it was a mistake letting Twain go. At least not during this period of time anyway…”

John shook his head and said, “I just want to make things difficult for them, let them know that there are still people in this world who dare to defy them. Even though that man is the club’s chairman, us fans can still give him our middle finger! If they do not give us a satisfactory answer, then we’ll show our displeasure towards the club with our actions in every home game. And…” He stopped for a while, “…it’s also to apologize to Tony. After all, we booed him mercilessly in the Crimson Stadium before. Those jeers must have hurt him. If… I’m saying if, Tony ever returns to the Crimson Stadium, I want to lead everyone to apologize to him.”

“I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening,” Burns dampened John’s enthusiasm.

“I thought so…” John muttered softly after taking a sip of beer.

※※※

“Damn it! Those damned reporters!” Even though Allan Adams was the shield during the press conference, Evan Doughty was the one who was fuming in private.

Allan followed behind Evan without saying anything.

The two of them were walking towards Evan’s mansion from the carpark, a manor that looked like an ancient castle.

“They want to watch us embarrass ourselves, we must not let them get what they want. We’ll shut up after publishing an official statement on our website regarding O’Neill’s resignation. We’ll wait a few days…”

When he talked about what would happen in a few days, Evan stopped and stayed silent, rooted to the spot.

Allan was also curious about the reply that the club was going to give the fans to stop them from creating trouble.

“How are you going to answer them, Evan?” Allan asked.

Evan looked like he made a very tough decision. He let out a deep breath and told Allan, “Aren’t we lacking a manager now that O’Neill’s gone?”

Allan nodded. He did not know what has that got to do with his question.

“I’ve decided to approach Tony.”

Allan was shocked and he suddenly understood what Evan meant, “You’re planning to ask Tony to replace O’Neill? Are you crazy?”

“I’m not crazy, Allan. The best solution now is for Tony to return. He’s the only one who can manage that team and he’s the only one who can calm our fans down. I’ve been thinking about it for one full day and this is the only solution.”

Allan stared at Evan in bewilderment for a long while before giving a wry smile, “After one big round, we’re back at the starting point.”

Evan did not say anything. He knew that it was very humiliating to do that, but to safeguard Nottingham Forest’s future, he had to do so.

“I don’t think he’ll agree to it. He’s someone who’ll seek revenge for the smallest grievance. We’ve offended him and he’ll never come back,” Allan felt that this plan was ridiculous.

“I can apologize to him and I can give him the power and freedom that he wants, give him the highest pay…” If Evan said this two months back, all these would not have happened. Too bad not everyone can predict the future.

“What about his contract with the English Football Association?”

“I plan to go pull some strings in London and fight to allow him to hold the post of the national team’s manager at the same time…”

Allan sighed deeply this time and shook his head, “You’re crazy.” Then he left Evan behind alone and walked on.

Evan was not sure himself if what he was doing was suitable. But this was indeed the only perfect solution that he could think of. If Tony would return and manage the team, all the problems would not be problems. He would lose a bit of pride but in the long run, what he would get far outweighs what he would lose.

※※※

Twain was very surprised that he would still receive a call from Evan Doughty. That was why he was stunned for a few seconds when he saw the name on the display of his mobile phone before picking up the call.

“I thought that you have already deleted my number and destroyed everything that proved that I ever existed, Mr Evan Doughty,” Twain became very sarcastic after picking up the phone.

The person on the other side of the line forced a chuckle. He knew he would be receiving this kind of “welcome speech”.

Evan did not pay heed to Twain’s sarcasm and he told Twain his intention for calling.

Twain’s reaction was not unlike Allan’s, he asked loudly, “Are you crazy?”

“I know this idea might sound a little crazy…”

“A little? Looks like those reporters gave you a tough time.” Twain mocked.

“But I’m here to apologize to you, Tony…”

“Apologize for what?”

“There might have been some misunderstanding between us…”

“There’s no misunderstanding, Mr Doughty. No misunderstandings at all. Me leaving only showed that our ideas towards football, towards Nottingham Forest, were different. Therefore, there’s no need for me to forcefully stay there and of course, since it’s impossible for you to leave, I had to be the one to leave. That’s all there is to that, what’s there to apologize for?

Evan started to think that his method might not work after hearing Twain say that.

“I still hope that you’re reconsider the possibility of returning to Nottingham Forest…”

“There’s no need to reconsider, Mr Doughty. I have a two-years contract with the English Football Association. During this period, I’ll be going nowhere. I won’t go back to managing Nottingham Forest,” Twain said firmly. It seemed like he was really not going to return to Nottingham Forest.

“Your players need you, Tony…”

Twain laughed, and he laughed out loud, “You’re the king of this team, aren’t you? You were arrogant and you thought you could control everything. Now that you realize you can’t, you want me to help you wipe your ass? So sorry, Mr Doughty. I’m tired of it. Good luck to you and good luck to your Nottingham Forest.

With that, he hung up without waiting for Evan to say anything else.

He could still feel the anger burning within his chest after hanging up and the flames were looking for an avenue to exit his body. So, he threw his phone and it smashed onto the wall and broke into countless pieces.

He only managed to calm himself down after drinking two glasses of water.

You decided to abandon me when you’re successful and content, yet you have the cheeks to ask for my assistance when you’re in trouble? Evan, Evan, is your head filled with shit? If I agreed to your request, what would I become? A tool that you can abandon at will? A slut who’ll sleep with you for money?

I’m very sorry but to me, there are indeed many things that we can put a monetary value to, but not dignity.

This is the shit that you created, lick it up yourself!

※※※

After Evan was hung up upon so rudely, he found out that the call could not longer go through when he tried again.

He sat back in his char and held his phone in his hands, lost in thoughts as he looked at the Wilford training ground outside his window.

The scene of the three of them drawing up the blueprint of Nottingham Forest’s magnificence inside an Indian restaurant ten years ago had become a yellow, faded photograph.

The shared target of G14 was also dismissed by a deal made by the UEFA six years ago.

The blueprint that they envisioned was already tattered and torn. If that was the case, why did they have to stick together? They could just go their separate ways from now.

I’ve apologized to you, but you wouldn’t accept it. I’ve tried to approach you with a soft approach, but you rejected me too. From now on, we don’t owe each other anything. What happens to you is none of my business, what happens to Nottingham Forest is none of your business either.

You’re England’s manager while I’m Nottingham Forest Football Club’s chairman. We have no relations with one another anymore.

Chapter 908 - This is an Unsatisfactory Answer

Evan Doughty’s “satisfactory answer” was to get Twain back and bring everything back to what it was. Everyone could ignore what happened during the past two months and Nottingham Forest could continue to dominate in England and Europe.

But Twain refused to cooperate with him. Naturally, this meant that this answer would no longer be that satisfactory…

Evan and Allan did not sit idly by in the days following Twain’s refusal. They contacted managers everywhere and it did not matter if they were out of a job or already managing a team, they were all on their list. The two of them had to find a new manager for the team as the team’s transfer activities and pre-season preparations were all in a standstill state. If this situation went on, Nottingham Forest’s glorious plans for the new season would be all for naught.

Hiddink insisted on taking on a dual role as the Netherlands national team manager too, otherwise there was no room for discussion.

McClaren was not interested in being the manager of this team.

Scolari was not willing to manage in England again.

Ancelotti did not want to manage a club that his rival once managed as he did not want people to keep discussing about the rivalry he had with Tony Twain. Besides, people would introduce him as the successor to Tony Twain, that would be a massive humiliation.

Schuster was doing very well in Spain and he did not want to manage in England.

…

They even went looking for a manager in South America, Luxemburgo, Bielsa… Beggars cannot be choosers. They did not care if their targets’ playing style would suit their team, as long as he was a manager, they approached him and asked, “Are you willing to manage the best team in Europe?”

Even though they kept offering an olive branch to everyone, nobody was willing to take it. All the news reports in recent days might have damaged the reputation of the club and many of the managers had to take one thing into consideration when they received the invitation. How long would they be able to last in a club where the management kept interfering with the club’s affairs?

The only appeal they had then was money. Evan had no choice but to increase their offer, hoping to attract a manager of a certain caliber.

Eventually, they finally managed to decide on a manager before the agreed day with the fans.

Ex-Valencia manager, Quique Sánchez Flores accepted the offer from Nottingham Forest and signed a three-year contract, officially becoming the manager of the team.

But the people were not interested in news like this. They were more interested in the manner that the club was going to give the furious fans a “satisfactory answer”.

Media from all over England attended the press conference announcing Flores’ appointment, however, they were not here for the new manager, but they were here to ask about that “answer” instead.

That was a very awkward situation for Flores. He was the second person after Martin O’Neill to have a taste of Tony Twain’s influence. This opening to his managerial life in Nottingham Forest was not a sweet memory.

There were only a few reporters who came all the way from his home country, Spain, who asked Flores a few questions, ensuring that he was not totally humiliated. The rest of the reporters from England directed all their questions at Evan Doughty who attended the press conference with Flores.

At the same time, a group of policemen surrounded another group of people outside the Crimson Stadium. The group that was surrounded were the radical fans of Nottingham Forest and they were standing outside the entrance of the stadium with posters that ridiculed Evan Doughty and Allan Adams as well as slogans insulting them. They were protesting against the club under the searing sun.

The reporters were still squeezed in the media hall, asking…or rather, “bombarding” Evan Doughty with questions.

Doughty could not take it much longer and in the end, he could only say, “My answer is for the fans, not for you reporters.” If not for the fact that he had to stay with Flores to the end of the press conference, he really wanted to just leave then. At that moment, he also realized how annoying the media could be and why Tony loved to go against them. This was something that he did not realize when the media was still praising him.

This press conference was a torment to Flores. However, it was a good thing that he was not very fluent in English as it meant that he did not understand some of the more sarcastic and mean questions. Otherwise, he would most definitely be angered if he knew that the English reporters were questioning his ability to control the stars in the Nottingham Forest changing room and he might even just leave there and then——If he did it, he would have much more experience than Evan. After all, he was famous for being a “manager with an attitude” in Spain.

Due to the troubles caused by the reporters and the fans, this press conference ended very hastily.

Evan Doughty and Flores both left the Crimson Stadium with many things on their minds.

When Evan was driving his car out of the carpark, he saw the protesting fans under the “protection” of the police.

The slogan on the signs that they were holding read, “Go back Americans! Return Tony to us!!”

If these people knew that he had indeed offered Tony the job but got rejected, what would they think about that? At that moment, Evan felt that he loved Forest more than Tony did.

※※※

Allan had hoped to sign a star player for the team before giving an answer to the fans but they were out of time.

On the next day, Nottingham Forest published a public letter that was handwritten by Evan Doughty on their official website.

In the letter, the club chairman did not admit that it was a mistake letting Twain go, nor did he give any explanations about O’Neill’s resignation. He merely told the fans who loved Forest that 11 years was an epoch, it was time for a new dynasty.

“… As the chairman of the club, I’m very thankful for everything that Tony Twain had done for the team and the club. I also miss the days when we were colleagues, but we must move forward, ten years per cycle. It might be time for us to start anew. I’m still very thankful to Tony for winning us the treble in his final season, that was the greatest parting gift. Perhaps, this gift made us lose our judgement, to continue the glory or to mold a new age of glory? I pick the latter.”

“I hope that you’ll continue to support the team. Many managers come and go in the history of the club. When Brian Clough left, weren’t there also people who said that nobody could do better? After him, we welcomed Tony Twain. It’s the same cycle now, why can’t there be a third person?”

“I hope that today will be the beginning of another glorious cycle…”

“That’s bullshit! Tony cannot be surpassed! For real this time!” In the Forest bar, the fans who had a few drinks too many were discussing about the answer that Evan Doughty gave the fans as the chairman of the club, “I bet he must have had too much to drink when he wrote this. He’s brain must be muddled; does he even know what he’s saying?”

“Winning the treble, the double, winning three UEFA Champions League trophies, the only manager who won back-to-back Champions League after the revamp, 12 trophies in 11 years. Winning at least one trophy every year has become a culture and there is even someone who became the host of a television show by insulting him with his writing… To be honest, a manager like this is hard to be surpassed,” Pierce Brosnan wrote this reply to Evan Doughty’s public letter in his column.

“Logically speaking, what Evan Doughty said was not wrong. The footballing world is more and more materialistic nowadays. Managers who can last more than ten years in the same team are rare, so it was normal for Tony to leave. To the Nottingham Forest fans, it might be time to forget about Tony Twain… However, I think that Mr Doughty is wrong about something——Even though Forest welcomed the Tony Twain era after the Clough era, but Flores, who has never managed outside Spain, is definitely not that third person,” Lineker had this to say during BBC’s special regarding the series of events happening to Nottingham Forest.

Carl Spicer, the person that became the host of a television show by insulting Twain with his writing according to Pierce Brosnan, might be the only one who openly supported Evan Doughty’s letter in his show, “This is why I think it’s not very good for a manager to be too charismatic——Not just a manager, a player too. When a person’s influence and existence surpass the club and the team, many things will change. Why so? They’ll change a lot of things that are generally very common… For example, it should be a normal thing for Nottingham Forest to have a change in dynasty, it happens to every team. However, due to Tony Twain’s existence, an usually common move became a traitorous act of forcing out the meritorious… I’m kidding! Even the club chairman can be replaced, why can’t we replace the manager?” Since Twain was also the manager of England, he did not care if he was not the manager of Nottingham Forest.

The media had mixed reactions to this public letter. The fans, however, would not accept it.

Changing of dynasties, the third glorious age, all these were excuses in the eyes of the clever fans, lousy excuses to hide the mistakes they made in their jobs.

It would be strange if they were to be satisfied with an answer like this.

What should they do if they were not satisfied?

※※※

“The protests of the fans against the Nottingham Forest management seems to have reached a climax, normal protests can no longer express the disappointment and anger they felt towards the club. Just today, the club chairman Evan Doughty received a ‘death threat’ in his office…”

The reporter was standing in front of the Wilford gate in the screen and there were many other reporters around him. What was more striking than the reporters were the five police cars with their red and blue siren lights on and the policemen guarding the grounds as though they were facing an enemy.

“The police believes that this was the doing of a radical Nottingham Forest fan…”

The police officer coming out from Wilford was showing the media the evidence of the “death threat” inside the plastic bag——A white envelope and a single bullet.

The crowd in the bar who were watching the television had mixed reactions to it. Some people cheered that radical fan and thought that he spoke for all of them. Some were against it as they believed that no matter how much they hated Evan Doughty, they should not resort to “death threats”.

Fat John did not participate in the discussion. He was concerned about something else.

He searched amongst the crowd for a while before asking Burns at the side, “Have you seen Bill recently, Kenny?”

Burns thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head, “I haven’t seen him here in two days.”

John did not say anything. He closed his mouth and his expression indicated that he was worried.

Burns looked at the television screen and knew what John was worried about. He consoled him, “Don’t imagine things. Bill isn’t that kind of person, honestly, he’s the most timid one amongst all of you…”

“I have a feeling that Bill’s not normal these days, I hope what you’re saying is right…”

Skinny Bill entered with a white envelope in his hands just when he was saying that.

When Fatty saw that envelope, he stared at Bill all the way until he reached his side and passed the letter to Burns.

“Kenny, I’m not educated, help me see whether there are any problems with this letter. Also, get me a beer, I’m so thirsty…”

John was still staring at him with an expression that seemed to suggest that Bill was not holding a letter but a gun instead.

Burns opened the envelope and shook what was inside out——It was neither a bullet nor a knife. It was a piece of folded paper.

Opening it, Burns took one look at it then looked at Bill in surprise, “A confession letter?”

“I feel that I should apologize to Tony, that’s why I wrote this… But you know that I did not receive much education and I’ve already forgotten those things that I learnt in school. I only managed to write so little after two days…” Bill pointed to the piece of paper in Burns’ hands sheepishly, “I don’t think that Tony will ever have the chance to come here anymore and the odds of us meeting is too small. So, I think I should just write a letter to him… If you have the way to do so, please give it to him.”

Burns did not say anything and started reading the letter.

John pushed a mug of golden beer to Bill from the side.

There were droplets of water on the thick glass of the mug and there were white foam overflowing from the side of the opening, very tempting.

“It’s iced, it’s good,” John laughed heartily with Bill.

※※※

A few days later, the case of the “death threat” was solved. The police were able to identify the culprit very easily from the fingerprint on the bullet. It was indeed a radical Nottingham Forest fan who did not have any prior experience, otherwise, he would not have left his fingerprints all over the bullet and the envelope. He was unhappy with the club’s management for forcing Tony Twain out as well as selling Pepe, that was why he sent this letter to teach Evan Doughty a “lesson”.

When he was arrested, the media was following him to interview him. This culprit had no feelings of remorse at all as he shouted towards the camera, “Away with the Americans! We want Tony! We want Tony! Nottingham Forest will be destroyed by this idiot, destroyed…”

He was still in the midst of shouting when the police pushed him into the police car. With the door closed, he was still shouting wildly at the camera, although nobody could hear him anymore.

Even though it was just a false alarm, Evan Doughty was very nervous. He sent his wife and kids to America and firmly condemned this kind of behavior when interviewed.

He was the King of the club and nobody could threaten his rule. He had complete power there. The fans who only knew how to protest on the streets were unimportant to him. However, this event taught him one thing——Even the smallest man can make the King feel fear.

Do not underestimate the fans. Indeed, they might not be able to threaten his position as the chairman of the club no matter how they protest as long as he did not resign, but they could ensure that he could not have a good night’s sleep…

Chapter 909 - Nothing to Do with Forest

After the case of the “death threat”, the Nottingham police increased the security around Evan Doughty and Allan Adams under Evan’s request. He became the laughingstock of the whole European footballing world——There were not many club chairmen who received “death threats” from their own fans through the history of European football.

He did not receive any strange envelopes with bullets, blades or white powder after that. However, both his and Allan’s offices were already flooded by condemnation letters from the furious fans.

Evan Doughty’s public letter had completely infuriated the fans.

What did he mean by “it’s time to forget about Tony Twain? What did he mean by “It’s time for a new glorious chapter”?

This guy knows nothing. Tony’s the one who brought us all the glory. More importantly, can we just forget about all the good times just like this? It has only been two months and you’re saying that we should begin on a new journey, do you think everyone is as heartless as you? After more than a decade, there are still people who are thinking about Brian Clough. We have reasons to believe that more than two decades later, Tony Twain will still be in our minds!

And you, Mr Evan Doughty. When you leave your post as chairman, how many people will still think of you? No… There may be many who’ll still be thinking about you, but it won’t be because of any “good times”.

※※※

To distract the fans and to allow the fans to vent their anger through another channel, Nottingham Forest Football Club quickened their forays in the transfer market. Because of the turmoil previously, they have already wasted too much time. They were in the last place of the preparation battle between them and their main competitors for the title.

If their target for this season was really the league title, then they had to make full use of the following ten days——The English Premier League would begin on August 19th and Nottingham Forest had to play in the Community Shield before that. As Forest won the treble in the last season, they would be playing Arsenal, who was second in the league, in the Community Shield.

Just when Forest was still searching for suitable new blood, they lost another important player.

Nuri ?ahin’s agent had come to an agreement with Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest had agreed to the transfer. This transfer would give Forest eighteen million pounds in transfer fee.

Pepe and ?ahin left one after another as though the Forest fans were watching a live rendition of “Dynasties”. They had reasons to believe that they would be witnessing departures like these very frequently in future.

On August 5th, Victor Moses transferred to Middlesbrough for a transfer fee of eight million pounds. He did not have many chances to play during his five seasons with Nottingham Forest, instead, he spent most of his time on loan for his development. His original plan was to stay and fight for his place in the team, but he lost confidence in the club during the past two months and decided to leave.

On the next day, Nottingham Forest made the announcement of an “inspiring” transfer.

After an exceptionally difficult negotiation, Nottingham Forest finally had an agreement with Inter Milan for the transfer of their star striker to England’s treble winners. The transfer fee was thirty-five million pounds!

Mario Balotelli, also known as “Super Mario” in Italy, was the most talented young player in Inter Milan in recent years and were touted to be the Inter Milan’s hope for the next decade. However, his relationship with the new manager, Zola, had always been rocky after the departure of Mourinho and he had been asking for a transfer.

He had intended to move to Manchester United, where Mourinho went, and Manchester United did make an offer for Balotelli as well.

But Evan Doughty, with an urgent need to salvage some reputation amongst the fans, intercepted and made this “willing” transfer complicated. Eventually, Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United through the power of money as Manchester United was unwilling to pay the massive transfer fee of thirty-five million pounds. Inter Milan rejected Manchester United’s offer of twenty-four million pounds and accepted the offer from Nottingham Forest. Therefore, Balotelli could only accept this result that was akin to “breaking up an affectionate couple” and “submit” to Nottingham Forest which did not have a good reputation recently.

However, he did not show any such emotions during the press conference. He still praised the team for winning the treble and declared that it had always been a dream of his to join such a great team.

The anger that the fans had for the club were reduced a little with the joining of Italy’s golden boy and there were obviously lesser letters greeting the mothers and wives of Evan Doughty and Allan Adams that were delivered to them.

As time went by, the amount of such letters would only get lesser. When the new season begins, the fans would focus their attention on the matches and not many of them would be interested in spending their time to go against a coward. However, Evan Doughty had better pray that the results under Flores would continue on from the high bar set by Tony Twain, otherwise what awaited him would be an even more intense storm.

If the results were good, there would be no problems even if there were one. If the results were bad, there would be a problem even if there weren’t one.

※※※

Twain was still paying attention to Nottingham Forest. He had no choice but to do so. In the planned name list for England, Nottingham Forest’s players played an important part in it.

He would be watching the Community Shield match at the new Wembley Stadium to examine the performances of the English players of both teams.

When paying attention to this team, he did his best to not criticize Evan Doughty in the newspapers for his wastrel behavior. If he had done so, he would have been acting beyond his authority and it would not be fair to the new manager of the team. He did not want to interfere with the actions of the club and he reminded himself that he had nothing to do with this team anymore ever since he rejected the second offer from Evan Doughty.

The new season was about to begin, and he had to devote himself into his work, there was no time for other thoughts.

There would be people from Nottingham who would pay attention to the fate of Nottingham Forest.

He had a problem then——How to face George Wood when the next match for the national team came.

He heard from that old codger Billy Woox from the phone that Wood was very unhappy with him. If he did not handle it well, it would be the fuse that might separate the national team. In Twain’s plans, George Wood was definitely an integral part. Just like in Forest, he was going to build everything around Wood.

If Wood did not cooperate because he was unhappy with him, then Twain would be in big trouble…

Twain wanted to meet with Wood to have a chat before the Community Shield but Wood rejected him as he needed to “focus on preparing for the Community Shield for now”.

Twain frowned——Was this a terrible premonition?

※※※

The Community Shield was a test for the new manager, Flores. He had to submit a satisfactory test paper, or he would not be able to have a good life in his future managerial career. He was facing a bunch of picky Nottingham Forest fans who had been spoiled by that Tony Twain guy for the past decade.

Being the champion and victories were their tradition.

But Flores was still not the leading character in this game.

When Twain appeared on the stands, the cameras kept going towards him and the commentator as well as guest pundits kept bringing the topic to him.

“Watching a Nottingham Forest match from the stands, this is probably Tony Twain’s first time, isn’t it?

“No, no. This is nothing foreign to him. You just have to check how many times he had been sent to the stands during his reign as the Forest manager… Ha!”

“George Wood is giving a solid performance, let’s take a look at Twain’s expression… Hmm, he is not showing anything on his face at all…”

“Arsenal has scored! A beautiful goal and it only took four one-touch passes to completely dismantle the Forest defensive line! The camera is back on Twain and he’s talking to the England assistant manager, Des Walker beside him. Ah, I apologize, I was just thinking of his reaction if he was down at the sideline…”

“Nottingham Forest has equalized! A header from Mitchell! This is an attack that had a very typical Tony Twain style… Ha, the camera is back on Twain again and he does not look particularly happy… Ah, he’s now the England manager and he has nothing to do with Nottingham Forest anymore. Looks like Flores continued to use Twain’s tactics to ensure the stability of the team…”

“This is very normal. He had only taken over the team for a few days after all. There are many things that he’s not familiar with, and the safest method for him was to use the tactics that the team was most familiar with. Kerslake must have been a big help to Flores… He’s an impressive assistant manager and I heard that Tony Twain approached him when he was constructing his coaching team but he rejected it… Ah, the camera is giving Twain another close-up!”

…

There was someone who made a useless piece of statistics after the game. During the match that lasted 94 minutes, the camera gave Tony Twain in the stands 11 close-up shots and four other shots that swept past him.

The match eventually ended with a victory to Arsenal. Nottingham Forest, which had just endured a massive personnel change, was still able to give Arsenal a run for their money in the first half, demonstrating their treble-winning capacities of last season. The score after the first half was 1:1 and Forest showed their strength by equalizing less than five minutes after Arsenal scored. At that moment, it was as if Tony Twain’s Forest team was still there——The unyielding spirit was still going strong.

However, the team felt like they were sleepwalking in the second half as they lost their will. It might be because the players were unable to maintain their form due to a lack of regular training recently, or it might be because the players lost their will to fight after thinking about the doings of the club in recent months. No matter what, Forest’s performance was boring against Arsenal’s attack.

Arsenal eventually scored two more goals in the second half, winning the match by a 3:1 margin and getting the first trophy of the new season.

The Forest players who lost the game seemed to not care about the results either. Their minds were wandering as they shook hands with their opponents, exchanged jerseys, then walked off the pitch.

And on the stands, there were many Nottingham Forest fans who were unhappy with this result. They gathered around and started to bombard Evan Doughty and his “lackey”, Allan Adams, with vulgarities.

In the VIP box, Evan Doughty was shaking hands with Arsenal Football Club’s chairman, Peter Hill-Wood with an awkward look on his face. The old Hill-Wood gave him a light pat on the shoulder while saying something, probably something to console him…

In fact, Hill-Wood was indeed consoling Doughty, “It’s okay, it’s just a Community Shield.”

When he was leaving the VIP box, he told people next to him, “Nottingham Forest is done. This calls for a celebration, we’ve lost our most competitive opponent.”

Then he laughed and left the VIP box.

Evan Doughty remained rooted to the spot as he stared at the field down below, nobody knew what he was thinking then.

※※※

Tony Twain and Des Walker walked out from the stands and they were stopped by many reporters at the hall. The reporters wanted Twain to tell them what he thought about the match.

And Twain’s reply was very official——

“It was a good match, Arsenal deserved to be champions. Walcott had a very good performance and he deserved to be the man of the match. Of course, Wood had a decent performance as well, unfortunately the team was not on form and it brought him down…”

The reporters were not happy with an answer like this as they did not come to listen to such bullshit.

“Nottingham Forest was hit by a scandal some time back, what do you think about that?”

“I’m not the manager of Nottingham Forest, I’ll not give any opinion about this,’ Twain replied with a straight face.

However, the reporters did not care about Twain’s declaration. They continued to bombard Twain with questions about Nottingham Forest and they did not believe that he would keep quiet.

Honestly speaking, Twain had quite a lot to say about the things happening to Forest deep in his heart. As for comments, he had a lot of them, but they were all personal comments, it would not be nice to let the others know about them.

Pierce Brosnan was still the one who helped him get out of this situation, “Can you give your comment about Flores?”

Twain made use of this question to get out, “Flores is a very impressive manager. He proved his capabilities when managing Valencia. I wish him good luck and I also hope that he can last longer in Forest…’

What he said had double meanings.

Twain and Des Walker made their way out of the crowd and left hastily after answering this question.

The media would probably not continue to ask him such questions after some time. Everyone had to accept this fact——No matter what became of Nottingham Forest in future, it had nothing to do with Tony Twain anymore. Twain had begun a new journey after contributing the most precious 11 years of his life to this team.

Good luck to him.

Chapter 910 - Here Lies My Legend

Nottingham Forest was undergoing a transformation not seen in a decade. The next person to leave was reportedly Ibi?evi?. It was a request brought forth by Flores. After all, the Forest team now had the more mature Mitchell. As Ibi?evi? became older, his form would inevitably decline. They could still make money if they took advantage of the present to sell him.

But none of these matters had anything to do with Twain.

In the past, Twain felt that being the manager of the national team must be easier than being the manager of a football club, because the national team played very few games every year. But it was only when he took the position that he realized the error in his thinking.

Having just taken over the England team, he was still not familiar with the players on the national team’s waiting list. So, he had to spend a lot of time doing his homework every day, which was to watch the players’ game videos, getting to know each of their strengths and weaknesses and establishing their positions in his mind.

Even though he had competed with the teams that these players played for when he used to coach the Forest team, doing the research for his players in his team was not the same as studying the opponents. He also needed to get reacquainted with these players. This type of understanding was very detailed. It even included what everyone liked to eat.

Twain’s eyes were a little strained from spending ten hours a day looking at the computer screen. When he was tired, he would give Shania a call and Shania would talk to him no matter how late the time was.

Their time apart was slightly longer, so there seemed to be a lot to talk about between them. In fact, they chatted about the trivia stuff in life such as what he ate this morning and she ate this morning etc. The two people would chatter on for a long time, during the period they would also laugh heartily for a while.

Chatting with Shania was also a way for Twain to relieve his stress, so he never talked about work. He would even try not to talk about football.

※※※

The days passed like this and the new season of the English Premier League had finally begun.

As the defending champion, Nottingham Forest’s home game with the newly promoted team, Charlton was set as the opening match which was to be broadcasted live around the world.

The day before the game, Nottingham Forest’s official website published a slogan for the new season:

New stadium, new season, new glory!

It was also Evan Doughty’s heartfelt wish. After Tony Twain’s departure, the best way to make people forget about the meritorious manager was to re-create a new period of glory. It was as if the best solution after a breakup was not to drown one’s sorrows in drink, but to quickly start a new relationship.

Evan hoped that Flores could get the team back into the phase of passion again. Flores was capable of it. He had once led Valencia to be the domestic powerhouse of Spain, and Evan had high hopes for him.

Ibi?evi? had already left the team and Aaron Mitchell had completely secured the position as the team’s top striker. However, he was not happy playing for the Forest team, because his most trusted manager had left, and a lot of things had happened in the team. If it were not for the fact that he was the most hardcore Forest fan from an early age, it was possible that he would also follow the example of those players who left and quit the Forest team.

Twain would once again head to the stadium to watch the game for this opening match. For him to choose to watch Nottingham Forest play twice in a row, some media thought it was the signal that Twain would form the new national team with the Forest players as the core. Some people also thought it was just that Twain could not let go the team he had once coached for eleven years deep down.

Perhaps only Twain himself knew what he was thinking. Having actually watched Nottingham Forest play twice in a row within a week’s time, it was bound to cause displeasure in other clubs which felt that he had ignored the other nineteen clubs in the English Premier League. But Twain had always been a man who marched to his own beat and the English Football Association did not influence the rules against watching the games of the same team continuously.

“I don’t deny that I intend to build a team with the Nottingham Forest players as its core, Des.” On the way to the stadium, Twain said to the assistant manager next to him. He needed to make the assistant managers understand his own thinking so that they could work well together.

Walker did not say anything. He knew his partner’s temper. The media’s comments basically could not affect this person at all. He just needed to worry about whether the Forest players could withstand the pressure.

By the time the two men arrive at the Crimson Stadium, a lot of people were already seated in the stands. The players from both sides were warming up on the pitch. They did not meet anyone on their way to the VIP box, and they were naturally not recognized by the avid fans.

Walker even made fun of Twain, “You’re not wearing your sunglasses today?”

Twain glanced at him and said, “It’s a cloudy day.”

Walker grinned and smiled silently.

The last time Twain came here, the scene of being booed by more than fifty thousand fans was still vivid in his mind, and it was not a pleasant experience. Coming back here more than half a month later, dramatic changes had happened here.

Pepe was gone, ?ahin had left, Ibi?evi? was gone and Martin O’Neill had also left.

The Nottingham Forest team, which was in the midst of its warmup, was becoming unfamiliar to him and would soon have nothing to do with Twain.

Twain and Walker sat down in their seats and waited quietly for the game to begin.

With five minutes to go before kick-off, the club chairman, Evan Doughty, appeared on the podium. The live broadcast also cut the camera footage to him. When the fans saw him appeared on the big screen, the crowd, which had been idle before, began to boo him in unison.

Then a striking sign appeared in the grandstand opposite the podium, with the wording written on it in black paint:

Fuck you, Mr. Doughty!!!

One sentence was enough to convey all of what the Forest fans had wanted to express.

Twain could not help but laugh when he saw the sign in the VIP box. It looked like these fans already knew exactly who the cause of these problems at the moment was. He did not have to be made a scapegoat anymore.

The director in charge of the live broadcast of the game was a smart man. The fifteen cameras throughout the stadium captured every corner of the stadium. With fifteen monitor screens in front of him, the fifth camera captured the shot of Evan Doughty. As a director who already knew what had happened recently at Nottingham Forest, he purposely broadcasted the footage.

He was very pleased with the reaction of the fans in the stadium. The first attention grabber of the game had already been produced.

At this time, the fifteenth camera scanned the area of the VIP box and the eagle-eyed director felt something was up.

He motioned to his men to cut to the footage that had just swept past the area. Then he saw a familiar face on it.

He laughed and said, “Ah ha! I got you, baby…. zoom in for a close-up! Prepare to hold for at least ten seconds!”

The man in the frame was Tony Twain.

※※※

When Tony Twain and Des Walker appeared on the big screen in the stadium, the fans who were booing Evan Doughty in the stands, stopped booing the club chairman and began to stand up to applaud the man on the big screen.

Some people even blew their whistles, but it was not to hiss at him.

On the screen, Twain was seen talking to Walker but did not notice the figure on the big screen had been switched to him. Instead, Walker, who had been listening to him talk, saw it and hurriedly gestured to Twain.

As a result, Twain also looked up at the big screen.

When he looked up, the applause in the stadium kept going. Loud cheers also erupted. Many fans blew their whistles and waved their red scarves at him, while other people opened their mouths and shouted something. But the voices were fragmented and could not be heard clearly amid the ruckus.

Walked smiled and said to a surprised Twain, “It’s a very different treatment than last time, Tony. How do you feel?”

To be honest, Twain was really taken aback by the fans’ conduct. Although he thought that after the truth was revealed, he would not have to suffer the fans’ hissing anymore. He did not expect that he could still receive such a welcome …

After regaining his composure, he was a little moved.

No matter which corner the fans were in the stands, everyone stood up and turned to the VIP box on the left side of the podium. Then they waved their scarves or anything that could be waved in their hands at him.

The shouts of these people grew louder and louder. Eventually a torrent of voices washed over the podium and surged toward the VIP box.

Now the voices could be heard clearly without having to cock his ear to the side to listen carefully. The voices were clearly transmitted to Twain’s ears. Even the thick double-layered soundproof glass did not do the trick at all.

More than fifty thousand fans were chanting a person’s name.

“Tony! Tony! Tony!!”

The voices swept through the stadium, and they barreled on without any constraints.

※※※

“Zoom in closer! Another close-up! I want a close-up of his face!” The director in charge of broadcasting the game directed the camera. It was the best show before the game.

※※※

In the zoomed-in close-up shot of his face, people could clearly see that Twain’s eyes glistened with tears as he stood up and looked at the grandstand.

He was sitting before. When the fans’ voices grew louder, he could no longer sit still, so he stood up.

Standing in the VIP box, close to the huge glass wall, he looked down at the fans below who were starting a violent commotion.

※※※

Skinny Bill in the stands whistled and clapped. He waved his scarf after a few claps, and faced the VIP box. Behind him, many people did the same as him.

These people used to scold and boo Twain in the same place. But now they gave the same person applause and cheers from their hearts.

“Tony!!” Bill roared till he was hoarse as if his vocal cords would break.

John looked at him beside him without clapping as he and his companions were holding a banner and facing the VIP box.

The banner was not unfamiliar to Twain. The banner was here when he led his team here to compete half a month ago. The banner said to him here:

Welcome home, Tony!

The thunderous cheers lasted a whole minute, and there was no sign of abatement. What should have been a ten-second close-up turned into a minute, and then two minutes…

The commentator and pundits, who were doing the pre-match analysis, looked at the live footage of the stadium and exclaimed, “This is indeed a reception fit for a king…”

“Perhaps the English Football Association should consider changing the England national team’s home ground from the new Wembley Stadium to the Crimson Stadium. In this place, Tony Twain’s team will definitely get the warmest and most unconditional support.”

※※※

Both teams had finished their preparation work in the locker room and the players showed up in the tunnel one by one. They lined up and waited for their appearances.

Then they heard a round of loud cheers and applause, which erupted without warning, especially when the sounds came closely after a series of boos. No one could figure out what was going on outside.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know…”

While a group of people were still confused about it, Flores walked out, accompanied by Kerslake.

Thunderous cheers came from the stadium and he was almost rocked into stumbling by the noise.

His first reaction was: This is a tribute of cheers and applause for me!

So, he held his head high and puffed out his chest, intending to accept the welcome gift.

He did not expect to look up and see a close-up of Tony Twain on the big screen. His expression turned awkward, and he understood whom the momentum was meant to welcome…

※※※

As the fans cheered louder, the uglier Evan Doughty’s face became on the podium. In his view, the fans’ move was undoubtedly a slap in the face in the name of welcoming Twain.

And what made him even more furious was that he could not retaliate yet…

※※※

“I know!” said Bale as he suddenly snapped his fingers.

The Forest players looked at him.

Bale did not announce the answer directly, but acted mysteriously and asked instead, “Who can be so popular here? Who’s the one who can make the fans outside cheer for two minutes? Who is eligible to enjoy such a treatment? Who indeed?!”

When Bale asked the first question, the players had already guessed who he was talking about. Because in the whole of Nottingham, there would not be a second person who could meet all of these characteristics.

So, before Bale finished talking, everyone followed suit and shouted out, “The boss!!”

“Yes!”

The Charlton players next to them got a fright when the Forest players suddenly shouted. They leaned on the other side and curiously observed the opponents with their strange behavior. They definitely could not understand the older Nottingham Forest players’ deep affection for Tony Twain, just like they could not understand the earthshattering cheers outside.

George Wood was the last to come out. As soon as he got here, he heard his teammates shouting, “The boss!!”

“What’s going on?” Wood asked.

Bale pointed excitedly above and said to him, “The boss is back! He’s up there!”

Wood glared at him and said, “What does it have to do with us? Our mission here is to win the game.”

Bale shrugged it off and ignored the surly man.

※※※

Twain stood in the VIP box while the fans were still shouting his name, waving scarves toward him, clapping, whistling and expressing their love for Twain unreservedly.

His emotions finally stabilized.

Although it was a freak combination of factors that he would appear here in the beginning, he’d never thought he would have anything to do with such a professional football club in England. But now Nottingham Forest had taken a very important place in his life.

He thought he would never fall in love with a second team again in his life.

This place held his ideals, but also the cruel reality. There were years full of passion and even more painful memories full of tears. Eleven years of his life were also spent here.

When he left here after bringing back twelve championship trophies for the team, he found that no matter how many championship trophies were won, they could not be compared to the fans’ support from the heart, which gave him a sense of accomplishment.

It was precisely because of these people in front of him that there was a glorious meaning for him to give his best to “grab” back the championship trophy.

※※※

The players came out and the cheers still continued.

Almost all the players who had played for Twain, turned their heads and looked up as they ran out of the tunnel to look for Tony Twain in the VIP box. After learning the truth, the players who were previously bewildered and at a loss, rediscovered their faith. It made them ecstatic to know that their most admired person did not betray them.

As Bale ran out, he turned to salute the VIP box.

Walker knew what this action meant. He lamented at the side, “It’s really tough to be your successor.”

Still standing in front of the glass wall, Twain replied, “Eleven years. If I couldn’t even leave something behind, then I would have failed.”

“You said Doughty had called you again and invited you to return to the team. Why did you refuse?” Walker could not help but ask when he saw Twain looking reluctant to part with the team.

“Although Evan was a jerk, he said something right. It was time to start a new journey again, which is true for me and for Nottingham Forest as well.” Twain turned around and said to Walker.

The fans had already turned their attention to the players who came out. Every Forest player was greeted with a hero’s applause.

The big screen in the stadium also changed to show the list of appearances for the two teams. Twain finally retreated from everyone’s sight.

※※※

In the opening game, Nottingham Forest, who had the home field advantage, was almost beaten by the newly promoted team, Charlton. Had it not been for the two consecutive goals scored in the last five minutes, there was a chance they would have lost the game at 1:0 in their home ground.

The Forest players did not want to perform too badly in front of their boss. However, they were burdened by that thought.

A near-miss victory did not please the fans. Instead, it only made them yearn for Tony Twain in the VIP box even more. In the final ten minutes of the game, the fans took aim at Evan Doughty on the podium again. They stuck their middle fingers at Evan and mouthed the word “F**k” to insult him. Then they shouted Tony Twain’s name to further embarrass Evan.

Even the news media and match commentator did not pay much attention to the outcome of the game… Or it could be said that the results and proceedings of the game had further fueled their interest in reporting on “Tony Twain’s influence on this team.”

To all the media present, they had personally witnessed the shocking scene before the game began and learned from one aspect what Tony Twain meant to Nottingham Forest.

Although he was not a leader of the club with the highest post, he was indeed the king here.

It was because —

Even though he might no longer be here, his legend still laid her

Chapter 911 - Twain’s Trouble

The new season had just started. Nottingham Forest played three league games, winning two and drawing in one, so it was not that bad. Although they replaced two head coaches, the foundation Tony Twain left behind was very sturdy so even after experiencing a huge change in the summer, the team was still maintaining its high standards.

After seeing how the Nottingham Forest was faring, the media also changed their mindset towards Nottingham Forest. Previously they were not optimistic about Nottingham Forest since they had experienced a whole typhoon with tremendous amounts of internal and external issues. Experts had analysed that Nottingham Forest’s goal this season was to qualify for next season’s European fixture, not even for the Champions League or the Confederations Cup, or even to try to defend their championships.

Now they believe that Nottingham Forest would remain a strong contender for the title as long as Flores could stabilize the team.

Nottingham Forest did well and the happiest man was Evan Doughty. As the league progressed, the slurs he received were disappearing. Although there were still fans displaying banners in the audience stands which scolded him every game, that was only a limited few and he chose to ignore those.

He began to visualize the scene of the team successfully winning the championships by the end of the season. By then everyone would have completely forgotten Tony Twain, and would start praising him being the most successful chairperson in the club’s history, being able to match up to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu.

The 30-year-old Ibi?evi? had been sold to Serie A newcomer Sejana, with Nottingham Forest reaping a fee of 20 million pounds from the deal. It must be said that that Alan Adams was an expert in negotiating. The 30-year-old Ibi?evi? was blown up by Alan as a huge character playing in the golden years of the strikers, being efficient and stable in scoring, and even had a number of cup-winning experience which was very essential as the triple crown team’s main striker, and only selling at 20 million pounds, it would be really profitable for you!

Just like that, Nottingham Forest sent away the last player who would leave the team this summer. Aaron Mitchell was thoroughly focused upon as he became the team’s leading scorer. Although everyone had predicted Gareth Bale, George Wood, Fernando Gago, Akinfeev would transfer, however there was no transfer news for them. Still, the media believed that this was only temporary due to the disagreement in financial terms which hindered them from leaving and this did not mean that they would not leave by summer next year. As long as the results of Nottingham Forest were not satisfactory this season, then it was only certain that those people would leave eventually.

Nottingham Forest had only bought four men this summer and had not actually done much of the purge. That was thanks to the two-time head coach Martin O’Neill and Flores being aware and persistent – under such circumstances, there was nothing more effective than keeping the squad formation stable.

Thiago Silva, Michael Dawson and Mario Balotelli, as well as a Belgian attacking forward, Eden Hazard.

The scale of the transfers was not great, and this was also amongst the issues that they were entangled with being “who was actually responsible behind the current state of the team”. No one was responsible for the team’s preparations for the new season, and no one had a practical plan to be implemented. Even for Flores who had taken over when the new season was almost going to start. Arranging an actual formation with the cards he had was enough of a headache so he did not even bother to think about things like transfers.

Nottingham Forest was in fourth place after the three rounds. They were about to leave for Monaco for the European Super Cup. As winners of last season’s European Champions Cup, they will compete with last season’s Confederations Cup winners, Alkmaar of the Netherlands, for the king of Europe.

Before that, through one of the major news in the England team, Tony Twain had announced his second roster for the country team.

Not far off from the media’s predictions, the vast majority of the 25-person list were old faces.

Not many of the fringe figures in the first friendly were on the list. It was the first official game Twain led the England team to play so he was even more cautious than most people thought.

In the previous draw, England were placed in Group 3 which was also called Group C. The other six teams in their group were the Nordic powerhouses Denmark, Wales, Ireland, Serbia, Macedonia and Armenia. To be honest this group was not the strongest group in terms of potential, and perhaps only Denmark and Serbia could pose a threat to England. But in Twain’s mind, the more foreign teams were the more dangerous ones. This was the same as playing against a club – you would make more mistakes when playing against a team whom you had never played against before.

Against a rival like Macedonia, Twain admitted he did not know anything about them. So, during this period of time, the days in which he did go to the Premier League to watch the games, he would be working with his coaching staff desperately to gather information about Macedonia, then analyze tactics and study countermeasures against them.

It was England’s first game in this European Championship qualifier and Twain really cared about this. He wanted the team to win the opener so that the games that came after would be easier to play. Another factor that was not as superstitious was that Macedonia was not a strong team, so if England was not able to win Macedonia on home ground they would then lose a chance to get points.

None of the 26-man roster signed by Twain was from a non-Premier League team.

Arsenal had two players in the squad who both came from midfield —Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere.

Aston Villa also had two players selected— goalkeeper Stuart Taylor and right-back Glen Johnson.

Blackburn had only one person, the veteran goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Chelsea had three players, the middle full back John Terry, the midfielder Joe Cole and the midfielder James Milner.

Manchester City had three, the midfielder Gareth Barry, center-back Curtis Davies, and full back Steven Taylor.

Manchester United had three as well, center-back Rio Ferdinand, forward striker Wayne Rooney, midfielder Michael Carrick.

Two from Liverpool, the midfielder Steven Gerrard and Nigel Reo-Coker.

One person from Middlebrough, midfield winger Stewart Twaining.

A lone person from Leeds United, Fabian Delph, a professional midfielder.

Three from Everton, full back being Joleon Lescott, left back Leighton Baines and striker James Vaughan.

Next up is Nottingham Forest, which had the largest number of national teams players, with five of them selected. Left back Joe Mattock, midfielder David Bentley, center striker Aaron Mitchell, Gabriel Agbonlahor, as well as their team captain, the defensive midfielder George Wood.

※※※

“Tony Twain had fulfilled what he said at his inaugural press conference, ‘If the Nottingham Forest players are doing well, why not just choose them?’ Looking at such a big roster we once again realize the fact that Tony Twain had only coached in Nottingham Forest before becoming the head coach of the England team. He was most familiar with this team…”

This was how the media commented on the huge roster list.

In terms of quality selection, the only ones with a strong “Tony Twain’s style” was the five Nottingham Forest players.

“The Nottingham Forest players were not been affected by that chaotic summer and would take on important responsibilities in the New England team. ”

“Tony Twain’s cronyism is likely to provoke discontent from other clubs.”

“What do they mean by being discontented?” Twain swore by habit as he threw the newspapers which was talking bad about him. “The head coaches would be more than happy if I don’t take their players. Did you see Benitez’s look on his face when you saw me calling up Gerrard, who had just returned from injury? He looked like I snatched his wife from him. ”

Walker was laughing at the side.

It was the twenty-ninth of August that day. Registered soccer players had one by one flown in from all over the world to London for the games. Everyone else had arrived except for the five players from Nottingham Forest who would only be reporting for this after their matches at the UEFA Super Cup.

Twain and Walker were waiting in front of the television for the match to start.

Being in a different position, Twain realised that his mindset and attitude had taken a turn for the better. In the past, under such circumstances, he would have hated that the national team recruited new players before major matches. This is because that would influence the thinking of the players who would constantly worry about getting hurt during their matches that would deem them incompetent when the time for the real game came. As for the coach of the Club, if his players had that kind of attitude, it could possibly cost his chance at the championship, hence he tries his best to avoid such situations.

However, the times have changed. Nowadays, he aligned his thinking with his players and prioritised their well-being. He constantly fretted over the players injuring themselves during trainings and competitions at the Club or that they had exhausted their fighting spirit during training such that they have little to none left when they begin their training with the national team.

Nonetheless this change in attitude did not mean that Nottingham Forest was giving up on the championship title. For Nottingham Forest, defeat was unthinkable.

Since Alkmaar was not a formidable team, it should be effortless for Nottingham Forest to emerge victorious in that match. For Twaine, who acknowledged that victory clearly belonged with Nottingham Forest, he simply hoped that Flores would leave him with some dignity by swapping the main players of the team during the match.

The television started the streaming of the match with the name lists of the players on both teams.

On Nottingham Forest’s end, there was Akinfeev as goalkeeper, Michael Dawson and Thiago Silva as the center backs, Gareth Bell as left back and Rafinha as right back. As for the midfielders, they were George Wood, Fernando Gago, Matthias Fernandez and David Bentley while the strikers were Aaron Mitchell and Agbonlahor.

Besides Joe Matok who was missing from the starting lineup, everyone else was present.

Twain’s only wish then was for none of them to get injured or to encounter any physical problems that would hinder their performance.

※※※

This UEFA Super Cup eventually ended in the victory of Nottingham Forest. For the match with Alkmaar, Nottingham Forest had swiftly taken control of the midfield soon after the initial taunts by Alkmaar. With firm and unparalleled control over the midfield by George Wood and Gago, Nottingham Forest began their counterattack on Alkmaar.

Their skillful gameplay had proven them worthy of the title of Triple Crown from the last season.

Continuous attacks by Nottingham Forest had threatened Alkmaar’s goal post. The aggressive strategy that Nottingham Forest cleverly used against Alkmaar paid off at the thirty-seventh minute mark.

Mitchell proficiently headed the ball passed to him by Agbonlahor and managed to get the ball into their opponent’s goal post.

Upon seeing the goal by Nottingham Forest, Walker felt extremely delighted. He was glad to see that both of the players were in good condition from their stellar performance.

“They are capable of being the super striker duo in the national team. Agbonlahor and Mitchell show reasonable chemistry with each other…” he suggested.

However, Twain shook his head, “Managing the national team is no simple task, Des. Just look at me. I had only recruited some players from Nottingham Forest and in no time, the media had picked it up and started their criticisms. If I take the risk of putting Rooney, who is perfectly fit, on the reserved team, I would be inviting trouble for myself with the Manchester reporters. I have to strike a balance among the parties. I definitely wouldn’t want for my team to to form cliques like “Team Forest”, “Team Manchester”, “Team Liverpool”, “Team Chelsea”, “Team Gunners”… all of these unpleasant cliques.”

Walker rolled his eyes at Twain, “In that case, why did you tell the reporters that you would use them on your team if they performed outstandingly?”

“That was only one way of appeasing the reporters. Besides, that was also to convey a message to the players that I only acknowledge their performance and not their person in themselves. Simply a way to manage the team. In reality, I wouldn’t be as rigid. There are many ambivalent situations that don’t allow for simple solutions. Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s continue watching the match…”

After Nottingham Forest had taken the lead, Alkmaar attempted to counterattack only to find themselves leaving much room for their opponents to use against them. Nottingham Forest seized the opportunity once again and more or less guaranteed their victory by the time the first half came to an end.

The rest of the match seemed meaningless to watch. Flores had respected Twain enough to replace Bentley and Mitchell, both English national players, into the second half of the match. As the captain, George Wood had faithfully played till the end. Twain had nothing to complain about that. Wood was a beast and the warrior of the future. With his physical fitness, Wood could easily play the entirety of the match.

※※※

When Nottingham Forest lost the Community Shield, everyone was concerned that a team like that would not be able to last in the new season and would lose every game that came their way. It was then that Flores led the team to championship at the Super Cup. That was great news for the team which assured the players and inspired the fighting spirit in them.

Evan Doughty was smiling brightly on the podium. This was probably the happiest he had been in the past three months. George Wood raised the Super Cup trophy high up in the air as he was embraced by all his teammates surrounding him. Everyone reached their hands for the trophy.

The commentator excitedly announced, “Nottingham Forest has successfully clinched the championship! They are the King of Kings in Europe this year! After experiencing a hell of a summer, they had regained their footing. This is also Flores’ first win with the team he has coached. It seems like Flores is confident in leading the team in continuing the legacy of Tony Twain! Perhaps it won’t be long before he can successfully replace the place of Tony Twain in the hearts of the fans…”

Walker stole a glance at Twain at the side.

Twain’s expression remained unchanged. He realised Twain was looking at him and stared at Twain, “Stop looking. Be prepared to face the biggest problem.”

“The biggest problem?” Walker froze. He had not heard of such a thing, what problems could there be? Did something go wrong? Was it something to do with Nottingham Forest? Don’t those players belong to Twain? How could there be a problem?”

Twain did not explain. He continued to stare at the television screen. In fact, he had only just been triggered as well. Observing George Wood’s face, Twain suddenly remembered — the second time he had gone to Crimson Stadium, he was cheered on by the fans and was respectfully greeted by the players yet Twain did not have anything to say about it. He was in front of the team and was the first to march out from the underpass yet he did not even lift his head.

Twain was unsure of Wood’s intentions or how he thought of himself.

How was he going to face George when they are both in the national team?

This was probably the biggest problem… (To be continued, if you want to know how the plot continues, please log into www.qidian.com where there would be more chapters, support the author, support legal reading!).

Chapter 912 - National Team Call Up Completed

Nottingham Forest did not have a direct flight to Birmingham Airport, and they landed in London Heathrow airport instead. There were not many players who came back along with the team as most of players who were called up to play for their country split up with the team at Monaco.

Only the five players who were part of the England squad returned to England with the team. They then split up with the team in London and went to Colney in North London. The place that was usually the training ground for Arsenal was now the exclusive training ground of the national team.

When they went their different ways at the airport, Flores suddenly felt a need to expand his influence in the changing room as he looked at the five players gathered together. In the changing room now, the players were still discussing about Tony Twain more instead of himself. This made him a little jealous.

Therefore, he walked over, gave Bentley a pat on his shoulder and said using his less than fluent English, “Kids, don’t get hurt.”

This sentence that was full of concern did not receive the proper response. The England players who were chatting amongst themselves turned to look at their manager without saying anything.

Even Wood looked at Flores expressionlessly, bordering on being rude.

Joe Mattock, the most inexperienced player in the national team there, broke the awkward atmosphere, “We’ll take care of ourselves boss.”

After that, the group of them turned around and started talking amongst themselves again.

Flores felt very awkward and did not feel good standing there anymore. If they were discussing about a private topic… People might think that he was eavesdropping by standing there and it would be detrimental to him managing the players. Every player had their own little secret that they did not want the manager to know.

Resentfully, he left and returned to his own place.

Kerslake saw everything. In his heart, he really pitied Flores. That was because even he unintentionally compared Flores with Tony Twain at that moment. He was thinking in his mind that if that had been Tony, the group of players would happily include him in their discussions and joked without holding back, attracting the glances of everyone around them.

That was what Forest used to look like.

Now, it was just a distant memory. The Forest team seemed to be in harmony on the surface because of the decent results. The players also said that Flores was a good manager when interviewed as the negative news of the team reduced a lot compared to three months ago.

However, testing times would never come when things were going well. Once there are problems with the team’s results, Flores and the team will be under a massive amount of stress. Those restless media and fans would gladly summon Tony Twain again and reminisce about the glorious times.

As Tony Twain sculpted himself to be the King of the team, it also became a Damascus sword pointed at the team.

How ironic.

To fully rid Forest of Tony Twain’s influence, it would need to take more than one season…

※※※

When Flores returned to his seat, the players continued their discussion. They were indeed discussing about Twain. Other than Wood, the others were all excited and looking forward to being reunited with Twain——After more than three months, they could finally play under boss again!

“I’m going to give boss a hug!” Aaron Mitchell announced excitedly. Just like how Pepe did in the changing room previously. He still regretted letting Pepe hog all the limelight last time, “As an apology! As my apology to him for ever doubting him!”

“Okay Aaron. You don’t have to be so loud. Are you trying to let the whole world know that you wronged boss?” Bentley thought that Mitchell was like a kid sometimes.

Mitchell lowered his voice and mumbled, “I’m going to give boss a hug anyway.”

“Come to think of it…” Bentley said while stroking his chin, “When boss was still around, I didn’t think much about hearing him speak in the changing room. But it has only been three months and I’m suddenly missing him inside the changing room…”

“Hey, do you think the boss will give us special care?” Joe Mattock asked al of a sudden, stunning everyone.

Mattock was someone on the peripheral of the national team, behind the pecking order of Ashley Cole, Leighton Barnes and Lescott, who could also play in the left-back position. If not for the fact that Ashley Cole had not recovered from his injuries, he might not even make it into the call-up list. Mattock felt that he was chosen because he was a “Forest player”. It was a good thing to be called up, but if he was only called up for this reason… There might be a heavy burden on him.

“I don’t think so. Boss is not a manager who will give special treatment to people,” Bentley refuted Mattock’s thinking, “Besides, if he gave us special treatment, how badly do you think the outside media will criticize him?”

Agbonlahor shrugged, “I’m not so sure. Boss is an unique person who doesn’t care about what the media says, he even likes going against them. I think that boss is someone who wears his heart on his sleeves. If we perform well, I think we have a very good chance to be in the starting lineup!”

George Wood did not want to join in the discussion as he thought this topic was boring. However, he was still pulled into it by the child-like Mitchell.

“George, what do you think?”

For a moment, the discussion stopped, and everyone turned to look at him.

Wood was able to show a long face and act as though he was unwilling to talk to anyone towards his agent, the media, even to that man. However, it was not possible for him to do that to his teammate, his comrade in arms.

“I…I agree with David,” Wood pointed at Bentley as he kicked the ball back.

Everyone knew that Wood was not a talkative person and they did not pester him anymore since he already gave his opinion.

The group chatted for a little while longer before preparing to board the car.

Mitchell was still lost in the discussion. He sighed and said, “Reuniting with boss in the national team, I’ve never even thought about it before…”

What he said touched on the fact that Twain was no longer with Forest and all of a sudden, they were no longer in the mood to continue chatting.

And they stayed silent all the way on the journey to Colney.

※※※

Colney training base was in Hertfordshire, only a 45 minutes journey from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium by car. This was now the training base for the England national team. The Arsenal first team had three training grounds which were all used by the national team now. Those first team players who were not called up to their respective national teams would train with the reserve team without worrying about causing any trouble for the reserve team. For a team like Arsenal, even their substitutes in the first team were national team players. So, there were only a few players left behind, probably only the ones who were injured.

This training base had an area of 143 hectares, out of which, 45 hectares were covered by woods. The environment was very pleasant with no skyscrapers around, unobstructed views, fresh air and it was so quiet it felt like a hidden utopia. Training in a place like this was a luxury. Compared to Colney, Nottingham Forest’s Wilford training grounds was a much stingier place. It was no wonder that Even Doughty planned to build a new training base. It looked like he was planning to reach the “big club” status in terms of equipment and facilities.

Colney was the best training base in England. If the training base that Evan Doughty had in mind was built, Colney would have to settle for second place. As for now, there was no other training bases that could displace it from its position.

Ten standard sized pitches, each installed with underground drainage system and an automatic spraying system. Two of the pitches were even installed with underground heating system so that outdoor training could still take place even when it was snowing.

That was why the English Football Association picked Colney as England’s designated training base.

When Wood’s gang of five arrived at Colney, the England team had just ended their morning training and the players were going back to the changing room. Only a few players were stopped by the media for interviews outside.

Their arrivals attracted the attention of the media. If it was not because they were interviewing other players, they would have rushed towards them.

At this moment, Des Walker appeared between the two parties and took them away.

“Tony wants to see you guys,” he told Wood.

Bentley whistled from behind. They knew that he meant Wood when he said that he wanted to meet them.

“Leave your stuff in the hostel and come over.”

Wood did not ask silly questions like “where’s the hostel” or “where is he”, this was not his first time participating in the national team’s training. He dragged his luggage and signaled for his teammates to go with him.

The reporters went after them and only stopped after taking dozens of pictures.

“The national team is all here now. Hey, I have insider news…” The reporters gathered to talk after finishing their interviews.

The others became interested after hearing him say that as this reporter was from The Sun.

“Things are not well between George Wood and Tony Twain!” The reporter said with a mysterious tone. He was not afraid that these people would take this piece of news and publish it as their own insider story as The Sun had already decided to publish this on their papers tomorrow. They specially waited for Wood to arrive at the national team for better effect.

“Eh? Is that true?”

“Surely not? Didn’t they say that they were like father and son?”

“Wood was found and trained by Twain himself, and there are even rumors of some weird relationship between Twain and his mother…”

The reporters were all shocked.

That reporter was very satisfied with their reactions.

“Why is it impossible? Italy’s Cassano treated Capello as his father too, didn’t he? In the end? Didn’t they turn against each other too?” The reporter from The Sun gave a clap, “Who knows, the relationship between Wood and Twain might be a timebomb in the national team. Now that Wood is becoming more and more impactful in the team, he is basically the forecast of the team’s results. If his form is good, the team’s result will be good; If he’s in a bad form… Capello is a good example.”

The reporter from The Sun laughed.

Everyone understood why he was acting like that. Twain and The Sun were at loggerheads and they would grab any opportunity to make things difficult for each other.

The reporters thought about the relationship between them and some of them immediately thought that this was a deliberate move by The Sun to make things difficult for Twain. The rumor of Wood and Twain falling out became half as believable.

The Sun’s reporter could tell that some people doubted him. He did not bother to explain himself, merely saying, “Ha, we’ll wait and see then!”

Those reporters were still being kept in the dark. The Sun had paparazzi all over England and they were guaranteed to be able to get the most accurate, most confidential and latest news!

We’ll show Tony Twain tomorrow when the papers are published!

※※※

George Wood knocked on the door of Twain’s temporary office with his teammates in tow.

Twain and Kerslake were talking happily inside.

When the five players from Nottingham Forest appeared in front of him, Twain stood up and walked towards them with his arms open.

“Welcome, my friends.”

Wood was standing right in front, and he should have been the first one to hug Twain. However, Aaron Mitchell rushed out with his arms open from behind, as if he was afraid that he could not keep his promise.

“Boss!” He shouted excitedly and embraced Twain.

Twain did not let anyone see the expression change in his face——He had planned to give Wood a hug to soften his stance, he did not expect Mitchell to pop out first. He could only play by ear now…

“Oh——Not so hard Aaron!” Twain shouted. Mitchell used so much force in his agitation that Twain felt pain.

“Ah, sorry, sorry…boss!” Michell let go quickly, panicking a little.

But Twain just smiled and looked at him with a look that suggested he was looking at his own child.

“You look tired,” he said.

“I’m not!” Mitchell shook his head vigorously.

Twain smiled without saying anything and he looked at the next person.

Bentley did not hug Twain like Mitchell, he merely looked at Twain and said, “It’s been awhile boss.”

“You guys saw me a fortnight ago.”

“We were…opponents then, this is different.”

It was Agbonlahor and Joe Mattock’s turns after welcoming Bentley.

Finally, he appeared in front of George Wood.

The smile on Twain’s face disappeared because there were no traces of a smile on Wood’s face.

The cordial atmosphere previously suddenly became awkward.

His four teammates tried their best to not look at the two of them as their eyes darted around the room to hide the awkwardness.

Twain did not know what to say too. He reached out and patted Wood on the shoulder.

Next, he turned towards the others and said, “There’s a training session in the afternoon. Don’t get hurt and have a good rest.”

The meeting ended.

※※※

When the players were gone, Kerslake was a little perplexed and asked Twain, “I thought you were going to ask George to stay back to talk to him alone.”

“This is not a very big place,” Twain meant the training base, “Are there any news that we can hide from others? I don’t want people to think that I’m giving special treatment, that will be detrimental to the team’s harmony.”

“Then George…” Walker was still worried that Wood might think differently.

“I’ll talk to him properly of course, just not now…”

Twain mumbled as his eyes darted around.

Chapter 913 - The New Captain of the Three Lions

The Sun decided to publish an article about the tension between Twain and Wood so as to gain an advantage in the increasingly competitive news industry.

On the other hand, the media outlets associated with Stamford Bridge were much more concerned about whether their player, John Terry, is able to retain his captaincy in the England national team.

Usually, every new national team manager would announce who the captain for the team is after all the national team players have come together. Some managers would choose to go with the player who was named captain in the previous year as a way of stabilizing the team, but there are quite a few managers who would select another player whom they think are more suitable or whom they have a preference for as the new captain of the team.

After Beckham left the national team, Terry was named captain of the England national team, and Gerrard was named as the vice-captain.

The media outlets associated with Liverpool were also concerned about who would end up with the captain’s armband. They hoped that Twain would promote Gerrard from vice-captain to captain.

Similarly, the media outlets associated with Nottingham Forest were also crying for Twain to pick George Wood as the captain.

However, George Wood paled in comparison to both Terry and Gerrard in terms of experience and influence. Most of the media outlets believed that the captaincy and vice captaincy should still be given to both Terry and Gerrard respectively. They felt that Twain should not change the captain and vice-captain of the national team if he wanted to maintain stability in the team.

Twain was cautious with his selection of the captain. Terry and Gerrard were both players who were quite influential in England’s footballing scene, and he could stir up chaos if he was not careful.

He decided to discuss the issue with both Terry and Gerrard.

Both players expressed their desire to either continue being the captain or to become the captain of the team. They both felt that it would be a great honor to be able to wear the captain’s armband on their sleeves.

Twain understood where they were coming from, but he could not agree with their thoughts.

He wants to rebuild the entire England national team after being appointed as the new manager. This meant that every single thing related to the old England national team has to be discarded, and this includes the previous captain and vice-captain of the team.

In simpler words, Twain wants a ‘complete overhaul’ of the England national team.

Changing the captain would be the first step needed for Twain to establish a new system within the team.

He conveyed his thoughts to the two senior players, and told them straight up that he found the two of them to be slightly old. He wanted a captain who could stay as the captain of the team for a long time.

Terry and Gerrard immediately understood what the new manager was intent on doing.

They were upset to be stripped of their captain armbands, but the manager has always been regarded as the biggest and most influential person in every single England football team. Nobody dared to defy the manager’s words, and things were not different in the national team either. In fact, it was more common to see scenes of players congregating around their managers to go against the Football Association in England.

If this had been any other country however, Twain’s actions would have led to him being fired from the job. It did not matter how good his CV as a football manager was. He would never have been given the job as the manager of the national football team.

Terry and Gerrard were both senior players of the national team. Twain hoped that the two of them would be able to act as role models to the other players and help to stabilize the team as a whole.

What could either Terry or Gerrard do besides to agree to Twain’s arrangement after hearing what he had to say? They could not possibly leave the national team in a fit of rage.

The two of them did not have many years left to play in the national team, and neither of them wished to leave the team without accomplishing anything. Tony Twain was definitely a man who has the capability to lead his team to become champions. They both hoped that they could win something under the guidance of a manager who seems to have an affinity with trophies, given how England has failed to attain a single trophy for many years.

Tony Twain is a man who managed to achieve 12 trophies in 11 years. He definitely has the right to be pushy.

Both Terry and Gerrard agreed to the manager’s arrangement.

Twain heaved a sigh of relief at their responses. The biggest obstacle was out of his way now.

He would not even have gone through all this trouble if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to maintain stability within the team.

He did not care about what he had to say to the media regarding the change of captains. All he cared about was that the players understood the rationale behind his decision.

※※※

The England national team players came together for the very first time during the afternoon practice session.

Twain was going to announce the new captain and vice-captain of the team before training commenced.

The expressions on both Terry and Gerrard’s face were off. Their eyes kept swimming about and they evaded eye contact with their team mates. The two already knew that they were going to be stripped of their captaincy.

George Wood, who knew nothing about Tony’s decision to announce the new captain, got called over by the assistant manager after finishing his warm-ups. He then waited for Twain to give his pep talk before the training session began.

It was a sunny afternoon. Twain appeared before the players with his Ray-Ban sunglasses on.

“Good afternoon, lads. I hope you all slept well yesterday, because our practice session today is going to be tough.” Twain raised his hand to wave at everyone before he walked into the middle of the crowd.

“I’m going to announce the captain and vice-captain of the team this year before the practice session begins, just like how things were done in the previous years.”

The Chelsea players all turned their heads to look at Terry, while the Liverpool players looked at Gerrard. Similarly, the Forest players all turned to look at Wood.

The players from other football clubs did not show particular interest in who the captain was going to be. It was not like they would get picked to become the captain anyway.

They all believed that Terry, Gerrard and Wood were the most qualified to become the captain of the team. Terry has been the captain of the England national team ever since 2008. His performances over the past eight years have not gone unnoticed by his team mates. Gerrard has always been the vice-captain of the team, and he would wear the captain’s armband whenever Terry is not playing. He was regarded as a footballer who possessed the best leadership skills among all the England footballers. The media outlets associated with Liverpool have always believed that he should be named the captain of the national team over Terry. As for George Wood, he was the most successful captain in England for the past few years. He was widely regarded as the toughest footballer in England, and he was a role model to all other England footballers.

However, George Wood has something that would give him an edge over the other two players. It was age. He was only 28 years old this year. He was much younger than the other two players and was right in his prime.

Twain observed how the players reacted to his words. They behaved just as he had expected them to.

If he had not discussed this matter with both Terry and Gerrard earlier, then it would have been a risk to announce his new captains, and he would have had to bear the possible consequences of his announcement. But, Twain has nothing to fear now, because he knew that the two players were behind his decision.

“George Wood and John Terry would become the captain and vice-captain respectively.” Twain announced his captains in a straightforward and clear manner.

A small commotion broke out within the team. The Liverpool players clearly looked crestfallen, whereas the Chelsea players looked surprised, because their captain had been demoted to vice-captain.

The Nottingham Forest players were the first to applaud Wood for becoming the captain of the team.

Everyone else also began applauding to congratulate both George Wood and John Terry on their captaincy shortly after, regardless of how they felt at the moment.

Gerrard was a little despondent after hearing Twain’s announcement, because he did not even manage to retain his vice-captaincy. But, it was to be expected, given how he was the oldest of the three. He was already 34 years old, whereas Terry was only going to turn 34 at the end of the year. Center-backs are always able to play football for a longer time as compared to midfielders. It did not matter if the center-backs are old and unable to run about any longer. Managers would still play them because they want to rely on their experience. Take Fabio Cannavaro for example. How long did he play football in Italy? He was still able to represent the Italian national football team in the Africa World Cup despite being 37 years of age! In contrast, it was very difficult to even find a midfielder aged 35 and above who would still get picked in football teams.

Gerrard has been trying his best to stay in shape and maintain his fitness levels, because he did not want to be kicked out of the national team too quickly. He was well aware that there are numerous talented footballers chasing after his position in the national team, and George Wood was one of them.

Gerrard was not jealous of the fact that Wood got the captain’s armband instead of him. The two have developed a special sense of respect for each other having battled each other numerous times in the Premier League for the past few years. Wood was definitely a talented player worthy of the armband.

The only player who was shocked by Twain’s announcement was Wood. The expression on his face visibly changed, which was a rare occurrence. His eyes were bulged and his mouth was agape. He stared at Twain in disbelief.

Twain grinned at Wood. It was the first time that he was seeing a genuine display of emotions from Wood and he felt happy to be able to witness it.

“George.” He called Wood’s name and signaled for him to walk forward to accept his captain’s armband.

Wood walked forward slowly. He was still reeling in shock. The Forest players patted him on the back and whistled to cheer for him.

Twain pulled Wood over to his side, then turned to speak to the other players. “I have to explain to everyone why I chose Wood as the captain. During the previous summer transfer window, rumors of George Wood’s transfer were widespread throughout the whole of England. Forest was put into a difficult situation, because their best player was being enticed by numerous big clubs. But, in the end, George chose to stay in Forest, and he used his actions to prove that loyalty still exists in modern football.”

Twain’s voice was calm when he spoke about matters involving Nottingham Forest. It was as though he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

“He is a player who has been the captain of Nottingham Forest for the past seven years. I believe that he has the capacity and the qualifications to become the captain of the England national team. I’d like to thank Terry and Gerrard for all that they’ve done over the past few years, and I’d also like to thank them for being understanding.” Twain looked at Terry and Gerrard. The Chelsea and Liverpool players understood through his gaze that he had already settled things with both Terry and Gerrard previously.

Both Terry and Gerrard forced a smile. They both lost the captain’s armband, but what could they do about it? Wood was the one who spent the most time with Twain among them, and Twain also thought highly of Wood. In addition, many people also describe Tony Twain as George Wood’s father. Now that the father has become the manager of the national team, how could the son not get a bit of a preferential treatment?

In truth, Twain’s action of naming Wood as the captain has only piled pressure onto Wood’s shoulders. Everyone knows that the two of them are close, even though there might be reports of tension between them recently. Thus, everyone would naturally speculate that Wood was only able to become the captain of the England national team because he is close to Twain, and Twain cannot do anything to stop any of those speculations.

However, Twain believed in Wood’s ability to handle stress. After all, the stress that he has gone through as the captain of the Forest team was just as immense as the stress that will ride on his shoulders from here on out as the captain of the England national team. Additionally, Wood is also nicknamed ‘St. George’ by many of the British football fans, and Twain believed that all these different factors make Wood a good captain for the team.

Twain did not deny that he was thinking of forming a new England national team with Wood as the core. Letting Wood become the new captain of the team was only the first step of his plans, and he would continue implementing his plan in the matches to come.

It was time for a complete overhaul of the England national team. Many of the players in the current England national team would be slowly kicked out and replaced by new talent.

Twain wanted to build an England national team that belonged solely to him. He was going to get rid of any marks that had been left behind by others on his team, and he was also going to get the team to listen to his every word and to play for him.

All those aforementioned things need to happen first before he can even be confident in the team’s ability to become champions of the UEFA European Championship.

After he finished explaining his rationale to the other players, Twain personally put on the captain’s armband onto Wood’s left sleeve. He then patted Wood’s left arm when he was done.

“I must remind you of one thing, George. This armband is not without an expiry date. I would not hesitate to strip you of this thing the moment your performance falls short of my expectations, and when you are not able to fulfill your role as the captain of the team.” Twain pointed at the armband.

Wood did not respond to his words.

“Everyone, get started with your training!”

Twain retreated to the side and allowed the assistant managers and coaches to get started with the training session.

Wood’s Forest team mates went up to congratulate him, but his response to their words was rather flat. Both Terry and Gerrard also went up to congratulate him, and so everyone else in the national team followed suit and walked up to pat Wood either on the shoulder or on his head. Everyone seemed to be getting along well with one another.

Twain knew that Wood’s captaincy was a challenge both for Wood and for himself.

Wood was able to cement his position as the captain of the Forest team due to Albertini’s teachings and Twain’s favor. The way in which he speaks through his actions rather than words has endeared him to his Forest team mates. They have all come to accept him as their captain wholeheartedly after interacting with him for a long period of time.

However, things were different now that he was the captain of the England national team. Most of the players in the national team are players who come from different football clubs, and many of them would not have interacted with Wood for a long period of time previously, thus they would not be able to accept him as their captain straight away.

Not only that, the impression that most players have of Wood is that he is someone who is reticent and who does not fit well into the group. Given how Twain has suddenly forced the title of captain onto someone like him whom the others did not have a very good impression of, Wood definitely has to perform even better than he did in the past so as to prove that he is worthy of the position as the captain.

Wood did not appear to be as happy at becoming the captain as others had expected him to be. He accepted the words of congratulations from his team mates with a stoic expression the whole time.

He did not seem to be in high spirits during training either.

However, Twain noticed something during training. Wood was more serious than any other player towards training, and he also put in the most hard work during each and every training segment as well. In fact, he performed even better than he did in Forest.

The edge of Twain’s lips went up at that sight.

※※※

After the afternoon training session concluded, Twain stood in the middle of everyone and analysed the pros and cons that he observed during the session. He commended a few players and also criticized a few.

Thereafter, everyone but Wood was dismissed.

This seemed like a normal gesture from the manager. The new manager has to communicate with the new captain so as to better manage the team.

However, Wood knew why Twain had asked him to stay behind. He just knew based on instinct.

The Colney Training Center was basked in the orange glow of the setting sun after everyone left the premises. The trees in the distance swayed gently in the breeze, and their movements seemed to have carried a sense of coolness into the training center. The weather felt less hot than it did in the afternoon as a result.

The cool weather seemed to make people feel much more relaxed and comfortable.

The training center was very silent. Only the chirping sounds of birds in the distant forest could be picked up.

Wood stood on the pitch and Twain stood at the sidelines. Approximately 20 meters separated the two of them from each other.

Twain took one step forward.

Wood took one step back.

Twain thought it was just a coincidence. He stopped in his tracks for a moment before he took one step forward. Then another. And another.

Wood swiftly took one step backwards. Then another. And another.

Twain understood what was going on. He stood still, threw out his hands and asked loudly, “What’s this? Like charges repelling each other?”

Wood stood wordlessly on the pitch that was bathed in the orange hue of the setting sun.

Twain took several strides forward quickly, and Wood retreated backwards quickly.

Twain began running forward, and Wood turned around to flee.

Thereafter, a chase began on the pitch, and it looked just like a hunt that was taking place on the African savanna.

By right, the prey should be in front and the predator should be at the back. But, the scene right now was just like the prey chasing the predator… The rabbit was panting heavily, whereas the cheetah still had the luxury to look backwards here and there to see how far behind the rabbit was.

The two had barely run around half of the pitch when the 46-year-old Twain threw in the towel. He could not continue running anymore. He bent over and pressed both his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.

Wood stopped running when he noticed that Twain had stopped in his tracks. He then stared at Twain from a distance.

Twain suddenly straightened his back. Wood thought he was going to continue the chase, so he turned around and was about to continue running when Twain scolded him angrily, “Stop running for god’s sake!”

Chapter 914 - Why Are You Running?

George Wood had been running away. He had good conditions at the club – as long as he did not want to see Twain, Twain would not be able to see him. But now he had no way to escape. He was already in the national team and Twain was his manager and he was Twain’s player. How was he supposed to escape? Just like today, he could at most circle around the training ground which was one to one same size as a stadium.

But the time had come in the end.

“Up your grandfather for running!” Gasping for breath, the tired Twain put his hands on his knees for a while and his ragged breathing finally evened out. The first sentence out of his mouth was a curse word.

Wood could not understand the phrase, but he knew that every time a moment like this happened, Twain would definitely speak in Mandarin. He moved slightly closer by taking a couple of steps and asked, “What did you say?”

“Ah ha, you’re finally ready to talk to me. I was just cursing at you… But don’t worry, it has nothing to do with your mother. It has to do with your grandfather. Hey, have you met your grandfather? Twain responded with gasping breath.

“I don’t know who my grandfather is.”

“Well, forget about your fucking grandfather. I ask you, why did you run just now?”

Twain’s hands left his knees, but his back was still slightly hunched. He was still tired. His mind must have been so muddled that he came up with the idea to race against George Wood.

Wood chewed his lips a few times before he said, “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know why you were running!” When Twain heard the answer, he was furious and said, “It almost killed me… I will say this to you, George. If I had a cardiac arrest, you will have to take full responsibility for it!” Although he was very angry, Twain was secretly sniggering. At least Wood had unknowingly started talking to him. Twain had a lot of confidence in his gift of gab, as long as Wood was willing to talk to him. Then any problem could be resolved.

Wood moved closer forward by another two more steps. It was far away for him to hear what Twain was saying properly.

Twain still felt tired. He had not exercised so vigorous for an extremely long time like just now. His heart in the chest was beating wildly, making him feel exhausted. He simply laid down and did not look at Wood. “I’m the England team’s manager and you’re the England captain. We need to work together. Can you please don’t make the situation akin to an encounter with your father’s murderer?”

Unexpectedly Wood’s answer almost made Twain choke on his words. He said, “My father’s murderer? I’ll be very glad if anyone could kill him.”

“You…” Twain knew he had used the wrong analogy. “Very well, don’t hold a grudge against me, George. I’ll apologize to you. Will it help if I say sorry to you?”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

Twain suddenly turned his body to sit up and looked up at Wood, who was standing in front of him. “Must you really make me spell it out for you?” He gritted his teeth in reply.

Wood did not answer but looked at him quietly.

He stared at Twain like this for a while before Twain gave in and bowed his head as he muttered, “I’m really sorry that I did not say goodbye before I left, George. I… Well, I don’t know how to put it to you. But I hope you will believe me that I was also compelled by circumstances to leave.”

“I’ve coached for eleven years at the Forest team. If I could, I had wanted to coach there always and even watch you retire. Listen to me, you can play at least till you’re forty years old. You still have twelve more years. But that’s the reality – it’s becoming increasingly impossible to coach a team for more than two decades. The current English Premier League is no longer like before. The power of a manager is gradually weakening… I miss the English football world of the last century… Ha, why am I telling you about this?” Twain laughed, “Anyway, I just want you to know I’m sorry.” He looked up at Wood.

Wood, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly asked a question, “Will you still come back to the Forest team?”

“I won’t go back for at least the next two years.” Twain replied frankly.

“In that case, what are we going to do?” Wood continued to ask.

Twain smiled wryly. The question was rather childish.

“You’re not kids anymore, George. You guys have the freedom to choose which path to take. Why are you asking me?”

Wood thought Twain’s words were reasonable. But he did not want to admit it.

“Will you leave the Forest team, George?” Twain asked.

In fact, he felt conflicted inside all along. He wished to see Evan and Allan be taught a lesson, but at the same time, he also did not want the team to broken up and scattered.

“I’m not going to.” Wood replied.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to leave.”

His answer was very idealistic. It would be pointless to investigate the reason. Twain just smiled and said, “I’m going to say something quite selfish, George. I don’t want things at the club to affect your form. I don’t want to see how you were at the World Cup in Brazil again.”

“With…. Without you, I was a little uncomfortable…” Wood suddenly became embarrassed. He scrunched up his face and stammered.

Twain looked at Wood in the twilight. The expression on his face was no longer visible. Only his profile was still very clear. The outlines of his face were as hard as forged in steel.

“How’s your mother, George?” Twain suddenly changed the subject.

Wood paused for a moment before reacting.

“She’s fine … I think.” Wood spoke uncertainly. Twain knew Sophia’s health must be getting worse each day. In fact, his mother’s vitality had been very tenacious. From when he first met her eleven years ago, he had already thought she could leave Wood at any time. He did not expect her to endure for so long.

“Say hello to her for me when you get home. I’m busier than before now that the league tournament has started. I’m traveling all over England. I have very little chance to go back to Nottingham. I’m sorry that I can’t pay her a visit.”

“She knows you’re busy.”

How was this like a conversation between the manager and the new team captain? It was clearly two old friends talking about their ordinary daily lives together.

“How’s the little monkey?”

“Very good.”

“What about the others? I know that my sudden departure must have had a bad effect on them…”

“Everyone’s good after they read your open letter.”

Twain smiled with some pride. The players he had personally developed were still on his side. To have this little bit of support after eleven years, he could not be considered a failure.

“How’s the new manager?”

“He’s okay. He’s a little bit like you. But …” Wood suddenly changed tack and said, “Now that the results are good, everything is good. If…”

“As to the future, you’ll worry it when it happens.” Twain interrupted his speculation.

He got up from the ground and patted his behind. Having sat down for a long time, his buttocks were wet. He had to change his pants when he got back.

“I did not ask you what you thought when I just appointed you as the captain. What did you think?”

Finally, he arrived at the main topic. Twain looked at the sky. The conversation should be over.

Wood shook his head and replied, “A little surprised, but I have no other idea.”

“Well…” Twain mused for a moment, “but you’d better be mentally prepared. Once the results are announced, it’s bound to cause a lot of talk. You’re going to be under a lot of pressure…”

“I know.” Wood’s answer was simple, but Twain heard the determination in his voice.

Twain laughed and said, “Don’t give them a chance. In addition, you need to be more active in the team. Don’t be an invisible person who’s silent all the time. You can act like this in the past but not in the future. There is no invisible team captain here. You have to make everyone understand your existence. The better you perform; the more freedom I have to do what I want to do.”

Wood nodded.

“Okay, better hurry up to take a shower in the locker room and change your clothes. The evening breeze here is really chilly.” Twain stepped forward to pat Wood on the shoulder. This time Wood did not turn around and run away.

Wood listened to him and left.

While Twain continued to stand in the training ground amid the twilight.

It seemed that the misunderstanding between himself and Wood had dissipated. It was a big load off his mind. As long as Wood was still on his side, he had nothing to worry about.

The next day, the new team captain and the media met. As to what those blabbering media wanted to say, he did not care.

※※※

In fact, the media already knew the matter about the national team captain armband’s change of ownership.

What was the English media’s job? With their eyes and ears opened all the time, they were keenly observant and alert. They were lying in wait in the vicinity of the national team training base, so that they could scout out new information anytime and anywhere. The announcement of a new team captain of the national team was not insignificant news. How could they not know?

The Liverpool media cried out against the injustice toward Gerrard. Christopher Beesley, a columnist for the , took the lead to open fire.

“… I can’t understand at all how Mr. Tony Twain made such a decision based on what kind of judgment? Steven’s influence in the England national team cannot be ignored. As the spiritual leader of the Reds, he deserves to continue as the captain in the new national team. But what do we have here? The spiritual leader of the Reds is not even the vice-captain! Is this a provocation against Liverpool by Tony Twain? … I don’t know why Steven would accept such an arrangement. If I were him, I would just quit the national team in protest!”

The pro-Chelsea media were also a little resentful, because Terry from their team had gone from being the captain to the vice-captain. But their anger could not be compared to the anger of the Liverpool crowd by a mile.

That evening, there was a big discussion on Liverpool’s local television and radio stations about England’s new captain. For them, Liverpool had not been awarded the honor for many years and Gerrard was the only ensign they could be proud of. Now the flag flying high over England had also been removed by Twain. When they further recalled how much pain Twain had brought to the club over the years… the new hatred simply mingled together with the old hate and it was absolutely irreconcilable to them!

“Gerrard is the spiritual symbol of English football! He deserves his place in the national team!”

“I don’t hate George Wood, but compared to Gerrard, he’s a little immature!”

“This is a blatant show of nepotism by Tony Twain. I’m not optimistic about the prospects of the national team!”

“His brain must have been misfired for him to make such a decision!”

…

For a while, the listeners called in to the radio station in succession to express their opinions.

The guests on the television program also backed Gerrard as the team captain one by one and opposed to Twain making the England national team to be like “Nottingham Forest.”

The Liverpool fans even planned to attack Twain in the stands, chanting slogans loudly and putting up signs during the England team’s first game. They called it “a war to safeguard Gerrard.”

Unlike the resentment at Stamford Bridge and Liverpool’s wrath, the Nottingham side was full of joy. The Nottingham Forest fans had called in succession to the local radio station hotline to congratulate George Wood on becoming the captain of the new national team.

There were even fans who openly stated, “I knew Tony would favor us more! Because he started from here!” They did not seem to be concerned that Twain would be pushed to the heart of the struggle with the media, because they had a lot of experience with these kinds of matter. Tony would not Tony if he could not even settle on a new captain.

“George deserves to be the team captain. He has been the captain of the Forest team for eight years, and his achievements at the Forest team for the last eight years speak for themselves! As the team captain of the most successful team in English football in recent years, it would be the biggest joke if he was not qualified to be the team captain of the England national team!”

“Ignore whatever the Liverpool people say. Gerrard is good, but he is too old. Can he maintain his form till the UEFA European Championship? He’ll be thirty-six years old in two years’ time!”

“I even think it’s a little late for George to become the captain at twenty-eight years old!”

“In the later period of Capello’s era, George Wood was already the team’s mainstay core. It’s only to be expected for him to be the team captain.”

George Wood’s personal website had also become a battleground. The Liverpool fans went the site to abuse him and Tony, while the Nottingham Forest fans went online to defend their team captain. A fierce battle broke out on the site’s messaging forum, finally culminating in the website server being down to end the fight.

Within one night, the new team captain’s replacement set off a storm in England. Come tomorrow when most newspapers were published, nobody knew what kind of storm this would become…

Billy Woox gave Wood a call. He simply informed him what was going on outside and asked him to get ready.

※※※

At the start of the next day’s training, Twain found that the number of reporters gathered outside was about twice as high as yesterday. He quickly thought about it and he knew what the reason was.

“It’s like a frenzy of sharks behind a slave ship. One tiny drop of blood can lead to a frenzied scramble among them.” Twain gave these reporters the most vivid evaluation. “Maybe we don’t have to officially announce the change in the team captain. They all already know about it.”

It was true. While everyone was eating breakfast, the hot off the press newspapers had already published the news of George Wood becoming England’s new captain in prominent placements. Admonitions and doubts about Twain already appeared in the Liverpool media. The Liverpool media regarded this as a blatant show of nepotism by Twain and a symbol of injustice. This type of behavior must be rectified.

There were even people who suggested that Gerrard should quit the national team in protest like Beesley.

A lot of media rushed forward one after another to ask questions about the choice of team captain when they saw Twain come out.

Before they could open their mouths, Twain shouted, “There will be a regular press conference in the afternoon. You can ask all your question at that time. It’s now time for training. I’m sorry, I have to ask you all to leave here!”

The security guards heard his shouts and coordinated with him to drive the reporters away.

“Just one question, Mr. Twain!”

“I won’t even answer half a question!”

“About the candidate for the team captain…”

“You can ask again in the afternoon.”

“Do you admit that it is nepotism on your part…”

“You only have fifteen minutes of free time to film. I have no problem with it if you’re going to waste all your time to have a glib repartee with me. But you can’t say that I’m blocking the freedom of the press later.”

With the ruckus going on outside the pitch, the attention of the players who were warming up on the pitch were drawn to it.

“What are they arguing about?”

“What else can they argue about? It’s about the new captain…” Someone gave Wood and Gerrard a look when he said this.

Wood was doing his warm-up exercise very seriously and did not notice what was happening off the field at all. Of course, there were those who suspected in their minds that Wood had seen it but deliberately pretended not to see it.

Gerrard just glanced over there and took his eyes off to focus on the warm-up. He had always kept a down-to-earth image. However, he did not expect that at the age of thirty-four years old, he had become a leading character in the national team crisis….

During a break in the training, Twain went to look for Gerrard and hoped that he would attend the afternoon press conference together with him. Initially, he was going to bring the new captain to the press conference to introduce the team captain to the media. But now it looked like it was not necessary to do so.

Apparently, this was to deal with the reporters. Gerrard nodded and agreed. He was not the kind of player who liked to be confrontational with the manager. When the team needed him, he would contribute in strength.

“Have you read all the news reports?” Twain asked.

Gerrard shook his head and replied, “I haven’t read any of them yet, boss.”

“Well… You can take time out at noon to have a look.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary, boss. I know what they’re talking about.”

“That’s good… Go back to training then.”

Twain dismissed Gerrard and stood on the sidelines to continue watching the training. However, in his mind, he was wondering what to do with those sharks during the afternoon press conference.

Chapter 915 - This Damn Thing is Over

To someone in the media industry, what could be a heavier blow than to be completely ignored?

“The Sun” was facing this awkward situation now. The news about the “falling out between George Wood and the Godfather” that they painstakingly got from deep within enemy’s territory was on the front page, but it was hidden underneath a wave of doubts about the new England captain.

Other than the local media from Nottingham, almost every other media thought that Terry and Gerrard were more certified than Wood to be captain. Especially the media from Liverpool, they were so incensed that they were almost cursing Twain to be unable to produce any offspring.

Wood and Twain falling out?

Quit joking around, The Sun! That bastard Twain has already named his son as England’s captain, what falling out? Do you really think that everyone else will be as dumb as you to publish such irresponsible news?

At the press conference, The Sun’s reporter raised his hand, wanting to ask a question about the falling out between Twain and Wood. However, nobody gave him the opportunity to do so. Everyone who got picked will ask, “Mr Twain, you chose Wood instead of Gerrard, is there a case of favoritism here?”

Or:

“Mr Twain, there are higher demands for Terry or Gerrard to be captain than Wood, how are you balancing the relationship between them?”

The scene was bustling, and the names “Terry”, “Gerrard” and “Wood” kept coming up.

Gerrard was seated next to Twain with no expression on his face. The media from Liverpool was questioning Twain on his behalf, yet it only made him feel very awkward. The people who were claiming that, “If I’m Gerrard, I’ll withdraw from the national team as protest”, were simply causing trouble for him.

They had already known each other for so many years, how could these reporters not know what kind of person Gerrard was?

He stole a glance at the person next to him.

Twain was battling with the reporters.

“How about I get Terry and Wood here and we have a group discussion? You guys can ask them about their opinion of this choice yourselves,” Twain said with an unfriendly look on his face.

The reporters grew quiet.

“I can tell you very clearly that I’ve talked to them before deciding on the captaincy. Steven and John are both supportive of this change in captaincy. You can ask Steven if you have any doubts,” Twain pointed at Gerrard next to him.

Gerrard knew that it was his turn to speak and he moved towards the microphone, “That’s right, boss talked to everyone of us, he told us his plans and we also told him what we thought.”

The reporters did not think so, “Yes, you guys told him what you thought, yet he continued to do accordingly to his own plans, isn’t it?”

Gerrard did not look good, “I respect the boss’ opinion and I think George is worthy of the captain’s armband. He has always been an impressive captain and he did well at Nottingham Forest. He’s someone who can lead the team without using words.”

He was part of the national team now so naturally, he could not say anything bad about the national team or his teammates. This was the same everywhere, the people you should trust the most were your comrades in arms on the pitch. That was why he did not think much about Wood taking the captain’s armband away from him. On the other hand, it was indeed true that he did not think it was a bad idea for Wood to be captain…

That was the objective that Twain wanted to achieve by bringing Gerrard to the press conference. He knew that Gerrard thought very highly of Wood and was someone who could look at the big picture, therefore, he was not afraid that he would embarrass him in front of the reporters. Letting someone who lost the captain’s armband praise Wood himself was obviously much more effective that Twain praising Wood himself.

The reporters looked at each other, not knowing what to say as it seemed that Gerrard was on Twain’s side.

The reporters from Liverpool were especially disappointed. At the same time, another guess emerged in their hearts——Was Tony Twain so powerful? There was no one who was against him in the national team? They would never believe that Gerrard or Terry had nothing against this arrangement.

Is it a coercion terror policy? Players who don’t agree with his management style can’t play?

That would be an even more breaking news than the captaincy…

The reporters on the ground did not know what to ask for the time being and the reporter from The Sun finally grabbed this opportunity to ask his question, “Have you seen today’s The Sun newspaper, Mr Twain?” He even took the opportunity to advertise for his newspaper.

“I’m sorry, Mr reporter. I never read trash like that,” Twain’s reply caused an uproar. The Sun’s reporter felt very awkward amidst the laughter. Twain did not feel sorry for that as he really hated The Sun. This newspaper had been talking bad about him all this while.

“That’s a pity, Mr Twain…” Since Twain was not being friendly, the reporter naturally did not see a need to hold back, “The latest The Sun paper today exposed the falling out between you and George Wood, what do you have to say about that?”

“As we all know,” Twain opened his palms towards everyone, not looking at that reporter, “Trash papers love to make up some lies themselves, then publish them to attract attention. We have a live example here.’

The laughter started again.

“I have a very good relationship with George, Mr reporter. How good you ask? Look…” He pointed to the reporters below, “There are so many reporters here just to prove one thing——That I treat Wood as well as I would treat my own son. Do you know the meaning of favoritism, Mr reporter?”

The laughter stopped as the smart reporters realized that Twain was insulting both sides now.

“My relationship with Wood is so good that it is at a point of public indignation, how could we have fallen out? I was right, am I not? Trash papers love to make up some lies to attract attention.”

With that, Twain looked at the reporter from The Sun proudly. The reporter was so embarrassed that he was blushing. He looked at the other group of reporters. They were still attacking Twain earlier, yet they were now Twain’s accomplices now. That was pretty depressing for the reporters. They were looking as awkward as can be. There were some people who were laughing heartily earlier but they were all staring at Twain with their mouths wide open in shock now. Those were expressions that one could only see in slapstick comedies.

Gerrard suddenly wanted to laugh as he witnessed this scene——He had never experienced a press conference like this before, it was so interesting to him…

As an English professional player, he understood very clearly how difficult it was to handle the English media. He did not expect his boss to treat the press conference as a game and tricking those difficult reporters.

Twain was preparing to leave, and he stood up and said to the shell-shocked reporters, “Looks like everyone got the answers that they are satisfied with and there are no other questions for me. Let’s call it a day then.”

Gerrard stood up too and followed Twain as he left.

The reporters finally reacted then. There were some people who wanted to ask a few more questions, but they soon realized that other than the “new captain”, they could not think of any other questions. The game against Macedonia? What did they have to worry about playing such a walkover team?

And so, a bunch of people could only watch as Twain and Gerrard left in front of their eyes. Later on, they realized that they did not get any useful answers from this one-and-a-half-hour session, all they achieved was to bicker with Twain!

“Damn it! We got tricked again!” The older reporters cursed.

※※※

“Ha ha!” On the way back, Twain laughed very proudly in front of Gerrard, “Don’t look at me like that Steven. This is a very good way of relieving stress, you can try it yourself.”

Gerrard shook his head, “I don’t dare to… I’ve been maintaining this image for more than a decade…”

Twain nodded and said, “That’s true. You’ve always been an honest man in front of the media and the public. If not for that, I probably won’t be able to get out of this press conference so easily. “At this point, Twain stopped and faced Gerrard, “Thanks Steven.”

Gerrard did not expect Twain to speak to him with such an attitude, even thanking him. He stood there, stunned and forgot to react.

Twain could see what he was thinking, and he smiled, “Why? My image here is different from what the media portrayed me as?”

“No… Um, sorry. Actually…In Liverpool’s changing room, there were indeed many rumors about you, boss.”

Twain’s interest was piqued, he raised his brows and said, “Oh? Care to tell me about it?”

However, Gerrard rejected him, “Sorry boss. What happens in the changing room is not allowed to be spread outside.”

Twain realized he asked a very stupid question and he quickly apologized, “Ah, I forgot about that… It’s okay, we don’t allow that either… Alright, now matter what, these matters are resolved now. We should divert our attention to Macedonia now. Do you know about Macedonia, Steven?”

Gerrard thought for a moment, then shook his head, “Not really…”

“Okay, there’s actually nothing to be worried about. If we can’t even beat a team like Macedonia by playing our own style of football, what chances have we got to be European champions?” Twain kept talking about “champions” as though he was talking about something common.

However, Gerrard was not surprised that someone like him would be talking like this. There were many legends about this man outside, but there was one that was not wrong——Tony Twain’s name means champion.

Think about the number of times he led the Forest team, a team that used to play in the championship, to become champions. He even the most prestigious club trophies, the UEFA Champions League, three times. This was someone that was comparable to the legendary Liverpool manager, Bob Paisley. Even though the number of trophies he got still trailed that of Ferguson, but if one thought about his age, one would realize he was only 45 years old. Nobody doubted that the number of trophies he got by the time he was at Ferguson’s age would be lesser than the old scot.

※※※

Since even Gerrard came forward to say that he did not mind George Wood becoming captain, and he did not mind that he was not even vice-captain, then what rights did the local Liverpool media have to continue making a fuss?

Only Carl Spicer criticized Twain’s decision in his show, “…He’s trying to make the England national team the second Nottingham Forest. But I bet that he’ll realize how stupid he was before long. I heard that he could scold anyone at will in the Forest changing room, he could scold anyone just because he was feeling unhappy. If it was 30 years ago, he can probably even beat them up. But can he do that in the national team’s changing room? The Forest players had been with him everyday for 11 years, they know the temperaments of their boss, but what about the other national team players? Other than scolding, what else does he know? He knows nothing… The Football Association signed a two-years contract with him, but I think that Twain will be sacked before a year’s up! The reason is simple, if George Wood can be named as captain, then the starting lineup will have a large number of Forest players. If not for the fact that Akinfeev and Bale can’t play for England, Twain must have hoped that he can include them in his starting lineup.

Twain treated what Spicer said as “barking of a defeated dog”, and he ignored it. He knew that in the footballing world, it did not matter how much you talk, it all depended on your results in the end. The reason why he could be so arrogant and scold people at will was because he had the results to back him up. This was a simple logic, a pity it was not a logic that everyone understood. They merely saw Twain when he was being arrogant and started to hate him. They did not see why he had the rights to be arrogant while there were so many managers who could not even be arrogant for once.

Two days later, in the match against Macedonia, Twain not only wanted to win, but he wanted to win convincingly. He wanted to shut those people who were still unhappy with him up with a huge victory in this match.

Chapter 916 - The New English Team Sets Sail and Soars

It was not just Gerrard who knew very little about the Macedonian team. Even Tony Twain was not familiar with the opponent they were about to face.

Not to mention Twain, perhaps most British people would not be able to locate where Macedonia was on earth with a map in a moment and a half. Had it not been that they were participating in the UEFA European Championship Qualifying tournament, the citizens of the United Kingdom would have thought the little-known country would have been somewhere in the continent of Antarctica.

Long ago, Twain had thought that Macedonia was in Western Europe. He only found out later he was severely mistaken. Macedonia was part of what was once called Yugoslavia, and their football prowess had little to boast about. FK Vardar, the country's most successful football club, had played in three major European tournaments eight times, but the best results they achieved had only been to advance to the second round twice...

As to the current Macedonian team, the man whom Twain was most familiar with was Goran Pandev, who still played for SS Lazio. The thirty-one-year-old Pandev was also the Macedonia team's number one star player and team captain. He was also the only player who could pose a threat to England's rear defensive line.

In fact, England's coaching staff had focused the research on how to stop Pandev. They were largely unconcerned about the other players. After all, there was a large disparity in England's strength and that of Macedonia's. The only teams in the group that could pose a threat to England's advancing to the next stage were Denmark and Serbia. England's intelligence-gathering work had long begun for these two fierce rivals.

The Macedonians could sense England's contempt. As the manager, Tony Twain did not once mention Macedonia in front of the media. But he talked repeatedly about Wales, because after playing the game against Macedonia, Twain's England team would play against the neighboring Wales.

When accepting an interview from the reporters, Mitchell, as the team's main force, was asked the question "Do you know where Macedonia is?", his answer had greatly incensed the Macedonians –"Maybe it's in the north? I don't know..."

In response, Pandev proclaimed in an interview that they would teach England a lesson. "... Although we are the away team, I am glad that we have the opportunity to tell them where Macedonia is in the world. Hopefully they can firmly remember it after the game."

Macedonia appeared to be aggressive, but Tony Twain was still unconcerned. He discussed his friendship with Bale in the media and continued to put psychological pressure on Wales... even though the match between England and Wales would only start in October.

"The provoked Macedonia team will attack the moment the game starts. They must be in high spirits now. I can imagine how the opposing manager has goaded them---" Twain imitated the manager of the Macedonia team, the Slovenian, Sre?ko Katanec, and brandished his fists as he growled, "They have a low opinion of you! They look down on you! Teach them a lesson and let them know the cost of underestimating you!!"

The coaches next to him all laughed.

Twain also looked at this group of colleagues who were in stitches. He waited till their laughter subsided before he continued.

"If Katanec were a smart man, he would make use of our contempt to inspire the team's fighting spirit. Originally, it would have been hard to raise the players' spirits in an away challenge against a strong opponent. Now we've given them a great excuse and opportunity, which they will definitely seize it. So, once the game starts, they will take the initiative to attack and we will attack them as well. Their rear defensive line has a lot of loopholes, which we can seize and make the most of it. Try our best to score early and as time goes on, Katanec will know he is taken in. So, he'll start to withdraw his defense. If we haven't scored at that time, he will feel that maintaining a draw and obtaining one point in the game will be a great victory. If that's the case..." Twain analyzed unceasingly to his coaches about the course of the game.

"We'll press on. I'll hand Pandev to George. We don't have to take special care of the others. Next we have to pay attention to the mental state of our players. If the score continues to be a draw, it will be more and more unfavorable to us. This kind of situation has to be avoided, so I hope the team can score as early as possible. If Macedonia withdraws its defense, we will have a lot of opportunities for positional play. We have to seize this point to try to breach their goal."

"This is not a problem. We've been practicing our positional play these few days." Walker interjected next to him.

"We'll just cover these topics today... No matter how complete a plan is, it can't be compared to the changes in an actual game." Twain clapped his hands and ended the meeting with the coaches regarding the preparations.

※※※

It was the first time George Wood had worn the England captain's armband to play in a match. Before the game, Twain pulled him to one side and instructed him to keep a close eye on Pandev. Formerly a striker, Pandev was now getting closer to the midfield as he became older. Now he was at the core of Macedonia's offense. It was all up to him to organize and end the attacks. By marking him closely, Macedonia could not stir up any trouble.

Wood nodded as he listened to Twain's tactics. His expression was very focused.

Once he was finished, Twain patted Wood on the left arm and said, "Before this game, there are still a lot of voices questioning and objecting to your being the team captain. What do you think of it, George?"

"I'll prove I deserve the captain's armband."

Wood's answer greatly satisfied Twain. He laughed loudly and said, "Yes! That's more like it! If they mock and doubt you, then you use actual performance to give them a slap in the face! Didn't we do that when we were in the Forest team? In fact, there's no difference being the captain of the national team and the Forest team captain. Play the game well and then all problems will go away."

Twain liked this point about Wood the best. He would not mince his words and say overly self-effacing words like "I'm flattered and overwhelmed to receive the captain's armband" or "I'm surprised that I can be the team captain because Terry and Gerrard are more suitable than I am." He would only confidently express that he had the ability and he deserved to receive such a treatment. This kind of attitude would seem arrogant to most people. But like Tony Twain, he was entitled to be arrogant and conceited.

As Gerrard aged, the twenty-eight-year-old George Wood had indeed become England's number one midfielder in the country. For Twain to give the captain's armband to him, it could not be considered as nepotism. It should be said to that he "appointed people to important posts based on merits, even if it were to be his own son."

※※※

Leading England to play in its first official senior international matches (previously, all the matches with the Forest team were against the club opponents and could not be counted as senior international matches). It would also be a test for Twain. He knew that the competition played with the Forest team was just a warm-up. From now on, he was officially on the path to his conquest of the world.

Standing in front of the technical area and listening to the British national anthem

Chapter 917 - Forty-Six Years Old Twain

After the match against Macedonia was done, England had a bye into the second round of qualifying on the September 9. However, the team did not dismiss early. Instead the team played a friendly match against the visiting team, Australia in London.

The day was also Tony Twain’s birthday. After this day, he would have fully lived out his forty-five years of age and was on his way toward forty-six years old.

The national footballers from the Forest team had wanted to achieve a win to give the boss a birthday present. But Twain did not care about the result. To him, it was a chance for the team to get used to the lineup together. He did not mind sending a lot of players who did not play in the game against Macedonia.

But Twain still had something very important to do before playing against Australia.

On the morning of the match, he drove away from London Colney and left London alone. He drove along the A1 motorway and returned to Nottingham. Then he found the hairdresser shop he had visited many times before.

Next, he sat quietly in his chair and asked the middle-aged hairdresser to dye his hair.

Indeed, the important matter that he had to attend to was to dye his hair.

The days of hard work had increased the amount of white hair on his head. The roots of the previously dyed hair had grown out. He did not look good with a mix of black and white hairs.

Dying his hair was an important part of maintaining his image for him. He was only forty-six years old. He wanted to try and make himself look young. He did not want to give the impression of “being old.” Forty-six years old was certainly not considered old, but a head full of white hair would give people the impression that he was already sixty-six years old, which was not very good …

“Tony.” Connolly, the hairdresser who dyed him was five years older than him. He had been serving Twain ever since Twain had decided to dye his hair. The relationship between the two people was quite close. Therefore, he was able to dye the hair and chat with Twain at the same time.

“Eh?” Twain, who had his eyes closed, replied languidly with a nasal sound

“Happy birthday!”

Twain opened his eyes when he heard it and slightly turned his head. He was going to give the other party a surprised look but was stopped.

“Don’t move, Tony.”

“How do you know it’s my birthday today? I remember that I have not told you before…”

“Ha, as a celebrity, your birthday is no secret, is it? Today’s also used an extra to wish you a happy birthday. Even if I did not know it before, I know it today.” Connelly laughed.

But Twain was not in a very good mood. He muttered, “I’m already forty-six years old. My birthday six years ago was already not a happy occasion for me.”

Connelly smiled wordlessly and continued to work.

That was when Twain’s cell phone rang. He touched the button on his earphones and pressed the answer button.

“Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!”

Shania’s voice, brimming with energy, rang out of the Bluetooth headset, making Twain’s mood instantly better. Although Shania and Connelly essentially said the same thing, he was still a little surprised.

“It must be two o’clock in the morning on your side, isn’t it?” There was an eight-hour time difference between London and Los Angeles. It was 10:20 a.m. on Twain’s side.

But Shania said with a smile, “I waited especially until this time to call you, or else I won’t be able to sleep.”

Listening to his wife’s voice, Twain suddenly wanted to put his arms out to embrace her. He lifted his shoulders, only to realize that the Atlantic Ocean and American continent separated the two of them. Perhaps ten thousand miles were not enough to describe it.

“I’m forty-six years old, and a year older…” Twain did not mind that an outsider was around him. He was flirting with Shania on the phone.

“The older my Uncle Tony is, the more attractive he is! I like old men!” Shania said with annoyance. It was as if she was acting coquettishly in Twain’s arms. “What are you doing?”

“Dyeing my hair. ”

When Shania heard Twain say so, she suddenly laughed, “You’re celebrating your birthday in this way. Is it your birthday wish, Uncle Tony?”

“Of course. If I’m a few years younger, I’ll be able to spend a few more years with you.” Perhaps he became aware of the sadness of the problem, Twain hastened to change the subject, “Is it hard to do the filming in Los Angeles?”

“It’s okay. I’ll be in Paris in a few days. I can come see you at that time.” Shania also cleverly did not to dwell on the issue.

“Are you going to stay for long?”

“Only three days…” Shania’s voice was a little disappointed.

Twain was also quiet for a while.

The long-term separation prevented them from even living like a normal couple, and they did not know how long the situation would last.

“I saw the news that your England team had defeated Macedonia, and it was a big win. Congratulations, Uncle Tony!” The previous remark about how long she was staying this time felt as sad as “How much more time can Uncle Tony be with her” so Shania changed the subject too. Even though she did not care about football, it was better than talking about those things.

The two people chatted about some other stuff and Twain repeatedly urged Shania to go to bed. They dilly dallied for a while and went back and forth several times before Shania finally reluctantly hung up the phone to go to bed.

Twain took off his earphones and Connelly was finally able to dye his hair on this side.

“You both have a very good relationship, Tony.” Connelly said enviously, “All I know is that my wife thinks I don’t make enough money.”

“So, are you envious of the long-distance relationship too, Connelly?”

“If it’s long distance from my mother-in-law, I’d be delighted to! Ha ha!” Connelly chuckled loudly, and Twain laughed with him as well. “I can go drinking and watch the football games without anyone nagging at me! A life with freedom is what every man like me yearns!”

“Hey, Tony. Can you reveal anything about the game this evening? How are you going to play against Australia?” After laughing, Connelly suddenly lowered his voice and asked beside Twain’s ear.

Twain smiled and said, “How else can we play against them? Anyone who did not get a chance to play in the last game has a chance to play tonight.”

“That’s right. Australia is not a strong team.” These words were inevitable and right coming from an England fan. In their eyes, no other team could be considered a strong team except England. “Then I’ll cheer you on in front of the TV tonight!”

“Thank you, Connelly.”

The two people stopped talking. Connelly focused on his work at hand, and Twain continued to enjoy the leisure time with his eyes closed. Then, unknowingly, he felt asleep. He had been tired lately as he had not been getting enough sleep. He could always fall asleep easily at such times.

But that did not stop Connelly from doing his work because even when he slept in a chair, Twain’s head was always in a fixed position and did not droop down.

By the time, Twain was woken up. It was already after his hair was dyed.

“Did I fall asleep?” Twain was still a little confused.

Connelly nodded with a smile, “You slept quite soundly. You did not wake up no matter how much I nudged you.”

“Well… I’m sorry.” Twain rubbed his eyes and then looked at himself in the mirror.

A head full of black hair plus he had caught some sleep just now, he looked full of vitality more than he did when he first arrived. He should have nothing to worry about when he made his appearance in front of the players and the media with this image.

He opened his mouth to the mirror and made a smile. “I look good!” He praised and said, “If I could, I’d really like to suggest to the Football Association that you be called up to the national team’s coaching unit, Connelly!”

“Ha!” Connelly laughed, “To go there specially to dye your hair?”

Twain took out some money and gave Connelly a tip as he replied, “Yes.”

Stepping out of the store, Twain sat in his jeep and pulled down the rear-view mirror to look at his reflection again. After confirming that he did not miss a spot or neglected an area, he started the car and drove away from here to head toward London.

On the long and boring road, he hummed an English song which he had learned in middle school.

“Happy birthday to you – Happy birthday to you – Happy birthday dear teacher — Happy birthday to you…”

※※※

Twain finally rushed back to the hotel before lunch. He had informed Walker in the morning that he had some personal stuff to do, so everyone was not surprised when he rushed in from the outside, looking a little travel worn.

The players were having their meals. Twain found the coaches’ table and sat down as he greeted his colleagues.

“Happy birthday!” Walker raised a glass of juice and toasted him. At the same time, he noticed the black hair on Twain’s head which had increased a lot more from yesterday. He guessed what Twain had done.

“Happy birthday, Tony!” The other people also raised their glasses to Twain in succession.

“Thank you, thank you…” Twain returned the toast one by one.

After Walker saw Twain sit down, he smiled mysteriously at Twain and said, “We’ve prepared a birthday cake for you.”

He clapped his hands.

Then the players stood up one by one, laughing and clapping together as they sang the song. While Wood and Terry, the two captain and vice-captain, pushed a small dining trolley as they walked in through the door.

Amid the singing, they walked through the entire room of the hotel’s restaurant and came to the front of Twain’s table.

Wood lifted the lid and a chocolate cream cake created in the shape of Wembley stadium appeared in front of Twain’s eyes.

“Happy birthday, boss.” Wood tried his best to put a genuine smile on his face, but it looked even more awkward…

Twain smiled and shook his head, “You guys planned this in advance?”

“We heard it by chance from Aaron’s mouth after we won the game against Macedonia.” Terry explained.

Mitchell heard his name mentioned and quickly raised his hand to wave to Twain. It was like he was introducing him to a meeting with his large audience and friends.

“Don’t blame me for blabbing, boss!” Mitchell said loudly, “I was just talking to David about what gift to send you for your birthday, and they heard it.” He pointed to the other teammates around him.

In fact, Twain was a very approachable manager. Although there were a lot of rumors outside against him, these national team players found that the devil-like man was not difficult to get along with after interacting with Twain for a week, … And sometimes he was even easy to get along with. They could joke with him and he would not glare at and rebuke them to ask them to pay attention to the difference in their ranks. If he was in a good mood, he would even take the initiative to joke with them. After the win over Macedonia, for example, Twain teased George Wood in the locker room. It was quite funny to see George Wood, who normally had a straight face, looking like he did not know whether to cry or laugh in front of Twain’s roguish appearance. To be able to cheekily make fun of that stern-faced and fierce star player, perhaps Tony Twain was the only one who could do so.

Seeing so many players care about his own birthday, Twain’s heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment. It looked like he had captured the hearts of the players and it was harmonious within the team.

He stood up and accepted the birthday cake from the players. He held up his glass which was filled with fruit juice in it.

“I’m very thankful to you guys. After playing this game, the national team will be temporarily dismissed. The next game is October 16th. I hope that I can still see you all come back to me at that time, and that everyone is healthy and well, plus in good form. To arrange to have so many good players is certainly a problem for the manager, but I would rather enjoy this kind of problem, which is a happy problem to have for me. Everyone, please enjoy and relax for this evening’s game! Thank you!”

It was a good opportunity and he had not forgotten to use this opportunity to further close in the gap between himself and the players.

He downed the glass of fruit juice in one gulp.

※※※

In the game in the evening, just as Twain said, it was a completely different lineup for the England national team than in the previous game.

Even George Wood was placed on the substitutes’ bench. None of the eleven players who played in the game against Macedonia, was in the starting lineup.

Australia did not see the game that way. Although politically England was their mother country, football was not a place for politics. It was a very tempting result to be able to beat England at the Wembley Stadium. Australia wanted to give it a try.

Such a game still attracted a lot of fans to the stadium to watch the game live.

Australia took advantage of England’s lineup which was still not tight enough to take the lead. They played aggressively.

While Twain was said not to care about the outcome and that he just wanted to observe the performances of the players, not everyone on the pitch thought so.

Like Joe Mattock, Bentley and Agbonlahor, the three players from the Forest team, they did not want to lose on the boss’ birthday. They had already given his birthday cake and the birthday gift should be the victory of this game. Even if it was just a friendly game, they did not want to lose.

Twain’s long-held philosophy at Nottingham Forest had played an inertial role at this time. The Forest team’s habit of refusing to lose a game made them work particularly hard on the pitch.

The commentator also thought it was a way to put in a good performance in front of Twain and get a chance to be selected in the starting lineup.

By the end of the first half, England’s “Nottingham Forest gang” had a tight cooperation and tore apart Australia’s defense. In the absence of a good coordination within the entire team, these small collaborations within the players from the same club showed value.

Joe Mattock directly crossed the ball from the left side to the right side and Bentley beautifully stopped the ball. Following which he passed the ball across to the middle with the striker, Agbonlahor making the most of his speed to then plug in from behind and shook off the hulking Australian center back. He receive the ball and went straight into the penalty area!

It was much easier to face the goalkeeper one on one. After Agbonlahor made use of his upper body and swayed to trick the goalkeeper, he shot, and the football passed through the goalkeeper’s legs to roll into the goal. The score was equalized by England to 1:1!

After the goal, Agbonlahor dashed all the way to the England team’s technical area and hugged with Tony Twain.

“Happy birthday, boss!”

On the way back to the field, Agbonlahor got hold of his other teammates and said, “Don’t let the Aussies mess up the boss’ birthday. We have to win!” He clenched and waved his fists vigorously.

The Forest players worked very hard. It did not look like a friendly match to inspect the squad. It was more like a life-and-death battle about who could advance to the next round.

The Australians fought hard for a while at the start of the second half before putting up their hands in surrender.

England started to work hard in the second half, which was completely outside of Twain’s arrangement.

In the 67th minute, Curtis Davies succeeded in his fight for the header from the corner kick and his header put England in the lead.

In the 79th minute, Delph received a pass from Vaughan after he broke into the penalty area and gave a low shot to break the goal, making the score 3:1.

In the 85th minute, Downing had even scored a goal, but it was ruled to be in an offside position, so the goal was invalid.

But Twain was already very satisfied with 3:1 score. England’s strength was indeed above Australia’s.

In the post-match press conference, some reporters who had a better relationship with Twain congratulated him on winning the game on his birthday and receiving the best birthday gift.

It looked like his birthday would not be spent alone after he became the manager of England national team.

His forty-six-years-old birthday was Twain’s first birthday with the national team. He was a year older again.

Chapter 918 - I Want a Child

It has been more than a month since Twain last returned to his home atop the Mapperley Park hill in the northeastern part of Nottingham City. Everything in his home was covered in dust and the yard was almost fully covered by fallen leaves. He had no choice but to employ a cleaning company to clean up his place.

If not for the fact that Shania was flying back from Paris to stay for three days, Twain had no need to return.

He realized that it was very hard for him to have any sort of routine in his life ever since he became the manager of the national team. His homes were hotel rooms and along with the league and cup matches, he had to travel all across England, even overseas sometimes, to examine his players.

If Shania was waiting at home for her husband’s return instead of being busy in her own career, she would have to switch on all the lights in the sizeable house every night before she could go to sleep. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was not a bad thing for them to be living separately. Being unable to return to his own home was naturally worse than that.

Twain clapped in satisfaction as he looked at his home, which looked brand new after the makeover. Then, he looked down at his watch, decided that it was about time to fetch Shania from the airport and hopped into the car at his door.

※※※

At the London Heathrow Airport, Twain found out that there was a group of reporters lugging their cameras and video cameras with them also waiting for the same flight from Paris to London.

These reporters did not react to a celebrity like Twain, so it was impossible that they were sports reporters.

Who were they waiting to interview then?

The answer was revealed when Shania appeared at the exit.

There was a commotion amongst the reporters when they saw the tall and fashionable Shania walking out with a small Louis Vuitton luggage. They all rushed forward and camera flashes started to flash all around them.

The situation became out of control for a moment.

The security detail tried their best to maintain the order and prevent the reporters from disturbing Shania.

Shania paid no mind to these disturbances. She tiptoed a little and started searching the crowd. Twain did not wave at her to indicate where he was. He was standing outside the group of reporters, trying to see if Shania would be able to find him.

The telepathy between the two lovers passed this minor test.

Shania merely turned her body a little and she found her target. She did not care that there were reporters and security guards around. She waved at Twain and then walked quickly past the surrounding reporters towards Twain, who was waiting in front of a pillar, with the luggage in tow.

Twain stood there with his arms open as he waited for Shania to dive in.

The reporters finally recognized the old man who appeared in front of them as Shania’s husband——England national team’s manager, Tony Twain.

“Uncle Tony!” Shania exclaimed happily as she dived into his arms.

If he was not leaning onto a pillar, Twain would most definitely have been floored by Shania.

“Oh… Take it easy, have you grown fatter dear?”

“That’s the luggage!” Shania rolled her eyes at him.

Twain looked at the LV luggage on the floor and chuckled.

Of course, Shania knew what Twain was laughing about. This made her a little red-faced from embarrassment and she used her ultimate move in order to stop her husband from teasing her about her weight——She planted her lips on Twain’s without hesitation right in front of countless media and strangers, and her nimble little tongue even took this opportunity to enter Twain’s mouth.

“Mm…”

Twain could not speak even if he wanted to and he could only make muffled noises like that.

Even though he had been a Caucasian for so many years, Twain was still not used to kissing in front of other people. However, Shania had no such concerns since she was a true-blue westerner and she only wanted to fully enjoy this moment after being separated for so long. She eventually threw her purse on the ground and put her arms around Twain’s neck, completely losing herself into her husband’s scent.

Twain lost track of how long this kiss was. When their lips separated again, he was almost out of breath and Shania was flushed in her cheeks as well.

The media got the whole process on camera from all angles. These images would probably appear on all entertainment news and the internet the next day…No, later in the afternoon.

“We’ll be on the headlines again, Shania,” Twain panted as he told his wife.

“Who cares!” Shania did not care how she would be judged by other people, “I love you, Uncle Tony!”

“I love you too,” Twain picked up Shania’s purse that was on the ground and gave it back to her, then grabbed her luggage that was behind her before telling her, “Let’s go.”

“To where? The hotel?” Twain did not tell Shania that he had cleaned up their home so that he could give her a surprise. That was why Shania thought that Twain had booked a hotel room in London for her.

“No,” Twain turned around and gave her a warm smile, “Let’s go home.”

※※※

Let’s go home.

Shania was very excited in the car all because of that sentence. She even whistled at the people outside without giving a thought about her image. Twain laughed as he shook his head and drove. He did not stop her as he knew why his wife was so excited.

For a couple that had been living in different countries for so long, “going home” was a phrase that was so tempting. It could invoke countless beautiful imaginations within them.

In their quiet home, there was no paparazzi following and stopping them, they did not have to worry about whether their outfit and behavior were congruent with their public images. They could sit on the sofa in front of the television in any way they wanted, prop their bare feet on the table and eat their favorite chips while enjoying the soap opera that was aired.

There was nothing they looked forward to more than a quiet life like that.

The world could only see the money and lifestyle that a superstar enjoyed, but not the freedom that they had to sacrifice for them. Normal people could vent their displeasure by scolding vulgarities when they were unhappy. However, if a superstar did that, what awaited them was someone exposing them and them getting criticized. Tony Twain was a star that did not acted like a star. Too bad in the eyes of the public, he was merely a “star with an attitude”. They did not know that he was a star that was working hard to be a regular person.

Shania was known as someone who loved an old man and because of that, she was also the victim of a lot of gossips when she announced that she was marrying Twain.

“Uncle Tony, would I be disturbing your work now that I’m back?” Shania got her head and arms back into the car after she was done being excited as she turned to ask Twain.

“It’s just a weekend without watching football, it’s nothing,” Twain said nonchalantly.

“Aren’t you afraid that the media will say you’re unprofessional?”

Twain laughed and said, “Haven’t the media criticized me enough times?” For Twain, it was a situation of “a dead mouse feels no cold”, “It’s rare that you’re back. I think it’s worth it to be criticized a little just to accompany you.”

Shania felt that it was very sweet. All women desire to be the only one that her man thinks about, even if he had to go against the whole world. Every woman will have this selfish thought, even though it was not a very rational one…

Then, she turned her body a little and slowly slid towards her husband in the driver’s seat, before finally resting her head softly on Twain’s shoulder.

“Uncle Tony,” Shania mumbled with her eyes closed as she leaned on Twain’s shoulder.

“Hmm?” Twain had to ensure that while focusing on driving, his actions had to be not too exaggerated while changing gears so as not to disturb his wife.

“I’ve calculated, these few days falls into my risky period you know,” Shania looked up and smiled at Twain.

Twain was stunned for a moment before realizing that “risky period” means “ovulating period”. If they were to make love during this period, it would be very easy for her to be pregnant.

“Let’s have a baby?” Shania looked at Twain expectedly.

Twain backed down, “Shania, you’re only 23… It’s too early…”

“Why are you just like Mr Fasal?” Shania pouted, a little unhappy, “We’ve been married for five and a half years.”

“My bride had just reached 18 then,” Twain freed one hand and gently held Shania’s hand, caressing it, “You’re still young, Shania. You should not be tied up by a child at this age.”

“But you’re not young anymore, Uncle Tony,” Shania had a different opinion.

“This isn’t good for your career…” Twain continued to back down.

Shania continued to press him, “I’ve already said that I don’t care about my own career. If we have a child, I’ll retire from the entertainment and modelling circles.”

“Are you acting in a fit of pique?” Twain gave a wry smile.

“I’m serious!”

And Twain’s smile became more awkward.

Shania knew what Twain was afraid of, she consoled him and said, “Don’t think too much, Uncle Tony. Maybe you’ve been too tired and have too much stress? Let’s have a good rest during these few days and not think about anything, okay?”

Twain finally nodded, “We’ll do as you say, Shania.”

※※※

It was just like what Shania said. There were almost no trace of Twain and Shania in the entertainment or sports media during these few days.

They disappeared from the public eye after that passionate kiss in the airport.

Not caring about anything, enjoying their married life.

They made love passionately, all because they wanted a baby.

A child, their plans for the future ever since they got married.

Shania’s considerations were valid, and Twain agreed in his mind too. He was already 46 years old, an age that would not be considered young for someone who was healthy, let alone someone who had a heart disease like him. It was a serious matter to still not have a child and nobody knew how much longer he could live for.

If he was a little older… Taking four years as a stage. The World Cup is held every four years, so is the European championship. If he led the team to the European championship trophy, he would undoubtedly be offered the contract to lead them in the World Cup as well. In four years, Twain would be 50 years old. He did not know whether he would still be as potent as he was now.

That was why they had no time to waste.

Life is really short…

Maybe having a child was the one thing that Twain would never be able to do. A person who was a godfather after winning so many trophies and yet he did not have any offspring. Could this be a side effect of time travel? Or maybe… This was karma for all the times he acted so arrogantly?

Twain did not want to think about such questions. He spent all his effort on his wife.

After he got tired, Twain laid next to Shania, considered for a very long time before saying, “Shania… If this doesn’t work, let’s adopt a baby?”

Shania covered his mouth with her hand, “I only want a child that looks like you, Uncle Tony.”

Twain had no choice but to continue working hard.

※※※

Working hard for a baby with Shania was the only time for relaxation in Twain’s busy schedule. Holding Shania’s youthful and alluring body in his arms, no matter how stressful he was, how busy he was, how exhausted he was, they would all be forgotten. Twain did not deny that he was madly in love with this youthful body. He was not a believer of platonic sex. A relationship without a material basis was something that he could not imagine.

Twain did not appear in the Goodison Park’s stands for the seventh round of the league because he was spending his time with Shania. The national team’s assistant manager, Des Walker was there in his place.

As there were photographs of Twain and Shania kissing passionately at the airport, some of the media complained that Twain had forgotten about his work because of love. This was not the attitude that the manager of the England team should have.

When Twain returned, the reporters asked him some questions regarding that. He simply replied that it was his private life and he had the rights to enjoy his private life. As for the match between Everton and Manchester City, he indicated that he watched the match live at home and recordings of the match after that. He also analyzed the notes that his assistant manager, who was there on the grounds, provided him. He was sure that he knew more about what was happening at every single moment of that match than any of the reporters who covered it.

Even when he was with Shania, he did not stop paying attention to everything that happened in the English Premier League, no matter how minor it was.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Delph had been in a bad form for the past two rounds. If he did not adjust soon, his name would not be included in the call up list for the next national squad.

Manchester United’s Ferdinand pulled his left thigh muscle during the match with Newcastle. Initial reports indicated that he would be out of action for a month so he would definitely not be able to make the international matches in mid-October.

Nottingham Forest’s David Bentley did not have any impressive performance. If there were no surprises, he would also not be included in the call up list for England this time.

He also considered the fact that there were too many players of the same type in midfield, so Twain removed Manchester United’s midfielder, Michael Carrick from the next call up list too.

Middlesbrough’s Paul Pepper had been performing admirably in September. Not only did he attract the interest of all the big clubs, he also made Twain think about calling him up to the national team.

If there were no other surprises, Anton Ferdinand would be replacing his brother in the national team.

There were two more weeks to the next European Championship qualifier match and Twain was already preparing for it. He had already led the team to three wins on the trot (if one counted the friendly match against Nottingham Forest), and the fans and media were all looking forward to watching him keep winning.

He used to be the most hated person in the whole of England. Other than the Nottingham Forest fans, 93 percent of the people in the country disliked him. Now, what could he do to win them over?

Winning of course.

Only winning.

Chapter 919 - Reunion with Bale

Even though Joe Mattock was his substitute in the Nottingham Forest team, the Little Monkey was very envious of him. That was because this substitute left back was able to get up close with boss and listen to his lectures in the changing room, joke with him and play for him.

For Gareth Bale, this was the kind of treatment that he might never enjoy again.

There were many players who had a good relationship with Twain in the Nottingham Forest team that he built from scratch. However, there were not many whom had a relationship that went beyond that of a manager and his players. Gareth Bale was one of them. To him, Tony Twain was the reason why he was able to play professional football, win so many trophies and accolade, and become a world famous left back now.

If not for the boss’ sudden inspiration to go to Southampton, he would not have met his own father and thus, the stories after that would not have happened for him. Bale was very grateful for the impact boss had on his life. In China, there is a saying that goes “the scholar dies for his bosom friend”, even though there is no such saying in England, the logic is the same.

For a professional player, the greatest happiness of one’s career is to meet a manager that understands and likes him.

He was happy for 11 years.

When the English national players returned to Forest, Bale was very happy to hear that Wood had patched things up with boss. He pestered Wood the whole day to ask him about what happened in the England national team, although he was actually focused on things related to Boss. If Wood did not tell him, he would ask the others.

Bentley was a little annoyed by him and he used “state interests” as a shield.

“We’ll be playing you next, Little Monkey. Are you trying to dig information about our tactics?”

“Who cares about that?” Bale proclaimed proudly, “Do you think there is any secret that England has and we Welsh don’t know about? I merely wanted to know how boss took care of those reporters.”

“How would I know? I didn’t attend that press conference. Go ask Gerrard!”

“You should have heard something about it, right?”

“Oh, you’re so annoying, Little Monkey! You were the one who insisted on representing Wales instead of England last time. They can’t even qualify for the European Championship…”

“It’s none of your business!” Bale glared at Bentley before turning and walking away.

Bentley scratched his head as he watched Bale walk away. He talked to in confusion, “Did I say something wrong?”

Now that Tony Twain was gone, the England national players in the team could still be reunited with him in the national team. But what about him?

Bale had never regretted his choice to represent Wales, although he wished that Twain could manage Wales…

He wanted to give boss a hug just like what Pepe did when they met on the field. However, he definitely could not do that in next week’s game. That was a match between two nations and he was representing Wales, not himself.

Therefore, as much as he liked boss, he would do his best to help his team defeat England in this match.

He also wanted to play in the World Cup for once…

※※※

England’s visit to Wales was the third round of the European Championship qualifiers and England’s second game in the qualifiers.

Wales was never considered a strong team. Even during the few years when Giggs was in his prime, they were unable to compete against the stronger teams in Europe. That was why the Englishmen did not pay much attention to this neighbour of theirs. They were discussing the match after this, the visit to Slovakia on 20th October. That would be a difficult game.

Unlike what he did against Macedonia, Twain did not avoid talking about this opponent. Instead, he mentioned a few Welsh players during the interviews with particular focus on the key left back for Wales, Gareth Bale.

“…I’ve managed Bale before, that was a beautiful memory for me. I know what he can do, and I also know what Wales can do. After all, they have many players playing in the English Premier League and I’m able to observe them first-hand. This is different from Macedonia. Bale is a talented player, I’ve never doubted it ever since he played from me. He did very well for Wales, taking care of the whole team’s attack and defence on the left. We’ll think of something to mark him out…”

Next, Twain reminisce about many things that happened with Bale in the Forest team.

Seemed like a very warm occasion, was it not?

However, Bale understood very clearly that boss was playing the mental game again. Why is he talking about the past? Isn’t that to disrupt me?

Bale did not fall for it.

Before he reported for duty with the Wales national team, he was interviewed by reporters at the Wilford gates as the media wanted to hear his replies to what his benefactor said.

“Even though Flores is my manager now, I had a great time in the 11 years I had with Twain. However, this will not affect the match next week in any way. I’ll still do my best to go for victory because this was what he taught us——Do our best no matter what. I’ll prove that I’ve not forgotten this with my actions.”

Bale was very serious and there were no signs of any smiles on his face.

Bentley watched him getting interview from the side and he mumbled, “Something feels weird after that day… Did I upset him?” Bale had not spoken to him ever since that incident.

“You idiot!” Mattock slapped his head, “It has always been a pain in Gareth’s heart that he was unable to participate in a major world competition. You just had to talk about it.”

“I got irritated as he kept pestering me…” Now that Bentley thought about it, he felt that he went a little overboard too.

“I understand that you guys miss boss, but…” Gago suddenly appeared behind the two of them, giving them a shock.

“But what?” Bentley asked.

Gago frowned, “Little Monkey is talking about how good boss was in front of the media, how he’ll not forget what boss taught him. How do you think these will sound to Mr Flores?”

The other two looked at each other and they too felt that what Bale said was not appropriate.

As they looked over, Bale was still talking about his expectations for that match with the reporters.

※※※

In the last round of the league matches before the international break, Gareth Bale found himself on the substitute’s bench while Joe Mattock started in his place.

Flores’ explanation for this was “normal rotation of the team”. However, why was he rotating the players now when there was a two-weeks international break after this? Rotating for the national team? Since when did the managers of the clubs sympathized with the national team managers so much? The media were not stupid. If Forest won, that would be fine. If they lost, the reporters had a truckload of questions prepared to bombard Flores, the foreigner who still had not learnt how to speak English yet.

Maybe only Flores himself, and the Nottingham Forest players understood why their key left back, who had been performing well, would suddenly find himself on the bench.

Sometimes, a more stronghanded approach was required to remove Tony Twain’s influence.

Bale sat silently on the substitute’s bench and he appeared to be deep in thoughts as the camera swept across him a few times.

Maybe news of him falling out with the manager would spread like wildfire after this match. It was his fault for openly declaring his longing and love for his previous manager. This meant that he was obviously not showing any respect for his current manager.

While Bale was still in a daze on the substitute’s bench, his team was trailing Arsenal by 2:0 at the Emirates stadium.

Arsenal focused their attack on Joe Mattock’s side as his individual skills were still some way off Bale’s standard after all. One of the two goals came directly from his flank while the other came indirectly from that side.

Tony Twain and Des Walker were watching this match from the VIP box seats at the Emirates stadium as they were observing the performances of the players involved in the national team. At the same time, Twain also wanted to observe Bale’s performance to see if he was affected by what he said earlier. He did not expect Flores to not play Bale at all.

“Idiot,” Twain complained unhappily, “He’s doing this in such an important match against Arsenal, he’s asking for it.”

“Didn’t you announce long ago that you don’t care what happened to Nottingham Forest anymore?” Walker teased.

“I’m worried that Flores will cause my national team players to lose their form. He’s able to do this to Bale today, who knows if he’ll do the same to Wood, Bentley or Mitchell and gang?”

Walker did not say anything else as he felt that Twain was right.

George Wood scored with a long-range effort near the end of the match, but it was merely a consolation goal. Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest easily at home with a score of 3:1. This was also their second successive loss under Flores.

“Bentley did not play well either… He was much worse when compared with Walcott…” Twain stood up and told Walker beside him after the match, “If there’re no accidents, Bentley will not be starting the game against Wales.”

“Mattock is still a little lacking in terms of skills, his name will probably not be on the call-up list this time.”

He evaluated the performances of the players on his name list one by one.

“Wilshere did very well, maybe I should give him a chance?”

“You can only have four players in midfield, how are you going to do that?” Walker asked.

“Gerrard can be on the bench,” Twain replied nonchalantly.

“Aren’t you worried that the Liverpool media will destroy you?” Walker laughed.

“I’m only responsible for the team. Media? Who cares what they think, “Twain said as he turned to leave. “Besides, Gerrard’s performance in this round of league match was very average. I think it’s logical to let Wilshere, who performed better, start the next match. Wood also played very well in this match. If we’re to rate their performances, he should get the highest score out of the whole Nottingham Forest team.”

“George is now our core player, his status and effect are the same as what Gerrard used to be for England a couple of years back, “Twain told Walker, “A midfielder who can both attack and defend, is consistent and hardly ever injured. I’ll have to be mad to not make him our core player.”

He left with Walker closely behind him.

Below the stands, Flores was shaking hands with Wenger with a forced smile on his face. The reporters surrounding him kept taking pictures of him and some could not wait for the press conference before asking him their questions, “Mr Flores, can you explain why you didn’t play Gareth Bale? He was not injured, and his performances are very consistent…”

Flores pretended not to hear them as he walked straight into the tunnel.

※※※

There was indeed news of Gareth Bale and Flores falling out with each other in the papers and online the next day. The picture that accompanied the report was that of Flores anxiously shouting commands at his players on the side line with Bale daydreaming on the substitute’s bench behind him.

However, the reporters did not manage to get any further information as they were unable to interview Bale. That was because Bale had already left Wilford for Cardiff. He had been staying in Nottingham all this while but his home was actually in Cardiff.

As the biggest footballing star in the Wales national team, he had become the player who captured the most attention from Wales ever since Eastwood retired due to injuries. He was again stopped by reporters outside his home who wished to get some replies from him regarding the latest rumours floating around in the media.

Only an idiot would say that he had a falling out with the manager, unless he had already decided to leave.

Bale denied any unhappiness between him and Flores. As for the reason why he did not feature for the match against Arsenal for even a minute, he had this to say, “…There are not issues with my form and my body, and I’ll prove it in the international match. However, Flores said that he wanted a rotation, so I accepted his suggestion. That is all. I don’t think things are as complicated as you imagined.”

There was no reporter who would believe what he said. They were waiting to collect new evidence to expose the disharmony within the Nottingham Forest changing room!

Wales’ manager, John Toshack, stood out in support of his key player, “I don’t know why he was the only one who was rotated, but I’m very happy that Bale had this precious opportunity to rest. This is a piece of good news for us against England. I believe that Bale is the best left back in the world and we’ll be going to Spain for the European Championship this time. England? They know us well and we know them well too. I’ve already formulated a plan to restrict their Lampard-Gerrard Duo in midfield…”

Toshack was confident and Gareth Bale was fired up as he sought to prove that he still remembered what his benefactor taught him.

It looked like England’s visit to Wales would not be all smooth-sailing this time?

Chapter 920 - A Decision on The Sidelines

Toshack believed once he had found the tactic to deal with England’s “Gerrard and Wood Duo”, he would have found the key to defeating the England team. It was not completely big talk for the sake of psychological warfare.

All along, England’s core section was the duo, Gerrard and Wood in the midfield. Capello’s England team was able to finish fourth in the World Cup in South Africa because it relied largely on the excellent play of both men, especially George Wood’s successive break outs.

As a result, everyone thought for England to be able to rise again, it was down to these two players. As long as he could contain the play of these two people, then England would be no different from an ordinary strong team.

However, Toshack must have not anticipated that Twain did not schedule the appearance of “Gerrard and Wood Duo” in the game. Gerrard was told he would not start in the match, while his replacement for the starting lineup was Wilshere, nominated to be the best player in the previous round of Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.

Gerrard gave no indication to the decision and chose to accept it. He played averagely in the last round of the league, which he himself was aware of. He had nothing to add when the manager did not let him start. He was not the kind of prickly person who was going to have a big fight with the manager if he did not start in a game. After all these years in the English football world, no one had ever heard of Gerrard being at odds with the manager due to his appearances in games.

Liverpool’s media did not have a fight with Twain this time. From now on, these pro-Liverpool reporters must accept the fact that Gerrard was getting older and his position in the national team was gradually faltering. He would no longer be the flagbearer and symbol of the England team. Even if it were not Tony Twain who was coaching, the fact could not be changed.

The change that Twain made caught Wales off guard.

When Toshack saw in the technical area that the player standing in the midfield together with Wood was Wilshere, and not Gerrard, he lowered his head and uttered a foul word.

Gareth Bale did not care if Gerrard was playing in the game or not. Toshack did not arranged for him to mark Gerrard one-on-one. it did not make an impact on him whether Gerrard was in the game or not.

The live broadcast was playing the national anthems of both teams. Having just finished playing Wales’ , it was now playing England’s .

Making use of this moment, Bale’s eyes looked at Tony Twain in the visiting team’s technical area.

After more than two months had passed, he saw his mentor again. But he could only look from afar and not go up to hug him.

He averted his gaze after he looked at Twain for a couple of beats. He knew what the most important thing he had to do now was during this period.

His teammate at the club, George Wood was in the line of players next to him. If there was no other surprise, he would surely be instructed by the boss to mark Aaron Ramsey. The Wales national team depended mainly on Bale and Ramsey. Bale was a full back with limited role and posed a limited threat. Ramsey, on the other hand, was the attacking midfielder and the playmaker who organized the offense. Sometimes he also served as the one who finished the attack.

He understood the boss’s tactical thinking. With regards to such a player, he would not ignore and let go of him. If he especially marked him, then Wales’ offense was left to his own side.

Ramsey was not yet an absolute mainstay at Arsenal. With Wilshere present and in the same position, he was a substitute player more often than not. Even so, he remained unquestionably a core player in the Wales team.

Toshack’s tactics in this game did not pin their hopes on Ramsey. He knew George Wood must have been assigned to keep an eye on Ramsey, so Ramsey’s activity in the front field was only intended to attract the attention of the England’s defense. With Bale being moved up to the left midfielder position by Toshack for the game, the main attacks would come from his side.

After the game began, Ramsey was indeed quickly marked closely by Wood.

His team lost to Arsenal in the league tournament. He would not fall at the feet of the Arsenal player again in the national team competition.

Very soon, Twain could see that Wales’ attack was clearly biased to their left side and he was very clear about what Bale’s position being moved up meant. Because he would do it occasionally when he was at the Forest team.

Cardiff Millennium Stadium was no stranger to the players on both sides. It was here that Twain won his first championship trophy. So even though it was away game, he had a favorable impression of the pitch and thought that the Millennium Stadium could bring him good luck.

In fact, he did have good luck.

In the beginning, Wales did make use of its home field advantage to create some threatening opportunities when England had still not yet adapted. For example, in the 14th minute, Wood tripped Ramsey and Wales got a direct free kick from twenty-seven meters away from the goal in the right-hand side of the penalty area.

The penalty made Twain nervous. He got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines. His eyes unblinkingly stared at the field.

Bale came up to take the free kick and there was a unison of shouts in the stands at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium to cheer on Bale.

The England team were very careful too. They lined up a six-man human wall.

England might still be a little arrogant and underestimate the opponent if they were to attack in a mobile warfare. But when it turned into a dead ball and Wales was awarded a direct free kick in front of the goal, none of them dared to take it lightly because they all knew how powerful the Welsh number 2 player’s free kick ability was.

Bale’s free kick managed to get around the human wall. It also bypassed the goalkeeper, Joe Hart’s fingertips. But its arc was too wide, and the football flew out of the end line after a brush with the goalpost.

When the football brushed the side of the net, Twain had even thought that the football had gone in, which really startled him.

Huge cheers also broke out in the stands at the Millennium Stadium. But when they saw Bale lifted his arms up to cover his head in frustration instead of celebrating the goal, they realized that the football did not fly into the goal. They had collectively wasted their joyful expression …

“Damn it! It was a great opportunity!” Toshack was sorely disappointed that the ball did not go in. He was aware of the disparity in strength between the two teams. If he could be in the lead against the England team at home, then the next game would be easier to play.

Next door, Twain said to his assistant manager, Des Walker, “There is a saying in China that ‘those who survive a catastrophe are bound to have good fortune later on.’ We’re in luck.”

※※※

The England team, which took its time to warm up in the game, soon launched a siege on the Welsh goal.

Wilshere did not have to think about defense at all. He could devote all his energy to organizing the attack. As a result, the England team’s offensive efficiency had improved a lot.

Any attacking midfielder would want his partner to be George Wood. Because they could be completely free of worries. Without any pressure, they could naturally play at the highest level.

“Wilshere’s beautiful direct plug-in… He bypassed two defenders from Wales… Unfortunately, Mitchell missed the ball because he was too high!”

“This time he personally dribbles the ball to plug in ahead. Beautiful! He shook off the poor James Collins! And he shoots!! Hennessey’s wonderful save rescues Wales’ goal!”

Toshack did make an exceptional arrangement to counter England’s attack. Even though Wilshere’s appearance came as a surprise, there was no let-up in the defense against several key players. England’s attack was full of sound and fury but with little result.

If the situation continued to develop in this way, Wales’ self-confidence would rise, and England would be in trouble. It was their home ground, after all. With more than sixty thousand Welsh fans cheering on and encouraging their team, the momentum was scary.

Twain stood up again from his seat in the technical area. He walked to the sidelines and whistled toward the field. After attracting Wood’s attention, he made a gesture to move forward.

Wood now no longer needed Twain to pull him over to his side and lay out the arrangement in detail. He knew exactly what to do during an attack.

He nodded his head.

So, Twain walked back and sat down.

※※※

In the 40th minute, England was awarded another chance for a corner kick. The two center backs, John Terry and Steven Taylor rushed to the front of the Welsh goal, ready to fight for the header.

Bale noticed Wood dragging at the back near the center circle. He felt slightly reassured.

He still remembered one of the Forest team’s many corner kick tactics in the past was to arrange for Wood to wait outside the penalty area. Then when the corner kick went straight to the top of the penalty area arc, Wood would try to score a goal amid the chaos after he received the ball and volleyed a shot.

Despite seeing Wood far from the goal, Bale did not completely let his guard down. He did not join his teammates in the penalty area to contain England’s center backs. Instead, he stayed outside the top of the penalty area arc, just in case.

Downing, who was in charge of carrying out the corner kick, raised his right hand and put up three fingers as well, which was the secret signal for their tactics. Different hand gestures had different arrangements, and everyone in the England team must know what tactics these hand gestures corresponded to.

After seeing him raise his hand, it became even more chaotic in front of the Welsh goal, with players from both sides huddled together and tugging at each other aggressively in the corner where the referee could not see.

But Downing did not kick the ball into the penalty area. He directly passed it diagonally ahead toward Wilshere, the small guy in the corner of the penalty area.

“Spread out!” The Wales national goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessy yelled and pushed the man in front of him outwards. He was worried that Wilshere would cross the ball, so he wanted to create an offside position.

The players rushed out in a flurry. But Wilshere did not pass the ball inside. Instead, he turned around and kicked the football diagonally toward the back…

Bale cast a glance to the center circle once again, and he found that Wood was gone!

“George Woooood!!”

The commentator roared.

The disappeared Wood appeared in front of the Wales defensive line which was pressed forward. About thirty meters away from the goal, he received Wilshere’s ball and dribbled forward.

Bale only saw Wood at this time. He could not remind his teammates in time and rushed up on his own.

It was a rare opportunity for him to meet his own club captain head-on in an official arena!

This was not the time to care about their friendship in the club. Bale charged toward Wood’s legs and ferociously shoveled.

Wood certainly saw Bale’s movements – he did it so obviously by charging head-on. He would be blind not to see it.

Instead of shaking Bale off with a feint, Wood directly swung his leg for a long shot first before Bale could kick him or kick the ball!

Although it was not a shot that was ready to be shot, to shoot like this in a football game was many times better than the effect of a shot at the goal after the stance was arranged properly before the leg was lifted to fire a shot.

Because that was the human instinctual reaction. Amid fierce competition and lightning quick attack, the body’s instincts were more trustworthy than the composition of the complex and sophisticated brain.

With a muffled “pop” sound, the football flew over Bale’s head and stirred up a gust of wind, dropping blades of grass on his face. He looked back at the football that flew straight to the Welsh goal.

Wood, who finished the shot, landed on the ground a little messily. He made a dodging move in the air. If he did not so, his knee would hit Bale’s face directly. The consequences … would be too horrible to contemplate.

The football he powerfully shot out was like a shell that hit the bullseye in the target in front.

Ten points!

The speed of Hennessy’s save was still slow in the face of this long shot. There were so many people in the penalty area, but no one managed to touch the ball. The football flew straight into the goal!

“George Wood’s signature long shot!! England takes the lead towards the end of the first half!”

Wood fell and laid next to Bale on the ground.

The two men looked at each other.

“Your action just now was too dangerous.” Wood said to Bale, and then he got up from the ground. He waved his fists to celebrate his goal.

Bale laid on the ground with his face to the sky, watching countless feet appear and disappear from his line of sight. The cheers of the England players rang out in his ears.

He spat out a breath as his hands formed into fists. He grabbed a clump of turf and swore, “Damn it, so lame…”

※※※

Seeing Wood score, Twain rose from his seat for the third time. He raised his arms high and hugged Des Walked next to him in celebration. No matter what kind of game they were playing, to be able to score a goal first and take the lead over the opponent was something worth celebrating.

After the halftime interval, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

Wales still relied on Bale’s offensive on his side. So, Twain adjusted his approach. Instead of strengthening the defense on the right side, he stepped up the offensive. The huge defensive pressure forced Bale to have no choice but to reduce the number of times he stepped in on the attacks. More often than not, he helped the defenders at the back and played more like a full back than a winger.

Toshack was a little disgruntled by it. But what could he do? England was in full attack mode and his players naturally had to stabilize their defense first.

Unfortunately, they could not hold on…

Following which, the game entered England’s orbit.

Ramsey was entangled by Wood. While at the same time, Wood still had the energy to step forward and be involved in the attacks. Even a long shot from him was enough to make the Welsh players panic at the slightest move, let alone his superb long passes. Wilshere’s and his combination of long and short passes had left the Welsh team weary and struggling.

England scored another goal in the second half. The goalscorer was Walcott. At the time when England was fighting back, he dribbled the ball and raced over fifty meters. No one in Wales could catch up with him, and a crowd of people looked on helplessly as he left them in the dust. He swung past the goalkeeper and kicked the ball into the empty goal.

Twain gave his opponent a vivid knowledge of the disparity in their strength as compared to England with Walcott’s gallop of fifty meters.

The game eventually ended with a 2:0 score. England comfortably beat Wales at the Millennium Stadium. With two wins in two games, they had the same six points as Denmark. But they had more net goals and now England was at the top of the group.

Gareth Bale played the entire game. After the game ended, he did not exchange his jersey with his opponent, but went straight to the visiting team’s technical area.

Twain was celebrating the victory with his assistant manager at the time. Suddenly he heard someone calling him from behind.

“Boss.”

He turned his head around to find that it was Bale. The sweat-soaked little monkey looked like he had just been fished out of the water. The hairstyle which he had always cared the most about was stuck close to the scalp at this time. His hair was completely out of style.

“Gareth. You okay?” Twain laughed.

“Not good at all. Your team just beat us.” Bale pursed his lips tightly while he opened his arms at the same time and asked, “Can I have a hug with you?”

“Of course.” Twain also greeted him with open arms.

“I’m all good!” As he let go, Bale smiled at Twain and said, “Now I don’t have to envy them anymore. Boss, why is Bentley not here?”

Twain wondered why he asked about the opposing player. But he still replied, “His form has been average, and we have too many midfielders, so we did not pick him.”

Hearing the boss say so, Bale laughed happily, “Now I have a reason to laugh at him when I get back!”

With that, he said to Twain, “Goodbye, boss. I’ve got to go back there…” He pointed to the pitch, looking a little forlorn.

Twain rubbed his head and said, “Do a good job, Gareth. Try your best to lead Wales to the UEFA European Football Championship.”

“We’re in the same group, boss…”

“The second-best team in the group can play in the play-offs.” Twain winked at Bale and added, “I hope to see you in the Welsh red jersey playing in Spain in two years’ time.”

He reached out his hand.

Bale high-fived him and said, “We’ll be there!” He even shouted at Twain as he turned and ran away, “We’ll definitely go!” He raised his fist and waved.

“Do you believe Wales can advance to the next round?” asked Walker next to him, “There were still Denmark and Serbia in the same group. If Freddy had not retired, maybe…”

“Hope is always a good thing.” Twain walked straight to the middle. He had to shake hands with the Wales manager.

※※※

Ramsey was looking for Wood to exchange his jersey. He said to him, “Okay, George. You had marked me for ninety minutes, and I had gotten over it. Come on, let’s swap the jerseys! What are you hesitating about? Still thinking about the last round of the league tournament? That had nothing to do with me…”

Then Wood took off his wet jersey and handed it to Ramsey.

“Wow!” Ramsey took the jersey and exclaimed, “It’s so heavy with water! Aren’t you tired?”

伍德没理他,直接从拉姆塞另外一只手上抢过他的球衣,搭在肩上.

Wood ignored him. He directly grabbed the other jersey directly from Ramsey’s other hand and put it on his shoulder.

“We’ll see each other in the league tournament. The next time we’ll be at our home ground, so we won’t lose to you.” With a toss of the remark, he turned and walked away.

Ramsey looked at his back and muttered, “This petty guy can really hold a grudge!”

※※※

“Tony Twain has led the England team to win their second UEFA European Championship Qualifying game. England is currently at the top of the group with six goals and zero goal concede. It looks like they have no problem to advance to the next round. The English press must be starting to proclaim that England is the strongest team in history this time, isn’t it?” The television commentator in Wales said sourly.

“Good luck to them.”

Chapter 921 - Entrapment

Emerging victorious in their game against Macedonia, the underdog with 4:0, and their game against Wales with 2:0, the team also won against Australia in their friendly match. The New England team led by Tony Twain had competed in three of the international Grade A competitions and had yet to lose any. With only three matches, Twain was able to prove himself worthy of the title “Godfather of Champions” that had been given to him. Apart from that, he received renewed recognition from his fellow Englishman on his stance to always pursue victory under any circumstances. Indeed, he was not simply a paper tiger but truly capable of this role.

However, not everyone agreed with this.

Macedonia, Wales and Australia were not outstanding teams. Notwithstanding that the game against Australia was merely a friendly match, these three matches did little to highlight any shortcomings of the team. Matches against such teams were definitely not the way to assess the actual standard of a team. Instead, the team should be challenging themselves with formidable opponents such as Serbia, who they would be playing in four days.

Unlike their previous opponents, Serbia had always been a force to be reckoned with in the realm of European football. Being a team with former Yugoslavia, they have always prided themselves on their high standards. Just take a look at the Serbian players who were playing in major European teams today.

There was Vidi? who played the central defender for Manchester United and was undoubtedly the most well known Serbian player. Apart from Vidi?, there were also defenders Ivanovic who played in Chelsea, Stankovic who played for Inter Milan, goalkeeper Stojkovic who played for Atletico Lisbon, and Stepanov, who played in Porto, Portugal. Defender Lukovic playing in Udinese, defenders Tosic and Katzal of Werder Bremen, striker Lazovic as well..

Being the highly experienced and seasoned players of this game, their presence in their clubs had a vital, symbolic purpose. The Serbian team, by virtue of having these accomplished players, sufficiently curbed the arrogance of the England team, causing the latter to feel wary of its competitor.

Vidi?, the central defender for Manchester United and captain for the Serbian national team, claimed in an interview that he was not a tad bit afraid of dealing with the England team regardless of how intimidating they were. “I am very familiar with them since we get to play matches together every weekend. I will not be daunted by whatever players they have on their team no matter how accomplished they are because the deal in football isn’t just in the value of the player. This is our home match and we definitely have the upper hand.”

While the captain showed absolute confidence, Serbia’s head coach, Radomir Antik, kept a rather low profile. He conveyed to the media about England being a noble team as they were made up of many world-renowned star players. Besides, they also had with them a very competent coach who had led Nottingham Forest in achieving the title of Triple Crown. Serbia was nothing compared to England hence his goal for the upcoming game was for Serbia to attain a draw with England.

The English fans were happy to hear these words coming from the coach of the opposing team. However, Twain, unlike the fans, did not trust that Antik was actually intimidated by England.

“He’s a veteran. Do you know what it means to be a veteran, Des? It simply means that he has a lot of experience and can be extremely sly. Apart from the England team, I have only coached two other teams — Nottingham Forest and the Nottingham Forest Youth Team. On the other hand, Antik has coached six different teams. In his time of coaching in prestigious teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, he has achieved success as much as he has experienced embarrassing failures. So in terms of experience, I truly pale in comparison. Do you really believe that their goal is to draw with us? Serbia’s goal is similar to that of Spain in 2016. However, they have lost in an away match with Denmark with a score of 2:3 in the previous round. What is the point of drawing with us? I might have still believed him if this was an away match and he wanted to aim for a draw” Twain explained with an apparent expression of doubt and skepticism.

As of then, the England team was on a flight from London to the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. All of the players were engrossed in their own activities — some of them were listening to music, some of them were playing video games, some of them were reading magazines and newspapers, some of them were enjoying a movie while the rest were taking the opportunity to catch some sleep.

Twain and Walker sat together to discuss the opponent they were about to face.

“Their center back has strong players hence I don’t think it is strategic to let Mitchell start. Mitchell’s body is not stable enough. After so many years, he has only been obsessed with his dribbling tactics without much improvement in his physical strength. I feel like that is all there is to him. When Nottingham Forest was met with strong central defense, his performance becomes compromised. It would be the same for this upcoming game.”

Walker asked, “So who are you going to use?”

“A striker with remarkable speed. Serbia’s centre-back doesn’t have much speed or agility. We can then break through their defense by using our fast and clever forwards.” At this point, Twain shifted his sitting posture and beckoned to Walker to come closer. The plane was making extremely loud noises and Twain did not want to strain his voice on his following sentences.

“We have to make some adjustments. I think this would throw Antik off guard,” Twain said with secrecy. ” I plan to use Walcott as forward. He has good speed and agility which is apt for us to use against Serbia’s centre-back.”

Walker thought about it and felt that this plan could work and hence nodded his head in agreement, though he was still a little concerned. “Walcott did not really play as forward in Arsenal but…”

“That’s not a problem. He has played forward before. Besides, I will not be limiting him to the right side of the field in this game which will allow him freedom in his play.”

Twain laughed, “I know that the players from Nottingham in the England team think that I would treat them differently since I used to be the coach for Nottingham Forest. I am sure they are not the only ones who think that way and that the rest of the team shares that thinking as well. This started when I decided to substitute the captain Terry for Gerrard to George Wood. This game will serve as a great opportunity to show all the players I don’t play favorites. Even for George, it was his consistent, good performance and compliance with the tactical commands that earned him his status today.”

“I thought that you’d already taken control of the team on your forty-sixth birthday.”

“Not complete control.” Twain opened up his right palm before clenching it again. “It seems like some people still doubt me even though they don’t always show it. If I want them to work hard for me, I mustn’t let them doubt me. Besides, there is something else troubling me, Des. The players in the national team are less driven than those in the club. At every training, some players whom were not at the previous training would appear. I need to rethink the way I portray myself in front of them…”

“I rarely see any coaches who put in as much effort as you do, Twain.”

“It will be better in the future when the media helps with the publicity.” Twain adjusted the pillow to his back and mumbled, “I’ll take a quick nap. Wake me up when we’re there, Des.”

“Sure.”

※※※

When the plane touched down at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, it was already 8.30pm. There was little interruption by the media at the airport and the players managed to take the bus straight back to their hotel. Since it was late, they were unable to catch a glimpse of the sight people referred to as the crossroads of the Western and Eastern worlds.

The entire team visited Serbia’s national stadium, the Maracana Stadium, the next day for some warm up training in order to adapt to the field that was foreign to the England team, whichhis attracted media attention.

There were even some Serbian fans who were holding Premier League jerseys and asking the England players for their signatures. Due to the extensive influence of the Premier League, the England national team had received much fame despite its mediocre results.

After Wood gave his signature to a fan who seemed no more than 10 years old, Twain gestured with his arms and cracked a joke with Wood, “George, can you imagine if he pointed his middle finger at you from the podium at tomorrow’s game?”

Wood ignored Twain and walked straight into the locker room.

“How boring!” Twain grumbled.

The press conference was just as boring. This time, he attended the press conference with the opponent’s coach, Antik, who complimented Twain non-stop. Antik spoke of Twain as if he were the celebrity of football today, which made some of the English reporters cringe.

“Tony Twain is an extremely outstanding coach, which makes it hard to believe that he had only just turned forty-six… Being so accomplished at such a young age has subdued the entire of Europe. Honestly, I’m his loyal fan. If I were the chairman of the club, I would definitely keep him at all costs… England is a formidable team and we have to be extra cautious even though this is our home game…”

Twain almost yawned in public at his patronising words.

I must a bigger idiot than Antik if I let these meaningless, stupid words boost my ego, Twain thought to himself.

But Twain did not translate his thoughts into his expression. He accommodated the conversation Antik has started and talked about his team but barely mentioned anything about Serbia. He had only politely expressed that Serbia was a team to be taken seriously when asked by the reporters. When the reporters demanded for elaboration as to why Serbia was to be taken seriously, Twain talked at length about the players “Vidic” and “Ivanovic” as if he had no clue of who else was in the Serbian team outside of the Premier League.

His response was unsatisfactory among the Serbian reporters. What an arrogant Englishman! This was no longer the eighteenth or nineteenth century ruled by the empire where the sun never set! Just wait and see, you snob!

However, Antik had a smile on his face the entire time and did not let Twain’s words that underestimated the Serbia team affect him. To him, Twain’s eleven years of experience was not the impressive part, but the fact that he was forty-six was really something. He had achieved much merit for his age and became the saviour for the England team, leading the team to three victories. His pride was not uncalled for. As a proudly successful professional, he must think that there was nothing in this world he could not do and nobody that he could not defeat. Serbia was such an insignificant team in Eastern Europe, so why would Twain let that bother him?

I was already sixty-five years old. I had encountered so much more in life than you have; people like him were a common sight.

He was half accurate about his analysis of Twain. Tony Twain was indeed a proud man and definitely arrogant in his ways, but he was surely not an idiot with negative IQ.

Upon completing the press conference, Twain called Pierce Bruce to ask about how the media reacted to his responses during the press conference.

“How was it, Mr 007? Do you feel like I was being an unbearable, arrogant braggart who was narrow-minded and could not see anyone else above him?”

“Honestly speaking, Twain. When I saw that you were putting on a pretense, I was slightly doubtful. How is it possible that you only mentioned the star players Vidic and Ivanovic from the Premier League? But I understood why later… If I didn’t know you as well as I do,, I admit that I would have fallen into your trap.”

Bruce’s reply made Twain very satisfied. “That’s great, you shall watch me to bear the frustration of the Serbian media. Ha!”

※※※

The Serbian newspapers published the following day criticised the arrogance of the English men; Antik must be laughing at this news.

However, the match that night was completely out of his anticipation.

Before the match started, Twain told Mitchell in front of the entire team that he would not be playing as forward in this game. This decision totally threw Mitchell off and left the entire team in shock. Mitchell’s performance in the recent games had been rather striking and basically secured himself the position of England’s main center, so why did Twain not let Mitchell play when they were competing against such a strong team like Serbia? What exactly is the reason?”

Twain explained that Mitchell’s strengths and techniques were incompatible to the strategy used by the Serbian team so Mitchell should take a break this round.

At the same time, Twain used this opportunity to bring across the message he always wanted to convey to the players: players from Nottingham Forest could also be taken off the main team just like Gerrard; no one has any kind of special privileges here. My team has never had any special privileges. What determined who was able to play as forward was contingent on your attitude as well as the strategy I employed.

After going through the strategy, Twain altered the arrogant front he had put up at the press conference and solemnly reminded his players that this match was a test for all of them. The Serbians were playing at home and would not go easy on them. For this match, they should be more attentive towards the counterattacks by Serbia and simultaneously put more pressure against Serbia in order to leave them with no way to counterattack. In addition, the players should strengthen their tackle and close defense in the first half of the match and most definitely not let Serbia have it easy in the midfield.

After all these were done, the rest of the game would depend on which team performed better.

※※※

In the first half of the match, England had relatively better performance.

Antik had not expected that England in fact did not underestimate their opponent but instead played extremely aggressively in the first half of the match that Serbia was not used to. They had hoped that England would attack but they did not want England’s midfielders to tirelessly tackle to steal the ball.

From the very beginning of the match, the Serbian players were continually tackled by the England players, rendering them helpless and confused as to how to continue playing.

The England team took advantage of this situation. Walcott had secured the score of 2:0 by the end of the first half of the match with a goal and an assist to goal.

Twain’s arrangement in this game was beyond Antik’s anticipation. Walcott and Mitchell were completely different types of players. Initially the Serbian team planned their strategy to target the play of Mitchell, but Twain unexpectedly substituted Mitchell with a highly agile and fast forward who disrupted the Serbian’s defense from the wing to the midfield. The thirty-three year old Vidic was easily outdone by the stamina of Mitchell and Rooney who took turns to break the Serbian’s defense.

In the second half, Serbia made some adjustments, specifically defending against England’s agile striking. Their counterattack also started to look more impressive as they were able to get back a goal in the second half.

However, before the end to the cheers in the Maracana Stadium, England started to return the favour. This time, the scorer was the center back Whitley, he took an opportunity of a corner key to score with a header. The score became 3:1.

It was only a short time before they lost a goal, this adverse outcome impacted the morale of Serbians, and taking advantage of the mess, England scored another goal — 4:1, almost securing the win.

In the last phase of the competition, Serbia used a free kick to score against Joe Hart’s goalmouth, but that was futile.

England, by their surprising sturdy attitude and initiation tactics, taking down their first strong opponent in their group on a 4:2 win on away ground.

Having three consecutive wins in the group and scoring ten goals, the team was extremely high in morale. It was as if Twain wanted to use consecutive victories to prove that even though it was his first time coaching a national team, it was still not an issue to him.

At the end of the match when Antichi and Twain shook hands, he looked very helpless.

After Twain shook hands with him, he patted him on the shoulder, he did not say anything. But he knew Antichi already understood the meaning, since the start of the match — he fell for Twain’s trickery and is played around by him. (To be continued, if you want to know about what happens afterwards, please log into www.qidian.com where there would be more chapters, support the author, support legal reading!)

Chapter 922 - Top of The Group

England’s three-match winning streak in the qualifiers had greatly boosted the confidence of the English fans. Now they were beginning to feel that the media’s proclamation that “this is the strongest England national team in history” was finally credible.

In particular, the away game of a major 4:2 victory over Serbia showed the offensive strength of the England team.

The England team had won big points consecutively, and the happiest people were not the fans, the media, and not even Tony Twain himself. The happiest person was Shaun Harvey, the English Football Association chief executive, who first contacted him.

Although Twain was not his first choice, he was a candidate whom he found. His good results meant that he had a discerning eye for talent. Furthermore, since Tony Twain took the job, he had not been spouting nonsense everywhere with his big mouth, with the exception of bickering with the media about the team captain role. Which made Harvey who was worried about it, sighed with relief.

Truthfully, after choosing Twain to be England’s manager in the beginning, there was a time when he was really worried about getting up in the morning and finding his house door being fully blocked by the media, who came to ask him what he thought of Tony Twain’s latest comments.

If such a thing were to happen every day, then it would not be a wonderful experience.

Everything was good now. Twain was focused on his work with the team and rarely started a war with the media or be provoked into a quarrel with other people. He also did not criticize the work of UEFA or FIFA.

Perhaps the reason for Twain’s silence was due to the recent results? Once the results were not good, who knew what kind of universally shocking things the mad dog would do…

※※※

Tony Twain was flushed with success working as the manager of the England national team. Even the UEFA’s official website had dedicated an article to reintroduce the young “Godfather of Champions.” He had previously been questioned by some pundits for having no experience in coaching the national team. Now those voices of doubts had disappeared.

But the more he was in the limelight, the more the Nottingham Forest fans would miss him.

The months of August and September were considered the honeymoon period between Flores and Nottingham Forest. He led the team to third place with five wins, one draw and one defeat after seven rounds of the league tournament.

The media which went where wind blew, touted Flores as the new hope for Nottingham Forest. The Forest team would be back on its path of glory under the helm of the Spaniard. To prove that they were not talking nonsense, they also gave many examples. One of the examples given was rather silly and pointless – Flores was a “madman coach” in Spain, which made him similar to Tony Twain’s character. If Twain with the same character could be successful at Nottingham Forest, why could Flores not be as successful too?

But now the good luck was over.

Nottingham Forest had lost two games in a row under Flores’ leadership before England’s match against Serbia. After the national team’s game had ended, the league tournament resumed. In the end, the Forest team tied the game with the “weak team”, Middlesbrough. They did not achieve a single victory throughout October.

However, it was not over. Going into November, Flores’s team beat Everton after much difficulty and Bentley was injured. Bentley left during the game with a serious injury and bad news came from the hospital the next day. He had to be sidelined for at least three months.

Bentley was seriously injured while the team captain, George Wood was suspended for two games after being red carded for a match against Manchester United. The game against Manchester United was widely watched. As the result, the two teams played an explosive game. Mourinho came on strong in the game against the Forest team while Flores was also not willing to lose to Mourinho, who was also an individualistic manager.

A violent physical collision happened from the very minute the game began.

Twain also visited Old Trafford to watch the high anticipated game, which he called the “rugby game” after.

Moke, who was the substitute for Bentley in the starting lineup, was fouled against twice in the opening ten minutes, which ignited a fury among the Forest players.

Following which, the referee became the protagonist in the ensuing match. He showed a total of thirteen yellow cards and two red cards.

Nottingham Forest won 7:6 on the number of yellow cards, while the two teams tied in terms of the red card count. George Wood and Anderson were both sent off for a red card each.

In the end, Manchester United beat the Forest team 2:1 at its home ground based on a somewhat controversial penalty shot and returned to the top of the points table. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, dropped to the seventh place.

After the game, the commentator said, “Flores is in a big trouble.”

Tony Twain would agree with him on this.

He was supposed to be here to observe the players for the next game against Denmark. However, both teams played really badly for the game and Nottingham Forest was even worse. The players whom he wanted to inspect did not play at the level which they were supposed to. It frustrated him. He had intended to follow the deployment of the squad which he had used for the previous game against Serbia, but now it looked like he might have to be forced to make adjustments.

Bentley’s serious injury put him out of the running for the national team. Wayne Rooney’s alleged assault charges from beating someone in a bar caused him to be plagued by the media and legal battles recently. Michael Carrick was injured during the game and the Manchester United football club did not want the national team to mobilize him for the match against Denmark because it would aggravate his injury.

The national team manager looked more relaxed than the clubs’ managers because he could pick the right player from the entire country without having to consider the transfer fees. But there were not many players in the country who could meet Twain’s requirements, especially in some positions. In a country such as England, where professional football was highly developed, no more than forty people could qualify for the national team.

Any major position that needed to be changed was a source of headache for Twain.

Therefore, Twain must be cursing both Mourinho and Flores at the very moment.

※※※

On Wednesday, November 17th, the day of the national team’s international match.

England was back at its home ground after two away games, welcoming the second-placed team, Denmark at the Wembley Stadium.

The twenty-six-years-old, Nicklas Bendtner, Denmark’s number one star player, was repeatedly asked by the media, attempting to find out what he thought of Twain in interviews days before the game. He refused to answer all of these questions. For him, Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain were a thing of the past.

As of now, he had also left the unpromising Manchester City in the summer to join Everton. Although it was still a team with little hope of winning the championship title, at least the team had a desire to take a stab at winning honors. He rediscovered the joy of playing football in this team.

Twain did not use Bendtner to incite a psychological warfare. That once-talented kid was one of the biggest regrets of his coaching career. But now it ceased to matter a long time ago.

He was already a manager who had won the Treble. What else could he not let go of?

So, this game was just an ordinary qualifier for him. It was impossible for the media to hype things up through the feud with Bendtner.

If they hyped up the game as the fight for the top spot in the group, he would go along with a few remarks.

It was really a battle for the top spot in the group, with Denmark and England accumulating the same number of points and both teams had three wins with nine points each. But Denmark had fewer net goals and smaller goal difference than England, so they occupied the second place.

In fact, the top team in the group was just to fight for face. As long as a team was in the top two spots in the group, it could directly advance to the final stage of the competition. Even if a team was in third place, as long as it had the best result among the third-place holder in the group, there was a chance to go to Spain.

With the expansion of the 2016 UEFA European Championship, the number of teams allowed to participate in the competition had increased from sixteen to twenty-four teams, giving many mid-tiered European teams hope. The qualifiers for this time were also divided into ten groups. With the exception of England’s group, which comprised of seven teams, the other nine groups had five teams. The top two teams in each group would advance directly to the next level. Then the third-placed teams with the best results in the top six teams would play two playoff games at home and away, where the final three teams would head to Spain.

England had done well for the group draw and it would not be a problem for the team to advance to the next level. But to advance as the top team in the group was more in line with the English Football Association’s desired requirement. It would also make the English fans proud.

Twain made some adjustments to England’s squad list for the game. Walcott would be in the right midfielder position while James Milner was on the left. Gerrard and George Wood were in the middle. Mitchell would start in the forward line while Rooney disappeared from the starting lineup. His replacement was Agbonlahor.

Both left backs, Leighton Baines and Joe Mattock were not in the starting lineup. Lescott, who could play as both center back and left back, was starting.

The right back was Glen Johnson, who had not appeared in the national team for quite some time.

In the press box, media from all over England gathered to discuss Twain’s starting lineup list.

“He hasn’t had a fixed lineup since he took over!”

“It’s normal, he has only just taken over. How many games has the team played?”

“He’s trying hard to find the same feel of the Forest team, isn’t he?”

“It’s not just Tony. I’m not always happy with England’s selection in several positions, such as the right back…”

It’s great that he can lead the team to three straight wins in this kind of situation.”

“Denmark is not Serbia. The team is absolutely capable of creating trouble for us at home. I think the many changes that Twain makes, is not conducive to the results.”

For the reporters to be able to have the time to chat in the stands, it was obviously because the game was not good to watch.

The game played at the Wembley stadium was dull. Denmark’s tactic for the away game was very conservative and England had no other idea to deal with it in the face of such tight defense.

And Twain was not too interested in competing with Denmark for the first place in the group. He did not care as long as they could advance to the next level.

Having to face the Christmas period’s devil’s calendar in the league tournament soon, the players appeared to be weak and dispirited. They were afraid of injuring themselves. It was only natural for people not to be able to lift their spirits when the game was being played like this.

In the end, the “fight for the top spot in the group” that was hyped by the media before the game, dully concluded with a 0:0 score. The Asian fans who had waited to stay up in front of the television to watch the game must have been disappointed. But Tony Twain was not here to serve them.

Although the result was a 0:0 draw and the game was extremely dull, Twain was still satisfied. In the post-match press conference, he praised the performance of the Danish team. In fact, the performance of the Danish team had nothing to crow about. He also praised his team’s performance, which sounded more like a bald-faced lie. As long as one was not mentally challenged or brain damaged, anyone could tell that the England team did not perform well. Twain did this only so as not to put too much pressure on the players.

With the game against Denmark over, the two teams were tied in the points. England continued to rely on its advantage in the goal difference to come out ahead of Denmark and was ranked first in the group. Holding on to the top spot in the group, the English fans and the media would not make things too difficult for Twain.

After this match, the UEFA European Championship Qualifying tournament would not resume until April next year. In between, other than playing in friendly games, Twain would be flying around to pay attention to the performance of those players on the squad list.

This was the source of the biggest headache for him – unlike at the football club where he was able to closely inspect each player’s form every day, the national team’s players were scattered all over the place and they might not be able to maintain their forms, so he needed to be a “frequent flyer” in order to keep abreast of the latest status of those national footballers.

The most hateful thing was that the English Premier League did not have a “winter break” which meant that if he were a manager of another country’s national team, he would be able to have a break of more than a week during the Christmas period which he could spend the Christmas holidays with his wife. But in the English Premier League, the games were more frequent especially during this period. So, he could only fly around to follow the teams, with his feet off the ground all the time.

“Maybe I should have bought a private jet…” complained Twain.

“You should be glad that you don’t have to pay for the accommodation and expenses for all the trips out of your own pocket, Tony.” Walker dampened his enthusiasm. Like Twain, Des Walker also had to fly around as the assistant manager. He was Twain’s most trusted man.

“I’d better be thankful that we’ve had no problems with the flights taken so far…” Twain rolled his eyes.

※※※

During the competition schedule in November, Nottingham Forest had two losses, one draw and one victory which led to a further decline. More and more negative news about the Forest team could be seen in the media. There was also talk of discord in the locker room, with Gareth Bale openly questioning Flores’ coaching standards. In addition to him being previously blocked by Flores, his questioning caused a stir in the media.

Despite Flores’s strong denials that he was at odds with the players, it was clear that he was losing control of the team.

It was Evan Doughty who came out to voice his support of Flores, saying his manager position was solid regardless of the performance.

But only half a month later, he had to eat his own words that he spat out.

Before Christmas, the Forest team suffered three straight defeats and it was a mess inside and outside the team. Evan Doughty announced the suspension of Flores’ contract with Nottingham Forest. Flores became the first manager to be dismissed in the English Premier League’s new season.

Flores was also unhappy with the club’s top brass going back on its word. In an interview with the Spanish media after his dismissal, he lashed out at the club’s top brass, saying, “… They said they wanted to support me the day before yesterday, and then pushed me into the abyss when their backs were turned… I thought the managers in the English Premier League would have room to implement a long-term plan, but obviously I was wrong. In a team like this, you can’t get the time you need…”

Some people cheered Flores’ departure because they could not stand Flores’ botched performance long ago. They were looking forward to the new manager leading the team to a path of new glory. The other people felt that Flores was nothing more than a poor scapegoat. Nottingham Forest had been unable to find a suitable manager since O’Neill’s departure. Constant change of managers could only accelerate the team’s decline.

The locker room was very quiet with regards to the change of manager. No one came forward to comment on Flores’ departure, even if it was to say a good thing about him. It could be another indication of the terrible relationship between Flores and the players in the locker room.

Evan Doughty appointed the assistant manager, David Kerslake as the team’s interim manager before a new manager was found. But no one thought that Kerslake was competent enough to take on the position. He had been living in the shadow of Tony Twain all along. In many people’s view, he was famous because it had a lot to do with him being Tony Twain’s assistant manager. As to what he was capable of as a person… Who would really care?

Tony Twain did not care if there was a change of personnel at Nottingham Forest that could shake up the English football world. For him, Nottingham Forest had really become a thing of the past. Pierce Brosnan once called Twain after Flores’ dismissal, hoping to hear what he thought of the incident.

However, Twain felt that there was nothing to say. He said, “… It’s quite normal. His results were not good, naturally he would be dismissed. Evan Doughty is unlikely to pay for the team’s results. Flores must have forgotten the words on the wall of the players’ tunnel at the Crimson Stadium. ‘In addition to victory, it’s still victory.’ This is the Forest team’s tradition … When you can’t bring home victory, then you have to go. What’s the future for the Forest team? I don’t know, I’m not a prophet…”

Now he was flying over the European continent. Before the arrival of Christmas, he had to go to Milan to watch a game and pay some attention to some of Lennon’s recent performances. Lennon had inherited the traditions of Paul Ince and Gascoigne since his transfer out of the Forest team. He showed the signs of an English player not being able to acclimatize to playing in Italy. He had not been selected for the national team for a long time and hoped his performance would impress him this time.

Chapter 923 - End of the Season

Lennon did not get much game time. As a result, Twain was not particularly impressed with the performance that he saw from him.

After the match, Twain met with Lennon.

Lennon viewed Twain as his mentor and a man whom he respected. Thus, he unreservedly told Twain about all his troubles.

He told Twain that he was a player who was brought into the club by Mourinho earlier. Mourinho was a manager who liked to play wingers and he was able to get game time under him. But, ever since Zola took over at the club, he has not been able to get much game time at all, because Zola did not think highly of him, especially since he was carrying an injury.

Since he is unable to play in games for long periods of time, he cannot guarantee that he would be able to perform well in matches when he does play. Twain would not be able to see his best performances even if he continues to spend time to observe him in Milan.

Twain told Lennon earnestly that he needed to fight for a chance to play in games if he really wishes to play football in Spain. He suggested that Lennon should consider going on loan or transferring to another club if he really cannot get any game time in Inter Milan.

If it had been any other person who had told him those words, Lennon would definitely not have listened. He would have refused to admit that his time in Italy has been a complete failure. However, the person who had said those words was his ex-boss Tony Twain. All he could do was to nod his head and accept Twain’s words.

Lennon has to think things through carefully and decide if he should continue to fritter time here in Inter Milan.

Perhaps, footballers from England are truly not suited to play football in Italy. It’s not just Italy, they do not seem to be able to perform well in other countries as well. The footballers who managed to continue playing well after leaving England are few and far between. The media might praise those footballers as being the best in the world, but their performances after leaving England have all proven that they are not good at adapting to a different environment.

The only time the England national team was crowned champions of a major international competition was back in 1966, during the World Cup that was hosted in England.

Perhaps the same goes for the England national team as well. The players become incapable to play football the moment they step out of England.

This is a curse that Twain is keen on breaking, not because he is patriotic, but because he wants to prove that he is an outstanding manager who is capable of leading an awful football team like the England national team to become champions.

※※※

Lennon might not have surprised Twain, but his ex-assistant manager definitely did.

Twain spent the Christmas on the plane with his assistant Des Walker. However, he did not feel depressed over it, because Nottingham Forest has been performing well, and that has lifted his spirits.

Nottingham Forest’s recent good form has also allowed him to find more topics to talk about with Walker.

It was not just Twain and Walker who were discussing about Nottingham Forest’s new manager. All the media outlets in England were as well.

No one thought that he would be able to stay at the helm for long when he took over as the manager of Forest. Some people had not even heard of his name before…

It couldn’t be helped, given how brightly Tony Twain shone. His ex-assistant manager was just like a star that was hidden behind the sun. It did not matter if he was a first-magnitude star. As long as he was near the sun, humans could not see him with their naked eyes.

A man like that who no one paid attention to previously was able to lead a seemingly exhausted Nottingham Forest team to three consecutive victories during the hectic and notoriously tough Christmas schedule.

The opponents that he won against were not bottom teams either. They were mid-table teams that were difficult to beat.

The man who no one paid attention to previously has pulled Forest up from the slum in which they had continued to sink deeper and deeper into. He had also cleaned up the mud from their bodies, and is now leading them to take big strides forward in a new direction.

Even Twain admitted that Kerslake’s performance had surprised him during his conversation with Walker. Among all the people who had worked with him previously, Dunn was the person whom Twain thought the most highly of. He did not expect Kerslake to have improved so drastically without him noticing.

Kerslake was a manager who could never stay still during a match. He would always blow on his whistle and gesture with his hands animatedly as he stood by the side of the pitch. His behavior during matches gave people the impression that he was a very passionate individual, but he came off as being very humble during his interviews. He told the press that the players deserve all the credit for the team’s consecutive wins, and that all he did was to reignite their desire to win.

Frankly, Forest had become a team that had lost all interest in winning after achieving the treble and going through all those struggles in the past.

To most of the Forest players, they have achieved almost every possible glory that a footballer can hope to achieve in his career. What other reason is there to continue to fight like they did back then? They were already standing at the pinnacle. Where else could they possibly go?

If Twain was still Forest’s manager, he would have told the players that they have to keep fighting if they wish to retain their spot at the top. There are countless challengers who are trying to climb to the top to take their place from them, and they would never be able to eliminate all of them because they are just like ants and they would only keep on coming. Hence, they must never stop in their fight, and they must defeat all the challengers who come their way.

However, Quique Sánchez Flores did not say any of those words to the players. All he was concerned with was getting rid of Twain’s influence over the team and leading them to further glory. In the eyes of the players, his vision for the future lacked persuasiveness. Every single one of them had already achieved almost every possible glory there is to achieve. If every Champions trophy they had achieved had turned into a ring, then all the players would have worn a ring over their every finger and their every toe… Why would they work hard to attain even more glory with you?

As an outsider, Flores was unable to truly become a central figure in the tight-knit Nottingham Forest team.

But, Kerslake was different. He was able to ignite the players’ desire for victory because he has been working at Forest for a long time, and he was able to gain their trust much more easily. In addition, he was also more familiar with the players and he knew what they were looking for.

The players might not want to attain further glory, but they have to retain the glory that they have attained so far at the very least. No one wishes to become a team that could not even qualify for the Europa League despite attaining the Treble in the previous season.

What Kerslake said during the interview was very true. The current Forest team was a team that still had its main structure in place, and their strength could not be underestimated. The reason for the team’s consecutive losses was not due to a lack of ability. It was due to psychological issues instead.

Having followed Twain for so many years, Kerslake was able to pick up a skill or two about how to manage the players’ psychological state, and his methods were able to bring about a positive change in the players almost immediately.

The reporters also asked Twain about his thoughts on Forest’s recent performances when he was watching a match in other stadiums as well.

Even though Twain hardly talks about Forest after his resignation, he could not help but praise his former assistant Kerslake now that he is the new interim manager and is performing quite well at Forest.

“He has done well, and I hope he would be able to keep doing what he does, not just as the interim manager, but as the manager instead. He has the ability to lead Forest out of their predicament… At least that’s how I see it. David is a humble man, and I think that the good results are a good way to pay him back for his efforts…”

Of course, Twain did not forget about his current identity. To prevent others from thinking that he was being too explicit with his concern towards Forest, he added another statement at the end, “I am very happy that Forest’s national goalkeeper is able to play football in a stable environment. This would be beneficial in helping him maintain his form.”

He might say that, but the media knew very well that Nottingham Forest was the team that he paid the most attention to among all the Premier League teams. They know that because he has gone to watch Forest’s matches numerous times…

Twain was clearly showing favoritism to Forest. His actions would be overlooked if they brought glory to the England national team. But, should England fail to perform in the Euro Cup, then Twain would definitely become the butt of criticism, and the various Nottingham Forest players who play in the national team would also get dragged down with him as well.

Twain’s act of showing favoritism to Forest players is puzzling. He has always given others the impression of being someone who would fiercely protect his players. He would always choose to shoulder all the pressure alone, and he would never direct it onto his players. He even suffered a heart attack because he carried all the burden upon himself. So, why is he constantly putting the Nottingham Forest players under the spotlight now that he is the manager of the England national team?

If he falls, then everyone else falls with him too?

It sounds just like the kind of rationale that a lunatic would have.

※※※

Christmas and New Year were becoming less and less significant to Twain since he has to work on both days either way. In fact, he has to work even more during those two public holidays because Shania is not around him. He would rather spend all his time working so as to dilute the loneliness that is induced as a result of him missing her.

Time passed by quickly. It was already June 2015 by the time Twain had a good understanding of everything that was happening in the Premier League.

The England national team played in three matches during this period of time. One of them was a friendly against Israel, while the other two were qualifiers for the Euro Cup.

England was able to win all the matches that they played in.

They won Israel at home 3:0.

They won Ireland away 2:0.

They won Armenia, who is the weakest team in their group, by a big margin of 4:0.

The England national team has never lost a match ever since Tony Twain took over. His titles of being a ‘Treble Winner’ and the ‘Godfather of Champions’ helped to lessen the animosity that the media held towards him due to his arrogant personality.

That is how the footballing world is. Results are everything. When you can produce results, you are treated like the God. When you are unable to produce results, you are treated like dirt.

Of course, there are also people who did not view Twain’s results favorably.

Carl Spicer, who has always been a resolute anti-Twain, casted doubt on Twain’s achievements as the manager of the England national team.

“Macedonia, Armenia, Australia, Ireland, Israel and Wales are not regarded as strong teams. They have to be classified as ‘weak teams’. Both Serbia and Denmark are teams that Twain regarded as strong teams as well, but to me, they are weak teams too. We have a very good draw in the qualifiers. We might be in the group that has to compete in the most number of matches, but all our opponents are weak. Isn’t it natural for us to win comfortably against weak teams? Why are there so many people cheering for Twain? He should only get on the headlines if he can’t win against teams like that. Personally, I think that everyone should reserve their praises for Tony Twain until the day we play against a truly strong team. Until then, people should not think that Tony Twain would definitely lead England to glory…”

Which teams are regarded as a truly strong team?

“… I would consider teams like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina as strong teams I suppose…”

※※※

June is the time where many football clubs reap what they sowed throughout the past season. Most league competitions have entered the final stages of competition, and most of the football clubs should know their fates for the next season after working hard for the past few months. For the teams who are fighting to be crowned champions, for the teams who wish to qualify for next season’s Europa or Champions League, for the teams who are fighting to avoid relegation… June is the month where they know the answer to their respective fates.

In the past, Twain would have been under the most psychological stress during this period of time. It would also be the period of time where he is the busiest and most exhausted. However, the tides have turned and now he is able to sit at the stands with his hands before his chest and simply observe what happens without a care in the world. He no longer cared about the Premier League title that so many different football teams fought for. He did not care about who won the other competitions and neither did he care about which teams were going to be relegated… He was just there to watch it all unfold before him as a spectator.

David Kerslake has proven that he has what it takes to become a good manager of a football team. Nottingham Forest might not have been able to become champions, but they were able to successfully qualify for the Champions League under his guidance. This is a really good result considering what Forest was doing in the summer before the season started.

Coming in at fourth place would mean that last season’s Champions League winners have to play in a qualifier to get a spot in next season’s Champions League. However, no one associated with Nottingham Forest saw it as a form of humiliation. All the Nottingham media outlets were elated at how things have turned out.

Forest went through a turbulent and unforgettable season. They changed managers midway through the season, and they were also kicked out of the FA and EFL Cups early. They were even positioned outside of the top 10 in the Premier League once, and they were also eliminated from the Champions League after scraping their way into the Round of 16. Despite all those bad results, Kerslake was still able to lead the team to fourth place in the Premier League, and that was ample proof of his abilities as a manager.

It is rumored that Evan Doughty is considering giving Kerslake a long term contract as the manager of Nottingham Forest. To Twain, that would be the most correct decision that Doughty has ever made in the past season.

It is true that Kerslake is not some reputable manager who has achieved stellar results in the past. But, he is a part of Nottingham Forest, and he is able to get along with most of the players easily due to this status. In addition, he is also able to communicate well with the players as he is familiar with them and they are also familiar with him.

To Evan Doughty, Kerslake is a suitable candidate for the managerial position. He must definitely be regretting how he has failed to notice such a talented manager who was right there in front of him the whole time. He only knew to look in the distance, and that is why he has failed to see the pebble at his foot, and it is also why he has fallen on all fours afterwards.

Kerslake is not the kind of manager who has an immensely unique personality. He is also not the kind of manager who would talk back to his superior, even if his superior threw a temper and lashed at him. One would have a good idea of his temper by looking at how he served Tony Twain back then.

Kerslake, who is known as the ‘Good Guy’, would certainly not say a word about the chairperson’s interference in the club’s footballing matters either, and that is also his greatest strength. Additionally, he loves Forest more than Tony Twain, and he would never leave the job like Twain did even if he was unfairly treated.

It is even rumored that he rejected Twain’s offer to become his assistant manager for the England national team. It would be hard to find another obedient manager like Kerslake who could still lead the team to victory.

Forest’s chairperson has regained his confidence after experiencing consecutive setbacks over the past few months. He was certain that the Nottingham Forest fans would definitely forget the name ‘Tony Twain’ in a season’s time.

11 years ago, he viewed Manchester United as his role model. But now, his new role model is Florentino Pérez, who is the president of Real Madrid Football Club. Pérez is known as ‘Real Madrid’s Godfather’, and he also has the ability to deceive the masses with his words.

In Evan’s eyes, Pérez epitomizes what a successful chairperson or president of a football club should be like.

He has long forgotten about the bitterness and humiliation he received at the Bernabéu Stadium a year ago.

The reason why he looks up to Real Madrid is because they would still be one of the most influential football teams in the world even if they failed to become champions of the Champions League.

Transfer news associated with Real Madrid would always hog the headlines and seize the attention of football fans all over the world. Additionally, the players are able to stir up a storm wherever they go. They are seen and treated as idols by countless people, and they are also able to make an entire country go crazy over them.

This is exactly the kind of influence that Evan Doughty dreams of having.

When Twain left Forest, Evan Doughty reflected about why his team was less influential than Arsenal globally. In the end, he figured that the blame was on Tony Twain. It was because of Twain that they were not able to have many superstar players in the team. After all, Twain was the biggest superstar in the club. Why would he allow others to come in and steal his spotlight?

Every time Evan hoped to bring in a superstar player with lots of influence into the team, Twain would always say that his current team structure is flawless, and that he did not need those superstar players to come in and ruin the atmosphere in the locker room.

Twain’s words have really caused him to miss out on acquiring numerous superstar players for the team all these years…

Look at how Real Madrid is raking in so much money in Asia!

So what if they can’t win the Champions League? They have the money and the power!

Evan Doughty could only sigh at those thoughts.

Forest has finally found a new captain for their ship. Manchester United, on the other hand, has finally reclaimed the title of Premier League champions under the guidance of Mourinho after missing out for so many years.

Mourinho has proven through his results that he is not inferior to Tony Twain, and that he is a manager who is capable of leading his team to become champions.

The finals for the Champions League was played in Milan. Real Madrid might have lost to Nottingham Forest the previous season, but they successfully lifted the tenth Champions League trophy in their club’s history by beating Italy’s powerhouse team, Juventus, at the San Siro Stadium.

Real Madrid waited for a total of 13 years just to lift the Champions League trophy once again. They have gone through a transformation to bring the number from ‘nine’ to ‘ten’, and now, they are the unprecedented ten-time champions of the Champions League.

To Evan Doughty, Real Madrid is no longer just a team that is rich and powerful. They are now a team that is rich, powerful and that has just been crowned champions.

Chapter 924 - The Drama

The managers of the football clubs had already started to enjoy a short holiday. Only those managers of the powerhouse teams were required to appear in the media from time to time. Players with national team assignments were not yet able to take a break because when the league tournament was over, the national team’s games were still waiting for them.

On June 11th, the England team would play a friendly match at home with the former South American powerhouse, Uruguay. Four days later, they would face their competitor in the qualifier, Serbia at the Wembley Stadium.

After playing this game, those national footballers were then able to go on their holiday.

In the game against Uruguay, England won with a score of 2:1. Gerrard and Rooney contributed the goals. The Uruguayans relied on the Palermo striker, Cavani to score one goal in the 90th minute.

They played a rather difficult game against Serbia during the home match. After Mitchell scored the first goal in the opening eleven minutes, Serbia launched a frantic counterattack that left the tired England team only able to ward off the attacks but without strength to hit back for a time. The 1:0 lead gave the Serbians hope, so they kept launching attacks for a while.

It was not until the last minute of injury stoppage time that Agbonlahor, who came on as a substitute in the second half, made use of the gaps left by the Serbians who fully pressed ahead in hopes of equalizing the score. He dribbled the ball over a long distance to wage a long-range raid and scored the decisive winning goal. The England team continued to hold on to its top spot in the group with a solid 2:0 victory over Serbia at its home ground and took another firm step toward Spain.

Next, the European football world entered the summer transfer period.

The countless exciting scenes which the fans looked forward to, were played out in front of everyone’s eyes.

But for the Nottingham Forest fans, there were not many good memories this summer.

No matter what kind of banners they put up outside the football club, no matter how much they protested, they did not manage to make the team’s main goalkeeper and the Russian national goalkeeper, Akinfeev stay in the team. The Russian national goalkeeper who once earned a lot of glory for the team with his own two hands, was deemed as the best successor to Peter Shilton in the Forest team, had gone to Manchester United for a fee of twenty-five million pounds.

Mourinho finally got the stable goalkeeper he had dreamed of, and the Forest fans once again staged a protest against the club’s top brass.

Although the club subsequently signed on Schmeichel Jr., Kasper Schmeichel could not be compared with Igor Akinfeev on the same level in terms of both strength and fame.

Following which, it was not long before Woodgate left the Forest team for a transfer fee of thirteen million pounds and returned to Middlesbrough.

Of course, the most popular Forest players in the transfer market were still the trio of George Wood, Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell. If Evan Doughty was willing to, these three players could have brought him at least a transfer fee revenue of at least one hundred and thirty million pounds.

But Evan Doughty still was a little more rational. He had indicated more than once that George Wood was not for sale in the team, and a standard bearer that no amount of money could buy.

As for the other players… as long as the other party could make a crazy offer that he could not refuse, then they could all go as far as he was concerned.

Of course, some people also suspected if there was a club which would make an offer that drove the world crazy for George Wood, then Evan Doughty would not hesitate to push the Forest team’s standard bearer into the transfer market.

Unfortunately, Wood was a defensive midfielder. Those clubs that were willing to spend big money on the attacking players were not willing to waste too much euros on a defender.

Instead, Mitchell and Gareth Bale were the ones who received a number of tempting offers.

Barcelona had made a bid for Mitchell for a fee of thirty million pounds as well as throwing in the German “Super Mario” Gomez, which enticed the Forest team.

Even Mitchell wondered if he should change to a different environment to play. The sale of Akinfeev by the top brass had made him unhappy. Moreover, Barcelona was a powerhouse club, so it was not a step down for him to go there.

But Twain did not want the team, which he had personally built, to fall apart so soon. He indirectly told the tentative Mitchell in his column that the players he was considering mainly competed in the domestic leagues. After all, the foreign leagues were too far away. He could not determine the condition of the players playing abroad in time. In addition, he used Lennon as an example, telling Mitchell that going abroad to play for a powerhouse club might not really be as easy and smooth.

The people at Barcelona must have hated Twain to the core because even if he no longer held the position as the Forest team manager, he would still try to go against Barcelona.

No one could have more influence and status than Twain in the minds of the Forest team’s old players.

Now that Twain had indirectly expressed that he did not want Mitchell to play abroad, then Mitchell also listened and chose to stay. His agent was very disappointed but powerless because the player’s personal will had the final say anyway. Even if the Forest team had agreed to Barcelona’s offer, the transfer would not have been possible unless he could persuade Mitchell to accept Barcelona’s offer. But it was clear that Mitchell’s agent, who had been with him for a long time, did not held more sway than Mitchell’s mentor, Tony Twain.

With another loss of a huge income, Mitchell’s agent must have hated Twain so much that he might have even cursed Twain in his heart during sex with his lover.

Gareth Bale’s situation was more complicated.

Like his teammates, he had received a number of offers of interest from numerous football clubs. But he was not an English national footballer, so Twain had no right to beat about the bush and interfere with his going or staying.

Only he himself could decide whether to leave or stay.

A left back who was very good in offense and defense, was extremely popular, especially the said left back was also good at positional play.

Bayern Munich, Juventus and AC Milan were hoping to get such a good left back.

But none of the three teams could be considered generous clubs. The highest offer was from Bayern Munich for eighteen million pounds.

For Evan Doughty and Allan Adams, the highest offer was simply an insult to them. So, they turned down the offers from all three clubs, but did not close the door to any further transfer negotiations. It was still the same stance – as long as there was a crazy offer that would satisfy them, they would not be above selling.

While Gareth Bale still did not know where he would play in the future, another familiar Forest player chose to leave.

Matías Fernández had left the Forest team for a fee of twenty million pounds. He was heading to Atlético Madrid in La Liga.

Evan Doughty was not worried that his departure would affect the strength of the team because he still had Nicolás Millán who had grown up. But for the fans who followed the team through its most glorious years, every player’s departure was like an old friend bidding farewell, which they were reluctant to part with.

There were also angry fans in Wilford who had put up protest signs that said, “Mr. Doughty, how many more talents do you have to sell?”

Their protesting voices were not done yet when Jonjo Shelvey in the team was sold for eight million pounds.

Until the start of the new English Premier League season, Gareth Bale was still embroiled in the transfer maelstrom.

Although Bayern and Juventus, as well as AC Milan chose to step back in the face of Evan Doughty’s demand for an exorbitant asking price, a new buyer came in to fill the void they left.

The rich and imposing Real Madrid, the best club in the last century which had traditionally spent any money it had to repeatedly break world records in transfer fees, had made an offer of twenty-seven million pounds for Bale.

Evan Doughty was keen to build a good relationship with Real Madrid through the deal, but Allan told him that if they were to accept the offer of twenty-seven million, it would make them feel that they were too easy to deal with and the other party would lost interest. As a result, the Forest team countered with an asking price of thirty-four million pounds.

The asking price was not low for a defender… But it was not an appalling sky-high price. This amount of money was nothing with Real Madrid’s overbearing wealth.

Therefore, the Forest fans panicked. They knew they might lose another favorite player. They recognize that going to the club to demonstrate no longer worked because no one cared about the fans’ protests, especially when Evan was still the sole owner of the football club.

This time they turned to entreating the player himself.

Outside the apartment where Bale lived, the football fans began to gather on their own. Then, they sang the Forest team’s song as well as sang songs of praises which they wrote for Bale. They held up signs and posters of Bale asking him to stay.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid had already accepted the Forest team’s asking price.

It was a bad sign.

Because it meant that Real Madrid could already talk to Bale’s agent about the contract. As soon as Bale signed the contract, he would leave Nottingham Forest forever, leaving the team he had been with for twelve years.

The pleas for Bale not to go became even louder. Many Forest fans used various ways in hopes that their favorite “little monkey” would listen to the fans’ voices and not choose to leave even though they were aware that the current Nottingham Forest team held no appeal to make someone stay.

“The document for the contract came from Real Madrid.” Bale’s agent, who was also his father, told him.

In the past, Bale lived alone in Nottingham, with his father and mother living together. But throughout the summer, his father had to be with him.

The sound of the fans singing and shouting continued to be heard outside the tightly closed window.

“Gareth! Gareth! Gareth!”

Bale sat on the couch, listening to those voices and feeling somewhat lost.

“The terms offered by Real Madrid are very attractive.” As a father and an agent, he always thought about his son. He looked over the contract.

His father turned to look at his son, and apparently he had not heard what he had said just now. He gave a sigh and said, “If you can’t make a decision, I think you can give a call to Mr. Twain first.”

Bale finally looked up and looked at his father.

“Well… I think maybe he has some advice, which may be better than my advice as your father.” He winked at his son.

An idea seemed to light up in Gareth Bale’s mind as well. Previously when the boss was still in the team, he would always ask him when he had anything that he could not make up his mind about. Why did he forget now?

Twain was sitting on the bed on the side, reading a book with a lamp on his bedside table. He wore black-rimmed glasses with a slight frown on his face. That appearance made him look much older than his actual age.

At this time, he and Bale were in the same city. He had also heard a lot of rumors about Bale’s transfer, but he did not expect that he would receive a phone call from Bale.

“Boss, I need help.” That was the first sentence that Bale spoke after the phone call was picked up.

“What’s the matter, Gareth?” Twain asked despite knowing what it was about.

“I’m very confused right now… I don’t know what choice I should make.” Bale’s voice sounded low and his mood was depressed.

Twain was not in a hurry to answer. He cocked his ear to listen, and found a faint noise coming from the other end of the line.

“Haven’t the fans left yet?” He turned over to take his watch on the bedside table. It was almost eleven o’clock in the evening.

Apparently, Bale also looked at the time, and he replied, “They’ll dispersed in another half an hour.” It had been like this these few days, and Bale was used to it.

Twain smiled quietly and said, “Gareth, would you like to stay with the Forest team?”

Bale shook his head and replied, “I don’t know. I used to be very determined to stay on… But after a season, I’m undecided…”

“Do you want to hear my opinion?”

“Yes, I suppose.”

Twain was silent for a moment as he removed his glasses off the bridge of his nose and put them aside. Then he closed his eyes.

He seemed to be reminiscing about his time with Bale, how he had a chance encounter with the Welsh kid, and how he brought him to Nottingham… And his interesting and nagging father.

“Gareth…”

“I’m listening, boss.”

“If I were an ordinary Forest fan, I think maybe I’d sing by your window tonight to try to make you stay…”

“So, are you saying you want me to stay?” Bale’s tone held a hint of anticipation.

“Listen and let me finish, Gareth. However, I’m a football manager and some things can’t be completely decided based on emotions. Of course, it stands to reason that it does not mean that it will be necessarily better than in the Forest team if you go to Real Madrid. There may be a better possibility than here, but there is a worse possibility than here. There are many possibilities ahead in the future, and I can’t tell you which one might be better. If I ask you to stay and the Forest team does badly, then I will be doing you harm. If I let you go and you lose yourself in the locker room of a powerhouse club, I will also be hurting you.”

Bale listened patiently.

“So, I think you should follow your original thinking. But you’re only twenty-five years old. It’s normal to want to go out and experience what’s out there.”

Twain did not give his choice because it was not any of his business.

After listening to him, Bale asked, “Boss, in terms of feelings, you don’t want me to leave, do you?”

The remark touched into what Twain had in mind. Truthfully, his feelings could not accept the reality since the first Forest player he knew was sold. So, he was trying not to pay attention to the transfer rumors associated with the Forest team.

Kompany, Pepe, Akinfeev… These people were the players who contributed and helped him forged his legacy. As a manager who had devoted all his energy to the team, he valued the attachment.

“If it were possible, Gareth, I mean if it were possible… I’d rather you all don’t go.” Twain said these words with a lot of deep emotions. It was not fake at all, because that was what he really thought deep inside. “But…” He emphasized his tone and made a turn in the conversation.

Just as he was about to get ready to go on, he was interrupted by Bale quickly saying, “No more buts, boss, I know how I should choose!”

Then he hung up.

Twain stared blankly at the phone in his hand. He thought he had already guessed what Bale would do. Although he felt a little selfish, he was also very happy.

Indeed, he was very happy.

He laughed.

※※※

One day after the night, the same place, the first light, when the night wind has not yet blown away the heat of the day, here has gathered no less than a hundred people. They held up banners and portraits of Bale, sang and shouted to save Bale’s heart with the feelings of the fans.

Today’s daytime sports news and media reported that Real Madrid’s negotiations with Bale had reached a critical stage. Perhaps it might be possible to announce the matter of Bale’s signing to the team by the end of the week.

As the current vice-caption of the Forest team, Gareth Bale enjoyed a high prestige among the fans. He came out of the Forest’s youth camp and was an iconic figure like George Wood. He was optimistic and cheerful. Even when he was seriously injured, he did not give up football. He was the main player during Tony Twain’s brilliant era. The “little monkey” moniker reflected everyone’s love for him. If such a player were to leave the Forest team, then what kind of confidence could the Forest team still give the fans?

As more and more fans gathered and their singing grew increasingly louder, some people noticed that the window that had been closed for the past several days had been opened.

More and more people noticed this change, and they stopped their singing and shouting as they looked up at the window.

“Are you certain, son?”

Bale’s father stood inside the house, holding his cell phone and asked.

Bale was standing at the window. The night breeze blew and flapped the curtains. It fluttered his hair and his heart. The black figures of the crows below looked like there were more people than there were yesterday. They all lifted their heads up at him.

“Yeah, Dad. I’ve made up my decision.” Bale nodded.

He walked to the window and shook out the item he was holding in his hand. A breakout of cheers erupted below.

Because what he held in his hand was the Nottingham Forest red jersey.

Behind him, his father dialed Valdano’s number and said, “… Mr. Valdano? I am… Yes, I have his answer… My son…” He turned his head toward Bale standing at the window. He was waving to the fans below, and there was another burst of cheers.

“He is very grateful to Real Madrid for their interest in him. It is the dream of any professional player to play for a great team like Real Madrid… But my son has reiterated his love for Nottingham Forest to me. He will not sign the contract and will remain at Nottingham Forest.”

Bale put the team emblem on the Forest jersey on his mouth and kissed it. The cheers below became even louder.

“Gareth! Gareth! Gareth!”

“Forest, Forest, Nottingham Forest!!”

※※※

The next day, Bale’s father contacted the media to announce Bale’s decision to stay in the team, which completely put the Nottingham Forest fans’ minds at ease.

Perhaps the most disappointed person was the Real Madrid president, Florentino because the player whom he was interested in had turned down his offer.

The most unhappy person was probably Evan Doughty.

Bale pledged his allegiance to the Forest team, and the Forest team’s first-in-command did not appreciate the kindness in his heart. His rebuff had cost him the chance to build a good relationship with Real Madrid and also caused the loss of a lot of money…

But on the face of it, he also issued a statement, saying he was very pleased that Bale had finally chosen to stay, proving that loyalty was priceless. He assured Bale would bring glory back along with the Forest team.

But perhaps everyone was hissing him in their hearts…

Kerslake later said he was pleased that he was still able to see Gareth Bale’s name on the new season’s roster. The manager’s delight was from the heart, compared with the chairman’s hypocritical show of affection. Bale was definitely an irreplaceable player in the team. With him around, they did not have to worry about the left side of the field.

The Forest team’s most dynamic transfer drama of the summer was over, and the new season had begun…

Chapter 925 - Qualified for the Next Round in Advance

The new season has commenced for half a month, and it was time for the England national team to play in games once again.

However, Twain has an issue on his hands. He has trouble coming up with the list of players that he should call up for international duty.

Only three matches have been played in the Premier League so far, but there were already quite a few players who have picked up an injury. Wayne Rooney injured his thigh and has to rest for a week. Michael Carrick twisted his ankle and needs to rest for two weeks at the bare minimum. Bentley pulled his ligament yet again after recovering from his previous injury and would be out for at least a month. Stewart Downing strained his calf during the match against Wales on 24th August and would be unable to play for two weeks. Additionally, John Terry also picked up a red card in that same match against Wales, and has been suspended for two matches.

All the players who picked up an injury have to be substituted. Twain has to find suitable players to fill in their roles.

Thus, Chris Cohen received his very first call from the national team. They told him to pack his bags and make his way over to London to meet up with the national team before they set off for Macedonia.

Cohen might be a regular first team player for Nottingham Forest when they won the Treble, but he has never been selected for the England national team before since the position that he plays in is typically occupied by Stewart Downing and James Milner, who are much better players than he is. Cohen is much more average across all aspects of his game, and his only strength is that he is very eager to track back to defend.

Twain showed favoritism towards Forest once again by selecting yet another Forest player. This time however, the criticisms directed at him were significantly lesser, because his team has been winning all the matches that they played in so far. As long as the England national team continues to win, who cares if he swapped the entire national team for Nottingham Forest?

Cohen felt flattered after receiving the call from the Football Association. He was then certain that it had not been a dream or a prank done on him by some reality show when he received a subsequent call from Twain.

“Chris. I was the one who promoted you from the reserves to the first team back then. Now, I am also going to be the one to bring you over to the national team from Forest. Honestly, I am under a lot of pressure. If you don’t perform well, I would receive a lot of flak from others. I don’t care about getting scolded, but if you guys don’t perform well, it’d definitely lead to discord in the England national team…”

Cohen understood what Twain was getting at. He replied, “Rest assured, boss. I will definitely not embarrass you!”

Cohen was brought into the national team as a potential replacement to the injured Downing. Twain could not guarantee him the chance to play in the match, because competition for the position that he plays in is fierce.

Adriano Moke was envious of Cohen for being selected for the national team. He has never received a call from Twain at all so far despite becoming a regular player for Forest recently. Twain also chose to play Walcott instead of him when Bentley picked up an injury previously.

Manchester City’s Micah Richards is the player selected to replace John Terry. Richards is a gifted player and there are many people who wish to see him play for the national team, but Twain refused to bring him into the team because his performances have been inconsistent recently. Twain would rather anger half of the Mancunians than to take a risk with Richards.

Richards rose to fame when he was still a youth player and he is well-known in the Premier League as well as the European footballing scene. He stood out among other players of his same age, and as a result, he was frequently selected for the national team when Capello was in charge.

However, his experiences since young have caused him to become proud and arrogant, and that has affected his performances on the pitch as he often loses his focus when he is playing. Thus, Twain refused to pick Richards for the national team even though there were many people who wanted to see him get picked. He did not want the vice-captain of Manchester City to get too ahead of himself.

Ever since Twain took over, Richards did not even get picked once for the England national team, and that has led to speculation among the Manchester media outlets that there could be a possible conflict between Richards and Twain.

Twain never admitted that there was any conflict between them, and Richards would only complain here and there about not getting picked for the national team.

Now that Terry is absent however, Richards has finally gotten his ticket into the national team for the very first time.

When there is a first, there would also usually be a second. Richards just needs to know how to make full use of the opportunity that he is given.

Michael Carrick was unable to participate in the international competition due to an injury, and Tottenham Hotspur’s Fabian Delph was the reinforcement that Twain brought into the team to replace him. The player who replaced Wayne Rooney was Everton’s top striker James Vaughan, and the player who replaced Bentley was Blackburn Rover’s Matt Derbyshire.

Twain then set off for Macedonia’s capital Skopje with a team comprising of all the aforementioned players.

※※※

Macedonia would not be able to threaten England in any way despite having the home advantage. That was how the England fans thought prior to the start of the match.

The England players thought the same way as well. England was able to achieve nine wins and one draw in the ten qualifiers that they played in thus far. Qualifying for the next round in advance was not an issue at all. None of the players cared about their other opponents in the group stage anymore.

After the match against Macedonia started, it looked like England was en route to their tenth win. Nothing seemed to suggest anything of the contrary.

It had only been seven minutes into the game when Walcott made his way into the penalty box and then crossed the ball into the middle. Mitchell then jumped into the air and comfortably headed the ball into the back of the net.

England led Macedonia by 1:0.

The England players began to relax after they went into the lead early in the game. They lost their focus and began playing with their heads in the clouds.

Twain was extremely upset with what he saw. He paced about the side of the pitch and kept gesturing and yelling for his players to continue to attack.

Macedonia performed much better than they did when they played against England previously in an away game, and they threatened England’s goalpost numerous times.

England was only able to score their second goal on the 72nd minute of the match. Richards headed the ball that had been sent in from the corner into the net, and England ended the match with a score of 2:0.

Richards was thrilled after scoring the goal. He ran in front of the cameras and yelled at the top of his lungs. He was happy that he has finally proven his worth after being treated coldly by Twain for an entire year.

Twain did not commend the team’s performance after the match ended. Instead, he mercilessly derided the players in the locker room.

“There was a total of 16 shots in the entire match, but only three were on target!” Twain definitely had reason to be angry based on the statistics. “Should I be happy about how we are so efficient because we are able to score two goals with just three shots on target? Or should I feel regret at how you have missed nine of those shots? There were also 4 shots that had been blocked… These are your statistics for the match, gentlemen! Look at how you guys played against a small and weak Macedonia team! Do you all think that you have what it takes to face bigger and stronger opponents?”

None of the players dared to breathe a word. They knew that what their boss was true, and that they had put in a mediocre performance for the match. They just could not pump themselves up for the game when they know that they are up against a weak team like Macedonia.

Twain looked at the players before him. He knew very well that his words would only fall on deaf ears whenever the team faces a very weak team. The players all have minds of their own, and they would not listen to everything that he says. They would inevitably look down on opponents that they deem to be weak, and they would then play according to their own judgement.

After all, they are human beings with a life. They are not puppets on a string.

“I don’t ever want to see a match like this one ever again.”

Twain said those words and left the locker room.

The players looked at each other incredulously after Twain left. They could not understand why their boss would be so angry. They might have looked down on their opponents, but they still won the match anyway.

They did not know that what Twain valued the most was spirit and willpower. Twain did not mind if the team lost a match, but the players must never lose the fight and determination in them.

Looking down on one’s opponents is not terrible. Having a lax attitude towards any match is. If the players continued to behave and think in such a way, it could gradually become a habit that is hard to break, and it could then end up delivering a fatal blow to the team.

Only the Forest players understood why their boss was so upset, because those were the same exact demands that he made on the Forest players when he was the manager.

※※※

England won against Macedonia. It was a good result, even if Twain was not very pleased with the way the match had played out.

England now has a total of 25 points and they are first in the group. Denmark was only able to end up with 20 points because they drew with fifth-placed Ireland 1:1 in the latest match. There was now a five point gap between the first placed team and the second placed team.

England’s next match was against Denmark away. The winner of the match would get six points, and thus, if England manages to beat Denmark, they would be able to qualify for the next round of the competition with two games left to play.

To the England press, the ticket to Spain is already firmly in the grasp of the England national team, because defeating Denmark away would not be an issue at all. England had played against Denmark previously during the qualifiers, and the press was certain that neither Denmark nor any of the other teams in the group would cause any problems for Tony Twain and his team.

Denmark and Serbia might have been regarded as strong teams in the past, but now, both teams seemed weak and vulnerable against the strong and powerful England.

The clamorous England press started calling the current England national team as the strongest team in the country’s history, and they bragged about how the team would dominate the whole of Europe. Neither Serbia nor Denmark would be able to stop the team in their tracks, and Tony Twain’s unbeaten record would only persist.

Twain was sick of hearing comments like that.

The press being overly positive would definitely affect the team’s emotions. Look at what happened in Skopje. They were lucky that they were only up against Macedonia. What if they had been up against Denmark instead? The team known as the ‘Northern European Pirates’ would certainly not miss out on a golden opportunity to defeat England.

Twain could not help but feel a twinge of nervousness over England’s next match. What worried him even more was that the press’s arrogance and pride would lead to disastrous outcomes during the Euro Cup.

※※※

The players noticed that their boss was not smiling as much as he did in the past ever since the day he criticized their performance in Skopje.

He was also much more cautious during his interviews when he discussed about Denmark. He kept emphasizing that Denmark was a strong team and that he respected the team.

No one could believe that an arrogant manager like him would suddenly become so humble.

His behavior set the players’ tongues wagging.

“The boss is behaving oddly…”

“What’s odd about that? He’s just putting on a show before us!”

“Putting on a show?”

“He doesn’t want us to underestimate our opponents.”

“But Denmark isn’t a team that we would underestimate.”

“Not everyone might think that way. After all, our team has been on a winning streak. Even I don’t think we’d have a problem winning against Denmark…”

“Yeah, that’s right! We are definitely going to qualify for the next round in advance. I don’t know what the boss is worried about…”

“They are a team that we can win against comfortably! I really can’t get myself pumped up for the game.”

“Look at you! You just underestimated our opponents!”

“Ah…”

Discussions like that occurred frequently among the players.

The day before the match, Twain gathered the entire team over for a tactical meeting at the hotel that they were staying in. However, when the meeting started, Twain did not discuss his tactics.

The first few words that came out of his mouth startled the players.

“I wonder if we should lose to Denmark on purpose.”

Twain rubbed his chin as he said those words and he did not look like he was joking. All the players and staff members were shocked and they stared at him with their eyes bulged and their mouths agape. They did not know why their boss would say that.

“We are definitely going to qualify for the next round anyway. It doesn’t matter if we lose a match. I don’t really care about my unbeaten record either. It’s meaningless to me. I’d rather dampen the press’s mood a little by losing the match… But, are you guys willing to do that?”

Twain stared at the players as he asked the question.

As the captain, Wood stood up and replied to Twain, “I don’t like doing that, boss.”

“And your reason is?”

“I don’t like to lose. And I especially don’t like losing on purpose.”

Several players concurred with Wood and they echoed his words.

“Boss, actually…” Mitchell stood up to speak as well. “I don’t think you need to worry about us being affected by the press’s words. We are not kids who don’t know anything.”

Mitchell’s words was met with approval by several players once again.

Twain threw out his hands before him. “Do you think I’m worrying for nothing? I can already see from some of your faces that you guys are underestimating Denmark. Some of you must be thinking that Denmark is a team that we can win comfortably against, right?”

A few players scrunched up their necks and lowered their heads.

“I’d have to make some changes to the starting line-up, since all of you do not wish to lose the game…”

Thereafter, Twain included all the Nottingham Forest players into the starting line-up.

Joe Mattock, Chris Cohen, Mitchell, Agbonlahor and the captain, George Wood were all named as the starting players.

Twain then faced his team that was comprised mainly of Nottingham Forest players.

“You all know what I want!” he bellowed.

“Victory!!”

※※※

Denmark tried their best to put up some form of resistance against England’s attacks, and that is also how they managed to score a goal.

Still, England proved too strong and powerful for them. England was just like a raging storm, and the Danes could not even lift their heads amidst the pouring rain.

The final score for the match was 2:1. England beat Denmark away and their victory has allowed them to qualify for the next round of the competition in advance with two games left to play.

When the referee blew on the whistle to signal the end of the match, the England players ran onto the pitch to hug their team mates who had played for 90 minutes. They knew that they were guaranteed of a spot in the Euro Cup that would be held in Spain, and nothing was going to change that.

Twain heaved a long sigh of relief before standing to his feet. He then balled his fists and waved them in the air. His colleagues soon had him in their embrace.

The very first goal that was stated in the contract had been accomplished.

From now on, all he had to think about was the Euro Cup.

Shaun Harvey, the chief executive of the England Football Association, stood up to applaud Twain and his team at the stands. He then smiled proudly at the person next to him before going on to brag about how he has a discerning eye.

“If I hadn’t been the one to give him that call back then, would we even be seeing these sights today?”

“They say that Tony Twain is a recalcitrant man. But, I can’t tell that at all now that he is working under Mr. Harvey.”

Twain has become rather submissive and obedient for the past year after becoming the manager of the national team. There were quite a few people who believed that his change in behavior would not have been possible if not for Shaun Harvey’s charisma.

※※※

The news of England’s qualification into the next round of the competition became a form of motivation for some of the other teams who were hoping to qualify just like them.

One of the matches that took place the next day was between Wales and Serbia. In the end, Wales defeated Serbia 2:1 away after a grueling match. Since Denmark lost to England earlier, Wales was able to move up from fourth place to second place in the group and they led Denmark by two points.

Wales now had a good chance of qualifying for the next round by coming in at second place in their group.

One point worth mentioning is that both of Wales’ goals in that match had come from the same person.

Gareth Bale scored two goals from free kicks, and he single-handedly sent Wales into the second place in the group.

His goals also sent the whole of Wales into an uproar, because their football team finally has a chance to participate in an international competition. Bale’s fame skyrocketed, and the entire country extolled his performances. However, none of those things mattered to Bale. The only thing that was on his mind was the promise that he made with Twain by the side of the pitch.

I have to go to Spain!

Chapter 926 - The Group Draw for the Final Series

Gareth Bale finished all the qualifiers with the conviction to go to Spain as Wales resisted the comeback pressure in the last two matches to earn its right to qualify for the European matches as the second seed.

The result had a huge response at home in Wales, who finally reached the European Cup matches again after 1976. They finished in the top eight at the then European Cup as the Welsh media hoped that this time, under the leadership of Bale and Ramsey, would at least match its best results back in history.

On the night when they were leaving, Bale called Twain. Although it was extremely noisy on his side, but Twain could still hear Bale’s hissing roar, “Coach! We are going to Spain! We are going to Spain!”

Next to it, there seemed to be someone echoing loudly, “Spain! Spain!”

Twain knew that they were celebrating this rare victory, hence he did not bother Bale much. That, coupled with Bale’s current condition, meant that he probably would not listen to anything Twain said. Thus, he just gave a simple congratulations and hung up.

Although Wales reaching the series this time round, was thanks to the European Cup expansion from 16 slots to 24, the Welsh still had their reasons to celebrate.

Unlike Wales’ national revelry, England were calmer on being able to leave the group stage. After all, they were regulars at the European Cup and should only be on the headlines if they could not go to Spain. Twain being able to lead the team out of the group stage should count as his first duty accomplished.

The actual European Cup elimination series was the real test.

At the end of November, the last three qualifying teams were awarded a two-round home-and-away play between the top six teams, to decide the last three teams which was going to qualify for the European Cup.

Then in Nyon, Switzerland, the head coaches of the twenty-four teams gathered for a group draw ceremony organized by Union of European Football Associations.

Twain participated in several group draw ceremonies. Even if it was for a country team, there was not much difference. At most, he would just need to meet more head coaches for the country teams. However, he himself was still the focal point for the media.

Two days before the draw, a list of The European Cup groups was reportedly leaked from within Union of European Football Associations. Regardless of the authenticity of the list, it quickly caught and attracted the attention of the media, so the internet and the social media news immediately became the main voice of the mainstream media.

Reporters who came to interview also took this question to ask Twain, because England’s grouping on the list was not fortunate – they were allocated into an extremely strong group.

The group ingress in the final stages of the European Cup would first identify the seeded teams and divide all the teams into the ABCD four tiers according to the total points of their last World Cup qualifiers, the previous and the current European Cup qualifiers. The hosts and defending champions would qualify directly for the seeded team, with the rest of the seeded teams coming from the first-tier teams.

In the group list, which is rumoured to be an “internal leaked version”, England was placed in Group D as a seeded team, along with Sweden, Germany and Denmark.

Germany being the second tier team was not surprising as they did not perform well in last year’s European Cup qualifiers between Poland and Ukraine, so they were only able to qualify for the finals in the final round through extra time. However, as it was rare that there would be strong teams at the second seed like Germany, it was England’s misfortune that they would still meet Germany.

Reporters were keen to hear what Twain thought about the leaked version of the group list. Before this, they had previously interviewed Germany’s head coach, Sammer, who thought that the list was made up by journalists and was not worth evaluating. Then they went to interview Sweden coach Roland Anderson, whose answer was the same as Sammer.

But it was common sense that they thought this way.

The group draw was an important thing and now that there was a “leaked version” even before the start of the group draw, which head coach would dare to evaluate it? They did not even know if the version was real, how would they even form an opinion about it?

But the reporters knew what kind of person Twain was — his talkative mouth had been dormant for more than a year and it was time it would light up again.

Twain did not disappoint them either.

He did not seem to doubt the authenticity of the list as he followed it with some opinions on his “group opponents”.

“Germany is a strong team, I know all about England and Germany’s feud … There is nothing worthy to praise about the matchup results between England and Sweden either, so we need to be careful in handling that …?Denmark is a very tough team and I played against them during the selection matches but I didn’t know we would meet again this time. They are a tough team, and you will realize this when you analyze our matchup results during the selection matches, as those ended in a victory and a draw, we need to be careful…”

A reporter finally could not hold back, as he asked bluntly, “Mr Twain, why are you prepared to express your opinions on this group draw list?”

Twain purposefully acted surprised, “Is there any issue with this list?”

“It is alleged that this is a leaked version …”

Twain’s laughter interrupted the reporter, “Whether it’s the European Champions Cup or the European Cup, when is there not a?‘leaked version’?out before the game? And we would always find out after the draw that the leaked version will be always a bit similar to the final official version…”

“Mr. Twain, do you mean that the results of the draw have long been determined by Union of European Football Associations?”

The reporters roared with excitement, and at last they heard the voice they wanted to hear most.

Twain’s face was immediately darkened, as he stared at the reporter while asking, “I didn’t say that, if you reported that I said that on the news, I’ll insist on my right to accuse you of slandering me, Mr. Reporter.”

The atmosphere at the scene immediately cooled down.

Twain took the opportunity to get out of the reporters’ circle and walk into the conference.

In there, he met with his boss, the FA’s chief executive, Shaun Barclays.

“There are so many reporters surrounding you outside, what are they asking?” He glanced a little warily at the excited reporters outside. He was worried Twain said the wrong things again.

“What else other than the leaked version of the lottery result?” Twain asked as if it was not very important.

“You didn’t say anything, did you? Mr. Twain.”?Mr. Barclays was clearly nervous.

Twain grinned, “What are you worried about, Mr. Barclays?”

Barclays could not easily said what he was thinking as he frowned and patted Twain on his shoulders, “Let’s go, Mr Twain. The group draw ceremony is about to start.”

※※※

Unlike the leaked version, England was not placed in Group D but instead they were placed in Group C.?This made several people more convinced that the leaked version of the team lottery results were fabricated, because as there would always be several similar rumors before every match, everyone was accustomed to this.”

After the seeding team was done, it was time to draw for the second-tier teams.

When it was the turn of Group C, the draw guest, former Madrid flag bearer Raul Gonzalez from Spain, held up the ping-pong ball in his hand. As he pulled out the note from within the ball and read out the name on it, the note appeared on the big screen behind him.

“Germany.”

There was a burst of jeers at the scene.

The camera swept through the positions the coaches were sitting and found Tony Twain, only to find that he had put his finger in his mouth and was happily jeering at the results too.

If it were not for the image everyone already had for Tony Twain, they would think that he was a passerby who only wanted to join in the crowd, and not one of the parties involved…

“Mr. Twain!”?Barclays, who was sitting beside Twain, was glaring at him.

Twain glanced back at him and booed a few times. His sharp boos were clearly heard on the television.

Having done this, he then took his hand out of his mouth and wiped it on his suit without any regard on his image.?“What’s the matter, Mr. Barclays?”

“Watch your image…”?said Barclays weakly.

Twain smiled, “Okay, Mr. Barclays. ”

The uproar over the draw lasted a long while before it went away, and when someone looked back at the England manager’s indication of the result, he was always seen booing. Who knew if he was actually booing because he was excited or unhappy… but that was alright, the media would always arrange a speech for him to say out.

I believe the senior Union of European Football Associations officials sitting on the podium must have seen this. There was no choice, who wanted Tony Twain to be the main focal point during the ceremony?

The German, Sammer was discontent about this result as he frowned with a heavy face. Maybe he was unhappy about Twain’s attitude — this Englishman was too flippant!

The snobbish Englishman sat in his seat and smiled as he looked at Beckenbauer, the German football legend who was walking up to the draw.

He was going to draw the third-tier team for Group C.

The result he drew was somewhat disappointing for the excited media, as it was not the predicted Sweden but it was Portugal instead.

Twain smiled for a while from below, as Portugal was stronger than Sweden was. If not for their poor performance during the selection matches and not being able to enter the Brazil World Cup, how would they even be allocated as the third tier team…

The team that appeared in the fourth tier gave Twain a somewhat surprised look for the first time.

“Wales,” The host read this somewhat boring name.

But Twain’s eyebrows jumped up.

He did not expect himself to be reunited with the little monkey so soon.

As a result of the expansion of the European Cup, the group stage has been increased from four groups to six, making it much less likely that the “strong teams would go against each other”. Hence, the group that England was in would be labelled as the “group of death”.

It was a far cry from the previous?“leaked version.”?But at the very least, England and Germany were indeed drawn into the same group.

As soon as the draw ceremony was over, the media surrounded Twain again.

Barclays saw that he was about to be crowded out by the reporters, he hurriedly reminded Twain in his ear, “Don’t speak foolishly, Mr Twain!”

“I’m not a child anymore…” Twain muttered disgruntledly as he welcomed the media.

Twain knew that England and Germany had always looked at each other badly in football, and that modesty would not get a good response.

“… We are not afraid of Germany, ‘The Group of Death’??I’m not worried. It’s the European Cup, there would be strong teams everywhere, I don’t think there’s anything wrong being drawn in the same group with teams like Germany, Portugal or Wales … Our goal is to win the championship, and there would be no champions who would get lucky consistently in their journey…”

He sounded really impressive, especially as he publicly stated that his team’s goal is to “win the championship”.?There was a burst of discussions within the crowd of reporters.

He could already see tomorrow’s eye-catching headline: England aiming for the championships from the start, self-admitted by Tony Twain himself.

However, the reporters still had a lot to ask about the results of the draw. “Mr Twain, there were some similarities between the leaked version before the draw and the actual results, and England was also drawn into the same group as Germany, I would like to ask—”

Twain knew what the reporter was trying to ask, as he immediately hardened his face and said, “Isn’t that normal? There were only six groups so the probability of Germany being placed in Group C as a second-tier team is one in six, which I think is normal. There’s nothing wrong here. ”

The reporters were not impressed as they wanted to hear something groundbreaking from his mouth. Twain was not willing to be a scapegoat for others, hence for similar problems it was as if he was a Taiji master, he beat around the bush several times and was not willing to answer the question straight to the point.

Reporters blocked Twain for a long while, but as they were not able to get their desired answer, they could only give up and let him go.

But simply that phrase “Our goal is to win the championship”?alone was enough to attract tons of attention. Yes, England had always been considered a strong European team, but there were several people who looked down on them, many thought that strong team had to referred to with inverted commas and should have only been called the pseudo-strong team. What’s more, the results of this group draw only just came out and there was still six months before the start of the European Cup. Twain so loudly shouted “our goal is to win the championship”?slogan, did he not consider the possible changes in the next six months? What if the core players were not in form? What if the main players were unable to participate due to their injury? Doing this only created enemies for himself and himself only…

But those were only troubles for Twain himself, us as the media just need to create eye-catching content to attract attention.

※※※

On the next day, the major sports media really began to hype Twain’s talkative mouth, as his big framed photograph coupled with that line “our goal is to become the champions” was really groundbreaking.

“If it was someone else saying that line, people might have regarded it as a joke, but if it was him, people would not even have dared to laugh.”

People who were familiar with Tony Twain, would definitely have had the same thought upon reading this headline.

England’s fans were also delighted that they could have such a confident manager that perhaps it would no longer be a dream to lift the La Liga cup in the English capital at next year’s European Championships.

Twain was in the headlines, but Shaun Barclays was having a headache.

Just as Twain’s title-winning manifesto appeared in the headlines, Barclays also received a call from Union of European Football Associations president Michel Platini.

The call was simple, where Platini, as a personal friend, reminded Barclays to take care of Tony Twain’s talkative mouth. The things Twain said during the draw ceremony to the reporters was well-heard. The Union of European Football Associations was not deaf; they did know about this. He hoped that Twain would never speak things that would doubt the Union of European Football Associations’s fairness.

Unlike the previous presidents, the new Football Association chief executive was looking for ways to repair the relationship between the English Football Association and Union of European Football Associations, as the Union of European Football Associations was always targeting England, there were several incidents of sabotaging plots in the past few years.

He naturally did not want Twain’s talkative mouth to affect his?“friendship”?with Platini and damage the relationship between the Football Association and Union of European Football Associations.

A few months ago in Denmark, he was boasting how successful his control on Twain was, and now he has learned how a terrible headache it is to have such an unruly head coach that cannot be disciplined or tamed.

If someone could get Tony Twain extremely humble, make him listen to instructions, being meek like a sheep, then this person has to be God …?(To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )

Chapter 927 - An Old Enemy

How many people still remembered what Twain said in the newspaper six years ago after the World Cup in South Africa?

While the major media outlets and famous names in the football world congratulated the Argentinians for winning the World Cup, Twain made a statement at odds with everyone else.

“I admit that Messi has won the Treble, but it is too premature to name him the ‘new king.’ Argentina is able to win the World Cup because they haven’t meet the England team. Barcelona is able to win the Champions League title because Nottingham Forest is not around…”

He questioned Messi’s status as the “new king” even though Maradona himself had given Messi the crown of the football king. In Twain’s view, the player who could be called the king of the football must have absolute dominance in his time. His brilliance would overshadow everyone else and become a benchmark of the times.

Messi had not reached that position as of yet.

Because there was still George Wood to be considered. Nottingham Forest, which owned George Wood, could end Bar?a’s dynasty early. With George Wood around, the England team could do the same.

It was just a pity that while Twain had proved his point at the football club level, the England national team never had a chance to play against the Argentina national team.

But not to worry, the opportunity had come now!

On April 4th, at Nottingham Forest’s Crimson Stadium, the England team would face Argentina, their opponent in the friendly match!

The English Football Association listened to Twain completely when it came to the UEFA European Championship Qualifying round. As a result, Twain drew the name of the Argentina national team.

Maybe someone else had already forgotten what he had previously said but he himself remembered it.

“I’m going to show them whether I’m talking big or not.”

The match attracted a lot of interest from the fans in both countries. It also attracted the attention of fans all over the world. Because their feud was known to the world.

Originally, the football worlds of English and Argentina each minded their own business and had nothing to do with each other. But at the 1986 World Cup, a man formed a decades-long feud between the two sides.

And this very same man was now Argentina’s manager, Diego Maradona.

As a result of the 1982 Falklands War, the two countries formed an enmity. The hot-blooded young men who played football were always patriotic, so they also wanted to prevail over their sworn enemy on the football field. The World Cup in Mexico gave both teams such a chance – in the quarterfinals, Argentina played against England.

It was a game that would forever go down in the history of the World Cup, giving birth to too many classic moments.

Argentina had scored their first goal. Maradona, a man who stood at 1.68-meter-tall, had actually succeeded in his fight for a header against the tall England national goalkeeper, Shilton to head the football in … Unfortunately, it was a handball. The referee did not see Maradona’s furtive action and declared the goal to be valid. Although the England team players argued to their best but to no avail. They had no choice but to accept the result.

Following which, Maradona scored the most exciting goal in World Cup history – he bypassed five players in a row. While the other fans relished and enjoyed the goal, the English people were outraged – they thought that without the previous handball, England’s players would not have been disturbed and naturally there would not have been a “bypassed five players in a row” after that.

Unfortunately, what-ifs never existed on the football field.

As the Falklands War intensified the rivalry between the two countries, Maradona did not admit to the handball. In the end, he was forced to simply say “that it was God’s punishment of the English people. A little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” His refusal to admit it made the English people very upset, and the two football teams became enemies in this way.

Although the Falklands War was long over, the feud on the football field was inherited and continued.

People liked to say, “football is a war during peacetime.” This saying was right. For the England and Argentina fans, it was a death match every time their teams met.

England and Argentina met again at the 1998 World Cup in France. Beckham’s red card, Simeone’s sly eyes and exaggerated performance, as well as Owen’s breakout performance and Argentina’s exquisite free kick play were the highlights.

At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, England and Argentina were placed in the group of death. As a result, Argentina, which had been seen as the favorite to win the title did not even advance past the group stage. Many people saw Batistuta’s tears on the live broadcast in front of the television screens as well as Beckham’s unbridled venting after he redeemed himself at the penalty shootout.

It was always explosive every time the England and Argentina teams met.

They were famous foes in the world of football.

When Twain was just an ordinary Chinese fan, he was interested in the games between these kinds of foes, such as between England and Argentina, England and Germany, Brazil and Argentina… not to mention the old enemies at the football club level. Just the examples alone could take one day and one night to list them.

He felt that what best embodied the nature of football was games with these kinds of intense confrontations and filled with countless stories. Therefore, when the English Football Association gave him a list of teams to select from, he did not even look at the other teams and just drew a tick on the Argentina team’s name.

The probability was not high for some teams which wanted to meet with them in the international competition arena. It was overly dependent on luck. Since it was a friendly match, he could pick his opponents at will. Twain naturally picked the team that could stimulate his interest.

※※※

Even though it was just a friendly match, the English and Argentinian media were closely watching the big game between the England and Argentina teams.

As the game drew closer, the English media brought out the “Hand of God” incident to rehash matter. The vehemence of it was far more powerful than ever before.

In the past, the Argentina manager was not Maradona and the past incident was nothing more than just teatime gossip. It was now a different story. The Argentina manager, who was leading the team and had landed on English soil, was Diego Maradona, the Argentine national hero, who had used the “Hand of God” and “bypassed five players in a row” to humiliate England thirty years ago.

An English reporter went to ask Diego. What did he have to say about the handball of that time after thirty years?

Maradona pretended to be surprised and said, “Has it already been thirty years? Ah, that is a beautiful memory that feels good even as I think of it now…”

“Don’t you feel guilty about scoring a goal in such a deceptive way?”

Maradona shook his head and said, “No. You and we are enemies on the football field. Defeating the enemy by any means to achieve victory is the ultimate goal. I still feel that I did the right thing at the time.”

The former king of football was already fifty-five years old. But his temper and character were still a headache.

“If my handball was seen by the referee and the goal was declared invalid, I wouldn’t have any objection. But he did not see it, so the goal was valid. It was as simple as that.” Maradona shrugged and spread his hands in front of a large number of English reporters.

An English reporter could not stand Maradona’s “shameless” attitude. He asked a pointed question, “Mr. Maradona, do you ever think that you have set a bad example for a lot of Argentine players? Consequently, we can often see the famous Argentine stars on the pitch use their hands instead of their feet and heads to help their team score goals. Like your son-in-law, Agüero, and your favorite Messi…”

Maradona was a little unhappy, but fortunately he did not have a shotgun at hand. His face became serious-looking as he said, “‘The Hand of God’ is common in South America. It’s not patented by Argentine players. And I don’t think it’s common for Argentine players to use handball…”

He refused to answer any other questions. He pushed the reporters aside and turned to enter the building. Then he used force to close the door hard.

※※※

Twain held a newspaper in hand. There was a reporter on the reporters “besieging” Maradona. The English reporters were delighted to describe him as a shameless scoundrel which would make all English people abhorred. For example, he refused to admit that he had scored at the time with his hands which was against the spirit of sportsmanship in the competition. He had also repeatedly declared that he would still choose to do it again.

Surely any Englishman would gnash his teeth when he read this?

However, Twain was laughing.

“I like him, ha!” Twain did not care what expression Shania had next to him. His remark sounded ambiguous.

“Then you can go and hug him to show your love in person.” Shania pouted.

“But I’m not going to be friends with him.” Twain shook his head and said, “Two unconventional and unyielding people get together, both sides suffer. I can only look at this kind of person from afar.” He looked at Shania next to him and asked, “You’re not jealous of a man, are you?”

“I’m even jealous of football. What more of a man?” Shania pouted.

Twain smiled and put her in his arms.

※※※

The English media even went to Argentina to ask Maradona what he thought of what happened thirty years ago, which made the Argentine media feel “it was persecution” and “preposterous.”

Therefore, they also “happily” recalled the despicable things Tony Twain once did. For example, how he messed up the City Ground stadium like it was a rotten vegetable patch in his attempt to sabotage their core player and newly crowned king of football, Messi and using vile means to eliminate Barcelona and treated the undeserved win like it was nothing.

He also declared that “he could make Messi be sent off the field with a broken leg in five minutes.” Of course, it was refined by the Argentine media. His original words were, “If I really wanted to deal with Messi with that kind of method, I can guarantee that he won’t be able to stay on the pitch for even five minutes.”

Look, even the Dutch could not stand it. Cruyff had once publicly criticized Twain’s action and words as killing football and the art of it. He also called on FIFA to take care to protect the declining number of football artists today. “Why are there fewer and fewer players who can bring us pleasure now? It obviously has to do with everyone copying Nottingham Forest…”

After the Champions League final, Twain publicly backed Pepe, who was sent off for frenziedly beating someone up. He declared, “If there was a reason to beat up someone, I don’t think it’s a problem to hit someone. If it were me, maybe I’ll do it too.”

The Argentine media relished Tony Twain’s “sullied bad record.” In fact, they usually did not pay any attention to Tony Twain. If it were not for this game, they would not care about what Twain had said or done.

Just as the Argentine media went on a rampage to smear Twain, a new advertising billboard appeared in the heart of Buenos Aires.

It was an advertisement for Ray-Ban Wayfarer. The man in the image was no stranger to the Argentines, because his photographs had been seen regularly in the street newspapers during this time – Tony Twain was dressed in black and holding a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer as he leaned against the iron bridge railing. His eyes gazed into the distance and he appeared very cool like a mafia godfather.

Next to him was advertising copy: Ray-Ban, the real man’s choice.

A few days later, in the same downtown center, not far from the advertising billboard, a new advertising poster was also put up. This time the brand that appeared on it was the Gillette razor. The spokesman was still Tony Twain. He held a Gillette razor, gleaming and brilliant and put it next to his lips, while he looked at the bustling crowds and traffic below the advertisement. The black-and-white poster had a “cool” factor to it.

The advertising copy was: “The best man can be.”

Then a third billboard was erected as well. This time, it was by Dr. Martens, a famous British shoe brand. Tony Twain was the spokesperson too. Wearing Dr. Martens’ specially designed distinctive shoes, Twain did not look like a football manager, but rather an adventure explorer. He was not wearing the black suit of the first two advertisements. His look was far from an underworld boss. With a casual jacket and jeans on, he looked perfect for Dr. Martens men’s shoes. The getup made him look much younger than his actual age, and Twain liked the youthful outfit he wore.

On the other hand, the advertising copy commensurate with Twain’s style of handling things as well as his individualistic temperament. No wonder Dr. Martens would sign up Twain for an endorsement:

Confidence. Tenacious. Never compromise.

The advertisers were not worried about Tony Twain’s bad reputation damaging both world renown brands. Because the main sales strategy of both brands was to highlight the distinctive personality in this mediocre society. A recent topic of interest in Argentina like Twain, was really a good spokesman there was. Just like the villains in the movies which tend to find favor with a lot of fans, Tony Twain must also be able to find his audience here.

In fact, Maradona’s character was also very much in line with the requirements, if his size and appearance were better …

The Argentine media must have been frustrated when they discovered the advertisements, because their efforts to hype the issue had brought more advertising revenue to Twain instead…

Even the English media had repeatedly published social news of the large-scale advertisements of Twain appearing in Buenos Aires as a counterattack.

This matter did make onlookers laugh, but not everyone thought the matter was funny.

※※※

In the past, when Twain was the football club’s manager, such a situation happened less. It only happened to the players who left Nottingham Forest for the other teams.

And that was: when Twain and the opposing team engaged in a war of words, the former Forest players found it hard to bear …

For example, before the game between the Forest team and Barcelona, Piqué was put in an awkward position when the two sides attacked each other.

And now, most Nottingham Forest players had the opportunity to “enjoy” such treatment.

As long as they were not the England national footballers, they would have the opportunity to play for their national teams against England. If Twain decided to act crazy again and provoked a war of words, then any player, who had once played on the same side as Twain, would feel awkward.

This time, it was the unlucky Gago’s turn.

There were very few Argentine players in Nottingham Forest. Gago was the only one. How could he have been forgotten as the only Argentine to have been taught by Twain during this media battle on both sides?

But fortunately, he did not have to suffer through the ordeal because he was not called up to the national team by Maradona. He did not have to play in this friendly match. Since he did not have to play, he did not have to take any questions that would make things difficult for him. He refused to comment on the game because he was not going to take part in the match.

Those headaches were left to his national teammates to face …

※※※

The Argentina team did not fly to England together as a team. Maradona would bring the players from Argentina’s domestic leagues and arrive in Nottingham. Then the national footballers, who played for various European leagues would fly to Nottingham to meet with the team after the European league tournaments ended.

As Argentine players who played alongside in Spain, Messi and Higuaín arrived in London with Agüero and were immediately surrounded by “enthusiastic” reporters.

“Messi! Messi! Can you answer a question?”

“What do you think of Tony Twain, Messi?”

“It is said that he once tried to break your leg during a game. Is there really such a thing?” These rumors were terrible…

“Messi, will you play in the game against England? Is it true that Barcelona only want you to play half a game?”

If people who did not know the inside story, they would think that those who surrounded Messi were crazy fans.

Messi did not want to answer such questions. He bowed his head and covered his face with his hands, as he squeezed out of the crowd quickly. The two teammates who arrived with him on the same flight were like his bodyguards, sandwiching him in the middle.

After much difficulty, they were able to get rid of those frantic reporters with the help of the airport security. Messi was a little shocked after.

“It’s just a friendly match. It’s not even a World Cup game. Why are those people…”

“Have you forgotten who our opponent is? England and Tony Twain.” Agüero complained beside him. Messi was so popular that he also suffered as a bystander. Initially he looked like a flashy celebrity but when he managed to squeeze out of the crowd, his sunglasses almost broke amid the squeezing. Now the sunglasses were a skewed no matter how he wore them. He looked slightly disheveled. After trying to adjust the sunglasses for a long while, he simply put the sunglasses into the backpack.

Higuaín also said next to him, “This game cannot be seen as a normal friendly match no matter what … it’s a home game in England, so we must be ready to be booed at for the entire game.”

They hurriedly got into the car sent by the Argentina team to pick them up before they could breathe a sigh of relief.

“Anyway, I’ll only play for half the game…” Messi did not care about the booing.

“Well, so those media rumors are true?” Higuaín was a little envious. For the manager to make such a request, it implied that he was extremely valued and the irreplaceable core of the team. He himself obviously did not belong to that category of player.

“Mr. Guardiola is afraid that I’ll get hurt.”

Agüero gave a laugh at the side and said, “Isn’t it better not to let you play for even a single minute? Have you forgotten which player your opponent has?”

A name popped up instantly in the minds of the other two men. His inert face also appeared along with the name and looked lifeless like it was carved out of wood, which one could not take lightly. There were a lot of people who fell at his feet. If he did not want to get hurt in such a friendly match, he had to be careful.

Messi became excited instead.

“George Wood!” He clenched his fists.

Chapter 928 - This Is Counter-Attacking Football

It was going to be the very first time that Messi plays a match at Nottingham Forest’s new stadium. Messi was a little curious to see what the stadium was like. After all, there were not many stadiums in the world that could be regarded as a ‘five-star stadium’.

Messi bent over to touch the grass beneath his soles the moment he stepped onto the pitch to do his warm-ups.

People might think that Messi was doing some kind of ritual when he touched the grass. However, those who are familiar with him would find his behavior odd, since he never touches the grass when he steps onto the pitch.

The only ones who understood Messi’s actions were Messi’s teammates, who were very familiar with him. They teased him at once, “The quality of the grass is great. It’s definitely not like that rotten field that we played in previously.”

The horrendous way in which Barcelona was treated at the City Ground Stadium a few years ago is well-known around the world, and it is still a topic of idle conversation even till this day.

Messi’s teammates knew very well what Messi was trying to do.

Messi ran forward by two steps. That bumpy feeling that he experienced before did not emerge. The ground was smooth and the quality of the grass was superb. The only flaw that he observed was that the grass was a little short.

Three seasons might have passed since that ill-fated match at the City Ground Stadium, but Messi has never once forgotten what it felt like to play on that horrible pitch. He spent half of his energy trying not to pick up an injury in that game.

Tony Twain is the most rotten and despicable manager he has ever met in his career. He would never play under a manager like him who would come up with that kind of idea just to win the match. To Messi, Twain’s every action insulted the holy and beautiful image he had of football.

As for George Wood, Messi had mixed feelings towards him. He admits that it would be great to have Wood as a teammate, but the way Wood would lunge at his feet whenever he tries to defend made him feel very uncomfortable.

Messi would feel chills at his knee every time Wood charges at him. However, he also felt exceptionally excited every time he has to battle with Wood, because Wood is the kind of player that he has to go all out to defeat.

Besides winning the championship, a big source of pleasure to all good football players like Messi is to battle with other good players on the pitch.

Ever since that match, Barcelona has never faced off with Nottingham Forest a second time. This is the very first time that Argentina plays against England as well.

Messi was eager to finally face off with Wood once again and defeat both him and Twain this time round.

※※※

The fans got to work the moment they entered the stadium. First, they put up banners and portraits of the players at the stands. Thereafter, they began to sing songs at the top of their voices. Most of them were singing songs related to the England national team, but some were singing songs that were meant to cheer on the Nottingham Forest team.

Twain had chosen to play the match at this stadium because he wished to pile immense pressure on the Argentina players by drawing on the enthusiasm of the football fans in Nottingham.

It might just be a friendly match between the two countries, but Twain certainly did not want his team to lose to Argentina.

His desire to win has nothing to do with the Falklands War or the 30 year feud between England and Argentina.

He just wanted to deliver his promise. Nottingham Forest defeated Barcelona in the past, and now it was England’s turn to defeat Argentina.

The captain of the England national team, George Wood, held onto a small triangular-shaped country flag as he stood in the middle of the pitch. He was waiting for Argentina’s captain, Messi, to come over and initiate the exchange of country flags.

John and his gang could not help but praise Wood as they watched him from the stands. “He really looks and acts like a leader…”

“Ha! I knew he would be successful when I saw the way in which he kept Fàbregas out of the game at Wilford that day!”

“Stop boasting! I knew this lad would be a brilliant player in the future when I saw how he had the guts to raise his fists at the first team manager Collymore back then…”

The group of men began to brag about how they had the foresight or the discerning eye. The only person who did not join in their discussion was Fat John.

He smiled as he listened in on their conversation. He reminisced about the scenes from 12 years ago. Back then, George Wood was still a youth player that no one knew about. Nottingham Forest was struggling in the EFL Championship, and Tony Twain was a miserable youth team manager.

Who would have thought that there would come a day where Nottingham Forest would become a Treble-winning team, and that Tony Twain would become a famous manager who is now leading the England national team?

Who could have expected to see George Wood shake hands with Messi while being dressed in the jersey of the England national team and with the captain’s armband over his sleeve?

※※※

Wood felt the grip on his hands tighten. He looked at the short man before him.

Excitement gleamed in Messi’s eyes as he raised his head to stare at him.

Wood understood what Messi’s gaze and gesture meant. Thus, he tightened his own grip on the latter’s hand as well.

Kaka is already 34 years old this year and has already grown old. Unlike him however, Messi is only 28 years of age and is right in his prime.

The pair’s silent battle ended quickly. They could not possibly hold onto each other’s hands forever after all. The press would start circulating bad rumors about them the next day if they did.

Wood lost during the coin toss and England was going to be the team to take the kick-off. That was exactly what Twain wanted for his team.

The night was windy and cooling. It was the perfect weather to play football in.

Players from both teams have already gotten into their respective positions on the pitch. Everyone was waiting for kick-off.

Likewise, Twain was waiting for the match to begin as he stood by the side of the pitch. Another man who was waiting by the side just like him was the manager of the Argentina national team, Maradona.

The referee blew his whistle once, and the match between England and Argentina that has garnered much attention worldwide commenced.

※※※

Twain’s tactic for the match was to play counter-attacking football. He wanted his team to sit deep and hit Argentina on the break.

His decision to play counter-attacking football surprised many. He might have played counter-attacking football often when he was in charge of Forest, but ever since he became the manager of the England national team, he has generally gone with an attacking style of football. The team often ended matches with scores like 4:0, 3:2, or 3:1, and they also scored a total of 32 goals throughout all the qualifiers that they played in so far. These results all highlighted a shift in Twain’s playing style.

Twain completely changed the conservative image that people had of him from his days as Forest’s manager, and he successfully won over the picky fans by playing attacking football.

Yet, he chose not to continue with what he has done so far in this match against Argentina.

Is he perhaps scared of the Argentina team that is made up of players like Messi, Agüero, Higuaín and Mascherano?

Let us take a look at England’s starting line-up for today.

In the front half, Twain chose to go with Rooney, Agbonlahor, Walcott and Stewart Downing. All four players are players with pace, and they were also the players responsible for the team’s offense. Both Rooney and Agbonlahor are players who would not track back to defend during a match. They would always stand at the front of the pitch and wait for the ball to be passed over to them from the back.

Twain did not get any of his defenders to mark any of the Argentinian players. Even Argentina’s most threatening player, Messi, was not constantly marked by George Wood either.

England chose to make use of a defensive strategy known as zonal marking in the match instead. Whenever an Argentina player picked up the ball in England’s defensive third, he would definitely be surrounded by at least two England players. One would be in charge of snatching the ball from him, and the other would be on stand-by by the side. If the Argentina player kicks the ball slightly further away from himself, the other player would be there to intercept the ball at once.

This was a strategy adopted by Forest back then. It was a strategy that frustrated their opponents to no end, and its effectiveness did not seem to have diminished now that it is being utilized by the England national team.

Argentina’s players were troubled by England’s defense. The tiniest mistake that they make could lead to them losing the ball, unless they somehow managed to glue the ball to their feet.

Higuaín learned that first-hand when he tracked backwards to receive the ball. He was not able to receive the pass from his teammate perfectly, and the ball bounced off the tip of his foot and flew about five meters ahead of him. Usually, Higuaín would be able to regain possession of the ball easily by taking one big stride forward. But, his method did not work this time round, and the ball was quickly intercepted by England’s fullback, Richards, who had been on his trail.

Messi initially thought that it was going to be a contest between the captains and that he would get to battle it out with George Wood one-on-one today. However, he did not expect Tony Twain to deprive him of that opportunity to face off with Wood.

When Messi picked up the ball, the players closest to him all charged at him. He tried his best to get past the first defender, but the second one suddenly appeared near him. He quickly retrieved the ball that he had kicked in front, but the first player suddenly turned around and lunged at him, and that caused him to keep going around in circles at the same spot.

He tried his best to shake off the defenders again and he succeeded in making his way into England’s penalty box. But, once he was inside the penalty box, he realized that he could neither pass the ball nor move forward. After a moment of hesitation, he soon found himself surrounded by England’s players.

When he finally found a gap that he could make use of to pass the ball forward to his teammates, the assistant referee raised his flag.

Offside!

Messi then tried to make his way into the penalty box and shoot for goal himself during his subsequent attempts. However, a brick wall stood in his way every single time. A total of three defenders would mark him every time he got close to England’s penalty box.

Messi might get past the defenders here and there, but even he could not repeat the same feat every single time.

Hence, he decided to change his strategy and attack down the flanks instead.

Some of his teammates, such as Higuaín and Agüero, chose to shoot at goal from an angle after receiving the ball. Of course, those shots were all easily saved by Joe Hart, because all he needed to do was to narrow the angle in which the shot can be made.

Sometimes the Argentina players have to run over to the flanks to receive a pass from Messi when he puts too much force behind it. After they receive the pass, they would choose to cross the ball into the middle of the pitch. This is a very common attacking strategy used in football. However, most of their shots were all intercepted and kept out of play by the big and burly England center-backs, because Argentina lacked the players who could put the strategy to good use. Agüero is 1.72m and Tevez is 1.68m tall. Both are too short and they can’t receive the crosses from their teammates. Higuaín might be 1.84m tall, but he is not good with headers. Thus, he is unable to score from those crosses as well.

If Argentina wants their forwards to be able to reach the ball, the height of the crosses have to be lowered. However, if they lower the height, the crosses cannot make their way past England’s defense. Conversely, if they increase the height, the crosses might be able to make their way past England’s center-backs, but the forwards would have to spend a lot more effort to reach the ball, and that will make their resulting headers much weaker and ineffective.

Many of their headers are also either too high or are not even on target.

Clearly, the Argentines are not well-suited to play such an attacking strategy.

Argentina then tried to make short and quick passes down the middle of the pitch. However, they once again encountered obstacle after obstacle.

England’s defense has two layers to it, and the fans are able to see that clearly from the stands. Their defense was just like a water filter. They are able to clean out Argentina’s attacks till there was nothing left.

In the end, Argentina had to resort to long shots at goal. Most of their shots were on target and there were only some that had been blocked by the defenders with their bodies. It was the most decent form of attack that Argentina was able to make, but sadly, Joe Hart was in a good form for the match, and he was able to save each and every shot that threatened his goalpost.

Of course, once in a while, a golden opportunity would emerge right before the Argentina players.

“Joe Hart did not manage to keep the ball in his hands!!”

Agüero sprinted forward like a cheetah. He nearly got a leg to the ball if it had not been for George Wood’s tackle…

Agüero slammed into Wood’s leg and then fell onto the ground. As he laid on the ground, he hit the grass repeatedly, visibly upset at how he had missed the opportunity to score a goal.

40 minutes had passed in the first half. England barely had any shots on goal, and the spectators spent 80% of their time watching as Argentina surrounded England’s goalpost and attacked them furiously.

Argentina was clearly way ahead when it came to shots made in the match so far.

The commentator was displeased with what he saw. England and Argentina are bitter rivals. How can they allow Argentina to have all the momentum of the match?

“There Tony Twain goes again… England is definitely not the underdog, but neither is Argentina a pushover. Twain can’t just give up on attack completely and focus solely on defense. Argentina might not have scored after 15 shots, but that does not mean that they would not score after 20 or 25 shots. There’s no future for England if all they do is defend but not counter-attack!”

Right as the commentator finished his words, the camera zoomed in on Twain. He was expressionless as he stood by the side of the pitch. No one knew what was on his mind at that moment.

Twain is confident in his team’s defense. But, does he really intend to come out of the match with a 0:0 score? Does he think that everyone would accept such a result?

The commentator was upset with Twain, but the fans at the stadium were not. They have grown used to watching Twain play in such a way, and they knew very well that their team is inching towards victory every time the match goes into a stalemate.

Cheers would erupt at the stands every time England went on the counter-attack. It did not matter if the counter-attack was successful or not.

The atmosphere at the Crimson Stadium pleased Twain.

This is exactly why Twain chose the Crimson Stadium as the venue for this match. He knew that the fans here understood him, and that they would not boo their own team easily.

※※※

Messi soon realized why the grass at the Crimson Stadium was short…

England intercepted Argentina’s ball once again towards the end of the first half.

They have gone on the counter-attack numerous times in the match so far, but they did not make many shots on target and they hardly threatened Argentina’s goalpost as well.

However, things were different this time round.

The England players did not make a long forward pass straight away. They decided to slowly build up play from the back.

Wood observed the situation on the pitch after receiving the ball. He noticed that the Argentina central midfielders positioned near him were hesitant to charge at him and snatch his ball away. Wood then turned his body and made a move that suggested he wanted to pass the ball towards the flanks.

Mascherano saw Wood’s body movement and instantly turned his body towards the flanks. He wanted to charge at the player Wood was going to pass the ball over to.

But, the movement from Wood was a feign. He quickly retrieved the ball with his right foot before kicking it forward with his left. He then began running down the middle of the pitch!

Wood was very fast with his run. He was at the center circle in an instant.

Argentina’s players immediately scrambled backwards to defend, whereas the England players all ran forward to provide support for Wood.

Deafening cheers erupted at the stands once again. The England fans finally saw the scene that they have all been waiting for.

“Run straight for goal, St. George!!”

Downing, Walcott, Rooney and Agbonlahor all ran towards four different points on the pitch. Argentina’s defenders had no choice but to disperse to try and mark each and every of them.

Wood observed the situation before him as he ran forward at breakneck speed. He noticed that there were quite a few players marking Walcott. It couldn’t be helped since Walcott is too famous as a player.

Wood passed the ball over to the left flank with the outside of his left foot. Mascherano slid towards the ball to try and intercept Wood’s pass, but he underestimated the speed in which the ball would travel. The short grass on the pitch had caused the ball to travel faster than usual, and the ball had already rolled past Mascherano before his foot got to it.

The ball then rolled over to the left flank, and Downing was the one to receive it as he ran up from the back.

Mascherano wanted to climb back up to his feet and continue with his defense, but he knew it was too late.

Wood had accomplished his mission. However, he did not stop running forward. He wanted to assist his teammates in their attacks, and he also wanted to put pressure onto Argentina’s helpless defenders by creating the misconception that he is looking to do a long shot at goal.

Downing went head on with Argentina’s burly center-back Federico Fazio, who had run up to him to defend against him.

Fazio was physically strong and was also good with headers, but he was not a player with a lot of pace. He stuck a leg out to intercept the ball and he managed to get a touch on the ball. The ball bounced upwards and hit Downing on his leg before flying forward towards goal.

His touch ended up helping his opponent in his attack…

Downing ran forward at the fastest speed that he could muster. He successfully regained possession of the ball and kicked it towards the middle of the penalty box!

But, neither Rooney nor Agbonlahor could get to his pass.

Is this going to be yet another futile counter-attack?

The ball made its way towards the area near the penalty spot. There was not even a single Argentina defender near it.

Downing fell to the ground after completing his pass. However, he did not appear to be disappointed that Rooney and Agbonlahor could not get to his pass. He stared at the penalty box with excitement gleaming in his eyes.

“It’s George Wood!”

He was right to have continued his run earlier.

Wood appeared right before the ball, and there was not a single Argentina player near him right now.

That is to be expected. Why would the Argentina players mark a player who did not even have the ball?

Wood smashed his leg against the ball!

Argentina’s goalkeeper óscar Ustari got a hand to the ball. However, he was not able to change the trajectory of the ball because there was too much power behind Wood’s shot.

The ball swerved slightly and flew into the back of the net!

1:0!

Argentina had 64% possession and 17 shots in the first 42 minutes of the match, but they did not manage to score a single goal. Conversely, England only had 5 shots in the game so far, and they were already leading by a goal.

This is what counter-attacking football is all about!

The proud former World Cup champions could only hang their heads in shame as they watch the England players embrace each other and celebrate their goal.

The goal might have come as a surprise to the Argentina players, but the England players knew all along that it was only a matter of time before they would score a goal. In fact, they actually thought that the goal had come a little too late…

Chapter 929 - Win the Game Like the Forest Team

“George Wood!! YES! A beautiful coordinated counterattack! Wood started the attack, and he ended it again this time! England leads Argentina by 1:0! Well done!”

Goals scored in a friendly match might not have caused the English commentator to be so thrilled, but it held a different meaning when it was scored in Argentina’s goal.

Seeing Wood score the goal, the Crimson Stadium erupted with huge cheers, roaring in the air over the stadium and stirring everyone’s hearts.

After Twain finished hugging his colleagues around him, he turned to applaud Wood.

Nowadays, Wood’s offensive talent was fully on display. He not only had become the initiator of the offensive but could also complete the attack. He was a completely different player than the reckless teenager who only knew about defense a decade ago.

He had scored a number of goals since becoming the England team captain, some of which were important key goals. It certainly had something to do with Twain who was familiar with him and knew how to use him well. But more importantly, Wood himself had the belief that he wanted to use the best performance to prove that he deserved The Three Lions’ captain armband.

After he scored the goal, Wood no longer looked as aloof as he had been before. He waved his fists vigorously and welcomed his teammates’ hugs.

Twain wanted him to not look so grim and unapproachable, so he acted accordingly. It was a good opportunity after the goal.

It seemed that Wood had matured a lot during the period after Twain had left the Forest team.

He ought to have matured a long time ago… He was already thirty years old and getting older.

※※※

Looking at George Wood celebrating the goal, Messi raised his fists. Although the two men did not have a direct conversation, he still saw Wood’s goal as a challenge to himself.

Which he accepted.

After the game resumed, Messi came alive and tried several times to force a breakthrough, but there was not much time left for him… The first half was over!

Messi’s face collapsed when the referee blew the whistle to end the first half. He recalled that before he had set off for the game, Guardiola told him that he could only play half the game in this friendly match.

The England players walked into the players’ tunnel with excitement, while he stood outside for a moment before walking back with his head lowered. Within one short minute, he had made a decision.

In the Argentina team’s locker room, Maradona was making adjustments for the second half. First of all, he needed to switch out the players who had clear instructions not to play the entire game. Luckily, there were not many players with such special treatment. Otherwise he might have a problem on his hands – although this was a friendly match, the number of substitutes was still three spots.

“Messi.” Although Maradona was unhappy with being a goal behind, he had to abide by his agreement with Guardiola and bring off the most precious asset shared by the two teams. The La Liga tournament was in the final stages of the campaign and the Barcelona football club did not want Messi to waste his fitness in such a friendly match.

Messi shook his head and said, “I want to keep playing, coach.

All eyes in the locker room were on him. The remark came as a surprise to everyone.

Maradona did not expect it as well. He looked up at Messi.

“We have an agreement with Barcelona.” Maradona said as he looked at him.

“I know.” Messi nodded, but the look in his eyes showed that he would not back down. “I’ll call Mr. Guardiola after the game to explain.”

Maradona knew the reason why Messi was so insistent – his performance in the first half was average. Although he was the core of Argentina’s offense, he did not help Argentina score goals and create several threatening opportunities. England’s defense was too successful.

He wanted to prove himself, at least to show that he was just as good under the circumstances that Wood had scored a goal.

Maradona was an unruly figure during his time as a player. After his retirement, he increasingly showed more of his unique personality. Since becoming the manager, he somewhat toned it down, but it was only limited to him stopping to threaten to kill the reporters with a shotgun.

Although we have an agreement with Barcelona, … since the player himself insists, I can’t stop him, can I?

“Okay.” Maradona finally nodded his head and said, “But you only have fifteen minutes. I can’t mess up the relationship with Barcelona for your personal feud with Wood…”

His last words were a little redundant. He basically did not care about those things at all.

Messi laughed and sat down again.

Since Messi did not have to be replaced, there was nothing to be adjusted and it was business as usual.

※※※

In England’s locker room, Twain did not praise the England team’s performance in the first half, but he asked the team to continue to play in this way.

Of course, he made adjustments too. He knew that Messi could not play in the second half. After the biggest threat had been lifted, England’s defense did not need to be as tight as it was. England could put in a lot of force into the offense majority of the time.

But in the second half, he and the England players were stunned.

Argentina’s number 10 stood right there on the pitch…

“Didn’t Guardiola say to only allow him to play for half the game?” Twain asked Walker next to him, “Is it a smokescreen that Argentina has cast? Damn it! Do they need to resort to colluding with Barcelona to play a friendly match?”

Walker did not know why as well. A few days before the game, the media reported that Barcelona did not want Messi to play full-time in the friendly match. Guardiola further reduced the time to half the game at forty-five minutes.

As a result, when they saw Messi start in the first half, they did not take the second half to heart. But they did not expect this to happen. They really did not think of it…

Wood stared blankly for a moment when he saw Messi opposite. At the same time, he found Messi staring at himself too. As an old rival, he clearly knew what that look in his eyes meant.

He was just surprised, but not afraid.

Bring it on, boy.

※※※

After the start of the second half, Messi became the focal point of attention once again. The commentator also wondered why Messi was still on the pitch, and guessed that Guardiola was probably desperate to fly to Nottingham to drag him off the pitch…

Messi, who took the ball, faced being wedged between two England defenders. He quickly jabbed the ball and turned his body so that he could drilled past the two men to break through!

“What a beautiful bypass! He’s a magician on the football field!” The Argentine commentator exclaimed.

Unfortunately, in the next second, Messi’s nimble body was bogged down.

Because Wood struck him without mercy. Messi stumbled at his feet and was knocked off course. The threat to the goal was greatly reduced.

Faced with Wood’s close marking defense, Messi tried several times to shake him off but to no avail. When he saw the England player whom he had just shook off, came up again to circle him, he had no choice but to pass the ball to the sideline.

“Ah ha! Don’t think that Wood, who scores frequently, does not know how to defend! ‘Saint George’ is good at both offense and defense. He’s guaranteed to be every opponent’s nightmare!” The English commentator was pleased with the result.

Messi was indomitable and soon made a comeback.

This time he did not meet Wood head-on but was forced out the side of the penalty area by three England players. So, he could only kicked the ball for a cross pass. The result of the pass was unsurprising. It was headed out by England’s tall center backs.

But it did not matter. The football fell at the feet of the Argentine player, Higuaín.

Seeing that Messi was still in the penalty area, Higuaín directly sent a straight pass over!

Terry raised his arms to signal that Messi was in an offside position, but the assistant referee did not raise the flag.

“Offside position!” The English commentator roared in a fluster.

“Beautiful! He’s not in an offside position! A gorgeous straight pass!” The Argentine commentator stood up excitedly from his seat. Six minutes into the second half, Argentina finally had their best chance of the game so far!

Messi received the ball from the side of his body and England’s right back Glen Johnson was trailing at the back. He was really not in an offside position!

Now Messi had no defenders around him. He was completely unguarded!

Terry, who realized that he had misjudged, quickly pounced toward Messi.

Messi just had to swing his leg and he could shoot straight into the goal. But he spied Terry from the corner of his eye, and he decided to choose a more secure way – he feigned a shot and moved the ball. He easily bypassed Terry who rushed up. Then he picked up his feet again and this time it was for real!

Even though Terry did not stop Messi from shooting, he had bought valuable time for those players behind him.

When Messi’s supported foot was a little further away from the football while he swung his other leg for the shot, the football was completely unpossessed. It was at this point that George Wood took advantage of the gap to come in. Like a fierce tiger coming down from the mountain, he slid and shoveled the ball out of the end line before Messi could kick the ball. While Messi’s powerful kick struck the outside of his thigh at the same time.

Messi felt as if he had kicked a piece of iron. He inadvertently allowed his body to fall forward and pressed right on top of Wood.

“A penalty shot!!” The Argentine commentator who stood up, poked his body out, desperately wishing that he could reach for the referee’s collar with his hands and yelled at him with spittle flying.

The English commentator was hesitant. He could not really see clearly from high in the stands. The small television screen in front of him had not replayed the scene yet. “Messi fell into the penalty area. Maybe Wood got to the ball first?”

It was not that the television broadcast was deliberately not showing the replay. It was just that there was not enough time to replay for the audience what just happened again. Messi fell in the penalty area and the Argentine players held up their hands to demand for the penalty shot. While the England players desperately waved their hands to show that it must not have been a foul. They even thought that Messi had dived.

The referee made the final decision at the next minute. He held out his right index finger and wagged it in front of the Argentine players. The meaning was obvious – George Wood did not foul!

Then he made a hand gesture for a corner kick, completely shattering the Argentines’ idea.

Messi had not gotten up yet. If Guardiola was watching the live telecast at this time, he must have rebuked Maradona, George Wood, the referee, and Tony Twain in his mind –”Do you know what Messi means to Barcelona?! If he gets hurt, we’re done for this season! Who is going to take the blame for this?!”

Fortunately, Messi soon got up from Wood’s body and looked normal. He appeared as if he were unhurt.

That was when the television broadcast finally caught the chance to replay what happened just now. Everyone could see from the television screen that even though Wood shoveled ferociously, it was clean and brushed past the tip of Messi’s toes to shovel the ball away. It did not even touch anyone. If Messi did get hurt, it must be because he kicked himself on the outside of Wood’s thigh.

Guardiola and Maradona were worried about whether Messi would be injured, while Twain was also worried about whether Wood was injured. Messi’s kick was powerful…the strength of the kick was to volley a show. With such a hard kick to the outside of Wood’s thigh, how could it not hurt?

Wood followed Messi and got up from the ground. He appeared to be all right.

Terry also came over to ask in concern, “Are you okay?”

Wood knew what he was asking about and said, “I’m all right.” He rubbed his hand on the spot where he was kicked by Messi. It was sore and painful, but it would not affect his play.

His thigh muscles were naturally tight when he shoveled the ball, so Messi felt as if he had kicked a piece of iron.

Wood looked at Messi beside him. He was looking down and rubbing the tip of his toes.

Agüero came up and asked Messi a few words in Spanish. Messi shook his head, which should be similar like the conversation between Terry and Wood.

Although Messi shook his head to indicate that he was fine, there was still some pain in the arches of his feet. He gave Wood a sideways glance next to him. The other man also happened to be rubbing his leg.

He suddenly thought the scene was somewhat funny. No one got the better of the situation.

It was the first time he saw Wood suffer in front of himself and was injured – albeit it was only a surface wound – Messi was still in good spirits. The previous atmosphere of mutual hostility dissipated at this moment.

He reached his hand out to Wood and waved in front of him.

Wood was rubbing his thigh when he saw a hand enter his field of view with his head lowered. It was waving at him, so he looked up at the owner of the hand.

Messi was having fun with him.

Wood put down the hem of his shorts and put his hand out.

The two men’s hands lightly patted and separated.

This might be the only time they had a physical contact that was not explosive in all the years they had competed against each other… One must know that the two men would even match their strength against each other on the sly when they shook hands before a game.

※※※

Messi eventually failed to help Argentina equalize the score within the fifteen minutes. He did not score a goal and create good opportunities for his teammates. Perhaps the recent continuous competition had made him physically tired. He always slightly staggered and went a bit soft in the knees after barely bypassing two people.

By the 15th minute of the second half, Maradona had replaced Messi on time and watched him come off the pitch healthily, which would be a relief to Guardiola in front of the television.

Once the core player was replaced, Argentina’s strength was affected. The England team still played the defensive counterattack strategy as they did in the first half, but their counterattacks became more frequent and increasingly sharper.

The Argentinians liked to equalize the score, which was an opportunity in the eyes of the England team. Taking advantage of the Argentina team full pressing, England made use of a quick counterattack to score again in the 27th minute of the second half. Rooney score his 40th goal for the national team.

Maradona was clearly not equipped when it came to counter such defensive counterattacks. He was not a strategic master. To be able to lead Argentina to the World Cup title, half the credit was because his players were so good…

Moreover, the number of managers in the world who could break through a steadfast defense and quickly counterattack could be counted with one hand. Maradona was clearly not on the list. It was a worldwide problem. The game was ugly to watch but it could win the game.

And what Twain wanted was results.

As long as he could defeat Argentina, he could shut up the opposition, which was still questioning his ability to this day.

It was more than just a friendly match. Messi, Agüero, Higuaín and Tevez, all four of the attacking players in the front field came, which showed the importance the Argentina national team attached to the game.

But the previous World Cup champion, which had such a luxurious attacking lineup, were unable to break through England’s defense. Instead, the England team took advantage of the gaps left behind by their offense and was able to score two goals against them through counterattacks.

In terms of ball possession ratios and number of shots, it was the Argentina team which dominated and ought to win. However, the result turned out like this, which made the proud and arrogant Maradona extremely unhappy. Looking at how worried he was about the Argentina team’s offense at the sidelines, it was as if he wished he could be thirty years younger and be able to personally go on the field to play. At that time, it did not matter that the England team had a few people blocking in front of the goal, he would still ride alone for a thousand miles and bypassed five players!

With the exception of Messi, who was already brought off, Agüero and Tevez, currently on the field, had also been called the successors to Maradona. But they were not really the king of football. They were out of ideas in the face of England’s impenetrable defensive wall…

Towards the end, the Argentinian commentator had already lost hope that they could beat England. He only hoped that Argentina, which had Higuaín, Agüero and Tevez, could score a goal to save some face for the previous World Cup champion.

Twain would not let them get what they wished. The team defended to the last and did not let up just because they had a two-goal lead. He wanted the Argentina team to completely lose all hope. In the last ten minutes of the game, Argentina turned out in full strength and the England players still did not forget to fight back, making the Argentinians furious.

The Forest fans cheering on the England team in the stands were a little distracted. Was the team in front of their eyes that had rendered Argentina powerless their national team, or was it Nottingham Forest?

In today’s game, the Argentina players wore their blue and white striped jerseys, while England wore the red jerseys, which was rather to Nottingham Forest’s home jersey.

Later on, the Forest fans even sang Nottingham Forest’s team song in a collective moment.

“Forest! Forest!… We’ve got the whole world in our hands and we are the best team in England! We are invincible and undefeated! And we have nothing to fear! Because we are the best team! Because we’ve got the whole world in our hands…”

The familiar song rang out above the Crimson Stadium, and Twain could not help but turn his gaze from the field to the stands.

The singing became louder and clearer. The Nottingham Forest players in the England lineup were inspired by the singing and their performances became more and more active. The Argentinians, on the other hand, were getting more and more anxious amid the singing. They hastily sent out long shots, made errors in stopping the ball, dribbled the ball out of bounds… It was simply too horrible to watch.

The game ended amid the singing. The powerful Argentina team in the face of the England team, which clung fast to defense and counterattack, did not obtain the slightest advantage. Maradona was so unhappy that he lost. In the post-match interview with the reporters, he said he did not expect England to choose such a tactic, because this was not the World Cup final. There was no need to care so much about the result …

It was to mock Twain that he could be so shameless just because he wanted results.

Twain did not care. He just wanted his result. He did not care if he was being barefaced about it. With one layer of face taken off, there was still another layer. He had plenty of that where it came from.

In fact, today’s set of tactics was also what the England team would use in the future when faced with a strong enemy. Today’s game was just a preview.

Bullying a weak team required them to attack freely and play beautiful offensive football to please the fans. In the face of a strong team, it was time to withdraw and lure the opponent out, just like how he lured the Argentina team out today.

Twain was cunning.

“We won and that’s what counts. I’m happy!”

The only regret was that Messi had come off too early. He had wanted to test whether his set of tactics could withstand it under the circumstances that Messi played the entire game.

At the end of the interview, Twain walked toward the tunnel. At the mouth of the tunnel, a passionate Forest fan handed a red scarf to Twain, who thought he wanted him to sign an autograph. But he did not expect that the other party just waved his hand to him and said, “It’s for you, Tony! A memento for you!”

He ran off after he said it.

Twain held the red Forest team scarf in his hand. It was an ordinary scarf, which could be bought for fifteen pounds in the souvenir shop outside the Crimson Stadium.

That spectacular singing in the final stages of the game seemed to still linger in his ears. The eleven years of time was like a mark carved in his heart, brought up again and again to be repeated in his mind. Every time when he thought he no longer cared about the past eleven years, there would always be people reminding him of it in different ways – don’t forget the Forest team, don’t forget the Forest team…

Twain hung the red scarf around his neck and walked into the tunnel.

How could he forget the Forest team?

Chapter 930 - Grave News

The match against Argentina was considered the most important friendly match before the UEFA European Championship because it was the strongest team out of the many friendly match opponents. In the end, England beat Argentina 2:0 at home and Tony Twain’s team had yet to lose a game.

After the game, many English media were touting the achievements of Twain’s team. Many English fans cheered. England finally produced a good manager after so many years, so they did not have to envy Scotland anymore.

Twain very much wanted to laugh on the inside when he read such a report. He himself was a real Chinese man through and through. In the end, the English people still could not lift their heads up high in front of the Scots in terms of coaching.

After the match against Argentina was over, Twain continued to prepare for the UEFA European Championship. He and his assistants were gathering information on their opponents in the group stage of the UEFA European Championship, as well as information on the teams which could potentially become their opponents. The work on this area had been slow-going. His coaching staff was not as good as the one at the Forest team. It was not to say that their level was not up to standard, but it was an indication that they were not used to doing this kind of work.

In addition, the information on the national teams was not as easy to collect as the football clubs, especially intelligence on the Eastern Europe national teams. After the expansion of the UEFA European Championship, there were eight more teams in competition, and many more countries that had not been in the topflight tournaments in the European football in the past. They were mysterious to an island country team like England. But the presence of such teams in the UEFA European Championship finals could also increase the potential for upsets, making the game more suspenseful.

“We can’t dismiss them because they’re unfamiliar and weaker. We have to know the tactics and styles which they’re good at, their past results, which are the players who can pose threats in the team … I can’t feel reassured without getting these details clear.” Twain explained to the coaching staff why he valued intelligence research on the weak teams so much. “You can’t guarantee that they won’t advance from their group and show up in front of us. If we don’t know anything about them, we will be the ones in trouble. I don’t want to see that happen.”

To all the football fans, the opening of a major tournament like the UEFA European Championship was always something that they looked forward to. With great anticipation, they began to think about how to plan their time based on the schedule of the UEFA European Championship, so as not to miss every wonderful game. They would be able to discuss enthusiastically with friends which star players would be amazing in the UEFA European Championship and which star players would win success and recognition. In an apprehensive state, they expected the team they supported to be able to lift the championship trophy, beat all the strong enemies, and stomp their bodies under their feet.

They would buy cartons of beer, coffee and snacks in advance to put them at home. They would put together all their annual leave they had saved for this period and appease their wives, girlfriends and children so that for the next month, they would just let football be their companion.

How happy it was to be a football fan…

As a manager, there was no such romance at all for this period. They did indeed need to appease their wives and children or girlfriends, and they could only let football be their companion. Because when they were busy till they were dizzy, home was just a symbol for them.

Shania had returned to their home in England to spend time with her husband, but Twain did not have much time to go home. He had to spend with his coaches and study the opponents with them. At the same time, he had to keep a close eye on the national footballers’ condition. If someone was injured, there would be a specific person to call the football club to inquire about the player’s injury and decide if he needed to call in the substitutes. Just after the game against Argentina, Twain also specially called several big clubs in the hope that they would give full consideration to the importance of the UEFA European Championship to England. With the country as a priority, he hoped that they would minimize the appearance time for the England national footballers in the games. On the one hand, it could help avoid the possibility of injuries. On the other hand, Twain did not want to end up with a group of exhausted national footballers.

As the manager, Twain needed to appear in public regularly. He would be surrounded and watched by the media wherever he went, as if they had seen a talking gorilla.

He also had to answer idiotic questions a lot. Such as, would a certain player be call upon to the national team? Was there a contradiction between a certain player and another certain player? What did you think about a certain club chairman who was upset that a certain player was not called upon to the national team? A certain gentleman thought that his team had played too many games this season and complained that his players were injured in the national team, but the club was expected to be responsible to pay for the treatment. Furthermore, the national team did not pay a salary to the club. What are your thoughts on this statement? This is the strongest national team in history. Do you have the confidence to win the championship?

Twain was in terrible mood during this time and had a bad temper. He could not help waging a war of words almost every time he encountered the reporters. The media were happy to publish such news. Harassing Twain seemed to have become a commonly used method for the media across England to attract attention. The chief executive of the English Football Association, Shaun Harvey had been having headaches recently, which were caused from being tormented by Twain and the media.

You bastards, can’t you stop for a moment?!

Mr. Harvey weakly groaned deep down.

※※※

On April 16th, in the 34th round of the English Premier League tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Newcastle United, which was fighting to avoid relegation, in an away game. The match would affect the fate of the two teams in the next season, with the Forest team needing to qualify for the Champions League so that they could make more money. They currently ranked sixth in the league table and was six points away from the fourth-placed Liverpool. They needed to scramble for points in the next five rounds of the league tournament to avoid playing in the UEFA Europa League. Newcastle United, on the other hand, needed to stay in the Premier League and avoid relegation. They were currently on the brink of the relegation zone and could fall off at any time.

It was a life-and-death game, so it was a fierce competition from the beginning. The two sides constantly had physical contact, rough movements and lots of foul language were spouted too.

As the core of the team, George Wood naturally became the focus of his opponent’s attention. The Forest team needed to control the rhythm through Wood in terms of both offense and defense. He was the team’s “metronome.”

Now he could not pass the ball straight out after he received the ball and then handed the attack to his partner like before. He now needed to control the ball and then observed the situation on the pitch before he could decide how to attack. That way, the football stayed at his feet for a long time, giving the opponent opportunities to take advantage.

Wood was knocked down six times in the first half. Even if his body was strong and sturdy, he could not stop his opponent’s defensive moves like a log…. his red jersey had even changed color. Kerslake yelled on the sidelines. As soon as Newcastle United fouled against Wood, he would roar at the fourth official. It was like he was possessed by the spirit of Tony Twain.

But such a rant was of no use because his players were also dealing with the Newcastle United players in the same way.

The fourth official knew exactly what the game meant to both teams, so he could not interfere too much with these movements. He would keep one eye open and one eye closed as long as there was no accident.

Things did not improve in the second half. It was even getting increasingly combative. The players of both teams did not put scoring a goal as the priority, but rather they focused on which opposing player to knock down.

Wood was annoyed that his opponent’s constant fouls kept him out of the game. He had to focus all his energy on dealing with the offending players.

However, he had not hit anyone so far, which was considered a huge improvement. His temper was finally less fiery when he hit thirty years old…

In the 73rd minute, George Wood was knocked to the ground by his opponent once again. This time instead of getting up as quickly as he had done in the previous eleven times. He laid on the ground and did not move.

Kerslake was still loudly denouncing his opponent’s despicable behavior when the look on his assistant, Eastwood, beside him showed that something was wrong.

Wood did not roll on the ground in pain, nor did he raise his hand weakly to signal to be replaced. He laid so quietly on the ground as if he were asleep.

His teammate nearest to him was Gago, who rushed up to see what was going on, but was taken aback by Wood’s expression.

The team captain, known for his strength, was lying on the ground. His hands was pressing the tip of his right foot. His face was pale, and his brows knitted together with his face sweating profusely.

But he gritted his teeth and did not say a word.

“George!” Gago called him.

Wood did not answer him.

Gago knew there was trouble. He hurriedly got up and made a hand gesture to signal for a stretcher and a substitute toward the sidelines.

“That looks bad…” Eastwood muttered after he saw Gago’s gesture. Fleming had already dashed over along with the stretcher.

Kerslake stopped yelling at the fourth official. That action was now pointless because Wood was already injured…

Fleming rushed to Wood’s side and did a quick scan. Then he took off the boot off his right foot and began to check.

When Kerslake saw Fleming go up, he quickly turned around and gestured for a change of player. He had a sudden realization – George Wood had never been injured before, and was never brought off by an injury…

A bad thought emerged in his mind.

George Wood was eventually replaced by John Bostock. He had to be carried off on a stretcher, which was probably the first time he had been treated like this. He was a little dumbstruck lying on a stretcher. He was no stranger to the scene of a player getting injured and being carried off the pitch. But it was the first time this had happened to him. He was unable to accept it.

The media had always thought he was a steel warrior. He himself had thought so too, but he did not expect the steel warrior to rust in his thirties…

The television commentator also did not know what to say in the face of such a scene. He was silent for a long while before he opened his mouth because he felt that it would not do if he did not say something. He said, “… George, George Wood has left the game with an injury and it looks like he won’t be able to play in this game. … It is an unexpected development. George Wood, who has never been injured, is actually hurt… Let us take a look at what happened just now…”

Newcastle United’s Spanish left back, José Enrique rushed up from the side and shoveled Wood to the ground. It did not look like the collision was powerful, but after tackling the ball, Enrique naturally turned his body, and Wood’s right foot was caught between Enrique’s legs. With his right leg scissor in between his legs,… the supporting leg bore all the force of it. If he was still not injured by that, then Wood should have been dragged to the laboratory for an autopsy.

As “Saint George”, the patron saint of the England team, the Newcastle United fans stopped cheering and booing after they saw Wood leave the game with an injury. Enrique desperately tried to explain to the referee and the Forest players who had swarmed to him, “I did not mean it, I did not mean it…”

Was it useful to explain it at this point?

The referee gave Enrique a red card!

Kerslake stared at the fourth official and said, “If you had intervened earlier, then this wouldn’t have happened! Now we can only pray that George’s injuries are not serious, otherwise…” He and the fourth official both remembered Tony Twain’s angry face.

Kerslake left the fourth official and turned to run to the other side, where he had gone to see how Wood was doing.

Fleming shook his head as he faced his searching look, “The situation does not look good, David.”

“How bad is it?” Kerslake’s heart sank.

“It looks like a broken bone…”

Kerslake only heard a “boom” sound in his head.

The team captain and core player had fractured his bone at the crucial moment in the battle for the Champions League qualifier. It meant that he would not be able to play in the next four rounds. He could almost predict his fate at the end of the season. Evan Doughty was not a patient club chairman.

He had come up empty-handed this season and did not win any titles. The Champions League was his last lifeline.

It looked like he’d better start planning what to do next season…

He also had another thought and it was this…What about the England team?

※※※

Twain only heard the news about Wood’s injury after this round of the league tournament because he and Walker did not watch the game at Newcastle. They went to Manchester instead.

When the news reached Twain’s ears, he still did not believe it. He thought he had misheard, or that Walker was joking. He said, “Are you sure it’s George Wood who was hurt? And not some other George?”

Walker shook his head and replied, “Which other George is there in the England team?”

“How did he get hurt?” Twain did not first ask “how’s his injury” because he felt that it should not be a big problem even if Wood was injured. He would just cough out some blood at the most. He was more interested in how he got hurt.

“He was knocked down by the opposing defender and the weight bearing foot was injured.”

Twain tried to recreate the scene in his mind, but he found it hard to imagine. So, he asked, “How’s the injury?”

“The big toe on the right foot is broken.”

Twain turned to Walker and looked at him in astonishment. His expression was as if he heard that the Martians had invaded Earth.

“It’s true. I just spoke to Fleming on the phone.” Walker could understand why Twain made that expression. He had a similar reaction to Twain in the beginning.

Twain turned his gaze away and looked around everywhere, never resting his eyes at any point.

“F**k!” He suddenly swore, “F**k! Motherf**king!”

It was as if he had gone crazy. String of dirty words spew out of his mouth. Fortunately, there was no one else in the room but Walker. Otherwise other people would have been shocked by it. But it was not surprising that his old partner, Walker, was familiar with Twain’s temper.

“I had f**king called the English Premier League coaches specifically before, hoping that they would have arranged less lethal tactics for the national footballers… The bunch of Newcastle United bastards treated my words as one ear in and one ear out? Does Kinnear (the Newcastle United manager) that old bastard not know what George Wood means to England? Our main core player had a fracture in his big toe! This is not some f**king common cold!”

Twain walked circles in his hotel room, waving his arms in agitation and shouting abuse.

Walker also did not advise him to calm down. He knew that Twain was under immense pressure and had a bad temper. It might be good to take this opportunity to let him vent for a while. Perhaps it could be beneficial.

After he abused all the people who should be scolded, Twain calmed down slowly. He asked, “Did Fleming say how long it will take for him to recover?”

“… three months.” Walker said somewhat diffidently. He was worried that Twain was going to have another round of abuse.

This time, it was better. Twain stared blankly for a while when he heard the amount of time needed, but the word “f**k” did not fly out of his mouth the moment he opened it. He glanced past Walker toward the blue sky outside the window.

Three months later, the UEFA European Championship would already be over, and it would have been too late…

Chapter 931 - I Must Go to Spain

George Wood is injured!!!

This was the headline in The Times’s sports section. It was eye-catching. Those three exclamation points had a scary feel to them.

But no one disagreed with or did not comprehend the headline. Any England fan should know the fact that George Wood had not once missed a game due to injury in the twelve years ever since he started playing in the professional league. His only previous “injury” was a bleeding in the forehead after he collided with Makelele in the Champions League final in 07-08.

If Tony Twain had no plans in rotating, George Wood could even set a Guinness World Record for never missing a game since the start of his career. The English Premier League was probably the league tournament with the most games played in a single season in the European leagues, because they had two domestic cups to be played while the other countries only had one. Moreover, the English Premier League had no winter break. The competition schedule was intense and long. Very few players would be able to play all the games throughout the season.

When Lampard made his amazing debut at Chelsea that year and was seen as an ironman, it was because he played all fifty games for Chelsea that season and played the full ninety minutes in each game.

To be able to achieve such a result, it went without saying that his physical strength must be good. It was followed by his stable form and finally the most critical factor was that he could not be easily injured.

Lampard did it for two seasons at his peak. And George Wood did it almost every season in a decade.

No one had ever seen him exhausted with hamstring cramps on the pitch, and no one had seen him leave the game in tears because of injury. The biggest reason for him to be kept out of the game was suspension due to a red card.

During his twelve years of career, he had left several people with broken legs, and many people had left the field on stretchers. But he remained standing like an extraterrestrial being.

Nottingham Forest did not believe Wood would get hurt. It was as if he was the ancient Greek hero, Achilles who had been dipped in the water of the Styx river, impervious to injuries and invulnerable. The English fans believed that the England team’s patron saint was the embodiment of invincibility and immortality. As a dragon slayer hero, “Saint George” was sprayed with dragon blood, and naturally also had the ability not to be hurt or die.

These legends was so fitting with Wood’s personal image that everyone forgot that Wood was actually a living and breathing human being made of flesh and blood…

The image of George Wood being carried off the field on a stretcher was published in the most prominent placements in the media. Even for the reporters and fans most familiar with Wood, it must have been the first time they had seen the photograph.

Underneath the photograph were the original words of the Forest team doctor, Fleming during an interview:

“… The situation is bad. He’s got a broken big toe on his right foot… I don’t know how long it will take to recover at the moment… He’s in a stable mood…”

Fleming certainly must have known how long Wood’s recovery would take, as he had officially told Walker a three-month timeline.

However, he lied to the media because Twain had called him and asked him not to divulge the amount of time. At least before he could talk Wood first, they could not let the media know about the despairing period of “three months.”

At this point, Twain was sitting in the ward with Wood, while Sophia peeled apples for her son at the side.

“You’re the most famous man in England now, George.” Twain said with a smile to Wood, who was sitting on his hospital bed.

“Is it because I got hurt for the first time?” It looked like Wood had recovered from the shock of yesterday’s injury. At least his gaze was no longer dull looking.

“I had read some of the media comments before I came here. Some people said that the news of your injury was almost on par with the Queen’s pregnancy. Ha ha!” Twain laughed.

Wood did not smile. He just looked at Twain, who also found it a little uninspiring. So, he stopped smiling and asked, “How do you feel?”

“Where I’m hurt? It’s a little painful…”

“No, I’m asking you how you feel about this matter now.”

Wood was silent for a moment and asked a question that Twain did not know how to answer, “Do I still have any hope of playing in the UEFA European Championship?”

He must not know that his injury would require at least three months to recover.

In fact, this problem was also the reason for Twain came to find Wood. George Wood was the most important piece in his plan. It was fine for the England team to be missing any player, but it could not do without Wood. Over the past two years, Twain had been transforming the England team, making the team accustomed to using Wood as the core. Whether it was the offense or defense, it would be managed around him. George Wood was not the type of midfielder who would be the last player to send out the final threatening shot after receiving the final pass. But he was the team’s metronome. The overall performance of the team was directly linked to him. Like Albertini of his time, Sacchi had said, “Albertini sneezes and Italy catches a cold.” Wood currently held the same role as Albertini had for Italy at the time.

A shadow was cast over the England team’s prospects at the UEFA European Championship due to George Wood’s injury.

Wood read the answer to his question based on Twain’s hesitation. Then he felt unable to reconcile with this situation. He had obtained got all the honors he could receive at the club level, but he never achieved anything for the national team. Now he was already thirty years old in a blink of an eye… By the standards of a professional player in general, his career would have started to go downhill after the age of thirty. He did not know how many more years he could still play for. But the World Cup happened once every four years. He was certain that he did not have a few four-year periods to waste.

When he was younger, he encountered McClaren and Eriksson who did not like him. In the 2006 World Cup, he did not get many chances to appear while he sat on the substitutes’ bench, and the England team did not make it out of the 2008 UEFA European Championship. When he became an overnight sensation at the 2010 World Cup, he was already twenty-four years old at the time, but unfortunately, the England team ultimately went no further than the top four. He had participated in both the 2012 London Olympics and the UEFA European Championship in Ukraine and Poland. His amazing fitness let him compete in the two major events in a row without a problem. However, the team’s results were not satisfactory with only a bronze for the Olympics and top four in the UEFA European Championship. It looked like that the best result he could achieve in the national team competition was third place. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the England team did not even make it to the top eight this time because his form was completely gone, and he played abnormally. The team stopped short of making it to top eight. He also became the object of denounce by word and pen in the English media after the games. But he did not sink into despair because his psychological quality was excellent.

After Twain became the England manager, George Wood also heralded in his most glorious period in the national team, even though he was already twenty-eight years old. He became the captain of the England team and became the playmaker of the England team. Initially, he had intended to make a big splash at the peak of his professional career at thirty years old. He wanted to win his first honor for the national team under the boss’ leadership. But he was injured two months before the start of the UEFA European Championship instead.

The gods of destiny really made fools out of people…

All his ambitions became a joke at the moment of his injury.

The failure to earn honors in the national team had always been a sore point for Wood. He was really reluctant to stay away from perhaps what would be the best opportunity of his career.

While Twain was still mulling over how to answer Wood’s question without upsetting him, Wood had already spoken.

“I’ve decided.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to participate in the UEFA European Championship.” Wood said in a calm tone.

Sophia, who was focused on peeling the apples for the two men next to them, slightly lifted her head and looked at her son.

“Huh?” Twain was still a little taken aback and said, “You’ll be thirty-four years old in four years’ time… Very well, with your physical condition, I’m sure it will be no problem for you to play till you’re forty-four years old…”

“Not the UEFA European Championship four years from now. It’s the UEFA European Championship in June.” Wood said.

“Your injury…” Twain pointed to his right foot.

“I think it will be okay in two months.”

“You don’t have any experience of being injured before. I have to listen to the doctor.” Twain shook his head and said, “I’ll go talk to the doctor later.”

“Then I’ll just get the injection.” Wood made another suggestion.

“An injection is not a cure. It just lessens your misery and pain. It can even worsen things with that method…” Twain continued to shake his head to dismiss the suggestion.

“I don’t care, I must go to Spain!” Wood argued unreasonably.

“George, how can you talk like that to Mr. Twain?” Twain was just about to open his mouth when Sophia lectured first at the side.

“It’s all right, ma’am…” Twain smiled at Sophia. He felt the heartache when he took in the deteriorating age and appearance of this beautiful woman. How breathtaking she was when he first met her in the slums. It was as if the whole world had lost its colors because of her… Uh, he was going off on a tangent.

Twain turned his attention back to Wood. “I understand how you feel, George. But you have to think about it in the long run. You still have got a long career ahead of you and I don’t want to ruin it because of a UEFA European Championship.”

“I’m already thirty years old. Isn’t this time when I will start to go downhill?”

“With your physical condition and living habits, I guarantee you can at least play till the age of forty, George.”

Wood leaned his straight body back a little and rest on the bed. He said, “I don’t think about the future now.”

Was he making the best use of his time?

Twain thought to himself that the kid, Wood was just like him with his stubborn temper. Ten horses might not be able to drag him back. It was probably not going to work to refuse him now.

“Very well, George. I have to talk to the doctor-in-charge first to find out the condition of your injury, and then decide… I assure you that I will definitely take you to Spain if there is any hope of recovery in two months. What do you think of it?”

Speaking of the devil, the attending physician, Doctor Wallace knocked on the door and came in.

He greeted the people in the room with a smile on his face and asked after Wood again before he began to examine him.

Twain made space in front of the bed and watched as the other man finished the check-up. Then he gave Doctor Wallace a look to “take a step out to talk.” The doctor caught his drift and followed Twain out.

※※※

“Is George’s injury okay?” Twain had an idea when he saw the doctor, with a renowned reputation in academia, had a smile on his face from the moment he walked in till he walked out of the door. This man was a former chairman of the UK Sports Medicine Research Institute. He had a calm expression on his face. Perhaps Wood was going to be fine. Perhaps Fleming had miscalculated?

“I don’t think it will be good for you, Mr. Twain.” Doctor Wallace smiled and shook his head.

“I see that you’ve been smiling…” Twain wondered.

“Generally speaking, Mr. Twain . . . If you see a defeated look on my face, it means that some unlucky man is going to have his leg amputated.” The smile on Wallace’s face was still there, but Twain felt the chill on his back.

“Well, that’s good news then…” muttered Twain. “How long more before he will be recovered?”

“At least three months.” Wallace extended three fingers.

It was as Fleming had predicted. Twain’s eyebrows knitted together. He hesitated for a moment and intended to ask a question. But the other man first stopped him from speaking.

“I know what you want to ask, Mr. Twain. Although I am an England fan and a Nottingham Forest fan, I will tell you that it is absolutely not possible.” He swung his arms and strengthened his tone, “George Wood is unlikely to recover before the UEFA European Championship. He will definitely not be able to play in this UEFA European Championship.”

Twain glanced sideways at the door of the ward, fearing that the doctor’s words would be heard by Wood. Then he made a gesture to Wallace to move forward and said, “Can we move further away?”

Wallace nodded and gladly agreed.

When the two men reached the end of the corridor and Twain confirmed that George Wood could no longer hear what they were talking about, he then said to Wallace, “Two months, is it possible?” He put up two fingers.

“I just told you, Mr. Twain. There is absolutely no way.”

“Really, not even the slightest possibility?” Twain stared at the other man.

Wallace did not shy away from the aggressive gaze. He said, “The toes are a very complex area. He did not sprain it. It is a fracture. Generally speaking, such an injury will take three to six months to fully recover. Even the fastest would be a little more than eight weeks. Within these two months, he could not carry out any rehabilitation training, so the muscle will naturally atrophy. You want him back on the pitch so you will need to arrange more time to let him have the rehabilitation training. The UEFA European Championship will be over by the time he can play football… That area comes into frequent contact with the football. It won’t do if it is not allowed to heal completely because a second injury can happen. It will be even more troublesome when that happens. So, I don’t recommend that you force him to come back early.”

These words were like a bucket of cold water. The last glimmer of hope in Twain’s mind was extinguished. “But George wants to play in this UEFA European Championship. He’s already thirty years old…” He muttered. It was not so much to persuade Wallace as in talking to himself.

When he saw Twain looking downcast, Wallace, who always scrupulously abided by his professional work ethic, suddenly softened a little. He spoke up, “Maybe … Well, two months is not impossible. George’s body has been very strong, which may be able to help him in his recovery. But whether he succeeds or not, you’ll need to pray for a miracle, Mr. Twain.”

Twain jerked his head up. He did not see the smile and gleaming eyes on the other man’s face. Wallace shrugged at him, “I can’t guarantee you’ll get what you want in two months’ time, Mr. Twain. I can only try my best. You also have to pray that everything will go well in his recovery process.”

“Of course!” Twain nodded excitedly. This was already the best news he had heard today.

※※※

After seeing Doctor Wallace off and returning to the ward, Wood did not ask Twain what he had discussed with the doctor, and if there were any results. Twain did not tell him that either. He just chatted casually with the two people, ate the apple that Sophia gave him. Then he got up and said goodbye.

The reporters who had been blocked by the security guards outside, surrounded Twain one by one when they saw him come out wearing his sunglasses. They wanted to hear what he had to say.

“How’s George doing, Mr. Twain?”

“Will his injury affect his participation in the UEFA European Championship in the summer?”

“Do you have anything to say about Wood’s injury, Mr. Twain?”

“George Wood is already the core of the England team. May I ask if you have prepared a second set of tactics, Mr. Twain?”

“Tony! Hey, Tony…”

“Mr. Twain, Mr. Twain, please answer my question!”

In the midst of the clamor, Twain could not even hear what questions the reporters were asking. Under the protection of the security guards, he struggled to squeeze toward his car. After he pulled open the car door, he turned to the reporters and told them, “All I can tell you is that neither George nor I have given up hope of letting him play in the UEFA European Championship.”

Then he got into the car and sped away.

※※※

Wood’s injury attracted the attention of all of England overnight, with various media outlets reporting news of his injury ceaselessly. The media tried ways and means to bribe the doctors, nurses and even cleaners at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University, hoping to find out something about George Wood’s recent condition.

While the Spanish defender, Enrique, who had tackled and hurt Wood, repeatedly claimed it was unintentional and that he had called Wood after the game to apologize, the angry Englishmen did not want to let him go. Even the Newcastle United fans ran to the training base to protest his brutish foul. The media clung onto the issue, unwilling to let go and acted like they wanted to shape Enrique into a “public enemy of the people.”

The media also raised the foul to the level of a “conspiracy.” They believed that Enrique must have been directed by some people in Spain. Even the Spanish media had admitted that Enrique’s injuring of Wood would be extremely beneficial for Spain at the UEFA European Championships because England’s threat to Spain in the competition for the title was greatly reduced without Wood.

In his own column, Tony Twain lashed out with vehemence at the Newcastle United manager, Kinnear, accusing him of lacking in professional ethics, for allowing his own player to deliberately hurt the opposing player in the game and doing whatever it took to win. This time, Carl Spicer could not risk the ire of the world to mock how Twain could not remember what he had done before… Because if he were to speak on behalf of the Irish manager at Newcastle United, he would put himself on the opposite side of all of England. At that time, he would be waiting to be attacked by rotten eggs and tomatoes at home.

The poor Kinnear was powerless to defend himself. He claimed that he had not arranged for his players to deliberately target George Wood. It was just an accident on the football field and that such accidents often occurred. He should not be condemned in speech and in writing just because the injury happened to the core of the England team.

But who cared about him? Many of those who had been initially hopeful and looking forward to the England team’s prospects at the UEFA European Championship, felt like they had been drenched from head to toe with buckets of cold water. With Wood badly hurt, what was going to happen to the England team? Who was going to be responsible now that their hopes of winning the title was gone?

That would be Kinnear! And Enrique!

The matter created such a ruckus that even the Spanish media got involved. Their own player had been insulted in England and the Spanish media was very upset too. The media on both sides officially went to war.

William Hill made some adjustments to the original odds that had been offered, with the England team’s odds of winning the title going from 1 to 7 to 1 to 9. They did not do this very often, which only implied how important George Wood currently was to the England team…

While the outside world was becoming a mess, the guy who made countless people worried, was lying in a hospital bed and sleeping in peace.

He had already made his own decision and there was nothing to worry about after that.

Chapter 932 - George’s Persistence

Even though the league was still going on, George Wood’s name kept appearing in the newspaper headlines. For a moment, the people did not care about who would eventually win the title, or which teams would be relegated in the end. George Wood’s injury took centerstage and there were all kinds of information and rumors coming out during this period.

There were some people who claimed that George Wood’s injury might have a permanent effect on him, and it might even cause him to retire prematurely.

Others said that it was nothing much and he would recover in a month at most. The one who said this even used himself as an example, citing a similar injury that he suffered previously, claiming that he could swim after ten days and run after two weeks.

Some experts thought that Wood would need three to six months to recover from his injury while other experts disagreed and declared that he only needed eight to ten weeks.

Today, the media doubted England’s chances to win the European Championship now that Wood was out of the competition. On the next day, the same media would publish a surprise announcement that George Wood might be able to recover before the European Championship.

The England fans felt as though they were riding a roller-coaster as they would never know whether they would be the recipient of good or bad news when they wake up the next day.

Nottingham Forest was already a forgotten team. Losing George Wood meant that they definitely lost the ability to reach next season’s UEFA Champions’ League. However, nobody was really concerned about their future now. Evan Doughty gave David Kerslake a verbal promise that he would not sack him rashly because of this season’s results. After all, nobody could have anticipated Wood’s injury…

Kerslake did not trust the verbal promise of the club’s chairman. Just think about how Flores was sacked last time. He announced that the club’s upper management were still fully behind the manager in front of others, but once their backs were turned, they made him the scapegoat and kicked him out. Kerslake was not a fool, and he was definitely not young and na?ve anymore. He knew very clearly about the hidden rules in this industry and he was already ready to leave.

There was much discussion amongst the media and the English Football Association had to deal with the same question everyday——”How does George Wood’s injury look like exactly? How long will it take before he can return to the field?”

England’s preparations would obviously be adversely affected if this went on. Therefore, the Football Association asked for George Wood to accept one interview and express some optimistic emotions to pacify the public.

Wood agreed and during the interview with BBC channel, he mentioned that he was not feeling depressed because of the injury and he was cooperating fully with the treatment with an aim to return within two months.

When his interview was published, the speculations decreased significantly. The Football Association was very happy with Wood’s stand. Even though they did not think that Wood would really be able to return within two months. Yet, what they did not know was Wood was telling the truth.

Even though Twain had already promised Wood that he would put his name on the list to Spain if he could recover within two months, it would not be wise to put all his eggs in one basket and Twain was making other preparations at the same time. If George Wood’s recovery was not ideal and could not make it in the end, how should he adjust England’s tactics?

This was not as simple as just switching to a similar player. There were many players in England who could play in the center, but it was rare to find someone who could do it to the same effect Wood had.

Gerrard’s experience and abilities could have the same effect, but he was too old. It was not possible for him to be England’s core player at 35 years of age as injuries and fitness were factors that would trouble him.

Gareth Barry was also already 34 years old.

If it really came to that, Twain would have no choice but to give up on the tactic of having a core player, changing to a simpler tactic instead. The duties of the midfield would be more for stopping the opponents’ attacks instead of starting their own attacks.

He would use more young players, and not the older players like Gerrard and Barry. He would emphasize on the overall effort instead of depending on a certain player. The effect that a core player had cannot be replaced, but he could make eleven people share the load.

Twain was feeling very contradictory then. On one hand, he was hoping for Wood to recover in time for the European Championship so that they would have a chance of winning it. On the other hand, he did not want to destroy Wood’s professional career because of one European Championship.

Twain knew that he was not a saint and he was a tad selfish. He felt that this European Championship was his best chance to win it, who knew what would happen in a few years’ time? Yet, with the best chance of winning in front of him, he could not say that he did not care that Wood’s accident caused the chance to go up in smokes.

Why did things become like this? How could the juggernaut who would never fall just fall like this?

This was like dominoes, the fall of one tile brought upon a horrifying chain reaction. This was the first time Twain did not feel confident telling the public that his target was to win the competition.

Do not mistake Twain as incapable or suspect that the other England players are trash.

Under his guidance, George Wood’s position in the England team was equivalent to Zidane’s position in the France team in the past. France might seem to be full of superstars and winning the World Cup and European Championship at will, but once Zidane was out injured, even Henry, Wiltord and Trezeguet were not able to lead France to a single victory The three golden boot winners even drew a blank together and did not score a single goal. Eventually, they would be eliminated in the group stage.

When everybody thought that France just needed Henry when Zidane was already 34 years old, Zidane was still the one who led France to the final of the World Cup in Germany. Even though he cost France the World Cup by getting sent off after headbutting Materazzi, France would not even had had the chance to win the World Cup without him.

George Wood had a totally different playing style to Zidane, but their status and effect to the team was the same.

Zidane was irreplaceable. So was George Wood.

※※※

Twain kept in contact with Doctor Wallace, who was in charge of Wood’s treatment, by phone. They would basically get on a phone call every three days and Wallace would report the latest development of the treatment to Twain. It was not looking good and Wallace was worried that Wood’s injury would not be completely healed before the opening of the European Championship.

Twain could do nothing but wait now, as much as it annoyed him.

There were many England fans who had the same feeling as him. The media was reporting that Wood was recovering smoothly for a while, then they reported that the injury got worse and they were not optimistic that he could recover in time. The fans did not know who to believe anymore.

The 2015-2016 English Premier League season ended amidst such a chaotic atmosphere. Without George Wood, Nottingham Forest lost the backbone to their team and their performance in the final few rounds were unstable, eventually losing out on a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions’ League and could only play in the Europa League.

This would not have been a bad result for the fans of most teams as they could still compete in Europe after all. However, to the fans of Nottingham Forest who were already used to winning, this was an utter failure.

Since they failed, someone had to take responsibility for it.

On the next day after the league ended, Nottingham Forest officially announced that they would be terminating the contract with David Kerslake, the club would like to thank Kerslake for his contribution for the second half of the season and they wished him good luck.

This might look like an amicable break, but there was an unmistakeable sense of coldness in the standard letter of thanks.

Nobody showed any concern about Kerslake’s plans as they were all engrossed in George Wood’s injury issue.

It was 12th May, one month away from the opening day of the European Championship and not even one month since George Wood’s injury.

When Wood appeared in front of the media in his slippers and clutches, the England fans were still worried that he would not be able to make it for the European Championship which would start on 10th June. That was the news of him leaving the hospital to go home.

Doctor Wallace appeared and declared that they would do everything in their power to help Wood make the flight to Spain, however, he could not make any promises.

“I cannot guarantee that he will be able to return to the field next month, and I cannot guarantee that he will be able to make it for the European Championship this time. I hope you’ll not give us any undue pressure in our work.”

Even though the other leagues in Europe were not finished yet, the focus of the English were no longer on them.

There were no team from the English Premier League who made it to the UEFA Champions’ League final this season, so there was no interest in the Champions’ League final held on 20th May. Twain was very happy about this. The Champions’ League final was on 20th May and the European Championship was going to start on 10th June. The gap between the two was too short and if his players were to play in the Champions’ League final, they would not be able to be at the best condition in terms of fitness or teamwork and that was not what Twain wanted. However, he would gladly watch the players of the other countries fight it out during the Champions’ League final so that he could benefit from it.

But the moment he thought about George Wood’s injury, he lost all interest in that…

※※※

Twain was seated in George Wood’s home, facing Wood.

Sophia was preparing tea for the two of them in the kitchen. The fragrance of the tea and cookies came out from the kitchen and Twain could not help but sniffed at it. Shania would not make afternoon tea for him as she did not have the habit of drinking afternoon tea herself…

“You look like you’re doing well?” Twain said as he looked at Wood.

“I’ve always been like this.”

Twain laughed. Wood seemed pretty relaxed whereas he was under immense pressure. He did not dare to switch on his phone recently as there would definitely be countless phone calls asking him for the latest news. He would also hide and go everywhere secretively in fear of being recognized as he really did not know how he should answer the media’s questions regarding Wood.

He had been in constant telephone communication with Doctor Wallace and on a whole, there were more bad news than good news. Doctor Wallace mentioned not just once that it was getting harder and harder for Wood to recover before 9th June.

“Hey, George…” Twain asked, “Have you considered that if… I mean if, if you really can’t participate in the European Championship, what will you do?”

Wood’s reply would always be faster than what Twain expected, “No.”

Twain rubbed his temple as he thought that what Wood was doing was easy. He just had to keep walking on the same path until it went dark…

“Um, George. How much do you understand about your recovery from this injury?” Twain was worried that Wood might naively believe that he would recover faster from his injuries because he had a good constitution.

“Not too good,” He did not expect Wood to be so clear about it, “Wallace told me before that even if I recovered before 10th June, it will hurt a lot when I run or kick a ball.”

“Since you know about it…”

“It’s just pain,” it looks like Wood would insist on playing through the pain.

Twain had no answers to it.

Wood could sense the intention for Twain’s visit, and he asked, “Are you here to tell me you’re not planning to keep your promise?”

“Um…” Twain was in an awkward situation as he was really going to do that.

However, when he saw Wood’s face, he could not bring himself to say it.

Sophia saved Twain when she walked out with tea and cookies. They stopped discussing about injuries and football, instead, they chatted freely and talked about the menial stuff happening in life.

Sophia would be very happy every time Twain visited them, and her cheeks would flush in excitement as she became more talkative than usual.

Twain could already face Sophia’s passion freely now.

After having tea together, Twain decided to take his leave. Before he left, he called Wood as he wanted to talk to him alone again.

Wood walked with Twain to the door while holding his clutches.

Twain looked down and thought for awhile before looking up at Wood and said, “George, nobody knows what will happen in the future. I hope that you’ll be able to understand no matter what decision I make in the end…”

Wood nodded, “I’ll go to Spain.”

Twain felt a headache coming, “I hope so too, but not everything will be just as we wish. I hope you’ll be able to have a longer professional career. You’re only 30, for other players, they will start to decline once they hit 30, but you’re different, I believe that you’re still on your way to your peak.”

Twain patted Wood on the head as he seemed to have made a decision then.

Wood did not answer him. Twain then said goodbye to Sophia who was standing behind him and left.

After Twain left in his car, Sophia hugged her son from behind and rested her chin on Wood’s broad shoulders, “George, are you really going to Spain?”

“Yes, mother.”

“But your leg…”

“It’s fine, mother. It will heal, it will definitely heal,” Wood patted Sophia’s arm around his waist as he consoled her.

※※※

Twain still got stopped by the media outside his doorsteps eventually. They requested for Twain to talk about the issue with George Wood. If it was confirmed that Wood would not be able to play in the European Championship because of his injury, what solution did Twain have? Everyone knew that George Wood was the core of the England team now.

Twain refused to answer these questions as he sheepishly drove the car into his own yard.

Shania could not help but whistle after seeing the massive number of media personnel when she came out to welcome him.

“You went to George’s place?”

Twain nodded and said, “I needed to confirm something as I have to announce the name list for the training camp in two days.”

“Then, what’s the result of your confirmation?”

“There’s no result.”

“Huh?” Shania looked up at her husband. He was frowning and he seemed to be very vexed.

“I’ve already made up my mind before I went there, yet after I was there, I realized I’ve not decided on anything at all. It was a wasted trip.”

Shania held on to Twain’s arm and walked back inside with him. The door closed and the prying eyes of the media were shut out behind them.

“Just write George’s name on the list first then. It’ll be just nice if he recovers but if he doesn’t, you can change it…”

Twain pulled Shania’s ear and said, “Do you think it’s that casual? This name list cannot be changed after it’s confirmed.”

Shania rolled her eyes as she felt a little bit awkward saying something wrong due to her lack of knowledge about football. However, it was okay as she had a way to remedy it.

Twain was thinking of continuing to tease his young wife but he found his mouth blocked by her warm and red lips.

“Mm…”

Chapter 933 - The Squad List That Cannot Be Changed

Goalkeepers: Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland, Joe Hart.

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Steven Taylor, John Terry, Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines, Joe Mattock.

Midfielders: George Wood, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, David Bentley, Theo Walcott, Stewart Downing, Adriano Moke, Chris Cohen.

Strikers: Aaron Mitchell, James Vaughn, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Wayne Rooney.

Twain gave Des Walker the confirmed squad list of twenty-three players for him to look over. Walker saw George Wood’s name at the first glance.

“The reporters saw you go into Wood’s house yesterday. Are you telling me that his recovery from his injury is going well?” Walker asked.

“No, the recovery is as slow as ever.”

“Then why did you…” Walker was baffled.

“This squad list is going to be reported to UEFA. Once it’s determined, there’s no way to revise it, Des.” Twain laughed bitterly. How could he not know the downside of doing this?

“Are you still holding on to the hope of Wood’s recovery from his injury?”

“I wish to remain hopeful.”

“But…” Walker hesitated for a moment before saying, “What if Wood doesn’t recover in time to play as a substitute for the games. What are we going to do?”

“What can we do?” Twain already had an idea for this, “Just take it that we brought four goalkeepers.”

In the past, when the national teams participated in the international competition, the squad list was twenty-two players. The teams could bring two goalkeepers, a main player and a substitute. FIFA later changed the rules to allow each team to bring three goalkeepers in case of an accident, so the squad list changed from twenty-two to twenty-three. Although there was one more goalkeeper, this third goalkeeper rarely had the opportunity to play.

When Twain said to bring four goalkeepers, he clearly meant that a spot would be wasted.

Walker was silent for a moment before he asked, “This squad list that you drew up… What will Harvey think of it?”

“If the list doesn’t have George’s name on it, Harvey will come to me to ask for an explanation instead.” Twain said, unperturbed, “If there’s no George Wood on the soon-to-be announced squad list, do you know what those fans and media are going to think?”

Walker was not a fool. He thought of it too. He could only nod and said, “Hopefully Wood will recover soon…”

※※※

As Twain said, the English Football Association did not have any objections to George Wood’s appearance on the squad list, even if they did not know whether Wood would be able to recover from his injury before the start of the UEFA European Championship. But if Wood’s name was not on it, the local fans and the media would kick up a fuss.

But Wood’s name on it also made the media and fans wonder – did that mean George’s recovery from his injury was going well? Otherwise Twain would not have written his name on it.

As a result, everyone suddenly felt that the England team’s future at the UEFA European Championship was bright…

“Wood’s recovery from his injury is going well and is expected to play in the game between England and Portugal on June 12th!”

“Experts say he will fully recovered by June 17th at the latest, and it will not be a problem for the team to advance out of the group stage!”

“The core player’s returning by early June at the latest. Tony Twain’s feeling ambitious!”

“The invincible midfielder will return in glory!”

A variety of headlines clearly showed the English people’s ecstasy.

Every time Twain saw a news report like this, he wondered what emotions the media show would if Wood’s recovery from his injury was not ideal.

Harvey brought a piece of good news to Twain. Given England’s special circumstances as well as George Wood’s importance to the England team, the UEFA took into account a previous example from FIFA and decided to delay the final registration of the England squad list until twenty-four hours before the start of the UEFA European Championship. That would have allowed the England team to have a replacement if it was confirmed on the last day before the UEFA European Championship that Wood was indeed unable to play.

But Twain did not care about such a quota. For him if George Wood could not play, then it was use changing anyone. As he had told Walker, he would take it that he had brought four goalkeepers to Spain.

※※※

The league tournament was over, and the England team had nothing to do with the Champions League. Except for George Wood, all the England national footballer who were selected for the squad list this time, said goodbye to their club teammates and families to report at London Colney training base.

A few days ago, they were still enemies and opponents in fierce competition for the league title, European tournament qualification or purely for survival, and now they were going to be together all the time for almost two months, united in the same goal.

It was very interesting to think of this scene.

Having just joined the the national team, everyone would chat for a while and the topic of conversation certainly could not be separated from the just-concluded league tournament. Manchester United’s players half-jokingly complained that Chelsea’s players had robbed them of the league title, while Chelsea’s players were still brooding over Liverpool’s FA cup win over them. The Arsenal players were working on getting closer to Aaron Mitchell to try persuading him to join Arsenal next season.

The public relations activity was happening in the national team.

But such topics of conversation soon ended. As a member of the national team, the just concluded season was a thing of the past. There was no need to hang onto it. The upcoming UEFA European Championship was the most important.

Watching everyone come except for one person, the Nottingham Forest players did not feel too good.

They were not confident of whether their team captain would be able to come before the UEFA European Championship. The rest of the national team’s teammates were asking them, and they knew only a little more than the media.

队长是否可以参加欧洲杯,恐怕只有头儿才知道了.或许是很有希望的吧?因为他刚才不是说本届欧洲杯球队的目标是夺冠吗?如果没有了乔治,夺冠应该是很困难的事情吧?

Perhaps only the boss would know whether the captain could play in the UEFA European Championship. Maybe it was promising because he had just said that the goal of this UEFA European Championship for the team was to win the title? Without George, it would be hard to win the championship, wouldn’t it?

Under Twain’s deliberate arrangement, George Wood presently had become the tactical and spiritual core of the England team. When he was present, everyone would have a sense of security. But if he was not around, they would naturally feel ill at ease. Gerrard could have done that when he was at Liverpool, but his influence in the national team was not enough.

Wood did not say much in the locker room. He never said pointless nonsense, and he was always able to show that he was a trusted captain with his actions. Whether it was through defensive or offense, he would step up when there was a problem. If his own player was maliciously violated by the other team, he would certainly find the opportunity to secretly plot and retaliate. It did not matter that he might receive a card for doing so.

If Wood really could not play in the UEFA European Championship, many people in the England team would feel a shadow shrouding over them. They would feel that their campaign in Spain would be inauspicious. They would be timid before even the competition started. Therefore, Twain was reluctant to make public the truth of the situation of Wood’s recovery.

It would be a major blow to the team’s morale.

※※※

Twain and Wallace had been hiding the truth about Wood’s injury to the outside world. They did not want Wood to be bothered too much, and they did not want the team’s morale to be undermined.

But not everyone had their heightened sense of awareness. Or it could be said that there were some people in the world who wished for the whole world to be in chaos…

The media was always going up against Twain. Now there were so many rumors about Wood’s recovery and the reporters were always gathering information from various sources in the hope of finding the truth, Twain and Wallace were always vague about, which made the media even more suspicious.

The natural attribute of the English reporters seemed to be “spies.” They always had a way of digging the inside of the news. One of the best was which was the most skilled at mining insider information.

It was not known what method The Sun used, but at the end of May, they published a shocking piece information:

Recently, as the start of the UEFA European Championship approached, there had been occasional articles of this pessimistic tone in the media. Most people only treated the rumor as a joke, because those who did the speculations were really very unreliable. But the article in The Sun was different.

The article had a very detailed list of evidence to prove that George Wood’s recovery from his injury was not going as well as people thought.

The Nottingham Evening Post had previously published photographs of Wood working out at the gym to prove that Wood was recovering well. But the evidence that The Sun had gotten hold of suggested that Wood could not even run now. The photographs at the gym simply showed him working out the muscles in his upper body.

Which made people thought it was the case.

※※※

“What’s the hell is going on?” Twain scolded as he looked at the newspaper Walker brought him. The Sun had a lot of influence, and this article had now gone viral. He only found out about the matter when Brosnan gave him a call to ask about it.

After swearing, Twain calmed down and called Doctor Wallace to make sure the information was not leaked out of his mouth. The England team would have a regular press conference in the afternoon, and he could imagine how those reporters would bombard him.

Doctor Wallace’s voice sounded tired. Apparently, he had just been bombarded by the media.

“I just ended a press conference held by the hospital, and Mr. Twain… I know what you’re going to ask. I did not divulge the information. It’s the people around me…”

Twain confirmed it when he heard his voice. Doctor Wallace was not in a habit to give him trouble.

“What did you say at the press conference, Doctor?” Twain felt the need to communicate so as to keep each other informed and to get their stories straight so as to avoid letting something slip.

“Of course, I denied The Sun’s report.”

“Ah, that’s good, Doctor. In fact, that’s exactly what I intend to do.” Twain had already decided to refuse to admit it at the press conference in the afternoon.

“But, Mr. Twain. Are you sure you can get Wood back on the football field by the 12th?” It was not something that even Doctor Wallace himself could be certain of.

“I’m not sure, Doctor.”

“Then you…”

“There are things that need to be done for show. It is better now to hide the truth than to tell the truth.”

Doctor Wallace just felt as if he had been implicated in a dubious lie and unable to extricate himself from it. So, he could only put a bold face on it and go along with Twain to the end, hoping to finally come out of it unscathed…

※※※

At the afternoon press conference, the media were particularly excited and looking forward to it. Appearing along with Twain, Aaron Mitchell had unquestionably become a prop, with no reporters asking him questions. Everyone was directing the questions at Twain.

Twain looked calm and looked ready to tackle the questions.

“I would like to ask Mr. Twain this. The Sun reported that George Wood is barely able to make it to the UEFA European Championship. Is this true?”

“It’s complete nonsense.”

“How’s George Wood’s recovery from his injury. Able to shed some light on it?”

“It’s going well and he’s starting the strength building training.” Twain had said these words countless times. His answer to the reporter’s question sounded perfunctory this time.

The reporters were clearly unhappy with Twain’s perfunctory attitude.

“But there’s no other evidence able to prove that George’s right leg is recovering besides this picture….”

“George doesn’t want his private life to be disturbed. Even this photograph was only taken after repeated communication. Are you unhappy about something, Mr. Reporter?” Twain showed no signs of relenting.

It was not difficult for Twain to weave lies at all. He was at the point where all he had to do was to just open his mouth and the words would come out. His face was not even flushed, and his breathing was even. So that people could not see through the cracks.

“So can George Wood really make it to the UEFA European Championship?”

Twain also knew that to let this group of reporters really believe, he could not fill in with too many details. Saying too much was as bad as saying too little. Because when he was going to lie, every word he said must be in a positive tone, like he was reciting lines from a script. If he wanted to make people believe him, then he’d better deliberately add a little bit of mistake in his words, then the mingling of truth and falsehoods would easily fool people.

“I can’t guarantee that he definitely will, but Doctor Wallace and I, as well as George himself, are working hard to get there. None of us will give up easily, not till the last day.”

His words sounded sincere and true and many people believed what Twain said. If Twain insisted that Wood was able to recover by June 12th, perhaps these people would suspect That Twain was lying.

The media besieged Twain for a long time but did not pry open his mouth. Instead, they were convinced by Twain, which was really a great surprise to The Sun.

The Sun’s reporter had no choice but to personally step in to say, “We have solid evidence that Wood can’t make it to the UEFA European Championship. So, I would like to ask if you, Mr. Twain had any backup…”

Twain interrupted the other person directly to say, “What hard evidence? The attending physician thinks he can catch up. So, where did your evidence come from, sir?”

As soon as the other side was about to answer again, Twain interrupted him once again, “The people around the doctor? A cleaner or a nurse? How can you tell if what they’re saying is the truth? While what I’m telling you is a lie? Who’s the person closest to George Wood here?”

“Well…”

The reporter was rendered speechless from a series of cross-examinations by Twain, and he did not know what to say.

“I don’t want to be here and talk nonsense with you, Mr. Reporter. I don’t want to bet with you either.”

Some people laughed when they heard the word “bet.” This had become a classic: don’t ever bet against Tony Twain unless you think life is too dull.

“All I can tell you is that we all want George to be in the UEFA European Championship. We are all working very hard on it. If you really have nothing else better to do, I suggest you pay more attention to the influx of refugees from Africa, rather than pointing fingers at others under the guise of seeking the truth in the news.” Twain unceremoniously gave The Sun reporter a bad name. Then he got up and walked away.

The group of reporters looked at each other.

They all thought Twain was angry. In actual fact, when he walked out of the press conference, there was a hint of smile on Twain’s face.

The Sun was going to deal with him using this. But he had sent them packing with just a flick of his wrist.

But this matter also set off alarm bells for him – not everyone believed his words.

If, on that day, Wood really did not recover from his injury and could appear in the game as a substitute, what was he going to do?

There was not much time left for him…

Chapter 934 - Greedy

The national team players finally saw their captain in June.

George Wood’s return to the national team attracted a horde of reporters to the scene. The press and the fans all wanted to see how Wood’s injury had recovered so far. Everyone’s hearts would sink if Wood appeared before them wearing slippers and walking on crutches.

The moment Wood’s manager, Billy Woox, parked his Bentley car outside the Colney training base, crowds of reporters rushed towards it. The security guards tried their hardest to hold the reporters back, but they could not stop them from firing off their cameras at Wood.

George Wood got out of the car with his head lowered. Everyone’s gazes were on his right foot, and they all sighed in relief collectively when they saw him he walk out dressed in a pair of Nike shoes.

George Wood did not turn around to retrieve a pair of crutches from within. He simply alighted from the car and stood before the crowd.

Woox got off the car as well and walked over to the trunk of his car to retrieve Wood’s luggage. The sight of Wood’s luggage meant that Wood would be following the team over to Spain and that he would not be continuing his treatment at home.

The security guards felt the force behind their backs increase significantly, and they knew that they could not hold back the crowd much longer. The security guards were just like a dam, and the crazy reporters and fans were just like a body of water that kept pounding against them. Countless microphones and cameras went past or above the security guards’ heads and they were all aimed at Wood.

“George! How is your injury?”

“Are you able to walk now?”

“What about running?”

“Are you sure you can recover in time for the Euro Cup?”

“George! George! The ‘St. George Fan Club’ wishes you a speedy recovery! Can you talk to us for a bit?”

“Mr. Wood…”

The security guards tried to maintain order at the scene painstakingly. Their defense would definitely crumble if those people behind them launched another attack. Fortunately for them, a voice rescued them from their predicament.

“If you guys continue to push in that way, I can guarantee that you will definitely step on George’s right toe.”

A voice that sounded like it came from a loudspeaker boomed from behind. The voice was so loud that it could be heard clearly even in the noisiest of environment.

Everyone stopped pushing forward the moment they heard the voice. It was as though the voice carried a spell with it. The crowd turned around to look at the source of the voice.

Tony Twain stood behind them with a loudspeaker in one hand. His face was glum as he stared at the crowd.

It was in that moment that everyone knew it was time to leave.

The crowd that had gathered around Wood began to disperse, and the security guards finally heaved a sigh of relief. Their uniforms had become drenched in sweat, and there were even black palm prints left by others on their shirts.

There was a hint of a smile on Wood’s face when he saw Twain.

Similarly, Twain’s face lit up after he saw Wood as well.

Billy Woox passed the luggage in his hands over to Wood. He then waved at Twain before getting back into his car. Twain tossed his loudspeaker into the hands of one of the security guards and took big strides towards Wood.

The press thought that Twain was going to shake Wood’s hand. They did not expect to see Twain embrace Wood instead.

Twain hugged onto Wood tightly. He was afraid that the latter would run away like before.

Twain knew that Wood would show up for the national team’s training session a day ago. Doctor Wallace had called him personally to inform him that Wood is fit enough to follow the team over to Spain. He also told Twain that Wood still has to continue with his rehabilitation even while in Spain, and that he has gotten the team doctor to pay extra attention to Wood.

However, Twain could not truly be at ease without seeing Wood right before him. He was afraid that he would go to sleep and wake up to a phone call from Doctor Wallace telling him that Wood has to miss out on the Euro Cup entirely because he had picked up a second injury by accidentally wedging his big toe in the shower drain while taking a shower…

The aforementioned scenario might sound ludicrous, but it’s not like it has never happened before.

It’s great that Wood has returned to the team. Twain felt the stress inside of him decrease significantly as he no longer had to answer any questions from the press about whether or not Wood would make it to the Euro Cup. Wood’s return would also bring about a calming effect on the team that is currently in a state of unrest, as it signified that the backbone of their team is back.

“Welcome back to the team, George.” Twain whispered by Wood’s ear as he held him in his arms.

※※※

Wood’s return to the national team made headlines across numerous newspapers, and it also helped to dissipate the insecurities that the England fans had by a little. There is now hope that Wood would be able to play in games soon, even though the national team had announced during a press conference that Wood is still not able to join in the national team’s training and handle a ball at his foot just yet.

The very first match of the Euro Cup would be played on 9th June, and England would play in their first match on 12th June. There were still 12 days left till their first Euro Cup match. There is still a chance that Wood would be fit by the match.

George Wood indicated that he was feeling good during his interviews. He believed that participating in the Euro Cup would not be an issue for him.

However, his condition was actually not as good as he thought. On the afternoon of his return to the national team, Twain called Wood over after the training session had ended. He then carried out a secret experiment on Wood with the team doctors, and they found out that Wood was still in a lot of pain over his injury to his right big toe, and he was unable to use any force when running or touching the ball.

The results of the experiment caused Twain to furrow his brows, because it showed that Wood’s condition had not improved for the better. Wood had most likely chosen to return to the national team so as to calm everyone down…

In the end, Wood could only continue with his rehabilitation in the pool.

The next day, Wood flew over to Barcelona with the team. England had chosen Barcelona as the city for their training because their first match would be held at the Camp Nou stadium.

The beauty of Barcelona could not change Twain’s mood for the better. He had already formulated his tactics for the upcoming games, and the team had also been practising those tactics all this while, but a big issue is that all those tactics had been devised on the premise that George Wood would be playing in the game. For the past month or so however, Twain has had to train the team on how to play the games without Wood in the team. He would only show the press 15 minutes of the team doing meaningless warm-ups every day. He did not show them any of the actual training that the team was going through.

Twain noticed that there were several German reporters outside the training grounds every time he allowed the press to observe the team’s training sessions. He believes that the reporters are there to gather information for their national team, because this is exactly what the British reporters would do as well. Some of the reporters who are close to Twain would deliberately collect information that would benefit the England team when covering stories about the training sessions done by other countries, and they would then pass that information over to Twain.

What the German reporters were most interested in was the status of George Wood’s injury. They knew that Wood is the core player of the England team, and that the England team is very different with and without Wood. They all smiled in relief when they saw that George Wood was the only player jogging in the corner when the team gathered together to do their warm-ups. It looks like the injury to his toe has yet to fully recover.

On 5th June, George Wood trained with a ball for the first time before the public. Despite the fact that the training session was only open to the press for 15 minutes, the training ground still teemed with reporters from all over the world.

Wood performed dribbles and passes before the press during his training session. It did not seem like he was still suffering from a toe injury.

The British cheered at the sight. In contrast, the Germans were a little depressed.

However, none of them knew that the truth was not what it seemed to be.

※※※

Doctor Wallace specially flew over from England to Barcelona to perform a thorough examination of Wood’s right toe. Thereafter, he spoke to Twain privately about the matter.

With only seven days left till England’s first match in the Euro Cup, this conversation between Doctor Wallace and Twain could potentially determine whether Wood would be able to play in the Euro Cup or not.

“Wood would not be able to play in any games right now based on his current condition.” Wallace went straight to the point and did not beat around the bush.

Twain was not surprised by Wallace’s words. He only furrowed his brows even more deeply.

“He needs to be careful when practising with the ball too.”

“Can you give me the exact time in which you think he’d fully recover, Doctor?” This is the only thing that Twain cared about.

Wallace had clearly mulled over that issue for a long period of time, because he was able to respond to Twain’s question without a second thought. “He definitely would not be able to play in the match against Portugal. As for the match against Wales, it’d be dependent on how well he is recovering during this period of time,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “I think the safest thing to do is to not let Wood play in any of the group stage matches.”

“Are you saying that he’d be able to play in games during the knockout stages?”

“There’s a high possibility that he’d be able to play then.”

Twain went deep into thought.

The group that England is in is not made up of weak opponents. Germany and Portugal are both strong teams, and Wales is also a force to be reckoned with. Wales has successfully qualified for the Euro Cup after 40 years, and the team is currently brimming with confidence and fight. They could become the dark horse in the competition.

Can England make it out of this ‘group of death’ in one piece without George Wood? Can they forge a path ahead for themselves?

Twain still did not know for sure right now if his team is capable enough to accomplish that.

Wallace discerned Twain’s worries. He said, “If you think that this is very risky, you can substitute him for another player right now. After all, I can’t guarantee you that he won’t pick up another injury during the knockout stages either. Also, a bigger concern is his form. He hasn’t played in a match for quite some time, and he also hasn’t trained with the team recently either. It might not be a good idea to play a player like him whose form remains a doubt.”

Wallace’s words were exactly what Twain was thinking about. The two things he was most concerned about were Wood’s injury and form.

Wood has yet to recover from his injury to his toe. In addition, no one knows if he would be able to play at the same level that he did prior to his injury either.

Wood is the core of the team every time he plays. But, if the core is not in form… It could lead to disastrous outcomes for the team.

All in all, this is an extremely risky bet to make.

Wallace understood that Twain has to think things through carefully because there were too many things that he needed to consider. He took his leave quietly after saying what he had to say. The press surrounded him the moment he stepped out of the training grounds. They wanted him to talk about what he was discussing with Twain earlier.

“We were discussing about Wood’s injury. But I can’t give you any details. I’m sorry.”

He then climbed into his car a little wearily before driving off.

※※※

There are indeed many factors that prevent Twain from coming up with a decision on the matter. Firstly, he needs to consider the impact that his decision would bring on Wood’s professional career. Would it be positive? Or would it be negative? Secondly, he needs to consider whether Wood’s injury would really recover by the knockout stages as Wallace had predicted. Thirdly, he needs to think about Wood’s current form. Wood has either been recuperating or training alone lately, so it is difficult to tell how well or how badly he is playing right now. Lastly, he also needs to think about the team’s results for the Euro Cup. This is a very important factor that cannot be ignored. What kind of results would the England team achieve if they drop Wood completely from the team? If they were to insist on keeping Wood in the team, what kind of influence would that bring to their results?

This is not just about choosing between a player’s professional career and glory… If that had been the case, Twain would definitely be much more relaxed about having to make a decision.

With the Euro Cup just around the corner, Twain decided to talk to Wood regarding the issue once more. This could be the last chance for him to come to a decision on the matter. He has to make a decision no matter what the outcome might be. He did not want the issue to remain at the forefront of his mind until the 8th of June.

※※※

Wood climbed out of the pool. He wiped off the water droplets from his face and saw Twain squatting before him.

“How are you feeling?” Twain asked.

“I’m feeling good.” Wood replied.

“I’m feeling really vexed right now, George.” Twain passed a towel over to Wood after seeing how he had just climbed out of the pool.

Wood did not respond to Twain. He dried his hair with the towel before sitting down at the side of the pool beside Twain.

“I spoke to Doctor Wallace earlier. He told me that you won’t be able to play in the group stages based on your current condition. This means that England would need to make its way into the knockout stages before you have a chance of playing. But, I’m a little worried about the group stages…”

“It won’t be a problem.” Wood cut Twain off abruptly.

“Huh? What’s not a problem?”

“The team won’t have a problem getting past the group stages.”

Twain nodded his head. If Wood says there’s no problem then it’s most likely true. “All right then. What do you think of your current form?”

Wood answered Twain honestly. “I don’t know. I haven’t played in a game for a while. I don’t know how well or how badly I’d play right now.”

“I bet your feet have gone rusty after so many days of not playing football, huh?”

Wood rotated his ankles and shook his head. “Not really.”

Twain smiled.

“George, actually we still have the World Cup…”

“I know. But I want to win the Euro Cup too.” Wood was being quite ‘greedy’.

This time, Twain broke into a laugh at Wood’s response. He kept rocking back and forth as he laughed, and it nearly caused him to fall into the pool.

“You are so greedy, George!”

“Don’t tell me you don’t want to win the Euro Cup?” Wood asked.

Twain grinned. “Greed is my favorite sin.”

The pair went quiet for a moment before Twain asked, “George. Do you really want to participate in the Euro Cup?”

“Yes.”

“This decision comes with a lot of risks. It’s almost like a gamble.”

Wood did not respond. He waited for Twain to continue with his words.

“I kept telling the press that you’d make it for the Euro Cup, but I think I have to confess to them that that’s not the truth now.”

Wood furrowed his brows. He had a bad feeling about what Twain was going to say next.

“My actions would put immense stress on me and the team. But, I hope that you can prove to them that what I did was not for naught. Do you remember what I said when you were in the hospital? I said I’d bring you to Spain as long as you can recover in time.” Twain looked at Wood. “Doctor Wallace told me that you’d recover by the knockout stages, and that would mean that you’d have to miss out on three of the group stage matches before you can play in a game. Still, I can’t guarantee that you won’t get into an accident during this period of time, and I also don’t know if you’d be able to play in a match when we get to the knockout stages either. It’s possible that you might not have fully recovered by then, and it’s also possible that you might be in a poor form… Despite all that, do you wish to continue to stay in the team?”

Wood nodded his head. “I want to stay.”

Twain clapped his hands. “All right, I’ve made up my mind. We’d participate in the Euro Cup together. I’d give you three group stage matches to get yourself fit. I hope you’d be back in the team by the quarter-finals.”

“If I don’t recover in time I’d just get a cortisone shot before the game.”

Twain smiled. He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders as he stroked Wood’s wet hair. He has to face whatever outcome that may come his way after he makes this decision.

However, he was not worried about what would happen to him in the future at all, because it is a decision that he made of his own accord. No one forced him to make the decision, and no one begged him to make a decision that he did not wish to make either. So, what is there to worry about?

“I want to become champions of the Euro Cup, and I also want a healthy George.” Twain winked at Wood. “Don’t you think I’m even more greedy than you?”

Chapter 935 - I Will Be Back

Chapter 935: I Will Be Back

After he had talked to Wood, Twain also made the final decision. He believed it was now necessary for the players to understand what kind of UEFA European Football Championship tournament they would face.

The England team began their new day of training. After the media had completed their allowance of fifteen minutes to film, they were asked to leave the training ground.

The morning sun in Spain shone brightly and the temperature was not too high. The light breeze slowly brought in the chill from last night. The players had just done their warmup and were in a circle listening to the manager.

“Before our training, I have something to inform everyone.”

Twain stood among the players, while Wood was with his teammates.

“Well, it’s like this. Everyone knows George’s right toe is injured, and it has always been in doubt whether he can make it to the UEFA European Football Championship. The media are very concerned about it, and I’m sure you’re concerned too, right?” Twain asked with a smile.

This was a relief to a number of nervous players – the boss could still smile which meant that George’s injury must have been not a problem.

“What I’m going to tell you now is that… He can still join in the UEFA European Football Championship… Don’t get ahead of yourselves.” Twain gestured to interrupt some of people from cheering. He continued, “However, he may not be able to play in the UEFA European Football Championship.”

Looking at the bewildered looks of the players, Twain decided to solve the mystery.

“George hasn’t fully recovered from his injury. The doctor says he will have to wait at least until the knockout stage if he has to play. That means he can’t play in all three games in the group stage.”

There was a commotion among the players. Many people turned their heads to look at Wood, who stood calmly among them and accepted their surprised looks.

“The problem is simple now.” Twain raised his voice amid the commotion to make certain that everyone could hear him. “If we want George to play in the games, we must advance out of the group. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right!”

“Yes, boss.”

“Yes!”

Everyone agreed one by one.

“I’m not willing to give up any one of you, whether it’s George or anyone else. If any of you have been in the same situation as what has happened to George today, I will also make the same decision – I have decided to keep George in the team, even if he may miss the first three games. I know the burden is going to be heavier on everyone, but I also want to make it clear through this incident that we’re a single entity, not simply a team made up of twenty-three players. We are ‘one’, not ‘twenty-three.’”

Twain reached out his hands to point to “one” and “twenty-three.”

No one raised any objections to Twain’s decision. Even the Nottingham Forest players heaved a huge sigh of relief.

“In that case, it’s decided. George will be waiting for us in the knockout stages. Don’t let him become the laughingstock.” He winked at everyone.

The players laughed as well. At the same time, they looked at Wood, who looked a little discomfited…

“Okay, guys, let’s start training! The UEFA European Football Championship is imminent. No one is allowed to goof off!” Des Walker came forward and took over from Twain.

※※※

Despite Twain’s constant emphasis that George Wood would follow the team to the UEFA European Football Championship, there were still some people who still harbor doubts and thought that Twain was merely steadying his team. Until June 8th, the day before the start of the UEFA European Football Championship, he would have to replace Wood if Wood’s foot injury was still not recovered.

They did not expect that the England team held a press conference two days away from June 8th. At the press conference, Twain took Wood along to meet with the media.

“There’s only one topic for this press conference—” Twain looked around the room. Almost all of the reporters who had been hanging around the training camp these days were here. Not only the British reporters attended, but also the German reporters, Portuguese reporters and other reporters from around the world. They were very concerned about the progress of George Wood’s recovery from his injury.

After letting the players know the truth, Twain was able to face the media calmly. He only needed to be accountable to the players while the media was being used by him to make sport of.

“To inform everyone the status of George Wood’s recovery from his foot injury.”

Twain’s words surprised many media outlets. They had followed the England team’s tail around like flies for so many days, wanting to ask a little inside information about Wood’s injury. But Twain had always tried to cover up. Since when did he learn how to sit in front of everyone and talk so frankly about the issue?

Twain glanced at Wood next to him and gave him a look to indicate for him to speak.

Wood did not seem to see it until Twain cleared his throat a few times before he reacted.

“Well… I decided to stay and play in the UEFA European Football Championship.”

Wood’s words were simple.

The reporters stared blankly and then realized that he had just announced a very important matter!

The scene boiled over, and countless reporters tried to stand up to ask questions. They raised their arms high in the hope that the press officer would point at them.

However, Twain waved his hands and said, “It’s not time for the media to ask questions yet. Ladies and gentlemen, let us finish speaking first.”

He motioned for everyone to be quiet at the scene. Those reporters who were usually dissatisfied with Twain, obediently put down their hands, closed their mouths, and waited for Twain to speak.

“I have to start by explaining to everyone that George Wood’s injury has not fully recovered.”

The remark caused another uproar. You’re going to take him to the UEFA European Football Championship when he has not recovered yet. What’s going on in your mind, Mr. Tony Twain?

“But if all goes well, George should be able to come back in the knockout stages.” Twain quickly solved the mystery. “He will miss all three games in the group stage. That’s all I have to say. Do you have any questions to ask?”

Without delay, a reporter stood up and fired his question at Twain, “You’ve been saying a few days ago that Wood’s injury was okay to catch up with the UEFA European Football Championship. But now he’s going to miss all the games in the group stage. Were you lying on purpose before?”

Twain spread his hands wide with a look of innocence on his face as he said, “Lying? I said he could make it to the UEFA European Football Championship in time and in fact he did make it in time. Mr. Reporter, are you not putting the knockout stage as part of the European Football Championship, are you?”

The face of the reporter who was asked this question changed colors. Apparently he was in a hurry to ask the question and forgot the basic logic. And Twain caught hold of the loophole.

The second person to ask questions was a German reporter. He asked Twain in halting English, “Mr. Twain, I would like to ask how confident your team is of advancing out of the group stage when George Wood is going to miss all three group games?” As a German, he was proud and at the same time, he could not hide his delight upon hearing that Wood would miss all three of the group games.

In fact, Twain understand his halting English having only listened to it once. But seeing the somewhat arrogant expression on the other man, Twain decided to make fun of him, so he put his hand next to the ear and asked, “I’m sorry, sir. Can you please say that again?”

So, the bald German man had to use his “German style English” and haltingly repeat himself.

Twain still did not understand and said, “I’m sorry, sir…”

The German man once again repeated his question this time at a much slower pace.

The third time Twain raised his hand to the edge of his ear, the German’s face immediately changed. He looked like he was about to face apart.

Twain knew it was time to stop while ahead, so he laughed and said, “I’m only joking, Mr. Germany. I already understood your question. For us, the team’s lineup is not too big a problem. Of course, we will seriously deal with each opponent in the group, to ensure that you will have no chance to take advantage of.”

His words caused the English reporters to break out in knowing laughter.

“The England team is not a team that only belongs to a certain individual. No one’s absence will affect our ultimate goal. The team’s advancing out of the group stage is only the first step. Even if Wood is absent due to his injury, we still have enough ability to go on to the knockout stages. But …” Twain looked at the foreign reporters with a strange smile, “I welcome everyone to think that the England team is a second-rate team without George Wood and will have a problem in advancing. Really, if you think that way, I’m not going to get angry at all and I won’t contradict you.”

He certainly would not refute because the thing he’d liked to see most was for the other team to underestimate them.

In fact, George Wood’s absence really had a big impact on the England team’s strength. After all, he was the core of the team. It was unheard of that a core player’s absence would not affect the team. But if Twain tried his best to cover it up, it would only make his rivals more certain that the England team was actually weak.

As a result, Twain played a “empty city strategy” at the press conference. He opened every door in the city, and then accompanied by his squire, he himself went up to the city gate tower to make music. His confident and relaxed appearance made many of the foreign reporters, who were keen to scout out the real situation, feel baffled.

Moreover, based on Twain’s style, when he said something was “one”, he often did “two” instead. When he said “no”, in fact, he actually meant “yes.” Therefore, he openly admitted that the England team could not do without Wood which implied that he was lying. Had the England team not been training for “a tactic that involved playing without a core” for more than a month? Perhaps the England team had long since ceased to rely on George Wood as the core. Twain’s insistence on taking him along was nothing more than a smokescreen. His real aim was to get everyone to focus on George Wood, England’s “former core player.” Then his “core-less” England team would go on a rampage and cut the opponents to pieces to eventually make it all the way to the top …

The idea hovered in the reporters’ minds, getting closer to the truth.

Twain smiled in his heart as he watched the reporters gather and whisper in discussion.

He waited for a while. When he saw everyone getting more worked up in their discussion, he gave a cough and said, “If there are no other questions, the press conference today will end here…”

As soon as he got up to leave, he saw the reporters standing up and raising their hands to speak one by one.

“Mr. Twain! Can you talk about the first game against Portugal?”

“Mr. Twain, what will happen if George Wood can’t make a comeback in the knockout stages?”

“Tony, who are you going to replace George Wood with?”

“George, do you have anything to say about not being able to play in the group stage?”

Twain waved his hands and said, “You are too noisy. Everyone, quiet down!”

After the press conference was slowly brought under control, he continued to speak, “First of all, I won’t answer any questions about the player replacing George Wood and tactics. Secondly, we will deal with the game against Portugal seriously. Thirdly, I don’t want anyone to use when George Wood will come on to disturb my team in the future.”

His first answer made the reporters more certain that even without George Wood, the England team would have a way to win. As for the reporters from Germany, Portugal and Wales, it was enough. They had gotten the most important information.

The other reporters were still clamoring but Twain had already ignored them and turned around to leave with Wood.

※※※

The news that George Wood was able to play in the UEFA European Football Championship and that George Wood would miss all three of the group games had been impactful.

If the England team was placed in a weak group, the news would reassure many England fans. It would not be hard for England to advance playing in a group like that. But now they were in the group of death, which had two strong teams like Germany and Portugal. Only Wales might be considered a weak team. This was worrying.

What if… What if the England team could not advance out of the group stage? One must know that the last group game was against Germany. If they were lucky enough to have a two-game winning streak in the first two games and advance ahead of time, then it did not matter what kind of game they played against Germany.

But was the Portugal team an easy team to deal with?

Miguel Veloso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Pepe… These were all famous star players. The Portugal national team composed of them was not a soft team easily bullied by others.

The first game with them was six days away. The England team without George Wood was really worrying to people.

Of course, there were those people who felt that the current England team was not without hope since George Wood could not play. No matter what, it was still considered a first-class strong team in Europe. How could it be that the other star players were playing a small role?

What had Twain been doing for more than a month? Was it all not for preparing the England team to play without Wood? As the continent’s most successful manager, he must have had countless alternatives to counter. Then neither Portugal nor Germany were England’s worthy opponent. Even without George Wood, we still have Tony Twain!

The two ideas collided among the English fans, and no one could convince anyone.

The debate over England’s future at this European Championship would still continue right up till the game.

※※※

After laying his cards on the table to the public, Twain breathed a sigh of relief that he and his team could finally prepare without interference. He did not have to think about how to deal with those reporters, like moths to a flame, about the question of whether George Wood would be able to play in the UEFA European Football Championship. After his press conference, there were fewer reporters, who usually lingered around the training camp from those three countries. For them, the most valuable news was already in hand, so there was no need to continue to waste time here.

George Wood carried out rehabilitation training alone every day. He worked hard but the team doctor did not allow him to overdo it for fear of another injury before he recovered. Currently, the most painful thing for George Wood was watching his teammates train together, while he could only do his own rehabilitation training in the corner.

He found himself experiencing something which he had never before, to be so eager to play football. As soon as he saw the football rolling before his eyes, his feet would shake involuntarily, as if they were producing a resonance with the football.

His first injury experience was so indelible that he never wanted to go through it a second time.

Submerging himself in the water, he looked up at the blue water surface above.

The pool that allowed him to recover was like a prison cell, holding his body in confinement and making his every move incomparably heavy.

As long as he broke through the shackles of the water, he could be reborn…

No matter what kind of opponent he faced, he would expend ten times the energy that he had been bottling up for so long!

The team doctor in charge of looking after Wood suddenly found that George Wood seemed to have been submerged in the pool for several minutes.

Stunned by his own discovery, he dropped the notebook in his hand and kicked over the chair he was seated. He almost scrambled to the edge of the pool, shouting toward the pool in horror, “George!! Come out, George! Don’t scare me…”

With a “crashing” sound, a dripping wet George Wood suddenly crashed through the water surface and appeared in front of the team doctor. His eyes bright and full of expression were staring at him.

The team doctor was so startled that he immediately sat by the pool and watched Wood take big gulps of air. He said, “You scared me to death, George! What happened to you?”

“I slept for a while below.”

Wood’s answer made the team doctor’s heartbeat faster again. “Sleep … Sleeping? You mean you fell asleep underwater?”

Wood pressed his hands to the edge of the pool and held on. He said, “It looks like it.” He shook his head and the water droplets in his hair were all splattered on the team doctor’s body.

The team doctor only drew back the corners of his mouth in surprise. This monster!

Wood picked up a towel to wipe the water on his body, as he recalled the feeling he had just felt below the surface of the pool.

The hazy feeling felt like he was asleep, but his consciousness was awake. There was a voice in his mind that repeatedly spoke to him:

I want to play football, I want to play football, I want to play football! No one can stop me, not even an injury can do it!

I will be back; I’ll prove it to all of you!

Chapter 936 - The Reveal

On 9th June, the much-anticipated European Cup kicked off in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

After the Latin-inspired opening ceremony, the host of the East Spain started the opening match with Belgium.

The La Liga was known for its offense, and the Spanish national team’s style was a level above their league. The European Cup in Spain also seemed to be a ceremonial display of offensive football.

The opening battle of the past World Series always gave off an impression of dullness, with both sides playing with great caution for fear of making mistakes. But this time, at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain and Belgium put on a great offensive show.

In the end, Spain was better in terms of techniques, beating Belgium by a score of 3:1 to get the first win of the group. Spanish striker Bojan scored the first goal of the tournament, while Belgium’s Axel Witsel was shown the first yellow card of the tournament.

The 80,000-capacity Bernabeu stadium was filled to the maximum as fans witnessed the launch of Spain’s new invincible fleet, which they hope would once again dominate Europe on their own soil.

On the next day, June 10, the European Cup was in full swing. In the first rounds of each of the strong teams, they did not face any significant opponents as they effortlessly achieved their respective victories.

As the European Cup had expanded, the rules to leave the group stage had also been adjusted. Twenty-four teams were divided into six groups, and there would be four teams in each group. The first two teams from each group would immediately leave the group while the third of the four best-performing groups would advance as well, bringing together 16 teams to play in the quarterfinals.

With this modification, the competition for the group stage would not be as intense as before, because as long as your team could get the third place in the best-performing group, it could still qualify for the knockout stages. Other than the stronger teams which were aiming for the first position of each group, most of the middle-tier teams were more pragmatic in terms of their goals and were aiming for the middle positions.

It was only those groups who were supposed to be competitive which were still intensely competing with each other, like the “group of death”.

※※※

“Portugal’s weakness is the back. ” Twain was conducting his theory lessons for his team in the conference room, this was the last theory lesson before the match. If there were any tactics that the team had to use the next day, the players needed to learn them on the day itself.

In fact, each player had a tactics brochure, which was developed by the coaching staff specifically for each individual’s characteristics and their respective responsibilities, which were all distributed to the players. If they were unable to recall, they just needed to look at the booklet to recall the content. However, Twain still needed to personally explain the details, from a general perspective.

“The players holding their central line are older and they move slower than the rest. Pepe is the core of their defence and even though he’s 33 years old, injuries and age have made him less physically fit than he used to be. Ze Castro’s turn was also not as agile. The two wing-backs, Ben Nello on the right and Antoines on the left, are both assisting wing-backs and have a chance to insert, which is also a feature of Portugal’s offense. This would often create a situation where their defensive half would always be empty.

Twain drew circles around the Portuguese’s full back.

“We would use defensive counter-attack to bait their full press, then use agility to charge into those spaces,” Twain said while he drew a few arrows from the mid-field of England and inserting into the back of the Portuguese’s defensive line.

“The Portuguese side offense is effective because they have Ronaldo, Nani and Quaresma. So I request our wingers not to back down in the game and instead go face-to-face with them.” Twain then raised his fist and bumped it. “If you retreat, you’ll only let them get their way. Our offense should also make more use of the side flanks, the wing defenders also need to actively assist the offensive … We are utilizing the defensive counter-attack, not just defensive and not counter-attacking, when there are counter-attacking opportunities, both sides must press forward, I don’t hope to see a situation where our ball being passed to the front field while our players haven’t even ran past the midfield.”

Counterattack was the core reason of Twain’s insistence on defense, and if there was not any counter-attacking, there would be no use for a strong defense. They must not lack in either defense or counter-attacking because they could only win the game when they properly utilized both.

“While you’re counterattacking, your speed must be fast, it has to be fast. Minimize the passing in the midfield whenever possible.”

At this point, Twain switched on a projector on the side, as the white curtain showed England’s warm-up match against Argentina. George Wood was taking the ball with him, and after running for a while, he passed the ball to Downing on the left, as Downing’s clean insertion into the opponent’s defensive half allowed him to pass by Fazio while he passed back the ball, allowing Wood to powerfully shoot the ball towards the goal mouth.

That was the whole process of England’s first goal against Argentina.

“In this goal, we saw the benefits of effective handling the ball in midfield…” Twain rewound the process of the goal as he explained the process to his players in detail.

“As we were launching our counterattack, Argentina’s players were still coming back quickly. If during this time, George Wood stops the ball and turns around, raising his head to observe the situation, what would happen?”

He pressed the remote control as the frames began to move, where the screen was set when Wood’s pass had just passed Mascherano’s defence. “Then there would be a good chance that this pass would not be able to complete successfully. ”

The clip continued from where it had been paused at the moment Downing forced his way past Fazio.

“Even if the pass was made, Downing would not be able to pass by Fazio so easily, because there would be an Argentine defender behind Fazio to protect that space, perhaps a wing-back who returned to his position, or perhaps a central defensive midfielder who came over to assist in that position. But in any case, the probability of success of this particular attack would have been greatly reduced. ”

“You must remember, counter-attacking is fighting for time against the defending opponents, you would be able to win half the battle if you are able to get the initiative. Don’t even stop in midfield at this time. Even if you are unable to bring the ball forward at that moment, just quickly pass it to the players around you, then create the route for the ball yourself by running into position. ”

“Of course, if the other side’s defensive system was maintained better, their speed in returning back to defend to be much faster. Without a great passing position, then there would be no need to fight for speed, we can decrease our own speed and pass the ball back, while baiting them forward.” Twain made a hand gesture, as he illustrated his words with creating the images.

“Bait them out and then pass the ball decisively forward! Pass the ball into the most dangerous areas! ”

“Mitchell, you would take the position in the most front, attract all their defensive attention on you. Rooney and Gerard would hide behind you, while they will wait for the opportunity to insert. You’re not a scorer in this game, but instead you’re a head of the bridge, understand?” Twain turned towards his disciples in Nottingham Forest.

Aaron Mitchell nodded. As long as it was the arrangement of his head coach, he would not have any opinion even if he were to play center back. Because the head coach would definitely have his reasons behind any of his arrangements.

“Attract Portugal’s defensive firepower, create opportunities for team-mates and score if you have a good chance yourself. When we are launching our counter attack, you have to be the first to advance, press the Portuguese defensive line back and give Wayne Rooney and Gerrard space to insert in their defensive half.”

“No problem, head coach,” Mitchell replied.

“If Portugal were to focus on guarding our side when we’re in our attacking formation, then the central path would have to assist more. If the Portuguese shrink into the middle road to defend, then pass towards the side flanks.” Anyway, there was Mitchell’s excellent header which would dominate the air space, even if Portugal felt that there was something wrong and shrinks to play a possession game against England, so Twain was not afraid.

He did not utilize the double-fast combination of Agbonlahor and Rooney as he needed to defend against this point.

“This game we would not play the man-to-man defending, remember how we trapped Argentina’s forward attacking line-up? We would proceed with the same tactics, area defense. After the defensive line intercepts the ball, they would pass the ball forward, reduces the number of horizontal and return passes. If there isn’t any good passing opportunities, Michael Johnson should return back to receive the ball, you’re the hub of the midfield.”

Twenty-seven-year-old midfielder Michael Johnson from Tottenham Hotspur nodded. He was the one who Twain had found to be a temporary replacement for Wood. But he was not the only candidate, and in fact although Gerrard’s position needed to be closer to the opposing’s penalty area, but he was able to do Johnson’s job when it is necessary. George Wood’s insane running, defensive and offensive capabilities needed to be split amongst several people, and that was Twain’s “non-core tactics”. Before this, England’s opponents just needed to find ways to mark George Wood, but today, that was not enough.

As Twain continued to explain the tactics, George Wood was sitting in the corner listening. Actually, he did not need to attend the lesson as he was not going to play, so there was no difference in him listening to the tactics lesson or not. But being the team leader, he still sat there, attentively listening to Twain’s tactical arrangement.

It was for nothing else, he just needed to experience the competitive atmosphere.

Now, while listening to the tactical arrangement, watching the clip of the process of the goal, Wood only felt like his own body was missing the times when he was healthy.

He was thirsty for competition.

※※※

Tactical meetings were held in the morning. In the afternoon, Twain went to the Nou Camp for a pre-match press conference. He was in attendance with Portugal coach Queiroz at the same time. The media was holding a lot of expectations towards this.

Because Queiroz was said to be unhappy with Twain back when he was in Manchester United. It was also precisely because Ferguson preferred Twain over Queiroz that he did not end up in his succeeding position, which was why he chose to coach the Portuguese national team.

Now he finally had the opportunity to prove in front of the world that he was also a good coach who was not inferior to Twain.

Because of this relationship, Twain felt that the atmosphere was not right when he and Queiroz shook hands.

Queiroz had no smile on his face, Twain also kept away his smile.

The two coaches completed a photo in front of a crowd of reporters with a straight face.

At the start of the press conference, Twain made a startling statement: “I’ve known Mr Queiroz for a long time and we were familiar with each other in the Premier League. A lot of Portuguese players play in the Premier League and I am familiar with them, such as Nani and Adrian of Manchester United, Danny and Moutinho of Manchester City, Postiga at Middlesbrough, Pepe at AC Milan… I know them very well, this Portuguese team holds no secret to me. I have great confidence that I’m able to defeat them.”

As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the scene.

Everyone said Tony Twain was a mad man, today, that title was well-recognized.

Who would ever express this type of opinion before a match? He was clearly not recognizing his opponent at all, and he was also not afraid of agitating his opponent’s fighting sprit.

Sure enough, Queiroz’s face suddenly sank.

He rebutted, “I’ve really known Mr Twain as we’ve played against each other in the Premier League. I have great respect for what he has achieved. Other than that, I don’t really like him as a person at all. Truth be told, I’ve actually been in the Premier League for a long time and I know the England team very well. To tell you the truth, I think Mr. Twain is joking when he said they were very sure they were going to beat us. ”

After finishing his statement, he laughed. Then afterwards came an outburst of laughter at the scene.

Twain also laughed along — this joke was really ridiculous.

He did not continue to embarrass Queiroz. Queiroz saying “I think Mr Twain was joking when he said he had high chances of defeating us” was already a sign of weakness.

There was no meaning in completely destroying him.

But he was convinced he has successfully ignited the opponent’s firepower. Defensive counterattack, if he were not to agitate his opponent to go on a full press, how could his side even launch a counter attack?

The reporters were more concerned about what the England team would do when Wood was away. Twain did not answer such questions. Whenever there were issues relating to the tactics and formations, he would always find excuses to push them away. If he were forced to answer, he would rather not say anything.

There were nothing else significant enough to mention other than that groundbreaking speech he made in the ten-plus minutes long press conference.

It was Queiroz who was freely talking, as he was unable to compete against Twain.

“We would try our best to attack, as Portuguese football is equivalent to offensive football.”

Twain was laughing secretly by the side, it would be best for him if this occurs.

“If there were no one with injuries or issues, we will be able to send out our strongest roster.”

Twain nodded, this way, the roster you are sending out will be exactly the same as his predicted one.

“Group of death? Our aim was not leaving the group, leaving the group is not the problem.”

Twain responded to himself internally, “The third team in the best group could also leave group stage.”

…

Just like this until the end of the press conference, Twain stood up to shake hands with Queiroz again.

“See you at the game, Mr. Queiroz. ”

Queiroz was surprised by Twain’s sudden statement, not waiting for him to respond, Twain already let go of his hand and turned to walk away.

Queiroz looked at the somewhat arrogant back, as his lips clenched.

Winning a few championships for the club, are you satisfied, Mr Twain? Winning a few weaker teams in the selection matches, you think you can do whatever you want, Mr Twain?

In the national team field you are nothing but a new person, let me see how long can you remain this wild!

※※※

Twain did not know how Queiroz was cursing him internally, as he took a bath and washed away a body full of stinking sweat when he returned to his hotel. He changed his clothes as he lay down on his bed, talking to Shania on the phone.

He was very relaxed now and he was not the slightest bit nervous about bringing a national team to participate in a global competition for the first time.

What about the European Cup? I have already won championships until I am sick of it, what type of situations have I not seen?

At the end of the conversation with Shania, he turned over in bed and fell asleep.

He did not dream of his team lifting the championship trophy. Instead he dreamed that he had children. She was a lovely girl, looking as attractive and pretty as her mother. When she grew up, she would definitely be the focal point of all men.

She would naturally stick by Twain, constantly calling him “daddy”, but Twain would never get tired of it.

Not wanting her to grow up, but looking forward to her becoming a water spirit. Carrying such a contradicting emotion and watching her grow up day by day and maturing.

Even when Twain was woken up to dinner by Walker, there was still a distinct smile on his face.

“Are you in a good mood today, Tony?” Walker asked in the elevator.

“Oh, you can tell?” Twain asked.

“I’ve once heard people say that you have to see a person’s expression right after they got out of bed to properly determine a person’s emotion You’re clearly smiling, so…”

Twain laughed again, “I’m in a really good mood because I just had a beautiful dream. ”

“Did you dream of winning the championship?” “For Walker, he could not think of anything else that would make Twain smile after his dream.

Twain shook his head, “No, it was a sweeter dream that would make me even happier that winning the championships.”

“And what is that?” Des Walker responded, as he was surprised at that reply.

Twain did not answer. From the smile hung on his face, maybe he was immersed yet again in that dream scene?

※※※

PS, the European cup which is filled with excitement is about to stuck, please continue your monthly support. ( To be continued, if you want to know what happens afterwards, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )

Chapter 937 - Twain’s England Team

The stands at Camp Nou were already at full capacity. Because of Spain’s proximity to Portugal, the game brought in a lot of Portuguese fans. They almost turned Barcelona’s stadium into the home stadium of the Portuguese team.

The reporters present were given the England team’s squad list. This list included both the starting lineup and substitutes Someone saw George Wood’s name on it. They were a little confused – was it not said that Wood had not recovered from his injury and could not play in all the games of the group stage? Should he not be sitting in the stands at this moment instead of sitting on the substitutes’ bench?

Could it be a smokescreen created by Twain?

The English reporters comprehended what was going on. Twain must have wanted George Wood, who was the team captain to be at every game with the team. It would give the team a sense of reassurance in this way.

They guessed right.

Even though George Wood could not play in the game, he was doing what he could to help the team.

His teammates were warming up on the field. Instead of watching them at the side, he helped the coaches put up the triangle cones, and then he even did some light jogging to warm up. It caused another round of discussion when the reporters took in this scene.

“I really can’t see the impact of his injury. Look at his running movement, how normal it looks!”

“No, you can still see when you look closely. He looks like he’s still afraid to exert force in the front part of his right foot.”

“That’s right. Jogging slowly and playing on the pitch are two different things … Alas, it shouldn’t have been a problem at all to advance from the group stage. But now I’m starting to worry about England.”

“What’s there to be worried about! It’s as if that without George Wood, England would be an unruly bunch of people. The best players from the English Premier League are not here to look pretty.”

Someone muttered in his mind, “There’s so much hype in the English Premier League that the players could really be there to look pretty…”

Going through the players on the England team’s squad list, there were probably only four players who could be considered as having reached a truly world-class level. They were Gerrard, Terry, Rooney and George Wood. As for the others, whether they could play as the main force in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga, it was still unknown. Just like Lennon, who was once considered the top candidate to play on the right side in England, could not even play as a substitute at Inter Milan.

Therefore, for those who understood football, the England team had always been a “pseudo-strong team.” The English media certainly comprehended football too. But in order to satisfy the pride and arrogance of the English fans, they enthusiastically promoted that talent was everywhere in the English football world, and there were more talented players than there were dogs which was the aim they pursued. Only in this way could they be financially profitable. After all, no one liked to hear bad things about the team they supported.

As a result, all the previous England team looked star-studded and brilliant. But it was actually vulnerable, like a shiny porcelain bottle. And what was even more frightening was that these England players who lived all the time in the media’s lies and hyperbole publicity, really thought that they were world-class. They were unwilling to continue improving, arrogant and conceited. They would collectively drop the ball at the most critical moment.

It was already not a secret that everyone in Europe knew that England was just all hype. Such as their opponent, the Portuguese team, for this game, was well aware of it.

After returning to the locker room after the warm-up, Queiroz analyzed the England team’s current situation for the players. He came to the conclusion that Tony Twain was bluffing by saying that they could not be without Wood. He’d bet Twain could not wait for other people to think that the England team would be a second-tier team without George Wood, which in fact they were. If the Portugal team were to fear the so-called “non-core tactics” of the England team and ended up playing with constraints in the game, they would lose a great opportunity.

This was a valuable opportunity to score points.

Queiroz remembered Twain’s contempt toward him at yesterday’s press conference and it made him angry. That man just happened to be lucky and won a few Champions League titles. The reason why he became famous was not because of his great ability, but because he was in England! In that country with its overly active media, minor matters would be blown up by them into events that would affect the development of the world.

How could an unconventional and foul-mouthed manager who even married a model wife younger than him by twenty-one years, not be famous? He just had to swear the word “f**K” toward the cameras and it was enough for the media to hype for a week.

His fame and self-confidence were based on this type of foundation, and such a foundation was simply vulnerable and just an illusion.

This game would give show everyone…

“Attack the moment the game starts.” Queiroz looked at his players and said.

※※※

“If the ball possession is in our hands, retreat after a round of attack to draw them out. If they have the right to kick off, then that’s great. Let them attack and we will play defensive counterattack.”

Twain made the final arrangements in the locker room.

“The opening fifteen minutes of the game should be the time when you’re under the most pressure. No matter what happens, I don’t want to see us concede the goal. Even at the expense of our offense, I still want you to defend and hold. Once the opponent is allowed to score a goal first, the game will be hard to play.”

He said grimly, “This is our first group game. The outcome of the game will determine whether or not we can go over the line. Guys, I must admit we’re not in a good situation right now. Our opponents want to take advantage of that.” Everyone was aware that he was referring to George Wood’s absence from the group stage.

“I’ve heard some comments before, and I don’t know if you’ve heard anything.” Twain suddenly laughed, but in the eyes of his players who knew him, his laughter at this time was strange.

“There is an outside perception that the England team is being blown out of proportions by the British media and that in actual fact, our strength is only second-rate in Europe.”

Some of the players showed surprise on their faces, while the others did not seem surprised.

“I don’t know what you all think of that, but I’m not happy about it. Because you are all selected by me. But our team is labeled as ‘Europe’s second-rate.’ Europe’s second-rate!” Twain suddenly raised his voice, “I don’t care about the results of the previous England teams and what kind of impression they gave. I only know one thing – my team is here for the championship title. Will a team that can win the UEFA European Football Championship be second rate in Europe?”

“No, no, boss.”

The players answered one by one.

“So, I keep thinking that we need a chance to prove it to them. To prove that we are not all show and no substance.” Twain waved his hands and said, “Portugal is a good opponent for that.” He laughed, “We’re not going to be seen as unconvincing for beating them. As long as we win Portugal, the bastards who say we are ‘second-rate in Europe’ will have to be slapped by us! But a victory is not enough, because there are always diehards who will say we’re just lucky bastards. So, for this game, next game, and the next game … Until the final, we’re going to keep winning!”

The spirits of the players was gradually mobilized by Twain.

The time was ripe for Twain to say, “I don’t care which football clubs you come from, and whatever football philosophy you have receive. I would like to say that where I am, here in the national team, forget your statuses and football styles at the club. The national team’s football is very simple. I do not ask you to achieve anything but victory!”

※※※

Wood had not had such an experience for a long time as he sat on the substitutes’ bench watching his teammates play. In the old days of Eriksson and McClaren, he often enjoyed the treatment of sitting in the spot nearest to the field to watch the game. Later, he gradually grew to become the main force in the team’s midfield. But he did not expect that he would become a spectator again after so many years.

It did not feel good.

The game had already begun, and Terry had won the right to pick the side of the field, so the right to kick off belonged to the Portugal team. Twain was pleased with the result and clapped off the field before the game even started.

After the game started, Portugal took advantage of their kick-off to take the lead on the pitch.

Portuguese and Spanish football had a lot in common. Both belonged to the European Latin style and placed emphasis on ball control. They had exquisite footwork skills and sneered at the English style of long balls. Once they had the ball under control, it would be hard for the opponent to tackle it again.

Ten minutes into the game, the Portugal team did just that.

As long as the ball was at their feet, it would be difficult for the England team to intercept their ball unless they had completed an attack. The Portugal team’s two full backs could therefore boldly plug in to assist with the offense without worry.

Moutinho and Veloso curbed England’s Gerrard and Michael Johnson in the middle. Cristiano Ronaldo and Quaresma continuously pounded the England team’s rear defensive line on the left and right respectively.

The only good news was that a tall center forward like Mitchell was not in Portugal so that they could not make use of headers to threaten the goal defended by Joe Hart.

It was only after the Portugal players found out they had not broken through on the side with the cross passes that they changed their style of play.

At first when the Portugal team would frequently sent out cross passes from the sides, the England team would almost give up the defense on the sides and withdrew to the middle to defend against the cross passes. Now, after the Portugal team’s targeted adjustment, the England team was in a bit of a mess.

The Portuguese wingers had outstanding skills, speed and awareness. They were not player who only knew how to send out cross passes, they were also well-known as raiders on the sides.

Quaresma suddenly cut inward after he made use of a feint on the right side to brush past England’s left back Downing. Joe Mattock extended his foot to intercept the ball but tripped the other party instead. The referee whistled that Mattock had a foul. The foul caused all the English supporters to break out in cold sweat – the spot where the foul happened was just one step away from the penalty area. Quaresma almost created a penalty shot!

If that was the case, Twain’s pre-match deployment was all for naught. “Thanks” to George Wood, Quaresma had suffered a serious injury before. On top of that, he was now thirty-two years old and not as fast as before. But his skills were maturing. Rather like Luís Figo during his heyday, he only had to use his footwork skills to fool his opponents to complete a breakthrough.

Veloso was to carry out the free kick. He did not choose to pass, but directly shot at the goal from the corner of the penalty area!

He completely deceived the England goalkeeper, Joe Hart. When the football flew out of the end line after a brush with the goalpost, Joe Hart was still at the far end of the goalpost getting ready for the cross pass …

“Wow! What a shame!” The commentator cried.

Loud sighs also rang out in the stands. The Portuguese fans made up the vast majority of Camp Nou, which had completely become the home stadium of the Portugal national team.

Having missed such a good scoring opportunity, Veloso was a little annoyed. He looked up at the sky and kept mumbling with his mouth.

The shot made Twain rise up from his seat in the technical area. He felt a little nervous. No matter how much preparation he did before the game, he could not predict exactly what would happen in the game. It might be a kind of charm football had, but it was torture for Twain.

“If you’re going to have a foul, you must also remember to stay away from the penalty area…” He was talking to himself on the sidelines.

Without George Wood in the midfield to defend, the England team was not as good as they used to be. Portugal’s midfield clearly had the upper hand. Soon after, they besieged England’s goal, hoping to score early.

The Portuguese fans in the stands cheered on and encouraged their team, sparing no efforts.

But twenty minutes passed, and the Portugal team’s bombardment did not bear fruit. England’s tight defense left the Portugal at a loss.

They wanted to make use of individual techniques to break through, but the England team would rather give them free kicks than to let them break through and get in. It served the Portugal right for not being able to score. In today’s game, several of their players were in poor form to send out the free kicks. Other than Veloso taking advantage of Joe Hart’s inertial thinking to threaten the goal, there was no more shot that made things difficult for Hart.

Seeing that his team had no way of facing a tight defense, the Portuguese commentator quipped, “Since when does the England team learn to withdraw to defend? They are simply playing like a weak team from Eastern Europe. When Tony Twain coached the Forest team, the Forest team’s style play was considered the ugliest to watch and was the least passionate. Now he has transformed the England team into this way…”

Motson, the BBC commentator in charge of the commentary for the England game, did not care about all these. He loudly cheered Twain’s team on, “The Portugal team thinks that their offense is sharp, but in front of England’s defense, they are realizing just how ridiculously wrong they are!”

The Germany national team’s manager sitting in the stands wrote in a small notebook, “… Losing George Wood, the England team’s strength is clearly impaired, and they are adopting a tighter defense to reduce the pressure on the rear defensive line…”

Later that same day, the Germany national team would play against Wales in Valencia. They had not forgotten to keep a close eye on the group’s other two rivals in competition to advance out of the group stage. They did not care too much about the Wales team.

※※※

Zé Castro, the Portuguese national team’s center back, was bored stiff. His teammates were busy in front, trying to break England’s goal, while he and Pepe stayed at the back to watch the game. Such a game was really boring.

He looked around and continued to run toward the front in a short distance. He pressed ahead on the center line. In his mind, he calculated whether to step in on time to participate in the attack and do a long shot for the fun of it.

“José, come back!” Pepe suddenly shouted his name in the back.

Castro waved his hands behind him. The England team was like an ostrich. What was there to be afraid of?

“The fool!” Pepe scolded in a low voice at the back when he saw that he could not call him back.

He set his sights on the England team’s technical area on the sidelines.

Tony Twain was standing in the command area with both hands in his pockets. It was a good thing he was not sitting in the technical area and crossing his leg with one ankle on his other knee.

Two years had gone by and he still had not forgotten the boss’ habit. Different movements represented different meanings. Only the Nottingham Forest players could understand. If he was sitting on the sidelines with one leg over another, it would mean that he had a card up his sleeve, and that there must be a scheme behind it. He was currently standing on the sidelines, so it meant that he was not very confident deep down – he was afraid his team would be destroyed by the Portugal team’s tumultuous offensive.

Maybe he himself was over-thinking it?

Pepe shook his head gently. He did not know why he had an ominous hunch in his mind when he looked at England playing so badly. It felt familiar and reminded him a little of Nottingham Forest.

If the England team in front of him had changed the white jerseys to red ones, perhaps it would remind him more.

While Pepe was lost in his thoughts, his central defender partner simply went over the center line. After he received a back pass from his teammates, he made a feint before choosing to dribble the ball himself to break through!

As a Portuguese player, even the center back had fine footwork skills. He managed to cross the midfield and chose to pass the ball as he approached the England team’s penalty area. But after passing the ball on to his teammate, Moutinho, he did not run back. Instead, he continued to plug ahead and tried to play a two-over-one pass!

But Moutinho’s pass was intercepted by Michael Johnson!

The England team launched a counterattack!

Johnson passed the ball to Gerrard, who sent forth a long pass!

Mitchell, the lighthouse in the front field, grabbed the spot before Veloso and then leapt high to head the ball….

The football flew obliquely to the back where Walcott was plugging in at a high speed!

At this time, the entire Portugal team’s backfield were only left with two players, Pepe and the goalkeeper, Rui Patrício. The Portuguese players did not even react for a while – is our backfield so empty? Where have all the people gone?

“Asshole!” Pepe could only swore at his partner, Castro who had rushed up, to vent his anger at this time. He hurriedly left the middle and dashed toward the side to intercept and block Walcott. The boy’s speed was a level to run a hundred meters sprint……

The ominous hunch in his mind came true. This scene was so familiar to him – they used to deal with powerful opponents like that when he was at the Forest team. When the opponents were complacent during the besieging of the Forest team, they had no idea that their Achilles heel was completely exposed to the Forest team’s firepower.

Pepe already planned to foul when he rushed to tackle Walcott’s ball. He did a slide tackle in the hope of knocking the ball out of the field along with the player himself.

But he miscalculated. He might have been able to do so two years ago, but at the age of thirty-two, he had no ability to look down on the” young tiger” Walcott’s youth.

The ball was taken away by Walcott before his toes even touched the football. Then the Arsenal winger nimbly leapt up and evaded Pepe’s slide shovel.

He broke through!

Twain took his two hands of his pants pocket and was clenching his fists, ready to wave.

The England team’s chance finally came after holding on hard for more than twenty minutes. It came so easily that he was worried about whether Walcott would waste this great opportunity by having too many distracting thoughts in his mind…

“If you miss this shot, I’ll make you sit on the substitutes’ bench in the next game!” Twain harped on fiercely.

Walcott broke through Pepe and the rest of the England players did not stay behind to watch the show. The strikers, Mitchell, Rooney and Downing all dialed up their speed to the highest and ran with all their might toward the opponent’s penalty area, ready to receive the pass that might appear at any time.

It was scary for the Portuguese – it was definitely not an accident. It was a premeditated counterattack and a blatant plot!

Now even if Walcott slowed down, the England team also had a good chance of breaching the goal. The Portugal team’s center back, Zé Castro was still near the center circle as he ran back to defend… He was running very hard, but he was not a speedy player by nature. Instead, it was the two full backs who were giving chase quickly.

Rooney rushed to the fore front. He raised his arm to signal for Walcott to pass the ball.

Walcott, who had already dribbled the ball into the penalty area, looked at the goalkeeper, Patrício, who was ready to pounce and looked at Rooney again. Then he swept the football over.

The ball was slightly nearer to the front… Rooney gritted his teeth and charged over. Then he then did a studs-up!

“England’s counterattack … Walcott is fast! Patrício strikes! He has abandoned the goal to strike! Rooney rushes in, and will Walcott pass the ball… He passed the ball! He passed the ball! It’s a little wide, slightly wider, a bit too far…a slide shot!!” The neutral Spanish commentator spoke so fast, like a machine gun, and the spectators’ hearts beat faster in sync.

He struck the ball and the football changed direction to bounce toward the goal.

Motson had already roared in anticipation of the celebratory goal, “GOOOO—”

The football flew in a parabolic line and descended into the empty goal.

“——OOOAL!!”

Pepe, lying outside the field, saw the scene and angrily smashed the turf with his hands.

Twain held his fists up high and waved to the sky. The crowd in the technical area and substitutes’ bench behind him rushed out. They waved their fists and cheered.

Once Rooney got up from the ground, he ran excitedly with his arms wide open toward Walcott, who had passed him the ball. Mitchell and Downing, who had been sprinting just now, did not slow down. They simply turned straight to catch up with Rooney. The rest of the England players were also dashing to the front field. It was a spectacular scene.

It took less than fifteen seconds for the England team from when they turned out in full force to attack till they were celebrating the goal. Most of the Portuguese players were still in the front field, unable to react yet.

Queiroz angrily kicked the water bottle beside his feet. The England team was too despicable and cunning!!

“England scores its first goal of the tournament. In the 23rd minute, they take a 1:0 lead over Portugal! It’s just their second shot in the entire game! With such a terrifying efficiency!”

The England players were in a tight embrace after the goal, Twain saw the “solidarity” he wanted most to see. He glanced at the angry Queiroz, and he knew that he had the Portugal team in the palm of his hands.

Chapter 938 - The Match That Ended in Advance

John Motson laughed as he provided his commentary of the match. “Did Queiroz think that Tony Twain would go head to head with him? Didn’t he claim to know Tony Twain better than everyone else? How can he possibly not remember Twain’s most prominent trait? It’s to counter-attack! Counter-attack! Haha!”

Queiroz’s face would definitely look even more unpleasant than it is now if he heard Motson’s mockery of him.

It is not as if he never thought about preventing England’s counter-attacks. It is just that he simply could not dictate the players’ behavior for the entirety of the match. The players have constantly attacked Forest for the past 20 minutes or so, and it was only natural that some of them would start to slack off. Who would have thought that England would make use of that one chance and score from it?

Being a goal down puts Portugal at a great disadvantage. However, Queiroz has no other choice but to get his team to continue with their attacks, because they could not possibly retreat backwards to defend. The word ‘retreat’ does not exist in Portuguese football.

England did not try to get another goal and continue with their offense after taking the lead. Instead, they retreated backwards to defend against Portugal’s attacks. The Portugal football stars all started feeling helpless against England’s compact defense. This is a defense that immobilized the Argentina team that is led by Messi. If it can work against Argentina, it can also work against Portugal. Hence, Twain did not fear Portugal.

“F*ck! Bunch of cowards!” Zé Castro cursed at the back.

Castro has lost the courage to run forward now. It did not matter how much he might long to run to the front and join in the attack. He is no longer able to do that. He has to stay behind and protect the back of the pitch alongside Pepe.

Castro has to take full responsibility for the team being a goal down. He had run forward rashly earlier, and that had led to him being out of position during England’s counter-attack. As a result, he was not able to track back to defend in time. He had finally managed to secure his position as a starting player in the national team, and he certainly did not want to lose his position because of this particular mistake of his.

Pepe heard his partner’s complaints, but he only shrugged his shoulders in response. He felt a sense of security when he was a part of Forest’s compact defense back then, but now… He felt nothing but hatred towards it.

What Pepe hates even more is the fact that England is also able to counter-attack. They would have been somewhat easier to beat if they could only defend well. You are really making things difficult for others, boss…

Pepe is actually a center-back who enjoys moving forward to join in the attack. He had managed to bring the ball forward and score a goal all by himself while playing for the Portugal national team before. But, against England… No, to be more exact, against Tony Twain, Pepe has to relinquish all his desires to move forward and attack. He has to defend with all his might and pay extra attention whenever Twain’s team attacks.

The match reached a stalemate. The Portugal players were not able to break down England’s rigid defense, and England’s infrequent counter-attacks were all quickly stopped by Pepe and Zé Castro.

※※※

Queiroz was certain that the current 1:0 score is all that England wants for the game since they are playing counter-attacking football. Thus, he believed that England would shift their focus onto defense and stop going on the offense as much for the remainder of the match. When England scored a goal against them earlier, he had yelled at his two fullbacks to retreat backwards and focus more on defense. But now, he considered getting his two fullbacks to go on the offense once again after seeing how England’s subsequent counter-attacks had all failed to threaten Portugal’s goalpost.

Portugal’s current offense lacks depth without the support from the fullbacks, and it would never be able to break down England’s defense.

The pressure on the England defense increased immensely when the two Portugal fullbacks rushed forward to join in the offense.

Twain could tell that Portugal had gained the upper hand in the game as he watched from the side of the pitch. Two of their shots had hit the crossbar successively earlier. If things were to go on like this any longer, England might not be able to retain their lead.

He whistled at the players from the side before gesturing for them to go on the counter-attack.

England found another chance to counter-attack on the 36th minute of the match. Gerrard did a long pass to the front of the pitch, and Downing chased after the ball down the flank. Pepe was prepared to deal with England’s attack this time round. He got Castero to guard the space at the back while he ran forward towards the ball.

There was too much force behind Gerrard’s pass. The ball flew straight towards the corner flag. Most players would choose to give up on such a pass by now, and they might raise a thumb at their teammate and praise him for the pass even if they did not mean it, but Downing did none of those. Instead, he charged towards where the ball was going to land at full-speed.

Downing’s actions caused Pepe to be on full alert. He knew that Downing would be directly facing the goalpost if he allowed him to get to the ball…

The two soon met each other on the pitch, and Pepe immediately tried to push Downing towards the corner flag.

Downing was positioned nearer to the ball than Pepe, but with Pepe defending against him at such a close proximity, he did not know if he could control the ball at his feet once it landed. Even if he managed to control the ball, the position that he is in is unfavorable for him to carry out his next action.

The two of them were inching closer and closer to the corner flag. Out of desperation, Downing jumped into the air and headed the ball towards Pepe. The ball was too close to Pepe for him to react. He could not dodge in time and the ball hit him on the body before flying out of bounds. Downing managed to help the team earn a throw-in from a dangerous position. He did not let the opportunity to counter-attack go to waste.

The England defenders did not press forward during the throw-in. Joe Mattock was the only defender who went up to the front of the pitch to throw the ball. The other three defenders had all remained at the back of the pitch. Michael Johnson also stayed at the back to help with the defense. England wanted to ensure that they had an ample number of players at the back at all times so as to deal with Portugal’s counter-attacks.

Besides the four players who are involved in the team’s defense, every other England player had rushed to the front to join in the offense. Rooney and Mitchell were both positioned inside the penalty box, whereas Gerrard stood alone at a corner and waited for a chance to shoot at the goal from afar. Walcott ran towards the middle of the pitch, and he planned to either shoot at the goal himself or organize a second attack on Portugal’s goal.

Downing was the player who went up to Mattock to receive the throw-in.

Pepe, who stands at 1.86m tall, is Portugal’s tallest defender. He naturally went to defend against England’s tallest player Mitchell.

Mitchell shook off Pepe’s hand that was on his body. “I’d fall to the ground right now if you continue to grab my shirt, Pepe!”

Pepe was not enraged by Mitchell’s words. He grinned and put his hand back on Mitchell’s body. “Be careful not to pick up a yellow card for diving.”

Pepe was well aware that he did not have an advantage in terms of height over other players. Thus, he needs to make use of a bit of brute force while defending to make up for his flaws, or else he would not be fit to play as a center-back. Mitchell was a player that he could not be any more familiar with. He knew that he must never let his former teammate get to the ball. Mitchell, who stands at 2.01m tall, is not like the other giants in the game who are poor at jumping into the air and heading the ball. He is good at both aspects.

Miguel Veloso retreated backwards towards the goalpost and stood next to Mitchell. Mitchell was now sandwiched between both Veloso and Pepe. Veloso and Pepe both play for AC Milan right now, and they are able to coordinate with each other well without the use of words.

Mattock surveyed the situation on the pitch. The only player whom he could pass the ball to was Downing, but Downing was heavily marked by their opponents. Even if Downing managed to receive the ball, he would likely not be able to turn his body around, and the ball would most probably get passed back to him. If that happens, what should he do next? Should he carry the ball forward by himself? Or should he pass the ball? Where should he pass the ball to?

He had to think through all his options ahead of time. He did not want to be in a situation whereby he is at a loss after throwing the ball. He lifted his head to look at the penalty box. Mitchell was the player that stood out the most. He was simply much taller than everyone else on the pitch.

Mattock came up with a plan. He tossed the ball over to Downing and made a gesture for the latter to pass the ball back to him.

Downing knew what he had to do next even without Mattock’s gesture. Vitorino Antunes has been slamming his body into him all this time, and he was certain that he would not be able to control the ball under such circumstances. He did not wait for the ball to land. He kicked the ball over to Mattock while it was still in mid-air.

Mattock stopped the ball with his feet as Downing helped to hold Antunes back. Mattock then took a step back so as to keep a distance between him and Antunes before crossing the ball into the middle of the penalty box without hesitation.

It is a very simple tactic.

But, it is very effective when Mitchell is in the penalty box.

Pepe grabbed Mitchell’s shirt with all his might after seeing the ball fly towards the goalpost. Mitchell tussled and tried to break free from both Pepe and Veloso.

The goalkeeper, Patrício, did not just stand there and do nothing either. He was trying to time his jump and grab the ball before Mitchell gets to it.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. When Pepe and Mitchell jumped into the air, the ball was already right above the goalpost.

Patrício was a little too slow with his jump. Pepe and Mitchell had already leaped into the air by then, and all he could do was to pray that Pepe is able to stop Mitchell, or that Mitchell misses the shot due to Pepe’s interference.

Unfortunately, he was let down.

Mitchell had jumped much higher than Pepe did. No other player was higher than him now, and the ball was right before his eyes. There is no better chance than this! There is no one who can stop him! Not even Pepe!

“Aaron Mitchell heads the ball! The ball has gone in! A brilliant goal! Well done!” John Motson cheered once again.

The England fans at the stands began singing the song ‘God Save the King’ at the top of their voices to cheer for their team.

“England leads Portugal 2:0 on the 37th minute of the match! Nobody could have expected this! Portugal has 67% possession and they have been dominating the game so far, but it is England who lead by two goals!”

Mitchell flung his arms out wide and ran over to the corner flag to hug Joe Mattock and his other teammates after scoring the goal.

The Portugal players, on the other hand, look like they had just been struck by lightning and they stood rooted to the ground. They could not believe that they were trailing by two goals before the end of the first half since they were the team who has been dominating possession in the game so far…

What is happening?

Based on the flow of the game and the statistics of the match so far, we should be the ones with the lead in the match right now…

Where has it gone wrong?

Where exactly has it gone wrong?

One of the Portugal players shifted his gaze onto his manager, Carlos Queiroz.

Queiroz did not behave like he did previously when England scored a goal against them. He acted with more poise and did not kick the mineral bottle this time round. All he did was stand rooted by the side of the pitch. Just like his players, he too, was thinking about where it went wrong for his team…

Pepe has an inkling as to what went wrong for his team – he was not young any more. Two years ago, he would have been able to interfere with Mitchell’s shot by making use of his outstanding physical attributes to make up for the difference in height between him and Mitchell. But now, all he could do was to raise his head and watch as Mitchell heads the ball into the back of the net…

“F*ck!” Pepe clenched his fists. He longed to hit something to vent his frustration, but there was nothing next to him besides the goalpost.

※※※

The Portugal players looked distraught as they stood on the pitch. Twain, on the other hand, could not stop laughing as he sat at his seat at the dugout. “Haha! Did they think that we’d be happy with a 1:0 score because we are playing counter-attacking football? How childish! Who said that teams who play counter-attacking football cannot score a lot of goals? I’d prove it to you today!”

Most people like to jump to conclusions about how a match had progressed based on the score. Whenever they see a score of 1:0, they would think that the match must have been extremely boring and full of inactivity in which both teams did nothing but defend against each other. Whenever they see scores such as 4:3 or 6:0 however, they would think that it was an intense and wonderful match in which both teams constantly went at each other.

However, reality is brutal. A team is able to – or at the very least has a high possibility of being able to, score a lot of goals even if they play counter-attacking football. The team who dominates possession in the game is never always the team who has the lead in the game.

“Make the score 3:0! Or 4:0! I don’t want any of you to give up on any chance to score a goal! I want this match to be the match that ends Portugal’s journey in the Euro Cup! Aha!”

Twain clenched his fists and spun around once. He could not hide his excitement after seeing how easily his team had taken a two-goal lead over Portugal.

※※※

The manager of the German national football team was taken aback by how easily England had taken a two-goal lead over a decent Portugal side. He was of the opinion that it would be a fierce battle between the two teams since they were both evenly matched, but he did not expect Twain’s team to come out victorious without as much as a scratch on them. The result took both him and his coaching staff by surprise. It looks like they have to re-evaluate Tony Twain’s abilities as a manager…

The Germans were not the only ones who went to watch the match. The French, Italian, Dutch and the Spanish were also there to see how the match between England and Portugal would unfold, and every single one of them was given a rough wake-up call by Tony Twain.

They were all thinking about the same question in their minds: if it was our team on the pitch right now, would we be able to triumph over England’s counter-attacking football?

How can a team break down a rigid defense and deal with a lightning quick counter-attack at the same time? This is a universally difficult problem.

The Italians were not as worried about having to face England. After all, they are also a team that frequently plays counter-attacking football. They were certain that England would end up becoming just like Portugal if they were to go against them.

The England players returned to their locker room with a two-goal lead in the match. The Portugal players, on the other hand, seemed dejected as they walked off the pitch. Anyone who saw how the Portugal players look like right now would think that the match has ended in advance, and that there was nothing to look forward to in the second half.

An Italian ‘intelligence officer’ stood to his feet and stretched before putting away his camcorder. He decided to leave the premises early since there would not be many transportation options to choose from when it gets late. Coming to watch the match today was nothing more than a routine for him due to his job. He did not think that either England or Portugal would face Italy early in the competition. The earliest that Italy would face either team would be in the finals.

Can either England or Portugal make their way to the finals? England needs to think about how they are going to advance to the next round without George Wood first. As for Portugal… Look at how they are playing against an England side that does not even have George Wood in the team! Does Italy even need to worry about such a team?

※※※

Carlos Queiroz should have blown his top after seeing how his team had inexplicably gone behind by two goals at the end of the first half. However, throwing a temper is not his style. His style is to think about where it went wrong for his team and to come up with ways to deal with it in the second half calmly.

He figured out where it went wrong for his team in the first half.

“I think we were too optimistic in the first half. We underestimated our opponents. We kept pressing forward, and that led to a lot of space at the back that England could exploit. The first goal was the key to our downfall, because it completely disrupted our entire plan up till then.” The composed Queiroz analyzed what went wrong for his despondent players. He admitted that he had made an error, although he subsequently also dragged the entire team down with him…

“But, I have no intentions of playing defensive in the second half! Never!” Queiroz could not help but raise his voice as he recalled the look of happiness on Twain’s face after England scored a goal. The glee upon Twain’s face was just like a blade, and it stabbed him on his heart. Queiroz truly hates that man, and anything that makes Twain happy would make him unhappy.

“Do you all think that the match is over? It’s far from over! The England team might think that the match has ended in advance and they might be celebrating in their locker room right now! This is our chance…” He leaned forward and stared at his players, before speaking slowly, “We underestimated our opponents in the first half. But they are the ones who are going to underestimate us in the second half.”

Chapter 939 - The First Step Towards Conquering Europe

“Wayne Rooney! Scores one more goal! Just seven minutes into the start of the second half, England scores their third goal of the game! This is an astonishing advantage!”

This time even John Motson’s tone revealed unconcealed surprise.

Not only himself, but perhaps even the most hardcore England fan did not expect their team to have the lead over Portugal so easily.

One must know that Portugal always had the reputation as “the Brazilian team of Europe.” To be able to play so well against Europe’s Brazilian team, it could be seen that the England team’s strength was extraordinary. Perhaps they were not the rumored “Europe’s second-rate team” long ago?

Rooney was very thrilled about his second goal in the game, and his teammates were as excited as he was.

But while celebrating the goal, Twain keenly noticed that the Portuguese players did not look as frustrated as they had at the end of the first half. They should have appeared ashen after three goals, but looking at them now, their expressions did not continue to deteriorate.

What did Queiroz say to them during the halftime interval?

Twain did not think about this question carefully. For him, a one-goal lead was the least secure score. But a three-goal lead was enough to give him a peace of mind sitting in his chair to watch the game. He did not believe that the Portugal team could turn the game around three goals behind. That would be remarkable.

Unless you’re playing with me, God.

Twain glanced up at the sky at the thought of it. There was nothing in the dark blue night sky.

As the captain of the Portugal national team, Cristiano Ronaldo was not the type who could be a leader. But at this moment, he gathered his teammates together.

“It’s not the time to give up yet! If we lose to England here, our UEFA European Championship journey will be over! They are now three goals ahead and will definitely take the enemy lightly. This is our chance! We’ll surprise them!”

He raised his fist and held it out, and his teammates raised their fists to place on top. More and more fists were stacked together. It represented the determination of the Portuguese players.

Ronaldo was thirty-one years old this year. He could still play in one more World Cup. But it would be difficult to say for another UEFA European Championship. He knew that his form would inevitably decline, which was a rule of thumb that no one could escape. Hence he did not want to have any regrets for UEFA European Championship this time. They came with the great ambition to conquer Europe. If they were crushed by the England in the first game they played, how could they talk about conquering Europe?

They absolutely must not lose the game!

※※※

“In the 52nd minute, England take a 3:0 lead over Portugal. It seems that Tony Twain does indeed have some skills. Without George Wood, the England team is even better. It’s really unexpected…”

The Germany manager muttered to himself in the stands. There was much to be gained in today’s game. Initially due to Wood’s injury, the Germans’ intelligence reports believed that the Portugal team was the biggest threat in their group. It now appeared that the information had to be updated and the assessment must be revised.

Similarly, those who had the same thinking as he included the Spanish scouts, the French scouts, the Dutch scouts… and so on other intelligence-gathering personnel who insisted on staying in the stands.

Previously in the domain of the national teams, the popular perception was that regardless of how many glorious feats Tony Twain had achieved at the club level, a football club and national team were two completely different worlds. His outstanding performance in the qualifiers was nothing to go by because the teams in the group were so weak… Danish football and Serbian football had long since fallen.

So, in fact, Twain had not yet proved his ability to coach the national team. Those big shots who coached the national teams were mostly dismissive of him. He was a frivolous young man and a man who was deemed successful due to the media blowing it out of proportions… Here in the arena, actual results spoke louder than words.

Now, Tony Twain used such a beautiful 3:0 score to let those people withdraw their skeptical gazes. It was a beautiful first game.

If they knew each other well, they would definitely come together to pick apart the game so far. But now these “spies” could only give an evaluation in their minds:

“Tony Twain is very strong and needs special attention. Queiroz is already over. His contract expires after the UEFA European Championship. Watching them botched the game for fifty minutes, it is believed that the Portuguese Football Federation will not prepare a new contract for him. He has completely lost control of the team and is in a completely disadvantageous position in the game against Tony Twain…”

Some people cast glances at the Portuguese Football Federation president, Madaíl, sitting on the podium. The old man’s face looked really ugly…

In front of the whole world, his team was humiliated by the England team’s three-goal. It would be impossible for anyone else to smile if they were to be in the same circumstances.

In fact, Madaíl was indeed cursing Queiroz and his forefathers eight generations up deep down. The English Football Association chief executive, Mr. Shaun Harvey was sitting next to him and smiling as brightly as a spring flower. It was simply a blatant taunt. He really could not take this lying down.

The somewhat chubby Englishman had already cheered in front of him thrice. God damn it!

※※※

Both Ronaldo and Queiroz anticipated well. The England team inevitably slackened after a three-goal lead. Whether it was their defense or counterattacks, they were not as aggressive as they were before.

This was a chance for the Portuguese player. If they could not seize it, then their failure would truly be irreversible…

The Portuguese players bet all their hopes in this game and turned out in full force. They did not care how they would defend against the England team’s fourth quick counterattack. Because this consideration was meaningless if they could not get a goal in at this time. It was no difference whether the other team scored ten goals or one more goal.

The Portuguese players’ ferocious attack left the England team in a bit of a mess which also surprised Tony Twain – he did not think that Queiroz’s team really wanted to reverse the natural order of things.

“Ronaldo forces a breakthrough in the middle… He was tripped by Michael Johnson to the ground. A free kick! … Ronaldo himself will take the penalty shot. He stands behind the ball… He runs up and lifts his foot for the shot – the ball goes in! The ball is in!!”

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!!!” The Portuguese commentator roared excitedly.

The Portuguese fans, who had been silent for most of the game, jumped from their seats.

“The Portugal team gets a goal back … it is completely unexpected, but it does not change the outcome of the game. For the Portuguese fans it is just a goal to save face.” John Motson said. What he said made sense. The English fans were not upset and furious about the goal concede. They still had a smile on their faces – they still had a two-goal lead.

Madaíl stood up and waved his fists for a while before sat down again. After a brief excitement, he still felt depressed. His team needed to score three more goals if they wanted to win… It was too difficult.

The goal concede surprised Twain, who stood up and swore while complaining about his displeasure. But he did not take the goal concede too seriously in his mind. Like the English fans, he felt that there was nothing to fear at all with a two-goal lead in hand.

But the goal greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the Portuguese players.

Just four minutes later, they regrouped and came back even stronger. Meireles passed the ball forward. The player who pulled to the sideline to receive the ball this time was not Ronaldo, but their striker, Yannick Djaló. The not-so-tall black kid was very fast. When he received the football, he ripped apart the England team’s defense.

Then he did not continue to dribble the ball or cut inward to break through. He suddenly raised his foot to cross the ball!

England’s rear defensive line was not tight. Otherwise they would not have been ripped apart by Djaló. They were clearly not as concerned about Portugal’s attack as they had been before. Ronaldo’s free kick which cracked the goal open did not sound the alarm for them.

Djaló’s cross pass did not send the football in front of the goal but crossed it over to the penalty area. Ronaldo, who suddenly appeared in the middle, leapt high over there. He was 1.88-meter-tall and had an excellent bounce. He would occasionally use a header to breach the goal …

“Djaló crosses the ball over … Ronaldo jumps for a header!!”

The football was hit by his head and flew towards the goal. Joe Hart’s standing position had some problems. He was defending the back goalpost but did not expect Ronaldo to head the ball toward the front goalpost … England’s national goalkeeper flew out with all his might but did not touch the ball at all.

Everyone saw the football brushed the nearest goalpost and crashed into the net…

“The ball’s in! A second goal! Ronaldo scores his second goal!!!” The Portuguese commentator went crazy. “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!! This is incredible! We’ve reversed the score with two goals and we’re only one goal behind! Anything is possible! Come on, Portugal!!”

Ronaldo was so excited after the goal that he waved his fists wildly and roared toward the sky. So much so that his teammates were afraid to approach him for a while, for fear that his fists would hurt innocent people.

“It’s really…” Motson did not know what to say for a while. Within four short minutes, their lead had gone from three goals down to one goal and became the “world’s most dangerous score” . . . “Those tenacious Portuguese players, England has slightly underestimated their opponent!” It was not that they had “slightly underestimated their opponent.”

Camp Nou was shaking. The Portuguese fans were stamping their feet and cheering wildly in the stands. Even the camera lenses shook. They saw hope of beating England.

Come on, let’s have a dramatic reversal!

The Portuguese were in full celebration mode while Tony Twain was somewhat flustered and exasperated. He got up from his seat, waving his arms and scolding loudly. He was very unhappy with the performance of his players within these four minutes. “You bastards! I want to see how you are going to wrap this up now!”

The members of the England coaching unit also had grim expressions on their faces.

The England players stood stupefied on the pitch and felt incredulous about the score. There were a number of them who probably had not regained their composure.

It was those people in the stands who were “here to watch the show” started to show smiles on their faces. The game was really interesting…

“… Tony Twain’s team, like his own temper, is a little erratic and shows inconsistencies in its performance. It clearly illustrates a problem under the circumstances of actually allowing the Portugal team to score two goals in four minutes when they have a three-goal lead before…” The German manager added another line in the notebook.

※※※

On the podium, Madaíl cheered from the heart. His current mood was very different from what it was four minutes earlier. Quite simply, he saw the hope of winning. It was right in front of his eyes… He could catch it as soon as he reached his hand out. He no longer cared what that Englishman, Harvey would think of his crazy celebration. He just wanted to show off!

Come on, Portugal!

He roared in his heart.

※※※

Twain dropped the “I want to see how you wrap this up” remark, he sat down in his seat in a huff and waited to see what the overwhelmed players on the field would do. But his stance did not last long. He quickly got up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines to yell, “What are you doing? Now’s the time to buck up! Gentlemen! We’re only one goal ahead. If you still don’t do something, all of us will be the laughingstock of the world tomorrow!!”

“To lose a game with a three-goal lead! We’ll be the first! Do you feel honored by it!?”

He did not make any tactical adjustments because the tactics were not the problem at all. The problem laid with the attitude of those carrying them out. As long as they could adjust their mentality, the tactics would still work.

And he knew that as long as the mentality of the players could be adjusted, the initiative of the game was actually in his hands.

The Portuguese players could not accept the result of a 2:3 defeat. They would continue to attack and fully press on, hoping to take advantage of the England team’s collective distraction to equalize the score, or even overtake…

It was a dangerous moment for the England team. But it was also a time of opportunity… It depended on who could seize it. So, he had to yell at the England players to wake up right away.

Not all England players could hear Twain’s words, but they knew the boss was furious.

He did indeed have reason to be angry. A three-goal lead was reduced to a one-goal lead… It was truly a shame!

※※※

The game resumed and the Portugal team did launch a tidal wave of offensive against England, one wave more powerful than the other. England could only shrink its defense, looking extremely pathetic.

But behind the pathetic scenes, Twain saw what he wanted – his players got their game form back. As long as they maintained their form, England’s defense would be fine.

Portugal also quickly found that their opponent had returned to its normal state and had not been impacted by the previous two goal concede. After weighing the pros and cons, they dialed down the siege against England because they must start to reconsider their defense against England’s counterattack…

Following which, England then organized several counterattacks that were intercepted by the Portugal team’s defense led by Pepe. The game was back in a stalemate after a brief high.

The two managers also kept changing their postures on the sidelines.

At first, Twain was standing on the sidelines, watching the field nervously. Queiroz, on the other hand, sat in his seat, seemingly had a card up his sleeve.

But as time went on, the score still remained at 3:2. After shifting his butt in the coach’s seat, Queiroz finally stood up and walked to the sidelines He made various hand gestures, and an anxious look gradually surfaced on his somewhat suntanned face.

Twain turned around and sat back in his seat. He crossed his legs, ankle over the knee.

As the game wore on, the situation could only get better and better for him. He knew he was getting closer to the first UEFA European Championship victory as the minutes ticked by.

What did it matter that the game was ugly to watch? So, what if it was a narrow victory? It was just an interlude in the process. As long as the result was good, then all was well.

Twain was able to stay calm and composed, but it did not mean that his players could accept the result – the original three-goal lead would have allowed them to finish the game beautifully so that no one would still think that they were a second-rate team in Europe. But the Portugal team’s counterattack in four minutes ruined everything they had done before. No one would remember the glory of their three-goal lead. The three-goal lead could only become a joke and a footnote to the current score. Even if they won, people would just say that, “They were close to losing the game in the situation where they had a three-goal lead. They won narrowly in the end… But that was terrible!”, “They really showed themselves to be a second-rate team in Europe. A bunch of egomaniacs touted by the English media…”, “They are really all made of China, good-looking on the outside but completely fragile. The Portugal team was really unlucky…”

The thought of getting that kind of evaluation made them unable to bear letting the game end like this. Now they wanted more time in the game than the Portugal team so they could continue to expand the score.

Twain used the last substitution spot in the 80th minute and brought Chris Cohen on to replace Downing. He had replaced Walcott with Bentley and Gareth Barry with Gerrard before.

The two wingers he replaced were physically fit. They were able and willing to return to defend in time, which demonstrated his attitude – the heavy emphasis on defense in the final stage.

But the players on the pitch did not think so. They were enraged by the Portuguese players and were looking for a counterattack opportunity in the final moments of the game, like a bunch of hungry wolves who were also baited by their prey at the same time.

※※※

In the 86th minute, the Portuguese players launched an attack. The goalkeeper, Patrício kicked the ball wide into the midfield.

The tallest man on the field, Mitchell, won the fight for the header. He gave the ball to Gareth Barry.

Barry passed the ball to Michael Johnson up ahead. When the Portuguese players realized the control of the ball had changed hands, they hurried back to defend. Three players pounced toward Johnson with the ball at the first instance.

Johnson, a produce of the Manchester City youth camp, showed a remarkable calm composure at this time. He did not rush to put the ball in front of him. Instead, he turned his body and drew the other side’s defensive attention to his side. Then he saw Wayne Rooney plug in from behind!

If he passed the ball over to him, it would be a one on one with the goalkeeper!

At the thought of it, he gave his ankle a shake, and sent the football forward.

Rooney plugged in just in time and got to the ball in between two Portuguese center backs.

“A gorgeous straight pass though the gap!”

Rooney dribbled the ball into the penalty area and saw the goalkeeper, Patrício, struck. He raised his leg to do a long shot!

The football was blocked out by Patrício… the English fans held their heads in their hands and bemoaned the attack.

But England’s attack was not over yet!

Chris Cohen, who had only been on the field for six minutes, appeared on the left side of the penalty area just as the football flew straight into that direction.

Patrício was still lying on the ground. When he saw Cohen, he had a look of horror on his face. Using his hands and feet, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and jumped toward the goal behind him.

Cohen did not have a single Portuguese defender around him. Johnson and Rooney had helped him attract all the Portuguese players’ attention.

He suddenly slowed down during the run, adjusted his pace, and then picked up his left foot just when the football fell.

He directly volleyed a shot!!

Patrício flew out for a save again, but the football flew past him in front of his eyes and hit the net…

“The ball went into the ——!” Motson’s voice was so excited that it was even a little ragged. “Chris Cohen scored his first goal for the national team! 4:2! England has locked in the win!!”

Queiroz, who was standing on the sidelines, only felt his knees weakened and his body swayed.

While Tony Twain, who was just watching the game just now with his legs crossed, had had rushed to the sidelines at this time. He raised his arms high to announce his victory.

The road to conquering Europe, started with a 4:2 victory over Portugal!

Chapter 940 - Next Opponent

Even after a night, there were still a portion of the England supporters who could not believe this fact——They actually defeated Portugal by a 4:2 scoreline.

That match was like a dream and it left a deep impression on them.

No matter what, Portugal was still a traditionally strong team in Europe and logically speaking, they were an equal to the England team. That’s why it was not a big thing that England defeated Portugal, but to be winning so easily with a scoreline of 4:2, that was unusual…

Even though England did not play much better than Portugal throughout the whole match, the scoreline said it all. 4:2 was a score that could really let them hold their heads up high.

The analysis of the English media of this match was very simple, and unexpectedly consistent——It was not because Portugal was bad, it was because we were too good! England was a world-class team. Defeating a strong European team like Portugal 4:2 was normal. The English fans were used to believing everything the media said. Since the media said that England was very good, then England was really good.

For a moment, optimism filled the country and it seemed like there would be no issues qualifying from the group stage. Even winning the European Championship would be a piece of cake.

Eventually, such a thought did not just stay within the country, but it spread to the England team as well.

At first, they thought the match would be very difficult without George Wood. However, they defeated a strong team like Portugal 4:2 unexpectedly and this made them very proud.

The atmosphere during training the next day was very relaxed as they were still talking about the match yesterday and it excited them.

Twain did not mind them. His mind was filled with ways to deal with Germany. Yes, he had skipped over Wales… In his mind, Wales would not pose much of a problem for them even without George Wood. Twain was very clear about their level, coupled with the fact that morale was high since they just defeated Portugal, the match five days later should not be a problem.

Twain announced that they would have the day off after just half a day of training. Half day off today and a full day off tomorrow since they had enough time anyway. The English Premier League was the League with the most intensive fixtures and the England players were more tired than the players from the other leagues. Twain was making use of all the opportunities to give the team days off so that they would not be too exhausted.

The players were very happy as they could go shopping and loosen up.

However, one person did not join them.

George Wood was still doing his recovery training in the hotel’s swimming pool. Even though the coaching team told him that there was no need for him to work so hard, nobody was able to talk a determined Wood out of it.

Twain did not care about Wood either. He decided to give himself half a day off as well as he went to look for Shania. The European Championship was work to him but it was a holiday to Shania.

The two of them explored the streets of Barcelona after some light disguise. There were some football fans who walked past them on the streets but even the English fans did not recognize that the man wearing sunglasses in the company of the beautiful lady was Tony Twain, much less the Wales fans.

England’s next match would be played here in the Nou Camp too. After the game against Wales, they would have to move to Valencia in preparation of the key match against Germany.

“They can only have the mood to shop now,” Twain said as he watched the people around him.

“Will the pressure be greater during the later stages?” Shania held Twain’s arm and leaned on his shoulder.

“Naturally.”

“Isn’t it more important to relax when the pressure is mounting?” Shania smiled cheekily.

Twain used the arm that Shania was not holding on to and rubbed her nose with it.

“I’ll be able to relax when I think about you on the bed,” Twain said, fully meaning the double entendre. Shania obviously knew what he was talking about and she did not hold back under the bright Barcelona sun as she kissed Twain.

※※※

After saying goodbye to Shania, Twain slowly walked back to the hotel that he was staying in.

Some of the players had come back early and were resting in the coffeeshop. When they saw that boss was back, they stood up to greet him. Twain took a glance at them and asked, “Where’s George?”

Everyone knows that the concern that boss had for George was way more than that of a manager towards his player. Therefore, they did not think that it was strange. They looked at each other then shrugged and said, “Didn’t see him. He might be in the room, might be in the swimming pool, or he might be in the gym, boss.”

“Okay…Carry on guys,” Twain waved, left the coffeeshop and walked towards the gym.

He thought that there would be a high possibility that Wood was in the gym.

As expected, he had just reached the when he heard the machines being used inside. The hotel’s gym had already been reserved by the England team and the only one who would be training inside at this time could only be George Wood.

Twain could see that well-built figure that was back facing the entrance when he entered. Sweat glistened on his bare back under the lights.

“Take a break, George,” Twain shouted a little louder.

Wood turned and saw Twain standing at the entrance. He did as he was told and climbed off the machine.

“How do you feel?” Twain walked up to him and gave him a towel.

“Very good,” Wood took the towel and wiped his face.

It looks like you’re recovering very well, I’m relieved,” Twain looked at the big toe on his right foot. One could not tell that there was anything wrong with it with his naked eyes anymore.

Actually, Twain had looked for him because he wanted to tell him something. Ever since England defeated Portugal, he had been thinking about this question.

Logically speaking, a team that had been winning should not be changed easily unless there was a special situation such as injuries. If they were lucky, this team without George Wood would keep winning until the knockout stage without injuries or illnesses, then when Wood had recovered, would there still be a place for him in the team?

Twain did like Wood, otherwise he would not have insisted on bringing Wood to Spain even though he had not recovered fully yet. However, he was not a sentimental person and he was rather practical manager. Since this lineup could bring him victory, then what reasons were there for Wood to interrupt it? Whether it was the results or the unity of the changing room, he had no reason to change a winning team just to give Wood a spot in the team.

That would be wrong and if he did that, he would run the risk of damaging the credibility that he built up internally in the team.

But if he did not let Wood play, what was the point of bringing him to Spain? Wood would definitely not be willing to sit on the bench all the way. It would be fine if they won the European Championship but what if they lost? Wood would probably hate him for life.

That was why he wanted to have a talk with Wood.

“Do you have something to tell me?” Wood saw that Twain was in a daze and he took the initiative to ask.

“Yes…” Twain scratched his head, “George, do you remember what I told you initially? Next to the swimming pool in this hotel. I said that even if you waited till the knockout stages, I cannot guarantee that you would be able to play. Do you know what that means?”

Wood nodded and did not make things difficult for Twain, “I know. The team is winning now, and we should not change the starting lineup easily.”

Twain gave a sigh of relief to see that Wood was so sensible.

Twain did not give him the bullshit talk of,” You’re the captain, you should lead by example” etcetera. He knew that Wood had accepted this fact when he said that.

But Wood suddenly added, “I’ll work hard to get a chance to play.”

Twain smiled, “Don’t overdo it, take care not to hurt your leg again. Go take a break and relax.” He gave Wood a pull.

Wood shook his head and said, “I still have a set of sit-ups…”

Twain shrugged, “If you hurt yourself again, you’ll not have a second chance you know.”

“I know,” Wood had already started to get busy.

Twain waved and turned to leave.

This kid is so fit, how would he hurt himself?

The Gods are unhappy that I have been dominating for eleven years and want to give me some problems?

Damn you God!

※※※

When the English players were relaxing in the streets and sunny beaches of Barcelona, the Wales team were training hard behind closed doors. They were not training as if they were preparing for a group match, but the European Championship final.

Gareth Bale became the focal point of the team because the training during these few days were centered on his specialty——Set pieces.

Toshack had designed no less than ten different set pieces which required Bale to be successful. The whole of Europe knew that Bale was an expert in freekicks. As long as he stood in front of the ball, the opposing goalkeeper would be nervous.

As expected, Wales lost the first group match to Germany 0:3, they did not even get a goal and lost completely. Even though this was a result that the Wales fans had expected, the Wales players were not willing to accept this result. They finally managed to qualify for the European Championship after 40 years, how could they just show up for the group matches and leave? The Wales players who had no hopes of participating in such a massive competition previously started to have ambitions and wanted to prove their worth.

Toshack expected England to take them lightly after defeating Portugal so emphatically and Tony Twain would probably be only thinking about the match against Germany now. That was something that he could take advantage of.

After the training was finished, Bale stayed behind to train his freekicks.

As he had promised, he had arrived in Spain. However, he had no intentions of stopping then. Even when facing his benefactor, he had set defeating him as his target.

Toshack appeared outside the field, “Gareth.”

Bale turned back to look at his manager, panting through his mouth.

“It’s time to go.”

This was not in his club where he could go home himself after additional training. They were borrowing the stadium of Espanyol, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, and after training here, the whole team would have to take the bus back to the hotel that they were staying at. Bale could not train for too long, otherwise it would affect the whole team’s schedule.

Bale took a last shot towards the goal. The ball curled past the wall, hit the crossbar and flew out.

Someone would pack up the equipment on the pitch after that and Bale left the pitch with his head down.

Bale seemed to be much more mature than before now that he’s 26 years old.

Toshack thought as he looked at his back view.

※※※

The English media had already started to speculate about the match between England and Germany. Every newspaper that an English bought would have a prominent countdown on it, stating the time to the match between England and Germany.

In the buses, on the metro, in the offices, within their kitchens, in the bars, out on the streets… At all the places that people were gathered, they were talking about “Germany’.

The grievances between the English and the Germans were long-standing, so much so that it gave people a wrong impression——Had the grievance between them started ever since the birth of modern football?

At the same time, Wales, being the weakest team of the group, was enough to pique the interest of the prideful Englishmen at all.

“We defeated Portugal soundly with a score of 4:2, do we still need to worry about Wales? Our neighbor struggling under our eyes, so weak that we could not bear to kill them.”

If there was a tabulation, probably a hundred percent of the English fans thought so.

It was not only the English fans and media who were looking down on Wales, even the England players believed that the match against Wales would be insignificant.

When interviewed, Michael Johnson expressed that he had no doubts that his team would be able to defeat Wales and that the team that they should be worried about was actually still Germany.

Mitchell did mention Wales, however, that was only because his good friend, Gareth Bale, was inside the team.

“Bale is a very good player. I think we have to watch out for his free kicks…” He was only talking about how good Bale was and he probably did not even know who the other Welsh players were.

On the other hand, the Welsh players expressed immense respect for England and took the game with England very seriously. They did not seem to be angered by the attitude of the Englishmen and when talking about England, they all expressed their beliefs that England was very strong.

It looked like they were really in awe of mighty England and dared not have any other ideas.

The Welsh media also said that they were very satisfied that Wales could participate in the European Championship and that it was the greatest breakthrough for Welsh football in the past 40 years. They were really too unlucky to be drawn into the Group of Death and it was inevitable that they would not be able to qualify for the knock out stages…

Losing to Germany in the first round had given a very good gauge of Wales’ abilities. Unrealistic hopes would not help the team, they just had to play three good games in the group stages, that was all. At least when they leave the competition, they would not leave without scoring a single goal.

“In the game against England, our target is to score,” Toshack said humbly, “We wish to leave some proof to prove that we were here.”

Then, what were Tony Twain’s thoughts about this?

“Wales is a formidable opponent that we’ll take seriously…” He seemed to be distracted when saying these.

“Talking out of his arse!” The Welsh reporters judged Twain’s performance like this in their minds, “I bet his mind is filled with only ‘Germany’ now.”

Even though they complained that England did not respect their opponents in their minds, the Welsh reporters themselves knew that they had better not harbor any hopes for tomorrow’s match. England’s morale was high and even if they were facing Germany, they would have the belief to win. Not to mention lowly Wales…

Qualifying for the European Championship after 40 long years, yet they could only be the supporting role for the leading characters, the leaf to the rose…

Even though this was a fact, they were still unhappy just thinking about it.

Chapter 941 - The Damned Group of Death

The scene today must have come as a surprise to all England people, especially those English players who were doing their warm-up while playing around at Camp Nou last night.

In their minds, the Wales team was just like ants which could be crushed to death with only one finger. The game was used to adjust their state.

But now the ants had taken hold of the elephant, the England team and took a bite in the nose of the elephant. The elephant was in such pain that tears fell.

Three minutes ago, …

※※※

Tony Twain knew Wales would choose a more conservative tactic playing against England and it would be a nice result to be able to tie with England and obtain one point. Accordingly, he also changed his tactics and did not let the team continue to use defensive counterattack. Defensive counterattack was a weapon used against strong teams, or those that consider themselves as strong teams. To fight the weaker teams, taking the initiative to attack was the way to win the game.

Consequently, the situation in this game and that of the last game had been turned around. In the previous game, the Portugal team had fully pressed on the England almost all of the game. While in this game, England would show the fans of the world, both in the stadium and in front of the television, their equally strong attacking ability.

When the other team could not threaten his own team, Twain would also do some “vanity project.”

But the England team had faced unexpected headwinds.

The Wales team must have closely studied the England team’s recent games, especially the games in which they defeated Argentina and Portugal, and then stole England’s “defensive counterattack” tactic during training.

Breaking tight defense was a problem for coaches all over the world. Twain was still feeling smug that he had confounded Queiroz in the last game. But he himself had to face such a difficulty in this game.

What if we could not get into the penalty area? Twain asked the team to step up the long shots. But the team only had Gerrard who was an expert in long shots, so the points of attack was fewer. Wales could easily mark Gerrard and block him from doing his long shots.

Rooney would also pull out to do long shots, but it was not very effective. Mitchell simply disappeared surrounded by the other team’s tight defense.

Wales’ defense was very successful. In terms of offense, their players seemed to have no central core. They would fail nine out of ten times as long as they made physical contact with the England players.

The referee also seemed to have an inclination to favor the weaker team. In more than half of the physical contact between the two teams, it would result in the referee judging that the England players had fouled. Wales was awarded with a lot of place kicks as a result. It was just that the place kicks were not very close to the goal. They were not within an effective range, so there was no way to directly threaten England’s goal. The England players did not take them seriously either.

Twain certainly saw through Toshack’s cunning plot. But he was not worried because it was easy for the Wales, which was lacking in offensive strength, to get a free kick that could directly threaten the goal. After his roars to warn the team off the field, the England players would always pay attention in the spots of their fouls and try their best not to give Wales any place kicks in the danger zone. Even the corner kicks were rarely given to the other team.

Both sides played a dreary first half. The England team could not score, and the Wales team lacked the power to fight back.

Just four minutes into the second half, the Wales team took advantage of their kickoff to go on the offensive for a while and was finally awarded a place kick, directly facing the goal.

“This is the best free kick position Wales is awarded up until now! The distance is a little bit far, thirty meters, but directly facing the goal and attainable on the right and left. Wales should be able to threaten England’s goal as long as they grab hold of the chance and restrain their attacking spree a little.” Even Wales’ own television commentator did not expect Wales to score. To him, Wales’ tactics were nothing more than to ease the pressure on their own defense.

When Toshack saw the team finally received a well-placed free kick, he got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines, watching the field nervously.

They had endured for forty-nine minutes… No, ever since the game with Germany, they had been pretending to be weak up until the present. Now was the time!

He saw Gareth Bale held the football, walked over to the other team’s penalty spot and carefully placed it on the ground.

As an experienced veteran manager, he also felt a little nervous.

Twain Twain was also equally as nervous as Toshack. As the man who personally poached Bale from Southampton to the Forest team, he knew how good Bale’s free-kick ability was. He was already excellent “before.” Later, he became even better after going through his own deliberate cultivation.

George Wood, who had been sitting motionless on the substitutes’ bench like a wax figurine this entire time, had a change in his expression. He looked up and stared at the field with some interest. He was frowning slightly.

A position from thirty meters away might seem a little far, but for Gareth Bale, that was exactly his best range. Bale’s free kick was fast and powerful. Coupled with the right arc, it was downright lethal. He was not the kind of free kick player who would win purely by relying on the arc. So, the longer distance was more helpful to his play instead. Being too close might cause his shot to hit the human wall, or directly overshot the crossbar. Thirty meters… was a good distance instead.

Bale placed the football on the ground. He got up and looked around before he leaned over to rearrange it again, putting the Adidas logo directly facing the goal. Then he got up and took a few steps back. He did not stare at the goal and the human wall but turn his head to look at the sidelines.

He saw the Wales manager, Toshack as well as Tony Twain, who was also standing on the sidelines.

He really did not expect to encounter the boss at such an important game. He had previously promised the boss he would go to Spain, but he also did not expect to become the boss’ opponent in Spain…

Twain noticed Bale looking at himself, so his tense face contorted with a hint of a smile. He would not let the little monkey see his nervousness.

※※※

England’s human wall was finally formed, and the referee backed away to signal that they had to wait for his whistle to carry out the free kick.

Bale did not pay much attention to it.

He found a lot of distracting thoughts popping up in his mind before he carried out the free kick. He thought of a number of things, from his first meeting with the boss off the pitch at Southampton, the first professional contract he signed, and the first goal he ever scored in a game against Chelsea, as well as the boss’ promise to show him a more unconventional celebratory gesture than what Mourinho had.

In the twelve seasons at Nottingham Forest, the memories were always happy as long as they had something to do with the boss. He was unwilling to let go of that feeling.

But it was not right for them to appear at this time…

Bale shook his head and tried to drive away these messy thoughts from his own mind. He was currently competing in the game. How could he let such things interfere with himself?

Gareth Bale stood in front of the ball and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His lips moved a few times soundlessly, “We are enemies now, boss…”

In Tony Twain’s teachings, he never allow his players throw a game out in the face of the enemy.

Because Twain instilled a sense of pride in the Nottingham Forest players, the proud Nottingham Forest players could never deliberately throw a game. Wherever they went, the Nottingham Forest players took pride in their origins which made them appear manifestly superior. Being uncompromising and arrogant were their collective trademarks. This was the imposing manner that the team had to dominate European football over the past decade. Even when the boss had already left, the imposing manner remained in the hearts of the old players at Nottingham Forest.

The referee put down his raised-up arm and blew the whistle in his mouth.

Bale glanced at the positional relationship between the human wall, goal and the goalkeeper. He started to run up after he determined how he was going to kick in his head.

The Welsh fans in the stands clapped in rhythm and shouted, “Bale! Bale! Bale! Bale—”

I’m Gareth Bale and I’m from Nottingham Forest. I’ve played for that championship team for more than a decade. Now please take a look at the pride of a Nottingham Forest player!

Bale said this in his heart and raised his leg to kick the ball.

The football quickly flew over the jumping human wall and spun into the net before the goalkeeper Joe Hart could even respond!

The thirty meters gap seemed to be closed in the blink of an eye. The English people had not even reacted when the ball was still spinning in the net inside the goal.

Was that how the ball got in?

It was too easy; it was that easy?!

※※※

“Gareth Bale!” In the deafening cheers of the entire stadium, the Welsh television commentator had to try his best to raise the volume of his shouts so that the Welsh television audience, who was watching the game, could feel his excitement. “A beautiful free kick! He shot through England’s goal!! 1:0! Wales is ahead of England!”

Bale looked so excited to see the free kick go into the goal. He forcefully pulled at his jersey in front of his chest and was soon swamped by his equally excited teammates.

Seeing Bale’s free kick go in, George Wood leaned back into the seat. He had guessed the result because that position was so good…

The boss could have guessed it too, but he definitely did not want to admit it.

Tony Twain was depressed about the goal concede. He was not angry, but depression. He leaned his body back and swore a foul word. The goalscorer was Gareth Bale, so he could not abuse too harshly. But he was still upset about the fact that his team was behind.

“It is an unexpected game, with the Wales team actually in the lead after being suppressed by England for fifty minutes! The trend of this game inevitably brings us to mind the England and Portugal game five days ago! Can it be that England will repeat Portugal’s mistakes?”

Gareth Bale finally broke free from the crowd. He reached his hands out to the Welsh fans in the stands, calling on them to continue cheering and hailing the team. So, the shouts of “Wales! Wales!” in the grandstand became much louder.

As he ran along the sidelines and ran back to his own half of the field, surrounded by his teammates, he passed by the England team’s technical area.

Instead of looking at him, Twain was making hand gestures to the England players on the pitch as a signal to them to step up their attack and not give Wales such a chance for a positional ball again. He had to make some adjustments.

In the crowd, Bale threw a glance at Twain. He saw the anxious look on Twain’s face. What would happen if they did defeat England in the game? Such a thought suddenly flashed across his mind.

Bale and Twain brushed past each other. He high-fived Toshack, who walked to the sidelines, in celebration and then ran back to the field.

※※※

Trailing behind, England launched a frenzied counterattack. In the moments when they had just conceded the goal, they had fully pressed ahead, the Welsh players with no chance to fight back. The football could not get past the center line. England showed their strength. However, Wales’ defense struggled but did well.

Gerrard, Rooney and the other players had been doing long shots repeatedly, but they were simply squandering their chances. Even Gerrard also lost his aim with his long shots.

Wales’ defense was even tighter and more annoying than England’s defense against Portugal. They did not want to leave even the slightest change to the England players. Even if they were rolling and crawling on the ground, they also wanted to make the England players feel their presence during shooting.

They pushed, tripped, bumped into people…they tried every way and means. There was only one purpose for everything – to stop England’s attack and not to let them lift their legs to shoot comfortably.

Soon after, Twain brought off Rooney, who had lost control of his temper because of repeated shooting mistakes. He brought on Agbonlahor to let the team reduce the number of long shots. The frequent cross passes from both sides would also allow Mitchell to fight for the header shots.

Unfortunately, Mitchell could not be effective, wedged between two strong center backs, and England’s luck was completely off today – Mitchell grabbed the ball’s point of fall after much difficulty but with a flick of his head to the back, the ball struck the crossbar instead…

As time went on, the England team became more and more impatient. It was already out of Twain’s control. Every England player on the pitch had only one idea in his head – to shoot at the goal!

As for the set pieces and passing the ball, they all had to give in to this idea. So, when everyone saw the ball, even the center back, Terry also rushed up to try shoot at the goal.

Twain flew into a rage off the field. Shots like that would only increase the other team’s fighting spirit and caused the England team to lose its confidence to win.

To this end he had to replace Michael Johnson, who had completely lost his way.

When England were still trailing behind Wales by 0:1 in the 87th minute, Twain thought about it for a while before he brought off Mitchell and replaced him with James Vaughn. Without his height, the England team could no longer threaten Wales’ goal and the Welsh people had already started to celebrate.

On the substitutes’ bench in Wales, the players stood on the sidelines, arms over each other’s shoulders. They were waiting for the final whistle to blow so that they could rush into the field to celebrate the remarkable victory.

“It’s unbelievable, but this is simply the biggest appeal of football. England, which swept Portugal by 4:2 in the last game, was left helpless against Wales, the weakest in the group. They are falling behind with a score of 0:1. It looks like they have a good chance of losing to Wales. This should be the biggest upset in the tournament so far!”

Bale no longer participate in the offense. He and his teammates formed a human wall in front of the goal and blocked every attack from the England team with their bodies. Their white away jerseys had long turned into the color of green grass, which fully showed how many times they had fallen on the ground.

The fourth official held up a signboard showing three minutes of injury stoppage time on the sidelines. The England fans in the stands booed. They were unable to accept the reality that a strong and invincible England team had lost to their weak neighbor, the Wales team…

What ability do they have to justify defeating us?

“Wales only has one decent enough attack in the entire game, and they grab hold of it. And now they are 1:0 ahead! The proud Tony Twain has no choice but to lower his head…”

On television camera, it just so happened that Twain had bowed his head and pinched his chin in one hand, as if he was in deep contemplation – how did the game turn out like this? An opponent which they had not taken seriously, was crushing them underneath its feet instead.

With his head bowed in deep thought for a moment, Twain turned and walked toward the technical area. He shrugged his shoulders at Walker, who was looking at him, and spread his hands as he said, “We have lost, Des. Reality has proven once again that if you walk with your head held high all the time, you will be tripped by the stone under your feet. Unfortunately, I always forget that…”

Walker was also helpless about the result. He shook head gently and said, “We’ve all underestimated our opponent. It’s not solely your responsibility…”

Behind Twain’s back, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game amid the cheers of the Welsh fans after he looked at his watch three times.

“The game is over! Wales has beaten England to take three points! That rekindles their hope to advance from the group stage!”

Bale looked around excitedly after the game for people to hug. He was happy like a seventeen-year-old child. It did not match his steady composure during the game.

When he had hugged all his teammates once, he remembered that he should go and say a few words to the boss. But Tony Twain’s figure was already gone from the England’s technical area.

At this point, Tony Twain was examining his mistakes in front of reporters. He said, “I’ve underestimated my opponent. Wales is a very good team. They have good players and coaches. We lost because of this, there’s nothing to complain about…”

A reporter followed up with a question, “Mr. Twain, losing to Wales has cast a shadow over the team’s prospects of advancement. What’s your strategy going to be in response to the final game against Germany?”

“I don’t know yet.” The reporter asked about Twain’s sore point. Initially, his team would have been able to advance ahead of time if they had won against Wales in this match. They could have just deployed their substitute players for the final game and eliminate the threat of yellow cards. Now it looked like the match against Germany should be a life-and-death battle…

If the goal was only to advance out of the group stage, being placed third in the group was also acceptable. But Twain had his eye are on the championship title. England would certainly have to fight for the first place in the group so that they could meet a better opponent in the knockout stages.

But it was that they did not have a chance. If Germany beat Portugal in a later match to take the lead after having won both games, then they should have no reason to fight England to death in the final game, which would be good for England in this way.

The reporters still wanted to ask questions, but feeling in a bad mood, Twain just pushed them aside and hurriedly walked away.

Wood was looking at him off the field while Bale was looking for Twain. He looked at him in silence for a moment, and then also walked away.

The loss to the Wales team had cast doubts on England’s ability to advance out of the group stage. George Wood had already waited for two games. Could it be that the waiting he had done for the last two games would be rendered pointless by the final game?

On his way to the locker room, Wood clenched his fists so tightly till his knuckles turned white.

※※※

Three and a half hours later, Twain finished watching the other game in the group in his hotel room.

Germany had lost with a score of 1:2 after their match against Portugal.

Twain had cheered the German team on for ninety minutes, but it did not change the score. Watching the frustrated German players and ecstatic Portuguese players on the television screen, he rubbed his temples in pain and felt that he was in big trouble this time.

“This damned group of death…” He laid paralyzed on the couch and weakly cursed..

Chapter 942 - An Unlucky Year

Germany’s unexpected defeat hurt Twain but filled the media with glee and delight.

After the England and Germany teams beat their respective opponents by an absolute margin, everyone felt that the structure of the group had been shaped and that England and Germany were the two strongest teams. The two teams that would advance were more likely to be them. The only suspense was only about which teams would come in first and second.

That was a good thing for the supporters of England and Germany. However, it was the worst situation for the media which wished for the whole world to be in chaos. They all bemoaned the “group of death” did not live up to its name in their respective positions.

All was good now and the reality did live up to the name. The group of death was suddenly not just in name only, but also in reality. The situation became interesting.

Both teams that had lost in the first round had won in the games while the two teams that had previously won had both lost. After two rounds of group stage games, all four teams had accumulated three points, a situation that was rare in international competitions.

The current situation stood as the Germany team ranked first in the group because of its goal difference. They scored four goals and conceded two goals which gave them a goal difference of two. England came in second with four goals and three goal concedes with a goal difference of one which put them in second place. Portugal had scored four goals and conceded five goals. They ranked third in the table with a goal difference of minus one. Wales was in the last place. They scored one goal, conceded three goals and had a goal difference of minus two.

In the final round, England and Germany would be in a neck-to-neck fight, while Portugal and Wales would fight to the death. Any team could advance, and any team could also be eliminated.

“It’s really the deadliest ‘group of death’ in this tournament!” On Sky TV’s UEFA European Football Championship special, the invited guest exclaimed, “Such a complex situation to see which team will advance is the best out of all six groups. You don’t need us to analyze the situation of the four teams. All you have to do is just look at the points table and you can guess for yourself what’s going to happen next – it’s a mess!”

“Before the second round, the probability of the first and second placed teams in the group losing at the same time was one ninth. When the England team lost to Wales at Camp Nou, the German players might have already be looking forward to their prospects of advancement ahead of time. Who would have thought that the Germans had lost after a wonderful match!” It was a summary from the Spanish state television.

“It’s definitely not good news for the England team to have the Germany team lose even though we have a feud with them that is as long as forty years. Because Tony Twain’s team will have to fight Germany to the death in the final round. Only by beating Germany, they can ensure that they will advance. A loss or draw is to leave their fate at the hands of others.” In a special program for BBC television, experts were giving the England fans an analysis of the situation that had become grim for the England team to advance overnight. “But the England team is missing George Wood and the German team is a very strong opponent…”

“One thing has been proven – without George Wood, the England team is second-rate in Europe. They couldn’t even defeat Wales. Without Wood’s management and defense in the midfield, the England team simply didn’t know how to operate. The 4:2 win over Portugal was a fluke and we should also note that Portugal had the upper hand during the whole game.” This was a Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen program. They were using the program to boost the morale of worried German fans. “It was down to bad luck that we lost to Portugal. The England team’s defeat by Wales was a complete failure. They had twice as many shots as Wales, but most of them missed the goal and were all blind shots… In terms of the team’s situation, we are better than England.”

“Wales beat England and Portugal beat Germany. This is the kind of results that we, the neutral fans want to see the most. Because the final round of the group stage games will be very, very exciting!” China Central Television’s channel five belonged to the neutral party, but the Chinese fans who were supporters of the Germany and England teams accounted for a large portion. While they were “rejoicing in other people’s misfortune” in the program, the online criticism against them would certainly be substantial.

In fact, the evaluation of these media outlets could still be considered fair and objective. Twain was now under enormous pressure – the first opening game was won beautifully, raising the English people’s expectations. However, the second-round game ended in an embarrassing defeat, throwing the England fans who were still flying in the clouds into the mud. Such a huge psychological drop was unacceptable to many people. Those print and online media directed such anger toward Twain. Someone should be held responsible shouldn’t he?

Countless tabloids did not care about the objective conditions and subjective factors. Anyway, the reason for the defeat was all attributed to the manager which was the least troublesome. It could not be helped since Twain gave them something which could be used against him. After the game, he once said in an interview, “I had underestimated the opponent.” The remark became the biggest reason many tabloids attacked him with.

“Tony Twain finally pays the price for his arrogance and conceit, but he has dragged the whole of England’s fate to his grave! It’s simply outrageous!”

“… I really don’t understand such an England team. It was a completely different team from the one which had the 4:2 win over Portugal. What is the reason for it?”

“Merely underestimating the opponent can’t explain the loss. I think England has a major tactical flaw. It goes to show that it’s not possible to just rely on defensive counterattacks alone! He labored under the delusion that he could use the Nottingham Forest team’s tactics on the England team, only to find that it was incompatible…”

“I think the loss of this game speaks volumes about George Wood’s importance. It makes sense for Twain to insist on taking Wood to Spain. But if we have to go home after competing in the group stage, then what’s the point of taking him there? With the last game left, is there anything he still can do?”

“Tony Twain is obstinate and self-opinionated. If we choose to continue to trust him, one day the whole of English football world will suffer!

…

There were too many such attacks. The reporters who interviewed the England team rarely did not have a contradiction with Tony Twain. This time they finally seized the opportunity to take revenge and wipe out the grudge.

Therefore, they attacked Twain and the fans increasingly felt that it would be difficult for the England to advance. As a result, before the game against Germany, the expectations of the fans and the blame from the media gathered from all directions overhead in the city of Valencia, forming a huge invisible pressure which hung over the England team.

Twain was apparently aware of the pressure, so he set himself against the media once again – he canceled a regular press conference. The media could forget about digging any valuable news from him until before the game. The fifteen minutes of public filming every day consisted of nothing else but warmup exercises and more warmup exercises. He also asked the security guards at the hotel they were staying at to clear away those reporters who were wandering nearby. The reporters who were not granted permission were not allowed to enter the lobby.

Such an open hostility with the media had clearly made the media even more dissatisfied. The abuse of him had increased exponentially as well.

The tension was also felt within the England team. After the game with Portugal had ended, there was no shortage of cheers and laughter during training. The training also arranged for a lot of fun games to help everyone relax. But after the game against Wales, all of these games were cancelled. Everyone could clearly feel the increase in the amount of training. Although the boss still had a smile on his face, everyone was aware that it was just there for show. When it came to stress, no one here was more stressed than the boss.

Tensions were heightened in just three days between the second and last rounds of the group stage. What could be changed in three days?

※※※

After the loss to Wales, England’s good fortune seemed to run out overnight.

The day after they arrived in Valencia, they had begun training for less than ten minutes, which was still during the period when the media was free to shoot when David Bentley was suddenly injured in the warmup.

The scene at the time was chaotic. The reporters scrambled to get inside to try and get pictures of Bentley’s injury. Security guards at the scene were busy intercepting those reporters under Twain’s loud rebuke. While Twain was guarding against the reporters, he also wanted to see how Bentley was actually injured. The scene was so noisy that it almost made his head dizzy.

“What’s going on?” Twain squeezed into the crowd after much difficulty and saw Derek Wright, the national team’s team doctor giving Bentley a preliminary examination.

“He has pulled the muscle in his thigh muscle.” Wright replied, “It’s probably a relapse of an old injury.”

Twain frowned. It was not the kind of injury which could be healed in a day or two.

Bentley, sitting on the ground, also looked dejected. He had yet to make his debut at the UEFA European Football Championship this time. He had wanted to get a chance in the upcoming game. Now that he had pulled a muscle in his thigh, he was almost certain to miss the final game of the group stage. And would England still be able to play after the game against Germany?

Twain casually pointed to two players and said, “You two take David by the arm and assist him off.”

Wright followed Bentley and walked to the sidelines, where he had him sit on the ground and massaged his thigh.

The reporters outside the venue were still clamoring and wanted to come in for an interview and to film. They even clashed with the security guards. Obscenities were used as well.

Twain was upset and distracted when he heard such noise. He turned around and walked toward the group of reporters. He pointed his finger at the watch on his wrist and said, “Time is up, the free shooting period is over! Please go back, ladies and gentlemen!” Then he said to the security guards, “Get them all out of here!”

“Mr. Twain! Is Bentley hurt?”

“Mr. Twain, is Bentley’s injury serious?”

“Mr. Tony Twain… Will he perhaps be absent from the match against Germany?”

“If Bentley is injured, will it affect the morale of the team?”

Unwilling to be kicked out like this, the reporters threw their questions at Twain in succession, but Twain did not pay attention to them. He immediately turned around and walked back to the training ground. He shouted to those stupefied players who were somewhat at a loss, “Continue training!”

The reporters eventually dispersed, and calm was restored inside the training ground. Bentley’s injury did not affect the quality of the team’s training nor shorten the time for training. The players’ attention was also concentrated on the training. After all, an injury was a very common thing, not to mention Bentley was not the main player. Even if he could not make it in time to the game against the Germany team, it would not greatly affect the strength of the team.

It was just that the crease in Twain’s frown was getting deeper.

George Wood finished his own training session and went to the sidelines to take a break. He sat next to Bentley.

“Hey, George…” Bentley was a little down. He had an ice pack full of ice on his thigh. “I’m really f**king unlucky…”

Wood glanced at his thigh and said, “It’s just a muscle strain, and it will soon be fine.” He comforted his Nottingham Forest teammate.

“No matter how soon it will be, I still can’t play in the game against Germany any more…” Bentley kneaded his injured right thigh. It would have been better If it had been a muscle strain on his left thigh. He could still grit his teeth and persist. He could not do anything with his right thigh strain. “When the time comes, let’s cheer them on the substitutes’ bench.”

Wood shook his head and said, “No, I want to play.”

Bentley thought he had misheard. He turned his head to look at Wood with his eyes wide open. “If I’m not mistaken, the doctors said you will miss all of the three group games…”

“I feel like there’s nothing wrong.”

Bentley stared at Wood’s right toe and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Wood shook his head and replied, “No, not at all.”

Bentley looked again at Tony Twain who was standing in the distance as he said, “I don’t think the boss will let you play.”

“If we can’t beat Germany, he will.”

“Are you going to risk your career, George?”

“I’m serious.” Wood had finished his break and walked back to the field to continue his individual training.

Bentley looked at his back view and pursed his lips.

“You haven’t trained with us. How can he allow you to play? Don’t be delusional, George…” He muttered.

※※※

“They had just lost to Wales and now David Bentley is injured as well. The England team is having unlucky year…” BBC 5 station’s UEFA European Football Championship coverage was just broadcasting the news they had just received. The chaotic scene on the training ground was aired on the television. If one listened carefully, Tony Twain’s voice could be heard –”What the hell is going on… Damn it, get them out of here! Stop shooting!”

“Although Tony Twain canceled the regular press conference, Derek Wright gave us an interview. He has informed us that Bentley has a right thigh muscle strain and will miss the match against Germany… As far as we know, this is not the first time Bentley has a right thigh muscle strain. Amid the situation whereby George Wood is out due to his injury, Bentley is also on the list of injured players. It looks like luck is not on our side…”

It was probably appropriate to use bleak and dismal to describe the feelings of the English fans. Could this “history’s strongest England team ever” even make it out of the group stage?

※※※

“It’s not even a main player who’s hurt. Take a look at the media’s rhetoric … this is why I hate the media. They always send ice when you need charcoal to warm up, and when you need water to quench your thirst, they deliver dry bread instead – in any case, they only add to the mess.” Twain was unhappy with the media’s hype about Bentley’s injury creating a tense mood. This bunch of English tabloids were so annoying!”

“Can’t be helped, Tony. After we lost to Wales, pessimism prevailed… Any tiny mishap will be overblown indefinitely.” Walker put down the local English newspapers, which was almost covered entirely with disheartening reports.

The two men were talking when there was a knock at the door.

“Please come in.”

The person who pushed the door open was George Wood. This surprised both Twain and Walker.

Wood did not expect that there was someone else in Twain’s office. He glanced at the assistant manager, Des Walker and stood at the door without speaking.

Walker knew Wood must have something to say to Twain, but he did not want an outsider to be there. It must be a conversation between the two of them.

“Well… I’ll my leave first.” Walker tactfully stood up and decided to leave.

“Goodbye, Des. Call me later for dinner.” Twain waved his hand at him.

“Goodbye, Mr. Walker.” Wood watched Walker leave at the door.

“Goodbye, George.”

After Walker left, Twain said, “Close the door, George. What can I do you for?”

Wood obediently closed the door. But he still stood at the door as he said to Twain, “I hope you will allow me to play….in tomorrow’s game against Germany.”

Chapter 943 - Feud

Wood closed the door after Des Walker left. The first thing that he said to Twain was, “I hope you can play me in the match against Germany tomorrow.”

Twain was not the least bit surprised after hearing Wood’s words. It was as though he had expected Wood to say what he did.

“That’s impossible, George.” Twain replied Wood with a deadpan expression on his face. “You have yet to fully recover.”

“No, I’ve fully recovered.” Wood performed a series of high knees before Twain to prove that he was saying the truth.

“You are lying, George.”

“It’s my own body. Why would I lie?” Wood asked.

Wood was not able to be as calm as Twain. He took a step forward and stood before Twain. “You told me to wait for three games. But, what if we don’t even manage to advance to the next round? What’s the point in me waiting for three games then? I can’t wait and don’t want to wait any longer.”

Twain gestured for Wood to sit down. He was not used to conversing with another person with his head raised.

“Do you not trust your teammates?” Twain looked at the slightly impatient Wood.

Twain’s words rendered Wood speechless. He could not say, “Yes, I don’t trust them”. He could only say, “No, I trust them”. The moment he says the latter however, he would not be able to insist on playing in the match any longer.

Wood went quiet. He understood why Twain had asked such a question, and he was unwilling to give a reply.

Twain decided to strike while the iron is hot. He continued to persuade Wood to abandon his idea of playing in the match against Germany.

“George, your injury has yet to fully recover. I know that very well, because I have been monitoring your injury with the medical staff every single day. The match against Germany is bound to be an intense match, and I can’t guarantee what would happen next if you were to pick up another injury during the match. For the sake of your professional career, I would not allow you to play in the match.”

“Even if it means we can’t advance to the next round?” Wood asked.

Twain responded calmly, “Yes, even if it means we can’t advance to the next round, I would not take the risk and play you in the match.”

Wood’s face became clouded. The expression on his face was just like the summer weather. It kept changing numerous times before he finally stood to his feet and left the room.

Twain spaced out as he sat in the room alone.

He could not believe how good he was at pretending to be a saint… The last few words that he said to Wood did not come from the bottom of his heart. Or, rather, he was not resolute when he said those words. Which is more important? Results or a player’s future? Such a question would never have appeared in Twain’s mind in the past. The him in the past would have said that he wanted both.

Perhaps the situation isn’t that bad… Twain thought inwardly.

It’s not as if England is incapable of competing against Germany without George Wood in the team.

Walker pushed the door open and entered the room. He saw Twain sitting on the sofa lost in his thoughts.

“Tony?”

“Is it time for dinner already?” Twain snapped out of his thoughts and asked.

“No, I just came to take a look at you, and I also wanted to ask you about how things went with George.” Walker took a seat next to Twain.

“He wants to play in the match against Germany, but I rejected him.” Twain said nonchalantly.

“Did you struggle when you made the decision?” Walker asked with a smile.

“No.” Twain lied.

Walker hesitated for a moment before asking, “Tony, what do you think about our chances of winning against Germany?”

Twain glanced at his assistant. “It’s not about our chances of winning, Des. We definitely have to win, or else we are going to die.”

※※※

Three days is really too short a time. The bus trip from Barcelona to Valencia takes up half a day, so essentially, Twain only has two days to prepare for the match against Germany.

Before most people even knew it, the match between England and Germany was about to kick off.

The fact that both George Wood and Bentley are going to miss out on the match due to an injury, and the fact that England’s future in the Euro Cup hangs in doubt after losing to Wales are nothing more than ‘icing on the cake’ for the match. Even if both teams won both their previous matches and go into this match ensured of their qualification into the next round, this match between England and Germany will still attract attention worldwide. Tony Twain might not care about who wins the match, but the England fans do.

The feud between England and Germany football is one of the longest-standing feuds in the world. Both teams have competed against each other for over a century. In the first fifty years, England dominated Germany, but in the later years, Germany became the England fans’ eternal nightmare.

The very first time both teams played against each other was on 20th April 1908. Back then, the arrogant England team, otherwise known as the ‘Founder of Football’, taught the rookie Germany football team a lesson by defeating them with a score of 5:1. England might have won the match, but they acted snobbish after the match, and said that it was ‘humiliating of them to have allowed Germany to score a goal’. A year later, both teams faced off with each other again, and England slaughtered Germany with a 9:0 score on their second meeting. Till this day, the 9:0 victory remains the biggest winning margin either team has managed to achieve against each other.

England was able to achieve 10 wins and 2 draws in their first 12 matches against Germany. The Germany team right now might be known as the ‘King of Europe’ with three Euro Cup titles and three World Cup titles under its belt, but the Germany team back then was nothing like it. Football in Germany back then was still chaotic, and it was no surprise that they lost to a powerhouse team like England.

But, the rivalry between both teams deepened immensely during the 1966 World Cup that was held in England. England was able to lift the World Cup trophy for the very first and only time in its history by defeating Germany 4:2 in the finals with the help of a controversial goal. The controversial goal was scored by Geoff Hurst, who subsequently went on to become England’s ‘national hero’ for his hat-trick in the match. Germany’s legendary striker, Uwe Seeler, looked extremely despondent as he walked off the pitch with his head hung low after the match. This scene of Seeler had been captured by photographers, and the British press would constantly bring up the photo and scorn the Germans for ‘losing to them yet again’.

The match hurt the Germans so deeply that they still complain about the referee error that had cost them their fourth World Cup title even till this day.

Until 1966, the British have always gone into every match against the Germans full of confidence, because they have never lost once against Germany yet.

However, things turned 180 degrees two years later. Franz Beckenbauer, who is nicknamed ‘The Emperor’, scored the goal that ended Germany’s winless streak against England. His goal marked a complete change in fate for both teams. For the next 40 years, England never once won against Germany in the big matches… It did not matter how those matches had progressed. England always came out as the loser.

During the quarterfinals of the 1970 World Cup, England led Germany 2:0 at one point, but Germany managed to come back from behind and score three goals under the guidance of Beckenbauer, and they eliminated England from the competition.

In 1972, England fell before Germany once again. Beckenbauer led his German teammates to a 3:1 victory over England at the Wembley Stadium, and Germany managed to secure a victory in the Euro Cup qualifiers. Thereafter, the British gifted the nickname ‘Emperor of Football’ to Beckenbauer.

During the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup, Germany defeated England on penalties. Nottingham Forest’s legend Stuart Pearce missed a crucial goal, and the current assistant manager of the England national team, Des Walker, also played in the match.

The Euro Cup was held in England in 1996. The British thought that they would be able to make use of their home advantage to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy for the very first time in their history, but unfortunately for them, they ran into Germany in one of the matches. The Germans fought hard and they managed to force the hosts into a penalty shoot-out. The England players lost their composure during the shoot-out and was eliminated from the competition ultimately.

The proud British were not able to accept the fact that their team had lost to the Germans consecutively, and that set off their rivalry. Ever since then, every match played between England and Germany has been exciting to watch. It did not matter if the match is only a friendly. Both teams would always give their all.

England’s starting center-back and former captain, John Terry, once said that there was no such thing as a ‘friendly’ whenever England plays against Germany.

Many memorable football quotes in England came from matches where England faced off with Germany. One such quote came from the famous British commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme during the 1966 World Cup finals match in which he said, “They think it’s all over… It is now”.

When England was eliminated by Germany on penalties in the 1990 World Cup, Gary Lineker said after the match, “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”

However, not every win over Germany becomes a pleasant memory for the British. For example, England won Germany 6:3 in a friendly match that was held at Berlin in 1938, but the England players were forced to do a Nazi salute prior to the start of the match. The British deem that gesture to be a great insult against them, and they all refer to this victory as a ‘humiliating victory’ even till this day.

England and Germany were more evenly-matched in the 21st century. Both teams won some and lost some matches against each other, and England even managed to win 5:1 against Germany once. However, on the whole, the England players always seemed to display a lack of confidence during matches against Germany. The last match held at the old Wembley Stadium before its demolition should have been a meaningful and memorable match for the England national team, but Dietmar Hamann’s goal put the entire team to shame.

If Twain was asked to discuss about the differences between England and Germany, he would say that England is just like a pretty vase that is mesmerizing under the light and highly sought after by others, whereas Germany is just like a black and dull rock. It doesn’t matter if one uses the vase to hit the rock, or the rock to hit the vase. The one that suffers the most would always be the vase.

Twain has an impossible mission on his hands. He has to fight the rock with the vase, and he also needs to ensure that the vase remains in one piece at the end of it all.

※※※

“We can lose to anyone else, just not the Germans!” The England fans marched into the stadium carrying banners with the aforementioned words written over them. The words reflected the voice of every British right now. The match between England and Germany seized the attention of the entire nation, and even the Queen asked the question, “Can we beat Germany?”

The Queen’s words became the headline for numerous newspapers. The Times responded to her words underneath the headline with, “Yes, we can!”

The Sun published an inspirational article that described how their Queen had led the nation to a great victory against the fascist Germany more than 60 years ago as a child. They wrote that it was time for the entire nation to fight once again. They ended the article with the statement, “We can definitely win this battle!”

Unlike England, Germany was much more nonchalant about the feud between them, and they did not react as strongly as them. This has always been the case in the past as well. The British have always been the ones who are obsessed about the feud, and the Germans usually use much more subtle ways to express their thoughts and feelings. For example, the Das Erste channel in Germany re-analyzed the Hurst’s goal from 1966 before the match. They made use of cutting edge technology to restore scenes from the match, and they proved that the ball had not made its way over the line entirely. Hence, Hurst’s goal from 1966 cannot be counted as a goal. The ZDF channel in Germany also showed highlights from the past World Cups. They showed the scenes of the Brazilians lifting the Jules Rimet trophy three times and they also showed how Beckenbauer had persevered in a match with a bandage around his shoulder, but they did not show Hurst’s controversial goal. Additionally, they ranked Maradona’s goal in which he had gone past five England players before scoring as the second best goal scored in the competition. As for the first? It was obviously Maradona’s ‘The Hand of God’ goal that he scored in the same match! That particular goal was replayed five times, and it even caused the audience to wonder if there was a problem with their TVs…

The fans of both countries congregated outside the Nou Mestalla stadium situated in Valencia four hours before the match is due to kick off. Everyone was waiting to make their way into the stadium. Valencia had stationed almost all of their police officers outside the stadium, because the England and Germany fans have a bad reputation all around the world and are known to get into fights. Not only that, the Valencia government also imposed a temporary ‘alcohol ban’ due to the match. The shops that are situated within a 15-kilometer radius of the Nou Mestalla stadium are prohibited from selling all alcoholic beverages four hours before the match all the way till four hours after the match.

The England and Germany fans were made to take different routes towards the Nou Mestalla stadium, and they would also have to take different entrances to get into the stadium. There is also a space that is deliberately left in between the two groups of fans at the stands, and it is occupied by heavily armed riot police. The Valencia government had clearly put in a lot of effort to prevent potential clashes between the two groups of fans.

“This looks like the kind of security that you’d find at the finals of the World Cup.” The England press was awed by what they saw.

Despite the Valencia government’s best efforts however, the fans from both sides were still able to get in each other’s faces.

The German fans made a gesture to the BBC cameras that implied that Germany would win England 3:0. The England fans, on the other hand, made a gesture that implied that England would win Germany 5:1. 5:1 was the score that England defeated Germany with during the qualifying stages of the 2002 World Cup that was held in Germany in September 2001. Michael Owen scored a hat-trick in that particular match and was also awarded the Ballon d’Or in that same year.

The German fans raised their middle finger at the England fans in the distance and yelled at the top of their voices, “You guys are nothing more than a second-rate team in Europe without George Wood in your team! Even Wales can defeat you!”

The England fans sang the Germans’ cheer as a rebuttal, “Mr. Sammer (Matthias Sammer is the manager of the Germany national football team), who are you kidding? Matthias, you lead a team of pigs… We would kick every single one of you back to Berlin. Tony Twain and his kids would say, ‘Thank you, Germany!’ The Euro Cup is right in your hands, our dearest Sir George…”

Look at how the Germany and England fans are getting in each other’s faces. It is as if the only participants in the World Cup are Germany and England, and the other powerhouse countries such as Spain, Italy and France did not even participate…

When the buses carrying the players from both teams appeared before the fans, the atmosphere outside the stadium instantly became feverish. The England and Germany fans began chanting the names of their football players to cheer them on. The 36 degree weather did not seem to be able to shut them up.

“England! England! God save the Queen! The Queen will save England!” The England fans waved a white flag with a red cross on it at the bus.

“March forth, St. George! March forth, England!”

“Fight to the death and never give up! We are the invincible England army!”

“F*ck the Germans! F*ck their asses!”

“Ohhhhh! England will definitely win!”

The fans started roaring hysterically. Their roars and vulgarities seeped through the windows, and everyone in the bus was able to hear everything that they said clearly.

The England players were not surprised by the fans’ uproar. In truth, they were feeling just as crazy as the fans… This is a match between England and Germany. There is no need to motivate any of the players for this match. Every single England player knows the significance behind the match.

Twain whistled at the sexy female fans who were blowing flying kisses his way. “Looks like the pressure riding on our shoulders is immense, lads. But, that’s okay. This is exactly the kind of match that I want to play in. A feud that has lasted for over a century! A game in which both teams would fight to the death! The winners would step over the bloodied bodies of their opponents… The thought of that excites me! I believe the Germans must feel the same way as I am right now! Ha!”

He clenched his fists and felt his body shiver slightly. But, it was not out of fear. It was out of excitement instead.

Chapter 944 - The Sunlight is so Blinding

The Mestalla Stadium was known as “The World’s Best Football Stadium”, but this title should be in the “Crimson Court” head.

The former world’s best stadium’s dressing room had a great soundproofing effect. Even if there were roaring noises outside,no sound could be heard from inside once the doors were shut.

However, the dressing room was not quiet at all. The highlights of England’s 4-2 victory over Portugal on the big-screen LCD TV and the passionate voice of BBC TV ace, John Motson, were echoing through the spacious dressing room.

In the pre-match dressing room, music might have been played with Motson’s voice in the background today. The players changed into their jerseys and glanced up to the television screen from time to time.

This was arranged by Twain on purpose. Even though the match with Germany was a game that did not require much mobilization, he still wanted to be safe.

After Twain noticed that everyone has changed into their jerseys, he lowered down the volume for the television. Everyone knew that the Head Coach had something to say.

“Since our match with Germany is a match that doesn’t require much mobilization, I will not say much.” Twain coughed and cleared his throat. “I’m not worried about your fighting spirit, but I am afraid of your overzealous enthusiasm.”

The players all looked at each other, wondering why the Head Coach had to say that.

“Enthusiasm is great, but you can’t win at football just with enthusiasm. We have to keep calm and our minds clear in order to play well. Do you want me to give you an example? In the FA Cup finals between the 90th and 91st, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, Gazza (Gascoigne) was clearly overly excited. Though he did not hurt his opponents, he injured himself instead. I hope that I would not see this kind of situation when the game starts. Keeping calm at all times will help us to win.”

“There has been a lot of pressure out there and logically, I am supposed to be calming you down and say, ‘Don’t worry, it’s like a normal friendly game.’ However, this does not work today. We are up against Germany, and we all know what kind of opponent it is. If I really say, ‘Let’s face Germany like a friendly match!’ All of you are going to think that this Head Coach cannot be trusted and does not understand the situation at all. Therefore, what I would like to say to you all is …”

Twain took a deep breath and was not in a hurry to complete his sentence as he wanted to give the players time to brew their emotions.

“Yes! Even if we lose to Germany, we still have a chance to advance to the knockout stage, but is that what you all want? Losing to Germany, as the third team to barely qualified, would be the world’s joke! Think about the performance of the first game, and then look at the present, the gap is so big, can you all accept it?” Twain points to the television screen behind him. ” Anyways, I cannot accept it.”

“The fact is, defeating Germany and stepping on their bodies for the quarter-finals is the best result. Guys, I have said enough, what you all should do, you guys should know by now right?”

With that, Twain clapped his hands and opened the dressing room door.

※※※

“Is it good for both sides to draw? If the result of another match is decided, then Germany and England will be in the second and third place. The third place will probably finish third in the top four, relying on this to advance to the knockout stages. If so, England will be in third place. However, this is not guaranteed, thus I do not think the two teams will choose to draw. Whether it is Tony Twain or Matthias Sammer, their goal is clear – it is victory. Only by defeating the opponent, you will ensure that you will be able to leave the group stage and place destiny in your own hands. This is also the dignity of being a strong team.”

Before the match began, the television station in charge of broadcasting the match was inviting professionals to analyze the situation of the two teams, using this way to inform the audience how important this match is.

“We have just received the playing rosters of both teams. Both coaches are cautious and did not announce their starting line-up until the last minute. Now, let’s take a look… There are rumors in England before the game that George Wood would make an early comeback in a life-and-death battle with Germany to help the team win. However, from the list we got, Wood is still on the bench. He is replaced by Michael Johnson. I am sure Coach Twain would not fail to understand the importance of this match, hence for a match like this that he still does not let Wood play, it might look like Wood’s foot injury being not recovered was a matter that was totally unquestionable… It is really a sad tragedy for England, as if Wood is healthy, they believe it will definitely not be a problem for them to get out of the group stage, but today they are going to fight Germany for a qualifying place…”

“On the England side, the goalkeeper is still No.1 Joe Hart. The defenders are Joe Mattock, John Terry, Steven Taylor and Micah Richards from left to right. The midfielders, standing parallel to each other, from left to right, are Chris Cohen, Michael Johnson, Steven Gerrard, and Walcott. The two forwards are Wayne Rooney and Aaron Mitchell. There are 2 changes to the line-up in the first two games, which is when Richard replaces Glen Johnson as the starting right-back. In fact, Richard is more of a center-back in Manchester City however, he can be a guest at right-back. Twain positioned him to be at the right-back, obviously, he fancies his excellent defensive skills. Another change is Chris Cohen’s replacement for Downing. Downing is fast and sharp in attacking but his defensive skills are not as flattering. On the other hand, Chris Cohen’s biggest trait is ‘equilibrium’, his offensive and defensive skills are both average, with no obvious shortcomings. He also has excellent physical strength, good passing technique and at the same time, he consciously retreats to defend for the team. Furthermore, Chris Cohen and Joe Mattock are from Nottingham Forest Club, where they developed their rapport with each other will definitely help England at crucial moments.”

“Look at the German side… The goalkeeper is No.1 Rene Alder. The defenders are Marcell Jansen, Heiko Westmann, Per Mertesacker and Phillip Lahm, from left to right. The four midfielders are positioned like a diamond shape. Simon Rolfes at the back, Toni Kroos, a genius from Bayern Munich, at the front and Bastian Schweinsteiger on the left and Sami Khedira on the right. The two forwards are Lukas Podolski and Mario Gomez.”

※※※

As the starting lists of both teams were announced on television, players from both teams were lining up in the ramps of the new Mestalla stadium to enter.

The players at the New Mestalla stadium were separated in the middle of the tunnel, and there were two exits for the two teams. This design naturally avoided minor clashes between the two teams that have had long old feuds.

With the lines of the football field being the boundary of the players, the fans on the stands are divided into two sides. Germany’s exit was close to the stands of the German fans while England’s exit was close to the stands where the England fans were. Such an arrangement would give both teams the loudest cheers when they enter the field, and they would not have to worry about any foreign objects being thrown at them.

“Guys, it’s time for us to play!” John Terry, wearing the captain’s armband, turned his head and shouted to his teammates behind him. Meanwhile, on the other side, Schweinsteiger was shouting the same thing.

Amid the deafening shouts, players from England and Germany rushed out and stepped up to the field.

“They’re out!” Everyone in the stands, on the television broadcast stand and in front of the television shouted.

England wore their red jerseys, while Germany wore their traditional white tops and black shorts. Players from the two teams held their heads high as they walked to the field and the high-profile British-German war was about to begin.

The atmosphere on the pitch was a bit of a frenzy, with both England and Germans cheering for the teams in the way they were good at, shouting the names of the players. The temperature in the pitch had risen a few degrees as compared to the outside of the stadium.

The match was scheduled to take place at 5 pm local time. The sweltering midday heat had not dissipated, but it was nothing to them in front of their enthusiastic fans.

Twain stood in front of the coach’s seat with his hands in his pocket. Today, he did not wear a suit, he only wore a shirt with a tie. However, before the game began, the back and underarm of his shirt were soaked in sweat.

People sweat when they were excited, nervous or afraid. The atmosphere of the stadium caused Twain’s heart to beat faster and sweat profusely — he was excited.

The frenetic atmosphere did not stop until the national anthems of both countries were played. Both England and Germany could hear occasional boos as their national anthems were played. Both countries have had a long history of feuds in football, and even on occasions where they should have shown respect for their opponents, it had inevitably become a stage for mutual provocation.

After the necessary procedures, the players from both sides stood on the field, waiting for the kick-off.

The afternoon sun was shining, causing the green grass to turn white. The German team’s white jersey almost integrated into the background which was painful, making people dare not look straight for too long.

Twain suddenly cursed. The Germans had taken advantage of the sunlight and England was at a disadvantage even before the match began. If he had known earlier, he would have insisted on choosing the white jersey and let the German team wear the red one…

Although the new Mestalla stadium is cleverly designed, the two sides of the game did not have backlighting and backlight settings. However, the snow-white jerseys reflected the bright sunlight, making their figure look dazzling which is something the stadium’s lighting could not change.

Looking at the expressions of the England players now… They are all squinting, frowning and looking sideways at their opponents. They cannot seem to stare at them for too long and glanced away from them or else their eyes would tear up.

Only then did Twain realized he was not mean enough because he did not realize the use of sunlight. He did not expect the Germans, who were honest, to play a trick like this. Was it intentional or pure coincidence?

He now missed his pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and he could not keep an eye on the German players for too long. Lowering his head to avoid the glaring sun, he cursed under his breath. He could definitely get someone to retrieve his sunglasses for him and become the first football coach to wear sunglasses to direct the game on the side-lines, adding another splash to his personality book. However, that would not help the team. On the contrary, he would make the players feel abandoned.

Hence, Twain had to endure the dazzling jerseys and he chose to stand with the players.

Even the referee had to put his hand on his forehead as he looked at the players on both sides. He then blew the whistle for the start of the match, after proofreading the match with the fourth official on the field.

“The game begins! England kick-off!”

※※※

The dazzling sun and the white grass, as well as the German’s jersey, caused lots of trouble for the England team. As soon as the Germans moved, the dazzling whites followed the eyes of the England players, as if someone was holding a mirror and playing a game of reflecting the sun in front of them.

Do not underestimate such details. When the line of sight was disturbed, the players would naturally become restless and their attention and their ability to concentrate would be affected. Just look at Michael Johnson’s direct pass of the ball out of the side-line without a defender and you could see how much trouble this small detail caused England.

Although such an impact was not decisive, it was important to know that England was going against Germany and not just any other person. Any mistake could cause serious consequences in the face of such an opponent.

At first, Twain arranged for the team to attack first, trying to use the continuous attack to boost the team’s morale. However, the England team gave up the ball easily and retreated. Few minutes later, the German team returned to defence after full press(?) England team was not willing to give up and they were trying hard to find an opportunity to attack. Once the ball is in their possession, four or five players from the England team rushed to the opponent’s half with all their might and in high spirits.

But Twain frowned.

The feud between the English and German team had made the members of the England team unable to stand any grievances due to downwind. Winning was a good thing but when blood surged and all reasoning was lost, good things would become bad things.

In this situation, the German team has obviously used the natural conditions as an advantage to gain the upper hand, so the England team should remain calm and shrink the defence line. Usually, that was what the England team would do but today’s opponent was special, so England team’s players only thought about attacking.

Twain knew that this could not go on. He had to bring the players back on track.

He walked to the sidelines and shouted towards the players closer to him, “Shrink the defence line, we need to counterattack! Stop going on full press! Pay attention to the space behind you! ”

Those few players would naturally relay his instructions to the whole team, so it will now depend on the England team players if they are able to calm down.

After Twain shouted, England team’s defense stabilized significantly. They no longer blindly pressed forward and use their advantageous number to achieve victory.

The match returned to Twain and England’s team habitual defensive counterattack.

Twain did not mind that the game was played less beautifully but the fans definitely could not stand the England team playing so cowardly and as a “p*ssy”. The Germany team fans thought that their team had the upper hand, as they kept singing in the stands and cheering for their team, demoralizing the England team at the same time.

However, Sammer was not as excited as the fans. Once he saw Twain shouted and England team started to recover, he felt that things were not so good. He instructed people to specially collect information on the English and Portuguese teams. England had already gotten very comfortable with the plan of defensive counterattack under Twain’s guidance, so if the team continues to attack England team on full press…

He recalled that match where England team won against Portuguese team with 4:2, the German team today seemed to be the same as Portuguese team yesterday.

Thus, he walked to the sidelines and blew the whistle.

German fans must be very hopeful to see their team painstakingly destroy the England team. Even if they could not score, it would still be satisfying to see the German team attack on full press, leaving England with no retreat.

However, Sammer did not do as what the masses expected.

After attempting to besiege the England team for ten minutes, the Germany team pulled back and started to circle round and about the midfield with England team.

Such changes were naturally considered in terms of the team safety but the fans who were watching were extremely dissatisfied.

Just like that, the match that was supposedly groundbreaking, became dull as both coaches were more concerned about the results.

※※※

PS, the great battle is about to begin, please support with your monthly subscriptions~~~ (To be continued, if you want to know how the story continues, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the reader, support legal reading!)

Chapter 945 - Momentary Oversight

The boring match brought more focus to the temperature and the fans in the stands kept fanning whatever they had in their hands to produce some sort of breeze to take away the summer heat.

The commentator had reminded them no less than a few times that it was 36 degrees Celsius now. Under such a high temperature, time seemed to have slowed down and was about to be solidify…

The rhythm of the match was slow and peppered with mistakes for both sides. Exciting parts of the match were few and far between. This was not what a match between England and Germany should be like.

Compared to the fiery scenes before the match, the difference was massive. Only the most die-hard fan could remain passionate in that situation.

An example would be Fat John and the gang. Fat John took off his shirt and exposed his fats as he led his buddies in their songs and applauses cheering for England. They were located directly under the sun and their sweat on their bare chests glistened under the sunlight, blurring the England flags that were drawn onto their chests.

“In this 36 degrees heat, the players of both sides seem to be still groggy from their afternoon naps. Look at this, Schweinsteiger actually didn’t manage to get a hold of this ball…was the pass too fast? There is nothing wrong with the pass from Toni Kroos.”

Schweinsteiger knew he was at fault too as he turned back to give his teammate from Bayern Munich a thumbs up for the pass.

Sammer observed for a while longer and decided that England’s counterattack did not pose a threat to the German backline. Therefore, he readjusted his tactics, made his team press up more and make use of the width to find Mario Gómez inside the penalty area. At the same time, he asked them to take more long shots to break down England’s defense.

After Germany started to take the initiative, there was some difference in the situation. At the very least, there were more shots for one of the sides.

The Germans started to make some noise again whereas the English appeared to be lethargic.

They were starting to get used to Twain’s way of doing things, but they had hoped to be able to get the better of the Germans not just in terms of the results but also in terms of the play.

“Even if we win, this is rather depressing…”

There were some England fans grumbling in the stands.

Of course, the fans were not the only ones who thought that way.

※※※

“I don’t think we should just wait for them to attack us all the time!” Walcott shouted while defending a corner.

“What are you trying to say Theo?” One of his teammates asked him.

“We should take the initiative and try to attack!” Walcott said while raising his fist.

“Cut the crap Theo. Do what you have to do…” John Terry, the captain, shouted at Walcott who was not in position yet as he pointed at the penalty area.

“Yes, defense. Defend, defend… I got it.” Walcott shook his head and walked away.

Walcott performed admirably in the first match and resigned his two competitors to the bench, strengthening his hold on the position of right winger. However, he was unable to score in the second game, just like the rest of his team. Now, he hoped to prove himself again in the match against Germany and show the manager what he could do.

“Watch your man! Don’t let him lose you!” Terry shouted after putting Walcott in his place.

Walcott did not care about that. He did not have the physique or the height and jumping abilities anyway. He just had to put on a show when defending corners, there was no need for him to really do anything at all.

His mind was filled with thoughts of attacking and he was focused on looking for defensive loopholes within the German team.

To him, this might be a good opportunity. Didn’t Boss always say that the opportunity to attack lies hidden in every defense? Now that Germany have a corner kick, their center-backs will definitely press up in attack as well. Their defense will be weakened and now is the best time for him to make use of his speed!

Walcott looked at Mertesacker and Westermann who were jostling with Terry and the others inside the penalty area. The two of them were 1.98 meters and 1.9 meters tall respectively, much taller than Terry and Taylor. The English defense were in a panic just because they were standing in front of goal. However, Walcott thought that was not a bad thing. At the very least, the Germans would never expect their corner kick to become an opportunity for him.

Who stayed back in defense? Jansen, Rolfes and the goalkeeper.

Rolfes was slow, however, Jansen was a problem. The wingback was also a very fast player. If he wanted to get past him, Walcott might have to go to the other side. Jansen was a left-back and his position was directly against the right winger Walcott. Walcott was not afraid of competing with another person in terms of speed, however, in such a crucial moment, it was best to minimize any potential problems and he did not want to overextend himself either.

Next, Walcott started to imagine the possible obstacles that he might face. In his view, the most problematic part was the distance for his acceleration. There were many opponents and very little space, that meant that his speed would not be very effective there. The best way was for his teammate to help him. However, Walcott was worried that the speed of the attack would be slowed down if he passed to his teammate and his plan would go down in smokes. In this situation, he was the only one that he could trust.

He had no choice but to dribble past the defending players with his skills then accelerate and speed through the midfield.

Toni Kroos did not go into the penalty area, choosing to wait for an opportunity outside the box instead. He was a pure attacking midfielder and he did not know how to defend. He was also not the type of players who would put himself in danger in order to stop an attack from the opponent. If Walcott was to breakthrough from his side, he would at most extend his leg in a feeble attempt to stop him. After Walcott decided on a path to breakthrough, he shifted a little to the outside and hoped that the ball would successfully reach him.

He would raise his hand to ask for the ball if Joe Hart caught it. There should be no reason why Joe Hart would not give it to him. If the defenders cleared the ball, then it was up to him to make a correct judgement about where the ball was going to be…

When Lahm placed the ball at the corner, there were a group of English fans behind him in the stands. Those fans kept giving Lahm the middle finger and insulted him using vulgarities that he definitely understood. However, Lahm was unmoved, as if it was mere air behind him. He stepped back after placing the ball and waited for the referee’s whistle.

He had to wait for a rather long time as there were some altercations inside the penalty area between the players of both teams.

Mertesacker was 1.98 meters, Westermann was 1.9 meters, Gómez was 1.89 meters and Khedira was also 1.89 meters. There was a suffocating pressure in front of the England goal when these four giants stood around it. Terry, Taylor and Joe Hart felt very anxious. Even Mitchell appeared in front of goal as a makeshift defender.

“Push them out and clear the space!” Joe Hart had already decided to come out to catch the ball or to punch it away. He did not feel safe facing the team with the tallest average height in the competition. He was 1.96 meters and he was still confident that he could compete with the giants of the opposing team.

The referee called Mitchell and Mertesacker to him and warned them not to have any excessive pulling and pushing actions. Both players complained that they had their shirts pulled by the other party.

After waving their complaints away, the referee gave a sign to Lahm with his hand to indicate that he could restart the game.

Lahm’s ball had a slight outer curl which became more obvious once the ball started to reach the goal.

Joe Hart had a lapse in judgement as he only realized that the ball was going a little too far away from him after he came out. He could not guarantee that he would be able to catch the ball and could only change to punching the ball away in mid-air with one hand!

Hart could barely manage to punch the ball with Mitchell and Mertesacker between him and the ball. As for whether the ball could fly far enough or who would be able to get it… He could not care about that then. He had to take care of his own balance——In order to get his hand on the ball which was flying away from him, he had to dive almost horizontally and he would fall on to the ground now that he had lost his balance. If a German player got the ball then…

What he was worried about did not happen as Walcott’s gamble paid off. He got the ball!

A good opportunity!

Walcott gave a cheer in his heart when he got the ball. All he had to do now was to dribble pass…

After Walcott stopped the ball and turned around, the person who appeared in front of him was not Toni Kroos but Rolfes!

Walcott was shocked——When did he come over?!

Faced with an unexpected opponent, Walcott could not react at all and he gave the ball away to the opponent directly just like this…

Oh no…

Walcott turned to tackle for the ball but Rolfes had already positioned himself between him and the ball.

After getting the ball, Rolfes did not waste any time. He knew that it was a crucial moment then as Joe Hart was down on the ground in the penalty area. If they took advantage of the opportunity, they might be able to score…

He passed the ball to Podolski who did not join in the mess inside the penalty area.

The Werder Bremen forward had a pretty good shot on him and now was the time for him to show them what he could do!

Podolski stopped the ball from Rolfes with his right foot in front of him, then raised his left foot and took a long shot!

Even though he did not have much run up, the speed of the ball was not slow at all. This was the power of a German footballer.

The ball found a way through to goal amidst the crowd. John Terry extended his foot out in an attempt to block it, but he missed. Gómez was still in front of goal and when he saw the ball flying straight towards him, he hurriedly ducked in shock and fell backwards. It was not easy for him to do this action within a second with that 1.89 meters frame of his…

Nobody, including Joe Hart who was getting up from the ground, touch the ball and it flew straight into the net.

“What a beautiful goal! World class ball from Podolski!! We’re leading 1:0!”

“England had finally conceded a goal… Mistake from Joe Hart! This was a very careless punch!”

The commentators from both countries had totally different reactions. It was the same for the fans from both countries in the stands. The German fans got to their feet and cheered with their arms in the air. The England fans had their heads in their hands as they could not believe what they were seeing.

In the minds of many England fans, the question was getting more prominent, however, the question mark at the end was slowly straightening to become an exclamation mark.

The German team is still so strong?

※※※

Twain looked down and cursed when he saw the ball fly into the goal. Des Walker was a little agitated beside him and he waved his arms in anger, blaming Joe Hart for coming out so carelessly.

Sammer leapt up with both feet off the ground when the ball flew into the goal. One could tell the excitement that he was feeling. To be able to take the lead in such an important match, it meant that they were that much closer to moving into the knockout stage.

A concentrated defense cannot defend against set-pieces… Twain was in a very bad situation now. If he allowed the score to remain like this, England would lose the match and they would be gifting the chance to get past the group stages to others. That was not Twain’s style.

He could only choose to let his team push up and find an equalizer as soon as possible. Otherwise, the situation would only get worse for England as time passed.

30 minutes had passed in the first half and England had only 15 minutes left. They would be in trouble if they could not equalize in the first half…

※※※

Joe Hart was in a daze in front of goal. He did not expect to cost his team a goal by making a mistake in coming out for the ball.

Another person who was in a daze was Walcott. Even though nobody blamed him, he could not shake the feeling that the goal they conceded was because he lost the ball. He was overconfident and did not expect Rolfes to extend beyond the midfield when he was not paying attention——The Germans decided to be bold for once and it paid off.

Walcott appeared to be distracted in the match after that and Twain kept shaking his head at the sideline.

Twain had already asked his team to attack appropriately but there was little effect. The glare of the sun and the heat prevented England from performing to their usual standards. Walcott’s side was almost totally ineffective because of his loss of form. The Germans was able to defend easily as England could only attack via Chris Cohen and attacking from only one flank was too one-dimensional. The German center-backs were all very tall and they made light work of high balls.

At the end of the first half, England still did not manage to equalize. The situation was gradually becoming worse for them.

If the manager had no intentions of making any substitutions during half-time, the substitutes would usually make use of the half-time break to do their warm-ups. However, when George Wood was going to go warm-up, he was stopped by Des Walker.

“Go to the changing room with them George,” Walker said.

Wood’s heart skipped a beat and he asked, “Will I be coming on in the second half?”

Walker’s reply disappointed him, “No, you’ve not recovered yet, there’s no need for you to warm-up,” Walker said while shaking his head.

Wood looked down and entered the players’ tunnel with the others unhappily.

The heat from the direct sunlight made them a little faint and the coolness of the tunnel gave them a boost.

A wall apart, the English players could clearly hear the laughter of the Germans. Even though they did not know why they were laughing, they England players had the same thought when they heard it——They were unhappy, very unhappy.

“Damn it! I’ll show them in the second half!” Wayne Rooney, who had almost no contributions at all in the first half, said while giving the wall a kick.

“Don’t waste your energy on the wall,” a cold voice came from behind him.

Rooney turned and saw the cold and unfeeling face of Tony Twain. The other players saw the expression on the face of their boss too. Looks like Boss was very angry…

Chapter 946 - Don’t Be Impatient, George

Trailing behind the Germany team by one goal in the first half was a source of frustration for many of the England players, who vented their frustrations in the locker room.

“Their jerseys are so blinding to the eyes in the sun. It’s despicable!”

“That’s right. I can’t concentrate at all!”

“Forget about concentration, I can’t even see their movements clearly. Why did the UEFA not stop this kind of thing from happening?”

A group of people blamed the Germany team’s snow-white jerseys and the bright sunshine for them trailing behind.

These voices did not go away when Twain came in with Rooney. It was not until Twain closed the locker room door that everyone realized their boss was here and it was not the time to be noisy.

“What did I say before the game?”

After looking around the locker room, Twain asked with a serious face.

Everyone looked at each other. They did not know why the boss was so dissatisfied. Although we are one goal behind, the team morale is still very strong. It should not be a problem to reverse the score with a goal in the second half.

“I told you that you had to keep your heads cool, but I did not see that in the first half.” Twain spread his hands and shook his head, “I know we feel animosity toward the Germany team, and the game against Germany will give you a surge of adrenaline. But if you let that thing dominate your brains, then we’ll lose this game…” Twain suddenly raised his voice, “I’m not saying this to scare you! I’m not spurring you into action by making negative remarks! I’m telling you this very seriously—”

He raised his arms and waved his hands forcefully in accordance with each utterance, “If you can’t put your focus on how to win the game and instead concentrate on how to get revenge on the Germans, we will definitely lose! Then we’ll entrust the possibility of advancing to the next level to Portugal and Wales!”

“Don’t tell me you have never experienced a game like this in your career? A sunny afternoon with the opponents wearing white or light-colored jerseys, which reflect the sunshine that it is somewhat blinding to the eyes … Did the English Premier League not have games in the afternoon? Did you all lose in games like that?”

The England players slowly bowed their heads as Twain shouted the questions.

“So why did you play so badly in today’s game? Because your opponent is the Germany team! You just think, ‘The Germans are so cunning!’ ‘The Germans are so despicable!’ Did any of you ever thought, ‘I’m going to win the game’? You’ve put all your energies into those details that you’re not thinking about the game now! Now I’m saying this to you, ‘Think of this game as a normal game.’ Are you able to get this in your heads?”

Twain saw George Wood who sat in front of his locker. He did not seem to be listening, as his eyes were fixed on the door of the locker room, but his mind seemed to have wandered to the pitch.

“Now bring your focus back to the game itself. I don’t want to tell you what will happen if we don’t advance out of the group stage. I just want to tell you that we have an agreement with George. He’s waiting for us in the knockout stages and we are meeting him in the knockout stage.”

Everyone set their sights on Wood. Wood indeed did not listen to what Twain said. He was unresponsive to his words. He just continued to stare at the locker room door, lost in his thoughts.

“Are you still men?” Twain asked, “A man has to keep his promise! Once you make a promise, you must do it! We promised George that we will advance to the next stage for him! If we can’t do it, then we’re all not men!”

“Forget the hatred between England and Germany. Remember this is a game. A game that is going to determine which team will directly advance! Now, let’s make a tactical adjustment.”

Twain drew on the tactical board as he spoke, “Toni Kroos is their attacking midfielder, but the German’s attacking core is actually Schweinsteiger. Pay attention to his position. Where he goes means that the German attack is focused on that side.”

That was the conclusion of Twain’s observation in the first half. Toni Kroos was only responsible for passing the ball. “Schweini” Schweinsteiger was the most threatening player. His position was also very irregular. Sometimes he was on the left, and sometimes he was on the right. At other times he would even switched positions with Toni Kroos and take up the role of an attacking midfielder. Despite the rise of his name in Bundesliga in recent years, the core position had never been his, whether at Bayern Munich or in the German national team. He was just a cover for Schweinsteiger. If they focused too much defensive attention on this talented kid, they would let the big fish get away, which could lead to terrible consequences.

“So, our defense must be focused on Schweinsteiger. Restraining him will also limit the Germany team’s attack. With a solid defense, we will then have a way to attack with confidence. We have to be extra careful with defending against positional play.”

Hearing the boss say so, Walcott bowed his head. Obviously the goal concede had something to do with him, which was when they lost the ball during the positional play.

Twain glanced at Walcott and said, “Theo. I don’t know what happened to you. Your performance in the beginning and end of the first half was like that of two different people. But I don’t want to dig any deeper into it. I just want you to know this. I’m giving you fifteen minutes in the second half. If you still play like this, I will not hesitate to replace you. You’re not a rookie and you don’t need me to take care of you. You know what you should do.”

Walcott nodded hard.

“Now let’s talk about the offense. We did have a lot of counterattacks in the first half, but our players lacked in their ability to seize the opportunities… Is it true? No, it’s your attitude that’s not right. I bet you wanted to volley the football in when you’re facing an empty goal. You are not usually like that.” Twain said as he looked at Rooney and Mitchell.

The two men were indeed a little overexcited in the first half. They would appear to use too much force whenever an opportunity was presented at their feet.

“Well, relax, I won’t ream you out.” Looking at the players who were somewhat dejected from being scolded by him, Twain laughed again. He also could not crack down them too hard… Regulating the mentality of the players was a job that required skills.

“The Germans won’t destroy you either. Just relax your minds and you’ll find it easy to beat the Germany team. They’re basically not considered as a powerful opponent at all! I have the confidence to beat all the strong teams in the world, and you have it too. This confidence can help you stay calm against a strong team.” Twain pointed to his head and said, “It’s important up here.”

“When you attack, you should pay attention to the success rate. We are behind the other team. The opportunities for counterattacks in the second half will not increase. Instead, it will decrease. Sammer is a very cautious manager. Such a game can be won easily. Just one goal is enough, so he will have the defense retreat. I ask you to grab hold of every opportunity to attack. I don’t want to see those long shots blindly show up frequently like they did in the game against Wales – the frequency of shots doesn’t lead to goals.”

※※※

On the other side, in the Germany team’s locker room, after praising his team’s performance in the first half, Sammer also made some adjustments. He said, “Attack the moment the second half starts and then slowly withdrew the defense. You must remember this. All I want is a victory. It makes no difference whether it’s 1:0 or 2:0.”

The players nodded their heads one by one. The German players were known for their strong discipline and the manager’s words were like an imperial edict. They would not go against the manager’s arrangement just because they wanted to play a beautiful game.

Oddset Sportwetten, Germany’s largest bookmaker, once ran a television advertisement that used exaggerated mockery to illustrate the characteristics of different leagues. For example, after Serie A league players were injured, employees with hairdryers in hand would follow the team doctors and arrange the hairstyles of the injured players; a European star player in the Qatari league rode in a Lincoln car and appeared on the sidelines of the pitch. He came out to kick a corner kick. Then put on sunglasses as he got back in the car and left amid the cheers of the fans. As for Germany’s domestic league, they represented it in this way – the players on both sides were lined up in neat 4-4-2 formations and marched forward or backward at a uniform pace under the command of the manager with a megaphone.

The description of their league by Germany’s local bookmaker was clearly justified. The Germans’ discipline was not only reflected in football, but also played an important role in other area and even in wars.

Now Sammer told his players that he needed defense and to win in a dependable way. Then the German players would do accordingly. “They’re simply like emotionless robots.” There must be people who complained about German football in this way, that it was rigid, stubborn and mechanical without any artistic flair. But it was precisely this style that made them the most feared team on the European continent. They could always inspire immense hidden capability in desperate situations to accomplish impossible to achieve miracles.

Just like Britain’s famous sports commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme once marveled, “Some people are on the pitch. . . they think it’s all over… it is now!”

※※※

Twain ended his tactical adjustment just when the halftime interval came to an end. The players got up and walked out of the locker room in succession to make their way towards the pitch.

George Wood purposely dragged till the last. He wanted to talk to Twain alone.

Twain also noticed Wood’s strangeness. He stayed behind to see what was up with Wood.

“Are you looking for me, George?” When the players and coaches had walked out, Twain turned to look at Wood, who was still in the locker room, and asked.

“Bring me on in the second half.” Wood went straight to the point.

“It’s not possible, George.” Twain also flatly turned him down.

“The situation is not good now.”

“But it hasn’t reached the point where it’s bad enough to bring you on with your injury. Otherwise what would your teammates – those who have played for forty-five minutes on the pitch as well as those who are healthy and sitting on the substitutes’ bench – think?” Twain pointed to the door of the locker room, where outside was the corridor leading to the hall.

“Don’t you believe them, George?” Twain asked as he stared into Wood’s eyes.

“No…” Wood shook his head slowly and said, “I’m just… I just don’t want to be a spectator…” He mumbled with his head down.

Twain smiled and reached out to rub Wood’s head. “I won’t make you a spectator. We will definitely go to the knockout stage. I’ll see you there at that time, George.”

He took the lead to walk out.

※※※

When the German players reappeared on the pitch, Twain did not see the slightest bit of smugness in their faces. Instead each of them looked so serious that it was as if they were the ones who were trailing behind with their solemn expressions.

This was the kind opponent that Twain hated most, because they were not conceited and would not underestimate the enemy. They would not be easily angered by him. They faithfully executed the tactics with discipline as long as the manager did not make mistakes. Even in the face of extreme adversity, they would not give up easily. They would still be thinking about how to equalize the score until the final moments of the game.

They were tenacious like a rock. It was extremely tough to compete against an opponent like this. There would be no moments of letting up, and their nerves must be tense for ninety minutes.

To his slight relief, England’s players were back to normal.

The other good news was that by the start of the second half, the lights on the roof of the stadium had been turned on and the bright sun and the dazzling white jerseys vanished. In this way, there was no off-field distraction, and the England players no longer had to squint their eyes and contend with the German player in a distracted state.

It was now six o’clock in the afternoon, and it was already the evening. Clouds drifted over the horizon and dimmed the glow of the sunset. The Nou Mestalla stadium was enveloped in a faint golden glow. If the lights were not turn on, nothing could be seen.

As the temperature dropped, the cool breeze blew into the Nou Mestalla stadium, and the stadium, which had been at a fever pitch for forty-five minutes, gradually cooled down.

But it was only an illusion. When the referee blew the whistle to start the second half, thunderous noise suddenly erupted from the stands, which were quiet earlier.

The English fans’ voices rang out again, and the German fans were not willing to appear weak as well. The stands became a place for fans from both sides to chant at each other. A stadium would have this kind of atmosphere only with the English fans around. Whether it was the Spanish, Italian, French or Dutch fans, they rarely sang for ninety minutes like the English fans.

The Germany team felt the change in the England team. Less than three minutes into the second half, the England team crossed the ball from the sideline to create great danger.

Mitchell’s header brushed against the goalpost to fly out due to Mertesacker’s interference, which caused the German fans to break out in a cold sweat.

This attack was not created by a counterattack, but a chance generated by the England team patiently passing the football back and forth in the positional play.

“The kid’s strength is weak, and he cannot withstand the collision. Next time the defense can use a little more force!” Mertesacker said to Westermann next to him, telling him the secret to defending against Mitchell.

Westermann nodded to show that he understood.

※※※

Ten minutes passed and the England and Germany teams were entangled in the midfield. It looked like no one could get the best of each other. The England midfielders’ defense against Schweinsteiger was largely successful. Wherever Schweini went, he would find himself surrounded by an England player who could be Michael Johnson, Chris Cohen, Walcott, or two full backs. England did not use man-on-man marking defense. Dealing with a player with a wide scope of activity, man-on-man marking would instead mess up their own defense.

Schweinsteiger’s contribution to the German team’s offense plummeted after he lost the space for free movement. England also had more offensive opportunities. But the German team’s defensive organization was very robust. Even when the German team attacked, their rear defensive line was still firmly in place in the backfield. Manager Sammer was the same as when he was a professional player, placing importance on the defense. As a result, England lost the opportunity to fight back and could only engage with the Germany team on positional play. Whereas the Germans withdrew the defensive line and clung fast to defending the middle. Several giants over 1.85-meter-tall inside the penalty area made the otherwise large penalty area appear crowded. It was simply wishful thinking wanting to rely on passing the ball to send the football to the feet of the strikers. The biggest possibility of forcibly sending out long shots would be to waste an attacking opportunity which was hard to obtain.

Mitchell stood in the penalty area and kept putting his hand up for the ball, like a center forward who rushed into the opposing team’s goal. But his teammates could not guarantee that the football would be delivered accurately to his head every time.

Cohen’s passes were excellent, but the England used his side as the main attacking point in the second part of the first half and he was left exhausted by Germany’s defense. Walcott was quick and good at breakthroughs, but there was a lack of fire in his passes.

At this time, Twain missed the injured Bentley invariably. He was not as fast and good at dribbling like Walcott, but he was as good as Beckham in his cross passes. With him on the right side, Mitchell could play to his fullest potential.

However, it was a shame…

Although there was still Adriano Moke around, his characteristics were neither speed, breakthroughs nor passing. It was his dribbling…

Walcott clearly knew the problems he faced. No matter how fast he was, he was left without ample scope for his abilities in the face of the German team’s contracting defense – without any space to sprint, he could not fully play to his technical characteristics. Moke was the kind of player who could get rid of the defense by relying on his skills, but he was not.

The boss gave him only fifteen minutes’ time, and now he was three minutes away from that deadline. He had no doubt that if his performance still did not improve, he would have been ruthlessly replaced by his boss.

Walcott was not willing to be brought off like that in such an important game. It would be equaled to him being labelled as “underperforming.”

Once again, after receiving the ball, the Germany team’s defenders habitually prepared for Walcott’s breakthrough, with the left back, Jansen moving back to compress the space behind him. Although the gap in the front was left to Walcott, he was not too worried. Walcott’s cross pass was of a low quality. Previously, he had four passes, none of which was accurately sent to Mitchell’s head.

Walcott had intended to break through with a cross from the byline and then stick along the sidelines to slip into the penalty area, which would create chaos in this way. Next, he would take the opportunity to pass the ball during the chaos to pass the ball on the ground, to see who could hit the ball into the goal. But after seeing Jansen’s reaction, he changed his mind at the last minute and chose to lift his leg to directly pass the ball!

The football drew an arc and flew into the penalty area.

The quality of the pass was pretty good this time, and the football went straight to Mitchell’s spot.

“Squeeze him out!” Mertesacker was defending against Rooney and he shouted at Westermann.

Mitchell locked his eyes on the football and ran to adjust his position. Just as he was about to jump for the header to shoot the ball at the goal, he felt a force coming at him from below, which caused him to lose his center of gravity.

He somewhat exaggeratedly stretched his arms in the air, gave a loud yell, and Mitchell fell into the penalty area!

No one touched Walcott’s pass, which flew straight out of the end line.

Did it look like it was another terrible pass and a failed offensive?

No!

The referee’s whistle sounded. He ran to the penalty area and pointed at the penalty spot!

“It’s a penalty shot!” John Motson cheered with both his arms raised high.

Mitchell, lying on the ground, also raised his arms high and waved his fists in the air. While Westermann lying down next to him was staring at the referee running over with an incredulous look – how can that be a penalty shot? I only used a little force, but then it was a reasonable collision!

The referee did not care about Westermann’s doubts. He stood on the penalty spot and resolutely gave England a penalty kick! Looking at his serious expression, he believed Westermann’s defense must have been a foul.

Walcott, in charge of the pass, raised his hands on the sidelines and cheered for his pass.

Twain rushed to the sidelines and excitedly waved his fists.

“It’s f**king beautiful!”

Sammer, on the other hand, yelled unhappily at the referee, “It was obviously a dive!” He rushed into the field and made a gesture for the dive. “Can’t you see? Can’t you see it?”

It was not until the fourth official intervened that he turned around and walked back with a dark expression. Leaning against the shed in the technical are, he kept shaking his head as he looked at the pitch. It was an unexpected development. It did not matter how good he was as a manager.

After Twain cheered, he crouched on the sidelines, with one hand on the ground and the other hand over his mouth. He waited for the outcome of the penalty shot full of anticipation and anxiety.

he German players on the pitch failed to appeal to the referee, who did not change his decision. There were boos and swearing from the German fans in the stands, while the England fans crazily chanted to drown out their abuse.

When nothing could be changed anymore, the stands returned to calm.

The German players reluctantly pulled out of the penalty area and gave up the front of the goal door to the England players.

The goalkeeper, Adler kept moving in front of the goal with his arms wide open, putting psychological pressure on the England player who was going to carry out the penalty shot.

Gerrard was the one who came forward for the shot. As he was experienced, he was not bothered by Adler. The boos from the German fans in the stands did not destabilize him.

Facing the front of the stands where the German fans were as well as looking at the many middle fingers in the stands, Gerrard ran up for the shot after the whistle sounded and powerfully blasted the penalty shot into the goal!

Adler judged in the right direction but was not able to match Gerrard’s powerful shot. He only flew past when the ball hit the net.

“What a beautiful goal! Gerrard resisted the pressure to send it in! England has equalized the score! We can now see the hope again!” Motson shouted.

After the goal, Gerrard ran all the way back to the substitutes’ bench and then pointed to George Wood. He came in for a powerful hug with him.

“This goal is for you, George! We’re going to the knockout stage!” He roared in Wood’s ear.

As the cheering crowd dispersed, Twain walked up to Wood and smiled at him as he said, “Just sit back and watch the game, George. Looks like you’re not required to make an appearance.”

Chapter 947 - A Bright Future

On the computer screen, Gerrard, wearing England’s number 8 red jersey, blasted the ball into the goal amidst the boos from the German fans. Wearing a pair of earphones, an impeccably suited man could not help but raise his arms up and cheer loudly.

Although it was during office hours, no one was surprised by his actions, because everyone was doing the same thing as him. A dozen pairs of arms were raised high in the office and everyone cheered together.

But this situation was an exceptional case. Many people in a lot of companies and even government agencies left work early at this time. Majority of people gathered in bars ubiquitous in the streets everywhere, sipping beer with friends and watching the game.

The radios of every taxi were tuned into the radio stations that broadcast the match. Not only for the passengers, but also for the drivers themselves to follow the game.

The big-screen televisions in the train stations, plazas and large shopping malls were all playing the game broadcast. A lot of passers-by stopped in front of each screen to watch the game.

After seeing Gerrard score with the penalty shot, all of these people cheered as though there were nobody else present. Of course, Liverpool fans were the happiest because the man who helped England equalized the score was their captain.

“England equalizes the score! Now we can see the hope of victory again! The Germans are still protesting the penalty shot. But no matter how many times you watch the replay, there’s nothing wrong with the referee’s decision!” The commentator, John Motson again stressed the matter of the penalty shot.

“Yes! There’s nothing wrong!” The fans shouted along with him.

In fact, it did not matter even if there was a problem. It felt great to be able to score a goal against Germany, but it was even better that the goal itself had no problems, such as an offside position in the first place or for the ball to be judged crossed the line even though it was not…. So, the England fans liked to talk about the 1966 World Cup final all the time and taunt the Germans.

Every time Germany’s “Der Kaiser”, Beckenbauer came to London, he would be pulled in a conversation about the final of that year by taxi drivers, or else he would barely be able to leave the airport. The drivers wanted to ask if he thought Hurst’s goal had crossed the goal line.

Of course, technology later had proved that the ball was not completely over the goal line, but the English people enjoyed this kind of outcome.

※※※

Back at Valencia’s Nou Mestalla stadium, the England fans in the stands were singing loudly and cheering for England. The German fans chose to remain silent. The riot police in the stands were particularly nervous at this time, fearing that the England fans would provoke the German fans, and then both sides would break off the seats in the stands to fight a battle that was more intense than the game itself.

But fortunately, none of these things happened.

Sammer was disappointed with the goal concede. Now he had to rethink how to play for the rest of the game. They could still play conservatively with a one goal lead. What should they do now that the score was equalized?

No news came out of the other game. It looked like Portugal and Wales should be a draw too. In the case, based on the current situation, if both games ended in a draw and the four teams had each accumulated four points, then Germany would continue to be at the top of the group with a net goal advantage, thus allowing it to advance smoothly. Even if a winner was declared for the other game, whether Portugal or Wales won, Germany would still be able to advance as the second placeholder in the group with a net goal advantage over England. On the other hand, England would slip to the third place in the group. Depending on the results of several other groups, it could only be determined whether they were qualified to advance based on having the best results among the third placeholders in four teams.

For the Germany team, they could advance as long as they did not lose the game. They had more leeway than the England team.

Sammer was a person who cared more about the results than saving face. Since he could guarantee that they would advance as long as they did not lose the game, then they would maintain the draw to seek victory. If they press out and attack at this time, then England would likely seize the opportunity to score another goal. At that time, they would switch positions with the England team if they lost the game.

During his years as a player, Matthias Sammer was known as the best “free-role player” in the world since Beckenbauer and Baresi. Trained in the East German mechanical style, he placed emphasis on discipline and was insurmountable iron gate on the Germany team’s defensive line. He did not care if the football he played was beautiful, artistic or pleasurable to watch. He only cared about the result. Football was a sport that seek victory. If he could not win, then the effort expended would be meaningless.

After he became a manager, he stuck to that view.

He decided to keep the team focused on defense and counterattack as secondary. It was not necessarily to breach England’s goal. It was enough as long as they could hold on to the score line.

※※※

Contrary to Sammer’s conservative stance, Twain did not have the power to choose to play conservatively at this time. He must attack, and he could only attack. As a result, he stood on the sidelines and gave a big wave of his hand to signal for the entire England team to press forward and launch a siege on the Germany team. It was a complete reversal of the situation in the first half.

The England tried its hardest to pass the football from the sideline to Mitchell’s head. Unfortunately, the penalty shot was the only one. Mitchell was pressed from both sides by the German gigantic defenders and could not do anything. At this time, he must regret why he did not pay more attention to his strength exercises during the usual training.

Twain observed on the sidelines for a while and found that it was easy for the German players to defend against them if they blindly insisted on passing from the sides. Their height was an advantage, so headers were not a good idea. So, he called Walcott to his side during a dead ball opportunity. He instructed him not to cross the ball over anymore but instead to dribble the ball to break though by cutting inward.

The German defenders were tall and huge but inflexible with their turning. This was where they could take advantage of it.

Jansen was fast so Walcott could not take any advantage in that regard. Therefore, Twain let Walcott and Cohen regularly switched positions. Walcott went to the left side and Cohen came to the right side.

The right-footed player went to the left side which made it easier for him to cut inside and shoot. Twain wanted to create chaos for the Germany team’s rigid defensive line.

The effect was clear once Walcott went to the left side. The Germany team did not expect Twain to make such an arrangement. Because neither Cohen nor Walcott were players who were skilled at using both legs. Cohen could only use his left foot to shoot while Walcott’s left-foot technique could not bear comparison to his right foot. Sammer never thought that Twain would make the two men change positions, so there was no targeted arrangements on his part.

The Germany players found it difficult to defend. After all, players who were strong in their left feet or right feet had different technical action and habits. Being used to defending against a specific type of player would lead to inertial thinking, so that when he faced another player who played with a different leg, it would lead to errors in his judgment.

Lahm was an outstanding full back. He completely subdued Chris Cohen in the sideline, but he did not defend well when he was up against Walcott’s speed.

“Walcott accelerates …he suddenly stops and turns inward to cut inside! Gorgeous, he shakes off Lahm! And he shoots!!”

Adler punched the ball out with both hands and roared at Lahm. He was not happy with his teammate’s defense.

Soon Walcott made a comeback, but this time when Lahm tried to defend against his inside cut to break through, he chose to forcibly cross from the byline. Then in the face of Lahm catching up to him, he hooked the ball back and turned around to switch to using his strong right foot again to cross the ball. Unfortunately, Rooney’s shot deflected due to Westermann’s interference. It caused the Germans to break out in a cold sweat.

“You can’t allow him to run amok anymore!” Adler yelled at his teammates, “Whichever way you have to use, don’t let him go into the penalty area!”

Walcott’s vigor was a headache for the Germans. Twain also saw the advantage of such deftness in the face of tall defenders. He decided to make a substitution.

“Moke.” He turned around and gestured to Moke, who was sitting on the substitutes’ bench. “Go warm up and come back in five minutes.”

Moke was a little surprised. Despite being brought to Spain, he was widely regarded by the media as having little hope of appearing on the pitch. He was a player that shared the same fate as the third goalkeeper. Because in front of him there was Walcott, who had secured the main position, and Bentley who was excellent with passing. He himself had no other advantage other than his skills. He did not have a strong body; he was not fast, and his stamina was not good … It was such a great surprise to be brought to Spain by Twain that the media had been talking about it, saying that Twain must have brought him out with the mentality of “taking care of his own people.”

But now he had a chance to play!

Moke hurriedly put on a white vest and rushed out.

Five minutes later, he stood panting in front of Twain.

Twain glanced at the boy who had been taught a hard lesson by him before and said, “Are you tired after only running for five minutes?”

Moke hurriedly closed his mouth which had been opened while he gasped for air. He shook his head and said, “Not tired, boss! I was just… excited!” Actually, he was a little nervous. It was his first time making an appearance on behalf of the national team and he was up against such an opponent like Germany. It would be false if he were not nervous.

Twain looked at him and smiled, “Just so long you’re not nervous. I want you to replace Cohen as he’s not very effective on the right side. You go up and take advantage of your footwork skills and dribbling ability to break through from the side into the penalty area and create chaos as well as opportunities.” Twain pointed to the field as he spoke to Moke.

Moke nodded as he listened.

“If you’re unable to break through, then create place kicks. Of course, it’s better to get a penalty shot.” Twain chuckled.

“Okay, boss!” Moke laughed. The boss’ smile made him feel familiar and at ease. Although we are still at a disadvantage, the boss must have a way!

When the England team was awarded an out of bounds ball, Chris Cohen was brought off and Moke was brough on.

Although Cohen did not contribute much in the attack, his aggressive defense helped ease a lot of pressure on the team’s rear defensive line in the first half. Now that the England team did not need to focus on defense, his role was diminished.

“Well done, Chris.” Twain shook hands with Cohen, who had come off, and praised his performance.

Moke’s appearance suddenly strengthened England’s attack. The England team was no longer hobbling like a one-legged cripple during the attack. Whether it was Walcott on the left or Moke on the right, both players had excellent dribbling skills. Each of them had the ability to make the German defenders run in circles.

When the German players had just put their defensive focus on the right side, Moke was active again.

Moke’s speed was not fast, but his footwork skills was fancier than Walcott’s. Jansen was tricked by him and had to resort to using fouls several times to stop Moke from breaking through.

※※※

“Ah ha! Well done, Moke! He does not have the slightest bit of stage fright in his first appearance for the national team. Look at his breakthrough… he uses his heel to knock the ball and change direction! He’s through!” John Motson shouted excitedly.

After Moke bypassed Jansen, he shielded the ball with his body, leaving Jansen unable to intercept the ball easily. Then he started to make his way into the penalty area.

Facing Mertesacker, who came forward to help defend, Moke was going to do the nutmeg so as to bypass him along with the ball. But he was blocked by Mertesacker on the outside when the football was pushed over. Moke, who fell to the ground face up, raised his hand to demand for a penalty shot, but the referee signaled for him to get up quickly and not to delay the time.

This time it was Twain’s turn to get angry on the sidelines and complained, “It’s a typical blocking foul! Do you need me to give you a lesson, Mr. Referee!”

The referee ignored him, and Twain scolded a few words before he shut his mouth.

Now that his team had the upper hand, the German team’s counterattack was not a threat. He was not too anxious. If there were only ten minutes left in the game, he would not have been willing to take things lying down.

※※※

Gerrard once again passed the ball to Moke on the right side. Schweinsteiger ran up to defend when he saw him take the ball. However, Moke went along the sidelines to knock the ball past the other person. Following which, when he was faced with the situation of intercepting players ahead and being pursued at the back, he then gave the ball to his own teammate, Michael Johnson who came up to help. After passing the ball, he continued to rush forward. Johnson also cleverly passed the ball back to him. It was a two over one pass!

Jansen learned to be clever this time and no longer rushed to make a move. Instead, he followed Moke and retreated backward. He tried to tackle the ball after he forced Moke near the corner flag. He did not expect Moke to shield the ball with his back toward him and turned his leg to use the arch of his foot to hook the ball between Jansen’s legs. Then, Moke quickly turn around and bypassed him!

Thanks to Jansen, Moke caught up with the ball on the end line. This time, he faced Mertesacker, the opponent who had blocked him last time. He did not choose to do the nutmeg but made the shot.

Being so close to the goal, Mertesacker dared not act to block the shot. Moke pulled the ball back while he stretched his leg to prevent the shot, then flicked his left foot and flashed past Mertesacker at the back.

Adler was hesitating whether to expand the area to block when Moke passed the ball!

The football passed through Westermann between his legs. Wayne Rooney got rid of Rolfes’ entanglement in the instant when Moke passed the ball and leapt forward. All he had to do in the face of a wide-open empty goal was to stick out his leg to kick…

Adler turned around to pounce on Rooney, but he was a step too late.

“Moke passes the ball… Rooney, Rooney, ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—GOOOOAL!! Easily pushes the ball into the goal! England leads 2:1, ahead of Germany!” Motson stood up from his seat with the microphone in his hand.

The England fans were already cheering when they saw Moke bypass Mertesacker. The cheers finally reached the climax after Rooney scored the goal.

“Long live – England!!”

※※※

There was nothing the Germany players could do about the goal concede. The diminutive Moke was like an agile monkey swinging through the dense forest. Their strong bodies simply could not block him and instead became obstacles to their defense. In this way, everyone watched as Moke nimbly turned his body to evade again and again and stirred up a foul atmosphere in front of the German team’s goal. Then he sent the football to the most dangerous place…

Sammer’s angry punch struck the sunshade behind him. Then when the one punch was not enough for him, he punched it again.

He did not make timely adjustments to Twain’s substitution, which led to serious consequences. His anger showed his dissatisfaction with his slow response.

Next door, Twain rushed to the sidelines and hugged Walker. Moke, who had just been brought on for less than ten minutes, had become the biggest contributor to them being in the lead, suggesting that his substitution had worked.

“We’re in the lead. Ah ha!” Walker shouted excitedly. There was now hope that they could directly advance to the next level.

Twain quickly calmed down and said, “Don’t be too happy yet, Des. Beware of Germany’s counterattack. We have to continue to strengthen our offensive and try to score another goal.”

He broke free from the excited crowd and waited for the players on the pitch to finish celebrating. Then he conveyed them his latest instructions.

But it looked like he would have to wait a little longer. The England players who had overtaken Germany, were so excited. Rooney had initially intended to stand and celebrate the goal, but now he was lying on the ground instead to celebrate – he was crushed under the weight of his ecstatic teammates.

The England fans obviously did not worry like Twain. At this time, they just wanted to cheer and celebrate to their hearts’ content as their team was ahead of their archrival, Germany. Whether it’s at the Nou Mestalla stadium or at home in England, chants of Rooney were flying in every corner.

Everyone saw a bright future of them stepping on the corpses of the Germany team to ascend to the top sixteen teams. That was the kind of future that made them excited just thinking about it…..

Chapter 948 - I want to come on

Sammer could choose to play conservatively when the score was 1:0. He could still choose to play conservatively when the score was 1:1. However, when his team was trailing England by 2:1, he could no longer choose to play conservatively anymore. There was still no news from the match between Portugal and Wales after 70 minutes. If the situation stayed like this until full time, then Germany, who had only three points, would be behind Portugal and Wales, who had four points each, and they would definitely be eliminated…

Sammer stood up from his seat as the decided that they could no longer be conservative anymore.

Schweinsteiger was already heavily marked by England’s zonal marking. If he continued to place the attack’s focal point on him, it would only lead to Germany’s attack being stuck in a rut. Sammer walked to the side of the pitch, whistled and called for Kroos. When Kroos looked over, he made a hand sign to mean that he was to be in-charge of attacking. Kroos nodded to indicate that he understood him.

Germany also had many different tactics prepared. Normally, Schweinsteiger would be the core of the team, but this would make it easy for their opponents to analyze their tactics. If this tactic was seen through by the opponent, then Kroos would have to step up and be in-charge of organizing the team’s offense.

The German team was still in the midst of adjusting when England launched a fierce attack. Tony Twain’s team continued to press on in attack to get another goal. The lead of just one goal is not safe.

England’s morale was high as they just came from behind to lead. Germany wanted to attack as well, and this was a good opportunity to get a goal.

“England is on the attack… Gerrard’s long shot got a deflection off Rolfes… Luckily Adler’s reacted well and saved the shot!”

“Corner taken… Walcott’s in a good position with a header! Just wide!”

When Gerrard got the ball again, he feigned to shoot but instead pushed the ball to the side and skipped past Rolfes who came up to block the shot. Next, he passed the ball to Moke, who was performing very well, on the flanks.

Jansen did not hold back this time. He did not even give Moke the chance to run and he took Moke down rather viciously.

The referee blew his whistle and England got the opportunity of a free kick outside the penalty area again. This was a threatening area to get a free kick, but the Germans were not afraid as they had the aerial advantage.

However, Gerrard did not cross the ball in from the air, choosing to play a low ball in instead! The ball went under the jumping wall and rolled quickly on the ground. This was a very dangerous ball, it just needed a touch from anyone and it might just go into the goal. In the end, nobody was able to get on the end of this pass and the ball rolled out of play beyond the far post. The German fans in the stands had their hearts in their mouth while the England fans had their heads in their hands in pity.

The person who felt the most pity was still Tony Twain. That was a good chance to extend the lead… It just flew right past everybody’s faces as it rolled beyond the legs of the people in front of goal.

After a period of intense offense, England still did not get another goal. Twain decided to stop while they were ahead as he did not really dare to take too much risk in such an important match. If they continued to attack and Germany finished adjusting their tactics, they would be the ones on the losing end if the Germans get into their momentum. The England center-backs were pressing so high up they were in the center circle. That was too dangerous as there was a huge space behind them. All Germany needed was a long pass beyond them and it would be a free space…

Podolski and Gómez were both fast and able to dribble with the ball. They would definitely take advantage of it if there were too much space behind.

Twain decided to instruct his team to fall back a little and change their tactics from offense to defend and counter.

At that time, Walcott was dribbling with the ball on the field and was preparing to take on Lahm’s defense. He noticed that there was someone approaching him from behind. Schweinsteiger was approaching quietly in an attempt to catch him in a pincer. Walcott was not worried, and he had his own plans. He was going to accelerate suddenly when they were going to surround them and catch them by surprise.

Just when he was preparing to accelerate, Schweinsteiger planted his foot on Walcott’s ankle from behind…

The momentum to go forward was forced to stay on the ground and Walcott could only feel a tear coming from the back of his ankle before he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Lahm was shocked and he raised his arms in a hurry to indicate that he did not do anything and he had nothing to do with Walcott falling down——He was already booked in the first half and he was very scared that he would get another yellow card.

Schweinsteiger also kept waving his finger to indicate that he did not commit a foul.

The referee ignored him and came forward to give Schweinsteiger a yellow card. Next, he looked at Walcott, who was writhing in pain on the ground, and he turned around to signal for the stretcher to the sidelines.

“Damn it!” Twain cursed from the sideline and hurried his medical team to check on the situation.

He was still prepared to make some defensive adjustments in a few minutes but now his attacking player was injured.

“Walcott is hurt, it looks like he won’t be able to continue!” On the screen, Walcott was being carried up the stretcher and he covered his face with his hands in pain. The team doctor next to the stretcher was signaling for Twain to make a substitution.

“Damn it, ask Downing to go warm up,” Twain told Walker.

The England bench were in a mess because of Walcott’s injury. Downing put on his training vest in a hurry and then warm up in a rush. A minute later, he had to run back quickly and listen to Twain’s tactical arrangement. His head was still in a mess and he did not hear anything that Boss said at all.

“Go on!” Twain patted him on the shoulder and pushed him to the sideline. Only now did Downing realized that he was going to go on, but what for? He thought about it and he guessed it was to attack from the flanks and cover in defense.

The team doctor, Derek Wright, walked over after examining Walcott’s injury. In the face of Twain’s questioning, he shook his head and said, “This match, the next match and the match after that, he might not be able to participate in those matches anymore Tony.”

Twain looked down and mumbled some swear words under his breath.

Walcott was injured as well as Bentley. The only person who can be used in the right winger position now was Adriano Moke. There were many more games after this and stamina was never a strong suit of Moke, this was a really bad piece of news…

※※※

Walcott’s injury affected the morale of the England players. Coincidentally, Twain wanted the team to pay more attention to defense and they fell back all the way and started to play on the counter.

The Germans followed the flow and started to launch waves of attacks on the England goal.

Twain was always at the sideline, looking at the game with a serious look on his face. He was paying close attention to the performance of both sides so that he could make adjustments anytime.

As it was, the Germany team was in the ascendancy, but England’s defensive line was still holding strong. Even though Toni Kroos took over the responsibilities of organizing the attack, the England midfielders were not one to be trifled with as well. Michael Johnson followed Kroos everywhere he went like a shadow using his exceptional running abilities and ensured that he was not able to organize any attack easily.

Both sides were in a stalemate for a while.

※※※

Sammer started to make some changes. He took off Khedira, whom did not have any exceptional performance, and put on 26-year-old midfielder, Marko Marin from Bochum. He was a winger with impressive dribbling skills and even though he was right-footed, he was good at playing on the left.

Sammer was obviously sending him on to strengthen their attack on the flanks and at the same time, increase the team’s penetration and cause some chaos in the English backline. Just like how Twain sent Moke in to get a goal, Sammer was hoping for the same.

Next, he moved the position of the defensive midfielder Rolfes forward to become an attacking midfielder. His position would be closer to the England penalty box and it would allow him to make full use of his passing range. In this way, the German lines would be more compact and movement would be smoother, reducing the odds of their balls being intercepted by the English midfield.

The German attack improved after the changes. Marin was a change that even Twain did not expect. That was because Marin from Bochum was probably the weakest midfield player in the German team. He was weak and a solo player who had no other forte other than dribbling with the ball. However, a player like this was currently the best performer in the German team and his dribbling caused a lot of problems for the English players.

At the same time, Sammer asked the German midfielders to take more long shots and attempt to break down England’s compact defense using long shots.

For a moment, the match intensified in front of the England goal and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

“Marko Marin has the ball… He broke through Moke’s defense with his individual skills. Adriano Moke is not a defensive player… He crosses!”

Mario Gómez came from behind and leapt up high for the header!

Joe Hart did his best to push his header over the bar. Fortunately, Gómez’s header was straight towards him, otherwise it might have resulted in a goal.

Germany had another corner and the English players became rather nervous looking at the giants who were all above 1.85 meters in height.

Even though he made a mistake and allowed the opponent to score, Joe Hart had no choice but to come out for the ball under this situation. He did well this time as he caught the ball in mid-air.

But this continuous German attack rang the alarm bells for England’s goal. Who knows, maybe when Germany attack once more, the alarm bells would become “death knell”…

The German team launched attacks at England wildly and England could not even get out of their own half. The strength and fitness of the Germans gave them the advantage at this instance, and they controlled the initiative of the match, The English players were at a disadvantage when we compare the physical strength of the teams.

When the match has reached the 75th minute, the situation was very bad for England and it felt as if they were going to concede another goal.

※※※

Twain walked around anxiously at the sideline. He was very nervous then and he was afraid that the Germans might equalize at the final minute. If that happened, then all was lost.

When he walked to the substitute’s bench, George Wood stood up from his seat.

“You need to strengthen the defense,” he told Twain, “sub me in.”

Twain ignored him and turned around. Wood followed behind him and repeated himself, “sub me in.”

“That’s impossible George,” Twain replied with his back to him, “Even if we draw, we’ll qualify too.”

“But you want to win. You know what it means to play against the Germans.”

Twain stopped and turned to look at Wood, “Even if I want to win, I’ll not fool around with your professional career.”

“You won’t be fooling around, my foot has fully recovered.”

Twain smiled and looked through his lie, “Mister Wright told me that your toe on your right foot still has some pain when it comes with contact with the ball.”

“That is nothing!” Wood raised his voice. If Sophia was next to him now, she would definitely lecture him on his attitude when talking to Mister Twain. However, Wood did not care about the relationship between him and Twain now. He wanted to get on and play, so much so that he was going crazy, “The team is in trouble, I’m the captain, I can’t just stay here and watch!”

Twain was shocked by what he said.

“Gerrard’s stamina is going down, the Germans are breaking through from his position!” Wood pointed at the field and told Twain, “If you don’t make a change soon, then…”

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the cheers from the German fans on the stands.

Gerrard slipped when facing Rolfes and lost his man. Rolfes took this opportunity to get past him and caused lots of problems for the England backline. If not for Terry blocking Rolfes’ long shot with his body, who knew what would happen.

Wood did not continue speaking and looked at Twain quietly instead.

This was a rare situation when Wood was agitated about something. In Twain’s mind, Wood was like a piece of wood, he was forever so boring. He did not expect him to be so agitated in telling him that he wanted to play. In the past, he used to listen to whatever Twain said. He was the most obedient person who would execute the tactics properly, the type of player that a manager could only dream of. Now, he was so vocal in his disagreement with his arrangement, disagreeing with the arrangement to only play in the play-off stage.

The intensive game was still going on on the pitch and England was being pushed back within 30 meters of their goal. In order to stop the Germans’ long shots, they had no choice but to block the shots with their bodies. However, it was not a nice feeling to be hit by such a powerful long shot all the time.

The cheers from the German fans were becoming louder as they seemed to see hopes of equalizing.

The England fans were unhappy that Germany was on the front foot and they started to sing to cheer the England team on.

Tony Twain and George Wood was in a stand-off at the sideline and they seemed to be unconcerned about what was happening on the pitch.

“England is in great danger! In the last 10 minutes of the match, the Germans have launched attacks after attacks. They have two corners in three minutes… Mitchell is basically playing as a center-back right now…” There was a trace of anxiety in Motson’s voice. Everyone knew about the Germans’ resilience. The harder the situation, the more they would be able to explode.

Under this noisy atmosphere, Twain started to speak, “George…”

At this moment, there was a loud roar from the stands as the German fans cheered their team on. Twain’s voice was drowned out by this roar.

Wood only saw Twain’s mouth open and close, but he did not know what he said.

“Germany’s long shot came back off the crossbar! That was too close! There are 10 minutes left in the match, can England hold on to their one-goal lead to the end?”

Chapter 949 - Super Invincible Mazinger Z

Twain looked at George Wood, who was standing opposite him and looking at him as well with a firm look in his eyes. He spoke up first, “George…”

It was then that a loud roar came from the stands, swept over and drowned out what Twain was about to say next. Wood only saw Twain’s mouth opened and closed, but he did not hear what he said.

Did he agree for him to go on to play or not?

Podolski’s long shot had bounced off the crossbar and the sudden cheers came to an end. Only then Wood heard Twain’s last words:

“… Go warm up.”

There was a hint of happy expression in Wood’s face. He knew Twain had agreed to his request. Wood turned around and grabbed the training vest from the seat. He ran toward the warmup area.

His teammates and coaches looked at his back in surprise and did not react yet.

Des Walker walked up to Twain and asked, “Are you going to let him play, Tony?”

Twain nodded.

“But his injury has not fully recovered…”

“This is what I think, Des.” Twain turned his head to look at his partner and said, “George’s physical fitness is different from that of an ordinary person. The minor injury should not hurt him.”

Walker grimaced, “I hope you’re right, Tony. . . If you’re wrong, you’re going to ruin his career.”

Twain did not contradict Walker because he had the same concern deep down – I hope I’m right…

Wood tried his best to suppress his inner excitement. He tried not to do too big warmup movements so as to avoid problems. But he had become the focus of everyone’s attention.

“George?!” Also, in the warmup area was his teammate Gareth Barry who looked a little surprised at Wood doing his leg presses. “Are you going to play?” There was only one last substitution spot left. If Wood was going to be brought on, he would not have to warm up anymore.

“Yes.” Wood nodded.

Barry was taken aback for a moment and reacted. Yes, what the team needed now was defense. In terms of defensive ability, Wood was certainly better than himself. But…

“How’s…. your injury?”

“It’s not a problem!” Wood’s answer was resolute and decisive for fear that other people would infer the truth from his tone.

It was not just Gareth Barry. The other people also noticed Wood warming up on the sidelines.

“Let us take a look at who this is! George Wood!” John Motson’s voice was full of excitement as he shouted, “He’s warming up! Is this a sign that he’s going to make an appearance?”

“The England team’s team doctor admitted before the game that George Wood’s injury has not recovered to the stage where he will be able to appear and compete. So why is he warming up now on the sidelines?” The German commentator was puzzled. It could not be Tony Twain’s plot to use him and mislead the opponent, could it?

The Germany manager Sammer also saw Wood as the warm-up area of both teams was next to the Germany team’s substitutes’ bench. His eyebrows knitted together. If Wood were to play, it would be the signal to strengthen the defense. Wood’s intercepting ability in the midfield was number one in the world. If he was allowed to play, then Germany’s offense would be in trouble.

At the thought of it, he went to the sidelines and signaled to the players on the field to step up the offense. They must equalize the score first before England made adjustments!

The England fans in the stands soon spotted George Wood warming up and got excited. Even though it was the Germany team which currently had possession of the ball, the England fans in the stands suddenly burst into thunderous cheers, “Saint George! Saint George! Saint George is coming back!”

Indeed, when the England team was bombarded by the Germany team, everyone thought Joe Hart’s goal could be conceded at any time. At the time, they wished that there would be someone who could stabilize their mood and keep the German players’ attack out. In the eyes of the fans, George Wood, who was famous for his defense, was the best candidate. Unfortunately, he was injured and could only watch the game on the substitutes’ bench.

But it was different now. Saint George is coming back! We have hope!

The telecast gave Wood a fifteen second close-up, and the fans watching the live telecast in England cheered.

And Sophia, who was sitting at home watching the game, flushed with pride.

※※※

Gerrard knew what it meant when he saw Wood warming up off the field. He suddenly hated his age now. At thirty-six years old, he was not a twenty-six-year-old kid who could still run tirelessly. At present, his mind was willing, but his body was no longer strong enough. The German players could tell his physical strength was on a rapid decline and repeatedly used his position as a point to break through. Two threatening shots at the goal were fired from his side.

He knew George’s foot had not really fully recovered. He would not have taken the risk to play if it had not been for the team’s need to strengthen its defense.

Damn it… If I could be four years younger, I wouldn’t be as weak as I am now.

Podolski, the German striker, went outside the penalty area to attempt a long shot once again. This time, Gerrard crossed in front of him, and a powerful kick struck in the middle of his chest!

After a bang sound, Gerrard fell backwards to the ground and did not get up again. His chest hurt and he was exhausted. He wanted to lie on the ground like this to waste a little more of the game time for the team. It was the last thing he could do for the team.

After seeing Gerrard fall to the ground, Joe Mattock dismissed the idea of launching a counterattack from there and kicked the rebounded football straight toward the stands. Then he signaled to the referee to let the team doctor come forward.

“This is a tactic to waste time in the game!” The German commentator shouted disgruntledly. The German fans in the stands also booed in protest one by one. While it was the England fans who sang and clapped for Gerrard.

When Wright ran onto the field along with the stretcher again, George Wood had already returned to Twain’s side and was taking off his vest.

Twain did not ask Wood how the big toe was on his right foot. Now that he had decided to let Wood play, these questions did not matter anymore.

“There are eight minutes left. Including the injury stoppage time, there are still about ten minutes to the end. George, your task is simple: go up and defend. Cut off the links between the German midfielders and strikers. Don’t let them kick too many long shots along the edge of the penalty area. The German players’ long shot level is very high and cannot be taken lightly.”

Wood nodded and tossed his vest to his teammates. His cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement from being able to play once again after a two-game break.

“Ok, I’m not going to say too much. You know what to do. Go on, George, the stage is yours…” Twain pointed to the green field and pushed him out.

As Wood stood next to the fourth official, waiting to go on, the telecast gave Wood a close-up of his wide and thick back, with the striking number 13 and “WOOD” printed in gold color.

“It’s so reassuring to see the name! Yes, George Wood is back in front of us again after an absence of sixty-five days due to injury! Back to the stage where he competes! At a time when England is in deep need, her keeper, Saint George, descends from the sky and returns glorious!” John Motson excitedly gave all the beautiful words he could think of to the man standing on the sidelines.

With the help of Wright, the team doctor, Gerrard walked slowly off the field. He did not forget to take advantage of it to waste more time. When he got to the sidelines, he reached out to Wood and intended to shake his hand. He did not expect Wood to throw his hand straight at his palm and gave him a powerful high-five.

The two men said nothing. Gerrard walked off with his head down and Wood ran onto the field with his head held high.

The moment Wood stepped onto the pitch, the stands erupted with cheers from the England fans, “Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England!” The voices were getting louder and louder, ringing out toward the skies. It completely overwhelmed the German fans’ booing because they were upset with Gerrard’s deliberate wasting of the game time.

“This is a rare sight. Just one substitution produces such a sensational effect…” The Spanish television commentator had to marvel at George Wood’s status in the eyes of the England fans.

Wood ran on to the pitch. Moke, the nearest person to him, reached his hand out to him. Wood acted the same with Moke like he did with Gerrard and high-fived him. Then he continued to high-five Michael Johnson, Wayne Rooney and Aaron Mitchell until he ran to the position that belonged to him.

“Tony Twain has raised the standard of Saint George at the flagship. He is telling the Germans that his fleet will fight to the death and never back down!” Motson raised his fist and waved.

※※※

Toni Kroos found that the other team’s number 13 was just standing in front of him, and it caused him to feel the pressure inexplicably. It was as if it was hard and difficult to break through him.

Schweinsteiger patted him on the back and said, “He’s injured. Keep using him as the breakthrough point! Give me the ball later.”

“I’ve observed his running stance on the field myself, and his right foot still looks uncomfortable. This shows that George Wood’s injury has not recovered yet. Perhaps Twain has brought Wood on just to improve the team’s morale. After all, it’s not a good thing for the England team that they are playing under pressure from us and cannot get out past the midfield. Wood’s actual role does not have much impact. We can still make use of him here!” The German commentator said confidently.

But George Wood soon made all those who doubted him, lost face.

As Schweinsteiger prepared to dribble the ball past Wood, the ball at his feet was kept behind by Wood. When he stumbled at his feet, he seized the opportunity to fall to the ground and raised his hands to ask for a place kick. But the referee ignored him. He signaled for him to quickly get up and not to dawdle on the ground.

The stands broke out again with shouts from the England fans, “Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England!”

“YES!” In the England team’s technical area on the sidelines, the coaches waved their fists with excitement. Previously, everyone had concerns that Wood was just acting brave. Now it looked like he was in a good shape despite not competing in a game for sixty-five days. There was no sign of him being out of practice at all.

Next, it was Toni Kroos’ turn. He slightly hesitated when he dribbled the ball in the middle and George Wood’s tackle caused him to fall to the ground along with the ball. Although that gave the Germany team a free kick, it did not pose much of a threat at thirty-five meters away from the goal…

“Well done, George!” Fat John led his mates in the stands and shouted, “Teach the Germans a lesson!”

“It is really an aggressive defense! This is the world’s number one defensive midfielder, George Wood’s ability!” The commentators of neutral countries exclaimed one by one. The German commentator’s face was black.

Rolfes attempted a long shot. He wanted to do a wide rotation of his thigh to volley the shot, but it took a little longer to prepare in this way. Which allowed George Wood, who was lying in wait, to intercept the ball with a clean tackle. Rolfes kicked the empty air and fell down right away.

“It’s not a foul! Not a foul!” Motson defended Wood. At the same time, the referee’s hand gesture was a relief to the England fans – it was indeed not a foul. It was an absolutely perfect defense.

Rolfes laid on the ground and stared disgruntledly at Wood. However, he almost shuddered instead – George Wood was staring coldly at himself. That expression was as if he was looking at a piece of meat, completely without emotion.

In fact, this was Wood’s most habitual expression. Every time he made someone fall to the ground, he would stare unkindly at the other person like that, as if he were a lion staring at its prey, which made people very uncomfortable. He would not take the initiative to reach his hand out to pull the other person up. He would not deliberately do the sort of things to gain favor with the referee.

Thrice he defended and thrice he caused three different players to fall on the ground, which made the other team look bad. This was who George Wood was. Even if he was hurt, he still could not be taken lightly!

※※※

In the fourth time, Wood blocked Podolski’s powerful long shot.

The fans in the stands did not stop chanting “Saint George” and Motson’s tone remained excited. The England team’s coaching staff on the sidelines cheered Wood’s every successful defense. England’s defense stabilized after Wood came on.

But they did not know that Wood’s right foot had a piercing pain to the heart every time he used force. After all, he was not fully recovered in that area yet. How could such intense movements not implicate his injury? But an outsider could never see any unusual expression on his face. He acted as if he had never been hurt before.

He only came on for five minutes, and his front and back of his jersey was soaked in sweat. He was not tired but in pain.

Twain noticed the sweat stain on Wood’s jersey front, and he guessed the reason. His brow became more furrowed and tighter.

For example, with three minutes to go at the end of the ninetieth minute, there might still be four to five minutes to go for the injury stoppage time. Hopefully in the eight minutes, nothing would go wrong with George Wood’s right foot again.

He had never felt eight minutes going by so slowly like it did today…

※※※

George Wood was almost alone in propping up the defense of the England team’s midfield area. After all, Michael Johnson kept running on the field for more than eighty minutes. His stamina was not as strong as before and was unable to shore up for defensive energy even though he wanted to in his mind. Neither Downing nor Moke were good at defense. With four men in the midfield, only George Wood, who just came on, was able to defend.

Mitchell was already moved by Twain into the penalty area to play as a center back to defend against high-altitude balls. Rooney was left alone in the front and prepared to use his speed to counterattack. But from the 75th minute onwards, he had not been of much use. Rooney was also back in the midfield and actively involved in the defense.

The teammates knew in their hearts that their captain’s injury had not fully recovered, so they could not let him take on the heavy responsibility of defense alone. They had to chip in with the effort no matter how tired they were.

For the next three minutes, George Wood appeared on the camera footage less often. Players like Moke were trying their best to defend. They shared a large portion of the pressure with Wood. But the German players apparently also could tell that Wood was in pain from the sweat stains in front of his chest, so they decided to bombard from Wood’s side. They wanted to use exhausting tactics on Wood to crack open a gap from his side.

The fourth official had just held up a five-minute sign on the sidelines. George Wood had a fierce fight on the edge of the penalty area with Rolfes from the opposing team.

It was a fifty-fifty shot and the Germans were unwilling to give up. George Wood naturally could not step aside and give way. The two men gathered their strength and rushed toward the football. Then they collided with each other spectacularly and the football was deflected first by Wood’s kick, while Rolfes did not kick the ball. Instead, he kicked Wood’s right foot…

A sharp pain from the toe pierced straight into the heart. Wood almost shouted out in pain. But as soon as the voice reached his throat, he immediately slammed his mouth shut. Although his voice was choked off, the sudden expression of pain on his face betrayed his present situation.

It was also at this point that the cameras gave him a close-up shot. Wood’s painful appearance was magnified ten times and appeared on the television screen. The England fans who were cheering for him just now shut their mouths and knew “Saint George” was still injured.

Twain also obviously saw Wood’s expression. His heart suddenly jumped. An ominous feeling came to mind.

But the expression lasted only two seconds. In the next second Wood forcibly stopped his body from falling down. With one hand on the ground, he jumped up again from the ground and chased the football. There was no sign that he was just kicked by someone in the injured area.

He got to the ball before Schweinsteiger and lightly flicked the ball outward. He then quickly stopped and accelerated to dodge Schweinsteiger who rushed too ferociously.

“A beautiful bypass!”

The England fans, who were still worrying about Wood’s right toe just now, gave another deafening round of cheers.

Today’s George Wood was not the silly kid who only knew how to kick long ball once he got the ball. After he evaded Schweinsteiger, he looked up to see the front. He had wanted to launch an attack but was somewhat surprised to find that the front was full of German players wearing white jerseys. Rooney helped with the defense on the sideline. He did not expect Wood would choose to take possession of the ball rather than open a long ball. So, he did not run up to receive it.

He could not let the football stay at his feet for too long, Wood looked at the German goalkeeper, Adler, who had already reached the top of the penalty arc, and directly kicked the ball straight to the Germany team’s goal!

The cheers of the England fans grew louder and louder. Amid these sounds, Adler was in a bit of a hurry to withdraw. Fortunately, the football eventually flew off the crossbar. Otherwise he might have to lose face…

“George Wood has proved his worth as England’s core, both defensively and offensively. Look at him, it is as if there will be no problem as long as he’s here. What a heartening player!” Motson once again gave praise generously.

Even the neutral Spanish fans also gave a round of warm applause to George Wood who played while injured. The people who were dissatisfied with Wood’s performance were probably only the Germans…

※※※

Twain saw such a mature George Wood off the field and felt a real impulse to cry. It was a world of difference from that young boy ten years ago! But he did not forget to protect Wood as he shouted Rooney’s name on the sidelines, telling him not to go to the sideline and to help Wood defend in the middle to share his burden.

Only four minutes to go, they would win once they got through it! At this point, he did not have any joy about winning. He just hoped nothing would happen to Wood’s right toe anymore.

If George Wood was hurt because of this game… He would not forgive himself.

“You mustn’t get hurt again, George…” Twain prayed for Wood in his heart.

Meanwhile, Sophia was also praying for her son.

With Wood around, it became difficult for the Germany team’s offense to get into England’s penalty area. They could only choose to kick more long shots. The England fans could have celebrated the victory of the game ahead of time had it not been for the Germany team’s skilled long shots.

Despite the help from Rooney and other teammates, George Wood remained the focal point of the camera lens. He was so eye-catching because he kept running. His figure was found in any dangerous spots. The camera could not avoid capturing him even if it wanted to.

“Even though he hasn’t fully recovered from his foot injury, his performance is still world class!” Motson exclaimed again, “In the face of such a tenacious George Wood, there’s nothing the Germany team can do! Apart from their long shots, they do not even have a chance to get the ball up on the sideline!”

Indeed, Marko Marin had just tried to use his footwork skills on the sideline to fool Wood and cross the ball over. But the football was jabbed out of the end line by Wood who caught up. Although it gave the other team a corner kick, the Germany team’s attack did not succeed this time.

Following which, during the corner kick, Wood locked in his position again and jumped first to head the flying football out.

“If I had to score the game after, I would not have hesitated to give England’s number 13, George Wood the best player of the game!” The Spanish television commentator said so.

“He is the brightest star in the last ten minutes of the game. He’s deservedly the standard of England! I’m glad that he was seated on the substitutes’ bench the entire time for our game…” The Portuguese commentator made an observation, even though his country team lost 2:4 to England. But when faced with such a tenacious George Wood, he could not help but feel respect in his heart.

“This is George Wood playing with an injury. If it were to be a healthy George Wood… how scary would it be?” The Italian commentator was beginning to wonder what would happen if his country team met with England.

“He’s England’s Mazinger Z!” The Chinese commentator’s critique was much simpler, but more sensational. . .

※※※

As Wood tried his hardest on the pitch, the England team’s substitutes had long gathered and waited on the sidelines, ready to celebrate another victory over the Germany team and the team’s advance to the next level.

It was now less than half a minute from the end of the injury stoppage time. And the Germany team still could not find a better solution. Sammer had already used up his remaining substitution spots but was still unable to break through England’s defense led by Wood. Now he was no longer walk along the sidelines anxiously but quieted down. Perhaps he had already accepted the outcome – he did not anticipate that George Wood would play at the last minute with his injury. He also did not consider that Tony Twain would actually agree to this somewhat ridiculous request…

George Wood did not let his guard down by the way his substitute teammates acted. He would never stop running until he heard the referee’s three whistles. Also, since he had not played for sixty-five days, there was even some hope that the game would last a little longer…

Finally, when he last kicked Toni Kroos’ shot out of the sideline, he heard the referee’s whistle, all three whistles, and the game was over!

Chapter 950 - After the Big Battle

“The game is over! The game is over!” John Motson roared with joy. England had not beaten Germany in any international competition before the year 2000. In the group stage of the 2000 UEFA European Championship, England beat Germany with a goal by Shearer. But both teams were eliminated, and that victory was gradually forgotten by people. Since then, England had not met Germany in the international arena. In the eyes of the Germans, the England team was a second-rate team that could only show off its ability in non-important games. It could not be compared to the three times World Cup winner and three times UEFA European Football Championship title holder, Germany.

Such a view was unacceptable to the proud English people, who were also the forerunners of modern football and had never lost to Germany before 1968. Instead, now it was ridiculed by its opponent who was not worth mentioning at the time. Defeating Germany in an important international competition, and preferably knocking the Germany team out, was the biggest wish of all English people.

Now their dream had become a reality.

Just one minute before the match between Germany and England ended, a piece of heartening news for the English people came from another stadium – Portugal and Wales tied at 0:0 after a dreary game.

What did it entail?

One would know just by looking at the broken-hearted Germans, and then looking at Sammer’s desolate eyes.

The Germany team was eliminated!

The rankings from the latest results went like this: the England team, which had won twice and lost once in three games, was at the top of the group with six points. Portugal and Wales were tied with four points apiece with a win, a draw and a loss. But Portugal was ranked second based on its higher goal difference and Wales was in the third. England and Portugal would advance directly to the top 16, while Wales would have to wait for the final points rankings against teams from the other groups to see if they could finish as the best team among the third placeholders in the top four teams to advance to the next level. As for the Germany team… they were ranked fourth with one win and two defeats. They accumulated only three points and was confirmed to be eliminated.

“The Germans are going home! They don’t have to go too far, because a lot of German players are going on holiday in the sunny Spain…” Motson waved to the pitch below, “Goodbye to the Germans! Goodbye! Ah ha!”

The football feud between England and Germany was vividly reflected in this moment.

While the English people in the stands cheered their team’s victory, they did not forget to laugh at the Germans. They loudly chanted, “What’s wrong with your face? Matthias? Why do you look so sad?”

Then they sang “Time to say goodbye.” It was time to say goodbye, the things you haven’t had time to experience, and now you’ll never see them again… Time to say goodbye…”

At this time, the security guards and police force at the Nou Mestalla stadium were suddenly on high alert and stood in between the fans of both team with fierce expressions on each of their faces. They asked the England fans to remain in the stands for the time being to allow the German fans to leave first so as to avoid clashes between the fans of both teams as they walked out of the stadium. The England fans did not mind. They wanted to enjoy the joy of victory a while longer here.

There were fewer and fewer German fans in the stands. A few overly agitated German fans were still under police control. Only the England fans were left. They sang and danced in the stands.

On the pitch below the stands, the England players had just lined up to thank the fans and were enjoying the victory at present.

Twain was the first to rush onto the field when the final whistle blew. Instead of hugging the nearest player, he ran straight to George Wood, along with the team doctor, Derek Wright. The two of them clearly had the same thought.

“How’s the right foot, George?” The two men reached almost at the same time and asked in unison.

The scene was really a little comical but none of the three people laughed. Wood shook his head and said, “It’s nothing.”

“Don’t lie. I saw the look on your face just now!” Twain said sternly with a frown.

While Twain was still talking, Wright had already crouched down to check on Wood. That was when Twain caught a glimpse that some of the media had turned their attention over. He hurriedly said to Wright, “Don’t be hasty, Mr. Wright. Don’t let the bunch of reporters get any good news.”

Wright knew what Twain meant. He hurriedly got up and took his leave of the two men.

A reporter recognized him when he passed by the media. He had wanted to ask him about George Wood’s condition. But Wright just waved his hands, walked past him quickly and disappeared into the crowd.

Just as Twain grabbed hold of Wood’s shoulder, the sharp-eyed and quick photojournalists pressed the camera shutters to capture the scene.

It was a precious photograph: after a fierce battle, the team’s two biggest contributors embraced together to celebrate the victory.

“Congratulations on the victory. Can you say a few words to us? Mr. Twain!” The reporters extended the microphones to Twain’s lips.

“I’m very happy that my team has advanced out of the group stage and defeated Germany.” Twain had nothing much to say.

The reporters could only turn the microphones to Wood when they saw that Twain was being uncooperative, “Congratulations on your wonderful performance in the game, George! Can we ask about your right foot…”

“There’s no problem.” Wood replied categorically.

“Will you be in the starting lineup in the next game?”

Wood was about to open his mouth to answer the question when he was interrupted by Twain’s voice. “I’m sorry, my player just had a tough game. He needs to rest now. Can you not stand in our way?”

This group of reporters rolled their eyes when they heard it. George Wood had went on and ran for fifteen minutes. Why would he need a break? The excuse was …

Twain did not care what they thought. He held Wood and squeezed out of the crowd. A procession of reporters pursued them along the way, but he turned a blind eye to them.

Until they entered the tunnel, then Wood asked, “Why didn’t you let me answer the question just now?”

“I’m afraid you would say the wrong thing.”

“I can play in the next game.”

“It depends on the results of the team doctor’s examination.” Twain turned to look at Wood as he said, “The situation was too risky today. I do not want to do it again. For the sake of my heart, just bear with it a little longer, George.” He said with a smile.

Wood was out of ideas when he brought up his heart condition. He was silent.

When Twain saw his mood became a little low, he hurriedly patted his head to comfort, “Aren’t you quite confident about your own body? The team needs you, George. I won’t always keep you on the substitutes’ bench.”

Wood stopped to look at him, as if he was trying to glean from his expression whether his words were true or just to placate him.

Twain did not shy away from his eyes.

Wood did not see that he meant to placate him with those, so he believed Twain.

“Let’s go, George.” Twain patted him on the back and added, “Go back and have a good rest. There are more intense matches waiting for you.”

※※※

After seeing Wood to the locker room, Twain finally accepted interviews by the reporters. He admitted that the game was tough and also praised the Germany team for its performance.

When a reporter asked if he knew that Wood was still a little injured when he brought George Wood on at the last minute, Twain gave pause for a moment. Eventually he nodded and said, “He hasn’t fully recovered from his injury, but I think it’s okay for him to play ten minutes.”

“Are you worried that he will aggravate his injury?” The same reporter followed up with a question.

Twain had to appraise the reporter who raised the question again. This person was actually in a suit in this weather, wearing a white shirt with a tie, with his hair combed back and not a strand out of place. He was also wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and appeared to be matured, but this person also looked not over thirty years old. Was he from The Sun? He had not seen this man. Or from the News of the World? He did not look like it…

Twain frowned and said, “I’m not worried. We know all about his recovery from his injury.”

He told a lie because he did not want to continue to tangle with the group of reporters here.

The reporter’s questions made Twain lost his mood for the interview. He quickly made his way to the locker room to see the results from the team doctor, Wright’s examination of Wood.

“Mr. Twain, I still have a question!”

Twain, may I ask if George Wood will be in the starting lineup in the round of 16? Or will he just play during the game…”

Seeing him leaving, the group of people hurriedly shouted without any regard for order.

Twain turned a deaf ear and turned a blind eye as he pushed the reporters aside and squeeze out of the crowd.

He pushed open the door to the locker room. Some of the players had already returned. As for those players who had not returned, they must be at the interviews in the mixed zone. Seeing the boss appear at the door of the locker room, everyone looked over and greeted Twain. Twain nodded his head in response and went straight to a corner where Wright was examining Wood’s right toe.

“How is it, Mr. Wright?” Twain asked.

Derek Wright looked up at Twain, then stood up and motioned for them to go out to talk.

Next to them, Wood watched the two men gradually walk out the door and then closed it.

“George, how’s your injury?” As soon as the boss left, the players suddenly gathered around and asked with concern.

Wood shook his head and replied, “I think it’s all right. But …” He looked toward the door and everyone knew what that meant.

The person who would decide whether Wood’s right toe was okay was not himself, but the two men who had just stepped outside together.

※※※

Outside the locker room, the two men dodged the crowd and found a corner that no one noticed to start a conversation that was likely to be relevant to the England team’s path in the future.

“From a purely medical point of view, I suggest letting him do strength and endurance training the day after tomorrow and not come into contact with the ball. As to what to do after that, we have to keep observing. I have just examined it. His injury is not too big a problem, but I can’t tell you at this point how it will definitely be or not be.” As the head team doctor, Derek Wright had always been cautious. He had to be cautious as it directly affected a player’s future career. If he misjudged and said something wrong, it was likely to ruin the future of a promising professional player.

It was not as if there was no precedent for such a thing in English football, because most of the English clubs’ former team doctors were not truly qualified doctors. They even did not have any knowledge about sports medicine, thinking that using a “magic sponge”, they could cure a hundred illnesses.

Such tragedies had occurred in the Redknapp family, a famous football family in England. The former Liverpool captain, Jamie Redknapp’s brother, Mark Redknapp, was originally a promising professional footballer. As the hopeful star at Bournemouth Football Club, he was injured in a game and carried off the field. After which, he could only walk on crutches.

What was initially an ankle fracture, it was instead recklessly diagnosed by the club’s team doctor as “ligament strain.” As a result, in the following year with the condition of a fractured ankle, he continuously trained, played in games, was injured and recovered Then he would train again, appeared in games, and be injured again… Until he finally had to end his career early and become a football agent. But he tried not to watch football matches in the stadiums. Football had left him with no good memories, and it was all thanks to an irresponsible and inexperienced “Mr. Nanguo.”

“If it is possible, it’s better to undergo an X-ray.” He added.

However, Twain found the request difficult. “We didn’t bring such equipment to Spain…”

“Where’s the local hospital?”

“I don’t know, but I can try asking.”

“Then explain it to them.”

Twain nodded in agreement with the suggestion. He dared not treat George Wood’s problem lightly. Even though it was a bit of a hassle, it was worth it. He also wanted to give himself a peace of mind.

After the decision was made, both men seemed to feel a little more relaxed. Wright even joked with Twain, “Although it was dangerous to get Wood on the pitch in the last ten minutes, we also confirmed one thing: George’s form is still there and there is no problem coordinating with the team. You can rest assured, Tony.”

Twain smiled, “He has always been like this, so impossibly stable that it would frustrate the enemies.” His tone suggested he was rather proud of it. After all, George Wood was cultivated by him. It reflected well of him that Wood was doing well.

The two men chatted casually and returned to the locker room. The players who were being interviewed outside had all come back. When they saw the boss come in, they all looked over to him. They had defeated their sworn enemy, the Germany team and even gained the top spot in the group to smoothly advance. Everyone still wanted to hear praise from the boss.

Twain did not disappoint them. When he saw that everyone was present, he said beaming, “Well done, guys. We’ve just won Germany and even sent them packing home!” He made gesture of kicking butts which made the players laugh.

England and Germany had a feud in football. Although Twain was not an Englishman at heart, his players were English, so he must act the same and view this feud as important. In this way, it would help to boost the team’s morale and rally the hearts of the people. If he ignores the fact that the entire country placed a lot of importance to this opponent, then he could not establish the trust within his team. That was another reason why Twain was so focused on the game against Germany.

It was as if the manager of the Chinese national team had said he did not care about the outcome of the match before the game between China and Japan. That he even found the feelings of enmity toward the Japanese displayed by the players, media and football fans inexplicable and remained indifferent. His position in the locker room would have plummeted and he would receive little support from people.

“Now you all can relax for a little. We’ll have a holiday tomorrow! But I must remind you…” Twain’s expression became serious again as he said, “I don’t want you to be in a good form for one game and be terrible for the next. I don’t want a repeat of the game against Wales. Every game from now on is a game of knockout. Losing a game means we’re the ones to go home! Our goal is to be the champion. No one is allowed to drop out of the team before we lift the championship trophy!”

At the end of the lecture, Twain put his hands together and announced, “Well, now pack up your things and head back to the hotel. You can have a good night’s sleep tonight, England’s heroes!”

Chapter 951 - A Check-up

Early next morning, a black Mercedes set off from the hotel where the England team was staying for Hospital Universitario y Politécnico de La Fe in Valencia, where a woman with a broken hand for 28 years once had a successful hand transplant. The hospital was quite influential in the field of orthopedic surgery.

As the team was heading today to Sevilla, where the next game was being held, time was very tight. To this end, the British Embassy in Spain came forward and contacted the hospital for the team, which made it possible to arrange for an examination in the shortest time. Moreover, this matter had to be kept secret from the news media. Any incident could be complicated when it became entangled with the news media.

Fortunately, the England team’s round of 16 opponent was not Spain. Otherwise the Spanish side would not be so happy to oblige with the examination.

The people in the car were Twain, Derek Wright and George Wood, as well as Doctor Wallace, who had been on holiday in Spain during this time. He also followed closely Wood’s recovery from his injury. The team also informed him of the hospital check-up this time. He had hurried through the night and arrived at Valencia so as to provide the most professional and authoritative advice.

The Royal Hospital of Nottingham University was the English Football Association’s partner hospital. Whenever the national team’s players were injured or fall ill, they would be treated by them. The English Football Association had a lot of faith in Wallace.

Apart from the driver, none of the four people in the car spoke. The atmosphere seemed a little depressing. Twain started to make a joke, “Why do I feel like we’re going to an execution ground? Can you all not look so grim, okay?”

Wallace smiled, “Why don’t we talk about yesterday’s game? That was fantastic, Tony. Overtaking Germany, you’ve caused the always tough Germans at a loss.”

Twain gave Wood a glance and said, “It would be really hard to know how things would have turned out if it had not been for George.”

Wood was the most resistant to going to the hospital among these people. He said, “I feel like I played well, and I don’t have any problems with my foot. I don’t have to go to the hospital for a check-up.”

“That will not do, George. To ensure your wellbeing, this check-up must be done. Since you think you’re fine, what’s there to be afraid of?” Twain winked at Wood.

“I’m not afraid…” Wood said somewhat diffidently.

When the group of people arrived at the hospital, they did not caught sight of any press or reporters. It looked like the other side really abide by their promise and did not inform the media.

An examination of Wood’s right big toe took half an hour. Twain could not understand the medical jargons while Wright and Wallace were reviewing the X-rays with the Spanish doctors. Twain was not interested in the discussion. He just wanted to know the final result.

So, he waited for Wallace to finish the conversation and went up to ask, “What is the conclusion, Doctor?”

“The good news is that his right big toe wasn’t hurt again in yesterday’s game. The bad news is that his foot is still in recovery.” Wallace looked at Twain and said. The smile on his face was gone and his expression was serious.

“From the looks of yesterday’s game, George Wood’s right foot still hurts when he touches the ball and uses force. Although his threshold is so strong that people can’t really tell, it does not help him during the recovery from his injury. My advice is that for the next game, it’s better not to let him…” Doctor Wallace deliberated for a moment as he considered Wood’s attitude before he spoke again, “Not to let him be in the starting lineup.”

Twain frowned. Wood was resting in another room after he undergone the physical examination and could not hear the conversation between them.

The piece of news was neither good nor bad. England’s round of 16 opponent had been announced and it was not a very strong team. But it was not considered weak too. It had a somewhat special relationship with the England team – it was the Sweden team.

Before that, England had not beaten Sweden in 48 years.

George Wood was definitely the core of the team and the most important piece of the game. This could be seen from the last ten minutes against Germany. There was a huge difference between him being on the field and not on the field. Without George Wood, the England team could still overtake Germany, but it was not as reassuring. As soon as Wood came on, everyone’s hearts that had jumped to their throats settled back smoothly.

An opponent like Sweden could not be taken lightly. After being humiliated by Wales, Twain could not afford to underestimate their opponent anymore. A team that could break into the knockout stages was not a team that England could defeat with their eyes closed. It included Wales.

Wood was important to the team, but Wood’s personal career was equally important too.

Twain thought for a moment and decided to accept Doctor Wallace’s advice. He said, “I’m not going to have him in the starting lineup.”

A smile re-emerged on Wallace’s face as he said, “You have to worry about how to talk to him. He is quite stubborn.”

Twain shrugged and replied, “What else can I say? I have to coax him like a child. He’s already thirty years old, and yet he’s like a seven- or eight-years old kid…”

Men with an Oedipus complex would not grow up and always hoped that they were still the children who could be in their mothers’ arms.

Twain rubbed his temple as he went out. He had to look at George Wood in the eyes.

※※※

Wood looked at Twain without an expression on his face. There was not even a look of anticipation. But the look in those eyes gave Twain a headache.

“The results are out, George.” Twain tried his best to make himself smile.

Wood did not follow up with a question of “What are the results?” He just continued to look silently at Twain.

But it would have been better if he did speak up. Twain felt it was difficult to handle when he did not open his mouth to speak.

“There’s good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Twain had to attempt with a cliched method.

“Good news.” Wood blurted out the answer without hesitation.

“Your big toe was not injured a second time in yesterday’s game.”

Wood was not surprised by it as he knew his body well. Although the collision against Rolfes was the most intense in the game, he still managed to miss the injured area at the crucial moment. It was the physical instinct of an experienced professional player.

“What’s the bad news?”

After the exchange, Twain’s mood gradually calmed down. He did not hesitate and replied directly, “I won’t arrange for you to be the starting lineup in the game against Sweden.”

There was a change in the expression on Wood’s face. He stared at Twain with widened eyes. There was even some anger in his eyes. He still remembered what Twain had said to him before: he could make a formal comeback when it was time for the elimination round.

Twain certainly knew the meaning of Wood’s expression, and he laughed bitterly, “Your injury has not completely healed. I can’t let you take the risk in the game. I don’t want a repeat of Michael Owen’s incident in the game against Sweden at the World Cup in Germany to happen to you, George.”

What caused Michael Owen’s career to decline to a low ebb began with that injury. He had just returned from recovery of an injury at the time. Just 50 seconds into the World Cup game against Sweden in Germany, he fell to the ground in agony after hitting the ball on the sideline and was carried off the field on a stretcher after. He not only missed the World Cup but was also absent for most of the rest of the season. By the time he recovered from his injury, he could no longer get back the glory of his past.

Twain did not want to take the risk.

What Wood wanted to say was stopped by Twain’s gesture. He said, “Whatever you want to say, George, I won’t change my mind. Yes, I admit I have to go back on my word and cannot keep my promise. But the sake of your health and out of consideration for your future career, I would rather eat my words and break my promise. You can rest assured that we will keep a close eye on your injury recovery every day and, once it is confirmed that you really have no problem, I will let you play in the starting lineup…”

Wood was still reluctant and wanted to open his mouth to fight back, but was interrupted once again by Twain, who said, “Think of your mother, George. Don’t let your mother worry about you anymore.”

This sentence hit Wood’s weakness. He stopped there and did not know how to rebut Twain for a long while. After yesterday’s game had ended, he called his mother. Unexpectedly, his mother did not praise his performance on the pitch. The first sentence from her was to ask him how his foot was. At that time, he was not in the least concerned and said it was nothing. But his mother was still very worried and did not seem to believe his words.

But how did the boss know his mother would be worried? Wood looked suspiciously at Twain.

Twain knew what was on his mind and said, “I didn’t talk to your mother on the phone, but it’s only natural. You may not care about your career, but you have to think about it for your mom. No mother would want her son to spend his life on crutches. I’m not being an alarmist; you should know it.”

Wood was completely silent. He bowed his head and fell into contemplation.

Twain knew he had managed to persuade him, so he turned around and went out the door.

Wallace and Wright were waiting anxiously outside. When they saw Twain come out, they looked like they were in a hurry to ask questions.

“It’s all right.” Twain shrugged and spread his hand, “He accepted it.”

The two men were relieved at the same time.

“That’s good.” Wright was the most relieved. Otherwise he would find it extremely difficult to face George Wood’s stubborn look in his eyes every time.

But Twain’s next words made him nervous again.

“I hope he recovers as soon as possible, Mr. Wright. This is the work of your team doctors. No matter what, I’m going to let him start in the quarterfinals!” Twain said determinedly and basically did not give Wright a chance to implore at all.

Next to them, Wallace looked at his industry peer, somewhat rejoicing in his predicament. Fortunately, he now had nothing to do with the national team. He merely helped out. Otherwise, it would really be wretched to work for such an unreasonable manager…

※※※

When the four men walked out of the hospital and were ready to get in the car to leave, they were startled by a sight in front of their eyes:

At least 50 reporters crowded the hospital entrance and made it impenetrable. The policemen who were summoned at the last minute to maintain order, were sweating profusely and still unable to control the surging crowd. Especially when Twain and the other men in Twain’s party showed up at the entrance of the hospital lobby…

When Twain, Wood and the others came out of the hospital, the reporters no longer cared about the policemen stopping them. They swarmed forward and tossed their questions along with the microphones at Twain and Wood.

“Why did you suddenly come to the hospital for a check-up? Is it because George Wood’s injury has worsened?”

“Mr. Twain, was this examination related to the game with the Germany team? Was George Wood’s right big toe hurt again during the game with the Germany team?”

“Is it possible to reveal what the results of the examination are?”

“Mr. Wood, how are you doing with your injury?”

“Can you make it to the game with the Swedish team, George?”

“Mr. Wright, can you say something about Wood’s foot injury?”

“Doctor Wallace, Doctor Wallace…”

Apparently none of these four men wanted to answer the questions. The policemen at the scene surrounded them tightly with them in the middle and escorted them as they squeezed their way to their car.

Some of the microphones had even hit the four people on their heads. They had to put their hands up to protect their heads, looking like criminals guilty of monstrous crimes, who had to be wary of rotten eggs and tomatoes thrown by angry crowds.

They spent five minutes squeezing before they could get to the car in the short distance of ten meters. After using force to shut the car door, Twain quipped, “Look to see if your wallets are still around, gentlemen.”

Wright was still a little stunned. He said, “How did the media know that we are here?”

Twain shrugged and said, “Who knows? The paparazzi are everywhere. They’re more omnipotent than God.” As he spoke, he also glanced at Wood, who was sitting in the back. Wood had his head down and appeared heavy-hearted.

“Let’s go.” Twain barked out a command to leave. The driver started the car and slowly drove out of the crowd. Then he accelerated the car to drive away.

※※※

Half a day later, when the England team arrived in Seville, the online editions of the various major media had already published the latest news – the morning of that day, George Wood went to Hospital Universitario y Politécnico de La Fe in Valencia for a check-up, accompanied by Manager Tony Twain, the head team doctor, Derek Wright and the renowned surgeon, Doctor Wallace. The details of the exact situation were unknown. But the fact that they had hurried to the hospital for the check-up the next day after the game with the Germany team made people’s imagination run wild …

For a while, rumors that “George Wood will be absent from the match against Sweden” and even “He will miss the rest of the UEFA European Championship” were swirling about.

With the help of the fiber optic cable buried in the oceans and satellites in the space, such rumors scattered everywhere on the internet and stir up public sentiment with false statements.

You don’t believe it? Maybe that is the truth.

Do you believe it? Maybe it’s all a scam to fool everyone.

In the afternoon’s training during the fifteen minutes of opening to the media, everyone could clearly see that George Wood was with the team for warm-up practice and he even kicked two shots!

In that case, what was going on in the morning news?

Fifteen minutes soon came to an end, and the reporters were a little reluctant to leave. They wanted to ask Twain about what had happened to Wood.

Instead, Twain ruthlessly evicted them and refused to answer any questions.

“We have a right to know the truth about the news!” There were reporters who protested with displeasure.

“I have the right to refuse to answer any questions.” Twain responded, “Get them out of here!” He yelled at the security guard. As a result, the security guards were no longer polite, and even pushed and pulled the reporters out of the gate of the training ground.

“Come on! This again!” The English reporters were disgruntled but could not do anything about the manager who had just led the team to eliminate the Germany team. As long as the results were good, Twain could continue to dominate the national team. There was nothing they could nothing except to spit on the ground they stood on.

The Swedish reporters thought more complicatedly than their English counterparts – Was there any conspiracy on Twain’s part to refuse the media shooting and interviews so nervously? Did George Wood really go to the hospital for a check-up or was it just a smokescreen?

Would George Wood be in the starting lineup in the game between England and Sweden?

They were desperate to figure this out because it had to do with whether the Swedish team could go any further in the UEFA European Championship.

Chapter 952 - Mystical Destiny

Twain realized that luck has slowly been slipping away from his team ever since their loss to Wales. The number of players who would not be able to play in the match against Sweden has just increased to three – Bentley, George Wood and Walcott have all picked up an injury and are all ruled out of the match.

Walcott had sprained his ankle and is definitely not going to be able to play in both the Round of 16 match and the quarter-finals.

Fortunately for Twain, he had brought three right midfielders along with him for the Euro Cup. The media might have heavily criticized this action of his in the past, but now it has become England’s salvation, because they did not need to worry about which player would have to play out of position and play as a right midfielder instead.

Adriano Moke would definitely be starting in the match against Sweden. As for whether or not he would play in the quarter-finals… That still remains a doubt. If he performs well in the match against Sweden, he might continue to start for the next match, but if he fails to perform, then Twain would have to see how well Bentley has recovered before making his decision.

But, if Moke fails to perform and Bentley also fails to recover in time for the next match… Twain would be given a bad headache.

※※※

The Swedes are especially concerned about George Wood’s injury. They did not worry about Walcott since he has been ruled out of the match against them, but there is a chance that Wood might be play. George Wood is the core of the England team, and his effectiveness has been amply shown in the final 10 minutes of the match against Germany.

The manager of the Sweden national team, Lars Lagerb?ck, has been closely monitoring the news regarding the England team. He suspects that Tony Twain has been deliberately releasing false information regarding Wood’s ability to play in the match to the public. Twain got Wood to undergo a medical examination earlier in the day, and Wood was subsequently pictured to be training with the rest of the team during the training session. Wood did not look troubled when he trained with the ball, and it seems like he would be fit to play in the match against Sweden.

However, based on their research, they know that Tony Twain is a crafty man. One would never know what Twain plans on doing next because nothing is ever what it seems with this man.

Sweden needs to come up with a set of tactics to deal with Wood if he is starting in the match, and they also need another set of tactics to deal with England if Wood is not starting or if he is not even going to play in the match. Lagerb?ck needs to decide on the exact tactic that he would use in the match soon. He cannot possibly get his team to practise two different sets of tactics. There is too little time for that.

Twain obviously would not let Lagerb?ck know what his plans for the match are. The reporters have only been able to take photos of the England team’s warm-ups so far.

In the end, Lagerb?ck came up with a set of tactics based on the assumption that George Wood would not be starting in the match. He believes that there must be a reason behind Wood’s visit to the hospital, and he thinks it’s because Wood’s injury has yet to fully recover. In addition, Sweden is no match for England. Lagerb?ck was certain that Twain would not risk playing his best player in a match where England has a good chance of winning.

Lagerb?ck once explained to the media why Sweden is able to maintain a 48-year unbeaten record against England, “We are very familiar with the England team. The British style of football is very predictable. Their biggest foe is actually themselves. They are always so arrogant and they never spend time to research about their opponents.”

Lagerb?ck believes that he knows England inside out. This is the case 10 years ago, and it will still be 10 years later. Tony Twain would definitely not start George Wood in the game, and England would definitely not change the way that they play in the match either. His team would be able to keep their unbeaten record against England as long as they stay on their toes and play cautiously.

※※※

Lagerb?ck got it right. Twain does not plan on letting Wood start in the match. However, the reason behind his decision is not because he feels that his team can win against Sweden easily without Wood.

Twain has actually become extra cautious after getting punished by Wales previously.

He can’t help but be even more cautious against Sweden since the latter is considered to be England’s nemesis.

Sweden is a team that is not regarded to be a strong team in Europe. However, they are a thorn in England’s flesh. England might not fear France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and other powerhouse European teams, but things are different with Sweden.

What the England fans feel towards Sweden is nothing like the hatred that they feel towards Germany. What they feel is a kind of pain that is brought about by the fact that England has not won against Sweden for the past 48 years…

For a self-proclaimed top team like England, whose aims are to become World and European champions, losing to a weak European team like Sweden for 48 years in a row is depressing. England go into every match feeling confident that they will win against Sweden, but the results are never what they expect.

The last time England faced off against Sweden in an international competition was during the Germany World Cup back in 2006. The two sides met in the last match of the group stage. Both teams played well for one half of the match respectively, and the final score was 2:2. The manager of the Sweden team back then was Lagerb?ck, and he still remains as their manager even now. In contrast, England has changed their manager four times in this period of time, from Sven-G?ran Eriksson to Steve McClaren to Fabio Capello and finally to Tony Twain.

England’s last victory over Sweden came in 1968, two years after winning the World Cup in 1966.

The year 1968 was an intriguing year. The England national team that had just won the World Cup in 1966 seemed to have used up all the good luck that they had accumulated over the past century in that one year. It was the last time they ever won Sweden in its history, and it was also the very first time that they lost to Germany as well. Not only that, England has never won the World Cup or the Euro Cup since 1968 either. In fact, they have never made it into the finals since then. Every subsequent England team might have been touted as the ‘strongest team England has ever had’, but they always ended up disappointing the entire nation in the end.

Ever since 1968, England has faced off with Sweden 12 times. Eight of those matches were draws and four of them were losses. England still has yet to win once against Sweden.

England has not encountered Sweden in an international competition since 2006, and many people have slowly forgotten about England’s winless record against Sweden after so many years. It was only when England and Sweden met in the knockout stages of this year’s Euro Cup that people began to recall the fact England has not won against Sweden for the past 48 years.

Sweden not only brought shame to the England football team, they also brought bad luck to them. Every time England loses or encounters Sweden in a particular competition, they would become very unlucky in that very competition. This might sound superstitious, but it is true. One example can be found in the 1990 World Cup. England and Sweden were in the same group during the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, and England lost to Sweden when the two faced off with each other. England still managed to qualify for the World Cup in the end, but they lost in the semi-finals. In 1995, England played against Sweden in a friendly match in preparation for the Euro Cup. They lost against Sweden in that match and were subsequently eliminated during the semi-finals of the Euro Cup. During the qualifiers for the 2000 Euro Cup, England and Sweden were placed in the same group once again. This time round, Sweden dominated against England and was placed first in the group. England was still able to qualify for the Euro Cup, but they were eliminated in the group stages. Before the 2004 Euro Cup, England tried to break the ‘curse’ surrounding them and Sweden one more time, but they failed. They still lost to Sweden, and they were also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Euro Cup. During the 2006 World Cup, England and Sweden were in the same group, and both sides went away from the match with a draw. England managed to top the group by gaining one point from the match, and they also successfully evaded their bitter rivals Germany in the next round. However, they still lost to Portugal on penalties in the next match, and the ‘curse’ continues.

Back then, the British stubbornly believed that England would be able to realize their dream of becoming world champions as long as they defeat Sweden.

How embarrassing. It seems like China is not the only country who suffers from some strange curse that prevents them from winning every time they encounter a certain team.

England might have defeated their biggest rival Germany earlier, but the England fans were not able to say that their team would definitely be able to change their destiny against the Swedes this time round. Many of them continued to worry about their team’s future in the competition. The fans who had booked their hotels all the way till the finals were also starting to wonder if their money had gone to waste.

Unlike the match between England and Germany, the match between England and Sweden is not etched in hatred, and it is bound to elicit less of a reaction from both the fans and players alike. The England and Sweden players did not talk much about the match during their interviews, and the fans did not react as strongly as they did previously against the Germany team either.

The reason is because both the Swedes and the British are confused about this ‘record’ that the two countries have with each other.

A Sweden player smiled when he was asked by a reporter why their team has not lost to England for the past 48 years. “This is a question that puzzles all of us. We all don’t know why.”

The 34-year-old Ibrahimovic is a player who participated in the 2006 World Cup, but he did not play in the match against England back then. However, he still vividly remembers the scenes from that match as he sat on the bench. England had just scored their second goal on the 85th minute of the match, and Sweden was still trailing by 1:2 during the 90th minute. Everyone thought that the match was going to end up as a loss for Sweden, but Henrik Larsson’s queer header leveled the score at 2:2 in the final minutes of the match. It is truly an outlandish turn of events.

The smile on Ibrahimovic’s face was quickly replaced by a frown when a reporter asked him about his thoughts regarding the 2006 match between Sweden and England. “I don’t know what happened back then. It truly was a strange match. Our team seemed to be full of energy in the second half. The last goal was definitely odd too. I don’t know how Larsson managed to head the ball into the back of the net. Maybe with help from God?” A smile emerged on his face once again as he finished his words.

The reporters from Sweden were curious and confused about the record that Sweden has against England. Their country is definitely not on par with England in terms of footballing abilities, and England has also consistently performed better than Sweden in the international competitions as well. So, why is it that England can’t beat them for 48 years? There is such a big gap in their abilities!

The England players also found it weird when they were asked about it by the reporters.

Not being able to win against Germany for many years in a row leads to hatred and a strong desire to win in the England players, but not being able to win against Sweden only leaves the players feeling confused. They just can’t seem to be able to bring themselves to hate the Sweden players when they know that their opponents are clearly not on the same level as they are.

To the British, their relationship with Germany can be summed up with the word ‘feud’. But, the only word that can describe their relationship with Sweden would be ‘destiny’, because there seems to be some unknown force at play that keeps them from winning against Sweden.

※※※

“I don’t know why we can’t beat them. Maybe we just have really bad luck…” Rooney could only scratch the back of his head as he recalled about what happened in England’s last match against Sweden back in 2006. He played in that very match back then, but he was left feeling very upset at the previous national team manager, Sven-G?ran Eriksson, for taking him off the pitch halfway through the match.

Reporters from England, Sweden and several other countries crowded outside the hotel that the England national team was staying in. They were not allowed entry into the hotel, so they could only wait outside. The moment they see an England player walk out from the hotel, they would all flock up to him and hold out their microphones towards him.

“I did not play in England’s previous match against Sweden, and I’ve also not played in any of those 12 matches from before. I don’t know why such a record exists.” Aaron Mitchell was forced to answer the question after being repeatedly asked by the reporters.

Tony Twain walked out of the hotel, and he frowned when he saw how the reporters had surrounded his players.

He has been repeatedly asked the question regarding the record between England and Sweden for the past two days as well. “Why has the strong England team failed to win against Sweden for the past 48 years?”

Initially, he had dismissed the question as being nothing more than a joke, but now that everyone is asking him the same question, he could not help but be on guard.

The reason was because he glimpsed danger in the fanatic eyes of the reporters.

He was thankful for the fact that England had not faced off with Sweden since 2006, because it meant that most people would have forgotten about the existence of such a record by now, and this is beneficial in helping him prepare for the match. However, he did not expect the media to publish numerous articles about it now. It was as though they were scared that none of the players knew about the 48-year grudge between England and Sweden.

The current situation made him remember how the China national football team suffered from a ‘fear of the Korea national football team’. Losing to the same opponent multiple times was not supposed to be a big deal, but the media blew the entire issue out of proportion, and they made the Korea team seem like an extremely strong team that the China team would never be able to defeat. This bred fear in the hearts of the China players towards the Korea team. The China players were never mentally strong players to begin with, and the media’s actions put the nail in the coffin. It has led to the China team not being able to win against the Koreans for a very long time…

The media was the biggest contributor to the China team’s inability to defeat the Korea team.

Twain did not want the tragedy to repeat itself. People might say that England football is on a totally different level from China football, but in Twain’s eyes, England is just like a ‘European China football team’. There are too many similarities between the two sides. The England players have all been spoiled by the British media and many of them are mentally weak. In fact, the England players might be the most vulnerable when compared against players from other powerhouse teams in Europe.

If he allows the reporters to keep harassing his players, some of his newbie players might suffer from a mental disorder afterwards… This cannot go on.

The one thing that the media is best at is creating chaos.

Twain turned around and walked back into the hotel lobby. He then walked up to the hotel’s security guard, and he pointed at the ‘passionate’ reporters outside the hotel before saying, “My players need a good rest. I don’t want any of them to be harassed by the media. Also, all those reporters are currently blocking the entrance into your hotel. This inconveniences your other guests as well.”

The security guard had heard a thing or two from his colleagues about how to deal with the England team. He quickly nodded his head. “Yes, sir. I will get them to leave.”

Twain nodded his head approvingly at the security guard before he sat down at a vacant seat in the lobby. He then watched as the hotel’s security guards chased away the reluctant reporters.

During the tactical meeting at night, Twain announced a new rule: every single player is not allowed to answer any question regarding the 48-year grudge between England and Sweden during interviews from now on.

“There’s nothing to talk about regarding that question. Don’t be fooled by the reporters.” He reminded his players.

Twain wanted to stop his players from thinking about England’s record against Sweden. He did not know how effective his words or rule would be, but it is definitely better than not doing anything at all.

He had everything under his control initially, but the pervasive media just had to come in and ignite a fire within the players’ hearts. Twain feared that those fires would get bigger and bigger during the match and become uncontrollable. When that happens, there would be irreversible consequences…

If Twain had the power to decide whether a person lives or dies, then the very first bunch of people he would kill off would be the reporters, especially the reporters who write for tabloid newspapers. He wants to enforce a rule that dictates what the media can and cannot do. You cannot ask me any question that pisses me off! If you ask me those questions I would not answer them! You cannot publish anything that makes me feel uncomfortable! If you publish them you would have to take them down at once!

Tsk… Sadly, those things would never come true.

Chapter 953 - Extremely Relaxed

There is not much time left for England, who were about to face Sweden in the quarter-finals at the home stadium of La Liga club Sevilla three days after the group stage matches.

Before the match, England’s media did not want to hype up the feud between the two teams as much as they did for the match against Germany, they simply mentioned the embarrassing record of 48 years of zero victories in this match-up, hoping that Twain’s team could finally end this record.

There was no choice but to end the record, if they do not win, they would be eliminated… No Englishman hopes to be eliminated by Sweden.

It was also clear from the pre-match fans’ admission that the two teams did not have a deep feud with each other. Fans of both teams could even put their arms around each other. There were not even one provocative banner against the other team. The media were only reporting the match as an ordinary game, at most they only compared between Ibrahimovi? and Aaron Mitchell, both had their extraordinary heights, and their ball handling skills were still impressive regardless, Mitchell also had the nickname of “second-generation Ibrahimovi?”.

England’s players before the game were not like last game, where they would glare with both pupils enlarged, as if the murderer of their parents were on the other side where they could not wait to charge forward and strike them with their cleavers till they fall, then stomp on them for a billion times, causing the other party to never stand up again.

Twain also specifically did not mention the embarrassing record of “zero victories in 48 years against Sweden” in the changing room. He was worried the players would constantly be reminded about that record.

The feud between England and Sweden was different from the feud between England and Germany.

When England was going against Germany, Twain could still use the feud between the two countries to motivate the English players. But upon facing Sweden, the best way was still hold on mentioning the feud between them.

The reason was simple, between them and Germany was hatred, but between them and Sweden was resignation to fate. Upon mentioning that England has never won Sweden in 48 years, the English players would come up with wrong ideas in their minds – Is this what God has designed? Or else, our capabilities are far better than Sweden, why are we unable to win them? Especially that match against them during the World Cup group stage, scoring a goal in the 85th minute, victory was in sight, but we allowed a long goal against us outside the penalty area to tie the score… That was simply too incredible and unable to be explained using common sense!

The more the players thought about it, the more it would cause their brains to become a mess. This mysticism was a bad thing, it would affect the mentality of the players, which would directly cause them to be unable to perform normally. Twain could not guarantee his own players would not have such thoughts:

No matter how hard we try, the end results would always be that way…

So he may as well not mention the record at all, to prevent those players from producing those weird thoughts.

For this special match, Twain also made the corresponding adjustments.

Chris Cohen, who had his debut starting the last game, continues to start in the next game, and Downing would have to continue staying on the bench. As Bentley and Walcott were both injured, Adriano Moke made his first debut in the starting line in the European Cup.

Twain had arranged for as many Nottingham Forest players as possible to play because he was more confident in the mental qualities of the players he brought up by his own hand than the players who came out from other clubs.

In fact, there are a lot of people in the current England national team who had no special feelings about Sweden, because they had basically not experienced any competition against Sweden, if the media did not use the feud between England and Sweden to bombard the players with questions, then Twain did not have anything to worry, but just needed to regard this game as a regular quarter-finals match.

But now, he had to have an additional matter to worry.

※※※

From the start of the game, England took the initiative and repeatedly threaten the Swedish goalmouth several times.

After all, England were far ahead of Sweden in terms of pure capabilities. The most famous and impressive soccer stars in Sweden was only one Ibrahimovi?, but this Inter Milan striker was already 33 years old, although his ball handling techniques were more precise, but his physicality was on a downfall.

He was at the most front and did not pose much of a threat to England’s defence. Because the Swedish team had no means to get the ball to his feet at all.

England’s midfield had press fully on the Sweden’s midfield and it was not easy at all to send the ball forward.

The Swedish side also could not find a good way to attack, England’s attack was very sound and impressive. As George Wood was unable to play in the game, Gerrard became England’s midfield hub. Although Gerrard was old, but his techniques and game sense were still intact, the decline in his physicality would not hinder him from being one of the most impressive midfielders in the world.

Twain, in response to the situation where the Swedish defenders were generally tall, did not arrange for the type of play where the side flanks would cross the ball over to the middle for Mitchell. He knew that with Mitchell’s body shape in the crowd of Swedish defenders, he was unable to take any advantages at all. Passing the ball over to him was only wasting opportunities. Hence, playing for possession via ground passes became the main attacking direction that Twain prioritized.

Anyways, Mitchell’s dribbling techniques were still as impressive, playing ground passes would still be beneficial for him.

Gerrard passed the ball straight from midfield to Mitchell who was at the front.

Mitchell leaned onto the Sweden’s centre-back, Jonas Olsson, and stepped on the football. Olsen, who was standing at 1.96 metres, stretched out his long leg to try and tackle for the ball, but once Mitchell pushed him with an arm, he could not even reach the ball. Just when Olsen was holding up his hands to signal to the referee that Mitchell was pushing, Mitchell pulled the ball backwards with his feet, and passed it to the player who was passing by him and running forward, Wayne Rooney!

“Rooney received a wonderful pass from Mitchell! It is a breakthrough! ”

Fortunately, the other Olsson – left-back Martin Olsson came forward at this critical moment. When Rooney had just sent the ball forward, he came out from the side and did a clean slide tackle, kicking the ball out of the field.

When England were going to do a throw-in from the sidelines, Mitchell did not wait right in front of the goal mouth, but instead run towards the side line and made hand gestures to receive the ball.

The right back Richards threw the football to him, he received the ball forward with his chest, as he turned around and broke through! Martin Olsson’s slight negligence allowed Mitchell to leave him behind as he gave Mitchell a shove from the back, however this unexpectedly assisted Mitchell – he followed the shove as he pushed the ball forward with increased speed. Afterwards, he stretched his long leg forward to control the ball which was still flying in the air.

Martin Olsson chased immediately, but Mitchell used his left foot to kick the ball slightly to his left while jumping at the same time, allowing him to dodge Olsson’s tackle, and just like that, he escaped Olsson’s defending.

After getting away from Olsson, Mitchell continued to dribble the ball inside. Sweden’s centre-backs were all with a tall build, hence they could easily intercept the high balls, the odds and possibilities of Rooney being able to snatch for the ball was too low.

Just when Jonas Olsson was about to pounce on Mitchell again, Mitchell passed the ball!

He swept the ball through the turf and towards the door, in this pass, as long as someone slightly touch the ball, there would be a high chance that it would enter the goalmouth.

Unfortunately this time Sweden’s veteran goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson defended the ball at the right time as he held the ball tightly in his hands.

Although this attack did not end with a shot on target, but Mitchell’s previous series of performances won the applause of the England fans in the stands and the praises of the English narrator.

“It was outstanding dribble techniques. It’s unbelievable that he’s 2.1 meters tall! ”

Even the Swedish narrator had to praise Aaron Mitchell, calling that he was indeed “England’s Ibrahimovi?” .

※※※

England had been besieging Sweden ever since, as everyone was no longer able to see the defensive counterattack Twain used when he was against Germany and Portugal.

Sweden’s tall defenders looked comfortable defending the ball in the air, but they were a little overwhelmed when faced with England’s ground coordinations. Adriano Moke was given a very special assignment in this game. Instead of asking him to stay on the sideline, Twain gave him plenty of room for free movement, allowing him to move freely on both the side and the middle route, as well as within the penalty box. Effectively using his ball handling techniques to coordinate with his teammates in a small perimeter, creating opportunities to score.

This play in the first half was quite useful due to Moke’s short stature, flexible movement, good ball control technology. This made the Swedish players run in circles.

By the 27th minute, England had finally found a chance. After Mitchell took control of the ball at the edge of the penalty area, Sweden’s defence focused on Adriano Moke’s on the right side, while England’s left side had a serious lack of defensive attention. Chris Cohen did not perform well in this game, so for a long period of time, England were prioritizing on the right side during their offense.

Seeing this scene, the players who all came from Nottingham Forests had a common idea. As Mitchell held the ball and made a fake pass to Moke, he turned and kicked the ball to the complete opposite direction.

“Chris Cohen received the ball and there was no Swedish defender in front of him! “John Mortensen screamed. This was a good opportunity for the England team!

The ever-tight defence finally revealed a gap, just to see if England’s players could seize it!

After receiving the ball, Chris Cohen looked up at the penalty area. By right the Swedish right-back, Mikael Lustig, was supposed to be defending him, but instead was in the penalty area as his eyes caught onto the side where Moke was, clearly Moke’s continuous excellent performance also attracted his defensive attention.

Cohen no longer hesitated and cut straight into the penalty area. That was when Lestig ran over to prepare to defend.

Any team’s defense is a complete system, once a side was neglected, the whole system would be affected. Once Lestig ran over, the center space of the penalty area was left open.

Cohen saw the opportunity to pass the ball straight into the penalty area. Mitcher and Rooney were still behind the Swedish defenders, this pass was not for them, but instead for…

Gerrard slotted in from the back and suddenly appeared on the edge of the penalty area, Cohen’s football had just passed onto his feet. Gerrard received the ball as he kicked it fiercely towards the goal. The football whizzed towards the Swedish goalmouth.

Isakson did not expect the man to finish the attack to be Gerrard, he was underprepared for Gerrard’s strong shot, when the ball had already hit the back of the net, he then made his diving gesture.

“What a beautiful goal!” Motson shouted, “Stephen Gerrard’s powerful shot was unstoppable!”

“It looks like our players have not been affected by the feud between England and Sweden, up till now, the Swedish team had not gotten any chances nor opportunities, England has taken control of the full situation!”

Gerrard waved his fist excitedly after the goal. He was present the last time England lost to Sweden at the World Cup, he was the one who scored the second goal for England, but it was not enough to rescue England’s fate, as they still ended with a draw against Sweden.

But this time he would not let this exact same situation happen again!

If the two goals are not guaranteed to beat Sweden, then we will score three goals, four goals, five goals! And even more goals!

Gerrard waved his fist with strength as he vented his frustration.

The Swedes looked a little numb in the face of the loss, it was nearly 30 minutes where they did not have a chance at all as they were fully pressed down and beaten up by their opponents, it was only time before they loses a goal.

Tony Twain stood up and applauded the team’s performance, but he was not as thrilled because he had a similar idea with the Swedes – their performance were perfect for the 30 minutes and if we could not score again, then that would really be paranormal. That was the strength gap, coupled with team team respecting their opponents from the start and not leaving any fatal gaps for their opponents to seize, taking the lead was normal.

The Swedes must have not thought that England would be so determined to hold up the attacking flag, as it could be seen from their bewildered reaction. The Swedes must not have thought that this England would seem completely unaffected by their fate which lasted forty-eight years.

“England’s performance allows us to see hope, the hope in seeing the end to that ridicule of such a fate!” Motson spoke the minds of the several English soccer fans.

※※※

After taking the lead, Twain did not loosen up, he instead got up from the coach’s box and stood on the sidelines, constantly signalling that the players should continue to strengthen their attack and not give the Swede a chance to bounce back. England’s players faithfully carried out Twain’s tactical intent, committing a brutal attack on Sweden in midfield, then defending hard in the backfield, not giving Ibrahimovi? too many chances to receive the ball, and not letting him turn around easily. That way Ibrahimovi? ‘s room to play is minimized to the point where the narrator wonders if the Swedish tower was even playing…

In the face of England’s surge of attack, the Swedes could only shrink the line of defense, temporarily avoid attacking at the front. Sweden coach Lagerb?ck’s idea was to consider it a win even if they were behind a goal in the first half, and as long as the score gap was not widened, he could make adjustments during the half-time break and then go on a full-on attack in the second half. With his knowledge of the England team, the psychological quality of this team was not flattering, their first half of the play was good, but it did not mean that they could maintain their performance in the second half. They just needed to add a little pressure onto them, then they would mess up eventually.

Think back to the World Cup group stage ten years ago. England played perfectly in the first half, but in the end?

Lagerb?ck sat back down with confidence, it was as if everything was under his control.

It was as what he predicted as he heard the whistle that ended the first half. Sweden was down 1:0 against England.

Lagerb?ck, who left the pitch, had no qualms about the team’s backwardness, and he glanced at Twain, who smiled at his opponent’s face, seemingly satisfied with the team’s one-goal lead.

Lagerb?ck smiled inside.

Proud and arrogant Englishman, it would be soon before I’ll let you all know what resigning to fate means!

※※※

PS, a friendly recommendation of a fan-made website by a Nottingham Forest Fan, a chinese blog about Nottingham Forest

WWW.NOTTMFOREST.CN

Chapter 954 - Reappearance

Lars Lagerb?ck, the manager of the Sweden national football team, was in relatively high spirits even though Sweden was trailing behind in the match.

“It’s time to counter-attack, lads!” Lagerb?ck clapped his hands and said with a raised voice.

The Sweden players all lifted their heads to look at him.

“We gave them too many chances in the first half. We cannot continue to do that in the second half. We have an advantage over them in terms of height. Why aren’t we making use of it during aerial duels? We should make full use of every corner that we are given. I want all of you to be even more proactive in the second half. You all also need to be more aggressive in the midfield as well!” He clenched his fist and pounded it once against the wall.

The group of Sweden midfielders led by Jesper Karlstr?m hung their heads in shame after hearing their manager’s words. They all knew that they had performed poorly in the first half. They had been completely overwhelmed by England’s midfield, and they did not contribute much to the team’s defense either. The reason why England managed to dominate in the first half is due to their midfield’s inability to perform.

“We are going to make a change in the second half…” Lagerb?ck glanced at the team’s captain, Ibrahimovi?, who had kept silent all this while. “Zlatan.”

Ibrahimovi? looked at his manager.

“How was it like for you at the front of the pitch?”

“Their defenders are always closely marking me. I’m not given much space to move around in.” Ibrahimovi? answered honestly.

Lagerb?ck nodded his head to signal that he understood Ibrahimovi?’s words. “You won’t be playing as the center forward in the second half. Your new position would be right behind Goitom as the second striker or the attacking midfielder. I want you to use your footwork and spatial awareness to organize attacks for the team. You can also shoot for goal if there is space.”

The change in position meant that Ibrahimovi? no longer has to directly confront both of England’s center-backs every time he got the ball, and it also provides him with more space and time to carry the ball forward. Not only that, he would also be able to utilize his techniques much better as well.

Ibrahimovi? was not surprised by his manager’s arrangement. He nodded his head to show that he understood.

Lagerb?ck decided to boost his team’s morale after he finished assigning new tasks to his players for the second half of the match. He did not want them to be depressed over what had happened in the first half.

“Do you all still remember the clip that I showed you yesterday night?” he asked.

It was a clip of the group stage match between Sweden and England in the World Cup 10 years ago. England performed well in the first half, and Sweden’s performance in the second half was nothing short of perfect.

“Our match today is just like the match that we played in 10 years ago. I am very confident that we would come out of this match as the victors! Let us initiate a counter-attack in the second half! England has yet to win against us for 48 years. There is no reason why we should end this record today! As long as we score a goal early in the second half, the nightmare that has haunted the England players for the past 48 years would definitely persist. As we get closer to the end of the match, the England players would definitely start to panic, and that would be the best case scenario for us! We would definitely be able to win the match as long as we have more patience than them!”

Lagerb?ck’s face was brimming with confidence as he spoke to his players. He firmly believed in his judgment. After all, they know the British inside out!

※※※

George Wood did not follow his teammates back into the locker room. Instead, he carried out his warm-ups alongside the rest of the substitutes on the pitch. It seems likely that he would play in the second half.

Wood has no idea what Twain said to his teammates at halftime. But, the looks on all their faces appeared to be normal when they walked back out onto the pitch.

Wood noticed the team captain, John Terry, standing at the tunnel. He ended his warm-ups and made his way towards the bench slowly. When he passed by Terry, he heard the man who is filling in as the captain ask, “Hey, George! Did you warm up sufficiently?”

Wood stopped in his tracks and looked at Terry with confusion written all over his face.

“My instincts tell me that you’d get to play in today’s match.” Terry smiled at him before walking away.

Wood furrowed his brows and averted his gaze towards the tunnel. He hoped to catch a glimpse of Tony Twain. Did the manager make some kind of adjustment at halftime?

※※※

The second half of the match kicked off with neither side making a change. At the start of the match, Ibrahimovi? stood at the center circle with Goitom, but as the match progressed, Twain was able to tell that Ibrahimovi?’s position on the pitch had been shifted backwards to where a second striker or attacking midfielder would typically operate in.

If Lagerb?ck thought that Twain would be taken aback and be at loss over the change in Ibrahimovi?’s position, then he would be in for a major disappointment.

Ibrahimovi? raised his hand and asked for the ball. He was going to vent all his pent-up frustrations from the first half and show England what he’s got!

Ibrahimovi? received the ball from his teammates a moment later. He was just about to make his way into the penalty box and search for a chance to shoot for goal when Gerrard appeared before him.

Ibrahimovi? quickly turned around and stopped the ball at his feet to prevent it from being taken away by Gerrard. However, by turning around, he was now facing the opposite direction from where England’s goalpost lies. Ibrahimovi? was stunned. Why would Gerrard be here? This is so close to their penalty box, and it should be an area that is defended by their team’s defenders instead. Michael Johnson should the player who is marking him now, not Gerrard. Gerrard should be higher up the pitch since his main role is to attack!

Ibrahimovi? raised his head and scanned his surroundings. He realized that Johnson was positioned on the other side of the pitch and he was marking Karlstr?m, who looked like he was keen on making his way into the penalty box, instead.

Is Gerrard specially here to mark him, or is this simply a coincidence?

Ibrahimovi? decided to conduct a test to find out. He passed the ball to his teammate and ran to a new spot away from Gerrard. He then raised his hand and asked for the ball.

The ball was passed back to him, and Gerrard appeared before him once again.

When something happens once, it can be passed off as a coincidence. But, when it happens twice…

Ibrahimovi? did not even bother to perform a feint when he passed the ball back to his teammate. He ran away from Gerrard and asked for the ball for the third time.

The ball was passed over to him again, and lo and behold, Gerrard appeared before him shortly after.

When something happens three times in a row it is definitely not a coincidence!

It looks like Gerrard is marking him.

Ibrahimovi? did not pass the ball away this time round. Instead, he chose to make use of his footwork to shake Gerrard off before making his way into the penalty box. However, he was not able to make much progress as Gerrard was hot on his trail. Gerrard did not allow Ibrahimovi? to get away from him, and a struggle ensued between the two for a while. Ibrahimovi? eventually came to realize that England’s defense was airtight and that there was no way through for him. Gerrard had clearly given up on attacking Sweden’s goalpost to defend against him. Left with no other choice, Ibrahimovi? passed the ball over to his teammate reluctantly.

Lagerb?ck was shocked to see what was happening on the pitch. England’s adjustment was too prompt! They should not have been able to come up with a plan to defend against Ibrahimovi? this quickly. It should have taken Twain at least 10 minutes to realize what is happening, to come up with a plan and to relay the plan to his players. His team should have been able to make use of those 10 minutes of chaos in the England defense to score a goal.

But, it seems like things had not gone according to plan and his team would not get those 10 minutes now. Did Twain guess that he would make such an adjustment in the second half? How is that possible?

There was a twinge of a smile on Twain’s face as he stood by the side of the pitch. Lagerb?ck had clearly underestimated England’s ability to research about their opponents prior to the match. Twain knew that Lagerb?ck would shift Ibrahimovi?’s position backwards, because this is a change that Lagerb?ck has consistently made whenever Sweden fails to score in a match. He first made such a change during the qualifiers, and he repeated it once more during the friendlies. Not all centre-forwards would be able to perform well when they are positioned further behind, but Ibrahimovi?’s technique and experience allows him to thrive in his new position.

During the break at halftime, Twain came up with a set of countermeasures to deal with Lagerb?cks’s adjustment. He got Gerrard to mark Ibrahimovi?, and he left the team’s attack to the wingers. England did not have to worry about scoring a goal since they scored one in the first half. Only having a one-goal lead in the match might be risky, but Twain did not mind the risk as long as his team is able to solidify its defense.

Ibrahimovi? had asked for the ball three times earlier, and his teammates had passed the ball to him all three times that he asked for the ball. It was clear from the players’ actions that Ibrahimovi? had become the core player for Sweden in the second half, and this was proof that the information England had collected against Sweden was accurate.

It seems like Lagerb?ck is keen on winning the match in the second half. Sadly, Twain does not intend to let him have his way.

Twain was right in his judgment, and he also came up with the right set of measures to deal with Sweden’s adjustment. All that was left for him to do was to see how the game unfolds from here on out.

※※※

Sweden did not expect England to react to their adjustment this quickly. They were at a loss over what they should do next.

How could the England players not capitalize on this moment of chaos in the Sweden team? They went on the counter-attack straight away. The England players knew that Sweden would strengthen their midfield in the second half, so they did not let the ball stay in the midfield for long. They did a series of quick passes and passed the ball all the way to the edge of the penalty box!

Gerrard did not charge to the front of the pitch to join in the attack. Instead, he stayed behind at the back to mark Ibrahimovi?. The only players who went on the offense were the two forwards and the two attacking midfielders in the team. All four of them were very fast at moving the ball forward even though Gerrard did not join them in the attack. Before the Sweden players even knew it, Mitchell had received the pass from Moke at the edge of the penalty box.

Mitchell’s weakness is that he is not able to put much strength behind his shots at times. Thus, he rarely shoots at goal from outside the penalty box. Even if he does shoot, his shots usually end up being miles away from the goalpost as well.

The Swedes knew the England team inside out. Lagerb?ck has an excellent understanding of every single England player’s quirks, strengths and weaknesses, and this has also led him to believe that his team is able to win against England. Before the match, he relayed all the information that he knew about the England players to his players. The players who need this information the most are the defenders, because they need to be very familiar with the attacking players on the other team to be able to defend well against them.

The Sweden players quickly recalled the traits regarding Mitchell that had been relayed to them by their manager when they saw Mitchell receive the ball. One of those traits that surfaced in their minds was that Mitchell would not shoot from the distance.

Sweden’s center-back, Peter Larsson, was the player who was positioned right across of Mitchell. Just like the rest of the players on his team, he was also familiar with Mitchell’s traits as a player. He decided that the best thing to do now is to retreat backwards and maintain a safe distance between him and Mitchell so as to prevent Mitchell from making his way into the penalty box. He knew that if he were to run up to Mitchell to defend against him, Mitchell would just make use of his footwork to get past him. But, he did not expect Mitchell to suddenly raise his right leg after lifting his head to glance at what was before him.

He intends to shoot from there?!

Larsson was taken aback. He wanted to run forward to block Mitchell’s shot, but he could not get there in time.

The Sweden goalkeeper, Andreas Isaksson, did not expect Mitchell to shoot at the goal from outside the penalty box either.

Mitchell’s shot did not have much power behind it, and the speed in which it traveled was not very fast either. But, it was aimed right at the top corner of the net that was furthest away from Isaksson…

“Mitchell has suddenly shot at the goal!”

The ball slammed against the crossbar and ricocheted into the back of the net. Isaksson stretched his hands out and leapt into the air, but it was too late. All he could do was to watch as the ball flew into the net…

The England fans at the stands erupted into deafening cheers after the ball went in. Their cheers were so loud that people thought an earthquake had occurred at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. The cameras at the stadium began to shake as the fans bellowed, “Long live England!”

“What a great gooooooooooal! An unbelievable goal! Mitchell has fired the ball into the back of the net from outside the penalty box! The ball flew in a beautiful arc before making its way past Isaksson! England lead Sweden 2:0 on the 60th minute of the match!”

“A two-goal lead! Things can’t get any better! The Swedes are trying to counter-attack, but we are the first to score! Aha!” Motson almost danced in joy. He was not only happy that England had taken a two-goal lead over Sweden. He was also happy about how England seemed to be dominating the match so far.

However, the fans were not able to get a nagging feeling out of their minds as they celebrated.

This is not the first time that England has taken a two-goal lead against Sweden for the past 48 years. But, England has never came out of the match as the victor in any of those matches. Will this match end up being any different? There seemed to be a pair of hands that was playing with England’s fate. You want to win against Sweden? Try again next time! I can make Sweden level the score against you on the 90th minute of the match!

Can Tony Twain and his team triumph over the pair of hands known as ‘destiny’ this time round?

※※※

Twain turned his head to glance at the bench after celebrating Mitchell’s goal with the people around him. He noticed that Wood had just finished his own celebrations. He then walked over towards him.

“George.”

Wood turned around to look at him.

“Go and do your warm-ups. I’d give you five minutes.” Twain spun around and left after finishing his words.

Wood heard Twain’s words clearly. He did not falter and neither did he cheer. He simply grabbed his vest that had been tossed onto the seat, and he put it on as he ran to do his warm-ups.

Five minutes later, Wood appeared before Twain and waited for his instructions.

“Sweden is trailing by two goals,” Twain told Wood, “and they will definitely attack us with all they’ve got for the next 30 minutes. I need you to get out there and defend the midfield for us.”

Wood nodded his head.

“You’ll take over Gerrard’s role. I need you to defend against Ibrahimovi?.”

“Yes.” Wood continued to nod his head.

After delegating Wood’s task, Twain glanced at Wood’s right foot.

Wood noticed Twain’s glance. He tiptoed and jumped a few times. “I’m fine.”

Twain gave an embarrassed smile after being found out by Wood.

“Get on the pitch, George.”

The fear and worry in the England fans’ hearts dissipated the moment they saw George Wood stand beside the fourth official. They all knew that Wood was going to play in the match right then.

The man known as ‘England’s guardian’ was going to play in the match. There was nothing for them to fear any longer.

Gerrard noticed that it was his number that was being displayed on the board. He did a series of hi-fives with his teammates before jogging off the pitch slowly. He was not acting this way because he was upset with Twain’s arrangement. He just wanted to waste time by dragging out the substitution.

The Sweden players were very upset at how long Gerrard was taking to get off the pitch. They kept raising their hands to protest to the referee. However, the referee decided to be lenient after seeing that it was only the 60th minute of the match and that there were still 30 minutes left for the Sweden players to level the score.

Gerrard walked to the side of the pitch and raised his hands into the air to applaud the England fans at the stands. When he was done, he embraced Wood, and the substitution was finally completed.

The moment Wood stepped onto the pitch, the England fans cheered even louder than they had been earlier.

John Motson’s ardent voice boomed amidst the deafening cheers, “Let us welcome England’s captain… George Wood!”

“St. George! Bless England!”

The England fans cheered in unison right as Motson finished his words. It was as though everything had been pre-arranged.

Wood raised his hands to acknowledge the cheers, and the cheers got even louder.

Despite the cheers and the lively atmosphere in the stadium, the expression on Lagerb?ck’s face was glum. He knew the reason why Twain had put George Wood on the pitch. Twain did the same thing during the final 10 minutes of the match against Germany as well, and England managed to secure a 2:1 victory in the end.

It looks like Tony Twain intends to hold onto the two-goal lead with half an hour left to play in the match.

Chapter 955 - Opponent for the Quarterfinal

Lagerb?ck thought that Twain subbed George Wood on to defend, but he soon realized that he was wrong.

After intercepting the ball from Ibrahimovi?, George Wood did not just clear the ball. Instead, he started to run forward with the ball. Ibrahimovi? tried to tackle for the ball from behind and gave Wood a push, however, he did not manage to push Wood to the ground, helping Wood to get away from him instead.

Wood running with the ball disrupted Sweden’s defensive plans. They did not expect that Wood was not here to defend, but to attack.

Wood eventually passed the ball to Chris Cohen when facing the defense of two Swedish players and Cohen scored from that.

For the rest of the match, Sweden realized that they could not go all out for a goal. That was because the England midfield became even more penetrative after George Wood’s introduction and it caused so much trouble for the Swedes.

Just like it was during the match against Germany, one could not tell from Wood’s performance that he was a “casualty” who had not fully recovered from his foot injury yet.

Tireless running, unyielding defense and stable mentality. He organized the midfield so well that the England fans felt doubly safe. This was the change that George Wood’s introduction brought to the people.

At that moment, nobody thought about something as trivial as, “We’ve not beaten Sweden for 48 years already”.

England had shown them with their performance that concerns like these were unnecessary.

England appeared to have the overall advantage. Even though Sweden changed to a long ball tactic and launched many high balls in an attempt to disrupt England’s defensive line, John Terry and Steven Taylor marshalled their defense well. And the 1.96 meters frame of Joe Hart increased his area of command so much that many of the high balls were collected by him. Goitom, who was also 1.96 meters tall, did not have many chances in front of goal.

Time passed very quickly and no matter how Lagerb?ck adjusted his tactics, Sweden had no answer to England’s compact defense. As the match went on, instead of the England players, the Swedish players were the one who became more and more anxious. After all, they were trailing by two goals now.

So what if “we have not lost to England for 48 years!” Things like this were unable to allay their fears. There was not much time left in the match and they were still trailing by two goals. Coupled with England’s solid defense, even if God came to earth and played as the 12th man for Sweden now, they would probably still lose.

The Sweden team became more and more irritable as the match went on and their attacking qualities dropped. Lagerb?ck could not stop himself as he shouted angrily on the sidelines for his players to remain calm. However, the more he shouted, the more his players panicked, and it became a vicious cycle.

This England team was not affected by destiny at all, which surprised Lagerb?ck. Their mental strength was way beyond Lagerb?ck’s imagination too. In the past, England’s mental strength was probably one of the worst in Europe…

That annoying guy changed all this.

Lagerb?ck looked at the other side. The England manager was now seated on the manager’s seat with his legs crossed.

Just look at how at ease he looks, that’s so unbearable.

“The match has entered injury time. There will be three minutes of injury time! Looks like Sweden is done and dusted!” John Motson said excitedly, “We’re only three minutes away from breaking this damn destiny!”

Facing Sweden’s final frantic attack, England had the whole team defending within the penalty area for the final three minutes. The Sweden goalkeeper, Isaksson, even came forward for the corner that they had during the second minute of injury time. But to what effect? Even if they scored a goal then, they would still be trailing by a goal, it would not change the result.

The England fans were already singing and cheering in the stands. They could finally be rid of the nightmare in their minds for the past 48 years.

The corner from Sweden did not pose any threat to the England goal. The Swedish player who had already lost hope kicked the ball straight out of play for a goal kick. Joe Hart took his time placing the ball and the final whistle went off the moment he kicked the ball!

“The match is over! The match is over! We’ve beaten Sweden! We’ve beaten Sweden for the first time in 48 years!” Motson shouted in excitement. To him, ending this dreaded destiny was more exciting than reaching the quarterfinals. “Tony Twain’s team has defeated destiny! This damn destiny has finally ended!”

The Swedish commentator appeared rather disheartened, “Our psychological advantage over England that lasted 48 years has ended just like this…”

The three long whistles had just ended when the England bench rushed into the field to celebrate their victory.

Tony Twain did not do that. He did not forget to shake the hands of the opposing manager this time.

Lagerb?ck appeared to be a little depressed. He shook his head slightly while completing the procedure of shaking hands. He then went straight towards the tunnel without staying long. On the other hand, Twain was surrounded by reporters. As the victor, it goes without saying that he would receive more attention.

“I have nothing much to say. I’m very happy that we have reached the quarterfinals. I’ve said it before, our target is to be champions and we’re currently heading towards the correct path. 48 years without beating Sweden?” Twain laughed, “That’s because I haven’t been managing England for the past 48 years.”

※※※

As Twain was being interviewed by the media, the team doctor, Derek Wright rushed onto the pitch to look for George Wood and asked, “How does your right big toe feel?”

Wood applied some pressure to the tip of his foot and told Wright, “No problem at all.”

Mister Wright gave a sigh of relief, “That’s good.” Based on his observation on the sidelines, Wood had a much easier time during these 30 minutes than the 15 minutes against Germany. It appeared as though his foot injury had almost fully recovered.

In that case, he should be able to meet Twain’s request to start the next game.

Wright felt that he was finally going to be freed once he thought about it…

※※※

England defeated Sweden and ended their destiny of not beating Sweden for 48 years. They also reached the quarterfinals and the English fans were exceptionally excited over these events. They partied the whole night after the match and drank to their fill. All the beer in the Seville bars were “emptied out” by them and there were naturally conflicts wherever people drank too much. The Seville police had their work cut out for them that night.

Twain did not bother himself about all these. He met up with Wright in the hotel and confirmed that Wood’s recovery from his injury was going well. He should be fit to start the next game. This made him very happy.

Even though Twain led the team to taking the lead against Germany and Sweden without George Wood, he was still indispensable if they were going to become champions. It did not mean that Twain was incapable when he placed so much importance on Wood. Any manager would have a favored player. A manager could not bring his team to victory alone, he also needed players supporting him on the pitch. Jacquet had Zidane when he led France to their first World Cup. Just look at how hard France had to fight for their victory when Zidane was suspended for two games. Then look at the France team who dominated Brazil in the final. That was the difference that Zidane made to the team. Zidane became the hero of France, but nobody ever said that Jacquet was incapable.

A meritorious manager would pair up with a meritorious player and become legends together. If Twain was to write his own legend during this European Championship, then he would require George Wood’s help.

England’s quarterfinal opponent was decided the next night——France. They defeated Netherlands 2:0 in the round of 16.

Ever since the “Group of Death”, England had been meeting strong teams every game. The only weaker team that they played against was Wales, and they lost. It was strange but England had performed very well against strong teams. Twain did not have much concerns even though they were facing France next.

The English media was a little concerned though. It was good that Twain had repeatedly mentioned in public that his target was to be champions. However, just look at the opponents that England had faced so far: Portugal, the “Brazil of Europe”, Wales, who was the only team to defeat England, their sworn enemy Germany, Sweden, whom they had never beaten in the past 48 years, and now France, the technical team of Europe… What other strong teams did they have to meet next?

If England were to defeat France and reach the semifinals, they would most likely meet the host country, Spain. And what about their opponents? The team that had the best route to the finals was Italy. They did not really face any strong teams at all. Wales were in high spirits after reaching the last 16 but they eventually lost to Italy. Greece and Croatia were teams that basically could not pose much threat to Italy. If the Italians deal with them with caution, they should not have much problems reaching the finals.

Of course, the English were hoping that Greece or Croatia would perform an upset and eliminate Italy. If that were to happen, the biggest threat to England winning the competition would be gone. Too bad chances of that happening was too low. The Italians had always been steady, and they were a team that would never lose to a weak team, but they might lose to a strong team…

※※※

There was a five-days break between the round of 16 and the quarterfinals. Twain gave the team a day off the next day after the match against Sweden. It looked like he was not worried about France as he actually allowed the players to go shopping on the streets.

In truth, he had already flown to Barcelona with his assistant, Des Walker, to watch the match between France and Netherlands at the Nou Camp.

The French ace striker, Benzema, was the best performer in this match. He scored all the goals for France in this game, a brace, and Netherlands could not deal with him at all.

The midfield core of France, Gourcuff also did well in this match. He assisted Benzema for one of his goals and started the move for the second goal.

And there was also the new generation of goalkeeper for France, Lloris. Netherlands had their chances in this match, but they were all saved by Lloris.

France was filled with talented players, they were strong and definitely not a team to be underestimated. This batch of French players were basically the leading players of Europe in their respective age group a few years back. Benzema, N’gog, Nasri, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa, Clichy, Lars Diarra, Sagna…

Twain frowned as he watched their impressive performance against Netherlands.

“This is a very strong French team. No wonder they were one of the hot favorites even before the competition started,” Walker remarked as he organized the recording devices in his hands.

“We’re also one of the favorites,” Twain said without batting an eyelid.

Walker looked at him happily.

“Let’s go Des,” Twain ignored him as he stood up and walked away with his hands in his pockets. The two of them were lost in the crowd as they left the stadium and returned to Seville overnight.

※※※

When Walker woke up in the morning and knocked on Twain’s door to invite him to breakfast, he found out that Twain was seated in front of the television with his eyes glued to the screen. He went closer and realized that it was a recording of yesterday’s match that he recorded.

“You’ve been watching this the whole night?” He asked, shocked.

“How is that possible?” Twain turned to look at him, “I just woke up not too long ago.” He turned back to watch the match on the screen.

“France’s style is quite pleasing to the eyes…” Des Walker muttered next to him, “They have many different attacking methods and various ways to attack. They also have technically good players. If we talk about talents, they have way more than us… This is not an easy team to deal with.”

Twain shrugged his shoulders, “They’re just a bunch of protected players.”

Walker laughed as he heard Twain say that, “You’re found a way to deal with them?”

Twain shook his head, “Not yet.”

He stood up and said, “Let’s go for breakfast. I’m hungry.”

Walker made a face at him behind his back and followed him out.

※※※

“Our team is filled with talented players! It won’t be a problem defeating England!”

The French media was filled with such opinions. The French were full of confidence after defeated a strong Netherlands team.

Even Benzema said that he believed France would definitely defeat England and it would not be a problem for them.

As the leading goal scorer for the competition for now, many people agreed with what he said.

For a moment, there was a wave of optimism in France and everyone felt that France had already reached the finals and were going to revive an old rivalry with Italy as they avenge the 2006 World Cup final. They did not even think about England or their semifinal opponents anymore.

However, there was still some people who would act as wet blanket at this kind of times.

Benzema’s previous teammate at Real Madrid, the retired ex-Nottingham Forest star, Ribery appeared in front of the media and expressed his concern regarding their optimism.

“…I don’t think it is wise to think about the final now. If France underestimate England, we will definitely be on the losing end. I have no doubts about it and the reason is simple. Their manager is Tony Twain. He just led the team to a victory over their rival Germany and ended their 48 years winning drought against Sweden. This proved that England had always been a very scary opponent… I’ve played for Nottingham Forest for many years and I understand what kind of manager Tony Twain was. Whoever looks down on him or underestimates him will end up very badly…”

However, his opinion was drowned out by the optimism of the public very quickly. Who cares about what a retired football star had to say?

Chapter 956 - The Powerful French Team

“Let’s take a look back at all the games that the French team had played since the first game in the group stage.”

Twain’s room was a standard room which was fully packed at the moment. All the members of the coaching unit were here, looking at the laptop screen and listening to Twain explain.

Playing on the laptop was a collection of the best French team’s matches that had been edited by Twain.

“In the first game, France defeated Croatia by 3:1 and won it easily. Their goal concede was even considered an ‘accident’ by the French media after the game.” Twain leaned back in his chair as he spoke to his colleagues. At this point, he gave a dismissive snort through his nose.

“They thought it was a surprise for Croatia to score a goal. In the end, not only did Croatia advance out of the group stage but also made it into the top eight.”

Twain clicked on the mouse and moved to the next segment.

“For the second game, their opponent was Poland, which they won 2:0. It was also a very easy game for them. Although they only scored two goals, the French team dominated the entire game. They played against Russia in the third game. The French team had already won two games and advanced from the group ahead of schedule. So, they arranged for the substitutes to play in this game. Despite this, they still beat Russia 1:0. The match pleased the French people after the game.”

“They had three victories for all three games in the group stage with only one goal concede. They did have a reason to be happy…” Walker picked up.

“They also played beautifully. The media say that the current French team plays football with full artistic flair, which is delightful both physically and mentally for people.” The oldest in age out of all the coaches, Tony Carr also expressed his opinion.

Twain smiled without saying a word and continued to let everyone watch.

“In the quarterfinals, their opponents are the Netherlands team. The Netherlands team did not do well in the group stage and finished second in the group. But I’m not surprised by it because the overall level of Dutch football for the past two years has been declining. Their talent feels a little lacking, and it will not be a surprise for them to lose to France. All right…” Twain turned off the video and spun around to look at everyone.

“Now the French people believe themselves to be infallible.” He said with a smile, “It’s a good sign, and I hope they’re going to be even more conceited. Isn’t there a regular press conference this afternoon?”

Everyone knew what he was going to do, and there was a burst of laughter in the room.

※※※

After the meeting with the coaches ended, Twain knocked on the door of Wood’s room. When he went in, he found two people in the room. George Wood was having a chat with Aaron Mitchell.

Seeing Twain walk in, Mitchell immediately realized who the boss was looking for, and got up hurriedly. He said, “I’ll go out for a spin.” Then he said to Twain, “Boss.”

Twain nodded.

Mitchell went out and closed the door, leaving the room with the two men, Twain and Wood.

“What? Aren’t you going to invite me to sit down?” Twain joked with Wood.

Wood then got up and made a gesture as he said, “Please have a seat.”

Twain could understand Wood’s lukewarm attitude, as he did not tell him the news that he had decided to let Wood start in the next game.

Twain sat down and looked at Wood. He was about to open his mouth, when Wood learnt to speak first.

“My foot injury is fine. I feel like I have fully recovered.”

Twain chuckled. There must have been a lot of people who cared about Wood asking him the same question over the past two days. He must not know how many times he had given such an answer.

Seeing Wood like this, Twain wanted to tease him. He said, “Is it really fine?” He asked with a frown in disbelief.

“Do you want me to kick a few shots for you?” Wood got up.

Twain laughed and said, “No need. I’m afraid you’ll kick and damage the things here and we will have to provide compensation. Tell you what, George, I came to you regarding a matter… What do you think of the French team’s recent performance?”

Wood stared blankly for a moment. He felt that Twain’s thoughts tend to jump around too much. What did the recent performance of the French team had to do with him? Why did he want to ask him that?”

“Didn’t you pay attention to the performance of the French team?” Twain followed up to ask.

Wood shook his head and said, “I’ve heard that they haven’t lost yet till now. I don’t know anything else.”

“It’s not just that they haven’t lost a game yet. They have won all their games. They are the only team to have won all their games other than the host team, Spain.” Twain said, “Their performance in the first four games were described as perfect. They played flawlessly. With eight goals scored and one goal concede, Benzema is currently the best goalscorer in the tournament. Lloris is likely to compete for the best goalkeeper and the likelihood of Gourcuff becoming the best player is very high. The French people believe their national team will definitely win the title because they are the ‘generation of geniuses.’” Twain slowly introduced Wood to the characteristics of the French team.

“For instance, they are as popular as a beautiful flower.”

Wood did not respond to Twain’s evaluation.

If it happened to someone who was not familiar with Wood, that person would think that it was painful to communicate with someone like Wood. Because he was a man of few words and would not give enthusiastic responses. If one wanted the communication to continue, then he would have to try to find new topics, which could be tiresome and boring.

Twain knew Wood well, so he was not unhappy with it. He leaned forward and winked at Wood as he said, “But it’s only a flower in the greenhouse.”

Wood was sensitive enough to sense the overtones in Twain’s words. Because whenever the boss was deliberately mystifying, he would find something for him to do.

“For the game in three days’ time, I hope you can turn into a strong gale and blow down to the greenhouse shed that protected them.” Twain looked at Wood with a serious expression.

Wood reacted after being taken aback for a moment. He said, “For the game against France … I’m in the starting lineup?”

Twain nodded his head.

Wood did not cheer loudly, nor did he jump up from his seat. He just raised his fist.

The action had already revealed his mood at the moment.

Twain stood up and was ready to leave. “Study the videos of the French team’s games well. I’ll have Des send them to you. You have an important task.”

Wood was not afraid. He was more worried about not getting a mission.

※※※

While Mitchell wandered around outside and returned to the room after, he found Wood looking at something on his laptop and was in deep concentration, so he quietly crept over. He discovered it turned out to be a video of the French teams game.

“Why are you watching this, George?” He thought it was a little strange.

“To understand my opponent so as to beat them better.” Wood replied without turning his head.

An idea suddenly lit up in Mitchell’s mind and he said, “Can it be that… you’re going to be in the starting lineup for the game against France?”

“Yeah.” Wood nodded.

“YES!” Mitchell was more excited than Wood himself. He jumped on the bed and almost knocked his head. “Haha! I’m so relieved by this! To tell you the truth, George, I don’t like the French team. Do you see how they’re hyping them up out there now? It’s as if the UEFA European Championship title is already theirs. What’s up with the terms ‘generation of geniuses’, ‘the most beautiful football’, ‘the most compelling team in this tournament’… I’m going to throw up just listening to that!”

As an Englishman, it was normal to look down on even the French people. Wood was not surprised by Mitchell’s behavior.

“It’s great that you’re playing. Teach the bunch of arrogant Frenchmen a good lesson!” Mitchell rolled around in bed and then sit up again, waving his fists next to Wood and shouting.

After being happy for Wood, Mitchell was also a little depressed. As the team’s main striker, he was in the starting lineup for every game, but had only scored two goals. He had been called England’s best center forward for the next decade, but his performance was poor.

“It turned out that the boss was specially here to assign you a mission… So, what’s my mission?”

Wood added, “You are a striker and the striker’s mission is to score goals, isn’t it?”

“I think I’m too weak physically, George. . . Is there anything you can think of for me to strengthen?” Mitchell felt that the main factor that led him to score fewer goals than Rooney was his lack of strength and his inability to compete with the strong center backs in the penalty area. Many times, he had to come out in order to get the ball. But could a striker still score goals, far from the penalty area?

Wood finally took his eyes off the computer screen. He looked back at Mitchell, sitting on the bed behind him. “Beef up by eating.” He said simply and turned back again.

Mitchell rolled his eyes and made an exasperated sound before lying back down.

“I’ll be out of shape if I get fat!”

If it had been a person with the gift of gab, he would definitely respond to him in this way, “You have an appearance of someone who’s addicted to drugs. How can you be out of shape?”

But George Wood ignored Mitchell’s complaints and focused on the video of the French team’s game. He quickly found his target, and several of the French midfielders were highly skilled individually. He was thinking that the boss would not ask him to mark a player. That would be too wasteful. If there was no surprises, it should be zonal marking instead.

Wood closed his eyes and imagined the game in his mind. He had not played an entire game in a long time, and the game against France was going to be tough. He also had to pray that his right big toe would not be hurt during the game. In fact, he had just lied to the boss. His right big toe was still slightly sore and could not be considered as completely healed. But in order to make the boss feel assured enough to let him play, he must hide this tiny injury.

※※※

Twain did not know what was on Wood’s mind. George Wood’s performance was normal during the afternoon training. He was comfortable whether when he was running or in contact with the ball. It gave the team a lot of confidence for the game against France.

Although the reporters at the scene only had 15 minutes of photo shoot, they saw a vigorous and healthy George Wood.

At a routine post-training press conference, Twain did not let George Wood attend it with him. He called Gerrard instead.

At the press conference, in the face of a large number of reporters throwing out the question of “whether George Wood will be able to play against France”, Twain did not give any affirmative answer. He continued to obfuscate, “I cannot confirm on the matter. We’re all working hard in that direction. We all want to see the best result.” He spoke nonsense for a long time which was equal to not giving away any detail at all.

The French reporters did not seem to care much about whether George Wood would be playing or not. They just wanted Twain to talk about the French team’s performance in recent games. Twain was aware of what they were playing at. These vain Frenchmen!

But it was exactly what he wanted to happen.

“The French team played very well. It is natural for them to be in the top eight. Their football impresses me… At the same time, they also have a lot of talented players, which I’m really envious of…” Twain’s reaction greatly surprised many English reporters. He was so stingy with words for his own country’s reporters and even had an awful attitude toward them. They did not expect him to answer the questions from the French reporters frankly with assurance. Furthermore, the words which he had spoken were all praises for the French team. Did he not feel that his words were cringeworthy? What about his remark that he was “envious of the French team for having a lot of talent?” Did he mean that the England team’s players were not good enough? Was he British or French?

“… I think it’s absolutely right of the media to say that the French team is the favorite to win the title before the game. I have to deal with the French team seriously. They are very strong… we might lose if we’re not careful. I’m not speaking highly of anyone. I’m telling the truth. The football that the French team plays is very modern and advanced. They can secure both the championship and win over the audience. To be honest, this has always been my goal…”

Twain spoke these words so seriously that it made the French secretly rejoice and the English people unhappy. Even Gerrard was taken aback. Although he had not played for Twain at the club level, he had always felt that the boss was a fearless person through the two years of interaction in the national team. No matter how strong the opponent was, he dared to go head to head with the opponent. For instance, as with the Germany team before, he did not show any fear, and it was why the team could finally beat their foe, Germany. Because the players saw the courage to beat the strong enemy from the manager.

But what happened to the boss today?

It was not the boss’s style, was it? What was he thinking? Gerrard made up his mind to definitely ask the boss after the press conference. He was eager to find out what the boss was thinking.

Twain’s words even gave the French reporters the urge to applaud – it’s so good! Fantastic!

The French people could not hide the joy on their faces, and the British reporters did not want to hide their displeasure. Following which, the press conference immediately became the French reporters’ domain. They kept raising their hands to ask questions and wanted to hear some more good things about the French team. While the British reporters were collectively quiet, using a silent treatment as a way to protest against Twain’s “working for someone’s benefit at the expense of his own people” behavior.

Twain also knew when to quit while he was ahead. The other party would become inured if he said too many good things, so he became diffident again in the next moment.

After the press conference, the French reporters left the England team’s training camp with satisfied smiles, while the British reporters gritted their teeth and cursed Tony Twain as well as the French.

Gerrard frowned and appeared preoccupied. He decided to ask for an explanation.

“Boss.”

Twain looked back at Gerrard behind him and he was not surprised. “Yes?”

“I don’t quite understand why you said those things at the press conference… I don’t think the French team is as strong as you said.”

Twain frowned and said, “Don’t underestimate the opponent, Steven.”

Gerrard thought at first that the boss was joking, but when he looked at Twain’s serious expression, he felt he had thought wrong.

“It’s the quarterfinal. Once we win, we can reach the semifinals. It is a step away from the final. We can’t take our opponent lightly. Any opponent has to be taken seriously and I don’t want a repeat of the game against Wales to happen again.” Twain once again played the “Wales” card and Gerrard had nothing to say.

Losing to the Wales team seemed to have become England’s nightmare. As long as the team appeared to act proud and underestimate the opponent, Twain would mention that game again. Not only that, he also specially made a video clip of the game and showed it to the players. It was to remind them not to underestimate their opponents.

But the problem was the French team was not Wales. The England players would not take the French team lightly in any case …

“Moreover, the French team is really strong. I did not tell any lies, Steven.” Twain continued to add. His earnest look and heartfelt words look left Gerrard without a doubt. “Their midfield is very strong and does not just rely on one person. Such an opponent is our biggest headache. We can’t stop their offensive by freezing one player alone. And… with George’s injury…”

Twain wished to speak but stopped on second thoughts.

Gerrard increasingly felt that the boss was not putting smokescreens. It was indeed worrying that they did not know yet whether Wood would be able to play when they were up against a strong opponent. After playing a few games, he also knew that his 36-year-old stamina could not keep up until the final.

Although what the boss said was very reasonable, Gerrard’s heart still slightly unconvinced. We have beaten the mighty Germany team and ended our 48 years of ill-fated inability to conquer the Swedish team. Don’t tell me that we don’t even have the strength to stake all against France? That the boss would look down on us!

Although he’s also considering the team, I feel upset by it. I admit that the French team has been in the limelight recently and even share in same odds of being in the top spot to win the title as Spain. But did we come to Spain just to praise the strength of the opponent?

Gerrard stopped asking and followed behind Twain in silence. He only raised his clenched fists.

Twain, who was walking in front of him, did not look back, but the corner of his lips curled up.

Chapter 957 - Never Return Until the Battle is Won

Even though the fastest news media had not published the contents about the press conference yet, the England players heard about what their manager said very quickly.

That was because Gerrard told his roommate, Rooney, about what Boss said. Even though one of them was a Liverpool player and the other, a Manchester United player, and Rooney even used to be a player of Liverpool’s city rival, Everton, this did not affect the friendship between the players.

Rooney was shocked by the Boss’ attitude. He could not understand the reasoning behind it, and he decided to tell another teammate, Chelsea’s John Terry.

Very soon, news regarding this press conference spread amongst the players and naturally, the Nottingham Forest players would know about it too. However, none of them could understand why the reason why their Boss would say that. The Nottingham Forest players were more familiar with Twain and they thought that there must be a reason for such an abnormal behavior. They just did not know what the reason was exactly.

The players who were not from Nottingham Forest felt aggrieved that their Boss would look down on them——They also made it to the quarterfinals, why did their Boss think so highly of the French team and had so little confidence in them?

While they felt that they were being looked down upon by their manager, they could not possibly vent it out on Twain directly. But they had their way of proving that their Boss was wrong. That was to defeat France in the match and show their Boss which team had a high probability of becoming champions!

The England players who were angered gave their all during training. Twain watched everything and was secretly happy.

Assistant manager Kerslake might be the only one who knew about Twain’s plans. He was a little concerned and asked, “Aren’t you afraid that you would lose your popularity in the changing room? Or that it might backfire and make them lose their will to fight instead?”

“This is a proud bunch of people, they won’t lose their fighting spirit just like this. And popularity? When they defeat France, my status in the changing room will only be even stronger,” Twain said with conviction, “This is a goading tactic. Furthermore, I can numb the French team by saying that. The French are a bunch of arrogant people. I like it when they are arrogant.”

※※※

Twain was right. The French were indeed arrogant. Twain’s humble words appeared on all the French media very quickly and the reports spread like wildfire. The readers felt extremely good reading them——The Englishmen are saying good things about us now, and it’s that arrogant Tony Twain! Looks like our football team has really conquered the other side of the pacific.

Twain was not interested in the views of the French fans though, he was only interested in the opinions of the French players.

Benzema did not disappoint him with his reaction. This prideful striker appeared to welcome Twain’s words, “…I’m very thankful for Tony Twain’s praises. I believe we deserve praises like these… What’s better than the praises from your opponent?”

Ben Arfa did not really get along with Benzema, but he agreed with him, nonetheless. He felt very good to receive praises from an opponent.

The other players thought the same. They did not take into consideration whether the opposing manager had any other intentions as they really did perform very admirably recently, and it did not surprise them that they would receive praises.

What Twain said during the press conference filled the French with utmost confidence in their national team. The feeling of optimism filled their hearts. There were even media writing this as their headline, “Thank you very much, Tony, but we’ll definitely be the ones going to the Bernabeu in the end!”

Ribery was the only one who thought there was something wrong. The Tony Twain that he knew would never praise his opponent for no reason, even if they really deserved it. The moment he started to praise someone, it meant that that person would be in for a bad time soon…

Therefore, he continued to “boost the enemy’s morale while reducing their own” and kept reminding France to be wary of England, be wary of Tony Twain. However, it all fell on deaf ears.

The manager of France, Claude Puel, was also worried that Tony Twain was playing mind games initially. However, he paid some attention to the English media for the past couple of days and realized that they were all criticizing Twain, so much so that the insults almost escalated to include his ancestors.

Puel did not think that Twain was someone who would deliberately do something for the media to criticize him, therefore, he must have meant it when he praised the French team. That arrogant man did not care that the media was criticizing him, and it was also Twain’s favorite pastime to go against the English media.

Besides, according to the resourceful English media, there were many players within the England camp that were unhappy with Twain’s words. They believed that they were looked down upon by their own manager and Tony Twain was losing his changing room.

If this was all part of Twain’s plans, then the price of it would be too steep. If it backfired and he lost the trust of his players, then he would not be able to execute any of his plans. Nobody in his right mind would risk angering his own players.

After that analysis, he concluded that there was no possibility of any plotting by England. He believed that the revolutionary tactics that he brought to the French team had indeed gotten the recognition from the world. France could lift their heads up high and accept any praise without feeling the need to be ashamed.

※※※

“Claude Puel is a very thoughtful manager, but his experience managing a national team is only about the same as me. In terms of results, his club management career could not be considered as a success. Before he joined Lyon, they were the dominant team of the French Ligue 1. After he became Lyon’s manager in 2009, Lyon was never in the title race anymore. Even though his team played some beautiful football and received a lot of praises from the media for it, what use is beautiful football without winning?”

Twain was analyzing the French manager for his coaching staff during the staff meeting.

“He started off with Monaco in 1999 as their coach and a year and a half later, he became a scout. A year later, he became the manager of Lille and he stayed there for seven years. In the summer of 2009, he became the manager of Lyon. After the 2014 World Cup, he replaced Deschamps as the manager of the France national team. They performed very well during the qualifying stage, however, ever since Mr Puel started to manage Lyon, he had never won any championship before.”

Twain sounded condescending, totally different from the admiration that he showed during the press conference.

“I think Mr Puel lacks the heart of a champion. It has been so long that he has forgotten how to be a champion. Besides, France has had a very easy path here, ever since the qualifying stage. They are like a flower growing in a greenhouse. A team like this won’t be able to react when they are faced with a crisis. Puel also lacks the experience of handling such pressure. This is something that we have to take advantage of.”

“The team is in high morale now and they can’t wait to get on the pitch. This is something that will shock the French. Once they fall into chaos, that’s when we’ll have the opportunity to win the game,” Twain clenched and waved his fist as he said that.

“We have to be invasive in the match! But I’m not concerned about that…” Twain wanted to laugh when he thought about the angry looks he got from his players during training, “We cannot be afraid of committing fouls. Against a team like France, the rougher we are, the worse their performance will be. I have lots of experience dealing with beautiful football.” Twain laughed.

His coaches laughed with him as they knew him very well. When he was still managing Nottingham Forest, he faced off with teams playing beautiful football numerous times. Whether it was Barcelona, Real Madrid or Arsenal, he defeated them a few times each. Meeting France in the quarterfinals was an opportunity given by the Gods.

If they were facing Italy, Twain would seriously consider the chances of them making it to the semi-finals.

※※※

On the day before the match, Twain heaped praises upon France again when interviewed by reporters, saying that the football that they were playing were “revolutionary football, beautiful football”. At the same time, he praised their manager, Claude Puel, for bringing such revolution to France and claimed that he brought a breath of fresh air to the footballing world and that he was becoming a fan of Puel himself. The English media were very unhappy with what he said of course, while the French were understandably very happy with it.

During the team meeting at night, Twain could still feel the unfriendly looks coming from the players. To them, he must have already been labelled as a “traitor”.

However, he still wanted to add fuel to the flame.

“We’ll be facing a very, very strong team tomorrow,” He paused deliberately after saying that. The meeting room was silent, but Twain knew that the players were surely booing him in their minds.

“We’re facing a team which has won all their previous games. The football that they are playing can both excite the fans and bring them victory. Even though this is a match that determines whether we make it into the semi-finals, I don’t want to put too much pressure on you.”

Twain sounded very serious and nobody could tell whether he was joking.

“I wish all of you good luck. We do need a little bit of luck against a team like France…”

Twain stopped saying things to piss the players off after that. He knew not to overdo it. If he kept mentioning about the strength of France, he might just really drop the morale of his team.

After he stopped talking about the strengths of France, Twain started to explain the tactics they would be using for the match tomorrow. England’s tactics were very simple, and they were similar to the ones used before. Twain merely emphasized the need to be bolder and more open when defending.

The players were not thinking about this. They were all feeling pissed off and could hardly wait to start the match and defeat the proud and arrogant French players to make them beg on all fours!

After the team meeting ended, the players left the meeting room one by one. Only George Wood was asked to stay by Twain.

“You don’t look like you’re angry about being looked down by me George,” Twain sat on the meeting room table casually as he looked at Wood opposite him.

“I know what you’re doing,” Wood said.

“Ha!” Twain laughed, “I asked you to stay back to tell you not to tell the rest about this. Looks like I was worried over nothing.”

Wood stood up and prepared to leave. If it was just this matter, there was no need to waste time, he needed to go back and rest. Before he left, he stopped at the door and asked Twain, “The match tomorrow, will we win?”

Twain shrugged, “Of course. We’ll win for sure!”

Wood opened the door and walked out without asking anything else.

Twain stayed back in the empty meeting room in a daze for a while before leaving.

※※※

At almost the same time, during the team meeting for France, Puel was asking his players to use the same tactics for the match tomorrow.

The tactical deployment for France was very simple and there was no urgency on the faces of the players. There were smiles on everyone’s faces and there were even people chatting about things that had nothing to do with the team meeting.

Of course, Puel saw everything, but he did not think that it was a bad thing. He was proud that his team could remain calm on the day before the quarterfinal match with England. He became even more confident about the match tomorrow.

“As long as we maintain our form and performances from the previous matches, it won’t be a problem to defeat England,” Puel added after he finished explaining the tactics, “Remember, our target is to become champions!”

※※※

On that night, the England players slept with anticipation of the match against France the next day as well as their anger for Boss. The France players slept with an carefree mind leading up to the game on the next day.

Twain, who was full of praises for France, stayed up until three-thirty in the morning. He watched the games of France again and again in his room, going through the notes he made again and again to ensure that he did not miss anything, to look for new weaknesses in their team.

Actually, he should not be staying up so late with his current health status. However, Shania was not with him and there was nobody else who could watch over him. He was going all out to be champions.

Twain did not know whether he could continue doing this for another four years and wait for the next European Championship and he did not have a habit of giving up on the chance now to consider about what would happen four years later.

Football is a game that involves luck. Nobody would be able to tell him that his luck would be better next time. It would be stupid for him to pin his hopes on what was going to happen four years later. He believed that George Wood would perform to his best abilities in the final and for that, he had to ensure that he could provide Wood with the stage to do so.

Besides, as the manager of a football club, he had already achieved all the club glories there were. He had not achieved anything as the manager of a national team yet. He did not want to go for the worthless Olympics gold medal. As a national team manager, there were only the European Championship and the World Cup.

The England team then was the strongest England team ever, there was no need to set their target as runners-up.

This time, they would not return until the battle was won!

Chapter 958 - Starting Lineup

The fans and media focused their attention on those footballers from France with attacking flair as their goals and assists brought upon excitement to the fans. However, people who really understood football knew that the key to France’s winning streak was not Benzema or Gourcuff, but the little black man in midfield with not many eye-catching moments——Lassana Diarra.

Diarra was 31 years old and in his prime now. To him, this European Championship was his best chance of winning an international honor. However, to do that, there was someone that he could not avoid.

George Wood was one year his junior, and the one recognized by the world as the best defensive midfielder in the footballing world now. Even though the terrible results of his club affected his performance, he was still the undisputed core of the England national team. He had not started a game in the current European Championship yet, and the time he played in the two previous games added up to be not more than 45 minutes. However, that short amount of time was enough to prove how good George Wood was.

The media was not interested in a dialogue between defensive midfielders, but Diarra knew very well how good his opponent was.

He did not know whether George Wood would be in the starting lineup for tonight’s match or would he be sent in as a substitute. If Wood was going to be playing, then he would have to pay close attention to him. That was because George Wood was no longer the blue-collar worker who could only defend now. He also shouldered the responsibility of organizing the attack, otherwise how could he be known as the core of England? A boorish brute who could only defend would never be able to become the core.

※※※

The match was still eight hours away, but the media was especially interested in England’s starting lineup. Twain did not seem to have any intention of releasing it yet and it seemed like he was going to wait for the team to enter the changing room before releasing it.

Media from all over the world gathered outside the hotel that the England team was staying in, hoping to get some valuable inside information from the players. However, even the players themselves did not know anything about the starting lineup.

Naturally, there was only one reason why the media would pay so much attention to the starting lineup——Would George Wood be part of the starting lineup in tonight’s match?

When Twain insisted to bring Wood to Spain, he said that Wood’s foot injury would fully recover after they reach the knock-out stage of the competition. Therefore, the round of 16 was supposed to be the day when Wood came back from his injury. However, his first match was the last game of the group stages against Germany, meaning he actually came back earlier than expected. However, this delayed his official return and he continued to sit on the bench during the match against Sweden, only coming on in the second half.

Would he be starting in the match against France?

The England players shook their heads and said that they did not know.

Mitchell actually knew about it, but Wood had already reminded him not to tell anyone about this as Boss requested. As he admired Boss so much, Mitchell naturally kept his mouth shut.

The media knew that he was sharing a room with Wood and they came to question him. He merely smiled and shook his head, “I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything like that… Of course, I hope that George can play but I’m neither the team doctor nor the manager… That’s all I can say.”

Twain was resting in the hotel lobby with a coffee in his hand, but not a single media personnel thought of interviewing him. They knew that if they could not get any newsworthy information from the players, they could forget about getting any from this manager’s mouth. This was a person who had so much prejudice against the media that if he did not want to say anything, even “press freedom” would not scare him into saying anything. The media only got whatever he wanted to say. When one thought about it that way, the media was pretty sad, and they were like a dog that Twain kept. If he was in a good mood, he would feed them something and they had to act happy with some tail wagging. If he was unhappy, he would stay indoors for half a month and they could not complain about it at all, or else he would stay even longer.

※※※

Unlike England, France’s starting lineup was already released when they were setting off to the stadium, and it was exactly the same as the previous matches as Puel did not make any change at all.

France was playing a 451 formation with Benzema at the front as the striker. Behind him, there were three attacking midfielders in a line, Gourcuff in the middle, Nasri on the right and Ben Arfa on the left. Behind the three attacking midfielders were two central midfielders, Flamini on the left and Lassana Diarra on the right. The left-back was Clichy from Arsenal and right-back was Sagna, also from Arsenal. One of the center-backs was 26-year-old Mamadou Sakho from Serie A giants, Juventus, and the other was Mexes from Roma. The goalkeeper was Lloris.

The French felt superior even though it was just the timing of the release of the starting lineup. They claimed that releasing the starting lineup early indicated that Puel’s team was confident and they were not afraid of any other teams, a mentality that a championship winning team should have. On the other hand, Tony Twain’s insistence on keeping the starting lineup a secret demonstrated his fear and helplessness. Did it mean that George Wood had not recovered from his foot injury yet since he did not dare to release the starting lineup?

The French started to dream about them beating England and reaching the semifinal, then beating the host nation, Spain, and meeting Italy in the final before defeating them 3:0, avenging the World Cup final defeat 10 years ago.

※※※

“England’s starting lineup is not released yet and I believe that George Wood’s injury is the only reason why that is so. From our analysis, we can conclude that Wood has not recovered from his foot injury yet.” In the pre-match special program on the French television, they invited two professional pundits to analyze the match for the French viewers. In general, they were praising France and claimed that all uncertainties were gathered on England’s side.

“If George Wood has really recovered from his foot injury, I believe that Tony Twain would have released it as early as possible to serve as a morale dampener for his opponent, “Another pundit who claimed to understand Tony Twain very well said that, “But, we don’t have any news about that up till now. This can only mean that Wood has not recovered from his foot injury sufficiently to be in the starting lineup. I think Twain plans to do the same thing as the two previous games and bring Wood on in the second half. Therefore, we have to establish a lead in the first half and getting the first goal as early as possible is key…”

On the big screen television in the broadcasting hall, there was a live broadcast of the scenes of the teams’ arrival at the stadium. Naturally, France’s bus appeared multiple times on screen while England only appeared for a few times when they arrived at the stadium.

The host and the experts were discussing the match that was about to start with a smile on their faces. It did not look like they were affected by the anxiety and uneasiness of going into a big match. Maybe they were experienced, or maybe they thought that their team was stronger than England and there was no problem defeating England.

However, the host’s smile froze when he received England’s starting lineup from the reporter on the scene.

An awkward silence is really bad for a live show, and there was an awkward silence from the host now…

He was still in a daze while holding the starting lineup in his hand and the two experts next to him did not know what was going on and they could only smile.

The host tried to cover up for his mistake very quickly as he coughed and said, “We…we’ve just received the starting lineup for the England team…” He looked at the two experts who gave him an expression which meant “tell us about it, we want to know”.

“George Wood is starting,” the expressions on the experts’ faces changed instantly after the host said that, as if their faces were stuffed with a bunch of live flies.

“Um…” One of them was stunned on the spot, but the other reacted well by saying, “Looks like Tony Twain is going to go for it…”

The big screen showed England’s starting lineup. George Wood sits right in the middle of England’s midfield with Gerrard partnering him.

※※※

The people who were shocked, just like the host and experts on this French show, included the media from all other countries. The English reporters could not believe it when they saw the lineup. However, after they reacted to it, they did not dare to think too optimistically and they thought that Twain was taking a risk with Wood, who had not recovered yet, because he had no choice if he wanted to defeat France.

“Even if we defeat France, how can we beat Spain if we aggravate Wood’s injury?”

“Twain did not think through it properly by doing this!”

“Did Wood volunteer or did Twain force him into it? We have to look into this…”

When the reporters were deep in discussion, the players in the English changing room were similarly shocked.

They looked at Twain standing next to the tactics board, then looked at Wood sitting at one side. Boss had just announced that George Wood was part of the four starting midfielders.

“Is your foot okay? George?” Rooney stood up and asked. This was the question that everyone was concerned about.

“There’s no problem,” Wood replied.

In fact, the team doctor, Wright, specially did another examination for Wood that morning and he believed that Wood’s recovery was very smooth, and he was able to start the match. Twain could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Wood’s return should have been something that they were happy about, but when they thought about the strange behavior that Boss exhibited the past few days, everyone’s mood dropped to a new low again——Could Boss be worried that the current lineup would not be able to defeat France, that was why he forced Wood to start this match?

There were new doubts in the looks that these people gave Wood. They did not really believe that Wood’s right toe had recovered now.

Of course, Twain knew what his players were thinking of. However, he acted as though he did not see and did not give them any explanations. The players were unhappy with France now, and with him too of course. However, this unhappiness could turn into their motivation and if he explained his actions, all these would be for naught.

After introducing the starting lineup, he repeated the tactics that he explained the day before and then clapped and said, “Good luck.”

He ended the final pre-match preparation just like that, without any passionate speech.

However, nobody cared about his strange behavior. They were all angry at him now so the lesser he spoke the better.

Twain did not continue to stay in the changing room. There were a few minutes before the start of the match and he left the room with assistant manager, Des Walker, leaving the room for the players.

Once Boss left, the players started to become active and they surrounded Wood, “Are you really okay, George?”

Wood nodded with conviction, “I’m fine.”

“I’m very unhappy about Boss’ performance during the past few days…” Someone frowned and said as he looked at the changing room door, “He’s obviously looking down on us, aren’t you mad about that, George?”

Wood shook his head and said, “If you think he’s wrong, then prove it by beating France.”

Wood knew what Twain was planning and as captain, he had the responsibility to help the manager fulfill his plans and that included lying.

As the English players surrounded Wood and questioned him, over in the French changing room, they received the news that George Wood would be starting too.

Puel was a little shocked as he did not expect Wood to start the match. However, this also proved his analysis before——Tony Twain’s fear of France was real and not something that he made up. Otherwise, he would not have taken the risk of starting Wood. George Wood was the only trump card in Twain’s hands. In order to defeat France, he had no choice but to start a half-fit Wood.

Puel calmed down very quickly once he thought of that. George Wood was not omnipotent and there was nothing that the mighty France needed to worry about.

He continued to explain to the players about the things to look out for in the match, but he noticed that there were people getting distracted…

There were probably not many French players who were happy that Wood would be starting the match. Lassana belonged to this minority.

Seated next to Diarra was midfielder Feghouli who was not in the starting lineup. He noticed the strange behavior of Diarra very quickly.

Diarra was trembling as he looked down and his fingers turned white from clenching his fists.

“Hey Lars, are you okay?” Feghouli touched Diarra and asked with concern.

Diarra stopped his trembling, looked up and smiled at Feghouli while exposing his white teeth, “It’s nothing. I’m thinking about defeating England and getting into the semifinal and got a little excited…”

Feghouli thought that Diarra’s answer was hilarious. He was 31 years old and not a newcomer anymore, would he be so excited about getting into the semifinal?

Diarra ignored Feghouli. Not everyone could understand the feeling of desiring to meet his opponent so there was no need for him to explain himself. He was very happy that George Wood was going to start. This match had become even more meaningful.

Chapter 959 - The Storm Approaches

When George Wood appeared on the pitch, the England fans in the stands let out a huge cheer. They chanted Wood’s nickname “Saint George” over and over again, completely quashed the French fans’ bluster.

They could not help but get excited. It had been more than two months. Even though George Wood came on as a substitute in the games against Germany and Sweden, it was his first time in the starting lineup. What did it mean for George Wood to be in the starting lineup? Saint George’s right big toe had completely healed! They did not have to worry about anything in the next game.

But to those opponents who were observing the two teams in the stands and collecting first-hand intelligence, they were not focused on Wood’s comeback, but on Twain’s actions. Wood’s comeback was to be expected. Twain had brought the disciple which he was most proud of to Spain and it was not to keep him on the bench, so it was not surprising. But Twain’s unusually low-key style before the game kept his opponents on guard.

The opponents watching the game between two teams in the stands included Spain and the Czech Republic, which were the two teams likely to encounter in the semifinals, as well as Italy, which were likely to meet them in the final.

They were all coaches in their respective teams, and they arrived at San Mamés Stadium on a mission to spy on the competition. Few of them would have believed that Twain was really afraid of the French team even though the French team’s performance in the first few games were really eye-catching. But no matter which angle they analyzed from; Twain was not the kind of manager who would fear the opponent. On the contrary, when the opponent was stronger, the more combative he would be. Look at how he had led an unknown Nottingham Forest team to create a dynasty… It was almost a classic battle collection of David versus Goliath.

They were so concerned with Twain’s various abnormal behavior before the game that they treated the matter of George Wood in the starting lineup as inconsequential. It was as natural as where water flowed, a canal was formed…

※※※

Puel was no longer thinking about what Twain said and did before the game. Now his mind was completely focused on the game – the madness of the English people was something he could never predict…

At the start of the game, it was the French team that kicked off. It was reasonable to say that the French team should have taken advantage of the opportunity to keep the football under their feet, and then launch wave after wave of successive attacks to threaten England’s goal. By right, they should score a goal first and drag the game into the familiar orbit of the French team.

However, their attack was not close to England’s goal and was blocked by George Wood and Gerrard working together to intercept it. Next, the French team had wanted to take back the ball in the midfield – Lassana Diarra and Flamini were in the central midfielder positions, which was closer to the other team’s penalty area. The adjustment from these positions showed the French team’s intention. They intended to use the offense in this game to completely suppress the England team. The ideal result would be the England team could not even go beyond the midfield.

This was in fact the reason why the French team had been very successful so far. Puel was not an idiot who only knew to attack. After the two powerful interception midfield positions were moved up, the French team’s attack was more oppressive, and made it convenient for them to counter press. Their tactic would really be effective and decisive when they encountered those teams which were not good or ill-prepared.

It was a pity they met with a combative and well-prepared England team today.

After seeing Gerrard take the ball, Flamini quickly responded and rushed up. While waiting to enter the stadium before the game, Diarra found his partner and told him that his target was George Wood, so he asked Flamini to stay out of the way.

Gerrard saw Flamini pounce toward him and simply passed the football to Wood, not far from his side.

Almost as soon as he passed the ball, Diarra made his move as well. Like a black panther, he pounced toward Wood who was ready to receive the ball. He was going to intercept the ball at the same time Wood was going to receive it. It was a good opportunity for him to take advantage of when Wood had not steadied his footing yet.

“Diarra goes up to defend against Wood … Beautiful!”

Motson cried excitedly.

At the same time when Diarra pounced over, Wood used his heel to directly knock Gerrard’s pass directly to Terry at the back. It was fine that Diarra pounced on the empty space. The important thing was that after he and Flamini had rushed up, the French team’s central backfield came apart, so there was a wide gap in the middle! It was because the French team’s two attacking midfielders’ positions were farther up front…

It was apparently what Twain specifically pulled Wood aside to specially advise him before the game: he must be good at exploiting the gaps in the opponent’s formation.

Terry also did not delay and immediately sent out a long ball directly to the feet of Moke, who had already rushed to the front!

“England’s quick attack!”

When Stewart Downing stopped the ball, there were only three French defenders in front of him, while England’s two strikers and another winger, Agbonlahor, had already rushed to the front of the penalty area. Gerrard rushed up again after passing the ball to Wood. It was Wood who continued to hold tight in the backfield after passing the ball back to Terry.

Twain’s starting lineup was different from the first two games. Chris Cohen and Moke, the two Nottingham Forest players did not continue to be in the starting lineup. Instead, they gave up their places to Downing and Agbonlahor. The latter two players shared a same feature – fast speed.

Twain expected the French team to press heavily and strive to score a goal first. At this time, the most important thing for the England team’s offense was not the possession of the ball but speed. Cohen was balance in offense and defense and had good endurance, Moke was excellent in ball control and his technique was skilled. But they were not players who had speed. Downing and Agbonlahor had excellent speed and quite good during counterattacks.

Furthermore, the squad was a big surprise to the French team. Puel certainly did not expect Twain to give up the only real right midfielder when the England team’s right midfielder was in danger and opted for Agbonlahor, who first played as a striker.

Downing did not stop and stay when he got the ball. Instead, he passed the ball across. Rooney, who came back, picked up the ball and sent the ball over to Agbonlahor’s side. The French team’s left back, Clichy, who had rushed up to participate in the attack just now, were still running back to defend at this time.

Agbonlahor also did not hold back. After receiving the ball, he directly cut inward to plug into the penalty area!

The French team’s center back had wanted to defend against Mitchell and Rooney, but he did not expect the England team to move the football to the other side so quickly. He also did not think that Agbonlahor would be so determined to plug into the penalty area that he did not hesitate at all…

After Agbonlahor broke through the penalty area, he then swung his leg to make to look like he was going to shoot which tricked Sakho to tear in to block it, only for him to pass the ball across to Mitchell in the penalty area…

“Aaron Mitchell is now unmarked… and he shoots…”

The football flew straight toward the goal, and the goalkeeper, Lloris flew to save. But unfortunately, the distance was too close, and Mitchell used all his might to shoot. No matter how strong the goalkeeper was, he could also do nothing at this time…

“GOOOAL! GOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOAL!!!” John Motson, BBC 5 station’s trump card commentator jumped from his seat.

He might have been the first to react, because when the shot that Mitchell had sent out hit the net, neither the fans in the stands nor the viewers in front of the television had registered it in their minds yet – what was going on? The game had only started a little more than a minute. How did this happen?

Equally surprised were all the members of the French team. The coaches sitting in the technical area as well as the French players who were just desperately defending on the pitch, they were all looking at their own goal at this moment. In there, the football was spinning and rubbing against the net.

Meanwhile, in all the big and small pubs in England, on the big screens in the squares and on the radios of taxis, only John Motson’s voice was shouting, “This is the fastest goal in the tournament. It is also the second-fastest goal in the history of the UEFA European Championship! One minute and thirty seconds, Mitchell takes the lead for England! We’re ahead! The lead comes as a surprise, but we are really in the lead!”

※※※

After a few seconds of standstill, huge cheers broke out from the stands at San Mamés Stadium.

The commentators of all the countries also declared England 1:0 ahead of France in the way they were good at in succession.

To be honest, even the England team’s own people did not expect their opening to be so smooth, taking the lead in just over a minute and a half once the game started. It was Tony Twain reacted the fastest. He rushed out of the technical area with open arms and did a provocative butt twisting dance near the French team’s technical area, as if to deliberately annoy Puel.

Agbonlahor, who passed the ball, rushed up and toppled Mitchell. Then more England players stacked on top one by one. Even the goalkeeper, Joe Hart ran up from the back. It could be seen how excited the English players were.

Indeed, they were excited because they not only were ahead of the French team, they also showed the boss, the French team which he had lauded as a strong opponent, the stuff they were made of! They were simply unable to withstand a single blow!

“Benzema, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa… the group of geniuses from the French team are at a loss over the goal concede!”

They were really at a loss. They were still standing motionless in front. Who would have thought that their first offensive failure would lead to a goal concede?

Twain walked back after he finished his butt twisting dance in front of the French team’s technical area. He walked toward Des Walker with a look of anticipation and smiled as he said, “A storm is approaching, Des.”

※※※

Yes, the storm had come. The first gale toppled the roof of the greenhouse above the French team’s head, and those delicate flowers shivered with cold and faltered amid the howling wind and torrential rain.

In fact, at this time, the French team very much wanted to get support from their grandstand. However, at the present moment, the French fans chose to be silent. Even if they wanted to make a sound, they were silenced by the singing of the England fans. Only the England fans’ singing could be heard at San Mamés Stadium, and only England fans’ voices could be had. They turned Deportivo de La Coru?a’s home ground into a Premier League stadium.

Twain’s compliments to the French team before the game not only angered the England players, but also angered the England football fans. Seeing their own team take the lead over the French team so quickly, they were happy to embarrass Twain with their singing.

As the game went on, the French team could not lift their morale amid the singing voices of the England fans. They wanted to attack but found the England team’s backfield invulnerable to attack. More importantly, they lacked the experience to deal with such a situation. Their manager did not tell them before the game how they were supposed to play next should they concede the goal in the opening minute and a half. Should they continue to attack as per the original plan, or should they slightly withdraw to pay attention to defense?

After the goal concede, Sakho loudly berated his teammates in the front field, asking them to actively come back and defend. Otherwise they would not be able to defend and hold with just four defenders. Not to mention that out of the four defenders, two full backs liked to assist in offense. But the players in the front field did not listen to him. Now their minds were filled with ideas on how to equalize the score. The French team’s front and back fields gradually came apart.

Puel also lacked a counter tactic. He watched powerlessly on the sidelines. Because he could not make up his mind – was the goal concede an accident or was it the opponent’s premeditated ruse?

In the end he thought it was just an accident, and eventually instructed the team to continue to attack and try to equalize the score as soon as possible to get the game back on track again.

But he thought wrong.

The stronger the gale from the England team, the more torrential it rained. The big beads of rain hit the faces like hail.

In the 23rd minute, the England team seized on a chance and fully pressed on while the French team was in a hurry to equalize the score. Through a quick counterattack, the lead was extended to two goals with a goal personally scored by Agbonlahor.

After the goal, Agbonlahor opened his arms wide and ran towards the corner flag. But he did not escape the fate of being crushed by people.

“2:0! England has completely taken the initiative and they are two goals ahead of France! It’s a situation that we really did not think would happen before the game… France, once considered the favorite to win the title, is beaten twice by England in 20 minutes and unable to fight back!”

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing here. Our team is two goals behind … What’s going on? Have Benzema, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa and Nasri all disappeared? And what about our defensive players? It’s shocking that the talented goalkeeper, Lloris, who had only conceded one goal, actually lost two in a row within 20 minutes.” The French commentator was absolutely gutted. He himself could not understand why the French team had such a performance. The French players and coaches did not understand it as well.

The England players in front of them were almost like lions who had been starved for days. Not only did they not lose their strength, they became even more ferocious and dangerous. Even their exhaled breath had a strong smell of blood, as if they had just come out of the depths of hell.

They were fighting with all their strength in every corner of the pitch against the French players. Even if the shots fired were not 50-50, they would also try to tackle it, which caused the French players to be very afraid. Not only that, when they got the opportunity to attack, they would do their best which made it very difficult for the French defenders to defend. It was a completely irrational style of playing and the French team still had no way to take them on.

After England took a two-goal lead, they did not stop there. Instead, they got more and more energetic. With wave after wave of attacks, the French team could only withdrew their defense and they had no way to threaten the England team’s penalty area.

But it was also because of this reason that the French team did not continue to concede the goal in the later part of the first half. When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, all the jittery Frenchmen breathed a sigh of relief – they were safe for at least the next 15 minutes.

Chapter 960 - A Two-Goal Lead Is Not Enough

The England players could not hide the smiles from their faces when they made their way off the pitch and into the locker room. In truth, they never had the intention to hide their smiles from the start. Their smiles would definitely irritate the French deeply, and that was their aim.

They could not wait to show their smiles to their boss. They wanted to make him embarrassed and make him blush.

Of course, their smiles did not go unnoticed by Twain. Every single England player who walked into the locker room looked as though they had just won the lottery.

Twain had deliberately made his team look weak prior to the match, and his actions had angered the players and also propelled them to give their all in the match so far. Twain was quite pleased with what his team had managed to achieve in the first half. However, he could not let himself get carried away and become complacent just like the players are right now, because that could possibly lead to them squandering their two-goal lead in the second half. Look at what happened in the match against Portugal. They had also gone into halftime with a two-goal lead. But, had it not been for his team’s hard work and the Portugal team’s bad luck, Portugal might have come out of that match as the victors.

Hence, this halftime was very important to Twain.

There were three things that he learned from the first half. Firstly, there was nothing wrong with his tactics for the match. He definitely got everything right, if not his team would not have been able to go into the lead or dominate the match in the first half. Secondly, his attempt at manipulating the players’ psychological states before the match had worked, and players from both teams had been affected. The England players were upset because they thought they were being looked down on, whereas the France players became smug after getting praised by their opponents. Thirdly, England’s abilities as a team definitely did not pale in comparison to France.

The three aforementioned points made Twain feel extremely confident about his team’s ability to win the match.

Every single one of the England players looked at Twain expectantly when they entered the locker room. It seemed as though they were waiting for Twain to praise them for their performance.

Twain laughed inwardly at their actions, but he did not let any of his happiness show on his face.

“You did well in the first half.” The team was able to dominate France and get a two-goal lead over them in the first half, but the only praise they got from Twain for their performance were the words ‘you did well’. “But, do you all think that that’s enough to win the match?”

Twain’s words left the players dumbfounded.

They were able to take a 2:0 lead over France on the 25th minute of the match, and they also dominated the whole of the first half! Is this performance not enough to win the match? What else does the boss want from them?

Twain looked at the looks of shock upon the players’ faces and continued to laugh inwardly. However, he maintained a stern face before the players. “Look at all of you. What do you all find hard to understand? We are a team that is going to become champions of this competition. Are you guys really going to be satisfied with such a performance? I need to point out to all of you that you actually only played well for 23 minutes of the match. What did all of you do after we went into the lead? You all got complacent and stopped going on the attack, right? After seeing how you guys performed in the latter half of the game, I think I have to tweak my words a little. The most dangerous situation in this world is not having a one-goal lead in a match. It’s when you have a two-goal lead in a match!”

The players who had been in a state of disbelief over how Twain had not praised them for their performance earlier all lowered their heads after hearing his words. Twain had hit the nail on the head. The players had certainly relaxed after taking a two-goal lead over France. One reason for it has to do with France’s poor performance in the first half, and another reason is due to a change in mindset.

“If you are satisfied with what you have right now and you think that you can go take a nap with a two-goal lead in the second half, then I hope you are all ready to be slaughtered by the French in the next 45 minutes of the match! I am definitely not trying to scare you with my words. Every single one of you here is a professional football player who has played in countless matches in the past. I’m sure all of you know it better than I do. No one here is some amateur football player who has only played football for barely a month! Surely you must know what will happen when you underestimate an opponent who has nowhere to vent his pent-up frustrations!”

Twain’s voice got angrier and angrier as he spoke. It was as though England had performed terribly in the first half and he was chastising them for their poor performance.

“All of you were smiling at the France players at the end of the first half. How do you all think they will react to that? Do you think they will panic and not know what to do at halftime? Wrong! Gentlemen, you are up against France! Just like us, they are also a team whose aim is to become champions of this competition! They are not some semi-professional football team that is playing in the National League! If you all continue to be complacent in the second half, then I can help all of you make a couple of phone calls right now! One to cancel your hotel rooms, and the other to book flight tickets! The tickets won’t be for you to fly to Barcelona, they’d be for you to fly back to England!”

Barcelona is the venue for the first round of the semi-finals. If England manages to defeat France, they would fly over to meet with the winner of the match between Spain and Czech Republic.

“Is there anyone here who still thinks that I should have praised you for your performance in the first half?”

No one breathed a word.

“If you want to prove to me that I was wrong for not praising you, or if you want me to praise you for your performances, then you better win this match! Are you all satisfied with a 2:0 score? Because I am not satisfied with just that! 3:0, 4:0, 5:0… Who could possibly hate scoring a lot of goals in a match?”

Actually, the England players’ smiles at the end of the first half helped Twain out. Their smiles must have led the French to think that they are gloating over their first half performance. The France team manager, Claude Puel, would definitely think that his team has a good chance of making a comeback in the second half, because he would expect the England players to not play at their best due to their cocky attitudes.

Unfortunately for Puel, it would all just be a trap laid out by Twain. He is destined to become just like the Monkey King, who is never able to escape from the Buddha’s palm.

“I don’t want any of you to think that the match is over. Pull yourselves together for the second half! Continue to pile the pressure on the France team! Our tactics have worked very well in the first half, and we won’t do anything different in the second half. The France team would definitely crumble if you are able to score a goal in the second half! Remember, never go easy on your opponents! It doesn’t matter how many goals you have scored, I want you all to keep scoring! If you go easy on your opponents, then the ones who would be sent packing would be you guys! Don’t you guys think that all the press talks about is how the France team are the favorites to win the Euro Cup? This is a perfect opportunity to prove them wrong!” Twain pointed at the door and yelled, “Let us thrash France and show the world what we’ve got! Let us tell the stupid press who are the real favorites to win the Euro Cup!”

※※※

While Twain was giving his players a pep talk, Puel was giving his own pep talk to his dispirited France players in their locker room as well.

“… There’s nothing frightening about England. They are just a team that goes on the counterattack fast. All we need to do is to pay more attention to their counterattacks in the second half and not let their two fullbacks get to the front of the pitch that easily. What’s most important right now is for all of you to regain your confidence. What’s so scary about England? We are here to become champions. How are you going to do that if you can’t even beat England? I admit we underestimated them in the first half, but luckily for us, we still have 45 minutes left to play in the match. The momentum of the match would definitely shift in our favor as long as we score a goal early in the second half.”

Diarra opened his mouth. He wanted to ask, “What if we don’t manage to score a goal early?”

But, the words were stuck in his throat and he could not get himself to ask the question. He was feeling very depressed over his performance in the first half. His actual performance differed too much from what he expected of himself. He had paid too much attention to George Wood in the midfield, and that has led to England’s first goal. He was contemplating if he should stay at the back of the pitch and solidify the team’s defense when Puel called his name.

Diarra raised his head to look at his manager.

“I want you to pressure England’s midfield with Mathieu in the second half.” Puel did not want Diarra to retreat backwards. He wanted him to continue moving forward so as to pile pressure on England’s midfielders. George Wood and Gerrard are both playing as defensive midfielders, so they are positioned slightly towards the back of the pitch. This meant that Diarra needs to move upwards in order to pressure both Wood and Gerrard.

Diarra did not object to his manager’s arrangement. He nodded his head to signal his assent.

“No problem, manager.” Flamini, who sat next to Diarra, nodded his head as well.

“Gentlemen, our tactic for the second half is still to go on the offense. We’d never be able to win if we don’t attack England. I hope all of you remember that well. Pressure England from the start of the match! Make more runs at the front of the pitch! Intercept their balls! I don’t want to see all of you sleepwalking around the pitch just like the first half, understood?”

※※※

“I don’t think the France players would retreat backwards and play defensively in the second half since they are trailing by two goals. They absolutely have to score goals in order to win the match. But, I think one adjustment that Puel would make would be to decrease the number of times that their fullbacks go on the attack. Thus, we shouldn’t go on the attack straight away at the start of the second half. What we should do first is to solidify our defense. France would definitely attack us ferociously at the start of match, and we could end up letting them score a goal if we are not careful. If our lead is reduced to just one, then I’m sure all of you understand what that entails. All in all, we must never let our guard down. Every tiny mistake that you make could end up putting the team in a dire situation.”

Twain conveyed his tactics to his players in detail. Once he was done, he looked at his watch. The halftime break was almost over, but Twain was in no hurry to leave. He wanted the France players to get out onto the pitch first and wait for his players to arrive.

“There’s still a bit of time left. Let’s talk about what I said prior to the match…”

The England players lifted their heads and looked at Twain in astonishment.

“I know some of you must have been very upset with what I said. You must have thought that I had belittled you… Or perhaps… Insulted you?” Twain laughed as he looked at his players who had looks of confusion all over their faces.

Did we get it wrong? The players thought inwardly.

“Haha!” Twain laughed even louder. “Look at the current score for the match! I don’t think my words were for naught…”

Twain did not make himself clear, but the discerning players would definitely understand what he is getting at. As for those who cannot make sense of what he meant, they would definitely come to understand once the match ends. There is no use explaining to them now.

The eyes of the Nottingham Forest players lit up after hearing Twain’s words. They immediately understood what Twain meant. In contrast, Gerrard and Terry had their heads lowered and they seemed to be deep in thought.

Twain glanced at his watch once again. He figured that the France players should all be standing on the pitch right now, and that is when he stood to his feet. He then opened the door and waved to his players, “Get out there, lads. Don’t forget every single word that I said earlier. My words would definitely become the key to our victory!”

Just as Twain expected, the France players have already made their way onto the pitch, and they have been waiting for England for two whole minutes. These two minutes would have gone unnoticed usually, but not this time round. The France players felt like idiots to have waited for the England players for two minutes in such a cacophonous environment.

When the England players appeared at the tunnel, the France fans immediately started booing and chastising them. The British and the French have never seen eye to eye all this while, and football has only amplified the animosity that they hold towards each other. When the French booed the England team, the England fans immediately retaliated by singing a song that insulted the French. Both sides kept getting in each other’s faces relentlessly.

The players did not appear to have been emotionally affected by the fans’ actions. They got into their respective positions on the pitch quickly and waited for kick-off.

Twain did not return to his seat in the dugout after walking out of the tunnel with his players. Instead, he stood by the side of the pitch with his arms folded before his chest. He wanted to direct his players from the sidelines, and he would only return to his seat if he does not notice any issues after 15 minutes.

He wanted his players to know that he, Tony Twain, the manager of the England national team, is standing right by the side of the pitch!

※※※

The France team kept attacking England’s penalty box ferociously the moment the second half commenced. However, the England defense that is led by George Wood did not crumble. Wood’s interceptions in the midfield acted as a shield against France’s attacks. Any attack by France that had a chance of threatening England’s goalpost were all stopped by Wood.

Neither Gourcuff nor Nasri were able to win against Wood in the middle of the pitch. All they could do was to bring the ball forward via the flanks and try to find a chance to break into England’s penalty box from there. However, the England players were all well-prepared to deal with France’s attacks down the flanks.

In the end, France had to rely on the individual abilities of their star players to break through England’s defense. This type of attack was the kind that Twain feared the least. His team’s defenders are good at holding the line, and he was confident that they would be able to defend against all the France players who come their way.

In addition, France’s star player, Benzema, appears to be in a poor form for the match, and he has wasted numerous chances to score a goal so far. Twain felt relieved to see Real Madrid’s top striker hug his head in frustration time and time again.

Did you think that you can perform well after falling into my elaborate trap? Well, I hope you keep on daydreaming!

※※※

France attacked relentlessly for 13 minutes, but they did not gain anything from those attacks. The score remained 0:2, and France still trailed by two goals. Diarra did not get many chances to face off with Wood, and it seems like Wood saw through their plan to pressure him and steal the ball from his feet. He did not maintain possession of the ball for a long period of time, and he always passed the ball to his teammates quickly. A reason for his ability to make such quick passes is due to his ability to observe where his teammates are on the pitch before making each pass. Diarra realized that he was just wasting his energy every time he ran up to Wood, and eventually he decided to just not run towards Wood at all.

Puel was upset with Diarra’s performance. He kept yelling Diarra’s name by the sidelines. He wanted Diarra to be even more proactive and go after Wood more.

It was clear that the ex-manager of Lyon lacks the ability to deal with situations like these whereby his team is trailing in a match. Things have always been smooth-sailing for his team over the past two years… Perhaps a little too smooth-sailing.

All he cared about was the 0:2 scoreline. He kept wanting his team to go on the attack, but he did not sense the danger that lurked behind England’s rigid defense.

Diarra sensed it, and that is why he has gone against his manager’s demands. He did not go after George Wood every time he received the ball. Instead, he took a few steps back and waited quietly at the defensive midfielder’s position.

“You bastard!” Puel chided Diarra angrily after seeing his performance. If France lost this match, he would definitely teach Diarra a lesson in the locker room. He is blatantly going against his orders! This is something that cannot be condoned!

Diarra proved to his manager that he was right to not chase after George Wood soon after.

Wood noticed that Diarra did not pounce at him after he received the ball. He then passed the ball over to Gerrard. Gerrard suddenly carried the ball forward down the middle of the pitch, and he caught Flamini completely unaware. If Diarra had rushed up to Wood to intercept the ball earlier, then Gerrard would definitely have been able to break through France’s midfield by now. But, fortunately for France, Diarra was positioned at the back and he was able to get to Gerrard in time. He ran up to Gerrard and intercepted the ball from his feet. Diarra was able to stop England’s attack successfully.

Both Twain and George Wood raised their brows in unison after seeing Diarra’s performance.

It looks like there is one man they can’t get past in the second half.

Chapter 961 - Watch out for the England Team

After Diarra blocked one of Gerrard’s attacks, he looked defiantly at Wood opposite him. His meaning was obvious – don’t shrink behind like a coward. Bring it on, boy!

George Wood certainly saw what Diarra meant, but he was unmoved and continued to stay in the backfield to establish his position.

Initially, Puel was still complaining that Diarra did not follow his command. But he fell silent after seeing Diarra intercepted England’s attack in succession. The back of the French team had obviously stabilized…

Twain certainly could not let that situation happen. Once the French team’s defense was stable, they would attack again. At that time, it would be their turn to bear the pressure.

Gerrard was clearly the underdog in his fight with Diarra. His age and physical disadvantage had left him less able in physical confrontations than he used to be. Twain thought about it. He decided to let Gerrard move back to replace Wood and let Wood plug in to get involved in the offense. The two players belonged to the category of midfielders who were good at both offense and defense. Interchanging of positions would not create chaos.

Twain walked to the sidelines and whistled toward the inland. Wood turned his gaze over, and he made a hand signal to change positions, which Wood immediately understood.

Then, taking advantage of a dead ball, Wood and Gerrard completed the handover of positions.

Following which, Diarra was pleased to find that the man who came up this time was not Gerrard, but George Wood!

Although Wood did not take the ball, Diarra remained on high alert against him. He knew Wood was the core of the England team. Although he did not know why he was hiding in the backfield in the first half and not come up, it did not matter for now he had no choice but to finally come out of his bolthole.

Sure enough, Agbonlahor quickly passed the ball to Wood. He met with some trouble on his side. He was unable to play to his speed advantage after his attack was being blocked by the French full backs. So, he could only hand the ball over to Wood to reorganize.

Diarra stuck close when he saw Wood take the ball. Wood did not seem to have the intention of getting rid of him with speed. Instead, he turned around to protect the football and waited for Diarra to come up.

The two great defensive midfielders faced off each other, and Diarra lost on strength.

He only felt that Wood leaned back, and his own body lost its balance to tilt toward the back at the side. He grabbed Wood’s clothes with his hand at the crucial moment and regained his balance.

Wood did not give him the chance to continue to pester himself and leaned back again. When Diarra focused all his attention on keeping his balance, he passed the ball to Gerrard, who came up to receive. Next, he turned around and charged forward. Gerrard once again sent a straight pass just in time. The tacit cooperation between the two midfielders freed them of Diarra.

As Diarra rushed up again to tangle him, Wood suddenly sped up and got rid of him. He also went straight into the middle of the penalty area!

“He’s going to break through from the middle! Stop him!” The goalkeeper, Lloris yelled behind the defenders.

Wood’s sudden breakthrough caught the attention of all the French defenders. Sakho crossed in front of him, and Clichy was moving closer to the middle. Seeing that the two sides were about to meet, Wood gave his ankle a jerk and turned the football to the side!

While Mitchell and Rooney were still under the close watchful eyes of the French defenders, Agbonlahor was not marked by anyone at the side…

After seeing Wood pass the ball to the sideline, Mitchell and Rooney moved toward the ball in sync, while Wood stopped at the edge of the penalty area and did not rush forward.

The center backs’ attention were all attracted by the two strikers breaking through and ran into the penalty area one by one.

A three to five-meter-wide gap appeared in front of Wood.

Diarra was the first one to be perceptively aware of the other party’s intentions. He hurried toward Wood ten meters away.

Meanwhile Agbonlahor made a move and crossed the ball over! Instead of the football flying towards any of England’s strikers, the football was rolling diagonally towards George Wood!

Diarra guessed right!

Wood stood in place and turned his body sideways toward the ball. He picked up his right foot, and he was going to directly shoot!

Would Diarra give Wood what he wanted? Even if he risked getting a card, he had to stop the shot!

Once his mind was made up, Diarra slide tackled Wood’s legs from the side and Wood sensed the danger. If it were to be during normal times, he would definitely kick and force a shot toward the goal. But at the moment, he thought of his right foot, and also thought of the next two games …

At the thought of it, Wood gave up his intention to shoot directly and allowed the ball to cross in front of his feet while he jumped.

He was still a little late. Even though his right foot managed to dodge, his left foot was hooked by Diarra and he lost his center of gravity.

Everyone heard the referee’s whistle as Wood fell to the ground.

They became nervous. Was it a penalty shot or a free kick?

Wood himself fell into the penalty area. But was the location of the foul in the penalty area?

The referee ran to the location of the foul and stopped. He did not continue to run into the penalty area, nor did he point his finger at the penalty spot.

“It’s not a penalty shot!” The French people breathed a sigh of relief.

The Englishmen were a little disgruntled and complained, “It was enough of a foul for him to be sent straight off the pitch!”

The referee only showed Diarra a yellow card, prompting boos from the England fans in the stands.

Wood was pulled up from the ground by Gerrard, which made it awkward for Diarra, who was supposed to have gotten ready to show some goodwill himself. He went up and patted Wood on the shoulder before he walked away. Although the fight was fierce, he did not have to start a feud with Wood. His special feelings for Wood were limited to the pitch.

“Are you all right?” Gerrard asked after Diarra had gone.

Wood shook his left foot and shook his head, “It’s all right.”

It looked like he was really okay, because Wood was walking normally when he left Gerrard’s side. But he was stopped by Gerrard who shouted out, “George, stay.”

Wood felt strange, but he stopped in his tracks and looked back at Gerrard.

Gerrard stepped forward and said, “You just stand here. We can coordinate to do a free kick…”

※※※

Under the situation of Bentley’s absence, Gerrard was in charge of carrying out direct free kicks. He scored several times at Liverpool using free kicks. The French players clearly knew it, so when they saw Gerrard standing in front of the ball, the human wall looked very nervous – on the one hand, they were afraid that he would score. On the other hand, they were scared of being struck by Gerrard’s powerful shot… It would not feel good.

Wood stood five meters away from Gerrard, but no one paid any mind to him, including Diarra. Everyone in the world knew that George Wood did not carry out free kicks, whether at Nottingham Forest or in the England national team. He would have nothing to do with free kicks. He did not even qualify to act as a cover.

He just stood at present and people treated it as he was just standing there. If they were to consider it at a deeper level, he was going to counter press at best after Gerrard’s free kick hit the human wall so as to regain possession of the ball.

Gerrard carefully placed the football in the penalty spot designated by the referee, which was just right on the line in the penalty area!

This position made the French players afraid, but also caused the English people to be extremely displeased – it was almost a penalty shot!

“A free kick on the line of the penalty area … is not really a good position. Playing here requires better technique, otherwise the probability of the football hitting the human wall is very high.” Motson frowned. The position was really not considered good. Not to mention that it was almost a penalty shot, it was not good that it was too close to the goal.

Gerrard’s free kick never scored based on the radian. It was unsuitable for him to carry out the penalty in this spot.

The onlookers had little hope of the free kick succeeding, but Gerrard did not see it that way. Standing in front of the ball, he stared at the goal with shining eyes. After putting the football in place, he stepped back and prepared to kick.

Wood stood five meters away from him and was looking at the penalty area. As they had to defend against the free kick, the players in the penalty area were mainly concentrated in the human wall, in order to block the goal as much as possible to share the burden with the goalkeeper. This time, seven players lined up in the French team’s human wall. It almost blocked the half of the goal. Lloris, on the other hand, was nervously laying out the defense on the other side.

The England teammates mostly wanted to squeeze among the human wall, but they were pushed out by the French players. So, they simply stood directly in front of the human wall, which of course caused the French players’ displeasure. They pushed back hard while raising their hands to protest to the referee: Do you see what they’re trying to do here?!”

The referee had to signal for Gerrard to wait a while. He ran over to mediate the contradiction between the two sides, warning the cunning English players not to stand in front of the human wall and that it was fine to stand beside it… while he also warned the French players not to get started. Neither side was allowed to have a conflict, nor were they allowed to push.

After a minute of effort, England finally managed to squeeze one man into it. Downing was stuck in between Sakho and Mexès. Although the other team was upset, they could not do anything about him since he managed to squeeze in.

With the disturbance from the England players, everyone put their focus on the direct free kick. In fact, even the England players thought so too. They thought that Gerrard would shoot directly. Except for Gerrard himself and George Wood.

The referee finally moved back and signaled that Gerrard could play.

As soon as Gerrard started to run up, the French team’s human wall was particularly tense. One by one, they leant their bodies back with one hand to protect the chest and the other hand to protect the crotch area. They got ready to jump and were also worried that the football Gerrard shoot would roll from under their feet covered with grass. Just as they were at odds about it, Gerrard ran to the football and lifted his leg…

Is he going to shoot?!

The French players cried in their hearts.

Gerrard passed the football to the side instead!

“It’s … George Wood!!”

Whether it was the English commentator or the French television commentator, they were all stunned by it.

As the football rolled, George Wood appeared on camera. This time, he lifted his left foot up and his body slightly to the side and adopted the same posture as just now. But this time no one came up to interfere with him…

“… A long shot ——!!!”

Wood’s left foot hit the ball hard, and the football ball whizzed into the bottom right corner of the goal like an artillery shell!

No one had reacted to this sudden change yet. The human wall of people who were nervous just now, were looking at the ball flying to the other side of the goal in amazement at this time. Lloris did not even pounce to make the save. He just stood there and watched helplessly as the football roll past his side into the goal…

“Huh?”

It was the first reaction of Lloris and the other French players.

Thunderous cheers quickly struck, scurrying their doubts away – they were three goals behind!

“A beautiful long shot! From a positional play between the two players, Gerrard and Wood! England leads France by three goals!” Motson exclaimed.

After the goal, Wood was hugged by Gerrard before he could make his celebratory action. Then more teammates rushed up to surround the two of them to celebrate the goal.

The goal was scored in a fairly timely manner and completely demoralize the French team and killed their fighting spirit. In an international competition like the UEFA European Championship, few teams could reverse the situation in which they were three goals behind.

The England team’s substitutes’ bench was also a scene of jubilation. Their victory was basically sealed with a three-goal lead. It was only a matter of time before they reached the semifinals.

The French players could not believe everything their eyes saw. They had intended to have a showdown to fight back in the second half but did not expect England to score another goal… Such a blow drained almost all of their power. Watching the English players embrace and celebrate the goal, they just wanted to fall to the ground and not get up.

Twain was as excited as his players. But this time he did not go to Puel and twist his buttocks to dance in front of him because he did not need to do that anymore. The French team was about to become the past. Was there still a need for him to take another look at a loser who had been trampled in the mud by him?

※※※

After the game resumed, the French team was a little distracted, or to put it more accurately, they were dazed. When the score was still 0:2, they could still tell themselves that it was necessary to fight. But how about now when the score was 3:0?

Puel did not know what to do as well. Trailing behind by three goals, the possibility of reversing the game was too small. And most importantly, was there any solution when they were up against such a situation?

The England team was no philanthropist and would not give the French team the time. Now that the French team had suffered a heavy blow and appeared to be in a dazed state, it was the England team’s wonderful chance to go on a large-scale offensive. Without needing Twain to remind them on the sidelines, the England players naturally knew what to do.

England scored again after a flurry. The England fans even became a little numb, and some of the French fans even began to leave the stadium early with more than 20 minutes to go.

This time it was still Mitchell, who scored the goal with a header into the goal after he received Downing’s pass from the sideline. It was clear from this goal concede that the French center backs were distracted and not present-minded. So much so that Mitchell, the tall center forward, could easily leap in front of goal to score with a header. Lloris was unable to turn around a hopeless situation no matter how good he was. After failing to save the goal, he did not even have the energy to scold his center backs. He just frustratedly kicked the rebounded football back into the goal.

“The game was over, and the French players are finished.” Twain said as he opened his arms and turned to his partner, Des Walker. The game turned out to be like this, which even Walker did not expect that the England team could beat France so easily…

“4:0…” Motson could not believe his eyes and said, “The French team that was named as the hottest favorite to win the title before the game, was so vulnerable in front of England… Was it because the French team was too weak, or were we too strong?”

No one could answer his question at this time, because even the most hardcore England fans could not believe the scene that was happening right in front of their eyes, and their brains could not comprehend…

※※※

Although there were still twenty minutes to go before the end of the game, it was already clear that the French players had no heart to play further. Only Diarra was still working hard, but he could not find a target with some of his efforts….

After England’s 4:0 lead, Twain brought on Michael Johnson to replace George Wood. He was still worried about Wood’s right big toe. Now that the win was locked in, there was no need to continue to let Wood be on the field. It was just in case a French player flew into a rage out of humiliation and had a go at Wood bearing a destructive attitude, then it would be too late for him to have any regrets.

Twain’s move to replace Wood also meant that the game had ended early. In the ensuing game, the French team had been unable to organize an effective attack. The offensive lineup which everyone placed high hopes on before the game, ended up ineffective. The French commentator was somewhat dismayed to claim that no one in the French team played well in the game.

He said it right, especially for those players who had been touted as a front-field attack cluster. Under George Wood’s iron curtain, all the star players were dim.

The England fans sang non-stop in the stands once the England team scored its fourth goal, until the referee blew the final whistle of the game. The singing suddenly turned into thunderous cheers to send the French players off.

“The French team ended their tour in Spain with this humiliating score …With the England team’s surprise crazy win, they are the first to reach the semifinals! Tony Twain has made one thing clear to all of Europe – his team is very powerful! Very strong indeed!”

The Spanish coach, who was in charge of watching the game and observing the opponents, wrote only one thing in the final summary of the game in his notepad:

Watch out for England.

Chapter 962 - If You Hate Me

The major victory of four goals made the England players wild with joy and they were also made feted by many media outlets. After Twain dealt with the reporters, he waited for them in the locker room. He had waited for twenty minutes before people came back in succession. Ten minutes later, the players had all returned.

No one was willing to sit properly on the benches. As soon as they entered the room, they took off their drenched jerseys and tossed them on the floor. They jumped around the locker room, either naked, or just in their underpants as if they were a bunch of drunk monkeys.

“WOOOOOOW—” Rooney even jumped on a table with drinks on it and other miscellaneous stuff and let out a long yell with his head thrown back.

“4:0! 4:0! 4:0! Oh, oh!” The teammates below were chanting the final score of the game in unison as they splashed him with water.

“I’ve never played such a smashing game! It’s so f**king sweet!” Even if he was drenched from head to toe by the others, Michael Johnson did not care either. He wiped the water off his face and shouted at Chris Cohen next to him.

Despite the fact that Twain and the members of the coaching staff were in the locker room, the players did not stop their frenzied celebrations. There were even people who splashed water at the coaches, making them look like wet dogs.

Twain did not speak up to stop it. Instead, he happily stood at the door and looked at the players making a scene. But he was careful to hide behind Des Walker to dodge a “stray bullet.”

What was the saying for it?

“You can hide for the present, but you can’t run forever.”

Poor Tony Twain was still spotted by the sharp-eyed players. The strong and tall combination of Rooney and Mitchell rushed up to pull Twain out from behind Walker, and then everyone swarmed up and poured water on Twain’s head. They finally let off some “steam.” This would show the boss for looking down on them before the game. Look at the results now – 4:0! 4 for England and 0 for France, the team that Twain said was the strongest team!

“Well, guys… Enough!” Twain felt chilly from being drenched but luckily it was summer, and not the World Cup in South Africa. Otherwise, he would definitely catch a cold outside. The players ignored Twain’s plea for mercy. They poured the water from all the water bottles in the locker room over Twain’ body, leaving him completely looking like a drowned rat.

After the players dispersed in a rush, everyone saw Tony Twain looking like he had just been fished out of the water and burst into laughter in the locker room.

Twain wiped the water off his face with his hand. Looking miserably cold with his neck curled against his shoulders, he gave the players a stern glare. But no one was scared of such a boss because his current appearance was so comical.

There was even a distinct smile on George Wood’s face. Those who were lively in nature were bent over with laughter on the floor.

Twain stared at those people who laughed the hardest and said, “Look what you guys have done. How am I supposed to go to the press conference?”

There was another burst of laughter.

Amid the sounds of laughter, Twain’s expression also changed, from pretending to be angry into a helpless smile, and finally a wide grin, revealing a row of white teeth. He smiled exceptionally bright.

“You did great, guys. I’m sorry to have made you feel wronged before the game. The whole English media scolded me for not being confident in my team. But actually, it was not a lack of confidence. It was a strategy to make the French opponent underestimate us. And now… does everyone see the results?” He clapped his hands and was pleased to see the surprised expressions on the many faces of the players.

He laughed more happily.

“All right let’s put aside what happened and enjoy the night to the fullest. That’s the reward you’ve won! After tonight, forget this game. You have to face even more serious challenges. We are only two games away from being the king of Europe. I will not allow you to fall until you touch the championship trophy! Listen well, before you win the championship title, tonight is your last chance to relax. So, enjoy it to the fullest!”

Having said that, Twain took Des Walker along with him and walked out of the locker room.

He only say Twain wiped the water from his head with a towel he had brought out, while he reached out to him.

“What’s the matter, Tony?” Walker was puzzled.

Twain stuffed the used towel into Walker’s hands and said, “Your clothes, take them off quickly.”

“You want me to undress? Over here?” Walker turned his head and looked around, feeling a little awkward.

“I’m not asking you to strip naked. What are you thinking? I’m in a hurry to go to the press conference, and in fact I’m already late… I can’t go, dressed like this.” He did not know whether to laugh or cry as he pointed to his suit, which had been ravaged by water and the players.

It would indeed be an insult to the winner’s status if he were to be dressed like this to meet the reporters.

Walker laughed and obediently took off his jacket to hand it over to Twain while he took Twain’s suit at the same time.

“Do your best, Tony. You’re the winner!” He said to Twain, who was wearing his clothes.

“Of course, when have you see me make the loser feel good?” Twain winked at Walker and walked out wearing Walker’s suit.

“Damn, I’ve been working so hard and yet I’ve put on weight…” Walker laughed happily after hearing Twain muttering to himself.

※※※

The French team manager was being interviewed when Twain rushed to the press conference hall. But it was almost at the tail end. The French reporters were rather dejected. Even so, someone had to be responsible for the fiasco. Seated on stage, Claude Puel naturally became the target of public criticism – holding all the good cards in his hands, yet he did not know how to play them. As a result, Tony Twain played all the cards in his hands, and Puel was still holding the original cards, dumbstruck.

When Twain saw Puel at the press conference, he was already exhausted by the flurry of questions from the French reporters.

“… I’m responsible for this loss…” Puel glanced at Twain, who stood waiting at the entrance. The expression on his face changed and very soon returned to normal. He said, “… However, I will not resign unless the French Football Federation sacks me. I think the achievements of my team for more than two years are obvious to all. But football matches are always full of all kinds of surprises…” Seeing Twain, Puel suddenly felt energized, and spoke more words. The press conference, which was due to end, was extended.

“I’m proud and please with the lads’ performance. We were just unlucky.”

The corners of Twain’s lips curled up as he listened below: from this game alone, the French players’ performance did not deserve the slightest bit of pride and dignity. They did not lose because of bad luck.

“… I repeat, I will not resign. I am satisfied with my work. My contract will run until the end of the 18th World Cup and I will stay to work there until then. I think the French team will accomplish much at the World Cup.”

After saying his piece, Puel rose angrily from his seat.

Seeing his action, Twain immediately stepped onto the stage, reached his hand out, and intended to shake Puel’s hand. He did not expect Puel to walk off from the other side without even giving him a glance.

The scene surprised the reporters. Claude Puel, who had always lived as an authentic French gentleman and maintained a charming manner, had ignored Twain’s invite to shake hands and rudely walked away.

Twain was shunned on stage by Puel but fortunately he reacted quickly. He shrugged it off and then sat down. He said to the numerous microphones on the table, “Obviously, Mr. Puel is a little flustered and exasperated.”

Since the other party did not give him face, he did not have to give the other man any face. He was a lot more skilled than Puel when it came to humiliating people.

“I understand how he feels at this moment. I apologize for even wanting to shake his hand just now. As an authentic English gentleman, I shouldn’t have appeared in front of him to provoke him. For that, I’m guilty.”

Although they were unhappy with Puel’s last words, after all, everyone was people of the same country, and no French reporter could keep smiling in the face of Twain’s blatant taunts. Although they had roundly abused Twain before the game, adhering to the principle of “everything is okay once the game is won”, the English reporters were all laughing, especially happily. Some people even applauded Twain.

Having led the team to a 4:0 win over France, it could be predicted that Tony Twain’s popularity at home in England would be unmatched. It would be wise to say good things about him at this time.

Only The Sun asked the question why Twain had thought the France team was better than England before the game, when in fact it was proven that France was not as good as England. His question caused the faces of the French reporters to look grim again.

For a rare moment, Twain did not make things difficult for The Sun reporter this time. Instead, he grinned and said, “That was just a trick of mine before the game. More than two thousand years ago, China’s great military expert, Sun Tzu once said: there can never be too much deception in war. It applies the same to football for me as well.”

The Chinese reporters present were thrilled to hear Twain mention Sun Tzu’s Art of War, but they were no longer surprised by it. Now the whole world was aware that Twain could speak Mandarin and love China.

The British reporters finally understood Twain’s actions. Although such a trick was not deployed for the first time in the world of football, Tony Twain was definitely top of the list for having acted so realistically and being so committed.

The faces of the French reporters looked even worse at this point. It turned out that Twain’s praises for them before were all false and only to deceive them. How could they endure the “humiliation” … It was as if a man saying “I love you” to a woman just to trick her into sleeping with him and taking her money before leaving.

Tony Twain not only cheated them of their bodies, but also their feelings. For the French people, it was extreme shame and humiliation.

A young French reporter stood up impulsively, trying to regain the last trace of dignity for the failed French team.

“Mr. Twain, don’t you think it’s very rude of you to say that? To be honest, I had disliked you before, but your words before the game made me decide to change my mind about you. I thought maybe I was wrong and that you were a nice person. But now I want to take back my previously childish thoughts! A person like you…” He pointed to Twain’s nose while his lips trembled, and he did not know what to say.

The young man’s impulsive behavior surprised everyone present, except that different people had different surprised reactions. Everyone looked at the young man differently. The French reporters were surprised while at the same time felt some admiration and delight. They certainly thought that the impulsive and reckless young reporter had said what they wanted to say but dared not say, which gave vent to their frustration. His courage was commendable, and his actions must have made Twain feel very embarrassed. Then let us take a look at how Tony Twain is going to respond to this brave man’s accusations!

The English reporters were surprised as well as angry at the French reporter’s action. Now that Twain was England’s national treasure and hero, how can you scold and point at Twain’s nose? Is it not equivalent to scolding us and England? Who do you think you are, boy? You accuse Twain of being rude. Shouldn’t you take a look at how impolite you are being with your action of standing up and blaming others? But the English reporters were not too worried about Twain because they knew that as someone who was cursed and abused by other people every day, Twain must have a wealth of experience to deal with such a sudden scene.

The reporters from other countries were thrilled — A, it was a face-to-face clash between France and England. A brave young man who openly challenged the authority of the world’s famous manager, like Don Quixote, who carried a lance to meet with the windmills head-on. B, Tony Twain paid the price for his previous hubris, and now how would he end it? C, whatever the outcome was, they would benefit from it! Such a good show like a face to face clash between a reporter and the manager was not staged every day. Come on, come on! Let the anger burn more vigorously!

The young Frenchman who accused Twain was still standing, feeling somewhat manifestly superior, which gave the young Frenchman the illusion that he was the only hero here who dared to confront the King of the Great Demons. While his colleagues had their heads between their legs and quaked in fear, only he stood up to challenge. Even if the demon king was a hundred times taller than him, and the great shadow descend from the sky to completely overwhelm him, he was not afraid. And what he stretched out was not a finger, but a sharp sword, pointing directly at the heart of the king with the sword slightly quivering and flashing a chilling brilliance.

The evil demon king, Tony Twain was on stage, looking at the French reporter who stood up and accused him. But he did not angrily shout “Security! Where’s the security?” Instead, he looked at the other party and smiled.

The chilliness of the smile suppressed the sword in the hands of the young French man, making the young man feel a little cold.

Twain pulled back his lips to reveal a row of white teeth. Only in the eyes of the young man, it was the ferocious mouth of a predator with the broken body of the French team hanging from its white teeth and bursts of stench spewing from it, which was disgusting.

“Young man, I have a phrase which I want to share with you.” Twain did not abuse him roundly but rather his look of smiling face was a little kind. And what he said was also surprising. What did he mean by “sharing?” Someone else had scolded him, and what did he want to encourage him for? Furthermore, listening to his tone, it sounded like he was proud of his age and experience and letting him off lightly….

“First of all, I want to explain a little that I have never wanted to win your hearts and favor. You have misunderstood me on this point. I regret and apologize for the misunderstanding caused.” Twain got up, which was a precursor to his departure.

“Next … what I want to say something to share with you, young man. The most important thing on the path of life is not what you want to do or what you get, but that you stick to your principles. Nothing is more important than that.” Twain repeatedly used the “young man” term to give the other person a lesson, which confused people. What was it about sticking to principles? Where was this heading? Besides, what principles was he insisting on? What did this have to do with the young man’s accusations?

Fortunately, Twain solved the mystery very quickly.

“If you hated me before, then please hate me now, too. If you hate me now, then please hate me in the future. Thank you.”

After saying this, Twain smiled at the young man and then waved to the reporters who were shocked by the remark. He turned and walked away. He disappeared out of the door before everyone could react.

It was a while before the reporters in the room responded. Suddenly it boiled over like a heated frying pan.

“What did that bastard mean?!”

“Who does he think he is? I’ve been at for thirty years, interviewed countless superstar managers, and no one was as arrogant and condescending as he is! Maradona? Cruyff? Beckenbauer? No one acts like he does!”

The people who ranted were the French.

A few English reporters who understood French sneered at the side, “That’s because you haven’t met him before in 30 years, mate.”

More English reporters clapped their hands in applause for Twain. As the winner, such a scene was so cool! No wonder Pierce Brosnan would say that as long as he was standing in the same trench as Twain, he would find him adorable. Now the English reporters thought Twain was very cute and could not wait to hold his face to kiss him hard.

The neutral media were just enjoying themselves as they watched the lively scene and full of praises for Twain’s performance at the end.

A group of Chinese reporters gathered to discuss Twain’s previous performance, and the topic quickly changed from Tang’s reference to Sun Tzu’s Art of War to the last sentence: “If you hated me before, then please hate me now, too. If you hate me now, then please hate me in the future.”

“Look what he said, it was so impressive! Although it did not contain a dirty word and his attitude was also very kind, it made people feel that he just gave the Frenchman a slap in the face! That’s so cool!”

“Yeah, yeah! This is the art of language!” A few years ago, due to the then moronic French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the Sino-French relations were once very tense, and many people in China also developed unfavorable toward France as a result. Seeing Twain insult the French media, the Chinese reporters also felt happy.

“Unfortunately, … Such a person can’t come to China to coach…” Someone suddenly sighed.

“Are you crazy? What can he get out of it by going there? Stop dreaming!” He was immediately awakened from his daydream by someone next to him. “If he really came to China, it’s not that there’s something wrong with our brains. It would be Twain whose head has a problem…”

“What if there’s nothing wrong with him?”

“Then the world’s going to be destroyed!” The same man answered earnestly.

“But I think it’s pretty good. . . We are short of such a big mouth in our football. Let him come to give some people slaps in the face. I think that would be so cool ah…” This person was still dreaming.

The colleagues next to him all shook their heads and ignored him. The man was hopeless.

But an irrepressible memory emerged in everyone’s mind.

Eight years ago, Twain took his wife to China for a visit and accepted an interview from Tang Jing, the then star reporter of Titan Sports. The content of that interview did not appear in any media but was well known to the world. This was certainly thanks to Tang Jing’s move to choose to resign so as to make it public. But this was not the important part. Rather, it was Twain’s words. Even thinking about it now, one would feel stirred up. Everyone who had verbally taunted his colleague’s naivety had to admit how he felt when reading the interview at the time, the panic and excitement, surprise and helplessness. Although they had to please the upper management and had to write articles to attack Twain after the matter to submit their work, every Chinese reporter who still cared about and loved Chinese football, would give a big thumbs-up in their hearts to the British man who had nothing to do with China –

Twain is the man, a real man with nerves of steel!

Chapter 963 - Italy Will Also Do the Same

Lippi, the manager of the Italian national team, gave a television interview before leading the team to the UEFA European Championship. In the interview, the elegant “silver fox”, with a cigar from the “paradise” Tuscany clamped in his mouth, spoke frankly with assurance as he said goodbye to the television audience across Italy—-

“This is my last time in charge of the national team. After the end of European Championship, I will leave no matter what happens in the end. Of course, I want to win the championship. Italy is a team with the ability to win the championship. I can’t say too much before anything happens…”

In fact, the people within Italy did not place too much hope for this team. They believed that the host team, Spain and the French team, undefeated in the qualifiers were more likely than Italy to win the title. If Italy had encountered these teams before the final, it would have been hard to say what the outcome would be.

The Italians’ pessimism stemmed from the World Cup in Brazil two years ago. In that tournament, Italy, considered the favorite to win the title before the tournament, was eliminated during the group stage and had to return home. The Italian team was not a “group of death”. It was considered a major upset at the time.

The World Cup defeat of that time caused many people to leave the national team, including the 35 years old Pirlo, the 32 years old Cassano, the 32 years old Dossena, and the 36 years old Buffon. The current national team had been re-established and they had nothing to do with the Italian team that won the World Cup in Germany a decade ago.

But Italian football was so strange that every time the world looked down on them, they could always achieve impressive results. For example, they were the champions in the 1982 World Cup and 2006 World Cup.

Now they had also made it all the way to the final, hoping to win the European Championship. As a four-time World Cup champion team, they had only won once in the highest level of competition on the continent, which was really not in line with their status as the world’s powerful team. The Italians wanted to put their name on the UEFA European Championship for the second time. Although people were generally not optimistic about them before the game, they still made it to the final. Then, at this time, the voices in Italy were naturally unanimous in believing that the blue warriors led by Lippi could beat England and ascend back to the top of Europe.

In order to cheer the team on and boost themselves up, the Italian media took out the game that happened six years ago as an example. In the World Cup in South Africa six years ago, the England team, led by Capello, played well and made it to the semifinals only to encounter Lippi’s Italian team. Lippi had the last laugh in the showdown between the two Italian managers. The Italian media now rehashed this matter to say, “Look, we have a psychological advantage over England.”

Such a statement was far-fetched, but today’s Italians just liked to listen to it.

※※※

An atmosphere of optimism was deliberately created within Italy. But Lippi did not think that there was much to be optimistic about the game. As a manager who had experience a lot of games, he had encountered all kinds of opponents and led teams to play countless games without repeat. He had a wealth of experience and he was aware that this England team was very difficult to deal with.

Although at the start of the UEFA European Championship, Twain’s team gave a bad impression to people and at one point even came close to not being able to advance out of the group stage. But since the start of the game against Germany, their performance had been getting better and better. They defeated Germany by 2:1, ended Sweden’s undefeated 48-year run against them with a 2:0 score, crushed the hot favorite, French team 4:0, and eliminated the host team, Spain with 3:1. Such results were impressive enough. One must know that they basically eliminated the best teams in Europe on their way to the title. Italy, on the other hand, had a much easier path to being promoted.

The good news now was that England fought fiercely with all the top teams all the way and so their physical exertion must have been greater than Italy’s and the England players must be mentally exhausted. Even though Italy had one less day of rest than England, they played so easily in the semifinals that it could be described as “an effortless victory.”

Lippi’s tactics were simple, and not hard to guess. He would emphasize on the defense before he underscored the offense. No matter what happened, the defense was the most important. The England team showed its strong attacking prowess in the UEFA European Championship. The only exception being that they did not score a goal in the game against Wales. It was this game that Lippi needed to focus his research on. Those games in which the teams had lost to England were of little value. Only Wales’ victory over England was worth studying. From there he could find the code to beat England.

Lippi had already thoroughly studied the game. Wales clung fast to defense and counterattack. They deliberately employed a weak approach, and then waited for England to be arrogant and underestimate the opponent. After which, they made use of their ability with place kicks to determine victory with a goal. The tactics were simple, but they worked very effectively. The Wales manager, Toshack seized on the characteristic that England was in high spirits and proud from its recent victory over Portugal to develop the set of tactics, which ultimately paid off. Their only victory at this UEFA European Championship put them in the top 16.

Wales did not continue to use the defend to the last tactics in the game against Italy. Perhaps because they had already achieved their pre-match target, so they let their guard down in the game. Perhaps Toshack wanted to show the other side of the team, so they attacked aggressively the moment the game started and wanted to breach the Italian goal. Unfortunately, they were met with a piece of iron – even when they were up against a weak team like Wales, Lippi insisted on playing defensive counterattack. The copper-walled like defense made Wales’ offensive go home with its tail between its legs and exposed holes in their rear defensive line, in which Italy seized hold of these gaps to counterattack and defeated Wales with ease.

Now, come to think of it, Lippi might have wanted Wales to employ the same tactics as they had used against England in the game, so that he had a chance to test how much the team could accomplish in the face of such diehard defense tactic.

He was currently uncertain as to what tactics Twain would use against Italy.

※※※

“Lippi will definitely persist with the defensive counterattack tactic.” Twain said in a meeting with the coaching staff. “He has led the team to play a lot of games. Whenever he wanted to hold a massive offensive campaign, it always end badly. Personally, I think there’s a game that is a good reference for us. It is not known how many people still remember the game – it was a group stage game during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup when Brazil crushed Italy by 3:0.”

Once he said so, several knowledgeable coaches immediately showed a dawning look of realization. Everyone still remembered the game.

“Lippi had already deployed the strongest lineup he could have sent for that game. He wanted to attack Brazil because he needed to score goals and a victory to advance from the group stage. The 4-3-3 was Italy’s formation at the time, with Pirlo and Montolivo as the double cores. There was also De Rossi. But the performance from such a lineup was a tragic sight. Because Pirlo was old and Montolivo lacked speed and was not good at defending. While only De Rossi was in the midfield to deal with Brazil’s Kaka, Robinho, Maicon, Melo and the others. Not only did Italy lose the game in terms of the score, but it could not gain the upper hand at all on the pitch. The game caused a lot of shock to Lippi and left him completely disillusioned. From then on he went back to the old way of defensive counterattack…” Twain spoke with confidence, as if the game had not happened seven years ago, but only yesterday.

“In this final, we can’t expect Lippi to make the same mistakes as he did then. I think Lippi will continue to stick to the defensive counterattack tactics. They have players in the front field who can solve problems on their own. As long as they can hold on to the tie, they are likely to win. We have two options: first, try to score goals as quickly as possible in the game and force Italy to press out and contend with us, so that we have more chances.” He put up two fingers and continued, “Second, we also retract to mainly play defense and avoid conceding the goal first. Then we drag the game till the penalty shootout and bet on our luck.”

“Which one do you choose?” He asked.

The coaches were in deep thought one by one.

Generally speaking, the finals in international tournaments were usually boring, because most people chose to play conservatively and making sure that their side did not concede the goal before they would consider scoring a goal. If both teams’ manager thought so, then the final game must be boring without exception.

The oldest manager, the 66-year-old Tony Carr, was the first to express his opinion. He said, “I think it’s better to be more cautious, Tony. Defense should come first, and we have to make sure it’s not us who concede the goal first before we can consider beating Italy. In a final like this, the side that concedes the goal first will become reactive, especially when we’re up against a team that’s widely known for its solid defense…”

Twain did not respond. He did not nod in agreement or shake his head to reject. He just looked at the others, hoping to hear more of their opinions.

“I don’t agree with you, old Carr.” Steve Wigley disagreed, “I think we should be more active. Lippi definitely won’t think we’d take the initiative to be aggressive in the finals. He’d think we would be like what you thought, and I think that’s exactly what we can take advantage of. Take the initiative to attack and fight to score goals first. We have the strength to do so.” He even clenched his fist.

When he heard someone object to his suggestion, Carr did not immediately retort. He just smiled and shook his head.

“I think it’s better to be conservative. It’s the final. We can’t afford to make mistakes, at least we can’t make mistakes first…” Another coach, Steve Gatting spoke, “The final game is not about which team is better than which, but which team makes less mistakes. Even if we have to drag it till the penalty shootout, we have a chance to win. We just need to strengthen our penalty shootout training these days.”

The votes were now two to one, with the conservative coaches temporarily gaining the upper hand.

Twain turned his attention to Des Walker. As an assistant manager, he also had to add his two cents’ worth.

“I’m in favor of Wigley’s suggestion.” Walker’s opinion was simple.

Now everyone looked at Twain again. The votes were two for two for the conservative and offensive coaches. It was a tie.

Twain did not give an immediate answer. Apparently, he was still mulling it over. The conservative coaches had their reasons, and it was persuasive. Such finals were won by teams that made fewer or no mistakes at all. Conservative defense was the way to go if they did not want to make mistakes.

According to reason, Twain was the kind of person who would do whatever it took to win and was not afraid to sacrifice the play. He was also not afraid to take on the blackened name of playing passive football. As long as he could lift the championship trophy, he could trample on all those people who had once scolded him in the mud.

But today, Twain did not really want to do that. Or rather, he did not intend to do so.

“Every one of you spoke with a lot of reason, which makes it really difficult for me…” He deliberately gave a look of being in a tight spot.

※※※

George Wood, who had just showered, received a call from Gareth Bale.

“Guess where I am! George!” As soon as he got on the phone, he heard Bale’s energetic voice.

“At home.” Wood did not bother to play this childish game with Bale, so he just named a place.

“Tsk, you’re so boring! I’m in the Maldives! Palm trees and white sandy beaches, ten million times better than the British weather! I love it here! It’s good to be knocked out early…” Bale said in exaggeration.

Mitchell pushed open the door to enter and saw Wood on the phone, so he casually asked, “Is that your mother?”

Wood shook his head and said, “Just a noisy little monkey.”

Mitchell laughed for he knew who had called.

“Hey, George!” Bale heard Wood’s words and was not happy. He said, “I was kind enough to call you. How can you treat me like this?”

“What’s the matter?” Wood ignored his antics and asked directly.

“Congratulations on getting to the final.” Bale said sourly. Although he had said earlier that it was nice to be eliminated early, in fact he would rather stay in Spain at this time.

“Thank you.”

“I heard that your opponent is Italy, and I have something to tell you. Maybe it might be of some help to you.”

Wood raised his eyebrows in response, “Oh?”

“What do you mean by ‘oh’!” Bale knew Wood was interested. He had finally gotten a handle on Wood.

All right, thank you. Please tell me.”

Bale cleared his throat and fully enjoyed the respect Wood gave him before continuing, “If you can say to the boss, tell him it’s best to take a more conservative defensive counterattack approach against Italy…”

“Italy will do the same as well.”

“I know! But this is the final, not a game in the group stage. There is no such thing as a draw. Even if everyone defends, the outcome will still be determined! A penalty shootout! I think that’s the best way to decide where the championship trophy should belong to. When we played against Italy, being in the top 16 teams had gone to our heads a little. Everyone from the coaches to ourselves, thought we could challenge Italy. So, we tried to take the initiative to attack. And as a result? We were utterly defeated. Lippi was cunning. He waited for someone else to attack him, and then he waited for the opportunity to fight back. He’s really similar to the boss on this. So, I suggest that the boss does the same. It doesn’t matter if the game is awful to watch and never mind if the game is boring. You’re not playing for the television audience. This method gives you a very high chance of winning the title. I believe England’s defense is not a problem with you there. To be honest, if we had continued to use the tactics that were used against you in that game, maybe we could have dragged them into overtime or even a penalty shootout. It’s just a pity…”

Bale was silent for a moment. Obviously he was still brooding over being knocked out and eliminated from the competition.

“If we had defeated Italy, maybe it would have been us you meet in the final! At that time, we could have a psychological advantage dealing with you! Ha ha!” For a moment, his voice was full of energy again.

Soon after, Bale told Wood about the players in the Italian team who needed special attention and reminded him to be extra careful of those players in the game. All of these were first-hand information Bale had acquired after the match against Italy. He certainly knew that the boss was used to thoroughly studying his opponents, but the information collected from the player’s point of view should have something new. Even if it was only a little bit, he wanted to help the boss.

Finally, he was about to hang up after he bragged about the Maldives scenery and weather.

“George.” He suddenly called out again.

“Yes?” Wood, who was going to put down his phone, stopped.

“You must win! Be sure to win the championship title!”

“Of course. We’re not here to compete for the first runner-up spot.”

“He he, that’s good, that’s good…” Bale snickered and said, “Then I can say at that time –’Look, we’re the only team that the European Championship winner had not defeated!”

※※※

It was raining heavily outside the windows and the winds were raging in the distance sea. The huge waves rolled up and hit the dam on the shores. The poor palm trees were bowed down in the ugly weather, seemingly in danger of breaking their trunks at any time. The shore was covered with white mist of water, and nothing could be seen in the distance.

The loud roar could not be stopped even with the closed windows and steadily drilled into the dim room.

The Maldives rarely had such weather, but it did not mean it would never have it. May to November in the Maldives was the rainy season. The heavy rainfall brought on by the southwest monsoon seemed to confront the dry weather brought by the northeast monsoon. It was often blustery with rapid waves and strong gales. At this time, the tourist could only hide in the hotel room and sigh in despair.

The hapless Gareth Bale dropped his phone and laid in bed, bore stiff looking at the ceiling. He had the time to call Wood since his girlfriend was taking a bath.

“Damn it! It’s not easy to come to the Maldives, but yet we encounter this kind of f**king weather … Ah, it’s still better to be in Spain…”

Chapter 964 - The Encounter

Shaun Barclay’s arrival surprised Twain a little. Because in the entirety of the period during the European Cup, this England Football Association’s main character had never come to spectate his team, he only offered some help during the checkup of Wood, during other times, it was as if he disappeared.

Barclays did not come into contact with the players, but instead directly went straight to Twain. That point satisfied Twain, at the very least, England’s managers were not like the Chinese Association’s managers, skipping the head coach and directly implicating themselves into the team matters. Up till now, in the English team, he felt like he got the respect he deserved.

Barclays and Twain were meeting by themselves for the first time in the coffee shop at the basement of the hotel. Barclays was most concerned about what results England could achieve this time. The Football Association’s minimum target for Twain was a top four finish, but since Twain had already accomplished his task exceeding their expectations. Following logic, the Football Association’s CEO should be relaxed. But humans are always greedy, since we are already in the finals, why not fight for the championship?

Everyone had this exact same idea so of course the Football Association’s CEO would have it as well.

Although Twain had already expressed his ambition for obtaining the championships, he might need to act a little humble when face to face with the CEO of the Football Association.

“I can’t promise anything.” Twain spread his hands, “The competition has not even started, and also our opponents are very strong.”

Barclays was scolding Twain on the inside for being cunning but on the surface, he smiled at him and said, “This is not the Tony Twain that I know, who was the one who proclaimed his team was the one who would win the championships?”

Twain knew Barclays was pressing himself, but his face did not have any change in expressions, he only slightly nodded. “The season is too long, we have enough time to carry out adjustments. But there is only a match in the finals, whether it is 90 minutes or 120 minutes long, the room to allow errors is too small. I don’t want you to be overly disappointed after having high expectations, Mr Barclays,” He rebutted without hesitation.

Barclays continued scolding him inside. He came out this time to hear out what Twain’s true aim was. In the end, Twain’s lips were sealed, not saying anything.

“But I don’t think anyone’s target is obtaining the runner-up, right?” He asked.

This time, Twain nodded definitely. “That is for sure, we would work hard to fight for the championships.”

That line was Barclay’s only gain. To his slight displeasure, Twain remained as unruly as he was rumoured to be and cold-hearted towards the chairman of the Football Association. Towards the end of the meeting he even felt impatient, as if he had a lot of matters at hand, while Barclays himself had an abundance of time.

After leaving the hotel, Barclays was blocked by reporters for a brief interview.

“Our goal is to be champions.” In front of the media, he announced the ultimate goal of the team on behalf of Twain.

In contrast to Barclays’s high profile, Twain was surprisingly keeping a low profile before finals.

In the past, when the team Twain was coaching in an important match, he would never forget starting a vocal war with the opposing head coach, a psychological warfare. But this time, he did not do this at all.

He did not take the initiative to attack Italy, nor did he provoke Lippi. Other than the regular trainings, he would not mention any other extra things. It was as if he wanted to leave his first encounter with Lippi till the press conference on the day before the match.

However, the more Twain was acting low profile, the more worried the Italians were. Considering Italy’s fate, if Twain was acting like a grandson before the game, he would become the sole godfather after the match.

The Italians were worried what Twain was plotting behind his low profile against them. In these few days, the Italian media was trying every method to find out the training conditions of the English team, trying to figure out what the English people was plotting.

In reality, they really had wronged Twain…

※※※

Wood passed on the information Bale told him during the training break onto Twain. This information was helpful for Twain in implementing the tactics, especially for defensive tactics, it was a lot more tailored for the team.

The overall tactics of the game have long been determined. All of the trainings today were carried out based on that one tactic. No matter how different the opinions were in the coaching crew, all of them would have to put down their own opinions once the head coach was decided and work together with all their effort.

The good news spread quickly. With Ben Trey and Walcott both recovering from injury, they would be able to go onto the roster during the finals. Other than Mitchell which was suspended due to the accumulation of too many yellow cards, England was able to send their strongest roster to welcome Italy.

George Wood’s right foot was no longer a problem. The team doctor Derek White thought that Wood was strong as a bull.

※※※

Three days of preparation time passed by quickly,. In the blink of an eye, it was the last day before the competition. On this afternoon, the teams would go to the Bernabeu stadium for a ground adaptation while the two managers would bring a player to the last news conference before the final match.

The Italian team was arranged to enter the Bernabeu adaptation site first, after the adaptation training, the head coach Lippi brought the Italian captain Chiellini to partake in the news conference.

During the meeting, the reporters were most interested in the first and final face-off between the two coaches. Lippi and Twain were both highly-known and successful managers in European football but they have never had an encounter. Lippi did not talk about Twain during his most popular years. Twain would definitely not take the initiative to mention someone who was unrelated to him at all, regardless of whether he was the head coach of a championship team.

But today, it was clearly inevitable that the two of them would be taken out to make a comparison.

After asking the routine questions, a reporter for the Italy’s Milan Sport stood up and asked the question: “Marcelo, what do you think of Tony Twain?”

“He’s a very good manager and the trophies he’s brought to Nottingham Forest are testament to his ability. ” Lippi’s answer was not surprising at all, because this was a fact.

And it was clear that such an answer could not satisfy the journalists.

“But he has not made any convincing achievements in the national team coaching field...” continued the Milan Sports reporter.

“I don’t think it’s a problem. England’s performance at this European Championship was impressive and this was what he has achieved.” This time, the answer was beginning to excite the reporters. Because as an opponent, following common sense, one should not praise the other party so easily, and what’s more is that Lippi was a coach who has gotten almost all of the honour a coach was able to obtain, able to obtain his compliments was not easy.

So was his praise for Twain a smoke bomb or genuine?

※※※

While Lippi was accepting the questions from the reporters, Twain was already waiting outside with George Wood. As the media was interested in the first encounter between Twain and Lippi, the duration of the news conference would definitely be extended.

From the door, one was able to see the situation inside, and also able to hear the noises inside. But most of it was in Italian so Twain was unable to comprehend the conversations inside.

He might as well chat with Wood outside.

“How’s your mother’s health, George?”

“She is still fine…” That was what he said, but his face was expressionless so Twain could easily guess that the situation was definitely not ideal. However, he was unable to help George Wood in this aspect at all so he could only sigh inside. It was as if such a pitiful woman was sent onto mankind just to suffer.

“Would your mum watch the finals?”

“She’ll watch the television broadcast.”

“Perform better, get a trophy to make her happy.”

Wood nodded.

It suddenly turned silent again between the two people, they both seemed to have internal troubles. Wood then took the initiative to break this silence, “How are you… and Shania?”

Twain glanced at Wood with a smile, “Wood would also show some concern to other people, that;s rare. How well can we be? It’s the same every time, I’m busy with my work and she’s busy with hers. Every year we get more and more distant. For you though, you’re already 30 years old, if you do not find any women by this age, there would be people who would suspect your sexuality, George.”

Wood pouted, “Then do what you want.”

“You are really optimistic.” Twain looked at Wood as he chuckled. “The best gay magazines had already placed you as the most ideal partner in the hearts of the gay men for three consecutive years.”

Twain was really worried for Wood’s life issues, so he borrowed the name of homosexuality to affect him. However, the Westerns do not regard continuing the generation as highly as the Asians, else Twain would definitely bring out the theory of “one having nothing to be proud of if he is unfilial”, using his mother’s name to pressurize Wood.

“Tomorrow is the finals, and you still have the mentality to consider all these?” Wood rebutted.

“What should be done are already done, what else is there to do? Frown and stay silent?” Twain was smiling brightly. “That was not my personality. Besides…” He pointed Lippi who was in the room. “We can’t be looked down upon by our enemies. George, relax a little. We are the ones who obtained all three prestigious trophies, what hardships have we not seen? Ha!”

In the middle of their conversation, the news conference inside the room has ended. In the midst of the applause, Lippi pulled back his chair as he left the room behind Chellini out of the exit.

Lippi was a little surprised when he saw Twain who was smiling at him, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

He knew that Twain was greeting him with a smile, as this manager did not seem to be as vicious and untouchable as the outside world had been rumoured. Since the other side took the initiative to show kindness, Lippi also did not need to look arrogant, as he slightly nodded when he looked at Twain.

Perhaps it was due to it being finals but Lippi, who attended the press conference today, did not wear the Kappa T-shirt he usually wore on the training ground. Instead, he wore a very formal dark blue suit and white shirt. The two men passed by. Twain kept his eyes on George Wood instead off Lippi’s back view and the opposing captain Chellini started a spark upon their contact. Both of them stared at each other.

After leaving the press conference, the old smoker Lippi put an end to his own suffering. He pulled out a Tuscan cigar out from within his suit and placed it in his mouth. He lit it and took a deep breath, one so loud that even Twain could hear that noise.

With a cigar in his mouth, Lippi and Chiellini left just like that. And Twain just patted Wood who was beside him, “Let’s go, George. It’s our turn.”

He did not smoke — not that he needed it to look cool. He was the embodiment of the word “cool”. Especially when he appeared in front of the media, that continuous flashing of the lights, could clearly represent that Tony Twain was not far off with his odds from getting the world championships from Lippi.

“What do you think about Marcelo Lippi, Mr Twain? ” After the routine questions, Twain needed to face this similar question as well.

“He is an outstanding head coach. He led Juventus and Italy to obtain those championship trophies, it was long proving that point.” Twain did not hesitate nor was surprised, he answered quickly.

But for the journalists who could understand English and Italian, they laughed out loud. Because this was similar too coincidental, Lippi used the same words to answer the question.

Even their acts of being low profile was so similar, no wonder they are the opponents for the finals of the world championships.

Twain was laughed at inexplicably, but he did not ask what had happened.

“Is it a little difficult to play against such a coach in the final?” A reporter from Milan Sports asked.

“I admit it’s a bit difficult, after all, Lippi is experienced. But ...” Twain’s tone changed a little, “No one came to the Bernabeu stadium to compete for the runner-up. I’m sure Lippi would think the same way, being able to beat Italy and obtain the championships, I would be extremely happy.”

“Mr Twain, you intentionally and surprisingly acted low profile, was that to let Italy underestimate you?” The reporter from Milan Sports was very aggressive.

“No, it’s not.” Twain spread his hands. “You’re insulting Mr. Lippi’s IQ. He didn’t forget to use comedy against the Italian journalist, for his constant aggression. “I do have a lot of respect for Lippi and I’m happy to play against him in the final. ”

Twain did not lie. Although as a fan, Twain hated Juventus and Lippi, but after becoming a coach, there has been a change of mind, everything was thought about from the coach’s point of view, his mindset was becoming similar as that Italian coach. Being the head coach, the tactics master was deserving of his respect.

And Twain also knew that, with Lippi’s experience, it’s himself who would end up losing out if he provoked a war of words. Lippi’s Italian team would definitely not be fooled, and for England who was always on the initiative would fall, their morale would definitely take a huge hit. Psychological warfare was not always a treasure that was sure-fire.

This double-edged sword, if used poorly, would hurt yourself, so Twain had always went for the easier alternative.

Lippi was an old fox, a stone, if he screws up, he would mess up his own and teammates’ morale.

“I hope that there would be an exciting contest tomorrow, but that does not mean I would promise that I’ll play an offensive ball game.” Twain slyly laughed, “For me, the results are the priority.”

Hearing him say this, some of the reporters sighed. It looks like the finals match tomorrow would be a boring match, if there are no surprises, it is mostly likely going to end in a penalty shootout.

On the other hand, some reporters heard what they wanted. Tomorrow, tomorrow England was likely to be defensive, probably prioritizing defensively counter-attacking, sacrificing offense, and dragging them into extra-time and penalty shoot-outs.

The original tactic that was covered up for three days, and this was what Twain implemented for the English team? That was so boring…

Defensive, defensive, defensive... someone please knock open his brain to see if there was anything inside other than “defense”.

Twain would not go ahead and think about what the reporters were discussing, after answering the reporters’ questions, Wood and him left the Bernabeu stadium as he took the team bus and followed the team back to the hotel that they were staying in. There would be a final tactical meeting tonight, then after would be the quiet wait for tomorrow’s night.

His first time leading a country team into the World-level championships match was approaching so quickly. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!

Chapter 965 - Tickets

The hotels in Madrid were having a booming business and it was impossible to get a room at this moment. The main reason for that were the English.

As the England national team had reached final of a major international competition for the first time in 50 years, there was a huge repercussion back in England. Many of the England fans who were not planning to watch the competition live in Spain initially, packed up and flew to Madrid. It was already extremely difficult to get a ticket to the final, but the English still hoped to meet people who were wanted to get a refund for their tickets outside the Bernabeu stadium.

As for the problem of no lodging? That was not a problem at all. They would sleep on the streets just to watch the match. Many England fans brought their own tents as if they were going to camp out in the woods. The passion of the England fans was obvious for everyone to see.

Due to the massive influx of England fans, the Madrid government had no choice but to announce that all the major parks in the city would be open to public at night for those fans who could not get a hotel room to camp in.

“I feel extra blessed watching them!” Skinny Bill exclaimed as he pointed to rows of colorful tents on the streets opposite the seat of a bar that he was seated in, “Not only do we not need to sleep on the streets, we also have tickets to the final!”

He was a little loud and he attracted the attention of the people around them. John noticed the look of desire in their eyes and he knew that those were the people without tickets to the final. They were very sensitive to everything about tickets.

“Keep it down you fool! Are you trying to get us attacked?” John gave Bill a slap on his head.

“Uh…” Bill looked down and drank his beer. However, it was not long before he stretched himself and said, “It’s five more hours to the match, that’s a long way to go… Why don’t we go wait at the hotel that the England team is staying in like the others? We might even get their autograph…”

John glared at him and said, “Have you forgotten what kind of person Tony is? Forget about the fans, he would even chase the reporters out at a time like this. What do you think you can achieve there?”

“Ah, that’s right… It’s the same situation every time Nottingham Forest got into a final. Hey, do you think Tony’s nervous?”

“Nervous?” The others asked, perplexed.

“Yes, even though he’s not a rookie who just started managing, this is the first final he has been to as the manager of the national team after all. And it’s the final of the European Championship which we’ve never won before.”

After hearing Bill say that, everyone grew silent. After a long while, someone muttered, “Has any of you seen Tony nervous before?”

He looked at the rest and they answered him by shaking their heads.

“Tony had never been afraid of anyone in my impression. He fought with Michael the first day he was at Burns’ bar, ha ha! Michael is well-known to be a good fighter in our area!” Someone laughed and said.

However, their moods dropped the moment they mentioned Michael. They thought about their old friend whom they had not met for a very long time. He was working hard for his family and career in America and they did not know if he was still paying attention to football, or if he even knew that England had reached the European Championship final. They were all football fanatics and the stories that they had with football were different for each of them. However, it only brought sadness to Michael once, and it was unforgettable.

The person who mentioned it realized that he should not have mentioned that name. He gave a couple of awkward laughs and looked down while drinking his beer.

“I know that Tony would send Michael a ticket every time the team got into a final. Too bad there isn’t a chance anymore ever since he resigned from Forest. I wonder if he did it this time?” Fat John mentioned their old friend deliberately.

Everyone became silent as John mentioned the past. They were thinking if their old friend on the other side of the earth received a ticket.

※※※

Michael was in his suit at his door with his suitcase next to him. It was seven in the morning in West America and he needed to get to work.

His wife carried their child as they sent him off.

“I’ll be back for dinner if I don’t have to entertain anyone at night…” He wanted to kiss his wife, but she avoided it.

“You have to come back for dinner no matter what,” His wife glared at him, “Don’t tell me you forgot about Shannon’s birthday?”

“Ah…” There was an apologetic look on Michael’s face.

“What are you thinking about recently, Michel? You’ve been very distracted, and you were even in a daze while eating,” His wife complained unhappily.

“I’m sorry, I was too busy at work. There were some personnel changes in the office and the pressure is mounting…” Michael could only appease her with that, “After this period of time, I’ll definitely take a few days off and take the two of you out for a good time.” After saying that, he pinched the pinchable cheeks of his daughter in his wife’s arms, “Sorry Shannon. Daddy forgot about your birthday, don’t be mad okay?”

His three-year-old daughter replied in her cute voice, “I——won’t——.”

Michael laughed and looked at his wife, “See, our little princess isn’t mad.”

“What am I going to do with you, “His wife pouted helplessly and gave him a goodbye kiss.

After a passionate kiss, Michael opened the door and left.

On his Ford, Michael was waiting for the traffic light at the crossroad. Even though his hands were on the steering wheel, his eyes glanced towards the black suitcase on the front seat. His wife was really observant. He was indeed distracted recently, but it was not because of stress from work. He was busy, but after being so busy for so many years, he did not forget about the death anniversary of his son, Gavin Bernard.

The reason for his distraction recently was sitting quietly inside the suitcase.

Michael looked up at the traffic light and thought that the red light was a little longer than usual. It was normal for there to be traffic during morning rush hour anyway. He grabbed hold of the suitcase and took out an envelope. The handwriting on the envelope was familiar to him, and it reminded him of that person’s face.

Michael opened it and took out something from inside——A ticket to the European Championship final.

The passion that Americans have for football was pitiful when compared to the Europeans. The European Championship which had no relationship to America was something that they had even lesser interest in and there was hardly any news about it on the news media. The media was all over the NBA grand finals between the Lakers and the 76ers. That attracted the attention of all the basketball fans in the world. It was a totally different world here when compared to Europe.

Michael was not a basketball fan. Not before, not now and probably not ever. But he had indeed not cared about football for a very long time. Looking at this ticket, he knew that Tony Twain must have led England to the European Championship final.

That was something to be happy about. After all, England had not reached the final of any major international competition for the past 50 years. However, this ticket brought back many memories. Memories that had nothing to do with England or the European Championship.

He was keeping his promise made to his wife so many years back. Therefore, when Twain did not send him tickets to any finals for the past two years, his life had no relationship with football at all. He lived like any other normal person, working hard everyday for a living and to support his family. Three years ago, they had a daughter and the focus of their lives turned to his daughter, Shannon Bernard. He loved this daughter of his and gave her all his love. He did not want the story that happened to Gavin to happen to Shannon too. His wife loved their daughter too and her smiling face will always make her forget about the pain of losing a son.

However, two years later, a ticket from the continent of Europe brought Michael back to the days when he was fanatical about football.

He started to seriously think about finding a quiet place during breaktime in the afternoon for him to watch a match.

A sharp horn woke the reminiscing Michael and he realized that the traffic light had turned green, and there was a line forming behind him. There were horns all around him, hurrying the bastard who was blocking traffic ahead.

Michael placed the ticket back into the envelope and drove his car out.

※※※

Kerslake was standing in the quiet cemetery alone. This was a place of few visitors and the trees covered the skies. The temperature there was a couple of degrees lower than outside and there were some birds chirping. Other than that, there was no sounds from any other living creatures.

This was his second time there. The first was during Gavin Bernard’s funeral. All the Nottingham Forest members attended it. Even the old club chairman sent his assistant so he, as the youth team coach, naturally did not absent himself from it.

After that, he had never returned here. For some people, the child who passed away that day was one of the most important people of their lives, but to David Kerslake, he did not have that feeling.

Two days ago, Kerslake received a call from Twain while having a break at home. Twain asked Kerslake for a favor over the phone. Twain would usually do this himself, but he was far away in Spain then. He could not possibly leave the team and fly back to Nottingham himself, therefore, he could only ask his friend in Nottingham for help.

On the next day, Kerslake received an express mail with a ticket inside.

Today, he was here to send Gavin Bernard a ticket.

Of course, he did not forget to buy some flowers. Twain did not ask him to do that but since he was here to visit Gavin, some flowers was just the necessary etiquette.

Placing the fresh flowers on the grave carefully, Kerslake noticed the line of words on the bottom of the tombstone.

He suddenly felt that the world was so unpredictable. The most loyal fan of Nottingham Forest was buried here yet he was still loafing at home after leaving Forest where he had worked for more than a decade.

He did not know if Twain would ever return, but maybe the period of time in his life which belonged to Nottingham Forest had reached the end. He should seriously start to think about the invitation of the other clubs.

“Gavin, this is the first time I’m talking to you but I didn’t expect it to be under this kind of circumstances,” Kerslake laughed and said, “Tony asked me to give you a ticket, and I want to take this chance to say farewell to you. Thank you for your support towards the team, I bet you’re very sad at the state of affairs of Nottingham Forest now, aren’t you? I tried my best, too bad… Maybe this is for the best. At least we’re still in the Premier League. 14 years ago, we were still struggling in the Championship. Maybe this is where Nottingham Forest belongs to. No team can win forever, and no team can conquer Europe forever. We’ve done it before, there’s nothing to regret about.”

He took out the ticket and did as Twain instructed. He lit it on fire with a lighter and held on to it until the fire reached his fingertips. The ticket burnt to ashes on the way down and landed on the fresh flowers.

“It’s not bad to be a fan too… Goodbye Gavin, remember to watch the final.”

Kerslake waved at the grave and tuned to walk towards the gate of the cemetery.

A gust of wind blew behind him and moved the flowers on the grave, blowing the ashes into the air. There were rustling sounds coming from the thick woods, as if they were saying goodbye to Kerslake.

※※※

Tang Jing was sitting on her husband’s legs as she flirted with him. Their son had just been brought back to their home in China and her parents were taking care of him. They could enjoy some time alone now. In her plans, she was going to have a romantic candlelight dinner with her husband tonight, then put on some erotic lingerie that she just bought and have a night of passion with him.

However, her plans were stopped by her husband before she even said anything.

“I can finally not be disturbed when watching the match tonight,” Tang said while holding Tang Jing. Tang Jing immediately felt disappointment.

“It’s not a match involving China, why are you watching it?”

“I’m a football coach, I have to know everything related to football,” Tang felt that it was strange for Tang Jing to ask such a silly question.

Tang Jing rolled her eyes at him, “But tonight, I…” She stopped herself, Tang must have known what she meant.

As expected, Tang knew, but his reaction infuriated her.

“We can do that every night, but the European Championship final only happens once every four years…”

Tang Jing was furious, but she had to admit that there was nothing wrong with the logic. They could make love every night but the next time the European Championship final happened would be four years later.

“Can’t you record it?!”

“Of course, I’ll record it, but it’s also important to watch it live…” Tang was sticking to his guns——Tonight, football was more important than coitus.

Tang Jing got up from Tang’s legs furiously, and she pinched Tang on the shoulders violently. The look of Tang gritting his teeth in pain did nothing to sooth the anger in Tang Jing’s heart.

She had already decided that she would be a force of disturbance when Tang was watching the match tonight.

To the simple-minded Tang, tonight was all about football. However, to Tang Jing, tonight was a battle between her and football. She wanted to see whether she was more attractive or whether football was more attractive.

Fighting with me over my man? Football, I’ll show you!

Chapter 966 - Are You Nervous?

Where in England would there be a lot of customers after night falls on the 8th of July?

Without a question, it would be the bars. And, to be more specific, the bars where one is able to watch a televised football match.

The British enjoy watching football in groups. They would rather head down to a bar and watch a football match with their friends over a drink instead of watching it in their own homes.

The BBC5 channel aired a pre-match analysis two hours before the finals kicked off. The pundits did an in-depth discussion of the match and analyzed it from different angles. It was the first time in 50 years that England has made its way into the finals of an international football competition. The channel has to make sure that their show reflects the significance of the match or the viewers could end up being upset.

Dunn was not the kind of person who enjoyed being in a crowd. He prefers watching the live coverage of the football match at home quietly than in a noisy environment.

However, it seems like he would not be getting the peace and quiet that he seeks tonight.

“Dear~” His wife, Tang Jing, stood before him while being dressed in sexy lingerie, and she blocked the television screen with her body. “Do I look beautiful in this?”

“You do.” Dunn’s eyes never left the television screen. He shifted to a different seat after seeing that Tang Jing had blocked his view. Alan Shearer was predicting the England team’s potential line-up for the match on the screen. Twain did not change one bit. He would not reveal his starting line-up for the match until the very last minute, just as he has always done in the past.

Even a fool could tell that Dunn did not really meant what he said. Fury flashed across Tang Jing’s face. She shifted her position after seeing Dunn change his seat.

“Do you want me or not?” Tang Jing was not embarrassed to say such words. She has become bold after spending so much time in England. The Chinese might be known to be more bashful when it comes to speaking about topics like these, but no such bashfulness exists in Tang Jing any longer.

Dunn averted his gaze towards Tang Jing. He watched as his wife lowered her bra straps all the way to her elbow and revealed her breasts partially. Thereafter, he shook his head and said, “No.”

His words made Tang Jing feel humiliated. Dunn realized that he had said something wrong after seeing that his wife was about to explode from anger. He quickly added, “I just don’t feel like doing it tonight.”

He did not salvage the situation with his words. All he did was to add fuel to the fire.

Tang Jing erupted like a volcano. She removed her bra and tossed it at Dunn’s face. “Do it with your football then!”

Tang Jing stormed back into her room with two balls of bouncing flesh before her chest, and she did not forget to slam the door shut behind her after entering the room. The impact of her door slam was so great that some of the dust on the ceiling fell off.

Dunn looked at the closed bedroom door and smiled helplessly before directing his attention back onto the television screen. He can finally watch the match in peace now. He heard sounds of items being thrown onto the floor from the bedroom shortly after, but he ignored them.

“… England has yet to set off for the stadium, but we can already see some players at the hotel’s lobby…”

Scenes of the hotel’s interior were being shown on the television screen. The video was taken by the reporter from a distance, and it was a little blurry as a result. However, one is still able to make out players like Rooney and Mitchell from the video. As for Twain, he is still nowhere to be seen, and the camera continues to shift about in an attempt to search for him.

※※※

Twain sat at a corner of the lobby where the cameras would not be able to capture him. He was able to see the lift from where he sat, and he conversed with Des Walker while paying attention to the players who walked out from the lift. He was trying to take attendance and determine if there are any players who are still in their rooms.

“Des, are you nervous?” Twain asked.

“A little. Are you not nervous?” Walker asked back.

“Of course I’m a little nervous.” Twain laughed. “Can’t you see that I’ve been chewing on gum all this time?” He pointed at his mouth. “I’ve been chewing for close to an hour.”

“Why do you still chew on it when it’s tasteless?”

“You are right.” Twain spit his gum into the wrapper and tossed it into the bin. He then fished out another piece of gum and placed it into his mouth. “I should buy bubble gum next time. At least it’d be fun to chew on it.”

“I don’t think you are nervous at all, Tony…”

Twain was surprised by Walker’s words. “Really? That’s good!”

Twain was truly feeling nervous at the moment. However, he did not really want others to discern that he was nervous. He wanted to divert his attention onto something else, and that is why he chose to sit at the hotel lobby and have an idle chat with Walker. It seems like talking to Walker has definitely helped to calm his nerves.

The player who walked out of the lift was Mitchell. His height caused him to stick out like a sore thumb. Twain noticed the look of depression upon his countenance. It looks like the kid is still harping over the fact that he is unable to play in the finals.

“Aaron, come over here!” Twain shouted and waved his hands.

Mitchell walked over obediently.

“Sit.” Twain pointed at the sofa across of him. “That seat is reserved for the coaches. The players who are playing in the finals later are not able to enjoy this privilege that I’m offering to you now.”

Twain joked with Mitchell.

“Thanks boss…” Mitchell knew that Twain was trying to comfort him. He was still feeling upset on the inside, but he did not show it through his mannerisms.

“Don’t think too much about it. Just sit back and enjoy the moment when we are crowned champions.” Twain walked over and patted Mitchell on the shoulder.

“But, it’s not like I did anything to help the team achieve it. I just can’t enjoy becoming champions like this…”

“That’s not true. You are doing something for the team in your own way. Think about it. What do you think your teammates will feel when they see you sitting by the side of the pitch with a glum face? They would definitely be affected emotionally and they would end up performing poorly in the match. I’m not joking about this. Won’t you feel upset if you saw someone who is pulling a long face or who looks disinterested sitting by the side while you are working hard on the pitch?”

Mitchell froze. He has to admit that his boss’s words were very persuasive. He imagined himself being on the pitch and encountering a situation like that, and he came to the conclusion that he would certainly be affected emotionally if he saw those scenes.

“Smile, Aaron.” Twain grinned at Mitchell. “Our smiles possess a mysterious power. Your smile can infect your teammates and it can help them feel even more confident about overcoming their obstacles and defeating their opponents. Remember this. No matter what happens, all of you form a whole entity. You are always going to affect your teammates whether you play in a match or not, and affecting your teammates means that you will affect the results of the match as well. I would get angry when we are losing in a match, but I’ve never pulled a face while I’m watching a match from the side. Do you know why? It’s because I can convert my anger into motivation, but being depressed only causes others to lose their fight and confidence. It’s just like a contagious disease.”

Mitchell suddenly saw the light once Twain finished his words.

“I understand now, boss.” Mitchell led out a smile.

“Good. Go back to the team now. You have been stripped of the right to sit at that very seat from here on out!”

Mitchell stood to his feet and left hastily.

“I want you to talk to them. Don’t let them play in the match while being worried about you.” Twain’s voice emerged from behind. Mitchell turned his head around and replied, “I know that!”

“I’m very impressed, Tony.” Des Walker lamented as he watched Mitchell run away from them looking full of energy. Mitchell looked like a totally different person. The kid who had walked over to them with a sullen face earlier was nowhere to be found. “I’ve not come across many people who are as skilled as you are when it comes to managing the psychological state of players.”

“It’s actually very simple. You just need to put yourselves in the players’ shoes and be sincere with your words.” Twain reclined against the sofa, and he noticed Wood walking out of the lift. Wood was the last one to come down. It looks like he had carried out his duties as the captain of the team, and he had only come down after ensuring that all his teammates had already gone down ahead of him.

Twain lifted his wrist towards him and glanced at his watch. There were still close to two hours before the match kicked off.

“It’s about time. I don’t want to stay here and be watched by the reporters as though we are a bunch of monkeys at the zoo. Let’s go.” Twain stood to his feet. His gesture signaled to the other players who were still lounging around the lobby and chatting with one another that it was time to leave. Everyone stood to their feet and walked towards the bus that was parked right outside the entrance to the hotel.

The reporters outside the hotel became excited when they noticed that the players were headed towards the entrance. They all came out of hiding and rushed towards the entrance to capture photos of the players up close, but they were blocked by a line of security guards.

The England fans were less rowdy. All they did was to stand behind the security guards and shout, “We are the champions! We are the champions! England! England! Ohhh!”

“They have set off!” The reporter from BBC5 yelled excitedly.

※※※

Elsewhere, an Italian television host also announced how the Italy national team was on its way to become the champions excitedly. Both teams had set off for the Bernabéu Stadium at the same time.

Two buses of different colors drove towards the Bernabéu Stadium in different directions. Several police cars drove before the buses, and they helped to control the traffic. There were also helicopters flying above the buses, and they have been flown by the television stations to capture the teams’ journeys towards the stadium. It was truly a sight to behold. Both teams were making grand entrances.

The bus carrying the England team pulled up outside the Bernabéu Stadium soon after. The entire England team could hear the din coming from within the stadium as they sat within the air-conditioned bus.

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is basked in a blinding white light before them. It is just like the ‘White House’ of the footballing world, and it eagerly awaits the arrival of the two stars for tonight’s show.

The players alighted from the bus a moment later. A commotion broke out when the players appeared before a crowd of reporters and fans. The security guards at the scene fought hard to keep the crowd back. The players are used to seeing scenes like these, and they did not stop in their tracks to entertain the crowd. They simply walked into the stadium and towards their locker room.

The last one to get off the bus was Twain, and he accepted a brief interview from BBC5 as he stood behind the line of security guards.

“It is said that there are many British fans who have flown over to Spain over the past few days. Clearly, none of them expected their team to be able to make its way into the finals. What are your thoughts on this, Mr. Twain?” The reporter pressed onto his earpiece with one hand and held onto a microphone with the other. He had spoken very quickly, but Twain was still able to make out what he said due to his good pronunciation.

“I’m very pleased.” Twain raised his voice as he responded. “I actually wish that the Bernabéu would allow the England fans without tickets to enter! Ha! That’d help us turn this stadium into our own home grounds! But, I doubt the Italians would agree to this!”

“Is Italy a very strong team?”

“Of course. All teams that are able to make its way into the finals are strong teams. Even teams like Greece have to be regarded as a strong team if they are in the finals.”

“You have good memories about the Bernabéu Stadium, don’t you?”

“Indeed.” A smile emerged on Twain’s face as he spoke. “I was able to achieve the Treble at this very stadium two years ago. I like the Bernabéu.”

“If you don’t mind me asking again, how has Mitchell’s absence impacted the team for the finals?”

“I don’t think his absence affects the team much. We are not a one-man team. We are a whole entity. Every single player who has been selected to be a part of the national team is talented. I’m not worried about the absence of one player.”

Twain waved his hands and signaled that he wanted to leave.

The reporter heard an anxious voice coming from his earpiece. “Ask him one last question! Don’t let him go just yet! The audience needs to hear his declaration! His declaration that England would become the champions! Get him to say it!”

“Wait a moment, Mr. Twain. Please wait for a moment…” The reporter reached out a hand and stopped Twain from leaving before he pressed a hand on his earpiece and listened to the director’s newest set of instructions. “One last question. Have you ever thought about what happens if…”

Twain cut the reporter off curtly before he could even finish his words. “Impossible. That’s definitely impossible. We are not here to work hard and get second place!”

Twain was quite upset with the reporter’s idiotic question. He turned around and walked away with no intention of stopping this time round.

After Twain left, the reporter noticed that the cameraman had given him a thumbs up. He then heard the director’s voice from his earpiece, and the director sounded pleased. “Excellent work, Louis! Those words from Twain were exactly what I was looking for! Okay, I want you to go into the stadium now and wait for the players to do their warm-ups!”

※※※

Likewise, at another entrance leading into the Bernabéu Stadium, the Italy team was also warmly greeted by the press and their fans.

Lippi was dressed like an Italian gentleman. He had donned a tuxedo and he held onto a cigar in one hand. There was an air of poise and elegance around him.

He stopped in his tracks and accepted an interview with Radiotelevisione italiana while his players walked past him from behind and entered the stadium.

“Is it good news that England is without Mitchell for this match?”

“No, they still have Rooney and other talented attacking players.” Lippi did not display any optimism. “Mitchell is not the core of the team. His absence does not affect England by much.”

“Do you think the match will go to a penalty shoot-out?”

“I can’t say for sure. It depends on the score after 90 minutes have been played.” Lippi did not give anything away.

“This is your last time in charge of the Italy national team. Do you wish to end your career with a Euro Cup trophy?”

“Of course. I hope we can bring the Euro Cup trophy back to Italy.”

“There are some people who are worried that you’d experience a lack of motivation to win the competition since you are a manager who has lifted almost every possible trophy in your career…”

“I’ve never lifted the Euro Cup trophy before.” Lippi was not upset with the comment. He responded with a smile.

“Thank you for accepting the interview. Good luck for the match.”

“I wish Italy all the best,” Lippi replied.

“He’s never arrogant and he never underestimates his opponents either. He’s a mature and composed manager. He is a manager that instills confidence in us.” The reporter spoke before the camera after Lippi left. “I believe that Tony Twain has met his match this time. Should I wish Twain all the best? No, I should wish that all the good luck in the world would not get close to him and his team. We would see you again after the break!”

※※※

“Crap, I’m feeling a little nervous…” Joe Mattock stood by the side of the pitch and lifted his head to look at the stadium that was packed with spectators. A thought flashed by his mind – he was really at the finals. This is the finals match of the Euro Cup. This is the very first time in 50 years that England is participating in the finals of an international competition!

Mattock felt his knees go weak at the thought. His heart started palpitating at an accelerated pace, and his lips became dry as well.

“F*ck!” Mitchell cursed from the side. “If you are nervous then switch places with me! I can play as left back! Can you please get yourself together? You are a player from Nottingham Forest! Don’t embarrass us!”

The words that Twain said to Mitchell earlier had clearly worked. Mitchell was all pumped up and full of fight now.

“Uh…” Joe Mattock scratched the back of his head in shame. He felt less nervous after being scolded by Mitchell.

In truth, Joe Mattock was not the only player who was feeling nervous. The other players were simply not as forthcoming as he was. However, they all felt like they were foolish to be feeling this nervous after hearing Mitchell’s words. There was someone amongst them who was unable to feel nervous even if he wanted to! How could they be thinking about how nervous they are when they are playing in the match later? Their minds should be full of thoughts about the match that they would play in soon!

“Go and do your warm-up, lads. What are you all doing here? Discussing about the weather?”

Twain’s voice rang from behind the players’ backs, and a group of people rushed onto the pitch hastily.

Chapter 967 - Nepotism

Twain was a little bit nervous himself, however, it was not as bad as some of the players. He had been to many important finals previously, but he was just a little bit nervous about this first time——The first time he led the national team to the final of a major international competition.

As a manager whose past life was a Chinese football fan, he had a little “international competition” complex. The World Cup and European Championship were the main focus of his football life for a very long time. There was even a period of time when he thought that national teams were better than clubs as they represented the best team in the country.

All these became a joke later. However, he is still a little excited to be able to take part in the final of a major international competition like the European Championship.

He chose to leave the empty changing room to calm himself down. Work could make him forget about all other emotions and he watched the players warm up at the sideline.

He was very satisfied with the players’ warmup. Everyone was very excited when faced with a final like this and he had no need to be concerned about their morale. All he had to worry about was that someone might be overzealous during warmup and hurt himself.

The coaches had the warmup under control and Twain turned his attention to the stands as he had some time. The Bernabéu, with a capacity of 80,000, were full to its brim. The noise from the crowd was deafening and there were thousands of flags waving about in the wind. There were even some people who could not control their excitement and set off mini fireworks in the stands.

The English fans in the stands started to sing together when they saw the England team appear on the pitch for their warmup. Just like what they did during the English Premier League matches, they used their singing to convey a message to the players——We are with you.

This singing gave the English players the feeling that they were at their home ground. In fact, the number of fans from both sides were almost even. As Spain lost in the semi-final, most of the Spanish population lost interest in the final. This meant that the England fans who flew to Spain from England just before the final were in luck. There were many Spanish fans selling their tickets outside the Bernabéu the day before the final. The same could be said for the Italy fans who just flew in from Italy.

The neutral Spain fans on the stands were just the supporting cast for this match.

Right after the England fans started singing, the Italy fans started singing themselves. The fans from both sides started a “singing contest” across the pitch.

The media from different countries started to get busy as the teams started their warmup on the pitch.

“This is Spain Football at the Santiago Bernabéu. There will be a heavyweight battle right here, in front of millions of fans all over the world!” The China national television CCTV5 also dispatched a commentator and reporter to the stadium to give live commentary about the match. Even though the standard of China football was very low, the Chinese fans were still considered to be quite blessed. The development of television and the internet network allowed them to watch the best games in the world, and it was basically free.

“England will be in their white jersey in this match. However, it was said that their manager, Tony Twain, hoped that the team would be wearing their red jersey as red is not only his lucky color, but also the same color as the Nottingham Forest jersey. Looks like his wish was not fulfilled…” The reporter from Spain Football was introducing some of the smaller details, such as the jerseys, to the audience, “Italy will be in their traditional blue jersey with white shorts. This is the jersey that they were wearing when they won the World Cup 10 years ago. And further back, 16 years ago, when they lost to France in the European Championship final, they were in their white jersey. Maybe to the Italians, blue is more auspicious than white.”

“The temperature tonight is 31 degrees, not too hot but it’s not exactly cooling either. It was very hot in the day and the heat from the day has not disperse yet which will inevitably affect the play of both sides. The humidity of the stadium…”

Even though their own teams were eliminated, the media of the other countries still paid a lot of attention on the reporting of the final. Just the satellite vans outside the Bernabéu stadium alone had 27 of them. It was quite a sight to see them lined up together.

“Here we see the players of both sides appearing on the pitch for their warmup. We’ve already gotten the starting lineup for Italy but England’s starting lineup is still nowhere to be seen… Seems like Tony Twain will not release the starting lineup until the final moment. He seems to be too cautious when compared to the experienced Lippi…”

“From the lineup that we have, it appears that Italy has sent out their strongest team here. The goalkeeper is AC Milan’s Marco Amelia. The left-back is AC Milan’s Simone Vitale and the right-back will be Inter Milan’s Davide Santon. Their two center-backs are the Juventus pairing——Giorgio Chiellini and Domenico Criscito. Their midfield, from left to right, comprises of Juventus’ Sebastian Giovinco, Roma’s Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Aquilani and Davide Lanzafame, also from Juventus. The two strikers are AC Milan’s Alberto Paloschi and Juventus’ Salvatore Foti. What we can tell from this lineup is that Lippi trusts players from the traditional strong teams more than players from mid-table teams. The starting lineup comprises of players only from the top four teams of last season Serie A and amongst the four teams, he prefers players from Juventus…”

When the England players finished their warmup and returned to the changing room, the media finally received the starting lineup for England from Twain. Twain did not give them lots of surprises as he did in the past few matches, and his starting lineup here was not much different from the one that experts predicted before the match. The only surprise was that Vaughan, who performed very well in the semi-final, did not get to start.

※※※

Even the England players themselves did not know who was starting until now, let alone the media.

Goalkeeper, Joe Hart, was the only one who was sure of his position. Almost every other position had been changed during the course of the competition except for his position. As long as there were no major mistakes or injuries, the position of starting goalkeeper would usually not be changed.

The right-back was still Richards, who had been starting ever since the match against Wales. Twain preferred his defensive capabilities. The left-back was Joe Mattock. In this European Championship, Mattock was under scrutiny and he passed the test. It was normal for him to continue starting. Just like how Lippi preferred the Juventus players that he managed before, Twain also preferred the Nottingham Forest players that he managed before.

The center-backs were John Terry and Steven Taylor. This center-back pairing had been playing for England ever since the first match of the competition, the synergy between them had been tested.

In midfield, there was the pairing of Gerrard and Wood. Twain’s “Wood-Gerrard” pairing was much more effective than the “Gerrard-Lampard” duo during the Eriksson and McClaren era. That was because he had a all-rounded George Wood who could play as a core or as a supporting role for other players, which meant that the England midfield would not be too messy due to too many core players. There are some teams that can play with a duo core, but England definitely could not.

On the right was Walcott, coming back from his injury to claim a starting berth. The right winger position was one which had the most changes due to injuries throughout the competition. Walcott’s advantage over Bentley and Moke was that he had faster speed and better dribbling abilities.

On the left was Middlesbrough’s Downing. Just like Walcott, he had superior speed and dribbling technique. He returned to the starting lineup due to Twain’s tactics for this match.

The striker’s position was one which people were most interested in. Mitchell was suspended because he accumulated too many yellow cards, and this became the position where the competition was most intense. Everyone hoped to start in such an important final. Rooney was definitely going to start for sure. As the most experienced player amongst England’s striking options, Twain needed him very much.

But who would be Rooney’s partner?

James Vaughan was one of the favorites because of his brace in the semi-final. He himself thought that he was in good form recently and should be able to start in the final. So, when Twain started to announce the starting lineup, he was anticipating to hear his name being read out.

After reading out Rooney’s name, there was only one last name to be read. Vaughan sat up straight and prepared to welcome the historic moment——He would be the starting striker in the European Championship final.

“Agbonlahor.”

However, the name that came out of Twain’s mouth stunned him.

He did not expect Twain to pick Agbonlahor, who did not have any standout performance, instead of himself. He looked at Twain with a bemused look on his face, but he did not say anything. He looked down and clenched both fists in anger.

Twain’s decision shocked the other players. Everyone else thought that the other starting striker would definitely be James. Even Agbonlahor did not expect himself to be starting in such an important match and the surprise and happiness combined to make give him a very complex feeling. He did not even dare to look at Vaughan who was seated next to him.

“Why is Agbonlahor the one starting?!” All the reporters had the same question when they saw the starting lineup.

“Based on current form, James Vaughan should be Rooney’s starting partner. If not for his brace in the semi-final, Spain might be the one playing in the final!”

“I don’t know why Tony made such an arrangement…”

“Sigh, what’s there to not understand? Just look at Lippi. All these successful managers do the same thing when it comes to important matches——They would rather pick players that they are more familiar and like more, instead of players who are performing better. It’s just experience. Agbonlahor is a Nottingham Forest player and he worships Twain. Twain likes him a lot too. Compared to Vaughan, Twain is more familiar with him, that’s why he starts.”

The reporters were embroiled in a discussion and for a moment, “nepotism” was the trending thought amongst the reporters.

※※※

After reading out the starting lineup, Twain looked at the players and remembered the expressions on everyone’s faces.

“This is the starting lineup.”

The match tactics had been discussed during the tactical meeting the day before and even though everyone did not know who would be starting at that time, they had to remember the tactics for their own positions.

“I hope that everyone still remembers what we discussed last night. Let’s give them a surprise!”

This starting lineup was too much of a blow to everyone, so much so that they did not hear what Twain said after that. They were all concerned about Vaughan.

Twain had to bring their attention back to the match. He clapped and raised his voice, “What’s wrong? Pre-match anxiety causing you guys to be distracted?”

The players could tell very easily that their Boss was a little unhappy. So, despite their unhappiness about Vaughan’s treatment, they had to keep it to themselves and focus their attention back onto the match.

However, due to the starting lineup issue, they had forgotten about their nervousness. They were only a little bit confused. How could Boss make such an obvious mistake when he had always been treating everyone in the team very fairly? They did not feel that Agbonlahor should not be starting, but even an idiot could tell that Vaughan was in better form and him starting would be much more effective than Agbonlahor. Did he not want to win this match? Could he really be doing this so that his favored players could make a name for themselves in history? Then why did he not let Moke, Cohen and Bentley start too? They were also players of Nottingham Forest, were they not?

The players headed to the pitch of the final with all these questions in their minds.

※※※

“They’re out! Let’s welcome the eleven starting players for England!” John Morrison shouted passionately as he started to introduce every starting player for the fans.

Even though he was surprised about Agbonlahor starting the match, his voice and tone did not appear to be any different when he read out Agbonlahor’s name.

To be honest, Twain’s starting lineup was basically just as Lippi expected. He was only surprised that Twain did not start the impressive James Vaughan in the striker role and allowed Agbonlahor to start instead. This was a change that he did not understand. As a striker, Agbonlahor’s shooting was not comparable to Vaughan. Other than his speed, he had no other advantage and he was more suitable on the flanks than in the middle. Italy had specially analyzed Vaughan for this match but they did not expect Twain to not start him!

Even though he was surprised, Lippi also felt very interested about it. He thought that the match would be very interesting since he was able to be surprised. As the last match before he retired, he was not just looking for a result, it would be best if it would be a match that he would never forget.

Tony Twain and his England team. They were obviously good enough to be the opponent for his final hurrah.

An explosive final, then we’ll become champions.

This was Lippi’s final wish.

Chapter 968 - Like a Sleepwalker

After the game began, both teams did not devote full strength in the game but rather poked about respectively according to usual practice,.

Although England and Italy played against each other in the World Cup semifinals six years ago, the England team of that time was completely different from the current England team, and that Italian team was not the current one too. Especially for the team that Twain led, it required them to feel it out properly. How else would they know what kind of trap he had waiting for them?

After five minutes of trying out, Italy began to adopt a steady defensive counterattack stance. They were not in a hurry to attack, but first solidified their defense and stationed players in the midfield and backfield. This did not come as a surprise to everyone. Lippi had led the Italian team thrice and his most favored tactics had long been figured out by everyone. He himself was also aware of it. In this regard, it was more difficult to be surprising. It was better to play a tactic to the extreme.

It was not that he had not tried to make the Italian play better and more actively. For example, he had used the attacking style of 4-3-3, which resulted in being humiliated by Brazil with three goals in the FIFA Confederations Cup. That game also caused him to completely break off the idea of playing beautiful football. He thought it was more secure and easier to obtain victories by playing defensive football.

From this point of view, he and Twain fell in the same category.

Everyone obviously saw it this way, so they also thought that in the final, Twain would not choose conservative tactics without hesitation, and strive to not make mistakes or at least make fewer mistakes, in order not to concede the goal as a prerequisite to fight for victory in the game.

In that case, the final would be a dreary showdown between extremely conservative players. The competition between the two teams would not be which one was more capable of breaking each other’s goals, but rather which team would make fewer mistakes. The outcome of a game played to a full 120 minutes would not come as a surprise. The probability of finally using a penalty shootout to determine the champion and runner-up was more than 50 percent … In short, it was best for everyone to prepare for a protracted game. Those football fans from non-European areas staying up late to watch the game would be unlucky. They would have to wake up late in the night, yawning and feeling drowsy as they looked forward to a thrilling match. However, they did not expect to watch a game that would make them drowsier. How many people would stare at a pair of “panda eyes” during the day and curse the two conservative managers?

Twain looked at his watch in the technical area and it was already five minutes into the game. The probing phase was basically over. It was time to carry out his tactics.

So, he got up from his seat and walked slowly to the sidelines. He did not make any hand gestures. He did not whistle nor shout the name of a certain player. The England players on the pitch knew what to do when they saw him on the sidelines.

Everyone remembered what Twain said to them at the tactical meeting the day before the game. But even if the boss did not say it, they could guess what tactics the team would use in the game, because the training sessions for the last three days had been revealing that kind of information.

During last night’s tactical meeting, Twain told his players not to play too conservatively in the first half. They had to attack aggressively and try to score a goal first so that the game would turn advantageous to themselves. If they could not score in the first half, it still would not be too late to play conservatively in the second half.

“… They’re going to think we will adopt more conservative tactics to deal with them. If they think so, we’ll seize the decisive opportunity to exploit this point to catch them off guard!”

As the Italians wanted to withdraw their defensive line and not give the England team too many chances to get near the goal, their control of the midfield was slightly weaker. It was easier for George Wood to take the ball further in the back, and no one came up to tackle and interfere.

After his teammates passed the ball to him, England’s offensive relied on him.

As England’s metronome, he controlled the rhythm of the team’s attack. It was up to him to determine when it was time to speed up or slow down. If he controlled the wrong pace, not only would he not bring a goal to the team, he would put the team in a dangerous situation. It was up to the metronome how well a team played.

After Wood got the ball, he had initially wanted to send a long pass to Rooney in front. He had seen the empty spot before he took the ball. But when the football was passed over, things changed again on the pitch. The previously glimpsed gap was filled in by the Italian defenders. Rooney had also been noticed by Criscito. If the ball had been passed as planned, the ball would most likely have fallen into the hands of the Italians and allowed them to fight back. This was not the result that Wood wanted.

He made a feint to attack and left the football in place. Then he looked around and found that his teammates were some distance away from him. This would not do… He made a hand signal for them to come up and receive.

Gerrard saw Wood in the front and ran back to support. The Italian midfielder, Aquilani also followed him as well.

Wood saw Aquilani following behind Gerrard and did not really want to pass the ball over. Instead, he suddenly dribbled the ball forward!

He and Gerrard passed each other by. Aquilani was so astounded that he threw Gerrard aside to pounce toward Wood while Wood had waited for him to make a move like this. He watched as Aquilani left Gerrard’s side before he used the outer instep of his foot to knock the football to Gerrard, obliquely at the back while he lured Aquilani away.

Once Gerrard picked up the ball, he turned around and moved forward. When Lanzafame rushed toward him, he did not keep the ball, but passed the ball to Downing on the sideline where Lanzafame was.

It was what Twain had specifically asked for. He wanted the team to hold the ball as little as possible when it was going through the midfield and to maneuver the opponent’s defensive line through quick passes. This approach was particularly important in dealing with a defensively tight team like Italy, as it was difficult to find a breakthrough point in a catenaccio style defense solely based on individual skills. Only quick passes could rip it apart.

Downing had just received the ball and Joe Mattock, who was behind him, suddenly charged past the center line.

The scene stunned the commentators in the press box – a full back’s assists were quite “symbolic” in a football game. It suggested that the team’s tactical thinking was not conservative, but an aggressive pursuit of attacking opportunities. Otherwise the manager would not have let the full back plug in so boldly to assist. In today’s game, for example, the Italian team’s two full backs had not crossed the center line once.

“Joe Mattock suddenly plugs in and participates in the attack! Can this be a signal that they are going to be more active?”

Lippi’s eyebrows were raised. He had also noticed it. It was clear that Downing did not go along the sideline to break through after receiving the ball. Instead, he suddenly cut inside as if he wanted to go in the middle. Italy’s De Rossi soon came up to block his way, but it appeared that his real purpose was not here…

Sure enough, in the next second, Lippi saw Mattock overtake at a high speed from behind Downing. His move also caught the attention of De Rossi and the Italian right back, Santon – an assist from the full back? Although it was an old trick from the book, it was still very useful and could be described as a classic routine.

Now Santon was trapped in an impossible situation. Previously, Rooney had pulled to the side and Criscito did not follow, out of consideration for the stability of the overall defense. Instead, he let Santon guard the other party. Now there was also Joe Mattock on this side and there were three players within the small area, which suddenly kept him a little busy. In fact, Santon’s qualities were in offense. He was fast, nimble, powerful break out ability and was excellent in crosses from the byline. He was average in defense. He mainly relied on his overall strength. It was unrealistic to let him face three players alone now. De Rossi noticed it, too, and he decided to help Santon.

These things were just flashes of thoughts.

Just as Mattock was plugging in from behind Downing, who acted like he was going to pass. But he suddenly zipped into the penalty area at a diagonal line!

De Rossi, who had changed his focus, did not expect Downing to break through so determinedly. He watched helplessly as his opponent broke through in front of his side and had no way of stopping it at all.

Before he broke through, Agbonlahor had pulled out and positioned at the penalty area line to receive. While the Italian defense also tacitly pressed forward and maintained along the same line as him. They knew that this man was fast and an effective way to deal with a speedy striker was to make him fall into the trap of being in an offside position.

Downing saw Agbonlahor being marked by Chiellini and passed the football over.

The Italian defenders’ personal skill level was quite high, especially for someone who was the team captain. Chiellini’s defense was impenetrable. Agbonlahor felt that he could not guarantee that he could turn around while dribbling the football. Perhaps it could only be intercepted. Fortunately, he saw Downing continue to plug in after he passed the ball and he knew what to do.

He immediately passed the football over!

“A beautifully executed one-two combination!” Motson cried.

But he called it a little too early.

Criscito, Juventus’ main full back, apparently had anticipated that England would play such a combination. He locked in his position early and shoveled the ball out before Downing!

“Ah ha! A brilliant defense!” This time it was the Italian commentator’s turn to cheer.

However, he called it too soon as well…

The football that was shoveled out by Criscito did not fall at the feet of the other Italian players such as Aquilani, but it was picked up by George Wood…

Wood did not stop the ball and then seek to continue the attack. Instead, while the Italian defense had not yet reacted, he directly kicked a powerful shot when the ball came!

“George—-Wood!!”

The football flew out after a brush with the goalpost, hitting the billboard behind it and emitted a muffled noise. It was as if it had hit the Italians in the heart, startling them.

The goalkeeper, Amelia tried his hardest to pounce over, but it was not enough to get to the ball. Wood’s shot was very fast, and he was too late. If the ball had been shot within the frame of the goalpost, then it would be hard to say what the outcome would be…

Despite not scoring, Twain still stood on the sidelines to applaud England’s attack just now.

He had not forgotten to glance at Lippi next door. The other man was sitting in a chair. But looking at him, it was as if he had been meaning to get up. Apparently Lippi could not sit still.

This is my gift to you for our first meeting. I hope you like it, wily old fox.

※※※

For the rest of the game, England had no intention of relenting, but it became more and more aggressive. Not only did Joe Mattock plug in frequently, even the defensively strong right back, Richards also tried to come up and coordinate with Walcott.

Wood was in charge of dispatching and diverting the ball in the middle while Gerrard was more of a shadow striker, threatening the goal guarded by Amelia with his long shots.

Rooney also used his strong body several times to look for opportunities in front of the goal and grab points of landing to shoot.

Only Agbonlahor’s performance was mediocre. On the one hand, he was marked by Chiellini. On the other hand, his special feature was speedy attacks, rather than a target-man type of center forward. The Italian team withdrew its defense and compressed the space in front of the goal, leaving him little room to play …

Seeing his performance, the commentators expressed their views one by one on why Twain did not let Vaughan start, and brought on Agbonlahor whose performance was mediocre and consistently sluggish. Was is it because he was a Nottingham Forest player?

“If the England team ends up losing the final, I think this starting lineup position has to bear a lot of responsibility. Tony Twain has pushed himself and Agbonlahor into the fire pit.”

“Agbonlahor’s performance has made the England team play on the pitch as if there were only ten men fighting!”

“One of his best performances so far was just to coordinate a wall pass with Downing and kicked a pass. Tsk tsk, it’s really an ‘excellent’ performance…”

Commentators from all over the world displayed their linguistic talents as they mocked Agbonlahor’s performance.

In fact, Agbonlahor was really under great pressure. Although he was keen to play in the final, he did not expect to receive a chance in this way – James Vaughn was more qualified than he was but could only sit on the substitutes’ bench. Was he really here on the basis that he was a “Nottingham Forest player?” It made him feel like a thief, stealing the starting lineup qualification from Vaughn.

There was always this idea in his head. How could he play well?

Maybe Twain had made a mistake in letting him start.

※※※

While Agbonlahor was playing like a sleepwalker over there, James Vaughn sat here on the substitutes’ bench, staring at Twain’s back with flames shooting out of his eyes. He had already planned in his mind that if they failed in the final, he would bombard this obstinate and self-opinionated man in front of the media.

He simply felt so aggrieved. Previously, he did not get any decent opportunities in the tournament. During his unexpected debut in the semifinal, he tried hard to save a desperate crisis by scoring two goals on his own. He had wanted to continue to be in the starting lineup with such a fine performance and make his mark in the history of English football. Unexpectedly, the manager’s completely unreliable adjustment continued to put him out on the cold. However warm his buttocks were, it would not warm the bench.

However, much he searched his brains, he could not figure out why Twain had made such a decision. Now as he watched Agbonlahor’s poor performance on the pitch, he did not know whether he should be worried about the England team or show a little thrill for the success of revenge.

Twain did not have the energy to think about what Vaughn thought of being cold shouldered by him. He was taking advantage of a dead-ball opportunity on the field, shouting Agbonlahor’s name.

“You better f**king act like a professional player! Do you want me to bring you off?! This is the final! The final of the UEFA European Championship! Do you know how many people want to be in your position, a**hole!”

Agbonlahor’s performance somewhat startled Twain, infuriating him. His sleepwalking performance was entirely ruining his own arrangements. If he did not play properly, England’s offense would be hampered in the first half. Then he would probably be forced to use defense to fight against Italy in the second half and drag the game to a penalty shootout.

Twain’s words roused Agbonlahor. He suddenly understood his situation – Indeed, how could he think about whether he should be standing here in a game like this? The important thing was that he was already standing here, so he should consider his mission here.

All right.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm his emotions again.

Even if I have stolen the right to be in the starting lineup, so what? Am I not part of the England team? Am I not eligible to make my appearance in the starting lineup? Don’t tell me that I can’t score a goal?

If you all think I’m just playing an insignificant role and that only James Vaughan can save the team, that’s good. I’d love to show you where you’re wrong.

Chapter 969 - Qualified to Be in The Starting Lineup

No one knew what was going on in Agbonlahor’s mind at this moment. Even he himself did not know how the idea rose from the depths of his mind.

Anyway, he now had a feeling surging within his chest. He would not be satisfied with just going on and running a couple of laps in the UEFA European Championship final. The team’s starting lineup had eleven players, but only a goalscorer could leave his name in the final. As a striker, he innately had more advantage than the other teammates in other positions. So, what was the purpose of fecklessly running for dozens of minutes?

Of course, he wanted to score goals!

He must score a goal!

Agbonlahor threw himself into the game again. It was clearly seen that he was more actively running and moving than he had been before, and that he no longer seemed to be stationed at the forefront. Instead, he had pulled out of the opponent’s penalty area and took the initiative to raise his hand for the ball.

With regards to his change, Twain was very satisfied, so he also did not continue to supervise the game on the sidelines but went back to the technical area to drink water.

Everyone in the coaching unit was aware of why he wanted Agbonlahor to be in the starting lineup and give up on Vaughn. But they could not tell the players the reason why, because it was related to whether the team could win the game.

Three minutes later, England’s sustained offensive finally created a chance for Agbonlahor. After receiving Wood’s pass on the edge of the penalty area, he broke through to the penalty area to face the goalkeeper, Amelia. He attempted to get around the other person using his outer instep of his foot. Unfortunately, the arc was slightly too wide, and it went straight out of the far end of the goalpost.

The Englishmen felt a great pity for the shot while the Italians broke out in a cold sweat.

But the commentators who opposed Agbonlahor in the starting lineup were still picking on his faults as they said, “What a shame! If it had been Vaughn, maybe he would have gotten it in…”

The statement was completely irresponsible because James Vaughn’s shooting was not so accurate down to the millimeters. Shooting required some luck. With some good luck, even a terrible shot could score a goal, and it might even be a world-class goal. If there was bad luck, even a striker with the level of Romário would also miss his shot with an empty goal. Moreover, in terms of having the experience of a major competition, Agbonlahor was clearly stronger than Vaughan, as Nottingham Forest was still able to play in important tournaments like the Champions League in previous years and Agbonlahor had also won. Twain put Agbonlahor in the starting lineup was not simply an act of cronyism. It was only because Agbonlahor did have the ability to be in the starting lineup in such an important game.

The main reason for the media’s criticism was that Agbonlahor had only scored one goal in this UEFA European Championship which was really not compatible with his position as a striker. However, he did a fairly decent job in the right back position.

Agbonlahor’s shot failed to score a goal but Twain stood on the sidelines to applaud his performance just now. There was no problem with the use of his technique. It was just a bit of bad luck…

Agbonlahor himself could not hear the commentators’ remarks about himself. He was able to locate an area which he could make use of through this shot.

In the attack that followed, Agbonlahor was more likely to appear in the flanks of the Italian team’s rear defensive line – the area between the center back and the full back was a position that made things difficult for the other team. It was sort of an unregulated area, which was tricky for everyone.

Wood also discovered this, and he had his own plans.

Generally speaking, Rooney should be the England team’s main offensive point because he was physically strong, had excellent techniques and experienced. But these were just text and line diagrams on the tactical board. When it came to the actual game, it was not possible for Rooney to get that many chances. Mitchell was suspended and Vaughan, who excelled in the semifinals, was put on the bench by Twain. In the eyes of the Italians, the most threatening man in the England team’s forward line was Rooney, and there was no reason why they should let him be.

As a result, in the actual games, Rooney suffered from the toughest defense.

Just looking at Criscito, one would know how risky it was to pass the ball to him…

Wood was a man, not a machine. With the instructions received before the game, he had the right to modify according to the situation on the pitch. Now that Rooney’s path was not working, he had to change the way. He took aim at Agbonlahor, who had moved like a sleepwalker earlier.

He did not know why Twain did not let Vaughn play, but he did not think that Agbonlahor was incapable or unqualified to be in the starting lineup. Furthermore, in his view, Agbonlahor’s previous sleepwalking performance was a big advantage. If it was well taken advantage of, it could produce an unexpected effect for the Italians.

Because his previous poor performance had already caused the Italian defenders to relax on the marking of him. Now the Italians must think in in their hearts that Agbonlahor must not pose a threat to them, right?

That would be fantastic…

Wood ran to the front field to participate in the attack and Gerrard passed the ball back to him. Wood gave the football directly to Agbonlahor in the flanks. Sure enough, when he got the ball, the Italian defenders did not pounce over to him at the first instance.

Agbonlahor took advantage of the little time to quickly complete the turn of his body to face the goal.

When Chiellini pounced over, he was not engrossed in dribbling the ball inside, but suddenly diverted the football to the middle!

The Italians really did not expect the move. Gerrard in the middle received the pass and did not hesitate to swing his leg for a long shot!

Fortunately, Amelia was very focused, and Gerrard’s long shot was firmly pressed under his body.

But this attack made the Italians aware of one thing – Agbonlahor was still the guy who passed the ball to someone else and he was definitely not England’s main attacking direction.

This reinforced the Italian defenders’ thinking to focus on Rooney and Gerrard.

※※※

“Actually, in the first half our tactics were not suitable for Agbonlahor to play…” Walker said to Twain, standing on the sidelines. “He’s better suited to counterattacks, and I think he should be more useful to bring on after we’re ahead…”

“Most people think so too, including Italians.” Twain turned his head to say to Walker as he shook his head. “Agbonlahor is too fast and dazzling. Everyone had formed a fixed idea of him. Including the current Nottingham Forest manager… But I don’t think so. In all the years he has played for me, he’d have been out of the team if he only uses his speed to play. He has another side, which is just not very noticeable. I’m just trying to make use his unobtrusive side to help me open the situation.”

At this point, Twain laughed and said, “Now the Italian players think so too.”

He pointed to the field for Walker to see.

Agbonlahor’s position was pulled back a little, but not one of the Italian defenders pulled out to follow and defend against him. The Italian midfielders players were all paying attention to Gerrard and Wood, who frequently plugged in from behind, as well as two other wingers.

Agbonlahor was raising his hand for the ball. He had not forgotten to look around to see the situation around him. Unsurprisingly, no one noticed him. He was taken lightly.

Agbonlahor was angry about such treatment, but Twain was laughing instead. And he laughed happily.

“Lippi…” He glanced next door and said, “is a very cautious manager, but he did not think I’d let Agbonlahor, who has performance averagely in this tournament, to be in the starting lineup, so he certainly did not make any targeted arrangements for Agbonlahor. It’s all up to the players to judge. You know, Des. Everyone makes mistakes. They have their own ideas, and that’s something the manager can’t control…”

Under Lippi’s repeated emphasis, the Italian players, gave the England team a high degree of attention. But Agbonlahor, who was outside of the plan, was not given the respect he deserved. Of course, his previous poor performance “helped” him. No one would waste time on a player who was not in good form. Compared to Agbonlahor, even George Wood’s shots were more threatening.

※※※

Wood did not plan to tell his teammates what he thought, and then for everyone to pass the ball to Agbonlahor. This was a gamble to bet that the Italians would not react so quickly. If the England team had fed Agbonlahor the ball, it would only expose the real intent. So, he decided to do it alone.

It was certainly a bit of a risk. But as the team’s metronome and core, choosing when to take the risk and when to be conservative was basically within his remit.

Agbonlahor raised his hand again for the ball, and Wood passed the ball over. Then he charged forward and made a move to look like he was going to do “one-two combination” with Agbonlahor. The Italian defenders did fall for the ploy. Whether it was Chiellini or Aquilani, they all turned their attention to him and ignored Agbonlahor, who had already gotten the ball.

Receiving the ball and turning at the same time, Agbonlahor did not intend to pass the ball. He looked up to see a straight path through to the penalty area …

In the flank of the defensive line between Chiellini and De Vita, there was a crack, from which Agbonlahor could see the penalty area.

After Agbonlahor falsely appeared to look like he was going to pass the ball, he suddenly pushed the ball forward and then set in movement!

Chiellini was watching Wood, while De Vita was marking the “Tiger” Walcott. No one expected Agbonlahor to choose to dribble the ball on his own to see a breakthrough!

He was really fast. In a flash he already had rushed in, and that was when Chiellini began to turn around…

“Stop him!” De Rossi cried panicked a little.

Criscito charged in from the side. Once again, he made a crucial decision to drop Rooney and pounce toward Agbonlahor. It was all out of the instinct of a good defender.

Agbonlahor, who broke into the penalty area, also did not hold back and immediately lifted his leg to shoot at the goal. Just at the same moment, Criscito did a slide tackle and shoveled him out along with the ball!

“A penalty shot!” John Motson screamed.

“A beautiful defense!” It was the voice of the Italian commentator.

Agbonlahor, who fell to the ground, thought he could hear the whistle for the penalty shot, but there was nothing. The ball that was shoveled by Criscito was kicked out by Chiellini, who had rushed back. The referee gave no indication of Criscito’s action, and Agbonlahor jumped angrily from the ground. He rushed toward the indifferent-looking assistant referee to complain, “It’s a foul! It’s a foul!”

Like him, there were other England players who were equally unhappy. Wood ran to the referee and pointed to the penalty area to remind him that Criscito’s defense was absolutely a foul. Rooney was also upset for Agbonlahor even though he made a gesture to get Agbonlahor to pass the ball to him when Criscito headed for Agbonlahor.

The referee simply waved his hands at Wood’s protest, signaling that he was clear about it and he did not have to say more.

Twain was also angry off the field, but the man who endured his rants and spats was the fourth official.

“Please believe the referee’s decision. Not every fall to the ground is a foul…” In the face of the manager, who was described by the media as a demon, the fourth official showed a lack of confidence when he said these words.

“This is why I support the use of electronic eyes instead of referees! Humans make mistakes!” Twain threw out the remark and walked back in anger. He knew that he would not get the penalty shot no matter how much noise he made. The referee’s decision was not allowed to be changed. Looking for the fourth official was just to vent his feeling of dissatisfaction. It was not good for the health of his heart to bottle those feelings …

※※※

England still did not get the penalty spot and the Italians had a narrow escape. They began to pay attention to Agbonlahor and closely mark him. They no longer gave him the space to move freely. Any fool could see that the sleepwalker was gradually waking up. Not to mention Lippi’s displeasure with the Italian team’s defensive performance on the pitch just now. He reminded them to stand guard against Agbonlahor.

They still thought Agbonlahor was not a threat as long as they did not give him the space to sprint with the ball.

Twain started calling Walcott’s name off the pitch and Walcott, who had returned from the recovery of his injury in the first half, was not active enough in his performance.

“Take more balls, what are you afraid of? Do more crosses… from the byline!”

“George! Go over and coordinate more with him… Yes, yes, that’s it!”

Walcott and Wood ran forward after a one-two combination on the sideline. Then Wood gave him a pass over the head to bypass De Vita’s defense.

Once he received Wood’s pass, Walcott crossed the ball from the byline. Rooney grabbed the point of all in the middle, but he was clearly unable to contend against Italy’s entire rear defensive line. The football was headed out by Chiellini.

Despite the lack of success in the attack, Twain still applauded the players’ performance off the field.

The England fans were also clapping. Because the strong attacking stance that the England team displayed had completely suppressed the Italian team.

The Italian commentator did not think so and remarked, “I think the situation is currently in our favor. The more the English players attack, the better our chances of winning. When Lippi decided to use defensive counterattack before, I was still worried that the England team wouldn’t come attacking and in that way, we couldn’t win the game. Now, it’s all good. There is one side willing to play along first and I think the game will be over within 90 minutes …”

※※※

After Walcott and Downing increased the passes from the sides, Agbonlahor seemed to be forgotten again. He did not have excellent header skills and did not have the upper hand in jumping to compete for headers. But Rooney frequently appeared in front of the goal and compete against the Italian defenders.

But Agbonlahor himself did not give up. He was still looking for a chance to score a goal, like a hunter waiting patiently for the rabbit to appear in front of him.

When Walcott dribbled the ball to break through again, the Italian defenders split into two group. One group was to prevent him from breaking through and the other to keep a close eye on Rooney and Gerrard.

This time Walcott did not simply overtake by relying on speed and then cross from the byline. He made a feint to cross, tricking De Vita to shift his center of gravity. Instead, he suddenly slammed the ball between De Vita’s legs and then made use of his nimble figure to get past De Vita.

“A beautiful way to knock the ball past the opponent.”

Walcott, who broke through De Vita, made Italy’s defensive line extremely nervous because cracks had already appeared in their defensive line. Walcott could either continue to break through on his own, or he could cross the ball now. He could even directly strike the goal.

Chiellini rushed toward Walcott. While Rooney was very important, it was always important to remember during defense that the player who had the ball was the most dangerous.

Walcott passed the ball while he was rushing up. He did not pass to Rooney nor to Gerrard, but to Agbonlahor who was hanging near the penalty spot.

Agbonlahor was not unmarked. Aquilani was next to him. Seeing him receive the ball, he came forward to interfere.

Agbonlahor lifted his leg to act as if he was going to shoot at the goal, so Aquilani simply threw his center of gravity.

It was almost instinctive. Agbonlahor basically did not have the frame of mind to think about why he would receive the ball as well as what he should do next. Seeing that he had thrown Aquilani off balance, he simply knocked the ball to the left and ducked to the other side. It just looked like there was more than one trouble…

Having just evaded Aquilani, De Rossi appeared in front of Agbonlahor again, blocking the angle of his shot.

Agbonlahor once again picked up his feet to act as if he was going to shoot. This time De Rossi was not fooled. He stood in place and did not move …

“He should have passed the ball! Rooney’s asking for the ball!”

His hesitation will lead to the failure of this attack. He already has no angle and space to shoot…”

“Our defense is very successful. Agbonlahor now has to either send the ball out or wait for the ball to be intercepted!”

De Rossi thought Agbonlahor must have made a feint this time, but he did not expect when Agbonlahor’s right foot came down, he really hit the football …

It was a very covert shot. Agbonlahor used the tip of his toes to poke the football under the circumstances of being unable to use force to kick in place. In order to exert as much force as possible, his body had to lean back to help with the push.

The football, which was poked by the toe tips, flew straight between De Rossi’s legs towards the goal.

De Rossi’s position blocked the angle of Agbonlahor’s shot, but he was unable to narrow the gap between his legs. Instead it blocked the goalkeeper, Amelia’s line of sight. When Amelia saw the football flying towards the goal post, he was already too late to make any save. He could only turn his head to look as the football flew toward the goal while he prayed in his heart that it would not enter the goal at the same time. It was best that it would just brush against the goalpost to fly out…

Unfortunately, the Italian’s prayer were not heard by God. The football brushed against the goalpost to fly into the goal!

“What?” The Italians had not reacted yet. Looking at it from the stands, it appeared as if the football brushed against the goalpost to fly out of the goal and swept the side of the net, giving people the illusion that the ball went in. But when they saw the referee’s gesture, they were stunned – the referee’s finger pointed to the center circle, which effectively meant that it was a goal!

“It’s truly unbelievable! England has taken the lead!”

“Agbonlahor! That’s right! He scored the first goal in the final! He has helped England to take the lead!”

“When blocked by two Italian players, Agbonlahor calmly shot straight! Beautiful!”

At this moment, the commentators totally changed their tone and switched to praising Agbonlahor’s performance. No one mentioned the matter of whether he was qualified to replace Vaughn to be in the starting lineup anymore …

※※※

Off the field, after Twain saw Agbonlahor kick the ball into the goal, he jumped up excitedly and hugged Walker next to him.

Agbonlahor’s goal took away a heavy load off himself and Twain. Even if Agbonlahor was brought off later in the game… Or, more extremely, even if England eventually lost the final, no one would question Twain’s adjustment anymore.

※※※

Agbonlahor was so excited after he scored the goal. He could not stand properly when he got up from the ground. He almost fell to the ground again. After running staggeringly to the technical area, he gave Twain an enthusiastic embrace. He had to thank the boss. If he had not insisted on sending him on the pitch, and if he had not roared to wake him up off the field, then the UEFA European Championship final would perhaps have been a permanent regret for him in his professional career.

Now it had all worked out. He scored the goal, and there was no regret. He was a striker who had scored in the UEFA European Championship final. He could already face others’ scrutiny with his head held high and chest puffed out.

He had used his actions to prove that he was qualified and had the ability to represent England in the UEFA European Championship final. Whatever Vaughn had thought, Agbonlahor was a well-deserved starting striker at this time!

“Well done, kid!” Twain patted Agbonlahor on the back and shouted in his ear.

Chapter 970 - That Old Fox

“Agbonlahor! YES! YES! YES! Agbonlahor!”

The England fans in the stands leaped from their seats, raising their arms high to cheer on their goalscoring hero. It as if there was an earthquake at the Bernabéu stadium. Even the camera lenses were trembling.

Amid the earthshattering cheers, Agbonlahor broke free of his teammates’ tugs and hugs to run all the way to the technical area, where he gave Twain a strong hug. Everyone was aware that for him to be able to appear in the finals, it had a lot to do with Twain. And his goal was the best way to repay the trust of the boss.

“Ah ha! Twain’s unexpected adjustment has left the Italians completely unable to respond! In the 24th minute, we are in the lead with one goal! Well done, Agbonlahor! Well done, Twain!” John Motson did not question Twain’s substitution in his previous commentary, so at this point he was fully confident when he made these remarks at this time.

After he finished hugging Twain, Agbonlahor found Mitchell in the crowd and rushed up to embrace him.

“This goal is for you, Aaron!” An excited Agbonlahor roared in Mitchell’s ear.

Mitchell was a little surprised, but he was soon caught up in the mood of the players around him. He leaned down to tightly hug his teammate who was 21 cm shorter than himself. They were teammates twice over, both in the national team and the club team. He felt that perhaps due to this relationship, Agbonlahor would take the initiative to hug him after the goal.

“Well done, The Flash! Score another goal!” Mitchell affectionately called him by the nickname he gave to Agbonlahor.

Twain was very satisfied to see the scene at the side. The atmosphere in the locker room was very harmonious. This team was united. With such a team, he was not afraid of any opponent.

※※※

The English people cheered for their lead, while the Italians were collectively silent.

Lippi did not get angry on the sidelines for the goal concede. In fact, whatever the situation was, it was hard to see him show his emotions on the sidelines. Now he was just sitting in the technical area. His eyes hidden behind the gold-rimmed glasses, were staring at the field. He was thinking about the mistakes they had made before.

He did not think Twain would let Agbonlahor be in the starting lineup. It was really unexpected. As a result, he did not make any targeted arrangements for Agbonlahor in the pre-match preparations. This led directly to his players not knowing what to do with Agbonlahor on the pitch. If England’s number 18 had played a little more actively, it would have been a good thing for the Italian players would know from experience that he was an important figure and naturally shifted their defensive focus to him. However, as it happened, Agbonlahor’s previous performance was like a sleepwalk, so that everyone, including himself, had lowered his status by several levels in their minds. They thought there was no threat to this kind of performance…

Now it seemed that Twain was indeed a master of psychological control and very good at analyzing the psychology of other people. He had figured out what he thought…

Lippi admitted that he made an empiricist error and took it for granted when it came to studying Twain’s starting lineup – James Vaughan was outstanding in the semifinals and there was no news of any injury during training these few days, so he thought he would definitely be in the starting lineup for the final game. He did not expect Twain to stubbornly stood up to the enormous pressure and put Vaughn on the bench.

This opponent was interesting.

He got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines, making hand signals to the players on the field.

He wanted Chiellini to step up his defense against Agbonlahor and not give him that kind of chance easily. He believed that with the ability of the Italian defenders, as long as they attached importance to Agbonlahor, the other party should have little room to play.

※※※

Lippi’s adjustment was well within Twain’s anticipation because if he was still unmoved after seeing Agbonlahor play actively and score the goal, then Lippi must have been brain-swapped by the aliens and was not normal.

He was not worried that Agbonlahor would be closely marked. Now that they were ahead of Italy, it did not matter even if Agbonlahor was subsequently rendered ineffective from the marking. The important thing was to hold on to the one-goal advantage and then use that advantage to lure the Italians out to make their tight defense non-existent.

He just asked the team to pay attention to the defense for a while to come.

※※※

Lippi did not intend to rush to equalize the score in the first half. Although the players were certain to be eager to fight back after the goal concede, it was only a matter of time before they returned.

The reason he was in no hurry to equalize the score was that a one-goal lead would be a huge psychological burden for the England team. Like running a marathon, it was an unwise move to be a leader from the start. No coach would let his own athletes develop such tactics. The person with real strength to win the title must be hiding in the second group, maintaining the pressure on the leader at any time and overtaking at the last moment.

Lippi’s current thinking was the same as those of the long-distance running coaches. He had thrown the intense mental pressure of being in the lead upon his opponent. Because it was not a regular game. It was the finals, the final game of the UEFA European Championship. As time went on, a one-goal lead would become a huge psychological burden for the England players. Everyone would think in their minds – we must absolutely never concede the goal. Otherwise our championship will be gone…

This thinking would become heavier and heavier as time went on until England completely collapsed.

Lippi decided to make adjustments during the halftime interval and step up in the second half. By then, as long as the score was equalized, the huge psychological advantage would tip to the Italian side, and a fundamental reversal would happen to the situation on the pitch. At that time, there would be little time left in the game. Their morale would be boosted, while the England team would suffer a major blow. Ultimately, the victory must belong to the Italian team.

※※※

The Italian team organized a few attacks after the game resumed, wanting to equalize the score. But in the face of England’s tight defense readied in advance, they did not manage to gain any traction, so they simply retreated.

Twain was happy at first – the Italians finally pressed out. However, after a brief moment of delight, it did not take long for him to find a problem.

The Italians did not panic about conceding a goal in the final and stormed up to surround and bombard England’s penalty area – even though that was what Twain wanted to see. After a few attacks without any results, they immediately retracted and returned to their previous defensive counterattack stance as if they were the leading team.

It obviously had to do with the white-haired old man who directed the game on the sidelines.

Twain bowed his head in deep contemplation for a while and he guessed Lippi’s idea.

Just like what he had often said to his players, “A one-goal lead is the least secured score in the world,” it was not of his original creation, but just a generalization of what he had surmised. All the football managers in the world were aware of this kind of reasoning. Even if they were proponents of 1:0, they often had to mentally suffer the pressure from being bombarded by the other side surrounding the goal in the game and fearing that they might be equalized at any time.

Lippi must have thought so, intending to pass the psychological pressure on to the leading England team.

From this point of view, it was not a good thing to be in the lead too early…

In a long marathon race, the Englishmen took the lead in storming out the majority of their forces. While the seasoned Italians, on the other hand, were mostly hidden among their forces, keeping an appropriate distance away from the leading England team. In the beginning, it was a battle of skill and strength. But towards the end, things like skills and strength were no longer important. Mentality would eventually determine the champion.

Since that was the case, then he would let the team continue to strengthen the offensive and make the one-goal lead into a two-goal lead!

Twain walked to the sidelines and looked at the field. It was at this moment he remembered: England’s forward line had been largely frozen after Lippi asked Chiellini to step up his defense against Agbonlahor. Even if he wanted to step up the offensive, how should he do it?

Twain scolded in his heart, “That old fox!”

Agbonlahor was not, after all, a true center forward. Once he was closely marked by the opposing defender in the penalty area, the function of his role was actually quite small. At this point Twain would especially miss Mitchell. At least his headers would help the team tear up the Italian defense.

※※※

With the two managers were fighting a battle of wits on the sly, the remaining time in the first half of the game was no different from before the goal was scored. The England team attacked ferociously and wanted to score another goal before the end of the first half, while the Italians solidified their defensive build-up and were determined not to let the Englishmen get what they wanted.

Right up till the last minute, Twain did not see his team breach the goal for the second time.

The England team entered the locker room with a one-goal lead. The Italians, who was behind by a goal, was not so frustrated. Lippi’s face was calm as he walked back down the tunnel, making it difficult to guess whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with the situation.

The commentators from various countries had expressed optimism about the England team one by one.

“The England team is one goal ahead! In such a final, the side which first scores a goal must have the advantage. And more advantageously, they have maintained this lead until the halftime interval!”

“England’s tactics were so successful that the Italians did not expect Agbonlahor to become the England team’s goalscorer. They had neglected to mark him. Despite their subsequent tight watch on England’s number 18, the reality remains that they are a goal behind…”

“The first half was fantastic! It did not turn out to be as dreary as I had expected before. England’s aggressive attitude has earned my respect. Their efforts also deservedly paid off – one goal to take the lead! The champion belongs to the aggressive side, belongs to the offensive football!”

Even the England fans were pleased with the result.

In the stands, Skinny Bill was extremely thrilled about the first half and shouted, “That’s fantastic! We’re actually ahead!”

“Hey, Bill, what do you mean by that? Don’t tell me we shouldn’t have been ahead?” Someone next to him feigned anger.

“Nonsense, of course, we should be in the lead! I just did not expect it to go so well! As long as we maintain this result, we can win the championship title! Tony is the best at defense. Under such circumstances, he can definitely win the game! It’s only an hour before we win the UEFA European Championship for the first time in our history… Just thinking about it makes me excited!” Bill was not lying. He was slightly shaking.

“Tony really had the good idea of letting Agbonlahor start. Not even I, a Forest fan, could anticipate it. I think Lippi and the others must not have thought so. Otherwise, why was there no one to specifically defend against Agbonlahor?”

“That’s right! Before the game everyone was talking about Vaughn, Vaughn… I’m sick of hearing it. The best result will be that England wins the UEFA European Championship and our Nottingham Forest players scores the only goal, ha ha!”

※※※

The fans and commentators were extremely optimistic, but Twain was not bullish at all. As he walked into the locker room, every England player could see the creases in between his eyebrows. It was clear that their boss was not happy with the one-goal lead, but rather worried about something.

The players always thought less than the manager because they were the players and they were only responsible for implementing the manager’s tactical intent on the pitch. To put it in a not-so-nice way, they were tools while the manager was the captain steering the team. He must think more than any other clever player and look further afield. Or his ship would hit a submerged reef unknowingly, stranded if it was not so serious or worse, sank.

At the moment, none of the players could think of the crisis they would face next. Maybe it would not happen, but Twain had thought of it. He would have to consider it regardless of whether it happened or not. His task was to try to prevent bad things from happening.

“We’re one goal ahead and that’s very good, guys. It is reasonable to say that I should praise you at this time and congratulate you. But I’m sorry that I can’t do it at the moment.” Twain shook his head and said, “I’ve thought about the crisis we may face in the second half and I want you to know that a one-goal lead is definitely not a good thing.”

The players thought their manager would say, “A one-goal lead is the least secured score in the world” but it was not the case.

Twain just said, “The Italian team is used to gaining mastery by striking only after the enemy has struck. Think of the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, how did Italy equalize the score under the circumstances of trailing behind by one goal and dragging the game into a penalty shootout to eventually defeating France to pick up the gold trophy? We can learn from the previous mistakes of the French team and we cannot be satisfied with the score. In the second half if it’s possible, I would like you to try to seize opportunities to score…”

※※※

“You’ve done a good job, gentlemen.” Lippi was in the locker room, speaking to his players. He was not in a hurry. The tone and manners of his speech were still elegant. “I’m not mocking you. I’m actually glad that you only concede one goal to England in the first half. Now it’s time to think about our counterattack.”

“In the first half we gave England the chance to take the ball at will in our midfield and that will no longer be the case in the second half. We need to regain control of the midfield.” He glanced at De Rossi and Aquilani. These two men would be the key.

“Their two sides pressed forward quite tightly. We will take advantage of that in the second half. Paloschi, you have to run more toward the sidelines in the second half to get more chances in this way. Foti, you continue to stay in the middle. We need you to make the transition in the middle to provide support and push their rear defensive line toward inside to create space for our midfield.”

The two forwards nodded. They were barely seen in the first half, and some people even suspected they had not played. For them, the 45 minutes of the first half were a real torment. They desperately needed to do something in the second half. It was the final of the UEFA European Championship and no one wanted to do nothing in such a game. Just looking at Agbonlahor, the kid was like a sleepwalking man before, but once he scored the goal, he became a hero.

※※※

“In the second half, we will stop the strong offensive and change to a steady counterattack.”

No one was surprised when Twain said it. Because it was what they knew the day before the game. According to their plan, it was to try to score a goal to take the lead in the first half, and then gradually shrink the defense in the second half to start to play defensive counterattack. It was either to retain this one-goal advantage or taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack to widen the score when the other side pressed on with the attack while eager to equalize the score.

It was the England team counting its chickens before they were hatched. It was difficult to say if it would be successful.

“We have to be quick during the counterattack…” Twain looked at Agbonlahor when he said this. He would continue to play in the second half rather than be replaced immediately. Because he had amazing speed, which was a very important weapon in the counterattack.

“Gabriel.” Twain called his name and said, “In the second half you don’t have to be at the fore front anymore. You have to actively retreat and pick up the ball in the midfield. We also have to pass the ball in front of us during our passes, giving Agbonlahor and Rooney space to run. But if the counterattack is blocked, you must immediately stop and put the ball under your feet. Do not easily waste the opportunity to attack.”

Hearing Twain say so, Agbonlahor knew he would not be replaced too early while the other person would not feel good.

James Vaughan knew Agbonlahor would continue to be trusted. He looked down at his jersey. There was also a T-shirt inside that said, “We’re with you, Aaron.” It was what he specially prepared for Mitchell.

But now it looked like it might not come in handy. He was wondering if he should take it off in a while. After all, it was a little hot wearing two T-shirts.

Since he could not make an appearance, then why would he still wear the T-shirt with the written words?

Chapter 971 - The Silver Fox’s Decision

“Our team needs to attack in the second half. However, I need to remind all of you to watch out for England’s counter-attacks.”

Lippi could already guess what sort of tactics Twain would employ in the second half. He had studied Twain’s tactics prior to the match, and he would not be surprised if Twain chose to sit back and wait for Italy to attack them before going on the counter-attack. If his team had taken a one goal lead just like England, he would have instructed his team to play counter-attacking football as well.

Italy not only needs to focus on its offense in the second half, but they also need to be wary of England’s quick counter-attacks as well.

“I want all of you to snatch the ball back if you lose the ball, and I want everyone to retreat backwards and defend if England gets the ball. You can foul them when necessary, but make sure you only foul them when they are in their own half of the pitch. All in all, do all you can to stop them from launching their quick counter-attacks.”

Throughout the entire halftime break, Lippi only conveyed his tactics to the players. He did not give them a pep talk or say things such as ‘hang on for another 45 minutes, the trophy would definitely be in our hands’. The man who is about to turn 70 knows very well that those words would not benefit the players in any way. To the Italy team, tactics were more important than the players’ psychological states.

※※※

Tony Twain was still speaking to the players, but James Vaughan did not hear a single word that he said. He was certain that he would not get the chance to play in the second half later on. He did not think about why he was not given the chance to play in the match. All he thought about was how he was going to become a spectator just like Mitchell. At least Mitchell knows why he is unable to play in the match. He was barred from playing because he picked up too many yellow cards, and that is something that cannot be helped. But, what about him? He has been forced to sit on the bench without any explanation from his manager…

He found it really suffocating to not know the reason behind why he has been dropped from the match.

Des Walker nudged Twain lightly, and gestured him to look at Vaughan.

Twain glanced over and noticed a depressed Vaughan sitting by the side.

This is not what he wanted to happen…

Twain lowered his head and looked at the watch. It was about time for the second half to commence. He waved his hands at the players and said, “Get out there, lads. There are only 45 minutes left in the match. I don’t want any of you to leave the pitch with regrets.”

Vaughan smiled wryly to himself after hearing those last few words from Twain. The players who are playing in the match later might not end up with regrets, but what about me?

“Vaughan, I want you to stay back for a while.” Twain suddenly called his name.

Vaughan froze in his tracks. His teammates averted their gazes towards the two of them, but they did not start whispering amongst themselves over what had just happened. All they did was to send a glance in their direction before they turned around and left without saying a word.

They all felt that the boss owes Vaughan an explanation. It was really too cruel of him to leave Vaughan on the bench when he has been performing well on the pitch thus far.

The pair stayed behind in the locker room and waited for the players around them to leave. Vaughan looked at Twain, but Twain had his eyes on the outside of the locker room.

Twain only directed his gaze onto Vaughan when everyone else had left the room.

Twain tried his best to make out traces of anger in Vaughan’s eyes. But, to his disappointment, it seemed like disenchantment was the prevailing emotion that could be discerned from his eyes.

Vaughan thought that his boss would explain to him why he failed to start in the match. He did not expect the first few words from Twain to be:

“Don’t take off the shirt underneath your jersey just yet.”

Twain then gestured for Vaughan to leave the room after finishing his words.

Vaughan left the locker room feeling utterly confused. His head was still in the clouds when he walked out of the tunnel, but the deafening cheers from the crowd snapped him out of reveries. A moment later, Twain’s words began registering in his mind. Maybe the boss is trying to tell me that I have a chance of playing in the second half?

But, should he be happy or upset to hear those words from Twain? Why did the boss not make me a starting player if he intends to play me in the match? Why did he put me on the bench? Oh well, at least there is a glimmer of hope that I might be able to play in the match later.

Twain walked out of the tunnel a while after Vaughan made his way to the bench. He walked over to his seat in the dugout and found Des Walker looking at him. “How did the talk go?”

“I told him not to take off the shirt underneath his jersey just yet.” Twain shrugged. The people who sympathized with Vaughan would have blown their tops if they saw the kind of attitude that Twain had towards the situation.

Walker smiled wryly. “Aren’t you afraid that he would come to despise you?”

“That’s exactly what I want him to do.” Twain answered grimly.

He did not mind being hated by a player if it meant that he could lift the trophy. Besides, Vaughan would just become one of many people in the world who want him dead.

※※※

The Italy players marked the England players closely and performed more interceptions in the midfield in the second half. The way in which Italy defended against the England players made them feel quite uncomfortable. The England players were no longer given the time to think about whether they should pass the ball away or bring the ball forward themselves. The ball would be snatched away from them the moment they hesitate.

The importance of ‘passing the ball quickly’ becomes all too apparent in situations like these. This was also a point that was emphasized by Twain repeatedly at halftime.

The players need to carefully observe the situation on the pitch and have a good grasp of where their teammates and opponents are before they receive the pass. Doing so would allow them to instantly know what their next step should be. They should not be observing the pitch and thinking about what they should do next after they have received the ball.

Twain has been training the England national team players to observe before they receive the pass for two years. It did not matter which football club the player comes from. He has to play in this manner if he wants to play for England. Any player who fails to play in the way that Twain wants or refuses to change his playing style to suit Twain’s methods would be dropped from the team, no matter how talented or famous he might be as a player. Twain would not change his mind and let the player back into the team even if the press lambastes him for it.

That is how he has managed to build an England national team that listens to his every word.

The players were not at a loss either when Twain told them to make quick passes at halftime.

England’s tactics in the midfield became very simple after Italy started to pressurize them and intercept their ball in the midfield. George Wood and Gerrard were both positioned at the middle of the pitch, and their main role was to pass the ball forward. The two side midfielders played more like wingers when they moved forward to attack. Agbonlahor’s position on the pitch was shifted backwards and it became very flexible. He essentially merged the line where the forwards are with the line where the midfielders are.

The entire England midfield would retreat backwards during defense, and all the midfielders will form a line right before the team’s defense line. Their main role is to try and stop Italy’s attacks before they reach their penalty box.

The players from both sides were constantly locked in a fierce battle for the ball, and fouls became inevitable eventually. The managers for both teams have instructed their players to commit fouls when necessary, and thus, the referee’s whistle kept going off repeatedly during the second half. Both teams’ attacks kept getting interrupted, and neither side was able to launch a complete attack.

Lippi soon came to realize that it was a quite difficult to find a hole in England’s defense. Twain appears to have mastered the art of defense just like Italy, though it is unclear who taught it to him.

Even Rooney, who is typically positioned at the front of the pitch, has to retreat to the center circle during England’s defense. There are several different parts to England’s defense, and each and every part is closely linked with one another.

Alberto Paloschi tried attacking down the flanks, but his attacks failed to draw the defenders away from the middle of the pitch. The England defenders stood their ground and did not allow the Italy team any space to attack. Salvatore Foti was closely marked by John Terry the entire time, and he rarely got a decent chance to make his way past the England defender.

Lippi realized that the only way to break through England’s airtight defense was to pin all his hopes on set pieces rather than on a particular player’s moment of brilliance.

He looked down at his watch. 17 minutes had gone by in the second half, and the score remained 0:1. His team was still trailing by a goal. He has to make a change fast. This is definitely not the time for him to consider the pride or feelings of certain players.

He glanced at the players who were seated on the bench before pulling his assistant manager, Ferrara, over to him. “Ask Balotelli to do his warm-ups.”

※※※

Balotelli is an attacking player who possesses several unique traits, and he is quite famous as well. His absence from the list of starting players for the match was just as surprising as Twain’s decision to keep Vaughan on the bench. However, unlike Twain, Lippi was not criticized by the press over his decision to not play Balotelli in the match.

The reason is simple. Everything went wrong for Balotelli ever since he made his decision to transfer to Nottingham Forest. He had chosen to transfer to Nottingham Forest because he was unhappy at Inter Milan, but Nottingham Forest has been going on the decline for the past few years, and both his form and fame as a player have been affected as a result. In addition, there is a ‘tradition’ among the Italy national team’s managers – they do not pay much attention to players who play football overseas.

Balotelli used to be a starting player in the Italy national team, but now he is demoted to a mere substitute. Many Inter Milan fans could not help but lament his fate.

There can only be one reason why Lippi would choose to play Balotelli in the match at a time like this. Balotelli is good at taking free-kicks, and Lippi must be planning to make full use of that. Italy has the upper hand in the match at the moment, and they have been able to gain several free kicks in England’s half of the pitch due to the fouls committed by the England players. Given how the players from both sides have been committing a lot of fouls in the match so far, Italy would definitely be awarded even more free kicks from here on out. Thus, putting Balotelli on the pitch would help Italy capitalize on those free kicks. Balotelli’s free kicks would also add creativity to Italy’s offense and create more chances for the team to attack as well.

Additionally, Balotelli is a Nottingham Forest player, and he might be able to provide his teammates with some insights as to how Tony Twain might direct his players to play in the match…

Balotelli stood by the side of the pitch and waited for the referee to announce the substitution. Lippi had already relayed his role in the match to him half a minute ago. His role was very simple. All he needed to do was to make use of his techniques to create chances for the team to make their way past England’s defense. He would be the player to take all the free kicks and corners in the opposition’s half, and he has to make sure that he makes full use of those free kicks and find the way to break through England’s airtight defense.

※※※

Twain began searching his memory for information regarding Balotelli after he saw the Italian player stand next to the fourth official.

Nottingham Forest’s results for the past two seasons have been mediocre at best, but the black player has slowly cemented his place as a starting player on the team. This is hardly surprising, given how he is a player who cost the club 35 million pounds to bring in. Are there any managers out there who would possibly dare to put such an expensive player on the bench? Unfortunately for Forest, Balotelli was never able to make use of his own skills and abilities to boost the team’s results. His form mirrors the ups and downs of his team and has been largely inconsistent.

It has been reported that Balotelli is not happy at Nottingham Forest. There were numerous news stories about how he wanted to transfer to a different club all summer, and it is said that he would prefer a move to Manchester United where he would be reunited with his teacher, Mourinho.

Lippi must have put him on the pitch after seeing how Italy has been given a large number of free kicks in the past few minutes…

Guess it’s time to remind the players to pay attention to where they are committing the fouls on the Italy players…

Twain stood up and walked to the side of the pitch before calling Wood’s name. He wanted the captain to convey his newest set of instructions to his teammates on the pitch.

“Pay attention to where you are committing the fouls!”

The truth was that most people did not have high hopes for Balotelli. Lippi was one of the few exceptions who did, since he was the one who made the decision to put him on the pitch.

Balotelli’s form for this season has simply been too inconsistent. When he is playing well, he would be able to lead his team to victory by performing hat tricks. But, when he is not playing well, he turns invisible on the pitch, and the commentators would be left wondering if Nottingham Forest even played him in the match.

To make things worse, his poor performances occur much more frequently than his good performances.

However, Lippi did not see Balotelli in the same light as the others, and that is why he had given him a detailed analysis of the match before he sent him on the pitch. He told Balotelli about the issues that he needed to pay attention to, and he also advised him on what he should do when he faced those issues. In addition, he also gave him the authority to take every single set piece for the team. It is evident that Lippi has placed high hopes on Balotelli.

Sadly, Balotelli betrayed Lippi’s hopes when he received the ball from his teammates for the very first time after getting on the pitch. He tried to stop the ball at his feet, but he ended up giving it away to George Wood instead.

The England fans at the stands all broke into a laugh after seeing his mistake. John and Bill even started singing a song that praised Balotelli. Their gesture was clearly one that was done with the intention of reminding everyone about the relationship between them and Balotelli.

“Does Balotelli think he’s still wearing a red Nottingham Forest jersey? He actually stopped the ball for George Wood who stood across of him! Even Wood himself looks to be surprised by Balotelli’s mistake! Aha!” Motson criticized Balotelli mercilessly. It was as if he had forgotten the times he had cheered for Balotelli’s wonderful goals in the Premier League.

The Italian commentator, on the other hand, did not react by criticizing Balotelli just like Motson did. Instead, he held a hand to his face. He could not bear to watch such an embarrassing scene.

Some of the Italy fans like to come up with conspiracy theories, and after seeing Balotelli’s performance earlier, they would definitely buy into the theory that Nottingham Forest had deliberately bought Balotelli just to ruin him as a player. They have been laying the groundwork for their victory in this finals match since two years ago! Everything that they did back then was all for today’s match! They have been plotting to render a gifted Italian player useless by buying him over!

And, it looks like they have succeeded!

The conspiracy theory caused several Italy fans to be furious at the England fans. The fact that Tony Twain was the manager of both Nottingham Forest and the England national football team also lends credence to the theory. Tony Twain could have been the mastermind behind all of this! He knew that this day would come, and that is why he got Nottingham Forest to buy Balotelli! We thought it was odd that Balotelli did not go to Manchester United where his teacher, Mourinho, is at, but now we know why!

Tony Twain truly is a man who would do anything to win…

※※※

Laughter would erupt from the stands every time Balotelli received the ball. The laughter comes from the England fans, and they are all intent on making fun of Balotelli after seeing the mistake that he committed earlier.

One cannot help but wonder what Davide Lanzafame is feeling at the moment. He was the player who got substituted for Balotelli after all. But, what people are most curious about must be what Lippi is thinking about right now…

Twain began laughing along with the crowd. He felt a little proud. Balotelli’s mistake had delivered a blow to Italy’s morale, and it had also caused his teammates trust in him to waver.

He did not understand why Lippi would risk playing Balotelli in the match. Balotelli might be skilled at taking free kicks, but his flaws as a player still outnumber his strengths. Balotelli did not play in many games in the Euro Cup so far, and his performances when he did play have also been decent at best. His most noteworthy contribution to the team has been an assist.

Then again, Lippi is a man who is referred to as the ‘Silver Fox’. Did the ‘Silver Fox’ really make a mistake, or does he actually have something up his sleeves?

“I think putting Balotelli on the pitch is an absolute mistake. If Italy goes on to lose this match, Lippi would definitely be criticized heavily by the press for that substitution.”

“I think this is a chance for England to go on the offense and attack Italy even more ferociously than they are now. They should fight to get that second goal. The game would be over the moment they score, and the British would be able to celebrate winning their first ever Euro Cup trophy early.”

“Balotelli’s performances as a Nottingham Forest player have been mediocre. The relationship between him and the club has soured over the summer, and he is looking for a move away from the club. All the various transfer rumors surrounding him must have affected his state of mind and his form as a player. I think Lippi made the wrong decision to play such a player in the match…”

“Lanzafame was not outstanding in the match earlier, but he still made lots of contributions to the team’s defense. I wonder what exactly was going through Lippi’s mind when he made the decision to take off a player like Lanzafame, who had put in a solid performance thus far, for a problematic player like Balotelli?”

The commentators working for different countries did not miss out on the opportunity to criticize Lippi.

“Lippi has truly gotten on with age. I can’t believe he actually made a mistake like this in such an important match… I guess age really spares no man. We have to remember that he’s a 68-year-old man this year…” There were even people who shook their heads and sighed at Lippi’s decision. They made it seem as though Lippi’s decision to play Balotelli was truly a disastrous one.

The man who became the target of discussion sat firmly on his seat at the dugout. Many people expected to see either anger or impatience upon his countenance, but his face remained stoic and emotionless. He did not furrow his brows at Balotelli’s mistake, and neither did he berate his players from the side of the pitch. He did nothing and simply remained still like a statue at his seat.

The aged man sitting at Italy’s dugout resembled Paul Newman. Lippi was really getting more and more handsome the older he aged. He had a refined, gentlemanly air to him that was hard to go unnoticed by others.

Lippi’s lack of reaction was actually able to achieve a positive effect on the players. It boosted their confidence and made them believe that they still had a chance of winning the match.

The manager is not panicking, so why should we?

There were numerous Italy players who thought that way, and Balotelli was one of them.

Chapter 972 - Counter Every Move

Everyone wondered about the substitution Lippi made, and unceremoniously questioned the substitution.

But the main person who was being questioned sat calmly in the technical area, as if he was not the one who had brought Balotelli on.

Or he did not see Balotelli’s mistake at all…

In fact, he certainly saw it, and he was clear about it in his mind. It was just that he could not express his displeasure with the player who had just been brought on. He sat on the sidelines with a calm face, but he was sending a message to the players that –

Don’t worry, we still have the time and opportunity. Don’t be thrown into confusion.

The players all calmed down one by one on the pitch when they saw such a calm manager.

Why are we in a panic about when the manager is not panicking?

Even Balotelli, who had just made a mistake, thought so, too.

In fact, Balotelli knew what this UEFA European Championship meant to him. Before the UEFA European Championship, his agent had told him that if he wanted to leave Nottingham Forest smoothly, he had to produce a convincing performance at the UEFA European Championship. That way he could lobby around for him.

Two seasons at Nottingham Forest had gradually left him without a name in European football. At this point, he had to work hard again like a rookie.

With this idea, Balotelli played actively. Despite the mistake he made, he did not take it to heart. He just wanted to focus on scoring goals or assisting his teammates.

Balotelli played as a striker for the Forest team, but he went up and played as a right midfielder in this game. His main task was to help the team attack on this sideline, cross from the byline and allow Foti to compete for headers in the middle. But that was not enough to play his best.

※※※

Italy’s Giovinco broke through and cut inside on the left side. He flashed past the unsuspecting Walcott and intended to break though further when George Wood made him fall down.

The referee whistled to give Italy a free kick on the left side of the penalty area and gave Wood a verbal warning at the same time. Wood was smart enough not to step forward to defend himself. He did not rush at Giovinco, but Giovinco was a thin and weak guy. He just fell down with one hit. He was the same in the first half, so he could not be bothered to explain to the referee.

Seeing the Italian team scored a free kick, Balotelli rushed over from the other side and held the ball in his hands. His teammates were aware of Lippi’s latest arrangement and Balotelli had officially taken over the right to carry out all of the place kicks in the front field.

The England players were no strangers to Balotelli’s free kicks. In the Forest team, he and Bale were usually the ones to carry out penalty kicks. Balotelli had regularly used free kicks to break through the goals of those Premier League teams.

The England fans in the stands booed him when they saw him place the football on the ground and appeared to be the one to carry out the free kick.

Balotelli’s kick went over the crossbar amid the widespread roars.

The England fans shouted out cheers of victory, while Balotelli looked a little annoyed at the turf under his feet. There seemed to be a bit of unevenness here, which caused his kick to be flawed.

Based on the free kick, it looked like Balotelli still could not find his form, which in turn gave the commentator another chance to attack Lippi.

Fortunately, the television commentary could not be heard in the technical area. Otherwise it was really known how many managers would throw the games aside and rush to the commentators’ box at the back to find those who only knew how to move their lips to vent at them.

Balotelli had underperformed twice in a row and Lippi still remained unmoved. He had already made up his mind. Since he had brought him on, what else did he have to regret about? As long as it was not a major mistake, he could not bring him off, could he? The valuable substitution spots could not be wasted in this way.

Balotelli played poorly but the England team did not dare take it lightly. Because they had exploited Italy’s underestimation of the underperforming Agbonlahor in the first half and cracked open the goal which had impenetrable defense. During the halftime interval, Twain also warned them not to underestimate their opponent and must be cautious.

Therefore, when Balotelli took the ball on the sideline, there was no sign of Joe Mattock’s slackness at all. Although they were teammates of the same football club, they were currently playing for different teams.

Balotelli was going to force a breakthrough. Although he had overtaken Joe Mattock, Downing had rushed up from behind and blocked his way. With the slight delay, Joe Mattock came up again, and the two men joined forces to keep Balotelli out and force him near the corner flag.

Balotelli saw that there was no way to complete the pass. It seemed difficult to break through, so he retreated to seek another chance. Even a corner shot was good. As a result, after the ball that was kicked out hit Joe Mattock, the ball inexplicably bounced back instead of bouncing straight toward the end line and hit Balotelli’s shin bone before bouncing out of the end line…

This time he did not even get a corner kick. The assistant referee immediately pointed the flag to the goal area, which meant that it was a goal ball.

The England fans sat in the stands behind the England team’s goal in the second half. Seeing that Balotelli had failed in his bid for a corner kick and instead gave out a goal ball, the fans over that area burst into laughter.

※※※

“He’s completely marked to death by our men…” Des Walker sighed. The England coaching staff had already thoroughly studied this particular Forest player. Thanks to the Forest team’s poor performance over the past two seasons, Balotelli’s form had also become poor.

If he did not know or understand Twain, he would have wondered if it was a conspiracy… It was such a coincidence!

The England team’s coaching staff had analyzed everyone in the Italian team before the game and made specific arrangements targeting their different characteristics, regardless of how many of them were able to play in the game.

Balotelli was naturally among them. At the time, the team’s coaching staff analyzed two possibilities. First of all, Balotelli certainly would not be in the starting lineup, but he might come on as a substitute because he was a player with specific traits and his place kicks were excellent. And if the England team were to employ a solid defensive counterattack against Italy, a tight defense was something Lippi needed to consider. That was when Balotelli could simply do a good job.

In that case, he could play as a striker or right midfielder when he came on, because Balotelli could play well in both positions. So, they needed to make two different arrangements – what do we do when he is a striker? What do we do when he’s a side midfielder?

When he was a side midfielder, Twain asked both the full back and side midfielders to actively defend and minimize Balotelli’s chances for passes while cutting off his links with the others at the same time and trying to isolate him.

Judging from the defense just now, Joe Mattock and Downing did it well. They blocked Balotelli with their double team front and back which completely cut off the path for the ball to be sent out.

Twain had done a lot of work for this final, and now they all came to life one by one.

※※※

Balotelli played averagely in the game. After being caught several times by the England team, he began to do more passes and not dribble the ball himself to break through. He knew he had been targeted by Twain. When he played for the Forest team, he had heard much about the legend of that man, who was always being referred to as a god, as if he was not a football manager but a wizard in a medieval legend, full of power to stir up people’s sentiments. Every member of staff at the Wilford training base always had a look of worship when they talked about Twain, and had little feeling toward the club chairman, Mr. Evan Dougherty.

Although he was frozen in the game, Balotelli was not too worried. Because he still had a weapon that the English players could never freeze. It was just that he was trying his best to warm up his legs now…

Facing Joe Mattock’s blocking, Balotelli forced to pass the football. Although the ball bypassed his teammate in the Forest team, it was also too high …even if Foti was 2.03 meters tall, he could not reach such a “pass.”

“It looks like his form is really bad…” This time even the Italian commentator could not help shaking his head as he spoke.

Balotelli then tried a long shot from outside the penalty area. This time the shot was rather accurate, only that it was too straight on and was grabbed by Joe Hart.

“Ah ha! It is his best performance since he came on!” Motson quipped.

※※※

Balotelli was actually not the main character. Lippi did not instruct anyone else to pass the ball to him in Italy’s offense. From the gap opened up from where he was, De Rossi was still in charge of dispatching. He was the core of the Italian team, and Giovinco was also active in front of the penalty area, causing a headache and tension for the England defenders.

As time went on in the second half, the Italian team’s offensive grew stronger and stronger, adopting a stance of turning out in full strength.

Lippi also noticed the time. Time was the most precious at present. There were now 20 minutes to go before the end of the 90-minute game. These 20 minutes might not seem short, but they could actually flash by in a blink of an eye. If they did not hurry up, the Italian players would only become more impatient as time went on, and the scales of victory would tip in favor of the England team.

Something must be done.

Lippi thought about it and instructed a few things to Ferrara, the assistant manager sitting next to him.

Ferrara listened and bobbed his head in between words. Then he got up from his seat and walked to the sideline, gesticulating across the other side. Following which, Italy’s two full backs could be seen starting to plug in from the back and assist with the offense.

The Italian full backs joined in the attack and England immediately felt a lot of defensive pressure, especially on Joe Mattock’s side.

While Lippi let the full backs go up and assist with the offensive, Giovinco and Balotelli also changed positions. Balotelli did not achieve much on the right side. Since that was the case, it was better for him to switch to the left and face the defensively stronger Richards. He was not seeking a breakthrough to pass. He just needed to hold the other side down. Italy’s main offensive direction was changed to their right side, which was England’s left.

Paloschi also ran to the right side to get in on the action. With three players targeting this area, Joe Mattock and Downing could not hold any longer.

Downing was not the kind of player who was good at defense. It was not good to have him focus solely on defense.

Twain looked on with a frown, and then he turned around to say to his assistant manager, Des Walker, “Go call back Cohen and Vaughn in warmup.”

Walker knew what he wanted to do. He nodded and ran away without saying anything.

When Vaughn heard that Twain wanted him to go back, he was a little surprised. It was normal to come out and warm up. The coaches would regularly pick a group of players to go warm up, and he was naturally among them. But in the next second he thought of what Twain said to him at the end of the halftime interval.

He looked down at the T-shirt inside the collar of his jersey.

It was already soaked in sweat. He hoped that the writing on it did not become fuzzy.

Vaughn and Cohen both appeared in front of Twain at the same time. Twain looked at them both, did not say much, and began to lay out specific tactics.

For Chris Cohen, the focal point of Twain’s instruction was on the defense. He wanted him to go up to help Mattock and ease the pressure on his defense. It would not work if he were to always get Wood to fill in on the sideline, because there were Aquilani and De Rossi in the middle.

As for Vaughn…

Twain glanced up at him before assigning him the task.

“James, are you still brooding over the fact that I did not put you in the starting lineup?” He asked.

Vaughn was not a fool. If he honestly answered, “Yes, I still can’t figure out why it is so till now.” Then he would be done for. He just shook his head and replied, “I defer to you, boss.”

He said these words a little reluctantly. How could Twain not discern it? But he did not mind. He had wanted this result. “Let’s not talk about why I did it first. I just want to know this. Do you have enough passion and desire to go on the game? I’m going to bring you on to play now. Are you going to surprise me, or are you going to muddle through the game until the end?”

“No one wants to mess up, boss.” James Vaughn said this sentence most willingly, “This is the final of the UEFA European Championship.”

Vaughn felt that Twain asking such a question was an insult to him. Which professional athlete would want to muddle through to the end of such a big game?

Who would not want to score a goal or two and go down in history in a game like this? Wouldn’t it be better if he could be the hero that saved the team in distress?

Twain looked at the unfriendly-looking Vaughn and was happy.

That was the effect he wanted when he stifled Vaughn for 70 minutes. It would have been a failure if he had not been infuriated from being held back.

“Well, don’t say I did not give you a chance, James.” The way Twain was acting now felt a little “shameless” in Vaughn’s eyes. He only gave him 20 minutes. Could it even be considered a chance?

However, since this was now the situation, not to mention 20 minutes, Vaughn would even take ten minutes too. He did not say any other nonsense. He just nodded and did not want to delay any longer.

Twain discerned his thoughts and did not say anything else. He directly told him the mission, “Your task is simple, Vaughn. Just like the semifinal, score a goal. You are coming on at this time when the Italian defenders’ physical strength is at its weakest and when they are the least focused mentally. They have fully pressed ahead, so there will be a lot of gaps behind them. Seize them well.”

Vaughn nodded.

Twain gave him a push him again and pushed him to the sidelines. Then he gave him two pats on the back, hoping he would grasp the deep meaning within.

※※※

“The England team is asking for a substitution!”

Just at this moment, Gerrard had tripped Aquilani who had rushed up on the pitch. The Italian team scored another free kick at the edge of the penalty area.

The referee signaled for Balotelli to wait before he carried out the free kick as the England team wanted to make a substitution.

Downing, who was building a human wall, looked at the signboard in the hands of the fourth official at the sidelines, and then stepped out from the human wall. He slowly walked toward the sidelines. Chris Cohen was going to replace Downing.

Following which, Agbonlahor also walked toward the sidelines at the behest of his teammates. James Vaughn was going to replace him.

Both men received the latest instructions from Twain on the sidelines when they came off the field.

“Slow down! Walk off! Don’t run!”

Therefore, the two men weathered the widespread boos from the Italian fans and moved unhurriedly to the sidelines amid protests from the displeased Italian players. Cohen and Vaughn completed the handover.

Twain first shook hands with Downing and then gave Agbonlahor a hug as he said, “Well done, lad, ha!”

He had strongly advocated for Agbonlahor to be in the starting lineup. And he had scored the only goal in the game so far, so he did not embarrass him. Of course, he had to give him high praise.

If this had been ancient China, Agbonlahor would be bound to say, “Your loyal subject did not bring you shame and succeed in the mission!” However, he only asked cheerfully, “Boss, we’re going to be the champion, aren’t we?”

Twain nodded firmly and said, “That’s right, who else can it be but us?”

As he said that, he looked at the pitch. Vaughan and Cohen had just went on. Both of them were just squeezing into the human wall. The England and Italian players were fighting around the human wall.

There were still 20 minutes left in the game. He just hoped that it would just pass by and no complications would arise…

Chapter 973 - Two Minutes

Twain made two substitutions in one go. Vaughan was the player who replaced Agbonlahor, and Downing was substituted by Cohen.

Twain was only able to make his substitutions this quickly because Italy had been awarded a free kick in England’s half of the pitch. If not, the two players would have stood by the side of the pitch for quite some time.

The England fans immediately started booing Balotelli after they cheered for Agbonlahor as the latter walked off the pitch. The fans appear to have reached a tacit agreement to disrupt Balotelli by booing him every time he takes the free kick or the corner kick.

Balotelli re-positioned the ball after both of England’s players had gotten into position on the pitch. Once he was done, he retreated backwards by a few steps, and was ready to charge at the ball and kick it. The boos from the England fans had no impact on him. He simply ignored them. He has to thank Nottingham Forest for allowing him to gain the ability to drown out the sounds of the fans’ booing… Nottingham Forest is a team that would be constantly booed by opposing fans no matter where they go, and as the first choice striker for the team, Balotelli has been booed countless times over the past two seasons as well. His time in Nottingham Forest has allowed him to grow immune to the fans’ booing, and their boos do not disrupt his play in any way now.

Balotelli was well aware that he has not performed well in the match so far, but he also knew why Lippi had chosen to put him on the pitch. In the second half, England had solidified its defense, and they mostly remained in their own half of the pitch to guard against Italy’s attacks. As a result, Italy was able to earn more and more free kicks in England’s half of the pitch. Lippi has brought him on because he wants to capitalize on those free kicks. He hopes that a technical player like him would create the spark needed for the team to score a goal and thereby break the deadlock in the match.

England is definitely doing a fantastic job at defending. Italy is hardly given any chance to score at all, and their only way of scoring a goal now is to take their free kicks well.

“This is the fourth time that Balotelli is taking a free kick. Two of his previous shots went over the bar, and one was blocked by the players…” The commentator did not hesitate in pointing out the fact that Balotelli had not performed well when taking free kicks for his team either.

“I think the very last match of Lippi’s managerial career would be ruined by the black player.”

“It might be a little too early for me to say this, but I’d still say it anyway. Lippi is 68 years old this year, and I think his old age has affected his ability to make decisions. I cannot understand why he would play Balotelli in the match. It is utterly puzzling.”

※※※

Twain walked back to his seat at the dugout after completing his substitutions. The cacophonous environment in the stadium had forced him to raise his voice to talk to his two players earlier. His voice was already hoarse to begin with, but it had become even more hoarse now. He desperately wanted to drink some water to make his throat feel better.

Right when Twain had his back towards the goalpost, the referee blew on his whistle once to signal that Balotelli could go ahead and take the free kick.

Balotelli inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Thereafter, he began his run-up to the ball.

His first two steps were done at the same spot, and he only took a big stride forward on his third step. That one big stride was all Balotelli needed to reach the ball. Once he was positioned next to the ball, he raised his leg and smashed his foot against it. The ball flew into the air and went past the wall of England players who stood before Balotelli. It then flew straight towards the top left-hand corner of the goalpost!

It was the corner that was furthest away from where Joe Hart stood on the pitch.

Joe Hart immediately pounced towards the ball when he saw it make its way past the wall of players and straight towards his goalpost. However, it was too late by then.

The ball had already made its way into the goalpost when he pounced towards it…

“This… GOOOAL! GOOOOOAL!” The commentator who did not work for either Italy or England only started cheering after a brief moment of shock.

Twain was startled by the sudden cheers that had erupted in the stadium. His hands trembled slightly, and the tremor caused the water from his water bottle to spill onto his tuxedo. “Goddamn it!” Twain cursed. He wanted to ask Walker for a towel, but when he looked up, he noticed that Walker was as angry as he was.

Twain did not fathom why Walker was furious. Before he could ask his assistant manager about what had happened, he noticed movement at the Italy dugout from the corner of his eye, and he directed his gaze towards it. He saw Lippi seated at his seat emotionlessly while everyone else around him embraced one another…

A bad thought raced through Twain’s mind. He immediately turned around and looked at the pitch, and he saw a group of players dressed in blue hugging one another in the middle of the pitch. His players, on the other hand, all had their heads lowered and they appeared crestfallen.

Twain did not need to look at the screen. He could tell what had happened…

He had spent less than half a minute to drink a gulp of water, but in that short span of time, Italy had scored their equalizer! Balotelli’s free kick must have gone in!

“F*ck!” Twain put even more emotion behind his curse this time round.

“We all thought he was also poor at taking free kicks, but…” Walker shook his head in anguish. There were only 20 minutes left in the match. Victory was right there before them, but now they have been pulled back to the starting line by their opponents with an equalizer…

※※※

The commentators who have been mocking Balotelli all this while were suddenly heaping praises on him.

“That was a wonderful goal! Mario Balotelli! He has leveled the score for Italy!”

“Super Mario! Super Mario! An absolutely brilliant goal!”

“He is the only player who can be counted on when his team is in a dire state!”

Not only that, they were also full of praise for Lippi’s decision to play Balotelli as well. “This goal proves that Lippi was right to substitute Lanzafame for Balotelli earlier! Balotelli has effectively shut all his critics up by scoring a goal!”

“We have leveled the score! There is hope of us becoming the champions once again! Twain always says that ‘having a one goal lead in a match is the most dangerous situation that a football team can find themselves in’, and I am very happy that Balotelli has used a goal to prove that his words are true! Both sides are now back at the starting line and there are 20 minutes left to play…” The Italian commentator was the happiest out of all the other commentators. He was dancing before his microphone excitedly.

※※※

The England players were frustrated after letting Italy score a goal. They have blocked every possible attacking route that the Italy players could take, but there was absolutely nothing that they could do about free kicks.

“Reduce the number of fouls that you make on them!” The depressed England players heard Twain yelling by the side of the pitch. “Try not to foul them at areas whereby they would have a good chance of scoring from free kicks!”

Twain understood very well that fouls are an integral part of defense. Generally speaking, one can know whether a defender is good or not by looking at the number of fouls that he makes. A defender who knows how and when to foul another player is a good defender.

However, the opposition just scored from a free kick that had been given to them as a result of a foul. The players would definitely be worried about giving away too many free kicks now, and this could lead to increased pressure on them during defense.

Hence, Twain is left with no other choice but to get his players to reduce the number of fouls that they make. The only weakness to his tactic is that his team would end up awarding a lot of free kicks to the opposition…

Twain wanted to pull Wood over to him and give him further instructions about what to do next, but the Italy players were in a hurry to get the game going once again. The ball had been placed at the center circle shortly after Italy’s celebration of the goal. The players from both sides quickly got into their positions on the pitch and waited for kick-off.

What upset Twain the most was the fact that he had only just finished making his adjustments to the team moments before Italy leveled the score. He would not be able to make any further changes to his team now, and all he could do was to put his faith in the players and hope that they are able to find a way to turn the match back in their favor. To make matters worse, his tactics for the match have been rendered ineffective by the opposition, and he needs to come up with a new set of tactics soon. He had asked his players to primarily focus on defense for the match, and even players like Chris Cohen who typically go on the attack have been asked to prioritize defense over offense. The team would only counter-attack when an opportunity to do arises.

However, things are different now.

Twain yelled at the pitch. His voice has to be as loud as the cheers from half of the spectators in the stadium, or else it would get drowned out.

“Cohen! Cohen!” He yelled by the side of the pitch. Chris Cohen was situated far away from where Twain stood, and it was quite difficult to catch his attention.

Fortunately for Twain, he had a transmitter on the pitch. Wood heard Twain’s yells in the middle of the pitch, and he immediately called out to Cohen. Cohen then directed his gaze towards where Twain was.

“Go on the offense more!” Twain gestured to Cohen and he wanted him to stop focusing on defense.

Cohen nodded his head to signal that he understood.

After seeing that Cohen had understood his words, Twain began calling out to the other players. “Rooney! Rooney! I want you to retreat backwards! Help out in the midfield!”

“Walcott, I want you to run forward whenever you get the ball! Go on the counter-attack!”

“George, be quicker with your passes!”

Italy would definitely press forward and attack now that they have equalized the score. They want that second goal that could potentially allow them to win the match. There is only one way for England to deal with the situation, and that is to play counter-attacking football. All they need is a chance, and they would be able to turn this match around. The situation is not dire just yet.

※※※

The match resumed soon after, and just as Twain had predicted, Italy pressed forward and attacked England ferociously. They wanted to make use of the momentum of the match that had shifted in their favor to take the lead in the match. England was forced to retreat against Italy’s attacks, and things looked bad for them for a while. Italy looked like they were going to score a goal at any time.

Both of Italy’s fullbacks ran to the front to join in the attack, and this provided Italy with more attacking options. They attacked England down the flank and down the middle. England had no way of going on the counter-attack because they had their hands full from trying to defend against Italy’s relentless attacks.

England’s defense was not as tight as it used to be prior to Italy’s goal. The England players were constantly worried about giving free kicks away, and this resulted in a lot more space for the Italy players to exploit.

Sebastian Giovinco tried to make his way past England’s defense by making use of his flexibility and ball control. He noticed that George Wood had run up from the back to defend against him, but he did not choose to force his way past the England defenders. Instead, he cleverly passed the ball over to the middle of the pitch.

Daniele De Rossi was the player who received his pass, and he immediately raised his leg and did a long shot at goal!

Joe Hart pounced sideways towards the ball, and he fought hard to send De Rossi’s powerful shot out of bounds.

The fans of both teams were no longer able to contain their wildly beating hearts after watching all that had happened on the pitch.

Italy was awarded a corner kick just one minute after scoring their previous goal.

The England fans could not help but be on tenterhooks every time Italy takes either a free kick or a corner kick. They had mocked Balotelli earlier, but it was clear that he had regained his form and was capable of taking both free kicks and corner kicks well now.

The sight of both Salvatore Foti and Giorgio Chiellini before England’s goalpost left the England players in a state of anxiety. Both Foti and Chiellini are players who are good at headers, and now that Balotelli has regained his form, things might get really bad for England…

Everyone was under the impression that Balotelli would cross the ball into the middle of the penalty box. However, they were all wrong. Balotelli chose to pass the ball to De Rossi, who had run up to him to receive the ball.

A short corner!

Joe Hart saw De Rossi receive the ball, and he immediately bellowed, “Retreat backwards! Make them be ruled offside!”

The England players obediently retreated backwards in unison, and they were just like a tide. Everyone was worried that they would move too slowly and end up putting the Italy players onside. De Rossi passed the ball back to Balotelli who had run away from the corner flag. An England player raised his hand to suggest that Balotelli was offside, but both the assistant referee and the referee were unimpressed.

Balotelli raised his head to look at the penalty box after receiving the ball. The England players were still retreating backwards in an attempt to make him be deemed offside.

However, all hope was not lost yet. It was still possible for them to try and score a goal.

Balotelli keenly realized that his team’s midfielder, Alberto Aquilani, had run up from the back as the England defenders retreated backwards…

Balotelli did not hesitate the moment he saw that, and he instantly crossed the ball into the penalty box. It was a perfectly placed pass, and the ball was sent into a space that Aquilani would run towards. Aquilani received the ball right as he was positioned between both Terry and Joe Mattock. He was not offside!

The entire England defense was in a state of chaos after Aquilani received the ball. It was clear that there was little use in trying to get Aquilani offside now… All the England players immediately charged towards the Italy player.

Joe Hart ran towards the ball the moment he saw Aquilani receive the pass from Balotelli. The angle in which Aquilani could make a shot was very narrow. All Joe Hart had to do was to try and block off the angle, and he should be able to stop Italy’s attack.

The goalkeeper naturally assumed that the opposing player would choose to shoot at the goalpost the moment he received the ball. However, shooting was not on Aquilani’s mind at all. He knew what he had to do the moment he saw Joe Hart rushing towards him.

He did not bother checking who was right before the goalpost. He simply passed the ball sideways towards the goal area.

None of the England players dared to stretch a leg out to deal with Aquilani’s pass. They were all afraid of scoring an own goal…

But, there was one player who was not afraid!

Foti slid towards the ball. His foot reached the ball!

“Balotelli passed the ball over to De Rossi, and De Rossi passed the ball back to him. Balotelli then passes the ball into the penalty box… Aquilani! Aquilani has received the ball! There is no one marking him! Joe Hart has rushed towards him! A sideways pass! Well done! Aquilani’s pass… Salvatore Foti…” The Italian commentator was just like a machine gun. He spoke extremely fast and there were no pauses in between. And, at the end, he went, “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!”

※※※

Twain held his slightly wet tuxedo in his hands. He had taken it off after spilling water over it moments ago. After seeing that Italy had scored another goal within two minutes, he instantly threw his tuxedo onto the ground in a fit of rage.

“F*CK! F*CK! F*CK!” Twain was so furious that he cursed three times in a row.

Even the typically emotionless Lippi could not sit still this time round. He jumped from his seat and ran to the side of the pitch to hug his assistant manager Ferrara after seeing his team come back from behind to take the lead in the match.

Everyone at the Italy dugout were celebrating.

“2:1! 2:1! We are the ones in front! We are the ones in front!” The Italian commentator yelled at the top of his lungs. He was very emotional and there seemed to be a low sobbing tone in his voice.

He might have provided commentaries for countless matches in the past, but this finals match has been an emotional roller coaster ride for him. Italy was still trailing in the match a few minutes ago, but now, they have managed to turn the match around. He could not contain his excitement at that fact.

“Absolutely unbelievable… Italy has come back from behind and they are now in the lead! Both of their goals have come so fast that the England players were not even able to react!”

“What did we just see? The Italians have staged a comeback in just two minutes! They have come back from behind in this finals match!”

“Balotelli was definitely offside when he received the ball from De Rossi!” Motson believed that the goal should be disallowed because Balotelli was in an offside position prior to the goal being scored.

There were numerous England players who felt the same way as Motson. They crowded around the referee to protest that Balotelli was offside when he received the ball from De Rossi.

The referee shook his head in response to their protests. He did not change his judgement.

A slow motion replay of the moment where Balotelli received the ball from De Rossi was displayed on the screen at the stadium, and it was shown that Balotelli was not in an offside position when he received the ball. He would have been if De Rossi had passed the ball to him a fraction of a second later.

Italy’s goal was a clean goal. There were no problems whatsoever.

There were still several England players who refused to give up in their fight, and they continued to protest to the referee. The rest of the England players, on the other hand, stood rooted on the pitch and looked to be at a complete loss…

Chapter 974 - Five Minutes

When Italy scored the first goal, they still brought the football back to the center circle, hoping for the match to restart as soon as possible. However, when they scored the second goal, they simply embraced each other in their celebrations. The football was sitting alone in the goal and nobody cared about it.

That was because they were leading then, and they were the ones who needed to waste time.

Twain merely cursed a little on the sideline before recovering from the negative emotions of conceding a goal. He stood on the sideline and kept waving his hand, indicating for his players to bring the ball to the center circle and prepare to restart the match.

To the England team, there was really no time to lose…

Without counting injury time, they had only less than 18 minutes left.

“England is in a difficult situation now. From one goal up to trailing by one goal. Let’s see what Tony Twain has planned for the last 20 minutes!”

What plans could he have? It was nothing more than attacking more and be wary of the Italians’ counterattack.

Italy knew that England would be attacking now that they were trailing. They had the initiative and they could retreat and play on the counter, which was what Lippi and Italy were best at.

※※※

The England players did not perform up to standard from the start of the match up till now. Many of them were dealt a heavy blow after conceding two goals in two minutes. The goals came too quickly and all of them were not prepared for it…

In the match afterwards, they did not demonstrate the “increased offense” that Twain asked them for, instead, they stayed in their own half, not knowing what to do.

The Italians wanted to make use of the opportunity to attack while the English had not reacted yet and get another goal to seal the match. They surrounded the England penalty area and dispatched balls after balls into it. For a moment, Joe Hart became the busiest player in the England team.

“Long shot by De Rossi! Not far wide…”

“Giovinco with the ball…he’s through! What a move! He shoots… Saved by Joe Hart…”

“Long shot by Paloschi, over the bar… He should have passed the ball to Foti at the side…”

“Balotelli is not backing off against George Wood, he’s trying to get past him… Foul by Wood! Free kick! Great, Italy has another free kick!”

Wood could only shake his head helplessly at the current situation. He is not superman and no matter how well an individual performs; it is pointless if the team does not support him.

He was furious at the current situation. Were they going to give up just like that?

Balotelli had another chance to take a free kick and the Italy fans were filled with anticipation. They hoped to see Balotelli scoring twice with free kicks. These people had totally forgotten that they had complained about Lippi sending him on to “waste chances”.

“Super Mario! Super Mario!! Oh oh!” The Italy fans were chanting Balotelli’s name in the stands.

The England fans got nervous as the Italy fans chanted. They were trying to disrupt Balotelli with their jeers, but they did not know whether it was effective at all…

Twain stood on the sideline and bit his lips as he stared at Balotelli on the pitch. His heart was pounding rapidly beyond control, but he could not care much about his heart now.

Balotelli took a run-up and kicked… The ball flew over the wall straight towards the goal. Joe Hart did his best to dive towards the ball, but he was not able to touch it. The ball did not drop into the goal, flying over the cross bar instead.

That was close!

Twain gave a long sigh of relief. There were thousands of England fans who did the same.

※※※

At the 80th minute mark, England’s attack did not get better. On the other hand, Italy were doing better as they were more relaxed after taking the lead and they were able to perform all sorts of combinations.

The England fans watching from England stared at the television screen for fear of missing out on any scene that might be the crucial moment that changed the direction of the final match.

England’s performance disappointed them a little, but they did not give up hope. After all, there were 10 more minutes to go in the match and they were only one goal down. There was still hope.

※※※

Lippi took a look at his watch and saw that 80 minutes had already gone by. He looked at the situation on the pitch and decided to play it safe. If they continued to attack like this and there was a weakness in defense that England took advantage of to score, then everything would be over… Tony Twain was a sly one, how could it be possible for him not to do anything at the final moment?

He walked to the sideline and indicated to his players in the pitch to drop back and focus on defense. They would be victorious if they could drag till the end of the match.

The England players felt the pressure on them lessen and they knew that it was the final moment.

The Italians have dropped back, what should we do? There’s almost no need to think at all, we must attack of course!

Twain stood on the sideline and called out to Vaughan. It had been 10 minutes since he was substituted in but he did not perform at all…

“James! Do you remember your task?!”

Vaughan remembered of course. However, his team was being suppressed in their own penalty area, they had no chance to counterattack at all. No matter how good he was, there was no way he could score from his own penalty area…

In fact, even if Twain did not remind him, he knew it was time to perform. Agbonlahor started the match and he got a goal. Yet he had not made any contribution even though he was expected to be starting the game. If England was the lose the match, then it would undoubtedly be his responsibility… People would start thinking: If Agbonlahor was still on the pitch, would they have still lost the match?

Lippi was also a little surprised that Twain only brought Vaughan on in the final 20 minutes. However, his team managed to comeback afterwards, so he did not mind so much. There was only 10 minutes left in this match, if they could hold on, even if Twain brought 11 Maradonas on, it would not have mattered.

Lippi brought in defender Fabiano Santacroce for Giovinco next as Giovinco did not have the stamina to continue and to strengthen the defense. Italy was playing a 532 formation now and the three center backs did not give England any chance to attack.

In the last 10 minutes, Italy started to use all the tricks in the book to waste time.

They would fall whenever someone touched them and they would take their time to get up. In the span of two minutes, there were three players who went to ground because of cramps.

Twain was furious about that and he kept protesting with the fourth official. The fourth official was powerless as well, “We can’t possibly pull them to their feet using force, right?”

“Why not?! They’re obviously wasting time!” Twain glared at the fourth official. If he was the one playing, he would have grabbed the players on the ground and dragged them out of the pitch when faced with such a situation…

The fourth official had no way to deal with this unreasonable manager, and he decided to stop talking and not waste his breath.

Twain did not care about his image now. He had already thrown his suit on the ground and did not pick it up——The tie that he had on was already off, the top button of his shirt was undone, sleeves rolled up, the back of his shirt and his forehead were wet with his sweat. He looked exactly like a gambler who had lost too much.

On the other hand, Lippi was calm as a cucumber. One still could not see any expression on his face. It was as if he was neither worried about Italy nor was he happy about having the lead. This elderly gentleman did not even have a hair out of place. His full head of silver hair were hugging his head and the gold-rimmed glasses he had on reflected the lights above and nobody could see his eyes.

These two were ice and fire, a stark contrast and it was especially eye-catching.

Twain was not someone who would only vent his frustration at the fourth official. He called Bentley on the bench and brought him on in place of Gerrard. England then changed their formation to 433 with Walcott on the flank and Vaughan in the middle alone.

When Italy made the substitution, their player took their time to get off. Gerrard jogged all the way to the sideline and gave Bentley a high five and the substitution was completed. Not a single second was wasted.

The commentator from China saw that Twain changed his formation to 433 and said, “He is going for broke here. Twain doesn’t seem to be considering about anything else now.”

Whether it was extra time or penalty kicks, it would be dumb for him to be thinking about those now. If they did not score, there would not be extra time, and there would definitely not be any penalty kicks!

Bentley shouted to his teammates after he got on, “Boss asked me to tell you guys, the final is only these five minutes!” He stretched out five fingers. It was the 85th minute now, Twain did not even think about injury time or anything else.

It was as if an alarm bell rang in the minds of the England players. “The final is only these five minutes” immediately brought an urgency into them and all of them started to focus. We’ve fought so hard all the way here, how can we lose right in front of the trophy?

Even Terry went beyond the halfway line. He was not thinking about defense at all now.

England’s attacks were like waves of water gushing towards the Italy goal.

“James Vaughan with the header… It’s too straight!”

“Long shot from George Wood! Too high! What a pity…maybe he should have been calmer…”

“Walcott has broken through and the pass from him! Wayne Rooney with the shot!”

Rooney’s shot hit the near post, bounced back to Chiellini and just when the ball was going to bounce into the goal, Amelia punched the ball out and the Italians broke out in cold sweat.

England had a corner and the two center backs, Terry and Taylor went towards the Italy goal. When Bentley took the corner, Terry jumped for a diving header!

The ball flew towards the near post and just when it was about to cross the goal line, Amelia miraculously got a hand to the ball through two people and got it away!

No goal again!

Balotelli got the ball and he wanted to hit England on the break, but his ball was intercepted by Wood. After intercepting the ball, Wood turned and passed the ball to the front. It was lucky that Italy was not really planning to counterattack, otherwise Wood would definitely be overwhelmed there.

After regaining possession, England passed the ball to Cohen on the other flank. When it came to penetrative power, Cohen was not as impressive as Walcott, that was why he crossed the ball directly. This time, the cross was caught by Amelia. The attacks by England stopped for a moment.

During this suffocating attack, the match had reached the 89th minute.

Ever since Bentley was brought on, Twain remained stagnant on the sideline, not moving at all, just like a statue.

In his management career, he had seen his fair share of times like this. Sometimes, his team would level the match and even comeback to win it. Sometimes, his team would not create any miracle and they would watch the team lose the match.

What would be the result this time?

Next to him, the fourth official walked out with the board. At the same time, there was an Italian defender walking behind him. Twain took a glance at him and understood that there was only one objective to making a substitution now——To waste time and let time slip away here.

Paloschi took his time walking off the pitch, turning back a few times every step, shaking the hand of a teammate, then hugging another before turning one round with his arms raised to thank the fans… Twain gritted his teeth in anger when he witnessed this, he protested loudly on the touchline, “Why don’t you crawl out? Damn Italian! You ballless turtle, bastard!”

Too bad Paloschi did not understand Twain’s English which had a thick accent. The referee also noticed that he was deliberately wasting time and such an obvious intention could not be tolerated… He rushed forward and showed Paloschi a yellow card.

This yellow card gave Paloschi an excuse to waste even more time. He showed his displeasure at this and protested to the referee, intending to waste even more time.

Paloschi was almost at the sideline now and Lorenzo De Silverstri, who was waiting to get onto the pitch was just a step away. He was in no hurry to get on though and he wanted to wait for Paloschi to tag him in.

Twain could not tolerate the timewasting tactics of the Italian any longer. He took one step forward, grabbed Paloschi by the arm and dragged Paloschi out of the pitch!

Paloschi was about to lose his temper when he got dragged out by Twain, but when he saw Twain glaring at him, the fierce look on his face gave him a stare and he could not say what he wanted to say… He knew he was in the wrong and he could only complete the substitution with Silverstri under the watchful eye of Twain before walking towards the Italy bench.

Twain’s action brought him a lecture from the referee of course, but he did not care. If the referee did not want to punish them, he would do it on their behalf!

※※※

Right after the substitution was completed, the fourth official put down the electronic board, pressed a few buttons on it and raised it again. This time, it was to announce the amount of injury time.

“Five minutes of injury time!”

Boos rang out from the England fans as they thought that five minutes of injury time were way too little for the time that Italy wasted. It should have been 10 minutes of injury time!

The Italy fans were similarly unhappy with the five minutes of injury time——It was too long! A customary three minutes of injury time should be sufficient…

Twain raised five fingers towards the bench.

This time, the final was really just the five minutes…

※※※

Chapter 975 - One Minute

Michael Bernard had never been so fretful as he was today. Even in the face of difficulties from his clients and official duties that came out of the blue, he always coped with them with ease. His subordinates would be full of confidence when they saw the polite smile on his face. That no matter what difficulties there were, he would certainly be able to deal with them.

But it was different today.

During noon time, he locked himself in his office and specifically instructed the secretary not to let anyone disturb himself. Then he planned to watch the game live on the Internet. But it was unfortunate that he was called into a discussion by his boss just when he was going to do it.

It was a disaster. What was even more tragic was that his boss came to him in high spirits this time to talk to him, telling him that the company intended to promote him to the next level and that he might be entrusted with a heavy responsibility. He did not dare to refuse to attend such a discussion and he also did not dare show any impatience during the conversation… even though he was really impatient.

Looking at his boss across from him, he really had such an impulse: to pick up the heavy glass ashtray on the table, put it over his head, and then make a dash for the door to run to watch the game. As for his job…how could this be the time to think about it?

The unexpected conversation made him realize one thing – that he still could not let go of football in his heart. He thought he had forgotten, but in actual fact, he had not. He only buried it in the deepest part of his heart, so deep where he himself could not even detect it. Until today, the rush to watch the UEFA European Championship had woke him up as if he had been in a dream.

He was only able to leave when his boss had covered the matters of proper business. Looking at the watch on his wrist, it was less than five minutes to go until the end of the 90-minute game.

He trotted all the way to the elevator, and discovered the elevator was still ten stories away. Looking at his watch again, he did not have the time to wait for the elevator here, so he simply rushed to the stairwell next to it. He skipped and hopped down the stairs as he ran.

Although it was only a few minutes, he did not want to give up just like that. His feelings for English football had faded, and the only team in his life that had impassioned him was Nottingham Forest. He just wanted to see how his old friend would look like, standing on the most dazzling stage of the international tournament.

I don’t know if he still has that kind of arrogance, ha!

Like a whirlwind, Michael whooshed past the papers and documents on the tables on either side of the aisle and dashed into his own office under the surprised gazes of his subordinates, not forgetting to shut the door.

Flying over to his desk, Michael eagerly opened a link to the live stream and began to wait impatiently for the streaming to load.

The quality of the online network in the United States was very good. The online broadcast took only ten seconds to get on, and it was very smooth.

Still breathing raggedly, his eyes were fixed on the computer screen and he almost forgot to breathe.

In the player, the first scene he saw was the fourth official standing on the sidelines, holding up the signboard for the injury stoppage time: 5.

“Five minutes of injury stoppage time!” The ESPN commentator informed Michael, who had just opened the broadcast, in English. “And England is still 1:2 behind, leaving only five minutes for them. I can’t imagine how Twain’s team can salvage the situation…”

In between the commentary, the camera was aimed at the England team’s manager, Tony Twain, who was standing in front of the technical area.

Michael saw his old friend whom he had not seen in a long time, but he did not see his face, because the first sight he had was of Tony Twain’s back. The man was standing on the sidelines with his arms around his chest, and the back of his white shirt was drenched with perspiration.

The live broadcast did not give him a direct close-up of his face, because the game on the field had entered the white-hot stage. The camera only panned to Twain’s back once and then turned back to the field.

※※※

“The England team is in trouble. With five minutes into the injury stoppage time, they must seize it or it’s all over! But can they grab the opportunity offered by the five minutes? Or can it be said…that how much time can the Italians give them? For it is the Italian team that’s holding the ball now!”

“Are we going to let them just pass the ball back and forth at the back? That’s not going to work!” Vaughn rushed up and wanted to intercept the ball in the front field.

Chiellini rushed to pass the football to Silvestri next to him.

But Silvestri had just come on the field. Both his legs had not even fully warmed up from running and all of a sudden, he received a pass from his teammate. He stopped the ball with a slightly bigger movement. Like a shark that had smelled blood, Rooney appeared in front of him in an instant. At this point, he could not even think about continuing to control the ball at his feet. In order not to make a mistake, Silvestri directly sent the ball with a long pass.

England finally got possession of the ball. It was less than five minutes away at this point. They had to hurry up and attack.

The Italians also did not have the strength to interfere in the front field. After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, their physical strength was lacking. In order not to have anything go wrong, they chose to retreat to the back half of the field to defend. Lippi did not care how pathetic his team would look in the last few minutes, as long as they could hold on. Then the final victory would be his.

England was a little at a loss with an Italian team that even had its strikers retreated to the front of the penalty area to defend. After passing the ball horizontally several times in a row, there was still no suitable opportunity for a straight pass. The somewhat anxious Bentley simply did a long shot from the flank that was outrageously deflected …

The Italian fans in the stands warmly applauded his shot, thanking him for helping to waste an attacking opportunity for England.

Twain was no longer as restless as before. He was indifferent on the sidelines to Bentley’s blind long shot. He did not make any rueful action and did not yell. It was as if it was not his team that was trailing behind. Perhaps it should be said that at present he had run out of ideas. As a manager, he had done all that he could. He could not possibly go on the field and help the team play?

What happened after would depend on the performance of the players.

For example, James Vaughan had not been able to achieve anything since he came on.

Vaughan himself was also unhappy with it – he complained that he was not put into good use before he came on whereas Agbonlahor, who was his substitute, had scored a goal. But when he had a chance to play and the team was in danger, he did not contribute, which was really unacceptable.

※※※

“We need to score goals! Rooney! Vaughn! And Walcott, what are you all doing?”

In pubs across Britain, countless people stared at the screens, asking such questions. Twain had used all three substitutions, and there was nothing else he could do after.

“What else can we do at this point? We can’t go up there and help them score goals, but we can inspire them with our songs!” John fervently pleaded to his friends in the stands at the Bernabéu, “Guys, sing with me – Saint George blesses England! Saint George blesses England——!!”

“Saint George blesses England!!”

The song came out of everyone’s mouth, as if rivers flowing into the ocean, and ultimately forming the momentum of stormy waves beating against the shore.

At this point, the England fans became the absolute masters of the stands, and the voices of the Italians were completely suppressed by them.

However, it seemed their singing did not help. England failed to threaten Italy’s goal in the first three minutes of the injury stoppage time.

“The Italian team proves itself worthy and so is Lippi. Their defense has left Tony Twain’s England team at a loss. The Italian team is a little closer to their second ever UEFA European Championship, while the England team, leading at first, is moving further away from their first UEFA European Championship title. It is a reality that has left England fans dispirited and saddened…”

It was not known if anyone else thought so, but John and the other fans in his section did not give up singing due to it.

Even Motson was a little frustrated and said, “Perhaps only the gods that come from the heavens can save us… Such a reality is so cruel. Who would have thought we were still one goal ahead twenty minutes ago?”

※※※

The injury stoppage time had officially entered in the fourth minute.

Now the two managers had no other cards on hand. All they could do was to watch the game at the side. Lippi also got up from his seat and walked slowly to the sidelines. During such a tense moment, even he, who had experienced numerous storms, could no longer sit still.

The outcome of the game was almost finalized.

George Wood was holding the ball. He was under little defensive pressure because he was in a position that was relatively closer at the back while the Italian players had retreated even further back. There was a long distance between the two parties. The cautious Italians did not rush up to intercept the ball. They did not want to give the England team a chance to play behind them.

Wood gave the ball to Bentley on the sideline. Bentley then sent out a long pass to give the ball to Chris Cohen on the other side.

It seemed that England could still only pass horizontally across so pointlessly and were unable to send the football to the front.

Chris Cohen got his leg up to cross the ball, which Rooney struggled to get the ball, but the ball flew off out of the end line when it struck Criscito’s body.

The England team quickly send out a corner ball, which was a tactical kick. Wood came forward to receive and pass the ball back to the full back, Joe Mattock, who rushed forward. Mattock faced Balotelli’s defense. After a feint to grab the ball, he wanted to break through, only to be knocked to the ground by Balotelli.

The referee’s whistle sounded, and the England team was awarded a low-angled free kick on the left side of the Italian goal. It was more like a closer 30-degree corner kick.

At this point, every place kick had the possibility of cracking open the opponent’s goal. Terry and Taylor were all pressed forward. Even Joe Hart was restless and wanted to rush up and score a goal for the team.

Bentley was a right-footed player. Rightfully speaking, the free kick should be crossed over at this angle and would make more sense for a left-footed player to kick it. But for a right-footed player to carry out a free kick on the left, it had another function.

Bentley put the football in place and got up to walk away. He waited for the referee’s whistle.

“It’s an inner curve ball! Be careful of their plug-ins from the back!!” The goalkeeper, Amelia shouted in front of the goal, urging his teammates to step up on the defense.

At this point, the players on both sides were concentrated near the penalty spot and did not huddle in front of the goal like it was a corner kick. It was obviously to let the player carrying out the penalty shot to kick the football toward the goal, rather than to swerve the ball outside, and then for the group of people in the middle to plug in from the back and simply rush to do a header to break the goal. And because those players who were defending also had to rush toward the goal with the attacking players, it was somewhat difficult to let them shake their heads to put the football in the opposite direction in the process … Even if no one could head the football, it would continue to follow the established trajectory straight to the back corner of the goal. As long as Amelia was momentarily blocked by anyone in the whole process, and lost the decisive opportunity and due judgment, it might lead to the football flying directly to the goal.

That was the advantage of having a right-footed player execute a place kick on the left side and for a left-footed player kicked a place kick from the right.

How could the Italians not possibly see such obvious tactics? The Italians stepped up their guarding of the England’s players. They were even willing to use the pulling and tugging of the football jerseys to stop their attack.

Everyone turned their attention toward Bentley’s shot in the air.

George Wood stood next to Bentley without attracting any attention. Although Wood had used a free kick combination to score a goal in the game against France, the free kick’s position was directly in front of the penalty area on the penalty area line. The angle of the shot was very good. Now that the football was at about thirty degrees angle from the goal, Amelia could easily seal the angle. A volley shot would not work here.

In the penalty area, the England players and the Italian players were entangled together, with one side trying to get away and the other side struggling to stick to them. Both sides were unwilling to give in. But the England players had their own little plan – it did not matter, let them pull. When the ball comes out, we just need to follow the momentum and fall. Maybe it will yield a penalty kick?

The referee retreated from the penalty area and he blew the whistle to kick off the free kick.

Bentley did not pass the ball straight into the penalty area after he ran up to kick, but instead pushed the ball aside!

Wood, standing on the side, rushed up, picked up his left foot and directly volleyed the football straight in!

From Amelia, to the striker, Foti, Italy’s eleven players had put the center of gravity of their defense in the air. No one expected the football to roll along the turf toward the goal!

Could it really be a direct shot at the goal?

Amelia turned pale with fright and quickly dropped his center of gravity. He hunkered down and tried to pounce on the ball by throwing himself sideways.

At the same time, the penalty area was like the Royal Ascot with warning shots fired. The Italian and English players fought hard to be the first and rushed toward the goal.

In fact, it was not a shot to the goal, but a cross pass. It was a Wood-style pass. The football rushed to the far corner of the goal. During the process, as long as someone touched it, then it would be…

Rooney, in the front position, did not manage to kick the football under Criscito’s interference. He narrowly missed the football. Wood’s powerful “volley shot” was indeed too fast. The chance to shoot was fleeting.

Walcott and Terry, both in the middle, also did not touch the football either. Instead, it bumped into Chiellini and Di Natale and made a mess.

This multiple collision also interfered with Amelia. When he managed to shake free of the situation in front of him and got ready to make a save after much difficulty, he realized it was too late!

In the chaotic penalty area, people outside could not see exactly what was going on. But only a white figure could be seen suddenly sprang out of the crowd as if it were a flashing cold dagger. Then the football was seen changing direction all of a sudden just a step away from the goal and rolling over the goal line!

It was a really unexpected scene. No one thought this free kick could actually turn into a goal!

“What? What…what a great GOOOOOOOOAL!!!”

John Motson, who was still somewhat dejected just now, was instantly revived.

“What are we seeing here? A miracle that’s happening! England has equalized the score in the fourth and ten seconds of the injury stoppage time!! Who has scored the goal? Or is it simply an own ball?!”

Just when he was still baffled, one person rushed out of the crowd in front of the Italian goal, and it was James Vaughan wearing the white jersey!

As he ran toward the corner flag, he lifted his jersey in front of the camera lens, revealing the T-shirt which he had long prepared, that read, “We’re with you, Aaron!”

“This ball is for you, Aaron!” He shouted to the camera as he pointed to the T-shirt on his chest.

“James Vaughan! James Vaughan!! He saved England!! He saved Tony Twain’s heart!!”

Motson roared so hard that he almost lost his voice.

“What just happened? The ball has gone in? The England team has equalized the score?” The Italian commentator asked three questions in a row. The shock in his mind was unmistakable. “Good God, what’s going on here?!”

The thunderous cheers from the England fans in the stands answered him, “Long live! James Vaughan! All hail! Saint George!”

※※※

Amelia laid on the ground with his hands outstretched to form a large shape. At this time, he did not even have the strength to get up. He only felt that he lacked energy and his entire body’s strength was drawn away with this goal concede.

What was going on? His brain was still unclear up to this moment.

How did this happen?

It was perhaps also a common question among countless Italians.

Lippi stood on the sidelines and watched helplessly as the football rolled into the goal. His face was still expressionless.

Next door, Tony Twain jumped from the ground and waved his fists hard, as if he were about to yank his arms off to celebrate the goal.

His heart that had just beat faster in his chest suddenly slowed down, and his breathing was no longer ragged.

It was an escape from calamity…

※※※

Vaughn yelled at the camera near the corner flag, followed by the equally excited players behind him. The score was equalized at the final crucial moment of the game, so they wanted to celebrate it well.

But someone interrupted their celebration.

George Wood stormed into the Italian goal and snatched the ball away from Santon with a lightning move of the hand. Then he shouted at his teammates, still in the corner flag area, “The game is not over yet!”

Seeing him like this, Lippi, who had remained immoveable, suddenly felt a chill in the intense heat – he’s truly a frightening guy …

Lippi felt that even if the two sides tied for the game, it was not unacceptable. At least with 30 minutes left, he could make adjustments again and drag the game into the penalty shootout for the Italians would not suffer. But George Wood obviously did not think so. He wanted the game to end in 95 minutes!

Even with one second left, the game was not over for him yet.

※※※

“YES!” Michael waved his fists at the monitor. Vaughan’s last-minute goal was so thrilling that it made him, a man located as far away as the United States, felt impassioned.

Meanwhile, in pubs of all sizes in Britain.

Golden colored beer sprayed over everyone’s head, and countless beers were tossed into the air.

“Cheers to England!!”

※※※

Vaughn wanted to turn around and hug Wood, who had helped him with the attack, but he saw Wood waving to him to signal to get back on the field.

He was a little surprised by his action. Was it not enough to tie the score?

There was not much time left. What else did he want to do? Did he still want to score a goal?

Before he could think about it further, he was swept along by his teammates back to the field to prepare for the remaining game.

※※※

Lippi only paused on the sidelines for a while before he turned around and went back. He had to talk to Ferrara about the tactical strategy for the overtime.

Similarly, Twain called Walker to his side and began to prepare for the overtime as well as even the penalty shootout.

“We must curb their morale! We will storm to attack in the first half of the overtime!” Lippi himself might not have noticed that the volume of his voice had been unwittingly raised by a lot. He was clearly in a very emotional state. He said, “Take back the initiative of the game in our hands. Tell them, don’t rush and don’t panic. With a few dozen seconds left in the game, England must be thinking about playing overtime!”

“This damn five-minute break…” Twain complained that the game was coming to an end while England’s hard to come by high morale could suffer a loss due to the five-minute short break. “Well, let’s put this aside… The game is bound to head into overtime and we have to be ready. Tell them don’t get besides themselves with joy during the break. The Italians are still very strong. Thirty minutes of overtime is like giving them a tranquilizer… Son of a bitch!” He still could not help but swore.

※※※

The two managers were racking their brains off the field for the sudden additional 30 minutes in the game, hoping to overwhelm each other and continue to take the initiative in their own hands.

Meantime, on the field, Wood seized the last bit of time to tell his teammates what to do next.

“I don’t want to play overtime, not even for a minute. They will think we’d accept the outcome…” He pointed to the opposite side and said, “We’re going to surprise them.”

“But what are we going to do to score another goal? There’s no time, George…” Terry was doubtful.

“I don’t know too…” Wood was honest and shook his head to answer. If he was not familiar with his temper, Terry would have really thought that he was joking before…

But as the captain, he must have been using this method to boost morale, right? It is not really that he cannot accept a draw. In fact, a draw is actually a good result. At least we don’t lose the game in 90 minutes. Now there are still thirty minutes left, we can rouse ourselves and make a comeback.

That was what Terry thought. Wood did not really want to score a third goal. He just talked big to keep everyone’s morale up.

The football was rearranged by Wood on the center circle for the kickoff, with James Vaughan and Wayne Rooney standing outside the center circle, waiting for the Italians to come up to kick off.

Vaughn became a hero, but now he did not have the energy to think about how a hero should be treated. Because the game was not over yet. It was only a tie. The captain was right in that the game was not over yet.

Lippi stood on the sidelines, yelling at the Italian players inside, “Keep the football under your feet, don’t send out any long balls easily! Drag out the time to the end!!”

At this time, his original meticulous silver hair had been messed up because of his fierce movements. His gentlemanly manners had long gotten away from him. England’s equalizer in the final minute gave the cunning silver fox a taste of danger. Years of experience told him that they should absolutely not think about scoring a goal again to take the lead at this time. It was what a dangerous “risk-taker” would do. There was only less than a minute left in the game anyways. There was only hope of winning the game going into overtime. In his original tactics, there was a deployment targeted for overtime.

Twain did not rush to the sidelines to shout because he felt it was foolish to run to yell nonsense since the game was bound to be dragged into overtime.

The Italian forwards, Foti and Balotelli had come up to prepare for the kickoff. They had already been given the latest instructions from the manager that the game would continue to be played in overtime.

The likes of Vaughan, Rooney and Walcott, who were waiting in front, suddenly heard the voice coming from behind.

“Go up and make a grab for it! Don’t mind the defense. Go grab their ball!” It was George Wood! He urged, “Get the ball and we will have one more chance to attack!”

With a whistle from the referee, Balotelli knocked the ball to Foti, who then sent the ball back. Meanwhile, George Wood was the first to rush up. Vaughan and Rooney were slightly behind. Then Walcott, Bentley, Cohen, Joe Mattock, Richards… and the other people all rushed to the Italian team’s half of the field. They only have one mission which was to grab the ball!

Like the “monkey in the middle” game played during training, the Italian players were passing the ball back and forth in the backfield while the England players seemingly act like they were rookies playing professional football for the first time, giving chase to the ball without any counterpoint defense.

The scene looked slightly comical.

The England fans in the stands were booing as they were unhappy with Italy’s cowardly action. They could eager for the Italians to send the football directly to the feet of the England team.

In such a situation, Twain could only secretly swear for he had no other ideas.

It was the England players who were anxious on the field.

If the football was allowed to pass back and forth at the feet of the Italian players, then the referee might not wait for the injury stoppage time to really be up before he blow the whistle to end the game. That was not what they wanted to see.

Vaughn did a dangerous slide shovel, but he did not shovel the ball, nor did he shovel anyone. De Rossi dodged his rash tackle and passed the football to Aquilani next to him. Aquilani, facing Rooney’s closing down on him, passed the ball to Chiellini behind him. Chiellini then passed to Santon on the right side.

Joe Mattock rushed up and Santon passed the ball to De Rossi in front. No matter how the England team fought, the football was always at the feet of the Italian players. In terms of the footwork skills alone, the Italians were indeed better than the English.

But when it came to interception of the ball, England’s best man had not made his move yet.

Wood had been checking out the referee. Although he had not looked at the watch so far, there was little time left for England.

De Rossi took the ball again and this time, he passed to Balotelli in the middle. At the same time, Wood followed suit. In the face of his club’s captain, Balotelli was not afraid, he even decided to bypass Wood, and then pass the ball again. But the next second he discovered how stupid the idea was. Wood pounced quickly and basically did not give him any time to show his footwork skills.

Helplessly, Balotelli had to turn around quickly and guard the football in front of him while blocking Wood with his back. He thought this would save the football for a while, but he did not expect Wood to suddenly extend his leg from the side to jab the football!

Balotelli watched Wood skirt around him to give chase to the ball. He hurriedly reached his hand out to yank in a panic. Originally, it would have been impossible for Wood to give up his pursuit of football in the face of such a pull. But when he found out that it was Aquilani the front of the football while he was yanked by Balotelli, it was probably not enough for him to reach the football, so he calculated in his mind.

Balotelli naturally pulled Wood with all his strength, but Wood’s fall to the ground was a little too smooth…

The referee’s whistle followed closely.

“Balotelli has fouled! England is awarded a free kick in front of goal! This can very well be England’s last chance to attack!” In actual fact, the injury stoppage time had long gone for more than five minutes. But the England team had scored a goal earlier. The celebration of the goal and waiting for the Italian team to come forward to kick off had delayed the time a little. Although the fourth official did not raise the signboard again, the little bit of time still had to be added accordingly.”

The atmosphere on the pitch was not tense, because everyone’s mind was currently thinking about overtime, not the game at present. Even John Motson began to speculate about what tactics the two managers would use in overtime.

After Gerrard was brought off the game and even though Bentley could also carry out the free kick, the current free kick was somewhat special – 32 meters from the goal. If he wanted to shoot directly at the goal, Bentley’s leg power could not reached that far. He could only choose to pass the ball.

Bentley had the same plan when he carried the football over.

But someone stopped him.

“If you kick the ball out, the game is over.” Wood stopped him halfway.

Bentley looked at the captain and could not understand what he meant by that.

Wood took the football from his arms and said, “I’ll do it.”

This remark greatly surprised Bentley. He and Wood had been teammates at Nottingham Forest for many years, but he had never seen Wood practice free kicks because his free kicks were not good at all,. He himself was aware of it, so he never asked to carry out a free kick during a game.

Why did he suddenly want to execute the penalty in the final moments of the game?

Bentley kept guessing and could only take it that Wood wanted to get a kick out of it. Anyway, it was the last attack and the chances of a goal were too small.

So, he allowed Wood to take away his right to carry out the place kick.

Looking at Wood place the football on the ground, Twain also wondered: Could it be that he was going to kick the ball himself? What did that mean?

Lippi saw Wood prepare for the penalty shot and he had no more worries on his mind – the game looked certain to head into overtime.

“George Wood? It looks like England is going to give up this last chance to attack, ha!” The Italian commentator was no longer flustered.

※※※

The Italian players were forming a human wall. The ball was indeed a little far away from the goal. The human wall did not line up with five or six people. There was only four people blocking in front of Wood. The referee looked at his watch and prepared for after the free kick was played. He was going to blow the whistle to signal the end of the game, no matter what the outcome was.

Thinking that they were going to play overtime soon, there were not as many English players going on the attack as there were before.

The stands suddenly quieted down. Regardless of whether they were the England fans or Italian fans, they both chose to shut up. Maybe the endless fighting for 95 minutes had exhausted them at the end. Maybe it was because they felt it was a critical moment, for fear of any noise disturbing them.

Equally quiet as they were, were also the fans of the two countries in front of the televisions as well as Michael Bernard, located as far away as the United States.

Sophia could not watch the game live at the stadium. She sat at home, staring fixedly at the television screen with both her hands clasped together as if she was praying to God.

In such a quiet environment, it seemed that everyone’s heartbeat could be heard.

※※※

Wood put the football in place, which was in a blink of an eye. However, so much had happened around him that it felt like another 90 minutes had passed.

The Italian human wall did not step forward. They thought the ball was too far away and it was going to be kicked by Wood. So, it was not really a threat.

Wood set the ball and began to pull back to help with the run-up distance.

He did not take two steps and stop. Instead, he kept backing until he was almost at the center circle. The distance to run up was about ten meters.

Could it be that he wanted to take a leaf out of the long-retired Roberto Carlos, Brazil’s left-back and master of powerful free kicks?

Wood looked at the football ten meters away and the human wall further afield, as well as the goal at the end of the path. At this time, he recalled something that happened a long time ago. At the time, Demi had not yet retired and was still playing at the Forest team. Twain had asked Wood to follow Demi to learn how to be a good midfielder. So Wood was often with Demi, including when Demi was having extra practices on free kicks. He was never far from his side.

He had revealed the idea of trying to practice free kicks at the time, but he dropped the idea since he did not have the talent. But Demi said something that deeply impressed him. It was what Demi had advised him when Wood wanted to master Albertini’s banana kick. He said, “I have my own style and Beckham has another. There are many styles of free kicks, George. A powerful volley shot is also a style of …”

A powerful volley shot was also a style!

The referee blew the whistle, signaling that Wood could make the penalty kick.

Wood took a deep breath and then stomped his feet hard. Following which, he leaned his body forward and adopted a stance to start a 100-meter sprint. His entire body’s muscles contracted and tightened. And he launched like a cheetah in the next second!

The distance of ten meters was covered in a flash. He had already rushed to the front of the football. His left foot stamped firmly at the side of the ball and his left hand swung out, drawn in a circle, while he picked up his right foot. The power traveled up from the ground through his left foot and right foot respectively and the strength from the left foot was then amplified by the waving of his left hand. He twisted to the right at the waist, combining the force from the left and right sides which directly sped up to the arch of his right foot.

In the end, the force which came from the ground reached its final destination –

Wood’s right leg was like a whip, and the arch of his foot was the tip of the whip, pumping the ball hard.

The football shot to the sky as if it had been shot out by a cannon and whizzed forward.

The people nearest in distance were the Italian team’s human wall. They only felt a gust of wind blowing over their heads and the football flew past them.

The whizzing sound emitted by the football’s friction over the air sounded like an alarm, ringing out over the Italian team’s defensive zone.

WARNING! WARNING!! WARNING!!!

With the sound of “whizz–“, the football had already flown into the penalty area.

Amelia began to move once he saw the football went over the top of the human wall, ready to pounce. When the football flew into the penalty area, he jumped and made a saving action.

But a terrible thought suddenly emerged from his mind – I may not get to the ball…

“Wow!” The image of the football in his eyes did not gradually magnify, but it was as if it suddenly expanded, twice over, and then doubling again. Now it was close at hand, but his hands were not in place yet.

“Crap…”

It was the only thought in his mind as the football flew over his defense.

Soon after, in the quiet pitch, he heard the rustling of the football brushing against the net, as well as the gasps of his Italian teammates.

※※※

The people outside the field only saw a white line piercing through almost half of the pitch, then crashed head-on into the goal and lifted the net.

The first people to react were the England fans in the stands. They jumped from their seats with their hands raised high. The deafening cheers from the crowd broke the silence of the stadium.

It was closely followed by John Motson who had also woken up from a trance and was extremely thrilled as he shouted, “Saint George! Saint George! Oh my God, what just happened? What do I feel like I’m dreaming? Is it true? Did the football really enter the goal, and not just hit the net at the side? A goal scored at the last second… Yes, not the last minute, but a goal scored at the last second! It’s simply unbelievable!!”

Not to mention him, even the England players on the pitch could not believe what they were seeing. It was reasonable to say that after their teammate had scored, they should raise their arms high and cheer. These people’s arms were opened, but they were holding their heads and staring at the ball inside the goal …

Terry stood in the back as he did not go up to take part in the attack because he thought the game was over and it was a wise move to save his strength to play overtime. But now as he looked at George Wood’s back, only then he realized that he was not talking big to boost morale. He was for real!

“I can’t believe that George Wood can shoot a ball like this! If he were to do it again, he would most likely shoot it to the sky! This must have been a shot by God! It was God who used Wood’s right foot to kick a goal like this! In the last second of the game, England got their last chance and they reversed the game! Can anyone believe such a game if we were to tell them?” The Spanish commentator was also very excited as he said, “But this is happening! We have the privilege of witnessing a game like this… No, it’s a miracle!”

Wood, who scored the goal, was not as excited as the other people. He did not dash to the sidelines or take off his jersey. He just stood there in the same spot, with his arms open and his clenched fists pointing to the sky.

Even if he was not excited, other people would naturally be excited. His teammates rushed excitedly from all directions to fully surround him. In the end, they simply lifted him up and threw him into the sky! Such a celebration was really a rare sight. In the past, no matter how excited they were, they only piled on top of the goalscorer…

“George Wood – what an incredible goal! Whether it was the way he scored the goal or the timing of a goal, it’s incredible! The Italians lost at the last second! They did not manage to drag the game into overtime. They lost the championship trophy in the last second!”

Amelia knelt on the ground, while his teammates next to him looked at the excited Englishmen in a daze. No one could accept such a reality – just a minute ago, they thought they were going to be champions. Just a second ago, they thought the game would be dragged into overtime. And with their impenetrable defense, they would still be the winners.

Wood’s world-class kick shattered their dreams. The post-victory revelry had now been shattered into pieces and scattered away in the night wind in Madrid.

Lippi stood blankly on the sidelines. This time he was not calm, but completely lifeless… He did not expect his team to lose the game in this way. In the most unlikely moment, the most unlikely person had become the one to end the game.

They almost had the game in the bag…

While Lippi was struck dumb, Twain did not jump up and down like the people around him. He stood in place but held out his right hand and pressed on his heart.

He was feeling his heartbeat, which was very fast and strong.

“Hey, Tony! We’re champions! The European champions!” Walker did not give him a chance to feel the emotions here. He ran up from behind to hold him. “We did it, we really did it!”

Twain did not struggle and just let him hold himself as he howled crazily.

He felt as if a weight had been taken off his mind. It was a good thing someone was holding him. Otherwise he really doubted that he could continue to stand any longer…

At this point, he did not have to care about what kind of counterattack Italy would do, because he was certain that the game was already over. This time it was really over!

No one would need to fish out the football from the net and put it in the center circle. The leading England team would not do that. Nor would the trailing Italians do the same.

The referee followed closely with three whistles to end the game after he blew the whistle to declare the validity of the goal.

The game was over!

The England team’s substitute players rushed to the pitch along with the coaches to celebrate their first ever UEFA European Championship in history.

Twain did not follow the crowd to rush up. He stood on the sidelines and got ready to shake Lippi’s hand.

It was a post-match etiquette.

Lippi was back to normal after the game ended. Having won numerous championships in his life, he also had won a lot of runner-up titles. He had experienced a lot of such defeats.

“Congratulations, Mr. Twain.”

He politely congratulated as he held Twain’s hand.

“Thank you, Mr. Lippi.”

The two men did not have any more conversation. Lippi needed to be busy appeasing his players. Those people were already crying as if they were dissolved in tears. And as for Twain himself… he was already surrounded by a large group of reporters, waiting for him and Lippi to finish shaking hands before they rushed up to interview him.

Lippi had just turned around to walk away when the reporters swarmed up to surround Twain for fear that he would run away.

“Mr. Twain! First of all, congratulations on winning the first UEFA European Championship in the history of English football…”

“Mr. Twain, can you talk about what you are thinking now?”

“Was it beyond your expectations that you would win the game at the last minute, Mr. Twain?”

“Do you have anything to say about George Wood’s goal?”

“Mr. Twain…”

“Tony…”

“Mr. Twain…”

“Mr. Tony Twain…”

Countless questions, microphones, recording pens and mobile phones were stuffed to the front of Twain’s lips. Now even if he were to let out a fart, it would be considered fragrant. Any remark he made would be presented as famous. No one in the world of football would dare to question his ability to coach the national team anymore.

Tony Twain was the champion. The established law would come into effect again in the national team.

At the end of the first installment of the classic film, , Michael Corleone finally became the new godfather of the Corleone family. With his wife peeking at the door, he accepted the kiss on the hand from his men as vows of loyalty and devotion, completing the transformation from a young officer full of ideals to a ruthless mafia don.

Now, at the Bernabéu, the old godfather of Italian football was walking off the stage, step by step. He was comforting his players. No media outlet expressed any concern about him, and no one cared how he felt as the “loser.”

And Twain had received unprecedented welcome and popularity.

Tonight, the whole of Europe squirmed at his feet and kissed the hand that he extended to acknowledge their allegiance.

As the old godfather alone departed in disappointment under the Sicilian afternoon sun, the new godfather sat high on the throne of power, enjoying the pledges of allegiance from the new recruits. Overlooking the world, he was full of mettle, as if there was nothing or anyone in the world that could stop his steel horses from conquering the world.

It was only Europe tonight. Two years later, he wanted the whole world to surrender at his feet!

He had no doubt about it, for the champion’s heart in his chest was beating powerfully.

Chapter 976 - Two Years Later

When Tony Twain led the England team to win the first UEFA European Championship in history, the English media heralded that the football world had entered “Twain’s era.” During that period, Tony Twain’s prestige in England even showed trend of surpassing that of the British prime minister’s. Even Carl Spicer, his arch enemy, did not say anything bad about him. Just thinking about when he brought the England team back home, the scene of multitudes coming out from everywhere to welcome them, he already knew how unwise it was to say bad things about him at this time …

But Carl Spicer did not have to wait too long. When the World Cup qualifiers were reignited, they finally found a chance to attack Twain. The England team, which was awe-inspiring in the UEFA European Championship, seemed to have lost all its drive and faltered in the qualifying rounds.

There was even a time when Tony Twain’s manager position was precarious. The media admonished him and put him up against all kinds of charges. There had even been a number of authoritative media outlets that had proclaimed that the English Football Association was seriously considering whether to let Twain go. As for the great feat of leading the England team to make history a year ago, it had long been forgotten by people.

Competitive sports was so cruel. The losers were always in the wrong.

It was the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup held in Australia that saved Twain. As a preview for next year’s World Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup, which gathered the champions from all continents, had received more and more attention. As the 2016 UEFA European Championship winner, England was invited to the tournament.

The England team, which competed in the Confederations Cup, was very different from the one that competed in the UEFA European Championship a year ago. The old players such as Gerrard and Terry had left the national team, with the 25-year-old Wilshere being appointed with the heavy task. The media all saw him as George Wood’s future successor in the England squad.

At this point, the England team was overwrought over whether they could advance out of the European section. The Confederations Cup would be a break away from it for them. No one had any hope of their results before the game. There were even rumors that Twain would be sacked by the Football Association when the Confederations Cup was over if the results were bad.

It was just that no one thought Tony Twain would show his talent once again. He led the team that no one was optimistic about, and surmounted all difficulties to finally beat his arch-rival, the Copa América champion, Argentina, to lift up the Confederations Cup trophy.

With a victory over a team like Argentina in the final and winning the Confederations Cup, Twain’s position was firmly established overnight again.

So much so that Carl Spicer said sourly in his program, “Twain always gets a good chance at a critical moment. The Confederations Cup was his good chance…”

And Twain had also completed the team’s generational change and reshuffling through the Confederations Cup. The new England team was younger, more dynamic and had more driver. They would not halt and go no further just because they won the title.

In the subsequent World Cup qualifiers, they went from third place to finish second in the group and eventually qualified for the play-offs. During the qualifiers, England beat Russia to secure a last-minute ticket to Australia’s World Cup finals.

But at that time, just as England was celebrating their qualification for the World Cup, perhaps anyone who was bold enough, did not expect them to see what they were going to see today.

※※※

Sydney’s Stadium Australia had never been as lively as it was tonight, like a volcano erupting. It was not spewing with lava, but with passion. Stadium Australia, which could hold up to 81,000 people, was the venue for the World Cup finals this time and was currently at full capacity. The snow-white lights shone out of the stadium, and the surrounding sky was lit up. The helicopter responsible for the aerial filming could be clearly seen hovering over the stadium.

Overlooking from the air, players of the two teams were caught up in an irresolvable fight in the middle of the green field. It was a brouhaha in the crowd within the stands and the heatwave shot straight into the clouds. It could be clearly felt in the helicopter.

More than 200 countries and regions around the world are watching the game live, with about 1.2 billion people watching it on the television. In a game like this, there was Tony Twain’s figure!

“… With less than five minutes to go until the end of the match, the England team is now 2:0 ahead of the last World Cup winner, Brazil! It is an unexpected score which no one could have anticipated before the game. Perhaps a lot of England fans will think they’re dreaming, even until now…”

The Brazilian team is turning up the full pressure. If they can’t equalize the score in these five minutes…”

“There are five minutes left! Just hold on for another five minutes! And we will hold up the World Cup trophy for the second time! Our tight defense has left the Brazilian team with no way to attack… From the beginning of the game, the initiative has fallen into our hands! Tony Twain completely figured out their tactics!”

“Twain is standing on the sidelines. I can’t tell what he’s feeling at the moment. His face is so calm that he’s not worried about the Brazilian’s counterattack.”

“I need to recap Tony Twain’s career since he became a manager – only one word consistently pops up in the entire list: champion! Now, the World Cup title is close at hand and within reach. If England can finally win the World Cup, then to Tony Twain, there’s no championship trophy that he hasn’t gotten in the world!”

The man who was commended by people was standing on the sidelines with his arms across his chest and looking calm. In fact, his heart roiled like boiling water, bubbling over. Although he had long set himself a goal to dominate the world, his heart was still beating uncontrollably at this moment as if it would jump out of his throat the moment he opened his mouth. So, he just tightly pursed his lips, which made him look unperturbed and serene…..

The England team was now completely in a defensive stance on the pitch. Wilshere, who had scored his second goal for the team, had long since been brought off by Twain. England deployed a double defensive midfielder formation in the midfield, with the two players, George Wood and Michael Johnson locked in their positions in front of the penalty area. It was hard even for the Brazilian team to attack.

The current situation was also thanks to the fact that Brazil’s current manager was not Dunga from four years ago. Dunga had left after he succeeded in leading the team to their sixth World Cup using a more conservative approach and then went to Europe to make his fortune. He was replaced by the former Brazilian under-20 national team’s manager, Rogério. Unlike Dunga, he was a supporter of the classic Brazilian football tradition. He preferred offense, emphasized the short passes on the ground and aspired to restore the glory of the Brazilian art of football.

It was a pity that his ambition was no use in the face of Twain. Rogério, who wanted to play offense head to head against England in the final, found they faced a shrinking England team that fought defensively. As a result, the Brazilian team did not score and instead, the England team made use of its defensive counterattacks to score two goals in a row, forcing them to the brink.

Twain did not stay and stand on the sidelines to watch the game. He turned around and walked back to the technical area. Next to him, no one could sit still in their seats. They all went to the sidelines, waiting for the referee to blow the final whistle of the game so that they could rush into the field to celebrate the historic moment with the players on the pitch.

The other people were excited. Only he felt tired.

He had been under a lot of pressure over the past year and he himself had exerted most of the pressure. Now it looked like the England team would win the World Cup title without a doubt. And after that?

Go back home to celebrate…

Twain thought even further.

Before the World Cup, the Football Association had hoped to renew his contract with Twain, but he refused. Despite Shaun Harvey’s displeased look, Twain still laid his cards on the table – he would not renew his contract with the Football Association when the World Cup ended, and his contract expired. That meant he would not continue to be coaching the England team again. The piece of news was nothing new.

As the national team manager, he had won all the championship titles there were. What was the point of staying? Twain did not want to lead the England team to create to create a great undertaking of all ages. He had no interest in the future of English football. For him, leading the England team was just to satisfy his love of football as well as a challenge to himself. Now that the challenge was over, he was tired.

As Twain sat alone in his chair, lost in his thoughts, the referee blew the final whistle.

“The game is over! England has won the 2018 World Cup title in Australia! Congratulations to them! Congratulations to Tony Twain, too! He has led the national team to accomplish the national team’s grand slam honors – the UEFA European Championship, the FIFA Confederations Cup, the FIFA World Cup! This is indeed an enviable achievement!

Twain only stood up from his seat at this moment and raised his hands high, appearing as a winner in front of the camera lenses. Fatigue was not displayed at times like this.

“England is a world champion! This is an unexpected result! Who would have thought they would have a day like this when they couldn’t even get out of the European qualifiers at one point? Two years ago, Twain had led the team to the top of Europe. Two years later, they have become the king of the world!”

“We are the champions! We’re the champions!!” John Motson was incoherent from the excitement. He only knew how to shout the phrase, which everyone knew well.

Around him, the coaches and players rushed about in ecstasy. Some people even cried tears of excitement. And Twain? He was in a calm mood and was being interviewed by reporters at the moment.

The reporters surrounded him. They thought that Twain had become the world champion tonight, so he must be in a very good mood. So, he would answer every question. They could also use this occasion to get more insider news to satisfy a wide range of audience and readers.

As Twain looked at the reporters who kept throwing questions and microphones at him, he just waved his hands and signaled that they did not need to hurry.

Seeing his hand gesture, the reporters did calm down. Yes, the game was already over, so there was no hurry. They had a lot of time to ask questions. The award ceremony was another half an hour away.

“First of all, I have a name list here…” Twain said as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his suit. He unfolded it to wave it at the press. No one could see clearly what was written on it. They only saw a swath of dense text.

“For the names of the media outlets which I call out, I will refuse to accept interviews from them.”

Once he said it, it was as if a heavy artillery had been dropped in the crowd!

What did that mean? Why did he have to have such a grim expression and refuse to be interviewed during such a happy time? What was going on with Tony Twain? Was there something wrong with his brain again?

It was during this time that a lot of the English media suddenly realized – the person they were facing was still Tony Twain. More than a decade had passed. Even though there were more wrinkles added on his face and the hair on his head was getting whiter, he was the unruly Tony Twain who liked to clash with the media.

“The Sun, News of the World…” Twain looked down and read the names on the “blacklist” one by one. These names were the media outlets which had hit him while he was at the lowest and during his most difficult times. They viciously scolded him and clamored for him to be fired from the England national team manager position. At that time, Twain also had his own column to fight back, but his voice was like a small stone dropped into the sea. It did not even create a ripple.

At the time, these media did not think that one day they would have to put up a smile to interview Twain and hoped that he would open his mouth to let them have their reports.

Gentlemen, it was time now to settle all accounts.

Twain had long remembered each and every name of these media outlets and written them down on the list to be carried with him at any time. He was preparing for this moment. Of course, if he did not win the championship in the end, the list might not come in handy, because even if he wanted to refuse to be interviewed by these media outlets, he would not be able to stop the others from rebuking him.

When these media outlets heard Twain read their names, the expressions on their faces suddenly became excited. Twain’s list included the vast majority of the English media outlets, as well as several foreign media, including one media outlet in China, which once described him as “impotent.”

After he read not so short list, Twain looked at the crowd of stunned reporters in front of him and asked, “Do the other people have any questions?”

The first people to react were the Liverpool Echo reporters. Because they had an anti-Twain representative, Christopher Beesley, so there were a lot of bad stuff written about Twain in the newspapers. They appeared to be agitated by Twain’s announcement that he would reject their interviews. They said, “You can’t do this, Mr. Twain!”

“Of course, I can, Mr. Reporter. I’m a world champion!” He roared cockily. “You’re the ones who asked to interview me while I’m not the one who asked you to come and interview me.”

“You…” The Liverpool Echo reporter was rendered speechless by Twain’s words for a long time.

On the side, The Sun reporter was relatively sly. He would not directly protest. Any fool could now see that Twain was in the limelight. It was fruitless to clash with him. Although they had clashes before, being flexible and taking advantage of the situation was a basic quality of an excellent reporter.

He moved closer, adopting a humble approach as he said, “I’m a reporter for The Sun. We’ll publish an apology in the newspaper, and offer you our sincerest apologies for what we’ve said in the past…” His submissive attitude made the other media outlets “wake up” – that’s the right thing to do now! Use an apology to ease the strained relationship with Twain and make the boss happy after the World Cup first. Why did not they think of it? Instead, they had let The Sun reporter seize the key moment!

The Sun and other media outlets all thought that it was the only solution to the problem.

But Twain’s words shattered all of their dreams as he said, “I refuse to accept any form of apology, and I will not accept any form of interview from you.”

His attitude was very firm and had absolutely no intention of making any jokes or giving in. He laughed when he saw the group of media reporters dumbfounded.

“It looks like everyone has nothing to ask. That’s good. I have to be with my players. Sorry, step aside.” He pushed away a few people in front of him and squeezed out the huddle of reporters.

The group of reporters watched as his figure mixed in with the celebratory crowd before they reacted. But in the face of the meritorious manager who had just led the team to win the World Cup, they could only lament – they did not dare to say anything bad about Tony Twain in their respective published media all because he was now the national hero. Anyone who went against him would be going against the whole of England, and even the whole of Britain. He would be the public enemy of the country.

Furthermore, what made the media even more frustrated was Twain would announce his departure after the World Cup. Since he was not in the manager’s position, there was naturally no handle for the media to seize upon, not to mention such talk of “it was never too late for a gentleman to exact revenge.”

Twain was suave with the turn of events and cut off the possibility of the media looking for an opportunity to pick a quarrel with him. He had incensed this group of people with no ways of venting it till they stifled from the bottled-up anger.

The group of reporters sighed helplessly and dispersed.

On this happy night, they were not happy at all.

※※※

Twain was not done with dropping bombshells yet. At a press conference that evening, Tony Twain, who had just led the England team to its second World Cup title, had announced a somewhat unexpected piece of news:

“I’ve decided to retire. Yes, it’s retirement, not resignation. Not only am I going to step down as the England manager, I am also not going to consider invitations from the other teams. I’m no longer Manager Tony Twain from today onwards,. I don’t have any plans for the future. For the moment I just want to enjoy the joy brought by the World Cup victory. I want to thank my team and to the fans who have supported me.”

When he finished his speech, the reporters below the stage were in a frenzy…

Everyone had been looking forward to Twain creating a new glory. How could he retire? He was currently not even fifty years old… As a manager, how could he retire when he was in his prime?

No one knew what Twain was thinking. Since more than a decade ago, no one had been able to guess what was on this man’s mind. He always liked to be unexpected. When he was admonished by people and during the most difficult times, he persisted and did not resign. Now that he was at the peak of his success, he suddenly announced his retirement.

Maybe he just liked to dally with the masses like this…

Twain stood up and waved to the media, preparing to say goodbye. Perhaps realizing that this was his last public appearance as a manager, the reporters lifted their cameras in succession, pressed the shutters, and set his image with the cameras.

Just that for such a mad man to suddenly bid farewell, even though those media outlets had been checkmated by him, they still inevitably felt that it was a great pity – what are we going to have to attract the attention of readers in the future?!

Chapter 977 - A Child

”Tony Twain has announced his retirement!”

“This time, it’s goodbye for real!”

“Unbelievable, he actually chose to leave at the peak of his career…”

“His retirement is a massive loss to English Football!”

Even those media bodies who were put into Twain’s blacklist after the final felt that it was a pity that he left. Although it was not news that Twain was going to resign from his post as England’s manager after the World Cup, nobody expected him to choose to leave completely——To retire.

England’s triumph in the World Cup dominated the headlines of the newspapers for two days before it got replaced by Twain’s decision.

For a moment, there were many rumors about his reasons for retirement, but none of them was trustable. That was because Twain did not explain why he was going to retire instead of just resigning.

※※※

“You actually resigned?” Shania’s beautiful eyes widened as she looked at Twain opposite her.

Twain smiled as he enjoyed the expression on his wife’s face. She looked beautiful even when she was surprised.

“That’s right, I quit! Aren’t you happy? I only see surprise in your expression.”

“Er…” Shania did not know whether she was happy with the news. She did not even know if she should be happy.

The two of them were in France, Paris, not in England at that time. Shania had a show to attend there and Twain was accompanying her.

“I wanted to give you a surprise, do you like it?”

Twain spread his arms out and waited for his wife to jump into his embrace.

However, Shania did not do that. She merely cocked her head as she examined her husband, “I’m just thinking about the number of days that you can keep it up this time…”

Twain blushed in embarrassment at this comment. The last time Twain said that he would quit, not go back into management and focus on accompanying Shania, he went back on his words within the month after his heart got restless after a call from London.

“I’m retiring this time!” Twain raised his right hand and swore, “I’m going to have absolutely nothing to do with football now.”

Shania merely gave him a smile. She was not a silly girl who would believe everything a man said.

Twain could tell that she did not believe her, and he had no choice but to mutter, “Let time prove everything then.”

Shania only leant onto him after seeing that he was feeling down, “What will George say about you quitting again?” The last time he left his job as Nottingham Forest’s manager, Wood got into a cold war with him for a very long time. Shania knew all about that incident.

“You don’t have to worry about it this time,” Twain patted Shania on her back gently, “I’ve already talked to him about it.”

※※※

George Wood received a call from Pierce Brosnan, asking him about “insider information” regarding Twain’s retirement.

“He said he wanted to take a break, “George’s answer was as succinct as ever.

“That’s it?” Brosnan could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could something so grave be decided so easily?

“Yes.”

“How could that…wait!” Brosnan finally reacted to it, “You didn’t try to stop him when he told you?”

“I did, but it didn’t work,” Wood was honest and did not lie.

Brosnan stayed silent for a while before asking, “George, can you tell me the details of the events at that time?”

“Um…” Wood became hesitant as he did not know what he should or should not tell the media. Twain did not agree to it, nor did he disagree.

Brosnan decided to use the door-in-the-face technique, “It’s fine if he forbade you from talking about it. I won’t make things difficult for you, George.”

“No, he did not say that…” Wood shook his head.

He thought back to a month ago, the night before England was due to play Australia. Twain suddenly asked Wood to go to his room as he had something important to talk to him about.

“Actually, this is not something that I should be telling you before such an important match. However, I trust that you have the mental strength to cope with it, and if I talk to you about this when it happens, there will be many disruptions which will make it difficult for us to have a sit and talk properly,” Twain was very direct at what he wanted to say, “My contract will be up after the World Cup and I don’t intend to extend it. You know about it, don’t you?”

Wood nodded his head. Not only him, the whole England knew about it. After the FIFA Confederations Cup, England returned in glory and the media guessed that the Football Association should have given Twain a new contract. After all, it was only a year till the World Cup. However, the Football Association did not do that then, choosing to wait till after the World Cup before deciding if they wanted to extend Twain’s contract based on the results. It sounded like they did not trust Twain.

Even though Twain did not openly lose his temper, he lost his faith in the Football Association because of that. He could not feel the cooperation between him and the Football Association anymore. The only thing left was for them to make use of each other. Harvey was merely using him to solidify his position as he led the England team to a series of good results, yet he was unwilling to take responsibility for any possible future failures. Twain, on the other hand, was just doing it for the 14 million pounds annual salary.

Since that was the case, then it was better to end this earlier. So, after leading England to the final round, Twain released an announcement to say that he would not be extending his contract with the Football Association. Regardless of the results in the World Cup, he would be leaving his position after the competition.

At that time, England barely made it out of the group stages and the public did not think that England would be able to achieve any good results in the World Cup, that was why they did not protest against Twain’s announcement. In their views, Twain was giving himself an out first, in case England performed badly in the knockout stages——This was still a very big possibility to them——This way, he could leave with his dignity intact as he would have left on his own accord, instead of being forced out…

As he looked at Wood nodding his head, Twain continued saying, “However, this time it’s not as simple as just stepping down as England manager. It’s leaving the game altogether. It’s retirement. I’ve decided to retire.”

Wood looked up at the man in front of him in astonishment.

“I’m not joking or anything, George. I’m telling you because I don’t want to hurt you again,” Twain was referring to the time he left without a word.

“Why retire?” Wood asked.

“So that I can give more of my time to my wife. For the past few years, I’ve been too busy and too tired to take care of Shania.” The manager of England was probably the busiest manager in the world. And in a country where paparazzi was so rampant such as England, there was almost no private life at all. Twain was not being spoiled or exaggerating when he said that. “I’ll be fifty in September next year. How much more time can I have by her side?” Wood had a special relationship with him, that was why Twain could tell him heartfelt words like this. Otherwise, for someone who needed to maintain his image in front of others, he would never had revealed his inner feelings.

This made Wood fall into deep thought. He was facing the same problem as Twain. His mother’s health had been getting worse, which is why he had not been looking for a girlfriend. That was because to him, there might not be much time for him to stay by his mother’s side anymore.

As they had similar feelings, Wood had no rights to stop him at all.

“So, it’s because of this…” Brosnan muttered to himself after hearing the narration by Wood.

Tony Twain was the man of the moment after all. Even if he led England to the World Cup triumph, his popularity was off the charts for now and his retirement led to a great discussion. Not every fan understood his decision. If this was the reason, then there would probably be no one who would complain about it.

“I understand now George. Thank you.”

Brosnan hung up after thanking Wood. Wood did not know if he did the right thing by telling this to a reporter.

But he shook his head very soon and shook this thought away. If there was a problem, Twain should be the one troubled by it, not him. It was his fault for leaving him again anyway.

※※※

“What other plans do you have after the show in Paris?” Twain asked his wife who was cuddling in his embrace.

“I have some time off,” Shania understood the meaning behind Twain’s question, “Do you have something planned Uncle Tony?”

Twain went silent for a while, as if he was making a very important decision. He looked at Shania again and said, “Let’s adopt a child from China.”

This was a decision that Shania did not expect. She escaped her husband’s embrace and looked at him in shock, as if she heard wrongly.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t make you pregnant…” Twain sounded apologetic and remorseful. His life since the transformation had been very successful. He enjoyed great success in his career, he married a supermodel wife who was 21 years his junior, but this was the only thing that troubled him. He did not know whether it was a residual effect from the transformation, or maybe it was God’s punishment for having the best of his career and love lives, or maybe it was retribution for having too many enemies… He seemed to have become impotent.

Shania shut Twain up with her hand, preventing him from continuing to blame himself, “The person I fell in love with is Uncle Tony, not some kind of stallion. It doesn’t matter if we have no children, I love you Uncle Tony.” She was a little worried that Twain would think there was some cracks in their relationship because of his biological flaw. She had to ease Twain’s mind.

Twain could not say anything after Shania covered his mouth. He could only stare at his wife’s eyes and Shania similar stared at him. They did not say anything but they both understood each other perfectly.

Twain opened his mouth and gently bit on Shania’s hand. Shania frowned and lightly gave Twain a slap and took her hand back.

“Let’s adopt a child from China,” Twain repeated his plan.

Shania did not object to it. Since her husband wanted a child so badly, how could she possibly object? Even though she did not know why her husband wanted to adopt a child from China.

It was natural for her to not know that Twain wanted to make up for his own regret——He could not be a Chinese anymore in this life, the next best thing was to have a Chinese child.

“When are we setting off? I’m free from the day after tomorrow. What kind of procedures do we have to go through to adopt a child from China?”

Twain shook his head, “I don’t know, let’s go check it out. If there is none who is suitable, then we won’t adopt one first,” Twain was very cautious about picking a child.

Shania looked at Twain’s eyes as they moved in their sockets. If Twain had decided to adopt a child, then do they have to continue to make love so frequently? Making love is part of being in love and to be honest, Shania loved the tussles she had with Uncle Tony on the bed. Even though Uncle Tony was almost fifty, he did not feel like he was old at all in the bedroom.

Twain seemed to know what she was thinking and carried her all of a sudden before tossing her onto the bed next to them. Shania exclaimed in shock but very soon, her lips were sealed…

※※※

Tang Jing was still in a shock when she received the call from Twain as Twain rarely called her. If he had something to discuss, he would call Tang, not her.

When Twain told her to find out about the materials that he had to prepare and the certifications that the adopter had to have to adopt a child in China, she was even more shocked.

Even though she agreed immediately, she did not recover from the shock until she hung up the phone. There were rumors that Twain was impotent as he and Shania did not have any child between them after so many years of marriage. So, Tang Jing was not shocked about that. What shocked her was that they actually thought of adopting a child from China.

Tang noticed that his wife was a little restless after receiving the call and he asked with concern. He did not expect it to be related to Twain. His wife did not understand why Twain wanted to adopt an orphan from China, but Tang knew the reason. It was too bad that this was a reason that he could not tell Tang Jing. He could not possibly tell his wife, “Your husband and Twain exchanged their souls and Twain is actually a Chinese. That’s why he wanted to adopt a Chinese child.”

At that moment, he merely said, “Twain loves China, doesn’t he? Maybe he loved the children from China too?”

That was a valid explanation too. Besides, how could anyone understand the likes and dislikes of someone else perfectly?

Tang Jing felt that something was off, but she did not take it to mind. Instead, she was very active in making calls back to China to enquire about the relevant information for Twain.

※※※

After two days, Twain and Shania returned to England. They looked for the relevant authorities in England to certify their age, occupation, marriage, health, wealth and whether they had any criminal records. They also contacted the English embassy and Chinese embassy to make some preliminary preparations for adoption.

In England, where the media were highly trained, how could their actions escape the attention of the paparazzi?

The media inferred that Twain was planning to adopt a child from the information that Twain was preparing for. There had always been rumors floating about regarding the lack of a child between Twain and Shania’s marriage after so many years so this news was not that surprising.

In China, it might be an embarrassing thing for a man to be impotent, but not so much in England. It was very common for couples to adopt an orphan when they were unable to conceive themselves. Even if they were able to conceive, families would also adopt children from other countries too.

There were reporters who stopped Twain outside the Chinese embassy, but they did not ask him about the adoption, instead, they asked, “What made you decide to pack up and leave at the peak of your career?”

Twain was not angry that he was stopped by reporters, instead, he waved the Chinese visa in his hands excitedly and said, “I’m working hard with my wife to build a new family. This is what I intend to do now and in the future!”

Chapter 978 - Teresa

Adoption was not something one could easily hide from the media, so Twain did not go about the issue furtively. The Chinese media knew that Twain was returning to China to adopt a child but news like this regarding a celebrity’s private life would only make it to the tabloids. Mass media would never publish something like this — since when did the Xinhua News Agency or China Central Television publicize news of a famous person coming to China to adopt a child? Never, right? In reality, there were a lot of foreigners who visited China to adopt children and quite a number of them were celebrities, too, so the media did not really report things like this.

On top of the paperwork that came with adopting a child in China, the foreigners had to fork out a large sum of money as well. China set a high threshold for foreigners who were looking to adopt children. Even if the person was someone as famous as Twain, they would have to do it by the book: pay the requisite amount of money and abide by the necessary formalities and procedures. But for Twain, problems that could be resolved with money were no problems at all. He had no lack of money and there was no issue with the procedures either; he was determined to get what he came for.

Right from the get-go, Twain specified for the adoption area to be in Sichuan. He would not settle for anything else — he was born there and he had a deep attachment to his hometown, a sentiment that carried over to the children of this land.

He went round to the welfare centres in Sichuan and picked out a few of the better children before discussing with Shania again. Finally, they chose a four-year-old girl. In the more backward and remote parts of China, there was still a clear preference for sons instead of daughters. Many families had a lot of children because they desperately wanted a boy but they did not have the means to raise all the children, so they either abandoned or gave away their daughters. As such, there were a lot more girls than there were boys in the welfare centres. Even if there were boys, half of them had a physical disability. Twain did not have the same preference, and neither did Shania. To them, boys had their own merits and girls were cute in their own way; it just so happened that there were more girls in the welfare centre and so they settled for adopting a girl.

The little girl who was on the cusp of turning five was not as rowdy as the other children when she met Twain and Shania. She was very quiet. Decked a red floral dress, she sat on the chair and blinked at the two strangers in front of her. She seemed a little apprehensive, much like an innocent animal, and was extremely loveable.

Shania was taken by the little girl the moment she laid eyes on her and Twain was also very much enamored of the way she sat quietly. Because of the nature of his work, he preferred for his life to be calm and silent so he did not really like children who were too rowdy. Quietness was just right up his alley. According to the case file the welfare centre had, this little girl was from Zigong, Sichuan. She was left on the doorstep of the welfare centre not long after she was born. Her parents were heartless, leaving her on the doorstep without even giving her a name. The parents left the child there and no other information or message. As such, the people at the welfare centre named her Liu Ai, homonymous with the Chinese phrase for “keep love”, in hopes that the little girl would hold on to love. They decided her birthday would be the third of October — the day the welfare centre found her.

Now that they had decided on a child to adopt, they would move on to settle the paperwork. Once that was done with, Liu Ai would have no more ties with the welfare centre and would officially become Twain and Shania’s first child, even if she was adopted.

Twain realised how fortunate he was when he was dealing with the paperwork. According to regulations in China, foreigners who wanted to adopt from China had to be older than thirty but younger than fifty. Twain was two months shy of fifty, falling just within the age range. Had he been two months later, there was no way he would have fulfilled this wish of his.

Twain was a celebrity; even in Zigong, a small town in southern Sichuan, he was still rather popular. On top of that, the person accompanying him was much more popular amongst the Chinese public than he was. Shania was a worldwide model and Hollywood star who had long broken into the Chinese market. The public had long familiarized themselves with posters of the products she endorsed as well as television advertisements.

There was a perk to being a celebrity: much emphasis was placed on his status as a celebrity and so it was a lot easier to get things moving during his discussions with the welfare centre and the Civil Affairs Department, which was really satisfactory.

In just a day, Liu Ai had become the child of Twain and Shania. Now that she was a foreigner’s child, she had to have a foreign name, too, though Twain decided to keep her Chinese name. He had an inexplicable affinity with China and this child was part of that, so how could she not have a Chinese name? And so, Shania was tasked with giving her an English name. She eventually chose ‘Teresa’, Greek for ‘harvester’ and the Portuguese Goddess of Harvest. This was a name often given to girls with black hair who were beautiful, demure, direct, and pious. Faith aside, everything else seemed to fit Liu Ai’s appearance and personality to a tee.

After the paperwork was done, the lady at the welfare centre helped Liu AI — she was Teresa now — pack her belongings and handed them over to the Twains. Not that there was much, really, just a few gifts from different people as well as some toys and coloring books donated to the welfare centre. She had some clothes but Twain rejected them, opting to keep only the toys and coloring books. Why would she still wear those old clothes? He would definitely be buying her new ones. She was his daughter and he would make sure she was dressed to the nines, like a princess.

Little Liu Ai said little through the entire, trailing behind with a little toy doll she owned clutched to herself. Twain thought she was really likeable; he really liked children who were quiet and sensible.

At the end, when they were standing at the door of the welfare centre, a bunch of the kids came out to send Liu Ai off. She was adopted by parents who came from overseas and had to move there with them, so this would probably be the last they would see of her. The bunch of kids were crying and laughing, reluctant to see her leave. The Twains were stood by the side, talking to the director who was probably thanking them for being so kind and adopting little Liu Ai, and hoping they would treat her well.

“Mr Twain, Miss Shania. Ai-ai doesn’t like to talk a lot and she keeps a lot of things to herself instead of talking to us. I know you’re both celebrities and have a lot on your plate when it comes to your job, but I do hope you take care to not neglect her,” said Liu Ai’s caretaker, who went out of the way to mention this. This was the lady who looked after the little girl and she seemed rather worried still. She knew Liu Ai rather well and feared that the little girl would be unhappy moving to a foreign country with that personality of hers, but also because of language barriers and a possible inability to adapt. There was something else that worried the lady, though she did not vocalize this concern. Twain and Shania were, after all, foreigners — celebrities, at that. Celebrity marriages were often tumultuous, and what would happen to Ai-ai if they ended up splitting? Who knew if Twain and Shania even loved each other in real life? Could they really love their adopted daughter?

Twain was not aware that the lady had her doubts about him and was just happy that he had a daughter now. He nodded at what she said, “That won’t be an issue at all. I’ve retired and can look after my daughter now.”

Twain dealt with the bulk of the communicating since Shanie still did not know how to speak Chinese. All she did was stay by his side and stare at the little kids nearby who were bidding Teresa farewell with eyes full of love. She had always wanted a child of her own but she never got pregnant despite trying for nine years, so she had no choice but to take another route and adopt a child instead. Now that she had a daughter, the maternal instincts she had suppressed for so many years had resurfaced. Twain was probably going to be neglected in the coming days.

The children were ultimately herded by the other ladies. After saying their goodbyes, Teresa was brought to Twain and Shania’s sides.

Shania saw tear tracks staining her daughter’s face — the girl had obviously been crying. She hurriedly fished out her handkerchief and gently dabbed away the tears on Teresa’s face. Her eyes were filled with worry and her smile was a little forced. It was as if this short interaction had established some sort of telepathic bond with her daughter, and the sight of her daughter’s sadness was enough to trigger her own.

But Twain was focused on something else. The little girl had been very sad when she was saying goodbye to the other kids but she could control her emotions when she was in front of them. She was obviously a very sensible child and Twain liked this very much.

The director of the welfare centre was a lady in her fifties who had been working here for more than two decades. Now that she had to send off a kid, she was a little reluctant too. She squatted down to stroke Liu Ai’s head, whispering, “Hey, Ai-ai, you have parents from today onwards. Are you happy?”

Little Ai-ai kept her head down. She snuck a glance at Twain before casting her gaze down again, then nodded.

“Granny hopes you’ll live well and healthily in England.”

The director stood up and patted her shoulders, signalling for her to walk over to her new parents on her own.

The little girl slowly took two steps forward to stand in front of Twain and Shania. She then said in a whisper, somewhat embarrassedly, “Daddy, mommy.”

She spoke in Chinese, but it was a Sichuan dialect. Despite that, “mommy” sounded almost the same in every language so Shania could pick up on that. She bent down, elated, hugging her daughter and kissing her face.

Twain was not as expressive as his wife so he only smiled brightly. He had been married to Shania for nine years and now they finally had their own child. It did not matter that she was adopted; he was still very much content with this. After all, he knew he was sterile. This summer, he had led his team to clinch the World Cup — the highest accolade in football — then retired after that accomplishment to adopt his first child. This was arguably the happiest year he has ever had.

Just like this, Liu Ai — she was Teresa now — boarded the car with her new parents. She was leaving behind four years in this welfare centre with her friends, who were sending her off reluctantly, to start a new one.

Now that he had his first daughter, Twain was in a really good mood. He was now a father. Twain had little experience in that field and all he knew was that he had to keep his child happy. As such, he took Teresa around Chengduthe next day. He brought her to see the charming and adorable pandas, even buying her a few panda dolls. They then headed to Jiuzhaigou to sight-see after roaming around Chengdu. He wanted the little girl who had never left the welfare centre to experience the scenic sights the world had to offer.

During the course of the trip and having interacted with the child over these few days, Twain understood the problem that the lady at the welfare centre had told him about: Teresa was just too quiet, almost as if she did not know how to laugh happily anymore. This was not a good habit; it was scary for a child to not know how to smile. Twain decided he would do something about her overly introverted personality. Since she was still a child, then she should be sprightly when the occasion called for it.

And so, Twain and Shania brought her to themes parks in Hong Kong like Disneyland and Ocean Park after they returned from Jiuzhaigou, in hopes of giving her a new experience and a taste of happiness.

They headed to Beijing after Hong Kong and Twain brought her to Tiananmen Square for the flag-raising ceremony. This was not Twain’s idea. Teresa had brought it up herself; she had always watched the ceremony on television and so she wanted to see for herself what it was like. This was his daughter’s request, so how could he not grant her wish? Twain brought her to Tiananmen Square for the ceremony and even brought her to the Great Wall of China, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and other tourist attractions in Beijing. He brought her to the zoo as well to see the lions, tigers, monkeys, and elephants. He brought her to the amusement park to ride the roller coasters and Ferris wheel. On the roller coaster, the quiet girl screamed for the first time, a sort of cathartic release. Though she was still rather frightened when they stepped down from the roller coaster, Twain caught a trace of exhilaration on her little face. Teresa was the only child from her welfare centre who had been to Beijing to have fun, and this was as good as her buddies back in the welfare centre having their wish granted as well. After this day came to an end, she printed out the pictures from this excursion and sent them back so her friends could share the experience with her.

※※※

The Twains got closer to their daughter after the trip around China. At the very least, she was no longer calling out for them in a timid and quiet voice. In fact, she was interacting with her new parents very liberally.

After their China trip, Twain and Shania brought their daughter straight to Brazil from China. They brought her to visit Shania’s parents so the latter could meet their granddaughter. Shania’s parents were also very fond of the obedient and sensible granddaughter. They did not care that she was not related to Shania by blood, and the loved the child if their daughter loved her. On top of that, they were not the type to prefer sons to daughters. On the contrary, they seemed to prefer daughters.

“But I’ll never allow Teresa to follow in my footsteps!” Shania swore to her parents as a precaution. She was not expecting her daughter to be making big bucks or building a name for herself — it was still much too early to be thinking about something like this. All she wanted was for her daughter to have a healthy and happy childhood.

“She’s your daughter, Jo. Whatever you say goes.”

Her parents were not angry. After all, parents knew their children best. They knew that their daughter had always wanted a child and felt helpless that Twain was sterile. Now that she finally adopted a daughter, she was over the moon, and her parents were too content with that to be fretting over a training plan for the little girl.

Teresa was on her best behaviour, too, which her grandparents really adored. They bought her a pile of new stuff to bring back to England.

They stayed in Brazil for about a week before Twain and Shania returned to England with Teresa. The Twains were surrounded by a bunch of reporters who had caught wind of their arrival at Heathrow Airport. It was a chaotic scene and the airport security was there as well. The flash of the cameras and the noise of the crowd frightened Teresa, who hurried to hide behind Twain.

Twain furrowed his brows at this. It seemed like the vicious reporters had scared Teresa.

He did not care if he was the one being harassed by the media, but there was no way he would just let his daughter suffer through this. The child could not understand why there were so many people here to see her, which would surely stress her out somewhat.

And so he pointed at his daughter who was hiding behind her and said to the reporters, “This is my daughter, Teresa. You’ve scared her and so I’m declining any and all interviews here. If you have any questions, ask me when I’m alone. I hope that you won’t harass my daughter like this in the coming days as well.” After saying his piece, he guided his wife and daughter out of the crowd and hurriedly disappeared at the airport exit.

The reporters shook themselves out of their shocked stupor. Tony Twain has a daughter! Not only that, but it was also very obvious that he loved her. Seems like this will be something they have to take note of when they deal with him in the future…

※※※

PS,Twain has finally gotten a child, please give more of your support~~~

PS2,There are people who cursed me in the comments to be unable to bear a child and only able to get children through adoption. I have to thank this friend for giving mercy and not cursing me from having a bastard child. I would rather not be able to bear children than having a bastard child. If I am unable to bear a child, then I would just go ahead and adopt a child, isn’t that a lot more simple. However, if I were to bear a bastard, then I would be in trouble… (To be continued, if you want to know what happens afterwards, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support legal reading!)

Chapter 979 - After Retirement

”Okay, no matter what, Tony Twain has left the footballing world. It’s time for us to stop focusing on him,” On BBC’s “Match of the Day”, the three guests said this when discussing about the important events that happened in the footballing world. They unanimously agreed that Twain’s retirement would be the second biggest event in England sports this year. The first was naturally England’s triumph in the World Cup.

This also represented the media’s attitude. After hogging the limelight for more than a month, with the start of the new season on the horizons, a retired manager would not be able to attract more attention anymore, even if he was a top manager. Besides, if Twain was to not manage any teams anymore, there would be no point in making a big hoo-ha out of his retirement. Outside of football, Tony Twain was nothing and the media did not have to entertain him anymore.

Twain was happy about it. Naturally, Shania had to work, and Twain was able to take care of the child at home without worries. The good thing was that Theresa spent the most difficult times of taking care of a child inside the orphanage and it was not difficult for a man like Twain to take care of her now. Twain had no experience being a father, but he kept a saying in mind, let the child be happy.

A man who was almost fifty acting like an overaged child in front of his kid, spending the whole day playing with Theresa, doing everything he could to make her happy. For now, his whole life revolved around Theresa. Football? He had already thrown that out of his mind.

Furthermore, in order to let Theresa get used to life in this foreign country, he would bring her out for walks often, or take her to Burns bar. Of course, beer was forbidden. He even allocated the area around Theresa as a “non-smoking zone”, and he forbade the fans from smoking there. Now that he was no longer busy with work, he could finally have more time to chat with his old pals in the bar. Everyone was more than happy for him to come daily and they could not care less about being unable to smoke. Theresa was very popular too. Even though she was adopted, the people did not care about it at all. If her father did not care, why should an outsider mind something like that?

This was the happy life that Twain led after retirement.

※※※

“Who do you think have the greatest chances of being champion in the new season?” Lineker asked the guests in the show.

“Liverpool,” Alan Hansen replied without hesitation.

“What’s the reason?”

“Do we need a reason for that? I’m a fan of theirs… Fine, I was just joking. I wish that Liverpool can become champion, but if we analyze it properly, I think Arsenal or Manchester United have the best odds of being champion…”

Lineker switched his attention to the other guest, Mark Lawrenson.

“Ahem,” Lawrenson cleared his throat and replied, “I think Chelsea has a good chance…”

“Then, the teams that will be able to qualify for the next UEFA Champions’ League?”

The two of them had the same answer for this question, “Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.”

Lineker suddenly popped up with a follow-up question, “No Nottingham Forest?”

Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson shook their heads in unison, “No.”

Lawrenson added, “It’ll be difficult for them to even qualify for the Europa League.”

The Europa League was previously known as the UEFA Cup. Following a change in format, the full name was then called “UEFA Europa League”. After the change, the Europa League made some adjustments to the competition format and the qualification process. Previously, the champions of the cup competitions for the various countries would be allowed to participate in the UEFA Cup. If the champions of the cup competitions could participate in the Champions’ League, the runners-up would take their place in the UEFA Cup. This was no longer a viable method now. For the medium to small clubs that wished to enter a European competition, the barrier to entry had become higher.

And Nottingham Forest had already failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions’ League for two seasons in a row, having to settle for a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

To many clubs, participating in the Europa League was a result that deserved praise. However, Nottingham Forest had been achieving very impressive results in the highest European competition just a few years back. Now that they had to settle for the Europa League, it gave people a feeling that they had “fallen”. After all, the influence and profits of Europa League could not be compared with that of the Champions’ League.

And there was something else that had affected Nottingham Forest’s performance. It was no longer a rumor but already a fact——Evan Doughty had always wanted to sell Nottingham Forest. How could a club chairman who had no intention to continue managing the club bring it forward? Up till now, Nottingham Forest had been changing managers so often that the media had already started to mock Nottingham Forest by saying the doors to their manager’s office was a “rotating door”.

One of the reasons why he failed to sell the club was because of poor results, which dropped their market value and therefore, nobody was interested in them. Nottingham is not a big city like Manchester, Liverpool or London after all. A small place is destined to have limited potential for growth. Therefore, the possibility of attracting a foreign investment group was very low. Another reason was because of price negotiation. There would be an occasional buyer, but Evan Doughty would always say that the price they offered was too low for him to accept. And so, this situation was stuck for two whole years. Every year, during preseason, during the January break and after the season ended, there would be news that said Doughty wanted to sell the club, but it was never fulfilled. The fans were disgusted by his lack of loyalty. Initially, they were furious at his behaviors, but now, they merely treated it as a joke and Evan Doughty became a clown in their eyes. The Robin Hood Grandstand of the Crimson Stadium would always have banners scolding Evan Doughty. It had already become a familiar sight here and during live broadcasts of the games, there would always be a close-up of that.

The good thing was they would always qualify for a European competition every year. The Champions’ League a few years back and the Europa League for the last couple of years. This meant they were still not in a stage where they could not make ends meet. However, the results for these competitions were no longer satisfactory. The frequent change of managers meant that people started to fear for their future, and they could not agree on a tactic to use. A new manager would bring with him a new tactic which would be abandoned mid-season when he was sacked, and everyone would have to start from scratch again…

Rinse and repeat, if they could still get good results after that, it could only mean that the English Premier League had no good teams left.

Once a team loses the ability and motivation to fight for the title, the team will inevitably find it hard to keep its players.

Michael Dawson, the center-back that Evan thought was good business, had been plagued with injuries ever since he joined the club, and he retired at the age of 34 due to injury. David Bentley had left Nottingham Forest for Blackburn and his transfer fee netted Nottingham Forest a cool 12 million pounds. Adriano Moke did not leave the club willingly, but he had no say over it. Both his agent and the club chairman wanted him gone because he could command a transfer fee of 18 million pounds. The agent could get a cut of the fee and he eventually left for Arsenal…

For the fans of Nottingham Forest, the four seasons after Twain left were the darkest times of the club. Ignoring the fact that the team won nothing, they had to witness the heroes of their times leave the club every summer. It was as if they had returned to the start of the century when Nottingham Forest was still languishing in the lower divisions.

At that time, they missed Brian Clough, saying that, “If Clough was still here, he’ll never let things become so bad.” Who did they miss now? Tony Twain of course. Too bad Twain had already retired.

※※※

“The target for the club in the new season is to qualify for the Champions’ League? Ha! Be more realistic, mister chairman!” The fans from the surrounding areas were discussing about the future of the club in Burns’ bar. There was a tone of mockery in their words when they mentioned the club chairman, Evan Doughty.

“It’ll be not bad if we can qualify for the Europa League!”

“Even though it’s good to have lofty aspirations… It doesn’t apply to Doughty. Even if the results of the team become better, it’ll only increase his chips for selling the club…”

Twain ignored the serious discussion going on at the other side of the bar. He took his daughter, Theresa, with him to sit at one side and was trying to entertain her as she was starting to get bored.

“Theresa, do you want to hear a joke from Daddy?”

Theresa nodded her head.

“It was a very hot day and there are two bananas walking on the road. Suddenly, the banana walking in front said, ‘It’s so hot, I’m going to take off my clothes.’ And he took his clothes off after that. Then the banana behind fell! Ha ha ha ha!” Twain burst into laughter himself, holding his stomach, after telling Theresa the joke, “Isn’t it funny?”

Opposite him, Theresa pulled at the ends of her mouth, trying very hard to laugh. However, she could not complete such a difficult task after several attempts and she said to Twain in a sad tone, “Daddy, I can’t laugh…”

This time, it was Kenny Burns’ turn to burst into laughter.

Twain felt very awkward, “Okay then… I know that this joke is a little difficult for you to understand…” He scratched his head and turned to look at the bar owner who suddenly appeared. He changed the topic in a hurry, “Why are you not wiping the glasses?”

Burns placed a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice in front of Theresa, “Theresa, this is my treat to you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Kenny,” Theresa’s English was improving by leaps and bounds. A child’s learning capability would always surprise an adult. Now, she can already understand some English and she can also converse in basic English.

Burns took this opportunity to sit next to Twain, “They all wish that you’ll return…” He pointed at the fans at the other end who were still in a heated discussion, “But, they don’t dare to tell you directly.”

“Twain looked at Theresa drinking her juice opposite him, “I’m retired.”

“Jordan retired three times and he came back three times too,” Burns laughed.

Twain looked at him, but he did not sense any unusual expression from him. It was as if it was just a passing remark.

Burns collected the empty glasses on the table before walking slowly back behind the bar table. Twain looked at his back view behind him. This man used to be a famous thug in the English footballing world. He used to be someone that all his opponents feared. Legends said that if he took part in a competition somewhere, the hospitals nearby would set up a new “Burns” wing. Before the 1980 Champions’ League final, he used a set of dentures to threaten the Ballon d’Or winner then, Kevin Keegan, causing him to play badly in the final. During the game, Keegan did not see much of the ball and Hamburger SV lost that match, allowing Nottingham Forest to retain their trophy. After he retired, he managed a bar here. His ability to make the leaders of the football hooligans listen to him definitely had something to do with his notorious reputation. But now, he had a head of white hair and his back was also slightly bent. No matter how one looked at him, he did not look like the butchering thug that everyone was afraid of.

This man later became a middle-aged uncle, wiping glasses daily behind a bar table. Now, he had already become an ordinary old man wiping glasses daily behind a bar table.

Twain turned back to look at his daughter, and he realized that his daughter was also looking at him, saying sheepishly, “Daddy, I can’t finish it…”

Twain reached out to pat her on her head, “It’s okay if you can’t finish it. It’s time to go back, Theresa.”

With that, he left his seat and held Theresa’s hand.

Theresa jumped down and held her daddy’s hand as the two of them walked out.

“Goodbye pals,” Twain waved at the fans who were still involved in a heated discussion.

When they realized that he was leaving, they stopped their discussion and looked at him, as if they had something to say, but nobody said anything. In the end, only Fat John shouted as Twain was about to walk out of the door, “Are you coming tomorrow, Tony?”

Twain turned back to look at him, “I can’t say for sure. I can’t be coming over here everyday. If I bring Theresa here everyday, I’m afraid she might turn bad. Ha ha!”

Twain did not stay to chat as he laughed and pushed open the door to leave.

Tony Twain had never thought that he was old. However, in the eyes of these people, Twain walking out slowly with his daughter in tow probably could be considered as an old man now.

He was not even fifty years old yet and his body was not considered old yet. However, his heart was already old. That nuclear-powered heart of a champion that never stopped beating had slowed down and was slowly becoming quiet. Now that he had won all the trophies that he should have won, what was left to excite him? Nothing, absolutely nothing. He had no reason to come back with a body that had a heart condition to satisfy the desires of the audience.

Maybe this was what he had always wanted. He had already planned long ago that he would leave in glory after winning the world cup. His glorious image would not be smeared, and people did not have to talk about the “the end of a hero”.

However, to the audience, what was the point of watching a show if the most eye-catching leading character had left the stage? During the final concerts of the biggest stars, they would always be asked back for an encore by their fans, sing a few more songs, leave, and then called back for another encore, again and again to show their popularity.

Too bad they could not shout in front of Twain, “Come back Tony! Sing another song for us!”

“I hope that Tony can have a happy and healthy life, especially now that he has a daughter. By why do I prefer that guy who would be so animated on the sidelines, spitting at the fourth official?”

Skinny Bill muttered.

“I like that too…” Someone else muttered next to him.

Bill took a look and found that it was John. They looked at each other before laughing together.

“Why would he return? Forest is in a mess, come back here to smear his reputation as the Godfather of Champions? It’s better if he doesn’t come back…”

Both of them shook their heads at the same time.

Chapter 980 - My Legend Is Still Here （Part 1）

The countdown to the 2018-19 Premier League season officially commenced when the Premier League champions Arsenal defeated the FA Cup champions Liverpool and lifted the FA Community Shield trophy.

All eyes were on the traditional ‘big four’ teams of England this season, with Manchester United and Arsenal being the teams that receive the most attention from the press and the rest of the world. There were not many people who talked about how England had just won the World Cup, or why Tony Twain had decided to retire.

Twain would often be surrounded by fans asking for either a photograph or an autograph when he takes his daughter out for a walk, but other than that, his life has been quite peaceful and he has never been bothered by the press. Twain does not like interacting with the press, but he likes interacting with football fans, especially fans of Nottingham Forest. Nottingham is his home ground, and every single Forest fan is just like a friend to him.

Of course, there were also times where Twain found himself in an awkward situation when he interacted with the Forest fans. For example, there would often be fans who ask him, “Will you come back, Tony?”

Twain knew very well what they meant when they asked that. Nottingham Forest is in a mess right now, and everyone is hoping for a great manager to come and rescue the team. They thought about who this ‘great manager’ could be, and the only person that comes to mind is Tony Twain.

Twain does not wish to sadden or disappoint the fans who hope that he would return to Nottingham Forest as the manager, but at the same time, he cannot take back the words that he said previously either. Therefore, he would always respond to the fans with a wry smile, “I don’t know, who knows what will happen in the future?”

Sometime later, Twain received a call from John Motson. “Tony, are you interested in coming over to the BBC5?”

BBC5 is a sports channel just like the CCTV5 channel. Every single match involving the England national football team would be broadcasted on the BBC5. Twain has worked as a guest commentator for BBC5 for a short period of time in the past, and he has provided commentaries on the World Cup and Euro Cup before. However, he has not worked for them ever since he took on the role as the manager of the England national football team.

“Go over to the BBC5?” Twain was puzzled initially, but he understood what Motson was getting at shortly after. BBC was able to triumph over Sky UK and ITV last year, and they managed to get their hands on the broadcast rights for a portion of the Premier League matches. Now, they are trying to recruit people from all across the country to become commentators for those matches, and the only way they would be able to recruit a popular commentator like Twain would be to make use of Motson’s relationship with Twain.

“Yeah, I want you to come over and provide commentaries for the new Premier League season. Are you interested?”

“Ah, John… I still want to rest some more.” Twain shook his head and refused Motson’s offer. “I have only retired for two months. Surely the break that I deserve after working for the past 10 years is longer than two months?”

“That’s a shame…” Motson knew Twain’s disposition very well. Twain would not do anything that he is not inclined to do. Persuading him any further would just be a waste of saliva. Motson found it to be a shame that the British football fans would not be able to hear Twain’s interesting commentary for the upcoming Premier League season.

A day after Motson called, Twain received a call from Martin Taylor. Just like Motson, Taylor also invited him to be a guest commentator for Sky UK for the upcoming Premier League season. Taylor had retired years ago, but he still has the company’s best interests at heart since he had worked at the company for over 20 years. Hence, it is not surprising that he would try and recruit a good commentator such as Twain for his company even though he no longer works for Sky UK.

Nonetheless… Twain still rejected Taylor’s offer. His reason remained the same: he still wants to rest some more.

Twain was well aware that working for the television station would be a very good option for him if he wishes to continue working after leaving his managerial post. However, he likes his current laid back and carefree lifestyle, and he also wishes to continue taking care of Theresa. His daughter has only been in England for half a month. How could he possibly throw her aside for work? Shania is the one working now, and he should just concentrate on being a ‘house husband’ for now.

※※※

The new Premier League season commenced on the 17th of August. The opening match featured Manchester United against the newly promoted side Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, and Manchester United eventually went on to win 2:0 at home comfortably.

The Premier League was in full swing the following day. Nottingham Forest welcomed their first ever opponent for this season at their home grounds – Everton.

Nottingham Forest might not be performing well in recent times, but their ticket sales have been impressive. They sold a total of 38,000 season tickets for this season, which is roughly the same as the number of season tickets sold in past seasons. The number of season tickets that were sold when Nottingham Forest was at its peak cannot be used as a reference because the capacity of the City Ground Stadium is much smaller than the Crimson Stadium. 38,000 season tickets might be about 10,000 tickets lesser than the 55,000 season tickets sold by Manchester United this season, but when one takes into the account the size of Nottingham, 38,000 is definitely an impressive number.

One can tell from the number of tickets sold that Nottingham Forest is not encountering any financial issues, and the money earned from the ticket sales gives Evan the capital he needs when he has to bargain with the financial groups.

Not only that, one can also tell that the Nottingham Forest fans are ‘die-hard’ fans based on the number of season tickets sold. The Forest fans might be upset with the board of the club, but they still continue to support the club by buying the tickets to the matches. However, one of the fans said this when asked about why he was willing to buy season tickets, “I just take it as spending 35 pounds every home game to scold that son of a b*tch Evan Doughty.”

The anger and hatred towards Evan Doughty is one that is shared by numerous Forest fans. Some of them even came together and formed a group called the ‘Son of a B*tch Evan’, and its members are the ones who create most of the banners that insult Evan Doughty at the Robin Hood stand.

Twain sat down on the floor and watched his daughter play with her rag doll after they finished eating the lunch meal that Twain had prepared. A moment later, he asked his daughter, “Theresa. Do you want to go out and play with Daddy?”

“Okay.” Theresa stopped whatever she was doing and lifted her head to look at Twain. She was generally well-behaved and rarely disobeyed her parents.

“Okay. Then, do you want to watch a match with Daddy?” Twain magically dished out two match tickets from behind his back and waved them before Theresa’s face.

Theresa tilted her head and mulled over what her dad just said. It took her a while to understand what he meant by ‘match’. Thereafter, she nodded her head and replied, “Okay.”

Twain was overjoyed. He quickly scooped up Theresa into his arms before planting a kiss on her tender cheeks.

“Let us leave at once!” He got into the car with Theresa in his arms and drove towards the Crimson Stadium that was located in the south-western part of Nottingham.

In truth, Twain did not plan to bring his daughter with him at the start. However, it is too dangerous to leave his daughter all alone at home. Thus, he decided to bring her along and let her experience the atmosphere at the stadium when a match takes place. Who knows? Maybe Theresa would start liking football! Her mother dislikes football, but if Theresa ends up liking football, then it would be two against one, and the majority would win!

Twain was the manager of Nottingham Forest for 11 years. He might not have been a Forest fan before he was appointed as the manager of the club, but now, he is a die-hard Forest fan. Just like all the other Forest fans, he too has invested a lot of his time and emotion into the club after so many years at the helm. It does not matter how disappointing Forest has become. Twain has been consistently buying the season tickets for Nottingham Forest every single year ever since he was the manager of the club, and he did not stop buying the tickets during the four years when he was the manager of the England national football team either.

The truth was that he has never actually watched a Forest match from the stands as an ordinary football fan before. There are only two situations in which he would watch a match from the stands: the first is when he is sent to the stands by either the referee or the Football Association for verbally abusing them, and the second is when he comes to watch the performances of the Forest players as the manager of the England national football team. All in all, he has never watched a Forest match as an ‘ordinary football fan’ before.

Watching as an ‘ordinary football fan’ meant that he would not analyse the tactics being used by both teams and he would not try and find a flaw in either side’s tactics as well. He would not think about what he would do at halftime or what he would change in the next match either… Basically, he would not watch the match as a ‘football manager’.

Twain felt very happy when he thought about how he would be able to watch the match without any burdens being placed on him, and he began humming a song as he drove.

Theresa looked like a doll as she sat on the passenger seat next to Twain with a seat belt on. She turned her head to look at her father, and she most likely is not able to understand why he is so happy. Why would her father be happier than her when they are going out to play?

Twain was not in a hurry to step out of the car when they arrived at the stadium. The first thing he did was to don a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap. Thereafter, he turned his collar upwards and donned a pair of sunglasses on Theresa as well. The sunglasses was so big that it covered half of Theresa’s face. He then placed a hat over her head and made sure that both of them would not be recognized by anyone else at first glance. Once he was satisfied, he opened the car door and stepped outside. He then held Theresa in his arms and followed the crowd towards the stadium.

Twain lifted his head to look at the gigantic Crimson Stadium before him as he trailed behind the crowd. This was the first time he has been able to admire the new stadium’s exterior while being so relaxed. He has always entered the stadium via a special tunnel in the past – the manager of the England national football team would definitely not enter the stadium alongside the rest of the spectators.

This stadium took six years to construct and there were also several accidents that occurred during its construction. However, the finished product was truly magnificent… It is no wonder Evan sounds so confident when he says that ‘the stadium is the best stadium in the world’. The stadium looks utterly imposing on the outside, and one can already tell how it would feel to be inside just by looking at the outside. Sadly… This great stadium has only witnessed Nottingham Forest’s decline over the past few years.

Twain sighed softly before turning his head to look at the fans all around him.

It did not matter how Forest performed the previous season. The new season is about to begin, and the fans are all brimming with hope. To the fans, the club’s board and the team were separate entities. There were numerous fans around him who were discussing about the upcoming match excitedly. They were speculating about how George Wood would perform during the match, and they were also wondering if Aaron Mitchell would score a goal later on…

A group of fans near Twain continued to discuss about the match for some time before the conversation topic suddenly shifted onto the new Forest manager.

“McAllister is no good as a manager… Look at the kind of manager this club hires! Nottingham Forest is a club that won five Champions League trophies! How can they let a nobody be the manager?”

“That’s right! I don’t think there’s any other manager besides Tony Twain who is able to manage Forest’s locker room…”

“It’s a shame that Tony has retired… He’s barely 50 years old…”

“How great it would be if he could return…”

“That’s right!”

Theresa, who was in Twain’s arms all this while, suddenly leaned towards Twain’s ear and asked, “Daddy, are they calling you?”

Twain instantly felt very embarrassed after hearing his daughter’s words. It has been two months, but he still has yet to tell Theresa what his previous job was. On one hand, he thinks that Theresa is still too young to understand what a ‘football manager’ is, and on the other hand, he does not think that there is a need to talk about what he used to do now that he has retired.

He kept bringing Theresa over to Kenny’s bar a while back, and Fat John and his gang would refer to him as ‘Tony’ every time they ran into him. That has allowed Theresa to memorize the name ‘Tony’. She is still young, so she does not know that there are countless other people named ‘Tony’ in this world. She probably thinks that only her dad is called ‘Tony’.

“Er… No, they are talking about a different ‘Tony’.” Twain was unwilling to explain the situation to Theresa because he was afraid that the fans around them would recognize him. He became self-conscious and pulled down his cap further before saying, “Let’s go in, Theresa.”

※※※

Twain held his daughter in his arms as he slowly ascended the steps towards the stands. However, he was not in a hurry to find his seat once he had reached the top of the stairs. Instead, he stood at the entrance for a moment. He could see everything in front and beneath him from where he stood. The stands opposite of him were fully occupied, and there were players doing their warm-ups on the green pitch below. The fans of both teams streamed towards their respective seats in the stadium and began singing songs.

Twain did not find those scenes before him to be foreign. But, he could not help but feel fired up now that he was seeing those scenes from the stands. This is what football is all about!

Theresa, who was being held in Twain’s arms, suddenly cupped her ears with her hands. She found the stadium to be too noisy… The noise that is produced by the fans at every match can be quite frightening. The FC Schalke 04 fans once set a record for shouting during a certain period of a home match. Their shouts were deemed to be as loud as the noise that a plane makes during take-off, and it is likely that the shouts in the Crimson Stadium right now are as loud as that too.

Fortunately, Twain came prepared. He dished out a pair of furry earmuffs and placed them over Theresa’s ears. The noise in the stadium was instantly reduced by a quite a bit.

“Let’s go, darling.” Twain patted Theresa’s face gently before walking away from the entrance with her in his arms.

A broadcast was being played in the stadium, and it called for the fans to welcome the Everton fans. Numerous fans responded to the broadcast by standing to their feet and singing songs for the Everton fans at the top of their lungs. Of course, they did not exactly welcome them amicably. Twain searched for his seat with Theresa sprawled on his back. Theresa kept looking around at the people around her, and she showed keen curiosity about what they were doing. She was no longer as afraid as when she first entered the stands.

Twain soon found his seat and he sat down quietly. He did not stand to his feet and shout chants like ‘Die, Everton’ like the other fans around him.

Honestly, a stadium is truly not the kind of place that one should bring their kids to, because swear words are constantly thrown about by the fans and a kid can be negatively influenced when they stay in such an environment for long. Twain still remembers a picture that he saw on the internet when he was a Chinese football fan. The picture showed a kid pointing his middle finger at the camera while standing at the stands and being dressed in a jersey of one of the football clubs in England. The shape of his mouth clearly suggested that the word that he said was ‘f*ck’.

Well, it is not like Theresa can understand whatever the Forest fans are saying right now. They are speaking in their incomprehensible Nottingham accent and using slang words that only people living in Nottingham would understand.

※※※

The fans cheered for every single Nottingham Forest player who was starting in the match when they made their way onto the pitch. Twain had remained seated initially, but he eventually stood up and joined the other fans as they shouted ‘St. George!’. He felt compelled to shout partly because he was influenced by the atmosphere and partly because he felt that he would attract attention to himself if he remained seated while everyone else was shouting and cheering.

Twain felt pleased and proud when he saw Wood appear on the pitch. That lad has become the leader of the team, and he even seems a little domineering now.

Theresa pointed at Wood, who had his back towards her, and shouted excitedly, “Big brother! Big brother!” Twain did not expect Theresa to recognize Wood. He had brought her along when he visited Sophia and Wood’s house previously.

Fortunately, the fans around them were even more excited than she was, and no one paid much attention to a little girl. Twain was shocked that his daughter was able to recognize Wood without even having to see his face. She had only seen him once, but she was able to tell that it was him from behind. Theresa has remarkable memory!

When Twain directed his attention back onto the pitch, he noticed that the players for both teams had already walked onto the pitch. They formed two separate lines on the left and right side of the referee and posed for a photo. Twain scanned the Forest players who were standing on the pitch, and he realized that most of the players on the team were strangers to him.

It was not that he knew nothing about them. He knew their names and positions that they play in.

But, that’s it. His knowledge of them is limited to just their names and positions. He knew nothing else about them, and that is why they feel like strangers to him.

He reminisced about the time when he was still a manager of Nottingham Forest ten years ago. Back then, he thought of every player, even the substitutes, as a part of his family and he knew them inside out. When they stood together, they formed a whole. They were a sea of red, and their name was ‘Nottingham Forest’.

But, what about now?

The players looked like 11 separate entities as they stood on the pitch. George Wood, Mario Balotelli, Gareth Bale, Nkoulou, Joe Mattock and Chris Cohen… They were all standing side by side together, but they were not a team.

The fans around Twain continued to shout at the top of their voices, “Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”

But, no one knows just how much of those cheers are actually heard by the players…

Chapter 981 - My Legend Is Still Here （Part 2）

In fact, the game could not be said to be exciting, not one bit at all. McAllister was the new manager who had only recently joined the football team this summer, and he was not a manager of standards. The new tactics designed for the Forest team were still in the trial period and he was not to be blamed for that. Evan Doughty had not given him the lineup he had wanted to put together, so his tactical training had not been able to develop properly.

Speaking of Nottingham Forest’s new manager, Gary McAllister, Twain and he had quite a connection. When Twain first became a manager and coached Nottingham Forest, it was in January 2003. At the time, the Forest team was just knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham United and Twain was suspended after he talked a lot of nonsense in the post-match press conference, criticizing the referee and the Football Association. During the next League One game (the now English Football League Championship), the Forest team’s away game was against Coventry City. At the time, the Coventry City manager was this very man.

At that time, Twain was still a true-blue rookie, and was also penalized to stay in the grandstand. McAllister, on the other hand, was no better. He had to play two roles – both as a manager and as a player on the pitch. The game eventually ended with a goal resulting from a free kick from McAllister, with Coventry City forcing a tie at home with Nottingham Forest. The first and only match between the two men was a draw.

Later, Twain did not care about this opponent with whom he had the single affinity. McAllister, who had drifted along years in the lower leagues and also briefly coached Premier League teams, had never accomplished much results. His best result was to lead the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club back to the Premier League last season and then he was poached by Evan Doughty to the Forest team.

After more than a decade of training, his coaching level was much better than when he first encountered Twain. But it was not enough to manage Nottingham Forest…

Nottingham Forest did not have a mature set of tactics and was more dependent on the individual players during the games rather than the entire team. The offensive starting point was launched wherever they thought and completely without rules. Even if they had a high ball possession rate, it did not make people feel at ease. Instead, it was Everton, the visiting team, which had a couple of attacks that threatened the Forest team’s goal. Moyes, who had run Everton for two decades, was remarkable. If it had not been for Everton’s poor financial resources, he could have achieved a lot more…

Twain shook his head and found himself distracted again. Why was he still thinking of tactics? It looked like he had not completely shook off the identity of a manager. Ah it was an occupational hazard, ah an occupational hazard.

※※※

If anyone were to mock the American, Evan Doughty for his ignorance of football, he would definitely find it unacceptable. Even though he did not comprehend professionally to the level of a manager, he could also tell that the game currently in progress was boring.

His team did not gain the upper hand at all. Instead, it was worried about the other side’s counterattack. It was the result of what McAllister had trained for over a month…

“Like a sheet of loose sand…” Evan Doughty snorted as he sat on the podium.

Allan Adams sat next to him in silence.

In the front left side of both of them, it was the Robin Hood Grandstand, where most die-hard Forest fans congregated. Right above there were lots slogans criticizing and insulting Evan Doughty and Allan Adams as usual.

“Go back to America and eat sh*t!”

“This team does not belong to the two of you. It’s our team!”

“F**K YOU! Evan Doughty & Allan Adams!”

“You two gay guys! Go home and f**k each other!”

…

Of course, the most popular slogan went something like this: “Give me back Tony!””We want Tony!!””No one can replace Tony Twain!”

Although four years had passed and Nottingham Forest had replaced countless managers, the fans here still count not forget Tony Twain. So much so that every time a manager was replaced, it would only make them miss the former boss and now the England national team manager.

The game had progressed to the 11th minute. The fixed program at the Crimson Stadium began. The home fans rose from their seats one by one and then faced the direction of the podium. Without any command and advance rehearsals, they began to sing the chorus with great tacit understanding:

“Tony Twain won the championship for us, but he left. Evan Doughty will only sell people for money, which he keeps. Evan’s a stupid c**t! A stupid c**t! Oh, yes! If you agree, just stamp your feet with me!”

With a series of rumbling sounds, the stamping of the feet traveled throughout the stadium. The Crimson Stadium seemed to shake like it was a minor earthquake.

“Evan is a stupid c**t!!”

When Twain heard such revealing lyrics filled with profanity, he really had a feeling of not knowing whether to cry and laugh. Actually, his dissatisfaction with Evan Doughty and Allan Adams, had long disappeared in these four years. They only had a difference of ideas. The so-called going on their separate ways could not be considered as a personal grievance. So, it was not necessary to hang onto the entanglement. But for the fans, it was absolutely unforgivable that Evan Doughty and Allan Adams had joined forces to drive Twain away.

Such a distinct tremor, how could the two people sitting on the podium not feel it? Moreover, the exact meaning was no secret after such lyrics had been sung over and over again. Every time he heard such a song, Evan Doughty’s face looked rather ugly – to be called “a stupid c**t by tens of thousands of people in person and still remained nonchalant, the face of that person must be thicker than the earth’s crust. But Evan Doughty could not cultivate to that state. But at present, Doughty did not behave as usual. He was not angry, or it could be said that on the face of it, one could not discern if he was angry. He sat in his seat, looking at the pitch below, as if he lost in his thoughts.

The song lasted for a minute before it stopped. The fans sat back in their seats and returned to watching the game mode.

It was a pity that the team’s performance still did not improve.

Allen had little interest in the game, which had no sense of beauty and no hope of winning. He began to turn his head around and chat with the two guests sitting next to him. These two people were the Arabs from the Middle East, with their striking white robes and headscarves. Their presence here suggested that the club appeared to be in contact with a consortium from the Middle East.

In fact, most of the guests sitting on the podium were not interested in the game. They just took advantage of the football game as an opportunity to socialize. For example, they would talk to each other about their gains in the stock market and futures market, chat about how their franchises were opening new stores, spoke about the investment projects they were bullish on to attract people around them to invest and so on…

It was like a social dance being moved to the stands on the football stadium.

Evan Doughty turned his attention around and found the buzzing discussions behind him. The subjects they were talking about had nothing to do with football. These noises sounded like countless flies swarming around his ears which irritated, but he could not stand up and scold them, telling them to all “SHUT UP.” These people were sponsors who could not be offended lightly…

When he could not find anyone to talk to, Evan turned his gaze to the field again. The score was still 0:0. However, Everton had taken the initiative and Nottingham Forest could only come under attack. The Forest team was indeed in contact with a consortium from the United Arab Emirates. With the invitation to them this time to watch the Forest team’s first game of the new season, the club hoped the team could use its outstanding results to boost their value in front of the wealthy Arabs.

It just so happened that the performance of the team was so bad…

McAllister was just a stopgap solution and a transition manager. If the Forest team was to make a comeback, they needed to find a manager with standards and a prestige enough to control the locker room. It was just that such a manager was far and in between in the current football world. Where were they going to find him?

Evan Doughty’s eyes wandered around and his gaze settled on the banners in the Robin Hood grandstand.

“No one can replace Tony Twain!!”

※※※

Twain wanted to yawn, but he held back. The game was too boring, but Theresa was very interested in everything and looking everywhere. She could not keep still in his arms and he did not have to worry about having nothing to do …

Everton’s players had the ball on the pitch and the fans around him were booing to put pressure on the Everton players. The middle fingers were commonplace. He regretted bringing his daughter, because Theresa had already asked him thrice what the “upright middle fingers” meant …

In order to distract her, Twain could only do everything possible to let his daughter pay attention to the football game itself. And the way to coax her was to say, “Quickly look, your brother Wood is playing football!”, “Look! Your brother Wood has fallen!””(Actually, he was shoveling the ball) “Quickly, look at your brother Wood…”

At long last, it made his young daughter slightly more interested in the game.

But her brother Wood did not touch the ball. The man who had the ball on the pitch was now an Everton player.

The Belgian midfielder, Marouane Fellaini currently had control of the ball. He was a tall defensive midfielder and Everton’s mainstay as well as the main midfielder for the Belgian national team. As his position was further back, the Forest team did not have anyone rushing up to tackle. Fellaini controlled the ball with ease and eventually passed the ball to James Vaughn who withdrew to provide support.

Vaughan and his partner on the forward line, the Polish player, Robert Lewandowski, did a two-versus-one pass to shake off George Wood who came up to defend. After he received the ball again, he did not give the Forest center back a chance to pounce over. He suddenly fired a long shot around the top of the penalty arc!

The football stuck to the turf and rolled past the hands of the goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey to cross the goal line…

“A gorgeous long shot! James Vaughn! Everton leads Nottingham Forest 1:0 in the away game!”

The blue-clad fans in the opposite stands jumped and cheered loudly while the Nottingham Forest side fell into silence. Many of the fans around Twain held their heads in their hands and watched helplessly as the Everton players dashed around in celebration on the pitch.

In fact, they were more or less used to facing such scenes for the past four years, so they did not boo the team for the goal concede. They just chose to be silent.

This type of silence was more numbness in Twain’s eyes. In the past, the Forest fans would overwhelm the goal-scoring side with thunderous hissing as soon as the team conceded the goal. How can you not be booed when you score a goal in our home game? Dream on!

After a while, there were boos coming in the other direction at last. It was coming from the most aggressive group of fans. It was just that it was not known if they were not booing Everton, or Nottingham Forest.

※※※

The goal scored on the pitch distracted from the lively discussions of the guests on the podium, with a group of people turning their attention back to the pitch. When they discovered that it was Everton that scored the goal, they soon returned to their respective topics.

“I know a project that is guaranteed to make a lot of money…”

“Even Cambodia is almost hollowed out. Where else in the world has it not been developed? Antarctica? Ha…”

“I’m going to fly back to New York next weekend, where I have some business to take care of…”

“Ms. Nancy, you are so beautiful…”

“No, we don’t have any problems at the moment. There are no operational difficulties. I guarantee this is a deal that benefits both parties…”

Only Evan Doughty stared blankly at the Everton players celebrating on the pitch and felt distraught. Even he, who did not know much about football, could feel the team’s morale drop.

※※※

The game went on and the Forest fans in the stands were a little frustrated. This period of time belonged to the Everton fans, who sang and cheered on Everton in the stands, while the Forest fans could not summon up the energy to go head to head against them.

The broadcast of each game could not always be aimed at the field. The footage would often insert some other scenes such as give the technical area some close-ups, or when some interesting slogan was found in the grandstand, the camera footage would also give it some extra attention. When there were some famous people in the stands, they would also be given close-ups.

The live footage of the game spanned across the stands. It first aimed at the few banners. Then it suddenly changed and cut into a scene in the grandstand.

The close-ups footage of live television was usually visible on the big screens of the stadium, so when the live matches were televised, one could often see some of the fans appearing on the televisions and waving excitedly to the cameras while looking at the big screen on the other side.

This was nothing new. But the Forest fans were not in the mood to give a show. Their team was falling behind. Whomever could still laugh for the camera, must not be a hardcore Forest fan.

This close-up was not to let the fans in that area act for the camera. They obviously had another reason. The camera angle zoomed closer and closer till it was fixed on a certain someone.

“Ah ha! Let’s see who this is!” The game’s commentator laughed when he saw the man. “Wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap, he looks like a spy…”

There was no doubt that the person who was betrayed by the live television cameras was Tony Twain, who did not care at first, because his mind was on the field. It was not until the looks in people’s eyes around him were different, that he realized something was not right because everyone was not watching the game. Instead, they turned their gazes to him.

Without waiting for him to react to what was going on, a voice suddenly sounded on the live broadcast, “Let us welcome—”

An earth-shattering chorus of voices rang out in the stands, “Tony Twain!!!”

The sound startled Twain, who stood up reflexively. As a result, the cheers became even louder.

“Tony! Tony! Tony!!”

Only then Twain reacted. He knew that he had been exposed, so he simply lent Theresa’s hand to say hello to everyone.

Truthfully speaking, he was feeling a little smug to have received such an applause after having left here for four years.

※※※

The sudden cheers also jolted the players on the pitch. Mitchell, who should have caught the pass, let the ball go out of bounds when he heard the cheers, but he was not booed by the fans. Instead, the fans were shouting “Tony! Tony!”

He looked up and easily found the focal point of the cheering. A man was standing there in the upper level of the grandstand. It was as if a king was there to receive the deference from the people.

Not only he, many players were also looking up.. But the people who would be dumbstruck when they saw the man were not many. After all, the Forest team’s old players were almost gone.

Mitchell was still distracted when Wood came up and yelled at him, “What are you doing?! Why are you not defending?”

“Look there, George! It’s the boss! It’s the boss!” Mitchell pointed to the stands and shouted excitedly instead.

Wood did not even turn his head. He just stared at Mitchell and yelled, “Are you going to let him see you sleepwalking on the field?”

His remark was like a wake-up call to the sleepwalker. Mitchell ran to participate in the defense. This time it was Wood’s turn to look back at the stands.

※※※

The cheers continued and Evan Doughty was initially startled by the cheers. Then he saw Tony Twain’s figure on the television screen. It greatly surprised him – they had not been in touch for a long time. He did not expect Twain to come to the stadium to watch the game. He thought Twain must have hated him.

Behind him, the social symposium was interrupted by the cheers of the fans who welcomed Twain. One by one, they asked around in a startling inquiry, looking for the cause of the cheering.

“What happened?”

“What are they shouting?”

“Tony? Which Tony? Tony Twain? He’s back?”

Allan also stopped his conversation with the Arabs and turned his gaze toward the big screen. He did see Twain and his daughter.

Four years have passed, and he even has a child…

※※※

More than 40,000 Forest fans in the stands had their hands outstretched as they bent over to worship and paid tribute to His Majesty, even though the Majesty had been away for four years. As the banner had indicated, no one here could replace Tony Twain.

Twain waved to his subjects and sat down again. After such a display, he could no longer watch the game.

The cheering lasted a while before it faded away.

But the homage to the king was not over yet. At this moment, someone came up next to him and said, “Hey, I did not think the guy sitting next to me is Tony Twain. Give me an autograph, Tony!”

“I want a picture!”

“Your daughter is so beautiful!”

…

For a time, he was surrounded by enthusiastic fans, and Twain had to deal with them, one by one. After satisfying everyone’s requests for autographs, photographs, handshakes, hugs, etc., he was able to sit down and watch the game again…

When the surrounding voices finally returned to normal decibel range, Theresa came next to Twain’s ear and spoke into his ear, “Daddy, which ‘Tony’ are they shouting for?”

Twain laughed this time and said, “They’re shouting for your daddy!”

“Is Daddy a big star?”

“Yes, a big star!” Twain answered with great pride and confidently. “Daddy is the king here.” He looked down at the pitch below and muttered the last remark, “I once was…”

※※※

Perhaps because Twain came personally to watch the game. Nottingham Forest’s morale was boosted dramatically. In the ensuing game, they gradually took the initiative and the score was finally equalized by Mitchell before the end of the first half.

The goalscorer, Mitchell, ran to the area below the stands where Twain was and gave a salute to the top. Everyone knew what he meant with this celebration.

In the second half, Nottingham Forest continued with the efforts and went on to score another goal. In the end, they overtook and beat the visiting team, Everton by 2:1 to secure their arduous first victory of the season.

But after the game, people did not concern themselves with the Forest team’s victory, but Tony Twain’s “return” to the Crimson Stadium. In the post-match press conference, the media repeatedly asked McAllister questions about what he thought of Twain coming to watch the game. McAllister replied with an unfriendly expression, “I’m sorry, I’m not interested in an ordinary spectator.”

But the media did not “let him go.” After the game, in order to attract more eyeballs, some of the media outlets even used the headline –”A return to Nottingham Forest after four years, His Majesty helped the team reverse the game!”

It was made to look like Twain had led the team to victory. Poor McAllister…

Chapter 982 - Visiting Michael

In the blink of the eye, the new season had already begun for more than a fortnight. Nottingham Forest’s results were one win, one draw and one loss. This was a mediocre result and nobody knew what to evaluate it as.

Twain could hardly get any information about Nottingham Forest unless he went online as he was in America now.

During this fortnight, he completed another massive task——His second autobiography was finally done, and it was being published at the same time all over the world. Twain had announced that this would be his last autobiography. Since he had already retired, what else would there be for him to write about?

This autobiography talked about Twain’s whole managerial career. The difference between this and the previous autobiography was that his time with the national team took up a large portion of it this time. At the same time, this was his first time talking about the details about him leaving Nottingham Forest even though the media had already dug out most of the information about that.

Next, he flew to Los Angeles with Theresa to participate in a book-signing event for his latest autobiography there. After that, he met up with a few Hollywood stars and directors after introduction by Shania and his good friends, Beckham and Tom Cruise, to discuss about another major event——An autobiographical movie. This movie would be produced by Tom Cruise’s United Artists Studios. Twain and Shania also donated a huge sum of money. It was an autobiographical movie after all, so it was not completely commercialized and there was no need to expect too much in terms of ticket sales. It was mainly for audiences who like Twain. If one wants to watch the story of the most arrogant and most successful manager in the footballing world on the big screen, then this was a movie that must not be missed. As for whether he was popular amongst the viewers…that was not important.

In truth, it was Twain using his own money and the help of his friends to complete a small wish of his——Making a movie out of the story of his life.

As the producer, Cruise thought that this was good material for a sports movie——This was because it accurately reflected the football culture in England.

However, the media provided a different view after catching wind of this news.

“…Arguing with his opponents, full of vulgarities, going against the Football Association, criticizing the referee, arrogant, causing trouble everywhere… I really worry about the effects of this movie on kids when it’s made. Anyway, I’ll not be allowing my son to watch this movie in the theatres!”

“This piece of news shattered the last trace of good feeling I had for him because of the World Cup… The thought of seeing his face on the big screens sounds like a tragedy to me…”

Cruise did not mind the criticism of the media. In fact, that was the exact effect that he wanted. As a controversial character in the sports world, Twain’s presence brought along voices of differing opinions everywhere he went. This was his advantage as he was able to attract enough attention. The producing studios had already witnessed the power of this advantage——The movie had not even started to be made yet and there were many calls from different media sources calling for an interview with the studios. Many other media sources became free advertisement for it too.

※※※

“As a movie that’s planned to be about 100 minutes long, we’ll definitely not be able to show the full 15 years of your managerial career. Therefore, we’ll have to take certain parts…” The United Artists Studios’ producer was telling Twain about his ideas for this movie. Tom Cruise, the boss of United Artists, was accompanying Twain and Shania by their side as their good friend. “This won’t just be purely a sports movie. We wish to express some thinking towards soccer as a sport.”

“We’ve read your two autobiographies thoroughly,” Next to the producer’s hand were the two autobiographies by Twain. The one below was the first autobiography that Twain published after 10 years of managing, “Ten years”. The book below was the latest new autobiography that was being published at the same time all over the world, “Champion”. “We think that the story that is most suited to be made into a movie is your first season in Forest, or should we say, half a season. It was very dramatic and at the same time, it provokes thought… I love Shankly’s quote, ‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is more serious than that’. I think what you experienced during that half season was proof and an introspection of that quote…”

It was a good thing that this producer was Scottish and not an American who knew nothing about football. Otherwise, the movie would bear no resemblance to the real thing——Even though there were no good players from Scotland, there were many good managers from that country. He had some pretty good insights regarding a movie which featured a manager as the main lead.

Twain, who had been listening quietly all this while, suddenly interrupted him, “Sorry, can I ask you a question? Did you just say you want to use the second half of the 2002-2003 season as the base for the movie?”

“That’s right!” The producer replied, “Even though your team failed in their bid to win the title, but that’s okay. We can list out all your achievements during the end credits of the movie…” He thought that Twain was worried that the eventual failure at the end of that season would not be able to satisfy the audience.

Little did he know that Twain was worried about something else.

He stroked his chin in consideration for a while before shaking his head and saying, “I’m afraid I have to discuss this with someone…”

Tom Cruise looked at Shania next to Twain and she could only smile at him helplessly. She did not know what had gotten into Twain as well.

“Okay then, we’ll do this again next time…” Cruise looked at the producer who was going off to get his car, then turned back and asked Twain, “How long are you going to stay here, Tony?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be here for quite some time.”

When the producer drove the car over, Cruise gave Twain and Shania a hug before saying goodbye to them. After he left, Shania asked Twain, “Who are you going to discuss the movie with?”

“An old friend,” Twain smiled at Shania, “an old friend whom I’ve not met for many years… I wonder if he still remembers me.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Shania asked as she lied within Twain’s embrace.

“No, it has been too long, I’m afraid that it might become awkward, “Twain patted Shania’s shoulder gently.

※※※

Their young daughter was chasing butterflies on the lawn, exclaiming in joy here and there while Fiona Bernard was seated on the white lawn chair, reading her magazine and asking her daughter to lower her voice occasionally.

“Shannon, keep it down, you’ll disturb the neighbours!”

“Don’t dirty your skirt. I just washed that yesterday.”

Her daughter’s voice was actually reminding her mother what she was doing. If she did not make a sound, then something would be wrong.

Now, Fiona could feel that something was wrong as her daughter was no longer making a sound. She dropped her magazine and looked up to search for her daughter. She found her on the lawn, shyly looking at a strange man standing outside their door.

That man was in a dark suit, wearing sunglasses, and he was standing right outside the door which reached his waist.

“We don’t need a vacuum cleaner or whatever you’re selling…” She stood up and walked to where her daughter was, grabbing hold of her.

“Madam, I’m not here to sell you anything. May I know if this is Michael Bernard’s place?” That man asked politely.

Fiona nodded.

A smile broke out on the face of the man in front of her and he removed his sunglasses, placing them in his shirt pocket. “Hello Madam. I’m a friend of your husband’s. We’ve met once, but you might not remember me anymore. My name is Tony Twain and I’m a long-time friend of your husband’s.

※※※

When Michael returned home from work, he realized that there was a pair of man’s shoes at the door.

“We have a guest?” He asked his wife who came to receive him.

“A friend of yours,” Fiona said as she took her husband’s coat and suitcase.

“My friend?” Michael changed his shoes as he thought about who it might be. Could it be that bank executive he met at the golf club, or maybe the lawyer he met when he went fishing the other time… But he was stunned when he entered the living room and saw who it was.

“Hi Michael,” Twain stood up and greeted Michael Bernard.

Michael looked at the man in front of him in shock for a long while before muttering, “Ton…Tony? Why are you…why are you here?”

“Good thing you didn’t move, otherwise, I won’t be able to find you,” Twain laughed as he said, “Actually, I have a place in Los Angeles too. I’ll come over here to keep my wife, Shania, company sometimes, you know about that, don’t you? I’m very sorry that I haven’t come see you all this while, because… Um, I’m worried that I won’t know what to say when I meet you.” He shrugged, then shook his head and sighed. However, he smiled again shortly and said, “I’m glad to see that you have such a cute and beautiful daughter now.”

Shannon was holding on to her mother’s skirt as she stayed close to her. She looked at her daddy and the stranger with much curiosity.

“Actually, I came to look for you because of Gavin…”

The Bernard couple shuddered when Twain said this name.

Later, Twain told the two of them his reason for coming and hoped to get an answer from them. Ever since he reached Michael’s place and saw pictures of Gavin all over the place, Twain felt that he made the right decision to come. Little Gavin still held a very important place in Michael and his wife’s hearts.

Since he was going to bring the incident involving Gavin to the big screens, he definitely had to seek his family’s approval.

If he was being honest, Twain thought that Michael’s wife would object violently. He even prepared to get a scolding from her, but he did not expect Fiona to take a look at Michael, then stood up and walk away saying, “I’ll go make dinner.”

Next, Michael examined Twain for a long time before saying, “I heard that you’ve retired?”

Twain nodded.

“Why retire?”

“Erm… I have nothing to fight for anymore, I guess I’m tired…”

Michael laughed, “Who would have thought that the arrogant Tony Twain would feel tired too? Too bad… The World Cup final was very exciting.”

Twain was a little surprised to hear him say that, “I thought you stopped watching football? Didn’t you cut all ties with football?”

“I can still watch the match on television.”

Twain stole a glance at the kitchen, “Your wife…”

“I told her everything. Come to think of it, I have to thank you, Tony.”

“Thank me?” Twain did not know what Michael meant.

“Thank you for sending me tickets for every final. It wasn’t until the European Cup final before I realized that I can never leave football…” Michael sighed, “Even though I won’t watch matches live at the stadium now, I don’t have to think of football as a terrifying devil. I have finally found peace… Do you know, Tony? If you had asked about this two years ago, we would definitely have not agreed to it. Gavin is like a stone in our hearts that we cannot put down, and it was getting harder for us to handle it. Now…” He shrugged. “We’ll allow you to bring the story of Gavin to the big screens. I believe this will be a kind of consolation to Gavin.”

This was the answer that Twain wanted, and he was very happy about it. Out of reflex, he reached out, looking to shake Michael’s hand, but he did not expect Michael to give him a high five instead.

“Don’t treat me as a negotiation partner. Do you remember how we met, Tony?”

Twain laughed as he heard him say that, “Of course, that’s a piece of beautiful memory…”

Twain gave Shania a call that night, telling her that he would be staying at Michael’s place and would not be going home that night. He reminded her and Theresa to rest earlier, then he continued to chat with Michael, all the way till late night. Ever since Michael left England in 2003, they had not talked to each other so amicably. Even though they did not drink a single drop of alcohol, they were flushed with excitement, as if they were both drunk.

They would laugh for a while, then cry for a while. The two of them were in their fifties, yet they were behaving like youngsters then. Thinking of how fast the past decade passed for them, they could not help but reminisce about it. When the two of them first met, they were enemies who fought with each other. At that time, the two of them never thought that they could ever sit and chat like this one day.

※※※

The next morning, Twain said goodbye the Michael, his wife and their daughter, Shannon, then took the car back home.

Next, Twain gave the producer a call to agree to his proposal and gave him the go-ahead. There was nothing else he needed to say as there was someone more professional than him taking charge of it, so he had no need to worry about it. All he needed to do was to be an extra for some scenes and enjoy himself, that was all.

What was left were some miscellaneous stuff such as signing the contract. When all these were done, Twain was enjoying the company of his wife and daughter at his home in Los Angeles when he saw the calendar and suddenly realized that it was almost 9th September.

His fiftieth birthday was coming soon.

Chapter 983 - At 50, I Know the Decrees of Heaven

“Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!”

When Twain opened his eyes in the morning, the first thing he heard was his wife, Shania, speaking softly as she laid next to his ear.

But he could not muster up a smile. Instead, he sighed and looked unhappily at Shania, draping herself over his own body. He said, “50-year-old birthday, what’s so happy about that…”

Shania said with a grin, “I don’t care so much, it’s happy as long as it’s a birthday! Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!” She repeated it, giving Twain a good morning kiss, and Shania jumped out of bed.

The maid and nanny had already prepared breakfast downstairs. Since there was a child in the family and such a big villa, Twain no longer insisted on their family living on their own. Theresa would always be afraid when the night came – the house was too big, even if all the rooms and corridor lights were turned on, she was always afraid of monster suddenly jumping out of the corners. So, they simply hired a live-in maid and nanny so as to add some vitality to the house.

And even after Twain and Shania returned to England with Theresa, the house would still be left to the helpers to live in.

A house was meant for people to live in. Otherwise no matter how nice the house was as long as no one lived in it, the rate of dilapidation was amazing. As long as people lived in it, it would be cleaned regularly, and the house would be fresh every day.

Thinking about it on this level, Twain no longer cared about their privacy…

Twain also followed suit to get out of bed, get dressed and washed up. And Shania, who got out of bed first, also did not have the habit to waste time in front of the dresser. As long as she was not going out for any activities, she would emerge fresh-faced without any makeup. Even though she was alluringly gorgeous like she was in promotional posters, movies, advertisements and runway stages, she was still equally beautiful. Twain looked at her for a long time and felt the bare-faced Shania even more beautiful.

By this time Shania had gone to knock on her daughter’s door.

“Theresa, are you up?”

When her daughter jumped to open the door, she was suddenly pulled in the arms of Shania waiting at the door. Shania tickled her armpits. Her young daughter’s twinkling laughter instantly tinkled all over the room.

Twain ignored the mother and daughter playing over there and went alone into the bathroom to begin to wash up. He habitually looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was still black, but that was only superficial. He used a comb to tidy his hair, and the white hair could not be covered under the black surface. All the white strands popped out. In fact, a 50-year-old person’s hair would not be so obvious quickly. But a manager was a profession that used the brains and endured immense mental pressure. Therefore, it was not uncommon for the hair to become whiter more quickly than an ordinary person.

Twain touched his snow-white hair and there was nothing he could do. The aging of the body could not be shifted with his own will.

It was just that there were more and more creases on his face, and he looked a little depressed. With his transmigration, even though he had won a lot of championship titles and married a beautiful wife, he also lost a few years on his lifespan for no good reason and could not borne a child of his own. He could only adopt one. This was really “the equivalent of paying for what you get.” He did not know whether those championship titles and money were equivalent to the lost years of life and lack of offspring…

He splashed some cold water on his face and the water splattered everywhere. With that, those distracting thoughts in his head was also splashed away.

Today’s breakfast was more abundant than usual. Obviously, the help had already been given special instructions by Shania and knew that today was the 50th birthday of the man of the house.

“Do you have any plans for today?” Shania asked during breakfast.

“No.” Twain shook his head. He had been busy a few days ago and was finally able to relax today. Moreover, he was completely free today and perhaps there was nothing to be busy with in the future for a period of time. Twain felt that the older he got, the less meaning the birthday held, so there was no big fanfare to invite people to a birthday party. Otherwise his house would have become a Hollywood’s over the top party.

Perhaps some people liked to use their birthdays to make friends with celebrities and use the opportunity to promote their fame and status. That was their prerogative. But Twain did not like to do it. At such times, he wanted to be with his loved ones, even if it was to watch television on the couch at home. It was better than to deal with those movie stars. Anyway, he was a football manager, and not of the same circles as the Hollywood stars. He only guest starred in movies for the thrill of it. He did not have to make any connections or kowtow to anyone.

Twain’s lack of desires made things difficult for Shania instead. He should not spend his birthday without any fanfare at all, shouldn’t he? It was his 50-year-old birthday. How many 50-year-old birthdays could a person have in his life… Well, just one. She was really reluctant to spend such a special day at home…

Seeing Shania having a headache alone, Twain advised, “Don’t think about it. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“How can we do that? How can you spend your birthday by staying at home?”

“I can go shopping with you.” Twain spread his hands.

“It’s your birthday, not mine. How can you be doing what I want?” Shania widened her eyes and stared at Twain as she asked.

She did not expect Twain to retract his smile and did not evade Shania’s stare. Instead, he stared very seriously into her eyes, as if to see her heart through her eyes. He directly looked at Shania till she was little embarrassed before he said, “For me, the important thing is not how I celebrate this birthday. The important thing is whom I spend it with. My birthday wish is to be with you, and…” He glanced at his daughter, who was having breakfast next to him and continued, “Theresa. It doesn’t matter as to where we’ll spend it at. It’s nice to watch TV at home, it’s also nice to go to the supermarket and buy things. It’s all the same.”

In fact, he still had some words he did not say. It would be too inauspicious to say those words. He would not mention them on such a festive day. All that mattered was it was clear in his own heart.

Twain’s words, which were spoken from the heart, touched Shania’s heart, but she did not show it on the surface. There was tacit understanding between them, so there was no need for any superfluous displays, such as eyes moved to tears, holding of hands and looking at each other wordlessly … She only pursed her lips helplessly. She said, “Anyway, it’s your birthday today, so it’s up to you.”

Twain immediately brought the smile back to his face and went to play with his daughter, Theresa.

Shania looked at the father and daughter getting along well and sighed gently in her heart. Uncle Tony was really fifty years old… It made her sad to think about it. Although she said “Happy Birthday” to Uncle Tony, she was actually in the same mood as Uncle Tony – she was afraid that it would only become sadder each birthday after the age of 50.

She first met him 15 years ago, when she was 13 years old and Uncle Tony was 34 years old. There was even a misunderstanding after the two people met… At the thought of Uncle Tony’s wolfish look as he glanced at her bosom, Shania could not help laughing.

She did not expect to “mistakenly board a pirate ship” and never got off just like that….

I was only 13 years old at the time. How did I fall in love with this middle-aged uncle?

“What are you laughing about?” Twain heard Shania’s laughter and looked back at her. He discovered that she had an obvious smile on her face, but her eyes were not focused. She was clearly lost in her thoughts.

“Ah… Thinking of the first time you and I met.” Shania did not hide, and plainly told Twain.

Twain recalled it when she said so. He was once mistaken for a pervert by his wife in front of him … At that time, he had just lost an important game and also lost six months of hard work put into the season. Michael had left him for the far away United States and little Gavin had died tragically in the fans’ riot. His emotions were in a mess. But because of his encounter with the quirky Shania, his mood was able to lighten up soon after, as if the clouds had lifted.

Twain suddenly thought of a phrase, “If only the time stopped at the moment when we met for the first time.”

The relationship between himself and Shania was quite in line with the meaning. It was as if only a day had gone by and not 15 years. It was as if they had met for the first time. He was never tired of Shania, and Shania did not tire of him too. Maybe it was because they spent more time apart than they had been together for 15 years?

“Theresa said she wants to go to Hollywood and watch people make movies. Anyway, it’s my birthday and it’s not nice to always coop up at home.” Twain told Shania their daughter’s wishes. In fact, Theresa did not want to see her father and mother quarrel, so she said that on purpose.

Shania naturally had no objection. She took Theresa upstairs to change and put on make-up.

Twain left the dining room and sat down in the living room to rest while he waited for the mother and daughter.

He did not wait long. Since she was just going out to play, Shania just put on a touch of makeup while Theresa just changed out of her pajamas she wore at home.

Watching Shania lead Theresa walk down the stairs, Twain discovered that although she was an adopted child, there was a resemblance in the features between the raven-haired Theresa and the dark brown-haired Shania. Shania had a little Chinese heritage, so they looked like a pair of mother and daughter. For the rest of their lives, Twain had no other desire as long as the two of them were by his side. Anyway, time would not go back, no matter how reluctant he was. He was already 50 years old. Since that was the case, rather than sitting here, feeling how time flew and bemoaning getting older, it was better to live well with his wife and child.

When Shania saw Twain’s hair at a glance as she walked down, she frowned, “Aren’t you going to dye it?”

Twain shook his head and said, “No more dyeing. I’m not going to dye it in the future.”

Shania was taken aback and said, “Did you suffer a blow, Uncle Tony?”

“I just suddenly figured out one thing.” Twain took Shania’s arm and added, “The snow-white hair looks good too.”

※※※

In fact, Twain did not get a peace of mind when he went out to relax. His cell phone constantly rang with calls from friends, as if they had planned it in advance. Everyone wanted to wish him a happy birthday. Michael, Wood, Brosnan, Dunn, Kerslake, Walker… Shania was a little displeased. Shania was not at fault. What was supposed to be family time for the three of them, was interrupted by a series of phone calls.

“Well, no one else should call me.” Twain knew his wife was a little unhappy. Their conversation only lasted a few words before it was interrupted by the phone ringing, which was annoying. “I’m going to turn off the phone.”

He lifted his cell phone and planned to turn it off. But coincidentally the phone in his hand started vibrating again.

Shania rolled her eyes.

“All right. This time, whoever it is, I’ll turn the phone off.” Twain glanced at the phone screen, and a somewhat unfamiliar name flashed on it – Evan.

When the name first appeared in Twain’s eyes, he actually did not think of who it was. He was just about to hang up and then turn it off when his finger hovered over the hang-up key, because he suddenly remembered who the person behind the name was.

The question was, why would he call him? He and the club chairman had not been in touch since he ended his contract with the club in 2014. Other than he once called him again later in hopes that he would return to the Forest team, the two men had not been in touch since. What was the matter with him calling at this time? Could it be that he had called to wish him a “happy birthday” too?

Twain frowned and could not figure out why. Then he reacted – wouldn’t he find out once he answered the call?

“Oh hell…” He muttered as he pressed the answer button.

“Hey!”

When Shania saw Twain raise the phone to his ear, she took Theresa to quickly step straight into a store.

“Happy birthday, Tony!” Evan Doughty’s voice came on the phone. But Twain did not know how to react to it.

Hearing such a warm voice, Twain became even more confused about why Evan was calling him.

“Thank you… Evan.” He thought about it and did not address him as “Mr. Doughty.” Instead, he changed it to a more cordial “Evan.” Although he and Evan had a falling out when he first left, the incident was four years ago, and it was not a murderous feud. What else could he not let go? Moreover, for him to have so many championships titles, part of it was to Evan’s credit.

“I heard you went to Los Angeles?” Evan Doughty seemed to be in high spirits over the phone.

“Yes, to be with my wife. She also misses her daughter.” Twain did not want to talk too much to him, not because he was upset with Evan, but because he did not want to keep his wife waiting for too long. If she found out that he was still on the phone when she came out of the store with Theresa in a while, she was going to explode…

Evan Doughty also seemed to sense the coolness of Twain’s tone. He could only take it that he still held a grudge toward him for when he drove him away at the time.

He laughed bitterly, “Tony, do you still care about what happened at that time?”

Huh?” Twain stared blankly for a moment, and immediately understood. Evan was clearly mistaken. “Oh, not at all. Let bygones be bygones. I actually bought season tickets every season, and occasionally I would go to the home stadium to watch games.”

Evan certainly knew because he saw Twain’s figure in the Forest team’s first home game of the new season appeared in the stands at the Crimson Stadium.

※※※

“Mommy, what are you looking at?”

Theresa felt strange. After her mother took her into the clothing store, she did not take her to pick out clothes as usual. Instead she used the excuse of “take a look on your own” to move to this corner to peek through the window.

“Of course, I’m looking at Daddy.” Shania touched her daughter’s head and looked over again.

“Who’s on the phone with Daddy?”

“Mommy doesn’t know.”

Despite the separation of the window, Shania could see from Twain’s expression that he was not as happy as he had been on previous phone calls.

Who on earth was calling him?

Although he had said to let bygones be bygones, there was no way to skirt around the matter since it was mentioned. The topic suddenly made Doughty feel that Twain was a little further away from himself, because the tone on the other end of the line was getting colder…

But in fact, Twain was anxious that Shania would come out in a moment. If he was still not done with the phone call, he was going to have a hard time.

Realizing that it was not a good idea to take such a risk to make the call, it was inappropriate to talk any further. So, Evan Doughty politely wished him a good time and hung up.

Once the other side hung up the phone, Twain was relieved on this side. He immediately turned off the phone, and then put it back in the pocket as he waited for Shania and Theresa to come back from the shopping.

But instead, the mother and daughter returned emptyhanded.

“Did not you buy anything?” Twain asked somewhat diffidently.

Shania shook her head and went straight to the point to ask, “Who’s that on the phone?”

“… Evan, Evan Doughty.” Twain hesitated a little and chose to tell his wife honestly.

Shania was no stranger to the name. She frowned and said, “What does he want with you by calling?”

“Just to say, ‘Happy Birthday.’” Twain shrugged.

Shania looked suspiciously at her husband. She knew her husband too well. His love of football had always surpassed everything. Sometimes she often wondered whether the man loved her or football…

“That’s all. We did not chat too much. I was afraid that you would come out and saw that I was still on the phone, so I just exchanged a few words with him.” Twain hurriedly explained for fear of Shania’s suspicion.

Shania looked at Twain, and then the corners of her lips slowly curled up, forming into an arc. Then she leaned her body over and nestled in Twain’s arms, putting her arm around him, while her other hand held Theresa.

“I’m hungry. I know a store with delicious ice cream. Let’s go!”

※※※

Twain, who quietly spent his 50th birthday with his family, did not return to the United Kingdom, but remained in Los Angeles. When his wife was at work, he spent time with his daughter. When his wife had a break, the whole family would go out to play. The days went by with ease.

People often said that at thirty, one stood firm. At forty, one had no doubts. At fifty, one knew the decrees of Heaven.

The 50-year-old Twain felt that his destiny was this.

Chapter 984 - I Have Decided to Retire

“… Let’s do five sets of passing exercises next. George, you’re in charge of passing the ball from here to the two sidelines, five passes each on the left and right sides. For one group…” Manager McAllister was explaining the specifics of the training on the training ground to the players, “When Freddy kicks the ball to you, you have to pass it directly. You can’t adjust. Got it?”

Wood nodded.

“As for the players on the two sidelines, cut inside to shoot after you receive the ball.”

The players on the two sidelines indicated that they understood.

“Very well, start practicing.” After he had given all the instructions, McAllister retreated from the training ground and handed it over to Coach Freddy Eastwood to handle it while he himself stood at a side and watched carefully.

The team’s recent record had been up-and-down. He was under a lot of pressure too. The league tournament was already in the month of October and the Forest team was still in tenth place. Such a placement was absolutely unsatisfactory to everyone. There were rumors outside that Evan Doughty wanted to fire him but could not find a better excuse because he had led the team to an immediate win when it looked like he was about to be fired and that eased the pressure a little.

But it was not a long-term solution. He had to find a way to stabilize the condition of the team. Unfortunately, he was not a master of psychological adjustment. He could only find a way from the skills and tactics. He strengthened Wood’s core position and developed all the tactics around him. It was the only way McAllister could think of. After all, Wood’s form was stable. Over the years, there was almost no issue with his form. With him as the core, and as long as his condition was stable, then the team’s condition would not be too much of a problem.

By contrast, the other Italian player was simply too unreliable… Balotelli always wanted to leave the club, which always caused a din for a spell before every season. It had made the fans tired of him. Miraculously, though, he always ended up not leaving. Now that McAllister considered fixing him in the right midfielder position, the Forest team at least did not have to rely too much on him to score goals.

In order to improve the team’s performance, McAllister decided to sacrifice Wood’s defensive ability and let him focus on the offense. Therefore, Wood had to carry out more offensive drills during training such as the previously mentioned straight passes, diagonal long passes or even plugging in with his own long shots … The intensity of these training programs had increased.

Since becoming the Forest manager, he had to admit that even though Twain was an annoying person, he had cultivated George Wood for England, much to his credit. And now he was benefiting from it too.

As McAllister stared at the training ground and mulled over how to maximize Wood’s role, someone had hurriedly walked behind him.

“Mr. McAllister.”

“Ah? What’s the matter?” McAllister’s thoughts were interrupted, and he was a little annoyed. He did not turn his head around and kept staring at the training ground. He was using this method to let the unexpected person know that he was hard at work. If there’s nothing urgent, you’d better not come and disturb me!

“It has to do with George Wood…”

That person whispered behind McAllister. As he listened, the expression on McAllister’s face immediately changed from puzzlement to shock as well as at a complete loss …

※※※

Wood was on the field for practicing the passing drill. This training subject was on long passes, mainly to practice the accuracy of his direct long passes without adjusting in the face of the opponent’s scramble. McAllister did not arrange for someone to make a scramble. He just instructed him not to adjust after receiving the ball. The actual effect was still somewhat different.

From the first three sets of training, Wood’s long passes were becoming more and more skilled, whether in terms of the speed of the ball and the accuracy of the final target of the passes. Both could be considered top notch.

Just as he was about to continue his fourth set of passes, he saw Manager McAllister, who had been standing on the sidelines, make a time-out signal to Eastwood. Then he walked over directly toward him.

Was there something wrong with training? Wood did not think so. The quality of the practice was high and he himself was satisfied with it. Wood always demanded high standards of himself. Even a tough manager like Twain thought he was sometimes too tough on himself. Experience had also shown that as long as he thought it was fine, the coach would basically not be able to find any fault.

He stood there, waiting for the manager. He did not know what the manager wanted from him by pausing the training at this time.

When McAllister walked up to Wood, he opened his mouth and could not make a sound because he did not really know how he should relay the news to the other party.

After a moment’s silence, the rest of the players on the training ground noticed the unusual situation happening here and turned their attention over one by one.

McAllister also clearly realized that standing here while saying nothing made it even worse. “Well, there’s something I need to tell you, George…” His voice was hoarse and low once he spoke, which startled McAllister – his usual voice did not sound like this.

Wood looked at the other man in bafflement. When had the manager spoke so carefully?

“Well…” McAllister hesitated for a while and decided not to just blurt out the matter directly, but to start with the process to mentally prepare Wood. “The club has received a call just now from the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University … Your mother is in a critical condition and has just been taken to the hospital…”

Wood stared blankly at the manager. His mind was completely blank.

※※※

In fact, in the last two years, Sophia’s health had increasingly worsened, so Wood had spent money to hire professional nursing staff to take care of his mother at home. He had to train and also traveled around to participate in tournaments. There was no way for him to stay next to his mother.

Professional nurses could handle any usual situations. But if she had to go to the hospital, it meant her problem was serious…

When Wood rushed to the hospital’s intensive care unit, his mother was still in a coma. Ms. Nancy, the private nurse in charge of caring for his mother, was sitting outside the ward, somewhat at a loss. Her job had been taken over by the hospital. If Sophia did not leave the hospital from now on, there was basically nothing left for her to do.

Wood tried to rush straight into the ward but was stopped by a young nurse wearing a face mask.

“What are you going to do, sir? You can’t enter the intensive care unit at will!”

“I want to see my mother!” Wood yelled at the other person.

“Please keep your voice down!” The female nurse, who stopped him at the door, frowned and said, “You are not allowed to enter the intensive care unit without permission.” She spoke in a low muffled voice because of the face mask she wore.

“I’m her son. Why can’t I go in?” Wood did not care too much about it. He just wanted to get in there. The nurse was also unwilling to back down. She came up and blocked in front of Wood with her chest out.

“The patient is still not out of danger yet. The doctor is keeping her under close observation. Please do not disturb our work!” She stared sternly at Wood.

“You…” Wood raised his fists, wanting to push aside the tactless nurse, but was stopped by Ms. Nancy, who saw what happened at the side.

“Calm down, Mr. Wood! This is the hospital…”

Even though Nancy was a lady, she was not a petite woman. She was sturdy, had broad shoulders and strong thighs – although it was not suitable to use these words to describe a lady, it was a true portrayal – Not weaker than men in terms of strength, she was able to hold Wood back with some difficulty.

“Are you the patient’s family?” The female nurse on the other side saw that Wood was being held back, so she pulled out a sheet and glanced through it.

“I’m her son. She’s my mother.” Wood had calmed down after being persuaded by Nancy. He replied in a low voice.

She did not expect the other party’s attitude to suddenly became so good. The female nurse lifted her head and gave him a strange look. How could it be that she did not recognize the man in front of her? As long as she was from Nottingham, even if she was not a fan, she should recognize the man in front of her at a glance. Because he was the legendary team captain of the Forest team, George Wood. No matter how bad the team’s performance was and how difficult his situation was, he never had the heart to leave the Forest team. He was respected by countless people because of it.

She just did not expect that the team captain who kept a low profile of his life off the field, would have such a fiery side to him. It was not the stadium here…

But even if she recognized him, it did not mean everything would be according to his wishes. It was the rule that the intensive care unit could not be entered at will. Even if the Queen were to be here, she would not let her in without permission.

Thinking of it, the nurse’s attitude eased a lot. She told Wood, “Your mother is not out of danger yet. We have just completed the resuscitation. She’s still in the observation stage. You can look at her through this glass panel.”

Needless to say, Wood had already leaned against the front of a thick glass panel, gazing fondly at his mother lying on the bed inside. Various types of tubes were stuck in her body and connected to many of the medical equipment which he could not name. A doctor in a sterilized suit was observing the equipment and taking notes inside the ward.

Looking the other person’s appearance, he also realized that if he had barged in just now, he would have screw things up.

With this in mind, Wood turned to the nurse still standing next to him and said, “What happened just now… I’m really sorry… I was too impulsive, I hope… you can forgive me…”

When the nurse looked at the man’s awkward appearance as he apologized, she could not help laughing. She guessed he was not in the habit apologize to anyone.

Thinking that he had clashed with her due to his anxiety about his mother’s wellbeing, the last trace of dissatisfaction in the female nurse’s heart also dissipated. She smiled and shook her head, “I’m fine.” Those eyes which looked straight at Wood just now, had transformed into two beautiful crescents of eye smile.

Generally, after the opening of this sentence, they should chat further and get acquainted with each other. But Wood was not in the mood to chat to the nurse. After he apologized to the other person, he turned his eyes back at his mother separated by the glass. Apart from his mother, he had no room for anyone else in his heart and eyes at this time.

Wood gazed at his mother in the ward, while the nurse outside the ward gazed at Wood.

※※※

Reporters soon discovered that something odd was afoot. During a routine filming the next morning, they did not see George Wood’s figure.

Ever since George Wood became a member of the Forest team, he had only been late once. That was because when AC Milan wanted to purchase him, he had a conflict with Twain and came in late as a protest. Of course, the media did not know the real reason behind it. Only that Wood wanted to leave but was eventually persuaded by Twain to stay.

Other than that, Wood had never been late for training.

This time, it was different. Wood was not only late, the reporters waiting outside did not see Wood’s figure even until the end of the training session in the morning. He was not late. He was absent from training…

It was a serious matter – indeed, if it had happened to the undisciplined players, it would not have been a big deal. But it had happened to George Wood, so it was a very serious matter – naturally it attracted a lot of media attention. They surrounded Manager McAllister after training. They wanted to ask him the reason behind Wood’s absence.

Before asking McAllister, the media were also speculating among themselves on whether that meant something was wrong within the Forest team. Was it a conflict between the manager and captain? That could be big news!

McAllister was surrounded by dozens of reporters. If he did not give a reason why, he might not be able to leave Wilford today.

“Everybody…”

He had just opened his mouth and was overwhelmed by a louder clamor of voices.

“Mr. McAllister, has Wood applied for a leave of absence from training through you?”

“Mr. McAllister, do you know why Wood is absent from training?”

“Mr. McAllister, the team’s not doing well recently, and now Wood is absent from training, are you going to penalize him?”

“Mr. McAllister…”

“…”

“All right!” McAllister shouted in frustration, “Just keep quiet!”

He waited till the reporters shut up one by one before he continued to say, “I regret to tell you that George’s mother is hospitalized and in a critical condition, so he took time off to take care of his mother in the hospital.”

As soon as the answer came out, the reporters present just looked at each other in dismay. They did not cotton on to what had happened for a while.

McAllister slipped away from the side while the reporters were still in a daze.

※※※

Vivian Miller was the nurse on duty in the ward. She had just finished her job here and was getting ready to leave. She wanted to give some space for Wood and his mother. But as soon as she closed the door, she heard a sudden rush of footsteps coming from the end of the corridor. Following the rush of footsteps, a large group of reporters holding cameras appeared in front of her eyes.

What are they doing here? It was her first thought. Her second thought was – George Wood! They must have rushed here for Mr. Wood and his mother!

Vivian then made the same move as when she stopped Wood a day earlier. She stood at the door to stop the uninvited mob from approaching.

“This is the hospital. May I know who you are looking for?” Vivian asked despite knowing the answer so as to buy some time.

“Miss Nurse, can you please tell us if George Wood’s mother is staying in this ward?” Someone came forward among the reporters and asked.

Miss Vivian Miller stared at the ill-intentioned group of reporters and did not answer.

The reporters took her silence as admittance and wanted to charge inside.

“This is the intensive care unit. You are not allowed to enter without permission!” For fear of disturbing the patient inside, the female nurse could not raise her voice, so she appeared a little powerless in front of such a large group of men. If that group of men really want to break in, she might have no way of stopping them as a girl…

“We’re all friends of George. We’re here out of concern for him. We know that he did not attend the training this morning…”

Some of the reporters were okay and knew to make excuses for themselves, even if they were lies. The others reached out directly to push aside Vivian Miller, the meddlesome nurse.

“I don’t know you, this so-called group of ‘friends.’”

Vivian felt that she could not hold on any longer. She scrambled at her feet and took a step back but did not hit the door. Instead, she knocked into a person’s chest.

George Wood had showed up at the door to help Vivian fend off the impact from the reporters.

Seeing the man in question show up, the thick-skinned reporters suddenly became spirited and took out the cameras to start taking pictures of him. Some people even reached out with the microphones and recording equipment, wanting to ask questions.

Wood did something that the reporters did not expect. He pulled the nurse behind him to protect her with one hand while his other hand grabbed the nearest camera lens.

“If you dare to shoot, I’ll crush it.”

The remark surprised the media. They did not expect to get such a response. “Hey, George… We just care about you…”

“Thank you, but I don’t need it.” Wood answered with a grim face. His voice was low, as if he were a beast growling from the depths of its throat. It was a precursor to an attack.

The two sides seemed to be in a stalemate. The atmosphere at the scene was tense. Miss Vivian Miller, hiding behind Wood, only felt her heartbeat accelerating, for fear that the two sides would break out in a fight over a clash of words…

“A patient needs rest and a quiet environment. If you continue to cause a scene here, I will make sure that all of you will receive a letter from my lawyer.” The man who said this was not George Wood. The voice came from behind the crowd of reporters.

Everyone turned around and it turned out to be Wood’s agent, Billy Woox, as well as a large group of hospital security guards behind him…

※※※

Relying on the security guards and threat of lawyer’s letters, they finally drove away the huddle of reporters at the door. Woox was talking to Wood in a room outside the ward.

“I rushed back the moment I got your call. How’s Sophia doing?”

“She just came out of the critical stage, but the doctors say we can’t be too optimistic…” Wood said in a soft voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing his mother who was in the room.

Woox looked at her listless face and did not know what to say for a moment. After all these years of working with Wood, he deeply understood Sophia’s place in Wood’s heart. It was not enough to say that she was Wood’s everything. Now it looked like Sophia was not going to hold on for much longer. What would happen to George when the time came?

Wood sat in front of Woox and pursed his lips tightly. There was a silence in the room, which was extremely uncomfortable. Just when Woox planned to say something to ease the tense atmosphere in the room, Wood was the first to break the silence.

“I’ve thought about it for a night. I have decided to retire.”

Chapter 985 - It is Decided

“The American sports news are so boring…” Twain muttered as he switched off the television. He had wanted to watch some sports news on it, but there was a shocking lack of football news as the sports news comprised of only basketball, baseball, ice-hockey and American football. It was not really boring, just lacking in news regarding football.

He decided to search the internet for news about European football. Even though he was retired, he could not possibly rest at home his whole life and depend on his wife for a living. His job in the future would definitely involve football, that was why he wanted to ensure that he paid attention to football as a whole, so when the time came where he needed this information, he would not know nothing.

Twain had already planned his future. After resting for a few months, he would go look for a job. If there were no surprises, he would accept the invitation from BBC5 and be a commentator. As for his future after that… He had not thought about it. Maybe he might host a football program like Lineker.

Twain could not rest even though Theresa was napping in his room. That was because he could only make use of the time when Theresa was napping to do his own things. Otherwise, if Theresa was awake, he would have to go keep her company.

Just when he booted up his computer, his phone rang beside him.

Twain took a look at the caller ID on the screen of his phone and saw that it was the old Billy Woox.

That took him by surprise. As far as he knew, ever since he stopped being Nottingham Forest’s manager, Billy Woox, Wood’s agent, had not looked for him much. There was no personal friendship between them and since there was no longer any work relation between them, they naturally did not contact each other much.

Why was he calling Twain at this time?

Twain thought for a while before answering. He did not really like to have anything to do with this old man with questionable sexual orientation. Twain would get goosebumps when he heard the feminine voice of his. However, he had to show him some respect. After all, this agent did not urge George Wood to leave when he was still Nottingham Forest’s manager.

“Hi Mr Woox. What made you call me?” Twain teased, “I’m not longer the Nottingham Forest manager.”

“Are you still at Los Angeles, Mr Twain?” What Twain did not expect was that Woox did not give him a sarcastic rebuttal.

“Huh?” Twain was surprised by this question and he took a while to recover. “Yes, I’m at Los Angeles. Are you here too? Are you on holiday?”

“I was there two days ago, but I’m in Nottingham now. It seems like you’re doing well in Los Angeles. I’m sorry but…can you return to Nottingham now?”

Twain thought that it was weird, “Return to Nottingham? I have to wait for another month…” A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, “Is something the matter, Mr Woox?”

“George is planning to retire. I tried to convince him for a whole night, but he wouldn’t listen. I think that there are only two people in this world who could possibly convince him, and that’s his mother and you. However, his mother is in a coma in the hospital now, you’re the only one who can…”

Twain did not even listen to a word after that.

It felt as if there were many flashes of lightning inside his mind. This piece of news was such a shock to him that he could not react, as thought his brain had stopped responding.

George Wood retire? Sophia in a coma?

What happened?

“…Mr Twain, I hope that you can come back immediately,” Woox’s words found their way into Twain’s ears again and he finally snapped out of it. “George is going to call a press conference to make this announcement… But you should know that if he really made the announcement, things would only get worse. He would not listen to me so I could only tell him that he has a contract with the club. If he wanted to end the contract and retire, then the very least he could do is to discuss with the club… I’m stalling for you, Mr Twain.”

After Woox was done speaking, Twain opened his mouth, but he did not know what to say. This was the first time that Woox did not have his usual demeanor, saying so many things at once.

After many flashes of lightning in his mind, there was now a thunderstorm inside, and his brain was mush. He shook his head forcefully, then pinched his thigh so hard that he exclaimed in pain.

“Mr Twain?” Woox heard Twain exclaimed over the phone, but he did not understand what had happened.

“Um… It’s nothing, I’m fine. I’ll go back immediately. I’ll book the tickets now,” He pinched himself so hard that he was in tears, but this also cleared his mind a lot, “You must stall him before I return! Keep in touch!”

He hung up after saying that.

Next, Twain stood up and paced a few rounds in his room to calm himself down. Then, he made two calls. One to Shania, telling her that there was an emergency and he had to return to Nottingham. Theresa would stay with her in Los Angeles and he would return after the matter was resolved. Shania was surprised that Twain would decide to return to Nottingham so suddenly and she asked him about it. Twain told her that George wanted to retire, and she immediately understood the gravity of the situation. She promised Twain that she would rush home to take care of Theresa after her work was over.

The second call was made to the local ticketing office, and he requested for the earliest plane ticket to London.

After making these two calls, Twain took out his luggage and started to pack. There was nothing much to pack actually, just a few under garments and a few outfits, which was thrown into the luggage by Twain very quickly. After all these, Twain finally sat down and thought about what he just heard.

Sophia in a coma… Obviously her illness had taken a turn for the worse. She had been in a bad shape for the past few years. If he was being a heartless, he would say that Sophia did not have long to live. Twain was prepared for that, but not Wood… No, it was not that Wood was not prepared, he was, but he did not want to admit it.

Wood’s retirement had a lot to do with Sophia’s coma. Twain thought about it carefully. Based on his understanding of Wood, he must had had no mood to train or compete now that his mum was in a critical stage. For the past decade, his mother was his motivation for everything he did. Now that his mother was in a critical stage, he obviously had no interest to continue playing football anymore. Choosing to retire and keep his mother company was the only future plan that he could think of.

But this plan…

“You idiot!” Twain cursed.

※※※

News of Sophia being in coma spread across England very quickly. Everyone knew that the person Wood loved the most was his mother. So, nobody thought it was strange that Wood missed training because of Sophia’s illness. However, the number of people from the media waiting outside the hospital became more and more as days went by. Both the hospital and the police had to arrange for people to ensure things were in order and prevent the paparazzi from entering.

Vivian Miller was still in-charge of taking care of Sophia’s daily requirements, even though there was nothing much to take care of now. Wood’s mother was still in a coma after two days and the doctors in-charge were worried that Sophia might not wake up and become a vegetable. Of course, they did not tell George Wood about their concerns, they merely discussed amongst themselves privately.

Wood talked to his agent outside for a very long time the night before, their tones were rather intense. Vivian did not hear what they were arguing about, but she could see that they had a very grave look on both their faces when they reappeared in front of her. She did not know what happened between them and she did not need to concern herself with it. Her job was only to take care of the patient, and it did not entail taking care of the patient’s son. However, when she was free, she could not help but wonder about what made them argue so fiercely.

At that moment, Wood was sitting on the couch outside the ward with his head in his hands. It had only been a night, but he was a mess mentally.

Woox entered.

“I called the club and they heard about your intention to retire. Do you want to hear their response?”

Wood shook his head, “I’m going to retire anyway.”

“You still have a contract with the club. If you want to cut the contract short and retire, you’ll have to discuss it with the club first. The club obviously does not approve of your retirement request. They’re willing to let you go on an extended period of leave, but they do not wish for you to retire now,” Woox had already said whatever he could to persuade Wood yesterday. He did not intend to say much more now, just repeating what the club said.

After that, Woox sat across from Wood and asked him, “Is your mother awake?”

Wood shook his head slowly. This was the source of his worries. His mother had not woken up yet and he did not know if she would ever wake up again.

“If you really want to retire, it’s better for you to talk to the club first…” Woox started again.

This time, Wood did not object to it. He merely nodded and the ward fell into silence again.

※※※

Even though Wood needed to talk to a representative from the club, the club did not send someone immediately. They were in a mess internally because of the news of Wood’s impending retirement.

“Retire?!” McAllister was shocked by this news. If it did not come from the club chairman, Evan Doughty, he would most likely think that it was a prank. Even though Wood was already 32 years old, he was still in good shape and everyone thought he could at least play till he was forty. Just like the previous legendary captain from Nottingham Forest, Stuart Pearce.

“George’s agent called us. He said that Wood decided to retire last night.”

Evan looked at the two people in front of him. One of it was the manager, McAllister and the other one was Allan Adams. He hoped that the two of them could offer some ideas.

“I think that this is ridiculous…” Allan Adams frowned, “How could he decide to retire so easily?”

McAllister said, “It’s true that retirement can be an impulsive decision. Just like the previous Emperor of Manchester United, Cantona…”

Evan waved his hand. If he allowed them to continue this path of thinking, they would be off topic by miles, “I don’t care why he decided to retire, but we cannot let him do it. We’re all very clear that Nottingham Forest cannot do without him. You guys have to think of something.”

McAllister hesitated for a while and stole a glance at Allan Adams next to him. There was nothing coming from him and it seemed like he was intending to just watch. However, it was true that Wood was McAllister’s player. The manager would have a greater say in such matters as compared to a marketing director.

“Let me go talk to him…” It seemed like he had to do this himself. It was not an easy task to communicate with Wood… McAllister had not really talked to Wood even though he had been at the club for a few months. That was because when he talked to Wood, he could speak for a good half hour, until his throat was dry, but he might only get a couple of words in response. To be honest, he would rather lead a team out against Manchester United at Old Trafford than to talk to George Wood in private.

Evan Doughty nodded in satisfaction when he heard that the manager was taking the initiative to handle the situation.

He thought that Wood was only doing it on impulse. Now that the manager was going to talk to him personally, and he would have a day to calm down, he should definitely take back his decision to retire.

※※※

With arrangements from Evan, McAllister went to the hospital to see Wood on the day after. Wood had treated the ward as his home for the past couple of days, doing everything he needed there. He would not sleep until his mother was awake. When McAllister saw him, he could hardly believe his eyes. The legendary Nottingham Forest captain was so haggard that his eyes were sullen and unshaven. He looked like a totally different person from the impressive George Wood on the pitch.

After greeting Wood’s mother, McAllister told Wood about his reason for coming——To talk Wood out of his decision to retire.

McAllister analyzed the pros and cons of Wood’s retirement from all angles in an attempt to calm him down, but he failed.

No matter how McAllister put it, Wood would not say anything. After he was finished talking, Wood said, “I’ve already decided. I’ll retire.”

Hearing him say that made McAllister think about retreating. He had been doubtful that he would be able to convince Wood, and this was an opportunity for him to retreat.

Evan Doughty had no choice but to do it himself after hearing McAllister tell him about Wood’s determination. He brought Allan Adams to the hospital with him, under the pretense of visiting Wood’s mother. He told Wood to keep his mother company without worries, the club had already given him an extended period of leave and he could return to the team after his mother’s condition improved.

He said nothing about retirement.

Too bad Wood was having none of it. He did not thank Evan Doughty for his arrangement, and the first words out of his mouth was, “When can I talk to the club about my retirement?”

Evan was stumped by the question and it took him a long while before he thought of stalling him.

“George, we can talk about it after your mum wakes up…”

Other than stalling, he could not think of any other way. Maybe Wood would change his mind when he was feeling better after Sophia was awake?

However, if Wood insisted on retiring after Sophia was awake, what should the club do then?

Evan Doughty, the club chairman, had no idea at all…

Chapter 986 - Twain and Sophia

Chapter 986: Twain and Sophia

Evan Doughty currently did not know how he should feel. Did he hope that Wood’s mother would remain in a coma or smoothly regain consciousness? He told Wood to wait for his mother to wake up first and then talk about retirement. If Sophia woke up, the matter would be on the agenda. What should he do at that time? Would he agree to Wood’s request for retirement? Stop kidding! He’s only 32 years old and without reservations, he’s the core of Nottingham Forest. If he were to retire, what will we do?!

There was another thing that angered him – the Arabs suddenly slowed down the progress of the negotiations.

What made him even angrier was that this matter had to about Wood!

George Wood’s sudden absence from the team overshadowed the team’s prospect. Not knowing where these Arab infidels obtained the information that said Wood might retire, so they would need to reconsider their bid for Nottingham Forest if that were the case.

Allan Adams was also very frustrated with this. He thought it was simply a ploy by the Arabs. They were looking for any excuse to keep the offer low and try to buy Nottingham Forest at the lowest price. Otherwise, how could a player be compared to a football club?

If the Arabs were to use this excuse to push down the price, Evan Doughty would not accept it. When they first went to this Arab consortium, it was because they were keen that they had the money and could afford to fork out big money. They did not expect that the more they talked, the less money there was…

Now Evan Doughty wanted very much for God to be able to save him from this.

※※※

There were far fewer reporters outside Wilford than usual. Everyone knew the reason why – it was clearly worth paying more attention to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University than here. Even the players training here were absent-minded. Physically, they were here on the training ground, but their minds were in the hospital. George had not appeared in front of everyone for two days. No one knew what was going on with him. People like Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell, who were usually close to him, were a little distracted during training due to this matter.

McAllister took it all in and was anxious in his heart. He had already warned his players not to put their focus on areas other than football and what they should do was to set their minds at ease to prepare for the next game. But his words were useless, and the players’ minds wandered as before. Knowing that their next game was to challenge the strong team, Liverpool at Anfield, it was not an easy-going opponent, and Anfield was not a stadium that could be conquered if their minds were elsewhere. If the team’s mind was not in the game, what would be facing him as a manager?

McAllister was afraid to think further.

“After the training, I’m going to the hospital to visit George and his mother.” Bale told Mitchell during a break in the training as he looked at him.

Mitchell certainly knew what that meant, and he replied, “I’ll go with you.”

Bale heard his answer and smiled. But the smile only flashed across his face, and it was replaced with another look. Bale looked around and motioned to Mitchell to bend down. He got close to his ear and said, “I heard a piece of news that George might retire…”

“What?!” Mitchell screamed in surprise. He could hardly believe his ears. He saw Bale gesture to him, asking him to lower his voice. He quickly suppressed the shock he felt and whispered, “Where did you hear it?”

“There was a rumor coming out of the hospital that someone had overheard George talking to his agent… It’s just a rumor. I don’t know if it’s true or false.” Bale saw that Mitchell seemed completely disinterested to continue training and wanted to leave the training ground immediately. So, he hurriedly said a few words to set his mind at rest him.

Hearing that it was a rumor, Mitchell calmed down again, “I don’t believe it… The captain is not that kind of person. Besides, he’s only thirty-two years old. How can he retire?”

In fact, Bale only managed to placate Mitchell, but did not succeed in calming himself. In his mind, he was constantly worried that George would retire just like that.

When they saw Freddy Eastwood calling the players back to the training ground to continue training, Bale patted Mitchel on the shoulder and soothed him as well as by saying, “Don’t think too much. We’ll go to the hospital after training and find out.”

※※※

It was quiet in the ward. Only the sound of the medical equipment could be heard working. George Wood waited by his mother’s bedside. He gently held his mother’s hand and refused to let go. Vivian was at the side, recording the various data that appeared on the equipment to collate it into a report for the doctors to have the important references when diagnosing the treatment. His agent, Billy Woox was outside, figuring out how to deal with the increasingly impatient media. He did not know how the new was leaked. Some of the media outlets actually guessed that Wood wanted to retire. A lot of “excitement” was generated all of a sudden and the reporters which came to interview were more than twice of yesterday. If these reporters were to swarm in, the hospital would not been able to carry out the day-to-day work.

Vivian stole glances at Wood sitting in front of the hospital bed while she recorded the data on the equipment. She had already learned of the latest rumors from the newspapers that Wood was retiring. She was not a hardcore fan, but as a Nottingham native, she still had an understanding of football. At the peak of the Forest team’s most glorious period, a grand parade would be held in the city at the end of the season to celebrate another championship title that the Forest team had won. Besides, the hospital she worked for had a partnership with the English Football Association. How could she know nothing about football?

Was he really going to retire?

Vivian looked Wood and thought.

Wood noticed that someone was peeking at himself. He looked up, just as he met gaze with Vivian. The startled Vivian hurriedly averted her gaze and turned to look at the equipment screen. She took a pen and just scribbled something in the notebook, pretending to record data. How could she actually have the presence of mind to work?

Wood could feel someone peering at him, and she could also feel that Wood did not look away immediately.

It felt like an hour had passed, when in fact only a minute had passed on the clock on the wall. Vivian felt that Wood had taken his eyes off her and was secretly relieved. Once she relaxed, she felt strange. When she and Wood were looking at each other outside the ward the other time, she was not nervous or afraid at all. So, why would she feel a great pressure now when he was watching her closely? It was like he was a lion, and she herself was just a helpless prey in front of the lion…

After recording the data, Vivian should have gone straight out because her work was done. But she said to Wood, “Mr. Wood, you’d better take a break first…”

Wood looked up again and regarded Vivian, who did not evade this time. She also looked straight at the other man.

Wood did not agree her suggestion offer, but he said, “Thank you.”

Vivian knew she could not persuade the stubborn man. From what she had seen and heard working here these past two days, there might only be one person in the world who could make Wood listen obediently, but she was in a coma in the hospital bed. Perhaps no one else could persuade Wood to change his mind once he had already decided, even if it was just a small matter of taking a break.

Vivian sighed softly and turned to walk toward the door of the ward. She and Wood did not know each other. Their first encounter was less than two days ago. She really was not in any position to be overly concerned about Wood.

As she opened the door of the room outside the ward, she saw two men walking towards her from the end of the corridor. One of them, whom she knew, was Mr. Billy Woox, while the other person he was with was somewhat familiar. She could not recall who he was at the moment.

“Mr. Woox.” Vivian stepped aside from the door and greeted Wood’s agent, who she was familiar with from these few days.

“Miss Miller. How’s George’s mother today?” Woox stopped and said to Vivian.

“She still hasn’t woken up yet. But her vitals are stabilizing.” Vivian answered Woox’s question, and then glanced at the man next to him. Because she thought the man looked familiar, but she could not recall where she had seen him this instant.

How could Woox not be able to see what she was thinking? So, he simply pointed to the quiet man next to him and introduced him, “Mr. Tony Twain. I think you must have heard the name, so I will say no more.” He smiled.

The name was famous. How could Vivian not have heard of it? Just four months ago, he had just led the England team to win the World Cup, and then announced his retirement, disappearing from the public eye. She did not expect…

Vivian rushed to greet the legendary figure of the English football, “Hello, Mr. Twain. I’m Vivian Miller, the nurse in charge of taking care of Ms. Sophia.”

She reached her hand out to Twain with an easy manner. Twain shook her hand while he nervously stared at her eyes. Such a look was not polite, but Twain had always been like this. He was taking the opportunity to observe the other person. The eyes were the window to the soul. One could discern a lot of things from looking at the eyes.

When Twain let go of his hand, he also moved his gaze away.

Vivian was also secretly relieved. The feeling of being stared at by him was almost as the same as the feeling of being watched by Wood just now, and it all made her feel great pressure.

Woox naturally did not know what had just happened in the exchange of glances. He informed Twain, “Miss Miller is a very responsible nurse. Both Wood and I feel reassured with her taking care of Sophia.”

Twain nodded and said, “Thank you for taking care of Wood’s mother, Miss Miller.”

Vivian smiled back in reply, “This is my job, Mr. Twain, no thanks needed.”

The three people did not chat further. After thanking Vivian, Twain and Woox went into the ward, while Vivian closed the door and left.

But as she was leaving, she suddenly remembered that it was a well-established fact that Twain and Wood had a good relationship. Perhaps he could persuade Wood to change his mind? For Mr. Woox to appear here with him, it was obvious that he had asked Mr. Twain to come.

※※※

As Twain entered the room, Wood clearly heard someone come in, but he did not look back. Apparently his focus was on his mother.

When Woox saw that Wood appeared to care about nothing but his mother, he planned to make some sound to remind him that he had a visitor. But he was interrupted by Twain reaching out. On the way, Woox had already briefed him on Wood’s recent state, but seeing was believing. At the first sight of Wood’s back, Twain realized that it was going to be tricky this time.

Twain stood behind Wood and said nothing. Woox also did the same until Wood felt something was wrong. He remembered that someone had just gone out and people had come in, so he turned around…

When he saw Twain standing in front of him, he could hardly believe his eyes and a look of surprise showed on his face.

Twain, who also saw Wood’s face, was heartbroken when he saw Wood looking thin and pallid. Twain had not doubt that Sophia was Wood’s everything. What he saw in front of him just confirmed this fact once again. But it made him feel bad. His feelings for Wood were complex. It was not simply a relationship between a coach and a player, and it was not just a master and disciple relationship because he had took him off the streets to develop and cultivate his talents. It was hard to put into words that complex emotion.

“How many hours have you slept in total these two days?” Twain asked the moment he opened his mouth.

“I… Five hours… not even.” In the face of Twain, who suddenly appeared in front of him, Wood’s mind was a little unresponsive and even stammered a little.

“Go to rest.” Twain’s tone left no room for argument.

Wood’s mind was finally back to normal. He shook his head and refused, “No, I want to stay with my mother.”

“Don’t kid, George. When your mother, Sophia wakes up, are you going to let her see your haggard-looking face? Your unkempt beard, sunken eyes, messy hair, your entire body giving off an odor that the air conditioning cannot make it go away? Did you come straight from the training ground? You haven’t had a shower, have you? Are you trying to knock your mother out again?”

Watching the show on the side, Woox had to admit that Twain, who was better at talking glib than himself, as well as his special relationship with Wood allowed him to speak so brazenly without fear of facing a backlash from Wood. He himself could not do so…

Twain’s words hit the nail on the head. He just had to refer to Wood’s most vulnerable spot – his mother. He dare not refuse to listen whenever the name of his mother was invoked.

Wood was still hesitant, but his stance had loosened a lot, so Twain drove home another point.

“What are you still doing here? Go take a shower and have a good sleep. Then when your mother, Sophia wakes up, let her see a healthy you. Do you want your mother to worry about you in the hospital bed? George, do you know how many years your mother has been worried about you?”

The last sentence touched Wood’s heart. He was not someone who could not tell the good from the bad. He certainly knew that his mother had always worried about him. When he was young, she would worry that he would be as weak and sickly as she was, so she would be reluctant to eat nutritious and good food herself and feed them all to him. Growing up, she worried that he would become bad like those scumbags in the slums, that he would take drugs, go whoring and get into fights, and eventually be sent to prison. Consequently, she would rather work as a prostitute to make money to send him to school and let him receive an education so that he could find a decent job in the future. Later when he finally became a professional player and could make a lot of money, Wood thought his mother finally need not worry about him, because he was an adult, but he did not expect that his mother began to worry about his marriage prospects. She was worried that he could not find a girlfriend …

Wood got up from his chair and said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

It was a VIP ward. The patient’s room was inside with a visitor’s room outside, as well as a sleeping area for a caregiver and complete with a rest room with a shower in it, satellite television, telephone, Internet and other facilities. Wood rushed into the bathroom outside, and soon the sound of running water came from inside.

“It looks like I was right to call you.” Woox laughed.

Twain did not answer him. Wood had given up his seat by the hospital bed, so Twain walked over to sit down.

He looked at the face of the one lying in the hospital bed.

He still remembered the scene when he saw the face for the first time.

At that time in Sneinton, everything he saw was grey. Grey walls, grey roofs, grey skies, and everyone’s faces were gray, like black-and-white televisions. The first color that shone into his eyes and heart was Sophia, the only light source in that small, dark room. She was the only color in the dark grey world.

At that time, he stared at her and was lost to the world.

Now he was just as preoccupied.

The colors of the past were gradually fading away, and that light that once lit up the whole room was slowly waning. With her eyes closed, she laid quietly in bed and her complexion ash colored. Her face was much more wan and sallower than the last time Twain had seen her. Countless tubes and wires connected to her body to the cold equipment. He was unable to feel any anger.

Twain gazed blankly at Sophia, lying in the hospital bed, and was lost in past memories. Those things had already passed many years. He thought he had long forgotten them completely. He did not expect that at this moment the memories would re-surface from the bottom of his heart.

He had given her a violet dress which made her gasped in pleasant surprise.

To protect her from Collymore’s philandering, he even confronted Collymore, who was then the First Team manager at the time, in heavy rain.

And that night of ambiguity, the two of them, with their thoughts wandering in the room as they waited for George Wood who was out to come home…

In the time that had passed, was a moment that he developed an affection for her deep in his heart?

As Twain was lost in his thoughts, heard Woox suddenly cry out behind him, “Madam!”

He snapped out of his reverie in an instant. When his eyes refocused, he saw Sophia opening her eyes and gazing at him.

“I’m so glad to see you, Mr. Twain…”

It was so heart-wrenching to hear her voice so weak.

Chapter 987 - Everyone Has Their Own Worries

Chapter 987: Everyone Has Their Own Worries

When Wood changed into a new track suit that he brought from the training ground and exit the bathroom, he could see through the thick glass window that his mother’s ward was full of people. Doctors, nurses, and also Twain and Woox, who were pushed to the outside.

The doctors all looked serious and solemn, and Wood had his heart in his mouth when he saw that. He had a bad feeling about it, and he could not stop himself from rushing into the ward. He pushed everyone in front of him away, he could not have cared less about who those people were. When he finally made it into the circle, he saw his mother smiling at him.

Wood’s rapidly beating heart finally calmed down after he saw that. The first thing he asked when he calmed down was to ask the doctor, “How is my mother’s condition?”

The doctor replied without even looking up, “We’re still checking.”

Wood knew that being hasty now would not have any results, so he walked over to Twain as he saw him beckoning him.

“Let’s get out of here. There are too many people here, let’s not disturb their work,” Twain pointed to the visitor’s area outside.

The three of them took a seat outside and watched as the people inside were busy with work. Miss Vivian kept going in and out and she was so busy that her face was flushed and sweat glistened on her neck.

Twain and Woox sat on the couch but Wood could not sit for long. It was not long before he stood up and looked into the ward from the window, peering at the busy crowd.

After a while, Wood realized that there was another person next to him. Tony Twain’s reflection appeared on the window.

“Don’t worry, your mother will be fine,” Twain said.

Wood did not reply to that, instead, he asked him a question, “Woox asked you to come back? I heard you were holidaying in Los Angeles.”

A smile broke out on Twain’s face as he laughed silently.

“I’m afraid you might do something silly,” Twain said as he smiled.

Behind them, Billy Woox had already left when Twain stood up to walk towards Wood. He left the place to the two of them so that they could be totally alone, and they could then speak their minds.

“I’m not doing something silly, I considered for very long.”

“As long as one night?”

Twain turned to look at Wood. Wood only had eyes for the bustling scenes inside the ward.

Wood obviously was not in the mood to discuss about this with him now. The fact that he did not reject him with an aggressive tone showed that he had matured a lot, and that he was showing Twain a lot of respect. After all, Twain brought him up himself and they were like father and son.

When Vivian came out again, she did not walk towards the exit, instead, she walked straight to Twain and told him, “Madam would like to see you, Mr Twain.”

That surprised Twain, and Wood also could not help but to look at him.

Twain pointed to himself as he looked at Vivian with lots of questions on his face. Vivian nodded.

Twain did not rush inside but waited outside by the door instead. He waited for the doctors to leave before he entered the ward. Wood saw his mother say something, then Twain turned to close the door.

Looks like it was a confidential talk.

※※※

Twain sat down in the same chair as the one Wood sat in earlier, then held Sophia’s thin hand naturally.

“Why are you here, Mr Twain?” Sophia was very soft as she was still very weak. It was a good thing the room was very quiet and Twain could still hear what Sophia was saying, “I heard from George that you’re accompanying Shania and your daughter in Los Angeles.”

“Woox asked me to come back,” Twain was thinking in the back of his mind. If he told this patient in front of him that Wood had decided to retire, he was afraid that Sophia might not be able to take the blow and faint again. That would be disastrous…

As the thought flashed across Twain’s mind, he decided not to tell Sophia for now. He had better let her rest well for now. If Sophia’s condition became better, Wood would not think about retiring anymore.

As for the reason why Woox called him, it was not something that could not be explained. Wood and Twain were very close, and Sophia had also known Twain for many years. Now that she was hospitalized and she was even in a coma, how could he not be here?

“You should rest and recuperate; Wood is still waiting for you.”

Sophia looked towards the large glass window and she saw Wood standing outside, focusing all his attention on her.

“That kid… I can never stop worrying about him,” it seemed like she was chiding him, but she sounded full of pride and there was a smile on her face.

Twain turned and looked at where she was looking at.

When he realized that they were both looking at him, Wood averted his gaze and he saw Vivian Miller who was waiting at the door. Vivian was looking at him too…

Twain found out that Wood seemed to be acting strange outside and he looked back at Sophia.

Sophia continued to say, “It’s all thanks to Mr Twain that George can have the accomplishments that he has now. At first, I was merely hoping that he would get a proper job and not get into trouble all the time like the thugs in Sneinton…” She stopped to catch her breath. She was still very weak and could not speak too much at one go.

“But I didn’t expect George to become a star one day. I have to thank Mr Twain for that.”

“Hey, we’re good friends, aren’t we? Twain waved his hand, “Besides, that was all due to George’s own hard word. I’ve seen so many talented people who were not willing to put in the hard work. George only got his accomplishments today because of his diligence, that has nothing to do with me.” The first part of what Twain said was true. A person who had talent, but was unwilling to work hard, was not worth cultivating. Wood was indeed the most hardworking person he had ever seen. It might be because of his family’s situation which caused him to have no sense of security about life. In order to have a better life, he had to work doubly hard. But the second part of what he said was wrong. No matter how talented and hardworking someone was, if he did not have the opportunity, he would still amount to nothing. A sharp blade needs someone to wield it too.

Sophia did not care about Twain’s humility, she continued saying, “George is a stubborn child, but he listens to you. I hope that Mr Twain can continue to guide him…”

“My words are not as effective as yours, Madam,” Twain replied with a laugh, “Take care and recuperate, Wood is waiting for you.”

Sophia nodded.

※※※

When Vivian realized that Wood actually turned to look at her, she knew that there was no way for her to avoid it this time. Rather than turning away, she would rather be more open, and so she took the initiative to talk to Wood, “Now that your mother is awake, you should be very relieved now, right Mr Wood?”

Wood did not expect her to take the initiative to talk to him and he was stunned for a little. Even though he appeared to be calm, he was contemplating if he should reply, and if he was to reply, what should he say?

The problem was regarding Vivan’s question… He was very happy that his mother was awake, but he was not relieved yet.

However, he found another topic to talk about, “How is my mother’s condition?”

Vivian was put in a spot because of this question. That was because the specialist doctors were not optimistic about Sophia’s illness. Even though she was awake, she was not out of danger yet. The illness had been tormenting Sophia’s body for a very long time and her immunity system was already destroyed by it. Any minor illness would bring upon disastrous results to Sophia. However, was it really a good thing to tell Wood these? Judging by his feelings for his mother, if he knew about the truth, it would just be another heavy blow for him.

When she thought about it that way, Vivian smiled and told Wood, “It’s getting better.”

After saying that, she could see Wood breathing a sigh of relief. She felt guilty for lying to a good man.

Just when the both of them were feeling the awkwardness of this conversation, the door opened.

Twain appeared at the door and said to Wood, “Go see your mother, George.”

Wood hurried into the ward past Twain. He was in such a hurry that he even forgot to close the door.

Twain was the one who closed the door behind him, then he looked at the nurse, Vivian Miller, who was still waiting outside.

“Thank you for taking care of Sophia.” This famous Englishman who was almost as famous as the queen was nodding at her to express his gratitude.

“It’s my job…”

“We’ll have to trouble you to continue taking care of her in future.”

Looking at his sincerity, Vivian did not reject. However, she cautiously asked a question, “I heard that Mr Wood is going to retire, is that true, Mr Twain?”

Twain did not expect this girl to ask such a difficult question right off the bat. He touched his nose and looked at her awkwardly.

When he was on the way here, Woox had told him that someone from the media had caught wind of the news that Wood might choose to retire. Someone from the hospital had leaked this news to the outside. It should be someone who overheard the conversation between Wood and him and leaked the story out to the media. However, they did not know who the leak was at that time. Even if they did, they would not be able to do anything to that person.

But when he thought of someone being so nosy, Twain felt uncomfortable. He had never had any fond feelings for the media, which he felt were troublemakers.

Could this girl be the one who leaked the news?

The girl was still waiting for Twain’s answer. She looked up at Twain, who was half a foot taller than her with questions in her eyes. As Twain stayed silent, her questions turned into an awkward situation. She had obviously realized that she had asked a difficult question.

If they continued to stay silent, would this girl be so embarrassed that she would leave with her face in her hands? Twain had an evil thought in his mind. When he arrived, he caught her gaze twice. Twain did not see anything wrong with her gaze both times. Even though he could not be sure, Twain was more willing to believe that this girl did not sell any information to the paparazzi. Once he thought about that, he could not allow the girl to continue feeling awkward anymore.

“Yes, there’s a possibility of that.” He did not deny it.

“Ah!” Vivian exclaimed in shock, but she quickly covered her mouth. Her beautiful eyes were wide open as she looked at Twain, then turned to secretly look at George Wood through the glass window.

Twain was suddenly interested about this interesting girl. He asked, “Are you a football fan, Miss Miller?”

“Not really,” Vivian shrugged her shoulders after she recovered, “it’s just that, it’s difficult for me to not know about football as a local living in Nottingham, isn’t it?” She asked Twain.

Twain chuckled. She was indirectly praising him for his influence in leading the team some years back. Who would not like to be praised? Twain suddenly liked this well-behaved girl a lot.

Next, the two of them chatted a little about some other topics. Twain knew that she was the nurse who was in-charge of taking care of Sophia. So, he reminded her as a joke that Wood was a very stubborn person, and he was not someone whom others found easy to get along with. He told her not to take what Wood said seriously. Actually, he was also reminding her not to let the emotions of the patient’s family affect her work. After all, the nurse in-charge of taking care of Sophia controls Sophia’s life. If they were in China, Twain would have given Vivian a big, fat red packet.

Vivian did not think much about it, instead, she started talking about the first time she met Wood. Her story was interesting, and her tone had no trace of grievance at all. Twain enjoyed it very much. He had a good time communicating with this girl.

As Wood left Sophia’s ward, Twain could not detect any change in his emotions from his face. He told Wood to have some rest, at least get some more change of clothing from home if he was still insisting to live in the hospital. Vivian took the opportunity of them talking to enter the ward and help Sophia lie down, cover her with the blanket properly, ensuring that none of her limbs were out. Next, she started to copy the data on the monitoring devices into the report.

“This is a good nurse,” Twain praised.

Wood grunted in agreement.

“Go get some rest. I think you should just stay here, I’ll get someone to get you some clothes.”

Wood did not object to it. He took another look at his mother who was resting on the bed, before he turned to get some rest in the visitor’s room.

At this moment, the door opened behind him.

Billy Woox who just left appeared in front of them again, but there were two more people behind the old man…

One of them was very prominent. His tall frame blocked the whole door so much so that one could not even see his face. Other than Aaron Mitchell, Twain could not think of anyone else who might appear here. Next to Mitchell was another person who was peeking in, this was naturally the “Little Monkey”, Gareth Bale!

Twain was surprised at the arrival of these two, but the level of his surprise could not be compared to how surprised the two of them were to see him.

“Boss!!” The two of them shouted at the same thing. The volume was so loud that they thought that it would have summoned some reporters over.

“Long time no see, pals,” Twain waved at them as he gave them a greeting.

Chapter 988 - You Really Want to Retire?

Mitchell and Bale had no idea at all that they would be able to see the head coach in Wood’s mother’s ward. They then excitedly surrounded Twain, almost forgetting why they had even come in the first place.

It was Twain who took the initiative to update them on Wood’s mother’s condition, and the two then realized they were a little disrespectful. Luckily, Wood was not the petty type who would take their uncouth behaviors to heart.

Mitchell and Bale were visiting Wood and his mother at the hospital as friends. Wood did not tell them about his decision to retire as a football player, but they brought up the subject themselves.

“George, I heard you are thinking about retirement. Is that true?” Bale stared at Wood, questioning him.

Twain and Wood glanced at each other when they heard Bale’s question.

Bale did not notice the little look Twain and Wood shared so he and Mitchell looked at Wood, hoping for a reply from him.

Twain suddenly felt a headache coming on. Knowing Wood, he would probably not lie. However, if he spoke the truth, how would Bale and Mitchell react? Would they lose their spirits? And if that happened, what would he do? Wood was enough of a handful by himself, and if Bale and Mitchell joined in, the outcome would not be very pleasant.

Twain assumed Wood would lower his head and nod. However, Wood instead shook his head. “How is that possible? I have never said this.”

This surprised Twain, and he quickly turned back to Wood, realizing how Wood was also looking at him with suspicion. Maybe Wood changed his mind after his mother woke up and decided not to retire?

If that was the case, that would be great.

Twain heaved a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Hearing Wood say that, Bale happily turned to Mitchell to exclaim, “You see! What did I say? It was all rumors! Rumors aren’t credible!”

Mitchell was relieved, too, as he felt embarrassed for doubting the team captain initially. He scratched his head and said, “That’s good, I would not know what to do if you retired and left the team…”

” George is older than you. He would eventually retire, and you’re going to have to keep playing,” Twain said suddenly.

However, Mitchell unexpectedly shook his head and said, “I’m 28 this year, while George is 32. He would at least be able to play until he’s 40, by which time I would be 36 and long retired.”

Not knowing that Mitchell had this idea all along, Twain did not know whether to laugh or cry. Everyone said that Wood would be able to play till he was 40, but was that really true?

Wood did not elaborate further. He pulled Bale and Mitchell over to ask about the squad’s condition for the past two days. Naturally, there would not be any good news. Bale told him that the players in Nottingham Forest were very worried after losing the core of the team in an instant.

Mitchell asked Wood if he would be available to participate for the away game against Liverpool on the day after.

Wood hesitated for a moment. In this period, he really did not have the spirits to play football, so even if he forced himself to go onto the field, he would definitely be off form. Regarding this point, he was blunt and said at once that he would definitely not be able to go Anfield.

Mitchell was obviously a little disappointed, but he did not push any further. Wood’s mother was stuck in the hospital with a severe condition and forcing him to play would be inhumane, so he was simply asking for reference.

They did not talk for too long since George Wood needed to rest, so Wood walked with both of them out of the ward. As they were leaving the hospital, this naturally attracted a large uproar of reporters, but with the aid of the security and policemen, they were able to leave without much trouble.

As soon as they left, Twain immediately asked the question he had on his tongue. “You have decided not to retire, George?”

Wood shook his head. “I lied to them.”

Twain did not continue to question or try to convince him to change his decision. Once he knew that was the final decision George Wood made, he did not offer any additional comments. He only slightly nodded. This guy was definitely very stubborn, and would not change his mind so easily? George was currently not himself, so it was better not to mention this subject.

Wood then went on to rest, while Twain sat at the guest room for a little longer. After Wood came back, he bade farewell to him, then left. As Wood was able to rest in the ward while he could not, he would rather return home to rest and think about how to convince Wood to change his mind.

※※※

At 10.30 in the morning, the bar was not even at its designated opening hours, and a “Closed” sign hung on the main door, reminding customers that the bar was not operating.

Kenny Burns was sitting behind the bar wiping glasses as the door made a squeaking sound, indicating that someone walked in.

“I’m sorry, we’re not working yet, please…” He raised his head whilst talking as he realized that the figure was familiar. As he was blinded by the light from the door, he could not tell clearly who the person was. He could only guess from his body shape.

John? Nope, he was too thin. Bill? No, he was a little fatter…

So who was it?

That dark shadow opened his mouth, and the voice made Burns pleasantly surprised.

“For more than a decade, I’ve had a question which I could never solve. Kenny, are those glasses in your hands never-ending? Will you never finish wiping them? I was thinking, other than the first time when I met you, you were always sitting in that same position wiping glasses.”

“Ha, Tony!” Burns put down his cup, came out from behind the bar, and welcomed Twain with open arms. “Why are you back?”

Twain also opened his arms and gave Burns a warm hug.

“I got a call from George’s agent and came back.”

Burns stayed silent, as the news about Wood’s mother being in a critical condition and staying in the hospital was no longer news since everyone knew about it. Twain and Wood had such a close relationship, so his rushing back was not a surprise either.

Twain sat at the bar with a glass of water placed in front of him, and Burns stayed behind the bar, continuing to wipe his glasses.

Because the place was not operating, not a lot of the lights were switched on in the bar. Only a few ceiling lights were working. The curtains were still shut at the windows, where only a few rays of light were able to come in, lending a bit of light to the dark room. The dust within the room was rolling around under the light, looking like the water vapor special effect used for the dance stage.

Such an environment was suitable for talking about some intimate topics.

After the two chatted for a while, the conversation was back onto Wood. “Recently there were rumors saying how George was going to retire.” Being a Nottingham Forest fan, Burns was also concerned about Wood.

Twain nodded. “It’s not a rumor.”

Burns did not act surprised, he only looked slightly at Twain and continued wiping his glasses. “Because of his mum’s medical condition?”

“Yeah.”

“You came back because of this?”

Twain made a slight ‘mm-hm’ noise.

“Have you seen Wood?”

“Yes, I’ve met him, but I haven’t mentioned this issue… I don’t even know how to start.”

Burns nodded. “George has been emotionally unstable lately. Let him cool down for a while before you try to convince him…”

He did not expect Twain to interrupt him. “No, Kenny. There isn’t enough time. Woox told Wood that if he plans to retire, he has to discuss it with the club. In order to stall him, Woox wanted to wait for Sophia to wake up before dealing with this issue. During yesterday’s afternoon, Sophia regained consciousness, so we can’t stall this matter any longer.”

Burns was relieved to hear that Wood’s mother had woken up. “Now that his mother is awake, isn’t it much easier? Wood only listens to you and his mother, so you can let his mum convince him.”

Twain shook his head again. “Sophia’s extremely weak, and she is in poor spirits. I do not want to tell her such groundbreaking news. We have to prevent her from getting agitated again…”

Twin did not continue, but Burns knew what was going on. Now he had nothing more to say. He knew convincing Wood to change his mind would be a very difficult task.

However, staying here was not a solution as well, after finishing that glass of water, Twain bade farewell to Burns and left for the hospital.

※※※

Wearing shades and a hood, Twain bought a copy of the newspaper at the stand outside the hospital. He did not intend to buy it initially. He did not have the mood or the time to read the newspaper. It was while he was walking past the newspaper stand that he incidentally chanced upon the title amongst the colorful newspapers which caught his attention.

“George Wood has retired!”

The title was printed in large black and bold font, fit for groundbreaking news. There was no way he could not notice it. Previously, the titles were all labeled as “questions”, but today the punctuation was changed to an exclamation mark. After thinking back to what Bale and Burns had said, it seemed like the rumor had turned into reality.

He walked over to put down the money, took the last newspaper, rolled it in his hands, and hurried away.

Under such circumstances, he had to convince Wood to change his mind immediately, and disperse this rumor. If not, the morale of the squad would definitely decline, and Nottingham Forest’s results would take a turn for the worse.

Despite what some people thought, Twain did care about Nottingham Forest’s record. If not, he would not even bother about their results. It was a fact that he worked with that team for 11 years and there were even players that he brought up from the beginning, so how could he avoid having any feelings for the team? Seeing how the majestic red tornado had declined into this state devastated him.

The great results he produced with his own efforts had now been reduced to nothingness.

Entering the hospital from a different direction to avoid those troublesome reporters, Twain dashed into the ward and saw that Vivian Miller was waiting outside at the guest room while Wood looked like he was speaking to his mother.

When she saw Twain enter the room, Vivian politely greeted him. “Good morning, Mr. Twain.”

“Good morning, Miss Miller.” Twain sat down on the sofa and began to read the newspaper he brought.

Vivian noticed the headline of the newspaper in Twain’s hand. It was so eye-catching that it was hard to miss. The media really tried the hardest to blow up this topic.

“Mr. Twain…”

Twain, who was still reading the newspaper, heard her call him. He replied as he put the newspaper down, “What’s the matter, Miss Miller?”

“Ah…” Vivian only realized then that she might have been rude, but it was not like she could simply say, “Nothing, I only spoke to you for fun.” She could only harden up and ask curiously, “Is Mr. Wood really retiring?”

Twain did not answer the question immediately, but only tilted his head to look at the young nurse for a while. She had golden hair and beautiful eyes. She was pretty, with a few freckles that only enhanced the fairness of her skin. She was concerned about Wood…

After evaluating her looks, Twain then shook his head and said, “No.”

“That newspaper…” Vivian pointed to the paper which was set aside.

“It’s all rumors.”

While the two were talking, Billy Woox pushed the door and entered. The two men looked at each other. Vivian was polite and knew the two must have things to discuss, hence she stopped talking to Twain and found an excuse to leave the ward.

When Vivian left, Woox fixed Twain with a questioning look. “The club knew that Wood cannot participate, so they attempted to make an excuse for delaying the match against Liverpool.”

Twain heard this and broke into laughter. It looked like Evan was not dumb when it came to these matters. The man knew that Wood was his last hope and that if Wood retired, he would be finished. They might as well have not met with Wood at all.

“It’s all up to you, Mr. Twain,” Woox said as he looked at Twain.

There was a bitter look on Twain’s face. “Convincing him not to retire might be a lot more difficult than convincing him to take a rest.”

“It’s all the same, use his mum as a reason to talk him around,” Woox said.

Twain glanced into the ward through the glass window. The relationship between the mother and her son was particularly close.

※※※

Sophia suddenly remembered something that did not feel right yesterday. Because she had just woken up with an unclear mind, she could not recall what it was. Now that she has been talking to Wood for almost a day, she finally recalled what the issue was.

“That’s right, George. What day is it today?”

Wood did not know why his mother suddenly asked that, and honestly replied, “Saturday.”

Sophia took her eyes off Wood’s face as she stared at the ceiling silently for a moment, then said, “Ah, I have recalled, don’t you guys have a match against Liverpool this Sunday?”

Seeing how his mother mentioned the issue, Wood felt like that was a bad omen.

“Well… The club gave me a holiday, Mom. I won’t have to play in tomorrow’s game…”

Sophia frowned. She cherished her son’s reputation. In professional football, when someone mentioned George Wood, he was the symbol of dedication. Those who were unhappy with him could abuse his ruthless actions on the field with rough play and injuring other players, but no one dared to blame him for being sloppy or unprofessional. Hearing Wood’s praises from the media, Sophia was happy as well – she could be proud of her son.

Now that she has heard that Wood was not going to play, however, it did not seem right. In her simple mind, she knew that a professional footballer’s role was to play football. Participating in competitions and training was part of the job and if George did not go to work, how could he be called a “professional football player”?

“George, Mom’s alright. There is Miss Miller here looking after me, you know. You’d better go to Liverpool for the game.”

Wood felt awkward. He did not know what to tell his mother in that instant. He heard Twain’s voice behind him calling out, “Madam, the club has already reported the final roster for tomorrow’s match and even if George rushed over now, he would not be able to play.”

It turned out that while Twain was talking with Woox, they felt like the atmosphere was different within the ward as if something had happened between Wood and his mother. He felt compelled to enter the ward, and that was when he chanced upon what Sophia said.

From this statement, Twain could guess Sophia’s attitude towards this issue, and he felt like there was finally a possibility to convince Wood to change his mind. However, at the moment, he felt like he should help Wood cover up first. Wood was grateful that Twain helped him this time and that he should not show him such a grumpy attitude the next time they talked about his retirement.

Sophia thought about it carefully before realizing that Twain was right. She was too weak just now. However, thinking that her son could not play in the match because of her, she did not have the mood to continue talking about this topic. Twain saw the change in Sophia’s face from the side, and knowing that she did not have the mood to talk anymore, he told Wood, “Let your mom rest for a while, George.”

Having said that, he walked out of the door and waited outside.

After saying goodbye to his mother, Wood also walked out of the ward, but he saw that Twain did not sit on the sofa. Instead, he was standing by the door, as if waiting for Wood.

“How long have you been in the hospital?” Twain looked at Wood as he invited him out. “Let’s go out for a walk, staying here for too long is bad for your state of mind.”

Wood did not reject Twain’s request. He simply nodded. It was clear that Twain’s attempt at helping him get out of that sticky situation was useful.

Twain pressed the alert for Vivian to stay at the ward to take care of Sophia while he walked out with Wood. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters. Support the author, support legal reading!)

Chapter 989 - The Conditions

The University of Nottingham’s Royal College of Physicians was situated in the southeast corner of the campus, and a lake separated the college, which also served as a hospital, from the rest of the school. One would be able to admire the beauty of the lake as it glinted in the sunlight through the windows of the hospital. Not only that, but one would also be able to see the iconic Trent Building in the distance. The Trent Building was white and resembled the White House.

Twain and Wood did not admire the lake from the hospital. Instead, they chose to take a stroll next to the lake itself. It was approaching noon and there were very few people around the lake. The patients who had been standing by the windows at the hospital earlier all retreated into their wards after experiencing the blazing heat from the sun. Twain and Wood did not mind the heat. They continued strolling along the side of the lake.

“I don’t think you need to do a press conference to announce your decision.” Twain passed the newspapers in his hands over to Wood. “Someone has pretty much done one for you.”

Wood lowered his head to look at the newspaper. There was an article about his retirement, and the journalist who had published the article sounded convinced that everything he had written was the truth. Wood did not know how the journalist was able to gain access to this information, but he did not particularly care.

“My mum is in a bad condition now. I want to be by her side as her life comes to an end,” Wood said in a low voice.

Twain jerked after hearing Wood’s words. He then stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Wood. Did he know that his mother’s days were numbered?

Wood paid no heed to Twain’s gaze. He turned around and looked at the building behind him. He appeared to be searching for his mother’s ward.

“I can’t bring myself to play football given these circumstances. I would definitely affect the team as a whole.”

“And so you decided to put your cards on the table and retire so that the club does not need to worry about you from here on out?” Twain asked.

Wood nodded.

Clearly, Wood did not act on impulse. It was just like he said. His decision to retire was made after careful consideration. However, if that was truly the case, Twain had an even bigger problem on his hands now.

There was a row of benches before them where patients could sit at and rest. Twain pointed at the benches and said, “Let’s go over there and rest for a moment.”

The pair sat down on one of the benches that faced the lake. The clear surface of the lake was painted in blue as it reflected the azure sky and white clouds above.

“Do you really think that announcing your decision to retire in the middle of the season would not affect the club in any negative way? Do you have any idea just what kind of status and influence you have as a player right now, George?” Twain said as he stared at the lake’s surface. “Do you remember how we first met?”

Wood froze. The images of what happened over a decade ago were hazy now.

Twain noticed that Wood did not respond, so he continued to speak, “You were covered in dirt when you suddenly appeared before my house and returned my wallet. You then told me that I should sign the best player in England.” Twain paused to glance at Wood, before going on to say, “The best player in England has suddenly announced his decision to retire. Do you really think that your decision would not impact others?”

Wood still did not respond. However, the fact that he did not refute Twain at once was a good sign.

“The team has already been impacted while you went into hiding in the hospital. Do you think Nottingham Forest can win against Liverpool tomorrow?”

Wood finally broke his silence and said, “It’d be difficult to win even if I were in the team.” He lifted his head to look at Twain before going on to say, “The Nottingham Forest of now is nothing like the Nottingham Forest of the time you were in charge…”

Twain was rendered speechless by Wood’s words. Wood was right. With the way Nottingham Forest wasnow, it would be very difficult for them to defeat Liverpool at Anfield even with Wood on the team. He reminisced about how his Nottingham Forest team had conquered the whole of Europe back then. They slaughtered every single foe who stood before them. Twain’s heart began to beat faster as those images from the past surfaced in his mind. Those were the times…

Twain raised his head and reclined against the backrest of the bench. He then squinted as he gazed at the skies.

Nottingham Forest has won! They were the champions! The champions of Europe! Tony Twain and his team have defeated AC Milan!

Absolutely unbelievable! Tony Twain’s team becomes the first-ever team to defend its title after the Champions League changed its format! Nottingham Forest has made history!

They won the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League! The 2013-14 season belongs to Nottingham Forest! They are a treble-winning team!

What would things be like now if he had chosen not to leave and had forced himself to stay at Forest for a few more years? Nottingham Forest would most probably have had a few more years of glory. It would be nearly impossible to win another treble, but winning a few more trophies should have been possible.

“George, do you still despise me?”

Wood turned his head to look at Twain.

“It’s partially my fault that Nottingham Forest has become the way that it is now, right?”

“Of course I despise you,” Wood was honest with his answer. “How’s life after retirement?” He suddenly changed the topic of the conversation.

“Er…” Twain did not expect Wood to ask this question all of a sudden. He thought about it for a moment but quickly realized that there was nothing much for him to say. “Nothing special. I stay at home every day to take care of my kid, and I also spend some time with Shania. What kind of life do you think a retired old man can possibly have?”

Wood smiled when he heard Twain say the words ‘retired old man’. This was the first time in two days that Twain saw Wood smile.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I’m imagining the kind of life that a retired old man would have.”

“Did you think I’d be in the garden watering plants and planting tomatoes or potatoes every day? Nuh-uh. No way. I won’t ever do those things. I am still very interested in football. There might be a chance that I’d become a commentator in the future, and I might even provide a commentary on your matches, George.” Twain seemed to have forgotten that Wood was intent on retiring as a football player. “You have been performing poorly for the past few matches. Why are you positioned at the front and playing as an attacking midfielder? How can you play as an attacking midfielder when you can’t even receive the ball? Have you forgotten that offense is derived from the defense? Do you know why I insisted on playing you as a defensive midfielder back then and not at any other position? The defensive midfielder is the pivot of both the team’s offense and its defense. You are able to get the ball a lot more when you play in the defensive midfielder’s position. You would also be able to get a better view of the entire pitch, and the opponents would not harass you as much either. All these factors are beneficial to you performing well on the pitch. But look at your position in the past few matches. You were almost playing as a second striker!”

Twain sounded sterner and sterner as he spoke. It was as though the two were having this conversation while seated in the locker room rather than on a bench behind a hospital.

“I am not to be blamed for that. It was the manager’s decision,” Wood defended himself. “McAllister thinks that the team’s offense is a huge problem, and so he decided to move my position further upfront. He wanted me to organize the team’s attacks, and he told me to shoot from the distance whenever a chance to do so arose.”

Twain frowned after hearing Wood’s words. “I don’t understand how Evan Doughty picks his managers…”

“There was only one managerial appointment that he got right all these years,” Wood replied.

“Ha!” Twain started laughing. “That’s right, he only got it right once.”

The pair was not able to find any other conversation topic to talk about afterward, and silence settled between the two.

Twain gazed at the lake’s surface absentmindedly, whereas Wood did not know where he should look. Quite a bit of time had passed before Wood finally opened his mouth to break the silence. “You are here to persuade me to not retire, right?”

Twain grunted his assent.

This whole situation was something that made Twain feel immensely vexed. He would rather be the manager of the China national football team as they competed in the qualifiers of the World Cup than sit here and face an obstinate Wood.

“I have an idea.”

Twain turned his head sharply to the side and stared at Wood. He was afraid that he had misheard him.

Wood did not mind Twain’s blazing gaze and went on to say, “I will not retire if you return to Forest.”

Twain’s mouth hung agape. He never expected to hear Wood say those words.

Wood continued speaking as Twain looked on in astonishment. “I’m not joking. I only said those words after thinking it through carefully.”

“I’ve already retired, George…” Twain did not know what he should say. This was not an outcome that he saw coming.

“You took a plane back from Los Angeles just to persuade me not to retire. However, it’s just like you said earlier. You’ve already retired. You are not the manager of the England national football team, and neither are you the manager of Nottingham Forest. Then what does my retirement have to do with you?” Wood stared at Twain, almost like he was trying to read his mind.

Twain was at a loss. He never knew that Wood was this eloquent.

“Do you really want me to stay?” Wood asked again.

“Er… Yeah, of course, I do…”

“Why? You are not my manager any longer. Why do you care if I retire or not?”

“Why?” Twain thought about Wood’s question. “All right… I watched you grow up. You were just some hooligan on the streets at first, and I was the one who made you into a football superstar. I feel emotionally attached to you. I don’t wish to see you leave this stage that belongs to you just yet. It’s too early for that.”

“What else can I possibly gain by continuing my career as a footballer? Why did you choose to retire? It’s because you have achieved everything that a manager wants to achieve. You achieved success as the manager of a football club, and you also achieved success as the manager of the national football team. There’s no motivation and drive left in you to achieve anything else since you’ve done it all, and it’s the same thing for me,” Wood responded to Twain calmly.

“No…” Twain shook his head. “Don’t you think that playing football makes you happy? Don’t think about fame, reputation or money. Just your joy in playing football…”

Wood laughed. “Who was it that said we would only be able to feel happy when we win in football? Who was it that said we only have the right to say that we enjoy football when we are the champions? Do you think there’s any joy left for me as a player when I have achieved everything? Do you really think I’d still be able to enjoy playing football?”

Twain felt as though Wood had transformed into him, and that he had become the George Wood who needed to be persuaded.

“I’ve lifted the trophy for almost every competition. There’s no joy left for me. So, tell me. Why shouldn’t I retire?”

Twain realized that everything Wood had said was right. It only made sense for a player like him to retire. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. But why was he so reluctant to see Wood retire?

He suddenly remembered something. It was an incident that had happened in the past, before he had not transmigrated, when he was just an ordinary Chinese man who liked football and playing Football Manager. There was a demonic-looking player in the Football Manager game whom he had groomed for over 10 in-game years, and the player announced that he was going to retire by the end of the season. How did he feel when he saw that scene back then? He told the player, who was nothing more than an NPC, that he should reconsider his decision to retire.

Honestly, what was there left to enjoy in playing Football Manager when you have pretty much cleared the game? He could lead even the worst of teams to become champions of Europe. It was as easy as ABC to win all the domestic competitions, and he also won the Champions League countless times. He never could finish spending the in-game money that could be used to bring in players, because all the players in his team were the top ones from back then. It was just as George had said. He had won everything in the game, and he would never feel that same kind of joy as when he lifted his first domestic cup trophy ever again. He would never feel that same sense of accomplishment as when his team got promoted to the highest division of the football league for the very first time. What was the point in continuing the game when he no longer felt anything when he made yet another accomplishment? The only thing that kept him in the game was his desire not to see the players, whom he had grown familiar with, leave before him.

A total of 10 seasons had gone by in the game, and the NPCs who had nothing more than a name and data at the start were not just cold, emotionless NPCs to him any longer at the end. They felt real and alive. They would thank the manager for his guidance during an interview after they won something, and they would also tell how the manager had admonished them in the locker room after they lost a match. ‘All of us felt his anger’ were the words that the players would say. They would feel happy when he praised them about their recent performances, and they would react differently when he criticized them for performing poorly… To others, Football Manager was just a game. Everything in the game had been pre-programmed. But the true fans become emotionally invested in the game.

Indeed, that was exactly what was happening to Twain now. He was emotionally invested in Wood.

Hence, Twain did not wish to see Wood retire early. He was just like one of those true fans of the Football Manager game, and he would advise his most favorite player to reconsider his decision to retire even if he was well aware that his advice could lead to conflict between them.

“I can’t help but feel a little lonely when there are fewer and fewer people on the pitch whom I’m familiar with,” Twain sighed. “And that’s why I don’t wish to see you retire. You are one of the few people on the team who I am still familiar with.”

Wood opened his mouth, but no words came out. He continued to stare at the surface of the lake, and silence settled among them once again.

A long time had elapsed before Twain heard a soft voice coming from Wood’s side, “You are one of the few people left in football who I’m familiar with, too…”

※※※

BBC made the decision to broadcast the blockbuster match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool throughout the whole of England. Thus, millions of spectators watched as Liverpool thrashed Nottingham Forest by scoring five goals against them. The Nottingham Forest team had no fight in them. They played like a team who wanted to leave the pitch as quickly as possible the moment they stepped onto it. When the team went one goal behind, McAllister blew his top at the side of the pitch and was visibly upset with the team’s performance. However, when the team went three goals down by the 15th minute, McAllister displayed indifference and simply remained in his seat quietly.

Motson, who was the commentator for the match, said that Nottingham Forest’s performance had clearly been affected by George Wood’s absence from the team. Twain and Wood were watching the live broadcast of the match on the television in the guest room. Upon hearing those words from Motson, Twain turned his head to glance at Wood, and he found Wood’s face to be bereft of emotion.

In the end, the team suffered a humiliating 0:5 defeat to Liverpool, and the Nottingham Forest’s fans’ nightmare came true.

The next day, Wood was forced to end his ‘break’ early and return to team practice due to Sophia’s insistence. Before he left, he told Twain that he still had not changed his mind about wanting to retire and that the only way he would not retire was if Twain returned to the team.

Twain did not make any form of response to his words.

That same day, Nottingham Forest Football Club held a press conference to announce that their manager, McAllister, had turned in his resignation and that the club had agreed to his request after careful consideration. The youth team manager, Greenwood, was appointed as the caretaker manager for the time being.

In the eyes of the outsiders, the change in personnel at the club signified that the once almighty Nottingham Forest was spiraling down into an abyss of nothingness, and its descent was gaining pace…

Chapter 990 - Nottingham Forest’s Circumstances

Wood had no intentions of discussing about his impending retirement in front of the interim manager, Greenwood, and club chairman, Evan Doughty. Faced with the intense pressing of the reporters, he remained tight-lipped, as if nothing ever happened.

Evan breathed a huge sigh of relief.

No matter what, the crisis had been averted for now. However, Evan Doughty could not feel relaxed about it. With the piling up of all the negative news such as the continuous defeats, the frequent change in managers and the rumor of Wood’s retirement, the Arabian consortium suddenly changed their minds. Although they did not indicate that they wanted to stop all negotiations about taking over Nottingham Forest Football Club, they had obviously slowed the process down and they had also leaked out some news to indicate that they would prefer to take over the club at a lower price.

This was something that Evan Doughty did not wish to see. Allan Adams was on the receiving end of numerous scolding from the chairman with a growing temper. Even though there was a friendship between them coming from the time when they started their careers together, it had been more than a few decades, the friendship had already faded. Besides, he was the most trusted person for Evan, yet he could not settle such a major issue properly, how could Evan not be infuriated by that?

Ever since Tony Twain left, Allan Adams was the only one that Evan Doughty could depend on in the club. However, Allan’s performance planted a doubt in Evan’s mind——He might not be able to depend on this person in future.

※※※

Tony Twain did not return to Los Angeles just because Wood went back to attend training and play in the matches as the matter was far from being resolved. Besides, now that Wood was back at work, he had to stay behind to take care of Sophia. Even though Miss Vivian was around, Twain was the only one who could have a heart to heart talk with Sophia.

Therefore, Twain gave Shania a call to inform her that he would not be able to return for a while, and if she was not too busy after her work concluded, she could come to Nottingham too. After Shania heard that Sophia was not doing well, she specially gave her a call to check up on her. She agreed with Twain’s request without any other conditions.

Twain had originally sneaked back without any media knowing about it. However, as he stayed on, the media eventually caught wind of his whereabouts too. It was not long before pictures of Twain visiting the hospital appearing on the sports section of a few newspaper.

The day after news of Twain’s return hit the newspaper, there was a special guest for him at Sophia’s ward.

Officially, Evan Doughty was visiting Sophia on behalf of the club to wish her a rapid recovery, however, in truth, he was here for Twain.

“When did you come back? Why didn’t you tell me?” Evan Doughty acted as though he was very close to Twain in the visitor’s room outside.

Twain smiled, “A couple of days ago. I was too busy to tell you. You still came, didn’t you?”

This was the first time the two of them met each other face to face in four years. The conflicts they had then was already water under the bridge. At least, one could never imagine that they had treated each other as enemies before from what he observed on the surface.

Later, the two of them chatted about anything under the sun, except for football and the recent difficult times that the club faced. Eventually, when they had nothing else to talk about, Evan Doughty took his leave.

Twain saw him out until the entrance of the ward. After Evan left, he returned to the ward and was deep in thoughts on the couch.

Based on his understanding of Evan Doughty, he would always bring Allan Adams with him, no matter where he went. However, he came to “visit” Sophia alone this time. Even though Evan said that Allan did not come because he was in-charge of negotiating with the Arabs, it had become public knowledge that the Arabian consortium had called off the negotiations for now and had returned to UAE. This had even been reported in the minor newspaper as they wanted to reconsider their offer for Nottingham Forest Football Club. It was obvious that they did not think that the price quoted by Evan Doughty was a fair evaluation of such a terrible club. It did not matter how glorious its past was, a businessman would only care about now and the future, not the past. If it could not bring them profit now, then there would be no value to them. If there was no room for improvement in the future, then the value would be even lower.

Everyone knew by now that the takeover of Nottingham Forest had reached an impasse, but the Forest fans did not know what they should be feeling now. They were tired of the club chairman who had brought them countless glorious moments before but was just a clown now. However, they did not wish to see their club handed over to a bunch of Arabs who knew nothing about football, about English football in particular. Just take a look at Manchester City, a mercenary team built by money. They were just a plaything for the Arabs.

As one of the clubs with the longest history in the world, how could it fall to such an extent?

If Nottingham Forest was a club like Notts County, the fans could resort to crowdfunding and buying the club themselves. However, Nottingham Forest was a club with a long history and glorious achievements, it was not a club that could be taken over by the fans through donations alone. Tony Twain’s annual earnings were quite considerable, but even his life’s savings were not enough to take over the club, unless he could get a more powerful consortium to invest in it. However, he had never had any contact with the financial world as he had no interest in it. Evan Doughty placed a price of 1.2 billion pounds for the sale of the club, which the media mocked as an unattainable price. Nottingham Forest was under a debt of 400 million pounds, after taking that into consideration, the club was worth 500 million pounds at most, which meant that a price of 900 million would be reasonable. The Arabs drove a tough bargain too, offering a price of 600 million pounds. After using 400 million pounds to pay off the debt, the club was only worth 200 million pounds in the eyes of these people from the middle east.

It was no wonder why many Nottingham Forest fans did not like the Arabian consortium at all, with an offer like that——For a team that had a history of winning five UEFA Champions League, an actual offer of 200 million pounds was a humiliation. That was why the Forest fans were tired of the “selling drama” that Evan Doughty put on every season on one hand, yet on the other hand, they did not want the Arabs to really take over the club.

Twain was still deep in thoughts.

Allan Adams was Evan Doughty’s right-hand man, and he was fully in-charge of negotiations with the Arabian consortium. In Nottingham Forest Football Club, which could no longer be considered as a listed company, Allan Adams was the most powerful person after Evan Doughty. However, Allan did not come with Evan this time. Twain was very concerned about this.

Could this be a sign of Evan’s attitude?

He knew that Evan Doughty was a person who craves power, that was why Twain did not believe that he came alone today because Allan was “tied up at work”.

Looks like something is brewing internally in Nottingham Forest Football Club…

But, what has that got to do with me?

Twain shook his head and stood up. He decided to go for a walk as his identity was already exposed so it did not matter anymore. It was a good opportunity for him to visit his old friends at Forest Bar.

※※※

If Wood had read “The Romance of Three Kingdoms”, then he must have understood the story of “being in the Cao camp but mind is in the Shu camp”. His situation now was the typical “being in the Cao camp but mind is in the Shu camp”. Even though he rejoined the team and the training, his mother’s condition did not get better and she was still very weak. She even had to be warded into the clean room this week, which was a sign of her illness getting worse.

Under such a situation, how could he remain calm and focus on training and the match? Wood was just human after all, with blood, flesh and emotions, and not really just a piece of wood. He was also not a robot killer from the future. Even though he promised his mother that he would rejoin the team, she could not control his emotions. He missed his mother, and she did not forbid him from missing her.

Greenwood had no solutions for that either. He was not an expert in controlling a player’s mentality, and Wood did not listen to him either. There was only one manager whom Wood would willingly listen to, but that person had already retired.

His teammates could do nothing about it too. Nobody could possibly ask Wood to focus on football and lead by example at this moment as they had no rights to do so. As the only kin to Wood, his mother was lying in the clean room in the hospital now, with her life in danger. What they should do now was actually to persuade Wood to forget about football for now and take care of his mother, not request him to stay in the training grounds to lead by example, playing football without care for his family. To these professional players, football was just a job. No job could be more important than family.

However, once Wood made his decision, there was basically no room for anyone to change his mind. That was why even Wood’s best friend, “Little Monkey” Bale, could not persuade him to go back and take care of his mother.

The Europa League match that followed was George Wood’s first game after his return to the team. In the end, he performed very badly in the game. Even though he ran a lot, he was running like a headless chicken. He could not organize the attack or defense. Nottingham Forest’s tactic revolved around George Wood. If Wood performed badly, the team would be like a pile of sand scattered in the wind, without any organization.

In the end, Nottingham Forest lost 0:2 to Sporting Lisbon at home.

For the next match in the League two days ago, Nottingham Forest faced Fulham at home. George Wood’s performance did not improve, but Greenwood changed his tactics and did not use Wood as the core, choosing to use Balotelli as the core instead, focusing all the attacking moves around him. Under Balotelli’s impressive performance, the team defeated Fulham 2:1 at home to put an end to their slump.

However, the good times did not last. In the next league match next week, Nottingham Forest lost to Newcastle. This time, using Balotelli as the core did not achieve the required impact as it was much easier to mark out a forward than a defensive midfielder…

Nottingham Forest’s position in the table stopped dropping after the last round in the league temporarily, but it continued after the loss to Newcastle. Losing the Blackburn 1:3, then losing to Tottenham Hotspurs by 0:1… By the end of October, Forest’s position had slipped from 10th to 14th. For the whole October, other than a 2:1 victory over Fulham, there was no other victories. There was not even a draw other than that. They only managed three points despite playing five games in October.

There was something even more troubling for Evan Doughty which followed. After leading the team for just four games, Greenwood felt that he was not ready to lead the first team yet after three losses. He approached Evan Doughty after the defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs, hoping that the club chairman would agree to him leaving the post as manager of the first team and return to coaching the youth team.

How could Evan Doughty possibly agree? He was already finding it difficult to find a suitable manager. However, his desire to keep him as manager was no match for Greenwood’s strong desire to leave his post and he had no choice but to agree to Greenwood quitting as manager of the first team eventually.

Next, Evan Doughty had little choice but to name Freddie Eastwood as the next interim manager, to manage the team while he looked for a suitable manager.

To be honest, if Eastwood had a choice, he would definitely choose not to take this job. Firstly, he did not think that he was good enough to become manager, and the second reason was naturally because Nottingham Forest was like a blackhole for managers now. No matter how good, or competent a manager was, he would suffer reputational damage if he took over this job.

Eventually, Eastwood could only take the job unwillingly. He did not show any joy of being promoted to manager during the press conference. Even though it was quite interesting for him to manage his previous teammates, he had no mood to joke about it. When faced with questions by the reporters regarding the team’s results and outlook, he merely said that he hoped he would not let the supporters and the club down, and he said nothing else. The atmosphere of the press release was a little uninteresting.

After the press release, the media released their articles describing the outlook for Nottingham Forest as bleak. This time, they were not trying to smear Nottingham Forest, or going against Nottingham Forest on purpose. They were simply stating the truth now. Even the most die-hard Nottingham Forest fan would come up with the same conclusion now.

“Looks like Evan Doughty should change their target for this season——It should be to avoid relegation, instead of qualifying for the Champions League…”

Chapter 991 - Are You Coming Back, Tony?

“…Freddy Eastwood, formerly the legendary forward of Nottingham Forest, is now an acting head coach. Currently, he’s trying to prove the media’s predictions through practical actions — the first match played by the team Coach Eastwood led has lost. Nottingham Forest has now lost four matches in a row… The whole team is in a panic and it’s rumored that Balotelli wishes to leave and has already officially submitted his transfer request to the club. And as for the rumors regarding George Wood’s retirement, the man in question has yet to step up and clarify—”

Kenny Burns’s Forest Bar had been unusually crowded and busy the moment night fell. Fans of Nottingham Forest who had been nearby always gathered in the bar after a day of hard work to discuss the recent happenings of their favorite team. If the team had achieved good results, the bar would be filled with cheers; everyone would chug pint after pint of beer with their eyebrows raised. Truly, they would leave the bar as they entered — exhilarated beyond belief. On the other hand, if the team had lost, then the bar would be filled with grief. Everyone would be sighing or complaining that their luck was bad, or they would resent some of the players for their sub-par performance during the match. It was either that or they would turn into armchair coaches and lament that the team’s tactics were wrong.

But one thing was sure — whether or not the team lost, the bar would be abuzz with energy.

However, things were different tonight.

It was so quiet that everyone could hear every single sound coming from the television.

The fans’ only reaction to the news being broadcasted on the television was a deep sigh.

What else could they do?

Wood was in a bad condition because he was worried over his mother’s critical condition, were they to curse the man out or something? Eastwood was the legendary forward of the team but he lacked experience as a coach, so the burden should not be his alone to bear. It seemed like the chairman of the club was the only person they could really rag on but they had been ragging on the man for so long that it has since lost its novelty. No matter how harshly they criticized Evan Doughty from here in the bar, there was no way they would be able to have him removed from his position. What else would they achieve other than wasting their saliva?

At the thought of this scenario, no one else was in the mood to talk. There were twenty or so men sitting there in the bar and all they could do was down glass after glass or beer and hope to drown their sorrows.

“Is there really no way for us to save our team?!” A young man stood up as he shouted, unable to bear this oppressive atmosphere any longer.

His friends who were sat beside him tilted their heads up to glance at him, then continued drinking their beer with their heads down. They were probably better off staring at the television screen and zoning out.

This was a question that had been asked repeatedly throughout the four years, and what was the result?

But today, this young man seemed to have come prepared. He stood up and realized that no one was answering him, so he cast his gaze to the other side of the bar. He then held up his glass and pushed aside his friend who was in his way to stumble over.

Twain had been drinking fruit juice at the bar and chatting idly with Kenny Burns. Shania and Teresa were still in America as of today and he did not want to stay in that enormous villa all on his own. All his time was spent in the bar if he was not already in the hospital.

Since he was no longer the head coach for the team, he intentionally kept his distance from John and the rest instead of mixing in their circle. Even if he came to the bar, he would only be there to chat with Kenny. If John or Bill were looking for him, they would come to him alone instead of pulling him to their circle.

Everyone tried their best to avoid one topic in their conversation — the head coach of Nottingham Forest.

But today, there was a young man drunk off his beer who charged towards Twain. He stopped in front of Twain and slammed his glass down heavily. He then turned his head to stare at Twain. “T-tony!”

Twain turned to stare at the unwelcomed guest.

“Come back!” The young man shouted at the top of his lungs. “Come back!”

John stood up hurriedly to restrain the impulsive young man who had had too much to drink. “Joseph, you—”

“Come back to Nottingham Forest, please! The young man was so agitated that his eyes were brimming with tears. “Please come back, and bring us—” Before he could finish his sentence, he stumbled and slipped, falling from the barstool. He had fallen.

Fat John finally made it to Twain’s side at this moment and he helped the young man up. “Joseph talks too much when he’s had too much to drink!” He explained to Twain, then forcefully dragged Joseph back to where he had been sitting.

“He didn’t say ‘Joseph talks a load of crap when he’s had too much to drink’,” Kenny Burns commented from beside him.

Twain did not express any hint of displeasure at this gesture of Burns’. He looked at the John and the young man as they walked away. The pair had returned to the center of where the fans were gathered and it seemed like not a lot of them were chiding Joseph’s impulsive actions. On the contrary, a few of them were sneaking glances at Twain to observe his reaction.

Twain felt that they could not tell anything from his face since there was no expression at all.

※※※

Eastwood did not expect to have to welcome a guest this late into the night. He had his wife, Sabina, bring the kids up to sleep and leave the living room for him to entertain this late-night guest.

“I thought over it for a long time. Although I’ve already retired, I still keep tabs on soccer and on Nottingham Forest. I think that I can maybe help you a little, Freddy,” Twain, who had been sitting across from Eastwood, said as he stared at the man.

Eastwood said as he chuckled bitterly, “You coming back to coach the team is the greatest help you can possibly offer me… Alright, I know this is an unrealistic request. To be honest, I don’t think I suit the role of head coach… You know, head, I actually forgot to give the team the starting roster before their first match. If not for Jimmy reminding me, I might have made a fool out of myself. Thinking back, I really do suck…”

Eastwood seemed a little upset. To mess up this bad in front of his team when he was their head coach had caused him a great deal of grief in the past few days.

Twain chuckled. “That’s no big deal, Freddy. The first time I led a first-string team to a competition, my own player bumped into me so hard that I fainted. The crowd was staring down at me as I left for home. After the competition, I became the laughing stock of the whole of England. Even when I was in the bar drowning my sorrows, someone would bring up the incident to laugh at me. Don’t take something so trivial to heart. The role of a head coach is actually rather simple. Even if you forget to give your team the starting roster, that can become part of your legend as long as you lead them to victory.”

“Here’s the thing, boss. I don’t know how I’m supposed to lead them to victory. You know, when I’m looking down at them playing on the field, the urge to go help them score a goal and win is so strong. But as a head coach, I don’t know what I should do…” Eastwood was extremely upset, a rare sight for the Romani who was extremely optimistic.

“That’s because you lack experience. Also—” Twain suddenly thought of an issue. “There’s no one beside you who’s good enough to help you.” He had been a rookie back then, too, but he had Old Ian and Walker. The two of them had plenty of experience from their time as players and had spent quite some years as the coaches for the team. They then continued to flourish under several head coaches, before Twain sat at the table they had set for him. But things were different in the Nottingham Forest of today. The team was a mess; all the good coaches were leaving one after the other and being poached by other clubs. An outstanding coach like Kerslake was only fired because his results were unsatisfactory and Evan did not even let him stay on the team.

Although Eastwood had also been coaching for four years, but the difference between a manager and a coach in England was just too big.

Eastwood did not want to talk about himself any longer. He suddenly asked, “You coming to visit me this late at night tells me one thing, boss.”

“And what is that?”

“You can’t let go of Nottingham Forest.”

Twain glanced at Eastwood. “Of course I can’t, I’m a hardcore Nottingham Forest fan. I buy tickets every season.”

“Come back if you can’t let go,” Eastwood stared into Twain’s eyes as he spoke.

“I’ve retired, Freddy—”

“No one said that retirees can’t come back.”

“I have to spend time with my daughter—”

“Aren’t you in England now? And isn’t your daughter in America right now?”

Twain shook his head. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. If there’s something you don’t understand when you’re coaching, you can come to me for help and I will tell you everything I have learned from my experience—”

But it seemed like Eastwood was set on going against Twain today. He threw him another hard-to-answer question, “George is the heart of this team. If his condition never gets better, then the team’s results will never stabilize. Do you have any solutions for this, boss?”

Twain was at a loss for words. He knew why Wood was in a bad condition, but this was an issue that he could not solve. As long as Sophia was still ill, Wood would still be in a bad condition.

This was not something he could solve with tactics. It was not even something a head coach could resolve.

Twain would think about what Wood had said to him in the yard of the hospital every time someone brought up the latter. “Come back if you don’t want me to retire.”

Were the two of them in cahoots? Why was it that either of them persuaded Twain to go back every time they met him?

※※※

Actually, not many people came up to him to tell him this when he had still been the head coach of England. But now that he had retired and was lazing about in his house, this was no longer the case. He could say he was retired as many times as he wanted but other people might not be this understanding.

For example, he received a call from Tang Jing the next day, a call that was like lightning on a clear day.

The China Football Association had reached out to him through Tang Jing and were actually asking for him to coach the Chinese national team.

“I’m just the messenger, Mr Twain.”

“You can reject them directly and say you couldn’t reach me,” Twain did not want to have anything to do with the China Football Association since their reputation was a little…

“I’m also Chinese, after all, and I honestly think it’d be rather interesting if you head over to coach the Chinese team—” It was obvious that Tang Jing was laughing on the other side of the line.

“I would not. I don’t want to mess up my reputation this late in my life,” Twain rejected very curtly. Tang Jing might find this interesting as an outsider, but Twain was directly involved in this issue and he did not find this the least bit amusing.

Tang Jing was, as she said, just a messenger. She did not try to persuade Twain to change his mind after he rejected her and cheerfully promised to relay the message to the association. As for the reason, it was because Twain had not had enough rest yet and did not want to leave retirement to teach.

The thing was, the Chinese media found out through Tang Jing that the China Football Association had reached out to Twain to have him coach the national team and had rather mercilessly mocked the association for punching above their weight. They had basically called the association shameless and immoral, just not in those exact words, but what they had said more or less meant the same thing. Unfortunately, the China Football Association was probably the only government organization they could curse out as much as they wanted without having to bear any responsibility for their words. Although the FIFA had made it a rule for the football association in every country to be non-governmental organization, China was a special case and its football association was a government organization.

The issue of the China Football Association seeking Twain out to coach their team was over on Twain’s end, but he did not expect to have caused such a stir over in China. The people there were focused on whether the association should have looked for Twain to coach and whether Twain should be coaching in China, et cetera. Whether it was mass media or online forums, the discussions were unceasing and heated. Some people thought that they should be inviting top-grade coaches like Twain to coach the team or China’s football would never improve, while others thought that the association should not be inviting Twain over with that reputation of theirs since the man could run the risk of damaging his reputation if he really did end up coaching the team. There were also people saying that the association had lost its mind, thinking they could control Tony Twain even if they did manage to get him on board. The association delegating their authority to Twain was completely out of the question, unless their men’s national team ended up clinching the World Cup……But this would just be an endless loop. Long story short, it was a meaningless and futile effort.

Actually, it was Tang Jing who leaked the news intentionally in hopes of disgracing the association yet again. China’s football had not made any progress over the years despite the numerous changes in leadership since every new leader was more concerned with keeping their post than they were with football as a sport. It was inevitable that China’s football had come to a standstill — regressing, even. Tang Jing had long since left the media industry and left to start a family in England where she could focus on her husband and children, but any mention of China’s football would make her blood boil in an instant. She was not a bigwig and her words did not carry much weight, so there was little she could do to vent her anger aside from such methods.

※※※

Twain had little concern for the chaos he caused in China with his rejection of the association’s offer. His mind was on Nottingham Forest.

Eastwood had mentioned that the greatest help Twain could possibly offer was to return to coach the team with the former returning to his role as a trainer, but this was obviously not possible, so Twain offered his help in another way. He analysed the problems that Nottingham Forest was encountering together with Eastwood so they could try to find a solution.

Twain told Eastwood that he should just bite the bullet and remove Wood and Balotelli from the starting lineup if both of them were unreliable, swapping them out for members from the youth team or second-string members. It was obvious that these players had much more fighting spirit than the first-string players. Nottingham Forest’s problem now lay not in their tactics — or, at the very least, this was not the biggest issue — but in their fighting spirit and mental state.

He was completely invested in helping Eastwood that he did not notice the look the latter threw at him. There was also something else he did not think about, which was whether or not it was appropriate for a retiree like him to be so heavily involved in someone else’s job. All he hoped for was for Nottingham Forest to perform better so a soccer fan like him would not be this worried.

After Eastwood did as Twain said and switched out half of the first-string members from the lineup, he managed to stop the downward spiral in the second match. During this away match, they relied on a tenacious defence and overall attack through the match and tied at no goals with the powerful Manchester United. Although it was a messy match with no goals to speak of, they ultimately managed to stop losing. On top of that, it was the mighty Manchester United they were going against, which made the result all the more precious. As such, much of the media was shocked at the results when it was released. Before the match, they had predicted that Nottingham Forest would be humiliated by Manchester United in Old Trafford, just like Liverpool.

Neither Wood nor Balotelli were in the starting lineup for that match and the former had only been substituted in during the last ten minutes. This was fodder for the media to bring up old debts. They dug up past incidents were Wood and Eastwood had been at odds with each other to spark some discourse. In their analyses, they said that Eastwood had been aggressively suppressing Wood every since he stepped up. On top of the previous rumors of Wood’s retirement, it seemed like what used to rumors would very soon become fact…

Of course, all of this was just mindless drivel. Eastwood was not the kind to mix his personal affairs with business. Besides, whatever tension had been between the two of them no longer existed, and it was Twain’s idea to remove Wood from the starting lineup. In fact, Twain did not even want to let Wood step out on the field for even a minute. He wanted to let the man cool down completely, but it was Eastwood who felt that it was better for Wood to go out there so he could maintain his state.

But the media was really running their mouth this time…

The team returned from Manchester United to Nottingham after preventing a fourth consecutive loss, their hearts heavy with doubt. Just then, Wood had been moving with the team when he received a call from the hospital.

His mother was in critical condition.

Chapter 992 - Please Come Back, Tony

The press might have used the words ‘critically ill’ to describe Sophia’s condition all this while, but that was simply because they have always been careless in their choice of words. The hospital has never once told Wood that his mother was ‘critically ill’. Not until today.

When Wood rushed to the hospital, his mother had already been wheeled into the emergency room, and the only people he saw standing outside were Twain, Woox, and the nurse Vivian Miller.

“How’s my mother?” The first thing that Wood asked about after seeing both Woox and Vivian was his mother’s condition.

Woox shook his head and said nothing, whereas Vivian stood quietly by the side and hung her head. Vivian was just a nurse who took care of Sophia, but she looked as though she was responsible for causing this crisis.

Since neither of them spoke, the only person who could answer Wood’s question at the scene was Twain. Twain’s voice was low as he spoke, “She’s not in a good condition, George. You’d better be mentally prepared…”

All three of them conveyed a single message to Wood through either their gestures or words – his mother might really leave his side this time around.

Wood did not know what to think all of a sudden. He did not know what he should do or say, either. He simply stood rooted at the spot and panted heavily.

Twain was surprised by Wood’s lack of reaction. He had expected Wood to fly into a rage and yell words like, “I don’t believe you” or “you all must be lying to me”.

To Twain, it was normal for a person to have an outburst when they heard that their loved one might pass away soon, and he expected Wood to have an even bigger and more aggressive one than others might. He had braced himself for a fit from Wood all this while, but it never came.

Twain’s surprise quickly turned into worry as Wood continued in silence. He also appeared to be dazed as he stood rooted to the ground. Twain was worried that Wood was in a state of shock because he could not cope with the news that his mother might leave him. As a manager who was good at handling his players’ psychological state, Twain knew very well just how troublesome psychological issues were.

A while later, Woox left to deal with the reporters who had crowded outside the hospital after hearing word that Wood’s mother was in a dire condition. Likewise, Vivian also left because she still had work to do. The only people who remained outside the emergency room were Twain, who had nothing to do, and Wood. Twain looked at Wood and sighed after seeing how the latter had continued to stand rooted to the ground, seemingly oblivious to the departure of both Woox and Vivian.

Twain wanted to go up to Wood and comfort him, but he did not know what he should say. He knew very well that Sophia did not have much time left even if she managed to pull through this time around. Twain’s impression of Sophia ever since their first meeting was that she was a feeble woman who could die and leave Wood all alone at any time. None of the doctors expected her to be able to live until this day. It was hard to imagine the kind of willpower she must have had to be able to persevere for such a long time.

Wood had experienced the pain of Gavin’s death years ago, and now it looked like he was going to experience the tragedy of losing a loved one once again. Everyone knew that death is inevitable, but this fact might be hard to accept for Wood. Twain was extremely worried about how Wood would react to his mother’s passing when it happened. To Sophia, Wood was her sole pillar of support. Likewise, she too was the only source of support for Wood. Sophia could not lose Wood, and similarly, he could not bear to lose her either. Wood has lived with his mother ever since he was born, and they have both become an integral part of each other’s lives. Unfortunately, the pair would have to experience the greatest pain in this world soon. They have to endure the pain that was brought about by death and separation. Will Wood be able to deal with his mother’s death?

Twain would not be this worried if it had been any other person who was about to lose his mother. Wood was probably the only one who could make him feel this way. He was just like a child who has not grown up. His affection for his mother was far deeper than anyone could imagine, and he would not be just losing a loved one when he lost his mother.

Wood finally seemed to have gotten tired after standing for so long, and he walked aside and sat down soon after. However, his eyes never left the doors to the emergency room the entire time.

※※※

A while later, Evan Doughty arrived at the hotel to visit Wood and his mother. Twain could tell that Doughty had something on his mind, and whatever it was had nothing to do with Wood.

Wood was absent-minded, and so was Doughty. The two exchanged a few quick words while being preoccupied with their own thoughts. Thereafter, Wood continued in his seat and stared at the emergency room’s doors. Evan Doughty, on the other hand, did not seem to be in a hurry to leave, and he stood in the hallway and looked about. His eyes fell on Twain numerous times and it seemed like he wanted to say something, but he never did.

Doughty averted his gaze towards Wood and realized that the latter still had his eyes fixed on the doors to the emergency room. He then decided to walk towards Twain.

“Can we speak privately for a moment, Tony?” Doughty said quietly as he stood before Twain.

Twain lifted his head to look at Doughty as he was still in his seat. Doughty was alone and Allan Adams did not accompany him this time around.

Twain could not find a reason to reject the request, so he nodded in response.

The two walked past Wood and down the stairs before heading towards the back of the hospital. They then had their conversation as they strolled by the side of the lake.

“To be honest, I was quite surprised to see you on the big screen during the opening match of the season, Tony,” Evan Doughty said.

“I’m a Forest fan.” Twain was speaking the truth. He could not bring himself to support another football team, especially a Premier League team, after managing Forest for 11 years. Every other football team was an opponent that he had to fight against in the past, after all…

“Have you seen Forest’s recent matches?” The conversation topic was shifted onto Forest’s recent performance naturally.

“Of course.” Twain was a little wary.

“What do you think about Forest’s current situation, Tony? As a professional football manager…”

“I’m not a manager anymore, Evan.” Twain refused to answer.

Doughty did not expect Twain to cut him off. It looked like Twain had no intention of being compliant now that he was not working under him… Then again, when has Tony ever been compliant? Doughty was rendered speechless by Twain’s comments and did not know how to continue the conversation.

The pair walked side by side in silence for quite a distance. Twain tried his best to direct his attention to his surroundings to keep himself from feeling awkward. He noticed that there was a small island covered with trees in the distance, but there were not any bridges that led to it. He looked around trying to find a boat of some sorts but did not see any either.

Evan Doughty remained silent, and his eyes were fixed on the road before them. He seemed to be trying to make up his mind on whether he should say something.

“Uh, I’ll be honest, Tony. I came to find you today because I hope you’d be able to… to manage Nottingham Forest once again.”

Twain’s vague bad feeling had materialized!

He could not pretend that he did not hear Doughty’s words no matter how hard he tried.

Twain stopped in his tracks and directed his gaze away from the small island in the distance. His eyes then fell on Evan Doughty, who was next to him.

“I’m no longer a manager, Evan,” Twain repeated the words that he said earlier. He hoped that Evan Doughty would back off and leave him be. However, it seemed like he had underestimated Doughty’s determination.

“I know you have retired, but you are only fifty years old, Tony… You’re still considered young for a manager. The Forest team needs you. Wood needs you… and I need you too!”

Twain led out a smile. What an improvement Doughty has made. He would definitely not say such words to him in the past.

Doughty could discern the sarcasm behind Twain’s smile, but he paid it no mind. Or rather, he could not do anything about it even if he wanted to. Twain was not the one begging him for a job now. He was the one begging Twain to return to the club.

“I know you are upset with me, Tony. I have to admit that I… Uh… Made a mistake back then…”

Twain kept quiet and simply watched as Doughty admitted to making a mistake four years ago. He remembered the scenes of that night in the Madrid hotel room when he fell out with the club’s board after leading his team to achieve a historic treble. All the glory that he had earned with Forest became a distant memory in just one night.

The scene before him now was a stark contrast to that very scene from four years ago…

Evan Doughty would probably not have to beg Twain to return to the club if his behavior back then had been at all similar to what it was now.

After all, Forest was a team that Twain had built from scratch, and he was reluctant to just leave it behind.

“… Look at me now. I’ve already been sufficiently punished for my decision back then.” Doughty threw his hands before him in a helpless gesture.

“Did you really mean what you said, Evan?” Twain asked as he cast a sideways glance at him. He did not believe Evan Doughty’s words. “The reason why you have come to find me today is that the team’s poor results have made it difficult for you to get a good selling price for the club with the Bin Zayed Group, right?”

Doughty opened his mouth, but no words came out because Twain had hit the nail on the head.

Doughty was still hoping that the Bin Zayed Group would offer him a good price for Forest. When that happened, he would be free from all the mess that Forest found itself in. Forest’s results, Wood’s retirement, and all these other issues would have nothing to do with him from then on.

“Evan, I’ll repeat this again. I don’t care about how you treated me in the past. All you need to know is that I’ve retired now.”

Twain turned around and walked back to the hospital. The conversation with Evan Doughty was over.

Evan Doughty did not say anything to stop Twain from leaving. All he did was stare at Twain’s back and frown.

※※※

Sophia had already been wheeled back to her ward by the time Twain returned to the hospital. When he got to Sophia’s ward, he noticed Wood leaving and saw Vivian tending to Sophia at the side of the bed.

Twain scrutinized the expression that Wood had on his face. It did not seem to have gotten better, but it did not seem to have gotten worse either. It was hard for him to guess what Sophia’s condition was based on Wood’s expression alone.

However, there was no need for him to guess. The moment Wood saw Twain, he said, “My mum wants to see you.”

After he said this, Wood walked to a nearby sofa to rest.

Twain glanced at Wood before walking into the ward. The first thing he did after entering was to greet Vivian, whom he was getting increasingly familiar with. He then took a seat next to Sophia’s bed.

Sophia’s appearance had changed over the past ten days. She looked different from when Twain first saw her after he returned to Nottingham. She had gotten even thinner and weaker than before, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe her as being ‘skin and bones’. Her once beautiful face had been ravaged by sickness. Her cheeks were sullen and her cheekbones protruded. She was hollow-eyed and her once lustrous hair had become thinner after long periods of treatment. Her lower body, covered by the blanket, was skeleton-like.

The sight of a debilitated Sophia caused Twain agony. The once beautiful woman has become almost unrecognizable now. Twain could not bear to take a second look at her and directed his gaze elsewhere.

Sophia seemed to share his thoughts. She did not want Twain to see her in her current state either.

She did not pull on Twain’s hand and say many words like before. All she said after Twain sat down was, “Mr. Twain, I know you have always cared for George. He’s a 32-year-old man this year, but he still acts like a kid who knows nothing. I’m really sorry that you had to fly back from Los Angeles for this…”

Twain had a bad feeling once again…

“… I hope you will continue to look after him in the future.”

Twain’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately held Sophia’s bony hand. “George has you to take care of him. You are his mother.”

Sophia did not say anything in response. She only closed her eyes. Twain understood from her gesture that she wanted to rest, and he took his leave.

Twain noticed Wood sitting on the sofa after he left the ward. Wood raised his head after hearing Twain walk out of the room, and their eyes met. However, Twain could not bear to look at Wood, and he averted his gaze quickly.

Twain wondered what Sophia had said to her son earlier. Did she tell Wood the same thing that she said to him? What would Wood think about her words if she did?

Could Wood accept that the day when his mother would leave his side might very well be coming soon?

※※※

Twain received a call from Pierce Brosnan shortly after he had reached the lobby of the hospital. The man who has not called him in ages sounded frantic as he asked, “Tony, I heard that you might return to manage Forest?”

“Who told you that?” Twain asked back.

“There are rumors going all around that you will go back and do it! I ran into numerous Forest fans recently, and they’ve all told me that you’d come back to rescue the team! Is this true, Tony?”

Twain was not in the mood to discuss those rumors with him. He cut Brosnan off curtly. “I’m sorry, Pierce. I’m not in the mood to give you an interview.”

“I’m not trying to interview you, Tony. I’m just seeking confirmation from you as an ordinary fan…”

“That’s just a rumor, Mr. Reporter.” Twain addressing Brosnan as ‘Mr. Reporter’ was a sign that he was in a bad mood.

The call ended soon after that. He was not willing to say anything else on the matter. He was not in the mood to speak at all now.

Twain decided to leave from the front entrance instead of the side entrance that day. Before he could even reach the doors, however, he heard noises coming from outside. Countless reporters had crowded in front of the hospital’s front entrance, and they were all trying to seek confirmation from the hospital staff about whether Wood’s mother was truly critically ill. Woox, who had left earlier to deal with these reporters, was nowhere to be seen by then. The security guards saw Twain appear, and they immediately knew that the situation was going to get worse.

Sure enough, the reporters behind them acted as though they were on meth when they saw Twain. They started shoving about wildly in their attempt to get to the front and threw all their microphones and questions at Twain at the same time. They were all hoping that they would be able to get some valuable information from Twain.

Of course, there were also some reporters in the mix who did not care about Wood and his mother’s condition. They yelled at the top of their lungs, “Tony! Hey, Tony! Is it true that you’ll be coming out of retirement?”

“Mr. Twain, there are rumors that you will manage Nottingham Forest once again. Is this true?”

Twain acted as though he did not see the crowd of reporters before him, and he pretended not to hear any of the questions that were thrown at him. He stopped in his tracks at the entrance and fished out a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket before putting it on. He then descended a flight of stairs and squeezed his way through the crowd under the protection of the police officers and security guards at the scene.

He soon left all the clamor behind him.

Chapter 993 - Hey George

Three days later, Nottingham Forest met Charlton on its home ground. George Wood returned to the starting lineup, and his performance was solid and powerful. He had swept away his previous indifferent state, both defensively and in the organization of the attack, causing his supporters to chant, “Saint George is back!”

Ultimately, thanks to his excellent play, the Forest team defeated the visiting team, Charlton, at 2:0to enjoy their first victory in two months. After the game, the media speculated whether Wood’s mother’s condition was better to give him the motivation to play so well.

In fact, when Wood assisted Mitchell to score the first goal at the Crimson Stadium, his mother was in a deep coma in the hospital and had been unconscious for a whole day.

Twain had once thought that if Sophia were unconscious again, Wood would definitely miss the game. However, Wood surprised him by announcing that he was going to play in the game and was ready for it.

Before his appearance, Wood and Twain had a conversation between them, and the conversation clarified some things for them both.

“I’m still the captain of the Forest team, and the team needs me.”

The team’s previous poor performance had also affected Wood. Fortunately, he remembered that he was still the captain of the team.

Just when Twain thought Wood had finally figured it out and was going to change his mind, he added, “I will stick to my post until I retire. But I will make an announcement as soon as possible.”

Twain knew that Sophia did not have much time. She had been in a coma a lot lately and was unconscious for long periods. The doctors and nurses stood guard by her hospital bed 24 hours a day and were ready to perform emergency care on her at any time. He did not want to lose Wood too once he lost Sophia. Although Wood would not kill himself, what was the difference between a non-playing Wood and a dead one? For someone like Wood, if he did not play football, he would simply have no sense of existence. Twain really could not imagine how Wood would live if he no longer played football.

But then again, even if Wood suddenly decided to follow in his mother’s footsteps, Twain would not be surprised…

※※※

Twain stood at the door of the patient ward, unaware that he had blocked many people’s way. The doctors and nurses coming in and out continuously knocked against him, one after another, but he stood there as if he was unaware of it. He just remained rooted to the spot, looking at the empty bed in front of him.

It was two days after the Forest team’s victory. Sophia had been in a coma the whole time and only woke up once briefly. It happened late at night, and Wood was outside, resting. Twain was not at the hospital. Only Vivian was with her.

Twain did not know what Sophia said to Vivian when she woke up. He did not know what the woman had in her mind when she was awake either.

Did she long for her life, which was filled with long periods of pain and brief moments of happiness? Or did she have a big awakening, realizing that death was actually a form of relief? Could she have hated to part with her own child, George? There were very few people in the world whom she was worried about…

Standing in front of a thick glass window, Wood looked quietly at the busy doctors and nurses in the ward as they took apart the equipment and removed the items his mother had used. A bouquet of flowers in a vase on the bedside table had already withered. A nurse took away the flowers along with the vase.

It seemed she was going to dispose of it like regular trash, but Vivian reached out and stopped her.

Vivian took out the bouquet from the vase and found a card stuck inside. She pulled it out. The following words were written on it: “Your son is a real professional player. Wake up and praise him. He’ll be very happy, Sophia.”

The bouquet was sent by Twain yesterday. From this message, it seemed Twain found that Wood’s mood had not improved after winning the game. He had hoped to make Wood a little happier through his mother’s praise. It was just that Sophia did not notice the bouquet of flowers when she woke up briefly. Wood also missed the last chance to hear his mother’s encouragement. His mother would never smile and stroke her son’s head while she said, “My George is the best in the world.”

Vivian looked down at her left wrist, which was still a little red. It was the spot where Wood’s mother had gripped her. Late that night, Sophia suddenly woke up, and Vivian was right next to her at the time.

It was an exceptionally brief moment of consciousness. Sophia did not even see who was in front of her. She just grabbed Vivian’s hand and whispered, “I don’t want to die…”

The fresh flowers withered as quickly as the poor lady’s life.

※※※

Shania received a call from Twain asking her to bring Theresa back to Nottingham for Sophia’s funeral.

Evan Doughty was preparing a report for the English Football Association to apply for a minute’s silence for Wood’s mother at the start of the Forest team’s next league game. All the Forest players would be wearing black armbands on the sleeves of their jerseys at that time. The Forest team’s opponent, Sunderland, had already agreed to the suggestion.

※※※

Wood gazed at himself in front of the bathroom mirror. He had not taken care of his appearance for days. His hair had been messy and his beard scraggly. Now, however, it was a fresh and clean-looking George Wood in the mirror. He had carefully groomed his short hair and his chin was clean-shaven.

His appearance was impeccable, but his eyes were bloodshot, indicating that the person in the mirror was actually very tired.

“George!”

His agent, Woox, called his name outside.

Wood pushed the door open and found Woox holding a black suit in his hand as he said to him, “Change your clothes, it’s time for us to set off.”

Woox, the old gentleman, had always paid attention to his own appearance. He used to be a big shot in the entertainment agency industry, so his usual dressing was classy and fashionable. However, today he discarded any unnecessary embellishments, only wearing a very ordinary black suit.

Wood took the suit and put it on. He went out of the door together with Woox.

Once outside and looking at the wet streets, Wood paused for a moment.

It was raining.

“Umbrella…” Woox thought Wood was worried about the weather when he stopped.

“No, I don’t need it.” Wood stepped out into the rain.

※※※

Twain was not worried at all that his daughter would do something out of place at the funeral. The sensible Theresa was serious after she saw both her parents looking somber.

It was a private and intimate funeral. Sophia herself had no relatives or friends in the United Kingdom. Her family had long broken ties and contact with her, even though Wood had made a name for himself in the football world. There was no news of family members from Jamaica reaching out either. But with Wood’s temper, even if the people from there came to pay their respects, Wood would probably kick them out…

Woox only invited Twain and his family, as well as the doctors at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University. They had taken excellent care of Sophia during her stay in the hospital and were meticulous in her treatment. Although they were ultimately unable to save Sophia’s life, they did their best. In addition, he also invited a representative from the Nottingham Forest Football Club and good friends of Wood from the team.

The representative from the club was the chairman, Evan Doughty himself. However, Twain thought that Evan had an ulterior motive. His real purpose was probably not as straightforward as attending Sophia’s funeral.

Wood’s team was represented by his two friends, Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell. While he was popular in the team, not many people could be counted as really good friends.

The priest concluded the eulogy at Sophia’s gravesite. “She was a good person, may she rest in peace…”

Twain thought to himself that it was customary for the pastors to say this at any funeral. However, this time, the pastor was right. Sophia was such a good person, but unfortunately, her life was too short. During this time, when Twain was alone and had nothing to do, he would let his imagination run wild. What was the purpose of Sophia’s difficult life in this world? Before Wood met him, her life was basically miserable. She fell in love with someone but was abandoned. She brought up her child alone and would do anything for his sake, even if it meant selling her own body. When she finally saw her child succeed after much difficulty and did not have to worry about their livelihood anymore, her health quickly deteriorated. She did not enjoy any of the good fortune George met with. As for familial affections, she did not have any before giving birth to Wood She did not have any romantic connections after Wood was born either. Such a life must have been dreary for an average person, but Wood became her whole world.

Maybe she came to the world just to be George Wood’s mother.

Wood stood by the grave, acknowledging those who had come to the funeral. The people lined up to toss flowers onto the grave. Then they went to hug Wood, say a few words, and leave. Twain’s family of three was also in the line. Twain saw Miss Vivian Miller’s figure among the representatives from the hospital. She was wearing a long black dress today. The hem of her dress was drenched from the rain, but she was unaware of that. After gently placing the flowers in her hand on the grave mound, she walked up to Wood.

From where Twain was, he could not hear what Vivian and Wood said. However, he could guess what it was about. It was nothing but some words of condolences and so on. Most people would turn and walk away after they said those words. Vivian, however, went to stand behind Wood and did not leave.

In fact, the people who stood there had a close relationship with Wood, such as Bale and Mitchell, who were also standing behind Wood to accompany him. However, the relationship between Vivian and Wood was not that close.

Twain looked at Vivian again. The girl’s expression was very natural and she did not appear too awkward standing among the three men.

Evan Doughty also completed the necessary etiquette. After comforting Wood, he was not in a hurry to leave but instead went to have a private exchange with Woox. Presumably, they were discussing Wood’s retirement. With Sophia’s departure, the last person able to control Wood was gone. He obviously wanted to get back to the same issue again. Evan Doughty looked concerned. He was not grieving over Sophia’s death but was worried about the future of his team.

After Shania had dropped the flowers in her hand, she walked up to Wood. She had traces of tears on her face as she had just cried. Of those people who came to the funeral, except for Wood and Twain, perhaps she had the closest relationship with Sophia. Although she was somewhat aware that Sophia once loved Twain, it was a thing of the past. She was genuinely saddened by Sophia’s death and worried about how Wood was going to cope with his life in the future – she knew what kind of person Wood was.

Wood was older than she was by a few years, and she always saw him as her good friend.

Walking up to Wood, Shania did not just say a few meaningless words of “my deepest condolences to you” like everyone else. She hugged Wood and sobbed as she whispered in his ear. Wood kept his lips tightly pursed, trying to control his emotions, but his eyes gradually reddened as Shania whispered.

The hug was a long one. When Shania bowed her head and let go of Wood, it was Twain’s turn.

Since his own wife had embraced Wood, there was no need for Twain to hug him. He stood in front of Wood, awkwardly noticing his reddened eyes, and attempted to say something.

“Hey, George…”

Unexpectedly, Wood interrupted his words and asked instead with a hoarse voice, “Are you going to comfort me?”

Twain felt somewhat uncomfortable, knowing George had seen him through. He touched his nose and did not know how to go on.

“I’ve heard too many comforting words these few days. If you really want to help me, then take some action for my good.”

Take some action? Should he hug him like Shania did? Twain thought.

“I’ve already lost my mother. I don’t want to lose you too!” Wood’s voice choked with emotion. It was rare for him to lose self-control in front of everyone. However, the content of his words was even more surprising. “Once the funeral is over, you’re going back to America, right?”

Twain really did not expect Wood to say such things in this kind of situation. He looked at the three people behind Wood. Aaron Mitchell and Gareth Bale obviously did not imagine Wood would say these words. However, looking at their faces, he realized they were very interested in Wood’s words because they knew what that meant. Miss Vivian Miller was curious about the relationship between Twain and Wood too.

“You should start a new life of your own, George…”

Twain could only say that to avoid Wood’s question.

Wood did not want to say too much either. He shut his mouth and stopped talking.

Twain sensed that the atmosphere was a little awkward, and he could not say anything. He just patted Wood on the shoulder and turned to walk away.

A man at the back came up and said to Wood a low voice, “My deepest condolences to you…”

※※※

Twain asked Shania to take their daughter to the car first. He wanted one last moment with Sophia. Walking to the tombstone, he gazed at the words inscribed on it: “My true love.” People who were unaware might think it was George Wood’s wife who was laid to rest here…

Ah, Sophia, I really don’t know how to face your son. Can you help me out a little? So Twain thought.

The fine drizzle struck Twain’s umbrella and made a light drumming sound. The image of Sophia on the gravestone smiled and just looked at him.

Twain was silent when suddenly, he felt a person standing next to him. He looked down at the tips of the person’s shoes, which had some mud and grass bits stuck to it.

“I’m sorry. I did not mean to disturb you, Tony.” It was Evan Doughty’s voice.

“What’s the matter?” Actually, Twain could guess what it was about.

“I heard Mr. Woox say that if you come back, George won’t mention the matter of his retirement again. Is that right?”

Twain turned to look at Evan, who was standing next to him. The other man was looking at him intently, anticipating an answer.

“Yes, that was George’s suggestion.” Twain did not lie. It would not feel good to lie in front of Sophia.

“Can I extend the invitation to you again, Tony? Please come back to coach Nottingham Forest. If you’re still angry about the things I did to you four years ago, I’d like to sincerely apologize to you. I will agree to all your demands, as long as you return.”

Twain snorted. “So that you can sell the team at a good price?”

Evan shook his head and said, “I’ve decided not to sell the club.”

“Was this prompted by a sudden impulse?”

“No, I thought about it for a long time after I came to you that day. I can’t be the chairman of the club all my life. I’m turning sixty this year, Tony. You always say you’re an old man, but I’m ten years older than you. My eldest son is an avid football fan. He’s not like me. He has loved football since he was young and has always been interested in running a football club. When I just wanted to sell the Forest team for a good price, I never thought about him. I plan to leave the club for him to manage. He loves football and maybe he can do better than I. Not right away, of course. I want to stay a few more years and at least make up for the years I’ve wasted. Then I’ll retire with peace of mind. When the time comes, we can retire together. How about it?”

Twain looked into Evan’s eyes. Evan did not flinch, letting Twain look straight at him.

“I don’t want to lie in front of this remarkable mother. Tony, I’m tired of the topics unrelated to football at the chairman’s podium. I’m tired of people who just want to take advantage of me and leave. I’m tired of losing one game after another and I’m tired of the banners that hang in the stands, attacking me… When you were around, those things never happened. To be honest, I’m weary of these past four years. I implore you again, come back to coach Nottingham Forest. I can’t really get the team back on track on my own.”

The club chairman spoke humbly and bared his feelings in front of Twain. He no longer had the bossy and domineering demeanor he had when he broke off relations with Twain. In the pitter-patter of the drizzle, Evan Doughty, whose pant legs and shoes had been drenched by the rain, became pathetic and downhearted in front of him.

He noticed that on this day, Allan Adams was no longer by Evan Doughty’s side. It seemed that the friendship between the two of them was over.

“Let me think about it. It is no small matter,” Twain began to speak.

When Evan heard such an answer, his face betrayed a look of surprise. Twain had outright turned him down twice before.

“Don’t get too excited yet, Evan. If my wife doesn’t agree, I won’t go against her wishes.”

“Yes, I understand.” Evan hurriedly nodded for fear of making Twain unhappy.

Looking at the club chairman, who was no longer so impressive, Twain shook his head and turned to walk away.

※※※

After getting into the car, Twain did not start the engine immediately. He turned his head around and looked back at his daughter, Theresa, who was wearing a seat belt in the back seat, and again at Shania, who sat in the front passenger seat.

“You must be very tired when I’m not in L.A., having to work and take care of Theresa.”

“It’s okay. Theresa is very sensible. If I’m busy, she’ll play by herself. I took her to the film set and runway shows. She was very curious about everything there.”

Shania also looked back at the well-behaved Theresa.

“What did Evan Doughty talk to you about?” Shania, sitting in the car, also noticed Twain and Evan talking in front of the gravestone just now.

“He wants me to go back and coach Nottingham Forest again.” As Twain spoke, he also looked out for any change in his wife’s expression.

“Did you refuse?” Nothing could be discerned from Shania’s beautiful face.

“No… But I did not say yes either,” Twain admitted.

The corners of Shania’s lips suddenly curled upwards. Her smile had a teasing quality to it, which Twain was most familiar with. “I remember what George said to you just now,” she said. “There are so many people who want you to return.”

Hearing her somewhat jealous tone, Twain hurriedly said, “If you do not agree, I will turn them down. Then we’ll go back to America.”

“In that case, Sophia would be sad, wouldn’t she? Didn’t she entrust you with Wood?”

As her husband, Twain told his wife everything that happened during his time with Sophia. Therefore, Shania was aware of what Sophia said to Twain the last time.

Twain hesitated and said, “But I don’t want to upset you…”

Shania yawned and said, “I’m suddenly tired of Grandpa Tony who has nothing to do but take care of his kid at home. If you want to, just say yes. We’re going home now. I’ve got to get some sleep. I haven’t adjusted to the jet lag since flying back from America.”

Instead of obediently starting the car, Twain turned back and said to Theresa, “Theresa, will you close your eyes?”

Theresa was not sure why, but she closed her eyes obediently.

Shania was equally confused. Then Twain suddenly pulled her into an embrace and gave her a deep kiss.

“Wow – oh…”

※※※

Even when Bale and Mitchell said goodbye to Wood, Vivian remained standing behind him.

“Aren’t you heading back, Miss Miller?”

“I’m a little worried about you, Mr. Wood…” Vivian said softly. “You’re not in a good state of mind…”

“We’re not in the hospital,” Wood said unceremoniously. He was a little impatient. The nurse was right, however. He really was not in a good state of mind.

“This is not about work. I can sense that you’ve been struggling emotionally these days, and I’m worried about you…”

“I’m not a child anymore!” Wood roared.

“Even though you are older than me, Mr. Wood, you are completely immature in my eyes. You’re a child who has not grown up!” Vivian also raised her voice a little bit and retorted, undeterred.

Wood turned to look at the young woman, who tilted her chin and glared at him. It was like when he was going to break in at the door of the ward that day, and she had refused to back down.

“You need a rest, Mr. Wood!” Vivian did not budge at all.

“I did not ask you to be my nurse.”

“I speak just out of… concern as a friend.”

“Are we friends?” Wood asked in return.

“I think so,” Vivian stood straighter and spoke with courage.

In the face of the nurse who had diligently cared for his mother, no matter how difficult it was, how tired she had been and how many sleepless nights she endured without a word of complaint, George Wood was really unable to speak viciously or make a move to drive her away. He knew how to be grateful. Otherwise, he would not have followed Twain all this time.

Helplessly, Wood just sighed and turned around to stand in place, looking at his mother’s picture on the gravestone. He did not speak further.

Behind him, Vivian was equally stubborn and stood with him. The two were engaged in a wordless battle of endurance and determination.

※※※

“Want to know what I said in George’s ear when I hugged him?” said Shania, who leaned against the front passenger’s seat in the car on their way home.

“What did you say?” Twain was really interested because she had actually made Wood’s eyes redden with a few words. Twain himself did not have that kind of power.

“I just sang a few phrases of a song and said a few words,” Shania hummed gently.

“Hey, George, don’t make it bad… And anytime you feel the pain. Hey, George, refrain. Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders. For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool. Life will always have its downs… Hey, George, don’t make me sad. If you find someone you love, now go and love her… Hey, George, time really flies, don’t delay any longer. Don’t always expect to rely on others, you know? You can do it… do it your own way… Hey, George, don’t be so sad. Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to love her forever and start a new life… To be better, to be happier…”

It was Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, where Shania replaced “Jude” with “George”. The meaning it conveyed was, in her eyes, a perfect fit for the occasion.

After she finished humming, Shania gently swept aside a strand of hair that covered her forehead. “Then I said to him, ‘This is what your mother would want you to hear, and she wants your future to be better and happier. Don’t let her down, George.’”

Chapter 994 - He Is Back

Chapter 994: He Is Back

Twain flipped through his phone book at home. There were very few numbers written in it because he did not have many friends. He did, however, have many foes who wanted him dead.

He has yet to give Evan Doughty a reply, but that was something he could do later. After all, it was not like Evan Doughty could ever refuse his return to the club.

There were other things he needed to do before that. For example, he needed to find an assistant he could work with. Twain has always worked with a talented assistant for the past 15 years of his managerial career, and it has become a norm for him. A good assistant could save him a lot of time and energy. Twain was never the kind of manager who would do everything by himself. There were numerous times when he would step back from the players’ training, and this is where his assistant would come in.

Des Walker won the World Cup with Twain during his stint as his assistant manager in the England national football team. As a result, his net worth as a manager skyrocketed. Walker also chose to leave the England team after Twain left, but unlike Twain, he did not retire. Instead, he was appointed as the manager of Leeds United, who were intent on making their way back to the top.

Dunn was still working as the manager of Notts County. His team has made remarkable progress as a whole after playing in the Championship for two seasons. They barely survived relegation in their first season, but they were now one of the top 10 teams in their second season. However, Twain could not possibly get Dunn as his assistant manager once again. It would be a waste of talent.

Twain focused his attention on the name ‘David Kerslake’.

Kerslake has not been able to achieve any notable results after he left Forest. He was appointed as the manager of Bolton Wanderers for half a season before being sacked due to poor results. Thereafter, he worked for numerous Championship teams and even coached a team overseas. However, he was never able to replicate the results that he achieved at Forest. Not every manager would be able to achieve the results that he had at his previous club after switching to a different one. Adaptability was an important skill for football managers. Evidently, Kerslake was not as good as Des Walker and Dunn when it came to adapting to a different environment and team.

According to Twain’s knowledge, Kerslake would be unemployed and spending most of his time at home now. Twain remembered the wonderful days when the two of them worked together. It would be a complete waste for someone as talented as Kerslake to be idling about at home. Hence, he dialed Kerslake’s number and hoped that the latter has not changed it in the past four years.

※※※

Kerslake felt like he was caught in an awkward situation. He was never able to achieve good results as a manager again, and his most prominent result to date came during his stint as the caretaker manager of Forest. He did not feel happy working as a manager, but he could not bring himself to become an assistant manager either. Kerslake still believed that he would be able to achieve some kind of notable result as a manager someday. All he needed was one good opportunity. Wouldn’t it be humiliating if he took on the role of an assistant manager once again? Who would be willing to eat McDonald’s and Kentucky when they have gotten used to French cuisine?

Now he spent most of his time idling about at home with his wife and kids. Fortunately for him, he had saved quite a bit of money working as a manager. He also managed to earn quite a hefty amount of prize money by working under Twain. However, his savings have become depleted over the years, and there was not a lot of money left. It was becoming increasingly difficult to support a family of four, and he was considering getting a job once again. A few clubs had offered him work. Three of them wished to appoint him as their manager, but they were all teams in lower division leagues, and their offers were not very attractive. He also received an invitation from a Premier League club to work as an assistant manager. It seemed like most people in the football world knew that he has achieved much better results as an assistant manager than a manager…

Kerslake was not like Twain. He might be 54 years old this year, but he had no thoughts of retirement.

Just as Kerslake was pondering about which club’s offer he should accept, he received a call from Twain.

“Great! You didn’t change your number, David!” Twain’s voice sounded very happy over the phone.

“Tony?” Kerslake was a little surprised – why would Twain call him?

“Are you still in Nottingham? Can I meet you for a cup of coffee or something?” Twain asked.

“Uh, no. I’m in London now.”

“You moved?” Twain was a little taken aback.

“Of course. I moved after I left Forest.”

“That’s not good…” Twain mumbled.

“Why did you call me, Tony?”

“Okay, it’s like this.” Twain thought about what he should say for a moment. “Are you interested in becoming an assistant manager once again, David?”

“Assistant manager?” Kerslake thought that Twain was acting as a go-between and that he had only called on behalf of someone else. He guessed that Nottingham Forest could be that ‘someone else’ because he heard that Freddy was struggling at Forest and was in desperate need of an assistant. However, becoming the assistant manager to Freddy was a little…”No, Tony. I don’t want to be an assistant manager anymore.”

“That’s a shame…” Twain was disappointed with Kerslake’s response, and he muttered to himself, “Looks like I have to find someone else to be my partner…”

Those last few words from Twain were very soft. It was clear that he was mumbling to himself. Twain must have forgotten to hang up the phone before complaining about the situation.

Kerslake was astonished after hearing what Twain had uttered.

A moment later, he heard Twain say in a disappointed voice, “Really sorry to have bothered you, David. I know you have turned me down, but I still hope we can have a drink together when I head over to London.”

Kerslake snapped out of his reverie right as Twain was about to hang up. He frantically shouted, “Wait! Wait, Tony! Wait…”

“Hmm? Is there something else that you want to talk about, David?”

Twain’s focus was no longer on Kerslake. He could understand why the latter had rejected his invitation. Kerslake has gotten used to working as a manager, and it would not be easy for him to go back to being an assistant manager now. Take Carlos Queiroz for example. He failed as the manager of Real Madrid, but he would not be willing to become an assistant manager of Manchester United again unless he was working under a legendary manager such as Alex Ferguson. Twain did not bear a grudge against Kerslake for turning him down. After all, men should always strive to achieve greater heights…

Twain was flipping through his phone book at the moment. He hoped to find another suitable candidate to become his assistant manager.

“Who do you want me to work with as the assistant manager?” asked Kerslake. He thought he already knew, but he just wanted to make sure.

“Who else? Me, of course!” Twain replied.

“Didn’t you retire? Wait…” Kerslake’s mind suddenly snapped into action. “There’s a rumor going around that you would take over at Nottingham Forest once more?”

“It’s not a rumor anymore, David,” Twain laughed.

Kerslake jumped from his chair. “Are you really going to take charge at Nottingham Forest once again?”

“Today’s not April Fools’, David.”

“So you are asking me to be your assistant manager?”

“Yes. You already asked that earlier.”

“I’ll do it!” Kerslake did not hesitate in giving his response this time around, and his sudden change in attitude surprised Twain.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be an assistant manager just now, David?”

“I choose who I want to work under. Ha!” Kerslake felt a lot better suddenly. All the worries that he had regarding his future just a while ago were all gone. “I would never refuse to be your assistant manager! You might think I’m exaggerating when I say this, but no other manager is good enough to have me as his assistant manager!”

Twain felt embarrassed after hearing Kerslake’s praise, and he rubbed his nose in response. That had to be one of the biggest compliments he had ever gotten in his life…

“When do we start work? Thank goodness that my house in Nottingham has not been sold yet. I can just get it back from my real estate agent…” Kerslake was thrilled at the thought that he was going to work with Twain at Nottingham Forest once again.

However, Twain rained on his parade. “Hey, David. Don’t get too fired up just yet. I don’t intend to work at Forest for long.”

“Huh?”

“As you know, Forest is in a very bad state currently. Freddy lacks experience and prestige as a manager, and he would not be able to lead Forest out of their predicament. Thus, Evan Doughty contacted me, and he hopes that I would be able to lead the team out of this mess. I definitely do not want Forest to become the laughingstock of others, but you know how my health is. I definitely would not be able to stay at the helm for long. I’m only thinking of managing the team till the end of the season…”

“So you’d only manage the team for half a season?” Kerslake was a little surprised.

“Yeah. I’m just there to salvage the situation. I’m not there to create another dynasty or something.”

“Is that so?” Kerslake found it to be a shame. However, what Twain said was true. His health was not what it once was. The fact that he was willing to come out of retirement to salvage the situation showed his deep affection for the club.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m still going to be your assistant manager, and I’ll work till you retire.” Kerslake was determined to work for Twain. The most glorious days of his managerial career were during those ten years when he worked as Twain’s assistant manager. He was content with managing Forest alongside Twain once again, and he was not going to think about anything that would happen in the future for now.

Twain wanted to shout, “What a great friend you are!” after hearing Kerslake’s words, but he decided against it. All he said, in the end, was, “Thank you, David. I don’t have anything to fret about if I have you as my assistant manager.”

“Heh heh. Of course. We work flawlessly together!” Kerslake was in a good mood and began joking with Twain.

Kerslake remained sitting in his chair after ending his phone call with Twain. Memories of the time he spent working with Twain welled up in his mind, and they filled him with anticipation. He could not help but look forward to the remaining half of the season.

Tony is back! I can’t wait to see how our rivals react to that!

※※※

A change in personnel in the Nottingham Forest’s board occurred during the period of time when Twain had yet to give Evan a call to tell him about his decision, and it caught the attention of numerous outsiders.

The club’s marketing manager, Allan Adams, who was also the person responsible for negotiating with the Bin Zayed Group regarding the takeover of Nottingham Forest, turned in his letter of resignation, and his request to resign was approved by the Chairman, Evan Doughty.

That was how the media had reported it, but everyone close to Nottingham Forest knew that Allan Adams had not resigned on his own accord. Evan Doughty had fired him. Doughty’s action surprised many. They did not think that Doughty would fire the very person who has been working on the sale of the club all this while, especially given how Doughty was dead set on selling Nottingham Forest. The Bin Zayed Group had renewed its interest in purchasing the club two days ago after going quiet for two weeks, but now the man who has been negotiating with them regarding the sale of the club was gone…

Everyone found Evan Doughty’s action to be odd. No one knew what was on his mind.

The only person who could know was Twain. Doughty knew that he did not get along with Allan Adams, and he had fired Allan as a way of telling Twain that no one in the club would get in his way when he returned…

It was something like a proof of allegiance from Doughty. However, Twain did not care if Allan was still at Forest or not.

“I’d only be managing Forest till the end of this season, Evan,” Twain told Evan Doughty over the phone.

There was silence on the other end. Doughty had clearly not expected Twain to only come out of retirement for such a brief period.

“I’ve never thought of managing Forest for the rest of my life, just like you’ve never thought of being the Chairman of Forest for the rest of your life. The reason why I’ve decided to come back and manage Forest is not because of you, Evan. I just don’t want the team that I’ve managed for so many years to become a laughingstock for others. Did you see the comments in the tabloids regarding Forest? We have become a joke to them.” Twain then went on to explain his plan to Doughty, “I’d manage the team for the rest of the season, then I’d help to find a suitable successor for you. After that, I’d retire once again and continue to spend time with my wife and kid at home. What do you think? I think this is a pretty good plan.”

How could Doughty possibly say ‘I don’t think this plan is good’? He was the one who begged Twain to come back, not the other way round. Twain made use of this advantage and listed all his conditions to Doughty. If Doughty accepted his conditions, they would work together for the second time in their lives. If he rejected, then they would part ways. However, Twain was not in the least worried that Doughty would reject his terms…

Just as Twain had expected, Doughty agreed to Twain’s stipulations. He figured that there were still six months till the end of the season, and there was a chance that Twain would change his mind in that period of time. Perhaps Twain would regain his passion for managing a football team after returning to the club, and he would then refuse to leave when the time was up! In any case, there was still time for Doughty to think about his next course of action. He was confident that he would be able to persuade Twain to stay at the club after the season ended.

Twain did not care about what was on Doughty’s mind. He was an obstinate person just like George Wood. No one would be able to persuade him otherwise once he has made up his mind. He was the only one who could change his own mind.

Now that Twain has decided to return to Forest, the next question would be: when?

Doughty hoped that Twain would return as soon as possible, but Twain was in no hurry because there were still several issues that he needed to settle before that. He has to deal with those issues now that he had time on his hands. He would definitely be too busy to settle them once he became the manager.

It was not a problem to delay Twain’s return for a while since Eastwood should still be able to manage the team for a while longer. The results that Forest would achieve before Twain’s return did not matter to Evan Doughty. All he cared about was the fact that Twain was coming back.

However, Doughty had a request. He wanted to release news of Twain’s return to the public as soon as possible to instill confidence in the fans and the sponsors. Twain did not object to Doughty’s request.

The next day, on November 12, the Nottingham Forest’s official website changed its homepage design. Every single netizen who frequented the website would find a huge advertisement poster when they landed on the homepage.

The poster’s background featured a large photo of Twain, and the following words were written on it:

‘That’s right, the king has returned!’

※※※

A few hours after the poster was put up on Nottingham Forest’s website, the news channels also began reporting the interesting piece of news. “…I have a piece of bad news to share with the managers of the other 19 Premier League teams,” the announcer said with a smile that seemed a little teasing to some. “Tony Twain is back!”

※※※

The news of Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest sent shock waves throughout the whole of England’s footballing scene. However, the man who had set it all off was no longer in England by then. He was on a journey to Spain alone.

Chapter 995 - Mr. Xia

“Is it true? Has the boss really decided to come back?”

Before the start of training, the players gathered in groups of three or four to chat while they waited for the manager on the training ground. The topic was naturally the news that had just been announced yesterday – Tony Twain would return to coach Nottingham Forest.

Joe Mattock looked at Bale eagerly, hoping to get confirmation straight from his mouth.

“Isn’t it all written clearly on the official website? It was even reported on the news,” Bale said with a shrug, but he could not suppress the smile on his face. “This time it’s true!”

“Ha! I knew the boss wouldn’t stand by and do nothing! Now that the team’s results are so poor, who can turn things around? Only Tony Twain!” Mattock danced and gesticulated with joy.

“Shh! Lower your voice!” The defender Nkoulou hurriedly put his index finger to his lips and signaled for them to tone it down. “Don’t let Freddy hear it!”

“Don’t worry. I think Freddy will be the happiest, knowing that the boss is coming back,” Mattock said, shaking his head.

As his teammates were discussing this intensely, Mitchell put his hand on Wood’s shoulder and said to him with a smile, “Are you relieved, George? The boss is finally back.”

“There’s little over half a season left,” Wood replied expressionlessly.

“Don’t be too demanding, George. I’m content that he is able to return for however long. Look at the guys! I think even if we meet Manchester United again in the next game, we can win, even if it is an away game.”

While many people were happy with Twain’s return, some people took exception to it, like the Italian player, Balotelli. Now he could not be bothered to focus his attention on the return of a former manager. His agent told him that a transfer in the winter was not a good move. If he could put it off until the summer, he would be able to fight for more in terms of the package. Now Balotelli’s mind was full of thoughts on the transfer away from the Forest team. He did not care what the team’s next results would be. He was already 28 years old and did not have enough prime years to spend on such a team.

With the news of Twain’s imminent return announced, the team was clearly divided into two factions. One of which was naturally Twain’s original players, waiting with joy for his return. The other group was those players who had nothing to do with Twain. They had come to the Forest team one by one in the last few seasons. They did not know how the new manager would treat them. Would they still be able to guarantee their current main positions and continue as the main players in the future? Would the fate of the formerly fringe players in the team change? These questions lingered in their minds and caused them to feel ill at ease. Some people even informed their agents in advance that if the new manager did not cooperate with them, they should leave without delay.

Before Twain had officially become the Forest team’s manager, there was already an undercurrent of turbulence within the team. Without knowing all these things, had Twain, who was far away in Spain, considered it?

※※※

The sun shone much brighter in Spain than in Britain. The damp salty sea breeze felt soothing on the face as it blew. Twain sat in an open-air cafe with a cup of coffee in front of him. A view of the beach stretched into the horizon. Although today was not a weekend or a holiday, plenty of visitors could still be seen on the beach. The wind made the waves roll, and the crashing sounds drowned out the playful beach activities.

However, he was not in a relaxed frame of mind that would allow him to play in the water. He was not here in Barcelona, Spain, on vacation this time. At present, he was waiting for someone.

The terms ‘flush with success’ and ‘smug’ were just about right to describe the football agent, Xia Yang, of today. Four years ago, he was just a moderately well-known agent in China, making a living by introducing young players to Eastern European and South American clubs. He might seem to know the European clubs very well as portrayed in the Chinese media, but in fact, those relationships were only obtained through his groveling and shameless pestering. The big shot agents could directly make calls to the clubs’ managers and chairmen. Whereas he had to make an appointment in advance to meet with an Eerste Divisie team’s manager to see if the other party had the time, or whether they were in the mood … If he had not been thick-skinned, he could hardly make it in this line of work.

However, things were different now. Although he was not a big shot like Mendes in Europe, he did not need to beg, borrow, and steal to promote his own players either. He would receive many calls from European clubs every year, hoping that he could recommend cheap and good quality East Asian players, or help pull strings and establish connections to build cooperation with China. He had also become a well-known top-notch agent. He no longer limited his scope to introducing young Chinese players to the moneyless Eastern Europe and South America clubs. He even started a sports industry development company, introducing some foreign clubs interested in the Chinese market to play commercial games in China, from which he took a cut and made a lot of money.

All these changes should be credited to the young man he took an interest in at the time.

When Chen Jian was recalled to England for the second time by the Forest team and given a place in the youth team, there was no media coverage of the matter in China. However, Xia Yang used the channels he had from his long-term connections in European football to hear about the news. The professional agent’s keen perception made him think that this might be an opportunity – in fact, he was not interested in Chen Jian’s future at the time, but in establishing a relationship with Europe’s then most powerful club, Nottingham Forest, through Chen Jian. Long-term cooperation in the future would not be an extravagant hope. It was like Mendes gave Pepe to Twain for cheap.

During Chen Jian’s years at the Forest team, his relationship with the team did not progress as well as he had imagined. Although the Chinese media hype made him a little famous due to his connection with Chen Jian and the Forest team, Chen Jian’s prospects and his own aspirations all came to nothing when Tony Twain spectacularly announced his resignation after winning the Treble. Without a choice, he accepted Chen Jian’s suggestion and did not talk to Nottingham Forest about renewing his contract. Instead, he let the Forest team put him on loan once again, while they slowly looked for the right team to take over. As the player under him and, moreover, the player who once brought him some fame, Xia Yang had really hoped that Chen Jian could have a good team to belong to. In the end, the Forest team found him a team in Eredivisie and loaned him out again.

No one thought that Chen Jian, whom no one was optimistic about, would actually forge a path in Eredivisie. At the end of the first season, Xia Yang received numerous transfer offers from clubs in different national leagues. This included a fax from RCD Espanyol in Spain’s La Liga.

Through making contacts and communication, Xia Yang was even more surprised to find that RCD Espanyol’s intention to buy Chen Jian was definitely not a whim. When Chen Jian was still playing for FC Volendam, their football scouts had already noticed him. After watching him for three seasons, they finally decided to make a move. At that time, Chen Jian contract with Nottingham Forest had also expired. The Forest team did not intend to continue to provide a contract for the worthless Chinese player. If they were to transfer Chen Jian at this time, they would not have to spend a single cent on the transfer fee, which was a very attractive condition. Xia Yang also took the opportunity to play up the cheap deal and said that Chen Jian was a “bargain” and an investment with lots of upsides and absolutely no risk.

At that time, the Eredivisie team, which had loaned Chen Jian, also wanted to sign him. However, after Xia Yang and Chen Jian discussed this, they felt it was time to go to a bigger stage. In this way, Chen Jian joined RCD Espanyol, which ranked mid-stream in La Liga then.

García González, RCD Espanyol’s football director at the time, described Chen Jian as “a younger George Wood.” He believed that Chen Jian’s dogged fighting spirit and clear-mindedness shown in the midfield were exactly what the team needed.

For a Chinese player to make his mark in European football, it was far from enough to rely on his own strength. He also needed luck and opportunities. Chen Jian had pretty good chances. Nottingham Forest was first interested in him and then the RCD Espanyol football director thought highly of him. Without those opportunities, even if he had the ability, perhaps he would have continued to play in the lower-level leagues.

Chen Jian has gradually shown his ability in RCD Espanyol after going through about half a season of adaptation. He managed the defense and offense in the midfield in a smooth and orderly manner. He gradually established himself in the main starting position in the La Liga team.

For a Chinese player, to be able to play in a team in one of the four big leagues was a remarkable achievement. Even those players who only occasionally played as substitutes in the lower level leagues would receive lengthy coverage and sustained interest from the Chinese media. This was doubly so for Chen Jian, who was trusted and liked by his teammates, coaches, and fans based on his own strength, rather than playing in a mid-stream team in La Liga sponsored by Chinese companies.

In fact, the Chinese fans were very self-aware. They did not expect Chen Jian to become a world-class star player. It was enough as long as he could secure a main position in a team.

During the weekly broadcast of La Liga games, RCD Espanyol received more attention than the traditional La Liga powerhouse teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Although he initially wanted to start his professional football career at Nottingham Forest, Chen Jian did not expect to fulfill his dream with RCD Espanyol in the end.

Now, his five-year contract would expire in a season and a half. However, Xia Yang was in no hurry to negotiate another contract with RCD Espanyol.

These four seasons had not only enhanced Chen Jian’s reputation and strength but also expanded Xia Yang’s horizons. In any case, RCD Espanyol could not even guarantee to participate in the UEFA Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) every season. Xia Yang currently deemed the team’s level to be not high enough. Chen Jian was 28 years old this year, which was the golden age of a professional footballer. He did not want his ace player to spend his last playing years in such a team. If there were better options, why should he not leave?

Therefore, starting a season ago, Xia Yang has asked for sky-high prices in the negotiations with RCD Espanyol. He not only asked for Chen Jian to get the highest level of wages in the team but also demanded a huge signing fee. RCD Espanyol was only a small team and could not meet Xia Yang’s demands, so the two sides were in a deadlock. It dragged on until this summer and still remained unresolved. RCD Espanyol now seemed to have figured out that the Chinese player obviously wanted to play in a higher-level team. Originally, selling players that other clubs were interested in to make money was the way for clubs like RCD Espanyol to survive. Even though Chen Jian was the core of the team’s midfield, if there was a club that could offer the right price, he was definitely not an indispensable player.

RCD Espanyol simply did not continue the negotiations with Xia Yang about renewing the contract. They just waited for other clubs to make an offer. Of course, outwardly, they were still going to announce that “we’re trying our best to keep Chen”, “Chen Jian certainly wants to stay with RCD Espanyol, but he needs a contract that corresponds with his contributions” and so on…

Xia Yang was not worried about wasting efforts and having all his hopes and plans come to nothing. Chen Jian’s performance in RCD Espanyol’s three seasons spoke for itself. Many European teams had privately contacted him before, so he was aware that Chen Jian still had a lot of potential to unearth.

Seeing that the winter transfer window was about to open, he had recently received calls from several clubs. Among them were teams from the Premier League, but also from Serie A. Of course, most were from La Liga teams. After all, they had to play against RCD Espanyol twice a season and were most familiar with Chen Jian’s level. Now Xia Yang simply looked down on those low-level league teams, expressing interest. He basically would not consider any teams other than those in the three major leagues. Even if they were France Ligue 1 and Bundesliga teams, he was not interested.

Just as Xia Yang was waiting for a good offer on Chen Jian, he and Chen Jian received a phone call from a long-lost person.

The call was made to Chen Jian, and when he heard the greeting in Mandarin spoken with a British country accent on the phone, Chen Jian immediately knew who the caller was.

Tony Twain called him as the Nottingham Forest manager and Chen Jian suddenly recalled the four years that had lain dormant in his mind. With the departure of Twain, he had originally thought that he would never have a chance to cross paths with that red team again in his life. Unexpectedly, fate declared otherwise. Tony Twain was actually back in his old position!

Hence, the meeting between Xia Yang and Twain took place…

※※※

“I’m really sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Twain. There was a traffic jam on the road…” Xia Yang, dressed in an Armani casual suit, shrugged apologetically in front of Twain. In fact, he was deliberately late. There was no traffic jam. Today was not the weekend and the appointed time was not during rush hour. He drove on the highway like a snail, just so that he would be late to let Twain wait. In the beginning, it was tough for him to get to meet with this man, as the other party simply did not care for him. He had to grovel for it to happen. Now things were not the same. I’m not the one begging you now, he thought. You have come to beg me, Mr. Twain! How can I get back my lost self-respect without putting on some airs? I’m sure you won’t mind, will you?

Sure enough, Twain just smiled and shook his head as he said, “It doesn’t matter. The scenery here is beautiful. I was enjoying it.”

“I haven’t seen you for so many years. I did not expect Mr. Twain to still speak Mandarin so fluently, ha!” Xia Yang’s tone made people think that he and Twain must be old friends. Xia Yang deliberately affected it. In any case, Twain was also a well-known European manager who just led the England team to win the grand slam of the national teams. If he were friends with him, would his status not be elevated as well?

Twain did not mind the Chinese agent’s deliberate friendliness.

“Let’s get straight to the point, Mr. Xia. How did Chen Jian react to the Forest team’s invitation?” Twain directly asked.

“Well…” When it came to the main topic, Xia Yang hesitated. “You know, Mr. Twain. Chen Jian is currently happy with RCD Espanyol. He’s the core player and has a good relationship with his teammates and coaches. The fans also adore him and want him to continue playing for RCD Espanyol… You know, just this summer, we even turned down Kaiserslautern’s invitation…”

Twain sneered in his heart. Who did not know that Xia Yang wanted Chen Jian to leave RCD Espanyol, which did not have much of a future? What was the reason that caused the renewal negotiations not to go well? Wasn’t it due to the man in front of him asking for a sky-high price? RCD Espanyol simply could not satisfy the conditions put forth by him. He basically did not want to let Chen Jian stay here. However, he still said, “Chen Jian is currently happy with RCD Espanyol”… This kind of bullsh*t could fool maybe a three-year-old child, but not Tony Twain.

“Kaiserslautern is only a team that had just returned to the Bundesliga last season and could barely manage to keep its place. It’s understandable that you are not interested in them,” Twain mocked Xia Yang without batting an eyelid to remind him that he was not an idiot and would not be imposed on.

How could Xia Yang not understand the meaning behind Twain’s words? He felt a little embarrassed at the moment, but fortunately, he was thick-skinned, and a smile immediately showed on his face. “Of course, of course. As Chen Jian’s agent, I also hope he can have a better stage… He’s only 28 years old, it is time to accomplish great things… I want him to go to a team that can steadily play in European tournaments every year, whether it’s the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League or whatever… Chen Jian himself also feels this way.”

The agent became well versed through years of struggle and hardships. If Twain mocked him, he would mock Nottingham Forest’s current situation, for they might not even be able to play in next season’s Europa League…

Twain re-examined the agent in front of him. His manners had undergone a huge transformation as compared to four years ago. The most important thing was that he was more confident. He found that Mr. Xia was more difficult to deal with than formerly… The agent of four years ago would simply have no courage to speak in front of him. Now he stood his ground.

Nottingham Forest was currently in the 16th spot in the league tournament, one step away from the relegation zone. It would indeed be difficult for them to participate in any European tournament next season.

Obviously, the agent had thrown out one of the conditions that were most attractive to them – to qualify for next season’s European championships. If you want Chen Jian to join Nottingham Forest, then you have to lead the team back to Europe, Mr. Twain!

Chapter 996 - I’m Going to the Forest

”… You should know that now he is only 28 years old, which is a very promising age… I hope he can join a team that allows him to participate in UEFA matches continuously every year, whether it is the Champions League or the Europa League… Chen Jian himself also thinks like this.”

Xia Yang, as Chen Jian’s agent, told Dunn a message through these words: If he wants Chen Jian transferred to the Nottingham Forest F.C., please get the qualification to participate in European matches.

What he had in his mind was to let Chen Jian transfer and leave in summer, as then they would have ample time and there would be more teams on the transfer market which were interested in Chen Jian. It would give him more leeway in seeking the best interests for both himself and Chen Jian.

Certainly, he didn’t know the fact that Dunn would only serve Nottingham Forest F.C. for a half-season. After the end of this season, he would leave the position as the team’s manager. It would be useless to introduce Chen Jian then. New talents and fresh blood were now needed for this team. Chen Jian was an eligible and reliable midfielder who could partner with Wood, and he was also a utility player in the midfield and backfield. He could handle different situations, and such a player was rare.

Dunn would not wait until the summer transfer window to talk to the RCD Espanyol about Chen Jian’s transfer. He wanted to get Chen Jian in this winter.

“I want to see Chen Jian wearing the red jersey of Nottingham Forest F.C. this season, Mr. Xia.”

“This season?” Xia Yang was greatly surprised. He really didn’t expect it, and then he began to think… Since Nottingham Forest F.C. is in such a hurry, can I take the opportunity to fleece it? For example, playing for time, forcing the club to pay a higher commission…

It seemed that Dunn had seen through Xia Yang’s wishful thinking at this time. “Cut to the chase, Mr. Xia. Chen Jian is the player I need. If you can assist me in putting pressure on the RCD Espanyol and cut the transfer fee, I will be willing to give you the money from the cut as your commission. ”

Dunn didn’t mind letting the agent earn some more. After all, he wasn’t the one who paid for Chen Jian’s purchase or the commission. Wouldn’t it be a pleasure for him to be generous and give a present for which he didn’t pay?

Xia Yang did not expect Dunn to speak out his mind and met his eye with a little smile of embarrassment.

Since the other party had made such a big promise, what else could he haggle over? Naturally, he meant to agree. However, Xia Yang was very cunning. It wasn’t like he would accept immediately. Who could know whether there would be a bigger fish than Nottingham Forest F.C. in the future?

He only said was that he could never make a decision as important as this alone, and he still needed to go back to ask about Chen Jian’s opinion and discuss it with him before he could reply to Dunn.

It was fair enough, and Dunn had no objections.

“I’ll stay in this place for a few days more, Mr. Xia Yang. I hope we can talk again before I leave Spain.”

Dunn shook hands with Xia Yang to bid farewell before leaving and reminded Xia Yang that he shouldn’t play for time.

Xia Yang, after getting into the car, looked down at his right hand, which Dunn had just shaken. Like before, that old man was a bit haughty, but anyhow he got the chance to shake hands with him. The famous world-class would actually one day come to beg at his door! Ah-ha-ha! Xia Yang, Xia Yang, you are someone now! Hmm… Should I be on my high horse and play for time? So the agent thought.

※※※

While Xia Yang was scheming against Dunn in an outdoor cafe at the seaside, Chen Jian was in the training camp of RCD Espanyol. In order to prepare for the Barcelona Derby in the next round, the team had put all other matters aside.

For a team like RCD Espanyol, winning the championships of La Liga and the Copa del Rey was basically hopeless. The goal of this team was to go on a rampage at the very beginning of a season. If it was in good shape and got lucky, they would start to yearn for UEFA matches. However, no matter which season and regardless of their strengths and luck, one thing would not change: the hatred of Barcelona, their enemy from the same city.

As long as they were still in La Liga, the two most important matches of each season must be the Barcelona Derby.

Chen Jian had served this team for more than three seasons and spent three years in this city. He had gotten used to this derby atmosphere long ago. He was sort of expecting such games. Playing in RCD Espanyol, honestly speaking, gave him very few chances to participate in high-level games, so the Barcelona Derby of twice a year was regarded as a Champions League Final.

Chen Jian didn’t hate Barcelona, but as a player of RCD Espanyol, he was obliged to dislike the Barcelona team when facing it. Thanks to his fierce action against Messi during the derby, which put the latter on the ground, and the following tit-for-tat against Dani Alves who took up the cudgels for Messi, he won the fondness of RCD Espanyol fans. He and Alves locked horns like bulls and kept on trash-talking, which almost resulted in a fight. That was when the RCD Espanyol fans really accepted him.

Actually, Chen Jian was not that violent, but in such a frenetic air, this brutal act was understandable, as the professional player stepped aside and a man’s passion inside was ignited…

Chen Jian was the lead in the training ground today, for some of the Chinese media was shooting from the sideline. It was a production unit from China Central Television, a team dedicated to producing a feature of Chen Jian in the derby. The club gave the green light, allowing them to take some pictures of the training from the sideline. It was a golden opportunity for this club to promote itself and project a powerful image to distant Chinese fans. How could they reject it?

Other players were allowed to go to the locker room to take a shower and change clothes, but not Chen Jian. He had to accept a few interviews from the Chinese media on the sideline to talk about his training for the Barcelona Derby this weekend.

Meanwhile, many fans came to him for autographs.

Off interviewing, the TV reporter joked with him: “Good for you, you have many fans.”

A reserved smiled appeared on his face, and he continued to give out his autographs to RCD Espanyol fans. He carefully signed the Chinese characters of “Chen Jian” on star player posters and postcards of him and handed them to fans. Some of the fans wanted to take pictures with him after they got the autographs, and he agreed in every instance.

It looked like he was a sort of a celebrity now.

Such a scene could never be fathomable when he just joined the Youth Team of Nottingham Forest F.C.

Chen Jian went back to the locker room after the interview, but almost all his teammates were gone. He took a shower, changed his clothes, and then headed for the parking lot, where his white Audi was waiting for him.

Today he lived in an independent condo and had a prestigious car, which was totally different from when he was in the low division league.

Who gave all this to him?

Was it the agent, Mr. Xia Yang?

Upon this thought, the cellphone in the pocket rang with an incoming call from his agent.

“Chen Jian, have you done with training?” Xia Yang asked.

“Yes, it’s over, Uncle Xia.”

“Have those journalists left too?”

“They have.”

“Well… I’ve met Dunn. We can’t discuss it on the phone, we should talk about it when we meet. ”

“OK, I’ll go home and wait for you.”

After they hung up, Chen Jian got into the car and fastened his seat belt to get ready to leave.

He skillfully backed his car out of the parking lot with the wheel in his hands, then headed to the gate of training camp. Back to the question again: Who brought all this to him?

In Chen Jian’s mind, it was the English man whom he had known for a long time.

※※※

“… That’s exactly what it is.” Mr. Xia repeated every detail of what he had talked about with Dunn during their meeting to Chen Jian. After he finished, he expressed his own idea: “It’s so weird. He was the one who totally ignored you at the beginning and didn’t give you any chances when you were at Nottingham Forest F.C., but now he wants you back. Now Nottingham Forest F.C. is having bad days, and it may not even avoid relegation. Hear me, Chen Jian. If I were you, I would stay in RCD Espanyol rather than go to Nottingham Forest F.C. At least you don’t have to worry about the possibility of playing for Segunda División next season.”

After Chen Jian heard Xia Yang’s words, he was silent for a while, and then he said, “It wasn’t that he didn’t give me chances; I just couldn’t accept his conditions…”

He was referring to how Dunn asked him to renounce his Chinese nationality and apply for British citizenship so that he could represent Nottingham Forest F.C. Of course, he couldn’t agree to that request. He never considered giving up being Chinese for playing football.

Chen Jian still remembered the call from Dunn at the airport, in which the man told him: since you want to be a professional player, why bother worrying about where you play?

This sentence changed his future. That was why Chen Jian, the No.10 in RCD Espanyol now, was doing very well.

“He wants to get you this winter transfer window, but I don’t think it’s the right time. The schedule is too tight and I can’t get you more advantages from it. Moreover, the future of Nottingham Forest F.C. is still much of an uncertainty. I suggest you wait until this season ends, then make your decision based on the performance of Nottingham Forest. In addition, more clubs will be interested in you at that time… ”

However, Chen Jian shook his head.

Xia Yang knew he had made his decision then.

“Uncle Xia, after the call from Mr. Dunn, I actually made up my mind…” He looked at the agent in front of him. “I’m going to Nottingham Forest F.C., and going this winter.”

“You’re out of your mind!” Xia Yang jumped off the sofa.

“I’m not out of my mind.”

“If it were 4-5 years ago, I’d try my very best to join Nottingham Forest F.C. Now things are different. The world has changed drastically! Nottingham Forest F.C. is actually worse off than RCD Espanyol! You are 28 years old, Chen Jian. It won’t be very long before you are past your prime years as a professional player. I hope you can take this opportunity to join a better team, to get a better stage and better performance. Basically, this is your last chance. When you’re over 30, it will be difficult for you to find favor in the eyes of the major teams!”

Xia Yang got more and more emotional as he continued to speak. He stood in front of Chen Jian, bent slightly, and made threatening gestures toward Chen Jian with saliva spraying all over. How could he avoid getting emotional like this? It wasn’t easy for him to gain some chips for bargaining with other European clubs, chips that came from Chen Jian’s rising fame. How could he let Dunn steal the fruits of his labor so easily?

No! Absolutely not!

When the agitated Xia Yang finished speaking, Chen Jian said in a very calm tone: “I won’t go to any club except Nottingham Forest, Uncle Xia.”

Xia Yang felt discouraged. He said all the right words, yet the boy didn’t hear any of them!

He stared at Chen Jian for a while, and Chen Jian looked at him as well.

Then, Xia Yang sat down on the sofa again and asked, “Why?”

“Remember my first aspiration, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian asked in reply without answering directly.

Xia Yang kept silent for a while, pondering this question. Then he recollected it. “To actually play professional football. You have achieved it already. ”

“Yeah, I did. But,” Chen Jian laughed, “The full edition should be playing real professional football in Nottingham Forest F.C.”

“Damn it…” Xia Yang clutched his head. “Any other hidden agendas?”

“None.” Chen Jian shrugged. “I am going to realize my aspiration. Go back to Nottingham Forest F.C. to play.”

“I don’t understand.” As an agent, Xia Yang could not understand why Chen Jian made such a decision.

“Because Nottingham Forest F.C. gave me the chance to come to Europe.”

“So this is gratitude?”

“No, it’s affection… I have a sense of belonging, belonging to Nottingham Forest F.C. Anyway, I was trained in Nottingham Forest Youth Training Camp, Uncle Xia.” Chen Jian slightly raised his head and looked at the ceiling, lapsing into memories.

Those years in the Nottingham Forest Youth Training Camp; Manager Tang’s care and the strict requirements from Manager Greenwood; Manager Tony Twain, who was seemingly cold but personally approached him to ask if he wanted to bet his future on Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest was not simply another European team for him.

“Uncle Xia, do you know which team I support when I am just a fan?”

“Nottingham Forest?” Xia Yang joked even though he knew it wasn’t the answer.

“No, Barcelona.”

“Huh!” Xia Yang couldn’t resist laughing. He thought of the derby that would be held on this weekend and Chen Jian’s dazzling performance in the previous one…

“But my love for Barcelona is pure admiration. It’s different from my affection for Nottingham Forest. I want to play for it, I want to be part of the team. I got this in my mind when I was just the 3rd pick of the business draft for the trial training.”

Xia Yang pouted, indifferent to such feelings of Chen Jian. A professional player’s affection? Fewer and fewer people believed it nowadays.

“And one more reason, Uncle Xia.”

“What?”

“There used to be an ambition that I didn’t realize, but now I’ve got the chance to. I want to play soccer under Manager Twain or Manager Dunn.”

Tony Twain!

Xia Yang thought of that man.

“Are you sure? I think the reason why you want to play soccer under him is that at present there is a certain distance between you and him, and distance increases desirability. Once you become his player, things may no longer seem so attractive. ”

Chen Jian smiled without saying anything.

“I think you should think twice, Chen Jian…” Xia Yang was still trying.

“No need for that, Uncle Xia.” Chen Jian smiled and added, “Derby will start this weekend, and I don’t have the energy to think about it. So now I make the decision to transfer to Nottingham Forest in the winter fallow. I should talk to the club.”

Xia Yang was unhappy, among other reasons because he felt a little bit jealous. He had been with Chen Jian for many years and could be deemed as his most intimate confidante other than his parents. He didn’t expect that he was much less important than Tony Twain in Chen Jian’s mind, even though the latter had only seen Twain a few times.

However, what could he do? If the agent met a feeble player without his own views, he could control the player very tightly. Chen Jian was not the kind of person who was feeble and without his own views.

If he was infuriated, he could change his agent and it wouldn’t be a big deal… The fact was that there were many agents from both home and abroad who would love to replace him.

In the end, facing the cooperation between Dunn and Chen Jian, Xia Yan could only bow and concede. “Fine, Chen Jian… I hope you won’t regret the decision you’ve made today!”

Seeing he was a little reluctant, Chen Jian added, “After I achieve success, I’ll give you my share of the signing fee, Uncle Xia.”

Xia Yang didn’t expect such a resolve from Chen Jian. He was dumbfounded and shook his head hopelessly. “You are really ready to do it at any cost.”

“It’s my first aspiration. How can money be compared to it?”

Xia Yang went speechless after Chen Jian’s rhetorical question. (To be continued. If you want to follow the story, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters. Please support the authors and legal reading!)

Chapter 997 - The Barcelona Derby

Twain might have acted confident before Xia Yang earlier, but the truth was that he was on tenterhooks. Chen Jian did express his desire to play for Forest in the past, but it has been four years since then. Why would he return to Forest when he has been performing so well in Espanyol?

Twain had given Chen Jian a call previously, but it was hard to tell what Chen Jian really thought from his voice alone. What if he did not fancy a return to Nottingham Forest? What if he found Nottingham Forest to be not good enough for him? It was not impossible for him to think that way. After all, the current Nottingham Forest team was truly in a bad state.

Most people in England believed that Nottingham Forest’s goal for the season was to avoid relegation, but even that might be a challenge for them now. Something needed to change at the club soon, or else relegation might very well be in the cards. The possibility of George Wood’s retirement also loomed ominously above the club like a dark cloud, and many people at the club were left feeling restless as a result.

Not only that, very few players who have transferred to Forest over the past few seasons have performed well. In contrast, there were several players who went on to perform very well at other clubs after leaving Forest, and this has led many people to view Forest as a ‘black hole’ for footballers. How could a player be willing to go towards this black hole when everyone else was running away from it?

Another issue in this whole situation lay with Chen Jian’s calculating agent. Twain might have promised to offer him a higher bonus if Chen Jian signed for Forest, but he did not seem to intend to cooperate with Twain just yet. He was still trying to make sure that he got the most money out of the deal.

All these various conditions made it difficult for Twain to sign Chen Jian…

Any player with a brain would most likely not sign for Forest. However, Twain still decided to make a trip over to Spain because he wanted to try his luck. After all, he was a world-renowned manager. Perhaps his fame and influence could affect the final outcome?

Weren’t there many players who craved to play under Wenger? If that was the case, why couldn’t there also be players who craved to play under Twain?

And it was this thought that prompted Twain to travel to Spain alone.

A while later, he received a call from Xia Yang.

“Congratulations, Mr. Twain.” The voice on the other end did not sound reluctant. It seemed like this was a decision that Xia Yang concurred with from the bottom of his heart. “I have discussed the matter with Chen Jian, and we both think that joining Nottingham Forest would be a good idea. Chen Jian has always wanted to play for Forest, and I respect his decision. I’d definitely work to help both Forest and Espanyol reach an agreement over this deal.”

It did not matter if the agent truly meant what he said. His words had lifted a weight off Twain, and he finally heaved a sigh of relief. The next step would be for both clubs to negotiate a deal. Allan Adams had been fired, but there would definitely be other people at the club who would be able to work on transfers. In addition, Evan Doughty would definitely step in and help to close the deal when necessary. After all, he was the person begging Twain to come back now. He would definitely satisfy Twain’s every demand, and Twain was going to take full advantage of that.

Now that Chen Jian’s issue has been settled, Twain could finally sit back and enjoy the Barcelona derby.

※※※

The day before the match, Chen Jian received a call from his manager, Xia Yang, who told him that he had already reached an agreement with Twain with regards to the transfer and that all that was left to do was to speak with Espanyol after the Barcelona derby was over.

Chen Jian heaved a long sigh of relief after hearing his agent’s words. He could finally focus all his attention on the upcoming match now.

“Hey, Chen. You’d definitely be tightly marked by the Barcelona’s midfield in the match tomorrow. Our attack and defense would both be in jeopardy if you were kept out of the match since you are the core of our team. What do you intend to do about it?” Chen Jian’s teammate, Gavrilovi?, asked him about his plans for the upcoming match during their idle chat before the team’s tactical meeting.

The Serbian center-back’s question piqued the interest of the other Espanyol players in the room, and they all crowded around to hear what Chen Jian had to say. In truth, this was actually a kind of game for the Espanyol players. They all knew that Chen Jian was a player with a clear mind, and he also seemed to possess a naturally keen insight into matters related to football. The Espanyol players enjoyed getting Chen Jian to speak about what he would do if a particular situation arose in a match. They would then keep his comments in mind and compare them with the manager’s tactics or how the match actually unfolded to see if he was correct.

Of course, they would also place small bets among themselves as to whether Chen Jian was right or not, and the loser had to pay a bit of money or treat the others to a meal.

Chen Jian won the bets most of the time, and it was to be expected. After all, how could a Chinese player like him ever become the core of a Spanish football team if he did not have the brains? It went without saying that he had only earned his position in the team by winning over his teammates and the manager with his performance. Talent was everything here. One would be respected if he had talent. Chen Jian’s intelligence was what helped him gain the trust of his teammates.

“If they mark me tightly, I’d just retreat backward,” Chen Jian smiled. “I’d move from a midfielder’s position to a defensive midfielder’s position. Barcelona’s defensive midfielder can’t possibly rush all the way to the front of our penalty box just to mark me, right?”

“But they can just get someone else to mark you, right? Maybe their forward or their attacking midfielder.” The person who asked this question was another of Chen Jian’s teammates. He was an Israeli defender by the name of Jofo Fogelman.

Chen Jian thought about his question for a moment. “The possibility of that happening is very small. Barcelona’s forwards are all quite lazy… But it’s not impossible. If that really happened, I’d make my passes quickly and pass the ball to all of you more. I need you to be careful, Jofo. I don’t want you to miss out on my back pass.”

He pointed at Fogelman who had asked him the question.

His teammates around him all burst out laughing.

Chen Jian was well-liked by his teammates. He had a good temper and rarely blew his top. Not only that, he would always smile at his teammates whenever he interacted with them as well, and they found that part of his personality to be very endearing. No one liked to play with someone who always had a long face after all.

During the tactical meeting, Espanyol’s manager, Gregorio Manzano, told Chen Jian to shift backward and move from his midfielder’s position to a defensive midfielder’s position in the event that he was tightly marked by the Barcelona players. It was just as Chen Jian had said.

After hearing the manager’s words, several of his teammates could not help but cry out internally, “There goes our money!”

Chen Jian smiled happily. However, it soon dawned on him that he would be leaving this team and his teammates in the coming winter, and his smile vanished from his face instantly. He had no choice but to forsake everything that he has gained so far to achieve his dream. However, would his sacrifices be worth it in the end?

※※※

The Barcelona derby that was due to take place in a day’s time would become the highlight of La Liga for the week. Espanyol has consistently been ranked in the middle of the table for the past three seasons, and they were no longer a team that had to fight to survive relegation. The current Espanyol team definitely had what it took to create problems for the Barcelona side, and it would not be an easy match for Barcelona. The results that Barcelona has managed to achieve at Espanyol’s home ground for the past three seasons were two draws and one loss.

Conversely, they were yet to lose against Espanyol at home. The results that they have achieved at the Camp Nou stadium were two wins and one draw.

Today’s derby match would be played at the Camp Nou stadium.

Twain was invited by Xia Yang to watch the match with him at the stands. Since it has been decided that Chen Jian would be transferring to Nottingham Forest in the upcoming transfer window, both Xia Yang and Twain could be regarded as being on the same team now, and it was not awkward for the two to sit together.

Just as many had predicted, Barcelona marked Chen Jian tightly in the match. Chen Jian was wearing the number 10 shirt, and this spoke of his importance and status in the team. Espanyol was a small team. They did not have many outstanding players, and they did not have depth in the team either. This inevitably made their tactics one-dimensional, and the task of organizing the team’s midfield has always fallen on the shoulders of Chen Jian for the past few seasons. Chen Jian was the core of the team’s tactics, and the team’s performance as a whole would be negatively affected if he were kept out of the game.

Chen Jian could not be regarded to be a world-class superstar player just yet, and he probably could not be considered a first-class player in the whole of Europe either. If he were truly on the same level as the other first-class players in Europe, then surely Espanyol would not just be a mid-table club now. However, the players’ individual abilities did not matter in a derby match. No one really knew how a derby match would play out or what the results would be until the very last minute. Both Barcelona and Espanyol were on the same starting line at the start of the match. How many football stars Barcelona had on its team, how powerful they were as a team, how many trophies they have lifted over the years, or how well they have performed recently… None of these mattered before the start of the match.

Ability would not decide who won the match in the end. The two factors that would decide the match would be the players’ fight and spirit.

The players from both teams went at each other the moment the match kicked off. They kept intercepting and tackling the ball away from one another’s feet.

It was the first time that Twain witnessed such a fiery side of Chen Jian.

Chen Jian received the ball in the midfield five minutes into the match, and he was quickly tripped over by Barcelona’s defensive midfielder, Sergio Busquets. A minute later, Chen Jian found his chance to exact revenge on Busquets. Busquets had intended to run forward and make his way past Espanyol’s defenders after receiving the ball from his teammates, but Chen Jian stretched a leg out and clipped his heel from behind, which caused Busquets to lose his balance and fall onto the pitch.

Busquets was furious with Chen Jian’s action, and he picked a fight with the latter after climbing back to his feet. Chen Jian did not take Busquets’ behavior lying down, and he went up to Busquets and butted heads with him at once. Chen Jian might be shorter than Busquets, but the expression on his face was extremely fierce, and it made him seem much taller and more imposing than he really was.

Twain broke into a laugh at the stands. “Dear me! This lad’s starting to resemble George a little now… No wonder the press describes him as a small-sized George Wood.”

“Jian is usually not like that.” Xia Yang did not appear to like such a fierce Chen Jian. “The image that he gives others is one that is sunny and positive, and he’s very popular with the sponsors as a result.”

No wonder he looks so displeased, Twain thought to himself and smiled. He did not say anything else and simply continued watching the match.

Barcelona was the stronger team between the two in terms of abilities, but they were the ones who were forced to defend for the majority of the first half. The Espanyol players did not seem to care about conserving their energy for the second half. They went all out in the match since the start, and they chased after and intercepted the ball from the Barcelona players relentlessly. They also went on the attack numerous times after intercepting the ball in Barcelona’s half of the pitch. The Barcelona players had to deal with their constant interceptions and attacks, and they were left extremely worn out.

Espanyol’s tactics for the match were spot on. The momentum of the match would have definitely shifted in their favor if they had one or two strikers who could find the back of the net when given the chance. Sadly, they were just a small football club and did not have such talented strikers on their team…

As the saying went, ‘one cannot make bricks without straw’. It did not matter how good a tactic the manager came up with, or capable he was. Even the best manager in the world would need a team that was capable of executing his tactics in order for them to work.

Twain might not have met Manzano before today, but that did not stop him from being impressed with the latter. He thought that it was a remarkable achievement for Manzano to have managed to keep Espanyol as a mid-table team for the past few seasons. Not only that, Chen Jian was only able to perform as a player because he gave him the chance to. It would not be wrong to describe Manzano as both his and Chen Jian’s benefactor.

※※※

Just as everyone had predicted, the team who scored first in the match was the team who has showed more fight and determination thus far – Espanyol. On the 31st minute of the match, the Espanyol players wore out the Barcelona defenders with a series of furious attacks. Just as Barcelona’s defense tried to regroup itself, Chen Jian, who received the ball near the center circle, suddenly performed a long driven pass to the front of the pitch. The ball made its way past three of Barcelona’s players before landing at the feet of his teammate Emilio, who was running towards the penalty box from the flank with pinpoint accuracy. Emilio then proceeded to make his way into Barcelona’s penalty box with the ball, and he performed a lob after seeing that the Barcelona’s goalkeeper, Roberto, had run out to intercept him.

The ball flew into the back of the net, and the Camp Nou stadium that had been like a pot of boiling water just a second ago instantly quietened down. The only people who made noise amidst the silence were a group of Espanyol fans. They flailed their arms about in the air wildly and shouted the name of the goal scorer, Emilio, at the top of their lungs.

Twain stood to his feet and applauded Espanyol’s goal. However, his applause was not meant for Emilio. Rather, he was applauding the number 10 player who made the 35-meter driven pass to Emilio that led to the goal.

Chen Jian has really matured a lot in these four years…

The pass that he just made was incredibly difficult to achieve. Not only did he need to find the right moment and trajectory to make the pass, but he also needed to determine whether his teammate would be able to run towards the space that he intended to pass to. His pass had to be timed to perfection. If he were too fast, his teammate would not be able to receive his pass. If he were too slow, his teammate would be deemed offside by the time he received the pass. In addition, it was a shot that required a superb technique as well. There was only one route that the ball could take to reach Emilio, and its width was not more than three meters. Chen Jian had to ensure that the ball was able to travel in that narrow space and he also needed to make sure that his pass would not be intercepted or blocked by the opponent along the way. All in all, the pass that Chen Jian made was definitely one that required a combination of technique, power and precision, and it was not something that any player would easily be able to achieve.

The only thing that the good-for-nothing Xia Yang did after Espanyol’s goal was to praise Chen Jian’s performance. His voice was extremely loud and he seemed to be hoping that Twain would hear his praises and thereby increase Chen Jian’s salary in the contract. Twain did not care what his intentions were. He was able to understand a myriad of things from Chen Jian’s pass, and it made him all the more certain that he had to bring Chen Jian over to Nottingham Forest.

There was no need to worry about whether Wood and Chen Jian’s roles would overlap in a match since they were players with very different styles. In fact, it would be more advantageous to play both of them at the same time as it would help to prevent the opposition from marking either one of them out of the game, and this would prevent the team from being immobilized during the offense. Both Wood and Chen Jian were good at offense and defense. It did not matter which one of them went forward to attack and which stayed back to defend. Both would do an equally great job either way. Wood was physically stronger and he was a threat down the middle when the team attacked. In contrast, Chen Jian was a player who relied on passes more during offense. The two players could complement each other and make the team’s attacks much stronger than they were now.

Twain spent the next few minutes envisaging how Forest would offend and defend with those two players on the pitch.

※※※

A while later, Barcelona showed everyone what it meant to be a powerhouse team.

The Espanyol players looked visibly worn out in the second half and they could not keep up with Barcelona’s tempo. Barcelona capitalized on that weakness and scored two goals against them in 10 minutes.

Chen Jian was one of the few Espanyol players who still had quite a bit of stamina left in him in the second half because he did not need to run about the pitch as much as his teammates did. Unlike the wingers who constantly had to make runs forward, Chen Jian only had to make a few sprints from time to time. His teammates began passing the ball over to him a lot more after noticing that he still had the energy left in him to run forward. However, Barcelona saw through their plan soon, and they focused on marking Chen Jian every time Espanyol tried to go on the attack. The fact that it was a derby match caused the players from both sides to be more fired up than usual, and the Barcelona players certainly did not go easy on Chen Jian when they defended against him. Chen Jian was fouled three times in the second half, and a Barcelona player picked up a yellow card for fouling him.

Twain was quite worried that Chen Jian would pick up an injury in the match and he hoped that Manzano would take him off the pitch soon. However, Manzano did not share Twain’s worries. He continued to let Chen Jian play in the match, and his only instruction to him was to shift his position forward. He wanted him to play in the attacking midfielder’s position instead of his current defensive midfielder’s position.

Thereafter, Manzano made a substitution for his team. He substituted the exhausted goal scorer Emilio for a defensive midfielder by the name of Benjamin. It was clearly a substitution that aimed to strengthen the team’s defense.

The way in which the match unfolded following the substitution left Twain feeling extremely impressed with Manzano and his tactics. The only issue he had with them was that they felt a little… desperate.

As the core of the team, Chen Jian could not help but be shoved and kicked at a lot more than his teammates. It was not rare to see him fall to the ground during the match either. The fact that it was a derby match made the referee blow his whistle much more than he might otherwise. He was worried that he might commit a mistake that would lead to a brawl between the players from both teams, and thus he chose to blow his whistle at every foul.

As a result, Espanyol was awarded numerous free kicks at the front of the pitch.

The substitute Benjamin appeared to be a player who was evidently good at taking free kicks because he took over that role for the team the moment he stepped onto the pitch.

It did not take long for Twain to figure out what Manzano’s plan was.

On the 77th minute of the match, Espanyol earned yet another free-kick from a foul on Chen Jian in a position that was about 25 meters to the front of the fans behind Barcelona’s goalpost. Benjamin took the free-kick without hesitation. The ball went past the row of Barcelona players who stood before him and ended up at the back of the net.

The Camp Nou Stadium went silent for the second time of the day.

Twain, on the other hand, laughed and clapped as he stood up. Manzano’s plan had worked!

The derby match ultimately ended in a 2:2 draw. Barcelona might not have lost, but as the home side for the match, not winning was tantamount to losing for them. Similarly, Espanyol felt infuriated that they were not able to defeat Barcelona.

There was bound to be much discussion and squabble after a football match, but Twain did not care about any of that.

The moment the match ended, Twain asked Xia Yang to send Chen Jian a message and tell him that he wanted to meet with him.

Chapter 998 - A Bigger Stage

Having just finished a fierce derby, the head coach was not as strict with the players as he used to be. Everyone needed to relax, whether a player or a coach. So Chen Jian could dress neatly to go meet Twain, enjoy the night with him, and experience Spain’s colorful nightlife.

“Is it time for me to congratulate you on the draw at the mighty Barcelona, or regret that you didn’t finally win the game?” Twain said to Chen Jian with a smile.

“Regret,” Chen Jian replied.

Looking at the man before him, who had more gray hair than before, Chen Jian could not help but feel how time flies.

When he first met Twain, he was in high spirits. He was in his peak and it seemed like he could never tire, but now, Twain was almost like an old man.

Xia Yang became obsolete. Tonight was a conversation between Twain and Chen Jian.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d ever ask you to return again when you got out of Nottingham Forest.”

“I didn’t expect to become who I am now after leaving Nottingham Forest.”

Both of them were lamenting the impermanence of the world.

Today, Chen Jian was not only the core of the RCD Espanyol but also the main player in the Chinese national team. That’s why Twain was looking for him, because there was nothing wrong with applying for a labor certificate. As for the national team rankings, the England Football Association has canceled that thing.

China was still second rate in Asian football, and Chen Jian was one of the few shining stars on the team.

The most insignificant person in the draft was clothed in the national team’s robes to fight for the country, and those who had done better than he had now had no idea where they might look for jobs.

“I feel like I should thank you for my achievement today, Mr. Twain. The moment I received your call, I decided to transfer to Nottingham Forest.”

Twain smiled. To tell the truth, when he picked up the phone and asked Chen Jian aloud whether he would dare to give up everything to come to Nottingham and start over again, he was just encouraging him. He didn’t really think Chen Jian’s future would be much better. Chen Jian’s achievements now exceeded his original expectations, and he was also very gratified. At least he has given a person’s destiny a better direction.

“Even if the mountain stops turning, the river shall still keep flowing. And so we come back together again. Chinese people believe in fate. Chen Jian, you and Nottingham Forest are bound by fate.”

Xia Yang, who was listening silently to this dialogue, secretly rolled his eyes. What fate? It was still unknown whether Chen Jian’s choice was good or bad. He was able to play so well for the RCD Espanyol because RCD Espanyol’s head coach, Manzano, put a Chinese player at the core. Would Nottingham Forest do this too? Their core was George Wood, whose technical features were similar in style to those of Chen Jian! Chen Jian would only have a supporting role, a foil, and his play could hardly be as good as in the RCD Espanyol. The reputation he assembled with great effort before might be lost after he went to Nottingham Forest.

The agent, Mr. Xia, was only distracted for a few seconds, but the two men at the table have already talked about the issues of going to the Forest team.

“I’ve seen the derby. You’re at the core of the RCD Espanyol. I’ll give you a showdown here, you can’t be the core in Nottingham Forest. There’s George Wood…” Twain spread out his hands.

Chen Jian did not say anything like “just let me get to Forest, I’ll be willing to go even as a substitute.” He just said, “I think that if Mr. Twain is seeking me out personally, it’s not to get me sitting on a bench?”

Having fought for more than three seasons in La Liga, Chen has matured a lot and this experience made him more confident.

Twain looked at the Chinese player in front of him with a deep liking. Although some Spanish media would call Chen Jian a “smaller-sized George Wood”, in Twain’s view, this man was probably more of a “Wise General”. He may be better than George when it came to intelligence and strategy. After all, there were many people along the way to help George and teach him. Without himself, without Dunn, without the help of Albertini and other people, George would not amount to much, while Chen Jian was basically on his own.

“It’s too much luxury to bring you on as a substitute, ha!” Twain smiled happily. “According to my plan, you’re going to play together with Wood, and you two will be Forest’s double core.”

“Double core?” Chen Jian lowered his head and thought about how he would fit in with Wood. He was no longer the kid who would be excited just about stepping on the Football Field, playing the game.

He inadvertently played the game of guessing the coach’s intentions. However, this time he couldn’t figure out how he was going to fit in with George Wood, who resembled him in technique and style.

Therefore, he looked up at Twain.

“You both have good long passes, but you’re better at short passes than Wood, and Wood’s long-range shooting technique is better than yours.” Twain didn’t tell everything, he just pointed out the difference between the two men. “It would be too difficult for an opponent to keep an eye on both of you.”

Chen Jian’s mind already had a vague picture of him fighting side by side with Wood. It was then that he began to get excited – from his childhood ambition to the time he became a professional player, the goal has always been George Wood, No.13 of Nottingham Forest. When he was in the youth team he continued to hone himself with Wood’s training schedule. Wood became his idol. Now he would finally have the possibility to play side by side with his hero!

The meeting with Chen Jian was mainly about promising him his place in the team face-to-face – certainly not on the bench and, for now, in the main force. People in Spain were good at living at night, and Chen Jian, who has been here for more than three years, was more or less used to it, but the 50-year-old Twain was not Spanish. After only four days in Spain, he was not accustomed to it yet. Barcelona’s club derby as a major game in this round of the league, of course, was scheduled for the last game of the day. When the game was over, it was almost midnight, and now it was nearly one in the morning. Twain was tired. He had said everything he could say already. There was no need to stay. They would have plenty of time, with lots of opportunities to contact.

Twain and Chen Jian said goodbye. As they were leaving, Twain reminded Xia Yang to step up his efforts to put pressure on the RCD Espanyol Club and Chen Jian promised a showdown with the club to express his wishes of going to Nottingham Forest.

Early the next morning, Twain flew back to England, thus concluding his trip to Spain.

※※※

It wasn’t long before news came from Barcelona that a number of local clubs were attracted to Chen Jian, hoping to take him away from the RCD Espanyol during the winter break.

With such news, Twain knew that Xia Yang had already begun to act.

He didn’t care that much. Let the professionals do the job.

David Kerslake has entered the team’s coaching staff in advance as an assistant coach, to carry out the preliminary work. He was responsible for summarizing the team’s situation, submitting it to Twain, and then letting him analyze the decision.

Now, a week after Kerslake entered the team, the team’s internal report has basically taken shape.

In the two weeks since his absence, Nottingham Forest has narrowly stayed in the 16th with one win, one loss.

That was a pretty low starting point. Nottingham Forest has been at its lowest since returning to the English Premier League. No wonder a bunch of people was pessimistic about Forest’s prospects for this season. They believed that if Nottingham did not pay attention, even a relegation eventually wouldn’t surprise them.

In addition to Kerslake’s report, which showed the Forest team’s lack of effectiveness was a cause for concern, there was a growing feeling of insecurity and tension. In addition, the bench thickness was not enough. Together with all the other shortcomings, all let Twain feel the pressure on his shoulders.

This comeback was certainly not an easy getaway…

Before that, there was one more thing Twain needed to do. Once he became Forest’s head coach, it wouldn’t be very convenient.

※※※

At the end of November, winter came. The weather was the same in Nottingham as in the whole of England, with more cloudy and rainy days, less blue skies and less sunshine.

On a rare good day, and after four consecutive days of rain, the skies over Nottingham finally cleared up. Everyone who went to work in the morning could see the golden sun rising in the east, the brilliant shining sunlight on the sky and the earth, the leaves still shimmering with last night’s raindrops, shining in the sun. From a distance, the forest seemed to be hung with strings of gold beads.

Surrounded by these picturesque woods was the training ground for the Notts County club, which was half as small as the Nottingham Forest Wilford training ground. The training facilities were somewhat old-fashioned. As the oldest modern professional football club in the world, there was a taste of history from inside to outside. Cynics would say it smelled of rot. Fans would call it a scent of the glory of long-gone history.

Although the training facilities were old, the players on the training ground were young. There was nothing in their faces that showed the pressures and burdens of a long history.

It was just a warm-up exercise, but everybody was serious. A man in his thirties, wearing a hooded training shirt like an assistant coach, ran ahead with a whistle in his mouth. The man with black hair and an oriental face was the Chinese Dunn, who had left Nottingham Forest more than seven years ago.

Now he was the head coach of the English Football League Championship team, Notts County.

Outside the barbed-wire fence at the training ground, some fans were assembled, although the number was small and there were few media outlets, with two of them being Nottingham natives and one from the port city of Portsmouth – Notts County’s opponent in the next round of the English Football League Championship.

On this cold morning, the whistle in the training ground was so clear and sharp that it even startled some birds in the woods. The distant woods were shrouded by a rising white haze of water vapor that began to evaporate under the sun and spread out, wrapping almost the entire training ground in a gentle mist.

Twain, who was wrapped in a thick coat, took a deep breath. The air in the woods was much better than in the city center.

The so-called one more thing that couldn’t be done after he began coaching the Forest team was to meet Dunn here. Although his relationship with Tang Zhijian offered him many opportunities to engage in private, once he became Forest’s head coach, he was bound to be a key target of the paparazzi, and his meeting with Dunn was a secret that he didn’t want to become the headlines of tomorrow’s newspaper.

Watching Dunn leading the team’s warm-up, Twain had a smile on his face. It was completely different from his own style. Dunn was doing a good job here. Although he didn’t know much about Notts County, from only seeing the players, Twain believed that it was a team that worked well with Dunn and that his goal was achieved when he left Forest.

However, such a team could not go any further. A small team in Notts County lacked funding. Dunn’s success in bringing it to the English Football League Championship has already surprised a lot of people. However, it would end there. If they wanted to go to the Premier League, without strong financial support it would be absolutely impossible. Even if they were lucky enough to make the Premier League, in a huge advantage over their opponents, the only way left to them would be to return to the English Football League Championship.

In 2004, when Notts County was on the verge of bankruptcy, its fans made voluntary donations in the hopes of saving their beloved team. However, in the end, it was the unrelated team, Chelsea, who became the savior. It was because Notts County had drawn Chelsea in the Football Association Cup that they received a lot of ticket revenue. When the Chelsea club agreed to give all the ticket income they received at Stamford Bridge to the Notts County club to help them get through, the share of television broadcast fees and ticket revenue saved the team, preventing the demise of the world’s oldest modern professional football club.

This told enough about the situation of Notts County. The cost of filming a game and the revenue of tickets were not worth mentioning in the eyes of the Premier League teams, but it was enough to save Notts County. How pitiful the budget of this team was!

Dunn’s success in recent years was inseparable from his insistence on the youth team construction from the beginning of his term. Without the youth training camp to provide him with enough good players, the poor budget for every season in Notts County would not be enough to buy all eleven starters in the transfer market alone.

Despite having a good youth camp, he also faced the same grievance as a number of small club managers – he couldn’t afford to keep the most prominent young players from going out of Notts County in pursuit of a higher stage. For a club like Notts County, the only way to survive was by selling some of its promising young players. Dunn was just a head coach, he couldn’t interfere with the team’s business strategy, and he was in no position to interfere – the team wouldn’t be able to survive, so why keep the talented players? The level of these players was not the type of world superstar who could lead a team to the Premier League alone. They were exchanges for a good price while they were still worthy. Then he would reorganize the first team out of the youth camp to train them from the starting point.

Thus it moved in circles.

Twain shook his head. That was the tragedy of the little club. Didn’t the same thing happen to the Forest team before he took over? Michael Dawson, Andy Reid, and Jenas were all sold to other teams in times of financial distress for the Forest. It was just that Nottingham Forest, compared with Notts County, was, after all, well-established, and with better funding, it was not too difficult to rise again.

For Notts County, it was really difficult to rebuild with almost nothing.

Twain finished all the morning training and then met Dunn at noon.

On the phone last night, Twain told Dunn he was coming to him today, so Dunn wasn’t surprised at all to see Twain in front of him.

“You certainly didn’t come to invite me to dinner, Tony,” At a Chinese restaurant, Dunn spoke to Twain, who was sitting opposite from him.

“Of course. And the Chinese restaurant is too unauthentic,” Twain commented on the most famous Chinese restaurant in Nottingham as if there was no one else around them, ignoring a Chinese waiter standing beside him. It made this Chinese overseas student – judging by his look, he was here for a part-time job – stare at the old man wearing sunglasses.

After the waiter had gone, Dunn began to laugh. “What you say about the restaurant is too offensive.”

Twain shrugged and didn’t go on with the topic. “I came to you to ask you a question, Dunn.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice so that only Dunn could hear.

“Do you want a bigger stage?”

Chapter 999 - The Past and Present Twain

“Would you like to stand on a bigger stage?”

Tang Jing had also asked him a similar question in the past, but it was even blunter. She asked him if he wanted to spend the rest of his life managing a small club like Notts County.

Dunn had thought about that question before. If Notts County could somehow get their hands on a large sum of money and also have the ambition to get promoted to the Premier League, he did not see any issue with remaining in the club. After all, he has grown attached to the club after spending seven years here as the manager.

However, if things stayed the way they were now and Notts County continued to be content with a place in the Championship… Then what should he do next? Should he continue to stay in the club whatever happened?

Did he have ambition?

There would definitely be a few people who would reply, “No, Dunn is a man who is happy with the status quo” to that question. However, Dunn knew very well how deep his passion for football ran and how much he craved a challenge. In a nutshell, he was just like Tony Twain who sat across from him.

“Are you trying to get me to become your assistant manager, Tony?” Dunn asked with a smile.

“No. It’d be a waste of talent to get you to become my assistant manager after seeing what you have achieved at Notts County over the past seven years. There is no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.” Twain shook his head.

“Then why…” Dunn was confused. Frankly, he had assumed that Twain wanted to persuade him to become his assistant manager ever since he received the call from him the previous night. He mulled over the issue for the whole night, and he eventually came to the conclusion that he would not be able to go back to being an assistant manager anymore, even if it meant that he could work under the illustrious Twain once again. He was going to refuse Twain’s invitation at all costs if the latter truly invited him to be his assistant manager.

He did not expect that Twain had something else in mind.

Twain looked around him. The waiters were all positioned several meters away from him at the moment, and none of them seemed inclined to attend to him. Their attitudes spoke of their dislike for him, given how he had publicly criticized the restaurant’s dishes as being unauthentic in the past. However, that was exactly what Twain wanted. After making sure that no waiters were near him, Twain leaned forward and told Dunn in a low voice, “This is something that I’ve not told anyone else yet. Actually, I’m only managing Forest for half a season.”

Dunn nodded his head. He already knew about that, and it was not just him. Everyone else knew about it as well, as it had been reported all over the news.

“Think about it, what’s going to happen to Forest after I leave? It can’t possibly revert to being how it is currently, right? I can’t keep coming out of retirement to rescue the team either.”

Dunn could tell what Twain was going to say next, but he believed that there was another solution to the issue. “You can just continue at the club, Tony.”

Twain shook his head. “I’m going, to be honest with you. I know my body the best. I’ve been very busy for the past few days. I flew to Spain to find Chen Jian, and then I came over to find you. When I have some free time, I will need to read up about those reports that David gave me regarding the team and… Guess what happened!”

Dunn looked at him quizzically.

“I fell asleep twice while reading the reports! My body is not like it used to be anymore. This might have something to do with me resting for four months prior to this… All this while I’ve always had a drive in me. I want to go against the world. However, that drive has vanished since the day I lifted the World Cup trophy and the thought of retirement surfaced in my mind. It’s impossible for me to regain that same level of drive that I used to have in the past.”

Twain clenched his fists tightly before releasing them.

“I came to the conclusion that I can only work for half a season after thinking things through. I’d try my best to help Forest stay in the Premier League during this period of time, and after that, I’d retire once and for all…”

Dunn smiled after hearing Twain’s words. “I still think that’s impossible, Tony.”

“That’s true, it might have been impossible before our talk. But things are different now.” Twain nodded. Surprisingly, he did not refute Dunn’s words. “I hope that you can take over my role as the manager of Nottingham Forest from next season onward, and I hope you can stay as the manager for a long time into the future.”

Dunn did not show much surprise. He had more or less guessed that Twain was going to say those words.

“Neither Freddy nor David are suited to work as managers. But you are different. You have seven years of experience. You can definitely take on the role as the manager of Forest now.”

Dunn frowned and mulled over Twain’s words before voicing his concern. “We are very different, Tony. I’m not like you. I can’t motivate the players like you. I’m not a madman either. I can’t divert the attention of the press away from them…”

“But you managed to lead a team of youth players all the way to the Championship.”

“Notts County and Nottingham Forest are two completely different teams. They play different styles of football and the managers who lead them have to be different as well.”

“I don’t expect you to lead Forest to glory the moment you take over. The club would most likely give you a few years to get used to your role and to the team. Make use of that time to assemble the team that suits you the most, and slowly get that team used to playing your style of football. By the time you are familiar with the team, the players who are used to my playing style would have retired, and you’d be able to start building a team that belongs to you, just like you did at Notts County.”

Dunn did not respond to Twain. He lowered his head and remained silent.

The two only changed the conversation topic when the dishes were served. They then began to talk about their respective lives as they ate.

Twain was the one who spoke most of the time, and Dunn merely listened. Dunn was never the talkative type. He had always played the role of a listener when he worked with Twain as well, and he did a very good job at it.

Twain talked about how Teresa was a good girl, how her English had improved tremendously, how she would definitely be a beauty when she grew up, and how her deep interest in movies and acting worried him. He was worried about what he should do as her father if she went on to work in the entertainment industry when she grew up.

Over two-thirds of their conversation revolved around Twain’s daughter Teresa.

The corner of Dunn’s lips went up as he listened to Twain speak of his daughter. Twain looked just like any blissful father in this world.

Dunn suddenly understood what Twain meant when he said that he was unwilling to work as a manager for long. Twain had a beautiful wife who loved him deeply, and he had an adorable, sweet and intelligent daughter. His life was wonderful and he was living in bliss, but all this has gradually worn away the ambition that he had in the past.

He recalled how Twain was like 15 years ago. Back then, he was a man who did not know what fatigue was, and he would burn the midnight oil just to analyze his opponents and their tactics through match videos. His mind was imbued with thoughts about how he was going to go against the world, and how he wanted to get his hands on every single football trophy possible. He would always make sure he got himself pumped up before he gave a passionate speech to the players in the locker room. After all, how could he possibly expect the players to excited if he himself wasn’t? A football match was just like a deathmatch for him in the past. There could only be one survivor at the end, and it was either him or his opponent. He had more fight than everyone else did because he was so keen on surviving in the footballing world. He wanted to defeat all the rivals who looked down on him, and he wanted those ignorant spectators to eat their own words. For those reasons, he transformed himself into a demon and a bastard.

Which Tony Twain did he prefer?

His memories of the past and present Tony Twain overlapped in his mind and became blurry.

I guess they both have their pros and cons, Dunn thought to himself.

The Tony Twain of the past was happy because he was working hard to achieve his dreams. The Tony Twain of the present was also happy because he was beginning a brand new life.

The two finished their meal soon after. Dunn’s plan following the meal was to return home and rest for a short while before preparing for his second training session that was due to take place at 5 p.m. Twain was also planning to return home and begin his preparation work to take over as the manager of Forest.

“I hope you would seriously consider my invitation, Dunn,” Twain told Dunn as they bid each other farewell at the entrance to the restaurant.

He did not expect Dunn to shake his head and say, “I accept your proposition, Tony.”

Twain was taken aback by how fast Dunn had reached a decision. He never thought of Dunn to be a decisive person. Dunn has always been someone who took a lot of time to think things through before making a decision. Did his personality change over the past seven years?

“You’ve already decided? You aren’t going to discuss this matter with Tang Jing first?”

“My opinion is all that matters when it comes to work,” Dunn sounded manly when he said those words.

Twain looked at Dunn and laughed. His eyes were narrowed into a thin line.

“Nottingham Forest is the place where things began for me. I also want to… Prove myself once more there.” He still could not forget the failure that he experienced after he took over as the manager of Nottingham Forest for a short period in the past…

Twain was certain that Dunn had accepted his invitation because of hearing those words from him.

He heaved a long sigh of relief. He had settled the very last thing that he had to do before taking over as Forest’s manager. He could finally focus on managing Nottingham Forest without any worries now.

“Good luck, Tony. Nottingham Forest now is nothing like the Nottingham Forest under you back then.” Dunn did not forget to give Twain his blessings before he left.

Twain was in the midst of opening his car door when he heard Dunn’s words. He turned around and told Dunn in a serious tone, “They’ll quickly realize that the Tony Twain now is still like the Tony Twain from the past.”

In that split second, Dunn thought he saw the old Tony Twain before him.

※※※

“Tony Twain is coming out of retirement? Ha!” Carl Spicer discussed Twain’s return to Forest with a face of disdain in his show. “I think he should just continue to enjoy his new life in America. The Nottingham Forest now is nothing like the Nottingham Forest in the past, and it’s not like he’s Superman either. Does he think he can become the club’s savior? He’s a 50-year-old man! His mind should have become clearer by now! I can’t believe that I’m wrong about him once again…”

Spicer fiercely derided the news of Twain’s return in his show. To others, it would seem like he was against Twain’s return to Forest, but in reality, it was the opposite. He desperately longed for Twain to return. He felt like he had been forgotten by the masses in the four months since Twain went into retirement. The viewership for his show has been on the decline over the past few months as well.

Spicer was one of several critics who heavily censured Twain when he experienced disrepute during his time as the manager of the England national football team. His show came under the spotlight consequentially, and Spicer was at the pinnacle of his career at that time. However, ever since Twain announced his retirement at the end of the World Cup in July, his show had lost its focus and he did not know what kind of content he should create any longer.

The news of Twain reaching an agreement with Nottingham Forest Football Club to take over as their manager was music to his ears. Spicer seemed like a completely different man ever since he heard the news. He was all smiles every single day as he made preparations for this week’s episode.

The topic of this week’s discussion was: is Twain’s return to Forest a mistake or the right move? He had invited three guests for the episode, but they were all nothing more than props. It did not matter what sort of views they might have. Carl Spicer was the focal point of the show. All the viewers of his show admired his eloquence and enjoyed watching him deride various issues and people related to football. Of course, Tony Twain was a man who was frequently dissected in the show.

“It has pretty much been confirmed that Tony Twain would return to Forest and take over as the manager, and I can say this with absolute certainty: he is bound to fail miserably at the job that he is the most familiar with. Nottingham Forest is the team that he is the proudest of, but he will suffer crushing defeat as its manager. The reputation that he has built up over the years would be gone by the end of the season!”

Spicer ended his show with the aforementioned words.

At the same time, BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ show also discussed Twain’s return to Forest after they did their post-match analysis of a Premier League match.

“You never know what’s going to happen in life. I truly did not expect Twain to come out of retirement and return to Forest as their manager. I felt like this is not a decision that he would make…” Alan Shearer, who was a guest on the show, expressed his thoughts on the matter.

“It just shows his love for Forest,” Mark Lawrenson said.

Gary Lineker pressed a hand to his chin and laughed. “I think it’s great that Twain is coming out of retirement. I have something to look forward to in the Premier League now!”

“…I am so excited about how things would unfold in the Premier League from here on out. We can see the madman, Tony Twain, go wild once again. Honestly, the past four months following his retirement have been the most grueling months for me as a sports reporter… I spend my days not knowing what I should do next. Now, I no longer need to beat my brains and mull over what I should write for this week’s article. There would definitely be many things for us to write about with Tony Twain around. Tony Twain’s return has constantly made the headlines for the past two weeks, and there is so much discussion surrounding his return even though he has yet to start managing the team and had only announced that he would return to Forest as the manager.” Mark Heskey, who wrote sports articles for The Sun, was over the moon at the news of Twain’s return to Forest.

“The year might not be over yet, but Tony Twain is definitely England’s newsmaker of the year. I don’t think there’d be anyone else who’d be able to steal the limelight from him. He’s just coming out of retirement to manage Forest once again, but the news of his return has sent countless media outlets into a frenzy. It would be very hard for the world to see another man like him who attracts so much attention everywhere he goes. I think Tony Twain’s return is not just a football issue. It’s also a social issue that we should delve deeper into…” The Times published an editorial just to discuss Twain’s return.

“The Premier League feels lifeless without Tony Twain. The sponsors would definitely not wish to see the Premier League in such a state. However, which is great news for them, Tony Twain’s back and he’s attracting a lot of attention to the league. The newspaper sales and viewership for television shows have all increased substantially following news of his return. There are even people who make a living off abusing Twain, which I find to be miraculous. Now, the man behind the miracle is back, and those people will get to enjoy it once more.” Sky TV also published an article on its website about Twain taking over as Forest’s manager once again.

“Bringing Twain back to the club is undoubtedly the best decision that Evan Doughty has made over the past few years. Look at the amount of attention that this struggling club is receiving worldwide. Doughty has already won. It does not matter what Forest’s results are like at the end of the season. At the very least, Forest will be at the center of attention once again…”

The press only looked forward to Twain’s return because they were looking forward to the various benefits that came with it: an increase in sales, viewership, and sponsors…

However, none of them spoke about how Twain would transform the current Nottingham Forest as its manager. Evidently, no one thought that Twain would be capable of bringing about any change to the team. Forest was in a terrible state just then, and not even Tony Twain would be able to change it for the better…

Chapter 1000 - The Legend

“It seems that the media’s area of interest is in your style and popularity.” Said David Kerslake, Twain’s assistant manager as he flipped through the newspapers. Recently he liked to read these newspaper articles about Twain, because the reporters’ biting articles filled with their forte of sarcasm always made him laugh and put him in a happy mood for the day.

“No one has ever mentioned the matter of results when you’re mentioned.” After reading all the papers, Kerslake stacked them up and put them aside. He looked Twain opposite.

Tony Twain was having another look at the desk in front of him.

It was exactly the same as when he first came to this club 15 years ago. The style of the dark red solid wood desk completely looked like it was from last century inside out.

He placed his hands on the table, gently caressed it back and forth, feeling every tiny bump and scratch on the table.

The table was currently empty. There was nothing on it except for LCD computer monitor. Freddy Eastwood had already taken all his personal belongings away. Reports and information were neatly stacked on the bookcase at the side.

“Isn’t that good? That way, we won’t have too much pressure.” Twain ran his hands over the table with his head lowered as he answered.

“I thought you were going to fly into a rage because you were being looked down upon by the media.”

“I’m not an idiot, David. With these kinds of doubts about the results, talking won’t do any good. You must use actual results to beat them.” After he finally touched every inch of the table, Twain sat down in his chair.

“It’s good that they love to hype my personal style. I’m eager for no one to care about what happens to the team Nottingham Forest right now. Let’s talk about the team, David.”

Hearing Twain say so, Kerslake also put away the smile on his face and opened up a thick notebook on his lap.

“Currently, there are 26 players in the First Team. The goalkeepers are Vincenzo Fiorillo, Mark Howard and Chris Kelly. The defenders are Thiago Silva, Mamadou Sakho, Ryan Shawcross, Mathias J?rgensen, Jan Vertonghen, Joe Mattock, Nicolas Nkoulou, Jack Cork, Nedum Onuoha and Carl Dickinson. In the midfield, we have George Wood, Jake Livermore, Fernando Gago, Stephen Ireland, Chris Cohen, Alex Teixeira, Georginio Wijnaldum and Kieran Gibbs. The forwards are Aaron Mitchell, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Mario Balotelli, Matt Derbyshire and Steven Fletcher.”

As Kerslake read the name list, Twain’s eyebrows were constantly knitted together Although he knew all these names and was able to put the names to their faces, these names currently gave him a sense of unfamiliarity. This sense of unfamiliarity was due to the fact that he did not know much about these players.

Twain’s so-called understanding was definitely not as simple as knowing what their names were, what positions they were playing and how well they had been playing recently. His understanding was comprehensive, even to the extent of knowing what the players liked to eat and what they liked to do before a game…

“In fact, most of these players are very good…” Kerslake added after he finished reading the list. He said, “The goalkeeper, Fiorillo is the Italian national team’s substitute goalkeeper and was known as ‘Little Buffon’ when he first made his debut. Nkoulou is Cameroon’s main defender and Sakho is France’s main center back. J?rgensen is also a regular with the Danish national team. Vertonghen is Belgium’s main player and can play multiple positions in the midfield to backfield. Onuoha has also played for the national team led by you. Gibbs is a great player trained by Arsenal and you had once selected him for the England team. Ireland is the main midfielder in the Irish national team. While Teixeira has not been selected for the Brazilian national team, his ability speaks for itself. Wijnaldum is a key player for the Netherlands national team. Derbyshire also played for you before and Fletcher is Scotland’s leading striker… But yet they play so terribly when put together.”

Twain laughed and said, “A football tournament is not won by putting eleven Maradonas together. Some of these players’ style may not be suitable for Nottingham Forest while some people lack the fighting spirit. Then there are some people who just want to leave, and the others are getting older with frequent injuries. You tell me, how can such a team achieve good results?”

Hearing Twain say so, Kerslake also felt the team had no prospects.

“Continue with the summary of your observations, David.”

“Well… I don’t think there’s any problem in Freddy’s main lineup. It’s the strongest lineup the Forest team can deploy, and I don’t think the reason for the team’s poor performance lies with the players. But in terms of techniques and tactics…”

After listening patiently to Kerslake’s analysis, Twain muttered for a moment before shaking his head as he said, “The techniques and tactics are couple of the reasons. But the root of the problem lies squarely with the players. No matter how good the tactical arrangements are, if the players don’t execute them, there is no other way. But the problem is not urgent… Let’s talk about the tactics. McAllister’s attempt to get Wood to play as the attacking midfielder is not worth keeping. It is no use having the two sides lean towards the middle either. To be honest, I think the team has already forgotten what the Forest tradition is.”

Twain spoke boldly as if he had not just taken over the team but had been coaching the team for a long time.

The Forest team had changed managers frequently over the years and had changed seven managers within four and a half seasons. The immediate consequence of this was that the tactical thinking was chaotic. The players did not know which way to follow and eventually might as well not follow any to simply play according to their own habits and style in the games. It was the reason that caused the team’s performance to increasingly worsen.

Twain certainly was aware of it. It was absolutely impossible to get the team back to the top of the league table with more than half a season left to go. Now that he had decided to let Dunn succeed him in his career, all he had to do now was to make a transition. He could not set the course of Nottingham Forest’s development for the next decade. It was not what he should be doing. His job was very simple – to use whichever means it took to restore the team’s fighting spirit in a short period of time, so that they could stay in the Premier League for the next season. It was just as he told Dunn, “A bigger stage.”

And that was exactly the job Twain did best.

Isn’t it to just lead the team to win? I have been doing this for fifteen years.

“No need for an attacking midfielder; restore the offense from the sidelines; the two strikers can’t be positioned in parallel, one forward and one back, staggered them. The second striker must actively withdraw to establish links with the midfield; stabilize the defense … Our immediate work has to start with the defense, to stop the trending decline of the team’s performance and boost the low morale. The key factor is to not concede the goal and not lose the game.”

Kerslake nodded in agreement with Twain. After consecutive losses, what they should consider was not whether the attacking power was strong or not, but whether their own defensive line was solid. Defense was the basis of victory and defense was also the source of offense. To not fix the defense and ask the team to step up the offense was akin to putting the cart before the horse.

“Then in terms of the arrangement of the players…” He asked a crucial question. Would Twain still be interested in the players who previously played as the main force in the team? If the starting lineup required adjustments, it would certainly stir up some people’s interests. So, in that case, how could the atmosphere in the team’s locker room be guaranteed?

“Look at their condition during training.” Twain replied simply. Then he realized that Kerslake was actually worried about the locker room, so he asked, “Isn’t George the leader in the locker room?”

“The local players all obey him. As for the foreign players… In fact, the locker room is mainly divided into several factions.” Speaking of which, Kerslake became a little embarrassed. The forming of such cliques and factions had never happened before when Twain coached the team and would be absolutely impossible to appear.

“Local cliques and foreign factions?” Twain was not surprised by this. He did not feel awkward talking about it – anyway it did not occur under his command.

Kerslake nodded and did not want to say more.

Twain grinned, and it was not known whether he was smiling or expressing helplessness.

“Interesting.” He pinched his chin and muttered.

Then he sat in the chair for a while without saying a word. After about ten minutes like this, when Kerslake was a little bored waiting, he turned his wrist over to look at his watch and got up.

“Let’s go, David. I think the players should all be here, right?”

※※※

“The boss is coming back!” In the locker room, Joe Mattock excitedly announced the news, which was definitely not news. “I can’t believe I’m able to wait for the arrival of such a day!”

But not many people were interested in the topic of his conversation. On the one hand, the news that Twain was coming back was more than two weeks ago, and the upsurge of such a discussion was long over. On the other hand, it was natural that the players in the locker room each had something on their minds.

What Kerslake said was true. In the current locker room, invisible factions did exist. The English players were in a league, while the other non-England players each formed small groups. At the same time, the Forest team’s long-serving players had harmonious relations, while there was a chasm between those players who only joined after Twain had left and those old players.

The 33-years-old Brazilian center-back, Thiago Silva was a leading figure in the foreign legion because of his age and seniority. He joined the team that summer when Twain had just left the Forest team. He once represented the Forest team and played against the England team that Twain led in a friendly match. He had always been unimpressed by the legendary manager. On the one hand, he was influenced by the media. On the other hand, … He could not understand why those old players would still keep a manager who had abandoned his team constantly in mind. He felt that it was foolish.

Another person who was not interested in the news of Twain’s return was more solitary. He did not belong to any cliques or factions. He was alone against the entire team. He was Mario Balotelli, the “Super Mario” who made noise about leaving every summer but never walked away, and the more noise he made, the higher his wages went.

His character and temper left him with few friends in the team. As a fellow Italian, the goalkeeper, Fiorillo was not accustomed to seeing Balotelli’s proud and aloof temperament and conduct. He thought that he should be the real core of the team, and not George Wood. But the coaches did not get a clear picture of this fact, so the team’s performance was so poor. If Tony Twain still could not recognize his role and value, it was believed that his return was just another tragedy.

The leader of the English and old players’ clique was naturally George Wood. But Wood would not do the kind of thing that would split his own locker room, so he was actually just a figurative leader, like a totem erected by others. The players unhappy with Silva and Balotelli gathered spontaneously around the totem to confront them in Wood’s name.

This was the current state of the Forest team’s locker room. When there was such a fractured locker room, how could there be fighting strength? David Kerslake said the team’s problems were tactical, and not on the players. However, Twain was right. The root cause laid squarely with the players …

“Don’t shout.” Wood appeared behind the excited Mattock and said, “You’ll be late if you don’t change your clothes quickly. The boss doesn’t like anyone to be late.”

He had said these words to Joe Mattock, but his eyes were on everyone in the locker room.

Thiago Silva and Balotelli, with their backs toward him, gave no indication.

Mattock quickly looked down and went to change into his training clothes.

People were still talking in the locker room, but they did not stop what they were doing. Both the old and English natives knew Twain a stickler for time – he used to hold a stopwatch on the training ground as he waited for the players. The way he would require the latecomer to run one lap for every ten seconds he was late was spread through word of mouth by the players and had long been well known.

※※※

“Do you want to prepare a stopwatch?” Kerslake asked on the training ground. There was not one single player on the training ground yet at this time, but it was too early for the set training time to begin.

“Do you have it in your hand now?” Twain asked.

Kerslake took his hand out of his pocket and showed Twain what he had in his hand. It was indeed a black stopwatch.

Twain cracked open a smile and said, “You really know me well. Let’s start the time.”

The other coaches also came to the training ground and greeted Twain and Kerslake. Some of them were the same people who had helped Twain when he was still coaching here. A few of them were poached from other clubs and had a good relationship with Kerslake. They were new to Twain.

When Twain saw Freddy Eastwood, who went back to be an assistant manager among the coaches, he went up to say hello to him, “Do you feel free now, Freddy?”

“Of course, I feel good now, Chief!” Eastwood smiled and said to Twain, “I don’t have to think about matters like what tactics the team should use to beat Manchester United when I get up in the morning anymore.”

Twain smiled. People like Eastwood were fit to be assistant managers and did not have much ambition. It was good this way. He could feel comfortable as an assistant manager to Twain. Eastwood was familiar with the team and popular with the players and fans. He would be a good assistant manager …

The coaches also saw the new manager come so early and came to the training ground earlier. So, a scene was formed where the coaches had all gathered and waited for the players on the pitch.

When Mattock first ran from the locker room to the pitch, he quickly muttered to himself what a close call it was when he saw such a situation. If he had dawdled and came later, then he would be in trouble … Joe Mattock was clear about the boss’ temper. He might usually have a good relationship with him, but if he violated one of his rules, then he would still get into trouble despite the good relationship.

Since he was not late, then there was no need to be afraid of his boss. Mattock smiled and said hello to Twain, “Good morning, boss.”

“Good morning, lad. Where are the others?” Twain asked.

“They are all in the back and will come out soon…” Mattock turned his head back to look toward the direction of the locker room. He was not certain if his teammates would actually follow and quickly come out. But he hoped that Silva and Balotelli would be five or six minutes late…

He did not get what he wanted. All the players appeared on the training ground, neatly dressed before the stipulated time to gather.

Twain looked his soldiers, his men, and felt sorry. “You’re so lucky, guys.” He shook his head and said, “How I wish you could delay in the locker room until 10:15, from 9:30 to 10:15, 45 minutes, one lap every ten seconds. My math is not very good, so you can calculate how many laps you have to run. Maybe the whole morning’s training session would have to be spent on running, but I don’t care. Nonetheless it’s a shame…” He sighed heavily.

“You lucky bastards. But don’t be in such a hurry to breathe a sigh of relief.” He pointed to the players who were just getting ready to let out a long breath. He said, “From now on, until the end of the season, we’ll have six months’ time of interaction. I’ll have a chance to catch you.”

With that, Twain paused for a moment. He swept his gaze across all the players. He could see a lot of things in the eyes of those people. Some people looked at him excitedly and were full of anticipation for the future; some people bowed their heads and he did not know what was on their minds; there were also other people who averted their eyes in the moment he met gazes with them, unwilling to make further contact; of course, some people looked him unfalteringly as if to deliberately remind Twain of their own existence.

After sweeping his eyes over everyone, Twain spoke again, “I’m a retired man. Look at the white hair on my head.” He said, pointing to both sides of his temples, “But if any of you think I’m old, I say to you, bring it on!”

The eyes of some people among the players lit up.

Chapter 1001 - An Unfortunate Opening

There were definitely many issues in training and to a TV announcer or a spectator, the mistakes were very obvious.

For example, in the case of Balotelli, what surprised him was that this kid did not mean to be sloppy. On the contrary, he was very hardworking and competent during training. Before this, Twain thought that Balotelli was going to go against him for sure, but his current performance really surprised him. Initially, he even wanted to pick on Balotelli, to pick on his weaknesses and mistakes and suppress the rest of the team, using him as an example.

It seemed that he did not know anything about his players and it really was a setback.

Thiago Silva was not much of a worry. Would a 33-year-old full-back like him still want to be a starter? If Twain placed him in the reserves this instance and it came down to either him or George Wood, would he still come up with any tricks? For the external factors affecting the squad, just use realistic defragmentation measures to resolve the issues.

The formation of the Foreign Legion had something to do with the lack of a strong manager in the dressing room. Because they could not find a core player to trust, they would become individually attached to the people they thought were strong, and gradually form their respective small cliques. Now that there was a strong character in Nottingham Forest’s changing room, these people would need to reconsider their initial choice.

Twain decided to approach Eastwood to find out more about Balotelli’s situation. After all, Kerslake’s period in the team was short, and there was no way he could fully understand the individual situations of the players. Eastwood has been in the Nottingham Forest team for five seasons, and he definitely had a lot of information about those players who were added to the team after Twain left.

“Balotelli?” Eastwood frowned when he heard Twain mention this player. Twain noticed his unusual expression.

“He’s really talented…” Eastwood mused, weighing his following words. “However, he has a few traits that made him seem boastful and he has always wanted to leave the team so he’s not on great terms with the rest of them.”

“I could tell,” Twain recalled the situation during training in these two days. During the break times in between training, there was no one who would take the initiative to talk to Balotelli. During the team selection during training, not many were willing to be on the same team as him. However, he wanted to ask about something else. “Was he always as hardworking in training?”

Eastwood thought for a while, then shook his head. “No.”

“Oh…” Twain then turned silent. He did not question Eastwood further, because he generally knew what was going on in his mind.

“Are you thinking of transferring Balotelli out, head coach?” Eastwood was trying to guess the intention behind Twain asking him about the Italian player.

Twain shook his head. “No. Now the team is having a lack of players, and I would only complain about having insufficient players, so why would I transfer one out? During this winter transfer window, I do not plan to take any players out.”

Afterward, Twain went ahead to find a few more coaches to understand Balotelli’s situation. He really did not want to transfer Balotelli out of the team, unless the two of them argued like there was no tomorrow. Like the situation between him and Anelka, when both totally lost their trust for each other. It was just like what Eastwood had said: this person had talent, and the current Nottingham Forest team needed his capabilities.

So Twain did not have any ideas of transferring him out. Instead, he wanted to utilize him properly.

Nevertheless, just relying on his conversations with the other coaches was not enough. It seems like he needed to have a direct conversation with Balotelli. However, he did not have the time for this.

He took over the team in the middle of the week, and there was a match on the coming weekend.

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s away game against Aston Villa was not the main show that was most talked about, but the game was selected by the BBC channel in the last minute to be broadcasted for the whole country to watch for free. The reason was very simple – this was the first match since Tony Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest. It made sense that this match was placed on high priority for all to view.

During the few days before the game, the media started to hype up the competition and there were many Premier League team coaches would were asked about their views on Tony Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest.

There was a variety of answers. Some were supportive, some simply did not care, and some even thought that Twain’s return was a mistake as he would definitely not be able to reach the peak he had achieved in the past.

“If I were him, I would definitely just stay at home.” Mourinho did not express any joy in his reunion with his rival. “His capability has long expired.” During the interview, his expression was cold and detached, as if he did not know who Tony Twain was at all.

“I welcome Tony’s return, and I personally think that was a very brave decision.” This statement made by Everton’s coach Moyes seemed to make everyone think that he was on the same side as Twain, but the following speech was not well-liked by Twain’s supporters at all. “But it’s best if we don’t get our hopes high for the results his team is going to bring. His return to the team is already a victory of its own kind.”

“I think you all are very lame in hyping up this topic. It’s simply a head coach returning to his old team.” There were people who were not very concerned with Twain. The one who delivered the aforementioned statement was John Robertson, the current head coach for Aston Villa. His team was going to face Twain’s team very soon. It was certain that he did not want the crazed media, which was exaggerating in the amount of attention they gave this topic, to disrupt his team. “He could change today’s Nottingham Forest overnight, but he would definitely not be able to get the team to return as the current season’s main character. What is there to talk about?”

Of course, it was impossible for Twain to have everyone’s good opinion.

“I don’t think that Tony’s return was just for show. I know him very well. If he decided to get back to the team, it must have been after endless consideration. He must have thought that he would be able to take on the role properly before he agreed to the decision.” This comment was made by the head coach of Leeds United. He was Twain’s golden partner in coaching the England team, so he definitely knew Twain a lot better than others. “Hence, I don’t think that his return was simply just to hype up Nottingham Forest’s reputation. Anyways, I just want to remind the rest to be wary of him.”

Regarding all these comments, Twain kept his silence throughout, neither rebutting nor agreeing. This was because he was busy trying to settle all the internal relations within the team so there was no time to fuel the media circus.

It was almost as if he wanted to prove right those who were looking down on him. On the debut match after Tony Twain’s return, he had suffered a terrible loss. In Aston Villa’s home court, Villa Park, Nottingham Forest was flattened with a 1:2 defeat and their ranking fell to 17th place.

This match puzzled many people, including those who knew a lot about Twain. For instance, the one who was commentating about the match, Mortensen, was shaking his head throughout. “I really don’t know what Twain is thinking…”

No matter what situation his team was facing, he was simply sitting at the coaching seat and did not stand up at all. Throughout the whole match, he did not make any adjustments. Some people even joked about whether the actual Tony Twain had really returned to Nottingham Forest to coach. Maybe this was just a wax model that was stolen from the museum that came back to coach.

There was not much difference in the tactics employed by the past Nottingham Forest and the current team, save for the fact that Balotelli was back in the forward line, partnering with Mitchell. George Wood continued to stay on the middle path and Gago was assisting him from the side. The spectators did not see the fatal side flank attacks by Nottingham Forest, the attacks made by the team concentrated in the middle path, creating huge congestion in the middle sector.

Aston Villa was happy to see how Nottingham Forest concentrated their offense in the middle path as this made things a lot simpler for them during the match.

Twain used all three substitutions in the game but none of those had much purpose. Agbonlahor replaced Mitchell and Balotelli stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. Alex Teixeira replaced Gago, as he went forward and played as the offensive midfielder, Cohen replaced Wijnaldum in hopes to strengthen the offense. After the substitutions, the Nottingham Forest’s flanking offense looked a lot better, but it was too late. The score was already 0:2 with Nottingham Forest being behind.

After the end of the match, the reporters were all waiting for the press conference that came after the match. They were excited to hear Twain’s statement after that defeat – he definitely would not be able to escape from this topic.

Twain was sitting on stage and looking at those reporters who were mocking him. He knew exactly what the reporters were expecting. He surely would not be able to escape this freely. That way, the media would definitely talk about his integrity.

“Aston Villa played well, so they won the game. We played badly, so we lost the game, that’s all there is to it.” His post-match comments were very brief.

The reporters showed no mercy. “Can you elaborate on how badly you guys played?”

Twain was not infuriated upon hearing this provocation. Instead, he gave a detailed evaluation of the issues in the tactics implemented by his team and this really caused a shock to those in the media waiting for a good show.

“Our offense was stacked in the middle, it was over-congested…” Twain spread his arms. He noticed the changes in the expressions of some of the reporters. That was the effect he intended. You all want to watch a good show, but I simply will not give you what you want!

The whole press conference continued for fifteen minutes, and the loser Tony Twain instead became the focal point. The head coach of Aston Villa, John Robertson, was extremely depressed. He realized that even when he won over Twain, he was still unable to become the main character.

Twain was very comfortable on stage, so much so that he was able to prevent the media from getting hold of too many of his weaknesses. After the end of the press conference, there were some who were uneasy and thought Twain was simply too cunning. They were unable to adapt to this low-profile Twain. Actually, it was most unfair to John Robertson. Though he was the winner, he had only been asked two questions throughout the whole press conference. Twain had completely stolen his limelight.

Even though Nottingham Forest scored a goal before the end of the match, it only won them back a bit of fame. None of their pride was regained. Twain and his team had become the target of the mockery from the media.

“Look, I’ve said it from the start, you guys should not have high hopes about the results from the team he is coaching.”

“Twain needs some time to fully adapt to his new job after having left football for four months…”

“The main takeaway from this match was not the score. I feel that one should focus on the process instead – commenting on the process, this match was a total disaster!”

“I discovered a problem. In the face of questions from so many about his ability to coach, it was unusual that Tony Twain did not fight back like he did last time. Then recalling his attitude during the press conference after the match, it is most probable that Tony Twain had already predicted this loss. Expanding on this fact, regarding this situation on returning to Nottingham Forest, he might not have sufficient confidence in handling this issue…”

※※※

“These media people really guessed one matter accurately,” Twain said during his meeting with the coaches. “Before the start of the previous league match, I was indeed not sure if we would be able to win. After this match, everyone might have realized that taking the middle path was not the right way. We must ensure that Nottingham Forest returns to the same track it took in the past.”

“Now that we have a week’s time, let’s throw away the tactics used in the past and start from the beginning.”

“From now on, adjust your mentality before the training, expand on the focus on the defensive, and strengthen the tactics on the offense after the free-kick. Before January, we will rely on these two tricks to stabilize the position of the team.

The coaches had no opinions on the arrangements made by Twain. They were professionals who knew that defense and free kicks were tactics that would immediately show effect. Change the offense? Take your time. First, they needed to restore the confidence and the morale of the team, then they would be able to see an efficient offense.

After the routine tactical meeting, David Kerslake and Freddy Eastwood stayed.

“Tony, you’re really tolerant,” Kerslake shook his head. “The only thing media hasn’t called you was an infamous liar.”

Twain laughed dismissively. “It is only a game, the media is often like this. You must understand them, David, it’s rare for them to see situations like this.”

Eastwood, who was beside him, was frowning upon another matter. “The next match will be on our home court, head coach. We definitely can’t lose this one…”

It was normal for him to worry about this; there was nothing much to losing on an away court. But on the home court, the expectations that the Nottingham Forest fans had of Twain were different. They definitely did not care about those theories of “head coach needing time to familiarize with the team he just took over”, they only knew that Tony Twain was the savior of the team, and were sure that once he took over the coaching seat, no matter how tough the situation was, he would be able to achieve victory. This did not sound possible for a human, but in the hearts of the Nottingham Forest fans, Tony Twain was comparable to a god.

Eastwood was thinking about this point. If Nottingham Forest lost on their home court, then Twain would have a difficult path ahead of him. The doubt and the disappointment of the fans and the segregation within the team would send the team sinking too deep into the abyss.

Although their opponents were not strong in the upcoming match, it was extremely important for Twain that there would be no room for errors.

Twain clearly knew the importance of this match. The issues behind the tactics were entrusted to the coaches and the daily training was thoroughly settled, so it did not require much effort from him as well.

The thing that really required his attention was the players; he felt like he needed to quickly find Balotelli for a one-on-one chat as soon as possible.

Chapter 1002 - Balotelli

Balotelli thought his position in the team should be promising, because he was rearranged to play forward, and he scored the only goal of Nottingham Forest F.C. in that lost match. He considered himself the best player on the team in that match, but of course, the media didn’t agree. One point of the game evaluation was the same among many different media people. They all agreed George Wood was the best player in Nottingham Forest F.C.

Balotelli admitted Wood’s performance was not bad, but when it came to the best of the team, he could not admit anyone was superior to him.

In addition, more importantly, he had the faith that this goal made the new manager see his value clearly. That was a brilliant goal after the breakthrough of the double team!

Upon his thinking, Dunn called him over after the training ended.

“Do you have time, Mario? I want to talk to you privately.”

Seeing the smile on the face of his manager, Balotelli became more certain of his idea. He paused deliberately to prevent himself from appearing to be overexcited. Then he nodded slowly: “Fine, I have a few minutes.”

“Come to my office.” Dunn turned and walked away.

Balotelli was dumbfounded for a moment. He didn’t expect the manager to turn and walk away so quickly. Somewhat unhappy, he followed Dunn, though at a very slow speed.

In fact, Dunn didn’t mean to put on airs in front of Balotelli. All that was on his mind was to find out how to start a conversation with the player, to make their talk more harmonious and to get the desired result.

His aim was nothing more or less but to bring out the best in Balotelli to help the team.

After he achieved that, he could focus on other details.

Balotelli felt that he did not get enough respect, and following this way of thinking, he decided that this conversation with the manager would have to be an unpleasant experience.

Nobody else was in the manager’s office except the two of them.

Dunn motioned for Balotelli to sit down and asked what he wanted to drink.

Balotelli shook his head and declined.

Dunn didn’t expect a straightforward rejection like this and felt somewhat awkward. At this time he noticed a problem. Compared to when he was in Inter Milan, Balotelli was now much fatter…

No wonder his performance was unstable.

Dunn decided to start with the goal, for goals were all forwards cared about. “Mario, your goal of the last round league was wonderful.”

Balotelli was secretly delighted upon hearing this from the manager. He finally got his worth acknowledged!

“However…” Dunn changed his tone, “Can you score such a goal often?”

Balotelli was taken aback by this question.

Under double team, he still managed to break and shoot the ball in through a gap between the defender’s two legs, bypassing the goalkeeper. He surely couldn’t score such a goal very often…

Dunn didn’t give Balotelli a chance to answer. In fact, he did not expect Balotelli to answer this question at all. The answer was obvious.

He asked another question: “Do you prefer playing right midfielder or forward?”

Balotelli said without hesitation this time: “Forward, naturally.”

Dunn smiled. This was exactly what he had anticipated. “Can you tell me your view regarding the team now?”

Balotelli’s answer was not much of a surprise. “I think I should be the core. With me as the core, the team can score many goals, and winning matches will not be a problem.”

Dunn nodded slightly and appeared to agree with Balotelli’s words. However, after hearing him out, he said, “But I’ve never used a forward as the core…”

He was telling the truth. He never considered using a forward as the core of a team since he became a manager. Whether it was Anelka, Van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, or ?ubo? Miche?, none of them was the core of a team, and the team’s tactics had never been centered around those forwards. How could a manger who preferred defense make a forward the core? All offense came from the backfield, and naturally, the defensive midfielder was the most suitable person to be the core.

However, Balotelli didn’t know that. He didn’t expect those discouraging words from his manager and changed color abruptly.

How could this change of his expression escape Dunn’s eyes? Of course, the purpose of the conversation was to make use of Balotelli’s talent, but if Balotelli asked for too much, he would say no. Like now…

To be the core?

It was ridiculous! Having a forward at the core was contrary to all his tactics. How could he turn his tactics around and change the core? And get the entire team to adapt to the change in time? Time was most precious now. He could not waste it on such issues.

Besides, if Balotelli was an unstable player, why should he be the core? A core must be stable. If he sleepwalked in a match, wouldn’t the whole team suffer?

He wouldn’t do such a silly thing!

Although Dunn thought so, he could not say it. He stressed his opinion that the core as a forward and the core as a midfield were not the same thing. If he got Balotelli to score more goals, he might reconsider…

Since he aimed to motivate Balotelli, this could be regarded as a way to do it.

Therefore, he changed his expression immediately: “But you know, Mario, our tactic is to stagger two forwards, one in the front and one behind…” He made a gesture of staggering, and Balotelli nodded to show that he had understood. “I let you play forward. The aim is not to let you stay at the forefront to play center-forward.”

Balotelli understood that a center-forward should thrust into the penalty area of the opposition, where he would be surrounded by the opponent’s backs. Not just scoring goals, but even taking possession of the ball wouldn’t be easy.

“Your position is the second striker.” Dunn took a piece of paper, scribbled on it, and showed it to Balotelli.

As the picture showed, Balotelli’s position was wandering around the penalty area and seemed to be sort of away from it. However, this place was more suitable for his style and he would be freer in this area than in the penalty area.

Balotelli’s view of this manager changed gradually as he saw this picture. It looked like this boss was different from the previous ones, and had really researched his skills to make the best of them.

“Your position is more flexible…” Dunn pointed to the picture and looked at Balotelli. He didn’t expect the conversation to be a tactical discussion, but it was good. Better cut to the chase than talk nonsense.

“Mitchell will distract the attention of the opposition’s backs for you, and you need to connect our midfielders and forwards. He will push the opponent’s defenders to the forefront, leaving you with this vacancy…” Dunn drew a circle in front of the penalty area. “It’s up to you to shoot or pass here.”

Hearing this, Balotelli’s first thought was to shoot, but Dunn seemed to know what was on his mind. “Of course, if you always shoot regardless, I will reconsider your position…”

In fact, Balotelli wasn’t that much of a lone wolf player. Otherwise, the right midfielder wouldn’t be one of his most accustomed positions. He liked to cross from byline for his teammates, which was a very prominent tactic when he was in Inter Milan. It was just that he was the player with the highest net worth after he came to Nottingham Forest F.C. George Wood hadn’t transferred to another team and didn’t have an exact net worth, so no comparison was made between the two. Naturally, he was somewhat arrogant; he wanted his teammates to pass the ball to him rather than cooperate with teammates.

Now Dunn had to adopt and carrot and stick approach to let Balotelli regain his willingness to cooperate with his teammates. He didn’t need a forward who only focused on shooting and scoring, because the tactics of his team put emphasis on collectivism, and on one under his charge could be a lone wolf. If this were the case, it would be his fault as the manager.

“A second striker who can shoot by himself as well as cooperate with his teammates is better than one who only shoots all by himself. I hope you understand me, Mario.”

Anyway, Dunn was a manager who won the grand slam in both the club and the national team. No matter how contemptuous Balotelli was, he had to restrain himself in front of Dunn.

In fact, what was on the players’ mind was simple: if the manager had an impressive resume, no matter how famous and influential a star player was, he would obey the manager. One of the reasons why Balotelli was conceited and intractable was that the previous managers were not very important in his eyes.

“When should I shoot by myself and when should I pass the ball?” Balotelli asked a question that he immediately found foolish.

As expected, Dunn grinned at him. “You are the genius, Mario. Don’t you know the answer to this question?”

Ridiculed by Dunn, Balotelli was a little embarrassed. “I know, of course I know!” He resented how his question represented low confidence and vigor.

Dunn, too, didn’t want him to be too embarrassed. For exceptionally talented players, the management methods should not be too harsh. He was now 50 years old, no longer a young man in his thirties. Back then, he could hold Anelka on the substitutes’ bench very tightly for maintaining his authority. He couldn’t do such a thing now. Maybe because of advanced age, or because he had experienced too much, that sort thing of thing felt trivial now. He didn’t resent Balotelli’s pretentious pride.

That was why his mind was filled with ideas on how to make use of Balotelli rather than drive him away.

Of course, the authority of the manager should be maintained, but it should not be done by driving players who were talented and in their prime years to the stand. Didn’t Ferguson make the threatening remark that “I’d rather let him rot in the stands than sell him to Real Madrid”? However, did he really do so? No. Not only he did not, but he also made Ronaldo the core of Manchester United and even sacrificed Rooney for doing so. That was what a godfather-like manager should be: broad-minded and skillful. It was all in the team’s interest.

Tony Twain, who was 50 years old, really became mature, but regretfully, he would only be in charge until the end of this season. If he hadn’t had a heart condition and had been healthy, one could imagine what glorious achievements he could have reached in his position…

Well, in that case, was his retirement a fortune or misfortune to global football?

Dunn and Balotelli were discussing the details of tactics and strategies on the pitch in the future. The atmosphere between the two was harmonious, which was much of a surprise to both of them. As far as Dunn was concerned, Balotelli, the 28-year-old Italian player, was entitled to be arrogant, because he was really talented. Balotelli could understand his tactics without too much emphasis; he only needed to state them once. In Balotelli’s eyes, this manager who had countless glorious achievements was not just a glib and lucky guy; on the contrary, he really understood football and himself, and he was a boss one could pledge his loyalty to.

When in Inter Milan, there was a man who made him feel that way. That man later went to Manchester United. During his four years in Nottingham Forest, he always thought about going to Manchester United, which was in fact for following that person. Now he realized he didn’t need to do that anymore.

The private conversation was planned to last less than fifteen minutes, but when Dunn and Balotelli looked at the time, it was already 2 o’clock…

When Balotelli realized this, he simply laughed. Looked like it was a funny thing as it happened with a godfather of champions.

Dunn didn’t care much how players looked at him. He touched his belly and said to Balotelli, “Let’s have lunch, my treat today.”

After one hour’s communication, their relationship became very friendly. It was not strange to Balotelli that Dunn offered this.

“Anything is OK, I don’t want any food in particular. Actually, I’m not hungry…”

“Don’t say that. There will be a training course in the afternoon. You think you can handle my training on an empty stomach? If you have to quit halfway because you are physically inadequate, I’ll certainly take this chance to punish you. You should know how much I would dislike anything to go wrong in this team now…”

Dunn said this with a poker face, which really scared Balotelli, who was sure that his boss was serious.

Remembering how Twain treated Bale, the veteran of this team, Balotelli thought he ought to be careful. Just because Bale slacked in a group of shuttle run, Twain let Bale run another 20 rounds under the scorching sun.

He was the King of Wilford. Here, no one dared to go against his will.

“Okay, I’ll follow your order, boss…”

※※※

During the training interval, everybody found that Balotelli was actually chatting with his countryman Fiorillo, which didn’t happen usually. Even Fiorillo himself was surprised, and he couldn’t keep up with Balotelli’s conversation at times.

Kerslake and Eastwood looked at Dunn with inquisitive eyes and wanted to know what he said to this Italian.

“Just cater to his pleasure,” Dunn shrugged. “He is eager to be taken seriously, so take him seriously. Trust him, I think he won’t let us down…”

Chapter 1003 - Thoughts of an Ordinary Man

Thiago Silva felt a little depressed lately because he realized that his position in the dressing room was under a major threat. The threat did not come from his teammates whom he spent a lot of time with, but from the powerful manager who had come back.

Within two days, Twain had talked to many players alone. These were players who joined the team after he left Forest, but he did not ask to talk to Silva. To Silva, it was obvious that he was way down the pecking order in Twain’s mind…

Other than that, there was another reason why he felt insecure. That was because the players who were usually always hanging around him were slowly moving away from him and he felt that he was no longer a core member of the dressing room.

The age of 33 was not an age that rendered a center back unable to play as his experience would be able to give him good positional sense to compensate for his decline in physical attributes. However, Silva could feel that the new manager was obviously overlooking him, and did not plan to start him at all. Forest lost to Aston Villa away during the last game and the media focused their criticism on the attack, as they believed that the team lost not because they were poor defensively, but because they lacked firepower. He was unable to refute that because that was the fact.

Silva had a two-year contract with the club. He had originally planned to fulfill his contract and retire straight after that. However, it seemed like nobody would want him to remain even if he wanted to stay in the team…

He wanted to remind Twain of his status in the team, but he could not find a suitable excuse and opportunity to do so. Hence, he decided to continue waiting and observe from the side. If the results were bad, there would bound to be voices of displeasure against the manager. When that happened, he could just add on to it…

Twain had just lost a match and if he continued to lose the next home game, the day that Silva was looking forward to would come soon.

After all, Forest had not won anything for the past few seasons, but they had quite a number of new managers. He did not mind getting another new manager.

※※※

“We’ve been training defense for the whole week. There are some players who are worried that we would not be able to solve the issue of insufficient firepower,” David Kerslake reported the concerns of the players that he had gathered to Twain.

“How is that possible? We’ve arranged for offense practice during our daily training,” Twain shrugged. “Fine, I admit that our attacking patterns are much simpler than before… However, under the current situation, the simpler it is, the more effective it will be. They should be able to understand the meaning of this during the next game.”

Twain did not continue talking as he got back to his data and continued analyzing his future opponents.

Kerslake looked at Eastwood next to him and shook his head. It looked like they could only hope to win at home. If they lost the game, they would be hit by waves of criticism. He was sure that Twain knew that.

Twain thought for a while before looking up and realizing that his two assistant managers were still around, and then he seemed to have recalled something. He took off his glasses and said, “Okay, I’ll explain it to them myself during the tactical briefing this afternoon.”

Only then did the two assistant managers leave as if a huge burden had been lifted off them.

Twain thought that it was funny as he looked at the back views of the two of them. It looked like there was a lot of pressure on him. Everyone who cared about him wanted him to win whereas all those who hated him could not wait for him to lose at home…

Could he feel the pressure brought on by this burden then?

Twain placed his hand on the left side of his chest. His heart was beating rather quickly.

※※※

During the tactical briefing in the afternoon, Twain gathered all the players and started to explain the tactics for the game that would take place two days later, as well as the objective of the training for the past few days.

“Is there anyone who thinks that our lack of firepower won’t change because we’ve been doing defensive training for the whole week? Is that it?” Twain asked his players as he stood in front of the blackboard. However, nobody answered his question.

It was one thing to complain in private, but quite another to openly question the manager…

“But we’ve also been doing attack training,” Twain said, raising his arm. “Isn’t Mario being positioned as the second striker? And the attacking patterns on the flanks… Are you guys taking the training seriously?”

“Yes, boss!” The older players knew that things would be bad if they did not say anything after Twain frowned, so Bale stood up in a hurry to speak.

“In that case, why would you guys think that we’ll be lacking in firepower?” Twain asked again. He looked at Bale since he was the one who stood out.

Poor Bale did not know what he should be doing or saying at that moment.

“This tactic is too simple, it’ll be very easy for them to see through us,” Someone finally answered Twain’s question, but it was not Bale. It was someone behind him.

Twain tilted his head slightly to see the one who spoke out as Bale shifted to one side.

Thiago Silva’s face appeared in Twain’s view.

Twain was not surprised. He had a feeling that the Brazilian would definitely look for another chance to undermine his authority. This was a good opportunity for him.

Twain looked at Silva and then asked him, “Before I came here, the football you guys played was very complicated. Your possession went as high as seventy percent, your offense was mesmerizing, and you had all the advantages on paper… How were your results?”

Silva had no answers to that. The results were indeed pathetic previously, everyone knew that.

However, the question was, did their results improve after Twain’s arrival? If they were judging based on the previous game, the answer was no. However, Silva could not continue to question Twain that way. After all, Twain was the manager now, and unless Silva was prepared to openly go against him, it was not wise to continue this argument.

Silva wisely chose to shut up and watch. He was waiting for the next opportunity patiently.

“I agree that the offensive tactic that you were practicing might seem to be too simplistic, but in our current situation, I don’t think it is suitable for us to be attacking as if we’re on a show. What we need are goals, not fifty passes outside the opponent’s penalty box before passing it to the opponent’s goalkeeper. Simple and direct. That’s the requirement that I have for you in the attack. Our strikers have the height to be a threat in the air, that’s why I want you guys to cross more from the flanks. If Mitchell can get a shot on goal, it’s good. If he can knock the ball down for Balotelli or any other midfield players pressing up, that’s good as well. I don’t want our strikers to always be facing away from the goal and fighting for every inch of the ground with the opponent. There’s no need for that!”

Twain waved his arm. “We have the aerial advantage, why fight with them on the ground?”

“We’re playing on the counter, not full-out attack. There are many times when there will only be two, or maybe three people up front when we have a chance to counter. In such a situation, finding the fastest way to tear through their defense and the space to take a shot is what you should be doing.”

In the current Forest team, there were not many who had experienced the days when Twain had first managed the team. Defend and counter was the trademark for Forest then. If this team were the same team as it was at that time, there would be no need for Twain to be saying all this in front of them. To that team, all these were a given.

The situation was different now. There were too many new players and they had to sit through this talk of Twain. Otherwise, if they were hesitant on the pitch and could not agree with the manager’s tactics, they would naturally lose the game…

“If we can score with one pass, why must we pass the ball three times? If we can come up with a shot after three passes, why must we pass back and forth twenty times? My football philosophy is all about efficiency. Anything that will slow down the game or make us miss a good opportunity won’t fly with me. That’s why I hope you can change the style of play that you’re used to. It’s impossible for me to accommodate you guys. In this team, there’s only my way or the highway!” Twain said while pointing to his feet.

Even though he had only returned to management about a week ago, it seemed like he was more like the master of the place than the players who had been there for four years.

He was the King of Wilford indeed. This was his back garden.

Twain paused after he finished speaking. He was observing the players. There was nobody else who stood out to refute him and he was satisfied with that.

“Since nobody has any other opinions, let me talk about our tactics for the next game in detail. Long balls and crosses…”

※※※

Many people believed that Twain’s team could never win the match at the Crimson Stadium and that they would at most get a draw. The tone used by the local media in Nottingham gave a feeling that “even a draw would be a good result for Nottingham Forest now”.

The “Nottingham Evening Post”, a staunch ally of Tony Twain’s previously, seemed to be finding it hard to adjust after four years and they did not seem to know how to be on the same page with Twain anymore.

“Even a draw would be a good result for Nottingham Forest now” was written by Pierce Brosnan himself.

Actually, Brosnan had been feeling very uneasy after his article was published as he waited for Twain to call and give him a scolding. However, up until the day of the match, there was no call from Twain.

He thought that Twain was too busy and did not read the article. This disappointed him a little…

It was not that Twain did not read the article. In fact, he had read it thrice. A few years ago, he would most definitely have picked up the phone next to him and called Brosnan to give him a piece of his mind, telling him to be on the same page as his team. However, Twain did not do that this time. One reason for that was that his mentality had changed after going through so many things. Another reason was that the team belonged to Dunn anyway. He was just a transition manager, so why would he go against the local media?

The local media from Nottingham were a little biased towards Twain and the stuff they came up with was still rather friendly. The media from outside were not as friendly and wrote about everything they could think of to insult Twain, then waited to watch Twain make a fool of himself at home.

“I can predict the cheers that Twain will receive when he returns to the Crimson Stadium. They will be deafening. But what I’m interested in is the treatment that he will receive after 90 minutes,” Carl Spicer said in his pre-match show. “Just like how the sequels to most classic movies are usually bad, a lousy script such as the return of a legend usually does not end well. Oh? Did I just admit that he’s a legend? Oh well, since he led the team to a World Cup victory, and he almost got knighted by the Queen, I guess he can be deemed a legend… But that’s not important. All that belongs to the past. Other than helping him stabilize the dressing room and bring about greater attention to the team, his reputation doesn’t guarantee that his team will win. When he goes on a losing streak, his reputation will become the straw that breaks the camel’s back… I’m not trying to be an alarmist, and I believe Mr. Twain will agree with me, won’t he? Ha!”

Spicer was a stronger representative of the anti-Twain camp, and he was someone who did not mince words.

The voices of doubt reached a peak and stormed Nottingham Forest before they hosted Middlesbrough at home. These voices were just usual gossip, stuff like “the Nottingham Forest today is not the same as the Nottingham Forest before, the Tony Twain of today is not the same as the old Tony Twain”, “Nottingham Forest fans should not worship one person blindly and they should not have too much hope”, “Middlesbrough is higher than Nottingham Forest in the league standings, and even though they are playing at home, Forest should first think about not losing, instead of winning.”

“Logically speaking, they are right.” There was still half a day before the match started in the afternoon. The team was resting in the hotel that they were staying in and Kerslake was having coffee with Twain, chatting to pass time. Kerslake was talking about the negativity of the media.

“That’s right, logically speaking,” Twain nodded and said, “But these are the thoughts of ordinary men. Now, do you know why some of them can only be failures as managers and can only earn a living by talking?”

Kerslake was unable to react for a moment.

Twain continued, “People who think that we can at most get a draw will definitely be proved wrong. People who think that we will lose will have to eat their hats. Ordinary people? Ha, too bad I’m not one of them!”

He snorted as he looked at the reporters outside, wanting to come in but unable to.

Chapter 1004 - Long Live Your Majesty

“At this time there are still people begging for tickets…” In the camera footage, a number of Forest fans stood outside the Crimson Stadium holding up “I need tickets” signboards.

“It feels like a World Cup final.”

“It is all to see Tony Twain’s return, and it’s so hard to locate a ticket… Despite having left the Forest team more than four years ago, Twain has still retained his popularity.”

“If the Forest team’s results haven’t been so terrible in recent years, maybe there wouldn’t be so many people who miss him.”

“This sounds a little sour. If we think this way, if it wasn’t for his departure, Nottingham Forest would never have become a big joke in the Premier League. Then he would be the guarantee to win the championship title and the trophy. That’s why we chose this game as a live national broadcast. With him around, the ratings will be high.”

The two BBC television crew members were sitting in the broadcast van, watching the monitor and chatting.

In front of them was a wall of monitors, and a dozen of them showed every corner of the stadium. On the monitors that showed the entrance to the stadium and square, ticket seekers could be seen everywhere.

Inside the stadium, fans had already entered the stadium more than an hour in advance. They were hanging banners in the Robin Hood grandstand to prepare for the game that was about to start soon.

※※※

Pierce Brosnan realized something.

Since he became a sports reporter for the Nottingham Evening Post, he had attended every Nottingham Forest home game. However, the circumstances today made him feel special because he saw a lot of old, white-haired fans among the entering crowd. Most of these fans were older men who had followed the Forest team for decades. They had witnessed the Forest’s most glorious years and seen the team’s darkest times.

However, as he grew older, he would rarely see them come to the stadium to watch the games these few years. Although they bought season tickets every time, they really did not have the energy to go to the stadium. That place, which was full of noise and passion, was a great enemy to the health of the elderly.

However, today, he saw many white-haired fans at the entrance.

A media outlet from London was at the entrance, conducting interviews. They naturally noticed the older fans who had come together.

“At your current age, wouldn’t it be better to watch the game at home?” A young female reporter stopped a few of the old men and held her microphone out.

Several old guys looked at each other and grinned, revealing the gaps in their teeth.

“We’re here to see an old friend,” the tallest among them answered.

“An old friend?” The female reporter thought it odd. She was not from Nottingham and there was no way for her to understand how the Nottingham Forest fans felt about Twain.

Seeing her puzzled look, a short and fat old fan smiled at her and said, “Young lady, you’re not local, are you?”

The female reporter shook her head and replied, “I’m a Londoner.”

“You must not be a Nottingham Forest fan either, ha! Other than Tony, who else can be an old friend of Nottingham Forest?”

Seeing the female reporter’s sudden look of realization, several old guys put their arms over each other’s shoulders and sang with the other fans around them the song Nottingham Forest fans wrote for Tony Twain as they walked into the entrance tunnel.

“…We have a cyborg and he has a nuclear-powered heart! He never tires and absolutely does not accept defeat… He’s hated by people, but we love him! Because he can bring us championship titles and the enemies hate him, hate him! Tony, Tony! An a**hole, loved and hated by people, ha ha ha!”

“This song sounds weird…” The female reporter muttered with a frown. “It’s completely tuneless. It’s just shouting…”

“That’s the way it is,” a man next to her said. “It’s just some things that the fans yell out at the stands with a little bit of melody added in. The fans thought there was no melody worthy of Tony, so they simply expressed their feelings in the plainest way.”

The female reporter looked at the person who spoke unprompted in disbelief.

The other party calmly reached his hand out toward the quizzical-looking female reporter and said, “Pierce Brosnan. I’m a reporter from The Nottingham Evening Post, and I know Tony Twain better than any other reporter. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

※※※

If Twain knew that Brosnan was going to pick up a girl using his own name, the look on his face would have been awed.

However, he currently was not in the frame of mind to think about others. He was only focused on his own home game.

Was he nervous? No, but his heart did beat a little faster because of excitement.

It was like a trip to his homeland, which he had left decades ago. It was his first time as the Nottingham Forest manager, directing a game at the Crimson Stadium. Previously, he was at the Crimson Stadium as the England team manager. Although the fans also gave him a lot of support at the time, that feeling was not the same as now after all.

The England team only occasionally borrowed the Crimson Stadium. Its real home ground was the Wembley Stadium.

Now the Crimson Stadium was his home ground.

In the beginning, he had tightened the belt for several years to build the stadium. He plundered all over the world for those bargain players and then had to sell the outstanding players whom he had painstakingly nurtured in exchange for funds to the club. However, when the new stadium was built, he did not lead the Forest team to play a game here before, which was something he had regretted.

Now he was about to make up for it. He would be coaching and leading the team in this stadium that had been constructed with his whole heart and soul until the end of the season.

“It’s time for us to go, Chief,” Eastwood stood next to Twain and called out. He noticed that Twain had been lost in a state of contemplation just now. What was he thinking of?

“Huh? Oh… The players are all down?” Twain looked up at Eastwood, the assistant manager, in front of him.

“Yes, they are all on the bus.”

Twain got up and put his coat on.

“Let’s go, Freddy.”

※※※

“Tony Twain has already boarded the bus. The bus is slowly pulling out of the hotel… Heading for the Crimson Stadium… We’re going to keep track and continue the coverage for our audience,” the television reporter waiting outside the hotel spoke excitedly as he looked at the camera. Behind him, the Nottingham Forest red bus was leaving the hotel.

It was only ten kilometers from the hotel to the stadium, but the police cars cleared the way. The bus was surrounded by the reporters’ cars, which were following and filming. Such a spectacle had not been seen by the Forest players for years. They all knew who the focus of the reporters’ pursuit was.

Twain, sitting in the front row seat of the bus, was chatting in a low voice with Kerslake and Eastwood.

Through the window on the left side, they could already see the red roof of the Crimson Stadium.

“Welcome home, Chief!” Eastwood spoke as he pointed to the Crimson Stadium in front.

Kerslake, next to him, also laughed. He was finally home.

The red bus caused a commotion as it drove into the square. The police officers in charge of maintaining order at the scene were almost unable to hold on due to the impact. The fans who had not yet entered the stadium, as well as the fans still waiting for tickets, flocked toward the Nottingham Forest bus in droves. They shouted Tony Twain’s name.

“Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!”

“Welcome back, Tony!”

“Isn’t nice to be back home, Tony?”

“Tony, we love you!”

…

“Haven’t seen such madness in a long time…” Eastwood muttered as he looked at the excited fans outside.

Thiago Silva looked out of the window with a gloomy expression. He was a popular star player at the Forest team, but the excitement caused by his appearances could never be comparable to this.

He remembered that some time ago when those old players talked about Twain, they referred to him numerous times as “The King, His Majesty.” At the time, he sneered at it, thinking it was just Twain’s self-promotion, and that the man just liked to toot his own horn.

However, looking at the scene today, the faces of those fans… It was just a small portion of the crowd outside the stadium. Many more fans were already in the stadium, waiting there.

Can I really go up against this guy? Can I really expect that kind of opportunity? He thought.

A seed of doubt grew in his mind, challenging his previous thinking.

No!

Soon he was back in a calm state of mind. The more these fans adored him, the more they liked him, the bigger the blow they’d suffer once he lost a game on the home ground, and the more disappointed they would be toward him. Here was the balance between heaven and hell. They could send him to heaven, but they could also let him go to hell.

Although Silva did not understand Mandarin and was completely ignorant about Chinese culture, it was remarkable that he understood the principle of “the water that bore the boat could also capsize it.”

※※※

The bus was parked at the entrance and the players alighted one after another. They were surrounded by reporters and fans, and the policemen were struggling to stop the overexcited crowd. Twain was on the bus, waiting for everyone to get off. If he were to be the first to alight, the players behind him could forget about getting out of here. The scene would become chaotic.

The situation was such now. Twain, escorted by four police officers, squeezed through the crowd toward the entrance of the tunnel. Along the way, people kept reaching out toward him with microphones, cell phones, tape recorders, and interview equipment, trying to touch him.

The path was only a short ten meters, but it was unusually tough for Twain to walk through…

“How does it feel to be home, Tony?” When he finally got to the entrance of the tunnel, there was a loud cry behind him.

He did not look back. He just raised his right hand and gave a thumbs-up. Then he quickly went in at the urging of the policemen.

“It’s so crazy… just like a rock star coming here to give a concert!” A beautiful young reporter lady could not help exclaiming as she looked at the scene in front of her.

Standing next to her, Brosnan smiled and said with a little pride, “The most successful manager in English football history has come home, so of course his fans will welcome him.”

The female reporter looked back at him.

“But you can’t imagine how this successful manager was down and out in the beginning, ha!” Brosnan laughed. “When he first appeared, all he got were boos and middle fingers.”

The lady reporter shook her head gently and said, “It’s hard to imagine…”

Brosnan pointed to fans who still refused to leave and said, “To them, Tony is synonymous with an entire era. From 2003 to 2018, 15 years’ worth of memories is here.”

As Brosnan spoke, he was also caught up in his own memories. Back then, he was a rude and impetuous intern reporter. He was a 24-four-year-old young man who just graduated from college. He did not know anything and had no experience. He was ridiculed and sneered at by Tony Twain at a press conference. They have almost become enemies. Who would have thought that in the future he would write an autobiography of this person?

The female reporter looked back at the middle-aged man. His eyes looked to the distance without any focus. A faintly discernible smile hung at corners of his mouth.

“It includes your memories, doesn’t it, Mr. Brosnan?”

Brosnan turned his eyes back and nodded at the young intern reporter who had just graduated from college, as he had done back then.

“Yes, Miss Alina. Memories of my youth.”

※※※

“Defensive counterattack, guys!” Twain clenched his fists in the locker room and seized the moment to repeat the main points of yesterday’s tactical meeting for his players. “Long balls! Don’t care how the laymen criticize this. You know what we need most right now. Not good-looking offensive cooperation and not gorgeous passes with your heels, but goals and victory! Middlesbrough will be pressing on us in the midfield. George, you’ll get their special care…” Twain pointed to Wood, who was changing his clothes.

Wood nodded and continued to put his jersey on.

“So, I ask you all not to hold the ball too much in the midfield. There is a great deal of risk in passing the ball more than three times in the midfield. I don’t want to see a scene where you pass the ball back and forth in the midfield and then send it to the opponent’s feet only to let them counter-press. Whether it’s George or Fernando, I mean Gago, we have to solidify the backfield in the game. Do not pass the ball past the centerline easily. Make use of long passes to organize attacks. The two sides…”

He also pointed to the two midfielders, Chris Cohen and Wijnaldum, who were in the starting lineup today.

“Your task today is the most important. You need to keep sprinting back and forth. During an attack, you must press forward. During the defense, you have to withdraw. If you can’t do it, I’ll bring you off! Anyway, I have a lot of people here who want to play.”

There was a burst of laughter in the locker room.

Twain also laughed. The atmosphere was very harmonious. There was no trace of nervousness. It was the pre-match atmosphere he wanted.

“The two strikers…” This time he stopped his hand movements. The two people looking at Twain were Mitchell and Balotelli. They were the starting strikers for the game. “Aaron, you have to try to push the opponent’s rear defensive line forward, press them to the front of the goal to create enough space for Mario.”

Twain did not deceive Balotelli. He did give Balotelli enough trust in the game, as well as the corresponding responsibility.

“Mario, thanks to the ups and downs in your performance in previous seasons, our opponent will not mark you too tightly…” Hearing his remark, some people were worried that Balotelli would be unhappy, but to their surprise, in the face of Twain’s teasing, Balotelli laughed along with him and did not care what Twain had said. It was a rare sight. Generally, Balotelli was very sensitive and cared a lot about others’ evaluation of him. If anyone dared to say that he was an inferior imported player with poor capability, he would certainly make the other party suffer. Now, from the looks of it, it seemed the boss had already dealt with this challenge in the locker room. “And they think that you’re used to playing on the right side. This game is your chance to prove yourself again, mate. We all know you’re a genius, but people out there don’t think so. Show them what you’ve got! You’re ‘Super Mario!’”

Finally, he touched on the rear defensive line.

“Guys, you’re the starting defenders for this game. You’re the key to the game.” Twain stood in front of the four starting defenders, who were respectively the left-back, Joe Mattock, the right-back, Nkoulou, and the center backs, Sakho and J?rgensen.

“I want you to strictly defend your zones. The full-backs are not allowed to assist with the offense and move forward. Except in the placekicks, do not use close marking defense. However, you have to be careful when defending in the backfield – do not blindly make a move to lift a siege. The defense is the source of offense. All attacks come from defense. You are not only defenders who break the opponent’s attacks, but you’re also the first stop of the offense. Therefore, I don’t want to worry that you will waste any chance of attack. After intercepting the ball, pass it over to the midfielders and let them organize the attack.”

“No problem, boss,” Mattock answered Twain on behalf of all the defenders.

Twain put his hands together and said, “That’s all that needed to be said. If I say more, you will dislike me for being long-winded. Finally, I want you to know one thing: although we lost the last round of the league tournament, it is not a reason to abandon ourselves to despair in this league round. In any case, my request to you is very simple – I don’t want anything but victory.”

※※※

Once Twain had said all that, there were still more than ten minutes to go before the game began. He gave the players a break and was asked to step outside.

The person who asked him to go out was not a staff member, but the club chairman, Evan Doughty.

Next to him stood a young man who seemed to be in his twenties.

“My son, Bob. Come and meet your idol, Tony Twain,” Evan pulled the young man next to him, pointing to Twain as he spoke to him.

“Hello, hello! Mr. Twain, I’m your admirer…” The young man rushed forward to shake Twain’s hand.

“Ah, hello, Bob…” Twain was a little unaccustomed to the enthusiasm that the chairman’s son showed him.

Evan also seemed to notice that Twain was a little awkward. He hurriedly pulled his son away and said, “If you want an autograph, wait for the game to be over. You go up first, I still have some matters here.”

Bob seemed afraid to defy his father. He turned around and walked away reluctantly.

“It was your father who first introduced you to me as well. He was completely different from you at the time.” As Twain looked at Bob’s receding figure, his demeanor went back to normal. He smiled as he talked about the past. Fifteen years ago, Evan Doughty could not even differentiate between “a manager” and “a coach.” He knew almost nothing about football. Now, however, Bob Doughty was an avid fan…

Moreover, when Nigel Doughty introduced Evan to Twain at the time, he had already intended to retire from the front line to let his son take over. Now he had followed in his footsteps and introduced his son to Twain. It might also be to make clear to Twain that his son would take over in the future. It was just that…

Why did he introduce his son to him instead of to the new manager for the next season? Could it be he still thought Twain could help his son?

“He’s in love with football thanks to you, Tony. Ever since you’ve become the Forest manager, he has fallen in love with the sport after watching a few Forest games with me.”

Twain gave a chuckle and said, “Did you ask me to step out of the locker room just to introduce your son to me, Evan?”

“Of course not. In fact, I came to look for you for another matter. However, he found out and wanted to tag along… It’s this, Tony. You don’t have to go out with the team. You should make your appearance now.”

Twain thought it was a little strange and asked, “Why? It’s still early for the game to start…”

“We have prepared a special welcome ceremony for you, so you have to make your appearance alone, Tony,” Evan looked at Twain with a smile.

“What ceremony?”

“You’ll know soon, Tony. Come on, everyone’s waiting for you.”

Twain looked at the locker room. He turned around and walked over. He pushed the door open and issued a few instructions to David Kerslake, the assistant manager standing at the door, asking him to gather the team and get ready to make their appearance. Then he followed Evan Doughty and walked together toward the tunnel leading to the field.

As soon as he left, the players also walked out of the locker room at Kerslake’s urging, and walked toward the tunnel, getting ready to line up for admission to the field.

※※※

When Twain reached the entrance of the tunnel, only three referees were waiting there. As they saw Twain walking over, one of them extended his hand to Twain to shake his.

In any case, Twain was the manager who led the England team to win the World Cup. That fact alone was worthy of respect.

Twain shook hands with the referee and found Evan still next to him. Then he turned around and asked, “This isn’t what you meant when you said ‘special welcome ceremony’, is it?”

Evan shook his head and patted Twain on the shoulder to say, “Go on and you’ll find out. You’ve got to walk this part by yourself, Tony. I’m sorry I can’t accompany you…”

Twain looked back at Evan Doughty. Doughty gestured to him to keep walking forward, so he stepped outside in puzzlement. Of course, he did not forget to stoop slightly – he was afraid that someone would throw water at him from the stands…

It was the only special welcome ceremony that he could think of, having his poor imagination…

However, it was not the case. There were no water balloons. Twain, who walked outside with his neck tucked in, looked left and right at the stands. He only saw enthusiastic fans.

Meanwhile, the music that was playing on the live broadcast came to an abrupt end and an old-sounding voice shouted excitedly, “And now! Let us welcome… His Majesty!!”

As if it were a flare signal, thunderous cheers erupted inside the Crimson Stadium before the voice faded away. All the fans in the stadium stood up, faced the entrance and called with their hands outstretched as they shouted, “Long live the King!”

Twain looked back in amazement and found that Evan was doing exactly the same thing as the fans in the tunnel.

“Long live the King!!!”

The cheers got louder with every wave.

It was indeed a special welcome ceremony…

Twain returned to his senses. He effortlessly waved in acknowledgment to the fans in the stands and then walked into the stadium with his head held high.

Along with his footsteps, the cheers continued.

With such cheers, he did not pretend to be modest but frankly accepted them. He deserved the address, and he earned the adoration of the fans because he was indeed His Majesty here!

The cheers continued as Twain walked to the center of the field. The players, on the other hand, had just arrived at the entrance of the tunnel. They had already heard the calls of the fans and saw that the boss was in the middle of the field. The old players, unsurprisingly, huddled together and pointed to Twain with smiles on their faces. Meanwhile, the players who had never played for Twain were completely stunned.

At this time, above the Robin Hood grandstand, a giant banner was hanging. The words on the red banner addressed Twain:

Welcome Home, Your Majesty!

“It’s really a surreal scene,” The television commentator exclaimed. He felt as if he was in a dream. How could this happen on a football field? In an era of the increasing commercialization of football, how many more people could still command such a heartfelt greeting?

“This game is the highlight of this round of the Premier League tournament, and Tony Twain is the highlight among the highlights!” Amid the deafening cheers, the commentator had to raise the volume of his voice as if someone had just scored a goal for the home team.

“I have a feeling that if Tony Twain announced that he was running for the British Prime Minister, he would definitely get more than half of the votes in Nottingham, and he wouldn’t have to campaign for them!”

“Even if the Queen were to be here, I’m afraid she would not be able to steal the limelight from him… No, not even the Pope could.”

“Remember that coronation night ten years ago? It is true that ‘His Majesty’ was by no means his own invention, nor was it hyped by the media. Twain is indeed His Majesty the King here!”

“Although many people hate him, he still enjoys a king’s treatment here. He was right to return. Tony! Look at the many people who adore you. You shouldn’t spend your days in retirement, ha!” John Motson laughed.

Standing in the middle of the field, Twain turned in a circle on the spot and waved in thanks to the Forest fans in the stands on all sides. He thanked them for preparing this “special welcome ceremony.” To be honest, he was very touched. Although he had left more than four years ago, his subjects still loved him, and that kind of adoration was the main reason why he finally decided to end his retirement and return to the Forest team.

People were emotional creatures. Even if Evan Doughty and Allan Adams had hurt him, the fans and the Forest team were innocent. His return was not for Evan Doughty, nor was it to make money. He just could not bear to see those fans, who used to shout to him in the stands, “Hey, Tony! Bring home another championship trophy!” to be sad. His conscience was clear about the decision.

Therefore, in the face of these fans’ wild cheers, it was inevitable and right that he accepted his position.

Among the cheering crowd were Fat John, Skinny Bill and all that group of people whom Twain was familiar with. The white-haired old guys that Brosnan had met before, and even some Middlesbrough fans, also followed the Forest fans in worship. In the eyes of all England fans, this guy should probably be ‘His Majesty the King’…

The loud cheers continued for five or six minutes and could be heard clearly outside the stadium.

Those fans in the square who could not get into the stadium also joined those inside and chanted “Long live Your Majesty!”, causing the other passers-by to fix their attention on their phenomenon.

The cheers slowly died down and ended as Twain walked toward the visiting team’s technical area to shake hands with the visiting manager, Tony Mowbray.

When curious reporters asked Mowbray after the game what he thought of the scene before that day’s game, Mowbray said with a laugh, “There’s only one ‘Tony’ today, but it’s not me.”

He was right. He was completely the supporting actor today. Even though he wanted to be the leading character before the game, that wish was gone when he saw the scene.

In the ensuing game, the Nottingham Forest team was clearly influenced by the scene. The entire team tossed out the previous gloomy appearance and shone with astounding and fearsome fighting spirit. With Twain’s long balls, as well as unexpected player and tactical arrangements, the team broke out with a powerful fighting force.

In addition, there was a huge noise created by 60,000 fans.

Middlesbrough surrendered after 17 minutes of resistance in a situation that was similar to a jet aircraft taking off.

They conceded three goals to Nottingham Forest in the second half and were utterly defeated with the score of 0:3 at the feet of the reborn Nottingham Forest.

After the game, the media joked about how they would go down in posterity as the team which personally experienced the return of His Majesty King Tony Twain. When the Premier League’s classic moments were mentioned in the future, there must be no shortage of footage on Middlesbrough.

Pierce Brosnan even excitedly used the following caption after the game:

I came; I saw; I conquered.

No one disagreed with this view, because that was the case.

All the doubting voices and arguments about Tony Twain and how “Twain is past his prime”, “Twain is no longer relevant” disappeared. The media nation-wide were unanimous in their singing of praises. Big and small media and commentators, as well as famous experts, had declared that the prevailing Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest were back. Under their iron hoofs, their opponent could only cry for mercy. Middlesbrough was unfortunate but honored to be the first victim, used as a sacrificial flag by Twain.

Even though Nottingham Forest still ranked 16th in the table after this victory, even the top-ranked teams felt the chill running down their backs.

People could no longer laugh that they would surely win when up against the Forest team. The wolves lurking in the forest bared their fangs again. Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team were no longer jokes. On the contrary, those who once vowed to look down on them were now the biggest jokes. However, Twain did not strike back at those who had previously laughed at him in the media.

The king had returned, and everyone had to pay respects from far and near.

However, Twain smiled and looked serene.

In fact, personally rolling up his sleeves to go into battle and give out punches in his enemies’ faces would lower his status …

Chapter 1005 - The King without a Crown

The media were full of news about Twain’s triumphant comeback, and no one could stop talking of it. There were people who liked him and people who disliked him, but nobody could ignore him.

Every flattering word that was invented since humans had started using written language was directed at Twain. Reporters loved complimenting him these days. Now that Twain was popular, saying good things about him could attract more readers and viewers.

There was another matter that added to his glory. In December, the British royal family issued an announcement stating the names of those who would receive an honor from the Queen on January 1. Tony Twain’s name was, astonishingly, on the list.

Britain issued royal honors twice a year, once on the first day of the year in January and the other time on the Queen’s birthday. The Order of the British Empire was awarded in recognition of those who had made outstanding contributions to the United Kingdom in various fields, such as culture, sports, and economy. Many people in the football world had received the honor, so it was not an extraordinary thing.

However, the controversy surrounding Twain when it came to the question of whether he should receive the honor has existed for a long time. In fact, after Twain led Nottingham Forest to win the Treble, it had been recommended that he should be given the honor for his outstanding contribution. Seeing how the Scottish manager, Ferguson, was awarded the Order of the British Empire by the Queen after leading Manchester United to win the Treble, how could Twain, the most successful of all England’s home-grown managers, not be honored the same way?

However, many people opposed the proposal at the time. The arguments against it were absurd – the opponents stated that the Treble win was not enough for Twain to receive the Order of the British Empire. In fact, it was simply an excuse. Ferguson was also awarded the Order of the British Empire after he led the team to win the Treble. In that case, why was Twain’s achievement not enough? In fact, the real reason was not that Twain’s achievements were not enough to receive the honor, but his dubious character and foul mouth. Many people thought that if the Order of the British Empire were awarded to such a figure, it would be national disgrace…

This might sound unbelievable, but it received a lot of support from many people at the time, including the sports minister and the Prime Minister himself. This went to show how terrible Tony Twain’s reputation was in the country.

Fortunately, Twain himself was not interested in the honor. He never sang the anthem when he led the national team during the games. The honor meant little to him. Therefore, even though the debate over whether he was eligible for the title of “Sir” continued, he himself had turned a deaf ear. Being awarded the Order of the British Empire and receiving the title of “Sir” would not make him more money and could not lead him to make a full recovery from his heart disease overnight. He did not care for the empty title, whether he had it or not. He was fine either way.

Later, when he led the England national team to win the first UEFA European Championship in the country’s history, the media mentioned the matter of the award again. Supporters thought the history-making championship title should qualify Twain to receive the honor. This time, the opponents did not say that his achievements were insufficient. They simply said that Twain’s words and conduct did not conform to the code of a British Knight. Didn’t Tony Twain despise authority? In that case, there was no reason to award him the Order of the British Empire…

The opposition was still strong, and Twain himself did not fight it, so the matter died down again.

However, Twain’s supporters were not happy. They even set up a group calling for Twain to receive the honor. The group was known as “Twain for Knighthood”, occasionally appeared in public, and petitioned for Twain to receive the honor.

It was not until the 2018 World Cup that things finally took a turn for the better.

“If a man had led a club to win almost all the championships that a football club can win, as well as leading the national team to win the highest honor of all, and still he is not awarded the Order of the British Empire by the Queen, it must be a scandal in the British Empire!” This was not a statement issued by a certain media outlet, but something that was said by a member of the British Parliament.

The remark called on the third appeal for Twain to receive the honor.

Three UEFA Champions League titles, three Premier League trophies, one EFL Cup, one FA Cup, two Football Association Community Shield cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA European Championship title, one FIFA Confederations Cup, one FIFA World Cup… Twain had gained them all.

The Nottingham Evening Post even ran a special issue featuring the photographs of all the honors Twain had received, and then it questioned the opponents, “If these honors and contributions cannot make Tony Twain a knight, how many people do you think are eligible to be honored throughout the United Kingdom?”

The Times also published an editorial pointing out that in today’s British society, peerages were becoming devalued and the intrinsic value was getting lower, leaving only the use of honors as incentives. With the numerous confers of titles, even the most basic purpose of it was becoming cheap. Someone who donated a large sum of money to the government could receive the Order of the British Empire. For such a person to receive knighthood or Order of the British Empire, it could only reduce the prestige of the British royal family and ultimately render it worthless. In such a context, it was a great irony that some people who had truly made outstanding contributions to the government and country were not awarded the title due to such reasons.

Although the editorial did not mention Twain’s name throughout, any fool could see that they were on Twain’s side. This year, Twain must be included when it came to outstanding contributions. After he led his team to win the World Cup in Australia, he not only greatly boosted the confidence of the British people, but also enhanced the reputation of the United Kingdom. This even stimulated the British economy. With such accomplishments, it was really inexplicable to people that there was still controversy around the prospect of him being given the honor.

People even wrote letters to the Queen, imploring her to honor Twain.

It was through the efforts of these people that Twain’s name appeared on the list of honorees, and it was said the Queen herself had personally decided this.

Nevertheless, Twain did not intend to accept…

※※※

Long after the first recommendation for the honor was rejected, Twain knew that many people at the top level of the country did not like him. However, he had not like the country either. As a traditional Chinese man who “lived” in a British host, he was not interested in such a thing as the award. He had not thought to fight for his rights.

The second time that the recommendation was rejected reinforced Twain’s disdain for the royal family as well as his contempt for the so-called peerage. A hundred years ago, perhaps such a peerage still held some attraction. Now that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could be honored, he had no need to shamelessly push for it. Twain was never a man who liked to get in on the action.

As for the third time… His supporters finally put him on the list of honorees, but he was disinterested in the farce.

“Do I have to call you Uncle Sir in the future?” Shania looked at the list in the newspaper and teased her husband.

Twain shrugged it off and gave her an unexpected answer, “You won’t have that opportunity, my dear.”

“Huh?” Shania did not understand what he meant.

“I intend to refuse the honor.”

“What…” Shania’s mouth was agape. She was shocked.

“It’s not that surprising, is it?” Twain was amused by Shania’s reaction. “More than three hundred people in history had refused the Queen’s award of honor. I will be just one of them.”

“I just don’t understand why,” Shania pouted.

“If I had been awarded the Order of the British Empire on the first occasion, perhaps I would have been happy to accept it in front of the Queen as an honor like a championship trophy. Now my mindset is different. The medal is currently not an honor to me, but a charity. I don’t want it,” Twain pointed to the list in Shania’s hand and sneered.

Shania smiled as she looked at Twain. She was not British and naturally did not look at it from the perspective of a British national honor. Anyway, it was just a title. Since her husband said he did not want it, then the matter was settled.

“Anyway, it’s a medal for you, so you can do as you please.” Shania tossed the newspaper aside and put her hands around Twain’s neck. She looked at him with affection in her eyes and then moved her body closer as she gently caressed Twain’s chest.

※※※

Pierce Brosnan was shocked when he received an e-mail from Twain about his so-called “open letter.” Then he immediately called Twain.

“Tony, what are you thinking?”

“Huh?” Twain was not really awake yet and made a confused sound.

“I’m referring to the matter of your rejection of the honor… What the hell are you thinking?” Brosnan was holding tightly the “open letter” he had just printed out. The paper made a loud rustling sound when he trembled as he spoke.

“What am I thinking? I’m not interested in the common and tacky knighthood. It’s as simple as that, Pierce.” Twain stretched and got up from the bed. He turned his head to look at his wife, who was still sound asleep. He pulled the blanket over her and walked out in his pajamas.

It was very cold on the early December morning. He walked to the terrace, where the cold wind that was blowing in his face completely woke him up.

“Common and tacky? Tony, Don’t you know the significance of the honor?” Brosnan thought it must be because Twain had not woken up yet and was talking nonsense.

“Perhaps it was meaningful many years ago, Pierce. Now it’s meaningless. Even the owners of a fast-food chain can be awarded the Order of the British Empire. In a few years’ time, even the parents of newborn babies could reserve a spot ahead. With two thousand names a year, how many people in the UK do you think have not been awarded? Then again… I appreciate all your efforts to get me the award of honor. However, I don’t want this type of honor that smacks of charity. Am I a man who can’t live without the Order of the British Empire and the title of ‘Sir?’ Do you think I care about an insignificant thing like knighthood now that I’ve won so many championships?”

“Er…” Brosnan was rendered speechless by Twain’s words. He knew that Twain was an unruly man. It had not changed with his increasing age. However, he did not expect Twain to act this way with the British royal family…

“Don’t you think it’s such a pity, though, Tony?” Brosnan asked timidly.

“How can it be a pity? At best, I would be called ‘Sir Anthony.’ I don’t think the people who did not respect me before will respect me just because I have a title. I don’t think the people who have always liked me before will stop liking me if I do not become a Sir. I’m still who I am, I’m Tony Twain.” Twain gazed into the distance in the east. The sun was rising, and the brilliant rays lit up the eastern skies and horizon while the white mist in the forest rose and rolled, making it look like a fairytale land.

What else could Brosnan have to say when he brought up this point? Twain was right. He was who he was. He was Tony Twain, so no one could change the decision he made. Even if he were to set himself against the world, all anyone could do was choose to stand with him or against him.

“You’re going to make the royal family feel a great humiliation,” muttered Brosnan.

“That’s the result I want, haha!” Twain put a hand on his hip and guffawed loudly. “Some people did everything they could to make sure that I didn’t get the title. Now they see this as a form of charity and peace offering to me. I’ll tell them: let your self-righteous pride go to hell!”

Putting down the phone, Brosnan looked at the open letter in his hand and gave a sigh. He remembered a past event.

Before Twain, Nottingham Forest’s equally controversial manager, Brian Clough, who led the Forest team to two Champions League titles and had impressive accomplishments, was not awarded a title by the royal family either. There were rumors that Clough himself refused the royal invitation for the honor, and some people said that the unruly old man disapproved of the government at that time. In any case, when people proposed the honor again after Clough’s death, the matter was dropped because the Order of the British Empire and a peerage was not allowed to be conferred posthumously. In this way, Clough and the highest honor available to the British civilian population narrowly missed each other.

Fifteen years later, another Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain, also refused the royal honor. Was it fate?

Thinking further, nearly five hundred years ago, an unruly outlaw who felt contempt authority also appeared in this land. He led his men to go against the noble masters of the time, robbed the rich to help the poor, wandering the woods in the mountains with freedom.

Maybe this country has a tendency to produce this kind of characters…

Whether it was Robin Hood, Clough, or now Twain, they were all outlaws who were unruly, dared to challenge authority, and advocated freedom.

No matter what the outside world thought of them, their legendary stories would always spread through the lush Sherwood Forest. They were the heroes here.

※※※

A day later, the open letter written by Twain himself was sent to the Nottingham Evening Post and immediately caused a stir.

In the letter, Twain thanked the British royal family and the friends who campaigned for the honor. However, he made it clear that he would reject the title. As for the reasons for the rejection, he did not say that the current intrinsic value and authority of the peerage had become increasingly lower, even though everyone knew it. His reasons were much stronger than this.

“…I know a lot of people do not want me to be honored. They think I do not deserve it, and I do not wish to comment on that. I just want to say that I never wanted to receive any Order of the British Empire from the start – have any of you seen me come out and speak up for myself during such debates? No, because I did not want it at all. Are those people who were against me disappointed now? Of course, I would like to thank my friends who have advocated for the honor on my behalf. However, I don’t want to go against my principles – I do not want to be addressed as ‘Sir Anthony’, and I do not want to make myself look like a beggar who has been given charity to satisfy others. I am who I am, I am Tony Twain. I have a better reward than an unimportant Order of the British Empire – 15 years as a manager and 16 championship trophies. I don’t need to rely on a peerage to show my worth and make everyone know my achievements. In the face of them, everyone will agree that I am Britain’s… no, the world’s best football manager.

Therefore, for all the reasons mentioned above, I refuse to accept this honor.”

Although many people had refused the honor from the British royal family for various reasons, it was the first time that someone had done it as arrogantly as Twain. His manifesto was so potent that it incited a huge response across Britain.

Once again, people experienced his recalcitrance.

The Sun later commented:

“…He did not open his mouth to strike back in the face of numerous doubting voices in the media after his comeback. He did not give a slap to those people who laughed at him after losing the first game. All this made us think that the 50-year-old Tony Twain was getting old, that he had lost his sharpest teeth and claws, and was meek like a kitten.

However, we were wrong. It was just that he did not meet an opponent worthy enough for him to make a move.

Now, as for the British royal family, the opponent’s name is impressive enough, as well as qualified enough to be his adversary. So once again we meet with the familiar Tony Twain, the guy who is used to set himself against the world.”

“A genius is always different from ordinary people.” Lineker talked about the incident with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson on the television show and said this, “I admit that the appeal of the peerage to the public is declining every year. However, there are still a lot of people who want to receive such an award every year. 2,000 places are still not enough. Under such circumstances, it is incomprehensible that Twain should give up the honor. However, he cannot be understood using an ordinary person’s thinking. The comments I have heard the most since the matter came out were ‘Why?’, ‘Why did he say no?’, ‘Why would he write such an arrogant open letter?’, ‘Why would he employ such a high-profile method of rejection?’… Many ‘whys.’ It seems to me that it would be foolish to ask Twain why. He never needs a reason to do things. If you must find a reason, then I can only say that he was probably in a bad mood, or in too good of a mood …”

The Nottingham Evening Post even gave Twain the title of “The King Without A Crown” and wrote, “…Although I personally regret that I can’t address Twain as ‘Sir Anthony’, it is just as Twain himself said: with 15 years of coaching and 16 major championship trophies, Twain no longer needs a knighthood to honor him for his accomplishments. He is, without a doubt, ‘The King without a Crown!’”

Chapter 1006 - A Man Should Not Let A Lady Go Home Alone

The speculations about his return continued to be hyped in the media, but Twain was too busy to take notice. The most intense competition schedule had begun. If he and the players still wanted to have an enjoyable Christmas holiday, they could not lose too many games during this period…

Since Twain took over the team, he concentrated the most on defense and stamina. McAllister had neglected the stamina in the summer during preparations for the tournament and had indulged in the practice of his rich and varied offensive routines. To avoid collapsing completely in the second half of the league tournament, Twain could only help make up for what his predecessor did not do. It was why Twain insisted on competing with the simplest of tactics – he really did not have the time and energy to come up with flashy moves to please the crowd.

Since Sophia’s death, Twain had been concerned about Wood’s state of mind. Looking at the past few weeks, Wood had not sunk into despair due to the death of his mother. He did not bring up the matter of retirement again either.

Maybe the song sung by Shania had some effect… Twain hoped so.

Wood was hardworking, serious, and did his utmost more than ever during training. He was using this method to try to forget the pain of losing his mother, which Twain was powerless to do anything about. Time was the best medicine for the recovery from trauma. He believed that over time, Wood would eventually get over those emotions… Of course, it could not happen without the help of others.

“Hey, George.” During a break in training, Twain called Wood over.

Wood thought Twain was going to talk to him about some of the arrangements for the game scheduled for the day after. However, he did not expect Twain to invite him to his house for dinner in the evening. “I’ve asked Shania to cook a meal for you… Why are you looking at me like that? She has honed her cooking skills now… All right, fine, I’ll personally prepare the meal. In fact, Teresa misses her older brother Wood. Can you bear to make a sweet and lovely girl sad?”

Wood hesitated and finally nodded.

Twain looked at Wood’s departing back view and shook his head gently. It was the only thing he could do for Wood. Twain felt uncomfortable at the thought of him locking himself after training ended, in that dark, cold, lifeless house as if it was not a real home, but an eerie and crumbling ancient castle full of ghost legends.

If it had not been for Wood’s refusal, he had even planned to have Wood move to his own home and live with him. After all, there was more life in his own home.

※※※

“Okay, guys. That’s all for today. I’ll remind you again that the busiest period will start from the day after tomorrow. If you don’t want to spend Christmas in the English Football League Championship next season, then give me your best shot. The first target,” Twain put up his right index finger as he spoke, “is to get out of the relegation zone. Always wandering at the edge of the relegation zone puts a lot of psychological pressure on me. That’s all for now, guys.”

The players left the training ground one by one. Twain called out and stopped Wood.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

Wood pointed to the sweaty training suit he wore and said, “I’m going to go home to change my clothes and take a shower.”

Twain looked at him and said, “George, are you really refusing to consider my suggestion? You might as well move in to live with us.”

Wood shook his head and said, “No, I prefer staying in my home.”

Twain sighed helplessly and said, “All right, that’s up to you. We’ll wait for you at home. Besides, you can come whenever you want.”

“Thank you.” Wood did not turn around straight away but said ‘thank you’, which surprised Twain a little. He thought he would not hear the words “thank you” because of Wood’s awkward temper.

It looked like… he had matured a little.

Twain pinched his chin and pursed his lips.

※※※

Teresa knew that Wood was coming and was excited. After she heard the news, she sat properly in the living room and waited while Twain and Shania were busy in the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous dinner.

However, after they got all the dishes ready, Wood had not come yet.

“He just has to shower and change clothes. It shouldn’t take so long…” Twain looked at his watch. It was 8:30 p.m., and the team’s training was over before seven o’clock.

“Does George have a car?” Shania asked.

“No.”

“He won’t walk here, will he?”

Twain was taken aback by his wife’s idea and said, “Walk all the way here from Wilford? Don’t joke, my dear. He’s not an idiot.”

“Then, could he have met with some trouble…” Shania, with her chin in her hand, looked up at the ceiling and muttered to herself.

“What kind of trouble could he have? I’ll be thankful if he doesn’t give trouble to others…” Twain also muttered to himself. However, he was not sure what happened. Could it be that Wood went home, saw his mother’s photograph, suddenly lost the will to come and decided to stay at home? It was quite possible… However, he should have given him a phone call to explain.

Just as the two people’s imagination was running wild, the doorbell outside rang.

“Big Brother Wood!” Teresa happily yelled as she jumped off the couch and went to open the door, while Twain and Shania looked at each other. It looked as if their guest had arrived.

“Big Brother Wood…” Teresa, who stood at her tiptoes to open the door, looked at the two people outside with a puzzled expression.

“Hello, Teresa.” George Wood, who was wearing a suit, greeted Teresa, who stood at the door looking up at himself and the girl behind him.

“Hello, Teresa,” Wood’s companion gave a friendly wave to the little girl.

Twain, who was still wearing an apron, and his wife came out of the kitchen and were also taken aback when they saw Wood standing outside in the yard with Vivian behind him.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Twain.” Vivian went round in front of Wood and waved her hand in greeting at the Twains.

Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of both Twain and Shania, Wood pointed to Vivian, who was standing next to him, and said, “I did not ask her to come but she insisted on tagging along with me.”

“I had asked George to have dinner together, but he said you invited him, so I came along. I hope I’m not bothering you,” Vivian said politely to the two hosts.

After seeing the behavior of the couple, Twain understood everything. Consequently, he immediately changed the expression on his face, beamed and invited the two of them in. “It’s no bother at all. We couldn’t be more pleased… You know, George never brings any friends to our place, especially…” he glanced at Wood and added, “female friends.”

Shania also understood what was going on, and hurriedly welcomed them. She patted Teresa on the head and said, “Teresa, show Big Brother Wood and Big Sister Vivian the way.”

Teresa turned back at every step to look at the two as she led them into the house.

Twain and Shania deliberately fell behind.

“She was the nurse in the hospital who constantly cared for Sophia until she passed away,” Twain said to Shania. “You must have met her at the funeral.”

“Yes, she was standing behind Wood at the time… When did they start going out?” Shania whispered.

Twain gave a silent chuckle. “It seems that our woodblock has encountered a persistent character!”

“I think it’s wonderful. The best way to forget a painful period is to find new love.” Shania linked her arm with Twain’s and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m sure Sophia would be very happy, too.”

※※※

During dinner, the focus of the conversation was on Vivian, as if she were the one invited by the Twains, and Wood was nothing more than a prop.

Shania kept chatting with Vivian, asking her about her job, her current situation, and taking an indirect approach to find out how she and Wood had gotten close enough to have dinner together with his old friends…

All the while, Wood sat there like a blockhead.

Vivian appeared natural and relaxed. She was not nervous at all, facing a legendary manager who had just caused a huge debate across the United Kingdom and a Hollywood movie star and supermodel. She behaved a little like when she first stopped Wood in the hospital.

Twain did not chat with Vivian in the same manner as his wife did. He only occasionally said a few words, and at other times, he observed both Wood and Vivian. He noticed that Vivian always glanced at Wood, intentionally or unintentionally, while Wood was fully focused on eating his dinner.

It was interesting.

“As a friend of George’s, I think he must have been a headache for you, hasn’t he?” Twain interjected. He knew it was not easy to get along with George. He originally thought that only he and Shania could interact with Wood peacefully. Outsiders never knew when they might offend Wood. He was as strong and stubborn as an ox, but tender-hearted like a sentimental young lady.

Speaking of which, Vivian got a little embarrassed. She took a look at the indifferent Wood next to her and laughed as she said, “Actually… I think I’m the one who gives George a headache.”

Both Twain and Shania were taken aback. Oh, my God! Was there anyone else in the world who could give Wood a headache?

Seeing the surprised look in the eyes of the two hosts, Vivian further explained, “I can feel that sometimes George is angry with me, but he will not scold me, nor will he drive me away or anything like that… But I think he must have a headache.”

At this time, Wood, who had not said anything at all until now, spoke up. “She’s right, I do have a big headache.”

Twain laughed, and then Shania laughed along with her husband.

Teresa looked curiously at her parents. Although she did not understand what was going on, since her parents laughed, she laughed as well…

Only Wood and Vivian at the dining table wondered why Twain and his family found this so funny.

Twain stopped laughing after much difficulty and then looked at Wood and said, “Oh, George. I’m so happy that someone is finally able to control you, haha!”

Vivian did not understand why Wood would not scold her even though she made him angry. However, Twain clearly understood. It was because Vivian was the only one who had been with Wood’s mother in the last days of her life. The young nurse had been by Sophia’s bedside the whole time while she was in a coma for the final two days. It was a huge kindness in Wood’s view. He certainly would not mistreat the benefactor who had accompanied his mother and stayed with her at the passing of her last breath.

However, Wood must not like the fact that Vivian was taking care of him, so he felt powerless and annoyed.

Shania also understood the reason behind it, so she laughed as well. The people all over the world who could make Wood yield could be counted on one hand and happened to be here at this table today. She turned to look at her own husband and found him staring at the two people across with a cheeky expression.

What did he see?

George’s future?

Vivian was a little embarrassed by Twain’s words, while Wood was even more uncomfortable.

After dinner, Wood was going to say goodbye. He did not want any jokes at his expense. However, Twain did not want to let him go just like that.

“It’s Christmas in two weeks’ time, George. Come to our place then. Shania is going to work again. Surely you’re not going to let Teresa and me have a lonesome Christmas by ourselves?” Twain was good at finding an excuse. Once he used the sweet Teresa as the trump card, and once Wood had taken a look at Teresa’s bright and beautiful eyes, full of anticipation, he bit back the words of polite decline.

He nodded.

“Are you going to spend Christmas with your parents, Miss Vivian?” Twain asked, turning to her.

“No… They’ve already booked a flight to Barcelona. They’re taking advantage of the Christmas period to go on holiday, which they had been planning since the beginning of the year,” Vivian shook her head.

“In that case, you…”

“And I have to work shifts, so I have to stay in Nottingham,” Vivian gave Twain a smile.

“Well…” Twain turned to look at Wood and said to him, “Don’t forget to bring Miss Vivian with you at Christmas, George.”

Wood looked up in amazement at a smiling Twain.

Vivian also looked at Twain in surprise. Soon, however, she turned her gaze to Wood, as if waiting for his answer.

Vivian was not the only one waiting for it. Twain and Shania were looking at Wood, waiting eagerly.

Wood hesitated and finally gave a curt nod.

Twain smiled and so did Shania. Vivian also lowered her head and smiled.

“Very well, let’s call it a night now.” Twain and his family saw Wood and Vivian out of the courtyard. Then Twain said to Wood, “Take Miss Vivian home first before you go back.”

Wood looked at him.

“A man should not let a lady go home alone.” Twain put his hand on Wood’s shoulder and squeezed it hard.

“If you’re worried you’ll get home too late, I can allow you to be 15 minutes late for training tomorrow morning.”

※※※

Wood was not late for the training session the next day. He was still the first in the entire team to arrive at the training base, the first one to change into the training clothes and the first one to appear on the training ground.

Two days later, in the first game of the devil’s calendar during the Christmas period, Wood led the team to a victory over the visiting Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. Then a piece of news came from Paris, France, that George Wood was awarded the European Ballon d’Or for his outstanding performance in this year’s national team competition. On the same day, Wood was also awarded the World Player of the Year award by United Kingdom’s World Football publication. In addition, this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards’ Sportsman of the Year award was also waiting for him.

More than a week later, five days before Christmas, Wood and Twain flew together to the Austrian capital, Vienna. In Wiener Musikverein, Wood took the FIFA World Player of the Year trophy from the FIFA President Blatter.

Although the club’s performance was not very good, this year was the year of the World Cup. All the major awards were judged accordingly by a major event like the World Cup. Twain’s England team was an emphasis on the team as a whole. As the core and captain of the team, Wood was naturally the key figure in the team ultimately winning the World Cup. It was indisputable that he should be elected as FIFA World Player of the Year.

Wood appeared a little awkward and slow of speech at the awards ceremony, but his brief acceptance speech made Twain’s eyes tear up as he sat below the stage with a smile on his face and prepared to clap.

“All my glory belongs to my mother, and this is no exception.” He held up the golden cup in his hand and said, “Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Mr. Twain.”

It was the first time Wood had won such a prestigious award and his career had reached a peak. Hopefully, his life would start a whole new chapter from now on…

In addition, Tony Twain, who led the England team to the World Cup, was once again named FIFA World Coach of the Year. This was nothing new. Twain had appeared on this stage to accept the awards when he led his team to win the first UEFA Champions League, as well as the defending UEFA Champions League title and when he won the Treble as well.

It was the fourth time in his coaching career that he had stepped upon this podium.

“I hope you don’t get bored.” Twain’s first words made everyone below the stage burst into laughter. “It’s definitely not a pleasant thing to see my annoying face again. But it doesn’t matter; you all can breathe a sigh of relief.” When Twain said this, he turned to the FIFA and UEFA officials. “I’m only working again for this season, so I want to say goodbye to you in advance.” He waved his hand and continued, “This time, the farewell is real, and I won’t be coming back. So, you can have a good night’s sleep in the future, guys.”

Then, amid the startled expressions of the senior officials, Twain took the trophy and slowly walked off the stage. He was greeted by a standing ovation from the entire audience.

Although there were many rivals here who were his opponents on the field, they still gave respect and acknowledgment to the professional who had won so many honors.

No matter how much they disliked Twain, those championship trophies served as constant reminders for them to respect him.

In Wiener Musikverein, the top classical music hall of Vienna, Tony Twain, the best in his field, had also made it to the top level of football. Everyone, including his opponents, respected him. No one dared to question his status again.

Chapter 1007 - Inside First, Then Outside

Although rejecting the Queen’s award caused a stir at home, Twain wasn’t much affected. He was still taking the team everywhere, playing the game. In every Forest home game, their Crimson Stadium was still full of seats. The Nottingham press continued to sing his praises every week. The voices of the few opposing media people did not affect him at all.

Britain’s royal family only regretted that Twain, such a prominent celebrity, has refused to be honored. They did not say much about it. Perhaps they thought that it was really inappropriate to take it so seriously when one had royal noble status like they did.

However, someone must have been dissatisfied with Twain’s open letter, because they felt like they were deeply offended. Twain didn’t care how they felt. Just let those haters keep on hating him.

“Nottingham Forest have risen from 17th to 14th place… ”

Xia Yang was reading the news of international football in the newspaper.

“Are you still questioning my choice, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian was sitting next to him, peeling an apple for himself.

“Hey…” Xia Yang had to admit that he was not as trusting towards Twain as the young man next to him was. “Just a few victories, that doesn’t make a difference. And I’ve heard that Twain will retire again at the end of the season. What will you do then? You have to know that ‘every emperor has a cabinet composed of his own favorites’, Chen Jian.”

“I’m going to be worth more than I am right now even if I only spent half a season at Nottingham Forest. Don’t you know this, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian lifted the apple parings, and Xia Yang saw the paring of an apple was not cut off at all. The slices were still connected as one. “Furthermore, maybe the new head coach will like me as well?”

“Stop your daydreaming!” Xia Yang gave him an angry stare, but deep inside he wished this may be true.

“What did the club say?”

“Nottingham Forest has made an official offer, but they haven’t given any reply yet. I think they’re going to wait until the winter transfer window opens. I hope it will get more attention from the other clubs for a better price.” Speaking of this, Xia Yang frowned. “I have given the news to the press, but I think the pressure they put the club under is quite not enough yet.”

“I would like to join Nottingham Forest as soon as I can, Uncle Xia. ”

Xia Yang looked at him. “If you want that, you will have to go to Manzano to talk to him personally, Chen Jian. Media news can only be considered as catching the wind and grasping at the shadow, but as for the player’s own opinion, they will have to consider it.”

Chen Jian put a piece of apple in his mouth and took a bite. “OK, I’ll go to talk to Mr. Head coach.”

Chen Jian went to find his coach Manzano for a showdown, while Twain was making his way to Thiago Silva.

“To be honest, Thiago, the club doesn’t need you anymore. If you think of looking for a new club after the winter window opens, I’m sure many will be ready to appreciate the contribution you’ve made in recent years.” Twain sat in his office chair and looked at the 33-year-old center-back on the sofa.

Both men looked a little aloof. Twain had long wanted to get rid of this “Overlord in the dressing room”. Now the chance was finally here.

During the last round of the league, Twain used the rotation system in the dense schedule. Thiago Silva, who hasn’t played ever since he took the job, finally appeared in the starting lineup. However, his performance was not flattering at all. At the age of 33, he clearly couldn’t resist the impact of a young striker. His speed was low, his turn slow, and his bounce poor. Where he’s been had become a major weak point for the opponent. Twain eventually had to replace Silva at the start of the second half and sent Sacco to finally stabilize the situation.

Although in this game the Forest team only got a draw, it showed to many people Silva’s embarrassing performance.

“I’d like to finish my contract with the club and retire from the Forest,” Silva made his own comments without any expression.

“If you’re willing to leave the team in January, the club will compensate you for the rest of the season.” In order to get rid of this man, Twain spared no effort. And Evan Doughty was also in line with Twain. Even if it meant losing lots of money, he wouldn’t hesitate.

“I have signed a contract with the club for a year and a half.”

Thiago Silva’s remark meant that the club should compensate him for the entire duration of the contract. Twain and Doughty would certainly not agree to such a request, but at least it meant Silva was ready to leave the team, it was only that the price didn’t reach his expectations yet.

Twain could only curse Evan privately in his mind. He could not understand how Evan was thinking to sign another three-year contract with a 32-year-old center-back. It was said that Alan had done this deal, and now he could not help believing that Allen had received some profit from Silva’s agent.

Therefore, it might not have been a whim for Evan to dismiss Allen.

What if Silva insisted on fulfilling the eighteen-month contract?

Twain said, “Then I’ll give you a showdown, Thiago. From today on, until your contract expires, I will not put you on the starter lineup, nor will I put you on the roster. You won’t get a second in all the games, even in the preseason. The team doesn’t need you now. You can go back to Brazil for a holiday, or you can go somewhere else to play or spend your vacation however you wish. I won’t care if you come to train or not. However, every time you miss a training session, I’ll deduct your salary for a week. Every time you are late for training, I’ll deduct your salary for a week as well. What do you think of this condition?”

Thiago Silva suddenly showed a surprised look – this head coach was simply too ruthless!

Seeing his change of expression, Twain grinned silently. He wasn’t at all afraid that doing so would cause the other players to complain. The Brazilian was no better at the dressing room than Balotelli, and many English players and veteran players were eager to see how Silva would suffer.

However, since the conversation has gone this far, there was no need to talk about it anymore. Silva would definitely not discuss it calmly, and Twain wasn’t planning on wasting his breath.

Silva left the head coach’s office with a furious look, and Twain believed that next, he would look for his agent, but he was not afraid at all. If Silva was going to leave, of course it would be the best choice for both of them. However, if he insisted on staying, Twain was determined that the Brazilian would know who was in charge of Wilford and Nottingham Forest.

※※※

However, Twain did not see Silva’s agent, and Silva wasn’t late for training or absent. Instead, he worked harder in the training. Twain thought Silva was testing him to see if what he said was true or just a bluff.

Twain was not concerned whether Silva believed what he said or not. In the next week, in two games, Silva did not even enter the roster.

In fact, that Silva didn’t make the roster list for two rounds in a row wasn’t such big news, so basically, the media didn’t pay much attention at first. But then came the news in The Sun that there was a conflict between Silva and Twain.

Twain had a hunch that it was something Silva’s agent had done in an act of trying to put pressure on him. What a joke. He was not afraid of this.

Indeed the reporters quickly came to Twain to ask him if he had a conflict with Silva or not.

Twain didn’t answer the question head-on. “A nearly 34-year-old center-back was out of the roster list for two rounds in the league. Isn’t it normal for a player of that age? I don’t know what you’re so surprised at.”

As Twain’s partner, Evan stood out at the right time and said, “The club is thankful for Silva’s contribution to the team over the course of four seasons. The club also hopes he can get better at the end of his career.”

This was a subtle expression of the club’s position – Tony Twain and I are on the same side.

In this case, Nottingham Forest club and Tony Twain were both right. They didn’t have to waste their weekly salary on a guy who basically couldn’t get out to play regularly. They didn’t care if they were criticized for being ruthless. How many clubs were charitable these days? Besides, charity was for those with true loyalties, not for everyone alike. Otherwise, the club would turn into a nursing home. AC Milan was once regarded as the most humane club, but they didn’t leave every worthless player in their club. They drove away a large number of players every year. A world like professional football was actually very cruel…

The team actually knew there was a conflict between Twain and Silva, but no one came forward to say anything. Even those foreign players who had been very well with Silva once now saw him as the plague and tried to get away from him as far as they could.

Once a big rival in the locker room to George Wood, he was suddenly deserted by his followers. He no longer had anything to rely on to move against Twain. After these two rounds, he was convinced that Twain was really someone who could do anything as he said. Two rounds out of the roster list were just a warning. Then if he had the slightest slack in the training, and were caught by Twain, it would end up with real punishment.

It looked like his good days here were over.

Twain finally met Silva’s agent, who came to confirm whether if Silva really left Forest this winter the club would compensate him for the rest of the half-season.

Twain nodded and made the promise. They could inform the media about this news. If the club didn’t live up to that promise, Silva could get justice for himself through the news media.

The next thing was simple.

Silva wanted to return to Brazil to end his career. The club was generous enough to say that they could terminate Silva’s contract ahead of schedule and compensate him for the rest of the half-season so that Silva was free to join any club he wanted.

Meanwhile, negotiations for Chen Jian were continuing. The RCD Espanyol offered 20 million, and both Evan and Twain thought it was too much. Even as the core of the RCD Espanyol, Chen Jian was not worthy of this price. Therefore, they deliberately cooled down the negotiations, waiting for news from Barcelona.

A few days later, the local Barcelona media reported that Nottingham Forest was interested in buying Chen Jian, who also found Manzano to give him a showdown and expressed his desire to leave the team.

As a head coach, Manzano certainly didn’t want his team core to leave, but he was under pressure from both the club and Chen Jian. Chen Jian was determined to go, even up to a refusal to train. The club also wanted to sell Chen Jian to obtain next season’s transfer budget.

Finally, after repeated negotiations, the two sides finalized the transfer fee at nine million pounds. Chen Jian has become the most expensive player in the Chinese professional football history. In addition, he has once again attracted the attention of the world’s football community. Of course, it wasn’t just he who caught the world’s eye, but also the Nottingham Forest club that acquired him for this price.

Many media outlets didn’t understand why Nottingham Forest was buying a player with similar technical features and style to Wood, and a Chinese midfielder who was no longer young at that. However, this time no reporters jumped out to mock him in such a hurry. They all learned patience in the face of this man who would always slap the doubting ones in the face. The media were all waiting, waiting for Chen Jian to come to the Forest team to make a fool of himself.

Twain didn’t care what the media thought. It was the best for the media to be confused because his opponents were confusing too.

He was delighted that the transfer negotiation had finally been settled before the winter transfer window opened. In this way, on January 1 next year, they could introduce Chen Jian right away.

In a phone call to Chen Jian, Twain told him the good news. “If you can pass the physical examination, you’ll catch up with the Football Association Cup on January 5.”

Chen Jian didn’t understand why this was good news. If being able to play for the new team as soon as possible was good news, it was good for the player. It had nothing to do with the head coach!

“The schedule has come out early! Nottingham Forest’s first game of the Football Association Cup this season is against Notts County.” Twain smiled on the other end of the line. “To tell you the truth, Chen Jian, my successor is your compatriot and you will have the opportunity to show your strength in front of him in the Football Association Cup.”

Hearing this, Chen Jian understood Twain’s intentions.

He knew Dunn and Twain weren’t the kind of head coaches who would be unfairly privileged. Dunn could become the head coach of Nottingham Forest after that, no doubt, only because of Twain’s recommendation. There would be absolutely no question of opposing Twain’s words in Nottingham. If he didn’t want to just be a passer-by at Nottingham Forest, he would have to show his strength in front of the next head coach. Wasn’t it better to show his strength ahead of time in front of Dunn than after he became the head coach?

This was really good news.

On Christmas Eve, Twain and his daughter Teresa dined at home with George Wood and Miss Vivian. In the passing year, many good things happened to Twain. Although Sophia has left her son this year, Twain was now delighted to see Wood make a fresh start, a new life that was entirely his own.

Chapter 1008 - New Force

January 1, 2019.

On this day, Nottingham Forest sent someone away and welcomed a new member.

Nottingham Forest announced that 34-year-old Brazilian center back Thiago Silva was out of contract now. He would be free to join Brazil’s Vasco da Gama, where he planned to end his career.

Silva left the club in the morning. In the afternoon, the team had their only one move that winter – introducing midfielder Chen Jian from the RCD Espanyol.

“Only reporters, no fans, and basically only Chinese reporters. It’s not the future I’ve planned for you, Chen Jian.” Sitting in the Ford car the club especially sent to pick them up, Xia Yang was looking at those reporters out of the window as he spoke to Chen Jian.

“The boss told me that the meeting with the fans was moved to before the Football Association Cup. As for reporters, the English reporters are waiting to see me become the biggest joke in here.” Chen Jian also turned his head to look out of the window, seeing many familiar faces.

Although Nottingham Forest now ranked lower than the RCD Espanyol in the league, after all, they were a traditionally strong football team that has taken the European Champions Cup five times in all. Chen Jian’s transfer this time has attracted domestic attention. He could tell this from the several familiar signs on the press people’s chests alone.

Chen Jian was getting used to all this. He was not the kind of nobody who had first come to England years ago. Now he was the number one Chinese player. The reaction to his transfer was predictable. Chinese fans still had illusions, though they were already very practical. Chen Jian’s achievement already made them happy and satisfied.

“You can really see this through. ” Xia Yang muttered to himself. The domestic response gave him a slight relief. Look at these reporters! It was obvious that Chen Jian was a star. He joined Nottingham Forest for a record-creating ￡9 million transfer fee, which was unheard of for a Chinese football player and had caused a great response at home.

In fact, ￡9 million was for the people who didn’t know the details. It was actually ￡10 million, but ￡1 million went into Xia Yang’s own pocket.

The negotiations were made personally by Evan, who slashed the price from the initial unacceptable ￡20 million to ￡9 million. If it were not for Chen Jian’s firm decision to leave the team, the RCD Espanyol wouldn’t want to sell him at this price at all.

“But this is not too bad. England is the birthplace of paparazzi, and the media industry here is very developed. If you play here you can get more attention.” As an agent, Xia Yang naturally commented on this transfer from his point of view. As for what happened on the court, he had no influence on that, so he did not consider it.

During the conversation, the car stopped at the entrance to The Crimson Stadium. It has long been crowded with media from China.

Chen Jian got out of the car and the flashes of cameras lit up. He didn’t stay long and walked straight into the press conference hall inside the stadium.

At the backstage, he saw the club president Evan Doughty and team head coach Tony Twain.

“Welcome to Nottingham Forest, Chen,” Evan Doughty, the club president, took the lead in welcoming him, reaching out his hand to shake Chen Jian’s.

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

Chen Jian’s attitude was not too humble, nor too arrogant.

Evan knew this occasion was not for him to play the leading role. That role was for the man behind him. So he didn’t say anything else to Chen Jian and went to see how the press conference was prepared, giving the stage to Twain and Chen Jian.

“After a circle, you come to the Nottingham Forest again, Chen Jian,” Twain said to Chen Jian in English.

“It’s always been my dream to join the Forest,” Chen Jian also replied in English.

“From the beginning?”

“From the beginning.”

Twain laughed with joy and stretched out his hand. Chen Jian thought he was going to shake his hand. He did not expect Twain to just pat him heavily on the shoulder.

“I hope Nottingham Forest can be the last stop of your career.”

Chen Jian thought about retiring at Nottingham Forest. It sounded like a pretty good thing. He nodded and said, “I hope so.”

“What do you think of the team’s results? I remember some media saying Nottingham Forest’s league rankings were not even as good as those of the RCD Espanyol,” Twain asked. “Some of the press is saying that your transfer was only for the money.”

It was very understandable for Nottingham Forest to pay Chen Jian a higher weekly salary than he got in RCD Espanyol. At the current stage of Chen Jian’s career, why would he choose to transfer for less pay? The RCD Espanyol hasn’t raised Chen’s salary since his arrival. Chen Jian was the RCD Espanyol’s main midfielder but still held the initial salary he got when he just transferred from the Eredivisie. His salary level was below the rank of the whole team. It was natural that Xia Yang always wanted Chen Jian to leave RCD Espanyol. His salary really didn’t match Chen Jian’s contribution to the team.

RCD Espanyol may still think the Chinese workforce was cheap, but Xia Yang was smarter than they thought.

“I am thinking more about the future. ” Chen Jian avoided the topic of money. He didn’t lie. Compared with that weekly salary, the chance to compete in European events at Nottingham Forest was what he wanted most. As a professional football player, if asked what his biggest regret was, he wouldn’t say it was never having won a title. Rather, it was the fact that he has never competed in a European event. Neither in Spain nor in the Netherlands. He was keen to play in the European Champions Cup and the UEFA Champions League, which represented the highest level of football.

“The future.”

Twain didn’t go on asking. He and Chen Jian were sitting in the background, waiting to come out quietly.

Evan Doughty welcomed Chen Jian on behalf of the club, and then Chen Jian walked out from the background advertisement board with the attention of all the Chinese media on site.

Unlike a big superstar joining the team, the press conference hall wasn’t even half full. Most of the media were Chinese, and the rest were Nottingham local press. Chen Jian’s eyes didn’t stop there. He glanced around, shaking hands with Evan Doughty and Tony Twain, then stood in front of the microphone prepared for him.

“I’m very happy to join the team that cultivated me at the beginning. It’s always been my dream to wear a Nottingham Forest uniform again.”

Many players would say that when joining the new team.

Something like, “I have wanted to play for Real Madrid since I was a kid.”

“It was my biggest dream to join AC Milan. ”

“I’ve always been a Barcelona fan.”

“It’s my pleasure to play for International Milan.”

…

And so on, this was almost the standard template. All the players had to do was change the name of the club.

So no one in the media took Chen Jian’s words seriously, even if they knew Chen Jian was really from the Nottingham Forest youth team.

When the media were free to ask questions, one of Nottingham’s locals immediately stood up and asked: “Nottingham Forest is currently ranked very poorly. Do you feel the pressure on your shoulder?”

“I want to play football and contribute to the promotion of the team through my own efforts.” Chen Jian’s answer was rather careful and mature.

The Nottingham local media was concerned about whether the arrival of Chen Jian could really strengthen the team, while the Chinese media were only concerned about whether Chen Jian could really perform in the team to his advantage.

The CCTV5 reporter stood up and asked, “You’re similar to George Wood in technical characteristics. Did the coach Tony Twain promise you anything before you joined the team?” He asked in Chinese.

Twain heard this, grabbed the microphone instead of Chen Jian and replied, “You will know when the game is played. Now Chen Jian and I don’t answer any of these tactical questions. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Chen Jian heard what Twain said, but he only smiled a bit. He did not say anything.

This has disappointed many people from the Chinese media. The press conference was meaningless without asking their most interesting questions.

The press conference was brief because there was no fan-meeting ceremony. After answering their questions, Chen and Twain pulled up a red Nottingham Forest uniform and showed it to reporters. It had Chen Jian’s last name and the number 14 on it.

If nothing unpredictable happened, this uniform would accompany him through five seasons with Forest, when he would turn 33. If he wanted to retire from the Forest, he’d have to come up with a better performance to please the picky head coach.

Standing in front of the reporters, Twain and Chen Jian both had smiles on their faces, but they weren’t sanguine. They knew that this was only the starting point, not the end for taking a long breath.

※※※

“Chen Jian joins the Euro Champions League hot team; he is called the successor of Wood!”

This was the sports news headline of the most famous portal in China. It was not the text under the heading that was most interesting, but the comments under the text.

“Shanxi netizen: don’t tease! The successor of Wood? Is the editor Chen Jian’s father?”

“Sichuan netizen: Sichuan netizen sends congratulatory message for Wood on finding his successor!”

“Beijing netizen: again the Title Editor. What is the point of sticking to the Title Editor for more than twenty years… Psycho!”

“Tianjin netizen: ‘Chen Jian, when do you become Wood’s successor?’ ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow!’”

“Sichuan netizen: why can’t Chen Jian be the successor of Wood? I think it’s reasonable. I believe Tony really wanted this when he bought him, didn’t he?

“Chongqing netizen: Upstairs Baby son, our captain can kick to 40 years old. Can Chen Jian also do that? When he retires, the captain will still be playing!”

“Shanghai netizen: Ah, we will not see Chen Jian in the Barcelona derby anymore.”

“Zhejiang netizen: Why should not he be happy? Looking at what they’ve done at home to the RCD Espanyol in the last few years, it’s a hell of a ~~”

“Hubei netizen: Yellow dog dies!”

…

“It’s funny, all the news about you can be connected to the other clubs’ resentment.”

Living in his temporary hotel room in Nottingham, Chen Jian was preparing to write on the portal’s blog via the internet.

Xia Yang was watching the news on the website next to Chen Jian. That was the sentiment he felt after reading the comments.

The website was originally contacting him through Xia Yang, who opened a guest blog for him in order to gather popularity. However, the website’s headlines were still tasteless.

“I don’t recall saying anything at the press conference about being Wood’s successor,” Chen Jian looked at Xia Yang.

“Then post an article on your blog for rebuttal! It will increase your popularity.”

“Did you arrange all this, Uncle Xia? ”

Xia Yang spread out his hands.

“You were known in the RCD Espanyol as the ‘Smaller Size George’. This has long been circulating in China, and it’s natural for other people to think about this. ”

Then Chen Jian wrote on his blog about the team’s press conference, explaining why the website sports news said he was Wood’s successor. He said he wasn’t Wood’s successor at all and that no one had said such a thing at the press conference. It must have been a misunderstanding by Chinese reporters.

The original blog title was “Finally, I realized my long-time dream!”

This was originally a very inspirational, but not very creative title. However, the portal editor deliberately changed the title into “I am not Wood II, I want to be Chen Jian I!”

The click rate and the comments were coming like nonstop tides. And of course, there was plenty of negativity.

The next day Chen Jian told his agent to stop blogging on the website after the contract with it expired. What the website was doing was so bitchy. Xia Yang shrugged. “You are a public figure, and every word you say can be distorted by the media with ulterior motives.”

“So I will remain silent from now on,” Chen Jian said with a poker face. “I will only show myself on the football field. If there is any media blog or column invitation in the future, refuse them!”

Xia Yang agreed, but he was still thinking, You cannot refuse all forms of interview, Chen Jian! You have to get used to the fact that the media are playing with their words to make any news more eye-catching!

※※※

The next day, Xia Yang went to find a house for Chen Jian, while Chen Jian went to Wilford to report that he will attend training with the team. At the training ground, George Wood, as the captain, welcomed the new teammate on behalf of the team. As Forest players, they were no stranger to the former teammate who once walked out of Forest.

Without Thiago Silva, and with Balotelli having a more positive attitude, the atmosphere within the team was now very harmonious. Chen Jian has not suffered much trouble or obstacles.

Fortunately, China’s media influence was confined to China. Otherwise, if the Nottingham Forest’s team knew what happened on the Chinese network two days ago, Chen Jian really had no idea what they would think of their new teammate. What idiot would challenge the captain’s authority the moment he first joined the team and plan to take his place?

Therefore, the Chinese unqualified network media could do nothing good, but would pull him back. In order to catch the eyes of netizens, they gave up on any credibility and integrity. Plagiarism, fabrication of fake news and rubbing of the edges were all commonplace, not to mention a twist of the original title.

Anyway, Chen Jian has begun his new life in Nottingham Forest. After four years, he finally got his way and put on a Nottingham Forest uniform to represent being a part of the team. It was believed that, in the history of Nottingham Forest, two Chinese names would be written and memorized. Their presence didn’t change the backward state of Chinese football, but at least it gave a lot of heartbroken Chinese football fans a little solace.

Chapter 1009 - Another Derby

There have always been two professional teams in the city of Nottingham.

If not for this FA Cup match, most people might have overlooked this fact.

Many cities were proud of their “high-quality derby matches” as it proved that football had a very strong influence in the place and the quality of the teams was very high. This was almost impossible in the town of Nottingham as Nottingham Forest and Notts County were not on the same level.

Nottingham Forest had already won five UEFA Champions League trophies, while Notts County had not even reached the Premier League yet.

Due to the massive gap in position caused by the inconquerable gap in abilities, Nottingham Forest and Notts County had little chances of an official derby match.

Thanks to the FA Cup, such an opportunity presented itself.

The fans of Notts County had to thank the FA Cup because their opportunity was finally here. They had always wanted to teach their arrogant neighbors a lesson, but they never had the chance to do so. Naturally, Nottingham Forest would not choose Notts County as an opponent for their pre-season friendlies. They were smart enough to be cautious, as an injury to one or two of their key players might affect their whole season…

Notts County had no rights to challenge Nottingham Forest previously. They could only curse them, insult them by saying they were the lapdogs of foreign capitalism and no longer an English team.

However, the situation had changed now. Tang’s arrival had strengthened Notts County noticeably and they were able to stabilize their position in the mid-table of the Championship. This made their imagination run wild and they wanted to prove their abilities to their old rivals. After all, “debauchery is a common vice among the wealthy”… Well, the meaning was not far off. As their abilities went up a level, their self-esteem naturally went up to a new level as well, and they dared to think about things that they did not fathom before.

That was why Nottingham started to simmer when the third-round draw of the FA Cup was out a month ago. At least half of the people in Nottingham were rubbing their hands in anticipation of the match. As for the rest, the Nottingham Forest fans were not that interested in a derby like this.

Maybe one could use this to describe the current state of the two teams: “Notts County only had eyes for Nottingham Forest, while Nottingham Forest only had eyes for the wide world.”

Therefore, even though it was a rare “derby”, the Nottingham Forest training plans did not change much and were the same as the training they did before any other FA Cup matches. The players did not talk much about the FA Cup opponents but focused on the league most of the time.

Chen Jian was the only one who thought that this was an interesting situation. He had experienced another derby in Spain before saying goodbye to that city. He did not expect to face another derby the moment he joined a new team in a different country.

He ended with a derby, and he would be starting with a derby. Interesting indeed.

※※※

“This derby is actually pretty interesting…” The day before the match started, there were finally people who remembered that the match would be a derby.

“The manager of Notts County used to be our assistant manager,” Gareth Bale was recounting the past to a bunch of new players who were engrossed in his tale. In the current team, there were not many who had experienced the days of the “Chinese assistant manager”.

“Come to think of it, I did not expect him to be a manager one day, much less our rival in the same city…” Bale said while rubbing his chin. “And he’s related to Chen Jian…” This brought all the attention of the people onto Chen Jian.

“Ah?” Chen Jian realized that everyone was looking at him and did not know what to say. He had just joined the team three days ago and was not familiar with the people yet. For a moment, he did not know what to say when faced with so many eager faces.

“They are both Chinese, of course they’re related,” Someone in the team said as a matter-of-factly.

“There are over a billion people in China. Do you think all of them are related to each other?” Bale said with some disdain. He pointed at Chen Jian and said, “Chen Jian left us when he was in our youth team then, but do you know how he came to Forest?”

Not many people knew about that. How many people would really care about the past of a Chinese player? The local media did not publish anything about it either.

“A commercial talent show,” Bale laughed as he looked at Chen Jian. “He got third place then. Tang, the assistant manager then, gave him a Forest jersey and that’s how he came here!”

The group of people learned something, and they were satisfied. The story was indeed interesting, similar to a legend.

Chen Jian was a little surprised. He did not expect someone on the team to know about this event of the past. After all, he did not publicize it. When he came to Nottingham Forest for a trial lasting a year back then, it was not a very sensational piece of news. The main team would not be interested in someone like him. Then he joined the youth team’s training, which was expected. Then after that, even though he signed a contract as a member of the first team, he had never appeared on the court and had never played a match in the Forest jersey before, not even a friendly game.

He had thought that nobody in Nottingham Forest of today, other than Tony Twain, would remember him.

He really did not expect the vice-captain of Nottingham Forest, Gareth Bale, to remember his past!

He suddenly remembered something that Twain told him before.

It was just after he participated in the press conference upon joining the team. The reporters had already left, and Twain had brought Chen Jian to the Crimson Stadium to step on the grass as part of another “welcome ceremony”.

“Chen Jian, do you know about the legend of Nottingham in the past?”

Chen Jian was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Do you mean the legend of Robin Hood?”

Twain nodded, stopped and looked at Chen Jian behind him. “Even though the name Nottingham Forest has nothing to do with Robin Hood, the crest is related to him. The thing that looks like a mushroom is actually an oak tree,” Twain pointed at the Nottingham Forest team crest on the stands, “And the oak tree is where Robin Hood and his merry band of brothers gathered. Doesn’t it sound like the Chinese classic Water Margin?”

Chen Jian was surprised. “Boss, you even know about Water Margin?”

“Not only do I know about it, but I’ve also read it a few times,” Twain wanted to reply to him like this.

“It’s one of the four famous classics of China, why would I not know about it?” Twain did not continue to dwell on this topic. Instead, he said, “The oak tree represents the brotherhood between Robin Hood and his companions, and it also represents resilience. The Forest’s legendary captain, Stuart Pearce, was known to have an ‘oak tree’s heart’.”

Chen Jian did not understand what Twain was trying to tell him. What he was saying seemed to be going way off topic. First Robin Hood, then the team crest, then the oak tree and now, the current England manager…

“What I’m trying to tell you is this: Nottingham Forest is just like the merry men of Robin Hood under the oak tree. The people here are very simple. They are either nice or not. If you want to be part of the team quickly, to be recognized and accepted, then there’s no point in acting. Just show them your abilities. If you can make them accept you for your abilities, you’ll be a part of the merry men. After that, you’ll be able to drink and eat with them heartily, ha!”

Twain laughed.

Chen Jian was a little shocked after hearing of such a strange team culture. He stood in the middle of the Crimson stadium, the stands were empty, and the afternoon sun could only shine on the east wing. The green field was inside the shadows of the stands and the roof.

The Nottingham Forest team crest was on the roof of the stands ahead of him. The metallic border shone with a golden light under the sun.

“…Nottingham Forest is just like a band of bandits, do you know what I’m saying? They will do anything for victory; stealing and robbing are just part and parcel of what they do. A team like this actually won the UEFA Champions League five times, what a tragedy for modern football…”

This was what a famous football pundit wrote on his blog after Twain led the team to the famous treble. Chen Jian had chanced upon it while surfing the net at that time.

Now that he thought about it, that person obviously hated Forest. He must have been a Real Madrid fan, but he was right.

Nottingham Forest was a lair where bandits gathered…

When Chen Jian returned to his senses, Bale and his other teammates were discussing Notts County again. They did not know much about this opponent. Twain had already shown them videos of Notts County’s games a few times during tactics briefing in the past few days, but who would care about such a weak adversary?

Therefore, their comments revolved around, “oh, I heard their number 10 is not bad”, “he was chosen to join the England under-21s team”, “number 18 seems to be decent too, but he’s not physical enough”, “they are just a championship team”, “I think we can attack their flanks…”, “What did the boss say?”

Once they mentioned the manager, Twain, everyone shut up.

After a while, the most experienced person, Bale, frowned and said, “I get the feeling that the boss isn’t taking this game seriously…”

Chen Jian wanted to laugh as he listened in. I don’t think you guys are taking this seriously either, he thought.

“To be honest, I think that if hope to qualify for a European competition next season, winning the FA Cup and joining the Europa League is the most suitable method,” Bale continued his analysis, “Yet I have this feeling that boss will give up on the FA Cup and focus on the league. But it’s too difficult to get into the top six…”

Chen Jian had done his research on Forest’s situation. After all, he was part of the team now… He had to admit that the vice-captain made sense. Even though the cup competition was very unpredictable, Nottingham Forest was a team that suited the big matches, and it might be good for them to focus on the FA cup. The league was too long, and who could say that there would be no other issues in the future?

“Why are you loafing around here?”

Just when they were thinking about the future of the team, the captain, George Wood, opened the doors of the dressing room and entered. “If you guys don’t go out now, you’ll all be late and you’ll have to run laps as punishment.”

With a rumble, the dressing room went into a stampede and within the blink of an eye, everyone disappeared from Chen Jian’s view.

“Um…” Chen Jian did not expect his teammates to be so quick to go.

Wood had wanted to turn and leave too, but he realized that there was one more person in the dressing room. When he realized that it was Chen Jian, he stopped and looked at him.

Chen Jian realized that he was misbehaving, and he lowered his head and hurried out of the dressing room.

This captain was really awe-inspiring. I don’t dare to look up while he is looking at me, Chen Jian thought as he jogged out.

Good thing he did not see the news from the Chinese website…

※※※

Bale was right. Twain had indeed wanted to give up on the FA Cup. However, he would never give up in the first round.

The Premier League teams would only begin their FA Cup journey after the start of the new year, so this was the first round to them, but it was actually the third round of the FA Cup.

Not only did Twain not plan to give up, but he was taking this game rather seriously. Otherwise, he would not have shown the players so many videos of the Notts County matches. It was a pity… He took the opponent seriously, but his players might not.

The players had their reasons for being lax about this match. The opponent was too weak. The Forest players estimated they would only need to use fifty percent of their abilities and it would be enough for them to win. So what if it was a derby? It was not as if they had not defeated Notts County in a derby match before. Of course, that was many years ago, and Wood was the only one in the team who took a part in that match. Even Bale was still training in the youth team and reserve team then.

However, this was a piece of history that could be dug out. The Nottingham local media was talking about the derby again after 14 years. That derby was the most recent one, and the media would naturally bring it up again and again.

With this kind of “historical results”, the Nottingham Forest players thought that victory was a given and they would be able to defeat their opponent easily.

Another manager might be thinking the same as his players. However, Twain had a special reason for taking this match seriously, a reason he could not share with anyone else.

He had always wanted to meet Tang in a match, to see the progress that Tang made over the years. He also believed that this was the best chance for Tang to showcase his abilities in front of the Nottingham Forest fans and Evan Doughty, and he would definitely not waste this chance.

Notts County would definitely give their all. This was a match that could not be compared to one of 14 years ago.

If they were not careful, he might… This was no ‘Battle of Waterloo’ this time. Nottingham Forest was no longer the force they were before, and Notts County was definitely not as weak as they used to be.

Chapter 1010 - No Derbies, No Football

Twain naturally has his reasons for placing so much emphasis on the match. However, he was not the only one to hold the match in such high regard. The Notts County manager, Dunn, felt the same as well.

Dunn suddenly became very serious after it was made known that his team would be up against Nottingham Forest in the next round. He has always been a thorough couch, but the Notts County players could tell that something was different this time round – he became even stricter during their training sessions. It was clear that their boss wanted to win the derby match.

It was not just Dunn. All the Notts County players wanted to win as well.

Both Notts County and Nottingham Forest were clubs from Nottingham, but they had very different fates. Nottingham Forest stood at the top, whereas Notts County could do nothing but gaze at them from below. Notts County might be playing in a lower league than Nottingham Forest, but that did not mean that their players did not have big dreams. They, too, longed to be like the Nottingham Forest players, and that was why the Premier League clubs were always able to attract many of their players over to their clubs year in and year out.

Men should always aim to reach greater heights, after all…

There was no such thing as loyalty. The talented players would only stay loyal to powerful clubs.

The Notts County players wanted to defeat the former Champions League winner Nottingham Forest to prove their abilities. It would be great if they could help their team get promoted to the Premier League, but even if they failed to do so, they would still be able to make use of the match to attract the attention of the various football teams in the top leagues and increase their chances of transferring to a better team.

To the Nottingham Forest players, this derby match was just like any other FA Cup match. The two teams were simply not on the same level ability-wise. However, to the Notts County players, this was a once in a lifetime chance to defeat Nottingham Forest. They were just like carps that had been given a springboard to help them leap through the Dragon’s Gate [1].

Tang Jing was able to discern the restlessness of her husband. Dunn has always been lost in thought recently, and his brows were forever knotted in frustration. He would lock himself in the study room until past midnight, and he paid no attention to their child at all either. Not only that, her relationship with her husband has become distant in recent days as well…

Tang Jing was worried that her marriage would be doomed if she allowed the situation to go on.

She wanted to talk to her husband regarding whatever was troubling him. Her shy and introverted husband has never been so restless before.

Actually, if Tang Jing had seen what Dunn was like before the 31st December of 2002, she would not be this confused now.

The Dunn from before 31st December 2002 was just like the Dunn of today. The only difference was that he was single back then, and no one else would be able to see him lock himself in the room and discern his restlessness. To everyone else, he was just like a statue with an indifferent exterior.

Tonight was the night before the derby match, and her husband did not seem as restless as before. This could be the best chance to speak to him. Tang Jing made use of the rare free time that she had after putting her baby to bed to head over to the study room. She quietly pushed open the door and tiptoed behind her husband before wrapping her arms around his neck.

Tang Jing felt her husband struggle in her embrace for a moment, but he quickly relaxed after realizing that it was her.

“I think there’s something off about you for the past few days, dear.” Tang Jing tried her best to speak to Dunn in a gentle voice. She did not want to provoke him. “What happened? You’ve been a manager for seven years, but this is the first time that I’ve seen you like this…”

Dunn did not answer his wife’s question directly. He lifted his head upwards to look at Tang Jing, who stood behind him, and said, “There’s a derby match tomorrow.”

It took Tang Jing a few seconds to react – this was the very first derby match that her husband had encountered as the manager of Notts County. The word ‘derby’ had a very, very special meaning in the football world, and as a former football reporter, it was impossible for Tang Jing not to know it. However, she still could not help but be confused: Notts County and Nottingham Forest were not on the same level, which meant that there was not much rivalry between the two sides. They rarely had the chance to face each other in a match, and there was no direct conflict of interest either. Unlike the AC Milan and Inter Milan fans, the fans from both teams would not get into fights with each other over the league trophy. The rivalry between them did not span hundreds of years like between Real Madrid and Barcelona either. In addition, the derby did not involve religion and was not as frightening as the ‘Old Firm Derby’ between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. as well.

Why would her husband care about the derby match between Notts County and Nottingham Forest when their rivalry was not as great as among those other clubs?

Dunn placed his hands over his wife’s. “My opponent for tomorrow’s match is Tony Twain.”

“Aren’t the two of you friends?” Tang Jing was baffled. Twain was probably the only person whom she had been jealous of in the past. There were times where she felt that her husband cared more about Twain than about her.

“It’s precisely because he’s a friend that I have to defeat him.”

That was all Dunn said. He did not explain further.

Tang Jing turned around and stared at Dunn’s face for a while before turning to leave.

“Friendship between men sure is hard to understand.”

Dunn smiled wryly to himself as he watched his wife close the door to the study room.

There would always be words one couldn’t say to others, even if that other person was one’s other half. His wife would never be able to accept the fact that he was actually a soul that had taken over another human’s body. This was an extremely complicated issue to talk about, and it involved very deep ethical problems as well. Dunn did not wish to think about it, but there was one thing he was certain of: the relationship that he had with Twain was definitely not as simple as just that of ‘friends’.

Looking back now, he could not help but wonder if he was the one who had snatched Twain’s body or if Twain was the one who had snatched his. It was impossible to tell any longer. However, it did not matter either way since he was still in a job related to football. He was just working for a different team. Would he be doing much better than he was now if the switch had not happened back then? Or perhaps… Would he be doing much better than Twain was now?

It was meaningless to think about such questions since he was certain that those scenarios would definitely not happen. However, those thoughts kept haunting him over the past few days. He was just like a possessed man who could not stop thinking about those impossibilities.

The glory that Tony Twain – a man whose body had been taken over by another soul – achieved was like a mountain that stood before Dunn. It blocked the sun and cast a huge shadow upon him.

Dunn felt as though he was living in perpetual darkness. Was he really going to live in this never-ending shadow forever?

He would just be called ‘Twain’s successor’ when he took over at Nottingham Forest next season. If that was the case, why did he agree to Twain’s invitation to return to Nottingham Forest next season?

No. He had to defeat Twain!

That was possibly the only way that he would be able to prove to himself he was not the terrified and helpless lad from 16 years ago anymore.

※※※

Twain’s gloomy face probably caused the Nottingham Forest players who regarded the derby match to be nothing more than a practice game to stop belittling their opponents.

“Do I need to remind everyone that this is a derby?”

It was halftime during the FA Cup match between Nottingham Forest and Notts County, and the home team, Nottingham Forest, was trailing by 0:1 at the Crimson Stadium.

Chen Jian had a five-minute meeting with the fans in the stadium prior to the match. He was not some famous superstar player, but the fans still gave him their warmest applause. He juggled the ball before approximately 60,000 fans and subsequently held the Forest scarf before him as a display of loyalty to the club. However, the meeting was not entirely amicable because he heard numerous boos from the stands – most of which came from the Notts County fans.

The Chinese reporters who had gathered at the Crimson Stadium to report on Chen Jian’s debut match must have been disappointed by the fact that Chen Jian did not start in the match. None of the British reporters appeared to care about who Chen Jian was either. Their attention was focused solely on Forest’s terrible performance on the pitch.

They were making comments such as:

“Why does George lack support in the midfield?”

“Gago has really gotten on with age…”

“Look at how the Forest players are performing when they are a goal down. It’s really hard to watch them play now.”

“Mitchell’s not able to receive a pass from the midfield at all, and Balotelli’s just like a headless chicken. He’s clearly not playing well in this match.”

Forest was not able to change the score at halftime even though they were the team with more shots at the goal.

“I’ve suddenly remembered a story. Who wants to hear it?” Twain said before his depressed players whose heads hung low. “We used ten years to build a huge empire. Back then, there was no one on the entire continent who dared to go against us. Our red flags could be seen at every nook and cranny of the continent. Those were such good times…” He lifted his head upwards to stare at the ceiling. It was as though he could see the scenes of those red flags across the world in his mind’s eye.

“The war ended soon after, and everything was peaceful. The cavalry returned to their homes and the calm lives that they led gradually wore away their courage and fight. Thus, when war broke out once again four years later, even the opponents whom we did not think highly of previously could defeat us!” Twain walked to the front of the players and bent over to look at each and every one of them. “Can your horses still run? Can your bodies still carry the burden of your armor? Can your hands still hold your spears? Can your hearts…”

Twain pounded his chest once.

“…Still beat along to the sounds of the war drums?”

Twain suddenly raised his voice and hollered.

His holler was so loud that several players raised their heads in shock.

Twain suddenly remembered a Chinese saying as he stared at the countless startled faces before him:

“Lian Po is old. Can he still eat much?” [2]

Lian Po is old…

Can he still eat much?

※※※

“We have taken the lead, and that’s a good thing. But I don’t want any of you to be too proud of that…” While Twain was trying his hardest to boost the morale of his players, Dunn was thinking about how to curb his players from getting ahead of themselves. “All of you have to remember this. We are facing off with a Premier League team that has lifted the Champions League trophy five times…”

One of his players cut him off. “Boss, that happened four years ago. In addition, the Forest team from back then is very different from the Forest team now. A lot of the players have been changed…”

Dunn looked at the player who had stood up to challenge him. He was the core of their team, Paul Johnson, who wore the number 10 on his shirt. He was just twenty years of age this year, but he was already a starting player for England’s U21 national team. Numerous Premier League clubs were paying attention to him, and he would probably not be a Notts County player after the season ended.

“You are right, Paul. They won their last Champions League trophy four years ago, and they have changed many of their players since then as well. But the person who is at the helm for this match is Tony Twain.”

The name ‘Tony Twain’ was a household name in England, and Paul Johnson could not help but back off a little after hearing it. However, he still did not agree with Dunn’s words. To him, the players were the ones who decided the outcome of a match, not the managers.

Dunn did not want to argue with Johnson over Tony Twain’s importance to Forest. Johnson would most likely not understand even if he explained in detail.

He focused his attention on explaining his tactics for the second half.

“Forest will definitely go on the counter-attack in the second half, but we will not strengthen our defense to deal with their attacks.” Dunn was not like Twain. He did not value defense above everything else, and he did not believe in keeping a 1:0 scoreline. “Tony Twain will do everything in his power not to allow his team to lose to us at home because this is a derby.”

And because this would probably be the one and only time we’d get to compete against each other. Dunn kept this thought to himself.

“We’d be done for if we retreat backward to defend. Therefore, I want all of you to continue going on the attack in the second half. I want all of you to push Nottingham Forest back with your attacks.”

Johnson was right about one thing. The Forest team now was nothing like the Forest team from four years ago. It did not matter how good Twain was. He would not be able to play in the match in his players’ stead. Tactics were one thing, and the players’ performance on the pitch was another. What the Forest players lacked at the moment was the belief that they could win, as well as the fighting spirit to achieve victory. Forest was a team that has gotten used to not playing well, and that was precisely why his team should continue to pile pressure and create difficult situations for them to play in. Doing so would undoubtedly allow his players to gain the upper hand in the match.

Focusing solely on defense was not an option for his team. Retreating backward to defend would only boost the Forest players’ confidence. When that happened, Tony’s roars by the side of the pitch and the change in the mentality of the players would become the trigger needed to shift the momentum of the match in Forest’s favor. Dunn wanted to stop that from happening at all costs.

Dunn knew very well what sort of person his opponent was. He was the kind of man who would grasp at the slightest of chances to shift the game in his favor. All the opponents who have fallen before Twain in the past have proven one fact countless times: one had to be merciless when going against Twain. One had to make use of any lead one might have in the match and attack him ferociously. One could not relax even when he was down. One needed to stab him a few more times and decapitate him before one could even take a breather.

“We have restrained Wood and Gago very well in the first half, and we’ll continue to do just that in the second half. Isolate Wood and cut off all passes that they can make to each other. It’s okay to let Gago attack since he has gotten old and is no longer a player we should fear.”

“Balotelli is the player who acts as the link between the backfield and the midfield. He has a very good technique and is good at dribbling as well. Thus, all of you should hold your positions instead of pouncing at him. He would not be able to influence the match in any way as long as you stay at your positions. He has been very poor when taking the set pieces so far, so don’t be afraid to commit fouls on him.”

“We must continue to make use of the set pieces that we were given to score goals. Do all of you still remember the tactics that we practiced during our training sessions regarding how we should take set pieces? Johnson would be the player to take our team’s set-pieces. He’d choose the most suitable tactic to use based on the situation on the pitch. I leave everything to him.”

“Reduce the number of dribbles you make. Make use of your runs and passes to slice open the opposition’s defense. George Wood might be an excellent player, but he is still only human. He’ll tire fast if you pass the ball about quickly and force him to chase it all over the pitch. I want all of you to run forward after making a pass. You’ll be able to rattle their defense by doing so…”

Dunn issued one command after another. He was intent on pushing his best friend into the abyss.

This was how one should deal with Twain – deliver the finishing blow when he was down and low.

The smiles on the players’ faces gradually vanished as they listened to Dunn’s tactics. They suddenly understood what kind of match it was after experiencing the joy of taking the lead.

The boss has never been this serious before.

This was a derby match!

1. According to Chinese mythology, a carp will be transformed into a dragon when it leaps over the Dragon’s Gate, which is located at the top of a waterfall.

2. Lian Po was a military general of the Zhao state. The meaning behind the saying is that a soldier still has to fight for his country even in old age. How much a person is able to eat was seen as a sign of the person’s physical condition in the past, which was why they would ask if a person can eat a lot to determine if he was fit for war. Twain was implying that the Nottingham Forest players, whom he likened to ‘soldiers’, should still be fighting even if they were ‘old’.

Chapter 1011 - Dunn’s Devil in his Dreams

Hey, old man, can you still eat?

Twain walked up to Wood, bent down and asked him, “George, are you old? Do you feel like you are too old to continue running?”

“No,” Wood replied emotionlessly.

“Then, that’s good,” Twain nodded, “In the second half, your defensive duty load will be heavier.”

Wood was a little surprised. He had thought Twain would ask him to strengthen the offense, but instead, he got more work in the defensive aspect.

“The Notts County FC manager is not a ‘huge fan of 1-0′, so in the next half, we will definitely counter-attack, because I would not allow you guys to lose the competition. However, facing our offense, how would Notts County react? I feel that they would not start defending from the start, but instead continue attacking, and their offense will be more aggressive. Hence, at the very least, during the first phase of the second half, you would not have much time for participating in the offense, George,” Twain told Wood.

The players were more confused when they heard this. George was the core of the team, so if he concentrated on defense, who would organize a group attack?

Twain patted Wood’s shoulder, then walked towards Gago, who was beside him. “You’re doing well, Fernando. But you should rest more in the second half.”

Gago knew Twain was being polite. Actually, he made almost zero contribution in the first half. He was getting on in years, and his physical and mental state could not catch up.

However, no one would be willing to be replaced like this.

Gago did not nod to agree, nor shook his head to disagree, but Twain already made the choice for him. “Thanks, Fernando.”

Now that Gago has been switched out, who would replace him? If Wood needed to focus on defending, and Gago was not playing, who would organize an attack?

Twain turned and looked at Chen Jian, who had just been called back from outside.

“Chen Jian, you’re up for the second half.”

This decision surprised everyone, but Chen Jian did not reveal any sign of being shocked. He only nodded.

He already knew that he would be playing in this competition because Twain told him earlier on. Hence, he did not feel surprised. Else, he would definitely have the same reaction as his teammates – he only joined the league team four days ago, and now he was going to play in such a competition. It seemed like Twain was really putting a lot of trust in this Chinese player.

“Your task is to organize an offense. I know that you had always done this type of thing in Spain, so it should not be too difficult for you, right?” Twain asked.

Chen Jian did not answer at once. He frowned and said, “I have only trained with the team for three days. If you let me organize an attack, would it lead to…”

“George will help you,” Twain replied.

Wood also nodded to express agreement.

Chen Jian looked at his teammates, who were looking at him. Although it has only been three days, he was always watching his team from the side. He already knew well the special traits some of the players had, so he hoped he could pull this off.

“Okay, head coach,” Chen Jian replied in English.

“The Notts County FC will start the second half with an aggressive offense, so we must all keep this tactic in our minds – this opponent is definitely not one you could easily beat. This competition is a derby, my comrades! This is the Derby City that would definitely pull ahead in terms of the difference in potential! If you guys still think that you could break through their defense with sloppy dribbling, that you’d be able to pass through with low effort passes, score with lousy shots… then raise both of your arms and surrender at once, because this is not a fight you guys should get into.”

The words Twain said were extremely annoying to some of them. This was exactly what they thought in the first half, from the first second when they stepped onto the field. They thought they could easily triumph over their opponents, and who cared if this was a derby? They were the home team!

In the end, what were the results? After allowing their opponents to score from a free-kick, they went into chaos, everyone fought for themselves and were not able to even out the score until the end of the first half. Instead, they allowed Notts County FC to gain several counterattack opportunities. The Nottingham Forest audience were so shocked that they blurted out jeers of contempt.

If they lost the game in the end, the performance in the first half would really be a disgrace.

“So we launch a defensive counter-attack in the second half, wait till the Notts County presses forward. Balotelli, you have to move a little backward in your position, connect between the front and the backcourt. Our three lines have to be packed together, not allowing our opponents to split them apart. When the two flanks are attacking, you guys must dare to press forward and not be afraid of the gaps behind you, because if you are unable to press forward, you will get beat down by your opponents.”

“The simpler the offensive method, the better, I don’t care how complex and impressive the Notts County FC’s offense is. Playing their game against them would only make us fall into their trap because they would definitely hope that the ball will stay in our half for long periods of time.”

Twain was explaining the second half’s tactics to the team in detail. Actually, the arrangement of tactics has never changed; the reminder was only because of the players’ underestimation of their opponent, which discouraged them from having tactics discipline and led to this type of situation. Now, after such a terrible first half, and with Twain’s criticism during the half-time break, the players saw they had to respect their opponents and take the game seriously.

Twain knew than Dunn’s favorite tactic was offensive football. This could be easily seen from the team he created in Notts County over seven years. Counter-attacking was the best way to handle such a team.

※※※

Chen Jian stood on the sidelines and was ready to play. Although Gago had already gone out of the field, he still needed to complete this substitution ceremony. Hence he was standing by the side of the field and waiting for the fourth official to raise up his number plate.

It would be his first official game for Nottingham Forest, but he did not feel as excited as he thought he would be. Even though it was the first time for him to be playing during a league cup match, when he listened to Twain announcing this decision in the changing room, his expression was deadpan, as if this matter did not concern him at all.

He was wondering why he was so calm. Wasn’t his dream to be able to play for Nottingham Forest? Now that that dream has come true, why didn’t he feel happy and excited?

Maybe this was not really his dream? Was this a self-deceptive illusion?

The commentator was reporting the names of the players who were about to go onto the field.

“Number 14, Chen Jian!”

Some fans stood up to applaud, and as the fourth official behind him raised the number plate, Chen Jian ran forward.

He felt very calm, so calm that it did not feel right. The live scene was very noisy, but his mind was not really engaged, even though he repeatedly told himself, “This is Nottingham Forest’s home field! I am a Nottingham Forest player!

It did not work; he just was not able to get excited. He was wondering whether he was on form…

※※※

Dunn saw Chen Jian run onto the field and gave a look to Twain who was sitting beside him. He had guessed that Twain would allow Chen Jian to play in this match, so he was not surprised about this at all.

Moreover, speaking of which, he was actually a little excited to see what performance Chen Jian would put up in this competition. If next season he took over Nottingham Forest, Chen Jian would play under him.

However, he could not just let him go so easily.

Dunn walked to the side of the field and signaled the nearest Notts County player over. He wanted the player to spread the word over to his teammates on the field, warning them to keep a look on number 14.

The Chinese reporters were excited for a while upon seeing Chen Jian go onto the field, but they could not continue smiling after a while. Wherever Chen Jian was, there would always be a Notts County player, sometimes even two…

※※※

“I really can’t figure out why our head coach would want us to keep a look on that Chinese guy,” Paul Johnson shook his head, talking to the teammates beside him. Currently, the ball was off the field, giving them the opportunity to talk to each other.

“Who knows?” His teammates shrugged.

“From his performance in these few minutes, it seems he is just average…”

Of course, it was average. Chen Jian was still pondering why he was able to stay so calm, so he was not able to get himself involved in the competition. His passes were all mediocre, with many that were passed back, but not many that were passed forward.

Not only did Notts County’s players think that Chen Jian was average. Even the English commentator thought that Twain spent into much on purchasing this average performing Chinese midfielder. It looked disappointing, concerning the disparity in level between him and the rest of the team.

“There is something wrong with Chen’s performance,” Kerslake told Twain. After the training in these three days, the assistant coach has already recognized Chen Jian’s potential, so he also felt something was off with Chen Jian’s current performance.

Twain pinched his chin. “Who knows, this is his first time representing Nottingham Forest in a match so maybe he is overly excited…”

※※※

Chen Jian found out that he was really calm, even when there were two opponents coming forward and blocking him. He could still think about observing the locations of his teammates beforehand. Under the circumstances, what would he do? Protect the ball, try dribbling past the two seemingly strong players, show performance in front of the fans of the home team?

Force a breakthrough, then try a long shot?

Chen Jian’s foot shook. The ball passed through the gap between the two defenders, and rolled to the side defender who was running through, Gareth Bale!

“Beautiful!” The English narrator yelled.

Previously, that location had no one covering it at all, but Chen Jian was able to think on the same wavelength as Bale, and also pass the ball through the gap at the exact right time. It was truly admirable.

Chen Jian suddenly recalled that when he was representing the Spanish in their first La Liga match, when he was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ by the Spanish announcer, he was also as “cold”…

He then received the ball. Balotelli turned to signal to him to pass the ball, but instead, he waved, wanting Balotelli to run forward. When he saw Balotelli run past him, he immediately sent a straight pass, the ball passed by the Notts County’s middle back, and Balotelli, upon turning and running into the space, was able to receive the ball.

Being calm and analyzing the situation on the field… wasn’t this something that he has always relied upon, even in the La Liga matches?

I am not in bad form, I am in excellent form, he thought.

※※※

Dunn found out that Chen Jian was always able to pass the ball out in the shortest period of time, causing a lot of trouble for the Notts County defenders. A player who loved to dribble by himself would be the easiest to defend against, but a player who tended to pass the ball out quickly would be a lot more of a challenge.

Chen Jian belonged to the second type of player. His dribbling was not the best, and his speed was not fast. His ball control was limited to being able to keep the ball under his foot under pressure but was not able to make fancy dribbling moves. Instead, he had a talent in passing the ball.

Now he did not know if he should be happy for having such a passer in the future or being worried about the results of the current match.

※※※

Notts County did step up their attack in the second half. However, with Wood’s defense and Chen Jian’s passing, the opposing offense was completely invisible.

The Notts County players were losing their cool as the situation changed on the pitch. They were, after all, young and not as good as the players of Nottingham Forest.

Dunn saw Twain’s plans, so he started to make arrangements in bringing back the defensive lines. However, this was Twain’s real intention – once they brought back their defensive line, coupled with Notts County’s low standards in their defensive lines, how would they be able to hold against Nottingham Forest’s thunderous offense?

Seeing that Notts County has shrunk in their formation, he immediately changed tactics, asking his players to commit a full press past the midfield line, bombarding the goal whilst surrounding the penalty area.

Dunn did not predict that Twain would actually make this move, so he could not react in time. Nottingham Forest took this opportunity to even out the score with their offense, then scored another goal to pull ahead in the next three minutes. They were overtaking!

Although none of these goals were directly assisted by Chen Jian, he had played his part. His performance was pretty good.

After the score of 2:1, Twain did not pull back but instead continue strengthening his offense. He substituted in a more offensive player, Teixeira, and replaced Cohen.

Everyone knew Twain would not settle for a one-goal lead.

By the end of the game, using the chances given by Notts County while they were in full press trying to even out the score, Twain finally used his move of “defensive counterattack”, allowing Agbonlahor to get what he wanted. After being substituted late in the game, he allowed the score to end at 3:1.

The pre-match confidence-filled Notts County lost the Derby match in the end. They were very unhappy, but no one cared about them anymore.

After the game, when the two coaches shook hands, Twain wanted to comfort Dunn, but Dunn spoke first.

“It’s a shame, I only created 45 minutes’ worth of trouble for you…”

Actually, Dunn lost due to lack of experience, since he had only led teams in the lower leagues. However, Twain would not admit it now, as he needed to consider the emotions of the loser.

Therefore, he just gave a silly laugh.

“Forty-five minutes is sufficient to allow people to see your potential clearly. Take it slowly, Dunn. ”

Dunn shrugged and did not say anything more. He only brushed past Twain and walked towards the paved path.

Before going onto the paved path, he turned to look at the stadium once more.

It was almost dusk after the game, and the golden afterglow of the sunset could only shine on the upper part of the roof. A large part of Nottingham Forest’s emblem was hidden in the shadows, while the entire stadium was shrouded in the gloom.

Tony Twain, his old friend, had beaten him once more.

Take over his team? This might be the hardest challenge ever since he started coaching.

But as Twain said, how could he improve without a challenge? Initially, didn’t he slowly challenge the champions to reach seemingly impossible goals?

Now, he only wanted to tell his wife: The Dunn she loved was back.

Feeling as though a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders, Dunn gave out a long breath, turned back around, and walked onto the paved paths the players took.

Chapter 1012 - After the Derby

The Notts County players must have been very disappointed that they did not win the match. However, what Twain said after the match might have made them feel better.

During the post-match press conference, Twain praised Notts County’s manager, Tang, also known as Dunn, by saying that he caused him a lot of trouble and it had been very long since he felt this anxious about a game…

That was high praise for Tang. In fact, Twain meant to do that. He wanted to let the Forest fans get used to Tang and slowly accept this future manager. There were people who thought that Tang was not capable or reputable enough. That was not a problem; he was looking for his successor, and it was not a beauty pageant. Tang was definitely capable. After all, Twain himself was “taught” by Tang——he started off by reading the notes left behind by Tang back in the day. Fame? He was not famous at all when he took charge of Forest at the beginning. Since Evan had already given up on his unrealistic dreams of being a “strong team”, why would they need to get a world-famous manager as his successor? Besides, world-class managers would not be willing to live in Twain’s shadow. These managers were all too proud to accept being compared with Twain all the time.

Furthermore, Tang came from Nottingham Forest. He was familiar with Forest and he had deep feelings for the team.

Taking everything into consideration, Tang was the most suitable successor for Twain, and he was also someone whom the Forest team could depend on for the next few decades.

It was like Moyes, who was not famous either, yet had been managing Everton for so long that he had already become a name that would never be forgotten in the history of the team. In fact, Twain had not been managing Forest for very long. All his stints added up to only 12 years, which was not even top 20 in terms of duration of management among the English football clubs.

If it were not for the fact that Twain was able to win so many trophies, his 12 years of management would not have left much of a mark in the footballing world.

The English managers would have different plans depending on the length of their management. Short-term plans, mid-term plans, and long-term plans. Twain could at most make a mid-term plan, but Forest needed a long-term plan. Nottingham Forest’s foundation was still not strong enough. A team’s foundation could not be built up just by winning five UEFA Champions League trophies. No number of trophies would be enough. Time was needed for a foundation to be built. If the club could be within the title challengers every season for a period of twenty years, then there would be some foundation for the club. After a hundred years, it would probably be a force to be reckoned with, and it would be able to be among the traditionally strong teams.

Unfortunately, Twain did not have the time to build a foundation for Forest. This was a task for the young and healthy Tang. What he did was build up a glorious history for Forest, a period of history that would become a source of mental strength for the players in the future. It could be said that Twain created mental wealth for the team, while Tang would focus on the material level. The combination of mental and material wealth would lead Forest from strength to strength. It would be unlike the Clough dynasty that faded off after a period of glory as Clough grew old. It was like a shooting star, disappearing after flashing for a moment in the sky.

Twain did not want to see Forest wallowing in the lower divisions after he grew old.

It was easy to attack a country, but harder to defend one. Offense and defense required different kinds of quality. Twain knew that he was not one to defend a dynasty; his impulsive nature was more suitable for attacking. As for defense, someone steadier and calmer would be more suited for it, and Tang would be a suitable choice.

That was why he went to Tang.

This derby match allowed many people who had no idea who Tang was to see his capabilities first-hand. Even a team like Notts County could shine under his leadership. The higher quality Nottingham Forest team would surely do even better.

Twain had not told Evan about his plans yet as he knew that Evan was only thinking about persuading him to stay for a few more years. Even if he were to talk about a successor now, Evan would not think much about it. Twain was not worried that his suggestion would not be taken into consideration. He knew how much influence he had in the club, and his influence became even greater now that he returned to rescue the club when it was in peril. He had always enjoyed massive support from the fans; therefore, as long as he supported the decision, nobody would disagree.

As for people who thought that Tang was not domineering enough? If everyone were like Twain, then the end of the world would be nigh…

It was because of this “selfish motive” that Twain almost didn’t mention his victory at all. Other than praising his team for their performance, he kept praising Tang. The Chinese media were ecstatic about it as they could boast about it in their home country to their fans. This time, they would not be labeled as “clickbait”, as Twain’s words were even more enthusiastic than their headlines!

Tang was almost embarrassed by what Twain was saying and he did his best to stay humble. Yet this humility that he showed became another reason for people to praise him.

And so, this derby that came after 14 years ended in a harmonious atmosphere among everyone.

※※※

After the derby match, Twain did not contact Tang. They were both adults and they knew what they needed to do. Tang was still managing Notts County, but Twain was already preparing to guide his successor. Twain acted as though he had nothing to do for the time being, as if he did not continue thinking about a successor.

January was the winter transfer window. It was time for the big clubs to get some reinforcements. It was a time to strengthen areas that were neglected during the summer transfer window or to correct the mistakes made then. However, Nottingham Forest had no intention to shop for reinforcements. Twain knew that he would only stay in the club for half a season more, and Tang would take over completely before the start of the next season. If he was thinking about the long-term and for the good of the team, keeping the squad as it was during the winter transfer window was for the best.

Otherwise, the players that Twain liked might not be suitable for Tang’s tactics. Buying them would not only delay the players’ progress, but it also would not be helpful for rebuilding the team either.

Chen Jian was the only one that Twain bought as he thought that he would not disrupt Tang’s tactics.

However, not buying players did not mean he would not sell any.

With Chen Jian’s arrival, there were four players in the center of the midfield. The team did not have any plans to fight on multiple fronts so there was no need for so many people in the same position. Gago was getting old. Even though he was very happy about Twain’s return, the Nottingham derby showed him the reality. His impact on the team was getting smaller and smaller. If the boss really did not intend to stay for the next season, there would be no point in him staying too. The new manager would most likely not place much importance on him, and in that case, he might as well return to Argentina and find a team to retire in.

Therefore, Gago talked to Twain alone, hoping to confirm that the boss was only staying for half a season.

Twain told him that he was indeed only staying for half a season, and he’d leave the team after the end of the season. He did not persuade Gago to stay either, as he knew that Gago’s departure would be a good thing for the team. Tang would not need to deal with this problem when cleaning up his team.

Even though it might sound heartless, it had to be done if one analyzed the problem objectively.

Gago also thought about this problem, which was why he did not express any displeasure. Instead, he took the initiative to suggest that he would transfer to another club after the end of the season.

Another familiar face was leaving his peripherals, but Twain did not find it as difficult as before. Maybe he had seen too many departures and was getting numb to it. On the other hand, maybe it was because Gago was not really someone who had been with him for very long.

Twain did not persuade Gago to stay when he wanted to leave. However, when another person wanted to leave, Twain wanted to ask him to stay.

Jake Livermore was actually competing with Gago for the attacking midfielder position, even though he would usually be no match for the experienced Gago. He thought that Gago was already getting old so he would slowly become a key player. Little did he know that Twain would get a new player from China playing the same position as he did into the team. The new guy actually managed to play in the Nottingham derby and performed rather well too.

This made him understand that his status in the team had become even lower than before.

Livermore was a smart person. He knew the reason why his status was low was that Twain did not like him. Otherwise, he would not have gotten four players in the attacking midfielder position. A smart person would not use an egg to smash against a rock. To Livermore, he was the egg and Twain was the rock.

A smart person would leave on his own accord. This way, everyone would look good and his reputation would be intact.

Therefore, Livermore had a private chat with Twain as well. He wanted to know whether he was the last choice within the five attacking midfielders.

Of course, Twain would not say, “That’s right, you’re the worst player out of the bunch in my opinion.” Unless he was an idiot or was trying to provoke him deliberately.

In Twain’s view, however, Livermore was not useless. He was a very suitable impact substitute at least.

However…

“Boss, I cannot accept being a bench player,” Livermore was very direct and frank. Twain liked his attitude. It was nice when people spoke their minds and were not secretly scheming.

“I hope that you’ll think about it carefully, Jake. We need strong substitutes too,” Twain did not give him any false information, telling him directly that his position in his mind was that of a substitute.

“I’m sorry, Boss. When Fernando and George were the big stars, I was their substitute. Now that Fernando is getting old, another player from China appeared… I’m already 29 years old, Boss, I don’t want to end my career as a substitute.”

Livermore looked at Twain with a serious expression on his face.

Even though everyone was thinking about their own personal goals, Twain did not dislike it when someone was frank about it. Wanting to advance one’s career was not something bad.

Twain’s plan for Livermore to be a substitute was simple. In his plans, Wood and Chen Jian would be the key players for the next half of the season. They might even continue to be key players for the next season. After Gago was gone, the team would only have three attacking midfielders left, and that was very unsafe. Even though he did not know what kind of tactics Tang would use, it would not do to have no substitute for this position.

Livermore was the best choice to be a substitute in Twain’s mind. He was good enough to be a starter, albeit with some deficiencies and somewhat lacking in capabilities. It would be a pity to let him go, so it was best if he could be happy being a substitute.

Too bad the players were unlike NPCs in the games. They had their own thoughts, and nobody would be willing to be a substitute. Everyone wanted to be the key player, to be the soldier. However, only eleven players could start in a football team and someone had to be the substitute. This type of player was the supporting cast. They were not as eye-catching as the star players were, but they might just be the most important type of players on the team.

However, Livermore was obviously not this type of player.

He flatly rejected Twain’s attempt to persuade him to stay.

Twain could do nothing when faced with Livermore acting this way. However, it was not difficult to find bench players. If he had no choice, he could always pick a player from the youth team. He was not the one who had to think about this problem, it was Tang’s burden to bear. Twain might as well do Livermore a favor and agree to his transfer request. He hoped that Livermore would not leave during the winter transfer window, though. Instead, he wished Livermore could finish the season. To repay Twain for agreeing to his request, Livermore agreed to Twain’s condition as well.

Just like that, Twain managed to keep a stable core for the team. Under the premise of giving up on the FA Cup and focusing on the league, they did not have to worry about major injury issues or international call-ups causing problems for their lineup.

Under these conditions, Twain was to lead the team to avoid relegation. However, deep inside, he had a greater target—to qualify for European competition.

Twain suddenly recalled the first season when he was in charge of Forest, the first half-season to be exact. He took over after New Year’s Day and the team was not doing well, just like now. The difference was that the team’s finances were in trouble then, and they did not even have a transfer budget of at all. He could only look within the team and make use of the ready resources. Eventually, his team was only a step away from winning the title.

It was from that moment onwards that Twain felt the heart-wrenching pain of failure, and he hated failure from the bottom of his heart. It was also from that time onwards that he would do anything to win.

The situation now was similar to the situation then. The difference was, his lack of dealings in the transfer market was not because he lacked funds, but because he chose to avoid it.

His desire for victory had never changed. Twain would admit that his temper was better than before, but his competitive nature had never lost its edge. If there were people who thought that he had become a ” Nice Guy”… Twain actually hoped that people thought that way. Then he could pretend to be weak and defeat the powerful… However, would people really think so?

Chapter 1013 - Losing Competitiveness

Nottingham Forest had nothing at all to do with the tumult in the transfer market. Initially, the media had still been expecting a huge storm in the transfer market due to Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest. In the end, he bought Chen Jian and let go of David Sliva after much deliberation.

The team’s results in January were two wins, two draws and one loss. It was not outstanding, but the results were not too bad either.

This was the current situation of Nottingham Forest. Twain’s return might have stabilized the team morale but the team’s results did not rise all the way to the top immediately. The team was still hovering at the area below average even though they had managed to escape relegation.

The media mostly believed that Twain’s return had a huge influence because Nottingham Forest had immediately escaped relegation, but this was not the intended outcome for Twain. His internal motive was not revealed to the public but he did not care if the media knew about it, because they would have no effect on him anyway. That said, he still needed to find a suitable opportunity to reveal his own goals to the players. This was because it would be impossible to reach his goal if the players did not know what he was thinking and were not in sync with him.

Why did he need to find an ideal opportunity? Because this goal was a little too ambitious for the current Nottingham Forest, and Twain sometimes feared he was not being realistic. It was certain that the people on today’s team were not the same as the ones in the past. Twain himself was not sure whether it was still possible to reach his goals.

※※※

The happiest circumstance for Twain was that Chen Jian had integrated so quickly into the team.

Perhaps it was because Chen Jian had played with Nottingham Forest and so did not appear as a complete stranger to the team. Or maybe it was because his technique specialties were similar to Wood, so it would be natural for him to fit into the playing style of Nottingham Forest. There was no need for any special adjustment for the team to operate as normal.

At the same time, Chen Jian was able to speak fluent English since he used to live in Nottingham for three years, so he would not feel foreign in the current environment. As such, the language barrier would not be a difficulty when it came to him adapting to his new teammates.

After staying for a week at the hotel, he moved out of there because his agent Xia Yang had found a place for him to stay in the city. He bought the apartment under Chen Jian’s name and the latter immediately moved in.

While he was settling into his new house, Xia Yang temporarily stayed over to cook for Chen Jian and take care of his accommodation and meals. At the same time, he also handled the necessary procedures to move Chen Jian’s parents over to Nottingham. Once his parents arrived, Xia Yang would no longer need to act as a housekeeper.

“You can’t find another agent like me in the world, Jian!” While cooking dinner for Chen Jian, Xia Yang stressed his importance to the young man, who was sitting at the dining table playing with his mobile phone. “Helping you to earn money, taking care of buying you a house, a car, your furniture… and I’m even making soup for you. I’m basically your babysitter. Your Uncle Xia is supposed to be a great agent who manages hundreds of Chinese football players!”

Chen Jian had been in the middle of sending a flirty text to a girl he met on his trip back to China last year. After he heard what Xia Yang said, he lifted his head and replied, “The manager was supposedly a nanny, haven’t you heard this song, Uncle Xia?”

“What song?”

“Being her chauffeur, her deliveryman, and her ATM,” Chen Jian hummed.

“Hey!” Xia Yang rolled his eyes. “It’s the girl who’s putting you up to this, no?”

Chen Jian shook his head. “Cui Cui is a very intelligent, kind and sensible girl.”

“Wow,” Xia Yang smiled. “This is definitely a case of being blinded by love. Everything looks great through the rosy lens of love.”

Chen Jian knew that Xia Yang was playing around with him and was not really dissatisfied with Cui Cui. Hence, he did not continue to bother Uncle Xia and kept chatting about anything and everything with his girlfriend.

The fragrance wafted into the dining hall from the kitchen.

Chen Jian suddenly said without lifting his head, “Use less salt, Uncle Xia.”

“I’m making my share!” Xia Yang’s voice carried out from the same direction.

Chen Jian had always insisted on eating like an athlete because this assisted him in maintaining his physique and fitness. However, normal humans were unable to eat his food at all. Xia Yang once ate the same meal as Chen Jian out of curiosity and commented that it was tasteless like candle wax. Hence, whenever Xia Yang lived with Chen Jian, he would always make two separate servings for each meal—one athlete’s meal for Chen Jian and one regular meal for himself.

Xia Yang would use various kinds of gourmet dishes to tempt Chen Jian who was eating at the same table, but Chen Jian was simply unswayable. He just ate his own athlete’s meal. Xia Yang felt a huge sense of defeat and could only complain about Chen Jian not knowing how to enjoy life. He would not even buy a mansion after earning so much money. Other than giving his parents back home a big house to live in, he himself did not have any expectations or wants for his own accommodation. On top of that, he did not buy luxury cars or go chasing after superstars… Now, he was even losing the luxury of enjoying good food. What was the point of earning so much money?

Chen Jian ignored his complaints and continued doing his thing.

However, Xia Yang was also very proud of him, because these were the secrets to why Chen Jian was able to succeed in Europe. He was modest, hardworking, and temperate. Xia Yang had never praised Chen Jian to his face but always used him as a role model for other players he was responsible for, telling them that Chen Jian’s model was the route to success.

If a professional football player wanted to succeed and extend his professional lifespan, then discipline in living and eating could not be compromised. This was also why Twain had so much confidence in Chen Jian, so much so that the man would rather bring him back to Nottingham Forest and allow him to be one of the key players in the “Twain generation”. By nature, Asian players’ peak periods were usually shorter, and this was related to their physical condition. After 30, their lifestyle would start on a steep downfall and if they did not pay special attention to their health, the decline would be rapid.

This would never happen to Chen Jian.

Xia Yang first placed Chen Jian’s dinner on the table, then went back to carry over his clay pot of rice.

After they started eating, Xia Yang asked Chen Jian, his mouth full, “Are you going to start in the upcoming weekend match?”

Chen Jian put down the knife and fork, thought about it and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Hey, can’t you tell if Twain’s paying attention to you?”

“If I were to tell from the performance in training, I should be starting, but I can’t guess what the head coach is thinking.”

In fact, other than the first two matches where Chen Jian played as a reserve, he started in all the subsequent matches. Judging by that, Chen Jian thought he should be starting in the next match unless he suffered an injury before it.

However, it was just as Chen Jian had said: Xia Yang could not predict what Twain was thinking either.

※※※

It was not just Xia Yang and Chen Jian; not even the media could not guess what Twain was thinking.

The upcoming weekend match would be Nottingham Forest’s match against Arsenal. This would be another encounter between Arsene Wenger and Tony Twain. This match was a matter of wild speculation by many, otherwise, Xia Yang would not ask Chen Jian whether he was going to start. The match would be broadcasted live on China’s television. This was going to be a huge chance to display a Chinese football superstar.

Before the game, the media had finally gotten a juicy tidbit–Twain’s initiative to provoke a war of words.

In an interview, he claimed that although Arsenal was now third in the table, his team had full confidence in beating Arsenal on away ground.

In the current situation, anyone knew that Nottingham Forest’s capabilities and results were poor. In the first half of the season, Nottingham Forest had been humiliated by Arsenal on their home court in a 1:4 loss, such was the gap in performance between the two teams.

“We all know that Twain wants revenge, but this will be a little too hard to exact….” That was what the media said. “Arsenal is not like Middlesbrough, so it would be too difficult for Nottingham Forest to be victorious.”

“This statement was expected. I think it’s possible to guess what tricks Twain is trying to pull. He is simply trying to agitate Arsenal, get them to lose their calm judgment and draw a benefit from that. But this will not work today. Wenger is very calm and calculative; he will definitely not fall for such provocation.”

“He’s probably just talking big but actually not hoping to win over his opponents. He’s probably just trying to give his players confidence. ”

※※※

“Simply saying a few words would give you all a lot of confidence? This is ridiculous! ”

In Wilford, two days before the game, Twain was giving his players one of their last tactical lessons. Tomorrow, the lesson would take place in North London’s hotel.

Twain did not only discuss tactics during his tactical lessons.

“Is there anyone who has had doubts these few days?” Twain asked the players, who were sitting down.

No one said “yes”, but in reality, they all doubted, and not only a little. Since the start of Twain’s coaching, they had never seen their head coach initiating a provocation on his opponent.

However, the older players who have trained under Twain for a very long time were not surprised.

“I’m going to make it clear in advance that I’m not bluffing or trying to give you all any bullsh*t confidence.”

Twain unconsciously used a few profanities.

“If I said I want to win over Arsenal, then I really mean that I want to win over Arsenal.”

His words caused a huge stir among the players. Arsenal was now third in the league. They were only one point behind the second place and just three points behind first-placed Manchester United. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, was 13th, 15 points behind Arsenal. The huge gap in the rankings was actually a representation of the difference in capabilities between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.

They had just lost to Arsenal in the first half of the season on home court, so there was seemingly little hope to win against them in an away game.

Twain saw the hesitation and lack of confidence in their eyes.

He grinned. “What? A team like Arsenal would scare you guys to death? Look at how incapable you guys are. Actually, since I took over the team, I have always had a concept, but was hesitating whether to tell you guys… it might not be possible to turn it into reality.”

His words had baited so many of them—what thoughts would make the head coach so hesitant?

“I didn’t have a press conference when I came back so no one asked me what kind of future I was going to bring to Nottingham Forest.” Twain saw that everyone was interested in what he was going to say, so he knew the time was right. “But I think that most people would feel it would be to successfully stay in the same league,” He paused. “If that is so, then we have already completed that task. Then why do we still need to work hard for the second half of the season?”

Once he said this, everyone realized what he meant. If they only wanted to maintain their league, from the current performance of the team, it should not be a problem.

“So my goal was actually not just to maintain our spot in the league. From the start, it was never just that. My goal is to return to Europe,” Twain calmly stated his real goal, but the players listening were not as composed.

There was an immediate animated discussion. Not even one of them had expected their head coach would have such huge ambitions!

In fact, returning to Europe was not a long way off. In the first half of the season, they had played in the Europa League (formerly the League Cup). They had also played in the Champions League and the Europa League in previous seasons. However, hearing this today, why did it feel that they had not appeared in Europe for a very long time?

After the discussion died down, Twain went on, “So, our lowest target this season will be the Europa League. Are there people who do not like participating in European competitions?”

“No!” There were many voices that answered this time.

“Well, it looks like we’ve found something we have in common,” Twain smiled. “As for me, I love challenges and victories. If we simply end the league on this note, it will be very uninteresting. But now I want to confirm something—” Twain paused for a while.

“How many more people have that ambition?”

As he spoke, he looked directly at everyone present.

He wanted to remember each and everyone’s reaction.

Some people were excited, some were in doubt, and some were confused.

“Do you know why I said we’re able to defeat Arsenal?” Twain observed everyone’s reaction, then continued talking.

“If you’re in doubt over something like this, then there would be no way for you to return to Europe. I want you all to find your lost confidence. This confidence is not what we had while facing Notts County F.C! I want you so fearless that you are not moved at all when facing a strong opponent!

Twain raised his fist in front of the players.

“If you can only be fearless in front of easier opponents but give up entirely against strong ones, then that isn’t confidence, that is inferiority! Inferiority in its core!”

“As soon as I said we were going to beat Arsenal, some people were so scared. How can that be? You guys want to go to Europe in the future, so you are bound to face many stronger opponents. If it scares you, why not quit football altogether?” Twain spread his arms, facing them. “This is a tragedy. The Nottingham Forest of four years ago stole away the Championship from Real Madrid in Estadio Santiago Bernabéu stadium in front of eight million fans, but today you guys only have this much courage?”

No one could answer him, because there were too many people among them who did not experience that game. However, those who had played back then were red with embarrassment and lowered their heads. How would they even dare to open their mouths and talk?

Why was Nottingham Forest falling deeper and deeper into a slump with every year that passed?

They had lost the heart to fight for the championships along with the man who had been the core of their team…

Chapter 1014 - Find the Heart of the Champion

Chapter 1014: Find the Heart of the Champion

Twain never thought that as soon as he returned to the Nottingham Forest’s coaching bench, the team’s achievements would be soon improved and they would keep on winning all the way through the league champion title again even if he did almost nothing. Only a child could imagine such a scenario, but any reasonable person would regard it as nonsense.

What was happening now has proved his wisdom. Although by today’s Nottingham Forest have won a few games, there were still many problems to be solved. For example, the restoration of the team’s domination has become the most urgent problem for Twain, waiting for him to resolve it.

If a team did not have the confidence to win, there was no way to defeat the strong enemies. When some relatively small and weak teams faced a strong opponent, if they were determined to win, they could create miracles. There were many classic battles in which weaker teams defeated stronger teams, and the key factor was always the belief in victory.

When Nottingham Forest suddenly rose in England’s football world, they were depending on that relentless strength of advancing and reluctance of being defeated.

At that time, Nottingham Forest hardly knew what “fear” was. Whether it was in the face of a strong domestic opponent, or when they were facing the European famous teams, there was only one thought in their mind: “To fight and win the battle!”

But now…

“For the last four seasons, you have been complaining about losing the Champion, losing the UEFA Champions League qualification and now even losing the European League qualification. But let me tell you, none of this really matters.”

Twain looked at the players who kept their heads down.

“If you don’t find one most important thing again, you’ll never regain what you have lost. Do you want to know what it is? ”

Twain slapped his chest, where the heart was beating. “Put your hands here and feel your heartbeats. Are they accelerating as I speak of a victory over Arsenal?”

Some players really put their hands on their chests, but some players were still confused. They did not know what the coach meant.

Twain wasn’t counting on his speech to suddenly show everyone the way of victory, but he had to bury the seeds. Perhaps they would blossom and bear fruit in due course.

“The game against Arsenal is an opportunity to prove that you guys still have a fighting spirit. This time it’s not for the media out there. Fight for yourselves!”

※※※

Arsene Wenger was 69 years old. His goal was to retire after fulfilling his contract with the club, which had three years left. That meant he would be retiring at 72. The biggest regret of his coaching life was that he had never won a title of the UEFA Champions League and the European Champions Cup.

There was a season when he was very close to the trophy, but someone shut him outside the finals.

This someone was now in front of him, smiling.

“Long time no see, Professor. ”

During the pre-match press conference, Twain and Wenger met each other. While one has just finished his part, the other was getting ready for his.

“It’s only been a few months, Tony. “Ever since Twain won the World Cup, he almost disappeared out of the vision of the public social media.

Twain shook his head. That was not what he meant.

“I mean it has been a long time since we met in this situation here.”

Twain pointed to the back of the press conference hall where reporters were waiting for Wenger to come in.

Wenger immediately understood. As opponents, they really haven’t met for a long time.

“I heard your team is going to beat my team,” said Wenger.

Twain said with a smile, “If we don’t have the spirit of victory, it is impossible for us to win.” He didn’t just nod and say yes. It was better not to be so arrogant in front of this old friend and opponent.

He actually did think so. To be honest, he had no idea whether he could win over Arsenal or not. Although tactically prepared for this upcoming battle, the current Nottingham Forest team was not the one from four years ago, and he didn’t control it completely.

The reason why he said he wanted to win was the same as Twain told his players: “If you don’t have the eagerness to win, how will you play on the field? ”

Wenger shrugged and said nothing more. The reporters were waiting for him and it was not a good time to chat.

He reached out his hand, trying to shake Twain’s, but Twain patted him directly on the shoulder. “I’m leaving one step ahead, Professor. I’ll see you at the game tomorrow night. ”

Wenger watched Twain disappear at the end of the aisle before turning into the press conference hall.

Shortly after he sat down, the reporter’s question came: “What do you think of what Tony Twain said, about his certainty of winning over Arsenal?”

Wenger smiled. It seemed he couldn’t get rid of the topic anywhere.

“I certainly believe he has that ability.” Wenger said “he “, not “they”. He played a little trick in the choice of words, though he didn’t know if anyone could see it. “But this is our home ground.”

Exactly. It was Arsenal’s home ground and Wenger wouldn’t give up the victory easily.

※※※

“I have done the big talk, lads.”

The news of Arsenal playing against Nottingham Forest at home has become mainstream in the sporting news later in the day. Twain and Wenger had an extensively photographed pre-match press conference. Twain’s words, “Yes, I repeat again. We’ll beat the home team at the Emirates Stadium,” were also constantly mentioned.

Twain told his players, after turning off the TV in that evening’s final tactics class:

“If we don’t win, you and I will all become a British national joke. That would be too humiliating.”

Twain never said something like “Judging by our strength, we deserve to win over Arsenal”, so none of the players could offer any objections. Anyone with a little sense knew it would be very, very difficult to win at the Emirates against Arsenal.

Nevertheless, the ‘big talk’ put the Forest team on the edge of the cliff.

It was like Twain said: they were all pushed towards the edge of the cliff. If they lost the game, all the bad words and comments would come to them.

No one wanted to be a joke, to be discussed in disdain.

Certainly not professional football players.

“Arsenal’s style of play is as strong and complex as ever. At home, they’re sure to keep playing like that. This is our chance. ”

Twain began to elaborate on the tactics they were going to use in tomorrow’s game, but the players were able, for the most part, to predict what he would say. This was something the team has been focusing on for more than a week. For more than a week, the most important part of the training was the attack of the set-pieces play. At this point, everybody knew more or less what tactics the team would use in the game.

Between losing the game in a beautiful and spectacular attack or winning the game in a doggedly conservative defense, Twain was sure to choose the latter. However, the risk of the latter was that having held your ground for 89 minutes, you could lose the game at the last minute. That would really mean losing everything, not only the game but also the team’s dignity. If it happened, the team would turn into laughing stock. In the face of this situation, many would choose an overpowering attack against their enemy. That way, even if they lost the game, they would lose with honor.

However, that was really not the best idea in this case. The Forest team was not as strong as it used to be and has already made up excuses for losing. How could such a team beat a strong opponent? They did not have the confidence for an aggressive attack.

As the saying goes, “Confront one with death and they will fight to live”. How could the team summon the right kind of energy if they weren’t determined to win?

“On a solid back-line basis, we need to seize every set-piece opportunity to score. Don’t be afraid of less ball control, ugly scenes, and little chance of shooting. As long as we’re more patient than they are, grab the set-piece opportunity to score, and the final victory will be ours!”

“We practiced set-pieces for over a week and I hope to see them in the game. ”

※※※

Twain did see in the game that his team had painstakingly trained for the set-ball attacking tactics for more than a week. His team was ahead in the score for the moment.

As soon as Arsenal came up, they played with a home team’s arrogance. They were bombing around Forest’s penalty area. They were cooperating cleverly, running flexibly, passing directly. The Nottingham Forest team could only double its defense under the attack by Arsenal. It was a pity they were short of a punching second striker. Although the small squad was flexible enough, it was not enough to face the solid defense wall of the Nottingham Forest team.

Although the Forest were seemingly timid, they never conceded a goal. It wasn’t until the 37th minute that the Forest team got a good attacking chance. Chen Jian was tackled to the ground by an Arsenal player after taking the ball in front, and Nottingham Forest, therefore, secured a free-kick on the right side of the front.

Bale left-footed a free-kick to the late penalty and Aaron Mitchell head passed the ball back with a flick-on header from the late penalty. Then George Wood followed in the middle, rushed ahead of the others, and used a beautiful diving header to send the football into the corner of the net in the ensuing chaos.

Nottingham Forest, an away team, has taken the lead with no advantage in possession or number of shots. This surprised many people.

However, more surprises were waiting for them. Nottingham Forest had another free-kick in the same position on the other side before the last minute of the first half. This time it was Bale’s cross. This time around, Arsenal’s fullbacks focused on the center-field defense, and in the meantime, they never stopped guarding Mitchell. However, Nottingham Forest changed their tactic.

The ball went straight to the late penalty area. Mitchell and Forest center-back Sarko were still pushing back, while the two defenders followed them back. They didn’t expect that halfway there, Sarko would abruptly stop and turn out, running towards the football. He rose high with no one defending him!

He shot a rebound. The football bounced off the Arsenal goalkeeper, making him misjudge the direction of the ball. Goal right through the net!

“It’s unbelievable! “The narrator cried out, hugging his head. “At the Emirates Stadium, at Arsenal’s home ground, Nottingham Forest managed a two-goal lead by the end of the first half! Tony Twain’s ferocious drive, defensive counter-attack and tactics of using set-pieces to score totally undermined Arsenal’s technical play!”

Wenger was clearly aware that he would only lose more and more if he continued to play like this. Some specific changes had to be made against their opponents. Therefore, at the beginning of the second half, he substituted a more powerful striker in front of the goalmouth.

Nottingham Forest also relented after leading by two goals in the first half. On the other hand, Arsenal pulled one back in the second half.

Then Arsenal’s morale was unexpectedly boosted. They kept attacking Forest’s goalmouth to the cheers of the home fans. Twain saw the situation he quickly adjusted his team’s tactic. He did not strengthen the defense, but rather the counterattack.

Surely, the change was very effective. Arsenal’s attack was immediately subdued in fear of a sharp and fierce counterattack from Nottingham Forest. Rebalancing has come back on the field.

Such a score was held until the end, despite the fact that in the last five or six minutes, Arsenal was attacking most ferociously. However, the Forest team’s fightback was just as active, making Arsenal powerless. In the face of the solid defense in front, as well as Forest’s quick counterattack, Arsenal finally lost hope.

In this way, Nottingham Forest won a key victory.

After the game, everybody agreed that Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest was back to being the Arsenal’s arch-enemy.

Wenger also admitted at a post-match press conference that Nottingham Forest’s tactics had restrained theirs. This made him very helpless.

Twain, as the winner, didn’t take this for granted. He said the team was just lucky enough to win against Arsenal.

It was absolutely impossible to say that there has been no change between the current Twain and the Twain of old. A decade ago, he would definitely proclaim that their victory was a matter of course.

Getting up and shaking hands with Wenger, Twain left the press conference. The team was waiting for him on the bus and, unlike at the press conference, he had another speech to make to his men.

“You have done well, lads! We got three points as an away team and the rankings went up two places. However, more than that, I’m glad to have seen in your performance the desire to win and the heart of the champions! Never give up!” Twain said to the players on the bus, with one hand resting on his chest.

“I hope this game will help you remember that the spirit of a champion who always seeks victory is more important than anything. Now I have finally begun to hope that we can return to Europe,” Twain pointed at his players and went on, “Because you all want to win. And I…”

He pointed to himself, “…would like to work with players who want to win. Nottingham Forest are winners and so am I.” He looked at everyone and grinned.

In fact, he was very arrogant, but it was precisely this confidence that made him more likely to win and turned him into his opponents’ nightmare.

If someone didn’t believe this, the game against Arsenal was an excellent demonstration.

※※※

PS. If all goes as planned, Godfather of Champions will officially end in October. Then I will rest for a month and think about the new book. Thank you for more than two years of support, I am very grateful! Without your support, I wouldn’t be here, finishing Godfather of Champions.

On the last day of the month, everyone has extra monthly tickets. Vote for me, thank you!

Chapter 1015 - Shankly’s Decision Back Then

Chapter 1015: Shankly’s Decision Back Then

Nottingham Forest seemed to have suddenly found their drive to move forward after the match against Arsenal. They achieved three wins and one draw in February, and they shot up to eighth place on the ranking table. They were just two places below sixth.

The team’s results have gotten better, and one man’s brain started becoming more and more active.

Evan Doughty would look at the calendar every single day to see what day it was and how many days were left until the end of the season. Twain said that he would quit after the season ended, and those words of his kept resounding in Doughty’s mind. It was a well-known fact that Twain was going to retire at the end of the season. The press knew about it and so did the fans. He even repeated those words during the FIFA Football Awards ceremony that was held at the end of December last year. Twain was dead set on retiring once the season ended.

However, Evan Doughty was not willing to let Twain leave the club a second time. He once made a mistake in the past regarding this issue and he could not make the same mistake twice.

He wondered if Twain had changed his mind after two months.

Evan Doughty would head over to the Wilford training grounds every single day to observe Twain’s behavior during the team’s training sessions. He wanted to figure out what was on that man’s mind.

This day, he saw Twain chatting happily with his colleagues and joking with his players. He even saw him put an arm around Bale and Wood and say something to them.

It looked like he was in a good mood and was enjoying his work.

Evan Doughty felt that the time was ripe.

※※※

“Hey, Tony. I heard that your wife’s back.” The players would gather around and have idle chat during the breaks in between their training sessions, and the coaches would do the same. After all, they were humans just like the players, and they too needed rest.

The coaches were even more gossipy than the players, and they were always able to get their hands on information quickly.

This was shown in how they were already asking Shania Twain’s husband for more inside information even though the British tabloids had only reported news of Shania’s arrival in England the day before.

Twain could do nothing about his gossipy colleagues.

“Yes, she returned yesterday.”

A few of the coaches glanced at each other and laughed. “Looks like we’re definitely going to win our next few matches! Haha!”

All the other coaches began laughing with them. This was a joke that was referring to a phenomenon that happened before Twain left Forest. The team had a tendency of performing consistently well every time Shania arrived in England back then.

Twain allowed his colleagues to laugh as much as they pleased. There was nothing for him to be unhappy about. To him, harmony in the team was the key to achieving good results. Why would he possibly say something that would ruin the harmony that they had now?

Twain walked back to his office alone after the training session was over. He was going to leave his notebook on the table and pick up his car keys before leaving for home. There might be a restaurant located on the training grounds, but he had no intention of dining there. After all, his dearest wife Shania had prepared lunch and was waiting for him at home. Not only that, the dishes that were served at the restaurant were mostly fit for athletes, and were not meant to be eaten by the average person. Twain was not an athlete, and there was no reason why he should eat a tasteless meal at the restaurant.

After entering his office, Twain placed his notebook on the table. He then took his car keys from the drawer and prepared to leave. However, just as he raised his head, he saw a figure standing at the door.

“Evan!” Twain said in surprise. “You scared me. You didn’t make a sound while you were standing there. You’re just like a ghost, do you know that?”

Evan Doughty laughed in embarrassment after seeing Twain’s reaction. “I’m sorry. I saw that you were busy, so I didn’t dare to call out to you. Are you preparing to head home?” He looked at the car keys that Twain held in his hand.

Twain noticed what Doughty was looking at. He dangled his car keys and said, “Yeah. Shania’s waiting for me at home.”

“Ah…” Doughty was a little disappointed. “Looks like now’s not a good time to talk, then.”

Twain found his comment to be odd, so he asked, “Is something the matter, Evan?”

“Uh…” Doughty hesitated for a moment but was not able to get the words out. “When would you be free? I’d like to speak to you about something privately, Tony.”

Twain thought about his schedule for the next few days and said, “I’d have time this weekend, after the away game.”

Doughty nodded. “I’ll meet you this weekend then. Goodbye, Tony. I don’t want to take up too much of your time, or else your wife would complain about me.”

Doughty was well aware that Shania did not have a good impression of him.

Twain did not say anything else and only watched as the club’s owner walked out of the room. The 60-year-old man before him seemed to have lost all his arrogance and tyranny from four years ago. He was just like any other aging man now. They could try all they want, but the relationship between the two of them would never revert to how it used to be in the past. How could anyone pretend that nothing ever happened when there was a visible crack on an originally smooth surface?

Doughty rarely joked with Twain now, and Twain would not go over to Doughty’s office to have a chat with him either. They might appear to be close to each other on the surface, but one would still be able to tell that there was something different about their relationship if they paid attention to the fine details.

The difference in their relationship was not something that could be described in words. It was something one could only feel.

However, neither of them needed to be told that their relationship was not like it used to be. They both knew that very well.

※※※

Nottingham Forest faced Manchester City in an away game that weekend. Both sides played their strongest possible team for the match, and Forest managed to edge out City with the help of a controversial goal. The press that was associated with Manchester City all believed that the goal was an offside goal, and they could not stop babbling about it during the post-match press conference. Twain responded by pushing all the responsibility onto the shoulders of the referee for the match, “…I was not in a good position then, so I don’t know what happened the moment Chen Jian passed the ball. However, since the referee has allowed the goal, I believe that the goal should stand… What is important is not the process, but the outcome. The outcome of the match is that we won, and I’m very happy about that.”

The press could do nothing about the shameless Twain. They could only watch helplessly as he ‘stole’ what should have been their victory away from them. Of course, that did not stop them from deriding Twain in the papers, but Twain did not care what they said about him. He has been a manager for 15 years, and he has spent the past 15 years attacking and deriding the press, just like they attacked and derided him. He had grown utterly used to their attitude by now.

The highlight for this weekend was not the match against City, but rather what was going to happen in the hotel that the team stayed in following the match. Or, to be more precise, what was going to happen in Twain’s hotel room.

This was a scene that both Twain and Doughty would find familiar. After all, it was similar to the scene that was played out four years ago in Twain’s hotel room in Madrid. The main difference was that one of the main casts from back then was missing today, and the plot for the show was different as well.

If the show they acted in four and a half years ago was about politics and trickery, the show of today would be a tearjerker.

And the man who was acting as the miserable main character was Evan Doughty.

“Evan, you said you had something to speak to me about. Are you just here to persuade me to stay with Forest?” Twain sat at the edge of his hotel bed and stared at Evan Doughty, who sat on the sofa across of him.

“What else would I possibly want to speak to you about? Tony, do you still distrust me?”

Evan Doughty had a bitter expression on his face. He had just spent a lot of effort to express his desire for Twain to stay with Forest, but all Twain did was respond with a question. How could he not agonize over it?

It was true what people said. Some scars could never heal completely…

“Of course I trust you, Evan. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have accepted your invitation to return to Forest as a manager,” Twain said.

Twain’s attitude only made Doughty even more uncertain about what was truly on his mind. To Doughty, Twain had said those words half-heartedly and did not really mean them.

Twain noticed the expression on Doughty’s face and laughed wryly. “How do you want me to prove to you that I trust you? I really meant what I said…”

“Then stay at the club, Tony.”

Evan Doughty gazed at Twain but was not able to discern anything from the latter’s expression.

“That’s impossible, Evan. I have a family, and my health doesn’t allow me to continue working as a manager any longer,” Twain shook his head and refused Doughty’s plea.

“But… You haven’t suffered any health problems for the past few months…”

Twain raised a hand and cut Doughty off. “I know my own body best, Evan. I feel like I don’t have as much energy as I used to… Besides, are you saying that I only have a health problem if I pass out by the side of the pitch and get sent to the emergency room for 48 hours? You are my friend. I’m sure you don’t want me and my family to go through that once again, right?”

Twain’s words rendered Evan Doughty speechless. He had been so desperate to keep Twain at the club that he had not thought about how he should act as a friend. If he truly meant well for Twain, then he would always put his health first.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Evan Doughty had his head lowered and did not know what he should say. Twain, on the other hand, had averted his gaze towards the television. News of the match that just ended earlier between Forest and Manchester City was being broadcasted, and the focus of the news was naturally on whether Mitchell was offside when he scored the goal.

Twain had mentioned during the press conference that he did not see what had happened prior to the goal, and now he finally had the chance to take a good look at it. The news replayed the scenes before Mitchell scored the goal. Mitchell was positioned in a straight line with the Manchester City’s defenders before kicking the ball. The camera then froze at the moment he kicked the ball, and Twain could clearly see that Mitchell’s upper body was slightly further ahead than the defense line…

Strictly speaking, Mitchell was definitely in an offside position when he scored the goal. However, whether or not an offside was ultimately given was at the referee’s discretion. If the referee thought that Mitchell’s upper body being slightly further in front did not have any major bearing on the match, he could choose not to rule it as being offside. However, if he had gone by the book and ruled Mitchell as being offside, Twain would be the one defending his team at the post-match press conference.

The voice-overs in the news did not share Twain’s opinion. They believed that Manchester City had lost the match due to the referee’s poor decision, and they condemned the referee for it. Twain then cast a glance at the logo of the channel and realized that it was a local news channel. No wonder, he thought to himself.

Twain did not have any interest in listening to the rest of the news. He looked away from the television screen and at Doughty again. To his surprise, Doughty also had his eyes on the television and appeared to be lost in thought.

Twain contemplated for a moment. He then laughed and said, “Look at me now. I’ve really gotten on with age. I need the referee to help me win games these days.”

Doughty shook his head after hearing Twain’s words. “It’s the referee’s mistake. What does that have to do with you? We might not have had as much possession as Manchester City for the match, but we had more shots on goal, and we deserved to win. We were just unlucky with several of our shots. There were numerous times when we could have scored but didn’t…”

Twain did not interrupt Doughty. The edge of his lips went up gradually without his knowledge as he quietly listened to Doughty speak.

Evan Doughty noticed the change in expression on Twain’s face, and he realized that he had said too much. He immediately stopped talking and looked at Twain.

“Ha!” Twain laughed. “I just find all of it really interesting. You were once a man who could not differentiate between a ‘coach’ and a ‘manager’, but now you are able to make good analyses like that. We are always changing… Evan, I do not wish to continue working as a manager for another decade. I’m already 50 years old this year, and I have a heart problem as well. I will definitely die before Shania, so I want to make the most of the time I have left. I want to spend more time with my wife and Teresa… You are also a man of family. I’m sure you can understand how I feel.”

Doughty nodded. He could not possibly shake his head, could he?

“But…” Doughty decided to fight back eventually because did not want to be so easily persuaded by Twain.

“I know that you are thinking about what’s best for the club, and I mean it. I’ve always believed in you, Evan. However, I’m really not fit to work at Nottingham Forest any longer. We are all changing, and so is Nottingham Forest,” Twain said. “There is no such thing as a club that will always win in this world, and there is no such thing as a team that will always become the champions. The clubs that have managed to create a dynasty in the past all had their ups and downs, and the same happened for Nottingham Forest…”

Twain became distracted as he spoke.

The days when Hebert Chapman led Arsenal on a rampage in England were too far away. Sir Matt Busby, the man who led Manchester United to their very first Champions League title, had passed away a long time ago. Bill Shankly, who has a deep, lasting influence on Liverpool, was nothing more than a name now. Brian Clough, the man who fought against Liverpool when they were at their strongest and the man who created ‘England’s Red Generation’ alongside Liverpool was just a bronze statue that was situated in the Nottingham city center now. The all-powerful Ferguson, who dominated the Premier League ever since its inception, has become an elderly man who basked in the sun in his backyard every single day and who did not even watch his favorite horse races anymore. Arsene Wenger, the godfather of Arsenal who was also a legend of the sport like Ferguson, was already 70 years old this year, and his retirement was imminent…

Every single one of those glorious names would become buried in the sands of time someday, and their achievements would become nothing more than a memory. Twain believed that he, along with his Nottingham Forest team from four years ago, would be destined to a similar fate in a few years’ time. It was just like how the children who were born these days would never truly appreciate the greatness of Michael Jackson. Similarly, the fans of Ronaldo would never know how great Maradona was, and the fans of Maradona would never know how great Pelé was because they had never had the chance to see him play football before their very eyes. Likewise, Pelé’s fans would find Alfredo Di Stéfano foreign. Everything in life would have to come to an end someday. Twain had gone through so many things in his life up until now, and there was nothing he could not put behind him.

“I cannot stay in this managerial position forever, and I should not have to stay in it forever. What Nottingham Forest needs is a long-term plan that you will slowly execute over several years. However, I’m a man who is too eager to achieve success, and I also want instant gratification. A man like me is not suitable to lead Nottingham Forest into the future.”

Doughty looked like he wanted to stop Twain from self-deprecation, but Twain quickly went on to say, “Do you still fail to understand, Evan? Why did Forest’s results plummet the moment I left? Why did nothing change even after hiring numerous good managers? I don’t wish for Nottingham Forest to become ‘Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest’. We might have won countless trophies if I stayed as the manager, but we’d never become a truly strong team. Most people cannot live a hundred years, but many football teams in the world have been around for centuries. It’s impossible for a team to be truly strong and powerful just by relying on the abilities of one person. Why is Liverpool considered a powerhouse team? They were nothing before Shankly, but what’s important is that they managed to win five Champions League trophies after Shankly left.”

Twain leaned forward and looked at Doughty.

“There are certain media outlets that have touted me as Nottingham Forest’s Shankly. Do you know what was the best decision Shankly had made in his life?”

Twain smiled as he watched Doughty’s expression change from confusion to realization and then to frustration.

“His decision to resign out of the blue and leave Liverpool forever.”

Twain had heard about Shankly when he was just a regular football fan. He was also familiar with Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley. However, he could never understand why Shankly would choose to resign when he was doing a great job as Liverpool’s manager. Given his success at the club, Shankly should have stayed as the manager and worked to achieve greater things with the club. For example, he could have led Liverpool to their first-ever Champions League title. Twain and many others believed that he was capable of achieving that if he had remained at the club.

Twain did not understand why he left back then, but he did now.

Twain’s words stunned Evan Doughty, and his mouth dropped open. He then sat on the sofa in a daze and did not make a single sound for a long time.

Chapter 1016 - Shankly’s Decision Back Then

Nottingham Forest seemed to have suddenly found their drive to move forward after the match against Arsenal. They achieved three wins and one draw in February, and they shot up to eighth place on the ranking table. They were just two places below sixth.

The team’s results have gotten better, and one man’s brain started becoming more and more active.

Evan Doughty would look at the calendar every single day to see what day it was and how many days were left until the end of the season. Twain said that he would quit after the season ended, and those words of his kept resounding in Doughty’s mind. It was a well-known fact that Twain was going to retire at the end of the season. The press knew about it and so did the fans. He even repeated those words during the FIFA Football Awards ceremony that was held at the end of December last year. Twain was dead set on retiring once the season ended.

However, Evan Doughty was not willing to let Twain leave the club a second time. He once made a mistake in the past regarding this issue and he could not make the same mistake twice.

He wondered if Twain had changed his mind after two months.

Evan Doughty would head over to the Wilford training grounds every single day to observe Twain’s behavior during the team’s training sessions. He wanted to figure out what was on that man’s mind.

This day, he saw Twain chatting happily with his colleagues and joking with his players. He even saw him put an arm around Bale and Wood and say something to them.

It looked like he was in a good mood and was enjoying his work.

Evan Doughty felt that the time was ripe.

※※※

“Hey, Tony. I heard that your wife’s back.” The players would gather around and have idle chat during the breaks in between their training sessions, and the coaches would do the same. After all, they were humans just like the players, and they too needed rest.

The coaches were even more gossipy than the players, and they were always able to get their hands on information quickly.

This was shown in how they were already asking Shania Twain’s husband for more inside information even though the British tabloids had only reported news of Shania’s arrival in England the day before.

Twain could do nothing about his gossipy colleagues.

“Yes, she returned yesterday.”

A few of the coaches glanced at each other and laughed. “Looks like we’re definitely going to win our next few matches! Haha!”

All the other coaches began laughing with them. This was a joke that was referring to a phenomenon that happened before Twain left Forest. The team had a tendency of performing consistently well every time Shania arrived in England back then.

Twain allowed his colleagues to laugh as much as they pleased. There was nothing for him to be unhappy about. To him, harmony in the team was the key to achieving good results. Why would he possibly say something that would ruin the harmony that they had now?

Twain walked back to his office alone after the training session was over. He was going to leave his notebook on the table and pick up his car keys before leaving for home. There might be a restaurant located on the training grounds, but he had no intention of dining there. After all, his dearest wife Shania had prepared lunch and was waiting for him at home. Not only that, the dishes that were served at the restaurant were mostly fit for athletes, and were not meant to be eaten by the average person. Twain was not an athlete, and there was no reason why he should eat a tasteless meal at the restaurant.

After entering his office, Twain placed his notebook on the table. He then took his car keys from the drawer and prepared to leave. However, just as he raised his head, he saw a figure standing at the door.

“Evan!” Twain said in surprise. “You scared me. You didn’t make a sound while you were standing there. You’re just like a ghost, do you know that?”

Evan Doughty laughed in embarrassment after seeing Twain’s reaction. “I’m sorry. I saw that you were busy, so I didn’t dare to call out to you. Are you preparing to head home?” He looked at the car keys that Twain held in his hand.

Twain noticed what Doughty was looking at. He dangled his car keys and said, “Yeah. Shania’s waiting for me at home.”

“Ah…” Doughty was a little disappointed. “Looks like now’s not a good time to talk, then.”

Twain found his comment to be odd, so he asked, “Is something the matter, Evan?”

“Uh…” Doughty hesitated for a moment but was not able to get the words out. “When would you be free? I’d like to speak to you about something privately, Tony.”

Twain thought about his schedule for the next few days and said, “I’d have time this weekend, after the away game.”

Doughty nodded. “I’ll meet you this weekend then. Goodbye, Tony. I don’t want to take up too much of your time, or else your wife would complain about me.”

Doughty was well aware that Shania did not have a good impression of him.

Twain did not say anything else and only watched as the club’s owner walked out of the room. The 60-year-old man before him seemed to have lost all his arrogance and tyranny from four years ago. He was just like any other aging man now. They could try all they want, but the relationship between the two of them would never revert to how it used to be in the past. How could anyone pretend that nothing ever happened when there was a visible crack on an originally smooth surface?

Doughty rarely joked with Twain now, and Twain would not go over to Doughty’s office to have a chat with him either. They might appear to be close to each other on the surface, but one would still be able to tell that there was something different about their relationship if they paid attention to the fine details.

The difference in their relationship was not something that could be described in words. It was something one could only feel.

However, neither of them needed to be told that their relationship was not like it used to be. They both knew that very well.

※※※

Nottingham Forest faced Manchester City in an away game that weekend. Both sides played their strongest possible team for the match, and Forest managed to edge out City with the help of a controversial goal. The press that was associated with Manchester City all believed that the goal was an offside goal, and they could not stop babbling about it during the post-match press conference. Twain responded by pushing all the responsibility onto the shoulders of the referee for the match, “…I was not in a good position then, so I don’t know what happened the moment Chen Jian passed the ball. However, since the referee has allowed the goal, I believe that the goal should stand… What is important is not the process, but the outcome. The outcome of the match is that we won, and I’m very happy about that.”

The press could do nothing about the shameless Twain. They could only watch helplessly as he ‘stole’ what should have been their victory away from them. Of course, that did not stop them from deriding Twain in the papers, but Twain did not care what they said about him. He has been a manager for 15 years, and he has spent the past 15 years attacking and deriding the press, just like they attacked and derided him. He had grown utterly used to their attitude by now.

The highlight for this weekend was not the match against City, but rather what was going to happen in the hotel that the team stayed in following the match. Or, to be more precise, what was going to happen in Twain’s hotel room.

This was a scene that both Twain and Doughty would find familiar. After all, it was similar to the scene that was played out four years ago in Twain’s hotel room in Madrid. The main difference was that one of the main casts from back then was missing today, and the plot for the show was different as well.

If the show they acted in four and a half years ago was about politics and trickery, the show of today would be a tearjerker.

And the man who was acting as the miserable main character was Evan Doughty.

“Evan, you said you had something to speak to me about. Are you just here to persuade me to stay with Forest?” Twain sat at the edge of his hotel bed and stared at Evan Doughty, who sat on the sofa across of him.

“What else would I possibly want to speak to you about? Tony, do you still distrust me?”

Evan Doughty had a bitter expression on his face. He had just spent a lot of effort to express his desire for Twain to stay with Forest, but all Twain did was respond with a question. How could he not agonize over it?

It was true what people said. Some scars could never heal completely…

“Of course I trust you, Evan. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have accepted your invitation to return to Forest as a manager,” Twain said.

Twain’s attitude only made Doughty even more uncertain about what was truly on his mind. To Doughty, Twain had said those words half-heartedly and did not really mean them.

Twain noticed the expression on Doughty’s face and laughed wryly. “How do you want me to prove to you that I trust you? I really meant what I said…”

“Then stay at the club, Tony.”

Evan Doughty gazed at Twain but was not able to discern anything from the latter’s expression.

“That’s impossible, Evan. I have a family, and my health doesn’t allow me to continue working as a manager any longer,” Twain shook his head and refused Doughty’s plea.

“But… You haven’t suffered any health problems for the past few months…”

Twain raised a hand and cut Doughty off. “I know my own body best, Evan. I feel like I don’t have as much energy as I used to… Besides, are you saying that I only have a health problem if I pass out by the side of the pitch and get sent to the emergency room for 48 hours? You are my friend. I’m sure you don’t want me and my family to go through that once again, right?”

Twain’s words rendered Evan Doughty speechless. He had been so desperate to keep Twain at the club that he had not thought about how he should act as a friend. If he truly meant well for Twain, then he would always put his health first.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Evan Doughty had his head lowered and did not know what he should say. Twain, on the other hand, had averted his gaze towards the television. News of the match that just ended earlier between Forest and Manchester City was being broadcasted, and the focus of the news was naturally on whether Mitchell was offside when he scored the goal.

Twain had mentioned during the press conference that he did not see what had happened prior to the goal, and now he finally had the chance to take a good look at it. The news replayed the scenes before Mitchell scored the goal. Mitchell was positioned in a straight line with the Manchester City’s defenders before kicking the ball. The camera then froze at the moment he kicked the ball, and Twain could clearly see that Mitchell’s upper body was slightly further ahead than the defense line…

Strictly speaking, Mitchell was definitely in an offside position when he scored the goal. However, whether or not an offside was ultimately given was at the referee’s discretion. If the referee thought that Mitchell’s upper body being slightly further in front did not have any major bearing on the match, he could choose not to rule it as being offside. However, if he had gone by the book and ruled Mitchell as being offside, Twain would be the one defending his team at the post-match press conference.

The voice-overs in the news did not share Twain’s opinion. They believed that Manchester City had lost the match due to the referee’s poor decision, and they condemned the referee for it. Twain then cast a glance at the logo of the channel and realized that it was a local news channel. No wonder, he thought to himself.

Twain did not have any interest in listening to the rest of the news. He looked away from the television screen and at Doughty again. To his surprise, Doughty also had his eyes on the television and appeared to be lost in thought.

Twain contemplated for a moment. He then laughed and said, “Look at me now. I’ve really gotten on with age. I need the referee to help me win games these days.”

Doughty shook his head after hearing Twain’s words. “It’s the referee’s mistake. What does that have to do with you? We might not have had as much possession as Manchester City for the match, but we had more shots on goal, and we deserved to win. We were just unlucky with several of our shots. There were numerous times when we could have scored but didn’t…”

Twain did not interrupt Doughty. The edge of his lips went up gradually without his knowledge as he quietly listened to Doughty speak.

Evan Doughty noticed the change in expression on Twain’s face, and he realized that he had said too much. He immediately stopped talking and looked at Twain.

“Ha!” Twain laughed. “I just find all of it really interesting. You were once a man who could not differentiate between a ‘coach’ and a ‘manager’, but now you are able to make good analyses like that. We are always changing… Evan, I do not wish to continue working as a manager for another decade. I’m already 50 years old this year, and I have a heart problem as well. I will definitely die before Shania, so I want to make the most of the time I have left. I want to spend more time with my wife and Teresa… You are also a man of family. I’m sure you can understand how I feel.”

Doughty nodded. He could not possibly shake his head, could he?

“But…” Doughty decided to fight back eventually because did not want to be so easily persuaded by Twain.

“I know that you are thinking about what’s best for the club, and I mean it. I’ve always believed in you, Evan. However, I’m really not fit to work at Nottingham Forest any longer. We are all changing, and so is Nottingham Forest,” Twain said. “There is no such thing as a club that will always win in this world, and there is no such thing as a team that will always become the champions. The clubs that have managed to create a dynasty in the past all had their ups and downs, and the same happened for Nottingham Forest…”

Twain became distracted as he spoke.

The days when Hebert Chapman led Arsenal on a rampage in England were too far away. Sir Matt Busby, the man who led Manchester United to their very first Champions League title, had passed away a long time ago. Bill Shankly, who has a deep, lasting influence on Liverpool, was nothing more than a name now. Brian Clough, the man who fought against Liverpool when they were at their strongest and the man who created ‘England’s Red Generation’ alongside Liverpool was just a bronze statue that was situated in the Nottingham city center now. The all-powerful Ferguson, who dominated the Premier League ever since its inception, has become an elderly man who basked in the sun in his backyard every single day and who did not even watch his favorite horse races anymore. Arsene Wenger, the godfather of Arsenal who was also a legend of the sport like Ferguson, was already 70 years old this year, and his retirement was imminent…

Every single one of those glorious names would become buried in the sands of time someday, and their achievements would become nothing more than a memory. Twain believed that he, along with his Nottingham Forest team from four years ago, would be destined to a similar fate in a few years’ time. It was just like how the children who were born these days would never truly appreciate the greatness of Michael Jackson. Similarly, the fans of Ronaldo would never know how great Maradona was, and the fans of Maradona would never know how great Pelé was because they had never had the chance to see him play football before their very eyes. Likewise, Pelé’s fans would find Alfredo Di Stéfano foreign. Everything in life would have to come to an end someday. Twain had gone through so many things in his life up until now, and there was nothing he could not put behind him.

“I cannot stay in this managerial position forever, and I should not have to stay in it forever. What Nottingham Forest needs is a long-term plan that you will slowly execute over several years. However, I’m a man who is too eager to achieve success, and I also want instant gratification. A man like me is not suitable to lead Nottingham Forest into the future.”

Doughty looked like he wanted to stop Twain from self-deprecation, but Twain quickly went on to say, “Do you still fail to understand, Evan? Why did Forest’s results plummet the moment I left? Why did nothing change even after hiring numerous good managers? I don’t wish for Nottingham Forest to become ‘Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest’. We might have won countless trophies if I stayed as the manager, but we’d never become a truly strong team. Most people cannot live a hundred years, but many football teams in the world have been around for centuries. It’s impossible for a team to be truly strong and powerful just by relying on the abilities of one person. Why is Liverpool considered a powerhouse team? They were nothing before Shankly, but what’s important is that they managed to win five Champions League trophies after Shankly left.”

Twain leaned forward and looked at Doughty.

“There are certain media outlets that have touted me as Nottingham Forest’s Shankly. Do you know what was the best decision Shankly had made in his life?”

Twain smiled as he watched Doughty’s expression change from confusion to realization and then to frustration.

“His decision to resign out of the blue and leave Liverpool forever.”

Twain had heard about Shankly when he was just a regular football fan. He was also familiar with Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley. However, he could never understand why Shankly would choose to resign when he was doing a great job as Liverpool’s manager. Given his success at the club, Shankly should have stayed as the manager and worked to achieve greater things with the club. For example, he could have led Liverpool to their first-ever Champions League title. Twain and many others believed that he was capable of achieving that if he had remained at the club.

Twain did not understand why he left back then, but he did now.

Twain’s words stunned Evan Doughty, and his mouth dropped open. He then sat on the sofa in a daze and did not make a single sound for a long time.

Chapter 1017 - Leave? That’s Really a Problem

Bill Shankly was the greatest football coach of his time. He had brought the previously unknown Liverpool to a Championship football team level. He had left many famous football famous sayings, the most widely known of which, of course, was, “Football has nothing to do with life and death. Football is much higher than life and death.”

However, he abruptly announced his resignation at one of the finest moments of his coaching career and this decision shocked the whole of England at the time. Shankly’s argument was that he was going to spend more time with his wife. Seven years later he died of a heart attack.

Twain wasn’t very close to Shankly at that time and he didn’t know if Shankly had made such a decision entirely because of his wife or for some other reasons. However, from a peer’s point of view, it was not difficult to understand Shankly’s choice. Putting aside the idea of health and the necessity of taking care of his wife, just thinking about the team’s development, Shankly’s retirement was a pretty good thing for Liverpool.

Because if he didn’t retire, how could the obscure Paisley rise from being unknown to being a world-famous head coach? Until Shankly retired, Paisley was just an ordinary player who hadn’t proven himself in the coaching position at all. Moreover, Paisley and Shankly were the exact opposite type of coaches. Shankly preferred to deliver inspiration and encouraging words to the team through the media as Twain would always do. Paisley was more pragmatic and more low-key. Dunn and he were very close in characteristic.

It was a coincidence. However, it was as if it was determined by fate.

Twain and Dunn were just like Shankly and Paisley at the beginning.

Bill Shankly took Liverpool from Football League Second Division to England’s top-flight – England Football League First Division. In terms of making champions, he was certainly no match for his successor Bob Paisley. However, he paved the ground for Paisley, who made Liverpool an undeniable force to be reckoned with in England. On the basis Shankly had made, Paisley was able to make the miracle of “19 Champions in 9 years”. However, it could not be simply attributed to the fact that Shankly had done the foundation work in advance. Shankly’s reputation was so high at the time that his influence at Liverpool was like that of Busby at Manchester United. No matter who his successor would be, the pressure on his shoulder was enormous. But Paisley, a low-key successor, has always put himself in a position of “transition coach”. He was the man who led Liverpool to go beyond Shankly’s great influence. He did what Shankly could not do during his coaching.

Would Dunn accomplish the same result in the future? Lead Nottingham Forest beyond the influence of Tony Twain and create the Forest Dynasty that would belong to him?

Twain was looking forward to seeing that day.

He chose Dunn as his successor, which was, of course, entirely and carefully considered. He had full confidence in Dunn, which was definitely not the result of a whim.

Shankly’s story was well known in England, and Evan should be aware of it if he really knew football. However, did he know the story beyond the surface?

Twain wouldn’t know.

※※※

Once again, after refusing Evan’s invitation to stay at Forest, Twain returned to Nottingham to continue their league campaign. In the Football Association Cup, after passing Dunn, Twain gave up the whole tournament altogether. The Nottingham Forest, who were almost all second-tier and youth team players, lost to Everton in the next round.

For many Forest supporters, this loss was a big shame. They believed this was the only chance for Nottingham Forest to return to Europe, and that the team had to take advantage of this opportunity to revitalize and rise again. However, the team lost the game and judging from the performance on the field, Twain didn’t care about the Football Association Cup at all.

After the loss of the game, some minor dissent came out through the media. They believed Twain must still think the Football Association Cup was a non-essential game and did not know that the Football Association Cup was the last straw for Nottingham Forest in the current situation.

However, with the ranking of the team rising in the league, the voice of criticism gradually faded. They saw Twain’s intentions: from the beginning, he didn’t expect to rely on the Football Association Cup winners to get a European ticket for the game. The Football Association Cup was so randomly won that it had always been called a “race of dark horses”. Twain was reluctant to bet in it. By comparison, the long-running league was better suited to Nottingham Forest today.

The purpose of giving up the Football Association Cup decisively, securing enough fitness and stamina for the Forest team, was to ensure they wouldn’t collapse in the end because of the double-line battle and end up with nothing.

The rest of the team also endorsed Twain’s strategy. Watching the rankings rise, they were trusting the head coach more.

Evan Doughty has not come to Twain since that day to talk about the subject of staying with the team.

Twain didn’t know if Evan had given up, but he has made up his mind. He didn’t care how hard everyone else tried to persuade him to stay.

However, from the home game stands of this round, Twain was surprised to hear the voices from the Nottingham Forest fans.

On Robin Hood Grandstand, one of the fans hung a banner that read, “We Hope to See You Again Next Season, Tony.”

Although there was only one banner, Twain saw it. He was very sure that it was not Evan Doughty’s initiative. The president of the club had a very low reputation among the fans and would be unable to get them to cooperate with him.

This must be a spontaneous action of the fans themselves.

It was no secret that he only planned to spend half a season with the Forest. It was written in the contract and fully covered by the media. Many people were then wondering if he could lead the Nottingham Forest team out of trouble again. So the half a season news did not surprise all the fans at the beginning. They could think that Tony Twain had no confidence in himself, so he chose to sign only a half-season contract.

Therefore, fans knew, of course, that Twain only had half a season’s contract with the team. However, they had always wanted Twain to stay. From the very first interview in the press conference to the present, as the season was getting closer and closer to the end. They channeled this emotion into practical actions and expressed it directly.

Twain then saw a banner in the stands, begging him to stay with the team.

Two days later, in Wilford, he saw the banner again. Twain saw the fan who raised that banner, and it was not John. It was another group of people, who were supposed to belong to another fan group, and Twain had no personal relationship with them.

The banner hanging alone outside the barbed-wire fence attracted much attention around. The media took photos of the banner before they left the training ground. Players training on the pitch would also look at the banner from time to time. Even colleagues in the coaching staff were getting interested in studying the distant banner at their leisure.

“I think if I were a fan, I’d do the same,” said Freddy Eastwood, looking at the banner fluttering in the wind in the distance.

His words got the approval of the majority. Twain was the isolated minority.

“You guys don’t want me to leave the team?”

“That’s an interesting question, Tony. Who wants you to go?” David Kerslake replied.

Twain looked into the eyes of his colleagues. He knew they were not lying. However, he had to go.

He didn’t want to go on with this conversation, so he lowered his head and smiled, touching his nose tip.

Everyone knew Twain had his personal reasons to go, so there was no further discussion.

Twain looked up again at the distant banner, deeply lost in thought.

※※※

On the weekend, Nottingham Forest was playing at home. This time Twain saw more similar banners at the stands. All the banners are asking him to stay.

Even the live cameras noticed the situation, giving several shots of the banners in the stands during the live game.

Nottingham Forest had won the game. Their ranking continued to rise to 7th.

Such results have made the fans more reluctant to let Twain go.

After the game, fans have spontaneously formed a group to persuade Twain to stay. The name of the group was, ‘Tony Stay’. They quickly set up the group’s official website, calling on more fans to join online, creating a force that could not be ignored trying to retain Twain.

After that, the “Tony Stay” slogan could be seen everywhere. Twain opted for silence in the face of fan voices and media attention.

Reporters wanted him to comment on this, but Twain rejected their questions on the grounds that “now he just wanted to focus on the team and the play”.

His silence didn’t mean the media had nothing to say. When would the media give up? They could even let the dead speak, not to mention a living man.

The next day, the following headline appeared in the press: ‘Tony Twain Silenced in Face of Fans’ Call, He Is Hesitating!’

If one didn’t speak, the media would figure out a headline title themselves. The more silent one was, the easier it would be for them. They even had their way to get dead people to speak.

Really.

“It’s not going to work like this, Tony. ” A large crowd of fans gathered outside the Wilford Stadium, holding up portraits of Twain and signs pleading with him to stay. They were so numerous that they have completely disrupted the team’s normal training order. Looking at the crowd, assistant coach David Kerslake spread his hands out helplessly and called Twain.

The players looked at the enthusiastic fans and felt a little overwhelmed. They certainly knew what the boss’s personal reason to leave the team was, but they could not say so. They could only secretly look at Tony Twain with concern on their faces.

Twain frowned as he looked at the growing crowd of fans. Since a few days ago, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of fans gathered outside the training ground. Moreover, they have only come for one purpose: get him to change his decision of leaving the team after the end of the season.

However, he did not expect that the spontaneously organized activities of the fans could get so many responses and gather such a large crowd.

Should I be flattered, or should I be overwhelmed?

So Twain thought to himself.

“Keep training, and I will talk to them,” Twain waved his hand and told the team to go on. He walked to the side of the training ground, where the crowd was gathered.

Seeing Twain from behind, Eastwood sighed, “This is the trouble with being too popular!”

The fans who stood outside saw Twain coming towards them but did not make a loud, excited noise. Instead, they went very quiet, quietly watching Twain walk up to them, staring at them through the barbed wire.

“What shall I say, lads?” Twain shook his head with a bitter smile. “I appreciate your devotion to me, but you really interfere with our normal training. I don’t want to do any closed-up training these days.”

“Tony, we just want you to stay.” One of them was clearly the leader of the group. Twain noticed the T-shirt he was wearing. It was emblazoned with his picture, which read “Stay” under it. There were many people wearing the same T-shirt. It was really well-organized. Even the themed T-shirts were already printed.

※※※

When David Kerslake blew the whistle, the players on the pitch were still a little distracted. Some of them were glancing at the area where the fans gathered from time to time. Twain was still talking to them.

“Hey, George. Do you think the boss will stay?” Joe Mattock asked George Wood when they were assigned in pairs to do the passing practice.

Wood hasn’t answered yet, but the teammates next to them were all listening carefully and waiting for his words. They all knew that of the entire team, Wood had the closest relationship with Twain. If anyone knew the boss, it was Wood.

Wood did not pass back when he received the ball from Mattock. Instead, he adjusted the football twice on his foot, thinking about the question for a short time. When he passed the football back, he shook his head and said, “I don’t think so.”

There was an immediate sigh of regret and disappointment around them.

“Why not?” Mattock passed the football over again. “I think he enjoys his work. Can’t he change his mind at the last minute? ”

“I don’t know. However, this time I don’t think he’s coming back.” Wood passed the football and the answer back to Mattock.

“Is that your intuition?” Mattock continued to pass to Wood.

“Yeah, my intuition.” Wood passed back.

This time Mattock didn’t pass the ball to Wood. Instead, he rested one foot on it and sighed.

“Why wouldn’t the boss want to spend more seasons here? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his health.”

No one answered this time, even George Wood. He was twisting his head towards the training ground sidelines, where Twain was still talking to the fans. It was a quiet discussion.

“Why don’t you try to persuade him to stay? Aren’t you the captain?”

The questioner was not Mattock this time, but Balotelli.

Tony Twain had won Balotelli’s heart in just a few months. Now he just wanted to play for Twain. If any other head coach came instead of Twain, he would find it hard to obey his orders. Now that Twain was going to leave the team, how could he remain indifferent?

Wood looked back at Balotelli. This man has always despised his captain’s authority, and Wood didn’t know what to make of him.

“Everyone has his own life,” He replied indifferently. “I have no right to interfere.”

※※※

“All right, guys. In order not to interrupt the training of the team, I hope you will leave. Don’t do this again. As for your wishes, I will consider them seriously. Please give me a few days to think about it. When the time comes I will hold a special press conference to inform you of the final decision,” Twain told his loyal fans through the barbed wire fence.

“Our team is now in a critical period. Whether we can go back to Europe next season depends on the performance of these days. I don’t want the team disturbed by anything out of field. Look, they can’t even concentrate on training now,” Twain pointed at the training ground behind him.

The fans could also see the performance of the team’s training. It was true that the players have been a little distracted since the crowd appeared on the sidelines of the training ground with great fanfare. They even made some mistakes that definitely should not happen in training.

They knew they were interfering with the team’s training. They just wanted Twain to stay so badly that they had to take extreme action.

“Come on, guys. Just leave and go back home. Thank you for your support of the team and me. I will consider your request seriously. ”

Twain fell silent and stood right over the barbed wire, looking at the fans.

The leader was the first to speak. “Okay, Tony. We don’t want to affect the training and performance of the team either. Thank you for coming here to talk to us, we know you are very busy.”

Then the leader waved his hand and turned away, leaving the training ground first. Others followed him and left one by one. Of course, many of them did not forget to look back at Twain. He was still on the sidelines, watching them leave the stadium.

A voice in Twain’s head asked: Will you really consider their request seriously?

Twain could not answer that voice.

Chapter 1018 - A Successor

Shania had also taken notice of the recent media reports. She was not blind or deaf. She was aware of the things that the fans did in the stands and at the training ground. If she were about her thoughts, she would certainly be selfish and want Twain to stay by her side and quit. However, after more than a decade with her husband, she also knew that only he could make the final decision. Therefore, she cleverly chose to remain silent.

At such times, she could only choose to trust her husband.

“I’ll have to hold a press conference in a few days to announce whether I’m staying or leaving,” Twain suddenly said during dinner, which surprised Shania a little. While the media was abuzz with speculation a few days ago, Twain kept mum at home.

She was keenly aware of something.

“It’s time to resolve all this,” Twain said.

Her guess was right.

However, Shania did not “What’s your decision?” but just nodded and did not say anything.

Twain was not surprised by Shania’s reaction, so he did not offer to explain what he would say at the press conference.

There was a mutual understanding between the two of them.

※※※

The question of whether Twain would stay or leave obviously affected the team’s performance. Nottingham Forest came close to losing against Fulham in an away game during the weekend. Fortunately, Balotelli broke through Fulham’s goal with a beautiful free-kick at the last minute to equalize the score at 1:1 and save the team a point. However, because of the tie in the game, their ranking did not continue to rise but remained in seventh place.

For the Forest team to end up with a tie against Fulham was still lucky. In terms of both overall skills and actual situation, Nottingham Forest was at a complete disadvantage. If the Fulham striker had not been too wasteful with opportunities, they would have been defeated even if Balotelli had scored a goal.

Perhaps Fulham did not expect Nottingham Forest to play so poorly. They were overly excited.

For example, there were a few occasions when the goal was almost empty, and it was easier to score in such situations, but the Fulham striker excitedly shot too hard and pumped the ball straight into the stands behind the goal…

After the game, Twain admitted in an interview that he and his team had been “very, very, very lucky” today, which were his original words. He had used “very” thrice.

However, he did not criticize the team’s performance.

He knew that the team’s erratic performance had something to do with himself. If the crew of a ship did not know whether their most beloved captain would be able to stay after this adventure and continue to lead them to take on the world, they would grow doubtful and be swayed. It would naturally affect their combat effectiveness in battle.

Twain had thought that by staying silent, he could minimize the impact. It turned out that he was wrong. He must give his crew a decision to let them know what the future would hold.

A reporter asked, “I’d heard you promised to give a reply to the fans who want you to stay?”

Twain did not deny it. Instead, he nodded and replied, “Yes. When I get back to Nottingham, I’ll announce the matter at a press conference.”

The reporter did not expect Twain to answer so readily. He thought he heard wrong and hurriedly asked again, “Are you saying that you will announce whether you will be staying after the end of the season when you return to Nottingham?”

Twain nodded and did not say anything anymore. However, it was enough. The media and fans were excited by Twain’s answer. As for the game… Who cared?

※※※

On the way back to Nottingham from London on the bus, Twain found that Evan Doughty was around, and he came to him on his own initiative.

“David…” He looked at Kerslake, the assistant manager who sat with Doughty.

Kerslake was a smart man. He knew Evan must have something to discuss with Twain from the looks of it and that it had something to do with Twain’s going or staying. Therefore, he got up and gave his seat to the chairman while he saw in the seat behind, next to Eastwood.

While Kerslake gave up his seat, Twain did not say a word but looked up at the two men who exchanged seats.

When Evan sat down, he did not beat about the bush, got right to the point, and asked, “Have you made up your mind, Tony?”

Twain nodded.

“I guess it’s not a good decision for me. Can I persuade you to change your mind?”

Twain shook his head and said, “If you still want my friendship, Evan, you won’t do that.”

Evan Doughty turned his eyes away and looked ahead with some disappointment.

Seeing how disappointed Evan Doughty was, Twain could not bear to stay indifferent, so he consoled him: “There is a saying in China that states, ‘If the old doesn’t go, the new will not come.’ The same holds true for the Forest team and you. If I, the old guy, don’t leave, how can you have a fresh new wind?”

Evan Doughty did not care about any Eastern proverbs. He only cared about one thing and said, “But I can’t think of any new manager that would be as good as you. I’ve been looking for more than four years, but I still haven’t found him.”

Twain smiled. It looked like it was going to be easy for Evan to accept his departure. He just had to find him a suitable successor.

“Of course, I have a good candidate for the new Nottingham Forest manager. I think very, very highly of him. He can definitely bring the Forest team back on track.”

Evan Doughty was stunned by Twain’s comments because the unruly Twain seldom used such blatant flattering words to describe a man, so he searched through world-class managers in his mind.

“Don’t tell me it is Mourinho?”

It was the only answer he could think of because the two had similar temperaments and he was the only person whom Twain could think so highly of.

He did not expect Twain to shake his head.

“No, it’s not.”

He did not explain to Evan why Mourinho was not the man. He just named his candidate.

“It’s Dunn.”

The name gave pause to Evan. He was not shocked, but… he basically could not recall who this Dunn was.

Twain saw the doubt in his eyes, but it did not mean anything. It was normal that the chairman of a football club could not remember an assistant manager who had left the team eight years ago. At the time, Evan was full of self-importance and was not concerned about the people and things around him.

“Do you still remember when I first brought him to the club and wanted you to give him a job?” Twain slowly recounted the story to Evan. Anyway, it was almost two hours’ drive from London to Nottingham, so he had time. The journey was boring, and it was rather interesting to tell stories.

That was when Evan remembered. “That Chinese young man?”

Twain nodded and said, “He started as a regular coach in the youth team and worked as the manager of the youth team, First Team coach and assistant manager of the First Team. He left the club seven-and-a-half years ago to become the manager of Notts County team and now Notts County is ranked midstream in the EFL Championship.”

When he heard “Notts County”, Evan frowned. When he heard again that it was currently just a midstream team in the English Football League Championship, his frown grew deeper.

Twain naturally took note of Evan’s reaction.

“Tony, this man…”

“You don’t think he’s famous and has an impressive enough resume?”

Evan nodded. It was what he thought. He felt strongly that a manager without prestige could not control the locker room. How many of the managers who had been brought in before could manage the big-name players? Almost none of them could control the locker room, so it became factional and the team fell apart. How could they have the strength to compete? If the manager’s resume was not stellar, it meant that there were no brilliant results and it would not impress the public. Neither could it convince him that the team would have a brilliant future in this person’s hands. Furthermore, the lack of brilliant results also implied that he did not have enough experience to play big. Nottingham Forest was a Premier League team and its goal was in Europe. Was an English Football League Championship manager able to cope with that level of competition?

“Not all managers need to rely on their own prominence to manage the locker room. It doesn’t matter if his resume does not look good because it is easier to draw a better picture on a piece of blank paper,” Twain said. “Before I got my first championship trophy, my resume didn’t even look as good as Dunn’s.”

His words were true. Twain’s resume really did not look good when he first made his debut. He lost his team’s chance of qualifying for the Premier League in the most crucial game. Shortly after, he was sacked and returned to the youth team. Then, when he became Forest’s First Team manager again, he had only half a season of First Team coaching experience. However, he still created the most glorious 11 years in the history of Nottingham Forest Football Club.

If Evan had kicked Twain out for not being famous and having a bad resume, perhaps Nottingham Forest would never have had that kind of glory.

“And Dunn is indeed capable enough. He just needs a better stage than Notts County. Think about the Nottingham Derby in January, when his team did well and was ahead of us for 45 minutes. I’m sure he’ll do great work for you if he’s given time.”

“A Chinese man…” Evan was still a little worried and was not willing to be persuaded by Twain just like that.

“What’s wrong with that?” Twain raised his eyebrows and added, “Chen Jian is also Chinese, but he is now part of our main force.” Actually, Twain was itching to say to Evan:

I am a real Chinese man and Dunn is the true Englishman. If you’re unwilling to believe in a Chinese man, it means you don’t believe me. Is that it? But I’ve won so many championship titles…

He certainly could not say such words aloud. Twain only muttered a few remarks in his heart to express scorn for Evan’s prejudiced views.

Following which, Evan fell into a long silence. The bus was moving fast and smoothly on the highway, with the players and coaches each doing their own thing. Some people listened to music with headphones on and some took a nap with their eyes closed. Some people even played games with their handheld consoles and cell phones.

Twain adjusted the angle of the back of his seat slightly and leaned back, intending to catch a few winks on the bus. As he had said, he was prone to feeling sleepy. He took the opportunity to get some rest to keep a clear head.

Evan did not seem to pay any more attention to Twain and continued in silence. Twain did not care that the club chairman was next to him either and closed his eyes to sleep right away.

※※※

Twain woke up when the bus arrived in Nottingham. He found that Evan Doughty was still sitting next to him. Doughty looked like he waited for him to wake up.

“What’s on your mind, Evan?” He asked.

Hearing Twain’s question, Evan seemed to rouse himself from deep thought and turned to look at Twain. He said, “I was wondering if your recommended successor would be willing to live in your shadow…”

Twain pulled a face. He had thought about this issue before. To Dunn, this arrangement of his might be a bit overbearing. Twain had always considered problems from his own point of view but did not seem to consider Dunn’s. A young manager with little to show for in his resume suddenly wanted to become Tony Twain’s successor. Such pressure was enough to overwhelm many ordinary people with poor mental strength.

However, having interacted with Dunn for so long and sharing the same unspeakable secret, Twain was fully convinced that Dunn was not an ordinary man.

“In the first few years, there may be such an influence,” Twain muttered, “But it will get better slowly. Take it slow, Evan. The Forest team still has a long, long way to go…”

Evan sighed and knew he was not able to convince the stubborn man next to him.

“Very well. When would be a good time for me to approach him?”

“Wait until the season is about to end. If it’s too soon, the groundless talk in the media could cause a needless stir.” Twain was very glad that Evan had finally decided to accept Dunn. In that way, he was partially at ease already.

What about the other part?

As the bus pulled into Wilford, Evan patted Twain on the shoulder before getting out of the bus and said, “When do you think it’s best to have a press conference, Tony? The club can arrange it for you.”

“Erm…” Twain opened his mouth and looked at Evan Doughty’s back as he alighted the bus, thinking that he must be feeling pleased for turning the tables…

He thought of the fans, full of anticipation, the banners dancing in the stands. Twain felt that it was much harder to deal with the fans than with the boss…

It was the truth. He had to consider feelings when dealing with the fans…

Chapter 1019 - An Era Is About to Come to An End

It was easier informing Evan Doughty of his decision because it would not involve too much emotion. However, it was another matter with the fans. The fans trusted him, liked him and supported him, but he still had to leave. How on earth would he tell this to the fans?

The debate about whether Twain would stay or not had been brewing and abuzz for a long time, but Twain would not give in to the pressure the media had put on him.

In the media, on the Internet, and even on the streets, the discussion about whether Twain would eventually stay on had never stopped. Even the bookmakers gave the odds on whether Twain would stay or leave so that everyone would come to place bets on it. In terms of the bets and odds, people tended to believe that Twain would stay in the end.

The team was dismissed after they arrived back at Wilford and Twain drove home. Before leaving, he informed Evan Doughty that the press conference would be held tomorrow afternoon.

Having driven out of the Wilford training base not far away, Twain noticed that there was a betting station on the side of the road, where the odds chart about whether he would stay or leave was displayed. However, at this time of the night, no one was placing bets there. The store manager was also yawning repeatedly as he got ready to close the shop.

Twain suddenly had an idea. He pulled his car over and stopped.

The store manager perked up considerably when he saw that there was a customer dropping by. He was stunned when he saw who walked over.

“Tony?” He squinted and cocked his head to the side. He carefully appraised the man who came in.

There might be many men named “Tony” in England. However, in Nottingham, there was only one “Tony” among the public figures – the Nottingham Forest head manager, Tony Twain.

Since he had been recognized, Twain did not have to hide his identity. He asked, “Do more people place bets on me leaving or staying?”

The store manager recovered from the initial shock and replied, “More people bet on you staying.”

“What do you think, boss?” Twain continued to ask.

“Erm…” The store manager did not answer immediately. He was caught in an internal conflict. His shop was the closest to the Wilford training base, so he could always overhear a lot of gossip and inside information that no one else could hear. And when it came to Tony Twain, he was also very well aware of how matters stood. From a reasonable standpoint, he thought that the chances of Twain staying might not be very good. However, emotionally speaking, he could not accept the fact that Twain might leave.

Consequently, he hesitated and did not know how to answer Twain’s question.

Twain pulled out a note from his wallet and handed it to the store manager as he said, “Ten pounds for a bet on my departure.”

The remark sent a shockwave through the store manager. Apparently, he could discern the meaning behind it, so he was not in a hurry to collect the money. Instead, he looked up at Twain.

“The payout is yours if the bet wins. The loss is mine if it’s lost.” Twain did not ask for proof. He put the ten-pound note on the table at the betting station and turned to walk away.

After getting back in the car, Twain waved to the betting station manager who stood dumbstruck at the door before he started the car to drive away.

※※※

The next morning, Nottingham’s earliest edition of the local newspaper published a piece of news, which immediately attracted widespread attention.

“…The owner of this betting station, Mr. John Farrell, revealed that at about 11.30 p.m. last night, Tony Twain suddenly came to his store and chatted with him. Then he paid ten pounds to place a bet on his own departure…”

“You’re reading the newspaper during breakfast again, Tony,” Shania put her lily-white hand out in front of Twain, who sighed and folded the newspaper before handing it to her.

“Have you thought about how to face the fans and the media this afternoon?” Shania asked after she put away the newspaper.

“Not yet,” Twain shook his head. “I’ll think about it when the time comes.”

He really did not think of any good ideas. He could only walk up, sit on the stage, and then figure out a way. How should he deal with questions from the reporters and fan representatives? It was useless to consider such a problem now and prepare a script. He had to handle it according to the situation. Anyway, he was good at giving directions on the spot and was most accustomed to dealing with sudden occurrences.

However, what was reported in the newspaper should give the fans a heads-up, so they wouldn’t be too surprised and disappointed when the news was actually announced.

“It’s nothing. Am I, Tony Twain, not known for refusing to play by the book?’”

Twain wiped his mouth to indicate that he had finished eating.

Shania rose and cleaned up, while Twain’s cell phone rang.

A look at the caller ID told him that it was Pierce Brosnan.

“Hello, Mr. 007.” When Twain was in a good mood, he would make these little jokes. Brosnan knew him well, so he was surprised. He said, “Listening to your voice tells me you’re in a good mood, Tony.”

“Of course. What can happen to make me feel bad?”

“The press conference this afternoon…”

“Ha. I’ve already made a decision. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I read the news in the papers this morning. Is it true?”

Brosnan indeed called to confirm the matter.

“What’s true?” Twain deliberately acted confused.

“Is it true that the manager of a betting station said you went to him late at night to place your own bet on your departure, Tony?”

It was useless to deny it, so Twain openly admitted it and said, “Yes. I went to place a bet, but the store manager will earn the winnings if there’s any, and the loss will be mine if the bet’s lost.”

Brosnan laughed bitterly on the other end of the line and said, “Do you still think you will lose?”

Twain shrugged and said, “Who knows?”

Brosnan understood Twain. He did not think that Twain was going to stay just because of his deliberately mystifying remark.

“I actually did not call to ask about this. I wanted to ask if you need me to coordinate with you at the afternoon press conference.”

Twain and Brosnan did many such things before in the past. Whenever he encountered troublesome reporters, Brosnan would stand up and help Twain to change the topic. If Brosnan had not done this, he would not have gained Twain’s trust and naturally would not be able to become the author of Twain’s biography.

“There’s no script for us to rehearse in advance,” Twain tactfully declined Brosnan’s offer.

“Then I can only wish you good luck. You know the fans are very passionate, Tony.”

After hanging up, Twain shrugged at his wife, who was looking at him, and said, “I think Mr. 007 is really worried about nothing.”

Shania smiled and did not speak. In fact, she was also a little worried…

※※※

After a morning of canoodling with Shania, Twain drove alone in the afternoon to the Crimson Stadium to participate in the press conference.

It was a special press conference, because not only the reporters attended it, but also fan representatives chosen by the club. The head of the “red shirts”, whom Twain had a direct dialogue with outside the training ground at the time, was also among them.

Twain was upstairs to meet with Evan Doughty first.

“Are you nervous, Tony?” Evan asked.

Twain said with a shrug, “What’s there to be nervous about?”

“It’s not always easy to say ‘no’ to people who love you…”

Twain grinned and chuckled silently.

In fact, he was silently muttering words that Evan Doughty would probably not understand, “Damned if I do and damned if I don’t…”

He could see from upstairs the media and reporters coming in and out below, as well as some people who, he could tell at a glance, were fan representatives. It seemed that there were quite a lot of people.

Not only that, fans who were not invited to the press conference stood in the square outside, holding signs expressing their desire for Twain to stay.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be leaving such passionate fans,” Evan Doughty half-joked as he and Twain stood by the window together, looking at the people below.

Twain did not respond to his quip. In fact, he did not say a word again until he appeared in front of the reporters and officially began the press conference.

Sitting in front of everyone, Tony Twain had his signature playful smile on his face. Some people called it a ‘gentle smile’ which of course was nonsense. Gentleness was not something that characterized Twain. It made the people below the stage slightly relieved. Twain did not look like he was going to give bad news.

Twain sat on the stage and observed the situation below. Although the hall did not reach the point of overcrowding, all the seats were full.

Seeing Twain come out, the debates in the hall gradually subsided and eventually completely disappeared. Only then, the press coordinator announced the official start of the conference.

According to the procedure, Twain would speak first, followed by free time for the press to ask questions. Therefore, the media and fans sat below the stage and turned their eyes to Twain, waiting for him to speak.

Twain did not announce his decision first, but said, “I know what you want to ask. About the incident last night, yes, I did do it. The answer is quite obvious, isn’t it?”

As soon as that was said, everyone knew what Twain’s final answer was. The fan representatives could not hide the disappointment on their faces, but no one was making a clamor. They were still waiting for Twain to continue speaking.

Twain looked at the fans off the stage. He automatically filtered out the reporters.

These people supported him, and he was very sorry to disappoint those who loved him.

“I am sorry,” His voice became low, “that I’ve failed to live up to the expectations of the fans. Even though I made this decision for personal reasons and my family’s sake, I still want to apologize to the fans.”

In fact, Twain did not have to apologize, because he never deceived the fans. When he came back at the beginning, he had already stated that he would only be here for half a season. The enthusiastic fans strongly urged him to stay on, which eventually made him stand up today to make this speech.

However, as much as Twain could set himself against the media and the will of the club’s senior management, his relationship with the fans had been good. Therefore, he did not mind standing in front of the fans to placate them and say some words from his heart.

“I have some things that I would like to say to you,” Twain kept looking at the fan base seated on the left-hand side and ignored the media on the other side.

“Truthfully, um……” Twain’s speech was an impromptu performance. He never prepared any speeches, so now he did not know where to start. Twain scratched his head and said, “How should I put it? I have a happy family. For ten years, I have loved my wife, and my wife loves me. Generally speaking, I should be satisfied, but it was not so. My wife and I have been apart more than we have been together for these ten years. I have houses in Nottingham and Los Angeles, but most of the time my wife was alone in the house in Los Angeles and I had the home in Nottingham to myself. I don’t know if you can imagine what kind of life that was. I’m tired of it. I want to be able to spend the rest of my life with my wife, whether in Nottingham or in Los Angeles. I admit it’s somewhat selfish. However, I’ve given my best 11 years to Nottingham Forest, leaving behind great memories. I think that should give me the right to be a little selfish, shouldn’t it?”

He looked at the fans below the stage. No one answered him.

“Initially, I could have retired completely. When I decided to come back at the time, it was because I did not want Nottingham Forest to slip into the abyss. I wanted to pull the team up. However, I can’t keep holding on and not let go. I will grow old one day… In fact, I’m already old.” Twain tilted his head to the side to show the fans below the white hair on his head. He had not dyed his hair since his 50th birthday. His appearance now was a far cry from how he looked at the World Cup. In comparison, he did appear old now.

“No team in the world can rely on one manager forever. Don’t tell me you were not proud of Nottingham Forest before my time. Before me, wasn’t there Brian Clough? What you love should be Nottingham Forest, not Tony Twain. I’m very honored to have been the manager of such a glorious team for 11 years, but I’ve never forgotten that the name on the front of the jersey is far more important than the name behind it,” Twain declared.

“I think my departure is the right decision for the Forest team. It’s a decision that will make the Forest team stronger in the future. I believe in this; hence, I made the decision. As for the results, I’m leaving it to time to prove it.”

“If you truly love the Forest team, please support my decision. The future Nottingham Forest team doesn’t need me. There’s no way I can continue to lead the Forest team forward. There’s a more suitable candidate than me waiting for everyone.”

At this point, Twain stood up, which was an indication that he was leaving.

“Thank you, everyone, for your support over the past 11 years. I would also like to ask you to keep up your support. I apologize to you once again, but I want to live my own life and hope you can understand.”

Having said this, Twain turned around and walked out without looking back, leaving behind a room of people who had not yet recovered from the shock.

Only when his figure disappeared completely at the exit, people finally reacted. The fan representatives were silent, while the reactions from the reporters were much more intense.

“In other words, is it true that Tony Twain will retire completely at the end of the season?”

“Are you still questioning the veracity of the news?”

“That was really cold. He just left after he said his piece. He did not even leave any time for us…”

“It felt like he was reading from a script…”

“I even prepared a lot of questions… Now what? We have nothing different from any other press outlets. Nothing else to do than release a record of his speech!”

Pierce Brosnan did not participate in this pointless discussion. He was distracted.

This time, it was not a hunch of his, but a plan that had been confirmed – an era was about to come to an end for the Nottingham Forest fans.

※※※

Nottingham Forest would play in an away game this weekend. The banners urging Twain to stay had disappeared. Twain saw another banner in the stands of the Forest fans that had come along:

“Thank you, Captain!”

Chapter 1020 - Shania’s Good News

Her husband took the team to play an away game and her daughter had gone with the nanny to play outside. Shania finally had some time to herself. She curled up on the couch in the living room and was looking through the work arrangements that her agent, Mr. Fasal, had prepared for her.

It was now April and the work for the spring season had just ended while the work for the summer was still undecided. However, she had decided to reject all future jobs. Her current thinking was very simple: she was 29 years old and was already considered a ‘veteran’ at this age as a model. Her physical condition did not permit her to continue in this line of work. Moreover, the modeling industry would not give preferential treatment to an older model. The younger generation of models was very fierce, just like when she was when she first made her debut. She planned to quit the modeling world and stay at home to support her husband and be with her child. Uncle Tony always said that he was going to make it up to her. So, had she thought about making it up to Uncle Tony?

They had never spent a Christmas together in all the years since they had and gotten married. She wanted to make up for it.

Shania picked up the phone and dialed her agent’s cell phone number.

“Mr. Fasal?” Despite their years of working together, Shania had always insisted on addressing her agent in this respectful manner as a sign of deference. How could she have such a status, had it not been for Fasal’s hard work over the past decade or so? How else could she not have anything to do with the dark secrets and unwritten rules of the entertainment and modeling world?

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

Shania heard some noise on the phone and asked, “Are you outside, Mr. Fasal?”

“Ah, yes. I was in the supermarket. I just came out, ha-ha!”

“Is it raining outside?” Shania listened carefully and heard the endless pitter-patter sounds of water.

“Your ears are very sharp. Yes, it’s raining here. I’m glad I drove. Anything the matter with you? Oh, hang on a second, it’s not convenient to talk here. Wait till I get into the car.”

This was followed by the sound of footsteps. The sound of the rain was getting louder and louder. Finally, there was a bang, and the sounds of the rain and footsteps were gone. Then came the rustling sound of a seat belt being pulled.

Having done all this, Fasal spoke again. “All good now. What’s the matter, Shania?”

“Well… it’s like this, Mr. Fasal. I hope you can help me get rid of all the runway show arrangements from now on…”

Fasal thought he had misheard and gave a cry of surprise. Then he wondered if this could be a joke of Shania’s. Shania was somewhat unpredictable. She would always do some unexpected things. She had rejected some work before. However, to reject all the job opportunities in one shot… what was going on?

“Did I hear right? I’m in the midst of planning your jobs for the summer…”

“You heard right, Mr. Fasal. I have looked at the memo in my hand and there are already five jobs scheduled… I hope you can decline them for me.”

“Did something happen?” Fasal was more baffled.

“No, I’m fine.”

Shania answered calmly, and Fasal could not discern anything. “Then how about Tony…”

“He’s very well, too.”

“Then why are you…”

“I’ve thought it over for a long time, Mr. Fasal.” Shania continued to curl up on the couch, holding the phone as if she was chatting with a friend on a lazy afternoon. In fact, every word she said next was more shocking to Fasal than a thunderbolt from the distant sky.

“I’m going to quit the modeling business altogether. No, it’s not just modeling. I’m not going to make any more movies either. I’m tired of being a star, Mr. Fasal. I want to be able to live a normal life like an ordinary person – taking care of my child at home and spending time with my husband. I hope to have more time with my family.”

“We can reduce your workload appropriately. You don’t have to quit completely. Besides, isn’t Tony retiring completely after the end of the season? He can accompany you…” As an agent, it was normal for him to react like that. He definitely would not immediately nod in agreement with his star’s request for retirement.

“No, that’s not enough, Mr. Fasal. To be honest, Mr. Fasal, I don’t think I have a talent for acting. If I didn’t have a lot of friends, I wouldn’t have made it in Hollywood…”

“Don’t say that. You’re great…”

“Thank you, Mr. Fasal. In fact, you have arranged for all those good reviews of me after every movie, right? Truthfully, all those movies I’ve been involved in, I haven’t watched them again, and I don’t let Uncle Tony watch them either. I think I do a bad job on camera, but I have a bunch of very good friends who can tolerate me doing that. Now I’m tired of it, and I don’t want to go on like this. I want to start a whole new life. I haven’t figured it out yet at the moment, but I can be sure that it has nothing to do with the runway shows or acting. I don’t like to do the runway shows, but I have to make money from it. I like movies, but I don’t have the talent for acting. I think it’s a good idea to quit completely.”

Shania poured her heart out openly as if she was chatting with her agent with no intention of talking business.

After she had finished talking, Fasal was silent for a moment before asking, “I wonder why you have made such a decision now. It is not just some idea about spending more time with Tony that you have thought of recently, is it?”

“Well… I have thought about it long ago, but the reason that prompted me to make my decision was that I went to the hospital yesterday.” Shania turned her body around and leaned against the back of the couch, looking outside the window at the happy Teresa playing in the yard.

“The hospital?” Fasal was shocked and asked, “Are you not feeling well?” He thought of a possibility: Something went wrong with Shania’s health, so she had to give up her job. To tell the truth, filming and runway shows were not easy work. The workload was heavy and relentless.

Shania had nothing to hide from the agent, who had been with her for more than a decade. She came out with the truth. “I missed my period last month.”

“Huh? Oh!” Fasal yelped twice in surprise, and then he did not know what to say. However, his mind was clear because he knew what was going on…

“I gave Dr. Sandy a call and he suggested I go to the hospital for a full checkup.”

Sandy was Shania’s personal doctor, who had worked with her for years. Fasal knew this too.

“So, I went. As you know, Professor Constantine of the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University is a good friend of my husband’s. He promised to keep it a secret for me and never let the media know. The result…”

Fasal seemed more excited than Shania. He quickly asked, “What’s the result?”

Teresa and the nanny were playing in the yard. The bright sun was shining on them, and the afternoon in April was already warm. A fine sheen of perspiration appeared on the foreheads of her child and the nanny, glistening in the sun.

How beautiful the afternoon was…

In fact, after knowing the result, in addition to the excitement, Shania was somewhat worried deep down as well – will Tony and I still live comfortably and also wholeheartedly love Teresa in the future? Will Teresa feel left out?

However, after observing the scene outside, she felt her previous fears were unfounded. She loved Teresa, even if she was not her biological daughter. Tony loved Teresa, too. In that case, why would Teresa worry about being left out?

“I’m pregnant.”

Looking at Teresa playing in the yard, Shania smiled.

Fasal, who was sitting in the car, slowly opened his mouth and then simply laughed.

“That’s wonderful news for Tony. It’s even better news than winning the World Cup…”

However, Shania stopped his train of thought.

“Mr. Fasal, I want you to promise me that you will not tell Uncle Tony the news.”

“Huh? Why? You should know how much Tony wants to be…”

“Of course, I know, Mr. Fasal. It’s precisely because I know this that I can’t just tell him the news now. The league tournament is coming to an end and his team is at the most critical juncture. I don’t want to distract him. I’ll tell him at the right time, and you must keep it a secret for me until then.”

What else could Fasal say? Shania was being sensible and right. He nodded in agreement and said, “But I’d still like to congratulate you and Tony. His greatest wish has finally been fulfilled… I thought you guys wouldn’t try to have another child now that you have Teresa.”

“We really didn’t try. But who would have imagined, I’m pregnant… I don’t know what to say. But I’m very happy, maybe it’s God’s will…”

If Shania had understood Chinese culture, she would definitely say “a scrutinized flower never blooms, but an untended willow tree grows.”

As it turned out, after they had Teresa, Tony’s desire to have children was no longer urgent, and it could be said that he did not have the need at all anymore. Shania stopped thinking about the matter. However, the couple’s regular sex life was always going to happen… Shania was only 29 years old. Taking good care of herself made her look like she was in her early twenties.

As a result, just relaxing and enjoying each other without consciously trying to get pregnant unexpectedly gave the husband and wife such a big surprise…

Fasal promised not to announce the news. He also understood why Shania wanted to retire. There was really no way to work as a model while pregnant or with a baby. However, he still planned to persuade Shania to return to the entertainment industry some time after having the baby. She did not have to be a model, but she could do some related jobs.

Shania did not say yes. She just told Fasal that she would think about it after at least a year of maternity leave.

Fasal had no other way. He could only drop the subject at this point. He knew that Shania was also a very stubborn person.

“As for the matter of declining the jobs… it’s not a problem. We just need to pay some compensation…”

Shania asked for the specific amount of compensation. Fortunately, it was all within acceptable limits. However, Fasal felt that Shania had better not give up the May 10 event. It was a new product launch for Dior, and Shania was invited to present Dior’s new women’s fashion collection to the media as the spokesperson.

Dior was the first endorsement brand signed by Shania when she first entered the modeling world. It was important for her modeling career. And Shania was well aware of this point, so the relationship between the two parties was very good from the beginning to the present.

Fasal’s reason was that no matter what Shania did in the future, it was always good to have one more friend. The relationship with Dior was so remarkable that it would be a pity to give it up. Furthermore, if it was her last runway show as a model, choosing the new product launch of a brand like Dior as her farewell show, it could also be considered as an expression of Shania’s gratitude to Dior. He believed that Dior would also make good use of this to publicize the event.

After listening to Fasal’s analysis, Shania also thought it seemed reckless to reject the job.

“Well… Mr. Fasal, you’re right. I’ll listen to you.”

Fasal was an excellent agent and Shania put a lot of faith in him.

When the matter was settled, it was time to let him get busy while all Shania needed to do was rest at home. It was just as she had looked forward to, to support her husband and be with her child.

After hanging up, Shania thought about looking at the calendar. When she spoke to Fasal on the phone, she always thought the date May 10 sounded familiar.

As soon as she opened the calendar, she saw a circle drawn around this date. She understood at once how that familiar feeling came about.

It was the last round of the Premier League tournament…

Seeing this date, Shania suddenly had an impulse to call Fasal back and ask him to decline the job with Dior. However, in the end, she held back.

She really could not decline the event, but she had to make it up to her husband.

She had to keep the matter a secret until that day came.

She wanted to give her husband a surprise with the best gift in the world and welcome him home.

Chapter 1021 - Retirement

Fasal did not divulge Shania’s decision to leave the entertainment industry on the 10th of May to anyone else, but Shania still received a lot of attention from the media.

Shania’s agent suddenly announced that she was going to turn down her modeling jobs at the fashion shows that would be held in Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York and that she was willing to compensate for the losses. However, he did not provide a reason as to why Shania had suddenly turned down those jobs, and that has led to inevitable speculation in the media.

Some people believed that Shania was suffering from a health issue because a source claimed that he saw Shania going to the hospital. This conjecture was actually quite close to the truth. The only issue was that they had thought about it too negatively. There were also people who guessed that Shania was not in the mood to work because she was experiencing a problem in her relationship with Twain. However, this guess could not be farther away from the truth. Shania and Twain were well known to be a loving couple, and many regarded them as their role model. There might be a 21-year age gap between the two of them, but they did not have trouble communicating with or understanding each other. In addition, there was no news or reports that have hinted at a problem in Shania and Twain’s relationship thus far.

Most of the guesses that the tabloids came up with were nonsensical. They were always trying to think about things in a negative light. Those with good intentions would definitely be able to see what lay beneath the surface.

Twain rarely read celebrity gossip magazines. One reason for it was that he was not a fan of any celebrity, and thus he did not need to read those magazines to understand what was going on in the life of his idol. Another reason was that he spent most of his time on football and had no interest in news that was not related to the sport.

However, he had to read the articles pertaining to his wife. He could not possibly fail to show an interest in what was going on with his wife, even if he knew he could just ask her directly instead of reading about it in a magazine…

The players crowded around to have idle chat during a break in between their training sessions. Likewise, the coaches had formed a group of their own to chat as well. Everyone was discussing various topics that interested them. The coaches were more gossipy than the players were, and they were chatting among themselves. Twain had never thought that elderly men could be this gossipy. They were almost like bored housewives.

“Hey, Tony. Did you read the latest edition of Time Out?”

“The entertainment magazine? You know I don’t read those, David.”

“I think you should take a look at it. Did you notice anything odd about your wife these few days?”

Twain found Kerslake to be odd. Why would he suddenly care about his wife?

However, Kerslake was a man who has worked with him for several years. He must have asked that question because he had his best interests at heart.

Twain thought about what his wife was like over the past few days. He did not find anything about her unusual. She would always return home with a smile, and everything about her demeanor was normal as well.

Kerslake observed Twain’s expression from the side and realized that Twain really did not know what was wrong with Shania. He decided not to explain anything to him, because he was afraid that his words would affect the training session. Twain should just buy the magazine and read it for himself later, he thought.

The training session ended soon after. On his way home, Twain passed by a newsstand and bought a copy of the magazine that Kerslake had mentioned earlier. Time Out was a well-known fashion and entertainment magazine, and it was not hard for him to get his hands on a copy.

Twain saw his wife’s name on the cover page and quickly found the article after looking at the page number that was indicated on the cover.

“Shania Twain has surprisingly turned down all her upcoming jobs, and according to her agent, Fasal, she would not be taking on any new jobs either. This is puzzling…”

Twain frowned after reading the article. It was indeed puzzling, but he quickly guessed the reason behind Shania’s actions…

※※※

The nanny finished preparing dinner, and Shania waited for her husband in the living room.

Twain came home soon after. However, the first thing he passed to her was not his coat, but rather a fashion magazine.

“What’s this about, Shania?”

Twain flipped open the magazine to the page that he had earmarked before, pointing at the article.

Shania glanced at the title and immediately knew what the article was about. A smile emerged on her face as she looked at her husband. “I’ve decided to retire, Uncle Tony.”

Her answer was not surprising to Twain, but he was still confounded. “Why would you want to retire? Aren’t you doing well in your job?”

“29 years is considered old for a model. I don’t want to continue in this job any longer.”

“You could act in movies…”

“You know I don’t have the talent for that, Uncle Tony.”

Twain was rendered speechless. It was just as Shania had said. He knew very well that she was not particularly talented at acting, and she would definitely not be able to become the main cast of any movie without the help or recommendation from her friends. However, she could not possibly keep relying on her friends forever. She was not the kind of person who would want to do that either.

“But still… You don’t need to retire. What on earth are you thinking, Shania?”

“Before I answer that question, I have a question of my own for you, Uncle Tony. Why did you decide to retire at the end of this season?” Shania smiled and stared at her husband. She did not care about the gloomy look on Twain’s face.

“Because I want to spend more time with you, of course…” Twain answered straight away without thinking.

“And my answer is the same, Uncle Tony.” Shania was pleased that her husband had fallen into her trap. She took a few steps forward and embraced Twain before resting her head on his chest.

“You don’t need to do that at all, Shania. I retired so that I can spend time with you, but you can continue working…”

“I’m not interested in my current job. I just want to stay at home and spend time with you and our daughter.”

Shania’s reason made sense because she has never enjoyed being a model. She did have an interest in acting in movies, but sadly, she did not have the talent for it.

Twain hugged his wife and did not know what he should say. Shania’s decision was too sudden, and he found it hard to accept.

And, most importantly…

“Why didn’t you tell me anything before?”

Shania felt Twain’s arms tighten around her. She knew that her husband was a bit discombobulated.

“I didn’t want to bother you since you were busy with work. Actually, I only came to this decision two days ago after discussing it with Mr. Fasal. I’ve been trying to find a good opportunity to speak to you about it, but I didn’t expect the entertainment magazines to get their hands on the information this quickly…”

Shania’s explanation made a lot of sense, and Twain could not find anything wrong with it either. However, he still could not help but feel like there was more to Shania’s sudden decision to retire. It was not as simple as she said it was…

However, what could her true reason be? Twain did not have a clue.

Twain felt like his wife was hiding something from him as he held her in his arms. However, there was no use in asking if she was not willing to tell him anything. He could only hope that it was not going to be a piece of bad news…

※※※

The tabloid reporters were truly skilled. It only took them a week to figure out the truth behind why Shania had suddenly turned down all her jobs. It was not because she was ill, and neither was it because of a problem in her marriage. It was because she had decided to leave the entertainment industry!

The news of her decision to leave came as a shock to many. Shania was a world-renowned supermodel and Hollywood star who had many fans from all over the world, and she was also the brand ambassador of numerous fashion and luxury brands.

However, such a superstar was going to leave the entertainment industry forever. How could her fans accept such a piece of news?

Shania’s official website was instantly flooded with comments from passionate and angry fans.

A large number of her fans did not believe in the news. They thought that the media was just spouting nonsense.

However, Shania subsequently admitted that she was going to leave the entertainment industry during an interview, and her words shattered the last shred of hope that her fans had.

“… I don’t wish to make my supporters sad. However, this is a decision that I have to make because I want to spend more time with my husband and daughter in the future. It was a tough decision to reach… However, to me, family always cane before career. I can only apologize to those people who like and support me…”

“This is not a break but a retirement. I will not appear as a celebrity any longer. I would like all of you to remember me as Tony Twain’s wife and Teresa’s mother. I am going to enjoy my life as an ordinary woman from now on.”

Shania has always come across as a confident and opinionated woman. She demonstrated her toughness when she insisted on marrying Tony Twain, who was older than she was by 21 years, despite the negative attention from the public. Her decision to leave the entertainment industry behind and take care of her husband and child as a simple housewife was yet another example of her toughness.

It did not matter what others thought, said or did. She would never change her mind.

There were some celebrities who liked to hypocritically claim that they were ‘tired of living in the limelight’ and that they ‘wished to lead an ordinary life’. However, those celebrities would all be looking for ways to capture the attention of the masses once again when they did lead ‘ordinary’ lives. In fact, they might not even be able to live a week without public attention.

Naturally, there were also people who saw Shania as being just like those celebrities who craved attention. They believed that Shania had only announced that she was going to leave the entertainment industry because she wanted to generate attention for herself and for Dior’s product launch in May. Why else would she stay on with Dior when she has turned down all her other jobs?

Their rationale made a lot of sense – all of this must be a publicity stunt by Shania and Dior! They would not change their minds about the matter even though Dior released a statement and said that it was not a publicity stunt. Every action was just a cover-up, many thought.

Shania did not refute those claims. Everything she said would only end up aggravating the situation anyway. Besides, her days of being a celebrity were over, and she did not need to care about what the media thought of her any longer. They could say whatever they wanted. It was not as if their words had any impact on her.

Shania carefully guarded her secret from Twain as she spent her next few days at home. She wanted to keep the truth from him until the very last moment and give her husband a huge surprise. Shania was brimming with excitement as she thought of the day when she would see the look of surprise and happiness on Twain’s face.

※※※

The media continued to speculate about Shania’s decision to retire over the next few days. Numerous tabloid reporters appeared near Shania and Twain’s house in Nottingham, and they would rush up to interview Shania when she left the house or when she returned home. Fortunately, Teresa has been following her celebrity parents around for approximately half a year or so by now and had grown used to seeing hordes of reporters flocking up to her. Otherwise, the sight of so many strangers before her would have terrified her.

Shania gave the same response to every single reporter who came up to her:

“I’ve decided to retire, and I’ve already said everything that I’m supposed to say. There’s nothing else for me to tell you now.”

Some of the more idiotic tabloid reporters decided to interview Shania’s husband instead since Shania refused to comment. They hoped to get more valuable information from Twain.

However, they forgot one very important thing. Twain was a man who was notorious for being extremely hard to interview, and all the sports reporters in England could attest to that. The tabloid reporters would definitely not find it easy to deal with him either.

Nottingham Forest’s training session ended, and Twain coldly looked at the reporters who had flocked up to him. “I want the reporters who are not interested in sports to leave. I will not answer any of your questions. Don’t try to pretend to be a sports reporter either. I know every single reporter who’s supposed to have an interview with me here. Everyone else, please leave, or I’ll call the security.”

Some of the tabloid reporters did not believe Twain’s words, and they went up to him pretending to be sports reporters. However, Twain immediately called the security guards and got them to kick the sneaks out. The reporters tussled and yelled about ‘the freedom of the press’ or ‘the public’s right to know’ as they were being dragged outside, but Twain turned a deaf ear to them. He sent every single tabloid reporter out of the premises and even blacklisted them. They would not be able to enter without permission in the future.

Twain did not have anything against the tabloid reporters. It was not as if he had not accepted an interview from a tabloid reporter in the past. However, the circumstances were different this time around, and he needed to deal with them differently as well.

What are they thinking? This is the worst possible time for them to interview me, he thought. The final Premier League match would be held on May 10, but Nottingham Forest was still in the 7th place! They were two points behind 6th, and there were four matches remaining in the league. If Nottingham Forest would not be able to overtake the sixth-place team by the end of the season, then all the hard work that they had put in this whole season and all the hard work that he had put in for half a season would be for naught!

How could Twain possibly allow those damned tabloid reporters to disturb him and his team now?

The reporters were here to ask Twain about his private affairs, but the truth was that he did not understand what was going on with Shania either. With the end of the season drawing near, he had no choice but to prioritize work for now, and he would think about everything else later. He refused to think about matters irrelevant to football and allow the tabloid reporters to interview him about Shania.

Nottingham Forest had another round of training after Twain had kicked all the tabloid reporters out of Wilford. Twain wanted to prepare his team for the last four matches of the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest would face just one strong opponent in their last four Premier League matches. Perhaps fate was at play here, because the strong opponent that they would have to face was the Manchester United team led by Mourinho. The two sides would meet on Forest’s home ground. The match would be Forest’s last Premier League match of the season, and also Twain’s farewell match.

All three of Nottingham Forest’s opponents before their match against Manchester United were weak by Twain’s standards. However, half a season ago, Nottingham Forest would not have been able to say with certainty that they would win against those teams.

Twain’s plan was to cement Forest’s position in the 6th place before the match with Manchester United. This would ensure that the last match of the season would not end up being a death match between the two sides and there would be less pressure on his shoulders as well.

This was the ideal scenario for the team. Why should Forest put themselves in a situation where they would have to fight to the death with Manchester United? They should just ensure that they won their first three matches.

Life was not like a novel. There was no need to leave the biggest and most crucial fight until the end. Twain would not do that and he would not allow his opponents to do it either. In order to climb up to 6th place, Twain had to ensure that his team was able to win three of their four remaining matches, and he also needed his opponent to commit mistakes and lose points. However, he was not particularly worried about the second point, because the current 6th-place team, Manchester City, had a much tougher run of fixtures ahead of them as compared to Forest.

Manchester City would have to face three tough opponents in their four remaining matches, and one of their matches would be a Manchester Derby… Twain did not believe that Manchester City would not drop points in the derby match. Even if the match ended as a draw, Nottingham Forest would still be able to climb up to 6th place based on goal difference.

There were only four matches remaining for the season. There was no room for error for Forest.

The entire team could feel the tension in the air due to their need to battle for 6th place.

Chapter 1022 - Sixth in League

The most speculated match in the current league was obviously the Manchester Derby where Manchester City was challenging Manchester United on away ground.

Before this game, Manchester United had the support of all of the Nottingham Forest fans because their loss would give Nottingham Forest a chance to overtake them.

Mourinho was asked this question in his pre-match interview and was proud and arrogant as usual.

“Nottingham Forest? What does it have to do with me? This is the Manchester derby, not the Nottingham derby… Of course we will win, but not for anyone else… Whether it’s the Manchester derby or anything else, victory is what I’m after.”

He refused to answer questions regarding Nottingham Forest or Tony Twain.

Despite this, Nottingham Forest fans would still be supporting Manchester United because they would definitely not support their direct rivals, Manchester City.

Twain did not express any opinions about this match either. Ever since his return, he had rarely expressed his opinions about other people openly, even if it was his old rival, Mourinho.

However, it was unrealistic to say that he did not think much of this match. How could he not care about the match that concerned his own team?

It was just that he did not have the time to care about the match, because the Manchester derby and Nottingham Forest’s match were taking place at the same time.

David Kerslake was sitting in the coach’s seat with his headphones on. He was tuned in to the radio, listening to the latest progressions from the other match. Once there was news, he would definitely tell Twain.

“Manchester City scored; they are leading… D*amn it! What is Mourinho’s team doing?”

That was how he complained when he heard the news of Manchester City scoring.

The cheers from the Nottingham Forest fans were also reduced.

Twain had his hands on his hips. He stood by the field, not saying anything.

After around three minutes had passed, there was news coming on again. This time, even before Kerslake revealed the news, there was a series of cheers bursting from the stands.

At last, there was a smile on Twain’s face.

“Manchester United have equalized the score!” Kerslake excitedly shouted at Twain. In this chaotic environment, he had to raise his voice to ensure that Twain was able to understand what he was saying.

It was only a brief moment of attention for Manchester United; then Twain focused his attention on the field again. Nottingham Forest was challenging West Ham on away ground so that was not an easy game either.

The score was now 0:0. It was ten minutes after the start of the second half, and the two teams were in a deadlock on the field. The West Ham fans were delighted and chanted, “Even if Manchester City loses, you can’t win anyway! Trying to go to Europe? No way!”

Twain was preparing to do some substitutions, replacing the exhausted Balotelli with Agbonlahor, while making adjustments to move Chen Jian into the defensive midfielder role, allowing Wood to advance a little.

Because Chen Jian displayed outstanding performance in this half of the season, his opponents had already researched him. He had suffered many violations in this competition, so why not allow him to retreat a little instead? Let him distance himself from the opposing defenders and allow him to display his rhythm control.

Chen Jian’s and Wood’s characteristics were indeed similar, but under Twain’s coaching, the two did not have a conflict being on the field at the same time. On the contrary, they could combine to become a dual force. Once one has been thwarted, the other would take over his job and continue to lead the advance of the team. This was the advantage of a “dual force”.

Twain’s adjustments saw effect immediately. West Ham’s defense was previously focused on Chen Jian but had now shifted to Wood. Although the playing styles of the two were similar, there was a difference in their capabilities. The opponents were able to defend against Chen Jian but it might not be as easy to defend against Wood.

Wood launched a sudden attack while West Ham United had not yet adjusted. His forceful advancement through the middle path messed up the defensive lines of West Ham and then he passed the ball to Agbonlahor who only came onto the field for a few minutes. Agbonlahor broke into the penalty area and shot the ball towards the goal. The West Ham goalkeeper dived for the ball and hit it out, but this allowed Mitchell, who was coming over from the other side, to take advantage and easily shoot the ball into the goal.

That was when the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands burst into a bigger cheer than the one they gave for the Manchester United goal just now. The people at the coaching seats let out a long sigh of relief. Tony Twain’s team excelled in playing from ahead so they had nothing much to worry about. Now more people were focusing on the match on the other field so they only needed Manchester United to win over Manchester City to allow Nottingham Forest to take the lead over Manchester City after the match and become sixth in the league.

This ranking meant that they would likely qualify for the European matches next season.

And Manchester City would be kicked down into the abyss.

Once Nottingham Forest took the lead, they were in full control of the match. The home team, West Ham, wanted to even the score but they were afraid to press forward to attack, worried that they would instead allow Nottingham Forest to score another goal. The commentator for the match was sighing; the match had become hopeless earlier than expected.

On the other field, the game had entered the most exciting phase.

The city derby between Manchester United and Manchester City, after Ferguson’s departure, had lost a lot of firepower. With Mourinho’s arrival, the two sites were again on each other’s toes. It was impossible for Mourinho, with his big mouth, to refrain from offending other people. Coupled with the inner meaning in the Derby, the firepower in the match was at its peak when Manchester United swiftly equalized the score, starting to progress in the other direction.

First, it was a player of Manchester City who did a slide tackle to a striker in Manchester United, making him fall onto the ground. This earned a yellow card for the offender. Following that, a Manchester United player tackled down another Manchester City player out of vengeance, but he was only given a verbal warning, which gave rise to dissatisfaction within the Manchester City’s players.

Subsequently, both sides kept playing dirty on the field, giving slide tackles and performing indecent acts for the ball. The head referee had to blow the whistle and give cards continuously.

In the 77th minute, the players of both sides finally clashed.

At that time, Manchester United’s midfielder passed a straight ball behind him, and Manchester City goalkeeper Josh Connor came out and pounced on the football, but Rooney, a 32-year-old veteran, was just as hot-tempered. He did not pull back and fiercely charged into Conner.

It was going to be exciting.

Connor slumped on the ground in pain, while Rooney did not have any intention to apologize as he stood up, patted his buttocks and moved on.

He was immediately surrounded by angry Manchester City players who saw their old team captain suffer. The Manchester United players came forward to gather as well, and the two sides bumped into each other aggressively.

The referee’s whistle was no longer able to calm them down and in the end, the coaches from both sides had to come onto the field to pull the players apart.

In the face of such a scene, if the referee gave yet another verbal warning and nothing else, this would only create more chaos on the field.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

So the referee raised his hand and gave one red card to Manchester City and two red cards to Manchester United, one of them for Rooney who started the whole chaos.

This refereeing naturally upset Mourinho, who roared angrily on the sidelines, accusing him of unfairness. If it were not for the assistant coach who quickly pulled him back down, he might have even been sent into the stands.

Manchester City coach Mark Brown was equally angry. He thought that his team was the victim throughout the entire situation, so why did he need to send out a player?

Clashes between the two sides, from the field to the coaching seats, were an integral part of the game. If there were no aggressive scenes in the City Derby, it would be easily forgotten by everyone.

※※※

The news about the conflict between Manchester City and Manchester United, including both sides needing to send out players, was immediately announced to Twain.

Kerslake’s excited expression was mirrored by the crowd and many were like him, happy about this news.

The best outcome would be Manchester United winning Manchester City, but after both sides going through this tough battle and injuring their stamina, Manchester United had to suffer their fair share of injury to get this pitiful victory. Then, Nottingham Forest would definitely be able to take advantage of this situation.

Now things were definitely progressing into the “best scenario” they had thought of.

There was also a smile on Twain’s face. It was clear that this was definitely the intended consequence for him.

He was not worried about Manchester United losing on the home field to Manchester City.

On this side, he stepped up his demands on the team’s offense. A one-goal lead was the most uninsured score in the world.

A series of Nottingham Forest attacks then paid off. Wood’s long-range shot scored through the goalmouth for West Ham United, with Nottingham Forest leading 2-0 at home. With less than ten minutes to go, Nottingham Forest taking down this match with a victory was a no-brainer.

But on the other side, the format of the game was much more dangerous.

At Old Trafford stadium, Manchester United’s attack was impacted since they had to send off two players. Manchester City’s moves grew aggressive because they thought that they had been subjected to unfair treatment. They actually pressed Manchester United all the way into their penalty area.

It angered Mourinho and he made a substitution. Instead of increasing the defensive strength, he replaced a defender with a striker, ensuring there were still two players on the striker line. Through this substitution, he wanted to express his ambition to the other Manchester team–we must win!

Then the morale of the Manchester United players was restored. Their potential was supposed to empower Manchester City and they were on the home field as well. Slowly, they took over the situation.

As the match entered injury time, Manchester United attacked Manchester City’s penalty area with their beautiful team coordination on the frontcourt. Lee Barnet, who was dribbling the ball, was tackled down onto the ground by the captain of Manchester City, Richards. The head referee gave a penalty kick without hesitation.

The penalty was a death sentence for Manchester City, giving a penalty kick during injury time. There would not even be time to allow them to even the score.

Manchester City players naturally surrounded the referee for a long time and protested, but to no avail. The referee felt that sending out a man from Manchester City and two from Manchester United did not look good on the home field of Manchester United, so some sort of balance was needed. The tackle by Barnet was then naturally something he could not overlook.

Just like this, Manchester United won the Manchester derby at home with this controversial penalty, beating Manchester City and cementing their first place in the league.

By the time the news finally reached Twain’s ears, he and his team were already in the changing room. This news allowed the whole team to break into a large celebration. Everyone knew they successfully kicked out Manchester City and, occupying the sixth place in the league, they just needed to secure this position in the last two games, which would allow them to participate in the European matches in the next season.

Not only were the excited players cheering, they wanted to continue celebrating, but their plans were quickly stopped by Twain’s gestures.

“There are still two rounds left in the league, we have one game away from home and one home game against Manchester United. If you think you can start celebrating now, you might cry at the end of the last match.”

Twain said that coldly.

Suddenly, the jubilant atmosphere in the dressing room came to an instant stop.

“Remember, the season is not over yet, and it’s too early to celebrate. These last two games are the key. It is the time of the last sprint. Pals, I hope that you don’t let the team down right before the finishing line. If you want to celebrate, wait until the end of the game against Manchester United.”

Having said that, he was the first to turn and walk out of the changing room.

The players in the dressing room were silent for a moment before they got out of the room one by one, took the bus and left.

Twain’s words were like throwing cold water onto them, but Twain was not afraid that this would affect their morale. If the team that he trained for more than half the season was so fragile that they could not accept criticism, there would be no point in talking about going back to Europe.

Nottingham Forest would have to return to the European matches next season, whether it was for the Champions’ League or the European league. They just needed to appear on the name list of the European matches. This was the last gift Twain wanted to give Dunn.

※※※

Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain both got the result that they wanted, but someone was still furious.

“The referee’s performance in this game was very poor! My team was wronged, no one should be punished, only that guy wearing black should be punished!”

Mourinho angrily criticized the referee at the press conference. The “man in black” whom he mentioned was the head referee.

“We will raise a complaint regarding the refereeing on this game.”

A reporter stood up and asked a question that instantly turned Mourinho from fire into ice.

“Are you worried that these two red cards will affect Manchester United’s last-round match against Nottingham Forest?”

Mourinho, who had just angrily abused the referee, did not immediately answer the reporter’s question in the same tone. He just stared at the reporter for a while, then answered in a calm voice, “I’m not worried.”

That reporter wanted to ask another question, but Mourinho already pointed at another person, and the subject then returned to the conflict in the match that everyone was most concerned about.

The reporter sat down a little reluctantly. He wanted to talk more about the upcoming battle between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

Although there were still two weeks to go before the game, the reporter thought that the match in-between could be skipped entirely. The final face-off between Tony Twain and Mourinho, the sequel that was finally happening after many years, was the type of exciting story that was more entertaining than whatever conflict that happened during the match.

How could anyone fail to see that?

Chapter 1023 - Before the Last Game

The reporter who had asked Mourinho at the press conference if he was worried about playing against Twain was clearly prescient. While the media in Manchester were still hyped about the aftermath of the Manchester Derby, the media in Nottingham and elsewhere had already promoted the final battle between Tony Twain and Mourinho.

“Mourinho has never won against Tony Twain during his time as a manager.”

Such a record, which greatly embarrassed Mourinho, was once again rummaged through and retrieved from a dust-covered heap of waste paper, to the extent that people who saw the record had a sense of déjà vu. They felt like they had gone back to nine years ago. At the time, the clash between Twain and Mourinho for two games in a season was a unique sight in the Premier League.

Ever since Mourinho was ousted from Chelsea by Abramovich, such a showdown between two madmen had not been seen again. Later in the European tournament, Twain and Mourinho also played against each other but Twain still had the upper hand. It just too difficult to encounter each other in the European arena. During this time, the fight between Mourinho and Nottingham Forest was also in the mix. It was not just a feud between Mourinho and Tony Twain.

What the media were interested in was purely the showdown. It was a battle that belonged only to Tony Twain and Mourinho.

What kind of sparks could fly when two unruly self-important managers collided together?

It was something to look forward to.

Now that the scene was back in the Premier League, how could the media not be excited?

The media was extremely anticipant. Even the record of the two men’s first game had been analyzed again to give fans a renewed look at their feud.

“…It is said that Tony Twain had always tried to ask Mourinho to have a drink together after a game, but Mourinho always turned down the invitation. No one knew why he refused, but Twain finally made it happen. Before the World Cup in Brazil, they had a drink together as respective guest commentators for their national television stations. No one knew exactly what the situation was, and no one saw them drinking together. Twain himself revealed it in his autobiography, but did not provide any more details…”

“What is the relationship between Tony Twain and Mourinho? They’re opponents… or maybe it is more appropriate to say they are rivals. Their only goal after they met was to beat and crush each other. However, one scene still haunts me: when Mourinho left Chelsea, the reporters rushed to ask Twain what he thought of the incident, and Twain uttered a swear word for Abramovich the moment he opened his mouth. It was a real shock to everyone at the time. People thought Twain would be happy to lose a strong enemy…”

“Therefore, a friendship between men is one of the most puzzling things. If someone were to ask Mourinho, do you plan to make any allowances for Tony Twain in the last game of his coaching career? I’m sure Mourinho would definitely answer, I’ll give him a defeat.”

That was the way it was.

Indeed, a reporter did ask Mourinho. He caught hold of Mourinho at Carrington’s training base and threw the question out.

“Tony Twain will retire from professional football completely at the end of the season. Do you have anything to say about losing such an opponent?”

Mourinho replied, expressionless, “I will use his defeat as a farewell gift to him.”

※※※

“That’s cold…” Twain clicked his tongue, holding a newspaper.

However, he did even better. When reporters asked what he would do to Mourinho, he stated that it was not the time to talk about Mourinho and Manchester United because they still had one more game before that and their opponent would be Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. Wolverhampton Wanderers have already secured a relegation spot and would be in the English Football League Championship next season. In the face of such an easy opponent to overcome, Twain still implied that they were more important than Manchester United, which was the highest level of contempt for the enemy, not taking the opponent into account at all.

Was Twain really not taking Manchester United seriously? If it was really so, he would never have won so many honors. Strategic contempt for the opponent and tactical emphasis on the opponent were Twain’s methods.

He was just using this to engage in psychological warfare with Mourinho. As for whether it was effective, he did not care. Mourinho was also an expert at psychology, and Twain did not put stock into it. He still had to rely on tactics to deal with Manchester United and Mourinho.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club was relegated early and they lacked fighting spirit in the last two rounds. Although it was an away game, it was predicted to be an effortless victory for the Forest team. Such an opponent was not worth too much thought. As a result, Twain’s focus had been on dealing with Manchester United these two weeks.

Mourinho’s Manchester United team did not have a sole feature like Wenger’s Arsenal. The impression that Arsenal had given people for more than two decades was that its offense was natural and unforced, complex and diverse as well as delightful to watch. However, they were slightly inferior in confrontations and combat, which was the reason why they were not as good as Manchester United in terms of winning championships. On the other hand, Manchester United had continued to use Ferguson’s style, with a greater emphasis on physical confrontation and speed in on-ground attacks. They were more balanced and comprehensive than Arsenal.

They had very few shortcomings many strengths. Such a team was seasoned and had a lot of experience. The players had a tenacious fighting spirit and would not give up easily. They would not be complacent just because they were ahead, nor would they lose hope quickly because they were trailing behind.

Such an opponent was the most difficult to deal with.

Nottingham Forest’s style was enough to restrain Arsenal, but not Manchester United.

This game would be a real meeting of force with force. If Twain did not want his last game to be messed up by Mourinho, he would have to work hard.

※※※

Twain was preparing for his last game, while Mourinho was trying to get his two players to evade the penalty of suspension, at least during the game against Forest. He decided to appeal to the English Football Association to buy some time. According to the English Football Association rules, a player who had been shown a red card during a match did not automatically start a suspension, but the suspension would only take effect after being examined and verified by the Football Association.

As long as the Manchester United Football Club appealed, it could be delayed. It was just that a delay of two weeks was… unlikely.

Mourinho did not care. He just wanted to appeal and drag it out a little.

At the same time, as a good manager, he could not put all his eggs in the appeal basket. He had to be prepared to play against Nottingham Forest in the away challenge without Rooney and Evans.

If it had been the Nottingham Forest team of half a season ago, he would not be wasting his time on it. Now it was different. He would definitely not underestimate this particular Nottingham Forest team. In front of people, he always appeared to refuse to bow down to Tony Twain, but in his heart, he did not dare to take Twain lightly.

Strength counted for a lot in the football world. The best way to prove one’s strength was to gain victories and win trophies. A manager who had won 16 important trophies within 15 years absolutely could not be taken lightly.

Mourinho was not stupid. He knew it was not easy to beat Tony Twain’s team. Therefore, he was extra careful.

What were the strengths of Nottingham Forest? What were its weaknesses? How had their condition been in the last few rounds of the league tournament? How was the situation with the team’s injuries? Had the mentality of the players changed with the approach of the end of the season? Did Tony Twain’s announcement that he was retiring make a deep-seated impact on the players?

These questions hovered in Mourinho’s mind and he needed to figure them out.

He was already well aware of Nottingham Forest’s strengths and weaknesses, having played against this team for so many years. He also understood Tony Twain very well. How could he not? However, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the other side did not mean that he knew how to deal with them.

Fortunately, he still had two weeks.

※※※

As the league tournament drew to a close, a lot of people had things to do. Some people were busy making a last-ditch effort for the season’s goals, either to win the title or to secure a spot in the league. While others were trying to get a good ranking and obtain a bigger share of the broadcast fees after the league tournament ended.

Some others were thinking about their next season.

Dunn was among the last group.

Two days ago, after Nottingham Forest defeated West Ham United by 2:0 in an away game, he received a call from someone claiming to be Evan Doughty, the chairman of the Nottingham Forest club.

Just listening to the voice, Dunn could tell if this man was really Evan Doughty. He had not had any contact with the Forest club for seven years, so it was understandable if he could not recall Evan Doughty’s voice. However, he believed the man was the chairman of the Forest Club, as Twain had once told him that Nottingham Forest would contact him during this period to discuss a matter about a contract.

It was just that he did not think it would be the Nottingham Forest club chairman who personally contacted him…

Could Evan Doughty be putting on a show of courtesy? Or was Tony’s influence at Nottingham Forest so great that even the club chairman had to show him some face?

Dunn did not want to delve into the issue. It was none of his business. Since Evan Doughty had called, it meant that it was time to think hard about the matter of leaving Notts County and returning to Nottingham Forest.

Actually, Evan Doughty remained skeptical about Dunn. However, he was somewhat hopeful since he was a candidate that Twain had strongly recommended. After all, he still believed in Twain’s vision.

They could not speak properly on the phone, and besides, such an important matter had to be discussed face to face.

Evan Doughty and Dunn arranged a time to meet alone and talk.

After all, Evan would have to listen to Dunn’s thoughts on the Nottingham Forest team and find out about Dunn’s plans to see if he could put the Forest team’s future in the hands of a young coach who had yet to achieve any outstanding results thus far.

Although he listened to Twain, he was not a fool without a brain.

If Dunn could really come up with something to his satisfaction, then signing Dunn on would be fine. As for the Notts County team… he would just give some compensation. Anyway, a manager’s compensation was not high. Nottingham Forest would still be able to afford the money.

After he agreed to meet Evan Doughty, Dunn ended the call. He began to think about how he could say goodbye to Notts County. After all, it gave him a stable platform to build the team according to his own ideas. They gave him seven years. No matter how terrible the results were initially, he was not pushed out of the manager’s position. It was impossible for him to have no feelings for Notts County.

However, he had to pursue a larger stage and a wider sky. The ceiling above his head was not his goal. Tony understood him and thus had given him such an opportunity. He could prove himself again on a bigger stage, lead the Forest team to regain its lost glory and dignity, but also to seek the dream long buried in his heart…

Notts County still ranked in the middle of the English Football League Championship this season, with no hope of promotion. Moreover, the Notts County club’s top echelon seemed to have no intention of promotion. To them, the current results were already quite good. Without the support of external funds, it could only position itself at this spot.

Since the club had no ambitions, he would go his own way.

※※※

Pierce Brosnan sat in an office that belonged to him alone. He was thinking about the game in two weeks’ time. It would be Tony Twain’s retirement game, so reporting on such a highly publicized game would be a challenge.

Many media people were currently focused on the game. If he did not have an incisive point, how could he stand out among such a fierce news competition? Moreover, print media obviously had a disadvantage as compared to television and online media.

Tony Twain was leaving, and the Nottingham Evening Post had curated a special issue. Brosnan was the editor of the topic. He needed to coordinate the staff and resources to strive to make this the best issue he could.

First, however, he needed to identify a theme and an angle. In what way could he delve deeper into the report to achieve the most desired effect?

He simply let his hand go off the keyboard, got up and walked to the bookcase. He began to flip through the materials in there – past issues of the Nottingham Evening Post. He hoped to be able to find some useful materials from them.

When he flipped open the newspaper, a familiar headline caught his eye.

“We Were Raped!”

It was only then that he realized what edition he had pulled. He looked at the date: January 4, 2003. It was the first time he and Twain first took the stage…

Tony Twain in the photograph was still young. The bossy and domineering character was already faintly visible in the position of his eyebrows. Who knew at the time that such a young rookie with shocking language could become the best manager in England’s history?

The people and the things of that year…

Brosnan had a sudden flash of inspiration.

Why should he just produce one issue?

How could a single issue be enough to describe Tony Twain’s course over the past 15 years?

Brosnan felt that no matter how skilled the reporters who wrote and described Twain’s experience were, it would not be as impressive as Twain’s own account.

All he had to do was dig out every step that Twain had taken over 15 years and present it to the readers. Then he would let them follow the topic of every issue and reminisce on the ups and downs of the past 15 years together.

It would be sufficient. The “chronicles” of Twain in every upcoming issue would certainly become valuable material worthy of collection.

Chapter 1024 - God to God, Dunn to Dunn

Dunn saw Evan Doughty show up at the cafe’s entrance right on time, exactly to the minute of their appointment. Evan Doughty did not bring anyone and nobody near him looked like a reporter. Dunn breathed a little easier.

Evan Doughty stopped at the door and looked around. Dunn did not raise his hand to indicate his seated position. Doughty soon found him. He walked straight up to Dunn and sat down on the opposite side.

The waiter came up and politely asked him what he would like to drink.

It was not a famous coffee shop. Such an ordinary café was common and nondescript. That was why Evan Doughty picked such a place. He casually ordered a regular cup of coffee. He was not here today for a coffee, but to discuss the future of Nottingham Forest with the Chinese man in front of him.

There was probably no precedent of hiring a Chinese man as a manager in European football. The Chinese football standard was very low. How could a good manager be produced in that kind of environment?

If Dunn knew what Evan Doughty thought, he must have felt like crying and laughing. He was a true-blue Englishman, while the much-admired Tony Twain was, in fact, a hundred percent Chinese. He did not know how Mr. Evan Doughty would feel if he knew the truth.

Was it important whether he was Chinese or British?

As long as he had the ability, what difference did it make?

The meeting between the two men officially began when the waiter served the coffee.

“I really did not expect the Chinese lad of back then would reach such an achievement today,” Evan Doughty said as he looked across at Dunn. He was not pretending. In fact, when Twain introduced Dunn to him at the time, he really did not think that the Chinese kid without even a coaching certificate would be here today, sitting face to face with him and possibly facing the future of coaching Nottingham Forest.

“Frankly speaking, Dunn, Although Tony approves of your succession, I still have some doubts. You know…”

“I know. I lack certain experience in coaching top teams,” Dunn took the lead in the discussion. He was not angry because it was true. Having worked in the football world for more than a decade, seven years as a manager, he was already well aware of the only truth in that world: results represented strength, and strength represented everything. He did not have any results worth commendation, so he would naturally be looked down upon.

“Ha, it’s good that you know,” Evan Doughty laughed drily. “Tony thinks very highly of you, and I think he has his own reasons. Let’s not talk nonsense. Can I hear your plans for the team’s future? If you were to coach the Forest team, which direction would you take it?”

Dunn had been thinking about this question since Twain came to him about taking over the position as the Forest team’s manager.

Now he already had a basic answer.

“I think Nottingham Forest needs to be knocked down and rebuilt.”

Dunn’s first words shocked Evan Doughty. He had thought that the foundation Twain left behind would only require minor alterations and adjustments, and it would be fine. It would maintain stability and the results would naturally improve. He did not expect the first notion that this Chinese man came up with was to overturn everything completely.

“Why? Don’t tell me that the foundation Tony has left for you is not good enough.”

Dunn smiled and said, “He did not leave me anything.” Seeing that Evan Doughty was puzzled, Dunn asked, “Other than signing Chen Jian during the winter transfer period, did he propose to you any other players to purchase?”

Evan thought about it carefully. Indeed, he did not. Tony did not mention which players he was going to buy, except Chen Jian. It was reasonable to say that the strength of the team was not optimal, and the winter period was a great opportunity to bolster it. However, Twain was unlike his usual self and did not make any moves in the transfer market. The media had been watching Nottingham Forest throughout January, but the team bade its time with the transfers.

Evan was surprised at the time but did not think of the real reason behind it. He only realized now that Dunn reminded him. So what was the reason for this?

“And isn’t he always switching the players within the team?” When he saw Evan’s expression, Dunn knew he had hit the mark, so he followed up with another question.

Evan looked up and glanced at Dunn. The Chinese man had guessed it again. If Tony had not revealed his reasons to him in advance, maybe he and Twain really thought alike…

To knock the team down and rebuild it?

But was it really necessary to get to this point?

At the thought of knocking down everything that was built before, Evan Doughty felt some heartache.

In fact, Twain did not reveal his ideas to Dunn because he did not want to interfere with Dunn’s intentions. However, from the things that Twain had done, Dunn had deduced what Twain was doing, which was to pave the way for him to take over.

He was really a meddlesome guy…

“Now this team still has remnants of Tony Twain’s direction, but Tony and I have completely different styles of managing. His team may not be suitable for me. Mr. Doughty, do you know why, no matter how many managers you had changed in the last four seasons, you couldn’t get the team back to its former standards?”

“Changing the managers too often?” Evan Doughty comprehended it this way: the managers changed too frequently, so the tactical thinking was not unified. As a result, the players were at a loss and their loyalty to the manager was reduced. Hence, the results were naturally poor.

Dunn shook his head and said, “The root cause was that the managers you changed later were not Tony Twain. Tony had coached the Forest Team for 11 years. Starting from the youth team to the First Team, he had long imprinted on the team that it was useless to change people. The players simply could not accept anything from anyone but him. However, if I took over the team, the situation would be different. Tony can’t come back and stoke the fire again. If you want the team to have long-term development, you have to start over. It was why Tony had been cleaning up the old players without buying new ones during the winter transfer window.”

Hearing Dunn’s rhetoric, Evan Doughty was surprised. He did not expect Twain to think so far ahead. At the same time, he had to view the Chinese man’s abilities in a new light.

“Tony has always wanted the team to get rid of the dependence on him and to be able to shake off his imprint. He has been thinking about it since the time he had a heart attack. However, he never could do as he wished. Just before he retired for good was his last chance.”

Nottingham Forest was on its own. It was not Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest anymore.

Dunn always remembered this.

At the thought of Twain, and of himself as well, Dunn was suddenly full of confidence in himself. A wave of pride surged in his heart.

He told Evan, “Mr. Doughty, do you want the team to be called ‘a strong traditional Premier League team’ in a few years’ time? Do you want to see the team play in the Champions League every season? I can’t guarantee you that we can lift the Champions Trophy a few years from now. I can’t guarantee that I can become like Tony Twain and win 12 trophies in 11 years either. If you just want to win, I can’t promise anything. However, I can lay a solid foundation for your team. The foundation would pave the way for Nottingham Forest to become a powerhouse team. Mr. Doughty, do you like to ride in a roller coaster or keep your feet on the ground as you move forward?”

Doughty thought that he had come here to test Dunn, but now Dunn was testing him.

However, he had to face the issues that the man had raised up because these questions were on his mind.

Tony Twain had led the team to win 12 championships in 11 years. In this way, the team was still being described as an upstart. In the past, he was unwilling to accept that once Tony Twain retired, Nottingham Forest might not be successful. As it turned out, when Tony Twain left, Nottingham Forest really could not play well.

What was the reason that caused it? Why was Manchester United able to stay in the top four of the Premier League even when Ferguson left, while Nottingham Forest was in decline?

It really seemed like a roller coaster ride, from the peak to the bottom in an instant.

Did he just want the next championship title or the long-term future?

“Don’t powerhouses need to win the championship titles as well?” He asked, still wary.

“A powerhouse team needs the championship titles. But just winning championship titles does not make a team into a powerhouse,” Dunn explained to him. “Chelsea won many titles in the Mourinho era. However, had anyone admitted that they were champions? Now that you already have many championship trophies, it’s time to satisfy another condition.”

Evan Doughty did not ask Dunn what the condition was, because it was sitting opposite him.

“I want to keep my feet on the ground and move forward,” Evan finally answered Dunn’s previous question. He also answered the question in his own heart.

Dunn laughed.

From 1996 to 2019, he went around in a big circle and came back to the starting point.

※※※

Twain knew about Dunn’s contract with the club from the first moments because it was Dunn who called to inform him.

On the phone, Dunn thanked Twain.

“Thank you, Tony.”

“You’re making me embarrassed by saying that, Dunn,” Twain was embarrassed himself and added, “The position should have been yours from the start. I’m just giving it back to you.”

“Based on what I had done before, I could stay in that position for maybe half a season. If it were not for you, I wouldn’t have grown like that. Therefore, I want to thank you, not just because I am going to coach Nottingham Forest again. If I hadn’t met you, I might have just paddled through the rest of my life.”

Twain and Dunn both remembered their souls and bodies from before January 1, 2003.

There was a brief silence on the phone.

It was not an awkward silence. Both men seemed to be caught up in their own memories, enjoying the silence, which was left undisturbed.

Me and him, he and I, had it not been for that “accident”, we should have lived our lives separately. What would it be like? No one knew for sure. In short, they had both undergone irreversible changes, and no one could say whether those changes were good or bad for either of them.

Those notes pasted on the fridge, the “must win!!!” note, the familiar face holding a book in the streets of Chengdu waiting to cross the road, the brother in the old home who could not sleep. In the past, those images would mingle together and would not be able to be separated from one another.

“I have nothing to say, Dunn, except wish you good luck. However, you have to be careful. If you do badly, I will not hold back and will abuse you in the media.”

Dunn’s light laughter rang out on the other end of the line.

“I hope I won’t give you the chance.”

After ending the call, Twain was still holding his cell phone.

It had been 16 years. He finally returned the team to Dunn. The last sense of his guilt was gone. Earth to earth, dust to dust. Anyway, a proper ending was a good thing.

What would happen to Nottingham Forest next was beyond his control. He just wanted everything to be okay and hoped that Dunn would succeed. He hoped that he did not misjudge him.

He gave the team 12 years as the captain. Before people could get tired of him, it was better to leave as a dashing legendary figure in the football world.

※※※

Dunn put his cell phone aside and looked again at the stack of papers on the table. This was the contract he had just signed with the Forest club today and it would automatically take effect after the end of the English Football League Championship season.

Nottingham Forest would inform the Notts County club. They must pay compensation to Notts County. Dunn was not worried about Notts County not letting go of him. They could not even keep those players with potential, so naturally, they could not keep him. It was the same logic.

It was just that the Notts County fans might be angry for a while.

Since he joined the Nottingham Forest club in 1996, he had worked his way up from doing odd jobs. He had now truly become the manager of Nottingham Forest. He suddenly developed a dreamlike sensation. Was he really going to coach the team?

He had coached the team briefly once in 2003. However, at the time, the team performed badly, and he was a rookie. Today, he had yet to achieve results that would make people proud while Nottingham Forest had already swept through Europe led by his other self to establish an undeniable presence. Was he capable to lead such a team back on the road again?

Thinking of this question, Dunn smiled bitterly. It was immature to worry about it at this moment. No matter whether he was capable or not, he had already signed the contract. He could not get off the bus, whether he did well or badly.

He closed the contract and put it in the pullout drawer. Then he got up and stretched his back.

Becoming Twain’s successor? It was a challenging job. He did not know how people and history would evaluate him in this role in a few years’ time.

Would he and Tony be like Paisley and Shankly?

Only time would tell…

Chapter 1025 - After Achieving the Goal in Advance

Chapter 1025: After Achieving the Goal in Advance

“The match has ended! 3:0! Nottingham Forest has won!”

The camera was not on the players when the commentator shouted the aforementioned words, and it was not on Balotelli who scored a brace in the match either. Instead, the camera cut to the tactical area and zoomed in on Nottingham Forest’s manager, Tony Twain.

Twain had only just stood up when the cameras focused on him, and his assistant manager, Kerslake, patted him on the shoulder. Thereafter, Twain turned around and walked towards where the Wolves manager, Alan Pardew, to shake his hand. The handshake was customary after every football match to show respect to the opponent.

Pardew was not resentful or upset after losing to Twain at home because his team had already been relegated. He told Twain that he did not want him to retire during their handshake.

Twain did not say anything and only smiled in response.

Twain had heard many such comments over the past few weeks. Some of those comments were sincere, and some of them were made out of courtesy. Twain did not care which kind they were. He was going to bid farewell to this sport after one last match, and he did not care about what others thought at all. He was not going to get in other people’s faces over their actions or words any longer.

Twain walked away from Pardew and returned to his team shortly after.

The first thing he saw when he walked back was Kerslake’s smiling face. “The latest news! Tony! Manchester City has lost!”

Twain smiled when he saw how ecstatic Kerslake was. Manchester City’s loss meant that Nottingham Forest had been guaranteed a spot in next season’s Europa League, and they would not need to go all out against Manchester United in the next match.

“I don’t care if we play terribly in the next match, Tony. I don’t even care if we lose! Haha!” Kerslake yelled excitedly amidst the cacophony in the stadium.

“That can’t happen, David,” Twain shook his head. “I cannot end my managerial career with a loss.”

David Kerslake knew that the man before him was still competitive. He did not say anything and only smiled in response.

The news of Manchester City’s loss quickly spread throughout the entire Forest team, and it was even broadcasted within the Molineux Stadium, which served as the home grounds for the Wolves team. It was the Wolves’ way of congratulating Forest. Only a relegated side like them would be in the mood to congratulate their opponent.

The Forest players hugged each other excitedly after hearing the news. Manchester City’s loss meant that their efforts for the past half a season were not for naught.

While everyone else was celebrating the good news, Forest’s assistant manager, Freddy Eastwood, was concerned.

“I’m worried that our players would lose their fight in the last match if this goes on,” he said to Twain.

His words made sense. Forest’s ultimate goal for this half a season was to qualify for the Europa League, and everyone has been fighting to achieve this goal all this time. However, now that the goal had been achieved, the team would surely lose their drive and perform poorly in their last Premier League match.

One just had to look at the Wolves team and how they performed in the match that just ended. They were the perfect ‘role model’. Their players were devoid of motivation for the entire match since they knew they had been relegated and there was nothing to fight for. They tried to put up a semblance of a fight before Forest scored the first goal, but their morale was completely gone the moment Balotelli scored a free-kick, and they surrendered on the spot.

However, Forest’s opponent for the last match was not an unmotivated team like Wolves. They were up against Manchester United, who was ranked at the top of the table.

Twain did not share Eastwood’s concern. He could not possibly let his players walk on a tightrope all the time after all. It was not beneficial to put his team under immense and constant pressure. If the players lost their fight for the last match, then so be it. There were other ways of winning a match besides putting pressure on the players to perform.

In addition, qualifying for the Europa League by defeating Manchester United was never the goal of the team from the start either. The players have trained a lot over the past two weeks, but they have never once trained with that goal in mind. Hence, there was no need to be worried about the players’ motivation levels going into the match because they did not intend to rely on the players’ fight and determination to win.

However, the situation described by Eastwood could still happen. The players could end up performing poorly because of their lack of motivation. Thus, one of the jobs that Twain and his coaching team had to do over the next week would be to prevent that situation from occurring.

“Don’t worry, Eastwood. It does not matter what sort of problem we run into. There’d always be a solution to it,” Twain patted Eastwood on the shoulder. “Bask in the joy of our victory for now. Don’t fret.”

Eastwood glanced at Twain. “I will believe in those words since you are the person saying them.” He was referring to Twain’s statement of ‘It does not matter what sort of problem we run into. There’d always be a solution to it.’”But what happens once you are gone?”

Eastwood did not know that Dunn was going to take over Forest as the next manager. However, even if he knew, he would most likely doubt Dunn’s abilities as Twain’s successor.

There was probably no one else in the world who would believe in Dunn’s abilities besides Twain.

“I’m not the only qualified manager in England,” Twain answered Eastwood.

He did not expect Eastwood to shake his head solemnly and say, “There is only one Tony Twain in this world.”

※※※

“We have qualified for next season’s Europa League once again. Comparing this result with the results that our team achieved half a season ago would only make us miss Tony Twain even more,” Pierce Brosnan wrote in the Nottingham Evening Post.

“We often use the words ‘he possesses the ability to change the outcome of the match’ when we want to describe an outstanding player, and I would like to dedicate those same words to Tony Twain. He is a man who deserves those words. You might ask, what is the difference between the Nottingham Forest team now and the Nottingham Forest team from six months ago? The current Nottingham Forest team has a new player, Chen Jian, as well as Twain as its manager. Chen Jian was introduced into the team by Twain, and Twain is the man who brought victories to Forest and also led them to sixth place. Frankly, we all knew the truth since a long time ago – Tony Twain is a man who can bring victories and trophies to his team. He is a man who is capable of changing the outcome of a match all by himself.”

The number of events that commemorated Twain increased in number after the match against Wolves ended. No one could bear to see Twain leave the team, and there were more and more voices that called for him to stay at the club. However, everyone knew that they would not be able to change his mind.

The tickets to the home game against Manchester United were already sold out. However, many people were still looking for tickets online. They all hoped to be able to get the chance to send off Twain at the Crimson Stadium.

The Nottingham Forest fans were proud of the fact that they had an outstanding manager like Twain. There were clever vendors who offered fans and tourists the opportunity to ‘take photos’ with Tony Twain by placing a life-sized portrait of Twain outside the Crimson Stadium. Their business was overwhelmingly good, and numerous people wanted to take a photo with ‘Tony Twain’. They even had customers who had traveled over from faraway lands, and those people stood out with their exotic looks.

The match garnered not just the attention of the local press, but of the press from all over the world as well. The Premier League Management Committee made the decision to broadcast the match live across the world. The Premier League was currently being broadcasted to 256 countries, and there were more than one billion viewers globally. Their decision effectively meant that one billion football fans from around the world would have the chance to witness the last match of Tony Twain’s managerial career. It was certainly a high-profile ‘farewell ceremony’ for a football manager.

Numerous countries began publicizing the match before its kick-off. They advertised it as a unique match that was like no other.

“The farewell match for the most successful football manager in England’s history!”

“The feud between two of the most prominent football managers: Tony Twain and José Mourinho!”

“Which team will lift the Premier League trophy in the end?”

A few things made the match a must-watch. Firstly, it was the last one before Twain’s retirement. Secondly, Twain and Mourinho have been rivals for over ten years, and it would be interesting to see how a match between them would unfold. Thirdly, the match would determine who would end up as the champions of this season’s Premier League. Manchester United might be ranked top of the table at the moment, but they were only ahead second-place Arsenal by a single point. If Manchester United lost to Twain’s Forest and Arsenal won against Fulham, then Arsenal would overtake Manchester United and become the champions of the Premier League.

That was an outcome that neither Mourinho nor the Manchester United fans wished to see happen.

The press in Nottingham focused solely on matters related to Tony Twain. The press in Manchester, on the other hand, focused on whether Mourinho’s team would be able to retain its Premier League title. Surprisingly, they did not have high hopes about Manchester United’s chances of becoming champions – they believed that Nottingham Forest would not go easy on them, because neither their fans nor their players would wish to send off their legendary manager with a loss.

The people who believed that the Forest players would lose their motivation and fight after qualifying for the Europa League in advance were foolish. The match against Forest was undoubtedly going to be a tough challenge for Manchester United.

Mourinho thought the same way as well. He had a solemn expression on his face during his interview, and he did not think that his team could relax despite being in the first place at the moment. When asked about the match, Mourinho said, “…I don’t like predicting the outcome of any football match. However, I think my team can defeat Nottingham Forest…”

His words sounded forced. They were more like words that had been said to boost his team’s morale than an expression of his confidence.

Then again, perhaps Mourinho was trying to let his opponents become arrogant by deliberately showing weakness. Who could tell what was really on his mind?

※※※

Eastwood’s concerns never came true. The players did not appear to have lost their motivation or fight for the upcoming match when he observed them during their daily training sessions. In contrast, they seemed to be brimming with fighting spirit. None of the players wanted to miss out on playing in such an important match due to their poor performances during training.

Eastwood could not help but lament at how great an influence his boss had, and he became even more worried about who would be able to control the players after Twain left…

Twain did not seem to be in the least bothered about all the news that was being published about him at the moment or with how some of the people around him were in a state of worry. He did what he has always done over the past decade. He left the training sessions in the hands of his coaching staff while he stood by and twiddled his thumbs.

He was just like an old man nearing retirement who would turn up at work every day just to make himself a cup of tea and take a walk.

Twain did not take walks and neither did he make himself tea at work. His work only consisted of standing by the side of the pitch at the moment. There was nothing else for him to do now, as he had already finished all that he had to do in preparation for the match against Manchester United. He was busy coming up with the tactics for the match a few days ago, but now that he had finished everything, he was free. All that was left to do was to get the players to practice his tactics, and he did not need to be involved in it. He would only get busy on the day of the match.

The only thing he had to do now was stand by the side of the pitch with his sunglasses on and watch his players train.

However, he has been watching players train for the past 16 years, and he has grown a little sick of it. Thus, he would allow himself to get distracted from time to time nowadays and would not pay attention to their entire training session.

Twain could no longer quite remember who the players in the team were when he first took over as the manager. Back then, he did not know how he should train a football team, and he had very little knowledge about his players. He certainly did not expect that he would go on to become one of the most successful managers in the country at that time.

What would people think if they knew that the real identity of such a successful football manager was actually that of a Chinese football fan who did not know much about professional football?

This was definitely a secret he would need to take to his grave.

A few random thoughts suddenly struck Twain. What if there were other transmigrators or time travelers like him in this world? What if one of those geniuses who contributed greatly to mankind actually came from the future?

Those were certainly interesting thoughts. Maybe Wenger was actually a transmigrator or time traveler who had managed to hide his true identity really well? That would explain why he was skilled in spotting talented youth players.

Twain became lost in thoughts thereafter. When he finally snapped out of his reverie, he realized that the training session was almost over.

The team’s assistant managers, Kerslake and Eastwood, gathered the players before them. They were all going to listen to the manager say a few words before they left.

In truth, Twain rarely spoke at the end of the team’s training sessions, and it was not mandatory to listen. However, as Twain’s departure from the team drew nearer, the players began demanding for Twain to speak to them more. Hence, Twain would always say a few words – be it comments about their training or any other matter, at the end of the training session these days.

The players ‘just liked listening to the boss’ voice’, as Gareth Bale put it.

Everyone wanted to listen to Twain speak, and today was no exception.

Twain saw Eastwood wave at him and he walked over.

“Honestly, I’ve already said all that I should say, and I can’t think of anything else now,” Twain shrugged. However, he knew that he had to say something.

“We’ll be playing in our last Premier League match of this season in three days’ time. After seeing how our training sessions have gone over the past few days, I think we are definitely ready for the match. Frankly, I never believed that any of you would lose your motivation and fight after we achieved the goal in advance. So, tell me. Did any of you lose your motivation for the next match?”

Twain asked this as he looked at the players around him.

“That will never happen, boss!” Gareth Bale was the first to answer, and his teammates nodded their heads in agreement. “We know we still have to bring you victory for the last match!”

Twain smiled happily. He then clapped his hands once and said, “Then isn’t the training session over? What else can I say? You are all dismissed!”

The looks of distress on the players’ faces caused Twain to smile even more happily.

The day where he no longer had to rake his brains and think about what to say to satisfy his players has finally come. When he was younger, he liked to use impassioned speeches to motivate his players. He felt that speaking in that manner made him look good. However, now that he was old, he did not like to do things in such an eye-catching way anymore. He preferred to use silence and actions to show his strength now.

After all, actions spoke louder than words. A more effective way of hurting one’s opponents would be to roll up one’s sleeves and fight them rather than spending the whole day scolding them.

Twain might have gotten on with age, but his claws were still sharp and he was still a threat. All doubters were welcome to the Crimson Stadium on the 10th of May, and they would be able to see for themselves if he has truly lost his edge.

Chapter 1026 - Dusk and Dawn in Wilford

Twain stood on the training ground number 2 in Wilford. A dense forest was in front of his eyes, and the mottled shadows of the woods were at his feet. The day’s training had ended, and the players had left, but there was one more man practicing on the training ground.

Twain stood on the sidelines and watched the man who was practicing.

The scene was familiar to him.

In the afterglow of the setting sun under the darkening red sky, Wilford appeared fragmented by the dividing shadows of the forest on the west side. The whole training ground was quiet. There was no sound but the thuds of a football being kicked and hitting the goalpost, net, and wire fence. There was the occasional cry of a bird. It was a big contrast to the noisy scene during the day.

When he was still young, he had been here to watch the man in front of him practice countless times. At that time, the man was only a child.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. He himself was about to retire, and the man in front of him was the standard-bearer of the team. At the same venue more than a decade ago at the same time, did Tony Twain think about the future?

While Twain was lost in contemplation, the man on the field had already walked up to him, perspiring all over.

“What are you looking at?” He asked.

“Admiring the scenery,” Twain replied. He continued to look at Wilford, shrouded in twilight. “Don’t you think everything here is like an oil painting? I also remembered that you once kicked the football straight into the river in the youth team training ground. It was also dusk at the time and the sky was dark. That football could not be recovered in the end. Ha!” He laughed as he talked. “I don’t have that many days left to enjoy this landscape.”

George Wood turned and followed Twain’s gaze. “Hasn’t it always looked like this for the last sixteen years?” He was used to looking at it because he stayed almost every day to give himself extra practice. “Stay if you haven’t seen enough.”

Twain shook his head and said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If I stay, I won’t feel that all this is beautiful. I would only take it for granted. I have been in Wilford for twelve years and I’ve only recently noticed it’s really beautiful here. In the past, I had always come and gone in a hurry.”

There was a moment of silence between the two men. Twain continued to admire the view in front of him. In fact, the scenery of Wilford was not that striking, but in his current frame of mind, he would certainly be moved.

Did Twain think this evening was beautiful because he had reached the twilight of his coaching career? The sun, which once radiated boundless light and heat in the blue sky, was now setting in the west.

“Go take a shower and change your clothes. Don’t catch a cold,” Twain said to Wood next to him, breaking the silence.

Wood did not object and just nodded. He turned and walked away.

By the time he had finished, he found that Twain was still on the training ground. He had wanted to go up and say goodbye before he left but he did not expect Twain to stop him.

“Have you thought about the matter of when you’re going to retire, George?”

Wood stared blankly and then shook his head. He said, “No. I have not planned it yet. But it won’t be when I’m 40 years old, anyway.”

Hearing him say so, Twain laughed silently.

He had only casually mentioned this age and did not think Wood took it seriously.

“I’m not going to advise you to play until you’re 40. You’re definitely better aware of the situation than I am. However, be sure to invite me when you retire. I have to see for myself what kind of scene the sendoff of the greatest team captain in the history of Nottingham Forest will be like.”

Wood was silent for a while and seemed to remember something. It was a while before he said, “It probably will not be better than yours.”

“What’s so great about a manager’s retirement?” Twain shrugged it off and said, “When the game ends the day after tomorrow, it will be over with a press conference.”

Wood did not really know what it would be like when a manager retired because he had not experienced it. According to conventional reasoning, he should have retired earlier than the manager, because it was considered normal for a manager to work for 20 years, while it was not easy for a player to stay that long.

There was a moment of silence between the two men.

Twain did not want to talk while Wood had something on his mind.

After a while, when the red clouds in the western skies had darkened, Wood opened up and said, “I think you’re a little different from how you were in the past…”

“In the past? A little different?” Twain did not understand Wood’s abrupt words.

“Do you feel like your temper is a lot better than it used to be, because of your age?”

“Ha!” Twain laughed. “Is it because you see that I don’t often start a war of words nowadays? And because I don’t scold people to their faces?”

Twain and Mourinho both behaved with restraint in the game against Manchester United. Other than “greeting” each other once at the start, there was no news or active provocation. There was none of the so-called psychological warfare either. This made the media feel very disappointed.

Wood did not say a word, but it could be surmised that he agreed tacitly.

“I’ve been arguing for so many years, I’m tired of it,” Twain waved his hand.

“But I don’t know why…” Wood hesitated as if he did not know what to say, and finally, he spoke out. “I preferred the way you were before… you were very energetic. Everybody liked it.” The “everyone” he meant was not all the Forest players, but the few remaining “old guys” in the team, such as Gareth Bale, Joe Mattock, Agbonlahor, Mitchell… and so on. It was the group of players who had followed Twain to dominate the football world before his last resignation.

Twain turned to glance at Wood. He did not know what to say. He only reached out to touch Wood’s arm.

Retirement was nothing to him. He was just a little reluctant to leave the players whom he had watched grow up. These days, the players used every opportunity to interact with him. He certainly knew what they were thinking. No one could bear to part with him.

However, all good things must come to an end.

Twain did not want to continue the melancholy conversation, so he asked a question of particular interest to himself. “How are things between you and Miss Vivian?”

“Nothing much to tell,” Wood was clearly evasive in his answer.

Twain guessed something but did not say it. He went on to change the subject.

“George, do you have any plans for the evening?”

“No,” Wood replied.

“Well, then come home with me tonight.”

Wood glanced at Twain.

“Shania went to Paris today, and it’s a little quiet without here at home. Teresa will be very happy to see you.”

Shania left the United Kingdom this morning and flew to Paris to prepare for her last runway show and to attend a thank-you party. However, her social life was much quieter than before. Perhaps because it was known that she was quitting the modeling and entertainment world, people thought that she was no longer a worthy celebrity, so there were much fewer people who would deliberately fawn on her.

It was actually quite good this way. Shania liked it very much. She herself did not enjoy those social activities. Many times, it was because of work requirements and friends’ invitations that she could not decline. Otherwise, she would stay at home during her breaks, instead of going around to be on cameras and show off. Although she and Beckham’s wife, Victoria Beckham, were good friends, she and Victoria were two completely different people.

With Shania away, Twain felt even lonelier and Teresa also missed her very much. Shania had wanted to take Teresa with her to Paris, but Teresa had to go to school, so she stayed at home in the care of her nanny.

Twain was not worried about their child. The nanny was very, very good and he was sure Teresa would be well cared for.

It was just that he inevitably still felt lonely.

That was why he invited Wood to his house again tonight, even though Wood was reticent and not very talkative. He did not know how to play with kids either. However, without knowing why, Teresa liked to be with her ‘older brother’ Wood. She would be very happy when Wood was around.

Twain could not see the playful side of Wood, so he could not understand why Teresa especially liked the stern-looking George Wood so much.

If it was not for the fact that the two were so far apart in their ages, Twain would have really worried about the possibility of his daughter falling in love with George in the future… Uh, it was too much of a digression.

When Twain brought up Teresa, Wood could not refuse. He nodded and accepted Twain’s invitation.

“Would you like to ask Miss Vivian to come with you as well?” Twain suddenly asked.

“She’s working overtime…” Wood realized he had a slip of the tongue.

Twain laughed delightedly.

Amid his laughter, he turned around and patted Wood on the shoulder, signaling that they should go.

Wood did not make a move right away but turned and watched Twain walk ahead. He found the man’s back a little hunched. Perhaps because he was laughing?

The last afterglow of the sunset was swallowed by the horizon, and the quiet Wilford was shrouded in the night. A gust of wind blew and the trees behind them rustled. The wind stirred the hair and clothes of the two men. Wood could not help looking back at the inky black woods while Twain walked out without turning his head back.

※※※

Teresa, who had been waiting a little longer than usual for her father to come home from work, relaxed her frown after she saw Wood follow her father into the house.

In Wood’s company, Teresa happily spent the first night her mother was away. By the time Teresa went to bed, it was 11 o’clock. Twain wanted Wood to stay at his place since there were many guest rooms anyway. However, Wood did not agree. He wanted to return home.

Unable to do anything about it, Twain had to send Wood out.

At the gate of the yard, while they were waiting for the bus, Twain assumed the role of a fatherly figure and thanked Wood. He also told him that he was allowed to be 15 minutes late for the next day’s training session.

However, at the training the next day, George Wood was still the first one to arrive.

※※※

The day in Wilford began early. The mist from the night began to evaporate in the sunlight. The layers of fog rose from the thick woods and were blown by the breeze to every corner of Wilford as well as above River Trent.

At this time, Wilford was still quiet and only the staff arrived early, ready to start the day’s work.

Tony Twain came as early as they did. Instead of going to his office, he went straight to the training ground and greedily breathed in the fresh air of the early morning.

The staff members were busy on one side and said hello to Twain when they met him without stopping the work they were doing. Twain strolled alone between the individual training grounds. Stepping on the sodden turf, the hems of his pants and leather shoes would be all wet soon.

He did not take notice of it and focused on the task.

After he finished taking a round of the First Team training ground, he went to the training ground of the reserve team and the youth team. He supervised them all before he went back to the office to rest. Meanwhile, the players were arriving in succession, getting ready to start the day of training.

It was the last day of training before the Forest team’s game and also Tony Twain’s last training session in his coaching career.

By the time Twain went into his office to take a break, there were already many reporters gathered outside the Wilford training ground, all of whom came to witness Tony Twain’s “last lesson.” Although they only had 15 minutes of public filming, that did not halt their enthusiasm.

Pierce Brosnan saw Carl Spicer in the crowd. He did not have much of a good opinion regarding the person who had been persistent in smearing Twain. Since he ran into Spicer, he would naturally go up and ridicule him for a bit.

“Hey, Carl,” He greeted him warmly as if the two of them were good friends who had known each other for years.

Spicer certainly was aware of who Brosnan was, so he knew the latter took the initiative to greet him not to talk about old times.

“Well, isn’t this Mr. Pierce Brosnan, Twain’s ordained reporter?” Spicer responded cynically.

The nickname, which was used in the press circle to mock Brosnan, was by no means a compliment.

Brosnan was not angry, but smiled and said instead, “Looks like you’re in a good mood, Carl. Is it because the person you hate the most is finally going to say his goodbye?”

Spicer did not hesitate and nodded. He never denied his dislike of Twain in public, which was much better than those hypocrites who appeared to praise Twain to his face but cursed him behind his back.

Seeing Spicer take the bait, Brosnan laughed more smugly as he said, “I’m thinking… Once Tony retires, where are you going to get someone to abuse and maintain the ratings for your show?”

The expression on Carl Spicer’s face froze instantly. He was not a fool. He immediately realized that Brosnan tricked him. However, he was unable to answer in the face of such a question. He really relied on abusing Twain until he became famous and eventually a television presenter. And once Twain retired, who would he target next? The admonishment of a person was also an art. He could not attract so many views just by scolding any Tom, Dick or Harry off the streets.

Looking around the English football world, and even the international football world, a figure like Tony Twain, who was widely controversial while receiving many honors at the same time and being very popular with the people, was extremely rare.

Mourinho might barely count as one such manager. However, scolding a foreigner would not attract much attention in England. Mourinho’s influence in England was a long way off as compared to Tony Twain.

Although Spicer hated the arrogant and conceited Tony Twain who had made him suffer a lot of humiliation, he also had to admit the one fact, which greatly embarrassed and infuriated him: that once Tony Twain left, he would be out of play!

It was no secret. Everyone in the circle knew Carl Spicer got in a leading position by abusing Twain. Some people were very dismissive of him, even those who equally hated Twain.

Many people laughed when they saw Spicer looking like this. Seeing other people making fools of themselves was a common sport of people all over the world. Even British gentlemen were no exception.

After Brosnan singled out Spicer’s biggest point of embarrassment, he ignored the man and turned to focus on the team’s training.

Spicer was also thick-skinned – after fighting with Twain for years, he would have already committed suicide if he were otherwise. After the initial embarrassment passed, he stood there as if nothing happened and continued to direct his men to shoot footage of Tony Twain.

His show was not about the Forest team’s training. There would always be Tony Twain, alone, in his shot. This also confirmed, in another way, how right Pierce Brosnan was.

Only Tony Twain existed in Carl Spicer’s eyes while Tony Twain’s eyes held the whole world.

※※※

Tony Twain, whose eyes held the whole world, finally appeared in front of the reporters’ cameras.

Today he wore a casual shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, which looked different from the getup he wore while directing a game on the sidelines. As compared to the managers who were used to wearing sports attire to lead the teams, he did not look like a real manager. However, no one was surprised, because Tony Twain had been like this for sixteen years. People no longer wondered about what they saw.

Twain appeared in front of the public, wearing sunglasses, and caused a commotion. Fans on the east side loudly chanted Twain’s name and the cheers only gradually died down when Twain waved to them.

No reporters were surprised by such a scene. They had long become accustomed to witnessing Twain’s influence.

They just instructed the photojournalists and camera operators to seize every moment of shooting.

“This is Tony Twain’s last training session! Don’t shoot anything else, just focus on him!”

Twain did not care how the others filmed him. He was used to it, even though the battle array this morning was a little bigger than usual…

However, he himself deserved such attention.

The one thing good about Twain was that he was realistic. He would take the credit when it was rightfully due. He was never self-effacing.

There was nothing for him to do on the training ground. He watched for a while and saw that the players’ performance was normal. The crowd of reporters did not affect them… however, he could not tell what was normal or not at the moment because everyone was running laps for the warm-up …

Twain observed them for a moment before turning his attention to other areas. The east side was surrounded by many fans, more than usual. These fans were determined to ask for autographs from and photographs with Twain after the game.

Twain’s eyes superficially scanned the crowd, but he suddenly fixed his gaze.

He stared at a man in the crowd. He had a strange expression on his face, which was both excited and surprised.

Whom did he see to make him forget everything else?

In the crowd, Fat John, Skinny Bill, and their other buddies surrounded a man.

That man was Michael Bernard, whom Twain had met in Los Angeles before!

Chapter 1027 - Last Training Session

Twain held back his urge to walk over to the side and figure out what was going on. He withdrew his gaze from the crowd and focused his attention on the training session once again. He still did not understand why Michael would appear at the training grounds, but he felt that he would get the answer he sought at the end of the training session.

Twain thought he was hallucinating when he saw Michael in the crowd. He wondered if he had time traveled again. Did I time travel back to 2003? Wouldn’t that just mean that I am trapped in an endless loop? That was what he thought

He looked at the players who were training on the pitch and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw an aged Bale. If he had time traveled back to 2003, Bale would definitely not have appeared before him.

Twain could finally relax and focus all his attention on the training session once he was certain that he had not time-traveled to the past.

The media was given 15 minutes to take photos of the training session. However, 15 minutes was too short and not enough for the reporters. They wanted to stay longer and take more photos, but the security guards promptly appeared before them.

Left with no choice, the reporters reluctantly packed their bags and left the training grounds. They then waited to be allowed entry into the training grounds a second time for their interviews outside the premises. The Forest fans, on the other hand, could remain at the side of the pitch. The ’15 minutes’ rule did not apply to them.

One concern was that a reporter could dress up as a fan so as to remain on the training grounds. However, based on Twain’s experience as a manager for the past decade or so, the possibility of that happening was very low.

Only one training session was planned for today since tomorrow was the match day. The players would train in the morning before resting for the whole afternoon. Thereafter, the entire team would check into their hotel and then make way for the stadium the next day.

The players were mainly going to practice on their set pieces for today’s training. Set pieces were especially useful when the team needed to break a deadlock in a match, and the coaches would always schedule drills that got the players to practice on their set pieces prior to every match.

However, training did not go very smoothly that day. The players would often commit mistakes, and this resulted in a largely ineffective training session. One of the players who kept committing mistakes was Gareth Bale. He repeatedly failed to send the ball to the assigned spot during training, and it caused his teammates to run to the front of the pitch for nothing time and time again.

What could be causing his poor performance?

Twain decided to halt training for a short while. He wanted to find out what was going on with Bale.

“Bale,” He waved at the man nicknamed the ‘Little Monkey’ and gestured for him to come over.

Bale lowered his head and ran towards Twain.

“What’s wrong? Your head’s in the clouds.”

“Uh… Nothing…”

“Did you quarrel with your girlfriend?”

“No, I did not…”

“Then tell me what’s going on. Is there something that I shouldn’t know about?”

Bale lowered his head and hesitated for a brief moment before raising his head to look at Twain. “I got distracted when I thought about how this is going to be your last training session, boss…”

Twain did not know whether he should laugh or cry at Bale’s words. So I am the problem, he thought to himself.

He then looked at the pitch before him. All the players were looking their way because the training had been paused. Only then did he notice the same emotion that Gareth Bale had just exhibited in the eyes of all his players.

In truth, Twain had lamented about how this was the last training session of his managerial career as well. However, he got rid of those thoughts the moment training began. After all, it was a day just like any other. There might be a few more reporters than usual, but everything else was the same.

However, there would definitely be people who could not bear to see him leave…

Twain quickly realized that this kind of emotion should not appear during training. It would only influence the effectiveness of the training session negatively. It was very important that his players practice their set-pieces because set-pieces might end up becoming the key to winning the match tomorrow.

Bale continued to stand before Twain with his head lowered. He looked like a child who had just done something wrong. But what wrong did he do?

Twain looked at the meek expression on Bale’s face and let out a sigh.

“Follow me,” he told Bale before walking straight towards his players.

Bale dragged his feet along and followed behind Twain obediently.

Two assistant managers and six coaches watched as Twain walked towards them, but no one said a word. Tony Twain usually would not interfere with their work, because everything that had to be done for today’s training session had already been decided during their meeting on Monday. However, if he halted the training session because he had something to say, that something had to be very important.

Twain walked right into the circle formed by the players and stood in the middle. Bale, on the other hand, came to a stop next to Aaron Mitchell. Mitchell bent over slightly and asked him in a hushed voice, “Hey, Little Monkey. What did the boss say to you just now?”

“He wanted to know why I was performing poorly.”

Mitchell stroked his chin. “You did perform poorly today.”

“So did you,” Bale nudged Mitchell in the ribs.

Mitchell giggled.

“What did you say to him?” Mitchell asked softly after he finished giggling.

“I told the boss that I’m performing poorly because this is his last training session with us.”

Mitchell fell silent after hearing Bale’s answer. He probably would have given a similar answer if he had been the one who was asked the question earlier.

“Did he say anything to you?” Mitchell asked after a brief moment of silence.

“He told me to ‘follow him’.” Bale pointed at Tony Twain who stood in the middle of the crowd.

Both players looked at Twain.

Their boss stood in the middle of all of them. He then raised a hand to signal that he had something to say.

“Lads, I can see something in your eyes.” Twain was about to make an impromptu speech before his players, and it was probably going to be his last time giving a speech during a training session.

“It’s wrong for you to feel that way now. Do you have any idea what you are doing right now? This is a training session, and we have a very, very important match tomorrow… Don’t tell me that there are some of you here who think that tomorrow’s match is not important because we are already in the top six.”

Twain turned right and left and surveyed the players around him.

“If you have the leisure for thoughts like how this is going to be my last training session with you lot, it only proves that you either think you can win tomorrow’s match easily, or you don’t care about the results of tomorrow’s match. Both of which are not what I want from all of you!”

Twain paused to catch his breath. The sunlight was quite strong today, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on his exposed forehead. Twain felt a little short of breath as he stood under the sun. His physical condition reminded him once again that he had made the right decision to retire.

“I know some of you have not been in Forest for long and are not part of the team that won the Treble years ago. Actually, there are very few players from that team here today. I can understand how those senior players would feel.” Twain looked at where Bale was. He was not sure if it was a coincidence, a deliberate act or a habit, but Mitchell stood to the left of Bale, and Joe Mattock stood to the left of Mitchell. The player standing behind Mattock was Agbonlahor, and the player standing to Bale’s right was Nkoulou. Gago stood to the right of Nkoulou, and Chris Cohen stood in front of Gago. The only player who did not stand with them was George Wood. He stood across from them, with the new players of the team.

“But it’s precisely because I understand how they feel that I’m so upset. Do you all remember the words that are written on the walls of the tunnel? ‘Victory is all that matters’! That is Nottingham Forest’s philosophy. Have you all forgotten?”

Twain stared into the eyes of the senior players on the team. He wanted to see something different from what he saw earlier.

Bale took a step forward. He and Wood have played under Twain for the longest time, and they also had the most experience in the team. However, Wood would not be willing to speak up on this matter, and thus the job fell on Bale’s shoulders.

“But boss… it’s not that we want to lose the match, or that we think we can win the match easily. It’s just…. We just got distracted when we thought about how this is going to be your last training session with us… Yeah, that’s it.”

“Then how do you intend to make me believe that you won’t get distracted in the match tomorrow? We’d be playing in the last match of my managerial career tomorrow, mind you. That’s way more important than my last training session, isn’t it?” Twain winked at Bale humorously. However, Bale did not smile.

Some of the new players laughed at Twain’s words. They clearly did not understand their boss well enough.

Twain did not mind the abrupt laughter. He stared intently at Bale. He wanted the latter to give him an answer that would satisfy him.

What kind of answer could Bale possibly give? Could he possibly say ‘I think we won’t make that kind of mistake, boss’? His boss would definitely not believe him, and those words might end up angering him instead. His boss might have become gentler now, but no one dared to look down on him. The words that he said on the very first day he returned to the team still remained fresh in everyone’s minds –’If any one of you thinks I’m old, then go ahead and try me!’

Those words of his were powerful and they resounded in the players’ hearts.

Twain had merely hidden his ambition under a friendly exterior. His past, fiery self could very well surface again if something provoked him.

“I cannot guarantee that we won’t get distracted tomorrow, boss…” Bale chose to admit that he was wrong under Twain’s intense stare.

“Then I want you to forget about how this is going to be my ‘last training session’.” Twain waved his hands dismissively. “I want all of you to practice just like you would on any other day. If I see any of you getting distracted during training one more time, I will not hesitate to take your name off the starting list or the team list for tomorrow’s match.”

Twain walked towards Kerslake and patted him on the shoulder after finishing his words. “I leave everything else to you, David.”

“Don’t worry, Tony. I’ll handle things from here,” Kerslake told Twain.

Twain walked away from the crowd and stood by the side of the pitch. He became a spectator once again.

He then sent a cursory glance at the eastern part of the training grounds. The fans were still there, and they seemed to be discussing something excitedly. They must have found the incident from earlier interesting.

The edge of Twain’s lips went up. Look at the fans. They are all acting normally. The players should really learn a thing or two from them…

It was clear that Michael Bernard was the center of attention among the Forest fans. Everyone had crowded around him subconsciously. Michael did not say much as he stood in the middle of the fans. It was hard to imagine that he used to be the boss of a group of hooligans and the leader of the Forest fans over a decade ago. He was dressed in a shirt, trousers and leather boots, and he looked just like any other office worker.

It would be even better if he were carrying a briefcase, Twain thought evilly.

He definitely had to go and find Michael when the training session was over. However… he probably would not be able to meet him anytime soon.

Twain thought about the group of reporters who should still be standing outside the training grounds at the moment. He would definitely be busy for quite a while when those reporters heard that they could enter the premises once again…

※※※

The team was finally able to practice normally after Twain had chastised them earlier. None of the players dared to lose their concentration under Twain’s watchful eye now. In fact, everyone worked even harder than they used to because no one was willing to be dropped from such an important match due to a lapse in concentration during training. Twain did not want the players to think about how tomorrow was going to be the last match of his managerial career, but it was impossible for them not to think about it. However, the players knew that they had no choice but to suppress those thoughts for now. They had to convert all their emotions and thoughts into their drive for tomorrow’s match.

The players wanted Twain to speak to them after the training session was over, but Twain waved his hands and refused their request.

“I’ve already said all that I should say for now. I’d just be repeating whatever I already said if I gave another speech now. I have no interest in wasting your time. I want all of you to shower and change into a new set of clothes now! Don’t catch a cold!” He was about to turn around and walk towards the reporters when he added, “Oh, yes. Let me say this. All of you did very well during the training session earlier.”

Twain did not walk towards the fans. He knew that the restless reporters would not let him go.

Just as he expected, he was surrounded by a horde of reporters the moment he walked to the entrance of the training grounds.

Countless microphones, recorders, and mobile phones were thrust out towards him.

“The last match of your managerial career is going to take place tomorrow. Is there anything that you want to say about it, Mr. Twain?

“I’m feeling peaceful. Thank you.”

“What do you think about your chances of defeating Mourinho’s team?”

“I don’t know, that’s not up to me to decide. You should ask God instead. The only thing I know is that my goal is to win.”

“Manchester United would be able to retain their Premier League title as long as they win against you…”

“I know that. The fact that I’m still able to encounter such an interesting situation before I retire makes me very happy,” Twain smiled. His smile was genuine because the situation was indeed very interesting. He worked hard to prevent his team from being in a situation whereby they were at the mercy of Manchester United, but he did not expect the tables to be turned so that it was Manchester United who was at their mercy.

Twain was not a benevolent soul who would show sympathy to others when there was something that he sought. He was actually the complete opposite of that. He was a vile man who would be more than happy to kick Mourinho into the abyss.

It was true that he drank with Mourinho in Brazil before, but that was all in the past. He had returned to his job as a manager, and Mourinho was his opponent for the next match. That was all that mattered now.

“Do you feel a little sad knowing that today is your last training session with the players?”

If the reporter had asked Twain this question yesterday, he would have most likely nodded earnestly in response. However, Twain had already felt sadness and reluctance to leave yesterday, and he did not want to have those feelings once more today. Besides, he was already 50 years old this year. There was nothing he could not put behind him at this age.

He shook his head and said, “My mind is filled with thoughts of tomorrow’s match at the moment. I’m not thinking about anything else now.”

There were a lot more reporters than usual today, and as a result, there were a lot more questions as well. Twain patiently answered each and every question that was posed to him. He did not lose his temper or storm away as he would in the past. His temper has certainly improved considerably.

The reporters crowded around Twain and asked him questions for approximately 20 minutes. They only stopped when Twain waved his hands and refused to be interviewed any further.

The players had already left the training grounds by then. Most of the fans who stood at the eastern part of the training grounds were gone as well.

Twain glanced at the fans who had stayed behind, and he did not see Michael among them. It looked like he would have to make a trip down to Burns’ bar later. He has an entire afternoon’s worth of time to burn anyway. There was no need to hurry.

Right as Twain turned around to walk towards the car park, he suddenly heard someone call his name from behind. The voice sounded very familiar.

Twain turned back around and saw Michael Bernard standing under a tree by the side of the road!

Chapter 1028 - I Haven’t Lost Yet

“Tony!”

As Twain got rid of the reporters and walked to the parking lot, he heard someone calling his name behind his back. When Twain stopped in his tracks and turned to look back, he saw a familiar face.

By the side of the boulevard, under the lush trees, Michael Bernard stood in the mottled light and shadow. When the wind blew, the leaves rustled, and the light and shadow moved along, making him look rather indistinct as if he were a phantom.

“Your camouflage came in useful, Michael. If you hadn’t called me, I could barely see you.”

Twain walked over and smiled at Michael, who was standing under the trees.

“Camouflage?” “Michael did not react at first until he looked down at the mottled shadows on his body and then realized it really looked like a camouflage costume…

He laughed. Twain’s joke made him feel warmth.

“Why are you back here? Don’t you have to work?”

“I quit my job,” Michael said to Twain with a serious look.

The remark froze the smile on Twain’s face.

“Just kidding! Ha!” Michael seemed to know how to appear deadpan. His serious expression just now transformed in an instant and was replaced by a happy smile.

“In order to watch your last game, I took three days off and arrived last night.”

Twain nodded. No wonder he did not see Michael yesterday afternoon but did see him on the sidelines today.

“From the way you’re dressed…” Twain looked him up and down and said, “don’t tell me you did not even go home and came straight from the office.”

Michael became a little embarrassed and said, “Actually I was on a business trip to Italy and I just applied for leave and came here… I was not on vacation, so I only have these clothes. At least I’m not wearing a suit…”

Twain nodded to express understanding.

“Does your wife know you’re here?” Despite talking to the couple in Los Angeles and knowing that Michael’s wife no longer cared about the past and Michael’s love of football, Twain still could not help but ask.

“I gave her a call.” Michael was not joking this time.

Twain believed Michael’s words. Michael was now a really nice guy. The former hooligan who had abused him in the pub was nowhere to be seen.

The two men sat down next to the lawn by the side of the road. They did not care that it was actually quite dirty here.

“Thank you for coming to see me,” Twain said, looking at the training ground across the road.

“I’m here to say a proper goodbye to the past.”

Twain turned his head back and looked at Michael, listening to him continue speaking.

“It has been 16 years, Tony. Time really flies so quickly. Many things have happened to us. But I did not come to you today to talk about the old times.”

Twain smiled and replied, “We had talked about the old times that night in Los Angeles.”

Michael nodded in agreement.

“Actually, I just wanted to come back and see you.”

“It’s not as if you have not seen me before or that you’re not going to see me later. You talk as if we’ll never see each other again…” Twain quipped.

“But this is the last time I see you as a manager.”

Twain was momentarily taken aback. He forgot his identity. It was indeed the last time in this capacity, the last time he acted as a manager. No matter what the situation was in the future, he would not come out of retirement and take a leading position, even if it was the end of the world … But then again, what did the end of the world have to do with his being a manager or not?

However, a manager… Twain looked up at the blue sky. He had not expected back then that he would be in this position for so long, that he could achieve so much. God, Dear God, what was the purpose of you throwing me here at the time? Was it to give me this dream? But I don’t believe you are so good…

Twain gently shook his head. He often used to ponder this question. Then with the passage of time and living well in this world, he slowly stopped thinking of it. There was no need to lament here and now about how heaven made a fool out of him.

Therefore, he changed the subject and asked, “Have you gone to see Gavin?”

Michael nodded and replied, “There was a bunch of flowers. Was it yours?”

Twain shook his head. He made a guess and answered, “Must be George’s.”

“He still remembers…”

“What are you talking about? Your son was his first fan. How can he not remember?” Twain glared at Michael. Wood was not good at expressing his feelings, but he had a warm heart. If Vivian could eventually conquer Wood’s heart, she would be the happiest woman in the world, because she would have found a man of remarkable constancy.

Michael nodded and gave a dry laugh.

“If Gavin were still alive, he would be 29 years old now, right?” Twain asked.

“28 years old. His birthday was July 11th,” Michael replied.

“You remember it so well.”

“I’m his father!” Michael straightened his chest and answered proudly.

Twain smiled.

“Go to my house at noon and I’ll introduce you to my daughter,” Twain stood up and straightened his pants. His daughter was still waiting at home, so he could not go back too late.

Michael also stood up, but shook his head and said, “No, John and the others are waiting for me.”

Twain gave a shrug to express regret.

“Do you have a ticket?” Twain asked before they parted.

Michael nodded and said, “Yes. After I told John and the others that I was coming, they prepared a ticket for me right away.”

Upon hearing this, Twain turned back and looked at Michael curiously. “When did you decide to come back?”

“After you held the press conference to announce your retirement. I just thought I should come back and send you off no matter what.”

“Thank you,” Twain thanked Michael for the second time today.

“We’re old friends. I ought to.”

When he was finished, Michael waved to Twain, and the two men said goodbye.

Twain had walked more than a dozen paces when he suddenly heard Michael shout behind him, “Tony! I won’t let you off if you lose the game!”

Twain looked back to see Michael brandishing his fist at him. He was suddenly thrown back as if he had seen the last game of 16 years ago. Before leaving the pitch, Michael had brought his son along. He had brandished his fist at him and threatened to teach him a lesson if the team was not playing in the Premier League next season.

After saying that, the next time he saw Gavin was in the hospital morgue.

Twain stood there in a trance, but Michael did not wait for him to answer. He turned around right away and walked in the opposite direction.

By the time Twain recovered, Michael Bernard’s figure was long gone.

He thought of Michael’s words before he left and laughed.

“How can I possibly lose? I haven’t lost to Mourinho as of yet!”

※※※

Mourinho’s team warmed up at the Crimson Stadium while he gave an interview to a television reporter. Speaking of tomorrow’s game, he was confident and stated that his team would eventually win the league tournament.

“I’m here to win the game and collect the championship trophy.”

Manchester United’s official television reporters were delighted and reassured by Mourinho’s remarks, while BBC television reporters had a different view.

“You have never defeated Tony…”

Before the reporter could finish speaking, Mourinho interrupted his words.

“I’m not interested in discussing the past. Every game is on its own.”

The question greatly ruined Mourinho’s mood. He seemed uncooperative with the next answer, even though the question was from Manchester United’s television station. He was dismissive.

Such an interview naturally did not yield much valuable news. Many of the reporters that came after would complain that the BBC reporter was too tactless with his words. How could he ask Mourinho that question? Everyone knew that Mourinho hated his record of “not defeating Twain” being brought up by other people and used as fodder.

The matter was the same as hinting at Twain’s being unable to produce a biological child despite being married for so many years. It was simply vicious to the extreme.

In fact, Mourinho’s inner pressure was greater than Twain’s at the time.

Who made Arsenal bite so closely at their heels?

By the last round of the league tournament, Manchester United was two points ahead of Arsenal, with its net goal advantage taking the lead. In the final round, as long as Manchester United tied with Nottingham Forest, they could defend their title. If Manchester United’s last game was played against any team other than Nottingham Forest, under the situation of finishing their season’s target ahead of schedule, the chance of Manchester United winning was higher. However, it just so happened that it was Nottingham Forest…

Mourinho never thought Tony Twain would let him off the hook, just like he would absolutely not let Tony Twain off the hook in the same situation. These two men wanted to step over each other’s dead bodies to take the top stand. How could he show any mercy?

It was also this reason that put Mourinho in a bad mood lately. He always showed a grim face to everyone. He was under more pressure than anyone else was. If he lost the game, it was not as simple as losing the league tournament. For him, his career as a manager could still be very long. He could still win as many league titles as he wanted in the future. However, if he were to lose to Tony Twain, he would never have a chance to break that ridiculous bullsh*t record again. After Twain retired, he naturally could not lead the team and compete with him. He would bear the shameful record of “never having defeated Twain” forever and never live it down…

He felt terrified just thinking about it!

If it became a reality… How could a man as proud as Mourinho accept it?

There was one more reason for Mourinho’s bad mood – Rooney’s absence had upset him. Although Rooney was already 32 years old, he still had an important role in the team as an experienced striker. His absence was a big loss to Manchester United’s ability to fight.

Plus, it was an away game…

Was there ever a last-round league game that was unluckier than this?

※※※

Compared to Mourinho, Twain was calmer and more collected during interviews before the game.

“He has never beaten me? To tell you the truth, I’d almost forgotten about the matter…” Twain looked amazed as if he had really just recalled this. However, no one would believe his words. The media was hotly publicizing the feud between the two men these days and repeatedly mentioned their common history. How could he forget it?

“I don’t think the past record is of any help to the game tomorrow. No man ever steps in the same river twice,” Twain, who said this, looked like a philosopher, but he was just putting on a smokescreen. Mourinho certainly did not believe that Twain would let him off the hook just because they had drinks together once. However, some people in Manchester United would believe it.

“Manchester United is a very strong team. We lost to them in an away game in the first half of the season, so I can’t say for sure I will win tomorrow’s game.”

Twain adopted a humbled stance and appeared modest as if he could not pose a real threat to Manchester United’s position.

Before the game against Arsenal, Twain had vowed that his goal was to win the game. At the time, people thought that it was just talking to boost morale. In fact, the Forest team could not have won against Arsenal in the away game. As for the result?

Arsenal lost on its own home ground to Nottingham Forest.

Now he himself stated that Manchester United was very strong and spoke humbly at present. Naturally, it implied that he thought his team had little chance of beating Manchester United.

When all was said and done, which of his words were people supposed to believe?

Twain did not care what other people thought. He went on:

“The last game? No, I don’t see it that way. It’s just a regular league game. Yes, a regular league game.” Twain repeated it as if he was worried that others would not believe him. “My coaching career has been very successful. I don’t need to rely on winning this game to have a perfect ending.”

It was true on closer inspection. As a manager, he had won all the championship titles there were to be won. What could possibly be better than this to complete a successful coaching career? As for getting entangled in a game, perhaps Twain would really throw the last game? Did he and Mourinho not appreciate each other’s talent?

The media thought so and it was directly reflected in their programs and articles.

As a result, in the football program that night, there were experts who predicted that Manchester United would win big in tomorrow’s game and the defending champion title definitely belonged to them.

At the end of the show, they even showed footage of Twain talking about his life after retirement. “I’ll take a break for a while. I will take a nice long trip with my wife and bring our daughter along. And then… I haven’t figured it out yet. Ha-ha!”

Twain’s laughter on the television was a little insincere. The show host, who was optimistic that Manchester United would be able to defend their title, also laughed. He thought that Tony Twain really looked harmless and Mourinho’s league title was definitely his to take.

The game had not started yet. How could a man, already thinking about life after his retirement, withstand and compete against a man who must win the game or else end up with a ruined career?

Chapter 1029 - There Is Only One Tony Twain

There was no need to say more than was necessary about every situation before the last game because it was no different from what happened before in those important games in history. The only difference was that most of the fans who came to watch the game today were not wearing any Forest jerseys with the names and numbers of certain players. Instead, they wore commemorative T-shirts in either red or white colors.

The commemorative T-shirts were already on display at Nottingham Forest’s souvenir shop long before Twain held a press conference to announce that he was definitely retiring at the end of the season. They came in either red or white. The front of the t-shirt looked like the Nottingham Forest jersey, while the back had two numbers. The number “12” on top represented the 12 years Twain had coached the Forest team, and the “12” on the bottom represented the 12 championship titles that Twain had led the Forest team to win. Above these two sets of “12” was Tony Twain’s name.

Almost every fan passing by in front of the camera would turn their backs to the camera to show the two sets of “12” and Tony Twain’s name, and then give a thumbs-up.

As a reporter, Pierce Brosnan wore such a t-shirt to the live coverage of the game.

Twain’s team was doing warm-up inside as the fans lined up outside the stadium.

Both teams carried out the warm-up a little early today because the final round of the league tournament had to start at the same time, and the Forest Football Club prepared a small farewell ceremony for Twain to be held before the kickoff. So, they could only arrange for the warm-up time to be earlier.

The fans who first entered the stadium were busy looking for Twain’s figure below in the stands, but they did not get what they wanted. Twain was stopped by Evan Doughty at the door of the locker room and had not come out yet.

“Tony, you’ve only got 15 minutes in the locker room,” Evan reminded Twain, for fear that once he got caught up with his speech, he would forget the time. “We have to kick off at the allotted time or we’ll be penalized. You know this game is very time-sensitive…”

Twain waved his hands impatiently. How could Evan be so garrulous today? “I know, isn’t it just a fight for the league title? It’s almost like our home team is in a supporting role.”

Evan chuckled. In the eyes of many people, the Forest team would indeed play a supporting role today. Manchester United was equally in a supporting role. The real protagonist was this man in front of him.

When he faintly heard the live broadcast outside reminding that the warm-up time was nearing the end, Evan took his leave of Twain and turned to walk away.

Twain, on the other hand, returned to the locker room to wait for the players to come back so he could say a few final words. Evan was worried that 15 minutes were not enough for him to speak. However, Twain was no longer the old Twain of more than a decade ago who liked to talk volubly and make impassioned speeches. He had nothing to say. 15 minutes were more than enough for him.

※※※

As the two teams warming up outside began to exit from the field, the big screen on the Crimson Stadium removed the emblems of the two teams and the time display and faded to black.

There were not many empty seats in the stands by this time. The fans outside the square also dwindled as the number of spectators increased. Some of the people without tickets had gone to nearby pubs early, waiting to watch the live broadcast on television.

After the last of the Forest players left the pitch and entered the tunnel, the stands were full, and few fans could be seen at the entrances. The big screen, which had been black since the beginning, gave a flash and then a word appeared on the dark background.

“He.”

Then the single white word faded away and blended into the background.

The image flashed again and slowly brightened. Tony Twain’s silhouette appeared on the screen.

Loud cheers suddenly broke out in the stands.

The image faded out again and was followed by one of Tony Twain and Evan Doughty. The two of them shook hands in the middle of the screen and an open document was placed on the table below. It was a photograph of Twain’s first renewal of his contract with the club.

After the image faded out, a sentence appeared on the black background:

“This was the best contract in the club’s history.”

The remark drew cheers and applause at the scene.

As the fans looked up at the two big screens at both ends of the stadium, the staff members were carrying clean-up trophies to the pitch, one glittering trophy after another. The different-shaped trophies were carefully lifted out and placed on the turf in the center circle.

※※※

In the locker room, Twain was telling his players the mission of the game.

“Did I lie to you about what I said yesterday?” Twain asked.

The players sitting around him shook their heads one by one.

Seeing the answer, Twain laughed and said, “Very good. Listen, guys. This game is just a regular league game for us. However, our opponents are under a lot of pressure. It is a game that they can’t afford to lose. Should we give them a break and throw the game? Absolutely not! I’m not going to talk nonsense. You’re all professional players. I just hope you can look up at the words on the wall when you’re making your appearances.”

Having said this, Twain repeated the tactical arrangements that were laid down last night. He wanted to make sure every player on the pitch knew what he was going to do.

“There’s nothing new about our tactics, and our old rivals should have studied them. But whether they have any way of curbing them after studying them thoroughly is another matter…”

Twain spread his hands and shrugged.

※※※

The footage of Twain leading the team to win every championship was being played on the big screen.

From the first EFL Cup to the last UEFA Champions League title, each trophy had a short segment.

“…Even if we have to climb! We’re going to climb up too!” A green field appeared on the screen and the Forest players were sitting around on the ground with Twain crouching in the middle. On closer inspection, many of the players were unfamiliar-looking. Many people almost forgot their names now, and Twain in the frame was very young-looking. This was the picture before the penalty shootout of the 2004 EFL Cup final. At the time, a number of players left the team after the Forest team’s promotion to the Premier League. “Losing at the last step is no different from losing at the first step. We will all be considered losers! We have to win! We must win!” Twain in the picture roared with his fists clenched. His appearance inspired not only the Forest players in the picture but also the live spectators 15 years later.

Cheers and applause rang out for a long time.

However, the scenes that thrilled them even more were still coming.

The screen gave a flash. The flag of the UEFA Champions League fluttered in the wind at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. The next second, Albertini used a banana shot to break AC Milan’s goal. The Forest fans in the stands cheered the goal as if they were there. Some of them even shouted Albertini’s name, “Demi! Demi!”

There was one regret in this game. As Twain did not want it to be special, he always claimed it was just a regular league game. Therefore, he did not send tickets to old friends before the game, as he had done in the final games before. It was not known if those people would come…

In the stands, a man nudged his friend with his elbow and said, “Hey, they’re calling you, Demi.”

※※※

“…Nottingham Forest’s tactics are nothing out of the ordinary. George Wood and Chen Jian must be their midfield hub. You need to put a tight grip on them. Our midfield and backfield should boldly press forward and ferociously intercept in the midfield. We cannot give them too much space and time to take the ball. As long as we can force them to be flustered, our winning rate will increase dramatically.”

In the Manchester United locker room, Mourinho was analyzing the Forest team’s tactics and setting out their own.

Unlike the joyous atmosphere outside, the mood in the away team’s locker room was so heavy that it could almost be cut with a knife. Everyone was listening quietly to the manager for fear of missing a word.

Everyone was like this as the game was very important for Manchester United. They had failed and were defeated in both the Champions League and FA Cup this season. They could only compete for glory in the league tournament. They must not lose in this last game. Otherwise, they would really end up with nothing this season.

They did not know if they should say they were lucky or not.

The opponent of the last round of the league tournament was Nottingham Forest, definitely not a weak team. However, they had almost completed their goal of the season ahead of schedule and one could expect them to be a little lax.

However, it was Tony Twain’s farewell performance… Could his team allow a defeat to spoil the mood?

Mourinho did not know what was on his players’ minds. He just repeated the tactics to be used in today’s game over and over again, while at the same time reducing the pressure on the players to have them stop thinking so much, keep their sense of normality and treat the game as a regular league game.

To be honest, Mourinho himself did not believe it when he said that it was going to be an ordinary league game. There was another reason for it, if not for the issue of which team the league title would belong to.

It was Tony Twain’s last game. Although he was in the locker room, he could guess what was going on outside. In a moment, there would be a ceremony specially prepared for Twain. His players had already received a request from the Forest Club to join in and line up at the exit to welcome Twain as he made his appearance.

What a big procession! To think that Ferguson’s last game before his retirement did not even have such a welcome formation…

His team agreed to the request, but he would not be in line to applaud and welcome Twain as he made his appearance. That he should pay homage to Twain? Over his dead body!

※※※

As both teams completed their pre-match preparations and walked out of the locker rooms early, the big screen above the stands was still playing a documentary about Twain.

This time it was the 2006 Champions League final. In that game, Nottingham Forest, which was one player short in the opening 18 minutes, took a one-goal lead until the 76th minute. Eventually, Barcelona scored two goals in a row and the team lost the championship trophy due to a visibly marked decline in fitness. That game was a heavy blow for Twain and his young Forest team.

This time, the content that appeared on the big screen had never appeared on any public media before.

It was a video of Twain’s terrible rage in the locker room after the game.

“…The imprinted shame of a loser? A sh*tty silver medal?!” If a piece of content was ed on the public media, there would be censorship of any foul language and all one could hear was the constant beeps. However, the version that was played in the Crimson Stadium was unadulterated. There was absolutely no blocking of words or processing. It was the real Twain.

“There’s only one champion. What is the silver medal for? The junk shop? To go out with a smile and act as a prop for the winner? To make their championship title look more resplendent? To suck up to them?! I won’t go! Isn’t Barcelona great? Let them have it!”

Then, as soon as the image changed, Twain held out his arm and put up three fingers in front of many reporters. “This is the third Champions League trophy in the history of Nottingham Forest, thank you!”

In the next second, Twain took the stage with a grim face to collect the silver medal. Then he walked down and went straight to the entrance of the tunnel, where he hung the silver medal on the neck of a young ball boy. Having done all this, he walked into the tunnel and disappeared before the eyes of the public, not caring about how it looked to all the people present.

Seeing him do so, the fans at the Crimson Stadium not only did not feel that their manager was rude and ungracious, but broke out with more cheers. Some people even clapped and stamped their feet to cheer on Twain’s performance.

They liked such a rampant and untamed Tony Twain. Perhaps a different man would act in a more refined manner, but Twain suited the public perfectly. Nottingham was full of people with personalities that despised authority. They were all proud, from Robin Hood to Brian Clough. Tony Twain was no exception. No one would be surprised by Twain’s conduct. Such a manager was the best in their opinion.

How could he have won 12 championship trophies in his 12 years of coaching career without this imposing manner of despising every authority in the world?

Did anyone think he was arrogant? He must be a loser!

※※※

Amid the cheers, the players from both sides came out. Instead of going to the field directly, they lined up on both sides of the tunnel, waiting for the main protagonist to appear.

The big screen in the stands faded to black again, and a sentence appeared slowly on it:

“Let’s welcome…”

The fans who saw the remark shouted in unison, “His Majesty the King!!!”

Amidst the roars of “His Majesty the King”, Twain came out of the tunnel.

He saw the players from both teams line up waiting for him, as well as the club chairman, Evan Doughty, who was standing behind the championship trophies in the center circle. Of course, he also saw the signs and posters hanging in the Robin Hood Grandstand.

He raised his hands and waved to everyone. He walked among the applause of the players on both sides and went all the way to the trophies in the center circle before stopping.

The black screen and words on the big screen were gone, replaced by an image of Tony Twain’s “coronation” upon his return to the City Ground Stadium after successfully defending the Champions League title. In the picture, he was dressed in a red-and-white royal cloak, holding his crown high and facing the glittering stadium grandstand, dotted with twinkling lights that came from the cameras’ flashes.

Evan Doughty handed the wireless microphone to Twain, pulled him to stand behind the trophies, and then retreated.

The reporters flocked to the front of the trophies and formed three rows. The first row of people sprawled on the ground and held the cameras in their arms. The second row of people knelt on one knee, holding the cameras. The third row of people stood behind the first two rows and was busy with the tripods.

By the time they finished what they were doing, there was a series of sounds of shutters being pressed.

For the reporters, especially those who were lying down, with the 12 trophies of varying sizes placed in front of Twain, it was a real imposing sense.

After he waited until the reporters finished taking photographs, Twain held up the microphone. When they saw his action, everyone in the stadium gradually quieted down without any reminder. The thunderous cheers, which came wave after wave earlier, gradually faded, and eventually completely disappeared. Everyone was waiting to hear what Twain had to say.

Twain initially thought that he had seen countless big spectacles and would be unaffected by today’s scene. However, when he was just getting ready to speak, he found that he was a little choked with emotion.

He quickly shut his mouth. He did not want the 60,000 spectators to hear his voice shaking. That would be mortifying.

Still, he did not escape. The high-tech televised broadcast immediately cut a close-up to Twain’s face. His teary eyes were exposed to everyone.

Seeing him look like this, shouts erupted in the stands: “Stay, Your Majesty!”

Listening to the shouts, Twain just waved his hands and motioned for them to calm down. As the scene became quiet again, he subdued his emotions and said into the microphone, “Thank you…”

Having uttered these two words, he could not control the emotions in his voice.

Twain only realized at this time how much he hated to have to leave everything behind. He could not even say ‘goodbye’.

As he struggled to speak, no one made any other sound. They were waiting quietly.

Twain bowed his head and was silent for a moment. He finally got his emotions under control again.

He cleared his throat and said, “Thank you all, thank you.”

In response, countless arms waved at him in the stands.

The live broadcast began to play the song that was originally used to send off Albertini. It was Sarah Brightman and Andre Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye.”

When the song played, a man in the stands also wiped the corners of his eyes. He remembered the past from many years ago.

“It’s time to say goodbye, Tony…” He sighed.

“I am proud and honored that I have coached this team for 12 years. I am proud and honored that I have only coached a football club team at Nottingham Forest in my life. It was not I who shaped Nottingham Forest. It was you who shaped me,” Twain reached his hands out to the fans in the stands and the players who were standing on the sidelines.

Applause rang out.

“Today is my last game and I hope you enjoy…” With this, he took a pause.

Everyone thought he was going to say, “…the game.”

However, Twain turned his head to the other side and found Mourinho behind the crowd. His old rival was expressionless.

“…I hope you enjoy Nottingham Forest’s victory to the fullest.”

Twain looked at Mourinho and laughed.

As soon as that came out, the expression on Mourinho’s face did change, and he no longer looked as calm as he did just now.

Having messed with an old rival, Twain was in a good mood. The melancholy of parting no longer oppressed him.

Twain raised his hands again and waved them around.

“90 minutes later, let’s say farewell again! Goodbye, guys!”

Having said this, Twain put down his microphone and continued to stand in the center circle to wave. Another round of cheers erupted in the stands. The Forest players stood at the side and watched as their boss reveled in the cheers alone. They were also applauding. Gareth Bale even whistled. They were now full of motivation and fighting spirit. They were eager for the game to start right away so they could rush up to tear Manchester United to pieces.

Whom did the league title belong to?

What does it have to do with us? We just want to give a victory to the greatest manager in Nottingham Forest’s history as a send-off!

You are the embodiment of victory, the godfather of champions. In this last game, only a victory is fit for you, boss.

※※※

Twain had already retreated from the field. The staff members moved the 12 championship trophies back to the honors room and the reporters returned to their respective posts. The players from both sides made their appearances again, and the cheers in the stands gradually stopped.

A line of words appeared on the two big screens:

There is only one Tony Twain!

Chapter 1030 - Old Antique

Mourinho definitely did not underestimate Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain, so he was not surprised when Nottingham Forest launched an aggressive attack on his own home court.

However, despite this, the difficulty of the game still gave him a headache.

Nottingham Forest was bent on taking down Manchester United on their own home court and planned on using the victory to bid farewell to their head coach. One could tell from their expressions during the game that they wanted to fight for the league championship.

Manchester United naturally did not want to give up the victory of this match so easily. If they were to lose to Nottingham Forest, it would basically mean that they threw away the league championship. Who would want to fall right in front of the finishing line?

The game was in a deadlock from the start. The competition from both sides of the midfield was super intense. In this match, George Wood and Chen Jian were initially supposed to lead the offense, but Manchester United’s heavy pressure forced them to stay in defense. Likewise, as Wood and Chen Jian were defending the center path, Manchester United’s offense was unable to get in and unable to threaten the goalmouth of Nottingham Forest.

The midfielders were unable to organize an effective attack but Nottingham Forest was not panicking. They had other ways, like long passes.

Wood and Chen Jian pulled their positions to the back, becoming full-backs and basically camping at the defensive line instead of running forward to attack. While organizing an attack and holding the ball, they would simply see who had a chance ahead before sending a long pass over. Mitchell was 2.1 meters tall and as conspicuous as a lighthouse at the front, making a long pass over then allowing him to further pass the ball or hold it. However, other than his outstanding height, he also had impressive dribbling techniques and was able to control the ball under his feet without much issue.

Balotelli, on the other hand, was running near Mitchell, looking for a chance to shoot the ball into the goal.

By comparison, Manchester United was a notch lower in terms of their offense without Rooney, and long passes were impossible even if they wanted to do them. Their striker, in front of Nottingham Forest’s defensive midfielders, looked overly thin and weak…

To deal with Manchester United, Twain used two weeks to allow his team to become more solid. Their style of play was much more stable and so were their in-between actions. However, from the first half of the competition, the priorities of both teams were not on attacking but instead on stopping the opposing offense with small actions that would not be seen by the referee.

This was the last game where Twain would be the head coach, but the first half was not exciting at all. The high-quality offense from both sides was limiting. However, the fans on the audience stands were still enjoying the game and thought it was worth watching. The Manchester United fans were concerned about whether their team would be able to obtain the championship. So they did not really care about what the scene was like; they were not like Real Madrid or Barcelona fans who prioritized the outlooks of the game over the results. Nottingham Forest fans were likewise not the kind of group who focused on a beautiful game. They would be happy as long as the team won.

Only a part of the neutral fans would think this global live-streamed match was a little uninteresting, but the intense collisions were still exciting. It was a football match so it was not like there would be a goal, an exciting shot, or an incredible save every minute. However, a true fan would not let go of any small detail that occurred during the game.

And there were plenty of details in this game…

When Balotelli made a high free-kick, the scene was not showing Balotelli. Instead, they cut over to Twain, who was in the coach seat. Twain, in the shot, was violently shaking his head, regret plain on his face. Then the camera panned to Mourinho. The Portuguese was expressionless; it was almost as if he was not worried that his team would fail in its defense at all.

Next up, George Wood did a tackle on Manchester United’s midfielder, Adrien. As a result, Adrien, who was three years younger than Wood, was defeated and lost his possession of the ball in front of Manchester United’s penalty area. Upon seeing this scene, Mourinho’s face changed immediately and he repeatedly complained about to his assistant, who was beside him.

Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, took the opportunity to launch an attack. That was their most threatening attack in the first half. Wood passed the ball to Chen Jian, who was putting up a stance for a long shot but instead held the ball and passed it to the middle road as he saw Gareth Bale who was running forward. Mitchell leaned on Manchester United center-back Evans to take control of the ball as Balotelli ran forward past him, attracting the attention of Manchester United’s full-backs. Just when everyone thought that Mitchell was going to pass to Balotelli, who was running forward, Mitchell suddenly used his heel and kicked the ball behind him. Gareth Bale has already run into the penalty area, where he was neither offside nor guarded.

Bale did not hesitate when such a great opportunity was presented to him and made his shot immediately.

The ball went straight into the corner, but luckily, Manchester United’s goalkeeper, Ruffy, was focused as he swiftly dived and hit the ball out of the goal.

The attack brought a huge cheer and applause from the stands; it was counted as one of the rare highlights of the first half. Twain did not feel regret at seeing the ball miss, but Mourinho immediately stood up from his seat. In the face of Nottingham Forest’s smooth flow of offense, he could not sit still.

Actually, Manchester United, only needed a draw against Nottingham Forest to win the championship. However, Mourinho had never considered this possibility in his mind. He knew that Twain’s capabilities were limitless, so if his plan was simply placed on the level of “drawing to gain victory” the final result might be a loss. If he were determined to win, the team would more likely obtain their desired result.

Then Manchester United made an adjustment. Nottingham Forest was too confident, while Manchester United was hiding at the back. Mourinho wanted the team to press forward, using one or two high-quality attacks to lower Nottingham Forest’s spirit.

10 minutes after the adjustment, the whistle ending the first half was blown.

※※※

“0:0! Mourinho should be satisfied with the scoreline. His team just needs to secure a draw in the last league match to win the league championship with a goal advantage,” The narrator John Mortensen described it like this, but in Mourinho definitely did not think it this way.

In the dressing room, Mourinho was relentless in his criticism of his team’s performance in the first half.

“Do you know what kind of game this is? This is a match to determine if we’re about to turn into heroes or laughing stock!”

Mourinho was flaring up at the players, partly because he thought of the competition between him and Twain. His players were not as competitive as Twain’s and it was embarrassing for him.

In contrast, Twain praised his team’s performance in the first half.

Generally speaking, Nottingham Forest was pulling ahead In the first half although there were not many quality offenses. The sturdy play that Twain set up for his team were making Manchester United very uncomfortable.

Twain did not say much other than the praise he was doling out, as if this were a usual league game. These people were professional football players who had played countless league games. They had been training for this since they were young, so they were supposed to be able to handle this although their opponents were a little stronger and the stakes of the game were greater. It was only a pity that he was unable to continue leading them.

He left the rest of the time to the players. Pushing open the doors, he went out.

Twain had a lot to say, but he could not. He was afraid of disrupting the players’ emotions and mood; he would not know how to feel if the players lost the match because of him.

Twain came to the tunnel alone. The workers there saw him and he saw them as well. He waved at them, signaling that nothing important was happening and that they should continue doing what they were doing. He had only wanted to take a breather.

Twain had a reputation in this field; no one would dare to approach him without his encouragement.

Hence, from inside the chaotic football field, he was able to gain a period of silence.

At this time, Twain suddenly wanted to smoke. He had not smoked since his heart attack, and it had been exactly ten years since he quit smoking. Strictly speaking, he should never smoke or even think about doing it but he suddenly felt like having just one last cigarette today. He wanted to light up a smoke.

He patted his pocket—of course, it was empty.

Twain chewed his lip.

Although he would return to the stadium in the future, it would be impossible for him to return as a head coach. Upon leaving, would he still have feelings for this position? Twain discovered that he did not have any. Maybe it was because the feelings he had for this stadium were too shallow due to the short history. If it were the stadium in the city, perhaps he would feel otherwise. Back when the city stadium was about to be demolished, he even specifically drove back to see it one last time, going so far as to meet Kenny Burns during the sunset and chat with him for a while.

Now in this modern and beautiful stadium, there was no way he could develop similar feelings.

He remembered the first time he came there. He always gave “the smell of history” a snort of contempt. He had thought it was a term for outdated things, hence he looked down on the old infrastructure and artifacts in the club. Little did he know that one day, he would be the one reminiscing about those “outdated antiques”.

It must be because he had become as old as those old antiques.

Since the outdated and backward were about to leave the stage, retiring during this time would not count as humiliating, right?

※※※

By the time Twain returned to the changing room, the players were already preparing to leave for the game under assistant Kerslake’s instructions. Twain was waiting by the entrance of the changing room as he tapped their shoulders, sending them into the field.

There was not much difference between the first and second halves. Although Mourinho wanted his team to strengthen their offense, Nottingham Forest’s defense was still secure as ever. However, Nottingham Forest still continued to use the long passes just like in the first half to harass the defense of Manchester United, not allowing them to press forward as easily.

As time went on, Manchester United’s attack began to wane because they felt that even if they got a draw in the end, the league championship would still be theirs.

A draw was in fact what Manchester United wanted as a result— what was a victory over Nottingham Forest against the championship? However, on the side of Mourinho, it was an outcome that he could not accept. Even dismissing how dangerous this mindset of aiming a draw was, it was a personal feud. Mourinho would definitely not allow his team to draw against Nottingham Forest.

Twain was retiring after directing this game. If it ended in a draw, wouldn’t that mean that he had never been able to beat Twain?

That was not going to happen!

Mourinho rose from the manager’s seat as he shouted over the cheers of the Nottingham Forest fans. He wanted his team to strengthen offense, sending both midfielders in the attack.

Mourinho was not happy with the prospect of a draw and the Nottingham Forest players were unhappy with the scoreless tie.

Mitchell was in a good unguarded position but Balotelli did not see this. Instead, the latter chose to shoot the ball himself at the goalmouth and missed. Mitchell could not stand Balotelli’s actions as he complained loudly, “What are you doing? My position is far better, can’t you see?”

Balotelli ignored him. He only shook his head and regretted that he had missed an opportunity.

His attitude has upset Mitchell. Balotelli’s relationships with other people within the team had always been average. As he wanted to walk forward and argue with Balotelli, Wood pulled him back.

“That bastard! Doesn’t he know that we need to pull ahead and score to win?” Mitchell complained to Wood.

“You don’t have to be the one to bring up the issue,” Wood pointed at the side of the field. Mitchell gave a look and fell quiet.

They all saw the head coach rise from his seat and walk to the side of the field.

In the next second, they heard Twain scream.

“Mario! What are you doing?! You should pass the ball!” His voice could still be heard even in such a noisy environment. It really made people suspect he had a loudspeaker within his body. “Pass, pass, pass! Pass the ball to your teammates who are in better positions! You are no longer a child, you don’t need me to teach you this kind of stuff!”

In fact, he roared loudly the players were not able to hear clearly what he was saying, but the words expressed an attitude–their boss was very angry!

Balotelli was not well-liked within the team. He did not give face even to George Wood but he was respectful to Twain. Seeing how Twain was angry, he immediately knew it was because he did not pass but instead chose to shoot.

Therefore, he waved his hand towards Twain, indicating that he would definitely do better next time…

Only after this did Twain return to his coaching seat and sat down.

This little detail delighted the narrator, Mortensen.

“Tony is still the king here, though he didn’t mean to show it. But if the always unruly Balotelli looked tame under his instruction, no one would suspect otherwise.”

Balotelli, who had just been reprimanded by Twain, became more humble. Once he had other chances, he always passed the ball and did not dare to play the game on his own.

※※※

There was really nothing much to talk about in this last match. Nevertheless, for the Manchester United fans, it was intense and unnerving.

As the second half of the game time faded, there were more and more exciting scenes. Perhaps due to the mood of the two coaches, the two teams started to become more competitive.

Wonderful shots began to appear, and of course, more wonderful saves also happened from time to time. It must have been a pleasure for the neutral fans.

However, despite the excitement, the score was still 0:0. No one was able to score a goal.

During that time, Nottingham Forest hit the post once, while Manchester United hit the crossbar once. Both teams seemed to have bad luck.

The match time passed quickly after the exciting offenses back and forth between the two teams.

It looked like this match was about to end with a 0:0 score.

If that were the case, the Manchester United people would be thrilled, because it would mean they had successfully secured the championship. Only Mourinho would be unsatisfied because he would no longer have the chance to win over Tony Twain…

Chapter 1031 - This Is Fate

Mourinho was not willing to settle for a tied game. When the game still had 15 minutes left before going into injury stoppage time, he brought on attacking players and continued to strengthen the offensive, hoping to blast open the Forest goal and end the record that embarrassed him before the end of Twain’s last game.

Amid his bellowing, the Manchester United players also realized that they must win the game – and that in the event of a last-minute sneak attack by the Forest team, the entire season’s effort would be wasted.

The news came that Arsenal was already 2:0 ahead of their opponent in another stadium. If nothing else happened, Arsenal would definitely win.

Manchester United could not place their hopes on others and could only rely on themselves to score a goal to ensure that their fate was still in their own hands…

Seeing Manchester United step up on the offensive, Twain rose from his seat. He went to the sidelines to whistle and make hand gestures. Following this, Nottingham Forest tightened their defensive line and locked down on their defense.

It was actually a defensive counterattack.

The harder Manchester United attacked, the more chances the Forest team would have. Twain trained the team and taught them to remain patient in the face of the opponents getting the upper hand. As a rule, nothing was more important than patience.

As a result, even if Manchester United stepped up their attack, the Forest team’s defense showed no signs of panic, as if they had been long prepared for their opponent’s move.

In that time, Manchester United had obtained no less than five times to shoot but did not actually pose a threat to the Forest team’s goal due to the joint efforts of the team. The rear defensive line led by George Wood cut across in front of the Manchester United players, leaving them in despair.

Even though Manchester United dominated the game, the Forest team’s supporters were not worried that their team would concede the goal. Nevertheless, some people felt the chances of a draw between the two sides were very high…

However, John Motson did not see it that way.

“I know Tony. I’ve been doing commentary on the Forest games for more than a decade. This scene in front of us really makes people think of …”

What would people be thinking of with the Forest team under siege from Manchester United?

“Nottingham Forest is like a spring. The stronger the external force they are under, the tighter their compression is, and the opponents should be wary of being stung by the rebound…”

Mourinho clearly knew it. He and Twain have been rivals for more than a decade. So how could he not read the signs?

He lifted his wrist to look at his watch. It was less than five minutes until the injury stoppage time and the score was still 0:0. Now he had to make a choice.

Should he continue to attack and try to score a goal before the end of the game to win the game and defy his destiny? Or should he stop here, stabilize the defense, hold on to the draw and win the league tournament?

Mourinho did not think about it for long. As the Manchester United manager, he quickly made the right choice. The interests of the team were more important than personal grievances. What could be more important than to take down the league title?

At this point, Mourinho walked toward the sidelines and got ready to deliver his latest instructions.

A step ahead of him, Twain had already gone to the sidelines and shouted toward the pitch, “Geo—rge—!”

Wood heard Twain’s shout in the noisy environment. Although the latter was already 50 years old, the boss’ hoarse voice had a special frequency and was always able to penetrate through the din to transmit its message to Wood’s ears.

Seeing that Wood had turned his head to look over, Twain did not waste his breath but just gave a wave of his hand while he said, “Attack, guys!!”

Seeing his hand gesture, Wood had not given any indication of following it yet, while Bale was already excited. In the second half, his side was closer to the technical area, so he could clearly hear Twain’s words. He simply imitated the boss’s gesture and waved his hand forward as he yelled, “Attack, guys!”

The Manchester United team was also attacking at this time.

The scene where Wood and Chen Jian both almost rushed toward Adrien at the same time was a rare sight. Before, it was always one player from the Forest team’s defense who would rush up to intercept the ball while the other player guarded on the side, waiting for the opportunity to exploit any gaps.

Adrien was a little flustered with the Forest team’s sudden move. After he flicked the ball to the left to avoid Chen Jian’s right leg, he knocked into Wood. In a panic, he lost the ball under his feet.

When Wood saw Adrien about to collide with him, he moved sideways to cushion the impact and turned around to separate Adrien from the ball. In this way, he intercepted the other player’s ball.

Wood, who had intercepted the ball, then tapped the ball to Chen Jian behind him with his heel. The ball just happened to bypass underneath Adrien’s feet. Adrien looked at the football but could do nothing.

After Chen Jian got the ball, he did not dribble it himself but directly sent a long pass to the front to give the ball to Mitchell. By this time, Manchester United had just completed an attack and Mourinho’s latest instructions had not been transmitted yet. The players did not know they should have retreated. Consequently, the Manchester United players reacted slightly slower in defense.

After Mitchell stopped the football, he turned around and started to dribble the ball forward. His pace was wide, and his footwork was excellent. With a height of more than two meters, he still managed to control the ball with ease. Once he took large strides, the Manchester United defender, Evans, could barely keep up with him.

Seeing this, Mourinho changed his mind at the last minute. Instead of shouting “pay attention to the defense” on the sidelines, he shouted, “Foul!”

Before they could enter the penalty area, it was the wisest choice to foul as soon as possible to stop the Forest team’s attack. It did not matter even if they were penalized with a red card. Anyway, it was only a few minutes away from the end of the game. They would just have to grit their teeth and hang on.

Evans appeared to have heard Mourinho’s roar on the sidelines. He reached his hand to grab Mitchell and shovel him under his feet. He succeeded in disrupting Mitchell’s breakthrough but failed to keep the ball under his feet. He let it roll in the other direction.

Balotelli, who plugged in from the back, managed to receive the ball that Evans shoveled over. Manchester United’s other center back, Cathcart, did not expect Evans’ tackled ball to fall at Balotelli’s feet. Before he was ready to intercept Mitchell in front but now he had to hurry to change direction and pounce toward the Italian.

When Balotelli saw Cathcart still unable to come up at that moment, he dribbled a few steps forward. He ran near the top of the arc of the penalty area and suddenly lifted his leg for a long shot!

The Manchester United goalkeeper, Ruffier, had long anticipated Balotelli would make such a move. He rose high into the air and punched the ball out with both fists.

The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands let out a huge sigh. It was a shame that the attack did not result in a goal this time.

Many people clutched their heads in their hands, lamenting.

However, in the next second, the clutching hands reached out and pointed back to the sky.

What did they see?

In full view of everyone, Nottingham Forest’s number 13 player, wearing a gold armband, appeared in front of the football’s drop point like a divine warrior from heaven and then lifted his right leg to meet the football.

“George WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—”

Motson stood up from his seat. He raised his voice and shouted in a way that did not belong to the style of an English commentator.

He could not predict what was going to happen. However, when he saw Wood taking the stance of lifting his leg to meet the football, he was suddenly fired up and could not hold back.

He just wanted to roar.

Once the football descended, Wood did not dilly dally to adjust the ball, but directly volleyed the football with one shot!

Ruffier had just landed on the ground at this very moment and was struggling to get up to get ready to pounce on the ball again.

The football bypassed the left-back, Fábio, who rushed over to defend. The strong wind painfully brushed past the Brazilian’s ear and caused his mouth to tighten.

Ruffier used all his might to get up and pounce but he did not have enough momentum. The height of his jump was limited. The football flew over him and there was no surprise on this side…

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”

The football hit the net hard, swinging it. Countless Forest fans in the stands raised their arms in triumph.

Those arms waved as if the wind had blown through Sherwood Forest, creating a huge noise.

“Boom—!”

“George Wood! George Wood scores a goal at the 88th minute! Nottingham Forest leads by 1:0! A 1:0 lead! Manchester United’s title dream is in jeopardy… No, it’s almost shattered!”

“It’s a powerful strike! George Wood scored his personal 11th goal of the season!”

“Ah-ha! It is an incredible scene. Mourinho once again loses to Tony Twain. Is this fate? Will anyone still say it’s not?”

The commentators gave their comments on the goal in succession.

After giving Wood a close-up shot for more than ten seconds, the television cameras cut to the sidelines and focused on the expressions of the two managers.

Mourinho angrily threw away the notebook in his hand. He would always write and scribble in it whenever he was directing the games. This notebook was useless now and he had thrown it to the sidelines in his frustration.

Next to him, Tony Twain held his arms high and rushed out of the technical area to hug the people around him. People could see that he was very excited. There was nothing more perfect than to conclude his coaching career with a victory.

“Congratulations to Tony Twain and congratulations on his victory in his last game.” In the eyes of the commentators, Mourinho’s side had already lost the game. If Mourinho could hear these commentators, perhaps he would not be satisfied with throwing a single notebook. He must have felt that he had received a great insult – the game was not over yet and a group of scumbags could not wait to announce his failure. How could he not be angry?

However, no matter how furious he was now, he could only endure the cheers and celebration of his opponents. Accordingly, his face looked ashen from choking back the anger.

On the other side, the Nottingham Forest people were wildly celebrating.

George Wood broke free of his teammates’ hugs. He ran all the way and kept waving his hands all along, signaling to the people in front of him to quickly get out of the way.

Then he crashed headlong into Twain’s arms.

He rushed so quickly and violently that when he crashed into Twain, the latter grimaced in pain.

“George, you really…”

He felt the force of Wood’s arms holding him, gripping him so that he could not really speak.

However, he did not tell Wood to let up. He just grinned and bore it. To other people, it looked like he was laughing.

Twain did not know how long Wood held him. When he finally let go, Twain breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he did not complain. He just patted Wood on the back.

Wood’s action inspired the other players. After Wood and Twain finished embracing, the next people who rushed up to hug the boss were Gareth Bale, followed by Joe Mattock, Aaron Mitchell, Mario Balotelli… There was even a line at the back. It looked like everyone was going to come up and hug Twain. If that went on, by the time Manchester United could kick off again, the game would already be in injury stoppage time.

The referee had to intervene.

“Gentlemen, I know how you are feeling right now, but the game has to go on.” The referee also felt a little awkward. He could not speak too harshly at the Forest team’s home ground. He could only tactfully advise the players to go back to their positions.

However, his influence here was far from enough.

No one reacted to his words at all.

Twain certainly saw the referee in a bind at the back of the crowd. This was his last game, and he did not want any hiccups to happen. Therefore, he stopped the players who wanted to come up and hug him as he said, “Okay, guys, it will soon be dawn by the time we wait for you to finish.” Although he thought he was being funny, no one laughed.

Everyone just looked at him.

“Go back.” Twain did not say more. He waved his hands, turned around to walk back to the technical area and sat down right away.

Seeing him like this, the players knew they had to get back on the pitch and continue playing.

When they had all reluctantly returned to the field, Twain stood up again and roared toward the field, “Don’t let yourself slack off! If you let the opponent equalize the game at the last minute, I will make you pay!!!”

He could see that many people were in no mood to continue fighting at all, so he yelled out again to motivate them.

In fact, he worried too much.

In the final minutes, Manchester United was bent on fighting back, but their attack was undisciplined and carried out individually. Mourinho was also at his wits’ end about it. He could only shrug his shoulders at the sidelines. In the end, he simply sat in the technical area and did not get up. He watched the pitch in silence.

Looking at the Manchester United players blindly shooting and running on the pitch, his heart suddenly sank with the feeling that the game was as good as lost.

Truly outrageous. He just couldn’t beat Tony Twain!

He clenched his fists tightly, totally unaware that his knuckles had turned white.

Soon he heard the referee whistle once, a second time in the next second, and followed by the third whistle right after that. The game was over.

Chapter 1032 - The Final Curtain

When the referee blew the whistle thrice, the Crimson Stadium boiled over. They gave a parting gift to Twain, one last victory, as they wanted.

Only Manchester United players and fans were left sad and dejected. They appeared particularly desolate in the happy atmosphere.

Twain, who had wanted to go shake Mourinho’s hand after the game to complete the ceremony, knew Mourinho was not a patient man. However, as soon as he got up, he was hugged by David Kerslake next to him. The assistant manager said nothing, just squeezed him.

A group of reporters swarmed up next to them and took endless frenzied shots.

When Twain broke free of Kerslake’s embrace after some effort, he turned his head to look for Mourinho and was surprised to find that the other man was still standing outside waiting for him!

Twain pushed aside the press and walked toward Mourinho with an extended hand.

“I thought you would have already left, Mr. Mourinho.”

Mourinho, who lost the title, did not look good and obviously was in a bad mood. He shook Twain’s hand and let go.

“I just don’t want you to write in your memoir that José Mourinho is a rude and ungracious man. I should go. I want to congratulate you on winning another game. I’m very glad you retire today.”

Having said that, Mourinho did not care about the reactions of onlookers, let alone the look on Twain’s face. He simply turned around and left the noisy pitch.

Twain was surrounded by reporters and watched Mourinho’s back as he left. He felt a mix of emotions for a moment. He was definitely not overjoyed by his victory over his old rival. On the contrary, he felt a great pity for Mourinho.

As the sky darkened, the flashes around him pulled Twain back to reality. He looked at the reporters around him, ignored them, and went straight to the pitch. In the middle of the pitch, his players were waiting for him.

In the stands, 60,000 fans were loudly chanting his name.

“The game is over. Nottingham Forest won and Manchester United lost its league title. However, none of these things matter. What’s important for us is that a very important and special person finally has to bid farewell…” John Motson, the commentator for the game, said emotionally.

He now recalled his first encounter with Twain. At the City Ground stadium, Twain was knocked to the ground by his own player after a dismal first half and then left the field. He became a big joke in the whole of English football world for that round of league tournament. Motson was responsible for the commentary in the game. At the time, he bowled over with laughter in the commentator’s box and was merciless with his ridicule.

He did not expect to be friends with Twain down the road, to be a fellow commentator alongside Twain for the England national games, or to witness the young man become one of the world’s most successful managers step by step and turn into the godfather of Nottingham Forest.

Amid the cheers of 60,000 people, Twain walked into the middle of the pitch and gathered his men.

“Boss, can you stay?” Gareth Bale asked with tears in his eyes.

Twain just smiled and shook his head.

“I don’t think your health is a problem at all, really. We’ll be able to pull a few more years together. We can leave together at that time. How about it?” Bale continued to implore, unwilling to give up.

Twain reached out his hand to touch Bale’s arm and said to him, “When I bade farewell to Demi and the others at the time, I also felt this way. But they still left. This is life. You always have to say goodbye. It’s no big deal. Besides, we’re not saying goodbye forever, are we?”

Bale bit his lip and retreated to the side without saying another word.

Balotelli looked at Twain, wanting to speak several times, but stopped. When Twain understood what was on his mind, he said to him, “Stay or leave, it will be fine either way, as long as it’s what you want. You’re a genius, Mario. But a genius is not fit for all situations. When I’m gone, you should go your own way.”

Patting Balotelli on the shoulder, Twain turned to Mitchell.

He looked up at Mitchell’s face. The kid seemed to be making a face at him like he wanted to cry and laugh simultaneously.

“Aaron. I still want to say you should step up your strength training. I hope you can be more comprehensive…” At this, he smiled and continued, “Why am I still talking about these things? Anyway, I’m not your manager next season. If you can’t break through the impenetrable line of those strong defenders, the person who worries will not be me, ha!”

Twain laughed, but Mitchell cried instead.

Twain ignored the snot and tears running down his face. He patted Mitchell on the shoulders. He turned around to look for the others.

He did not want his parting to look sad and mournful. He was already more than half a century old. Was it necessary to be like this?

Therefore, he lightheartedly talked to each player, said a few words, and moved on to the next person.

As he did so, the shouts from the stands continued. None of the 60,000 Nottingham Forest fans had left the stadium. The Manchester United fans had mostly dispersed from the stadium along with the Manchester United team.

The two large screens in the stadium’s stands were replaying Twain’s documentary shorts.

The live televised broadcast continued.

※※※

Shania was waiting in the dressing room to make her appearance. It would be the final time she would appear on the runway. Now her mind was not on her job, however. She held a cell phone in her hand and was playing the television footage. It was the scene from Twain’s farewell at the Crimson Stadium.

Thanks to the ever-changing technology, she could watch live television streaming here. In this way, she accompanied Uncle Tony on the last journey of his career.

The commentator’s voice on the phone was very clear.

“I don’t want to repeat Tony Twain’s achievements at this point. I just want to admire the scene – more than 60,000 fans staying in the stands, unwilling to leave. Twain is with his players. He’s speaking to them one by one… What does this make me think of? A general about to retire is inspecting his troops and officers for the last time. He shakes hands with them and thanks them for their support and work over the years…”

Shania was engrossed in looking at the screen of her cell phone. Twain was in the middle, surrounded by the players while the reporters surrounded them all. The fans were at the periphery, singing songs and shouting the names of the main character.

The hairstylist fiddled with her hair and made final preparations. There were other models in the dressing room, but Shania acted as though there was nobody else present and did not care how others viewed her.

The scene should be sad, but Shania was smiling, like the man in the middle of the screen.

“All right, my dear.” The hairstylist motioned for Shania to lift her head and look in the mirror to view the whole effect.

It was hard to believe that the woman in the mirror was almost thirty years old. Her long hair was trailing over her shoulders. She looked young, beautiful, vivacious and sassy with the tips of her hair curled.

Shania made a face and then turned off the live television streaming on her cell phone.

It was time for her to make her appearance.

※※※

Twain walked up to Wood. He was the last one.

Looking at his team captain, Twain did not know what to say. Wood was sensible and obedient. There were some things that were unnecessary to repeat, as he had said them before.

What else was there to say now?

Looking at Twain standing in front of him, Wood did not know what to say either. However, it was not like he had nothing to say. Rather, he had many things he wanted to convey and did not know how to begin at this moment.

Even at the moment of farewell, he was still so awkward with words.

It was the same when he was facing Demi, and it was like this with Twain now.

In the end, Twain said nothing. He just put his hand on Wood’s shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze.

After saying goodbye to the players, he said his farewell to the coaches, starting with the team doctors and going all the way to the assistant managers. He shook hands or hugged each, one by one.

In the end, he approached Freddy Eastwood and muttered in his ear, “Dunn will come to take over my position. He is a great manager. However, he needs a great assistant. You will stay and help him, right?”

Eastwood nodded in agreement.

Twain let go of the other man when he got this promise and turned to Kerslake.

“Whether you leave together with me or stay here, it’s your choice, David.”

Kerslake looked at the people around him and said to Twain, “I’ve changed my mind, Tony. Nottingham Forest is a good place. I’m going to stay here.”

Twain laughed and patted him on the shoulder as he said, “The right choice.”

Having done all this, he told the two assistant managers, “I’m going to the press conference in a while, so I won’t be going to the locker room. There will be many reporters blocking my way today. You don’t have to wait for me to come back. You can drive straight back to the hotel once the players pack up and dismiss them on the spot. As for me, I’m going home by myself.”

The two men nodded at the same time and did not object to Twain’s arrangement.

Seeing that both of them agreed, Twain walked outside with confidence. After two steps out, he looked back and the players and coaches were still standing there with no intention of leaving.

Twain waved to them and said, “Go back, don’t catch a cold.”

Then he walked forward again, and he did not look back this time.

Along the way, the shouts of the fans were deafening. The flags and banners with his portrait on them in the stands fluttered nonstop. On the stadium broadcast, Sarah Brightman and Andre Bocelli sang at the top of their voices “…Time to say goodbye…”

Twain then walked to the entrance of the tunnel. Behind him stood the motionless players and colleagues. In front of him, there was a large group of reporters carrying cameras and filming equipment, shooting as they followed. The flashes brightly lit up the way under his feet until it was blindingly white.

When he walked to the entrance of the tunnel, many fans in the stands on both sides suddenly threw confetti. The fluttering confetti made Twain raise his head. He saw several familiar faces in the crowd.

Michael Bernard, Fat John, Skinny Bill, and even the pub owner, Kenny Burns, were there. When he saw Burns, he was suddenly interested. He stopped and asked, “In so many years, you only left the pub when the City Ground stadium was to be demolished. Why have you come today?”

Burns said to him, “An era was torn down with the City Ground stadium. Your departure means the same as well, Tony.”

Twain stopped talking and waved to him and the others. He continued to walk down the tunnel amid a flurry of confetti.

※※※

Joe Mattock sighed, “This is the last time I will see the boss appear in front of me in this capacity…”

Wood stood at the front of the team. When he heard Mattock’s words, he suddenly had the idea of rushing up to Twain, but until Twain disappeared into the tunnel surrounded by the reporters, he did not put the thought into action.

He unexpectedly felt that he was timid, and not a tough guy.

He was a coward who could not show his feelings freely in front of a large crowd.

He was not as good as Mitchell, who was willing to shed tears in front of Twain, and Bale, who said to Twain, “Can you stay?”

As the team captain, he was really inadequate at this time…

Seeing Twain completely disappear from view, David Kerslake’s voice rang out. He usually had a loud voice, but he sounded weak at this time.

“Let’s head back, guys. Go back for a shower, change your clothes, get out of here. Your vacation has begun.”

As the players began to walk off the pitch, Wood looked up and found the fans in the stands slowly leaving the stadium. However, he knew that these people would gather in the square outside the stadium. The departure of a special person would not end like this.

He pulled off the captain’s armband, held it in his hand, and walked off the field with his teammates.

※※※

Michael Bernard, who walked out of the stadium, had no intention of staying on even though a large crowd had already gathered in the square again. They still loudly chanted Twain’s name, and the scene was very enthusiastic.

“Let’s go back to the pub for a drink, guys,” Michael said to his companions.

“Don’t you want to stay and send Tony off?” Skinny Bill was puzzled.

“We’ve already sent him off,” Michael pointed in the direction of the gate and added, “Tony, who will come out of the gate later, will no longer be Manager Tony Twain. I want to go back for a drink. All the shouting during the game has made my throat dry.”

“Me too,” Burns said next to him.

The two men held a high prestige among the fans. Since they had said so, there was no further objection.

“Okay, let’s go back for a drink in salute to…” Fat John suddenly did not know what to say.

“In a salute to the last 16 years, and to say goodbye to the people and games of those 16 years,” Michael raised his hand.

He waved goodbye to the Crimson Stadium.

※※※

Pierce Brosnan had no time to stand aside and put on an act to proclaim that “an era is over”. He had been busy since the final whistle. He was too busy to stop and reflect on it – it was Tony Twain’s final game!

Like his peers, he centered Tony Twain as the focal point and followed him from the east to the west on the field as he bade farewell to the players, said goodbye to the fans, and then went together with him to the press conference hall. Now as he looked at Twain seated at a table full of microphones, cell phones, tape recorders, and interview equipment in front of him, he had time to think about the half-hour that had just passed.

The Forest team won the game against Manchester United. Tony Twain maintained his winning record against Mourinho during the course of his coaching career. These were not the important points. Thinking back on Twain’s farewell to the players and coaches in the middle of the pitch, he felt that Twain’s influence would not diminish with his departure. On the contrary, his influence here might even become stronger.

Cruyff remained the godfather of Barcelona even after he left. He had published a variety of articles and commentary about Barcelona in the media. He gave praise when Barcelona played beautifully and criticized when they did not play well. He even had a say in matters such as the selection of the manager, which player to sell and which player to buy. The Barcelona coaches could not ignore his advice…

However, unlike this flying Dutchman, Brosnan felt that Twain’s influence would not be demonstrated through the above examples.

In fact, judging by Twain’s conduct after he retired for the first time, he would not mention Nottingham Forest much again, as if the football club had never appeared in his life. He would never interfere with the Forest team’s team building policy and would not comment on the Forest team’s employment strategy. Whether the Forest team played well or terribly, it would be other people’s business. He was peculiar like that. He would use this kind of indifference to express his feelings for the Forest team. It seemed that the more distance he maintained, the more it would let him feel the affection was pure.

However, despite this, looking at today’s scene, his place in the hearts of the Forest fans remained unshakable. He believed it would be the same years later. He did not have to say anything or do anything. However, as long as someone mentioned his name, that invisible influence would begin to show.

Robin Hood died more than 900 years ago, and his influence was still present. People had repeatedly sung about him and written about him in literature, plays, and games. Tony Twain almost deserved the same treatment, didn’t he?

Brosnan, who was lost in contemplation, snapped back to reality when the press officer said, “the press conference starts now.” The room, which was quite noisy earlier, immediately quieted down. Everyone looked up in anticipation and looked forward to Twain delivering his farewell speech.

Mourinho had already left. While most of the reporters were still on the pitch, he had been interviewed by several Manchester media outlets and then hastily departed to leave the stage to Twain alone.

What a considerate opponent…

Twain looked at the eager reporters below and cleared his throat. Just this gesture was enough to make the people sit up straight, lean their heads forward, and prick their ears.

Twain chuckled mischievously.

※※※

The runway show was over. Shania had just been led out by the designer to make the curtain call. Now she was standing in front of a backdrop, being interviewed by the reporters.

“Yes, it’s true that I’m quitting the modeling and entertainment world. I had seriously considered it before I made this decision,” Shania admitted the fact, which had long been hotly speculated, to the media for the first time.

“I’m completely retiring from the industry and I won’t come back in the future.”

Shania fiddled with her brown hair. With her makeup removed, she looked like a completely different person as compared to the cool beauty on the runway stage. Now she had a gentle smile on her face as she patiently and meticulously answered every question from the reporters without showing the slightest bit of impatience.

“After my retirement, I’ll be with my husband and daughter before I think about the future… Maybe I will be a fashion designer.”

The reporters still wanted to find out the real inside story. For them, the answers that could be found in the press were of no value. People would never find out the whole truth.

“The real reason for quitting?” Instead of expressing she was fed up with the question posed by the reporter, Shania showed a smile to make hearts flutter.

“It’s very simple. I’m pregnant.”

When Shania casually threw out the remark, no one in the room had any reaction at first. With an expression of anticipation on their faces, they waited for the real answer to come out. No one realized that the true answer had already emerged.

“Ah…” The reporter who asked the question reacted the quickest. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but could not utter a sound.

Shania looked at the quiet reporters in the room and winked mischievously. It turned out to be quite interesting. She had succeeded in surprising them all.

※※※

“…I have nothing to say.”

Twain said this to the eager reporters in the press hall at Nottingham’s Crimson Stadium.

“I know a lot of people like me and a lot of people hate me. I never thought of trying to change the way you think of me, even today. However you usually describe me, you shall write the same tomorrow. Anyway, I will not read any of it. I’ll be retired tomorrow.”

Twain spread his hands. He saw many of his enemies in the crowd, such as Carl Spicer and Christopher Beesley. He would no longer bicker with and hold grudges against these people. He did not need to create any more hype. He did not need to attract the firepower of the media to relieve the pressure on the players either. From today onward, he could finally completely unload the heavy burden from his shoulders and sleep through the night peacefully.

“I just want to say goodbye to all of you.”

After saying this, Twain actually stood up and left!

The reporters panicked. How could they let him go just like that? They’ve prepared so many questions. How were they going to ask him once he left? Once he was out of the door, he was no longer the Nottingham Forest manager. He would be out of the reporters’ reach.

A group of reporters got up from their seats, kicked over chairs, and tried to stop Twain from leaving.

“I still have questions, Mr. Twain!” Christopher Beesley held up his notebook and shouted. The notebook was full of words. “You can’t just leave like this. The press conference isn’t over yet!”

“I already said it was over,” Twain said to the Liverpool Echo reporter who had wished him dead with a smile.

“But we have the right to ask questions. You are a public figure…” Beesley was still making the final struggle.

“I have the right to refuse to answer.”

Twain gave a shrug.

Carl Spicer had initially wanted to shout a few words. However, after seeing Beesley’s fate, his lips quivered for a while and he made no sound.

Twain did not leave directly from the side door. He walked down the steps and toward the main door from the middle passage of the press seats, intending to leave directly from there – it was closer to the stadium gate.

The reporters got up one by one. However, no one really dared to go up and stop him to ask questions.

On the contrary, everyone deliberately or unintentionally gave way to him.

Just as he was about to get to the door, Pierce Brosnan suddenly shouted out, “Goodbye, Tony!”

He raised his hand and stopped in the midair, wanting to wave goodbye to Twain before he realized that Twain had his back toward him and could not see.

Twain, who heard him, did not look back and did not stop. He just raised his right hand, waved, and opened the door to walk out.

※※※

The lobby at the main entrance of the stadium was through a short corridor. Twain unexpectedly found a man there.

“Mr. Fasal? Aren’t you supposed to be with Shania?”

The smiling man standing in front of Twain was Shania’s agent, Fasal. No wonder Twain would be surprised and asked him the question. As long as Shania was traveling for work, Fasal would always keep close to her. Why was he here now in front of him? Could it be that Shania finished her work early and came back?

Thinking of it, Twain looked behind Fasal, hoping to see his wife.

“No need to look, Mr. Twain,” Fasal smiled and said to him, “Shania is still in Paris. If nothing out of the ordinary happens, she should have just finished her last runway show.”

“Then you…” Twain grew puzzled.

“I’m here to tell you the good news. Since Shania can’t leave yet, I’ll be the one to do it. I am afraid you won’t believe it coming from another person.”

At this point, Fasal handed Twain a piece of paper.

“The results of the hospital’s checkup.”

Twain was baffled as he took the paper. With one glance at it, he saw his wife’s name written in the box of the person receiving the checkup.

Before he could continue to read, Fasal’s voice sounded again, “Congratulations, Mr. Twain. Your wife is pregnant.”

Instead of jerking his head up to look at Fasal, Twain lowered his head and stared blankly at the printed page. He could not believe the news he had heard.

“Two months ago, Shania went for a checkup. She’s pregnant. But she did not tell you yet so as not to affect your job and left the news until now to give you a retirement gift.”

Fasal noticed that Twain’s hand, which was holding the checkup sheet, was shaking. He suddenly remembered that the man in front of him had had a heart attack before. What if he could not bear the excitement of the news and had another one?

Fasal dared not think of such a thing. He hurriedly called out, “Mr. Twain, are you all right?”

Twain then looked up and glanced at Fasal. He opened his mouth and said, “I’m… good… very good…”

Having said this, he caught his breath and continued, “I’m fine, thank you for telling me such good news, Mr. Fasal.”

Fasal had thought that Twain would be so excited and say a lot more. He did not expect Twain to finish this sentence and want to go.

Instinctively, he asked, “Where are you going, Mr. Twain?”

“I’m going home,” Twain said as he walked out of the hall.

※※※

“I think the whole police force of Nottingham is here!”

A fan, who was stopped outside by a human wall made by the policemen, complained.

These people could not be blamed for complaining. The fans originally planned to get up close and personal with their idol. However, the policemen stood guard and forcibly pushed back the fans, making way for a five-meter-wide passageway from the stadium gate all the way to the parking lot.

Learning the lesson from the John Lennon incident, they could not guarantee that there would not be a fanatical and crazy fan who would abruptly carry out a murder and make Twain stay for good just because he was unwilling to let him leave. It was no joke, so the local police force kicked into high gear for fear that another Mark David Chapman would appear among the fans.

When Twain appeared in front of the crowd, the fans in the square burst into loud cheers. They created an uproar and the policemen present were overwhelmed by the crowd and struggled.

Twain was not surprised to see the scene. He stood on the steps and waved to the excited fans. Then he lowered his head and walked down the steps through the already crooked passageway outside.

The BBC 5 station broadcasted the scene to the world.

Amid the cheers of tens of thousands of people, their king strode down the steps of the throne and walked down a red carpet outside the palace. He left the crown on the throne. The magnificent palace did not give him the slightest regret, and he turned a deaf ear to the voices of his subjects.

In the raging red crowd he, clad in black, was so calm. He folded the note in his hand, carefully put it in his pocket and patted it gently. Then he took out his sunglasses, put them on, and sauntered slowly through the excited crowd.

The 16 championship trophies, the ups and downs of the last 16 years, the days of being revered by millions of people, as well as endless arguments surrounding him, were left behind step by step.

More than a thousand years ago, the Roman conqueror returned home after victories in wars.

He would enjoy the honor and glory of a triumphant return and a moving parade.

There would be trumpeters, musicians, and exotic beasts from the lands he conquered.

There would be chariots full of treasures and confiscated weapons.

The conqueror rode the chariot to return victorious.

The prisoners of war sat in front of the chariots in chains.

His children, dressed in white robes, stood with him in the chariot or rode horses next to him.

A slave, holding a golden crown, stood behind the conqueror.

He whispered a warning in his ear:

All glories are as transient as the fleeting clouds.

Chapter 1033 - Epilogue: When I’m Sixty Years Old

The yellow light from the crystal chandeliers on the ceiling could not light up the bar completely. However, in the constantly rainy late autumn, it could bring a hint of warmth to the heart.

Many people had come to the bar with the old-fashioned deco. They gathered in groups of three or four to chat about the day or perhaps other things. However, everyone glanced at the door as if waiting for someone.

Soothing music was playing in the bar. It was an old song, the Beatles’ When I’m Sixty-Four.

When I get older losing my hair.

Many years from now.

Will you still be sending me a Valentine?

Birthday greetings, bottle of wine.

…

The bar was not loud, so the Beatles’ soft voices were clear. Everyone kept their voices down and chatted in low tones.

Outside the door hung a sign – Closed for Business.

With a head of white hair, the somewhat hunched Kenny Burns sat behind a somewhat damaged wooden bar, holding a glass in one hand and a towel in the other.

His eyes looked straight ahead, through the old-styled glass window covered with a layer of condensation, to see outside.

A construction site had already broken ground across the street. The white fence was pushed to the ground and it became so dirty that its original appearance could not be discerned. An excavator was parked on the side of the road. The rain was a bit heavy, and work has stopped on the construction site.

It was still a row of two-story residential buildings a year ago.

It was said that a big supermarket would be built here in two years. Behind the Forest Bar, there was also a construction site where several high-rise buildings would be built for new offices. Wilford had become the new development center in Nottingham.

The bar on the corner stood alone for a long time between the two construction sites, fully surrounded by construction machinery. It was like a solitary island surrounded by mechanical monsters.

There was a roar of a car engine outside the door, followed by the sound of a car stopping. Hearing the sound, the people in the room stopped talking and turned their gazes to the entrance.

The person who pushed the door open was a woman. Everyone was a little disappointed at first, but then they all stood up.

“Madam,” They all deferentially greeted the woman who only stood at the door.

“You guys gave me a shock, suddenly standing up like this…” The speaker pushed the door open but did not come in right away. Instead, she was waiting for someone.

Seeing her like this, everyone waited as well. Each person stretched their neck out and gazed outside the door, like ducks hanging from the crossbar.

The second person who appeared at the door was Wood. Wood took over the woman’s job and held the door. The woman stepped outside.

Although they had not seen the man yet, everyone heard the familiar and somewhat hoarse voice.

“Don’t grasp onto me. Do I look like I can’t walk?”

“All right, all right, you can lead me along if you want. Just hold my arm and it will do. But don’t make it look like you’re lending a hand to support a patient…”

Before the voice faded away, its owner appeared at the door.

When the slightly hunched figure came in, everyone in the bar opened their mouths and shouted, “Boss!”

Seeing the scene in front of him, the aging man opened his mouth and laughed. He raised his hands and said, “Long time no see, guys.”

The whole bar was waiting for the man – Tony Twain was finally here.

The woman supporting him was naturally his wife, Shania.

※※※

Twain took off the old-fashioned wide-brimmed hat he was wearing, and Wood tried to catch it, but Shania got to it first. Next, a gray scarf and black windbreaker were also handed to her. Shania went to hang up the clothes, and Twain sat down in his chair, surrounded by people. He raised the glass of soda water on the table and said, “I’m not drinking any alcohol. You all do as you’d like.”

Following which, everyone came up, wanting to talk to Twain.

The first person to succeed was Kenny Burns, the owner of the bar, a man older than everyone present.

He walked slowly toward Twain, pulled out a chair and sat down. Upon seeing this, everyone discreetly drew back.

“Look at you, getting so old,” Twain scoffed at Burns.

“You’re no better, Tony,” Burns looked at the man opposite. His hair was much whiter than before, but he was in good spirits. Twain’s complexion was ruddy, and he appeared stronger than himself.

However, on second thought, he himself was 75 years old while Tony was only 60, 15 years younger than he was. Thinking back, was he not full of vigor, hale and hearty when he was 60 years old? People would always grow old. It was the law of nature.

“I almost lost my way coming here. The area has changed a lot. Ha!” Twain laughed.

When he sat in the car on the way here before, he started to laugh at the sight of the environment and Burns’ bar. Neither Shania nor Wood, who was driving the car, knew why he was laughing. Of course, they would not find out. They might never know for the rest of their lives. Seeing the Forest bar surrounded by construction machinery and a completely dug out construction site, the word “holdout” naturally sprang into Twain’s mind. In Twain’s view, Kenny Burns was clearly the holdout here. The buildings adjacent to the bar were all demolished, only the bar remained. However, it was said that it could not escape the fate of being torn down.

“It’s a re-planning of the area,” Burns said as he looked out of the window at the excavator. “By the time it is over, my bar will be closed.”

Twain was not surprised. He nodded and said, “And what will you do?”

“I’ll go home.”

Hearing him say that, Twain paused for a moment and then realized that Burns’ home was not here, but in Scotland. He had lived here for decades and this made people think he had always been from Nottingham…

The City Ground stadium was torn down and the Wilford training base was also demolished. Now even the bar had to be torn down. Everything that had witnessed the past years disappeared one by one before his eyes. Twain suddenly became quiet.

Burns knew what Twain was thinking. He lightly patted the table. “Fortunately, bars and pitches can be torn down, but memories can’t be taken away.”

Once he said it, there was a smile on Twain’s face. He thought of a song. Burns certainly had not heard the song, but the meaning was exactly the same. He nodded and said, “The memories are still there. Where are John and the others?”

He also remembered the fans.

“It’s not as crazy as it used to be. After all, they’re older. Now it’s their children’s turn to be crazy. It’s just that they don’t come to my place. The young people say my place looks gloomy and not suitable for young people.”

Twain chuckled. Burns’ bar did look old and dilapidated. Even though he kept it clean and tidy, he could not get rid of the feeling of a yellowing photograph and old film. It did not change much from when he first came here, except that there were more group photographs of himself leading the team to win championship titles during those years. However, those group photographs now looked a bit faded.

“I haven’t seen them in a long time…”

Twain muttered to himself.

Today was his first visit to the bar in ten years. There was a sense that things had remained the same, but people had changed.

Since his retirement ten years ago, he had traveled with his wife all over the world. They had lived in the West Coast of the United States for a while and spent some time in = Nottingham. They even lived in China and people who did not know them thought they had been in China for many years.

As the media had stated, Twain’s retirement life was quite carefree. If it had not been for a problem with his health early last year, he might have been able to continue to live a life free of worries.

“They would sometimes ask about you,” Burns said as he looked out of the window at the excavator. “A bunch of the old guys would get together and talk about you. I had seen John admonish his son, slap him across his head and scold him for bullsh*tting about things he hadn’t experienced, ha…”

Twain was curious about what John’s son had said.

“It was nothing. John just said Dunn did just as well as you.”

Hearing these, Twain laughed mischievously.

“John scolded him for that. Dunn only won two championships in ten years. It’s a far cry as compared to your 16 years and 16 championships. How could he do as well as you? The old guys always like to remember the past…”

“Wrong. When they start to recall the past, it means they are old,” Twain corrected.

“Aren’t we reminiscing about the past now?”

“That means we’re old, too,” Twain replied.

※※※

Pepe and Piqué got hold of a few people from the defensive line of that time and came up to take a group picture with Twain. Twain told them he had his own bronze statue outside the Crimson Stadium, which was completed four years ago. Pepe said that with the real man in front of them, why would they go and take a picture with the statue? His words were widely endorsed by the guys. After putting it to a vote, Twain became the top candidate for group photographs.

Several people stood in front of the camera, crowding Twain in the middle, and smiled brilliantly under the flash.

With the help of his grandfather, Piqué joined the Barcelona club’s board of directors and was expected to become the club’s president.

Pepe, who traveled between Brazil and Portugal, had opened restaurants in both locations. He no longer worked in a football-related field. Pepe looked a little thicker than before with a round stomach and stood out in the crowd. His face was even rounder.

Gareth Bale, Rafinha, Akinfeev, as well as Pepe and Piqué, the Forest team’s main defensive line in its heyday, gathered around Twain, giving a sense that they had gone back in time. The Russian had returned to his native country and became the goalkeeper coach of the FC Lokomotiv Moscow team. He was currently the goalkeeper coach of the Russian national team. Most players chose football-related jobs when they retired.

Rafinha, who was hired by Arsenal, became Arsenal’s football scout in Brazil, in charge of unearthing Brazilian talent for the club.

Bale joined the Football Association of Wales. He became the most successful player in Welsh football after Giggs. It only made sense for him to enter the Football Association. Now the naughty appearance of the “little monkey” of that time could not be glimpsed in Bale. Impeccably attired, he was infinitely closer to looking like an official.

However, when Twain called him “little monkey”, he still happily answered to it.

After the people from the rear defensive line left, a few people from the midfield approached. Twain was surprised and asked, “Did you all plan this? Are you all coming in waves?”

Everyone laughed and gathered around him. They took another group photograph.

When Ribéry left the Forest team at the time under the cloud of suspicion that he had run away, a clash erupted when everyone met on the pitch later. Now, when the past was mentioned, it felt more like “all was forgiven and forgotten with a smile”. It was just that his smile was still ugly to look at as the scars on his face were still there. As he got older, he was less scary, however. He now ran his own agency and became an agent for a number of French players. He was considered a successful businessman. In the Nottingham Forest team, there was currently a French player he had introduced as an agent.

The two men took the first turn and then everyone came up to take photographs with Twain. There were group shots and single shots. Twain took advantage of the time during the photo-taking with them to chat briefly and catch up with everyone.

Those guys, who shook up stadiums and went on a rampage in the European football world, had all retired and became portly middle-aged men. Some of them were still in touch, while the other people only met again because of the gathering. Most had other careers and lives. But today, in the bar which was about to be torn down, they had regained their original identity as Nottingham Forest players under the command of Tony Twain.

After the group photographs, they continued to chat together in groups of three or four, recounting the football events they missed for many years or chatting about those extraordinary old days on the field.

Twain did not participate. He sat with his wife, Shania, quietly looking at everything in front of his eyes and feeling deeply satisfied.

He suddenly remembered a long-forgotten past matter. He usually did not think of it at all.

If he remembered correctly, it was in May 2004, when he was here for a similar party. However, the leading characters at the time were Brian Clough and his men. They were celebrating the 15th anniversary of winning the Champions League. At the time, watching those people talking arrogantly together and recalling the times during the 70s, he felt very envious as an outsider. He had a fantasy in his mind that one day he, too, would be able to sit here with his former men and remember the days of being the king of Europe.

Now the fantasy came true. The setting remained the same, but with different people.

As the assistant manager for the championship team, Dunn was also invited today. He was now the manager of Nottingham Forest and had taken a special leave of absence in order to attend the gathering. At this moment, he was sitting aside, chatting with his old colleagues. Twain found him. He did not know if he would share the same vision of passing time at this point.

He got up and walked over slowly. He sat down beside the coaches.

“Guys, I’m so glad to see you’re all here.”

Everyone got up to show respect in succession when they saw Twain coming over. They were only seated after Twain sat down.

Twain glanced around and asked, “Where’s Freddy?”

“Oh, him. He said he considers himself a player and ran off to talk about the old times with his old teammates,” David Kerslake, who was older than Twain, pointed sideways, and Twain glanced over. Sure enough, Eastwood was sitting down with Ribéry and talking about something.

He grinned and turned his gaze back.

“You’re all old.”

“Aren’t you as well, Tony?” The big guy answered him.

Most of these people continued their previous work in the Forest team, which was arguably the group with the least changes. David Kerslake was still the assistant manager for the Forest team, while Eastwood became the head of the youth camp.

“How are your two daughters, Tony?” Someone in the crowd asked.

As soon as Twain heard the question, he became animated. He puffed his chest and said proudly with his head held high, “Teresa is a fine girl. As for Liv … Fortunately, she looks more like her mother.”

There was a burst of laughter in the crowd.

Teresa was already 14 years old, delicate and pretty. Whenever he looked at her, Twain felt sorry in his heart for Teresa’s birth parents – how could they bear to abandon such a beautiful and lovely daughter?

Liv was Twain’s youngest daughter, the baby that Shania gave birth to during the year of his retirement. She was now nearly ten years old. Unlike the gentle and quiet Teresa, Liv was lively and active, with her character like a typical Western girl, quite like her mother.

To his delight, Liv and Teresa had a good relationship. Liv did not snub o bully her gentle and quiet, shy and introverted older sister. This might have something to do with the example that he and Shania led by – after Liv was born, Teresa was worried that she would lose her parents’ love, but the couple reassured her with more love.

To his annoyance, Liv preferred the sunny West Coast of the United States as compared to cold Britain. Her character was a bit like an American and she was overly lively. To make the little girl happy, the family spent more time away from the United Kingdom, so Twain gave up his job at the BBC 5 station. Now he just published his own articles in newspapers and online, but he did not rely on it for his livelihood.

There was a selfish motive deep down in Twain’s heart that he had never told anyone. He wanted his two daughters to like China, so it was the place where he spent the most time in, other than the United States and Britain. He missed China intensely, especially as he got increasingly older. Perhaps his Chinese spirit deep in his bones was causing it. Perhaps it was as the saying that “in old age, an expatriate returns home”…

In any case, these two treasures, his daughters, were Twain’s source of greatest pride and accomplishment. For him, the brilliant achievements of his 16-year coaching career and all his important championship trophies had long become obsolete and were not worth mentioning anymore. Perhaps the Forest fans and club players felt proudof the trophies that Tony Twain had once won. Perhaps many people still relished the memories of Twain’s 16 years of legendary experience. Or maybe the media were now complaining that the current star players were all clowns playing to the gallery while missing the most annoying ‘clown’ of all … but Twain did not care. He felt that the greatest honors and championship trophies of his life were to have a happy family, a loving wife, and two healthy and beautiful daughters. When he transmigrated 26 years ago, he had lost his family. However, at the time he did not care because he felt that he was young, and it was time to focus on his career. Now he felt like he had gone one big circle. What was the ultimate purpose of his career? To let his family live worry-free, to live peacefully with his loved ones…

God had let him understand it in the year he turned 50 years old, and it took him another ten years to cherish it even more.

Nothing in life was more important than his family. It would be so until his death.

Twain was excited to tell the old guys he had not seen for years how lovely and intelligent his two daughters were.

Indeed, he was showing off and flaunting his own family. However, no one thought he should not do it.

Looking at the way he was glowing with health and vigor now, the same man in high spirits of more than 20 years ago appeared in everyone’s sight. No one felt sorry about it.

How amazing it was.

David Kerslake held up his glass to Twain and said, “Seeing how happy you are, I…” He looked back at his old colleagues around him and turned to look at Twain again to add, “No, we’re all very happy.”

Twain raised the soda water in his hand and paid tribute to the old men who had raised their glasses one by one.

“Thank you all.”

There was another man who toasted Twain, with whom Twain was familiar. However, he had not spoken at all. There was a little tiredness in the corners of his eyes and some graying of the hair on both sides of his temples. The wrinkles on his forehead were noticeably more prominent. Seeing him gave Twain an illusion of the reverse flow of space-time and mirror reflection. He saw how he would have appeared in his 40s had he not transmigrated.

This was the current manager of Nottingham Forest, the Chinese man, Dunn. It was his sworn brother, whom he had exchanged souls and bodies with.

When he found Twain looking at him, Dunn returned a smile.

He moved over and sat down beside Dunn. He lowered his voice and asked a question in Dunn’s ear, “Are Pa and Ma doing well?”

Dunn nodded imperceptibly. “They are very well.”

With the answer, Twain raised his head again and there was a smile on his face. Then the two men looked at each other without saying a word.

Despite traveling all over the world, Twain still paid attention to matters that had to do with the Forest team. Nonetheless, he had never evaluated the Forest team in any public forum. Now facing Forest’s current manager, he was still the same and did not mention anything.

It was like when he first coached the Forest team. No matter whether he did well or not, Brian Clough always did not say anything. Other than to tell him not to be too stressed or overly proud, he would not mention anything else about his achievements.

He was very immature at the time. However, Dunn was not immature now. He knew what to do and what not to do. Didn’t he do a pretty good job at the Forest team in the last ten years? Although he only won two league titles, he completely solidified the foundation that Twain did not cover before.

Under Dunn’s leadership, Nottingham Forest was gradually breaking away from under his influence. Burns’ story was a good reflection of that. A new generation of football fans felt that Dunn was doing a good job. Wasn’t it the best reward for his ten-year coaching career?

This was good. He was not required to come out and comment to show the outside world the influence he still had on Nottingham Forest. Retired people should stay retired. Otherwise, it would have been better to continue coaching. Twain disdained the cowardly behavior of wanting to be the top guy at a football club and yet worrying about failures at coaching.

Therefore, while they looked at each other without saying a word, Twain did not say “you have done well” or “you’re not good enough.” Dunn, too, would not take the initiative to talk about his coaching achievements to Twain. He had his self-respect.

Twain raised the glass in his hand to Dunn and said, “Happy 10th anniversary, Dunn.”

Dunn returned the toast and said, “I wish you good health, Tony.”

※※※

As the sky darkened and the rain outside got heavier, the enthusiasm in the bar was exceptionally warm. Everyone was chatting animatedly and the noise in the bar was gradually getting louder, drowning out the sound of the music. Not only Twain, but some of the other people had not seen each other for years. They were also busy with their lives and careers after their retirement and usually did not have the opportunity to get together to chat like this.

The gathering on the anniversary of the five Champions League winners gave them such an opportunity. Of course, they had to get hold of the friends of yesteryear to have a good chat, ask about their lives over the years, reminiscence the years spent together in competition, chitchat about interesting people and things. Even the feuds of those years had become exceptionally warm memories in the context of this afternoon.

Under such circumstances, Twain had decided to go home.

He tapped the table in front of his wife and said to her, “Let’s go back.”

Shania was a little surprised and asked, “Don’t you want to stay a little longer? Don’t you have a lot to say to the old guys?”

“It started out that way, but after I saw them, I suddenly had nothing to say. It’s nice to just look at them. Anyway, I have seen enough and I’m a little tired.”

Shania knew that Twain was really tired, so she nodded and agreed. “Let’s say our goodbyes to them before we leave.”

The two of them stood up and suddenly caught the attention of all the people present.

“He’s still in recovery from a serious illness, so he doesn’t have as much energy as you guys,” Shania told everyone.

Twain pursed his lips and said, “Don’t listen to her. My illness was something that happened last year. I’m in good health now.”

“Madam’s right, boss. You have to listen to her,” someone in the crowd said.

“Yeah, Tony. Take care of your health so that we can get together again in ten years.” Everyone reached out and waved to Twain as they made plans for another reunion ten years from now.

“Okay, we’ll get together again in ten years.” Twain put on his coat with Shania’s help and wrapped his scarf around his neck. He finally took the hat, held it in his hand, and waved at everyone.

George Wood, who had been talking to his teammates before, squeezed in from the crowd and said, “I’ll take you guys home.”

Shania shook her head and said, “I’ll drive. It’s not easy for you to get together with everyone. Just stay to have fun a little longer.”

George Wood retired four years ago at the age of 38. As the greatest team captain in Nottingham Forest’s history, his retirement was almost comparable to the departure of Twain. The scene was so sensational and moving that a tough guy like Wood had tears in his eyes when it was time to say goodbye and even choked with emotion several times. Twain was in the stadium box and witnessed everything with his own eyes. His eyes also moistened as 60,000 people chanted “Saint George.”

George Wood’s retirement fully ended Nottingham Forest’s golden age. The last player Twain was familiar with had left the football world stage. From then on, one could only look back on history when Nottingham Forest’s most glorious period was mentioned.

In the summer after his retirement, Wood married Vivian, the nurse whom he had been in love with for more than six years, and formed a new family. Now their child was already three years old and they lived a happy life.

Now Wood looked like a typical steady family man. His immature manner was completely gone.

After Wood heard Shania’s words, he turned his eyes toward Twain.

Twain nodded and said, “Listen to her, George. Even I have to listen to her, ha-ha!”

The big man laughed again. Wood gave up and stood aside. It was only when Twain passed by him that he said in a low voice, “I’ll come to see you again in a few days.”

“Well, bring your wife along with you as well as your son,” Twain nodded gently.

As he walked to the door with Shania’s help, Twain put on his hat and once he was properly dressed, he raised his hand to wave to everyone as he said, “No need to see me off. It’s raining heavily outside. Goodbye, guys. It’s nice to see you all still healthy and active. I’m really happy, ha-ha!”

Amid the laughter, Twain turned around, and Shania held up an umbrella for him, sheltering both of them underneath. The two of them stepped into the rain. The rain striking the umbrella made a crackling sound and the water accumulated at the roadside reflected the two of them. The crowd gathered around and saw that Shania was holding an umbrella in one hand while supporting Twain. It was somewhat inconvenient to open the door with one hand. Several people rushed out of the crowd to come forward and help. Eventually Wood grabbed the umbrella from Shania while Bale supported Twain. Eastwood opened the car door for Twain and said, “Chief, please get in the car.”

Shania did not have anything to do. She stood next to Twain and smiled at him. “You see, what a grand farewell ceremony.”

Twain turned to look at Eastwood, who opened the car door for him, and smiled. Then he looked back at the door of the bar, which was already crowded with people. Everyone stood under the eaves and looked at him.

Twain waved to them and motioned for them to go back. Then he turned and got into the car.

Eastwood closed the car door for Twain while Wood sheltered Shania with the umbrella and took her around to the door on the side of the driver’s seat to help her into the car.

Shania rolled down the car window and reached out to say goodbye to them. “Goodbye, thank you, everyone!”

Everyone waved and said goodbye in return.

Then the car started up and slowly wove through the parked construction machinery on both sides of the road, splashing the roadside water. As it drove away from everyone’s view, only the yellow taillights loomed in the rain and finally, even they disappeared in the rain and fog.

The rain was still falling as it pitter-pattered on the ground. The players still gathered at the door, looking at the direction in which the boss disappeared.

After a while, Bale asked, “The boss left just like that?” There seemed to be some disbelief in his tone.

“Well, he’s gone,” Wood replied, “Let us head inside and continue.”

Despite having said that, he did not move. Everyone likewise just stood at the door to continue looking at the direction in which Twain left.

Burns did not follow outside. He was in the bar and watched the scene of Twain leaving in the car through the windows covered with condensation. People squeezed outside and the bar, which was hot and noisy just now, suddenly emptied out and quieted down.

The music playing in the stereo had just finished a loop and gone back to the song in the beginning.

You’ll be older too, and if you say the word,

I could stay with you.

I could be handy, mending a fuse,

When your lights have gone.

You can knit a sweater by the fireside.

Sunday mornings go for a ride,

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,

Who could ask for more?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me?

When I’m sixty-four…

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Tony Twain?
Chapter 2: Chairman Doughty
Chapter 3: Tony Twains Past
Chapter 4: Training Class
Chapter 5: This Is Professional Football
Chapter 6: Down By Three Goals
Chapter 7: The Show In The Changing Room
Chapter 8: In The Name Of Victory

Chapter 9: The Referee Takes Center Stage Part 1

Chapter 10: The Referee Takes Center Stage Part 2

Chapter 11: We Were Raped Part 1
Chapter 12: We Were Raped Part 2
Chapter 13: Newsworthy Twain Part 1
Chapter 14: Newsworthy Twain Part 2
Chapter 15: George Wood’s Family Part 1
Chapter 16: George Wood’s Family Part 2
Chapter 17: Off To London Part 1
Chapter 18: Off To London Part 2
Chapter 19: The Hearing Part 1
Chapter 20: The Hearing Part 2
Chapter 21: Coventry City Part 1
Chapter 22: Coventry City Part 2

Chapter 23: The Manager Seated On The Viewing Platform Part 1

Chapter 24: The Manager Seated On The Viewing Platform Part 2

Chapter 25: The Crisis Of Two Consecutive Draws Part 1

Chapter 26: The Crisis Of Two Consecutive Draws Part 2

Chapter 27: Tang En’s Manifesto Of Victory Part 1

Chapter 28: Tang En’s Manifesto Of Victory Part 2

Chapter 29: Crazy Gang Wimbledon Part 1
Chapter 30: Crazy Gang Wimbledon Part 2
Chapter 31: Must Win Part 1
Chapter 32: Must Win Part 2
Chapter 33: Final Hit Part 1
Chapter 34: Final Hit Part 2
Chapter 35: Hello, My Fair Lady Part 1
Chapter 36: Hello, My Fair Lady Part 2
Chapter 37: Natural-Born Manager Part 1
Chapter 38: Natural-Born Manager Part 2
Chapter 39: Don’t Give Up, Kid! Part 1
Chapter 40: Don’t Give Up, Kid! Part 2

Chapter 41: Don’t Underestimate… Football Part 1

Chapter 42: Don’t Underestimate… Football Part 2

Chapter 43: Chinese Teacher Part 1
Chapter 44: Chinese Teacher Part 2
Chapter 45: Nice Guy Mr. Coppell Part 1
Chapter 46: Nice Guy Mr. Coppell Part 2
Chapter 47: Georges Fans Part 1
Chapter 48: Georges Fans Part 2
Chapter 49: The Real Legend Part 1
Chapter 50: The Real Legend Part 2
Chapter 51: Premier League Part 1
Chapter 52: Premier League Part 2
Chapter 53: Premier League Part 3
Chapter 54: Hodge’s Honor Part 1
Chapter 55: Hodge’s Honor Part 2
Chapter 56: Hodge’s Honor Part 3

Chapter 57: The Visiting Team, Millwall Part 1

Chapter 58: The Visiting Team, Millwall Part 2

Chapter 59: The Visiting Team, Millwall Part 3

Chapter 60: The Football Hooligans Part 1
Chapter 61: The Football Hooligans Part 2
Chapter 62: The Football Hooligans Part 3

Chapter 63: Is Football More Important Than Life And Death? Part 1

Chapter 64: Is Football More Important Than Life And Death? Part 2

Chapter 65: Is Football More Important Than Life And Death? Part 3

Chapter 66: Fight With Ones Back To The River Part 1

Chapter 67: Fight With Ones Back To The River Part 2

Chapter 68: Manager Vs. Manager Part 1

Chapter 69: Manager Vs. Manager Part 2

Chapter 70: The Footsteps Of English Premier League Part 1

Chapter 71: The Footsteps of English Premier League Part 2

Chapter 72: Picking Up Trouble Part 1
Chapter 73: Picking Up Trouble Part 2
Chapter 74: Tang En’s Holiday Part 1
Chapter 75: Tang En’s Holiday Part 2
Chapter 76: The Holiday Is Over Part 1
Chapter 77: The Holiday Is Over Part 2
Chapter 78: The New Manager Part 1
Chapter 79: The New Manager Part 2
Chapter 80: The Reception Part 1
Chapter 81: The Reception Part 2
Chapter 82: To Stay Or To Go? Part 1
Chapter 83: To Stay Or To Go? Part 2
Chapter 84: Accidental Success Part 1
Chapter 85: Accidental Success Part 2
Chapter 86: Investing In The Future Part 1
Chapter 87: Investing In The Future Part 2
Chapter 88: I Will Return Part 1
Chapter 89: I Will Return Part 2
Chapter 90: Beautiful Tackle Part 1
Chapter 91: Beautiful Tackle Part 2
Chapter 92: The Arsenal Match
Chapter 93: Let Me Play Part 1
Chapter 94: Let Me Play Part 2
Chapter 95: A Fateful Showdown Part 1
Chapter 96: A Fateful Showdown Part 2
Chapter 97: The Idiot Collymore Part 1
Chapter 98: The Idiot Collymore Part 2
Chapter 99: Tang En And Edward Part 1
Chapter 100: Tang En And Edward Part 2
Chapter 101: One-Time Handshake Part 1
Chapter 102: One-Time Handshake Part 2
Chapter 103: Walker’s Farewell Part 1
Chapter 104: Walker’s Farewell Part 2
Chapter 105: Gypsies Part 1
Chapter 106: Gypsies Part 2
Chapter 107: Welcome Back Part 1
Chapter 108: Welcome Back Part 2

Chapter 109: The Discipline Of The Team Part 1

Chapter 110: The Discipline Of The Team Part 2

Chapter 111: Twain’s Return Part 1
Chapter 112: Twain’s Return Part 2
Chapter 113: Tang En’s Return Part 3

Chapter 114: Another Encounter With Millwall Part 1

Chapter 115: Another Encounter with Millwall Part 2

Chapter 116: On The Subway Train Part 1
Chapter 117: On The Subway Train Part 2
Chapter 118: The Hard-Nosed Millwall Part 1
Chapter 119: The Hard-Nosed Millwall Part 2
Chapter 120: Provocation Part 1
Chapter 121: Provocation Part 2

Chapter 122: The Consequence Of Provocation Part 1

Chapter 123: The Consequence Of Provocation Part 2

Chapter 124: Press Conference Part 1
Chapter 125: Press Conference Part 2
Chapter 126: Big Mouth Twain Part 1
Chapter 127: Big Mouth Twain Part 2
Chapter 128: The Media’s Pet Part 1
Chapter 129: The Media’s Pet Part 2
Chapter 130: Merry Christmas, Tony Part 1
Chapter 131: Merry Christmas, Tony Part 2
Chapter 132: Christmas Present Part 1
Chapter 133: Christmas Present Part 2
Chapter 134: The Rookie Reports Part 1
Chapter 135: The Rookie Reports Part 2
Chapter 136: This Is Eastwood! Part 1
Chapter 137: This Is Eastwood! Part 2
Chapter 138: The Winter Transfer Part 1
Chapter 139: The Winter Transfer Part 2
Chapter 140: Wood’s Debut Part 1
Chapter 141: Wood’s Debut Part 2
Chapter 142: Theres Someone Up There

Chapter 143: The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 1

Chapter 144: The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 2

Chapter 145: The Future
Chapter 146: The Cunning Allardyce Part 1
Chapter 147: The Cunning Allardyce Part 2
Chapter 148: The Better Interceptor Part 1
Chapter 149: The Better Interceptor Part 2
Chapter 150: The First Half Part 1
Chapter 151: The First Half Part 2
Chapter 152: Backfired Part 1
Chapter 153: Backfired Part 2
Chapter 154: New Forest Part 1
Chapter 155: New Forest Part 2
Chapter 156: EFL Cup Part 1
Chapter 157: EFL Cup Part 2

Chapter 158: The Curse of the South Changing Room

Chapter 159: Wizardly Twain Part 1
Chapter 160: Wizardly Twain Part 2
Chapter 161: Wall Part 1
Chapter 162: Wall Part 2
Chapter 163: A Crack Part 1
Chapter 164: A Crack Part 2
Chapter 165: Who Is Afraid Of Who Part 1
Chapter 166: Who Is Afraid Of Who Part 2
Chapter 167: Penalty Shootout Part 1
Chapter 168: Penalty Shootout Part 2
Chapter 169: Want To Make A Bet? Part 1
Chapter 170: Want To Make A Bet? Part 2
Chapter 171: Time to Speed Up, Forest Train!
Chapter 172: A Timely Loss Part 1
Chapter 173: A Timely Loss Part 2
Chapter 174: Pressure Part 1
Chapter 175: Pressure Part 2
Chapter 176: Of Course We Will Win Part 1
Chapter 177: Of Course We Will Win Part 2
Chapter 178: The Red Forest Part 1
Chapter 179: The Red Forest Part 2

Chapter 180: The English Premier League’s Footsteps Part 1

Chapter 181: The English Premier League’s Footsteps Part 2

Chapter 182: The Free Babysitter Part 1

Chapter 183: The Free Babysitter Part 2

Chapter 184: The Flow of Time on the Other Side Part 1

Chapter 185: The Flow of Time on the Other Side Part 2

Chapter 186: The Two Tang Ens Part 1

Chapter 187: The Two Tang Ens Part 2

Chapter 188: The Assistant Manager Candidate Part 1

Chapter 189: The Assistant Manager Candidate Part 2

Chapter 190: The UEFA European Football Championship Part 1

Chapter 191: The UEFA European Football Championship Part 2

Chapter 192: Gerard Piqué Part 1

Chapter 193: Gerard Piqué Part 2

Chapter 194: The Future Of Youth Players Part 1

Chapter 195: The Future Of Youth Players Part 1

Chapter 196: The Disruption of Tony Twain Part 1

Chapter 197: The Disruption of Tony Twain Part 2

Chapter 198: Start All Over Again Part 1

Chapter 199: Start All Over Again Part 2

Chapter 200: Forest in The Transfer Market Part 1

Chapter 201: Forest in The Transfer Market Part 2

Chapter 202: The Old Soldiers Part 1

Chapter 203: The Red Forest Chapter 11 The Old Soldiers Part 2

Chapter 204: Get Ready Part 1
Chapter 205: Get Ready Part 2
Chapter 206: The List For First Team

Chapter 207: The Premier League Kickoff Part 1

Chapter 208: The Premier League Kickoff Part 2

Chapter 209: Record Part 1
Chapter 210: Record Part 2
Chapter 211: The Fateful Matchup
Chapter 212: This Is My Team Part 1
Chapter 213: This Is My Team Part 2
Chapter 214: The Start of the Match Part 1
Chapter 215: The Start of the Match Part 2
Chapter 216: Adjustments Part 1
Chapter 217: Adjustments Part 2
Chapter 218: One on One
Chapter 219: Forgone Conclusion Part 1
Chapter 220: Forgone Conclusion Part 2
Chapter 221: Need to Win Part 1
Chapter 222: Need to Win Part 2
Chapter 223: Victory Part 1
Chapter 224: Victory Part 2
Chapter 225: The Chief Part 1
Chapter 226: The Chief Part 2
Chapter 227: Clough the Second? Part 1
Chapter 228: Clough the Second? Part 2
Chapter 229: Unlucky Ferreira Part 1
Chapter 230: Unlucky Ferreira Part 2
Chapter 231: Going Toe-to-Toe Part 1
Chapter 232: Going Toe-to-Toe Part 2
Chapter 233: Entanglement Part 1
Chapter 234: Entanglement Part 2
Chapter 235: Air Battle Part 1
Chapter 236: Air Battle Part 2
Chapter 237: The Madman Part 1
Chapter 238: The Madman Part 2
Chapter 239: The Entertainment Circle? No
Chapter 240: Read the Headline Part 1
Chapter 241: Read the Headline Part 2
Chapter 242: The Unstable Forest Part 1
Chapter 243: The Unstable Forest Part 2
Chapter 244: Newcastle and Shania Part 1
Chapter 245: Newcastle and Shania Part 2
Chapter 246: We will Definitely Win Part 1
Chapter 247: We Will Definitely Win Part 2
Chapter 248: Angel of the North Part 1
Chapter 249: Angel of the North Part 2
Chapter 250: Wood’s Struggle Part 1
Chapter 251: Wood’s Struggle Part 2
Chapter 252: Heavy Responsibility Part 1
Chapter 253: Heavy Responsibility Part 2
Chapter 254: Going Head-On Part 1
Chapter 255: Going Head-On Part 2
Chapter 256: Roy Keane Part 1
Chapter 257: Roy Keane Part 2
Chapter 258: In Trouble Part 1
Chapter 259: In Trouble Part 2
Chapter 260: A Show of Genius Part 1
Chapter 261: A Show of Genius Part 2

Chapter 262: The Lead of the Theatre of Dreams Part 1

Chapter 263: The Lead of the Theatre of Dreams Part 2

Chapter 264: Wood Learned to Be A Star Player Part 1

Chapter 265: Wood Learned to Be A Star Player Part 2

Chapter 266: A New Goalkeeper Part 1
Chapter 267: The New Goalkeeper Part 2
Chapter 268: Merry Christmas Part 1
Chapter 269: Merry Christmas Part 2

Chapter 270: The New Sponsor; An Ambassador Part 1

Chapter 271: The New Sponsor; An Ambassador Part 2

Chapter 272: Mr. Two Trillion Dollars Part 1
Chapter 273: Mr. Two Trillion Dollars Part 2
Chapter 274: Derby Part 1
Chapter 275: Derby Part 2
Chapter 276: Poaching Part 1

Chapter 277: The Red Forest Chapter 50 Poaching Part 2

Chapter 278: Agent Part 1

Chapter 279: Agent Part 2

Chapter 280: A New Contract, A New Player Part 1

Chapter 281 - A New Contract, A New Player Part 2

Chapter 282 - The Star of Tomorrow Part 1
Chapter 283 - The Star of Tomorrow Part 2
Chapter 284 - A Win-Win at the FA Cup Part 1
Chapter 285 - A Win-Win at the FA Cup Part 2
Chapter 286: Burst Part 1
Chapter 287: Burst Part 2

Chapter 288 - The UEFA Europa League Champion?

Chapter 289: Wood and Eastwood Part 1
Chapter 290
Chapter 291 - Dirty Rochemback Part 1
Chapter 292 - Dirty Rochemback Part 2
Chapter 293 - Wood’s Revenge Part 1
Chapter 294 - Wood’s Revenge Part 2
Chapter 295 - Unacceptable Part 1
Chapter 296 - Unacceptable Part 2

Chapter 297 - What Comes Around, Goes Around Part 1

Chapter 298 - What Goes Around, Comes Around Part 2

Chapter 299 - The Fate of The Romani Part 1
Chapter 300 - The Fate of The Romani Part 2
Chapter 301 - As Expected Part 1
Chapter 302 - As Expected Part 2
Chapter 303 - Time to Hurtle Part 1
Chapter 304 - Time to Hurtle Part 2
Chapter 305 - Against Everton Part 1
Chapter 306 - Against Everton Part 2
Chapter 307 - Fallen Behind Part 1
Chapter 308 - Fallen Behind Part 2
Chapter 309 - A Job Well Done Part 1
Chapter 310 - A Job Well Done Part 2
Chapter 311 - When the Dust Settled Part 1
Chapter 312 - When the Dust Settled Part 2
Chapter 313 - We Are Back Part 1
Chapter 314 - We Are Back Part 2
Chapter 315 - A Sunny Holiday Part 1
Chapter 316 - A Sunny Holiday Part 2
Chapter 317 - Pepe Part 1
Chapter 318 - Pepe Part 2
Chapter 319 - So Long, Brazil
Chapter 320 - Work Permit Part 1
Chapter 321 - Work Permit Part 2
Chapter 322 - An Exceptional Talent Part 1
Chapter 323 - An Exceptional Talent Part 2
Chapter 324 - Forward Line Problems Part 1
Chapter 325 - Forward Line Problems Part 2
Chapter 326 - About Anelka
Chapter 327 - Impressions Part 1
Chapter 328 - Impressions Part 2
Chapter 329 - China Sun

Chapter 330 - From Youth Team to First Team Part 1

Chapter 331 - From Youth Team to First Team Part 2

Chapter 332 - Eight Million Part 1
Chapter 333 - Eight Million Part 2
Chapter 334 - The New Season Part 1
Chapter 335 - The New Season Part 2
Chapter 336 - The Injury Part 1
Chapter 337 - The Injury Part 2
Chapter 338 - The Captain’s Armband Part 1
Chapter 339 - The Captain’s Armband Part 2
Chapter 340 - Bright Red Part 1
Chapter 341 - Bright Red Part 2
Chapter 342 - The French Forward
Chapter 343 - Role Model Part 1
Chapter 344 - Role Model Part 2
Chapter 345 - Heart-to-Heart Part 1
Chapter 346 - Heart-to-Heart Part 2
Chapter 347 - The Tournament Part 1
Chapter 348 - The Tournament Part 2
Chapter 349 - A Captain Like You Part 1
Chapter 350 - A Captain Like You Part 2

Chapter 351 - The Champions League Grouping Part 1

Chapter 352 - The Champions League Grouping Part 2

Chapter 353 - Round One: City Ground Part 1
Chapter 354 - Round One: City Ground Part 2
Chapter 355 - Who Had the Red Card? Part 1
Chapter 356 - Who Had the Red Card? Part 2
Chapter 357 - Ups-and-Downs
Chapter 358 - The War Between Two Men Part 1
Chapter 359 - The War Between Two Men Part 2

Chapter 360 - The War Between Two Men 2 Part 1

Chapter 361 - The War Between Two Men 2 Part 2

Chapter 362 - The War Between Two Men 3 Part 1

Chapter 363 - The War Between Two Men 3 Part 2

Chapter 364 - A Dedication to Eastwood Part 1
Chapter 365 - A Dedication to Eastwood Part 2
Chapter 366 - It’s Not Over Yet Part 1
Chapter 367 - It’s Not Over Yet Part 2
Chapter 368 - A Goal to Fame Part 1
Chapter 369 - A Goal to Fame Part 2
Chapter 370 - We’ve Won Part 1
Chapter 371 - We’ve Won Part 2
Chapter 372 - Goodbye, Ian Part 1
Chapter 373 - Goodbye, Ian Part 2
Chapter 374 - FIFA Virus Part 1
Chapter 375 - FIFA Virus Part 2
Chapter 376 - A Starry Night Part 1
Chapter 377 - A Starry Night Part 2
Chapter 378 - Hiss— Part 1
Chapter 379 - Hiss---- Part 2
Chapter 380 - A Yellow Card Part 1
Chapter 381 - A Yellow Card Part 2
Chapter 382 - Multiple Choices Part 1
Chapter 383 - Multiple Choices Part 2
Chapter 384 - White Handkerchiefs Part 1
Chapter 385 - White Handkerchiefs Part 2
Chapter 386 - Wood at Bernabéu? Part 1
Chapter 387 - Wood at Bernabéu? Part 2
Chapter 388 - A Meeting Off the Field Part 1
Chapter 389 - A Meeting Off the Field Part 2
Chapter 390 - Hello Roy Part 1
Chapter 391 - Hello Roy Part 2
Chapter 392 - Keane, The Man Part 1
Chapter 393 - Keane, The Man Part 2
Chapter 394 - Keane, The Man Part 3
Chapter 395 - Santa Claus Part 1
Chapter 396 - Santa Claus Part 2
Chapter 397 - “A New Player” Part 1
Chapter 398 - “A New Player” Part 2

Chapter 399 - If They Want War, We’ll Give Them War Part 1

Chapter 400 - If They Want War, We’ll Give Them War Part 2

Chapter 401 - The Pride of a Professional Footballer

Chapter 402 - Advancement Part 1
Chapter 403 - Advancement Part 2
Chapter 404 - An Official Publicity Part 1
Chapter 405 - An Official Publicity Part 2
Chapter 406 - Call Me Clarice Part 1
Chapter 407 - Call Me Clarice Part 2
Chapter 408 - What Relationship? Part 1
Chapter 409 - What Relationship? Part 2

Chapter 410 - The Number You Have Dialed Is Not in Service Part 1

Chapter 411 - The Number You Have Dialed Is Not in Service Part 2

Chapter 412 - The Night Before A Tough Fight Part 1

Chapter 413 - The Night Before A Tough Battle Part 2

Chapter 414 - Thank You

Chapter 415 - Giuseppe Meazza.San Siro Part 1

Chapter 416 - Giuseppe Meazza. San Siro Part 2

Chapter 417 - A Pivot and A Long Ball Part 1

Chapter 418 - A Pivot and A Long Ball Part 2

Chapter 419 - You Are Inter Milan’s Players! Part 1

Chapter 420 - You Are Inter Milan’s Players! Part 2

Chapter 421 - The Price of Defense Part 1

Chapter 422 - The Price of Defense Part 2

Chapter 423 - Looking On the Verge of a Loss Part 1

Chapter 424 - Looking On The Verge Of A Loss Part 2

Chapter 425 - This Is My Way
Chapter 426 - George and Demi’s Future
Chapter 427 - Famous
Chapter 428 - “I”
Chapter 429 - A Hidden War
Chapter 430 - Highbury
Chapter 431 - The Arsenal Style
Chapter 432 - Make A Guess
Chapter 433 - The Core
Chapter 434 - Nothing Is Too Deceitful In War
Chapter 435 - Three Days Later
Chapter 436 - Round Two
Chapter 437 - Weigh the Options?
Chapter 438 - Arsenal’s King
Chapter 439 - The Last Option
Chapter 440 - Penalty Shoot-Out
Chapter 441 - Come Have A Drink with Me
Chapter 442 - A Favor Owed
Chapter 443 - Go Watch the Game Live
Chapter 444 - Relax
Chapter 445 - Providence
Chapter 446 - The Cycle
Chapter 447 - Unexpected
Chapter 448 - After Taking The Lead
Chapter 449 - Looks Like Victory
Chapter 450 - Five Minutes
Chapter 451 - Do as He Likes
Chapter 452 - A New Beginning
Chapter 453 - A New Future
Chapter 454 - Going Home
Chapter 455 - Finding what was Lost
Chapter 456 - A Chance Encounter in The Air
Chapter 457 - Special Guest Commentator
Chapter 458 - A New Job Possibility

Chapter 459 - A New Potential Change in the Players

Chapter 460 - An Invitation from Ferguson
Chapter 461 - Ferguson’s Decision
Chapter 462 - The King of the Goal Area
Chapter 463 - New and Old Players
Chapter 464 - Whatever Can Happen Will Happen
Chapter 465 - Lofty Aspirations
Chapter 466 - Rafael van der Vaart
Chapter 467 - Poor Hamburger…
Chapter 468 - Welcome to Amsterdam
Chapter 469 - The Darkening Night
Chapter 470 - Did You Do It or Not?
Chapter 471 - Tang En’s Mockery
Chapter 472 - The Invitational Tournament
Chapter 473 - What a Small World

Chapter 474 - A New Friend and An Old Acquaintance

Chapter 475 - Declaration for the New Season

Chapter 476 - Absolute Strength

Chapter 477 - The Chinese Man Who Conquered Forest

Chapter 478 - A Taste of Celebrity
Chapter 479 - Watch Your Foot
Chapter 480 - What’s Going On?
Chapter 481 - A Rowdy Style of Play
Chapter 482 - Stadium Violence
Chapter 483 - Good News, Bad News
Chapter 484 - Suspension
Chapter 485 - Returned Soul

Chapter 486 - The Storm Chapter 34 Brewing Transformation

Chapter 487 - The Reserve Team

Chapter 488 - Other than Offense, It’s Still Offense

Chapter 489 - Reciprocity

Chapter 490 - The Sun Show

Chapter 491 - Extreme Dissatisfaction and Absolute Regret

Chapter 492 - What Had Happened and Was About to Happen

Chapter 493 - David’s Plans
Chapter 494 - The Meeting
Chapter 495 - Vacation in Madrid
Chapter 496 - If It Had Not Been for Him ...
Chapter 497 - A Bombshell
Chapter 498 - Character Determines Fate
Chapter 499 - Demetrio’s Farewell Game
Chapter 500 - Drunken Babble
Chapter 501 - The Role of a Veteran
Chapter 502 - The Best Draw There Is
Chapter 503 - Win Back What Was Lost
Chapter 504 - Come to Collect the Interest
Chapter 505 - George Wood’s Final
Chapter 506 - Open the First Record
Chapter 507 - A Powerful Enemy
Chapter 508 - He Is Indeed Powerful
Chapter 509 - The Victor Has Yet to Emerge
Chapter 510 - The Contest
Chapter 511 - The Perilous Forest
Chapter 512 - You’re All Wrong
Chapter 513 - The Pretty Tenant
Chapter 514 - Kill

Chapter 515 - Thirty-Two Seconds of Heaven and Hell

Chapter 516 - Almost

Chapter 517 - A Good Opponent

Chapter 518 - Meet New Friends and Encounter Old Enemies

Chapter 519 - Woox’s Secret
Chapter 520 - The Sleeping Beauty
Chapter 521 - Romance of The Three Heroes
Chapter 522 - The Countdown Begins
Chapter 523 - Kill Them
Chapter 524 - Contrary to Expectations

Chapter 525 - George Wood’s Football Philosophy

Chapter 526 - Halftime Interval
Chapter 527 - The Charge of The War Chariot
Chapter 528 - We Can Win
Chapter 529 - Take Down the First Bout
Chapter 530 - Pepe’s Worry
Chapter 531 - Romance of the Three Kingdoms?
Chapter 532 - 0.1% and 100%
Chapter 533 - The Soldiers at The City Walls
Chapter 534 - A Head Start
Chapter 535 - Forty-Five Seconds
Chapter 536 - Forty-Five Seconds
Chapter 537 - Fortune’s Fool
Chapter 538 - A Confrontation

Chapter 539 - We Wait Till We Reclaim What Is Ours

Chapter 540 - I’ll Jump into The Sea If We Don’t Win

Chapter 541 - Twain’s Revenge
Chapter 542 - The League Tournament Ends
Chapter 543 - A Supporting Character
Chapter 544 - A Friend from Afar
Chapter 545 - The Gatecrashers
Chapter 546 - A Confident Answer
Chapter 547 - The Night Before
Chapter 548 - Are You Ready?

Chapter 549 - Don’t Let the Trophy Wait Too Long

Chapter 550 - Albertini’s Pass

Chapter 551 - Like A Fallen Leaf to The Ground

Chapter 552 - A Battle of Wits and Valour

Chapter 553 - The Bodyguard

Chapter 554 - Trump Card Against Trump Card (Part 1)

Chapter 555 - Trump Card Against Trump Card (Part 2)

Chapter 556 - The Arrival of The King
Chapter 557 - A True Champion
Chapter 558 - A Victorious Return
Chapter 559 - An Ending and A Beginning
Chapter 560 - Michael’s Farewell
Chapter 561 - The Young Men of Wilford
Chapter 562 - The Tsar’s Arrival

Chapter 563 - A Strong Base with A Steady Stream of Players

Chapter 564 - The Loaded Thai
Chapter 565 - The Merry Men
Chapter 566 - Mendes’ Gift
Chapter 567 - Wood’s Substitute
Chapter 568 - New and Former Owners

Chapter 569 - The Business of The English Premier League

Chapter 570 - A Fiery New Beginning
Chapter 571 - A New Record
Chapter 572 - An Identity Transformation
Chapter 573 - Good Beginning

Chapter 574 - Four Consecutive Wins and A War of Words

Chapter 575 - Benítez
Chapter 576 - Face to Face with The Enemy
Chapter 577 - Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain
Chapter 578 - Stop Defending
Chapter 579 - The UEFA Super Cup
Chapter 580 - A Talent Show? No, Thank You

Chapter 581 - Behind the Scenes of the Talent Show

Chapter 582 - An Old Friend Is Coming
Chapter 583 - Manager Roy
Chapter 584 - The Disparity in Strength

Chapter 585 - Everyone Must Respect the Opponent

Chapter 586 - It’s Getting Explosive
Chapter 587 - Why Is That?
Chapter 588 - It’s Just A Joke
Chapter 589 - Normal Atmosphere
Chapter 590 - The Night in Istanbul
Chapter 591 - Welcome to Hell
Chapter 592 - Welcome to Hell Part 2
Chapter 593 - A Messenger from Hell
Chapter 594 - Welcome to Your Hell
Chapter 595 - The Cell Phone
Chapter 596 - Someone’s Waiting at Home
Chapter 597 - This Is an Important Game
Chapter 598 - A Cold and Rainy Night
Chapter 599 - Desire to Win
Chapter 600 - A Little Bad Luck
Chapter 601 - Undefeated Yet
Chapter 602 - The Kiss
Chapter 603 - A Little Lonely
Chapter 604 - A Public Apology
Chapter 605 - Outside the Squad List
Chapter 606 - McClaren’s good luck
Chapter 607 - The Destined Result
Chapter 608 - The League Tournament Resumed
Chapter 609 - Just A Regular League Game
Chapter 610 - Back to Top Three
Chapter 611 - A Perfect Year

Chapter 612 - A Good Football Foundation Started from Young

Chapter 613 - 9527

Chapter 614 - The Dark Horse Prince

Chapter 615 - Ah, Life Is Full of Ups and Downs

Chapter 616 - Return to The Team
Chapter 617 - The Visiting Team: AC Milan
Chapter 618 - Helpless
Chapter 619 - Guests from The Far East
Chapter 620 - About Dreams
Chapter 621 - One Step Closer

Chapter 622 - The Troubles of The Forest Merry Men

Chapter 623 - Not Going Anywhere

Chapter 624 - You’re Under Pressure, I’m Under Pressure

Chapter 625 - Likes and Dislikes
Chapter 626 - Ribéry Again
Chapter 627 - Guti
Chapter 628 - Real Madrid’s Core
Chapter 629 - Anger
Chapter 630 - Still Undefeated
Chapter 631 - Mr. Ten Percent
Chapter 632 - Change in Dominion
Chapter 633 - Fierce Competition
Chapter 634 - Messi’s Confusion
Chapter 635 - The New Playmaker
Chapter 636 - The Amazing Forest Team
Chapter 637 - About Professional Ethics
Chapter 638 - The Target for The Double

Chapter 639 - The Final Showdown at The Top of The Theatre of Dreams

Chapter 640 - The Older the Ginger, the Spicier the Ginger

Chapter 641 - Ronaldo In Full Swing

Chapter 642 - Decisive Battle in The Second Half

Chapter 643 - Before the Storm
Chapter 644 - Sudden Change of Situation
Chapter 645 - Create History
Chapter 646 - Start Dating?
Chapter 647 - Preparation for Battle
Chapter 648 - A Thing Like Love
Chapter 649 - Modesty Is Not A Virtue
Chapter 650 - The Tactical Meeting
Chapter 651 - Win to Show Them
Chapter 652 - Tough Guys
Chapter 653 - A Dramatic Scene
Chapter 654 - I Won’t Agree
Chapter 655 - A Stalemate
Chapter 656 - Mightiness Revealed Again
Chapter 657 - All Hail The Double Winner!
Chapter 658 - His Majesty the King
Chapter 659 - Cat
Chapter 659.1 - The Busy Summer Begins
Chapter 660 - Poach and Be Poached From
Chapter 661 - The Mallorca Holiday
Chapter 662 - That’s It
Chapter 663 - Twain’s Many Troubles
Chapter 664 - The China Trip
Chapter 665 - So Tired
Chapter 666 - Enough Face Has Been Given
Chapter 667 - Stupid and Awesome
Chapter 668 - Money Versus No Money
Chapter 669 - A Former Genius’s New Life
Chapter 670 - Goodbye, Gerard

Chapter 671 - Double "Wood" Is "Woods", And Triple "Wood" Can Be Counted As

Chapter 672 - New Capital, New Season
Chapter 673 - Wealth of An Entire Nation
Chapter 674 - Chaos

Chapter 675 - The Imposing Manner of The Strong

Chapter 676 - Bendtner’s Ambition
Chapter 677 - To Part on Bad Terms
Chapter 679: Aerial Overlord
Chapter 677.1: A High Asking Price
Chapter 678 - End of an Affinity
Chapter 679 - Aerial Overlord
Chapter 680 - Forty and Confused
Chapter 681 - Jealous
Chapter 682 - Goodbye Kiss
Chapter 683 - I Love You, Do You Love Me?
Chapter 684 - Remnant
Chapter 685 - Only a Matter of Time
Chapter 686 - We Dare You
Chapter 687 - Before the Kickoff Whistle
Chapter 688 - Aerial Overlord
Chapter 691 - Goodbye Kiss
Chapter 692 - I Love You, Do You Love Me?
Chapter 693 - Remnant
Chapter 694 - Only a Matter of Time
Chapter 695 - We Dare You
Chapter 696 - Before the Kickoff Whistle

Chapter 697 - The One Who Has Left Me, Disturbs Me

Chapter 699 - Possessed
Chapter 700 - Wishing Good Luck
Chapter 701 - Chilly
Chapter 702 - Winter Has Arrived

Chapter 703 - The Distance Between the Dream and Reality

Chapter 704 - Strong and Resolute
Chapter 705 - Accidentally Caught a Cold
Chapter 706 - Carl Spicer’s Hardcore Fan

Chapter 707 - High Technological Inflatable Doll

Chapter 708 - A Narrow Escape
Chapter 709 - Eight Months!
Chapter 710 - Powerless to Stage a Comeback
Chapter 711 - The Imminent Passing of 2008
Chapter 712 - A Dream too Realistic
Chapter 713 - Relief
Chapter 714 - The Core
Chapter 715 - Determined to Hang on to You
Chapter 716 - 45 Million Years of Love
Chapter 717 - Here Comes The Wolf
Chapter 718 - Tony Twain’s Tactical Class

Chapter 719 - Little Red Riding Hood and Her Uncle Wolf

Chapter 720 - The Original Dream
Chapter 721 - The Purge List
Chapter 722 - His Majesty Has Returned
Chapter 723 - Wedding Invitation
Chapter 724 - Call Me Uncle

Chapter 725 - The New Season After the Honeymoon

Chapter 726 - Self-reliance
Chapter 727 - The Setting China Sun
Chapter 728 - The Young Guard
Chapter 729 - The Future Belongs to the Young
Chapter 730 - The Death of an Idealist

Chapter 731 - Before the Start of the New Season

Chapter 732 - The Juvenile Footballers
Chapter 733 - Newborn Calves
Chapter 734 - The Final Moments of 2009
Chapter 735 - Wolf
Chapter 736 - He’s back
Chapter 737 - Plans for the New League Season
Chapter 738 - What Is Chinese Football?
Chapter 739 - A Lame Joke
Chapter 740 - World Cup in South Africa
Chapter 741 - George’s Maiden Appearance

Chapter 742 - St. George’s Protection on England

Chapter 743 - St. George’s World Cup
Chapter 744 - A Pair of Forest Wingers
Chapter 745 - Super Ibi’s Troubles
Chapter 746 - The Drifter
Chapter 747 - Let’s Make a Wager!
Chapter 748 - Players Come and Go
Chapter 749 - Leaving the Life of Football
Chapter 750 - Integration
Chapter 751 - A Temptation from Italy
Chapter 752 - Robin Hood and The Forest
Chapter 753 - A Sigh
Chapter 754 - Football at Nottingham Forest
Chapter 755 - I feel really satisfied!
Chapter 756 - Once Every Goal
Chapter 757 - The Group of Death
Chapter 758 - Happy Birthday Uncle Tony
Chapter 759 - Travelling with Tony Today
Chapter 760 - The Manager Killer
Chapter 761 - Anyone and Us
Chapter 762 - Tony’s Little Scheme
Chapter 763 - Chain Reaction
Chapter 765 - Conquering Calderon
Chapter 766 - Fight The Old Lady Again
Chapter 767 - Change
Chapter 768 - Counterattack Counterattack
Chapter 769 - Grind to Death
Chapter 770 - Psychological Battle
Chapter 771 - My Successor

Chapter 772 - Who Will Become Tony Twain the Second?

Chapter 773 - Strategies Against Manchester United

Chapter 774
Chapter 775 - Unexpected Situation
Chapter 776 - The Crazy Stoppage Time
Chapter 777 - Red War
Chapter 778 - Coupled Up
Chapter 779 - The New Year
Chapter 780 - Transfer Window
Chapter 781 - An Ibrahimović Good at Headers
Chapter 782 - Twain’s Christmas Tree
Chapter 783 - An Out and Out Conspiracy

Chapter 784 - Coming from A Thousand Miles Away for Revenge

Chapter 785 - José And Tony
Chapter 786 - Dry Wood and Fierce Fire
Chapter 787 - Outer Instep

Chapter 788 - Missed out on a Golden Opportunity

Chapter 789 - Be Crazy Together!
Chapter 790 - Swift Counterattack
Chapter 791 - Two Away Goals
Chapter 792 - The Post Match Spat
Chapter 793 - Relive the Past Experience
Chapter 794 - Poor Quaresma
Chapter 795 - The Chip Shot
Chapter 796 - Before A Big Game
Chapter 797 - Heavyweight Skirmish

Chapter 798 - An Army Burning with Righteous Indignation

Chapter 799 - The Taller Trees in The Woods Are Liable to Get Their Tops Blown Off

Chapter 800 - Come out If You Dare
Chapter 801 - One Goal and a Red Card
Chapter 802 - The Second Red Card
Chapter 803 - Snap My Fingers
Chapter 804 - A Gift for Barcelona
Chapter 805 - POMO
Chapter 806 - Aaron’s Troubles
Chapter 807 - Adapting to the Field
Chapter 808 - Do I Need to Take Off My Pants?
Chapter 809 - Two Identical Leaves
Chapter 810 - The Puppet Master
Chapter 811 - The Loudhailers
Chapter 812 - Aaron Is a Fool
Chapter 813 - A Blunder
Chapter 814 - Panic and Lost
Chapter 815 - Piqué
Chapter 816 - Who the Hell Is This Kid?
Chapter 817 - A Giant’s Waltz
Chapter 818 - A Last-Ditch Struggle
Chapter 819 - Well Done

Chapter 820 - A Scoundrel Realized His Ambition

Chapter 821 - The End of the Season
Chapter 822 - Goodbye, My Friend
Chapter 823 - A Crimson New Beginning
Chapter 824 - Everyone’s on Their Way
Chapter 825 - Two Years Later
Chapter 826 - Destiny
Chapter 827 - A Legendary Tribute
Chapter 828 - Not Friends

Chapter 829 - Whoever Started the Trouble Should End It

Chapter 830 - Tony’s Decade
Chapter 831 - Trust
Chapter 832 - Gerrard’s Challenge
Chapter 833 - Don’t Be Happy Yet
Chapter 834 - Happy Tenth Anniversary
Chapter 835 - Do Not Touch the Tiger’s Ass
Chapter 836 - The Loser Eats A Table
Chapter 837 - Lost the Game and Money
Chapter 838 - Three Battles
Chapter 839 - The Real Target

Chapter 840 - Regarding the Possibility of Exchanging Jerseys

Chapter 841 - Behind a Successful Man
Chapter 842 - Collapse?
Chapter 843 - This Season
Chapter 844 - The Crucial Goal
Chapter 845 - Qualifying for Championship
Chapter 846 - One More Match Remaining

Chapter 847 - Other Than Attack, it’s Still Attack

Chapter 848 - Unexpected Advantage
Chapter 849 - To Win the Championship
Chapter 850 - Sprint

Chapter 851 - A Letter from The United Kingdom

Chapter 852 - The Foolish Old Man

Chapter 853 - The Old Guard is Still Standing Strong

Chapter 854 - Our City Ground Stadium

Chapter 855 - A Suboptimal Situation

Chapter 856 - I Am Ready, What About You Guys?

Chapter 857 - The Stubborn One
Chapter 858 - The Special One
Chapter 859 - The Explosion in Silence
Chapter 860 - The Final Three Minutes
Chapter 861 - After getting the crown
Chapter 862 - Please Eat the Table
Chapter 863 - A New Journey
Chapter 864 - One More Needed
Chapter 865 - Confess
Chapter 866 - Madrid
Chapter 867 - Red Cloth
Chapter 868 - Chen Jian’s Troubles
Chapter 869 - A Wonderful Night Begins
Chapter 870 - The Heart of Champion
Chapter 871 - The Final Game Kicks Off
Chapter 872 - Own Goal?
Chapter 873 - This Looks Bad
Chapter 874 - Countermeasures
Chapter 875 - A Wonderful Goal
Chapter 876 - A Dramatic First Act
Chapter 877 - Conflict
Chapter 878 - The First Half of the Overtime
Chapter 879 - The Clinching Shot
Chapter 880 - Tony Don Twain
Chapter 881 - On This Night
Chapter 882 - Showing His Hand
Chapter 883 - The Storm before the Night
Chapter 884 - A Storm Brewing
Chapter 885 - Traces of the Wind
Chapter 886 - The World Cup
Chapter 887 - A Call from London
Chapter 888 - It’s Not Easy to Find a Job
Chapter 889 - A Change of Manager

Chapter 890 - The New Manager of The Three Lions

Chapter 891 - Old Partner
Chapter 892 - Momentous Changes
Chapter 893 - An Exhibition Game
Chapter 894 - England Team C
Chapter 895 - Nottingham Forest and England
Chapter 896 - The Days Since Twain Left
Chapter 897 - Back Home
Chapter 898 - Welcome Home, Tony
Chapter 899 - The Determination to Win
Chapter 900 - Principles
Chapter 901 - First Victory

Chapter 902 - All Good Things Must Come to an End

Chapter 903 - A Well-Behaved Man Strikes Back

Chapter 904 - Unable to Be Interdependent Forever

Chapter 905 - Two Atomic Bombs
Chapter 906 - The Two Buddies’ Troubles
Chapter 907 - Rather Forget About the Past

Chapter 908 - This is an Unsatisfactory Answer

Chapter 909 - Nothing to Do with Forest
Chapter 910 - Here Lies My Legend
Chapter 911 - Twain’s Trouble
Chapter 912 - National Team Call Up Completed

Chapter 913 - The New Captain of the Three Lions

Chapter 914 - Why Are You Running?

Chapter 915 - This Damn Thing is Over

Chapter 916 - The New English Team Sets Sail and Soars

Chapter 917 - Forty-Six Years Old Twain
Chapter 918 - I Want a Child
Chapter 919 - Reunion with Bale
Chapter 920 - A Decision on The Sidelines
Chapter 921 - Entrapment
Chapter 922 - Top of The Group
Chapter 923 - End of the Season
Chapter 924 - The Drama

Chapter 925 - Qualified for the Next Round in Advance

Chapter 926 - The Group Draw for the Final Series

Chapter 927 - An Old Enemy

Chapter 928 - This Is Counter-Attacking Football

Chapter 929 - Win the Game Like the Forest Team

Chapter 930 - Grave News
Chapter 931 - I Must Go to Spain
Chapter 932 - George’s Persistence

Chapter 933 - The Squad List That Cannot Be Changed

Chapter 934 - Greedy
Chapter 935 - I Will Be Back
Chapter 936 - The Reveal
Chapter 937 - Twain’s England Team
Chapter 938 - The Match That Ended in Advance

Chapter 939 - The First Step Towards Conquering Europe

Chapter 940 - Next Opponent
Chapter 941 - The Damned Group of Death
Chapter 942 - An Unlucky Year
Chapter 943 - Feud
Chapter 944 - The Sunlight is so Blinding
Chapter 945 - Momentary Oversight
Chapter 946 - Don’t Be Impatient, George
Chapter 947 - A Bright Future
Chapter 948 - I want to come on
Chapter 949 - Super Invincible Mazinger Z
Chapter 950 - After the Big Battle
Chapter 951 - A Check-up
Chapter 952 - Mystical Destiny
Chapter 953 - Extremely Relaxed
Chapter 954 - Reappearance
Chapter 955 - Opponent for the Quarterfinal
Chapter 956 - The Powerful French Team

Chapter 957 - Never Return Until the Battle is Won

Chapter 958 - Starting Lineup
Chapter 959 - The Storm Approaches
Chapter 960 - A Two-Goal Lead Is Not Enough
Chapter 961 - Watch out for the England Team
Chapter 962 - If You Hate Me
Chapter 963 - Italy Will Also Do the Same
Chapter 964 - The Encounter
Chapter 965 - Tickets
Chapter 966 - Are You Nervous?
Chapter 967 - Nepotism
Chapter 968 - Like a Sleepwalker

Chapter 969 - Qualified to Be in The Starting Lineup

Chapter 970 - That Old Fox
Chapter 971 - The Silver Fox’s Decision
Chapter 972 - Counter Every Move
Chapter 973 - Two Minutes
Chapter 974 - Five Minutes
Chapter 975 - One Minute
Chapter 976 - Two Years Later
Chapter 977 - A Child
Chapter 978 - Teresa
Chapter 979 - After Retirement

Chapter 980 - My Legend Is Still Here （Part 1）

Chapter 981 - My Legend Is Still Here （Part 2）

Chapter 982 - Visiting Michael

Chapter 983 - At 50, I Know the Decrees of Heaven

Chapter 984 - I Have Decided to Retire
Chapter 985 - It is Decided
Chapter 986 - Twain and Sophia
Chapter 987 - Everyone Has Their Own Worries
Chapter 988 - You Really Want to Retire?
Chapter 989 - The Conditions

Chapter 990 - Nottingham Forest’s Circumstances

Chapter 991 - Are You Coming Back, Tony?
Chapter 992 - Please Come Back, Tony
Chapter 993 - Hey George
Chapter 994 - He Is Back
Chapter 995 - Mr. Xia
Chapter 996 - I’m Going to the Forest
Chapter 997 - The Barcelona Derby
Chapter 998 - A Bigger Stage
Chapter 999 - The Past and Present Twain
Chapter 1000 - The Legend
Chapter 1001 - An Unfortunate Opening
Chapter 1002 - Balotelli
Chapter 1003 - Thoughts of an Ordinary Man
Chapter 1004 - Long Live Your Majesty
Chapter 1005 - The King without a Crown

Chapter 1006 - A Man Should Not Let A Lady Go Home Alone

Chapter 1007 - Inside First, Then Outside
Chapter 1008 - New Force
Chapter 1009 - Another Derby
Chapter 1010 - No Derbies, No Football
Chapter 1011 - Dunn’s Devil in his Dreams
Chapter 1012 - After the Derby
Chapter 1013 - Losing Competitiveness
Chapter 1014 - Find the Heart of the Champion
Chapter 1015 - Shankly’s Decision Back Then
Chapter 1016 - Shankly’s Decision Back Then
Chapter 1017 - Leave? That’s Really a Problem
Chapter 1018 - A Successor

Chapter 1019 - An Era Is About to Come to An End

Chapter 1020 - Shania’s Good News
Chapter 1021 - Retirement
Chapter 1022 - Sixth in League
Chapter 1023 - Before the Last Game
Chapter 1024 - God to God, Dunn to Dunn

Chapter 1025 - After Achieving the Goal in Advance

Chapter 1026 - Dusk and Dawn in Wilford
Chapter 1027 - Last Training Session
Chapter 1028 - I Haven’t Lost Yet
Chapter 1029 - There Is Only One Tony Twain
Chapter 1030 - Old Antique
Chapter 1031 - This Is Fate
Chapter 1032 - The Final Curtain

Chapter 1033 - Epilogue: When I’m Sixty Years Old